A manual of the Book of Psalms, or, the subject-contents of all the Psalms

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REGISTER No. 7 J? P

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A MANUAL

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THE BOOK OF PSALMS:

OB, THE

SUBJECT-CONTENTS OF ALL THE PSALMS;

BT

MARTIN LUTHER:

NOW FIRST TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH

BY THE REV. HENRY COLE,

LATE OP CLARE-HALL, CAMBRIDGE ; TRANSLATOR OP " SELECT
WORKS" OP LUTHER, &C.

PUBLISHED BY R. B. SEELEY AND W. BURNSIDE ;

AND SOLD BY L. AND G. SEELEY,

FLEET STREET, LONDON.

MDCCCXXXVII.

30301-3

TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

THE assurance that the following production of the
immortal and beloved reformer, Luther, would be
acceptable and beneficial to every lover of divine
and experimental truth, was the motive that led the
Translator to present it, in an English version, to the
British church of Christ.

No commendatory remarks are needed : the work
Hselfwill at once speak its own worth. The trans-
~»uld only observe, that in the following
3MMENTARY on the Book of Psalms, Luther
lias most divinely, experimentally, and beautifully
peued up — the vanity and delusion of all forms
(even a gospel " form " ) of godliness, without the
known and possessed "power" thereof; — the op
position and malicious persecution which the real
disciples of Christ ever meet with from the wicked,
and, above all, from hypocrites in religion ; — the true
and only grounds of a Christian man's hope, peace,
and salvation ; which are, a trust and rest alone in
the grace, righteousness, and atonement of our Lord
Jesus Christ ; — the blessedness of a nation where the
pure word and worship of God guide, and are upheld
by, its throne and government; and the sure destruc
tion of a kingdom when its magistrates act against

vi TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

that word and worship ;— and finally, the glory of
all the creatures of God, the abounding goodness of
God in them, and the infinite blessedness of their
lawful use.

Luther takes occasion also, from numberless pas
sages in the Psalms, to describe, point out, and dis
tinguish the true church of God in the midst of the
earth, and the signs by which she may be known
from all other churches ;— that she is that company
of poor and afflicted people, who are burdened with
sins, filled with fears, covered with infirmities, and
despised by the world, and considered both by the
wicked, and by formal professors of religion, to be
the last people likely to be the church of God.
He repeatedly shews, however, that such, not
withstanding their rejection by all, are the true
people and church of God ; and that it is unto such,
and such only, that all the promises of grace and
mercy in Christ, and of help, provision, and defence
in this world, are made ; ' For (saith Luther) if you
will look through the whole Bible, you will find,
that God is not the God of the rich, the proud, the
secure, &c. but of the poor, the fearful, the afflicted,
and the helpless ; who cannot do without his daily
mercy and help, either in the things of this world,
or of that which is to come/

That the great and heavenly things thus opened
by the admired Luther may be understood and en
joyed by every reader of the following manual, is the
desire and prayer of,

THE TRANSLATOR.

Highbury Place, Islington,
June 8, 1837.

Other invaluable productions of Luther, which have never
before been translated into ENGLISH, are in hand, and will duly
appear: which, added to the four vols. of" Select Works," the
" Bondage of the Will," and the work " on Popery," just pub
lished by Messrs. Nisbet, will put the ENGLISH Church of Christ
in possession of all the holy Reformer's works which are the most
calculated to be of divine benefit to her.

MARTIN LUTHER TO HIS FRIEND.

I AM unwilling to acknowledge that you are right
in being so industrious to publish abroad my poor
productions: I fear you are actuated too much by
favour towards me. As to myself, I am wholly dis
satisfied with my works on the Psalms : not so much
on account of the sense which I have given, which I
believe to be true and genuine, as on account of the
verbosity, confusion, and undigested chaos of my
commentaries altogether. The Book of Psalms is
a book, my Commentaries on which, from want of
time and leisure, I am obliged to conceive, digest,
arrange, and prepare all at once. For I am over
whelmed with occupation. I have two sermons to
preach in a day : I have to meditate on the Psalms :
I have to consider over the letters which I receive
by the posts (as they are called) and to reply to my
enemies : I have to attack the Pope's Bulls in both
languages : and I have to defend myself. (To say
nothing about the letters of my friends which I have
to answer, and various domestic and casual engage
ments to which I am obliged to attend !)

You do well, therefore, to pray for me ; for I ana
oppressed with many afflictions, and much hindered
from the performance of my sacred duties ; — my
B

2 LUTHER'S LETTER TO HIS FRIEND.

whole life is a cross to me ! I have now in hand the
xxii. Psalm, " My God, my God, &c. ; " and I had
hopes of completing a Commentary on the whole
Book of Psalms, if Christ should give us a sufficient
interval of peace, so that I could devote my whole
time and attention to it : but now, I cannot devote
a fourth part of my time to such a purpose : nay,
the time that I do devote to it, is but a few stolen
moments.

You do right in admonishing me of my want of mo
deration : I feel my deficiency myself; but I find that
I have not command over my own mind : I am carried
away from myself, as it were, by a certain vehement
zeal of spirit, while I am conscious that I wish evil
to no one, though all my adversaries press in upon
me with such maddened fury : so that, in fact, I have
not time to consider who my enemies are, nor what
various treatment they require. Pray, therefore, the
Lord for me, that I may have wisdom to speak and
write that which shall please him and become me,
and not what may appear becoming to them. And
now, farewell in Christ.

Wittemlerg, A. D. 1521.

MARTIN LUTHER'S PREFACE TO THE
BOOK OF PSALMS.

MANY of the old and godly fathers have highly ex
tolled the Book of Psalms, above all the other books
of the Scripture, and have testified their exceeding-
fondness and partiality for them. And indeed this
book, though small, deserves to be recommended
above all others, (if a difference may be made) :
though the Psalms of David do not want the aid of
borrowed encomiums, for they carry with them an
abundance of self-recommendation ; and in them is
the old proverb verified, which says ' The work proves
the workman.' Therefore, I have not put my hand
to this book for the purpose of parading before the
world an encomium upon it, since it so amply com
mends itself; but that I might, according to the best
of my ability, present those that fear God with my
judgment upon its all-excelling contents.

In the years that are past we have seen an infinity
of books handed about in the world, but all most
insipid and worthless ; which, behind an apparently
honest and plausible title, (for they were prefaced
with the sentiments and examples of the saints) con
tained the most nugatory fables, and the most bare
faced lies. The world, therefore, was everywhere
so filled with writings of this kind, the most foolish^
B 2

4 LUTHER'S PREFACE.

and at the same time the most impious, that the
Psalms themselves were disregarded and thrust
into darkness, and we had not one Psalm rightly in
terpreted or understood. And yet, as this sweet
book of David continued to be sung in all our
churches, and to be chanted over so many thousand
times in these incessant rounds and forms of prayer,
— even by this frigid use of the Psalms, bad as it
was, some small savor of life was diffused abroad
among many that were of an honest and good heart ;
and from these words themselves only, though not
understood, those that feared God drank in some
little sweetness of the breath of life, and some small
taste of consolation, like the faint fragrance which is
found in the air that is not far from a bed of roses.
Their experience was like also unto a simple man
passing through a flowery and sweet-smelling mea
dow, who, though he knew not the peculiar nature
and properties of the flowers and herbs, yet found
his senses regaled with the general fragrance.

I would say what I think of the Psalms in a few
words thus : — I believe, for my part, that there is no
book under heaven, either of histories or examples,
to be compared to the Book of Psalms. Wherefore,
if it were right to ask of God, and, if such were our
soul's desire, that all the greatest excellences and
most choice experiences of all the true saints
should be gathered and collected from the whole
church since it has existed, and should be most
briefly and appropriately condensed into the focus
of one book ; if God, I say, should permit any most
spiritual and most gifted man to form and concen
trate such a book from all the excellences of the
saints, and from the flower of the facts recorded in
the whole scripture (which might be done); — such a

LUTHER'S PREFACE. 5

book would be what the Book of Psalms is, or like
unto it. For in the Book of Psalms we have not the
life of one of the saints only, but we have the expe
rience of Christ himself, the head of all the saints,
for he is set forth in those Psalms: we have, more
over, the feelings and experiences of all the faithful,
both under their sorrows and under their joys, both
in their adversity and their prosperity : how they
conducted themselves towards God, towards their
friends, and towards their enemies : how they acted
in various perils and afflictions, in the midst of temp
tations, and under the greatest necessities.

And moreover, in addition to the great and blessed
doctrines and instructions in godliness which it em
braces, the Book of Psalms ought to be most dearly
and highly prized by us on this account; — because it
contains such clear prophecies concerning the death
and resurrection of Christ, and holds forth such great
and gracious promises concerning the kingdom of
Christ, the spread of the Gospel, and the state of the
whole church. So that you may truly call the Book
of Psalms, a little Bible ; for in it all things that are
contained in the whole Bible are given to us in the
most wonderfully brief and sweet manner, and con
densed into a most beautiful manual.

If God should himself hand down a book out of
heaven and commend it to us with a divine voice,
how highly would you prize and value it, how
greedily would you seize it? Be assured then that
the Holy Spirit himself has written and handed down
to us this Book of Psalms, as a form of prayer, in the
same way as a father would give a book to his chil
dren. He himself has drawn up this manual for his
disciples ; having collected together, as it were, the
lives, groans, and experiences of many thousands,

6 LUTHER'S PREFACE.

whose hearts he alone sees and knows. If, therefore,
thou canst not read the whole Bible, behold ! thou
mayest, by reading the Book of Psalms only, have
not only a summary of all godliness, but all godly
excellences, and the most spiritual experiences.

And again, another great excellency of the Book
of Psalms is this. In other scriptures and histories,
for the most part the works and bodily exercises only
of the saints are described : you have very few histo
ries which give you the words, expressions, and
sighs of the saints, which are the indexes of the state
of their minds. But it is in these things that the Book
of Psalms may be a feast of delight for the medita
tions of the godly. In these respects, therefore, the
reading of a Psalm is peculiarly sweet; because you
havetherein, notonly the works and acts of the saints,
but their very words and expressions, nay, their sighs
and groans to God, and the utterance in which they
conversed with him during their temptations ; and all
these are recorded in such a lively and descriptive
manner, that those saints, though now dead, seem
still to live and speak in the Psalms.

Thus all other histories and lives of the saints,
which describe their acts and works only, when com
pared to the Book of Psalms, set forth to us nothing
more than dumb saints; and every thing that is re
corded of them is dull and lifeless. But in the
Psalms, where the very expressions of those that
prayed in faith are recorded, all things live, all things
breathe, and living characters are set before us in the
most lively colours : the saints are represented to us
as standing supported by their faith, even in the
midst of afflictions and tribulations. A dumb man,
indeed, is rather a lifeless post than a man ; for man
is distinguished from the brute creation by nothing

LUTHER S PREFACE. 7

more than by the power of speech. A stone even,
under the hand of the artificer, may represent the
figure of a man. And, as to eating and drinking,
all dumb animals can do those things as well as he:
they can use the organs of sense as well as he : and
indeed, as to strength of body, they have greatly the
advantage of him. Hence, it is the power of speech
that so distinguishes man from, and raises him above,
the brute creation : and that speech is the index of,
and the mirror that reflects, the mind.

As, therefore, the Psalms describe the words and ex
pressions of the saints, they give us an exact picture of
their minds. For the Psalms record not those common
and every where-heard expressions of the saints, but
those ardent and pathetic utterances, by which, in real
earnest, and under the very pressure of temptations,
and in the very wrestlings of their souls, they poured
out their hearts like Jacob, not before man, but before
• God ! The Psalms give us, therefore, not only the
works and words of the saints, but the very hidden
treasure of their hearts' feelings — the very inmost
sensations and motions of their soul.

Wouldst thou see, then, the face and countenance
of David, which he carried under all those perils and
sorrows with which the Lord exercised him? — then
read the Psalms ; and they will give thee not only the
outward David, but, more expressively still, the
inner David; and that more descriptively than he
could do it himself, if he were to talk with you face
to face. What then are all other histories, which
band about the singular works, and I know not what
miracles of the saints ? I can see all the works and
the miracles of the saints in these everywhere-to-
be-had records, but I can see nothing of the feelings
and sensations of their hearts.

8 LUTHER'S PREFACE.

As, therefore, I had much rather hear David or any
such eminent saint speak, than merely see the works
or exercises of his body ; so, much rather would I
know the inmost thoughts of David's heart, and the
inward conflicts and struggles of his faith. With
this knowledge the Psalms furnish us most satisfac
torily ; so that from them we can know what he felt
and what all the saints felt, under their temptations,
from the ardent expressions and effusions which are
uttered. For the human heart is like a ship in the
midst of the sea, which is exposed to the perils
of the winds and the waves on every side, and
made as it were their sport. For as the ship is sud
denly assaulted, so trouble, and the fear of future
evil, like a sudden tempest, assaults and disarms our
minds : and then flow in cowardice of spirit, and sor
row of heart, which, like the waves, run over us and
threaten to overwhelm us every moment. By and by,
again, the confidence inspired by prosperity carries
us up to heaven in full sail; and then, security under
our present prospects dashes unexpectedly our ship
against a rock. These, I say, and the numberless
other evils and perils of this life, tend to arouse and
stir up the saints, and teach and bring them to sigh
and groan from the recesses within, to pour out their
whole hearts, and to cry with their whole souls unto
heaven. The complaints of those who thus grieve
and groan in truth, are far more ardent than theirs'
who only feign sorrows and straits of mind : just
as the man, who feels joyful and glad in reality, dis
covers a far greater gladness, hilarity, and exultation
in his countenance, expressions, and whole appear
ance, than he who only smoothes his brows with a
feigned rejoicing.

The expressions contained in the Psalms, then, as

LUTHER'S PREFACE. 9

I have said, are uttered under the true and real feel
ings of the heart; and the greater part of them con
tain the pathetic and ardent utterances of the heart
under every kind of affliction and temptation. But
wherever the feelings of joy are described, you will
never find the sensations of a heart, filled with glad
ness and exultation, more significantly and expres
sively described, than in the Psalms of thanksgiving,
or the Psalms of praise. There you may look into
the hearts of the saints, as into paradise, or into the
opened heaven; and may see, in the greatest variety,
all the beautiful and flourishing flowers, or the most
brilliant stars, as it were, of their upspringing affec
tions towards God for his benefits and blessings.

On the other hand, you will never find the straits,
the sorrows, and the pains of a distressed mind any
where described in a more expressive manner than
in the Psalms of temptations, or of complaints ; as in
Psalm vi. and the like ; where you see all dark and
gloomy, all full of anguish and distress, under a
sight and sense of divine wrath, and the working
of despair.

And so again, where the Psalms are speaking of
hope or fear, they so describe those feelings in their
true and native colours, that no Demosthenes or Ci
cero could ever equal them in liveliness, or descrip-
tiveness of expression. For, as I have before ob
served, the Psalms have this peculiarity of excel
lence above all other books of description, — that the
saints, whose feelings and sensations are therein set
forth, did not speak to the wind, under those their
exercises and conflicts, nor to an earthly friend, but
unto, and before, God himself, and in the sight of God.
And it is this that above all things gives a seriousness,
and reality to the feelings, — it is this that affects,

10 LUTHER'S PREFACE.

as it were, the very bones and the marrow, — when a
creature feels itself speaking in the very sight and
presence of its God ! But when we are speaking
otherwise, and complaining to a friend, or to a man
only, our necessities are not so keenly and really felt ;
our feelings are not so ardent, real, and poignant.

The Book of Psalms, therefore, as it contains these
real feelings of the saints, is a book so universally
adapted and useful to all Christians, that whatever
one that truly fears God may be suffering, or under
what temptation soever he may be, he may find, in
the Psalms, feelings and expressions exactly suited
to his case; just as much so as if the Psalms had
been indited and composed from his own personal
afflictions.

It ought, therefore, godly soul, to be a great con
solation to thee when the Psalms truly suit and
delight thee. There is a saying of Quinctilian left on
record, who says, ' He that is truly delighted with
Cicero may be assured that he has made a good
progress : ' which I may not unappropriately turn
thus, — ' He that is really delighted with, and re
ceives consolation from, the Psalms of David, may
be assured that he has arrived at some know
ledge and experience in divine things.' For when
thou findest thyself under the same feelings that
David was ; when the chords and strings of his harp
are really re-echoed by the feelings and sensations
of thy heart ; thou mayest assure thyself that thou
art in the congregation of the elect of God ; seeing
that thou art afflicted in the same manner as they
were afflicted, and that thou prayest with the same
faith, sensations, and affections as they prayed.
Whereas, to a cold and frigid reader, destitute of
faith, all these Psalms are insipid and unengaging.

LUTHER'S PREFACE. 11

Again, the Psalms are those parts of the lives of
the saints, which you may most safely copy and
imitate. Other lives and histories, which do not set
forth the words and expressions, but certain works of
the saints, contain many things of the saints which
we cannot imitate, such as certain signs and won
ders, and demonstrations of divine power. And
indeed some of the recorded works of those who are
considered to have been saints, are such that you
cannot imitate them without eminent peril ; being
such works as cause sects and heresies, and draw us
away frpm the unity of the Spirit ; of which we have
abundant proof in monkery. But the Psalms call us
away from all sects and divisions, to the unity of the
Spirit. They teach us to maintain fear in prosperity,
and not to cast away our hope in adversity ; and
thus to be of the same mind, to have the same de
sires, and to have the same feelings and sensations
with all the saints.

In a word, if you desire to see the Christian church
painted forth, as it were, in a most beautiful picture,
and in the most lively and descriptive colours, then
take the Psalms into thy hands ; this will be as an
all-clear mirror, which will represent to thee the
whole church in its true features ; and if thou be
one that fears God it will present to thee a true
picture of thyself : so that, according to the maxim
of the philosopher of old, yvwBi ffeavrov, thou wilt, by
this book, come to a true knowledge of thyself, nay,
and also of God and all creatures.

Let us therefore watch over our hearts, and see
that we be thankful in this our day for this revelation
of the word, for this unspeakable gift of God. Let
us use these precious gifts to the glory of God, and
the good of our neighbour, lest we be made to suffer

12 LUTHER'S PREFACE.

the deserved punishment of our ingratitude. For
not many years ago, during that barbarous blindness
and ignorance, what a treasure should we have had,
if we had possessed one Psalm only, really and truly
understood and set forth ; but we had not so much
as one ! And now we are blessed with such an
abundance of revelation — " Blessed therefore are the
eyes which see the things that we see, and the ears
which hear the things that we hear." But how do
I fear lest, like the Israelites in the desert, we should
at length nauseate this manna and say, " Our souls
loathe this light food." But however, the despisers
of the word shall bear their judgment, whoever they
are, even as the Israelites bore the awful judgments
wherewith God punished them. But may the Father
of all mercies and the God of all consolation, keep
and increase in us the knowledge of his word, for
Jesus Christ our Lord's sake : to whom, for this
Book of Psalms, and for all the excellent gifts which
he has richly bestowed upon us, be praise and glory,
for ever and ever ! Amen !

MARTIN LUTHER'S INTRODUCTORY
ADMONITION.

BEFORE I commence my SUMMARIES, or SUBJECT-
CONTENTS of the Psalms, I would desire the reader
to bear in mind that the Psalms contained in this
Book of David are of five different kinds.

1. Some Psalms are Prophecies concerning Christ,
the church, the different states of the church, and
the various afflictions of the saints, &c. To tins
class belong all those Psalms which contain promises
and threatenings, — promises concerning the deliver
ances and salvation of the godly ; and threatenings
concerning the destruction of the wicked.

2. There are some Psalms which teach us what
we ought to do, and what we ought not to do, ac
cording to the law of God. To this kind belong all
those Psalms which condemn human doctrines, and
extol the majesty and authority of the word of God.

3. There are Psalms of consolation ; which com
fort and lift up the hearts of those who are distressed,
tempted, and afflicted by Satan and the world : and
which, on the other hand, rebuke and terrify tyrants.
To this class belong all those Psalms which minister
consolation to the godly, and threaten the oppressors
with the judgments of God.

14 INTRODUCTORY ADMONITION.

4. There are supplicatory Psalms, wherein the
prophet and others in their afflictions call upon God
in prayer and implore his help. To this class belong
all those Psalms which complain of persecutions
from the wicked.

