Annotations Upon the Books of Poetry

PSALM LX.

The Title. TO the chief Musician upon Shushan-eduth, &c.] Shoshannim the plural number of this word Shushan, we have in the Title of the 45. Psalm, concerning which see the Note there. And because Eduth signifieth a testimony or beautiful ornament, therefore some translate Shushan-Eduth, the Lily of the Testimony, because this Psalm was a glorious testimony of David faith and thankfulness; or because praying in this Psalm for the good success of his forces gone out against the nations here mentioned, he insisteth largely on the glorious promises that God had made concerning the kingdom of David, and the enlarging of his people's territories, verse. 6, &c: and others, the lilly of beauty or ornament, because this Psalm shows that the kingdom of Israel should be glorious and eminent above other kingdoms, as the lilly is above other flowers: and others, a six-stringed instrument of the Testimony, because the Priests used to play hereon before the Ark, which was called the Testimony. Michtam of David, to teach: the same I conceive is intended in this clause, as is in those Titles, A Psalm of David, Maschil, Psal. 32, and, A Psalm of David to bring to remembrance, Psal. 38. concerning which see the Notes there. Yet some would express the particulars which this Psalm was intended to teach : as that it was to teach posterity the great things that David had done; or to teach that God would fully make good his promise concerning the land of Canaan, though hitherto a good part of it had been kept from them: yea and some hold that these words imply, that the Levites were to teach it their scholars, that it might be sung as a triumphant song when David should return with triumph. As for the following words, when he strove with Aram Naharaim, &c. see the Notes 2 Sam. 8.3. and 13.

Vers. 1. O God thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, &c.] This is spoken of the sad condition, wherein the people had been, not only in the days of the judges, but also more lately under Saul, especially towards the later end of his reign, when partly by reason of Saul's cruelty to the Priests and other the godly of the land, and partly by reason of the frequent invasions of the Philistines and other bordering nations, the Israelites were often sorely distressed, and sometimes forced to fly and hide themselves in several places: see 1 Sam. 13.19, and 31.7. Yea and it may comprehend all the time when there was civil war between David and the house of Saul, in the beginning of David's reign; all which time the land was under great afflictions, and that justly for their sins, as he intimateth in the next words, thou hast been displeased.

Vers. 2. Thou hast made the earth to tremble, thou hast broken it, &c.] Either this is spoken in reference to the inhabitants of the land, that God made their hearts to tremble, and that he had broken them in pieces with civil dissensions; or else the meaning is, that God had brought such grievous troubles upon them, that the earth seemed as it were to tremble under them as with an earthquake, and to be • ent asunder.

Vers. 3. Thou hast shown thy people hard things, &c.] That is, Thou hast brought upon us many grievous miseries; see the Note Psal. 4.6: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment ; that is, thou hast brought us to such a condition, that we are astonished and tremble and stagger, full of horror and trouble of spirit, dull and stupid in the evils that are fallen upon us, and even bereaved of sense and understanding, not knowing what to do, or which way to turn ourselves, no otherwise then as if we had been made to drink of some venomous or enchanted cup. See the Note Psal. 11.6.

Vers. 4. Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee; that it maybe displayed because of the truth. ] This may also be understood of those foregoing evil times, whereof David had spoken hitherto: as if he had said, To make good the truth of thy promises, and to let thy people see how faithful thou art in all thy promises, even in those times thou hast returned in mercy to them that feared thee, and hast led them forth to sight with their enemies, and hast made them victorious over them. For by giving a banner to them that feared him is meant, not only that God had led them forth and encouraged them to go forth with banners displayed against their enemies, but also that he had given them the victory in the day of battle, whereof displayed banners were a sign. And if we understand it thus, of what God had done for his people in former times after he had sorely afflicted them, then is it alleged as an argument to move God to do the same for his people now again. But I rather think that David speaks here of what God had done at present for them. And accordingly by the banner displayed is meant, either God's anointing David to be the king of his people; as if he had said, Though thou hast many years thus afflicted thy people, yet now thou hast raised up a banner to them that fear thee, in that thou hast given me to be king to this people, whom they follow cheerfully, and under whose conduct they have fought successfully against their enemies: or else, the many victories which God had given them; and then it is as if he had said, However it hath been formerly, yet now for their sakes that fear thee, and to strengthen our faith with assurance that thou wilt make good all thy promises, and particularly those concerning the enlarging of our dominions, by the many victories given us for the gathering together and encouragement of thy scattered and disheartened people, as oft as we go out with our armies we return victoriously; not as formerly, with most of our ensigns and soldiers lost, but as conquerors with banners displayed; and hereby we are heartened with assurance, that God will still subdue our enemies under us.

Vers. 5. That thy beloved may be delivered, &c.] This may be referred to the foregoing verse, as another reason why God had lifted up a banner to them that feared him, to wit, that those his beloved ones might be delivered, who before were in danger to be overrun by their enemies round about them; or else rather it is to be referred to that which follows; as if it had been expressed thus, Save with thy right hand and hear me, that thy beloved may be delivered. This and the seven following verses we have again in the end of the 108. Psalm.

Vers. 6. God hath spoken in his holiness, &c.] That is, say some, in his Sanctuary. But the meaning hereof they make to be this, that God had promised him that the kingdom of Israel should be settled upon him and his seed forever: and though this promise was brought to him by Samuel first, and lately by Nathan, 2 Sam. 7.11, 12, &c. yet for the assured certainty of it he looked upon it no otherwise, then as if it had been an oracle given by God himself out of his Sanctuary. But I rather understand it thus: God hath holily and faithfully promised the kingdom to me and mine: as he is a holy God he hath promised it; and therefore he can no more fail of performing his promises, then he can cease to be a holy God: so that it is all one in effect as if he had said, God hath sworn by his holiness; according to that Psal. 89.35, 36. Now hereupon David adds, I will rejoice ; as if he had said, And herein I will rejoice, and will cheerfully enjoy the victories and kingdom which God hath given me. Though God hath given me great encouragement by the success of my wars, and hath given me great cause thereby to think that God, who was offended with his people in the days of Saul, is now become favorable again to them; yet that which I build upon is the promise of God: I did not by any faction exalt myself to be king, but God promised the kingdom should be mine. And this promise, together with his rejoicing in that God had already, and would yet farther perform it for him, he expresseth in the following words, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth ; that is, God hath put all the land of Canaan, both the country within Jordan, where Shechem stood, and the country without Jordan, where Succoth was, under my absolute dominion, and hath appointed it to be left unto my posterity by right of inheritance. The phrase used alludes to the power that lords have to divide a land which is brought under their subjection, as Joshua did the land of Canaan. And the rather doth he mention these places, (together with Gilead and Manasseh in the following verse) because they had stood out longest against David, and had most obstinately sided with Ishbosheth, see 2 Sam. 2.8: and therefore the certainty of God's promise was herein most notably discovered.

Vers. 7. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, &c.] See the former Note: Ephraim also is the strength of mine head ; the ground of this expression is, because this tribe was above others numerous and strong, and had many that were famous men of valor and expert in war, concerning which see the prophesies concerning this tribe Gen. 48.19. and Deut. 32.11: and either he alludes therein to the heads of those beasts that are armed with horns, making Manasseh and Ephraim the horns wherewith he would gore his enemies; or else the meaning is, tha • Ephraim was the strength of his head, that is, of his kingdom and sovereignty, his headship and principality; or that from them he would have many to be of his life-guard; and so the like phrase is used 1 Sam. 28.2. for which see the Notes there. Judah is my law-giver, which is said either because in Jerusalem, which was in Judah's portion, the great council of the Sanhedrim was kept, see the Note Numb. 11.16. as likewise David's sovereign court of justice, Psal. 122.5. there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David ; or 2. because he meant chiefly out of this tribe to choose his princes, judges and counsellors, that should give laws to the people, and be subservient to him in the government of the kingdom; or 3. because out of his loins (who was of this tribe) there was still to be a king sitting on the throne of Judah, according to that prophesy (whereto he alludes) Gen. 49.10. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, &c.

Vers. 8. Moab is my washpot, &c.] Though in the foregoing verse he gloried in the Israelites subjection to him, yet the services he there assigns to them are ingenuous and honorable, because he was to rule over them as brethren; but these now assigned to the foreign nations, that were subdued by him, are baser and servile. Moab is my wash-pot ; or, wash-boul ; that is, I will make no more reckoning of them, then a man doth of a pot provided to wash dishes in, or rather to wash his feet in (for that in those Eastern countries they used to do very frequently) I will employ them in the basest of services, making them the scullions of my kitchen: yea, and it may imply also, that he would no more scruple the destroying of them, then a man would to throw an earthen pot against the ground and dash it in pieces; see the Note 2 Sam. 8.2: Over Edom will I cast out my shoe ; that is, I will trample upon the Edomites, as a vanquished people, and will take possession of their country, as mine by conquest, see the Note Ruth 4.7. Or else this phrase may imply, that he would use them as his slaves: for this phrase may be taken from that contemptuous carriage of masters towards their slaves, when they in anger throw their shoes at their heads, or at least in a way of scorn do throw them at them, intending they should make them clean, or bring them after them. And this he expresseth in the future tense, because the Edomites were not wholly subdued. Philistia, triumph thou because of me ; to wit, as becomes subjects to honor the victories of their king. It may be read also, as it is in the margin of our Bibles, triumph thou over me ; but then it must be understood as spoken in a way of mocking them: as if he had said, You Philistines were wont to domineer and triumph over us, and now of late to scorn me, as if I should never have been able to subdue you; but now you see God hath brought you in subjection to me: And indeed in Psal. 108. this clause is expressed thus, Over Philistia will I triumph.

Vers. 9. Who will bring me into the strong city? &c.] That is, the strong cities of Edom; as is implied in the next words, who will lead me into Edom? as if he had said. Having vanquished the Edomites in the open field, as is expressed in the title of this Psalm, how shall I now come to subdue their defensed cities? And indeed that the cities of the Edomites were very strong, appears plainly by that of the prophet to Edom, Obad. 3. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? But yet many Expositors do rather think that Rabbah of the Ammonites is the strong city here intended, 2 Sam. 12.26. and that chiefly because it may seem strange, that there should be mention here made of all the bordering enemies of Israel round about, and yet nothing said of them.

Vers. 10. Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? &c.] Thus David gives a hint again, how much better it was with God's people now under his government, then it had been in Saul's reign, that they might acknowledge that God was pleased with the settling of him in the throne.

PSALM LXI.

Vers. 1. HEar my cry, O God, &c.] Several expositors hold that this Psalm was composed by David, as a prayer of the people of God: but I see no convincing reason, why it may not be as well understood as spoken by him in his own name.

Vers. 2. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed, &c.] To wit, with fear, care and sorrow: see the Note 2 Sam. 15.30. For because here verse. 6. he stiles himself king, it may seem most probable that this Psalm was composed when he was fled from Absalom even unto Mahanaim, which was in the utmost borders of the land without Jordan, 2 Sam. 17.24: and though thereupon many expositors hold, that the first clause should be translated, from the end of the land will I cry unto thee ; yet I should rather think that it may purposely be expressed in those words, from the end of the earth, to imply, that although he should be driven not only to the end of the land, but to the end of the earth, yet even from thence he would cry to God for help: see the Note Psal 42.6. Lead me to the rock that is higher then I ; that is, which is so high above me, that I of myself am not able to climb up to it; meaning this, Do thou bring me into an estate of more sure safety, then I by any power or forces of mine am able to attain.

Vers. 4. I will abide in thy tabernacle forever, &c.] Though there be in these words a clear promise, that when God should bring him back again to Jerusalem, he would constantly worship God in his Tabernacle, concerning which see the Note Psal. 23.6: yet I conceive the chief thing intended therein is, to imply that he doubted not, but doing so, he should there find sure and constant protection, see the Note Psal. 27.5. which is farther explained in the next clause, I will trust in the covert of thy wings, for which see the Notes Ruth 2.12. Psal. 17.8, and 57.1.

Vers. 5. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows ; &c.] That is, my prayers, which with vows annexed I offered up unto thee; thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name ; that is, those present and future blessings, which are the peculiar portion of those that truly fear God, and wherein the men of the world have no share at all, as the love and favor of God &c. Others conceive that this heritage of those that fear God's name, given to David, was either the enjoyment of God's holy ordinances in his tabernacle, which indeed the faithful did esteem their choicest heritage, and whereof he had spoken in the foregoing verse, I will abide in thy tabernacle forever; or else the quiet possession of the land of Canaan, which God had promised to his people, and which was indeed never conferred upon them in the largest extent thereof till the days of David, but now was given to him, in regard of the government thereof, and to his seed after him.

Vers. 6. Thou wilt prolong the kings life, and his years as many generations. ] See the Note Psal. 21.4.

Vers. 7. He shall abide before God forever, &c.] That is, He shall constantly enjoy God's favor and protection: see the Note above verse. 4. and likewise Psal. 56.13. But understanding it of Christ, it may be meant of his appearing in the presence of God for us, Heb. 9.24. O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him ; that is, Furnish him with those graces which are wont to preserve both the persons and thrones of princes, to wit, mercy and compassion, truth and equity and upright dealing; according to that of Solomon Prov. 29.14. The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established forever ; see the Note Psal. 45.4: or else rather, Provide means for his preservation out of thy mercy and faithfulness to him.

Vers 8. So will I sing praise unto thy name forever, &c.] See the Note Psal. 34.1: that I may daily perform my vows, namely, my vows of praise and thanksgiving; for they only can be daily performed. And herein he refers to what he had said before verse. 5. for thou, O God, hast heard my vows.

PSALM LXII.

Vers. 1. TRuly my soul waiteth upon God. ] David breaks forth into these words abruptly, as one that had been long struggling with a temptation▪ sometimes inclining one way, sometimes another; but yet at last having gotten the day, concludes with confidence, Truly my soul waiteth upon God: as if he had said, Let Satan or mine own corrupt heart suggest what they will to the contrary, though the Lord may seem to have forsaken me, in that he suffers mine enemies continually to molest me, yet truly my soul waiteth upon God.

Vers. 2. I shall not be greatly moved. ] According to that of the Apostle, 2 Cor. 4.8, 9. we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed : see 1 Cor. 10.13. See the Notes also Psal. 13.4, and 16.8, and 21.7. and 37.24.

Vers. 3. How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? &c.] That is, against me? why do so many of you conspire mischief against one poor man? ye shall be slain all of you; as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence, that is, ye cannot stand long, ere long ye will fall both suddenly and violently; any small thing shall make you fall headlong, yea your own envy and wickedness shall ruin you, as a bowing wall and a tottering fence will fall even with its own weight. A wall when it cracks and bulks out may seem twice as broad as it was, and therefore to stand very firm; but yet it is certainly near to ruin; and so David saith it would be with his enemies: though they were swoln with pride, and might look and talk bigly, yet ere long they would certainly fall, and be utterly ruined in an instant. We have an expression much like this Isa. 30.13. wherefore this iniquity shall be to you, as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.

Vers. 4. They only consult to cast him down from his excellency, &c.) That is, the man mentioned in the foregoing verse, whom they sought to cast down from the regal dignity whereto God had anointed him: they delight in lies, that is, in slanders and false flatteries; or rather in those evil practices, which will deceive those that rely thereon. See the Note Psal. 4.2.

Vers. 7. In God is my salvation and my glory. ] See the Note Psal. 3.3.

Vers. 8. Trust in him at all times, &c.] See the Note Psal. 34.1. Ye people pour out your heart before him. See the Notes 1 Sam. 1.15. and Psal. 42.4.

Vers. 9. Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie, &c.] To wit, because they are poor, weak creatures, able of themselves to do neither good nor evil; and withal they are unstable and inconstant, and oftentimes deceitful and perfidious: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether (or, alike) lighter then vanity ; that is, if men do well weigh things in the judgment of right reason, and do make just trial of them, they will find that all men are alike mere vanity, or that if all mankind together be put in one scale, and vanity in the other, vanity will overweigh them. Now the drift of inserting these words here is to confirm his foregoing advice, that men should trust in God, by showing the vanity of trusting on men. Yet some think the aim of this clause is to show, that men may safely trust in God, because men are such poor vain creatures, no way worthy their admiration or fear.

Vers. 10. Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery, &c.] That is, Trust not in the wealth that is gotten by oppression and robbery, nor in those sinful practices, or in any such like; think not by any such evil courses to accomplish your desires. And he calls this becoming vain in robbery, because men do vainly deceive themselves, when they trust in such things; to which purpose the like expression is used Jer. 23.16. Hearken not unto the words of the prophets, that prophesy unto you; they make you vain : yea and it may imply also, that it argued lightness and vanity in them to be so ready to catch at these things for their safety and defense; and that it would make them be vile and foolish in the eyes of others. If riches increase, to wit, though it be in a lawful way, set not your heart upon them; that is, do not trust in them, nor dote on them, so as to be proud of them, and anxiously solicitous to preserve or increase them.

Vers. 11. God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this, &c.] That is, oftentimes; so that there is no question to be made of it. See the Note Job 33.14.

Vers. 12. Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy, &c.] The sweet content he took in thinking on God's mercy makes David turn his speech to God, Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy ; so that thy servants may with confidence rest upon thee: for thou rendrest to every man according to his work; and therefore the righteous may in this regard also trust in God, as assuring themselves that God will protect and bless them, and punish their wicked enemies.

PSALM LXIII.

The Title. A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. ] To wit, the forest of Hareth, 1 Sam. 22.5. or the wilderness of Ziph, 1 Sam. 23.14, and 26.1, 2. both which were in the tribe of Judah, and David often in both of them in great distress and danger, by reason of the incessant persecution of Saul.

Vers. 1. My soul thirsteth for thee, &c.] To wit, to enjoy the presence of God in his Tabernacle; see the Note Psal. 42.22: my flesh longeth for thee (which is added, because when the soul of a man doth earnestly desire anything, the body will be likewise stirred and affected therewith:) in a dry and thirsty land where no water is ; that is, a land that being chapt through drought, doth seem to thirst for water, and when it comes, drinks it in greedily like a thirsty man; or, a land wherein the inhabitants or passengers for want of water are dried up with thirst: and indeed the word in the original signifieth a weary land, that is, a wilderness, through which travellers could not pass without much faintness and weariness. Now thus David describes the place where he was, 1. to imply his faith and confidence in God, in that being in such straits he did not forget God, nor cast away his hope in him, but rather his distress made him long the more after God; and 2. to express thereby the fervency of his desires after God, in that as great as his wants were being in such a dry and barren wilderness, yet he minded not his straits in such outward respects, in comparison of his desire to enjoy God's presence in his Sanctuary. Yea and it may imply also that the place where he hid himself was as void of spiritual comforts, as it was of water; and that the parched ground thirsted not more after water, then he did after God.

Vers. 2. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the Sanctuary. ] Some conceive that David in these words desired, that he might be as effectually refreshed with the consideration of God's power and glory, even whilst he was in that dry wilderness, as ever he had been in the Sanctuary. But I rather conceive that David's desire herein is, that he might again enjoy the signs of God's powerful and glorious presence in his Sanctuary, with the same refreshing to his soul, as he had formerly done; to wit, the Ark (for which see the Notes 1 Sam. 4.21. 1 Chron. 16.11. and 2 Chron. 6.41.) and all other the holy Ordinances that were thereto be enjoyed.

Vers. 3. Because thy loving kindness is better then life, my lips shall praise thee. ] His aim herein may be to imply, either 1. that however he was at present in a sad condition, in a place that was altogether comfortless, and withal in continual danger of his life; yet being assured of God's favor, which may justly be preferred before life itself, he should in that alone have abundant cause to bless God: or 2. that when he was restored to the enjoyment of the signs of God's loving kindness in his Sanctuary, he would there praise God's name, & that not so much for his deliverance, as for that discovery of God's loving kindness, which was far better then life itself: or 3. that there was more assurance for a man's safety in God's loving kindness, then there was in life itself, or in all the natural advantages that tended to the preservation of life, so that the assurance of God's favor might be a juster ground of praising God even in the greatest dangers, then any safety in regard of his outward condition could yield.

Vers.4. Thus will I bless thee, while I live, &c.] This word ( thus ) may have reference to divers particulars. Thus, that is, as I purpose and do at this present, though in great distress; or thus, that is, Being thus restored, according to my desire, to thy Sanctuary, there I will openly praise thee. But I rather think it refers to those affections he had described to be in himself concerning his desire after God's Tabernacle; Thus, that is, being thus affectionately desirous of enjoying thy presence in the Sanctuary, and esteeming thy loving kindness better then life itself, I will bless thee, while I live, that is, where ever and in what condition soever I am. I will lift up my hands ; to wit, in praising thee, or in praying to thee; as if he had said, Being thus delivered I shall be forever encouraged to pray unto thee; see the Note Job 11.13: in thy name, that is, to thy name, as it is elsewhere expressed, Psal. 9.2; as if he had said, I will call upon thee: yet it may be understood divers other ways; in thy name, that is, through thy help; or, at thy command; or, trusting in thy goodness and mercy.

Vers. 5. My soul shall be satisfied, as with marrow and fatness, &c.] This, with that which follows in the next verse, may be meant, either of the time when he should be restored to God's Sanctuary again, to wit, that then remembering on his bed the comforts he had found in God's Ordinances, and the enjoyment of God's presence therein, his soul should be abundantly satisfied therewith; or else of the time of his exile in the wilderness, to wit, that even there, when he could not come at God's Tabernacle, and when he was in no little want of outward things, yet remembering God, his soul should be abundantly satisfied with spiritual comforts. For the phrase here used, see the Note Psal. 36.8.

Vers. 6. When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. ] That is, at several times of the night, for they divided the night by several watches: see the Note Judge. 7.19.

