Psalms

The Book of Psalms] So Christ calleth it, #Lu 20:42. The Hebrew word signifieth hymns, or praises, because the greater part of these psalms serve to set forth the praise of God. This title seemeth to be taken from #Ps 145:1, called David’s Hymn, or Psalm of praise; so highly prized by the ancient Hebrews that they pronounce him an heir of heaven who shall three times a day devoutly repeat it. The Greeks call this Book the Psalter (Athanas., Chrysost.); and deservedly give it many high commendations; as that it is the soul’s anatomy, the Jaw’s epitome, the gospel’s index, the garden of the Scriptures, a sweet field and rosary of promises, precepts, predictions, praises, soliloquies, &c.; the very heart and soul of God, the tongue and pen of David, a man after God’s own heart; one murmur of whose Michtam, or Maschil, one touch of whose heavenly harp, is far above all the buskin raptures, garish phantasms, splendid vanities, pageants, and landscapes of profaner wits; far better worthy to be written in letters of gold than Pindar’s seventh ode in the temple at Rhodes (though Politian judged otherwise, liken wretch as he was), and far more fit to have been laid up, as a rare and precious jewel, in that Persian casket, embroidered with gold and pearl, than Homer’s Iliad, for which it was reserved by Great Alexander. But that cock on the dunghill never knew the worth of this peerless pearl; as did our good King Alfred, who himself translated the Psalter into his own Saxon tongue; and as the Emperor Andronicus, who caused this Book to be bound up in a little volume by itself, to serve as his manual, and attend him in his running library (Turk. Hist.); for therein he found amulets of comfort, more pleasant than the pools of Heshbon, more glorious than the tower of Lebanon, more redolent than the oil of Aaron, more fructifying than the dew of Hermon, as one expresseth it. All the latitude of the Holy Scriptures may be reduced to the Psalms, saith Austin, after Athanasius. Luther calleth them Parva Biblia, et summarium utriusque Testamenti, a little Bible, a summary of both Testaments. The Turks disclaim both the Old and New Testament, and yet they swear as solemnly by the Psalms of David as by the Koran of Mahomet. Anciently they were sung in the temples, and in the primitive Christian Church happy was that tongue held that could sound out aliquid Davidicum, any part of a psalm of David. Nicephorus telleth us that as they travelled and journeyed they used to solace themselves with psalms, and that thereby there was at a certain time a Jew converted. St Paul calleth them spiritual songs, #Col 3:16, both because they were indited by the Holy Spirit, and for that they do singularly suit with men’s spirits; for they are so penned that every man may think they speak De se, in re sua, of himself, and to his particular purpose, as Athanasius observeth. And, lastly, because they do after a special manner spiritualize and sanctify those that sing them in the right tune; which is, Sing with grace in your hearts unto the Lord, as the apostle there setteth it; and elsewhere hinteth unto us that there is no small edification by the choice of a fit psalm, #1Co 14:26.

Chapter 1

Ver. 1. Blessed] Heb. Oh the blessedness, the heaped up happiness, both of this life and a better, fitter to be believed than possibly could be discoursed. The Hebrew comes from a root that signifieth to go right forward, sc. in the way that is called holy, having Oculum ad metam, an eye upon the mark, viz. true and real happiness, such as all men pretend to, but he only attaineth to who is here described. Sulla was by his flatterers surnamed Felix, because high and mighty; and Metellus likewise, Quod bona multa bono modo invenerat, because rich by right means (Policrat. lib. 8, cap. 4). But he that first called riches Bona was a better husband than divine; and they that seek for a felicity in anything here below seek for the living among the dead. The philosophers’ discourses of this subject are but learned dotages; David saith more to the point in this short psalm than any or all of them put together; they did but beat around the bush, God hath here put the bird into our hands.

Is the man] Heb. that man, with an article, with an accent, and by an excellency, as #Jer 5:1, that eminent and eximious man, who is rationally spiritual and spiritually rational; that man in Christ, #2Co 12:2, who hath learned Christ, and doth live Christ, walking as he walked, #1Jo 2:6, and "not in the counsel of the ungodly," &c. "But his delight is in the law of the Lord," &c. Magnus atque admirabilis vir, si modo viri nomine designare illum fas est, as Chrysostom saith of Babylas, the martyr, that is, a great and an admirable man, if a man we may call him, and not an earthly angel rather. He must indeed be content to pass to heaven as a concealed man, because the world knoweth him not, #1Jo 3:1, but those that have senses exercised to discern good and evil may easily know him as he stands here described, 1. To depart from evil, #Ps 1:1 2. To do good, #Ps 1:2.

Walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly] Or restless. The counsel of such should be far from us, #Job 21:16 22:18. The Jews cast their whole nation or people into three ranks, Reshagnim (the word here used), that is, the profane rabble; Tsadichim, righteous men; and Chasidim, good, or gracious men. See #Ro 5:7. To these two latter are opposite here sinners and scorners; these last being the worst of wicked persons, and, therefore, set last in this gradation, as some will have it. The Septuagint here render them pests or botches, and elsewhere incorrigible, wicked (with a witness), proud, prevaricating, &c., ´ Ακολαστος, #Pr 20:1; κακος, #Pr 9:12; υπερηφανος, #Pr 3:34; παρηνομουν, #Ps 119:51. Beware of this sin, saith Father Latimer; for I never knew but one scorner that repented; he who is sitting down in this chair of pestilence (as having tired himself in ways of wickedness, and will not be better advised, #Pr 9:7,8, but, with Lot’s sons-in-law, jeereth what he should fear) will not easily be raised out of it.

Ver. 2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord] i.e. In the whole doctrine of the Holy Scriptures, that invariable rule of truth, as Irenaeus rightly calleth it, Κανων της αληθειας ακλινης. He findeth rest nowhere, nisi in angulo cum libello, in a nook with this book, as Thomas Kempis was wont to say, who also with his own hand wrote out the Bible. King Alphonsus read it over fourteen times, together with such commentaries as those times afforded. Luther said he would not live in paradise without the word, as with it he could live well enough in hell. Magdalen, wife to Dr Paraeus, after she was married, and forty years of age, out of love to the Scriptures, learned to read, and took such delight in it, and especially in the Psalms, that she got them almost all by heart (Par. in Epist. ad Ja. Newer. Pastor. Heidelb.). Beza, being above fourscore years old, could say perfectly by heart any Greek chapter in St Paul’s Epistles. Cranmer and Ridley had all the New Testament by heart; the former had learned it in his journey to Rome, the latter in the walks of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge.

And in his law doth he meditate day and night] Hoc primus repetens opus, hoc postremus omittens (Horat.). Having gathered with the bees the sweet of those heavenly flowers, he doth by meditation work his honeycomb within his hive; and at this work he is perdius et pernox, till he feel it to become an ingrafted word, yea, till he hath turned it in succum et sanguinem, and is after a sort transformed into it, #2Co 3:18. The Hebrew word Hagah here signifieth both to speak with the mouth and with the heart, to read and to meditate; because to read is not to run over a chapter, as a child at school, but to muse upon the matter, and to make some benefit of it. It is said of Pythagoras that he lived in a cave for a whole year together, that, being sequestered from the society of men, he might the better meditate upon the abstruser parts of philosophy; he used also with a thread to tie the hair of his head to a beam over him, that so when he did but nod by reason of sleep he might be awakened thereby. Is not this cheek to our drowsiness and carelessness of searching the Scriptures, and making them our daily and nightly study? Jerome exhorted some godly women to whom he wrote not to lay the Bible out of their hands until, being overcome with sleep, and not able any longer to hold up their heads, they bowed them down, as it were, to salute the leaves below them with a kiss (Jerome ad Eust. De custod. Virgin.).

Ver. 3. And he shall be like a tree] An olive tree, say some, from #Ps 52:8, which is green all the year, saith Pliny; that in Noah’s flood kept its greenness though it had been so long time under the water; and is, therefore, made an emblem of the resurrection. Others will have it to be the palm tree, from #Ps 92:12, which likewise is always green, and very fruitful. Plutarch saith that the Babylonians make three hundred and sixty commodities of it. The tree whereon the cocoa nuts grow in the Indies is said to be such as wherewith alone a ship may be built, and furnished to sea with food and merchandise. Let it be what tree it will that is here meant, if Plato could say that man is a tree inverted, with the root above and the branches below, and that he is φυτον ουρανιον, a heavenly plant, γεγενημενον εκ Διος ερνος, as another hath it (Homer); much more may we say so of a godly man, that plant of renown, rooted in Christ, and fruited by the Spirit, of a right constitution and righteous conversation, #Ga 5:25. See #Jer 17:8 Eze 47:12.

Planted by the rivers of water] In locis irriguis, in moist places, where most trees thrive best; understand it of those waters of the sanctuary, #Eze 47:12, together with those unfailing influences of grace and consolation that are in him, as a well of water bubbling up to eternal life, #Joh 4:14.

That bringeth forth his fruit in his season] There are no barren trees in God’s orchard, and yet they may have their fits of barrenness, as an apple tree sometimes hath; but they will reflourish with advantage, as those Philippians did, #Php 4:10 {See Trapp on "Php 4:10"} and bear fruit in the right season, Nec praecocem nec serum. Now everything is beautiful in its season, #Ec 5:11, and it was no small shame to Ahithophel, when it was told him by Hushai, the Archite, Thy counsel is good, but not now, #2Sa 17:7.

His leaf also shall not wither] Heb. fade, for want of sap or safety from Christ the root; but as the olive or palm tree, semper in suo genere viret vigetque, retaineth its green leaf, and hath for its motto Nec premor nec perimor; so doth the good soul persevere and persist in the profession and practice of the truth which is after godliness, #Tit 1:1, maugre the malice of earth and of hell. Of Tylos, an Indian island, Pliny and Austin say, That no tree therein growing doth at any time of the year lose their leaves (Plin. l. 12, cap. 11. Aug. de C. D. lib. 21, cap. 5). Certain it is that saving faith cannot be lost altogether, though it may suffer some decays, #Isa 6:13.

And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper] So #Jos 1:7,8. This and the like promises must be understood with an exception of the cross, as need requireth, #1Pe 1:6. Gain, his prosperity, that of the soul I mean, he shall be sure of, #Ro 8:28,37. Temporal also, so far as may make for his eternal good. Pintus, out of Pliny, tells us, that the palm tree will not grow well on rich ground, but in a light and sandy; and that if the soil be strong and fertile they must cast salt and ashes at the root to limit the fertility of the ground. As Christ is the true vine, so his Father is a good husbandman, and knoweth well how to order his trees of righteousness; but usually piety hath prosperity, and is profitable to all things, #1Ti 4:8. And outward prosperity, if it follow close walking with God, is very sweet; as the cipher, when it followeth the figure, addeth to the number, though it be nothing in itself.

Ver. 4. The ungodly are not so] Not like any such tree before described, but rather like the cypress tree, which, the more it is watered, is the less fruitful; or like the cyparit tree, whereof Pliny writeth that it is good for nothing, no, not for show, shadow, or smell. St Jude saith, they are trees indeed, but such as are twice dead, pulled up by the roots, #Jude 1:12. Twice dead they are said to be, 1. Because a spiritual death is so great a death that it may well go for two. 2. Because those ungodly ones were dead, both in regard of fruit and leaves, truth of grace and any outward actings of grace. Their fruit, if any, is but hedge fruit, their leaves of formal profession wither and come to nothing; if they prosper in the world (as Sigonius observeth of Pope Zechariah that he died rebus non tam pie quam prospere gestis, not overly pious, and yet very prosperous) it is that they may be cut down for ever, #Ps 37:2: such a temporary prosperity plus deceptionis habet quam delectationis, saith Lactantius, is more deceitful than delightful, and is, therefore, well called by Bernard, Misericordia omni indignatione crudelior, a giftless gift, &c.

But are like the chaff] Not so they are, but much worse in many respects, as it is fit they should be. God will surely set a difference, #Mal 3:18. {See Trapp on "Mal 3:18"} A profane soldier at the siege of a town, passing a place of danger, was heard swearing; and when one that stood by warned him, saying, Fellow soldier, do not swear, the bullets fly; he answered, They that swear come off as well as they that pray. But what came of it? Soon after a shot hit him, and down he fell. "The wicked is" (as chaff) "driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death," #Pr 14:32. The word here rendered chaff is Palea tenuissima et minutissime contrita chaff beaten to dust, and, therefore, good for nothing, but apt to be whiffied up and down with every wind of doctrine, with every puff of temptation. A good man is, as a tree, stedfast, and unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, #1Co 15:58. An evil man is, as chaff, light and worthless, Religionem habens ephemeram, constant in nothing so much as in his inconstancy, serves God by fits and starts, flies in his face when afflicted, as chaff doth in the face of the winnower, while the weightier grain falls low at his feet. See #Job 21:18 Ps 55:5 Ho 13:3 Mt 3:12. {See Trapp on "Job 21:18"} {See Trapp on "Ps 55:5"} {See Trapp on "Ho 13:3"} {See Trapp on "Mt 3:12"}

Ver. 5. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment] i.e. Causa cadent et damnabuntur, at the great assizes they shall be cast and condemned. Vix steteris (Terent.). #Re 6:17, "For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" "If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?" #1Pe 4:18. Surely nowhere, but in hell, their own place, #Ac 1:25: not before God, for he is a consuming fire, #Heb 12:29, and they chaff or stubble, fully dried, see #Isa 33:14; not before Christ, for he shall come in flaming fire, rendering vengeance, &c., #2Th 1:7; not in heaven, for it is an undefiled inheritance, neither may any dirty dog trample on that golden pavement, #Re 22:15; not any longer on earth, defiled by their iniquities, and, therefore, to be purged by the fire of the last day; for the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up, #2Pe 3:10. R. David Kimchi by judgment here understandeth the day of the wicked man’s death; and indeed his death’s day is his doom’s day, when he must take a fearful farewell, and breathe out his soul and hope together with the breath of the same dying groan, #Job 27:8 11:20. Hinc illae lachrymae, hence that lothing to depart, though some set a good face upon it when to die, as Sir Thomas Moore, who died for the pope’s supremacy with a light jest in his mouth. Vespasian likewise died with a jest, and Augustus in a compliment. This was but the hypocrisy of mirth; for death is the king of terror to a natural man. See #Heb 2:15 1Sa 15:32 28:20. Saul, at the message of death, swooned quite away, and fell all along, Quantus quantus erat, as Peter Martyr phraseth it; yea, good Hezekiah wept when sentenced to death, and the approach of it was to him Mar mar, bitter bitterness, #Isa 38:3,17. He must have his faith at his fingers’ ends, as one saith, that will die actively. But all men have not faith, #2Th 3:2, and those few that have are not always assured that their hearts shall live for ever, as #Ps 22:26, and that death, the devil’s sergeant, to drag wicked men to hell, shall be to them the Lord’s gentle usher, to conduct them to heaven, as Mr Brightman expresseth it.

Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous] They shall never set foot within heaven’s threshold, within that general assembly, that sacred panegyris {a}, ample amphitheatre, the congregation house of crowned saints and glorious angels. Tertullian saith of Pompey’s theatre (which was the greatest ornament of old Rome) that it was Arx omnium turpitudinum, a receptacle of all kind of ribaldry and roguery. Not so heaven: "There shall ill nowise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie," #Re 21:27. The Irish air will sooner brook a toad, or a snake, than heaven a sinner. Mali in area nobiscum esse possunt, in horreo non possunt, Chaff may be with God’s good grain on the floor, but in the garner it shall not (Augustin). For Christ "will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire," #Mt 3:12.

{a} Gr. Antiq. A general assembly; esp. a festal assembly in honour of a god.

Ver. 6. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous] Or, acknowledgeth, approveth, administereth, and ordereth all things to their eternal salvation; as may appear by the opposition, wherein there is a rhetorical aposiopesis. God’s knowledge of men and their ways is not merely intuitive, but approbative of the good and vindictive of the evil; εχει θεος εκδικον ομμα. His providence (which is the carrying on of his decree) is that helm which turns about the whole ship of the universe with singular skill and justice. Dominus diligit, et dirigit viam, id est, vitam et omne institutum iustorum. See #Ps 37:18 142:4 Na 1:7 Pr 2:8, with the notes there. God knows the righteous by name, #Ex 33:17, knows them for his own, looks upon them and their whole course with singular delight and complacency; they are his Hephzibah, #Isa 62:4, the dearly beloved of his soul, #Jer 12:7. Verba notitiae apud Hebracos secum trahunt affectum.

But the way of the ungodly shall perish] Their practices and persons shall perish together, be done away, be lost for ever. And why? because the Lord knoweth them not; unless it be for black sheep, as we say, or rather for reprobate goats, #Mt 25:32-46 Hence their souls are flung out, as out of the middle of a sling, when the souls of the saints are bound up in the bundle of life, with the Lord their God, #1Sa 25:29.

Chapter 2

Ver. 1. Why do the heathen rage?] WHY? or for what reason? The psalm beginneth abruptly, with an angry interrogation; q.d. What? are they mad to attempt such things, as whereof they can neither give any good reason, nor expect any good effect? The Lord Christ, of whom David was both a father and a figure (as here appeareth), shall surely reign, maugre all the rage and resistance of his enemies, who may seem to be ambitious for their own destruction, and are therefore in this psalm schooled, and counselled to desist. Nothing is more irrational than irreligion. Why do the heathen tumultuously rage, or hurtle together, Fremunt et ferociunt? When the Philistihes heard that David was made king in Hebron, they came up to seek him, and to dethrone him, #2Sa 5:17; so the heathen and people, that is, Gentiles and Jews, would have dealt by Christ, #Ac 4:25,26. The devil, ever since he was cast out of heaven, tumultuateth and keepeth ado; so do unruly spirits acted and agitated by him. #Da 6:15, Then those men kept a stir with the king against Daniel; it is the same Hebrew word that is here, and possibly Daniel’s spirit might think of David’s terms. #Joh 11:33, Jesus troubled himself, but after another manner than these his enemies; his passions were without mud, as clear water in a crystal glass; what was an act of power in Christ is an act of weakness, if not of wickedness, in others. The apostle’s Greek word for this in the text denoteth rage, pride, and fierceness, as of horses that neigh, and rush into the battle, εφρυαξαν, #Ac 4:25.

And the people imagine] Heb. meditate, or mutter a vain thing, an empty design, that shall come to nothing.

Niteris incassum Christi submergere puppem:

Fluctuat, at nunquam mergitur illa ratis.

Dipped may the Church’s ship be, but not drowned;

Christ will not fail her enemies to confound.

Some think that by this muttering people are meant, such as act not open outrages against Christ, but yet in words murmur and mutiny, whispering treason.

Ver. 2. The kings of the earth set themselves] Or, stand up, as if they would do the deed, and bear down all before them. The many had acted their part, #Ps 2:1, and now the mighties show themselves, but go off again with shame enough. The Spanish friar used to say, there were but few princes in hell; and why? because there were but few in all. It was a poor comfort to our Henry VIII to be told upon his death bed that he was now going to the place of kings. Some such there have been as proved nursing fathers to the Church, and propagated the kingdom of Christ in their generations, #Isa 49:23 but what a vain vaunt was that of those bloody tyrants in the primitive times, who sounded the triumph beforehand, and thus engraved the victory upon pillars of marble, Nomine Christianorum delete qui Remp. evertebant? What was all this but a blaze before their last light went out? or like some bulging wall that was swollen immediately before it fell? Have any ever yet waxed fierce against Christ and prospered? #Job 9:4.

And the rulers take counsel together] Or, have laid their foundation; for counsel is to action saith Aben Ezra here, the same that the foundation is to a building. The Chaldee hath it they consociate to rebel before the Lord, and to fight against his anointed, Syncretismum ineunt, et quasi se fundant consiliis suis. But with what success, see #Isa 8:9,10. Immanuel will overly match them.

Ver. 3. Let us break their bands asunder, &c.] Here these rebels are brought in proclaiming their treasonable decrees against Christ, and his adherents, who seek to promote his kingdom. Resolved they were to run riot, as lawless and aweless, and therefore they slander the sweet laws of Christ’s kingdom, as bonds and thick cords (those signs of slavery, #Jer 27:2,6,7), as burdens and grievances. So the Popish clergy of Collen told their good Archbishop Albert (who had made use of Bucer and Melancthon to bring things into better order), that they had rather live under the Turkish government than under such a reformation (Melch. Adam in Vit. Bucer). But what saith our Saviour? "My yoke is easy, and my burden light." No more burden it is to a regenerate person than the wings are to the bird. He delighteth in the law of God after the inward man, #Ro 7:22 It is not to him now, as once, bands and cords, but as girdles and garters, which gird up his loins, and expedite his course the better. It confineth him to live in that element where he would live; as if one should be confined to paradise, where he would be, though there were no such law.

Ver. 4. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh at them] Videt, ridet. He seeth and smileth, he looketh and laugheth, at these giants. He sitteth in heaven, far above their reach; neither doth he much trouble himself about the matter. No more should we; but trust in him, and know that there is a council in heaven that will dash the mould of all contrary counsels upon earth; as the stone cut out of the mountain did the four great monarchies, #Da 2:34. See an instance hereof in latter times. Luther, that heroic reformer, was excommunicated by the pope, proscribed by the emperor, hated and cursed all Christendom over almost, yet he prospered, and the work of Christ went on in his hands. And when the Elector of Saxony, his only patron, was much afraid what would become of him, and of the business of religion, Luther out of his Patmos (as he called it), where he lay hid, writeth him a rousing letter, wherein is read this among many other brave passages: Sciat celsitudo tua et nihil dubitet longe aliter in coelo quam Noribergae de hoc negotio conclusum est, Let your Highness rest well assured of this, that things are far otherwise carried and concluded in heaven, than they are at the Imperial Diet held at Norinberg. After this, in the year of grace 1526, there conspired against the gospel, and the professors thereof, the emperor and his prisoner in Spain, the French king, the princes also and bishops in Germany, stirred up by the pope. The French king was set at liberty, upon the condition that he join with the emperor to root out Lutheranism, that is, true religion. This was the agreement, but God broke it; for the French king was no sooner home but he made a league with the pope and the Venetians against the emperor. The pope excuseth his falling off from Caesar by a petulant and malapert epistle. Caesar, by another letter, lay open to the world the pope’s perfidy, exhorting him to peace, and concluding that they had more need to unite their forces for the extirpation of Lutheran heresy. By this means the Church had a happy halcyon, while these great ones were out, and at it.

The Lord shall have them in derision] Adonai, that is, the sustainer and upholder of all. Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords, #Re 19:16. Lords and lowlies are all his vassals and underlings, as Constantine, Theodosius, and Valentine, those great emperors, called themselves. This name or style Christ hath written on his vesture, that all may see it, and on his thigh, where hangs his sword, to show his absolute dominion, his unlimited empire, got and held out of the hands of his enemies, with his mind, and with his bow, #Ge 48:22. And when he is said to deride them, this is no more than to laugh at them, as the following effects show.

Ver. 5. Then shall he speak unto them, &c.] Heb. He shall tell them, viz. a piece of his mind, to their small comfort. As a great prince sitting on a lofty throne berateth his rebels when once he hath brought them before him, and pronounceth sentence upon them in fierce wrath, see #Jer 52:9, so will the King of heaven do by his sturdy refractories. Whether he will speak unto them by his words or by his rods, #Job 33:14,19-21, and when he will do it he hath reserved in his own power and pleasure, #Ac 1:7, but sooner or later he will not fail to do it; and

Poena venit gravior, quo mage sera venit.

And vex them] Or trouble them, as he did the builders of Babel, Pharaoh, Sennacherib, others; either by horror or conscience or corporal plagues, one way or the other he will have his penny worth of them, as he had of the old and late persecutors of his people.

Ver. 6. Yet have I set my king] Heb. And I have set. Heb. I have anointed; where the sign of his inauguration, or entrance into his kingdom, is put for the possession and enjoying thereof. David was anointed by God’s appointment; Christ was also anointed and appointed by his Father to the office and work of a mediator; and is therefore here called his king. And, is here a sign of indignation stirred.

Upon mine holy hill of Zion] David’s strong hold, and a figure of the Church, #Heb 12:22 Re 14:1 Isa 60:14, as being the seat of the kingdom, a sanctuary. Out of Zion also went forth the law, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem, #Isa 2:3: it signifieth a watch tower. In the Church Christ, angels, ministers, common Christians, watch against enemies visible and invisible.

Ver. 7. I will declare the decree] That irrevocable decree of the Father, for the setting up of his Son’s sceptre contra gentes, point blank opposite to that decree of theirs, #Ps 2:3. This ordinance or decree of his Christ is still declaring in his Church by the ministers of the gospel, whose office it is to set forth Christ to the world in all his offices and efficacies, and to bring as many as may be to the obedience of the faith.

Thou art my Son] David was so by adoption and acceptation, #Ps 89:26,27; but Christ, 1. By eternal generation, #Pr 8:22,23 Heb 1:5 2. By hypostatical union, and so God had one only Son (as Abraham had his Isaac), though otherwise he were the Father of many nations.

This day have I begotten thee] Understand it either in the day of eternity, or else of the fulness of time wherein God brought his first begotten Son into the world, and afterwards mightily declared him to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead, #Ro 1:3 Ac 13:33, whence he is called the first begotten of the dead, #Col 1:18 Re 1:5.

Ver. 8. Ask of me, and I will give thee] All things are conveyed to Christ by asking; shall we think to have anything without asking? Or, are we not worthily miserable that will not make ourselves happy by asking? Now, through Christ’s passion and intercession, it is but ask and have; open thy mouth, and I will fill it. If at any time we ask and miss, it is for the most part because we ask amiss, #Jas 4:2,3.

The heathen for thine inheritance] The kingdom of grace (the object whereof are all nations) Christ hath by donation from his Father; for his natural kingdom he hath as God coequal with his Father from all eternity.

Ver. 9. Thou shalt break them, &c.] sc. Those that will not bend thou shalt thus break. Thou shalt roughly rule them (Ainsworth). Christ’s gracious government of his obedient people, though not so fully expressed here, yet it is to be necessarily understood; and in the last words of the psalm it is plainly held forth, "Blessed are they that trust in him."

Thou shalt dash them in pieces (or, scatter them abroad, being already broken) as a potter’s vessel] i.e. Without any hope of repair and recovery. It is a fearful thing to fall into the punishing hands of the living God, #Heb 10:31 He that will not be warned in hearing shall be crushed to pieces in feeling, said that martyr, Aut faciendum aut patiendum. God will be obeyed either actively or passively. Look to it.

Ver. 10. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings] Redeem your own sorrows by trembling at God’s judgments, while they hang in the threatenings; this is a high point of heavenly wisdom.

Ergo Dei tandem verbo subscribite reges:

Ne rapiant Stygiae vos Acherontis aquae.

These kings were not without wit and learning. Julian the apostate, for instance (who said unto the King Christ, Apostate), but they wanted, godly wisdom, and are therefore here called upon to behave themselves prudently, and to play the wise men. For as wicked men are fools in print; so, on the contrary, in our old English books a righteous man is printed a right wise man, and righteousness right wiseness. For it is the only true both wisdom, #Ps 111:10 Pr 1:7, and honour: for the righteous are princes in all lands, #Ps 45:16; yea, they are kings. Compare #Mt 13:17 Lu 10:25. Many righteous, saith the one, many kings, saith the other evangelist.

Be instructed, ye judges] Be nurtured, ye sages; submit to Christ’s discipline, acknowledge his prophetic office, here, his priestly, #Ps 2:11, his kingly, #Ps 2:12. Estote ligati, so Aben-Ezra rendereth it, Be ye bound, in opposition to that evil decree of theirs, #Ps 2:3, "Let us break their bonds," &c. And this they are advised to do forthwith, while it is called today. Now, therefore, before God the Father vex you, God the Son bruise you, with his iron mace.

Ver. 11. Serve the Lord with fear] Timore non servili sed amicali, with reverence and godly fear, #Heb 12:28. Say to Christ, as the people did to Joshua, #Jos 1:16, and as the rulers and elders of Israel did to Jehu, #2Ki 10:5, "We are thy servants, and will do all thou shalt bid us."

And rejoice before him with trembling] A strange mixture of contrary passions (for base fear hath torment, #1Jo 4:18), but such as is usual with God’s servants, whose task it is to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, #Php 2:12. Agreeable whereunto is that of Bernard, Laeti simus sed non securi; gaudentes in Domino sed caventes a recidivo. Those good women went from Christ’s sepulchre with fear and great joy. We should come to him in his ordinances similarly affected.

Ver. 12. Kiss the Son] That Son of God, #Ps 2:7. Bar is a Hebrew word also, {see #Pr 31:2} as R. Abraham confesseth, though other Rabbis deny it; and therefore render this text, Osculamini pure, Kiss purely, and Osculamini eum qui selectus est, Kiss him who is selected, or set apart. Christ is God’s elect, #Isa 42:1 Mt 12:14. Him men must kiss with a kiss of adoration and subjection, with a kiss of faith and love, #1Pe 5:14. Osculo homagii, as Samuel kissed Saul, #1Sa 10:1 Ge 48:10. Kiss his holy wounds, as Constantine did the eye of Paphnutius, that was bored out in Maximinus the tyrant’s time; so shall he kiss us with the kisses of his mouth, #So 1:2, and with his kisses suck out the sting of death, and take away our souls with a kiss, as the Rabbis, from #De 34:5, say he did Moses’s soul. Mortuus, est Moses ad os Iehovae. Maimonides. The ancient patriarchs saluted Christ afar off, and were interchangeably saluted by him, ασπασαμενοι, #Heb 11:13, for they saw by faith him who is invisible, #Heb 11:27. Oh get a patriarch’s eye, study Moses’s optics; for here the northern proverb is found true, Unkent unkist. Men know not the Son of God, and therefore love him not, kiss him not, unless it be Osculo Iscariotico, as the traitor kissed him. See a lofty and lively description of him #Heb 1:2,3.

Lest he be angry] For meek though he be as a lamb, and will not break the bruised reed, yet so angry he can be, that the kings and great ones shall be glad to flee from the wrath of this lamb, #Re 6:16, who hath feet like burning brass and eyes like flaming fire, #Re 1:14,15 Plato saith of the king of bees, that although he hath no sting, yet he ruleth and governeth his commonwealth with great severity and justice. So doth the Lord Christ; and every good soul is ready to say as the poet did,

Ut mala nulla feram nisi nudam Caesaris iram,

Nuda parum nobis Caesaris ira mali est? (Ovid.)

And ye perish from the way] Or, in the way; that is, in medio studio, before ye come to your journey’s end, to the full accomplishment of your purposes and practices, destruction shall suddenly seize you, #1Th 5:3.

When his wrath is kindled but a little] It is sometimes let out in minimums, as #Ho 5:12, but if timely course be not taken, it grows to a great matter, as thunder doth, and as fire, that at first burns a little within upon a few boards, but, if not quenched, bursteth out in a most terrible flame.

Blessed are all they that put their trust in him] That is, in Christ, #Joh 14:1. Now to trust in him is so to be unbottomed of thyself and of every creature, and so to lean upon Christ, that if he fail thee thou sinkest; it is to rely upon him alone for safety here and salvation hereafter. This is to secure a man’s title to true blessedness; and with this grave sentence the prophet shutteth up the whole psalm, showing the different condition of the godly from the wicked. {See Trapp on "Ps 2:9"}

A Psalm of David] Tremellius addeth, Quem cecinit, which he sang when he fled, &c. As birds in the spring tune most sweetly when it rains most sadly. This was better yet than that black sanctus (as they call it) sung by our Henry II in like case, and for like cause. For when, as some few hours before he died, he saw a list of their names who conspired with the king of France and Earl Richard (his son and successor) against him, and found therein his son John (whom he had made earl of Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, Nottingham, Derby, and Lancaster, &c.), to be the first; he fell into a grievous passion, both cursing his sons and the day wherein himself was born; and in that distemper departed the world, which so often himself had distempered.

When he fled from] Heb. From the face of Absalom, which he had too much admired, and was now afraid of. Then when he went up Mount Olivet weeping, #2Sa 15:30, made he this psalm, say the Rabbis. So in the sack of Ziklag he comforted himself in the Lord his God, #1Sa 30:6. A Christian is never without his cordial.

Absalom his son] His darling, his tidling, his one eye. Such another good son was Barabbas, which signifies his father’s son, his white boy, as we say, like as Absalom signifieth his father’s peace, but it proved otherwise; as it likewise befell Eve, when she called her firstborn Cain, and thought she had got a great boon from the Lord. But

Fallitur augurio spes bona saepe suo,

David was disappointed: for Absalom proved like the sea Pacific or calm, so it is called; but Captain Drake found it rough and troublous above measure (Heyl. Geog.). Absalom would have done by David, if he could have come at him, as afterwards Amidas did with his father Muleasses, king of Tunis, in Africa, whom he first dethroned, and afterwards put out his eyes (Turk. Hist.). In Absalom was nothing good but his name. That may have a good name the nature whereof is so ill that it is not to be named; like as, #Le 20:17, abominable incest between brother and sister is called chesed, or kindness, per antiphrasin.

Chapter 3

Ver. 1. Lord, how are they increased that trouble me?] He worthily wondereth at so sudden a change:

Omnia sunt hominum tenui pendentia filo;

Et subito casu, quae valuere, ruunt.

David was deserted by all almost, and had now as many enemies as till now he had subjects, excepting a few that stuck to him. Our Henry VI, who had been the most potent monarch for dominions that ever England had, was, when deposed, not the master of a molehill; and served to show that mortality was but the stage of mutability.

Many are they that rise up against me] Many, and many, by the figure anaphora. Here is also in the original a ομοιοτελευτον in the words, Tsarai in the former clause, and Gnalai in the latter; not unlike that doleful ditty of the Church, #La 5:16, Oi na lanu, chei chattanu, Woe to us that we have sinned! which is so elegant in the original, that Mr William Whately of Bradbury (who used to be very plain in his preaching, and not to name a Greek, Latin, or Hebrew word) quoted it once in the Hebrew, as a hearer of his relateth (Mr Leigh, Saint’s Encour. Ep. dedic.).

Ver. 2. Many there be which say of my soul] These scoffs and sarcasms leniter volant, non leniter violant. David felt them as a murdering weapon in his bones, #Ps 42:3,10, and oft complaineth of them to God, Qui satis idoneus est patientiae sequester, as Tertullian phraseth it, who will see that his saints shall lose nothing by their patience.

There is no help for him in God] Salvation itself cannot save him; he is at that pass that there is neither hope of better for him, nor place of worse; there is no help, health, or deliverance for him at all. The Hebrew hath a letter more than ordinary, to increase the signifcation. {Hebrew Text Note} R. David rendereth it, Nullum auxilium, nullum auxilium, There is no help, there is no help for him; and interpreteth it, neither in this world nor in the world to come. Thus haply his enemies argued from his sin in the matter of Uriah; concluding that God would not look at him therefore. But for that matter he had soundly repented, and made his peace, #2Sa 12:13 Ps 51:1,2, though this present conspiracy, and the trouble thereupon (which lasted six months, saith Jerome, Ex tradit. Hebraeor.), was a part of the temporal punishment of that scandalous sin, #2Sa 12:10. But that it lay not upon his conscience it appeareth, in that on his death bed he regretteth it not, as he did his not punishing of Joab and Shimei; concerning whom he therefore leaveth his charge with his son Solomon, #1Ki 2:5,8.

Selah] i.e. In truth, or amen, saith Aben Ezra; Plane, Tremel.; Omnino, penitus, revera, Polan. The Hebrews at this day accordingly add to the end of their prayers and epitapha Amen, Selah, twice or thrice repeated. The Greek maketh it only a musical notion, Διαφαλμα.

Ver. 3. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me] And such a shield as will never fail me. Prodente clypeo vulneratus sum, I am betrayed by my shield, said Brasidas the Lacedaemonian, when he was wounded through it (Plutarch). David had a better shield than so; better than that of Ajax, in Homer, which was επταβοειον; better than that of Demosthenes, whereupon was written, Quod felix faustumque sit; better than that of Sceva at the siege of Dyrrachium, wherewith he so long resisted Pompey’s army, that he had two hundred and twenty darts sticking in it. Densamque tulit in pectore sylvam (Lucan.). God was to David a shield around him, as the Hebrew here hath it; and not a shield only, but a sun too, as #Ps 84:11. Hence it followeth,

My glory] Or, my victory, Quia victor semper habet gloriam, saith Aben Ezra here, because a conqueror is never without glory; such as was Caesar with his Veni, vidi, vici; and Cimon, the Athenian, who twice in one day triumphed over the Persian navy; and Huniades, who fought five times in one day with the Turks, and five times foiled them, and put them to flight. Whereupon he was entertained and welcomed home with most glorious acclamations of the people, some calling him the father, some the defender, of his country; the soldiers their invincible general; the captives, their deliverer; the women, their protector; the young men and children, their most loving father, &c.

And the lifter up of my head] Giving me matter of mirth, and making me, who was very sad, and thrown down with grief, joyful and cheerful. See #Ge 40:13,20 Lu 21:28 Jer 52:31 Ps 110:7.

Ver. 4. I cried unto the Lord with my voice] I prayed aloud and lustily; I roused up myself, and wrestled with God: and this was the ground of his courage and confidence. So Esther, when she had fasted and prayed, put her life in her hands, and was fearless. So Christ, when, being in an agony, he had prayed more earnestly, went and met his enemies in the face; though before his soul was heavy to the death, and he began to be out of the world, as the word signifieth, #Mt 26:37, αδημονειν.

And he heard me out of his holy hill] i.e. E suo sacrario et coelesti et terrestri, out of his heavenly and earthly sanctuary (Jun.). Zion signifeth a surehold, a goodly prospect; for that from the top of that hill a man might have seen all the country over. And it was a type of heaven, whence God seeth all, and heareth his. Lucian, the atheist, feigneth, or fancieth, that there are certain chinks in heaven through which Jupiter at certain times only heareth his suitors; which times they who take not pray to no purpose.

Ver. 5. I laid me down and slept] My faith was above my fear; I knew whom I had trusted. No marvel I slept so soundly, seeing Antipater was by, and watched, said Philip of Macedon (Plutarch). We may better say so of Antipater, our gracious Father. Oh the safety of a saint! He ever goes guarded with the peace of God within him and the power of God without him, #Php 4:7 1Pe 1:5, and hence his spiritual security. David will never break his sleep for any danger or doubt of success. Peter was found fast asleep the night before he should have been executed, #Ac 12:6. So was our proto martyr, in Queen Mary’s days, Mr Rogers; insomuch as that, scarce with much shugging, could he be awakened, when he was called for to be burned. Some few years since Mr White, of Dorchester, being a member of the assembly of divines at Westminster, was appointed minister of Lambeth; but for the present could get no convenient house to dwell in, but one that was possessed by the devil. This he took; and not long after, his maid, sitting up late, the devil appeared to her; whereupon in a great fright she ran up to tell her master; he bade her get to bed, saying, she was well served for sitting up so late. Presently after, the devil appeared to Mr White himself, standing at his bed’s feet. To whom Master White said, If thou hast nothing else to do thou mayest stand there still and I will betake myself to my rest. And accordingly composing himself to sleep, the devil vanished (Mirror for Saints, by Mr Clark, 460).

I awaked] A proverbial speech, as #Mr 4:27. Tamerlane could not sleep at all through care (though he endeavoured it) the night before the mortal battle between him and Bajazet (Turk. Hist. 218).

For the Lord sustained me] Heb. will sustain me. He hath done it, and I doubt not but he will do it again. Experience breedeth confidence. He hath, he will, is an ordinary Scriptural medium.

Ver. 6. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, &c.] Quomodo timeret hominem homo in sinu Dei positus? saith an ancient. See here in David the triumph of trust in God, Gloriatio fidei elegantissima (Jun). David looketh not downward on the rushing and roaring streams of troubles that ran so swiftlv under him, for that would have made him giddy; but stedfastly fasteneth on the power and promise of God all sufficient, and is confident. This the world wondereth at; but little do they know the force of faith, nor the privy armour of proof that the saints have about their hearts. Achilles was said to be safe, because Styge armatus. A Christian is Deo armatus, and therefore he walketh about the world as a conqueror.

Ver. 7. Arise, O Lord, &c.] If the Lord do but arise only his enemies shall be scattered; those also that hate him shall flee before him, #Ps 68:1. And God will arise and harness when his people put his promises in suit by their faithful prayers. This Moses knew, and therefore appointed the priests, whensoever the ark removed, to say, "Rise up, Lord," &c., #Nu 10:35. Commanders must pray before they lead on their forces to battle, as did Huniades, and that late brave king of Sweden, more addicted to prayer than to fighting; according to that,

Vincere quisquis aves hostilem exercitum, age ante

Invictum, vincas per tun vota, Deum.

Save me, O my God] David had many good old soldiers about him, as the Cherethites, Pelethites, Gittites, and others that would stick to him, #2Sa 15:18, — Animasque capaces mortis (Lucan.), mighty men of war, and chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field; himself also was a man of war from his youth, #2Sa 17:8, and not used to be worsted; yet he flees to God for deliverance, and pleads the covenant ("Save me, O my God"), which is that Alvearium Divini mellis, the beehive of heavenly honey. So #Ps 119:94, "I am thine, save me."

For thou hast smilten all mine enemies on the cheek bone] Thou hast given them a box on the ear, as Queen Elizabeth once did the Earl of Essex, turning his back upon her uncivilly, upon some discontent. Or, as some great man doth a mean fellow, with whom he scorns to fight. Thou hast sent them away with smart and shame enough, #Job 16:10. Thou hast so handled them that now they may go seek their teeth in their throats, as the proverb is. God’s hand is a mighty hand, saith Peter, #1Pe 5:6, it is a fearful thing to fall into it, saith Paul, #Heb 10:31. For who knoweth the power of his wrath? saith Moses, #Ps 90:11. His enemies are sure to speed worse than did Dares in Virgil (Aeneid), whom, when he had been well beaten by old Entellus, his fellows led away

Iaetantemque utroque caput, crassumque cruorem

Ore reiectantem, mistosque in sanguine dentes.

Ver. 8. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord] Here is much in few. Fulgentius saith, that the most golden sentence is ever measured by brevity and suavity. Brevis et suavis, planeque aurea est haec sententia. Salvation in the full extent of it (and it is very comprehensive) is of the Lord. It properly denoteth the privative part of man’s happiness, freedom from evils and enemies of all sorts. But it importeth the positive part also, fruition of all good; and all is from the Lord, he alone is the chief efficient, and author of all, the true sospitator, the ο Σωτηρ, which, saith Cicero (Acts iv. in Verr.), is a word so emphatic, that other tongues can hardly find another word fit to express it. {See Trapp on "Jon 2:9"}

Thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah] Or, prayerwise, Let thy blessing be upon thy people. Etiam qui imprudenter ad Absalomum desciverat (Jun.), even upon those also who have foolishly taken part with Absalom against me (thus David prays for his rebels, as Christ and Stephen afterwards did for their persecutors and murderers), but especially upon those that do yet adhere unto me, and are shortly to fight for me. David knew that victory is of the Lord, and must be got by prayer. For if Queen Elizabeth could say, Cui adhaereo praeest, He whose part I take shall get the better, how much more may the Lord of hosts say so! This the people also knew, and therefore persuaded David not to venture his person among them in the field, but to stay at home and pray for them, #2Sa 18:5. It is better, say they, that thou help us out of the city; thence shalt thou help us, or cause us to be helped; that is, thy prayers shall prevail with God for our assistance, as the Rabbis sense that text.

Selah] Or, So be it, Hoc ratum, firmumquo esto. See #Ps 3:2.

To the chief Musician] Or, To the most excellent music master, #1Ch 25:1,2, to the chief chanter, Asaph, was this, and some other psalms, committed, that they might be sung in the best manner, and with greatest care. So Alexander, on his death bed, left his kingdom τω Κρατιστω, Optimatum optimo, to him that should be the best of the best. Αιεν αριστευειν was Cicero’s motto, that is, strive to excel others, to crop off the very top of all virtues, δρεπειν υρετων κορυφας απα πασων, as Scipio is said to have done; to be best at anything, to be careful to excel in good works, #Tit 3:8, and to bear away the bell, as we say, in whatsoever a man undertaketh, Hoc iamdiu consecutus est Roscius, ut in quo quisque artificio excelleret in suo genere Roscius diceretur (Cic. de Orat.).

On Neginoth] i.e. Instruments pulsatilia, stringed instruments, such as are to be touched, or played upon with the hand. Lord, saith Nazianzen, I am an instrument for thee to touch. Let us lay ourselves open to the Spirit’s touch; and so make music.

Chapter 4

Ver. 1. Hear me when I call, O God of my riqhteousness] That is, O thou righteous Judge of my righteous cause, and of my good conscience. David speaketh first to God, and then to men. This is the right method. We therefore speak no better to men, because no more to God. It is said of Charles V, that he spent more words with God than with men. When we are vilified, and derogated by others, as David here was, let us make God acquainted with our condition, by his example. But why doth David beg audience and mercy in general only, and not lay open to God his particular grievances? Surely because he looked upon the favour of God as a complexive blessing, that perfectly comprehendeth all the rest; as manna is said to have had all good tastes in it. For particulars, David was content to be at God’s disposal. "I humbly beseech thee, that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king," said that false Ziba to David, #2Sa 16:4; q.d. I had rather have the king’s favour than Mephibosheth’s land. David really had rather have God’s love and favour than all this world’s good; and therefore so heartily beggeth it above anything.

Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress] Heb. Thou hast made room for me. Hoc autem in prophetia dictum est, saith R. David. This was prophetically spoken. Thou hast, that is, thou wilt enlarge me who am now in distress. God will surely be nearest unto his in their greatest straits; and because they have made him the God of their mountains, he will be the God of their valleys also.

Ver. 2. O ye sons of men] Ye nobles, #Ps 49:1,2, who think to carry all before you with those big looks, and bubbles of words: ye who are potent at court, and therefore insolent above measure. David, having poured out his heart to God in prayer, takes heart of grace thus freely to bespeak these great ones his enemies.

How long will ye turn my glory into shame?] i.e. Attempt to put me beside the kingdom, whereunto God hath designed and destined me? You think, belike, to jeer me out of my right, and, by casting upon me cart loads of calunmies and contumelies, to make me desist, and hang up my hopes. But it is otherwise, believe it. #Ps 14:6,7, "Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge." But will he therefore stop praying? No; for in the next words he falls on, and says, "Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion!" &c.

How long will ye love vanity? &c.] i.e. Trouble yourselves to no purpose, while ye plot and plough mischief to him who is blessed, and shall be blessed, ingratiis vestris? You love, you seek; that is, you both inwardly affect wickedness and outwardly act it; but all in vain.

Ver. 3. But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly] Quod separatum asseruerit, that God hath destined mine head to the diadem of the kingdom, and therefore it shall not be in your power to hinder me; sit voluntas Dei, necessitas rei, and this I would have you to know and rest assured of. Let us be no less confident of the crown of glory: #Lu 12:32, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." And #2Ti 2:19, The foundation of God abideth sure, having this double seal, i.e. The Lord, for his part, knoweth who are his; and we, for our parts, may know, that if we but name the name of the Lord in prayer, and depart from evil, we shall certainly be saved.

The Lord will hear when I call unto him] Being that I am a godly man, a gracious saint, one that have obtained mercy, and am thereby made merciful to others (for so much the word signifieth), I doubt not of audience and acceptance in heaven. God regards not the prayer if the person be not right. For witches some plead that they use good prayers; in answer whereunto one saith well, Si magicae, Deus non vult tales; si piae, non per tales. God heareth not good prayers from a bad man; as that state in story would not hear a good motion from an ill mouth; or, as we cannot endure to hear sweet words from a stinking breath. The blood of a swine might not be offered in sacrifices, though better to look upon than the blood of a sheep.

Ver. 4. Stand in awe, and sin not] Be stirred, or commoved, or troubled. Tremble and sin not. But today the word and the world too is altered; for men sin and tremble not; being arrived at that dead and dedolent disposition of those heathens who were past feeling, #Eph 4:18,19. St Paul rather alludeth to this text, #Eph 4:6, than citeth it, as some think.

Commune with your own heart upon your bed] Advise with your pillow what you have to do in a business so important as the practice of repentance, whereunto I am now exhorting you. Here, then, examine yourselves, prove your ownselves, as #2Co 13:5. Sift you, sift you, #Zep 2:2. Recoil, turn short again upon yourselves, thrust your hands into your bosoms, as Moses did, and took it out again leprous, white as snow. Take a review of your hearts and lives, converse with yourselves; a wise man can never want with whom to discourse, though he be alone. But as it is a sign that there are great distempers in that family where husband and wife go several days together and speak not the one to the other; so in that soul that flieth from itself, and can go long without examination of self. A good man’s business lieth most within doors, and he taketh the fittest time (night or day) for the better despatch of it, though thereby he abridge himself of his natural rest. Mr Bradford, the young Lord Harrington, and sundry others, kept journals, or day books, and oft read them over, for a help to humiliation.

And be still. Selah] Or, make a pause, dwell upon the work of self-examination till you have made somewhat of it, till you have driven it up to a reformation, as #La 3:39,40, Let us try, and turn. The word signifieth be dumb and hereupon all our silentiaries have founded their superstitious opinions and practices; such as were those old monks of Egypt, who, saith Cassian, were umbrarum more silentes et αλαλοι, as speechless as ghosts. So the Carthusian monks at this day, who speak together but once a week. Some kind of Anabaptists also will not speak a word to any but those of their own sect.

Ver. 5. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness] Confess your sins, and slay them; run to him who is the propitiation, Jesus Christ the righteous, present your bodies a living sacrifice, bring a contrite spirit; to do good and to communicate forget not, &c., else you offer the sacrifice of fools, as #Ec 5:1, and not of righteousness, as here. The Chaldee hath it, Domate concupiscentias, sacrifice and subdue your lusts.

And put your trust in the Lord] It is well observed that God brings men home by a contrary way to where they fell from him. We fell from him by distrust, by having him in a jealousy, as if he aimed more at himself than at our good. We return to him by having a good conceit of him, that he loves us better than we can love ourselves, and therefore that we ought to put our trust in him, both in life and death.

Ver. 6. There be many that say, Who will show us, &c.] This is Vox populi, the common cry; Studium improborum vagum, good they would have, but pitch not upon the true good. It was well observed that he who first called riches bona, goods, was a better husband than divine; but the most are such husbands. O siquis daret ut videamus bonum? Who will help us to a good bargain, a good estate? &c.; but God, the chief good, is not in all their thoughts; they mind not communion with him or conformity to him, which is the Bonum hominis, good of a man #Mic 6:8, the totum hominis, whole of a man #Ec 12:13, the one thing necessary, though nothing is less thought upon. What are these outward comforts, so much affected and admired, saith Plato, but Dei ludibria, banded up and down like tennis balls, from one to another? A spiritual man heeds not wealth, or at least makes it not his business. What tell you me of money? saith Paul; I need it not, but to further your reckoning, #Php 4:1. And David, having spoken of those rich and wretched people that have their portion here in all abundance, #Ps 17:14, concludeth, I neither envy their store nor covet their happiness; it is enough for me that, when I awake, sc. at the resurrection of the just, I shall be full of thine linage, #Ps 17:15. Christ, who had all riches, scorned these Bona scabelli, earthly riches; he was born poor, lived poor, died poor; for, as Austin observeth, when Christ died he made no will, &c., and as he was born in another man’s house, so he was buried in another man’s tomb. And yet he was, and still is, God blessed for ever. Cicero indeed, writing to Atticus, would have one friend wish to another three things only, viz. to enjoy health, possess honour, and not suffer necessity. How much better Paul’s wish, grace, mercy, and peace, or David’s desire here!

Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us] One good cast of God’s countenance was more to David than all this world’s wealth, than a confluence of all outward comforts and contentments. He had set up God for his chief good, and the light of God’s loving countenance was the guide of that way that leadeth to that good; and hence his importunity; he cannot draw breath but in that air, nor take comfort in anything without God’s gracious aspect, and some comings in from Christ. It is better, saith one, to feel God’s favour one hour in our repenting souls, than to sit whole ages under the warmest sunshine that this world affordeth. Saith not David so much in the next words?

Ver. 7. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than, &c.] Joys unspeakable, and full of glory, #1Pe 1:8. We read of some godly men, that they have been overwhelmed with spiritual joy, till they have cried out, Hold, Lord, stay thine hand, I can bear no more; like weak eyes, that cannot endure to bear the light. Indeed, this is not every good man’s case, witness that saying of sweet Master Bath, I thank God in Christ, sustentation I have, but suavities spiritual I taste not any. And that of holy Rolloc, While I live I never look to see perfect reformation in the Church, or to feel perfect ravishing joys in mine heart. But those God’s people have are far beyond all carnal comforts.

Than in the time that their corn, &c.] These indeed are the precious fruits of the earth, #Jas 5:7, but they seal not up special favour. A man may have together with them animam triticeam, as that rich fool had. Animas etiam incarnavimus, as a Father complaineth. These outward things are got within men, and have stolen away their warmest and liveliest affections from God. Not so in the saints; they must have God, or else they die. The people mourned and put on black when they heard that God would not go with them himself, but send an angel with them, #Ex 33:2,3. And when great gifts were sent to Luther, he sent them back again with this brave speech, I will not be put off with these poor things; I look for better. Let God bestow himself upon me, and it sufficeth. As with manna there fell a dew, so to a good soul, together with corn and wine (be it more or less) there is a secret influence of God, which the carnal heart is not acquainted with. A fly cannot make that of a flower that a bee can do. The treacherous Shechemites had plenty of grain and wine, #Jud 9:27, but having not the grace of God with it, they were soon after destroyed by Abimelech.

Ver. 8. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep] Heb. In peace together will I lie down and sleep; that is, saith the Syriac interpreter, Non solum cubabo sed etiam dormiam, I will not only lie down, but also sleep; which many cannot do for fears and cares, those gnats that keep them waking. The Arabic hath it, I sleep as securely in adversity as those can that are in prosperity. Others thus, I will lay me down together with the joy before spoken of, and confidence in God; this shall be my bed fellow; and then I am sure to rest sweetly and safely. For, Thou, Lord, only makest, thou settest me in safety, thou givest to thy beloved sleep, #Ps 127:2; that is, extraordinary quiet refreshing sleep, as the learned note upon the Aleph quiescent in אבשׁ which is not usual.

Chapter 5

Ver. 1. To the chief Musician] {See Trapp on title for "Ps 4:1"}

Upon Nehiloth] Upon wind instruments. Pneumatica, tribulata. The Rabbis say that this psalm was made and appointed to be sung concerning Doeg and Ahithophel.

Give ear to my words, O Lord] David knew him to be a prayer hearing God, #Ps 65:2, and that his ears were always open (as the doors of the Roman Aediles were) to hear complaints and requests: hence this prayer.

Consider my meditation] i.e. The conceptions of my soul uttered with a low voice ( Murmur meum, Jerome), but with most vehement affection. Mussitationem meam. All this the Hebrew word importeth.

Ver. 2. Hearken unto the voice of my cry] He thrice repeats the same request, to show the greatness of his grief and the necessity of help from heaven. Let mind and mouth, spirit and speech, go together in prayer, and then it is right, the voice of the heart is simply necessary. Moses cried to God at the Red Sea, though he said nothing. The voice of the lips is of great use also; 1. For preventing of distraction; 2. For exciting devotion.

My king] And therefore help, O king, as she said, #2Ki 5:24.

And my God] Who art in covenant with me, both offensive and defensive.

For unto thee will I cry] Thou art the proper object of prayer, as being omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent; and a God in covenant with thy people.

Ver. 3. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning] That fittest season, usually, for prayer, or any other serious business, παν εργον. The very heathens chose the morning chiefly for sacrifice, as Nestor in Homer, the Argonauts in Apollonius. The Persian magi sang hymns to their gods at break of day, and worshipped the rising sun. The Pinarii and Potitii (certain idolatrous priests) sacrificed every morning and evening to Hercules upon the great altar at Rome. The Jews counted and called it an abomination of desolation if at any time the morning and evening sacrifice to the Lord were intermitted; so should Christians if they offer not unto him twice a day at least, viz. morning and evening, prayers and praises. Mass and meat hinder no man’s thrift, say the very Papists. A whet is no let, a bait by the way hindereth not the journey; so neither doth prayer in a morning hinder a man’s business, be it never so hasty or weighty, but furthereth it rather. Cardinal Wolsey, though he were Lord Chancellor, when he came in a morning out of his privy chamber, would not go abroad till he had heard two masses, nor go to bed at night with any part of his service unsaid, no, not so much as one collect (His Life and Death, by his gentleman usher, p. 18.) Mahometans, whatever occasion they have by profit or pleasure, pray constantly five times a day. Christians have a charge to continue instant in prayer, προσκαρτερειν, and to let all business wait upon it, #Ro 12:12, with #Ac 6:4. David knew that if prayer stand still the trade of godliness standeth still. He, therefore, will be up and at it betimes, and rather break his sleep than leave such a duty undone.

In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up] Or, look out, spy like a watchman. Two military words the prophet here maketh use of; he would not only pray, but marshal up his prayers, put them in array. And when he had done, he would be as a spy upon a tower, to see whether he prevailed, whether he got the day. Gnarach. Ordinavit, aciem disposuit. Tsaphah. Speculando expectavit. Some men pray of course, or as a task, but never look after their prayers, or mark what answer: this is very great folly and oscitancy. Who sends forth a ship, and waits not for the return thereof? Who shoots an arrow, or casts a bowl, and looks not where it lands? Prayer is the soul’s arrow, angel, seed, dove, messenger, &c. And they that take not notice how they speed deal as scoffing Pilate did, who scornfully asked Christ, What is truth? but stayed not for the answer. If God shall hearken what David speaketh, David must likewise hearken what God would speak. He must look up to God, if God shall look out of himself to David; since he humbleth himself to behold things done in heaven, #Ps 113:6, by a wonderful condescension: how much more, then, to look upon man, that is a worm, and the son of man, that is a worm? #Job 25:6. Tantus, tantillum?

Ver. 4. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness] As the kings of the earth have, saith R. Solomon. Alexander the Great, promising a crown of one hundred and eighty pounds to those of his guests that drank most, caused forty one to kill themselves with drinking for that crown. King Charles IX of France gave one Albertus Tudius, a huckster’s son, six hundred thousand crowns to teach him to swear with a grace (Camera. Med. Histor.). But God perfectly hateth wickedness and wicked persons. There were more remarkable expressions of God’s anger upon man’s sin, in the dead body of a man, than of a beast, #Nu 11:31-34. The one made unclean but till the evening, the other seven days. God hateth sin worse than he doth the devil, for he hateth the devil for sin’s sake, and not sin for the devil’s sake. He hateth sin naturally in whomsoever, like as we hate poison, whether it be in a toad or in a prince’s cabinet. We read of antipathies in nature between the elephant and the boar, the lion and the cock, the horse and the stone taraxippe, &c., but nothing so great as between God, the chiefest good, and sin, the utmost evil. Let us be like affected to our heavenly Father, as dear children, abhorring that which is evil, #Ro 12:9, hating it as we do hell itself, so the Greek word there signifieth, abandoning it, and abstaining from all appearance of it, as it is offensivum Dei, et aversivum a Deo, an offence against God, and a breach of his law.

Neither shall evil dwell with thee] Heb. sojourn with thee, or be harboured as a guest, much less as a home dweller. Peter Martyr, out of Nathan’s parable, observeth, that lust was but a stranger to David, that lodged with him for a night only, #2Sa 12:4. Though corruption may intrude upon us, and enter, yet it may not be harboured, and dwell with us; lest the traveller become the man of the house.

Ver. 5. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight] Heb. before thine eyes, as thy favourites and attendants. Those furious, vain glorious mad caps, as they call them, roisterers, rioters, roaring boys, as they delight to call themselves by a woeful prolepsis of the present for the future. The word is used for mad, or raving with folly, #Ec 2:2,12 7:9 10:13 Isa 44:25 Ps 75:5 73:3. God hath no need of such madmen, as Achish, king of Gath, said, when they brought David before him, and he feigned himself distracted. We likewise must have no fellowship with such, #Eph 5:11, but reprove them rather.

Thou hatest all workers of iniquity] Though they not only act it, but art it, polish and trim their sin, that it may seem less heinons, as hypocrites do, who hide their wickedness with no less subtle sleights than Rachel hid the idols, Rahab the spies. But God will detect and detest them. {See Trapp on "Ps 5:4"}

Ver. 6. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing] Whether in jest or earnest, those that lie in jest will, without repentance, go to hell in earnest. And for the officious lie some think it no fault; whereas, #Ga 1:10, we must not speak truth to please men, much less may we lie. The truth is, all lies are pernicious, all liars will be destroyed, but especially those that have taught their tongues to speak lies, #Jer 9:5, that take fast hold of deceit, #Jer 8:5, so that they cannot be got off without striving: such a one was Doeg, Saul, &c.

The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man] Heb. the man of blood; for blood hath so many tongues as drops to cry for vengeance, #Ge 4:10, and God makes inquisition, #Ps 9:12, commanding that murderers should be drawn from the altar to the slaughter, #Ex 21:14. This made King James say, that if God did leave him to kill a man he would think God did not love him. And for deceitful persons, the Lord is the avenger of all such, #1Th 4:6.

Ver. 7. But as for me] Who am conscious of none of these foul and flagitious practices. The upright shall dwell in God’s presence, #Job 12:16 Ps 140:13: not so the hypocrite and ungodly. He is like a vagabond begging at the gate, and not knowing whether the master of the house is providing for him an alms or a cudgel.

I will come into thine house, &c.] He knew that the ark and mercy seat were never separated.

And in thy fear will I worship, &c.] The fear of God is, 1. Servile; this David meaneth not. 2. Filial or amicable. And this, again, is either Timor culpae, fear to offend so good a God, and to forget his favour, #Pr 8:13, or Timor cultus, the fear that is to be expressed in our addresses to Almighty God, that reverential godly fear, #Jer 5:22 Heb 12:28 Ps 2:11, and here. Thus the very angels make their addresses to the most high God with greatest self abasements, #Isa 6:5 How much more should we silly and sinful creatures! Omnino oportet nos orationis tempore curiam intrare coelestem (saith Bernard) in qua Rex regum stellato sedit solio, circumdante innumerabili et ineffabili beatorum spirituum exercitu. Quanta ergo cum reverentia, quanto timore, quanta illuc humilitate accedere, debet e palude sua procedens et repens vilis ranuncula! that is, at prayer time we should enter into the heavenly palace, where the King of kings sitteth in a stately throne, environed with an innumerable company of angels and saints. With how great reverence, therefore, godly fear, and humility should a poor paltry frog come, who is newly crawled out of his guzzle!

Ver. 8. Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness] That is, in thy faithfulness, and according to thy promise in that behalf made unto me, to be my God and guide even unto death, to lead me in the way everlasting, to direct my footsteps in thy fear, &c. Deduc me ut non titubem, saith R. David, Lead me, that I stumble not; or if I do, yet that I fall not; for he that stumbleth and falleth not gets ground.

Because of mine enemies] Or, because of mine observers, who narrowly watch for my halting, that they might blaspheme thee, and thy religion through my default, #1Sa 18:9. Saul fixed his eyes upon David, but for no good to him. So #1Pe 2:12 3:2, wicked men spy, and pry accurately (as the word εποπτευσαντες signifieth) into the courses of God’s people, to see what evil they can find out and fasten on. We should, therefore, walk exactly, #Eph 5:15, and pray earnestly, as here.

Make thy way straight before my face] Remove all rubs and remoras, and lay all plain and level, that I may walk and not be weary, run and not faint, #Isa 40:31.

Ver. 9. Nor there is no faithfulness in their mouth] Or, stedfastness; nothing that a man may bind or build upon, so slippery they are and untrustworthy.

Their inward part is very wickedness] Heb. woeful evils, heavy annoyances; their hearts are the devil’s storehouses.

Their throat is an open sepulchre] And so more dangerous than if it were shut, saith Aben Ezra here. In these open sepulchres, sending out much foul stench, they frequently bury the good names of their betters. But the comfort is, that there shall one day be a resurrection as well of names as of bodies. This the apostle accommodateth, #Ro 3:13, to the universal corruption of mankind; and well he might, forasmuch as by nature there is never a better of us, but as there were many Marii in one Caesar, so are there many Doegs and Absaloms in the best of us all. As in water face answereth to face, so doth the heart of a man to a man.

They flatter with their tongue] The apostle, #Ro 3:13, rendereth it, "With their tongues they have used deceit." And it is remarkable, that in the anatomy of a natural man there he stands more on the organs of speech, tongue, lips, mouth, throat, than on all the rest of the members.

Ver. 10. Destroy thou them, O God] Heb. Condemn them as guilty. They were God’s enemies no less than David’s, and implacable, incorrigible; and hence he so prayeth against them. Est prophetia, non maledictio, saith Austin, Tom. 8, in Enarr. huius precationis.

Let them fall by their own counsels] As it befell Ahithophel, Haman, the gunpowder traitors. Or, let them fall from their own counsels, i.e. nor be able to effect their evil designs, but defeated, frustrated.

Cast them out, &c.] Let those who were once a terror now be a scorn; for they are even ripe for ruin, as having added rebellion to their sin, #Job 34:37.

For they have rebelled against thee] And so are more thine enemies than mine, which maketh me so earnest against them, being swallowed up with a zeal for thy glory.

Ver. 11. But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice] Joy is the just man’s portion, et contra, #Ho 9:1 Isa 65:13,14; and, according to the measure of his faith, so is his joy, #1Pe 1:8.

Let them ever shout] Or, shrill out, set up their note, as a peacock doth, which hath his name in Hebrew from this root.

Because thou defendest them] Heb. Thou over coverest them with thy sure defence, for upon all the glory shall be a defence. "And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain," #Isa 4:5,6, Velut piis tabernaculum (R. David). The ram skins covering the ark from the violence of wind and weather figured out Christ’s protecting his people.

Let them also that love thy name] As all the virgins do who have smelt Christ’s name as an ointment poured out, #So 1:3; {See Trapp on "So 1:3"}

Be joyful in thee] Heb. Exult, and leap for joy, as if they were dancing levaltos. Thus Dr Taylor, the martyr, fetched a frisk and danced when he was near unto the place where he should be burnt. Rabbi Zaddi Ben Levi repeated this verse when he was at the point of death (Mid. Tillin, in #Ps 5). Another, that in #Ps 32:6, "For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee." A third, that in #Ps 84:10, "One day in thy courts is better," &c. A fourth, that in #Ps 31:19, "O how great is thy goodness," &c.

Ver. 12. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous] Yea, the righteous man shall abound with blessings, #Pr 28:20; yea, God will bless all them that bless him, #Ge 12:3, or that but give him a cup of cold water, #Mt 10:42

With favour] Or, goodwill; Quae praecedit nostram bonam voluntatem, saith Augustine.

Wilt thou compass him] Or, encircle him as with a crown, and so make them "higher than the kings of the earth," #Ps 89:27, whose crowns cannot keep their heads from aching, but fill them with cares; which made one king cry out, O vilis pannus, &c. (Val. Max.), and another spake this of his crown,

Nobilis es fateor, rutilisque onerata lapillis,

Innumeris curis sed comitata venis.

Quod bene si nossent omnes expendere, nemo

Nemo foret qui te tollere vellet humo.

As with a shield] A piked shield, such as doth circuire tres partes hominis, compass about three parts of a man, saith R. Solomon on this text. Shields and bucklers, besides other bosses for ornament, had one great boss in the middle with a sharp pike in it for use, to pierce and wound the adversary. See #Job 15:26. God will be all in all to his people, crown, shield, &c.: they may therefore well enough rejoice, shout, leap, as in the former verse.

To the chief Musician on Neginoth] {See Trapp on title "Ps 4:1"}

Upon Sheminith] Or, upon the eight, i.e. Intentissimo sono et clarissima voce, to be sung aloud. An eight is the highest note in music. See #1Ch 15:21. Others say, that hereby is meant the bass and tenor, as fittest for a mourner.

Chapter 6

Ver. 1. O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger] In this and some other psalms David begins so heavily, ends so merrily, that one might think they had been composed by two men of a contrary humour, as Merlin observeth. {De l’ Amour Divin.} Every new man is two men, #Ro 7:9-25 The Shulamite hath in her, as it were, the company of two armies, #So 6:13. The Lord also chequereth his providence white and black, he speckleth his work (represented by those speckled horses, #Zec 1:8). Mercies and crosses are interwoven.

Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure] Chastened David desires to be, as #Jer 10:24 1Co 11:32 Heb 12:7,8; but in mercy, and in measure, #1Co 10:13. "Fury is not in me," saith God, however it may sometimes seem to be, #Isa 27:4. Of furious people the philosopher giveth this character, that they are angry, 1. οις ου δει, against those whom they should not; 2. εφ ου δει, for matters they should not; 3. μαλλον η δει, more than they should be. But none of all these can be affirmed of God. Anger is not in him secundum affectum, but seemeth so to be secundum effectum, when he chideth and smiteth (as angry people use to do) when there is no other remedy, #2Ch 36:13. His anger is in Scripture put, 1. For his threatenings, #Ho 11:9 Jon 3:10 2. For his punishments, #Mt 3:7 Ro 2:8. But as God therefore threateneth that he may not punish, #Am 6:12, so in the midst of judgment he remembereth mercy, and it soon repenteth him concerning his people.

Ver. 2. Have mercy upon me, O Lord] As the woman in the story appealed from Philip to Philip, so doth David fly from God’s anger to God’s grace; for he had none else in heaven or earth to repair to, #Ps 73:25. He seeks here to escape him by closing with God, and to get off by getting within him.

For I am weak] Or crushed, gnashed, extremely dejected with sickness of body and trouble of mind. Basil expounds it as his foul sins into which he fell from infirmity, and for which he was threatened with judgments by the prophet Nathan.

O Lord, heal me] On both sides: heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee, #Ps 41:4, ; heal my body, which is full of dolours and diseases, #Ps 107:18,20; for thou art Jehovah the physician, #Ex 15:26. Heal mine estate, which is very calamitous by reason of mine enemies, who wish my death, and would gladly revel in my ruins. See #Ho 6:2 Isa 30:26.

For my bones are vexed] viz. By reason of my leanness and long lying. For albeit the bones of themselves are insensible, and ache not; yet the membranes and tunicles do that compass the bones.

Ver. 3. My soul is also sore vexed] This was worse than all the rest. A light load to a raw shoulder is very grievous; a little water in a leaden vessel is heavy, so is a little outward grief to a laden soul. Hence Job so complaineth; and Jeremiah prayeth, Be not thou a terror unto me, O Lord; and then I much matter not what becomes of me.

But thou, O Lord, how long] sc. Wilt thou stand off, and not haste to my help? This is plena affectus reticentia, an emphatic and affectionate aposiopesis, such as is ordinary with those that are in pain and durance.

Ver. 4. Return, O Lord, deliver my soul] He calleth hard upon Jehovah, which sweet name of God he hath now five times in these four first verses made use of, as one that knew, and could improve, the full import of it. Here David begs of him to return, not by change of place, for God filleth all places (being

Enter, praesenter Deus hic et ubique potenter),

but miserationis serenitate, by a beam of his mercy, and by a dispensation of his gracious providence, altering his condition for the better, #De 30:9 Ac 15:16.

Oh save me for thy mercies’ sake] Quam pulcherrime ista supplicatio propriis et profieientibus sermonibus explicatur, saith Cassiodore concerning this text, i.e. How finely and fitly is this request set forth! David pleaded not merit, but humbly craveth mercy. The heart (that piece of proud flesh) must be brought to such a temper and tameness, as to crouch to God for the crumbs that fall from his table.

Ver. 5. For in death there is no remembrance of thee] Some heathens were of the opinion that when a man died all died with him; neither was there any further sense of wealth or woe for ever. Socrates doubted, but Aristotle affirmed it to be so, for aught he knew, ουδεν ετι τω τεθνεωτι δοκει ουτε αγαθον, ουτε κακον ειναι (Ethic. 1.3, c. 9). Eusebius and Augustine make mention of certain Arabian heretics, who held that the soul died with the body, and so remained dead to the last day, and then they revived with the resurrection of the body. This was long since exploded as a foul error, contrary to that which the Scripture holdeth forth in many places. All that David would say here is, that dead men remember not, that is, they mention not God’s worthy acts, to the quickening of others; their praises cannot provoke other men to believe in God, or serve him, as in their lifetime they might, therefore David would fain live to do more good. A certain martyr going to suffer said, he was sorry that he was going to a place where he should do God no more work, but be receiving wages only (Sever. Epist. 3). Domine, si adhuc populo tuo sim necessarius non recuso laborem, said a dying saint, Lord, if I may be yet useful to thy people, I should be very well content it might be so. See #Isa 38:1 8,19. David and Hezekiah prayed hard that they might not yet die, lest religion and the true worship of God, which they had begun to vindicate and establish, should by their decease fall to the ground, through the wickedness of their survivors and successors.

In the grave who shall give thee thanks?] sc. Palani et cum aliis, saith Aben Ezra, openly and exemplarily, in the company of others. Some render it, In hell who shall confess to thee? Hereby is showed the fear of God’s children (saith Diodati) anguished by the feelings of his wrath, lest they should die out of his grace unreconciled, and by that means be excluded and debarred from their desired aim, to be everlastingly instruments of his glory. But it is better to take sheol here for the place and state of the dead, after their dissolution; though Dilrio will needs have it to be always in Scripture meant as hell; which if it be so, then why should Job so earnestly desire to be hid in it? #Job 14:13. That was a singular example of Paul the hermit, who, though dead, seemed to be serving God, and affected those that beheld him (Adag. Sacr. in 2 Sam. xxii. Digress. 2). For he was found (saith Jerome) dead kneeling upon his knees, holding up his hands, lifting up his eyes; so that the very dead corpse seemed yet, by a kind of religious gesture, to pray unto God.

Ver. 6. I am weary with my groaning] I have laboured therein even unto lassitude. There must be some proportion between our sin and our sorrow. A storm of sighs, at least, if not a shower of tears; some sorrow is above tears, some constitutions are dry and will not yield tears, and in such case dry sorrow may be as available as wet. She that touched the hem of Christ’s garment only was as welcome to him as Thomas, who put his fingers into the print of the nails.

All the night make I my bed to swim] So one hour’s sin brought many nights’ pain. Did we but forethink what sin will cost us we dare not but be innocent. Transit voluptas, manet dolor. Nocet empta dolore voluptas, Desire passes, grief remains. Desire hurts with empty grief. But today, saith a reverend writer (Bishop Pilkinton on #Ne 1:4), weep a man may not, for disfiguring his face; fasting is thought hypocrisy and shame; and when his paunch is full, then, as priests with their drunken nowls said matins, and belched out, Eructavit cor meum verbum, with good devotion as they thought; so he blusters out a few blustering words, and thinks it repentance sufficient, &c. Another descants thus upon the text. As in Sicilia there is fons solis, the fountain of the sun, out of which at midday, when the sun is nearest, floweth cold water; at midnight, when the sun is farther off, floweth hot water: so the patriarch David’s head is full of water, and his eyes a fountain of tears, who, when he enjoyed his health as the warm sunshine, was cold in confessing his sins; but being now visited with sickness, his reins chastising him in the night season, he is so sore troubled, and withal so hot, and so fervent, that every night he washeth his bed, and watereth, nay, even melteth, his conch with tears, &c. A third makes this good note upon these words: The place of David’s sin, his bed, is the place of his repentance, and so it should be; yea, when we behold the place where we have offended we should be pricked in heart, and there again crave his pardon. As Adam sinned in the garden, and Christ sweat bloody tears in the garden. Sanctify by tears every place which we have polluted by sin; and let us seek Christ Jesus in our bed, with the spouse in the Canticles, who saith, In my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loved, #So 3:1.

I water my couch with my tears] By couch some understand that whereon David lay in the day time for ease and refreshing, the same perhaps which David arose off when he beheld Bathsheba washing herself; where began his misery, #2Sa 11:2. Others take it for his pallet, his under bed, which he also watered by the abundance of his penitent tears. Ainsworth rendered it, I water or melt my bedstead. These are all excessive figurative speeches, to set forth the greatness of his grief and the multitude of his tears. Weeping becomes not a king, saith Euripides. But King David was of another mind, and so was he who said,

Faciles motus mens generosa capit (Ovid).

Tears, instead of gems, were the ornaments of David’s bed, saith Chrysostom.

Ver. 7. Mine eye is consumed] Heb. gnawn, moth eaten. That eye of his that had looked and lusted after his neighbour’s wife is now dimmed and darkened with grief and indignation, he had wept himself almost blind; as it is stated of Faustus, the son of King Vortigern by his own daughter, that he wept himself stark blind for the abominable incest of his parents (Prideaux’s Introduct. to Hist. p. 289).

It waxeth old] Or, Is sunk in my head. Doth not do its office, but is become like an old dusty window that lets in little light. A heavy affliction to those whose eyes have been loop holes of lust and windows of wickedness, the remembrance whereof is a thorn to their blind eyes, and puts them to grievous pain, especially when their enemies shall have got it by the end, as David’s had his ill pranks, and spared not to lay it in his dish.

Ver. 8. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity] What a strange change is here all of a sudden! Well might Luther say, Oratio est hirudo animae, Prayer is the leech of the soul, that sucks out the venom and swelling thereof. Prayer, saith another, is an exorcist with God, and an exorcist against sin and misery. The prophet Isaiah calleth it a charm, #Isa 26:16, because it lays our soul distempers, and, like David’s harp, drives away the evil spirit that is upon us. Pray, therefore, when out of order, though not so fit to pray; fall upon the duty, by David’s example here, and that will further fit thee for the duty. Thy leaden lumpish heart, cast into this holy fire, will heat and melt. Quoties me oratio, quem pene desperantem susceperat, reddidit exultantem et praesumentem de venia? saith Bernard: How oft hath prayer found me despairing almost, but left me triumphing and well assured of pardon! The same in effect saith David here, "Depart from me," &c. What a word is that to his insulting enemies, Avoid, come out, vanish! These be words used to devils and dogs, but good enough for a Doeg or a Shimei. And the Son of David shall say the same to his enemies when he comes to judgment.

For the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping] Tears then have a voice (as well as blood hath), and God hath an ear for them. And as music upon the waters soundeth farther and more harmoniously than upon the land, so do prayers joined with tears: Portae lachrymarum ne sint clausae, let not the wounds of godly sorrow be ever so healed up in us but that they may bleed afresh upon every just occasion (R. Obad. Gaon in #Ps 6).

Ver. 9. The Lord hath heard my supplication] And thereby sealed up sweetest love to my soul; as Ahasuerus afterwards did to his Esther, by granting her request. But how knew David, and how doth many another man in like sort know that God hath heard his prayer, though as yet no visible return appeareth? I answer, This he may know, 1. By a cast of God’s pleased countenance. 2. By the testimony of his own conscience, #Php 4:6,7, and by the assurance of faith, which saith to a man, as the angel once did to Cornelius, Thy prayers are heard and answered. Of Luther we read, that having been once wrestling hard with God by prayer for the prosperous proceeding of the Reformation in Germany, about which there was a general meeting of the states at that time, he came leaping out of his closet with Vicimus, Vicimus, in his mouth, that is, We have prevailed, we have got the day. God sometimes answereth his people before they pray, sometimes while they are praying, as here, and sometimes after they have prayed, but sooner or later they shall be sure of it.

The Lord will receive my prayer] He hath, and, therefore, he will. This is the language of faith, this is the triumph of trust.

Ver. 10. Let all mine enemies be ashamed] When they see all their hopes of my death and downfall disappointed.

Let them return] Retrocedant et in terrain cadant, saith the Arabic interpreter, Let them go backward, and fall to the earth. Some make this a prayer, some a prophecy; it comes all to one.

And be ashamed suddenly] Let them be doubly ashamed, or deboshed, and that in a moment. These sudden and still revenges are very terrible. God usually premonisheth before he punisheth, but not always. Now as blessings, the more unexpected the more welcome; so judgments, the more sudden the more grievous.

Shiggaion of David] i.e. David’s delight or solace, say some; his mixed song, or synodee, say others.

Which he sang unto the Lord] He could sing away care, and punish his reproachers with a merry contempt, as knowing his own innocence; the property whereof is to throw off slanders, as Paul did the viper; yea, in a holy scorning, it laughs at them, as the wild ass doth at the horse and his rider.

Concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite] Which some take to be some cousin and courtier of Saul’s, who had falsely accused good David (far from any such thought, #Ps 131:1) of affecting the kingdom, and seeking Saul’s life. See #1Sa 24:10. But I rather understand, with the Chaldee paraphrast, Saul’s self, who was of Kish, and of Jemini, #1Sa 9:1, and that, by a disguise of name, he is called Cush the Benjamite, that is, an Ethiopian, because of his obstinate impenitence, according to #Jer 13:23. So #Am 9:7, rebellious Israel is to God as Ethiopia. Professors shall be as deep in hell, and deeper than Turks and infidels, because of their dissembled sanctity, which is double iniquity. Wrath shall be upon the Jew first, #Ro 2:9; and when the foul sinner goes to hell what shall become of the fair professor? may such be asked, as are both in one. In the Ethiopian is nothing white but his teeth; so in a hypocrite, &c.

Chapter 7

Ver. 1. O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust] Or, I betake me to thee for safety. David found it always best to run to the old rock, #Isa 26:4, and to cry, "O Lord my God," pleading the covenant. This no wicked man can do; but, being beaten out of earthly comforts, he is as a naked man in a storm, and an unarmed man in the field, or as a ship tossed in the sea without an anchor, which presently dasheth on the rocks, or falleth upon the quicksands. Saul, for instance, who, being in distress, and forsaken by God, ran first to the witch, and then to the sword’s point.

Save me from all them that persecute me] Where the prince is a persecutor (as in the primitive times, and here in the Marian days) many will be very active against God’s people. O sancta simplicitas, said John Huss, martyr, when at the stake he observed a plain country fellow busier than the rest in fetching faggots.

Ver. 2. Lest he tear my soul like a lion] i.e. Put me to a cruel and tormenting death; exercising against me both cruelty and also craft, by taking me at such a time as there is none to deliver me.

Ver. 3. O Lord my God] {See Trapp on "Ps 7:1"}

If I have done this] i.e. This treachery and treason, whereof Saul doth causelessly suspect me, and wherewith his pick thank partisans unjustly charge me. As for sedition, saith Latimer, for aught that I know, methinks I should not need Christ, if I might so say. But where malice beareth mastery the doing of anything or of nothing is alike dangerous (Serm. 3, before K. Ed. VI).

If there be iniquity in my hands] Heb. in the palms of my hands, where it may be concealed. If I have secretly acted against my sovereign.

Ver. 4. If I have rewarded evil, &c.] If I have broke the conditions of our reconciliation, or betrayed my trust.

Yea, I have delivered him that, &c.] This was true Christianity, to overcome evil with good, #Mt 5:44, &c.; #Ro 12:17, &c. O quam hoc non est omnium! O how few can skill of this! Elisha made the Syrians a feast who came to make him a grave. David spared Saul, and delivered him, not without the hazard of his own life. Bradford conducted Bourn from the pulpit at Paul’s Cross (where he had cried up Popery at the coming in of Queen Mary) safe to his lodging. A certain gentleman said unto him, Ah, Bradford, Bradford, thou savest him that will help to burn thee. I give thee his life; if it were not for thee I would run him through with my sword. And it proved as the gentleman had prophesied. There he sits, I mean my lord of Bath, Mr Bourn (said Bradford in his third examination before Stephen Gardiner), which desired me himself for the passion of Christ, I would speak to the people. Upon whose words I, coming into the pulpit, I had like to have been slain with a dagger which was hurled at him, I think, for it touched my sleeve, he then prayed me I would not leave him, and I promised that as long as I lived I would take hurt before him that day. And so went I out of the pulpit, and entreated with the people, and at length brought him myself into a house. Besides this, in the afternoon I preached in Bow Church, and there, going up into the pulpit, one willed me not to reprove the people; for, quoth he, you shall never come down alive if you do it. And yet in that sermon I did reprove their fact, and called it sedition at least twenty times. For all which my doing I have received this recompense, prison for a year and half and more, and death now, which you (my lord of Bath among the rest) go about. Let all men be judge where conscience is. Thus Master Bradford, like another David, in his own defence.

Ver. 5. Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it] Thus he cleareth himself by a holy imprecation (the Spanish Bible hath the Shiggaion Davidis, in the title, Purgatio Davidis, as the same Hebrew word אשׁח signifieth both sin and purification from sin, #Ps 51), taking God to witness his innocence and good conscience, and wishing evil to himself if it were otherwise. This he did from a good cause, in a good manner, and for a good end. And not as many profane ones do today, who, taxed, though never so truly, with some evil they have done, seek to justify themselves by appealing to God, and calling for his curse upon them if guilty; who, therefore, striketh such impudent imprecators immediately, as Anne Averies and others. See Mr Clark’s Mirror.

And tread down my life] Heb. my lives; so usually called, saith an interpreter, for the many faculties and operations that are in life, the many years, degrees, estates thereof.

And lay mine honour in the dust. Selah] Let him brand me for a most treacherous, ignominious wretch, and let me lie buried in a bog of indelible infamy.

Ver. 6. Arise, O Lord, in thine anger] Here David repeateth and reinforceth his suit, filling his mouth with arguments for that purpose, such as he well knew would be of avail.

Lift up thyself &c.] Wherein they deal proudly be thou above them, to control and topple them over.

And awake for me] Sometimes God seemeth to be asleep, we must awake him; to forget, we must remind him; to have lost his mercy, we must find it for him. "Where is thy zeal and thy strength?" &c., #Isa 63:15

To the judyment that thou hast commanded] That is, promised, viz. that thou wilt command deliverances out of Zion. Or, which thou hast commanded to men in case of wrong done, to relieve the oppressed: and wilt not thou for me, great Judge, much more do it?

Ver. 7. So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about] As people love to flock to assizes, or such places of judicature, where sentence is passed upon great ones that have offended. Or thus, then shall the public sincere service of God be set up, and people shall fly to it, as the doves do to their windows.

For their sakes therefore return thou on high] Seat thyself upon thy tribunal, and do justice. Thou hast seemed to come down from the bench, as it were, and to have no care of judgment; but go up once again, and declare thy power. Reverte, id est, ostende manure tuam esse altam, Return, that is, show that thou hast a high hand, saith R. Solomon.

Ver. 8. The Lord shall judge the people] The Ethiopian judges leave the chief seat ever empty, thereby acknowledging that God is the chief judge.

Accordiny to my righteousness] viz. In this particular crime, whereof I am accused. Great is the confidence of a good conscience toward God. Such only can abide by the everlasting burnings.

Ver. 9. Oh let the wickedness, &c.] Put a stop to their rage and rancour.

But establish the just] The overthrow of the one will be a strengthening to the other; as it was between the house of Saul and David, #2Sa 3:1. But who are just?

The righteous God trieth the hearts and reins] i.e. The thoughts and affections or lusts of people, and accordingly esteemeth of them; for Mens cuiusque is est quisque; and God judgeth a man according to the hidden man of his heart, Cogitationum et cupiditatum (Junius).

Ver. 10. My defence is of God] Heb. My buckler is upon God. {See Trapp on "Ps 3:3"}

Which saveth the upright in heart] Of which number I know myself to he one; and do, therefore, look for his salvation.

Ver. 11. God is angry with the wicked every day] Or, all day long; they are under the arrest of his wrath, and liable to the wrath to come. Children they are of wrath, because of disobedience. One rendereth it, God troubled them, sc. by laying continually some judgment or other upon them; and yet there is no cause to fear (as the heathen did of his Jupiter) that he should be exhausted, Si quoties peccent homines, &c.

Ver. 12. If he turn not] sc. Impius ab impietate sua, saith R. Solomon, If the wicked turn not from his wickedness, by true and timely repentance.

He will whet his sword, he hath bent his bow] i.e. God will, God hath; and mark that he whets before he strikes, and is bending his bow, setting his arrows, preparing his instruments of death; all which must needs take up some time, and so give fair warning to these foul sinners if they have grace to make use of it. See the like #De 32:41,42. God first whets his sword before he devours flesh, and first takes hold on judgment before his judgment take hold of men. But if this be not observed and improved, Patientia Dei quo diuturnior, eo est minacior; and what shall wicked men plead for themselves when God shall say to them, as Reuben once did to his brethren, #Ge 42:22, Did not I warn you, saying, Sin not?

Ver. 13. He hath also prepared, &c.] The punishment of ungodly persons is here elegantly set forth by three similitudes. 1. From warfare. 2. From child birth, #Ps 7:14 3. From hunting, #Ps 7:15,16. Well might the Lord say, "I have used similitudes by the ministry of the prophets," #Ho 12:10. {See Trapp on "Ho 12:10"}

He ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors] Heb. the hot burning persecutors, that are set on work by the great red dragon (Ardentes, importing their haste to perpetrate mischief). Such were Felix of Wurtemburg, who swore that ere he died he would ride up to the spurs, and Fornesius, who vowed that he would ride up to the saddle skirts, in the blood of the Lutherans. The archbishop of Tours made suit for the erection of a court called Chambre Ardent, wherein to condemn the French Protestants to the fire. But ere he died he had fire enough, for he was stricken with a disease called The Fire of God; which began at his feet, and so ascended upward, that he caused one member after another to be cut off, and so he died miserably. This was God’s burning arrow against a hot burning persecutor. The like may be said of Dioclesian, that bloody tyrant, who had his house burnt over his head with fire from heaven; wherewith he was so frightened that he died soon after (Euseb. l. 5). The previously mentioned Count Felix of Wurtemburg was, the same night that he had so vowed and vaunted, choked in his own blood. So he rode not, but bathed himself, not up to the spurs, but throat, not in the Lutherans’ blood, but in his own, before he died. And the like we read of Charles IX of France.

Ver. 14. Behold, he travaileth with iniquity] Heb. he shall travail, or he continually travaileth; he taketh as great pains to go to hell as a travailing woman doth to be delivered.

And hath conceived mischief] See #Job 15:35, {See Trapp on "Job 15:35"}

And brought forth falsehood] Or, a lie, that is, a disappointment. See #Isa 26:18. The Jews have a proverb, Quicquid genuit mendacium, dispellit maledictio (R. Solomon).

Ver. 15. He made a pit, and digged it, &c.] This simile shows, that the wicked shall not only be frustrated, but undone by their own doing; as was Absalom, Haman, our gunpowder Papists, Pope Alexander VI, and his son Caesar Borgia (Bucholcer); who, by a mistake of the attendants at table, drank up the poisoned wine which they had prepared and set ready for some princes of Italy whom they had invited, and for whose dominions they thirsted. Hic aut Caesar ut nullus, saith Pontanus, who relateth the history.

Ver. 16. His mischief shall return upon his own head] As the Thracians’ arrows did, which they in a rage (because it rained upon them unseasonably) shot up against heaven (Herodot.).

And his violent dealing upon his own pate] i.e. Abundantly, and apparently. Various instances might be given hereof. Henry III of France was stabbed in the same chamber where he had helped to contrive the French massacre. His brother, Charles IX, had blood given him to drink, for he was worthy:

Quem sitiit vivens seelerata mente cruorem,

Perfidus hunc moriens Carolus ore vomit.

John Martin of Briqueras, in France, vaunted everywhere, that he would slit the minister’s nose of Angrogne. But he was shortly after assaulted by a wolf, which bit off his nose, so that he died thereof mad. Dispatch the knave, have done, said Sir Ralph Ellerken, governor of Calais, to the executioner of Adam Davilip, martyr, for I will not away till I see the traitor’s heart out (Acts and Mon.). But shortly after, the said Sir Ralph in a skirmish between the French and us at Bulloin, was among others slain, and had his heart ripped out by the enemy. That was a very remarkable one of Dr. Story, who escaping out of prison in Queen Elizabeth’s days, got to Antwerp, and there thinking himself out of the reach of God’s rod, he got commission under Duke D’Alva, to search all ships coming there for English books. But one Parker, an English merchant, trading to Antwerp, laid his snare fair, saith our chronicler (Speed. 1174), to catch this foul bird, causing secret notice to be given to Story, that in his ship were store of heretical books, with other intelligences that might stand him in stead. The canonist, conceiving that all was cock sure, hasted to the ship, where with looks very big upon the poor mariners, each cabin, chest, and corner above board were searched, and some things found to draw him further on; so that the hatches must be opened, which seemed to be unwillingly done, and great signs of fear were showed by their faces. This drew on the doctor to descend into the hold, where now in the trap the mouse might well gnaw, but could not get out; for the hatches were down, and the sails hoisted up, which with a merry gale were blown into England, where ere long he was arraigned, and condemned of high treason, and accordingly executed at Tyburn, as he had well deserved.

Ver. 17. I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness] i.e. His faithfulness in keeping promise with his people, and with myself in particular. I will say to his honour, as #De 32:4, "A God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is he."

And will sing praise to the name, &c.] Where the psalmist mentioneth the overthrow of the wicked. Laus praecedit et sequitur, saith R. Joshua Ben Levi here, as in this place, and #Ps 9:2

To the chief Musician upon Gittith] Upon the cittern, or gittern, brought from Gath, saith the Chaldee paraphrast; or, that was used by the sons of Obed Edom, the Gittite, #2Sa 6:10; or, that was sung at the wine presses, as the Greek hath it, for a thanksgiving in time of vintage: This last Aben Ezra disliketh, though I see no reason why he should, Vani heroines exponunt de torculari (Aben-Ezra).

Chapter 8

Ver. 1. O Lord our Lord, &c.] The scope of this whole psalm is, to set us a wondering at and magnifying the majesty and magnificence of the Almighty; together with his inexpressible goodness to mankind; 1. In our creation in Adam. 2. In our restoration by Christ; which last is the true end of this psalm, as appeareth, #Mt 21:15 1Co 15:27 Heb 2:8.

How excellent is thy name] This David speaketh as one swallowed up with admiration at that Nomen illud Magnificum et Maiestativum, that glory, honour, power, wisdom, goodness, &c., that being invested in God, and manifested in the creature (God’s handywork), should make us both wonder and inquire into God’s excellencies, according to that of Aristotle, to admire and learn at once is a pleasant thing; and sure that which is admirable stirreth up desire to see further into it, το θαυμαστον ετοθυμητον (Arist. Rhet. 1. i. c. 11). Admiratio peperit Philosophiam, saith another, Admiration brought forth philosophy: let it breed devotion in us, and a desire to praise God, who hath therefore displayed his excellencies in his works, that we might give him his due glory. The angels shouted at the creation, #Job 38:4-6, and shall we be dull and dumb? God tells Job of his own great works (the elephant and whale especially), and thereby brings him to a right temper. The elephant is in Chaldee called pil, of a word that signifieth wonderful; because the wonders of God’s glory do so marvellously appear in him. See #Job 40:15,16, &c., {See Trap on "Job 40:15"} {See Trap on "Job 40:16"} The philosophers make Iris, or the rainbow, the daughter of Thaumas, or admiration (Plato); but because that when they knew God, sc. per species Creaturarum, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations—therefore were they given up to a reprobate sense, #Ro 1:21,28.

In all the earth!] Where a man cannot look beside a miracle, so full of God are all places.

Who hath set thy glory above the heavens] Nam in eis robur Dei maxime apparet; for in the heavens (how much more above them) doth the glory of God chiefly appear. The earth is a small point in comparison to the heavens, and is governed by them, as R. David here noteth.

Ver. 2. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings] For whom God hath filled two bottles of milk against they come into the world; and in whose birth sustenance, and wonderful protection (for Puerilitas est periculorum pelagus), but especially in their holy and religious education, much of God’s providence, power, and goodness is clearly seen and set forth to the conviction of the vilest atheists. So that, besides the earth and the heavens, we have very infants preachers of God’s praises, and more effectual orators than ever were Isocrates, Demosthenes, Pericles, &c.; so our Saviour understands it, #Mt 21:9, where the children sang hosanna when the Pharisees were silent. It is sometimes seen, that

Ipsa Deo blandos fundant cunabula flores.

John Baptist sprang in the womb for joy of Jesus. Jerome writeth of Paula, that noble matron, that she rejoiced in nothing more than this, That she heard her niece Paula sing Hallelujah in her cradle, In cunis balbutienti lingua Halleluiah cantare (Hier.). Bellarmine tells us, out of Theodoret, that the children of Samosatena, playing with at tennis in the midst of the market, did solemnly cast it into the fire, because it had but touched the foot of the ass whereon Lucius the heretical bishop rode. The children of Merindal so posed and answered one another, in matters of religion, before the persecuting bishop of Cavaillon, that a religious man that stood by said unto the bishop, I must needs confess that I have often been at the disputation of the doctors in Sorbon, but yet I never learned so much as I have done by hearing these young children (Acts and Mon. fol. 865). When Mr Blecter, the bishop’s chaplain, told Mr Wiseheart, the Scotch martyr, that he had a devil in him, and the spirit of error; a child that stood by answered him, saying, A devil cannot speak such words as yonder man speaketh. At the burning of John Laurence at Colchester, as he was sitting in the fire (for stand he could not, he had been so hardly used in the prison), the young children came about the fire, and cried, Lord, strengthen thy servant, and keep thy promise. Here was strength out of the mouths of little ones, taught early to speak the language of Canaan. Sed vae, vae parentibus illis (saith Polanus on the text), But woe, woe to those parents who make their children (whom God would have to be witnesses of his majesty) witnesses of their impiety, pride, and vanity.

That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger] i.e. Silence atheists and persecutors.

Ver. 3. When I consider thy heavens] And that men should be much in this consideration, both the bolt-upright figure of their bodies may admonish them, and also that fifth muscle which God hath set in man’s eye (whereas other creatures have but four) to draw it upward, Ut eius auxilio coelum intueremur, saith the anatomist, that by the help thereof we might consider the heavens (Columb. de re Anatom. l. 5, c. 9). This, those Christians that do not, shall have those heathens rising up in judgment against them: Anaxagoras Clazomenius, who used to say that he was therefore born that he might contemplate the heavens; and Ennius, who blameth Epicurus for that dum palato quid sit optimum iudicaret, coeli palatium non suspexerit, he did so purvey for his palace, that he looked not up to heaven’s palace. Certain it is, that many men have so much to do upon earth that they cannot have while to cast an eye towards heaven, as the Duke of Alva told a great prince, who asked him if he had taken notice of the last eclipse. That wonderful globe of silver sent by King Ferdinand to Soliman, the Great Turk, lively expressing the wonderful motions and conversions of the celestial frame, the hourly passing of the time, the change and full of the moon, &c., was much more beheld and admired than heaven itself is by most people. True it is, that that globe was a most curious and strange piece of work, devised and perfected by the most cunning astronomers, for Maximilian the emperor, whose noble mind never spared for any cost to obtain things of rare and strange device. But what was all this to the heavens? that

Work of thy fingers] That is, most elaborate and accurate; a metaphor from embroiderers, or from them that make tapestry. Aben Ezra’s note here is, Digiti sunt decem, et sphaerae sunt decem, As there are ten fingers, so there are ten spheres, &c.

The moon and the stars] No mention of the sun, because included in this word heaven; wherein by day the sun is most conspicuous, as by night, the moon and stars.

Which thou hast ordained] That was a witty speech of Cyril, They were Αθεοι κατα νυκτος, atheists by night, who worshipped the sun, and atheists by day, who worshipped the moon and stars.

Ver. 4. What is man, that thou art mindful of him?] Sorry, sickly man, a mass of mortalities, a map of miseries, a mixture or compound of dirt and sin? And yet God is mindful of him; he not only takes care of him in an ordinary way, as he doth other creatures, but singularly attendeth and affecteth him, as a father doth his dearest child. He is Divini irigenii cura, saith one; he is the end of all in a semi-circle, saith another philosopher; meaning, that all things in the world were made for man, and man made for God; neither is there so much of the glory of God in all his works of wonder as in one gracious performance of a godly person. But if we understand the text (as the apostle doth, #Heb 2:6) of tbe man Christ Jesus, Hic homo et filius hominis qualis et quantus est, Deus bone! saith Junius.

And the son of man] Heb. of earthly men; for what is the greatest potentate but πηλος κομφως πεφυραμενος, a piece of clay neatly made up? (Arrian in Epictet.)

That thou visitest him?] That thou mindest him more than other creatures, and makest him Lord of all? Thy visitation preserveth his spirit, #Job 10:12.

Ver. 5. For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels] Compare here with #Heb 2:6,7, and it will appear that whatsoever is spoken here of man is applied to Christ, and so is proper to the saints, by virtue of their union with Christ; in which respect they are more glorious, saith one, than heaven, angels, or any creature. This is their dignity; and for their duty, they must therefore give the more earnest heed to the doctrine of the gospel, lest at any time they should leak, or let slip the same, but retain and obey it. This is the apostle’s own inference, #Heb 2:5-7, for thus he argueth: Unto the angels God hath not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak; but to man (for whose sake the Son of God came in the flesh, for whose sake the gospel was preached, for whose sake we speak of that world to come) he hath; therefore it behoveth man to observe and obey the gospel.

And hast crowned him with glory and honour] Some refer this to the reasonable soul, whereby he not only differeth from beasts, but draweth nigh to the heavenly nature. As Rome was an epitome of the world; as Athens was the Greece of Greece; and as one said to his friend who desired to see Athens, Viso Selene vidisti onmia, When thou hast seen Solon thou hast seen all Athens; so man is a little world, and is therefore called every creature, #Mr 16:15; and the saints (in whom God’s image is repaired) are called all things, #Col 1:20, Christ being unto them All, and in all.

Ver. 6. Thou madest him to have dominion, &c.] He had so at first, #Ge 1:26, shall have again, #Zec 8:12 Re 21:7; meanwhile (though Rebellis facta est creatura homnini, quia homo numini, the creature rebelleth against man, because man doth against God; yet) we cannot but see some footsteps remaining of that ancient sovereignty, which the very heathens also acknowledged, and therehence fetched excellent arguments for a providence (Cicero, Plutarch, Ennius). Lions hate apes, but tear men; though Simia quam similis, turpissima bestia, nobis. Hereof no probable reason be given but this, that God hath put all things under man’s feet; insomuch as that the most timorous men dare kick and beat the largest elephants. Indeed, by reason of sin, as was said, we see not all things subdued, #Heb 12:8. But why hath Nature denied to horses, asses, camels, elephants, deer, &c., a gall, which it hath given to lions, wolves, and other fierce creatures? (Bodin. Theat. Nat. p. 405). Surely herein appeareth the wonderful wisdom and goodness of God, who hath done this, that those so serviceable creatures might be the better tamed and subdued by man. Let man consider (saith one well) what excellency he hath lost through Adam’s fall, and bewail his misery. Let him also, on the other side, well weigh the grace bestowed on him in Christ, and be joyful and thankful for mercy; knowing this, that if the creatures be not now subjected unto us, it is by reason of the body and relics of sin that yet remain in us; and that therefore if we would have a conquest over the creatures, we must begin first to get a victory upon sin, or else we shall never profit that way.

Thou hast put all things under his feet] The earth hath its name from treading upon it, Terra a terendo, teaching us, 1. To trample upon earthly things, as base and bootless; not to dote upon them without hearts, nor grasp them over greedily with our hands; as that covetous Cardinal Sylberperger, who took so great felicity in money, that when he was grievously tormented with the gout, his only remedy to ease his pain was, to have a bason full of gold set before him, into which he would put his lame hands, turning the gold upside down. But if silver and gold be a man’s happiness, then it is in the earth, and so (which is strange) nearer hell than heaven, and so nearer the devil than God. The ancient Romans had for a difference in their nobility, a little ornament in the form of a moon, to show that all worldly things were mutable; and they wore it upon their shoes, to show that they trod all under their feet. 2. By this posture of all things under man’s feet, God would teach him to use them as a stirrup, for the raising of his heart to those things above. A sanctified fancy can make every creature a ladder to heaven, and say, with that Father, Si tanti vitreum quanti rerum margaritum! If this trash be so highly esteemed, how much more the true treasure!

Ver. 7. All sheep and oxen, &c.] There are beasts ad esum et ad usum, saith one. Some are profitable dead, not alive, as the hog; some alive, not dead, as the dog, horse, &c.; some both, as the ox; yet none so profitable as the sheep, who hath wool for raiment, skin for parchment, flesh for meat, guts for music, and was, therefore, in sacrifice so frequently offered.

Ver. 8. The fowl of the air] These Moses seemeth to have forgotten, in that discontented speech of his, #Nu 11:22, but God sent those murmmurers such a drift of quails (meat of kings, with their bread of angels) as he could not have imagined or hoped for.

And the fish of the sea] Piscis of Pasco. Many islands are maintained and people fed by fish. In the Hebrew the same word signifieth a pond, or fish pool, and a blessing. And surely it is a blessing to any country that they have plenty and dainty of these good creatures.

And whatsoever passeth, &c.] As whales, and other great fishes, which make a smooth path in a calm sea, as a ship or a boat doth, #Job 41:32, &c. {See Trapp on "Job 41:32"}

Ver. 9. O Lord our Lord, &c.] Prius incipit Propheta mirari quam loqui, et desinit loqui non mirari. The psalmist endeth as he began, transported with an ecstasy of admiration. So he begins and ends many of his psalms with Hallelujah. Between God and us the distance is infinite; and, if it were possible, our love and thankfulness should fill up that distance, and extend itself to infiniteness, saith a grave divine.

Upon Muth-labben] This was the name of a certain instrument, say some; the beginning of a song, say others, to the tune whereof this psalm was to be sung. Montanus and many more hold it to be an anagrammatism, and render it, For the death of Nabal, viz. by a covert intimation, and inversion of the letters. So in the title of #Ps 7:1, Cush Beniemini for Kish the Benjamite. That is,

Parcere nominibus, dicere de vitiis.

Chapter 9

Ver. 1. I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart This is a gratulatory psalm, wherein David shows his thankfulness, which a very heathen calleth Maximam imo matrem omnium virtutmn reliquarum, the mother of all the rest of the virtues (Cicero). True thankfulness, as one well observeth, is here and in the next verse described, 1. By the matter of it. 2. By the manner. First, for matter, the psalmist delivereth it in four parts. 1. The acknowledging of God in all. 2. A ciphering and summing up of special mercies (of רפס seems to come Cipher). 3. An expression of spiritual joy in God, as well as in his gifts. 4. A dedication of our songs and selves to his name.

Secondly, for the manner, he presseth, 1. Integrity for the subject and object, #Ps 9:1 2. Sincerity for affection and end, #Ps 9:2.

Ver. 2. I will be glad and rejoice in thee] Spiritual cheerfulness is the mother of thankfulness, #Jas 5:13. Birds, when got in the air, or on the top of trees, and have taken up a stand to their mind, sing most sweetly.

O thou most High] God was so first called by Melchizedek, upon a like occasion as here by David, #Ge 14:19,20. The Greeks might have their ηλιος, for the sun, which they worshipped, from this Hebrew Helion, most High.

Ver. 3. When mine enemies] This, Tremellius maketh to be the form of praise which the psalmist professeth that he will sing to God, and rendereth it thus, That mine enemies returning back are fallen, &c.

And perish at thy presence] The victory is of God, and to him alone to be ascribed. The Romans in their triumphs presented a palm to Jupiter. The Grecians also thankfully ascribed to Jupiter their deliverance from the Persians, wrought by Themistocles, and there hence called him ελευθεριος, that is, deliverer.

Ver. 4. For thou hast maintained my right] Heb. Thou hast done me judgment. Locus hic insignis est, saith Polanus. This is an excellent place, and maketh much to the comfort of God’s poor people that are oppressed by the world; the righteous Judge will not fail to right them. See #Lu 18:7,8.

Ver. 5. Thou hast rebuked the heathen, &c.] God first chideth the Church’s enemies by lighter judgments; if these be not improved, he destroyeth them, #Ps 119:21; and, because they sought to obscure and extirpate his name from among men, therefore he puts out their name, that is, their fame and reputation, for ever and yet, or for ever and a day, as we use to say: Ingloria vita recedit, they go out in a snuff, as did the primitive and modern persecutors, of abhorred memory.

Ver. 6. O thou enemy] The same whom he called wicked one in the former verse; where the word wicked is of the singular number: q.d. O thou implacable wretch, that wouldst never be reconciled till thou wast ruined; which now thou art, &c. Some read it interrogatively, and with it ironically, O enemy, are destructions come to an end? and cities so wasted that they can never be repaired? q.d. So indeed thou hast designed it, but art fairly disappointed. And the like befell Antiochus, Nero, Dioclesian, Philip II of Spain, Charles IX of France, and other bloody persecutors, with tbeir devilish thoughts and threats; which they could never effect and accomplish.

Their memorial is perished with them] Heb. Of them, of them (twice), for more vehemency. The Vulgate (alter the Greek) hath it cum sonitu, with a humming noise, so that the sound thereof ringeth all the world over. R. David rendereth it, Memoria eorum periit; suntne illi? Their memorial is perished; have they yet a being anywhere?

Ver. 7. But the Lord shall endure for ever] Vivit Christus regnatque; alioqui lotus desperassem, said that good Dutch divine, upon the view of the Church’s enemies; i.e. Christ liveth and reigneth for ever, setting one foot on the earth and the other on the sea, as Lord of both; otherwise I should have been altogether hopeless. "Blessed be God that he is God," was a learned divine’s motto.

Ver. 8. And he shall judge the world, &c.] See on #Ps 9:4.

Ver. 9. The Lord also will be a refuge, &c.] Heb. a high tower, edita, arx, wherein men are secured, and escape the impressions of an enemy. The very lame and blind, those most shiftless creatures, when they had gotten stronghold of Zion over their heads, thought that then they might securely scorn David and his host, #2Sa 5:6,7; yet their hold failed them. So did the tower of Shechem those that ran into it. Not so the Almighty his poor oppressed. Universal experience sealeth to this truth; neither can one instance be given of the contrary. Higgaion. Selah. It is reported of the Egyptians, that, living in the fens, and being vexed with gnats, they use to sleep in high towers, whereby, those creatures not being able to soar so high they are delivered from the biting of them (Herod. lib. 2); so would it be with us, when bitten with cares and fears, did we but run to God for refuge, and rest confident in his help.

Ver. 10. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee] They can do no otherwise that savingly know God’s sweet attributes and noble acts for his people. We never trust a man till we know him, and bad men are better known than trusted. Not so the Lord, for where his name is poured out as an ointment, there the virgins love him, fear him, rejoice in him, repose upon him.

Them that seek thee] So they do it seriously, seasonably, constantly.

Ver. 11. Sing praises to the Lord, &c.] This is the guise of godly people, to provoke others to praise God, as being unsatisfiable in their desires of doing him that service, and as deeming that others see him as they do totum totum desiderabilem, worthy to be praised, #Ps 18:3, highly to be admired, #Ps 9:1 of this psalm.

Ver. 12. When he maketh inquisition for blood] For innocent blood unjustly spilled; as he did for the blood of Abel, #Ge 4:10, of Naboth, (#2Ki 9:26, "Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth." Murder ever bleeds fresh in the eyes of God) of Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, #2Ch 24:22; those ungrateful guests, who slew those that came to call them: "And when the king heard it" (for blood cries aloud), "he was wroth, and destroyed those murderers," #Mt 22:6,7. These shall have blood to drink, for they are worthy, #Re 16:6. God draws articles of inquiry in this case as strict and as critical as ever the Inquisition of Spain doth; the proceedings whereof are with greatest secresy and severity.

He forgetteth not the cry of the humble] Heb. of the poor, lowly, meek, afflicted. Humility and meekness are collactaneae, twin-sisters, as Bernard hath it.

Ver. 13. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, &c.] These are the words (say some) of those humble ones whom God forgetteth not; they were God’s remembrancers, see #Isa 62:6: or it is a prayer of David for further deliverances, according to that, "I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised," #Ps 18:3. Between praising and praying he divided his time, and drove a holy trade between heaven and earth.

Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death] i.e. Ex praesentissimo et certissimo interitu, from desperate and deadly dangers, such as threaten present destruction; and show a man the grave even gaping for him. David was oft at this pass; and God delivered Paul from so great a death, #2Co 1:10: he commonly reserveth his hand for a dead lift, and rescueth those who were even talking of their graves.

Ver. 14. That I may show forth all thy praise] i.e. All that I can compass or attain unto. Aliter omnes laudes Dei diei non possunt, quia plures ignorat homo quam novit, saith R. David here; for all the praises of God cannot be shown forth, since those we know not are more than those we know.

In the gates of the daughter of Zion] These are opposed to the gates of death, as Aben Ezra here noteth; and betoken the most public places, and best frequented.

Ver. 15. The heathen are sunk down, &c.] Hoc est initium cantici Sanctorum, Thi is the beginning of the sacred songs, saith AbenEzra. This is the beginning of the saints’ song, knit to the former verse thus: saying, The heathen, &c.

In the net which they hid, &c.] To hunters they are compared for cruelty, and to fowlers for craft. But see their success: they are sunk down in their own pit, caught in their own net. Thus it befell Pharaoh, #Ex 15:9,10, Jabin and Sisera, #Jud 4:15,22,23, Sennacherib, #2Ch 32:21, Antiochus Epiphanes, Maxentius the tyrant, who fell into the river Tiber, from his own false bridge laid for Constantine (Euseb. lib. 9, rap. 9), the Spanish Armada, our gunpowder Papists, &c. {See Trapp on "Ps 7:15"}

Ver. 16. The Lord is known by the judgment, &c.] The heathen historian Herodotus oberved, that the ruin of Troy served to teach men that God punisheth great sinners with heavy plagues. "Go up to Shiloh," &c

The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands] Heb. palms, hollows, noting the close conveyance of his wicked plots and practices, but for his own mischief.

Higgaion. Selah] Ainsworth rendereth it Meditation Selah; meaning that this is a matter of deep meditation, worthy to be well minded, and spoken or sung with earnest consideration always. The word is found only here and #Ps 92:3, where also the wonderful works of God are discoursed. R. Solomon’s note here is, Ultimum iudicium debet esse continua meditatio, The last judgment should be continually thought upon.

Ver. 17. The wicked shall be turned into hell] Heb. into into hell (twice), that is, into the nethermost hell, the lowest dungeon of hell. The word lesheolah hath a vehement inforcement from ח local, as grammarians call it, and importeth that they shall be cast into outer darkness, In tenebras ex tenebris infeliciter exclusi, infelicius excludendi (August.). R. Solomon’s note here is, they shall be carried away from hell to judgment, and from judgment they shall be returned to the deepest pit of hell. This, if men did but believe, they durst not do as they do, as once Cato said to Caesar.

And all the nations] The wicked, be they never so many of them, they may not think to escape for their multitudes, as among mutineers in an army, the tenth man sometimes is punished, the rest go free.

Ver. 18. For the needy shall not always be forgotten] Because he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. The Lord is at hand to help those that are forsaken in their hopes. Julian Lining was apprehended by Dale the promoter (in Queen Mary’s days), who said unto him, You hope and hope, but your hope shall be aslope. For though the queen fail, she that you hope for shall never come at it; for there is my Lord Cardinal’s grace and many others between her and it, &c. But the cardinal died soon after the queen, and (according to father Latimer’s prayer) Elizabeth was crowned, and England yet once more looked upon (Acts and Mon. 1871).

Ver. 19. Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail] Prayers are the Church’s weapons, her bombardae et instrumenta bellica (Luther), whereby she is terrible as an army with banners; she prays down her enemies.

Ver. 20. Put them in fear, O Lord] Strike them with a panic terror, as once the Canaanites, Philistines, #1Sa 5; Syrians, #2Ki 7:6,7; Germans, in the war against the Hussites, &c. Some read it, Put a law upon them, bridle them, bound them, as thou hast done the sea, #Job 38:11. The Greek and Syriac favour this reading.

That the nations may know themselves to be but men] And not gods, as that proud prince of Tyrus, #Eze 27, and Antiochus, who would needs be styled Θεος, to such a height of pride will persecutors grow, if they prosper, and he not taken a link lower, as we say. Homo, id est fracti, saith R. Obad. on this text; men, that is, broken, cracked creatures, morbis mortiquo obnoxii, woeful wights, sorry and sickly captives. This to know savingly is the beginning of true humility, saith Augustine here.

Chapter 10

Ver. 1. Why standest thou afar off, O Lord?] As if thou hadst forgotten what thou hadst promised thy people in the formed psalm; which the Greek and Latin versions make to be one and the same with this, as having no title, and tending almost to the same purpose. Hence the difference in numbers, which holdeth almost to the end of the psalter, viz. to Psalm 148.

Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?] So God seemeth to do when he helpeth not presently; neither doth anything more trouble the saints in affliction than the want of God’s gracious presence. This maketh them thus to expostulate and lament after the Lord; not quarrel, as those hypocrites did, #Isa 58:3, or revile, as Caligula did his Jupiter, taking up that verse in Homer, Ζευ πατερ ουτις σειο Θεων ολοωτερος αλλος, or with him (little better) in the holy history, who said, "Behold, this evil is of the Lord; what should I wait for the Lord any lenger?" #2Ki 6:33. The good soul knows that God waiteth to be gracious; and as he seldom cometh at our time, so at his own (which is ever the best) time he never faileth.

Ver. 2. The wicked in his pride doth persecute, &c.] Heb. hotly pursueth (εμπυριζεται. Chrysost.), and that out of his pride, the true cause of persecution, whatever else is pretended. And this is fitly here alleged, and urged as an argument to move God to make haste. See #De 32:27: The saints fare the better for the insolence and outrage of their enemies, whose ruin is thereby accelerated, and somewhat God will do the sooner for his people, lest the enemy exalt himself, #Ps 140:8, and say, Our hand is high, the Lord hath not done this.

Let them be taken in the devices, &c.] As all persecutors are sure to be in which regard Tertullian well adviseth Scapula, Si nobis non parcis, tibi parce; si non tibi, Carthagini: If thou wilt not spare us Christians, yet spare thyself; or if not thyself, yet thy city Carthage, which else will smart and smoke for thy cruelty.

Ver. 3. For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire] Though the soul of the wicked desire evil, #Pr 21:10, yet he glorieth in it, as did that thrasonical Lamech, #Ge 4:23,24, and that pyrgopolynices Nebuchadnezzar, #Isa 10:9-12 Da 4:30,31. See #Ps 52:1 Php 3:19. This the just and jealous God cannot bear, as neither that which followeth.

And blesseth the covetous] Ut sapientem et providum, as a wise man and good husband. So they in Malachi, who said, "And now we count the proud happy," &c. Felix scelus virtus vocatur (Seneca).

Whom the Lord abhorreth] Smiting his hands with indignation at his dishonest gain, #Eze 22:13, like as Balak did at Balsam, with whom he was deeply displeased, #Nu 24:10.

Ver. 4. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance] That is, of his heart, appearing in his countenance, as a master pock in his forehead. For pride buddeth, #Eze 7:10; the pride of Israel testifieth to his face, #Ho 5:5; the thoughts are oft seen in the countenance; and the heart is printed upon the face, #Isa 3:9. It is a hard thing, saith one, to have a brazen face and a broken heart.

Will not seek] He thinks it not necessary or worth the while; and his practice is agreeable, that is, naught all over. Pride in the soul is like a great swelling in the body, which, besides that it is a dangerous symptom, unfits it for any good service; and is apt to putrefy and to break, and to run with loathsome and foul matter. So doth pride disable the soul from doing duty, and at last breaketh forth into odious deeds, abominable to God and men. It is observed, that the ground whereon the peacock useth to sit is by that occasion made exceeding barren; so where pride roosteth and reigneth, no good groweth.

God is not in all his thoughts] God is neither in his head, as here, nor in his heart, #Ps 14:1, nor in his words, #Ps 12:4, nor in his ways, #Tit 1:16; he is wholly without God in the world, #Eph 2:1-3, he studies atheism, and all his thoughts are, There is no God, so this text may be read, he would fain so persuade himself.

Ver. 5. His ways are always grievous] As he pleaseth not God, so he is contrary and vexatious to men, Viae eius semper terrent, so Aben Ezra. The psalmist here noteth him for such a one as the Cyclopes are set forth to have been by the poets.

Thy judgments are far above out of his sight] He looketh not so high, but reckoneth that quae supra nos nihil ad nos. If he read them at any time, he regardeth them as little as he doth the story of foreign wars, wherein he is not concerned.

As for all his enemies, he puffeth at them] He holdeth himself man good enough to make his party good with them, and that he can overthrow them all with a puff. He defieth them and domineereth over them, as the Greek renders it, κατακυριενει (Sept.), εκφυσα (Chrysost.).

Ver. 6. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved] So said a better man once, #Ps 30:6, but he was quickly confuted. If a believer conclude, by the force of his faith, that he shall never be moved from that good estate in which Christ hath set him, this is the triumph of trust, and not the vain vaunt of presumption.

For I shall never be in adversity] The Chaldee hath it, Quoniam non sum in malo; and understandeth it as the evil of sin, as #Ex 32:22, and then the sense is, because the wicked man suffereth not the punishment of sin, therefore he conceiveth that he is innocent, and without sin. See #Ho 12:8, {See Trapp on "Ho 12:8"}

Ver. 7. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit] Such cursing men are cursed men; and for such slippery and deceitful persons the Lord is the avenger of all such, #1Th 4:8.

Under his tongue is mischief] That is, in his heart, which is by nature placed beneath the tongue, making its use of it for much mischief, #Mt 12:34 Jas 3:8. The word Toch, here rendered fraud, signifieth, properly, the middle of anything, Quoniam fraus in medio cordis est, saith R. David, because fraud is in the middle of the heart, and therehence sent into the mouth.

Ver. 8. He sitteth in the lurking places, &c.] A. description of a highway robber, saith Diodati, under which name are meant all violent and fraudulent men, and their actions.

Ver. 9. He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den] See #Job 38:40, {See Trapp on "Job 38:40"}

When he draweth him into his net] That is, into his bonds, debts, mortgages, saith Chrysostom. When a poor man is once gotten into these nets, wicked oppressors do not only rob but ravish them; coining their money upon poor men’s skins, and wringing the sponges of poor people into their own purses. David compareth them to cannibals, #Ps 14:4, to greedy lions here. Another saith they are like the fish polypus, that lying in wait for other fishes upon the rock, assimilateth to the rock and taketh them in his net, which he hath naturally behind his head, and can spread at his pleasure, before they find themselves in danger (Sir Richard Berkley’s Summum Bonum).

Ver. 10. He croucheth (or crusheth), and humbleth himself] Lion like, #Job 38:40. He can sow the fox’s skin to the lion’s hide for a need, and to compass his design. As proud as he is, yet in subtlety he can abase himself; and, with glavering speeches and fawning behaviour, indirectly endeavour the overthrow of the innocent and distressed. To which purpose he can put himself to pain, feign himself sick and in a dying condition (as those do that stand for the popedom), counterfeit and pretend humility, but all is hypocrisy, Seipsum aegrum, et attritum fingit (of David).

That the poor may fall by his strong ones] Whether teeth or paws. Per impia decreta, saith R. Obadiah, by his wicked decrees, by the hands of his privados, desperate assassinates, saith another expositor.

Ver. 11. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten] That is, he knoweth it not, regardeth it not. To learn is nothing else but to remember, said Socrates; and what a man hath utterly forgotten it is all one as if he had never known it; #2Pe 1:9, he "hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins," that is, he was never purged. See #Ps 10:4.

Ver. 12. Arise, O Lord] Surge, age, summe Pater, said Mantuan to the pope, stirring him up against the Turks; may we better say to the Almighty God, against his people’s enemies,

O God, lift up thine hand Lift it up on high, that it may fall down the more heavily. In the first verse of this psalm the prophet complained that God stood afar off, and hid himself in time of trouble, Here he is entreated to arise, to come near, to put forth his hand for his people’s help, &c.

Ver. 13. Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God?] q.d. It is time for thee, Lord, to arise and bestir thyself; for otherwise what will become of thy great name? The saints cannot endure that God should be slighted.

He hath said in his heart] #Ps 10:3,4. This sticks in David’s stomach, and draws this prayer from him, who was now blessedly blown up with a holy zeal for God; as was also good Zuinglius, when he said, In aliis mansnetus ero, in blasphemiis in Christum non ita, In other matters I can be mild and patient, but not so in case of blasphemy against Christ.

Ver. 14. Thou hast seen it] For thou art All-eye, whatever the wicked conceiteth to the contrary, making thee a God of clouts, as they say, or a heathen idol, which is nothing in the world.

To requite it with thy hand] Reponendo in manu tua, by taking it in thy hand, so some render it, sc. ut propius intuearis, certius consideres, diiudices et vindices, that thou mayest take a more near and narrow view of it, and duly punish it (Aben-Ezra).

The poor committeth himself unto thee] Heb. leaveth, relinquit seipsum, et currit ad te, he relinquisheth himself, and runneth unto thee, Relinquit in te onus suum (R. Solomon). Now, whosoever committeth himself and his affairs to God shall be sure to find him a faithful depositary.

Thou art the helper of the fatherless] The world’s refuge, as the Grand Seignior is called; The poor man’s king, as James V, of Scotland. In God "the fatherless findeth mercy," #Ho 14:3. And these arguments David useth in his prayer, not to move God to hear and help, but to work upon his own heart thereby, and to persuade himself to more faith, love, obedience, humility, thankfulness, whereby we are the better fitted for mercy. When a man in a ship plucks a rock it seemeth as if he plucketh the rock nearer the ship, when as, indeed, the ship is plucked nearer the reck. So is it in this case: we seem to persuade God by our arguments, when as, indeed, the change is not wrought in him, but only in ourselves; our arguments are curarum nostrarum levamenta, et fiduciae impetrandi augmenta, the cure of our cares, and props to our faith of obtaining.

Ver. 15. Break thou the arm of the wicked] That arm that hath been lifted up against the godly. See #Ps 3:8 58:7.

Seek out his wickedness till thou find none] Ad alios vel inficiendos, vel infestandos, #Eze 23:48. Or, leave no sin of his unpunished. The Franciscans, to prove that Francis, the founder of their order, was without sin, foolishly allege this text, Quaeretur peccatum illius et non invenietur; wherein (according to the sense of the psalmist) what do they else but wish that God would trace him quite through the course and trade of his iniquities, even to the uttermost end of them, and punish him accordingly; which is done, no doubt, long since.

Ver. 16. The Lord is King for ever and ever] Therefore he will doubtless do whatsoever hath been before desired, and much more than we can ask or think. Many kings have been long lived, as was Artaxerxes Mnemon, who reigned 62 years; Augustus Caesar, 56; Queen Elizabeth, 44, &c.; but died at length, to the great grief of their subjects and servants, who are ready to wish (as once the Romans did concerning Augustus) that either they had never been or never died. But God is the King immortal, invisible, &c.

The heathen are perished out of his land] The enemies, whether Jews or Gentiles, are rid out of his Church; for that is God’s land by a specialty, his peculiar portion.

Ver. 17. Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble] The whole life of a good Christian is a holy desire, saith Austin. And the desires of the righteous shall be satisfied, #Pr 10:24, because they are framed by the Holy Spirit, according to the will of God, #Ro 8:27, and they bare the mind of Christ, #1Co 2:16, who knoweth the mind of the Spirit, #Ro 8:27, though their desires be not uttered, #Ro 8:26.

Thou wilt prepare their heart] In removendis ab illo mundi negotiis, saith R. David, and by putting them into a praying frame, and so fitting them for mercy. Where God giveth a praying heart it is sure that he will show a pitying heart. If he prepare the heart, he will also bend his ear; like as when we bid our children ask us for this or that, we mean to give it them; and as when we open a purse as wide as we can pull it, it is a sign we intend to fill it to the top.

Thou wilt cause thine ear to hear] Even while they are preparing, and before they can speak, many times, #Isa 65:24; or while they are praying, as #Da 9:20 Ac 4:31, or not long after; they shall be sure to have out their prayers, either in money or in money’s worth, as they say.

Ver. 18. To judge the fatherless, &c] The Vulgate hath it, to judge for the fatherless and for the oppressed. It is one thing (saith Austin) to judge the fatherless and another thing to judge for him; this latter is to pass sentence on his side; which God, the righteous Judge, will be sure to do without writhing or warping; for he hath all that is required of a judge originally and eminently, viz. wisdom, justice, courage, constance, and power.

That the man of the earth may no more oppress] Or, terrify, daunt with terror, as #Php 1:28. {See Trapp on "Php 1:28"} Why should one man be terrible to another, since we are all mortales e terra, worms of the earth, clods of clay, and shall shortly return to the dust whence we were taken? unde superbit homo? "I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forgettest the Lord thy Maker, and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?" #Isa 51:12,13. Some observe that the close of this psalm is much like that of the former. How they have been taken (by the Greek Fathers especially) for one entire psalm. {See Trapp on "Ps 10:1"}

Chapter 11

Ver. 1. In the Lord put I my trust] This was that which David had and held, wherewith to answer him that reproached him (and it was an excellent good one), that he trusted in God’s word, #Ps 119:42. When it was that he gave this answer, "In the Lord put I my trust" (whether when Saul’s courtiers, under pretence of friendship, counselled him to quit the court for fear of Saul, which he was very loth to do, see the like #Ne 6:10 Lu 13:31, or else when he was with Samuel at Naioth, #1Sa 19:18, &c., where his carnal friends might advise him, as Peter did his Master, #Mt 16:22, with a Fuge, fuge, David, cite, citius, citissime Flee, flee david, quick, quicker, most quickly), is uncertain. But this is certain, that all the troops of ungodliness aim and act vigorously to cast down the castle of confidence we have in God. This, therefore, we must be sure to secure, as the serpent doth his head, the soldier his shield, #Eph 6:16. This is the victory whereby we overcome the world (with its allurements or affrightments) even our faith, #1Jo 5:4. The believer walketh about as a conqueror; and he alone is the man whom the heathen poet elegantly describeth (Horat. Carm. lib. iii. Od. 7):

Iustum et tenacem propositi virum,

Non civium ardor prava iubentium,

Non vultus instantis tyranni

Mente quatit solida, &c.

Si fractus illabatur orbis,

Impavidum ferient ruinae.

The poet instanceth in Hercules and Bacchus, but had he known of David, Moses, Micah, Nehemiah, Daniel and his three friends, &c., he would rather have pitched upon them, or some others of those worthies of whom the world was not worthy, #Heb 11:38.

Flee as a bird to your mountain?] Get you gone, you and your followers (the Hebrew word flee is plural), or flee to your mountain, O bird; see you not the fowler’s snare? and will you not away with all speed? Thus they sought to fright him (as birds are fearful, #Isa 16:2), and to make him flee from his place, as a bird fleeth from her nest, #Pr 27:8. But he was never without his cordial, the same that relieved him at the sack of Ziklag, where, in the fail of all other comforts, he "encouraged himself in the Lord his God," #1Sa 30:6, he knew that, as birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend his people; defending also he will deliver them, and passing over he will preserve them, #Isa 31:5. This, though it were not written in David’s days, yet he had the good assurance of it in his soul.

Ver. 2. For, lo, the wicked bend their bow] sc. To shoot at you, a silly bird; you were best therefore to be packing, and not to stay till you come tumbling down, as a bird fetched off with a bolt. Nam ecce inquitis impii apposuerunt pedem arcui (Beza). This hath ever been the guise of the Church’s enemies, and is still, to terrify her (if they could) and affright her out of her faith and true religion. Nebuchadnezzar, for instance, Antiochus, that little antichrist, the primitive persecutors, and still the Papists, with their cruel inquisition, and otherwise. But what saith the apostle, In nothing be terrified by your adversaries, #Php 1:28. Be not afraid with any amazement, #1Pe 3:6. Nos quidem neque expavescimus neque pertimescimus ea quae ab ignorantibus patimur, saith Tertullian, We fear not what any of you can do to us, do your worst ( Ad Scapulain). Contemptus est a me Romanus et favor et furor, said Luther, I care not for Rome’s frowns or fair looks. This the blind world counteth and calleth silliness or stubbornness, but they know not the force of faith nor the privy armour of proof that the saints have about their hearts. They make ready their arrow upon the string, not in the quiver, as the Vulgate reads it.

That they may privily shoot Heb. to shoot in the darkness; so that, although the saints hide themselves in caves and dark corners, yet they are ferreted out thence by their persecutors, as David was by Saul often. And this some hold to be the meaning of that place, #Ps 74:20, "The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty"; that is, we can hide ourselves nowhere but the persecutors find us out.

Ver. 3. If the foundations be destroyed] If all things be turned "topsy turvy" in the state, and no regard had to right or wrong, Sed vi geritur res, ut in regno Cyclopico; if Saul, notwithstanding mine alliance to him, and innocence toward him, his many fair promises to me, and those hazards and hardships I have suffered for his sake, will needs go on to hunt me up and down, as a partridge in the mountains, and to seek mine utter undoing, what can I do to help it? how can it be but the most righteous must have his share of sufferings? See #Ps 82:5.

What can the righteous do?] More than glorify God, by suffering his will, and patiently wait for better times, comforting himself (as in the next verse) in this confidence, that God is in heaven, &c. Some render it, What hath the righteous done? The wicked will say that he hath undone all, and that David with his accomplices are the causes of all the public calamities and confusions. So the primitive persecutors charged the Christians ( Christianos ad leones. Tertul.), and Papists do still the Protestants, to be the troublers of the states, the seed men of sedition, the disturbers of the Church’s peace, &c., when as indeed themselves are flagella Reip. flabella seditionis, the only traitors and troublers of Israel; with Athaliah, they cry out, Treason, treason, when they themselves are the greatest traitors and incendiaries of Christendom. We may confidently say, with the psalmist, The foundations are destroyed, but what hath the righteous done? Some render the words thus, But those purposes or counsels (of Saul and his flatterers, #Ps 11:2) shall be destroyed (Saul shall be frustrated in his hope, therefore I will not flee into the mountains), but what hath the righteous done? That is, I have done nothing unrighteously against Saul, therefore I will not fly, &c.

Ver. 4. The Lord is in his holy temple] i.e. In heaven, and there hence he both can and will do much for the relief of his poor oppressed, though the righteous can do little for themselves, Ubi deficit auxilium humanum incipit divinum (Philo). He also knows, and will clear their innocence; for he sits between the cherubims, whence he is wont to send help, #Ps 20:3, and hath his throne in heaven, whence he is wont to strike terror into the enemies, #Ps 18:8, &c.

The Lord’s throne is in heaven] This is the same with the former, serving to set forth God’s sufficiency, as the following words do his efficiency, those props of David’s faith, answerable to Jachin and Boaz, those two brazen pillars in Solomon’s temple, Dei solium est nostrum asylum.

His eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men] The eye of God is taken in Scripture (saith one) either for his knowledge or for his judgment; his eye in this text pointeth out his knowledge, his eyelids his critical descant. It is a manner of speech, saith another, taken from those men’s actions who, being desirous to look upon a thing more intently, do wink with their eyes, or close up one of them, that they may see the better with the other.

Ver. 5. The Lord trieth the righteous] Or approveth, as #Jas 1:12; he justifieth and accepteth him, as appeareth by the opposition here. The Vulgate rendereth it thus: Deus interrogat iustum et impium, sc. quia per interrogatoria veritas dignoscitur: The Lord interrogateth the just and the wicked, sc. that so he may sift out the truth of things. But neither doth the Hebrew word so signify, nor doth God need any such help.

His soul hateth] i.e. He can in no wise away with; and this is spoken of God after the manner of men, for fury, hatred, and the like affections are not in him. If it could be said of Trajan the emperor, that he neither feared nor hated any man, how much more of God! And if of the tribunal at Zante, much better of God’s throne:

Hic locus odit, amat, punit, conservat, honorat,

Nequitiam, pacem, crimina, iura, bonos.

Ver. 6. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares] His soul hateth them; and as revenge is the next effect of hatred, he will exercise horrible judgmeuts upon them. Go on they may in their wicked ways for a time, and happily think to outrun wrath, but it shall easily overtake them, and inevitably: for the first thing that God shall rain upon them is snares, to catch and hold them fast, that they may surely suffer the rest that follow. "Take him, and lead him away safely," saith Judas concernmg Jesus to the soldiers, #Mr 14:44. And the same in effect saith God to his judgments concerning the wicked, on whom for that purpose he raineth snares, i.e. he suddenly surpriseth them; as by unexpected foul weather.

Fire and brimstone] Hell from heaven, as once upon Sodom and her sisters, figuring the vengeance of eternal fire, #Jude 7 Re 20:10, where the sacrifice is salted with fire, #Mr 9:49, that is, burneth, but consumeth not, fire being of a burning, but salt of a preserving nature, Perdit sed non disperdit, et cruciat ita ut nunquam perimat (Camero.). Tophet is of the most tormenting temper, the fuel thereof is fire, and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of fire, doth kindle it, #Isa 30:33. Utinam ubique, de Gehenna dissereretur, saith a Father, Oh that men would think and talk much of hell! Oh that they would take a turn in it; and, taking a view of that formidable fire fed with a river of brimstone, and blown by the breath of the Almighty, they would hasten out of their natural condition, as Lot did out of Sodom; since there is the smell of the fire and brimstone already upon them!

And an horrible tempest] Ventus procellosissimus, a most terrible blasting whirlwind, such as the Greeks call Prester; whereof see Plin. lib. 2, c. 48, and the Evangelist calleth Euroclydon, #Ac 27:14, the mariner’s mischief.

This shall be the portion of their cup] Vel, portio partis eorum, id est, ipsissima eorum portio; duplicatur idem sensus duobus verbis, saith R. David. He seemeth to allude to the custom at feasts, where each had his cup, his demensum, or measure of meat and drink. Wicked ones shall drink up the cup of God’s wrath (worse than that cup of boiling lead poured down the drunken Turk’s throat by the command of the bashaw), though it be brimful, and have eternity to the bottom, #Ps 75:8.

Ver. 7. For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness] sc. As a reflection of himself, as a piece of his own image. This is better than eyes opened, limbs restored, #Ps 146:8.

His countenance] Heb. countenances, or their faces, in mystery of the Holy Trinity.

Doth behold the upright] With singular delight and complacency ( Vide Vicars in loc.).

Chapter 12

Ver. 1. Help, Lord] It was high time to call to heaven for help when Saul cried, Go, kill me up the priests of Jehovah (the occasion, as it is thought, of making this psalm), and therein committed the sin against the Holy Ghost, as some grave divines are of the opinion, #1Sa 22:17. David, after many sad thoughts about that slaughter, and the occasion of it, Doeg’s malicious information, together with the paucity of his fast friends and the multitude of his sworn enemies at court, breaks forth abruptly into these words, "Help, Lord," help at a dead lift. The Arabic version hath it, Deliver me by main force, as with weapons of war, for the Lord is a man of war, #Ex 15:3.

For the godly man ceaseth] Heb. the merciful man, who, having obtained mercy from thee, would show me mercy, and defend mine innocence; such as these are banished the court, which is now possessed by parasites and sycophants.

For the faithful fail] Veraces, the true and trusty ones, such as a man may safely confide in; these are rare birds. See #Mic 7:1-3, &c., {See Trapp on "Mic 7:1"} {See Trapp on "Mic 7:2"} {See Trapp on "Mic 7:3"} When the Son of man cometh shall he find faith (in this sense also) in the earth? #Lu 18:8, hard and scarce. When Varus was slain Augustus complained that now he had none left that would deal plainly and faithfully with him. Lewis XI of France would say, that he had plenty of all things but of one. And being asked of what? Of truth, quoth he, Aurelian the emperor was brought and sold by his counsellors, for he might know nothing but as they informed him. David complaineth of Saul, that he was too apt to hearken to every claw back tell tale, #1Sa 24:9 26:19, so that he could have no fair dealing.

Ver. 2. They speak vanity every one with his neighbour] They speak falsely and fraudulently, and therein have an art, as #Jer 9:4,5, such as the devil hath taught them.

With flattering lips] Blandientibus, vel dividentibus. The Syriac version hath it, with dividing lips, such as separate very friends.

With a double heart do theft speak] Heb. With a heart and a heart. So Horace saith of Ulysses (Ode. 6, Animus versutulus et versatilis).

Cursus doplicis per mare Ulyssei.

The prophet here meaneth that they had one heart in their body, and another in their mouth, being desperate dissemblers, such as the French are said to be. Those men of Zebulun were none such, #1Ch 12:33.

Ver. 3. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips] As a rotten member is cut off from the body— Ne pars sincera trahatur, or as a barren tree is stocked up, that it cumber not the ground. There is a wonderful sympathy between princes and parasites, whose song is Mihi placet, quicquid regi placet, and whose practice is to speak suavia potius quam sans, sweet rather than sound things. But God will cut off such lips (taking notice of the offending member), as he dealt by Doeg, Ahithophel, Shebna, Shemaiah the Nehelamite, #Jer 29:32, and as it were to be wished that Christian princes would do; serving them all as the Thessalians did that city in Greece called Κολακεια, or flattery, which they destroyed and pulled down to the ground (Hen. Steph. Apol. pro Herod.).

And the tougue that speaketh proud things] Magnifica, bubbles of words, blustering speeches, breathing out nothing but arrogance and contempt of God and his people. These grandiloqui must one day answer for their hard speeches with flames about their ears, whatever they meet with in the meanwhile, as did Nestorius, Thomas Arundel, Stephen Gardiner, and others, plagued here in their tongues, those little members that had boasted so great things, #Jas 3:5.

Ver. 4. Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail] Dictitant enim, this was a common word with them. And surely the tongue is a desperate weapon, made in the form of a flaming sword, and elsewhere by David compared to a tuck or rapier, #Ps 64:3, to a razor also, doing deceit, #Ps 52:2 The Chaldee paraphrast hath this text thus, Because we can swear and lie, therefore we shall prevail.

Our lips are our own] Heb. are with us, that is, we have the command of our tongues, and have words at will; we can speak persuasively, and, therefore, we doubt not to persuade Saul to anything against David. Socrates, in his apology, My lords, said he to the judges, I know not how you have been affected with mine adversaries’ eloquence while you heard them speak; for mine own part, I assure you that I, whom it toucheth most, was almost drawn to believe that all they said, though against myself, was true, when they scarcely uttered one word of truth. Gaius Curio, the Roman, was ingeniose nequam, wittily wicked (Paterculus); and the Duke of Buckingham, in his speech to the Londoners, for Richard III, gained this (though slender) commendation, that no man could deliver so much bad matter in so good words and quaint phrases.

Who is lord over us?] sc. To hinder us from speaking what and when we list with fineness and eloquence, though to the slaying of three at once, the tale bearer, the tale hearer, and the party traduced. R. Samuel Ben Jochai hath this note upon the text: A slanderous tongue is called Lashon Tabithai ( Lingua tertia), because it slayeth three; but here it slew four, viz. Doeg, Saul, Nob, the city of the priests, and Abner, who suffered it so to be, #1Sa 22:18,19.

Ver. 5. For the oppression of the poor] Whose very oppression, though they complain not, hath a voice, and God will hear it, for he is gracious, #Ex 22:27. He heard Hagar’s affliction, though she said nothing, #Ge 16:11; he heareth the young ravens that cry unto him by implication only.

For the sighing of the needy] If it be but their breathing, #La 3:56, God can feel it, but the sighs of his people are effectual orators, #Ex 2:23-25 3:7; and their tears he puts in a bottle, #Ps 56:9.

Now will I arise] sc. In the nick of time, when all seems to be lost. Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. Cum duplicarentur lateres, venit Moses. See #Isa 33:10, Now, now, now.

Saith the Lord] Dixit mihi per prophetiam, #Isa 22:14.

From him that puffeth at him] That defieth him, and thinks he can blow him away at a blast; but if God arise only his enemies shall be scattered, as thistle down is by a puff of wind, #Ps 68:1. Some render the text, He will puff at him, that is, the oppressed will now dare to speak freely, who before durst not mute (R. David).

Ver. 6. The words of the Lord are pure words] Free from all insincerity or falsehood; and not like those of Saul’s flatterers, vile and vicious. All God’s promises are infallible, and such as a man may write upon, as they say. They are yea and Amen, #2Co 1:20, that is, truth and assurance. God hath hitherto kept promise with nights and days, that they shall one succeed another, #Jer 33:20,25, therefore much more will he keep promise with his people.

As silver tried in a furnace] In a sublimatory or crucible. The Greeks call it δοκιμιον, St Peter’s word, #1Pe 1:7.

Purifed seven times] That is, sufficiently. Alchemy gold, as it will not pass the seventh fire, so it doth not comfort the heart, as true gold will.

Ver. 7. Thou shall keep them] That is, Verba praedicta, the forementioned words or promises, saith Aben Ezra. Or, keep thou them (prayerwise), and so David puts God’s promises in suit. A certain good man having all taken from him, and his wife desiring to know how he and his family should live? He answered, he would now put his bond in suit; that is, he would urge God with his promises.

Thou shall preserve them] Heb. him, that is, every one of them, viz. the poor and needy, among whom David reckons himself, which shows his humility.

From this generation] So they are called for their multitude, in opposition to those few faithful ones, #Ps 12:1. An evil and adulterous generation they were, a bastardly brood, as #Mt 12:39. Omne tempus ferct Clodios, Catones non omne feret, saith Seneca.

Ver. 8. The wicked walk on every side] In circuitu, saith the Vulgate; the circular motion is most subtle, the devil walketh the rounds to do mischief; but better render it circumquaque, on every side, to show their numbers and their insolence. All places are full of them, such dust heaps are found in every corner; when as the godly are as the salt of the earth, sprinkled here and there, as salt useth to be, to keep the rest from putrefying.

When the vilest men are exalted] Heb. Vilities, the abstract for the concrete, quisquiliae, ουτιδανοι. Oft empty vessels swim aloft, rotten posts are gilt with adulterate gold, the worst weeds spring up bravest. Chaff will get to the top of the fan when good grain, as it lieth at the bottom of the heap, so it falls low at the feet of the farmer. The reason why wicked men walk on every side, are so brisk, so busy, and who but they? is given in to be this, because losels and rioters were exalted. See #Pr 28:12,18 29:2. As rheums and catarrhs fall from the head to the lungs, and cause a consumption of the whole body; so it is in the body politic. As a fish putrefies first in the head, and then in all the parts; so here. Some render the text thus, When they (that is, the wicked) are exalted, it is a shame for the sons of men, that other men, who better deserve preferment, are not only slighted, but vilely handled by such worthless ambitionists; who yet the higher they climb, as apes, the more they discover their deformities.

Chapter 13

Ver. 1. How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?] It appeareth that when David penned this psalm (which some think was about the end of Saul’s persecution, when he was forced to flee into the land of the Philistines, #1Sa 27:1) he was under a dreadful desertion, and that for a long while together; hence his many "How longs," and "for ever?" Christ, saith Greenham, was forsaken for a few hours, David for a few months, and Job for a few years. Luther confesseth of himself that after his conversion he lay three days in desperation; and the like is reported of Mr Robert Bolton, who felt himself for the time in the suburbs of hell, as it were. So did Heman, #Ps 88:5; so did David here and elsewhere. The final absence of God is hell itself. "Depart from me, ye cursed," is worse than "into everlasting fire." To be punished from the presence of the Lord is the hell of hells, #2Th 1:9. God seemeth to forget his dearest children sometimes for a season, to the end that they may remember themselves, and become every way better; as the lion leaves her whelps till they have almost killed themselves with roaring, that they may become the more courageous. But, to speak properly, God cannot forget his people, #Isa 44:16 49:14-16. Non deserit Deus, etiamsi deserere videatur; non deserit etiamsi deserat, saith Austin, If he leave us for a time, yet he forsaketh us not at all. If he hide his face (as in the next words), which is a further trial, and a greater misery (for it importeth indignation, contempt, and hatred), yet it is but for a moment, though it should be during life; and he, therefore, taketh liberty to do it, saith one, because he hath an eternity of time to reveal his kindness in; time enough for kisses and embraces: meanwhile, as when the sun is eclipsed, though the earth wants the light thereof, yet not the influence thereof; so God’s supporting grace is ever with his deserted.

Ver. 2. How long shall I take counsel in my soul] i.e. Conceal my grief, saith Aben Ezra, which is no small aggravation of it; or, How long shall I toss and tumble in my mind sundry counsels and purposes, but all to no purpose? This is no small affliction, when we try all courses to get out of durance, and nothing will do. Such must needs have much sorrow in their hearts.

Having sorrow in my heart daily?] Heb. by day, sc. when others are full of business and forget their sorrows, saith R. David. But the Greek rendereth it, day and night. David was a cheerful man, and a great musician; but at this time heaviness had possessed his heart, and his harp would not relieve him. Sadness of spirit had dried up his bones, #Pr 17:22, and made him a very bag of bones, a bottle in the smoke, shrinking away to nothing almost. See #Pr 12:25 15:13, {See Trapp on "Pr 12:25"} {See Trapp on "Pr 15:13"}

Ver. 3. Consider and hear me, O Lord my God] He turns him to God in this peck of trouble (for they seldom come single), and pleads the covenant, "My God," beseeching him to see and hear both at once how it fared with him, and to send him seasonable and suitable help. It were wide with the faithful if they had not their God to repair unto in distress, pouring out their souls into his blessed bosom. This they must do most earnestly, when under a cloud of desertion; as our Saviour, being in an agony, prayed more fervently, #Lu 22:44; and as Micah, having lost his gods, set up his note, #Jud 18:24.

Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep death] i.e. Comfort my conscience, clear up my condition, and cheer up my drooping spirit, lest I faint away as a dying man, whose eyes through weakness wax dim, lest I fall into that somnus ferreus, as the poets call death, that longest sleep;

Surge, ne longus tibi somnus unde

Non times, detur (Hor. lib. 3, Od. 11).

Ver. 4. Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him] This David frequently deprecateth as a great evil, because God’s honour was concerned in it, and would suffer by it. As unskilful hunters, shooting at wild beasts, do sometimes kill a man; so persecutors, shooting at saints, hit Christ, reproach him; and this the saints are very aware of.

And those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved] Compose comedies out of my tragedies, et iram Dei ad calumniam rapiant. The wicked are vindictive and implacable, sick of the devil’s disease, επιχαιρεκακια, rejoicing at other men’s harms, revelling in other men’s ruins; but this is to enrage God, and hasten wrath, #Pr 24:17,18.

Ver. 5. But I have trusted in thy mercy] Notwithstanding all the endeavours of earth and of hell to cast down this castle of my confidence, I will not quit it; but be still as a green olive tree in the house of God: I will trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever, #Ps 52:8.

Ver. 6. I will sing unto the Lord] How far different is the end of this psalm from the beginning! See the like #Ps 6:1, {See Trapp on "Ps 6:1"}

Because he hath dealt bountifully with me] Qui retribuit mihi, so Popish merit-mongers read it, and would therehence collect something in favour of their absurd tenet. But their own Vulgate translation hath it bona tribuit, hath given me good things. And it is well observed (Ainsworth), that though the Hebrew word be sometimes taken for rewarding evil for good, #Ps 7:5, or evil for evil, #Ps 137:8, yet from God to his people it commonly signifieth a bountiful rewarding of good things instead of evil, which we rather do deserve. So #Ps 116:7 119:17 142:7.

Chapter 14

Ver. 1. The fool] That sapless fellow, that carcase of a man, that walking sepulchre of himself, in whom all religion and right reason is withered and wasted, dried up and decayed. Nabal, a fool or a churl; Nebalah, a carcase, #Le 11:40. That apostate, in whom natural principles are extinct, and from whom God is departed; as when the prince is removing hangings are taken down. That mere animal, that hath no more than a reasonable soul, and for little other purpose than as salt, to keep his body from putrefying, φυχικος, #1Co 2:14. That wicked man, hereafter described, that studieth atheism,

Hath said in his heart] As David proves afterward by his practice; for there are practical atheists as well as dogmatic. See a like passage, #Ps 36:1, "The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart" (that is, my mind gives me, and I am strongly persuaded) "that there is no fear of God before his eyes." This is the charge; but what proof is there? proof good enough, #Ps 14:2-4, "For he flattereth himself," &c. So here; he is a flat atheist; for corrupt he is, and become abominable, &c. That which Cicero (De Nat. Deor.) saith of Epicurus, that lest he should offend the Athenians, verbis reliquit deos, re sustulit, in words he affirmed there were Gods, but in deed he denied a Deity, is found true in many even to this day; for all places are full of them, and so is hell too. Lucian is their Old Testament, and Machiavel their New. Worse they are than Agrippa, who was almost a Christian; worse than Protagoras with his De diis utrum sint, non ausim affirmare. For in their hearts and lives there is heard this hellish language,

There is no God] Oh horrible! Not that atheism can ever find a perfect and continual assent in man’s heart; for there is no nation under heaven so barbarous but yields that there is a God. When man fell from God this truth stood; as when cities and great buildings are overthrown by war some towers, some pinnacles, survive the violence. They lie, saith Seneca, who say that they hold there is no God; for though to thee they say so by day, yet to themselves and by night they doubt it, at least. And when they come to die they sometimes cry out they are damned; as did Thomas Blaverus, chief counsellor sometime to the king of Scots; and one Arthur Miller, a professed atheist; and, before them both, a certain desperate dean of Paul’s (Sword against Swearers).

Corrupt are they, and become abominable] Or loathsome; how should they be better, that have laid hands upon all the principles in their heads, and made a clean riddance of them, that they may run riot in sin without restraint or control? which, while others see, they also are ready to say, with that poet,

Sollicitor nullos esse putare Deus.

I have read of a woman who, living in professed doubt of the Godhead, after better illumination and repentance, did often protest that the vicious life of a great scholar in that town did conjure up those damnable doubtings in her soul (Mr Ward’s Happ. of Parad.).

There is none that doeth good] i.e. None to speak of, no considerable number,

Apparent rari nantes in gurgite vasto.

Ver. 2. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men] As opposed to the children of God, so some take it, as #Ge 4:26 6:2. As a judge he looketh down, he vieweth, he taketh cognizance, ere he proceedeth to sentence. Thus he dealt with the old world, with Sodom, with Egypt, &c., to teach us not to be too hasty. No more haste than good speed, saith one. The celestial spheres, the higher they are in situation the slower in their proper motion; and the supreme judge of all useth much forbearance.

And that did understand and seek God] These only are they whom God looketh after; not the rich, but the righteous. And because knowledge is the ground of all goodness, as folly is of wickedness, #Ps 14:1, therefore is it here said, "any that did understand and seek God." Lo, these are these precious ones whom God regarded; such as are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, #Ro 15:14. "The Father seeketh such to worship him," #Joh 4:23.

Ver. 3. They are all gone aside, &c.] This is God’s own report of the matter, fully answering to that before given in by David, #Ps 14:1. Good men have the mind of Christ, #1Co 2:16, and do fully concur with him in judgment and affection. David was a man after God’s own heart; and the heart of Paul is the heart of Christ, saith Chrysostom. But why, then, doth not David except himself out of this universitas declinantium, community of stragglers that are gone aside? and why doth St Paul argue from this text that all, both Jews and Gentiles, are stark naught? #Ro 3:10-12. I answer, because by nature there is never a better of us; but κακοι μεν θριπες κακοι ηδε και ιπες, as the Greek proverb hath it. "All we like sheep have gone astray," saith the whole Church, #Isa 53:6 Homo est inversus decalogus, we naturally all stand across to all goodness. The word here rendered gone aside signifieth to give back sturdily, as a stubborn heifer, that refuseth to receive the yoke.

They are altogether become filthy] Heb. stinking, yielding a worse smell than carrion doth, or than the filthy fox doth, of whom Oppianus reporteth (and experience showeth it to be true), that when he is beset on all sides by the dogs that hunt him, he bewrayeth his tail with urine and dung, of a most loathsome smell, and besmearing therewith the dogs’ noses, driveth them away therewith many times (Bodin. Theat. Nat. 352). But all this is nothing to the filth and stench of sin, which made their very incense an abomination, #Isa 1:13; and rendereth them most like the devil, that foul spirit, that ever goeth out with a stench, as they say of him. The Hebrews have the same word for sin and a dead carcase; and again the same word for sin and stench. רחמ רנפ God’s vineyard brought forth stinking grapes, םישׁאב #Isa 5:5, and the wicked utter rotten language, Δογος σαπρος, #Eph 5:4 Hence Longinquus est Iehovah ab impiis, The Lord stands aloof off from the wicked, #Pr 15:29 Ps 5:5, that is, from all for whom Christ hath not given himself "an offering, and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour," #Eph 5:2. The apostle rendereth it, they are useless, ηχρειωθησον, or, as he elsewhere phraseth it, "to every good work reprobate," #Tit 1:16.

There is none that doeth good] Spiritually good, and unto divine acceptation. There is many times malum opus in bona materia. How can you that are evil do good works? Good they may be materially, but not formally and eventually; such were the good parts and practices of Socrates, Aristides, Scipio, Atticus, Cato, and other honest heathens; they were no better than splendida peccata, glistering sins, because they failed,

1. Quoad fontem, they did not out of the good treasure of their hearts bring forth those good things; they were strangers to the life of God, to the new nature.

2. Quoad finem, they brought forth fruit to themselves, #Ho 10:1, they had not good aims in their good actions. Now, Bonum non sit nisi ex integra causa; malum ex quolibet defectu, say the schools.

No, not one] Usque ad unum, i.e. ad Christum, saith Austin, not considering the force of the Hebrew phrase, which importeth an utter denial of any mere man that of himself doeth good.

Ver. 4. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge?] No, not so much as Pilate’s wife had in a dream; for else they would take heed of having anything to do with those just men. But they are workers of iniquity, habituated and hardened in cruelty, fleshed in blood; and having a hoof upon their hearts, so that they are masters of their consciences, and have taken a course with them. In this question here asked the psalmist doth not so much quaerere as queri, ask as chide and complain.

Who eat up my people as they eat bread] That is, quotidie, daily, saith Austin; as duly as they eat bread; or, with the same eagerness and voracity. These man eaters, these Δαοβοροι, cruel cannibals, make no more conscience to undo a poor man than to eat a good meal when they are hungry. Like pickerels in a pond, or sharks in the sea, they devour the poorer, as those do the lesser fishes; and that many times with a plausible invisible consumption; as the usurer, who, like the ostrich, can digest any metal, but especially money.

They call not upon the Lord] viz. For a blessing upon that their bread, as some sense it; how should they, since God abhorreth them? #Ps 10:3. But better take it for neglect of the duty of prayer; they rob God of his inward and outward worship, and so deal worse with him than idolaters do with their dunghill deities, whom they cease not to call upon. These will commit no impropriety in God’s service; and be sure that their prayer (like that of Haman’s, #Es 7:7) shall never be turned into sin. If they pray in extremity (as then a Joab will lay hold on the horns of the altar), it is but as blind beggars are forced to ask, though they know not of whom.

Ver. 5. There were they in great fear] There? and they? and in great fear? where? and who? and what kind of fear was it they were in? For answer: There, that is, in the generation of the righteous, in the assemblies of the saints, according to that, #Ps 76:3, "There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and battle. Selah." There, that is, in Salem, where is God’s tabernacle; and in Zion, where is his dwelling place, #Ps 14:2, in the congregation, where the saints were praying. Or, there, that is, in the very place where they oppressed and devoured the poor, they were surprised with a sudden horror, In loco ubi opprimunt (R. David), even there where they had said, Peace and safety, &c., and where no fear was, #Ps 53:5, no apparent cause of such an amazement, #Isa 13:8. A panic terror fell upon them; they feared a fear, as the Hebrew hath it, but could not tell why; the hornet within stings them, and they have many a secret twinge that the world is never aware off Saul was afraid of David, and Catiline trembled upon the least noise made.

For God is in the generation of the righteous] And natural conscience cannot but do homage to the image of God, stamped upon the natures and works of the godly. See it in the carriage of Nebuchadnezzar and Darius toward Daniel, sticking stoutly to his principles. The piety, patience, mercy, goodness, expressed by the righteous when oppressed, makes the hearts of wicked men ache within them; and they are sore afraid of the name of God called upon by them, #De 28:10. Or, God is in the generation of the righteous, sc. Ad iuvandum eum, saith Aben Ezra, to support and succour them; and that strangely many times, the enemies themselves being judges, to their great astonishment.

Ver. 6. You have shamed the counsel of the poor] And thought to mock him out of his confidence, as Sennacherib did by Hezekiah, and the Jews by our Saviour. Religion was long since grown, as it is also at this day among many, not more a matter of form than of scorn. In our wretched days, as the Turks count all fools to be saints, so many with us account all saints to be fools. He is a fool, we say, that would be laughed out of his coat; but he were a double fool that would be laughed out of his skin, that would hazard his soul because loth to be laughed at.

Because the Lord is his refuge] Sed Iehovah Protector eius, because he runs to God by prayer, and commits himself wholly to him for direction and success in all his enterprises; Pudefacitis, id est, facitis ut videatur putidum, you jeer, and hold it an egregious silliness. You reject his confidence, and rely on the arm of flesh; which yet was never true to those that trusted unto it.

Ver. 7. Oh that the salvation of Israel, &c.] This is the second part of the psalm, wherein David prayeth to God to deliver his Israel out of the hands of those atheists and oppressors. The whole Church must be remembered in our prayers, and that ancient people of God, the Jews, not forgotten (Sanhed. c. 11). Many of their Rabbis make this whole psalm a prophecy of their dispersion among the Gentiles, their oppressors; and this a prayer for their restoration. For our sins, say they, which are many, the coming of the Messiah (that salvation of Israel) is deferred, the time of his coming is sealed up, #Da 12:4. Verum enimvero Dens nos dignabitur clarissima visione cum reducer Zionem; tunc intelligemus res ipsas prout sunt, saith Jachiades on that text; but God shall give us a clear sight of all things when he shall bring back Zion, &c. This is truth, and we must hasten that time by our heartiest wishes for that obdurate people, that a redeemer would come to them out of Zion, #Ro 11:26, that the covering cast over that people might be destroyed, #Isa 25:7, and a general joy conceived throughout all the Churches for their happy readmission.

Out of Zion] i.e. Out of the Church, whence all good cometh; and such blessings as are better than all else that heaven or earth affordeth, #Ps 134:3.

Chapter 15

Ver. 1. Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?] Heb. who shall sojourn? for that is our condition while here, in a foreign country, and not at home. The Church militant also is transportative, as well as the tabernacle; and not fixed to one place. Never was the ark settled till set in Solomon’s temple; neither shall we till we come to heaven. David, having described an atheist in #Ps 14:1-4, and finding but too many such in the bosom of the Church, politicians, profane persons, hypocrites, who profess that they know God, but in works they deny him, #Tit 1:16 (he that dethroneth a king doth as bad as he that denieth him), he therefore begs of God to disterminate, and put a difference between the righteous and the wicked, by certain infallible distinctive notes and characters, wherein men may surely rest without danger of being deceived; since his testimony is beyond all exception, and he is αυτοπιστος self credible. Here, then, that grand and grave question is propounded by David as a prophet of God, consulting with him, and answered by God himself, from more authority’s sake: Who is the true citizen of Zion, the free denizen of the new Jerusalem, who is a right member of the Church militant, and shall be at length of the Church triumphant? A reverend divine said once to a poor soul, that told him he was troubled about his salvation, I tell thee, said he, it is able to trouble the whole world (Sinners’ Salvation, by Hooker, p. 2). Let a man but approve himself the party here described in desire at least, and endeavour, being humbled for his daily failings, and he may be confident.

Who shall dwell in thine holy hill?] Heaven is aptly compared to a hill, hell to a hole. Now who shall ascend into this holy mount? None but those whom this mount comes down unto, that have sweet communion with God in this life present, whose conversation is in heaven, though their commoration be for a while upon earth, who do here eat, and drink, and sleep eternal life.