5. There are also Psalms of thanksgiving ; wherein
thanks are rendered to God for all his mercies and
benefits, and for his deliverance in various times of
need. To this class belong all those Psalms which
celebrate the praises of God and laud him for his
works. These are the principal Psalms in the whole
Book; and these peculiarly come under the denomi
nation of Psalms : for the whole Book was expressly
written to praise God and to worship him according
to the First Commandment. Hence, in the Hebrew,
the Book is called SEPHER IL CHILLIM : that is, the
Book of Praises and Thanksgivings.

The reader, however, is to bear in mind also, that
the Psalms are not to be understood in a supersti
tious manner. He is not to suppose that every
Psalm must be divided into these five particulars in
certain verses ; for some Psalms contain two of
these particulars, some three, and some all five of
them : for, very often, the same Psalm contains
prophecy, doctrine, consolation, supplication and
thanksgiving. But I have just made these remarks,
that the reader may know that the Psalms contain
these five particulars ; for knowing that, is of great
help, not only to the understanding of them, but to
the perceiving of their order, to the bearing of them
in memory, and to the perfect knowledge of them.

THE BOOK OF PSALMS.

PSALM I.

The happiness of the godly.— The unhappiness of the ungodly.

BLESSED is the man that walketh not in the
counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way
of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD ; and in
his law doth he meditate day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of
water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season :
his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he
doeth shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so : but are like the chaff'
which the wind driveth away.

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judg
ment, nor sinners in the congregation of the
righteous.

For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous:
but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

THIS first is a Psalm of consolation ; by which the
hearts of the godly are encouraged and stirred up to
magnify above all things the word of God, in which

16 PSALM I.

the whole of true life and salvation stands ; and to
hear, read, weigh, and meditate on it with a willing
ness of mind. For this Psalm shows, that those only
are truly blessed, prosperous in all things, and enjoy
a firm, sure, and eternal consolation both in prospe
rity and adversity, who are enabled to learn and know,
from his word, the will and the works of God.

Thus, as a tall palm-tree by the water-side conti
nually grows upwards higher and higher against all
the violence of storms, retains its strength against all
the weights that man can put upon it, and, by a
secret growth, becomes daily more and more flourish
ing, and brings forth its fruits in its season ; so, saith
this Psalm, do the saints increase and grow continu
ally by the Spirit and word ; so are they rendered
more and more firm and constant, and invincible
against every evil ; so do they daily become more
fortified against all the calamities of life.

This Psalm denies, on the other hand, that any
knowledge of God or any true consolation can be
derived from human doctrines, how fair a show so
ever they may make. The wicked, (saith it,) and
hypocrites, are like the chaff that is scattered by the
wind : that is, the wicked are utterly destroyed by
afflictions, at least in death ; they endure not in
temptation, but by and by separate themselves from
the assembly of the righteous, and at length come to
nought.

God looks upon those alone who worship him by
hearing, learning, and declaring his word ; and these
are they whom this Psalm pronounces " blessed."
He disregards all the rest, who are hypocrites and
pharaisaical worshippers ; he despises all their good
works and worshippings, and leaves them to perish
in their blindness.

PSALM II. 17

This Psalm flows from the Third Commandment,
and has respect unto that which is there written :
" Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day ;"
that is, that thou hear, read, meditate on, and ponder
the word of God. And the sum of this Psalm is
comprehended in the Lord's Prayer, in the second
and third petitions, where we pray, that the kingdom
of God may increase and be edified by his word, and
at length be revealed in its perfection, and that his
will may be done : and both of these petitions are
answered, when the word of God, which abideth for
ever, is purely taught and learnt, and seriously and
diligently used and pondered.

PSALM II.

The kingdom of Christ. — Kings are exhorted to accept it.

WHY do the heathen rage, and the people ima
gine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the

rulers take counsel together, against the LORD,

and against his Anointed, saying,
Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away

their cords from us.
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh : the

LORD shall have them in derision.
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and

vex them in his sore displeasure.
Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion.
I will declare the decree : the LORD hath said unto

me, Thou art my Son ; this day have I begotten

thee.

Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for
c

18 PSALM II.

thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the
earth for thy possession.

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron ; thou
shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings ; be instruct
ed, ye judges of the earth.

Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trem
bling.

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perisli
from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a
little. Blessed are all they that put their trust
in him.

THIS Psalm is a remarkable prophecy concerning
Christ : it is cited by the apostles in the Acts, chap
ter iv. : it predicted that Christ should suffer, be
crucified, and glorified, and that he should be King
and Lord of all creatures; that to him should be
given all power both in heaven and in earth, and
that his name should be above every name that is
named, not only in this world, but in that which is
to come.

This Psalm contains also a description of the
kingdom of Christ and the terrible threatenings of
God against the kings, the princes, the wise, and the
powerful of the world ; that they shall all perish,
who, being carried away with the pride of human
reason and carnal wisdom, do not acknowledge this
King, Christ, nor obey his gospel ; but who oppose
his kingdom, and endeavour to blot out his name.

On the other hand, this Psalm contains most con
soling promises, namely, that he that sitteth in the
heavens, (in comparison of whom all the kings of the
earth are mere worms,) holds in derision, and in a
moment defeats, all their counsels and all their crafty

PSALM III. 19

devices against his word and this kingdom of Christ;
and that he ever powerfully and miraculously saves,
preserves, delivers, and prospers believers, and the
whole church throughout the world, in the midst of
the kingdom of the devil, and against all the powers
and the gates of hell.

This Psalm flows from the First Commandment ;
where God declares that he alone will be our God,
to save us and deliver us from all afflictions. Thus,
it was he alone that delivered us, through Christ,
from sin, from death, from the power of the devil,
and from hell, and gave unto us eternal life. This
pertains to the second petition of the Lord's Prayer,
" Thy kingdom come/'

PSALM III.

The security of God's protection.
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

LORD, how are they increased that trouble me?

many are they that rise up against me.
Many there be which say of my soul, There is no

help for him in God. Selah.
But thou O LORD, art a shield for me ; my glory,

and the lifter up of mine head.
I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard

me out of his holy hill. Selah.
I laid me down and slept ; I awaked : for the

LORD sustained me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people,

that have set themselves against me round about.
Arise, O LORD ; save me, O my God : for thou hast

smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek-bone ;

thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly,
c 2

20 PSALM III.

Salvation lelongeth unto the LORD : thy blessing
is upon thy people. Selah.

THIS Psalm is a prayer of David in the time of his
greatest affliction, and under the severest trial he
ever experienced. And here we have set before us
a signal example of this greatest and most spirit
ual of men — David ; how he, in the time of Absa
lom, when all Israel revolted from him and went
over to Absalom ; how this eminent saint, I say,
who was now an exile, forsaken by all, betrayed by
those of his own household, and in the midst of the
most appalling peril of his own life and salvation ;
how, when sinking under this heavy calamity, and
struggling in this agony, he prayed unto God in
faith ; and what a fervency of heart there was in
these his cries unto him.

In a word,— in this Psalm, David, with a wonderful
feeling of mind, and a signal experience of faith,
extols, in the highest strains, the greatness of the
long-suffering and goodness of God, when he says,
"Salvation is of the Lord!'' As if he had said,
The Lord is he alone who has all salvation in his
hand, and all the issues of life and death. He sets
up and changes kingdoms in a moment, just as he
wills. No peril is so great, no death so instant, from
which he cannot deliver his own, if they but call
upon him in true faith, and flee unto him alone.

This Psalm has reference to the First Command
ment, wherein it is said, " I am the Lord thy God ;"
and it is comprehended in the seventh petition of the
Lord's Prayer, where we pray, " Deliver us from
evil/'

21

PSALM IV.

David prayeth for audience. — He reproveth and exhorteth his enemies. —
Man's happiness is in God's favour.

To the chief Musician on Neginoth. A Psalm of David.

HEAR me when I call, O God of my righteous
ness : thou hast enlarged me when I was in
distress ; have mercy upon me, and hear my
prayer.

0 ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory
into shame ? how long will ye love vanity, and
seek after leasing? Selah.

But know that the LORD hath set apart him that

is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I

call unto him.
Stand in awe, and sin not : commune with

your own heart upon your bed, and be still.

Selah.
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your

trust in the LORD.
There be many that say, Who will shew us any

good ? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy

countenance upon us.
Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in

the time that their corn and their wine increased.

1 will both lay me down in peace, and sleep : for
thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

THIS is a Psalm of consolation : yet it at the same time
teaches us to bear afflictions patiently, to expect the
help of God, and to trust in him in all adversities.
For that greatest of all wisdom, true and real Chris
tian wisdom, is unknown to the world : which wis-

22 PSALM IV.

dora is, to learn and to know, by daily temptations
and by various trials of faith, that God exercises his
people in all these afflictions, to the end that they
may understand his will ; and that his design in
exposing them to the all-bitter hatred of the world
and the devil, is, that he might save, deliver, com
fort, strengthen, and glorify them in a wonderful
manner, in the midst of perils, and even in death
itself; and that he might make known his conflict
ing church as being invincible, through faith and
the word, in the midst of the kingdom of the devil,
against all the storms of the world, and under all
the clouds, darkness, and tempests of temptations of
every kind.

This Psalrn also most severely strikes at all hypo
crites and wicked men of every description, who,
before the eyes of the world, would have us believe
that they are the only true saints and the people of
God ; who even say that they worship God, while
they know nothing of him ; for in the time of afflic
tion, they tremble with cowardly fear, and impatiently
mutter in their hearts against God and his holy will ;
they soon forget his words and his works, and, wick
edly forsaking him who alone is able to comfort
them, cease from expecting his aid, hate the cross,
and seek for human consolation : whereas, there is
no sure consolation to be obtained either from friends
or from all the resources of human help ; for in God
alone is sure consolation ; and that is all-sure, and
eternal ; which no creature can take away, either in
this world or in that which is to come.

This peace and consolation of God, however, is
not like the peace of the world. For, "Know ye,
(saith David) that the Lord dealeth wonderfully with
his saints : " he casts them down, that he may raise

PSALM IV. 23

them up ; he afflicts them that he may minister con
solation unto them ; he humbles them that he may
exalt them ; he makes them sorrowful that he may
make them glad : in a word, he kills them that he
may make them alive.

The agonizing struggles of the godly, therefore, in
this life against sin, and the devil who unceasingly
assaults them, and desires to sift them as wheat, are
their exercises of faith and patience : from which
exercises those that fear God learn more satisfac
torily to know his presence ; — that he is ever present
with them ; and that he will never leave nor forsake
those that believe in him, but will ever marvellously
deliver, save and rescue them from all their deaths
and destructions.

But the wicked and hypocrites, how much soever
they may talk about God with their lips, yet hate
God, and hate this his will in the afflictions of his
saints ; as it is written in the first commandment —
" Unto them that hate me." And again, as Paul
saith — " Whose God is their belly." These characters
wish first, and above all things, that all theirs, —
their fortunes, their property, their friends, should
be safe ; and they trust in their riches and posses
sions. AH such, therefore, deride this doctrine of
faith : and if any one should preach to such this
patience, and this word of the cross, they would
laugh at it, and would boast of their holiness and
religion in opposition to those who truly fear God.
They would say, ' What ! are we to be taught what
is right by such a fool as you ? Are you to teach us
what is good, and what the true worship of God is ? '

This Psalm also pertains to the First Command-
mont. It teaches us to trust in God both in pros
perity and adversity, and patiently to wait for his

24 PSALM V.

help, calling upon him with earnestness and con
stancy. The subject matter of this Psalm is con
tained in the third and seventh petition of the Lord's
Prayer — " Thy will be done," and " Deliver us from
evil : " and also in the fourth, where we pray, "that
there may be given us our daily bread :" that is,
peace, and all those things that are required unto
the sustaining of this life, against all the various
evils of poverty, hunger, and want ; with which
things the devil, in an especial manner, exercises
the church of God in this world.

PSALM V.

David pray eth, and prof esseth his study in prayer. — God favoureth not
the wicked.— David, professing his faith, prayeth unto God to guide
him— and to preserve the godly.

To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth. A Psalm of David.

GIVE ear to my words, O LORD ; consider my

meditation.
Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and

my God : for unto thee will I pray.
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD ;

in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee,

and will look up.

For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wick
edness ; neither shall evil dwell with thee.
The foolish shall not stand in thy sight : thou

hatest all workers of iniquity.
Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing : the

LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
But as for me, I will come into thy house in the

multitude of thy mercy ; and in thy fear will I

worship toward thy holy temple.

PSALM V. 25

Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness, because
of mine enemies ; make thy way straight before
my face.

For there is no faithfulness in their mouth ; their
inward part is very wickedness ; their throat
is an open sepulchre ; they flatter with their
tongue.

Destroy thou them, O God ; let them fall by their
own counsels : cast them out in the multitude
of their transgressions ; for they have rebelled
against thee.

But let all those that put their trust in thee re
joice : let them ever shout for joy, because thou
defendest them : let them also that love thy
name be joyful in thee.

For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous ; with
favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

THIS Psalm is an earnest prayer against that most
destructive pestilence in the church — false teachers:
and all ages, from Cain, the first man that was
born, the first hypocrite after the creation of Adam,
and the first " man of blood," have had their Cain-
ish saints, their false prophets, their false apostles,
and their fanatic spirits ; who have taught their
own human dreams, and their own traditions for the
word of God, and resolutely contended for their own
Cainish holiness, ever burning with an insatiable
thirst to drink the blood of the Abels, the true
saints : and these Christ has called, in his gospel,
" vipers."

It is at the blasphemies of these against God, and
their cruelty towards men, that this Psalm strikes;
and openly exposes the persons themselves as most
virulent hypocrites, in whose doctrine and works there

26 PSALM V.

is nothing but outside daubing, nothing but doubting
and disquietude, and a whole slaughter-house of con
sciences. These characters suppress the true word,
the doctrine of faith, and the true worship of God ;
namely, the worship required by the First Command
ment : and there is no end to their rage against those
that fear God : they cause horrid devastations in the
church, and load her with an infinity of injuries.

Against the destructive influence of these, therefore,
David prays in this Psalm; — that it would please God
to prevent the persecuting and Cain-like counsels of
such hypocrites, and all crafty and blood-thirsty
characters of. the kind, and, amid all this bitter and
furious hatred of the world and the devil, and such
an infinity of cruelty in all their adversaries, to
defend, comfort, prop up, and protect the godly ; to
confound the hypocrisy of the wicked, to root out all
false worship ; to cause the true word and the true
worship of God to spread and flourish, and to glorify
the true church in the face of the false one, under all
the outward daubing and show of the latter.

In the last verse, David appends a most glorious
promise ;— that, although those who truly fear God
are cruelly treated by those hypocrites, it shall yet
come to pass that the godly shall at length rejoice
that their prayers are heard, and shall see the judg
ments of God openly fall upon the hypocrites and
fanatics, and the true church defended and pre
served.

This Psalm has reference to the Second and Third
Commandments of the Decalogue, and to the first and
second petitions of the Lord's Prayer ; where we pray
" that the name of the Lord may be sanctified and
glorified/' against the pride and gloryings of such
hypocrites.

27

PSALM VI.

David's complaint in his sickness. — By faith he triumpheth over his

enemies.

To the chief Musician, on Neginoth upon Sheminith. A Psalm of
Eavid.

0 LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither
chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

Have mercy upon me, O LORD ; for I am weak :

0 LORD, heal me ; for my bones are vexed.

My soul is also sore vexed : but thou, O LORD,

how long ?
Return, O LORD, deliver my soul : oh save me for

thy mercies' sake.
For in death there is no remembrance of thee : in

the grave who shall give thee thanks ?

1 am weary with my groaning ; all the night make

1 my bed to swim ; I water my couch with my
tears.

Mine eye is consumed because of grief ; it waxeth

old because of all mine enemies.
Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity ; for

the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping.
The LORD hath heard my supplication ; the LORD

will receive my prayer.
Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed :

let them return and be ashamed suddenly.

THIS Psalm is a prayer full of those mental exercises
that are felt under the deepest and most secret temp
tations which can only be known by experience, be
cause no words can describe them ; for they are
those feelings under which the saints agonize in

28 PSALM VI.

those bitter and unutterable conflicts which are
wholly unknown to the world : they are those feel
ings, I say, under which they agonize when strug
gling with sin, the law, and the wrath and judgment
of God : all which are experienced in the hours of
darkness, while the devil is horribly tempting and
pressing in upon them.

These internal fears and terrors, under which all
the godly agonize and sweat, will, of necessity, one
day wholly swallow up the hypocrites who are des
titute of the word. Here it is, that in the godly, there
is an unspeakable conflict of justice with sin ; the law,
and wrath of God, with a confidence in his mercy ;
and faith and hope, with desperation and despair;
though the godly are at length delivered and saved.
These terrors the scripture calls in other places, and
especially in the Psalms, " the pains of hell/7 and,
" the snares of death."

But this Psalm expressly shews in the end, that
the sighs and groans of the godly under these ago
nizing conflicts, these pains, and these straits of
soul, shall surely be heard. This Psalm, therefore,
and others like it, open to us a view of the heart of
David, and afford the greatest consolation to the
godly. For they shew, that, although the saints
thus deeply agonize under these straits, and under
these terrible and open views of the wrath of God,
yet, that these temptations which appear to be infi
nite and endless, shall surely have an end, and that
God will never forsake those who fear him, in their
terrors and conflicts with death and hell.

On the other hand, the prophet, in this Psalm,
with a wonderful zeal of spirit, and with the most
cutting sharpness and severity, strikes at all the
wicked of the world : and, above all, he condemns

PSALM VII. 29

all secure hypocrites and pharisaical ministers; call
ing them, notwithstanding their outward appearance
of being saints,— " workers of iniquity ; " who per
secute all afflicted and true Christians with the
bitterness of Cain, and cease not to hate them with
all the virulence of Satan ; adding grief to their
grief, and affliction to their affliction.

' Away with ye/ saith he, ' ye hypocrites. I
have learnt that I have a God to go to ; but ye are
ignorant both of God and of his works. Ye know
not what an awful weight the wrath of God is, and
how great and soul-refreshing a thing the remission
of sins, the knowledge of eternal life, and the expe
rience of grace, are. Ye worship God with your
mouths and with your lips; ye trust in your own
righteousnesses and works, not knowing what God
and what sin are ; and therefore ye are most cruel
and most bitter enemies to the word and true worship
of God; in which worship, the greatest and most
acceptable sacrifice is a spirit thus pressed into
straits and afflicted/

This Psalm has reference to the First and Second
Commandment ; it contains the agonizing conflict of
faith, and calls upon God against the force of sin
and death. And it refers also to the first petition of
the Lord's Prayer; as do also the other supplicatory
Psalms. For, to supplicate and pray, is to sanctify
and call upon the name of the Lord.

PSALM VII.

David prayet h against the malice of his enemies, professing his innocency.

— By faith he seeth his defence, and the destruction of his enemies.

Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto the LORD, concerning the

•words of Cush the Benjamite.

30 PSALM VII.

O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust : save me
me from all them that persecute me, and deliver
me;

Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in
pieces, while there is none to deliver.

O LORD my God, if I have done this ; if there be
iniquity in my hands ;

If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace
with me ; (yea, I have delivered him that without
cause is mine enemy ;)

Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it ;
yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth,
and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah.

Arise, O LORD, in thine anger ; lift up thyself,
because of the rage of mine enemies ; and awake
for me to the judgment that thou hast com
manded.

So shall the congregation of the people compass
thee about: for their sakes, therefore, return
thou on high.

The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O
LORD, according to my righteousness, and ac
cording to mine integrity that is in me.

Oh let the w ickedness of the wicked come to an
end; but establish the just: for the righteous
God trieth the hearts and reins.

My defence is of God, which saveth the upright
in heart.

God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with
the wicked every day.

If he turn not, he will whet his sword ; he hath
bent his bow and made it ready.

He hath also prepared for him the instruments of
death ; he ordaineth his arrows against the per
secutors.

PSALM VII. 31

Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath con
ceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.

He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into
the ditch which he made.

His mischief shall return upon his own head, and
his violent dealing shall come down upon his
own pate.

I will praise the LORD according to his righteous
ness : and will sing praise to the name of the
LORD Most High.