Vers. 7. In the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. ] To wit, as chickens that sleep securely and with content under the wings of their dams. See the Notes Ruth 2.12. and Psal. 17.8, and 57.1.

Vers. 8. My soul followeth hard after thee, &c.] As if he should have said, Though I be driven far from God's Tabernacle, and God may seem to have cast me off; yet out of the strength of my affections to him, and through faith in his mercy and the fatherly love he bears to me, even in this afflicted condition, notwithstanding all the discouragements that lie in my way, my thoughts are still running after God; neither do I cease constantly to desire and seek with all earnestness after his favor, yea and after his favorable presence in his Sanctuary. And then for the following words, thy right hand upholdeth me, either they are added 1. as the motive that encouraged him to follow so hard after God, namely, that God had still preserved him, and supported him in all his troubles; or else 2. as the effect of his so pressing after God, to wit, that because he did thus trust in God, therefore God did uphold him; or 3. as the means whereby he was enabled in so sad a condition to persevere still in seeking after God, namely, because God by his spirit did support him.

Vers. 9. But those that seek my soul to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. ] That is, They shall be laid in the grave, or thrown into hell, or hide themselves in caves and dens.

Vers. 11. But the king shall rejoice in God, &c.] This he speaks of himself in the third person, believing assuredly that God would yet in time make good his promise to him concerning the kingdom: everyone that sweareth by him, that is, by God, shall glory ; that is, all that truly worship God, that truly fear and serve God, shall triumph when God shall destroy mine enemies, and exalt me to the throne, as knowing that hereby the good of the people in general shall be promoted, and that in my kingdom the kingdom of the promised Messiah shall begin to shoot forth. Because swearing by God is appointed as a part of divine worship Deut. 6.13. therefore usually in the Scripture it is figuratively put for the whole worship of God; as Isa. 45.23. unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear, and Isa. 65.16. he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth. Yet withal this may particularly imply such as did sincerely appeal to God, as the witness of their innocence: and therefore unto these are opposed, in the following clause, those that speak lies, but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped ; to wit, either by being cut off and destroyed; or by being so confounded with shame, that they shall not dare to utter any such lies anymore.

PSALM LXIV.

Vers. 1. PReserve my life from the fear of the enemy. ] That is, Preserve me from being afraid of the enemy; or from the evil which I fear the enemy should do me.

Vers. 3. Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows, &c.] See the Note Psal. 57.4.

Vers 4. That they may shoot in secret at the perfect, &c.] That is, at me, who am perfectly clear of the least evil intended ever against them. See the Notes Psal. 11.2, and 26.1.

Vers. 5. They commune of laying snares privily; they say, who shall see them? ] That is, the snares they have laid; or themselves that laid the snares: see the Note Psal. 59.7.

Vers. 6. They search out iniquities, &c.] That is, They seek to lay divers iniquities to my charge; or they devise and plot how they may unjustly oppress & ruin me: and accordingly the following words, they accomplish a diligent search, do set forth their diligence in plotting mischief against him; and perhaps also in trying all ways to effect and accomplish what they had so contrived. Only indeed this last clause may be translated otherwise, we are consumed by that which they have thoroughly searched : and then the drift of the words is, to imply the exceeding danger the righteous servants of God were in by reason of these crafty plots of their enemies, namely, that in the judgment of their enemies the righteous could never escape their snares, and were no better then dead men already; and that in true judgment, if they were left unto themselves, it could be no better with them. And therefore he adds, both the inward thought of everyone of them and the heart is deep ; that is, they are full of deep dissembling, craft and subtlety: so that hereby they are charged 1. that they did not carry on their designs with open fury and violence, but whilst they were silent and dissembled outwardly, they maliciously contrived mischief against him in their hearts; and 2. that being men of a deep reach, they found out many unexpected ways of deceit and mischief.

Vers. 8. So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves, &c.] This is thus expressed to signify, 1. that when God's wrath was fallen upon them, they should accuse and condemn themselves; 2. that the evil intended against David by their bitter words should fall upon themselves; 3. that their slanders and bitter words should be the means of their own ruin; & 4. that at least this should bring down God's vengeance upon them. However he implies, that thus they should be slain with their own sword, and that the arrows they shot against David should recoil back, and wound themselves: see before verse. 3.

Vers. 10. The righteous shall be glad, &c.] See the Note Psal. 58.10.

PSALM LXV.

The Title. A Psalm and Song of David. ] See the Note on the Title of the 30. Psalm. Because of several passages in this Psalm, verse. 3, 9, 10, 11, &c. many Expositors conceive that it was composed, when after the three years famine in David's time, God was pleased by sending a seasonable rain to give them hopes of a plentiful harvest, 2 Sam. 21.

Vers. 1. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion, &c.] It is in the original, Praise is silent to thee▪ O God, in Zion ; and many observable particulars this implies: as 1. that God is good unto his Church in a special manner above others, and gives them daily new occasions of praising him; 2. that his Church are the only people that do truly know God, and so the only people that know how to praise him; 3. that God did only accept of the worship which they performed, and the praise which they offered, Zion being the only place where God would be worshipped; 4. that whereas others, though they live upon God's blessings, yet mind not the Donour, God's people are still careful and ready for every mercy to return praise; and 5. that even in the worst times the people of God will with patient silence wait upon him, in assurance that he would give them occasion to praise his name.

Vers. 2. O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come. ] Here David begins to reckon up the benefits for which God was most worthy to be praised in Zion; and accordingly in the first place he pitcheth upon this, that he was most ready to hear the prayers of his people; insomuch that all flesh, that is, all sorts of men of all nations, though but dust and ashes, poor, frail, helpless creatures, might hereby be encouraged to draw near in prayer unto him, the glorious God of heaven and earth. And thus the words do also covertly imply a prophecy concerning the calling of the Gentiles.

Vers. 3. Iniquities prevail against me, &c.] Here David mentions another great mercy which God affords his Church, for which they were especially bound to praise him, and that is his pardoning their sins: and it is added here as that which must encourage them to go to God in prayer, of which he had spoken in the foregoing verse. Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away : which is as if he had said, Though our iniquities be such, that they may justly provoke thee to displeasure, yet thou wilt pardon them, and purge them away, to wit, by an expiatory sacrifice, which shall be offered up for them. For by this phrase of iniquities prevailing against him, divers things may be implied: as 1 ^st , that his opposition against them had not been such, but that they had overcome and foiled him; 2 ^lie , that they had brought him into subjection and bondage to them; 3 ^lie , that they were so many and great, that he was not able to bear them, but was likely to sink under the burden of them; and 4 ^lie , that they had brought God's judgments upon him: and indeed by other passages in this Psalm it seems probable, that it was composed when the people of God had been under some sore judgment. As for David's expressing this in the singular number, Iniquities prevail against me, whereas the following words are in the plural number, as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away, the reason of this is, either because he speaks in the name of the whole people, as it were collectively in one body, and that the rather, as being their king and head; or else because, this Psalm being intended as a form of thanksgiving for the use of the people, he would hereby teach every man, as it were by his example, to confess his own particular sins.

Vers. 4. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, &c.] Here still farther mercies are added, for which God was in a special manner to be praised in Zion: and he begins with that of God's choosing them of his own free grace to be his people, this being the first spring of that mentioned in the foregoing verse, to wit, his pardoning their sins; and then in the following words adds divers others, Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee; to wit, by receiving them to thy favor, who were enemies by nature, by taking them into so near a relation to thee, as to be thy peculiar people, yea thy children, such as may continually have free access unto thee, as are through Christ made one with thee, and to whom thou wilt communicate thyself unto all eternity: that he may dwell in thy courts ▪ see the Notes Psal. 15.1, and 23.6: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, &c. See the Note Psal. 36.8.

Vers. 5. By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation, &c.] That is, Because of thy righteousness, to wit, thy faithfulness, which moveth thee to make good thy promises to thy people, see the Note Psal. 51.14, or thy justice, which moveth thee to aid all those that are wronged and oppressed, thou wilt answer us when we call upon thee from thy tabernacle and temple, (which is one of the Privileges of God's people mentioned in the foregoing verse;) and that by executing strange and unusual judgments upon our adversaries, and by many miraculous deliverances afforded us, which shall be terrible to our enemies, and dreadful to thine own people: and it is likely that David speaks of these terrible things, in reference to the signs and miracles which God wrought in Egypt, and at the giving of the law. As for the following clause, wherein he terms God the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea, this is added, either 1. to imply, that the Gentiles should also be sharers with the Jews in these mercies, when they also should become the people of God; or 2. to intimate, that by those forementioned terrible things, which God should work for his people, many that dwelt far off from his people should be won to pray unto and to trust in God; or 3. to set forth the power of this God, who should do such great things for his people, and so give them such special occasion to praise him in Zion, by showing that all the inhabitants of the world, far and near, have their dependence wholly upon God, in whom they live, move, and have their being: see the Note Psal. 22.9. whence it is also that by a secret instinct of nature all nations are moved to look to God in their dangers, though they be indeed ignorant of the true God.

Vers. 6. Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains, being girded with power. ] That is, which God, being endued with an almighty power, doth cause the mountains to stand fast, so that neither the winds nor floods can remove them, nor do they sink under their own weight, as great buildings of men often do for want of a firm foundation. I conceive that David adds this large description that here follows, of the great works of God throughout the world, either 1. to show that it was no such strange thing, that God should extend grace at last to the Gentiles, as well as to the Jews, since from the first creation God had been very good to all the inhabitants of the world, and had done great things for them; or 2. to set forth the mighty power of that God, from whom his people expect such terrible things to be done for them; or 3. because, though all the world receive benefit from these great works of God, yet only Zion looks on them as blessings from God, and returns him praise for them.

Vers. 7. Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people. ] Some conceive that the last words, and the tumult of the people, are added by way of explaining what he meant in the first words, to wit, God's appeasing the tumults and insurrections of unruly people, whereby kingdoms and common-wealths are endangered: and indeed by seas and the waves thereof in the Scripture great armies and tumults of people are usually meant; as Jer. 51.42. and so Esa. 17.12, 13; see also the Notes Psal. 46.3, 6. But I rather choose the plainer exposition, that in the first words he speaks of God's stilling the seas, to wit, both by keeping them within their bounds that they overflow not the land, and by making them quiet at his pleasure, when they are most tempestuous; and that then in the next words he adds, that after the same manner likewise he stilleth the tumult of the people.

Vers. 8. They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens, &c.] Any great works of God, wherein there is any special impression of his majesty and glory, may be termed God's tokens ; and therefore some understand hereby the sun, moon and stars, which are seen in the remotest parts of the earth, and of which God said in the first creation, Gen. 1.14. Let them be for signs. But because David speaks here of such tokens as should make men afraid, I rather conceive that hereby is meant such works of God as are looked upon by men as tokens of his anger, as namely 1. thunder and lightening, and hail, and earthquakes, and comets, and other strange meteors seen often in the air; or 2. those miraculous signs which God wrought for the good of his people and the ruin of their enemies, as the dividing of the red sea, &c. the fame whereof was terrible to the nations far off; or 3. the judgments which he executes upon wicked men, such particularly (say some Expositors) as disturb the peace of kingdoms; for they conceive this is spoken in reference to the tumult of the people mentioned in the last words of the foregoing verse. As for the following words, thou makest the out-goings of the morning and the evening to rejoice, thereby is meant, either 1. that God makes all the men of the world from East to West to rejoice with his manifold blessings: or 2. that he makes all men to rejoice in the out-goings of the sun in the morning, (an expression used likewise Psal. 19.6. His going forth is from the end of the heaven ) and so likewise of the moon and stars in the evening; as the tokens before-mentioned are a cause of terror to men, so these of rejoicing: or 3. that by giving peace to the inhabitants of the earth, to wit, through the terror wherewith the nations are restrained and kept in, by reason of those tokens of God's wrath mentioned in the foregoing clause▪ men may go out cheerfully in the morning, and the wild beasts in the evening, without terror or danger; according to what the Psalmist saith, Psal. 104.20, 23: or 4. that when men go out to walk in the cool of the morning and evening, he maketh them to rejoice, in beholding how the earth is enriched with all kind of plenty: or 5. that he maketh the out-goings of the sun in the morning, the moon and stars in the evening, to have a cheerful and pleasant aspect, as if they seemed to laugh or to sing; as we see the like poetical expression used again verse. 13. to set forth the pleasant look of fields covered with corn. And indeed the two last expositions seem to me the most probable.

Vers. 9. Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it, &c.] To wit, as men are wont to visit their friends, carrying wine and sweet-meats, or some such like junkets with them; see also the Note above on the Title: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water ; that is, say some Expositors, the river Shiloah, which ran close by Jerusalem, the city of God; or the river of Jordan, the chief river of Canaan, God's holy land, which used at times to overflow its banks, and so to make the land the more fruitful. But I rather conceive that it is those sweet and plentiful showers of rain sent from God out of heaven, or the clouds from whence the rain falls, that is here called the river of God; and that hereby is intimated, that seasonable showers were to the land of Canaan to enrich it with plenty, instead of those great rivers wherewith other countries are watered, see the Notes Deut. 11.10, 11, 12; and instead of those brooks and rivulets, which husbandmen draw into their grounds to make them fruitful.

Vers. 11. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness, &c.] Two things may be implied in this phrase: 1. that the plenty of corn and flowers and fruit &c. which God of his goodness caused the earth to bring forth, was an ornament to it, like a coronet or garland upon the head of a man; and 2. that God blessed the whole circle or revolution of the year, that in every part of it there were still some fruits of God's bounty thereon to be seen: and thy paths drop fatness; that is, thy clouds; whereon God is elsewhere said to walk and to ride as in a chariot, as Psal. 104.3. and Nahum 1.3. or else the meaning is only this, that it is he only that maketh the earth rich and fruitful; and in the expression used there may seem to be an allusion to that which is commonly said of men's careful visiting their grounds, to wit, that every field is best dunged by the dust that falls from the masters feet.

Vers. 12. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness, &c.] That is, such places as are not manured and tilled, and are less frequented of people; see the Notes Job 38.25, 26: and the little hills, though in summer they are most parched, and in winter most pinched with cold, rejoice on every side, to wit, as being full of vines and other pleasant fruit-trees &c. and so the inhabitants do thereupon rejoice; yea themselves have a pleasant aspect, as it is usual with the latin poets to say prata rident : and so likewise the next verse must be understood. See the Note before verse. 8.

PSALM LXVI.

Vers. 1. MAke a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands. ] Hereby the Psalmist expresseth how earnestly he desired that God might be glorified, in that he could wish that, if it were possible, all nations might be won to praise his name, as indeed there was just cause for all to do. But see farther in the Notes upon Deut. 32.43. and 1 Chron. 16.23, 24.

Vers. 3. Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works? &c.] The Psalmist bids them thus to direct their speech to God, because when men set God before their eyes in any holy service they undertake, it makes them perform it the more heartily and fervently. And by putting all nations upon the acknowledgement of God's terrible works, he covertly encourageth the people to trust in God, who could do such terrible things to their enemies. Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee : see the Note 2 Sam. 22.45.

Vers. 5. Come and see the works of God, &c.] That is, Weigh well with us the wonderful works of God; see also the Note Psal. 46.8: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men; that is, those profane men that are adversaries to the people of God; or all mankind in general. And it may be spoken by way of contempt, to intimate how base and vain they are in comparison of God.

Vers. 6. He turned the sea into dry land, &c.] That is, the red sea: they went through the flood on foot; that is, Jordan: there did we rejoice in him; that is, our nation, or we his people; for thus they speak of themselves as one body with their forefathers, to show that the wonders wrought for their forefathers were a just ground of encouragement for them. We have the like expressions Psal. 81.5. and Hos. 12.4.

Vers. 7. He ruleth by his power forever, &c.] As if he had said, And therefore what he hath done for his people in former times he can do still: his eyes behold the nations, to wit, to observe their ways, to rule and overrule them as he pleaseth: let not the rebellious exalt themselves; to wit, because this omnipotent all-seeing God can easily destroy them.

Vers. 10. Thou hast tried us as silver is tried. ] That is, with very sore and many afflictions, as silver is tried in a hot fire and many times; see Psal. 12.6, and the Note upon Job 23.10: yet not to destroy us, but to purge away our corruptions: and therefore when God trieth his people with lighter afflictions, he saith on the contrary, Isa. 48.10. Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver, or, as silver.

Vers. 11. Thou broughtest us into the net, &c.] That is, into bondage, or into great straits and dangers on every side: thou laidest affliction upon our loins; that is, by sore afflictions thou hast bereaved us of all strength, and made us exceeding weak and feeble; or, thou hast suffered men to bind us in chains; or, thou hast laid very heavy burdens of affliction upon us; or, thou hast caused men to use us like pack-horses, beating us, and laying intolerable burdens upon us.

Vers. 12. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads, &c.] That is, we lying upon the ground, as those do that are wounded in battle, our enemies ride over our heads; or, they ride us like beasts, because they that ride upon beasts are lifted up above their heads, or do, as it were, fit or lean over their heads. However, the meaning is only this, that their basest enemies, having brought them into subjection, did insult over them and abuse them with all possible cruelty, scorn and contempt. And indeed we have the like expression Isa. 51.23. But I will put it (that is, the cup of trembling) into the hand of them that afflict thee, which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground and as the street to them that went over.

Vers. 15. I will offer unto thee burnt-sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams. ] That is, with the smoke arising either from the whole burnt-offerings of rams, or from the fat of rams, which in peace-offerings was only burnt upon the altar; for this it is that is here called incense, to show that how unsavory soever it might be in itself, yet through Christ, of whom all these sacrifices were types, it was a sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savor unto God. Yet some understand this of incense, that was burnt with their sacrifices.

Vers. 17. I cried unto him with my mouth, &c.] Some conceive that these words with my mouth are added, to show the certainty of this truth, that God is most ready to hear the prayers of those that call upon him; as if a husbandman should say, to prove that God is most ready to bless the work of his hands that is industrious in his calling, With these hands of mine did I till this ground and sow it, and thus and thus God was pleased to bless my labors. But for this see the Note Psal. 3.4. And he was extolled with my tongue; to wit, by my returning him praise, when he had granted my requests; or, by my praying; for God is greatly exalted by his servants flying to him in all their necessities, as their only hope and refuge.

Vers. 18. If I regard iniquity in mine heart, the Lord will not hear me. ] That is, If I have any evil intention in that which I beg of God, according to that Jam. 4.3. Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts; or, if I wittingly allow myself in, or give myself over to any sin whatsoever, praying, but the whilst, through inward self-flattery, delighting in any sin, and purposing to nuzzle myself therein, yea though it should be only some inward lust of my heart, God would not regard my prayers. This I conceive is the drift of these words: yet it may well be also that the Psalmist intended hereby to justify himself against the slanders of his enemies.

Vers. 20. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. ] So that though he did not regard iniquity in his heart, as is said before ver. 18. yet he ascribes it wholly to the mercy of God, that his prayers were not rejected.

PSALM LXVII.

The Title. TO the chief Musician on Neginoth. ] See the Note on the Title of the 4. Psalm.

Vers. 1. God be merciful unto us, and bless us, and cause his face to shine upon us. ] There seems to be a clear allusion in these words to that form of prayer used by the Priests in blessing the people, Numb. 6.25, 26. for which see the Notes there, as also Psal. 31.16. But yet what is here desired, the following verse doth more fully show.

Vers. 2. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. ] As if they had said, We do not desire merely that it may be well with us, but that thy way, that is, thy dealings with thy people, which are all mercy and truth, Psal. 25.10. (see the Note there) may be known upon earth, that is, to all the inhabitants of the earth, and thy saving health among all nations, that is, and that the way which thou hast ordained for the saving of thy people may be known amongst all nations. Because the sad calamities, which the Church did often lie under, were as a stumbling-block to other nations, through their misunderstanding God's intentions therein, and kept them off from joining themselves to the Church; therefore the people of God do here desire, that God, by the discovery of his favor to his people, would let all the world see his way to his people, &c. to wit, how dearly he loves them, how tenderly careful he is over them, to provide for them, to protect and deliver them, and to order all things for their salvation, and not for their destruction, that so this might bring in the heathen nations to join themselves to the Church of God. So that by the way of God here is meant, 1. generally all the ways of his special goodness and mercy to his people; and 2. more particularly and especially that way of his saving health, as it is expressed in the second clause, that is, that way which God hath ordained for the eternal salvation of his people through Christ: whence it is that Christ is called the way, Joh. 14.6. and God's salvation, Luk. 2.30; as also the doctrine of the Gospel is called the way of the Lord, Act. 18.25, 26. This is the chief thing which the Church here desires may be made known to all nations; and so the words covertly imply that great mystery of the calling of the Gentiles.

Vers. 3. Let the people praise thee, O God, &c.] That is, thee the true God, abandoning their false gods, whom they have hitherto served: which is repeated in the following verses again and again, to show that they could never sufficiently rejoice in, or be thankful for those inestimable benefits, which they should all enjoy under the kingdom of Christ.

Vers. 4. For thou shalt judge the people righteously, &c.] The meaning is, that though God suffereth his people sometimes to be afflicted by their enemies for their good, yet he will surely deliver them at last, ordering and guiding them in all things for their advantage; yea and that especially by making them righteous, and obedient to all his righteous commandments. The like is often prophesied concerning Christ's kingdom, as Isa. 11.4. and in divers other places.

Vers. 6. Then shall the earth yield her increase, &c.] Many understand this figuratively, to wit, either that in all parts of the world many converts should be brought in to the Church, and so the earth should yield a mighty harvest of holy men to God; or else that the elect of all nations should bring forth the fruit of repentance and praise, and of a holy life and conversation, to the glory of God: and so they say the same thing that is here intended, is expressed more in the end of the next verse, and all the ends of the earth shall fear him. But I rather understand it literally, that God should bless his people by causing the earth to yield abundant increase: only we must know then, that under this particular all other outward blessings are comprehended; as the following words do also imply, and God, even our own God, shall bless us.