Ver. 2. He that walketh uprightly] This is God’s answer, for men are unsound, and unfit to judge, saith Calvin. They judge according to opinion and appearance many times, and send those to heaven that can never come there; as the pope doth his canonized saints; Mahomet, those that die in defence of Turkism; and parasitical preachers their irreligious benefactors. But God only admitteth such as are righteously religious and religiously righteous; such as through whose whole lives godliness runneth, as the woof doth through the warp. He, then, that shall be an inhabitant of heaven must first walk uprightly, or evenly. Christians, saith Tertullian, are funambulones, as those that walk on ropes, if they tread but one step awry they are utterly gone; they must be sine terrena et profunda fraude, as R. David here glosseth, without guile, and unacquainted with the depths of the devil, #Pr 11:22; the upright in their way are opposed to the froward in heart. And such only shall dwell with devouring fire, that is, with God, #Isa 33:14,15. The Arabic version for uprightly here hath, without a cloud of vices.

And worketh righteousness] This is wrought by faith, #Heb 11:33, and such a man is acceptable to God, #Ac 10:35. But the whole life of unbelievers is sin, saith Austin, neither is there anything good without the chiefest good. It was well said of Luther, Walk in the heaven of the promise, but in the earth of the law; that in respect of believing, this of obeying.

And speaketh the truth in his heart] His λογος ενδιαθετος and προφορικος are all one, he speaks as he thinks; his speech is the lively image of his inward affection. That was no commendation to that pope and his nephew, of whom it was said, that the one never spoke as he thought, the other never performed what he spoke.

Ver. 3. He that backbiteth not with his tongue] That trotteth not up and down for the purpose, as the word signifieth; that walketh not about as a pedlar with his pack, as the word is, #Le 19:16, this is a bloody sin, ibid.; confer #Eze 22:9. Ragal, whence Regal, a foot. Many ways a man may backbite with his tongue, that unruly member.

Imponens, augens, manifestans, in mala vertens,

Qui negat, aut minuit, tacuit, laudatque remisse.

One observeth from this text that there is also a slander of the heart that never cometh into the tongue, sc. hard conceits and evil surmises. Some say that the word here signifieth to speak truth, but with a mischievous mind, to hurt another; as Doeg dealt by David, and is, therefore, accursed, #Ps 52:1-6., and called a liar for his labour, #Ps 120:2-3 The smutting of another man’s good name in any kind behind his back is backbiting; it is an irreparable wrong; take heed of it. The eye and the good name can bear no jests, as the proverb hath it.

Nor doth evil to his neighbour] Neither by disparaging nor disprofiting him. There is an elegance in the original that cannot be translated into English.

Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour] Or receiveth, or endureth. The tale bearer carrieth the devil in his tongue; the tale hearer in his ear. Plautus wisheth that the one may be hanged by his tongue, and the other by his ear; the receiver, we say, is as bad as the thief. Not only he that maketh a lie, but he that loveth it, is excluded heaven, #Re 22:15. It is evil to sow reports and slanders, but worse to harrow them in. The heathen could say, He that easily believeth slanders, aut improbis, out puerilibus est moribus, is either a knave or a fool.

Ver. 4. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned] An abject, a reprobate, as one rendereth it; be he as high as Haman; see Esther’s character of him, #Es 7:6, and Mordecai’s slighting of him, #Es 3:2 (Josephus). Be he as great as Antiochus Epiphanes, to whom the Samaritans, excusing themselves that they were no Jews, wrote thus, To Antiochus, the great god. Daniel counted and called him a vile person, #Da 11:21. So Elisha despised Jehoram the king, #2Ki 3:14; we also must despise the wicked; yet non virum, sed vitium, et salvo cuique loci sui honore, giving honour, befitting their places, to whom honour is due, #Ro 13:7., but shunning that partiality taxed by St James, #Jas 2:3,4. The burgess of the New Jerusalem, reprobos reprobat, et probes probat, he cannot flatter any man, nor fancy such as in whom he findeth not aliquid Christi, something of the image of God. A golden colosse, stuffed with rubbish, he cannot stoop to.

But he honoureth them that fear the Lord] As the only earthly angels, though never so mean and despicable in the world’s eye. Mr Fox, being asked whether he remembered not such a poor servant of God who had received help from him in time of trouble? answered, I remember him well; I tell you I forget lords and ladies to remember such. Ingo, an ancient king of Draves and Veneds, set his pagan nobles, at a feast, in his hall below, and a company of poor Christians with himself in his presence chamber, entertaining them with the royalest cheer and kingliest attendance that might be. At which when his nobles wondered, he told them, this he did not as he was king of the Draves, but as he was king of another world, wherein these should be his companions and fellow princes (Aeneas Sylv. cap. 20).

He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not] Covetousness he so hateth that, first, he will rather suffer loss than be worse than his oath or honest word; secondly, he lendeth, looking for nothing again; thirdly, he taketh no reward against the innocent, either as a judge or as a pleader. Of many swearers it may be said, that they can play with oaths as children do with nuts; or as monkeys do with their collars, which they can slip off at their pleasure. And of many promisers, that they are like the peacock, all in changeable colours, as often changed as moved; but this is not the guise of God’s people. The Jews at this day keep no oath unless they swear upon their own Torah, or law, brought out of their synagogues (Tertul.). The Turks keep no oath further than may stand with their own convenience. The Papists hold that faith is not to be kept with heretics; and they practise accordingly. But the old Romans had a great care always to perform their word, whatever it cost them; insomuch that the first temple built in Rome was dedicated to the goddess Fidelity. In after times indeed, Romanis promittere promptum erat, promissis autem, quanquam iuramento firmarls, minime stare: The Romans were forward to promise and swear, but careless to perform, if Mirrhanes, the Persian general, may be believed (Procop. de Bel. Persic. lib. 1). But an oath was ever held among all nations a sacred bond, and obligatory, unless it were contra bones mores, against good morals, as the lawyers speak. Joshua and the elders kept their oath to the Gibeonites, though to their inconvenience. Zedekiah was punished for not keeping touch with the king of Babylon. And one of the laws of the knights of the band in Spain was, that if any of them broke his promise he went alone by himself, and nobody spake to him, nor he to any.

Ver. 5. He that putteth not out his money to usury] To biting usury, so some distinguish it from Tarbith, the toothless usury. But both these are condemned, #Eze 18:8,13, and no man of note in all antiquity (Jews and Manichees excepted) for one thousand five hundred years after Christ hath ever undertaken the defence thereof. Here and #Ne 5:7-11 it is plainly cried down; neither is there any ground in Scripture for that distinction of usury into biting and toothless. The beaver biteth so sore, as that he never looseth his teeth until he have broke the bones. Usury-Usurers

Nor taketh reward against the innocent] Olim didici quid sint munera, said one. A good man, as he despiseth the gain of oppressions, so he shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, #Isa 33:15, lest the touching thereof should infect and benumb him; as Pliny writeth of the fish torpedo, and as histories report of Demosthenes, that great lawyer, tempted and prevailed with against right, by poisoning Harpalus’s goblet.

He that doeth these things] For not the hearers of the law, but the doers shall be justified, #Ro 2:13. And to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, shall be eternal life, #Ro 15:7.

Shall never be moved] Potest in momentum moveri, sed non in aeternum: resurget enim, saith R. Solomon here, Moved he may be for a time, but not removed for ever. His soul is bound up in the bundle of life, near unto the throne of glory; when the souls of the wicked are restless as a stone in the midst of a sling, saith the Targum, in #1Sa 15.

Michtam of David] i.e. David’s precious jewel, or psalm of gold, propter mirificam eius excellentiam, better worth than its weight in gold, both for the matter thereof, and the metre, Insignis Ode Davidis Trem επος χρυσουν, prae corona aestimatur hic Psalmus (R. Solomon). Aureum flumen orationis, said Cicero, concerning Aristotle’s Politics; there is in that book a golden flood of discourse; and Liber iste auro contra non carus, said another, concerning the lives of the philosophers written by Diogenes Laertius, No gold is comparable to that gallant piece. How much more may the same be said of this notable psalm! as that which, beside many other remarkable matters, lively setteth forth the mystery of Christ’s passion and resurrection, with the fruit of both; this he doth more like an evangelist than a prophet, and may, therefore, be called (as likewise Isaiah is) the evangelical prophet. And whereas, saith learned Beza, he calleth the Messiah Chasid, #Ps 16:10 (that is, as I interpret it, that man upon whom the Father hath most plentifully poured out all his grace and bounty, which also we all draw from him alone by faith), David seemeth in this one word to have summed up the whole doctrine of the gospel.

Chapter 16

Ver. 1. Preserve me, O God] Keep me safe unto the kingdom, both temporal and eternal, which thou hast promised me; and now that I am fleeing to the Philistines for shelter, #1Sa 27:1 (for that is held to be the time when he composed this golden psalm), guard me, guide me, keep me by thy power through faith unto salvation. This prayer of his David was well assured should be granted; and, therefore, he giveth thanks, #Ps 16:7.

For in thee do I put my trust] This was a most powerful plea, for to trust God is the highest honour we can do him, it is to set the crown upon his head. See #Jud 9:15. And if such shall be forsaken God will be a great loser in his glory, whereof he is very tender.

Ver. 2. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord] Or, I have said unto the Lord; and so I had rather read it, with Jerome and the Septuagint; because the letter Jod may be wanting in Amarti. See the like, #Job 42:2 Eze 16:59. David was here extra se abreptus, carried beyond himself, and so might easily speak short, and say Amart for Amarti; like as Moses, in a passion, said to God, At for Atta, #Nu 11:15, as not able to speak out. Amor Dei est ecstaticus, &c.

Thou art my Lord] Heb. Thou my Lord, so the next words, My good not unto thee; all concise and abrupt, out of deepest affection; broken language from a broken spirit, spending and exhaling itself into God’s blessed bosom.

My goodness extendeth not to thee] But if it did I could with all my heart beteem it thee; even the very best of my best; but what can I give thee save only τα σο εκ των σων, since all is thine own? #1Ch 29:14,16 Ps 24:1; thou needest no sacrifices, #Ps 50:8, neither art thou delighted therein, #Ps 51:18 Isa 1:11. All that thou requirest is mercy, #Ho 6:5 Mic 6:8 Mt 12:7. Therefore I will seek out those thy receivers, the saints, that are in the earth, &c. {See Trapp on "Job 35:6"} {See Trapp on "Job 35:7"} {See Trapp on "Job 35:8"}

Ver. 3. But to the saints] The family of faith were, by a specialty, the object of David’s bounty. Socrates, seeing a certain man giving alms to all he met, whether they were good or bad, said, male pereas qui ex gratiis cure sint virgines, facias scorta. David, the better to persuade with God to preserve him safe to the kingdom, promiseth two things: first, that he will cherish and countenance the godly party; secondly, that he will cashier and cast out all kinds of idolatry, and maintain to his utmost the sincere service of God, #Ps 16:4.

And to the excellent] Or, noble, glorious, wonderful, magnificent. The saints are princes in all lands, #Ps 45:16; of an excellent spirit, #Pr 17:27; more excellent than their neighbours, dwell they wheresover, #Pr 12:26. They are styled the glory, #Isa 4:5, a crown of glory, #Isa 62:3, a royal diadem, ibid., a kingdom of priests, #Ex 19:6, higher than the kings of the earth, #Ps 89:27, greater than the four famous monarchies, #Da 7:18, worthies of whom the world is not worthy, #Heb 11:38, fitter to be set as stars in heaven. And surely as stars, though seen sometimes in a puddle or stinking ditch, though they reflect there, yet have they their situation in heaven; so the saints, though here in a low condition, yet are they fixed in the region of happiness.

In whom is all my delight] Heb. Cheptsibam. So the Church is called God’s Hephzibah, #Isa 62:4. Next to communion with God the communion of saints is most delectable. It is the very being bound up in the bundle of life, which was the blessing of Abigail upon David. Ipse aspectus viri boni delectat, saith Seneca, the very sight of a good man (morally good) delighted; what, then, of a saint? #Ezr 10:3. This the heathen persecutors knew, and, therefore, banished and confined the Christians to isles and mines, where they could not one come at another, as Cyprian observeth.

Ver. 4. Their sorrows shall be multiplied] Many sorrows shall be to those wicked idolaters, #Ps 32:10, some of their own creating by their superstitions and will worships (vide Plutarch, περι δεισιδαιμονιας); others from a jealous and just God; others from the devil, who acteth and agitateth them, beateth and whippeth them (as at this day he doth the poor Indians, who worship devils in most terrible figure; believing that they are permitted of God to punish or spare them at their pleasure); and some they shall be sure of from me whenever I come to the kingdom. Some, after the Chaldee, read it, their idols are multiplied. The old heathens had thirty thousand in Hesiod’s days. In China there are said to be at this day no fewer than a hundred thousand idols, which they use to whip if they come not at a call to help them. Before a sick man they put the devil’s picture, that he may learn to know him in another world, and take him for his friend.

That hasten after another god] Or, that endow another god. Superstition is not only painful but chargeable. The story is told of one king of England, that he bestowed as much upon a cross as the revenues of his kingdom came to in a year. Idolaters lavish out of the bag, and spare for no cost; witness the Papists’ vowed presents and memories, as they call them, hung up in honour to their male and female saints, the Lady of Loretto especially. But it was the serpent’s grammar that first taught men to decline God in the plural number, Eritis sicut Dii, you will be as gods, as Damianus observeth from #Ge 3:5, and hence that innumerable rabble. The Jesuits boast of their Ignatii Apotheosis; and Cardinal Bembus is not ashamed to say of his St Francis, quod in deorum numerum ab Ecclesia Romana sit relatus (Hist. Venet.). Is not this abominable idolatry? #1Pe 4:3.

Their drink offerings of blood] Many heathens sacrificed to their idols (that is, to devils) with man’s blood, against all laws of humanity and piety. Thus they sacrificed to Bellona, the sister of Mars; as also with blood let out of their own arms (Euseb. de Praep. Evangel.). The priests of Baal (who perhaps was Mars) cut and lanced themselves, #1Ki 18:28 So do the Mahometan priests of today; as the Papists whip themselves, &c. The old idolaters offered their children in sacrifice to Moloch, or Saturn. David abhorreth the thought of such inhumanities, Neque deos illegitimos, nec illegitime colam, saith he, I will have no such doings.

Nor take up their names into my lips] But spit them out of my mouth with utmost detestation, according to the law, #Ex 23:13. It repented Austin that ever he had used the word Fortune, that heathen goddess (Epist. ad Damas.). And Absit ut de ore Christiano sonet Iupiter omnipotens, &c., saith Jerome, Let no Christian mouth say, Jupiter omnipotent, or swear Mehercule, Mecastor. The primitive Christians would not call their days of the week dies Martis, Mercurii, &c., as Trismegist had named them; but the first, second, third, &c., day of the week. All occasions or semblances of idolatry should be shunned; it is not safe being at Satan’s mess though our spoon be never so long, saith one. See #Ho 2:16,17 Zec 13:2 De 12:2.

Ver. 5. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance] Therefore I have neither need nor mind to run a madding after dumb idols; for he is good original, universal, all sufficient, and satisfactory, proportionable, and fitting to my soul; so that, having him, I am abundantly provided for.

And of my cup] A phrase taken from those shares that every one had assigned unto him at feasts, #Ge 43:34 1Sa 1:4 9:23: q.d. Thou art my meat and my drink, Lord, and I am very well content with my condition, be it better or worse. That which gives quiet in any portion, is, First, The favour and presence of God; Secondly, That it is from the hand of a Father; Thirdly, That it comes to us in the covenant of grace; Fourthly, That it is the purchase of Christ’s blood; Fifthly, That it is an answer of prayers, and a blessing from above on honest endeavours.

Thou maintainest my lot] Upholdest me in a good condition, who should otherwise soon lose and forego it, were it in mine own keeping. And here the psalmist useth four several words, all to the same sense, ad corroborandum, saith R. David.

Ver. 6. The lines are fallen] In allusion to those lines wherewith they measured land when they parted it. See #De 32:9 Ps 105:11 78:55 Ac 26:18 Eph 1:11. David, having God for his portion, could say with Jacob, I have all things, #Ge 33:11. Paul also saith the same, #Php 4:18, and further telleth us that, having nothing, he yet possessed all things; for why, he had got the divine art of contentation, #Php 4:12, and so could be either on the top of Jacob’s ladder or at the bottom; he could sing either Placentia or Lachrymae, abound or be abased, &c. Sine Deo omnis copia est egestas (Bern.).

In pleasant places] From the delectable orchard of the Leonine prison, said that Italian martyr, dating his letter. Tua praesentia, Domine, Laurentio ipsam craticulam dulcem fecit, said that ancient; Thy presence, Lord, made Laurence’s gridiron pleasant to him. Quia in Deo est portio mea, est quasi in loco amaeno (R. David).

Yea, I have a goodly heritage] I have as much (in content at least) as he who hath most. The bee is as well pleased with feeding on the dew, or sucking from a flower, as Behemoth that grazeth on the mountains. The lark when aloft seeth farther, with a little eye, than the ox on the ground with a greater.

Atque suum tirilitirilitiritirlire cantat.

Ver. 7. I will bless the Lord who hath given me counsel] David frequently consulted with God by Abiathar the priest, whom God, by a sweet providence, sent unto him with an ephod for a comfort in his banishment, #1Sa 22:20. Saul had slain those that wear the ephod, therefore God answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets, #1Sa 28:6, as he did his servant David; who therefore blesseth him, when the other runneth from him to the witch for counsel, and from her to the sword’s point.

My reins also instruct me] God hath not only illuminated me, whereby I shall be the better able to endure a great fight of affliction, #Heb 10:32, but he hath also sanctified me, and honoured me with holy inspirations, and feeling of the Spirit of adoption, whereby mine internal thoughts and secret motions do dictate and suggest unto me what I ought to do and undertake. Methinks I hear a sweet still voice within me, saying, This is the way, walk in it; and this in the night season, when I am wrapped in rest and silence; or, night after night, the Spirit is a continual spring of counsel and comfort within me, prompting me to make God my portion, and to choose this good part that shall never be taken away from me.

In the night seasons] When commonly we are prone to evil ( Nox et Amor, &c. Ilia pudore vacat, &c. (Ovid.)), and which is the wicked man’s fittest opportunity, #Job 24:13,15,16, &c. It must not content us that God by his word hath given us counsel, but we must labour to be inwardly taught of God. A man may read the figure upon the dial, but he cannot tell how the day goes, unless the sun shine upon the dial; we may read the Bible over, and hear it opened and applied, but can learn nothing till the Spirit shine into our hearts, #2Co 4:6, and so our reins instruct us, &c.

Ver. 8. I have set the Lord always before me] Heb. I have equally set, or proposed. The apostle translateth it, "I foresee the Lord always before my face," #Ac 2:25. I set the eye of my faith full upon him, and suffer it not to take to other things; I look him in the face, oculo irretorto, as the eagle looketh upon the sun; and oculo adamantino, with an eye of adamant, which turns only to one point; so here, I have equally set the Lord before me, without irregular affections and passions. And this was one of those lessons that his reins had taught him, that the Holy Spirit had dictated unto him.

Because he is as my right hand] To help me that I fall not, saith R. David, or as a thing that I cannot but remember, as being of continual use to me. It is as necessary to remember God, as to draw breath, saith Chrysostom.

I shall not be moved] i.e. Not greatly moved, as #Ps 62:2. Though Satan stand at the right hand of a godly man, to resist and annoy him, #Zec 3:1, yet so long as God is at his right hand, to assist and comfort him, and he at God’s right hand, #Ps 45:9 (which is a place of honour and safety), he cannot be moved. The gates of hell shall never prevail; Christ, our Samson, hath flung them off their hinges.

Ver. 9. Therefore my heart is glad, &c.] That is, I am all over in very good plight, as well as heart can wish or need require; I do overly abound exceedingly with joy. God forgive me mine unthankfulness and unworthiness of so great glory (as that martyr, Mr Philpot, said). In all the days of my life I was never so merry as now I am in this dark dungeon, &c. Wicked men rejoice in appearance, and not in heart, #2Co 5:12; their joy is but skin deep, their mirth frothy and flashy, such as wetteth the mouth, but warmeth not the heart. But David is totus totus, quantus quantus exultabundus, his heart, glory, flesh (answerable, as some think, to that of the apostle, #1Th 5:23, spirit, soul, and body), were all over joyed.

My flesh shall also rest (or confidently dwell) in hope] Namely, in this world, as in a way faring lodging; then in the grave, as a place of safeguard and repose; and at last in heaven, as in its true and eternal mansion (Diodati).

Ver. 10. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell] That is, my body in the grave ( animamque sepulchro condimus -Virg, de Polydori funere. Aeneid. iii.), or in the state of the dead, #Ge 37:35. That soul is sometimes put for a carcase or dead corpse, see #Job 14:22 Le 19:28 21:1,11 Nu 5:2 6:6 19:13, which place is expounded, #Eze 44:25. David can confidently write upon his grave, Resurgam, I shall rise again. This many heathens had no hope of, #1Th 4:13 (Horat. lib. iv. Od. 7).

Cum semel occideris,

Non Torquate, tuum genus, aut facundia, non te

Restituet pietas, &c.

Yet some heathens believed both the immortality of the soul, and therefore durst die (— animaeque capaces mortis —), and the resurrection of the body, as did Zoroastes, Theopompus, Plato; and as do the Turks today.

Neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one, &c. That is, the Messiah that is to come out of my loins, and who saith to me and all his members {as #Isa 26:19} in effect, "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust," &c. {See Trapp on the title Michtam "Ps 16:1"} The former part of this verse seems to be spoken of David, the latter of Christ; like as #Job 35:15, the former part is of God, the latter of Job. See the margin. Christ’s resurrection is a cause, pledge, and surety of the saint’s resurrection to glory; for joy whereof David’s heart leaped within him. Christ’s body, though laid in the corrupting pit, could not see, that is, feel, corruption, it was therefore a pious error in those good women who brought their sweet odours to embalm his dead body, #Lu 24:1.

Ver. 11. Thou wilt show me the path of life] This being applied to Christ, seemeth to show that as man he did not yet fully understand that inexplicable glory wherewith the Father would glorify him after death with himself, #Joh 17:5. Sure it is, that David did not, nor can any man living, #1Co 2:9: here is as much said as can be said (but words are too weak to utter it). For quality, there is in heaven joy and pleasures. For quantity, a fulness, a torrent, whereat they drink without let or loathing. For constancy, it is at God’s right hand, who is stronger than all, neither can any take us out of his hand; it is a constant happiness without intermission. And for perpetuity, it is for evermore. Heaven’s joys are without measure, mixture, or end. Contra Acheron, ab αα χαιρειν, quod sit illaetabilis unda; vel ab αχος and υριν ( ut vult Plato) quod fluat luctuosis undis.

A Prayer of David] He was a man of prayer; but this was his appeal to God, the supreme Judge, as the word importeth.

Chapter 17

Ver. 1. Hear the right, O Lord] Heb. Righteousness, which crieth unto God no less than blood doth, #Ge 4:10 Or, hear the right, that is, my prayer, saith R. David, rightly made with heart and voice. Or, Hear, O righteous Lord, as Christ also saith, O righteous Father, #Joh 17:25

Attend unto my cry] Some profane persons bear well their crosses, because their cause is good; but they cry not when God bindeth them, #Job 36:13. Or, if they cry, they cry out of hard fortune, as the Athenians did when their good General Nicias was slain, and their army routed in Sicily (Thucyd.); or against dame Virtue, as if it were no more than a mere name, as Brutus did, when beaten out of the field (Dio). Or, against providence, as if there were a mist over the eye of it, as Pompey did, when discomfited by Caesar; so blaming the sun, because of the soreness of his own blear eyes. But David (greatly wronged by Saul and his courtiers) by humble and hearty prayer maketh his request known to God with thanksgiving, #Php 4:6. And this, like his harp, drove away the evil spirit of grief and discontent.

That goeth not out of feigned lips] His devotion was not sorrowful, as is that of hypocrites; it was not an empty ring, a mere outside, the labour of the lips, but the travail of the heart; it was sincere and thoroughly wrought, as St James hath it, ενεργουμενη, #Jas 5:16. Wicked men speak God fair, but it is as the devil did our Saviour, to be rid of him, or as those, #Ps 78:36, who flattered him with their mouths, and lied unto him with their tongues.

Ver. 2. Let my sentence come forth from thy presence] Let it be both pronounced and executed forthwith.

Let thine eyes behold, &c.] i.e. Make it appear that thou both seest and likest mine integrity; and that thou winkest not at men’s wickednesses.

Ver. 3. Thou hast proved my heart] And knowest me to be no dissembler and traitor, as they wrongfully charge me, while they muse as they use.

Thou hast visited me in the night] In which God is wont to stir up and inmind men of his will, #Job 4:13,14, as being all gathered within themselves; and when the darkness doth unmask them of worldly dissimulation.

Thou hast tried me] As metallaries do their gold and silver.

And shall find nothing] Heb. hast not found, םוט deficit, saith Aben Ezra; no blot or blemish, that is, not the spot of God’s children, #De 32:5, no dross or deceit that may not well consist with godliness.

I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress] My general purpose is such, though I may have my particular failings. I speak my whole heart, so far as I know it. Magna est concordia cordis et oris.

Ver. 4. Concerning the works of men] sc. Which ought to be done by them according to thy law. Or, which they are wont to do, whether right or wrong, I have not now to say, but this I can safely say by thy mercy, that

By the word of thy lips] Which I have taken for the rule and rudder of my life,

I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer] Effractoris, of the breach maker; such as is the bridge maker of Rome, at this day. David meaneth that he had shunned the society of graceless persons, #Ps 26:4 Pr 24:21 Jer 15:17; and taken heed to his ways, that he offended not with his tongue, while the wicked was present, #Ps 39:1,2, lest the wicked should rejoice at his misdemeanors, #Ps 38:17.

Ver. 5. Hold up my goings in thy paths, &c.] Keep me within the circle of thy word, as thou hitherto hast done; make me to walk exactly, and as in a frame, #Eph 5:15. Grant me thy preventing, concomitant, and subsequent grace: O thou God of all grace, perfect, strengthen, stablish me, #1Pe 5:10.

That my footsteps slip not] By the malice of Satan, who seeks to subvert such as are most eminent, to the scandal of the weak, and scorn of the wicked; by the corruption also of mine own heart, Qua quisque sibi Satan est, as one well saith, whereby every man is a Satan to himself: could we but divorce the flesh from the devil, there would be no such danger. And, lastly, by the allurements or affrightments of this present evil world; the way whereof is like the vale of Siddim, slimy and slippery, full of slime pits and pit falls, springs and stumblingblocks.

Ver. 6. I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me] q.d. Thou wast always wont to hear me, and therefore I presume thou wilt. Experience breeds confidence.

Incline thine ear] See how he reinforceth his former request; as if he would wring the blessing out of God’s hands by a holy violence, and take no denial.

Ver. 7. Show thy marvellous lovingkindness, &c] Mirificas benignitates tuas; less than a marvellous mercifulness will not serve David’s turn, he was so hardly bestead; ut nisi mirabiliter feceris, pereo. We now alive have lived in an age of miracles; and God hath dealt with our land, not according to his ordinary course, but according to his prerogative; by a miracle of his mercy have we hitherto subsisted, and by a prop of his extraordinary patience.

O thou that savest, &c.] Servator sperantium. Choice must be made in prayer of fit titles and attributes of God; such as may strengthen faith and quicken affection.

From those that rise up against them] Or, against thy right hand. The saints are at Christ’s right hand, #Ps 45:9, as Christ is at the Father’s; and he puts his holy hand between them and harm.

Ver. 8. Keep me as the apple of the eye] Heb. As the black of the apple of the eye, two words to the same sense, for more vehemence, q.d. Serva me studiosissime. The apple of the eye, that little man in the eye (as the Hebrew word importeth, the girl, κορη, as the Greeks for like cause call it), is the tenderest piece of the tenderest part, the eye; which is kept most diligently, and strongly guarded by nature with tunicles. David therefore fitly prayeth to be so kept. ( Huc pertinet locus Cicer. De Nat. Deor.).

Hide me under the shadow of thy wing] Another excellent similitude taken from fowls, which either cover their young with their wings from the scorching heat of the sunbeams, as doth the eagle; or keep them thereby from the cold, or from the kite, as hens do. God’s love to and care of his poor people is hereby shadowed out; as it was likewise by the outspread wings of the cherubims in the sanctuary. See #Ru 2:12 De 32:10 Zec 2:8 Ps 36:8 57:2 Mt 23:37.

Ver. 9. From the wicked that oppress me] Heb. that waste me, i. e. that cast me out into banishmeat, despoiled of all. This hard usage of his enemies drove David into God’s blessed bosom; as children misused abroad run home to their parents.

From my deadly enemies] Heb. my enemies against the soul, i. e. the life at least, if not the soul, which they would gladly destroy. Some malice is so mischievous, that it would ruin body and soul together; as that monster of Milan, the enemies of John Huss, and Jerome of Prague, whose bodies they delivered to the fire, and their souls to the devil. David elsewhere complaineth of his enemies, that they did Satanically hate him, #Ps 55:4. "Beware of men," saith our Saviour, #Mt 10:17, for one man is a devil to another.

Ver. 10. They are inclosed in their own fat] See #Job 15:27, {See Trapp on "Job 15:27"} They abound in all delights, and therefore soare not to speak proudly. They have closed up their eyes in their fulsome fat, ut non videant nec timeant te, saith R. Solomon, that they cau neither see nor fear thee. Adipem suum obesant (Tram.).

With their mouth they speak proudly] Heb. in pride, that is, Palam et pleats buccis; openly and with full mouth they condemn God and men; they belch out blasphemies, and do what they please.

Ver. 11. They have now compassed us in our steps] i.e. Me and my company; so that we cannot stir any whither but we are in danger of them. "In all thy ways acknowledge God, and he shall direct thy paths," #Pr 3:6. "Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him," &c., #Ps 32:5. Keep within God’s precincts, and thou shalt be under his protection. He took order that a bird should be safe upon her own nest.

They have set their eyes bowing down to the earth] i.e. Hoc unum spectant ut ruamus (Junius). They are earnestly bent and firmly resolved upon our ruin, as one that fixeth his eyes upon another, to mark him, or to know him again; or as bulls, ready to run at one, set their eyes downward.

Ver. 12. Like as a lion that is greedy, &c.] Cruelty and craft are conjoined in the Church’s enemies; as the ape never wandereth alone, they say, without his companion. David here pointeth out some one special enemy (Saul likely), who should have been a shepherd, but proved a lion.

As a young lion lurking] Therefore as we tender our safety, keep close to God, out of whose hands none can take us, no, not the roaring lion of hell.

Ver. 13. Arise, O Lord, disappoint him] Anticipa faciem eius, that is, that raging and ravening lion; step between me and him, and stop his fury, defeat his purpose, and disable his power.

Which is thy sword] As Assyria is called tho rod of his wrath. Attila styled himself, Orbis flagellum, the wrath of God and the scourge of the world. So Tamerlane was commonly called, the wrath of God and terror of the world. Some render it, by thy sword, i.e. or thy might and power; see #Job 40:19?; or, by thy word execute thy judgment.

Ver. 14. From men which are thy hand] This, saith one, is David’s Litany, From those men, &c., good Lord, deliver me. God’s hand they are called, as before God’s sword. Titus, son of Vespasian, being extolled for destroying Jerusalem, said, I have only lent God my hand, but he hath done the work.

From men of the world] Heb. From mortals of this transitory world, qui sunt mundani, mundum spirant et sapiunt, the inhabitants of the earth, and of the sea, as opposed to the citizens of the New Jerusalem, #Re 12:12; such as having incarnated their souls (as that Father speaketh) are of the earth, speak of the earth, and the earth heareth them, #Joh 3:31, mind earthly things only, as if they were born for no other purpose. Terrigenae fratres animam habentes triticeam, as those stall fed beasts in the gospel. A mortuis i.e. impiis qui sunt mortui in vita eorum (R. Gaon).

Which have their portion in this life] And they love to have it so; saying, with the prodigal, "Give me the portion that belongeth to me." They crave it, and they have it, but with a vengeance ( Munera magna quidem misit, sed misit in hamo), as the Israelites had quails to choke them, and afterwards a king to vex them, a table to be a snare to them, &c. By the way observe, that wicked men have a right to earthly things (a man must needs have some right to his portion; what Ananias had was his own while he had it, #Ac 5:4), and it is a rigour to say, they are usurpers. As when the king gives a traitor his life, he gives him meat and drink that may maintain his life; so it is here; neither shall wicked men be called to account at the last day tbr possessing what they had, but for abusing that possession. As for the saints who are heirs of the world, with faithful Abraham, and have a double portion, even all the blessings of heaven and of earth, conferred upon them, though here they be held to strait allowance, let them live upon reversions, and consider that they have right to all, and shall one day have rule of all, #Re 3:21 Mendicato pane hic vivamus, annon hoc pulchre sarcitur? &c. What though we here were to live upon alms, saith Luther, is there not a good amends made us, in that here we have Christ the bread of life in his ordinances, and shall hereafter have the full fruition of him in heaven? The whole Turkish empire is nothing else but a crust cast by our Father to his dogs; and it is all they are likely to have, let them make them merry with it. Wilt not thou (saith another) be content, unless God let down the vessel to thee, as to Peter, with all manner of beasts of the earth, and fowls of the air, #Ac 10:12. Must you needs have first and second course? Difficile est ut praesentibus bonus quis fruatur et futuris; ut hic ventrem illic mentem reficiat, ut de deliciis ad delicias transeat, ut in coelo et in terra gloriosus apparent, saith Jerome, It is a very hard thing to have earth and heaven too, &c. Gregory the Great trembled whensoever he read those words of Abraham to the rich glutton (who thought this life to be his saginary or boar’s frank), "Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things," #Lu 16:25. "Ye have lived in pleasure upon earth," #Jas 5:5, no fit place for such a purpose. God did not turn you out of one paradise that you should here provide yourselves of another; earth is a place of banishment and bondage. Of the wicked’s prosperity here, see #Job 21:7,8. {See Trapp on "Job 21:7"} {See Trapp on "Job 21:8"}

And whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasures] That is, with gold, and other precious things dug out of the earth, saith Aben Ezra; Opimis rebus, saith Junius; with abundance of outward blessings and benefits, saith another; which are called God’s hidden treasures, not because they are not seen, but because they are not so well perceived and used Of the ungodly, as were meet; or because the reason of their present plenty of all things is hidden from them, and yet it appears not but shall be made manifest that these fatting ware are but fitting for the slaughter.

They are full of children] Which they send forth as a flock, #Job 21:11. {See Trapp on "Job 21:11"} Or, their children are full carne porcina, saith the Arabic here, or of worldly wealth, and mountains of money left them by those faithful drudges, their rich but wretched parents and progenitors, whose only care was to heap up hoards of wealth for their posterity.

Ver. 15. As for me] I neither envy nor covet these men’s happiness, but partly have and partly hope for a far better.

I will behold thy face in righteousness] Which none can do but the pure in heart, #Mt 5:8, and those that keep close to God in a constant communion, being justified and sanctified persons.

I shall be satisfied] Better than those muckworms and their children are.

When I awake] sc. Out of the dust of death, at the resurrection.

With thy likeness] With the visible sign of thy glory in heaven, #1Jo 3:2.

To the chief Musician] Some render it, Ad triumphandum; and well they may; for this is old David’s επινικιον, or triumphant song after so many victories and deliverances; and it is twice recorded in Scripture, with very little variation, {see #2Sa 22} for the great worth and weightiness of the matter; that we may the more observe it, and be the better versed in it. This here recorded seemeth to be the review of it, and hence those small additions and alterations that are found here and there, but not of any great moment.

A Psalm of David] Who having now gotten some breathing while from his troubles, gave not himself to idleness or worldly pleasures (as the Romans used to do after that they had once ridden in triumph), but, calling to mind God’s great mercies towards him, composed this sweet psalmody to his glory.

The servant of the Lord] So he styled himself before, #Ps 36:1, when he first entered upon the kingdom; and now here again, when being to lay it down together with his life, he breatheth out his holy soul to God in this divine ditty.

Sic ubi fata vocant, &c.

This he did after that, as a faithful servant of the Lord, he had done all the wills of God, #Ac 13:22, had served out his full time, #Ps 18:36, and dwelt in God’s house to length of days, #Ps 23:6.

Who spake unto the Lord the words of this song] God lets out his mercies to us for this rent of our praises; and is content we have the benefit of them, so he may have the glory. The Hebrews give this note here; every man for whom there is wrought a miracle of mercy, and he thereupon uttereth a song, hath his sins forgiven him. This is better yet than that of the Papists, who promise pardon of sin to those that shall hear two masses a day. We who have received so many mercies should compass God about with songs of deliverances, and not only servire Deo, sed et adulari, serve God and make obeisance, as Tertullian hath it.

From the hand of all his enemies] Heb. From the palm of other enemies, as less considerable, but from the hand (or clutched fist) of Saul.

And from the hand of Saul] His greatest enemy, and of longest continuance. So Christ is said to save his people from their sins, by a specialty, #Mt 1:21, because they do us the most mischief.

Chapter 18

Ver. 1. I will love thee, O Lord my strength] Heb. I will love thee dearly and entirely, ex intimis visceribus, from the very heart-root, from the bottom of my bowels; with like intention of affection, as a tender hearted mother doth her dearest babe, that is her own bowels; herself of the second edition. Neither did David herein supererogate: For God requireth to be loved with all the heart, mind, soul, strength, as one that is best worthy; good without measure, that hath loved us without measure, and therefore is without measure by us to be beloved. Modus sit sine mode (Bern.). Not that we are bound to love God in quantum est diligibilis so much as he is lovely or love worthy; for so God can only love himself; but, Nihil supra, aeque, aut contra, nothing must we love above God or so much as God, much less against God; we must be able to say affectionately, with David, #Ps 73:25,26, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee." And as Bernard, Amo te, Domine, plus quam mea, meos, me I love thee, Lord, more than my goods, my friends, myself. A Christian begins with loving God for himself, but he ends in loving himself, and all other, both persons and things, in and for God. His friend he loveth in the Lord, his foes for the Lord; but God he loveth absolutely, and for himself, affecting not only a union with him, but even a unity, his heart being turned, as it were, into a very lump of love, as was Mary’s, #Lu 7:47. Histories tell of a certain woman that came to Vespasian the emperor, professing that she was in love with him; he commanded that a liberal reward should be given her for the same; and when his steward asked him under what item he should put that gift in the book of account, Vespasiano adamato, said the emperor, Item, To her that loved Vespasian. God, saith the apostle, is not unrighteous, to forget your labour of love, &c., #Heb 6:10. "I love them that love me," saith Christ, #Pr 8:17. And his love is not like the winter sun, which hath light, but no heat; he is the strength of his people, their rock, fortress.

Ver. 2. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, &c.] i.e. He is all in all for my preservation. Ten words, say the Hebrews, he here heapeth up, in reference to ten signal victories; or rather because his thankful heart was so enlarged, that he could never satisfy himself in saying what God had been to him and done for him; and hence this congeries, or heap of holy expressions; and all to show that God is a rock of refuge, a firm fortress, a receptacle of rest, a sanctuary of safety to all his saints in time of trouble. David had had his share, and had been put to his shifts; glad to hide himself, as he could, in rocks and strong holds that sheltered him from the storm. To these he alludeth when he calls God his rock, fortress, &c.

And my deliverer] Rocks and strong holds do not always deliver (witness the Shechemites, Jebusites, Arimasphes), but God always doth.

And the horn of my salvation] Qui veluti cornu petit et conficit hostes meos, saith Vatablus; who goreth and dispatcheth mine enemies. A metaphor either from horned beasts, or else (as some will have it) from the ancient custom of wearing horns of iron upon their helmet, for a crest or military ornament; whereupon the raised horn was a sign of victory, and the horn beaten down a sign of being overcome.

Ver. 3. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised] Or, is the proper object of praises, because he is good and doth good, #Ps 119:68. David vows to praise him,

1. By loving him entirely.

2. By trusting in him steadfastly, #Ps 18:1

3. By calling upon him continually, here, and #Ps 116:2,3, which psalm is very like to this (in the beginning especially) both for matter and method.

So shall I be saved, &c.] He hath often proved the power of prayer, especially when he came ready prepared to praise God for the return of prayer; and thence he is bold to promise himself all good.

Ver. 4. The sorrows of death compass me] Or, the pangs, pains, throes as of a travailing woman, these environed me, or came thick and threefold upon me, perveniebant usque ad ףא even to my face (as the Rabbins descant upon the word), or flew upon me; desperate and deadly dangers assailed me. Medrash. Tillin. Aphaphuni pro gnaphaphuni. The worst of an evil escaped is to be thankfully acknowledged, and highest strains of eloquence therein to be used so that pride be avoided, and the praise of God only aimed at.

And the floods of ungodly men] Heb. of Belial, that is, of Belialists, acted and agitated by the devil; these same tumbling upon him like many and mighty waters, Fluctus fluctum trudit. Torrentes Belial terrebant me.

Ver. 5. The sorrows] Or, throes, or cords, such as wherewith they bind malefactors led forth to execution.

The snares of death prevented me] David knew how to make the most of a mercy; he means, I was almost surprised, and all hope of help seemed to be anticipated; if help should come, it would some too late.

Ver. 6. In my distress I called upon the Lord] This was David’s anchora sacra; sacred anchor, prayer, he knew, could never come too late, nor God want a way to deliver his distressed. The time of affliction is the time of supplication; and man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.

And cried unto my God] He grew more and more earnest. We must pray and not faint, #Lu 18:1, but rise in our suits.

Out of his temple] i.e. Heaven, whereof the temple was a type, as being the place of God’s special presence, and of transcendent holiness.

Ver. 7. Then the earth shook and trembled, &c.] Upon David’s prayer all this befell; like as, #Ac 4:31, the house shook wherein they were praying; and the thundering legion procured thunder and rain; and so did Samuel by his prayers, #1Sa 12:17,18. But this terrible tempest here described is to be taken rather allegorically than historically. The prophet, in most lofty and lively terms and expressions (far above the strain of the most sublime either poets or orators), describeth God’s powerful presence and concurrence in David’s conquests.

The foundations also of the hills] That is, so vehement was the earthquake, that it shook, as it were, the roots of the mountains, which lie deep within the ground, #2Sa 22:8. These hills are called the foundation of heaven, as #Job 26:11, the pillars of heaven; because the tops of high mountains seem to touch the clouds, and the heavens seem to lean upon them; and because the earth is in the centre of the world, about the which the heavens do continually turn.

Because he was wroth] Or, burn did his nose. So

Ver. 8. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils] As angry men breathe vehemently, and seem to spit fire by their blustering speeches and menaces, so here ανθρωποπαθως omnia, quae tamen θεοπρεπως sunt intelligenda.

Ver. 9. He bowed the heavens] i.e. Velociter venit, saith R. David, he came speedily to destroy mine enemies.

And darkness was under his feet] He came invisible.

Ver. 10. And he rode upon a cherub] Which word hath affinity with rechub, a chariot. Hereby is noted God’s swiftness in coming to succour David. He waits to be gracious, and when it is a fit season he comes leaping and skipping over the mountains of Bether or division, all lets and impediments. Gabriel came to Daniel with weariness of flight, #Da 9:21.

He did fly upon the wings of the wind] For, by the ministry of angels, God raiseth and stilleth the winds (Vatablus).

Ver. 11. He made darkness his secret place] As a king, that, being angry, withdraweth himself from his subjects, and will not be seen of them. Vel quia decreta Dei veniunt invisibiliter, said R. David.

Ver. 12. At the brightness that was before him, &c.] i.e. At his bright presence, his thick clouds (wherein he was enveloped) passed, or did cleave, as it were, in sunder; whence came hailstones mixed with coals of fire, or lightnings out of the clouds; which God maketh at once airy seas and airy furnaces; fetching fire out of the midst of water, and hard stone out of the midst of thin vapours.

Ver. 13. The Lord also thundered in the heavens] Quasi pro classico, et auspicio proelii ineundi.

Ver. 14. Yea, he sent out his arrows, &c.] Tandem permiscentur omnia grandine flammis et fulminibus tanquam telis et sagittis Dei adversus hostes pugnantis. After the advance guard, #Ps 18:12, the great ordnance, #Ps 18:13, the battle begins, and all is on a hurry.

Ver. 15. Then the channels of waters were seen] The force of this terrible tempest is further set forth by the effect of it, a dreadful concussion of the universe; not without an allusion to the drying up of the Red Sea and of Jordan before Israel: which deliverances stood for archetypes, or chief patterns, to all posterity.

Ver. 16. He sent from above, he took me] He rescued me as by a hand reached me from heaven. Deus εκ μηχανης, or, he sent his angels to secure me.

He drew me out of many waters] As he had once done Moses, #Ex 2:10, who there hence also had his name. Musaeus, for the same cause, calleth him υδχογενης, water spring.

Ver. 17. He delivered me from my strong enemy] Saul; this he oft instanceth, rolling it as sugar under his tongue, and turning aside often to look upon it, as Samson did to see his dead lion fetching honey out of it.

For they were too strong for me] And then God’s help was most seasonable when David found himself outmatched.

Ver. 18. They prevented me, &c.] They took me on the sudden, and unprovided. The children of this world are wiser, &c.

But the Lord was my stay] Or, my staff, whereon I so leaned as that if he had failed me I had been all along.

Ver. 19. He brought me forth also, &c.] He freed me out of all straits, and stated me in a most happy condition.

He delivered, because he delighted in me] All was of free grace and favour, not of any merit. And this he purposely premiseth as a caution to the ensuing profession of his inherency.

Ver. 20. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness] viz. The righteousness of my cause; and my freedom from such crimes of disloyalty and ambition, wherewith mine enemies charged me, as if pricked on by my pride I sought the kingdom. As also, according to mine honest desire and endeavour in all things else to keep a good conscience, void of offence toward God and men. This, though God’s own work, and a debt most due to him, yet he is pleased graciously to reward.

Ver. 21. For I have kept the ways of the Lord] For the main, and for the most part, though not without some particular stumblings and startings aside, against my general resolution and the tendency of mine heart.

And have not wickedly departed from my God] By an utter defection; I have not been transformed into sin’s image, by projecting sin, by falling into it with full consent, and by lying under the power of it. Non ex superbia sed errore, saith E. David here; not of presumption have I offended, or with a high hand, but of infirmity, and with reluctance; rising up again by repentance, and renewing my covenant.

Ver. 22. For all his judgments were before me] Mine obedience (in desire and endeavour at least) was universal, extending to the compass of the whole law; and this is a sure sign of sincerity, Hence in the next words,

Ver. 23. I was also upright before him] This he had because he kept God’s commandments, as #Ps 18:22, had respect to them all, #Ps 119:6, both to the magnalia and minutula legis, which he kept as the apple of his eye, #Pr 7:2, even all God’s wills, #Ac 13:22, and was therefore approved in Christ, as Apelles, #Ro 16:10, and passed for an Israelite indeed, in whom was no guile, as Nathanael, #Joh 1:47.

And I kept myself from mine iniquity] i.e. From my peccatum in deliciis, my darling sin, whereto I am either by nature or custom most inclined and addicted; from the iniquity of my heart and secret thoughts, which no man can charge me with, saith Aben Ezra; from that sin of disloyalty, which Saul and his courtiers charge me with, say others.

Ver. 24. Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me] See on #Ps 18:20. Reward and mercy are joined together in the second commandment; and, #Ps 62:12, it is a mercy in God to reward a man according to his work.

According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight] i.e. Which he hath beheld in me; though mine enemies were of another judgment, Qua illo iudice praeditus sum (Vatab.).

Ver. 25. With the merciful, &c.] Hypothesin hic ad thesin transfert. It is as if he should say, I and mine enemies are a pattern of thy truth and justice, that thou wilt do good to those that are good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked paths, thou, Lord, shalt lead them forth with the workers of iniquity, #Ps 125:4,5.

Ver. 26. With the pure, &c.] Cum candido candide agere soles. The pure shall have all that heart can wish.

And with the froward thou wilt show thyself froward] Or, thou wilt wrestle, viz. with such cross pieces, as proudly and perversely err from thy precepts, as it were, on purpose to thwart thee, or to try masteries with thee. Against such stubborn persons God threateneth not eight degrees (which are the highest notes in music and degrees in qualities, as the philosopher distinguisheth them), but twenty and eight degrees of wrath, #Le 26:18,21,24,28. Exiget ab iis rationem minutissimorum, saith R. Obad. Gaon upon this text; he will reckon with them for their least offences, and not bate them an ace of their due punishment. He will pay them home in their own coin, over shoot them in their own bow, fill them with their own ways, be as cross as they are, for the hearts of them; yet still in a way of justice, though he break the necks of them in wrestling, and send them packing to their place in hell. Ainsworth rendereth it, With the froward thou wilt show thyself wry. It is a similitude taken from wrestlers, and noteth a writhing of one’s self against an adversary. Compare herewith #De 32:5. They are a perverse and crooked generation (the same two words that are here in this text); the latter importeth, that they wriggled and writhed after the manner of wrestlers that wave up and down, and wind the other way, when one thinks to have them here or there. But all will not serve their turn to save them from punishment. God will be sure to meet with them, his word will lay hold on them, and their sin shall find them out.

Ver. 27. For thou wilt save the afflicted people] Even the same whom before he had called merciful, or godly, upright, pure, here are the afflicted, and seem by God to be neglected; but he will save them assuredly, though he bear long with them, #Lu 18:7.

But wilt bring down high looks] In Samuel it is, "Thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down," #2Sa 22:28, q.d. God’s eyes are upon them all the while that he spareth them, to watch for a fit season to ruin them.

Ver. 28. For thou wilt light my candle] Or, Thou hast lighted my candle, that is, thou hast bettered my condition, which seemed to be put out in obscurity. The wicked man’s is, #Job 18:6 21:17 Pr 13:9.

The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness] He hath, and yet still will turn my grief into joy, as #Es 8:17, and meanwhile direct and comfort me in mine afflictions; as a candle is a great comfort in the dark, though it doth not make day where it comes, as the sun doth,

Ver. 29. For by thee have I run through a troop] Though but a little man, yet by God’s help he achieved great matters, did great exploits. Homo tricubitalis, saith a Father concerning Paul; Et coelum ascendit: so here. Some render it, Currebam accinctus: I ran well appointed (Bucholcer); and they interpret it of his victory over Goliath, whom he ran upon and cut off his head, after that he had hurled at him with as good a force; Perinde ac si fundae suae tunicis non lapillum, sed Deum ipsum induisset ae implicuisset, saith one; as if he had got not a stone, but God himself, into the bought of his sling.

And by my God have I leapt over a wall] That is, I have stormed a walled town, or fort, with very little ado; being no less valiant and venturous than Alexander the Great was among the Indians; but upon far better grounds, because in the strength of God, as at the fort of Zion.

Ver. 30. As for God, his way is perfect] All his dispensations toward his children, his actions and directions, his providences and promises, are most trusty and true; having neither vice, vanity, insincerity, nor deceit in them, #2Sa 22:31.

The word of the Lord is tried] This is a famous sentence, and was much in the mouths of God’s people. See #Pr 30:5, {See Trapp on "Pr 30:5"}

Ver. 31. For who is God save the Lord?] Fictitios Deos et vanas spes prosternit, saith Vatablus. Here he striketh down to the ground all false gods and all vain hopes. Contemno minutulos istos Deos mode Iovem mihi propitium habeam, said a heathen. David might much better say, I care not for those petty deities, so I may have Jehovah to favour me.

Ver. 32. It is God that girdeth me with strength] It is a metaphor, saith Vatablus, either from a soldier’s belt, which buckleth his armour close to him, and maketh him more steady; or else from the reins themselves, in which the Scripture sometimes placeth strength and vigour. God did all for David; and hath here the glory of all his valour and victories.

And maketh my way perfect] i.e. Completeth and prospereth all my designs and enterprises. For want hereof many attempt much, but effect little or nothing. Antiochus, king of Syria, was called Magnus for undertaking much and performing little. Guicciardin saith of Charles VIII, in his expedition to Naples, that he came into the field like thunder and lightning, but went out like a snuff; more than a man at first, and less than a woman at last.

Ver. 33. He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet] Heb. He matcheth my feet, like hinds’ feet; that is, not only swift, if I have occasion by flight to provide for myself, or to pursue mine enemies flying before me; but also steady, if I come into any dangerous places. Asahel was swift of foot as a wild roe, #2Sa 2:18. Josephus saith of him, that he contended with horses in running. Saul and Jonathan are said to be swifter than eagles, #2Sa 1:23. Achilles was ποδας ωκυς, saith Homer. The hind, when pursued by the wolf, runs most swiftly; witness the poet (Horat. lib. 1, Od. 15, 23):

Quem tu, cervus uti vallis in altera

Visum parte lupum, graminis immemor,

Sublimi fugies mollis anhelitu.

And again,

Vitas hinnuleo me similis, Chloe, &c.

But they that wait upon the Lord have a promise that they shall not only run as hinds, but mount up as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint, #Isa 40:31.

He setteth me upon my high places] Where, having by flight or fight escaped, I am secured; yea, he hath advanced me, and brought me to this high honour, Securus postquam evasi ab illis (R. David).

Ver. 34. He teacheth mine hands to war] David ascribeth all his military skill and success to God; so did not other great warriors, Alexander, Scipio, Fabius, &c., but sacrificed to their own nets, and were ready to say, as Sesostris, king of Egypt, did when he had conquered any country, he was wont to set up pillars with these words engraven upon them, This country I got by mine own strength and valour, ταυτην την χωρην ωμοισι τοις εμοισιν εκτησαμην (Herodot. l. 2).

So that a bow of steel, &c.] Which is more flexible and stronger than a bow of iron; whence is that, #Job 20:24.

Ver. 35. Thou hast also given me, &c.] i.e. Thou hast preserved and settled me. {See Trapp on "Ps 5:12"}

And thy gentleness hath made me great] Or, Thy meekness hath multiplied me, i.e. Thou hast so far stooped to my meanness as to advance me to this height of honour. Or, by thy humbling me thou hast magnified me, according to #1Pe 5:6 Pr 15:33.

Ver. 36. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me] Or, Thou hast widened my passage, and made room for me; when the wicked man’s strong passages are straitened, #Job 18:7, his pace impeded.

And my feet did not slip] Heb. mine ankles, or my heels; Sept. my footsteps.

Ver. 37. I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them, &c.] Of David we may say, as one did of Julius Caesar, you may perceive him to have been an excellent soldier by his very language; for he wrote with the same spirit he fought. In eo tanta vis, id acumen, ea concitatio, saith Quintilian concerning Caesar’s Commentaries, ut illum eodem animo dixisse appareat quo bellavit.

Ver. 38. I have wounded them that they were not able to rise] Much less to resist. And herein he was a type of Christ; all whose foes shall be his footstool, #Ps 110:1.

Ver. 39. Thou hast girded me with strength, &c.] See #Ps 18:32. It is God that weakeneth or strengtheneth either part, #Eze 30:24, and rendereth their weapons vain or prosperous, #Isa 54:17 Jer 50:9.

Thou hast subdued under me, &c.] David ascribeth all to God, and useth wonderful variety of expressions in setting forth his benefts.

Ver. 40. Thou hast given me the necks of mine enemies] sc. To chop them off at my pleasure; or to cut the throats.

Ver. 41. They cried] Through grief and impatience, clamore incondito, as beasts when in durance fill the air with loud outcries.

Even unto the Lord] As nature prompteth men in an extremity to look up for help; but because it is but the prayer of the flesh for ease, and not of the spirit for grace, and a good use of calamities, and not but in extreme despair of help elsewhere, therefore God hears them not. In Samuel it is, They looked, but there was none to save them; q.d. If they could have made any other shift God should never have heard of them. Therefore Sero, inquit Nero.

Ver. 42. Then did I beat them as small as the dust] When God once withdraws his protection and help from a people it is an easy matter to tread them down and beat them in pieces. Lay hold upon him, therefore, as the Church did, and hang on. Say, as #Jer 14:21, Do not abhor us for thy name’s sake; for as Bodin said well of obtaining, so for retaining, religion and civil rights, Non disputationibus, sed rogationibus agendum, prayer is most prevalent. If once our shadow depart, &c., woe be unto them when I depart from them.

I did cast them out, &c.] Evacuabam eos, I dealt by them as men do by the sweepings of the house, or noisome excrements. God sometimes dungeth his vineyard with the dead bodies of his enemies.

Ver. 43. Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people] viz. In the rebellions under Absalom, and Sheba, the son of Bichri. These, like bubbles which children blow up into the air, were soon blown out; and fell into the eyes of those who with the blasts of disloyalty and ambition held up the same.

Thou hast made me head of the heathen] Philistines, Syrians, Ammonites, &c. This is most true of Christ, head of his Church, which consisteth of all nations, and most of these were unknown unto him as man; and, by hearing of him, they were brought to submit unto him, when the apostles came and preached him among them. Hence it followeth,

Ver. 44. As soon as they hear of me] Heb. At the hearing of the ear; that is, by the preaching of the gospel they shall be brought to yield the obedience of faith.

The strangers shall submit] Heb. falsely, deny or dissemble with me; their submission is forced and feigned, they dare do no less; they receive my yoke, but their hearts I have not, Subiectio fucosa et hypocritica. Christ hath many such false hearted subjects, fawning and feigning profligate professors, carnal gospellers, &c.

Ver. 45. The strangers shall fade away] As do the dry leaves of trees; their vigour and confidence shall perish in a moment.

And be afraid out of their close places] Whence they shall come creeping to me, their conqueror, to seek favour. And this may very fitly also be applied to Christ and his subjects, who must be driven unto him out of their close places, or starting holes of self confidences, self conceitedness, &c., by the spirit of bondage, before they will unfeignedly submit to Christ’s government.

Ver. 46. The Lord liveth] Or, Vivat Dominus, Let the Lord live. It is spoken, saith Calvin, after the manner of men, who use such kinds of acclamations to the kings whom they love and honour. The wicked could wish God extinct, that so they might never come to an account before him; but the saints cry out, Let the Lord live, let Christ reign, &c. Blessed be God that he is God, was a learned man’s motto. Luther’s was, Vivit, sc. Christus. Si non viveret, vellem me non unam horam vivere, de., Christ is alive, otherwise I would not wish to live an hour. Another good man saith, Christ liveth and reigneth, alioque totus totus desperassem, otherwise I should be utterly out of hope (Miconius).

Let the God of my salvation be exalted] Triumphali elogio ab omnibus celebretur, let him be set up in all hearts and houses.

Ver. 47. It is God that avengeth me] Heb. that giveth vengeances for me; whence also he is called the God of vengeances, #Ps 94:1, and the God of recompenses, #Jer 51:56.

And subdueth the people under me] It is the great work of God to persuade the hearts of so many millions to obey one man.

Ver. 48. He delivereth me from mine enemies] This David hath never done with, but goeth over it again and again, as desirous to do the Lord all the right that might be.

From the violent man] That is, from Saul, saith R. David, and him he mentioneth last, quia erat principium omnis Davidicae gloriae, because the fall of his house was the rise of all David’s glory. The Chaldee hath it, From Gog and his armies.

Ver. 49. Therefore I will give thanks, &c.] See how the psalmist in these three last verses endeth as he began.

Among the heathen] This the apostle applieth to Christ and his people, as a prophecy of his kingdom, and of the calling of the Gentiles, #Ro 15:9. I, that is, Christ (but yet in the person of his faithful, and especially his ministers), will praise thee, or confess unto thee, &c.

And sing praises unto thy name] Which to have done absurdum fuisset apud surdos, would have been absurd, had not those heathens had their ears opened.

Ver. 50. Great deliverance giveth he to his king] In Samuel it is, He is the tower of salvation for his king. This tower is Messias, say the Jewish doctors, Qui est turris salutis. Oh that those poor creatures would once run to that strong tower and be safe.

To David and to his seed for evermore] That is, to Christ (who was made of the seed of David, according to the flesh, #Ro 1:3 Ac 13:23), and to all faithful Christians, who are called Christ’s seed, #Isa 53:10 Ps 72:17. Filiabitur nomine eius, the name of Christ shall endure for ever, it shall be begotten as one generation is begotten of another; there shall be a succession of it to the world’s end.

The heavens declare the glory of God] The world, saitb Clement of Alexandria, is Dei Scriptura, the first Bible that God made for the institution of man. The heavens (here instanced as a chief part of that Mundi totius machina) are compared to a scroll that is written, #Re 6:14. As in a horn book, which little ones carry, there be letters in a paper within which appear through the same; so, under the blue sapphire of the firmament, is spread a sheet of royal paper written all over with the wisdom and power of God. This book was imprinted, saith one, at the New Jerusalem, by the finger of Jehovah, and is not to be sold, but to be seen, at the sign of glory, of every one that lifts up his eyes to heaven; where he may plainly perceive Deum esse mentem, architectricem, intelligentem, sapientem, potentem, &c. This lesson is fairly lined out unto us in the brows of the firmament, which, therefore, we are bidden to behold and discern; since therein God hath made himself visible, yea, legible, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that men are left without excuse, #Ro 1:20. But because this book of nature (with its three great leaves, heaven, earth, and sea), though never so diligently read over, cannot bring a man to the saving knowledge of God in Christ, nor make him perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works, behold another and better Book, even that of the Holy Scriptures, set forth, #Ps 19:7,8, &c., of this psalm, that like as where the philosopher endeth the physician beginneth; so, where nature faileth us, Scripture may inform and comfort us. In this excellent psalm, then, we have the sum of all true divinity, saith reverend Beza, the end whereof is to give us that knowledge of God, and of his holy worship, whereby we may be made partakers of eternal life. Here, then, in the six first verses the prophet showeth that God manifesteth his glory to mankind by his works; and, first, by the work of creation, #Ps 19:1; next, of government, #Ps 19:2,3, &c., and that, 1. In the revolution of the starry sky, which revolution, first, causeth a perpetual vicissitude of days and nights, and so declareth the glory of God. 2. It bespeaketh all people at once, as a catholic preacher of God’s glory, #Ps 19:4,5. Secondly, in the constant course of the sun (that common servant, as his name importeth), #Ps 19:4, who, with his motion, #Ps 19:5, enlighteneth all things with his light, and pierceth all things with his heat, #Ps 19:6. Thus "the heavens declare the glory of God"; that is, they yield matter and occasion of glorifying him, according to that, #Ps 145:10, "All thy works praise thee, O Lord; but thy saints bless thee." Some philosophers, and with them some Rabbis (Maimonides), have deemed, or rather doted, that the heaven was a living creature, and did actually praise and serve God. But this conceit is exploded by the wiser sort; and that axiom maintained, Formica coelos dignitate superat, An ant, because a living creature, is more excellent than the whole visible heavens. As for the saints and servants of God, it is truly affirmed by divines that there is not so much of the glory of God in all his works of creation and providence as in one gracious action that they perform.

And the firmament showeth his handywork] The expanse or outspread firmament. It is taken both for the air, #Ge 1:6, and for the sky, #Ge 1:14, the whole cope of heaven, which showeth, Quam eleganter et ad amussim operetur Deus manibus suis; how neatly and exactly God worketh with his hands, which are attributed to him for our weakness’ sake (Vatablus).

Ver. 2. Day unto day uttereth speech] Some read it, one day succeeding another uttereth (or welleth out, as a fountain, continually, and plentifully) speech, yet without sound, Sicut fons scaturiens (R. Menahem); by a dumb kind of eloquence, eructant; by a continual revolution and succession of days men are instructed concerning the power and providence of God, as also concerning his truth and faithfulness; for if God had hitherto kept promise with nights and days, that one shall succeed the other, will he not much more keep promise with his people? #Jer 33:20,25.

And night unto night showeth knowledge] Days and nights by their perpetual course and order, Dei potentiam et sapientiam concelebrant; there being no less necessity of the night in its kind than of the day. The knowledge it showeth us is, that man in himself is weak, and cannot long hold out hard labour; that he is permitted to sleep a while, and take his rest; that he must abridge himself of some part of his rest to commune with his own heart on his bed, and be still; that if he bestir not himself, and do up his work quickly, the night of death cometh, when no man can work, &c.

Ver. 3. There is no speech nor language where their voice] And yet few hear these universal preachers, these Regii Professores, these real expositors of the divinity, as one styleth them, who do preach to all people at once, Non solum diserte sed et exerte, at surdis plerumque fabulam, they are by the most as little respected as is the cuckoo in June.

Ver. 4. Their line is gone out through all the earth] Or, their rule, or direction, or delineation, or Scripture, {confer #Isa 28:13} Quod in coelis tanquam in volumine omnibus conspicuo descripta sit Dei gloria, because that in the heavens, as in an open book, is written down the glory of the Creator. The like is done also in other less considerable creatures; every of which do after a sort write as well as speak, and have a pen as well as a tongue. The Chaldee word אעבכ for a mint signifieth also a book of histories, because in that one herb large stories of God’s wisdom, might, and love are described unto us. The same word also that signifieth an ear of grain signifieth a word, חלילמ because every field of corn is a book of God’s praise, every land a leaf, every sheaf a verse, every ear a word, every corn of wheat a letter, to express the glory of God by, Praesentem narrat quaelibet herba Deum. Antony, the hermit, being asked by a certain philosopher how he could contemplate high things having no help of books? answered, That the whole world was to him instead of a well furnished library; this he had ready by him at all times and in all places, and in this he could read when he pleased the great things of God (Aug. de Doct. Christ. 1. 1; Niceph. l. 8, c. 40). Bernard also saith that was the time when he had no other masters, nisi quercus et fagos, but the oaks and beech trees.

In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun] That prince of planets, but servant to the saints of the Most High, as his name importeth: so sweet a creature he is, that Eudoxus, the philosopher, professed that he would be content to be burnt up by the heat of it so he might be admitted to come so near it as to learn the nature of it. A tabernacle, or flitting tent, it is here said to have in the heavens; because it never stayeth in one place, but courseth about with incredible swiftness.

Ver. 5. Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber] sc. After long expectation, with a great, deal of pomp and gaiety; such is the sun rasing, when he first showeth himself above our horizon. Kimchi addeth, that as the bride groom when he is abroad hasteneth home to his bride, so doth the sun to his descent, anhelat ad occasum, #Ec 1:5.

And rejoiceth as a strong man (or champion) to run a race] Readily running, and effectually affecting all things with his heat. The Persian angari, or posts, the ostrich, the wild ass, the bustard, the dromedary, the eagle, is nothing so swift as the sun. Bellarmine saith ( De Ascens. Mentis in Demn), that he runneth in the eighth part of an hour seven thousand miles. This dumb creature gives check to our dulness; as Balaam’s ass also did to that prophet’s madness.

Ver. 6. His going forth is from the end of the heaven] i.e, From the east unto the west, in which course, notwithstanding, while he compasseth the circle of heaven and earth, he visiteth the south and the north, and is unweariable.

And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof] i.e. From the beneft of the sun’s heat, who is ut cor incorpore, as the heart in the body, saith Aben Ezra; all things feel the quickening heat of the sun; not only the roots of trees, plants, &c., but metals and minerals, in the bowels of the earth.

Ver. 7. The law of the Lord is perfect] Or, doctrine; the whole word of God, commonly distinguished into law and gospel, is perfect, immaculate, sincere, entire, complete. If Cicero dared to say, that the law of the twelve tables in Rome did exceed all the libraries of philosophers, both in weight of authority and fruitfulness of matter, how much rather is this true of God’s law! saith a learned writer. Nothing may be added to it without marring it, #Pr 30:6. Note this against Jewish, Popish, and Turkish traditions and additions; as also against anti-scripturists, and who at first rejected all books but the Bible, and after that grew so wise as to be religious enough without that also. And last of all they came to blaspheme that blessed book, as a dead letter, and a beggarly element, &c.; when as the apostle telleth us, that all Scripture is pure, precious, and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, &c., that the man of God may be perfect, &c., #2Ti 3:16,17. Here in this and the two following verses it is easy to observe—1. That every one of them are in the Hebrew written with ten words. 2. That here is a sixfold commendation of God’s holy word. (l.) By the several names thereunto given, law, testimony, statutes, &c (2.) By the nature, perfect, sure, right, &c. (3.) By the effects, converting the soul, making wise the simple, &c.

Converting the soul] This no doctrine besides can do. Integra est doctrina, ae proinde animos redintegrat. Plato went thrice to Sicily to convert Dionysius the tyrant, but could not. Ambrose saith well of Polemo, who of a drunkard, by hearing Xenocrates, became a philosopher, Si resipuit a vino, fuit semper tamen temulentus sacrilegio, If he gave over his drunkenness, yet he continued still drunk with superstition. Seneca the philosopher wrote a book (now lost) against superstitions, but yet lived and died in them; Colebat quod reprohendebat, agebat quod arguebat, quod culpabat adorabat, saith Austin of him, he exercised what he condemned, and would not leave what he did so utterly dislike. But the word works a transmentation, an entire change of the mind and manners, a new creation, #2Co 5:17.

The testimony of the Lord is sure] These words are faithful and true, #Re 22:6, they are all in righteousness, neither is there in them anything perverse or froward, #Pr 8:8. Testimonies they are called, 1. Because they testify (as a record) to all ages what the will of the Lord is, #Joh 5:39 2. They were given with great contestation, and pressing of all men to keep them. 3. They will be a witness against all such as do not. The gospel also is called a testimony, #1Co 2:1 2Th 1:10 Isa 8:20.

Making wise the simple] That is, the humble, teachable, and such as are not puffed up with a conceit of their own wisdom, #1Co 7:18, the very entrance into God’s word giveth light, it giveth understanding to the simple, or to the persuadable, #Ps 119:130. It is reasonable milk, #1Pe 2:2.

Ver. 8. The statutes of the Lord are right] As being the issue of the most righteous will of God. Of human laws Demosthenes saith, that they are ευρημα των Θεων, the invention of the gods. Much better may we say the like of this law here commended; right it is, because it teacheth men the right way to life, non flexuosum quale doter care et cautio humana; right also, because it speaketh right to every man’s case and condition, de quolibet in re sua, affording a salve for every sore, a medicine for every malady; so that it may better be called, than was that famous library at Alexandria, η της φυχης ιατρεια, physic for the soul, food and physic both, and of the best sort, the best of the best.

Rejoicing the heart] This is the proper work of the gospel; the sweet promises whereof hid in the heart, and there mingled with faith, make it to overly abound exceedingly with joy, and to conceive strong consolation; the martyrs of all ages, for instance. And although it be the doctrine of the cross, yet Lecythos habet in malis, it hath cordials of comfort, such as the world can neither give nor take away. The gospel is a precious book; every leaf drops myrrh and mercy. We should therefore prize it much more than Caesar did his Commentaries; Maior fuit cura Caesari libellorum quam purpurae; for, swimming through the waters to escape his enemies, he carried his books in his hand above the waters, but lost his robe. Now what were his books to God’s?

The commandment of the Lord is pure] And so differeth from human laws, which establish wickedness sometimes; as those of Lycurgus did some kind of theft, adultery, &c. Human doctrines also are mixed with many errors. Irenaeus justly taxeth Plato for this, that he did laete gypsum miscere, mingle lime with milk, stain the pure stream of divine truth with fabulous narrations and fopperies. But every word of God is pure, #Ps 12:7 18:32. {See Trapp on "Ps 12:7"} {See Trapp on "Ps 18:32"}

Enliqhtening the eyes] Giving both light and sight, #Ac 26:18, the saving knowledge of God and his will, of ourselves and of our duties; and bringing us out of darkness into his marvellous light, #1Pe 2:9. When Christ came preaching, the people which sat in darkness saw a great light, #Mt 4:16. And we have a more sure light of prophecy, whereunto we must take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, #2Pe 1:19. While the moon looketh directly upon the sun, she is bright and beautiful; but if she once turn aside, and be left to herself, she loseth all her glory, and enjoyeth but only a shadow of light, which is her own; so while men with humility and teachableness turn their faces toward Christ revealed in the gospel, and those stars in his right hand, the faithful ministers, to receive illumination and instruction; God doth graciously vouch safe unto them the glorious light of saving knowledge. But when they turn their backs upon him and his oracles, and will needs walk by the light of their own tinder boxes kindling a fire, and compassing themselves with sparks, #Isa 1:11, they are sure to be bewildered, and to lie down in sorrow.

Ver. 9. The fear of the Lord is clean] That is, the doctrine which teacheth the true fear of God is such as cleanseth the conscience, ferreteth out corruption, sanctifieth the whole man, #Joh 17:17 15:3 Ac 20:32 26:18.

Enduring for ever] "For ever, O Lord, thy word is established in heaven." #Ps 119:89. Heaven and earth shall pass, but not one jot or tittle of the law; not one hair of that sacred head shall fall to the ground, #Mt 5:18; should all the powers on earth make war against the very paper of the Scriptures, they cannot possibly destroy it. What God hath written he hath written, and it shall stand inviolable to the world’s end. Antiochus, Epiphanes, Dioclesian, and other tyrants have attempted to burn up all Bibles, but could never effect it. Other laws and religions are antiquated and altered, as all histories testify; not so this.

The judgments of the Lord are true] Heb. truth, as coming from a God of truth, and without iniquity, just and righteous is he, #De 32:4. All his sayings are faithful, and therefore worthy of all acceptation, #1Ti 1:15. The Eternity of Israel cannot lie, #1Sa 15:29. He will not suffer his faithfulness to fail, nor alter the thing that is gone out of his mouth, #Ps 89:33,34. Μονιμον η αληθεια, saith Plato; truth is lasting, and γλυκεια η αληθεια, , Truth is sweet, said Mercury’s priests when they ate their figs. Divine truths should be so to us in a special manner. And as Cyprian, in any great doubt or difficulty, would call to Paulus Concordiensis (who was his notary), for Tertullian’s works, saying, Da magistrum, Reach hither my master; so should we call for the Bible, and therehence fetch satisfaction and settlement, as holding it infallible.

And righteous altogether] Not one of them to be found fault with; but all of them every way complete and absolute. Iustificata sunt simul, so some render it, they are altogether justified. What a high esteem the Jews at this day have of the law hath been elsewhere noted; while they carry it usually about their synagogues at the end of their service in procession, with many ornaments of crowns and sceptres; the children kissing it as it passeth by them. To their disciples they prescribe, not to write any letter of the law without a copy, no line of it without a rule, no parchment but made of the skin of a clean beast, no word must be written in a different colour. No man might carry it behind him, but lay it next to his heart in his travel; nor read it, but in a clean place; nor sell it, though the copy were moth eaten, and himself half famished (Schicard. de iure Reg. Heb.). The last day of the feast of tabernacles they call Shimchah Torah, the rejoining at the law. They have chosen also, then, two, that are called sponsi legis; one of which is to read the end of it, called Chathan Torah, the bridegroom of the law ended; the other Chathan Bereshith, because he presently beginneth it again; these are to express joy (Leo Modena of Jewish Rites).

Ver. 10. More to be desired are they than gold] Old people are all for profit, young for pleasure; here is gold for the one, yea, the finest gold (gold of Fez, Aceto melle , Plin. l. xi. c. 15), in great quantity; here is honey for the other, yea, live honey dropping from the comb, liquor of the honeycomb. As manna had all sorts of sweet tastes in it; so hath the word to those that have spiritual senses exercised to discern good and evil. Great is the sweetness of human learning to those that have got a taste of it, as it was to Pythagoras and Plato, who travelled far for it; to Julian the apostate, who preferred the study of it before all pastimes whatsoever; to M. Aurelius, the emperor, who said he would not leave the knowledge he might learn in one hour for all the gold that he possessed; to Alphonsus, king of Arragon, who preferred his skill in the mathematics before the empire of Germany when it was offered unto him; he professed that he had rather lose his jewels than his books, and all his kingdoms rather than that little learning he had attained unto. How, then, should we prize divine learning, which is infinitely more precious, profitable, and pleasant! David had much of it, and yet he cries to God ever and anon, "Teach me thy statutes." Moses was but newly come down from the mount, and he presently prays, as one insatiate, "Lord, show me thy glory." The angels themselves know not so much of the mystery of Christ but they would fain know more, #1Pe 1:12 Eph 3:10, &c.

Ver. 11. Moreover by them is thy servant warned] Clearly admonished, or furbished and brightened, #Da 12:3, made circumspect. God’s testimonies were David’s counsellors, #Ps 119:24, better than ever was Polybius to Scipio, Agrippa to Augustus, Seneca to Nero, Anaxagoras to Themistocles, Plato to Dio, Aristotle to Alexander or Nigidius to Cicero; princes of old had their Μαημονες, Monitores, remembrancers. David desired no better than God’s statutes for his learned counsel, and by them he resolved to be ruled; for so it followeth,

And in keeping of them] Xenophon writes that in Lycurgus’s laws this was much to be admired, that whereas all men commended them, yet no other city besides that of Sparta would ever observe them. Men do rather praise right things than practise them; as it was said of Demosthenes. But David was of another strain; he, after a large encomium of God’s commandments, is set upon the keeping of them; and the rather because

In keeping of them there is great reward] Not only for keeping, but in keeping of them. As every flower hath its sweet smell, so every good action hath its sweet reflection upon the soul; and as Cardan saith, that every precious stone hath some egregious virtue, so here, righteousness is its own reward, though few men think so and act accordingly:

Haud facile invenies multis e millibus unum,

Virtutem pretium qui putet esse sui.

Howbeit, the chief reward is not till the last cast, till we come to heaven. The word here rendered reward signifieth the heel, and, by a metaphor, the end of a work, and the reward of it, which is not till the end. Gnekebh sic τελος apud Graecos. Sicut opus non est usque ad mortem perfectum, sic nec merecs, saith R. David here; As the work is not done till death, so neither is full wages till then to be had.

Ver. 12. Who can understand his errors?] This David speaketh doubtless out of a deep sense of his own imperfections and defects in what the law (so much by him commended) requireth; and to prevent mistakes, lest any man, hearing him speak of great reward, should think that heaven may be merited and salvation attained by a man’s own righteousness. No such matter, believe it, saith holy David, I have neither done the law nor deserved the reward, but do fly to God by prayer; and three things I have to beg of him: First, That he would graciously pardon my secret sins and errors, unknown to myself, or at least to others. Secondly, That he would keep me from proud and presumptuous sins, #Ps 19:13. Thirdly, That he would bridle my tongue and mind from speaking, or but thinking, aught that may be offensive to his majesty, #Ps 19:14. For the first of these, Humanum est, errare et ignorare suum, It is incident to every man to err, and then to be ignorant of his errors (Jun.). Certain it is, that our lives are fuller of sins than the firmament is of stars, or the furnace of sparks. And if the best man’s faults were written in his forehead, it would make him pull his hat over his eyes, as the proverb hath it. David here seeth such volumes of corruptions in his heart, and so many foul erratas in his life, that he cannot but cry out, Who can understand, &c., O cleanse, &c. The most perfect saints are the most sensible of their imperfections; as the more delicate the senses are the more sharply are they affected with what offends them, #Ro 7:14 1Co 15:9,10. Alas for us (saith one good man)! Ipsae lachrymae sunt lachrymabiles; we had need to weep over our tears, sigh over our sobs, mourn over our griefs, &c. Look how when we have swept a room never so clean (saith Spinaeus, De Instit. Christian.), if the sun do but come into it at the windows, we soon espy abundance of filthy motes, mingled with the beams thereof; so is it with our hearts, when once enlightened. What a blind buzzard then was he that said, Non habeo, Domine, quod mihi ignoscas, Lord, I have nothing for thee to pardon! And no wiser was Bellarmine, that great scholar, but ill read in his own heart, if that be true that is reported of him, viz. that when the priest came to absolve him, he could not remember any particular sin to confess till he went back in his thoughts as far as his youth. Of Philip III, king of Spain, it is said, that he lived so strictly that he never committed any gross crime or wilful wickedness; yet coming to die, he cried out, Oh that I had never reigned! Oh that I had lived a private life in the wilderness, that I might not have now to answer for not doing the good or hindering the evil that I might have done in my government! (Val. Max. Christ. 263).

Cleanse thou me from secret faults] Secret from myself, many of them (sins of ignorance and of inadvertency), secret from the world, more of them, heart sins, but not secret from the Lord, #Ps 90:8 Heb 4:13. These are of daily and hourly incursion, involuntary and unavoidable infirmities, yet are they sins properly so called; and we must be cleansed from them by the merit and Spirit of Christ; they must be repented of in general at least; and then there is a pardon of course for them, and they do not usually distract and plunge the conscience.

Ver. 13. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins] Heb. Withdraw, inhibit, for we are naturally prone to the worst of sins, even the best of us, and to lie buried with the world in a bog of wickedness, adding rebellion to sin, and doing wickedly with both hands earnestly, unless God rein us in, and restrain us from such enormities. Pray we therefore as here, Etiam a superbiis contine servum tuum (Midrash Tillin. in #Ps 19:13). David’s murdering Uriah was a sin of this sort. The Rabbis here observe how the prophet riseth in his request, first for pardon of lesser sins, and then for power against greater; like as a beggar, say they, first craves a little water, and then a morsel of bread. We should do so.

Let them not have dominion over me] Sin will rebel, but it must not reign in our mortal bodies, it must not play King, and bear sway in the soul. Pray hard against that in chief, Ne iniquitas victrix dominetur, that our lusts be not our lords, that vice vanquish us not.

Then shall I be upright] Then, when I have gotten both pardoning and prevailing grace, to be cleansed from infirmities and kept from presumptions and arrogance, which cum temerario ausu et fastu fiunt contumaciter, I shall be upright in God’s account and entire in his obedience.

And shall be innocent from the great transgression] That sin unto death, #1Jo 5:16; that wickedness with a witness, for which there remaineth no more sacrifice, #Heb 10:26, and unto which a way is paved by sins of presumption with a high hand committed against knowledge and conscience.

Ver. 14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation, &c.] Sint ad beneplaeitum verba, &c. Let both my words and thoughts, as well as my life and actions, be to favourable acceptation; let them be such as may suit with thy law and will.

O Lord, my strength] Heb. my rock, In Mare, vel in Marah, vel in hoc mundo, say the Rabbis; in the sea of sorrow, and all along the wilderness of this world (Midrash Tillin.).

And my redeemer] Or, my near kinsman, who is Jesus Christ, in whom we may look for all good from God, by virtue of the covenant. This David well understood, and therefore he layeth all the weight on this, "O Lord, my strength and my redeemer."

A Psalm of David] Or, concerning David; so Kimchi. Or, for and on the behalf of David; so Aben Ezra. David, as a prophet, dictated this form of prayer to be made by the people for himself, their king; when he went forth to fight their battles, probably, against the Ammonites and Syrians; or, when he fled from Absalom, and was to help them from the city by his prayers, #2Sa 18:3, as Aben Ezra thinketh.

Chapter 19

Ver. 1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble] Great men, though gracious, as David, have their distresses, and must pray for themselves then; not trusting to the prayers of others for them; as did that profane Earl of Westmoreland, who said he had no need to pray, since he had tenants enough to pray for him (Camden).

The name of the God of Jacob defend thee] Heb. set thee in a high place, such as God’s name is, #Pr 18:10, the righteous run thereto and are safe, as in a tower of brass or town of war. By the name of God is meant, Deus nominatissimus, the most renowned God, saith Junius, and worthy to be praised, as #Ps 18:3. And he is called the God of Jacob here, saith another; first, because Jacob was once in the like distress, #Ge 32:6,7; secondly, because he prayed to the like purpose, #Ge 35:3; thirdly, because he prevailed with God as a prince; and there God spake with us, #Ho 12:5; fourthly, because God of Jacob is the same with God of Israel; and so the covenant is pleaded.

Ver. 2. Send thee help from the sanctuary] Or, from his holy heaven, saith Tremellius; without which vain is the help of man. God is all the doer in battles; and whencesoever the sword comes, it is bathed in heaven, #Isa 34:5, whatsoever Ajax, Timotheus Atheniensis, and other atheists think to the contrary: God will send from heaven and save me, saith holy David.

And strengthen thee out of Zion] i.e. Out of the assemblies of the saints, where they are praying hard for thy welfare. See #Ps 76:2,3, {See Trapp on "Ps 76:2"} {See Trapp on "Ps 76:3"}

Ver. 3. Remember all thy offerings] Before they went to war they were wont to offer sacrifices, as did Saul; though by his haste therein he lost his kingdom, #1Sa 13:9. From the people of God the heathens had also learned this course and custom. Io Paean is the force of Jehovah Peneh that is, Lord, look upon us. The devil (God’s ape) had taught the Athenians, when they began the battle, to use these words, and thereby to hearten one another. The Romans also did the like, and would not desist till they had an auspicious answer; hence also they called a sacrifice hostiam because when they went against their enemies they offered it.

And accept thy burnt sacrifice] Or turn it to ashes (and so seal up his acceptance); or make it fat, i.e. take delight in it, as men do in fat things full of marrow, saith R. Solomon.

Selah] This is added to show, saith Vatablus, with how great fervency the people ought to pray for their king.

Ver. 4. Grant thee according to thine own heart] David’s heart was according to God’s heart (otherwise this had not been a warrantable petition), and therefore might say (and the people on his behalf), as once Luther did, Fiat voluntas mea; mea, Domine, quia tua, Let my will be done; mine I say, Lord, because the same with thine.

And fulfil all thy counsel] Answer thee, ad cardinem desiderii, as a Father expresseth it (Aug. Confess. l. 5, c. 8). Let it be unto thee even as thou wilt. Sometimes God doth not only grant a man’s prayer, but fulfilleth his counsel; that is, in that very way, by that very means, which his judgment pitch upon in his thoughts.

Ver. 5. We will rejoice in thy salvation] i.e. We are well assured that God will save us by thee, O king; and that shall produce a general joy among us. This confidence prayer hath begotten in him; for it is a sure grain, and if man would sow more of it in God’s bosom, they shall not fail to reap the fruit and comfort of it in their greatest need. Pray, that your joy may be full.

And in the name of our God will we set up our banners] Our flags of defiance to the enemy, or our tokens of triumph to God’s glory, who hath given us the victory. The Romans, when they had conquered an enemy, rode in triumph to the Capitol, where in all humility they presented a palm, or laurel bush, to Jupiter.

Ver. 6. Now know I that, &c.] This is Vex populi ; I, that is, all we; but they speak as if they had been all one, and had uttered it all with one mouth; such was their unity and consent in prayer. Or, it is sermo uniuscuiusque in Israele, as Kimchi will have it, the triumph of their trust.

He will hear him from his holy heaven, &c.] He will hear him; he will do for him. Haec duo documents, saith Junius; by these two ways (besides the word) the Church comes to know the grace and goodwill of her God.

Ver. 7. Some trust in chariots, &c.] i.e. In their national accommodations and military provisions; but these were never true to those that trusted them. All is but an arm of flesh.

But we will remember, &c.] i.e. In the remembrance of his excellent attributes, whereof we have had such proof, we will take courage.

Ver. 8. They are brought down, &c.] They lie flat by the fall they have taken, being confuted in their confidences, as Benhadad was of old; as of late, the French at the battle of Agincourt, Sigismund the young king of Hungary, and many others.

But we are risen] Who before seemed to lay along, Et tanquam sideratos humi serpere. God helpeth his when forsaken of their hopes almost.

Ver. 9. Save, Lord] A short but pithy prayer: Quam multa quam paucis.

Let the king hear us] They beg of God that the king may hear them, so as to govern and defend them in equity and tranquillity; or, Respondent Rex (so Aben Ezra rendereth it), Let the king say Amen to our prayers to thee and our requests to him.

Chapter 20

Ver. 1. The king shall joy in thy strength] This psalm dependeth upon the former, and is therefore fitly set next unto it. Some call it David’s triumphant song of praise, for victory gotten over the Ammonites and Syrians. For that victory it was certainly which he and the people had begged so fervently, #Ps 20, and promised solemnly to rejoice in God’s salvation &c., #Ps 21:5, as here is done accordingly. Vow and perform unto the Lord your God: bring presents, &c., #Ps 76:11.

And in thy salvation] All is God’s. As Joab once sent to David to come and take the honour of the victory over Rabbah of the Ammonites; so dealeth David by the Lord. His posy was, Non nobis, Domine; not by us, O Lord, his practice was to drive a holy trade between earth and heaven, receiving and returning, importing one commodity and transporting another: prayers and praises were his whole life.

Ver. 2. Thou hast given him his heart’s desire] Good men are sure to have out their prayers either in money or in money’s worth, as they say; in that very thing they desire, or a better. If God cross them, it is in faithfulness to their souls when the wicked boasteth of their heart’s desire #Ps 10:3, which yet he hath for a mischief Deus saepe dat iratus, quod negat propitius. {See Trapp on "Ps 20:4"}

And hast not withholden, &c. Selah] Ac si dicat, O magnam et admirabilem Dei benevolentiam erga Davidem! saith Vatablus. This Selah is added here to set forth the very great and wonderful love of God to David, in hearing his suits after that sort.

Ver. 3. For thou preventest him with the blessinqs of goodness] Not staying till he asked them of thee. He had but a thought of building thee a house and thou sentest Nathan to tell him that thou wouldest build him an everlasting house, and stablish his throne to all perpetuity, #2Sa 7:16. So #Isa 65:24, "Before they call, I will answer," &c.

Thou settest a crown of pure gold upon his head] Hebraei dicunt per hoc iutelligi favorem Dei, the Jewish doctors by this crown understand the favour of God; confer #Ps 103:4. God had set a crown of lovingkindness and tender mercies upon his head by pardoning all his iniquities, as it is there; and he blesseth God for this as a far better crown than that which he took from off the head of the king of Ammon and set upon his own, #2Sa 12:30.

Ver. 4. He asked life of thee] Quando fugiebat a Saule, saith R. Solomon, when he fled from Saul; rather when he went into the field against his enemies, carrying his life in his hand. His life we begged, #Ps 20:1,2, and thou hast not only given him his life, but a long continued series of lives in his successors, #2Sa 7:13 Ps 72:15, yea, life everlasting in Christ, his Son according to the flesh. See #Ps 61:6. Thus God is better to his people than their prayers; and when they ask but one blessing he answereth them, as Naaman did Gehazi, with, Nay, take two. Hezekiah asked but one life, and God gave him fifteen years, which we reckon at two lives, and more. He giveth liberally, and like himself; as Great Alexander did when he gave the poor beggar a city; and when he sent his schoolmaster a ship full of frankincense, and bade him sacrifice freely.

Ver. 5. His glory is great in thy salvation] He was at first slighted, even by his own, as a petty prince; and the Philistines came up to seek him, that they might suppress him before he grew too strong for them; insomuch as he, for fear of them, went down to the hold, #2Sa 5:17, but soon after he became formidable to them and the rest of the neigbbouring nations, whom he subdued and reigned over. The like hereunto befell our Queen Elizabeth, who, how low soever at first, became at length, as her enemies confessed, the most glorious woman that ever swayed sceptre, because posuit Deum adiutorem suum.

Honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him] A growing weight of glory, a load of it, even before man. The saints, when they come to heaven, shall have an exceeding, excessive, eternal weight of glory, #2Co 4:17, such as if the body were not upheld by the mighty power of God it were impossible it should ever bear it.

Ver. 6. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever] Heb. Thou hast set him to be blessings. For as the wicked, when destroyed by some horrible judgment, are examples to others of God’s curse, #Isa 65:15 Jer 29:22 2Pe 2:6 Iudaeus sim, si fallam, Let me be Judus if I lie, say the Turks at this day, when they would assure anything for a certainty; so the godly, when in a special manner blessed, are patterns of blessings to others, that in them they may bless themselves or others, #Ps 72:17 128:4 Ge 12:2 48:20 Ru 4:11,12 Ps 37:26. So here they shall say, Tanto rerum successu polleas, quanto David, Mayest thou be as successful as ever David was.

Thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance] One good cast whereof David long since preferred before all the world’s good, #Ps 4:6. See the note there.

7. For the king trusteth in the Lord] So then his joy was the joy of faith, which is unspeakable and full of glory; and he must needs be safe who relieth upon God, #Isa 26:4.

He shall not be moved] sc. From the prosperous success of his affairs and state; the beauty and bulwark whereof is God’s never failing mercy.

Ver. 8. Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies] Thine, because ours; for thou art in a league with us, both defensive and offensive: now our enemies act as if they were out of the reach of thy rod, but thou wilt easily hunt them down and root them out. Pursued they shall be by thee, and overtaken, run they never so far, never so fast.

ουδεις ανθρωπων αδικων τισιν ουκ αποτισει.

Ver. 9. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven] i.e. Thou shall lay upon them grievous and exquisite miseries, #La 5:10. He alludeth to the overthrow of Sodom, saith Vatablus.

The Lord shall swallow them up] As the fire doth the fuel. Some think the prophet here alludeth to that direful kind of punishment which David inflicted upon the Ammonites whom he made to pass through the brickkiln, #2Sa 12:31, perhaps the furnace of their idol Moloch or Milcom, wherein they caused their children to pass through the fire, #2Ki 16:3 23:10.

And the fire shall devour them] Hell fire, saith the Chaldee paraphrast.

Ver. 10. Their fruit shalt thou destroy] i.e. Their labour, and that which comes thereof, #Pr 21:16,31; they shall toil to no purpose; the gains shall not pay for the pains, Nulla emolumenta laborum (Juven.).

And their seed] For as personal goodness is profitable to posterity; so on the contrary; as in the second commandment: they are peremptores potius quam parentes (Bern.).

Ver. 11. For they intended evil against thee] Because against thy people. He that wrongeth a subject is arraigned for injury done to the king, his crown and dignity. And as a certain gentleman of Normandy was executed for but intending only to kill Francis II, king of France, which he told to a priest, sub sigillo confessionis, not thinking ever to hear further of it again; so here.

Ver. 12. Therefore shall thou make them turn their back] Who faced the very heavens, and ran, as it were, full butt against thee; such was their impudence and insolence. But thy wrath shall so meet them in the teeth, wheresoever they turn, that they shall be forced to give over their chase and pursuit of thy people. Thou shall make them turn their back; Heb. their shoulder; whence some sense the words thus, Thou shalt bind them back to back, and cast them into the sea of perdition. Some read the words thus, Thou shall set them as a butt or mark to shoot at: and this agreeth best with that which followeth, Pone eos ut metam (Kimchi).

Against the face of them] Which is elegantly compared to the white; as their bodies to the whole mark or butt.

Ver. 13. Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength] Finit Psalmum cum laude, sicut incepit, saith Aben Ezra. He closeth up the psalm, as he began it, with praise and prayer that God would arise and destroy the rest, as he had already done some of their enemies. God’s power and strength is in itself infinite, and cannot be exalted or amplified; but in respect of us it is said to be exalted when exerted and put forth for the defence of his people.

So will we sing and praise thy power] This they restipulate; as knowing that it would please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs, #Ps 69:31.

Upon Aijeleth Shahar] On, The morning hart or stag; such a one as the huntsman severs out in the morning from the rest, to hunt for that day. It showeth, saith one, David’s and Christ’s early and incessant persecution and hunting (by those dogs, #Ps 22:16) till they came to their kingdoms. David had his share of sharp afflictions, doubtless, when he penned this psalm: witness that graphic description of his greatest grief in all parts and powers of body and soul, #Ps 22:14-16, &c. But his mind and thoughts were by God’s Holy Spirit carried out to Christ’s most dolorous and inexpressible sufferings; to the which all his were but as flea bitings, as the slivers or chips of Christ’s cross; and this was no small mitigation of his misery. When the Jews offered our Saviour gall and vinegar he tasted it, but would not drink. The rest he left for his people, and they must pledge him, filling up that which is behind of his sufferings, #Col 1:24, though for a different end, as for exercise, example, trial, witness of truth, &c.

Chapter 21

Ver. 1. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? David had prayed, "O forsake me not utterly," #Ps 119:8. In part and for a time be knew God might forsake him, to his thinking at least. But what saith Austin? Non deserit Deus etiamsi descrere videatur; non deserit etiamsi deserat, God forsaketh not his, though he seem sometimes to do so; he leaveth them sometimes, but forsaketh them never; as in an eclipse, the earth lacks the light of the sun, but not the influence thereof. David could at the same time call God his God thrice over, which are words of faith, and do plainly evince that this desertion under which he groaned was neither absolute nor real, but only that he was in a great distress and perplexity; so that he did believe, and yet not believe (Plato, though a heathen, could say that a man may do so). See the like #Ps 31:22 Jon 2:4; see the note there. Our Saviour, in his deepest distress on the cross, when coping and conflicting with the wrath of his heavenly Father, who (beside the wrath of men and rage of devils in that three hours’ darkness especially) fought against him with his own bare hand, he suffered more than can be imagined, took up this pathetic exclamation, and, as some think, repeated this whole psalm. Then it was that he felt in soul and body the horror of God’s displeasure against sin, for which he had undertaken. Then it was that the Deity (though never separated from his humanity, no, not in death, when soul and body were sundered for a season) did ησυχαζειν, as a Father speaketh, suspend for a time the influence of its power, and lie hidden, as it were, neque vires suas exserebat, not putting forth its force, as formerly. Hilary hath a good note upon this part of Christ’s passion: Habes conquerentem relictum se esse, &c., Here thou hast him complaining as forsaken of God; this showeth him to have been a man: but withal thou hast him promising paradise to the penitent thief; this speaketh him God.

Why art thou so far from, &c.] I roar and am not relieved, as to ease: God will have his people feel what an evil and bitter thing sin is, #Jer 2:19, and therefore he holdeth them presently long upon the rack. Christ also, under the deep sense of our sins, for which he suffered, offered up prayers, with strong crying and tears, to him that was able to save him from death, #Heb 5:7.

Ver. 2. O my God, I cry in the day time, &c.] This was a sore temptation, that his heartiest prayers were not heard. This might have made him jealous of God; to have had hard conceits of him and heavy conceits of himself. But saith he in the following verses, Thou art holy, and thy name is to be sanctified, though I be not gratified. And moreover, others have called upon thee and have been heard, #Ps 22:4,5, though I now for mine unworthiness am denied. For "I am a worm, and no man," #Ps 22:6. Thus it puts him not off that he is not heard, as others; but humbles him. It drives him not (as is usual with carnal people in like case) to shifting courses, as a dog that hath lost his master will follow after any one for relief. A Christian never prevaileth so little by his prayers but that he will take heart of grace to come again to God. Silence, or sad answers, do not utterly dishearten him. He ceaseth not wrestling till he hath wrested the blessing out of God’s hand with Jacob, and gotten matter of praise for his prayers granted, as David here doth, ere he had done the psalm, #Ps 22:24,25.

Ver. 3. But thou art holy] And therefore to be sanctified in righteousness, #Isa 5:16, whatever betide me or my prayers. I also will trust and try thee to the uttermost, for thou waitest to be gracious; and being a God of judgment, thou best understandest when and how to dispense and deal forth thy favours to thy suppliants, #Isa 30:18. And if I ask good things of thee and miss, it is because I ask amiss, #Jas 4:3. If I be straitened, it is not in thee, but in mine own bowels. They that have conduit water come into their houses, if no water come, they conclude not the spring to be dry, but the pipes to be stopped or broken. If prayer speed not, we must be sure the fault is not in God, but in ourselves; were we but ripe for mercy he is ready to extend it to us, and even waits for the purpose.

O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel] i.e. The sanctuary, where thou art continually praised by thine Israel, who have the happiness to receive thine answer to their suits, though I cannot. Some render it, O sancte, sempiterne, et laudatissime.

Ver. 4. Our fathers trusted in thee] They trusted, and trusted, and trusted, they lengthened out their trust. The Hebrew word for hope or trust signifieth also a line; because thereby the heart is stretched out as a line to the thing hoped for; and he that believeth maketh not haste.

And thou didst deliver them] Never could any instance be given to the contrary. Let the success of our forefathers’ confidence, and hope unfailable, flowing from faith unfeigned, confirm our fiducial dependence upon gospel promises.

Ver. 5. They cried unto thee] Having first trusted: it is the prayer of faith that does the deed.

And were not confounded] Deo confisi, nunquam confusi. I trust God and shall never be confounded.

Ver. 6. But I am a worm, and no man] David, saith a learned man, in the Arabic tongue signifieth a worm; to which he may here seem to allude. I am a worm, saith he; I am dust and ashes, saith Abraham; less than the least of thy lovingkindnesses, saith Jacob; Nos autem quid sumus? saith Moses. Thus the saints express themselves in a low language, as so many broken men. Contrarily the wicked speak big words, bubbles of words, as Peter hath it, ampullantur; as Pharaoh, who said, "Who is the Lord?" Nebuchadnezzar, "Who is that God that can deliver you?" #Da 3:15; "Who is Lord over us?" &c., #Ps 12:4. Our Lord Christ, of whom the greatest part of this psalm must be understood, emptied and humbled himself to the utmost, #Php 2:7,8, that we might be exalted; this Sun of righteousness went ten degrees back in the dial of his Father, that he might come unto us with health in his wings, &c.

A reproach of men] Reiectamentum hominis, et nullificamen populi, as Tertullian phraseth it. So was Christ, #Isa 53; so were his apostles, #1Co 4:13; we are made the sweepings of the world, the offscourings of all things, the very dung cart into which every man casteth his filth to be carried through the dung port. Why, then, should we think much to be slighted?

Ver. 7. All they that see me laugh me to scorn] Contemptus populi ludibriis et opprobriis declaratur, #Lu 22:63. The apostle speaketh of cruel mockings, #Heb 11:36. The Pharisees, who were covetous, derided him, #Lu 16:14, and set his people on the stage, as it were, for mocking stocks, #Heb 10:36. Now, post Carthaginem vinci neminem puduit, saith the historian. If Christ, David, and other precious men were so disgraced and abused by the world, what matter is it for us?

They shoot out the lip, they shake the head] God is sensible of any the least affront or offence done to his people, be it but in an unseemly gesture, as Laban’s lowerings, {#Mt 27:39} and sets them upon record against the day of account.

Ver. 8. He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him] Is this a prophecy of our Saviour’s sufferings, or a history rather? See #Mt 27:43, {See Trapp on "Mt 27:43"}

Seeing he delighted in him] A most virulent irony, whereby they sought to cajole him of his confidence, and so to drive him into utter desperation and destruction.

Ver. 9. But thou art he that took me out of the womb] When, but for thine almighty midwifery, I might have been strangled; or, as an untimely birth, never seen the sun. It is no less than a miracle that the child is kept alive in the womb, and perisheth not in the midst of those excrements, and that, in coming forth, it dieth not, &c. The very opening and shutting again of the body when the child is to be born is a thing so incomprehensible that some naturalists acknowledge the immediate hand and power of God in it. But because it is a common mercy little notice is taken or use made of it.

Thou didst make me hope] Or, keptest me in safety; for puerilitas est periculorum pelagus, a thousand deaths and dangers little ones are subject to; but God preserveth and provideth: et haec non sunt per accidens, saith Kimchi, these things are not by chance, but by Divine providence.

Ver. 10. I was cast upon thee from the womb] Id est, a patre et matre mea, saith Kimchi, by my father and my mother, whom thou, Lord, feddest, and filledst her breasts, that she might suckle me, Veluti exposititius tibi fui a matrice (Vat.). Did men but seriously consider what kept and fed them in the womb, and at the breasts, when neither they could shift for themselves, nor their parents do much for them, they would conclude he would much more now by their holy prayers, honest endeavours, &c.

Thou art my God from my mother’s belly] This is a privilege proper to children born within the covenant, and they may claim it; they have God for their God from their nativity; and they may lay their reckoning so in all their addresses unto God.

Ver. 11. Be not far from me, for trouble is near] And so it is high time for thee to put forth a helping hand. Hominibus profanis mirabilis videtur haec ratio, to profane persons, this seemeth to be a strange reason, saith an interpreter; but it is a very good one, as this prophet knew, who therefore makes it his plea.

For there is none to help] Set in, therefore, O Lord, and help, at a dead lift, poor me, who am forsaken of all other hopes.

Ver. 12. Many bulls have compassed me] Young bulls, which noteth their lustiness and courage. Tauri bene saginati et petulci.

Strong bulls of Bashan] A far country beyond Jordan, famous for fat and fierce cattle. Hereby are meant princes and potentates, persecutors of Christ and his people, against whom they run and rush with utmost might and malice, but not always with desired success. Of the wild bull it is said, that of all things he cannot abide any red colour. Therefore the hunter for the nonce standing before a tree, puts on a red garment; whom, when the bull seeth, he runneth hard at him, as hard as he can drive; but the hunter slipping aside, the bull’s horns stick fast in the tree; as, when David slipped aside, Saul’s spear stuck fast in the wall. In like manner, saith a divine, Christ standing before the tree of his cross, put on a red garment dipped and dyed in his own blood, as one that cometh with red garments from Bozra, #Isa 63:1. Therefore the devil and his agents, like wild bulls of Bashan, ran at him. But he, saving himself, their horns stick fast in the cross; as Abraham’s ram by his horns stuck fast in the briers.

Ver. 13. They gaped upon me with their mouths] As if they would have swallowed me up at a bit, like so many lycanthropi, or savage cannibals.

As a ravening and a roaring lion] Rapiens et rugiens leo, licet non sit mos boum rapere, Bulls do not use to raven though they roar (Kimchi); but the malignities of all fierce and fell creatures are to be found in cruel persecutors. Would any man take the Church’s picture? saith Luther; then let him paint a silly poor maid sitting in a wood or wilderness, compassed about with hungry lions, wolves, bulls, boars, and bears, and with all manner of cruel and harmful beasts, and in the midst of a great many furious men, or rather monsters, assaulting her every moment and minute; for this is her condition in the world.

Ver. 14. I am poured out like water] i.e. I am almost past all recovery, as water spilt upon the ground.

And all my bones are out of joint] Or, disparted, as on a rack, or by a strappado. Who hath not heard how Lithgow, the Scot, was used at Malaga, in Spain, by the bloody inquisitors? after that he had passed through the greatest part of the known world, and travelled through forests, wildernesses, and deserts, where he met with thieves and murderers, lions, bulls, bears, and tigers, and escaped them, how they starved him, wounded him, disjointed him, in ten hours’ time laid seventy various torments upon him, though they had nothing against him but suspicion of religion. And yet, after this, God wonderfully delivered him, so that he was brought on his bed wounded and broken to King James, whose letters of recommendation he had for his safe travel through the world, and to whom he made this relation to the face of Gundamour, the Spanish ambassador. This was much, but yet little or nothing to Christ’s sufferings, whence that passage in the Greek litany, Δι αγνωστων σου παθηματων, &c., By thine unknown sufferings, good Lord, deliver us.

My heart is like wax, &c.] Fear and faintness causeth an extreme sweat (such as was that of our Saviour in his agony, #Lu 22:44), it disableth also the members from acting their parts, and softeneth the heart, #Job 23:16.

Ver. 15. My strength is dried up like a potsherd] My spirits are utterly spent, my natural moisture quite wasted and dried up, Viror meus. Humidum radicale membra in unum conglutinans (Aben Ezra); so that I am even like a skin bottle in the smoke, &c. For "my strength" some read my palate.

And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws] That which feedeth and facilitateth the motion of the tongue in speech is exhausted. Consider here the greatness of the divine displeasure poured upon Christ, our surety. Words are too weak to utter it.

And thou hast brought me into the dust of death] Here is the utmost of our Saviour’s humiliation. While alive he was a worm and no man; but now he is lower; for a living dog is better than a dead lion, saith Solomon. O humble Saviour, whither wilt thou descend? Oh that the same mind might be in us, that was in Christ Jesus.

Ver. 16. For dogs have compassed me] That is, men of mean rank; opposed to bulls and lions, i.e. great ones, and interpreted in the next words, the assembly of the wicked, the rude rabble, and of rancorous disposition, #Job 30:1 Pr 26:11 Mt 7:6 Php 3:2 Ps 59:7,15. A.D. 1556, at Wessensten, in Germany, a Jew for theft was in this cruel manner to be executed. He was hanged by the feet with his head downward, between two dogs, which constantly snatched and bit at him (Melch. Adam in Vit. Jac. And.).

They pierced my hands and my feet] sc. When they nailed Christ to the cross, #Mt 27:35 Joh 20:25. Where let me similate, saith a learned man, the orator’s gradation, Facinus vincire civem Romanum, &c. It was much for the Son of God to be bound, more to be beaten, most of all to be slain; Quid dicam in crucem tolli? but what shall I say to this, that he was crucified? that was the most vile and ignominious of all punishments; it was also a cruel and cursed kind of death; which yet he refused not: and here we have a clear testimony for his cross, which the devil would fain wring from us by his agents, the Jews, with their Keri and Chetib. See Galatin. l. 8, c. 17; l. 1, c. 8; Mercer in #Job 7:20.

Ver. 17. I may tell all my bones] Now especially, when stretched out upon the cross, Quando pendens extentus erat in ligno, saith Austin. Derident maciem meam, saith Kimchi.

They look and stare upon me] Aspiciunt, id est, despiciunt, ut #So 1:6, saith Kimchi, they feed their eyes and passions with my misery, as #Lu 23:35. This απιχαιρεκακια is the devil’s disease, and declareth a devilish disposition, sc. for a man to make himself merry in other men’s misery.

Ver. 18. They part my garments among them, and cast lots] A very clear testimony to us that our crucified God (as they scornfully term him) was the true Messiah, so long since fore prophesied of, and accordingly accomplished, #Lu 23:34 Job 20:24. Such texts as this we should make much of, as the best and surest evidences of our Christian faith, #2Pe 1:19.

Ver. 19. But be not thou far from me, O Lord] Here he resumeth and reinforceth his former prayer, after a most pathetic description of his so doleful condition. Faith wadeth out of trouble (as the moon doth out of a cloud) by hearty and affectionate prayer.

O my strength] God is so to a believer, then especially when he feeleth himself weak as water.

Haste thee to help me] Who am now in an exigent, and am therefore bold, without limitation, to request thee to haste away to me.

Ver. 20. Deliver my soul from the sword] i.e. From desperate and deadly danger, from the wicked, which is thy sword, #Ps 17:13.

My darling from the power of the dog] Heb. Mine only one from the hand, &c., as #Ge 9:5. Sic est anima in corpore, ut in domo lutea, nec habet socium, saith R. David here; The soul is alone in its cottage of clay, and hath no companion. That was a mad fellow who gave out that he had two souls, one for God, and another for whomsoever would have it. If the dog, that is, the devil, as some interpret this text, lay hands on this darling, it will be found to be all that a man hath, his alonely soul, the loss whereof our Saviour showeth to be both incomparable and irreparable, #Mt 16:26.

Ver. 21. Save me from the lion’s mouth] #2Ti 4:17. David was oft snatched out of death’s mouth, and so was Christ; for although he had his life taken away upon the cross, yet was it (as Calvin here well observeth) more miraculously and by greater power restored after death, than if he had been delivered from the cross; and it is a greater miracle to raise the dead than to heal the most dangerously sick, and to stay the life when it is departing.

For thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns] See #Heb 5:7. It is ordinary with David to call his enemies by the names of the fiercest creatures. This here mentioned, whether the unicorn, or rhinoceros, or some other wild beast, see #Job 39:9, &c. Cornua habet fortiora aliorum cornibus, saith Aben Ezra; Et audivi quod deiecit seipsum ab alto monte super cornu eius, irrupto illo permanente. Asperrimam feram appellat Plinius.

Ver. 22. I will declare thy name, &c.] Here beginneth the second part of this psalm, which is gratulatory, and declaratory of the fruit of Christ’s passion and resurrection, who is not here ashamed to call us brethren; but doth communicate the kingdom to us as coheirs with himself.

In the midst of the congregation] viz. That I may not sing alone, but in consort with others, and be their precentor.

Ver. 23. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him] viz. For your redemption by Christ’s death and resurrection. Neither are any fit for such a purpose but such as fear the Lord. Excellent words become not a fool’s mouth, saith Solomon; Christ would not suffer the devil to confess him. To be praised by a praiseless person is no praise, saith Seneca.

All ye seed of Jacob] i.e. Illi qui diligunt eum.

All ye the seed of Israel] Qui timent, sed adhuc non diligunt, saith R. David; but I like not his distinction; for none do truly fear God but those that love him, #Ho 3:5.

Ver. 24. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction] Vel responsionem, id est orationem, quae est responsio linguae, #Pr 16:1. With men a poor man’s tale cannot be heard; and the answer given to such cuts off half the petition, as the echo doth the voice; but here it is otherwise. "I know thy poverty," saith Christ to one of the seven Churches; "but" (that is nothing) "thou art rich." God thinks not the worse of his suppliants for their meanness, but the better rather.

Ver. 25. My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation] Where it may be most public and exemplary. They that neglect public service for private do but read their own indictment, pray their own punishment.

I will pay my vows, &c.] My peace offerings vowed in my distress: these are heavily paid by most people, according to that Italian proverb, The danger once escaped, the saint is defrauded. See David’s care, #Ps 116. and elsewhere.

Ver. 26. The meek shall eat and be satisfied] They shall be well filled at my peace offering feast, saith David; at my holy supper, saith Christ; and in me shall have the full fruition of all good things; as at a feast of fat things full of marrow, of wines refined on the lees, #Isa 25:6 Nec copiam huius saeculi concupiscent nec timebunt inopiam, saith Austin; Here they shall neither covet the wealth of this world nor fear the want of it.

They shall praise the Lord] viz. At the eucharist, and after.

Your heart shall live for ever] Apostrophe ad mansuetos emphatica. You meek of the earth and seekers of the Lord, who have eaten of Christ’s flesh that was given for the life of the world, #Joh 6:51, your heart shall live for ever; and if so, then in death itself. As Aristotle giveth the reason of the swan’s singing a little before his death, because generous blood goeth then to the heart, making it cheerful, and that thence cometh the melody.

Ver. 27. All the ends of the world shall remember] Shall turn short again upon themselves, as those Solomon prayed for, #1Ki 8:47, and the prodigal, #Lu 15:17.

And turn to the Lord] From their dead idols, #1Th 1:9.

And all the kindreds of the nations, &c.] Christ, when he is lifted up, shall draw all men to him, #Joh 12:32; the heavenly eagles from all parts shall fly to this dead, but all-quickening carcase, and shall feed thereupon.

Ver. 28. For the kingdom is the Lord’s] The spiritual kingdom over the Church, and the universal kingdom over all the world, belongeth unto Christ, the eternal God.

Ver. 29. All they that be fat upon the earth] i.e. Rich and prosperous, wealthy and well liking, these shall feed on Christ, and be furthered thereby in his service; so shall also the poorer sort, called here,

They that go down to the dust, and that cannot keep alive, &c.] That is, that are low kept, and half dead, through hunger and misery.

Ver. 30. A seed shall serve him] And be saved by him, a remnant reserved for royal use, a chosen generation, #Ro 9:20 Isa 53:10.

Ver. 31. Declare his righteousness] i.e. His mercy and goodness, they shall propagate his praise to all posterity.

That he hath done] Or performed, viz. the salvation promised by Christ.

Chapter 22

Ver. 1. The Lord is my shepherd] This psalm may well be called David’s Bucolicon, or pastoral; so daintily hath he struck upon the whole string, through the whole hymn. Est Psalmus honorahilis, saith Aben Ezra; it is a noble psalm written and sung by David; not when he fled into the forest of Hareth, #1Sa 22:5, as some Hebrews will have it (R. Kimchi, R. Solom.); but when, as having overcome all his enemies and settled his kingdom, he enjoyed great peace and quiet, and had one foot as it were upon the battlements of heaven. The Jews at this day use for the most part to repeat this psalm after they are set down to meat (Leo. Modena). God is often in Scripture called the Shepherd of his people, #Ps 80:1 Eze 34:12,14,15 Isa 40:11 Joh 10:11 1Pe 2:25, although non est ofiicium magis contemptibile quam opilionis, saith R. Jos. Bar. Haman, there is not a more contemptible office than that of a shepherd. Every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians. But God disdaineth not to feed his flock, to guide, to govern, to defend them, to handle and heal them, to tend and take care of them; and all this he hath tied himself by covenant to do, #Eze 34:25: well therefore might David confidently conclude,

I shall not want] Non deficiam, iudigebo, destituar. The wicked in the fulness of his sufficiency is in straits, #Job 20:22. Tantalus-like, he is ever wanting; content he hath none. Contrarily, true piety brings true plenty, and a saint is never to seek of well contenting sufficiency, #1Ti 6:6, for to him, Parva seges satis est. A small crop is enough, And he saith,

Discite quam parvo liceat producers vitam,

Et quantum natura petat, &c.

(Lucan. Pharsi. l. 4).

Ver. 2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures] In folds of budding grass, where he feedeth me daily and daintily, plentifully and pleasantly, as among the lilies, #So 6:3; that is, amidst the ordinances (David here seemeth to resemble powerful and flourishing doctrine to green pastures, and the secret and sweet comforts of the sacraments to the still waters), where I shall not need to bite on the bare ground, but may go in and out, and find pasture, #Joh 10:9, such as will breed life, and life in more abundance, #Joh 10:10 Isa 49:10; fat pastures he provideth, #Eze 34:14; and fair cotes, or coverts from the sun’s heat, as the word here used may also be rendered. Confer #So 1:6,7. Virgil saith, it is the office of a good shepherd,

Aestibus in mediis umbrosam exquirere vallem.

He leadeth me (Heb. gently leadeth me) beside the still waters] Heb. waters of rests, Ex quibus diligunt oves bibere, saith Kimchi, such as sheep love to drink of, because void of danger, and yielding a refreshing air. Popish clergymen are called the inhabitants of the sea, #Re 12:12, because they set abroad gross, troubled, brackish, and sourish doctrine, which rather bringeth barrenness to their hearers, and gnaweth their entrails, than quencheth their thirst or cooleth their heat (Brightman). The doctrine of the gospel (like the waters of Siloah, #Isa 8:6), run gently, but taste pleasantly.

Lens fluit Nilus, sed cunctis anmibus extat

Utilior (Claud.).

Ver. 3. He restoreth my soul] He reduceth me, when like a lost sheep I have gone astray, #Ps 119:176. A sheep, saith Aristotle, is a foolish and sluggish creature, Et omnium quadrupedum stupidissimum, most apt of anything to wander, though it feel no want, and unablest to return. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib. Swine in a storm run home, and at night will make for the trough; but a sheep can make no shift to save itself from tempests or inundation; there it stands and will perish, if not driven away by the shepherd. Lo, such a silly shiftless thing is man left to himself. But blessed be God for Christ, that best of shepherds, who restoreth the lost soul, and maketh it to return into the right way, giving it rest, and causing it to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness, #Lu 1:74.

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness] Or, in plain, smooth, easy paths, or sheep tracks, wherein I may walk unweariably, unblameably, without cessation or cespitation. The ways of sin are craggy, crooked, full of error and terror, leading to those precipices that tend to destruction. From such stand off, saith Christ to his sheep, who are all rational, and will be ruled by him, #Joh 10:1-17

For his name’s sake] i.e. Of his free grace, and for his mere mercy’s sake. Otherwise he would never do us any of these good offices, but let us alone to perish in our own corruptions.

Ver. 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death] In the most dark and dangerous places, where there is Luctus ubique, pavor, et plurima mortis imago, those dark places full of cruelty, #Ps 74:20, where wolves wait for me. Though I walk (not step) through (not cross) the valley (not a dark entry only) of the shadow of death (the darkest side of it, death in its most hideous and horrid representations), I will not fear; for I fear God, and have him by the hand; I must needs be tutus sub umbraleonis, safe by his side, and under his safeguard. If God be for us, who can be against us?

For thou art with me] Hence my security. See a promise answerable to it, #Joh 10:28. Christ is not to lose any of his sheep, #Joh 17:12. Having therefore this ark of God’s covenant in our eyes, let us cheerfully pass the waters of Jordan, to take possession of the promised land. Cur timeat hominem homo, in sinu Dei positus? saith a Father.

Thy rod and thy staff] He pursueth the former allegory; shepherds, in driving their flocks, have a rod or wand in their hands, wherewith they now and then strike them; and a staff or sheep hook on their necks, wherewith they catch and rule them. Of Christ’s rods and staves, see #Zec 11:7, &c.; foolish shepherds have only foreipes et mulctram, #Zec 11:15. R. Solomon by rod here understandeth afflictions, by staff support under them, a good use and a good issue.

They comfort me] God’s rod, like Aaron’s, blossometh; and, like Jonathan’s, it hath honey at the end of it.

Ver. 5. Thou preparest a table before] Here he makes use of another metaphor from a liberal feast maker, or (as some will have it) from a most kind father, making provision for his dearly beloved child: so did God for David, both in regard to temporals and spirituals. God had given him (as he doth all his people) all things richly to enjoy, all things needful for life and godliness, the upper and nether springs, the blessings of the right hand and of the left, bona throni, et bona scabelli, as Austin phraseth it. Now, outward prosperity, when it followeth close walking with God, is very sweet; as the cipher when it followeth the figure addeth to the number, though it be nothing in itself. David’s table was laden with God’s creatures, and did even sweat with variety of them. God had let down to him, as afterwards he did to Peter, a vessel with all manner of beasts of the earth and fowls of the air in it, #Ac 10:12. This he is very sensible of and thankful for, as a singular favour.

In the presence of mine enemies] i.e. In sight and spite of them, hostibus videntibus et ringentibus. God doth good to his people, maugre the malice of earth and of hell.

Thou anointest my head with oil] A piece of entertainment common in those times and among that people, #Lu 7:36-38, to show the greater respect to their guests. And although this is not every good man’s case in temporal respects, yet at the word and sacraments God anointeth his guests with the oil of gladness.

My cup runneth over] He had not only a fulness of abundance, but of redundancy. Those that have this happiness must carry their cup upright, and see that it overflow into their poor brethren’s emptier vessels.

Ver. 6. Surely goodness and mercy, &c.] Utique bonitas et beneficentia, or, as Tremellius hath it, Nihil nisi bonum et benignitas, Nothing but goodness and lovingkindness, &c. This is his good assurance of God’s favour for the future, grounded upon God’s promise; whereby he was well assured that mercy should follow him, though he should be so foolish as to run from it; like as the sun, going down, followeth the passenger that goeth eastward, with his beams.

And I will dwell, &c.] Devoted to his fear, I will stick to him in life, in death, and after death. Apprehensions of mercy in God must work resolutions of obedience in us.

A Psalm of David] The Greek addeth, of the first day of the week (because wont to be sung in the temple on that day), which is now the Christian sabbath, in memory of Christ’s resurrection and rule over all, which is here celebrated.

Chapter 23

Ver. 1. The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof] He alone is the true proprietary, #Job 41:11 De 10:14, and the earth is Marsupium Domini, as one saith, the Lord’s great purse; the keeping whereof he hath committed to the sons of men, #Ps 115:16; like as also he hath given the heavenly bodies to all peoples, #De 4:19, every star being God’s storehouse, which he openeth for our profit, #De 28:12, and out of which he throweth down riches and plenty into the earth, such as the servants of God gather, and the rest scramble for. What use the apostle putteth this point to, see #1Co 10:26,28, {See Trapp on "1Co 10:26"} {See Trapp on "1Co 10:28"} Other uses may well be made of it; as, that kings and princes bear not themselves as lords of all (the Turk and pope so style themselves; the great cham of Tartary every day as soon as he hath dined causeth, they say, his trumpets to be sounded; by that sign giving leave to other princes of the earth, his vassals, as he conceiteth, to go to dinner), but the Lord’s vicarii et villici, viceregents and stewards, to whom they must give an account of all. Again, that God’s dear children cannot want anything that is good for them; since they have so rich a Father, who seems to say unto them, as #Ge 45:20, Regard not your stuff, for all the good of the land is yours. To him that overcometh will I give to inherit all things; I have all things, #Php 4:18 2Co 6:10.

The world and they that dwell therein] This is God’s universal kingdom by right of creation, #Ps 24:2; besides which he hath a spiritual kingdom over his elect ( ut docet nos pulcherrimus hic psalmus, this this most beautiful psalm teaches us, saith Beza), who are here described, #Ps 24:4-6, and encouraged to enlarge their desires after their sovereign in the exercise of faith and use of means, and to give him the best entertainment, #Ps 24:7-10. For the Church is Christ’s temple; and every faithful soul is a gate thereof to let him in, as #Re 3:20.

Ver. 2. For he hath founded it upon the seas] The solid earth he hath founded upon the liquid waters. This Aristotle acknowledgeth to be a miracle; as also that the waters, which are naturally above the earth, overflow it not, but are kept within their shores, as within doors and bars. This is the very finger of God, and a standing miracle, worthy to be predicated to his praise all the world over, #Job 38:6-8, &c. {See Trapp on "Job 38:6"} {See Trapp on "Job 38:7"} {See Trapp on "Job 38:8"} See also #Ge 1:9, {See Trapp on "Ge 1:9"}

And established it upon the floods] Upon the waves and surges of the sea; which, but for God’s decree, would soon surmount it. The dry land is that which is here called Tebel, οικουμενη, the habitable world. And this is God’s universal kingdom, which because less considerable, the prophet speaketh but little of it in comparison, as hastening to the spiritual.

Ver. 3. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord] Montem caelestem significat, saith Vatablus, he meaneth into heaven; for the prophet’s purpose is to show, that although God made all, yet he will not save all; but that there is a select number, culled and called out of the many, who shall be everlastingly happy; and these are here characterized, as they are also, #Ps 15, wherewith this psalm hath great affinity, and is thought to have been composed at the same time, that is, saith R. David, post negotium Ornani Iebusaei, after the business with Araunah the Jebusite, when God by fire from heaven had pointed out the place where the temple should be built, #1Ch 21:26 22:1.

And who shall stand in his holy place?] Stand with the Lamb upon Mount Zion? Tautologia haec est Hebraeis perquam familiaris. Who is a true member of the Church militant? and shall be no less of the Church triumphant?

Ver. 4. He that hath clean hands] The clean in hands, that is, of innocent and unblamable conversation; debet esse purus corde, ore, opere, saith Kimchi; he must not touch that unclean thing, #2Co 6:17. Non magna munera, sed immunis manus mensque sincera Deo placent. Men must lift up pure hands in prayer, #1Ti 2:8, or else their incense will stink of the hand that offereth it, #Isa 1:13. Immunis aram si tetigit manus (Horat.). Those that draw near to God must not only have their hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, but their bodies also washed with pure water, #Heb 10:22.

And a pure heart] Which, while Pilate wanted, it nothing profited him to wash his hands in the presence of the people. Heaven is a holy place; and they that would go thither must cleanse themselves from "all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God," #2Co 7:1. The serpent could screw himself into Paradise; but no unclean creature ever came into God’s kingdom. The citizens of heaven must here affect purity of heart, aim at it, and in some measure attain to it too; the old frame of impure motions being dissolved, &c.

Who hath not lift up his soul unto vanity] i.e. Ad idols vel opes, saith one, that is, to idols or riches, #Jer 22:27, but hath lifted it up in the ways of the Lord, as Jehoshaphat did, #2Ch 17:6, and David, #Ps 25:1, not heeding or hankering after the world’s delights or the devil’s delusions. Some write the word Shau, signifying vanity, with a little Vau, ad indicandum quod minima vanitas est vitanda, &c., to show that he who would dwell in God’s holy mountain must carefully avoid the least vanity, that is, keeping God’s commandment as the apple of his eye, that will bear no jests, #Pr 7:2. Some, for his soul, read my soul; he hath not taken in vain my soul, that is, saith R. Obadiah, That soul inspired by God (which I also have received), he taketh not in vain, he misemployeth not to iniquity, but consecrateth to the service of God, whose image and superscription it beareth.

Nor hath sworn deceitfully] Or inured his tongue to any other kind of the language of hell, rotten communication, to the dishonouring of God, or deceiving of others. Perjury is here instanced for the rest, as one of the most heinous. But Geraldus reckoneth up four and twenty different sins of the tongue; all which every inhabitant of the new Jerusalem is careful to avoid, as the devil’s drevil, no way becoming his pure lip.

Ver. 5. He shall receive the blessing of the Lord] i.e. Omnimodam felieitatem, all manner of mercies, saith Vatablus; he shall be as happy as heart can wish; for great is the gain of godliness. See my Righteous Man’s Recompense.

And righteousness, &c.] i.e. The fruit and reward of righteousness, which the righteous God will not fail to bestow upon all his; even the crown of righteousness, #2Ti 4:8. A grave interpreter hath here observed, that there is such a reciprocation between the description of this reward and the persons described, that the blessedness assured to the persons exciteth them to the care of piety; and this care of piety bringeth unto them a sure and firm expectation of blessedness (Ames).

Ver. 6. This is the generation of them that seek him] These are the true seekers, far different from those that so style themselves today; being no better indeed than the Jesuits’ by-blows {bastards}, as one wittily calleth them, though they are not yet so wise as to know their own father (Mr Baxter). These are a generation too, but an evil and adulterous one, in these last and loosest times of abounding and abetted errors.

That seek thy face] i.e. Thy favour, that desire nothing more than to be in communion with thee and conformity unto thee.

O Jacob] Or, O God of Jacob. As the Church is called Christ, #1Co 12:12; so God is here called Jacob, such a near union there is between him and his people. Or, this is Jacob. So the true seekers are fitly called, first, because Israelites indeed, #Joh 1:47 Ro 9:6; secondly, because they see God face to face, as Jacob did at Penuel, #Ge 32:24,26,29,30; thirdly, because they also, as here, do bear away a blessing, #Ho 12:4, even righteousness from the God of their salvation, as in the verse foregoing. Adiecitur Selah ut ostendatur quantopere haec sententia sit consideranda (Vatab.).

Ver. 7. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, &c.] Here he calleth unto hell gates, say the Papists; to the heavens, say others, to give way to Christ’s ascension thereinto, as the firstfruits, and the opener of the way to all his members; and he doubleth the same speech, #Ps 24:9, for the joy that he had in the contemplation thereof; bidding them again and again lift up and be lifted up; a phrase or term taken from triumphal arches, or great porticoes, set up or beautified and adorned for the coming in of great victorious and triumphant captains. Justin. p. 55. Recipite Christum in portas novae Hierosol. (Cyril). There are at this day to be seen at Rome the ruins of Constantine’s triumphal arch erected at that time when he entered the city triumphing over the tyrant Maxentius, quem vicit signo crucis, who conquored by the sign of the cross, as Eusebius reporteth; making Christ to triumph at Rome, after those ten bloody persecutions; with which triumph this psalm may fitly be compared, saith a learned interpreter. Our late annotators tell us of a fashion in ancient times, that when they would solemnize the entrance of any prince, or others that had well deserved of the public, they would break down the walls, and pull off the gates of the city; partly for more flee entrance, and partly to show that their city needed no wall nor gates as long as they had such a guardian and protector within it. It is likely, say they, that David by these words doth allude to some such custom. Or, as Calvin and others will have it, to the temple to be set up by Solomon; which he wisheth were done, that so he might bring in the ark of the covenant, hitherto transportative, into the place of its rest, #Ps 132:14. Certain it is, that the saints, those living temples of the Lord, are here called upon to lift up their hearts in the use of holy ordinances; yea, therein to be abundantly lifted up through faith, with a joyful and assured welcome of the King of glory, who will thereupon come in to them, by the ravishing operation of his love, benefits, and graces.

Ver. 8. Who is this King of glory?] The gates are brought in as asking this question, saith R. David. This is the angels’ admiration at the coming in of Christ’s humanity into heaven, saith Diodati. Rather, it is the question of the faithful concerning the person of their King, whom they hereby resist not: but for their further confirmation, desire to be better informed of him, and his never adored enough excellencies.

The Lord strong] Jehovah the essentiator, the eternal God; the most mighty and puissant warrior; who, if he do but arise only, his enemies are scattered, and all that hate him fly before him, #Ps 68:1.

Ver. 9. Lift up your heads, &c.] See #Ps 24:7. And learn, that in matters of moment we must be more than ordinarily earnest and importunate with ourselves and others.

Ver. 10. Who is this King of glory?] The best are acute obtusi in the mystery of Christ crucified; and must therefore by study and inquiry grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, #2Pe 3:18, praying for that Spirit of wisdom and revelation, for the acknowledgment of him, #Eph 1:17.

The Lord of hosts] He who hath all creatures at his beck and check, the Lord of Sabaoth, #Ro 9:29 Jas 5:4, where the word signifying hosts or arms is used untranslated, because well understood both by Jews and Gentiles, as is also Hosanna, Hallelujah, Amen.

A Psalm of David] An excellent psalm; the second of those seven called by the ancients penitential; and such as may well serve us for a pattern of our daily prayers; as wherein David beggeth three things (answerable to those two last petitions in the Lord’s prayer), first, pardon of sin; secondly, guidance of God’s good Spirit; thirdly, defence against his enemies (Beza). It appeareth that this psalm was made by David when he was well in years, #Ps 25:7, after his sin in the matter of Uriah (that great iniquity, as he calleth it, #Ps 25:11, saith Vatablus), and some gather, from #Ps 25:19, that he framed this psalm when Absalom was up in arms against him, #Ps 25:19 (compared with #Ps 3:1). See also #Ps 25:15,22. It may seem therefore that when he came to Mahanaim, #2Sa 17:24,27 (where God showed him marvellous lovingkindness in a strong city, #Ps 31:21, and wherehence he was at the people’s request to help them, or to cause them to be helped, viz. by his hearty prayers for God’s assistance, #2Sa 18:3), he composed this psalm with more than ordinary artifice, viz. in order of alphabet, as he hath done also some few others, both for the excellency of the matter and likewise for help of memory; for which cause also St Matthew summeth up the genealogy of Christ into three fourteens; all helps being but little enough. Nazianzen and Sedulius have done the like; the former in his holy alphabet, Αρχην απαντων, &c., and the latter in his hymn, A Solis ortus cardine Beatus auctor saeculi, &c.

Chapter 24

Ver. 1. Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul] i.e. Praeparo cor meum, saith R. Solomon. My heart maketh its faithful addresses to thee (and not any other), with strength of desire and delight, with earnest expectation and hope of relief. Ad te orando non ad idola. See #Jer 22:27 De 24:15 Ps 86:5, Cyprian saith, that in the primitive times the minister was wont to prepare the people’s minds to pray by prefacing Sursum corda, Lift up your hearts. The Jews at this day write upon the walls of their synagogues these words, Tephillah belo cavannah ceguph belo neshamah; that is, a prayer without the intention of the affection, is like a body without a soul; and yet their devotion is a mere outside, saith one, a brainless head, and a soulless body; Antiquum obtinent, #Isa 29:13, Buxtorf. Abbreviat. This people draweth nigh to me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. A carnal man can as little lift up his heart in prayer as a mole can fly. A David finds it a hard task; since the best heart is lumpish, and naturally beareth downward, as the poise of a clock, as the lead of a net. Let us, theretbre, lay aside every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset us; and pray God to draw us up to himself, as the loadstone doth the iron, &c.

Ver. 2. O my God, I trust in thee] I pray in faith, which is as the fire, and my prayer as the flame that ariseth out of it. Faith is the foundation of prayer; and prayer is the fervency of faith. Now David knew that the hand of faith never knocketh at the gate of grace in vain.

Let me not be ashamed] Shame is the daughter of disappointment. This David deprecateth; Quaeque repulsa gravis. See #Job 6:20.

Let not mine enemies triumph over me] By saying that I pray to no purpose, as Rabshakeh did, #Isa 35:6. I say (saith Hezekiah) I have words of my lips, prayer; prayer? but alas, what is that more than empty words, an airy nothing? Counsel and strength are for the battle. Thus he.

Ver. 3. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed] Be nosed and twitted with my disappointments, as they are sure to be if I be repulsed by thee and worsted by mine enemies; all thy praying people shall have it cast in their teeth and laid in their dish.

Let them be ashamed which transgress without cause] Let shame be sent to the right owner, even to those that deal disloyally, unprovoked on my part. And so it was; for Ahithophel hanged himself; Absalom was trussed up by the hand of God, and despatched by Joab; the people that conspired with him partly perished by the sword, and partly fled home, much ashamed of their enterprise. Oh the power of prayer! what may not the saints have for asking!

Ver. 4. Show me thy ways, O Lord] q.d. However other men walk towards me, yet my desire is to keep touch with thee; for which purpose I humbly beg thy best direction. See #Ex 33:13 Isa 2:3.

Teach me thy paths] Assuefac me ; inure me to thy paths, Sicut parvulus ad ambulandum assuetus, saith Kimchi, as a little one is taught to find his feet.

Ver. 5. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me] i.e. Assidue doce et urge. David was a great proficient in God’s school, and yet he would learn more; so sweet is divine knowledge. Four times together here prayeth David to be further instructed. See Moses in like manner holily encroaching upon God, #Ex 33:12,13,16,18, as if his motto had been that of Charles V, Ulterius, More yet.

For thou art the God of my salvation] Perfect, therefore, that which concerneth me. "Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever; forsake not the works of thine own hands," #Ps 138:8. Thou hast written me down in thy book of preservation with thine own hand. Oh read thine own handwriting, and save me, said Queen Elizabeth in her troubles.

Ver. 6. Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies] Heb. thy bowels, which thou mayest seem to have lost, but I shall find them for thee. Where are thy bowels and thy compassions? are they restrained? If thou hast forgotten them (but that cannot be) I shall be thy remembrancer, and read them over unto thee out of the register of a sanctified memory.

For they have been ever of old] Etiam ad Adamum, qui vixit quasi mille annis, Ever since Adam, and so onward, saith R. Solomon; and why not then to me, who am one of thine, to whom thy mercy successively belongeth in my generation, as it did to mine ancestors in theirs?

Ver. 7. Remember not the sins of my youth] Which, though long since committed, must not be remembered without remorse; since for them God often punisheth men in their age, #Job 13:26 Jer 3:25. It is not the last sand that emptieth the hour glass, nor the last blow that throweth down the oak. Sin may sleep a long time, like a sleeping debt, not called for of many years; as Saul’s sin in slaying the Gibeonites, not punished till forty years after; as Joab’s killing of Abner slept all David’s days, &c. It is not safe to be at odds with the Ancient of days. This David knew, and, therefore, was willing to clear all old scores, to get pardon for youthful lusts, lest they should put a sting into his present sufferings. And that being thoroughly done, as he could expect mercy and direction from God, so if any should maliciously upbraid him with his bygone iniquities he could answer, as Austin did in like case, Quae tu reprehendis, ego damnavi, What thou reprehendest in me I have long since condemned in myself. And as reverend Beza, when a spiteful Papist hit him in the teeth with his wanton poems set forth in his youth, and long before repented of, Hic homo invidet mihi gratiam Christi, This fellow, said he, envieth me the grace of Jesus Christ.

Nor my transgressions] Or, prevarications, in personam Uriae, in the matter of Uriah, saith R. Obadiah; the sins of mine age, saith Kimchi; all my faults of former and later time, saith another. David was well in years when he defiled himself with Bathsheba. In many young men the rose is cankered in the bud. And again, as the canker soonest entereth into the white rose, so doth corruption easily creep into the white head. David prayeth God to forgive him his sins, both of former and of latter time; and not to forgive them only, but to forget them too; "Remember not the sins," &c. And as he fitly joineth memory of mercies and forgetfulness of sins, so he forgetteth not to subjoin,

According to thy mercy remember thou me, for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord] Do all of free grace, not for any motive or merit of mine. Lorinus, a Jesuit, here bringeth in sundry passages (as well he may), #Ps 6:8 51:3 69:14 86:5,15 106:45 119:156 136:7 Da 9:18 Isa 55:7, to prove that all is of mercy, and not of merits.

Ver. 8. Good and upright is the Lord] i.e. Gracious and righteous, or faithful; and hence it is that our God is merciful, as #Ps 116:5; hence it is that we poor creatures are not overwhelmed, aut magnitudine peccatorum, aut mole calamitatum, either with the greatness of our sins, or the multitude of our miseries.

Therefore will he teach sinners in the way] i.e. Sensible sinners, meek and mortified, as in the next verse, self-judging, and self-condemned; those will he teach to turn to him, and to walk before him in all well pleasing; and this doctrine of election must needs be good, because he is good; and certain, because he is upright.

Ver. 9. The meek will he guide in judgment] Or, the poor (viz. in spirit) will he make to tread in judgment; to foot it aright, to walk judiciously, to behave themselves wisely, as David did, #1Sa 10:14, so that Saul feared him, #1Sa 23:22. Natural conscience cannot but stoop to the image of God, shining in the hearts and lives of the really religious.

And the meek will he teach his way] Such as lie at his feet, and say, Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth; such as whose hearts are supple and soluble, tractable and teachable, so as that a little child may lead them, #Isa 11:6. Austin was such a one, En adsum senex, saith he, a iuvene coepiscopo episcopus tot annorum, a collega nondum anniculo paratus sum discere, i.e. I am here an old man, ready to learn of a young man, my coadjutor in the ministry, who hath scarce been one year in the service (Aug. Epist. 75, ad Arvil. Epis.).

Ver. 10. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth] All the passages and proceedings, both ordinantial and providential, whereby he cometh and communicateth himself to his people, are not only mercy (though that is very sweet), but truth; they come to them in a way of a promise from God, as bound to them by covenant; this is soul-satisfying indeed; this turns all that a man hath to cream, when every mercy is a present sent him from heaven by virtue of a promise.

Unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies] i.e. His law (that singular testimony of his goodness towards them), called a covenant, because he bargaineth with us, as it were, that we should keep it; which because we can never do, he undertaketh to perform his own part and ours too. Lex iubet, gratis iuvat, he worketh all our works in us, and for us; he giveth us to be what he biddeth us to be: this is the everlasting covenant, and the fruits of it are sure mercies, compassions that fail not.

Ver. 11. For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity] Never did prisoner at the bar beg more earnestly for his life than David did for pardon of his great offence, especially in the matter of Uriah; for that lay heaviest. Peccatum cum Bathsheba cuius petit antehac remissionem, et nunc repeto (R. David). Could he but get off the guilt of that, it were an easy matter for him to glory in tribulations with Paul, #Ro 5:3, and to cry out, with Luther, Feri Domine, feri; nam a peccatis absolutus sum: Smite, Lord, smite; for I am a pardoned sinner, and therefore all is in mercy, and for good.

For it is great] But that is nothing to so great a God, who delightest in mercy, and makest thy power appear in pardoning the many and horrid sins of thy poor penitents. The high heaven covereth as well tall mountains as small mole hills. The vast ocean swalloweth up huge rocks as well as little pebbles. St Paul was (for the first table) a blasphemer, and (for the second table) a persecutor, and injurious; "but I obtained mercy," saith he; and why? that the grace of our Lord might appear to be exceeding abundant, even to an overflow, #1Ti 1:13,14, and that the glory of free grace might be so much the more manifested, #Ro 5:20. The more desperate was my disease the greater is the glory of my Physician, who hath fully cured me, said Austin once to one, who upbraided him with his former loose living.

Ver. 12. What man is he that feareth the Lord?] This question implieth, first, a paucity of such, as #Ho 14:9; secondly, the felicity of such as, out of a reverential fear of God, sue to him for pardon of sin, and seek to be made his servants. O quanta est felicitas istius viri! Oh the heaped up happiness of such a rare man! (Vatab.) David admireth it here (utitur exclamations Mol.); and well he may, for he hath close communion with God, and sweet communication of Christ’s secrets, as followeth.

Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose] i.e. That the good man shall pitch upon. God will direct him in all dealings to make a good choice; and will give good success. This is not in a man’s own power to do, #Jer 10:23. But the "steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way," #Ps 37:23. He was a pillar of fire and cloud to the Israelites, #Ex 14:19, and carefully chose out their way for them; not the nearest alway, but yet the safest.

Ver. 13. His soul shall dwell at ease] Heb. shall lodge in good, even then when his body haply is tossing on his sick bed, and at great unrest, Conquiescet quemadmodum de nocte quiesci solet (Trcmel.). One being asked how he did? answered, My body is weak, my soul is well. He shall be freed from the devil of discontent, and have a blessed self sufficiency; such, and better than he had whom Horace describeth, Epod. 2, Beatus ille qui procul negotiis, &c.; blessed is that man who is far from trouble, such as good Jacob had, when he said, I have enough, my brother, &c. Godliness only hath such a contentedness, #1Ti 6:6.

And his seed shall inherit the earth] God’s love dieth not with the parents; but reviveth in their posterity, #2Sa 7:12.

Ευσεβεων παιδεσσι τα λωια, δυσσεβεων δ ου.

It would be a great stay of mind to us, if God should say of our children, as once David did of Mephibosheth, and afterwards of Chimham, I will take care of them, and see them well provided for. He doth upon the matter say as much and more to every believer.

Ver. 14. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him] It is neither learning nor labour that can give insight into God’s secrets, those Arcana imperii, #Mt 13:12, the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, "the mind of Christ," #1Co 2:16; these things come by revelation rather than discourse of reason, and must therefore be obtained by prayer. Those that diligently seek him shall be of his cabinet council, shall know his soul secrets, and be admitted into a gracious familiarity and friendship: #Joh 15:15, "Hence forth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doth: but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you."

And he will show them his covenant] As having no greater secret to impart to them, than by showing them the covenant of grace, his good pleasure and purpose of their eternal salvation; to make them "know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that they may be filled with all the fulness of God," #Eph 3:19. The Jews bragged much of God’s covenant, but here they are given to understand, that only such as fear God are covenanters. #Ac 13:16, "Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience."

Ver. 15. Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord] I look him full in the face, and confidently expect deliverance. This he speaketh, saith one, in reference to the army that he had sent out to meet Absalom, #2Sa 18:1, nothing doubting of getting the day.

For he shall pluck my feet out of the net] Of evil concupiscence, saith Aben Ezra; rather of my foes, those crafty and cruel fowlers.

Ver. 16. Turn thee unto me] Heb. Face about towards me.

And have mercy upon me] There being no such mercy as to have thy favour. This is a voluminous mercy.

For I am desolate and afflicted] As all creatures flag and hang the head when the sun is eclipsed. Misery is an object of mercy; as it was to the compassionate Samaritan.

Ver. 17. The troubles of my heart are enlarged] Whereby my heart is sorely straitened, so that I can hardly breathe: Oh, "hide not thine ear at my breathing," at my cry, #La 3:56. En patet in curas area lata meas; all afflictions enter into mine heart, as by a wide gate (R. Obad.). Cor vix capax tribulationum mearum (Vat.).

Out of my distresses] Wherewith I am pent up and pinched; as afterwards Paul was pricked with the messenger of Satan.

Ver. 18. Look upon mine affliction and my pain] My griefs, under which I groan and labour, My concupiscence, saith Aben Ezra, against which I strive, but prevail not.

And forgive all my sin] Heb. lift up, take away; lay them on the true scape goat, on that Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world, #Joh 1:29.

Ver. 19. Consider mine enemies, for they are many] This was to David half a promise, and a whole reason that he should be helped; since it was to come to an extremity. If God but look out of the pillar of cloud upon the Egyptian army, it is enough for their utter confusion, #Ex 14:24.

And they hate me with cruel hatred] Of their craft he had complained, #Ps 25:15, now of their cruelty. These are never sundered in the Church’s enemies; as the asp, they say, never goeth without his mate. See #Isa 34:16.

Ver. 20. O keep my soul] The repetition of the self same petition argueth earnestness, and is not always battology.

Let me not be ashamed] Rendered scornful and scandalous.

Ver. 21. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me] Integrity of conscience and uprightness of conversation.

For I wait on thee] viz. For the accomplishment of thy promise, That with the upright thou wilt show thyself upright, #Ps 18:25.

Ver. 22. Redeem Israel, &c.] In vita vel post mortem meam, Either while I live, or after my death (R. David). This is every good man’s care and prayer. None is in case to pray for the Church, that hath not first made his own peace with God.

Chapter 25

Ver. 1. Judge me, O Lord] i.e. Judge between me and mine enemies; not between me and thee, as R. David expoundeth it, for then I am sure to be found faulty.

For I have walked in mine integrity] viz. Toward Saul, whatever his flattering courtiers suggest against me; as #Ps 7, which is much like this, and made, as it may seem, about the same time as this, viz. about the beginning of Saul’s persecution raised against David, #1Sa 22:7,8, who thereupon appealeth here to God’s just judgment, and stands upon his justification, as holding fast faith and a good conscience.

Therefore I shall not slide] Or, not far; I shall not be greatly moved, #Ps 62:2. Moved I may be, but not removed; shaken, but not shivered; thrust at, but not thrown down, &c., because bottomed and built upon the Rock of Ages, #Isa 26:4 2Co 4:8.

Ver. 2. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me] It must needs be a good conscience that thus boldly offereth itself to God’s trial; so #Job 31:6.

Try my reins and my heart] i.e. Mine affections and thoughts; for these are sibi mutuo causae. While I mused the fire kindled, #Ps 39:3. David was neither ambitious nor factious, as his adversaries represented him.

Ver. 3. For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes] And that is a strong tie upon my conscience. The cords of love are the cords of a man, #Ho 11:4. To sin against mercy is to sin against humanity, it is no less than bestial, than devilish. When, therefore, I am tempted to recompense evil for evil thy lovingkindness comes before me, and reineth me in.

And I have walked in thy truth] i.e. According to thy word: I have led a Bible conversation, though solicited to do otherwise by the courtiers and politicians, with that profane proverb of theirs, πουλυποδος νουν εσχε (Theog.), comply with the times, and be not so strait laced: Religiosum oportet esse, sed non Religantem.

Ver. 4. I have not sat with vain persons] Who are void of God’s holy fear, but filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, &c., #Ro 1:29. Courtiers are such for most part, and David never delighted in such company, to sit with them, especially when they were acting mischief; which while Cromwell did at the condemnation of Lambert, martyr, and Sir John Cheek at other such like meetings, they were cast upon no small snares and inconveniences. See #Jer 15:17.

Neither will I go in with dissemblers] Heb. close workers of iniquity, secret and sly sirs, such as hide themselves to do evil, as the Chaldee hath it, Qui secreto male agunt, and can carry their wickedness cleanly and closely, so as that the world shall be little the wiser, versatiles et versutili, multiplices, Protei; such as can serve the times, and shift their sails to the setting of every wind, Machiavellians, Ahithophels, Jonadabs, #2Sa 13:3. These men’s wisdom may serve them, as the ostrich’s wings, to make them outrun others upon earth, though it be into hell’s mouth, but help them never a whit toward heaven. David, therefore, would have nothing to do with them, he would neither enter, walk, nor sit with any such, {confer #Ps 1:1} they should not sprinkle him with their court holy water.

Ver. 5. I have hated the congregation of evildoers] The Church malignant, whose lives are a mystery of iniquity, as Josephus saith of Antipater; qui omnia turbant et miscent, tantum ut ipsi crescere possint, as Aristophanes saith of Cleon; care not whom they ruin, so they may raise themselves, nor what mischief they work to others, so they may drive on their own sinful designs. Luther said of the monks in Germany, that they were so bad, tam desperatae malitiae, ut nihil cogitent quod non idem patrare ausint, that they would stick at no villany whatsoever. David held it a hell to be in company with such incarnate devils. It was once the prayer of a good gentlewoman when she was to die, being in much trouble of conscience, O Lord, let me not go to hell where the wicked are, for, Lord, thou knowest I never loved their company here.

And will not sit with the wicked] But hate the very garment spotted by the flesh, #Jude 2,3; that is, avoid evil company, saith Mr Perkins, as #Le 15:4; so #De 22:12. It is not safe coming near stinking carrion, except one have the wind of it. Sin is as catching as the plague.

Ver. 6. I will wash mine hands in innocency] As #Ex 40:32 1Ti 2:8; see #De 21:6 Isa 1:15 Jas 5:8. If in our addresses to God we cannot wash our hands in innocency, yet we must wash them in tears: Quem poenitet peccasse, pens est innocens, saith Seneca, Penitence is well nigh as good as innocence; but one way or other be sure to come clean when you come to God’s altar, when you draw nigh to him in holy duties. We wash our hands every day, and often, but when we are to sit with some great person we scour them with balls. Sic Egyptii sacerdotes apud Herod. in Euterpe, terrio quoque die corpus eradunt, &c.; so here, we must be always holy, but especially when we present ourselves to the holy eyes of our Creator. And hereby David differenciates himself from the wicked in the use of ordinances, wherein they were as forward as the best (Doeg may set his foot as far into the sanctuary as David, and cry, The temple of the Lord, &c.), but cared not to come clear thereunto; their hands were full of blood, their hearts full of wickedness.

So will I compass thine altar, O Lord] i.e. I will cover it with sacrifices and oblations, and perform what is required of me diligently and cheerfully. The people might not touch the altar, but only see afar off what was done there by the priests. Howbeit, those that were more zealous among them, to the end that they might have a full view of the services, stood not still in one place, but stirred up and down on all sides of the altar; and some such thing David did when he is said to have danced before the Lord, #2Sa 6:14.

Ver. 7. That I may publish] This was the end David propounded to himself in all his solemn services; that he might set up God, and not serve himself upon God.

And tell of all thy wondrous works] All God’s mercies to his are wonders if well weighed in their several circumstances. But we commonly deal by them as Solomon did by the brass of the temple, it was so much that he weighed it not.

Ver. 8. Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house] Much more the people, and the ordinances there, but most of all the Lord himself of that house (as if a man love the schoolmaster for his child’s sake he loveth his child much more), and hence it is that I so hate the society of the ungodly; for what communication hath Christ with Belial? The word rendered habitation some derive from a word that signifieth the eye, and, therefore, render it sight, or beauty; the Seventy ευπρεπειαν, comeliness. The Protestants at Lyons, in France, called their public meeting place paradise.

And the place where thine honour dwelleth] i.e. Where thou thyself dwellest, or thine ark, which is called God’s glory, #1Sa 4:21 Ps 78:61, yea, God’s self, #Ps 132:5, and God’s face, #Ps 105:4.

Ver. 9. Gather not my soul with sinners] I have loved thy house, which sinners never delighted in; therefore "gather not my soul with sinners"; so the Syriac senseth it. Let me not die the death of sinners, for I never cared for their company; so the Rabbis. {See Trapp on "Ps 26:5"} Let me not share with them in punishment, for I could never abide their practice. Balaam would die the death of the righteous, but he liked not of their life. Euchrites would be Croesus vivens, et Socrates mortuus. like like Croesus and die like Socrates, Sir Walter Raleigh would live a Papist (there being no religion like that for licentious liberty and lasciviousness), but die a Protestant. We have some that would gladly dance with the devil all day, and then sup with Christ at night; live all their lives long in Delilah’s lap, and then go to Abraham’s bosom when they die. But this cannot be, as David well understood; and, therefore, both eschewed the life of a wicked person, and deprecated his death: Gather not, or take not away, &c. The righteous is taken away (Heb. gathered, #Isa 57:1, as men gather flowers and candy them, preserve them); with such to be gathered David would hold it a happiness, but not with sinners with sanguinaries; for such are gathered but as house dust, to be cast out of doors.

Ver. 10. In whose hands is mischief] Wicked contrivance. Here we have the true portraiture of a corrupt courtier, such as Saul’s were.

Ver. 11. But as for me, I will walk] Whatever others do, their example shall be no rule to me to deviate. See my Righteous Man’s Recompense, D. 1.

Redeem me, &c.] For I am likely to suffer deeply for my singularity.

Ver. 12. My foot standeth in an even place] i.e. Mine affections are in an equal tenor. A good man is τετραγωνος ολοκληρος, the scales of his mind neither rise up toward the beam, through their own lightness, or their overly weened opinion of prosperity; nor are too much depressed with any load of sorrow, but hanging equal and unmoved between both, give him liberty in all occurrences to enjoy himself.

I will bless the Lord] For performance of promises; chiefly in that great panegyris {general assemble} #Heb 12:23

Chapter 26

Ver. 1. The Lord is my light] That is, my comfort and direction, he that dissolveth all my clouds of terrors within and troubles without. To these all he opposeth God’s all sufficiency, as making for him, and as being all in all unto him, light, salvation, strength of life, what not? and therehence his full assurance; and such a masculine magnanimity as feareth not the power of men and devils, be they who they will, and do what they can. Animo magno nihil est magnum. When a man can out of this consideration, God is my light (in things of the mind) and my salvation (in things of the body, as Aben Ezra expoundeth it), contemn and reckon all things else as matters of small moment, it shows he hath in truth apprehended God; and this is true holy magnanimity.

The Lord is the strength of my life, ] He that keeps life and soul together, saith Aben Ezra, as the spirits do soul and body; and therefore, Quis potest me interimere, saith Kimchi, who can do me to death?

Of whom shall I be afraid] Faith fortifieth the heart against distrustful fears, which it quelleth and killeth. In a fright it runneth to the heart, as the blood doth, and relieveth it, setting it εξω βελων και φοβου, out of the gunshot of creature annoyances. Expertus loquor; for

Ver. 2. When the wicked, even mine enemies, came upon me] Made impression upon me, with utmost violence and open mouth, as if they would have devoured me, like a cannibal; or as a lion doth a sheep, inhumanissime, ferarumque more, saith Junius, barbarously and beastly.

They stumbled and fell] Irritis conatibus corruerunt, they utterly lost their design, as did those Amalekites who had sacked Ziklag, #1Sa 30:16-19, and Saul often. If a man stumble and fall not, he gets ground; but if after much blundering he kiss the ground, he falleth with a force. David’s enemies did so, corruerunt et conciderunt; they were irreparably ruined.

Ver. 3. Though an host should encamp against me] See #Ps 3:6, {See Trapp on "Ps 3:6"} We should propound the worst to ourselves (the best will bring with it, as we say), especially if we find our faith to be in heart and vigour, as here David’s was.

Though war should rise against me] War is a complex evil, and is, therefore, called so by a specialty: #Isa 45:7, "I make peace, and create evil," that is, war. Sin, Satan, and war have all one name, saith a learned divine; evil is the best of them: the best of sin is deformity; of Satan, enmity; of war, misery.

In this will I be confident] In this? In what? In this one ensuing petition, saith Aben Ezra; or, in this that I have said before, "The Lord is my light and my salvation"; in this confident gloriation of mine, which is such as an unbeliever is a perfect stranger unto.

Ver. 4. One thing have I desired of the Lord] One thing above the rest. Every one of God’s suppliants, have some special request that he mainly insisteth on; and King David’s was the liberty of God’s sanctuary, and enjoyment of his public ordinances, ut cultu Dei libero et legitimo uti possit (Jun.).

Hoc primus petit, hoe postremus omittit.

This was dearer to him than wife, children, goods, all. This suit he knew to be honest, and, therefore, he began it; and being so, he is resolved never to give it over, but to prosecute it to the utmost, and to persevere in prayer (which is a great virtue, #Ro 12:12) till he had prevailed.

That will I seek after] As God’s constant remembrancer, who loveth to be importuned, and, as it were, jogged by his praying people. Herein David showed himself a true Israelite, a prince of God, and, as Nazianzen styleth Basil the Great, Ανηρ επιθυμιων των του πνευματος, a man of desires flowing from the Spirit. He knew well that a faint suitor doth but beg a denial.

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord] i.e. In the place where was the ark, with the prophets, priests, Levites, Asaph and his brethren, &c., with whom David desired to be taken up in the service of God, free from secular cares and delights, at times convenient. Pyrrhus told Cyneas that when he had finished his wars once he would then sit still and be merry. The Roman generals, when they had once triumphed over their enemies, might take their ease and pleasure for ever after. But good David resolves to improve his rest, whenever God shall grant it him, to perpetual piety; "That I may dwell," saith he, or sit "in the house of Jehovah all the days of my llfe": this was the height of his ambition, this was David’s delight.

To behold the beauty of the Lord] Heb. the delight, amenity, or pleasantness of Jehovah: hoc est cultum Dei ordinatum, saith Kimchi, those ceremonial services which were their gospel, and Christ in figure, #Heb 8:5, whom David desired to contemplate.

And to inquire in his temple] Heb. Early to inquire, that is, earnestly, what that good and holy and acceptable will of God is. Here it was that David used to seek satisfaction and resolution of his doubts and scruples when at any time he was gravelled, #Ps 73:16,17. Some render it, ut lustrem templum eius.

Ver. 5. For in time of trouble he shall hide me] This protection he boldly promiseth himself as a fruit of his faith, fostered by the use of the ordinances. He knew that the only way to be safe was to get under God’s wing, #Ps 91:4, to take sanctuary there, to be hid under God’s altar; for upon all the glory there is a defence, #Isa 4:5. Joash was preserved six years in the sanctuary, where he was hid. The sanctuary is called God’s hidden place, #Eze 7:22, and his saints his hidden ones, #Ps 83:3.

In his pavilion] The Hebrew Succoh is written with a little Samech, {Hebrew Text Note} to show, say the Masorites, that a little pavilion or cottage where God is shall be sufficient to safeguard the saints, Quod tabernaculum exile συν θεω, est asylum tutissimum.

In the secret of his tabernacle] I shall be as safe as if I were shut up in his holy ark.

He shall set me upon a rock] Out of mine enemy’s reach.

Ver. 6. And now shall mine head be lifted up] See #Ps 3:4, and take notice how clear David was upon his prayer, of the possession of the promise, that he should both get the better of his enemies, and enjoy the public ordinances.

Sacrifices of joy] Heb. of loud shouting, hoc est sacrificia cum canticis, saith R. Solomon. Sacrifices with triumph, alarm, or jubilation to the Lord; not with profane triumphings, as the manner of the world is, as if by mine own strength or prudence I had gotten the victory. So at the battle of Agincourt, when our Henry V had beaten the French, the honour of the day was, by the king’s command, ascribed only to God. He would not suffer his broken crown or bruised armour to be borne before him in show; or any ballads to be set forth or sung in his honour, &c. (Speed. Daniel).

Ver. 7. Hear, O Lord, when I cry] This was his form of prayer, or to this effect, when he was in any distress or danger. As a good soldier of Jesus Christ, he had weapons, not only defensive (the shield of faith, helmet of hope, breastplate of righteousness, &c., as #Eph 6:14-18), but also offensive, viz. the darts of prayer, as here, and the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, as in the next.

Ver. 8. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face, &c.] Or, "My heart said unto thee" (or, for thee, and in thy stead), Let my face seek thy face, &c. Or concerning thee, said my heart; that is, I have constantly considered of those words of thine "Seek ye my face," and, therefore I come confidently unto thee. See #De 4:19. Upon which commandment (involving a promise) David seems to ground this speech of his. R. Solomon hath it thus, Thou hast said to my heart, Seek ye my face; that is, Thou hast told me by thy Spirit that all Israel should seek thy face, and as for me, I will surely seek thy face.

My heart said unto thee, &c.] My heart, moved and inspirited by thy Spirit working in me a gracious compliance, echoed out as it were, "Thy face," &c. See the like #Jer 3:22, "Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God." Every godly person hath the duplicate of God’s law in his heart; and is willingly cast into the mould of his word, #Ro 6:17.

Ver. 9. Hide not thy face far from me] For then it will be to no purpose for me to seek it; eclipse not thy favour, withhold not thy succour, but meet me; yea, prevent me with thy loving kindness. Tantum velis, et Deus tibi praeoccurret, saith an ancient.

Put not thy servant away in anger] Thy servant I am, though a sinful servant, and such as provoketh thee to displeasure; nevertheless reject me not, as thou hast done Saul, and sundry others, for their misdoings. #2Sa 24:10, "Take away the iniquity of thy servant"; and to prove himself so, he addeth, "for I have done foolishly"; as some godly learned think, hereby intimating, that if he deserved not to be called God’s servant in regard of his late sin, yet in regard of his latter service of confession. God puts away many in anger for their supposed goodness, but not any at all for their confessed badness.