THIS is a prayer against that common and usual
blasphemy with which the world accuses the pro
phets, apostles, and all others who fear God, as being
seditious persons, who destroy the peace and general
tranquility of the state : as Shimei bitterly upbraid
ed David, when under that heavy affliction in the
time of Absalom, calling him a bloody man, and
saying that he had invaded the kingdom of Saul, &,c.
In the same way the Jews accused Christ before
Pilate. And in the same way also now do certain
hypocrites, — bishops and other enemies, against all
conscience, brand the professors of the gospel with
the appellation of * seditious persons.'

Against all trials of this kind, which are indeed
most bitter to bear, the prophet fights by prayer unto
God, calling upon God to bear witness to his inno-
cency. And then, to encourage and comfort all that
fear God, he shews, that all who thus pray are heard ;
and he sets forth himself as an example.

Lastly, he threatens a horrid, sudden, and momen
tary judgment to those hypocrites and tyrants, who
thus rage against the godly with the most bitter
hatred : and he signifies that all such shall in the
end perish like Absalom, who was cut off and died

32 PSALM VIII.

in a new, sudden, and dreadful way, in the midst of
his furious career, before he could accomplish that
which he had planned.

This Psalm refers to the second precept in the
Decalogue, and to the first petition of the Lord's
Prayer.

PSALM VIII.

God's glory is magnified by his works, and by his love to man.
To the chief Musician upon Gittith. A Psalm of David.

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in

all the earth ! who hast set thy glory above the

heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast

thou ordained strength, because of thine ene
mies ; that thou mightest still the enemy and

the avenger.
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy

fingers ; the rubon and the stars, which thou hast

ordained ;
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and

the son of man that thou visitest him ?
For thou hast made him a little lower than the

angels, and hast crowned him with glory and

honour.
Thou madesthim to have dominion over the works

of thy hands : thou hast put all things under his

feet:
All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the

field;
The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and

whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

PSALM VIII. 33

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all
the earth !

THIS is a prophecy concerning Christ, — concerning
his passion, his resurrection, and his dominion over
all creatures ; and it is thus that the apostle cites it,
Ephes. i. with reference to the kingdom of Christ :
where he foretels, that the power and might of his
kingdom will be invincible against all enemies, how
violent soever they may be in their determination to
wreak their vengeance : — that is, that he will be vic
toriously mighty against all the wise and the power
ful of the world, and against all hypocrites and pha-
risaical saints: — that he will be invincible and vic
torious, I say, not by arms, nor by mighty forces
of horse and foot, but by the word of his gospel ;
which shall be preached by " babes and sucklings/'
(that is, by humble men, men who are weak and con
temptible in the sight of the world,) and believed in
by his church of poor, afflicted, crying, and complain
ing creatures: — that this word of the gospel, I repeat,
preached and believed in by such poor creatures, shall
nevertheless confound all the wisdom of the world,
and break and crush under it all the strength of the
world, and that no creature power whatever shall
impede it in its work and course, but that it shall
stand firmer than the heaven, or the sun, or the
moon, and shall endure for evermore !

This Psalm pertains to the First Commandment,
where God declares that he will be our God : and
also to the second petition of the Lord's Prayer, as I
have before observed under Psalm II.

34

PSALM IX.

David praiseth God for executing of judgment, — He inciteth others to
praise him. — He prayeth that he may have cause to praise him.

To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben. A Psalm of David.

I WILL praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart ;
I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.

I will be glad and rejoice in thee : I will sing
praise to thy name, O thou Most High.

When mine enemies are turned back, they shall
fall and perish at thy presence.

For thou hast maintained my right and my cause;
thou satest in the throne judging right.

Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed
the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever
and ever.

O thou enemy ! destructions are come to a per
petual end ; and thou hast destroyed cities ; their
memorial is perished with them.

But the LORD shall endure for ever : he hath pre
pared his throne for judgment;

And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he
shall minister judgment to the people in up
rightness.

The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a
refuge in times of trouble.

And they that know thy name will put their trust
in thee : for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them
that seek thee.

Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion :
declare among the people his doings.

When he maketh inquisition for blood, he re-

PSALM IX. 35

membereth them : he forgetteth not the cry of

the humble.
Have mercy upon me, O LORD ; consider my

trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou

that liftest me up from the gates of death :
That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates

of the daughter of Zion : I will rejoice in thy

salvation.
The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they

made : in the net which they hid is their own

foot taken.
The LORD is known by the judgment which he

executeth : the wicked is snared in the work of

his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the

nations that forget God.
For the needy shall not alway be forgotten : the

expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
Arise, O LORD ; let not man prevail ; let the hea
then be judged in thy sight.
Put them in fear, O LORD ; that the nations may

know themselves to be but men. Selah.

THIS Psalm is a prophecy : its title is " concerning
the beautiful youth:" that is, concerning the chil
dren that are born anew in Christ, the people of God
and the church of God. For the people and sons of
God, and his new-born children by faith in Christ,
must be conformed to the image of God's dear Son,
Jesus Christ.

Christians and the true sons of God are variously
afflicted in the world; and the blood of the innocents
is daily shed by the fury and cruelty of Satan, raging
against the word and the works of God. These are
the flourishing and undefiled youth, the sons and
D 2

36 PSALM IX.

children of God, of whom the title of the Psalm
speaks ; who are blameless, without rebuke, and
babes in the midst of wolves, and among a perverse
generation.

This Psalm has its striking descriptions of per
sons : and the prophecy which it contains is written
in the manner of a thanksgiving: and therefore it
may be numbered among the consolatory Psalms.
For, (as is generally the case with these spiritual
canticles and songs,) the Prophet here speaks in
his own person, and in that of all the saints also who
are afflicted for the word of God's sake : all of whom
give thanks with wonderful sensations of heart, that
God does not forsake his own. But God requires,
at times, the tears and the blood of the saints :
though he preserves and saves his Church, and ren
ders her invincible against sword or fire, and against
all the power of enemies temporal or spiritual, nay,
in the midst of blood and death ; and he raises her
up, as it were, from the blood, slaughter, and ashes of
the saints, and makes her flourish again and increase
the more, in a wonderful manner, in this and that
part of the world : so that many, even of the most
bitter enemies, have been converted to the faith, and
even a Saul has been made a Paul ; and some
times also the judgments of God have fallen on the
wicked, and they have perished before the eyes of
the godly.

This Psalm has reference to the First Command
ment of the Decalogue, and to the second petition of
the Lord's Prayer, as we have observed concerning
the preceding Psalm.

37

PSALM X.

David complaineth to God oftfie outrage of the wicked.— He prayeth for
remedy. — He professeth his confidence.

WHY standest thou afar off, O LORD ? Why hidest

tbou thyself in times of trouble ?
The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor:

let them be taken in the devices that they have

imagined.
For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and

blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.
The wicked, through the pride of his countenance,

will not seek after God: God is not in all his

thoughts.
His ways are always grievous ; thy judgments are

far above out of his sight : a* for all his enemies,

he puffeth at them.
He hath said in his heart, I shall not be, moved :

for / shall never be in adversity.
His mouth is full of cursing, and deceit, and

fraud : under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages : in

the secret places doth he murder the innocent :

his eyes are privily laid against the poor.
He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den : he

lieth in wait to catch the poor : he doth catch

the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor

may fall by his strong ones.
He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten :. he

hideth his face ; he will never see it.

38 PSALM X.

Arise, O LORD ; O God, lift up thine hand : forget

not the humble.
Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath

said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief

and spite, to requite it with thy hand : the poor

committeth himself unto thee ; thou art the

helper of the fatherless.
Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil

man: seek out his wickedness till thou find

none.
The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen

are perished out of his land.
LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble :

thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause

thine ear to hear :
To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the

man of the earth may no more oppress.

THIS Psalm is a fervent prayer, and contains com
plaints of the deepest concern against Antichrist,
that most atrocious enemy of God and the gospel,
who will ever assail and lay waste the church, not
by force and tyranny only, but with all the iravsgyia
of Satan, all his frauds and impostures, and
with an infinite variety of outside deception and
hypocrisy.

This " Man of Sin " is descriptively pourtrayed in
the present Psalm ; — that he really rages against the
body with the sword, ruins and destroys souls by
his all-crafty and infinite hypocrisy, and with
his sweet poison of false doctrines, and imposing
forms of worship ; but that he has no concern
whatever about teaching any one kindly and with
gentleness, nor instructing them seriously unto god-

PSALM XI. 39

liness or true comfort, but has his mouth ever full of
cursing and deceit.

This we have manifested in the kingdom of the
Pope, and in the tyranny of the Romish-church. All
those fulminating and thundering excommunications
are mere execrations and cursing, by which he has
wished to make himself, and has succeeded in
making himself, formidable even to kings, under the
false pretence of the apostolic name, and divine au
thority. And his * craft' and lies are all that infinite
and inexplicable variety of hypocrisy and traditions
of men ; together with all that outward whitewash
of holiness, and those deceptive forms of worship,
by means of which, and his delusions of masses at
one time, and of indulgences at another, this Anti
christ ceases not to turn to wicked lucre all things
human and divine, under the blasphemous cover and
pretext of the name of God.

In the end of the Psalm we have a consolation ;
which declares that such an abomination shall, in the
end of the world, be revealed, and, having been made
openly manifest by the sudden judgment of God,
shall be rooted out.

This Psalm has reference to the Second Com
mandment, and to the second petition of the Lord's
Prayer; as have all the Psalms of supplication.

PSALM XT.

David encourageth himself in God against his enemies. — The providence
and justice of God.

To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David.

IN the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my
soul, flee as a bird to your mountain ?

40 PSALM XI.

For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make

ready their arrow upon the string, that they may

privily shoot at the upright in heart.
If the foundations be destroyed, what can the

righteous do ?
The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne

is in heaven : his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the

children of men.
The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked

and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and

brimstone, and an horrible tempest : this shall be

the portion of their cup.
For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness ; his

countenance doth behold the upright.

THIS Psalm is a complaint against erroneous and
fanatical spirits : of which kind are all those who
in the present day draw men astray from the pure
and true doctrine of faith, and from the true worship
of God, (which stands in true faith and the fear of
God in the heart,) to hypocrisy, which has always an
outward show of something great and wonderful : —
these, I say, are the erroneous and fanatics, who thus
draw away men like so many birds, and make them
fly over to their mountains : that is, make them turn
easily over to hypocrisy, and white-wash holiness,
which, in outward show, appears to be something
great and wonderful, and a firm rock, whereas it is
all a thing of nought.

David ascribes to these characters that which is
the peculiar characteristic of hypocrites, — that they
arrogantly, proudly, and with high looks, despise and
deride the truly godly. What, say they, can that
righteous one, that fine fellow of a Christian, that
poor miserable creature, do ?

PSALM XII. 41

In the end we have a consolation that God will
certainly hear, and regard the afflicted ; that he will
be present with them, and show them by manifest
tokens of his hand that he will not forsake them, and
that he will, by horrible judgment, take vengeance on
scoffers of this kind ; on these pharisees and other
enemies of David.

This Psalm has reference to the Second precept of
the Decalogue, and to the first petition of the Lord's
Prayer.

PSALM XII.

David, destitute of human comfort, craveth help of God. — He comforteth
himself with God's judgments on the wicked, and confidence in God's
tried promises .

To the chief Musician upon Sheminith, a Psalm of David.

HELP, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth ; for the

faithful fail from among the children of men.
They speak vanity every one with his neighbour :

with flattering lips and with a double heart do

they speak.
The LORD shall cut off" all flattering lips, and the

tongue that speaketh proud things ;
Who have said, with our tongue will we prevail ;

our lips are our own : who is lord over us?
For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of

the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD ; I

will set him in safety from him that puffeth at

him.
The words of the LORD are pure words : as silver

tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve

them from this generation for ever.

42 PSALM XII.

The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest
men are exalted.

THIS is a prayer containing a heavy complaint
against them, who, introduce human doctrines in
stead of the word of God, and who, afterwards, by
various new traditions and forms of worship disturb
the church, and fill all things with a white-wash
show of religion, and with the outward daubing of
Pharisaism and hypocrisy, so that wicked men and
hypocrites reign on every side, as the last verse
complains. For when human doctrines have once
invaded the church, they go on to rage far and wide,
and spread in all directions like a cancer ; there is
no end to their corruption and destructive influence ;
they take possession of all things and wonderfully
vex and torment consciences: so that the number of
the true saints and of those that truly fear God is
few and small indeed : of this the infinite variety of
papistical hypocrisy affords a manifest example.

But we are consoled and comforted under all these
afflictions by the consideration that God always raises
up in his church, sometimes in this place and some
times in that, his salvation ; that is, his word and
gospel ; which, while the prophets, apostles, and
other ministers throughout the world, boldly and
plainly teach against all heresy, they detect and
bring to light false doctrines, and overturn all false
worship; for where the salvation of God is, (that is,
the saving word of Christ and his gospel) it burns
up and consumes, like a suddenly-kindled fire, all
the chaff and straw of human traditions, and delivers
oppressed consciences.

This, however, never takes place without afflic
tions, and the cross in various forms. But as gold

PSALM XIII. 43

and silver are proved by the fire, so the true know
ledge and purity of the word is not preserved in the
church but by means of the truly spiritual and godly,
who for the word's sake are exercised without and
within by Satan, with various temptations : for these,
like gold, are proved in the fire, and thus grow daily
and flourish in the knowledge of the gospel, and the
great things of God.

This Psalm refers to the second and third precept
of the Decalogue, and to the first and second petition
of the Lord's Prayer.

PSALM XIII.

David complaineth of delay in help.— He prayeth for preventing grace.—
He boasteth of divine mercy.

To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD ? for ever ?

how long wilt thou hide thy face from me ?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having

sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine

enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and hear me, O LORD my God ; lighten

mine eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death ;
Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against

him ; and those that trouble me rejoice when I

am moved.
But I have trusted in thy mercy ; my heart shall

rejoice in thy salvation.
I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt

bountifully with me.

THIS is a prayer full of the sighings and groanings
of an afflicted heart in the hour of darkness, and

44 PSALM XIII.

almost overwhelmed, under that darkness, with the
extreme of grief and sorrow, and driven to the
greatest strait of mind. Of which sorrow the spirit
of sadness himself, the devil, is the author, who casts
the unwary into these temptations and perturbations
in a moment, when he finds them unarmed with the
sword of the Spirit, the word of God ; which unarm
ed state he himself causes by turning away our eyes
from the promises and the word of God, to look at the
incredible ingratitude and iniquity of the world, at
the perplexed variety of offences, and at the great
ness of the perils which must be undergone for the
sake of God's word and of his holy name. For it
cannot be but that even a man of a sound mind
must be thrown into tribulation when he considers
with what infernal arts, with what stratagems of de
ceit, and with what bitter and Cainish hatred, Satan
and wicked men oppose themselves to the word of
God ; and then, what fallings away and what mon
strous instances of ingratitude there are among those
who pretend to be with us ; all which offences Satan
raises up through the instrumentality of those who are
unwilling to appear not to be followers of godliness.

But the'prayer of the church has great power; it
breaks through and victoriously overcomes all hatred,
all perils, and all snares, how craftily soever they
may be laid ; and faith is more powerful than any
violence or storm of temptation. " This (saith John)
is the victory that overcometh the world, even our
faith. " And this Psalm gives us an example of that
faith which enables us to stand fast in the midst of
death, and not to doubt that God is able, and will
deliver us from our terrible straits, and comfort us
after all our fears ; and which teaches to believe that
we shall struggle through all our distress victoriously,

PSALM XIV. 45

though it may appear to be endless, if we do but turn
ourselves away from all dark and dismal appearances
of things, lay hold of that which is true and real,
and lift ourselves up against the weight that lays
upon us, by resting in the consolation of the word of
the Lord : as James saith, " Is any afflicted, let him
pray."

This Psalm also refers to the second precept, and
to the first and last petition of the Lord's Prayer;
where we pray " Hallowed be thy name/' and " De
liver us from evil/'

PSALM XIV.

David describeth the corruption of a natural man.— He convinceth the
wicked by the light of their conscience. — He glorieth in the salvation of
God.

To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

THE fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.

They are corrupt; they have done abominable

works ; there is none that doeth good.
The LORD looked down from heaven upon the

children of men, to see if there were any that

did understand, and seek God.
They are all gone aside, they are all together be
come filthy : there is none that doeth good, no,

not one.
Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge ?

who eat up my people as they eat bread, and

call not upon the LORD.
There were they in great fear : for God is in the

generation of the righteous.
Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because

the LORD is his refuge.

46 PSALM XIV.

Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of
Zion ! when the LORD bringeth back the cap
tivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and
Israel shall be glad.

THIS Psalm is a prophecy ; and it also teaches us,
that all human doctrines and works without faith are
an abomination in the sight of God ; and that the
God of all such hypocrites (of which kind are the
pope and his papists) is their belly ; for they serve
their belly, not God or Christ, and devour widow's
houses.

But such hypocrites, although they have always in
their mouth the name of God, and boast of the law
and the works of the law, know not what the true
worship of God is, but always hate and persecute
the name and word of God, but the true doctrine,
concerning faith and the fear of God, they will not
hear.

Against such characters as these we must fight by
prayer; which prayer will certainly be heard, as is
intimated in the last verse of this Psalm, which pro
mises the kingdom and dominion of Christ. For
this Psalm especially strikes at those seemingly holy
pharisees, those teachers of the law, who, before the
coming of Christ, by enforcing works and the right
eousness of the law, were cruel torturers, and tor
mented men's consciences. And this Psalm promises
that wished-for day of Christ, and the redemption
that should be wrought by his coming. For the
gospel was revealed from Zion, and the Spirit was
poured out upon the apostles at Jerusalem.

This Psalm has reference to the First and Second
Commandment : for it gloriously exalts the word of
God and promises the day of salvation, that is, of

PSALM XV. 47

Christ: but it rebukes hypocrites who despise the
true worship of God, and his faith and fear, and who
serve not God but their own belly. And it refers
also to the first and second petition of the Lord's
Prayer : where we pray, " Hallowed be thy name ;
Thy kingdom come."

PSALM XV.

David describeth a citizen of Zion.
A Psalm of David.

LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who
shall dwell in thy holy hill ?

He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteous
ness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth
evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach
against his neighbour.

In whose eyes a vile person is contemned ; but he
honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that
sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor
taketh reward against the innocent. He that
doeth these things shall never be moved.

THIS Psalm strikes at the hypocrites who say that
holiness stands in the pretended works of the Jaw of
God, or in the vain and foolish works of human
invention and tradition ; and it teaches us how to
understand the law of God rightly, and to live godly
and righteously. It shows us that we are to walk in
the spirit and to mortify the desires of the flesh. For
the sum of all godliness is this ;— to love and wor
ship God with a pure heart by faith , and then, to

48 PSALM XVI.

direct our lives for the good of our neighbour ; and
to avoid all those things which militate against these
two ; that is, to shun all hypocrisy and pretended
holiness, which militates against both faith and love:
for such an one is ignorant of the true worship of
God, and neglects all truly good works, which should
be done for the benefit of his neighbour.

It has reference to the Third Commandment of
the Decalogue, concerning keeping holy the sabbath
day, which is done when we hear and learn the
word. And it refers also to the third petition of the
Lord's Prayer.

PSALM XVI.

David, in distrust of merits, and hatred of idolatry, fleeth to God for
preservation. — He sheweth the hope of his calling, of the resurrection,
and life everlasting.

Michtam of David.

PRESERVE me, O God : for in thee do I put my
trust.

0 my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art
my Lord : my goodness extendetli not to thee ;

But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the
excellent, in whom is all my delight.

Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after
another god ; their drink-offerings of blood will I
not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.

The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and
of my cup : thou maintainest my lot.

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places ;
yea, I have a goodly heritage.

1 will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel :
my reins also instruct me in the night-seasons.

PSALM XVI. 49

I have set the LORD always before me : because
he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth :
my flesh also shall rest in hope.

For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither
wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see cotruption.

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy pre
sence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there
are pleasures for evermore.

THIS is a prophecy concerning the passion and resur
rection of Christ ; and the apostles quote it, Acts ii.
and xiii. as having a striking reference to Christ.

This is a glorious Psalm and a precious jewel
among all the Psalms on this account, — because it
shows forth in clear words that all that splendid and
magnificent worship of the law of Moses, its sacri
fices, its sabbath worship, its circumcision, in all
which the Jews so unceasingly boasted, is done away
with by the gospel ; for in the fourth verse, David
plainly says, that those who follow works and the
righteousness of the law, follow strange gods and
idols : and he shows that the Jews, although a sacred
people, should be rejected, and another people chosen,
even a people who should believe in Christ, who were
the true elect, inheritance, and peculiar people of
God.