Vers. 7. God shall bless us, &c.] These words are here again repeated, thereby covertly to cry down, as it were, either the infidelity of those that would not trust in so sure a refuge, or the ingratitude of those that lived upon God's blessings, but would not acknowledge the Donour.

PSALM LXVIII.

Vers. 1. LEt God arise, let his enemies be scattered, &c.] As if he should have said, If God do but stir or show himself, even that will be enough for the scattering of his enemies. Because this Psalm begins with the very words, which were still used by Moses when the Ark was to remove, Numb. 10.35. it is most probable that David composed it, when after his divers glorious victories over the Philistines 2 Samuel 5.20, &c. he resolved to remove the Ark from the house of Obed-Edom to Zion with great triumph and joy, 2 Samuel 6.12. But yet because those words verse 18. of the Psalm, Thou hast ascended on high, &c. are by the Apostle applied to the ascension of Christ into heaven Eph. 4.8, it cannot be denied that David did look upon that triumphant removal of the Ark, as a type of Christ's glorious ascension, who was indeed that angel of God's presence, Isa. 63.9. whom they tempted in the wilderness. 1 Cor. 10.9. And accordingly these words may covertly contain a prophecy of the stability of David's kingdom, especially in Christ, and of the subduing of all his enemies.

Vers. 2. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away, &c.] That is, Though they mount aloft for a time, and seem very terrible to others, as the smoke doth when at first it overspreads and darkens the sky, yet let them perish suddenly: but see also the Note Psal. 37.20. And to the same purpose is the following clause, as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God : but see the Note also Psal. 22.14.

Vers. 3. But let the righteous be glad, let them rejoice before God, &c.] David seems here to oppose the exceeding joy of the Israelites at the carrying of the Ark to Zion, to the sad condition they were in under Saul and the judges, especially when the Ark was taken by the Philistines: but see also the Notes Psal. 5.11, and 32.11, and 58.10. And observable also it is, that whereas in the foregoing verse the wicked are said to perish at the presence of God, here on the contrary the righteous are said to rejoice before God : the presence of God, that is deadly to the wicked, is a joy to the righteous.

Vers. 4. Extoll him that rideth upon the heavens, &c.] See the Notes Deut. 33.26, and 2 Sam. 22.11: by his name IAH; which is an abbreviation of Jehovah (of which see the Note Exod. 6.3.) as Eli of Elohim: but the meaning is, that they should praise him, who is the only true God, and so hath made himself known to be, and that especially in his word, wherein by his name he hath distinguished himself from all the false God's of the heathens.

Vers. 5. A Father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. ] That is, in heaven, see Deut. 26.15; or, in the land of Canaan, see the Note Exod. 15.13; or, in his Tabernacle, where he is always present amongst us, and ready at hand to help, see Psal. 26.8. But under these particulars of God's favor to the fatherless and widows David intends chiefly to imply, that God is ready to help his poor oppressed people, when they are destitute of all outward succor.

Vers. 6. God setteth the solitary in families, &c.] That is, He blesseth the barren with many children; for they are the barren that are here called the solitary, either because the reproach of barrenness amongst the Jews made such delight much in solitariness, not caring to be in company; or rather, because their houses might be deemed solitary, in regard their families were not increased with children. But yet this expression of setting the solitary in families may be extended to the Lord's bringing of them home to live peaceably and quietly in their own houses, and amongst their kindred and friends, that had been driven away, and so wandered about as exiles in deserts and solitary places. But the rebellious dwell in a dry land; that is, in a condition destitute of all comforts, and where they are exposed to manifold miseries. And some conceive that this is spoken in reference to the rebellious Israelites perishing in the wilderness·

Vers. 7. O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, &c.] For this expression see the Note Lev. 27.17.

Vers. 8. The earth shook, &c.] See Exod. 19.18: the heavens also dropped at the presence of God ; sweating, as it were, with terror and toil. But the words both of this and the foregoing verse seem to have been taken out of Deborahs song, Judge. 5, 4, 5; for which therefore see the Note there.

Vers. 9. Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance when it was weary. ] As if he should have said, After thou hadst brought us into the promised land, thou didst still manifest thy fatherly care over us, in that thou didst yearly refresh the land with seasonable showers, and thereby didst renew the strength of that thine inheritance, (see the Note Exod. 15.17.) when it was dried up and spent, wearied as it were with the scorching heat of the Sun, so that it grew faint for want of water, and not able to yield fruit any longer. This I conceive is the meaning of this place. Yet some understand it of God's refreshing his people, his inheritance (see the Note Deut. 4.20.) with the showers of the Gospel: see the Note Deut. 11.11.

Vers. 10. Thy congregation hath dwelt therein, &c.] This is added to show the reason why God did yearly bless the land with such increase, namely, that his people might be provided for, whom he had planted there; and that the rather, because it was indeed almost a miracle, that such a spot of ground, as Canaan was, should nourish so many millions of people, which is not now sufficient, as some report, to nourish the thousandth part of them. Thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness, to wit, this land, or rather this fruitful increase of the land, for the poor; that is, thou givest so great an increase, that even the poor are provided for; or, thou hast provided liberally for thy poor people: and so he calls them, either to intimate that their condition would have been soon poor enough, if God had not so provided for them; and in reference to their poor condition in the wilderness, or in Egypt, or their ancestors; and all to magnify God's goodness in setting his heart upon such a wretched people. See the Note Deut. 26.5.

Vers. 11. The Lord gave the word, &c.] Here David begins to speak of the victories God had given his people; wherein he insists the longer, because the praising God for some late victories obtained was one chief thing intended in this Psalm. The Lord gave the word ; that is, By vanquishing their enemies for them, God put a triumphant song into the mouths of his people; or, he caused the tidings of several glorious victories to be brought to them: great was the company of those that published it ; that is, in every town and village the women came out, (for the word in the original here is in the feminine gender) and that in great multitudes, to sing songs of triumph: concerning which custom see the Note 1 Sam. 18.6. That this may be also applied to the publishing of the glad tidings of Christ's victories over the world and death and Hell by the ministers of the Gospel, who bring this treasure to men in earthen weak vessels, I deny not: but that it should be here intended, I cannot see.

Vers. 12. Kings of armies, &c.] This may be taken as that song of triumph which the women should sing, implied in the foregoing verse; or else as the words of David, wherein he continueth the relation of the Churches victories: Kings of armies ; that is, Kings attended and furnished with divers and mighty armies: did flee apace ; to wit, as stricken with great terror: yea the words in the original, did flee, did flee, may imply, that they were often and suddenly put to flight, and that they fled several ways and far away, see Deut. 28.25. And she that tarried at home divided the spoil ; that is, the women that stayed at home: and the meaning is, either that the soldiers had such rich spoil, that at their return they had much to give away amongst their wives and daughters and friends; or that the enemy was so wholly vanquished, that the women did not fear to go out to gather the spoil that was left in the field; and so the mighty became a prey to weak ones. And this may be applied also to the victories of the Church in the days of the Gospel, over her enemies spiritual and temporal.

Vers. 13. Though ye have lien among the pots, &c.] This also may be taken as a part of the women's song before mentioned, wherein they encourage the people of God; or rather as the words of the Psalmist, wherein from the great things he had recited, which God had done for his people, he encourageth them to trust in God for the time to come. Though ye have lien amongst the pots ; that is, though ye may be for a time in great darkness and distress, in great straits and poverty, kept in the basest bondage and drudgery, like kitchen-scullions, that lay themselves down to sleep amongst the pots, or, as some say, like those scullions in an army (which may be indeed particularly intended, because the Psalmist is here speaking of war) that skulk by night amongst the pots, there to shelter themselves from the cold winds and rain, & so are all-over besmeared with dirt and smoke and soot: yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold ; that is, God will bring you again to a very prosperous condition, and make you glorious by deliverance. Yea and it may also imply, that those afflictions should not impair their spiritual dignity and beauty, but should rather promote it, in that their faith and courage and other graces should shine the more brightly. And how this may be applied to that purity and glory, wherewith Christ shall clothe those that were most wretched and loathsome in their natural condition, we may easily conceive. As for his comparing them to doves, see the Note Psal. 55.6.

Vers. 14. When the Almighty scattered kings in it, &c.] That is, in the land of Canaan, God's inheritance mentioned verse. 9: it was white as snow in Salmon ; to wit, say some expositors, with the bones of the slain scattered thereon. But considering how this is joined with the foregoing verse, I rather think that in saying the land was white as snow in Salmon, on the lofty tops whereof they say the snow used to lie all the year long, David intended to signify, that by those victories God had given them, the land was brought, as it were miraculously, into a flourishing, prosperous and joyful condition, (which whiteness signifieth) that was in a darksome and doleful condition before.

Vers. 15. The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan, a high hill, &c.] Here David begins to set forth the chief privilege which God had afforded his people, and which was indeed the fountain from whence all other blessings did flow in unto them, namely, that God had chosen to dwell amongst them as his peculiar people; for to intimate this he extols mount Zion, whether they were now carrying the Ark, the sign of God's presence, equalling it with or exalting it above all other hills whatsoever in this regard. For so the words must needs be understood, as they are rendered in our Translation, The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan, &c. as if he had said, Though Zion the hill of God be but a barren and a small low hill of itself, yet being now chosen of God to be the settled place of his habitation, in this regard it is no whit inferior to that rich and fruitful and lofty hill of Bashan, (for which see the Note Psal. 22.12.) but doth rather excel it. And hereby also is implied, that the kingdom of David seated in Zion, and so consequently of Christ, did far excel all the kingdoms of the world, in regard of this prerogative of God's dwelling amongst them as his people: which is also the drift of the following verse, wherein he checks all hills for their proud lifting up themselves, seeing all their eminency was nothing being compared to that of Zion; Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in, &c.

Vers. 17. The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels, &c.] Or, many thousands of angels, as if he had said, an innumerable multitude of angels. To show what a sure defense God was to his people, amongst whom he dwelt in Zion, David tells us here, that God was continually attended with an innumerable company of angels, whom he could send forth when he pleased, as chariots of war to fight against the enemies of his people: the Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the holy place ; that is, God is among this mighty host of angels as their Lord, having them all under his power and command, and who is in himself a surer defense then all the angels can be; and that in his holy place in Zion, as he was formerly in Sinai, (which may also be intended here under those words his holy place ) see the Note Deut. 33.2: which David here mentions to imply, that God's presence now in Zion was by virtue of that covenant which he made with them in Sinai, that they should be his peculiar people; and that he was present there by revealing his will unto them, as he was formerly in Sinai by giving them his law. Thus commonly these words are understood. But yet many learned Expositors understand them of the angels attending Christ in his ascension into heaven, and that this is said here of Christ's ascension, in allusion to the multitudes of horsemen and chariots that attended the Ark when it was carried up into Zion; which was a type, they say, of Christ's ascending into heaven. And indeed it is evident Act. 1.10. that the angels were present with Christ when he ascended into heaven. And if they attended him when he came into the world, honoring his birth with a hymn of praise, Glory to God in the highest, &c. Luk. 2.13, 14, according to that Heb. 1.6. when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him; well may we think that they also attended him in his glorious and triumphant ascension into heaven, praising him for his victories over our spiritual enemies, as in Revel. 5.11, 12. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.

Vers. 18. Thou hast ascended on high, &c.] The Apostle doth expressly apply this to the ascension of Christ Eph. 4.8: for having said verse. 7. that unto everyone of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ, to prove that the spiritual gifts which are severally dispensed to Christians are given them by Christ, he alledgeth this place, Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men : and that he alledgeth it with respect to the ascension of Christ is evident verse. 9, 10. Now that he ascended, what is it, but that he descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, &c. Some learned Expositors do therefore hold, that David in this place doth as a prophet speak directly & immediately of Christ, taking occasion from the promises he had before mentioned, which God had made to his people, to speak of Christ the fountain of all God's promises, & from the removing of the Ark into Zion, to speak of the heavenly Zion, where into Christ, the true Ark of the Covenant, God manifested in the flesh, is ascended up. Thou hast ascended on high ; that is, Thou, O Lord Christ, after thou hadst humbled thyself even to the very grave, didst rise again, & hast ascended triumphantly into the highest heaven: thou hast led captivity captive ; that is, thou hast led away many captives, or thou hast carried away thy enemies into absolute captivity, to wit, the world, sin, death, and Satan; even those principalities and powers (as the Apostle speaks Col. 2.15.) whom having spoiled on the Cross, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them. I know indeed that some learned men do by the captivity that was led captive understand the elect, Christ's redeemed ones, whom having rescued from the bondage of Satan, that they might serve him, he carried them with him triumphantly into heaven, to wit, in that by his ascension he opened a way for them, that they might follow him thither; whence is that of the Apostle Eph. 2.6. that God hath raised us up together with Christ, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. But the first exposition is doubtless the best. As for the next words, thou hast received gifts for men, which is rendered by the Apostle, and gave gifts unto men, it is meant, doubtless, of the gifts of the holy Ghost, which Christ, after he was ascended to the right hand of his father, did abundantly pour forth upon his officers and other his members, whereof the fiery tongues that lighted on the Apostles at the feast of Pentecost Act. 2.3. were a visible sign; for so the Apostle explains this place Eph. 4.11, 12. Nor need we stumble at it, that the Apostle saith and gave gifts unto men, whereas it is here in the Psalm, thou hast received gifts for men, both these expressions being all one in effect; and that either 1. because (as some would have it) Christ gave gifts to his officers that he left behind him, that he might receive from them those whom they converted, that were brought in as an offering to God, to whom they were to live; according to that of the Apostle Rom. 15.16. where he saith that he preached the Gospel, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the holy Ghost ; wherein he might be said to receive gifts for men, in regard that Christ caused many to be thus brought in unto him, not for his own advantage, but for his Churches benefit: or 2. rather, because Christ as Mediator received the gifts of the holy Ghost from the Father, that he might give them to his servants, as he saith Matth. 11.27. All things are delivered unto me of my father, and Joh. 14.26. the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom my father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and Joh. 15.26. when the comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father: or 3. (which I like the best) because in an usual scripture-phrase, thou hast received gifts for men is as much as to say, receiving thou hast given gifts unto men ; as in Hos. 14.2. that which is rendered in the margin of our Bibles, Take away all iniquity and give good, is in the original, and receive good, that is, take and give good to thy people; and so Exod. 25.2. that which is in our Translation, speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering, is in the original, that they take for me an offering ; and so it is here, thou hast received gifts for men, that is, thou hast taken and given gifts unto men: and thereupon that follows verse. 19. Blessed be the Lord who daily loadeth us with benefits. Yea, for the rebellious also ; that is, those that do long stand out rebelliously against the Gospel, as is expressly evident in many of the Jews, that would not submit to Christ, when he preached the word of life unto them, and yet after the ascension of Christ were won to the Christian faith, and received the gifts of the holy Ghost: that the Lord God might dwell among them ; that is, amongst those that were won to join themselves to God in Christ as his people, and that partly in Gospel-ordinances, the outward signs of God's presence among them, and partly in their hearts by faith and other gifts of his spirit, and afterwards eternally in heaven. And so these words do imply, that Christ did not ascend into heaven, that he might be far off from his Church; but rather that he might be the more effectually present amongst them by the gifts of his spirit, according to that promise Matth. 28.20. feeding them with his own body and blood, and teaching and guiding them in the ways of life by his own holy spirit. Thus we see how this place must be understood of the ascension of Christ. But yet I see not why the words may not be understood, as they are by many other of our best Expositors, as spoken to God, and that with relation to the carrying up of the Ark into Zion, after many glorious victories that God had given to David over his enemies; though withal mediately and principally they were meant of Christ's triumphant ascension into heaven, of whom David we know was a special type. For indeed to the type the words may be very fitly applied, as well as to Christ, 1. because in Saul's time, by the enemies frequent distressing the Israelites, the glory of the God of Israel had been much obscured, whereas now by David's subduing the heathen the glory of God was highly exalted again, therefore in relation to David's taking the strong and high places of the enemy, or rather of the advancing of God's glory thereby, and his triumphant going up into Zion, in the Ark, the sign of his presence, David speaks thus to the Lord that had given him these victories, and had brought his enemies into bondage to him, Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive : and 2. because not God, but his people, yea and many of the wicked rebellious ones amongst them, were enriched by the spoils of their enemies, and the tribute they were forced to pay, as a ransom for their lives and liberty, and yet it was God that had brought them into subjection, therefore he addeth those words, thou hast received gifts for men, yea for the rebellious also : and 3. because by these victories, which David and his people had obtained over their enemies, God had made it evident, that he dwelt amongst them as his peculiar people, for their protection and assistance, therefore is that last clause added, that the Lord God might dwell among them. But however, whether we refer it to the type or antitype, there is doubtless in the several expressions here used an allusion to the custom of Princes riding in triumph after some great victories obtained: as namely 1. to their ascending up into their triumphant chariots, or their riding up in their chariots to some place of eminency, such as was the Capitol in Rome; 2. to their leading of their prisoners bound before them; and 3. to their casting of medals and pieces of money to the people, as they rode in triumph amongst them.

Vers. 20. Unto God the Lord belong the issues from death. ] That is, He hath many and divers ways to deliver his people from the most desperate dangers; see the Note Psal. 3.8. And this is here mentioned, with that which follows, as an effect of the ascension of Christ.

Vers. 21. But God shall wound the head of his enemies, &c.] That is, He shall wound them mortally: and the same is repeated again in the next clause, and the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his trespasses ; that is, as persevereth obstinately in opposing Christ and his Church: only because long, shaggy and bushy hair was usually worn by men out of pride, & makes those that wear it to look the more fiercely, therefore this expression of wounding their hairy scalp may probably imply, that God would irrecoverably wound his proudest & fiercest enemies. Yet some understand it of Christ's vanquishing our spiritual enemies, as conceiving the words have relation to that old promise, that the seed of the woman should break the serpents head.

Vers. 22. The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea. ] That is, God hath decreed or promised, that though his people should be in as desperate danger, as they were when formerly they fought with Og, that terrible giant, and mighty king of Bashan, yet he would cause them to return with triumph, laden with the spoils of their vanquished enemies, as he did then; and though they should seem to be in the very jaws of death, as when they went through the red sea, yet he would deliver them and bring them safe out of all their dangers, as he did then. So that this phrase of bringing his people again from Bashan, &c. doth either imply his causing them to return with victory from fighting with their enemies, or rather that their deliverances from such desperate dangers should be as a resurrection from the dead, as if God should have brought them back again from the grave. As for those first words, The Lord said, &c. the meaning is not, that God had then made any such express particular promise; but that thus much was intended in the general promises that he had made for the preservation of his people; or that thus much might justly be concluded from that former experience they had had of the great things that God had done for them.

Vers. 23. That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, &c.] See the Note Psal. 58.10.

Vers. 24. They have seen thy goings, O God, &c.] This may not unfitly be understood of God's going forth with his people in their wars, to subdue their enemies before them: for having spoken in the foregoing verses, how God would make his people victorious over their enemies, as in former times when they fought with the king of Bashan, and when they were carried through the red sea; in relation thereto this may be added, They, that is, the enemy to their terror, and thy people to their great encouragement, have seen thy goings, O God, that is, they have seen how thou hast gone before thy people, as their captain, to cause their enemies to sly before them; or, they have seen the strange way thou madest for them, when thou ledst them through the red sea. But yet because of that which is added in the following verses, I rather conceive that the Psalmist begins to set forth the triumphant pomp of those that sang praises to God for their victories: to wit, either that which is described Exod. 15.1, 20, 21. after the drowning of Pharaoh and the Egyptians in the red sea, of which mention was made before verse. 22; or rather that of David's carrying up the Ark into Zion with great solemnity, as is largely described 1 Chro. 15. which was the occasion of composing this Psalm. They have seen thy goings, O God ; that is, They that flocked together to behold this glorious sight, have with great joy seen how thou wentest up in triumph amongst thy people: even the goings of my God, my King, in the Sanctuary ; that is, they have seen thy goings, O God, who dwellest in thy Sanctuary, where thou hearest the prayers of thy people, and from whence thou comest forth to their help; or, they have seen how thou wentest up amongst thy people, when they went to praise thee in thy Sanctuary: which is farther described in the following verse, The singers went before, &c.

Vers. 26. Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord from the fountain of Israel. ] This may be understood either as the words of the Psalmist, or as the triumphant song sung by the people, hinted in the foregoing verse, the singers went before, &c. And it is divers ways expounded by Interpreters: as 1. that the people of God are thereby stirred up to praise God from their hearts, the fountain from whence all praises must flow that will be accepted of God; or 2. to fetch their praises from the Scriptures, the fountain of God's Church, from whence they must learn how to serve God; or 3. to bless the Lord Christ, who was descended from the Patriarch Jacob, of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, Rom. 9.5. But I think the meaning of the words is best expressed in the margin of our Bibles, Bless ye God, even the Lord, ye that are of the fountain of Israel, that is, all ye tribes that are sprung from Israel; see the Note Deu. 33.28. Yet some make this the meaning of the words; ye that are of the fountain of Israel, that is, that are true Israelites, the genuine children of that faithful and pious patriarch: & others understand the words mystically; ye that had your spiritual being, as members of the Church, from the fountain of the Gospel preached, which from Israel, out of Zion flowed into all nations.