Thou hast been my help, leave me not, &c.] It is a good note that one giveth upon these words: The godly many times have such earnest affections in prayers, that they can hardly content themselves with any words to express their minds withal.

Ver. 10. When my father and my mother forsake me] Or, For my father and my mother do forsake me (that is, they are not able to help me), but thou, &c., #1Sa 22:1,3. There is an ocean of love in a parent’s heart toward their even untoward children, as was in David toward Absalom, after all his unnatural miscarriages; insomuch as Joab upbraideth him with it, #2Sa 19:6. But all the mercies of all the fathers and mothers in the world put together make not the tithe of God’s mercy toward his children, #Isa 41:15.

Then the Lord will take me up] Heb. will gather me, that is, take me into his care and keeping. In the civil law we find provision made for outcasts and friendless persons; some hospitals to entertain them, some liberties to comfort and compensate their trouble. It is sure that in God the forlorn and fatherless find mercy, #Ho 14:3 1Sa 22:2,3 Joh 9:35 Jer 30:17. In the Israelites’ marching through the wilderness, at the fourth alarm arose the standard of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali; and to these was committed the care of gathering together the lame, feeble, and sick, and to look that nothing was left behind; whence they were called the gathering host, #Jos 6:9. Unto this, some think, David here alludeth.

Ver. 11. Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me, &c.] Deus non deserit suos, dum eos docet ac ducit, God shows that he forsaketh not his (whatever other friends do) so long as he teacheth and leadeth them. See #Ps 25:4,5. {See Trapp on "Ps 25:4"} {See Trapp on "Ps 25:5"}

In a plain path] Heb. In a way of plainness, wherein I may escape mine enemies’ ambushes.

Because of mine enemies] Or, Because of mine observers; so it may be read ( propter insidiatores meos); such as Saul and Doeg were, who looked upon David with an evil eye, and watched for his halting. It was the wisdom of the Lacedaemonians always to send two ambassadors together which disagreed among themselves; that so they might mutually eye one another’s actions (Aristot. Polit. lib. ii. cap. 7). The wicked will be eyeing and prying into the practices of good people, who must therefore watch and pray.

Ver. 12. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies] Heb. unto the soul; for the wicked are carried on against the godly, with all their soul, as it were.

For false witnesses] Such as whereof Saul’s court was full, viz. his Aiones et Negones, who fed his humour by traducing and denigrating innocent David.

And such as breathe out cruelty] As Saul breathed out threatening against the disciples, #Ac 9:1; so did David’s spit fires.

Ver. 13. I had fainted, unless I had believed] Saved he was then by his faith, which drank to him as it were in a cup of Nepenthes, and fetched him again when ready to swoon and sink. See #Ps 119:92. The word rendered unless here is (as the Masorites note) one of the fifteen Scripture words, that were extraordinarily pointed by the men of the great synagogue ( Lule habet puncta supra and infra). {Hebrew Text Note} The reason whereof given by Kimchi and others (as if David doubted of his salvation) is not satisfactory nor sound.

To see the goodness of the Lord] That is, to taste; one sense usually put for another; the soul also hath her senses; and these must be habitually exercised to discern good and evil, #Heb 5:14.

In the land of the living] That is, here on earth, #Ps 116:9 Isa 38:11, where men live; and I myself have not only a portion of life with them, but a promise of many good things besides. To blame, therefore, was good David, when he said in his haste, All men are liars, prophets, and all who had promised him the kingdom, #Ps 116:10. But the best have their passions; which they daily outgrow, and add to their faith patience, #2Pe 1:5,6. And albeit as Calvin here noteth, every one’s case is not like David’s, who had particular promises concerning this life, beyond many other faithful persons; yet, because according to every man’s faith it shall be unto him, let us all likewise trust in God, as we are all hereupon exhorted in the next words.

Ver. 14. Wait on the Lord] Expecta, expecta. See how earnest good David is with himself and others; for he knew men’s dulness, and the difficulty of the duty. Religious men find it more easy to bear evil than to wait till the promised good he enjoyed; #Heb 10:36, the spoiling of their goods required patience; but this more than ordinary. Let our distance from God, our dependence upon him, and our undone condition without him, be but considered; and we shall be the more willing to wait, yea, to want and go without some things, that we are but too much set upon.

Be of good courage] Be confirmed, hold fast, play the man (as the Seventy have it, and the apostle useth the same word, #1Co 16:13), and let not the big words of thine enemies make thee to cast away thy confidence, which hath so great recompense of reward.

And he shall strengthen thy heart] Or, let thine heart be confirmed, cheer up, hold out faith and patience.

Wait, I say, on the Lord] i.e. De die in diem expecta, wait still; do it from one day to another. God is a free agent, neither is it fit for us to send for him by a post. Many of his promises bear a long date; but they are sure and infallible. Wait, therefore; and why? See #Hab 2:3. {See Trapp on "Hab 2:3"}

Chapter 27

Ver. 1. Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock] That thou mayest grant me what I begged so earnestly of thee in the former psalm especially, #Ps 28:4, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that I will seek after," &c. For this psalm is of the same subject with that; and seemeth to have been made much about the same time, viz. after that David had twice spared Saul’s life, #1Sa 24:4-6, &c.; #1Sa 26:12,21. Only here he expresseth himself, not as if he had been a private person, and in daily danger of his life; but as destined and designed to the kingdom by Almighty God, to whom, therefore, he prayeth for himself and the people, and against their implacable enemies, with so great confidence, as that he presently praiseth him for his request obtained, #Ps 28:6.

Be not silent to me] Cease not, as deaf, from me. If God seem to be deaf to us, we must cry the louder; that, having prepared our hearts by such a seeming silence, he may cause his ears to hear, #Ps 10:17, which he will not fail to do when once we set up our note, and make bitter moan.

Lest, if thou be silent, &c.] Here are his reasons to help his hope to be heard. God is well pleased that we argue it out with him in prayer.

Like them that go down into the pit] Or, dirty dungeon, that is, the grave; or, as Kimchi, lest I be as the wicked, that go down to hell. "The righteous perisheth," #Isa 57:1, that is, the world looks upon them as lost.

Ver. 2. When I lift up my hands] An ordinary gesture in prayer, expressing faith (for they held out their open hands, as craving beggars with the palms upward, #1Ki 8:22) and helping fervency; while hands and heart went up together to God in the heavens, #La 3:40. Preces fundimus, ecelum tundimus, miserieordiam extorquemus, &c. (Tertul.).

Toward thy holy oracle] Called Debhir, because therehence God spake and gave answer. Toward this (a type of Christ, the Word essential) David lifteth up his hands; that it might be as a ladder whereby his prayer might get up to heaven. The devil also, who delighteth to be God’s ape, but for man’s mischief, gave oracles at Delphi and elsewhere (Herod. Clio); but λοξα et mendacia, doubtful and lying; as to Croesus, Pyrrhus, others. But the eternity of Israel cannot lie, #1Sa 15:29; every word of God is pure, he is a shield to them that put their trust in him, #Pr 30:5.

Ver. 3. Draw me not away with the wicked] Who seek to draw me away from my settled purpose of attending upon thee, απερισπαστως, #1Co 7:35, and are therefore likely to be drawn away by thee to execution, as malefactors are drawn, hanged, and quartered (there wanteth but a hurdle, a horse, and a halter, said Belknapp, to do me right), as Sisera was drawn by God to the river Kishon to be ruined, #Jud 4:7.— Ducunt volentem fata, nolentem trahunt (Sen.).

Which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts] Saul and his courtiers are here noted.

Astutam vapido servantes pectore vulpem (Pers.).

The Florentine secretary (Machiavel) was not born of many years after; but the devil was as great a master then as afterwards; and David oft complaineth of it.

Ver. 4. Give them according to their deeds] God loveth to retaliate; and David, out of a public and prophetic spirit (not from private revenge, or troubled affections), taketh thus upon him to imprecate.

And according to the wickedness of their endeavours] They were therefore old, habituated, irreclaimable sinners whom he thus cursed, and against such this and such like imprecations are still in force.

Give them after the works of their hands] Because they regard not the works of thine hands, #Ps 28:5. Par pari, saith Aben Ezra here.

Ver. 5. Because they regard not the works of the Lord] That is, saith Kimchi, the worship of God they care not for; but follow the vanities of the world. Or, the works of God in heaven and earth; the consideration whereof is a part of God’s worship. Or, "they regard not the works of the Lord," that is, the first making; nor

The operation of his hands] That is, the present disposing of his creatures, either by way of mercy or judgment, whereof these brutish persons make no observation at all, #Ps 92:5-7 Isa 5:12; particularly they neither regard my present affliction, #Am 6:6, nor believe my future exaltation to the throne, as God hath promised me, but oppose it all they can, and would gladly prevent it, which yet they cannot, but will be found fighters against God.

He shall destroy them, and not build them up] Destroy them in this world, and not build them up in the world to come, say the Rabbis. Or, as others, he shall break them down, as men do old rotten ruinous houses, and never more repair or rebuild them. Non potest Deus non perdere iudiciis suis, qui non erudiuntur documentis (Jun.). They that will not be ruled shall be ruined. See #1Sa 2:25.

Ver. 6. Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard, &c.] God will one day turn the prayers of his people into praises. David, #Ps 28:1, had said, Be not silent to me; here, Blessed be God, for he hath answered me. So Jehoshaphat had his Baca soon turned into Berachah, #2Ch 20:18,19. See David’s syllogism; and mark his conclusion, #Ps 66:18-20, not according to the rules of logic, but better.

Ver. 7. The Lord is my strength and my shield] So that I am furnished and harnessed within and without. See #Ps 18:2.

My heart trusted in him, and I am helped] Faith substantiateth things not yet seen, #Heb 11:1, it altereth the tenses, saith one, and putteth the future into the present tense, as here.

My heart greatly rejoiceth, &c.] Inwardly I am glad, warmed at heart; and outwardly cheerful, even unto singing. And what will David sing? See his ditty in the next words.

Ver. 8. The Lord is their strength] Not mine only, as #Ps 28:7, but the strength of all and every one of the holy community, of true Christians, partakers of Christ’s unction, of his Spirit.

Ver. 9. Save thy people] The Church must share in our prayers.

And bless thine inheritance] Which cannot but be dear to thee.

Feed them also] For they are but ill-favouredly fed by Saul.

Lift them up] Over all their enemies, as #Ps 27:6.

Chapter 28

Ver. 1. Give unto the Lord] Verbo et confessione, saith Kimchi. By word and confession, as #Jos 7:19 Jer 13:16; acknowledge him the King immortal, invisible, &c., and yourselves his vassals; as did those three best emperors, Constantine, Theodosius, and Valentinian. Cedite, colite, step back, stoop, humble and tremble before this dread Sovereign of the world; bear an awful respect to the Divine Majesty, the high thunderer, the great wonder worker, unless you will come short of brute beasts and dumb creatures.

O ye mighty] Heb. Ye sons of the mighty, grandees and potentates, who are readiest to rob God of his glory, and being tumoured up by their worldly wealth and greatness, to deem or rather dream themselves demi-gods, such as may do what they list, as not accountable to any mortal. The Septuagint render it, O ye sons of rams. These bellweathers should not cast their noses into the air, and carry their crest the higher, because the shepherd hath bestowed a bell upon them more than upon the rest of the flock.

Give unto the Lord] Give, give, give. This showeth how unwilling such are usually to give God his right, or to suffer a word of exhortation to this purpose.

Glory and strength] By ascribing all to him, casting down your crowns at his feet, setting up his sincere service wherever ye have to do, &c.

Ver. 2. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name] Which yet you cannot do, for his name is above all praise, Nominatissimam et celeberrimam (Jan.), #Ps 148:13, but you must aim at it. The Rabbis observe that God’s holy name is mentioned eighteen different times in this psalm; that great men especially may give him the honour of his name, that they may stand in awe and not sin, that they may bring presents to him who ought to be feared, and those also the very best of the best, since he is a great King, and standeth much upon his seniority, #Mal 1:14.

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness] Or, in his glorious sanctuary; therefore glorious, because there they might see God’s face, and hear his voice in his ordinances. Away, therefore, with your superstitions and will worships, and bring your gifts to his beautiful sanctuary; for nowhere else will he receive them. Send a lamb to this ruler of the earth, #Isa 16:1, as a homage penny.

Ver. 3. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters] Thunder is here called, and fitly, the voice of the Lord (being brought, as one instance of those many other glorious works of his in nature), because it comes from him alone. Natural causes there are assigned of it; but we must not stick in them, as Epicurus and his hogs would have us. (The ancient Romans said Deus tonat, Deus fulgurat, for which now tonat, fulgurat.) The best philosophy in this behalf is to hear God Almighty by his thunder speaking unto us from heaven, as if he were present; and to see him in his lightnings, as if he cast his eyes upon us, to behold what we had been doing. This voice of the Lord is fitly instanced as an evidence of the Divine power and majesty; because it is so dreadful, even to the greatest atheists; as it was to Caius Caligula, that potent emperor, ready to run into a mouse hole in a time of thunder (Sueton.).

The God of glory thundereth] And men quake before him; as worms at such a time wriggle into the corners of the earth. And yet your dive clappers duck net at this rattle in the air, though they do at a far smaller matter. So, many tremble not at God’s terrible threats, that yet are afraid of a penal statute.

The Lord is upon many waters] viz. When he thundereth. De aquis pendulis loquitur, saith Vatablus; He speaketh of the waters in the clouds, which are many, and of great force, as appeared in the general deluge; and doth still appear by that infinite inundation of rain that followeth upon the thunder claps. Some render it, The Lord, or, The voice of the Lord, is above many waters, i.e. above the loud roaring of many waters, which is even drowned by the thunder.

Ver. 4. The voice of the Lord is powerful] So that it shaketh heaven and earth, #Heb 12:26. Cogitent ergo principes quantum infra Deum subsidant, &c. (Validum est et vehemens tonitru. Vat. Beza). Let those that think themselves some great business consider God’s infinite power, putting forth itself in thunders and tempests, and they will soon be crest fallen.

The voice of the Lord is full of majesty] Heb. in majesty; it is magnificent and immutable, though some fools have attempted to imitate it (as a certain king of Egypt, and Caligula, the emperor), by certain engines and devices.

Ver. 5. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars] i.e. The thunder, and those things that either go before it or follow it, as lightnings, thunder bolts, storms, tempest, &c., breaking and turning up by the roots huge trees.

The Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon] Which are the tallest, thickest, and most durable of any place in the habitable world. What a shame is it, then, that our hard hearts break not, yield not, though thunderstruck with the dreadful menaces of God’s mouth! Corripimur sad non corrigimur, &c. A fearful case. Let the tall cedars see to it. Nam per Cedros intelligit αλληγορικως quicquid est eximium in mundo. Where is that hammer of the nations, Nebuchadnezzar? that terror of the world, Tamerlane, &c.? Are they not broken in pieces as a potter’s vessel?

Ver. 6. He maketh them also to skip like a calf] Young living creatures are full of motion. God by his thunder and earthquake thereupon (for so the Hebrews understand it) maketh not only those huge trees, the splinters of them, to fly up into the air, but also the mountains, whereupon they grow, to skip and jump out of their places and aloft from their centre.

Lebanon and Sirion, &c.] Or, Harmon, two known mountains, #De 3:9.

Ver. 7. The voice of the Lord divideth (Heb. cutteth out) the flames of fire] i.e. The lightniugs, which the thunder is said to strike, or cut out, because it causeth them to shoot and glide; it immediately followeth one flash, and goeth before another; dispersing and darting them hither and thither.

Ver. 8. The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness] i.e. The beasts abiding in the wildernesses; the most savage creatures, those that lie in woods, and are most fearless of men, are put to pain by thunder, and made to travail with trembling.

The Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh] Through which the Israelites passed into Canaan, #Nu 13:27, the beasts whereof were cruel, #De 8:15 32:10. Animalia quantumvis horrifica (Jun.). Beza paraphraseth, et Arabum tesqua succutit, it shaketh the cottages of the Arabians.

Ver. 9. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve] Which they naturally do not without a great deal of difficulty, #Job 39:4-6. {See Trapp on "Job "39:4"} {See Trapp on "Job "39:5"} {See Trapp on "Job "39:6"}

And discovereth the forests] By driving the beasts into their dens, baring the forests of their leaves and fruits, turning up trees by the roots, and so making a clear prospect through woods and groves, as one phraseth it.

And in his temple doth every one speak of his glory] Heb. every one, or, every whit of it, saith Glory; every godly man observing his dreadful thunder, and other his stupendous works, saith Glory be to God on high. Some conceive this psalm was appointed by David to be sung in the temple in time of thunder; which is not unlikely (Moiler.). There are that make God to be the nominative case to the verb speaketh, and render it thus; and in his temple, or palace, doth he utter all his glory (Tremel.). As if the psalmist should say, Much of his glory God uttereth in his thunder; but all in his temple. For whatsoever there he speaketh with his mouth he fulfilleth it with his hand, #Ps 115:3 119:91 33:9 Isa 44:26. See a like collation of God’s works and word, with a praelation of this above those, #Ps 19:1-7 111:7.

Ver. 10. The Lord sitteth upon the flood] He reigned in that general deluge in Noah’s days, #Ge 6:7, and doth still over those horrible inundations that follow upon thunder and strong tempests; ruling that raging element, and governing all by his providence and sovereign power.

Yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever] And over all; therefore all, even the mightiest, should give him glory, as #Ps 29:1.

Ver. 11. The Lord will give strength unto his people] To bear up their hearts in time of thunder or other terrible occurrences, In tempore tonitru (Aben Ezra).

The Lord will bless his people with peace] Pace omnimoda, with peace internal, external, eternal: for godliness hath the promises of both lives, of prosperity, safety, and welfare both of soul and body.

A Psalm and Song] i.e. A holy hymn, first framed in metre, then sung with men’s voices.

At the dedication of the house of David] Either when it was newly built, #2Sa 5:11, confer #De 20:5 Ne 12:27, saying, as he once,

Iamque, meos dedo tibi, Princeps, iure Penates,

Tu mihi ius dederas, posse vocare meos.

God so loveth his people that their walls are ever in his sight, #Isa 49:16; they should therefore have holiness to the Lord written upon them, #Zec 14:20, sanctified they should be by the word and prayer, #1Ti 4:5. Or else, after he had defiled it by his adultery with Bathsheba, and Absalom had much more defiled it by his abominable incest and other villanies, See #2Sa 20:3.

Chapter 29

Ver. 1. I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up] De puteo peccati caenoso, saith Kimchi, out of the miry pit of sin; or out of the ditch of deadly danger, say others. Therefore I will extol thee, that is, I will have high and honourable conceptions of thee. I will also do mine utmost, both by words and deeds, that thou mayest be acknowledged by others to be as thou art, the great and mighty monarch of the whole world.

And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me] Beside all former victories, Absalom and Sheba were lately slain.

Ver. 2. I cried unto thee] In some great sickness, say some, that befell him about the time that he built his house of cedar, #2Sa 5:11, that he might not be overjoyed, and take a surfeit; or rather, when, by my son’s rising up against me, I was likely to have lost my state and kingdom.

And thou hast healed me] That is, helped me, as #Jon 2:6, thou hast restored and re-established me in my kingdom. Kimchi senseth it thus, Thou hast delivered my soul from hell, though in this world thou hast grievously afflicted my body.

Ver. 3. O Lord, thou hast brought up, &c.] Here he saith the same again as before; the better to set forth the greatness of the benefit, and so to excite himself to due thankfulness. The uttermost extremity of a calamity is to be acknowledged after we are delivered out of it, #Isa 38:10.

Thou hast kept me alive] Thou hast rescued me from instant death; and this I look upon as a resurrection from the dead.

Ver. 4. Sing unto the Lord] Here he calleth in help to praise God, as holding himself too weak to do it alone. Publication of God’s praises should be seconded by provocation of others to do the like. David thought one mouth too little to do it.

O ye saints of his] Or, O ye, his merciful ones, that, having partaken of his mercy, are ready to impart the same to others; and not to pull up that bridge before them that yourselves have once gone over (Chasid. Plus, Benignus).

At the remembrance (or memorial) of his holiness] That is, at his tabernacle, say some; that his holiness, his grace, and goodness may be always had in remembrance, say others; and that which he doth for us be carefully kept upon record.

Ver. 5. For his anger endureth but a moment] Though it lasts all a man’s life; for what is that to eternity? Puncture est quod vivimus et puncto minus. But it soon repenteth the Lord concerning his servants; whom, out of love displeased, he correcteth for a short braid, #Isa 54:7,8 1Co 14:17 Isa 26:20 Heb 10:37. Tantillum, tantillum, adhuc pussillum. Bear up, therefore, faint not, fret not.

Flebile principium melior fortuna sequetur.

If our sorrows be long, they are light; if sharper, the shorter. The sharp north east wind never lasteth three days; nothing violent is permanent.

In his favour is life] Vita in voluntate, else we should die in our sins; but his favour never faileth. Kimchi here noteth that of those thirteen attributes of God, #Ex 34:7, twelve are mercy, and one only is anger. Joseph, for his thirteen years of servitude and imprisonment, had fourscore years’ freedom and preferment. David’s persecution by Saul was but a moment to his following happiness, when once he came to the kingdom.

Weeping may endure for a night] Diseases and aches are worst toward night. At eventide, lo, there is trouble; but before morning it is gone, #Isa 17:14; mourning lasteth but till morning, and then departeth; as did Lot’s two angels. The morning of the resurrection, howsoever, shall put a period to all our miseries, and make a plentiful amends.

But joy cometh in the morning] Heb. singing; flebilibus modis modus adhibebitur. God turneth his people’s sighing into singing, their musing into music, tears into triumph, wringing of hands into clapping of hands for joy, &c. And as there is a vicissitude of nights and days, so of crosses and mercies of God’s people, while they are in this vale of misery and valley of tears. God chequereth his providences (saith one) white and black; he speckleth his work, as is set forth by those speckled horses among the myrtle-trees, #Zec 1:8. Mercies and crosses are interwoven. This world is called a valley of tears, or, as some render it, of mulberry trees, #Ps 84:6. Between them both they may make up an emblem of the saints’ condition here. Tears are moist; mulberries grow in dry places. God’s people have their interchanges of joys and sorrows while here. See in this and the following verses the circle God goes in with them. David was afflicted and delivered in this verse; in the next he grew wanton. Then he is troubled again, #Ps 30:7, crieth again, #Ps 8:9. God turneth his mourning into mirth again, #Ps 30:11,12.

Ver. 6. And in my prosperity I said] Or, in my tranquillity. Then it was that he was overgrown with security; as was also Job, #Job 29:18-20; {See Trapp on "Job "29:18"} {See Trapp on "Job "29:19"} {See Trapp on "Job "29:20"} #Job 9:18. How many have burnt their wings about Job’s candle? #Job 29:3, saith one. Oh the hazard of honour! damage of dignity! how soon are we broken upon the soft pillow of ease! Lunatics, when the moon is declining and in the wane, are sober enough; but when full, more wild and exorbitant. Flies settle upon the sweetest perfumes when cold; so do sin and Satan’s temptations on the best hearts, when dissolved and dispirited by prosperity: watch therefore. Adam in paradise was overcome, when Job on the dung hill was a conqueror.

I shall never be moved] Excessere metum mea iam bona. David, by misreckoning of a point, missed the haven, and had almost run upon the rocks. ( Niobe apud Ovid), Maior sum quam cui possit fortuna nocere. How apt are the holiest to be proud and secure! even as worms and wasps eat the sweetest apples and fruits. What reason had David to promise himself more than ever God promised him, immunity from the cross? Did he think (as Dionysius afterwards did, but was clearly confuted soon after) that his kingdom, and with it prosperity, was tied unto him with cords of adamant? What though he sat quietly now at Jerusalem, #2Sa 11:1, free from fear of enemies, and could find time to look and lust after his neighbour’s wife, would this always hold, thought he? and could not God set up his own darling Absalom, to put him to trouble? No; David said in his prosperity, Non vacillabo, I shall never be moved; and why?

Ver. 7. Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain, &c]. Yea, but there is no mountain so strong that may not be moved, if not removed with an earthquake. Is it not as easy with God to blast an oak as trample a mushroom? And what though God in his favour had settled strength to David’s mountain? what though he had constituted and established it sure as Mount Zion (for there was David’s arx, et aula regia) which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever? #Ps 125:1; yet, by a turn of his countenance only, God can soon dissweeten all in his enjoyments, and plunge him into a deplorable condition.

Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled] i.e. Thou didst suspend the actual influence and communication of thy grace (the Chaldee calleth it Shechinah, the divine presence), and I was all death. The life of some creatures consisteth in the end; so doth that of the saints in the light of God’s countenance. And as in an eclipse of the sun there is a drooping in the whole face of nature, so when God hideth his face the good soul laboureth and languisheth. And as none look at the sun but when it is in the eclipse, so neither prize we God’s loving countenance till we have lost it.

Ver. 8. I cried to thee, O Lord, &c.] For what reason? I felt myself, all that while that I was deserted, in a kind of hell above ground. Haec tentatio initium aliquod et gustus fuit illerum inenarrabilium dolorum quos impii sentiunt in omni aeternitate. David felt himself now in the suburbs of hell, as it were; and doth therefore set up as loud a cry after God as once Micah did after his idols, #Jud 18:24, and far greater cause he had.

And unto the Lord I made supplication] He knew that the same hand alone must cure him that had wounded him; neither was God’s favour recoverable, but by humble confession and hearty prayer. Some think to glide away their groans with games, and their cares with cards; to bury their terrors and themselves in wine and sleep. They run to their music, with Saul; to building of cities, with Cain, when cast out of God’s presence, &c., sed haeret lateri lethalis arundo; but as the wounded deer that hath the deadly arrow sticking in his side, well he may frisk up and down for a time, but still he bleedeth, and will ere long fall down dead; so it is with such as seek not comfort in God alone, as make not supplication to him for him; as return not to God, who hath smitten them, nor seek the Lord of hosts, #Isa 9:13.

Ver. 9. What profit is there in my blood, &c.] i.e. In my life, say some; q.d. To what purpose have I lived, since religion is not yet settled? In my death (say others, and better), violent death especially, and out of thy favour? Now, all believers have ever abhorred such a kind of death before they were reconciled to God, and had a true feeling of his grace (Diodati).

Shall the dust praise thee? &c.] See #Ps 6:6. {See Trapp on "Ps 6:6"}

Ver. 10. Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me] When Faith had once said to God what it hath to say, it will wait for a good answer, relying on his mercy, and expecting relief from the Lord, as here David doth; looking, in the mean while, through the anger of his corrections, to the sweetness of his loving countenance; as by a rainbow we see the beautiful image of the sun’s light in the midst of a dark and waterish cloud.

Ver. 11. Thou hast turned for me my mourning, &c.] Sustulisti luctum, et laetitiam attulisti. {See Trapp on "Ps 30:5"}

Ver. 12. To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee] i.e. That my tongue, oiled from a heart enlarged, may exalt thee, according to my bounden duty and thine abundant desert. A good tongue, that watcheth all opportunities to glorify God and edify others, is certainly a man’s great glory; but an evil tongue is his foul shame. Basil expoundeth glory by το πνευμα, the spirit or soul. The Chaldee Paraphrast, Laudabunt te honorabiles mundi, The glorious ones of the world shall praise thee.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever] Epiphonematica et pathetica conclusio, Davidi ex summis calamitatibus erepto familiaris. He concludeth as he began, engaging his heart to everlasting thankfulness; and therein becoming a worthy pattern to all posterity.

A Psalm of David] Made, say Vatablus and others, at that time when Saul pursued David in the wilderness of Maon, #1Sa 23:24. But by many circumstances and passages of this psalm it appeareth more probable that it was, as the former, composed when Absalom was up, #2Sa 15:10-12 Sss #Ps 31:11,12,22 of this psalm, with #2Sa 17:24,27 19:33; Joseph. Antiq. lib. 7, cap. 9.

Chapter 30

Ver. 1. In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust] Hic Psalmus varia mixtus et magna effectuum vicissitudine insignis est. This psalm is strangely mixed and made up of many and divers passions and petitions, according to the change of times and estate. In the time of affliction he prayeth, in the time of consolation he praiseth the Lord, #Ec 7:15. In these three first verses is little said but what had been before said, and is already opened.

Let me never be ashamed] i.e. Repulsed, worsted, defeated.

In thy righteousness] And not according to mine own righteousnes, saith Kimchi, or, according to thy faithfulness.

Ver. 2. Bow down thine ear to me, deliver me] This repetition of his petition is no vain babbling, as #Mt 6:9, but an effect and an evidence of greatest earnestness, as #Mt 26:44.

For an house of defence] Where the enemy can as little hurt me as when I was in the hold, #1Sa 22:4.

Ver. 3. For thou art my rock and my fortress] Such places David had been forced to fly to; but still he trusted in God.

Lead me, and guide me] Duc me, et deduc me. A metaphor from captains and generals, who lead on their armies with greatest art and industry (Vatab.).

Ver. 4. Pull me out of the net] That noted net, as the Hebrew hath it; Nam Zu denotat rem notam omnibus, saith Kimchi. David was not caught in it; but the enemies presumed he would be, so selling the hide before the beast was taken; as did likewise the proud Spaniards, when, coming against England in 1588, they triumphed before the victory, and sang,

Tu quae Romanas suevisti temnere leges,

Hispano disces subdere cells iugo.

But blessed be God, the net brake, and we escaped, #Ps 124:7.

For thou art my strength] As a tree is strongest at the root, and a branch or bough next the trunk or stock, and the farther it groweth out from thence the smaller and weaker it groweth too; so the nearer the creature is to God the stronger; and on the contrary.

Ver. 5. Into thine hand I commit my spirit] So did our Saviour, so did St Stephen, and divers of the dying martyrs, with these very words, most apt and apposite surely for such a purpose. But what a wretch was that Huberus, who died with these words in his mouth, I yield my goods to the king, my body to the grave, and my soul to the devil.

Thou hast redeemed] And so hast best right unto me.

O Lord God of truth] I know whom I have trusted.

Ver. 6. I have hated them that regard lying vanities] i.e. Idols, or aught else besides the living God, who giveth us all things richly to enjoy, #1Ti 6:17 Jon 2:8. {See Trapp on "Jon 2:8"} Vanitates vanitatis, Vatablus rendereth it, and telleth us that some understand it of astrology. R. David doth so in this note of his upon the text, Astrologos et incantatores in fuga mea non consului, sed in Domino et prophetis eius confisus sum; I have not consulted astrologers and soothsayers in my trouble, but have trusted to the Lord and his prophets.

Ver. 7. I will be glad and rejoice] In the midst of trouble faith will find matter of joy; as extracting abundance of comfort in most desperate distresses from the precious promises and former experiences.

Thou hast known my soul in adversity] God knows our souls best, #Ps 1:6, and we know him best, in adversity. #Isa 63:16, the Church thought she should know him in the midst of all his austerities.

Ver. 8. Thou hast not shut me up, &c.] i.e. Not given me into their power. See #Ps 27:12.

Thou hast set my feet in a large room] So that I can freely and fearlessly go in and out. See #Ps 25:15.

Ver. 9. Have mercy upon me, O Lord] Antiquum obtine, Do now, Lord, as thou hitherto hast done.

For I am in trouble] Overwhelmed with the terrors of death, and ready to sink, animus mihi pendet, I know not what to do.

Mine eye is consumed with grief] Computruit facies mea, mine eye ( nitor oculi, vel facies) is gnawn away, or worm-eaten.

Yea, my soul, and my belly] Belly may be taken for the whole body, which was pined away and infeebled with pensiveness. Vatablus by soul understandeth the natural appetite after meat, and by belly the digestion, both which were decayed.

Ver. 10. For my life is spent with grief, &c.] Which threateneth the thread of life, and soon snappeth it in sunder, #2Co 7:10. See #Pr 17:22,25. {See Trapp on "Pr 17:22"} {See Trapp on "Pr 17:25"}

My strength faileth] So that I stumble and stagger, #Ps 27:2.

Because of mine iniquity] Or, my misery; for sin hales misery at the heels of it; and the Scripture often confoundeth the names of the cause and of the effects.

And my bones are consumed] Heb. moth eaten.

Ver. 11. I was a reproach among all mine enemies] Such as Shimei, who now insulted lustily; Leoni mortuo vel mus insultat.

But especially among my neighbours] My near allies and friends, such as Absalom and Ahithophel; these most vexed me.

And a fear to mine acquaintance] It is no new thing that those which should most love men do sometimes, either for fear or flattery of others, make least account of them.

They that did see me without (or, in the streets) fled from me] To shift for themselves; since to own me, whom they could not help, was bootless, and, besides, perilous.

Ver. 12. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind] How soon dead men are forgotten, even by those that promise to remember them longest of all, experience teacheth; trust not to protestations of best friends in that case.

I am like a broken vessel] Of which there is no further use or esteem.

Ver. 13. For I have heard the slander of many] Or, as Calvin, Mollerus, and others render it, magnorum, of the great ones, such as take counsel (so it followeth here), which the vulgar seldom do; and their tongues oft are no slander, as we say.

Fear was on every side] Magormissabib, Pashur’s new name and doom, #Jer 20:3,4; but good David’s condition at this time: without were fightings, within were fears.

While they took counsel together against me] See #2Sa 16:20, where we have an exposition of this verse. {See Trapp on "2Sa 16:20"}

Ver. 14. But I trusted in thee, O Lord] In this distress I acted my faith upon thy power and promises; this was right, and that which God aimed at; for we can no way more honour him. Hence it is that he is very jealous of our trust; neither can he endure that any idol of jealousy should be set up in our hearts.

I said, Thou art my God] In nearest relation and dearest affection, whatever befalleth me.

Ver. 15. My times are in thy hand] Both the time of my abode on earth and all those various occurrences of that time, all is predetermined by thee; particularly how long I shall suffer, and when I shall be delivered. See #1Ch 29:30 Job 7:20.

Deliver me from the hand of mine enemies] Oh command deliverances for me; for thou canst easily do it. And here observe how David riseth in his requests; he laid the covenant for a foundation, and then he well knew he might be bold to ask anything.

Ver. 16. Make thy face to shine, &c.] Which by reason of the clouds of affliction clustering about me, I cannot for present perceive. {See Trapp on "Ps 4:6"} {See Trapp on "Ps 30:7"}

Save me, &c.] i.e. Deliver me out of these dangers.

Ver. 17. Let me not be ashamed] i.e. Disappointed of my hopes.

Let the wicked be ashamed] For they call not upon God, but shame those that do, #Ps 14:4,6.

Let them be silent in the grave] Let their large spoken mouths be stopped with a spadeful of mould.

Ver. 18. Let the lying lips be put to silence] Heb. the lips of a lie, mendaciorum artifices, as #Jer 9:3,5. Among the Persians it was αιχιστον το φευδεσθαι, held a base shame to tell a lie. Oh that it were so among Christians! When shall that golden age return, that the argument may again proceed, Sacerdos est, non fallet; Christianus est, non mentietur; He is a minister, he will not deceive; he is a Christian, therefore he will not lie? (Herod. in Clio; Xenoph. Cyroep.; Strab. lib. 15).

Which speak grievous things] Heb. a hard thing; dura et atr ociaverba, durable and longlasting reproaches, such as stick, and leave a scar, though the wound be healed up. Calumniare audacter, aliquid saltem adhaerebit. Such mouths shall one day smoke for it, #Jude 15.

Proudly and contemptuously] Heb. In pride and contempt. It is pride that causeth contempt of others. Compare #Pr 3:34 1Pe 5:5. David elsewhere complaineth of proud, rhetorical mockers.

Ver. 19. Oh how great is thy goodness] The prophet venteth himself by way of exclamation, as finding it unspeakable; fitter to be believed than possible to be discoursed; words are too weak to utter it. What shall we say to these things? quoth that great apostle, #Ro 8:31.

Which thou hast laid up] Heb. hidden. Besides that good which God worketh openly for his before the sons of men, a great part of his wonderful kindness is hidden from the world, and in part also from themselves, both in respect of the fountain, #1Jo 3:1,2 Col 3:3, the fulness, #1Co 2:9, and the inward sealing up thereunto, #1Co 2:11,12 Re 2:17 Pr 14:10.

For them that fear thee; that trust in thee] For faith must be actuated; and when we have such a precious promise as this we must suck and be satisfied, #Isa 66:11, put on to get the goodness of God to work, which is done by believing. Catch hold, as David did, #1Ch 17:23-26; and make the utmost of God’s loving-kindness laid up in a promise; press it, and oppress it, till the goodness be expressed out of these breasts of consolation.

Ver. 20. Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence] In the golden cabinet of thy gracious providence, where they shall be as safe as if they were in heaven.

Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion] A kind of speech taken from princes’ retiringrooms and withdrawing chambers, which are sacred places (Diodati).

From the strife of tongues] From the calumnies and contumelies of graceless tongue-smiters. The Arabic rendereth it, from the insurrection of tongues. Sedition is first in the tongue, and then in the hand; an unruly tongue setteth on fire, #Jas 3:5 But the saints have a promise that as no weapon formed against them shall prosper, so every tongue that riseth against them in judgment shall be condemned, #Isa 54:17.

Ver. 21. Blessed be the Lord] This should always be in a Christian’s mouth, as Deo gratias was in Austin’s. He can never want matter, and should, therefore, ever find a heart.

For he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness] Mirificavit bonitatem suam, hath been far better to me than my hopes.

In a strong city] In Mahanaim, #2Sa 18:27, where it is likely he made this and some other psalms.

Ver. 22. For I said in my haste, I am cut off, &c.] A frightful and sinful saying, doubtless, full of diffidence and despair. See the like #Ps 116:11 Job 9:16 Jud 13:22 Ps 77:3 Joh 2:4. Thus he spake when he, trembling, fled, and was posting away.

Nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplication] A pitiful poor one though it were, and full of infirmity. God considereth whereof we are made; he taketh not advantages against his suppliants; it would be wide with them if he should.

Ver. 23. O love the Lord] Let not your hasty discontent beget in you hard thoughts of God or heavy thoughts against yourselves, as it hath done in me; but love him, trust him, and he will do you right.

And plentifully rewardeth] Heb. repayeth abundantly, or with surplus, in seipso vel in semine suo. It may be rendered, Upon the remainder, and understood of the proud man’s posterity, wherein God will be sure to meet with him.

Ver. 24. Be of good courage, &c.] Bear up, be stout, and steadfast in the faith under trials. See #Ps 27:14, with the note. Thus good courage cometh not but from the true love of God, #Ps 31:23.

A Psalm of David, Maschil] i.e. Giving instruction, or making prudent; for David here, out of his own experience, turneth teacher, #Ps 32:7, and the lesson that he layeth before his disciples is the doctrine of justification by faith, that ground of true blessedness, #Ro 4:6,7. Docet igitur hic Psalmus vere preciosus praecipuum et proprium fidei Christianae caput, saith Beza, This most precious psalm instructeth us in the chief and principal point of Christian religion; and it differeth herein from the first psalm, that there are set forth the effects of blessedness; but here the cause: Quomodo etiam est Paulus cum Iacobo conciliandus, saith he.

Chapter 31

Ver. 1. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven] The heavy burden of whose trespasses is taken off, as the word importeth, and he is loosed, eased, and lightened. Sin is an intolerable burden, #Isa 1:3, such as presseth down, #Heb 12:1; a burden it is to God, #Am 2:13; to Christ it was, when it made him sweat water and blood; to the angels, when it brake their backs, and sunk them into hell; to men, under whom the very earth groaneth, its axle tree is even ready to crack, &c.; it could not bear Korah and his company; it spewed out the Canaaanites, &c. Oh, then, the heaped-up happiness of a justified person, disburdened of his transgressions! The word here rendered transgression signifieth treachery, and wickedness with a witness. Aben Ezra saith, David hereby intends his sin with Bathsheba; and surely this psalm and the one and fiftieth may seem to have been made upon the same occasion, they are tuned so near together.

Whose sin is covered] As excrements and ordure are covered, that they may not be an eyesore or annoyance to any. Sin is an odious thing, the devil’s drivel or vomit, the corruption of a dead soul, the filthiness of flesh and spirit. Get a cover for it, therefore (sc. Christ’s righteousness, called a propitiation, or coverture, and raiment, #Re 3:18), Ut sic veletur, ne in iudicio reveletur, that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear.

Ver. 2. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity] Let no man think this triplication of the same thing needless or superfluous; since the poor soul, afflicted with sense of sin and fear of wrath, is not easily persuaded of pardon; but when faith would lay hold on the promise Satan rappeth her on the fingers, as it were, and seeks to beat her off. Besides, by such an emphatic repetition and heap of words to one purpose, the great grace of God in pardoning men’s sin, is plainly and plentifully declared and celebrated; it being a mercy that no words, how wide soever, can sufficiently set forth. By the word iniquity some understand original sin, that peccatum peccans, as the schools call it, that πανσπερμια, common cause and impure seminary of all actual disobediences. Neither this, nor any of the fruits of it, doth the Lord impute, reckon, count, or think to the pardoned sinner, #2Co 5:19. Cui non cogitat peccatum, so some render it, To whom he thinketh no sin, that is, he reputeth or imputeth it not for a sin, he putteth it not into the reckoning, #Isa 43:25 48:9,11; the bill or bond is cancelled, #Col 2:14, and there remaineth no action. Christ is our surety, #Heb 7:22. Now the surety and debtor are in law reputed as one person. Christ is made sin for us, that is, in our stead or place, that we might be "made the righteousness of God in him," #2Co 5:21.

And in whose spirit there is no guile] Sed sincere et sine dolo a suis peccatis resipiscit, et ad Dei misericordiam se recipit. The justified are also sanctified, #1Co 6:11; they hide not their sins, as Adam; they neither excuse nor extenuate what evils they have done, but think and speak the worst of their sins; they lay load upon themselves; they hate hypocrisy, and detest dissimulation; it is a question whether they do more desire to be good or abhor to seem only to be so. Basil, as he commendeth that sentence of Plato, that seeming sanctity is double iniquity; so he justly condemneth that saying of Euripides, I had rather seem to be good than be so indeed. That maxim of Machiavel is the same for sense, that virtue itself should not be sought after, but only the appearance; because the credit is a help, the use an encumberance. The pardoned sinner is sanctified throughout, washed not only from his sin (the guilt and filth of it), but his swinish nature also (the love and liking of it); he hath no mind to return to his vomit or wallowing in the mire, saith R. Solomon here; he saith not, Resipiscam et denuo peccabo, vel peccabo et resipiscam, as R. David senseth it, I will repent, and then sin again; or sin again, and then repent. This he knoweth to be incompatible with faith unfeigned, and hope unfailable, #1Ti 1:5 1Jo 3:3.

Ver. 3. When I kept silence] i.e. While I, through guile of spirit (for this leaven of hypocrisy is more or less in the best hearts, though it sway not there), concealed my sin, and kept the devil’s counsel, contenting myself with his false medicines and placiboes. That old manslayer knoweth well that as sin is the soul’s sickness, so confession is the soul’s vomit; and that there is no way to purge the sick soul but upwards. He, therefore, holdeth the lips close, that the heart may not disburden itself. David, by his persuasion, kept silence for a while, but that he found was to his ruth; and if he had held so it might have been to his ruin. Men, in pain of conscience, will shirk for ease rather than sue for pardon; as the prodigal first joined himself to a citizen, then ate husks, &c., before he would resolve to return. Satan had first seduced David, and then gagged him, as it were, that he might keep silence. But then God took him and set him upon the rack, where he roared till he resolved to confess. And the like befell Bilney, Bainham, Whittle, and many other of the martyrs, who, having first yielded, could never be at rest within themselves till they had publicly confessed their fault, and retracted their subscriptions to those Popish articles.

My bones waxed old] i.e. My strength wasted and wore away, I was in a pitiful plight, per febrim forsan, saith an expositor, by a fever, possibly, the fruit of his inward affliction. So bitter and burdensome is sin cloaked and close kept.

Through my roaring all the day long] Like a wild beast, belluinos potius quam humanos gemitus et querimonias fudi, I rather roared to the enfeebling of my body than repented to the easing of my conscience (Jun.). I cried out for pain, but prayed not for pardon. As a lion in a snare roareth, as a bird in a gin fluttereth, so it fareth with hypocrites under God’s hand (and with better men too sometimes, and for a season); but especially in pangs of conscience, they bellow like bulls in a net, or swine when a sticking; they beat the air with many brutish roarings and ragings, which avail them no more than if an ox should break out of the slaughter house after the deadly blow given him; the sting of conscience still remaineth.

Ver. 4. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me] See what God can do when once he taketh a man to do. Day and night he had sinned against God; therefore day and night he suffereth; and glad he may be that he so escapeth, and is not forced to undergo an eternity of extremity. Some think that this psalm and the sixth were made much about a time, when David was recently recovered of some grievous fit of sickness. It may be meant only of his inward terrors, or chiefly, at least; his body suffering by sympathy, as having shared in his sin.

My moisture is turned into the drought of summer] My natural radical moisture, the oil that maintaineth the lamp of life, is dried up and become like a lump of clay; the vigour also and verdure of my soul is quelled and consumed with the fire of thy fierce wrath. God will bring his best people to this if they put him to it; that they shall find it to be the greatest folly in the world to buy the sweetest sin at so dear a rate.

Selah] I speak it feelingly. O quantum tormentum, &c. O aridum et exhaustum me prae maestitia, &c., O my pitiful condition! (Vatablus).

Ver. 5. I acknowledged my sin unto thee] Though it were long first, yet thou broughtest me to it. The soul is ready to hang her comforts on every hedge, to shift and shirk in every bycorner for comfort, rather than to repair to the right fountain. Lot should have escaped to the mountains at first; but he would needs go to Zoar; which yet was soon too hot to hold him: David should have acknowledged his sin ere this time; he should speedily have cast up the poison he had swallowed down, before it got to the vitals; but he had no mind to it till he had tasted of the whip, and then he agonized his sin unto the Lord, he put himself into the hands of justice, in hope of mercy. The properties or conditions of sound confession are these, say the schoolmen in this four lines of verse:

Sit simplex, humilis confessio, pura, fidelis,

Atque frequens, nuda et discreta, lubens, verecunda,

Integra, secreta, et lachrymabilis, accelerata,

Fortis, et accusans, et se punire parata.

And mine iniquity have I not hid] In confession we must show the Lord the iniquity of our sin, the filthiness of our lewdness, the abomination of our provocations, #Ro 7:13. We must bring out our sins (as they took the vessels of the sanctuary, #Ezr 8:34) by number and by weight; laying open how many transgressions are wrapped up in our sins, and their circumstances. See for this #Le 16:21.

I said, I will confess, &c.] i.e. I resolved and purposed so to do; but ere that could be done "thou forgavest," &c. God’s ear was in David’s heart before his confession could be in his tongue. So, at another time, he did but conceive a purpose to build God a house, and God rewarded it with the building and establishing of David’s house, #2Sa 7:12,13,16

And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin] The sting and stain of it, the criminal and penal part of it, the worst thing that was in it; not the fire only, but the filth that was in it; reserving still to thyself a power of fatherly corrections and medicinal miseries. Vel peccatum peccati. Utitur duobus vocabulis ad aggravandum peccatum suum (Kimchi). As we say, terra pulveris, or caenum luti. But the iniquity of sin is wiped off by the sponge of true confession. Homo agnoscit, Dens ignoscit. Man no sooner acknowledgeth the debt but God crosseth the book. It is, therefore, good counsel that a father giveth, Fac confitendo propitium, quem tacendo non facis nescium, Confess and find mercy; since by a senseless silence thou canst not keep thy sins from God’s knowledge of them. Let out that bad blood by opening a vein, that good health may enter.

Per miserere mei, tollitur ira Dei.

Know you what? said Henry VIII to the duke of Suffolk, concerning Stephen Gardiner, when he had confessed his Popery, for which he should have been the morrow after sent to the Tower; he hath confessed himself as guilty in this matter as his man, and hath with much sorrow and pensiveness sued for my pardon. And you know what my nature and custom hath been in such cases, evermore to pardon them that will not dissemble, but confess their fault, &c. (Acts and Mon. fol. 1177).

Selah] q.d. I speak it joyfully, there being no such matter of mirth in all the world as the sweet sense of forgiveness of sin. O singularem (inquit David hic) Dei erga homines peccata sua agnoscentes gratiam et benevolentiam!

Ver. 6. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee] "For this," that thou hast so graciously done for me, the godly shall gladly perform these two duties; the prayer of faith and the obedience of faith. As I have been an example to them of sin, which is now my grief, so I shall be to them of good, and that is my comfort. Where note, first, That every godly man is a praying man. God hath no dumb children in his house. Secondly, That such will be making use of God’s dealings with others for their own instruction and comfort, "For this." Thirdly, That they will observe the fittest times to make their addresses to God; as courtiers watch their— mollissima fandi tempora.

In a time when thou mayest be found] i.e. In a time of need, say some, #Ps 50:15; or, in a time of favour (as the Chaldee here hath it), #Isa 55:6, before the decree bring forth, #Zep 2:2, before the drawbridge be taken up, the day of grace be expired, #Joh 7:34 8:21 Heb 6:6 Lu 13:29.

Surely in the floods of great waters] In the greatest of outward troubles or inward perplexities.

They shall not come nigh unto him] sc. To prejudice his eternal salvation; freed he shall be, if not from the smart, yet from the hurt, of personal crosses; and for public calamities, he shall be delivered, if not from the common destruction, yet from the common distraction. Washed he may be, as Paul was in the shipwreck, but not drowned with those floods of great waters; be they never so great, they are bounded. Besides, the godly man rescipiscit antequam superveniant fluctus miseriarum, as R. Obad. here noteth, repenteth before those floods come upon him, and so redeemeth his own sorrows. For he saith thus,

Ver. 7. Thou art my hiding place, &c.] And therefore I, being a pardoned person, shall be in safety under thy wings, #Ps 91:4, per totum.

Thou shalt preserve me from trouble] Either from it or in it; that I be not hurt by it. The godly, after one trouble, must prepare for another; after one deliverance, expect another. A company cometh, as she said.

Thou shalt compass me about with songs] i.e. Plentifully furnish me with matter of praise, ita ut laetus Paeana canam. And like as in a lottery, at every prize the trumpet soundeth; so at every deliverance I will sing aloud to thy glory. All my springs shall be in thee.

Ver. 8. I will instruct thee and teach thee, &c.] No disgrace is it then for great men to be teachers of others. Here we have a prince preacher; such as was also Solomon, George prince of Anhalt, and others.

I will guide thee with mine eye] i.e. With my careful inspection and oversight; I will see that thou profit in godliness. The Chaldee hath it, I will counsel thee, and set mine eye upon thee for good. Thus Christ counselled Peter with his eye, #Lu 22:61. Ministers must watch over their people, and see that all go right. Hence they are called seers, superintendents, bishops.

Ver. 9. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule] David having, according to the title Maschil, promised to teach, useth this preface to bespeak attention. Be not uncounsellable, irreclaimable, such as Basil (Ad Evag. Epist. 10) complaineth of, qui neque quid sit verum sciunt, neque sustinent discere, who neither knew, nor would be taught, what was true, and fit to be practised. Of the rhinoceros some write, that slain he may be, caught he cannot be. Others, that he is animal animo indomito, a most untameable creature; for if he be taken, he presently dieth of sullenness. Such spirits we meet with not a few, who yet would take it in foul scorn to be reckoned horses and asses, that have no understanding, neither will be taught any. To these the psalmist here saith, Ne obstupescite, et obbrutescite ad exercitationes Dei, &c. Be not as horse or mule, lest ye be led through a fool’s paradise into a true prison. Be not headlong, headstrong, untameable, untractable, &c. The horse and mule are instanced, as well known among the Jews, and used to be ridden on.

Which have no understanding] And yet the horse knoweth his owner, &c. Strange things are reported of Bucephalus, and Julius Caesar’s great horse. Of the Egyptian Mamelukes’ horses it is reported, that they were so docible, that at certain signs or speeches of the rider they would with their teeth reach him up from the ground a lance, an arrow, or such like thing; and as if they had known the enemy, run upon him with open mouth, and lash at him with their heels; and had by nature and custom learned not to be afraid of anything.

Whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle] Lest they kick and bite thee, Ne mordeat nocentve tibi (Jun.). Such is the mad world’s wages and usage of the most faithful preachers. B. Ridley lamented it in his time; the great ones spurned privily against those that went about most busily and wholesomely to cure their sore backs. As for Latimer, Lever, Bradford, Knox, saith he, their tongues were so sharp, they ripped in so deep to their galled backs, to let out the filthy matter, that they could never abide them. Thus he, and much more concerning King Edward VI’s courtiers (Acts and Mon. 1616). The words may be read thus, Whose mouth, except it be held with bit and bridle, they will not come nigh unto thee, that is, thou wilt not be able to rule them. It is a good observation of a modern divine, Not the unruly colt only, but the horse that is broken, hath a bit and bridle also. So even the godly need the bridle of the law, ne spiritum sessorem excutiant, lest they cast their rider.

Ver. 10. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked] This is David’s doctrine (his use followeth in the next verse), Many pains, or great smarts, are for the wicked, &c. And as Luther saith, Let him that can rightly distinguish between law and gospel give thanks to God, and know himself to be a good divine; so say I, let him that is firmly persuaded of this truth here delivered know himself to be a good proficient in Christ’s school: for it is the principle of all holy learning.

Ver. 11. Be glad in the Lord] Joy is the just man’s portion. A pardoned sinner, as #Ps 32:1,2, is here called upon (in a use of consolation) to be as merry as mirth can make him; for what should all such a one? as we say of a rich man. Viscount Lisle, in Henry VIII’s time, died for joy of an unexpected pardon. But what was that to God’s pardon of all sins?

Chapter 32

Ver. 1. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye rightness] That is, O ye upright in heart, as it followeth here, and as #Ps 32:11. For as there he ended, so here he beginneth, calling upon the saints to be cheerful; and indeed there is hardly any duty more pressed in the Old and New Testament, or less practised. To quicken them, therefore, to so necessary but much neglected a duty, this psalm seemeth to be added to the former, purposely to excite us, by many arguments, to consecrate our whole lives to the singing and setting forth of God’s worthy praises. In which regard nihil potest esse hoc carmine augustius, saith Beza, this is surely a most excellent psalm; and if it were well practised we might have a very heaven here; as because it is not, we lose very much of the comtbrt of our lives. Only that cautionating counsel of Bernard would not be forgotten, Laeti simus, non securi; gaudentes in Spiritu Sancto, sed tamen caventes a recidivo; Let us be cheerful, but not secure; and rejoice in the Holy Ghost, but take heed we let not fall the watch of the Lord. Crede mihi res severa est gaudium verum, Believe me, true joy is a severe matter, said Seneca. We may better say so of spiritual joy, which he never tasted of, neither doth any stranger meddle with. And if Plato could tell the musicians, philosophers could tell how to be merry without music; much more may God’s people. Quid nobis cum fabulis, cure risu? saith Bernard, What have we to do with carnal mirth and jollity? &c.; we have meat to eat, and music to our meat, that the world knoweth not of; let us make us merry with it.

For praise is comely for the upright] For them, and for none but them; high words are not fit for a fool, saith Solomon. Laudari ab illaudato, to be praised by a praiseless person is no praise at all (Seneca). That State in story would not approve of good words from an evil mouth; no more doth God, #Ps 50:15,16. Christ would not suffer the devil to confess him. Hypocrisy slurreth all it toucheth. If a man should sing a good song with his voice, and play a bad one on his instrument, it would make but a black sanctus. Such is the praise of the unupright; who had better therefore be silent, unless themselves were better, since they do not only lose their labour, but commit sin. Displeasing service is double dishonour; and dissembled sanctity double iniquity.

Ver. 2. Praise the Lord with harp] Or cittern, Jubal’s invention, #Ge 4:21, much used by David and others of old under the Jewish pedagogy, as a help to devotion, as were also other musical instruments, here and elsewhere mentioned. Now it is otherwise; the best melody is to sing psalms with grace in our hearts; and for other music, when Aristotle was asked what he thought of it, he answered, Iovem nec canere, neque citharam pulsare, that Jupiter regarded it not.

Ver. 3. Sing unto him a new song] sc. Upon every new emergent occasion. God reneweth his mercies not only every morning, but every moment: so should we our praises; every breath we draw should praise the Lord, #Ps 150:6. Doth God give comforts? praise him, and they shall be continued. Doth he send crosses? praise him, and they shall be removed, saith a Father; but "in everything give thanks"; and that not coldly and cursorily, but ardently, and with utmost affection; for which cause this duty is so reiterated here, and pressed with such forcible arguments in the following verses, as might work upon the very stones almost; much more men, for whose sakes all this fair fabric of the world was erected.

Play skilfully (or lustily) with a loud noise] Make good music, set all your skill and might at work to magnify the Lord. It is not an easy matter to praise God aright; it must be done Corde, ore, opere, with the very best of the best. Benefacite canendo, cum iubilatione.

Ver. 4. For the word of the Lord is right] Every word of God is pure and precious, #Pr 30:5; his commandment holy, and just, and good, #Ro 7:12; but by word here we are to understand God’s counsel and decree concerning the creation and government of the world, which is unquestionably right, and agreeable to sound reason, and therefore they are to blame that dislike his doings. If any evil befall them, the saints confess God’s righteousness, and praise him, as #Isa 12:1 Ps 10:1, saith Kimchi here.

And all his works are done in truth] Or, in faith; that is, in faithfulness, without deceit or fickleness. This is to be understood as the execution of God’s decree, all is done well, and equitably.

Ver. 5. He loveth righteousness and judgment] q.d. How can he do otherwise than right, whose nature is such that he loveth righteousness and judgment? that is, probat probanda, et damnat damnanda.

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord] So that we cannot look any way, but matter of praise presents itself to our view. The whole nature of things is set forth, as an ample theatre of God’s wisdom, justice, and goodness.

Ver. 6. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made] His fiat, or, Let them be, gave them a being. Or, by his essential Word, which is his Son, the second person in Trinity, #Pr 8:27 Joh 1:3 Col 1:16 Heb 1:2. Solo ipsius iussuet nutu.

And all the host of them] These are first mentioned, because the most glorious of all the works of God, so #Ps 19:1.

By the breath of his mouth] By his word and command. Or rather, by his Holy Spirit, the third person in Trinity, inseparable from the other two, as well in essence as in operation. See #Ge 1:1,2. {See Trapp on "Ge 1:1"} {See Trapp on "Ge 1:1"} It hath been elsewhere noted, that in Thebe, a town of Egypt, they worshipped a God whom they acknowledged to be immortal. But how painted they him? In the likeness of a man blowing an egg out of his mouth; to signify, that he made the round world by his word, and by the breath of his mouth, as here. Varro addeth, that in way of thankfulness, they dedicated a sheep to him, to be offered in sacrifice (Plut. de Iside et Osiride; Varro de Re Rust. l. ii. cap. 1). This text was commonly urged by the ancients for the Trinity of persons in the Godhead; which Olympus, an Arian bishop, denying, was struck with three thunderbolts and killed in a bath.

Ver. 7. He gathereth the waters of the sea together] Confining them to their concave, to the pit he digged for them. Ecce altera misericordia, saith Kimchi here, Behold another mercy; without the which the earth would be unhabitable, unless by fishes only; because the waters would cover the earth.

As an heap] This showeth that the sea is higher than the earth. Sailors observe, that their ships move faster to the shore than from it, whereof what other reason can be given but the height of the waters above the land?

He layeth up the depth in storehouses] In his treasuries; that is, he secretly hideth them, and limiteth them to a certain place (that they overwhelm not the earth) by his almighty power, #Jer 5:22 Job 38:16. See there.

Ver. 8. Let all the earth fear the Lord] viz. For these stupendous works of his, sufficient to strike an awe into all creatures of the Divine majesty, #Jer 5:22. "Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob," #Ps 114:7.

Ver. 9. For he spake, and it was done] So true is that saying, Dei dicere est facere. For God to say is to do. And a great shame it is to men to disobey the great Creator; and not rather to follow the example of the unreasonable and insensible creatures.

And it stood fast] The whole order of nature remaineth as he set it; firm, fast, and unmoveable.

Ver. 10. The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought] i.e. He counterworketh the devil and his imps, who would overturn and destroy the fair order of nature, mingle heaven and earth together, as it were, and soon mar all. God frustrateth the counsels and attempts of such tumultuating firebrands and trouble states; and maugre their malice preserveth politics, laws, judgments, and natural equity; without which mankind could not long subsist. "Who, then, would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain," #Jer 10:7 Re 15:4.

Ver. 11. The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever] That counsel of his, whereby he hath decreed to maintain government among men, to relieve the oppressed, to punish the wicked, to uphold the Church, is firm and inviolable. Divinum consilium dum devitatur, impletur; humana sapientia dum reluctatur, comprehenditur, saith Gregory. There is a council in heaven that will dash the mould of all contrary counsels upon earth.

Ver. 12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord] viz. By special favour and covenant. The preservation of the Church (which hath so few friends on earth, and so many enemies in earth and hell) is justly brought as an evident argument of the Divine providence. Christ standeth upon Mount Zion; and that mountain shall be exalted above all mountains. The Church, as it is highest in the favour of God, so it shall be set above all the world; and her enemies shall be in that place that is fittest for them, the lowest, the footstool of Christ.

The people whom he hath chosen] Some read it, people which hath chosen him for their inheritance. It cometh all to one. See #De 26:17-19.

Ver. 13. The Lord looketh from heaven] Ita respicit universos quasi singulos, ita singulos quasi solos. And this doctrine of God’s particular providence is, fides nationum quarum Deus est Dominus, saith Kimchi, taught in the Church only.

Ver. 14. From the place of his habitation he beholdeth] And this is a very great condescension, since he humbleth himself to behold things in heaven, #Ps 113:6, to look out of himself upon the saints and angels; how much more upon the inhabitants of the earth!

Ver. 15. He fashioneth their hearts alike] i.e. One’s as well as another’s. Unum pariter ac aliud (Kimchi). The Arabic hath it, Format sigillatim, he fashioneth them severally one after another; and not all souls together, as the Origenists and some Jewish doctors held.

He considereth all their works] Their hearts are not hid from him (since he made them, as is said before), much less their works. These God considereth, and therefore men had need consider them, and turn their feet to his testimonies, #Ps 119:59.

Ver. 16. There is no king saved by the multitude of an host] Witness Sennacherib, Xerxes, Bajazet. Away, then, with creature confidence; it will be the ruin of all that rest in it, whether it be in men or means that they trust. See #Ps 62:9,10. {See Trapp on "Ps 69:9"} {See Trapp on "Ps 69:10"}

A mighty man] Or, a giant, Goliath for instance. As the most skilful swimmers are often drowned; so here.

Ver. 17. An horse is a vain thing] And yet a warlike creature, full of terror {See Trapp on "Ps 32:9"} and so swift in service, that the Persians dedicated him to the sun (Pausan.). See #Job 41:20 Pr 21:31, {See Trapp on "Job 41:20"} {See Trapp on "Pr 21:31"}

Ver. 18. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on them that fear him] He looketh upon such with singular delight; not without sweet intimations of his singular kindness and care of their good.

Upon them that hope in his mercy] Here we have a description of that true Church which God will never forsake; sc. It is a company of such as truly serve God, and boast not of their merits; but, possessing their souls in hope and silence, wait for his mercy.

Ver. 19. To deliver their soul] Freedom from troubles he promiseth not; but deliverance in due time he assureth them; and support in the mean while, to keep them alive in famine.

Ver. 20. Our soul waiteth for the Lord] i.e. Patiently tarrieth the Lord’s leisure. We can both wait and want for a need.

Ver. 21. Our heart shall rejoice in him] We shall be sure of a happy issue and event; but yet so as that we pray for it, as in the next words.

Ver. 22. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee] Not that we would have no more mercy than we have trust; but we would show that our trust is bottomed upon thy promises, and that we humbly expect the full accomplishment of the same, in due time.

Chapter 33

Ver. 1. A Psalm of David] An alphabetical psalm, which David (newly delivered from the Philistines, who had taken him prisoner, and presented him to their king as a special prize) composed with singular art; as fit to be committed to memory by all godly people, who may here meet with many excellent lessons and cordial comforts. Semper in ecclesia hic psalmus piis fuit commendatissimus (Moller).

When he changed his behaviour] Heb. Gustum, hoc est gestum. This he did (being put to his shifts), but not without sin, for he was splendide mendax (as Horace, lib. iii. Od. 11, saith of Hypermnestra), at the best; neither can this dissimulation or officious lie of his be excused; as some have by distinctions endeavoured it, but in vain.

Before Abimelech] Or, Achish, king of Gath, #1Sa 21:10, for he was binominis, saith Aben Ezra; or else Abimelech, that is, father king, was his title of honour; as Augustus would be styled Pater Patriae, the father of his country. R. Solomon saith that Abimelech was a common name to all the Philistine kings, as Pharaoh to the Egyptian.

Who cast him out] For a mad man, #1Sa 21:15, wherein there was a sweet providence of God, who can order our disorders to his own glory and our good; like as a craftsman with a crooked tool can make straight work; or as an apothecary of a poisonous viper can make a wholesome treacle.

And he departed] Into some parts of Judea, where he might repent of his sin first (as Peter did when got into a corner), and then compile this psalm of thanksgiving to God, who had so graciously delivered him out of that hard and hazardous condition, not only above, but against his desert.

Chapter 34

Ver. 1. I will bless the Lord at all times] As not satisfied with anything I can do herein at any time. The saints have large hearts, and could beteem the Lord a great deal more service than they are able to perform. A certain martyr said at the stake, I am sorry that I am going to a place where I shall be ever receiving wages and do no more work.

His praise shall continually be in my mouth] For this remarkable mercy especially, which I will still be telling of, and speaking good of God’s name to as many as I can possibly extend unto. This thankful man was worth his weight in the gold of Ophir.

Ver. 2. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord] This holy gloriation is a Christian’s duty not to be neglected. The Church in the Canticles is much in it; and so is St Paul. It showeth a heart full of joys unspeakable and full of glory, #1Pe 1:8. And, besides, God is thereby greatly glorified, #Jer 9:23,24.

The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad] Not for my sake only, but their own, as conceiving good hope of like deliverance. But, then, they must be as I am, not only humbled, but humble; low, but lowly.

Ver. 3. O magnify the Lord with me] As not sufficient to do so great a work himself, he calleth in the help of others. We read of a monster rather than a man, who lying on his death bed, not only himself swore as fast and as furiously as he could, but desperately desired the bystanders to help him with oaths, and to swear for him. I knew the man, saith mine author (Bolton, Assize Serm.). And should not we much more call upon others to join their forces with ours in magnifying the Lord? Birds, when they come to a full heap of corn, will chirp and call in for their fellows. Charity is no churl; goodness is diffusive.

And let us exalt his name together] And so begin heaven beforehand. Aben Ezra glosseth thus, Quasi diceret, Nos omnes simul ad laudandum Deum sumus imbecilles, We are all too weak for this work, though we should all do our utmost at it.

Ver. 4. I sought the Lord] Even when I was in the enemies’ hands, and playing my pranks as a mad man among them; I prayed secretly and inwardly, I sent up some ejaculations, as #Ne 2:4, and was heard, though unworthy.

And delivered me out of all my fears] Which were not a few, #1Sa 21:13, besides his inward terrors upon his unwarrantable practices to save his life. Sense fights sore against faith, when it is upon its own dunghill (in a sensible danger I mean), to the great disturbance of the conscience afterwards. George Marsh, afterwards a martyr in Queen Mary’s days, being examined before the Earl of Derby, kept himself close in the sacrament of the altar, as they called it. But afterward, thus he writeth to a friend; I departed much more troubled in my spirit than before; because I had not with more boldness confessed Christ, but in such sort as mine adversaries thereby thought they should prevail against me; whereat I was much grieved; for hitherto I went about, as much as in me lay, to rid myself out of their hands, if by any means, without openly denying Christ and his word, that could be done (Acts and Mon. fol. 1419). Thus he; but no rest he had in his mind till he had better declared himself, though to the loss of his life. A man had better offend all the world, than his own conscience. David, not without much ado, recovered his peace, for which he here heartily blesseth God.

Ver. 5. They looked unto him, and were lightened] They, that is, my servants and fellow soldiers who accompanied me first to Nob, #1Sa 21:2,4 Mt 12:3,4, and afterwards to Gath (as it is probable); these being in the same danger, looked likewise unto God by faith, hope, and prayer; and were lightened; that is, comforted, cheered, directed, yea, delivered together with David. Or, they flowed together, viz. to God, as rivers roll to the sea, or malefactors run to the sanctuary, #Isa 2:2 60:5.

And their faces were not ashamed] i.e. They were not repulsed, disappointed, made to hide their heads, as #Re 6:15,16.

Ver. 6. This poor man cried] Meaning himself, to whom it seemeth he pointed the finger, or laid his hand on his heart, when he said, This poor man, Hic vilis, et ovium pastor, saith Theodoret, this mean shepherd not long since; but rather, This miserable sinner, who whilome rashly ran such a hazard, and so unworthily deported himself in the presence of King Achish; this poor soul, I say, cried, but silently and secretly, as Moses did at the Red Sea, as Nehemiah did in the presence of the king of Persia.

And the Lord] Who might better be called the poor man’s king, than was James IV, king of Scotland.

Heard him, and delivered him out of all his troubles] And the like he will do for all that, in like ease, being poor in spirit, make their humble addresses unto him. It is good to communicate unto others our experiences. See the like done, #Ps 116:6 Ro 8:2 1Ti 1:15.

Ver. 7. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about, &c.] Not one guardian angel only, as some have hence conceited, nor Michael the archangel only, that angel of the covenant, Jesus Christ, as Augustine expoundeth this text, but a host of created angels, those ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation, #Heb 1:14. For although Christ, the Captain of our salvation, needeth not their help for the safeguard of his people; yet for our comfort he maketh use of the holy angels, who meet us still, as they did Jacob at Mahanaim (where they made a lane for him, as the guard doth for their prince, as the word importeth), #Ge 32:1; they minister many blessings to us, though invisibly; stand at our right hands, #Lu 1:11, as ready to relieve us as the devils are to mischief us, #Zec 3:1; yea, they pitch camp round about us, Sicut hostes sunt in circuitu, ( Kimchi), (oh the dignity and safety of a saint in this respect!) fight in battle array against our enemies, #Da 10:20 (the heathens speak much of their Castor and Pollux fighting for them and Hesiod telleth of thirty thousand demi-gods that were φυλακες μεροπων ανθρωπων, keepers of mankind), and convey them at death, as they did Lazarus, through the enemies’ country, the air, into Abraham’s bosom, #Lu 16:22

Ver. 8. O taste and see, &c.] viz. With the mouth of your mind, and with the eyes of your faith perceive, and experiment the goodness of God in choosing and using such instruments as the angels, and otherwise, in the manifold expressions of his love to us; wherein if we take not comfort the fault is merely in ourselves; we being like him who hath pleasant and nourishing meat, but will not make use of it. The saints taste how good the Lord is, and thence long after him. Optima demonstratio est a sensibus. As he that feels fire hot, or as he that tasteth honey sweet, ye need not use arguments to persuade him to believe it; so here, let a man but once taste that the Lord is good, and he will thenceforth, as a new born babe, desire the sincere milk of the word, #1Pe 2:2,3, neither will he take any more content in the world’s tasteless fooleries than in the white of an egg or a dry chip. Gustato spiritu desipit omnis caro, saith Gerson, All flesh is savourless to him that hath tasted of the Spirit. Paul, after his rapture, looked with scorn and pity on all the world’s glittering poverty. His mouth doth not water after homely provisions, who hath lately tasted of delicate sustenance. Oh, let us get spiritual senses habitually exercised to discern good and evil, #Heb 5:14. It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing, saith our Saviour to the Jews: q.d. Ye accept my words because ye have not the Spirit, ye have but flesh, that is, a common knowledge, no sound taste; and therefore it is that my words relish not with you.

Blessed is the man, &c.] See #Ps 2:12. {See Trapp on "Ps 2:12"}

Ver. 9. O fear the Lord, ye his saints] Ye that, having tasted of God’s sweetness, are separated from the world with its lusts, and can live with a little αγιοι quasi αγειοι, fear the Lord, and then you shall not need to fear want of anything; for he is all-sufficient to those who are altogether his, and withdraw not from him by mistrust or misdoing.

For there is no want to them that fear him] Habent omnia, qui habent habentem omnia. David, when captive among the Philistines, wanted not. Paul had nothing, and yet possesed all things. Contrarily, the wicked, in the fulness of his sufficiency, is in straits, #Job 20:22.

Ver. 10. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger] And yet they will have it, if it is to be had. Haec est sceleratorum imago, saith Beza. Lionlike wicked oppressors, rich cormorants, as the Septuagint render it, who live on the spoil of poor people, and are never satisfied, do yet perish with famine, as Eliphaz saith of the old lion, #Job 4:11; and come oft to great poverty, so that they pine away and miserably perish, Donec misere tabescant (Beza.)

But they that seek the Lord] That, content with his blessing alone, seek not their nourishment any other way but from his hand, and will rather lie in the dust than rise by evil principles; these have an autarky, a self-sufficiency, such as godliness is never without, #1Ti 6:6. Some Rabbis say (Aben Ezra in loc.) that the servants of Achish had almost famished David (under pretence haply of reducing him to his right mind), but God sustained him by miracle, as he did Elias, #1Ki 17:6,14

Shall not want any good thing] Want they may, this or that, which they may think would be good for them; but God knoweth it to be otherwise; or else they should be sure of it. Of good nothing followeth of itself but good, but if by accident any evil followeth, yet it is turned into good to such as seek the Lord in sincerity.

Ver. 11. Come, ye children, hearken unto me] Ye that are little and low in your own eyes, as seeing your want of holy learning.

I will teach you the fear of the Lord] That best trade, whereby you shall be sure to be kept from want; for by humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life, #Pr 22:4. He, then, who shall teach this fear should be honoured, and respected as a father. The Jews at this day account a man’s teacher, or tutor, worthy of more respect than his father; for he hath given him only his being, the other his well being (Leo Modena).

Ver. 12. What man is he that desireth life?] This is David’s doctrine; and to draw company about him, he proclaimeth and promiseth that which he well knew every man coveteth, happy life, many days, and a comfortable enjoyment of all. Now, who is it that would have these? saith he. Austin bringeth in all sorts, saying, Ego et ego, I would, and I would. But as all men desire health, but few take a right course to get it, and keep it; so all would be happy, but few hearken to this wholesome counsel, for the compassing of true happiness.

Ver. 13. Keep thy tongue from evil, &c.] This is a hard saying, think the most; who will therefore rather venture it than yield to be so tied up. The tongue is an unruly member, and can hardly be hampered. But who would not temper his tongue, and bind it to the good abearance, for true blessedness? Who would not rather bite it off, and spit it out (as that ancient martyr did his, into the face of the tyrant, who solicited him to deny Christ), than miss heaven? Ficinus after his tract De sanitate tuenda, of keeping good health; and another, of recovering health; and a third, of prolonging life; because all will not do, wisely addeth a fourth, of laying hold on eternal life; which cannot be done but by mortifying this earthly member, a loose and lewd tongue. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned, saith the Judge himself, #Mt 12:37: compare #Ge 49:21, with #De 33:23, and it will appear that good words ingratiate with God and men.

Ver. 14. Depart from evil, and do good] For negative goodness helpeth not. A man must so abstain from evil as that he do good, or he doth nothing. It is said of Ithacius, that the hatred of the Priscillian heresy was the best that could be said of him; this was but a slender commendation.

Seek peace and pursue it] As hunters do the prey. If it fly from thee, make after it; it will pay thee for thy pains. It is said of Frederick III, emperor, that he putting up many injuries, he reigned quietly fifty and three years and five months. He had need be patient that would be at peace. Ut habeas quietum tempus, perde aliquid, was a proverb at Carthage; not unlike that of ours, Do anything for a quiet life. Concedamus de iure ut careamus lite (Val. Max. Christian. 304, Augustine). And if, in this pursuit of peace, thou meet with many rubs and remoras {obstructions}, yet be not discouraged, considering what follows in the two next verses.

Ver. 15. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous] He seeth and weigheth the wrongs they sustain for peace sake, and they shall be no losers thereby; provided that their pursuit of peace proceed from the filial fear of God, which David here professeth to teach, #Ps 34:11. God’s eyes are intent, his ears attent, to these righteous ones. Palam, clam (as Aben Ezra here), openly, secretly, he wilt right them and recompense them. Should not God see, as well as hear, saith another, his children should want many things. We apprehend not all our own wants, and so cannot pray for relief of all. He (of his own accord without any monitor) is wont to aid us.

And his ears are open to their cry] Heb. are to their cry. Or, as St Peter hath it, His ears are into their prayers; to show, that though their prayers are so faint and feeble that they cannot enter into the ears of the Lord of hosts, yet that he will bow down and incline his ears unto, nay, into their prayers, their breathings, #La 3:56.

Ver. 16. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil] Let not such dream of a long and happy life, as #Ps 34:12. This they are apt to do; but shall be carried from a fool’s paradise to a true prison. For that people may not imagine God to be μονοφθαλμαν, and so made up of mercy as to forget his judgments, the wicked are here assured, that the face of the Lord is against them, that he beholdeth them from heaven with a terrible countenance, that he is grievously angry with them, and will surely and severely punish them, and theirs after them.

To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth] And so to cross them in the thing that they most coveted, viz. to renown themselves among men. God writeth them in the earth in opposition to those whose names are written in heaven, #Lu 10:20, because they forsook the Lord, the fountain of living waters, #Jer 17:13.

Ver. 17. The righteous cry, &c.] This is often inculcated for our better assurance; because we are apt to doubt if delayed. See #Ps 34:6.

Ver. 18. The Lord is nigh unto them, &c.] More nigh than the bark is to the tree, for he is with them and in them continually; pouring the oil of his grace into these broken vessels, quorum corda peccata eorum non amplius retinent, sed, ut vas fracture, effundunt, saith Aben Ezra here, whose hearts retain not their sins any longer, but pour them out as water before the Lord.

And saveth such as be of a contrite spirit] Such as are ground to powder, as it were, with sense of sin and fear of wrath; yet not without good hope of mercy. These God delivereth out of their dangers; and in fine bringeth them to eternal blessedness.

Ver. 19. Many are the troubles, &c.] Dei sunt nuntii, these are God’s messengers, saith Kimchi, and they seldom come single. See #Jas 1:2. {See Trapp on "Jas 1:2"} Sent they are also to the wicked, #Ps 32:10, but on another errand, and for another end. The righteous, per augusta ad augustum, per spinas ad rosas, per motum ad quietem, per procellas ad portum, per crucem ad caelum contendunt, through many tribulations they enter into God’s kingdom. Not so the wicked; their crosses are but a typical hell.

But the Lord delivereth him out of them all] No country hath more venomous creatures, none more antidotes, than Egypt; so godliness hath many troubles, and as many helps against trouble.

Ver. 20. He keepeth all his bones] Which are very many. Perhaps, saith Aben Ezra here, David had been scourged by the Philistines, but his bones were not broken, nor were our Saviour’s, #Joh 19:36.

Ver. 21. Evil shall slay the wicked] For lack of such deliverance, as #Ps 34:19, malum iugular authorem mali Their malice shall prove their mischief. The Arabic hath it (but not right), mors impii pessima. Aben Ezra better senseth it thus, One affliction killeth the wicked; when out of many God delivereth the righteous.

Ver. 22. The Lord redeemeth the souls of his servants] Though to themselves and others they may seem helpless and hopeless, yet they shall not perish in their sins and for their sins, as do the wicked.

Chapter 35

Ver. 1. Plead my cause, O Lord] We may safely pray the same, when oppressed with calumnies and false accusations, as now David was by Saul’s sycophants, or, as others think, when he was in great heaviness, and even heart sick; after that Amnon had defiled Tamar, and Absalom had slain Amnon; his disaffected subjects, such as Shimei, insulted over him, and said, it was just upon him for the matter of Uriah, and other miscarriages; which they wrongfully charged him with. See a promise in this case, #Isa 49:21.

Fight against them, &c.] Or, devour them that devour me; for in Niphal only it signifieth to fight.

Ver. 2. Take hold of shield and buckler] Jehovah is a man of war, #Ex 15:3, and so he is here stirred up to harness himself; not that he needeth weapons defensive, as here, or offensive, as #Ps 35:3, for he can destroy his enemies, solo nutu ac flatu, with a nod, or a blast; but this is spoken after the manner of men, and for our better apprehension of God’s readiness to relieve his distressed ones.

Ver. 3. Draw out also the spear] viz. That thy contending and appearing for me may appear to be sufficient and glorious.

And stop the way] Heb. And stop, viz. the doors, as #Ge 19:6,10 2Ki 6:32, lest the malcontents come in and kill me. Or, shut me up from my persecutors, that they find me not; like as, afterwards, God hid Jeremiah and Baruch, when sought for to the slaughter.

Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation] Facito ut haec animula te sibi testantem audiat, &c. Inwardly persuade my heart to firm affiance in thee, amidst all mine afflictions.

Ver. 4. Let them be confounded and put to shame] Here David beginneth his imprecations; which yet non maledicens dixit sed vaticinantis more praedixit, saith Theodoret, he doth not utter as cursing, but as prophesying rather. If we shall at any time take upon us thus to imprecate (as we may in some cases), we must see to it, first, that our cause be good. Secondly, that we do it not out of private revenge; but merely for the glory of God. Thirdly, ut ne voculam quidem nisi nobis praeeunte Dei, non carnis, spiritu effundamus, that we utter not a syllable this way but by the guidance of God’s good Spirit.

Ver. 5. Let them be as chaff] Facti sint a corde suo fugitivi, let them fly before their own consciences, restless and uncertain whither to turn themselves.

And let the angel of the Lord chase them] It may be understood both of the evil angels and of the good, ready at God’s command to do execution upon his enemies. Chaff driven before the wind may rest against a wall; but where shall they rest who are chased by an angel? "Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" #1Pe 4:18. Surely nowhere.

Ver. 6. Let their way be dark and slippery] Heb. Darkness and slipperiness. If a man have neither light nor firm footing, and a fierce enemy at his heels, what shift can he make for himself? The word rendered slippery is of a double form (like that libbi secharchar, my heart panteth or beateth about, throbbeth, #Ps 38:10), to increase the signfication. See #Jer 23:12. The soul of a wicked man is in a sling, #1Sa 25:29, violently tossed about.

Ver. 7. For without cause have they hid for me, &c.] The wicked are so acted and agitated by the devil, their task master, that, though they have no cause to work mischief to the saints, yet they must do it; the old enmity, #Ge 3:15, still worketh; but this rendereth their destruction certiorem et celeriorem, more sure and more swift.

Ver. 8. Let destruction come upon him unawares] i.e. Upon the whole rabble of them, as if they were all but one man. Or else he striketh at some chieftain among them. Let his destruction be as sudden as signal.

Ver. 9. And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord] This was what he aimed at in his foregoing imprecations, viz. the glory and praise of God, and not his own wreaking his spleen upon his enemies.

Ver. 10. All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee?] Not my soul only, but my body also shall join in this joyful acclamation; yea, my bones shall say, &c., that is, whatsoever strength and vigour is in me, it shall be spent in celebrating thy praises. Or, although I have nothing left me but skin and bones, so poor am I grown, yet I will not be wanting to the work.

Ver. 11. False witnesses did rise up] So they did afterward against the Lord Christ and sundry of his faithful servants, as St Paul, Athanasius, Eustathius, bishop of Antioch (falsely accused of adultery, and deposed, about the end of Constantine the Great’s reign), Cranmer, charged with adultery, heresy, and treason; Philpot, with parricide; Latimer, with sedition; whereof he was so innocent, that he feared not to say in a sermon before the king, As for sedition, for aught that I know, methinks I should not need Christ, if I may so say.

They laid to my charge things that I knew not] Such as whereof I was not only innocent, but ignorant also. The Hebrew is, They asked me, and so would have, by cunningly contrived questions, made me mine own accuser.

Ver. 12. They rewarded me evil for good] To render good for evil is divine, good for good is human, evil for evil is brutish; but evil for good is devilish.

To the spoiling of my soul] i.e. To the depriving me of that life which I have so often hazarded to save theirs. Intentant caedem (Kimchi). Or, this their devilish dealing with me, erat mihi quasi mors amarum, was as bitter as death to me.

Ver. 13. But as for me, when they were sick] i.e. Any way afflicted, when they ailed anything.

My clothing was sachcloth] I put myself in mourners’ habit; Incedebam atratus, to testify my good affection toward them.

I humbled my soul with fasting] In die designate, in a solemn day set apart for the purpose; as the נ with a patach showeth (Kimehi). Ieiunium est humilitas mentis, miserationis expensa, charitatis illecebra, allevamentum infirmitatis, alimentum salutis, saith Ambrose, Fasting is the affliction of the soul, the cost of compassion, &c.

And my prayer returned into mine own bosom] i.e. Though they had no benefit by it, yet myself had; for no faithful prayer is ineffectual; like Jonathan’s bow, it never returned empty, #2Sa 1:22. I received the fruit of my prayers for them upon my bosom.

Ver. 14. I behaved myself as though he had been, &c.] My brother a thousand times. This was much to do to an enemy; but possibly all this might be before they fell out.

I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth, &c.] The mother is usually most dearly beloved, and not without cause, as having been ante partum onerosa, in partu dolorosa, post partum laboriosa (Kimchi). Or, as a suckling crieth in the loss of his nurse.

Ver. 15. But in mine adversity] Heb. in my halting; when through weakness I could not but halt before my best friends, as we say. Morbus est sic dictus quia incedere nequit nisi cum doloro quasi claudicando (Aben-Ezra).

Yea, the abjects gathered themselves together] Claudi congregati sunt, et secundum claudicationem meam claudicabant, ut me deriderent, so the Syriac senseth it. They halted, as I did, by way of derision; but they should have known, first, that mocking is catching, as we say. Cicero confesseth that while he laughed at one Hircus, a very ridiculous man, he became as bad almost himself: Dum illum rideo, pene factus sum ille (Epist. 9, lib. 2). Secondly, that such cruel mockings are grievous sins, and such as God will severely punish. Some render it the smiters, that is, the tongue smiters, as #Jer 18:18. Others, the smitten, that is, the abjects, the vile persons: the basest can mock, as did Tobiah the servant, #Ne 2:19, and those pests, #Ps 1:1.

And I knew not] Or, such as I knew not, took no notice of, they were so base. See the like, #Job 30:8.

They did tear me] sc. With their tongues, as dogs toss and tear carrion with their teeth, Scindunt illud quod reparare nequeunt, non per pcenitentiam, saith Kimchi. They tear that which they cannot make good again, no, not by repentance, viz. my good name. Or, they rent, sc. their garments, as if they had been very sorry for me, as #Ge 37:36 Job 2:12. This they did, as Austin speaketh, simulatione miseriae, non compassione misericordiae, out of deep dissimulation.

Ver. 16. With hypocritical mockers in feasts] Cum sannionibus placentae vel cibi, with hypocritical mockers for a cake or dainties. There is an elegance in the original, which showeth it to be proverbial, and cannot be translated R. Solomon telleth us here, that they who delighted in flatteries gave their flatterers cakes baked with honey, to make them the more to flatter them. Solomon telleth of some that will transgress for a piece of bread, #Pr 28:21. So those parasitic prophets, #Eze 13:19. Or, I am made their table talk, as #Ho 7:8, scornfully deriding me at their feasts and in their cups, Mensarii scurrae.

Ver. 17. Lord, how long wilt thou look on?] i.e. Carry thyself as a spectator of my miseries and a tolerator of mine enemies, those architects of mine afflictions.

Rescue my soul from their destructions] i.e. Their snares and ambushes, whereby they seek to destroy me.

My darling from the lions] {See Trapp on "Ps 22:20"}

Ver. 18. I will give thee thanks in the great congregation] For example’s sake to others; for Magnates magnetos. #Ac 18:8, when Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed, many of the Corinthians believed also. Great men are the looking glasses of the country, according to which most men dress themselves; many eyes are upon them; they had need, therefore, to be exact, for they are sure to be exemplary.

Ver. 19. Neither let them wink with the eye] Which is the gesture of a malicious scoffer, #Pr 6:13 10:10. Ne amarulenter ludificentur me (Trem.).

Ver. 20. For they speak not peace] Which yet God doth to his people, #Ps 85:9, and that is their comfort. "I am for peace," saith David elsewhere, "but when I speak, they are for war," #Ps 120:7.

Against the quiet of the land] i.e. Against myself, and such as I am, who study to be quiet and to do our own business, #1Th 4:11, affecting rather quietness from the world than acquaintance with it.

Ver. 21. They opened their mouth] As if the very banks of blasphemy had been broken down.

Our eye hath seen] Eye for eyes, unless we would say that all the wicked are so conjoined, that they may seem to have but one eye, heart, head, &c., and then they say, as Hannibal did, when he saw a ditch full of man’s blood, O formosum spectaculum! O gallant sight! O rem regiam! as Valesus said, when he had slain three hundred Protestants.

Ver. 22. This thou hast seen, O Lord] This answereth to that before, #Ps 35:21. Our eye hath seen it, as Aben Ezra observeth. So doth

Keep not silence] To that they opened their mouth wide against me. Ibid.

Ver. 23. Stir up thyself and awake] This is the same in effect with the beginning of the psalm; to show his ardour and intention of affection.

Ver. 24. According to thy righteousness] i.e. For the honour of thy justice, wherein else thou art likely to suffer.

And let them not rejoice over me] For I quarter arms, as I may so say, with thee, Lord; and my disgrace will reflect upon thee.

Ver. 25. Ah, so would we have it] Heb. Ah, ah, my soul; that is, our desire; we are voti compotes.

We have swallowed them up] As swine do swill or ravenous beasts their prey.

Ver. 26. Let them be ashamed, &c.] They shall so; and this prayer against the Church’s enemies shall still speak effectually.

Ver. 27. Let them shout for joy, &c.] He concludeth with hearty prayer for the Church, as he doth in various other psalms.

That favour thy righteous cause] Though perhaps they dare do no more than inwardly favour it and by their prayers to God promote it.

Let them say continually, &c.] Let them have continual cause to praise God for this sweet property, that he delighteth in his people’s prosperity, and afflicts them not from his heart, nor grieveth the children of men, but for their greatest good, #La 3:35.

Ver. 28. And my tongue, &c.] I do solemnly promise that thy praises shall never die on my hand, &c.

A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord] See #Ps 18:1, title. Then he had well nigh finished his rule, here he is about to begin it, and therefore assumeth this title. Servus est nomen officii, servant is a name of office or duty. Tertullian saith of Augustus (we may better of David), Gratius ei fuit nomen pietatis, quam potestatis, He took more pleasure in names of duty than of dignity; so those heavenly courtiers rejoice rather to be styled angels, that is, messengers, and ministering spirits, than thrones, principalities, powers, &c.

Chapter 36

Ver. 1. The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart] Some say it is libbi for libbo, Jod for Vau, and render it within (or in the midst of) his own heart; and so make it the same in sense with #Ps 14:1, but these make too bold with the text (Jerome, Vulgate). David, that zealous servant of God, was fully persuaded of, and deeply affected with, the profligate wickedness of some graceless persons (such as were Saul, and his blood-sucking sycophants {malicious accuser}), that they were stark atheists, and had not the least spark of common goodness left in them; that they had neither the fear of God nor shame of the world to rein them in from any outrage. This is mine opinion of them, saith David, I am strongly so conceited, and I will give you my grounds. "I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say."

Ver. 2. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes] This is the first proof of the foregoing charge and the fountain of all the foregoing exorbitances. See the like #2Ti 3:2; there self-love brings all out of order, here self-flattery. Sibi palpum obtrudit, he stroketh himself on the head, and saith, I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst, and rebellion to sin, #De 29:19. Thus he sootheth and smootheth up himself, neither shall any one persuade him but that his penny is as good silver as the best of them all. Thus he calleth evil good and good evil; and, proudly bolstering himself in his sinful practices, he maketh a bridge of his own shadow, and so falleth into the ditch of destruction.

Until his iniquity be found to be hateful] Till God by his judgments uncase him, and men, out of utter hatred of his execrable practices, tell him his own to his teeth. Thus Stephen Gardiner, being charged of cruelty by Mr Bradford, answered in open court, I, for my part, have been challenged for being too gentle oftentimes; which thing Bonnet confirmed, and so did almost all the audience, that he had ever been too mild and moderate. But Doctor Taylor told him another tale, when he said to him, How dare you for shame look me or any Christian man in the face, seeing you have forsaken the truth, denied our Saviour Christ, done contrary to your oath? &c. So Bonner, They report me, said he to the lord mayor, to seek blood, and call me Bloody Bonner; whereas God knows I never sought any man’s blood in all my life. To whom Mr Smith, the martyr, answered, Why, my lord, do you put on this fair vizor before my lord mayor, to make him believe that you seek not my blood, to cloak your murders through my stoutness, as you call it? Have you not had my brother Tomkins before you, whose hand when you had burnt most cruelly, you burnt his whole body; and not only of him, but of a great many of Christ’s members? &c. So, upon the martyrdom of Master Philpot, a certain unknown good woman in a letter to Bonner wrote thus: Indeed, you are called the common cutthroat and general slaughter slave to all the bishops of England; and therefore it is wisdom for me and all other simple sheep of the Lord to keep us out of your butchery stall as long as we can, especially since you have such store already that you are not able to drink all their blood, lest you should break your belly; and therefore you let them lie still, and die for hunger, &c. And soon after, you have broken a pot indeed (Mr Philpot), but the precious word contained therein is so notably therewithal shed abroad, that the sweet savour thereof hath wonderfully well refreshed all the true household, or congregation of Christ, that they cannot abide any more the stinking savour of your filthy ware, that came from the dunghill of Rome, though your lordship’s Judases set them to sale everywhere to fill up your bags, &c. Thus these blood suckers stunk above ground, and it is probable that the saints shall look upon such in the next world, throughout all eternity, with execrable and everlasting detestation.

Ver. 3. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit] That is, saith Calvin, he hath something to say to excuse and justify himself, to the hardening of his heart and hastening of his destruction; and there is no wool so coarse but will take some colour. But God will one day wash off his varnish with rivers of brimstone; he can skill of no other language but that of hell; the words of his mouth are, desiderium et dolus; there is no truth, and as little trust to be put in anything that he speaketh. And why? there is no fear of God before his eyes. See a like text, #Ro 3:13-15.

He hath left off to be wise, and to do good] That little light he once had he hath lost, and cast off such good practices as once in hypocrisy he performed; neither will he learn to do better. Dicit reprobos fugitare rationem bene agendi, ne vitam suam in melius corrigere cogantur, saith Vatablus.

Ver. 4. He deviseth mischief upon his bed] He bendeth his wits and beateth his brains, perdius et pernox, breaking his sleep to plot and plough, to contrive and effect mischief. Vanity or villany is his whole study. He is always either weaving spiders’ webs or hatching cockatrices’ eggs.

He setteth himself in a way that is not good] And there meaneth to keep him, as the word importeth; set he is, and he will not be removed, being every whit as good as ever he meaneth to be. Statuit se; there you left him, and there you may find him, for he is no changeling; and that is a piece of his silly glory.

He abhorreth not evil] Sed studiosissime amplectitur, but doeth wickedly with hands earnestly, and taketh long strides towards hell, which is but a little before him, as if he feared it would be full ere he came thither (Jun.). If he do abstain from any wickedness, yet he abhorreth it not. It is for the evil consequents of sin (viz. shame, loss, punishment) that he forbeareth it; and not because it is offensivum Dei, et aversivum a Dei, an offence against God, and a turning away from God; that is no argument at all to him, sed fertur laxis habenis in quaevis flagitia, but he is hurried headlong into all wickedncsses, as vultures fly swiftly to the most stinking carcases.

Ver. 5. Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens] Yea, far above them, #Ps 108:4, and over all thy good and men’s bad works. Otherwise thou couldest never endure such provocations of the profane rout; who yet live upon thee, and share in thy general goodness, admiratur David incredibilem Dei patientiam, &c. (Vat.).

And thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds] God s mercy goeth usually yoked with his truth, and bounded by it; lest any should presume upon it, considering that God is faithful as well as merciful; faithful, I say, to fulfil both his promises and his menaces too. And as he hath mercy unmeasurable and truth unfailable for his saints, so he hath righteousness and judgments for the wicked, as it followeth.

Ver. 6. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains] Heb. mountains of God, pro more linguae, quae quando magnificat aliquid, addit nomen Dei, ut #Jon 3:3 Ge 30:5 Re 15:2 Ps 68:16 80:11, saith R. David, that is, after the manner of the Hebrew tongue, which, when it would magnify anything, addeth the name of God; because as anything is nearer to God the more excellent it is ( Sic Διος σταλαγμους, Arat. in Diosem, αντι του μεγαλους). The like is to be found also in heathen authors. David meaneth that as God’s mercy is matchless, so his justice is unmoveable; and we are to give him the glory of the one as well as the other, since they are both alike in him; for whatsoever is in God is God.

Thy judgments are a great deep] A fathomless abyss, in quam deiecis impios, et nunquam evadunt, saith Kimchi, wherein the wicked sink irrecoverably. Thy providential dispensations also are past finding out, #Ro 11:33. They are to reason as the sea is to shallows; and therefore we must do by them as the Romans did by a certain lake of unknown depth, they dedicated it to Victory.

O Lord, thou preservest man and beast] Such is thy beneficence, answerable to thy patience before celebrated. Thou not only bearest with men’s evil manners, even to admiration; but abundantly providest for their being and wellbeing; of such, I mean, as walk about the world with hearts as full as hell of all kind of wickedness. Howbeit, bonitas tua ad atheum est sicut illa ad bestiam, saith Kimchi, here thou dost but for the atheist as thou dost for the beast, and by that course of common preservation and kindness which runneth toward all, that none need doubt a providence.

Ver. 7. How excellent (Heb. precious) is thy lovingkindness!] That special love and favour that thou vouchsafest to thine own elect only. Oh, this is incomparable and inexpressible! It maketh a vast difference between the righteous and the wicked, though the blind world observeth it not.

Therefore the children of men] Who are also the children of God, by a better birth, #Joh 1:12,13, and that is their greatest preferment, #1Jo 3:1. Ludovicus, surnamed the Saint, king of France, would needs be called Ludovicus de Pissiaco rather than take greater titles, because there he became a Christian. He thought no birth to a new birth in Christ, no parentage to that of God to his Father.

Put their trust in the shadow of thy wings] As chickens in a storm, or when the puttock threateneth, hover and cover under the hen. See #Ps 91:4 Mt 23:37.

Ver. 8. They shall be abundantly satisfied] Heb. watered, inebriated. They shall be plentifully provided for, as the domestics; they shall have a confluence of all comforts and contentments for this life and a better; for godliness hath the promises of both. Hic locus est consolationis plenissimus, saith one.

And thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasure] And so utterly quench their thirst after the world and sin.

Clitorio quicunque sitim de fonte levarit,

Vina fugit.

Ver. 9. For with thee is the fountain of life] Vena vitae, verae vitae scaturigo, A fountain communicateth its water, and yet is not exhausted. Fontium perennitas, is one of the wonders in nature: what shall we say of this Divine fountain of life, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, overflowing and ever flowing?

In thy light shall we see light] viz. Of knowledge and comfort. What is the air without light? or anything else without God? Absque Deo omnis copia est egestas, saith Bernard. In the former comparison, with thee is the fountain (or vein) of lives, the prophet alludeth either to waters, as is aforesaid, or to metals; to show that as the veins of gold, silver, and the like, do lie in bank in the bosom and bowels of the earth; so doth life in God. Or, to the veins of the body, which, as so many rivers or rivulets, derive their blood from that red sea, the liver. Certain it is, that man hath neither life nor light in himself till it be communicated unto him from God.

Ver. 10. O continue thy lovingkindness] Heb. Draw it out at full length, extend and exercise it, lengthen and perpetuate it. Thus the godly, greatly taken with the sweetness of God’s house, and rapt in the admiration of his transcendant goodness towards them, pray for a continuance thereof; intimating also by the manner of expression that God’s peculiar mercies to his are a continued series; there is a connection between them, yea, a concatenation. And as in a chain one link draweth on another, so doth one mercy another, unless we break the chain by our unthankfulness.

Unto them that know thee…to the upright in heart] Here we have a just description of the heirs of God’s promises, and of the partakers of his peculiar mercies. First, They must be knowing persons; know they must God and his will, themselves and their duties. Secondly, They must be upright in heart; for knowledge without practice is like Rachel, beautiful, but barren; or like rain in the middle region, where it doth no good. "A good understanding have all they that do his precepts," #Ps 111:10, and such only are upright in heart.

Ver. 11. Let not the foot of pride come against me] The wicked do manibus pedibusque obnixe omnia facere, that they may ruin the righteous (Terent.); but God can divert them, manacle them, shackle them, that they shall neither march against his people nor meddle to unsettle their faith. Nevertheless, he looketh to be sought unto for these things, #Eze 36:37 Da 10:12, I came forth for thy word, saith the angel, that is, upon thy prayer.

Ver. 12. There are the workers of iniquity fallen] There, where they plotted or practised the downfall of the righteous; as Henry III of France was stabbed in the same chamber where he and others had contrived the Parisian massacre. God taketh notice of the very place where sin is committed, to punish accordingly; as he did Abimelech, Ahab, the Jews, that cried, "Crucify him! crucify him!" &c.

They are cast down] With a force; the angel of God chasing them, according to my prayer, which now methinks I see to be graciously answered. It must needs go ill with the wicked when the saints shall turn them over to God to be tamed, and taken an order with.

And shall not be able to rise] Because laid for dead by an almighty hand. The righteous falleth seven times in a day, and riseth again; not so the workers of iniquity.

Chapter 37

Ver. 1. Fret not thyself because of evil-doers] Who prosper in the world when better men suffer many times. This made good David sick of the fret, as himself testifieth, #Ps 73:14-16, till better informed and settled, by repairing to the sanctuary, #Ps 73:17. He wrote this thirty-seventh psalm for the good of God’s people; lest they, being scandalized in like manner, and stumbling at the same stone that he had done, should want direction, and so fall into inconvenience, temptation, and a snare. David was old when he wrote this psalm, as appeareth, #Ps 37:25, "I have been young, and now am old," therefore should his counsel here given be the more acceptable. He might as well say to men’s tumultuatiug passions, as once Augustus did to his mutinous soldiers, and thereby quieted them, Audite senem iuveues, quem iuvenem senes audierunt, Hear old men you youth, rather than old men hear the youth. Fret not yourselves, fret not yourselves, I say, to do evil. Be not angry at God, as Jonah was; or aggrieved, as Jeremiah, #Jer 12:1; and Habakkuk, #Hab 1:13; as if the Divine providence did not justly divide to every man his due estate, and do him right; but have patience a while, yea, let patience have line and rope, her perfect work, as St James hath it; and quiet your boiling spirits with that word, wherewith Christ becalmed the raging sea, "Peace; be still." God will unriddle his providences ere long; and then men shall see the reason of all occurrences, and that all was done in singular wisdom. Pompey, beaten out of the field by Caesar, complained that there was a mist over the eye of providence; when as indeed all the fault was in the soreness or dimness of his own eyes, and the twinkling light of Nature’s rush candle. Seneca saw as far and said as much to this matter as a heathen could, in his tract, Cur malis bene sit, &c. Whu is it well for the wicked, But it is the sanctuary alone that can afford sound satisfaction to a soul thus puzzled; as for philosophical comforts and counsels in this case, Cicero said well of them, Nescio quomodo imbecillior est medicina quam morbus, However it cometh to pass, the disease is too hard for the medicine.

Neither be thou envious against, &c.] Their prosperity is their portion, all they are likely to have, #Ps 17:14; and what is it more than a small annuity for term of life, in the utmost part of that large lordship, whereof thou art the heir, and shalt shortly be the possessor? Queen Elizabeth envied the milkmaid, when she was in prison. But if she had known what a glorious reign she should have had afterwards for forty-four years she would not have envied her. And as little needeth a godly man, though in misery, to envy a wicked man in the ruff of all his prosperity and jollity, considering what he hath in hand, much more what he hath in hope.

Ver. 2. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass] Faenea quadam felicitate temporaliter florent, as Austin phraseth it, but their felicity is short-lived; this proud grass shall be mowed down ere long, #Ps 92:7, if not sooner, yet at death howsoever, which unto them is but a trapdoor to hell. Envy me not my grapes, said that soldier, I must die for them. So may wicked men say of their present prosperity, which is but like Haman’s banquet before execution.

Ver. 3. Trust in the Lord, and do good] These and the following are excellent means and medicines against the fret. True faith will trust in God where it cannot trace him; it will also work by love, and by doing good approve itself to be right; as it appeared by the fruits that it was a good land; and as it appeared by the coats that Dorcas was a good woman.

So shalt thou dwell in the land] Heb. Dwell thou in the land, viz. be content with thy lot, not looking at the larger allowances of wicked rich men; who the more they have of the fat of the earth the more they will fry and blaze in hell. Do thou abide in thy station, and serve God’s providence in thy particular calling.

And verily thou shalt be fed] Fed like a sheep, under the conduct and keeping of a good sheppherd, as the word signifieth. Kimchi readeth it, Pasce in veritate, Feed others with the truth; as the lips of the righteous feed many. Tremellius rendereth it, Pascere fide, feed on faith; that is, nourish thyself, and live by it, according to that of Habakkuk, #Hab 2:4, "The just shall live by his faith." Some render it, Pasce fidem, feed faith, sc. by pondering the promises of God, which are, Pabulum fidei, the food of faith. Others, Pascere fideliter, get thy living faithfully and honestly by thy true labour.

Ver. 4. Delight thyself also in the Lord] While others delight in riches and pleasures; as if there were no other happiness but to have and to hold, no sport unless men may have the devil their playfellow. The like counsel hereunto giveth St Paul to his son Timothy, #1Ti 6:12; while others lay hold as with tooth and nail on riches, &c., lay thou hold on eternal life; make God thy portion, and thou art made for ever.

And he shall give thee the desires of thy heart] It shall be unto thee even as thou wilt. It is said of Luther, that he could have what he would of Almighty God. What may not a favourite, who hath the royalty of his prince’s ear, obtain of him? It is said of Sejanus, that in all his designs he found in Tiberius, the emperor, so great facility and affection to his desires, that he needed only to ask and give thanks.

Ver. 5. Commit thy way unto the Lord] Heb. Roll thy way, &c. That is, depend wholly upon him for direction and success in all thine undertakings and affairs; easing thy mind to him by prayer, and casting thyself by faith upon his care and conduct: "Cast thy burden upon the Lord," saith David elsewhere, Volve, i.e. omnem necessitatem in eum exoneres (Kimchi).

Trust also in him] Things are therefore repeated in this psalm, that they may take the better impression, and beget encouragement.

And he shall bring it to pass] It, that is, whatsoever thou committest to him.

Ver. 6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light] God will so oil thy good name that infamy shall not stick to it. Dirt will stick upon a mud wall, not so upon marble. But say thou be aspersed and denigrated by calumnies and contumelies cast upon thee, and thou lie under them for a time, as the earth doth under the darkness of the night; yet as the morning suddenly arising driveth away that darkness, so shall God clear up thy wronged innocence; and as the moon wadeth out of a cloud, so shalt thou get over all thy troubles in this kind or any other; it shall be with thee as it was once with Cato, whom Seneca calleth the lively picture of virtues, who was thirty-two times accused in open court, and as many times cleared and absolved.

And thy judgments as the noonday] At the day of judgment, howsoever, if not sooner; then there will be a resurrection as well of names as bodies.

Ver. 7. Rest in the Lord] Heb. Be silent to the Lord; Digito compesce labellum, lay thine hand upon thy mouth when chafing ripe, when ready to let fly at those that wrong thee. The more silent the patient is the more shrill the wrong will be; as, #Nu 12:2, while Moses is dumb, God speaks; deaf, God hears and stirs; the less he said and did the more God struck in for him: and the less any man striveth for himself the more is God his champion; so he do it to the Lord, that is, in obedience to him, and not for a name, as some heathens did.

And wait patiently for him] Or, put thyself to pain for him; that is, though it go against the hair with thee, and thou find it hard to suffer evil, and to wait patiently for better, yet do it for his sake, and therein thou shalt do thyself no disservice at all.

Who bringeth wicked devices to pass] And pleaseth himself in them, because for present he prospereth; as Dionysius did in his sacrilege, because no harm to him followed upon it. Saeculi laetitia est impunita nequitia, saith Austin.

Ver. 8. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath] Repetitio est, ut magis iuculcet, saith Vatablus; This precept is doubled and redoubled, that we may the better retain and practise it. Angry a man may be, and must be at evildoers, inasmuch as they break God’s law, #Ps 119:134, pollute his name, #Eze 36:20,23 Ro 2:23,24; procure the judgments of God upon others also, #Jos 22:18; pull down swift destruction upon themselves, #2Pe 2:1 Ro 2:5. Thus Moses was angry, #Ex 32:19; and our Saviour, #Mr 3:5; yet not so angry but that they could at some time pity those they were displeased with, and pray for them too. This they that cannot do are inordinately and sinfully angry, and must at any rate suppress such passionate distempers.

Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil] And he shall have nmch ado not to overdo, not to do amiss, that bridleth not his passions; for these, like heavy bodies down steep hills, once in motion, move themselves, and seldom know any ground but the bottom. Ne igitur accendaris ira saltem ad malefaciendum. Kimchi rendereth it, Ne misceas teipsum, Come not in company with the ungodly, at least to do evil; to do as they do. So to those words in the first verse, "Fret not thyself because of evildoers," the Chaldee addeth, to be like unto them.

Ver. 9. For evildoers shall be cut off] Yea, they shall soon be cut off, #Ps 37:10, and so shall all such as, having a while fretted at them, do at length revolt to them; as David was ready to do, once at least, #Ps 73:12-14, and as some others did out and out, as they say, #Ps 37:10, therefore his people return hither to their temporal undoing at least.

But those that wait upon the Lord] For deliverance in due season, and for accomplishment of the promises. All good people are such expectants, and should they die in a waiting condition (for comfort, I mean), yet are they blessed, because God hath said, Blessed are all they that wait for him, #Isa 30:18.

They shall inherit the earth] Having a right to all, as heirs of the world together with faithful Abraham, #Ro 4:13, and although it be detained from them for a while, as the promised land was from the Israelites, by the Amorites, till their sins were full, #Ge 15:16; yet the saints shall one day have power over all things; and meanwhile they are sure of a sufficiency, if not a superfluity. An heir during his minority is many times held to strait allowance, and forced to borrow of servants; so it is with the saints.

Ver. 10. For yet a little while and the wicked, &c.] Tantillum, tantillum, adhuc pauxillum; wait, therefore, and fret not. See #Ps 37:9, the same in effect with this and the next; for more certainty of the matter, and to correct our short spiritedness, who would have things done straight upon it or not at all.

Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place] There is neither root nor branch to be found, tale nor tidings to be heard of him, he is utterly vanished, and banished out of the world.

Ver. 11. But the meek shall inherit the earth] Our Saviour (and probably from hence) saith the same, #Mt 5:5. {See Trapp on "Mt 5:5"} {See Trapp on "Ps 37:9"}

And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace] Because cured of the fret, and well content with their present condition; hence that ευθυμια, rectitude of mind, the mother of all true mirth; when the wicked are in a perpetual disquietude, στασιαζει γαρ αυτων η φυχη, they are never at rest.

Ver. 12. The wicked plotteth against the just] Plotteth and practiseth, being set on by that old manslayer, who lendeth the wicked man his seven heads to plot, and his ten horns to push.

And gnasheth upon him with his teeth] Saying unto him, when he hath laid hold on him, Nunc inveni te, as Kimchi paraphraseth, Now I have found you, and shall be even with you. Art thou come, thou villain? said Stephen Gardiner to Doctor Taylor, martyr, when he first appeared before him. How darest thou look me in the face for shame? Knowest thou not who I am? (Acts and Mon.) Thus that proud prelate, gnashing his teeth, and boasting great matters with his tongue; and he was bravely answered, as hath been before related.

Ver. 13. The Lord will laugh at him] See #Ps 2:4. The righteous also shall have a time to laugh at him, #Ps 52:6, and meanwhile comforteth himself with this, that God laughed at him, and that therefore himself had no great cause to cry, since ridendo irritos reddit, by laughing at them he blasted all their designs, and that with disgrace; men love not to be laughed at.

For he seeth that his day is coming] His dismal day, his death’s day (which will also be his doomsday), that day wherein God hath determined to slay them with their own sword, and to save the righteous; as it is in the two next verses. But especially that last and great day of the world, wherein

Dicetur reprobis, Ite, Venite probis.

He will say to the roprobate, go, and come to the righteous.

Ver. 14. The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow] That they may assault the righteous, both cominus, nearer hand, and eminus, at a distance; for which purpose they come against him (like a walking armoury) with sword, bow, and other instruments of death; as resolved to kill and slay. "We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter," #Ro 8:36.

Ver. 15. Their sword shall enter into their own heart] As did Saul’s, and his armourbearer’s, #1Sa 31:4,5 see #Ps 7:1.

Per quod quis peccat, per idem punitur et ipse.

And their bows shall be broken] Neither their bows only, but their arms also, #Ps 37:17. They shall utterly be disarmed and disabled when once God takes them to do; which is commonly when they are at the strongest and most confident.

Ver. 16. A little that the righteous man hath, &c.] Whereas it was said before, the meek shall inherit the earth, some man might object that sach are commonly poor enough; and that is no small affliction, as the heathens (Menander, Euripides, Alcus, &c.) have affirmed; and experience assureth it. Hereunto it is answered that "a little that the righteous man hath is better," &c., as a box of pearls is more worth than many loads of pebbles. And as a bird with a little eye, and the advantage of a wing to soar with, may see far wider than an ox with a greater; so the righteous, with a little estate, joined with faith, tranquillity, and devotion, may have mere pleasure, feel more comfort, see more of God’s bounty, than one of vast possessions, whose heart cannot lift itself above the earth, as one well observeth. Some render it thus, Better is the little of one righteous man than the plenteous mammon of many wicked. The bee is as well (if not better) content with feeding on the dew, or sucking from a flower, as Behemoth, that grazeth on the mountains. Here the psalmist speaketh, saith Vatablus, of the secret blessing of God; Quia etsi in diem victitent, e caelo tamen non secus ac manna pascuntur; for although they have but from hand to mouth, yet they are fed from heaven, as it were, with manna.

Ver. 17. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken] i.e. His power, valour, all that wherein they think their strength and help standeth. See #Ps 37:15; the strongest sinew in the arm of flesh cracks.

But the Lord upholdeth the righteous] Though seemingly never so weak and wealthless.

Ver. 18. The Lord knoweth the days of the upright] In bonum novit, #Ps 1:6 id est prolongat, saith Kimchi; he knoweth, that is, he acknowledgeth, approveth, hath a gracious regard unto, their days and the events thereof; he hath decreed to a minute how long they shall suffer, and what happiness shall succeed their sufferings.

And their inheritance shall be for ever] Here long; and hereafter eternal. What they want here, shall be there made up abundantly.

Ver. 19. They shall not be ashamed] They shall hold up their heads when others droop; neither shall they be without comfort in times of common calamity, as Noah was— media tranquillus in unda.

And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied] God will work wonders rather than they shall want anything that is good for them; as he fed the Israelites in the wilderness, Elijah by the ravens, Jeremiah by a special providence in the siege. As Rochelle was relieved by an extraordinary shoal of fish cast in upon them by Divine providence. And as Leyden, besieged by the Duke of Alva and forced for their sustenance to search and scrape dunghills, to boil old leather, &c., was rescued by the turning of the winds and swelling of the tide, which forced the duke to raise the siege and be gone.

Ver. 20. But the wicked shall perish] In tbe midst of their wealth and greatest abundance; their money shall perish with them.

And the enemies of the Lord] These are worse than those wicked aforementioned, said Theodoret; they are such as go on still in their trespasses, #Ps 68:21.

Shall be as the fat of lambs] Which in sacrifices was wholly to be burnt and consumed, #Le 3:15-17.

Into smoke shall they consume away] Smoke the higher it ascendeth the sooner it vanisheth. Quanto fuerit globus ille grandior, tanto vanter, saith Austin. They shall be consumed in the smoke of Gehenna, or hell, saith the Chaldee here.

Ver. 21. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again] Either because he cannot, he is so unable; or because he cares not, he is so unconscionable, Non sunt reddendo. But in the midst of his wealth he is many times wanting; in the fulness of his sufficiency he is in straits; and to supply his necessities, sticketh long in the usurer’s furnace, which leaveth him at last neither metal nor matter.

But the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth] Of that which is his own, to which end he hath a great care to pay his debts. When Archbishop Cranmer discerned the storm which after fell upon him in Queen Mary’s days, he took express order for the payment of all his debts, which, when it was done, a most joyful man was he. How hospitable he was and liberal, Tremellius testifieth in his epistle before his Comment on Hosea.

Ver. 22. For such as be blessed of him, &c.] See #Ps 37:9,11.

Shall be cut off] In hoc saeculo et future, saith Kimchi. Or this verse may be taken as a reason of the former, viz. why are wicked rich men so necessitated and righteous men so enabled, enlarged? God curseth the one, but blesseth the other, and that is it which maketh the odds between them.

Ver. 23. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord] Heb. The steps of a man; for good men only are reckoned of by God, #Jer 5:1. So a wife is put for a good wife, #Pr 18:22. A bad wife is but (according to Lamech’s second wife’s name) Zillah, that is, the shadow of a wife. Now, as God chose out the Israelites’ way for them all along the wilderness; so he doth still for those that are good, not always the shortest way, but the safest; not always the straightest way, but that which most conduceth to their journey’s end. As therefore Israel in the wilderness, so must we follow God, though he seem to lead us in and out, backward and forward, as if we were treading a maze.

And he delighteth in his way] His way it is called, for encouragement sake, though it be God alone who chooseth and chalketh out his way, yea, causeth him to keep his commandments, Ezek. xxvi. Certum est nos facere quod facimus; sed ille facit ut faciamus. God doth all our works for us.

Ver. 24. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down] See #Pr 24:16. If he fall, yet he falleth forward; and if he be cast down, yet be continueth not, Quum ruit non corruit (Vat.); so #2Co 4:9; as do the wicked, #Eze 32:4, whom God casteth into the briers, and there leaveth them.

For the Lord upholdeth him with his hand] God’s hand is still under his; and his goodness lower than they can fall. His supporting grace preserveth them from utter recidivation; his Almighty power, from utter destruction.

Ver. 25. I have been young, &c.] Here he recordeth an experiment of his (such as whereof #Ps 119 is mostly made up), and if other men’s experiences agree not altogether with his, it is no wonder; kings use not to mind beggars. Or he might only mean vagrants; according to that, "Let their children be vagabonds, and beg their bread." Good men may be compelled to crave their bread, as David himself did of Ahimelech, the high priest; as Elijah did of the widow of Sarepta; as those pauperes de Lugduno, and many others have lived upon alms. But seldom or never have good people needed to crave relief of the ungodly.

Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken] Left he may be for a time, as the lion leaveth his whelps till they are almost famished, and have well-nigh killed themselves with roaring, to make them more hardy and valiant, but never forsaken, no, though he beg his bread; because God hath said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." The righteous is never forsaken, nor his seed too, said Mr Perkins. God may cast godly parents into want, but their godly children shall surely he blessed. Others understand by righteous here, merciful men, who give alms for the love of God, and therefore come not to poverty, #Ps 112:5,9 Pr 11:24,25 Ps 41:1. See Mr Bradford’s sweet letter to Mr John Hall and his wife, prisoners for the gospel (Acts and Mon. 1495).

Ver. 26. He is ever merciful, and lendeth] Heb. Every day, according to others’ necessity and his own ability; for to stretch beyond the staple were to mar all. But he is ever "ready to distribute, willing to communicate," #1Ti 6:17, as Mr Wiseheart, the Scotch martyr, whose charity had never an end, night, day, nor noon, saith Mr Fox; and Thomas Tomkins, an English martyr, very forward to lend, looking for nothing again.

And his seed is blessed] Heb. is in the blessing, that is, receiveth grace and communication of all true goodness from God; and praises, goodwill, and good wishes from men (Diod.).

Ver. 27. Depart from evil, and do good] See #Ps 34:14.

And dwell for evermore] Sine indigentia, saith Kimchi, without such indigency and poverty as may drive thee abroad, and make thee beg thy bread. Universal righteousness secureth a man from such straits.

Ver. 28. For the Lord loveth judgment] See #Ps 11:7.

But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off] See #Job 18:19, {See Trapp on "Job 18:19"}

Ver. 29. The righteous shall inherit, &c.] This verse hath been expounded before, and is here repeated for more assurance, Verba toties inculcata viva sunt, vera sunt, sana sunt, plana sunt.

Ver. 30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom] Having spoken of the privileges of the righteous, he now describeth them, Tales autem sunt non quicunque nomen iustorum praetexunt, &c. Such are not all they that pretend to righteousness, or can talk of it; but that can speak of it fruitfully, feelingly, and from an outward principle. And as he talketh, so he walketb, ne dicta factis erubescant, as Tertullian hath it; lest his life should seem to give the lie to his lips.

Ver. 31. The law of his God is in his heart] He hath a Bible in his head and another in his heart; he hath a good treasure within, and there hence bringeth good things; he speaketh not by rote, and as a bungler, or as a philosopher only; but by proof, and as one that can say, I believed, I have felt it, and therefore have I spoken.

None of his steps shall slide] How should they, when they walk so exactly, and by such a rule? Jeremiah holding to it, durst say, Lord, if I am deceived, thou hast deceived me.

Ver. 32. The wicked wateheth the righteous] See #Ps 10:8-10, {See Trapp on "Ps 10:8"} {See Trapp on "Ps 10:9"} {See Trapp on "Ps 10:10"} Speculatur, he accurately observeth, looking this way and that, as a watchman in a watch tower. Thus Saul eyed David, and laid out for him. Thus Jeroboam watched those of the ten tribes that went to Jerusalem to worship, he watched them, and waylaid them, #Ho 5:1.

And seeketh to slay him] All malice is bloody, and there want not those still that carry about Cain’s bloody club, hating to the death that goodness in another that they neglect in themselves.

Ver. 33. The Lord will not leave him in his hand] For he knoweth how to deliver his, #2Pe 3:9, as that apostle could say by good experience, #Ac 13:50, when he was inter saxum et sacrum, as they say.

Nor condemn him, when he is judged] Heb. Condemn him for wicked; but clear and acquit him when falsely accused, yea, when wrongfully condemned.

Ver. 34. Wait on the Lord] Bind him not to a day, wake not the Beloved till he please.

Keep his way] For, out of God’s precincts out of his protection.

When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it] See and smile, look and laugh, #Ps 52:6,7, {See Trapp on "Ps 52:6"} {See Trapp on "Ps 52:7"}

Ver. 35. I have seen the wicked in great power] Or, formidable to others; first, a terror, and, shortly after, a scorn.

And spreading himself like a green bay tree] Or, cedars of Lebanon, as the Greek hath it, i.e. priding himself in his great prosperity.

Ver. 36. Yet he passed away, &c.] The Greek and Latin have it, I passed by. See #Ps 37:10. How soon and utterly withered and wasted the fig tree Christ cursed! so forcible is his curse.

Ver. 37. Mark the perfect man, &c.] As we must treasure up experiences ourselves; so we must stir up others to do the like. There is a woe to such as consider not the operation of God’s hands, #Isa 5:12.

For the end of that man is peace] Though his beginning and middle may be troublesome, yet his end (his after end, at least) shall be peace. He shall by death enter into peace, rest in his bed, #Isa 57:2.

Ver. 38. But the transgressors, &c.] Here the end is worse than the beginning. Sin ever ends tragically.

The end of the wicked shall be cut off] Their end is not death, but destruction; they are killed with death, #Re 2:23, life and hope end together.

Ver. 39. But the salvation of the righteous, &c.] Etenim ut paucis omnia complectar, their salvation, temporal and eternal, is of the Lord; so is also the destruction of the wicked, as is here necessarily implied.

He is their strength, &c.] That they faint not, sink not under the heaviest burden of their light afflictions, which are but for a moment.

Ver. 40. And the Lord shall help them, &c.] He shall, he shall, he shall. Oh the rhetoric of God! the safety of the saints! the certainty of the promises!

A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance] Made purposely for a memorial, both of what he had suffered and from what he had been delivered. See #1Ch 16:4 Ex 30:16 Le 2:2 6:15. Recordatio autem intelligitur miseriae ex misericordia, #Ps 132:1 Isa 62:6 63:7. It is probable that David had so laid to heart the rape of his daughter Tamar, the murder of his eldest son, Amnon, the flight of his next son, Absalom, and other troubles that befell him (Basil thinks Absalom’s conspiracy, Ahithophel’s perfidy, Shimei’s insolence, &c.), that it cost him a great fit of sickness; out of which hardly recovering, he penned this and some other psalms (as the 35th, 39th, 40th), but this especially, for a memento, to remind him of his own recent misery and God’s never failing mercy to him. Both these we are wondrous apt to forget, and so both to lose the fruit of our afflictions, by falling afresh to our evil practices (as children soon forget a whipping), and to rob God, our deliverer, of his due praises; like as with children eaten bread is soon forgotten. Both these mischiefs to prevent, both in himself and others (for we are bound not only to observe God’s law, but also to preserve it as much as may be from being broken), David composed this psalm, for to record, or to cause remembrance (see the like title, #Ps 70:1), and for a form for a sick man to pray by, as Kimchi noteth; not to be sung for those in purgatory, as some Papists have dreamed.

Chapter 38

Ver. 1. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath] He beginneth and endeth the psalm with petitions, filleth it up with sad complaints; wherein we shall find him groaning, but not grumbling; mourning, but not murmuring, for that is not the guise of God’s people. He beginneth with Eheu Iehova non recuso coargui et castigari. "Correct me, O Lord, but with judgment; not in anger, lest thou bring me to nothing," #Jer 10:24. See #Ps 6:1. {See Trapp on "Ps 6:1"}

Ver. 2. For thine arrows stick fast in me] i.e. Sicknesses of body and troubles of mind, #Job 6:4 Ps 18:14. The Jewish doctors say, that he had a leprosy for six months; and that the Divine presence was taken away from him; so that he complained not without uause (R. Obadiah). But these were sagittae salutis, saith Chrysostom; arrows of salvation, love tokens from the Lord, Dens amat quos sagittat (Aug.), not unlike Jonathan’s arrows, #1Sa 20:36, and he had been forewarned of them by Nathan the prophet, #2Sa 12:9-12, and so bore them the better. Praevisa iacula minus feriunt, Darts foreseen are in a manner dintless.

And thy hand presseth me sore] Heb. Thou lettest down thy hand upon me. Now, God’s hand is a mighty hand, #1Pe 5:6, and the weight of it is importable, but that una eademque manus, &c.

Ver. 3. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger] This was the immediate cause of David’s misery, it came from love displeased; and scandalous sins seldom scape better. But, blessed be our Almighty physician, who bringeth health out of sickness, by bringing thereby the body of death into a consumption.

Neither is there any rest in my bones] Bis repetit, more lugentium. He saith the same thing twice, as mourners use to do; but with an aggravation of his pain, reaching to his very bones.

Because of my sin] This was the remote cause of his present sufferings; and is the true mother of all man’s misery. Now when these two (God’s wrath and man’s sin) meet in the soul, as medicine and sickness in the stomach, there must needs be much unrest till they be vomited up by confession. It is as natural for guilt to breed disquiet as for putrid matter to breed vermin. Let God therefore be justified, and every mouth stopped.

Ver. 4. For mine iniquities are gone over my head] So that I am even overwhelmed by them, and almost drowned in perdition and destruction. Sicut aquae praevalentes in quibus erat absorptus (Kimchi). The gospel is post naufragium tabula; and assureth us that God hath cast all our sins into the bottom of the sea; and this keepeth the head of a sinking soul above-water.

As an heavy burden] How light soever sin seemeth in the committing, it will lie full heavy, even as a talent of lead, #Zec 5:7, or as a huge mountain, #Heb 12:1, when once we come to a sight and sense of it, when God’s wrath and man’s sin shall face one another, as the former verse hath it, according to the original. A facie irae tuae. A facie peccati mei. A facie stultitiae meae. From the face of your wrath, from the face of my sin, from the face of my foolishness.

Ver. 5. My wounds stink and are corrupt] What his grief or disease was we read not; some say the leprosy; some take all this allegorically. The word rendered wounds, signifieth stripes, scars, wales, Livores vibices tumices, mattery sores, running ulcers, the effects of the envenomed arrows of the Almighty. Could we but foresee what sin will cost us we durst not but be innocent. That we do not is extreme foolishness, as David here acknowledgeth.

Because of my foolishness] In not considering beforehand the heinousness of my sin nor the heaviness of the divine displeasure. The word signifieth unadvised rashness, #Pr 14:17, and it is probable he meaneth his great sin with Bathsheba, wherein he was miscarried by his lusts to his costs. See #Ps 107:17,18. Because of my foolishness, i.e. Quia non praeveni Nathanem confessione, saith R. Obadiah, because I anticipated not Nathan’s coming, by a voluntary confession of my sin unto the Lord.

Ver. 6. I am troubled (Heb. wryed;) I am bowed down, &c.] Incurvus et prorsus obstipus, atroque vultu squallidus, vix corpus traho, I am a pitiful poor creature, and in a most heavy condition, as appeareth by my gait, my gesture, my looks, and habit. See #Ps 35:14.

Ver. 7. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease] The loins, those scats of lust, are now grievously inflamed and pained with some imposthumated matter or pestilential carbuncle: Morbo vilissimo quem nominare dedecet, saith Aben Ezra. Femora mea prorsus occupat ardens uleus (Vat.). In quibus est concupiscentia (Theodoret). God oft punisheth sin in kind, and speaketh to the conscience in its own language, that such a sickness was the fruit of such a sin.

And there is no soundness in my flesh]

Principium dulce est, sed finis Amoris amarus,

Laeta venire Venus, tristis abire solet.

Sin is as the poison of asps, which first tickles him that is stung, and maketh him laugh; till, by little and little, it gets to the heart and then puts him to intolerable torture.

Ver. 8. I am feeble and sore broken] Through the length and nature of my distemper, #Isa 38:10,12. The same Hebrew word signifieth pining sickness and a thrum, because of the thinness and weakness of it.

I have roared] But not repined. This nature prompteth to, when we are in extremity; and grace is not against it.

Ver. 9. Lord, all my desire is before thee] Confused desires, broken requests, if from a broken spirit, are upon the file of heaven, and stand before God till they may have an answer.

And my groaning is not hid from thee] No, not my breathing, #La 3:56. God can feel breath; but the groanings of his people go to his heart.

Ver. 10. My heart panteth] Heb. runneth about, or is tossed to and fro, circuivit cor meum, inordinate movetur, et non quiescit, saith Aben Ezra. The Hebrew word signifieth such a kind of motion as that of merchants, who run up and down from one country to another. Also the two last radicals are doubled; to note that it is more than an ordinary stirring and motion of the spirit, because it is not come to its rest. All earthly things to the soul are but as the air to the stone; can give it no stay till it come to God, the centre. As the circle is the most perfect figure, because it beginneth and endeth, the points do meet together, as (mathematicians give the reason) the last point meeteth in the first, from whence it came. So shall we never come to perfection or satisfaction (saith the reverend man) till our souls come to God, till God make the circle meet, &c. The wicked walk the round from one creature to another, #Ps 12:8, but they come not at God; and hence they are so dissatisfied. Return to thy rest (Heb. rests), saith David to his soul, that is, to God, to whom he here maketh his moan. Miser animus in varias subinde partes abreptus me deserit.

As for the light of mine eyes] That lumen ami cum of mine eyes is almost quite benighted.

Ver. 11. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore] Heb. my stroke, which, therefore, some Jewish doctors will have to be the leprosy, which was noisome and contagious; and, therefore, by the law of God, none were to come near such, Prae horrore detrectantes accedere (Trem.). So among the Persians none might come near a Pisaga (so they called a leper), and therefore Megabyzus, having offended Artaxerxes, kept himself five years from court, pretending himself a leper, and in that space made his peace with the king (Ctes. Pers.). But in David’s friends, who dealt thus with him, it was not so much fear of danger as pride and perfidy that made them deny him all duty and friendship, #Ps 31:11. Job was so used, #Job 6:15; and our Saviour, when he hung naked on the cross, #Lu 23:49; and St Paul, when he made his defence before Nero, #2Ti 4:16. So was not Orestes by his friend Pylades, nor Damon by his Pythias, nor Achilles by Patroclus, which made Alexander cry out, O felicem iuvenem! O faithful youth, Trouble trieth who are friends, who traitors (Sophoc.; Val. Max.; Plutarch in Alex.).

Ver. 12. They also that seek after my life] That seek and would suck my blood. As his friends were slack to help him, so his foes were active to hurt him. This David relateth before the Lord, that he may pity him, and be so much the more engaged to him; for he knew that where human help faileth divine beginneth.

Speak mischievous things] Exitialia, such things as wring from me that lamentable voice, Woe and Alas, woeful evils, תווה from יוה, voce σχετλιαστικη.

And imagine deceits] Or, Murmur.

Ver. 13. But I, as a deaf man, heard not] But possessed any soul in patience; in quietness and confidence was my strength, #Isa 30:15. As they were masters of their tongues, so was I of mine ears. He that cannot bear calumnies, reproaches, and injuries, cannot live, saith Chytraeus; let him even make up his pack, and get him out of the world. Virus Theodorus sends to advise with Melancthon what to do when Osiander preached against him? Melancthon desired him for God’s sake to make no reply, but to behave himself as a deaf man, that heard not. Virus writeth back that this was very hard; yet he would obey. Another bravely answered one that railed upon him, Facile est in me dicere, cum non sim responsurus, Thou mayest speak what thou wilt, but I will hear no more than I wish, and punish thee with silence, or rather with a merry contempt. Princes use not to chide when ambassadors offer them indecencies, but to deny them audience. That man certainly enjoyeth a brave composedness who setteth himself above the flight of the injurious claw.

And I was as a dumb man, &c.] He answered them by silence and taciturnity; which is the best answer to words of scorn and petulance. Thus Isaac answered his brother Ishmael; and our Saviour Pilate, Herod, and Caiaphas; and Giles of Brussels, when the barking friars reviled him, held his peace continually; insomuch that those blasphemers would say abroad that he had a dumb devil in him. This is a great victory, not to render evil for evil, or railing for railing, #1Pe 3:9. Nihil fortius, nihil magis egregium quam audire noxia, et non respondere contraria, saith Cassiodore, Nothing is more courageous, or egregious, than to hear reproaches and return no answer. As, on the contrary, In rixa is inferior est qui victor est, In a brawl he goes by the worst that hath the better, saith Basil. And, Sile, et funestam dedisti plagam, saith Chrysostom, Say nothing in such a case, and thou thereby giveth thine adversary a deadly blow.

Ver. 14. Thus I was as a man that heareth not] He doubleth his speech, to show his holy pertinace in a prudent and patient silence, though greatly provoked. David was, as it is reported of Severus, the emperor, επιμελης των πρακτεων, careful of what was to be done by him, but careless of what was said of him by others. As Augustus, he did but laugh at the satires and buffooneries published against him. He knew that as physical pills must not be chewed, but swallowed whole; so must many injuries and indignities, Convitia spreta exolescunt.

Ver. 15. For in thee, O Lord, do I hope] This was the ground of his patience, and differenced it from that of heathens, which was rather pertinace than patience, and came not from a right principle.

Thou wilt hear] Or answer; and, therefore, what need is there of my answer?

Ver. 16. For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise, &c.] He spread their vile speeches before the Lord, as afterwards good Hezekiah did Rabshakeh’s letter; and as it was said of Charles V., that he spake more to God than to men; so did David. His former silence, therefore, was not either from stupidity (a sheep bitten by a dog is as sensible thereof as a swine, though he make not so great a noise) or inability to make his own defence, if it had been to any purpose, for he was both innocent and eloquent; but he thought it far better to sustain himself in faith and patience, and meekly to commit himself to God in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator. Besides, he feared lest if he spake at all in this case, he should speak unadvisedly with his lips (as it is very easy to exceed), and so give occasion to the enemy to triumph, as the Papists did over Luther, for his hot and hasty speeches.

When my foot slippeth] Or, When my tongue lasheth out in the least, they desire no other sport, but lay it in my dish as a foul disgrace. My motto, therefore, shall be, and my practice according, Taceo, Fero, Spero, I say nothing, but suffer, and hope for better.

Ver. 17. For I am ready to halt] i.e. To misbehave mysetf and so to mar a good cause by ill-managing it, and then what will become of thy great name? This is a very forcible motive to prevail with a jealous and just God.

And my sorrow is continually before me] That is, my sin, as #Ec 11:10: or, my sorrow, but much more my sin the cause of it.

Ver. 18. For I will declare mine iniquity] To them that visit me in this disease, saith Aben Ezra, that they may pray for me, according to #Jas 5:16; or rather to God, that he may pardon me and ease me. Or thus, When I declare, &c. Then

Ver. 19. Mine enemies are lively, &c.] q.d. It is nuts to them, and they soon compose comedies out of my tragedies, growing more insolent by mine afflictions, and upbraiding me with my sins.

Ver. 20. They also that render evil for good] While they rejoice at my misery, who fasted for them in their adversity, #Ps 35:15.

Are mine adversaries] Heb. They satanically hate me, as if they were transformed into so many breathing devils.

Because I follow the thing that good is] This was devil-like indeed; this was to hate and persecute God in David (Tertul.). Thus Cain, the devil’s patriarch, hated his brother Abel, and slew him. And why? "Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous," #1Jo 3:12. For like cause Moab fretted at Israel, #Nu 22:3,4, and the courtiers at Daniel, #Ps 6:5.

Ver. 21. Forsake me not, O Lord] This was that he most of all feared, spiritual desertion. So Jeremiah, Be not thou a terror unto me, O God; and then I care not what else can befall me.

O my God, be not far from me] Though my friends stand aloof, #Ps 38:11, yet be thou ever at hand to help me.

Ver. 22. Make haste to help me] Nam mora frangit etiam fortes, God oft delayeth, that he may set an edge on our desires; he holdeth us in request, that he may commend his blessings to us.

Chapter 39

Ver. 1. I said, I will take heed] He resolved so, #Ps 38:13,14, sc. to continue as one deaf and dumb, to use Isaac’s apology to scoffing Ishmael, viz. no apology, unless it be that which is real; for vivendo melius arguuntur obtrectatores, quam loquendo, slanderers and railers are best answered by silence. Eiusdem sensus est hic Psalmus cum priori (Kimchi).

That I sin not with my tongue] A hard task, a long lesson, as Pambus, in the Ecclesiastical History, found it by experience; and after many years’ trial could not take it out. For the tongue is an unruly member; and "if any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body," #Jas 3:2. David resolved to temper his tongue, and to keep a bridle or a muzzle for his mouth, while he was in extremity of pain, and in the presence of the wicked, who lay at the catch, and would soon exclaim; but his heart deceived him, for he quickly after brake his word, #Ps 39:3, and made a rash request, #Ps 39:4, so great need is there that the best pray to God to keep the door, as #Ps 141:3.

Ver. 2. I was dumb with silence] As not willing either to open the mouths of those dead dogs or to cast pearls before those sensual swine.

I held my peace, even from good] That good which I might have spoken in mine own defence and their reproof, ne miscerem illud cum malo, saith one, lest some evil should be mingled with it; as mud and gravel is with the clear water that runs down a current. Intellige de bono licito, non de bono necessario et praecepto.

And my sorrow was stirred] Heb. troubled; though I had somewhat to do to do it. Corruption must be curbed and kept in by violence, #Jas 1:26.

Hanc fraenis, hanc tu compesce catenis.

Ver. 3. My heart was hot within me] It was almost suffocated for want of vent. By heat of heart and fire kindled, saith one, the prophet meaneth, not only the greatness of his grief, as they that are grievously sick feel great force and power of heat; but he meaneth also some motions that he had to impatience and fretting; to which fault they are very much subject that are hot, and given to heat: thus he. This distemper to prevent, God and Nature have placed the heart near unto the lungs, ut cum ira accenditur, pulmonis humore temperetur, that, when it is heated with wrath, it may be cooled and qualified by the allay of the lungs.

While I was musing the fire burned] This showeth that thoughts and affections are the mutual causes one of another; so that thoughts kindle affections, and these cause thoughts to boil. And hence it is, saith a reverend man (Dr Goodwin), that new converts, having new and strong affections, can with more pleasure think of God than any.

Then spake I with my tongue] But better he had held his tongue, according to his first resolution. The Greeks have a saying, Let a man either keep silence or speak that which is better than silence. Austin paraphraseth thus: When I refrained so from speaking, for fear of speaking evil, that I spake no good, I was troubled at this my silence, lest my sin should be counted greater for this silence than my virtue in refraining from speaking evil.

Ver. 4. Lord, make me to know mine end] This Austin expoundeth of heaven, the end of all his troubles, which he now sighed after. But Vatablus, Calvin, and most modern interpreters conceive that David doth here ingenuously confess that he grudged against God; considering the greatness of his grief and the shortness of his life.

And the measure of my days] An ad malorum quae perfero compensationem sufficiant, whether they are likely to be enough to make me amends for nay grievous sufferings. This he seemeth to speak either out of impatience, or curiosity, at least.

That I may know how frail I am] How soon ceasing and short lived. Quam durabilis sum (Trem.). Vatablus hath it, quam mundanus sim, how long I am like to be a man of this world, this vale of misery and valley of tears.

Ver. 5. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth] i.e. Four fingers broad (which is one of the least geometrical measures, or a spanlong), as some interpret it. Now, to spend the span of this transitory life after the ways of a man’s own heart is to bereave himself of a room in that city of pearl, and to perish for ever. Or take it for a handbreadth; should a man, having his lands divided into four parts (answerable to those four fingers’ breadth), leave three of them untilled? should he not make the best of that little time that he hath, that he be not taken with his task undone? Themistocles died about a hundred and seven years of age; and when he was to die he was grieved upon this ground: Now I am to die, saith he, when I begin to be wise. But stultus semper incipit vivere, saith Seneca; and such complaints are bootless. Oh live quickly, live apace, and learn of the devil at least to be most busy, as knowing that our time is short, #Re 12:12. To complain of the miseries of life, and to wish for death, as David here seemeth to do (and as did Job, #Job 3:19 6:9 7:15; and Moses, #Nu 11:11,15; Elijah, #1Ki 19:4; Jeremiah, #Jer 20:14; Jonah, #Jon 4:3), is a sign of a prevailing temptation, and of a spirit fainting under it. We must fight against such impatience; and learn to do the like by life, as we do by a lease, wherein, if our time be short, we rip up the grounds, eat up the grass, cut down the underbrush, and take all the liberty the lease will afford.

Mine age is as nothing] Heb. My world, that is, my time of abroad in the world, is but a magnum Nihil, as one saith of honour, Puncture est quod vivimus, et puncto minus; a mere salve vale, hello and goodbye a nonentity.

Verily every man at his best state] When he is best constituted and underlaid, set to live, as one would think, firmus et fixus, settled on his best bottom, yet even then be is all over vanity. Profecto omnimoda vanltas omnis homo est quantumvis constitutus maxime (Tremel.). All Adam is all Abel, as the original runs elegantly, alluding to those two proper names, like as #Ps 144:3,4, Adam is Abel’s mate, or man is like to a soon vanishing vapour; such as is the breath of one’s mouth, {see #Jas 4:14} a feeble flash, a curious picture of nothing.

Ver. 6. Surely every man walketh in a vain show] Heb. in an image, or in a shadow, as #Job 14:2; in the shadow of death, as some sense it; his life is like a picture drawn upon the water, saith Theodoret; it passeth away as a hasty, headlong torrent. Verily, surely, surely, it is so; Selah, you may seal to it.

Surely they are disquieted in vain] Heb. They keep a stir, and trouble the world, as did great Alexander; who, surfeiting of his excessive fortunes, from the darling of heaven, came to be the disdain of the earth, which he had so oft disquieted. Two fits of an ague could shake great Tameriane to death. So the Emperor Adrian, who, troubling himself and others to little good purpose, died with this saying in his mouth, Omnia fui, et nihil profuit, I have tried all conclusions, but got nothing. And saith not Solomon as much in his Ecclesiastes?

He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them] i.e. Enjoy them. See #Ec 2:18,19, and be moderate. Think when you lock up your money in your chest, saith one, who shall shortly lock you up in your coffin. Think how that this very night thy soul may be required of thee; and then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? #Lu 12:20.

Ver. 7. And now, Lord, what wait I for?] q.d. Absit ergo ut de istis quisquiliis sim anxius, Far be it from me to trouble myself about these transitory trifles; I am bent to depend on thee alone, to wait for thy favour, and desire it above all earthly felicity; to place all my hope on thee alone (Beza), who, being my Lord, wilt not, canst not cast off thy poor servant, who desireth to fear thy name.

Ver. 8. Deliver me from all my transgressions] But especially from that of impatiently desiring to die out of discontent, #Ps 39:4. The sense of this one sin brought many more to remembrance; as a man, by looking over his debt book for one thing, meets with more. God giveth the penitent general discharges; neither calleth he any to an after reckoning.

Make me not the reproach of the foolish] Let not any wicked one (for such are all fools in God’s dictionary) lay this folly in my dish, that I so foolishly desired death in a pet.

Ver. 9. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth] Or better thus, I should have been dumb, and not have opened my mouth, according to my first resolution. I should not have reasoned, or rather wrangled, with thee, as #Ps 39:4, but have kissed thy rod in a humble submission, and have known that the rod of Aaron and pot of manna must go together. Macrobius writeth that the image of Angeronia among the old Romans was placed on the altar of Volupia with the mouth closed and sealed up; to signify, that such as patiently and silently bear their griefs do thereby attain to greatest pleasures.

Because thou didst it] This is indeed a quieting consideration, and will notably quell and kill unruly passions. Set but God before them when they are tumultuating, and all will be soon hushed. This made Jacob so patient in the rape of his daughter Dinah; Job, in the loss of his goods by the Sabaean spoilers; David, in the barkings of that dead dog Shimei; that noble lord of Plessis, in the loss of his only son, a gentleman of marvellous great hopes, slain in the wars of the Low Countries. His mother, more impatient, died of the grief of it; but his father laid his hand on his mouth when God’s hand was on his back; and used these very words, "I was dumb, and opened not my mouth, because thou didst it."

Ver. 10. Remove thy stroke away from me] Having first prayed off his sin, he would now pray off his pain, though it less troubled him; and for ease he repaireth to Jehovah, that healeth as well as woundeth, #Ho 6:1.

— nam qui tibi vulnera fecit,

Solus Achilleo tollere more potest

(Ovid. Trist).

I am consumed by the blow of thine hand] Heb. By the conflict or buffetings. Oh, keep out of his fingers, for it is a fearful thing to fall into them, #Heb 10:31, Cavebis autem si pavebis.

Ver. 11. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity] Or shouldest thou but correct him according to his iniquity; correct him, I say, or instruct him. Kimchi’s note here is, Morbi sunt interpretes inter Deum et homines increpantes, ut #Job 33:19. Diseases are God’s chiding messages or real rebukes.

Thou makest his beauty] Heb. whatsoever in him is desirable, all his prime and pride, pulchritudinem et praestantiam, his beauty and bravery, as that of Jonah’s gourd.

To consume away like a moth] Heb. To melt away as a moth, which is easily crushed between one’s fingers, #Job 4:19; or actively, as a moth, caeco morsu, doth secretly and suddenly consume the most precious garment, so dost thou the wicked by thy secret curse, though themselves or others little observe it. Quamvis non palam fulminet e caelo Deus (Vat.).

Surely every man is vanity. Selah] See #Ps 39:5.

Ver. 12. Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear, &c.] My prayer, my cry, my tears. See how his ardency in prayer grew by degrees, and so availed much, #Jas 5:16. We must rise in our requests, pray, cry, weep, ask, seek, knock, let the Lord see that we are in good earnest; and then we may have anything. Tears have a voice, and are very effectual orators.

For I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner] And in that respect subject to many miseries and molestations, Satanical and secular, till I shall repatriasse, get home (as Bernard expresseth it); and this was the condition of all my godly predecessors, who yet found favour with thee, and so I hope shall I.

Ver. 13. O spare me, that I may recover strength] Ut refociller, reficiar. Job maketh the like request, #Job 10:20. Some breathing while they would have, and a time to recollect themselves, before that last, great encounter. They say in effect, Differ, habent parvae commoda magna morae.

Before I go hence, and be no more] No more seen among men. It is said that Richard III caused the dead corpses of his two smothered nephews to be closed in lead, and so put in a coffin full of holes, and hooked at the ends with two hooks of iron; and so be cast into a place called the Black Deeps, at the Thames’ mouth, whereby they should never rise up nor be any more seen. "Joseph is not, and Simeon is not," #Ge 42:36. The righteous perish, #Isa 57:1. When once I go hence, saith David here, viz. to my long home, #Ec 12:5, there will be a Non ego, an end of me and to this world; wherefore I beg a little respite.

Σοι μεν τουτο, Θεε, σμικρον, εμοι δε μεγα.

Chapter 40

Ver. 1. I waited patiently for the Lord] Heb. In waiting I waited; Diutissime quidem, sed optimo successu; I prayed and waited, I waited and prayed again; persevering in prayer, and begging audience, as #Ps 39:12, with which Basil maketh this psalm to cohere; and well he may, for it seemeth to be of the same time and argument with the two former. Est sensus eiusdem cum duobus prioribus. R. Obadiah saith, that David composed this psalm after that he was recovered of his leprosy, #Ps 38:7.

And he inclined unto me] i.e. He began at length to show favour; for he waiteth to be gracious, and well knoweth that desideria dilatione crescant, et cito data vilescant; nothing is lost by holding his people long in request.

Ver. 2. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit] E puteo sonitus, ut #Isa 51:14, out of a noiseful pit, where there is a continual hurry by the great tall of waters into it: he meaneth out of dreadful dangers, out of a desperate disease, saith R. Obadiah; who also by rock here understandeth perfect health, Sanitatem in corpore, sanctitatem in corde.

Out of the miry clay] E luto, luto, saith Kimchi, for here are two words used of one and the same sense; to show that, as a bemired beast, he was in a perishing condition till God pulled him out, and set him on firm ground.

And established my goings] That I might not relapse into the same or fall into another malady or mischief.

Ver. 3. And he hath put a new song in my mouth] i.e. New matter, which I shall soon contrive into a new song, by the help of his Holy Spirit; for I cannot breathe out a desire after him except he first give me breath therewith, and so put a new song in my mouth.

Even praise unto our God] i.e. Unto Christ, saith Junius, to whom and of whom the Church singeth, saith he, in the following verses.

Many shall see it, and fear, and trust in the Lord] Their eye shall affect their heart, both with fear of and faith in the Lord, that bringeth greatest things to pass, and is fearful in praises, doing wonders, #Ex 15:11.

Ver. 4. Blessed is that man, &c.] See #Ps 2:12.

And respecteth not the proud] Who are set in opposition to believers, as they are also, #Hab 2:4. Self-justitiaries especially, and meritmongers: faith is a humbling grace.

Nor such as turn aside to lies] As do heretics and idolaters. These the true believer, out of the greatness of his spirit, slighteth, how great soever they be; animo magno nihil magnum.

Ver. 5. Many, O Lord my God, are thy works which thou hast done] Many and great, and all for them that trust in thee; who therefore must needs be blessed, as #Ps 40:4.

And thy thoughts which are to us-ward] Thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give us an expected end, #Jer 29:11.

They cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee] No, nor yet out of order; and yet we must be reckoning and relating them as we are able, to God, and men, by speaking good of his name; and at this David was old excellent, as we say.

If I should declare and speak of them] By wholesale we must do it, though we cannot so well by retail; particulars also must be instanced, as Moses doth to Jethro, #Ex 18:7,8, and for that end catalogues must be kept. See one #Jud 10:11,12.

Ver. 6. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire] Comparatively to the obedience of faith, #1Sa 15:22, without which, when hypocrites thought to bribe God by cold ceremonies, they were rejected. Christ is the end of the law to all that believe; that Lamb of God, slain from the beginning of the world, is the only expiatory sacrifice, and the foundation of that fore-mentioned blessedness, #Ps 40:4. Now, since Christ suffered, the Levitical sacrifices being abolished, we have none to offer but such as are gratulatory, to show our thankfulness for such a Redeemer, whose perfect obedience, with the fruit of it, is here and in the following verses both described, and set forth for an absolute pattern to us of performing our duty toward God, for this inexplicable mercy. Confer #Heb 10:5,6, &c. Here we have in Christ for our instruction, and in David also (his type) for our example, 1. A firm purpose of obedience, in a bored ear add a yielding heart. 2. A ready performance thereof, "Lo, I come." 3. A carefull observance of the word written, "In the volume of thy book it is written of me," #Ps 40:7 4. A hearty delight in that observance, #Ps 40:8 5. A public profession and communication of God’s goodness to others, #Ps 40:9,10 (D. Ames). Now, we should labour to express Christ to the world, to walk as he walked, #1Jo 2:6; our lives should be in some sense parallel with his life, as the transcript with the original. He left us a copy to write by, saith St Peter, #1Pe 2:21

Mine ears hast thou opened] Heb. digged, bored; a hearing ear hast thou bestowed upon me, which is a singular favour; for life entereth by the ear, #Isa 55:3, as did death at first, #Ge 3:19 Oh, pray that God would make the bore wide enough; that the inward ears being drawn up to the outward, one sound may pierce both at once.

Ver. 7. Then said I, Lo, I come] Christ became obedient even to the death, yea, that of the cross, #Php 2:8. Christ’s people also are a willing people, #Ps 110:3, their obedience is prompt and present, ready and speedy, without delays and consults, #Ps 119:60, without capitulation and security, #Isa 56:6.

In the volume of the book] In libro plicatili, in thy law, which was anciently (and is still this day among the Jews) written in paper or parchment rolled up; because it will last longer rolled than folded.

It is written of me] Of Christ, in many places; for he is both author, object, matter, and mark of both Testaments. Of David also, and all God’s people, doth the law speak with fruit and efficacy; and they do use to read their own names, written, as it were, in every precept, promise, threatening. Look how men read the statute book of the land, as holding themselves highly concerned therein: so here.

Ver. 8. I delight to do thy will, O my God] To Christ it was his meat and drink, #Joh 4:34, he set his face to do it, and to suffer it, #Lu 9:51; yea, he was straitened, pained, till it was done, #Lu 12:50. And the same mind is also in the saints that was in Christ Jesus, #Php 2:5. They delight in the law of God after the inward man, #Ro 7:22, they prefer it before their necessary food, #Job 23:12.

Yea, thy law is within my heart] Heb. in the midst of my bowels; there is the counterpane, the duplicate of the law written, yea, printed, #Jer 31:33 2Co 3:3. Rip up my heart (said Queen Mary) when I am dead, and there shall you find Calais, the loss whereof (it is thought) killed her. Rip up the most men’s hearts, and there you shall find written, The god of this present world. But God’s law is in good men’s hearts, to live and to die with it: O beata Apocalypsis (said that martyr, catching up that revelation cast into the same fire with him to be burnt), O blessed revelation, how happy am I to be burned with thee in my hands!

Ver. 9. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation] David did this, but Christ much more, by the everlasting gospel, sent the whole world throughout. Great was the company of preachers, and large was their commission. See a draught of it #Ac 26:18.

I have declared thy faithfulness, and thy salvation] Righteousness of Christ imputed, faithfulness of God in fulfilling his promises, salvation the end of faith, lovingkindness and truth the ground of all the former, God’s lovingkindness, or mercy moving him to promise, and his truth binding him to perform; these are those pearls that Christ by his preachers casteth before people, if they be but as forward to take them as he is to tender them. How beautiful should the feet be of those that bring such glad tidings! and how heavy will the dust of such feet be, shaken off against despisers!

O Lord, thou knowest] sc. That I have herein done mine utmost, and with an upright heart.

Ver. 10. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart] Or, if he did, as #Ps 119:11, it was, that having wrought it first on his own affections, he might afterwards utter it a corde ad cor, from the heart to the heart, and so be able to save himself and those that heard him.

I have declared thy faithfulness, &c.] See #Ps 40:9.

Ver. 11. Withhold not thou thy tender mercies, &c.] Whereas, while the saints are on earth there will be a perpetual interchange of comforts and crosses; prayers must be joined with praises, and care taken that, confirmed by former experiences, they still depend upon God. Nunc in luto adhuc haerens et cum residuo calamitatum colluctans precatur Deum.

Let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me] Tuos illos custodes mihi ad latus adhibe, let those two attributes of thine be mine angel guardians at all times. {See Trapp on "Ps 25:10"}

Ver. 12. For innumerable evils have compassed me] Heb. have mustered upon me. Many (or millions) are the troubles of the righteous; none out of hell ever suffered more than they: an elegant exaggeration of their afflictions we have in this verse, and such as cannot well be understood by any but those that have been wellbeaten porters to the cross of Christ.

Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me] i.e. The punishment of mine iniquities, #Ge 4:13, my sin hath found me out. If this be taken of Christ, he is Maximus peccatorum, the greatest of sinners by imputation, #2Co 5:20 Isa 53:6, for our sins (which here he calleth his) he suffered; and here his bitter agony in the garden is graphically described; neither is it absurd to say, that as he bore our sins in his own body upon the tree, he was first redeemed by himself, and afterwards we.

Therefore my heart faileth me] i.e. My wit, courage, counsel is wasted by earnest thinking upon them. Scientia mea eis numerandis deficit, as Kimchi glosseth.

Ver. 13. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me] Do it of thy free grace, and mere mercy of thy good will and gracious liking (as the word ευδοκια signifieth), beside the consideration of my woeful misery laid forth, #Ps 40:12, as an object of thy mercy.

Ver. 14. Let them be ashamed and confounded together, &c.] These and the like imprecations must be looked upon as prophecies. Besides, David looked upon them not as his enemies only, but God’s as well; and such also as were desperate and irrecoverable. So Paul prayed against the coppersmith, the Church against Julian, &c.

Let them be driven backward, &c.] A Christian may without sin be sensible of indignities; only it must be the mourning of doves, and not the roaring of bears.

Ver. 15. Let them be desolate for a reward] A poor reward; but such as sin payeth to her servants: "the wages of sin is death." Sin payeth all her servants in black money. See #Ps 35:21. The word here rendered reward signifieth a heel. It is as if the prophet should say, Let one desolation tread upon the heels of another, till they be utterly undone.

Ver. 16. Let all those that seek thee rejoice] viz. When they hear of my deliverance. The saints have both their joys and griefs in common with their fellow members, as being in the body, #Heb 13:3; both in the body of Christ and in the body of flesh and frailty.

Ver. 17. But I am poor and needy] A stark beggar neither will I hide from my Lord (as once Joseph’s brethren said to him, when they came for corn) mine extreme indigence, my necessitous condition; I am one that get my living by begging.

Yet the Lord thinketh upon me] He is the poor man’s King, as hath been said; and Christ is cum Patre dator, inter nos petitor, as Augustine hath it; that is, he gives with the Father, and at the same time prays with the suitor, who must therefore needs speed.

Thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying] Deliver me speedily, lest I perish utterly. God, saith one, is sometimes troubled with too much help, but never with too little; we are sometimes too soon, but he is never too late.

A Psalm of David] Of the same sense with the four former psalms, saith Kimchi.

Chapter 41

Ver. 1. Blessed is he that considereth the poor] Heb. that wisely considereth concerning the poor; the poor weakling, whose health is impaired, whose wealth is wasted. Austin rendereth it, Qui praeoccupat vocem petituri, He that preventeth the request of the poor beggar; wisely considering his case, and not staying till he crave; which possibly out of modesty he may be loth to do. The most interpret it of a charitable judgment passed upon the poor afflicted, not holding him therefore hated of God because heavily afflicted, as Job’s friends did. At vobis bene sit qui de me quantumvis calamitoso rectius iudicatis, so Beza here paraphraseth; Well may you fare, my friends, who censure better of me, though full of misery; and deal more kindly with me. The word Maschil signifieth both a prudent judgment and a desire to do all good offices, saith one. It signifieth to give comfort and instruction to the weak, saith another, wisely weighing his case, and ready to draw out, not his sheaf only, but his "soul to the hungry," #Isa 58:10. This is a blessed man, presupposing him to be a believer, and so to do it from a right principle, viz. "Charity out of a pure heart, of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned," #1Ti 1:5.

The Lord will deliver him] i.e. The poor weakling; and the other also that dealeth so mercifully with him; both shall be delivered; according to that of our Saviour, #Mt 10:41. Delivered, I say, he shall be in due time; supported in the mean while; a good use and a good issue he shall be sure of. Some make it David’s prayer, The Lord deliver him, &c. Others, the merciful man’s prayer for the poor afflicted (Kimchi).

Ver. 2. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive] Life in any sense is a singular mercy. "Why is a living man sorrowful?" #La 3:39; if he be alive, though afflicted, he hath cause to be thankful; how much more if alive to righteousness! The Arabic here interpreteth it, dabit illi filios in quibus post mortem vivat, he will give him children, in whom he may live after his death.

And he shall be blessed upon the earth] With wealth, and other accommodations; so that the world shall look upon him as every way blessed.

And thou wilt not deliver him into the hands of his enemies] Heb. Do not thou deliver him. This maketh Kimchi conclude, that all this is but oratio visitantis consolatoria, the prayer of him that visiteth the sick man, for his comfort.

Ver. 3. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing] Whether through sickness of body, as #Isa 38:2, or sorrow of heart; for in such case also men cast themselves upon their beds, #1Ki 21:4. This God, and not the physicians, will do for the sick man, die septimo, on the seventh day, saith R. Solomon, when he is at sickest.

Thou wilt make all his bed] Heb. Thou wilt turn, thou wilt stir up feathers under him, that he may lie at ease; and this by the hand of those poor whom he had considered. Or, Thou wilt turn all his bed, that is, his whole body, from sickness to health, as Kabvenaki senseth it.

Ver. 4. I said, Lord, be merciful unto me: heal] Heal me in mercy, and begin at the inside first. Heal my soul of sin, and then my body of sickness; heal me every whit. These, to the end, are the sick man’s words, saith Kimchi. And this is the character of the Lord’s poor man, to whom the foresaid comforts do belong, saith another.

For I have sinned against thee] He crieth peccavi, not peril. Sanationem a capite orditur, he beginneth at the right end.

Ver. 5. Mine enemies speak evil of me] Notwithstanding my piety and devotion; that is no target against persecution. David’s integrity and the severity of his discipline displeased these yokeless Belialists; they were sick of his strict government, and longed for a new king who would favour their wicked practices; such as was Absalom, whom they shortly after set up. David they could not endure, because he did justice and judgment to all the people. These libertines were of the Egyptian mode; loquaces et ingeniosi in praefectorum contumeliam, its ut qui vitaverit culpam, infamiam non effugiat, such as loved to speak evil of dignities; and could not give their governors (how blameless soever) a good word (Seneca).

When shall he die, and his name perish?] Nothing less would satisfy their malice than utter extermination. But David recovereth, and his name surviveth, when they lie wrapt up in the sheet of shame.

Ver. 6. And if he come to see me] That is, Ahithophel, or some such hollow hearted Holophanta (Plaut.).