This Psalm also has reference to the First, Second,
and Third Commandments ; for it foretels a new
glory of God, a new work and word, and that new
kind of worship which was to be revealed to the
world : and it refers also to the first and second
petitions of the Lord's Prayer.

50

PSALM XVII.

David, in confidence of his integrity, craveth defence of God against his
enemies. — He sheweth their pride, craft, and eagerness.— He prayeth
against them in confidence of his hope.

A Prayer of David.

HEAR the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give

ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned

lips.
Let my sentence come forth from thy presence ; let

thine eyes behold the things that are equal.
Thou hast proved mine heart ; thou hast visited

me in the night ; thou hast tried me, and shalt

find nothing ; I am purposed that my mouth

shall not transgress.
Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy

lips 1 have kept me from the paths of the de
stroyer.
Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps

slip not.
I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O

God : incline thine ear unto me, and hear my

speech.
Shew thy marvellous loving-kindness, O thou that

savest by thy right band them which put their

trust in thee, from those that rise up against

them.
Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me tinder

the shadow of thy wings.
From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly

enemies, who compass me about.
They are inclosed in their own fat: with their

mouth they speak proudly.

PSALM XVII. 51

They have now compassed us in our steps : they

have set their eyes bowing down to the earth ;
Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it

were a young lion lurking in secret places.
Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down ;

deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy

sword:
From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men

of the world, which have their portion in this life,

and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure

they are full of children, and leave the rest of

their substance to their babes.
As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness :

I shall be satisfied when I awake, with thy

likeness.

THIS Psalm is a prayer against false teachers, and
those very delicate saints, that is, hypocrites, who by
their human doctrines, call men off from the word of
God, and hate and persecute the truly godly teachers.
These are the characters whom Paul also calls
" enemies of the cross of Christ : " for they are not
willing to suffer anything for God's sake, but shun
the cross ; but make a pretext of the name and wor
ship of God, and under all the artifices of their hypo
crisy, seek nothing else than earthly advantages,
honors, wealth, the favour of men, and the pleasures
and gratifications of the world. Hence David calls
them, in the last verse but one, * men of this world,'
and ' men of this life/ Of this kind also are all
those animals of the belly in monasteries, those cum-
berers of the earth, the monks, and lazy priests.

This Psalm also has reference to the Second and
Third Commandments, and to the first petition of the
Lord's Prayer, where we pray "Hallowed be thy name."

£ 2

52

PSALM XVIII.

David praiseth God for his manifold and marvellous blessings.

To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD,
who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that
the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from
the hand of Saul : And he said,

I WILL love thee, O LORD, my strength.

The LORD is my rock, and my fortess, and my de
liverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will
trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation,
and my high tower.

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be
praised : so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods
of ungodly men made me afraid.

The sorrows of hell compassed me about : the
snares of death prevented me.

In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried
unto my God : he heard my voice out of his
temple, and my cry came before him, even into
his ears.

Then the earth shook and trembled ; the founda
tions also of the hills moved and were shaken,
because he was wroth.

There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire
out of his mouth devoured : coals were kindled
by it.

He bowed the heavens also, and came down : and
darkness was under his feet.

And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly : yea, he
did fly upon the wings of the wind.

He made darkness his secret place ; his pavilion

PSALM XVIII. 53

round about him were dark waters and thick
clouds of the skies.

At the brightness that was before him his thick
clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.

The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the
Highest gave his voice ; hail stones and coals of
fire.

Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them ;
and he shot out lightnings and discomfited them.

Then the channels of waters were seen, and the
foundations of the world were discovered at thy
rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy
nostrils.

He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out
of many waters.

He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from
them which hated me : for they were too strong
for me.

They prevented me in the day of my calamity : but
the LORD was my stay.

He brought me forth also into a large place; he
delivered me, because he delighted in me.

The LORD rewarded me according to my righteous
ness; according to the cleanness of my hands
hath he recompensed me.

For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have
not wickedly departed from my God.

For all his judgments were before me, and I did
not put away his statutes from me.

I was also upright before him, and I kept myself
from mine iniquity.

Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me accord
ing to my righteousness, according to the clean
ness of my hands in his eyesight.

With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful;

54 PSALM XVIII.

with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself

upright.
With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure ; and

with the fro ward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
For thou wilt save the afflicted people ; but wilt

bring down high looks.
For thou wilt light my candle : the LORD my God

will enlighten uiy darkness.
For by thee I have run through a troop ; and by

rny God have I leaped over a wall.
As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the

LORD is tried : he is a buckler to all those that

trust in him.
For who is God save the LORD ? or who is a rock

save our God ?
It is God that girdeth me with strength, and

maketh my way perfect.
He maketh my feet like hinds' feet and setteth me

upon my high places.
He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of

steel is broken by mine arms.

Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salva
tion : and thy right hand hath holden me up,

and thy gentleness hath made me great.
Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my

feet did not slip.

I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them ;

neither did I turn again till they were consumed.

I have wounded them that they were not able to

rise : they are fallen under my feet.
For thou hast girded me with strength unto the
battle : thou hast subdued under me those that
rose up against me.

Thou hast also given me the necks of mine ene
mies ; that I might destroy them that hate me.

PSALM XVIII. 55

They cried, but there was none to save them : even

unto the LORD, but he answered them not.
Then did I beat them small as the dust before the

wind : I did cast them out as the dirt in the

streets.
Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the

people ; and thou hast made me the head of the

heathen : a people whom I have not known shall

serve me.
As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me :

the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out

of their close places.
The LORD liveth ; and blessed be my rock; and

let the God of my salvation be exalted.
It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the

people unto me.
He delivereth me from mine enemies : yea, thou

liftest me up above those that rise up against

me : thou hast delivered me from the violent

man.
Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD,

among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy

name.
Great deliverance giveth he to his king ; and

sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to

his seed for evermore.

THIS is a Psalm of thanksgiving, in which David
gives thanks to God (as the title of the Psalm shows)
because of his deliverance from all his enemies. And
this Psalm I should divide into four parts, for David
had combatted with four kinds of enemies — King
Saul, the neighbouring nations, his son Absalom,
and his seditious subjects.

56 PSALM XVIII.

At the beginning of the Psalm, in the first six
verses, David describes the greatness of his perils, his
distresses and his straits in the midst of so many and
great afflictions, out of which the Lord delivered
him, " The sorrows of hell (saith he) compassed me
about, &c."

Then in the seventh verse, after the manner of
the prophets, he alludes in his song of praise to the
deliverance out of Egypt, and to those mighty works
at Mount Sinai and in the Red Sea ; intimating,
that as God then powerfully delivered his people
from the midst of death, so, he also more than once
had been delivered by the powerful arm and the high
hand of God, again, as it were from the hand of
Pharaoh, and from the midst of surrounding death.

And then again, when he says verses 16, and 17,
" He delivered me from my strong enemies and from
them that were mightier than I," he alludes to King
Saul, who had persecuted him with hostile hatred
and bitterness for the word of God's sake, because
he was chosen from on high to be King and to be his
successor.

At verse 28, he celebrates the goodness of God
who stands by the humble and those who are des
pised by the world and defends them against the
proud and the mighty : as he did in giving David
the victory over Goliah, the Philistines, the Ama-
lekites, and other nations.

At verse 34, he intimates something respecting his
third and domestic adversary his son Absalom, who,
on that account, was by far the more dreadful and
atrocious enemy.

Then at verse 42, he gives thanks to God who so
wonderfully stood by him against the crafty counsels
and snares of the seditious, of which kind was Siba

PSALM XVIII. 57

and, in the time of Absalom almost the whole of
Israel. For this most excellent and most godly
king had many national and domestic enemies, and
seditious citizens ; so much so, that, as he himself
here says, many gentile nations were far more kind
and obedient to him than his own people.

Therefore any afflicted one, especially if in magis
terial office, may use this Psalm in giving thanks
to God for his deliverance out of various perils
and distresses which fall upon those who govern
the state, or who are set over the Church.

And if any one wishes to understand the Psalm
allegorically, David signifies here Christ ; Saul sig
nifies the Jews ; the nations that persecuted David,
the tyrants of the world who set themselves against
the Gospel ; Absalom, heretics who proceed out from
us but are not of us ; the seditious subjects, outside-
show-Christians who sound forth Christ with their
mouth, but in their heart are far from him : from all
which this afflicted David, that is, Christ and those
who are Christians, are at length delivered.

This Psalm belongs to the second precept of the
Decalogue, and to the first petition of the Lord's
Prayer.

PSALM XIX.

The creatures show God's glory. — The word his grace. — David prayetk
for grace.

To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David.

THE heavens declare the glory of God : and the fir

mament sheweth his handy-work.
Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto

night sheweth knowledge.

58 PSALM XIX.

There is no speech nor language where their voice

is not heard.
Their line is gone out through all the earth, and

their words to the end of the world. In them

hath he set a tabernacle for the sun :
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his cham
ber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and

his circuit unto the ends of it : and there is

nothing hid from the heat thereof.
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the

soul : the testimony of the LORD is sure, making

wise the simple :
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the

heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure,

enlightening the eyes :
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever :

the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous

altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold ; yea, than

much fine gold ; sweeter also than honey and the

honey-comb.
Moreover, by them is thy servant warned : and in

keeping of them there is great reward.
Who can understand his errors ! cleanse thou me

from secret faults.
Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous

sins: let them not have dominion over me : then

shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from

the great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of

my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD,

my strength and my redeemer.

THIS is a prophecy concerning the preaching of the

PSALM XIX. 59

Gospel to every creature under the whole heaven
wherever the wide earth extends. " Day unto day,
(saith David) uttereth the word ; " that is, * from
day to day ; ' or, * day and night shall the Gospel be
propagated by the voice of the apostles and the min
isters of the word, farther and farther ; and that, not
only in Judea but every where in all the earth, and
in all languages throughout the world. — And says
David, as by the life-giving lightof the Sun, all things
in nature are illuminated, recreated, and cherished :
so this new light, this voice of the Gospel shall
illumine the world, and, by communicating the
Spirit, shall revive and purify the hearts of men, and
shall lift up and comfort distressed consciences.

Here also David intimates, that the old law which
was the ministration of death was to be done away
with ; and that the Gospel was to succeed, which
should be the ministration of life and of the Spirit ;
and which should be a word sweet and lovely,
illumining the eyes and purifying the heart.

This Psalm belongs to the Third Commandment ;
for it shews us what is the true Sabbath, namely,
the day or time, in which the Gospel should be
preached throughout the whole world and received
by those who should believe it.

PSALM XX.

The Church blesseth the King in his exploits.~Her confidence in God's
succour.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

THE LORD hear thee in the day of trouble ; the
name of the God of Jacob defend thee.

60 PSALM XX.

Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen

thee out of Zion.
Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt

sacrifice. Selah.
Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil

all thy counsel.
We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name

of our God we will set up our banners: the

LORD fulfil all thy petitions.
Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed :

he will hear him from his holy heaven with the

saving strength of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses : but

we will remember the name of the LORD our

God.
They are brought down and fallen ; but we are

risen and stand upright.
Save, LORD : let the king hear us when we call.

THIS is a prayer for kings, rulers, magistrates,
and all who sustain that most heavy burthen of
governing the state :— that God, in such momentous
concerns, to which all human diligence and wisdom
are unequal (as even heathen rulers have confessed
from their own experience), would stand by magis
trates when exposed to the hatred of all, to their
secret councils and plans of deceit; and would keep
all subjects in their duty, and give his blessing in
the preservation of a good and happy constitution,
and public peace ; especially when Satan with horri
ble hatred against God and the works of God, is
endeavouring to destroy the constitutions of king
doms, and to confound all things with slaughter and
blood-shed.

Those great and eminently spiritual men who pro-

PSALM XXI. 61

duced this and the like Psalms, plainly saw that such
great and important matters could not be managed
and governed by any human wisdom or human
counsels ; and therefore they wished to pen forms of
prayer of this kind for the safety of magistrates and
transmit them to posterity. For such prayers as these
were especially necessary for the people of God
at that time, when David and other godly rulers after
him, were continually exercised with new enemies
and new afflictions, and those the most severely dis
tressing. — Therefore all Kings and Rulers are fools
who do not seek for, and expect, the happy govern
ment and the success of their affairs from heaven.

This Psalm belongs to the second commandment,
as do all the other supplicatory Psalms; for it con
tains a calling upon the name of the Lord. And it
belongs also to the third petition of the Lord's Prayer,
where we pray that the will of God, not of the devil,
may be done.

PSALM XXI.

A thanksgiving for victory .—Confidence of further success.
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

THE king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord : and
in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast
not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.

For thou preventest him with the blessings of good
ness : thou settest a crown of pure gold on his
head.

He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even
length of days for ever and ever.

62 PSALM XXI.

His glory is great in thy salvation : honour and

majesty hast thou laid upon him.
For thou hast made him most blessed for ever:

thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy

countenance.
For the king trusteth in the LORD ; and, through

the mercy of the Most High, he shall not be

moved.
Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies ; thy

right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time

of thine anger : the LORD shall swallow them up

in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and

their seed from among the children of men.
For they intended evil against thee ; they imagined

a mischievous device, which they are notable to

perform :
Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back,

when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon

thy strings against the face of them.
Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength :

so will we sing and praise thy power.

THIS is a prophecy concerning the kingdom of Christ ;
— that his kingdom shall be temporal and eternal.
The beginning of the Psalm gloriously predicts that it
shall come to pass that this king and this people
shall rejoice in this kingdom, and that the glory of
it shall be great. But you must understand that all
this will be, not before the world or according to the
flesh, but in God. For Christ entered into glory
through the flesh and by the cross.

This Psalm foretels also that this kingdom, that is,
the Church of Christ, although afflicted before the

PSALM XXII. 63

world, shall be enriched with spiritual blessings and
glorified ; and that this word of grace and the re
mission of sins, this joyful and all-sweet Gospel
shall be diffused abroad among all nations, and that
the godly and those that believe, shall rejoice and be
glad, and exult in it with a full and perfect joy,
which no creature shall be able to destroy or to take
away.

On the other hand, David shews that the Jews
who opposed this counsel of God, and the whole of
their kingdom should be destroyed by the awful
judgment of God, " Thou shalt make them (says he)
to turn their back ; " that is, because that people
opposed themselves to the Gospel, and crucified
Christ, thou shalt afflict them with heavy calamities ;
and, having rejected the people destroyed their
kingdom, and having done away with, and abrogated
the whole of their law and worship for which they so
furiously fight, thou shalt reduce them to a miserable
slavery, so that they shall be oppressed under a
foreign yoke and laws, and shall thus suffer the
punishment due to their sins.

This Psalm belongs to the first commandment, and
to the second petition of the Lord's Prayer: for it
foretells of a people that should not be under the
law of Moses, but in a kingdom of rejoicing and
thanksgiving, and it speaks of a new manner of
worship.

PSALM XXII.

David complaineth in great discouragement. — He prayeth in great dis
tress. — He praiseth God.
To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.

MY God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?

64 PSALM XXII.

why art thou so far from helping me, and from
the words of my roaring?

0 my God, I cry in the day-time, but thou hearest
not ; and in the night-season, and am not silent.

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the

praises of Israel.
Our fathers trusted in thee : they trusted, and

thou didst deliver them.
They cried unto thee, and were delivered ; they

trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
But I am a worm, and no man ; a reproach of men,

and despised of the people.
All they that see me laugh me to scorn ; they shoot

out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him ;

let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
But thou art he that took me out of the womb :

thou didst make me hope when I was upon my

mother's breasts.

1 was cast upon thee from the womb ; thou art my
God from my mother's belly.

Be not far from me, for trouble is near ; for there

is none to help.
Many bulls have compassed me: strong lulls of

Bashan have beset me round.

They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a raven
ing and a roaring lion.
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are

out of joint : my heart is like wax ; it is melted

in the midst of my bowels.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd ; and my

tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast

brought me into the dust of death.
For dogs have compassed me ; the assembly of the

wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands

and my feet.

PSALM XXII. 65

I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon

me.
They part my garments among them, and cast lots

upon my vesture.
But be .not thou far from me, O LORD ; O my

strength, haste thee to help me.
Deliver my soul from the sword ; my darling from

the power of the dog.
Save me from the lion's mouth : for thou hast

heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
1 will declare thy name unto my brethren : in the

midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
Ye that fear the LORD, praise him: all ye the seed

of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the

seed of Israel.
For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction

of the afflicted, neither hath he hid his face

from him ; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
My praise shall be of thee in the great congrega
tion : I will pay my vows before them that fear

him.
The meek shall eat and be satisfied; they shall

praise the LORD that seek him : your heart shall

live for ever.
All the ends of the world shall remember, and turn

unto the LORD; and all the kindreds of the

nations shall worship before thee.
For the kingdom is the LORD'S ; and he is the

governor among the nations.
All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship :

all they that go down to the dust shall bow

before him and none can keep alive his own soul.
A seed shall serve him ; it shall be accounted to

the LORD for a generation.

They shall come, and shall declare his righteous-
F

66 PSALM XXII.

ness unto a people that shall be born, that he
halli done this.

THIS Psalm is a kind of gem among the Psalms that
contain prophecies concerning Christ and his king
dom, and it is peculiarly excellent and remarkable.
For here, if anywhere, it may be said that David
does not seem to be delivering a prophecy of the
future, but a history of the past ; a history of cir
cumstances that took place within his own sight and
knowledge ; for his expressions concerning Christ are
not at all more obscure than those of Peter or Paul,
or any other of the Apostles : and he speaks of
Christ being nailed to the tree, and of the piercing
of his hands and his feet, as if the whole had taken
place before his own natural sight.

This Psalm contains those deep, sublime, and heavy
sufferings of Christ, when agonizing in the midst of
the terrors and pangs of divine wrath and death,
which surpass all human thought and comprehen
sion. And I know not whether any Psalm through
out the whole Book contains matter more weighty,
or from which the hearts of the godly can so truly
perceive those sighs and groans, inexpressible by
man, which their Lord and head Jesus Christ uttered
when conflicting for us in the midst of death, and in
the midst of the pains and terrors of hell. Where
fore this Psalm ought to be most highly prized by all
who have any acquaintance with these temptations of
faith, and these spiritual conflicts.

Let Epicureans despise these things : examples of
this kind will be more precious to the truly godly
and spiritual, whether they be found in Christ him
self, or (as St. Peter saith,) in our brethren that
are in the world, than all the treasures and riches of
which the world can boast.

PSALM XXII 67

David as I said, describes most clearly and ex
pressively the sufferings of Christ, so much so, that
you seem to see the circumstances to take place
before your eyes. And as he so clearly pourtrays the
forerunning sufferings of Christ, so does he with
equal plainness set forth the glories which followed
them ; for in the end of the Psalm he shows that
Christ should be delivered from the mouth of the lion
and of the dog, and from the midst of death and suffer
ings, and should, through his resurrection wrought by
divine power, be glorified ; that his Gospel should
be preached, not only among that people and in that
kingdom, such narrow limits, but throughout all the
nations and kingdoms of the world ; that the fat
ones of the earth, that is the rich and powerful of
this world, and the poor also, should be converted
unto Christ ; that his Church should be eternal, and
his posterity infinite ; and that as King he should be
adored throughout the whole world, that his name
should be praised and celebrated throughout all ages,
and his kingdom endure for ever, and remain invin
cible against all the kingdoms of the world, and
against all creatures.

The Psalm belongs to the first commandment of
the Decalogue, for it foretels a new worship of God ;
and it has reference to the first petition of the Lord's
Prayer.

PSALM XXIII.

David's confidence in God's grace.
A Psalm of David.

THE LORD is my shepherd ; I shall not want.

F 2

68 PSALM XXIII.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures : he

leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul : he leadeth me in the paths

of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the

shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for thou art

with me ; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence

of mine enemies : thou anointest my head with

oil ; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the

days of my life ; and I will dwell in the house

of the LORD for ever.

THIS Psalm is a remarkable offering of thanks to God
for the gift and reception of the word : and it contains
the description of a godly heart acknowledging how
incomparable and unspeakable a blessing and gift of
God the knowledge of his word is. It also gloriously
declares and extols the greatness of the goodness
and mercy of God in leading us in the right way,
and in lifting us up and consoling us under every
temptation, while hypocrites are left to walk in their
own crooked ways.