Vers. 27. There is little Benjamin, with their ruler, &c.] That is, with their rulers or princes; or, with him that was the head of their tribe: which might be the rather added here, to show that this tribe, though it was the least of all the tribes, see the Note 1 Sam. 9.21. & therefore called here little Benjamin (haply also in allusion to Benjamins being the youngest & least amongst all the sons of Jacob;) yet was a distinct tribe by itself, and had their Ruler amongst the Heads of the tribes, as others had: the princes of Judah and their counsel, that is, their counsellors; or, with their company, that is, those of the people of the tribe that came along with them. However I conceive the drift of this verse is, to describe the pompous train of those that attended the Ark, when it was carried up into Zion: and though some conceive that Benjamin and Judah are expressed, and so also afterwards the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali, because these tribes had a special stroke in those victories which David had lately obtained, and that Benjamin is named first, because that tribe went first in the train; yet I rather think that the Psalmists aim was, by naming the chiefest and the meanest of the tribes, Judah and Benjamin, these two that were nearest to Jerusalem, and Zebulun and Naphtali, that were farthest off, figuratively to imply that all the tribes were there; and that the rather to show, that the civil wars being ended, and all the kingdom reduced to obedience, the whole nation was now unanimously joined in seeking to promote the worship of God; and that Benjamin is named first, that David might not seem to neglect that tribe that had been most violent for Saul's family against him. As for those that apply this whole Psalm to Christ, they understand this verse of the Apostles, who were many of them of the tribe of Judah, as being the brethren of Christ; and many of Galilee, where lay the portion of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali; and by little Benjamin they understand Paul, who was the last called of all the Apostles, and termed the least of the Apostles, and was indeed of Benjamins tribe. But there is no necessity of applying all the passages of the Psalm to the days of the Gospel.

Vers. 28. Thy God hath commanded thy strength, &c.] That is, God that hath taken thee for his peculiar people, hath established thy kingdom with great strength, and hath given thee strength to vanquish thine enemies: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us ; that is, settle and strengthen more and more the kingdom and dominion thou hast conferred upon us; confirm, continue and increase the victories thou hast given us, and the benefits thou hast bestowed on us. And this also may be applied to the kingdom of Christ.

Vers. 29. Because of thy temple at Jerusalem, &c.] That is, Because thou art present amongst us in thy Temple which shall be, or thy Tabernacle which is at Jerusalem (for it may be referred to either of them, see the Note 1 Sam. 1.9.) and dost manifest this by the wonderful things thou doest for us: shall kings bring presents unto thee ; that is, the kings that shall successively rule over thy people shall bring gratulatory sacrifices and offerings unto thee; or rather, kings of foreign nations shall bring presents unto thy people, by way of acknowledging that thou, the great God of heaven and earth, dwellest amongst them as thy people: see 1 Kings 10.24, 25. But this may be also understood as a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles.

Vers. 30. Rebuke the company of spear-men, &c.] That is, as the word in the original signifies, men armed with long spears like unto reeds, or made of reeds; their canes or reeds being, they say, in those countries hard and strong, like the wood of trees. Some indeed render this, Rebuke the beast of the reeds : and because reeds are wont to grow in watery and fat grounds, whence is that Isa. 35.7. the parched ground shall become a pool, &c. in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass, with reeds and rushes ; therefore by the beast of the reeds some do understand voluptuous men, or people that are proud and bold by reason of their wealth and plenty, like cattle that feed in a fruitful soil. But I take it to be more agreeable with that which follows to take the words thus; Rebuke the beast of the reeds, that is, Destroy, or drive away, or blast the endeavors of those mighty, savage and barbarous enemies of thy people, that are like unto those wild beasts that use to lurk amongst the reeds; or, as some would have it, fierce and subtle, like the Crocodile that useth to lie in the reeds of Nile in Egypt; whence they say it follows in the next verse, Princes shall come out of Egypt, &c: the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people ; that is, their mighty Princes or commanders in war, with the meaner people that follow them, see the Note Psal. 22.12: till everyone submit himself with pieces of silver ; that is, with pieces of money, or lumps and wedges of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war ; to wit, those that causelessly make war upon thy people.

Vers. 31. Princes shall come out of Egypt, &c.] This, and that in the following verse, is clearly a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles; Egypt and Ethiopia being perhaps named instead of all, because they were above others most grossly idolatrous and wicked: Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God ; to wit, by yielding up themselves to him as his captives, by praying to him, or begging mercy of him, or by presenting to him their gifts or tribute.

Vers. 32. Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth, &c.] See the Notes Psal. 47.1, 2.

Vers. 33. To him that rideth upon the heaven of heavens, which were of old, &c.] That is, who is a God of infinite majesty, the most high God, that from the beginning of the world hath swaied and governed the heavens and all things contained therein; and therefore it is fit that all kingdoms and nations should serve him: lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice ; see the Notes Psal 29.3, 4, &c.

Vers. 34. Ascribe ye strength unto God, &c.] This is spoken in reference to what he had immediately before said concerning the thunder; and see the Note Psal. 29.1: his excellency is over Israel ; that is, his majesty, the excellency of his power and goodness, &c. is in a special manner manifested amongst his people, in his care over them above others, in the miraculous victories he hath given them, and other the glorious things he hath wrought for them: and his strength is in the clouds ; that is, his power is eminently seen there; which again hath reference to what he had said in the foregoing verse of the thunder: as if he had said, And thus hath God two glorious thrones, whereon he is seen in his majesty, one in his Church on earth, and the other in heaven.

Vers. 35. O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places. ] That is, as some conceive, both out of heaven, and out of thy tabernacle; which indeed agrees with what was said in the foregoing verse: but see the Note Psal. 43.3. and see also Psal. 47.2.

PSALM LXIX.

Vers. 1. SAve me, O God, &c.] It is evident by many passages of this Psalm, that in the New Testament are applied to Christ, as we may see verse. 4, 9, 21, and 22, that David wrote this Psalm of himself, as he was a type of Christ; and therefore what is here said in the beginning of this Psalm, may be understood of the Passion of Christ; Save me, O God, see Matth. 26.34: for the waters are come in unto my soul ; that is, I am filled and even choked up with waters, to the unavoidable endangering of my life. See the Notes 2 Sam. 22.5. and Psal. 32.6.

Vers. 4. They that hate me without a cause are moe then the hairs of mine head, &c.] See the Notes Psal. 7.3, and 25.3. Yet many conceive, that it was in particular reference to this place, that Christ said of the Jews hatred against him Joh. 15.25. that it was that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. As for the last clause in this verse, then I restored that which I took not away, it seems to have been a proverbial speech, used commonly concerning those that suffered for those things of which they were not guilty; and so it may be used here by David, either to imply generally that they did not only most injuriously oppress him, but also pretended therein to proceed against him in a way of justice, as against a malefactor; or else more particularly, that in spoiling him of all that he had, they clamoured against him, that it was but to make satisfaction to the justice of the law which he had transgressed. But now, if we understand it of Christ, the meaning must needs be, that he suffered for other men's offenses, not for his own, according to that Isa. 53.4, 5, 6. surely he hath born our griefs, &c. and so did indeed satisfy divine justice for man's robbing God of his glory.

Vers. 5. O God, thou knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from thee, &c.] Understand this as spoken by Christ, and then the meaning must be this, Thou, Lord, knowest that the sins for which I suffer are only the sins of thine elect, which are mine merely by imputation: but understand it of David, and then either we must take it as spoken ironically, O God, thou knowest my foolishness, &c. that is, thou knowest whether I be guilty, or (which is all one in effect) that I am no way guilty of that foolishness, that is, that wickedness, those grievous sins which mine enemies would charge upon me; and so this expression is much like that of the Prophet, Jer. 20.7. O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived : or else rather as an acknowledgement of his failings, yet withal implying a profession of his innocence in those things whereof they accused him; as if he should have said, Though I am foolish, I confess, and have many ways offended thee, which thou knowest right well; yet withal thou knowest that I am no way culpable in those things which they would lay to my charge.

Vers. 6. Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake, &c.] To wit, as apprehending that thou hast forsaken me, because thou comest not in to my help, notwithstanding all my confidence in thee, and my frequent and fervent prayers unto thee, and so being discouraged by mine example; or, as failing of that help which they expected from me, who had often been an instrument of their preservation. But now if we refer these words to Christ, they seem to contain a desire, that he might be supported in that great work of man's redemption, that so those that had fixed their faith and hope on him might not be ashamed (as indeed all his disciples must needs have been, if he had not after his crucifying triumphed over death by his resurrection, which is evident by that sad complaint of those two Luk. 24.21. We trusted that it had been he that should have redeemed Israel, ) but might always find God ready to grant their desires in whatever they should ask in his name, which the following clause may seem to imply, let not those that seek thee be confounded, &c.

Vers. 7. Because for thy sake I have born reproach, &c.] That is, for my endeavoring to walk piously, to oppose the corruptions of the times, and to approve myself to thee in all my ways; and more particularly for my yielding to take the kingdom upon me, which I did not out of any private ambition, but merely at thine appointment. But now Christ may be said to have born reproach for God's sake, either because he underwent it in obedience to God's will, or because he did all those things, for which men reproached him, out of piety and obedience to God.

Vers. 8. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, &c.] That is, My nearest friends, for fear of displeasing Saul and other mine enemies, stand aloof from me. But if we refer this to Christ, it may be meant either of the Jews in general, according to that Joh. 1.11. he came unto his own, and his own received him not ; or else more particularly of his disciples forsaking him, Matth. 26.56. and Peters denying him verse. 70; yea and perhaps of his own kinsmens despising him, of which it is said Joh. 7.5. that neither did his brethren believe in him.

Vers. 9. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up, &c.] By the house of God here may be meant, 1. the Tabernacle of God, towards which David shown much zeal, both in that he was, whilst he might, a most frequent and devout observer of all the service of God therein, and especially in that he was grieved for the neglect and corrupting of that truth and purity of worship, which should have been maintained and preserved therein, and highly offended with those that were the cause of it; and 2. the Church and people of God, for which he was zealous, in that he so earnestly desired and sought their welfare, and was troubled and displeased to see, that they who were called by God's name and professed themselves God's people, should yet indeed deny God, and corrupt his religion, and seek the ruin of those that were indeed the people of God. And then by his being eaten up with this zeal may be meant, 1. that it had exhausted and consumed, as it were, his moisture and vital spirits; or 2. that it had wholly turned him into fire, as things eaten are turned into the nature of him that eats them; or 3. that being transported herewith, it made him wholly to forget and disregard himself, not in the least minding his own credit or safety; or 4. that it had exposed him to be devoured by the rage of his enemies. How this is applied to Christ, we see Joh. 2.17. As for the next clause, and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me, 1. we must know, that God may be said to be reproached by any wickedness committed by ungodly men, contrary to the laws and commandments of God, and particularly by any opposition that is made against his truth, any corruption that is brought into his worship, and any wrong that is done to his servants for his sake: and 2. that David might say, that the reproaches wherewith they reproached God, did fall upon him, 1. because his enemies reproached him for God's sake, for his being so solicitous to obey God's will; or 2. because in regard of his interest in God, he took himself to be reproached in the reproaches of his God; or 3. because he took to heart the reproaches wherewith they reproached God, as much as, yea more then if himself had been reproached by them; or 4. because he grieved as bitterly for their sin and misery that thus reproached God, as if himself had been guilty of their sins. And indeed this last some conceive to be most probable, because the Apostle applying these words to Christ, Rom. 15.3. doth from thence undertake to prove, that Christians ought rather to seek to please their neighbors for their good, then themselves, as Christ for our good was content to undergo the guilt of our sins and the punishment due thereto, Even Christ, saith the Apostle, pleased not himself, but as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me ; to wit, in that the sins of the elect were imputed to Christ, and he suffered the curse which they else should have suffered.

Vers. 10. When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, &c.] To wit, as bewailing both God's dishonor, and their wickedness, and begging of God that they might repent and be saved, (and that because I saw my zeal against them other ways discovered, did no good, but only enraged them the more against me;) that was to my reproach, that is, they derided me for my piety and (as they judged it) my vain confidence in God.

Vers. 12. They that sit in the gate speak against me, &c.] That is, say some, those that sit begging in the gate. But doubtless the meaning is, that the magistrates spake against him, or the people that assembled before the courts of justice; for which see the Notes Gen. 22.17. and Psal. 9.14: this being a great aggravation of his misery, that they, whose office it was to defend his innocence, should in the seat of justice seek his ruin: and many learned Expositors take the next clause as an expression of the same thing, namely that the great ones, whom he calls drinkers of strong drink, (for so it is in the original) sang songs of him. But reading it as it is in our Bibles, and I was the song of the drunkards, the meaning is, that the baser sort of debauched people did also scorn and deride him. And so David hereby seeks to express, that in all places, both public and private, and by all sorts of persons, from the highest to the lowest, he was traduced and reproached daily.

Vers. 13. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time, &c.] As if he had said, Notwithstanding all these discouragements, I continue still to pray unto thee, O Lord; or, whilst mine enemies do thus wrong me, by prayer I seek to thee for shelter; and my prayers, however mine enemies deride me for them, do find acceptance with thee. And now referring this to Christ, the acceptable time mentioned may be, that when he had fully accomplished the work of man's redemption, according to that clause of our Savior's prayer Joh. 17.1. Father, the hour is come, glorify thy son : see also Heb. 5.7. O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation ; that is, with that salvation, which in all faithfulness and truth thou hast promised thy servants.

Vers. 18. Deliver me because of mine enemies. ] That is, because their rage and violence is so great against me, even seeking my life; or, because though I be not worthy of deliverance, yet they, in regard of their wickedness and unjust persecuting of me, are certainly worthy to be destroyed; or, that they may not triumph over me, and be hardened in their sins and in their persecuting of the righteous and innocent, but that rather I may triumph over them.

Vers. 20. Reproach hath broken mine heart, &c.] This may be meant of the reproaches wherewith they reproached both God and himself, As for those words which are added, and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none, &c. how they were accomplished in Christ, when all his acquaintance stood afar off from him, Luk. 23.49. see the Note before verse. 8. Yet they may also imply, that Christ had not the least assistance from man in the work of our redemption.

Vers. 21. They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. ] That is, Instead of comforting me, by their scoffing and opprobrious speeches, they added to my affliction, as if they should have given me gall and vinegar in my hunger and thirst. The last clause, concerning their giving him vinegar to drink, was doubtless literally accomplished in Christ, when they gave him vinegar upon the Cross, Matth. 27.48; and therefore it is said Joh. 19.28. I conceive in reference to this place, that when Christ said, I thirst, (which was the occasion of their giving him vinegar to drink) he spake this purposely that the Scripture might be fulfilled. As for the first clause, they gave me also gall for my meat, divers learned men think that was also literally accomplished in Christ, when coming to Golgotha Matt. 26.34. they gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall. But because this was only mingled with the drink, and cannot therefore so properly be said to be given him for meat, therefore this may seem more questionable; though I see not why the words should be restrained to so strict a sense.

Vers. 22. Let their table become a snare before them, &c.] There is in these words an allusion to birds, who going to feed on the meat that is laid as a bait for them, are often catched in a trap or snare; and the imprecation herein expressed seems also to have reference to the complaint in the foregoing verse; as if he had said, As they have given me gall for meat and vinegar for drink, so let their plenty and dainties prove no better in the conclusion then gall and vinegar to them: whence it may be that the Apostle Rom. 11.9. citing this place, but not tying himself to the very words, but only to the sense, adds these words, and a recompense, Let their table be made a snare — and a recommence unto them. But however by their table here is meant, first, their outward bodily food, and so the curse is that their plenty on their table, and consequently whatever might be to them a support of life, and a means to refresh them, might prove an occasion of insnaring them in sin, and of bringing mischief and destruction upon them; as is evident by those more general words that follow, and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap : and 2. of the word of God, the food of their souls; and so the curse is, that by perverting the Scripture, and by their not believing the word of the Gospel, they should be the more hardened, and so this their spiritual food should prove the savor of death unto death unto them; which may well be acknowledged to be intended here, because the Apostle Rom. 11.9, &c. applies this with the following verses to the blindness of the Jews. I know that some hold that this, Let their table become a snare, was accomplished in the Jews, when being assembled to eat the Passover at Jerusalem, they were there besieged, taken and destroyed by the Romans. And how we ought to judge of such imprecations as these, see in the Note Psal. 28.4.

Vers. 23. Let their eyes be darkened that they see not, &c.] According to that which is threatened Deut. 28.28; concerning which see the Note there: and make their loins continually to shake ; to wit, through fear or weakness, or the pressure of intolerable burdens.

Vers. 24. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold on them. ] This implies many and grievous judgments; such as they should no way be able to escape, and should be of long continuance, and besides inflicted in a away of wrath: and this some do particularly restrain (as they do also the following verse) to the final destruction of Jerusalem, and the wrath that did thenceforth seize upon the Jews; see 1 Thess. 2.16.

Vers. 25. Let their habitation be desolate, and let none dwell in their tents. ] To wit, by destroying their land, towns and cities, together with the Temple; or by destroying them and their posterity in a great measure, and causing the rest to be carried away as captives into strange countries: which agrees with that our Savior did also threaten the Jews with Matth. 23.38. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

Vers. 26. For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten, &c.] That is, They insult over, and with all despite and cruelty seek utterly to ruin, me and others, whom thou as a father hast corrected: and it may also be peculiarly applied to Christ, who was Isa, 53.4, 5, smitten of God and afflicted, wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities : and to the same purpose is the following clause, and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded ; to wit, by scoffing at them, and by upbraiding them with their sufferings.

Vers. 27. Add iniquity to their iniquity, &c.] It may be read, as in the margin it is, Add punishment of iniquity to their punishment ; that is, Let them be punished with one plague upon another; or, Let them be punished eternally, where there shall be a supply of never-ceasing wrath. But reading it as it is in our Text, the meaning must needs be as if he had said, As they have added affliction to my affliction, so let them be delivered up to a reprobate sense, that they may add sin to sin, till they have filled up the measure of their iniquity. As for the following clause, and let them not come into thy righteousness, either the desire therein is 1. that they might be hardened in their sins, and so might never repent and become righteous; or 2. (which implies the same) that God would not justify them, Let them not come into thy righteousness, that is, Do not pronounce them righteous, let them not partake of that righteousness or faithfulness, whereby thou art always certainly wont to absolve and justify those that do truly believe and repent, (see the Note Psal. 51.14.) and so it is the same with that which is added in the next verse, that they might not be numbered amongst the righteous; or 3. (which I like the best,) that they might never come into heaven; for that is indeed called righteousness elsewhere, as Psal. 24.5. concerning which see the Note there.

Vers. 28. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, &c.] That is, Let them not be of the number of those that were from all eternity chosen and ordained both to the life of grace and of glory hereafter; and accordingly when they die, let them be cast into hell; as it seems to be more clearly expressed in the following clause, and not be written with the righteous. Yet withal I conceive, that this phrase of blotting them out of the book of the living may also imply a desire, that however by outward profession they might be of the number of those that were the Church and people of God, and thereupon might accordingly hope and boast that their names were written in heaven, yet God would not own them for such, yea that God would manifest that they were reprobates, to wit, either by casting them out of the Church, (as we see the Jews are not now the people of God, but the Gentiles are succeeded in their room) or by casting them out into utter darkness. The expression here used is the same with that Ezek. 13.9. concerning the false prophets, they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, &c. I know indeed some understand both of being cut off by death. But for this and other things, see the Note Exod. 32.34.

Vers. 29. But I am poor and sorrowful, &c.] That is, afflicted and broken-hearted, see Psal. 40.17; yet some apply it to the poverty and low estate of Christ: let thy salvation, O God, set me on high ; that is, let it set me above the reach of mine enemies, see the Note Psal. 28.9. But this too some understand of Christ's ascension.

Vers. 31. This also, &c.] Having said in the foregoing verse, I will praise the name of God, &c. he adds, This also shall please the Lord better then an ox or bullock, that hath horns and hoofs : and either the drift of these last words that hath horns and hoofs is, to set forth what bullock he meant, to wit one that was young and tender, whose horns began to bud forth, and whose hoofs began to harden, or one that was for years ripe and fit for sacrifice, thereby to set forth that thanksgiving was more acceptable to God then any the choicest sacrifice; or else they are added by way of slighting those legal sacrifices of brute beasts, in comparison of that reasonable service of praise; as if he had said, the calves of our lips, so the prophet calls our praising God Hos. 14.2. is a sacrifice far more acceptable to the Lord, then calves or bullocks that have horns and hoofs.

Vers. 32. The humble shall see this and be glad, &c.] See the Notes Psal. 34.2, and 40.3. and your hearts shall live that seek God ; that is, your hearts that were in a manner dead within you, because of mine or your own sad distresses, shall be revived again; see the Note Psal. 22.26.

Vers. 33. For the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. ] That is, his servants that are brought into the straights of any distress by God's afflicting hand for their sins; or those that are persecuted and bound for his sake, or for his truth and cause.

Vers. 35. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah, &c.] David foreseeing by the spirit of prophesy the great calamities that would befall the land and people of Israel in succeeding times, doth here foretell, for the encouragement of the faithful, that the reformation begun amongst them by the setting up of his throne, should be carried on; that God would preserve Zion, the place of his public worship, (with which he begins, because the maintenance of God's worship was the foundation of all their happiness) and that he would cause the whole kingdom to prosper and flourish unto the coming of Christ, of whose kingdom his was a type: and withal the same he intends also concerning the Church of Christ, God's spiritual Zion; see the Note Psal. 2.6: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession ; that is, that the faithful Israelites may dwell long in Zion and in the land of Canaan, see the Note 2 Sam. 7.10. and that the faithful may continue in the Church, and after this life may dwell forever in the heavenly Canaan.