He speaketh vanity] Pretending that he is very sorry to see me so ill at ease; and letting fall some crocodile’s tears perhaps, Ore pro mea sanitate orant sed corde quaeruut malum (Midrash Tillin.).

His heart gathereth iniquity to itself] As toads and serpents gather venom to vomit at you.

When he goeth abroad, he telleth it] Boasting to his treacherous brotherhood of his base behaviour.

Ver. 7. All that hate me, whisper together against me] Heb. Mussitant, they mutter, as charmers use to do. These whisperers are dangerous fellows, #Ro 1:29, like the wind that creepeth in by chinks in a wall or cracks in a window. A vento percolato, et iuimico reconciliato, libera nos, Domine, saith the Italian.

Against me do they devise] Cogitant quasi coagitant.

Ver. 8. An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him] Heb. A thing of Belial, a vengeance, hath befallen him; God, for his foul offence, hath put him over to the devil to be tormented by a pestilential disease, that will surely make an end of him, Omnes impietates quas perpetravit (R. Solom.). So Genebrard (that mad dog), in the fourth book of his Chronology, A. D. 1563, reckoning up those divers diseases whereof Calvin died, all which was well known to be false, addeth, An Herodes terribilius animam Satanae reddiderit, equidem nescio, Whether Herod yielded up his soul to the devil in a more horrible manner, I know not. With as little charity did Evagrius say of Justinian, the great lawgiver, ad supplicia iusto Dei iudicio apud iuferos luenda profectus est, he went to hell torments, when he died by God’s just judgment. And Luther of Œolampadius, Se credere (OEcolampadium ignitis Satanae telis et hastis confossum subitanea morte periisse (Lib. de Missa privata, A. D. 1533)— tantaene animis caelestibus irae? This false conceit is sufficiently confuted by the history of his life and death set forth by Simon Grynaeus, as also is that concerning Calvin, by his Life written by Beza, and others.

Ver. 9. Yea, mine own familiar friend] Heb. the man of my peace. This was a great cut to David, τιγαρ μειζον ελκος η φιλος αδικων, saith Sophocles. What greater wound can there be than a treacherous friend? such as was Ahithophel to David, Judas to our Saviour, Brutus to Julius Caesar (who was slain in the Senate house with three and twenty wounds, given for most part by them whose lives he had preserved), Magnentius to Constans, the emperor, who had formerly saved his life from the soldiers’ fury; Michael Balbus to the Emperor Leo Armenius, whom he slew the same night that he had pardoned and released him. This evil dealing made Socrates cry out, φιλοι ουδεις φιλος, Friends, there is hardly a friend to be found; and Queen Elizabeth complain, that in trust she had found treason; and King Antigonus pray to God to preserve him from his friends; and King Alphonsus to complain of the ingratitude of his favourites.

In whom I trusted] So did not our Saviour in Judas, for he knew him better than so, and therefore this clause is left out, #Joh 13:18, where he applieth this saying to himself. Jerome and some others apply the whole psalm to Christ, and for that end they render these words actively, Cui credidi, to whom I intrusted or committed my ministry.

Who did eat of my bread] My fellow commoner, with whom I had eaten little less than a bushel of salt. A man’s enemies are many times those of his own house, the birds of his own bosom. Judas dipped in the same dish with Jesus, betrayed him with a kiss. Caveatur osculum Iscarioticum. Beware the kisses of Judas.

Hath lift up his heel against me] Heb. Hath magnified the heel, or the foot sole, sc. to supplant me, or to trample upon me, or to spurn against me. Metaphora ab equis calcitronibus, saith Vatablus, a metaphor from unruly and refractory horses. See #Jud 15:8. It importeth contempt, despite, and cruelty.

Ver. 10. But thou, O Lord, be merciful unto me] As storms beat a ship into the harbour, so did men’s misusages drive David to God; and as children, meeting with hard measure abroad, hie home to their parents, so here.

And raise me up] From off this bed of weakness, and from under their feet of insolence and cruelty.

That I may requite them] Not in a way of private revenge (for that was utterly unlawful, and would not bear a prayer), but of justice, as I am a king, and a lawful magistrate. The fear of this might haply make Ahithophel (foreseeing that all would be naught on Absalom’s side) to save the hangman a labour.

Ver. 11. By this I know that thou favourest me] This is the triumph of trust and the fruit of faithful prayer; ever answered, sometimes before it is uttered, sometimes in, and sometimes alter the act; but we may be sure of an unmiscarrying return if we pray and not faint, #Lu 18:1, even such as shall bring us word that God favoureth our persons.

Ver. 12. And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity] Which earth and hell had conspired to rob me of, but in vain, through thy help. My shield is yet in safety. My faith faileth me not, nor yet mine innocence in regard of men, or the righteousness of my cause.

And settest me before thy face for ever] So that, being never out of thy sight, I cannot possibly be out of thy mind. Confer #1Ki 17:1.

Ver. 13. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel] Thus he sweetly shutteth up this first book of the psalms (as some distinguish) with a pathetic doxology, redoubling his Amen, Fiat, Fiat, to show his fervency, and most earnest desire that God should be blessed by his whole Israel. This was the custom of the Scribes to do, saith Kimchi, when they had finished any book. The other four books of psalms (as they are reckoned) end in like manner.

From everlasting to everlasting] i.e. From the beginning of the world to the end of it; or, as the Chaldee hath it, from this world unto the world to come.

Amen, and Amen] So be it, and so it shall be. Dictio est acclamationis, approbationis, et confirmationis. The Rabbis say, that our amen in the close of our prayers must not be, first, hasty, but with consideration, #1Co 14:16. Secondly, nor maimed or defective; we must fetch out our hearts after it, and be swallowed up in God. Thirdly, nor alone, or an orphan; that is, without faith, love, and holy confidence. The spirits of the whole prayer are contracted into it, and so should the spirit of him that prayeth.

Maschil, for the sons of Korah] Korah and his compilers were swallowed up quick by the earth in the wilderness for their gainsaying, #Nu 16, but some of his sons, disliking his practice, escaped, and of them came Heman (the nephew of Samuel), a chief singer, #1Ch 6:23. Now, to him and his brethren was this and some other of David’s psalms committed, both to be kept as a treasure, and to be sung in the sanctuary, for comfort and instruction under affliction, according to the signification of the word Maschil; whereof see #Ps 32:1, title, παθηματα γαρ μαθηματα. Nocumenta documenta.

Chapter 42

Ver. 1. As the hart panteth after the water brooks] Heb. As the hind. Greek, η ελαφος, for in females the passions are stronger, saith an interpreter here, quicquid volunt, valde volunt. This creature is naturally hot and dry, about autumn especially (as Aristotle testifieth), but when hunted extremely thirsty. Chrysostom and Basil say, that she eateth serpents, and so is further inflamed by their poison. Now, as the hunted and heated hind glocitat, breatheth and brayeth after the water brooks,

So panteth my soul after thee, O God] He saith not, after my former dignity and greatness, before Absalom disturbed me, and drove me out (though he could not but be sensible of such a loss; we know what miserable moans Cicero made when sent into banishment; how impatient Cato and many others were in like case, so that they became their own deathsmen), but after thee, Lord, and the enjoyment of thy public ordinances; from which I am now, alas, hunted and hindered. Amo te Domine plus quam mea, meos, me (Bern.). After that God’s Holy Spirit hath once touched a soul it will never be quiet until it stands pointed Godward.

Ver. 2. My soul thirsteth for God] More than ever it did once for the water of the well of Bethlehem; and that, because he is the living God, the fountain of living waters, that only can cool and quench my desires, #Jer 2:13 17:13, so as I shall never thirst again, #Joh 4:14, whereas of all things else we may say

Quo plus sunt potae, plus sitiuntur aquae.

The Rabbis note here, that David saith not so hungereth, but so thirsteth my soul; because men are more impatient of thirst than of hunger; they can go several days without food, but not without drink. Alexander lost a great part of his army marching through the wilderness of the Susitans by lack of water (Curt. ex Diodoro).

When shall I come and appear before God?] Heb. and see the face of God? viz. in his tabernacle. Eheu igitur quando tandem mihi miserrimo dabitur, ut te in aede tun conspiciam? These earnest pantings, inquietations, and unsatisfiable desires after God and his ordinances, are sure signs of true grace. But woe to our worship scorners, &c.

Ver. 3. My tears have been my meat day and night] Hunters say the hart sheddeth tears, or something like tears, when he is pursued, and not able to escape. Hereunto David might allude. Sure it is, that as hinds calving, so men, by weeping, cast out their sorrows, #Job 39:3.

Expletur lachrymis egeriturque dolor.

And, Affert solatium lugentibus suspiriorum societas, saith Basil, sighs are an ease of sorrow. Of Mr Bradford the martyr it is reported, that in the midst of dinner he used oft to muse, having his hat over his eyes, from whence came commonly plenty of tears dropping on his trencher.—αγαθοι δ αριδακρυες ανθρες. The better any are, the more inclined to weeping; as David than Jonathan, #1Sa 20:41 Here we have him telling us that his tears were his meat, so #Ps 80:5, or his bread, as Gregory readeth it; and he giveth this reason, that, like as the more bread we eat the dryer we are, and the more thirsty; so the more tears of godly sorrow we let fall the more we thirst after that living fountain springing from above. David’s greatest grief was, that he was banished from the sanctuary; and next to that, the reproachful blasphemy of his enemies hitting him in the teeth with his God, as if not able or not willing to relieve him now in his necessity, and bitterly upbraiding him with his hopes as altogether vain.

Whiles they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?] Violenti certe impetus, saith Vatablus here. These were violent shocks indeed; and such as wherewith David’s faith might have been utterly overthrown, had it not been the better rooted, and with it upheld, by the special power of the Spirit of grace. Other of God’s suffering saints have met with the like measure. At Orleans, in France, as the bloody Papists murdered the Protestants, they cried out, Where is now your God? What is become of all your prayers and psalms now? Let your God that you called upon save you if he can. Others sang in scorn, Judge and revenge my cause, O Lord; others, Have mercy on us, Lord, &c. The queen mother of Scotland, having received aid from France, forced the Protestants for a while to retire to the highlands, whereupon she scoffingly said, Where is now John Knox’s God? My God is now stronger than his, yea, even in Life; but her brags lasted not long; for within a few days six hundred Protestants beat above four thousand French and Scots, &c. (Mr Knox’s Life, by Mr Clark). God’s servants fare the better for the insolencies of their enemies; who, when they say, Where is now their God? might as well say between the time of the new and old moon, Where is now the moon? when as it is never nearer the sun than at that time.

Ver. 4. When I remember these things] viz. My present pressures compared with my former happiness, Miserum sane est, fuisse felicem. The Epicures held (but I believe they did not believe themselves therein) that a man might be cheerful amidst the most exquisite torments, ex praeteritarum voluptatum recordatione, by the remembrance of his former pleasures and delights (Cir. de Fin. l. ii.; Sen. de Bon. l. iv. c. 22). David found this here but a slight and sorry comfort, though he better knew how than any of them to make the best of it; and his delights had been far more solid and cordial.

I pour out my soul] See #Job 30:16, {See Trapp on "Job 30:16"}

For I had gone with a multitude] Heb. a thick crowd, or throng of good people, frequenting the public ordinances, and David in the head of them. One rendereth it, In umbra vel umbrella, sicut mos est Orientalium ambulare umbrellis contra ardorem solis accommodatis.

I went with them to the house of God] Lente itabam, I went with a gentle pace, gressu grallatorio. He speaketh, saith Vatablus, of the order observed by the faithful when they went to the sanctuary, viz. in comely equipage, singing praise to God, and confessing his goodness.

Ver. 5. Why art thou cast down, O my soul?] Here David seemeth to be Homo divisus in duas partes, saith Vatablus, a man divided into two parts, as indeed every new man is two men; and what is to be seen in the Shulamite but as it were the company of two armies? #So 6:13. David chideth David out of his dumps. So did Alice Benden, the martyr, rehearsing these very words (when she had been kept in the bishop’s prison all alone nine weeks with bread and water), and received comfort by them in the midst of her miseries (Acts and Mon. 1797).

And why art thou disquieted in me?] A good man’s work lieth most within doors; he hath more ado with himself than with all the world besides; he prayeth oft, with that ancient, Libera me Domine a malo homine meipso, Deliver me, Lord, from that naughty man, myself. How oft do we punish ourselves by our passions, as the lion that beateth himself with his own tail! Grief is like lead to the soul, heavy and cold, sinking it downward, taking off the wheels of it, and disabling it for duty; like as a limb that is out of joint can do nothing without deformity and pain. Keep up thy spirit, therefore, and watch against dejection, whatsoever befalls thee, yea, against all distempers; since they hinder comfortable intercourse with God, and that spiritual composedness, that sabbath of spirit, that we must enjoy, or else we cannot keep that continual holyday (εορταζωμεν), #1Co 5:8. How many are there who through unnecessary sadness come to heaven before they are aware!

Hope thou in God] Faith quieteth the soul first or last, saith reverend Dr Sibbes on these words. There will be stirring at the first; as in a pair of balances, there will be a little stirring when the weight is put in, till it come to a poise; so in the soul, it comes not to a quiet consistency till there be some victory of faith, till it rest and stay the soul.

For I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance] Heb. the healths of his countenance, Adhuc confitebor ei salutes vultus eius. Chrysostom bringeth in a man laden with troubles coming into the church, where, when he heard this passage read, Why art thou cast down? hope in God, he presently recovered (Homil. in Genes.).

Ver. 6. O my God, my soul is cast down within me] Though before he had schooled himself out of his distempers yet now he is troubled again; such are the vicissitudes and interchanges of joy and sorrow that the saints are here subject unto; as soon as the spirit gets the better, as soon the flesh; sometimes good affections prevail, sometimes unruly passions. Affections are the wind of the soul, passions the storm. The soul is well carried when neither so becalmed that it moves not when it should, nor yet tossed with tempests to move disorderly.

Therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan] That is, saith one, I will call to mind former experiments there, and take comfort. Or, I will remember thee, as I may, here at Mahanaim beyond Jordan, under the mount Hermon, and that other little hill (where I have found thee in my meditations and prayers propitious unto me), though I cannot now worship thee in the beauty of holiness, being driven out by my ungracious son Absalom from the place where thine honour dwelleth.

Ver. 7. Deep calleth unto deep] Vorago voraginem advocat, i.e. one calamity inviteth another, Gurges gurgitem excipit (Beza); Aliud ex alio malure, they come thick and threefold; the clouds return after the rain, #Ec 12:2; as one shower is unburdened another is brewed. One affliction followeth and occasioneth another, without ceasing or intermission; so that they are grown, as it were, to an infiniteness, as #Ps 40:12.

At the noise of thy waterspouts] i.e. Thy clouds pouring down in full force, in a storm at sea especially, by a cataclysm of waters falling at once out of the clouds, sometimes to the overwhelming and breaking of a ship. This mariners call a spout. #Ps 18:4, The floods of Belial made me afraid.

All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me] Fluctus fluctum trudit; yet not without the Lord; the enemies and the evils that befell him are called God’s waves or breakings, Propter peccata nostra a te immissa You have been against us on account of our sins. (Kimchi).

Ver. 8. Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness] He will after all this misery send forth a commission and a command to set me free; and his mandamus command will do it at any time.

And in the night his song shall be with me] When others that are without God in the world have restless nights, the gnats of cares and griefs molesting them, a saint can sing away care, and call his soul to rest, as #Ps 116:7, being filled with peace and joy through believing; such as setteth him a singing to God’s glory.

And my prayer unto the God of my life] i.e. My praises, which are a chief part of prayer, #1Ti 6:1. Thanksgiving is an artificial begging, Gratiarum actio est ad plus dandum invitatio.

Ver. 9. I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me?] Tene veto mei immemorem esse? Thus I will in a familiar manner expostulate with him, and lay my case open unto him, as to a friend. The flesh suggesteth that he is forgotten, but faith holdeth its own, fastening on the Rock of ages.

Why go I mourning] Heb. Black, as one that is in mourning weeds; or, that had lain among the pots.

Ver. 10. As with a sword in my bones] Heb. a murdering weapon, which, when thrust into the bones, causeth most exquisite pain; so deeply was good David affected with the dishonour done to God by his blasphemous enemies; it went to the very heart of him, as a dagger.

While they say daily] {See Trapp on "Ps 42:3"}

Ver. 11. Why art thou cast down] See #Ps 42:5.

Who is the health of my countenance] i.e. The Author of my manifold, present, and apparent safety; such as shall make me look blithe and beautiful, cheery and chirp.

Chapter 43

Ver. 1. Judge me, O God] This psalm is, as it were, an epitome or an appendix to the former, and little differing in words or matter.

Plead my cause] See #Ps 35:1.

Against an ungodly nation] Heb. a nation not mild or merciful; so he calleth Absalom’s complices, who sought and would have sucked his blood. Such are a people of God’s wrath and of his curse.

O deliver me, &c.] From Absalom, or Ahithophel, or the whole faction.

Ver. 2. For thou art the God of my strength] As being in covenant with me, both offensive and defensive. In the Lord Jehovah is a Rock of ages, or everlasting strength, #Isa 26:4, for God of my strength, #Ps 42:9, is my rock.

Why go I mourning] See #Ps 42:9.

Ver. 3. O send out thy light] i.e. Thy comforting grace, opposed to that, #Ps 43:2, I go mourning, or in black.

And thy truth] i.e. Thy faithfulness, opposed to the deceitful man, #Ps 43:1. The Rabbis interpret light and truth by Christ and Elijah; the Arabic maketh it a prayer for the Jews’ conversion, Lux et veritas piorum comites.

Yet them bring me unto thy holy hill] Zion, the place of holy assemblies for God’s service, Iterum commendatur hic dignitas ministerii publici: Vae igitur illis qui caducorum bolorum usum reditaunt sacri ministerii iactura, qui conciones sacras et sacramenta ultro negligunt, &c.

And to thy tabernacles] So called, either because it was set up at sundry times in sundry places, while it was transportative; or else because it was parted by veils into several rooms, #Heb 9:2,3.

Ver. 4. Then will I go unto the altar of God] Not without store of sacrifices. God’s service is now nothing so costly; and should, therefore, be more cheerfully performed. Heathens had their altars, &c., all save the Persians.

Ver. 5. Why art thou bowed down, &c.] See #Ps 42:5,11.

Maschil] i.e. Making wise, or giving instruction; for which purpose this psalm was composed by David (as it is most probable), or some other excellent prophet, for the use of the Church, which is haeres crucis, the heir of the cross, as Luther speaketh; and is here instructed how to carry herself under it, and to get benefit by it.

Chapter 44

Ver. 1. We have heard with our ears] i.e. We have both heard and heeded it, with utmost attention and affection. It is not a redundancy, but an emphasis that is here used.

Our fathers have told us] According to that they were commanded, #De 6:1-10 and elsewhere, to whet good things upon their young children, and to propagate the memory of God’s noble acts to all posterity, #Ex 12:26 13:14 Jos 4:6,7 Ps 78:4,6. Hear this, saith Basil, and blush, ye fathers, that neglect to teach your children. They made their mouths as it were books, wherein the noble acts of the Lord might be read to his praise, and to the drawing of their children’s hearts unto him.

What work thou didst] All which they faithfully related and carefully recorded, for the use of after ages. #Ps 102:18, "This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord."

Ver. 2. How thou didst drive out the heathen] i.e. The Canaanites. These God, the great proprietary of all, supplanted, after that they had for a long time grown there as trees, and abounded with all kind of sensual delights, till they had filled the land from one end to the other with their uncleanness, #Ezr 9:11.

How thou didst afflict (or break in pieces) the people, and cast them out] Or, cause them (the Israelites) to spread and propagate (so Mollerus readeth it), as the vine sendeth out her branches.

Ver. 3. For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, &c.] Men are apt to arrogate to themselves, and say, as Luther hath it, Hoc ego feci. I made this, Sesostris, king of Egypt, when he had conquered any country, was wont to set up pillars, and thereupon to engrave these words, This land I got in possession by my own power, he was afterwards slain by his own servants (Herod. lib. 2).

But thy right hand] Quia per eam praelia et opera facta sunt, saith Kimchi. God is the great doer in all achievements.

And the light of thy countenance] i.e. Illustris praesentia tua qua praeivisti et praeluxisti eis, thy gracious presence and conduct (Junius).

Because thou hadst a favour unto them] Free grace was the fundamental cause of all their felicity. God loved them because he loved them, #De 7:7. He chose them of his love, and then loved them for his choice.

Ver. 4. Thou art my King, O God] Heb. Thou art he, my King; Or, Thou art the same, my King, i.e. the same that thou wast to those of old. Oh, see to thy subjects, as ever thou hast done.

Command deliverances for Jacob] A Mandamus from thee will do it; he spake the word, and it was done. Some read it, Command deliverances, O Jacob; that is, O God of Jacob, as #Ps 24:6.

Ver. 5. Through thee will we push down our enemies] Cornu petemus, a metaphor from horned creatures, as #De 33:17. This we shall soon do if thou do but only give the word of command; for together with thy word goeth forth a power.

Through thy name] Tuo nomine et numine, auspicio et ductu.

Ver. 6. For I will not trust in my bow] To trust in men or means is the ready road to utter ruin. Idas, one of the Argonauts, is brought in by the poet, bragging that he trusted not in the gods, but in his own arm and arms. \u0960 αρ ̀+\u0966 ι0\u0955 ι0 \u0960 αρ \u0955 ι880 \u0966 ι-320 ουδε η οφελλει\u0960 αρ \u0955 ι640 \u0966 ι-320 Ζευς τοσον οδατιον περ εμον δορυ..

What need we to fear the Turks (said Sigismund, the young king of Hungary, in his pride and jollity), who need not at all to fear the falling of the heavens, which, if they should fall, yet were we able with our spears and halberds to hold them up for falling upon us? He shortly after this received a notable overthrow. Carnal confidence endeth in confusion.

Ver. 7. But thou hast saved us] Thou hast wrought and fought for us against those that sought to destroy us. Thou hast, and, therefore, thou will for thou art the same, my King, #Ps 44:4.

Ver. 8. In God we boast all the day long] The Spaniards are said to be great boasters in the very lowest ebb of fortune. A godly man may be, and must be so by a holy gloriation; he must make his boasts of such a King, immortal, invisible, &c. The three children did so: Our God can deliver us, &c.

And praise thy name] Thou alone shall have the praise of all our prosperity.

Ver. 9. But thou hast cut off, and put us to shame] Here is a sudden change, and a sad complaint, but handsomely brought in, the better to insinuate, the sooner to prevail for redress. Only this, it should have been remembered that the Lord’s hand was not shortened… but their iniquities had separated between them and their God, #Isa 59:1,2. That noble General Trajan told Valens, the Arian emperor, that by warring against God he had abandoned the victory, and sent it to the enemies (Niceph. l. 11, c. 40).

Ver. 10. Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy] By expectorating our faith and courage, and leaving us to a fearful faint heartedness, that flieth at the sound of a shaken leaf. God strengtheneth or weakeneth the arm of either army, #Eze 30:24.

Ver. 11. Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat] Aliqui occisi, dispersi alii, et venundati gratias, Some of us are slain, others scattered here and there, and sold for nought (Aben-Ezra).

And hast scattered us, &c.] Oh the many miseries of such a banishment! The poet Tyrtaeus thus expresses it:

Est miserum, patria amissa laribusque vagare:

Mendiea et timida voce rogare cibos.

Cum natisque errare suis, et coniuge moesta,

Et cum matre pia, cumque parente sene.

Ver. 12. Thou sellest thy people for nought] Thirty for a penny the Jews were sold by the Romans, saith Josephus, at the last devastation.

And dost not increase thy wealth by their price] Thou takest thy first chapman (as the pope gave England, in Henry VIIl’s time, Primo occupaluro, to him that could first seize it), and hast not made thy best of them; but given them away, for whom thou wast wont to give great nations, #Isa 43:3. All the comfort in this case was, that yet they were dear to God as his sons, though sold for slaves to the enemies, as may be seen, #Isa 50:1 52:3.

Ver. 13. Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours] This to a generous spirit is very grievous. The Cappadocians were noted for a servile people; and Tiberius said of his Romans, that they were homines ad servitutem parati men prepared for slavery, (Ammian. 1. 2). The Jews at this day hear ill among all nations for a nasty and sordid people. O Marcomanni, O Quades, O Sarmatae, tandem alios vobis deteriores inveni, said that emperor, O Marcomans, O Quades, O Sarmatians, I have at length found a more odious and contemptible people than you are any, meaning the Jews, with whose stench he was much annoyed.

Ver. 14. Thou makest us a byword among the heathen] Who use to say, As base as a Jew, as wretched as an Israelite, &c. The Turks at this day say, Iudaeus sim si fallam, If I be not as good as my word, count me a very Jew. We use to say, As hard hearted as a Jew. Thus is fulfilled that which was threatened #De 28:37 1Ki 9:7 Jer 24:9.

Ver. 15. My confusion is continually before me] Heb. All the day long, or every day; so as that there is neither hope of better nor place of worse.

Ver. 16. For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth] Reproacheth religion, blasphemeth God and his people, as if he eared not what became of them; and his dispensation seemeth to say as much: this reflecteth upon the saints, and maketh them cry out—

— Pudet haec opprobria nobis,

Et dici potuisse, et non potuisse refelli.

Ver. 17. All this is come upon us; yet] This they allege, viz. their constance as an arguent of their sincerity, and a motive to pity. Apply this, with Jerome, to Christians, and then it is the voice of martyrs.

Neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant] ie. We have not relinquished the true religion, or revolted to dumb idols; but held us close to thy sincere service. And, therefore, if that heathen emperor going against his enemy could say, Non sic Deos coluimus ut ille nor vinceret, We have not so served the gods that they should serve us no better than to suffer us to be worsted (Antonin. Philosoph.); how much more may God’s faithful servants be confident of his help, and say, "All people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever?" #Mic 4:5.

Ver. 18. Our heart is not turned back] Metaphora a stadio, saith Vatablus. As those that run a race stand not at a stay, much less turn back again; so neither have we either stopped or stepped backward, but advanced still toward the mark, having Nondum metam, We have not yet attained, for our motto, as St Paul had, #Php 3:12; being in nothing terrified by our adversaries, nor afraid with any amazement, #Php 1:28 1Pe 3:6.

Neither have our steps declined] We have watched over every particular action; God’s people are best when at worst.

Ver. 19. Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons] i.e. In deserts haunted by dragons, see #Isa 34:13 35:7, whereinto we are driven in banishment, and there hast crushed us, and covered us with the shadow of death, i.e. deadly calamity (Or. κακωσεως).

Ver. 20. If we have forgotten the name of our God] i.e. Foregone our religion, as renegadoes, denying the Lord that bought us. In the time of the Maccabees many defected to Paganism; Demas, forsaking Paul, became an idolatrous priest at Thessalonica, saith Dorotheus; Julian turned Pagan; Damascen, Mahometan, as some write; Harding, an obstinate Papist. In the Palatinate, when, not forty years since, taken by the Spaniard, scarce one man in twenty stood out, but fell to Popery, as fast as leaves fall in antumn.

Or stretched out our hands to a strange god] This Ignatius, Laurentius, and thousands of those primitive Christians would die, rather than be drawn to do. So the three children, the seven brethren, &c. Origen, for yielding a little, was excommunicated.

Ver. 21. Shall not God search this out?] What pretences or excuses soever be used for the colouring and covering of the same.

For he knoweth, &c.] See #Mt 10:26, {See Trapp on "Mt 10:26"}

Ver. 22. Yea, for thy sake are we killed, &c.] q.d. Thou knowest that for thy sake, and not for vain glory, or out of pertinace, &c., we are killed. It is the cause, and not the punishment, that maketh the martyr. Some suffer as malefactors rather, Potes videre hominem morte affici, quare mortificetur nescis (Aug.).

We are counted as sheep for the slaughter] As those Christians in Calabria, A. D. 1560, thrust up in one house together, as in a sheepfold, and butchered individually; {#Ro 8:36} besides those many, whose names being written in red letters of blood in the Church’s calendar, are written in golden letters in Christ’s register in the book of life, as Prudentius hath it.

Ver. 23. Awake, why sleepest thou?] Considering all the premises, stir up thyself, and come and save us? carest thou not that we perish?

Ver. 24. Wherefore hidest thou thy face?] God sometimes concealeth his love, as Joseph did, out of increasement of love; he retireth, but faith fetcheth him out, as the woman of Canaan did, #Mr 7:24,25.

Ver. 25. For our soul, &c.] Soul and belly (or body), both are oppressed, and lie suppliant at God’s feet; resolved there to live and die together.

Ver. 26. Arise for our help] Heb. A help for us, a sufficient help, proportionable to our necessities. The Hebrew hath a letter more than ordinary. {Hebrew Text Note}

Upon Shoshannim] The name of an instrument with six strings, saith Kimchi. Or, concerning the lilies, #So 2:1,2, that is, the Messiah and his people, saith Kabuenaki. The city Shushan had its name from lilies there plentifully growing; as Rhodes from roses, Florence from flowers, &c.

Maschil] It is not said, as elsewhere, of David; and yet some will have him to have been the penman, others Solomon, epitomizing his Book of Canticles; with which indeed it is of the self-same argument, viz.

A Song of loves] An epithalamium or nuptial verse, made at the marriage of Solomon and the Shulamite. As for Pharaoh’s daughter, various good divines are of the opinion, that neither here nor in the Canticles any respect is had or allusion made to that match of Solomon with her, so expressly condemned by the Holy Ghost, #1Ki 11:1-3, ut per absurdum mihi videatur, illud matrimonium existimare fuisse tantae rei typum, saith learned Beza. Ainsworth rendereth it, A song of the well beloved virgins, friends of the bridegroom and bride, #Ps 45:9,14, to set forth Christ in his glory, and his Church in her beauty. So, when Jerome had freed the Locrians from the tyranny of Anaxilos and Cleophron, the virgins sang his praise, as is to be read in Pindarus’s Odes; which Politian preferred before David’s psalms, auso nefario, like an atheist as he was.

Chapter 45

Ver. 1. My heart is inditing a good matter] Heb. frieth, sicut quae in sartagine friguntur, as things are fried in a frying pan, #Le 7:9. The prophet, being to sing of such a sublime subject, would not utter anything but what he had duly digested, thoroughly thought upon, and was deeply affected with, Exordium ut vocant floridum. What a high pitch flieth St Paul whenever he speaketh concerning Christ? See #Eph 1:6 2:4,7 3:19. The like is reported of Origen: Nusquam non ardet, saith Erasmus; sed nusquam est ardentior quam ubi Christi sermones actusque tractet; that he was ever earnest; but most of all when he discoursed of Christ (Praefat. ad Origen. Opera). Of Johannes Mollias, a Bononian, it is said, that whensoever he spake of Jesus Christ his eyes dropped; for he was fraught with a mighty fervency of God’s Holy Spirit; and, like the Baptist, he was first a burning (boiling or bubbling), and then a shining light. Ardor mentis est lux doctrinae. Zeal of mind is the light of doctrine.

I speak of the things which I have made touching the king] Or, I will speak in my works, that is, in this psalm, concerning the king, viz. Solomon, and him that is greater than Solomon in all his glory, Christ, the King of the Church. Works he calleth this poem, not for the greatness, but for the exquisiteness thereof; it being breve et longum planeque aureum; utpote in quo universa pane salutis nostrae mysteria continentur, as containing almost all the mysteries of man’s salvation.

My tongue is the pen of a ready writer] i.e. I will roundly and readily relate what I have so well ruminated; and dexterously deliver my most mature meditations concerning the mystical marriage of Christ and his Church. This is a good precedent for preachers. Demosthenes would have such a one branded for a pernicious man to the commonwealth who durst propose anything publicly which he had not beforehand seriously pondered. And Aristides, being pressed to speak to something propounded extempore, answered, Propound today, and I will answer tomorrow; for we are not of those that spit or spun up things, &c.

Ver. 2. Thou art fairer than the children of men] Heb. Thou art double fairer. The Hebrew word is doubled, ad corroborandum, saith Kimchi; Valde Pulchruisti (Vat.). It may very well be that Solomon was, for his beauty, another Nireus; and for his eloquenee, another Nestor; wisdom might make his face to shine. Of Christ we are sure, that his body, being of the finest temperament, and no way diseased, could not be but very beautiful. The Roman register reporteth him to have been of a reverend countenance, his stature somewhat tall, his hair after the colour of the ripe hazel nut, his forehead smooth and plain, his face without wrinkle, mixed with moderate red, his eyes grey, various, and clear (Lentulus ad Senat. ap. Magdeb. Cent. 1). Surely if Stephen’s face was "as the face of an angel," and if with his bodily eyes he could pierce the heavens, and see there what he would; how much more could the Lord Christ, whose very manhood came the nearest unto God of any that ever was or could be? His very countenance did express a Divinity in him. And what if to the Jews, who esteemed him not, but maligned him, and crucified him, he had "neither form nor beauty?" #Isa 53:2; what if he were so broken at thirty-three years of age, with continual pains and grief for them, that they judged him well-nigh fifty? #Joh 8:57; yet he was every way complete and comely above all the children of men; yea, above all the angels in heaven; for in him the "Godhead dwelt bodily," #Col 2:9, and we "beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth," #Joh 1:14. His soul was like a rich pearl in a rough shell; like the tabernacle, goat’s hair without, but gold within; or as Brutus’s staff, cuius intus solidum aurum corneo velabatur cortice (Plutarch). He was all-glorious within; had a fulness of grace above that of Adam, #Joh 1:16, as much as a creature was capable of; and more near familiarity with the Godhead than any creature.

Grace is poured into thy lips] So that thou canst gracefully deliver thyself in a set speech. Solomon could, no doubt, as another Phocion or Pericles; in whose lips, πειθω τις επεκαθηρο, said Eupolis, sat a strange persuasive faculty; so that he could prevail with the people at his pleasure. Jesus Christ could much more do so; for together with his words there went forth a power; he spoke as never man spake; he spoke with authority, and not as the Scribes; all that heard him wondered at the words of grace that proceeded out of his mouth, #Lu 4:22 Isa 50:4.

Therefore God hath blessed thee] Or better, because that God hath blessed thee, and endowed thee with such gifts and graces.

Ver. 3. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty (O Heros).] This is one of Christ’s titles, #Isa 9:6, the giant, or the mighty strong God, the valiant champion of his Church. And his sword is the word of his mouth, #Re 1:16 Heb 4:12 Isa 49:2. All the wars in the conquest of Canaan were types of the spiritual wars under the gospel, whereby the nations were subdued to the obedience of the faith, #2Co 10:4 Eph 6:11. Christ hath his sword then, a two-edged sword; and he is here called upon to gird it to his thigh (after the manner of those easterns, as we do our skins, hangers, wood-knives), that is, to take unto him his authority, and to exercise it for the conversion of his people and confusion of his enemies. Additur ei gladius quem non ostentet velut ειδωλον, sed quem etiam destringat: A sword he hath, not for show, but for service; whence it is added, "with tby glory and thy majesty."

Ver. 4. And in thy majesty ride prosperously] Heb. Prosper thou, ride thou upon the word of truth, Equita super verbum veritatis, of meekness and of righteousness, q.d. Ride thou in thy triumphant chariot, as it were, drawn by those three glorious graces, truth, meekness, and righteousness; and governed by the word, as by the chariot man. Cui divinissimae allegoriae explicandae pro rei gravitate ac dignitate integro vohmine opus esset, saith Beza, for the explaining of which most divine allegory, according to the worth of it, a whole volume might well be full written. The kings of the earth for the most part have their chariots drawn by other horses, viz. pride, ambition, cruelty, &c., as Sesostris, king of Egypt,

Qui Pharios currus regum cervicibus egit.

And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things] i.e. Shall enable thee to perform them. Christ, riding on his white horse (his apostles and preachers), went forth conquering and to conquer, #Re 6:2. Solomon was no such swordman as was Jesus Christ.

Αμφοτερος Βασιλευς τ αγαθος, κρατερος τ αιχμητης.

Ver. 5. Thine arrows are sharp, &c.] Peter’s converts were pricked at heart; and Stephen’s hearers were cut to the heart, #Ac 2:37 7:54. Christ can fetch in his rebels afar off; he hath arrows as well as a sword, to wound them; that men may either bend or break, yield or become his footstool; one way or other he will surely have the better of them.

Ver. 6. Thy throne, O God] Here the prophet directeth his speech not to Solomon (who never took upon him the name of God, as did Sesostris, king of Egypt, Antiochus Θεος, Caligula, and some other proud princes), but to Christ, #Heb 1:8, who is God, blessed for ever, αυτοθεος, not so called by an excellence only, as the angels are, #Ps 8:5 Heb 2:1-9, nor by office and title only, as magistrates are gods, #Ps 82:6, nor catachrestically and ironically so called, as the heathen gods, nor a diminutive god, inferior to the Father, as Arius held, but God by nature, every way co-essential, co-eternal, and co-equal with the Father and the Holy Ghost, #Joh 1:1 Php 2:6 1Jo 5:20. Hold this fast; for it is the rock, #Mt 16:16; it is of the very foundation; so that if we believe it not there is no heaven to be had, #1Jo 5:20. As for his kingly office here described, it belongeth to him as Mediator, and what is here spoken of him is to be understood of his whole person; for so is he Head of the Church, and King of Israel, for ever.

The sceptre of thy kingdom, &c.] Thy government is not with rigour, but with righteousness; thou camest rightly by it, casting out Satan the usurper, #Mt 12:29 Heb 2:14; and dost most righteously administer it, #De 4:8.

Ver. 7. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedhess] Solomon did so for a great while (nay, Nero’s first five years were such that Trajan was wont to say that none ever attained to the perfection of them), but Christ continually; neither can he do otherwise, Haec vere heroica est nemesis. See #Mt 3:10-12 Joh 5:30 Mt 12:18-20.

Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed] i.e. For which purpose God hath anointed thee his Messiah, or Christ, #Ps 2:2.

With the oil of gladness] Quia totus mundus in unctione Christi et eius missione laetabitur, saith Kimchi; so called because the whole world should be cheered up by the unction and mission of Messiah; he received the Spirit without measure, that of his fulness we might all receive, and grace for grace, righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Above thy fellows] i.e. Ex reliquorum regum numero eximendus, above all earthly potentates (Beza); the best whereof (as David, Josiah) had their faults and flaws; or rather, above thy saints, thy fellow brethren by grace, and co-heirs of glory; they have Plenitudinem Vasis, but thou, Fontis ; neither only art thou anointed Prae consortibus, above thy fellows, but Pro consortibus, for those thy fellows, as some render it, and it is very comfortable.

Ver. 8. All thy garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia] Things not only of good savour, but of great price. Myrrh some take to be musk, aloes amber, cassia a kind of cinnamon, which in Galen’s time was very rare and hard to be found, except in the storehouses of great princes. And Pliny reporteth that a pound of cinnamon was worth a thousand denarii, that is, a hundred and fifty crowns of our money. This description, then, of Christ’s clothing doth allegorically set forth the sweetness and pleasure that the Father findeth in him (εν ω ευδοκησα, #Mt 3:17), and that we also find, while he is made unto us of God, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, #1Co 1:30, {confer #2Co 2:15} and that out of his ivory palaces, i.e. his heavenly habitation, from which he beholdeth us, and raineth down righteousness upon us.

Whereby they have made thee glad] i.e. Servi et sodales tui, thy fellow friends and servants, who stand and hear the bridegroom, and rejoice greatly by reason of his voice, #Joh 3:29, yea, make him glad by their ready obedience, setting the crown upon his head, and adorning him, as it were, with all his bravery in the day of his espousals, #So 3:11, and making him say, How fair, how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! #So 7:6.

Ver. 9. Kings’ daughters were among thy honourable women] Thy ladies of honour attending upon thy royal consort (for after the description of Christ, the bridegroom, followeth another, of the queen, his bride, and of the royal nuptials): or, Kings’ daughters are in thy preciousnesses, that is, in thy comeliness that thou hast put upon them, #Eze 16:14; for all the Church’s bravery is borrowed, and all her daughters, i.e. members, are adorned not with their own proper attire, Sed regio mundo et ornatu, out of the King Christ’s wardrobe; this is the righteousness of the saints, #Re 19:8, viz. imputed and imparted.

Upon thy right hand] Which is a place of dignity and safety. As Christ is at the Father’s right hand, so the Church is at Christ’s right hand; where, as his wife, she shineth with her Husband’s beams. This is very comfortable.

Did stand the queen] Heb. the wife, adiutorium illi exacte respondens, as #Ge 2:18, saith Aben Ezra. Of our Edward III the chronicler saith, that he was happy in his wife, a lady of excellent virtue, who drew evenly with him in all the courses of honour that appertained to her side; and seemed a piece so just cut for him, as answered him rightly in every joint (Daniel’s Hist.).

Ver. 10. Hearken, O daughter, and consider; incline thine ear] The prophet’s, or rather Christ’s, counsel to the Church, and each member thereof, wholly to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, #Tit 3:12; to leave all, and to cleave to Christ. This, because it is soon said, but not so soon done, he presseth in many words all to one purpose, Hearken, see, incline thine ear. Self-denial is a most difficult duty, and yet so necessary, that if it be not done we shall be undone.

Forget also thine own people, &c.] All evil opinions must be unlearned, and all evil practices abandoned, and all our love transferred and transfused upon Christ; or we cannot be a fit spouse for him. Christ’s spouse must {as #De 21:11-13} shave her head, pare her nails, and bewail her father and mother, that is, her natural inbred evils and corruptions.

Ver. 11. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty] If thou deny thyself and forego all others to please him alone he shall set his whole heart upon thee, and be ravished with thy love, as #Pr 5:19. How could that Persian lady’s husband do less than love her, who, having been at Cyrus’s wedding, and asked how she liked the bridegroom? Like him? said she, I know not how I like him; for I looked upon no man there but mine own husband. Aspasia Milesia was very dear to Cyrus, because she was καλη και σοφη, fair, and wise (Aelian).

For he is thy Lord] And, therefore, not to be slighted by thee for his great love, as many of the Persian monarchs were (Ahasuerus, for instance), but reverenced and obeyed, as Augustus was by his wife Livia.

Ver. 12. And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift] #Isa 23:18. The Tyrians, that wealthy people, when once converted (think the same of other nations) shall leave hoarding and heaping; and find another manner of merchandise and employment of their substance, viz. to feed and clothe God’s saints, and maintain his ministers.

Ver. 13. The king’s daughter is all glorious within] In the inner man, #Eph 3:16, the hidden man of the heart, #1Pe 3:4. Great is the glory of the new creature; but not discerned by the world, through which the saints must be content to pass as concealed persons; and not think much to have the greater part of their ware in the inner part of their shop, and not all on the board or stall.

Her clothing is of wrought gold] Ex vestibus auro ocellatis. Clothed she is with humility, and other golden graces; as with that party-coloured garment, whereby kings’ daughters, as Tamar, were anciently distinguished from others.

Ver. 14. She shall be brought] {See Trapp on "Ps 45:13"} she shall be presented to Christ a glorious Church, not having spot, wrinkle, or any such thing, #Eph 5:27 Re 21:2.

Ver. 15. With, gladness and rejoicing] As at marriages is usual. Samson’s wife, solecised in weeping at such a feast. Oh the joy! said that dying saint. But what in the meanwhile?

Ver. 16. Instead of thy fathers, &c.] The Church shall still bring forth children to her husband Christ, and there shall be a succession of his name, #Ps 72:17.

Whom then mayest make princes] The saints are kings in righteousness, though somewhat obscure ones, as was Melchisedec.

Ver. 17. I will make thy name, &c.] This is a second benefit promised to the Church, viz. everlasting renown, with highest estimation and imitation to the world’s end.

Upon Alamoth] i.e. Upon the Virginals. Virgins with their shrill treble tune, #1Ch 15:20, used (belike) to sing this triumphant psalm, and to play it on the instrument; and their hearts were somewhat suitable to it. The penman some think to have been David, upon occasion of those notable victories, #2Sa 8:1-14; others, Solomon, for the virgins to sing and play at his wedding, #Ps 45:8,9 So 1:2; others, Isaiah, either upon the overthrow of those two kings, Rezin and Pekah, #2Ki 16:5 Isa 7:8, confer #Jud 5:11, or else after the slaughter of Sennacherib’s army by an angel; then the virgin daughter of Zion (much more than before) despised him, and laughed him to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem shook her head at him, #Isa 37:22, and sang as followeth:

Chapter 46

Ver. 1. God is our refuge and strength] Deus nobis est receptus, et robur (Tremel.). All creatures, when in distress, run to their refuges, #Pr 30:26 Ps 104:18 Pr 18:11 Da 4:10,11 Jud 9:50,51. So do the saints to God Almighty, for the safe-guarding of their persons, as here, and #Isa 25:4. Luther, when in greatest distress, was wont to call for this psalm, saying, Let us sing the forty-sixth psalm in concert; and then let the devil do his worst.

A very present help in trouble] Or, we have abundantly found him a help in tribulation (Joh. Manlii loc. com.). God, as he is not far off his people at such a time, so he needeth not much entreaty; but when we are nearest danger he is nearest to deliver, as in the gunpowder plot prevented eight or nine hours before it should have been acted; masses were sung in Rome for the prospering of it; but no prayers particularly made in England for the preventing, nor could be. Here God was, if ever, auxilium praesentissimum.

Ver. 2. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth, &c.] No, not in the greatest concussions of states and revolutions in nature. Earthquakes are very dreadful, and lay whole cities on heaps sometimes, as Antioch often, which was therehence called Θεοπολις (Lege Plin. lib. 2, cap. 83, 88); but though not some part only, but the whole earth should be turned topsy-turvy, as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down, #2Ki 21:13; yea, though heaven and earth should be mingled, #Heb 12:26, in this also the believer would be confident, because God is with him, #Ps 23:4 27:1, whose praise and promise is to see to his servants’ safety in the greatest dangers, and to set them out of the gunshot.

And though the mountains be carried inlo the midst of the sea] Though all the world should be reduced again into that first chaos of confusion (Horat. Od. 3, lib. 3).

Si fractus illabatur orbis,

Impavidum ferient ruinae.

Ver. 3. Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled] Heb. Be mudded; yet we will not fear, viz. with base distrustful fear, Ut omnes procellae horribili cum boatu circumsonent. Tauti est experientiam sensumque auxilii divini habere. The tempestuous rising and roaring of the sea is so terrible, that Aristotle saith, whosoever feareth it not is either mad or senseless (Ethic. 3. 7). Fear not, saith the angel to St Paul himself in that dreadful storm, #Ac 27:24, which implieth that be was afraid with a natural fear; and he might be so without sin. An awful fear of God is consistent with faith; neither is any believer guilty of a stoic apathy. The very devils believe and tremble, #Jas 2:19. The apostle’s word there implieth that they roar as the sea roareth, and shriek horribly.

Though the mountains shake, &c.] As sometimes promontories fall with the force and impetuous beating of the sea upon them. Admit all this and more (whether in a sense literal or alle. gorical; set forth it is in a strain high and hyperbolic), yet we will bear up, and be bold to believe that all shall go well with us. Id quod Propheta miris verborum figuris additis iilustrat (Beza).

Ver. 4. There is a river, &c.] Interea civitas Dei, amidst all these garboils and hurly-burlies abroad the Church shall be helped with a little help, as #Da 11:34, that, through weaker means, she may see God’s greater strength. That contemptible brook Kidron (whereof read #Joh 18:1, compassing some part only of the city Jerusalem, or passing through the middle of it, as some write), together with the riverets Siloe and others that run into it, shall be able, through God, to save her from the power and greatness of her enemies. Confer #Isa 8:6, and this place shall be the better understood.

The holy place of the tabernacles] This was the beauty and bulwark of Jerusalem, viz. the temple, the continued sincere service of God; this was the tower of the flock, and the stronghold of the daughter of God’s people, #Mic 4:8. See #Isa 26:1,2. And these rivers of the sanctuary, these waters of life, drawn with joy out of the wells of salvation, the precious promises, made glad the city of God, the consciences of believers, and caused them to triumph over all troubles.

Ver. 5. God is in the midst of her] Hence the Church is called Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there, #Eze 48:35, there he hath set him up a mercy seat, a throne of grace, and paved his people a new and living way thereunto with the blood of his Son, so that they may come boldly, obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need, #Heb 4:14.

She shall not be moved] Or, not greatly moved, #Ps 62:2, in those great commotions abroad the world, #Ps 46:2,3. This bush may burn, but shall not be consumed; and that by the blessing of him that dwelt in the bush, #De 33:16 Built she is upon a rock, #Mt 16:18, and so is every particular believer, #Mt 7:25. And if at any time they be in distress,

God shall help her, and that right early] Heb. when the morning appeareth; that is, in the nick of time, when help shall be most seasonable and best welcome, #Ex 14:23, Begneth haveshugnah (Kimchi). Mourning lasteth but till morning, #Ps 30:5; the Church is invincible, ακινητος και ανικητος).

Ver. 6. The heathen raged] Among themselves, and against the Church (Christ mystical, as #Ps 2:1,2) with great three and fury: Quia ab ascensore suo Daemone perurgentur, as Bernard giveth the reason, because the devil rideth them, and spurreth them on.

The kingdoms were moved] To remove and root out the Church, but that will not be; because in the thing wherein they deal proudly God is above them. See those three sweet similitudes, #Zec 12:2,3,6.

He ultered his voice] Thunder struck the enemies, and saved his people by a miracle of him mercy, #Ps 18:6,7.

The earth melted] Contra naturam suam, quia est arida, saith Aben Ezra; against the nature thereof, for it is dry. By the earth some understand the enemies, who had almost filled the whole land with their multitudes.

Ver. 7. The Lord of hosts is with us] Even the Lord, who commandeth far other hosts and armies than the enemy hath any; and this they shall see by our spiritual security.

The God of Jacob is our refuge] Heb. our high tower, such as our enemies cannot come at. When he calleth him the God of Jacob he hath respect to the promises, saith Vatablus; God’s power and goodness are the Church’s Jachin and Boaz.

Ver. 8. Come, behold the works of the Lord] Venite, videte. Come, see. God looks that his works should lie well observed, and especially when he hath wrought any great deliverance for his people. Of all things, he cannot abide to be forgotten.

What desolations he hath made in the earth] How he hath dunged his vineyard with the dead carcasses of those wild boars out of the forest, that had infested it. Those four mighty monarchies had their times and their turns, their rise and their ruin; but the Church remains for ever.

Ver. 9. He maketh wars to cease] As the Lord putteth the sword in commission, bathing it in heaven; so he can quiet it, and command it up at his pleasure. He did so when Sisera was slain, and when Sennacherib. The Church hath her halcyons.

He breaketh the bow, &c.] "No weapon formed against thee shall prosper," #Isa 54:17. The Spanish Armada was set forth with infinite labour and expense; but soon dispersed and defeated.

He burneth the chariots] In quibus instrumenta bellica vel victualia pro militibus circumgestant, saith Aben Ezra, i.e. their carriages for ammunition and provisions.

Ver. 10. Be still, and know, &c.] q.d. As you must come and see, #Ps 46:8, so come and hear what the Lord saith to those enemies of yours, Cessate, etscitote, Be still, sit, and know, Ex vestris saltem malis discite, learn, by what ye have felt, that there is no contending with omnipotence. I will be exalted, asking you no leave, &c.

Ver. 11. The Lord of hosts, &c.] See #Ps 46:7 Ps 47:1

A Psalm for the sons of Korah] Carmen triumphale, saith Mollerus; a panegyrical oration, saith Beza, written by David when topful of most ardent zeal, and sung by the Korites in that stately solemnity, whereat he brought at length the Lord’s holy ark into the city of David; which gallant history is lively set forth, #2Sa 6 1Ch 15 And the use that David doth here make of it, viz. concerning Christ’s kingdom, and the benefits thereby, concerneth us as much, or rather more than that ancient people. The Rabbis with one consent say, that this psalm is to be understood De diebus Christi, of the days of the Messiah, who was prefigured by the ark, and should be the joy of all nations.

Chapter 47

Ver. 1. O clap your hands, all ye people] As they used to do at their king’s coronation, #2Ki 11:12, show your joy for and interest in Christ your King, by manifesting your righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Other joys are mixed and dearly bought, but this is sincere and gratuitous, as the prophet Isaiah setteth forth elegantly, #Ps 9:3,5-7.

Shout unto God, with the voice of triumph] Heb. of shrilling. God’s praises are to be celebrated with all manner of cheerfulness; and we are to be vexed at the vile dulness of our hearts, that are no more affected and enlarged hereunto; seeing all causes of joy are found eminently in God, and he is so well worthy to be praised, #Ps 18:3. Jews and Gentiles are here jointly called upon joyfully to praise their Redeemer.

Ver. 2. For the Lord most high is terrible] Amiable to his own, terrible to his rebels. This Son, if not kissed, will be angry, #Ps 2:12 This Lamb, for a need, can show himself a lion; as he is the Father of mercies, so the God of recompenses, &c., and being most high, he can easily overtop and subdue the stoutest of his enemies.

He is a great King over all the earth] As having taken possession, by his wonderful ascension, of the universal kingdom given him by his Father, and gathered himself a Church out of all mankind, which he wonderfully ruleth and defendeth against the rage of earth and of hell.

Ver. 3. He shall subdue the people under us] This was typified in the government of the Israelites, then ascendant in David’s days, but fulfilled when Christ rode abroad on his white horse, the apostles, conquering and to conquer, #Re 6:2 Quando Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca Christo patuerint, as Tertullian hath it: Christ subdued the Britons and others, whom the victorious Romans could never come at. The Chaldee hath it, He shall kill the people under us, sc. with the sword of the Spirit, the word; "when the law came, sin revived, and I died," #Ro 7:9. The Hebrew is, He shall speak the people under us; that is, he shall, by the preaching of the gospel, powerfully persuade Japhet to dwell in the tents of Shem, #Ge 9:27. Tremellius rendereth it, Cogit in caulam populos, he gathereth the people into the fold, viz. that, there may be one sheepfold and one shepherd, as #Joh 10:16 Eph 2:14 (Jun. ex Aben Ezra, and R. Judah).

And the nations under our feet] Hence the Jews to this day dream (as did also the disciples, soured with their leaven) of an earthly kingdom, wherein the Messiah at his coming shall subdue the nations, and distribute their provinces and wealth among his Jews. But Christ’s kingdom is of another nature, and the nations are already subdued to the Church, which remaineth one and the same, although the Jews be as branches broken off, and others set in their place. #Ro 11:24. Besides, by the nations under the Jews’ feet is meant (say some) that the Gentiles should be scholars, and the Jews schoolmasters, as it were, unto them; for so sitting under the feet, or at the feet, signifieth in Scripture, #Ac 22:3 Lu 10:39 2Ki 2:5. The teacher was called Joshebh, or sitter; the scholar Mithabbek, or one that lieth along in the dust, in token of his humble subjection. And in this sense Seneca somewhere saith, that the basest of people (meaning the Jews) gave laws unto all the world.

Ver. 4. He shall choose our inheritance for us] Or, He hath chosen. Of his free grace he espied out the land of Canaan for his people Israel, flowing with milk and honey, and such as was the glory of all lands, #Eze 30:6; and as much, yea, much more hath he done for the whole Israel of God, both of Jews and Gentiles, by electing them to an inheritance immortal, undefiled, reserved in heaven for them, #1Pe 1:4.

The excellency (or high glory) of Jacob whom he loved] i.e. All those high and honourable privileges wherein Jacob once, and now all the faithful, may well glory and rejoice, {see #Ro 9:4,5} having as great both abundance and assurance of God’s grace and goodness as Jacob ever had.

Ver. 5. God is gone up with a shout] The ark is here called God, as also #Ps 132:5, and the face of God, #Ps 105:4; because from the ark, in the midst of the cherubims, God spake to his people, and they by looking towards it had a sure symbol of the divine presence. The bringing of it up with pomp and solemnity into Mount Sion was a type of Christ’s wonderful ascension into heaven, triumphing over all his and our enemies, #Col 2:15 Eph 4:8, and joyfully entertained by saints and angels in heaven. The Jews, ever apt to work themselves (as one saith of them) into the fool’s paradise of a sublime dotage, understand this passage of the future reduction of the ark into the sanctuary, where it was once; and for the which they most earnestly pray still, as Buxtorf writeth (De Synag. Jud c. 13).

With the sound of a trumpet] Concrepantibus tubis; and in like sort he shall return, #Ac 1:11 1Th 4:16.

Ver. 6. Sing praises to God, sing praises] Do it with all alacrity, assiduity, being of that martyr’s mind who said, Should I do nothing else all the days of my life, yea, as long as the days of heaven shall last, but kneel upon my knees, and repeat over David’s psalms to the glory and praise of God, yet should I fall infinitely short of what is my duty to do.

Ver. 7. For God is King of all the earth] q.d. Our King, said I? it is too little; he is King of all the earth. A title vainly taken by some proud princes, as Sesostris, king of Egypt, who would needs be called κοσμοκρατωρ, Lord of the whole world. So a decree went out from Augustus Caesar, that all the world should be taxed, #Lu 2:1. The Great Turk, Amurath III, styled himself, God of the earth, governor of the whole world, &c.; but these were but bubbles of words, as St Peter hath it, God is the sole monarch of the whole world, παμβασιλευς.

Sing ye praises with understanding] Non bacchantium more, but prudently, and with a well composed mind, saith Vatablus; Psalmo Didasealico, saith Tremellius, with such a psalm or song as whereby ye may rightly inform one another concerning his kingdom and your own duty. Heb. Sing ye Maschil, that is, one of the psalms that bear that title, as some sense it; or, every one of you that hath skill in songs, as others, Quotquot sapientes intelligentes et periti estis psallendi.

Ver. 8. God reigneth over the heathen] This is his universal kingdom, whereof before, #Ps 47:7, and yet never can too much be said of it.

God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness] He is in a special manner King of his Church, as Ahasuerus was of his Esther, called his throne, #Ex 17:16 (because the hand upon the throne of the Lord, that is, Amalek’s hand upon the Church, as some interpret it). His throne of glory, #Jer 14:21; and here the throne of his holiness, because Christ (who is called God so many times in this psalm) loved the Church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it, and so present it to himself a glorious Church, #Eph 5:25-27.

Ver. 9. The princes of the people are gathered together] Or, the voluntary of the people. The great ones disdain not to meet with the meanest at the public assemblies, for performance of holy duties; but thither they flee one with another, as the doves do to their windows, #Isa 60:8, glorying in this, that they are Christ’s vassals, as did Constantine, Valentinian, and Theodosius, those three great emperors, casting their crowns at his feet, and willing to come under the common yoke of his obedience, with the rest of the people of the God of Abraham, the common sort of Christians (Socrates).

For the shields of the earth belong unto God] That is, those princes and magistrates also, #Ho 4:18 Ps 89:18, belong to the covenant of election; though not many mighty, not many noble are called, #1Co 1:26, and it was grown to a proverb, omnium bonorum Principum imagines in uno annulo sculpi posse. The Spanish friar was wont to say there were but few princes in hell; and why? because there were but few in all. If such shall show themselves shields to their people to protect them from wrong; and not sharks, rather, to peel them and pillage them God will own and honour such. Others thus: the shields of the earth belong to the Lord, that is, the militia of the world is his; he hath and can quickly raise the Posse comitatus of all countries.

He is greatly exalted] How should he be otherwise who hath so great a command, and useth it for the defence of his people? Especially if the grandees of the earth become religious, and draw on others by their example and liberality? Magnates Magnetes.

A Psalm and Song for the sons of Korah] When and by whom compiled we certainly know not. If by David, probably it was upon occasion of the Philistines coming up to seek him, but were sent away back with shame and loss, #2Sa 5:7,9. If upon the slaughter of Sennacherib’s army by an angel, Isaiah or some other prophet of those times (as there were many) might be the penman. It seemeth to be of the same time and occasion with #Ps 76

Chapter 48

Ver. 1. Great is the Lord] Greater, #Job 33:12, greatest of all, #Ps 95:3, greatness itself, #Ps 145:3. A degree he is above the superlative.

And greatly to be praised] No mean praises can be meet for so great a majesty. It must be modus sine modo (Bern.).

In the city of our God] i.e. In the Church; for others will not, cannot do it to divine acceptation. Galen (lib. 3, de usu part.), amazed at the wonderful frame of man’s body, sang a hymn to the Maker thereof, but yet he lived and died a Pagan.

Ver. 2. Beautiful for situation] A beautiful nymph, so R. Solomon. Or, beautiful for the branch that droppeth balsam, saith Moller; Pulcher surculo, beautiful branch, that is, for the ark there seated. Or, for the tract and climate, as #Jos 12:23, situated on the north side of Jerusalem, as #Isa 14:13, in a cold, dry, and clear air, as #Job 37:22. Sanantur illi, qui illic infirmi conveniunt, saith Kimchi, they which come thither weak are made well.

The joy of the whole earth] Not only of the whole land, because thither three times a year the tribes went up, the tribes of the Lord unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord, #Ps 122:4, not only of the East, whereof Jerusalem was held and called the queen, Urbium totius Orientis clarissima, saith Pliny, see #La 1:1, but also of the whole earth, Sumen totius orbis, as one calleth it, and Rabshakeh himself (in that more ingenuous than Strabo) confesseth Judea to be a land of grain and wine, of bread and vineyards, #Isa 36:17. Hence it is called the excellency of Jacob, #Ps 47:4, the goodness of the Lord for wheat and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd; for all which men should come to sing in the height of Zion; but especially for spiritual blessings, that their souls might be as watered gardens, and they not sorrow any more at all, #Jer 31:12; but come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads, #Isa 35:10, for the grace of God, that bringeth salvation to all men, therehence appearing, #Tit 2:11 Isa 2:3,4. If Plutarch could say of Rome in Numa’s time, that the neighbour villages, sucking in the air of that city, breathed righteousness; how much better might the same be said of this city of the great King, where God himself was resiant, and his sincere service was established! #Ps 132:13.

Ver. 3. God is known in her palaces for a refuge] As the city was an ornament to the whole country, so was God to the city, as being a common refuge to both; and as having his holy temple there, not a professed sanctuary for impiety, as Florus spitefully styled it, but far better deserving than Numa’s new temple in Rome did, to be called πιστοως και ειρηνης ιερον, the sacrary of faith and peace, where the true God was truly worshipped, and found to be a very present help in trouble, the best bulwark.

Ver. 4. For, lo, the kings were assembled] The princes of the Philistines, #2Sa 5:5. Or, Sennacherib’s princes, which were all kings, #Isa 10:8. Oecolampadius, upon #Isa 13:19, saith, that there were twenty and two kingdoms in Assyria; these all came with combined forces to lay Jerusalem desolate, but could not effect it.

They passed by together] They could do this city (dear to God, and secured by him, the Athenians boasted that they were θεοφιλεις, beloved of God, the Hierosolymitans were surely so) no more harm than as if they had been so many wayfaring men that had passed by it with their staves in their hands.

Ver. 5. They saw it, and so they marvelled] None of them could say, as Caesar, Veni, vidi, vici, I came, I saw, I conquored, but the contrary; they no sooner saw this heaven guarded city, but their hearts misgave them; and they were ready to say, as that duke of Saxony did, who intending to make war upon the bishop of Magdeburg, and understanding that he made no great preparation for defence of himself and his territories, but sought help from heaven by fasting and prayer, Insaniat alius, said he, God bless me from such a madness as to meddle with a man who confideth in God, and committeth himself wholly to his protection.

They were troubled and hasted away] Heb. They fled with a hasty or headlong flight, being smitten with a sudden terror, such as was that of the Egyptians, when their chariot-wheels were taken off; of the Philistines, when for haste they left their gods behind them, #2Sa 5:20,21; of the Syrians, #2Ki 7:6,7, when they left all and ran for their lives; of the Assyrians, when the angel had slain a hundred eighty-five thousand in their camp, &c.

Ver. 6. Fear took hold upon them there] By "so" in the former verse, and "there" in this, the shameful flight of these enemies is lively deciphered, and, as it were, pointed at with the finger. So #Ps 14:5, "There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous."

And pain as of a woman in travail] Their grief was no less than their fear; and it came upon them, Certo, cito, subito, suddenly, sorely, irresistibly, inevitably.

Ver. 7. Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish] i.e. Of the ocean, or of the Mediterranean Sea, #Isa 2:16 23:1,6,10,14. The meaning is, Like as thou, O God, with thine east wind, that Euroclydon especially, which Pliny calleth Navigantium pestem (the mariner’s mischief), art wont to dash and drown the tallest ships at thy pleasure; so thou both canst and wilt deal by thy Church’s enemies. To whom, therefore, this text should be as those knuckles of a man’s hand were to Belshazzar, to write them their destiny; or as Daniel was to him, to read it unto them.

Ver. 8. As we have heard] viz. By the relation of our forefathers, #Ps 44:1, or rather by the promises contained in the Holy Scriptures, which now we see verified and exemplified in our signal deliverances. Jerusalem’s constant protection then is here assevered and assured, per comparationem promissionis et experientim simul, et similiter eam contestantium. See the like #Job 42:5. {See Trapp on "Job 42:5"}

In the city of our God] The Church is the city of the living God, #Heb 12:22, a city that breedeth men, yea, conquerors, as Herodotus (Clio) saith of Ecbatana, the metropolis of the Medes, and as Pindarus (Nemeis, Od. 2) of another place,

Θρεφαι φωτα μαχαταν δυνατος, &c.

God will establish it for ever] There shall be a Church till the world’s end, opposing all her enemies.

Ver. 9. We have thought upon thy lovingkindness] Heb. We have silently mused or minded, as being amazed, or rather amazed, thereat, not able to speak for a while, we were so transported when we met in thy temple for the purpose to praise thee, as for thy lovingkindness towards us, so for thy power and justice exercised on our enemies.

Ver. 10. According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise] i.e. It is infinite and inexpressible, #Ps 148:1 145:3. God’s name is exalted above all blessing and praise, as those holy Levites acknowledge, #Ne 9:5. The distance between God and us is infinite, and we should labour to fill up that distance, if possible, with our praises.

Thy right hand is full of righteousness] i.e. Of noble acts, which thou hast done for us, according to thy promise, #Ps 25:10.

Ver. 11. Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters, &c.] Let the Church catholic, and each particular member thereof: give God the glory of his justice, and see that their joy be spiritual.

Ver. 12. Walk about Sion, and tell the towers thereof] q.d. Are they not still the same and as many as they were before the approach of the enemy? is anything diminished or defaced by the late stage or assault? "Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there," &c., #Isa 37:33.

Ver. 13. Mark ye well her bulwarks] Not at all impaired. The Great Turk could never have gotten the Rhodes but by treachery, notwithstanding his long and mighty batteries made upon that place day and night. How he raged at the last assault of Scodra, and blasphemed, see Turk. Hist. p. 423. Geneva is environed with enemies, French, Spanish, Savoy, Pope, and barred out from all aid of neighbour cities and Churches; yet is upheld, as it were, by an immediate hand of heaven, as Beza hath set forth in an elegant emblem, Hanc urbem non nisi miraculose stetisse et stare per multos annos res ipsa clamat.

Ver. 14. For this God is our God] To draw them up to this consideration it was, that the prophet so calls upon people to view Zion, &c., and to take notice that she might well have written upon her gates (as that city Hippocrates writeth of had) Intacta manet, the daughter of Zion is a maid still, through the prowess of her champion.

Even unto death] And after too; for this is not to be taken exclusive. He will never leave us, nor forsake us.

Chapter 49

Ver. 1. Hear this, all ye people] This that is of so great consequence and universal concernment, viz. that the saints should not be frighted nor perplexed at the present prosperity of graceless persons; but consider that death at utmost shall render them extremely miserable, and at the day of judgment men shall return and discern a manifest difference between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not, #Mal 3:18.

Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world] "Hear, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken it," #Jer 13:15. The inhabitants of the world, Heb. of the transitory world, are like men in a mill, through hurry of business; or as one that is running a race, to whom, though never so good counsel be given, he cannot stay to hear it. Of such we use to say, that they hear with their harvest ears (harvest is a time of great pleasure, and great business), and hence it is that we have so ill a seedtime for the word. We had need to wish, as Harding once did, that we could cry out against sin as loud as the bells of Oseny; yea, as those catholic preachers, whose voice is heard in all speeches and languages, #Ps 19:3.

Ver. 2. Both low and high, rich and poor together] Heb. Both sons of Adam, or earthy man, and sons of Ish, or nobleman

quorum

Ex meliore luto finxit praecordia Titan.

Diogenes once made a like outcry at Athens, Ακουσατε ανδρες, Hear, O ye men; and when a company came about him expecting what he would say to them, he looked upon them and said, Ανδρας εκαλεσα ου ακθαρματα, I called for men, and not for slaves (varlets).

Ver. 3. My mouth shall speak of wisdom] Heb. Wisdomns and understandings; and yet the matter of this psalm was nothing extraordinary for the main of it; so that a profane person would have come out with his

Quid dignum tanto tulit hic promissor hiatu?

But good points are not therefore to be slighted, because commonly handled; but therefore the better to be heeded, and proof to be made by practice, what that good and holy and acceptable will of God is that is so much pressed upon, as #Ro 12:2.

Ver. 4. I will incline mine ear to a parable] q.d. I desire you to do no more than I will do myself. I believed, therefore have I spoken; I have wrought my doctrine upon mine own affections first, and shall dig it out of mine own bosom for your benefit. It is a parable I must tell you, or a master sentence, yea, it is a mystery, a riddle, as the other word here signifieth.

I will open my dark sayings] The doctrine of life eternal, and the judgment to come, here more clearly delivered than anywhere else almost in the Old Testament, is a mystery.

Ver. 5. Wherfore should I fear in the days of evil?] All the days of the afflicted are evil, #Pr 15:15. But why should either I, or any other afflicted servant of God, be overly troubled, as if some strange thing had befallen us; or staggered at the better condition of worse men, all things considered?

When the iniquity of my heels] Or, of my supplanters, mine enemies, those naughty men (called here iniquity in the abstract) who seek to trip up my heels, and do surround me with their snares for that purpose. See #Ps 56:7. Or thus, "When the iniquity of my heels," &c. That is, as some will have it, when my sins come to my remembrance, or are chastened upon me. Every man’s heel hath some iniquity. As we shall have some dirt cleaving to our heels whiles we walk in a dirty world; so there is some defilement upon all our actions, which we may call the iniquity of our heels. "He that is washed," saith our Saviour to Peter, "needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit," #Joh 13:10. The comparison seems to be taken from those that wash in baths; for although their whole bodies are thereby made clean, yet going forth they touch the earth with their feet, and so are fain to wash again; in like manner the saints, although bathed in that blessed fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness, #Zec 13:1, and thereby freed from the stain and reign of sin; yet their feet or heels have some filth on them, some relics of corruption do still cleave to them, and cause them some sorrow; yet ought they not to fear, or be dismayed, but by the practice of mortification purge themselves daily from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, #2Co 7:1.

Ver. 6. They that trust in their wealth] Which was never yet true to those that trusted in it; and yet it is wondrous hard to have wealth, and not in some measure to trust in it; that is, to think ourselves simply the better and the safer for it, as our Saviour showeth, and his disciples, after some wonderment, at length understood him; so #Mr 10:23,24. Hence that strict charge, #1Ti 6:17.

And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches] Contrary to #Jer 9:23. This psalm sets forth the better gloriation of a believer in the grace of God, and in his blessed condition, wherein he is lifted up above the greatest worldlings.

Ver. 7. None of them can by any means redeem his brother] And therefore all money that hath been given for masses, dirges, trentals, {A set of thirty requiem masses, said on the same day or on different days, ŒD} &c., hath been cast away; seeing Christ is the only Redeemer, and in the other world money beareth no mastery. Neither can a man buy off death, though he would give never so much. Death will not regard any ransom, neither will he rest content though thou givest many gifts, as Solomon saith in another case, #Pr 6:35. Fie, quoth that great Cardinal Beaufort, will not death be hired? Will money do nothing? Why should I die, being so rich? If the whole realm would save my life, I am able either by policy to get it or by riches to buy it (Acts and Mon. in H. 6). Lewis XI would not hear of death all the time of his last sickness, but when he saw there was no remedy, he sent for holy water from Rheims, together with Aaron’s rod, as they called it, and other holy relics, thinking therewith to stop death’s mouth, and to stave him off; but it would not be (Epit. Hist. Gall.). O Miser (saith one thereupon) hoc assidue times quod semel faciendum est? Hoc times quod in tua manu est ne timeas? Pietatem assume, superstitionem omitte; mors tua vita erit, et quidem beata atque aeterna (Val. Max. Christ., p. 391).

Ver. 8. For the redemption of their soul is precious] i.e. The price of life is greater than that any man, how wealthy soever, can compass it. Money is the monarch of this world, but not of the next.

And it ceaseth for ever] i.e. The purchase of a longer life ceaseth, there is no such thing, believe it, #Job 36:18,19 De 23:22 Zec 11:12. To blame, then, were the Agrigentines, who did eat, build, plant, &c., as though they should live for ever.

Ver. 9. That he should still live for ever] As every wicked man would, if it might be had for money; for he knoweth no happiness but to have and to hold; on the other side of the grave he looketh for no good; whereas a godly man holdeth mortality a mercy, as #Php 1:23, he hath Mortem in desiderio et vitam in patientia, as Fulgentius saith, he desireth to die, and yet is content to live; accepting of life rather than affecting it, enduring it rather than desiring it.

And not see corruption] Heb. the pit of corruption. The Chaldee understandeth it as hell; to the which the wicked man’s death is as a trap door.

Ver. 10. For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool] This to be a truth, etiam muta clamant cadavera, the dead corpses of both do preach and proclaim, by a dumb kind of eloquence. Death maketh no difference; Pallida mors aequo, & c. It is appointed for all men once to die. It lieth as a man’s lot, as the word αποκειται signifieth, #Heb 9:27, and all men can say, We are all mortal; but, alas, we say it for most part, magis usu quam sensu, more of custom than feeling; for we live as if our lives were riveted upon eternity, and we should never come to a reckoning.

Heu vivunt heroines tanquam mors nulla sequatur,

Aut velut infernus fabula vana foret.

And the brutish person perish] His life and his hopes ending together. But it would be considered, that wise men die as well as fools, good men die as well as bad, yea, good men oft before the bad, #Isa 57:1. Jeroboam’s best son died before the rest, because there was some good found in him (ωκυμοροι οι θεοριλεις).

And leave their wealth to others] Nec aliis solum, sed et alienis, to mere strangers; this Solomon sets forth as a great vanity. It was therefore a good speech of a holy man once to a great lord, who had showed him his stately house and pleasant gardens: You had need make sure of heaven, or else when you die you will be a very great loser.

Ver. 11. Their inward thought is, that their houses, &c.] Some join this verse to the former, and read the words thus: Whereas each of them seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool, &c., yet their inward thought is, &c., they have a secret fond conceit of their own immortality, they would fain believe that they shall dwell here for ever. The Hebrew runneth thus, Their inwards are their houses for ever; as if their houses were got within them, as the Pharisee’s goods were, #Lu 11:14, τα ενοντα. So here, Internum vel interiora; not the thoughts only, but the very inmost of the thoughts of wicked worldlings, the most retired thoughts and recesses of their souls, are about these earthly things; these lie nearest to their hearts; as Queen Mary said when she died, Open me, and you shall find Calais at my heart. It was a pitiful case, that a rotten town lay where Christ should, and yet it is ordinary.

They call their lands after their own names] So to make them famous, and to immortalize them at once. Thus Cain called his newly built city Enoch, after the name of his son, whom he would thereby have to be called Lord Enoch of Enoch. This is the ambition still of many, that take little care to know that their names are written in heaven; but strive to propagate them, as they are able, upon earth, Nimrod by his tower, Absalom by his pillar, Alexander by his Alexandria, Adrian by his Adrianople, &c. But the name of the wicked shall rot, #Pr 10:7, and those that depart from God shall be written in the earth, #Jer 17:13, &c.

Ver. 12. Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not] Howsoever he think to eternalize himself, and be grown never so great, die he must, whether lord or lowly; and die like a beast, a carrion beast (unless he be the better man), but only for this pillow and bolster. At one end of the library at Dublin was a globe, at the other a skeleton; to show, that though a man was lord of all the world, yet he must die, his honour must be laid in the dust. The mortal scythe (saith one) is master of the royal sceptre, and it moweth down the lilies of the crown as well as the grass of the field. Perperam accommodatur hic versiculus, saith another; this verse is not well interpreted of the first man, Adam, to prove that he sinned the same day wherein he was created, and lodged not one night in paradise.

He is like the beasts that perish] Pecoribus, morticinis, saith Junius, the beasts that die of the murrain, and so become carrion, and are good for nothing.

Ver. 13. This their way is their folly] This their fond conceit of an immortality is an egregious folly, fully confuted by every day’s experience; for the longest lived person dies at last, as did (beside the antediluvian patriarchs) Joannes de Ternporibus, armour bearer to Charles the Great, who died A.D. 1139, aged three hundred sixty-one years (Asted’s Chronol. 475). So the old man of Bengala, in the East Indies, who was three hundred and thirty-five years old when he came to the Portugals, from whom, for his miraculous age, he received a yearly stipend till he died (Naucler. Purehas. Pilg., p. 481). He that lived in our days till one hundred and fifty years, or thereabouts, yielded at length to nature; and yet men dote and dream still of an immortality. The first doom that ever was denouneed was death, "Thou shalt surely die"; and the first doubt that ever was made was concerning death, "Ye shall not surely die"; ever since which time there is something of the spawn of that old serpent left in our natures, prompting us to doubt of that whereof there is the greatest certainty; and although every man granteth that he shall die, yet there is scarce any man that futureth not his death, and thinketh that he may live yet, and yet, and so long: this is folly in a high degree, and we should be sensible of it, labouring to become neither fond of life nor afraid of death. &&&Longevity-Long lived men

Yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah] Heb. delight in their mouth, are as wise as their ancestors, tread in their track, take up their inward thoughts, #Ps 49:11, observe the same lying vanities, and so forsake their own mercies, #Jon 2:8. Selah, q.d. O wonderful, for, see the issue of their folly.

Ver. 14. Like sheep they are laid in the grave] These fatlings of the world, these brainless young nobleman, that will not be warned by other men’s harms, but walk on in the same dark and dangerous ways, whatever cometh of it, these chop into the grave (as a man that walketh in the snow may do suddenly into a marl pit, and there be smothered), or rather are there pent up, as sheep are thrust up in a stall, or stable, to be slaughtered there (and in hell their souls); they lie as grapes in a winepress, pickled herrings in a barrel, stones in a lime furnace, tiles in a brick kiln, &c. Tanquam pecudes, like sheep, saith the psalmist here; and Junius’s note is, Morticinas puta in cloacis, exquiliis vel puticulis proiectas; like sheep, that dying of the murrain, are thereupon cast into ditches, jakes, bogs.

Death shall feed on them] They shall be meat for worms, yea, they shall be killed with death, #Re 2:23, which is worse than all the rest; sin, as a heavy gravestone, presseth them to death, &c.

And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning] i.e. At the resurrection, when the saints shall share with Christ in his kingdom (when the wicked shall be his footstool), and shall judge the world, yea, the angels. Others by morning understand suddenly, or seasonably, as #Ps 46:5.

And their beauty shall consume in the grave] All their pomp and bravery wherein they came abroad while alive (as Agrippa and Bernice came to the tribunal with a great deal of fancy, #Ac 25:23), and with which they affect to be buried in state.

Sic transit gloria mundi .

So passes the honour of the world. #1Co 7:31.

From their dwelling] Whence they are carried to the grave, that dark house of all living, #Job 30:23. Some render the text thus, Infernus habitaculum ipsis, Hell shall be their habitation. Tremellius thus, Et formam corum consumat infernus receptam ex habitaculo eius, and hell consume their shape (that is, their bodies now reunited to their souls), received out of its house, that is, out of the grave.

Ver. 15. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave] Heb. from the hand of hell: q.d. I am, and shall be in far better condition both in life, at death, and after death, than any of the world’s darlings. Spe bona docti ab indoctis differunt, dixit Chilo; why then should I fear, as #Ps 49:5; why should I envy their seeming happiness, which will have so sad a catastrophe, as #Ps 49:14. I shall have heaven, and that is more worth than all.

For he shall receive me. Selah] A notable text indeed, and well worthy of a Selah; a clear testimony for the immortality of the soul, and for a better life after this, as is well observed. Hae sunt parabolae, et haec sunt aenigmata, saith a good interpreter. These are those parables, and these are those dark sayings, mentioned #Ps 49:4, riddles to the wicked, but cordials to the faithful.

Ver. 16. Be not thou afraid] David was comforted, and so he would have others to be; for as it was said of a certain bishop of Lincoln, that he held nothing his own but what he had bestowed upon others, Hoc habeo quodcunque dedi; so the saints think their comforts nothing so comfortable unless others may share in them, and fare the better by them.

When the glory of his house is increased] viz. By a numerous offspring, stately building, gay furniture, great rents and revenues; for as they say of the metal they make glass of, it is nearest melting when it shineth brightest; so are the wicked nearest destruction when at greatest lustre.

Ver. 17. For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away] Nothing but a shroud, as that great emperor caused to be proclaimed at his funeral. He was a fool that on his death bed clapped a piece of gold into his mouth, and said, Some wiser than some; I will take this with me. See #Job 1:21 1Ti 6:7. {See Trapp on "Job 1:21"} {See Trapp on "1Ti 6:7"}

His glory shall not descend after him] No, nor be able to breathe one cold blast upon him, when he is burning in hell. Oh that wicked rich men would think of this, before the cold grave hold their bodies, and hot hell hold their souls.

Ver. 18. Though whilst he lived he blessed his soul] As that rich fool did, #Lu 12:16-21, and that king of France, who, puffed up with the marriage of his sister to the king of Spain, called him by a new title, Tres-heureuse Roi, the thrice happy king; but was soon after accidentally slain by the captain of his guard running at tilt with him, at the solemnizing of that same marriage, in the very beginning of his supposed happiness.

And men will praise thee when thou doest well to thyself] Feathering thine own nest and pampering thine own carcase; thou shalt be sure of parasites and trencher flies, who will highly commend thee, though against their own consciences, #Ro 1:32. The world generally admireth the happiness of such as live at full, and ask what should such a one ail? The Irish ask what they meant to die?

Ver. 19. He shall go to the generation of his fathers] i.e. To the grave, or albeit he come to the age of his fathers, that is, live here very long.

They shall never see light] Either have any sound comfort at death or any part in God’s kingdom.

Ver. 20. Man that is in honour and understandeth not] Versus amoibaeus. See #Ps 49:12, there is but little difference; Stultitiam patiuntur opes. The more a man hath of worldly wealth, and the less of spiritual and heavenly understanding therewith, the more bestial he is, and shall be more miserable. Caligula called his father-in-law, Marcus Silanus, χρυσουν προβατον, a golden brute, Quid cervo ingentia cornua, cum desit animus?

Vel mihi da clavem, vel mihi tolle seram.

A Psalm of Asaph] Who was both a music master, #1Ch 25:2, and a psalm composer, #2Ch 29:30. The most are of the opinion that this psalm was made by David, and committed to Asaph to be sung, after that Israel had been afflicted with three years’ famine and three days’ pestilence, and the angel had appeared to David, and set out the place where the temple should be built, #2Sa 21:1-3 2Sa 24:13-18 1Ch 21:18 22:4 (Jun.).

Chapter 50

Ver. 1. The mighty God, even the Lord] Heb. The God of gods, whether they be so deputed, as angels, magistrates; or reputed only, as heathen deities, #1Co 8:5. Jehovah or Essentiator, is God’s proper name. Some say God is here thrice named, to note the Trinity in Unity (R. Nahum ap. Nebien).

Hath spoken] sc. By the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, spoke much like, #Jude 14. The Rabbis say that this psalm is De die iudicii futuro, of the day of judgment. Others, that it is the Lord’s judging of his Church, drawn according to the model of the great and last judgment, whereunto it serveth as a preparation or a warning piece.

And called the earth from the rising, &c.] The "habitable part of God’s earth; the sons of men," #Pr 8:31, with #Mal 1:11. These are all called to attest the equity of God’s proceedings against a hypocritical nation, children that were corrupters. For God hath thus far instructed all men, that he is to be honoured of all, with all manner of observance, #Ro 1:20. Let this be pressed upon all sorts, said Zalcucus the Locrian lawgiver, in the preface to his laws 1. That there is a God. 2. That this God is to be duly worshipped.

Ver. 2. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty] Heb. the whole perfection, or the universality of beauty, Perfectissimae pulchritudinis locus (Trem.); because there especially was God’s glory set forth in his holy ordinances, and more clearly manifested than in all his handiwork besides. See #Ps 48:2.

God hath shined] Like the sun in his strength, sometimes for the comfort of his people, as #Ps 80:1; sometimes for the terror of evildoers, as #Ps 94:1, and here. But evermore God is terrible out of his holy places, #Ps 68:35 89:7.

Ver. 3. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence] He doth daily come and sit upon the tribunal in his Church by the ministry of his servants, #Mt 18:17, who must reprove sinners with all authority, and show themselves sons of thunder, that they may save some at least with fear, snatching them out of the fire, #Jude 23, as Peter, #Ac 2:40, and Paul, #2Co 5:11, but especially when, to work upon the Proconsul Paulus Sergius, he set his eyes upon Elymas the sorcerer, as if he would have looked through him; after which lightning followed that terrible thunder crack, "O thou full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the straight ways of the Lord?" #Ac 13:9,10.

A fire shall devour before him] As he gave his law in fire, so in fire shall he require it.

And it shall be very tempestuous round about him] Not before him only, but around him; lest the wicked should hope to escape by creeping behind him. That was a terrible tempest that befell Alexander the Great and his army marching into the country of Pabaza; when, by reason of continual thundering and lightning, with hailstones and lightning bolts, the army was disorganized and wandered any way; many dared not stir out of the place (Curtius, lib. 3, ex Diodor.). Tremellius rendereth it wish wise, but in a parenthesis, Let our Lord come, and let him not be silent. The saints know that they shall be safe, when others shall smoke for it; because God is their God.

Ver. 4. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth] That these dumb creatures may be as so many speaking evidences against an unworthy people, and witnesses of God’s righteous dealings against them. See #De 32:1 Isa 1:2 Mic 6:2. The Chaldee thus paraphraseth, He will call the high angels from above; and the just of the earth from beneath.

Ver. 5. Gather my saints together unto me] This seemeth to be spoken to the angels, those active instrumeuts and executioners of God’s judgments. By saints here understand professors at large, all that live in the bosom of the Church visible, and partake of the external privileges only; such as are in the vine, but bear no fruit, #Joh 15:2; have a name to live, but are dead, #Re 3:1; such as whose sanctity consisteth only in covenanting by sacrifice. Basil saith that such are called saints to aggravate their sins; as a man that hath an honourable title, but hath done wickedly; and is, therefore, the rather to be condemned. When one pleaded once with a judge for his life, that he might not be hanged, because he was a gentleman, he told him that therefore he should have the gallows made higher for him.

Those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice] But were never brought by me into the bond of the covenant; for then the rebels would have been purged out from among them, as it is #Eze 20:37,38.

Ver. 6. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness] Those catholic preachers, whose voice goeth out aloud to the end of the world, #Ps 19:4 50:4.

For God is Judge himself] And from him is no appeal; every transgression and disobedience from him shall receive a just recompense of reward, #Heb 2:2, even those corruptions that are most inward, and lie up in the heart of the country, as it were; those pollutions not of flesh only, i.e. worldly lusts and gross evils, but of spirit also, #2Co 7:1, more spiritual lusts, as pride, presumption, formality, self-flattery, carnal confidence in external legal worships, the sin principally taxed in this Jewish people here in the next verses.

Ver. 7. Hear, O my people, and I will speak, &c.] What sweet and winning language is here for a preface! God’s proceedings against sinners, whom he might confound with his terrors, is with meekness and much mildness, #Ge 3:9,11 4:9 Mt 22:11 26:50. Be we herein followers of God as dear children, #Jos 7:19 Ga 6:1 2Ti 2:19.

O Israel, I will testify against thee] i.e. I will expostulate with thee, and convince thee. This is a mercy which the Lord vouchsafed our first parents when they had sinned; the serpent he would not so much as examine, but doomed him presently.

I am God] And should, therefore, have been better obeyed.

Even thy God] And, therefore, thou of all others shouldest have had more care, and not have despited me with seeming honours by presenting me with outside services.

Ver. 8. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices] i.e. For thy neglect of them, but for thy resting in them, sticking in the bark, bringing me the bare shell without the kernel, not referring thy sacrifices to the right end and use; but satisfying thyself in the work done. This was afterwards the sin of the Pharisees, is still of the Papists, and of too many carnal gospellers, who think they have served God, for they have been at church, done their devoir, for they have said their prayers, &c. Yea, many of the better sort among us hold only a certain stint of daily duties, as malt horses their pace, or mill horses their round, that move much, remove little, out of custom or form. Yea, the best find it hard enough to be in duty in respect of performance, and out of duty in respect of dependence; to do all righteousness, and yet to rest in none but Christ’s.

Or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me] Heb. Thy burnt offerings have been continually before me; so that I am sated with the very sight of them, #Isa 1:11; there God complained that all his senses were wearied, and his soul vexed, by the abundance of their outward ceremonies, but want of moral service.

Ver. 9. I will take no bullock out of thy house, &c.] q.d. Keep them to thyself, I need them not; thou settest a high price upon them, and thinkest to ingratiate with me by them; I value them not, nay, I loathe them, Sordet in conspectu Iudicis quod fulget in conspectu operantis. "That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God," #Lu 16:15. Displeasing service is double dishonour.

Ver. 10. For every beast of the forest is mine] God is the great proprietary; and all is his by primitive right. It is but of his own, therefore, that any man giveth him aught; as David freely acknowledgeth, #1Ch 29:14; and that great emperor, who, dedicating his rich communion table to Jesus Christ, wrote upon it τα σο εκ των σων σοι προσφερομεν, Thine own, and of thine own, Lord, present we unto thee (Justinian apud Cedren.). And yet vain man is apt to conceit that God is obliged unto him when he offereth unto God any part of his goods.

And the cattle upon a thousand hills] Or, upon the hills of a thousand owners.

Ver. 11. I know all the fowls of the mountains] i.e. In numerato habeo, saith Vatablus, they are always before me ready at my service.

And the wild beasts of the field] R. Solomon interpreteth it reptiles, the creeping things of the field; others, copiam volucrum in vallibus, the abundance of birds that are up and down the fields and valleys.

Ver. 12. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee] I would not employ thee to cater or purvey for me. But it befalls not God to be hungry, as not only heathens held, and, therefore, said that their Jove was gone into Ethiopia to be feasted, but some carnal Jews also, who conceived that a fat sacrifice was as acceptable to God as a fat dinner was to themselves (Homer. Lucian).

For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof] Quicquid avium volitat, quicquid piscium natat, quicquid ferarum discurrit, as Seneca hath it; all is the Lord’s, he made all, maintaineth all, and may, therefore, at his pleasure make use of any; he needeth not be beholden; but the truth is, he needeth not any such broken supports. See #Ps 24:7.

Ver. 13. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, &c.?] q.d. Are you so thick brained as to think so?

Vervecum in patria, crassoque sub aere nati?

No; "He that killeth an ox" (unless he kill his corruptions too) "is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb" (unless he see his own guilt, and be carried out to the immaculate Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world) is "as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation" (unless therewith he offer up himself for a whole burnt sacrifice, #Ro 12:1) is "as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense" (unless he lift up holy hands in prayer without wrath, and without doubting, #1Ti 2:8) is "as if he blessed an idol," #Isa 66:3.

Ver. 14. Offer unto God thanksgiving] That pith of your peace offerings, that sacrifice more acceptable to God than an ox that hath horns and hoofs, #Ps 69:31. Oh cover God’s altar with the calves of your lips, giving thanks to his name, #Heb 13:15.

And pay thy vows unto the Most High] Say not God a thank only, but do him thanks; the life of thanksgiving is the good life of the thanksgiver. Our praises should be real and substantial: vow and perform to the Lord your God, #Ps 76:11.

Ver. 15. And call upon me] These two, praising God for what we have, and praying for what we want, do take up the whole duty of man; a holy trade is hereby driven between heaven and earth, and sweet intercourse maintained between God and man.

In the day of trouble] At any time, but then especially; the time of affliction being the time of supplication; for then we are fittest to call, and then God is readiest to give answer, then we may have anything, #Zec 13:9.

I will deliver thee] It is but ask and have; and surely he is deservedly miserable who will not make himself happy by asking. When there was a speech among some holy men what was the best trade? One answered, beggary; it is the hardest and richest trade (Dr Preston). Common beggary is indeed the easiest and poorest trade; but prayer he meant, it is like the ring given a nobleman in this land by Queen Elizabeth, with this promise, that if he sent that ring to her at any time when he was in distress she would remember and deliver him. He sent it, but it never came to her hands; but prayer never miscarrieth.

And thou shall glorify me] Servati sumus, ut serviamus, #Lu 1:74. And yet it is ten to one that any returneth, with the leper, to give God the glory of a deliverance. Plerique ut accipiant importuni, donec acceperint inquieti, ubi acceperint ingrati, saith Bernard truly: Most men are importunate that they may receive good at God’s hands, restless till they have it, and are careless to return thanks afterward (De Consid. l. 4). Out upon such an ingratitude, hateful even among heathens.

Ver. 16 But unto the wicked God saith] To the fair professor, but foul sinner, to the hypocrites in Sion, #Isa 33:14, to the sacrificing Sodomites, #Isa 1:10,11, those that take upon them to be teachers of others םירמול especially, #Ro 2:20,21. Origen, after his foul fall, opening the book and lighting upon this text, was not able to preach, but brake out into abundance of tears.

What hast thou to do to declare my statutes?] Since they are holy, and ought to be handled by such as are holy, #Isa 52:11; else they are dishonoured, #1Sa 2:17, God’s name blasphemed, #Ro 2:23,24, foul sinners hardened, #Mt 23:15: Ore loqueris de illis, seal corde odisti (Syr. Interp.). Quid verba audiam cam facta videam? say such; dicta factis erubescunt, saith Tertullian, their practice shameth their profession. And, therefore, to such we may say, as Great Alexander did to one Alexander, a soldier of his, but a coward, Either give up thy name or be a soldier; so may we say to such profligate professors. Or as Archidamus, the Lacedemonian, said to his son, rashly conflicting with the Athenians, Aut viribus adde, aut animis adime; so here, Either add practice, or lay away profession.

Or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?] Boasting thyself to be one of mine, and blurting out good words, when the root of the matter is not in thee. If that state in story would not hear a good motion from an ill mouth, much less will God.

Ver. 17. Seeing thou hatest instruction] Or discipline, thou wilt not be brought to live strictly, to exercise godliness; thou refusest to be reformed, hatest to be healed. Bucer and Melancthon framed a form of reformation, with approbation of the peers and states; but the clergy of Cullen rejected it with slander, and said that they would rather live under the Great Turk than under a magistrate that should seek to settle such a reformation (Melch. Adam in Vit. Bucer).

And castest my words behind thee] They are near in thy mouth, but far from thy reins, #Jer 12:2; denying in thy life what thou professest with thy lips; Ethiopian like, being white in the mouth only; or as lilies, white, but unsavoury. The Jews at this day show very great respect to the law, which no man may touch but with the right hand, and with a kiss of reverence; no man may carry it behind him, but must lay it next to his heart, in his travel (Schichard). They are enjoined to take up any paper which they see lying on the ground; and the reason is lest haply the name of God be written in the paper, and ignorantly trodden underfoot. Christians, though free from such superstitious curiosity, yet, full of religious care, should observe every tittle in God’s word, lest they should trample upon any. And when corruption boileth (saith a reverend man) think the gospel of Christ, professed by you, lieth prostrate before you; and will ye trample upon that gospel? will ye tread underfoot the blood of the covenant, as if it were a profane thing? #Heb 10:29.

Ver. 18. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him] Mala opera hic memorata sunt in secreto, saith Kimchi. These evils hereafter mentioned are secretly acted by those that pretended to better things, {see #Eph 5:12} and, therefore, heaven and earth are called to witness against them, #Ps 50:4. See #Jer 20:2-7 Servi ut taceant iumenta loquentur, the very beasts have a verdict to pass upon secret sinners, as the ass upon Balaam, and those horses upon Cardinal Angelot, who was so basely covetous that by a secret way he used to go into his own stable, and steal the oats from them (Pontan. lib. de Prin.).

And hast been partaker with the adulterers] 1. In thy desire, supposing thyself with them. 2. In thy filthy acts, though closely carried; as the Popish priests, whose rule is, Si non caste, lumen caute.

Ver. 19. Thou givest thy mouth to evil] Heb. Thou sendest, the devil borroweth thy mouth, and thou lettest him have it.

And thy tongue frameth deceit] Heb. joineth, knitteth, compacteth.

Ver. 20. Thou sittest] In the seat of the scornful, on the ale bench, &c.

And speakest against thy brother] Thy slanderous tongue, like a mad dog, biteth all it meeteth with; not thy near allies excepted: so inhuman are hypocrites.

Ver. 21. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence] I suffered them, seemed to wink at them, bearing with thine evil manners.

Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself] A good fellow, an approver, an abetter of thy lewd pranks and practices. Cogitabas quod Ehiah erat sicut tu, so Kimchi reads it. This is the evil use that wicked men make of God’s patience, they transform him into an idol after their own fancy, they have base and bald conceits of him.

But I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thee] Thou shalt see them once in their ugly hue, to thy conversion or confusion. Men’s actions are in print in heaven, and unless they make their peace with the Judge in his privy chamber of mercy, and so stop his open judicial proceedings in court, he will one day read them aloud in the ears of all the world. Meanwhile God looketh upon old sins (which he seemed to wink at) as now presently committed (for as there is no beginning of eternity, so no succession), and whatsoever he hath threatened, whatever arrows are in the bow string, will one day fly and hit, and strike deep. Woe be to men! God shall break up that filthy sink of sin that is in them; surely they will then be as little able to bear the stench thereof as Judas was, who sought help of a halter.

Ver. 22. Now consider this, ye that forget God] That cast him and his counsels behind your backs, before he awaken your drowsy consciences, and rouse up the lion that lieth sleeping in your bosoms, like Cain’s dog, #Ge 4:7, with his dog-sleep; and before you come to answer for all, with flames about your ears.

Lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver you] From the wolf a shepherd may rescue his lamb, not so from the hungry lion, #Am 3:12 Isa 31:4. God’s power is irresistible, his punishments unavoidable.

Ver. 23. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me] So his praise be cordial, oral, real, with recognition of my benefits, estimation, retribution; this is the best sacrifice he can bring me.

And to him that ordereth his conversation aright] That walketh accurately and exactly; walketh as in a frame, treading gingerly, stepping warily, not lifting up one foot till he find sure footing for the other.

I will show the salvation of God] i.e. Give him a prospect of heaven here, and hereafter a full fruition of it.

A Psalm of David] Who was not ashamed to do open penance here in a white sheet, as it were; so did Theodosius the emperor, at the reprehension of Ambrose, after the slaughter at Thessalonica; he spent eight months, saith Theodoret, in weeping and lamentation; he fell down on his face in the place of the penitents, and said, My soul is glued to the earth, &c. Henry IV (then king of Navarre only, afterwards of France also), having abused the daughter of a gentleman in Rochel, by whom he had a son, was persuaded by Monsieur Du-Plessis to make a public acknowledgment of his fault in the church, which also he did before all the nobility of his army. This counsel being thought by some to be too rigorous, Du-Plessis made this answer, That as a man could not be too courageous before men, so he could not be too humble in the presence of God (Life of Phil. de Morn., by Mr Clark).

When Nathan the prophet came unto him] Rousing him out of a long lethargy, into which sin and Satan had cast him. See here the necessity of a faithful ministry, to be to us as the pilot was to Jonah, as the cock to Peter, &c.; as also of a friendly admonitor, such as David had prayed for, #Ps 141:5, and here he is answered. David had lain long in sin without repentance to any purpose; some remorse he had felt, #Ps 32:3, but it amounted not to a godly sorrow, till Nathan came; and in private, dealing plainly with him, more prevailed than all the lectures of the law or other means had done all that while.

After he had gone in to Bathsheba] This was the devil’s nest-egg that caused many sins to be laid, one to and upon another. See the woeful chain of David’s lust, #2Sa 11:1-12:25, and beware.

Chapter 51

Ver. 1. Have mercy upon me, O God] It was wont to be, O my God, but David had now sinned away his assurance, wiped off his comfortables; he dares not plead propriety in God, nor relation to him, as having forfeited both. At another time, when he had greatly offended God by numbering the people, God counted him but plain David, "Go and say to David," #2Sa 24:12, whereas before, when he purposed to build God a temple, then it was, "Go tell my servant David," #2Sa 7:5. Sin doth much impair and weaken our assurance of God’s favour; like as a drop of water falling on a burning candle dimmeth the light thereof. The course that David taketh for recovery of this last evil is confession of sin, and hearty prayer for pardoning and purging grace. In the courts of men it is safest (saith Quintilian) to plead Non feci, Not guilty; not so here, but Ego feci, miserere miserrimi peccatoris, misericors Deus. Guilty, Lord, have mercy, &c.

Per miserere mei tollitur ira Dei.

According to the multitude of thy tender mercies] They are a multitude of them, and David needeth them all, for the pardon of his many and mighty sins; that where sin had abounded grace might superabound, it may have a superpleonasm, #1Ti 1:14.

Blot out my transgressions] Out of thy debtbook; cross out the black lines of my sins with the red lines of Christ’s blood; cancel the bond, though written in black and bloody characters.

Ver. 2. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity] Heb. Multiply, wash me; so #Isa 55:7. God is said to multiply pardon as much as we multiply sin. David apprehended his sin so exceeding sinful, his stain so inveterate, so engrained, that it would hardly be ever gotten out till the cloth were almost rubbed to pieces; that God himself would have somewhat to do to do it. He had been in a deep ditch, #Pr 23:27, and was pitifully defiled; he therefore begs hard to be thoroughly rinsed, to be bathed in that blessed fountain of Christ’s blood, that is opened for sins and for uncleanness, #Zec 13:1; to be cleansed not only from outward defilements, but from his swinish nature; for though a swine be washed never so clean, if she retain her nature, she will be ready to wallow in the next guzzle. The time of our being here is αιων λουτροφορος, as Nazianzen calleth it, i.e. our washing time. Wash thy heart, O Jerusalem, that thou mayest be clean, #Jer 4:14, not by thinking to set off with God, and to make amends by thy good deeds for thy bad; this is but lutum luto purgare, to wash off one filth with another; but by the practice of mortification, and by faith in Christ’s meritorious passion; for he hath washed us from our sins in his own blood, #Re 1:5. Other blood defileth, but this purifieth from all pollutions of flesh and spirit, #1Jo 1:7.

And cleanse me from my sin] In like manner as the leper under the law was cleansed. Leprosy, frenzy, heresy, and jealousy, are by men counted incurable; Sed omnipotenti medico nullus insanabilis occurrit morbus, saith Isidore, to an Almighty physician no disease is incurable. There is indeed a natural Novatianism in the timorous consciences of convinced sinners, to doubt and question pardon for sins of apostasy, and falling after repentance; but there need be no such doubting, since God, who hath bidden us to forgive a repenting brother seventy times seven times in one day, will himself much more. All sins and blasphemies shall be forgiven to the sons of men, &c., #Mt 12:31.

Ver. 3. For I acknowledge my transgressions] And therefore look for pardon, according to thy promise. Homo agnoseit, Deus ignoscit.

And my sin] My twisted sin and sadly accented; mine accumulative sin, voluminous wickedness, that hath so many sins bound up in it, as Cicero saith of parricide.

Is ever before me] To my great grief and regret, my conscience twitteth me with it, and the devil layeth it in my dish. This maketh him follow God so close, resolved to give him no rest till he hath registered and enrolled the remission of his sins in the book of life, with the bloody lines of Christ’s soul saving sufferings, and golden characters of his own eternal love.

Ver. 4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned] This he spake in respect of the secresy of his sins, say some; whence also it followeth, "And done this evil in thy sight." David sent for Bathsheba by his servants, but they knew not wherefore he sent for her, saith Kimchi; neither knew any one why letters were sent to Joab to kill Uriah; but because he refused to obey the king, bidding him go home to his house, &c. Others thus, Against thee only, that is, thee mainly; for every sin is a violation of God’s law; the trespass may be against man, but the transgression is ever against God. Others again thus, Against thee, &c., that is, against thee, so good a God, have I thus heinously offended, giving thereby thine enemies occasion to blaspheme thee. This, I take it, is the true meaning.

And done this evil in thy sight] Which was to despise thee, #2Sa 12:10, not caring though thou lookedst on.

That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, &c.] i.e. Declared to be just, whatever thou hast denounced against me or shalt inflict upon me. The unrighteousness of man commendeth the righteousness of God, #Ro 3:4,5. To thee, O Lord God, belongeth righteousness, but unto us confusion of face, saith Daniel, #Ps 9:7.

Ver. 5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity] This he allegeth, viz. his original depravity, not as an excuse, but as an aggravation of his actual abominations, which he saith were committed out of the vile viciousness of his nature. See #Ps 58:3,4, . The Masorites here observe, that the word rendered iniquity is full, written with a double ו, Vau, to signify the fulness of his sin; {Hebrew Text Note} whole evil being in every man by nature, and whole evil in man; which, when the saints confess, they are full in the mouth, as I may so say; they begin with the root of sin (not at the fingers’ ends, as Adonibezek did), stabbing the old man at the heart first, and laying the main weight upon original corruption, that indwelling sin, as the apostle calleth it, #Ro 7:14, ; that sin of evil concupiscence, as the Chaldee here; that peccatum peccans, as the schools. Cicero likewise had heard somewhat of this when he said, Cum primum nascimur, in omni continuo pravitate versamur, As soon as ever we are born we are forthwith in all wickedness. Augustine saith, Damnatus homo antequam natus, Man is condemned as soon as conceived.

And in sin did my mother conceive me] Heb. warm me; this Aben Ezra interpreteth to be our great grandmother Eve, Quae non parturiebat antequam peccabat. David meant it doubtless of his immediate mother, and spake of that poison wherewith she had warmed him in her womb, before the soul was infused. Corruption is conveyed by the impurity of the seed, #Job 14:4 Joh 3:6,31. Sin may be said to be in the seed inception and dispostion, as fire is in the flint. Let us therefore go with Elisha to the fountain, and cast salt into those rotten and stinking waters. And for our children, let us labour to mend that by education which we have marred by propagation.

Ver. 6. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts] Quam tamen mihi defuisse res ipsa demonstrat; but this truth hath not been found in me, when I acted my sin in that sort, and did mine utmost to hide it from the world. I have showed little truth in the inward parts, but have grossly dissembled in my dealings, with Uriah especially, whom I so plied at first with counterfeit kindness, and then basely betrayed him to the sword of the enemy. Sinisterity is fully opposite to sincerity, treachery to truth.

And in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom] Thus, by faith, saith one, he riseth out of his sin, being taught wisdom of God. Others read it, Thou hast made me to know, &c. And yet have I sinned against the light of mine own knowledge and conscience; although thou hast taught me wisdom privately, Et eheu quam familiariter, as one of thine own domestics, or disciples. Some make it a prayer, Cause me to know wisdom, &c.

Ver. 7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean] Sprinkle me with the blood of Christ by the hyssop bunch of faith, not only taking away thereby the sting and stink of sin, but conferring upon me the sweet savour of Christ’s righteousness imputed unto me. See #Heb 9:13,14,19, where he calleth it hyssop; of which see Dioscorides, lib. 3, chap. xxvi., xxviii. David multiplieth his suit for pardon, not only in plain terms, but by many metaphors.

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow] So we cannot be by any washings of our own, though with snow water, #Isa 1:16. The bride’s garments are made white in the Lamb’s blood, #Re 1:14; the foulest sinners washed in this fountain become white as the snow in Salmon, #Isa 1:18 1Co 6:11 Eph 5:27. Peccata non redeunt.

Ver. 8. Make me to hear joy and gladness] God will speak peace unto his people, he createth the fruit of the lips to be peace, #Isa 57:19, &c. No such joyful tidings to a condemned person as that of a pardon. Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee. Feri, feri, Domine, nam a peccatis absolutus sum, said Luther. David’s adultery and murder had weakened his spiritual condition, and wiped off all his comforts; but now he begs to be restored by some good sermon or sweet promise set home to his poor soul.

That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice] By leaping over God’s pale he had broken his bones; and fain he would be set right again, by a renewed righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, by his former feelings of God’s favour.

Ver. 9. Hide thy face from my sins] We are not able to endure God’s presence, much less his justice for our sins; nor can there be any sound peace of conscience while he frowneth. His favour is better than life, but his displeasure more bitter than death itself. See #2Sa 14:32.

And blot out all mine iniquities] See how one sin calleth to mind many thousands; which though they lie asleep a long time, like a sleeping debt, yet we know not how soon they may be reckoned for. Make sure of a general pardon; and take heed of adding new sins to the old.

Ver. 10. Create in me a clean heart, O God] His heart was woefully soiled with the filth of sin and the work of grace interrupted; he therefore prayeth God to interpose and begin it again, to set him up once more, to rekindle those sparks of the spirit that lay almost quite smothered; to put forth his Almighty power for that purpose, to farm that Augaean stable of his heart; to sanctify him throughout in spirit, soul, and body; and to keep him blameless unto the coming of his Son #1Th 5:23.

And renew a right spirit within me] Or, a firm spirit, firm for God, able to resist the devil, steadfast in the faith, and to abide constant in the way that is called holy.

Ver. 11. Cast me not away from thy presence] Deprive me not of communion with thee and comfort from thee; for that is a piece of hell torments, #2Th 1:9. Cain’s punishment, which possibly David might here mind, as being guilty of murder; and Saul’s loss of the kingly spirit, #1Sa 15:15, might make him pray on.

And take not thine holy Spirit from me] David knew that he had done enough to make the Holy Spirit loathe his lodging; he might also think that the Spirit had utterly withdrawn himself, and others might think as much, beholding his crosses, #Jer 30:17. But the gifts and callings of God are without repentance; and where the Spirit once inhabiteth, there he abideth for ever, #Joh 14:16: an interruption there may be of his work, but not an intercision; and a saint falling into a gross sin may lose his ius aptitudinale ad caelum, but not his ius haereditarium; his fitness, but not his right to heaven, that holy place.

Ver. 12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation] He had grieved that holy thing, that Spirit of God whereby he was sealed to the day of redemption, #Eph 4:30, and is therefore at a loss for comfort; he had vilipended that patent of his pardon which God had passed under his hand and seal; God therefore calleth for it home again into the pardon office, as it were, that he may know the worth by the want. A man may sin away, not only the sense and comfort of his pardon, but the evidence and knowledge of it, as that place of Peter seemeth to imply, #2Pe 1:9. Mountebanks, who wound their flesh to try conclusions upon their own bodies how sovereign the salve is, do oft feel the smart of their presumption, by long and desperate wounds: so God will let his Davids see what it is to make wounds in their consciences to try the preciousness of his balsam; such may go mourning to their graves (Dr Sibbes’ Soul’s Confl.). And though with much ado they get assurance of pardon, yet their consciences will be still trembling, till God at length speak further peace; even as the waters of the sea after a storm are not presently still, but move and tremble a good while after the storm is over.

And uphold me with thy free spirit] Heb. Firmly sustain me with thy noble or princely Spirit, that may make me steady and ready to come off roundly in thy service. Sin against conscience disableth for duty, taketh away freedom to it and stability in it. David, therefore, prays God to fix his quicksilver, to balance his lightness, to settle and fill that vain and empty heart of his with something that may stay and stablish it, that may also free and enlarge it (for where the Spirit of God is there is liberty, #2Co 3:17), that he might yield prompt and present obedience to God in all things; and withal might be apt and able to teach transgressors, as he promiseth to do in the next words.

Ver. 13. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways] Instruunt nos Patres tum docentes, tum labentes, saith Augustine: Two ways the saints teach us. First, By their doctrine. Secondly, By their falls and failings. David had taught men this last way to his cost, that it is triste mortalitatis privilegium licere aliquando peccare; now he promiseth by his example and instruction to teach transgressors, those that are in the very bonds and hands of the devil, God’s ways of mercy to the penitent; and that they must either turn to God or burn for ever in hell.

And sinners shall be converted unto thee] They shall give not the half, but the whole turn; and it shall appear by them. The turning of a sinner from evil to good is like the turning of a bell from one side to another; you cannot turn it but it will make a sound, and report its own motion.

Ver. 14. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God] Heb. from bloods; in every drop whereof is a tongue crying for vengeance. Besides, if David’s adultery was a sin of infirmity (he was preoccupied, as #Ga 6:1), yet his murdering of Uriah, and many others that fell together with him, was a sin of presumption; a deliberate prepensed evil, done in cold blood, and therefore lay very heavily upon his conscience. Howbeit he obtained pardon for this great sin also; so that it never troubled him on his deathbed, as some other did, though not so great, whereof he had not so thoroughly repented, #1Ki 2:5-9

Thou God of my salvation] By making choice of this so fit an attribute, he stirreth up himself to take better hold.

And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness] That is, of thy faithfulness in performing thy promise of pardon to the penitent. As Aaron’s golden bells sounded, so should our tongues sound God’s praises, and sing them aloud, shrill them out.

Ver. 15. O Lord, open thou my lips] Which now I find stopped and sealed up, as it were, with the sin that doth so easily beset me; so that whereas I promised before to "sing aloud of thy righteousness," this I shall never be able to do without thy special furtherance, nisi verba suppedites et tanquam praeeas, unless thou please to supply me both with affections and expressions, as well as with matter of praise.

And my mouth shall show forth thy praise] David had not been dumb till now, all the while he lay in his sin, but all he did was but liplabour, and therefore lost labour. Daniel confesseth the like of himself and his people, #Da 9:13, "All this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth." Prayed they had, but because they turned not from their iniquities, they got nothing by their prayers or praises. God is a fountain, and if he meet with a fit pipe (as is an ordinance rightly performed), there he usually conveyeth his grace; but if he meet with a foul pipe and obstructed, there he doth not confer a blessing. The Pharisees were not a button the better for all their long prayers, because rotten at heart.

Ver. 16. For thou desirest not sacrifice] This is the reason why David restipulateth praise, if God will pardon his great sin, #Ps 51:15, viz. because he well understood that God preferred praise before all sacrifices whatsoever, provided that it came from a broken spirit, #Ps 51:17, rightly humbled for sin, and thankfully accepting of pardon. See #Ps 50:14,15,23.

Thou delightest not in burnt offering] viz. Comparatively, and indeed not at all without a contrite heart.

Una Dei est, purum, gratissima victima, pectus (Nazianzen).

Much less, then, doth God respect the sacrifice of the mass, that hath no footing or warrant in the word. A certain Sorbonist finding it written at the end of St Paul’s Epistles Missa est, &c., bragged he had found the mass in his Bible. And another reading #Joh 1:44, Invenimus Messiam, made the same conclusion (Beehive, cap. 3). Some of them, as Bellarmine for one, would fain ground it upon #Mal 1:11. Others fetch the name Missa from the Hebrew mass for tribute (Buxtorf); which comes from Masas, to melt (because it many times melteth away men’s estates), Recte quidem, saith Rivet; per missam scilicet pietas omnis liquefacta est et dissoluta.

Ver. 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit] i.e. Such a heart as lieth low, and heareth all that God saith; such a sacrifice or service as is laid on the low altar of a contrite heart, which sanctifieth the sacrifice (Mr Abbot); such a person as with a self-condemning, self-crucifying, and sin-mortifying heart, humbly and yet believingly maketh out for mercy and pardon in the blood of Christ, this, this is the man that God expects, accepts, and makes great account of.

A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise] This is great comfort to those that droop under a sense of sin and fear of wrath, being at next door to despair. Bring but a broken heart, and God will receive you graciously, pouring the oil of his grace into your broken vessels, This comforted Bernard on his deathbed, he died with this sentence in his mouth. Austin caused it to be written on the wall over against his bed where he lay sick and died. Many poor souls even in times of Popery had heaven opened unto them by meditating on this psalm; and especially on this verse #Ps 51:17. (Jo. Manl. loc. com. 73)

Ver. 18. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Sion] Having made his own peace with God, he now prayeth for the Church: and the rather, because by his foul sins he had hazarded, or rather exposed, both Zion and Jerusalem, Church and State, to divine displeasure. Delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi.

Build thou the walls of Jerusalem] i.e. Protect, defend, and maintain the civil state, grant all things necessary for its safety and well-being; supply of all wants, confirmation and increase of all blessings. Thus pray we, #Jer 29:7 Ps 122:6-8; for except the Lord keep the city, &c. See #Isa 5:1-3 27:3. He is a wall of fire, #Re 20:9, of water, #Isa 33:20,21; say, therefore, as #Isa 26:1, and beware of security, sensuality, senselessness, &c.

Ver. 19. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices, &c.] i.e. Such as are offered in faith, and according to the will of God, #Ps 4:6.

Then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar] They shall be free hearted and frequent in thy work and service; Vae torpori nostro, Woe to our dulness and backwardness in these happy days of peace and free profession, which we had need improve as they did, #Ac 9:31. Otherwise, we may desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and not see it, #Lu 17:22. Go to Shiloh, &c.

A Psalm of David] Or the same time and argument, likely, with #Ps 58

Maschil] Or, to teach that the end of the wicked is evil; Redarguit pravos mores, saith the Syriac.

When Doeg the Edomite] When Abiathar escaping the slaughter slave, the blood hound (as Edomite may signify), came and told David what was befallen the priests and their city. This was no small affliction to David; the rather, because by telling the priest a lie, himself had occasioned the massacre. Hereupon, for the comfort of himself and other good people who were startled at this sad accident, and might be deterred thereby from helping David, he penned this psalm.

When Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, &c.] Doeg is a fit name for a courtier; for it signifieth a solicitous or bushy headed fellow, a petty officier, a progging companion, an informer, one that listeneth after rumours, and carrieth tales to curry favour. An Edomite he was by nation; but a proselyte in pretence at least, and one that was at that time detained before the Lord, either by virtue of some vow, or because it was the sabbath day and he would not travel on it, or to perform some other religious service, #1Sa 21:7: this dissembled sanctity was double iniquity; and he became a type of Judas, as some make him.

He came and told Saul] Like a parasite and a tale bearer as he was: when as he should rather have told Ahimelech, that David was out of Saul’s favour, and sought for to the slaughter, as Kimchi here noteth on #Ps 52:3, but he concealed that, that he might accuse Ahimelech; and so slew three at once (saith another Rabbi), viz. himself, Saul, and Ahimelech, calumniatorem, calumniatum et calumniam audientem.

And said, David is come to the house of Ahimelech] Few words, but full of poison; leviter volant non leviter vulnerant. Verba Doegi erant pauci, sod multum nocua (Kimchi). See the story more at large #1Sa 22:9. The Rabbis say (from #Le 14:44, where the same word is used of the leprous house, that is here, #Ps 52:5, of Doeg’s doom) that he was for this fact smitten with leprosy; and afterwards sent to hell, which they gather from #Ps 120:4 (Midrash Tillin).

Chapter 52

Ver. 1. Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, thou mighty man] Or, thou giant; for so he seemed to himself when he had slain tot inermes nec repugnantes, so many naked men, not making any resistance, though they were the priests of Jehovah; and afterwards had smitten the innocent inhabitants of the city of Nob, together with the women, the infants, and the cattle; like another Ajax flagellifer or Hercules furens ; and now vaunted himself in that mischievous prowess.

Egregiam vero laudem, &c.

The Hebrew word for boasting here signifieth also madness, when it is taken in the worse sense, as #Jer 46:9 Pr 2:14; and to boast of his heart’s desire is the note of an atheist, #Ps 10:3.

The goodness of God endureth continually] Maugre thy spitefulness, God is good to Israel, to the pure in heart, and will be so. The Rabbis make this the sense, If Ahimelech had not relieved me, God would have stirred up some other to have done it (R. Solomon). Some others understand it thus, The goodness of God towards thee, a wicked wretch, endureth all the day. This should lead thee to repentance. But thou, after thy hardness, &c., #Ro 2:5.

Ver. 2. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs] i.e. Venteth the mischievous devices of thy mind, being an interpreter and an instrument fit for such a purpose, Cogitat, id est eructat. Such another Doeg was Nicholas Saunders, priest, the firebrand of Earl Desmond’s rebellion in Ireland, A. D. 1580, a restless and wretched man, whose foul mouth was at length stopped with famine that had been ever open to stir up rebellions against the state; that had uttered so many blasphemies against God and his holy truth, and invented so many loud and lewd lies against men.

Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully] That, instead of shaving the hair, lanceth the flesh, Exscindit carnem cure crinibus (R. Solomon); or, missing the beard, cutteth the throat, Consulto aberrans iugulum petit, when Dionysius the tyrant would not trust any barber (no, not his own daughters) to shave him; but singed off his own hair with hot coals. The slanderer’s tongue, as sharp as a razor or as the quills of a porcupine, slasheth and gasheth the good names of others, and that many ways, viz. both by denying, disguising, lessening, concealing, misconstruing things of good report; and also by forging, increasing, aggravating, or uncharitable spreading things of evil report; not for any love to the truth nor for respect of justice, nor yet for the bettering of the hearer or the delinquent; but only to prejudice the one, and to incense the other. This was Doeg’s sin, and denominateth him a liar, #Ps 52:3, though he had spoken only the truth.

Ver. 3. Thou lovest evil more than good] Indeed, evil only, and not at all good, whatever thou pretendest. Thy heart is naught, and thence it is that thy tongue is so mischievous, as stinking breath cometh from corrupt inwards.

And lying, rather than to speak righteousness] For thou hast cunningly insinuated, for thine own base ends and against thine own conscience, that those innocent and faithful priests were of the combination; and so hast built thyself upon their ruins, thou false sycophant, artifex doli. Selah.

Ver. 4. Thou lovest all devouring words] Verba devoratoria ; the Greek hath it, καταποντισμου, that devour and swallow up, so as the sea doth things cast into it. So elsewhere, their throat is an open sepulchre, which devoureth all bodies, but rendereth none without a miracle. Some render it, Verba voraginis, the words of a whirlpool, which first turns men around, and then sucks them in. Others, Verba absorptionis, in reference to that use of the tongue, which is to sup up dish meats; Sic lingua attrahit homines ita ut absorbeantur, saith Vatablus. The Vulgate hath it, Verba praecipitationis, words that hurl one down headlong, Ex editis aedium vel rupium, as Hilary hath it, from the top of houses, or high rocks.

O thou deceitful tongue] Because, although it were for most part truth that he spake, yet he did it maliciously, and by dissimulation passed over that which might have made for Ahimelech, viz. that he relieved David in the simplicity of his heart, as thinking him to be high in the king’s favour, and employed by him. Hegesippus saith of Pilate, that he was Vir nequam, et parvi faciens mendacium, a naughty man, and one that made no bones of a lie: such another was Doeg (De excid. Jerus. l. 2. c. 5).

Ver. 5. God shall likewise destroy thee] Here are quot verba tot tonitrua, so many words, so many thunderclaps. As thou hast destroyed the Lord’s priests and their whole city, razing and harassing it; so God will demolish and destroy thee utterly, as a house pulled down to the ground, so that one stone is not left upon another, #Le 14:45. So shall God pull down Doeg from that high preferment which he by sycophancy hath got at court, Iudicium ipsum lethale describitur.

He shall take thee away] As a coal of fire is taken with the tongs, #Isa 30:4, that it do no further mischief. Some render it, He shall burn thee, Exuret te (Vatab.). R. Gaon, He shall terrify thee.

And pluck thee out of thy dwelling place] Or, shall sweep thee out of thy tabernacle. R. Gaon interpreteth it, Beth hamidrash, the Lord’s tabernacle, whereinto a Doeg may set his foot as far as a David, but God will pluck him thence.

And root thee out of the land of the living] Everret et evertet te cum tota familia, He shall utterly ruin thee and thine, leaving thee neither root nor branch, chick nor child.

Selah] i.e. Veritas est, saith Aben Ezra. It is even so; think not that these things are spoken only in terrorem, for a scarebug, for they shall all be surely fulfilled upon thee.

Ver. 6. The righteous also shall see and fear] With a reverential fear, from which shall spring sincere service. Aliorum perditio tua sit cautio, Let other men’s perdition be our caution; let us wash our feet in the blood of the wicked. There is an elegance in the original that cannot be translated into English.

And shall laugh at him] With a holy laughter; not that of irrision, but of exultation in God, or his righteous executions.

Ver. 7. Lo, this is the man] Or, rather, now the monster to be pointed at; once so mighty, now so miserable, O quantum haec Niobe, &c., what a strange change is here, &c. As the true Israelite is pointed out with a Behold, for imitation, #Joh 1:47, so is this counterfeit Israelite for detestation.

That made not God his strength] But carried the matter as if he had been some petty god within himself.

But trusted in the abundance, &c.] Never true to those that trusted them.

And strengthened himself in his wickedness] Heb. in his woeful evil, in his putting many poor creatures to their "Woe is me!"

Ver. 8. But I am like a green olive tree, &c.] Thus, when Doeg blasted David, David blessed himself. Let him flourish in the court, I shall much more in the house of God. My name shall be precious among the saints when he stinketh above ground; he shall wither when I shall be fresh, flourishing, and fruitful.

I trust in the mercy of God] Not in riches, as Doeg; and this faith is the root of my fruitfulness, cheerfulness, &c. Gul. Parisiensis reporteth of true crystal, that by touching only it reviveth the decayed virtue of other precious stones; sure it is, that faith reviveth the virtue of other precious graces.

Ver. 9. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it] Hast delivered me from Doeg and others, Quod non perierim centies; or, Thou hast done execution upon Doeg; i.e. Thou wilt undoubtedly do it.

And I will wait on thy name] i.e. Depend upon thy promises and providence.

Maschil, a Psalm of David] Purposely set down here the second time {see #Ps 6:1} to instruct what every man is by nature, and that he who is scholar to his own carnal reason is sure to have a fool to his master. The heathens are very obstinate in propugning man’s nature, witness Cicero, and both the Senecas, saying, that if men would but follow the bent of their own natures they could not do amiss. And we have much ado to persuade people that their natures are so foul, their ways so wicked, &c. Twice, therefore, is this psalm recorded, that all may be convinced that there is no safety in such a condition; nothing better than to hasten out of it.

Chapter 53

Ver. 1. The fool, &c.] {See Trapp on "Ps 14:1"}

Ver. 2. God looked down, &c.] {See Trapp on "Ps 14:2"}

Ver. 3. Every one of them is gone back] Diogenes in a great assembly going backward of purpose, and seeing every one laughing him to scorn, asked them aloud, if they were not ashamed so to do? since he went backwards but once, they did so all the days of their life.

Ver. 4. Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge?] Etiam scient in fine, et dolebunt, saith one, Know they shall, to their sorrow, in the end, that they have eaten that on earth which they must digest in hell.

Ver. 5. There were they in great fear] Heb. They feared a fear. God they feared not, of men they were greatly feared, and yet here they feared a fear where no fear was, viz. without themselves, only facti sunt a corde suo fugitivi, they feared and fled before their own consciences, their own trembling heart, #De 28:65; the sound of fear that is in their ears, #Job 15:21; the sound of a leaf chaseth them, #Le 26:36; they flee where none pursueth, #Pr 28:1. Naturalists tell us of a certain little bird, quae fertur metu ne in ipsam coelum ruat, imponere sibi semper dormienti alterum pedem, which for fear lest the sky should fall on her head, sleepeth still with one foot laid upon her head. The Gauls that dwelt near the Adriatic Sea, being asked by Alexander the Great what they most feared, answered, ne supra se coelum corruat, lest the sky should fall upon them. Galen writeth of a certain melancholic fellow, who hearing that Atlas supported heaven with his shoulders, was therefore sore afraid lest he should faint under the burden; and therefore carried his arm before him to save his head. Heraclides, out of Anacreon, telleth of one Artemon, a timorous man, who kept home as much as might be, having ever a couple of servants to hold a brazen buckler over his head, lest anything should fall upon him from above; and if he were at any time necessitated to go abroad, he was carried in a horse litter that touched the ground almost; and was thereupon called Periphoretus (Plut. in Pericle).

For God hath scattered the bones] i.e. The strength, the strong troops, saith the Chaldee; they want decent burial, as #Jer 22:19, saith the Syriac.

Thou hast put them to shame] viz. The poor afflicted, #Ps 14:5, because

God hath despised them] i.e. Subjected them to the contempt of the wicked.

Ver. 6. Oh that the salvation] Heb. Salvations; indicat plenam salutem, Let it show full salvation, saith Kimchi.

Maschil] Instructing us, saith one, to draw near to God, as dangers draw nearer to us.

When the Ziphims] Which signifieth flourishing, Erant autem Ziphaei ex stirpe Caleb #1Ch 2:42. ut et Nabal, sed degeneres; they might have flourishing estates, but they had withered souls; else they would never have sought twice ever to have betrayed good David into the hand of Saul, #1Sa 23:19 26:1.

Came and said to Saul] If a ruler hearken to lies all his servants are wicked, #Pr 29:12; {See Trapp on "Pr 29:12"}

Doth not David hide himself with us?] viz. In the wood and wilderness near unto our city? But what if he did, should they therefore discover him, and so pull the vengeance of God upon themselves and their city? George Eagles (alias Trudgeover the world) hid himself in a grain field, was exposed by Ralph Lurdain for money, and burnt at Chelmsford; where afterwards the same Lurdain was hanged for stealing a horse; and confessed it was just in God upon him, for betraying that innocent man. (Acts & Mon.)

Chapter 54

Ver. 1. Save me, O God, by thy name] i.e. By thyself, and especially by thy goodness, whereby thou art nominatissimus in ecclesia, well known in thy Church, as a main piece of thy name, #Ex 34:6,7.

Ver. 2. Hear my prayer, O God] He runs to God by most earnest prayer, for our instance and instruction in like case; for we must prepare for the like trials, nec de cruce disputandum est otiose et velut in umbra, &c.

Ver. 3. For strangers are risen up against me] He meaneth not foreigners, but home dwellers; Saul, Doeg, Ziphims, Nothi et spurii, strangers to religion, reason, common humanity; Jews outwardly, but not inwardly; heathens upon the matter, #Ps 59:5 Am 9:7 Re 11:2. The pope showed himself no better in delivering up for money Zemes the Great Turk’s brother, who fled to him for safeguard of his life, wrongfully sought after.

Oppressors seek after my soul] i.e. My life at least; my soul also they would destroy, if it lay in their power, as the Papists delivered up John Huss to the devil when they burnt him; and would not allow Jerome of Prague a confessor, though he requested it. So the monster of Milan, that made his enemy first curse Christ in hope of life, and then stabbed him to death, saying, Now go soul and body to the devil (Bodin. de Rep.). So he that, for spite, procuring a man to be hanged, and seeing him penitent, said, I am afraid the rogue will go to heaven.

They have not set God before them] This was the root of all their outrages, they made no reckoning of God, prout est iudexet vindex mali, as he is a severe judge, and a sharp revenger of sin and wickedness.

Ver. 4. Behold, God is mine helper] And that mine enemies might have seen, had they set God before them. The Dutch have a proverb, Where God hath a mind to destroy a man, he first putteth out his eyes.

The Lord is with them that uphold my soul] That favour my righteous cause, and wish my welfare, as doth Jonathan, and the rest that fear God; who although they be but few and feeble in comparison, yet they have God with them and for them ( non interfuit modo, sed etiam praefuit), and how many do you reckon him for? as Antigonus once said. David was environed, and in great danger to be surprised; but God rescued him by an invasion of the Philistines, #1Sa 23:27,28. The Lord knoweth how to deliver his, #2Pe 2:9 R. Moses expounded it, God is loco omnium, et super omnes, instead of all, and above all.

Ver. 5. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies] Or, mine observers, that watch me a mischief. I shall escape out of trouble, and they shall come in my stead, #Pr 11:8.

Cut them off in thy truth] i.e. According as thou hast pronounced against such as seek and suck innocent blood.

Ver. 6. I will freely sacrifice unto thee] Or, liberally; not with an ill will and pinchingly. The Arabic rendereth it, Laudabo te obediens. Praise is the best sacrifice, and obedience is the best praise.

I will praise thy name, O Lord; for it is good] Thy name is good, and it is a good thing to praise it; for thereby men do thee right, help thee to thine own, secure to themselves former favours, and procure future.

Ver. 7. For he hath delivered me] i.e. He surely will. This is the language of faith; this is the triumph of trust.

And mine eye hath seen my desire upon mine enemies] This was not an evil eye of envy or private revenge; such as was that of him, who, when he saw a pit full of man’s blood, cried out, O formosmn spectaculum! O brave sight! or that of Antichrist, who hath oft glutted his eyes with many such goodly bloody sights; as when he caused the massacre of Paris to be painted in his palace, and had the admiral’s head sent him for a present; but as admiring God’s justice on his enemies, and love towards his people, he was well pleased with such a providence, and beheld it with comfort (Thuan.). The Arabic rendereth it, Oculus meus requievit. My eye rested. Tremellius, mine eye beholdeth mine enemies; I dare now boldly look them in the face, being strengthened with thy night, &c.

A Psalm of David] Whether made upon occasion of his flight from Keilah, #1Sa 23:2, or from Absalom, #2Sa 15:16. Idem est argumentum, et idem usus huius Psalmi atque, superioris, saith Beza; this and the former psalm are of the same argument and for the same use. It is most probable that this psalm was written when Absalom was up, and Hushai related unto Zadock the troubled state of the city, #2Sa 17:15, with which compare #Ps 55:9-11 of this psalm. For thereupon David, put into a great perturbation, as #Ps 55:4,5, wished for the wings of a dove, not the pinions of a dragon, that he might fly far away.

Chapter 55

Ver. 1. Give ear to my prayer, O God] David’s danger was present, his prayer therefore is pressing, being not the labour of his lips, but the travail of his heart. The breath that cometh from the lips is cold, not that which cometh from the lungs.

Hide not thyself] As men when they are not willing to be sued unto will not be seen.

Ver. 2. Attend unto me, and hear me] Heb. answer me, that is, grant me deliverance from this death which threateneth me. This is his sense, as appeareth by the sequel; though at present he could not instance, but only beggeth audience.

I mourn in my complaint] Heb. I toss this way and that way; I am so much troubled ut meipsum lamentando huc et illuc versare, et mire agitare cogar. Prae dolore moveo me nunc huc nunc illuc (Campensis).

And make a noise] Plungo, et perstrepo. Of our Saviour it is said, that, being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly; he bent, as it were, all his nerves, and set up his note, #Lu 22:44.

Ver. 3. Because of the voice of the enemy] He may very well intend Shimei’s bitter revilings, #2Sa 16:5, &c.

For they cast iniquity upon me] They tumble it on me, as men do stones or anything else upon their besiegers, to endamage them; so did these, sin, shame, anything, upon innocent David, to make him odious.

And in wrath they hate me] Heb. they Satanically hate me.

Ver. 4. My heart is sore pained within me] No otherwise than a woman is pained in travail; cordicitus doleo. I am pained deep in my heart.

And the terrors of death are fallen upon me] Caused, doubtless, by the deep sense and conscience of his late grievous sins.

Ver. 5. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me] Fearfulness of heart, and trembling of body, Timor cordis, tremor corporis; which last falleth out, when as the spirits flying back to the heart, to relieve it, leave the outward parts destitute.

And horror hath overwhelmed me] This was David’s infirmity; for he should have better fortified his heart against that cowardly passion of fear; the devil also had a finger in it. At another time David could better resolve and say, What time I am afraid I will trust in thee.

Ver. 6. And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove!] Ut citissime et longissime fugerem, that I might swiftly fly far off from Absalom’s pursuers; as the dove saveth herself by fight, and not by fight, scoureth away to the rocks and deserts, #Jer 48:28. Many souls are swifter of flight than doves; but these hold out better. R. Jonah saith, that whereas other birds, when they are wearied with flying, do rest them upon rocks or trees, and are taken; the dove doth not so, but letteth down one wing, and flieth with the other, and thereby escapeth the pursuer (R. Jonah, apud Kimchi).

For then would I fly away] But whither he saith not, because he knew not. The Church in the Revelation fled into the wilderness, #Re 12:6 God provided a Pella for those primitive Christians. Luther, being asked where he would be at quiet from his enemies? answered, Sub coelo, under heave, somewhere God would secure him.

Ver. 7. Lo, then would I wander far off] Far from the force and fury of these breathing devils. Jeremiah wisheth the like, as being tired out by the ungodly practices of his countrymen, #Ps 9:2. And many a dear child of God, forced to be in bad company, cries, Oh that I had the wings, &c. Or if that Oh will not set him at liberty, he takes up that Woe, to express his misery, Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech, &c.

And remain in the wilderness] Among wild beasts; which were better than to abide with these lycanthropi {a}, men more cruel, savage, and bloody than any beasts.

{a} A kind of insanity described by ancient writers, in which the patient imagined himself to be a wolf, and had the instincts and propensities of a wolf. Now occasionally applied as a name of those forms of insanity in which the patient imagines himself a beast, and exhibits depraved appetites, alteration of voice, etc., in accordance with this delusion.

Ver. 8. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm, &c.] I would thrust my ship into any creek in the whole world, go as far as my legs, nay, wings, could carry me. Of the swiftness of the dove’s flight, see Plin. l. 10, c. 37; and how David hastened his flight from Absalom, see #2Sa 15:14.

Ver. 9. Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues] Heb. Swallow them up, O Lord, and divide their tongues; by an allusion, as some conceive, to those two famous judgments of God upon Dathan and Abiram, first, #Nu 16:31-33, and then, secondly, upon the Babel builders, #Ge 11:6-9, both which were thrown out for examples to all succeeding ages (as St Jude saith of the Sodomites, #Jude 7), and are to be considered by the saints, as here, in their prayers against their enemies. How God answered this prayer to David, see #2Sa 17:1-14, &c.

For I have seen violence and strife in the city] i.e. In Jerusalem, something I have seen, but more outrages I have heard of, since Absalom with his army came into it. The rude soldiers plunder the poor citizens at pleasure, and cannot agree among themselves in dividing the spoil.

Ver. 10. Day and night they go about it, upon the walls thereof] The ruffian soldiers do, as in garrisons is usual; or violence and strife do; so that in no place are good men in safety from rapines and robberies.

Mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it] What work may be thought to be made the common soldiers, among the women especially, when Absalom openly defileth his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel! #2Sa 16:22. When Tilly took Magdeburg in the late German wars, besides many other outrages, the ladies, gentlewomen, and others, like beasts and dogs, they yoked and coupled together, leading them into the woods to ravish them. Such as resisted they stripped naked, whipped them, cropped their ears, and so sent them home again.

Ver. 11. Wickedness is in the midst thereof] As if it were no longer, as once, Theopolis, but Poneropolls, for all kind of naughtiness there.

Deceit and guile depart not from her streets] The Vulgate hath it, Usura et dolus, Usury and guile; and Theodoret’s note here is, Notandum est, non mode Novi Testamenti perfectionem, sed Legis statum faenus damnare, that usury is condemned in both Old and New Testament.

Ver. 12. For it was not an enemy that reproached me] Ahithophel’s perfidy and villany troubled David more than all the rest; there not being any wound worse, as Sophocies saith, than the treachery of a friend, ουδεν μειζον ελκος η φιλος αδικων; he being such a kind of enemy, quem neque fugere, neque fugare possumus, as Bernard hath it, whom we cannot easily prevent. See #Ps 41:9.

Then I could have borne it] Though as a burden; but nothing so grievous; I should not have much mattered it.

Ver. 13. But it was thou, a man mine equal] Heb. according to my rank, my compeer, my colleague, mine Alter-ego, my bosom friend, one that stood even with me, and upon the same ground, as it were.

My guide] In all mine affairs and actions; so that I thought nothing well done that I did not by his advice and counsel; my duke, my doctor, my Rabbi Davidis, as Rabbi David hath it, out of Kabuenaki.

Ver. 14. We took sweet counsel together] It was my great delight to confer and consult with him, especially about the things of God and the exercises of religion; which is or should be sacratissimum inter homines vinculum, the straitest tie of all. Religioa religando.

And walked unto the house of God in company] But so do those false Italians, who carry a pocket Church book with a pistol hid in the binding, which, turning to such a page, dischargeth; a plot to entrap him whom they hate, even while they are in their devotions together, when there is the least suspicion (II Mercurio Italico, Introd.).

Ver. 15. Let death seize upon them] Irruat super illos mors, as a merciless landlord, as a cruel creditor, or as he in the Gospel, who took his fellow by the throat, and said, Pay that thou owest me. A sad time it must needs be with the wicked when death shall come upon them with a writ of Habeas corpus, and the devil with another of Habeas animam. Capiat illos mors, Thou shalt have the spirit. Let death seize them, so Aben Ezra rendereth it; Exigat mors in cos, so Kimchi, a חשׁונ #Ps 89:22. Here it is written, saith he, without an Aleph, {Hebrew Text Note} as it were, with a swift hand; and as if death and seize were all one word; to note the sudden stroke of death, and that it will soon despatch them. To which sense also some render it, Decipiat eos mors, Let death deceive them, be too nimble for them.

And let them go down quick into hell] As did Dathan and his complices, #Nu 16:31-33 {See Trapp on "Ps 55:9"} According to this imprecation Ahithophel and Judas, hanging themselves, went to hell alive, that is, hale and well; not enfeebled by sickness first. Augustine saith that heretics do the like, falling with open eyes, and self-condemned.

For wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them] Heb. in their sojourning place (for here we are but guests and sojourners), and in the middle of them, that is, in their hearts and houses both, undique circumfluunt malitia et maleficiis, they are as naught as need to be.

Ver. 16. As for me, I will call upon God] Or, I have called upon God, sc. for good to be done to myself, #Ps 55:1, &c., and for evil to mine enemies, #Ps 55:9, &c. (of which sort of imprecations. {See Trapp on "Ps 35:4"}

And he hath heard me] I know he hath, both for myself, #Ps 55:17,18, and against them, #Ps 55:19-21. For what reason? first, they fear not God, #Ps 55:19; secondly, they break covenant, #Ps 55:20; thirdly, they use deceit, #Ps 55:21. These courses will work their ruth and ruin.

Ver. 17. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray] So Daniel prayed three times a day, #Da 6:10; and in the temple they prayed at the third, sixth, and ninth hour of the day. The saints set themselves certain hours to pray in (besides extraordinary occasions putting them upon that daily sacrifice), the better to arouse their spirits, and to keep constant intercourse with God. Papists have their set times; and Mahometans, whatever occasion they have, either by profit or pleasure, to divert them, will pray five times every day. This they do by form and custom, not by conscience: take we heed of those ordinary traitors, formality and customariness; it hath been bewailed before that many hold only a certain stint of daily duties (as malt-horses their pace, or mill-horses their round), and rest upon them when they have done, using the means as mediators, and so fall short, of Christ.

And cry aloud] Rousing up myself, and wrestling with God, not in a customary, frigid, bedulling way; but with all intention of spirit and contention of speech.

And he shall hear my voice] How should he do otherwise, I coming upon him with such earnestness? Preces fundimus, coelum tundimus, misericordias extorquemus, saith those primitive Christians whose prayers came before God as the noise of many waters, #Re 14:2.

Ver. 18. He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle] This he speaketh upon his prayer, by the force of his faith; as being assured of victory before the battle was fought or stroke struck, as they say.

For there were many with me] i.e. God’s holy angels, as #2Ki 6:16,17. Vel multi ex Israele orantes pro Davide, sic Aben Ezra.

Ver. 19. God shall hear] sc. My prayers which are on the file before him, and as solicitors with him. Mittamus preces et lachrymas, cordis legatos, saith Cyprian. Up go prayers, down come deliverances.

And afflict them] Ludit ambiguitate verbi. The same word signifieth to afflict and to answer, q.d. he shall answer me, but afflict them; answer them with blows, with bitter answers.

Even he that abideth of old] And is therefore no changeling; the Eternity of Israel cannot lie, nor repent; "for he is not a man, that he should repent," #1Sa 15:29; neither can mine enemies hide themselves from him in any starting holes. Sedet Deus ad iudicandum, et surgit ad puniendure (Aug.).

Selah] Id est, modo honorabili, saith R. Gaon. Or, So be it, O Lord. It is set in the middle of the verse, as respecting both parts of it.

Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God] Changed they are not by repentance (which is such a change of the heart, as bringeth forth a reformed life), but continue obstinate and obdurate; neither have they any alterations in their outward estate; they are not poured from vessel to vessel, have a constant prosperity (such as Demetrius called mare mortuum, a dead sea), and do therefore settle upon their lees, cast away all care of God and his service.

Ver. 20. He hath put forth his hands, &c.] That wicked Ahithophel hath. The Fathers understand it of God and his judgments.

He hath broken his covenant] His oath of allegiance, and a particular oath when he was sworn of David’s counsel. The Scythians were strict covenant keepers (Herod. Melp.); and the Carthaginians infamous for the contrary; as now the Turks are.

Ver. 21. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter] Full finely he could soothe and smooth me up, while he was my counsellor, with his pithanology.

Mel in ore, verba lactis:

Fel in corde, fraus in factis.

But war was in his heart] Heb. His heart was war. So in another psalm David saith of himself, "I am peace"; but when I speak of it, they are for war.

His words were softer than oil] So were Joab’s to Amasa; Judas’s to Christ; Cambyses’ to his brother whom he slew; Andronicus’s to his nobles, put to death by him, while he wept over them, as if he had been the most sorrowfull man alive. Whereupon the historian crieth out, Oh deep dissimulation and crocodile’s tears, &c.! The wiser sort deemed Andronicus’s praisings to be the beginnings of a man’s disgrace; his bounty, his undoing, and his kindness, his death.

Ver. 22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord] Dare tuum, vel donum tuum, that is, whatsoever thou wouldest have the Lord bestow upon thee, cast it first by faith upon him in prayer, Agedum igitur animula men cur te diutius excrucias? (Beza); even all thy cares, businesses, travails, and troubles. This David speaketh first to himself, and then to others. R. Solomon maketh this God’s answer to David’s prayers, Spiritus sanctus sic respondit, saith he.

And he shall sustain thee] Or, victual thee, nourish thee as a foster father; thou shalt have thy σιτομετριον, thy demensum, thy due allowance: as Joseph did his father and brethren, chepi tappam, according to the mouths of their little ones, #Ge 47:12; as Barzillai at this time nourished David at Mahanaim, #2Sa 17:27 19:32.

He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved] Or if moved, yet not greatly moved, #Ps 62:2, nor removed, He will establish the just, #Ps 7:9.

Ver. 23. But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction] Into the deep Gehenna, saith the Chaldee; thou shalt hurl them into hell, from their lofty tops here.

Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days] Heb. shall not half their days; that is, shall be soon cut off, die in the flower of their age, come to an untimely end ( Ad generum Cereris, &c.); either the sword in battle or the sword of justice shall cut them off; or some treachery of men, or their own intemperance, or God’s immediate hand, shall make an end of them betimes, and before they come to the full age of a man, or before they have effected their evil designs (Luther rendereth it, Non dimidiabunt negotia), or before they are in fit case to die, Tempore non sue, #Ec 7:17, then when it were better for them to do anything than to die. Our Richard III and Queen Mary reigned the shortest while of any other since the conquest. Charles IX of France, that bloody prince, died young, of a bloody disease, &c. Absalom and Ahithophel came to tragic and unhappy ends; so did all the primitive persecutors, those cruel crafties.

But I will trust in thee] For safety here and for salvation hereafter.

Upon Jonath-elem-rechokim] Meaning himself, who had wished before the wings of a dove, #Ps 55:6, and was now the dove of dumbness among foreigners, Philistines, those ravenous hawks that were ready to seize and tear him, Fatua columba, #Ho 7:11. Dumb he was fain to feign himself, and worse, among them (see #Ps 34:1, the title; #1Sa 22:17, &c.), and therein was more of the serpent than of the dove.

Michtam of David] Davidi insigne aureolum, David’s jewels, or golden ingot. See #Ps 16:1, title. This Michtam he made likely (as also #Ps 34:1) when, gotten away from Gath, he came into the cave of Adullam, #1Sa 22:1.

Carmine secessum scribentis et otia quaerunt.

Chapter 56

Ver. 1. Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up] Sup me up (as the Hebrew word soundeth), make but one draught of me, or suck me in as a whirlpool, swallow me up as a ravenous wild beast. The devil is said to seek whom he may swallow down {#1Pe 5:8} at a gulp, as it were; and his imps are as greedy, but that they are gagged by God. The man here mentioned is Ishbibenob, the brother of Goliath, saith the Chaldee; but they do better who understand it to be Saul and his complices.

He fighting daily oppresseth me] Pliny saith of the scorpion, that there is not one minute wherein he doth not put forth the sting. The like do Satan and his instruments.

Ver. 2. Mine enemies (or observers) would daily swallow me up] Anhelant observatores mei. To set forth the indignity of the thing, he repeateth the same sentence again in the plural number; noting that there were not a few of them bitterly bent by might and main to mischief him, a poor forlorn, friendless man.

For they be many that fight against me, O thou most High] Or, though there be many that fight for me from on high, that is, the angels, as Aben Ezra rendereth and senseth the text.

Ver. 3. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee] This was bravely resolved: Quid timet hominem homo in sinu Dei positus? Faith quelleth and killeth distrustful fear; but awful dread, it breedeth, feedeth, fostereth, and cherisheth.

Ver. 4. In God I will praise his word] Having placed my confidence in God, I will take his bare word for my security. He hath promised to make me king, #1Sa 16:13, and he will not suffer his faithfulness to fail, or alter the thing that is gone out of his mouth, #Ps 89:33. The word of God cannot be broken, #Joh 5:35. David once doubted it, but he soon took himself up for halting, #Ps 116:11.

I will not fear what flesh can do unto me] Flesh is terminus diminuens. What can proud flesh do against the God of the spirits of all flesh? Man is but despicable flesh at the best.

Ver. 5. Every day they wrest my words] Or, my matters; they distort and pervert everything I say, or do, from the true intention, and all to make a traitor of me. That I carried myself wisely in the court, valiantly in the field, faithfully toward Jonathan, cautiously for the safeguard of mine own life, shifting as I could from one place to another; all this they say was done out of affectation for the kingdom, and as seeking Saul’s death. So they dealt by our Saviour in the Gospel, taking that with the left hand which he tendered with the right, and many times marring a good text by an ill gloss put upon it. So Simon the leper served that good woman, who made an ewer {a} of her eyes and a towel of her hair, #Lu 7:34. Men should interpret everything the best way, and not as logicians do, Sequi partem deteriorem.

All their thoughts, &c.] {See Trapp on "Ps 56:1"}

{a} A servant who supplied guests, etc. at table with water to wash their hands.

Ver. 6. They gather themselves together] They convene and combine to do me mischief; and should not God’s people meet often together to counterplot such malignants, and to pray them down? Cum bent, cum probi coeunt, cum pii, cum casti congregantur, non est factio dicenda, sed curia: Et e contrario, illis nomen factionis accommodandum est, qui in odium bonorum et proborum conspirant, saith Tertullian (Apol. advers. Gentes, cap. 39, Num. 520).

They mark my steps] They spy and pry into my practices, that they may take any advantage; this calls for careful and exact walking, #1Pe 2:21 Heb 12:13.

Ver. 7. Shall they escape by iniquity?] q.d. No, let them never think it, their sin will surely find them out, as cunning as they are; and since they are so foolhardy as to walk upon iniquity’s fireworks, let them look to be blown up; and they shall have my prayers to that purpose.

In thine anger cast down, &c.] It is prophetic as well as optative.

Ver. 8. Thou tellest my wanderings] Or, thou cipherest up my flittings, and hast them in numerato, ready told up; my vagaries while hunted up and down like a partridge, and hushed out of every bush, so that I have nowhere to settle. St Paul was at the same pass, αστατουμεν, saith he, we have no certain abode, #1Co 4:11; and so were sundry of the holy martyrs and confessors, who wandered about in sheep skins and goat skins, &c., driven from post to pillar, from one country to another, God all the while noting and numbering all their flittings, yea, all their footings, bottling up their tears, booking down their sighs, as here, and #Mal 3:16; see #Mt 10:30. The Septuagint, for my wanderings, or flittings, have my life, ζωην, to teach us, saith one, that our life is but a flitting.

Put thou my tears into thy bottle] Heb. my tear, that is, every tear of mine; let not one of them be lost, but kept safe with thee, as so much sweet water. It is a witty observation of one, that God is said in Scripture to have a bag and a bottle, a bag for our sins, a bottle for our tears; and that we should help to fill this as we have that. There is an allusion here in the original that cannot be translated into English.

Are they not in thy book?] sc. Of providence; where they cannot be blotted out by any time or tyrants.

Ver. 9. When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back] For how should they stand before so mighty a God? Of the power of prayer for the beating back of enemies, besides the Scripture, histories are full; that famous Victoria Halleluiatica for instance.

Ver. 10. In God will I praise his word] The Jewish doctors observe that Elohim, God, is a name importing justice; and that Jehovah, Lord, holdeth out mercy, according to that, #Ex 34:6, Jehovah, Jehovah merciful, gracious, &c. But if God should seem neither to show his mercy upon us nor his justice upon our enemies, we must nevertheless adhere to his word or promise, and patiently wait his performance; which will be as sure as he is God and Lord. {See Trapp on "Ps 56:4"}

Ver. 11. In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid, &c.] When news came to Luther, that both the emperor and pope had threatened his ruin, be bravely answered, Contemptus est a me Romanus et favor et furor, I care for neither of them, I know whom I have trusted. See #Ps 56:4.

Ver. 12. Thy vows are upon me, O God] Sunt tua post, quam vovi (Arab.). I am a votary ever since I was at Gath, there and then I vowed, that if the Lord would vouchsafe to bring me out of that brake I would do as became a thankful man every way. And now I am Damnatus votorum, as the Latin expression is; vow I must, and pay to the Lord my God; Ecce ego Domine, Lord, I am ready, do thou but set me up an altar, and I will offer a sacrifice; restore me to thy sanctuary, and I will do it exactly, in the ceremonies and formalities thereof; meanwhile, mine heart and lips shall not be wanting to give thee praise in spirit and truth, I will render praises unto thee.

Ver. 13. For thou hast delivered my soul from death] Which was the very thing I begged of thee when I was at worst, viz. that thou wouldest save my life, which then lay at stake; I also then solemnly took upon me such and such engagements, which lie upon me as so many debts, and I am in pain till I have paid them. This if I shall do effectually,

Wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling] Yea, I know thou wilt, Lord, for every former favour of thine is a pledge of a future.

That I may walk before God in the light of the living?] Called elsewhere the land of the living; that is, in this present life, spending the span of it in thy fear, and labouring to be every whit as good as I vowed to be at the time when I was in great distress and danger. Pliny, in an Epistle of his to one that desired rules from him how to order his life aright, I will, saith he, give you one rule that shall be instead of a thousand, Ut tales esse perseveremus sani, quales nos futures esse profitemur infirmi, i.e. That you hold out to be such when well as you promised to be the time when weak and sick, &c.

Al-taschith] i.e. Destroy not; μη διαφθειρης (Sept.). David being in imminent danger of destruction in the cave, might send up this short request as it were in a fright, before he uttered this ensuing prayer. Al-taschith in such an exigent might well be an effectual prayer; as was the woman of Canaan’s Lord, help me, and the sick man’s Abba, Father; or these might now be his words (to Abishai, or some other of his servants, whose fingers even itched to be doing with Saul), as afterwards they were upon a like occasion, #1Sa 26:9. Destroy not Saul. See thou do it not.

Michtam of David] See #Ps 16:1, title.

When he fled from Saul in the cave] #1Sa 24:1, or, into the cave for shelter; and where, when he might have cut Saul’s throat, he cut his coat only, and was inwardly checked for it; nevertheless the Spirit came upon him, which was no small comfort, as Aben Ezra here observeth, and he said,

Chapter 57

Ver. 1. Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful] q.d. Now or never help at a dead lift. Bis, pro more rogantium, ad corroborandum, saith Kimchi. Other Jewish doctors give this reason of the repetition of his petition: "Be merciful," &c., lest either I fall into Saul’s hands, or Saul into mine; lest desire for revenge prick me on to kill him. Or, have mercy on me, that I sin not; or if I do sin, that I may repent (Midr. Tillin.)

For my soul trusteth in thee] An excellent argument, so it comes from the soul, so it be heart-sprung.

Yea, in the shadow of thy wings, &c.] As the little chicken in danger of the kite hovereth, and covereth under the hen.

Until these calamities be over past] For long they will not continue. Nubecula est, cito transibit, said Athanasius of the Arian persecutions, which for present were very sharp. So Master Jewel, about the beginning of Queen Mary’s reign, persuading many to patience, said often, Haec non durabunt setatem, This sharp shower will soon be over.

Ver. 2. I will cry unto God most high] Who can easily overtop Saul, as high as he is, and all his complices; against whom I have this comfort, that in the thing wherein they deal proudly God is above them, #Ex 18:11.

Unto God that performeth all things for me] And in me, #Isa 26:12; doth not his work to the halves, but is both author and finisher of my faith, and other affairs, #Heb 12:2 Php 1:6 Ps 138:8. Here are the two props of David’s prayer: First, God’s sufficiency, he is the most high. Secondly, His efficiency, he perfectly accomplisheth all things for me.

Ver. 3. He shall send from heaven and save me] Rather than fail, I shall have an angel to rescue me; for although the Lord usually worketh by means, yet he can work by miracles, and will do it if there be a just occasion; howsoever, his mercy and his truth he will be sure to send, and that is enough, He will be seen in the mount, he will repent for his servants when he seeth their power is gone, #De 32:36, when there is dignus vindice nodus, an extremity fit for Divine power to interpose.

Ver. 4. My soul is among lions] And so is a lively picture of the Church in all ages. Would any man take the Church’s picture, saith Luther? then let him paint a silly poor maid sitting in a wood or wilderness, compassed about with hungry lions, wolves, boars, and bears, &c. Talis est ecclesia in hac vita, sicut et in historia Danielis pingitur.

And I lie even among them that are set on fire] sc. With rage and hellish hatred. Others expound it actively, of those Ardeliones aulici, those court incendiaries, who enraged Saul and the nobles against David, as a traitor and pest. See #1Sa 24:10.

Even the sons of men] i.e. Carnal men, that, being in their pure naturals, have no goodness at all in them.

Whose teeth are spears and arrows] Such was Doeg, that dead dog, and others void of the Spirit, which is neque mendax, neque mordax.

Ver. 5. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens] That is, saith the Chaldee, above the angels.

And let thy glory be above all the earth] That is, above the inhabitants of the earth. There are, saith Kimchi, that think thou either wilt not, or else canst not, save; oh, let thy power appear for the conviction of all such who now lift up themselves, and seem at least to touch the heaven with one finger.

Ver. 6. They have prepared a net for my steps] So that I can hardly keep foot out of snare. I dare not lift up one foot till I find sure footing for the other; and that is hard to do. See Saul’s charge to the Ziphites, #1Sa 23:22.

My soul is bowed down] I am glad to shrink in myself (as fearful people use to do), that I may shun those gins and snares that they have set to maim and mischief me.

They have digged a pit, &c.] They have forced me into this subterranean cave; and, behold, Saul himself is cast into mine hands, in this mine hiding hole.

Οι αυτω κακα τευχει ανηρ, αλλω κακα τευχων.

Ver. 7. My heart is fixed, O God] I am both ready and resolute; I doubt not about deliverance, and am well prepared to praise God. It is fit he should have the fruit of his own planting, and that of the best too; otherwise it is no better than the refreshing of him that standeth by a good fire, and saith, Aha, I am warm.

Ver. 8. Awake up, my glory] He rouseth himself out of his natural drowsiness, as Samson once went forth and shook himself.

I myself will awake early] Or, I will awaken the morning, as the cock, by his early crowing, is said to do.

Non vigil ales ibi cristati cantibus oris

Evocat auroram -(Ovid. Metam. lib. 11).

Ver. 9. I will praise thee, O Lord…among the nations] This was done by Christ calling the Gentiles, #Ps 18:49 Ro 15:9.

Ver. 10. For thy mercy is great, &c.] God’s mercy is ordinarily in the psalms bounded by his truth; that none may either presume him more merciful than he hath declared himself in his word; or else despair of finding mercy gratis, according to his promise.

Ver. 11. Be thou exalted, &c.] Versus amoibaeus: see #Ps 57:5, only that is in way of prayer; this, of praise.

Chapter 58

Ver. 1. Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation?] Or, O council; you that are gathered together on a knot, under a pretence of doing justice, and promoting the public good by giving faithful advice to the king. Una ligati, ut #Ge 37:7, vel ab םלא Mutus quia congregatio ante oratorem est quasi mutus (Aben Ezra). Colloquitur Abnero et reliquis, saith Kimchi, David here talketh to Abner and the rest, who, to please Saul, pronounced David a rebel, and condemned him absent for an enemy to the state. And forasmuch as there is no greater injury than that which passeth under the name of right, he sharply debateth the matter with them whom he knew of old to be very corrupt; painting them out in their colours, and denouncing God’s heavy judgments against them for their unjust dealings with him. The word rendered congregation is not found elsewhere in that sense. It signifieth dumbness; and is by the Spanish translators rendered, O audientia by antiphrasis, ut lucus, quia non lucet.

Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?] i.e. O ye carnal profane persons that savour not the things of the Spirit; q.d. ye are fit persons to make counsellors of state. Sedes prima et vita ima agree not. Dignitas in indigno est ornamentum in luto, saith Salvian. You do much misbecome your places.

Ver. 2. Yea, in heart ye work wickedness] These the devil worketh it as in a forge; ye are always plotting and ploughing mischief, and that not so much for fear of Saul, or to please him, as out of the naughtiness of your own hearts; and all this you know in your consciences to be true. Kimchi saith, that the word Aph, or yea, importeth, that their hearts were made for a better purpose; and therefore their sin was the greater. Corruptio optimi pessima.

Ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth] i.e. Your bribes, saith Kimchi; these we weigh or poise, quasi essent recta, as if there were no hurt in them: so Demosthenes weighed Harpalus’s goblet, to the great danger of his country, and his own indelible infamy. Manus vestrae concinnant iniquitatem (Vul.). The Arabic rendereth it, Manus vestrae in tenebris immersae sunt, your hands are drowned in darkness; you seem to do all according to law and justice (pictured with a pair of balances in her hand), when, indeed, you weigh out wrong for right, and do things κατα προσκλισιν, by partiality, #1Ti 5:21, by tilting the balance on the one side, Trutina iustior. Prov. ζυγον μη παραΒαινειν (Pythag. Symb.).

Ver. 3. The wicked are estranged from the womb] q.d. These enemies of mine are old sinners; hardened and habituated in wickedness from the very womb; it hath also grown up with them, and quite turned away their hearts from God and goodness, whereunto they stand utterly across, and have an innate antipathy; they are not only averse thereto, but adverse also; yea, to their sinews of iron they have added brows of brass, #Isa 48:4. Sinful, indeed, we are all by nature, and a birth blot we bring into the world with us, making us strangers to and strayers from God. But some God sanctifieth even from the womb, as he did Jeremiah; and some by the light of nature, not altogether extinct, and by God’s restraining grace, are reined in from notorious outrage in sin. Whereas others, cast off by God, and suffered to walk after their own heart’s lusts, in pesus indies proficiunt, wax every day worse and worse, as the apostle speaketh, till their iniquity be full, and so wrath come upon them to the utmost. But as young nettles sting straight, and young crab fish go backward, and young urchins are rough; so naughty nature soon appeareth in little ones. Valezatha, the youngest of Haman’s sons, is by the Hebrews said to be the most malicious; and hath therefore one letter ו in his name bigger than the rest. {Hebrew Text Note}

They go astray as soon as they be born] Heb. from the belly; Partus sequitur ventrem, no sooner could they do anything but they were doing evil, lisping out lies and slanders very early.