Under a beautiful similitude he compares himself
to a sheep, in seeking, (if perchance it has strayed)
saving, defending and feeding which, the faithful
shepherd spares no labour nor anxiety. And as,
under a good and watchful shepherd, the sheep have
fattening pastures, and wholesome brooks and foun
tains ; so do the godly find all these same pastures
for their hearts in the word which God has provided
for them.

David alludes in this Psalm to the table and shew
bread, and to the balsam and the oil of gladness.

PSALM XXIV. 69

For God will feed and comfort the Ministers of the
word, and the hearers, and will gladden them with
his cup though they are made sorrowful by the world.

He calls the word of God a shepherd's staff, re
freshing waters, green pastures, that by all such
similitudes he may show that true salvation, settled
peace, and sure and eternal consolation are esta
blished in men's consciences by the word of God
only.

This Psalm belongs to the Third Commandment,
and to the second petition of the Lord's Prayer.

PSALM XXIV.

God's lordship in the world. — The citizens of his spiritual kingdom. —
An exhortation to receive him.

A Psalm of David.

THE earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof;

the world, and they that dwell therein.
For he hath founded it upon the seas, and esta
blished it upon the floods.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD ? or

who shall stand in his holy place ?
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who

hath not lift up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn

deceitfully.
He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and

righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is the generation of them that seek him, that

seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; and be ye lift up,

ye everlasting doors ; and the King of glory

shall come in.

70 PSALM XXIV.

Who is this King of glory ? The LORD strong and

mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; even lift them up,

ye everlasting doors : and the King of glory

shall come in.
Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts,

he is the King of glory. Selah.

THIS Psalm is a prophecy concerning the kingdom of
Christ to be spread and extended throughout the
whole world by the Gospel.

By a striking apostrophe David turns himself to the
kings, princes, and wise ones of the earth, and the
men of power and authority, whom he calls after the
genius of the Hebrew language, the ' gates of the
world.' Remember, (saith he to such,) that the earth is
the Lord's, he is Lord of all. It was he that gave
you your kingdoms. He has set up his Christ as
King over all, whom if ye adore and acknowledge
not, ye shall perish together with your kingdoms,
and shall be dashed in pieces like a potter's vessel.

He exhorts such to acknowledge themselves sin
ners : for these powerful ones, these pharisees and
these wise ones of the world, being blinded with a
conceited opinion of human wisdom and righteous
ness, are above all others enfuriated against the
Gospel : for when the kingdom of grace and of the
remission of sins is preached ; when this Christ is
declared and proclaimed by the Gospel to be the only
King of eternal peace, the only victorious King over
sin, death, and the devil ; then these tyrants and
powerful ones of the world immediately burst out
with their cry of pride " Who is this King of Glory?
Who ?" As if they should say, what! Shall those
poor abject fishermen, those dross of the earth teach

PSALM XXV. 71

us ? Shall they, instead of the law of Moses, and
instead of the religion which we received from our
forefathers, force upon us this new worship of God,
and this King of theirs who was hanged upon the
cross? Shall they persuade us to believe such
dreams as these ?

This Psalm, therefore, at the same time intimates
that this kingdom of Christ should not be corporeal
or earthly, nor of such a kind as should destroy
political governments : but a kingdom in which the
preachers of it should bring into subjection unto
Christ the world and the kingdoms of the world by
the word and the Gospel.

To this kingdom (says David) kings and rulers
shall oppose themselves and shall crucify the King
and Lord of Glory, and shall persecute the Apostles
and Ministers of the word : but he nevertheless
shall break through all kingdoms, and in defiance of
every opposer shall enter into the world and reign by
the Gospel in the midst of his enemies : he shall
give to his Apostles a mouth and wisdom which none
of their adversaries shall be able to gainsay or resist :
and while the mightiest kingdoms of the earth, as
Daniel saith, shall be moved and destroyed, this
eternal king shall endure for ever and be truly mani
fested to be the Lord of victory and of glory.

It has reference to the First Commandment of the
Decalogue, and to the first, second, and third peti
tions of the Lord's Prayer.

PSALM XXV.

David's confidence in prayer,— He prayeth for remission nf sins, and
for help in affliction.

A Psalm of David.

72 PSALM XXV.

UNTO thee, O LORD, do I lift up my sonl.

O my God, I trust in thee : let me not be ashamed ;

let not mine enemies triumph over me.
Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed : let

them be ashamed which transgress without

cause.

Shew me thy ways, O LORD ; teach me thy paths.
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art

the God of my salvation ; on thee do I wait all

the day.
Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies, and thy

loving-kindnesses ; for they have been ever of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my trans
gressions : according to thy mercy remember

thou me, for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.
Good and upright is the LORD ; therefore will he

teach sinners in the way.
The meek will he guide in judgment, and the

meek will he teach his way.
All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto

such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
For thy name's sake, O LORD, pardon mine ini
quity ; for it is great.
What man is he that feareth the LORD ? Him shall

he teach in the way that he shall choose ;
His soul shall dwell at ease ; and his seed shall

inherit the earth.
The secret of the LORD is with them that fear

him ; and he will show them his covenant.
Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD ; for he shall

pluck my feet out of the net.
Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me, for

I am desolate and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged : O bring

thou me out of my distresses.

PSALM XXV. 73

Look upon mine affliction, and my pain : and for
give all my sins.

Consider mine enemies ; for they are many ; and
they hate me with cruel hatred.

O keep my soul, and deliver me : let me not be
ashamed ; for I put my trust in thee.

Let integrity and uprightness preserve me ; for I
wait on thee.

Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

THIS is a prayer in which the prophet prays, with
wonderful fervency of heart, to be strengthened in the
faith and in the love of the Word, although he should
have on this account great and bitter enemies in the
world : that is, that he may not be broken down in
mind by the afflictions, nor by the greatness and mul
tiplicity of his own encompassing infirmities when he
saw that Epicurean hypocrites despised the true re
ligion and the true word with so much confidence and
secure presumption, as if they were things in which
it was a disgrace for men of a sound mind and a
liberal education to be in the least engaged.

Ah Lord (saith David) preserve and glorify thy
name and thy word. Let us (saith he) who are thus
derided, spit upon, and, for thy sake, well nigh
overwhelmed in the midst of so many afflictions and
so many offences, not be confounded, but let us ex
pect thy consolations. Let those haughty hypo
crites and despisers be confounded both before God
and men, who, on account of their carnal wisdom
and powers, and riches, and other things of this
world which they admire and value, so despise thy
word and thy worship, that they deem it a disgrace
to have such things in their thoughts. Our eyes
(saith he) are unto thee O Lord ? Do thou, if there

74 PSALM XXVI.

be any infirmity in us, pardon it. Keep us in the
knowledge of thy holy word and of that mystery of
thine which is hidden from the world, and stand by
us in our great straits and perils.

This Psalm belongs to the Second Commandment,
and to the second petition of the Lord's Prayer.

PSALM XXVI.

David resortetk unto God in confidence of his integrity.
A Psalm of David.

JUDGE me, O LORD ; for I have walked in mine
integrity : I have trusted also in the LORD ;
therefore I shall not slide.

Examine me, O LORD, and prove me ; try my reins
and my heart.

For thy loving-kindness is before mine eyes ; and
I have walked in thy truth.

I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I
go in with dissemblers.

I have hated the congregation of evil-doers ; and
will not sit with the wicked.

I will wash mine hands in innocency ; so will I
compass thine altar, O LORD ?

That I may publish with the voice of thanks
giving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house,
and the place where thine honour dwelleth.

Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with
bloody men ;

In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand
is full of bribes.

But as for me, I .will walk in mine integrity : re
deem me, and be merciful unto me.

PSALM XXVI. 75

My foot standeth in an even place: in the congre
gations will I bless the LORD.

THIS is a prayer unto God, containing a complaint
against hypocrites who want to be justified by the
works of the law, and who always persecute the true
doctrine of faith and condemn its supporters for
heretics. David calls these characters dissemblers,
heretics, bloody men, wicked persons. For although
they boast of great sanctity, yet their hearts are full
of hatred and bitterness against God, and craft and
iniquity against their neighbour: as Christ says of
all such pharisees when he rebukes them by Luke,
" Ye are they who justify yourselves before men, but
God knoweth your hearts. " For such worship God
with their lips, but their heart is far from him : they
worship him not in truth, but do all for gain.

In a word they serve not God but Mammon and
their own belly : as Paul saith to the Philippians.
And this Psalm saith, " And their right hand is full
of bribes." Yet their hypocrisy has a wonderful
outside appearance. And indeed the false church
who has power and dominion on her side, has always
a more wonderful and showy appearance than the
true, which lies hidden under the various forms of
the cross.

Therefore we have need to pray in no slothful
manner that God would preserve us in his true
Church, and would not suffer us to be mingled and
carried away with these characters,, lest we have our
portion with such hypocrites, whose end, though
they may for a time make a show before the world,
shall be destruction, and whose glory shall be turned
into confusion : as we have seen it exemplified in
the Pope and his kingdom.

76 PSALM XXVII.

This Psalm belongs to the Third Commandment,
and to the first and second petitions of the Lord's
Prayer: for it speaks of the true worship and king
dom of God.

PSALM XXVII.

David sustaineth his faith by the power of God, by his love to the

service of God, by prayer.

A Psalm of David.

THE LORD is my light and my salvation ; whom
shall I fear ? The LORD is the strength of my
life ; of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes,
came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled
and fell.

Though an host should encamp against me, my
heart shall not fear ; though war should rise
against me, in this will I be confident.

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I
seek after ; that I may dwell in the house of the
LORD all the days of my life, to behold the
beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his
pavilion : in the secret of his tabernacle shall
he hide me : he shall set me upon a rock.

And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine
enemies round about me : therefore will I offer
in this tabernacle sacrifices of joy : I will sing,
yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice : have
mercy also upon me, and answer me.

When thou saidst, seek ye my face ; my heart said
unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

PSALM XXVII. 77

Hide not thy face/«r from me ; put not thy servant
away in anger: thou hast been my help : leave
me not, neither forsake me, O God of my sal
vation.

When my father and my mother forsake me, then
the LORD will take me up.

Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a
plain path, because of mine enemies.

Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies :
for false witnesses are risen up against me, and
such as breathe out cruelty.

/ had fainted, unless I had believed to see the
goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

Wait on the LORD ; be of good courage, and he
shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the
LORD.

THIS Psalm is a thanksgiving, containing also a
prayer and consolation against false teachers.

David having been taught and exercised by such
great afflictions, by so many perils and sorrows, and
by such fiery conflicts, for the word's sake, and
having been supported therein against the devil, and
the world, now finds a greater truth and reliance on
God, and is more encouraged and fortified against
all his enemies.

The Lord (saith he) is my light and my salvation ;
whom shall I fear? That is, the Lord hath so often
and so wonderfully comforted me under, and so
powerfully delivered me from, various darknesses
and storms of temptations, that he will not leave nor
forsake me in time to come. If God, then, be for me,
who can be against me? If God uphold me, what
power or violence of the enemy can cast me down,
or who can destroy me ?

78 PSALM XXVII.

I will not fear thousands of enemies (says he)
though they should raise up war against me. All
that I am anxious about is this one thing; — that I
may remain and dwell in the house of the Lord ;
that is, in the true church, and among those where
the word of God is purely and sincerely taught and
learned. If I can hold fast this jewel I am rich.
For if I hold fast the word of God, no terrors, how
great soever they may be, nor even death itself, can
destroy my light and my life ; that is, my sure and
eternal consolation. But if I love not the word, no
human consolations, how great soever they may be,
will be able to afford me that light and life.

David directs the whole of this Psalm against
hypocrites and false teachers, who are so soon carried
away from the word, and who teach human things
and seduce men's consciences. Here he calls these
characters false witnesses ; that is, such as nothing can
shame, and who know not how to blush. The auda
city of these inexperienced characters is prodigious,
who, without any calling, and without the word,
boastingly make use of the name of God and seduce
men, and do infinite damage both to the state and to
the church. For we generally find it to be the case,
that the more inexperienced such characters are, and
the more devoid of spiritual things, the more easily
they rush forth to teach : and such as these are those
fanatical spirits who afterwards raise up divisions
and sects against the truly godly.

This Psalm belongs to the First and Second Com
mandments, and to the first and second petitions of
the Lord's Prayer.

79

PSALM XXVIII.

David prayeth earnestly against his enemies.— He blesseth God.— He
praycthfor the people.

A Psalm of David.

UNTO thee will I cry, O LORD my rock ; be not

silent to me : lest, if thou be silent to me, I

become like them that go down into the pit.
Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry

unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy

holy oracle.
Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the

workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their

neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
Give them according to their deeds, and according

to the wickedness of their endeavours ; give

them after the work of their hands ; render to

them their desert.
Because they regard not the works of the LORD,

nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy

them, and not build them up.
Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the

voice of my supplications.
The LORD is my strength and my shield ; my heart

trusted in him, and I am helped : therefore my

heart greatly rejoiceth ; and with my song will

I praise him.
The LORD t* their strength, and he is the saving

strength of his anointed.
Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance : feed

them also, and lift them up for ever.

THIS is a prayer of David, which in his time he used

80 PSALM XXIX.

against Saul, and others like him ; but especially
against all those Cainish hypocrites who in word
pretended to desire peace, but burned with secret
hatred in their hearts. Such a viper as this was
Absalom, his son, against him ; and such an one also
was Joab against Amasa and Abner, 2 Kings iii.
David, therefore, fearing lest the same things should
be laid to his charge, prays, " Draw me not away
with the wicked, nor with the workers of iniquity."

We may use the Psalm against tyrants and fana
tical spirits ; for in this way are tyrants and perse
cutors of the word wont to pretend peace in word,
and yet secretly plan counsels of slaughter and
murder all the while. And so also fanatical spi
rits and all false prophets boast with ' big swell
ing words7 of the word of God, and tumultuously
cry out that they seek the glory and the worship of
God, and promise nothing but divine and heavenly
things, and yet seek all the while their own advan
tage and their own glory, destroying souls, and walk
ing about in sheep's clothing, while they are inwardly
nothing but ravening wolves.

This Psalm belongs to the second and third pre
cept, and to the first and second petition of the
Lord's Prayer.

PSALM XXIX.

David exhorteth princes to give glory to God, by reason of his power, and
protection of his people,

A Psalm of David.

GIVE unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the
LORD glory and strength.

PSALM XXIX. 81

Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name;

worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the

God of glory thundereth : the LORD is upon

many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful ; the voice of

the LORD is full of majesty.
The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars ; yea,

the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Leba
non and Sirion like a young unicorn.
The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness ; the

LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve,

and discovered the forests : and in his temple

doth every one speak of his glory.
The LORD sitteth upon the flood : yea, the LORD

sitteth King for ever.
The LORD will give strength unto his people ; the

LORD will bless his people with peace.

THIS is a prophecy concerning the spread of the
gospel throughout the whole world, and concerning
the preaching of the name of Christ before kings and
nations, and the children of Israel.

"Give unto the Lord, ye mighty;" that is, ye
kings, ye rulers, and ye wise and rich ones of the
world, ye Pharisees and rabbi, acknowledge your
wisdom, righteousness, and all your excellent po
litical virtues, your works of the law, and all that
is high and excellent before men, to be abomination
in the sight of God ; repent ye and believe the gospel?
that ye may quit yourselves under that one King and
Lord, Christ, and his church and kingdom, and, by
G

82 PSALM XXX.

faith and the wisdom of God, acknowledge Christ,
this son of God, to be God ; for God, by a manifest
work of his power, in the beginning sent a flood
upon the whole world, and destroyed all flesh ; and
the same God, by his gospel and by baptism, will
drown and mortify the flesh, that is, the old fleshly
Adam, by a new and spiritual baptism : that as
many as are baptized into Christ, being crucified
according to the old Adam, may be raised up together
with the second Adarn, and become new men and
new creatures.

He calls, by a figure, the kingdoms, nations, and
powerful cities of this world, forests ; the wilderness
of Kadesh, confused places of many waters, places
for hinds to calve, &cc. These confused places the
Lord has revealed and discovered, and brought to
the light of the gospel.

This Psalm refers to the third precept, and to the
second petition of the Lord's Prayer.

PSALM XXX.

David praiseth God for his deliverance.— He exhorteth others to praise
him by example of God's dealing with him.

A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the House of David.

I WILL extol thee, O LORD ; for thou hast lifted me

up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast

healed me.
O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the

grave : thou hast kept me alive, that I should

not go down to the pit.
Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give

thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

PSALM XXX. 83

For his anger endureth but a moment ; in his favour

is life : weeping may endure for a night, but joy

cometh in the morning.
And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be

moved.
LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain

to stand strong : thou didst hide thy face, and I

was troubled.
I cried to thee, O LORD ; and unto the LORD I

made supplication.
What profit is there in my blood, when I go down

to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee ? shall it

declare thy truth ?
Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me : LORD,

be thou my helper.
Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing :

thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me

with gladness :
To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee,

and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give

thanks unto thee for ever.

THIS is a remarkable Psalm, and truly Davidical.
Here, with a wonderful fervency of heart, he gives
thanks unto God for having delivered him from
spiritual temptations and unspeakable conflicts with
Satan, and for having refreshed and comforted his
heart when brought down to such a state of weak
ness, when broken with such views of misery, terror,
and wrath, and when almost overwhelmed with the
greatness of his temptations. " Thou hast (saith he)
brought my soul up from hell : " that is, thou hast
enabled me to overcome the violence and fury of
Satan, which never could be overcome by any human
power.

G 2

84 PSALM XXXI.

This Psalm contains, as you see, those sublime
and heavenly feelings of one rejoicing in the Holy
Ghost, because God has turned such deep distress,
such overwhelming terrors and fears, so many tears
and sighs from the very belly of hell, into a joy that
has refreshed and healed the soul that was just
before burning with the fiery darts of the devil, and
with the very flames of hell.

The Psalm contains also a most sweet consolation :
" His anger (says David) endureth but fora moment :
in his favour is life ; " that is, God, although he
exercises the godly in these deep temptations, and
these intense agonizings of soul, yet he does not so
try them with the intent to slay them ; nor does he
afflict, in order to destroy his people ; nor is he the
God of misery, of terror, and of death, but the God
of peace and of life, the God of joy and of conso
lation.

This Psalm belongs to the third precept and to the
first petition of the Lord's Prayer.

PSALM XXXI.

David, shewing his confidence in God, craveth his help, — Herejoiceth in his
mercy. — He prayeth in his calamity.— He praiseth God for his

To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David.

IN thee, O LORD, do I put my trust ; let me never

be ashamed : deliver me in thy righteousness.
Bow down thine ear to me ; deliver me speedily :

be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence

to save me.
For thou art my rock and my fortress : therefore,

for thy name's sake, lead me and guide me.

PSALM XXXI. 85

Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily
for me ; for thou art my strength.

Into thine hand I commit my spirit : thou hast
redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.

I have hated them that regard lying vanities : but I
trust in the LORD.

I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy : for thou
hast considered my trouble ; thou hast known
my soul in adversities ;

And hast not shut me up into the hand of the
enemy : thou hast set my foot in a large room.

Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in
trouble ; mine eye is consumed with grief, yea,
my soul and my belly.

For my life is spent with grief, and my years with
sighing : my strength faileth because of mine
iniquity, and my bones are consumed.

I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but es
pecially among my neighbours, and a fear to
mine acquaintance : they that did see me with
out fled from me.

I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind ; I am
like a broken vessel.

For I have heard the slander of many: fear ivas
on every side : while they took counsel together
against me, they devised to take away my
life.

But I trusted in thee, O LORD : I said, Thou art
my God.

My times are in thy hand : deliver me from the
hand of mine enemies, and from them that per
secute me.