Vers. 36. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it, &c.] This must be understood, as the former verse, 1. of the faithful Israelites continuing in the land which God had given them; (and some understand it of the times when the Jews shall be converted to Christ) and 2. of the true believers abiding in the Church, and at last forever with God in heaven.

PSALM LXX.

Vers. 1. MAke haste, O God, to deliver me, &c.] See the Notes Psal. 40.13, &c. where we have this whole Psalm almost word for word.

PSALM LXXI.

Vers. 1. IN thee, O Lord, do I put my trust, &c.] Many passages in this Psalm make it most probable, that this Psalm was composed by David in his old age, when his son Absalom was risen up against him, see verse. 9, and 18. But for the two first verses, see the Notes Psal. 31.1, 2.

Vers. 7. I am as a wonder unto many, &c.] That is, say some Expositors, either 1. because thou hast so wondrously advanced me, raising me from keeping sheep, to sit on the throne of Israel, and hast always hitherto so miraculously preserved me; or 2. because I walk so strictly, and because my ways seem so strange to them, in that I restrain myself from that liberty and from those pleasures to which others give up themselves, and can so willingly expose myself to so great troubles for conscience sake, and then bear them too with patience and cheerfulness, according to that which Peter saith to the faithful in those times 1 Pet. 4.4· they think it strange that you run not with them to the same excess of riot ; or 3. because thou hast now forsaken me, who have always served thee so constantly, and trusted in thee with so much confidence. But I rather conceive the meaning is, that because of his uncouth ways, and because of the grievous afflictions which God had brought upon him, raising up his own son against him, that sought to bereave him both of his life and kingdom, they gazed and pointed at him in a way of wonder, as some fool or mad-man; yea they withdrew themselves and fled away from him, as some detestable monster, one that was the shame of mankind, not worthy to live amongst men, and by whom it was pity the earth should be any longer defiled: in opposition to which therefore he adds, But, let them judge as they will of me, thou art my strong refuge. And indeed we find the like expressions used elsewhere much to the same purpose, as Isa. 8.18. and Zach. 3.8. and 1 Cor. 4.9.

Vers. 8. Let my mouth be filled with thy praise. ] That is, Let me have cause to praise thee, and enable me to praise thee freely, abundantly and continually, that I may have nothing else in a manner in my mouth, but thine honor and praise; see the Note Job 8.21.

Vers. 12. O my God, make haste for my help. ] As if he had said, And hereby disprove what mine enemies boast of, to wit, that thou hast forsaken me: and his own confidence that they were herein deceived, he implies in those words, O my God.

Vers. 14. But I will hope continually, &c.] This hath reference to that foregoing desire verse. 12. that God would make hast to help him; and is as if he had said, that however, though God should defer to help him, yet he would still wait in hope upon God.

Vers. 15. My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness, and thy salvation all the day, &c.] That is, thy faithfulness and justice, manifested in saving and delivering thy righteous servants; see the Note Psal. 51.8: for I know not the numbers thereof ; that is, for thy mercies and deliverances are innumerable, so that I shall never want matter of praising thee, nor can ever sufficiently extol thy name. Others, I know, give an exposition of these words that is somewhat different from this; my mouth shall show forth thy righteousness, that is, I will, the best I can, generally declare thy justice in punishing the ungodly, and thy salvation, to wit, in the preservation and deliverances of thy righteous servants; for I know not the numbers thereof, that is, I must needs confess, that both thy judgments on the wicked, and thy mercies to the righteous, are more then I can reckon. But the first exposition is the best.

Vers. 16. I will go in the strength of the Lord God, &c.] That is, I will walk daily in the confidence of God's strength, and not of mine own; whatever I undertake and where ever I go, I shall go on in assurance of assistance and protection from the almighty God; however weak I am in myself, and however violent mine enemies be against me, and though I meet with never so many and great troubles and hindrances and discouragements in my way, yet I shall go on with cheerfulness, courage and confidence, not falling back, or turning aside to the right hand or the left, for any evils I may meet with in my course: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only ; that is, I will not mind any other helps or supports, but will rely upon thy faithfulness solely and wholly. I know some do restrain the first clause either to his praising God (for having said in the former verse, that his mouth should show forth God's righteousness, &c. here he adds, say they, that he would enter upon this work in God's strength) or else to his going out to war against his enemies, or his persevering to withstand them in the maintenance of his just cause in the confidence of God's aid. But I conceive it is best to understand it more generally, of his resting upon God's power and help in all things whatsoever.

Vers. 17. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth. ] That is, say some, by the holy instructions of my parents and teachers, and withal by thine own spirit: or rather, thou hast taught me experimentally even from my youth by many wonderful deliverances, how good and faithful thou art, how tenderly careful thou art over me, and what a strong and sure refuge thou art to all that fly unto thee: and thus I have been trained up from my childhood, to trust in thee, and to fly to thee in all my troubles.

Vers. 18. Forsake me not until I have shown thy strength to this generation, and thy power to everyone that is to come. ] That is, to succeeding generations; to wit, either by recording it in the Psalms, see the Note Psal. 45.17; or by relating it to them who should report it to those of another generation, and so it should be successively made known in all ages.

Vers. 19. Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high. ] See the Notes Psal. 36.5, 6.

Vers. 20. Thou, which hast shown me great and sore troubles, &c.] See the Note Psal. 4.6: shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth ; that is, from those desperate dangers, wherein I seemed to be as a man that was dead and buried. See the Note Psal. 42.7.

PSALM LXXII.

The Title. A Psalm for Solomon. ] Some read it, A Psalm of Solomon, and hold that it was composed by Solomon: only seeing in cannot be denied that this Psalm was one of David's prayers, because of those words in the close of this Psalm verse. 20. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended ; they say withal, that the Psalm is no other but the prayer which David made for Solomon a little before his death, when by David's appointment he was anointed king of Israel, his father yet living, 1 Kings 1.39. and that it was only brought into the form of a Psalm by Solomon. But whether it were composed by Solomon, or, as others rather think, by David, however it was for Solomon, that is, concerning Solomon, or, for Solomon's sake; as being written by way of 1. congratulating him for the honor which was newly conferred upon him; 2. of praying to God for him, that his kingdom might be just, prosperous and lasting; and thereby also teaching the people what they should beg of God on his behalf; 3. of propounding to him the pattern of Christ's perfect government, that imitating him in his government, he might draw down the blessings here mentioned upon him; and 4. by way of foretelling what his government should be. Only we must know, that though Solomon alone be expressly named here, yet what is desired for him is covertly also desired for all that were to succeed him in that throne, even unto Christ, in whom the kingdom was to be established forever, and of whom Solomon was a type, in regard whereof even he also is called Solomon Cant. 8.12. see the Note 2 Sam. 12.24. And indeed that this Psalm is chiefly meant of Christ, is evident, because there are many passages hereof that cannot properly be meant of Solomon, as those verse. 5, 7, 8, 11, and 17; and that verse. 8. is expressly applied to Christ, Zach. 9.10.

Vers. 1. Give the king thy judgments, O God, &c.] This prayer may be understood as made by David, either in his own name, or in the name of the people: Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the kings son ; that is, to Solomon. For though some by the kings son in the second clause understand Solomon's posterity; yet I rather think it is Solomon that is here called both the king and the kings son, this being peculiar to him, and which could not be said either of Saul or David, that sat in the throne before him, that he was made king by right of succession of God's appointment, as the son and heir of David the king. Only withal we must also include Christ, who, as man, was the son and heir of David, Luk. 1.32. the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David ; and in regard of his divine nature, the Son of God, the great King of heaven and earth. And then for the thing desired for Solomon in these words, it is, that God would enable him to govern his people justly, according to that form of righteousness prescribed in his Word: for by God's judgments and God's righteousness is meant, either the knowledge of that way of righteous government prescribed in God's law; or those gifts and graces which God was wont to give to magistrates, that they might justly govern the people; or an ability and holy will to govern according to that exact pattern of God's righteous governing the world. So that it is in effect the same with that which Solomon begged of God for himself 1 Kings 3.9. But now as these words are referred to Christ, the accomplishment is most clear: for as the Father committed all judgment unto the Son, Joh. 5.22; so he adorned his human nature with a fullness of all grace requisite hereunto, see Isa. 11.2, 3: and therefore some note, that in reference to Christ this is spoken rather by way of prophesying what should be, and by way of congratulating the graces and just government of Christ, then of praying that this might be.

Vers. 2. He shall judge, &c.] That is, When thou hast thus fitted him for the government of thy people, as is before said, then he shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment: and most fitly might this be said of Christ, the true Melchizedek, (see the Note Gen. 14.18.) of whom it was prophesied Isa. 32.1. Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness. See also Isa. 11.4. and the Note Psal. 43.1.

Vers. 3. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills by righteousness. ] That is, say some Expositors, By reason of the righteousness of his government, there shall be such peace, that the barrennest parts of the kingdom shall be husbanded, and shall yield the fruits of the earth in abundance; which is indeed the usual effect of peace: see the Note 1 Kings 4.25. But rather I conceive it is a metaphorical expression; as if he had said, that all kind of peace and prosperity should grow up and flourish in every part of the kingdom, the earth should yield as fair a crop of peace and prosperity as of other the fruits of the earth; as we use to say of anything that is plentiful, that it may be found growing under every hedge. And the mention that is made of the mountains and hills, is either only because Judea was a mountainous and hilly country; or else to imply how the kingdom should in every place flourish in this regard; as it is a sign of the universal fruitfulness of a land, when even the mountains, the most barren places, do yield a rich increase; or that even those places should be safe and peaceable, where wild beasts and robbers were wont to lurk. However, in this prophesy of the peace of his government, there is an allusion certainly to the name of Solomon ; concerning which, as also how this may be applied to that peace which Christians enjoy by Christ's subduing Satan, sin and death, see the Notes Gen. 14.18. 2 Sam. 12.24. and 1 Kings 4.24. And withal observable it is, how this agrees with that of the prophet Isa. 32.17. And the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.

Vers. 5. They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, &c.] This may be understood, either as spoken to the king, for whom he had hitherto prayed; and so the meaning must be, that because of his wisdom and justice in governing his kingdom, the people should reverence and fear him, and yield him willing and ready obedience; as it is indeed expressly said of Solomon, 1 Kings 3.28. that all Israel feared the king, for they saw the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment : or else rather as spoken to God, They shall fear thee, &c. as if he had said, By the righteousness of the kings government, O God, religion shall be promoted, and men shall be brought willingly and sincerely to fear and serve thee. But now because it is said that this should be as long as the sun and moon endure, &c. that is, to the end of the world, this must needs be referred to Christ, whose kingdom must continue forever. For we see in the later end of Solomon's reign, there was a great defection to idolatry amongst the people, and at last his own servants rose up against him; and when his son came to the throne, ten of the tribes revolted from him.

Vers. 6. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, &c.] That is, Whereas tyrants are like storms of wind and hail, that destroy the fruits of the earth, he shall be like sweet showers, that make the fruits of the earth to grow up and flourish, because by the justice of his government the people of God shall flourish in every regard. But especially is this accomplished in the kingdom of Christ, by whose doctrine (for which see the Note Deut. 32.2.) and by the righteousness and goodness of whose government, the Church shall flourish and be enriched with all kind of blessings, especially spiritual; their hearts shall be cheered with comfort, and they shall bring forth abundantly the fruit of a holy life and conversation: besides that it might be the more fitly said, He shall come down like rain, because his kingdom is in a special manner from above, Joh. 3.31. see also Hos. 6.3.

Vers. 7. In his days shall the righteous flourish, &c.] That is, There shall be many righteous ones, and they shall be exalted and be prosperous in every regard; which most fitly suits with Christ's kingdom, who not only blesseth the righteous, but makes men righteous, and by the preaching of the Gospel amongst the Gentiles did wonderfully increase the number of them▪ and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth ; see the Notes above verse. 3, and 5.

Vers. 8. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. ] That is, from the red sea, or, the salt sea, unto the mediterranean sea, and from the river Euphrates, unto the desert that lieth Southward beyond the utmost bounds that way of the land of Canaan. Concerning these bounds of the kingdom of Israel, see the Note Exod. 23.31: and how this was accomplished in Solomon's days, but especially in the spreading of Christ's kingdom all the world over, see the Note 1 Kings 4.21. and the Note also on the Title of this Psalm.

Vers. 9. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him, &c.] That is, The most remote and barbarous nations shall submit themselves to him, or seek his favor: and his enemies shall lick the dust ; that is, they shall kiss the ground when they come before him in token of reverence (for that was the custom of those Eastern countries when they bowed to their kings;) or they shall bow their faces to the very ground, as if they meant to lick the dust: and hence these two are joined together Isa. 49.23. they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick the dust of thy feet.

Vers. 10. The kings of Tarshish, &c.] See the Note 1 Kings 10.22. and of the isles shall bring presents ; to wit, by way of tribute and homage: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts ; that is, as it is commonly thought, the kings of the nations inhabiting Ethiopia and Arabia the happy, descended from Seba and Sheba, the son and grandchild of Cush, Gen. 10, 7. But see also the Notes 1 Kings 10.1. Psal. 45.12. and 68.31.

Vers. 11. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him, &c.] This cannot be meant of Solomon, unless we take it as figuratively spoken, all kings, that is, all anything near about him. But in Christ it is and shall be literally accomplished.

Vers. 12. For he shall deliver the needy, &c.] That is, He shall rescue them from those that by fraud or violence wrong and oppress them; and this shall make men willing to submit to his government. But though this, with that which follows in the two next verses, is clearly spoken of deliverance from external injuries, yet as it is referred to Christ, it may be also understood of his delivering poor sinners from the spiritual tyranny of sin and Satan, and of saving their souls.

Vers. 14. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence, &c.] That is, their life, as the following words show: and precious shall their blood be in his sight ; that is, whereas many men, princes and great ones especially, regard the shedding of poor men's blood no more then the spilling of a little water, he shall show that he makes precious account of the blood even of the meanest and most contemptible amongst the people, 1. by being sparing in shedding their blood, see 2 Kings 1.13. 2 ^lie , by defending them against those that would shed it, and 3 ^lie , by taking vengeance on those that did shed it, especially when it is shed for God's cause, in regard the Lord doth then the more prize it, when thereby his truth is confirmed, and his cause maintained.

Vers. 15. And he shall live, &c.] To wit, long and prosperously; but see the Note Psal. 21.4: and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba ; to wit, by way of tribute and presents, 1 Kings 10.15: which is added to imply both how rich and potent a king he should be, as indeed it is said of Solomon 1 Kings 10.23. that he exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches ; and also with what affection and willingness they should submit to his government; for to signify this, was that ancient custom of bringing presents to their princes, see the Note 1 Sam. 10.27. And withal, especially as it is referred to Christ, it implies, that men should willingly contribute of anything they had, for the promoting of his kingdom & glory. Prayer also shall be made for him continually : which as it is meant of Christ, doth either imply that men should pray for the coming of this their Messiah, or else rather for the advancement of his kingdom, and for the Church his body; which was in part fulfilled, when the children cried in the Temple, Hosanna to the son of David, Mat. 21.15: and daily shall he be praised ; Christians endeavoring to honor him both by word and deed.

Vers. 16. There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains, &c.] That is, so fruitful shall the land be, that though but a handful of corn be sown in the earth, & that upon the top of the mountains, where by reason of extreme cold in winter, and heat in summer, the ground is usually barren, yet it shall yield such mighty corn, so thick & so high, that being shaken with the wind, it shall rusle and make a noise like the thick bows of the lofty trees on mount Lebanon. And hereby also is implied the abundance of all other things that should be in those times, & that the smallest beginnings should through God's blessing grow to great abundance. Yea & some understand it too of the sowing of the seed of the Gospel, and of the great increase and flourishing estate of the Church & kingdom of Christ, that should follow hereupon. And they of the city shall flourish as the grass of the earth ; that is, as the earth shall everywhere yield a great increase of grain, so shall every city yield as great an increase of men, so that they shall be everywhere as plentiful as the grass of the earth, and they shall be too in a flourishing condition. And how both these were literally accomplished in Solomon's reign, is expressed 1 Kin. 4.20. Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.

Vers. 17. His name shall endure forever, &c.] If we refer this to Solomon, the meaning may be, that for his wisdom, his just and gentle government, and the prosperity of his reign, his glory and renown should be continued even after he was dead for many generations. But referring it to Christ, the meaning must be, that he & his kingdom should continue forever; as likewise that his name should be continued in his spiritual offspring, that should be called Christians: see the Note above verse. 5. And men shall be blessed in him ; that is, if we refer it to Solomon, men shall propound him as a pattern of one eminently blessed, saying, the Lord bless you as Solomon was blessed; see Gen. 48.20: but referring it to Christ, the meaning is, that in and through Christ believers should attain perfect bliss and happiness, according to that promise made to Abraham, Gen. 12.3. In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Vers. 18. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doth wondrous things. ] To wit, by his own power: & this seems to be added in reference to the wonderful goodness of God in continuing the kingdom to Solomon's posterity, notwithstanding many of them did so often provoke God to have utterly destroyed them; but especially with reference to God's wonderful works in the Churches redemption by Christ, her miraculous preservation maugre the rage of Satan against her, and the many other benefits we enjoy by his kingly office.

Vers. 19. Let the whole earth be filled with his glory, &c.] This seems also to be spoken with respect to the times of the Gospel. Amen & amen : see the Note Ps. 41.13.

Vers. 20. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. ] For the adding of those words, the son of Jesse, see the Notes 2 Sam. 23.1. It is evident that the 86, the 110, & divers of the following Psalms besides, were composed by David; and therefore it well may be questioned why it is said that here the prayers of David are ended. But to this divers answers are given by Expositors: as 1. that this was the last Psalm that David composed, and haply placed last in the order of the Psalms, & that since the order of the Psalms was transposed: or 2. that this was the last of the Psalms which David joined together in a book; & that the following Psalms (wherein there are some also that David himself did afterwards compose) were collected by some other holy man of God, & joined to that book of Psalms which David had formerly made: or 3. that this is added here, because hither to we have had David's Psalms, but now those that next follow were composed by Asaph and others. And indeed if it were clear that the following Psalms were not composed by David, it might well be said in this regard that here the prayers of David are ended, though some Psalms of David's making be afterwards inserted; as it is said, The words of Job are ended, because his reasoning with his friends doth there end, though some words that Job spake are afterwards inserted in that book, as ch. 40.3, 4, 5, & ch. 42.1, 2, &c.

PSALM LXXIII.

Vers. 1. TRuly (or yet) God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. ] That is, that are upright-hearted amongst the people of God. Yet some would have the meaning of these words to be this, that they whose hearts are clear from passion do know God to be good, though others being under temptation and disturbed with passion cannot often be so persuaded. With the like abrupt expression the 62. Psalm begins; concerning which see the Note there.

Vers. 2. But as for me, &c.] As if he had said, Though this be so, and I knew it well enough, as having had frequent experience of God's manifold goodness, both to myself & other his faithful servants, and though I have always endeavored in all things to approve myself to God: yet my feet were almost gone ; that is, I was almost transported beyond the bounds of piety, even to the accusing of God in words, at least in thought, of injustice and unfaithfulness; or, I had almost fallen from this persuasion of heart concerning the goodness of God to the righteous, and from believing the truth of God's promises, yea almost from the uprightness of my ways, yielding to do as those wicked men did, whom the Lord thus prospered. And observable it is, that all sinful slips were so grievous to David, that he laments here even that his steps had well-nigh slipped.

Vers. 4. For there are no bands in their death, &c.] This may be understood either 1. of the sodainnesse of their death, to wit, that they drop, as it were, on a sudden into the grave, without any foregoing sickness or pain; which then is more fully set forth in the following clause, but their strength is firm, not wasted by any foregoing sickness, see the Note Job 21.13: or 2. of the gentleness and easiness of their death, that they do not die a hard and bitter death, either by reason of inward gripes and pinches of conscience, and terrors of mind, or of bodily pangs and strugglings with death, their souls being bound within them as with bands, which death hath much ado to untie or break, so that they cannot depart, or at least are long held back, as with bands, from dying; (but how this can agree with that following clause, but their strength is firm, I cannot well see:) or 3. of their dying a natural death, to wit, that they are never brought to die as malefactors, being bound with bands, cords or chains; and that because the laws can take no hold of them: whatever wickedness they commit, by reason of their riches and greatness, they are sure to escape: or 4. of their dying in a good old age; namely, that they are not violently dragged to an untimely death by any sickness or dismal casualty, but having sweetly passed over the whole natural course of their lives, they quietly give up the ghost. And their strength is firm ; that is, proportionably to their years, all their life long they are strong and healthful, till at last, being spent by mere old age, their life is expired, and they go down into the grave.

Vers. 6. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain, &c.] That is, Because of this their prosperous condition, they carry themselves proudly in every regard, in their countenance, speech, gesture, &c. as some men will do when they have gotten a chain of gold, they grow highly conceited of themselves, being ready still to boast of and advance themselves, and to despise others; or they please themselves and glory in their pride, as esteeming it an ornament to them: violence covereth them as a garment ; as if he should have said, And by reason of this their pride, they become bold, cruel and violent oppressors of others; for this expression of violence covering them as a garment, is to imply, that they do not only conceive it in their minds, but also express it outwardly in their deeds, yea and glory in it, as men do in some gorgeous attire, seeking to outstrip one another herein, as they seek to outstrip one another in bravery, and perhaps wearing the trophies of their oppressions in a way of boasting. And to this some add also, that oppression is as constantly their practice, as it is for men every day to put on their garments; and that hereby they seek to defend themselves, as men shelter themselves from the cold by their raiment. But however the main drift in alleging this is, to set forth how strange it might seem, that when men did thus abuse the bounty and goodness of God, he should notwithstanding suffer and prosper them still.