Ver. 4. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent] Their inbred corruption (the spawn of that old serpent, #Ge 3:1-14) is strong, and full of infection, able to kill both the party in whom it is and the other also upon whom it is cast. Malice drinketh up the most part of its own venom, but some it spitteth out upon others; for it is not like the maid whom Avicen mentioneth, who, feeding upon poison, was herself healthy, yet infected others with her venomous breath, #De 32:33. Hot poison have they, like as the hot poison of a serpent (so some render it), yea, of the worst sort of serpents, the asp (for serpentum quot colores tot dolores, saith Isidore), the venom whereof is incurable, saith Pliny, lib. viii. c. 3; unless the members touched therewith be immediately cut off.

They are like the deaf adder (or asp) that stoppeth her ear] So that their naughtiness is not natural only, but habitual, acquired, wilful; they refuse to be reformed, they hate to be healed, and must, therefore, be turned over to God with a Noluerunt incantari, they would not be reclaimed, they are uncounselable, unpersuasible. The adder or asp here hath her name Pethen, from persuasibleness, but it is by antiphrasis. Wicked men are likewise said to be απειθεις, unpersuaded, or disobedient, #Tit 1:16, and children of disobedience, #Eph 2:2, such as whom Non persuadebis etiamsi persuaseris, speak you never so persuasively, ye shall never persuade. Nay, but we will have a king, said they of old, when they had nothing else to say. So Pharaoh, when clearly convinced, sent for the sorcerers.

Ver. 5. Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers] Such there are, the devil’s spellmen, #Ec 10:8, that can enchant some kind of serpents, and some they cannot, as #Jer 8:17. That the serpent here spoken of, when she beginneth to feel the charmer, clappeth one of her ears close to the ground, and stoppeth the other with her tail, is affirmed by Jerome, Austin, and Cassiodorus. Vide Plin. lib. 2, c. 7; l. 8, c. 3. Quum coeperit incantatorem suum pati, allidit unam aurem terrae et cauda obturat alteram (Aug. in loc.; Horat. Epist. 2). And that she doth this, although by hearkening to the charmer, provoking her to spit out her poison, she might renew her age, is affirmed by others; semblably, perverse people will not be persuaded to live happily, reign everlastingly.

— At Paris ut vivat regnetque beatus,

Cogi posse negat.

Ver. 6. Break their teeth, O God] Disarm and disable them from doing me mischief. See #Ps 3:7 10:13 57:4, to which last he seemeth here to refer.

Ver. 7. Let them melt away as waters] As snowwaters before the sunbeams, quickly melted, and soon drunk in by the dry earth, #Job 24:19. In Peru, they say, there is a river called the diurnal river, or the day river, because it flows with a mighty current in the day, but in the night is dry, because it is not fed by a spring, but caused merely by the melting of the snow, which lieth on the mountains thereabouts.

When he bendeth his bow] i.e. Let him be utterly frustrated, let all his mischievous designs and endeavours be blasted, and come to nothing. In that famous battle between Theodosius and Maximus, Milites nobis qui aderant retulerunt, saith Augustine (De Cit. Dei, l. 5, c. 26), extorta sibi esse de manibus quaecunque iculabantur; cum a Theodosii partibus in adversarios vehemens ventus iret; et non solum quaecunque in cos iaciebantur concitatissime raperet, verum etiam ipsorum tela in eorum corpora retorqueret: the soldiers told us that their darts thrown against the Christians were, by a violent wind, brought back upon themselves. Accordingly some render this hemistich thus: When he bendeth, &c., let him be as they that cut off themselves, Iethmalalu reciprocam habet significationem. Et hoc Saulo contigit.

Ver. 8. As a snail which melteth] The psalmist heapeth up many very fit similitudes agreeable to these men’s avarice and ambition, which was to raise themselves and their posterity to great estates; but all should come to nothing suddenly.

Ver. 9. Before your pots can feel the thorns, &c.] Of this text we may say, as one doth of another, it had been easy had not commentators made it so knotty. I am for that of Drusius, Tractum a semicrudis carnibus olla extractis priusquam ignis calorem senserint, It is a comparison taken from raw flesh, taken out of the pot before it hath felt the full force of the fire (Proverb, clas. 2, l. 2. #Pr 30:16).

Both living, and in his wrath] i.e. When they are most vigorous and vivacious, to see to, his wrath shall sweep them away.

Ver. 10. The righteous shall rejoice, &c.] Giving God the glory of his justice against his enemies and care of his poor people. See #Ex 15:1 Re 15:3 Es 7:10 8:9 Pr 11:10.

He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked] A speech borrowed from great conquerors, wading up to the ancles in the blood of their enemies; or, as some think, from those that tread the wine-press with joy. Some make this the sense: the righteous, seeing the ruin of the wicked, shall become more cautious; according to that, Alterius perditio tua sit cautio.

Ver. 11. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward] Not the religious only, but the rational, Passim et palam haec duo profitebuntur, shall everywhere, and all abroad, say, as here,

There is a reward] See my Righteous Man’s Recompense.

Verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth] Sitteth not idle in heaven, letting things run here at sixes and sevens, as fate or blind fortune will. Curiosus est, plenusque negotii Deus, saith Cicero.

Al-taschith] Destroy not, preserve me from this ambush. See #Ps 57:1, title.

When Saul sent, and they watched the house] But were disappointed by Michal shifting him out of the way, preferring a husband before a father, though she had otherwise no great goodness in her. The glory of this deliverance David wholly ascribeth to God, and seeketh help of him.

Chapter 59

Ver. 1. Deliver me from mine enemies, O God] This psalm is the same in substance with those aforegoing, viz. David’s desire to be delivered from Saul’s craft and cruelty.

Defend me from them] Heb. Set me on high, far out of their reach.

Ver. 2. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity] Saul’s assassins and bloodhounds, hired to despatch me.

Ver. 3. The mighty are gathered aqainst me] The seven sons of Saul, say the Rabbis, who were afterwards hanged, #2Sa 21:1-9, with a company of cut-throats attending them (R. Obad. Gaon in loc.).

Ver. 4. They run and prepare themselves] At Saul’s command, never inquiring into the cause, right or wrong; but taking his will for warrant good enough.

Awake to help me] Heb. to meet me, sc. in mercy, Ut occurras et succurras mihi, or, at my calling, as some render it.

And behold] {See Trapp on "Ps 34:15"}

Ver. 5. Awake to visit all the heathen] These pagan Israelites, who might have some heathens also among them, Saul’s slaughtermen, men fleshed in blood.

Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors] Heb. that treacherously work iniquity, that do it consulto et data opera, desperadoes, reprobates, destined to eternal destruction.

Ver. 6. They return at evening] sc. To mine house at Gibeah of Saul, hoping to find me then at home again; as if, like the hunted hare, I must needs return to my old form.

They make a noise like a dog] When coming the second night also they missed of David they barked and howled like mad dogs, ready to take every one they met by the throat.

And go round about the city] Ferreting and searching after him in all places, and perhaps surrounding the city to surprise him.

Ver. 7. Behold, they belch out with their mouth] Calling me traitor wherever they come, and seeking to double murder him, viz. by detraction, and by deadly practice. As a fountain casteth out waters, so do graceless men wickedness, #Jer 6:7.

Swords are in their lips] Or, to their lips they add swords; they word it not only, but are armed and well-appointed. But it is well that they blurt out their bloody purposes, and so give warning, Hunc tibi pugionem mittit Senatus; detexit facinus fatuus, et non implevit.

For who, say they, doth hear?] i.e. Who, that we need care for? David’s friends, they thought, durst not utter their discontent; and for God they took no great thought, #Ps 10:3 55:20.

Ver. 8. But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them] q.d. Thou not only hearest, but jeerest, at their madness, and wilt bring all their purposes to nought with little ado; and, as it were, playing and sporting. See #Ps 2:4.

Ver. 9. Because of his strength will I wait on thee] The stronger Saul is the more will I adhere to thee. Or thus, His strength will I reserve to thee; that is, I will turn him over to thee, who act far stronger, to take an order with him; to put a hook into his nose, and a bridle into his jaws, and to bring me at length to the kingdom.

For God is my defence] Heb. my high place; therefore what need I fear him, or his emissaries.

Ver. 10. The God of my mercy shall prevent me] Or, God will prevent me with his mercy, sc. before I ask or think; howsoever, in the opportunity of time he will not fail me.

God shall let me see, &c.] See #Ps 54:7.

Ver. 11. Slay them not, lest my people forget] Marcet sine adversario virtus, the natural heat decayeth if it have not wherewith to wrestle. Carthage was not to be destroyed, that Rome might not want an adversary. The saints have the relics of corruption left in them for exercise of their graces. "Slay them not," saith David; and the Chaldee addeth, statim, forthwith, or outright, but by degrees rather; "lest my people," my followers and fellow soldiers, forget their skill in arms or thy judgments on the enemies.

Scatter them by thy power] That they may wander, as Cain did, and be restless. Or, shake them to and fro, as meal is shaken in a sieve; let them be dissipated, and by degrees wasted, that they may be as so many standing monuments of the divine justice, ut eo sint illustriora et testatiora tun iudicia, as the dejected people of the Jews are today.

Ver. 12. For the sin of their mouth, &c.] The Arabians have this proverb, Take heed lest thy tongue cut thy throat. Many a man’s mouth is a purgatory to the master. Hard words must be reckoned for, #Jude 15; the Jews find it so, and will do.

And for cursing, &c.] Cursing men are cursed men.

Ver. 13. Consume them in wrath, &c.] But by degrees, as #Ps 59:11, slowly, but surely and severely; that they may feel themselves wasted. There may be much poison in little drops, paulatim seu gradatim et in fine penitus corruant (Kimchi).

And let them know] Know to their cost; or, let men know.

Ver. 14. And at evening let them return, &c.] Let these backsliders in heart be filled with their own ways; run about for hunger, as before they did for malice, #Ps 59:6. Here the prophet mindeth to mock them, saith an interpreter, Revertantur famelici (Vat.). Sit poena eorum sicur peccatum (Kimchi).

Ver. 15. Let them wander up and down for meat] Sicut mendici de ostio ad ostium faciunt, as beggars do from door to door, saith Kimchi.

And grudge if they be not satisfied] Murmur against God and men, howling against heaven, as hungry wolves, #Isa 8:21. Others understand it thus, Let them run to and fro for meat, that is, to devour me, as #Ps 27:2; but surely they shall not be satisfied, but miss their design, though they tarry all night, watching for me.

Ver. 16. In the morning] That time wherein they thought to have surprised me, #1Sa 19:11, but thou hast secured me. See #Isa 65:14.

Ver. 17. O my strength] All David’s strength was derivative; in himself he was weak as water.

Upon Shushan-eduth] An instrument so called, or to the tune of some song so called. The words signify the lily of the testimony; or, of kingly ornament; whereof many make manifold constructions, but they are all conjectural.

Michtam of David, to teach] The Hebrews have a proverb, Lilmod lelammed, Men must, therefore, learn that they may teach. David here imparteth what he had learned of God’s goodness; and would teach others, especially when they go to war, as #Jud 3:2 2Sa 1:18, to call upon God, and to lean upon his promises; as himself had done with singular success.

When he strove with Aram-naharaim] Cum rixaretur, contenderet. Mesopotamia, called here Aram-naharaim, lay between those two famous rivers, Euphrates and Tigris; and so seemeth to have been a part of that earthly paradise, #Ge 2:10-14, whereof since Adam’s fall and Noah’s flood, cecidit rosa, mansit spina, saith one, the rose is gone, the thorn only remaineth. A country fruitful beyond belief, as Herodotus hath it; but inhabited by such as here joined with the Ammonites and other enemies of the Church; and were, therefore, sought by David, and at length vanquished. See #1Ch 19.

And with Aram-zobah] Or, Coelesyria, whereof Damascus was the metropolis.

When Joab returned] sc. From the slaughter of the Syrians.

And smote of Edom] That is, of the Edomites, who had set upon Israel in the south, when Joab with the army was fighting against the Syrians in the east. Joab, therefore, at his return took them to do; and slew twelve thousand, after that Abishai had first slain six thousand of them, all which eighteen thousand are said to have been slain by David, as being Rex et Radix victoriae, saith Kimchi, the king and root of the victory, #2Sa 8:13.

In the valley of Salt] Where Abraham had once fought with the four victorious kings, #Ge 14:9,14,15, and afterwards Amaziah with the Edomites. likewise slaying ten thousand, #2Ki 14:7, In the midst of these conflicts and bustles David is thought to have written this psalm, together with #Ps 44 Ps 108

Chapter 60

Ver. 1. O God, thou hast cast us off] Some gather from this sad complaint that David was sometimes worsted in these wars, though it be not particularly so recorded in the Scriptures (Aben Ezra). Dubia est martis alea, Κοινος ενυαλιος, #2Sa 11:25; the best cause hath not always the best success, #Jud 20:21,25. Others think that the psalmist here complaineth of the sad condition of the Israelites after that Saul was slain in Mount Gilboa, and the Philistines tyrannized at their pleasure, #1Sa 21:7. Whereupon also followed these civil dissensions and seditions, while some of the tribes set up Ishbosheth, and others went after David. These miseries he here mentioneth the rather that God’s goodness in the present settlement of the kingdom might the better appear. Hence most interpreters read the words in the preterpluperfect, Thou hadst cast us off, thou hadst scattered us, &c.; but now it is well with us for the present, and better yet it will be.

Ver. 2. Thou hast made the earth to tremble] By sundry fearful and dismal fractions and concussions in our state.

Thou hast broken it] In allusion to earthquakes.

Heal the breaches thereof] Remedy the disorders, and cure the diseases, like a good physician. The Greeks call a king αναξ αβ ακος, Medela from his healing office; God is Jehovah, the physician, the Sun of righteousness hath healing under his wings.

For it shaketh] Nutat ac mox ruitura videtur it will surely down if not timely shored up.

Ver. 3. Thou hast showed thy people hard things] God will be sure to plough his own ground, whatsoever becometh of the waste; and to weed his own garden, though the rest of the world should be let alone to grow wild.

Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment] Vinum vacillationis, we are intoxicated with our afflictions, according to that, #De 28:28,34, we are drunk with them, or rather mad, and put quite besides all faith and hope in a manner, Fuimus obstupefacti tanquam venefica potione.

Ver. 4. Thou hast given a banner] All the forementioned had formerly befallen them, but now it began to be better, the scene to be altered, banners erected, and displayed in token of victory, and for a singular sign of God s favour, in that juncture of time and deplored condition of theirs.

Because of the truth. Selah] Heb. From the face of the truth, that is, with reference to thy promises, which thou failest not to fulfil.

Ver. 5. That thy beloved may be delivered] Heb. thy darlings, those that fear thee, #Ps 60:4, for, for their sakes it is that God doth good to a people; to all others he seemeth to say, as Elisha once did to Jehoram, that wicked king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? &c. Were it not that I regarded such and such people, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee, #2Ki 3:13,14.

Save with thy right hand] Heb. Save thy right hand, which seemeth to be afflicted together with us; because the enemies say, he cannot save us; thus Kimchi expoundeth it.

Ver. 6. God hath spoken in his holiness] He hath assured me all these following places; therefore I looked upon them long since as already mine, and now I am master of them.

I will rejoice] As having peaceable possession of all; though I have come hardly by it. Now I see that whatsoever God by his servant Samuel assured me of, was true, and to be trusted; albeit I sometimes doubted of it, #Ps 116:11 1Sa 27:1.

I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth] Which places, though they longest held out against me under Ishbosheth, yet now that they are come in, they shall have civil usage under me, and be better dealt with than those outland enemies, Moab, Edom, &c., now brought under my subjection.

Ver. 7. Gilead is mine and Manasseh] These countries on the other side of Jordan the Syrians haply had gotten, and now David had recovered them.

Ephraim also is the strength of my head] Because a populous and potent tribe. Junius thinks David here alludeth to that of Moses in his blessing of this tribe, #De 33:17; as in the next words to that of Jacob, #Ge 49:10.

Judah is my lawgiver] There, viz. at Jerusalem, sitteth the Synedrion, #Nu 11:16, and there is my sovereign court of justice, #Ps 122:5, and of that tribe, Christ, the great lawgiver of his Church, shall spring.

Ver. 8. Moab is my wash pot] A pot wherein to wash my feet, a vessel of dishonour, such as at my pleasure I will break in pieces, #Ps 2:9; and such as I reserve of them alive, shall be my scullions and underlings, glad to do my drudgery. Non vas coquendi carnes, sed lavandi pedes (Kimchi).

Over Edom I will cast out my shoe] i.e. Walk through their country as a conqueror; or, I will tread them under my feet; or, I will throw my shoe at the heads of them, and make them to take it up; or, I will make no more of subduing them, than of casting my shoe over them. Exutos mihi calceos et in ipsorum caput proiectos attollere iubebo (Beza).

Philistia, triumph thou because of me] i.e. Cry me up for thy king; Si velis, et videas quid in extremum eveniet, saith Kimchi. Or, triumph thou over me (by an irony) as thou lately didst over Saul and his sons in Mount Gilboa; and as since that time thou camest forth to seek me, but wentest home again by weeping cross.

Ver. 9. Who will bring me into the strong city?] Into Rabbah of the Ammonites, which at length he got, #2Sa 12:29-31, and now wisheth for. Kimchi readeth it in the perfect tense, Who has led me into the strong cities? who has brought me into Edom? Hast not thou, O God? &c.

Ver. 10. Wilt not thou, O God?] Or, hast not thou, &c. The glory of all victories is to be given to God in solidum. Strong cities are nothing, when he will have them subdued, and sacked.

Which hadst cast us off] See #Ps 44:9. The Church’s prosperity, like checker work, is intermingled with adversity.

Ver. 11. Give us help from trouble] Give it us whensoever we need it; as hitherto thou very graciously hast done.

For vain is the help of man] As they had lately experimented in Saul, a king of their own choosing, but not able to save them from those proud Philistines. No more could the Romans the Britons, oppressed by their northern enemies. They sent Aetius, the Roman praefect of Gaul, and thus complained to him: The barbarous enemy beateth us to the sea, the sea beateth us back to the enemy; between these two kinds of deaths we are either murdered or drowned (Dan. Chron.). But their implorations prevailed not; for Aetius at that time had enough to do to keep his own head, and Valentinian, the empire. The saint’s comfort is, that where human help faileth Divine beginneth, as Philo told his countrymen, when rejected by Caius the emperor.

Ver. 12. Through God we shall do valiantly] Faciemus militiam, some render it, and it is true of the spiritual warfare also; we shall be more than conquerors, even triumphers, #2Co 2:14. Meminisse oportet ista nunc esse ad spirituales Ecclesiae hastes potius quam adversus armatas terra capias referenda, saith Beza, in his argument and use of this psalm.

He it is that shall tread down our enemies] Corporal and spiritual; this is a part of Christ’s kingly office, to the which he will not be wanting. Psalmus hic est de Messia imperante, sicut David, saith Kimchi, out of Derash Rabboth. This psalm is concerning Messiah reigning, as David did.

To the chief Musician upon Neginah, &c.] Vincenti in melodiis Davidis (Vatab.). It is probable that he made this psalm when, driven out of his kingdom by his son Absalom, he took up at Mahanaim beyond Jordan, #2Sa 17:24, and therehence prayed from the ends of the earth, or rather of the land, #Ps 61:2. Howbeit R. Obadiah saith, that this psalm is De pugna cum Aram in confinibus Israel, concerning the battle with the Syrians in the borders of the land. See #2Sa 10:14, &c., and #1Ch 19:16, &c.

Chapter 61

Ver. 1. Hear my cry, O God] Heb. my shouting, my sad outcry; for he was in great extremity, #Ps 61:2, and seeks ease by prayer. This is the way, #Job 22:21 Php 4:6,7, walk in it. Prayer hath virtutem pacativam; it doth sweetly settle the soul, and lodge a blessed security in it.

Ver. 2. From the ends of the earth] Or, of the land. In all places men may lift up holy hands, #1Ti 2:8 Joh 4:21, and speed. A desert may be a goodly oratory. Sic dicit respectu arae a qua exulabat longe in bello contra hostes (R. Sol.).

When my heart is overwhelmed] Or, covered over, Ut fit in deliquiis et lipothimiis, as is usual in swoons. See a like expression #Ps 102:1 title; #La 3:65, where the word rendered sorrow of heart signifieth such a covering like a shield, such a lid put over the heart, that is suffocated, as in the Cardiaca passio. David’s harp was not more out of tune than his heart sometimes; he prayeth, and is helped.

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I] i.e. Do for me that I cannot do for myself; set me in safety.

Ver. 3. For thou hast been a shelter for me] Thou hast, and therefore thou wilt, is an ordinary Scripture medium, and well it may; for God is unchangeable, and his decree for preserving his people is (as the poet saith well) ου παλιναγρε τον, Irrevocable.

Ver. 4. I will abide in thy tabernacle] Et scribam mirabilia tua in memoriale, saith R. Obadiah by way of gloss; and I will there register up thy wonderful works. Or, I shall there worship thee, and do thee acceptable service again, though at present I am banished or bruised abroad. He saith not, I shall abide in my palace, but in thy tabernacle, which he more highly esteemed. Some render it, I shall dwell in thy tent, or pavilion royal, making it a metaphor from warfare, where those that are in the king’s own tent must needs be in greatest safety. And this sense suiteth well with the following words, I will trust in the covert of thy wings.

Ver. 5. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows] i.e. My prayers, which had vows of thankfulness annexed unto them. Hinc Graeci precationem dicunt προσευχην.

Thou hast given me the heritage] Even the sure mercies of David, grace and glory; and inheritance in the world to come, as the Chaldee hath it; besides what we have here.

Ver. 6. Thou wilt prolong the king’s life] The King Christ, saith the Chaldee, who shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shah prosper in his hand, #Isa 53:10. David himself also lived and reigned longer than most kings do, being old and full of days.

And his years as many generations] sc. In his sons and successors. So #Ps 72:17, Filiabitur heroine eius. The name of Christ shall endure for ever, it shall be begotten as one generation is begotten of another, there shall be a succession of Christ’s name.

Ver. 7. He shall abide before God for ever] Or, He shall sit, viz. upon the throne, a long while in his person; but for ever in his Son Christ, #Lu 1:32,33: and this affordeth sweet and singular comfort to the whole Church and each member thereof; forasmuch as the dignity of a king cannot stand unless his subjects be in safety.

O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him] Hos duos custodes adhibe quibus unis innitatur, let these two (thy mercy and thy truth) be the supporters of his throne, let them be of his lifeguard, let them be his due and prepared portion, as the Hebrew word Man here used signifieth (Junius). Some understand the words thus, furnish the king with these two virtues, clemency and truth, that thereby his throne may be established. See #Pr 20:28 29:14.

Ver. 8. So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever] Conclusio votiva. Praise is so pleasing a service to God, that he indented with his people for it, #Ps 50:15, and they, knowing his mind therein, do usually restipulate that they will perform it; as holding it the least that they in conscience can do, and knowing it the most that they are able to do. They present it, therefore, to God, as that Grecian did his small gift to Augustus, saying, Ει πλεον ειχον πλεον εδιδουν, If I had a better thing I could well beteem it thee.

That I may daily perform my vows] Which, till they be paid, a true-hearted votary is in pain; for he accounteth them due debts to God.

A Psalm of David] Who being well assured that his prayers in the former psalm were heard, and should be answered, breaketh forth into his triumphant profession of his faith. Lo, here the happy fruit of faithful and fervent prayer.

Chapter 62

Ver. 1. Truly my soul waiteth upon God] Waiting is nothing else but hope and trust lengthened; and hereof David giveth us an excellent example in his own person, Idque tanta tamque vegeta cum magnitudine animi, cui ipsae quoque sententiae et voces respondent, and with so good a courage set forth in suitable expressions, that he who hath this psalm by heart, and hath laid it to his heart, cannot but be transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord, #2Co 3:18.

From him cometh my salvation] Take it in the full extent, not only as it signifieth the privative part of man’s happiness, but the positive part also, and preservation therein.

Ver. 2. He only is my rock, &c.] See #Ps 18:2,3.

I shall not be greatly moved] Non labascam multo lapsu (Vatabl.), for the Lord putteth under his hand. I shall not be moved greatly, or into the great abyss, Tehom Rabi bah (as Aben Ezra hath it), into hell (as other Rabbis sense it); I shall not be tempted above that I am able, as #1Co 10:13; persecuted I may be, but not relinquished; cast down, but not cast off, #2Co 4:9: shaken, but for my better settlement at last.

Ver. 3. How long will ye imagine mischief against a man?] What though I am but a man, and in your eyes a mean despicable creature; yet know ye, that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself, #Ps 4:3, where David bespeaketh his enemies with like sharpness as here for their malice and madness against him. The Hebrew word rendered imagine is found only here: the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin render it, How long will ye rush against a man? επιτιθεσθε, Irruitis. Austin, Quosque apponitis super hominem? sc. onera et opprobria, How long lay you load of injuries and indignities upon me?

Ye shall be slain all of you] Or, will ye be murdered? Will ye run upon the pikes? Are you ambitious of your own ruin?

As a bowing wall shall ye be] Borne down by the weight of your own wickedness. As a bulging wall standeth not long, and as a rotten hedge, if but trod on, breaketh under a man; so shall ye be suddenly destroyed, and with little ado. Thus he threatened his enemies, the proudest of them, being himself gotten upon the rock that was higher than he, #Ps 61:2.

Ver. 4. They only consult to cast him down from his excellency] Or, yet they consult; q.d. Notwithstanding all that I can say or that God will do to them, they will on in their evil devices and endeavours against me; there is no reclaiming of them. Deus quos destruit dementat.

They delight in lies] Not only he that maketh a lie, but he that loveth and delighteth in it when made by another, shall be shut out of heaven, #Re 22:15 Ro 1:32.

They bless with their mouths] Heb. with his mouth, that is, every one doth so; neither is there ever a better of these glavering companions, dissembling scrubs.

Ver. 5. My soul, wait thou only upon God] They trust not God at all, that is, not alone. He that stands with one foot on a rock and another foot upon a quicksand, will sink and perish as certainly as he that standeth with both feet on a quicksand. David knew this, and therefore calleth earn and earnestly upon his soul (for his business lay most within doors) to trust only upon God. See #Ps 62:1.

For my expectation is from him] If he will not help me, none else shall; but it is he that saith, Look unto me and be saved, for I am God, and there is none else, #Isa 45:22.

Ver. 6. He only is, &c.] Versus amoibaeus. See #Ps 62:2.

I shall not be moved] Before it was, I shall not be greatly moved; now upon further exercise of his trust, it is, I shall not be moved. Ita in lucta crescit lux fidei, et tides firmior; faith is made stronger by trials.

Ver. 7. In God is my salvation and my glory, &c.] By these many adjuncts and attributions David helpeth his faith, and quelleth the commotions of his headstrong affections. See #Ps 18:2.

Ver. 8. Trust in him at all times] As well in the fail of outward comforts as in the abundance of them, trust him without a pawn; trust in a killing God, as Job did.

Pour out your hearts before him] sc. In prayer, #1Sa 1:11, first, rend your hearts, ut effundafur peccatum, saith Kimchi, and then pour them out as water, #La 2:19, not as oil, which sticks to the side of the vessel that held it, but as water, that will out every drop; make a plain and full confession of all your sins in prayer, lest God say to you of your sins, as Samuel did to Jesse of his sons, Are these all? See the practice hereof in those penitent Israelites, #1Sa 7:6, and give not over the practice of mortification, till you feel your hearts fall asunder in your bosoms like drops of water. If iniquity be harboured there, prayer is obstructed; and if it do break out, it will have the scent and savour of that iniquity upon it.

God is a refuge for us] A safe and sure refuge; not as men who are a lie, #Ps 62:9, and were never true to those that trusted them.

Ver. 9. Surely men of low degree are vanity] Man is a depending creature, and, like the vine, must have somewhat to lean upon; apt he is to leave God, and cleave to the creature, to make either men or means his refuge; David therefore dehorteth from both, in this and the next verse showing that men of what degree soever are in nowise to be confided in. The word rendered vanity denoteth a vain light thing, such as is the breath of one’s mouth or a bubble on the water

Men of high degree are a lie] There is no more truth nor assurance in them than in a false tale; also they frustrate men’s hopes, as a barren fruit tree, #Heb 3:17.

They are altogether, lighter, .& c.] Put all mankind into one bundle, into one balance, and vanity into the ether, and it will weigh them down, Ut ascendant ipsi prae vanitate simul.

Ver. 10. Trust not in oppression, &c.] In the fail of persons. Some may think that things may be trusted to, as wealth, wit, power, &c., but especially wealth, #1Ti 6:17. Trust not to that, saith the Psalmist, whether it will be ill or well gotten, unless you covet to be deceived; for, first, he who getteth riches and not by right shall leave them in the midst of his days, and in his end be a fool, a poor fool God will make of him, #Jer 17:11, Male parta male dilabentur.

If riches increase] Though by means lawful and laudable, though they come in at the street door, and not at a postern, Non minimum felieitatis argumentum Metello fuit bona malta bona mode invenisse (Policrat. lib. 8, c. 4), yet

Set not your heart upon them] Place not your felicity in them, think not yourselves simply the better or the safer for them. Be not puffed up with outward things, as a bubble with a child s blast in a walnut shell, when he hath in it a little scope. Wilt thou cause thine eyes to fly upon that which is not? #Pr 23:5. An eagle will not catch flies (that is no game for her), much less will she make a flight at nothing, when there is no game sprung at all. He is the true rich man, who loveth his riches poorly, saith one.

Ver. 11. God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this] The Septuagint have it thus, Once spoke God, these two things have I heard; that is, say some, in the second commandment, where mention is made of God’s jealousy and mercy, #Ex 20:5,6. Others, Once and again spoke God, and I have heard it. Or, God spoke once, I heard him twice, viz. by an after deliberate meditation upon what I had heard; I preached over the sermon as it were again to myself, and so heard it a second time.

That power belongeth unto God] He is well able to punish the wicked, #Ezr 8:22. {See Trapp on "Ezr 8:22"}

Ver. 12. Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy] viz. To set thy power a-work for the good of thy people. And as these two, God’s power and God’s mercy, are the two pillars, the Boaz and the Jachin of every believer, (hence Job #Job 42:2, having spoken his power, he speaketh of his thoughts of peace towards his people) so they are sufficient proofs of the doctrines before delivered, and do evince the truth of that which followeth.

For thou renderest to every man according to his work] viz. Judgment to the wicked and mercy to the righteous; where the Syriac interpreter giveth this good note, Est gratis Dei ut reddit homini secundum opera bona, quia metres bonorum operum est ex gratis. It is mercy in God to set his love on them that keep his commandmeats, #Ex 20:6.

When he was in the wilderness of Judah] That is, of Idumea, saith Genebrard, which bordered upon the tribe of Judah; but better understand it either of the forest of Hareth, #1Sa 22:5, or of the wilderness of Ziph, #1Sa 23:14, where David was, In deserto desertus exul, et omnis fere consolationis inept, not only destitute of outward comforts, but in some desertion of soul; Et sic miserrimus, et calamitosissimus oberravit, saith Beza.

Chapter 63

Ver. 1. O God, thou art my God] And that is now mine only comfort; Divini mellis alvearium, the bee hive of heavenly honey.

Early will I seek thee] Now they who seek God early have a promise that they shall find him. Aben-Ezra rendereth it, Sicut mercator gemmas, inquiram re, I will diligently seek thee, as a merchant doth the precious stones דחוס (Mercator).

My soul thirsteth for thee] Thirst is Taclith hattaavah, say the Rabbis, the perfection of desire. The whole life of a Christian is nothing else but Sanctum desiderium, saith Austin. How many broken spirits spend and exhale themselves in continual sallies, as it were, and egressions of affection unto God, thirsting after, not only a union, but a unity with him?

My flesh longeth for thee] Non habet haec vex secium, saith Aben-Ezra; this word is here only found. It is a notable metaphor, saith another interpreter, taken from women with child, to express the earnest affection that he had to God-ward. The Septuagint rendereth it ποσαπλως, Quam multipliciter. His soul, his flesh, all was on a light fire, as it were, with ardent affection towards God (R. Solomon).

In a dry and thirsty land] Where I am hardly bestead, and at a great fault for outward accommodations, but much more for sweet and spiritual communion with thee in holy ordinances; there lieth the pinch of my grief.

Ver. 2. To see thy power and thy glory] To feel those heart-ravishing apprehensions of thine incomparable excellencies from thyself immediately; who canst be to thy people in their banishment as a little sanctuary, #Eze 11:16, and supply all their wants out of thine all sufficiency, who art rich in mercy to all that call upon thy name.

So as I have seen thee in the sanctuary] Where were to be seen the house of God, #Ex 25:8 De 12:5, the throne of glory from the beginning, #Jer 17:12, the ark of the covenant, #Ex 25:22, the tables of the covenant laid up in the ark, #Ex 28:21, the mercy seat, #Ex 25:21, the oracle, #Ex 25:22 Nu 7:89, the ceremonies that showed the estate of the faithful both by nature and by grace, and indeed were their gospel, and Christ in figure. These were glorious sights and signals which, therefore David dearly desired, and more bewailed the want of them, than of all outward comforts and contentments.

Ver. 3. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life] Mr Bradford, being threatened by Stephen Gardiner (then Lord Chancellor), answered, I know to whom I have committed my life, even into his hands which will keep it, so that no man may take it away before it be his pleasure, therefore his goodwill be done; life in his displeasure is worse than death, and death in his true favour is true life (Acts and Mon. fol. 1459). This made him and the rest of the holy martyrs that they loved not their lives unto the death, #Re 12:11. The sight of God, though but in that dark glass of the ceremonies, would have been better to David than life with the appurtenances, those Βιωτικα, riches, honours, pleasures, &c. See #Ps 4:7,8.

My lips shall praise thee] God’s love shed abroad in the heart cause the lips of them that are asleep to speak, #So 7:9.

Ver. 4. Thus will I bless thee while I live] I will divide my time between praises and prayers, and so drive a holy trade between heaven and earth. See #Ps 18:3.

I will lift up my hands] i.e. Pray, as #Ps 141:2 1Ti 2:8.

In thy name] i.e. Cleaving to thy goodness and mercy. Fretus tuo auxilio.

Ver. 5. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness] Heb. as with fatness and fatness; bis, ad corroborandum, saith Aben Ezra, q.d. I shall be top full of comfort, animo adipe et medullis sanctissimarum deliciarum tuarum saginato. A soul taken up with God’s praises cannot but over abound exceedingly with joy, Ita ut inter Dei laudationem et nostram consolationem sit quasi circulus perpetuus et infinitus, saith one; praises increase joy, and joy causeth perpetual praises.

And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips] Heb. with lips of jubilations or exultations, labiis canoris, as if I were in a rapture of ecstasy, Toto gutture laudes tuas personabo.

Ver. 6. When I remember thee upon my bed] Heb. beds, in the plural; because he took up his lodging in many places, having heaven sometimes for his canopy; and well content to break his sleep for God’s service.

In the night watches] The ancients divided the night into certain watches, #Mr 13:35.

Ver. 7. Because thou hast been my help] This was the matter of his meditation, and hereby he helped his faith.

Therefore in the shadow of thy wings, &c, ] Metaphora a pullis pipientibus sub alis Matrum, saith Junius.

Ver. 8. My soul followeth hard after thee] Adhaesit anima mea post te. As hard as mine enemies do after me, even hard at heels, as we say; Sic trahit sua quemque voluptas. A Christian’s close cleaving to God is the continent cause of all his comfort. This we must beg of God, #Jer 13:11, sc. that we may cleave to God with full purpose of heart, #Ac 11:23, and if he seem to withdraw, to follow him hot foot, and press his footsteps.

Thy right hand upholdeth me] For otherwise I should faint and fail in the pursuit of thee; my short legs and pursy heart would never hold on.

Ver. 9. But those that seek my soul to destroy it] Heb. Ad pracipitium, to hurl it down headlong, shall themselves be laid low enough, even in the slimy valley where are many already like them, and more (shall come after them), #Job 21:31,32. And this assurance of his enemies’ downfall David had gotten by his meditations on God, #Ps 63:6.

Shall go into the lower parts of the earth] i.e. Into the grave at least, if not into hell; they shall be abyssed into hell, into eternal perdition, saith Diodati.

Ver. 10. They shall fall by the sword] Heb. They shall make him run out (like water) by the hand of the sword. A plain prophecy of Saul’s death, and the manner of it. See alike phrase #Jer 18:21 Eze 35:5.

They shall be a portion for foxes] Or for any other "beasts of prey"; they shall not have the honour of burial, but lie above ground, to be devoured by beasts and birds. See this fulfilled upon Saul’s complices, #1Sa 31, and the antichristian rout, #Re 19:21.

Ver. 11. But the king shall rejoice in God] i.e. I shall, who am anointed and appointed king after Saul, and therefore doubt not to speak thus of myself, as if I were king already. Wicked men praesumendo sperant, et sperando pereunt, hope groundlessly, and perish by their presumption; but true believers trust God upon his bare word, and that against sense in things invisible, and against reason in things incredible, and according to their faith so is it unto them.

Every one that sweareth by him shall glory] By whom? not by the king (though the Egyptians did so of old, and the Spaniards to this day, in the pride of their monarchs, swear by the life of their king), but by God, the sole and proper object of an oath; for to swear by his name in due manner is a special piece of his service, and is here put for the whole. So, then, every one that sincerely serveth God shall be glad and thankful to God that David reigneth; for now παντα καλως εσται (as the raven is said to have crouped from the Capitol when Augustus came to the empire), all shall go well with them, according to their own heart’s desires (Dio).

But the mouth of them that speak lies] A fault whereof Saul’s courtiers were deeply guilty. Some take this for a general description of all graceless and godless persons, who are liars habitually at least; as godly men are right swearers, and fearers of God’s name.

Shall be stopped] Either with shame and confusion, or with death, as was Saul’s and his flatters’. Saunders’s foul mouth was stopped with famine (as hath been above noted), that had uttered so many blasphemies against God, and so many lies against men.

A Psalm of David] Of like argument with the former. The Arabic prefaceth, when Taluth (i.e. Saul) persecuted him. By this and many the like psalms we may see that David did not complain for nothing; and his singular constancy under so many trials may well make us resolve as Jerome did when he had read the Life of holy Hilarion, he rolled up the book and said, Well, Hilarion (David) shall be the champion that I will imitate.

Chapter 64

Ver. 1. Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer] Or, in my meditation. To an effectual prayer must concur meditation, invocation, affection, and belief of audience, as here.

Preserve my life] Heb. lives; so usually called for the many faculties, operations, revolutions, commodities of life.

Ver. 2. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked] Or, from the mystery of evil doers, from the Church malignant, that mystery of iniquity. See the contrary, #Ps 111:1.

From the insurrection, &c.] Heb. from their tumult, their hurricum, their open force, as well as from their secret fraud. Let thy protection equal their projects, who turn every stone to undo me.

Ver. 3. Who whet their tongue like a sword] The tongue in its form resembleth a flaming sword, and being set on fire of hell, it woundeth deeply and dangerously. It is ordinary with David to compare aulicas criminationes cum armis castrensibus, court calumnies with warlike weapons, #Ps 5:6,9,10 Ps 11:5,6 Ps 57:4. See there.

And bend their bows to shoot their arrows] Heb. bend their arrow, that is, as #Ps 11:2, "they bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string," &c. See a like phrase #Jer 9:3.

Even bitter words] Virulent and venomous, quae leviter volant, non leviter violant; for as Medius in Plutarch saith, though the wound they make be haply healed, yet there will be still a scar, ηη ουλη μενει της διαβολης (Plut.). An aspersion, though not fully believed, leaveth behind it a lower estimation of the party than before.

Ver. 4. That they may shoot in secret at the perfect] Innocence and integrity is no target against calumny; but every Zopyrus shall be sure of his Zoilus, who, right or wrong, will shoot him down if he can, Aliquid saltem adhaerebit (Machiavel).

Suddenly do they shoot at him] As the hunter when he lieth hidden in a bush; or as when hedges are lined, as they call it, with musketeers, which gall and kill.

And fear not] They are not at all touched either with reverence toward God or respect to man, but are utterly debauched, they ride on without reins, &c. There is an elegance in the original that cannot be translated into English.

Ver. 5. They encourage themselves in an evil matter] Thus he riseth in his complaint, and showeth how, by the neglect of piety and humanity, they were grown obdurate and obstinate, yea, confident, or rather impudent, in their evil practices.

They commune of laying snares privily] viz. To entangle and entrap me. See #Ne 4:11, {See Trapp on "Ne 4:11"}

They say, Who shall see them?] God, who is all eye, shall, but they, having hid God from themselves, think they can likewise hide themselves and their snares from God. But

- εχει θεος εκδικον ομμα

Ver. 6. They search out iniquities] Abstrusissima quaeque exquisierunt; they search the devil’s skull for new inventions; who is ready enough to lend them his seven heads to plot and his ten horns to push at good people. How wittily wicked was Saul to destroy David, if he could have done it! See his counsel to the Ziphites, #1Sa 23:22.

They accomplish a diligent search] Heb. a search searched, i.e. They seek out all occasions, they try all tricks, they do all that can be done to undo me. Whereunto he fitly subjoineth this epiphonema by way of exclamation, Adeo intimum viri et cor profundum est, So deep is the inward part and heart of man (for so I read it)! so deep and fathomless, so deceitful, and desperately wicked.

Ver. 7. But God shall shoot at them, &c.] He shall overshoot them in their own bow, pay them home in their own coin; he will deal with them lege talionis, for he loveth to retaliate, see #Ps 64:4, they shall find that he can handle his arms a fair deal better against them than they did against David.

With an arrow suddenly] As was Ahab, and the rich fool, #Lu 12:16-21, while he sat pruning himself like a bird on a bough, death fetched him off suddenly by his shaft shot at him, and down be came tumbling. See #1Th 5:3.

Ver. 8. So they shall make their own tongue, &c.] According to #Pr 12:13 Ps 59:12. {See Trapp on "Pr 12:13"} {See Trapp on "Ps 59:12"}

And all that see them shall flee away] With horror and astonishment. Heb. They shall wander about in their flight; this is spoken of their favourites and abetters fearing to fall under the like punishment, and being agitated by the furies of their own evil consciences.

Ver. 9. And all men shall fear] Seeing such and such banged up in gibbets, as it were, for a terror to others, Poena ad paucos, metus ad omnes.

And shall declare the work of God] viz. His power and providence, which some doubt till thus powerfully convinced, as Claudian was by the destruction of Ruffinus.

Abstulit hunc tandem Ruffini poena tumultum,

Absolvitque deos; et non iam ad culmina rerum

Iniustos crevisse queror; tolluntur in altum,

Ut lapsu graviore ruant—

Ver. 10. The righteous shall be glad in the Lord] Not myself only, but all the saints shall be comforted, confirmed, and occasioned to make their boast in God with a holy gloriation, Inde arripient sanctae cuiusdam iactantiae argumentum (Beza).

A Psalm and Song of David] Made by him, as it is thought, when the people were delivered from that three years’ famine for the slaughter of the Gibeonites, #2Sa 21:1, and that three days’ pestilence for David’s sin, in numbering the people, #2Sa 24:13-15

Chapter 65

Ver. 1. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion] Tibi silentinm, laus tibi, Deus, in Zion; so Beza rendereth it. There is first a deep silence in Sion, and then due praise; a silence of admiration, a silence of religious awe and devotion, such as was afterwards that in the Christian Church, #Re 8:1, or a silence of expectation to receive mercies; and a praise, by way of retribution, for mercies received. Or, silence in all other places (not sensible of God’s favours), but praise in the Church, where God is magnified: first, for blessings proper and peculiar to his own people; secondly, for preserving commonwealths, and thereby providing graciously for human society; and, thirdly, for giving men all things richly to enjoy, as in the end of this psalm.

And unto thee shall the vow be performed] That is, solemn thanks shall be rendered. Thy people stand ready pressed with their praises and memories, as Joseph’s brethren once did with their presents, against the time that he showed himself.

Ver. 2. O thou that hearest prayer] And art thereby known to be the true God, #1Ki 18:38,39, and no such dull deity as the heathens worshipped, #Isa 45:16,19 Mic 7:17,18. O happy we that have to deal with such a prayer hearing, sin pardoning God! #Ps 65:3. Basil compareth prayer to a chain, the one end whereof is linked to God’s ear, and the other to man’s tongue.

Flectitur iratus voce rogante Deus.

Unto thee shall all flesh come] And well they may, since he keepeth open house; his mercy doors are ever wide open, as were the doors of the Aediles, or city chamberlains in Rome, that all who had occasion of complaint might have free access unto them at any time. A good housekeeper is seldom without company. Why ply we not the throne of grace upon such encouragement? Why, since we are not straitened in God, are we straitened in our own bowels? Why make we not ourselves happy by asking, since we may have but what we will of God, even all that heaven and his grace can afford us?

Ver. 3. Iniquities prevail against me] And seek to choke my prayers; they prick me in the foot, as it were, that I cannot come to thee in prayer; or not with that confidence; but that is more than needs, since

As for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away] So that if we turn from them they shall not hinder good things from us. No man was ever rejected by God for his confessed badness, as sundry have been for their supposed goodness: witness the publican and the Pharisee, #Lu 18:9-14

Ver. 4. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest] Whom thou choosest for thy love, and then lovest him for thy choice.

And causest to approach unto thee] i.e. Effectually callest. Here vocation is fetched from the fountain (as is also justification in the former verse), viz. God’s free election. See that golden chain, #Ro 8:30.

That he may dwell in thy courts] viz. To bear thy word, and partake of thine ordinances. For our Saviour telleth the Jews, He that is of God heareth God’s words; ye therefore hear him not, because ye are not of God, #Joh 8:4; our worship scorners, then, have a black brand upon them.

We shall be satisfied] He maketh himself one of the number of God’s elect (as Paul also doth often), and therehence concludeth to himself and the rest a beatifical communion of all good things.

Ver. 5. By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us] As he did when he gave the law in Mount Sinai, and ever after in his oracles and ordinances. God loveth at once familiarity and fear; familiarity in our conversation, and fear in his worships; he loves to be acquainted with men in the walks of their obedience; yet he taketh state upon him in his ordinances, and will be trembled at in his word and judgments.

Who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, &c.] i.e. Of all thine elect abroad the whole world.

Of them that are afar off upon the sea] The islanders,

Ut penitus toto disiuncti abs orbe Britanni.

Venice is said to be situated six miles distant from any firm land, and built in the heart of the Adriatic Sea, the waters whereof do flow into the city, and beat upon it, through all the streets thereof. Now, it may be hoped that God hath many souls even in such places; since there are thought to be no fewer than twenty thousand Protestants in Seville itself, a chief city of Spain (Spec. Europ.). It was long since foretold that the isles should wait for God’s law, #Isa 42:4 51:5 60:9.

Ver. 6. Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains] Why, then, should it seem incredible that he will do all manner of good to his elect, for whose sake he made all at first, and still upholdeth all by the word of his power? so he doth also states and kingdoms (oft compared to mountains in Scripture; see #Jer 51:25 Isa 13:2 Zec 4:7), that the Lord God might dwell among men, viz. in his Church and chosen people.

Being girded with power] With prevailing power, as the word signifieth.

Ver. 7. Which stilleth the noise of the seas] Making a calm at his pleasure; he hath the sea itself, that brutish creature, at his beck and check; so hath he also devils, and masterless men, who seek to subvert civil government, and to lay all level. Hence it followeth,

The noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people] When they are in hurly-burly, and contentions among themselves (Virg. Æneid).

— Saevitque animis ignobile vulgus,

Iamque faces et saxa volant, furor arms ministrat.

Now it is God only that can assuage these tumults; others may stir strife, but God only can stint it, saith Pindarus, Ραδιον πολιν σεισαι και του τυχοντος, αλλ αυθις καθισταναι μονου θεου θερας. It is he alone

Qui terram inertem, qui mare temperat

Ventosum, et urbes regnaque tristia,

Divosque mortalesque turbas

Imperio regit unus aequo.

(Horat. Od. 4, lib. 3.)

Ver. 8. They also that dwell in the uttermost parts, &c.] And are, therefore, Duri, horridi, immanes, latrociniis dediti, omnium denique pessimi, not farther distant from the sun than from all humanity, except the Sun of righteousness shine upon them, as he hath done upon us here in England.

Are afraid at thy tokens] Thy notable works, thine executions.

Thou makest the outgoings of the morning, &c.] That is, the inhabitants of east and west, or the vicissitudes of day and night, whereby men are occasioned to praise and glorify God. See #Jer 31:35. The Jews at this day, as they are bound to say over a hundred benedictions every day, so these two among the rest: when they go forth in a morning they say, Blessed be he who hath created the greater lights; and in the evening they say, Blessed be he who causeth the darkness of the night (R. Solom. in loc.).

Ver. 9. Thou visitest the earth, &c.] i.e. With a gracious rain, and so makest it to become an alma parens to men and beasts.

With the river of God] With thy sweet showers coming out of the clouds, as out of a great watering pot, #Ps 147:8, Pluvia de coelo replens flumina (Aben Ezra).

Thou preparest them corn] As a good housekeeper doth for his family. How easy were it with God to starve us all!

Ver. 10. Thou waterest the ridges, &c.] The forementioned mercy of God in producing a harvest he further amplifieth and explaineth by the parts, that men might be the more sensible; and not, like brute beasts, content themselves with a natural use of the creature, but taste and see how good the Lord is.

Ver. 11. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness] While each month produceth its several fruits or commodities; so that the whole is, as it were, a crown royal; but especially a year of extraordinary plenty, such as was the last of Queen Mary, when wheat was sold for five shillings a quarter, malt for four shillings and eightpence, and a bushel of rye for fourpence (Mr Clark’s Martyrol.).

Thy paths drop] Thy wagon tracks; the clouds are God’s chariot; or, wheresoever thou passest there is plenty.

Ver. 12. Rejoice on every side] Heb. Are girded with joy, which in time of drought seems to be clad in sackcloth.

Ver. 13. The pastures, &c.] Here is stately rhetoric all along.

Chapter 66

Ver. 1. Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands] Heb. All the earth; shout aloud for joy, as the people did at the return of the ark, so that the earth rang again. God shall one day show himself to be the God, not of Jews only, but of Gentiles also; these shall as well cry Christ as those Jews; these say Father, as those Abba. And as there was great joy in Samaria when the gospel was there first received, #Ac 8:8, so shall there be the like in all other parts of the earth.

Ver. 2. Make his praise glorious] Heb. Put glory to his praise; so #Jos 7:19. God’s glory is as himself, eternal and infinite, no way capable of our addition or detraction; howbeit, to try how we prize it, and will exalt it, he declareth that he accounteth himself made more glorious by us when we receive him into our hearts as King of glory, and praise him accordingly.

Ver. 3. Say unto God] Hereby it appeareth that this, among other psalms of like nature, was written for the perpetual use of the Church, and to serve for a set form of praising God, as occasion required, either in public or private.

Shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee] Heb. shall lie unto thee; that is, saith Kimchi, shall deny that they ever did anything against thee, or thy people. Or, rather, they shall perforce acknowledge thy power and prowess; as Julian the apostate did in his last Vicisti Galilaee; they shall also yield obedience to thee, such as it is, because they can neither will nor choose; this Virtus nolentinm nulla est.

Ver. 4. All the earth shall worship thee] Heb. they shall bow down to thee, stoop to thy government, submit to the sceptre of thy kingdom; they shall become the kingdoms of our Lord Jesus Christ. O dieculam illam! O mora! Christe veni.

Selah] Let that thy kingdom come; come speedily, come in our days, as the modern Jews pray daily (Bimherah, Beiamenu).

Ver. 5. Come and see] Venite, videte; he taketh good people by the hand, as it were, leading them to the sight of God’s stupendous proceedings, which may not be slighted, #Isa 5:12.

Toward the children of men] For they are his chief care, and about them is his providence principally exercised.

Ver. 6. He turned the sea into dry land] A mercy much celebrated, and not without cause, in all later ages.

They went through the flood on foot] That is, through the river Jordan, when it had overflowed the banks; and met with no enemy on the other side to forbid their landing.

There did we rejoice in him] We who were then in the loins of our forefathers, and so shared in their joy. See #Ho 12:4. {See Trapp on "Ho 12:4"}

Ver. 7. He ruleth by his power] As sole sovereign, universal monarch, αυτοκρατωρ, παντοκρατωρ. Sesostris, king of Egypt, would needs be styled κοσμοκρατωρ, emperor of the whole world (Herod. l. 2); he lived about the time of Samson, and perished by the hands of his own householdservants.

His eyes behold the nations] For which purpose they run to and fro through the earth, #2Ch 16:9.

Let not the rebellious, &c.] Heb. the off fallen, froward, and refractory persons; these shall soon be repressed and crest fallen.

Ver. 8. O bless our God, ye people] We must not only publish God’s praises, but provoke others also so to do.

Ver. 9. Which holdeth our soul in life] Heb. putteth, that is, bestoweth life on us, preserveth it, restoreth it. Some think this psalm was made upon David’s deliverance from the giant that sought to kill him, #2Sa 21:16.

And suffereth not our feet to be moved] David gave back divers paces, say the Hebrews, but was seasonably rescued by Abishai, who slew the Philistine.

Ver. 10. For thou, O God, hast proved us] Non ut ipse sciat sed ut scire nos faciat, saith Austin. God proveth his people, not thereby to better his own knowledge of them, #Joh 2:25 6:6 21:17 Ac 1:24, but to bring them to a better knowledge of their own both vices and graces. It is not known what corn will yield till it come to the flail; nor what grapes, till they come to the press. Grace is hid in nature, as sweet water in rose leaves; the fire of affliction fetcheth it out.

Thou hast tried us as silver] The wicked also are tried, #Re 3:10, but they prove reprobate silver, #Jer 6:28,30, or, at best, as alchemy gold, that will not bear the seventh fire, as Job did, #Job 23:10.

Ver. 11. Thou broughtest us into the net] A metaphor from hunters or fowlers, Utitur figuris tanquam in poemate.

Thou layedst affliction upon our loins] Coarctationem in lumbis; we are not only hampered, as in a net, but fettered, as with chains; as if we had been in the jailor’s or hangman’s hands.

Ver. 12. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads] Subjected us to the villanies and outrages of the basest persons, who have used us more like beasts than men.

We went through fire and through water] That is, through variety of sharpest afflictions, noted out by this proverbial passage; fire and water are merciless elements, Aelius Pertinax fortunae pila pervulgate dicebatur, quod variis casibus exercitus fuit. It is the true Christian’s comfort that nothing befalleth him but by a sweet providence; and that God goeth along with him into both fire and water, #Isa 43:2, to see that he take no hurt by either.

But thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place] Heb. moist, that is, into the air, saith Aben Ezra, opposed to fire and water, where we might draw breath, and live comfortably. In locum irriguum, in refrigerium. It is but winking, said that martyr at the stake, and we shall be in heaven immediately. The Arabic hath it, Eduxisti nos ad requiem. Confer #Ac 3:19.

Ver. 13. I will go into thine house, &c.] I will begin to others in that public solemn thanksgiving, and not grudge at the cost; I will be Vir gregis, as the he-goat before the flocks, #Jer 50:8.

Ver. 14. Which my lips have uttered] Heb. have opened, that is, which I have uttered diductis labiis, with lips wide open. Videmus qualiter vota nuncupari soleant, saith Vatablus, Here we see after what sort vows use to be made, when we are under any pressing affliction; but when once delivered, how heavily many come off in point of payment.

And my mouth hath spoken when I was in trouble] Then men will promise anything for ease and release. But what saith the Italian proverb? Sciapato il morbo, fraudato il Santo, when the disease is cured the saint is defrauded. Horace calleth upon Mecaenas, who in his sickness had vowed to build a temple,

— Reddere victimas

Aedemque votivam memento:

Nos humilem feriemus agnam.

Ver. 15. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings] Heb. marrow, the very best of the best; and better I could beteem the Lord if I had it.

With the incense of rams] Which, being offered in faith, and as figures of that great sacrifice to come, shall be accepted of God for a sweet smelling savour.

I will offer bullocks with goats] Faciam boves; this Eccius allegeth, but absurdly, to prove the Popish unbloody sacrifice of the mass; as if Christ, when he said, This do ye in remembrance of me, had meant, Thus sacrifice ye.

Ver. 16. Come and hear] He had said before, "Come and see," #Ps 66:5. He held it a greater honour prodesse quam praeesse.

All ye that fear God] For such only will hear to good purpose; others either cannot or care not.

And I will declare, &c.] Communicate unto you my soul-secrets and experiments. There is no small good to be gotten by such declarations. Bilney, perceiving Latimer to be zealous without knowledge, came to him in his study, and desired him for God’s sake to hear his confession. I did so, saith Latimer, and, to say the truth, by his confession I learned more than before in many years. So from that time forward I began to smell the word of God, and forsake the school doctors and such fooleries (Acts & Mon.).

Ver. 17. I cried unto him] I prayed fervently and frequently.

And he was extolled, &c.] My prayers were soon turned into praises, which I silently framed within myself even while I was praying.

Ver. 18. If l regard iniquity in my heart] If I have but a month’s mind to it, as we say; if I cast but a leering look towards it; if there be in me but an irresolution against it; how much more, then, if I allow it and wallow in it? He who chooseth to hold fast sin doth, by his own election, forsake mercy, #Jon 2:8, neither let such a man think that he shall receive anything at the hands of God, #Jas 1:7. As in a wound, a plaster prevaileth not while the iron remaineth within; so neither prayer while sin rankleth. God will never accept a good motion from a bad mouth, as that State in story would not. A man may deliver an excellent speech, but, because of his stinking breath, we may have no pleasure to hear him; so in this case. Prayer as a pouring out of the heart, as hath been already, observed. If iniquity harbour there, prayer is obstructed, and if it do break out, it will have the scent and savour of that iniquity upon it, and thereby displease. Kimchi maketh this strange sense (quite from the purpose, and from the truth), If I regard iniquity only in my heart, so that I break not forth into outward act, God will not hear, i.e. so hear, as to impute it, or to account it a sin. Pharisaice.

Ver. 19. But verily God hath heard me] As I well perceive by his answer, full and enlarged, as the cloud that riseth out of the earth in thin and insensible vapours, falleth down in great and abundant showers.

Ver. 20. Blessed be God, &c.] This is the conclusion of David’s syllogism, in this and the two former verses; and herein his logic is better than Aristotle’s.

Chapter 67

Ver. 1. God be merciful unto us] sc. In sending his Son, and calling his elect, both among Jews and Gentries, to the participation of that gift, #Joh 4:10; that benefit, #1Ti 6:2.

And bless us] Specially with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ Jesus, #Eph 1:3.

And cause his face to shine upon us] Giving us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, #2Co 4:6, who is the brightness (or glittering refulgency, απαυγασμα) of his Father’s glory and the express image of his person, #Heb 1:3, the dayspring from on high, #Lu 1:78, Sereno suo vultu nos irradiet (Beza). In this prayer the psalmist plainly alludeth to that blessing pronounced upon the people by the high priest, #Nu 6:23-27, and showeth that all cometh from Christ, the true Aaron, the High Priest of the new covenant.

Ver. 2. That thy way may be known] Thy way of worship, that way that is called holy, the gospel, #Ac 19:23 18:25,26, the way of salvation, #Ac 16:17.

Thy saving health] That is, thy Christ, #Lu 2:30,32.

Ver. 3. Let the people praise thee, O God] Enlarge the bounds of thy Church; and bring in the hallelujahs of the Gentiles also. Let them praise thee (that pronoun "thee" is emphatic and exclusive), and not their gods of gold and silver. Let them turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God, #1Th 1:9.

Ver. 4. O let the nations be glad, &c.] As they cannot but be upon their sound conversion, #Ac 8:8, there being no such joy as the joy of faith, and that a man’s name is written in heaven. Beatus Ludovicus would be called Ludovicus de Pissiaco rather than take greater titles; because there he became a Christian.

For thou shalt judge the people righteously, &c.] Not rigorously, keeping thy Church in safety amidst the greatest ruins of the world and cotlisions of empires.

And govern the nations upon earth. Selah] Heb. Thou shalt gently lead them, as a shepherd doth his flock or a father his child. Lord, hasten it.

Ver. 5. Versus amoibaeus. See #Ps 67:3.

Ver. 6. Then shall the earth yield her increase] Omnia opera nostra erunt prospera, All shall go well with us, and we shall abound with blessings of both lives. The gospel is a cornucopia; and they that receive it shall have all that heart can wish or need require; all creatures shall conspire to make them happy. The earth, which was cursed for man’s sin, and hath lain bedridden, as it were, ever since, shall put forth her utmost strength for good people’s use. God will hear the heavens, and the heavens shall hear the earth, &c., #Ho 2:21,22, when once men’s hearts bear fruit to the Lord, #Mt 13:19,23 Heb 6:7. Jerome interpreteth these words of the Virgin Mary bringing forth the child Jesus. Others thus, Then shall the earth bring forth innumerable servants of God.

Ver. 7. God shall bless us] God is thrice named here and in the former verse, to note the trinity of persons, as Ramban wrote, In more Nevochim, and had, therefore, his book burnt by the Jews in France. And whereas it is thrice here said "God shall bless us," it importeth that the blessings here meant are more than terrene and bodily blessings.

A Psalm or Song of David] Made at that time when, having overcome his enemies, he brought arcam in arcem, the ark of God into the tower of Sion. Confer #Ps 68:1 with #Nu 10:35. Herein also he treateth of the greatest secrets of Christ’s kingdom, and prophesieth of things to come, as #Ac 2:30,31; witness the apostle, #Eph 4:8.

Chapter 68

Ver. 1. Let God arise] He need do no more that his enemies may be scattered, though never so closely united, etiamsi cataphraetus incedat Satan, as Luther speaketh; digitum suum tantum moveat, et dissipabuntur hostes, Let the Lord but stir his finger only, let him but look unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire, and they shall be troubled, as #Ex 14:24, funduntur et fugantur cum primum se exserit Deus, as those Philistines, #2Sa 5:17-25

Let them also that hate him flee before him] Athanasius telleth us that evil spirits may be put to flight by this psalm; and that Antony, the hermit, fought against the devil with this verse, and worsted him. This may be done also as well with other texts of Scripture. Luther encountered the devil with that sentence, Thou hast put all things under his feet (Colloq. Mens.); another Dutch divine with this, The Son of God came to dissolve the works of the devil; a third with those words, The seed of the woman shall break the serpent’s head (Cramerus). As the rocks repel the boisterous waves—- conantia frangere, frangunt; so doth Christ, the Rock (the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, #Da 2:45), all his Church’s enemies.

Ver. 2. As smoke is driven away, &c.] Smoke at first sight seemeth formidable, but soon vanisheth; and the higher it ascendeth the sooner it is dissipated: so here. Guicciardine saith of Charles VIII of France, that he came into the field like thunder and lightning, but went out like a snuff; more than a man at first, and less than a woman at last. A semblably of God’s enemies.

As wax melteth before the fire, &c.] Wax is a more solid substance than smoke, but, held to the fire, it quickly dissolveth. The psalmist both prayeth and prophesieth here, that the downfall of the Church’s enemies may be praeceps et praesentissimum, sad and sudden, as is elegantly set forth by these two similitudes.

Ver. 3. But let the righteous be glad] When he seeth the vengeance, #Ps 58:10 {See Trapp on "Ps 58:10"} while this wise King scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them, #Pr 20:26.

Let them rejoice before God] Heb. At the presence of God, from which the wicked must flee, #Ps 68:1. See #Isa 33:14.

Yea, let them exceedingly rejoice] Heb. rejoice with gladness; overabound exceedingly with joy, as St Paul did, #2Co 7:4. Joy is the just man’s portion, which the wicked may not meddle with, #Ho 9:1.

Ver. 4. Sing unto God, sing praises] Cantate, Psallite, do it daily and duly, not in a customary, formal, bedulling way. For a help hereunto was this psalm penned, quo nihil ornatius, magnificentius, divinius denique scribi a quoquam possit, saith learned Beza, in a lofty and lively style.

Extol him that rideth upon the heavens] Exalt him so, as when a heap is made up unto a great height. Beza rendereth it, Sternite viam equiti deserti, Cast up or pave the way for him that rideth in the desert. Confer #Isa 40:3,4 Mal 3:1 Mt 3:3. The Septuagint render it, οδοποιησατε, Raise up the way, and make it ready (as they use to do before kings that ride in triumph), that the King of glory may come into your hearts, those deserts indeed.

By his name Jah] The same with Jehovah, that proper and incommunicable name of God. Some of the heathens called it Jao, as Diodorus Siculus, Macrobius, &c. Holy and reverend is this name, Αυταυτος, Essentiator, and it is here and elsewhere given to Christ. See it interpreted #Re 1:4.

Ver. 5. A father of the fatherless, &c.] Pupillorum pater, et viduarum vindex, a title that God much glorieth in; and although he rideth upon the heavens, and is higher than the highest, yet so low stoopeth he to our meanness; neither will he leave his people orphans or comfortless, #Joh 14:18, for

God is in his holy habitation] Not in heaven only, but in and with his Church on earth; the ark and mercy seat were never sundered.

Ver. 6. God setteth the solitary in families] i.e. He blesseth them with issue. See #Ps 113:9, and so he doth the Church, #Isa 54:1, in these days of the gospel especially.

He bringeth out those which are bound in chains] As he did Peter, #Ac 12:7, Paul and Silas, #Ac 16:25,26 Some read it thus, He bringeth out those which are bound, in commoditates, into places where they may live commodiously and cheerfully. As on the other side,

The rebellious dwell in a dry land] In locis torridis, aridis, exsuccis et siticulosis, in dry and desert countries, where they are destitute of God’s blessing and his soul refreshing comforts. The Hebrew word signifieth a bleak or white soil, such as is all Egypt where the Nile arriveth not, viz. a whitish sand, bearing no grass, but two little weeds, of which they make glass. Where the river watereth is a black mould, so fruitful, say travellers, as they do but throw in the seed, and have four rich harvests in less than four months. Hence Egypt is called the world’s granary.

Ver. 7. O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people] Here the former benefits of God to his people are recited, et additis miris coloribus depicta potius quam descripta, and rather depainted out in lively colours than described. We must stir up ourselves to thankfulness for what God hath done for our forefathers; neither must the memory of his mercies ever grow stale with us.

Ver. 8. The earth shook, the heavens also dropped] Velut in sudorem soluti, as if they had been put into a sweat; in so terrible a manner was the law given, that God’s fear might fall upon us, #Ex 20:18-21 As for the gospel, it is that rain of liberalities, #Ps 68:9, confiming God’s inheritance when it is weary.

Even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God] Some render it, a facie Dei huius Sinaici, a facie Dei, Die Israel. These two verses are taken out of Deborah’s song, #Jud 5:4,5.

Ver. 9. Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain] Heb. Thou didst speak out a rain of liberalities. Spiritually this meaneth the doctrine of the gospel, #De 32:2 Isa 45:8 Ho 14:6, and the gifts of the Holy Ghost, bestowed freely and plentifully.

Ver. 10. Thy congregation hath dwelt therein] Pecus tuum, thy cattle, so some render it, and interpret it as the flocks and herds, whereby of his goodness God prepared for his poor, those creatures being profitable both ad esum et ad usum.

Ver. 11. The Lord gave the word] That is, the occasion. De victu dixit, nunc de victoria, saith Vatablus; how God provided his people of victuals the psalmist had told us, now of the victory; the good news whereof shall soon be in every one’s mouth, like the word in an army, with joyful acclamations and outcries, Deus obtulit occasionem laetandi, ovandi et triumphandi.

Great was the company (Heb. army) of those that published it] Such are the preachers of the gospel, #Ro 10:15, an office taken now from the angels, and given to the ministers; whence that angel turned over Cornelius to Peter for further information, #Ac 10:1-6 The Hebrew word for publishers or preachers here is feminine, not to countenance our praedicantissae (such as was that Jezebel Mrs Hutchinson of New England), but to show the weakness of the means (fishermen and the like) that God is pleased to use in this great work, for the greater manifestation of his power in the success, as some conceive, Ut imbecillitatem ministrorum Ecclesiae notet (Moller).

Ver. 12. Kings of armies did flee apace] Heb. did flee, did flee. Or, shall flee, shall flee; which one interpreteth of devils (called principalities and powers), formerly using to give oracles; but after Christ’s birth ceasing to do so. As also of Licinius and other tyrants fleeing before Constantine, the first Christian emperor. See #Re 9:11. Antichrist is the king of locusts, and he fleeth daily before the Evangelici, the new gospellers, as he calleth them. Bellarmine complaineth, that ever since we held the Pope to be antichrist, non mode non crevit eius imperium, sed semper magis ac magis deerevit, his kingdom hath not only not increased, but more and more daily decreased (Lib. iii. de Pont. Rein., cap. 21).

And she that tarried at home divided the spoil] That is, tota congregatio quae non pugnabat, says Kimchi. Or, the women also (those domi portae) came forth to pillage. These days of the gospel do abound with many godly matrons and holy virgins. And it is easy to observe that the New Testament affordeth more store of good women than the Old.

Ver. 13. Though ye have lien among the pots] Inter Chytropodas. Quasi obruti toti et oppleti fuligine et tenebris, black and sooty, as the black guard of an army, or as scullions in a kitchen, who lie sometimes all night, like beasts, in a chimney corner; or as your forefathers in Egypt, when their shoulders were not yet removed from the burden, nor their hands from the pots, #Ps 81:6. The meaning is, though ye have been in a low and loathsome condition, yet now ye shall shine and flourish. Verba sunt mulierum, saith Kimchi, these are the words of those women, annunciatrices preachers, in #Ps 68:11. Beza maketh them to be the psalmist’s words to those women that divided the spoil, #Ps 68:12. Vixistis adhuc puellae, &c., ye have hitherto dwelt at home, and washed pots, &c., but now, being enriched by the spoils, ye may come abroad fair and trim, like white doves with gilt feathers.

Yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove] Ye shall fly swiftly from the storm of cruel persecution, saith the Syriac interpreter; yea, you shall shine, and make a glorious show, sicut niveae columbae per medium acrem inter volitandum aureum quendam splendorem eiaculantur. See #Isa 54:11-13: the Church’s bricks made in her bondage shall be turned into sapphires.

Ver. 14. When the Almighty scattered kings in it] i.e. In the wilderness as they passed; or in Canaan which they possessed, according to #Ps 68:1. Or, scattered kings for her, that is, for his Church, or for her that tarrieth at home, #Ps 68:12, a periphrasis of the Church, in the times of primitive persecution especially, till the Almighty scattered those persecuting princes. Some of the Jewish doctors understand it to be Gog and Magog.

It was white as snow in Salmon] Or, she was white as snow in Salmon; not only as the wings of a dove, but glorious and glittering as snow on that high hill, #Jud 9:47,48. At the top of the Alps nothing is to be seen but snow, which hath lain there beyond the memory of man, and, as some say, ever since the flood. The same may be as true of Salmon, which some here take for a noun substantive common, and render it, albesces in caligine, thou shalt wax white in darkness. The old Emperor Andronicus, lighting upon this verse in his psalter, and applying it to himself, was much settled and satisfied concerning his troubles (Turk. Hist. fol. 164).

Ver. 15. The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan] Bashan was fat and fertile, but Sion was better; because the place where God’s honour dwelled, any relation to whom doth greatly ennoble any place or person: so #Ge 17:21,22, Ishmael have I blessed, twelve princes shall he beget; but my covenant will I establish with Isaac. Since thou hast been precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, #Isa 43:4.

Ver. 16. Why leap ye, ye high hills?] Why do ye pride and please yourselves in your privileges of nature, so far above this of Sion? Quare contenditis, montes gibbosi? so some render it, and tell us, that the original word ratsad is Syriac, and significth to envy, to irritate, to insult, or contend with any one.

This is the hill which God desireth to dwell in] This low, little, barren hill of Sion; and God’s election maketh the difference, as it did of Aaron’s rod from the rest, and doth still of the Church from the rest of the world. The Lamb Christ is on Mount Sion, #Re 14:1.

Ver. 17. The chariots of God are twenty thousand] Heb. The chariot, to note the joint service of all the angels, who are here called Shinan, of their changeableness now taken away by Christ, say some; of their pre-excelleney above other creatures, say others, as being second or next unto God, the chief princes, the nobles of that court, as #Da 10:13, Michael one of the chief princes. The Seventy render it ευθυμουντων, the cheerful ones such as are in joy and tranquillity, freely serving God in all his wars, carrying the elect, and marching about them.

The Lord is among them, as in Sinai] i.e. The angels make Sion as dreadful to all her enemies as those angels made Sinai at the delivery of the Law. See #Heb 12:22.

In the holy place] Holy for the time while God appeared there, so #2Pe 1:18, Tabor is called the holy mount.

Ver. 18. Thou hast ascended on high] As a conqueror doth on his triumphal chariot; the Romans ascended up to the Capitol, leading their captives bound behind them, and giving gifts unto the people (Plut. in Æmyl.). They might have this custom from David, and these words might be the people’s acclamation to David, or, as some think, both the kings and people’s acclamation to the ark, that notable type of Christ, to whom St Paul applieth it, #Eph 4:8,9, and teacheth us to understand it of his wonderful ascension.

Thou hast led captivity captive] i.e. Thou hast captivated those that once held us in captivity; for so God’s justice required, #Isa 33:1, so he had forepromised, #Isa 24:22 Re 13:10, and so Christ hath fulfilled, #Col 2:15, saving his people to the uttermost, from sin, death, hell, and the devil, who had taken them alive captive at his pleasure, #2Ti 2:26.

Thou hast received gifts for men] Heb, in man; some render it in Adam, Qualia erant in Adamo, tails dat Christus, saith Eugubinus, Christ gave such gifts to his people (for if he received with one hand, he gave with the other, and the fruits of his victories are all for his subjects) as were in Adam, Sed Beth servilis non praeponitur proprio nomini. True it is, that he repaireth God’s once lost image in them, but the gifts here meant are mentioned by the apostle, #Eph 4:11, viz. apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, &c. Lo, these were those gifts that Christ bestowed upon his Church at the day of his coronation, and solemn inauguration into his throne, at the time of his trimnphant ascension. These he received that he might give; and he held it more blessed to give than to receive. A like expression we have #Ho 14:2. "Receive us graciously," Heb. Take good, sc. to bestow it upon us, as #Ac 2:23.

Yea, for the rebellious also] Rebellion at first, till thou hast given them a better heart. See #Ro 4:5 5:6, or, if they continue so, yet they may share in common gifts and external privileges.

That the Lord God might dwell among them] viz. In his religion and true worshippers, for which end he giveth restraining grace to the very rebellions.

Ver. 19. Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us] sc. With blessings, or with crosses turned into blessings, as being sanctified, and having their properties altered; for of themselves they are fruits of sin, and a piece of the curse. Let us not load him with our iniquities, &c.

Ver. 20. He that is our God, is the God of salvation] Or, This God is unto us a God of salvation, in the plural, so that he can save us, and doth, from a thousand deaths and dangers; and when he hath delivered us today, he both can and will do it again tomorrow; he hath for his people omnimodam salutem.

And unto God the Lord belong the issues from death] When we think there is no way but one for us, he appeareth as out of an engine, and pulleth us out of death’s jaws. The Lord knoweth how to deliver his, #2Pe 2:9, from the most desperate and deadly dangers. Peter might well say it, for he had the experience of it, #Ac 12:7-11; Christ hath the keys of death, #Re 1:18, the sole dominion and disposal of it. Servat nos a morte, sicut ipse primus exibat e manu mortis.

Ver. 21. But God shall wound the head of his enemies] Cruentabit caput, a wound in the head if deep (and God strikes no small blows) is mortal. Christ will break the head of those that bruise his heel, that attempt anything against him and his. By head here Diodati understandetb the devil, that prince of the world, #De 32:42 Ps 110:6 Hab 3:13. Evil spirits in Scripture are called Shegnirim, shag-haired, #Le 17:7 Isa 13:21. And they go on in their trespasses; they do infinitely hate God, and sin that sin against the Holy Ghost every moment. But the most understand it of wicked men.

And the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still, &c.] This is God’s enemy, that by his wilful wickedness striketh, and as it were shooteth, at God, runneth upon him, even upon his neck, and upon the thick bosses of his bucklers, #Job 15:25,26, His hairy scalp, setting forth his fierceness, #Job 5:5. Note this against anti-roundheads. See #Eze 44:20.

Ver. 22. The Lord said] That is assurance good enough.

I will bring again from Bashan] Og the giant’s country, where Israel was in no small distress and danger till that monster was taken out of the way, #Nu 21:33 De 3:1,2: q.d. I will, if need require, and as occasion serveth, do as much for mine again as I did once at Bashan, and at the Red Sea. Some interpret this and the following verses of the calling of the Jews. The glorious things (saith one) which God will effect in their behalf are here reduced to five heads: First, the bringing of them home from most extreme difficulties, naming Bashan, because of the slaughter spoken of, #Ps 68:14, and the deep of the sea, alluding to #Ex 14:16, peradventure he meaneth the drying up of Euphrates before them. For this first head aimeth at those times, the beginning of the Jews’ repair unto their country. The second head is, the great and famous victory that God will give, delivering them out of those difficulties and distresses, #Ps 68:22. See #Isa 63:1-4. The third head is, the Jews’ thorough conversion, by occasion of that singular mercy of God, #Ps 68:23, and the form of a goodly Church (under the type of the old synagogue) set up among Jacob’s posterity, #Ps 68:24, the ten tribes as well as the tribe of Judah; which is concluded by acknowledging their strength to come from God, a prayer to perfect his work begun, and a spur to put into these kings of the east (as they are so called, #Re 16:12), to present in the temple at Jerusalem (in the public congregation) testimonies of their thankfulness, #Ps 68:25-28. The fourth head is, the taming of their proud enemies, and the forcing them at least to counterfeit a subjection, #Ps 68:29. The fifth head is, the general calling of all the kingdoms of the earth to join themselves unto the Church of Christ, which shall follow the conversion of the Jews. And this he shutteth up with provoking all nations to give unto God the praises that are due unto him for it; and his own particular thanksgiving, #Ps 68:30-34. Thus he.

Ver. 23. That thy foot may be dipped] Heb. redded, imbrued, made gore bloody. Hereby is implied a very great slaughter. Confer #Re 19:17,18,21.

Ver. 24. They have seen thy goings, O God] Namely, the holy manner of conducting the ark with even and proportionable restings and settings down (Diod.). See #2Sa 6:13. The ark is here and elsewhere called God, because a symbol of his special presence. When we are called to hear God’s word, and pray publicly, though we see not God, yet we may see his goings Deus enim ipse chorum agit, et primas tenet in illo incessu (Vatab.).

Of my God, my King] David, though he were a king, yet held himself but God’s mandatory, or substitute.

Ver. 25. The singers went before, &c.] Thus they were marshalled, when the ark was conducted to Mount Sion, everything being done decently and in order. Christ ascending into heaven, and settling his kingdom, is perpetually praised by his Church.

Ver. 26. Bless ye God in the congregations] i.e. Catervatim ac turmatim, by troops and companies.

Even the Lord from the fountain of Israel] That is, from the heart, say some, which is the true fountain of praising God. Others understand it as Christ, who is of the fountain of Israel, #Ro 9:5; there are those who think that the study of the Hebrew tongue is here recommended to us. Reuchlin was wont to say, that the Latins drank out of cisterns, the Greeks out of ponds, but the Hebrews out of the fountain itself. Calvin and the most interpreters read the words, Ye that are of the fountain of Israel, springing out of his loins. See #De 33:28 Isa 48:1 51:1.

Ver. 27. There is little Benjamin with their ruler] Though before they had stood out for Saul and his house, yet now they bore a part in this solemn celebrity, as being next unto the sanctuary. Of this tribe was St Paul, Tricubitalis ille homuncio, sed insatiabilis Dei cultor, as Chrysostom calleth him, little in stature, but in labours more abundant. The first precious stone in the foundation of the New Jerusalem is a jasper, #Re 21:19, which in Aaron’s breastplate was the last, #Ex 28:20, on which Benjamin’s name was graven. This intimateth, saith Ainsworth, the last now to be first, and chief in Christian Churches.

The princes of Judah and their council] Or company, or purple-arrayed ones. Beza rendereth it, Lapidatores eorum, the stoners of the enemies. The word is found here only; and Forsterus thinketh that our Saviour alludeth to it when, as #Mr 3:17, he calleth James and John Boanerges.

The princes of Zebulun] Sic absolvitur pompa triumphalis. These are mentioned as most remote, bringing up the rear. In those tribes Christ walked, and therehence he called sundry of his disciples.

Ver. 28. Thy God hath commanded thy strength] A brave expression, admired by Longinus, a heathen rhetorician. See the like #De 28:8 Ps 33:9 42:8 44:4. God both made and ruleth the world without tool or toil; he enableth his people to subsist and to resist their enemies by his will only, and by the efficacy of his word. Suppeditavit tibi Deus tantum robur, nequid superbias, saith Vatablus.

Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us] Petamus ut det, quod ut habeamus iubet, Pray to the God of all grace to make us the same that he requireth us to be.

Ver. 29. Because of thy temple] Or, out of thy temple at Jerusalem, q.d. strengthen us out of thy temple, out of the fulness that is in thy Son, thereby typified.

Shall kings bring presents unto thee] {See Trapp on "Ps 68:22"}

Ver. 30. Rebuke the company of spearmen] Or, lancemen; Heb. the beast of the reeds; that is, say some, voluptuous persons that wallow in wealth, plenty, and pleasure, #Job 40:21, Sicut Pontifices, Cardinales, Episcopi et horum satellites. as Popes, cardinals, bishops and their underlings. Behemoth lieth in the fens, which Gul. Parisiensis applieth to the devil in sensual hearts; reeds grow not but in fat and moist places: but they do better who render it the rout, or crew, of the cane; that is, men that bear reeds or canes, whereof spears, arrows, and lances were wont to be made; these men, or rather beasts, cruel, savage, and bloody, rebuke, that is, repress.

The multitude of the bulls] The commanders and chieftains.

With the calves of the people] The common soldiers.

With pieces of silver] With a homage penny, as they call it.

That delight in war] That make a sport of it, as Joab, #2Sa 2:14; as Pyrrhus, king of Epirotes, who made a recreation of warfare. So did not David, though, necessitated thereunto for the glory of God, he was a man of war from his youth. If we princes, said our Henry VII, should delight in war, or take every occasion that is offered, the world should never be quiet, but wearied with continual wars.

Ver. 31. Princes shall come out of Egypt] The Gentiles shall one day be called, and caused Deum verum cognoscere et colere; even Egypt, that archenemy of the Church; and Ethiopia, the offspring of cursed Ham.

Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands to God] Heb. shall make her hands to run; whereby is noted her speediness in giving or in receiving the gospel, Manibus pedibusque obnixe omnia faciet (Terent.). It is likely that that good eunuch, #Ac 8:26-39, preached the Christian verity which himself had embraced, for goodness is diffusive; and birds, when they come to a full heap of corn, will chirp and call in for their fellows. The Habassines are still a kind of Christians, the Nubians have forsaken the faith once delivered, and embraced instead of it partly Mahometanism, and partly idolatry, through lack of ministers, as Alvarez reports (Hist. Aethi. cap. 137).

Ver. 32. Siny unto God, ye kingdoms] No such joy as that of the converted; #Isa 35:10, "The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads," &c. Bernard, for a certain time after his conversion, remained, as it were, deprived of his senses, by the excessive consolations he had from God. The like befell Cyprian, Austin, and others.

Ver. 33. To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens] i.e. The highest heaven, #De 10:14.

Which were of old] And do still remain in the same state.

Lo, he doth send out his voice] i.e. Thundereth, as #Ps 29:3; whensoever, therefore, we hear it thunder, Sciamus Deum ipsum loqui, hoc est sensibilem reddi. Let us know that God himself speaks, this is to restore us to our senses.

Ver. 34. Ascribe ye strength unto God] The high thunderer, υψιβρεμετης (Altitonans); acknowledge your own nothingness, submit to his government.

His excellency is over Israel, and his strength, &c.] i.e. His glory shineth no less in Israel than the thunder roareth in the clouds.

Ver. 35. O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places] So the sanctuary is called, because divided into three parts; and here hence God was terrible in his manifestations to his people, and in his operations to his enemies. See #Ps 67:2,3.

Blessed be God] Hereupon, saith one, God was called in Israel, Baruc-hu, the Blessed, as #Mr 14:61, with #Mt 26:63. See #Lu 1:68.

A Psalm of David] Quando rebellabat Sheba, saith the Syriac, made upon the occasion of Sheba’s rebellion presently after Absalom’s. Hence he cries out, as one almost overwhelmed,

Chapter 69

Ver. 1. Save me, O God] Thou, who delightest to save such as are forsaken of their hopes. The Fathers generally take this psalm to be prophetic touching the passion of Christ, and his praying then to the Father. David had his troubles which gave occasion to the penning of this psalm, but those were all but as a picture and prelude of Christ’s far greater sorrows, Spiritus autem sanctus manifeste se prodit in hoc psalmo.

For the waters are come in unto my soul] Ever after Noah’s flood, that dismal destruction, great and grievous afflictions were set forth by the rushing in of waters, and overwhelming therewith. God’swrath was poured upon Christ as a mighty torrent of waters, and, therefore, this expression applied to him hath a special emphasis; his soul was heavy even to the death. Fluctus fluctum trudebat, One deep called upon another, &c. Oh the soul of sufferings which his soul then suffered!

Ver. 2. I sink in deep mire] Heb. in the mire of depth, or gulf, as Babylon was afterwards called, #Isa 44:27. Here he stuck, and under water, and so must perish, if he had not present help.

Ver. 3. I am weary of mg crying] As a drowning man, while he can be heard, crieth for help.

My throat is dried] Or, parched, raucitate laborant fauces.

Mine eyes fail] With much weeping and long looking. This is a piece of the curse, #Le 26:16. Christ became a curse for us, #Ga 3:13.

Ver. 4. They that hate me without a cause, &c.] Christ, besides his inward fears and griefs caused by the sense of his Father’s wrath for our sins, was set against and assaulted both by men and devils (in that three hours’ darkness especially) with utmost might and malice.

Then I restored that which I took not away.] Quod non rapui reddebam. David was dealt with as a felon or false dealer. Christ also was crucified for saying that he was the Son of God, #Joh 19:7, though he held it no robbery to be equal with God, #Php 2:6. The martyrs likewise were loaden with many calumnies and false criminations, that they might seem to suffer not as martyrs, but as malefactors.

Ver. 5. O God, thou knowest my foolishness] Secundum dici, non secundum esse; ironica enim est locutio. Thou knowest mine innocence, and how free I am of that folly, and those foul faults, wherewith they falsely charge me.

Ver. 6. Let not them…be ashamed for my sake] Give me not up to passions of dishonour, to opprobrious practices, whereby religion might be reproached, or good people reviled and abused, much less staggered and set at a stand by my sufferings.

Ver. 7. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach] Whatever mine enemies pretend, they strike at thee, Lord, through my sides; and for thy sake alone it is that I am so bespattled, that I am even ashamed to look any one in the face. The most innocent may, upon the fulness of an aspersion, be put out of countenance.

Ver. 8. I am become a stranger unto my brethren] No otherwise than as if I were a mamzer (so the Hebrews call a bastard), that is, a strange blot to the family. Christ came to his own, but they received him not; yea, his own brethren believed not on him, #Joh 7:5 This, when the Turks read in our Gospel, they wonder; and the Jews, therefore, slander his miracles, for not so manifest as we conceive.

Ver. 9. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up] Non amat qui non zelat. David’s love to God (much less the Lord Christ’s) would not suffer him to bear with God’s dishonour and the contempt of his ordinances. And this was it that procured him so much ill-will, and such a general alienation from nearest friends and allies.

And the reproaches of them that reproached thee] Wicked men soon set their mouths against heaven, and fall foul upon God himself. This David (and the Son of David) could not endure, nec aliter amare didicit, as Basil once answered those that blamed him for appearing so far for his friend, to his own great danger (Chrysost. lib. 2, de Sacerdot.).

Ver. 10. When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting] That I might thereby beat down my body, and tame that rebel flesh of mine.

That was to my reproach] They said I did it in hypocrisy and design. So they dealt by the Baptist, that crucifix of mortification, #Lu 7:33.

Ver. 11. I made sackcloth also my garment] A fashion at solemn fasts among the Easterlings; as if they thought the coarsest clothing too good for them; and but for shame would have gone stark naked.

I became a proverb to them] Dicterium. They would say, with mocking Michal, "How glorious was the king of Israel today, as one of the vain fellows!" #2Sa 6:20.

Ver. 12. They that sit in the gate] Men of authority and dignity, who should have showed more grace and gravity. The saints are sure of enemies of all sorts. David was traduced at public and private meetings, seriis et ludicris, sobriis et ebriis.

And I was the song of the drunkards] Heb. of the drinkers of strong drink; the ale stakes made ballads on their ale bench, de macie mea et miseria. These servants tear and toss my name, as curs do carrion.

Ver. 13. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord] So St Paul, "Being defamed," saith he, "we pray." Christ in like case committed himself to God in well-doing, #1Pe 2:15

In an acceptable time] Or, there will be an acceptable time.

Flebile principium melior fortuna sequetur.

Ver. 14. Deliver me out of the mire] i.e. De civitate Gehennae, from the state of hell, saith the Hebrew scholiast; {a} out of that deadly danger whereof he had complained, #Ps 69:2. Alphonsus, king of Arragon, by a gracious condescension, helped a laden ass out of the mire with his own hand, and is renowned for it in history (Val. Max. Christ. 41). God helpeth his out full oft, and little notice is taken of it.

{a} One who writes explanatory notes upon an author; esp. an ancient commentator upon a classical writer.

Ver. 15. Let not the waterflood overflow me] See #Ps 69:1.

Let not the pit shut] Leave me not helpless and hopeless.

Vivere spe facias qui moriturus eram.

Ver. 16. Hear me, O Lord, for thy lovingkindness is good] It is not like the winter sun, that lighteth but heateth not; it is like the summer sun, that doth both.

Ver. 17. And hide not thy face from thy servant] Who am devoted to thy fear, and do, therefore, implore and expect thy favour.

For I am in trouble] And so a fit object of thy pity.

Ver. 18. Draw nigh unto my soul] Who seemest to be afar off; so the flesh suggesteth when help is any whit deferred.

Because of mine enemies] Who else will excessively insult.

Ver. 19. Thou hast known my reproach] That is enough for David, that God taketh cognizance of the injuries and indignities cast upon him; for he will surely right him.

Ver. 20. Reproach hath broken mine heart, &c.] He knew his own innocence, and yet it much grieved him to be so defamed; for he knew that a good man should be as much as might be not only without fault, but without suspicion of a fault, as Augustus Caesar was wont to say of his house. Howsoever, it is happy that a true Christian hath always his cordial by him, #2Co 1:12. Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience.

And I looked for some to take pity] Heb. to lament with me, or to shake the head over me as mourners use to do, to run to my comfort, and to condole with me. David’s friends failed him in this office also. But that was not all.

Ver. 21. They gave me also gall for my meat] Venenum vel eicutam; and so showed themselves miserable comforters.

And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink] This befell David in figure, but Christ in the letter, #Mt 27:34. It were happy if the vinegar given him might melt our adamantine hearts into godly sorrow.

Ver. 22. Let their table become a snare before them] Let them eat their bane, and drink their poison; while all their cares are sauced with the wrath of God: Quoniam hoe mode cibarunt me, saith Kimchi, because they have served me on this sort. By "table," saith another interpreter, we are to understand all means of comfort and refreshing, both of body and soul, which turn to the ruin of the wicked, even an odour of death unto death, #2Co 2:15,16.

And that which should have been, &c.] Tremellius rendereth it, Pro retributionibus, pro tendicula ipsis, for recompenses, for a trap to them #Ro 11:9; others, Pacifiea in rete! others again, Et ubi pacem sperant, illic impingant, Where they hope for peace let them fall.

Ver. 23. Let their eyes be darkened] Let them be infatuated and besotted, that they may go hoodwinked to hell.

And make their loins continually to shake] Ne fugiant, saith R. Obadiah Gaon, that they may not be able to fly, or otherwise to help themselves; for in the loins and reins of a man lieth his strength, #De 33:11. The Syriac hath it, Lumbi eorum sint curvi, viz. under their enemies’ burdens. See #Ro 11:10, bow down their backs.

Ver. 24. Pour out thine indignation upon them] By indignation, saith Basil, we are to understand speedy vengeance; by wrath, durable. This is befallen the nation of the Jews to the utmost, #1Th 2:14-16, or to the end, as some render it.

Ver. 25. Let their habitation be desolate] Heb. their palaces, or castles, so named of being fair and high built, in row and order. It is here put not only for their habitation, but for their function. See #Ac 1:20.

And let none dwell in their tents] Lege et luge, Read and lament, saith one, speaking of the ruin of Jerusalem by the Romans, under Vespasian, and again under Hadrian, by whom all Judaea was left almost uninhabited, the Jews utterly banished, and forbidden upon pain of death to look toward their own country (Dio in Hadrian). At this day there be not to be found in Jerusalem itself a hundred households of Jews. Behold the severity of God for the contempt of Christ and his people (Breerwood’s Enquirer).

Ver. 26. For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten] Christ was "stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted," #Isa 53:4. Him they persecuted to the death, and abused, when he was at the greatest under, with bitter taunts and Satanical sarcasms; so the pagans and Papists dealt by the dying martyrs; and so profane persons and malicious miscreants do still by God’s poor afflicted; falling as cursed curs upon the dog that is worried; and as when a deer is shot the rest of the herd push him out of their company: so here. Now, if it could be said of Mithridates, that he hated such as maliciously persecuted virtue forsaken of fortune; much more may we think doth God abhor such cruel criminals as are here spoken of. See #Isa 47:6 Ob 1 Zec 1:15.

And they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded] Narrationes contexunt, they frame discourses to the grief of thy wounded ones, pouring into their wounds not oil, or balsam, but vinegar, or salt water, Heb. they number, or cipher up the grief; that is, saith one, they study and devise new ways of torturing them, so that he who would speak of them all, must keep a remembrance of their number.

Ver. 27. Add iniquity unto their iniquity] Punish one sin with another (by giving them up to a reprobate sense, to an incurable hardness), and plague them soundly for their sin. The same Hebrew word signifieth both sin and punishment; these two are tied together with chains of adamant.

And let them not come into thy righteousness] i.e. Hold them not righteous, nor bestow upon them thy crown of righteousness.

Ver. 28. Let them be blotted out, &c.] Wherein they were never indeed written among those living in Jerusalem, #Isa 4:3, those firstborn whose names are written in heaven, #Heb 12:23, but they accounted themselves of that number, and were so esteemed by others. This was a mistake, and the psalmist prayeth God to make it appear so, Ne videantur in albun tuorum relati quibus verae vitro donum destinasti.

Ver. 29. But I am poor and sorrowful] The Church is usually so, and may sing, as here, Vaani gnani, &c., but her comfort is, 1. That Christ saith unto her, as #Re 2:9, I know thy sorrow and poverty (but that is nothing), thou art rich. 2. That her poverty is not penal, but medicinal; God’s dispensation to fit her for better riches; as a wise physician purgeth a foul hody till he bring it almost to skin and bone; but why? that, having made it poor, there may be a spring of better blood and spirits.

Ver. 30. I will praise the name of God] i.e. Agnitmn Deum. I will thankfully agnize and recognize God’s great goodness to me in this deliverance, with mine uttermost zeal and skill.

Ver. 31. This also shall please the Lord better, &c.] True thankfulness is opimum et optimum saerificium, those calves of our lips, #Ho 14:3 Heb 12:15. These calves or bullocks (as in the text) must, 1. Have horns and hoofs, be young and tender, the very best, of the best. 2. They must be slain; our thanks must proceed from a mortified mind. 3. They must be sacrificed; where is required, (1.) An altar, our praises must be tendered in the mediation of Christ. (2.) Fire, our hearts must be inflamed with zeal and ardency. (3.) Our hands must be laid on the head of the bullock; that is, we must in all humility confess our unworthiness, &c. This will surely please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.

Ver. 32. The humble shall see this and be glad] David’s great care was for others’ confirmation and comfort; much more Christ’s, witness that holy prayer of his, #Joh 17:9

Your heart shall live] Which before was all lifeless. Pray that ye may joy. David did so often, #Ps 6, &c.

Ver. 33. For the Lord heareth the poor] He is the poor man’s king, the wronged man’s refuge; Trajan the emperor is renowned for this, that when he was mounted for a battle, he alighted again to bear the complaint of a poor woman that cried unto him for justice (Aeli. Spart.); and our Edward VI for this, that he would appoint certain hours to sit with the master of the requests, only to despatch the causes of the poor. God is much more to be magnified.

Ver. 34. Let the heaven and earth praise him] As they do in their kind; and have good cause so to do for their restoration by Christ, #Ro 8:21.

Ver. 35. For God will save Zion] i.e. The Church universal.

And will build the cities] The particular Churches.

That they may dwell there] viz. The seed of his servants, #Ps 69:36.

Ver. 36. The seed also of his servants shall inherit] The faithful and their posterity after them shall be incorporated into the Church, and partake of all good things to all perpetuity.

A Psalm of David] Made, likely, or rather made use of from #Ps 40:14,15, &c., when Sheba, the son of Bichri, was up in rebellion after Absalom’s death, #2Sa 20:1, &c. See #Ps 69:1, title.

To briny to remembrance] Worthy to be remembered, and followed as a pattern of prayer. Some make this psalm an appendix to the former, as #Ps 43., is to #Ps 42. Others make it a part of the next psalm; which is, therefore, say they, without a title.

Chapter 70

Ver. 1. Make haste, O God, to deliver me] As a father runs without legs when his child is hazarded.

Ver. 2. Let them be ashamed] See #Ps 40:14 35:26,27.

Ver. 3. Let them be turned back for a reward] Vel sicut per insidias vel supplantationem, more athletarum, a בקע, Let them be supplanted, defeated.

That say, Aha, aha] Augustine rendereth it, Euge, Euge, that is, Well done; and giveth this note upon it, Plus persequitur lingua adulatoris quam manus interfectoris, The tongue of a flatterer may mischief a man more than the hand of a murderer. The apostle, #Heb 11:37, ranketh their tempting and flattering promises among their bloody deeds, their rising tongues with their terrifying jaws.

Ver. 4. Let all those that seek thee, &c.] Piorum characteres, saith one, a godly man characterized, by his search after God, his joy in him, his love to him, his praises of him.

Let God be magnified] In illo quicquid ego; ille, non ego, saith Augustine.

Ver. 5. But I am poor and needy] See #Ps 69:29, {See Trapp on "Ps 69:29"}

Chapter 71

Ver. 1. In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust] See #Ps 31:1, {see Trapp on "Ps 31:1"} It appeareth by #Ps 71:9,18, that this psalm was written by David in his old age, when Absalom or Sheba was in rebellion against him, though haply for haste, and in that fright he could not superscribe it as he did the rest. The Greek title, viz. of David, a psalm of the sons of Jonadab, and of them that were first captived, hath no footing in the original Hebrew.

Ver. 2. Deliver me in thy righteousness] Let my deliverance be the fruit of thy promise and of my prayer; and so it will be much the sweeter.

Ver. 3. Thou hast given commandment] sc. To thine angels, and all other thy creatures; or, thou hast commanded, that is, thou hast promised.

Ver. 4. Out of the hand of the unrighteous] That seeketh by fraud to undermine me, and by force to overturn me.

And cruel man] Qui totus in fermento iacet; sour as leaven, sharp as vinegar.

Ver. 5. For thou art my hope] Helpless I may seem, but hopeless I am not.

Ver. 6. By thee have I been holden up from the womb] As in the womb I lived upon thee, so from the womb. The same that breedeth us feedeth us; that matter that nourisheth the child in the womb striking up into the breasts, and by a further concoction becoming white, is made milk for it.

Thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels] Else I had never been born alive. That a child is born, fieri videmus, saith Galen, sed quomodo fiat, admirari tantum possumus. Avicenna calleth it, Opus supra mirabilia omnia mirabile, the greatest wonder in the world. Surely, if a child were born but once in a hundred years’ time, we should all run to see so strange a work, saith another.

Ver. 7. I am a wonder unto many] Or, unto the great ones, a monster to the mighty, quia credo quod non video, as Austin glosseth, because I believe what I yet see not, viz. that this storm shall blow over, and I be resettled in my throne.

Ver. 8. Let my mouth be filled with thy praise] Minister unto me still fresh matter for my spirit to work upon.

Ver. 9. Cast me not off in the time of old age] For now I have most need of thee. The white rose is soonest cankered, so is the white head soonest corrupted.

Saepe nigrum cor est, caput album—

Satan maketh a prey of old Solomon, Asa, Lot, others; whom when young he could never so deceive. The heathens, therefore, well warn us to look well to our old age, as that which cometh not alone, but is infested with many diseases both of body and mind. This David knew, and therefore prayed, as here, "Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth." He is a rare old man that can say with Caleb, #Jos 14:10,11. Omnia fert aetas, animum quoque.

Ver. 10. For mine enemies] Who, rather than their lives, would bereave me of mine; these would double murder me, first by detraction, and then by deadly practice.

Ver. 11. God hath forsaken him] For his late sin against Uriah; and as may appear by his present distress, his forlorn proscribed condition.

Ver. 12. O God, be not far from me] The insolence of his enemies sets an edge upon his prayers Oratio sine malis est avis sine alis. Our Saviour in his agony prayed the more earnestly, #Lu 22:44.

Ver. 13. Let them be confounded and consumed] Here he beginneth diris devovere, to devote his foes to destruction, who soon also found that these were not bruta fulmina, as the pope’s bulls are (wittily compared by one to a fool’s dagger, rattling and snapping without an edge), but that there was an energy in them, though haply not felt for present; and that they had better have angered all the witches in the country than occasioned David thus to curse them in the name of the Lord.

Ver. 14. But I will hope continually] I will lengthen out mine hope, as a line drawn out. Tremellius renders it, I am in expectation still of completing thy praise, and will go on therein, viz. when thou shalt have completed my deliverance

Ver. 15. My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy salvation] Lo, here, a sweet and comfortable conjunction of God’s righteousness and our salvation. See #2Th 1:6,7.

For I know not the numbers thereof] Or, though I know not, &c., by a modest correction, since they may be celebrated, but not enumerated.

Littora quot conchas, quot amaena rosaria flores,

Quotve soporiferum grana papaver habet:

Sylva feras quot alit, quot piscibus unda natatur,

Et tenerum pennis acra pulsar avis (Ovid.).

So many, and ten thousand times more, are God’s lovingkindnesses. The psalmist elsewhere venteth himself by an exclamation, #Ps 31:19. {See Trapp on "Ps 31:19"}

Ver. 16. I will go in the strength of the Lord God] Ingrediar in potentia Domini, I will do what I can, with God’s help, in glorifying his name, though I cannot do as I would and as I ought; Narrabo res inenarrabiles, and then entreat those that hear me to think higher things of God than I am able to utter.

Even of thine only] For that is enough, and more than I can well do; I will not once mention (as profane persons use to do) mine own wisdom, valour, &c.; alas, they are not worthy to be named in the same day with thine.

Ver. 17. O God, thou hast taught me] Happy David in such a school master. All the faithful are taught of God; outwardly by his word and works, inwardly by his Spirit: Et quando Christus magister quam cito discitur quod docetur? Nescit tarda molimina Spiritus Sancti gratia (Aug. Ambrose).

Ver. 18. Now also when I am old and gray headed] Now, that the plum tree is full of blooms, the map of age is figured in my forehead, the calendar of death appeareth in the furrows of my face; let me do nothing to spot my white head. Let me, with the sun, give greatest glimpse at the going down, and, with the rose, retain my sweetness, though I have lost my colour. See #Ps 71:9.

And thy power to every one that is to come] Mirus fervor Davidis in celebranda bonitate Dei, saith Vatablus here. David would propagate God’s praise to all posterity.

Ver. 19. Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high] Far above the reach of human reason; yet for the strengthening of my hope, I will look up after it, though mine eye should be tired in the way.

Ver. 20. Thou which hast showed me great and sore troubles] Angustias magnas et malas, and hast thereby taught me, #Ps 71:17, Quae nocent, docent.

Shall quicken me again] And this is one singular height of thy righteousness, that thou carriest tby people through so many deaths, and causest them to ascend from the lowest ebb of affliction to the highest pitch of comfort. Stoics ascribe such occurrences to fate, epicures to fortune, but David to God alone.

Ver. 21. Thou shall increase my greatness] Meam, id est Tuam, quam mihi dedisti, saith the Arabic gloss here; my greatness, that is, thy greatness which thou hast given me.

Ver. 22. I will also praise thee with the psaltery] In organo natali, with an instrument made like a bottle.

O thou Holy One of Israel] Who sanctifiest thine throughout, and art to be sanctified of thine throughout all eternity, #Isa 5:16.

Ver. 23. And my soul, which thou hast redeemed] Hearts and lips shall concur in this work. The voice which is made in the mouth is nothing so sweet as that which cometh from the depth of the breast. The deeper and hollower the belly of the lute or viol is, the pleasanter is the sound; the fleeter, the more grating and harsh in our ears.

Ver. 24. My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness] Advisedly talk, and upon due deliberation. What a mad edict was that of Henry II of France, that men should not talk at all of Scriptural matters! And that of the Jesuits at Dola, forbidding any talk of God, either in good sort or in bad!

A Psalm for Solomon] Whom his father David had crowned while yet alive; and now, at point of death, leaveth him this last bequeath as a basilicon doron, a direction in point of government, and a prediction of a most flourishing reign thereupon; this last he so describeth, that by a spirit of prophecy, attributing eternity thereunto, he riseth up from Solomon to Christ, of whom he was a type; like as also the promise made to David, concerning Solomon and Christ, was conceived in such terms by God himself, as if they had been almost one and the same person, #2Sa 7:13,14 1Ch 22:10. (Beza).

Chapter 72

Ver. 1. Give the king thy judgments, O God] i.e. Give me, for that little time I have here to live and reign, skill and will to do it aright, and as thy law requireth.

And thy righteousness unto the king’s son] To Solomon, and his successors; for David’s great care was the welfare of God’s people after his decease, for which end he both prayeth, and principleth his son Solomon; and herein his great piety to the end appeareth. I could not but love the man (said Theodosius, the emperor, concerning Ambrose) who, while he lived he heartily wished that the contentions that were in the Church might be quenched, though it were with his blood; so when he died he was more solicitous of the Church’s welfare than of his own.

Ver. 2. He shall judge thy people with righteousness] sc. If thou please to remember thy promise to me, and to answer this my prayer of faith founded thereupon.

And thy poor] Or, thine afflicted. The people (the poor afflicted especially) are the Lord’s and therefore not to be tyrannized over and trampled on by their governors.

Ver. 3. The mountains shall bring peace] i.e. They shall not be so pestered and infested by thieves and robbers, who usually haunt and hide themselves in hills and hollow places.

By righteousness] By right administration of justice, as it was here in King Alfred’s days, who ordained that his subjects should be divided into tens, or tithings, every one of which severally should give bond for the good abearing of each other; and he who was of that dissolute behaviour, that he could not be admitted to these tithings, was forthwith conveyed to the house of correction. The most ancient of these men were called by a specialty the tithing men.

Ver. 4. He shall judge the poor of the people] Indeed all, indifferently, without respect of persons; but a poor man’s tale shall be heard, and his cause judged, as well as a rich man’s. Under Christ’s government it shall be so howsoever; "I know thy poverty, but thou art rich," saith he, #Re 3:9. Amongst men, both in suits of love and of law, money maketh mastery; not so here.

And shall break in pieces the oppressor] The tale berarer, saith the Greek; the slanderer, saith the Latin; the devil, say some. Over these he shall turn the wheel.

Ver. 5. They shall fear thee] Who hast blessed them with so good a king; such as maketh it his main care to set up God, wherever he hath to do.

As long as the sun and moon endureth] The Lacedemonians publicly professed, Quoad sol eodem itinere meabit, quo nunc meat, eo usque nunquam societatem cum Xerxe coibimus, While the sun shall hold on his course we will never make a league with Xerxes.

Ver. 6. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass] That is, he shall be very dear to us, and much delighted in. See #Job 29:23, {See Trapp on "Job 29:23"}

As showers that water the earth] This is chiefly fulfilled in Christ, who, by raining down righteousness, maketh his Church to grow and flourish.

Ver. 7. In his days shall the righteous flourish] As watered gardens, #Jer 31:12, or as the willows by the water courses, #Isa 44:4, παντα καλως εσται.

And abundance of peace] The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effects of righteousness quietness, and assurance for ever, #Isa 32:17. Christ’s subjects have peace, peace, #Isa 25:3, a multiplied peace, a multiplied pardon, #Isa 55:7; where sin aboundeth grace superaboundeth; neither can they commit more than God will remit unto them.

Ver. 8. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea] Solomon shall, from the Mediterranean, in the west, to the Persian Sea, or Indian Ocean, in the east.

And from the river unto the ends of the earth] i.e. From Euphrates, and the northern countries, to Egypt, and the uttermost parts of all Africa. This was a type of Christ’s universal dominion throughout the whole world, #Zec 9:9 Ps 110:1.

Ver. 9. They that dwell in the wilderness] Wild, barbarous, rude people; such as were the ancient Britons our progenitors, till Christ, the Sun of righteousness, shone upon them, till they were brought to the obedience of faith; Tunc enim sensim evanuit feritas, indies exulavit immanitas, corruit crudelitas, &c., for then it was otherwise (Bond in Horat.).

And his enemies shall lick the dust] A ceremony much in use among the easterlings. Prostrati adorant honoratiorem, saith Herodotus of the Persians; they worship their betters, by falling to the ground before them; and how Tiridates, king of Parthians, worshipped Nero, is to be read in Dio Cassius. Christ’s foes shall all be made his footstool.

Ver. 10. The kings of Tarshish, and of the isles] i.e. All the kings of the earth, which being encompassed with the ocean, is therefore by the old geographers called a great island. Judaea, though part of the continent, is called an isle, #Isa 20:6, because separated from other countries; with whom God would have his people to have as little to do as might be, that they might not be corrupted with foreign fashions. This was accomplished partly in Solomon; see #1Ki 4:21,34 10:25; perfectly it is, and shall be in Christ: De Solomone certum est, de Christo certius, saith Kimchi; all the kingdoms of the earth shall one day be his kingdoms; he shall be the universal Monarch, and he alone.

Ver. 11. Yea, all kings, &c.] Of Christ this is and shall be verified without a hyperbole. Constantine, Valentinian, and Theodosius, three emperors, called themselves Christ’s vassals, as Socrates reporteth; Canutus set his crown upon the crucifix, &c.

Ver. 12. For he shall deliver the needy] See on #Ps 72:4. If the people complained of Solomon’s government, and cried out to his son Rehoboam, Alleva iugum, Ease our yoke laid upon us by thy father, it was out of a sinful discontent; αει γαρ το παρον Βαρυ, saith Thucydides, people seldom know when they are well, but are ever quarrelling at and complaining of the present govermnent; yea, even of Christ’s easy yoke and light burden, as if importable.

Ver. 13. He shall spare the poor and needy] Hereby David showeth his son and all his successors, Qualis debeat esse rex bonus, what manner of man a king ought to be. Regiment without righteousness turneth into tyranny; it is but robbery with authority. O. Scipio Nasica for his good government was surnamed Optimus by the Senate, and had a house given him at the public charge, in Via Sacra, that the poor might repair to him.

Ver. 14. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence] Those two noted engines of all mischief to the poor, viz. privy deceit (usury, the Septuagint and Vulgate render it) and open violence, επιβουλη και επιβολη, fraud and force, craft and cruelty.

And precious shall their blood be in his sight] He shall be very tender of their lives, that they be not causelessly cast away, either in times of peace or war. Precious also in the sight of the Lord Christ is the death of his saints, his martyrs, #Ps 116:15.

Ver. 15. And he shall live] The king shall, according to the poor man’s prayer when relieved; or the poor shall, and the king shall give him gold brought from Sheba, or Arabia the Happy. Whereupon

Prayer shall be made, &c.] By the poor for him, or through him (applying it to Christ), and for the increase of his kingdom, and for his coming.

Ver. 16. There shall be an handful of corn, &c.] i.e. The barren mountains shall yield grain abundantly, and by handfuls; as Egypt did in those seven years of plenty, #Ge 41:47.

The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon] The grain shall rattle and rustle, like the trees in Lebanon, shaken by the wind.

And they of the city shall flourish] Men also shall increase and multiply, #Jer 31:27, to a very great number, as piles of grass Christ’s subjects shall.

Ver. 17. His name shall endure for ever] i.e. His kingdom, for it shall not be nomen inane. Other kingdoms have their times and their turns, their rise and their ruin; not so Christ’s, and this is great comfort.

His name shall be continued] Filiabitur nomine eius, it shall be begotten as one generation is begotten of another. Heb. his name shall be childed; that is, so continued as families are continued; there shall be a constant succession of Christ’s name to the end of the world; there will still be Christians who are his children, #Heb 2:13,14. The old Hebrews tell us, that Jinnon (the Hebrew word here used) is one of Christ’s names.

And men shall be blessed in him] Or, they shall bless themselves in him, viz. in Solomon, but especially in Christ, of whom Solomon was but a shadow.

All nations shall call him blessed] If all generations shall call the mother of Christ blessed, #Lu 1:48, how much more Christ himself!

Ver. 18. Blessed be the Lord God] Sunt verba componentis; these are the words of the psalmist, say the Rabbis, blessing God, who had given Leiagneph choach, strength to him fainting to finish the second book of the Psalms, as he had done the first; or rather praising God for all the forementioned benefits by the Lord Christ, Sunt verba scribae, ut hodie, Aben Ezra, ex R. Jehudah.

Ver. 19. And blessed be his glorious name] Blessed and blessed; so unsatisfiable and unweariable are the saints in blessing God for a Christ; and surely God expecteth that with one mind and one mouth this should be done by all his, at all times, #Ro 15:6, and that they should say to Christ, as #Jud 8:22. Rule thou over us, for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.

Amen, and Amen] {See Trapp on "Ps 41:13"}

Ver. 20. The prayers of David are ended] That is, this was his last prayer (in time, though not in order), and is therefore well to be considered. Or, so end the prayers that were both written and set in order by David; the rest seem to have been gathered together by Ezra, or some other holy man, after the return from Babylon.

A Psalm of Asaph] Who was not only an excellent musician, but a prophet also, an orator, and a poet; not unlike (for his style) to Horace, or Persius. This, and the ten next psalms, that bear this name in the front, consist of complaints for the most part, and sad matters.

Chapter 73

Ver. 1. Truly God is good to Israel] Or, yet God is, &c. Thus the psalmist beginneth abruptly after a sore conflict; throwing off the devil and his fiery darts, wherewith his heart for a while had been wounded. It is best to break off temptations of corrupt and carnal reasonings, and to silence doubts and disputes, lest we be foiled. He shoots (saith Greenham) with Satan in his own bow who thinks by disputing and reasoning to put him off.

To such as are of a clean heart] Such as are Israelites indeed, and not hypocrites and dissemblers. For "as for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity" (as malefactors are led forth to execution); "but peace shall be upon Israel," #Ps 125:5, "upon the Israel of God," #Ga 6:16.

Ver. 2. But as for me, my feet were almost gone] i.e. I was well nigh brought to believe that there was no Divine providence; as the Athenians did when their good General Nicias was worsted and slain in Sicily (Thucyd.); as Pompey did, when having the better cause, he was overcome by Caesar; as Brutus did (that last of the Romans as he was called for his courage), when beaten out of the field by Antony, he cried out Ω τλημων αρετη, now I see that virtue is nothing, but all things are moderated by fortune, whom he charged his children therefore to worship, as a goddess of greatest power.

My steps had well nigh slipped] Quasi nihil effusi sunt gressus mei, that is, as Kimchi interpreteth it, Status meus erat tantillus quasi nullus esset pro figendo pede locus, I had scarce any fastening for my feet, my heels were gone almost. What wonder, then, that heathens have been stounded and staggered?

Cum rapiant mala fata bonos (ignoscite fasso)

Sollicitor nullos esse putare Deos,

saith Ovid. And to the same purpose another poet,

Marmoreo Licinus tumulo iacet, et Cato parvo,

Pompeius nullo; quis putet esse Deos?

Ver. 3. For I was envious at the foolish] Heb. at the braggadocios, the vain glorious, the mad boasters; factabundis, I emulated, and stomached their prosperity, compared with mine own far worse condition. Godly men, though cured of their spiritual frensy, yet play oft many mad tricks; one while fretting at the prosperity of their adversaries, and another while murmuring at their own afflictions, or plotting courses how to conform themselves to the world, &c.

When I saw the prosperity of the wicked] This hath ever been a pearl in the eyes, not of the heathens only, but of better men. See #Jer 12:1,2 Hab 1:3 Ps 37:1,2. Yet Seneca writes a treatise of it, and shows the reasons, if at least he believed himself therein. Erasmus passes this censure of him; read him as a Pagan, and he writes Christian like; read him as a Christian, and he writeth Pagan like.

Ver. 4. For there are no bands in their death] Or, no knots and knarls; they die without long sickness, or much pain, or trouble of mind. If a man die like a lamb, and pass out of the world like a bird in a shell, he is certainly saved, think some. The wicked are here said to die quietly, as if there were no loosening of the band that is between soul and body. Julian the apostate died with these words in his mouth; Vitam reposcenti naturae tanquam debitor bonae fidei redditurus exulto, that is, I owe a death to nature, and now that she calleth for it, as a faithful debtor, I gladly pay it (Ammian.). The princes of the Sogdians, when they were drawn forth to death by Alexander the Great, carmen more laetantium cecinerunt, tripudiisque gaudium animi ostentare caeperunt, they sang and danced to the place of execution (Curt. lib. 7, ex Diodor.).

But their strength is firm] They are lively and lusty, they are pingues et praevalidi, fat and fair liking; fat is their fortitude, so some render it; others, strong is their porch or palace.

Ver. 5. They are not in trouble as other men] But live in a serene clime, under a perpetual calm; as he did of whom the story is told, that he never had any cross, but at last was nailed to a cross, Polycrates I mean, king of Egypt. Marullus telleth us, that Ambrose coming once to a great man’s house, who boasted that he had never suffered any adversity, he hasted away thence, and said he did so, ne una cum homine perpetuis prosperitatibus uso periret, lest he should perish with the man that had been so extraordinarily prosperous (Marul. lib. 5, c. 3). And no sooner was he and his company departed, but the earth opened and swallowed up that man’s house, with all that were in it.

Ver. 6. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain] The pride of their hearts breaketh forth in their costly habits, while they are torquati, et auro ac gemmis amicti, setting up their plumes, as peacocks, which have their names in Hebrew from the joy they take in their fair feathers; so do these glory in their pride, and are puffed up with a foolish persuasion of their own prudence. Vermis divitiarum est superbia, Charge the rich that they be not high minded, #1Ti 6:17. He is a great rich man, says Austin, and greater than his riches, who doth not therefore think himself great because he is rich. Magna cognatio, saith another, ut rei sic nominis, divitiis et vitiis, He is a rare rich man that is not the worse for his wealth. The palm tree, they say, will not grow in a rich ground, but salt and ashes must, in that case, be cast at the root, to qualify the strength of the soil; so grace will not grow in a fat heart, without the salt of mortification aud ashes of humiliation. "Their heart is fat as grease, but I delight in thy law," #Ps 119:70.

Violence covereth them as a garment] Violence or wrong-dealing, is the perpetual companion of pride, and covereth them as a garment finely fitted to their bodies, as was the harlot’s habit #Pr 7:10. Aben-Ezra rendereth it, obruit cos, overwhelmeth them; that is, domineereth over them. Some Rabbis render, Nates eorum violentia tegit.

Ver. 7. Their eyes stand out with fatness] The Chaldee hath it, the similitude of their face is changed through fatness. See #Job 15:27. The Greek, for the wealth which they have, their eyes are lifted up. The Latin, their iniquity proceedeth as it were from fatness.

They have more than heart can wish] Heb. They pass the thoughts of the heart; which the Greek rendereth, no man think how wicked they are; those stall fed Sodomites, for instance. See #Jer 5:28. So Aben Ezra, Transgressiones perpetrant quas cogitare nefas est, they are more wicked than can be imagined; others, they covet beyond measure, and are insatiable, thinking to enclose the whole world in their net, as Timothy the Athenian did cities and towns in his toils (Plut. in Sulla). Our translation is not to be disliked; neither yet are all to be accounted wicked that have move than heart could wish. Bonus Dens Constantinum magnum tantis terrenis implevit muneribus, quanta optare nullus auderet, saith Augustine (De Civ. Dei, lib. 5, c. 25).

Ver. 8. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly] Their pride, before taxed, #Ps 73:6, buddeth, and budgeth, #Eze 7:10; like a foul swelling in the body, it breaketh out into sores of all sorts, odious words and deeds, abominable to God and man. Diffiuuut et loquuntur in malitia rapinata, they melt and are spilt in sensual delights and dissolute practices. Or, they let loose themselves, and keep not within compass. Or, they secretly corrupt and make to stink the good names of others, sc. while they speak evil of them, and reproach them. Tabifici sunt, so Tremellius rendereth it.

They speak loftily] De celsitudine, from aloft; lapides loquuntur, they threaten thunderbolts, throw daggers, fastuosa voce omnes territant.

Ver. 9. They set their mouth against the heavens] They howl upward, as wolves; bark at the moon, as dogs; piss against the sun; belch out blasphemies against God, as did Pharaoh, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Dionysius the tyrant, Antiochus, antichrist, #Re 13:6 (Pope Julius III for instance, who would have his pork meat, forbidden him by his physicians, al despito di Dio); the Great Turk at the siege of Scodra, and again at the Rhodes; besides Hacker, in Queen Elizabeth’s time, and the ranters in ours Dionysius commisso sacrilegio Deum dicebat sacrilegis bonam navigationem concedere.

And their tongue walketh through the earth] Snapping at every one they meet, like a mad dog; and not sparing to speak, or rather to spue out, whatsoever lieth uppermost. Thou shalt not walk up and down as a slanderer, or pedlar with his pack, which he opens soon, and disperseth his wares, #Le 19:16. That is a true saying of Seneca, Ut quisque est dissolutissimae vitro, ita est solutissimae linguae, As any one is more dissolute in his life, so he is more heedless of his speeches.

Ver. 10. Therefore his people return hither] i.e. Some good men are as wise (or rather as foolish) as I have been, to miscensure on this manner, and to repent me of my repentance, or to say, as #Ps 73:11, "How doth God know?" &c.

And waters of a full cup are wrung out unto them] That is, because the wicked drink wine in bowls, their servants wringing the rich ripe grapes thereinto, as #Ge 40:11. Or, because God sendeth them (his people) perpetual and extreme afflictions, which is meant, say some, by drinking off a cup, and squeezing all the liquor into it. Others read it, Full waters are wrung out to them, that is, say they, these their thoughts and speeches savouring of infidelity, shall cost them abundance of tears; as Peter’s fall did him.

Ver. 11. And they say, How doth God know?] Even the godly, through infirmity, are drawn sometimes to doubt God’s providence and government, because of the inequality of events in human affairs. It had like to have cost the psalmist here a fall, and made him almost cast off all care of religion. Basil, also, was in some doubt of the Divine providence, under the heat of the Arian persecution. For hath the Lord utterly forsaken his Churches? saith he; is it now the last hour? In the next age Salvian (for the satisfaction of some good people) was forced to write eight books, De gubernatione Dei, et de iusto praesentique eius Iudicio, of God’s governing the world, and the righteousness of his proceedings. Upon a like occasion Austin wrote those twenty-two most excellent and elaborate books, De Civitate Dei.

Ver. 12. Behold, these are the ungodly] q.d. If God do take knowledge of things here below, and ordereth all events, how is it that the ungodly prosper, while better men suffer?

Who prosper in the world] An ill character, everything considered. See #Ps 17:14. {See Trapp in "Ps 17:14"} Behold, these are the ungodly, the fortunate men of the world, so some render it. He that liveth in the height of the world’s blandishments is not far from destruction. Periculosa est summe bona corporis valetudo, saith Hippocrates, The height of health is nearest to sickness and death.

They increase in riches] They wallow in wealth; God pouring honey into their hives; but for a vengeance.

Ver. 13. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain] For all is to little purpose, if the cards play on this fashion, if the good must be thus extremely under, and the bad on top of the wheel. Surely I have troubled myself to no purpose or profit; if it be so, why am I thus? as she said. I read of a profane soldier, who at the siege of a town, passing a place of danger, was heard swearing, and when one that stood by warned him, saying, Fellow soldier, do not swear, the bullets fly, he answered, They that swear come off as well as those that pray; but soon after this a shot hit him, and down he fell. It is not safe for saints to symbolize with sinners in such desperate speeches; lest the Lord hear it and be displeased.

Omne trahit secum numinis ira malum (Ovid).

Ver. 14. For all the day long have I been plagued] God’s best-beloved are most afflicted, neither have any out of hell ever suffered more than the heirs of heaven. See my treatise called God’s Love tokens.

And chastened every morning] Singulis matufinis, I am no sooner awake than some new misery seizeth me, quasi egisset excubias, as if it had laid wait for me.

Ver. 15. If I say I will speak thus] If I should give way to such a wicked thought, &c. Here the Spirit beginneth to get the upper hand, to gain the wind and the hill of the flesh. The Spirit would always get the better of the flesh, were it upon equal terms. But when the flesh shall get the hill, as it were, of temptation, and shall have wind to drive the smoke upon the face and eyes of the combatant, that is, to blind him, upon such a disadvantage he may seem to be overcome.

Behold, I shall offend against the generation, &c.] As if they were no children, because so sharply chastened; whereas the saints are unto God as the apple of his eye, that little man in the eye, as the word signifieth. The eye is a tender part; yet when dim and dusky we apply sharp powders or waters to it, to eat out the web, pearl, or blindness, and yet love it never the less. No more doth God his children, though he apply corrosives or caustics to their flesh, if need require.

Ver. 16. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me] Heb. it was labour in mine eyes, labour in vain, I could do no good on it, sed labyrinthis et Maeandris inextricabilibus implicabar, I did but tread a maze, for God’s judgments are unsearchable, and his ways (of providence) are past finding out; they are far above the reach of human reason.

Ver. 17. Until I went into the sanctuary of God] And there consulted with the Scriptures, heard the lectures of the law, prayed, went through all the exercises of God’s school.

Then understood I their end] To be such as God pronounceth of them in the Scriptures, and as the effect and common experience sometimes declareth. For some wicked God punisheth here, lest his providence, but not all, lest his patience and promise of judgment, should be called into question, saith Austin, in #Ps 36:12

Ver. 18. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places] Where they can have no more certainty than if they went upon the smoothest ice, or walked upon a mine of gunpowder. The Turks, seeing so few of their viziers to die in their beds, have taken up this proverb, He that is even in the greatest office is but a statue of glass.

Thou castedst them down into destruction] Improbos ex magna prosperitate tanquam ex Tarpeia rupe in barathrum perditienis praecipitasti. Haman for instance.

Ver. 19. How are they brought into desolation! &c.] Such as the psalmist expresseth by an exclamation, caused by an admiration at God’s dreadfull judgments which his faith beheld as present and unavoidable, and such as astonied the beholders. See it in the literal and mystical Babylon, #Jer 51:37,41 Re 18:10,17.

They are utterly consumed with terrors] Heb. They are ended, they are consumed with troublesome frights; especially when from their death beds they behold that three-fold terrible spectacle, death, judgment, hell, and all to be passed through by their poor souls.

Ver. 20. As a dream when one awaketh] Such is the wicked man’s pomp and bravery, know, what are dreams but pleasant follies and delusions, the empty bubbles of the mind, children and tales of fancy, idle and fruitless notions, mere baubles? See #Isa 29:7,8. The fisherman in Theocritus dreamt that he was some demi-god; but when he awaked all his golden hopes vanished ( Sic Mycillus apud Lucian). The Chaldee explaineth it, As the dream of a drunken man; who, sleeping on the steep of a rock, may think himself a king; and starting for joy, may soon break his neck at the bottom.

So, O Lord, when thou awakest thou shalt despise their image] That is, that whereof they dreamt, and whereon they do still dote, viz. their worldly pomp and pride, which is nothing else but magnum nihil, a glorious fancy, a nonentity. Some read it thus, When thou shalt raise up (the dead), thou shalt despise their image, that is, their souls; they shall rise to everlasting shame and contempt, #Da 12:2.

Ver. 21. Thus my heart was grieved] Heb. leavened and soured, sc. with the greatness of godly sorrow, et quasi aceto acri perfundebatur, it was steeped, as it were, in vinegar. So Peter wept bitterly; waters of Marah flowed from his eyes.

And I was pricked in my reins] Pricked at heart, as those, #Ac 2:37, put to as much pain as those that have the stone in the kidneys, exceedingly grieved for my misconstruing and miscensuring of God’s ways and people.

Ver. 22. So foolish was I and ignorant] By this befooling and be beasting himself, he retracteth and bewaileth his former fluctuation and folly, #Ps 73:2,3. This is the proper fruit of his godly sorrow, #Ps 73:12.

I was as a beast before thee] Heb. Behemoth, as a great beast, or as many beasts in one. Thus he aggravateth and layeth load upon his sin, and so must we.

Ver. 23. Nevertheless I am continually with thee] Or, yet I was always with thee, sc. when at worst. Infirmities discard us not. The marriage knot is not dissolved by every falling out; nor the league between princes broken by the wrongs done by pirates.

Thou hast holden me by my right hand] That I should not utterly fall from thee; there was still a supporting grace, Quando pes meus vacillabat (Aben Ezra).

Ver. 24. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel] We had his repentance, #Ps 73:21,22, his faith, #Ps 73:23, and here we have his hope of safety here and salvation hereafter.

And afterwards receive me] As thou didst holy Enoch.

Ver. 25. Whom have I in heaven but thee?] I would I were in heaven with thee, so Aben Ezra rendereth it; and to the same sense Beza paraphraseth, Apage terra, quod utinam Deus in coelo iam et tecum essem: quid enim est in terra quod me vel tantillum retineat?

Ver. 26. My flesh faileth, and my heart faileth] Some think that the psalmist, through egression of affection unto God, having spent and exhaled his spirits, fell into a swoon; out of which he recovered again by the joy of the Lord, which was his strength, even the rock of his heart. The Greek saith, The God of my heart.

Ver. 27. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish] How can they do otherwise, when as salvation is far from them? #Ps 119:155. And upon this ground it is that I do so earnestly desire to be with thee; since

Thou hast destroyed (or shut up from punishment) all them that go a whoring from thee] Having their hearts full of harlotry, as appeareth by their courting the creature.

Ver. 28. But it is good for me to draw nigh to God] To hang ever upon thee (in this general defection of others) by the faith of the gospel, #Heb 7:19, by putting my trust in thee, that I may declare all thy works, and relate my experiments. A circle is the most perfect figure, because it beginneth and endeth; the last point meeteth in the first, from whence it came. We shall never come to perfection or satisfaction till we draw nigh to God, till God make the circle meet, &c.

A Psalm of Asaph] Concerning the Babylonish captivity, saith Kimchi; which either was here foretold by David’s Asaph, or bewailed by another of that name, who lived at that very time, when the Jews groaned under those grievous calamities.

Chapter 74

Ver. 1. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever?] The greatness of their grief and diuturnity of their misery draw from them such expressions of discontent, as if they were doubtful of an utter dereliction.

Why doth thine anger (or thy nose) smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?] Anger is a fire, and in men or other creatures enraged a smoke seemeth to go out of their nostrils. Xenophon saith of the Thebans, when they are angry they breathe fire. This, then, is spoken of God after the manner of men.

Ver. 2. Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased] His complaints end not in murmuring and grunting against God; but in humble petitions, so intermingled with sighs and groans, as that his speech is not so plain and perfect as at other times. That which he mainly urgeth is the covenant, that hive of heavenly honey, as one calleth it.

The rod of thine inheritance] Inheritances were wont to be measured out by rods and perches. Assyria is the work of God’s hands, but Israel (as a further favour) is his inheritance, #Isa 19:25.

Ver. 3. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations] i.e. Make haste to help, accurre, advola, as #Ge 29:1. Or, lift up thy feet, viz. to tread down thy enemies. A metaphor from combatants, Qui elevant pedes et passus, ut violentius in hostem invehantur. Some have rendered it, The loftiness of thy feet is perpetually (i.e. irreparably) desolated, understanding thereby the temple, that place of God’s feet, #Eze 43:7

All that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary] Or, every one that hath done evil to his enemy in the sanctuary, whither he fled for safety.

Ver. 4. Thine enemies roar] When they give the onset, or after the victory; our roaring boys are so called by a woeful prolepsis, here, for hereafter.

They set up their ensigns for signs] They set them up upon the very temple (as if they had conquered God himself), those their trophies and monuments of victory, Posuerunt signa sua, signa (Kimchi). Some refer us for the sense of these words to #Eze 21:21; others render them thus, They have brought in their signs, or profane pictures, for the sacred signs; and so have polluted these holy places (R. Solom.). Besides what Antiochus did (concerning which see the books of Maccabees and Josephus) in aftertimes, the arms of Rome were set upon the temple, and a swine engraven over the gate; this was the abomination of desolation foretold by our Saviour, #Mt 24:15.

Ver. 5. A man was famous according as, &c.] i.e. Time was when the workmen got them a name, by cutting down and fitting the timber for this building the temple, renowned throughout the whole world for costly and choice materials, for curious and exact workmanship, for spiritual employment, and for mystical signification; never was there the like edifice.

Ver. 6. But now they break down the carved work thereof] The Chaldeans did with military violence, and afterwards the Romans under Titus, who could not preserve it from the soldiers’ fury, though he desired so to have done, as some historians have told us. Now, if the enemies’ rage were so great as is here described against the outward marks of religion, how much more should our zeal kindle against the most costly or curious monuments of idolatry and superstition? Zisca, the valiant Bohemian, overthrew three hundred monasteries with their idols, and among the rest the famous monastery called the king’s court, a mile from Prague, in the walls whereof the whole Bible was most exquisitely written in letters of gold.

Ver. 7. They have cast fire inlo thy sanctuary] Heb. They have sent thy sanctuary into the fire. So the French Papists, under the conduct of the Guises, dealt by the public meeting houses of the Protestants there, and particularly by that church at Lyons which was called Paradise, Hoc apud Ethnicos erat horrendum. The heathens observed of such as destroyed temples that they commonly came to some fearful end, by thunderbolts or otherwise.

Ver. 8. Let us destroy them together] "Them," that is, the saints; let us prey upon them, as hawks do upon doves: or "them," that is, the temples and schools; these the devil ever sought to destroy, as contrary to his kingdom; and so he doth still by the Turks and Papists and other heretics.

They have burnt up all the synayoyues] These were a kind of chapels of ease to the temple at Jerusalem, and in these the people met frequently, on the sabbath especially, for holy exercises, as we do in our churches. The good centurion built one of these, #Lu 7:5. See #Jas 2:2.

Ver. 9. We see not our signs] Those testimonies of God’s special favour, the public ordinances, together with the legal ceremonies, which was then Christ in figure, q.d. we are utterly benighted as to thee-ward.

There is no more any prophet, &c.] Hence some conclude that this psalm was written about the end of the Babylonish captivity, when there was Chathimath Chazon, a sealing up of prophecy, as #Da 12:9, unless it were so that they had prophets, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, &c., but took no notice of them, through extremity of calamity, as #Isa 59:10.

Neither is there among us any] The want of the word, the stopping of the true ministers’ mouths, &c., should touch us to the quick.

Ver. 10. O God, how long shall the adversary reproach?] When they had none to tell them how long their miseries should last, they could turn them to God to inquire (such is the boldness of faith), and withal to require of him speedy help, since himself else were likely to suffer in his glory, as a God not able to help and befriend his people.

Ver. 11. Why withdrawest thou thy hand] Some by hand understand the left hand, and so both hands are withdrawn, yea, held behind ( retrovertis), after the manner of those that have little to do, and less to care for.

Out of thy bosom] Another posture to the same purpose, #Pr 19:24 26:15.

Ver. 12. For God is my Kiny of old] He is the same yesterday, today, and for ever. I doubt not, therefore, but he will see to the safety of his loyal subjects.

Working salvation in the midst of the earth] i.e. Openly, and to the view of all. Jerusalem is in the midst of Judaea, and Judaea is in the midst of the earth; the very centre and navel of the habitable world, say the Fathers; it joineth those of the east to the west by the midland sea, and those of the north to the south by the same sea, running out as far as the Lake of Maeotis, very far north, and by the Red Sea descending very low into the south. This country, therefore, God seemeth purposely to have espied out, as himself speaketh, that therehence he might send abroad salvation into all parts. And hereabout some gather from #Joe 3:2. Christ will sit to judge the world at the last day, #Ps 50:1,2.

Ver. 13. Thou didst divide the sea, &c.] "Thou" in this and the following verses is emphatic and exclusive, q.d. thou, and none but thou.

Thou brakest the heads of the dragons] Or crocodiles. So he calleth Pharaoh’s chieftains, who were Satan’s swordmen, and with him had their heads broke at the Red Sea.

Ver. 14. Thou brakest the heads of leviathan] i.e. Of Pharaoh himself. See #Isa 26:1 Eze 29:3. Egypt is situated between two seas; and a great part of it overflowed by the river Nile. Pharaoh, therefore, is fitly compared to the master fish, and his captains to crocodiles.

And gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness] i.e. To the birds and wild beasts, who fed upon the dead carcases of the Egyptians cast upon the shore; the Israelites having first taken the spoil of them, whereby they were provided of many necessaries for their voyage toward Canaan.

Ver. 15. Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood] i.e. Fontium et torrentium scatebras et latebras, thou didst set the rock abroach once and again, #Ex 17:6 Nu 20:11, rescissis ipsius naturae legibus.

Thou driedst up mighty rivers] Jordan (wherein some say met two great rivers, Jor and Dan), whereunto the Chaldee here addeth Arnon and Jabbok, whereof see #Nu 21:14 De 2:37.

Ver. 16. The day is thine, the night also is thine] He had argued with God, and strengthened his own faith from God’s extraordinary works; and now he doth the like from his ordinary works in nature, with the alternate course thereof, wherein appeareth a kind of image of the seasonable driving away of calamities, and turning all things into a desired state, #Ps 30:5 La 3:23.

Thou hast prepared the light and the sun] i.e. That first light scattered abroad the heavens, but afterwards gathered into the sun, as into a vessel. By light some understand here the moon, that other great luminary; it being the manner of the Hebrews, nomen generis restringere ad speciem deteriorem.

Ver. 17. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth] Securing it from the overflowings of the sea, and appointing to the several nations the bounds of their habitations.

Thou hast made summer and winter] Plasmasti ea. Now thou, that hast done all this and more for mankind in general, wilt thou be wanting to thy Church?

Ver. 18. Remember this] Forgetfulness befalleth not the Lord; nevertheless he giveth us leave to be his remembrancers, and not to keep silence when he is concerned, #Isa 62:6.

That the enemy] See #Ps 74:10.

And that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name] This irketh the saints worse than their own particular sufferings. The Egyptians, out of their respect to their Mercurius Trismegistus , would not rashly pronounce his name; no more would the Grecians their god Jupiter, no, not when they sware by him. Should not we be much more tender and respective of the holy and reverend name of our God, taking it ill when by any it is blasphemed?

Ver. 19. O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove] Turturillae tuae, that groaneth unto thee; being not more innocent, chaste, mild, simple, and sociable, than weak, shiftless, and unable to defend herself from those beasts of prey. Turtur minimus censetur in columbarum genere (Arist.). Optatus observeth, that no fowl is more preyed upon by hawks, kites, &c., than the dove. Columbea mas et foemina dormiunt et pascuntur eodem in loco (Arist. Hist. Anim. lib. 8, c. 3); yet are there still more doves than hawks or kites for all that. So the Church increaseth, notwithstanding all persecutors, Patitur et non rapit (Kimchi).

Unto the multitude] Or, to the beast, the wild company. The same word is put here also immediately for the congregation or lively flock of Christ.

Ver. 20. Have respect unto the covenant] This the Church knew to be her best plea; and, therefore, she so plieth it.

For the dark places of the earth are full of cruelty] That is, saith Basil, those places where men are in the darkness of ignorance, not knowing God, are full of ambition and tyranny. Others make this the sense, We can hide ourselves nowhere but the persecutors ferret us out.

Ver. 21. O let not the oppressed, &c.] Contusus non revertatur confusus, let him not take the repulse, be disappointed of his expected help from heaven.

Ver. 22. Plead thine own cause] For if we miscarry, thou art sure to suffer among the proud Chaldees as an impotent God.

Remember how the foolish man, &c.] See #Ps 74:18.

Ver. 23. The tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth daily] Heb. ascendeth, viz. up to heaven, as #Jon 1:2, there is no ho with them. Mundi laetitia est impunita nequitia, If the Lord take them not a link lower, as we say, they will grow intolerably insolent.

To the chief Musician, Al-taschith] That is, Destroy not; the Chaldee paraphraseth, In the time when David said, Destroy not the people. The psalm seemeth to have been made either by Asaph in David’s name, or by David himself (and by him committed to Asaph), at such time as the difference depending between him and Ishbosheth, many were slain on both sides. This drew from David an Al-taschith, not long before he was anointed king over all Israel. #2Sa 5:1-5

Chapter 75

Ver. 1. Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks] Heb. We celebrate thee, O God, we celebrate thee; viz. both for mercies and crosses sanctified; for these also are to be reckoned upon the score of God’s favours.

For that thy name is near] Nomen, id est numen, Thy name, that is, thyself, art near, ad liberandum invocantem, as Aben Ezra expoundeth it, to deliver those that call upon thee.

Ver. 2. When I shall receive the congregation] i.e. The government of all the twelve tribes, as I believe I shall do shortly, according to God’s promise to me by Samuel.

I will judge uprightly] That a man is in truth, that he is in his own particular place and station, that he is really, that he is relatively.

Ver. 3. The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved] Both Church and commonwealth here are utterly out of order; I shall endeavour mine utmost to set all to rights, and so to preserve the world from ruin, which subsisteth by and for the sake of God’s Israel, Absque stationibus non staret mundus.

I bear up the pillars of it] Semen sanctum statumen terrae, #Isa 6:13, The holy seed upholdeth the state. David did (as Lucan saith of Cato), toti genitum se credere mundo; Jesus Christ much more; he is the true Atlas, upholding all things by the word of his power, #Heb 1:3.

Ver. 4. I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly] Boast not yourselves so proudly and petulantly, but submit to God’s decree, and my government; how much more to Christ’s!

Lift not up the horn] Metaphora a tauris cornupetis.

Ver. 5. Lift not up your horn on high] Against the high God; so Tremellius rendereth it.

Speak not with a stiff neck] Some render it, with an old neck; let old things pass, and now speak with a new and humble throat. Hard words and stout speeches, uttered from a mind vehemently moved out of its place (as the word here used importeth), shall be one day dearly answered for, #Jude 15.

Ver. 6. For promotion cometh neither from the east] Dignitatis nullum est emporium. Ambitionists used to look this way and that way how to advance themselves, but all in vain. Hispanis monarchia Catholica debetur divinitus, sed in Utopia, saith one.

Nor from the south] Where the warm sunshine is.

Ver. 7. But God is the judge] He sitteth at the stern, and ordereth all human affairs according to the good pleasure of his will.

He putteth down one, and setteth up another] As was seen in Saul and David, in the four great monarchies, in Bajazet and Tamerlane, besides many others. Virtue exalteth the meanest, when villany tumbleth down the mightiest. Agathocles, the son of a potter, became king of Sicily. Valentinian, the son of a rope maker, became emperor of Rome. Justinus was first a swine herder, then a herdsman, then a carpenter, a soldier, and after all, an emperor. If Alexander, to show his greatness, advanced Abdolominus from a poor gardener to be king in Sidon, what cannot the Lord do? Tamerlane having overcome Bajazet, asked him whether ever he had given God thanks for making him so great an emperor? who confessed ingenuously he never thought of it. To whom Tamerlane replied, that it was no wonder so ungrateful a man should be made a spectacle of misery. For you, said he, being blind of one eye, and I lame of a leg, was there any worth in us why God should set us over two great empires of Turks and Tartars, to command many more worthy than ourselves?

Ver. 8. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup] A cup of affliction, whereof all must drink, more or less. The Chaldee calleth it a cup of curse. Affliction is in itself a fruit of sin and a piece of the curse.

And the wine is red] And so more powerful and piercing, #Pr 23:31,32. That is an affliction, and grievous, that God maketh to be so.

It is full of mixture] i.e. Ready prepared, as #Pr 9:2 Re 14:10, or mingled with spices, to make the wine more hot and inebriating, Vinum aromaticum.

And he poureth out of the same] The saints sip of the top only, they drink illud solum quod est suavius et limpidius, the sweeter and clearer part of God’s cup. Excellently Mr Bradford, martyr, in a certain letter of his, Drink, saith he, of God’s cup willingly, and at the first, when it is fullest; peradventure if we linger, we drink at length of the dregs with the wicked, if at the beginning we drink not with God’s children (Acts and Mon. fol. 1487).

But the dregs thereof] The full vials of Divine vengeance.

All the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them] They shall drink them every drop, yea, though it be eternity to the bottom. This shall be worse to them than was that ladlefull of scalding lead poured down the throat of a drunken man, by the command of a Turkish bashaw.

Ver. 9. But I will declare for ever] viz. God’s great goodness in mine advancement to the kingdom, and the rest of those wonderful works, #Ps 75:1.

I will sing praises, &c.] This thankful man was worth his weight in the gold of Ophir.

Ver. 10. All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off] By promising the due administration of vindictive and remunerative justice, he seeks to insinuate into the people’s affections, who, after Isbosheth’s death, came in to make him king.

But the horns of the righteous shall be exalted] Dignity shall wait upon desert, which shall cause it again to be waited upon by respect. Thus it should be in the courts of all princes. In Cyrus’s court, though a man should seek or choose blindfold, he could not miss of a good man, saith Xenophon (Cyropaed. l. 8).

A Psalm or Song of Asaph] Or, for Asaph; either made prophetically, by Asaph himself, or by some other psalmist, who committed it to Asaph’s successors, to be played and sung. The Hebrews say it is made de bello Gogi, of the war with Gog and Magog, that is, the Eastern and Western antichrists. The Greeks say De Assyriis (περι των Ασσυριων. In Hexaplo), of Sennacherib and his host; and surely the matter of the psalm is such as very well agreeth with that overthrow. Confer #Ps 46 Ps 48

Chapter 76

Ver. 1. In Judah is God known] Nobilis est, saith Tremellius; Notior est, saith another interpreter; i.e. Better known he is now than ever; not by his word only, which is preached in Judah, but by his wondrous works; this especially of destroying the Assyrians at Lachish, in the tribe of Judah.

His name is great in Israel] Greater now than ever, God having made himself a glorious name, #Isa 63:14. Egypt rang of this slaughter of the Assyrians, as Herodotus testifieth; so did all other countries doubtless.

Ver. 2. In Salem also is his tabernacle] i.e. In Jerusalem, which was first called Salem, #Ge 14:18 Heb 7:1. Secondly, Jebus, #1Ch 11:4 Jos 15:8 18:28. Thirdly, Jerusalem, #Jos 15:63 2Sa 5:6, not as if ιερον Σολυμων, or Σολομωντος, Solomon’s temple (as Hegesippus would have it, and hence likely came the aspiration Hierusalem), but from that famous Jehovahjireh, #Ge 22:14,2; which Jireh being added to Salem, maketh it Jerusalem, the vision of peace. Here God was pleased to pitch his tabernacle, movable, and mean, in respect of God’s greatness, #1Ki 8:27.

And his dwellingplace in Zion] Which therefore will save and see to, as every man doth to the place of his habitation. Lustrum eius, q.d. In Zion desidet ut leo ad praedam paratus (Metaph.).

Ver. 3. There brake he the arrows of the bolt, ] There? Where? Surely in Zion, in the holy assemblies where the saints were praying, there the arrow, shield, spear, &c., were broken. This made the queen-mother of Scotland say, that she more feared the prayers of John Knox than an army of thirty thousand fighting soldiers. The king of Sweden, as soon as he set foot in Germany, fell down to prayer, and what great things did he in a little time! Now for the fruit of prayer, cried those great gallants at Edgehill fight, and did great exploits. The word here rended arrows signifieth fiery darts, see #Eph 6:16; a burning coal, #Job 5:7; a lightening bolt, #Ps 78:48; the plague, or carbuncle, #De 32:24 Hab 3:5. Strabo saith that Orites, Gynmetes, and Ethiopians shot fiery arrows: so might the Assyrians. Confer #Ps 120:4.

The shield, and the sword, and the battle] Both the men and the munition. This Herodotus had heard of, but misrelates the history, lib. 2.

Ver. 4. Thou art more glorious and excellent] Or, more bright and magnificent. Glorious God was before, but now more glorious by this late deliverance, illuminating his people with his marvellous light.

Than the mountains of prey] Those vast hosts of Assyrians lying now upon the mountains around Jerusalem, and plundering the country at their pleasure. Thou, Lord, art far more illustrious and admirable than all those Grassatores populi, ac reges quantumvis elati, those mountains of lions and leopards, #So 4:8, the kingdoms of this world, enemies to the Church.

Ver. 5. The stout-hearted are spoiled] Heb. have yielded themselves up for prey: those that escaped the stroke of the angel, fled as fast as they could for their lives, leaving all behind them. The Rabbis expound it, they are spoiled of their understanding, infatuated.

They have slept their sleep] Their long ironsleep (as the poets call it) of death. The destroying angel hath laid them fast enough and safe enough.

And none of the men of might] Viri divitiarum, the Vulgate rendereth it, men of riches, such as are all worldlings, but men of might is better; these men of their hands could not find their hands, when God’s angel took them to do.

Ver. 6. At thy rebuke, O God, &c.] i.e. With thy mighty word of command, and without any more ado. God can nod men to destruction, #Ps 80:16, blow them into hell, #Job 4:9, rebuke them to death, as here; do it with as much ease as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim, #Isa 25:11,

The chariot and horse] The chieftains of the army.

Ver. 7. Thou, even thou, art to be feared] Herodotus saith, that under Sennacherib’s statue in Egypt, was written, Let him that looketh upon me learn to fear God, Εμε τις εσορεων ευσεβης εστω.

And who may stand in thy sight?] Thou canst look them to death.

Ver. 8. Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven] From thence is God’s wrath revealed plainly and plentifully, #Ro 1:18, and thence he oft appeareth for his people as out of an engine.

The earth feared] All was hushed, as after a thunder clap.

Ver. 9. When God arose to judgment] Being stirred up, as it were, by the prayers of his people, as #Ps 76:2,3.

To save all the meek of the earth] Who cease not to seek the Lord, to seek righteousness and judgment, #Zep 2:3.

Ver. 10. Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee] As when Sennacherib’s army was destroyed, the Israelites sang praise, yea, the Egyptians built altars, as #Isa 19:19. God by his wisdom ordereth and draweth the blind and brute motions of the worst creatures unto his own honour; as the huntsman doth the rage of the dog to his pleasure; or the mariner the blowing of the wind to his voyage; or the artist, the heat of the fire to his work; or the physician, the bloodthirstiness of the leech to a cure, saith a reverend man.

The remainder of wrath shall thou restrain] Heb. shall thou gird; that is, curb and keep within compass. The Greek hath it, εορταζει σοι, it shall keep holy day to thee; that is, cease from working, or acting outwardly, how restless soever it be within.

Ver. 11. Vow, and pay to the Lord] A plain precept; and yet Bellarmine saith, Vovere nusquam est praeceptum. As for vowing to saints, he granteth, that when the Scriptures were written the Church had no such custom (Lib. ii. de Monach. cap. 17; De Cult. Sanetor. cap. 9). Saint worship then is but new worship.

Let all that be round about him] All the neighbouring nations; and so they did, after Assyria’s overthrow, #2Ch 32:21,23.

To him that ought to be feared] Heb. to fear, that is, to God, the proper object of fear, called therefore fear, by an appellative property.

Ver. 12. He shall cut off the spirit of princes] Vindemiabit, he shall slip them off as one would do a bunch of grapes, or a flower between one’s fingers; easily, suddenly, as he dealt by Sennacherib’s princes, Auferet de vita, ut de vite botros.

He is terrible to kings] Enemies to his Church, as most kings are.

A Psalm of Asaph] Or, for Asaph; David’s melancholy psalm some call it, made by him when he was in grievous affliction and desertion. Out of which he seeketh to wind by earnest prayer, by deep meditation upon God’s former favours and unchangeable nature; and, lastly, by calling to mind God’s wondrous works of old, both in proving and in preserving his Church and chosen.

Chapter 77

Ver. 1. I cried unto God with my voice, &c.] I prayed instantly and constantly, and sped accordingly. No faithful prayer is ineffectual.

Ver. 2. In the day of my trouble] The time of affliction is the time of supplication, #Ps 50:15.

My sore ran in the night] Heb. My hand was poured out; that is, stretched out in prayer; or wet with continual weeping. Non fuit remissa, nec retracta in lectum.

And ceased not] Or, was not tired; in allusion, belike, to Moses’s hands held up against Amalek; though

My soul refused to be comforted] I prayed on, though I had little heart to do it (as Daniel afterwards did the king’s work, though he were sick), or though with much infirmity, while I rather wrangled with God, by cavilling objections, than wrestled with him, as I ought to have done; by important prayer.

Ver. 3. I remembered God, and was troubled] Tumultuabar, fluctuando perstrepebam; for God seemed to be angry, and to cast out my prayers; this made me mourn, and little less than murmur.

My spirit was overwhelmed] With sense of sin and fear of wrath. This was a very grievous and dangerous temptation, such as we must pray not to be led into, or at least not be left under, lest we utterly despair.

Ver. 4. Thou holdest mine eyes waking] Thou holdest the watches of mine eyes, that is, mine eyebrows, saith the Chaldee, so that I can neither sleep nor speak. Job complaineth of the like misery, #Job 7:8 See #Ps 38:10

That I cannot speak] Curae leves loquuntur, ingentes stupent.

Ver. 5. I have considered the days of old] What thou didst for Adam, Abraham, Israel, in Egypt, &c., all which was written purposely, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope. See #De 32:7.

Ver. 6. I call to remembrance my song in the night] i.e. My former feelings and experiments, being glad, in this scarcity of comfort, to live upon the old store, as bees do in winter.

I commune with mine own heart] #Ps 4:4, see there.

And my spirit made diligent search] For the cause and cure of my present distempers.

Ver. 7. Will the Lord cast off for ever?] No, nor at all, though the extremity and length of the psalmist’s grief put him upon these sad interrogatories, with some diffidence, touching the nature and promise of God.

Will he be favourable no more?] So the devil and carnal reason would have persuaded him; and did haply for a time. But this very questioning the matter showeth he yet lay languishing at hope’s hospital, waiting for comfort. The soul may successively doubt, and yet believe.

Ver. 8. Is his mercy clean gone for ever?] They that go down into the pit (of despair) cannot hope for God’s truth, #Isa 38:18, but so doth not any saint in his deepest desertions.

Doth his promise fail for evermore?] Hath he retracted his promises, recalled his oracles confirmed with oath, seal? No, he will not suffer his faithfulness to fail, nor alter the thing that is gone out of his mouth, #Ps 89:33.

Ver. 9. Hath God forgotten to be gracious?] So it seemeth sometimes to those that are long afflicted and short-spirited; but what saith the prophet? Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, they may prove unnatural, and grow out of kind, as Medea, and those Suevian women (Heyl. Geog.), who threw their young children at the Romans, under the conduct of Drusus, son-in-law to Augustus, instead of darts, yet God will not forget his people, #Isa 49:15. Indeed, he can as soon forget himself, and change his nature.

Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?] These things the psalmist speaketh not as utterly despairing, but as one courageously, wrestling against an old manslayer, and a misgiving heart of his own. Homines vero securi, et voluptatibus ebrii, nihil horum intelllgunt. This is little understood by profane sensualists, who, therefore, reap no great benefit by the reading of these psalms.

Ver. 10. And I said, This is my infirmity] My frailty and folly. Here he begins to recollect, and recall himself, as every good soul will, after its extravagancies and outbursts. Vatablus rendereth it, Mors mea est, This is my death; Beza, Caedes mea haec, This is my death wound, sc. whereof I should surely die, were it not for the change of God’s hand upon me.

But I will remember, &c.] This is supplied out of the following verse. Some make no such supply, but render the text thus, The right hand of the Most High can change these things. Others, This is the change of the right hand of the Most High, and is therefore to be taken patiently; shall we receive good at God’s hands, and not evil? #Job 2:10. I am not utterly deserted, but only the case is a little altered, the right hand of the Most High alternated.

Ver. 11. I will remember the works, &c.] Remember, and commemorate, as the Hebrew (by a double reading) importeth.

I will remember thy wonders] God is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working, #Isa 28:29, and as we behold the sun in the waters, so God in his works. Saeculum speculum, the world is a glass or theatre, but especially the Church, wherein God setteth forth his wonders to the view of all.

Ver. 12. I will meditate also of all thy works, and talk, &c.] {See Trapp on "Ps 45:1"}

Ver. 13. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary] There it is only that I can get satisfaction about thy proceedings, #Ps 73:17. There I am taught, that thou art righteous in all thy ways, and holy in all thy works, #Ps 145:17. Some render this text, Thy way, O God, is in holiness. Some by sanctuary understand heaven; q.d. Thy way is in heaven, far above man’s reach.

Who is so great a God as our God?] And therefore no wonder his ways are so incomprehensible.

Ver. 14. Thou art the God that doest wonders] In the daily defence and government of thy Church. Thou art the great Thaumaturgus, or wonder worker.

Thou hast declared thy strength among the people] As among the Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, &c. Vere magnus est Dens Christianorum, said one Calocerius, a heathen.

Ver. 15. Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people] viz. Out of the bondage of Egypt, that memorable mercy; but nothing to that of ours and theirs from sin’s thraldom.

The sons of Jacob and Joseph] Joseph is instanced, quia nobilis inter fratres, vel in malis quae pendit, vel in bonis quae rependit, as Austin hath it (De Doct. Christ. 1. iv. c. 6).

Ver. 16. The waters saw thee, O God…they were afraid] This is check to such as will not see to fear so mighty a God. "Lord," saith the prophet, "when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see; but they shall see and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them," #Isa 26:11.

Ver. 17. The clouds poured out water, the skies, &c.] Calvin taketh this to be a description of that hideous tempest, #Ex 9:18-26, the seventh plague of Egypt. But others with more probability hold, that the prophet here hath respect to that very time mentioned in the former verse, when the Lord looked upon the host of the Egyptians out of the fiery and cloudy pillar, and so troubled and turmoiled them with stormy tempests, that their chariot wheels fell off, and themselves sank as lead in the mighty waters, #Ex 14:24,25 15:10. Of these terrible tempests mention is made also by Justin.

Ver. 18. The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven] Heb. in the sphere or round orb of the air. Of the thunder in the air, see #Job 37:2-5 Ps 29 This made the Egyptians say, Let us flee, for God fighteth for Israel against us.

The lightnings lightened the world] Such flakes of fire there were with flashes of lightning, as darkened the sun, and made the whole heaven seem to be on a light fire.

Ver. 19. Thy way is in the sea, &c.] A way of thine own miraculous making. God usually goeth a way by himself.

And thy footsteps are not known] Not so much as is the way or an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a rock, or the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, #Pr 30:19. Let God alone with his own work, commit we ourselves to him in well doing, and it shall go well with us, no question of it. Pit viam desperatae salutis, impii foveam insperatae mortis intrant (Oros.).

Ver. 20. Thou leddest thy people like a flock] And so he still leadeth his Church with much love and care, by good magistrates and ministers, who are as his under-shepherds.

Maschil of Asaph] Ode didasealiea Asaphi. The six first verses are proemial, wooing attention from the dignity, difficulty, antiquity, certainty, &c., of the matter in this psalm discoursed on, containing an abstract of the whole Pentateuch, and acquainting us with the ancient way of preaching, which was a historical narration of the miraculous mercies that God had from time to time conferred upon his people, their hateful abuse of his benefits, and their punishments thereupon. This is to be seen in various psalms, in St Stephen’s sermon, #Ac 7, and St Paul’s, #Ac 13, et est sane valde venerandum istud sanctae antiquitatis monumentum, This is a very venerable monument of holy antiquity, and teacheth us the right use of history, quae dicta est παρα το ισταναι τον ρουν, saith Plato.

Chapter 78

Ver. 1. Give ear, O my people, to my law] i.e. To my doctrine, which hath its name in Hebrew from darting it into the soul; and these are the psalmist’s words in God’s name, calling for utmost attention.

Incline your ears, &c.] Lay them close to my lips, that no parcel of this sacred language fall to the ground by your default. Ενωτιζεσθε, Aurizate, auribus haurite, Receive it into your ears; yea, draw up the ears of your mind to the ears of your bodies, that one sound may pierce both, #Ac 2:14 Isa 55:3. "Hear, and give ear; be not proud; for the Lord hath spoken it," #Jer 13:15.

Ver. 2. I will open my mouth in a parable] I will speak freely and plainly (I will open my mouth, #Mt 5:2 Ac 10:34), and yet acutely and accurately. See #Ps 49:4, {See Trapp on "Ps 49:4"}

I will utter dark sayings of old] Heb. I will well out (as from a spring or fountain) dark or sharp sayings, transacted and recorded of old, but of good use for ever. Difficulty doth not discourage, but rather whet on heroic spirits to a more diligent inquiry. Aben Ezra noteth here, that #Ps 78:9, "The children of Ephraim," &c., is a parable, and #Ps 78:25, "Man did eat angels’ food," is a riddle, or dark saying.

Ver. 3. Which we have heard and known] Hearing and seeing are the two learned senses, whereby knowledge, yea, life, entereth into the soul, #Pr 2:2,10 Isa 55:3.

And our fathers have told us] Have delivered down to us from hand to hand, whetting upon us the written word, #De 6:7, and adding thereunto, for explication, many other things fit to be known.

Ver. 4. We will not hide them from their children] The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with, #1Co 12:7, neither is any one born (much less born again) for himself; but must be as useful as may be in his generation,

Paulum sepultae distat inertiae

Celata virtus -(Hor.).

The praises of the Lord] The praise worthy acts of God for his people, and against their enemies; for these two are not sundered, #Php 1:28.

Ver. 5. For he established a testimony in Jacob, &c.] Lest any should attribute too much to ancient traditions, and to show that antiquity must have no more authority than what it can maintain; the psalmist here (as afterwards the prophet Isaiah) calleth them to the law and to the testimonies; for if any speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them, #Isa 8:20.