Make thy face to shine upon thy servant : save me

for thy mercies' sake.
Let me not be ashamed, O LORD ; for I have

86 PSALM XXXI.

called upon thee : let the wicked be ashamed,

and let them be silent in the grave.
Let the lying lips be put to silence ; which speak

grievous things proudly and contemptuously

against the righteous.
Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid

up for them that fear thee ; which thou hast

wrought for them that trust in thee before the

sons of men !
Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence

from the pride of man ; thou shalt keep them

secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
Blessed be the Lord ; for he hath shewed me his

marvellous kindness in a strong city.
For I said in my haste, I am cut oft' from before

thine eyes : nevertheless thou heardest the voice

of my supplications, when I cried unto thee.
O love the LORD, all ye his saints : for the LORD

preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth

the proud doer.
Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your

heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

THIS Psalm is a thanksgiving, and contains also
prayers and consolations. And the way to arrive at a
right understanding of the deep feelings and cir
cumstances contained in this Psalm, is to know that
this Psalm is the general and continual cry of Christ
and his members, groaning and sighing under the
cross and various afflictions. For the Church is a
congregation of afflicted, poor, and tried persons.
The wicked men of the world, the rich, the despisers
of all religion, and the atheistical Epicureans have,
as Christ saith, their consolation; while the godly,
the spiritual, and those that believe, being exposed

PSALM XXXI. 87

to the horrible hatred and envy of the devil, are exer
cised and distressed through all their life, inwardly
with fears and terrors in their hearts, and outwardly
by persecutions, blasphemies, and contempt for the
word of God's sake ; and yet, from all these they
are delivered: for, as St. Paul saith, "Where
afflictions abound, there consolations abound also."

This Psalm belongs to the second and third pre
cept, and to the first and third petition of the Lord's
Prayer.

ADMONITORY OBSERVATIONS.

And here I will cease to show, like a schoolmaster,
to which precept of the Decalogue, and to which
member of the Lord's Prayer each Psalm belongs ;
for from what I have already said upon these points,
my seriously-disposed readers will be enabled to
observe and judge for themselves. All the supplica
tory Psalms belong to the second precept and to the
first petition of the Lord's Prayer, for they honour
and sanctify the name of the Lord. And the Psalms
which teach, console, and give thanks for deliver
ance, belong to the second and third precepts of
the Decalogue, and also to the first and third peti
tions of the Lord's Prayer : for they teach us how, in
truth, to keep holy the Sabbath day, how to worship
God with the true and highest worship, and how to
offer the most acceptable sacrifice; namely, the
sacrifice of praise. And most of the Psalms refer to
all those three precepts of the Decalogue, and to all
those petitions of the Lord's Prayer.

My reason for giving these hints respecting the
commandments, and petitions of the Lord's Prayer,

88 PSALM XXXI.

to which the different Psalms belong, in this my
brief summary of the contents of the Psalms, is this :
to show that the whole Scripture flows from the
Decalogue as from a fountain ; and that in the Ten
Commandments and in the Lord's Prayer are con
tained the sum and substance of all theology or
divinity ; and that nothing can be taught in the
Church more sublime or more excellent than these
two parts of Divine revelation. For we see how the
greatest prophets and Moses himself, drew their
great and divine discourses from the first, the second,
and the third Commandments ; and, in a word, from
the whole, of the Decalogue; how diligently they
weighed every thing and made it harmonize with
this; and how they continually delivered new things,
yet all with reference to this great general Decalogue.
Hence indeed it was that Moses, that most eminent
man of God, gave this precept, " These words (says
he,) thou shalt meditate, when thou standest up and
when thou liest down ; and thou shalt teach them
diligently to thy children/' &c.

In all their discourses and writings, therefore, the
prophets and apostles allude and refer to the Deca
logue or Ten Commandments. From these Ten
Commandments flow all the doctrines, and all the
godly living of the saints : for there is no holiness or
godliness of life or true religion, apart from the Ten
Commandments: because they are the never-failing
inexhaustible fountain of all wisdom, righteousness,
and of all perfection in the saints. Nor is there any
of the complaints uttered by the Prophets or Apostles,
nor will you find any other in all their discourses,
but that against false prophets, hypocrites and false
teachers, who, disregarding, nay, totally despising
and spitting upon, the true and highest worship of

PSALM XXXII. 89

God, (which is that of the first Commandment, that
requires faith and the fear of God,) teach their own
human dreams, which have nothing whatever to do
with the Decalogue, and do not at all belong to it.

Against these characters it is, (as we see in Moses
himself, in Isaiah, in Jeremiah, and in the epistles of
Paul and Peter,) that the Prophets and Apostles
complain bitterly, and that with tears ; against these
it is that they cry aloud and wage war with all their
powers ; that they might preserve this true and
highest worship of God, and might destroy from
among men, hypocrisy and all human doctrines and
fanatical dreams.

PSALM XXXII.

Blessedness consisteth in remission of sins. — Confession of sinsgiveth ease
to the conscience. — God's promises bring joy.

A Psalm of David, Maschil.

BLESSED is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose
sin is covered.

Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth
not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no
guile.

When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through
my roaring all the day long.

For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me :
my moisture is turned into the drought of sum
mer. Selah.

I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine ini
quity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my
transgressions unto the LORD ; and thou for-
gavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

For this shall every one that is godly pray unto

90 PSALM XXXII.

thee in a time when Ihou mayest be found:

surely in the floods of great waters they shall

not come nigh unto him.
Thou art my hiding-place ; thou shalt preserve me

from trouble ; thou shalt compass me about with

songs of deliverance. Selah.
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which

thou shalt go : I will guide thee with mine eye.
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have

no understanding : whose mouth must be held in

with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto

thee.
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked : but he that

trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him

about.
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous :

and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

THIS Psalm is a very remarkable and valuable one.
St. Paul quotes it in that profound discussion of his,
Rom. iv. where he teaches us what sin is, and how
we obtain the remission of sins, and, in a word, how
we are justified before God : for it is in this matter
that all hypocrites so deeply err : because human
reason cannot imagine that sin is accompanied with
such great and such infinite guilt before God, and
with a guilt that no human powers nor works can
wash away. In a word, it knows not what sin is,
and thinks that it can be washed off, and taken away
by works.

Whereas David here plainly says, " For this shall
every one that is godly pray :" and he says also,
that no one can be justified or sanctified before God,
unless he acknowledge himself to be a sinner, and
know that he is to obtain the remission of sins with-

PSALM XXXII. 91

out any works and merits, by the mere mercy of God,
and by a free and gratuitous imputation. In a word,
our righteousness is not placed in us, or in our
works ; but is such, that the remission of our sins is
truly and rightly called the free REMISSION of our
sins : and also that our sins are truly said ' not to be
imputed,' but ' to be covered.' ' Blessed (sa^s David)
are they (that is, such are accepted before God, and
are truly righteous and reconciled to God) whose
transgressions are forgiven and whose sins are
covered.'

Here David says, in plain words, that all the saints
are, and still remain, sinners ; and that they are jus
tified and sanctified in no other way than this ; — God
of his free mercy, for Christ's sake, is pleased not to
impute their sins unto them, nor to judge them, but,
in mercy, to forgive them, and cover over their sins,
and forget them. And although in many other re
spects there is a great difference between the saints
and the wicked, yet, in this point there is no differ
ence, — they are all equally sinners, and all equally
sin every day. But the sins of the saints are not
imputed unto them : they are covered and forgiven
on account of their faith in the promise of free grace.
Whereas the sins of the wicked are imputed unto
them, and they are exposed to the eye and to the
awful judgment of God. The wounds of the latter
are not bound up : but the wounds of the former are
bound up, and are cured with healing plasters and
oil: and yet they are both truly wounded and truly
sinners ! But of this, more in its place.; and I have
said much upon it in others of my writings.

92

PSALM XXXIII.

God is to be praised for his goodness, for his power, and for his providence.
— Confidence is to be placed in God.

REJOICE in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise

is comely for the upright.
Praise the LORD with harp : sing unto him with

the psaltery, and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song ; play skilfully with a

loud noise.
For the word of the LORD is right : and all his

works are done in truth.
He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth

is full of the goodness of the LORD.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made ;

and all the host of them by the breath of his

mouth.
He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an

heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD : let all the inha
bitants of the world stand in awe of him.
For he spake, and it was done; he commanded,

and it stood fast.
The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to

nought: he maketh the devices of the people of

none effect.
The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the

thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD ; and

the people whom he hath chosen for his own

inheritance.
The LORD looketh from heaven ; he beholdeth all

the sons of men.

PSALM XXXIII. 93

From the place of his habitation he looketh upon

all the inhabitants of the earth.
He fashioneth their hearts alike ; he considereth

all their works.
There is no king saved by the multitude of an host :

a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
An horse is a vain thing for safety : neither shall

he deliver any by his great strength.
Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear

him, upon them that hope in his mercy :
To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them

alive in famine.
Our soul waiteth for the LORD : he is our help and

our shield.
For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we

have trusted in his holy name.
Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as

we hope in thee.

THIS Psalm is a remarkable thanksgiving, where
the prophet calls upon all the saints, and those that
fear God, to rejoice and give thanks unto God for his
preserving the church so wonderfully in the midst of
the world, in the midst of the kingdom of the devil,
and exposed to so many evils and perils on every
side, — to give thanks unto God, I say, who never
forsakes the godly, and those that fear him, when
tossed to and fro on such waves of temptation, nor
suffers them to be overwhelmed, nor to perish, though
conflicting in so perilous a manner.

God, says David, created the heaven and this
whole universe of things by his word. "He spake,
and they were made:" therefore he is omnipo
tent, and nothing is difficult to him : and hence he
can deliver his own from the midst of death, and

94 PSALM XXXIII.

from the midst of hell. And then, again, his good
ness and his truth are exceedingly great and infinite.
He regardeth and heareth the afflicted, he is ever
present with them in the hour of temptation : and, as
David says in another Psalm, " The Lord is nigh
unto them that are of a broken heart."

Therefore God is not only willing to help and suc
cour the godly, but to succour them even as a father
would his children ; even as that gracious promise
which is comprehended in the First Commandment,
declares " I am the Lord thy God : " that is, I
will be the Lord thy God: I will be thy life,
thy salvation, thy shield, thy defence, thy eternal
strength, thy eternal salvation, and consolation ; thy
eternal and infinite good, against all the evils that
can come upon thee : — For this is to be God !

In the first place, therefore, David proclaims with
great fulness of expression this unequalled wisdom
and power of God, — that God has in his hand all the
hearts and thoughts of all men, kings, rulers and
potentates throughout the whole world; that he turns
them and orders them just as he will ; that he
governs and overrules all their deliberations and
counsels, and directs them all according to his own
mind and pleasure. " The Lord (saith David) bringeth
the counsel of the heathen to nought:" that is, he
wonderfully breaks off and disappoints the counsels
of the wise, of the kings, of the potentates of this
world : and suddenly defeats all the attacks of the
enemies against his people and his church, how sure
soever of success they may appear, and he turns
all their destruction upon the heads of the enemies
themselves, so that ..they cannot perform their enter
prises nor accomplish the devices which they plot
against the righteous, but they fall themselves into

PSALM XXXIV. 95

the pits which they have digged, and there perish
and rot.

This is no small consolation to those that fear God,
amidst all that bitterness and Satanic cruelty which
the tyrants of this world execute against the godly,
when they fearfully threaten that they will fill all
things with blood if they do not deny Christ and his
gospel. These make no end of their threats, because
they are as if they would terrify God himself, and
hurl Christ down from the throne of his majesty.
Whereas God, all the while, holds in his power the
thoughts and imaginations of every one of them,
and also their life and the breath that is in their
nostrils: and therefore such are subverted and des
troyed in a moment before they have accomplished
their designs. Only meditate upon all the examples
of this since the beginning of the world. What
became of all the counsels of the people of Sodom
against Lot ? Where is that great monarch and
terror of the world, Sennacherib ? What (to come to
our own times) has become of Pope Leo X. and all
the other bitter enemies of the word ?

PSALM XXXIV.

David praiseth God, and exhorteth others thereto by his experience. —
They are blessed that trust in God.— He exhorteth to the fear of God.
— The privileges of the righteous.

A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech ;
who drove him away, and he departed.

I WILL bless the LORD at all times : his praise

shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make her boast in the LORD : the

humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

96 PSALM XXXIV.

0 magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his
name together.

1 sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered
me from all my fears.

They looked unto him, and were lightened ; and

their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and

saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encampeth round about

them that fear him, and delivereth them.
O taste and see that the LORD is good : blessed is

the man that trusteth in him.
O fear. the LORD, ye his saints : for there is no

want to them that fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger: but

they that seek the LORD shall not want any good

thing.
Come, ye children, hearken unto me, I will teach

you the fear of the LORD.
What man is he that desireth life, and loveth

many days, that he may see good ?
Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from

speaking guile.
Depart from evil, and do good, seek peace, and

pursue it.
The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and

his ears are open unto their cry.
The face of the LORD is against them that do evil,

to cut oft' the remembrance of them from the

earth.

The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and de
livereth them out of all their troubles.
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken

heart ; and saveth such as be of a contrite

spirit.

PSALM XXXIV. 97

Many are the afflictions of the righteous : but the

LORD delivereth him out of them all.
He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is

broken.
Evil shall slay the wicked ; and they that hate the

righteous shall be desolate.
The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants ; and

none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

THIS Psalm is a remarkable thanksgiving, and is
nearly of the same import with the preceding, as
the title of the Psalm, ami the sixth verse show :
for David here sets forth himself as an example and
proof before all the godly, to show, that God always
hears the prayers and supplications of the godly,
and them that believe, and does not despise the
sighings of the afflicted.

David here, after a majestic opening of the Psalm,
promises that he will set forth the sum of all godli
ness. " What man is he (saith the Psalmist) that
desireth life, and loveth many days. Keep thy
tongue from evil, &c." Here, he requires before all
things, the fear of the Lord, arid the worship of the
First Commandment : that, cleaving closely to the
word, we might avoid hypocrisy and lying doctrines,
and that we might truly trust in God, endure his
will, and not rebel or murmur against him. And
then, that we should live in peace with our neigh
bour, not rendering evil for evil, but blessing even
our adversaries and our enemies, and, as much as
in us lies, living in peace with all men, whether they
be good or evil.

For thus does the counsel of God stand, which
cannot be changed or altered, — that the saints should
live in affliction in this life. Wherefore, if thou
H

98 PSALM XXXIV.

wilt be a godly man, if thou wilt cleave unto God,
prepare thy soul (as David here saith) to tempta
tions, to the cross, and to afflictions : for thus it is
immutably decreed of God, (as he says again after
wards) " Many are the afflictions of the righteous."
And again, this firm and eternal counsel of God
stands also immutably fixed, — that it is God's will
to deliver the saints from all these evils, and so
wholly and faithfully so, that not even the least bone
of them shall perish : nay, in the resurrection, and
in glorification, every bone shall return to the body
with greater perfection than ever ; as Christ says in
his Gospel, " Even the very hairs of your head are
all numbered."

What then is this light and momentary tribulation,
in comparison with that eternal weight of glory,
which shall be revealed in us ? For although the
bones and members of the saints are, above all others,
cruelly scattered and broken, burnt in the fire, and
left to rot in graves ; yet, even though they be
thus sown in ignominy, they shall be raised in glory :
they shall be quickened again with all their limbs
and bodies ; and all their bones shall be restored ;
and the just shall shine like the sun in the kingdom
of their father. For that maddened and insatiable
fury of the devil, shall not be able to mangle the
bones of the saints, or so to extinguish the church as
that it shall be annihilated altogether. The death,
and the cruel bruising of the bones of the saints,
shall be temporary only : but their glorification in
God, shall be for ever and ever.

And observe, how remarkably this Psalm speaks
of the resurrection, and also concerning angels.
For this is the first Psalm which we have yet treated
on, that speaks of angels. This Psalm shows that

PSALM XXXV. 99

they are ministers and helpers to the saints, being
sent forth to minister unto them who shall be heirs
of salvation. David shows that they are not only
present with us, but that they most diligently and
unceasingly watch over us, and stand up for our
defence; that they encamp round about us, and fight
for us perpetually, as if in open battle, that they
may defend us against the horrible violence, and
infinite snares of Satan and his members. All
which things are the greatest consolation to the
godly, and them that believe.

This is all confirmed by the example of the pro
phet Elisha, 2 Kings vi. 16. when he said concern
ing the ministration of angels, " Fear not, for they
that be with us, are more than they that be with
them/' The prophet makes an allusion here, after
the manner of the prophets, who drew all their
matter from Moses, as it were from a fountain.
Moses says of Jacob, Gen. xxxii. when he feared
the cruelty and rage of his brother Esau, " And the
angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them,
he said, this is God's host." So it is said, that
angels came to Elisha, and encamped round about
him ; as we have it in the present Psalm.

PSALM XXXV.

David pTayeth for his own safety, and his enemies' confusion. — He coin-
plaineth of their wrongful dealing .—Thereby he inciteth God against
them.

A Psalm of David.

PLEAD my cause, O LORD, with them that strive
with me : fight against them that fight against
me.

H 2

100 PSALM XXXV.

Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for

mine help.
Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against

them that persecute me : say unto my soul, I am

thy salvation.
Let them be confounded and put to shame that

seek after my soul : let them be turned back and

brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
Let them be as chaff before the wind : and let the

angel of the Lord chase them.
Let their way be dark and slippery : and let the

angel of the LORD persecute them.
For without cause have they hid for me their net

in a pit, which without cause they have digged

for my soul.
Let destruction come upon him at unawares , and

let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into

that very destruction, let him fall.
And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall

rejoice in his salvation.
All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto

thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is

too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy

from him that spoileth him?
False witnesses did rise up ; they laid to my

charge things that I knew not.
They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of

my soul.

But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing
'was sackcloth : I humbled my soul with fasting ;

and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
I behaved myself as though he had been my friend

or brother : I bowed down heavily, as one that

mournethybr his mother.
But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered

PSALM XXXV. 101

themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered
themselves together against me, and I knew it
not ; they did tear me, and ceased not :

With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed
upon me with their teeth.

LORD, how long wilt thou look on ? rescue my soul
from their destructions, my darling from the
lions.

I will give thee thanks in the great congregation :
I will praise thee among much people.

Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully
rejoice over me : neither let them wink with the
eye that hate me without a cause.

For they speak not peace : but they devise deceit
ful matters against them that are quiet in the
land.

Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me,
and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.

This thou hast seen, O LORD : keep not silence :
O LORD, be not far from me.

Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even
unto my cause, my God and my Lord.

Judge me, O LORD my God, according to thy right
eousness ; and let them not rejoice over me.

Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we
have it : let them not say, We have swallowe^
him up.

Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion
together that rejoice at mine hurt : let them be
clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify
themselves against me.

Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour
my righteous cause : yea, let them say continu
ally, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath
pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.

102 PSALM XXXV.

And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness
and of thy praise all the day long.

THIS is a prayer wherein David complains bitterly
against those worst of all men who are found about
palaces, and who flatter kings and rulers, and, for
their own gain and advantage, tickle their ears with
adulation in order to please them ; and at the same
time, speak evil of the innocent, enflame the power
ful against the preachers and professors of the word
of God, endeavour to suppress the truth, and cause
awful injuries both to churches and to states. Thus
such characters as these traduced David before king
Saul, though they were men to whom David had
rendered the greatest services, for whom he had
often most fervently prayed, and in endeavouring to
save and protect whom he had brought upon him
self much misery and distress.

The matter of this Psalm may be a great consola
tion to us when we see the doctrines of truth and the
gospel of God to be hated and traduced before kings
and rulers, with the most impudent lies, and the
most virulent speeches of the enemies of true piety,
nay of every thing that is honest and becoming man.
Thus, a certain man, remarkable for the fear of God,
once told me that, at the tenth year of the August
Assembly, by the impudent and malicious report of
some present, nothing was talked about in the pope's
palace concerning Luther, but, ' that he denied the
Lord Christ, that he despised the Virgin Mary, and
contemptuously set aside baptism, the sacraments,
and all religion; and that he winked at theft, adul
tery, and other open sins, and permitted them to
pass by with impunity.' These forgers, however, of
this manifest lie were put to shame openly when

PSALM XXXVI. 103

Charles V. himself was present and heard me when
I made a confession of my doctrine ; and then also,
the devil, the father and fountain of lies, was himself
confuted. Thus are these wretches wont to traduce
the godly in this malicious manner, and to defame
them, while they themselves in the mean time enjoy
all the secular benefits of the gospel. Of this stamp
there are thousands before us in our day.

Hypocritical (or halting) mockers (saith David),
who halt between two desires, — who want to serve
both God and men, — conspire together against me.
For these when they have been raised at the expense
and loss of the godly, and have golden riches and
honours, trample those very godly ones under their
feet. Such ungrateful wretches as these are all
hypocrites and fanatical spirits, who serve not the
Lord or Christ but their own belly. And just such
now are all those who enjoy and squander all our
property, and persecute us into the bargain.