Vers. 7. Their eyes stand out with fatness, &c.] Because the fatness of the face makes the eyes to be hidden rather then to stand out, some would have this clause rendered thus, Their eyes go out with fatness, meaning, that they had scarce any eyes to be seen: but now others say that fatness doth often cause the eyes of men to swell and stare out of their heads. However many learned men take it to be only a figurative expression of the swelling of their minds, manifested in their outward habit and gesture: as if he had said, Their minds swell out with their prosperous estate, as men's eyes stand out with extreme fatness of body; and see also the Note Job 15.27. They have more then heart could wish ; that is, more wealth. But yet it may be understood more generally, to wit, that all things prosper with them, even in a manner above what themselves or any other man could have expected or desired.

Vers. 8. They are corrupt, &c.] That is, stark rotten and naught, or, dissolute and licentious, letting the reins loose to all manner of wickedness: and speak wickedly concerning oppression ; where that word wickedly is added, either 1. only because oppression is a great wickedness; or 2. to imply that herein lay their great wickedness, that they were so far from hiding their oppression, that they were not ashamed openly to boast of it and glory in it; or 3. because their speech herein was so exceedingly presumptuous and bold, as if they were above all order and law, and might do with any man what they pleased themselves: they speak loftily ; to wit, as looking down with contempt upon others.

Vers. 9. They set their mouth against the heavens, &c.] To wit, in that they blaspheme God and his Saints; or in that they speak proudly, contemptuously and wickedly of all divine things: and their tongue walketh through the earth ; that is, they speak evil of all men, as any occasion is given, not sparing any; and in doing this their tongues scarce ever lie still. But the sense of the whole verse may be this, that they talk and brag, as if neither God nor man could hinder them in anything they have a mind to do.

Vers. 10. Therefore his people return hither, &c.] That is, The people of God, who is implied in the foregoing verse in those words, They set their mouth against the heavens ; as if he had said, Because the wicked do thus prosper, therefore the godly themselves, God's own dear people, do often fall into these thoughts and temptations, wherewith I was assaulted, and are well-nigh overcome by them, ready to fall from their steadfastness, and to betake themselves to tread in the steps of such wicked men; or, they do often fall into these thoughts, expressed in the following verse, How doth God know, &c. And waters of a full cup are wrung out to them ; that is, God doth wring out to them a cup full of the waters of affliction, or sorrow, or tears, according to that Psal. 80.5. Thou feedest them with the bread of tears, and givest them tears to drink in great measure : and these are said to be wrung out, by allusion to the custom of wringing or squeezing the druggs which make a potion bitter or distasteful, that it may thereby be made the more exceeding bitter. So that this clause is here added, either to show the effect of these thoughts and temptations, returning again and again upon them, namely that their souls are thereby even overwhelmed and filled with bitter sorrows; or else to show the time when the godly are assaulted with this temptation, namely, when themselves were made to drink deep of the cup of affliction; or, which is much the same, to show the cause why they stumble so at the prosperous estate of wicked men, namely, because they themselves are in the mean time in a most afflicted sad condition; but see the Note Psal. 11.6. I know that some Expositors do understand this not of the godly, but of carnal men amongst God's people; Therefore his people return hither, that is, multitudes, even of those that profess themselves the people of God, do turn to these men, that thus prosper in the world, and side with them, and applaud them, and do as they do: and then the meaning of the second clause, and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them, they will have to be, that hereupon they have their share in the plenty of these wicked great ones. But the first exposition is far the best.

Vers. 11. And they say, &c.] Some conceive that here the Psalmist returns to set forth the impious language of those profane wretches, of whom he had spoken before verse. 9. But rather they are the words of the people of God, whereinto they were ready to break forth, when they stumbled at the prosperity of this ungodly crew, as is expressed in the foregoing Note. And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? see the Notes also Job 22.12, 13, 14.

Vers. 12. Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world, &c.] This may be also taken as a continuance of the foregoing speech of God's people, stumbling at the prosperity of the wicked; and the like may be said of the two following verses. But rather it is the Psalmist that doth here again set forth how himself was assaulted with this temptation; and then doth afterwards show in the remainder of the Psalm how he got the mastery of it.

Vers. 13. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, &c.] That is, I have in vain labored through thine assistance to cleanse it; for otherwise who can say, I have made my heart clean ? Prov. 20.9. see 1 Joh. 3.3. and 5.18: and washed my hands in innocence ; see the Note Psal. 26.6.

Vers. 14. For all the day long have I been plagued, &c.] That is, continually; and chastened every morning, that is, without delay, or day after day; as sure as the morning riseth every day, some distress or other is sure to befall me. But see the Note Job 7.18.

Vers. 15. If I say, I will speak thus, behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children. ] Having said verse. 12. Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the world, &c. here he inserts another behold, as in opposition to that; Nay, saith he, If I say I will speak thus, behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children : to wit, either because they have always acknowledged this truth, that God doth often prosper the wicked, and sorely afflict his own dear children; or because seeing it hath always been the portion of God's children to be often in an afflicted condition, if I should say that they only are happy that are in a prosperous condition for outward things, I should deny them in effect to have been thy children, and should charge them with folly in flattering themselves with vain hopes of thy love and favor, and in binding themselves to such strict rules of righteousness, when it was not like to be any advantage to them.

Vers. 16. When I thought to know this, &c.] That is, when I purposed and endeavored to search it out by mine own reason, how it could stand with God's justice and holiness in his government of the world, that the righteous should be so greatly distressed, & the worst of the wicked should so exceedingly flourish; it was too painful for me, that is, I did afflict & weary myself to find it out, & all in vain.

Vers. 17. Until I went into the Sanctuary of God. ] That is, say some Expositors, until in my meditations I ascended into God's holy dwelling place in heaven, and considered that there he had prepared a place of eternal rest and bliss for his righteous servants, from whence the wicked should be surely excluded. But I rather understand it thus, Untill I searched God's holy Word, resolving to judge herein according to what he had revealed there; or, Untill I went into God's holy Tabernacle, and by prayer desired the Lord to inform me herein, and was there instructed by the teaching of his word in the assemblies of his people, or by divine oracles there given by his priests.

Vers. 18. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places, &c.] To wit, either because in prosperity men are prone to fall into all kind of wickedness & profaneness; or rather, because wicked men seldom continue long in their prosperous estate, but are suddenly brought down and are utterly ruined; and seem therefore here to be compared to men standing aloft on some slippery pinnacle, from whence falling they must needs be dashed in pieces, as the following words imply, thou castedst them down into destruction.

Vers. 19. They are utterly consumed with terrors. ] To wit, wherewith they are stricken, either by God immediately, see the Note Psal. 53.5; or by the strange, sudden and unexpected judgments of God upon them; or by the lashes of their own guilty and accusing consciences.

Vers. 20. As a dream when one awaketh, &c.] That is, so are they, or, so vanisheth their prosperity; see the Note Job 20.8. Or rather we may understand it thus, with relation to the following clause, As men awakened from a dream despise their most pleasing dreams, as knowing them to have been mere fancies, see Isa. 29.7, 8; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, that is, when thou risest up as one awakened from sleep, to execute judgment on these men, thou shalt despise their image, that is, by destroying them thou shalt make it manifest both to themselves and others, that they were but as a vision of a dream; and that the high conceits they had of their bliss, were but only the imaginations of men that were lulled asleep with the pleasures of this life, and not awakened to judge rightly of things: see the Note also Psal. 39.6.

Vers. 21. Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. ] That is, inwardly afflicted; see the Notes Job 16.13, and 19.27. and Psal. 7.9, and 16.7. Some understand it of his grief, because he had been so foolish and brutish, as to stumble at the dispensations of God before spoken of. But it is rather meant of his former vexing and fretting, when he envied the prosperity of the wicked.

Vers. 22. So foolish was I and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. ] That is, in thy judgment, or in comparison of thee; or, when I come to judge by mine own reason of thy ways and works, how wise soever I may seem to be in human affairs, yet in this I am no more able to comprehend thy wisdom, then a beast is to comprehend the ways of men. And all this he saith, because in this temptation he had only minded present things.

Vers. 23. Nevertheless, I am continually with thee, &c.] Some understand this of the Psalmists constant cleaving to God, his serving him and trusting on him, even when he was assaulted with strong temptations to the contrary. But I rather understand it of God's fatherly care over him; I am continually with thee ; that is, in my greatest distress thou dost not cast me off, yea notwithstanding those foolish and brutish thoughts which I sometimes give way to: thou hast holden me by my right hand ; to wit, that I might not be overborn by this or any such like temptations, see also the Note Psal. 16.8.

Vers. 24. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, &c.] See the Note Psal. 21.3: and afterward receive me to glory, that is, thou wilt exalt me to a prosperous condition here, (for this is also included) and wilt afterwards receive me into thy heavenly glory.

Vers. 25. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. ] That is, I have no other God in heaven, to trust on or call upon; nor is there any creature upon earth, on whom I set my heart: thou art my only hope and confidence, my joy and comfort and love and delight, thou art all in all to me.

Vers. 26. My flesh and my heart faileth, &c.] That is, say some Expositors, with earnest longing after God; and indeed so the same expression is used Psal. 84.3. But I rather understand it thus, My flesh and my heart faileth, that is, Being left to myself, I may be, and am often in great straits and danger, brought so low, that my strength and heart may be in a manner overwhelmed with trouble and sorrow, and in the judgment of men I may seem past all hope of recovery. But God is the strength of my heart, in the Hebrew the rock of my heart, see the Note Deut. 32.4: my supporter and comforter ; see the Notes Psal. 27.1. and 43.2: and my portion forever ; see the Note Psal. 16.5.

Vers. 27. They that are far from thee shall perish, &c.] These words far from thee imply an absolute forsaking God, to cleave to the creatures. The best of God's servants may sometimes grow strange to God, and may turn away from God by doubting of his providence, and by stepping awry into some sinful ways: but then they recover themselves again. But now when men do wholly withdraw themselves from their obedience to God, to walk after their own lusts, & do trust in and love any creature more then God, these may be said truly to be far from God, and to go a whoring from God, and therefore are sure to perish; as it follows in the next clause, thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.

Vers. 28. But it is good for me to draw near to God, &c.] As if he had said, Be the prosperity of the wicked never so great, let others do what they will, I see it is best to cleave only to God, and to rest wholly upon him. I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works ; to wit, because God never fails to give them that trust in him abundant cause of praising him.

PSALM LXXIV.

The Title. MAschil of Asaph. ] See the Notes on the Titles of the 32. and 50. Psalms. Because it is clear that this Psalm sets forth the sad condition God's people were in, either when Jerusalem was taken and the Temple was burnt by the Chaldeans, (which the mention that is here made verse. 6, 7. of destroying and burning the Temple seems to imply) or when the Temple was at least defaced and pillaged and profaned by Antiochus, 1 Mac. 1.21, &c. (which to many seems most probable, because then they had no prophet amongst them, as is said here verse. 9. whereas at the Babylonian captivity they had divers prophets;) either we must say, that it was composed by some of the posterity of Asaph, or by some other holy man of God that lived in those times, and that it was committed to them who were singers in the Temple, or that, if it were made by David, or Asaph himself, it was written as a prophesy of the great miseries that were in future times to come upon the people of God.

Vers. 1. Why doth thine anger smoke, &c.] See the Note Deut. 29.20: against the sheep of thy pasture ; that is, thine own people, for whom thou hast undertaken to provide as a shepherd for his flock, and hast accordingly disposed of them in a rich and fruitful soil, the land of Canaan.

Vers. 2. Remember thy congregation which thou hast purchased of old, &c.] To wit, ever since thou madest a Covenant with Abraham and his seed; or, ever since thou didst deliver them from their bondage in Egypt, when they were first reduced by thee into the form of a common-wealth, and had laws and a form of government prescribed them, whereby they were to live under thy obedience as thine own peculiar people: the rod of thine inheritance which thou hast redeemed ; that is, thy people who are thy peculiar portion, or the land which thou hast given thy people, for their portion; for in that expression, the rod of thine inheritance, he alludes to the custom of measuring out portions of land by a pole or rod, as elsewhere to measuring by a line or cord, see the Note Deut. 32.9, and Psal. 16.6. Yet if we read it (as it is in the margin of our Bibles) the tribe of thine inheritance, then I conceive that thereby is meant the tribe of Judah, amongst whom God chose to dwell in a special manner; which appears more plainly by the following words, this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt ; wherein also the people of God express this to be their greatest grief, that the worship of God should be suppressed by their enemies.

Vers. 3. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations, &c.] That is, Come in speedily, and with cheerfulness and courage, to see and revenge the desolations which the enemy hath made, and which are like to be perpetual, unless thou, Lord, art pleased to interpose thyself; or, come in to trample and tread down the enemy, that hath made such desolations amongst us. It is in effect the same with that Psal. 68.1. Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered, &c. Even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the Sanctuary ; that is, the Temple: yet some extend this also to their synagogues. What the Chaldeans did in this regard, see in 2 Kings 25.9, &c. and what Antiochus Epiphanes did, see 1 Mac. 1.21, &c. and 2 Mac. 6.1, 2, &c.

Vers. 4. Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations. ] To wit, in the Temple; it may be extended to their synagogues also. It is meant of the clamours of the enemy, when they destroyed God's people and his holy place; of which likewise there is a like complaint Lam. 2.7. they have made a noise in the house of the Lord, as in the day of a solemn feast.

They set up their ensigns for signs. ] To wit, of their victory; glorying, in a manner, as if they had vanquished the Lord Jehovah, whose house they destroyed. And it may be also that these signs, which they set up of their conquest, are covertly opposed to the ceremonial signs, whereby formerly God had testified his presence there; as if they had said, Instead of the sacred signs of God's dwelling there, the enemy set up their signs in token that they had now subdued that place.

Vers. 5. A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. ] Divers Expositors understand these words thus, That the more active and industrious any man was in cutting down the timber and other wooden work of the Temple, the more famous and highly esteemed he was amongst their enemies. But because of that which is by way of opposition added in the following verse, But now they break down, &c. our Translation will not so well bear this exposition: but rather the meaning seems to be this, A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees ; that is, formerly men were famous for contributing their help in a laborious way to the building of the Temple, by cutting down trees that stood thick together in the woods, or the greatest and best timber-trees, and by hewing and squaring them for the building after they were cut down.

Vers. 6. But now they break down the carved work thereof at once. ] That is, all the carved work of the Temple, not sparing any part thereof; or, they all at once strive who shall be forwardest in this sacrilegious work. And very observable it is which is noted by a learned Interpreter, to wit, that the words in the original rendered in our Translation with axes and hammers, are not properly Hebrew but Syriac words, purposely to hint thereby the time when & the persons by whom this was done.

Vers. 7. They have cast fire into thy Sanctuary. ] How this was done by the Chaldeans is evident 2 Kings 25.9: and concerning the times when Antiochus Epiphanes tyrannized over the Jews it is expressly said, that the gates of the Temple were burnt with fire, 1 Mac. 4.38.. So that I see not why from this place any should confidently conclude, as yet some have done, that this Psalm cannot be understood of the desolations that were made by Antiochus, but of the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians.

Vers. 8. They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together, &c.] That is, all their holy places, wherein they use to meet to worship God, according to that which follows, they have burnt up all the synagogues of God in the land, or rather, all the people of Israel, not sparing any. This was inwardly the desire and purpose of their hearts, when they were pouring forth their rage upon the people of God.

Vers. 9. We see not our signs, &c.] That is, the signs of God's favorable presence amongst us, as his own peculiar people, which formerly we enjoyed: whereby may be meant, 1. the miracles that he had frequently wrought in former times for their deliverance, and for the destruction of their enemies; which indeed are often called signs and tokens in the Scripture, as Psal. 78.43. he wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan ; and so also Psal. 135.9: and 2, their sacred ceremonies, which were signs of God's dwelling amongst them, and of all the covenant blessings which they enjoyed above other nations, as the Ark, the Urim and Thummim, their sacrifices and sacraments and sabbaths, and all other legal rites, which were also signs and shadows of good things to come: and 3. the signs whereby the prophets were wont to shadow forth the things which they foretold were to come to pass. And this some conceive is added, as in opposition to what they had said before of their enemies verse. 4. they set up their ensigns for signs ; as if they had said, Whilst we daily see the signs of our enemies subduing us, our signs, of God's favorable presence amongst us, we see not. And then it followeth, there is no more any prophet, neither is there among us any that knoweth how long : where by their not having any prophet may be meant, that they had no ordinary teacher, to instruct and comfort them in their great afflictions; and by their not having any that knoweth how long may be meant, that they had none endued with an extraordinary spirit of prophesy, that could inform them how long their troubles would continue; according to that Lam. 2.9. the law is no more, her prophets also find no vision from the Lord. Or else both clauses may intend the same thing, to wit, that they had not, as formerly, any prophet amongst them. Now however it be clear that thus it was with the Jews under the tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes, for which see 1 Maccab. 4.46; yet I see not why it may not be also meant of the Babylonian captivity. For though Ezekiel and Daniel were prophets amongst the Jews in Babylon, yet because it is evident that Ezekiel began not to prophesy till the fifth year of Jehoiachins captivity, Ezek. 1.2, and that we read not of his prophesying any longer then till the 25. year of that captivity, Ezek. 40.1. or at the most till the 27. year, Ezek. 29.17: and for Daniel, we read not that he taught the people as a prophet, and when and how long he prophesied is very uncertain; it may well be that for a time, either before or after the prophesying of Ezekiel and Daniel, they were in Babylon without any prophet at all amongst them.

Vers. 12. For God is my king of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. ] That is, openly in the view of all men all the world over. And hereby the Church encourageth herself in that prayer in the foregoing verse, that God would pluck his right hand out of his bosom to destroy her enemies; namely, because God was her king (however now for a time he afflicted her, and seemed to withdraw himself from her) and so had been of old (see the Note above verse. 2.) and because all the salvation, that had been ever wrought for any upon the face of the earth, was his work; and the same therefore he could do for his people again. See also the Note Psal. 44.4.

Vers. 13. Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength; thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. ] That is, Thou hast destroyed Pharaoh, his Nobles and army: who are termed Sea-dragons or Crocodiles, in allusion either 1. to the cruelty of the Egyptians in slaying the male-children of the Israelites; or 2. to their pursuing them through the red sea; or 3. to the situation of Egypt, that lay close upon the sea, and was besides plentifully watered with that great river Nile, wherein there were many Crocodiles and Sea-dragons, as is evident by a like expression which the prophet Ezekiel useth concerning Pharaoh, Ezek. 29.3. Thus saith the Lord God, Behold I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers.

Vers. 14. Thou brakest the heads of Leviathan in pieces, &c.] That is, of Pharaoh; see Isa. 27.1, and 51.9. But why are there many heads here ascribed to Leviathan? I answer, either 1. thereby the better to represent the dreadfulness of this adversary of God's people, by setting him forth not as an ordinary whale, but as some many-headed monster, or as a Sea-monster, that had a head as big as many heads, as the Elephant is for this cause called Behemoth, that is, Beasts, see the Note Job 40.15; or, 2. to express hereby the destruction of Pharaohs Princes and Captains together with himself, and that either by terming them the heads of Pharaoh, or by speaking of them as of so many several Leviathans, Thou brakest the heads of the Leviathans, that is, of everyone of those Sea-monsters, Pharaoh and all his great ones with him. And gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness ; of which expression there are several expositions given by Interpreters: as 1. that being drowned in the red sea, and so made meat for the fish therein, they hereby became meat also for the people inhabiting the adjacent wilderness, that lived much upon the fish of that sea; or 2. that their dead carcases being cast upon the shore, (as is expressed Exod. 14.30.) became meat for the birds and beasts of prey that were in the forementioned wilderness, who are called here the people inhabiting the wilderness, as elsewhere the ants are called a people not strong, and the conies a feeble folk, Pro. 30.25, 26. and the locusts a strong nation, Joel. 1.6. and indeed this exposition I conceive very probable; or 3. that the Israelites being gotten safe over the red sea, or the nations that dwelt in the wilderness there, did even glut and satiate themselves with the spoil of their dead carcases, and did long after live upon the wealth which they got by that means.

Vers. 15. Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood, &c.] Some understand this of God's causing fountains and rivers to break forth out of the earth in several places, for the watering of the ground. But rather it is meant of God's miraculous cleaving the rocks in the wilderness, that springs and rivers of water might thence break forth for the use of God's people there, Exod. 17.6. Numb. 20.11. And so likewise the following clause, thou driedst up mighty rivers, some understand of the ordinary drying up of rivers, when God is so pleased: but rather it is meant of God's dividing Jordan before the Israelites; wherein it is said that he dried up mighty rivers in the plural number, either because many rivers did run into Jordan, or rather because Jordan had at that time overflowed all her banks, and so became as it were many several rivers.

Vers. 19. The day is thine, the night also is thine, &c.] To wit, as being created and governed by thee, and that for thine own service: thou hast prepared the light and the Sun ; where by the light is meant either the light wherewith the night is enlightened (which was last named in the foregoing clause) to wit, the moon and stars; or else rather that light which God did create the first day, Gen. 1.3. and which afterwards he placed in the Sun, verse. 13.

Vers. 17. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth. ] That is, Thou hast created and established the whole world, even to the utmost bounds thereof, East, West, North and South; or, thou hast appointed how far the earth should extend, which is prepared for the habitation of man, the bounds whereof were so estalished, that the raging seas could not break through them; or, by the borders of the earth may be meant the bounds and borders that God hath set severally to divide one kingdom and country from another, and to allot each nation the limits of their dominion and habitation. However that which the Church would hereby imply, is, that if God were so careful for the world, they hoped he would be much more careful for his own peculiar people, and would not suffer strange nations to break through the borders of that land, which he had allotted them for their dwelling.