Ver. 6. Who shall arise and declare them] i.e. Succeed their parents both in their place and office of teaching their posterity; not suffering the truth which is after godliness {#Tit 1:1} to fail and fall in the streets, #Isa 59:14,15, or if it do, raising it up again, and restoring it to their utmost.

Ver. 7. That they might set their hope in God] Summa legis divinae et scopus, this is a brief of the Bible, viz. to believe in God and obey his law; both which men shall the better do, if they forget not his works.

Ver. 8. And might not be as their fathers] Fathers are not always to be followed, #Eze 20:18,19. He zealously affected his fathers, but not well, who said, I will follow them sicut bos armentum, etiamsi ruant, though I fall with them (Cicero Epist.).

A stubborn and rebellious generation] Aver satrix et irritatrix.

A generation that set not, &c.] Double-minded men, unstable in all their ways, #Jas 1:8, having religionem ephemeram, as Beza said of Baldwin, that Ecebolius II.

And whose spirit was not stedfast with God] As was that martyr’s who said, Though you may pluck the heart out of nay body, yet you shall never pluck the truth out of my heart. The heavens shall sooner fall, said another, than I will forsake the truth I have once received.

Ver. 9. The children of Ephraim being armed, &c.] This the Rabbis interpret of eight thousand Ephraimites, who would needs break prison, as it were, out of Egypt (before the time that God had set for their deliverance thence), and seize upon Palestine, the promised land; but with evil success; for they were slain by the men of Gath, to the great grief of their father Ephraim, #1Ch 7:21-23, and to the increase of their servitude in Egypt, #Ex 1:8-14 This is historia Caballica. See R. Solomon on those words, #Ex 15:14, the people shall hear and be afraid; sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina, who, remembering what a slaughter they once made of these Ephraimites, shall fear the just revenge of that cruelty. Others interpret this text by #Jud 1:29, and some by #2Ki 17:1-18, with #Ho 10:6-8, &c., but this to me seemeth most likey. These are ancient things, and of such the psalmist promiseth to treat, #Ps 78:2,3.

Being armed and carrying bows] Trusting to their own strength and warlike preparations, and choosing rather to be counted temerarious than timorous.

Turned back in the day of battle] Carnal confidence seldom comes home otherwise than weeping.

Ver. 10. They kept not the covenant, &c.] And so betrayed themselves into the hands of divine justice, they were worthily worsted. See #2Ch 15:2.

And refused to walk in his law] They were set upon it, and would not be ruled by their father Ephraim, or any other that counselled them to the contrary; and haply said the like to them that Archidamus did to his too daring son, Aut viribus adde aut animis adime, Either add to thy forces or abate of thy courage.

Ver. 11. And forgat his works, and his wonders] Forgetfulness is a grave; et ingrato quicquid donatur, deperditur, all is lost that is conferred on an ungrateful person.

Ver. 12. Marvellous things did he, &c.] Whereof they were eye-witnesses, and therefore could not plead ignorance or excuse. The Hebrew hath it, a marvel, or a miracle, collective.

In the field of Zoan] Corruptly called afterward Tan and Tanis; a populous and principal city of Egypt even in Isaiah’s time, #Isa 19:11-13; about 23 miles from Memphis, saith Josephus: there Moses wrought his miracles (Ptolemy. Strabo).

Ver. 13. He divided the sea] Making it fordable for them, and fixing those fluid waters, like stone walls, on each hand of them, while they passed through with ease and safety. Every main affliction is our Red Sea; which, while it threatens to swallow, preserveth us.

Ver. 14. In the daytime also he led them with a cloud] This cloud not only conducted them, but also compassed them in on every side, both to keep them from the parching heat of the sun, and to save them from the sight and violence of their enemies, #Ex 13:21. A figure of God’s guidance of his Church, and protection over the same, #Isa 4:5 Ne 9:9.

Ver. 15. He clave the rocks] And set them abroach, both that in Rephidim, #Ex 17:1-8, and the other in Kadesh, #Nu 20:1-13 Moses Nehamides, on #Ex 17:1-8, saith, that the old Jewish doctors held that the rock of Rephidim not only yielded waters like a river all those forty years wherein they were in the wilderness, but followed them also there whithersoever they went. This agreeth well with that of the apostle St Paul, #1Co 10:4, who sweetly allegorizeth this history.

As out of the great depths] i.e. In great abundance, Ad satietatem usque. Rocks sooner yield fire than water; but what cannot God do?

Ver. 16. He brought streams also out of the rock] Idem enuntiat per Epexegesim, ad miraculi magnitudinem ostendendam. The same again, to set forth the greatness of the miracle. This was a standing miracle, as was also the pillar of cloud, the pillar of fire, and the manna.

Ver. 17. And they sinned yet more against him] The better he was to them the worse were they toward him, as if God had hired them to be wicked; and this was ordinary with them, and is still among us. Oh the Divine patience!

By provoking the most High in the wilderness] In terra arida ubi Deo indies indigebant, ibi peccabant, saith Aben Ezra here. This was another aggravation of their sin.

Ver. 18. And they tempted God in their heart] In their hearts first, but afterwards also with their lips. The psalmist here striketh at the root of their wickedness.

By asking meat for their lust] Not for their necessity (that had been more excusable, #Pr 6:30), but to satisfy their inordinate appetite, to gratify their licorish palate.

Ver. 19. Yea, they stake against God] Their villanous and foul thoughts blistered and brake out at their lips.

Can God furnish a table?] This was a blasphemous question. God can do more than he will; but whatsoever he will do shall be done, and nothing can hinder it. "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean," said he in the Gospel. And this was better than that of the other, who said, "If thou canst do any thing, help us," #Mr 9:22

Ver. 20. Behold, he smote the rock, &c.] And so showed his power; we cannot deny it; but now for his will.

Can he give bread also?] They should have said, Will he serve our lusts? but that they were ashamed to say.

Can he provide flesh for his people?] i.e. Dainty and delicate flesh, such as is that of quails, meat for a king; for they carried their cattle out of Egypt with them; and so they could not be without ordinary flesh, too good for such unthankful miscreants.

Ver. 21. Therefore the Lord heard this, and was wroth] Efferbuit, excanduit. Anger is a kind of fire, a boiling of the blood about the heart, through desire of revenge. "But fury is not in me," saith God, #Isa 27:4. If anger be ascribed unto him, as here, it is an expression fitted to our apprehension, because he doeth that which angry men use to do, viz. chide and smite for sin; but all in a way of justice, and without the least perturbation.

So a fire was kindled] It began to smoke and burn.

And anger also came up] Ascended, i.e. Flamed, for anger beginneth at the heart, and then cometh up into the brain, face, nostrils.

Ver. 22. Because they believed not in God] As faith is a radical and complex grace; so is unbelief a radical sin, a teeming vice, #Heb 3:12, a wellspring of wickedness; many sins are bound up in it, as Cicero saith of parricide.

And trusted not in his salvation] i.e. In his saving promises.

Ver. 23. Though he had commanded the clouds] Though he had served them as never prince was served in his greatest state, yet all served not turn.

And opened the doors of heaven] Rupturas nubium, raining down upon them plenty of manna; so that it was not hunger, but humour, that set them a lusting.

Ver. 24. And had rained down manna upon them] Manna signifieth, What is this? whereunto in the allegory answereth, This is my body. Or, according to others, it signifieth a prepared portion, prepared by God, so that they might presently eat of it, though they might grind, or pound, or bake, or boil it also, they might do anything with it, as they might with meal; whence it is here called the corn of heaven, that is, a seed which was unto them instead of corn.

Ver. 25. Man did eat angels’ food] Heb. the bread of the mighty, Pan de nobles (Hispan.); (Angels are called mighties, #Isa 10:34 Re 18:21); such delicate bread as might beseem angels to eat, if they did eat any at all; such as the poets feign to be their Nectar, and Ambrosia. Or, the bread of the mighty, sc. that mightily strengthened them.

He sent them meat to the full] Heb. meat taken in hunting; so called, because dainty as venison, or, quia semper ambulabant, et in via quasi eam venabantur, sc. #Jos 1:11 (Aben Ezra).

Ver. 26. He caused an east wind to blow] Pergere, to go, to pass away, and to give place to the south wind.

And by his power he brought in the south wind] That it might bring in the quails. Now Pliny writeth (lib. 10, c. 23), that quails, though they love to fly with the wind, because of their heavy bodies and small strength, yet not with the south wind, because it is moist, and so more heavy than the north wind, which therefore they rather delight in. And if this be true, here is another miracle, saith an expositor, that these quails were brought in by that wind, which, when it bloweth, they commonly rest and hide themselves.

Ver. 27. He rained flesh also upon them as dust] Dapibus illos compluit. This he had done once before for them; see #Ex 16:12,13, with #Nu 11:18-21,31-33; their unbelief, therefore, and impatience this second time was the more heinous.

Ver. 28. And he let it fall in the midst of their camp] A day’s journey on each side, and about two cubits above the earth, #Nu 11:31, in such abundance, that Moses could not believe it were possible to be done, though all the fish in the sea should be gathered together, and turned into flesh, #Nu 11:31.

Ver. 29. So they did eat, and were well filled] But better they had fasted. Many eat that on earth which they must digest in hell; these here were murdering morsels.

He gave them their own desire] They were heard, ad voluntatem, non ad utilitatem. Deus saepe dat iratus quod negat propitius. God’s gifts to a graceless man are giftless gifts; and he had better a great deal be without them.

Ver. 30. They were not estranged from their lust] Satiated they were, but not satisfied. It is as easy to quench the fire of Aetna as the thoughts set on fire by lust.

Ver. 31. The wrath of God came upon them] Heb. ascended, as a flame, which the bigger it groweth the higher it getteth.

And slew the fattest of them] Those that had glutted and stuffed themselves like a woolpack, being nitida et bene curata cute pingues, fat and fair-liking.

And smote down the chosen men of Israel] Or, The young men, who by a hasty testament bequeathed that new name, Kibroth-hattaavah, that is, the graves of lust, to the place they lay buried In.

Ver. 32. For all this they sinned still] They utterly lost the fruit of their calamities; which godly men hold a very great loss.

And believed not] Neither mercies nor crosses duly affected them.

Ver. 33. Therefore their days did he consume in vanity] So that they never saw the promised land, for the which they came out of Egypt; but their carcasses fell in the wilderness. Who knoweth, saith a reverend man, whether God purpose not to wear out this present generation that hath been defiled with the superstition of the world, that we may not see the good that he will bring upon this Church?

And their years in trouble] Or, in terror, for they were in continual fear of God’s wrath, of their enemies round about, of wild beasts, fiery serpents, &c.

Ver. 34. When he slew them, then they sought him] Fictis scilicet, quibusdam et fucatis pollicitationabus, with a few dissembled devotions. So many now, when deadly, sick, will be wondrous good. Nuper me amici cuiusdam languor admonuit, optimos esse nos dum infirmi sumus (Plin. Ep. 26, 1. 7). As iron is very soft and malleable while in the fire, but soon after returneth to its former hardness; so many, while afflicted, seem very well affected, but afterwards soon show what they are. William Rufus, in a fit of sickness at Gloucester, vowed upon his recovery to see all vacancies in the Church furnished; which he did, but with so great ado as showed that, having escaped the danger, he would willingly have deceived the saint, saith the chronicler. In the sweating sickness here in England, so long as the ferventness of the plague lasted there was crying, Peccavi, peccavi, I have sinned, I have sinned, the ministers were sought for in every corner, You must come to my lord, you must come to my lady, &c.; but this lasted with many little longer than the disease; so deceitful is man’s heart, and desperately wicked. Most men are nailed to the earth (saith one well), as Sisera was by Jael; and will not so much as lift up their eyes to heaven, unless it be as hogs do, who go noddling down and rooting in the earth all their life, and never look upward till, being ready to be killed, they are laid flat upon their backs and forced; so these, till wrestling with the pangs of death, they are fastened to their sick-beds, &c.

And they returned] But they gave but the half turn, they turned not even unto God with all their heart, as #Joe 2:12.

And inquired early after God] Heb. Manicabant sive aurorizabant Deum, aurora velut anticipata; they were up and at it by peep of day.

Ver. 35. And they remembered] Misery is the best art of memory. But this remembrance of God was but as letters written in the sand, or as a picture drawn on the ice, that long continueth not; it was but a flash, and while they were in a good mood; it was but as Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, which he had soon forgotten. They remembered God, lingua non corde, with the tongue, but not with the heart, as Aben Ezra here glosseth. They gave God a mess of fair words, calling him Rock, Redeemer, &c., but he is not to be so courted and complimented; goats may be fed with leaves, but God is not mocked.

Ver 36. Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth] They looked pitifully, as the fox caught in a gin doth, but it is only to get out; they spake God fair, as the devil in the Gospel did our Saviour, but it was only to be rid of him. They worshipped him, as the Indians do the devil, that he may do them no hurt. The Latin word Colo, to worship, is by some derived of the Greek word κολακευειν, to flatter, and the English word flatter, from the Greek λατρευειν, to worship. Sure it is that many men’s devotion is mere dissimulation.

And they lied unto him] sc. While they called him Rock, Redeemer, and all was but from the teeth outward; which how much God abhorreth as a ludibrious devotion, see #Jer 3:4,5. And here it is said to be the middle of the psalter; for hitherto the Hebrews reckon one thousand two hundred sixty and three verses; and as many they note to be yet left in the second part.

Ver. 37. For their heart was not right with him] It was still the old heart, without any sincere change, and that can never hold out the hardships of holiness, but will deviate and falsify; the rack may make it roar, the rod flutter, but all is in hypocrisy. A hypocrite would cozen God of heaven if he could tell how.

Neither were they steadfast] See #Ps 78:8.

Ver. 38. But he, being full of compassion] Not standing upon terms nor taking advantages; a sin pardoning God, whose mercy rejoiceth against (or glorieth over) judgment, #Jas 2:13; it is of his mercy that we are not consumed, #La 3:22, if he should deal with us in strict justice, Et delicta nostra ad calculos vocare, there were no abiding by it, Psal. cxxx. 1; clxiii 1.

Yea, many a time turned he his anger away] With patience and piety, he overcame their provocations, although they tempted him ten times, that is, very often, #Nu 14:22.

And did not stir up all his wrath] Heb. He multiplied to turn away his wrath, Strenue curavit ut cohiberet iram suam, he let fall some drops of his wrath, but would not shed the whole shower of it.

Ver. 39. For he remembered that they were but flesh] i.e. Frail and feeble, full of sin and misery., {see #Ge 6:3} altogether unable to grapple with God’s wrath.

A wind that passeth away, &c.] Et in suis reciprocationibus evanescens. For winds neither return thither whence they blow, nor yet pass from one coast to another, but are wasted in the middle of the world, by the force of the sun and by their own motion, as Aristotle concludeth in his discourse concerning metaphors. Now, what is man (saith Nazianzen) but soul and soil, breath and body, a puff of wind the one, a pile of dust the other, no solidity in either?

Ver. 40. How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness] Exclamatio pathetica. Ten times at least in the first two years, Nu 16-19 What, then, in all the rest? Quis fando possit enarrare tot rebelliones. From the very day they came out of Egypt they were always contending against the Lord, as Moses telleth them, when he was taking his leave of them, #De 31:16-18.

And grieve him in the desert] Where they were at his mercy, and at his immediate finding.

Ver. 41. Yea, they turned back and tempted God] They did it afresh, and after some resolutions and short winded wishes of doing better.

And limited the Holy One] Designarunt, they prescribed to him, and set him his bounds which he must not pass; as Popilius, the Roman ambassador, drew a circle round about King Antiochus, and bade him give answer ere he stirred out of it, for he would be put off no longer. Now, God is limited, when as either his power is questioned, as #Ps 78:20, or his will circumscribed, as if he were bound to serve man’s lusts, or means appointed him whereby he must work, and not otherwise.

Ver. 42. They remembered not his hand] Forgetfulness is the root of rebellion and of all vice, as the Genevists well note here. Eaten bread is soon forgotten, Nihil citius senescit quam gratia (Seneca).

Nor the day when he delivered them] viz. From Pharaoh, but so soon as they had sucked the honey they despised the flower.

Ver. 43. How he had wrought his signs in Egypt] That stage of wonders. See #Ps 78:12.

In the field of Zoan] A great city in Egypt, whereof read #Isa 19:11,13 30:4 Eze 30:14. Josephus, Antiq. lib. 1, cap. 9. See #Ps 78:12.

Ver. 44. And had turned their rivers into blood, &c.] Seven of those ten plagues of Egypt are here instanced, to aggravate the forgetfulness or perfidy of the Israelites. Good turns aggravate unkindness, and our offences are increased by our obligations.

And their floods, that they could not drink] Usque adeo ut aquae potabiles totam, alioqui stagnantem Aegyptum, deficerent. The Rabbis say (who told them I know not) that out of the same vessel an Egyptian drank blood and an Israelite water (Midras Tilling).

Ver. 45. He sent divers sorts of flies among them] Miscellam muscarum venenatarum, venomous flies and flying serpents, whose poison and sting did even corrupt the land, #Ex 8:24. The Greek rendereth it κυνομυιαν, the dog-fly.

Ver. 46. He gave also their increase unto the caterpillar] Together with the grasshopper, #Ex 10:12-15, God’s great army, #Joe 2:11

And their labour] i.e. The fruits of the earth, which they had laboured for; they lost both their husbandry and their harvest.

Ver. 47. He destroyed their vines with hail] Heb. He killed, Quia planta habet animam vegetativain, ut #Job 14:8, saith Kimchi.

And their sycamores with frost] Or, with great hailstones mingled with fire, running along and catching, #Ex 9:24. Confer #Re 16:21.

Ver. 48. He gave up their cattle also to the hail] Moses saith men also, who were brained and burned by it.

Ver. 49. By sending evil angels among them] i.e. Some messengers of his wrath and displeasure, whether good or evil angels it skills not.

Ver. 50. He made a way to his anger] Heb. He weighed a path, recompensing their unjust stiffness with his just judgments, and proceeding in his anger from lighter plagues to that heaviest of all the rest, the slaying of all the flower of Egypt in one night, #Ps 78:51.

Ver. 51. And smote all the firstborn in Egypt] Certo pestis genere perniciocissimo et acutissimo. The Rabbis say that in each house was a dead corpse, viz. the chieftain of the family, whether there were a firstborn in it or not, #Ex 12:30.

In the tabernacle of Ham] Who was the father of Mizraim, the founder of the Egyptians, #Ge 10:6, who vainly boasted that they were αυτοχθονες, as ancient as their land. Herodotus, the author of that story, tells us also of a certain great town in Egypt called Chemmim, from Cham likely.

Ver. 52. But made his own people to go forth like sheep] i.e. Tuto et lente, softly and safely, as #Ge 33:13, tending them with all tenderness, and providing for their necessities.

Ver. 53. And he led them on safely, so that they feared not] Or, if they did, it was without cause, Cur enim metuat hominem homo in sinu Dei positus.

Ver. 54. And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary] i.e. Of Judea, which country he had consecrated to himself for the place and chief seat of religion; whence it is called, the holy land. It had been a loathsome land, #Ezr 9:11, filled with filthiness from corner to corner, but now otherwise. How it was afterwards again polluted, see #Isa 1:21-23.

Even to this mountain] Moriah, whereon stood the temple; or, to this mountainous country of Judea.

Which his right hand, &c.] See #Ps 44:3.

Ver. 55. He cast out the heathen also before them] i.e. In their sight, and for their sake.

He divided them an inheritance by line] Not a material line, but mathematical, saith an interpreter; whereby we may perceive that the way of making maps was anciently in use among the Hebrews (Geneb.).

And made the tribes of Israel, &c.] Notwithstanding all their former provocations. "See that none render evil for evil to any man, but ever follow" (by God’s example) "that which is good, both among yourselves and toward all men," #1Th 5:15.

Ver. 56. Yet they tempted and provoked, &c.] Neither God’s judgments on their enemies nor his mercies to themselves could keep them within the bounds of obedience; but in a land of uprightness they would deal unjustly, and not behold the majesty of the Lord, #Isa 26:10.

Ver. 57. But turned back, &c.] They had a kind of willingness and velleity, a kind of wambling, as one speaketh, but it boiled not up to the full height of resolution for God.

They were turned aside like a deceitful bow] Non semper feriet quodcunque minabitur arcus; but a deceitful bow, that turneth back into belly, as we say, will be sure to deceive the archer, though he level his eye and his arrow never so directly to the mark, and think with himself to hit it. Lo, such a false rotten bow is man’s deceitful heart; and hence the arrows of his purposes and promises vanish oft in the air, as smoke.

Ver. 58. For they provoked him to anger with their high places] After the manner of the heathens; yet with a good intention, as they called it; because God is to be everywhere worshipped. But this was against an express law, #De 12:2 Ex 20:3,4.

Ver. 59. When God heard this] Sin crieth aloud in God’s ears, though it be never so closely and cunningly carried.

And greatly abhorred Israel] As appeareth all along the Book of Judges, whereof this verse is a summary.

Ver. 60. So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh] Whither it had been brought from Gilgal, and where it had rested a long while, but was forsaken of God when once idolized, #1Sa 4:3-5

The tent which he placed among men.] Which was a very great condescension, #Isa 66:1. Confer #Joh 1:14 Pr 8:31.

Ver. 61. And delivered his strength.., his glory, &c.] i.e. His ark, which is elsewhere called the strength of God, #1Ch 16:11 2Ch 6:41, and the glory of God, #Ps 26:8 63:3, because out of it he was wont to declare his power and glory, and to make himself visible after a sort.

Ver. 62. He gave his people also unto the sword] sc. Of the Philistines, who slew thirty thousand of them in one battle, #1Sa 4:10, they lost him and themselves too; the ark having been a far better defence to them than the Palladium to the Trojans.

Ver. 63. The fire consumed] The fire of warlike force, which quickly licketh up all, and layeth waste.

And their maidens were not given in marriage] Heb. praised, as they were wont to be at their weddings with nuptial songs, and epithalamia , which the Hebrews call Hillulim, and the bridechamber, Beth-halulah, the house of praise.

Ver. 64. Their priests fell by the sword] Hophni and Phineas did, #1Sa 4:11, both in one day, as had been foretold, #1Sa 2:34.

And their widows made no lamentation] As being themselves either killed with grief, as Phineas’s wife, or carried captive. Here were ingentia beneficia, flagitia, supplicia.

Ver. 65. The Lord awaked as one out of sleep] Humanitus dictum; the Philistines haply had such bald conceits of him, that either he slept, or, if awake, that he was overcome with wine.

Ver. 66. And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts] viz. With emerods, #1Sa 5:6,9,12, infami podicis ignominia affecit illos, he punished them, as we do puny boys on their posteriors.

Ver. 67. Moreover he refused, &c.] He would dwell no longer at Shiloh, which was in the tribe of Ephraim.

Ver. 68. But chose the tribe of Judah] He chose it for his love, and then loved it for his choice. The word tribe we borrow from the Romans, who at first divided the multitudes into three parts, called thereof tribes. The Hebrew name signifieth a rod or sceptre, and fitly agreeth to Judah.

Ver. 69. Like high palaces] Not places, as some books absurdly have it. Like the earth, there shall be a Church to the world’s end.

Ver. 70. He chose David also] God chooseth not as man doth, #1Co 1:26, yet Alexander the Great advanced Abdolominus, a poor gardener, to be king in Sidon.

And took him from the sheepfolds] The art of feeding cattle and the art of ruling men are sisters, saith Basil.

Ver. 71. From following the ewes] So Saul from seeking asses, Agathocles from making pots, Valentinian, ropes, &c. Placilla called upon her husband Theodosius, the emperor, to remember from what mean estate God had called him to the highest honours, εξ οιων, εις οια.~

Ver. 72. So he fed them, &c.] See #Ps 78:70. He was not malus vir bonus princeps (as is said of our Richard III), but every way accomplished, and active for the good of his subjects.

A Psalm] Of like subject with #Ps 74, bewailing the same calamity of the Jews, whether under Nebuchadnezzar or Antiochus is uncertain; but foreseen by Asaph, or described by some other prophet, and committed to some of Asaph’s successors to be sung. Cantant iusti etiam in adversis; as birds in the spring tune most sweetly when it raineth most sadly.

Chapter 79

Ver. 1. O God, the heathen] Ex abrupto orditur; q.d. Canst thou endure it? Is it not high time for thee to set in? Lo, they have filled the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel, #Isa 8:8, that is, O thou who art God with us, who givest with the Father, who prayest with the suitor ( Cum parte dater, inter nos petitor. Aug.), and who in all our afflictions art afflicted.

Thy holy temple have they defiled] Spoliando, funestando, et omnia profana impiaque munera obeundo. See #Ps 74:7.

They have laid Jerusalem on heaps] In rudera, into an orchard keeper’s cottage, saith the Vulgate, οπωροφυλακιον (Sept.). An elegant hypotyposis.

Ver. 2. The dead bodies of thy servants] Either they denied them the honour of burial (which is reckoned among the τα νομιζομενα, the dues of the dead), or else they mangled their dead bodies, and exercised their rage upon them, as the Papists did upon Huss and Zwinglius, and many of the English martyrs. A barbarous practice, as Pausanias judged it in Herodot. Calliope, Νεκρω λυμαινεσθαι πρεπει μαλλον βαρβαροισιν, &c.

The flesh of thy saints, &c.] Of thy beneficiaries, whose souls are with thee in heaven; these have not so much as a burying place on earth, but lie like common carrion, Morticina, like cattle that die of the murrain, and are most ignominously dealt with; and yet these are God’s saints, and, in some sense, martyrs.

Ver. 3. Their blood have they shed like water] Contemptim vel abiecte. They made no more reckoning of it than of ditch water; and were ready to say, as Hannibal did when he saw a ditch full of men’s blood, O formosum spectaculum! O beautiful sight!

And there was none to bury them] Either none to bury them at all, which the Jews accounted worse than death, #Ec 6:3, and the Romans extreme cruelty, Immanitatis est Scythicae non sepelire mortuos (Sen. ad Martiam); or none to bury them cum ritibus, with the accustomed rites and ceremonies, as Jacob was buried, #Ge 50:1-13, but not Jeconiah, #Jer 22:18.

Ver. 4. We are become a reproach to our neighbours] To the Edomites, Philistines, Syrians, Tyrians, &c., who do now compose comedies out of our tragedies.

A scorn and derision to them that are round about us] Quorum opprobriis, ludibriis, et contumeliis sumus expositi. This was more grievous to them than stripes or wounds, saith Chrysostom; because these being inflicted upon the body, are divided after a sort between soul and body; but scorns and reproaches do wound the soul only. Habet quendam aculeum contumelia, they leave a sting behind them, as Cicero observeth, Actio in Ver.

Ver. 5. How long wilt thou be angry? &c.] Or, how long? wilt thou be angry for ever? The psalmist knew that the enemies were but God’s executioners; and that if he were but once pacified, they should soon be put out of office.

Shall thy jealousy] viz. For our idolatry, #Ex 20:3-5

Ver. 6. Pour out thy wrath, &c.] Even the full vials of it.

That have not known thee] More than by the book of the creatures, wherein there is indeed a τογνωστον του θεου, something of God manifested, #Ro 1:19,20, even his eternal power and Godhead, rendering men without excuse, but nothing of his goodness and patience, leading them to repentance, #Ps 2:4.

That have not called upon thy name] A note of profaneness, #Ps 14:4.

Ver. 7. For they have devoured Jacob] As wolves and other ravenous creatures do the simple sheep.

His dwellingplace] Or, his cottage, his sheepcote.

Ver. 8. O remember not against us former iniquities] Or, the iniquities of them that were before us, wherewith we also are justly chargeable; the sin of the golden calf, saith the Arabic here, an ounce whereof is in all our sufferings to this day, say the Jews. Alexander slew the Branchidae, and utterly destroyed their city, because their forefathers had long before endeavoured to betray Greece into the hands of Xerxes, ως προδοτας ανειλεν (Diodor. Curt. lib. 7).

Speedily prevent us] Lest they come too late; for we are at last gasp.

Ver. 9. Help us…for the glory of thy name] A speeding argument. God will do much for his own glory, his wife, as it were.

Purge away our sins] Which nothing can do but tender mercy.

Ver. 10. Where is their God?] See #Ps 43:3. So Turks at this day (when they have the better of Christians) cry, Where is the Christian’s God? We are the right Mussulmans, &c.

By the revenging of the blood of thy servants, &c.] For the which make thou inquisition, and do justice.

Ver. 11. Let the sighing of the prisoner, &c.] It was lately in many places of this land a like difficult thing to find a wicked man in the enemy’s prisons or a godly man out of them. The sighs of such were shrill in God’s ears.

Preserve thou those that are appointed to die] Heb. The children of death, those that being destined to destruction, seem to be as much in death’s power as children are in their parents’. The Arabic rendereth it, Redime filios occisorum, Redeem the children of those who are slain, lest the name of their parents be blotted out.

Ver. 12. Into their bosom] Full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, #Lu 6:38. See #Isa 65:6,7 Jer 32:18.

Wherewith they have reproached thee] viz. In reproaching us, who do quarter arms, as it were, with thee.

Ver. 13. So we thy people…will give thee praise] A service which the saints know to be so acceptable to God, that they commonly promise it, and accordingly perform it, #Ho 14:2, engaging also their children, as here, to do the like.

Upon Shoshannim-Eduth] Which some render the lilies of the testimony, and interpret of the Jewish polity or commonwealth, called by Josephus θεοκρατεια, that is, a God-government. Kimchi saith that Shoshannim-Eduth is species toni nobis hodie ignota, a kind of musical strain not known to us today.

Chapter 80

Ver. 1. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel] Thou that feedest thy people, watchest over them, defendest, redeemest, reducest them; thou that handlest them, curest them, washest them, drivest them as they are able to go, carryest them in thy bosom, doest all the offices of a good shepherd for them. In calling upon God it is wisdom to make choice of fit appellations and attributes, such as may strengthen our faith and increase our fervour.

Thou that leadest Joseph] Joseph is named quia nobilis inter fratres, saith Austin; the first birthright was taken from Reuben, and given to Joseph, #1Ch 5:1, hence he is put for the whole people.

Thou that dwellest between (or sittest upon) the cherubims] Those winged creatures that covered the mercy seat, the ark, and the two tables of the law within it; and all, to set forth Christ covering the curses of the law, and graciously dwelling with the sons of men, to the admiration of angels.

Shine forth] Show thy power in saving thy people and punishing their enemies. Shine as the sun doth in his strength.

Ver. 2. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh] These three tribes went next after the ark, when it removed, #Nu 2:18-24,10:22-24

Stir up thy strength] Which seemeth at present to lie dormant.

Ver. 3. Turn us again] Turn again our captivity, or show thyself reconciled unto us in Christ, who is here called the face of God, as some conceive.

Ver. 4. O Lord God of hosts] Iehova bellipotens Deus. God hath his upper and nether forces, as his horse and foot, ready pressed, say the Rabbis.

How long wilt thou be angry] Heb. wilt thou smoke? As angry people seem to send out smoke at their nostrils.

Against the prayer of thy people] This is a sore affliction to the saints, that their prayers seem to be ineffectual.

Ver. 5. Thou feedest them with the bread of tears] Panibus fletu intinctis (Chald.). It is as ordinary with them to weep as it is with men to eat and drink (Kimchi).

And givest them tears to drink in great measure] Trientales they are Tricongii in a sense, to their sorrow. They are afflicted even to utmost satiety. See #Ps 42:3. Holy Bradford oft mused at his meal, having his hat over his eyes, from whence came commonly plenty of tears dropping on his trencher (Acts aud Mon. 1457).

Ver. 6. Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours] We have as many enemies as neighbours, all striving to enslave us. We are crushed between them as corn is between millstones.

And our enemies laugh among themselves] Make them merry in our misery, revel in our ruins.

Ver. 7. Turn us again, O God of hosts] See #Ps 80:3, and observe that there it was only, "Turn us again, O God," here, "O God of hosts," and #Ps 80:19, "O Lord God of hosts." As the bird by much waving gathereth wind under the wing, and mounteth higher; so doth faith in prayer, viresque acquirit eundo.

Ver. 8. Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt] The Church is oft set forth by this similitude. The Rabbis say that Solomon made a vine of gold in the temple. Athenaeus telleth us that the kings of Persia sat under a golden vine having bunches of smaragds and other stately stones. All this was nothing to God’s vine, that plant of renown, brought out of Egypt (where it got no good, #Eze 34:29 20:8), and set in a better soil.

Ver. 9. Thou preparedst room before it] Espying out a fit place to plant it in, #Eze 20:6, and making clean work before it, as some render the words ( Expurgasti coram ea), by pulling up those bad and barren weeds, the Canaanites, that might have hindered its growth.

And didst cause it to take deep root] viz. By thy digging, dressing, watering, and mounding it; as of all possessions, none requireth greater care than that of vineyards, saith Care; and there is a peculiar affection in men toward the vine above all trees, as another observeth.

Ver. 10. The hills were covered, &c.] The Israelites grew amain in wealth, power, and multitude of men; witness their huge armies and valiant acts, though the country was not above 200 miles long, and 50 miles broad.

Ver. 11. She sent out her boughs unto the sea] The midland sea.

And her branches unto the river] Euphrates. This was first done in David’s days.

Ver. 12. Why hast thou then broken down her hedges?] i.e. Taken away thy mighty hand hitherto held over her. This befell not till they degenerated into a strange vine, #Jer 2:21, and brought forth wild grapes, #Isa 5:4.

Ver. 13. The boar out of the wood] All swine (but wild ones especially) are vitibus inimici, saith Theodoret, destructions to vines. And Melancthon thinks that therefore God forbad the Jews to eat swine’s flesh, Eo quod sues omnia sursum deorsum vertant vastentque, because they turn up all, rooting things up by the roots, as the word here signifieth, Exvineavit, ελυμηνατο αυτην (Sept.). Austin understands it of Vespasian, others of Antiochus, or Antichrist.

And the wild beast] The soldiers, #2Ch 25:18.

Ver. 14. Visit this vine] Some understand it of Christ’s incarnation, #Lu 1:78.

Ver. 15. And the vineyard] Vitiarium, surculum, plantulam.

Ver. 16. They perish] Scilicet palmites, et propagines, #Ps 80:10,11.

Ver. 17. The man of thy right hand] i.e. Israel, or the Messiah.

Ver. 18. So will not we go back] A promise of gratitude, which is usually annexed to prayers for deliverance.

Ver. 19. Turn us again] See #Ps 80:7. Prayers are like arrows of deliverance, which would be multiplied and enlarged, #2Ki 13:17.

Upon Gittith] An instrument brought from Gath, or used by Obed Edom, the Gittite; or a psalm to be sung at the vintages, i.e. at the Feast of Tabernacles. It containeth a solemn thanksgiving (for which cause also that feast was instituted), with so great joy, that Plutarch took occasion therehence to write, but falsely, that the Jews did then keep a feast, or holy day, to Bacchus, ωσχοφορια.

Chapter 81

Ver. 1. Sing aloud unto God] Be loud and large in his praises, set them forth cheerfully and courageously. God loveth zeal in all his services, In symposio gaudium cantu accendite.

Ver. 2. Bring hither the timbrel] These instruments then used in God s service (as a part of the Jewish pedagogy) were types of that spiritual joy which we should express in holy duties, no less than if we heard the most exquisite music. There should be continual music (habitual joy) in the temple of the Holy Ghost.

Ver. 3. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon] And the like at other solemn feasts, three whereof (all in the seventh month to be kept) Beza thinketh to be here plainly and distinctly noted. These feasts were a shadow of things to come, but the body is in Christ, #Col 2:16,17.

Ver. 4. For this was a statute] The keeping of it therefore is not arbitrary, but necessary: Aut faciendum aut patiendum.

And a law] Which was to be kept as the apple of the eye, #Pr 7:2.

Ver. 5. This he ordained in Joseph] Put for all Israel, as #Ps 80:1, though the Chaldee understandeth it of Joseph in person, and the next words of his going through the land of Egypt to gather corn in the seven plentiful years, and that at his first coming into Egypt he understood not their language.

When I heard a language] Idolatrous language, say some, contrary to the language of Canaan: this God knew not, that is, liked not, #Isa 19:18; or, rather a strange foreign language, which is no small grievance, #Jer 5:15 Eze 2:6 1Co 14:11, to those especially who understand no otherwise than by blows, as beasts do men.

Ver. 6. I removed his shoulder from the burden] From the woeful slavery of Egyptian tyrants and task masters, Sordidissimo ministerio.

His hands passed away from the pots] Or baskets, wherein was carried earth for brick clamping and pot making, &c., whereunto they were so close tied that they might not stir a foot from their daily work, till God delivered them. Some say that the pyramids were built by them.

Ver. 7. Thou calledst in trouble] Their trouble called, though themselves had been silent. I have seen, I have seen the afflictions of my people, &c., but they cried to the Lord at the Red Sea, #Ex 14:10,15, and were delivered.

I answered thee in the secret place of thunder] i.e. In the pillar of cloud that stood between the two armies, and thundered against the Egyptians, #Ex 14:24; confer #La 3:44.

I proved thee at the waters of Meribah] When thou hadst but newly foot out of snare, and yet there and then thou showedst thyself. O thine ungratefulness, &c. This hath been thy manner from thy youth.

Ver. 8. Hear, O my people, &c.] Notwithstanding thy many and mighty provocations at Meribah and elsewhere, I made a covenant with thee at Mount Sinai, and gave thee right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments, #Ne 9:13.

Ver. 9. There shall no strange god] This is the first and chief commandment, wherein all the rest are contained, saith Luther.

Ver. 10. Open thou thy mouth wide, &c.] If thou be straitened, it is not in me, but in thine own bowels; he secretly taxeth them for their ολιγοπιστια and their ολιγοφυχια in prayer, their faithlessness and faint-heartedness, whereby they do deny, as it were, their own prayers: ask largely, and speed accordingly.

Ver. 11. But my people would not hearken] Here beginneth the second part of the psalm, which is objurgatory, and very suitable to the season of the year at that feast, that if it were a fruitful year the Israelites might see and acknowledge God’s goodness therein; as, if otherwise, they might accuse themselves, and not the Lord.

Israel would none] Heb. acquiesced not in me, was not well affected to me, but had hearts full of harlotry, Perplexis cogitationibus (Vat.).

Ver. 12. So I gave them up] I left them as a ship without a rudder; as a horse without reins, to go whither they would, and do what they would. This is a fearful judgment ( poena rebellionis maxima), #Ho 4:14 Ro 1:28 2Th 2:11,12.

And they walked in their own counsels] To their own ruin, because they took counsel, but not of God, and covered with a covering, but not of his Spirit, that they might add sin to sin, #Isa 30:1.

Ver. 13. Oh that my people had hearkened unto me] A wish after the manner of men; to set forth God’s great desire of our welfare, which he here uttereth, as it were, with a sigh and a groan.

Ver. 14. I should soon have subdued] I would have turned the scales, and made them as much overweight to their enemies as they were to them.

And turned my hand, &c.] God, with a turn of his hand, can overturn his enemies, and relieve his little ones, #Zec 13:7. If he but spread forth his hands, as a swimmer spreadeth forth his hands to swim, he shall bring down the pride of oppressors together, #Isa 25:11.

Ver. 15. The haters of the Lord should have submitted] Heb. lied, that is, yielded feigned obedience, as #Ps 18:44.

But their time should have endured for ever] i.e. Their strength, saith the Chaldee; their tranquillity and prosperity, say others. Theodoret referreth it to the enemies thus: The time of their calamity shall endure for ever, they shall be eternally miserable.

Ver. 16. With the finest of the wheat] Heb. With the fat or marrow of wheat, with the choicest of picked nourishment.

And with honey, &c.] Hyperbole incomparabilis felicitatis et foecunditatis. See #De 32:13, shadowing out the sweetness of the word and sacraments.

Chapter 82

Ver. 1. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty] There God is present and president by a particular providence, as Lord paramount, Ut praeses Synodi, and chief magistrate, higher than the highest, #Ec 5:8 Job 31:14 Eph 6:9. The Ethiopian judges, they say, do ever leave the chief seat of judicature empty for him, Locus praesidis est medius locus in ccetibus; and Solomon, for like reason, calleth that seat the holy place, #Ec 8:10. There Elohim (that is, the judge and avenger) standeth, or setteth himself, to behold the actions and affections of judges, and to pass a censure upon their sentences. Good, therefore, was the counsel of Jehoshaphat to his judges when to ride circuit, #2Ch 19:6, "Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord your God be upon you; take heed and do it," &c. Judges should sit in as great, though not so slavish, a fear of offending as Olanes, in the history, did upon the flayed skin of his father Silannes, nailed by Cambyses on the tribunal; or as a Russian judge, that feareth the boiling caldron or open battocking; or the Turkish Senate, when they think the Great Turk to stand behind the arras at the dangerous door.

He judgeth among the gods] i.e. Among the magistrates (as our Saviour interpreteth it, #Joh 10:34,35), who are called gods. First, By analogy, tanquam Deum imitantes, saith Theodoret, as resembling God, by having the power of life and death. Secondly, By participation, tanquam lumina illuminata, saith Austin; as stars participate their light from the sun, so do rulers their authority from the supreme Majesty. Thirdly, By deputation from God, whose viceregents they are, and to whom they must be accountable for their mal-administration.

Ver. 2. How long will ye judge unjustly] viz. Through a cyclopical contempt of God’s severity.

Ne pecces, Deus ipse videt.

Will ye represent and express God to the world as a corrupt, crooked, and unrighteous judge?

And accept the persons of the wicked?] Heb. lift up their faces, and show them more favour than others that are much more honest? Barabbas oft is released, and Christ crucified. Alter habet aequum, sed alter habebit aequum, said that partial emperor, This man hath the right on his side, but the other shall carry the cause, for all that.

Ver. 3. Defend the poor and fatherless] These are God’s clients, and this is God’s counsel, worthy to be written with letters of gold on the walls of all judicatories, as having in it better direction for a statesman than all Lipsius’ beehive or Machiavel’s spider web. These two Latin verses are said to be written over the judgment seat in Xante,

Hic locus odit, amat, punit, conservat, honorat,

Nequitiam, pacem; crimina, iura, bonos.

Ver. 4. Rid them out of the hand of the wicked] Heb. of the turbulent, who make ado, as the devil doth, and vex others.

Ver. 5. They know not, neither will they understand] q.d. There is no good to be done upon these uncircumcised vice gods, as they may in the worst sense be best styled; it is bootless to advise them to better, for they are set; they are as good every whit as ever they mean to be; and as for their duty, nec cogitant, nec curant, they neither know it nor care to know it, but blunder on in the dark, and are led blindling by their base lusts, which so they may satisfy, they pass not what becomes of the weal public, but oppose with crest and breast whatsoever crosseth their sinful designs. Hereby they cause mighty concussions, and draw down heavy judgments, #Isa 24:18,19. Pessimi dantur, et ruunt omnia.

Ver. 6. I have said, Ye are gods] As #Ps 82:1, but doubly so, if good too; if they excel both in virtue and power, as Aristotle joineth them, κατ αρετην και την πολιτικην δυναμιν; I have said, is vox potestatis constituentis, whence that of the apostle, All power is of God, #Ro 13:1.

And all of you are children of the most High] Invested (as princes’ sons and heirs are oft) with part of my power, and intrusted with the administration of mine earthly kingdom by the exercise of vindictive and remunerative justice, Niceph. 1. 18, scribit summum principem gentis Turcicae dictum fuisse Taifau, i.e. Filium Dei. The Chaldee paraphraseth, As the angels of the High; and Kimchi, As the stars, which have dominion over these inferior bodies. Confer #Job 38:7.

Ver. 7. But ye shall die like men] Yea, if wicked, like beasts, but only for their pillow and bolster. Super cubilia forsan in honore moriuntur, quo a bestiis differunt, sed non in morte, saith Kimchi. God, who had so highly advanced such, will lay them low enough; even in the slimy valley (if not in hell), where are many already like them, and more shall come after them, #Job 21:31,32. Our Henry VIII was told on his death bed that he should go to the place of princes; which was no great comfort, if the old proverb be true, that hell is paved with the crowns of princes and helmets of soldiers. The Spanish friar used to say, there were but few princes in hell; for what reason? there were but few in all.

And fall like one of the princes] Of the heathen tyrants, which are oft slain by the people, as most of the Caesars before Constantine were. Ad generum Cereris, &c. Some of the fathers, Arnobius, Chrysostom, Theodoret, &c., understand it to be Beelzebub and his fellows, qui acerbissimis et exquisitissimis tormentis cruciantur, who are most tormented in hell, #2Pe 2:1, Potentes potenter torquebantur. Some read it, And ye, O princes, shall fall as one, i.e. as others do. A necessary consideration for great ones, who are apt to dream of an immortality, or, at least, to drive off the thoughts of death.

Ver. 8. Arise, O God, judge the earth] Take the matter into thine own hand, for it is but time, all things here being, so ill-ordered by thy substitutes; nam alioqui prae iudiciorum constupratione terra tota videtur collapsura, all will be nought else.

For thou shalt inherit all nations] Thou, Lord Jesus, shalt, #Ps 2:8 Heb 1:2 Re 11:15. Come, therefore, yea, come quickly.

Chapter 83

Ver. 1. Keep not thou silence, O God] Ter idem dicit ad vehementiam. He saith the same thing thrice, to show his earnestness. The Hebrew is, Be not silent to thee, that is, in thine own cause, as #Ps 83:5. The Septuagint and Vulgate have it, O God, who is like unto thee?

Ver. 2. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult] Concurrunt magno impetu, conatu, et ardore, Thine, because ours; for there is a league offensive and defensive between God and his people; the Church must, therefore, needs be invincible, because God is so.

Have lifted up the head] Being insolent and confident, they bear their noses high in the air, uttering loud and lofty language; as did Rabshakeh, sent by Sennacherib, #2Ki 18:17, to which times some refer this psalm, as others to those of Jehoshaphat, #2Ch 20:1,2 (Kimchi).

Ver. 3. They have taken crafty counsel, &c.] They have negotiated this league with much subtilty and solicitation, conferunt et captant consilia, they are cruel crafties. Malignaverunt consilium, saith the Vulgate.

And consulted against thy hidden ones] Hidden under the hollow of thy hand, under the shadow of thy wing; and therefore safe from strife of tongues or force of hands, #Ps 27:5 31:21, Commodum instituto epithetum. The Greek rendereth it, Thy saints, such as whose life is hid with Christ in God, #Col 3:3 1Jo 3:2. The same Hebrew word is used for the inward oracle of the temple, #Eze 7:22, a type of heaven, the saints’ country.

Ver. 4. They have said, Come, &c.] The wicked have their Come, #Pr 1:11, as well as the saints, #Isa 2:3,5 Zec 8:21, but for a worse purpose.

Let us cut them off] "Them," by way of contempt, as not worth naming, they were so base. The devil and his imps would utterly root out the Church; but that cannot be, #Jer 31:36 Mt 16:18.

That the name of Israel, &c.] But Israel hath still a name, when Moab, Ammon, Edom, &c., live but by fame only. See #Jer 48:2.

Ver. 5. They have consulted together with one consent] Heb. with one heart, concorditer, as if they had all but one heart. This was not unity, but conspiracy; such as is that of Papists, #Re 17:13,14.

They are confederate against thee] Heb. They have stricken a covenant, viz. with oaths and solemn ceremonies, cutting the sacrifice in twain, and passing between the parts thereof, as #Jer 34:18.— caesa iungebant foedera porca (Virg. Æneid. 8).

Ver. 6. The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites, &c.] Exercitu ex variis gentibus conflato, at odds among themselves, and yet well agreed for a mischief to the Church, who might ever well say, as the hare in Martial,

In me omnis terraeque aviumque marisque rapina est;

Forsitan et coeli, si canis astra tenet.

As dogs, fighting and intertearing one another, can give over and join together to follow the harmless hare that passeth by them; so here. If Manasseh be against Ephraim, and Ephraim against Manasseh, yet they will be both against Judah.

And the Hagarenes] Who came also of Hagar, as well as the Ishmaelites; but were a distinct people, and would be called Saracens, from Sarah, the freewoman, for honour’ sake, as if the promises made to Abraham and Sarah had belonged to them (Saracens, in Arabic, is thieves). Ptolemy maketh mention of the Saracens, and placeth in Arabia, the seat of the Hagarenes, where there is also a city called Agra, of Hagar, likely. Aben Ezra saith they came of Hagar, by another husband. The Chaldee calleth them Hungarians.

Ver. 7. Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek] Sic enarrat et enumerat inimicos decem conglobatos, #Eze 27:9. Answerable whereunto were the ten kings of Christendom, who gave their power to the beast. Gebal might be the inhabitants of Gabel, a city of Phoenicia, saith Stephanus; or of Syria, saith Strabo, which Volateran saith was called Gibel in his time, but anciently Biblus. See #Jos 13:5.

Ver. 8. Assur also is joined with them] The Chaldee paraphraseth, Sennacherib, also the king of Asshur, &c. So doth the Turk, with the Church’s enemies; howbeit, Italy is the mark he shooteth at; and the Protestants have the happiness (as also America) to be farther out of his way, and no part of his present aim, for the greatest part of them.

Ver. 9. Do unto them as unto the Midianites] And how that was, see #Jud 6:1-8:21. Preces sunt bombardae et instrumenta bellica Christianorum saith Luther.

Ver. 10. Which perished at Endor] A place in the tribe of Manasseh near unto that ancient river, the river Kison, #Jos 17:11 1Sa 28:7

They became as dunq] They lay unburied, rotted above ground, and were spread as compost upon soil.

Ver. 11. Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb] Oreb signifieth a crow, Zeeb a wolf. Zebah a cut-throat, Zalmunna a forbidder of shadow, or quiet, to his subjects; fit names for tyrants and persecutors of God’s people.

Ver. 12. Let us take to ourselves the houses of God] Covetous impropriators and oppressors have learned this language. Possidebant Papistae, possident Rapistae, saith one wittily.

Ver. 13. O my God, make them like a wheel] Heb. Like a rolling thing, such as is thistle down, saith R. Solomon, Capita carduorum. Gr. like a top, Torque illos in modum trochi, whirl them about as boys do their tops.

As the stubble] As before he had brought examples, so here similitudes, to show what he would have done to the enemy.

Ver. 14. As the fire burneth a wood] Maxime quando a vento flabellatur , when blown up by a fierce wind it soon turneth a wood into a waste.

And as the flame setteth, the mountains on fire] Those sulphury mountains, such as Etna, Vesuvius, Peitra mala, a mountain in the highest part of the Apennines, which perpetually burneth, say travellers, Il Mercurio Italico, 178.

Ver. 15. So persecute them with thy tempest] Turbina eos , that they may stand or stay nowhere.

And make them afraid, &c.] So fright them with thy heavy judgments that all their wit and courage wherewith they should help themselves may be expectorated.

Ver. 16. Fill their faces with shame] By confounding their confidences, and blasting their designs. They promised themselves a triumph, but let them have the canvas.

That they may seek thy name, O Lord] Ut inviti cogantur quis sit tam potens Iehovah rogitare , that they may even in despite of their heads be compelled to inquire after thee. It is storied of Sennacherib, that, after the destruction of his huge army at Jerusalem, demanding of some about him what might be the reason that the irresistible God of heaven so favoured the Jewish nation, as he had found by sad experience? answer was given, that Abraham, from whom they descended, sacrificed unto him his only son, which purchased this protection to his posterity. If that will win him, saith he, I will spare him two of my sons, to procure him to be on my side; which Sharezer and Adrammelech, his sons, hearing of, prevented their own deaths by his (Bib. Castal. Tabul.).

Ver. 17. Let them be confounded, &c.] This and the following verse are an exposition of the former verse. The Rabbis have a saying, nulla est obiectio in Lege, quae non habet solutionem in latere , The Scripture is its own interpreter.

Ver. 18. That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah] The essentiator, #Isa 44:6, with #Ac 17:25 Re 1:4,8. The Jews pronounce not this name at all, but use Adonai or Elohim for it. The first among the Christians that pronounced it was Petrus Galatinus, following the pronunciation of the Syriacs and Greeks. Genebrard will have it pronounced Jahue, and bitterly inveigheth against Beza and ethers as profaners of God’s name, who call God Jova, or Jehova; vocabulo novo , saith he, barbaro, fictitio, irreligioso et Iovem Gentilium redolente. It is very likely that of this holy and reverend name of God, the Gentiles called their greatest god Jove and Jupiter, that is, Jah-pater (Aug. do Consens. Evang. l. 1, c. 22). Pausanias also telleth us that the poets thus sang unto him, Ζευν ην, Ζευς εστι, Ζευς εσσεται, ω μεγαλε Ζευ. And Varro, the most learned of the Romans, thought Jove to be the God of the Jews. But he and all men should have known, as here, that Jehovah is God alone; and so have sought to the Jews (of whom alone was salvation, #Joh 4:22) for better understanding in the things of God’s kingdom, acknowledging him to be the most High above all the earth, and contemning minutulos istos deos modo Iovem sibi propitium haberet , as another heathen said.

A Psalm] Or the same subject with the forty-second, and made when David was banished, either by Saul or Absalom, or else when busied abroad in his wars, #2Sa 8:1-14, and so debarred from the use of God’s public ordinances.

Chapter 84

Ver. 1. How amiable are thy tabernacles] viz. For thy word’s sake that is there preached, and thy worship there performed. The Protestants at Lyons, in France, called their place for public meeting to serve God Paradise. Chrysostom calleth it the place of angels and archangels, the kingdom of God, yea, heaven itself (Hom. 36, ad #1Co 14). Another calleth it, The heavenly exchange between God and his people; they present duty, he confers mercy. Luther saith he would not live in paradise without the ordinances; as with them he could frame to live in hell itself: and a small village with a godly pastor, and a good people in it, is an earthly paradise, saith he. If that Italian martyr could date his letter, From the delectable orchard of the Leonine prison, what may we think of the free use of the ordinances? what of heaven? nam facile litera transfertur ad Spiritum.

Ver. 2. My soul longeth] As she did who said, Give me children or else I die. His soul once longed for the waters of the well of Bethlehem, but not so earnestly as now to draw waters with joy out of those wells of salvation.

My heart and my flesh] Ut sit sanctitas in corde, et sanitas in corpore. And for obtaining of this, whole David crieth aloud, as a child when hungry crieth every whit of him, hands feet, face, all cry; and then the mother flings by all, then she flies and outruns herself; so here: The desires of the righteous shall be satisfied, #Pr 10:24.

Ver. 3. Yea, the sparrow] Avis communissima, haunteth about houses, buildeth about windows, and there chirpeth.

And the swallow a nest for herself, &c.] She hath her name in Hebrew from her liberty to fly boldly, and to nestle in men’s chimneys, #Pr 26:2. The Hebrew word ןק, for a nest, hath the first letter larger than the rest, to note God’s providence in teaching birds to build. {Hebrew Text Note}

Even thine altars] Or, Oh thine altars! (so some read it) by a passionate exclamation, importing strongest desires after them. The want of God’s ordinances should pinch us to the heart.

Ver. 4. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house] viz. Those menial servants of thine, the priests and Levites, who have their lodgings near thee, and their employment about thee, Exclamatio pathetica ex abrupto (Trem.). This is still the happiness of God’s ministers, whose holy function and calling (both in the preparation to it and execution of it) Ieadeth them to God, and holdeth them with him.

They will be still praising thee] As having hearts full of heaven and consciences full of comfort. There cannot but be music in the temple of the Holy Ghost.

Ver. 5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee] i.e. Who is enabled by thee, both in body and mind, to come from the place of his abode to the solemn feasts.

In whose heart are the ways of them] Here the old translation, In whose heart are thy ways, is far better, i.e. As he bringeth his body to the ordinances, so he hath thy ways or laws engraven in his heart.

Ver. 6. Who passing through the valley of Baca] εν τη κοιλαδι του κλαυθμωνος (Sept.). That is, of tears, say some; of mulberry trees, say others; the one are moist, the other use to grow in more dry places. Between them both they may serve, saith one, to make up a more complete emblem of this miserable world, made up of woes and wants. In hoc exilio, saith Bernard, in hoc ergastulo, in hac peregrinatione, in hac valle lachrymarum, &c.

Make it a well] They are as cheerful in their travel to God’s house as if they had plenty of water all the way. Finis edulcat media, the joy of the Lord is their strength, whereby they are carried on an end, as they say, to their journey’s end, the joyful preconceit of appearing before God in Zion allaying their great thirst.

Ver. 7. They go from strength to strength] i.e. Lustily and constantly, turma turmae subinde sese adiungente, one company coming this way, and another that, out of their several parishes, and so they grow stronger, and go more comfortably on together, Pergunt turmatini (Beza). Some render it, de doctrina in doctrinam, vel de academia in academiam; they grow till they come to a perfect knowledge of God.

Every one of them in Zion appeareth before God] And then think their pains, though never so great, well bestowed, though then they saw God’s face but obscurely, in the dark glass of the ceremonies. Popish pilgrims, though used hardly, and lose much of their estates, yet satisfy themselves in this, I have that I came for, viz. the sight of a dumb idol. What, then, should not we suffer to see God in his ordinances? &c.

Ver. 8. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer] Satisfy my yearnings, pantings, and inquietations of mind after the liberty of thy sanctuary, #Ps 84:2. These very desires he calleth prayers.

Ver. 9. Behold] Not only hear, #Ps 34:15, with the note.

Look upon the face of thine anointed] Christi, cuius festina adventum, saith Kimchi; do me good for Christ’s sake.

Ver. 10. For a day in thy courts] Every flower hath its sweetness; so hath every holy duty its comfort.

I had rather be a doorkeeper] As the Korites were, to whom this psalm was committed; and for whose encouragement this might be spoken. A doorkeeper is first in, last out; so would David be in holy assemblies. Tardy hearers would be loth to beg this office out of his hand.

In the tents of wickedness] Tentoriis vexationis, Kimchi.

Ver. 11. For the Lord God is a sun and shield] A universal, all-sufficient, and satisfactory good, proportionate to our necessities.

The Lord will give grace and glory] One would think that were enough, yea, but then here is more than enough, "No good thing will he withhold," &c., and thence is David’s desire so to be about him.

Ver. 12. O Lord of hosts, &c.] Conclusio Epiphonematica.

Chapter 85

Ver. 1. Lord, thou hast been favourable, &c.] God’s free grace and favour is fitly premised, as the fountain and mother of all the following mercies. This is that other book, #Re 20:12, that hath our names in it, and our pardon.

Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob] Of old from Egypt, and alate from the Philistines; who, after Saul’s death, miserably tyrannized over Israel, till David delivered them. Some hold that this psalm was composed at the end of the Babylonish captivity; others conceive it may be a prayer for the conversion of the Gentiles, who are brought in speaking, the whole psalm throughout.

Ver. 2. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity, &c.] This is worthily mentioned as a main mercy, as a chief fruit of free grace.

Thou hast covered all their sins] That that filthy thing may be no longer an eyesore unto thee. In the original there are six homoioteleuta, which is an elegancy not to be translated into English.

Ver. 3. Thou hast taken away all thy wrath] Heb. thou hast gathered it, thou hast recollected it, that we might not bear it; when sin is once remitted, wrath is soon removed.

Thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness, &c.] Here are six hasts drawing in the next turn, #Ps 85:4. God hath, and therefore God will, is a strong medium of hope, if not a demonstration of Scripture logics. See #2Co 1:10.

Ver. 4. Turn us, O God of our salvation] Turn us, and we shall be turned; do as thou ever hast done, for thou art Jehovah, thou changest not, but art yesterday, today, and the same for ever.

And cause thine anger, &c.] Labefacta iram tuam erga nos.

Ver. 5. Wilt thou be angry with us for ever?] Dilato Christo tuo vel tuo adventu? Such expostulations mixed with faith are Vis Deo grata, as saith Tertullian, such as God is well pleased with.

Ver. 6. Wilt thou not revive us again?] Who for present are all amort, as it were, free among the dead? free of that company?

That thy people may rejoice in thee] A joyless life is a lifeless life, Mortis habet vices quae trahitur vita gemitibus.

Ver. 7. Show us thy mercy, O Lord] Thy fatherly mercy, στοργην.

And grant us thy salvation] Thy Christ, and our Jesus, #Lu 2:30.

Ver. 8. I will hear what God the Lord will speak] I will not repine, but listen what answer God giveth to my prayer, and patiently wait a good issue of my troubles.

For he will speak peace unto his people] viz. By his promises, and by his providences.

And, to his saints] For all God’s people are righteous ones, #Isa 60:21, justified and sanctified, #1Co 6:11.

But let them not turn again to folly] i.e. To the ways of the world and of carnal reason, lest they smart for their rashness, and God never take their words again.

Ver. 9. Surely his salvation is nigh them, &c.] Though they be so bleared oft with tears that they cannot see it, and so discouraged that they have even done looking for it, #Lu 18:7,8.

That glory may dwell in our land] The Fathers both by salvation and glory dwelling with men understand Christ, #Joh 1:16.

Ver. 10. Mercy and truth are met together] As in God (his mercy is ever bounded by his truth), so in all his people, there is a sweet conjunction and concatenation of graces, #2Pe 1:5; and this is an effect of Christ’s kingdom in men’s hearts, #Ro 14:17, Iam fides et pax, et honor pudorque Priscus, et neglecta redire virtus Audet; apparetque beata pleno Copia cornu (Horat.).

Righteousness and peace have kissed each other] Have friendly saluted, in allusion to the manner of the Eastern nations. See #Isa 32:17 Ps 119:105.

Ver. 11. Truth shall spring out of the earth] i.e. Heaven and earth shall be full both of truth and righteousness. Many understand all concerning Christ. See #Joh 3:13. Others, concerning extraordinary plenty of all good things.

Ver. 12. Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good] Yea, best of all, viz. his Holy Spirit (#Lu 11:13, with #Mt 7:11), with a largess of outward comforts.

Ver. 13. Righteousness shall go before him] Men shall walk before God in holiness and righteousness all the days of their lives, #Lu 1:75; they shall not rest in outward blessings, #Ps 85:12, or be satisfied with such low things, but be led up thereby to the care of higher.

And shall set us in the way of his steps] So that we shall go an upper (and therefore a better) way, #Pr 15:24, having our feet where other men’s heads are; and so departing from hell beneath, which even gapeth for the unrighteous.

A prayer] Left for a form, for a help to devotion, as was also #Ps 102:1 title.

Chapter 86

Ver. 1. Bow down thine ear, O Lord] As the careful Physician doth to his feeble patient; so Basil glosseth here.

For I am poor and needy] Having nothing to live on but what my friends privately send me, or what I can get by plundering from the Lord’s enemies, #1Sa 30:26.

Ver. 2. Preserve my soul, for I am holy] Or, a favourite, a saint, merciful, such a one as upon whose heart the tender mercies of the Almighty, shed forth abundantly, do leave a compassionate frame. David had the Divine nature transfused into him; he was holy as God is holy; and merciful as God is merciful (in quality though not in equality), but all of free grace; and this he pleadeth for his own safety.

Save thy servant] Serva servum tuum, thy devoted servant, and not thy beneficiary only.

Ver. 3. Be merciful unto me] Lest any should, by the former words (I am holy), suspect him to be a merit monger, he beggeth mercy, with instancy and constancy of request.

Ver. 4. Rejoice the soul of thy servant] True and solid joy entereth the soul by the door of fervent prayer. Pray that your joy may be full.

I lift up my soul] In prayer, #Ps 25:1, and confident expectation of an unmiscarrying return thereof, as #De 24:15.

Ver. 5. For thou, Lord, art good, &c.] Lord, I am hell, but thou art heaven, said that martyr; faith wrappeth herself up in the promise, and goeth boldly to God by prayer.

And plenteous in mercy] Both to forgive sin and to give good, #Ho 14:2.

Ver. 6. Give ear, O Lord, &c.] The hearing of our duties is earnestly to be sought and reckoned among our chiefest mercies.

Ver. 7. In the day of my trouble, &c.] God’s petitioners must pray and believe, and believe and pray, quasi in circulo. David had said, #Ps 86:5, God is much in mercy to all that call upon him; here he assumeth and concludeth, but I in the day of my trouble will call upon him; therefore he will answer me.

Ver. 8. Among the gods] Whether deputed or reputed.

There is none like unto thee] Either in essence or in operation. See #Ex 15:11.

Ver. 9. All nations whom thou hast made shall come, &c.] It were fit they should, #Re 4:11; it is to be hoped they shall, #Isa 11:10 43:9; not by change of place, but of heart, renouncing their irreligions, and yielding unto Christ the obedience of faith. Some understand this text of that general assembly at the last day.

Ver. 10. For thou art great] Great is the Lord without quantity, good without quality, everlasting without time, omnipresent without place, containing all things without extent; within all things, and contained of nothing; without all things, and sustained of nothing, &c. Now, the least glimpse of this knowledge is worth all the gleams of human wisdom.

And doest wondrous things] The schools have laid down a threefold way of knowing God: first, negation of imperfections; secondly, affirmation of perfections; thirdly, causation of great works.

Ver. 11. Teach me thy way] David knew much of God, and yet he desireth to be taught more; delivering himself up to God’s discipline, and saying, as once Solon did,

γηρασκω δε αιει πολλα διδασκομενος

Unite my heart to fear thy name] i.e. To serve thee with simplicity and godly sincerity, #2Co 1:12, cleaving to thee with full purpose of heart, #Ac 11:23, and attending upon thee without distraction, #1Co 7:35. As thou art God alone, {#Ps 86:10} so let my heart be toward thee alone. Behold, I find it divided, disjointed, and so disabled for duty (for anima dispersa fit minor), Oh do thou unite it, I beseech thee, giving me that one heart thou hast promised, until we all come unto that oneness of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, &c., #Eph 4:13.

Ver. 12. I will praise thee] While he prayed, he found his prayer answered; and therefore thus breaketh forth into praises.

Ver. 13. Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell] That is, from deadly and desperate dangers. Some understand it to be the damnation of hell which David had deserved by his sins. The Rabbis’ gloss is, A loco adulteris appropriato.

Ver. 14. O God, the proud] The strangers, some read it (by the change of a letter in the original), who are commonly cruel.

And the assemblies of violent men] Nebulonum, some render it, sturdy varlets, fastuosi ac feroces.

Ver. 15. But thou, O Lord, art a God full, &c.] These are part of those thirteen attributes of Almighty God, set down and proclaimed by himself, #Ex 24:6. Middoth, the Rabbis call them, that is, properties.

Ver. 16. O turn unto me] Or, look toward me; the life of a believer consisteth in the light of God’s countenance.

Give thy strength unto thy servant] Master, pray lend me your hand, saith the servant to his master when he wants help.

And save the son of thine handmaid] q.d. I was born in thy house, came of religious parents, &c., therefore do me good for their sakes at least, as Ishmael was blessed for Abraham’s.

Ver. 17. Show me a token for good] Make me king, as thou hast promised; and meanwhile so deliver me, that my greatest adversaries may be convinced of their malice and madness. At the death of some of the martyrs strange tokens were shown, as they had foretold: Latimer, Hauks, Smith, Samuel, &c., for instance. Son of God, shine upon me, said Hunter at the stake, and the sun shone out of a dark cloud so full, that he was forced to look another way (Acts and Mon. 1544, 1547, 1398).

A Psalm or Song] Made, likely, by David, after that he had settled the ark in Mount Sion, #2Sa 6, and understood that the temple should be built in Mount Moriah; in which two mountains (or rather one mountain with two tops) the Rabbis say that this psalm was composed, and thereunto they draw the next words, "His foundation," or the argument of this psalm, is in and of those holy mountains. But this seemeth not to be the sense.

Chapter 87

Ver. 1. His foundation is in the holy mountains] Which cannot be removed, but abide for ever, #Ps 125:1. Some read it, The foundation thereof, viz. of the temple, but especially of the Church universal, that spiritual temple (built of living stones by God, the best architect, Christ himself being the chief cornerstone), is in the holy mountains; for out of Zion went forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem; which is therefore called the mother Church, and των εκκλησιων ακροπολις, the chief Church, the reef of the Gentile Churches, #Ro 11, the conversion whereof is here foretold, #Ps 87:1, and perpetual happiness promised (Damasc. l.

4. c. 13).

Ver. 2. The Lord loveth the gates of Zion] Nothing but his mere love moved him to make choice of it, above all other places, there to declare his power, presence, and goodness. He first chose it for his love, and then loved it for his choice; and so he doth his Church.

Ver. 3. Glorious things are spoken of thee] Dicta et praedicta, told and foretold of thee, Heb. in thee, sc. by the holy prophets, especially concerning the Christian Church. See #Isa 60:1-5, to the end of that prophecy. Nihil honorificum non praedicatur de te; et nihil praedicatur de te quin sit honorificentissimum (Jun.).

Thou city of God] The glory of God, #Ac 7:1, the great King, #Mt 5:35, the only potentate, #1Ti 6:15, who maketh his Church the place of his residence, &c.

Selah] O rem dignam perpetua admiratione, Oh wonderful!

Ver. 4. I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon] Rahab is Egypt, and so called for its strength and pride. Babel, the chief city of the Babylonians. These were deadly enemies to Jerusalem, which was ground between them as between a pair of millstones, but they shall be reckoned hereafter, saith God, among his domestics, among those that know me, or rather are known of me. See #Isa 19:19,21,25 1Pe 5:13.

Behold Philistia] The Philistines were ever bitter enemies to the Israelites, but shall be converted and become children of the Church. See #Isa 56:1 44:5.

And Tyre] Which shall leave heaping and hoarding, and employ her merchandise to feed and clothe God’s saints, #Isa 23:18 Ac 21:8,4.

With Ethiopia] Heb. Cush, of Cush, the son of Ham, their father and founder, #Ge 10:6. Ethiopians they were called from their burnt faces. The eunuch received the gospel, and published it, Acts viii.; the Christian faith was professed among them, as it is thought, from the apostle’s time; though now, for over a hundred years, they have again forsaken it.

This man was born there] Natus, id est, renatus in illa. The men of these several and other countries were born, that is, born anew, and so made free denizens of the new Jerusalem, fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God, #Eph 2:19.

Ver. 5. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her] i.e. Converted; and so a daily accession made to the Church of Christ, as it was by Peter’s sermon, &c., and now so many nations: Behold, the world is gone after him, said these envious Pharisees, #Joh 12:19; and the Papists grudge as much at the late glorious Reformation, begun by Luther, wherein so many rejoice, and shall do to all eternity. Bucholcerus blesseth God that he was born in the days and was bred under the discipline of holy Malancthon, Luther’s colleague:

Divisae his operae, sed mens fuit unica; pavit

Ore Lutherus oves, flore Melancthon apes.

Beatus Ludovicus would be called Ludovicus de Pissiaco rather than take greater titles, because there he became a Christian. He thought no birth equal to a new birth in Christ; no parentage to that of God to his Father, the Church to his mother, Christ to his elder brother, &c. Some apply this text to the places of holy men’s birth, and tell us, that he loves the very ground his servants tread on, the very air they first breathe in, their walls are continually before him, #Isa 49:16, he thinks the better of the houses where they dwell.

And the highest himself shall establish her] So that the gates of hell shall not unsettle her. Other states and polities have their times and their turns, their rise and their ruin; not so the Church.

Ver. 6. The Lord shall count when he writeth up the people] When he maketh his cease book (called the writing of the house of Israel, #Eze 13:9, the Lord’s book of remembrance, #Mal 3:16, the register of the living in Jerusalem, #Isa 4:3), he shall muster them in the roll of his soldiers, number them in the catalogue of his citizens, call them in the nomenclature of his disciples, &c. A glorious privilege surely.

Ver. 7. As well the singers as the players, &c.] There shall be an exuberancy of joy in the Holy Ghost, the only comfortable soul ravishing music, far beyond that of the material temple.

All my springs are in thee] i.e. All my thoughts run upon thee, with greatest delight. My eyes are wholly fixed upon thee, so some read it; others, My bowels are in thee, making these to be the words of the psalmist (Calvin; R. Solomon); but methinks they do better that make them to be the words of God, promising plenty of grace and comfort to his people, as from everflowing, overflowing fountains.

A Psalm or Song] Psalmus totus luctuosus, a doleful ditty, beginning and ending with complaints; and therefore sung in the primitive times, among other penitential psalms, as the public confession of persons excommunicated.

Upon Mahalath Leannoth] A musical instrument sounding heavily as a shaulm doth, and therefore called infirmity, for humbling, or for antiphenies. A fit title.

Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite] i.e. The instruction of Heman, who was a very wise man, #1Ki 4:31, descended of Zerah, the son of Judah, #1Ch 2:4, and thence called the Ezrahite, brother to Ethan, who penned the next psalm, #1Ch 2:6. Nobile par fratrum.

Chapter 88

Ver. 1. O Lord God of my salvation] This is the only one expression of his faith found in this whole psalm, and it nmst be understood that he thus believed and prayed, as here, #Ps 88:2, when he was at worst, and most despairingly complained.

I have cried day and night unto thee] Though in such a state as they were, #Ac 27:20, when neither sun nor star appeared, yet he cast anchor, and prayed still for day.

Ver. 2. Let my prayer come before thee] He did not cast out brutish and wild complaints and moans in misery, as it is natural for people to do, but poured forth his soul into God’s blessed bosom, and now prayeth an answer.

Ver. 3. For my soul is full of trouble] Hypotyposis hominis luctuosissime affecti. Here we have the lively picture of a man under bitter affliction. Extraordinary wise he was, and extraordinary troubles he had. None out of hell suffer more than God’s dearest children. This good man felt himself in the suburbs of hell, as it were.

And my life draweth nigh unto the grave] Or, unto hell. The same word signifieth both, because death is hell’s harbinger, and would be so to the elect, but for Christ.

Ver. 4. I am counted with them, &c.] I am looked upon as irrecoverable, given up for desperate. Conclamatum est.

I am as a man that hath no strength] A man no man; weak as water, ακιας αναρ ανθρωπος.

Ver. 5. Free among the dead] Free of that company, one of the many among the manes, or ghosts; a free denizen of that society of that moiety of mankind that are dead. Yea, I am mortuorum minimus, as R. Jonah rendereth it, according to the Arabic, A mundo manumissus.

Like the slain that lie in the grave] That are thrown on heaps into a pit, as after a field fought (R. David).

Whom thou rememberest no more] As to this present world, and as it may seem to others, with whom out of sight out of mind; dead folk are soon forgotten. Varro thinks Lethum, death, hath its name απο την ληθης, from forgetfulness; because they which have now forgotten all the world should soon be forgotten of the world.

And they are cut off from thine hand] Thy providence over them in matters belonging to life is at an end.

Ver. 6. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit] In cisterna infimorum, in the deepest dungeon, in lutoso lacu, such as Jeremiah was cast into, #Jer 37:15,16

In the deeps] In voraginibus, out of which none escapes, nothing can be buoyed up, as they call it.

Ver. 7. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me] So it did upon David, #Ps 32:3, but especially upon the Son of David, the Lord Christ, of whose sufferings these were but types, or as chips of his cross.

And thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves] But all this while it is thy doing, and that carrieth comfort in it.

Ver. 8. Thou hast put away mine acquaintance, &c.] Job and David complain of the like misery. Optimum solatium sodalitium; but woe to him that is alone.

I am shut up] Miserably inclaved in this forlorn comfortless condition, a perpetual prisoner.

Ver. 9. Lord, I have called daily upon thee] Which he would not have done if he had cast away his confidence; for "how shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed?" #Ro 10:14. The saints, when they want the sun, yet they have the daystar in their hearts.

Ver. 10. Wilt thou show wonders to the dead?] Wilt thou delay to deliver me till I am dead, and then raise me again by a miracle, that I may praise thee? But he should have considered that God neither needeth our poor praises nor can his help ever come too late.

Shall the dead arise] Heb. the giants, that is, those that are swallowed up of death, as the giants were of the deluge.

Ver. 11. Shall thy loving kindness, &c.] The same again, and #Ps 88:12 a third time, pro more dolentium. See #Ps 6:5 30:9.

Ver. 12. In the land of forgetfulness] So the state and place of the dead is called; and why: {See Trapp on "Ps 88:5"}

Ver. 13. But unto thee have I cried] Oh, condescend to thy poor crying creature in extremity.

In the morning] {See Trapp on "Ps 5:3"}

Ver. 14. Lord, why castest thou off, &c.] Luther saith of himself, that after his conversion he lay three days in desperation. And afterwards, he sometimes suffered such desertions, ut nec calor, nec sanguis, nec sensus, nec vex, superesset, saith an eyewitness (Just. Jon. Ep. ad Melan.).

Ver. 15. I am afflicted, &c.] He was brought up in the school of temptations, and kept in this form from his youth. He was put soon to it, and so deep lessons had he set him, that he had like to have lost his wits. I am distracted, saith he, I am held upon the wheel.

Ver. 16. Thy fierce wrath, &c.] As rivers of brimstone.

Have cut me off] Multis excisionibus ideoque duplicatur Tau.

Ver. 17. They compassed me about] As the water compasseth the earth like a girdle.

Ver. 18. Lover and friend, &c.] See #Ps 88:8, and mark how mournfully he concludeth; as doth also the Church, #La 5:22.

Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite] Who having out lived Solomon, and seen both the defection of the ten tribes from the house of David, and the woeful work made by Shishak, king of Egypt, in the kingdom of Judah, #2Ch 12:1-9 composed this psalm (as it may seem), and left it for an eruditive or instruction to all succeeding ages what to do in such dismal changes and concussions. That Jewish doctor mentioned by Aben Ezra was more ignorent than wise, who would neither read nor hear this psalm, Quia videtur dura de Deo proferre, because it seemeth to speak harshly of God, #Ps 89:39.

Chapter 89

Ver. 1. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord] God’s mercies moved him to promise, his faithfulness bindeth him to perform; Ethan promiseth to celebrate both, were the times never so bad, their case never so calamitous.

I will make known thy faithfulness] Which yet I am sometimes moved to make question of. Thus the psalmist insinuateth before he complaineth, Ut faciendum docent rhetores in causis invidiosis; wherein he showeth himself a right rhetorician.

Ver. 2. For I have said] I believed, therefore have I spoken it; I dare say it shall be so, because thou hast said it (so the Greek here hath it). What God saith we may write upon it, because all the words of his mouth are in righteousness, neither is there anything froward or perverse in them, #Pr 8:8.

Mercy shall be built up for ever] Till the topstone be laid, and judgment be brought forth into victory, #Mt 12:20; the sure mercies of David fail not.

Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the heavens] Or, with the very heavens; that is, so sure as they are established. If that martyr could say, The heavens shall sooner fall than I will forsake the truth I have learned; how much more may we say so of God’s unfailable faithfulness! See #Ps 89:33.

Ver. 3. I have made a covenant with my chosen] i.e. With Christ (who is God’s elect one, #Isa 42:1), and in him with all his people, #Eph 1:4.

I have sworn unto David] The father and figure of Christ, who is frequently called David, and is here chiefly to be understood. O happy we, for whose sake God hath sworn! saith Tertullian; and O most wretched, if we believe him not thus swearing!

Ver. 4. Thy seed will I establish for ever] David’s for a long time, but Christ’s for ever and aye.

And build up thy throne to all generations] Christ’s kingdom hath no end, #Isa 9:7 Lu 1:33. This is very comfortable. The Jews understanding this promise of David’s kingdom, have oft attempted the restoration of it; but in vain, and to the ruin of their nation.

Ver. 5. And the heavens shall praise thy wonders] Heb. thy miracle, viz. in their circumgyration (which showeth a first mover), in their embroidery, influences, &c., yielding matter and occasion of praise. And thus, All thy works praise thee, O Lord; but thy saints bless thee, #Ps 145:10. And so by heavens here we may understand the angels of heaven (as they are called, #Mt 24:36), as by the congregation of saints the Church universal in heaven and earth, by whom God is highly praised for the covenant of grace.

Ver. 6. For who in the heaven can be compared? &c] Thou far transcendest the brightest cherub, all Whose excellence is but derivative, a drop of thine ocean, a spark of thy flame.

Who among the sons of the mighty] Inter chores Angelorum, saith the Chaldee: What angel, what man?

Ver. 7. God is greatly to be feared in the assembly, &c.] Heb. Daunting terrible in the secret of the saints very much. The holy angels make their addresses unto him with greatest reverence and self-abasement; for they know that he humbleth himself to behold things in heaven, #Ps 113:4-6. How much more, then, should we set ourselves to serve him with reverence and godly fear, since our God is a consuming fire! #Heb 12:28,29.

Ver. 8. Who is a strong Lord, like unto thee] Heb. Who is like thee, mighty Jah? This is to magnify God, when we get above all creatures, in our conceptions of him.

Or to thy faithfulness round about thee?] To those that are round about thee; or, thou art full of faithfulness.

Ver. 9. Thou rulest the raging of the sea] That it overwhelm not the earth: this work of God’s power is often celebrated, as well it may, all things considered.

Ver. 10. Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces] i.e. Egypt, which is called Rahab for its strength and pride.

As one that is slain] Or, as one deadly wounded; as such a one is soon despatched, so here, Vox Halal vulneratum lethaliter designat.

Thou hast scattered, &c.] See #Isa 25:11, {See Trapp on "Isa 25:11"}

Ver. 11. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine] Thou madest them by thy power, and thou maintainest them by thy providence; thou doest whatsoever thou wilt in both, #Ps 115:3.

As for the world, &c.] See #Ps 24:1 50:12.

Ver. 12. Tabor and Hermon] That is, the west and east of Judaea, but put here for the west and east of the world. Judaea was the world of the world, as Athens the Greece of Greece, as Solon the epitome of Athens.

Ver. 13. Thou hast a mighty arm] Men should, therefore, both tremble before God, and trust in him, #1Pe 2:6.

Strong is thy hand] Even thy left hand, q.d. tu polles utraque manu, thou hast both hands alike powerful.

Ver. 14. Justice and judgment are the habitation (or basis) of thy throne] These are the supporters and pillars.

Mercy and truth, &c.] These are the forerunners, or satellites; I should much fear justice and judgment, saith Austin, were it not that mercy and truth comfort me: "Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ," #Joh 1:17.

Ver. 15. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound] Iubilationem, the sound of thy word, the free use of thine ordinances; serving thee with cheerfulness, and giving thee thanks with exaltation of heart, and rapture of spirit. Scias unde gaudeas quod verbis explicate non possis, saith Austin. Accipe quod sentitur antequam discitur , saith Cyprian, writing to Donatus, concerning the joy of his conversion.

They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance] In the fear of the Lord, and in the comforts of the Holy Ghost.

Ver. 16. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day] Or, every day. Bonis semper feriae , Ανηρ αγαθος πασαν ημεραν εορτην ηγειται, saith Diogenes in Plutarch. God crowneth the calendar of good men’s lives with many festivals.

Ver. 17. For thou art the glory of their strength] And hence it is that they are filled top full with comfort, and do over abound exceedingly with joy in all their tribulation, #2Co 7:4.

Ver. 18. For the Lord is our defence] Heb. our shield; the body cannot be wounded, but through the shield.

And the Holy One of Israel is our king] How, then, can any one cry aloud? #Mic 4:9.

Ver. 19. Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one] i.e. To Samuel, thy priest and prophet, #1Sa 16:12, one of those few that lived and died with glory.

I have laid help upon one that is’ mighty] I have called David to the kingdom, and qualified him for the purpose; but the person chiefly intended here is Christ, ‘able to save them to the uttermost who come to God by him,’ #Heb 7:25.

I have exalted one chosen out of the people] One of mean parentage, or one of singular parts, drained from the dregs, and sifted from the brans of the vulgar.

Ver. 20. I have found David] The Father seeketh such as worship him in spirit and in truth, #Joh 4:23. The whole Trinity agreed upon Christ for a mediator.

With my holy oil have I anointed him] How Christ was appointed and anointed to the mediatorship. {See Trapp on "Ps 45:7"}

Ver. 21. With whom my hand shall be established] I will conduct and carry him through all conditions with comfort. See #Ezr 8:22, {See Trapp on "Ezr 8:22"}

Mine arm also shall strengthen him] i.e. Omnipotentia mea et opitulatio , the arm hath more strength than the hand.

Ver. 22. The enemy shall not exact upon him] Or, shall profit nothing, not prosper at all, as the Chaldee and Greek have it.

Nor the son of wickedness] Heb. of injurious evil, one that is set upon mischief, as Aaron said, this people is wholly set upon wickedness, #Ex 32:22.

Ver. 23. And I will beat down his foes, &c.] Victory over enemies is of the Lord; he may better say than any mortal monarch, Cui adhaereo, praeest, He whom I take part with is sure to prevail.

That hate hint] That secretly malign him, though they can do him no mischief.

Ver. 24. But my faithfulness and my mercy] My power without him according to promise, and my peace within him that passeth all understanding, shall guard his heart and mind in Christ Jesus, #Php 4:7.

Shall his horn be exalted] He shall be eminent and eximious.

Ver. 25. I will set his hand also in the sea] He shall be a vice-god, #Da 12:7 Re 10:1. Herodotus saith that the Aeginetae gave the Persians earth and water, in token of subjection to Darius, their king. Christ is the true κοσμοκρατωρ, a title anciently usurped by Sesostris, king of Egypt.

Qui Pharos currus regum cervicibus egit.

Ver. 26. He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father] This was a royalty above all the rest, #Joh 1:12 1Jo 3:1, and applied to Christ, the only begotten Son of God; it sets him above all the angels, #Heb 1:4-8

My God] This is the beehive of heavenly honey.

Ver. 27. Also I will make him my firstborn] Christ is the firstborn of every creature, and in all things hath the pre-eminence. David also shall be the highest prince on earth, blessed aud accepted far beyond any of them: O nimimn dilecte Deo, & c. O excessively esteemed God.

Ver. 28. My mercy will I keep for hint] It shall be ready at all times for his relief, even the sure mercies of David, neither will I utterly take it from him, as I did from Saul.

And my covenant shall stand fast with him] Faster than the mountains, #Isa 54:10, firmer than the courses of sun and moon, day and night, #Jer 31:35,36 33:20,21.

Ver. 29. His seed also, &c.] This is chiefly meant of Christ and his kingdom.

And his throne as the days of heaven] i.e. As the kingdom of heaven, eternal; for the aspectible heaven is corruptible.

Ver. 30. If his children forsake my law, &c.] If they fall into sins of commission; if they shoot beyond the mark.

And walk not in my judgments] If they fall into sins of omission, and shoot short. Where note, that every transgression and disobedience (that is, every commission and omission) receiveth a just recompence of reward, #Heb 2:2.

Ver. 31. If they break my statutes] Heb. If they profane or make void; q. d. be their sins never so heinous, I will forgive them; though I take vengeance (temporal) of their inventions, #Ps 99:8.

And keep not my commandments] Not-serving of God, not-sacrificing is a sin, #Mal 3:18 Ec 9:2. See #Ps 89:30.

Ver. 32. Then will I visit their transgression with the rod] The sins of the saints are transgressions, yea, they are treacheries, and shall be visited with the rod; yea, with the rod of men, #2Sa 7:14, of weak, sickly, frail men, as the word there signifieth, that have but weak hands, and can give no hard blows; such shall rather see God’s care than feel his power in their sufferings. Only they shall see that he will not pass by their sins without a sensible check.

Ver. 33. Nevertheless my lovingkindness, &c.] For that were to break covenant: I will correct him in mercy, and in measure. Sinite virgam corrigentem, ne sentiatis malleum conterentem, saith Bernard.

Nor suffer my faithfulness to fail] Non mentiar in veritate mea, God is very careful to keep touch with his.

Ver. 34. My covenant will I not break] Heb. I will not profane my covenant, though they have profaned my statutes, #Ps 89:31.

Nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips] But will pardon their failings, and cause them to keep my commandments.

Ver. 35. Once have I sworn by mine holiness] Which is as deep an oath as I know how to take; for my holiness is myself, who am most holy, and the fountain of all holiness. By this I have sworn once, that is, once for all, immobiliter, immutabiliter.

Ver. 36. His seed shall endure for ever] Christ "shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days; and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands," #Isa 53:10 filiabitur nomine eius, #Ps 72:17. See there.

Ver. 37. It shall be established for ever as the moon] If his sons be good they shall shine as the sun in his strength, saith Kimchi; as, if they be not, yet they shall be as the moon that shineth, though for a time obscured or eclipsed. A fit resemblance, saith Ainsworth, of the throne or Church of Christ, which hath not always one face or appearance in the world, though it be perpetual. The Papists would have this moon always in the full; and if she show but little light to us they will not yield she is the moon. And yet, except in the eclipse, astronomers demonstrate that the moon hath at all times as much light as she hath in the full; but oftentimes a great part of the bright side is turned to heaven, and a lesser part to the earth: and so the Church is ever conspicuous to God’s eye, though it appear not always so to us.

And as a faithful witness in heaven] As oft, then, as we see the sun and moon in heaven let us think of the constance of God’s covenant, and the perpetuity of Christ’s kingdom. By this "faithful witness" some understand the rainbow, #Ge 9:13-17.

Ver. 38. But thou hast cast off and abhorred] So it seemed to the psalmist through infirmity of the flesh (though his faith did ubique micare, appear ever and anon amidst his complaints), and so the enemies reported and insulted.

Thou hast been wroth with thine anointed] sc. Out of love displeased. And here, as likewise in the verses following, omnia sunt Asyndeta, ad vehementiam.

Ver. 39. Thou hast made void the covenant] This passage a certain Spanish Rabbi stumbled at (as hath been noted on the title of this psalm), but without cause; for all these things are spoken κατα δοξαν, and not κατ αληθειαν, according to opinion, and not according to the truth of things. And, therefore, Kimchi saith well here, Many wonder at this psalmist, and I do as much wonder at their wondering, &c.

Thou hast profaned his crown] By rendering his regal dignity contemptible. The Greek rendereth it, his sanctuary, αγιασμα αυτου..

Ver. 40. Thou hast broken down all his hedges] Or, walls. The walls of Sparta were their militia, of England are their ships, of all lands their laws, #Ec 10:8.

Thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin] Or, to consternation and deadly fright.

Siqua manet gelida formidine concutis arcem

(Buchanan).

Ver. 41. All that pass by the way spoil him] They rob and rifle him: such havoc was made by Shisbak, and is still by the Church’s enemies, #Heb 10:34.

He is a reproach to his neighbours] Who now look upon him as a king of clouts, and ask, Where is his invincible majesty?

Ver. 42. Thou hast set up] Thou seemest to be on their side.

Thou hast made all his enemies] To revel in his ruins.

Ver. 43. Thou hast also turned the edge] Disarmed and disabled him.

And hast not made him, &c.] But turned his courage into cowardice.

Ver. 44. Thou hast made his glory to cease] Heb. his brightness, the splendent glory and dignity of the kingdom. Some understand it of the priesthood, and the following words of the kingdom.

Ver. 45. The days of his youth hast thou shortened] Thou hast nipped him in the bud, snatched him away by an untimely end, as a young man is sometimes in his prime and pride.

Thou hast covered him with shame. Selah] Thou hast wrapped him up in the winding sheet of shame. Lord, this is true.

Ver. 46. How long, Lord? &c.] Here faith prevaileth against flesh, and falleth a praying, and at length a praising God.

Ver. 47. Remember how short] See #Ps 39:5.

Wherefore hast thou, &c.] As thou mayest seem to have done, unless they may cheerfully serve thee and enjoy thee.

Ver. 48. What man is he that liveth, &c.] q.d. Since die we must, let us live while we may, to some good purpose.

Selah] q.d. Mark it, and meditate well and oft on this savoury subject.

Ver. 49. Lord, where are, &c.] q.d. Thou seemest to have lost them, and we would fain find them again for thee.

Ver. 50. Remember, Lord] Thou seemest to have forgotten us and our sufferings, and we would fain remind thee.

Ver. 51. The footsteps of thine anointed] Heb. The heels or soles of the foot, that is, his doings and sufferings. The Chaldee and others render it, tarditares, moras Christi tui, the delays of thy Christ in coming, whom, therefore, they taunt us with, velut tardigradum vel loripedem et claudum, and say, Where is the promised Messiah?

Ver. 52. Blessed be the Lord, &c.] sc. For a Christ; or for adversity as well as for prosperity; and this not formally and slightly, but earnestly, and with utmost affection, Amen, and Amen.

A Prayer of Moses] Made by him, belike, when he saw the carcases of the people fall so fast in the wilderness; committed to writing for the instruction of those that were left alive, but sentenced to death, #Nu 14:26-38, and here fitly placed as an illustration of that which was said in the precedent psalm, #Ps 89:48, "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah."

Chapter 90

Ver. 1. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place] In all our troubles and travels through this wilderness, and before, we have not been houseless and harbourless, for "Thou hast been our dwelling place," our habitacle of refuge, as some render it, Maon. habitaculum tutum. We use to say, A man’s house is his castle. The civil law saith, De domo sua nemo extrahi debet, aut in ius vocari, quia domus tutissimum cuique refugium atque receptaculum, No man ought to be drawn out of his house at the suit of another; because his house is his safest refuge and receptacle. He that dwelleth in God cannot be unhoused, because God is stronger than all; neither can any one take another out of his hands, #Joh 10:29 Here, then, it is best for us to take up as in our mansion house, and to seek a supply of all our wants in God alone. It was a witty saying of that learned Picus Mirandula, God created the earth for beasts to inhabit, the sea for fishes, the air for fowls, the heaven for angels and stars. Man, therefore, hath no place to dwell and abide in but the Lord alone. See #Eze 11:16 2Co 6:8-10.

Ver. 2. Before the mountains were brought forth] And they were made at the creation, not cast up by the flood, as some have held. Moses first celebrateth God’s eternity, and then setteth forth man’s mortality; that the one being set over against the other, as Solomon speaketh in another case, #Ec 7:14, God may be glorified, and man comforted, which is the main end of the Holy Scriptures, #Ro 15:4, and far beyond those consolatiunculae Philosophicae.

Ver. 3. Thou turnest man to destruction] Ad minutissimum quiddam, so Beza rendereth it, to a very small business, to dust and powder. Others, ad contritionem vel contusionem, by turning loose upon him various diseases and distresses; thou turnest him out of the world, #Ec 1:13. And generally, thou sayest of all and singular sons of men,

Return, ye] Your bodies to the earth, according to the decree, #Ge 3:17-19, your souls to God, that gave them, #Ec 12:7. And here the course of man’s life is compared, saith one, to a race in a tilt or tourney, where we soon run to the end of the race, as it were, and then return back again. Intelligit Moses vitam humanam similem esse gyro, saith another. Man’s life is compared to a ring or round; we walk a short round; and then God gathers us in to himself. One, being asked what life was? made an answer answerless, for he presently turned his back and went his way. We fetch here but a turn, and God saith, "Return, ye children of men." This some make to be an irony; as if God should say, Live again, if ye can. Some apply it to the resurrection, others to mortification and vivification.

Ver. 4. For a thousand years in thy sight, &c.] q.d. Live men a longer or shorter space, Serius aut citius, thou endest their days; and in comparison of thine eternity, Puncture est quod vivimus et puncto minus, it is a small span of time that the longest liver hath upon earth, #2Pe 3:8 Ps 39:5. Non multum sane abest a nihilo. Some would hence infer, that the day of judgment shall last a thousand years; fides sit penes authores.

When it is past] We judge better of the shortness of time, when it is past.

And as a watch in the night] Which is but three hours’ time; for soldiers divide the night into four watches, and our life is full of the darkness of error and terror.

Ver. 5. Thou carriest them away as with a flood] Suddenly, violently, irresistibly, by particular judgments, besides that general necessity of dying once, #Heb 9:27. This is set forth by a treble comparison, of floods, sleep, and flowers here; and indeed the vanity and misery of man’s life is such, as cannot sufficiently be set forth by any similitudes. See #Ps 90:9,10.

They are as a sleep] Or dream; the dream of a shadow (σκιας οναρ), saith Pindarus, the shadow of smoke, saith another.

They are like grass] An ordinary comparison, #Isa 40:6 Jas 1:10,11

Ver. 6. In the morning it flourisheth] So doth man in his prime and vigour, his bones full of marrow, his breasts of milk.

In the evening it is cut down] So is man by death’s mortal scythe, which moweth down the lilies of the crown as well as the grass of the field. In the evening grass will cut better, and the mowers can better work at it.

Ver. 7. For we are consumed by thine anger] Justly conceived for our sins, #Ps 90:8. This is a cause of death that philosophy discovereth not, as being blind, and not able to see far off, and therefore cannot prescribe any sufficient remedy against the tear of death, such as is here set down, #Ps 90:12, but such as made Cicero complain, that the disease was too hard for the medicine, and such as left men either doubtful (Socrates, for instance) or desperate, and devoid of sense, as Petronius in Tacitus, Qui in ipsis atriis morris delicias quaesivit, solaced himself with singing such light sonnets as this;

Vivamus men Lesbia atque amemus,

Rumoresque senum severiorum

Onmes unius aestimemus assis.

And by thy wrath are we troubled] Consternati sumus, Death stings us and sticks us; the motion and mention of it is terrible to us, through sense of sin and fear of wrath, #Heb 2:15. Symmachus et Aquila transtulerant acceleravimus.

Ver. 8. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee] As a judge doth the misdeeds of a malefactor, together with the proofs and evidences.

Our secret sins] Which we either never took notice of or had utterly forgotten (the sins of our youth, some render it, but not so well), those sins which we had hoped to have secreted, such was our hypocrisy.

In the light of thy countenance] This light thou hast made use of for the discovery of our inmost evils, those that lie most up in the heart of the country, as it were, as the murmurings and misbelief of our hearts, &c., these thy pure eyes, more clear and radiant than the sun itself, have plainly discerned. Nature teacheth us that the fiery eye needeth no outward light, but seeth extramittendo, by sending out a ray, &c.

Ver. 9. For all our days are passed away] Heb. do turn away the face. See #Ps 90:3.

We spend our years as a tale that is told] The grace whereof is brevity, q.d. dicto citius. Some render it, as a thought, that ariseth and passeth. To this sense the Greek poet;

Αιφα γαρ ωστε νοημα παρερχεται αγλαυς ηβη.

The Chaldee hath it, Ut flatus oris in Hyeme, as the breath of one’s mouth in winter. See #Jas 4:14.

Ver. 10. The days of our years are threescore, &c.] So Solon in Laertius saith, the term of man’s life is seventy years, this few exceed, and fewer attain to. To the same sense speaketh Macrobius also (Lib. 1., Som. cap. 6), saying, Septies deni anni a Physicis creditur meta vivendi, et hoc vitae humanae perfectum spacium terminatur, &c. The Fathers lived longer; but as men’s wickedness increased, so their days decreased; and now their lives are daily shortened, the generations despatch away, that the world may the sooner come to an end. If Moses and Aaron of old, and Iohannes de temporibus, and some few others of latter time, live longer, even to a hundred or more, these are singular examples, and it is of the generality that the psalmist here speaketh.

And if by reason of strength, &c.] One readeth it thus; And if by fortitude fourscore years, even their latitude is labour and sorrow; that is, this enlarging of the time bringeth nothing but labour and misery, because now the body is diseased (Dr Major).

For it is soon cut off] As a web, or as grass.

And we fly away] As a bird upon the wing, or as an hour of the day.

Qui nescit quo vita modo volat, audiat horas;

Quam sit vita fugax, nos docet iste sonus.

I am not eternity, said Epictetus, but a man; that is, a small part of the whole, as the hour is of the day; I must therefore come and go away as the hour doth (Enchirid.).

Ver. 11. Who knoweth the power of thine anger?] None doth, since it is such as no man can either avoid or abide; and such is men’s stupidity, that few will believe till they feel it; no, though their lives be so short and uncertain.

Even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath] Ira tua non est minor timore nostro; let a man tear thee never so much, he is sure to feel thee much more, if once he fall into thy fingers.

Ver. 12. So teach us to number our days] The philosopher affirms, that man is therefore the wisest of creatures, because he alone can number, Bruta non numerant. But in this divine arithmetic of numbering our days (to the which all other is not to be compared, no, though we could, as Archimedes boasted, number the stars of heaven, or the sands by the sea shore), God himself must be our teacher, or we shall never do it to purpose. R. Solomon observeth, that the word ןכ rendered "so" here, if taken as numeral letters, maketh seventy, and the years of our life are seventy; out of which, say other Rabbis, if we deduct the time of childhood and youth, which is vanity, the time of sleep, repose, repast, and recreation (which is more than the one half), and the time of affliction and grief which we enjoy not, what a poor pittance will life be reduced unto!

That we may apply our hearts] Heb. that we may cause them to come; for naturally they hang off, and make strange.

Unto wisdom] To the true fear of God, and mortification of sin, which is the sting of death, and makes it a trap door to hell. This is hard to do, but must be done; or men are undone for ever. To live with dying thoughts is the way to die with living comforts.

Ver. 13. Let it repent thee] Or, comfort thou thy servants.

Ver. 14. O satisfy us early] As thou didst our fathers with manna.

Ver. 15. Make us glad according] Let us have a proportion at least.

Ver. 16. Let thy work appear] Thy proper work, which is to show mercy; for to do justice is thy work, thy strange work, #Isa 28:21.

And thy glory unto their children] That they at least may enter into the land of Canaan, according to #Nu 14:31.

Ver. 17. And let the beauty of the Lord, &c.] i.e. The bounty; the Italian rendereth it, La Giocondita, jucunditas Domini sit in nos.

And establish thou the work, &c.] Thus we had all need to pray; for,

Nullius est felix conatus et utilis unquam,

Consilium si non detque iuvetque Deus.

Chapter 91

Ver. 1. He that dwelleth in the secret place, &c.] The safety of a saint is in this whole psalm ( Quo nihil neque solidius neque splendidius dici potest) set forth to the life, Verbis vivis, animatis sententiis et spiritus fervore flagrantissimo.

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty] Under the pleasant and assured defence of God; he shall lodge under the shadow of Shaddai, and there sing away care and fear.

Ver. 2. I will say of the Lord] I dare say it is so as I have said, said the psalmist (whom the Jews make to be Moses), and I will presently make proof of it in myself; Non verbis solum praedicans, sed exemplis. Some conceive that the believer having heard the former proposition, #Ps 91:1, is here brought in professing his faith; and saying to the psalmist, Behold, I dwell in the secret place of the Most High, and shall I abide under the shadow of the Almighty? The answer follows.

Ver. 3. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler] i.e. Of the devil and his emissaries, #2Ti 2:26, who, by force and fraud, seek to ensnare the saints. Gratiae privativae multo plures sunt quam positivae, saith Gerson. God daily delivereth his from innumerable deaths and dangers. By fowler here some understand the punishing angel, #2Sa 24:15-17, and conceive that this psalm was penned upon occasion of that great plague that followed upon David’s numbering the people; for then, if ever, both prince and people stood in need of special comfort, and here they have it. Divine consolations are therefore sweet, because seasonable and suitable.

And from the noisome pestilence] That uncomfortable and contagious disease. The Vulgate rendereth it, and from rough words. In Hebrew Dabhar signifieth a word, Debher, a pest; an evil tongue hath the pestilence in it, Ab excidio exitiorum.

Ver. 4. He shall cover thee with his feathers] As the hen doth her chickens; Fides est quae te pullastrum, Christum gallinam facit, ut sub pennis eius speres; nam salus in pennis eius, saith Luther; it is faith which maketh thee the little chicken, and Christ the hen; that thou mayest hide, and hope, and hover, and cover under his wings; for there is health in his wings.

And under his wings shalt thou trust] For without faith what use is there to us of the promises. Non de se debet sperare Christianus; si vult esse firmus vapore materno nutriatur, ut pullus gallinaceus, saith Austin; Let no man hope for safety or strength but under Christ’s wings graciously stretched out over him.

Ver. 5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night] Thou shalt be freed, if not from the common destruction, yet from the common distraction.

Impavidum ferient ruinae.

Nor for the arrow that flieth by day] Sudden ill occurrences quae nec praevident nec praecavent fideles, the arrows of death shall come whisking by thine ears, and not hit. (Hor. lib 2, Od. 13.)

Quid quisque vitet nunquam homini saris

Cautum est in horas—Improvisa lethi

Vis rapuit, rapietque gentes.

True faith is a target, and sayeth a man if not from the smart, yet from the hurt of evil accidents.

Ver. 6. Nor for the pestilence] Called before terror, and arrow, as some conceive, Hippocrates calleth it το θειον, the divine disease, because sent more immediately from God, as an evil messenger. Not but that a good man may die of the plague, as did Oecolampadius, and many others; Hezekiah is thought to have had it, so had reverend Beza (his family was four different times visited herewith), who was much comforted under that and other heavy afflictions by this sweet psalm, which, therefore, he hugged and held most dear all the days of his life, as himself witnesseth in his argument and use of this psalm.

Nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday] For the noonday devil (so the Vulgate rendereth it after the Septuagint), as, for pestilence walking in darkness, one old English manuscript hath goblin. The Chaldee here expounds it, the company of devils. As in the next verse, "A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand," &c. R Solomon expoundeth, A thousand devils shall pitch their tents on thy right hand and on thy left; but shall not hurt thee, because the good angels shall guard thee against them. But it is better to understand all (as before) of the pestilence, though I doubt not but the devil, that old man slayer, hath a hand in this and other common calamities, yet not without the Lord’s overruling power limiting him.

Ver. 7. A thousand shall fall, &c.] This deadly disease lays heaps upon heaps (as we have had lamentable experience), and scarce leaveth living enough to bury the dead, as in the days of Decius the emperor.

But it shall not come nigh thee] Thou shalt be antidoted and privileged; sc. if God see it good for thee, {see #Ps 91:6} and thou be careful to serve his providence. The Turks shun not the company of those that have the plague; but pointing upon their foreheads, say, It was written there at their birth when they shall die. Thus to do is not to trust God, but to tempt him.

Ver. 8. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold] And say, Oh the severity of divine justice! Oh the venomous and mischievous nature and effects of men’s sin! Behold the goodness and severity of God; on them which fell severity, but toward me goodness, if I continue in his goodness; otherwise I shall also be cut off, #Ro 11:22.

And see the reward of the wicked] Thyself being, as it were, shot free; thy sincerity prevailing for thy safety.

Ver. 9. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, &c.] Because thou hast done as I do, thou shalt speed as I have sped; for God is rich in mercy to all his.

Even the Most High thy habitation] See #Ps 90:1.

Ver. 10. There shall no evil befall the] No devoratory evil, as Tertullian expresseth it; nothing that tendeth ad exitium, but only ad exercitium, and such as shall end in thy good.

Neither shall any plague] What a wonderful separation made the Lord between the houses of the Israelites and the Egyptians, #Ex 11:7. See #Job 5, and take these places, as #Ps 91:6. For it may befall a saint to share in a common calamity; as the good corn and weeds are cut down together, but for a different end and purpose,

— Non te tua plurima, Pantheu,

Labentem texit pietas —

Ver. 11. For he shall give his angels charge over thee] This guard of angels, many angels, yea, all, if need be, to secure every poor believer, how meanly soever he thinks of himself, or is esteemed by others, is no small privilege. See #Mt 4:6. {See Trapp on "Mt 4:6"}

To keep thee in all thy ways] In all thy lawful and Christian undertakings; for no further doth God or his holy angels take charge of thee. If we keep not within God’s precincts, we cannot look for his protection. Wefts and strays fall to the Lord of the soil. The State secureth none that are abroad at undue hours, that travel not between sun and sun. Divines observe, that the devil, citing this text, #Mt 4:6, left out these words on purpose, as not for his purpose; yet doth not our Saviour so much as upbraid him with this mutilation, nor yet tell him of that which followeth, #Ps 91:13, "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder," &c., to teach us, in dealing with an adversary, not to lie at the catch, but answer to the thing, &c.

Ver. 12. They shall bear thee up in their hands] {See Trapp on "Mt 4:6"} Be sensible of the many good offices done us by the blessed angels, not once looking for our thanks.

Ver. 13. Thou shalt tread upon the lion, &c.] No creature shall harm thee, so as to hinder thine eternal happiness. See #Isa 11:6-8 Ho 2:18 Job 5:23 Mr 16:18. This text was shamefully abused by Pope Alexander, A.D. 1159, when at Venice he trod upon the neck of the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa, and said, as here, super leonem et aspidem ambulabis, &c.

Ver. 14. Because he hath set his love upon me, &c.] Because he cleaveth unto me, and acquiesceth in me. Ardet me, amplexus est me. Thus God is brought in speaking toward the close of all, for greater assurance. Aben Ezra saith that it is the speech of God to his angels.

I will set him on high, because he hath known my name] And hence it is that his heart is so set upon me. They that know God’s name will surely trust in him, #Ps 9:10. "Thy name is as an ointment poured out, therefore do the virgins love thee," #So 1:3. But unkent unkist, as the northern proverb hath it; men, therefore, care not for God because they know not his excellencies.

Ver. 15. He shall call upon me] This is an indispensable duty, and will be cheerfully performed by those who know and love the Lord.

I will deliver him, &c.] As he did David, Joseph, Daniel, and others.

Ver. 16. With long life, &c.] He shall have enough of this life present even to a satiety, and heaven in the end. The Hebrews call this psalm Canticum de accidentibus. When Beza came first to the Reformed Church he found them singing this psalm, and was greatly encouraged.

A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day] The sabbath in the Hebrew hath its name from resting ( תבשׁ), and is near allied to two other words, the first whereof signifieth to sit still ( בשׁי), and the second to worship and give praise ( תבשׁ). On this day they met for works of piety (as sacrificing, reading and expounding the Scriptures, praying, singing, as here, &c.) and of mercy, #Mt 12:2-8,11,12. And this psalm, treating of God’s great works, was purposely set for a canon of sanctifying that day called by the Jews the queen of days; in praise whereof, before and after meat, they daily say certain verses.

Chapter 92

Ver. 1.

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord] And the sabbath day is a good time to do it in; for then (as Kimchi here noteth) men are at leisure and liberty to do it most solemnly; the better day the better deed.

And to sing praises unto thy name] The psalmist commends it, and presently sets upon the doing of it. So #Ps 122:6,7, he no sooner bids pray for the peace of Jerusalem, but himself prays, "Peace be within thy walls," &c.

Ver. 2. To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning] Every morning, that God may have the firstfruits of the day, but especially on the sabbath morning, when we awake and rise, ad quietem et ad delicias animi et corporis, as Kimchi here hath it. The Jews bless God at the sabbath’s coming in and going out.

And thy faithfulness in the night] Breaking our sleep for that purpose; yea, we must be in the fear of the Lord all the day long, #Pr 23:17, how much more on the sabbath day! then our whole work must be ravished in spirit, doing no work, but such as whereby we either bless God or look to receive a blessing from God; none but such as wherein we would the Lord should find us at his coming; which Lactantius saith will be on the sabbath day.

Ver. 3. Upon an instrument of ten strings, &c.] This was part of the Jewish pedagogy; and teacheth us to use all lawful means to enforce ourselves to that, whereunto we are so dull and backward.

Ver. 4. For thou, Lord, hast made me glad, &c.] And I will improve this cheerfulness to thankfulness, #Jas 5:13. On the sabbath we ought solummodo spiritualibus gaudiis repleri, to be filled with spiritual joys only, saith the Council of Paris, held A.D. 820.

I will triumph in the works of thy hands] sc. The works of creation, administration, but especially of redemption.

Ver. 5. O Lord, how great are thy works!] Surely so great that I cannot utter them, and must, therefore, thus vent myself by an exclamation.

Expleri mentem nequeo, ardescoque tuendo

(Virgil.)

And thy thoughts are very deep] Here, then, we must do as those Romans did, who, when they found a lake the depth whereof was unknown, they dedicated it to Victory. Cry, O the depth! and there rest us.

Ver. 6. A brutish man knoweth not] A sottish sensualist, who hath his soul for salt only, to keep his body from putrefying (as we say of swine); he takes no knowledge of God’s great works, but grunts and goes his ways, contenting himself with a natural use of the creatures, as beasts do.

Ver. 7. When the wicked spring as the grass, &c.] This the fool admireth, calling the proud happy, &c., #Mal 3:15, and not considering that that proud grass shall be mown down, and that that flourish shall soon perish.

It is that they shall be destroyed for ever] Not grow again, as mown grass doth: Exoriuntur ut exurantur. It is but as Haman’s banquet before execution.

Ver. 8. But thou, Lord, art most high, &c.] q.d. Flourish the wicked never so much, shoot they up never so high, thou art higher, and in the thing wherein they deal proudly thou art above them, #Ex 18:11.

Ver. 9. For, lo, thine enemies, &c.] The psalmist, by this demonstrative particle "lo," points to it as it were with the finger, as a thing most evident and undoubted.

Shall be scattered] Disparant se, dissiliunt, dispart themselves.

Ver. 10. Like the horn of an unicorn] Which is very fair, hard, and well lifted up. See #Nu 23:26. I am in good plight.

I shall be anointed] It is well for the present, and it will be better hereafter.

Ver. 11. Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies] Or, on mine observers, who watch for my halting.

Ver. 12. The righteous shall flourish like the palm] A tree that groweth not in these cold climates, but where it doth is noted for tall, constantly green, long lived, sweet, firm, straight, &c., εμπεδοφυλλος (Theoph.).

Nititur in pondus palma et consurgit in altum;

Quo magis et premitur, hoc mage tollit onus.

Though it hath many weights at the top, and many snakes at the bottom, yet is still saith, Nec premor, nee perimor.

Like a cedar] Not like grass, as the wicked do, #Ps 92:7.

Ver. 13. Those that be planted] Having taken deep root there. Hypocrites are only thrust in, as a stake, into the earth. Mnason was an old disciple, Andronicus and Junia were in Christ before Paul, and therefore of note among the apostles for well-rooted and fruited, #Ro 16:7.

In the courts of our God] In Christ, and under the ordinances.

Ver. 14. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age] Quantumvis veteres, non veterascent, though old, yet shall they retain their former vigour and verdure, and be like that Persian tree in Theophrastus, that at the same time doth bud, blossom, and bear fruit, pullulantes et succulentae.

They shall be fat and flourishing] Vividi et vegeti (Bucholcer), not as the Brabanti or Flemings, qui quo magis senescunt, eo magis stultescunt, saith Erasmus, the elder the foolisher; nor as Trapezuntius, who outlived all his learning; but as Moses, whose sight failed not, his heat abated not; as wine, the older the better; as the sun, which shineth most amiably toward the descent.

Ver. 15. To show that, &c.] This is one of their principal fruits, to give God a testimonial, such as good old Moses doth, #De 32:4.

Chapter 93

Ver. 1. The Lord reigneth] i.e. The Lord Christ. Kimchi here noteth that all the following psalms till the hundred and first are de diebus Christi, of the days of Christ. Here we have his empire and regality asserted, first, by his works; secondly, by his word, #Ps 93:5. See the like #Ps 19:1,2,7,8, &c., and that manifestation of himself by his word far preferred.

He is clothed with majesty] He hath now put off his arms, and put on his robes, he will henceforth rule all wisely and righteously.

The Lord is clothed with strength] For the battle, in case his enemies stir, to attempt against him, #Ezr 8:22.

The world also is established] The earth, though it hang like a ball in the air, without a basis, Ponderibus librat a suis, yet is unmoveable; how much more the Church!

Ver. 2. Thy throne is established of old] Christ shall reign, utcunque, fremant scelerati, et omnia quantum in se est conturbent, rage the wicked never so, for he is Jehovah, #Ps 93:1, the Eternal: here,

— Firma aeternus qui concidet arce.

Ver. 3. The floods have lifted up, O Lord] Armies of enemies have attempted great matters, but thou hast soon quelled and quashed them. Immota manet may well be the Church’s motto.

Aura tonet, sonet unda marls, fremat orbis et orcus;

Tu tamen insertos nos tibi, Christe, tegis.

The floods lift up their waves] The word for waves hath its name from dashing or breaking (Anaphora); the enemies do but beat themselves into foam and froth against Christ the rock, qui instar rupis quae in mari vadoso, horridi Iovis, et irati, ut ita dicam, Neptuni fervidis assultibus undique verberata, non cedit aut minuitur, sed obtendit assuetum fluctibus latus; et firma duritie tumentis undae impetum sustinet ac frangit (Woverius).

Ver. 4. The Lord on high is mightier] He defeats tyrants and persecutors, be they never so terrible for noise and number. If he but thunder they are hushed, and glad to wriggle, as worms, into their holes.

Ver. 5. Thy testimonies are very sure] Thy promises infallible; and therefore rage the world never so, thou shalt still have a holy catholic Church, such as whose principles, practices, and aims are divine and supernatural; such as walk worthy of God in all well pleasing, and inasmuch as they have these rich promises, do cleanse themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, #2Co 7:1.

Holiness becometh thine house] God looks to be served llke himself; he will be sanctified of all those that draw near unto him in holy duties, #Le 10:3. This the heathens were not altogether ignorant of, and therefore at their sacrifices the priests cried out τις τηδε, who is here? whereunto the people that were present answered, πολλοι τ αγαθοι τε παρεισι, here are many, and those good men all (Erasmi Praef. in Adag.)

— Procul, hinc procul, este profani.

Chapter 94

Ver. 1. O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth] Heb. Jehovah, God of revenges; so #Jer 51:56, "The Lord God of recompences." "Vengeance is mine," saith he, "I will repay," #De 32:35. And it is best he should, for he returneth "a just recompense of reward," #Heb 2:2; whereas men seek oft an unequal revenge, #Heb 10:30, as a stab for the lie given; and, besides, in seeking the lives of others, they sometimes lose their own.

Show thyself] Heb. shine forth, appear for thy poor wronged servant. David knew the law, and submitted to it; he turneth over his enemies to God to be ordered by him, neither did he himself herein any disservice. "I seek not mine own glory" (so mine own revenge), saith Christ, but there is one that seeketh it. God never faileth to do it, to be their champion, who strive not for themselves; only they must wait his leisure, and not usurp his executions.

Ver. 2. Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth] Judges, as they ascend the tribunal, so when to pass sentence they usually stand up. See #Isa 33:10. And hereunto the psalmist alludeth.

Ver. 3. Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long?] Bis, quia de die in diem gloriantur, saith Aben Ezra. Twice he saith it, because the wicked boast day after day, with such insolence and outrage, as if they were above control.

Ver. 4. How long shall they utter] Heb. They will bluster (or well-out, as a fountain), they will speak hard things (speak millstones, throw daggers), they will boast themselves (talk largely of their good parts and practices); all this is expressed by an elegant asyndeton, {a} to show that they did all this ordinarily and incessantly.

Ακολαστον εχοντες γλωσσαν, αισχιστην νοσον

(Euripid.).

{a} A rhetorical figure which omits the conjunction.

Ver. 5. They break in pieces thy people] They make potsherds of them. And this is the best use they make of thy patience; break it off, therefore.

Ver. 6. They slay the widow and the stranger] Those sacred persons, thy proper clients; to such a height of hard heartedness are they grown, that they pity not them whom nature and courtesy would show compassion to.

Nulla fides, pietasque viris qui castra sequuntur.

Let us bless ourselves out of the bloody fingers of barbarous and brutish men, skilful to destroy.

Ver. 7. Yet they say, The Lord shall not see] To all other their enormities they added this, that they denied a Divine providence, and professed profaneness. Irridendum vero, curam agere rerum humanarum illud quicquid est summum, saith Pliny, lib. 2, c. 7, delivering the sense of all other atheists.

Ver. 8. Understand, ye brutish] Ye that are ringleaders to the rest, but no wiser than the reasonless creatures; yea, therefore worse, because ye ought to be better. Polybius complaineth of man’s folly, above that of other creatures, in those words, Caeterae animantes ubi semel offenderint, cavent; non vulpes ad laqueum, lupus ad foveam, cants ad fustem temere redibunt; Solus homo ab aeve ad aevum peccat fere in iisdem.

Ver. 9. He that planted the ear, shall he not hear?] Shall the author of these senses be senseless? Our God is not as that Jupiter of Crete, who was pictured without ears, and could not be at leisure to attend upon small matters. He is ους et νους; he is also ολοφθαλμος, all eye, all ear. We read of a people called Panotii God only is so, to speak properly.

He that Formed the eye, shall he not see?] He saith formeth, because there are many forms or species in the eye continually; and as the optic virtue in the eye seeth all, and is seen of none, so doth God much more. All David’s ways were in God’s sight, all God’s laws in David’s sight, #Ps 119:168.

Ver. 10. He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct?] Qui totis gentibus non parcit, vos non redarguet? He that punisheth profane nations that know him not, shall he spare you? #Am 3:2. Shall not tribulation and anguish be upon the Jew first? #Ro 2:9. The Chaldee thus paraphraseth, He that gave a law to his people, shall he not punish them when they transgress it?

He that teacheth man knowledge] Shall not he know? is to be supplied to make sense. The psalmist seemeth so displeased at men’s doubting or denying of this, that he could not perfect his sentence, through passion of mind. Some causes, indeed, do give that which themselves have not; as the lifeless heaven enliveneth, the dull whetstone sharpeneth. But here it is far otherwise, and woe be to such as act not accordingly, #Isa 29:15.

Ver. 11. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity] Or worse; that they are ever weaving spiders’ webs, or else hatching cockatrices’ eggs, #Isa 59:5. This sentence St Paul allegeth against the world’s wizards, #1Co 3:20, who, the wiser they were the vainer they were, #Ro 1:21. As Austin, writing to a man of great parts, saith, Ornari abs te Diabolus quaerit, The devil would fain be tricked up by thee.

Ver. 12. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, &c.] And thereby effectest that his vain thoughts lodge not within him, #Jer 4:14; but that the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and return to thee, &c., #Isa 55:7. Feri Domine, feri, said Luther, Strike whiles thou pleasest, Lord; only to thy correction add instruction, Ut quod noceat, docent. See my Love Tokens.

And teachest him out of thy law] Lashing him, but with teaching him, ut resipiscat, et serviat tibi corde perfecto, saith Kimchi here, that he may repent and serve thee with an upright heart; for which purpose affliction sanctified is of singular use. Crux voluntatis Dei schola, morum disciplina, felicitatis meditatorium, gaudii Spiritus Sancti officina, breviter bonorum omnium thesaurus, saith Brentius, on #Job 33:16.

Ver. 13. That thou mayest give him rest] Here usually, but hereafter certainly. Mors aerumnarum requies was Cbaucer’s motto; Those that die in the Lord shall rest from their labours. Meanwhile they are chastened of the Lord that they may not be condemned with the world, #1Co 11:32.

Until the pit be digged for the wicked] Until the cold grave hold his body, and hot hell hold his soul.

Ver. 14. For the Lord will not cast off his people] Though he cast them into the furnace of affliction. The wicked he bringeth into misery, and there leaveth them to come off as they can, #Eze 22:20 29:5. Not so the saints, #Zec 13:9 Isa 43:2 Heb 13:5.

Nor forsake his inheritance] Because his. Patriam quivis amat, non quia pulchram, sed quia suam (Seneca). All love their own.

Ver. 15. But judgment shall return unto righteousness] All shall be set to rights, and every one have his due, according to #Ro 2:6-10, if not sooner, yet at the day of judgment without fail. Some give this sense, severity shall be changed into mercy, the rigour of the law to the clemency of the gospel. Others thus, judgment shall return to righteousness, that is, to its own place, licet defertur iudicium non aufertur.

And all the upright in heart shall follow it] viz. In their affections; they are carried out after it, earnestly desiring that dear day when God will unriddle his providences, and clear up his proceedings with the sons of men. Some read, shall follow him, that is, God; being brought home to him by their afflictions, they shall follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. Not so every loose ungirt Christian or profligate professor.

Ver. 16. Who will rise up for me] q.d. But a very few fast friends find I at court, Jonathan excepted. Some there are that will sprinkle me with court holy water, as they say, give glossing speeches; but it is little that they will do, and yet less that they will suffer for me. Faithful friends, saith one, are gone on pilgrimage, and their return is uncertain.

Ver. 17. Unless the Lord had been my help] He loveth to help at a pinch; he usually reserveth his hand for a dead lift. See #2Ti 4:16,17.

My soul had almost dwelt in silence] i.e. In the dark cloisters of death. The Greek and Latin translators render it, In hell.

Ver. 18. When I said, My foot slippeth] I stand on a precipice, and shall be down, Hypotyposis est.

Thy mercy, O Lord, held me] I have subsisted merely by a miracle of thy mercy, by a prop of thine extraordinary pity and patience.

Ver. 19. In the multitude of my thoughts within me] My perplexed, intricated, ensnarled, intertwined (as the branches of a tree) cogitations and ploddings upon my daily sufferings; when I know not what to think, or which way to take to.

Thy comforts delight my soul] The believer is never without his cordial; he hath comforts that the world knows nothing about. The good Landgrave of Hesse, being held prisoner for a long time together by Charles V, emperor, said that he could never have held it out so, but that he felt the divine consolations of the martyrs. Martyr etiam in catena gaudet, &c., saith Austin. Crux inuncta est, saith Bernard. Godliness hath many crosses, and as many comforts; like as Egypt hath many venomous creatures, but withal many antidotes against them.

Ver. 20. Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee] Shall tyrants and oppressors (who do exercise regiment without righteousness) entitle thee to their wicked proceedings, and go unpunished? See #Isa 36:10 37:36; the throne or tribunal is called, The holy place, #Ec 8:10; woe, then, to those that pollute it!

Which frameth mischief by a law?] As did the primitive persecutors, with their bloody edicts against Christians; and the Popish bishops, of whose laws that of Politian was verified,

Inventum Actiae dicuntur iura Draconis:

Vera est fama nimis, nil nisi virus habent.

Some render it Procter, vel contra legem, beside or against law.

Ver. 21. They gather together] Heb. run by troops, as thieves do.

Against the soul] Which they would gladly destroy if it lay in their power. This the Popish persecutors oft attempted, but God hath better provided, #Mt 10:28.

Ver. 22. But the Lord is my defence] Heb. my high place, where I am set out of their reach.

Ver. 23. And he shall bring upon them, &c.] See #Ps 7:15,16.

Chapter 95

Ver. 1. O come, let us sing unto the Lord] It is thought by this beginning that this psalm was not penned by David for private use, but for public assemblies, to be sung by the congregation on the sabbath and such like times. It may very well be that they began their morning sacrifice with this psalm, as the Latin Church also afterwards did their matins, or morning service.

Let us make a joyful noise] With a clear and loud voice, as of a trumpet; singing with grace in our hearts unto the Lord.

Ver. 2. Let us come before his presence] Heb. prevent his face, be there with the first. "Let us go speedily… I will go also," #Zec 8:21. Let praise wait for God in Sion, #Ps 65:1. Rabbi Gaon, Praeveniamus et ante diem iudicii, Let us make haste, saith he, to do it, before the day of judgment; and lest we be taken with our task undone. Others, Let us anticipate his face, that is, prepare our hearts at home, before we come into the public; or, let us give thanks for mercies already received, that we may make way for more.

With psalms] Oratione prorsa et vorsa.

Ver. 3. For the Lord is a great God] Understand it of Christ, as the apostle also does, #Heb 3:4 1Co 10:4

Above all gods] Whether reputed so, or deputed, as kings.

Ver. 4. In his hand are the deep places] Heb. searching, that is, much searched after, but found to be unsearchable.

The strength of the hills] Heb. The heights, such as will sport a bird to get to the top of them. Depths and heights are his, A תוע, volucris volans in altum (R. Solom.).

Ver. 5. The sea is his, &c.] Canute confuted his flatterers (who told him that all things in his dominions were at his beck and check) by laying his command on the sea to come up no higher into his land, but it obeyed him not.

And his hands formed the dry land] Worship him, therefore, #Re 4:8-11

Ver. 6. O come, let us worship and bow down] With our whole bodies prostrate on the ground, our hands and feet stretched out (Kimchi). The Jews’ gesture of adoration at this day is the bowing forward of their bodies, for kneeling they use none (no more do the Grecians), neither stir they their bonnets in their synagogues to any man, but remain still covered.

The Lord our maker] Who hath not only created us, but advanced us, as he did Moses and Aaron, #1Sa 12:6.

Ver. 7. The people of his pasture] Whom he turns not out into commons and fallows, but feeds among lilies, #So 2:16.

And the sheep of his hand] His cades brought up at hand, eating of his meat and drinking of his cup, and lying in his bosom, as Uriah’s ewe lamb did, #2Sa 12:3.

Today if ye will hear his voice] i.e. While the day of grace lasteth, which is not long, #2Co 6:2. Qui paenitenti veniam spospondit, peccanti crastinum non promisit, saith Gregory.

Ver. 8. Harden not your heart] By unbelief, and the deceitfulness of sin, #Heb 3:12,13, which gradually affirms the heart against God.

As in the provocation] As your fathers did at Massah and Meribah; be not you as good at resisting the Holy Ghost as they were, #Ac 7:51.

Ver. 9. When your fathers tempted me] Ten times, all along the wilderness, #Nu 14:22, though

They saw my work] Both mercies and judgments, #Ps 98:8, yet they were refractory and unmalleable.

Ver. 10. Was I grieved] Litigavi, vel cum taedio pertuli.

That do err in their hearts] Wandering, though not so wide as to miss of hell.

They have not known] viz. Practically and savingly.

Ver. 11. Unto whom I sware] When put past all patience, Patientia laesa fit furor.

Should not enter, &c.] Thus God sweareth cum reticentia, to show how greatly he was incensed.

Chapter 96

Ver. 1. O sing unto the Lord a new song] For this new mercy of the ark now brought into Jerusalem from the house of Obededom, #1Ch 15:25, but especially of Christ, typified by the ark, who should be preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up to glory, #1Ti 3:16.

Sing unto the Lord, all the earth] Which they could not do aright till they had heard, believed, and were sealed, #Eph 1:13. Unbelievers can have no true notion of God but as of an enemy; and, therefore, all their verbal praises are but a black sanctus, suitable to such saints.

Ver. 2. Sing unto the Lord, &c.] David was at this time full of affection and exultation of spirit (insomuch as Michal mocked him for it, #1Ch 15:29), and thence this heap of holy expressions to the same purpose. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Show forth his salvation] Evangelize, preach the gospel of salvation by Christ. See #Ps 40:10 2Sa 18:18 Isa 61:1, where the same word is used.

From day to day] Other news delight us only at first hearing; but the good news of our redemption is sweet from day to day, ac si in eodem die redemptio fuisset operata, saith Kimchi here, as if it were done but today. Tam recens mihi nunc Christus est, saith Luther, ac si hac hora fudisset sanguinem, Christ is now as fresh unto me as if he had shed his blood but this very hour.

Ver. 3. Declare his glory] Heb. Cipher it up in the particulars, that God be no loser by you.

His wonders among all people] There is a world of wonders in the work of man’s redemption by Christ; and all other mercies meet in this, as the lines in the centre, streams in the fountain.

Ver. 4. For the Lord is great] Vere magnus est Christianorum Deus, said Calocerius, a heathen; he is omni laude maior, et merito metuendus, saith David here, and elsewhere often. Sound out, therefore, and send abroad his worthy praises, that others may hear and fear.

Ver. 5. For all the gods, &c.] Deunculi, deastri, those petty gods, those dunghill deities of the heathens, are nullities; indeed, they are devils, and those idols were their receptacles, and, as it were, their bodies, from whence in some places they gave oracles; but were silenced at Christ’s coming in the flesh, to the great amazement of their superstitious worshippers.

But the Lord made the heavens] With singular artifice, #Heb 11:10, using παση σοφιας μηχανη, every engine of wisdom (Clem. Alex. Paid. l. 1. c. 9).

Ver. 6. Honour and majesty are before him] These are his harbingers, and they go often coupled, as #Ps 104:1 Ps 111:3 Ps 145:5 Job 40:10, &c. By the former, seemeth to be meant outward port and splendour; by the latter, inward reverence and respect following thereupon.

Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary] God’s glory shineth more in his Church than in all the world besides.

Ver. 7. Give unto the Lord] See #Ps 29:1,2. One rendereth it, Tribuite ponderose, unde בהי onus pondus portate; to show that our praises of God should be ponderous and substantial.

Ver. 8. Give unto the Lord the glory, &c.] It was hard for the heathens to forego their superstitions (Cicero resolved he would never do it, &c.), therefore they are here so pressed to it. See #Re 14:6,7, with the notes there. One expositor giveth this note here, Ternarius numerus est sacer ob mysterium Triadis; ideo enim eo scriptura gaudet. The Scripture oft presseth or expresseth things thrice over, in reference to the mystery of the holy Trinity.

Bring an offering] Reasonable service, #Ro 12:1; spiritual sacrifices acceptable by Jesus Christ, #1Pe 2:5.

Ver. 9. O worship the Lord, &c.] Supplicate proni, fall flat on your faces (Geneb.). See #Ps 95:6.

In the beauty of holiness] i.e. In his courts, as #Ps 96:8, or in holy beauty, as some render it; that is, in true faith, and with good affections.

Fear before him] Rejoice before him with trembling, #Ps 2:11

Ver. 10. Say among the heathen] Proclamate undique praecones, &c., Make proclamation everywhere, that now the Lord Christ reigneth; and that there shall be a general jubilee.

The world also shall be established] There is no true stability but where Christ reigneth; he will settle peace and good order, which the devil, that turbulent spirit, and his agents, desire to disturb, and to set all on a hurry comb.

Ver. 11. Let the heavens rejoice, &c.] Let there be a general joy for the general renovation by the coming of Christ, #Ro 8:22, after which the whole creation groaneth also. Basil and others by heaven, earth, &c., understand angels, men of all sorts, as islanders, seamen, fieldmen, woodlanders, &c. Vel est similitudo ad denotandam in mundo pacem, saith Kimchi, Or it is a similitude to note peace all over the world. And surely when Christ came there was a universal aut pax aut pactio, saith Florus, peace or truce, under the government of Augustus.

Let the sea roar] Heb. thunder; Externo fragore et bombo testetur internam animi laetitiam, let it testify its joy perstrependo et reboando, by roaring its utmost.

Ver. 12. Let the field be joyful, &c.] And so give check to the hardness of man’s heart, not at all affected with those benefits by Christ, wherein they are far more concerned than these insensible creatures; which yet have lain bedridden, as it were, ever since man’s fall, and earnestly wait for the manifestation of the sons of God, #Ro 8:19.

Ver. 13. Before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh] Certainly, suddenly, happily, &c., for this is the sum of all the good news in the world, that Christ cometh and cometh; that is, saith Basil, once, to show the world how they shall be saved; and a second time, to judge the world for neglecting so great salvation, &c.

Chapter 97

Ver. 1. The Lord reigneth] This is matter of greatest joy to the righteous. Gaudeo quod Christus Dominus est, alioqui totus desperassem, I am glad that Christ is Lord of all; for otherwise I should uttely have been out of hope, saith Miconius, in an Epistle to Calvin, upon the view of the Church’s enemies.

Let the multitudes of isles be glad] As more happy herein than any of those called the Fortunate Islands, or than Cyprus, anciently called Macaria, that, is, The blessed isle, for her abundance of commodities.

Ver. 2. Clouds and darkness are round about him] As once at the delivering of the law, so now in publishing the gospel, he is no less terrible, having vengeance in store for the disobedient, #2Co 10:6. It is a savour of death to unbelievers. Christ came to send fire on the earth, #Lu 12:49.

Righteousness and judgment, &c.] Mercy Christ hath for the penitent, judgment for the rebellious, who seek to dethrone him. Woe to those gospel sinners.

Ver. 3. A fire goeth before him] For even our God is a consuming fire, #Heb 12:29 (and not the God of the Jews only), as shall well appear at the last day, #2Th 1:8. {See Trapp on "Ps 97:2"}

Ver. 4. His lightnings enlightened the world] His apostles, those fulmiua Ecclesiastica, shall spread gospel light, and amaze people; the Lord working with them, and confirming their word with signs following, #Mr 16:20

Ver. 5. The hills melted like wax] Nothing shall be so stout and steady as to be able to stand before them.

Before the Lord] Adon, Dominator, the maker and master of all, the rightful proprietary. The Latin translation hath it, All the earth is before the face of the Lord.

Ver. 6. The heavens declare his righteousness] As so many Catholic preachers, #Ps 19:1 50:4,6. By heavens some understand angels, concurring with men to glorify God. Others, the heavenly bodies pleading God’s cause against atheists and idolaters. They that worshipped the sun were atheists by night; and they that worshipped the moon were atheists by day, as Cyril wittily.

Ver. 7. Confounded be all they that serve graven images] Those instruments of idolatry, and lurking places of devils, diabolicae inspirationis et iustinctus participes. Such and their servants we may lawfully pray against.

That boast themselves of idols] As did that idolatrous Micah, #Jud 17:4,5, Nebuchadnezzar, #Da 3:1-7; Julian, called, therefore Idolian; the Papists at this day. See Dr Rainolds de Idololatria Romana.

Worship him, all ye gods] i.e. All ye angels, saith the Greek and Arabic; and the apostle saith the same, #Heb 1:6, proving Christ to be God-man. This psalm, saith Beza, is highly to be prized of all Christ’s, as containing a most divine epitome of all gospel mysteries.

Ver. 8. Zion heard, and was glad] Heard what? the downfall of the devil’s kingdom, and the erecting of Christ’s sceptre; this was good news to the Church, and her children. Berne was the first town that after the Reformation burnt their images. Zurich followed on an Ash Wednesday, which they observe and celebrate every year to this day, with all mirths, plays, and pastimes, as an Ash Wednesday of God’s own making.

Ver. 9. For thou, Lord, art high above all the earth] Declared now to be so with power, as #Ro 1:4, and the world convinced of singular sottishness in fancying other divinities.

Thou art exalted above all gods] "Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come," #Eph 1:21. Here, then, we have the super-exaltation of Christ’s person; and the apostle manifestly alludeth to it, #Eph 4:10 Php 2:9.

Ver. 10. Ye that love the Lord] As having tasted of Christ’s sweetness, being justified by his merit, and sanctified by his Spirit, #1Pe 2:4 1Co 6:11; carried after him with strength of desire, #Ps 42:1, and delight, #Ps 73:25. Such as these only are Christ’s true subjects; others will pretend to him, but they are but hangbys, unless the love of Christ constrain them to hate evil, to hate it as hell, #Ro 12:9. Sin seemeth to have its name of Sena to hate (the word אנשׁ here used), because it is most of all to be hated, as the greatest evil; as that which setteth us farthest from God, the greatest good αποστυγουντες. This none can do but those that love the Lord Christ in sincerity; for all hatred comes from love. A natural man may be angry with his sin, as a man is sometimes with his wife or friend for some present vexation; but hate it he cannot; yea, he may leave it (for the ill consequents of sin), but not loathe it. If he did, he would loathe all, as well as any, for hatred is ever against the whole kind of a thing, saith Aristotle, το μισος προς τα γενη (Rhetor. lib. 2).

Ver. 11. Light is sown for the righteous] The righteous is haeres crucis, the heir of the cross; and many are his troubles. A child of light may walk in darkness and have no light, #Isa 50:10, yet Christ will not leave him comfortless, #Joh 14:16, light is sown for him. It is yet seeding time, and that is usually wet and dropping; and the seed must have a time to lie, and then to grow, ere a crop can be expected; there must be also weeding and clodding, &c. "Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it. Be ye also patient, stablish your heart," &c., #Jas 5:7,8. We look not to sow and reap in a day, as he saith of the Hyperborean people far north, that they sow shortly after the sunrising with them, and reap before the sunset, sc. because the whole half year is one continual day with them (Heresbach de re Rust.). Deliverance will come in God’s good time; and as before the morning light is the thickest darkness, as the seed that lieth longest underground cometh up at length with greatest increase, so here. Semen modicum, sed messis foecunda, saith Aben Ezra on the text.

And gladness for the upright] This clause expoundeth the former.

Ver. 12. Rejoice in the Lord] See #Ps 32:11, {See Trapp on "Ps 32:11"}

At the remembrance of his holiness] That is, of himself; for whatsoever is in God is God; as also of his works and benefits, whereby he giveth you so good occasion to remember him.

A Psalm] The Greek addeth, of David. A man might think it were rather of John Baptist pointing out Christ, and his kingdom, as if already come, with the great good thereby accruing to the saints.

Chapter 98

Ver. 1. O sing unto the Lord a new song] See #Ps 96:1, and observe how the compiler of the psalms hath hereabout set together sundry psalms of the same subject.

His right hand and his holy arm] His is emphatic, and exclusive; q.d. Christ alone hath done the deed, he is our sole Saviour, #Isa 59:16 63:5. In the justification of a sinner Christ and faith are alone, saith Luther, Tanquam sponsus et sponsa in thalamo. As wax and water cannot meet together, so neither can Christ and anything else in this work. Away, then, with that devilish doctrine of the saints’ merits, Quibuscunque tandem pigmentis illita obtrudatur. If any commend or go after any other way to salvation besides Christ, he doth according to the Greek proverb, draw mischiefs to himself; as the wind Caecius doth clouds, Κακα εφ εαυτον ελκει ως ο Καικιας νεφος, (Aristot. in Meteor.).

Ver. 2. The Lord hath made known his salvation] His way of saving his people by his Son, Christ, #Mt 1:21: this mystery, so long kept secret, is now made known to all nations for the obedience of faith, #Ro 16:25,26.

His righteousness] Made ours by imputation; this the Jews to this day deride, and the Papists call it putative, in a jeer.

Ver. 3. He hath remembered his mercy, and his truth] His mercy moving him to promise, and his truth binding him to perform, #2Sa 7:18,21, and hence all our happiness.

Ver. 4. Make a joyful noise] Bless God for a Christ. The Argives, when delivered by the Romans from the tyranny of the Macedonians and Spartans, Quae gaudia, quae vociferationes fuerunt! quid fiorum in Consulem profuderunt! what great joys expressed they! what loud outcries made they! the very birds that flew over them fell on the ground, astonied with their noises (Plut. in Flamin.). The crier at the Nemean games was forced to pronounce the word liberty iterumque iterumque, again and again.

Ver. 5. Sing unto the Lord with the harp] Tum cithararum tum vocum mutuis vicibus; do your utmost in the most superlative manner you can devise.

Ver. 6. Make a joyful noise] By the repeating and inculcating of this exhortation is intimated our dulness and backwardness to a business of this nature; the necessity of the duty, and excellency of the mercy that can never be sufficiently celebrated.

Ver. 7. {See Trapp on "Ps 96:11"}

Ver. 8. {See Trapp on "Ps 96:12"}

Ver. 9. {See Trapp on "Ps 96:13"}

Chapter 99

Ver. 1. The Lord reigneth] Even the Lord Christ, as #Ps 97:1.

Let the people tremble] Let them serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. By the people some understand the Jews, and by the earth all other nations; let there be a general subjection yielded to the sceptre of his kingdom.

Ver. 2. The Lord is great in Zion] In his Church he giveth many great testimonies of his power and presence, and is therefore magnified by his people.

And he is high above all the people] In the things wherein they deal proudly he is above them, #Ex 18:11.

Ver 3. Let them praise thy great and terrible name] Nomen illud maiestativum. Some hereby understand the name Jehovah, of which #Jos 7:9, "What wilt thou do to thy great name?" And #Jer 44:26, "I have sworn by my great name." But God’s name is usually put for God’s self.

For it is holy] And therefore to be sanctified in righteousness, #Isa 5:16.

Ver. 4. The king’s strength also loveth judgment] i.e. Abest a Tyrannide. God abuseth not his kingly power to tyranny, but joineth it with his justice and uprightness. Regiment without righteousness is but robbery with authority. The Arabic hath it, Magnificentia regis est, ut diligat aequitatem.

Ver. 5. Exalt ye the Lord our God] Have high apprehensions of him and answerable expressions; set him up, and set him forth to the utmost.

And worship at his footstool] i.e. At his temple, saith the Chaldee; at the ark of the covenant, say the Rabbis. Austin interpreteth it of Christ’s humanity; which, although of itself it is not to be adored, because it is a creature, yet as it is received into unity of person with the Divinity, and hath a partner agency with the Godhead according to its measure in the works of redemption and mediation, #1Ti 2:4, it is to be worshipped. But how hard driven was that second synod of Nice, when they abused this text, among many others, to prove the worshipping of images and pictures!

Ver. 6. Moses and Aaron among his priests] Or chief officers, as #1Ch 18:17. Moses was, if not a priest, yet a continual intercessor for the people, and a type of Christ, the great mediator of his Church. Aben Ezra calleth him Cohen haccohanim, the priest of priests; and Philo, writing his Life, concludeth, this was the life and death of Moses the king, the lawgiver, the prophet, and the chief priest.

And Samuel] A man that could do much with God likewise, #Jer 15:1, and is therefore (as some conceive) called Pethuel, that is, a persuader of God, #Joe 1:1 (Alsted).

Ver. 7. They kept his testimonies] And so showed that they called upon God with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, #Heb 10:22.

Ver. 8. Thou wast a God, &c.] A sin pardoning God, #Ne 9:17. So thou wast to them under the law, so thou wilt be to those under the gospel.

Though thou tookest, &c.] Though Moses might not enter for his unbelief, and Samuel smarted for indulging his sons.

Ver. 9. Exalt the Lord] Versus amoibaeus. See #Ps 99:5.

A Psalm of praise] Suavis et gravis, short and sweet; appointed, likely, to be sung at the thank offerings, quando pacifica erant offerenda, say the Italian and Spanish annotators. See #Ps 100:4. Enter with thanksgiving, or with thank sacrifice, #Le 7:12.

Chapter 100

Ver. 1. All ye lands] Both Jews and Gentiles, #Ro 15:10,11, for your common salvation.

Ver. 2. Serve the Lord with gladness] The Cabbalists have a proverb, The Holy Ghost singeth not but out of a glad heart. Cheerfulness is much called for in both Testaments, God loveth a cheerful server.

Ver. 3. Know ye that the Lord he is God] Be convinced of it, ye heathens, whose fantasies have forged false gods; and ye Jews, acknowledge the true God to be Three in one, and One in three.

It is he that hath made us] And newly made us; "for we are his workmanship" (a second time) "created in Christ Jesus unto good works," #Eph 2:10. The word signifieth, saith Kimchi, Ornare beneficiis, afficere donis, gratiis cumulare {confer #1Sa 12:6} and so is distinguished from Bara, to create, and Jatsar, to form. William of Malmesbury telleth of a certain emperor of Germany, who, coming by chance into a church on the sabbath day, found there a most misshapen priest, pene portentum naturae, insomuch as the emperor much scorned and contemned him; but when he heard him read those words in the service, "For it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves," the emperor checked his own proud thoughts, and made inquiry into the quality and conditions of the man, and finding, upon examination, that he was a very learned and devout man, he made him archbishop of Collen, which place he discharged with much commendations.

We are his people, and the sheep] See #Ps 95:7. This is a privilege proper to the communion of saints.

Ver. 4. Enter into his gates, &c.] As sheep into his sheepfolds, frequent his public ordinances, wait at the posts of the gates of wisdom; there, as at a heavenly exchange, the smuts present duty, and God confers mercy.

Ver. 5. For the Lord is good] Though we be evil, he giveth us all these good things gratis; and although we provoke him daily to punish us, yet his mercy is everlasting: like a fountain, it runneth after it hath run; and as the sun, which shineth after it hath shined. See #Zec 13:1 Joh 1:27.

And his truth endureth to all generations] Heb. to generation and generation. He saith not, for ever, saith an interpreter, because his promises are true, but under a condition, which perhaps the following generations will not observe; the condition is to the promise as an oar in a boat, or stern of a ship, which turns it another way.

A Psalm of David] Wherein he promiseth and pre-engageth, that whenever he came to the kingdom he will be a singular example, both as a prince and as a master of a family; in which respect this psalm should be often read and ruminated by such, that their houses may be as the house of David, #Zec 12:8, and as the palace of George, prince of Anbalt, which was, saith Melancthon, Ecclesia, Academia, Curia, a church, an academy, and a court. Bishop Ridley read and expounded this psalm oftentimes to his household, hiring them with money to learn it and other select scriptures by heart. A good governor is like that nobleman who had for his impress two bundles of ripe millet bound together, with this motto, Servare et Servari meum est; for the nature of the millet is both to guard itself from all corruption and also those things that lie near it. That is a rare commendation that is given the late reverend and religious Dr Chatterton, that he was a housekeeper three and fifty years, and yet in all that time he never kept any of his servants from church to prepare his meal, saying, That he desired as much to have his servants know God as himself (His Life by Mr Clark).

Chapter 101

Ver. 1. I will sing of mercy and judgment] David’s ditty was composed of discords. Mercy and justice are the brightest stars in the sphere of majesty; the main supports of a throne royal; howbeit there should be a pre-eminence to mercy, as one well observeth from #Mic 6:8. Mercy must be loved, and not shown only; justice must be done, and no more. The sword of justice must be bathed in the oil of mercy; a well-tempered mixture of both preserveth the commonwealth, #Ro 13:3,4.

Unto thee, O Lord, will I sing] Acknowledge thee alone, the bestower of these graces, and thy glory as the end. These are matters that philosophers and politicians mind not.

Ver. 2. I will behave myself wisely] I will begin the intended reformation at myself, and then set things to rights in my family, which while Augustus did not he was worthily blamed by his subjects, and told, that public persons must carefully observe,

Aedibus in propriis quae recta aut prava gerantur (Plut.).

Cato said, that he could pardon all men’s faults but his own. But Cato the wise wanted the wisdom from above, and was therefore short of David, who promiseth here to be merry, "I will sing," and yet wise, "I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way"; that is, in an upright conversation, and in a faithful discharge of the great trust committed unto me.

Oh when wilt thou come unto me?] In the performance of thy promise concerning the kingdom? For I am resolved not to antevert thee, but to wait thy coming; Est suspirium pii animi ex abrapto, like that of Jacob, "I have waited, O Lord, for thy salvation," #Ge 49:18. Or, When wilt thou come, viz. to reckon with me? For come thou wilt.

I will walk within my house with a perfect heart] And "although my house be not so with God," yet "this is all my desire" (and shall be mine endeavour), "although he make it not to grow," #2Sa 23:5. I will walk incessantly, Indefinenter ambulabo (Kimchi), walk in the midst of mine house, sicut cogitabundus et intentus ambulat huc et illuc, #2Ki 4:34, and this I will do in the uprightness of mine heart; for that a man is in truth, that he is at home. Follow hypocrites home to their houses, and there you shall see what they are. Look upon stage players, and you may see them act the parts of kings and honest men, but follow them to their own houses, and there they are but base servants.

Ver. 3. I will set no wicked thing (Heb. thing of Belial) before mine eyes] That is, in my thoughts, saith Kimchi; for the thinking faculty is in the forepart of the brain, as are also the eyes. I will not gaze upon forbidden objects, nor venture upon a temptation to or an occasion of sin. I will also be wise and wary in the choice of my servants and under officers. Theodosius’s court was virtutum officina, non vitiorum sentina, saith Pareus. And Archbishop Cranmer’s house was schola vel palaestra pietatis et literarum, saith Tremellius. See above on the title of this psalm.

I hate the work of them that turn aside] Of treacherous men and apostates; such as Constantius Chlorus, the father of Constantine the Great found (by proof made) some of his counsellors and courtiers to be, and therefore turned them off, saying, He cannot be faithful to me who is unfaithful to God; Pietate sublata fides tollitur (Euseb.).

It shall not cleave to me] I will none of them, neither shall any such wickedness hang at my heels, to hinder my progress in piety and good government.

Ver. 4. A froward heart shall depart from me] i.e. Say some, I will endeavour to put off the old man with the lusts thereof, #Eph 4:22, the old crooked frame shall be dissolved, and a better erected. I will not know evil, that is, regard, or allow it, #Ps 1:6. Others understand the text of rotten hearted and wicked counsellors, whom David would abhor and abandon.

Ver. 5. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour] Heb. Him that in secret tongue smiteth his fellow friend, will I suppress. This David purposed to do, but this he did not so thoroughly in the case of poor Mephibosheth, belied by false Ziba; his resolution was maledicos et maleficos a se depellere, to drive away from him sycophants, backbiters, flatterers; but there is a great sympathy between princes and such pests, those harpies and gaping crows of courts, as one calleth them. ( Sorices et tineas palatii appellabat Constant. Mag.). David promiseth fair to purge and eliminate from his house and court of such, and to cut them off, secundum leges regni, according to the laws of the kingdom, as Aben Ezra glosseth.

Him that hath an high look] Pride will sit and show itself in the eyes as soon as anywhere. A man is seen for what he is, in oculis, in poculis, in loculis, say the Rabbis. See #Pr 6:17.

And a proud heart] Heb. a wide or broad heart, that thinketh great things of himself, and seeketh great things for himself.

I will not suffer] Heb. I will not, sc. away with, or endure at any hand. The Greeks, and after them others, read, I will not eat with them. Legunt ocal pro ucal; and by large of heart, they understand belly gods, men of large appetites, such as were the two sons of Eli, Belialists, and Hellicones.

Ver. 6. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land] i.e. Let them live where they will, I will hearken them out, and find them out. The Rabbis say, that here David repenteth him of taking into his service and tuition those indebted and discontented persons, men of broken fortunes and loose manners, #1Sa 22:1,2, and resolveth to be better advised in the choosing and using of his retinue when he cometh to the kingdom, that his court might be like that of Cyrus, whereof Xenophon saith, that though a man should seek or choose blindfold, he could not miss of a good man (Cyrop. l. 8). Zonaros mainly commendeth Valentinian I and Leo Armeuius, emperors, for their good choice of both civil and military officers. He condemneth as much Macrinus for the contrary.

He shall serve me] λειτουργησει μοι, he shall be of honourable employment about me, as Joseph was to Pharaoh, Cromwell to Henry VIII, his vicar-general.

Ver. 7. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell in my house] If I may know him to be such a one, I shall soon cashier him, and serve him as Philip of Macedon afterwards did two of his evil servants; the one whereof he compelled to run out of his country, and the other to drive him. David was not guarded and surrounded, as many princes are today, Magno agmine Aionum, Negonum, Ganeonum, Palponum, Gnathonum, Balatronum.

He that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight] Liars are frequent in courts, as in Saul’s, and do much mischief. The good Emperor Aurelius was much abused by them. Lewis XI of France complained that he had plenty of all things but of only one; and being asked of what? Of truth, quoth he. Augustus took on exceedingly when Varus was slain in battle, and gave this for a reason, Quod non esset a quo verum audiret, because he had not now a friend from whom he could hear the truth of things.

Ver. 8. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land] All, without partiality, and betimes, in matutinis, without delay, making it my morning’s work to do justice; for then was judgment executed, #Jer 21:12. Or, I will do it daily, and as duly as the house is swept. See #La 3:23, Indesinenter regnum, regiam Ecclesiamque purgabo a male (Trem.).

That I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of God] All the notorious debuchers from the Church; that I may weed out those wicked ones, those trouble towns, those desperadoes, the botches of human society. And here David describeth the utmost and chief end of civil government (that which the philosophers never dreamed of), viz. That God may be purely and sincerely served in his city, that is, in his Church.

A Prayer of the afflicted] Or, for the afflicted, made by Daniel, or some other prophet, not long before the return out of Babylon, where they suffered much but prayed little, as Daniel confesseth, #Da 9:13. Here, therefore, they are taught to take unto them words, and say, "Hear my prayer, O Lord," &c. In greatest afflictions there is place left for prayer, #Ps 130:1, and something God will yield to it, when most bitterly bent against a people, #Mt 24:20,21.

When he is overwhelmed] Pressed out of measure above strength, #2Co 1:8, ad deliquium animae, till heart faint and faith seem to fail, bowing down through weight of grief, ac si pars una corporis alia esset operta; for so the word here used signifieth, saith Kimchi, as if one part of the body were overcovered with another. Estque pulchra collatio in verbis gnataph et shaphac, quae naturam fidei depingunt, saith Mollerus; faith may be under a cloud for a season, but it will recover, and pour out its complaint before the Lord.

Chapter 102

Ver. 1. Hear my prayer, O Lord] O Lord Christ, for so this psalm is to be understood, as the apostle showeth, #Heb 1:6

And let my cry] Which is, that thou wouldest be pleased to bring us poor exiles back to our own country; and so this prayer is answerable to that of #Da 9

Ver. 2. Hide not thy face from me] For this would be worse than all the rest. See #Jer 16:13, "I will cast you out of this land, and I will show you no favour." This last was a cutting speech, and far worse than their captivity; and yet,

Non exul curae dicitur esse Deo.

Answer me speedily] Festina, responde. In our earnest prayers we may press for expedition in general, not tying God to any particular time, as those Bethulians did in the Book of Judith.

Ver. 3. For my days are consumed like smoke] Which the higher it mounteth the sooner it vanisheth. Some read it, in the smoke. So #Ps 119:83, "I am become like a bottle in the smoke," dried and withered, exsuccus et exsanguis.

And my bones are burnt as an hearth] Ossa mea quasi frixa contabuerunt. My strength is gone, Veluti sartagines (Arab.). Here, to the twelfth verse, is a most lively picture of a dejected person, such as can hardly be paralleled; teaching us to be deeply affected with the Church’s afflictions.

Ver. 4. My heart is smitten] Blasted with thine indignation, that ventus urens et exsiccans.

So that I forget to eat my bread] I am stomachless, through want of that heat that my heart should supply.

Ver. 5. By reason of the voice of my groaning] A broken spirit drieth the bones, #Pr 17:22, and, by drinking up the marrow and radical moisture, casteth all into a consumption.

Ver. 6. I am like a pelican] Or bittern, which liveth in lonely places, and crieth out dolefully, #Isa 34:11 Zep 2:14.

I am like an owl in the desert] Avis lucifuga, a night bird, a night raven, the Vulgate hath it; others, a bat, a cuckoo, but mostly an owl, that noctis monstrum, as Pliny, lib. 10, cap. 12, speaketh of her, nec cantu aliquo vocales sed gemitu, hated of all other fowls, which never come near her, but to keep a wondering at her.

Ver. 7. I watch] I can as little sleep as eat, #Ps 102:4. That nurse of nature, and sweet parenthesis of men’s griefs and cares, sleep, departeth from me,

Nec membris dat cura soporem.

And am as a sparrow] That hath lost his mate, so have I mine associates, which is a sore loss, for optimum solatium sodalitium.

Ver. 8. Mine enemies reproach me all the day] This is an evil that man’s nature is most impatient with. See Psal. cxxxvii.

And they that are mad against me] That let fly at me, or that once praised me, flattered me. So the Sept.

Are sworn against me] Have sworn my death, or do swear and curse by me, as the Turks do at this day, when, to confirm a truth, they say, Iudaeus sim si fallam, I would I were a Jew, it is so. See #Zec 8:13 Isa 6:11-13 Jer 29:22. God make thee as Ahab, and as Zedekiah, &c.

Ver. 9. For I have eaten ashes like bread] Being cast on the ground as a mourner, I know not whether I eat bread or dust; this relisheth to me as well as that, my mouth is so out of taste.

And mingled my drink with weeping] I forbare not to weep, no, not while I drank; for tow is dry, and wine driveth away sorrow, we say; not so from me. Wine is called by Simonides in Athenaeus αμυντωρ δυσφροσυναων, an expeller of sadness.

Ver. 10. Because of thine indignation] This lay heavier upon the good man’s heart than all the rest, God was displeased.

For thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down] That is, that I might fall with the greater poise. Significatur gravissima collisio. De coelo in terram (R. Solom.). Here the prophet accuseth not God of cruelty, but bewaileth his own misery. Miserum est fuisse felicem, It is no small unhappiness to have been happy.

Ver. 11. My days are like a shadow that declineth] As at sunset the shadows are at longest, but not longlasting.

And I am withered like grass] Mown down, and laid a drying.

Ver. 12. But thou, O Lord, shalt endure for ever] And therefore we, thy covenanters, shall be restored, #La 5:19.

And thy remembrance] Which thou hast of us, and we of thee.

Ver. 13. Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion] This he speaketh with as much confidence as if he had been in God’s bosom; for he knew the promise of deliverance after 70 years’ captivity. See the like #Hab 1:12.

For the time to favour her, &c.] This he understood by books, as #Da 9:2, and therefore presseth God to a speedy performance. God loveth to be burdened with his own word, to be sued upon his own bond, &c. But besides the promise, the psalmist had another ground of his confidence, and that is in the next.

Ver. 14. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones] They pity her, and wish her welfare; much more then dost thou. He argueth from that sweet, tender, melting frame of spirit that was found in the faithful, which is but a reflex of that far sweeter that is in God.

And favour the dust thereof] The ruins and the rubbish, heartily desiring and expecting a re-edification and restoration, whereof they had a sweet promise, #Am 9:9, and for the spiritual temple to be built of Jews and Gentiles, they had many more. See all that followeth.

Ver. 15. So the heathen shall fear, &c.] By the restoration of Jerusalem, where the Messiah was to be born and manifested, the everlasting gospel shall be preached, and the Gentiles converted to the faith.

And all the kings of the earth] Caught by those fishermen, and their successors in the ministry.

Ver. 16. When the Lord shall build up Zion] Isaiah had foretold that the second temple should be more glorious than the first, #Isa 54:11 60:17, the stones whereof were types of those living stones whereof that spiritual temple was to be built, #1Pe 2:5, and wherein God would manifest more of his glory than ever he had done in all the world besides.

Ver. 17. He will regard the prayer of the destitute] Heb. of the poor shrub that is in the wilderness, trod upon by beasts, unregarded, worthless; heath, juniper, wild tamarisk, Humilesque myricae (Virg.). Tremellius rendereth it Nudatissimi; others Excitantis se, the prayer of one that stirreth up himself to take hold of God, and thereby prevaileth with him. I came for thy prayer, saith the angel to Daniel, #Ps 10:12.

Ver. 18. This shall be written for the generation to come] This, that the poor shrub hath sped so well in prayer, together with all other the particulars of this psalm, and indeed the whole Scripture, #Ro 15:4. So little truth is there in that assertion of the Jesuits, that the epistles of the apostles were intended only for the use of those Churches or persons to whom they were first written.

And the people which shall be created] "Created in Christ Jesus unto good works," #Eph 2:10, his regenerated people; for God planteth the heavens, and layeth the foundations of the earth, that he may "say to Zion, Thou art my people," #Isa 51:16.

Ver. 19. For he hath looked down from the height, &c.] This is no small condescension, since he abaseth himself to look upon things in heaven, #Ps 113:6.

From heaven did the Lord behold the earth] That is, his poor despised servants, that are in themselves no better than the earth they tread on.

Ver. 20. To hear the groaning of the prisoner] Those prisoners of hope held so long captive in Babylon, the cruelty whereof is graphically described, #Jer 51:34.

Ver. 21. To declare the name of the Lord in Zion] This shall be the business of the converted Gentiles, to make up one catholic Church with the Christian Jews, and to bear a part in setting forth God’s worthy praises. See #Ps 102:18.

Ver. 22. When the people are gathered together] sc. To the Lord Christ; for to "Shiloh shall be the gathering of the people," #Ge 49:10.

And the kingdoms to serve the Lord] As they did under Constantine the Great, Valentinian, Theodosius, which three emperors called themselves vasallos Christi (as Socrates reporteth), the vassals of Christ: and the like may be said of other Christian kings and princes since, who have yielded professed subjection to the gospel, and cast their crowns at Christ’s feet.

Ver. 23. He weakened my strength in the way] This is the complaint of the poor captives yet undelivered, In via, hoc est in vita, quia hic sumus viatores, in coelo comprehensores, here we are but on our way to heaven, and we meet with many discouragements.

He shortened my days] viz. According to my account; for otherwise in respect of God our days are numbered.

Stat sua cuique dies.