In a word, as it happened to Christ our head, so it
is now with the church and all who fear God. He
that eateth my bread, saith Christ, trampleth me
under foot, and that for the hire of thirty pieces of
silver. These are those hypocrites who consider
their own belly above every thing else, whose un
bounded and insatiable cruelty is ever raging against
those that fear God ; as David here complains.

PSALM XXXVI.

The grievous estate oftfie wicked. — The excellency of God's mercy. —
David prayeth for favour to God's children.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.

THE transgression of the wicked saith within my
heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.

104 PSALM XXXVI.

For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his

iniquity be found to be hateful.
The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit :

he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.
He deviseth mischief upon his bed ; he setteth

himself in a way that is not good ; he abhorreth

not evil.
Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens ; and thy

faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
Thy righteousness is like the great mountains ;

thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou

preservest man and beast.
How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God !

therefore the children of men put their trust

under the shadow of thy wings.
They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness

of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink

of the river of thy pleasures.
For with thee is the fountain of life : in thy light

shall we see light.
O continue thy loving-kindness unto them that

know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright

in heart.
Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let

not the hand of the wicked remove me.
There are the workers of iniquity fallen : they are

cast down, and shall not be able to rise.

THIS is a Psalm containing a very necessary doc
trine, and marks whereby heretics, false-teachers,
and fanatical spirits may be discovered. And in the
end he begs of God with a wonderful fervency that
he may be guarded against all these pestilences.
And after he had at the beginning of the Psalrn ex
actly described these characters in their own colours,

PSALM XXXVI. 105

he takes courage, in the middle, himself, and comforts
all those that fear God; and tells them, that, although
Satan by his instruments roars and rages against the
church, yet, that the word of God shall remain and
the kingdom of God stand unmoved, against all the
violence of Satan, and against the power of all the
kingdoms of the world.

" Thy righteousness (says David) is like the great
mountains: and thy judgments are a great deep;"
that is, as tthe rocks and mountains which God has
fixed, no power can overthrow ; — and as the great
deeps of the sea are inexhaustible, so, thy word O
Lord stands firm, and no human power can overthrow
or subvert the truth : and although all the gates of
hell and all the attempts of men and devils should
set themselves against thy word and will, yet with
thee is the fountain of life ; that is, in thy house,
where thou dwellest by the word in the midst of ene
mies: that fountain and river of life will still remain;
thatis,this wordof thine, whereby afflicted consciences
will be raised up and revived.

And here, if any where, the prophet expressively
describes those false teachers. 'SLe first of all breaks
out against such, with the most fervent zeal at the
beginning of the Psalm. ' Certainly, (saith he) if
there be any set of men, evil men, these are of all
the worst : for they are men of an abandoned impu
dence, virulent, and destitute of the fear of God,
and of faith in him ; they are secure despisers of
God and religion ; they are proud, arrogant, pre
cipitate, audacious, and prepared for every thing
that is bad/

In the next place, they approve and commend no
one but themselves. They hate all others most bit
terly, and traduce and defame them ; they excel in

106 PSALM XXXVI.

this one thing only, — in adorning and setting off
themselves, in using boasted self-praising words, in
contemptuously despising others, and in arro
gating to themselves only the spirit and worship of
God, and the appellation of the true church.

In the third place, their doctrines are most per
nicious, and filled with lies : for they fight against the
doctrine of faith and of grace, and deceive men by
their outside daubing, and their hypocrisy.

In the fourth place, they are rashly precipitate,
and will endure no monitor ; for they are harder
than any iron or any adamant: and if you do not
applaud all they say and all they do, they immedi
ately rage and make a tumult with all the fury of
Satan.

In the fifth place, they go out and diffuse their
doctrines as widely as possible ; and their speech,
as Paul saith, eateth like a canker. For, for the
most part, such men have an audacity above all
sincere and good men, and a determinate spirit to
accomplish all their own purposes ; and they are
restless, vehement, hot-headed, and so furiously and
wickedly aim at the accomplishment of their own
purposes, that you would think they would overturn
everything else.

And lastly, they hostilely persecute all those who
do not subscribe to their creed. And all these enor
mities they perpetrate with a wonderfully uncon
cerned and insensible security ; as if they were all
the time pleasing God and doing him service.

107

PSALM XXXVII.

David persuadeth to patience and confidence in God, by the different
estate of the godly and the wicked.

A Psalm of David.

FRET not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be

thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and

wither as the green herb.
Trust in the LORD, and do good : so shalt thou

dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Delight thyself also in the LORD ; and he shall

give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit thy way unto the LORD ; trust also in him,

and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the

light, and thy judgment as the noon day.
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him : fret

not thyself because of him who prospereth in his

way, because of the man who bringeth wicked

devices to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath ; fret not

thyself in any wise to do evil.
For evil-doers shall be cut off: but those that wait

upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be ;

yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and

it shall not be.
But the meek shall inherit the earth ; and shall

delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth

upon him with his teeth.

108 PSALM XXXVII.

The LORD shall laugh at him ; for he seeth that his

day is coming.
The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have

bent their bow, to cast down the poor and

needy, and to slay such as be of upright conver
sation.
Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and

their bows shall be broken.
A little that a righteous man hath is better than the

riches of many wicked.
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken : but

the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
The LO-RD knoweth the days of the upright ; and

their inheritance shall be for ever.
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time ; and

in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of

the LORD shall be as the fat of Lambs: they shall

consume, into smoke shall they consume away.
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again : but

the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the

earth ; and they that be cursed of him shall be

cut off.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD ;

and he delighteth in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down :

for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
I have been young, and now am old ; yet have I

not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed

begging bread.
He is ever merciful, and lendeth ; and his seed is

blessed.
Depart from evil, and do good ; and dwell for

evermore.

PSALM XXXVII. 109

For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not

his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the

seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell

therein for ever.
The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and

his tongue talketh of judgment.
The law of his God is in his heart ; none of his

steps shall slide.
The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to

slay him.

The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor con
demn him when he is judged.
Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall

exalt thee to inherit the land : when the wicked

are cut off, thou shalt see it.

have seen the wicked in great power, and spread
ing himself like a green bay-tree.
Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not : yea, I

sought him, but he could not be found.
Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright : for

the end of that man is peace.
But the transgressors shall be destroyed together :

the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD ;

he is their strength in the time of trouble.
And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them ;

he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save

them, because they trust in him.

THIS is a Psalm of consolation, which exhorts us to
patience in the world ; and shews us that we should
not be angry with, nor mutter against God, when we
see it to be well with evil men, and evilly with the
good. This indeed is often a cutting offence, and

110 PSALM XXXVII.

exceedingly galls the weak ones ; concerning which
also Habakkuk complains, chap. i. For when the
saints think that all things turn out prosperously and
successfully to the wicked, and all things adversely
and unsuccessfully to those that fear God, they
appear, as to human judgment, to be dealt hardly
with indeed.

We see an infinity of malice and ingratitude in the
world, and an extreme contempt of religion ; a con
tempt of all good learning, and of all virtue and
honesty. Of this we have examples sufficiently
manifest, in our time, among the powerful and noble
of this world, and also among citizens and peasants,
who all wish to have the liberty of doing what suits
their pleasure. To these impious despisers of the
word of God all things turn out prosperously : they
abound in riches, and they are raised to honours :
while those that fear God are afflicted with hunger
and nakedness, and are despised, derided, and con
temned. And moreover, they endure the most bitter
hatred of the devil and the world for the word's sake ;
they can scarcely breathe under their afflictions, and
they are often bound with fetters and imprisoned.
Here, not to give way to anger and indignation ; here,
not to turn epicureans and deny God, is a wisdom
beyond all that is human : is a wisdom that is alto
gether spiritual and divine.

The sum therefore of this Psalm is, — suffer ; that
is, learn patience. Every evil must be overcome by
bearing it with patience. Cast thy cares upon the
Lord. Do not murmur ; be not angry ; wish no ill to
the wicked. Leave the management and government
of all to God : he is a righteous judge. — This is the
all-necessary doctrine that is delivered to us in this
Psalm : a doctrine wholly unknown to the wise of

PSALM XXXVIII. Ill

this world. And here the Holy Spirit comforts the
godly in a various, and at the same time, most
fatherly and affectionate way ; and that with the
most great and gracious promises. And then, as an
example, I)avid himself says, " I have been young,
and now am old, yet saw I never the righteous for
saken/' And then he concludes with threatenings
against the wicked. But to show forth this patience
in the midst of so much malice and perverseness of
the world, is the power and operation of the Holy
Spirit only, and is found only in spiritual men : for
all human reason, and all the wise ones of the world,
cannot judge otherwise, than that it is unworthy of
God, and unjust, that it should be well with the evil,
and ill with the good.

PSALM XXXVIII.

David moveth God to take compassion of his pitiful case.
A Psalm of David to bring to remembrance.

0 LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath : neither
chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand

presseth me sore.
There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine

anger ; neither is there any rest in my bones

because of my sin.
For mine iniquities are gone over mine head : as

an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my

foolishness.

1 am troubled ; I am bowed down greatly ; I go
mourning all the day long.

112 PSALM XXXVIII.

For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease:
and there is no soundness in my flesh.

I am feeble and sore broken : I have roared by
reason of the disquietness of my heart.

LORD, all my desire w before thee ; and my groan
ing is not hid from thee.

My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for
the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.

My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my
sore ; and my kinsmen stand afar oft".

They also that seek after my life lay snares for
me ; and they that seek my hurt speak mischie
vous things, and imagine deceits all the day
long.

But I, as a deaf man, heard not ; and / was as a
dumb man that openeth not his mouth.

Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in
whose mouth are no reproofs.

For in thee, O LORD, do I hope : thou wilt hear,
O LORD my God.

For I said, Hear me ; lest otherwise they should
rejoice over me : when my foot slippeth, they
magnify themselves against me.

For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continu
ally before me.

For I will declare mine iniquity ; I will be sorry
for my sin.

But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong :
and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.

They also that render evil for good are mine adver
saries ; because I follow the thing that good is.

Forsake me not, O LORD : O my God, be not far
from me.

Make haste to help me, O LORD my salvation.

PSALM XXXVIII. 113

THIS is a fervent prayer to God, in which David
complains with wonderful groanings, that he is
stricken and bruised with the sense of his sin ; that
he is distressed and straitened in spirit under the
deepest sorrow ; and that he can see nothing and
feel nothing but wrath from heaven, and the terrible
lightnings, arrows, and threatenings of God ; and in
a word, death, and hell itself; and that this great
distress exhausts not only all the moisture, all the
strength, all the blood, and all the marrow of his
frame, but fills him with an unspeakable alarm and
perturbation, and makes him pant and sweat with
agony ; so that the intenseness of his feelings,
destroys the natural colour and appearance of his
face, and affects his whole body. For to feel in
reality the burthen of the conscience under a sense
of sin, is a distress and terror exceeding all other
distresses and terrors. And these deep temptations
of the godly are greatly increased by those wicked
ones without, who cease not to call them heretics,
seditious persons, and murderers. For these hypo
crites, while they boast in the teeth of the godly that
they are the true saints, and the true church, and
the real people of God, (and God in the meantime,
which is often the case, not bringing in help and
consolation) the godly are deeply grieved and af
flicted, as if God was their enemy because of their
sins.

But this Psalm teaches us constantly to hope for,
and expect the help and consolation of God, and
still to fight against all such hypocrites by prayer.
And the prophet, in the midst of the agonizing con
flict of this temptation, sustains and lifts up himself
by taking courage from the divine promise. And
here he maintains his cause, (which is not the cause
i

114 PSALM XXXIX.

of men but of God,) as a strong fortress against
Satan and his cause, and here again flows in the
consolation of faith, Sec. And so also we ought to
pray always, and in no temptation yield to sorrow
of mind, even though we are sinners, and though
Satan shakes us with the horrible terrors of sin : for
grace is stronger than sin !

PSALM XXXIX.

David's care of his thoughts. — The consideration of the brevity and
vanity of life, the reverence of God's judgments, and prayer, are his
bridles of impatience.

To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

I SAID, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not
with my tongue ; I will keep my mouth with a
bridle, while the wicked is before me.

I was dumb with silence : I held my peace, even
from good ; and my sorrow was stirred.

My heart was hot within me ; while I was musing
the fire burned : then spake I with my tongue,

LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure
of my days, what it is ; that I may know how
frail I am.

Behold, thou hast made my days as an hand-
breadth, and mine age is as nothing before thee :
verily every man at his best state is altogether
vanity. Selah.

Surely every man walketh in a vain shew ; surely
they are disquieted in vain ; he heapeth up
riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.

And now, LORD, what wait I for ? my hope is in
thee.

PSALM XXXIX. 115

Deliver me from all my transgressions ; make me

not the reproach of the foolish.
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth ; because

thou didst it.
Remove thy stroke away from me : I am consumed

by the blow of thine hand.
When thou with rebukes dost correct man for

iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume

away like a moth : surely every man is vanity.

Selah.
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my

cry ; hold not thy peace at my tears : for I am a

stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my

fathers were.
O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I

go hence, and be no more.

THIS is a consolatory Psalm, containing also a prayer
of the prophet, in which he prays that his mouth
may be bridled, that he might not break out into
blasphemy and murmuring when he sees the wicked
to prosper in the world, and most proudly to despise
God and his word, and to think of nothing but amas
sing riches, &c. ; and when he sees, on the contrary,
that the godly are afflicted with various temptations
without and within, and conflicting both with the
world and with the devil.

Rather (says he) teach me, O Lord, to know mine
end ; that is, that there will be an end to my life at
length ; that is, teach me to magnify the future,
which does not yet appear. Guard me from that
perilous security of the wicked in which they give
themselves up wholly to this world, and devote them
selves to coveting the things thereof, and to pride
and ambition, as if they should live here for ever.
12

H6 PSALM XXXIX.

For it is often a great vexation to the godly, and
indeed the prophets themselves complain of it, — that
the wicked and the evil abound in every kind of
luxury, wallow in all the pleasures of wine and
feasting, and live their whole lives in security,
strangers to trouble and affliction, while the godly
are afflicted, and tempted, and distressed both from
without and from within.

But the end shows that the godly are happy ;
and the wicked, with all their perishable happi
ness, truly miserable. Hence the prophet saith,
"And now, Lord, what is my expectation, (or what
wait I for?)" As if he had said, shall I be always
thus afflicted ! Shall I be utterly overwhelmed ?
Will these temptations continue to return upon us
for ever ? No ! (says he) the Lord is my expecta
tion : that is, I shall find in the end, after all these
temptations and death, an eternal life, a reconciled
God, the pardon of all my sins, and even in this
world, I shall not be forsaken. But the wicked,
after their short life, will find nothing but death, —
death eternal !

PSALM XL.

The benefit of confidence in God.— Obedience is the best sacrifice.— The
sense of David's evils infiameth his prayer.

To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David.

I WAITED patiently for the LORD ; and he inclined

unto me, and heard my cry.
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out

of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock,

and established my goings.
And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even

PSALM XL. 117

praise unto our God: many shall see it, and
fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his
trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as
turn aside to lies.

Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works
which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are
to us-ward : they cannot be reckoned up in
order unto thee : if I would declare and speak
of them, they are more than can be numbered.

Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire ; mine
ears hast thou opened : burnt offering and sin
offering hast thou not required.

Then said I, Lo, I come : in the volume of the
book it is written of me ;

I delight to do thy will, O my God : yea, thy law
is within my heart.

I have preached righteousness in the great congre
gation : lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD,
thou knowest.

I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart;
I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salva
tion : I have not concealed thy loving-kindness
and thy truth from the great congregation.

Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me,
O LORD : let thy loving-kindness and thy truth
continually preserve me.

For innumerable evils have compassed me about ;
mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so
that I am not able to look up : they are more
than the hairs of mine head : therefore my heart
faileth me.

Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD,
make haste to help me.

Let them be ashamed and confounded together

118 PSALM XL.

that seek after my soul to destroy it ; let them be
driven backward, and put to shame, that wish
me evil.

Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame,
that say unto me, Aha, aha !

Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in
thee: let such as love thy salvation say con
tinually, the Lord be magnified.

But I am poor and needy : yet the LORD thinketh
upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer;
make no tarrying, O my God.

THIS Psalm is a prophecy, and the voice of Christ
himself; where Christ himself says, that he was
heard in the midst of his sufferings, when crying and
groaning in the midst of the agony of death. And
it is also a beautiful example and consolation for
the whole church, and for all the members of Christ,
— that God will never forsake any of those that
believe in him, when agonizing in the same manner,
if they cry unto him, and call upon him in the midst
of the horrible pit and terrors of death.

The great prophet David, and others like him,
published forth Psalms of this kind, concerning the
greatest and most important things of Christ's king
dom and people : for the expectation of the Messiah
and of Christ, was a very important matter among
the people of God, and therefore David makes the
person of Christ himself speaking.

Christ here plainly says, that he is the one and
only person who fulfils the law, and does the will of
God. Here he excludes all others and their works.
" In the volume of the book (says he) it is written
of me." That is, the promise of blessing and grace,
that the seed of the woman should bruise the ser-

PSALM XLI. 119

pent's head, and that in the seed of Abraham
all the nations of the earth should be blessed, were
concerning me, &c." Thus he rejects and abrogates
the whole law, with all works, sacrifices, and forms
of worship ; because, by them, the will of God is
not fulfilled.

All our works and sacrifices, therefore, are re
jected. Christ here saith, that he is the sole and
only one who pleases God, and fulfils his will. By
these words, therefore, he promises the New Testa
ment ; where there is no righteousness of the law,
but the righteousness of faith, preached in the great
congregation: that is, in the whole world, in all
nations. There is no preaching of the righteousness
of the law, which only makes men proud pharisees
and hypocrites, who have not their hope fixed in
God, or in the promise of grace, but in their own
righteousness, false holiness, and legal hypocrisy.

PSALM XLI.

God's care of the poor. — David complaineth of his enemies' treachery.
— Hefieeth to God for succour.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

BLESSED is he that considereth the poor: the
LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive ;
and he shall be blessed upon the earth : and
thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his
enemies.

The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of
languishing : thou wilt make all his bed in
bis sickness.

120 PSALM XLI.

I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my
soul ; for I have sinned against thee.

Mine enemies speak evil of me ; when shall he
die, and his name perish ?

And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity : his
heart gathereth iniquity to itself; whenhe goeth
abroad, he telleth it.

All that hate me whisper together against me :
against me do they devise my hurt.

An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him :
and MOW that he lieth, he shall rise up no more.

Yea, mine own familiar friend in whom I trusted,
which did eat of my bread, hath lift up his heel
against me.

But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise
me up, that I may requite them.

By this I know that thou favourest me, because
mine enemy doth not triumph over me.

And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine in
tegrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.

Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, from everlast
ing, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.

THIS Psalm is a prophecy; where, after the manner of
the Psalms, Christ himself speaks, and with a won
derful feeling, complains of his domestic traitor Judas,
and of those cruel dogs which vented their fury on the
poor; by which dogs, he means those that crucified
him. He prays that God would judge his cause, and
set him before his face : that is, that God his father
would comfort him in his suffering, and raise him
from the dead; that, being exalted, through the cross
and death, to the right hand of God, he might be
glorified with eternal life and victory.

This is a great and unspeakable consolation to all
the godly; where, in the fourth verse, the Son saith,

PSALM XLII. 121

" heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee." He
confesses himself to be a sinner before God his
Father, whereas he was without sin, and no guile
was found in his mouth. Here, therefore, he stands
as our priest, as a victim and sacrifice for sin, bearing
and suffering for our sins, as if they were his ; and
he bore the guilt of them.

In the beginning of the Psalm he comprehends
the sum of the whole matter, in a very powerful
expression. " Blessed (saith he) are they who con
sider the poor and needy : " that is, blessed, yea,
eternally blessed are they, who are not offended at
the once weak, crucified, and condemned Christ, but
who believe the Gospel. For the preaching of the
cross is to the Gentiles foolishness, and to the Jews
a stumbling-block. And it is the greatest of all
offences to the world to preach, teach, or confess,
that the once poor, crucified, and condemned Christ,
now sits at the right hand of the divine Majesty, and
that he is on high, the Lord of all, both in this
world, and that which is to come. For with this
Christ, that people of the Jews were so offended, and
they so ran upon and stumbled on this rock of
offence, that, to this day, they remain cast out and
scattered, and wander about over all the face of the
earth, without a priesthood, and without a kingdom !