Vers. 18. Remember this, &c.] As if they had said, Though thou passest by other things, yet let not this be forgotten, to wit, this which follows in the next words; that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord, and that the foolish people, that is, a base, worthless, wicked people, have blasphemed thy name.

Vers. 19. O deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the multitude of the wicked. ] That is, the life of thy Spouse, thy turtle-dove: for the Church is here compared to a turtle (as elsewhere to a dove, see the Note Psal. 55.6.) because it is the least and the most mournful of all doves, and most constant to her mate. And this (say some Expositors) suits better with the condition of God's people, when Antiochus made war against them, than when they were captives in Babylon, because then they were already delivered up into the power of their enemies.

Vers. 20. Have respect unto the Covenant, &c.] To wit, whereby thou hast engaged thyself that this land should be given to our fathers, and us their posterity, that thou wouldest protect us and bless us therein, and that if for our sins we were driven from thence, thou wouldest upon our repentance bring us back again from the utmost coasts of the earth, Deut. 30.3, 4: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty ; that is, in those countries where the people enjoy not the light of thy word, and so live without the knowledge of thee the true God, (such as Babylon was, wherein the Jews were held in captivity) there reigneth nothing but cruelty and oppression, every house is a den as it were of beasts of prey, full of robbers and murderers, and in every house they cruelly oppress thy poor people: Or else thus, In those lands which lie under the darkness of such sore afflictions as ours doth now, being invaded by a barbarous people, and where God hides himself from his people, and so their enemies apprehend that they may as in secret commit what wickedness they please, all places are filled with the cruelty of bloody enemies.

Vers. 22. Arise, O God, plead thine own cause. ] The ground of this expression is either, because in any wrong done to God's people, God was chiefly injured, especially when they were persecuted for God's sake; or, because the enemy did not only oppress them, but also blaspheme the name of God; or else because the maintaining God's worship amongst them was the chief thing they desired, and that haply by bringing them again into their own land.

PSALM LXXV.

Vers. 1. UNto thee, O God, do we give thanks, &c.] Some conceive that this Psalm was composed by David, either when the Jebusites were to be subdued that held the fort of Zion, 2 Sam. 5.6. or when upon Joab's slaying Abner, that design of Abner's bringing in the tribes of Israel to submit to David was like to be hindered, and the kingdom was in danger thereupon to be involved again in a bloody war; and others conceive that it was composed by Asaph, or some other holy man of God, in the time of the Babylonian captivity. And accordingly these first words may be understood, either as the words of the people, or of David and the people jointly together, wherein they resolve to praise God even in the saddest times, as being assured of God's readnesse to help them; which is expressed in the next words, for that thy name is near, that is, that thou art near at hand to help thy people, thy wondrous works declare ; and this may be meant, as we may differently conceive of the persons here speaking, either of the works of God in general, whereby God had in all ages manifested his care over his people; or more particularly of those wonderful works which God had already wrought in bringing David to the Crown.

Vers. 2. When I shall receive the congregation, I will judge uprightly. ] Many learned Expositors hold, that in these words God answers his people, and that the meaning thereof is as if he had said, When I shall gather my Church and people together again, and shall again receive them into my favor and care, whom for the present I have seemed to cast off, and to deliver them up to the will and power of their enemies, I will then judge justly betwixt them and their enemies, or I will then set all in order that is now out of frame. But because the following part of the Psalm seems clearly to be the words of the Psalmist, as is most evident verse. 7, 8, 9, 10, therefore I conceive so also of this verse, namely that David here speaks, yet perhaps, as elsewhere, in the person of Christ; When I shall receive the congregation, that is, say some, When I shall have gotten mount Zion on of the hands of the Jebusites, which is the place appointed of God for the solemn meetings of the congregation of his people, and is therefore called Isa. 14.13. the mount of the congregation ; or rather, When the people shall submit themselves generally to me, then I shall judge uprightly: as if he had said, Hitherto a great part of the tribes of Israel have refused to submit to my government, and so the kingdom hath been wasted with civil wars; but when once the whole congregation of the twelve tribes shall come in and submit to me, then I will govern them with all possible justice: which also implies a prayer secretly made to God, that he would bring in the people to stoop to his government. And if we take it, as some do, as spoken in the person of Christ, then it must be understood of the justice of his governing the Church gathered into him by the preaching of the Gospel. And so likewise if we read the words according to the translation in the margin, When I shall take a set time, I will judge uprightly, it may be understood, either as spoken by God, or by Christ, to wit, that when the fit season, already set and appointed by God's decree, should come, he would then take the opportunity to punish his people's enemies; or else as spoken by David, that when the time appointed of God should come for his being settled in the throne, he would then govern them, as became a good king, with all justice and equity.

Vers. 3. The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved; I bear up the pillars of it, &c.] According to the different exposition of the former verse, this also may be understood, either 1. as spoken by God to his people: All things indeed are in a manner ruined and broken to pieces; but were the whole frame of the world dissolved and melted, or put quite out of frame, I by mine almighty power am able to repair it, and support it again. And herein there seems to be an allusion to the Lord's bearing up the earth in the place wherein he hath settled it from the first creation: to wit, that as now God bears up the earth hanging in the midst of the air, and standing as it were in the midst of the seas, as firmly as it it were born up by pillars, & doth not suffer it to molder away, though the very waters, that pass continually through it, one would think in reason should be enough to dissolve it; so if the whole world were shattered in sunder, God were able to renew it again and bear it up; and accordingly, though his people were in never so broken a condition, God was able to set all right again. Or 2. as spoken by David: The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved ; as if he had said, By the ill government of Saul, by reason of judgments that God hath brought upon the land, and by the civil wars that have been of late amongst us, the whole kingdom and commonwealth of Israel is in a manner cracked in pieces, and in danger to be utterly ruined: I bear up the pillars of it ; that is, I endeavor to support this poor land and people in this their tottering estate, to wit, by settling good magistrates amongst them, by maintaining religion & justice, which are the great supporters of every state, and by supporting the righteous, for whose sake and by whose means, not only kingdoms and commonwealths, but even the world itself is continued. And then again if we take the words as spoken by David in the person of Christ, the drift of them then is, that though by sin the whole world was ruined, yet by Christ all things were repaired and recovered, and set in good order again.

Vers. 4. I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly, &c.] Almost all Expositors • gree that these are the words of the Psalmist, importing either that upon consideration of that which is said of God in the foregoing verses, concerning his judging the wicked, and defending his righteous servants, he had always said within himself, as deriding the pride of such ungodly wretches, that they were but fools to fight against God, as they did, and haply had expressly said thus to them, as dissuading them from this folly; or else (if we take David to be the penner of the Psalm) that as he promised to judge uprightly for the time to come, being once settled in the throne, so he had always already endeavored to suppress the insolencies of foolish men against God, and against his righteous servants, and had declared how foolish a thing it would prove to oppose the government which God had settled in him: and to the wicked, lift not up the horn ; that is, carry not yourselves proudly and insolently in the confidence of your great power, persecuting and oppressing God's people.

Vers. 5. Speak not with a stiff neck. ] That is, Talk not so proudly and loftily and peremptorily as you do, as if you would wrestle and fight against God, and as men do that can by no means be brought to yield and to give over any resolution they have taken up. He alludes either to stubborn cattle, that will not stoop to or draw in the yoke; or to the garb of proud persons, whose necks will even swell with anger and wrath, and who are wont to go with stiff erected necks.

Vers. 6. For promotion cometh neither from the East, &c.] As if he had said, This is a commodity that is to be procured from no country in the world. But however the meaning is, that whereas for the helping and advancing of themselves men are wont to look this way and that way, to their several allies and friends, and the neighbouring nations round about them, all this is to no purpose; and that because it is God alone that raiseth up and casts down whom he pleaseth, and there is none in the whole world that doth it but he. And the drift of these words may be to imply, either 1. that, seeing therefore it was God that advanced him to the throne, it would be madness in his enemies to resist him; or 2. that if God did set himself once to ruin the wicked, no power on earth could support them; or 3. that since all promotion comes from God, great ones ought not to use it to serve their lusts, but for God's glory and his Churches good.

Vers. 8. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, &c.] Many Expositors hold, that this is added by way of answering an objection that might be made against that which is before said, concerning the righteousness of the Lord in judging wicked men: for if it be so, might some say, how comes it then to pass, that usually the righteous are so sorely afflicted? to which in this verse it is answered; that though outward calamities here befall both good and bad, yet the wrath that is reserved for the portion of the wicked is far more terrible, then that which the righteous suffer: for in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, &c. that is, God hath judgments always ready at hand, which he distributes, as he pleaseth, amongst the children of men, see the Notes Psal. 11.6. and 60.3. and Job 21.20. and the wine is red ; and so strong and heady. The ground of this expression is, because the wine of Judea was for the most part red; and is therefore called Deut. 32.14. the pure blood of the grape ; and the redder their wines were, of the greater strength and the more violent operation they were. But however the meaning is, that the judgments which God hath in a readiness are sore and heavy, and such as will soon destroy men. And the same is also implied in the following words, it is full of mixture : for though some take those words to be no other in sense then as if he had said, the cup is full of wine made ready to drink, to wit, by mingling it with water, according to that Prov. 9.5. Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled ; and indeed in reference to that custom of allaying their wine with water, pure wrath is elsewhere termed wine without mixture, Revel. 14.10; yet here, because it is joined with the redness of the wine, I rather conceive the meaning to be, that the wine in the Lord's cup was mingled with spices, to make it the stronger, and the apter to intoxicate those that drank it, (whence it is that we read of spiced wine Cant. 8.2, and Isa. 5.22. drunkards are termed men of strength to mingle strong drink, ) yea perhaps that it was mingled with gall, and poison, such things as might make it bitter and deadly to those that should drink of it; and that this is added to imply both the sorenesse and variety of judgments that God hath always in a readiness, and that when he begins to punish ungodly men, he doth usually bring many several judgments together upon them. And he poureth out of the same; but the dregs thereof all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them : that is, he maketh all, both good and bad, to drink of this cup of his indignation, though indeed to the good it is but as a physical potion; yea and this cup comes soonest to them from the hand of the Lord, that are nearest to him, judgment must begin at the house of God, 1 Pet. 4.17. he afflicts all promiscuously: but then the wicked shall at last, will they, nil they, drink the dregs even to the last drop, that is, the sorest judgments shall be their portion, especially at the day of judgment, when they shall be cast into hell, and punished there with insufferable torments unto all eternity.

Vers. 10. All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off, &c.] That is, I will suppress them, or bereave them of their great power: but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted ; see the Note 1 Sam. 2.1. And this the Psalmist adds, in confidence that God would be aiding to his servants against their wicked enemies, as he had always formerly been.

PSALM LXXVI.

Vers 1. IN Judah is God known, &c.] To wit, Not by his word only, but also (which is chiefly here intended) by the miraculous works he hath wrought amongst them; whereby it was clearly manifested not to them only, but even to all the world, that the God of Israel was the only true almighty God, as is implied in the following words, his name is great in Israel ; concerning which see also the the Notes Psal. 48.1, 2, 3, &c. a Psalm that is for the matter of it much like to this.

Vers. 2. In Salem also is his tabernacle, &c.] See the Note Gen. 14.18: and his dwelling-place in Zion ; as if he had said, and therefore no wonder though he be better known there then elsewhere, and though he have shewn great wonders against his enemies there, that have sought to drive him out of that his dwelling-place.

Vers. 3. There brake he the arrows of the bow, &c.] That is, He took from the enemy all power of using them against his people, and the meaning is, he utterly destroyed them; see the Notes 1 Sam. 2.4. and Psal. 46.9: the shield and the sword and the battle ; that is, and all other weapons and provisions of war; or the battle-array, or army of soldiers. And because most Expositors conceive that this Psalm was penned upon occasion of that miraculous destruction of the Assyrians, that had besieged Jerusalem in Hezekiah's days, therefore they conceive also that in these words there may be an allusion to that which the prophet Isaiah then said, 2 Kings 19.32. He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, &c.

Vers. 4. Thou art more glorious and excellent, &c.] To wit, for power & prowess, then the mountains of prey, that is, then the robbers in the mountains; or, then the Assyrians, that coming to besiege Jerusalem did pitch their tents upon the mountains round about her; or rather, then all the great kingdoms of the world, which because they are usually gotten by violence, and do exalt and enrich themselves by spoiling the neighbouring nations round about them, are therefore compared to mountains, that harbor ravening wild beasts, that live wholly upon prey.

Vers. 5. The stout-hearted are spoiled, &c.] That is, say some, they are bereaved of all wisdom and prowess; see the Note Job 12.17: they have slept their sleep ; that is, through astonishment & fear they were as men asleep, not able to move a hand in their own defense; which is expressed more clearly in the following words, and none of the men of might have found their hands. But I rather understand it thus, that the proud enemies being slain, were stripped & spoiled of all they had about them; and thence it is added, they have slept their sleep, that is, the sleep of death, as it is called Psal. 13.3. And because God smote the Assyrians by night, 2 Kin. 19.35. there may be in these words an allusion thereto; as if it had been said, They were smitten sleeping, and so that sleep of theirs proved an eternal sleep, according to that Jer. 51.39. I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake: And none of the men of might have found their hands ; that is, they were as men without hands, their hands being of no use to resist the stroke of an angel.

Vers. 8. Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven, &c.] To wit, say some Expositors, by terrible tempests of thunder and lightening, &c. whereby thou didst execute judgment upon thine enemies: and accordingly they also expound the following words, the earth feared, & was still ; that is, the earth was shaken with an earthquake, and all things were still, the wild beasts betaking themselves straightway to their dens; or, the inhabitants of the earth trembled, so that the boldest of the wicked durst not then stir or mutter against God. But I rather conceive the meaning of the words to be this, that the vengeance executed upon the enemies of God was such, (& we may particularly apply it to that of the slaying the Assyrians) and withal so dreadful and terrible, that it was as manifest that it was from the God of heaven, as if God had by an audible voice from heaven, terrible as thunder, given sentence of judgment against them, that such & such judgments should be executed upon them; and that hereupon the earth feared, and was still, the nations round about them were still, as men amazed, not daring to plot or act anything farther against the people of God.

Vers. 10. Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee, &c.] To wit, because 1. the greater their wrath against thy people is, and the farther they proceed, & the more they prosper therein, the more shall thy wisdom and power be magnified in destroying them, & delivering thy people, & in causing all things to work together in the conclusion for their good: and 2. not only thy people shall hereupon praise thee, but others likewise that shall observe this; yea thine enemies themselves shall acknowledge, that they are vanquished & broken by thine almighty power, & that thou art righteous in all thy judgments upon them. The remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain ; that is, those that are left alive of thy wrathful enemies wilt thou curb and restrain; or rather thus, those that have still any malice against thy people, either thou wilt not suffer their wrath to be so great as formerly, or if they go about to recruit their forces, and to set again upon thy people, thou wilt set such bounds to their wrath, that they shall not accomplish their desire, nor shall proceed farther then shall be for thy glory and thy people's good.

Vers. 11. Let all that be round about him bring presents to him that ought to be feared. ] Or, to fear, as it is in the original; for which see the Note Gen. 31.42. And by those that be round about him, he means, either 1. the Priests & Levites; or 2. the people of God, who only enjoyed this privilege and favor of drawing near unto him to worship him, & call upon him (and in this expression he may seem to allude to the Israelites encamping round about the tabernacle whilst they were in the wilderness;) or 3. the nations round about, who being indeed convinced by this miraculous judgment of God upon the Assyrians, did thereupon bring gifts unto the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah, 2 Chron. 32.23.

Vers. 12. He shall cut off the spirit of Princes. ] That is, their lives, or their understanding and courage.

PSALM LXXVII.

The Title. TO the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, &c.] See the Note on the Title Psal. 39. And because this clause shows, as is there noted, that this Psalm was committed to the posterity of Jeduthun, to be sung by them, this makes it most probable, that the following words in the original, that are in the Title of many other Psalms▪ should rather be translated, as they are in our Bibles, A Psalm of Asaph, then A Psalm for Asaph ; because it is hard to conceive why it should be said, that this Psalm was intended both for Jeduthuns Choir and Asaphs too.

Vers. 1. I cried unto God with my voice, &c.] See the Note Psal. 3.4; even unto God with my voice, & he gave ear unto me. All which may be understood either of that distress whereof the Psalmist speaks in the sequel of the Psalm, the event whereof he shows here at first; to wit, that persevering in prayer he at last got the day, that so others might learn to do the like in the like conflicts: or else of God's hearing him in former troubles; & so hereby he seeks to strengthen his faith, that as God had heard him formerly, so he would again.

Vers. 2. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord, &c.] Here the Psalmist shows the sad conflict he had within himself for a time, to wit, that at first this course of praying to God seemed to do him no good at all: In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord, that is, when I was in grievous distress, not outward only, but inward too, my soul, because of my afflictions, apprehending that God's wrath did lie upon me, and that God had utterly forsaken me: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not ; that is, I could find no help nor ease of my misery, my sorrow seemed incurable. The Hebrew words may be indeed interpreted, as in the margin, my hand flowed, or was poured forth, and ceased not ; which may be a vehement figurative expression, like that Psal. 62.8. of pouring forth the heart before God, and may signify, either 1. that his strength did continually wast away; or 2. that his hands did continually drop with tears, which distilled down from his eyes upon his hands held up in prayer, or by frequent wiping his eyes; or 3. that he continually stretched forth his hands to God in prayer. But I rather conceive, that to express how hopeless and helpless his condition was, he compares his misery or grief to a wound that bleeds and cannot be staunched, or to a sore that runs continually and cannot be healed; my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted ; that is, though I prayed unto the Lord, yet that yielded me no comfort, because still my misery continued so grievous upon me; my soul was so imbittered hereby, and I became so wayward and heartless, that nothing would yield me any joy or comfort.

Vers. 3. I remembered God, and was troubled, &c.] That is, I thought of seeking help from God, and so prayed unto him, and yet my trouble still continued, or rather increased, as being thereby confirmed that God was angry with me, because he regarded not my prayers; or thus, I sought to comfort myself by thinking of God, his goodness and mercy, and faithfulness in making good his promises, and the experience I formerly had of his gracious dealing with me; but all this yielded me no ease, because my miseries still terrified me with apprehensions of his wrath, and of his proceeding in a way of severe justice against me. I complained, that is, I made my complaints to God; and my spirit was overwhelmed.

Vers. 4. Thou holdest mine eyes waking, &c.] To wit, by my continual miseries and disquieting thoughts; or by thine immediate providence withholding rest from me, which alone doth usually ease a grieved mind: I am so troubled, that I cannot speak ; see the Notes Job 2.13, and 3.1.

Vers. 5. I have considered the days of old, &c.] That is, as hoping to comfort and encourage myself thereby, I meditated on thy former mercies, both to thy people in general, and to myself in particular. But yet because the Psalmist is still relating his temptation, I conceive that his intention is to imply, that even this tended to the increase of his sorrows, whilst he weighed how far otherwise it was with him at present, then it had been in former times.

Vers. 6. I call to remembrance my song in the night, &c.] That is, In the night, as I lie musing by myself, I call to mind thy former favors, for which I have praised thee with a song; or, I call to remembrance thy former mercies, whereby I was stirred up to sing praises to thee, not by day only, but even by night also: see the Notes Job 35.10. and Psal. 42.8. I commune with mine own heart, and my spirit made diligent search, to wit, as enquiring what the cause was why the Lord did so sorely afflict me, and what the issue thereof was like to be; whether there would ever be an end of my troubles, and what means were to be used to bring it to pass; or whether it were likely that God had cast me off forever, as he expresseth his thoughts in the following verses.

Vers. 7. Will the Lord cast off forever, &c.?] This the Psalmist speaks, as struggling against his temptation; as if he had said, These things Satan and mine own corrupt heart do suggest to me; but sure it cannot be so.

Vers. 10. And I said, This is mine infirmity, &c.] That is, it is but the weakness of my faith, and the feebleness of my spirit, thus to doubt of God's goodness and faithfulness to his servants: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High ; that is, the great works which by his almighty power he hath in all ages wrought for the deliverance of his people. Though the remembrance of these things hath not hitherto prevailed over my doubts and fears, yet doubtless when I have seriously laid them to heart, they will at length prevail to strengthen my faith and hope in God.

Vers. 11. I will remember the works of the Lord, &c.] That is, Though at first this doth not appease my spirit, yet I will still and still meditate on the great things God hath done for his people, as being abundantly sufficient to comfort me in my sorrows: surely I will remember thy wonders of old ; see the Note Psal. 25.6. And hereby he intimates, that as we use not to question the love of an old friend, that hath been many years faithful to us; so it would be very injurious to question God's goodness and faithfulness to his servants, which had been approved by experience of many generations, in that however he hath afflicted them for a time, yet at last he hath always wrought wonderfully for them.

Vers. 13. Thy way, O God, is in the Sanctuary. ] That is, in the Temple, or in the Heaven. However the meaning is, that the works of God are hidden from the eyes of the world, as the holy things of the Temple might not be seen by men; or, which is all one in effect, that the works of God are above the reach of human reason, as those things in the heaven are only to be discovered by faith, see the Note Psal. 36.5. Yet some do otherwise understand this expression, as namely that the proceedings of God's providence amongst his people might be known in the Sanctuary, according to that Psal. 73.16, 17: concerning which see the Note there.