Ver. 24. Take me not away in the midst of my days] Heb. Make me not to ascend, Serus in coelum redeam. Fain I would live to see those golden days of redemption. Abraham desired to see the day of Christ, #Joh 8:56; Simeon did, and then sang out his soul. All the saints after the captivity looked hard for the consolation of Israel.

Thy years are throughout all generations] And that is the comfort of thy poor covenanters, who are sure to participate of all thy goods.

Ver. 25. Of old thou hast laid the foundation, &c.] Here is a clear proof of Christ’s eternity, #Heb 1:10, because he was before the creation of the world, and shall continue after the consummation thereof, #Ps 102:26,27. So the saints a parte post. #1Jo 2:17, "The world passeth away, and the lusts thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."

Ver. 26. They shall perish] i.e. They shall change form and state, being dissolved by the last fire, #2Pe 3:7,10.

But thou shalt endure] Heb. stand, and with thee thy Church, #Mt 22:32.

Yea, all of them shall wax old as a garment] Which weareth in the wearing; so do the visible heavens and the earth, whatever some write de constantia naturae. Isaiah saith it rotteth as a book (that is venerandae rubiginis), and wasteth away as smoke, #Isa 65:17 66:22.

As a vesture shalt thou change them] The Greek hath roll them: confer #Isa 34:4, ελιξεις αλλαξεις.

Ver. 27. But thou art the same] Tu es tu (Arabic). Therefore immutable, because eternal, ut nihil tibi possit accedere vel decidere,

Ver. 28. The children of thy servants shall continue] By virtue of the covenant, and that union with thee which is the ground of communion. If it could be said of Caesar, that he held nothing to be his own that he did not communicate to his friends, how much more of Christ! Propterea bene semper sperandum, etiamsi omnia ruant. The Church is immortal and immutable.

A Psalm of David] Which he wrote when carried out of himself, as far as heaven, saith Beza; and therefore calleth not upon his own soul only, but upon all creatures, from the highest angel to the lowest worm, to set forth God’s praises.

Chapter 103

Ver. 1. Bless the Lord, O my soul] Agedum animule mi, et intima men viscera. A good man’s work lieth most within doors; he is more taken up with his own heart than with all the world besides; neither can he ever be alone so long as he hath God and his own soul to converse with. David’s harp was not oftener out of tune than his heart, which here he is setting right, that he may the better make melody to the Lord. Music is sweet, but the setting of the strings in tune is unpleasing; so is it harsh to set our hearts in order, which yet must be done, and thoroughly done, as here.

And all that is within me] All my faculties and senses. The whole soul and body must be set awork in this service; the judgment, to set a right estimate upon mercies; the memory, to recognize and retain them, #De 6:11,12 8:14; the will, which is the proper seat of thankfulness; the affections, love, desire, joy, confidence; all must be actuated, that our praises may be cordial, vocal, vital. In peace offerings God called for the fat and inwards.

Ver. 2. Bless the lord, O my soul] David found some dulness and drowsiness; hence he so oft puts the thorn to the breast; hence he so impetuously instigateth his soul, as one here phraseth it.

And forget not all his benefits] Forgetfulness is a grave; look to it: eaten bread is soon forgotten with us, as it is with children; neither perisheth anything so soon with many as a good turn, Αμναμονες οι βροτοι (Pindar). Alphonsus, king of Arragon, professed that he wondered not so much at his courtiers’ ingratitude to him (who had raised many of them from mean to great estates, which they little remembered) as at his own to God.

Ver. 3. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities] David not only taketh upon him with a holy imperiousness, laying God’s charge upon his soul to be thankful; but intending to show himself good cause why to be so, he worthily beginneth with remission of sin, as a complexive mercy, and such as comprehendeth all the rest. He had a crown of pure gold set upon his head, #Ps 21:3; but here he blesseth God for a better crown; #Ps 103:4, "Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness," &c. And how was this crown set on his head but by forgiving all his iniquities?

Who healeth all thy diseases] Corporal and spiritual. Quod sanitas in corpore id sanctitas in corde. Jehovah Rophe, or the Lord the physician (as he is called, #Ex 15:26), cureth his people on both sides, maketh them whole every whit. See #Isa 19:22 Mt 8:17. He bore our diseases.

Ver. 4. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction] From hell, saith the Chaldee; from a thousand deaths and dangers every day. All this Christ, our kind kinsman, doth for us, dying virtually as oft as we offend.

Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness, &c.] Encircleth and surroundeth thee with benefits, so that which way soever thou turnest thee, thou canst not look beside a blessing. {See Trapp on "Ps 103:3"}

Ver. 5. Who satisfieth thy mouth] Heb. thy jaws, so that thou art top full, eating as long as eating is good. God alloweth thee an honest affluence of outward comforts; open thy mouth wide, and he will fill it, #Ps 81:10.

So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s] The eagle is of all birds the most vegetous and vivacious, renewing her youth and health, they say, at every ten years’ end, by casting her old feathers, and getting new, till she be a hundred years old ( Aquilae senectus. Proverb). Augustine observeth that when her bill is overgrown, that she cannot take in her meat, she beateth it against a rock, and so excutit onus rostri, she striketh off the cumbersome part of her bill, and thereby recovereth her eating. That which hindereth our renovation, saith he, the rock Christ taketh away, &c. See #Isa 40:31.

Ver. 6. The Lord executeth, &c.] The words are both plural, to show that God will execute omnimodam iustitiamet iudicium, all and all manner of justice and judgment, relieving the oppressed, and punishing the oppressor to the full.

Ver. 7. He made known his ways unto Moses] Even right judgments, true laws, good statute and commandments, #Ne 9:13,14. The Rabbis by ways here understand God’s attributes and properties (Middoth they call them), those thirteen proclaimed, #Ex 34, after that Moses had prayed, #Ex 33:13, "Show me thy ways"; and the next words favour this interpretation.

His acts to the children] His miracles in Egypt, and all along the wilderness, where they fed upon sacraments.

Ver. 8. The Lord is merciful and gracious] These are Moses’s very expressions, #Ex 34:6. Theodoret calleth him, worthily, the great ocean of divinity, &c.

Ver. 9. He will not always chide] His still revenges are terrible, #Ge 6:3, with #1Pe 3:19, but God, being appeased towards the penitent people, will not show his anger so much as in words, #Isa 57:16.

Neither will he keep his anqer for ever] Much less must we, #Le 19:18 Eph 4:26, though against his enemies God is expressly said to keep it, #Na 1:2.

Ver. 10. He hath not dealt with us after our sins] Heb. our errors, our involuntary and unavoidable infirmities.

According to our iniquities] Heb. perversely committed; for of these evils also the saints are not free; but God beareth with more than small faults, especially if not scandalous.

Ver. 11. For as the heaven is high above the earth] How high the third heaven is cannot be conjectured. But for the middlemost heaven (wherein the sun, moon, and stars are placed), how exceeding high it is may be guessed and gathered, in that the stars (whereof those of the first magnitude are said to be every one above a hundred and seven times as big again as the whole earth) do yet seem to us but as so many sparks or spangles. See #Pr 25:3 Eph 4:10.

So great is his mercy] The heavens are exceeding high above the earth, but God’s mercy to his is above the heavens, #Ps 108:4. The original word, gabbar, here used, is the same with that, #Ge 7:20, used for the prevailing of the waters above the mountains.

Ver. 12. As far as the east, &c.] And these we know to be so far asunder that they shall never come together. The space also and distance of these two is the greatest that can be imagined, #De 4:32 Ps 113:3 Isa 45:6.

So far hath he removed our transgressions] The guilt of them, whereby a man stands charged with the fault, and is obliged to the punishment due thereunto. See #Isa 43:25 38:17 Mic 7:19 Eze 33:16. Peccata non redeunt. Discharges in justification are not repealed, called in again.

Ver. 13. Like as a father pitieth] There is an ocean of love in a father’s heart. See #Lu 15:20 Ge 33:2,13,14 34:3, how hardly and with what caution Jacob parted with Benjamin. Sozomen maketh mention of a certain merchant, who offering himself to be put to death for his two sons who were sentenced to die, and it being granted that one of the two (whom he should choose) should be upon that condition delivered; the miserable father, aequali utriusque amore victus, equally affected to them both, could not yield that either, of them should die, but remained hovering about both, till both were put to death.

So the Lord pitieth, &c.] So and ten thousand times more than so; for he is the Father of all mercies, and the Father of all the fatherhoods ( Parentela) in heaven and earth, #Eph 3:15.

Ver. 14. For he knoweth our frame] Our evil concupiscence, saith the Chaldee; Figulinam et fragilem constitutionem nostram, saith Junius, that we are nothing better than a compound of dirt and sin.

He remembereth that we are dust] Our bodies are (for our souls are of a spiritual nature, divinae particula aurae), and sooner or later to be turned to dust again.

Ver. 15. As for man, his days are as grass] The frailty of man’s life, intimated in the former verse, is here lively painted out under the similitude of grass, as likewise in many other Scriptures. See #Ps 37:2 90:5,6, &c.

As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth] Take him in all his gaiety, his beauty, and his bravery, he is but as a flower; and that not of the garden, which hath more shelter and better ordering, but of the field, and so more subject to heat, weather, pulling up, or treading down, #Isa 40:6-8.

Ver. 16. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone] Heb. it is not; that is, it neither continues any longer in being nor returns any more into being: so here, #Job 14:7-12.

And the place thereof shall know it no more] Though, while it stood and flourished, the place of it seemed as it were to know nothing but it, the glory and beauty of it drew all eyes to it, &c. Think the same of men in their flourish, soon forgotten, as dead men out of mind, #Ps 31:12.

Ver. 17. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting] God is from all eternity and unto all eternity kind to all that fear him, in what age of the world soever they live.

And his righteousness unto children’s children] That is, his kindness or bounty; for so the word tsedachah should be taken, according to #Ps 112:8,9 2Co 9:9.

Ver. 18. To such as keep his covenant] For else they shall know God’s breach of promise, as it is #Nu 14:3,4. Neither shall it benefit them to have been born of godly parents.

To those that remember his commandments] That resolve to do them, though in many things they fail, Qui faciunt praecepta etiamsi non perficiant, that wish well to that which they can never compass, #Ps 119:4,5. If they cannot open the door, yet if they give a pluck at the bolt or a lift of the latch, there is comfort.

Ver. 19. The Lord hath prepared] Or, fixed, founded, firmed, established. Here God is further praised for his most excellent Majesty, which appeareth, first, from the loftiness of his throne; secondly, from the largeness of his dominion.

Ver. 20. Bless the Lord, ye his angels] In stirring up the angels to praise God, he awaketh himself; and for this purpose, Incipit a superioribus, et finit in infirmis, saith Kimchi here, he calleth in the help of all the creatures, from the highest to the lowest; and, after all, concludeth as he began, with a saying to himself.

That excel in strength] Heb. Giants for strength, such as can prevail, and do great exploits, yet is all their strength derivative, they have it from God (who is Hagibbor, the mighty one, #De 10:17), and hence the angel Gabriel hath his name, God is my strength. Labour we to be like unto the angels, strengthened with all might, &c., #Col 1:11, walking about the world as conquerors, able to do all things through Christ, who strengtheneth us, #Php 4:13.

That do his commandments] viz. Cheerfully, speedily, universally, humbly, constantly. Let us do accordingly, else we mock God when we pray, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."

Ver. 21. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts] That is, all his creatures, which are fitly called God’s hosts, first, for their number; secondly, for their order; thirdly, for their obedience.

Ye ministers of his] Whether in State or Church. Kings are God’s ministers, #Ro 13:4,6. So are angels, #Heb 1:14, like as ministers are angels, #Re 2:1; they have exchanged names, their office is, angel-like, to wait upon God, to stand before him, to serve in his presence, and to bless his name.

Ver. 22. Bless the Lord, all his works] Whether living or lifeless; for all thy works praise thee, O Lord, and thy saints bless thee, #Ps 145:10. Benedicite ter, ad mysterium Triadis, saith an interpreter.

Bless the Lord, O my soul] Whatever others do, let me be doing at it, as #Jos 24:14,15.

Chapter 104

Ver. 1. Bless the Lord, O my soul] This was much in David’s mouth, as Deo gratias was in Austin’s. See #Ps 103:1,22, after which this psalm is fitly set. There he blesseth God for his benefits to himself and the whole Church; here, for his works of creation and government common to the whole world. The Greek and Latin translations prefix this title, David de generatione Mundi. υπερ του κοσμου συστασεως, Continet opera Bereshith, saith Kimchi. It is of the same subject with the first chapter of Genesis, the first five days’ works are here after a sort considered and celebrated, as a mirror wherein God’s majesty may be clearly discerned. This psalm is by some called David’s natural theology.

Thou art very great] Non molis dimensione, sed virtutis et rerum gestarum gloria, Thou hast made thee a great name by thy works of wonder.

Thou art clothed with honour and majesty] i.e. With thy creatures, which are as a garment, both to hide thee in one respect, and to hold thee forth in another, to be seen.

Ver. 2. Who coverest thyself with light] That lovely creature that first shone out of darkness, and is chief among all things sensible, as coming nearest to the unapproachable glory of God; like as the robe royal is next unto the king. Herod upon a set day came forth arrayed in royal apparel, in cloth of silver, saith Josephus, which being beaten upon by the sun’s beams, dazzled the eyes of the people, and drew from them that blasphemous acclamation, #Ac 12:21. God, when he made the world, showed himself in all his royalty; neither can we ascribe too much unto him.

Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain] The whole expanse or firmament is as a canopy over God’s throne, or rather as a curtain or screen between us and the Divine majesty, the sight whereof we cannot bear.

Ver. 3. Who layest the beams of his chambers in the waters] God, as he hath founded the solid earth upon the fluid waters, #Ps 26:9; so the highest heaven upon those waters above the firmament, #Ge 1:7 Ps 17:11. This notably sets forth the wisdom and power of this Almighty architect, since artists say, In solido extruendam, The foundation of a building should be hard and rocky, and experience sealeth to it.

Who maketh the clouds, &c.] These are his chariot royal, drawn (or rather driven) by the winds, as his chariot horses.

Ver. 4. Who maketh his angels spirits] Immaterial substances, fit to attend upon the Father of spirits, and with speed to move suddenly and invisibly into most remote parts.

His ministers a flaming fire] Seraphims they are called for their burning zeal, like so many heavenly salamanders; as also for their irresistible power; the angel that destroyed Sennacherib’s army is held to have done it by burning them within, although it appeared not outwardly, as some have been burnt by lightning.

Ver. 5. Who laid the foundations of the earth] Heb. He hath founded the earth upon her bases. See #Ps 24:2 Job 38:4,6. {See Trapp on "Ps 24:2"} {See Trapp on "Job 38:4"} {See Trapp on "Job 38:6"}

That it should not be removed for ever] Neither can it be, by reason of its own weightiness whereby it remaineth immovable in the centre of the universe. Say it should move any way, it must move towards heaven, and so ascend, which is utterly against the nature of heavy bodies.

Ver. 6. Thou coverest it with the deep as with a garment] Operueras, Thou hadst at first covered it, till thou for man’s sake hadst made a distinction; for else such a garment would this have been to the earth as the shirt made for the murdering of Agamemnon, where he had no issue out.

The waters stood above the mountains] As the garment, in the proper use of it, is above the body; and so they would still, did not God, for our sakes, set them their bounds and borders.

Ver. 7. At thy rebuke they fled] At thy word of command and angry countenance, overawing that raging and ranging creature: so Christ rebuked the winds and waves.

They hasted away] They ran away headlong, as for life.

Ver. 8. They go up by the mountains] They run any way, in post haste, breaking through thick and thin, and nowhere resting, till embodied in the abyss, their elemental place and station. This is check to our dulness and disobedience. If a man had been present, saith one, when God thus commanded the seas to retreat from the earth, he might have seen both a terrible and a joyful spectacle.

Ver. 9. Thou hast set a bound, &c.] A certain compass and course; an argument of God’s singular and sweet power and providence. See #Job 38:10,11, {See Trapp on "Job 38:10"} {See Trapp on "Job 38:11"}

Ver. 10. He sendeth the springs into the valleys] God doth this; he by certain issues or vents sendeth forth the waves of the sea (which here and there break out in springs, leaving their saltness behind them), that men and other earthly creatures might have that υδωρ μεν αριστον (as Pindarus styleth it), for the satisfying of their thirst and for other necessary uses. This is David’s philosophy, and his son Solomon saith the same, #Ec 1:7; though Aristotle assign another cause of the perennity of the fountains and rivers.

Ver. 11. They give drink to every beast] A great mercy, as we have lately found in these late dry years, 1653, 1654, wherein God hath given us to know the worth of water by the want of it, Bona sunt a tergo formosissima.

The wild asses] Those hottest creatures, #Job 39:8-11.

Ver. 12. By them shall the fowls of the heaven]

Assuetae ripis volucres, et fluminis alveo (Virg.).

Which sing among the branches] Most melodiously, many of them; therefore it is reckoned as a judgment to lose them, #Jer 4:25 9:10.

Ver. 13. He watereth the hills from his chambers] That is from his clouds, he giveth water to hills and high places, where wells and rivers are not.

The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works] i.e. With the rain of thy clouds, dropping fatness.

Ver. 14. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle] He caused it to grow at first, before cattle were created, #Ge 1:11,12. And so he doth still, as the first cause; by rain and dew from heaven, as the second cause.

And herb for the service of man] Ad esum et ad usum, for food, medicine, &c., #Ge 1:29. Green herbs, it seemeth, was a great dish with the ancients, which, therefore, they called Holus, ab ολον. Aristippus told his fellow philosopher, who fed upon them, If you can please Dionysius you need not eat green herbs, he presently replied, If you can eat green herbs you need not please Dionysius, and be his parasite.

That he may bring forth food out of the earth] Alma parens Tellus "Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for the meat," &c., #Joh 6:27.

Ver. 15. And wine that maketh glad] That he may the more cheerfully serve his Maker, his heart being lifted up, as Jehoshaphat’s was, in the ways of obedience, #Jud 9:13 Pr 31:6,7.

And oil to make his face to shine] The word signifieth ointments of all sorts, whereof see Pliny, lib. 12, 13. These man might want and subsist; but God is bountiful.

And bread which strengtheneth, &c.] In nature, Animantis cuiusque vita est fuga; were it not for the repair of nutrition the natural life would be extinguished. The Latins call bread panis , of the Greek παν; because it is the chief nourishment.

Ver. 16. The trees of the Lord are fall of sap] Heb. are satisfied, viz. with moisture, sucked by their roots out of the earth plentifully watered, whereby they are nourished, grow mightily, and serve man for meat, drink, medicine, &c.

The cedars of Lebanon] These are instanced, as tallest and most durable. God’s temple at Jerusalem was built of them; and so was the devil’s temple at Ephesus, for he will needs be God’s ape.

Ver. 17. Where the birds make their nests] Each, according to their natural instinct, with wonderful art.

As for the stork] That Pietaticultrix, as Petronius calleth her (and her name in Hebrew soundeth as much), because she nourisheth and cherisheth the old ones whereof she came; whence αντιπελαργειν, Genetricum senectam invicem educant (Plin.). Ciconiis pietas eximia inest (Solin.).

Ver. 18. The high hills are a refuge] These wild, but weak, creatures are so wise, as to secure themselves from violence; when pursued they run to their refuges; and should not we to God, for the securing of our comforts, and safeguarding of our persons?

Ver. 19. He appointed the moon for seasons] Most nations reckoned the year by the moon, rather than by the sun.

The sun knoweth his going down] As if he were a living and intelligent creature; so justly doth he observe the law laid upon him by God, and runs through his work. See #Job 38:12.

Ver. 20. Thou makest darkness] Which, though it be dreadful, yet is it useful, and in the vicissitude of light and darkness much of God’s wisdom and goodness is to be seen. We must see that we turn not the day into night, nor night into day, without some special and urgent occasion.

Ver. 21. The young lions roar] Rousing themselves out of their dens by night, and then usually seizing upon what prey God sendeth them in; for they are at his, and not at their own, finding.

And seek] Like as the young ravens cry to him, #Ps 147:9. by implication only. See #Joe 1:18,20.

Ver. 22. They yather themselves toyether] viz. Into their dens and lurking holes, smitten with fear of light and of men. A sweet providence, but little considered.

Ver. 23. Man goeth forth unto his work] His honest employment in his particular place and calling, whether manual or mental; eating his bread in the sweat either of his brow or of his brain.

Until the evening] That time of rest and refreshment. The Lord Burleigh (William Cecil), when he put off his gown at night, used to say, Lie there, Lord Treasurer; and, bidding adieu to all state affairs, disposed himself to his quiet rest.

Ver. 24. O Lord, how manifold, &c.] q.d. They are so many and so great that I cannot recount or reckon them up, but am even swallowed up of wonderment; all that I can say is, that they are magna et mirifica. In man’s body only there are miracles enough, between head and foot, to fill a volume.

The earth is full] It is God’s great purse, #Ps 24:1.

Ver. 25. So is this great and wide sea] Latum manibus, id est sinubus; yet not so great and wide as man’s heart, wherein is not only that leviathan, some special foul lusts, but creeping things innumerable, crawling bugs and baggage vermin.

Wherein are creeping things innumerable] Far more, and of more kinds, than there are on earth.

Ver. 26. There go the ships] The use whereof was first showed by God in Noah’s ark, whence afterwards Audax Iapeti genus, Japhet’s offspring sailed, and replenished the islands.

There is that leviathan] Whereof see #Job 41, with notes.

Ver. 27. These wait all upon thee] The great housekeeper of the world, who carvest them out their meet measures of meat, and at fit seasons. Of thee they have it, per causarum concatenationem.

Ver. 28. That thou givest them they gather] Neither have they the least morsel of meat but what thou castest them by thy providence. Turcicure imperium quantum quantum est nihil est nisi panis mica quam dives paterfamilias proiecit caniubs, saith Luther.

Thou openest thine hand] By opening the bosom of the earth thou richly providest for them, ο δοτηρ εαων.

Ver. 29. Thou hidest thy face] i.e. Thou withdrawest thy favour, thy concurrence, thine influence, they are troubled, or terrified, a cold sweat sitteth upon their limbs, animam agunt, they shortly expire; for in God we live, move, and have our being, #Ac 17:28 A frown of Augustus Caesar proved to be the death of Cornelius Gallus. Sir Christopher Hatton, Lord Chancellor of England, died Sept. 20, 1591, of a flux of his urine and grief of mind conceived upon some angry words given him by Queen Elizabeth (Camden).

Thou takest away their breath] Heb. Thou gatherest it, callest for it again, viz. their vital vigour.

Ver. 30. Thou sendest forth thy spirit] Virtutem vivificam.

They are created] Others of the same kind are; and so the face of the earth is renewed, while another generation springeth up. This is matter of praise to their Maker.

Ver. 31. The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever] Or, Let glory be to the Lord for ever, sc. for his great works of creation and conservation.

The Lord shall rejoice in his works] As he did at the creation, when he saw all to be good, and very good; so still, it doth God good, as it were, to see the poor creatures feed, and men to give him the honour of all.

Ver. 32. He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth] This must be considered, that God may be as well feared as loved and praised.

He toucheth the hills, and they smoke] It is, therefore, ill falling into his hands, who can do such terrible things with his looks and touches.

Ver. 33. I will siny unto the Lord] Though others be slack to do God this right, to help him to his own, to give him the glory due to his name, yet I will do it, and do it constantly, so long as I have a breath to draw.

Ver. 34. My meditation of him shall be sweet] Or, Let it be sweet unto him, let him kindly accept it, though it be mean and worthless, through Christ’s odour poured thereinto.

I will be glad in the Lord] Withdrawing my heart from other vile and vain delights, or, at least, vexed at mine own dullness, for being no more affected with such inexplicable ravishments.

Ver. 35. Let the sinners be consumed, &c.] Such sinners against their own souls, as when they know God, or might know him by his wonderful works, glorify him not as God, neither are thankful, #Ro 1:21; but pollute and abuse his good creatures, to his dishonour, fighting against him with those lives that he hath given them.

Bless thou the Lord, O my soul] The worse others are the better be thou, kindling thyself from their coldness, &c.

Chapter 105

Ver. 1. O give thanks unto the Lord] Some tell us that this and the two following psalms were the great Hallelujah sung at solemn times in their assemblies. But others say better, that the great Hallelujah (as the Hebrews called it) began at #Ps 113., and held on till #Ps 119, which they at the passover began to sing after that cup of wine they called Poculum hymni seu laudationis.

Call upon his name] Call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, #Ps 18:3. {See Trapp on "Ps 18:3"} Our life must be divided between praises and prayers.

Ver. 2. Sing unto him, sing] Both with mouth and with musical instruments.

Talk ye] Or, meditate ye, let your heart indite a good matter, and your tongue be as the pen of a ready writer, #Ps 45:1.

Ver. 3. Glory ye in his holy name] Of his power and goodness. See #1Co 1:31, with #Jer 9:23. Non est gloriosior populus sub coelo quam Iudaicus, saith Alsted; there is not a more vain glorious people under heaven than the Jews; but "we are the circumcision, which worship in spirit, and glory in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh," #Php 3:3.

Let the heart of them rejoice, &c.] All others are forbidden to rejoice, #Ho 9:1, and bidden to weep and howl, #Jas 5:1.

Ver. 4. Seek the Lord, and his strength] That is, his ark, at the remove whereof to Jerusalem this psalm was sung, #1Ch 16:7-36, &c. Called it is God’s strength and God’s face here; yea, even God himself, #Ps 132:5. It is as if he should say, Frequent holy assemblies, as ever you desire to draw nigh to God, and to have your faith in him confirmed.

Ver. 5. Remember his marvellous works, &c.] Deeply and diligently ponder both the works and words of God, comparing the one with the other, that ye may the better conceive of both.

Ver. 6. O ye seed of Abraham, &c.] Do thus, or else your pedigree will profit you no more than it did Dives in the flames, that Abraham called him son. An empty title yieldeth but an empty comfort.

Ver. 7. He is the Lord] Jehovah, the essentiator, the promise keeper, therefore praise him. He is also in covenant with us, and will we not do him this right?

His judgments are in all the earth] His executions upon the Egyptians and Philistines are far and near notified and discoursed.

Ver. 8. He hath remembered his covenant] #1Ch 16:15 it is, "Be ye mindful always of his covenant." God ever remembereth, though we many times forget it, and ourselves.

The word which he commanded] The conditions of the covenant.

Ver. 9. Which covenant he made with Abraham, &c.] Whom he found an idolater, #Jos 24:2. He justified the ungodly, #Ro 4:5.

And his oath] "That by two immutable things," &c., #Heb 6:18

Ver. 10. And confirmed the same, &c.] So God sealeth and sweareth to us again and again, in every sacrament, that all doubts of his love may be taken away, and our hearts lifted up (as Jehoshaphat’s, #2Ch 17:6) in the way of the Lord.

Ver. 11. Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan] That most pleasant of all lands, #Eze 20:6, a type and pledge of heaven to the faithful.

Ver. 12. When they were but a few men in number] Seventy souls at their going down into Egypt, which yet (say the Hebrews truly) were more worth than the seventy nations of the whole world besides. Howbeit, God chose them not for their worth or number, but loved them merely because he loved them, #De 6:7,8.

Ver. 13. When they went from one nation to another] There were seven several nations in that land wherein they sojourned, flitting from place to place, and having no settled habitation, αστατουνρες, #1Co 4:11.

From one kingdom] Forced by famine, or other necessity. See #Ge 12:10 20:1-7 Ge 26:1-5

Ver. 14. He suffered no man, &c.] So as utterly to oppress them; for otherwise they had their illusages; such as was the taking away of Sarah, casting out of Isaac, the rape of Dinah, &c. Strangers meet many times with hard measure.

Yea, he reproved kings] #Ge 12:17 20:3. Kings and queens must not think themselves too good to nurse God’s little ones, yea, to do them homage, licking up the dust under their feet, #Isa 49:23.

Ver. 15. Touch not mine anointed, &c.] This God speaketh not of kings, but to kings, concerning his people who have an unction from the Father, being sanctified and set apart for his peculiar. To touch these is to touch the apple of God’s eye, #Zec 2:8; they are sacred persons.

And do my prophets no harm] The patriarchs were such, #Ge 20:7, so are still all godly ministers, whom they who harm by word or deed have not so much knowledge as Pilate’s wife had in a dream. See #Ps 14:4.

Ver. 16. Moreover he called for a famine] How easy is it with God soon to starve us all by denying us a harvest or two! If he do but call for a famine it is done.

He brake the whole staff of bread] Either by withdrawing bread, that staff of man’s life, or his blessing from it; for man liveth not by bread alone (or at all), but by every word, &c., #Mt 4:4, without which bread can no more nourish us than a clod of clay, In pane conclusus est quasi baculus, qui nos sustineat. See #Hag 1:6. {See Trapp on "Hag 1:6"}

Ver. 17. He sent a man before them] An eminent and eximious man, Cuius vita fuit coelum quoddam lucidissimis virtutum stellis exornatum, to be their friend in the court, and to provide for their livelihood. No danger befalleth the Church but God beforehand provideth and procureth the means & preservation and deliverance, #2Pe 2:9.

Even Joseph, who was sold] God ordereth the disorders of the world to his own glory and his people’s good.

Ver. 18. Whose feet they hurt with fetters] God hereby fitting him for that great service; as he did afterwards Moses, by forty years’ banishment in Midian, and David, by Saul’s persecution, till his soul was even as a weaned child, #Ps 131:2.

He was laid in iron] Heb. His soul came into iron; or, the iron entered into his soul; but sin entered not into his conscience. See a like phrase #Lu 2:35.

Ver. 19. Until the time that his word came] The time that God’s purpose and promise of deliverance was fulfilled. This word of God profane persons call fate, fortune, &c.

The word of the Lord tried him] That he was affliction proof, and still retained his integrity, #1Pe 1:7.

Ver. 20. The king sent and loosed him] By his own master, Potiphar, who had laid him there at his wife’s instance. Such as are bound ignominiously for righteousness’ sake shall be one way or other loosed honourably.

Ver. 21. He made him lord of his house] Thus, for his short braid of imprisonment, whereof he never dreamed, Joseph hath eighty years’ preferment, more than ever he dreamed of: God’s retributions are very bountiful.

Ver. 22. To bind his princes at his pleasure] To overawe and to overrule them, to bind them in prison, if need so required, as himself had been bound, and that at his pleasure, or according to his own soul, sine consensu Pharaoh, saith Rabbi Solomon; without Pharaoh’s consent, as he dealt by Potiphar, say other Rabbis.

And teach his senators wisdom] Policy and piety, which yet the Egyptians long retained not.

Ver. 23. Israel also came into Egypt] Whither he feared to go, till God promised him his presence and protection, #Ge 46:3,4. God saith the same in effect to us, when to descend into the grave, Fear not to go down, I will go down with thee, and be better to thee than thy fears. Jacob’s best and happiest days were those he spent in Egypt.

Ver. 24. And he increased his people greatly] Against all the power of Egypt set against them.

And made them stronger than their enemies] They were not so for present, but the Egyptians conceited and feared they would be so.

Ver. 25. He turned their heart to hate] Men’s hearts are in God’s hands, and he formeth and fashioneth their opinions of and affections to others at his pleasure, yet without sin.

To deal subtilly with his servants] Seeking to imbase and enervate their spirits by base drudgeries imposed upon them. So afterwards dealt the Persian tyrant with Hormisaus, and the Great Turk with the Christians.

Ver. 26. He sent Moses his servant] Quando duplieantur lateres, venit Moses, say the Jews at this day.

And Aaron, &c.] God usually sendeth his by two and two, for mutual helps and comfort.

Ver. 27. They showed his signs] Heb. the words of his signs; for God’s wondrous works are vocal, they are real sermons of God’s power and justice. See #Ex 4:8.

Ver. 28. He sent darkness] Palpable darkness, by reason of most black and thick vapours of the earth mingling themselves with the air; such as Aben Ezra said that he once felt, sailing upon the ocean, the gross vapours there putting out the light of fire and candle, and not suffering them to be re-enkindled.

And they rebelled not against his word] They, that is, the plagues called for, came immediately, with an Ecce me. Or, they, that is, Moses and Aaron, refused not to denounce and inflict those plagues, though Pharaoh threatened to kill them; where a man would wonder at Pharaoh’s hardness and hardiness, that being in the midst of that deep and dreadful darkness, he could rage against God, and threaten with death his servant Moses. The Arabic (reading ול for אל) rendereth it, Et irritarunt sermonem eius; and they (the Egyptians) provoked his word, or rebelled against it.

Ver. 29. And he turned their waters into blood] A just hand of God upon them for their cruelty in drowning the Hebrew infants, and a real forewarning, if they could have seen it, of the death of their firstborn, and their final overthrow at the Red Sea.

And slew their fish] Which was a great part of their food; piscis a pascendo dictus.

Ver. 30. The land brought forth frogs in abundance] Like grass that grows upon the ground, or as fishes spawned in the sea, as the word signifieth, #Ge 1:20. Some think they were not common frogs, sed venenatas et horrendas, quales sunt rubetae et bufones, but toads and lizards; crocodiles, some think, came out of the river, and destroyed people (Aben-Ezra).

In the chambers of their kings] Regis et regulorum inter medias enses, medias custodias; this was the finger of God; as it was likewise when a town in Spain was overturned by conies, and another in Thessaly by moles, a city in France undone by frogs, and another in Africa by locusts (Plin. l. viii. c. 29).

Ver. 31. He stake, and there came divers sorts of flies] Heb. a mixture, sc. of wasps, hornets, dog flies (the most troublesome of all other κυνομυιαι), all sorts of insects.

And lice in all their coasts] This the magicians could not do, Quid ciniphe vilius, &c.? saith Philo, What is baser than a louse? yet hereby God can tame the sturdiest of his rebels. Some kings and other nobles have died of the lousy disease; as Herod, Philip of Spain, &c.

Ver. 32. He gave them hail for rain] Rain was rare in Egypt; but now they had hail for rain, a giftless gift. Heb. he gave their rain hail, #Ex 9:23.

And flaming fire in their land] That they might see that he was Lord of all the four elements.

Ver. 33. He smote their vines also, and their fig trees] Of the fruitfulness of these trees in Egypt, strange things are reported by Solinus and others; but this extraordinary hail mingled with fire, marred them in the spring, when they promised great store of fruit, trusis botris et baccis.

And brake the trees] Yea, dashed out the brains of men and beasts that were abroad, as Moses addeth.

Ver. 34. He spake, and the locusts came] These are called God’s great army, and their terrible invasion is graphically described, #Joe 2:3-5, &c.

Ver. 35. And did eat up all the herbs] All that the fiery hail had not blasted and beaten down.

And devoured the fruit of their ground] But not yet the fruit of their bodies, that plague was reserved to the last, to show God’s longsuffering, and lothness to destroy men.

Ver. 36. He smote also all the firstborn] This he did last of all, the next spring after the first plague inflicted, et non nisi coactus, as that emperor once said when he subscribed a writ for execution of a certain malefactor.

The chief of all their strength] Et ubi non erat primogenitus, moritur epitropus, say the Hebrews, where was not a firstborn, there the steward died; so that there was no house in Egypt without a dead corpse, as there are few among us without many dead souls.

Ver. 37. He brought them forth also with silver and gold] Which they had dearly earned in Egypt, but could not get, till God, the right owner of all, set them in a course, #Ex 12:35,36, dispensing with his own law.

There was not one feeble person] But all able and fit for their journey, Viatico et firma valetudine instructi.

Ver. 38. Egypt was glad when they departed] For they said, We are all dead men, #Ex 12:33. The devil for like cause spake Christ fair to be rid of him, #Mr 1:24.

For the fear of them fell upon them] God can make the very name and countenance of his servants fearful to their oppressors.

Ver. 39. He spread a cloud] It must needs be a very large one that could cover such an army from the extraordinary heats there; for the deserts of Arabia are extreme hot, both by reason of the climate and also of the sand’s reflecting the sunbeams. So still upon all the glory (the Church) shall be a covering, #Isa 4:5.

And fire to give light, &c.] A fiery pillar against the error, terror, and danger of the darkness. See #Ne 9:19.

Ver. 40. The people asked] Not as suppliants, but as malcontents, and therefore had what they asked, with a vengeance.

And satisfied them with the bread of heaven] Never was any prince in his greatest state so served as these miscreants were; and yet we fare better than they in God’s holy ordinances.

Ver. 41. He opened the rock] Set it abroach, giving them pluviam escatilem, et petram aquatilem, as Tertullian hath it.

They ran in the dry places] Per deserta Sinis et Tzinis, saith Junius. See #1Co 10:4.

Ver. 42. For he remembered his holy promise] Holy, that is, firm, and inviolable, Heb. the word of his holiness, that is, his sacred and gracious engagement, whereby he had made himself a voluntary debtor to Abraham’s posterity.

And Abraham his servant] To whom he had passed his promise four hundred and thirty years before. Nullum tempus occurrit regi.

Ver. 43. And he brought forth his people with joy] According to his promise made to Abraham; and according to the time they were afflicted, so were they comforted, #Ps 90:15.

Ver. 44. And gave them the lands of the heathen] God doth not his work to the halves, he will perfect that which concerneth us, #Ps 138:8, and preserve all his unto his heavenly kingdom, #2Ti 4:18.

And inherited the labour of the people] Their cities, towns, villages, fields, vineyards, all done to the hand of the Israelites. We shall also enter into our Master’s joy, mansions made ready for us, &c.

Ver. 45. That they might observe his statutes] Here the psalmist showeth the final cause of all the service of God; what should be the result, his praise.

Praise ye the Lord] Loquitur ad prudentes, saith Aben Ezra, this he speaketh to those that are wise; for high words become not a fool, saith Solomon.

Chapter 106

Ver. 1. Praise ye the Lord] Though scattered among the heathen, and in a sorrowful condition, #Ps 106:47. In prosperity praise the Lord, saith Austin, and it shall increase upon thee. In adversity praise him, and it shall be better with thee.

O give thanks unto the Lord, &c.] This verse was, say some, the foot or tenor of the song in many sacred hymns.

For his mercy endureth for ever] Even to those also that have sinned against his goodness.

Ver. 2. Who can utter, &c.] i.e. To the just worth of them; none can: they are fitter to be admired than possible to be uttered. It is enough that we do what we can toward the work. God accepteth according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not, #2Co 8:12; he taketh it for no small praise when we thus acknowledge him to be above all praise.

Who can show forth all his praise?] Quis fando exprimat? Surely none can. David saith he will, #Ps 9:1, but soon found his utter inability; for according to thy name, O Lord, so is thy praise, saith he in another psalm. The best way is, as here in the ensuing verses, to submit to God’s justice, and to implore his mercy, and to study integrity, #Ps 106:3-6.

Ver. 3. Blessed are they that keep judgment, &c.] That are of right principles and upright practices; this is real and substantial praising of God. Thanks doing is the proof of thanksgiving; and the good life of the thankful is the life of thankfulness. Those that say God a-thank only, and no more, are not only contumelious, but injurious.

And he that doth righteousness] So preaching forth the virtues (or praises) of God who hath called him into his marvellous light, #1Pe 2:9, and composing his whole course, velar spectatum aliquod simulaehrum et documentum laudis eius constans atque perpetuum (Jun.).

Ver. 4. Remember me, O Lord, with the favour, &c.] The psalmist would have favour, and special favour, mercies, and sure mercies, proper to God’s peculiar, and with these he would be remembered; grace he would find, such as might help in time of need, #Heb 4:16. "God remembered Noah," #Ge 8:1. "Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things," #Mt 6:32. Though our ark be driven in a tempestuous sea, yet it shall neither sink nor split while we sail in the thoughts of God.

O visit me with thy salvation] A gracious spirit will not be satisfied with low things, common mercies,

Ver. 5. That I may see the good of thy chosen] Ut videam in bonum, that I may see it, and partake of it, have both the vision and fruition of thy great goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, #Ps 31:19, giving them a taste thereof aforehand, as a few grapes of that promised Canaan.

Of thy nation] i.e. By this name God’s elect are here and elsewhere styled, and therefore the Jews have no reason to reproach us, as they do, by it; calling us Gel, and Mamzer-goi, bastard heathens.

Ver. 6. We have sinned with our fathers] Adding to their heap, and making up their measure, #Mt 23:32. People think the example of their fathers a sufficient excuse. Jerome once (but not well) desired leave of Austin to err with seven Fathers whom he found of his opinion. I will follow my forefathers, saith Cicero, although I fall together with them. See #Jer 44:17. But so would not these good souls, as neither Jeremiah, #Jer 3:25, nor Daniel, #Da 9:5, whose confession suiting and symbolizing with this (together with that we read #Ps 106:47), maketh some think that this psalm was penned for his people’s use then when they were captives in Babylon.

We have committed iniquity, &c.] Sin must be confessed with utmost aggravation. I will hear how full in the mouth these are against themselves, laying on load, while their sins swell as so many toads in their eyes.

Ver. 7. Our fathers understood not] i.e. They weighed them not, improved them not, but as the dull earth is surrounded by the heavens, yet perceiveth it not; so were these with miracles and mercies, yet understood them not.

Even at the Red Sea] Not only while they were on the bank they feared to enter, but also even when they were passing and walking over that dry land made for them by a miracle, they did still continue their murmurings and mutinings.

Ver. 8. Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake] Here he comes, in with a Non-obstante. So #Isa 57:17. Now, if God will save for his name’s sake, what people is there whom he may not save?

That he might make his miqhly power to be known] The Lord hath other things to look unto than presently to punish his people when they most deserve it.

Ver. 9. He rebuked the Red Sea also] Ingentia beneficia, flagitia, supplicia, as appeareth in the subsequent verses.

So he led them through the depths] Inter duas aquarum congeries, between two mountains of waters, which stood on each hand of them as a wall, and made a lane. Every main affliction is our Red Sea; which while it threateneth to swallow us up, preserveth us.

Ver. 10. And he saved them, &c.] From Pharaoh, that perfect enemy of theirs, that pursued them with a deadly design, but was happily prevented.

Ver. 11. And the waters covered their enemies] The preservation of the Church is ever accompanied with the destruction of its enemies, that the mercy may appear the greater.

Not one of them left] Left alive to carry the news.

Ver. 12. Then believed they his words] Then for a flash, while the memory of the mercy was fresh and warm; but ere they were three days older they murmured again; it proved not so much as a nine days’ wonderment; they were soon at oldward.

They sang his praise] #Ex 15:1-21 A temporary faith and joy.

Ver. 13. They soon forgat his works] Heb. They made haste, they forgat. This is an aggravating circumstance. See #Ga 1:6 Ex 32:8 De 9:16.

They waited not for his counsel] For the performance of what he had purposed and promised; they were short-spirited and impatient.

Ver. 14. But lusted exceedingly] Heb. lusted a lust. See #Nu 11, they had a sufficiency, but must have superfluities, as belly-gods; not want, but wantonness, set them a lusting, and that in the wilderness, where they knew that in an ordinary way it was not to be had.

And tempted God] Whom they should have trusted rather, since he waiteth to be gracious, and being a God of judgment, knoweth best when to deal forth his favours, #Isa 30:18 49:8.

Ver. 15. And he gave them their request] Deus saepe dat iratus quod negat propitius (Aug.).

Munera magna quidem misit, sed misit in hamo

(Martial).

Quails they had, but to choke them; as afterwards a king, but to vex them, &c.

But sent leanness into their soul] i.e. Into their bodies, such a loathing as caused leanness, #Nu 11:20, a plague upon their bodies, a curse upon their souls. Many men eat that on earth which they digest in hell. It is dangerous feeding on sin’s murdering morsels.

Ver. 16. They envied Moses also] Korah and his complices did; and because the people punished them not, they are all accused as guilty of that conspiracy, and looked upon as a rabble of rebels against heaven.

And Aaron the saint of the Lord] Separated to the priesthood. The Rabbis tell us that they bad chosen Dathan instead of Moses, and Abiram for Aaron.

Ver. 17. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, &c.] Korah is not here mentioned, haply for his sons’ sakes, who were famous prophets and music masters in David’s days. As for On the son of Peleth (one of the chief conspirators), the Rabbis say that by the good counsel of his wife he repented, and so escaped.

Ver. 18. And a fire was kindled in their company] It is both a just presage and desert of ruin not to be warned. Let seditious persons and schismatics take heed; for even our God also is a consuming fire, #Heb 12:29.

The flame burnt up the wicked] And among the rest Korah, as some conceive. Dathan and Abiram are stigmatized for their stubbornness, #Nu 26:9, as was afterwards Ahaz, #2Ch 28:22, and before them all Cain, #Ge 4:15, and Lamech, #Ge 4:24.

Ver. 19. They made a calf in Horeb] i.e. In the country near to that mountain, where they at same time saw visible tokens of God’s dreadful presence. Well might Aaron say of this people, that they were wholly set upon wickedness, #Ex 32:22. This piece of idolatry they had learned belike of the Egyptians, who worshipped Apis in such a shape, so catching is sin, and so dangerous is ill company (Lege Lacrant. and Aug. lib. 1, de Mirab. Script. cap. 15).

Ver. 20. Thus they changed their glory] i.e. Their God, #Ro 1:23, the Creator for a contemptible creature.

Of an ox that eateth grass] Tunc stercora egerit, et multum inquinatur, as R. Solomon here glosseth. They pretended not to worship the calf, but God in the calf, as did also Jebu, #2Ki 10:16,29 2Ch 11:15, and as the idolatrous Papists do at this day. See #Ex 32:5,6. Yet the text here saith, "They worshipped the molten image, they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox." And although some of the Rabbis would excuse this gross idolatry of their forefathers, yet others, more wise, bewail it, and say that there is an ounce of this golden calf in all their present sufferings.

Ver. 21. They forgat God their saviour] This is often mentioned as the mother of all the misrule among them.

Ver. 22. Wondrous works in the land of Ham] i.e. Among the Egyptians, Ham’s posterity.

And terrible things by the Red Sea] All which were buried, together with the remembrance of God, the doer.

Ver. 23. Therefore he said that he would destroy them] Idolatry is a people desolating sin. God was once in a mind to have destroyed this people utterly, and to have left none but Moses, #Ex 32:10,31, &c., promising him a great fortune if he would have suffered it; but he, tendering God’s glory more than his own greatness, refused it: choice and excellent spirits use to do so.

Had not Moses his chosen] "Chosen" to represent Christ in his mediatorship.

Stood up in the breach] A metaphor from military matters. When a stronghold is besieged, and a breach made, valiant soldiers use to make up that breach with their own bodies, till the enemy be beaten back. God’s wrath was even breaking in upon the people. Moses prayed instantly and constantly, even the most part of those forty days and nights he spent in the mount, #De 9:9,11,18,25, and at length prevailed. See #Eze 13:5 22:30.

Ver. 24. Yea, they despised the pleasant land] Heb. The land of desire, flowing with milk and honey, sumen totius terrae, as one calleth it; Egypt they preferred before it, though it were a gage of heaven; as Cardinal Bourbon did his part in Paris, before his part in paradise.

They believed not his word] sc. That he would, or indeed could, give them that good land. He that believeth not maketh God a liar.

Ver. 25. But murmured in their tents] Where they sat discontented (after the report of the spies), and, as we say, sick of the sullens; they would not attempt a conquest, but bewailed their hard fortune, and let fly on all hands, keeping a clutter and a rattle.

Ver. 26. Therefore he lifted up his hand] i.e. He solemnly swore, as #Nu 14:30, or he was fetching his full blow at them.

To overthrow them in the wilderness] Which also befell them according to their own wicked wish. Let men false heed of wishing evil to themselves, lest God say Amen to it.

Ver. 27. To overthrow their seed also among the nations] This clause of God’s oath is not expressed in Numbers, but drawn there hence as a fearful consequence, both here by the psalmist, and also by the prophet Ezekiel, #Eze 20 And R. Solomon’s note upon this text is, Tunc erat decretum de desolando Templo, ut lachrymas pro re magna, sicut ante pro nihilo effunderent, Then was the desolation of the temple (though it fell out long after) determined, that those malcontents who cried for nothing before, might have somewhat to cry for.

Ver. 28. They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor] Heb. they were unequally yoked, as #2Co 6:14.

Quam male inaequales veniunt ad aratra iuvenci.

They separated themselves to that shame, Priapus, #Ho 9:10, who had his name from showing all, Ab operatione seu nudatione pudendorum; and his worshippers were most impudent servants.

And ate the sacrifices of the dead] i.e. Of idols opposed to the living God. The beginning of idolatry, some say, was the attributing of divine honours to great persons when they were dead. The heathens showed the sepulchres of their oldest deities.

Ver. 29. Thus they provoked him] God cannot brook men’s devices in matters of religion; he will have no other worship than what himself hath appointed.

And the plague brake in upon them] As a deluge, or as an army, very impetuously, to the destroying of twenty-four thousand persons.

Ver. 30. Then stood up Phinehas] Animose surrexit (Vatab.). By a secret, heroical, and extraordinary motion of God’s Spirit, such as may not be drawn into example. All things reported and commended in Scripture may not be imitated. One Birchet, by example of Phinehas and Ehud, thought he might have killed a great personage in this land, whom he looked upon as a naughty man, and God’s enemy. A particular example will afford a general instruction, when the equity of the thing done is universal, and the cause common, otherwise not, saith learned Junius.

And executed judyment] Not tarrying for the sentence of the judges. The Chaldee rendereth it, And prayed. Execution of justice is that actual, magisterial, and majestical kind of prayer that will stay the plague when nothing else will.

Ver. 31. And that was counted unto him for righteousness] God not only condemned him not of rash zeal, but looked upon what he had done as a piece of singular service, and rewarded it accordingly.

Ver. 32. They angered him also at the waters of strife] Yet he made not the least semblance of it to Moses, but only bade him smite the rock, which, if he had then done, and no more, he had done right. God is Bagnal Chemah, master of his anger, #Na 1:2, so was not meek Moses at this time. The best are miscarried by their passions sometimes, to their cost.

So that it went ill with Moses for their sakes] i.e. By their means he was kept out of Canaan, which was a great cross to him, and his repentance, as to that favour, came too late, for God was resolved.

Ver. 33. Because they provoked his spirit] So that he was in a pelt to the grieving of God’s good Spirit within him, #Eph 4:30,31. O tantaene animis coelestibus irae?

So that he spake unadvisedly] Some render it only, he spake, or he pronounced; he should not have spoken at all to the people, as having no order from God so to do in that transaction, but only to the rock. Whereas he not only smote the rock, and smote it twice, but spake to the people, and spake rashly, or idly (the Greek word βαττολογεω is thought to come from the Hebrew Bata here used), yea, bitterly, calling them rebels, and falling foul upon them with distrustful interrogations and misimplications, Et perperam locutus est. Contra charitas, ου περπερευεται, #1Co 13:4. This is called rebellion, #Nu 20:10,11,24, and severely punished in God’s favourite Moses.

Ver. 34. They did not destroy the nations] For which neglect of theirs pity would be pleaded. But there is a cruel mercy, saith one; there is a pious cruelty, saith another. Cursed is he that doeth the Lord’s work deceitfully, and cursed is he that restraineth his sword from blood when God biddeth him strike. Saul and Ahab felt the dint of this curse, and so did these Israelites, for sparing the Canaanites, whether out of pusillanimity or foolish pity.

Ver. 35. But were mingled among the heathen] With whom they made leagues and marriages, #Jude 3, and so were soon corrupted by them. It is dangerous to converse with graceless people, their very example is a compulsion; see #Ga 2:14; how much more their evil counsel!

Ver. 36. And they served their idols] The devil is ειδωλοχαρης, saith Synesius, a lover of idolatry, and he speaks through idolaters as through his trunks, persuading people to like practice, as did Julian, whom an ancient, therefore, called Idolian.

Which were a snare unto them] Or, a ruin, as some render it; they were first drawn in, and then undone by them.

Ver. 37. Yea, they sacrificed their sons, &c.] The devils are here called Shedim, destroyers (in opposition to Shaddai, the Almighty), and worthily; for they make it their work to waste and spoil people of their dearest children, as here, of their precious souls, with the blood whereof they do daily glut themselves.

Ver. 38. And shed innocent blood, &c.] This was furor Diabolicus; but what may not the devil do with his drudges, when God’s word cannot obtain the smallest things of us?

Whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan] Prompted thereunto by that old manslayer. This was practised by Manasseh, Ahaz, and others not a few, #Jer 7:19 Eze 16 Haec atrocitas frequens apud gentes.

And the land was polluted with blood] Impiata est abominabilis reddita est quasi hypocrita. See #Ezr 9:11. As a hypocrite is a fair professor, but a foul sinner, so here.

Ver. 39. Thus were they defiled] Great sins do greatly pollute; neither are men by anything more disadvantaged than by doting upon their own devices.

And went a whoring] They followed it earnestly, and with delight.

Ver. 40. Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled] Sin doth as naturally draw and suck judgments to it as the loadstone doth iron, or turpentine fire.

Insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance] This was the greatest of all miseries, and a piece of hell.

Ver. 41. And he gave them into the hand of the heathen] That they might suffer by them with whom they had sinned, and with whom, by compliance, they hoped to have ingratiated.

Ver. 42. And they were brought into subjection] Heb. they were bowed down, or humbled, who would not humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, that he might exalt them.

Ver. 43. Many times did he deliver them] And as many times told them, Servati estis ut mihi servatis, I have, therefore, saved you that ye might serve me the better; Sed surdo fabulam, but they would not hearken.

η χαρις αλλαξαι την φυσιν ου δυναται (Theogn.).

Ver. 44. Nevertheless he regarded their affliction] See for proof hereof the whole Book of Judges, and take notice of God’s philanthropy, who heareth men’s afflictions, as he did Hagar’s, #Ge 16:11, and is oft found of them that seek him not, #Isa 65:1. See #2Ki 14:26,27.

When he heard their cry] Heb. their shrill outcry; not for joy (as the word is mostly taken), but for grief.

Ver. 45. And he remembered for them his covenant] Which could not be vacated or abolished by the wickedness of men, but stood firm and inviolable, inasmuch as God is faithful and merciful.

And repented] That is, changed his severity into clemency. God’s repentance is not a change of his will, but of his work, Mutatio rei, non Dei.

Ver. 46. He made them also to be pitied] God can soon turn the hearts of tyrants, and make them of lions lambs, &c.

Ver. 47. Save us, O Lord our God] This is the main request of the psalm, and the chief thing intended; for for this cause prefaced the prophet, as #Ps 106:1,2, &c., and reckoned up the people’s sins and God’s deliverances, that he might bring in this, "Save us," as thou ever hast done.

To give thanks unto thy holy name] Good ends propounded in prayer is a special means of speeding. Hypocrites do all in themselves, so do not the saints, #Ho 14:8; and all for themselves, as #Zec 7:5 Ho 10:1, which is not the saints’ practice, #So 5:1, they have good aims in their good actions.

Ver. 48. Blessed be the Lord] viz. For our return out of captivity, which we foresee, believe, and give thanks for beforehand.

Praise ye the Lord] Thus they speak one to another, by way of excitation, υμνησατε μετα μελους το ον, so Justin Martyr rendereth it.

Chapter 107

Ver. 1. O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good] He is good, and doeth good, #Ps 119:68, not to his Israel only, as is set forth in the two foregoing psalms, but to all mankind, which is Divini ingenii cura, as one saith, whatever atheists and epicures say to the contrary, denying a Divine providence: witness that profane distich of theirs:

Nempe nihil positum est, et sors incerta vagatur,

Fertque refertque vices, et habent mortalia casum.

For his mercy endureth for ever] Notwithstanding men’s many and mighty provocations.

Ver. 2. Let the redeemed of the Lord] Four sorts of whom are afterwards instanced: 1. exiles; 2. prisoners; 3. sick persons; 4. seamen. These and the like must praise him in a special manner for their deliverance.

From the hand of the enemy] Or, of distress.

Ver. 3. And gathered them out of the lands] He beginneth with wayfaring men and exiles, because, according to Tyrtaeus, Non exul curae dicitur esse Deo.

And from the south] Heb. from the sea, that is, as the Chaldee expoundeth it, from the southern sea, called the Red Sea.

Ver. 4. They wandered in the wilderness, &c.] This is a sad case, Mendicum patria amissa laribusque vagari.

Πλαγχθοσυνης ουκ εστι κακωτερον αλλο βροτοισι.

And yet this is the case of all God’s redeemed ones while they are here, #Heb 11:38 1Pe 2:12.

Per varios casus per tot discrlmina rerum

Tendimus in patriam veram vitamque perennem.

Ver. 5. Hungry and thirsty, &c.] The Lord’s exiles meet many times with the like exigents in the wilderness of this wicked world; but let them be content, and say, We are well for the present, and it will be better with us hereafter (Melancthon).

Exul erat Christus; comites nos exulis huius

Esse decet, cuius nos quoque membra sumus.

Ver. 6. Then they cried unto the Lord] Though under a wrong name, it may be, as of Jupiter, Mercury, &c.; and, in an uncertain way, as Hecuba did with her, O Iupiter quicquid es sive caelum hoc, sive mens, quae vehitur in coelo, &c.; and as those mariners in #Jon 1:5, who cried every man to his god, and, lest they might all mistake the true God, they awaken Jonah, to call upon his God.

And he delivered them out of their distresses] Out of his general goodness and compassion to the poor creature; like as he heareth the young ravens that cry unto him, no otherwise than by implication only, and out of mere necessity. God is the Saviour of all men, but especially of those that believe.

Ver. 7. And he led them forth by the right way] Better than that Dea Vibilia among the Romans, of whom they fancied that she set them right when out of the way at any time; or Minerva among the Athenians, who, they said, turned all their evil counsels to the best unto them.

That they might go to a city of habitation] Grow to a state of settlement, to Jerusalem, saith the Chaldee; to that city which hath a foundation, may we say, whose maker and founder is God, #Heb 11:10.

Ver. 8. Oh that men would praise the Lord, &c.] Heb. that they would confess it to the Lord, both in secret and in society. This is all the rent that God requireth; he is content that we have the comfort of his blessings, so he may have the honour of them. This was all the fee Christ looked for for his cures, Go and tell what God hath done for thee. Words seem to be a poor and slight recompense; but Christ, saith Nazianzen, calleth himself the Word.

Ver. 9. For he satisfieth the longing soul, &c.] This as a recapitulation of the first part, #Ps 107:5-7, and setteth forth the reason why the redeemed should praise God out of the sweet experience they have had of his wonderful providence and goodness toward them.

And filleth the hungry soul with goodness] This flower the blessed Virgin picketh out of David’s garden (among many others out of other parts of Holy Scripture, wherein it appeareth she was singularly well versed), and puts it into her posy, #Lu 1:53.

Ver. 10. Such as sit in darkness, &c.] Here come in the second sort of God’s redeemed or rescued ones, viz. captives and prisoners, whose dark and doleful condition is in this verse described.

And in the shadow of death] In dark caves and horrid prisons, where there is Luctus ubique payor, et plurima morris imago. Such was Joseph’s first prison, Jeremiah’s miry dungeon, Lollards’ tower, the bishop of London’s coalhouse, &c.

Being bound in affliction and iron] Or, in poverty and iron, as Manasseh was. Many are the miseries that poor prisoners undergo. Good Savonarola had the experience of it, and Zegedine, and the martyrs, and various of God’s dear servants in the recent wars here. A certain pious prince, discoursing about the dangers that were to be then expected for the profession of religion, said, Nihil so magis metuere quam diuturnos carceres, that he feared nothing so much as perpetual imprisonment.

Ver. 11. Because they rebelled against the words of God] Sin is at the bottom of all men’s miseries, as the procreant cause thereof; for God afflicteth not willingly, nor grieveth the children of men, #La 3:33, but they rebel against his words written in the Scriptures, or, at least, in their hearts; and so he is concerned in point of honour to subdue them.

And contemned the counsel] A foul fault. See #Lu 7:30.

Ver. 12. Therefore he brought down their heart] That proud piece of flesh, Quod erat elatum et verba Dei contempsit, saith Kimchi, which had stouted it out with God, and thought to have carried it away with a strong hand; as Manasseh, that sturdy rebel, till God had hampered him, and laid him in cold irons.

Ver. 13. Then they cried unto the Lord] See #Ps 107:6.

And he saved them, &c.] This is comfort to the greatest sinners; if they can but find a praying heart, God will find a pitying heart, and rebels shall be received with all sweetness, if at length they return, though brought in by the cross.

Ver. 14. He brought them out of darkness] He sent his mandamus {a}, as #Ps 44:4, and that did the deed, as #Ac 5:19 12:7.

{a} Originally applied generically to a number of ancient writs, letters missive, or mandates, issued by the sovereign, directing the performance of certain acts.

Ver. 15. Oh that men, &c.] See #Ps 107:8.

Ver. 16. For he hath broken the gates of brass] If Samson could do so, how much more the Almighty, whom nothing can withstand! Nature may be stopped in her course, as when the fire burned not. Men may not be able to do as they would. Angels, good or bad, may be hindered, because in them there is an essence and an executive power, between which God can step at his pleasure, and interpose his veto; but who or what shall hinder the Most High?

Ver. 17. Fools because of their transgression] Propter viam defectionis sum, by means of their defection, their departing away from the living God, through an evil heart of unbelief, #Heb 3:12.

And because of their iniquities] The flood gates whereof are set open, as it were, by that their defection from God; for now what should hinder?

Are afflicted] Heb. do afflict themselves, procure their own ruth, if not ruin, and so prove sinners against their own souls, as those, #Nu 16:30-33

Ver. 18. Their soul abhorreth] That is, their stomach loatheth it as unsavoury, though it be never so dainty: an appetite to our meat is an inconconceivable mercy, and, as we say, a sign of health.

And they draw near unto the gates of death] Iam ipsum mortis limen pulsant; as till then little sense of sin or fear of the wrath to come. See #Job 30:19-23. {See Trapp on "Job 30:19"} {See Trapp on "Job 30:20"} {See Trapp on "Job 30:21"} {See Trapp on "Job 30:22"} {See Trapp on "Job 30:23"}

Ver. 19. Then they cry, &c.] Quando medicus et medicinae non prosunt, saith Kimchi, when physicians have done their utmost. See #Ps 107:6.

Ver. 20. He sent his word, and healed them] He commanded deliverance, and it was done; unless there he an allusion to the essential Word, who was afterwards to take flesh, and to heal the diseased.

And delivered them from their destructions] Heb. from their corrupting pits or graves, which do now even gape for them. And he calleth them theirs, quia per peccatum foderunt eas, saith Kimchi, because by their sin themselves have digged them.

Ver. 21. Oh that men, &c.] See #Ps 107:8.

And for his wonderful works] Men are misericordiis et miraculis obsesse, and it were no hard matter to find a miracle in most of our mercies.

Ver. 22. And let them sacrifice, &c.] If they have escaped sickness, let them offer a passover; and if they have recovered, a thankoffering. Heathens in this case praised their Esculapius; Papists their Sebastian, Valentine, Apollonia, &c. Ears of wax they offer to the saint, who, as they suppose, cureth the ears; eyes of wax to the saint that cureth the eyes, &c. But it is Jehovah only who healeth us.

And declare his works, &c.] Memorize and magnify them.

Ver. 23. They that go down to the sea in ships] Here we have a fourth specimen or instance of God’s gracious and wise dispensations towards men, in their trading or trafficking by sea. These are said to go down to sea, because the banks are above it; but the water is naturally higher than the land, and, therefore, sailors observe that their ships fly faster to the shore than from it. But what a bold man, saith the poet, was he that first put forth to sea! (Horat. Od. lib. 1, 3.)

Illi robut, et aes triplex

Circa pectus erat, qui fragilem truci

Commisit pelago ratem

Primus, nec timuit praecipitem Africum, &c.

That do business in great waters] Merchants and mariners, who fish, and find almug, or coral, saith Kimchi, who do export and import commodities of all sorts.

Ver. 24. These see the works of the Lord, &c.] In sea monsters, as whales and whirlpools, and sudden change of weather, and the like, not a few; ebbs and flows, pearls, islands, &c. These are just wonders, and may fully convince the most stubborn atheist that is.

Ver. 25. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, &c.] Of this Seneca, though a heathen, could say, Inter caetera providentiae divinae opera hoc quoque dignum est admiratione, &c., Among other works of the Divine providence this is admirable, that the winds lie upon the sea for the furtherance of navigation, &c.

Ver. 26. They mount up to the heaven, they go down, &c.] An elegant hypotyposis or description of a storm at sea; like whereunto is that in Virgil,

Tollimur in coelum curvato gurgite, et iidem

Subducta ad manes imos descendimus unda.

Their soul is melted because of trouble] They are ready to die through fear of death. Juntas understandeth it of extreme vomiting, as if they were casting up their very hearts. Anacharsis for this cause doubted whether he should reckon mariners among the living or the dead. And another said, that any man will go to sea at first I wonder not; but to go a second time thither is little better than madness.

Ver. 27. They reel to and fro, &c.] Natant nautae, et vacillant cerebro et pedibus.

And are at their wit’s end] All their skill and strength faileth them at once; they can do no more for their lives. Heb. All their wisdom is swallowed up; that is, the art of navigation is now to no use with them.

Ver. 28. Then they cry unto the Lord] "Then," if ever: hence that speech of one, Qui nescit orare, discat navigare, He who cannot pray, let him go to sea, and there he will learn. See #Ps 107:6.

Ver. 29. He maketh the storm a calm] "He," that is, God Almighty, whose the sea is, and he made it, #Ps 95:5; not the Pagans Neptune, or the papagans’ St Nicholas.

So that the waves thereof are still] If, therefore, the voluptuous humours in our body (which is but as a cup made of the husk of an acorn in respect to the sea) will not be pacified when the Lord saith unto us, "Be still"; every drop of water in the sea will be a witness of our monstrous rebellion and disobedience.

Ver. 30. Then are they glad because they be quiet] All is hushed on the sudden, as #Mt 8:26, both their fears and the sea’s outrages being quickly reduced to a peaceable period.

So he bringeth them to their desired haven] This is more than they then wished for: God is many times better to men than their prayers.

Ver. 31. Oh that men would, &c.] See #Ps 107:8.

Ver. 32. Let them exalt him also in the congregation, &c.] i.e. In all public meetings, ecclesiastical and civil.

Ver. 33. He turneth rivers into a wilderness] Hitherto the psalmist hath set forth God’s good providence in delivering men from several deaths and dangers; now he declareth the same in his just and powerful transmutations in nature, while according to the good pleasure of his will he changeth men’s condition, either from good to evil, or from evil to good, beyond all expectation; it is even he that doeth it, whatsoever a company of dizzy headed men dream to the contrary, as one phraseth it. It is God who drieth up those rivers, whereby the land was made fat and fertile, #Isa 41:17.

Ver. 34. A fruitful land into barrenness] Heb. saltness. See #Lu 14:34,35 De 29:23 Jud 9:45. Salt breedeth barrenness, by eating up the fat and moisture of the earth. Some think the psalmist here alludeth to Sodom and her sisters turned into the Red Sea.

For the wickedness of them that dwell therein] Hereof Judea is at this day a noble instance (besides many parts of Asia and Africa, once very fruitful, now, since they became Mahometan, dry and desert). Judea, saith one, hath now only some few parcels of rich ground found in it; that men may guess the goodness of the cloth by the fineness of the shreds. Greece, which was once Sol et sal gentium, saith another, terrarum flos, fens literarum, nunc vel Priamo miseranda manus; -nunc in Graecia desideramus Graeciam; it is nothing like the place it was once.

Ver. 35. He turneth the wilderness, &c.] Some places, again, God (to show his power and providence) of sterile maketh to become fertile; Polonia, for instance, and other northern countries. Germany and France were of old full of woods and lakes, as Caesar and Tacitus testify; now it is otherwise. So in America to this day. So various desert places of Egypt and Ethiopia, when once they became Christians, became fruitful.

Ver. 36. And there he maketh the hungry to dwell] As our English, and other plantations in America, where sundry poor people get fair estates.

That they may prepare a city] The building of cities is of God, and so is their conservation.

Ver. 37. And sow the fields, and plant vineyards] These are noble employments, such as the ancient patriarchs were much in, and the most honourable among the Romans, as Coriolanus, Marcus Curius, Cato Major, &c. Our forefathers, if they could call any one bonum eolonum, a good husbandman, they thought it praise enough, saith Cicero.

Which may yield] The thankful earth yielding, by God’s blessing, her gratum onus, full burden to the laborious tiller.

Ver. 38. He blesseth them also, &c.] See #Pr 10:12 Ps 127:1 Jas 4:15. They are out that rest in natural causes.

Ver. 39. Again, they are minished] Minorati sunt. This also is of the Lord, who hath treasuries of plagues, and cannot be exhausted.

Ver. 40. He poureth contempt, &c.] See #Job 12:21,24, {See Trapp on "Job 12:21"} {See Trapp on "Job 12:24"} Poena tyrannorum est contemptus, exilium, nex, saith Genebrard. All the policy or king craft cannot save them.

Ver. 41. Yet setteth he the poor] The godly poor, as he did David.

And maketh him families like a flock] Of sheep, which multiply exceedingly in a short time.

Ver. 42. The righteous shall see it, and rejoice] It shall cheer them up to see that the reins of government are in God’s hand; and to behold such love in such providence.

And all iniquity shall stop her mouth] Shall be down in the mouth, as we use to say, {see #Job 5:16} and have her tongue chambered.

Ver. 43. Whoso is wise] Heb. Who is wise? q.d. not many. Exclamatio querulatoria (Piscat.). Rari quippe boni. None but those that observe providences, and lay up experiences; which, if men would do, they might have a divinity of their own, were they but well read in the story of their own lives.

Even they shall understand, &c.] And as for those providences that for present he understandeth not, reiecit in Dei abyssos; he believeth that there is a reason for them, and that they shall one day be unriddled.

Chapter 108

Ver. 1. O God, my heart is fixed] For #Ps 108:1-5 of this psalm, see the notes on #Ps 57:7-11. And for #Ps 108:6-13, see the notes on #Ps 60:5-12.

A Psalm of David] Written by him, usque adeo terribili et horrifica oratione, saith Beza, in such terrible terms, as the like is not to be found in Holy Scripture; wherefore it is to be read and used with very great judgment, and not as those miscreants of whom Faber writeth, Quod more magico clam murmurabant hune Psalmum per modum execrationis in eorum hostes, that after a conjuring fashion they muttered out this psalm, by the way of curse upon their enemies.

Chapter 109

Ver. 1. Hold not thy peace] But plead my cause, clear mine innocence.

O God of my praise] The object of my praises, or thou that keepest up my credit, as a witness, judge, and avenger of mine integrity.

Ver. 2. For the mouth of the wicked] There is nothing more easy than to wag a wicked tongue.

They have spoken against me with a lying tongue] But with so much impudence as if it were a very truth. Socrates in his Apology, My lords, said he to the judges, I know not how you have been affected with mine accusers’ eloquence, while you heard them speak. For mine own part, I assure you that I, whom it toucheth not, was almost drawn to believe that all they said, though against myself, was true, when they scarce uttered one word of truth.

Ver. 3. They compassed me about also, &c.] So that I could not find out any way to clear myself, though never so innocent.

And fought against me] So they smote Jeremiah with the tongue, and our Saviour suffered the opposition of sinners, #Heb 12:3

Ver. 4. For my love they are mine adversaries] Heb. they satanically hate me. To render evil for evil is brutish, but to render evil for good is devilish.

But I give myself to prayer] Heb. But I am prayer, or, a man of prayer, as #Ps 120:7, But I am peace. So, being defamed, we pray, #1Co 4:12. When our Saviour was wearied out with the people’s obstinace, he turned himself to God in prayer, #Mt 11:26, and prayed for his crucifiers, #Lu 23:34 Send me to my toads again (in the dungeon), where I may pray for your lordship’s conversion, said Saunders, the martyr, to Winchester.

Ver. 5. And they have rewarded me] See #Ps 109:4.

Flectere naturam gratia nulla potest.

Ver. 6. Set thou a wicked man over him] Whose tender mercies may be cruelties; let the devil be his taskmaster. Thus he prayed against Doeg, or Ahithophel, but certainly Judas, #Ac 1:20. And so the primitive Christians prayed against Julian the apostate, and afterwards against Arius the heretic, whose death was precationis opus non morbi, the effect of prayer, rather than of his disease, saith Socrates, lib. i. cap. 15. We are bound to pray daily, "Thy kingdom come," but must be advised how we pray, as David here doth, against particular persons; his curses here and elsewhere are indefinite, or conditional; either he nameth not the man, or intendeth it if God intend it so; or they are non tam vota quam vaticinia, not so much prayers as prophecies.

And let Satan (or an adversary) stand at his right hand] To withstand him and get the better of him, as #Zec 3:1. Or, to aggravate his fault before an unjust judge.

Ver. 7. When he shall be judged] Let him be cast in all his suits, causa excidat.

And let his prayer become sin] Quot apud iudicem preces adhibebit tot sibi mulctas aecersat, If he beg favour of the judge, let it be the worse for him, as it befell Haman, #Es 7:7,8.

Ver. 8. Let his days be few] Let his execution be hastened, as Haman’s was. Ahithophel and Judas were their own deathsmen. Doeg, doubtless, came to an ill end; and so did other persecutors. See the Book of Martyrs.

And let another take his office] Praefecturam. Officers are ofttimes the Church’s chief enemies; Popish bishops especially, as here in Queen Mary’s days. Judas was guide to those that took Jesus, #Ac 1:16,20.

Ver. 9. Let his children be fatherless] Helpless and shiftless. A sore vexation to many on their death beds, and just enough on graceless persecutors. But happy are they who, when they lie a dying, can say, as Luther did, Domine Deus gratias ago tibi quod volueris me esse pauperem, &c., Lord God, I thank thee for my present poverty, but future hopes. I have not any houses, lands, possessions, money, to leave behind me. Thou hast given me life and children, behold, I return them back to thee, and beseech thee to nourish them, teach them, keep them safe, as hitherto thou hast done me, O thou Father of the fatherless, and judge of widows.

Ver. 10. Let his children be continually vagabonds] Let them wandering wander, as #Ge 4:12 Cain’s curse. Let them rogue about, — et timida voce rogare cibos. This is many times a token of God’s wrath.

Out of their desolate places] Or, for that their places are desolate, and will afford them no help.

Ver. 11. Let the extortioner catch all that he hath] As it were in nets and snares, that is, in bonds, debts, mortgages; so Chrysostom expoundeth #Ps 10:9. Et ipsum et omnes eius facultates inexplicabilibus suis laqueis immites foeneratores irretiant, Let the merciless usurer make a prey of him and his estate.

And let the stranger, &c.] Who hath no right to it, and will show as little mercy. The Chaldee here hath it, Colligat fiscus omnia quae ipsius sunt. And Quae non capit Christus, rapit fiscus, saith Bernard.

Ver. 12. Let there be none to extend mercy to him] Let God in his justice set off all hearts from him that had been so unreasonably merciless. Thus no man opened his mouth to intercede for Haman; Judas was shaken off by the priests, and bid see to himself, &c.

Neither let there be any to favour his fatherless] Pupillis pusillis. Let there be none to plead their pupil’s cause against the griping extortioner, or the stranger that violently invadeth their right.

Ver. 13. Let his posterity be cut Off] Sit eius exitus excidium, so some render it, let his end be destruction; and it is better to take it, as we translate, "Let his posterity," &c. Let them be razed and rooted out of remembrance, they and their whole race.

Let their name be blotted out] That they may not live, so much as by fame. The Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, have no memorial but what they have in the Bible, and that is for no good. And the like may be said of Meroz, #Jud 5:23, which seemeth to have been some city near the place where the battle was fought; but what it was none can determine, since there is no mention elsewhere to be found of it, which seemeth to be an effect of that bitter curse pronounced against it. See #Pr 10:7.

Ver. 14. Let the iniquity of his fathers, &c.] In whose sinful steps he treadeth, be charged upon him.

And let not the sin of his mother] Who bred him no better, but cockered him in wicked courses, and gave him no good example, Partus fere sequitur ventrem.

Ver. 15. Let them be before the Lord] Stand ever upon record in his presence, to provoke him to wrath. A heavy curse indeed.

Ver. 16. Because that he remembered not to show mercy] Here the prophet beginneth to show why he useth such doleful imprecations against his enemies, viz. not out of a spirit of revenge, or a false zeal, but as truly seeking God’s glory, and his Church’s safety, which could not otherwise be procured, unless these merciless men were devoted to destruction. He remembered not, that is, de industria oblitus est et omisit, he forgot and neglected it on purpose.

Ver. 17. As he loved cursing, &c.] "The backslidcr in heart shall be filled with his own ways," #Pr 14:14. Cursing men are cursed men, as were easy to instance in sundry, as Hacker, hanged in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, and Sir Jervase Elloways, lieutenant of the Tower in King James’s days, according to their own wishes. See Mr. Clark’s Mirror, p. 210, &c. The Jews are still great cursers of Christians, they shut up their daily prayers with Maledic Domine Nazaraeis, and how it cometh home to them who knoweth not, even wrath to the utmost? #1Th 2:16.

Ver. 18. As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment] Ut vestis commensurata corpori, as the inner garment that sticks closest to the body, and is not done off but with much ado, as he hath wrapped, and trussed up himself in cursing.

So let it come into his bowels like water] Let him have his belly full of it, and his bones full too.

And like oil] Which easily soaketh through. See #Nu 5:22.

Ver. 19. Let it be unto him as a garment] Yet as an inner, but outer garment also, that men may see and say, This is an accursed person; the visible vengeance of God pursueth him.

Ver. 20. Let this be the reward] Opus vel operae precium. The same Hebrew word signifieth work and wages, Actio et merces, #Job 7:2 Isa 49:4; persecutors shall be sure of their payment.

Ver. 21. But do thou for me] Fac mecum, sis mihi a latere, stick to me, act on my behalf, and for my benefit.

Ver. 22. For I am poor and needy] As a leper showeth his ulcers to move pity, so doth David his indigency and ailments.

And my heart is wounded] I have my inward troubles also: or I am cordicitus vulneratus, almost dead, animam ago.

Ver. 23. I am gone like the shadow] Abii, perii, evanui, I vanish, as the long shadows do so soon as the sun setteth.

As the locust] Leapeth from hedge to hedge, so do I from place to place, being tossed from post to pillar, αστατουμεν, #1Co 4:11

Ver. 24. My knees are weak through fasting] Either for lack of meat or stomach to it; genua labant, my knees buckle under me, the strong men bow themselves, #Ec 12:3.

My flesh faileth of fatness] I am lean and low brought. Christ might well cry out, "My leanness, my leanness"; so busy he was for his Father, and so worn out, that they judged him well nigh fifty, when he was not much over thirty, #Joh 8:57.

Ver. 25. I became also a reproach] In respect to my leanness.

They shaked their heads] This is threatened as a curse, #De 28:15-68, but may befall the best, as it did our Saviour, #Ps 22:7 Mt 27:39

Ver. 26. Help me, O Lord] Prayer, like those arrows of deliverance, must be multiplied, as our trouble is lengthened and lieth on.

Ver. 27. That they may know] That I am delivered merely by thy presence and power. It is the ingenuity of the saints, in all their desired or expected mercies, to study God’s ends more than their own.

Ver. 28. Let them curse, but bless thou] Yea, the rather, as #2Sa 16:12; and I wot well that those whom thou blessest shall be blessed, as Isaac once said of his son Jacob, #Ge 27:33.

When they arise] To plead their own cause, causa excidant.

Ver. 29. As with a mantle] Sicut diploide, saith the Vulgate, as with a doublet, q.d. Let them be doubley ashamed; for which purpose also he here doubleth his prayer.

Ver. 30. I will greatly praise the Lord] Diligenter et impense. God’s blessings are binders; and great deliverances call for suitable praises, the neglect hereof is crimen stellionatus, cousenage.

Ver. 31. For he shall stand at the right hand] As a faithful and powerful (παραστατης or υπεραπιστης) champion, and not as Satan standeth at the persecutor’s right hand, #Ps 109:6.

From those that condemn him] Heb. from the judges of his soul, sc. Saul and his courtiers, who judged him worthy of death,

A Psalm of David] Concerning Christ, saith R. Obadiah, and so say Christ himself, #Mt 22:44, and his apostles, #1Co 15:25 Heb 1:13 10:12,13, though some Rabbis maliciously say otherwise, as R. Joseph, caecus qui hic caecutit, to say the best of him, and other Jewish doctors, who stagger here in their expositions, as drunkards, ως οι μεθυοντες (Chrysostom).

Chapter 110

Ver. 1. The Lord said unto my Lord] In this one verse we have a description of Christ’s person, his wars and his victory; so that we may say of it (and so indeed of the whole psalm, which is an epitome of the gospel), as Cicero did of Brutus’s laconical epistle, Quam multa, quam paucisi How much in a little. {See Trapp on "Mt 22:44"}

Sit thou at my right hand] Sit thou with me in my throne, having power over all things in heaven and earth, #Mt 28:18 Christ, as man, received what, as God, he had before.

Until I make thine enemies thy footstool] Foes Christ hath ever had, and shall have to the world’s end; but then they shall be all in a place fittest for them, viz. under Christ’s feet; even those who now set up their crests, face the heavens, and say unto the King, Apostata, stouting it out with him.

Ver. 2. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength] That is, the gospel, that sceptre of Christ’s kingdom, that power of God to salvation, unto as many as believe, mighty through God to work wonders, #2Co 10:5 Ac 20:32, even the preaching of Christ’s cross.

Out of Zion] For salvation is of the Jews, #Joh 4:22 Isa 2:3 Mic 4:1,2 Abide ye in Jerusalem till, &c., #Ac 1:8

Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies] Among Jews, Pagans, Turks, Papagans; those that will not bend, let them break; those that will not stoop to thy government, let them feel thy power, #Ps 45:5.

Ver. 3. Thy people shall be willing] All Christ’s subjects are volunteers, free hearted, like those isles that wait for God’s law, #Isa 42:8 Zec 8:21. They love to be his servants, #Isa 56:6. Lex voluntarios quaerit, saith Ambrose.

In the day of thy power] Copiarum tuarum, of thine army, or of thy militia, when thou shalt lead on thy Church militant, and be in the head of them, conquering and to conquer, #Re 6:2. Some understand it to be the Christian sabbath day.

In the beauties of holiness] i.e. In Church assemblies, in the beauty of holy ordinances, at the administration whereof, Christ’s birth dew, that is, the influence of his Spirit and his presence in those ordinances, is from the womb of the morning, i.e. is of that generating and enlivening virtue that the dew of the teeming morning is to the seeds and plants of the earth. An apt similitude both to express the multitude of Christ’s converts, and the manner of their heavenly generation. See #Mic 5:7. {See Trapp on "Mic 5:7"}

Ver. 4. The Lord hath sworn, &c.] Christ’s priestly office, as well as his kingly, is here described, whereof how many and how great mysteries there are, see Heb. vii., with the notes. The Church is collected and conserved not only by Christ’s kingly power, but also by his priestly mediation.

Thou art a priest] 1. To expiate. 2. To intercede.

After the order of Melchisedek] Who whether he were Shem, or some other, is not easy to determine. Melchisedek was a king and a priest. Christ was more, a priest, a prophet, and a king. These offices have met double in some others; as Melchisedek was king and priest, Samuel a priest and a prophet, David a king and a prophet; but never met all three in any but in Christ alone.

Ver. 5. The Lord at thy right hand] Before, Christ was at the Father’s right hand; here, the Father at his; this is to show the equality of the Father and the Son, saith Jerome. Athanasius, by Lord here, understandeth the Holy Ghost. Others, by thy right hand, will have the Church to be meant, who is promised protection and victory. The Lord Christ shall slay her enemies in battle, #Ps 110:5, compel them to flee and turn their backs, #Ps 110:6, pursue them fleeing, #Ps 110:7, as #Jud 7:5-7,19-23

Ver. 6. He shall judge among the heathen] Do execution upon his enemies, as #Ps 110:1, whether kings or commoners.

He shall fill the places] The ditches of their own camps.

He shall wound the heads] Heb. head; cruentabit caput, whereby some understand the Roman empire, with its image, antichrist with his adherents, who are called heathens, #Re 11:2. Others, Turks and Saracens, reading the next words, Over the land of Rabbah, the chief city of the Ammonites, who were likewise Arabians; and so they make it an allusion to David’s victories over the Ammonites, #2Sa 10:6-19 12:26-31

Ver. 7. He shall drink of the brook in the way] i.e. Of the wrath of the Almighty, pointing to Christ’s state of humiliation, as in the next words to his exaltation; or, he shall content himself with a low condition here, such as was that of Elijah when he drank of the brook, #1Ki 17:1-7 Or, in the eager pursuit of his enemies, he shall drink hastily of the water next at hand, i.e. as Gideon and his soldiers did, Vivet pauperem vitam, λιτον βιον (Chrysost.). Aerumnas omnes durissimae militae perferet (Beza).

Therefore shall he lift up the head] Maugre the heads of his enemies, he shall rise again, reign, and triumph, and so shall all his members, after that through many tribulations they have entered into the kingdom of heaven. Christ’s and their sufferings are but a drinking of the brook, not a spring of water for perpetuity; they are but a dark entry into our Father’s house, a dirty lane to a stately palace; shut but your eyes, as that martyr at the stake said, and there will be a change immediately. Look how the disciples, after they had taken Christ into the ship, were presently at shore, after a tempest; so the saints have no sooner taken death into their bosoms, but they are landed presently at the quay of Canaan, at the kingdom of heaven.

Chapter 111

Ver. 1. Praise ye the Lord] At the passover especially; for this and the other hallelujatical psalms that follow (called by the Jews the Great Hallelujah) were sung at that and other solemn feasts, in praise of God for his manifold mercies.

I will praise the Lord] Musica huius Psalmi in signis est, siquis eam consequi potuit. The great art used in the composure of this and some other psalms (after the order of the Hebrew alphabet) serveth both to set forth their excellence and for the help of memory.

Ver. 2. The works of the Lord are great] Magnalia; no small things are done by so great a hand. Grandior solet esse Deus in parvulis quam in magnis; in formicis maior anima quam in elephantis, in nanis quam in gigantibus.

Sought out of all them] q.d. Great though they be, yet are they seriously sought into and found out by those that delight therein; and the deeper they dive into them the sweeter they find them. Basil diligently described many creatures; and so did Ambrose after him. Pliny (who was himself a very great searcher in nature’s secrets) telleth of one who spent eight and fifty years in learning the nature of the bee, Et nondum assecutus sit onmia, and yet could not attain to all. Our anatomists find still new wonders in the body of a man, &c. God hath showed singular skill in his works, that men might admire him; but woe to such as regard not his handiwork, #Isa 5:12.

Ver. 3. His work is honourable] Heb. honour and glory, they all come tipped and gilt, with a glory upon them, a centro ad coelum. This the brutish man knoweth not, #Ps 92:6.

His righteousness endureth for ever] His judgments are sometimes secret, but always just.

Ver. 4. He hath made his wonderful, &c.] Memorabilia reddidit mirabilia sua clemens et misericors Iehova.

Ver. 5. He hath given meat] Heb. a prey, Escam demensam; as he did manna to the Israelites, to each a homer; so to all his he giveth food convenient for them, #Pr 30:8, Cibum et potum, quae sunt divitiae Christianorum (Jerome).

He will ever be mindful of his covenant] To pass by his people’s sins, and to supply all their necessities; all his paths to such are not mercy only, but truth, #Ps 25:10

Ver. 6. He hath showed his people, &c.] To them it is given to see, but not to others who are delivered up to a judiciary blindness. "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and hidden things which thou knowest not," #Jer 33:3.

That he may give them, &c.] Yea, power over all nations, #Re 2:26

Ver. 7. The work of his hands] They speak him a true and just God. Chrysostom taketh truth here for mercy, and noteth that God usually mixeth mercy with justice; yet sometimes he sendeth an evil, an only evil, #Eze 7:5

All his commandments] That is, his promises added to his commandments; or they are so called, because firm and sure, as the commandments of an emperor.

Ver. 8. They stand fast for ever and ever] The promises are infallible, good sure hold, not yea and nay, but yea and amen.

And are done] i.e. Ordained, made, and ratified.

Ver. 9. He sent redemption unto his people] Once out of Egypt, ever out of Satan’s thraldom.

He hath commanded his covenant for ever] Sic cum populo suo pactus est ut de ipsius paeti observatione certis edictis caverit, as he covenanted, so he looketh his commandments should be respected, which are as binding to us as his covenant is to him; and, through grace, his covenant is as binding to him as those are to us.

Holy and reverend is his name] Which, therefore, we should not presume in a sudden unmannerliness to blurt out. The Jews would not pronounce it. The Grecians (as Suidas observeth), when they would swear by their Jupiter, forbare to mention him. This is cheek to the profaneness common among us. Let those that would have their name reverend labour to be holy as God is holy.

Ver. 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom] Or the principal point and chief perfection. See #Pr 1:7 Job 28:28. {See Trapp on "Pr 1:7"} {See Trapp on "Job 28:28"}

A good understanding have all they] So much a man knoweth in true account, as he doth; hence understanding is here ascribed to the will; so #Job 28:28. See #Ec 10:2. Some render it, Good success.

His praise endureth for ever] i.e. God’s praise; for they that understand it of the godly wise man understand not the propriety of the Hebrew word Tehillah, saith an interpreter.

Chapter 112

Ver. 1. Praise ye the Lord] See #Ps 111:1.

Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord] That obediently feareth him as said before, #Ps 111:10; that feareth the Lord, as Abraham did, #Ge 22:12, who is the blessed man here described, say the Jewish doctors (Midrash Tillin in #Ps 112), because he kept the whole law from Aleph to Tau (this psalm also is alphabetical, as the former) with his whole heart, delighting in God’s commandments, and hastening to fulfil them; as when he left his country, circumcised his family, sacrificed his son.

That delighteth greatly in his commandments] And thereby showeth that his fear of God is filial and amicable, not base and servile, which ever carrieth torment along with it; and he that so feareth is not made perfect in love, #1Jo 4:18; cannot but hate him whom he so feareth, for Quem metuunt oderunt.

Ver. 2. And his seed shall be mighty upon earth] As Abraham’s was, and, besides, the reward of his humility and fear of the Lord was riches and honour, and life, #Pr 22:4. For godliness is profitable to all things, having the promises of this life, and of that to come, #1Ti 4:8, as in this psalm is fully set forth.

The generation of the upright, &c.] Personal goodness is profitable to posterity; and the contrary.

Ver. 3. Wealth and riches] Wealth enough, as the word Hon signifieth, a well contented sufficiency. His "chambers shall be filled with all precious and pleasant riches," #Pr 24:4.

His righteousness endureth for ever] He is not the worse for his wealth, nor drawn aside by the deceitfulness of riches, which yet is hard and happy.

Ardua res haec est opibus non tradere mores:

Et cum tot Croesos viceris, esse Numam

(Martial).

Ver. 4. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness] i.e. Joy in tribulation, as did unto the martyrs, plenty in penury, as "having nothing, and yet possessing all things," #2Co 6:10. If they have not an external affluence, yet they have an internal influence of grace and comfort, which is far better and sweeter, #1Ti 6:6. Some render the words thus, He who is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous (i.e. God), causeth light to arise in darkness upon the upright; who also is, according to his measure, and by participation from God, gracious, merciful, and righteous.

Ver. 5. A good man showeth favour, and lendeth] A public spirited man, #Ro 5:7, maketh his moderation to be known to all men, #Php 4:5, and lendeth, looking for nothing again, #Lu 6:35. Thence it is that to him light ariseth in darkness; the merciful shall have mercy, #Mt 5:7. Some render it, Bene viro qui miseratur, Well is the man, or, Well will it be with the man, that pitieth and lendeth. The Hebrew hath it, that is pitying and lending, ever in such actions.

He will guide his affairs with discretion] Heb. with judgment; neither illiberal nor prodigal; not withered handed when he should give, nor yet stretching beyond the staple; for that were to spoil all. Tremellius rendereth it, Moderatur res suas, ex officio.

Ver. 6. Surely he shall not be moved for ever] Non mutabit. The world thinketh liberality to be the ready way to beggary; but it is otherwise; #Isa 32:8, "The liberal man deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things he shall stand." Not getting, but giving, is the way to wealth.

The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance] Namely, with the righteous. Demetrius hath good report of all good men, and of the truth itself, #3Jo 12. As for wicked men, Calumnias eorum nunquam effugit, there is no escaping their cavils and calumnies (Vatab.).

Ver. 7. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings] When the miserly miscreant is ready to make away himself, for fear of what evil may follow, this man is undaunted and unappalled. The fear of God so ballasteth his heart, that he floateth steadily; and blow what wind it will, he saileth safe to the port. Fides famem non formidat, Faith feareth no famine, nor anything else; when as a sound of fear is ever in the wicked man’s ears, #Job 15:4

His heart is fixed] viz. Upon the promise of God; and hence he hath a spiritual security, a blessed sabbath of spirit; he is freed, if not from the common destruction, yet from the common distraction; for he knoweth whom he hath trusted. Praeclara est aequabilitas in omni vita, et idem semper vultus, eademque frons, saith Cicero. It is a brave thing to have a well composed spirit in all changes, and to look alike, however the world goeth. The heathens tell us that Gaius Laelius was such a one, and Archimedes, and Socrates, who are said to have been far above all fear of, or grief at, any disaster (Aelian. lib. 9). But that could not be, because their hearts were not fixed, trusting in the Lord. And how Socrates (the best of them) staggered and faltered when he came to die, appeareth by his last speech, as it is related both by Plato and Cicero.

Ver. 8. His heart is established] Heb. underpropped, shored up.

He shall not be afraid] Of any adverse power, #Ps 3:6 27:1

Until he see his desire] Which his faith will once work out.

Ver. 9. He hath dispersed] Or, made a scatter, yet with discretion, giving liberally, but most of all where is most need, and with a specialty of respect to the family of faith, #Ga 6:16

His righteousness endureth for ever] The reward of his charity is lasting, or his charity is never at an end, Sic vocat eleemosynas (Aben Ezra); he giveth after that he hath given, as a spring runneth after it hath run, as the sun shineth after it hath shone. See #2Co 8:4,5

His horn shall be exalted] i.e. His head, as #1Sa 2:1,10.

Ver. 10. The wicked shall see it] Vir improbus et reprobus; the covetous wretch who sat a brood upon his bags, and befooled the bountiful man, shall himself come to beggary, which he so much feared, and be ready to eat his own nails through envy at the other’s prosperity; and because he cannot come at his heart, he feeds upon his own, yea, puts himself into a hell above ground, both for pain of loss and pain of sense, as here.

Chapter 113

Ver. 1. Hallelujah] See #Ps 111:1.

Praise, O ye servants of the Lord] None but such can do it, or are fit for it; and for such praise is comely, #Ps 147:1, as unthankfulness is an ugly sin, but especially in ministers, those servants of the Lord, by a specialty.

Praise the name of the Lord] Ter repetit, Trinitatem subindicando, saith one; others note that by this threefold Praise ye, the psalmist taxeth men’s dulness, and exciteth their diligence to this divine duty.

Ver. 2. Blessed be the name of the Lord] Praise him with utmost intention and extension of spirit and of speech. God is therefore called, by an appellative proper, The Blessed One, Baruc-hu, #Mr 14:61 Lu 1:68.

From this time, &c.] A nunc et usque.

Ver. 3. From the rising of the sun] i.e. All the world over, in all places and at all times. North and south are not mentioned (but included), because not so well peopled.

Ver. 4. The Lord is high, &c.] He looketh on the earth as on an ant hill. All nations to him are but as a drop of a bucket, #Isa 40:15 Quantilla ergo es tu istius guttae particula? (Aug.).

And his glory above the heavens] These are far beneath him in glory as in situation. Angels understand him not fully.

Ver. 5. Who is like, &c.] See #Ps 89:6. He is imparallel.

Who dwelleth on high] Heb. Who exalteth to dwell. Oh that we could fly a pitch any way proportionable by exalting his name together, #Ps 34:3.

Ver. 6. Who humbleth himself] Lo, it is a condescension in God to vouchsafe to look out of himself upon the saints and angels, how much more upon us, since sin setteth us farther beneath a worm than a worm is beneath an angel!

Ver. 7. He raiseth up the poor, &c.] David, for instance, besides many others, as Agathocles, Numa, Maximinianus, &c., whom he raised from the lowest stair to the very highest step of honour and opulence.

Ver. 8. That he may set him with princes] See #1Sa 2:8, Hannah’s song, whereof this seemeth to be an abridgment.

Ver. 9. He maketh the barren woman to keep house] Heb. to dwell in a house, that is, to have a house full of children, and so to build her husband’s house, #Ru 4:11. This is applied to the Church (which is the theatre of the world, wherein God showeth his special providence and power), #Isa 54:1 Ga 4:26,27.

Chapter 114

Ver. 1. When Israel went out of Egypt] E medio gentis, id est, ex visceribus Aegyptiorum, qui eos quasi deglutiebant, Out of the midst of that nation, that is, out of the bowels of the Egyptians, who had, as it were, devoured them; thus the Jewish doctors gloss upon this text (Midr. Tillin. in #Ps 114).

From a people of strange language] And yet more estranged affections, jeering them, and their religion, as the word lognez (which is of affinity with logneg, a scoffer) seemeth to sound. Afterwards it was prophesied that five cities in the land of Egypt should speak the language (or lip) of Canaan, #Isa 19:18, viz. when the Lord should turn to them a pure language, #Zep 3:9.

Ver. 2. Judah was his sanctuary] Or sanctity, or sanctification. This was a happy change for them, from their Egyptian idolatry, #Eze 23:19, like as it was from their Egyptian servitude, when Israel became God’s dominions, dominations, and signiories.

Ver. 3. The sea saw it, and fled] When God will deliver his people, and perform his promises unto them, nothing shall hinder, but all creatures shall contribute their helps; for they are all his servants, #Ps 119:91.

Ver. 4. The mountains skipped like rams] sc. At the giving of the law, #Ex 19:18, which also causeth heartquakes in believers; but the unjust knoweth no shame, #Zep 3:5; is past feeling, #Eph 4:19.

Ver. 5. What ailed thee, O thou sea?] Or, what came to thee? can there any natural reason be given, or was it God’s powerful presence only that caused you to run retrograde? Atheists and unbelievers will search the devil’s skull to find out something whereby they may elevate God’s great works, and elude his arguments; as Pharaoh sat not down under the miracle, but sent for the magicians, and hardened his own heart.

Ver. 6. Ye mountains, that ye skipped, &c.] These two verses teach us, saith one, that we may many times ask questions; and yet neither doubt of the matter nor be ignorant in them.

Ver. 7. Tremble, thou earth, &c.] Heb. Be in pain, as a travailing woman; for if the giving of the law had such dreadful effects, what should the breaking thereof have?

At the presence of the God of Jacob] Whom Jacob, that is, God’s covenanted people, knoweth and confideth in amidst all his austerities, #Isa 63:16, and can boldly say, as #Hab 1:12, "Art not thou from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die."

Ver. 8. Which turned the rock into a standing water] Set the rock of Rephidim abroach, and made it not only a standing water ( stagnum , as here), but a running river; for the rock followed them: and that rock was Christ, #1Co 10:4, with #Joh 4:14 7:38.

The flint into a fountain of waters] Still God worketh for his people, in oppositis mediis (as Luther expresseth it), by contrary means; and rather than they shall want necessaries, he both can and will work miracles.

Chapter 115

Ver. 1. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us] This is the godly man’s motto, and his daily practice. See #Ge 41:16 Ac 3:12,16 1Co 15:10 Lu 19:16. Not we, but thy talents, have gained other five, and other two (Georg. Fabric. Chenmieenses virus de seipso).

Fabricius studuit bene de pietate mereri;

Sed quicquid potuit, gloria, Christe, tua est.

There is no merit at all in us, saith the Chaldee here; the bowls of the candlestick had no oil but that which dropped from the olive branches. It is therefore very good counsel that Austin gives his friend Boniface, In omnibus bonis actibus tuis illi da claritatem, tibi humilitatem, In all thy good deeds give God the glory, and take up lowly thoughts of thyself.

Ver. 2. Wherefore should the heathen say] Why should they thus be suffered or occasioned to blaspheme thee, and twit us with our religion? Hence some conceive that this psalm was made in the time of the Babylonish captivity by Daniel (saith one Jewish doctor), when he expounded Nebuchadnezzar’s dream; by the three worthies (saith another), when they were in the fiery furnace. See #Ps 42:10 79:10.

Ver. 3. But our God is in the heavens] Where your terricula country, your fearful idols never were; like as one, being asked by a Papist, Where was your religion before Luther? answered, In the Bible, where your religion never was. This "but" seemeth uttered with indignation. Αξιωματικωτατος μεν εστιν ο Βασιλευς ημων, saith Basil, on a like occasion; our God is no dunghill deity.

He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased] Without either help or hindrance of any.

Ver. 4. Their idols are silver and gold] Take them at the best, they are no better; and what is silver and gold but the guts and garbage of the earth? But some of them might say, as Priapus in Horace,

Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inutile lignum.

Herodotus telleth us, that Amasis had a large laver of gold, wherein both he and his guests used to wash their feet. This vessel he brake and made a god of it; which the Egyptians devoutly worshipped. And the like idolomany is at this day found among Papists; what distinction soever the world would fain make between an idol and an image, which indeed (as they use them) are all one.

The work of men’s hands] And therefore they must needs be goodly gods, when made by bunglers especially, as was the cross of Cockram; which, if it were not good enough to make a god, would make an excellent devil, as the mayor of Doncaster merrily told the complainants (Acts and Mon. fol. 1340).

Ver. 5. They have mouths, but speak not] Unless the devil haply speak in them, and by them, as at Delphos; or the false priests, as here, in times of Popery.

Eyes have they, but they see not] And yet with wires and other devices they were made here once to goggle their eyes, to move their chaps apace, as well apaid when something of worth was presented them; as if otherwise, to look at eyes’ end, and to hang a lip.

Ver. 6. They have ears, but they hear not] But are as deaf as door nails to the prayers of their suppliants. The Cretans pictured their Jupiter without ears; so little hearing or help they hoped for from him. Socrates, in contempt of heathen gods, swore by an oak, a goat, a dog; as holding these better gods than those. Varro saith, they that first brought in pictures to be worshipped, Ii civitatibus suis et metum dempserunt, et errorem addiderunt, took away fear, and brought in error (Aug. de Civit. Dei, lib. iv. cap. 31.)

Noses have they, but they smell not] As the painter may paint a flower with fresh colours, but not with sweet savour, with this motto, No further than colours; so the carver may draw out an image, but not make it draw its breath, with this motto, No further than fashion.

Ver. 7. They have hands, but they handle not] Curious and artificial (for art is Nature’s ape), but useless, and for show only. If Esculapius, or the lady of Loretto, restore the lame or the blind, it is the devil with his lying wonders, #2Th 2:9

Feet have they, but they walk not] As those pictures in Plato made by Daedalus, which, if they were not bound, would fly away; or Vulcan’s three-footed stools in Homer, which are feigned to have run on wheels of their own accord, to the meeting of the gods, and after that to return in like sort back again. The Tyrians besieged by Alexander chained up their god Hercules, that he might not go from them in that calamnity, and yet they were not delivered.

Neither speak they through their throat] They do not so much as chatter like a crane, or mourn as a dove, #Isa 38:14, but are dumb idols, as the apostle calleth them. These are things commonly known, but profitably thus inculcated, for the shaming of senseless idolaters; who yet are so bewitched that they will needs dote upon these gods of their own making. O vanas hominum mentes, &c., Oh the spirit of fornication, &c.

Ver. 8. They that make them are like unto them] Blind and blockish, Vervecum in patria crassoque sub aere nati; given up by a just God to a judiciary stupidity. See #Isa 44:9-11, &c.; #Re 9:20, Their foolish hearts were darkened, and they were delivered up to a reprobate sense, to an injudicious mind, #Ro 1:24-31, to strong delusions, vile affections, just damnation.

So is every one that trusteth in them] Idols were never true to such as trusted in them; but such deserve to be deceived, as being miserable by their own choice, #Jon 2:8.

Ver. 9. O Israel, trust thou in the Lord] Whatever others do, #Jos 24:15, and the rather because others do not, #Ps 119:42; the worse they are, the better be ye.

He is their help and their shield] God is engaged in point of honour to help and protect those that trust in him.

Ver. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord] Ministers must be patterns to others of depending upon God, and living by faith; as did Mr Bradshaw, Mr Lancaster, and many other famous preachers of latter times, whom God inured to a dependence from day to day upon his providence for provisions; and (as a grave man of God sometimes said, whereas many others have, and eat their bread stale) these received their bread and ate it daily new from his holy hand.

Ver. 11. Ye that fear the Lord] Peregrini ex omni populo, saith Aben Ezra, devout persons out of every nation dwelling among the Jews, though not absolute proselytes, #Ac 2:5 10:2 13:16. Such also, fearing the Lord, are heirs of the promises; and therefore may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me," #Heb 13:6.

Ver. 12. The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us] God hath, God will, is an ordinary Scripture medium, as hath been above noted.

He will bless the house of lsrael] Not help and keep them only, but bless them with the blessings of both lives; for he is no penny father, &c. See #Eph 1:3.

He will bless the house of Aaron] Ministers were ever a distinct order from the rest. Note this against the Libertines, who would gladly make a jumble, affirming the ministry to be as arrant, a juggle as the Papacy itself.

Ver. 13. He will bless] Such shall abound with blessings, #Pr 28:20.

Both small and great] Whether in age or degree, #Ac 10:34,35.

Ver. 14. The Lord shall increase you] Or, the Lord increase you (detach tephilla, prayer wise), as the Rabbis read it.

You and your children] The care of whose welfare prevaileth far with religious parents, and sitteth close upon their spirits.

Ver. 15. Ye are blessed of the Lord, &c.] And therefore shall be blessed, as Isaac said of his son Jacob, #Ge 27:33.

Which made heaven and earth] And will rather unmake both again than you shall want help and comfort.

Ver. 16. The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s] As the special place of his delight and dwelling; yet not so as if he were there cooped up and concluded; for God is immense and omnipresent, yea, totally present, wheresoever present. The heavens have a large place, but they have one part here, and another there; not so the Lord; he is not commensurable by the place, but everywhere all present.

But the earth hath he given] Or, let out, as to his tenants at will, for he hath not made them absolute owners, to do therein what they will, and to live as they list. "Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton," #Jas 5:5. A heavy charge. Calvin tells of a loose fellow that used in his cups to allege this text.

Ver. 17. The dead praise not] Therefore be active for God while we are upon earth; where for this he giveth us life and livelihood. See #Ps 6:6.

Ver. 18. But we will bless the Lord] For if he lose his praise in us, he will lose it altogether; and so all things will come to nothing; quod absit.

Chapter 116

Ver. 1. I love the Lord] Heb. I love, because the Lord hath heard, &c., Vex abrupta et ecliptica, an abrupt concise ecliptical expression, betokening an inexpressible, inconceivable passion, or rather pang of love, such as intercepteth his voice for a time, till recollecting himself, and recovering his speech, he becometh able to tell us, not only that he loveth, or is well satisfied ( Sat habeo. Tremel.), but also why he loveth, and is all on a light flame, as it were, viz.

Because he hath heard my voice] Though but an articulate incondite voice: #La 3:56, "Thou hast heard my voice; hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry."

And my supplications] My prayers for grace, when better formed and methodized.

Ver 2. Because he hath inclined his ear] As loth to lose any part of my prayer, though never so weakly uttered; therefore be shall have my custom; #Ps 65:2, "O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come."

As long as I live] Heb. In my days, that is, say some, while I have a day to live. Others sense it thus, in the time of my affliction, {confer #Ps 137:7 La 1:21} which by the word days he noteth to be of long continuance.

Ver. 3. The sorrows of death compassed me] See #Ps 18:4,5, Pictura poetica ingentium periculorum. Sorrows, or pangs, and those deadly ones, and these compassed me as a bird in a snare, or a beast in a gin.

The pains of hell (or the griefs of the grave) gat hold] Heb. found me, as #Nu 32:23.

I found trouble and sorrow] Straits inextricable cause sorrows inexplicable. The word signifieth such sorrow as venteth itself by sighing, #Isa 35:10 51:11.

Ver. 4. Then called I upon the name of the Lord] That strong tower, whereunto the righteous run and are safe, #Pr 18:10. Others have other refuges, the witch of Endor, the god of Ekron, the arm of flesh, &c.

O Lord, I beseech thee] Ana, blandientis et deprecantis particula. The psalmist here hath a sweet way of insinuating, and getting within the Lord; which, oh that we could skill of ( Sic et Ναι #Phm 20 Re 1:7).

Deliver my soul] q.d. It is my soul, Lord, my precious soul, "that is sought after; oh, deliver my soul, from the sword, my darling from the power of the dog," #Ps 22:20.

Ver. 5. Gracious is the Lord, &c.] Gracious God is said to be, and merciful, that we despair not; righteous also, that we presume not. Or, faithful in performing his promises, as #1Jo 1:9, and this was David’s comfort amidst his sorrows.

Ver. 6. The Lord preserveth, the simple] Heb. the persuasible (opposed to the scorner, #Pr 19:25), the plain hearted (opposed to the guileful, #2Co 1:12 11:3 Ro 16:19), the destitute of human help, that committeth himself to God, and patiently resteth on him for support and help, #Ps 102:1-17.

I was brought low] Or, drawn dry; I was at a great under, at a low ebb; I was exhausted or emptied as a pond, strengthless, succourless, clean gone in a manner.

And he helped me] The knowledge that David had of God’s goodness was experimental. See the like #Ro 8:2. A carnal man knoweth God’s excellencies and will revealed in his word only, as we know far countries by maps; but an experienced Christian, as one that hath himself been long there, #1Co 2:14-16.

Ver. 7. Return unto thy rest, O my soul] The psalmist had been at a great deal of unrest, and much off the hooks, as we say; now, having prayed (for prayer hath vim pacativum, a pacifying property), he calleth his soul to rest, and rocketh it asleep in a spiritual security. Oh, learn this holy art; acquaint thyself with God, acquiesce in him, and be at peace; so shall good be done unto thee, #Job 22:21 Sis Sabbathum Christi (Luther).

For the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee] Of Sertorius it is said, that he performed his promises with words only. And of the Emperor Pertinax, that he was magis blandus quam beneticus, rather kind spoken than beneficial to any; not so the Almighty, Hinc dictus est χρηστολογος.

Ver. 8. For thou hast delivered my soul, &c.] The better to excite himself to true thankfulness he entereth into a particular enumeration of God’s benefits. It is not enough that we acknowledge what God has done for us in the lump, and by wholesale. See, #Ex 18:8, how Moses brancheth out God’s benefits. So must we, rolling them as sugar, and making our utmost of them.

Ver. 9. I will walk before the Lord] Indesinenter ambulabo. I will not only take a turn or two with God, go three or four steps with him, &c., but walk constantly and in all duties before him, with him, after him. Hypocrites do not walk with God, but halt with him, they follow him as a dog doth his master, till he comes by a carrion; they will launch no farther out into the main than they may be sure to return at pleasure safe again to the shore.

In the land] i.e. Here in this world, called also "the light of the living," #Ps 56:13 52:5 Job 28:13.

Ver. 10. I believed, therefore have I spoken] Fundamentum et fulcrum verae spei est fides viva. Hope is the daughter of faith, but such as is a staff to her aged mother; and will produce a bold and wise profession of the truth before men, as also earnest prayer to God. It is as the cork upon the net, though the lead on the one side sink it down, yet the cork on the other keeps it up. Some translate the words thus: "I believed when I said I am greatly afflicted: I believed when I said in my haste all men are liars." q.d. Though I have had my offs and my ons, though I have passed through several frames of heart and tempers of soul in my trials, yet I believed still, I never let go my hold, my grip of God, in any perturbation.

Ver. 11. I said in my haste] In my heat, trepidation, concussion, outburst. Saints may have such, as being but men, subject to like passions; and as meeting with many molestations, Satanic and secular; and left sometimes to themselves by God, as was good Hezekiah, for their trial and exercise. The sea is not so calm in summer, but hath its commotions; the mountain so firm, but may be moved with an earthquake. Dogs in a chase bark sometimes at their own masters; so do men in a passion let fly at their best friends. When the taste is vitiated it mistastes. When there is a suffusion in the eye (as in case of the jaundice) it apprehends colours like itself. So here: Abraham felt the motion of trepidation; meek Moses was overangry at Meribah; so was Job, Jonah, Jeremiah, &c. Ira comes of ire, say grammarians; because an angry man goes out of himself, off from his reason; and when pacified, he is said redire ad se, to return to himself.

All men are liars] Prophets and all. Samuel hath deluded me, I doubt, in promising me the kingdom, which I shall never come to. See #1Sa 27:1. Some make the meaning to be thus, What can I hope for, seeing every man betrayeth me, and that I can trust nobody? The truth is, that every man is a liar, either by imposture, and so in purpose, or by impotence, and so in the event, deceiving those that rely on him, #Ps 62:9.

Ver. 12. What shall I render unto the Lord] This he speaketh as one in an ecstasy ( Amor Dei est ecstaticus), or in a deep demur what to do best for so good a God. Such self-deliberations are very useful and acceptable, and thereunto are requisite, 1. Recognition of God’s favours. 2. Estimation. 3. Retribution, as here.

Ver. 13. I will take the cup of salvation] Calicem salutum, vel omnis salutis (Vatab. Trem.). As in the drink offerings, or as at the feast after the peace offerings. See #1Ch 16:3. Wherein the feast maker was wont to take a festival great cup; and in lifting it up to declare the occasion of that feast; and then, in testimony of thankfulness, to drink thereof to the guests, that they in order might pledge him. This was called a cup of salvation, or a health cup, but not in the drunkard’s sense. To this the apostle seemeth to allude, #1Co 10:17, when he calleth the sacramental cup the cup of blessing. Jerome rendereth it, Calicem Iesu accipiam.

And call upon the name of the Lord] Pray unto him, and so praise him. Or, I will proclaim and preach his praises, as #1Pe 2:9.

Ver. 14. I will pay my vows] This word "pay" importeth that vows lawfully made are due debt; and debt, till paid, is a disquieting thing to an honest mind, #Ro 13:8. The saints, in distress especially, used to make their prayers with vows. Hence prayer is in Greek called προσευχη, a service with vows. Mr Philpot, martyr, first coming into Smithfield to suffer, kneeled down, and said, I will pay my vows in thee, O Smithfield (Acts & Mon.).

Ver. 15. Precious in the sight of the Lord] Rara, chara, God doth not often suffer his saints to be slain, #Ps 37:32,33; or, if he do, he will make inquisition for every drop of that precious blood, #Ps 9:12. See #Ps 72:14. {See Trapp on "Ps 72:14"} This David delivereth here as a truth that he had experimented.

Ver. 16. O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant] Euge, O Iehovah, &c., by a real and a heavenly compliment; thus he insinuateth, and, therefore, promiseth praise to God, #Ps 116:17, and safety to himself, according to that, #Ps 119:94, "I am thine, save me."

And the son of thine handmaid] That is, of Ruth, say the Rabbis; or rather of his immediate mother, a good woman, and haply better than his father, Quia religiosior patre (Genebrard); as Manoah’s wife had a stronger faith than himself; and Priscilla is named before her husband Aquila.

And the son of thine handmaid] Not born abroad, and bought or brought into thy family; but tuus quasi vernaeulus, et a ventre ad serviendum dispositus, born and bred up to thy service, of a child little.

Thou hast loosed my bonds] Of affliction, of corruption, and made me Christ’s freeman, brought me into the glorious liberty of thine own children.

Ver. 17. I will offer to thee, &c.] I will perform to thee not ceremonial service only, but moral and spiritual; such as thou shalt accept through Christ, #Col 3:17.

And will call, &c.] See #Ps 116:13.

Ver. 18. I will pay] See #Ps 116:14.

Now] Vows were to be paid without either diminution or delays, #De 23:21,23. And herein Jacob (who is by the Hebrews called Votorum Pater, the father of vows) was too short; for it was long ere he went up to Bethel.

In the presence of all his people] For good example’ sake. This also was prince-like, #Eze 46:10, the king’s seat in the sanctuary was open, that all might see him there, #2Ki 11:14 23:3.

Ver. 19. In the courts of the Lord’s house] In coetu sacro; in the great congregation, #Ps 22:25 35:18, where there is a more powerful, lively, and effectual working of the Spirit, #Ps 89:7 Heb 4:1 1Co 14:24.

Chapter 117

Ver. 1. O praise the Lord, all ye nations] viz. For Christ, that gift, #Joh 4:10, that benefit, #1Ti 6:2, that desire of all nations, #Hag 2:7, that good tidings of great joy to all people, #Lu 2:10, who are by him received into the glory of God, #Ro 15:7,11, where the apostle thus applieth this Scripture; and the Jewish doctors confess that this short and sweet psalm is to be understood de beneficiis Messiae, of Christ and his benefits (Kimchi).

Praise him, all ye people] Laudationibus commendate emn, so Tremellius rendereth it; praise him with a force, and, as it were, with a violence, with all your might; ye cannot possibly overdo.

Ver. 2. For his merciful kindness is great] Invaluit, hath prevailed over us, breaking through all obstacles and impediments, whether within us or without us, eating its way through all rocks and remoras; and though we would put it back, yet it will overcome us; his grace is irresistible, neither can it ever be taken away.

And the truth of the Lord] As his mercy alone moved him to make promise, so his truth bindeth him to perform the same. See #2Sa 7:18,21. The word of promise bindeth God, and, therefore, it may seem to be stronger than God. If his merciful kindness prevail over us, as #Ps 117:1, his truth prevaileth over him. The Jewish doctors observe that the word Emeth, here used for truth, consisteth of Aleph, the first letter of the alphabet; Mem, the middlemost letter thereof; and Tau, the last: to show that as God is Alpha and Omega, so the truth of God is the all in all of our comfort. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ; this is the sum of all the good news in the world.

Chapter 118

Ver. 1. O give thanks, &c.] See #Ps 106:1.

Ver. 2. Let Israel now say] All the Israel of God, for only such are fit to praise God: excellent words become not a fool; the leper’s lips are to be covered.

Ver. 3. Let the house of Aaron now say] Ministers are chieftains, #Heb 13:7,17, and should be as the chief chanters in God’s praises.

Ver. 4. Let them now that fear the Lord say] See #Ps 115:11, and observe that the psalmist beateth upon the το νυν (as doth also the apostle, #2Co 6:2), Now, now, now, saith he; because, for aught we know, it is now or never, today or not at all; the dead praise thee not, #Ps 6:5.

That his mercy, &c.] This is the fourth time in four verses, as #Ps 136, in every one of those twenty-six verses; like as a bird that having gotten a note, recordeth it over and over.

Ver. 5. I called upon the Lord in distress] Heb. out of distress, q.d. I celebrate not God’s mercy of course, but out of experience.

The Lord answered me] Heb. Yah answered me with a large roomth. See #Ps 4:2.

Ver. 6. I will not fear, &c.] See #Ps 56:4,11.

Ver. 7. The Lord taketh my part with them that help me] Not only as one of my helpers, but instead of all, and more than all. How many reckon ye me at? said that general to his soldiers, who were afraid of their enemy’s numbers; Cui adhaereo praeest, He whom I take part with must needs prevail.

Ver. 8. It is better to trust in the Lord, &c.] Luther on this text calleth it, Artem artium, et mirificam, ac suam artem, non fidere hominibus, that is, the art of arts, and that which he had well studied, not to put confidence in man; as for trust in God, he calleth it, Sacrificium omnium gratissimum et suavissimum, et cultum omnium pulcherrimum, the most pleasant and sweetest of all sacrifices, the best of all services we perform to God.

Than to put confidence in man] Quia mutatur aut fortuna, aut voluntas, aut vita, saith Genebrard, because either men may die, or their affections may die, or their wealth decay.

Ver. 9. Than to put confidence in princes] In ingenuis. Great men’s words, saith one, are like dead men’s shoes; he may go barefoot that waiteth for them. "Surely men of high degree are a lie," #Ps 52:9.

Ver. 10. All nations compassed me about] This is still the condition of Christ’s Church in this evil world, to be hated of all, and set against with utmost might and malice. Haud perinde crimine incendiiquam odio humani generis convicti sunt, saith Tacitus, of those Christians at Rome put to cruel deaths by Nero, who, having for his pleasure fired the city, fathered it upon them, as people hated of all men.

But in the name of the Lord] i.e. By faith in God’s power and promises. We might also do great exploits against our spiritual enemies, did we but set upon them with God’s arms, and with his armour; did we but observe the apostle’s rule, "Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus," &c., #Col 3:17.

Ver. 11. They compassed me about; yea, &c.] They thought to make sure work of me indeed; as Saul and his men, when they hemmed him in at Maon, #1Sa 23:26; as the Church’s enemies, when they had gotten her as a bird into the snare of the fowler, #Ps 124:7; as when the adversaries said, "They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them," #Ne 4:11.

But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them] Enervabo, excidam. The word signifieth, Non otioso nec dormienti contingere victorias, sed certanti et praelianti, that he foiled not his foes without pains and peril (Plat. in Syde). Towns were said to come into Timotheus’s toils while he slept; but that was but a fiction of those that envied him.

Ver. 12. They compassed me about like bees] Like so many swarms of bees, which, being angered,

- Venenum

Morsibus inspirant, et spicula caeca relinquunt

Affixae venis, animasque in vulnere ponunt

(Virgil)

Bees, to be revenged, lose their stings, and therewith their lives, or, at least, they become drones ever after (Aristot.). Wicked men are no less spiteful; they care not to undo themselves, so they may wrong the saints; yea, they are not unlike the scorpion, of which Pliny saith, that there is not one minute wherein it doth not put forth the sting.

They are quenched (or kindled) as the fire of thorns] Which is quickly kindled, and as quickly quenched, leaving no coals behind it. See #Ec 7:6. Ex spinis non fiunt carbones (Kimchi). The enemies of the Church may make a blaze, but they are but a blast.

Ver. 13. Thou hast thrust sore at me] Thou, O Saul, or thou, Ishbibenob, #2Sa 21:16, or thou, O Satan, setting such a work.

But the Lord helped me] He sent from heaven and saved me; he came in the nick of time, as it were, out of an engine.

Ver. 14. The Lord is my strength and song] i.e. The matter of my song, and mean of my joy. Trust in God shall once triumph.

Ver. 15. The voice of rejoicing, &c.] q.d. Though themselves are but travellers, and their habitatious tabernacles or tents; yet are they not without the joy of their salvation, which is unspeakable and full of glory; so that they go merrily on their way, feeding on this honeycomb (as once Samson), and God’s statutes are their songs in the house of their pilgrimage, #Ps 119:54.

The right hand of the Lord, &c.] This and that which followeth is the righteous man’s ditty, which he singeth incessantly. See on #Ps 118:4.

Ver. 16. The right hand of the Lord is exalted] By right hand here some understand the humanity of Christ, God’s hand and our handle, whereby we come to take hold of God.

The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly] Thrice he celebrateth God’s right hand; to set forth his earnest desire to say the utmost; or in reference to the sacred Trinity, as some will have it, Haec est vox Epinicii.

Ver. 17. I shall not die, but live] This he was well assured of by faith; as was also the Church in Habakkuk, #Hab 1:12, "Art not thou from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die." Learned Keckerman, lying on his death bed, and desirous, if it had so pleased God, to have lived a while longer for the finishing of those excellent pieces he had in hand, made use of these words of the psalmist, "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord" (he was then upon his System of Natural Philosophy), but God had otherwise appointed it, and he submitted.

Ver. 18. The Lord hath chastened me sore] Corripuit me seria et severa castigatione; and yet David was his darling.

But he hath not given me over unto death] It might have been worse, may the afflicted saint say; and it will yet be better: It is in mercy and in measure that God chastiseth his children. It is his care that the spirit fail not before him, nor the souls which he hath made, #Isa 57:16. If his child swoons in the whipping God lets fall the rod, and falls a kissing it, to fetch life into it again.

Ver. 19. Open to me the gates of righteousness] So the gates of the sanctuary are called, because holiness becometh God’s house for ever; to keep out the profane, porters were appointed, see #2Ch 23:19; and such were the Ostiarii in foras, the primitive Church; their word was, Canes, Dogs out of doors (Prosper.). See #Re 22:15.

Ver. 20. This gate of the Lord] Some make the former verse the request of the people, and this to be God’s answer thereunto. Others make that to be David’s speech to the Levites, and this their answer: q.d. This beautiful gate is fit to be opened to the Lord alone; if others enter, they must be righteous ones only, and that to praise him.

Into which the righteous shall enter] sc. With God’s good leave and liking. Others may haply thrust into the Church, but then God will say, Friend, how camest thou in hither? who required these things at your hands? who sent for you? O generation of vipers, who hath forewarned you to flee from the wrath to come? "The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?" #Pr 21:27.

Ver. 21. I will praise thee, for thou hast heard me] Luther rendereth it, because thou hast humbled and afflicted me; but with thou art become my salvation.

Ver. 22. The stone which the builders refused] David, and the Son of David were by those, who seemed to be somewhat laid aside, and slighted as abjects and refuse ones; but wisdom was ever justified of her children.

Is become the head stone of the corner] Lapis diatonus sive frontatus, whereby the Church is supported, as the sides and weight of a building are by a principal binding cornerstone, against all blasts.

Ver. 23. This is the Lord’s doing] That David should ever come to the kingdom, that Christ should so be raised from the lowest ebb of humiliation to the highest tide of exaltation, this is a wonder of wonders, a matchless miracle.

And it is marvellous in our eyes] As all God’s works are to those that have spiritual senses habitually exercised; but especially the great work of man’s redemption by Christ.

Ver. 24. This is the day which the Lord hath made] The queen of days, as the Jews call the sabbath. Arnobius interpreteth this text of the Christian sabbath; others, of the day of salvation by Christ exalted to be the head cornerstone; in opposition to that dismal day of man’s fall.

We will rejoice] Or, let us rejoice. Dull we are, and heavy to spiritual joy; and are therefore excited thereto.

Ver. 25. Save now, I beseech thee] Hosanna, as #Mt 21:9, a usual acclamation of the people to their new kings.

Send now prosperity] God will send it, but his people must pray for it; I came for thy prayers, #Da 10:11,12

Ver. 26. Blessed be he that cometh] Blessed be Christ. Vivat Christus eiusque insignia, said John Clark of Melda, when, for declaring against the Pope’s indulgencies, he was burnt in the forehead with a hot iron (Scultet. Annul.).

We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord] Thus say the priests to the people. Ministers must bless those that bless Christ, saying, "Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity," #Eph 6:24; as if any do not, let him be Anathema Maranatha, #1Co 16:22.

Ver. 27. God is the Lord who hath showed us light] By giving us "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ," #2Co 4:6, he "hath brought us out of darkness into his marvellous light," #1Pe 2:9.

Bind the sacrifice with cords] Make them fast there, till the priests shall have time to offer them. Spare for no cost in showing your thankfulness for Christ and his benefits. Some render it, Obligate solennitates in frondosis; Austin hath it, in confrequentationibus.

Ver. 28. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee] The people are taught to say thus; and the Greek, Arabic, and Latin translations repeat here, #Ps 118:21, "I will praise thee, for thou hast heard me; and art become my salvation." People can never be sufficiently thankful for their salvation by Christ. It is their duty, and should be their desire.

Ver. 29. O give thanks unto the Lord, &c.] Repetit proaemium pro epilogo. See #Ps 118:1.

Chapter 119

Ver. 1. Blessed are the undefiled] Pindar and other poets had their Ogdoades or Oetonaries. This alphabetical poem (as Sixtus Senensis calleth it) is David’s, doubtless (though it hath no title to show so much), written in the days of his banishment under Saul; and far more worthy to be written in letters of gold than Pindar’s seventh ode, which that profane fellow Politian preferred before any psalm of David, the sweet singer of Israel. How much better his countryman Jacobus Furnius, who translated this psalm into Greek and Latin verses, in so many Octounties; and beginning each verse thereof with the same letter, after the manner of the Hebrew composure; which is very artificial, both for the excellence of the matter and for the help of memory. The Jews are said to teach it to their little ones being the first thing they learn; wherein they take a very right course, both in regard to the heavenly matter, and plain style fitted for all capacities. David (in his troubles especially) was a man much in meditation of God’s word, and here he giveth us in his thoughts of it. When a book is set forth, verses of commendation are oft prefixed. David seemeth to set this Divine psalm as a poem of commendation before the Book of God; mentioning it in every verse (unless it be one only, #Ps 119:122), under the name of testimonies, laws, statutes, word, judgments, precepts, &c.

Who walk in the law of the Lord] Who walk towards heaven in heaven’s way; avoiding the corruptions that are in the world through lust, #2Pe 1:4.

Ver. 2. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies] Angels do so, and are blessed, #Re 22:9.

And that seek him] Sincere ac sollicite; that seek not his omnipresence (what need they?), but his gracious presence.

Ver. 3. They also do no iniqaity] i.e. No wilful wickedness; as do those workers of iniquity, whose whole trade it is, and whose whole life is nothing else but one continued web of wickedness, spun out and made up by the hands of the devil and the flesh, an evil spinner, and a worse weaver.

They walk in his ways] Without cessation or cespitation.

Ver. 4. Thou hast commanded us, &c.] These are verba vivenda, non legenda, words to be lived, and not read only, as one well saith of this whole psalm; neither is it enough that we understand or ponder God’s precepts, but we must practise them, if we would be happy.

To keep thy precepts diligently] Nimis, valde, vehementer. Odi nimium diligentes, saith one; but where the business is weighty, and the failing dangerous, one can hardly be too diligent. Let a man here do his utmost, be shall not overdo.

Ver. 5. O that my ways were directed, &c.] David can wish well to that perfection which he cannot attain unto. The whole life of a good Christian is a holy desire, saith Austin; and this is always seconded with endeavour; without the which, affection is like Rachel, beautiful but barren.

Ver. 6. Then shall I not be ashamed] i.e. I shall be highly honoured both by thee and all thy people; able to look thee and them in the face, free from an evil conscience.

When I have respect unto all thy commandments] Mine obedience being universal both for subjects and objects: this is a sure sign of sincerity, such as entitleth a man to true blessedness, #Ps 119:1. A hypocrite is funambulus virtutum, as Tertullian phraseth it; he hath a dispensatory conscience; his obedience is partial, and such as goeth in a narrow track; it extendeth not to the compass of the whole law, and is therefore lost labour.

Ver. 7. I will praise thee with uprightness] David was yet but a learner; and if God would teach him to profit in knowledge and holiness, he would lift up many a humble, joyful, and thankful heart to him.

Ver. 8. I will keep thy statutes] Yea, and that very much, or with vehemence, as some read it, usque valde; this he had said before was God’s command, #Ps 119:4, and he would do it. Iussa sequi tam velle mihi quam posse necesse est (Lucan).

O forsake me not] Or if at all (as thou mayest without breach of promise), yet not very much; not usque valde; not utterly. Christ, saith Greenham, was forsaken for a few hours, David for a few months, and Job for a few years; seven years, saith Suidas, for the trial and exercise of his faith and patience. This might seem to them usque valde but it was not usquequaque sive semper aut perpetuo. Leave them God did to their thinking, but forsake them he did not; forsake them he did in regard of vision, but not in regard of union; non deserit etiamsi deserat, saith Austin.

Ver. 9. Wherewithal shall a young man] Semipuer, a lad, a stripling, who hath his name in Hebrew of tossing to and fro; confer #Eph 4:14, and the same word signifieth youth and tow, #Isa 1:31, or rather the shreds that fall from tow and flax, when whiffied; to note the vanity of youth, and its aptness to be enkindled, when once affections begin to boil within them. The Greek word for a youth comes from another that signifieth to be hot, and to boil up, or scald, ηιθεος of αιθω, and αιζηος of ζεω. Such a one, therefore, had need (if ever he think to be blessed, as #Ps 119:1) to cleanse his ways by cleaving to the word; since an impure heart and an undefiled inheritance will not stand together.

Cleanse his way] Mandabit, id est emendabit. The Hebrew word signifieth the cleansing of glass, which though it be very clean, yet will it gather filth even in the sunbeams, and of itself; which noteth the great corruption of this slippery age, and what care must be taken that it may shine as picked glass, or clearest crystal.

By taking heed thereto according to thy word] Which is of a purifying property, #Joh 15:3 17:17, and can cleanse the heart of a young man also, where lusts are strong, stains deep, and will not out without fuller’s soap. There is a sharpness in these wholesome (or healing) words, that maketh us sound in the faith, and sincere in practice; as it did Mr Paul Bains, whose conversation, when he came first to Cambridge, was so irregular, that his father, being grieved at it before his death, left with a friend forty pounds by the year, desiring that his son might have it if he amended his manners; else not. He did so, and had it (Mr Clark’s Lives). When a child is come to be thirteen years and a day old, the Jews account him a man, and call him Barmitsuah, a child of the commandments; because bound to live by the law (Leo Modena of Jewish rites).

Ver. 10. With my whole heart have I sought thee] And that of a child little, being nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, #1Ti 4:6. I did all the wills of God, and so became a man after his own heart, #Ac 13:22.

O let me not wander] As I shall surely, if thou but withdraw thy grace; for I subsist merely by thy manutension.

Ver. 11. Thy word have I hid in my heart] Ut peculium in apotheca; as treasure; or as an amulet in a case or chest; as the pot of manna in the ark.

That I might not sin against thee] See but the commination against the temptation, and it will be a special preservative. Eve held the precept, but faltered in the threat. The Rabbis have a saying, In cuius corde est lex Dei, imaginatio mala non habet in eum dominium, He who hath the law of God in his heart is armed against evil lusts.

Ver. 12. Blessed art thou (or be thou), O Lord] viz. For what thou hast already taught me of thy will, and my duty.

Teach me thy statutes] Gratiarum actio est ad plus dandum invitatio. David had never enough, but craveth more; "Teach me thy statutes," saith he, that I may bless thee better.

Ver. 13. With my lips have I declared] Heb. have I ciphered up; these have been the matter of my discourse; and out of the good treasure of my heart {#Ps 119:11} have I brought forth those good things, for the good of others, #Mt 12:35.

Ver. 14. I have rejoiced] Heb. I have inwardly rejoiced. Pleasures of the mind are unspeakably joyous. Eudoxus was content to have been burnt by the sun presently, might he but come so near it as to learn the nature of it. Pliny perished by peeping into the fire of Etna. Archimedes lost his life by being too intent upon his mathematical studies.

As much as in all riches] Heb. in all opulency and affluence.

Ver. 15. I will meditate] Or, confabulate, talk freely of them, as worldlings do of their wealth, and ways to get it, αδολεσχησω (Sept.).

And have respect unto thy ways] As an archer hath to his mark.

Ver. 16. I will delight myself] Deliciabor; the Arabic hath it, lectitabo leges tuas, I will oft read over thy laws.

I will not forget] Men do therefore forget the word, because they delight not in it; they seldom forget where they lay their money.

Ver. 17. Deal bountifully with thy servant] Per indebitam gratiam retribue. Of thy free grace confer good upon me; and that not scantily, or niggardly, but liberally, and like thyself. The word sometimes signifieth to repay, to recompense; but therehence to infer matter of merit, on man’s part, is too sandy a foundation for such a lofty Babel.

That I may live] Who am in deaths often; and that I may comfortably subsist in the feeling of thy favour, as #1Sa 25:6.

And keep thy word] For which end only I desire life. See the like, #Ps 118:17. Non aliter petit vitam, quam ut praestet se fidelem Dei cultorem, saith Arnobius. David doth no otherwise desire life, than for this, that he may faithfully serve God. Non peto vitam propter delicias mundi (Kimchi).

Ver. 18. Open thou mine eyes] Heb. unveil them, velamen amove, volumen evolve, give sight and light; irradiate both organ and object. In spirituals we are not only dim sighted, but blind as beetles, #1Co 2:14. Oh pray for that precious eye salve, #Re 3:17, for that supernal light, #2Co 4:6, and whensoever we open the Bible to read, say, as here, "Open thou mine eyes," &c., as when we close it up again say, "I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad," #Ps 119:96.

Wondrous things] Mirabilia magnalia, mysteria; such as none can understand and unriddle but such as plough with God’s own heifer, #1Co 2:11.

Ver. 19. I am a stranger in the earth] And therefore apt to lose my way, without a guide; I shall surely else be wildered and lost.

Hide not thy commandments from me] viz. In the spiritual sense and effectual operation of them. Philosophers observe, that lumen est vehiculum influentiae, light is the convoy of influence; as it begets the flower in the field, the pearl in the earth, &c., so the foundation of all renovation is illumination; hence David so earnestly beggeth it here, and #Ps 119:17.

Ver. 20. My soul breaketh] The Seventy render it, My soul hath desired to desire thy judgments. How many broken spirits do even spend and exhale themselves in continual sallies, as it were, and egressions of affection to God and his judgments! Comminuitur, debilior fit. The stone will fall down to come to its own place, though it break itself in many pieces; so the good souls.

Ver. 21. Thou hast rebuked the proud, &c.] Thou chidest them, threatenest them, plaguest them, and so settest it on as no creature can take it off. And this is one reason why I love and observe thy laws, ne paria patiar, lest I should suffer in like sort; since men must do it or die for it.

Ver. 22. Remove from me reproach and contempt] Cast upon me by those proud haughty scorners, #Ps 119:21, and that for nothing but because I keep thy statutes; therefore it is that they despise and defame me; but do thou, Lord, take an order with them; behold, I put them into thine hands, and myself upon thy care to clear me, and set me right; for I am well resolved.

Ver. 23. Princes also did sit, &c.] By public invectives; such as were those of our Henry VIII, and of Lewis, king of Hungary and Bohemia (two very potent princes), against Luther. ωρβδν Denotat continuum clamorem (Kimchi).

Ver. 24. Thy testimonies are my delight] In mediis crucibus; to them I run as to my cordial; they are my pleasure and pastime.

And my counsellors] My learned counsel, by whose advice I do all; here I am sure to find consolationem, et consultissimam directionem, counsel and comfort in all my necessities.

Ver. 25. My soul cleaveth unto the dust] Those princes, my persecutors (Saul’s counsellors), have brought me to death’s door, as #Ps 44:25 22:15. I am in a forlorn condition; as far below hope as they are above fear. Theodoret expoundeth it of humility; and Theodosius the emperor used these words, when reproved by Ambrose for the slaughter at Thessalonica, he lay on the ground and humbly begged pardon (Theod. Eccles. Hist. l. 5, c. 18).

Ver. 26. I have declared my ways] My sins and troubles; those thou hast remitted, and these thou hast remedied.

Teach me thy statutes] Show me how I may walk worthy of such a love; and live up to my mercies.

Ver. 27. Make me to understand, &c.] Give me a mouth and wisdom, that I may not talk at random of thy words and works; but understandingly and fruitfully.

Ver. 28. My soul melteth] Heb. droppeth away like water; I weep out my life, together with my grief.

Strengthen thou me according to thy word] Support me by thy promise.

Ver. 29. Remove from me the way of lying] A sin that David, through diffidence, fell into frequently. See #1Sa 21:2,8, where he roundly telleth three or four lies; and the like he did, #1Sa 27:8,10: this evil he saw by himself, and here prayeth against it.

And grant me thy law] For a preservative from this foul sin; herein gratify me, good Lord.

Ver. 30. I have chosen the way of truth] I am fully bent against lying, and am resolved to speak truth; though I have done otherwise sometimes, through frailty.

Thy judgments have I laid before me] Thereby to fright my conscience, that I might not so much as equivocate. Some render it iudicia tua aequiperavi, I have kept pace with thy judgments, sc. in the bent and bias of my heart at least.

Ver. 31. I have stuck unto thy testimonies] Hitherto I have done so; let me now shrink from them, or hang loose to them, lest I lose the things that I have wrought, and shame myself for ever by my backsliding.

Ver. 32. I will run the way] Do thy work with utmost diligence and delight, come off roundly and readily therein, take long strides toward heaven.

When thou shalt enlarge my heart] By thy free spirit, and by the joy of faith; when thou shalt have oiled my joints, and nimbled my feet, then shall I run and not be weary, walk and not faint, #Isa 40:31; our promises of obedience must be conditional, since without Christ we can do nothing, #Joh 15:5.

Ver. 33. Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes] Which is both hard to hit and dangerous to miss; teach me, therefore.

And I shall keep it] Lex iubet, gratia iuvat. Oh beg of God that we may persevere, since the evening crowneth the day, &c.

Ver. 34. Give me understanding] We can neither know nor do God’s will without divine light and aid, as appears clearly by this fifth octonary, which, therefore, Austin made so great use of against the Pelagians.

Ver. 35. Make me to go in the path] Which I shall soon forsake if thou guide me not.

Te duce vera sequor, te duce falsa nego.

For therein do I delight] After the inward man, #Ro 7:22. Thou hast given me to will, give me also to work what is well pleasing in thy sight.

Ver. 36. Incline my heart] Through the exercises of thy word, and the working of thy Spirit.

And not to covetousness] Which draweth away the heart from all God’s testimonies, and is the root of all evil, #1Ti 6:10. Some think it is put here for all other vices. The Chaldee hath it, and not to mammon, that mammon of iniquity, as Christ calleth it, the next odious name to the devil. Now, to good God inclineth man’s heart efficiently (say the schools), but to evil, deficiently, sc. by withdrawing his grace; for he is a free agent, and not bound to any. David prayeth God to supersede him from this wickedness, and Luther saith he was never tempted to it.

Ver. 37. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity] Lest looking cause liking and lusting, #1Jo 2:16. In Hebrew the same word signifieth both an eye and a fountain; to show that from the eye, as from a fountain, floweth much mischief and by that window Satan oft winds himself into the soul. This David found by experience, and therefore prays here, Turn away, transfer, make to pass mine eyes, #2Sa 11:12. Job steppeth one degree farther, viz. from a prayer to a vow, #Ps 31:1; yea, from a vow to an inprecation, #Ps 119:7. He knew the danger of irregular glancing and inordinate gazing.

And quicken thou me in thy way] Who shall else die of the wound in the eye. Alexander called the Persian maids Oculorum dolores; Ut vidi, ut perii. Grief of the eyes so that to be seen is to be ruined. The Israelites were appointed to make them fringes with blue ribbons to lock upon, that they might remember all God’s commandments and do them, and not seek after their own heart and their own eyes, after which they used to go a whoring, #Nu 15:39.

Ver. 38. Stablish thy word unto thy servant] i.e. Make good thy promise; we must by our prayers put the promises of God in suit, and God will perform them.

Who is devoted to thy fear] And so am an heir of the promises. Or, which (word) is (given) for the fear of thee, that thou mayest be feared.

Ver. 39. Turn away my reproach] Cover it, cure it, suffer it not to break forth, to my disgrace among men.

For thy judgments are good] But their tender mercies are mere cruelties; if, therefore, at any time I fall into opprobrious and reproachful practices; Lord, be thou my judge, and not they: for thy judgments are like thyself, good, and righteous, &c.

Ver. 40. Behold, I have longed after thy precepts] This he could boldly and safely say to God, offering himself to his trial for the truth of his desires. See #Heb 13:18.

Quicken me in thy righteousness] His desires and affections were not so large and lively but that he needed to be yet farther quickened Nemo est ex omni parte beatus. No one is from evert parted blessed.

Ver. 41. Let thy mercies come also unto me] Let them come to me, or else I shall never come to them. #1Pe 1:13, "Hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you." #Ps 23:6, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me," as the setting sun doth the wayfaring man that goes from it. The Arabic rendereth it, Let thy mercies come upon me, or cover me, as a garment. So the Spirit of the Lord clothed Amasa, #1Ch 12:18, and, ye shall be clothed "with power from on high," #Lu 24:49.

Even thy salvation] Safety here and salvation hereafter. Austin expoundeth if of Christ.

Ver. 42. So shall I have wherewith to answer] i.e. To stop an open mouth. Verbal apologies are sometimes necessary, but real always; we should, by a pious conversation, put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, who, like Blackamoors, despise beauty; like dogs, bark at the shining of the moon. We are also to beg deliverance of God, for the confutation of such as say we shall never be delivered.

Ver. 43. And take not the word of truth utterly] Give me free utterance, "that in nothing I be ashamed; but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ may be magnified in my body," &c., #Php 1:20. Despoil me not of my courage in a good cause, let not Satan rob me of that jewel: Ne auferas, id est ut spolium, ut #Ex 12:36 (Aben Ezra). I have read of a nobleman, who when he came into jeering company of great ones, would begin and own himself one of those they called Puritans, and so anticipated them.

Ver. 44. So shall I keep thy law continually] If thou please to give me to believe with the heart, and to confess with the mouth, I shall surely persevere in the profession and practice of the truth.

Ver. 45. And I will walk at liberty] In the full latitude of thy commandments, and not by wilful wickedness ensnare and ensnarl myself, as those do who, in the fulness of their sufficiency are in straits, and in pursuit of their lusts do pierce themselves through with many sorrows. The Italian senseth it, I will walk in peace of conscience.

Ver. 46. I will speak of thy testimonies, &c.] Nullo vel terrore vel splendore mundano impeditus. Kings commonly abound with all things but only truth, as Alphonsus, king of Arragon, complained. David would deal plainly with them, though never so high; especially when he should come to be of equal level with them, and so to have better opportunity.

Ver. 47. And I will delight myself] sc. In contemplation of thy word. Aristotle telleth us that the principal pleasure is to be found in contemplation (Ethic. lib. 10).

Ver. 48. My hands also will I lift up, &c.] Removing all rubs, and pulling thy word to me with both hands earnestly, with my whole man, with my whole might; Utraque manu capessim, επεκτεινομενος, straining the body, and stretching out the hands to do mine utmost at it, while others put it from them with a force, and so judge themselves unworthy of everlasting life, #Ac 13:46.

Ver. 49. Remember thy word] God is not unrighteous to forget, #Heb 6:10, yet we must, as his remembrancers, #Isa 62:6, put his promises in suit, #Eze 36:37.

Upon which thou hast caused me to hope] God giveth us to do what he biddeth us to do, #Eze 36:27.

Ver. 50. This is my comfort] The promises yield strong consolation. Philosophical comforts are of little force, as Plato acknowledgeth, and Cicero bewaileth in his Epistle to Octavius

For thy word hath quickened me] When I was at last cast, and drawing my last breath, as it were.

Ver. 51. The proud have had me greatly in derision] Scoffing proceedeth from pride, #Pr 3:34, with #1Pe 5:5.

Yet have I not, &c.] They cannot flout me out of my zeal.

Ver. 52. I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord] This was to have a holy memory, well fraught with profitable matter, such as are examples of God’s dealing with his people and their enemies in all ages.

And was comforted] Some degree of comfort followeth every good action; as heat accompanieth fire, as beams and influences issue from the sun.

Ver. 53. Horror hath taken hold upon me] Horripilatio, turbo, vortex, a horrible tempest, #Ps 11:6, such as surpriseth holy Habakkuk, #Hab 3:16.

Because of the wicked] To think of their heinous sins and horrible punishments, which they dread not, dream not off See #Da 4:19.

Ver. 54. Thy statutes have been my songs] Thy promises, which bind thee by grace, as statutes do us by duty, and are every whit as sure. By these I lopped off my cares, fears, and griefs, as with a pruning or paring knife; I pared them round till none was left. Metaphors falcibus.

In the house of my pilgrimage] In hoc exilio, in hoc ergastulo, in hac peregrinatione, in hac valle lachrymarum (Bern.). Travellers sing to deceive the tediousness of the way; so did David, and hereby he solaced himself under that horror, #Ps 119:53. Great is the comfort that cometh in by singing of psalms with grace in our hearts.

Ver. 55. I remembered thy name, &c.] Breaking my sleep for the purpose, to meditate on thy holy attributes, word, and works.

And have kept thy law] Which could not have been kept, if not kept in firm and fresh memory. See #1Co 15:2.

Ver. 56. This I had] This comfort, or this remembrance, or this ability to keep thy law.

Because I keep thy precepts] A strange reason, I kept it because I kept it; but every new act of obedience fitteth for a following act, #Ro 6:19. As in sin, so in grace, #Mr 4:24, acts increase habits, and facilitate the work.

Ver. 57. Thou art my portion, O Lord] While other men’s portion sunt divitiae vel deliciae, nothing short of God can satisfy me.

I have said, &c.] i.e. Purposed and promised the obedience of faith.

Ver. 58. I intreated thy favour] Heb. thy face, that is, thy Christ, saith Ambrose and Hilary: this David did in the sense of his own utter inability to do as he had promised.

Be merciful unto me, &c.] This was the sum of his petition, and must be the main of ours.

Ver. 59. I thought on my ways] At self-examination beginneth sound conversion, #La 3:39,40 Hag 1:5,7 2Co 13:5.

And turned my feet] Finding all to be naught, and stark naught (contrary to what God found in his works upon a review, all good, and very good), set upon a new course.

Ver. 60. I made haste, and delayed not] Heb. I distracted not myself about had-I-wist, but minded the one thing necessary. Nolite tempus in nugis terere: vel cras, ut ille seria, hodie morituri protelare, saith one; Haste, haste, haste; delays are dangerous, opportunities are headlong, and once past, irrecoverable.

Ver. 61. The bands of the wicked have robbed me] In these late stripping times many a poor man’s whole life’s settings were lost in an instant.

But I have not forgotten thy law] I have encouraged myself in the Lord my God, as at the sack of Ziklag, #1Sa 30:6

Ver. 62. At midnight will I rise] To speak with a friend. The primitive Christians had their Hymniantelucani, saith Pliny, their αλεκτροφωνιαι, saith Clement and Cyprian; and this the monks allege for defence of their superstitious night services.

Because of thy righteous judgments] God’s word read and preached is a main matter of thankfulness; so are his works.

Ver. 63. I am a companion of all them] Though never so mean, if there be aliquid Christi in them. Grace is of a uniting property, and purgeth out partiality, #Jas 2:1,2.

That keep thy precepts] The best proof of true fear of God, #Ps 103:13 Ac 10:35.

Ver. 64. The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy] Thy mercy is over all thy works. This is thy general goodness, But

Teach me thy statutes] Non peto a te aliam misericordiam (Aben Ezra); this is that I beg above all, viz. the lively light of thy law and word; sound and saving knowledge. A gracious spirit cannot be satisfied with low things.

Ver. 65. Thou hast dealt well with thy servant] Men must be no less praiseful than prayerful. Shall we come to the well of life thirsty, and then turn our backs upon the Rock that followeth us?

According to thy word] sc. Of promise; this sweeteth a blessing.

Ver. 66. Teach me good judgment] Heb. good taste, for the soul also hath her senses; and as the mouth tasteth meat, so the ear trieth words; the mind relisheth religion.

For I have believed thy commandments] But would do yet more: #1Jo 5:13. "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life; and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

Ver. 67. Before I was afflicted I went astray] Especially through high mindedness and earthly mindedness, which are purged out by affliction, and grace increased; as fish thrive better in cold and salt waters, as the walnut tree is most fruitful when most beaten. Master Ascham was a good schoolmaster to Queen Elizabeth, but affliction was a better, &c. See my Treatise on #Re 3:19.

But now I have kept thy word] Now that I have been lashed to it, and have paid for my learning; Vexatio dat intellectum, Smart maketh wit. As the scourging and beating of the garment with a stick beateth out the moths and dust, so do afflictions corruptions from the heart. Quae nocent, docent. Corrections of instructions are the way of life, #Pr 6:23

Ver. 68. Thou art good, and doest good] Good in thyself (indeed there is none good but thyself) and good to thy creatures, inexpressibly bounteous and beneficial.

Teach me thy statutes] And so impart unto me thy special goodness, that I may resemble thee in being and doing good; full of goodness, filled with knowledge, #Ro 15:14.

Ver. 69. The proud have forged a lie against me] Heb. They have cunningly and finely aspersed me. Mendacium mendacio assuentes, piecing one lie to another, and drawing together iniquity with the cart ropes of vanity. Concinnarunt, artificiose confinxerunt.

But l will keep thy precepts] Notwithstanding their slanders; and the rather.

Ver. 70. Their heart is as fat as grease] Gross as grease; curdled as milk or cheese, say the Septuagint, congealed and baked as it were in their sins. Obtusum et quasi adipe obductum; fat things are less sensible, and fat-hearted people are noted by Aristotle for dull and stupid.

But I delight in thy law] Illa me pasco et sagino, therewith I feed and fat myself.

Ver. 71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted] And thereby humbled; for else the fruit of affliction is lost, and they are always impaired that are not improved by their sufferings, as all God’s people are sure to be at length. The Lacedemonians of old (and the same is said of the Hollanders of late) grew rich by war, and were bettered when all other kingdoms were undone by it. The saints make benefit of their crosses, which to others are destructive.

That I might learn thy statutes] Luther saith of some of Saint Paul’s Epistles, that they can never be understood but by the cross. Qui tribulantur, sacras literas melius intelligunt (saith he in another place) Through trails they better understood the Bible. securi et fortunati eas legunt sicut Ovidii carmen, that is, the afflicted do best understand the Scriptures, when the wealthy and secure read them but as one of Ovid’s poems.

Ver. 72. The law of thy mouth is better unto me, &c.] For what is all this trash to that true treasure, those lively and life giving oracles? Dionysius worthily preferred Plato before Aristippus, because the one was ever craving money of him, but the other books. It is reported of Plato, that for three choice books he gave thirty thousand silverlings or florins. Now, what were all his books to the Bible? To blame, then, was that Anabaptist, who said in Melancthon’s hearing that he would not give two pence for all the Bibles in the world (Joh. Maul. loc. com. 78).

Ver. 73. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me] Plasmaverunt, which Basil interpreteth of the body curiously wrought by God, #Ps 139:15,16 as "made" of the soul; q.d. Thou art my Maker, I would thou shouldest be my Master ( Formaverunt, firmaverunt). A body hast thou fitted me, #Heb 10:5, a reasonable soul also hast thou given me, capable of salvation; I am an understanding creature still; neither have I lost my passive capacity of thy renewing grace.

Give me understanding] And thereunto add sincere affection, #Ps 119:80, that these may run parallel in my heart, and mutually transfuse life and vigour into one another.

Ver. 74. They that fear thee will be glad, &c.] As hoping that they shall also in like sort be delivered and advanced.

Because I have hoped in thy word] And have not been disappointed. The Vulgate rendereth it super speravi, I have overly hoped; and Aben Ezra glosseth, I have hoped in all thy decree, even that of afflicting me, as in the next verse.

Ver. 75. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right] That is, that I suffer deservedly. To thee, O Lord, belongeth righteousness, &c., #Da 9:7

And that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me] That thou mayest be true to my soul, and not suffer me to run on to my utter ruin; or, in faithfulness, that is, in measure, as #1Co 10:13.

Ver. 76. Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness] That I faint not, neither sink under the heaviest burden of these light afflictions.

According to thy word unto thy servant] To thy servants in general, and, therefore, I trust to me, who am bold to thrust in among the rest, and to put my name in the writ.

Ver. 77. Let thy tender mercies come unto me, &c.] He repeateth the same thing in other words, and re-enforceth his request; showing that he could not live without divine comforts.

For thy law is my delight] Thou hast my heart and goodwill; which showeth that I am thy workmanship in a spiritual sense also, #Eph 2:10. Oh look upon the wounds of thine hands, and forget not the work of thine hands, as Queen Elizabeth prayed.

Ver. 78. Let the proud be ashamed] Theoderet thinks that David here prayeth not against, but for, his enemies, quando quidem confusio et ignominia salutem procreat. But that is not likely.

For they dealt perversely with me] Writhing my words and deeds to a wrong sense; or, they would pervert me.

But I will meditate in thy precepts] Or, I will speak of them, and so stop their mouths, and save myself from them.

Ver. 79. Let those that fear thee] These are fitly opposed to those proud ones, as #Mal 3:13,16.

Turn unto me] From whom they have shrunk in mine affliction.

And those that have known thy testimonies] Deum cognoscere et colere, to know and serve God is the whole duty of a man, saith Lactantius.

Ver. 80. Let my heart be sound] For the main, though I have many failings. Pray we against hypocrisy.

That I be not ashamed] As all dissemblers once shall be.

Ver. 81. My soul fainteth for thy salvation] Saying, as those good souls, #Jer 8:20, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." Physicians let their patients’ blood sometimes, etiam ad animae deliquium, till they swoon again. Howbeit, they have a care still to maintain nature; so doth God the fainting spirits of his people by cordials, #Isa 57:16.

But I hope in thy word] Vivere spe vidi qui moriturus erat.

Ver. 82. Mine eyes fail] God sometimes deferreth to help till men have stopped looking: #Lu 18:8, "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith?" hardly. This he doth to commend his favours to us, and to set a price on them.

Saying, When wilt thou comfort me?] This is a prosopopoeia, as if David’s eyes said thus, while they earnestly expected comfort.

Ver. 83. For I am become like a bottle in the smoke] Shrivelled, wrinkled, withered, dried up. My body by long suffering is but a bag of bones, and that black and sooty; confer #Ps 32:3 102:3. My soul in danger of being bereft of all spiritual moisture.

Yet do I not forget thy statutes] Nay, I do the rather remember them, and fetch relief from them.

Ver. 84. How many are the days of thy servant] i.e. Mine evil days, #Pr 15:15. All the days of the afflicted are evil; {see #Ps 37:12} and these soon seem many to us.

When wilt thou execute judgment, &c.] This is the voice of those martyrs, #Re 6:10,11, who are thereupou willed to have patience, till the number of their brethren is fulfilled.

Ver. 85. The proud have digged pits for me] The pride, cruelty, and craftiness of wicked persecutors are foretokens of their utter destruction. The Greek rendereth it, They have told me tales; #Pr 16:27, "An ungodly man diggeth up evil."

Which are not after thy law] Neither they nor their pits. But what care they for thee or thy law? and shall they thus escape by iniquity? #Ps 56:7.

Ver. 86. All thy commandments are faithful] Heb. faithfulness, that is, they are true, sure, equal, infallible.

They persecute me wrongfully] For asserting thy truths, and adhering thereunto.

Help thou me] The more eagerly men molest us the more earnestly should we implore the Divine help.

Ver. 87. They had almost consumed me upon earth] In heaven I shall be out of their reach. But this is their hour, and the power of darkness, #Lu 12:53.

But I forsook not thy precepts] No trouble must pull us from the love of the truth. You may pull my tongue out of my head, but not my faith out of my heart, said that martyr. The saints choose affliction rather than sin.

Ver. 88. Quicken me after thy lovingkindness] David under long affliction had his dumps and dullnesses; as the best faith, if long tried, will flag aud hang the wing. He, therefore, rouseth up himself, and wrestleth with God for quickening grace; which he promised to improve, and not to receive the grace of God in vain; "so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth."

Ver. 89. For ever, O Lord, thy word] It is eternal and perpetual, neither can it be vacated or abolished by the injury of time or endeavours of tyrants. The Bible was imprinted at the New Jerusalem by the finger of Jehovah, and shall outlive the days of heaven, run parallel with the life of God, with the line of eternity. The saints also and angels in heaven live by the same law as we do here, and we pray to be conformed unto them.

Ver. 90. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations] He singles out God’s word of promise, and showes it to be immutable and unmoveable as the earth is in the middle of heaven, by the word of God’s power. See #Jer 33:25.

Thou hast established] See #Job 26:7. {See Trapp on "Job 26:7"}

Ver. 91. They continue this day] God never brake promise with them, #Jer 33:20,25, much less will he with his people, for whose use he made them.

For all are thy servants] All creatures are at God’s beck and check, except evil angels and men, those great heteroclites {a}, who yet do God’s will, though against their own wills.

{a} A thing or person that deviates from the ordinary rule; an "anomaly".

Ver. 92. Unless thy law had been my delight] Unless it had been settled in my heart (as well as it is in heaven) for my singular comfort, I had been crushed.

I should then (or long since) have perished] The Landgrave of Hesse told me at Dresden, saith Melancthon, that it had been impossible for him to have borne up under the manifold miseries of so long an imprisonment, nisi habuisset consolationem ex verbo divino in suo corde, but for the comforts of the Scriptures in his heart (Joh. Manl. loc. com. 139).

Ver. 93. I will never forget thy precepts] That is, thy promises, which are as sure and firm as the commands of the most absolute monarch upon earth. And here the prophet proposeth his own example for a pattern to others; for, as Pacatus writeth in his panegyric to Theodosius the emperor, blandissime iubetur exemplo examples are sweet precepts.

For with them thou hast quickened me] Thou hast fetched me again, when ready to faint, as #Ps 119:92.

Ver. 94. I am thine, save me] Every man will see to his own, unless he be worse than an infidel; and shall not God?

For I have sought thy precepts] And can thereby prove myself to be thine. Where it is implied that all that we are to seek in our obedience are the precepts themselves; the thing especially we are to aim at is obedience itself to the precepts.

Ver. 95. The wicked have waited] Nothing less than destruction will satisfy persecutors; but the Lord knows how to deliver his Peters out of the hands of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews, #Ac 12:11 2Pe 2:9.

But I will consider thy testimonies] And therewith hearten and harden myself against their insolences and attempts for my hurt.

Ver. 96. I have seen an end of all perfection] viz. Here below.

Tempore tacta ruunt praetoria —

Fairest buildings, strongest persons, goodliest empires, have their times and their turns, their rise and their ruin, Omnis finis finem vidi (Syr. Interp.).

Omnia sunt hominum tenui pendentia filo;

Et subito casu quae valuere ruunt;

Omnia fortunae variis stant obvia telis:

Aut etiam longo tempore victa cadunt.

But thy commandment is exceeding broad] It is endless, infinite, perpetual, and withal of largest extent; witness that of charity, which is the complement of the law, and the supplement of the gospel. David, though he had proceeded further in the discovery of divine truths than those before him, #Ps 119:99, yet he was still to seek of that which might be known; like as those great discoverers of the newly found land confess still a plus-ultra.

Ver. 97. O how love I thy law!] Such a pang of love he felt as could not otherwise be vented but by a pathetic exclamation; and this was wrought in him by the thoughts of the largeness and lastingness of God’s law. Plato prized one book (called Sophron) above all the rest, whereof he had many. Richard de Bury, bishop of Durham (Floruit, A. D. 1333), as he had more books than all the bishops of England besides, so in his book called Philobiblos, he saith of himself, ecstatico quodam librorum amore potenter se esse abreptum, that he was carried out of himself by love to good books, but not so much as David was to God’s blessed Book. Queen Elizabeth, at her coronation, received the Bible, presented unto her, with both her hands; and, kissing it, laid it to her breast, saying, that the same had ever been her chiefest delight (Speed.).

It is my meditation all the day] Sive locutio, commentatio, occupatio, my daily discourse, study, or employment; as love is never idle.

Ver. 98. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than my enemies] So that I outwit them; and my holy simplicity is too hard for their sinful subtlety. "Be wise as serpents."

For they are ever with me] Heb. It is ever with me, that is, every one of thy commandments; I am expert in them; or, It is mine, I have made them mine own by meditation; I have turned them in succum et sanguinem; I have incorporated them, as it were, into my soul.

Ver. 99. I have more understanding than all my teachers] i.e. I have understood by much reading more than they ever taught me, while I referred all to practice; and so came to know more of God’s mind than they did. A friend, saith Chrysostom, that is acquainted with his friend, will get out the meaning of a letter or phrase which another could not that is a stranger; so it is in the Scripture. And here, Indocti rapiunt coelum, a pious swain is better learned than a proud philosopher, saith a certain devout Dominican. Our King Alfred was held the best in all his kingdom, both for understanding and for interpreting the Holy Scriptures.

For thy testimonies are my meditation] I do particularly apply the word heard to mine own necessities; and work it upon mine affections by an after deliberate meditation.

Ver. 100. I understand more than the ancients] Whom yet age, use, and experience have taught much; but by the practical study of the word I outgo them all; with reference to those hoary heads, the seniors of the Synedrion, be it spoken, Non prolixa facit sapientem barba.

Ver. 101. I have refrained my feet, &c.] I have clapped up my unruly affections close prisoners, and hampered them; abandoning every error in judgment and enormity in practice.

That I might keep thy word] Which I shall never do but by self-denial and mortification.

Ver. 102. I have not departed from thy judyments] i.e. From thy law, which is called judgments, because God will thereby judge the world.

For thou hast taught me] sc. To cleave close unto them with full purpose of heart; and not to be drawn aside by any either allurement or fright.

Ver. 103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste!] Heb. to my palate; Syr. coelis gutturis mei, the roof of the mouth resembleth heaven. Epicurus was worthily blamed by Ennius for that dum palate quid sit optimum iudicabat, coeli palatium non suspexerit, while he looked so much to his palate, he looked not at all to the heavenly palace. David was no hog of his herd; he had sweetmeats to feed on that the world was not aware of.

Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth] Mercury’s priests were wont to say, when they did eat their figs, γλυκεια η αληθεια, Truth is sweet. The comedian saith, after Solomon, ηδυ το φως, "Light is sweet." The pleasures of the mind are far beyond those of the body.

Ver. 104. Through thy precepts I get understanding] Those are the statutes of heaven; and as men, by studying the statute book, get worldly wisdom, so they may hereby get heavenly.

Therefore I hate every false way] Whether in point of opinion or practice. I shall look upon Auxentius as a devil so long as he is an Arian, saith Hilary. And I would shun a heretic as I would do a devil, for he is sent on his errand, saith another.

Ver. 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet] Without the direction whereof, both for my whole course of life, and for every particular action thereof, I cannot but be in dreadful darkness and desperate downfalls.

Ver. 106. I have sworn, and I will perform it] A religious vow is nothing else but a solemn promise, or rather oath made to God to use this or that means, either to avoid some evil whereunto he findeth himself inclined, or to be set onwards in the performance of some duty unto which he finds himself very backward, Masora sepes legi, decimae divitiis, vota sanctimoniae, silentium sapientiae (Pirke Aboth). Thus, #Ne 10:1, they take a new oath, and seal to it. Thus Job, #Job 31:1, and Jacob, #Ge 28:21,22, called, therefore, the father of vows.

That I will keep thy righteous judgments] Keep them as I am able, and as thou by thy grace shalt enable me, #Ps 119:32. Peter was too peremptory, Jephthah too hasty.

Ver. 107. I am adflicted very much] Usque valde, extremely. If David be so fully bent to obey God, he shall have troubles great store; #1Ti 3:12, All that will live godly, and are set upon it, shall suffer persecution. Zeal for Christ draweth troubles to itself, as the wind Caecias doth clouds.

Quicken me, O Lord, according unto thy word] Help me to keep my promise, to perform mine oath, notwithstanding these troubles growing upon me. A vow made without prayer is never kept.

Ver. 108. Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings] My prayers and praises; prayers for thine assistance, and praises for thine enablements, #Ps 50:14 107:22

And teach me thy judgments] This is a request that David hath never done with.

Ver. 109. My soul (or life) is continually in my hand] i.e. Continually hazarded and ready to be laid down for righteousness’ sake. I am neither fond of life nor afraid of death in this case; I make no more of life than a child doth of his bird, which he carrieth in the palm of his hand held open. See #Jud 12:3 Job 13:14.

Yet do I not forget thy law] Notwithstanding all these dangers; nay, I love it, and like it so much the better, as those, #Ps 44:17 Ro 8:2-4, and that holy martyr who caught up the Revelation cast into the same fire with himself, and cried, O beata Apocalypsis, &c. Oh blessed revelation.

Ver. 110. The wicked have laid a snare for me] Such as, rather than their lives, would have had mine; such as sought and fain would have sucked my blood.

Yet I erred not from thy preeepts] I held the king’s highway, and leaped not over the hedge to avoid a piece of foul way.

Ver. 111. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage] Perpetui nec unquam alienaudi patrimonii vice, A patrimony that I prize, and will never part with, since I hold it from thee as a child of thy grace.

For they are the rejoicing of mine heart] Other heritages have their troubles. Qui habet tetras, habet querras, saith the lawyer; but the just man’s joy is unmixed.

Ver. 112. I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes] This is the fruit of my Christian contentation and spiritual joy, "I have inclined my heart." Indeed, thou, Lord, hast done it, for thou art the only heart maker and heart mender; but thou countest and callest it my doing, for mine encouragement in thy service. Certum est nos facere quod facimus, sed Deus facit ut faciamus, saith Austin.

Alway even to the end] For else I shall lose the things that I have wrought, and not receive a full reward, #2Jo 8.

Ver. 113. I hate vain thoughts] Which, though they may swarm in my head, shall never lodge in my heart, #Jer 4:14, for there I have entertained a better guest.

Thy law do I love] All hatred proceedeth from love, and is προς το μενος, against the whole kind, as Aristotle speaketh. True love to God’s law enrageth the hearts of God’s people with a holy hatred of heresies and perverse devices.

Ver. 114. Thou art my hiding place and my shield] To defend me from deadly darts and dangers. See #Ps 18:2 32:7. God either preserveth his from common calamities or from the hurt of them.

I hope in thy word] And am content to stay thy time. "He that believeth maketh not haste."

Ver. 115. Depart from me, ye evildoers] For what reason? there is no doing my duty in your company; besides, a double danger: 1. Infection of sin; 2. Infliction of punishment, #Re 18:4.

For I will keep the commandments] Which it booteth me not to set about unless I do first abandon your society, hating the garment spotted by the flesh, that is, avoiding evil company (saith Mr Perkins), that remora or pest of true piety. See #Le 15:4.

Ver. 116. Uphold me according unto thy word] The promise is the soul’s support. Turn we the palm and not the backside of the hand to this staff, leaning upon it, praying hard for the accomplishment of it, and then be content, though we can say but as that holy man, Mr Paul Bain, did: I thank God in Christ, sustentation I have, but suavities spiritual I taste not any.

And let me not be ashamed of my hope] Let me not be defeated, disappointed, frustrated. This David knew he should not be (for spes in terrenis incerti nomen boni; spes in divinis nomen est certissimi, #Heb 11:1 Ro 5:5), but yet thinks fit to seek it by prayer; as Elijah foretold abundance of rain, but yet went up to the top of Carmel and prayed for it, #1Ki 18:41,42.

Ver. 117. Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe] No longer are we safe from sin and punishment than God putteth under his hand; we subsist merely by his manutension; and if he withdraw his grace never so little we are down on all four, as we say.

And I will have respect, &c.] Saints shall persevere, because they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

Ver. 118. Thou hast trodden down all them, &c.] Thou, as a mighty king or conqueror, hast made use of them for a footstool, as Sapores, king of Persia, did Valentinian the Roman emperor, and as Tamerlane did Bajazet.

For their deceit is falsehood] They think themselves to be out of the reach of thy rod, but they will find it somewhat otherwise.

Ver. 119. Thou pullest away all the wicked of the earth like dross] Consuming them in the fire of thy wrath, and casting them out as refuse; {see #Isa 1:25} vel quasi rubiginem existimasti, thou hast reckoned them as rust (Kimchi); whereas the saints are preciously esteemed, as the least filings of gold are.

Therefore I love thy testimonies] Quia purgant a scoriis hypocriscos, et intus est ut foris: because they take out the precious from the vile, and make men the same within as without.

Ver. 120. My flesh trembleth] Horripilatur, #Job 4:15. In the saints is a mixture of contrary passions, fear and great joy, as was in those holy women, #Mt 28:8, and the one makes way for the other.

Ver. 121. I have done judgment and justice] I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day, #Ac 23:1; my cause is right, and my carriage righteous. But innocence is no target against detraction and deadly practice; therefore

Leave me not to mine oppressors] Or traducers for they will soon exceed their commission, #Zec 1:15.

Ver. 122. Be surety for thy servant for good] Obi vadimonium; appear for me, and nonsuit all accusations against me; or, undertake for me that I shall keep thy laws, as I have said and sworn to do: Sis fide iussor meus. Some observe that this is the only verse throughout the whole psalm wherein the word is not mentioned under the name of law, judgments, statutes, or the like terms. And they make this note upon it; where the law faileth there Christ is a surety of a better testament. There are that render the words thus: Dulcify or delight thy servant in good, that is, make him joyful and comfortable in the pursuit and practice of that which is good, Oblecta servum (Muscul.).

Ver. 123. Mine eyes fail for thy salvation] Not my bodily eyes only, but the eyes of my faith. See #Ps 119:81,82.

And for the word of thy righteousness] That is, for thy faithful promises, which many times bear a long date.

Ver. 124. Deal with thy servant according to thy mercy] i.e. Show me so much mercy as to teach me thy statutes. Cathedram in ccelis habet qui cords docet. Divine learning is of God’s free favour. If common skill, then this much more cometh "forth from the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working," #Isa 28:19.

Ver. 125. I am thy servant, give me understanding] I have voluntarily hired myself unto thee, chosen the things that please thee, and taken hold of the covenant, loving to be thy servant, #Isa 56:4,6. Now, this is all the wages I crave of thee, "Give me understanding," &c. This David speaketh, saith one, in a real and heavenly complement with his Maker.

That I may know thy testimonies] Work done in the dark must be undone again; David, therefore, would fully know his Master’s mind, that he might acceptably do it.

Ver. 126. It is time for thee, Lord, to work] For else what will become of thy great name, and of thy poor people? This the psalmist speaketh not as prescribing God a time, but as reminding him of his own glory and of his people’s necessity.

For they have made void thy law] They would if they could, as our Antinomians, dogmatic and practical, our aweless, lawless Belialists, untameable, untractable.

Ver. 127. Therefore I love thy commandments] I like them the better because they slight them, and prize that way the more they persecute. I kindle myself from their coldness, and while they greedily grasp after gold, and fine gold, I lay hold upon eternal life, #1Ti 6:10-12.

Ver. 128. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right] "Therefore," from the same ground again as before, by a holy antiperistasis.

I esteem, &c.] Rectificavi, I have declared them to be right in every part and point, against those that wrangle and wrest them to a wrong sense. I esteem every parcel of truth precious, and am an utter enemy to every heterodoxy. The many "alls" in this verse used (not unlike that in #Eze 44:30) showeth the integrity and universality of his obedience. "All" is but a little word, but of large extent.

I hate every false way] Whether in point of opinion or practice; all sinful deviations and prevarications. Hatred is ever against the whole kind of a thing, saith Aristotle (Rhet. lib. 2.)

Ver. 129. Thy testimonies are wonderful] As comprehending high and hidden mysteries, such as are far above the reach of human reason; such as the very angels admire and adore. A man must have more than common faith to subject his reason to them. But all men are Socinians by nature; they will believe God’s word no farther than they can see reason; which while men make the rule of their faith (as did the wise Greeks, the rational Romans), they stumble at the preaching of the cross of foolishness; and disbelieve the riches of Christ, which are unsearchable.

Therefore doth my soul keep them] Though I cannot comprehend them, yet I am comprehended by them; and though I cannot do them as I would, yet I am doing at them as I can. I admire what I cannot attain to.

Ver. 130. The entrance of thy words giveth light] So soon as men are over the threshold of thy house, sese lux quaedam inenarrabilis conspiciendam offert, a marvellous light shineth about them; so little cause is there that any should accuse God’s word of darkness and hardness; or give way to negligence and carelessness of the Scriptures, because they are wonderful. Lex, lux, the law is a light, #Pr 6:23, and the gospel a great light, #Mt 4:16 2Pe 1:19.

It giveth understanding to the simple] And maketh them subtle, #Pr 1:4, so they be but docible. The very first rudiments of religion make wise the rude, so they be not refractory.

Ver. 131. I opened my mouth and panted] Heb. and sooped in the air, as one that laboureth for life. Oh the sighs and the groans that I incessantly breathed forth out of zeal to thy law! Oh the strong affections kindled on the hearth of my heart! for,

I longed for thy commandments] The Septuagint renders it by επιποθεω, which signifieth a most vehement desire, impatient of delays. As one that runneth himself out of breath. Sitio propter legem sicut dracones propter pluviam, #Job 29

Ver. 132. Look thou upon me, &c.] Face about towards me, and give me a glimpse at least of thy grace; for full fruition I expect not in this present life. Brevis hora, parva mora.

As thou usest to do unto those, &c.] Common mercies satisfy not a saint; he must have peculiar favours, spiritual blessings in heavenly things, even the sure mercies of David. He pleads for a child’s part.

Ver. 133. Order my steps in thy word] Let me walk as in a frame, walk by rule exactly, accurately, #Eph 5:15. Here he prayeth that he may keep the affirmative precepts, saith Aben Ezra; as in the next words, the negative.

And let not any iniquity have dominion over me] Let it not reign, though it doth rebel; let it be like those beasts in Daniel, whose dominion was taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time, #Ps 7:12.

Ver. 134. Deliver me from the oppressions of man] Homo homini lupus. David, besides his corruptions within, met with oppressions and persecutions without; so shall all that will live godly in Christ Jesus; let them never dream of a delicacy in religion.

So will I keep thy precepts] Not say, as those miscreants, #Jer 7:10, "We are delivered to do all these abominations"; but as good old Zechariah, #Lu 1:74,75, Servati sumus ut serviamus, We have been served so that we may serve. We are delivered that we might serve God without fear, &c.

Ver. 135. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant] David could not live out of God’s favour nor without his direction; he therefore here and elsewhere prayeth heartily for both.

Ver. 136. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes] My countenance is clouded, and even furrowed, with continual tears shed for thy dishonour; therefore lift up upon me the light of thy loving countenance. It grieveth me greatly to see thy law violated, and the transgressors thereof so careless of their own eternal good. This was Lot’s case at Sodom, #2Pe 2:7,8, and is many a good man’s still; every profane wretch being a Hazael to his eyes, a Hadadrimmon to his heart. The Septuagint and Vulgate read, Mine eyes have drawn down issues of waters (i.e. they have wept abundantly), because they (that is, those eyes of mine) have not kept thy law. So Aben Ezra; Quia ipsi oculi non observassent legem tuam. David had walked after the sight of his eyes, and the lust of his heart; this is now his grief. Thus they; but not so well.

Ver. 137. Righteous art thou, O Lord] Essentially and efficiently.

And upright are thy judgments] Which are sometimes secret, but always just, as the Emperor Mauricius also acknowledged, when his wife and children were slain before his eyes by the traitor Phocas.

Ver. 138. Thy testimonies which thou hast commanded] i.e. The gospel, as #Isa 8:20. And the commandment thereof to hear Christ, #Mt 17:5, and to believe in his name, #1Jo 3:23; this is a faithful and true saying, #1Ti 1:15, not avengelaion, as the Jews blasphemously call it, or fabula de Christo, a fable about Christ, as that blackmouthed pope.

Ver. 139. My zeal hath consumed me] Hath meagred and impaired me much. In the Hebrew the last letter is doubled, to increase the signification. {Hebrew Text Note} Zeal is the extreme heat of all the affections.

Ver. 140. Thy word is very pure] And calleth for purity. Hence wicked men slight it; but saints the rather embrace it, desirous to be conformed to the heavenly pattern.

Ver. 141. I am small and despised] Minutus, a worm and no man, an abject and outcast, nullificamen hominis, &c.

Yet do I not forget thy precepts] My mean condition impaireth not my constancy.

Ver. 142. Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness] When all other laws and sentences, though engraven in brass or marble, shall decay and determine, thy law lasteth for ever, and so shall they that observe it.

And thy law is the truth] And therefore lasting. Μονιμον η αληθεια, saith Plato. The eternity of Israel cannot lie, #1Sa 15:29.

Ver. 143. Trouble and anguish have taken hold of me] Heb. have found me. Those (as we say of foul weather) come before they are sent for; yet are they not without the Lord. It is he that putteth his under the black rod.

Yet thy commandments, &c.] God and his word are never so sweet to the saints as in adversity.

Ver. 144. The righteousness of thy testimonies, &c.] This is the same with #Ps 119:142.

Give me understanding] An ignorant life is a lifeless life. Fuit non vixit. The life of God is the only life. But from this men are alienated by the ignorance that is in them, #Eph 4:18.

Ver. 145. I cried with my whole heart] This showeth that he had not only a gift of prayer, but a spirit of prayer.

Ver. 146. I cried unto thee; save me] Salvation properly denoteth the privative part of a man’s felicity, but iucludeth the positive part also: this must be got by prayer.

Ver. 147. I prevented the dawning of the morning] I was up and at it before daybreak. This is check to our sluggishness.

I hoped in thy word] The word furnished his hope, and his hope his prayer.

Ver. 148. Mine eyes prevent the night watches] By this verse and the former it appeareth that he spent whole nights in prayer and meditation of God’s word. Jerome counselled some godly women thus, Tenenti codicem somnus obrepat, et cadentem faciem pagina sacra suspiciat (Hier. ad Eusta.).

Ver. 149. Hear my voice according unto thy lovingkindness] Showed heretofore to others of thy servants, and to me frequently.

Quicken me according to thy judgment] i.e. According to thy promise.

Ver. 150. They draw nigh that follow after mischief] Those scelerum assidui sectatores prompti sunt ac parati.

They are far from thy law] And so having nothing to restrain their rage; since they have cast their cords from them.

Ver. 151. Thou art near, O Lord] To counterwork and control the enemy; as also to safeguard and support thy people.

Ver. 152. Concerning thy testimonies, &c.] The sempiternity of God’s word is an excellent prop to faith and help in prayer; to those especially who are of long experience, and have well laid up their experiments. David had learned this truth of a child little. See #2Ti 3:17.

Ver. 153. Consider mine affliction, and deliver me] Vide commiserationes oculis, look upon it, and let thine eye affect thy heart; say as once, "I have seen, I have seen the affliction of thy people."

Ver. 154. Plead my cause, and deliver me] Litiga litigium meum. Be both mine advocate and my redeemer.

Ver. 155. Salvation is far from the wicked] How can it be otherwise? when as God is neither in their heads, #Ps 10:4, nor hearts, #Ps 14:1, nor words, #Ps 12:4, nor ways, #Tit 1:16, can these have part or portion in his salvation?

For they seek not] This contempt of God’s word is a plain proof that no part or piece of God’s favour belongeth to them.

Ver. 156. Great are thy tender mercies, &c.] Or, many and mother-like. This is great comfort to greatest sinners.

Ver. 157. Many are my persecutors] Truth never wanted an adversary; and goes seldom without a scratched face.

Yet do I not decline] But still adhere to thy word; when others fall off as fast as leaves fall from trees in autumn.

Ver. 158. I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved] Or, I abhorred them, or, I contended with them; not so much because they were mine as thine enemies.

Because they kept not thy word] Which all men are bound not only to observe, but to preserve as much as may be.

Ver. 159. Consider how I love thy precepts] And love facilitateth duty, helping us over all the hardship of holiness. It yieldeth also much boldness to a man to offer it to God, as here, for a proof of his sincerity.

Ver. 160. Thy word is true from the beginning] Heb. The beginning of thy word is true; Primarium illud est in verbo tuo quod est firmissimum, this is a special praise of thy word, that it is very sure. These words are faithful and true, #Re 22:6, from the one end of the Bible to the other. Some render it thus, Thy most excellent word is truth. This most excellent word Kimchi interpreteth to be particularly that in the head or preface to the decalogue, Hear, O Israel, Jehovah thy God, Jehovah is one. Theodoret will have it to be that promise made to Abraham that in his seed all nations of the earth should be blessed. Some read it, every chapter of thy word is truth.

Ver. 161. Princes have persecuted me without a cause] And

Quae venit indigne poena, dolenda venit.

But better without a cause than for evil-doing, #1Pe 4:12-19 David suffered by these potentates, because he was small and despised, #Ps 119:141, as a little dog is worried by the bigger, as the lesser fishes are devoured by the greater.

But my heart standeth in awe of thy word] The fear of God driveth out the fear of the creature, #Isa 8:12,13.

Ver. 162. I rejoice at thy word] Libenter omnibus omnes opes concesserim, &c., I would gladly leave all the wealth in the world to others, saith Cicero (Epist. lib. 9), so that I might without disturbance live and die in the study of learning. What marvel, then, that David was so taken with heavenly learning?

As one that findeth great spoil] Which as it Cometh oft unexpectedly (and is therefore the better welcome), so the profit is usually very great (as was at the sack of Constantinople), and the pleasure (besides the honour) is no less than the profit, because gotten from an enemy. George Fransperg, a general in the Imperial army, under the conduct of Charles Bourbon, that sacked Rome in the time of Pope Clement VII, caused a halter to be carried near his colours, saying that with that he would hang the pope, the better to encourage his soldiers, who were almost all Lutherans, whom he promised to lead to Rome; showing them the great opportunity they had to enrich themselves with the spoils of that city (Hist. of the Counc. of Trent, p. 43).

Ver. 163. I hate and abhor lying] Utitur atroci verbo, abominatus sum, I hate it as I hate hell itself; and yet lying was David’s sin after a special manner. See #Ps 119:29. {See Trapp on "Ps 119:29"}

But thy law do I love] All hatred comes from love of the contrary. "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil," #Ps 97:10.

Ver. 164. Seven times a day do I praise thee] Septies, id est, saepissime, very oft in the day; whensoever God setteth me up an altar I am ready with my sacrifice. Mahometans pray constantly five times a day; those of Morocco six times. Papists foolishly and superstitiously allege this text for their seven Canonical hours, as they call them. The Jews pronounce a hundred benedictions every day (Leo Modena).

Ver. 165. Great peace have they which love thy law] The fruit of righteousness shall be peace, #Isa 32:17, even the peace of God, the joy of faith, a heaped up happiness.

And nothing shall offend them] Heb. they shall have no stumbling block; non pereunt, quicquid accidat, though they fall, they shall arise; for the Lord putteth under his hand, #Ps 37:24

Ver. 166. Lord, I have hoped for thy salvation] This saying he borrowed from good old Jacob, #Ge 49:18

And done thy commandments] Done them as I could; done them to Divine acceptation through Christ; and hence I have hoped: #1Jo 3:3 "Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, as God is pure."

Ver. 167. My soul hath kept thy testimonies] sc. As well as mortality will afford.

And I love them exceedingly] "I delight in the law of God after the inward man," #Ro 7:22. "I trust I have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly," #Heb 13:18.

Ver. 168. I have kept thy precepts] All thy laws are in my sight; like as all my ways are in thy sight. I desire to approve myself to thee in the discharge of every part and point of my duty; in all my ways I acknowledge thee, #Pr 3:6. Here note, that all along this 21st octonary the psalmist propoundeth himself for a pattern of piety.

Ver. 169. Let my cry come near before thee, O Lord] That is, as some will have it, let this whole preceding psalm, and all the petitions (whereof we have here a repetition) therein contained, be highly accepted in heaven.

Ver. 170. Let my supplication, &c.] The same again; neither is this battology, {a} but fervency in begging audience.

{a} A needless and tiresome repetition in speaking or writing.

Ver. 171. My lips shall utter praise] Eructabunt labia mea hymnum. A metaphor either from a fountain casting out waters; vel a ructu qui eibum copiosum sequitur. Semper, et hilariter.

Ver. 172. My tongue shall speak] True goodness is diffusive; charity is no churl.

Ver. 173. Let thy hand help me] To do what I have promised.

For I have chosen thy precepts] Refusing Satan’s cut-throat kindness.

Ver. 174. I have longed for thy salvation] So do all men; but then David will take a right course for it (so will not all).

And thy law is my delight] This the most men mind not.

Ver. 175. Let thy judgments help me] sc. To heaven: together with God’s word, there goeth forth a power.

Ver. 176. I have gone astray, &c.] And of myself shall never return.

Seek thy servant] Do all the offices of a good shepherd for me, #Lu 15:4-7

For I do not forget] The root of the matter is still in me, I am recallable, and ready to hear thy voice, #Joh 10:3.

A Song of degrees] A most excellent song, Tremellius rendereth it; and so indeed this and the fourteen following are, both for the matter and for the form or manner of expression, which is wondrous short and sweet, as the very epigrams of the Holy Ghost himself, wherein each verse may well stand for an oracle. And in this sense Adam Hammahalah, or a man of degrees, is put for an eminent or excellent man, #1Ch 17:17. Others understand it otherwise; wherein they have good leave to abound in their own sense; since sine periculo hic erratur, an error here is not dangerous.

Chapter 120

Ver. 1. In my distress I cried unto the Lord] Oratio sine malis est, ut avis sine alis, Distress addeth wings to our devotions. Our Saviour, being in an agony, prayed more earnestly, #Lu 22:44. So do all his members, and especially when they lie under the lash of a lying tongue, as here, #Ps 120:2. "Being defamed, we pray," saith Paul, #1Co 4:13.

And he heard me] "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much," #Jas 5:16 Zec 13:9. He that prayeth ardently speedeth assuredly, #Ps 91:15, and the unmiscarrying return of prayer should be carefully observed and thankfully improved, #Ps 66:20.

Ver. 2. Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips] This was David’s distress, and it lay heavy upon his spirit; so it did upon Job’s, and Jeremiah’s, #Jer 20:10; the scourge of tongues he felt as sharp as scorpions. Of the mischief of an evil tongue see #Jas 3:1-9 Ps 52:2-4 Ps 12:3. {See Trapp on "Ps 12:3"}

Ver. 3. What shall be given unto thee? &c.] That is (as Austin senseth it), what remedy is there for thee? q.d. None at all. Contra sycophantarum morsum non est remedium, saith Seneca. But others better, what gain gettest thou what profit makest thou of thy lying and slandering? Hurt thou mayest another, but not help thyself. Thou art not like the maid whom Avicen speaketh of, who feeding herself with poison, was herself healthy, yet infected others with her venomous breath; but rather like the traitor of whom Augustus said, I like the treason, but hate the traitor. The slander is oft applauded when the slanderer is abhorred.

Or what shall be done unto thee, &c.] Heb. added; Nihil praeter plagas durissimas, as #Ps 120:4.

Thou false tongue?] This he seemeth to say to Doeg, who is here called a false fellow and a liar, though he spake but the truth against the Lord’s priests, because not for any love to the truth, nor for respect of justice, nor of the bettering either of Saul or the priests, but only to prejudice these and to incense the other.

Ver. 4. Sharp arrows of the mighty] Arrows sharp, and shot with force. A false tongue is likened to a sharp razor, #Ps 52:4; to a sharp sword, #Ps 57:5; to sharp arrows, #Pr 20:18; here it hath sharp for sharp: as God loveth to retaliate; and he is the giant, or mighty one here, that shooteth these sharpest shafts, that inflicteth most exquisite punishments on such; as once on Dives, whose tongue smoked for it, quia lingua plus peccaverat, as saith a Father, because he had so offended with the tongue.

With coals of juniper] Which being a fat kind of wood, of gummy or salty matter, maketh a very scorching fire, and quick coals, such as last long, some say a month and more, and smell sweet ( Flamma redardescit quae mode nulla fuit. Theophrast., Plin.); lo, upon these coals will God broil lying lips and a deceitful tongue, pleasing himself and others in that execution.

Ver. 5. Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech] That is, in Muscovio, say some; in Hetruria, say others; in Cappadocia rather, Magog’s country, #Eze 38:2,3; anywhere out of the bosom of the true Church; or (as some sense it) in the Church, but among Israelites worse than any Ishmaelites or Pagans.

That I dwell in the tents of Kedar!] With Kedarens or Saracens, as they were afterwards called. Among these David was in danger ne cum lupis ululando tandem et ipse ex ove lupus evaderet. Guilt or grief a good man is sure to get by being in bad company, which maketh him cry, "Oh that I had the wings of a dove," &c.; or if that "Oh" will not set him at liberty, then he taketh up this, "Woe is me," to express his misery. Pia vero est illa tristitia, et si dici potest beata miseria, vitis alienis tribulari, non implicari; dolere contrahi, amore non attrahi, saith Austin. It is hard and happy not to comply with ill company.

Ver. 6. My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace] With Saul, that implacable tyrant, and with other barbarous and brutish persons, skilful to destroy. The very society of such (be they never so tame and civil) is tedious and unsavoury to a good soul; like the slime and filth that is congealed when many toads and other vermin join together. Long, therefore, and too long seemeth it to a saint to sojourn with such. Lord (said a certain good woman upon her death bed, and doubting of her salvation), send me not to hell among the wicked, for thou knowest I never loved their company all my life long.

Ver. 7. I am for peace] Heb. I am peace, or peaceable, as far as is possible, #Ro 12:18; this was David’s motto, and must be every man’s study. But it is not peace, but party, that many men mind, Maxima pars studiorum est studium partium.

But when I speak, they are for war] They cry the alarm, being beliosi et bellicosi; salamander like, they live in the fire of contention; scorpion like, they are always putting forth the sting. Their spirits lie like that haven, #Ac 27:12, towards the south-west and north-west, two opposite points; neither will they be otherwise, but the more they are sought to the worse they are. This is the guise of graceless persons.

A Song of degrees] On, of ascensions, in singing whereof there should be ascensions in our hearts. See #Ps 120:1.

Chapter 121

Ver. 1. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills] Not to your mountains, #Ps 11:1, human helps and carnal combinations, #Jer 3:23, much less to those mountains, in quibus gentes idola collocant et colunt, wherein the heathens set and serve their idols, #De 12:2, but to Zion and Moriah, where God’s sanctuary is, #Ps 87:1, or rather to heaven, #Ps 18:9, with #2Sa 22:10,14, where God himself is; and so it followeth.

Ver. 2. My help cometh from the Lord] To whom, therefore, alone I must look for help. Sursum corda, sursum etiam capita. Naturalists tell us, that of those twenty-eight muscles whereby the head is moved, twelve lift up the head behind, and two only before let it downward; to teach us to contemplate heaven more and earth less (Bodin. Theat. Naturae, 413). Others advertise us, that it is one main end why God hath set in man’s eye a fifth muscle; whereas other creatures have but four; one to turn downward, another to hold forwards, a third to turn the eye to the right hand, a fourth to the left hand; but no unreasonable creature can turn the eye upward, as man can, that he may look up to God (Columb. de re Anatom. l. 5, c. 9).

Which made heaven and earth] And will rather unmake both again, than his people shall want seasonable hell.

Ver. 3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved] Not greatly moved, #Ps 62:2, an utter prolapsion.

He that keepeth thee will not slumber] And if King Philip could say that he could sleep securely because his friend Antipater watched by him, may not we be much more confident who have God to keep us?

Ver. 4. Behold, he that keepeth, &c.] He repeateth that sweetest promise (that we may roll it as sugar under our tongues, that we may suck and be satisfied, #Isa 66:11), and setteth it forth with a behold, q.d. mark it, "and know thou it for thy good," #Job 5:27.

Shall neither slumber nor sleep] Shall not fetch one wink of sleep. Dormitamus priusquam dormiamus, we slumber before we sleep; but God shall do neither. His seven eyes {#Zec 3:9} are ever open, yea, they run to and fro through the whole earth, #Zec 4:10, sc. spectat universes, quasi singulos; sic singulos, quasi solos. Howbeit, he looketh with special care and complacency on the godly, #Isa 66:2.

Ver. 5. The Lord is thy keeper] His peace within thee and his power without thee shall safeguard thee to his heavenly kingdom, φρουρησει, #Php 4:7.

The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand] To shelter and shield thee from all annoyances, as the pillar of cloud did the Israelites in the wilderness, as the poet feigneth that Paris, out matched by Menelaus in a duel, was by Venus wrapped in a cloud, and carried off.

Ver. 6. The sun shall not smite thee by day] So choice and chary is God of his children, that he will have no creature to hurt them (parching heat by day or pinching cold by night), but both north and south must blow good to them, #So 4:16, and all creatures must cater for them, #Ho 2:21,22, yet ever with exception of the cross, if need be, #1Pe 1:6. But let the pope be the sun and the emperor the moon (as the canonists called them), yet the sun shall not smite the Church by day nor the moon by night. Luther was at the same time excommunicated by the pope and proscribed by the emperor; yet died he in his bed.

Ver. 7. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil] Whether of sin or of punishment; from the hurt if not from the smart thereof.

He shall preserve thy soul] Which is oft untouched when the body is in durance. A sick servant of Christ being asked how he did, answered, My body is sick, my soul is well.

Ver. 8. The Lord shall preserve thy going out, &c.] Thou shalt have his safe-conduct, his public faith for thy defence, in all thy lawful enterprises at home and abroad; together with good success in all thine affairs and actions, #Pr 3:6.

Chapter 122

Ver. 1. I was glad when they said unto me] The flourish of religion is the chief joy of the good Christian. Hence the evangelical jubilee among the Protestant party. Gregory Nazianzen writes that his father being a heathen, and often besought by his wife to become a Christian, had this verse suggested unto him in a dream, and was much wrought upon thereby. Wolfgangus Schuch, a Dutch martyr in Lotharing, hearing the sentence of his condemnation to the fire, began to sing this psalm (Acts & Mon. fol. 807).

Let us go into the house of the Lord] "I will go also," {as #Zec 8:21} said holy David; who was much cheered at his people’s forwardness in God’s service, and became their captain.

Ver. 2. Our feet shall stand within thy gates] Where the ark (at times transported) was now fixed; this was their great joy, so should it be ours that the true religion is now settled among us, and that we are at a certainty. There was a time when good Melancthon groaned out, Quos fugiamus habemus, quos sequamur non intelligimus, We know whom we should fly (viz. the Papists), but whom to follow we yet know not (Respons. ad Staphyl.).

Ver. 3. Jerusalem is builded as a city, &c.] None such for uniformity of buildings or unanimity of citizens. There is no such oneness in all the world as among true Christians; and this the very heathens observed and commended. As the curtains of the tabernacle were joined by loops, so were they by love. And as the stones of the temple were so close cemented together that they seemed to be all but one stone, so was it among the primitive saints.

Ver. 4. Whither the tribes go up] Thrice a year all the males appeared before the Lord in Sion; the females also, as many as would (as Hannah, the Virgin Mary, &c.), but they were not bound. At which times there was such a general meeting as no city could show the like; a type of that great panegyris, #Heb 12:22,23.

Unto the testimony of lsrael] The ark was so called, in regard of the tables of the covenant kept therein, as two letters of contract between God and men, saith Aben Ezra, #Ex 15:16; those two tables are called the testimony.

Ver. 5. For there are set thrones of judgment] These are the two chief praises of any place. 1. The exercise of God’s sincere service. 2. The administration and execution of public justice.

Ver. 6. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem] Peace is a voluminous mercy, and must therefore be prayed for, peace both of conscience and of country. It is well with bees when they make a noise in the hive; but with men, when they are at quiet in Church and State. Among the Persians he that offered sacrifice prayed not only for himself, but for all his countrymen, and especially for the king (Herodot. lib. i.).

They shall prosper that love thee] And out of love, pity and pray for thee.

Ver. 7. Peace be within thy walls] David had no sooner admonished others of their duty, but himself beginneth to them, Quod iussit et gessit. what he ordered he accomplished.

Ver. 8. For my brethren and companions’ sakes] David was not all for himself (as the manner is in these last and loosest times), but, as one of a public spirit, he did

— toti genitum se credere genti.

Ver. 9. Because of the house of the Lord our God] Where David’s heart was, and wherein he held it a happiness to be but a doorkeeper, #Ps 84:10, so much endeared unto him was God’s sincere service. O pass we into the likeness of this heavenly pattern.

I will seek thy good] I will both pray it and promote it.

Chapter 123

Ver. 1. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes] Praying by them rather than by words, mine afflictions having swollen my heart too big for my mouth. {See Trapp on "Ps 121:1"}

Ver. 2. Behold, as the eyes of servants] For direction, defence, maintenance, mercy in time of correction, help when the service is too hard, &c.; so do our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, viz. for direction and benediction.

Ver. 3. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy] This is preces fundere, coelum tundere, misericordiam extorquere, as Tertullian hath it; to wring mercy out of God’s holy hands, by our utmost importunity.

For we are exceedingly filled with contempt] We are made the very scum and scorn of our proud imperious enemies. This the nature of man is very impatient of, and can hardly brook; for there is none so mean but holdeth himself worthy of some regard; and a reproachful scorn showeth an utter disrespect, which issueth from the very superfluity of malice.

Ver. 4. Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease] And therehence insolent and unsufferable, for κορος υβριν τικτει, ease breedeth forgetfulness, yea, it maketh men scornful and wrongful to others.

Chapter 124

Ver. 1. If it had not been the Lord, &c.] God may far better say than our Henry VIII, Cui adhaereo, praeest, He whose part I take is sure to prevail. But Christ hath ever been the Church’s champion, and hence she is insuperable. The Chaptain of the Lord’s hosts is Captain of our salvation, #Jos 5:14 Heb 2:10.

Ver. 2. When men rose] Monsters rather; but such as think themselves the only men alive, and us the only slaves and zanies.

Ver. 3. Then had they swallowed us up quick] As the great fish do the little ones, as hungry lions, or wolves, ravin up their prey. Ptolemy Lathurus, king of Egypt, slew thirty thousand Jews, and compelled the living to feed upon the dead. Adrian the emperor made a decree, that he who had not slain a Jew should himself be slain (Gualth Praef. in Marc. R. Obad. Gaon in Ps 124).

When their wrath was kindled against us] Heb. in the flagrancies or inflammations of their anger.

Ver. 4. Then the waters had overwhelmed us] As once the Red Sea did the Egyptians, or as the general deluge did the old world.

The stream had gone over our soul] Neither could we have withstood it by any art or industry.

Ver. 5. Then the proud waters, &c.] The same again, to note the greatness both of the danger and of the deliverance. And it may teach us not lightly to pass over God’s great blessings, but to make the most of them.

Ver. 6. Blessed be the Lord, &c.] Deo gratias, thanks be to God was much in Austin’s mouth, and should be so in ours, but especially upon some signal deliverance. How was God blessed at Berachah? #2Ch 20:26

As a prey to their teeth] Who meant to have made but a breakfast of us, and had already devoured us in their hopes, but God defeated them.

Ver. 7. Our soul is escaped, &c.] Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. See #Ge 22:14 Eze 37:11 2Ki 19:3,4.

The snare is broken, &c.] God hath with as much ease delivered us as a bird net is broken.

Ver. 8. Our help is in the name of the Lord, &c.] Experience should breed confidence, #Ro 5:4,5 2Co 1:10 Ps 48:14 Ge 22:10,11, &c.; write up experiences therefore, oft rub them over, and then conclude as here, and as #Php 1:6 2Ti 4:17,18.

Who hath made heaven and earth] God’s power is the prop of our faith, and pricks on to prayer; commit we ourselves to him as to a faithful Creator, #1Pe 4:19, of infinite might and mercy; and say, as those good souls, as Aben Ezra, Hitherto God hath helped us; he hath, and therefore he will, &c.

Chapter 125

Ver. 1. They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion] Great is the stability of a believer’s felicity. Winds and storms move not a mountain; an earthquake may, but not easily, remove it. That mystical mount Zion, the Church, immota manet, is unmoveable; so is every member thereof, for the main of his happiness.

Ver. 2. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem] That is, say some, as the angels; but we take it literally. Jerusalem was surrounded with many high mountains, which were a great safeguard to it; yet did not always defend it, as the Lord doth his, by being a wall of fire round about them, #Zec 2:5.

Ver. 3. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest] Fall upon the lot of the righteous it may, notwithstanding that former promise of God’s protection; but he will take care they be not tempted above that they are able, #1Co 10:13; he sets the time, and appoints the measure, #Ps 30:5 Re 2:10.

Lest the righteous, &c.] Overcome by impatience, or drawn aside by the world’s either allurements or affrightments, should yield and comply, or seek to help themselves out of trouble by sinister practice. God (saith Chrysostom) doth like a lute player, who will not let the strings of his lute be too slack, lest it mar the music, nor suffer them to be too hard stretched or screwed up, lest they break.

Ver. 4. Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good] But afflicted by those men of thy hand, #Ps 17:14, who are the rod in thine hand, #Isa 10:5. Do good in thy good pleasure (for nothing can be claimed by the very best) to such, according to thy promise, #Ps 125:3, which here I put in suit for them; let the Lord be with the good, #2Ch 19:11.

And to them that are upright in their hearts] For such only are good indeed, and approved in Christ, as was Apelles, #Ro 16:10, and Nathanael, #Joh 1:47, notwithstanding their infirmities. Hypocrisy imbaseth the purest metal, turneth gold into rusty iron; sincerity doth the contrary by a divine kind of alchemy.

Ver. 5. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways] In lubricitates vel tortuositates, such as pretend piety to their worldly and wicked designs and dealings; dissemblers, warpers, versuti et vafri, who would defraud God of heaven if they could tell how.

The Lord shall lead them forth] Quantumvis reluctantes, as cattle led to the slaughter; or malefactors to execution. Transfugas arboribus suspendunt, they hang up fugitives, saith Tacitus concerning the Germans; there is martial law for such, #Heb 10:38,39, as there is for scoundrels among us.

With the workers of iniquity] They shall to hell with the rest of the wicked crew, notwithstanding their professions and pretences of piety, whereunto they are perfect strangers; hypocrites are the freeholders of hell, and other evil persons are, as it were, tenants to them; shall have their part with them, #Mt 24:51.

But peace shall be upon Israel] Peace shall be upon them and mercy, #Ga 6:16. "The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies, neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid," #Zep 3:13.

Chapter 126

Ver. 1. When the Lord turned again] viz. From Babylon; and therefore that which some translations have in the title, A psalm of David (which is not in the Hebrew) would be left out; for it seemeth to have been penned by Ezra, or some prophet of his time.

We were like them that dream] Tanta fuit liberationis admirabilitas, so admirable was the deliverance, that we could hardly believe it; as fearing the certainty, and yet hoping the truth. Such a passion was upon Peter when enlarged by the angel, #Ac 12:7-11; upon the Grecians when set free by Flaminius, the Roman general; Maius gaudium fuit, saith the historian, quam quod universum homines caperent, &c., their joy was too large for their hearts, they scarcely believed their own ears when the crier proclaimed their liberty, but had him say over that sweet word liberty again; they also looked upon one another with wonderment, velut somnii vanam speciem, saith Livy. And such an ecstasy is the new convert in; as was Cyprian, Austin, Bernard; witness their own writings (lib. xxxiii., Cyp. Epist. lib. i., Aug. Confes. lib. vi. cap. 12, Gosr. in Vit. Bernard).

Ver. 2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter] We laughed amain, and shrilled or shouted aloud, when we found that it was υπαρ non οναρ, as Plato speaketh, not a dream, but a done thing, which (before) we held optabile potius quam opinabile, incredible altogether.

Then said they among the heathen] They who were wont to jeer us, #Ps 137:3. God can soon alter the case of his afflicted people. See #Es 8:17, {See Trapp on "Es 8:17"}

The Lord hath done great things] Magnifica :so, Vere magnus est Deus Christianorum, the God of the Christians is a great God indeed, said Calocerius, a heathen, observing his works done for his people.

Ver. 3. The Lord hath done great things] q.d. It is a shame, then, for us not to say so, much more; and, by a holy avarice, to take the praises out of their mouths, who are no sharers in it, but spectators only. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, speaking good of his name.

Ver. 4. Turn again our captivity, O Lord] Perfect what thou hast so happily begun for us.

As the streams in the south] i.e. Miraculously, say some, as if thou shouldest cause rivers to run in dry and desert places; or comfortably, as if thou shouldest refresh such hot parts with plenty of water. Or, suddenly. The south is a dry country, where are few springs, but oft land floods, caused by the showers of heaven. The Jews at this day pray for a speedy rebuilding of their temple. They cry all together, Templum tuum brevi, valde cito, valde cito, in diebus nostris citissime nunc aedifica, Templum tuum brevi, that is, Build thy temple quickly, very quickly, in our days, &c. Should not we be as earnest for the mystical temple (Buxt. de Synag. Jud. cap. 13).

Ver. 5. They that sow in tears] Whether ministers (as some restrain the sense), who serve the Lord with many tears and temptations, #Ac 20:19, but see little fruit; or others, who sow in the tears of affliction and compunction for sin, the cause thereof; his foecunda sine dubio messis indulgentiae orietur, saith Arnobius, these shall certainly reap in joy pardon of sin, #Isa 1:16, power against it (these troubled waters cured the soul, as the tears of vine branches cure the leprosy), increase of grace. The lily is sown in her own tears, saith Pliny; so is grace: the olive is most fruitful when it most distilleth; so here, These April showers bring on May flowers, and make the heart to be like a watered garden, besides an access of glory; for they that weep with men shall laugh with angels; their tears shall be turned into triumphs, their sadness into gladness, their sighing into singing, their musing into music, &c. See #Mt 5:4. This the proto-martyr foresaw, and therefore (Bernbus de St Stephano),

Ibat ovans animis, et spe sua damna levabat.

Ver. 6. He that goeth forth and weepeth] Heb. he that going goeth, &c., which Luther interpreteth of temptations continued, and mutually succeeding one another; taking their turns upon a poor soul.

And weepeth] Going and weeping, and asking the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward, #Jer 50:4,5. Some faces appear most orientally beautiful when most instamped with sorrow.

Bearing precious seed] Such as are hope and faith in the truth of God’s promises. Some render it seed of acquisition, such as the poor seeds man hath got, prece et precio, by praying and paying dear for it. Some, bearing a seedbasket, or seed-lop, canistrum (Leo Judae Bucer).

Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing] Only he must have patience, #Jas 5:7.

Bringing his sheaves with him] Or, after so me, their handfulls, even gripes of gladness, as Philpot the martyr rendereth it. Then shall Abraham, the good mower, saith another, bind us up into sheaves as pure corn; and fill his bosom full with us; carrying us into the Lord’s barn, to make a joyful harvest in heaven.

A Sony of degrees for Solomon] As #Ps 72:1. Penned by David not long before his death, and left his son Solomon, to teach him that nothing can be gotten or kept, no, not children begotten, but by God’s blessing. This last was a fit lesson for Solomon, who, by so many wives and concubines, left but one only son that we read of, and him none of the wisest. Some render it, A Song of degrees of Solomon, making him the penman of it; yea, Origen from this inscription entitleth Solomon to all the songs of degrees; but that is not likely (Lib. 3, περι αρχων, cap. 1).

Chapter 127

Ver. 1. Except the Lord build the house] Not the fabric only, but the family and the government thereof; there is no good to be done if God set not to his fiat, and say, Let it be done; if he blast or not bless men’s endeavours and policies, they are all but arena sine calce, sand without lime, they will not hang together, but, like untempered mortar, fail asunder. There is a curse upon such as idolize themselves, and kiss their own hands, though they be industrious, Jehoiakim, for instance, #Jer 22:24-30 \u0960 αρ ̀+\u0966 ι0\u0955 ι0 \u0960 αρ \u0955 ι640 \u0966 ι-320 Θεου διδοντος μηδεν ισχυει φθονος\u0960 αρ \u0955 ι640 \u0966 ι-320 Και μη διδοντος μηδεν ισχυει πονος (Naz.).

Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman] Whether civil or military, frustra nititur, qui Deo non innititur. Politicians stand on their own heads, like children, and shake their heels against heaven, but all in vain. Soldiers, some of them, are ready to say, with Ajax, I acknowledge no God but my sword, &c. Such shall be surely befooled and confuted; and God’s blessing declared to be all in all.

Ver. 2. It is vain for you to rise up early] Diluculantes surgere, tardantes sedere, to toil and moil {a} in the world. It were to be wished that this Nisi, nisi, frustra, frustra, were ever sounding in the ears of worldlings, who will needs act upon their own principles; "God is not in all their thoughts."

To eat the bread of sorrows] i.e. Hardly gotten, or that men can scarce beteem themselves, they are so miserable and parsimonious; or, bread eaten with carefulness, as #Eze 12:19: certainly men may sooner by their care add a furlong to their sorrow than a cubit to their comfort.

For so he giveth his beloved sleep] Dilecto sue, to each of his beloved ones; not without an allusion to Solomon’s other name, Jedidiah, God’s darling. To these he giveth sleep, extraordinary, quiet, refreshing sleep ( אנשׁ with an Aleph quiescent, which is not usual), that is, he giveth wealth without labour, as to others labour without wealth, saith Kimchi; the world comes tumbling in upon them, as we say, they have it quasi per somnium, as towns were said to come into Timotheus’s toils while he slept (Plut.); without anxiety, they break not their sleep for the matter, but live by faith, and make a good living of it too, Omnia necessaria benignissime Dominus quasi per iocum largitur (Beza).

{a} To make oneself wet and muddy; to wallow in mire

Ver. 3. Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord] This Solomon could not but be sensible of. See the title of this psalm; especially, if by children are meant good children, as, #Pr 18:22, by a wife is meant a good wife. And here the poor man that hath no inheritance otherwise hath one from the Lord; for such are oft full of children; neither may he wish, as one graceless man did, that God would keep such his blessings to himself, for he had too many of them.

Is his reward] That is, his free gift; and God will be their exceeding great reward, if, by their parents’ prayer and good education, they prove towardly, as the Lord’s heritage, and as arrows in the hand, &c.

Ver. 4. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man] Heb. of a giant, who shooteth them with a courage, and is cunning at it. As clean and well kept arrows. This similitude importeth that children must have more in them than nature; for arrows are no arrows by growth, but by art; so they must be such children, the knottiness of whose nature is refined and reformed, and made smooth by grace; and then they are cared for. As, if they prove otherwise, they are a singular heartbreak to their poor parents, who are seen to sit under Elijah’s juniper, wishing for death, and saying, with Moses, #Nu 11:14,15, I am not able to bear all this sore affliction, "because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness."

So are children of the youth] Or, young sons, or lads, springlings, striplings, vegetous and vigorous, able to be a guard to their aged parents against the children of violence, who seek to press in upon them at the door, as the Sodomites dealt by righteous Lot, {see #Ps 127:5} besides the service they may do to the commonwealth (as did the Horatii and Curiatii) by their impetus heroici, valour and virtue.

Ver. 5. Happy is the man that hath his quiver] That is, his house, full of them, so they be good children; for else to be childless is a mercy, it is ευτυχης ατυχια, a blessed misery, saith Euripides; and Aristotle concludeth that πολυγονια is no blessing, unless it be ευγενεια, that is, to have a numerous issue, unless they be virtuous.

They shall not be ashamed] Neither father nor children, se enim illi mutuo muniunt ac firmant, they help each other.

But they shall speak with the enemies] Periment, saith Tremellius, they shall foil them, and nonsuit them.

Chapter 128

Ver. 1. Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord] This psalm is fitly subjoined to the former, and it is λογος επιθαλαμιος, a kind of wedding sermon, written for the instruction and comfort of married couples, and showing that Coniugium humanae est divina Academia vitae. And it is to be observed that here all men are spoken to as wedded; because this is the ordinary estate of most people. See #1Co 7:1,2. At this day every Jew is bound to marry about eighteen years of age, or before twenty.; else he is accounted as one that liveth in sin; and how the Popish clergy, professing continence, have turned all places into so many Sodoms, who knoweth not?

That walketh in his ways] The true reverential fear of God will easily form the heart to a right obedience. They that fear the Lord will keep his covenant, #Ps 103:13,18, and therefore was the law delivered at first in that terrible manner.

Ver. 2. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands] That is, thou shalt reap and receive the sweet of thy sweat, whether it be of the brow or of the brain, according to the kind of thy calling. And although thou be forced to live by the labour of thine hands (whence man’s life is called the life of his hands, #Isa 57:10), yet that shall be no hindrance to thy happiness, but a furtherance of thine account.

Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee] The Chaldee thus expoundeth it, Happy thou in this world; and good shall it be unto thee in the world to come.

Ver. 3. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine] Full of bunches and clusters of rich ripe grapes; so she of children, and those virtuous; the little ones hanging on her breasts, as grapes on the vine; the elder as olive plants, straight, green, fresh, and flourishing, #Ps 52:8, legitimate also; as the olive admitteth no other graft. Indeed, the olive set into the vine yieldeth both grapes and olives, whereby is represented the natural affection that is between the mother and her children. The vine and the olive are two of the best fruits; the one for cheering the heart, the other for clearing the face, #Ps 104:15; the one for sweetness, the other for fatness, #Jud 9:13, both together implying that a great part of a man’s temporal happiness consisteth in having a good wife and children. It is said of Sulla that he had been happy had he never been so married, Si non habuissem uxorem; and Augustus’ wish was (but all too late), Utinam aut caelebs vixissem, aut orbus periissem, Oh that I had either lived single or died childless (Suetonius).

By the sides of thine house] Where vines are usually planted, that they may have the benefit of the sun. The modest wife is domiporta, found at home, as Sarah in the tent; not so the harlot, #Pr 7:12.

Thy children like olive plants] See the note before on this verse.

Round about thy table] Making a most delectable enclosure.

Ver. 4. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed, &c.] "Behold," and "that thus"; q.d. Know it for a truth, and rest assured of the blessedness of married couples, whatsoever the devil and his agents (speaking basely of marriage) suggest to the contrary, so be it they fear the Lord, for that is it that sweeteneth and sanctifieth all estates of life whatsoever.

Ver. 5. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion] viz. With spiritual benedictions, #Eph 1:3, and these are far better than all other that heaven and earth afford, #Ps 134:3.

And thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem] i.e. The prosperity of the Church, without which all other comforts are to a good soul but as so many Ichabods; a good Christian enjoys them not, but is even sick at heart of the afflictions of Joseph, #Am 6:6.

Ver. 6. Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children] A faithfid man shall abound with blessings, #Pr 28:20, he shall have all that heart can wish or need require.

And peace upon Israel] Procured in part by thy piety and prayers.

Chapter 129

Ver. 1. Many a time] Or, much, and long.

Have they] i.e. The persecutors that deserve not a name. The rich man is not named (as Lazarus is), because not worthy, #Lu 16:19. They shall be written in the earth, #Jer 17:13.

Afflictcted me] i.e. The whole community of saints; spoken of here in the singular, for their, 1. unity; 2. paucity.

From my youth] The first that ever died, died for religion; so early came martyrdom into the world.

May Israel now say] Who yet are promised peace, #Ps 128:6; but so was Josiah, and yet he died in battle, #2Ch 34:28. But the very God of peace had sanctifed him throughout, and so altered the property of his affliction, that it was subservient to his salvation.

Ver. 2. Many a time, &c.] Anadiplosis ad exaggerationem, q.d. They have done it and done it again, but could never achieve their design, viz. to supplant and eradicate me; which might not be. Oppugnarunt (non expugnarunt, however the Vulgate so rendereth here). The Church is invincible. Athens took upon her of old to be so; and Venice alate boasteth the like; but time hath confuted the one, and may soon do the other; when the Church shall stand firm, because founded on a rock. More truly may it be said of it than it was once of Troy,

Victa tamen vinces, eversaque Troia resurges:

Obruet hostiles illa ruina domes

(Ovid. de Fast.).

Ver. 3. The plowers plowed upon my back] Which was never without some cross upon it, yea, some plough passing over it. The Church is God’s husbandry; and he will be sure to plough his several, whatever becometh of the wild waste. She is his threshingfloor, #Isa 21:10, and hath but little rest or respite. Enemies are flails to thresh off our husks, files to brighten our graces, ploughs and harrows, without which we should bear but a very thin crop. God’s people do γεωργειν τας συμφορας, sow the seed of prayer in the long furrows which those ploughers made on their backs; like as the Jews in their feasts break their glasses, as Jerusalem was broken.

They made long their furrows] Heb. furrow; as if there were totum pro vulnere corpus. Here, haply, the psalmist alludeth to those exquisite torments whereunto many of the martyrs were put, sulcati fidiculis.

Ver. 4. The Lord is righteous] That is a ruled case, and must be held for a certain truth, whatever we are, or our persecutors.

He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked] That is, their harness, their plough traces ( nam continuatur tropus rusticus), so that the plough is loose and the horses at liberty; all their forces and designs are broken.

Ver. 5. Let them all be confounded, &c.] And if those that hate Zion, how much more those that hurt her with their virulent tongues or violent hands!

Ver. 6. Let them be as the grass, &c.] They are cursed with a witness whom the Holy Ghost thus curseth in such an emphatic manner, in such exquisite terms.

Ver. 7. Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand] As holding it not worth gathering in. Wicked men are useless creatures; as Stratonicus, in Athenaeus, saith, that the hill Haemus was for eight months in the year very cold, and for the other four it was winter.

Ver. 8. Neither do they which go by say, &c.] As they use to do to harvestmen, #Ru 2. Christianity is no enemy to courtesy; yet in some cases saith not, God speed, #3Jo 10.

Chapter 130

Ver. 1. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee] i.e. Ex portis ipsis desperationis, from the very bosom and bottom of despair, caused through deepest sense of sin and fear of wrath. One deep calleth to another, the depth of misery to the depth of mercy. Basil and Beza interpret it, Ex intimis cordis penetralibus, from the bottom of my heart, with all earnestness and humility. He that is in the low pits and caves of the earth seeth the stars in the firmament; so he who is most low and lowly seeth most of God, and is in best case to call upon him. As spices smell best when beaten, and as frankincense maxime fragrat cum flagrat, is most odoriferous when cast into the fire; so do God’s afflicted pray best when at the greatest under, #Isa 19:22 26:16 27:6. Luther, when he was buffeted by the devil at Coburg, and in great affliction, said to those about him, Venite, in contemptum diaboli Psalmum, de profundis, quatuor vocibus cantemus, Come, let us sing that psalm, "Out of the depths," &c., in derision of the devil (Joh. Manl. loc. com. 43). And surely this psalm is a treasury of great comfort to all in distress (reckoned, therefore, of old among the seven penitentials), and is, therefore, sacrilegiously by the Papists taken away from the living and applied only to the dead; for no other reason, I think, saith Beza, but because it beginneth with "Out of the depths have I cried"; a poor ground for purgatory, or for praying for the souls that are there, as Bellarmine makes it.

Ver. 2. Lord, hear my voice] Precum exauditio identidem est precanda, Audience must be begged again and again; and if he once prepare our heart it is sure that he will cause his ear to hear, #Ps 10:17; as when we bid our children ask this or that of us, it is because we mean to give it them.

Ver. 3. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities] This and the next verse contains, saith one, the sum of all the Scriptures. Twice he here nameth the Lord, as desirous to take hold of him with both his hands. Extremity of justice he deprecateth; he would not be dealt with in rigour and rage. Extrema, fateor; commeritus sum, Deus; Quid enim aliud dixero? It is confessed I have deserved the extremity of thy fury; but yet let me talk with thee, {as #Jer 12:1} or reason the case.

O Lord, who shall stand?] Stand in judgment, as #Ps 1:5, and not fall under the weight of thy just wrath, which burneth as low as hell itself? How can any one escape the damnation of hell, which is the just hire of the least sin, #Ro 6:23; and the best man’s life is fuller of sins than the firmament is of stars, or the furnace of sparks? Hence that of an ancient, Vae hominum vitae, quantumvis laudabili, si, remota misericordia, iudicetur, Woe to the best man alive should he be strictly dealt with! surely if his faults were but written in his forehead it would make him pull his hat over his eyes.

Ver. 4. But there is forgiveness with thee] This holds head above water, that we have to do with a forgiving God, #Ne 9:31; none like him for that, #Mic 7:18; for he doth it naturally, #Ex 34:6; abundantly, #Isa 55:7; constantly, as here; there is (still is) forgiveness and propitiation with God: so #Joh 1:27, the Lamb of God doth take away the sins of the world; it is a perpetual act, and should be as a perpetual picture in our hearts.

That thou mayest be feared] i.e. Sought unto and served. It is a speech like that, #Ps 65:2, "O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come." If there were not forgiveness with God, no man would worship him from his heart, but fly from him as from a tyrant; but a promise of pardon from a faithful God maketh men to put themselves into the hands of justice, in hope of mercy. Mr Perkins expoundeth the words thus, In mercy thou pardonest the sins of some, that thou mightest have some on earth to worship thee.

Ver. 5. I wait for the Lord] I wait, and wait, viz. for deliverance out of misery, #Ps 130:1, being assured of pardoning mercy. Feri, Domine, feri; a peccatis enim absolutus sum, said Luther, Strike, Lord, while thou wilt, so long as my sins are forgiven; I can be of good comfort; I can wait, or want for a need.

And in his word] viz. Of promise, that ground of hope unfailable, #Ro 5:5; of faith unfeigned, #1Ti 1:5.

Ver. 6. My soul waiteth for the Lord] Or, watcheth for the Lord, Heb. my soul to the Lord, an ecliptical, concise speech, importing strong affection, as doth also the following reduplication, Prae custodibus ad mane, prae custodibus ad mane.

I say, more than they] Or, more than they that watch for the morning wait for the morning; wherein they may sleep, which by night they might not do.

Ver. 7. Let Israel hope in the Lord] Hope and yet fear, as #Ps 130:4 (with a filial fear); fear, and yet hope.

Plenteous redemption] Are our sins great? with God there is mercy, matchless mercy. Are our sins many? with God is plenteous redemption, multa redemptio; he will multiply pardons as we multiply sins, #Isa 55:7.

Ver. 8. And he shall redeem Israel] By the value and virtue of Christ’s death, by his merit and Spirit, #1Co 6:11.

Chapter 131

Ver. 1. Lord, my heart is not haughty] Though anointed and appointed by thee to the kingdom; yet I have not ambitiously aspired unto it, by seeking Saul’s death, as his flatters persuaded him; nor do I now, being possessed of it, proudly domineer (as is the manner of most potentates) and tyrannize over my poor subjects; but with all modesty and humility (not minding high things) I do condescend to them of low estate, #Ro 12:16. Now, in alto positum non altum sapere, difficile est, et omnino inusitatum; sed quanto inusitatius, tanto gloriosius (Bucholc.). It is both hard and happy not to be puffed up with prosperity and preferment. Vespasian is said to have been the only one that was made better by being made emperor.

Nor mine eyes lofty] Pride sitteth and shows itself in the eyes as soon as in any part. Ut speculum oculus est artis, ita oculus est naturae speculum.

Neither do I exercise myself in great matters] Heb. I walk not; maneo intra metas, I keep within my circle, within the compass of my calling; not troubling myself and others by my ambitious projects and practices, as Cleon did, Alcibiades, Caesar Borgia, and others, ambitionists.

Or in things too high for me] Heb. wonderful; high and hidden things, that pass my apprehension, and which it behoveth me, mirari potius quam rimari, to admire rather than to pry into. Arcana Dei sunt Area Dei. The Bethshemites paid dear for peeping into the ark. Phaeton is feigned by the poets to have perished by taking upon him to rule the chariot of the sun; and Bellerophon, by seeking to fly up to heaven upon his Pegasus, to see what Jupiter did there (Horat. lib. 4, Od. 11).

Terret ambustus Phaeton avaras

Spes; et exemplum grave praebet ales

Pegasus, terrenum equitem gravatus

Bellerophontem.

Ver. 2. Surely I have behaved] Heb. if I have not, &c., a deep asseveration, such as hath the force of an oath, Si non composui et sedavi.

And quieted myself] Heb. stilled or made silent my soul; chiding it when distempered or noiseful, as the mother doth her weanling.

As a child that is weaned of his mother] Who neither thinketh great things of himself nor seeketh great things for himself; but is lowly and fellowly, #Mt 18:1, innocent and unaware, taking what his mother giveth him, and resting in her love.

My soul is even as a weaned child] Who will not be drawn to suck again, though never so fair and full strutting a breast. So not David, the world’s dugs.

Ver. 3. Let Israel hope] See #Ps 130:7.

Chapter 132

Ver. 1. Lord, remember David] Origen holdeth Solomon to have been penman of all these songs of degrees, as hath been before noted. But as that is not likely (see the titles of #Ps 122:1 124:1 131:1), so divers interpreters conceive this to be his; because much of it is the same with that prayer he made at the dedication of the temple, #2Ch 6:16,14,42. Here, then, he prayeth God to remember David, that is (not his merits and suffrages, as the monks would have it, but), the promises made unto him (for the which Solomon praised God as well as for the performance to himself, #2Ch 6:10), and his singular solicitude about the house and worship of God, which was so great, as that it affected, yea, afflicted his spirit; whence it followeth here, "and all his afflictions"; for which it is, #2Ch 6:42, the mercies or kindness of David, Ita ut dormire non potuerit (Kimchi.)

Ver. 2. How he sware unto the Lord] Out of the abundance of his affections, #1Ch 29:3, {see #Ps 119:106} he solemnly took God to witness; and this he did, say the Rabbis, at that time when he saw the punishing angel, and was terrified.

And vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob] Jacob is mentioned, say the Hebrews, Quia primo vovit. because he first vowed to God, #Ge 28:20, whence he is called, Pater votorum, the Father of vows (Kimchi, Aben Ezra).

Ver. 3. Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house] i.e. Of my newly built house, #1Ch 15:1 2Sa 1:2. Those in Malachi were not so well minded, #Ps 1:4.

Ver. 4. I will not give sleep to mine eyes] viz. With any good content; or, more than needs must.

Ver. 5. Until I find out a place for the Lord] The Jewish doctors tell us, that as the earth is in the middle of the world, so is Judea in the middle of the earth, Jerusalem in the middle of Judea, the temple in the middle of Jerusalem, and the ark in the middle of the temple.

An habitation] Heb. habitations; haply because the temple consisted of three parts, or partitions.

Ver. 6. Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah] At Bethlehem Ephratah, David’s birth place, there we heard of it long since by our progenitors. "Of it," that is, of the ark, saith Chrysostom; of God’s resting place, saith Austin; of the place where Christ should be born, saith Jerome; where the temple should be set, saith Aben Ezra; where the Shechinah, or Divine presence should reside, say other Rabbis, Dicit eam in foemin, i.e. diviuam praesentiam (R. Arama).

We found it in the fields of the wood] At Jerusalem, say some; or at Kirjathjearim, as others will have it. The Chaldee interpreteth it of the wood of Libanus; the place, saith he, where the patriarchs worshipped.

Ver. 7. We will go into his tabernacles] We will cheerfully and unanimously frequent his public worship, in the place he hath pitched upon (called his gates, and his courts, #Ps 100:4), saying as #Ps 132:8,9,10: επου τω θεω, follow God, was the rule among the very heathens.

We will worship at his footstool] i.e. At his ark, where he uttered oracles and wrought miracles, &c., which yet was but his footstool, to lift his people heavenward, Christward, who was the truth of that type, the ark, the mercy seat.

Ver. 8. Arise, O Lord, into thy rest] The place of thy rest; for the ark was transportative till settled in Solomon’s temple; so, till we come to heaven, we are in continual motion.

Thou, and the ark of thy strength] The ark in the temple was the chiefest evidence of God’s presence, and the most principal type of Christ, in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwelleth bodily. The word is aron, which is put for a coffin, coffer, or chest, #Ge 50:26 2Ki 12:9. This showeth, that all the counsels of God, all the love and favour of God, all that God accounteth precious, are treasured up in Christ, #Col 2:3 1:13 Isa 42:1 Heb 10:12.

Ver. 9. Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness] i.e. With salvation, as #Ps 132:16. No surer sign of God’s gracious presence with a people, than a powerful ministry, clothed with inward purity and holiness, represented by the holy garments.

And let thy saints shout for joy] i.e. Those that are converted by such a ministry, let those that are justified by faith have peace with God, and joy unspeakable, full of glory.

Ver. 10. For thy servant David’s sake] For thy covenant’s sake made with him, and for thy Christ’s sake, who is oft called David, as #Ho 3:5, so for the Lord’s sake, #Da 9:17.

Turn not away the face of thine anointed] Of thy Christ; defer not his coming, or deny not my request, as #1Ki 2:16,17,20.

Ver. 11. The Lord hath sworn in truth] The eternity of Israel cannot lie, #1Sa 15:29, yet tendering our infirmity, he sweareth and sealeth to us.

Of the fruit of thy body] David was excellent at making the utmost of a promise, at pressing and oppressing it, till he had expressed the sweetness out of it, #Isa 66:11. See how he improveth God’s promise, and worketh upon it, #1Ch 17:23-26. Solomon had learned to do the like.

Ver. 12. If thy children will keep my covenant] Although God’s covenant is free, yet it is delivered under certain conditions on our part to be observed; which are as an oar in a boat, or stern in a ship, turning it this way or that, &c.

For evermore] For a long season; and Christ, for all eternity.

Ver. 13. For the Lord hath chosen Zion] He chose it for his love; and loved it for his choice.

Ver. 14. This is my rest for ever] It was so because God was pleased to make it so; he rested in his love; he would seek no farther, #Zep 3:17.

For I have desired it] This alone made the difference, as it also did between Aaron’s rod and the rest that were laid with it.

Ver. 15. I will abundantly bless her provision] Her stock and her store; so that she shall not want necessaries, which yet she shall hunt for (that is, labour for), as the Hebrew word importeth; and know how she comes by; Viatico eius affatim benedicam (Trem.): therefore it is added,

I will satisfy her poor with bread] Dainties I will not promise them; a sufficiency, but not a superfluity; poor they may be, but not destitute; bread they shall have, and of that, God’s plenty, as they say; enough to bring them to their Father’s house, where is bread enough. Let not, therefore, the poor Israelite fear to bring his offerings, or to disfurnish himself for God’s worship, &c.

Ver. 16. I will also clothe her priests, &c.] So that they shall save themselves and those that hear them, #1Ti 4:16. Thus God answereth his people’s prayers both for temporals and spirituals; see #Ps 132:9, and that with an overplus of comfort; they shall shout aloud.

Ver. 17. There will I make the horn of David to bud] A metaphor from those living creatures, quorum ramosa sunt cornua, which have snags in their heads (as deer have), which are unto them instead of boughs. For "horn," some read beam of David. Confer #Lu 1:78.

I have ordained a lamp] i.e. A successor (— cui lampada tradat), and that a glorious one at length, Christ, who is αυτοφως, light essential, #Joh 12:46. Of Ascanius the son of Aeneas, and likewise of Tullus Hostilius, it is reported, that light flames were seen about their heads when they lay in their cradles; and that thereby was foresignified that they should be kings.

Ver. 18. His enemies will I clothe with shame] Shame shall be the promotion of all such fools as set against Christ and his people; yea, they shall be clothed with it; so that it shall be conspicuous to all men.

But upon himself shall his crown flourish] His royal diadem, whereby he is separated (Nezer) and distinguished from other men. Alexander dropped his diadem once into the water, and because he who fetched it out, put it on his own head while he swam out with it, he cut off his head. Our Edward IV hanged one for saying he would make his son owner of the crown; though he only meant his own house (having a crown for the sign) in Cheapside.

Chapter 133

Ver. 1. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is] This David is thought to have said to the people, when, after eight years’ unnatural war, they came together to Hebron, to anoint him king over all Israel, #2Sa 5:1-5 Behold, be affected with that happiness of yours which no tongue can utter. Accipe quod sentitur antequam discitur, as Cyprian saith in another case.

How good and how pleasant] Precious and profitable, sweet and delectable, λιπαρον και λαμτρον, dainty and goodly, as #Re 18:14. Communion of saints is the next happiness upon earth to communion with God.

For brethren] Whether by place, race; or grace, which last is the strongest tie; and should cause such a harmony of hearts as might resemble that concord and concent that shall be in heaven. The Thebans in their armies had a band of men they called the holy band; consisting of such only as were joined together in the bonds of love, as would live and die together; these they made great account of, and esteemed the strength of their armies, ιερος λοχος εξ εραστων και ερωμενων (Athenaeus, lib. 3).

To dwell together] Heb. even together, that is, even as God dwelleth with them, #Ps 132:13,14, to be "kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love," #Ro 12:10, to be as those primitive Christians were, #Ac 2:24-27, of one heart and of one soul. The number of two hath by the heathens been accounted accursed, because it was the first that departed from unity.

Ver. 2. It is like the precious ointment] This similitude setteth forth the pleasure and amenity of it; as the other (from the dew) the profit and commodity. Sic miscnit utile dulci. This ointment was most rich (as made up of the chiefest spices, #Ex 30), and very fragrant, refreshing the senses, not of Aaron oaly, but of all about him; so doth Christian unity and amity (that "fruit of the Spirit," #Ga 5:22) far beyond that common friendship so highly extolled by Cicero, and other heathens; and is therefore here fitly compared to that nonsuch odoriferous ointment.

Upon the head, that ran down upon the beard] So the Spirit of grace, that oil of gladness, #Ps 45:7, poured out abundantly, even to a redundancy, upon Christ the Head, runneth down upon all the members of his body mystical, even to the meanest, so that they have grace for grace.

Ver. 3. As the dew of Hermon] Moisteneth and maketh fertile the country of Bashan. Hermon is a very high hill ever covered with snow; whence ariseth a perpetual vapour, the original and fountain of dew, to all Jewry.

And as the dew that descended] The spiritual dew dispensed from God in Sion, where he is sincerely served.

For there the Lord commanded the blessing] A powerful expression, highly commending brotherly love as a complexive blessing and such as accompanieth salvation.

Chapter 134

Ver. 1. Behold, bless ye the Lord] This short psalm (the last of the fifteen graduals) is breve Sacerdotum speculum, saith an expositor; a mirror for ministers, who are first excited by a Behold, as by the sounding of a trumpet, or the ringing of a sermon bell. And, secondly, exhorted to praise God, and to pray unto him; whereunto if we add their teaching of Jacob God’s judgments, whereof Moses mindeth them, #De 33:10, what more can be required of Archippus, to the fulfilling of his ministry? and if he be slack, he must be told of it, #Col 4:17, yet with all due respect and reverence to his office, #1Ti 5:1. And it were far better, if they would rouse up themselves with the wakeful cock, and not keep sleepy sentry in the sanctuary.

All ye servants of the Lord] Ye priests and Levites, who are God’s servants, but of a more than ordinary alloy; servants of noblest employmeat about him. Such are all faithful ministers; each of them may say with Paul, #Ac 27:23, "Whose I am, and whom I serve."

Which by night stand in the house of the Lord] Keeping watch and ward there in your turns, #Nu 18:1,2, &c.; #1Ch 9:33. The Rabbis say, that the high-priest only sat in the sanctuary (as did Eli, #1Sa 1), the rest stood, as ready prest to do their office.

Ver. 2. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary] Or, Lift up holy hands, as #1Ti 2:8. One readeth it, out of the Hebrew, Lift up your hands, sanctuary, that is, ye sanctuary men, continens pro contento. Hearts and hands must both up to heaven, #La 3:41, and God be glorified both with spirits and bodies, which are the Lord’s, #1Co 6:20.

And bless the Lord] Like so many earthly angels; and as if ye were in heaven already, say,

Ver. 3. The Lord that made heaven and earth] And therefore hath the blessings of both lives in his hand to bestow. See #Nu 6:24.

Bless thee out of Zion] They are blessings indeed that come out of Zion; choice, peculiar blessings, even above any that come out of heaven and earth. Compare #Ps 128:5, and the promise, #Ex 20:24, In all places where I put the memory of my name I will come unto thee and bless thee.

Chapter 135

Ver. 1. Praise ye the Lord, Praise ye] Praise, praise, praise. When duties are thus inculcated it noteth the necessity and excellence thereof; together with our dulness and backwardness thereunto.

O ye servants of the Lord] See #Ps 134:1.

Ver. 2. Ye that stand in the house] See #Ps 134:1.

In the courts] Where the people also had a place, #2Ch 4:9, and are required to bear a part in this heavenly Hallelujah.

Ver. 3. Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good] sc. Originally, transcendently, effectively; he is good and doeth good, #Ps 119:68, and is therefore to be praised with mind, mouth, and practice.

For it is pleasant] An angelical exercise, and, to the spiritually minded man, very delicious. To others, indeed, who have no true notion of God but as of an enemy, it is but as music at funerals, or as the trumpet before a judge, no comfort to the mourning wife, or guilty prisoner.

Ver. 4. For the Lord hath chosen] God’s distinguishing grace should make his elect lift up many a humble, joyful, and thankful heart to him.

And Israel for his peculiar treasure] Such as he maketh more reckoning of than of all the world besides. The Hebrew word here rendered peculiar treasure, seemeth to signify a jewel made up of three precious stones, in the form of a triangle, Segullah inde dici Segol, grammatici volunt. The saints are God’s jewels, #Mal 3:17, his ornament, yea, the beauty of his ornament, and that set in majesty, #Eze 7:20, his royal diadem, #Isa 62:3.

Ver. 5. For I know that the Lord is great] As well as good, #Ps 135:3. This I believe and know, {#Joh 6:69} saith the psalmist; and do therefore make it my practice to praise him.

And that our Lord is above all gods] Whether they be so deputed, as magistrates, or reputed, as idols.

Ver. 6. Whatsoever the Lord pleased] This the heathens did never seriously affirm of any their dunghill deities; sure it is that none of them could say, I know it to be so. De diis utrum sint, non ausim affirmare, said one of their wise men.

Ver. 7. He causeth the vapours] Not Jupiter, but Jehovah. {See #Jer 10:13} He is the right Nubicoga, maker of the meteors, whether fiery, airy, or watery, #Job 26:8,9 28:26,27 37:11,15,16 38:9. See the notes there.

He maketh lightnings for the rain] Or, with the rain, which is very strange, viz. that fire and water should mingle, and hard stones come out of the midst of thin vapours.

He bringeth the wind out of his treasuries] Or, coffers, storehouses, where he holdeth them close prisoners during his pleasure. This the philosopher knew not, and thence it is that they are of so diverse in their opinions about the winds. See #Job 36:27,28 37:11,15,16 throughout.

Ver. 8. Who smote the firstborn of Egypt] And thereby roused up that sturdy rebel Pharaoh, who began now to open his eyes, as they say the blind mole doth when the pangs of death are upon him; and to stretch out himself, as the crooked serpent doth when deadly wounded.

Ver. 9. Who sent tokens and wonders] Vocal wonders, #Ex 4:8, to be as so many warning pieces.

Ver. 10. Who smote great nations] Who, by their great sins, had greatly polluted their land; and filled it with filth from one end to another, #Ezr 9:11.

And slew mighty kings] Heb. bony, big, massive fellows, quasi ossatos, sive torosos, as the word signifieth.

Ver. 11. Sihon king of the Amorites] A giant like Cyclops.

And Og king of Bashan] Of whom the Jews fable, that, being one of the antediluvian giants, he escaped the flood, by riding astride upon the ark.

Ver. 12. And gave their land for an heritage] Which he might well do, as being the true proprietary and paramount.

Ver. 13. Thy name, O Lord, &c.] Else, O nos ingratos!

Ver. 14. For the Lord will judge his people] Iudicabit, id est vindicabit, he will preserve them, and provide for their welfare.

And he will repent himself] This is mutatio rei non Dei, effectus non affectus. Some render it, He will be propitious; others, He will take comfort in his servants. See #Jud 10:16.

Ver. 15. The idols of the heathen] See #Ps 115:4-6, &c.

Ver. 16. The idols of the heathen] See #Ps 115:4-6, &c.

Ver. 17. Neither is there any breath in their mouths] If they utter oracles, it was the devil in them, and by them. As for those statues of Daedalus which are said to have moved, spoken, and run away if they were not tied to a place, &c., it is either a fiction, or else to be attributed to causes external and artificial, as quicksilver, &c. (Aristot.; Diod.; Sic.; Plato).

Ver. 18. They that make them, &c.] See #Ps 115:8.

Ver. 19. Bless the Lord] And not an idol, #Isa 66:3, as the Philistines did their Dagon; and as Papists still do their male and female saints.

Ver. 20. Ye that fear the Lord] Ye devout Proselytes.

Ver. 21. Blessed be the Lord out of Zion] Therehence he blesseth, #Ps 134:3, and there he is to be blessed.

Which dwelleth at Jerusalem] That was the seat of his royal residence, per inhabitationis gratiam, saith Austin, by the presence of his grace; who, by his essence and power, is everywhere.

Enter, prmsenter, Deus hic et ubique potenter.

Chapter 136

Ver. 1. O give thanks unto the Lord] This psalm is by the Jews called Hillel gadol, the great gratulatory. See #Ps 106:1 107:1 118:1.

For his mercy endureth for ever] His covenant mercy, that precious Church privilege; this is perpetual to his people, and should perpetually shine as a picture in our hearts. For which purpose this psalm was appointed to be daily sung in the old church, by the Levites, #1Ch 16:41.

Ver. 2. For his mercy endureth for ever] This is the foot or burden of the whole song; neither is it any idle repetition, but a notable expression of the saints’ unsatisfiableness in praising God for his never failing mercy. These heavenly birds, having got a note, record it over and over. In the last psalm there are but six verses, yet twelve Hallelujahs.

Ver. 3. O give thanks unto the Lord of lords] That is, to God the Son, saith Jerome; as by God of gods, saith he, in the former verse, is meant God the Father; who, because they are no more but one God only, it is added,

Ver. 4. To him who alone doeth great wonders] Wondrous things the creature may do, but not wonders; mira sed non miracula. God alone is the great Thaumaturgus, that is, wonder worker.

Ver. 5. To him that by wisdom, &c.] Singulari ingenio et summa industria, yet without tool or toil. See #Heb 11:10. {See Trapp on "Heb 11:10"}

Ver. 6. To him that stretched out the earth, &c.] A perpetual mercy to all earthly creatures, as is elsewhere set forth, #Ge 1:9 Ps 24:2.

Ver. 7. To him that made great lights] Without which we should have no more comfort of the air we breathe in than the Egyptians had in that three days’ darkness. Now the sun and moon are called great luminaries, not great stars or bodies (for the sun is less than some stars, and the moon is least of all), first, for the excellence of light which these two do more abundantly impart to the earth; and, secondly, for the effects they work; the sun by his access making all green and flourishing, and the contrary by his recess; the moon by its various aspect causing humours and marrows to increase or decrease, &c.

Ver. 8. The sun to rule by day] Heb. for the rulings by day, sc. by his light, heat, motion, and influences, whereby he worketh upon these inferior bodies, being a servant to all, as his name importeth, notwithstanding his ruledom; and therefore in no wise to have been worshipped.

Ver. 9. The moon and stars to rule by night] For by day they all veil to the sun; from whom also they borrow much of their light. The moon hath her name in Hebrew from moisture, as refreshing the earth with her cool influences; and thrusting forth precious things therein, #De 33:14.

Ver. 10. To him that smote Egypt] See #Ps 135:8.

Ver. 11. And brought out Israel] viz. By that last plague; for the former would not do. God will have the better of his enemies, for the good of his people; for it is not fit that he should lay down the bucklers first.

Ver. 12. And with a stretched out arm] A metaphor from soldiers’ exercising their arms, with utmost might and sleight.

Ver. 13. To him which divided the Red Sea] Into twelve several parts, say the Jews, for the twelve tribes to pass through.

Ver. 14. And made Israel to pass, &c.] It is many times hail with the saints, when ill with the wicked. Abraham from the hill seeth Sodom on fire.

Ver. 15. But overthrew Pharaoh] Praecipitavit, pitched him in headlong; having before paved a way for him. Subito tollitur qui diu toleratur.

Ver. 16. To him which led his people] As a horse, that they should not stumble, #Isa 63:13; as a shepherd his sheep; providing for them so, as never was any prince so served in his greatest pomp.

Ver. 17. To him which smote great kings] Great, as those times accounted them, when every small city almost had their king; Canaan had thirty and more of them. Great also in regard of their stature and strength; for they were of the giant’s race, #De 3:11-13 Am 2:1

Ver. 18. And slew famous kings] Magnificos, sumptuosos, fastuosos, et arrogantes.

Ver. 19. See #Ps 135:11. Sihon’s country was afterwards called Decapolis, and the metropolls of it Scythopolis (Joseph. de Bel,

l. 3, c. 2.)

Ver. 20. See #Ps 135:11. Sihon’s country was afterwards called Decapolis, and the metropolls of it Scythopolis (Joseph. de Bel,

l. 3, c. 2.)

Ver. 21. And gave] #Ps 135:12 Jos 12:7, he paid them well for their pains, after that he had made use of their sword and service against those sinners against their own souls.

Ver. 22. And gave] #Ps 135:12 Jos 12:7, he paid them well for their pains, after that he had made use of their sword and service against those sinners against their own souls.

Ver. 23. Who remembered us in our low estate] Still God helpeth those who are forsaken of their hopes, et vindictae gladium miserationis oleo emollit, as Nicephorus saith.

Ver. 24. And hath redeemed us] Or, broken us off, pulled us away, as by violence; for they would never else have loosed us. This is priori maior misericordia, a greater mercy than the former, saith Kimchi; to redeem is more than to preserve.

Ver. 25. Who giveth food to all flesh] Food agreeable to their several appetites and temperaments, suitable and seasonable.

Ver. 26. O give thanks unto the God of heaven] His mercy in providing heaven for his people is more than all the rest.

Chapter 137

Ver. 1. By the rivers of Babylon] Tigris and Euphrates; for the land of Shinar (where Babel was founded, and afterwards Babylon built) was, as most geographers think, a part of the garden of Eden, fruitful beyond credulity; but to the poor captives all this was no comfort, when they remembered the desolations of their country, and the loss of their former liberty. The bird of paradise, they say, once taken and enraged, groaneth incessantly, till she die.

There we sat down, yea, we wept] "He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him," saith Jeremiah of the mourner, #La 3:28, who is much in meditation; so were these, bewailing bitterly their sin and misery, with their heart sounding as a harp, #Isa 16:1, where, if one string be touched, all the rest sound.

When we remembered Zion] The former solemnities, the present desolations.

Ver. 2. We hanged our harps] Harps we had, and knew how to handle them (the Jews were famous artists, noted for their skill, specially in poetry, music, and mathematics), but we had little mind to it as now the case stood with us; our country lying desolate, ourselves could not be but disconsolate. Barbiton hic paries habebit (Horat. lib. 3, Od. 26).

Ver. 3. For there…they required of us a song] sc. In disdain and derision of our religion; q.d. Will ye sing no more holy songs in honour of your God? hath he utterly cast away all care of your welfare, and you the like of his service? Have you never a black sanctus to sing us? or cannot you sing care away? &c.; where are your wonted ditties, the words of a song? Ehodum, bellos nobis illos vestrae Sionis modulos cantillate (Beza).

And they that wasted us] Cumulatorcs nostri, vel concumulatores nostri, vel homines eiulatuum nostrorum, they that made us howl singing, as #Isa 52:5. Or, In suspensionibus nostris, after that we had hanged up our harps, as #Ps 137:2, το ακαιρον πανταχου λυπηρον (Isocr.).

Sing us one of the songs of Zion] Wherewith ye were wont to praise God. So Belshazzar abused the bowls of the sanctuary. So the bloody persecutors at Orleans, as they murdercd the Protestants, required them to sing, Judge and revenge my cause, O Lord; and have mercy on us, Lord, &c.

Ver. 4. Shall we sing the Lord’s song? &c.] No; for that were to profane holy things; and as Nazianzen speaketh, κωμωδιαν τα μυστηρια. And besides, they had as much mind to be merry then, and thus, as Samson had to play before the Philistines. Music in mourning is not more unseasonable than unsavoury. When our Edward III had the king of Scots and the French king both prisoners together here in England, he held royal jousts, and feasted them sumptuously. After supper, perceiving the French king to be sad and pensive, he desired him to be merry as others were. To whom the French king answered, as here, How shall we sing in a strange land? Quid nobis cum fabulis, cum risu, saith Bernard, in hoc exilio, in hoc ergastulo in hac valle lachrymarum? Let us cast away carnal mirth, and groan earnestly to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, #2Co 5:2.

Ver. 5. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem] As I might seem to do, should I herein gratify these idolaters; or otherwise obey them, rather than God. The Jews at this day, when they build a house, they are, say the Rabbis, to leave one part of it unfinished and lying rude, in remembrance that Jerusalem and the temple are at present desolate. At least, they use to leave about a yard square of the house unplastered, on which they write, in great letters, this of the psalmist, "If I forget Jerusalem," &c., or else these words, Zecher leehorban, that is, The memory of the desolation (Leo Modena of the Rites of the Jews).

Let my right hand forget] Fiat abalienata atque emortua, Let it be paralytical and useless, unfit to touch the harp.

Ver. 6. If I do not remember thee] Hi gemitus Sanctorum sunt gemitus Spiritus sancti, these are the very sighs unutterable, that precede joys unspeakable and full of glory. Either our beds are soft or our hearts hard, that can rest when the Church is at unrest, that fed not our brethren’s hard cords through our soft beds.

If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy] Heb. if I cause it not to ascend above the head of my joy. Christ in his ordinances must be our chiefest comfort, overtopping all other; and devouring all discontents whatsoever.

Ver. 7. Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom] Those unbrotherly bitter enemies. The Jews call Romists Edomites.

Rase it, rase it] Discooperite, discooperite.

Diruite, ex imis subvertite fundamentis

(Buchanan).

Darius, hearing that Sardis was sacked and burnt by the Athenians, commanded one of his servants to say to him thrice always at supper, Sir, remember the Athenians to punish them, Δεποτα μεμνεο Αθηναιων (Herod.).

Ver. 8. That art to be destroyed] Spoliatrix, saith the Syriac, #Isa 33:1.

Happy shall he be] i.e. Well rewarded with wealth and good wishes.

Ver. 9. That taketh and dasheth thy little ones] So at the destruction of Troy (Horat. l. iv. Od. 6).

Sed palam captis gravis (heu nefas, heu)

Nescios fari pueros, Achivis

Ureret flammis, etiam latentes

Matris in alvo.

Chapter 138

Ver. 1. I will praise thee with my whole heart] Which no hypocrite can do; though he may pray in distress from the bottom of his heart. A grateful man is a gracious man, viz. if he come with a true heart, as the apostle hath it, #Heb 10:22 (Aben Ezra).

Before the gods will I sing praise unto thee] That is, before angels, who are present in holy assemblies, #1Co 11:10 (as was represented by those cherubims pictured in the temple), as also before princes and potentates, see #Ps 138:4. (Kimchi).

Ver. 2. I will worship toward thy holy temple] Wheresoever I am the face of my soul shall turn, like the needle of a dial, by sacred instinct, towards thee, in the ark of thy presence, in the Son of thy love (Abbot).

For thy lovingkindness and for thy truth] For thy grace and truth, which come by Jesus Christ: the ark and mercy seat were never sundered. God’s lovingkindness in Christ moved him to promise, his truth binds him to perform, and hence our happiness.

For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name] Or, Thou hast magnified thy name in all thy words. Or, Thou hast magnified above all things thy name by thy word; that is, Thou hast got thee a very great name, by fulfilling thy promises, and by setting on thy word with power.

Ver. 3. In the day when I cried, &c.] This he worthily celebrateth as a singular favour, a badge of grace, #Ps 66:18, and pledge of glory, #Ac 2:21.

And strengthenedst me with strength in my soul] With strength in the inward man, #Eph 3:16,20, with spiriual mettle, with supporting grace; keeping head above water. My body is weak, my soul is well, said that dying saint. I am as full of comfort as heart can hold, said a certain martyr. The apostle speaketh of the new supplies of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, επιχορηγεω, #Php 1:19; the joy of the Lord is strengthening, #Ne 8:10.

Ver. 4. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee] Such of them as shall read these psalms of my composing; or otherwise shall hear of thy gracious dealing with me, according to thy promise. Such also as shall hereafter be converted to the faith; for though "Not many mighty, not many noble, are called," #1Co 1:26, yet some are, and these shine in the Church like stars of the first magnitude.

Ver. 5. .Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord] As having tasted the excellence of the comforts of godliness (far surpassing those of the crown and sceptre), and felt the power of God’s word subduing them to the obedience of faith, whereby they come to rule with God, to be faithful with his saints, and to sing their songs.

Ver. 6. Though the Lord be high, &c.] Even "the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity," #Isa 57:15. See on #Ps 113:6,7.

Yet hath he respect unto the lowly] This maketh that ancient cry out, Videte magnum miraculum, See here a great miracle; God is on high; thou liftest thyself up, and he flieth from thee; thou bowest thyself down, and he descendeth unto thee (Aug. de Temp.). Low things he looketh close upon, that he may raise them higher; lofty things he knoweth afar off, that he may crush them down lower. The proud Pharisee pressed as near God as he could; the poor publican, not daring to do so, stood aloof off; yet was God far from the Pharisee, near to the publican. The Lord Christ is a door to heaven, but a low door; he who will enter in thereby, humiliet se oportet, ut sano capite intrare contingat, saith Austin, he must needs stoop to save his head piece.

But the proud he knoweth afar off] As not vouchsafing to come near such loathsome lepers. For pride is like a great swelling in the body, apt to putrefy, break, and run with loathsome and foul matter. Hence God stands off from such, as odious and abominable; be cannot abide the sight of them; Superbos a coelo longe propellit, as the Chaldee here paraphraseth, he driveth the proud far enough off from heaven, yea, he thrusteth them into hell, to their father Lucifer, that king of all the children of pride, as leviathan is called, #Job 41:34.

Ver. 7. Though I walk in the midst of trouble] Even in the vale of the shadow of death, so that I seem little different from a dead man.

Thou wilt revive me] That is, restore me from so great a death, as #2Co 1:10.

Thou shall stretch forth thine hand] Thou shall interpose thy help between me and them, and save me harmless; as the poets feign their gods did those whom they favoured. Thou shall strike them with thy left hand, and save me with thy right; so Tremellius senseth it.

Ver. 8. The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me] He will not do his business to the halves, leave it in the midst, but carry it on to a consummation, and lay the top stone of grace; this I am well assured of. See #Php 1:6. Only I must pray, and do my part; having an eye still to God’s everlasting mercy in Christ.

Forsake not the works of thine own hands] Look upon the wounds of thy hands, and forsake not the works of thy hands, prayed Queen Elizabeth. And Luther’s usual prayer was, Confirm, O God, in us that thou hast wrought, and perfect the work that thou hast begun in us, to thy glory; so be it. Though the good work of grace be begun in us, yet we can neither persevere in that grace, nor bring it forth to act, without new grace; even as trees, though they be fitted to bear fruit, yet, without the influence of the heavens, they cannot put forth that fitness in fruit, &c.

A Psalm of David] There is not in all the five books of psalms so notable a one as this, saith Aben Ezra, concerning the ways of God and the workings of conscience. It was penned, saith the Syriac interpreter, upon occasion of Shimei’s railing upon him for a bloody man and a Belialist, #2Sa 16:5-13 Here, therefore, he purgeth himself by an appeal to God, and delivereth up his false accusers to God’s just judgment, #Ps 139:19.

Chapter 139

Ver. 1. O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me] Even mine heart and reins, #Jer 17:10, hast thou searched as with lights, #Zep 1:12, by an exact scrutiny, by a soul searching inquisition, whereby thou art come to know me through and through; not only me natural, as #Ps 139:15,16, but also me civil and moral, as #Ps 139:2,3, &c.; neither stayeth thy knowledge in the porch or lobbies (my words and ways), but passeth into the presence, yea, privy chamber; for

Ver. 2. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising] All my postures, gestures, practices, sive sedeam, sive surgam, whether I sit, stand, walk, lie; thou searchest and knowest all. Some search, but know not; thou dost both; thine eyes behold, thine eyelids try, the children of men, #Ps 11:4. {See Trapp on "Ps 11:4"}

Thou understandest my thought] Heb. my familiar thoughts, such as I am delighted in; voluntatem meam, some render it, my will; others, propinquitatem meam, my nearness, and that afar off, even from heaven, being intimo meo mihi intimior, not so far from me as the bark is from the tree, the skin from the flesh, or the flesh from the bones.

Afar off] Eminus, a longe praenovisti, antequam moveantur, saith Chrysostom; thou knowest my thoughts before I have conceived them; my thoughts in posse, from all eternity; so great is thy sagacity and perspicacity. As a man that knoweth what roots he hath in his garden, though there be not a flower appearing, yet he can say, when the spring comes, this and this will come up; so here, God knows our whole frame, our principles, &c.

Ver. 3. Thou compassest my path] Or, Thou winnowest; if there be any chaff or trash, thou wilt make it fly; thou art at both ends of all my works and enterprises, both by day and by night, Perdius et pernox. Neither art thou only at my fingers’ ends, but at my tongue’s end too.

Ver. 4. For there is not a word in my tongue] Though not yet uttered, or but whispered only.

Thou knowest it altogether] Every tittle of it; thou understandest the language of men’s hearts.

Ver. 5. Thou hast beset me behind and before] As a beast that is pursued, as an enemy that is begirt and environed; and lest I should think by some means to make escape (as David did from Saul and his host, by a providence, #1Sa 23:27; as Hannibal did from the Romans, by a stratagem).

Thou hast laid thine hand upon me] As by an arrest; so that I am thy prisoner, and cannot stir a foot from thee.

Ver. 6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me] I can hardly conceive of this thine omniscience and omnipresence, but am ready to measure thee by myself, and according to mine own model. And, indeed, for a creature to believe the infinite attributes of God, he is never able to do it thoroughly without supernatural grace.

It is high, I cannot attain unto it] Since it far exceedeth the reach of reason, and is much above my capacity and understanding. I stand at gaze, and am aghast, and that is the nearest that I, a poor finite, foolish creature, can come to so infinite a wisdom. It was, therefore, a good speech of them who, being asked what God was? answered, Si scirem, Deus essem, If I knew that, I should be a God.

Ver. 7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit?] Here he argueth God’s omniscience from his omnipresence; and this the heathens also had heard of, as appeareth by their Iovis omnia plena; and— quascunque accesseris oras,

Sub Iove semper eris, &c.

Empedocles could say that God is a circle, whose centre is everywhere, whose circumference is nowhere. They could tell us that God is the soul of the world; and that as the soul is tota in tota, et tota in qualibet parte, so is he; that his eye is in every corner, &c.; to which purpose they so portrayed their goddess Minerva, that which way soever one cast his eye she always beheld him. But these divine notions they might have by tradition from the patriarchs; and whether they believed themselves in these and the like sayings is much to be doubted.

Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?] Surely no whither; they that attempt it do but as the fish which swimmeth to the length of the line with a hook in the mouth.

Ver. 8. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there] That is thy proper place; and there Aristotle, in his Book of the World, ad Alexandrum affirmeth that God is only essentialiter et actu. This was to proclaim himself an arrant atheist; for God filleth all places, and is comprehended of no place, being totally present wheresoever present; for we must not conceive that God is commensurable by the place, as if he were partly here and partly elsewhere; but everywhere, all present.

Ver. 9. If I take the wings of the morning] The morning light is diffused in an instant all the whole welkin over. If I could fly never so swiftly from one end of the heaven to the other, saith David, I should be never the nearer. This is a poetic expression.

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea] Or of the west, whither the sun, setting, is said to hasten and hide himself. The Syriac and Arabic have it, If I take the wings of the eagle and dwell, &c. And of the eagle they write, that when she would change her feathers she falleth down into the sea.

Ver. 10. Even there shall thy hand lead me] i.e. Thy power and providence shall dispose of me; I shall flee but from thy hand to thy hand, as guilty Jonah did.

Ver. 11. The darkness shall cover me] The Hebrew phrase is taken from beasts that lie a-squat, saith Diodati, Nocte latent mendae, sed non Deum. The guilty conscience sharketh up and down for comfort, but getteth none.

Ver. 12. Yea, the darkness hideth not] Heb. darkeneth not from thee, because thine eyes are fiery, #Re 1:14, such as need no outward light; they are more light and radiant than the sun in his strength.

The darkness and the light, &c.] Deo obscura clarent, muta respondent, silentium confitetur, saith an ancient; Night will convert itself into noon before God, and silence prove a speaking evidence.

Ver. 13. For thou hast possessed my reins] The seat of mine affections. Thoughts kindle affections, and these cause thoughts to boil; they are causes one of another, and both well known to God. For who possesseth lands or houses, but he knoweth the right title and rooms thereof? saith an expositor.

Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb] But not from thine all-piercing eyes, though in so dark a place, and wrapt up in secundines .

Ver. 14. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made] Mirificatus sum mirabilibus operibus tuis, saith Montanus; neither can I wonder enough at thy workmanship. The greatest miracle in the world is man; in whose very body (how much more in his soul!) are miracles enough (between head and feet) to fill a volume. Austin complaineth that men much wonder at high mountains of the earth, huge waves of the sea, deep falls of rivers, the vastness of the ocean, the motions of the stars, et relinquunt seipsos nec mirantur, but wonder not at all at their wonderful selves. Galen, a profane physician, writing of the excellent parts of man’s body, and coming to speak of the double motion of the lungs, could not choose but sing a hymn to that God, whosoever he were, that was author of so excellent and admirable a piece of work, Fernel. de abdit, rerum causis.

And that my soul knoweth right well] That is, so well as to draw hearty praises from me to my Maker. But for any exact insight, hear Solomon: "As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child; even so thou knowest not the works of God, who maketh all," #Ec 11:5. Some read the words thus, Thy works are wonderful, and so is my soul, which knoweth right well; q.d. my rational and intelligent soul is an admirable piece indeed. Nothing in the world, saith one, is so well worthy to be wondered at as man, nothing in man, as his soul.

Ver. 15. My substance was not hid from thee] Ossatio mea, id est, ossium et artuum compages, the structure of my bones and joints. But was not he a wise man (and yet wise enough otherwise) who, being asked upon his death bed what his soul was? seriously answered, that he knew not well; but he thought it was a great bone in the middle of his body? (Pemble’s Mischief of Ignorance).

Was not hid from thee] For thou hast both the names and number of every part, to a nerve or an artery. Aquinas saith that at the resurrection the bodies of the saints shall be so clear and transparent that all the veins, humours, nerves, and bowels shall be seen, as in a glass. It is sure that they are so to God when first formed in the womb.

When I was made in secret] That is, in the womb of my mother. As curious workmen, when they have some choice piece in hand, they perfect it in private, and then bring it forth to light for men to gaze at; so here.

And curiously wrought] Variegatus, et quasi acu pictus, Embroidered and wrought as with the needle; whence man is called a microcosm, or little world. Bodine observeth that there are three regions within man’s body (besides all that is seen without), answerable to those three regions of the world: elementary, ethereal, and celestial (Vide Lactant. de Dei Opificio; Galen. de Usa Part.; Cic. 2, de Nat. Deor.). His entrails and whatsoever is under his heart resemble the elementary region, wherein only there is generation and corruption; the heart and vitals, that are divided from those entrails by the diaphragm, resemble the ethereal region; as the brain doth the heavenly, which consisteth of intelligible creatures.

In the lowest parts of the earth] That is, in my mother’s womb, as before. See #Eph 4:9. The Syriac interpreteth it (but not so well), when I shall die, and be buried, and my bones turned to ashes, yet thou shalt know them.

Ver. 16. Thine eyes did see my subtsance] Galmi; est semen coagulatum ante formationem membrorum, saith Kimchi; when I was but an embryo, or hardly so much. Disponit Deus membra culicis, et pulicis, saith Austin; how much more of man? The word signifieth my wound up, or unwrought up, mass.

And in thy book all my members were written] A metaphor from curious workmen, that do all by the book, or by a model sat before them, that nothing may be deficient or done amiss. Had God left out an eye in his common place book, saith one, thou hadst wanted it.

Which in continuance] In process of time, and by degrees.

When as yet there was none of them] But all was a rude lump. This is a great secret of nature, and to be modestly spoken of.

Ver. 17. How precious also are thy thouyhts unto me] i.e. The thoughts of thy wisdom, power, and goodness, clearly shining in these wondrous works of thine; it does my heart good to think and speak of them.

How great is the sum of them!] viz. Of thy works, and of my thoughts thereon. I cannot count them, much less comprehend them. To blame are such as trouble not their heads at all about these matters. Surely, when the Lord made man’s head with so many closures and coverings to his brain, the seat of understanding, he intended it for some precious treasure. Many locks and keys argue the price of the jewel they are to keep; and many papers wrapping a token within them the use of that token.

Ver. 18. If I should count them, &c.] q.d. They are infinite and immmerable. Archimedes, that great mathematician, bragged, that he could number all the sands in the habitable and inhabitable world, but no man ever believed him. See #1Sa 13:5 2Sa 17:11 Ps 78:27.

When I awake, I am still with thee] Still taken up with some holy contemplation of thy works and wisdom. These thoughts I fall asleep with, and these I awake with. As I rake up my fire overnight, so I find it in the morning.

Ver. 19. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked] Those that traduce and slander me for a hypocrite and a Belialist. Some render it, Oh that thou wouldest slay them! inasmuch as they hate me for my zeal, and forwardness to turn the wheel of justice over them, and to give them their due and condign punishment; for, for mine own part, I cannot abide them, but bid tbem avaunt, with

Depart from me therefore, ye bloody men] Ye that dare to destroy so goodly a piece of God’s handiwork as man is above described to be. See #Ge 9:6. Or, ye that seek to double, undo me; first by detraction and then by deadly practice. See #Eze 22:9, "In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood."

Ver. 20. For they speak against thee wickedly] Inasmuch as they speak against me; Tua causa erit inca causa, Your cause will be my cause, said Charles V, emperor, to Julius Pflugius, who complained he had been wronged by the Duke of Saxony; so saith God to every David. This Luther knew, and therefore wrote thus to Melancthon, Causa ut sit magna, magnus est actor, et auctor eius; neque enim nostra est. The cause is Christ’s; and he will see to it and us. Moses told the people that their murmurings were not against him, but against the Lord, #Ex 16:8. As unskilful hunters, shooting at wild beasts, kill a man sometimes, so while men shoot at Christians, they hit Christ.

And thine enemies take thy name in vain] While they would despoil thee of thine omnipresence, omnipotence, &c., casting thee into a dishonourable mould, as it were, and having base and bald conceits and speeches of thee and thine. Kimchi interpreteth it of heretics, those false friends, but true enemies to God; of whom they make great boasts, as did the Gnostics, Manichees, Novations, and lately the Swenckfeldians (who styled themselves the confessors of the glory of Christ), and many of our modern sects. p &&& Heretics-False friends of God

Ver. 21. Do not I hate them, O Lord] And therefore hate them because they hate thee? This the Hebrews understand of heretics and apostates. See a like zeal in that angel of Ephesus, #Re 2:2.

And am not I grieved] Or, irked, made ready to vomit at (as at some loathsome spectacle), fretted, vexed.

Ver. 22. I hate them with a perfect hatred] That is, unfeignedly, and with a round heart (saith one), for this only cause, that they are workers of iniquity. It was said of Antony, he hated a tyrant, not tyranny; and of Crassus, he hated a covetous man, not covetousness. It may as truly be said of a hypocrite, he hates sinners, not sins; these he nourisheth, those he censures. David was none such; and yet, as something mistrusting his own heart, he thinks good to add,

Ver. 23. Search me, O God, and know my heart] Look into every corner and cranny, and see whether it be not so as I say, viz. that I hate wicked men merely for their wickedness; and for no self-respect have I thus cast down the gauntlet of defiance unto them, and bidden them battle. We should not rest (saith a reverend man) in our heart’s voice; nor accept its deceitful applause. But as once Joshua seeing the angel examined him, Art thou on our side, or on the adversaries’? so should we deal in this case; yea, beg of God to do it for us, and do it thoroughly, as here: this is a sure sign of sincerity, void of all sinisterity.

Ver. 24. And see if there be any wicked way in me] Heb. any way of pain, or of grief, or of provocation; any cause of sin that is grievous to God or man, quae spiritum tuum vexat, ut Ps. 78 (Aben Ezra). A saint alloweth not of any wickedness, walloweth not in it, maketh it not his trade, is not transformed into sin’s image, the great scum abideth not in him, but (as in right wine or honey) it is continually cast out. The good heart admitteth not the mixture of any sin. Sin may cleave to it, as dross to silver, but it entereth not into the frame and constitution; it is not woven into the texture of a good man’s heart; there is no such way of wickedness to be found in him, no such evil heart of unbelief as to depart away from the living God, #Heb 3:12. There is no time wherein he cannot say, as #Heb 13:18, "Pray for us; for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to please God."

And lead me in the way everlasting] Heb. in the way of eternity, or of antiquity, that good old way, #Jer 6:16, traced by Adam, Abraham, Moses, &c., and that leadeth to heaven. Rid my heart of those remnants of hypocrisy, and help me to perfect holiness in the fear of God, #2Co 7:1.

Chapter 140

Ver. 1. Deliver me O Lord, from the evil man] Made of malice, in which is steeped the venom of all vices.

Preserve me from the violent man] Man of violences, who, vulture-like, {#Re 11:10} liveth by rapine. Such were Saul and his informers.

Ver. 2. Which imagine mischief in their heart] Where the devil worketh night and day as a mintman; as a smith in his forge; or an artificer in his shop. A godly man is said to have right thoughts, #Pr 12:5, and that his desires are only good, #Pr 11:23. An evil man is called a man of wicked devices, #Pr 12:2 14:17, being ingeniose nequam, wittily wicked, as it was once said of Gaius Curio, the Roman lawyer.

They are gathered together for war] Heb. they gather wars, as serpents gather poison to vomit out at others. Coacervant praelia, q.d. sunt tanquam tubae belli.

Ver. 3. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent] Which, by reason of his sharp tongue, striketh more deeply.

Adders’poison] Venenum Ptyados. R. Solomen readeth spiders’ poison; others, asps!, vipers’; malice turneth men into serpents, saith Chrysostom.

Ver. 4. Keep me] Who am thus sought and set for; but thou canst rescue me.

To overthrow my goings] Praecipitare, to hurl me down headlong.

Ver. 5. The proud have hid a snare, &c] They are restless to ruin me, adding all kind of craft to their cruelty.

Ver. 6. I said unto the Lord] Danger drove David home to God; as bugbears do little children to their parents.

Ver. 7. In the day of battle] Heb. of armours; for battle David never had any with Saul, but declined it.

Ver. 8. Grant not, O Lord, &c.] For if they should be votorum compotes, masters of their desires, they would be intolerably insolent, so as to say, Our high hand, and not the Lord, hath done all this, #De 32:27.

Ver. 9. As for the head] The chieftain, the ringleader, Doeg, or Saul himself. Or thus, let mischief cover the heads of my besiegers, let it fall upon their pates, as #Ps 7:16 Similitudo est a sacrificiis, quorum capita execrabantur.

Ver. 10. Let burning coals fall upon them] Conflagrent ut corruant. Haec sunt non tam vota quam vaticinia.

Ver. 11. Let not an evil speaker] Heb. a man of tongue, whereof Geraldus reckoneth up twenty-four several sins; a world of wickedness, St James calleth it, #Jas 3:6

Evil shall hunt the violent man] The angel of death shall hunt him into hell, saith the Chaldee. Of the blackbird’s excrements is made bird lime, to catch him. Gaius Marius was slain with the sword he made when he was a cutler. Propiis pennis perire grave est, was Julian’s motto. God’s judgments against sinners are feathered from themselves, as a fowl shot with an arrow feathered from her own body.

Ver. 12. I know] For I have a promise for it, and that is infallible.

Ver. 13. Shall give thanks] He shall have no other cause.

The upright shall dwell in thy presence] When the hypocrite shall be dog out-of-doors, #Job 13:16.

Chapter 141

Ver. 1. Lord, I cry unto thee] No distress or danger, how great soever, shall stifle my faith or stop my mouth; but make me more earnest, and my prayers, like strong streams in narrow straits, shall bear down all before them.

Make haste unto me] Lest help come too late.

Ver. 2. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense] Faithful prayer is αναβασις του νου (saith Darnasen), the ascension of the heart to God. In this incense how many sweet spices are burned together by the fire of faith, as humility, hope, love, &c., all which come up for a memorial before God, #Ac 10:4; and the saints (as Manoah’s angel) ascend up in the flame, and do wondrously, #Jud 13:19,20, while their pillars of smoke are perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the spice merchants, #So 3:6, that is, with the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, #Heb 9:24, those sweet odours poured into the prayers of saints, #Re 5:8 8:4, for want whereof the incense of the wicked is abomination, #Isa 1:13, as stinking of the hand that offereth it.

As the evening sacrifice] The sacrificium iuge, that was offered every morning and evening, #Ex 29:39 Nu 28:4, in reference to that immaculate Lamb of God, slain from the beginning, for an offering and a sweet smelling savour, #Eph 5:2. Chrysostom telleth us, that the Greek Church made use of this psalm in their evening liturgy.

Ver. 3. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth] Orat pro patientia, saith one, here he prayeth for patience; lest by giving himself leave to overlash, he make the matter much worse. The best patience, long tried and hard put to it, may miscarry, to its cost.

Keep the door of my lips] That it move not creaking, and complaining, as on rusty hinges, for want of the oil of joy and gladness, Dal pro Deleth per Apocopen poetieam. David had somewhat to do with his tongue, as we see, #Ps 39:1,3, and when he had carted the ark, how untowardly spake he, as if the fault were more in God than himself, that there was such a breach made in Uzzah, #1Ch 15:2. It was but need, therefore, thus to pray,

Ver. 4. Incline not my heart] Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. For the better ordering of his words, therefore, he prayeth, not to be delivered up to Satan, and to his own heart’s lust (as he was, #1Ch 21:1, with #2Sa 24:1), for God tempteth no man, but the devil and his own concupiscence, #Jas 1:13,14, but to be bent the better way by God’s overpowering, efficacious grace, and to be stablished with his free spirit.

To practise wicked works] The Vulgate rendereth it, ad excusandas excusationes in peccatis, to frame excuse for mine offences; but that, when I have over reacted, I may confess and forsake, and so find mercy. Gnalai significat operari cum occasione, praetextu, causa.

And let me not eat of their dainties] Their murdering morsels of iniquity; or their flatteries and baits, whereby Saul’s courtiers sought to ensnare him. The Chaldee expoundeth it of their songs at banquets.

Ver. 5. Let the righteous smite me, &c.] In case I do offend in word or deed, let me never want a faithful reprover, who may smite me as with a hammer (so the word signifieth), reprove me sharply, #Pr 23:35 Zec 13:5 Tit 1:13, cuttingly, as the apostle’s word importeth, yet mildly and lovingly, #Ga 6:1 Pr 9:8 19:25 25:12, with soft words, but hard arguments, αποτομως.

It shall be a kindness] David thought the better of Nathan for so roundly reproving him, #2Sa 12:7-12, and made him of his counsel, #1Ki 1:32 Peter thought the better of Paul for dealing so plainly with him at Antioch, #Ga 2:11-16, and maketh honourable mention of him, and his writings, #2Pe 3:15,16 It is said of Gerson, that great chancellor of Paris, that nulla re alia tantopere laetaretur, quam si ab aliquo fraterne et charitative redargueretur, he rejoiced in nothing so much as in a friendly reprehension; great pity it was that none bestowed a chiding on him for being so active against John Huss and Jerome of Prague, at the council of Constance (Mr Clark’s Martyrology). Of Queen Anne Bullen it is reported, that she was not only willing to be admonished, but required her chaplains freely and plainly to tell her of whatsoever was amiss. Her daughter, Queen Elizabeth, was well pleased with Mr Deering’s plain dealing, who told her in a sermon that once she was tanqnam ovis, but now tanquam indomita iuvenca, as an untamed heifer; and speaking of the disorder of the times, These things are so, said he, and you sit still and do nothing, &c.

It shall be an excellent oil] Heb. a head oil, such as they poured on their friends’ heads; and that was of the best.

Which shall not break my head] My heart it may. Or, let him not make it fail my head, let him not cease to do me this good office daily; I shall count it a courtesy, and requite it with my best prayers for him, in his greatest necessity.

For yet my prayer also shall be in their calamity] I will not curse them for their good counsel, rail at them for reproving me, or insult over them in misery as justly met withal; but pray for them, and prize them as my best friends.

Ver. 6. When their judges are overthrown] As I like just reprehensions, so I suffer unjust persecutions from the grandees of the nation, who shall shortly be dejected from their dignity, and dashed, as it were, against the rocks. And then,

They shall hear my words] The common people that have been seduced by their evil rulers to think the worst of me, shall be brought to a right understanding of things, and undeceived; so that they shall set by those words of mine that they have been treated contemptuously and slighted.

Ver. 7. Our bones are scattered at the grave’s mouth] i.e. I and my company are in a dying condition, free among the dead; yea, if taken we should be put to most cruel deaths, hewn in pieces, or pulled limb from limb, and left unburied; and our dead bodies mangled by a barbarous inhumanity, as wood cleavers make the shivers fly hither and thither. This is the perilous case of me, and my partisans, Non una et simplici morte contenti sunt.

Ver. 8. But mine eyes are unto thee] Afflictions to the saints are tanquam scalae et alae, to mount them to God.

Leave not my soul destitute] Ne exinanias, make not bare my soul, viz. of thy protection.

Ver. 9. Keep me from the snare, &c.] See #Ps 145:5.

Ver. 10. Let the wicked fall] Metaphora a piscibus, saith Tremellius, as fishes in casting nets, #Isa 19:8.

Whilst that I withal escape] The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead, #Pr 9:8. It appeareth at length that simple honesty is the best policy, and wicked policy the greatest simplicity, and most self-destructive.

When he was in the cave] sc. Of Engedi, #1Sa 24:1 Loquitur in spelunca, sed prophetat in Christo, saith Hilary.

Chapter 142

Ver. 1. I cried unto the Lord with my voice] sc. Of my heart, and more with my mind than mouth; for if he had been heard, he had been taken up by the enemy. Thus Moses cried, but uttered nothing, #Ex 14:15, Egit vocis silentio, ut corde clamaret (Aug.). Thus Christ cried, #Heb 5:7.

Ver. 2. I poured out my complaint] Heb. my mussitation.

I showed before him] Plainly and plentifully, how my danger increased to a very crisis, as one expresseth it.

Ver. 3. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me] Or, covered over, with grief, as the Greek expoundeth it.

Then thou knewest my path] sc. That I neither fretted nor fainted; or, thou knewest how to make a way to escape, #1Co 10:13. The Lord knoweth how to deliver his, #2Pe 2:9.

Ver. 4. I looked on my right hand] Not a man would appear for me. Αφιλον το δυστυχες, misery is friendless for the most part. See #2Ti 4:16. Nulla fides unquam miseros delegit amicos.

Ver. 5. I cried unto thee, O Lord] I ran to thee, as my last refuge, in the fail of all outward comforts. #Zep 3:12, they are an "afflicted poor people"; and being so, "they trust in the name of the Lord."

Ver. 6. For I am brought very low] Exhausted and drawn dry; utterly wasted, and disabled to help myself any way, Depauperatus sum (Vat.).

Ver. 7. Bring my soul out of prison] i.e. Out of this distress, wherewith I am no less straitened than if in prison.

The righteous shall compass me about] Heb. shall crown me; that is, shall encircle me, as wondering at thy goodness in my deliverance; or they shall set the crown on mine head, as the saints do likewise upon Christ’s head, {#So 3:11} to whom this psalm may be fitly applied all along, as above said.

Chapter 143

Ver. 1. Hear my prayer, O Lord] He prayeth once and again for audience; and would have God to hear him with both ears. Thus he prayed (saith the Greek title of this psalm) when his son Absalom was up in arms against him; and it may seem so, by the next words, De fuga ab Absolom (R. Obad. Gaon).

Ver. 2. And enter not into judgment with thy servant] This is insignis sententia, siqua usquam in sacris literis extat (saith Beza), an excellent sentence as any is in all the Bible, saying the same that St Paul doth, #Ro 3:24, that justification is by faith alone, and not by works. David would not be dealt with in strictness of justice. Lord, go not to law with me, so some render it; go not into the judgment hall, so the Chaldee. All St Paul’s care was, that when he was sought for by God’s justice, he might be found in Christ, not having his own righteoushess which is of the law, &c., #Php 3:9. The best lamb should be slaughtered, except the ram had been sacrificed, that Isaac might be saved. Woe to the life of man, saith an ancient, though never so commendable, if it should have judgment without mercy; if there be not an επιεικεια to moderate that ακριβοδικαιον, the severity of utmost right. We read of a certain Dutch divine, who being about to die, was full of fears and doubts. And when some said to him, You have been so active and faithful, why should you fear? Oh, said he, the judgment of man and the judgment of God are different. Sordet in conspectu Iudicis, &c.

Ver. 3. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul] Quasi rabie ferali percitus, he hath raged unreasonably. The utmost of a danger is to be related before the Lord in prayer, and to be acknowledged after we are delivered out of it, by way of thankfulness.

Ver. 4. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed] God’s dearest children have their passions; against that stoic apathy. A sheep bitten by a dog is no less sensible of the pain thereof than a swine is; though he make not such an outcry.

Ver. 5. I remember the days of old] Wherein I was delivered from the lion and the bear; yea, from the hand of all mine enemies, and from the hand of Saul, #Ps 18:1, title. More than this, Saecula antiquitus praeterita recolo, I run over and ruminate all the ancient monuments of thy mercy to the patriarchs and others; since all that is written was "written for our instruction, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope," #Ro 15:4. See #Ps 77:4,6.

Ver. 6. I stretch forth my hands unto thee] As a poor beggar for an alms. Beggary here is not the easiest and poorest trade, but the hardest and richest of all other.

My soul thirsteth after thee] And is therefore a fit subject for thy Spirit of grace and comfort to be poured upon, #Isa 44:3 55:1.

Ver. 7. Hear me speedily] A very pathetic prayer uttered in many words to like purpose; as the manner is, in extreme danger.

My spirit faileth] I am ready to sink and to swoon. This David knew; God hath a great care that the spirit fail not before him, and the souls which he hath made, #Isa 57:16. When Bezoard stone is beaten we see that none of it be lost; not so when ordinary spices: so here, for ordinary spirits God cares not much what becometh of them, as he doth of the choice spirits of his people.

Ver. 8. Cause me to hear…in the morning] Mane, id est mature, as soon as may be, or (at least) as is meet, make me to hear of joy and gladness, speak comfort to my conscience, and help to my afflicted condition.

Ver. 9. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies] Deliverance from enemies is a fruit of our friendship with God.

Ver. 10. Teach me to do thy will] Orat nunc pro salute animae, ut ante pro corporis, saith Kimchi. Now he prayeth for his soul’s health; and would be as well delivered from his corruptions within as from his enemies without. Lord, save me from that naughty man myself, said an ancient.

Thy spirit is good] The fruit of it is in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth, #Eph 5:9, and it is the Spirit only that quickeneth, #Joh 6:63, by purging out the dross that is in us, #1Pe 1:22, setting us to work, #Eze 36:27, helping our infirmities, #Ro 8:26; stirring us up to holy duties, partly by immediate motions, and partly by the ministry of the word made effectual, #1Pet 1:2 2Th 2:13. And, lastly, sanctifying the offering up both of ourselves and of our services to God, as the altar sanctifieth the gift, #Ro 15:16. Cyril gathereth from this text, that the good Spirit is God, because none is good but God.

Into the land of uprightness] Or, on even ground, as #Isa 26:7,10 Ps 26:12, or into the right land, i.e. heaven, Per viam planam et aequam.

Ver. 11. Quicken me, O Lord] Who am no better than a living carcass, a walking sepulchre of myself.

Bring my soul out of trouble] I can bring it in, but thou only canst bring it out.

Ver. 12. Cut off mine enemies] Because not so much mine as thine; and those also implacable and irrecoverable. Elsewhere he saith, Slay them not, lest my people forget. {See Trapp on "Ps 59:11"}

For I am thy servant] See #Ps 116:16, {See Trapp on "Ps 116:16"}

A Psalm of David] The Greek addeth, against Goliath; and the Chaldee, for the hurtful sword, #Ps 144:10, hath Goliath’s sword.

Chapter 144

Ver. 1. Blessed be the Lord my strength] See #Ps 18:1, and observe how this psalm suiteth with that.

Which teacheth my hands] Used to the hook and harp, and not to the sword and spear; but God hath apted and abled them to feats of arms, and warlike exploits. It is God that giveth skill and success, saith Solomon, #Pr 8, wisdom and ability, saith Daniel, #Da 2:19-23 And as in the spiritual warfare, so here, our weapons are mighty through God, #2Co 10:4, who promiseth that no weapon formed against his people shall prosper, #Isa 54:17.

Ver. 2. My goodness and my fortress] See #Ps 18:1, with the notes, His epithetis et elogiis eblanditur Deum, saith an interpreter (Genebr.).

Who subdueth my people under me] This is the work of God, and not of kingcraft, to make men good subjects who are naturally discontented at the present government, be it never so good, and apt to rebel, αει το παρον βαρυ (Thucyd.).

Ver. 3. Lord, what is man?] What am I, that thou shouldest do all this for me? or, what is the strongest man alive, when such a giant as Goliath so suddenly and easily is slain by me?

That thou makest account of him?] Tantus tantillos et tales, saith a Father.

Ver. 4. Man is like to vanity] See #Ps 39:6 62:9. Adam Abelo compar est, Adam is Abel’s mate.

His days are as a shadow] Which is a mere privation, and hath no subsistence at all.

Ver. 5. Bow thy heavens, O Lord] Come to my help suddenly and seasonably, as it were out of an engine, εκ της μηχανης.

Touch the mountains] These high and haughty enemies of mine, do thou but lightly touch them, and it shall suffice; they shall soon burn, and be turned into smoke, as the mountains that are thunder struck.

Ver. 6. Cast forth lightning, and scatter them] All this was done according to David’s desire, #Ps 18:13,14. God sometimes answereth his suitors ad cardinem desiderii; and saith unto them, Be it unto you even as ye will. This is a wonderful condescension.

Ver. 7. Send thine hand from above] Heb. hands, both hands, all thy whole power; for I need it.

Ver. 8. Whose mouth speaketh vanity] They keep touch no further than will serve their own turns.

And their right hand] No, though they give their hands upon it that they will keep promise.

Multis annis iam transactis,

Nulla fides est in pactis.

Ver. 9. I will sing a new song] Upon the receipt of any new mercy, like as in a lottery, at every new prize drawn the trumpet soundeth.

Ver. 10. It is he that giveth salvation (or victory) unto kings] Ferdinand, king of Arragon, sending his son against the Florentines, thus bespake him: Victoria mihi crede, non hominum disciplinis aut industria comparatur, sed Dei O.M. benignitate et arbitrio, Deum igitur imprimis cole, in eum confide, a quo tum victorias omnes tum optima quaeque provenire dubio procul est, &c.: Believe me, son, victories are not gotten by art or industry, but given of God (Val. Max. Christian., p. 516).

Who delivereth David his servant] All kings are God’s servants for the common good of mankind, saith Plutarch, but David by a specialty (Plut. προς ηγεμονα απαιδευτον).

From the hurtful sword] Of Goliath, saith the Chaldee, and of all his other enemies; for (as it was said of Queen Elizabeth) he swam to the crown through a sea of sorrows, and might rather marvel that he was, than muse that he should not be, were it not that God’s holy hand had protected him beyond expectation.

Ver. 11. Rid me, and deliver me] He repeateth his former petition, #Ps 144:7,8, for an utter riddance of those ill members that stood in the way of Israel’s welfare, and broke off David’s new song or psalmody, #Ps 144:9.

Ver. 12. That our sons may be as plants, &c.] As young plants, fair and flourishing.

That our daughters may be as corner stones, &c.] Tall and trim, comely of person and costly arrayed, resembling the polished pillars at palace gates. Tremellius rendereth the last words of this verse, sint structura templi, may be the building of the temple, that is, may be such living stones as may be used to the building and polishing of God’s Church, that we may altogether grow up to a holy temple in the Lord, #Eph 2:21 4:12,13. For, indeed, what can better preserve Jacob from confusion, or his face from waxing pale, than to see his children, the work of God’s hands, framed and fitted for God’s building. This maketh religious parents to sanctify God’s name (as here), even to sanctify the Holy One, and with singular encouragement, from the God of Israel, #Isa 29:22,23.

Ver. 13. That our garners] Heb. our corners, i.e. that every corner of our houses may be filled with pleasant and precious riches.

That our sheep] Foetosae multiparae, mille duplicantes, myriadificantes.

Ver. 14. Nor going out] viz. To encounter the enemy, or to be led into captivity.

No complaining] No outcries but harvest homes.

Ver. 15. Happy is that people] That hath such a confluence of outward comforts. In Hezekiah’s days only it was so, say the Rabbis, peace, plenty, and posterity. The Syriac rendereth it questionwise: Is not the people happy that is in such a case? No, not except they have God to boot; as, if they have, they are happy howsoever, #De 33:29: ut vita carnis anima est, ita beatitudo hominis Deus, saith Austin.

David’s Psalm of praise] Heb. David’s praise or hymn, well worthy, saith learned Beza, to be made use of by all men for a rule and pattern of praising God. Perfectum illius rationalis cultus exemplum (Beza). It is one of those psalms that are artificially made up after the order of the alphabet, and so highly prized by the Rabbis, that they doubt not to promise heaven to him who shall thrice every day pray over this psalm, corde, ore, et opere (Kimchi. R. Arama).

Chapter 145

Ver. 1. I will extol thee, my God, O king] i.e. O Christ, the King of kings, whose vassal I profess myself, as did afterwards also those three most Christian emperors, Constantine, Valentinian, and Theodosius.

Ver. 2. Every day will I bless thee] No day shall pass me without a morning and evening sacrifice; besides, what is more, upon all emergent occasions. The Jews have above a hundred benedictions which they are bound to say over every day; and one among the rest, for the benefit of evacuation. If I were a nightingale, saith Epictetus, a heathen (In Encher.), I would do as a nightingale; but since I am a man, what shall I do? I will praise my Maker, and never cease to do it: I exhort also all men to do the like.

Ver. 3. Great is the Lord] See his greatness set forth by Moses, #De 10:17.

And greatly to be praised] viz. According to his excellent greatness, #Ps 150:2, which yet cannot be.

And his greatness is unsearchable] Tantum recedit quantum capitur, saith Nazianzen. He is above all name, all notion, all parallel in nature: we can see but his back parts, and live; we need see no more that we may live.

Ver. 4. One generation shall praise thy works to another] God’s praises are many, and man’s life short, and one generation succeedeth another: let them relate God’s wonderful works one to another, and so perpetuate his praises to all posterity.

Ver. 5. I will speak of the glorious honour] Or, I will meditate of the glory of the honour of thy magnificence. I will discourse of those high and honourable conceptions that I have of thee, which yet words (how wide soever) are too weak to utter, such is thy transcendent excellence and surpassing glory.

And of thy wondrous works] Wherein thou art in some sort to be seen, as the beams of the sun are made visible by reflection; and letters, being refracted and broken, in a pair of spectacles, are made legible to a dim eye.

Ver. 6. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts] Those that will not talk of thy bounty shall be made to say, Oh the severity of God!

Ver. 7. They shall abundantly utter] Eructabunt: as a fountain casteth out waters plentifully and constantly, so shall those that are like minded to me abundantly and artificially (even with songs) set forth thy goodness and faithfulness; saying, and singing,

Ver. 8. The Lord is gracious, &c.] See #Ps 86:5,15 103:8.

Slow to anger, and of great mercy] De quo pene possit ambigi sit ne ad irascendum tardior, an ad parcendum promptior (Bcza).

Ver. 9. The Lord is good to all] And of this he hath not left myself without witness, #Ac 14:17.

And his tender mercies are over all his works] Holding the whole creation together, which else (by reason of the curse for man’s sin, hurling confusion over the world) would long since have been shattered and dissipated.

Ver. 10. All thy works shall praise thee] i.e. Minister matter of thy praise.

And thy saints shall bless thee] viz. Upon that account. If it were not for a few saints on earth God should lose his glory here, in great part.

Ver. 11. They shall speak of the glory] That kingdom of the saints of the Most High, which is far beyond the grandeur and splendour of all the four great monarchies, as is to be seen #Da 7:27.

Ver. 12. To make known to the sons of men] This is the end why the Church is collected snd the gospel preached. God aimeth at his own glory in all, as well he may, since he hath none higher than himself to whom to have respect.

Ver. 13. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom] It cannot be overturned (that is comfortable to all Christ’s subjects), as other flourishing kingdoms are, which have their times and their turns, their rise and their ruin. Alexander’s kingdom continued but twelve years only, and fell with him; so did Tamerlane’s greatness.

Ver. 14. The Lord upholdeth all that fall] None of his subjects can fall below his helping hand, his sweet support.

And raiseth up all those that are bowed down] Either with the burden of sin or misery in any kind. Alphonsus, king of Arragon, is famous for helping with his own hand one of his subjects out of a ditch. Of Queen Elizabeth it is recorded, to her eternal praise, that she hated (no less than did Mithridates) such as sought to crush virtue forsaken of fortune (Camden). Christ bruiseth not the broken reed, but upholdeth it; he quencheth not the smoking wick, but cherisheth it.

Ver. 15. The eyes of all wait upon thee] Heb. look up with hope to this great housekeeper of the world. The elephant is said to turn up the first sprig towards heaven when he comes to feed. The young ravens cry to God for food, #Ps 147:9; at least by implication.

Their meat] Suitable to their various appetites.

Ver. 16. Thou openest thy hand] With kingly munificence.

And satisfiest the desire] Or, of thy good pleasure thou satiatest.

Ver. 17. The Lord is righteous in all his ways] This we must hold for an undoubted truth, though we see not always the reason of his proceedings. Sinful men dare to reprehend oft times what they do not comprehend.

Ver. 18. The Lord is nigh unto all those, &c.] He is ever at hand, to hear and help his faithful suitors and suppliants; these have the royalty of his ear, free access, sure success.

To all that call upon him in truth] That draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having their hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and their bodies washed with pure water, #Heb 10:22.

Ver. 19. He will fulfil the desire, &c.] Or, the will, the pleasure, Beneplacitum. Hence that bold request of Luther, Fiat voluntas mea, let my will be done. But then he addeth, Mea, Domine, quia tua, My will, because thine, and no otherwise. They that do the will of God shall have their own will of God. See #1Jo 3:22. The king can deny you nothing.

Ver. 20. The Lord preserveth all them that love him] See #Ps 91:14-16. {See Trapp on "Ps 91:14"} {See Trapp on "Ps 91:15"} {See Trapp on "Ps 91:16"}

But all the wicked] That love not God, but their base lusts.

Ver. 21. My mouth shall speak, &c.] This he had oft before promised; but engageth again, that he may not start back.

And let all flesh] But especially men, good men; for high words beseem not a fool. But it well becometh the saints to be thankful, nec servire Deo solum sedet adulari, as Tertullian speaks.

Chapter 146

Ver. 1. Praise the Lord, O my soul] See #Ps 103:1.

Ver. 2. While I live will I praise the Lord] George Carpenter, the Bavarian martyr, being desired by some godly brethren, that when he was burning in the fire he would give them some sign of his constance, answered, Let this be a sure sign unto you of my faith and perseverance in the truth, quod usque dum os aperire, aut certe hiscere licebit, that so long as I am able to hold open my mouth, or to whisper, I will never cease to praise God, and to profess his truth. Id quod et fecit, saith mine author, that which also he did; and so did many other martyrs besides (Scultet. Annal. dec. 2, p. 110).

While I have any being] Either in this world or in the next; for then also, and much more, I shall praise God.

Ver. 3. Put not your trust in princes] But in God alone; this being a principal piece of his praise; it is a kind of setting the crown on his head. See #Jud 9:15. The word rendered princes signifieth liberal, bountiful ones, ευεργεται, so princes would be accounted; but there is no trusting to them without God, or against him.

Nor in the son of man] The arm of flesh. See #Ps 118:8,9.

In whom there is no help] For themselves, saith Aben Ezra; much less for others.

Ver. 4. His breath goeth forth] It is but in his nostrils at best; every moment ready to puff out; cease from him, therefore, Isa. ii. Man, say the Rabbis, is but a bladder full of air, which can stand on no ground; but, pricked with a pin, it shriveleth to nothing. Man, saith a Father, is nothing else but soul and soil, breath and body; a puff of wind the one, a pile of dust the other, no solidity in either (Naz.).

He returneth to his earth] Of which he was made, and to which he is condemned, #Ge 3:19, and upon which he hath too much set his affections, being totus terreus, entirely of earth; and so the sooner forfeiteth all. It was therefore good counsel that one once gave to a great man, who had showed him his stately house and pleasant gardens: You had need make sure of heaven, my lord, or else, when you die, you will be a very great loser. But this few princes think of; which made the Spanish friar say, There were but few princes in hell; for what reason? there were but few in all.

In that day his thoughts perish] His golden thoughts, his shining white thoughts, irritae diffluunt, come to just nothing. Princes may haply have in their heads whole commonwealths, and the affairs of many kingdoms; as Alexander had, and Tamerlane, who died of an ague in the midst of his great preparations for the conquest of the Greek empire. Or, his thoughts ( ad alios benefaciendos, as Aben Ezra expoundeth it) of doing thee and others good; these fall to the ground with him. Great men’s words are like dead men’s shoes, saith one; he may go barefoot that waiteth for them. Wherefore

Ver. 5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help] Since he is the King immortal, all powerful, as #Ps 146:6, and no less willing, since he is a God in covenant.

Whose hope is in the Lord his God] This is a well grounded hope indeed, and such as will not drag after a man. The leper believed Christ’s power, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." Martha believed his will to raise her dead brother, but doubted of his power; since he had now been four days in the grave. He that is confident of both is upon sure ground, and happy indeed.

Ver. 6. Which made heaven, and earth, &c.] And, therefore, can help, doubtless.

Which keepeth truth for ever] And, therefore, will; since he will not suffer his faithfulness to fail, nor alter the thing that is gone out of his mouth, #Ps 89:33-37 And this "for ever" is opposed to that mortality and mutability of earthly princes, #Ps 146:4.

Ver. 7. Which executeth judgment] Vindicat violatos. This should draw custom and company about him; as all that were in distress fled to David, and he became their captain.

Which giveth food to the hungry] As he did to Elijah, by the ravens; to Hunniades, by his shepherd, with whom he supped on coarse fare, and found it sweet; to the town of Rochel, by a shoal of fish extraordinarily cast up into it by the tide, when they were straitly besieged and distressed.

The Lord looseth the prisoners] As he did Peter, #Ac 12:7-11, and still he knoweth how to deliver his, saith the same Peter, who could speak it by good experience, #2Pe 2:9.

Ver. 8. The Lord openeth the eyes] Both of body and mind, as in the Gospel. As for those miracles, which Tacitus and Suetonius attribute to Vespasian (as that he made a blind man see with spittle, healed another that was lame, and another that had a dry hand, by treading upon it), they are the miracles of Christ, which those profane authors would cast upon their emperor. Tacitus writeth that the blind man said to Vespasian that the god Serapis sent him to him. Now, the Paynims did think that the Christians did worship Serapis, as appeareth by the Epistle of Adrian, the emperor, to Severianus, the consul, that in the town of Alexandria they that worshipped Serapis were Christians, &c.

The Lord raiseth, &c.] As he did that daughter of Abraham in the Gospel, whom Satan had bound and bowed down twelve years, #Lu 13:16, and as he doth still, #Isa 61:1.

The Lord loveth the righteous] And this is more than all the rest. God dispenseth outward blessings, but not always in love.

Ver. 9. The Lord preserveth] These all are his clients, because neglected by the world, as yielding no profit.

He turneth upside down] As one doth a dish that is washed and wiped, #2Ki 21:13.

Ver. 10. The Lord shall reign for ever] Non sibi, sed in salutem nostram, for our sakes he reigneth, that he may execute judgment, give food, loose prisoners, open eyes, &c.

Supplices idem, timidosque terra

Erigit vultus, et honore donat.

Therefore trust in him, and him alone, and that way praise him

Chapter 147

Ver. 1. It is good to sing praises] For, 1. Hereby we glorify God, #Ps 50:23, and so do him right; for he is the proper object of praises, worthy only to be praised, #Ps 18:3 2. Hereby we do good to ourselves, secure former favours, which else we forfeit, and procure further blessings, which else we forestall. Hereby also we make things good in themselves to become good to us.

For it is pleasant] A very foretaste of eternal life; hence so many of David’s psalms are eucharistical.

And praise is comely] No fairer sight than to see God’s altar covered with the calves of our lips, and ourselves in our priestly robes, giving thanks to his name, #Heb 13:15, professing our no-deserts, and whole dependence upon him. As on the contrary, an unthankful man is an ugly, ill-favoured spectacle.

Ver. 2. The Lord doth build up Jerusalem] He is the only architect of his Church. He layeth the foundation of it in election (saith a good expositor), and buildeth it progressively by faith and sanctification; and finisheth his work of grace and his people’s happiness in glorification.

He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel] He will surely bring home his banished; yea, because they called thee an outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after, therefore I will restore health unto thee, &c., #Jer 30:17. Qui nil sperare potest, desperet nihil.

Ver. 3. He healeth the broken in heart] Pouring the oil of his grace into none but those broken vessels.

And bindeth up their wounds] As a good shepherd, #Zec 11:4, that good Samaritan, #Lu 10:34, and as a good surgeon dealeth by his patient. But let no man ever think that God will lap up his sores before they be searched, or scarf his bones before they be set.

Ver. 4. He telleth the number of the stars] Which to man is impossible, as Aristotle maintaineth against those astronomers, that tell us they are a thousand and some hundreds. But Abraham was a great astronomer; yet he could never do it, #Ge 15:5, and the wiser sort of astrologers have rightly distinguished the stars into numerable and innumerable as to men.

He calleth them all by their names] As knowing exactly their nature; and authoritatively commanding every of them to do his pleasure. How much more can God call together his outcasts, and cause them to return; especially since he calleth those things that are not as if they were, #Ro 4:17

Ver. 5. His understanding is infinite] Heb. of his understanding there is no number; for he knows not only the kinds and sorts of things, but even the particulars, though they exceed all number. Sic spectat universos quasi singulos; sic singulos, quasi solos. That philosopher did not say nothing, who, being in danger of shipwreck in a light starry night, said, Surely I shall not perish, there are so many eyes of providence over me.

Ver. 6. The Lord lifteth up the meek] This truth was well known to the very heathens, who have said the same thing; as Herodotus in Polymnia, Euripides in Hara, and Aesop being asked by Chilo (one of the seven wise men of Greece), what God was doing? answered, He is humbling the haughty, and exalting the lowly, τα μεν υφηλα ταπεινουν; τα δε ταπεινα υψουν..

Ver. 7. Sing unto the Lord] Heb. answer, that is, sing by turns, as #Ho 2:15 De 31:21. Or, answer God’s goodness by thankfulness and obedience.

Ver. 8. Who covereth the heaven with clouds] As #1Ki 18:45, and still, as there is need. It is not by nature, or hap hazard, as men are apt to dream, and are therefore so often told this truth, and admonished, that the second causes do but serve the Divine providence, in these common occurrents.

Who prepareth rain for the earth] Rain (which is nothing else but the flux of a moist cloud, out of the middle region of the air), as it cometh by a decree of God, #Job 28:26, so it is wholly at his disposing when and where it shall fall, even to a drop, #Am 4:7.

Ver. 9. He giveth to the beast his food] See #Job 39:3 Ps 104:27,28. {See Trapp on "Job 39:3"} {See Trapp on "Ps 104:27"} {See Trapp on "Ps 104:28"}

And to the youny ravens which cry] By sending flies into their mouths as they cry, say the Rabbis; or by a certain moist air, as Euthymius; or by small worms put into their mouths, magno providentiae symbolo, though they be such contemptible creatures, and very carnivorous, by reason of the vehemence of natural heat in them, so that a little will not satisfy them, yet God feedeth them. {See Trapp on "Job 39:3"}

Ver. 10. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse] Plutarch in Numa saith the same, Θεος ουκ εστι φιλιππος, God careth not for horses, or any such helps as wherein carnal people confide, as if they had no need of God. Origen observeth that in the conquest of Canaan, the enemies had horses and chariots, but Israel had none. And it is expressly cautioned that the king of Israel "shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses," #De 17:16, lest they should occasion him or his people to trade with that idolatrous people, #1Ki 10:26,28, or to trust in the number and strength of that warlike creature, a horse, #Pr 21:31.

He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man] How swift soever, as Achilles, ποδας ωκυς, or Asahel, as light of foot as a wild roe, #2Sa 2:18. None sooner perish in the waters, nor oftener, than those that are most skilled in swimming and diving, because they do too much trust to their skill; so it is here; for there is no outrunning of Divine vengeance. Nemo scelus gerit in pectore qui non idem Nemesin in tergo; your sin will find you out. Here "the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong," #Ec 9:11.

Ver. 11. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him] That put themselves into the hands of justice, in hope of mercy. These are his Hephzibahs, his darlings in whom he taketh singular delight and complacence.

Mentemque habere queis bonam;

Et esse corculis datum est.

Ver. 12. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem] Whatever the world doth, let not the Church defraud God of his due praises; "though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend," #Ho 4:15. God’s blessings go round about graceless and ungrateful people; and they are no more moved than the earth that hath the circumference carried about it, and itself standeth still; but the saints must be of another alloy, #Col 3:15, and there is good reason for it.

Ver. 13. For he hath strengthened the bars, &c.] So that the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. God hath promised to break in pieces those gates of brass, and cut in sunder those bars of iron (as Samson did the gates of Gaza), #Isa 45:2, to perfect, stablish, strengthen, and settle his saints, #1Pe 5:10, to he a wall of fire round about them, &c.

He hath blessed thy children within thee] Making them to be many, #Isa 54:1, and all taught of God, #Ps 147:13, children that will not lie, #Isa 63:8.

Ver. 14. He maketh peace in thy borders] Peace, peace, #Isa 26:3, peace of country and of conscience.

And filleth thee with the finest of the wheat] Heb. with the fat of wheat, called fat of kidneys of wheat, #De 32:14. See #Ps 81:16. Judaea was once called and counted Sumen totius terrae, breeding sow of the whole earth, not so much for the nature of the country, as for the blessing of God thereupon; for now it is nothing so fruitful. But the saints have still the bread of angels, a feast "of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined," #Isa 25:6.

Ver. 15. He sendeth forth his commandment, &c.] He speaketh the word, and it is done immediately; he can make a nation to conceive and bring forth all at once, #Isa 66:7,8. Ahasuerus had his posts to carry abroad his edict; God needeth none such; all creatures are at his beck and check.

Ver. 16. He giveth snow like wool] For whiteness, lightness, plenty, softness, warmth; for snow, though it be very cold, yet by keeping in the vapours and exhalations of the earth, it causeth an inward warmth to it, and so maketh it very fruitful, say philosophers, Vellera nivis (Virg. Georg.). In which respects the Rabbis say that one day of snow doth more good than five of rain.

He scattereth the hoar frost like ashes] When blown about by the wind. It heateth also and drieth (as ashes) the cold and moist earth, nippeth the buds of trees, &c. Unde pruina dicitur a perurenda, saith Sextus Pompeius, Cinis monet ignem subesse quem foveat.

Ver. 17. He casteth forth his ice like morsels] Or, shivers of bread. It is a witty saying of one from this text: The ice is bread, the rain is drink, the snow is wool, the frost a fire to the earth, causing it inwardly to glow with heat; teaching us what to do for God’s poor.

Who can stand before his cold] Who can endure it, when and where it is extreme especially; as in Russia, Friezeland, &c.

Ver. 18. He sendeth out his word, and melteth them] See #Ps 147:15. Of the force of God’s word of command are given all the former instances, he can as easily melt the hardest heart by his Word, made effectual to such a purpose by his Holy Spirit. If that wind do but blow, the waters of penitent tears will soon flow, as in Josiah, #2Ch 34:27. See #Zec 12:10.

Ver. 19. He showeth his word unto Jacob] The Jews were God’s library keepers; and unto them (as a special favour) were committed those lively and life giving oracles, #Ro 3:2; there is a "chiefly" set upon it; like as #Lu 12:48, to know the Master’s will is the great talent of all other; there is a "much" in that.

His statutes and his judyments unto Israel] Even right judgments, true laws, good statutes and commandments, #Ne 9:13 Ro 9:4,5. Prosper’s conceit was that Judaei were so called because they received ius Dei, the law of God.

Ver. 20. He hath not dealt so with any nation] He had not then; but now, blessed be God, he hath dealt so with many nations, in these last happy days of reformation especially; wherein the knowledge of God’s holy Word covereth the earth, as the waters cover the sea; and of England it may be said, as once of the Rhodes, semper in Sole, sita est Rhodos, that it hath the sun ever shining upon it. This we should prize as a precious treasure, and praise the Lord for it, corde, ore, opere. by heart, mouth and work.

And as for his judgments, they have not known them] And therefore lie in deadly darkness; wherein, though they wander woefully, yet not so wide as to miss of hell.

Chapter 148

Ver. 1. Praise the Lord] And again, "Praise ye the Lord"; and so often, in this the rest of the hallelujatical psalms. In praising God the saints are unsatisfiable, and would be infinite (as his perfections are infinite), so that they make a circle (as one phraseth it), the beginning, middle, and end whereof is hallelujah.

From the heavens: praise him in the heights] Or, high places. As God in framing the world began above and wrought downward, so doth the psalmist in this his exhortation to all creatures to praise the Lord.

Ver. 2. Praise ye him, all his angels] Whose proper office it is to adore and praise God, #Job 38:7 Isa 6:3 Heb 1:6, which also they do constantly and completely; as those that both perfectly know him and love him. Jacob saw them, 1. Ascending, to contemplate and praise the Lord, and minister to him, #Lu 2:13 Da 7:10 Mt 18:10 Ps 103:20:2. Descending, to execute God’s will upon men, for mercy to some, and for judgment to others; which tendeth much to his praise. And David, by calling upon these heavenly courtiers, provoketh and pricketh on himself to praise God.

Praise ye him, all his hosts] i.e. His creatures (those above especially, which are as his cavalry), called his hosts for their,

1. Number 2. Order; 3. Obedience.

Ver. 3. Praise ye him, sun and moon] These do, after a sort, declare the glory of God, #Ps 19:1,2 Hab 3:3; not with mind and affection, as if they were understanding creatures (as Plato held, In Epimenide), but by their light influences, admirable motions, and obedience, whereby quasi mutis vocibus, by a dumb kind of eloquence, saith Nazianzen, they give praise to God, and bid check to us for our dulness and disorders.

Praise him, all ye stars of light] A light, then, they have of their own (besides what they borrow of the sun), which they withhold at God’s appointment, #Isa 13:10, and influences they have which cannot be restrained or resisted, #Job 38:31,32.

Ver. 4. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens] Whereby he meaneth not the lowest heavens, the air whereon we breathe, and wherein birds fly, clouds swim, &c., as some would have it; but the highest heaven, called by St Paul the third heaven, the habitation of the crowned saints and glorious angels; called by philosophers coelum Empyreum, and here by the psalmist the heavens of heavens, as King of kings, Song of songs, &c., by an excellence. See #De 10:14.

And ye waters that be above the heavens] i.e. Above the air, and that do distinguish between the air and the sky, as the Primmn Mobile doth between the sky and the highest heavens, Superius suspensae aquarum fornices.

Ver. 5. For he commanded, and they were created] His fiat only made all; this is celebrated by that heavenly choir, #Re 4:11.

Ver. 6. He hath also stablished them for ever] viz. The course and appointed motions of the heavens, which he hath settled by a covenant, and hath not falsified with them, #Jer 33:25; much less will he with his faithful people.

Ver. 7. Praise the Lord from the earth] The psalmist proceedeth to factor for God among the inferior creatures; beginning with the lowest in the waters beneath, as the dragons or great whales; and then coming to rain and snow, &c., which are made out of the waters above.

Ye dragons, and all deeps] Of sea dragons, see Aelian. lib. 4, Animal. cap. 12: they live partly in the sea and partly on the land, as do crocodiles. These also yield matter of God’s praise.

Ver 8. Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours] This latter is the matter of those former meteors which he purposely mingleth with those forementioned miracles of land and waters, the more to set forth the power of God, because these seem to have no settledness of subsistence, and yet in them he is made visible.

Stormy wind fuelling his word] The winds blow not at random, but by a Divine decree; and God hath ordered that whether north or south blow they shall blow good to his people, #So 4:16. He saith to all his creatures, as David did to his captains concerning Absalom, Handle them gently for my sake.

Ver. 9. Mountains, and all hills] These praise God by their form, hugeness, fruits, prospects, &c.

Fruitful trees] These, by the variety of their natures and fruits, do notably set forth the wisdom, power, and goodness of the Almighty; while they spend themselves and the principal part of their sap and moisture in bringing forth some pleasant berry, or the like, for the use of man, who is thereby engaged to bless God.

Ver. 10. Beasts] i.e. Wild beasts, that are fullest of life; and therehence have their name in the Hebrew tongue.

And all cattle] Domestic and tame beasts, even to the elephant; which is said to turn up the first sprig towards heaven, in token of thankfulness, by a natural instinct, when he comes to feed.

Creeping things] Whether in earth or sea; all these are summoned in by the psalmist to pay their tribute of praise, and to do their homage to the Most High.

Ver. 11. Kings of the earth] These are doublybound to God (as Queen Elizabeth wrote to the French king); first, as they are men; and next, as they are so great men; but this is little considered. Tamerlane, having overcome Bajazet, asked him whether ever he had given God thanks for making him so great an emperor? who confessed ingenuously he never thought of it.

Princes, and all judges of the earth] These are thrice called upon, because hardly persuaded to pay God his rent, as holding themselves too high to do him homage.

Ver. 12. Both young men, and maidens] Souls have no sexes; let the choice youths and the compt lasses quae totae occupantur in sese ornandis, saith Kimchi, who are much taken up in tricking and trimming themselves, leave that folly, and give glory to God.

Ver. 13. Let them praise the name of the Lord] Join in this harmony of hallelujah.

His glory is above] Being deeper than earth, higher than heaven.

Ver. 14. He also exalteth the horn] i.e. He graceth them singularly.

A people near unto him] And in that respect happy above all people on the earth, #De 4:7 33:29, because in covenant with him and near allied to him, as the word here importeth.

Chapter 149

Ver. 1. Praise ye the Lord] See #Ps 148:1.

Sing unto the Lord a new song] A New Testament song, of a new argument, and for new benefits by the coming of Christ, whereof this psalm is prophetic. Old things are past, all things are become new, #2Co 5:16; new commandments, new promises, new sacraments, new grace, new praises, new privileges.

In the congregation of saints] His beneficiaries, whose joint praises must come before him as the sound of many waters; this is heaven upon earth.

Ver. 2. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him] And new made him, #Eph 2:10, and thereby highly advanced him, as #1Sa 12:6. The Hebrew hath it, In his makers, to show the Trinity of persons concurring in the work both of creation and regeneration. So #Ge 1:26 Job 35:10 Isa 54:5 Ec 12:1. See #Ps 100:3.

Be joyful in their King] i.e. In Christ, whose kingdom is such as should swallow up all discontents, and make us everlastingly merry, #Mic 4:9. If Seneca could say to his friend, Polybius, Fas non est, salvo Caesare, de fortuna tua queri, Hoc incolumi salvi tibi sunt tui, &c., It is not fit for thee to complain of thine hard fortune so long as Caesar is alive, and well; how much more may it be said so to Christians, so long as Christ is alive, and reigns!

Ver. 3. Let them praise his name in the dance] Or, with the pipe, tibiis et tympanis et omni musices organicae genere, by all lawful means possible.

Ver. 4. For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people] #Ps 35:27, when they are under the cross especially, and thereby make meek. This the very heathen saw, and could say, Spectant Dii magnos viros, cum calamitate aliqua colluctantes. Ecce spectaculum, ad quod respiciat operi suo intentus Deus, saith Seneca of Cato, and other gallant Roman spirits (Lib. de Provid. c. 2). How much more may we say the like of God’s looking with singular delight on Abraham (Jehovah-jireh, "the Lord seeth," #Ge 22:14, Job, Stephen, Laurence, and other faithful martyrs, suffering courageously for his truth, and sealing it with their blood!

He will beautify (or glorify) the meek with salvation] i.e. Not only deliver them, but dignify them in the eyes of all; #Ps 91:15, I will deliver him, and glorify him. Bradford and such we shall look upon, likely (saith a grave author, Mr Bolton), with thoughts of extraordinary love and sweetness in the next world through all eternity; as Bonner and such with execrable and everlasting detestation.

Ver. 5. Let the saints be joyful in glory] i.e. In their glorious estate by Christ, notwithstanding their present poverty. "Let the brother of low degree rejoice (or glory) in that he is exalted," #Jas 1:9.

Let them sing aloud upon their beds] How hard soever; as Philpot and his fellow sufferers did. when they roused in the straw. Jacob had never more sweet intercourse with God than when his head lay upon the hard stone, at Bethel. Some by "beds" here understand the temples and schools. Confer #Isa 57:1,2 Others render it, Ovabunt de cubilibus suis, They shall sing aloud for their beds, that is, for their sweet and solid tranquillity.

Ver. 6. Let the high praises (or the exaltations) of God be in their mouth] Heb. in their throat. So Isa. lviil. 1, "Cry aloud"; Heb. cry in the throat, set up thy note.

— Sic clames, ut Stentora vincas.

And a two-edged sword in their hand] Such an invincible power shall the saints have, as whereby they shall subdue all their enemies, corporal and spiritual. See #Heb 13:12 Re 1:16 19:15. There was more than metal and form in Goliath’s sword, delivered by the priest to David; whose arm was not so much strengthend by it as his faith: so is every good Christian’s by that two-edged sword of the Spirit; he may well write upon it, as that renowned Talbot in the reign of Henry VI did upon his sword, in blunt and boisterous language, Sum Talbotti I am Talbot (this was engraven upon the one side of the blade, and upon the other) pro vincere inimicos meos For to conquer my enemies (Speed). See #2Co 10:4,5.

Ver. 7. To execute vengeance upon the heathen] viz. Upon a just calling, and not for private revenge; yea, that soldier can never answer it to God that strikes not more as a justicer than as an enemy, be his cause never so good. But that is the most noble vengeance that is executed upon men’s lusts; while they thrust the sword of the Spirit into the throats of them, and let out their life blood. That is a good sense that some give of these words, viz. that the saints, when they go forth to battle, should go with holy songs in their mouths, as well as with swords in their hands. See #Jud 7:19,20, &c.; #2Ch 20:21, &c.; the victoria Halleluiatica was got on this manner here in Britain, under the conduct of Germanus, against a mighty army of Pelagian Picts and Saxons. Ussier. de Brit. Eccles. Primord. This was the course and custom of the Angrognians in Piedmont against their Popish persecutors; and the like we read of the other French Protestants at the siege of Montaubon; that I mention not those gallant spirits at Edgehill battle with their reboated, Now for the fruit of prayer; together with the many psalms sung by that religious army in their several stations, whereof I have been an ear-witness.

Ver. 8. To bind their kings with chains] Restraining their vices, and bringing them to the obedience of faith. See #Isa 45:14. This is doubtless a desirable servitude, or rather freedom; this is not as chains and fetters, but as girdles and garters, to gird up their loins, and to expedite their course the better.

Ver. 9. To execute upon them the judgment written] The Jews thought they might kill any idolaters; and now to kill a Christian is counted by them a meritorious work. The wicked are apt to exceed their commission, #Zec 1:15. So may the saints. David was too cruel to the Ammonites, #2Sa 12:31, Theodosius to the Thessalonians. Here, therefore, they are limited to the word "written."

This honour have all his saints] As having obtained like precious faith, #2Pe 1:1.

Chapter 150

Ver. 1. Praise ye the Lord] See #Ps 148:1.

Praise God in his sanctuary] It is probable, saith Beza, that hoc Psalmo mirifici ardoris plano, by this psalm, which is so full of wonderful ardour, the holy singers of the sanctuary did mutually stir up one another to praise the Lord. It hath been noted before, that here we have in six verses twelve hallelujahs. Some by "sanctuary" understand heaven; others, the hearts of believers.

Praise him in the firmament of his power] Or, for the firmament wherein appeareth his power, #Ps 21:1. Or, for the Church, and the firmament of faith.

Ver. 2. Praise him for his mighty acts] Those wonderful effects of his creative and providential omnipotence.

Praise him according to his excellent greatness] Or, Greatness of greatness; which yet can never be done, but must be endeavoured. Propound the highest pitch and best patterns.

Ver. 3. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet] With all your might and members, with utmost joy and jollity in the Lord. Lord, I am a musical instrument, saith Nazianzen, for thee to touch, that I may sound forth thy glory and praise (Orat. de Basilio).

Ver. 4. Praise him with the timbrel and dance] Or, pipe. But these are ancient things (as it is said in another case, #1Ch 4:22), and now out of date. When the use of these musical instruments crept into the Christian Churches (which was not till lately) great abuses crept in with it; the preaching of the word was changed into songs and anthems, little understood by those that sang them, and that grave and simple psalmody or singing of psalms (so much used of old and by this blessed Reformation restored to the Church) was jostled out, or rather turned in turpissimum lenocinium (as one justly complaineth), such as Nebuchadnezzar made before his golden image, #Da 3:1 Justin Martyr musices usum reprehendit qu. 107, ad Orthodox. Sic Theodoret Lib. de Sacrific. When Aristotle was asked what he thought of music, he answered, Iovem nec canere, nec citharam pulsars; thinking it an unprofitable art to men, that was no more delightful to God. Plato told the musicians who pressed into his company, that philosophers could do well enough without them. There is (no doubt) a lawful use of music, and great power it hath to move men’s minds one way or another, #2Ki 3:15 1Sa 16:23. But in God’s public worship it is dangerous to do anything without his special warrant, though we intend never so well in so doing; as we see in Uzzah. Temple music was part of the Jewish pedagogy, of the Levitical worship; and therefore cannot be retained without injury to Christ.

Ver. 5. Praise him upon the loud cymbals] These were, saith Cicero (in Pison.), instrumenta aerea, concava, tinnula, in matris Deorum sacris usurpata; bells, some render it. The apostle speaketh of a tinkling cymbal; and a grave divine complaineth, that God cannot please some hearers unless he speak tinkling and tickling words (Dr Stough on #2Ti 1:13).

Ver. 6. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord] Or, Let every breath praise the Lord. Tam Dei meminisse opus est quam respirare, saith Chrysostom. We have all as much reason to praise God as we have need to draw breath; our breath should be like the smoke of the tabernacle, or those pillars of incense therehence ascending. Tremellius rendereth it, Tota ipsa anima laudet Iah, Let the very whole soul of us praise the Lord.

Praise ye the Lord] The psalmist had made an end, and yet he hath not done. When we have said our utmost for God’s praise we must rest uusatisfied, and begin anew.

Hoc primum repetas opus, hoc postremus omittas.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

Chapter 77

Chapter 78

Chapter 79

Chapter 80

Chapter 81

Chapter 82

Chapter 83

Chapter 84

Chapter 85

Chapter 86

Chapter 87

Chapter 88

Chapter 89

Chapter 90

Chapter 91

Chapter 92

Chapter 93

Chapter 94

Chapter 95

Chapter 96

Chapter 97

Chapter 98

Chapter 99

Chapter 100

Chapter 101

Chapter 102

Chapter 103

Chapter 104

Chapter 105

Chapter 106

Chapter 107

Chapter 108

Chapter 109

Chapter 110

Chapter 111

Chapter 112

Chapter 113

Chapter 114

Chapter 115

Chapter 116

Chapter 117

Chapter 118

Chapter 119

Chapter 120

Chapter 121

Chapter 122

Chapter 123

Chapter 124

Chapter 125

Chapter 126

Chapter 127

Chapter 128

Chapter 129

Chapter 130

Chapter 131

Chapter 132

Chapter 133

Chapter 134

Chapter 135

Chapter 136

Chapter 137

Chapter 138

Chapter 139

Chapter 140

Chapter 141

Chapter 142

Chapter 143

Chapter 144

Chapter 145

Chapter 146

Chapter 147

Chapter 148

Chapter 149

Chapter 150