Vers. 15. Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, &c.] To wit, after thou hadst suffered them to be in bondage in Egypt for many years together, as if thou hadst meant to cast them off forever; for this seems to be alleged to discover his acknowledged weakness in those thoughts of his before mentioned verse. 7, 8, 9: the sons of Jacob and Joseph ; that is, all the tribes of Israel. But though some conceive that all the tribes are here called the sons of Joseph, because they were all nourished by Joseph as a father; yet I rather conceive that by the sons of Joseph are only meant the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh: and that they are severally mentioned, either by way of honor to Joseph, by whose means the whole posterity of Abraham was preserved; or out of respect to the future numerousnesse and dignity of the tribe of Ephraim, by whose name the whole kingdom of the ten tribes was afterwards called; or rather, because the sons of Joseph were born in Egypt, which the other sons of Jacob were not, and yet their posterity, and that as two distinct tribes, were delivered out of Egypt together with the rest.

Vers. 16. The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid, &c.] That is, At thy presence they flew back and were divided: the depths also were troubled ; that is, even the deep sea was divided to the very bottom.

Vers. 17. The clouds poured out water, &c.] See the Note Exod. 14.24: thine arrows also went abroad ; see the Note 2 Sam. 22.15.

Vers. 19. Thy way is in the sea, &c.] That is, Thou canst make a way for thy people through the greatest dangers, as appeared by thy leading the Israelites through the red sea: and thy foot-steps are not known ; that is, thy ways in the government of thy Church are not to be discovered by human reason, as that way through the red sea was a way which no man could have thought of or found out: when God had carried his people that way, there was no following by the track that they left behind them, in regard the waters presently returned, and covered the ground again, so that when the Egyptians would have followed them, they could not pass through.

Vers. 20. Thou leddest thy people like a flock, &c.] That is, with all possible tenderness, love and unwearied providence. And by saying that God led them like a flock, he implies also, that it was not by their own arms or strength or wisdom that they were protected from dangers as they went, but merely by the watchful care of God over them. By the hand of Moses and Aaron, mean and obscure and contemptible men, no way likely by so high a hand to have carried the people of God out of the dominions of such a potent prince as Pharaoh was.

PSALM LXXVIII.

Vers. 1. GIve ear, O my people, to my law, &c.] That is, to my doctrine, which from God I shall deliver to you, and which must therefore be as a law to you for the ordering of your lives; see the Note Psal. 1.2: and so the Apostle calls the Gospel which he preached, his Gospel, Rom. 2.16. As for those words, O my people, if we look upon this Psalm as composed by David, it is no wonder that he should call the Israelites his people, he being their king: and if Asaph, or any other holy man of God, composed it, he might term them his people, either as being his country-men, as Jeremy doth Jer. 9.2. or as being called of God to be their teacher. What may be probably thought concerning the time when this Psalm was composed, see in the folloing Notes, verse. 9.

Vers. 2. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old. ] By the opening of the mouth in Scripture is usually meant a beginning to speak; or else to speak after some deliberation, sincerely, and plainly, and freely. And some conceive that the relating and applying of ancient histories is here called parables and dark sayings, either because (as the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 10.11.) all these things happened unto them for types, &c or because there are many holy instructions covertly couched under these examples; or because the providences that are here related in God's continued goodness to such a stiff-necked people as Israel was, must needs be riddles to human reason. But for this see the Notes Numb. 23.7. and Psal. 49.4. In Matth. 13.35. we find this place alleged by the Evangelist, who saith, that Christ taught the people in parables, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables, &c. But the drift of those words was not to signify, that the Psalmist did herein prophesy concerning the manner of Christ's teaching; his meaning is only this, that in regard of Christ's teaching by parables, that might be well said of Christ, which the Psalmist here speaks of himself: only these words here, dark sayings of old, the Evangelist renders, things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world, because Christ indeed taught mysteries, which from the creation till then had not been so distinctly revealed.

Vers. 5. For he established a Testimony in Jacob, &c.] This may be meant of the law in general, both ceremonial and moral, together with the promises annexed, which they were bound to teach their children, Deut. 6.7. and was indeed a testimony of God's delivering them out of Egypt, and the covenant which thereupon he made with them as his peculiar people, see the Note Exod. 25.16; and likewise more particularly of that particular charge, that they should teach their children successively the great works that God had done for them, Deut. 4.9.

Vers. 8. And might not be as their fathers, &c.] To wit, As men are naturally prone to be; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God : that is, that set not their hearts sincerely and constantly to trust in God, and to do that which was right in his eyes.

Vers. 9. The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. ] That is, being a warlike people, and well provided for arms, yet they fled before their enemies; which was an evident sign that God's hand was against them. Some understand this of that slaughter of the sons of Ephraim 1 Chron. 7.21. whilst they were yet in Egypt. But because the Psalmists intent is clearly, not to set forth the wickedness of one tribe only, but of all the Israelites, therefore by Ephraim here, I conceive, is meant, either the people of Israel in general, and that they are called Ephraim, because that was the most numerous and potent of all the tribes of Israel; or the kingdom of the ten tribes, which is usually in the prophets called Ephraim, both for the reason before given, & also because the chief city of that kingdom was in that tribe, & Jeroboam, that was the chief promoter of that great apostasy from the house of David, was also of Ephraim. And accordingly if we understand it of any one particular overthrow, either it must be meant of that great ruin of the kingdom of the ten tribes by the Assyrians, 2 Kings 17.5, 6. (and then indeed they might the rather here be called Ephraim, because that Idolatry which Jeroboam brought in, and which made them unworthy of the name of Israel, was a main cause of that destruction;) or else of that discomfiture of the Israelites by the Philistines, when the Ark was taken, 1 Sam. 4.10. And this indeed many learned Expositors do the rather think, 1. because Shiloh, where this overthrow was given them, was in the tribe of Ephraim, and so probably the army of Israel might chiefly be gathered out of that tribe; and 2. because it seems by the later part of the Psalm, that the drift of the Psalmist herein is to set forth how Shiloh was rejected, and Zion the city of David was chosen to be God's dwelling-place instead thereof: and so hence it is that first here he shows how God was offended with the Israelites for their sins at that time, when the Ark was taken from Ephraim; and then, to aggravate their sins, in that the great works that God had formerly wrought for their fathers, were no better remembered by them, and improved to make them careful to please God, he makes a large recital of those wonders which God had done for them; and so in the close of the Psalm he returns again to show, how God in his displeasure removed the Ark from Ephraim, and in favor to David removed it to Zion in the tribe of Judah.

Vers. 12. Marvelous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. ] That is, in the country of Zoan, a chief city in Egypt; see Numb. 13.22, and Isa. 30.2, 3, 4. the same that was also called Tanais.

Vers. 14. In the daytime also he led them with a cloud. ] See the Note Exod. 13.21. This figured Christ's guiding his Church, till he hath brought them to their heavenly inheritance; and thence it is that Paul makes this cloud a representation of Baptism, 1 Cor. 10.2. and they were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

Vers. 15. He clave the rocks in the wilderness, &c.] The word rocks in the plural number implies, that this was done twice; see the Notes Exod. 17.6, and Numb. 20.11. As before he clave or divided the sea, so now with as much ease he clave the rocks; and as before he made the waters to stand on heaps like rocks, so now he made the rocks to dissolve as it were into water. And gave them drink as out of the great depth ; that is, in great plenty; see the Notes Exod. 17.6.

Vers. 17. And they sinned yet more against him, &c.] To wit, even after God had wrought such wonders for them: by provoking the most High in the wilderness ; to wit, when their late deliverance out of Egypt was yet fresh in memory, where they had many miraculous signs of God's presence amongst them continually in their eye, and where their daily dangers and wants might well have made them afraid to provoke God.

Vers. 18. And they tempted God in their heart, &c.] See the Note Exod. 17.2: by asking meat for their lust ; see the Note Numb. 11.4. for of that murmuring the Psalmist seems to speak here, their first crying for meat Exod. 16.3. being before the first fetching water out of a rock, which this was not, as is clear verse. 20. Behold, he smote the rock, &c.

Vers. 19. They said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? ] That is, Can he provide us meat, yea variety and delicacies, as we had in Egypt?

Vers. 20. Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, &c.] It is not necessary we should conceive that the Israelites spake these words; but that the Psalmists drift is to imply, that their murmuring for flesh was all one in effect, as if they had thus said. And that which is here charged upon them may either be, that they questioned the will of God, Behold, he smote the rock, &c. can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people? as if they had said, He that brought water out of the rock, might he not also, if he would, if he loved us and took care of us, give us bread and flesh likewise to eat? or else that they questioned the power of God, Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out ; as if they had said, This is not so great a matter, since water doth naturally in many places flow out of rocks: but can he give bread also? that is, bread-corn (for at that time they had none but manna) or meat; as the following words express it, Can he provide flesh for his people?

Vers. 21. So a fire was kindled against Jacob, &c.] That is, the wrath of God, as it is explained in the next words, and anger also came up against Israel. But yet see the Note Numb. 11.1.

Vers. 23. Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the gates of heaven. ] To wit, to give them manna in great plenty, as out of his store-houses. And therefore having formerly done this for them, they had no cause to murmur for flesh.

Vers. 24. And had rained down manna upon them. ] This expression is used to imply in what plenty the manna was given, and because it fell together with the dew.

Vers. 25. Man did eat angels food. ] So their manna was called, either 1. because it was provided and sent by the ministry of angels; or 2. because it seemed to come down from heaven, the dwelling-place of the angels; or 3. to set forth the excellency of this bread, that it was meat as one would say fit for angels, if angels needed meat. And so indeed the exceeding glory of Stephens countenance is set forth by this, that they saw his face, as if it had been the face of an angel, Act. 6.15. and Paul calls an excellent tongue, the tongue of angels, 1 Cor. 13.1. See also the Note Numb. 16.35.

Vers. 26. He caused an east-wind to blow, &c.] See the Note Numb. 11.31.

Vers. 28. And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, &c.] That is, the flesh mentioned in the foregoing verse; to wit, the quail, which being fat and heavy fowls, and having their wings moistened with the South-east wind, fell upon the earth, and so were gathered by the Israelites. See the Notes Numb. 11.31.

Vers. 30. They were not estranged from their lust, &c.] That is, Having the quail continued to them, they still glutted themselves therewith, though they had already eaten greedily on them; and then the wrath of God fell upon them. See the Note Numb. 11.33.

Vers. 31. The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, &c.] See the Notes Job 15.27, and Psal. 22.29, and Numb. 11.33.

Vers. 32. For all this they sinned still, &c.] To wit, when they refused to enter the land of Canaan: and believed not for his wondrous works ; that is, sincerely and constantly, though now and then for the present they seemed to be strongly convinced by the mighty works of God, Exod. 14.31.

Vers. 33. Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, &c.] That is, say some, they were presently consumed, as some vain thing that is gone on a sudden. But I rather think it is meant of that sentence which God pronounced against them, that they should all perish in the wilderness, that they spent their whole life in fruitless labors, wandering up and down, and being still travelling towards Canaan, but all in vain, in regard they never came to that land, in hope whereof they were brought out of Egypt. And their years in trouble ; to wit, they lay still under God's displeasure, and were still afflicted with many and divers troubles all the time of their being in the wilderness.

Vers. 34. And they returned, and inquired early after God. ] That is, They presently seemed to repent and turn to God.

Vers. 38. But he being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity. ] In regard of those that did but feignedly repent, there can be no more intended hereby, but that the Lord did upon their seeming repentance withdraw his plagues and judgments; yet withal we may be sure that God was truly reconciled to those amongst them that did truly repent, and did indeed fully acquit them of all their transgressions.

Vers. 39. For he remembered that they were but flesh, &c.] That is, 1. corrupt, naturally prone to sin; and 2. weak and frail, unable to bear the full wrath of the Lord, if it should be poured upon them, yea such as were subject to many calamities, and sure ere long to die of themselves, and therefore a fitter object of pity, then of continual displeasure. And that this last is indeed chiefly intended, is the more probable, because of the following clause, where he adds also, that they were a wind that passeth away, & cometh not again ; that is, such as would be soon irrecoverably gone.

Vers. 41. Yea, they turned back, &c.] That is, After some shows of repentance, when the hand of God was upon them, they soon turned back to their former evil ways: and tempted God ; see the Notes Exod. 17.2. & Deut. 6.16: and limited the holy one of Israel ; to wit, by prescribing God what he must do, or else they would not believe in him; or by conceiving of God after the manner of men, that this he could do, & this he could not do, & so robbing him of the glory of his omnipotency.

Vers. 45. He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them, &c.] To wit, by their extreme annoyance, and the mischief they many ways did them; see the Notes Exod. 8, 21: and frogs which destroyed them ; to wit, in that they were also several ways very mischievous to them, and when they lay dead in heaps, both air, earth and water were infected and corrupted therewith.

Vers. 47. He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with frost. ] Or, with great hail-stones. The meaning is, that the hail did not only beat off the leaves and fruit of their vines & other trees, or otherwise mar them, but that it did even kill the very roots of the trees, that they never grew more; see the Note Exod. 9.23.

Ver. 49. He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath & indignation & trouble, &c.] That is, many supernatural & dreadful plagues, that came thick upon thē, & were clear evidences of God's indignation against them: & that by sending evil angels among them ; that is, Angels by whose ministry these plagues were inflicted on them: & therefore there is no necessity that this should be meant of devils: the good angels may be called evil, with respect to the sore evils they inflicted then upon the Egyptians. I know that some Expositors hold that the Egyptian plagues were inflicted by devils; & they ground their opinion wholly upon this passage of the Psalmist. But because (as St. Augustine argues well) the devils sided with the Egyptian sorcerers against Moses & Aaron, in working their magic miracles, it is no way probable that they were employed on the other side too in plaguing the Egyptians. And therefore either it was by the ministry of the holy angels, that all these evils were brought upon Egypt; or else we must say that it is the judgments themselves, or the inferior creatures by whom these judgments were inflicted, that are here called figuratively, because they were sent of God, evil angels.

Vers. 50. He made a way to his anger, &c.] To wit, 1. by giving way to bring greater judgments upon them then hitherto he had done, even to the taking away of the life both of man & beast, from w ^ch hitherto his compassion had restrained him, & providing that nothing should hinder the just execution of his wrath herein; & thus I conceive the following words do explain this first clause, showing how he gave way in his anger to the slaying of the first-born in Egypt: he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence. Yet this last clause may be read, as in the margin of our Bibles, but gave over their beasts to the murrain ; which must then be understood of that plague Exod. 9.3. for which see the Notes there.

Vers. 51. And smote all the first-born in Egypt, the chief of their strength, &c.] See the Note Gen. 49.3: in the tabernacles of Ham ; that is, of the Egyptians, for Egypt is in the Hebrew called Mizraim, of Mizraim the son of Ham, Gen. 10.6. who first peopled that country.

Vers. 52. But made his own people to go forth like sheep, &c.] See the Note Psal. 77.20.

Vers. 53. And he led them on safely, so that they feared not. ] That is, they had no cause to fear, the Lord going along with them as their guardian. Or the meaning may be, that though through weakness & infidelity they were sometimes afraid, as we see Exod. 14.10: yet by the mighty works of God they were still at last heartened & encouraged again.

Vers. 54. And he brought them to the border of his Sanctuary, &c,] That is, to the land where he had determined to dwell amongst them in his Sanctuary: even to this mountain which his right hand had purchased ; to wit, mount Zion, or the land of Canaan, a land of mountains and valleys, Deut. 11.11. See the Note Exod. 15.17.

Vers. 56. Yet they tempted, &c.] To wit, by sinning against God; see the Note Deut. 6.16: and provoked the most High God, and kept not his testimonies ; to wit, in that they kept not God's command for destroying the Canaanites; see the Note Psal. 19.7.

Vers. 57. They were turned aside like a deceitful bow. ] That is, like a bow that shoots awry, & not whether the archer that useth it aims to shoot; to wit, because whereas they- ought to have been guided by God, after all their fair professions & promises of being faithful to God & their pious judges, such as those to Joshua, Josh. 1.16, 17. All that thou commandest us we will do, &c. they perfidiously fell off, & went awry, & did not order their ways as God expected & required; and particularly whilst they pretended to worship only the true God, they suddenly turned aside to the worship of idols.

Vers. 60. So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, &c.] To wit, In that the Ark, the sign of his presence, was carried thence into captivity by the Philistines, 1 Sam. 4.11. and the Tabernacle also was thence removed, see the Note 1 Chron. 21.1. and neither of them were ever brought back thither again: the tent which he placed among men ; It is not among the Israelites, but among men, to imply God's abasing himself to dwell amongst such base and wretched creatures as men are.

Vers. 61. And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemies hand. ] That is, the Ark; see the Notes 1 Chron. 16.11. 2 Chron. 6.41, and 1 Sam. 4.21, 22. Yet some understand it of God's giving up the strongest and chiefest of the people to be slaves to the Philistines.

Vers. 63. The fire consumed their young men, &c.] That is, The force or heat of the battle, or the fire of God's wrath, mentioned in the foregoing verse, did suddenly make an end of them: and their maidens were not given to marriage ; to wit, by reason there was such a scarcity of young men after that battle; or because those that were betrothed to them were slain. It is in the original, their maidens were not praised : but the meaning is, that they were not praised with Epithalamiums or marriage-songs, as Brides at their weddings used to be.

Vers. 64. Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation. ] The meaning is, either 1. that being overwhelmed with sorrow they could not weep; or 2. that being in captivity amongst the Philistines they were not suffered to lament the death of their husbands; or 3. that dying with grief they lived not to make any lamentations for them at their funerals; or 4. that they were so taken up and oppressed with their own miseries, and especially with the miseries of the Church and people of God in general, that they had not leisure to bewail their husbands: of both which last we have a clear instance in the wife of Phinehas in particular, 1 Sam. 4.19, 20. who dying made no mention of her husband.

Vers. 65. Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, &c.] To wit, as one fallen fast asleep after much wine drunk, as the following words do imply, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine. However the drift of this expression is to imply, that as one that was looked upon to be in a dead sleep, he did the more unexpectedly fall upon them, and as one that had forborne them a while, he did with the more fury and severity break forth upon them.

Vers. 66. And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts; he put them to a perpetual reproach. ] This is meant of the Lord's smiting the Philistines with emerods, see the Note 1 Sam. 5.6. the shame whereof was made perpetual by those golden images of their emerods, which they sent to the Israelites, see the Note 1 Sam. 6.4. Yet some do also include herein the shame that was done them in the Lord's casting down their Idol Dagon, and breaking it in pieces upon the threshold; the memory of which reproach became the more perpetual by that superstitious practice, which upon that occasion they took up, of never treading after that upon the threshold: see the Note 1 Sam. 5.5.

Vers. 67. Moreover he refused the Tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim. ] To wit, 1. in that he would not let the Ark be any longer there (for that this is chiefly meant here is evident by that which is added verse. 69. concerning the building of the Temple) see the foregoing Notes verse. 9. and 60; and 2. that the supreme magistracy was not continued in that tribe, though it began there, when Joshua, who was of that tribe, was made their Ruler.

Vers. 68. But chose the tribe of Judah, &c.] To wit, that the place of God's worship and the supreme magistracy should be settled in that tribe: the mount Zion which he loved ; that is, which he chose, not for any other cause, but of his own free grace, because he was pleased to set his love upon it.

Vers. 69. And he built his Sanctuary like high palaces; like the earth which he hath established forever. ] That is, that it might be the settled place of his worship, even unto the coming of the Messiah; who should then establish it in the Church, the true Zion, unto the end of the world.

Vers. 71. He brought him to feed Jacob his people, &c.] To wit, David; see the Note 2 Sam. 5.2: and Israel his inheritance ; see the Note Deut. 4.20.

Vers. 72. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, &c.] To wit, as sincerely seeking the people's good: and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands ; to wit, in that he did all things in the administration of his kingdom, as became a wise and skillful governor. Yet in this expression there seems to be an allusion to the hook which shepherds used to carry in their hands, therewith to order their sheep.

PSALM LXXIX.

Vers. 1. O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance, &c.] See the Note Exod. 15.17: thy holy temple have they defiled ; to wit, by spoiling it, by shedding blood in it, and by bringing profane and wicked persons and things into it. Most Expositors say that this was spoken of the destruction of Jerusalem, either by the Babylonians, or by Antiochus in the time of the Maccabees. But the first is far most probable; because in relating the miseries the Jews endured by the persecution of Antiochus 1 Maccab. 7.16, 17. the words in the 2. and 3. verses of this Psalm are cited, which shows that this Psalm was extant among the people long before those troubles.

Vers. 3. Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem, &c.] That is, 1. in great abundance; and 2. without pity; their enemies having no more remorse for the shedding of their blood, then they would have had for the pouring out of so much water, nor no more fearing to be called to an account for the one then for the other: and there was none to bury them ; to wit, because the enemy would not, and their near friends were either all slain, or durst not go out to do it.

Vers. 4. We are become a reproach to our neighbors, &c.] To wit, the Babylonians and others amongst whom they lived; or rather the Edomites and other bordering nations, as the following words do express it, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

Vers. 8. O remember not against us former iniquities, &c.] To wit, ours or our fathers: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us ; that is, let them prevent our utter ruin, by helping us speedily.

Vers. 9. Help us, O God of our salvation, &c.] That is, who hast undertaken to save us, who canst only save us, and hast often saved us: for the glory of thy name ; that is, that thy glorious attributes, thine infinite power and goodness, &c. may be known, that thy people may praise thee for them, and that the blaspheming mouths of thine enemies may be stopped: and deliver us, and purge away our sins for thy names sake ; see the Note Psal. 23.3.

Vers. 11. Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee, &c.] This may be understood either of all the captives in general (for all such are in a kind prisoners;) or of such particularly as were besides imprisoned: and so the following clause, preserve thou those that are appointed to die, may be meant of all in captivity, who were continually in danger of death; or else of those whom they had intended to put to death.

Vers. 12. And render unto our neighbors seven-fold into their bosom, &c.] That is, Repay them abundantly