PSALM XLII.

David's zeal to serve God in the temple. He encowageth his soul to

trust in God.

To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Koran.

As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so
panteth my soul after thee, O God.

122 PSALM XLII.

My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God : when
shall I come and appear before God ?

My tears have been my meat day and night, while
they continually say unto me, Where i* thy
God?

When I remember these tilings, I pour out my soul
in me : for I had gone with the multitude, I went
with them to the house of God, with the voice
of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept
holyday.

Why art thou cast down, O my soul ? And why
art thou disquieted in me ? Hope thou in God :
for I shall yet praise him for the help of his
countenance.

0 my God, my soul is cast down within me :
therefore will I remember thee from the land of
Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill
Mizar.

Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy water
spouts ; all thy waves and thy billows are gone
over me.

Yet the LORD will command his loving-kindness
in the day-time, and in the night his song shall
be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my
life.

1 will say unto God my rock, why hast thou for
gotten me ? Why go I mourning because of the
oppression of the enemy ?

As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies re
proach me ; while they say daily unto me, where
is thy God ?

WThy art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art
thou disquieted within me ; hope thou in God :
for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of
my countenance and my God.

PSALM XL 1 1. 123

THIS is an ardent prayer to God ; evincing an ex
ceeding greatness of spiritual feeling, and an un
utterable groaning of the Spirit. Under this simi
litude of a hart, at the beginning of the Psalm, the
Psalmist describes his feelings in the hour of tempt
ation, when he was wholly immersed in the extreme
of distress, and absorbed in tears. For in that hour
of darkness, the God of life, and peace, and light,
and consolation, is not seen ; but the sun of all com
fort is hidden as it were behind a cloud. Then the
hearts of the thus tempted feel nothing but an angry
God, and a cruel avenger ; and Satan increases these
dismal views of misery to a wonderful extent. To
these things, moreover, are often added the blas
phemies of those who make derision of the afflicted,
and assail them with the taunt, " Where is now thy
God ! " — For the world and the ungodly cannot
contain themselves, when they see the saints in
calamities ; they cannot refrain from taunting and
deriding them ; from aggravating the distresses of
these godly ones, and from exclaiming, in their
bitterly-cutting triumph, ' They hoped in God that he
would deliver them. Where is now their delivering
God ? Where is now their Christ they talk so much
about ? This is just how such heretics ought to be
served/ For these wicked creatures judge according
to the flesh and blind reason ; and imagine, that
affliction is a certain sign of divine anger against
the saints. On the other hand, they boast of their
own afflictions, or any slight adversities which they
may meet with, as sufferings for the Lord's name
sake, and as martyrdoms and sorrows endured for
their apostolic innocence. For those perverse and
virulent wretches, those blind leaders of the blind,
though they know, yet will not know, that God thus

124 PSALM XLIII.

chastens his saints, that he may afterwards comfort
them ; but not that he may forsake, destroy, or con
demn them.

The Psalmist desires, with the greatest fervency
of heart, to come unto the house of the Lord, and
into the congregation of those that sing and rejoice ;
to keep holy the sabbath, to celebrate the name of
the Lord, and to see the face of the Lord ; that is,
he has an ardent desire to hear the word of the
Lord, that he might thereby be lifted up and re
freshed ; being well nigh consumed in such a fiery
heat of temptation and distress. The house of the
Lord is where the word of God, and the promise of
grace are preached. And by u the face of God/' he
means the presence of God ; where God, by his
word, reveals himself, and his will, and grace, and
gives the knowledge of them unto men. This he
calls in another place ' God's turning, (not his back
but) his face towards us.'

PSALM XLIII.

David praying to be restored to the temple, promiseth to serve God
joyfully. — He encourageth his soul to trust in God.

JUDGE me, O God, and plead my cause against an

ungodly nation : O deliver me from the deceitful

and unjust man.
For thou art the God of my strength : why dost

thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of

the oppression of the enemy ?
O send out thy light and thy truth : let them lead

me ; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and

to thy tabernacles.

PSALM XLIV. 125

Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God
my exceeding joy : yea, upon the harp will I
praise thee, O God, my God.

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art
thou disquieted within me? hope in God : for I
shall yet praise him, who is the health of my
countenance, and my God.

THIS Psalm is of the same purport as the preceding;
and David uses almost the same expressions. He
desires to go into the house of God in the light and
truth of God : that is, he desires to be comforted,
under his distress and temptation, by the word of
God.

PSALM XLIV.

The church, in memory of former favours, complaineth of their present
evils. — Professing her integrity, she fervently prayeth for succour.

To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil.

WE have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers
have told us, what work thou didst in their days,
in the times of old.

How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy
hand, and plantedst them ; how thou didst afflict
the people, and cast them out.

For they got not the land in possession by their
own sword, neither did their own arm save them:
but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light
of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour
unto them.

Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances
for Jacob.

Through thee will we push down our enemies :

126 PSALM XLIV.

through thy name will we tread them under that

rise up against us.
For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my

sword save me.
But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast

put them to shame that hated us.
In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy

name for ever. Selah.
But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame ; and

goest not forth with our armies.
Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy ; and

they which hate us spoil for themselves.
Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat ;

and hast scattered us among the heathen.
Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not

increase thy wealth by their price.
Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a

scorn and a derision to them that are round

about us.
Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a

shaking of the head among the people.
My confusion is continually before me, and the

shame of my face hath covered me,
For the voice of him that reproacheth and blas-

phemeth ; by reason of the enemy and avenger.
All this is come upon us ; yet have we not forgot
ten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy

covenant.
Our heart is not turned back, neither have our

steps declined from thy way ;
Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of

dragons, and covered us with the shadow of

death.
If we have forgotten the name of our God, or

stretched out our hands, to a strange God ;

PSALM XLIV. 127

Shall not God search this out ? for he knoweth the

secrets of the heart.
Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long ;

we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
Awake, why sleepest thou, O LORD ? arise, cast us

not off for ever.
Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our

affliction and our oppression?
For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly

cleaveth unto the earth.
Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies'

sake.

THIS is a prayer of the whole people of God ; and it
is offered up in the person of all the saints ; especially
of those under the New Testament, whom you here
find to be complaining that they are cruelly slaugh
tered and slain by the wicked nations, by the ungodly
men, and by tyrants. For God delivers his saints
into the hands of men, as if he had rejected them, or
utterly forgotten them. Whereas, he glorified the
patriarchs of old, and all those his people from the
beginning, by mighty works and miracles in the sight
of the nations that opposed them. And indeed all
the saints maintain, not their own cause, but God's ;
and seek, not their own glory, but his : and yet for
this very just and holy cause, and for no other reason,
nor any other crime, they are thus torn and slaugh
tered by exile, by the spoiling of their goods, and, in
a word, by death ; and are as cruelly treated in the
world, as if they were the most wicked of all men,
and a mere set of vagabonds and murderers.

In a word, this Psalm is a sighing and groaning of
spirit against the weakness of the flesh ; which flesh,
even in the saints, murmurs against God, because he

128 PSALM XLV.

governs the world with such an appearance of injus
tice ; and is in appearance, an unjust judge, permit
ting the saints to be afflicted whom he ought to sup
port and comfort, and promoting and exalting the
wicked whom he ought to overthrow.

PSALM XLV.

The majesty and grace of Christ's kingdom.— The duty of the church, and
the benefits thereof.

To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah,
Maschil. A Song of Loves.

MY heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the

things which I have made touching the king :

my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
Thou artffairer than the children of men : grace is

poured into thy lips : therefore God hath blessed

thee for ever.
Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty,

with thy glory and thy majesty.
And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of

truth and meekness and righteousness ; and thy

right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's

enemies ; whereby the people fall under thee.
Thy throne, O God, is for and ever and ever: the

sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness:

therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with

the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and

cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they

have made thee glad.
Kings' daughters were among thy honourable

PSALM XLV. 129

women : upon thy right hand did stand the

queen in gold of Ophir.
Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline

thine ear ; forget also thine own people, and thy

father's house ;
So sliall the king greatly desire thy beauty : for he

is thy Lord; and worship thou him.
And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift ;

even the rich among the people shall intreat thy

favour.
The king's daughter is all glorious within: her

clothing is of wrought gold.
She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of

needlework : the virgins her companions that

follow her shall be brought unto thee.
With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought:

they shall enter into the king's palace.
Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom

thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
I will make thy name to be remembered in all

generations : therefore shall the people praise

thee for ever and ever.

THIS is a prophecy concerning the gospel and king
dom of Christ; and it describes, in many rich and
sweet figures and expressions, the spouse of Christ,
the church. It describes also Christ, going forth in
all his regal pomp; having all royal gifts, a manly
and regal form, suavity and grace of speech, a war
rior's armour, the splendour of regal dress, and suc
cess in war against his enemies, &c. ; and also as
possessing all kingly virtues, — righteousness, cle
mency, &c.

And moreover that he may set the kingdom of
Christ before our eyes in its sweetest appearance,
K

130 PSALM XLVI.

the Psalmist describes him as having palaces and
houses of ivory ; a queen, and her attendant virgins ;
and sons and daughters. All these things are to be
understood of the spiritual kingdom of Christ and
the church, where Christ is a King, powerful, wise,
just, gracious, and victorious; and moreover, a con
queror triumphant; and also rejoicing, preserving,
comforting and enriching his own, against sin, the
law, and death, &c.

And David here clearly foretels that the law of the
Old Testament should be abrogated. " Hearken
(says he) O daughter, and incline thine ear, forget
also thy father's house: (here he seems to glance at
the synagogue): so shall the King have pleasure in
thy beauty, and thou shalt worship him;" showing,
that there is no true God out of Christ ; and ascribing
unto Christ truly divine honour; namely, that of the
first and great precept, — that is, adoration. And in
the sixth and seventh verses, he plainly calls him
God : thus making him an eternal king, the founda
tion of whose throne is in righteousness : who justi
fies all that believe in him, and takes away sin, and
destroys death and hell. And no one can be an
eternal king that dies not, but he that is truly and
naturally God !— of which we have spoken at large
elsewhere, in our more full commentary on the 45th
Psalm.

PSALM XLVI.

The confidence which the church hath in God. — An exhortation to
behold it.

To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah. A song upon Alamoth.

GOD is our refuge and strength, a very present

help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be

PSALM XL VI. 131

removed, and though the mountains be carried
into the midst of the sea ;

Though the waters thereof roar, and be troubled,
though the mountains shake with the swelling
thereof. Selah.

There is a river, the streams whereof shall make
glad the city of God, the holy place of the taber
nacle of the most high.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved :
God shall help her, and that right early.

The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved : he
uttered his voice, the earth melted.

The LORD of hosts is with us ; the God of Jacob is
our refuge. Selah.

Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desola
tions he hath made in the earth.

He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth ;
he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in
sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

Be still, and know that I am God : I will be exalt
ed among the heathen, I will be exalted in the
earth.

The LORD of hosts is with us ; the God of Jacob is
our refuge. Selah.

THIS is a thanksgiving which the people of Israel
sang, at that time, for their divine blessings, and
miraculous deliverances, because God had power
fully defended Jerusalem, situated in the midst of
hostile nations and enemies, and guarded it against
all opposing kings, and against all the snares and
hostile attempts of the surrounding nations ; and had
preserved it in peace against all the furious counsels
of war and bloodshed. Hence, after the manner of
the scriptures, David calls all that present flourishing

K 2

132 PSALM XLVII.

state of his kingdom's affairs, the river of God, whose
streams should never be dry ; which was but a small
rivulet, in comparison of the great streams and tor
rents of the sea by which he was surrounded, (that
is, by those immense kingdoms and islands of the
nations, and Gentile kings,) which although they
were great, would yet, one day, dry up and disappear,
while the river of God should endure for ever.

We sing this Psalm to the praise of God, because
God is with us, and powerfully and miraculously
preserves and defends his church and his word,
against all fanatical spirits, against the gates of
hell, against the implacable hatred of the devil, and
against all the assaults of the world, the flesh, and
sin. So that our little river remains a living foun
tain ; whilst so many heresies, so many tyrants and
their doctrines, as so many stinking sewers and
sinks, are dispersed, like broken cisterns, and dis
appear, and are lost for ever.

PSALM XLVII.

The nations are exhorted cheerfully to entertain the kingdom of Christ,
To the chief Musician. A Psalm for the sons of Korah.

O CLAP your hands all ye people; shout unto God
with the voice of triumph.

For the LORD most high is terrible ; he is a great
King over all the earth.

He shall subdue the people under us, and the
nations under our feet.

He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excel
lency of Jacob, whom he loved. Selah.

God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the
sound of a trumpet.

PSALM XLVIII. 133

Sing praises to God, sing praises ; sing praises unto

our King, sing praises.
For God it the King of all the earth : sing ye

praises with understanding.
God reigneth over the heathen : God sitteth upon

the throne of his holiness.
The princes of the people are gathered together,

even the people of the God of Abraham : for the

shields of the earth belong unto God : he is

greatly exalted.

THIS is a prophecy concerning Christ; describing the
manner of his ascension on high, and showing that
he should be King over all. " Sing praises, sing
praises unto our King/' (saith he) ; thereby shewing,
that this kingdom of Christ should not be one of that
kind that stands in the power of arms, but in the
word of praise, and in the singing of thanksgivings.
As if he had said, This king, by the word of the
gospel only, which is the word of praise and thanks
giving, shall destroy all the power of the adversaries,
— the world, and Satan ; as the walls of Jericho fell
down by the sound of trumpets only, without sword
or arms !

PSALM XLVIII.

The ornaments and privileges of the church.
A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah .

GREAT is the LORD and greatly to be praised, in the
city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.

Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth,
is mount Zion ; on the sides of the north the city
of the great king.

134 PSALM XLV1II.

God is known in her palaces for a refuge.

For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by

together.
They saw it, and so they marvelled ; they were

troubled, and hasted away.
Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a

woman in travail.
Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east

wind.
As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of

the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God : God

will establish it for ever. Seiah.
We have thought of thy loving-kindness, O God,

in the midst of thy temple.
According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise

unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full

of righteousness.
Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah

be glad, because of thy judgments.
Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the

towers thereof.
Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces >

that ye may tell it to the generation following.
For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will

be our guide even unto death.

THIS is a thanksgiving almost like Psalm xlvi. For
the Psalmist praises God, and magnifies and extols
his works, because he had so marvc lously defended
the city of Jerusalem against the .neighbouring na
tions, and against kings and tyrants; and because
he had often delivered it when besieged by the most
bitter and the most powerful enemies; while those
enemies themselves were driven back in a wonderful
manner, and put to open shame; and because he had

PSALM XLIX. 135

saved it from infinite perils and destructions, in defi
ance of the very gates of hell ; and had preserved the
city, the temple, the word, and the worship of God.

But, more especially, David is here celebrating
the truth of God ;— that God faithfully fulfils his
promise ; ' According to thy name, (saith he) so is
thy glory, and so are thy works unto the ends of the
earth :' that is, according as thou hast promised us,
"I will be your God," and accordingly as we have
believed that word, so hast thou given us to experi
ence the fulfilment of it ; — thou hast been with us,
and delivered and defended us ; our city and our
temple stand in the midst of enemies, as if in the
midst of flames, preserved and unhurt.

We sing this Psalm, because God is pleased to
preserve his church and gospel against the roaring
and hatred of kings and princes ; who cease not from
attacking them by violence and craft with all their
might: and yet, they shall perish and be confounded,
and covered with shame, while the gospel shall re
main as it was before, unhurt and unhindered.

PSALM XLIX.

An earnest persuasion to build the faith of resurrectiort, not on worldly
power, but on God. — Worldly prosperity is not to be admired.

To the chief Musician. A Psalm for the sons of Korah.

HEAR this, all ye people ; give ear, all ye inhabit
ants of the world.

Both low and high, rich and poor together.

My mouth shall speak of wisdom ; and the medi
tation of my heart shall be of understanding.

I will incline mine ear to a parable; I will open
my dark saying upon the harp.

136 PSALM XLIX.

Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil,
when the iniquity of my heels shall compass
me about?

They that trust in their wealth, and boast them
selves in the multitude of their riches.

None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
nor give to God a ranson for him.

(For the redemption of their soul is precious, and
it ceaseth for ever.)

That he should still live for ever, and not see cor
ruption.

For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool
and the brutish person perish, and leave their
wealth to others.

Their inward thought is, that their houses shall con
tinue for ever, and their dwelling-places to all
generations : they call their lands after their own
names.

Nevertheless, man being in honour, abidetli not :
he is like the beasts that perish.

This their way is their folly : yet their posterity
approve their sayings. Selah.

Like sheep they are laid in the grave ; death shall
feed on them ; and the upright shall have domi
nion over them in the morning : and their beauty
shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

But God will redeem my soul from the power of
the grave ; for he shall receive me. Selah.

Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when
the glory of his house is increased.

For, when he dieth, he shall carry nothing away ;
his glory shall not descend after him.

Though, while he lived, he blessed his soul : (and
men will praise thee when thou doest well to
thyself.)

PSALM XLIX. 137

He shall go to the generation of his fathers ; they

shall never see light.
Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is

like the beasts that perish.

THIS is a Psalm that instructs us unto faith, and
teaches us to trust in God against that great god of
this world, who is called Mammon. David here
gives a long and striking introduction to the Psalm,
that he may excite and wholly arrest our attention.
He here sharply rebukes all who trust in the riches
and wealth of this world ; concerning whom Christ
also severely says, " Woe unto you that are rich, for
ye have received your consolation." Luke vi. 24.

" The love of money, (saith Paul,) is the root of all
evil;" and yet the whole world leave the true God
and worship this idol ; and are actuated more and
more with the furious desire of getting wealth. All
men, from the least to the greatest, except those that
fear God, are in pursuit of money. Hence it is,
that all the prophets exclaim, " For from the least
of them, even unto the greatest of them, every one is
given to coveteousness," Jeremiah vi. 13, And hence
also have arisen all those proverbs and trite sayings
of the poets among the Greeks and Latins. ' All
things give way to money,' — money is the first thing
to be sought after ; virtue is a secondary consider
ation/

But all such admirers of, and slaves to riches are
pointed at and exposed in this Psalm ; as are also
all those who trust in their wealth, nothing of which
they can take with them when they die. And here
also true faith is highly extolled ; by which we trust
in God, who can deliver us from death, and give us
eternal life and salvation. And death is the time

138 PSALM L.

when not only gold, but all creatures put together,
cannot save and deliver a man !

PSALM L.

The majesty of God in the church. — His order to gather saints. — The
pleasure of God is not in ceremonies, but in sincerity of obedience.

A Psalm of Asaph.

THE mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and

called the earth from the rising of the sun unto

the going down thereof.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath

shined.
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence :

a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be

very tempestuous round about him.
He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the

earth, that he may judge his people.
Gather my saints together unto me; those that have

made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
And the heavens shall declare his righteousness :

for God is judge himself. Selah.
Hear, O my people, and I will speak ; O Israel,

and I will testify against thee : I am God, even

thy God.
I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy

burnt offerings, to have been continually before

me.

I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-
goats out of thy folds.
For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle

upon a thousand hills.
I know all the fowls of the mountains : and the

wild beasts of the field are mine.

PSALM L. 139

If I were hungry I would not tell thee : for the

world i.v mine, and the fulness thereof.
Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of

goats ?
Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows

unto the most high.
And call upon me in the day of trouble : I will

deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to

do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest

take my covenant in thy mouth ?
Seeing thou hatest instruction, and easiest my

words behind thee.
When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst

with him, and hast been partaker with adul
terers.
Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue

frameth deceit.
Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother :

thou slanderest thine own mother's son.
These things hast thou done, and 1 kept silence ;

thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one

as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them

in order before thine eyes.
Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear

you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me : and to him

that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew

the salvation of God.

THIS Psalm teaches us, in the teeth of all hypocrites
and all the worship of hypocrites, what is true
worship, and which are acceptable sacrifices in the
sight of God. For hypocrites consider their works,
and merits, and sacrifices as of such high value, that

140 PSALM LI.

they think GOD ought to acknowledge the benefit of
their services ; and they imagine that he has need of
them. Whereas, on the contrary, the Holy Spirit
declares with a loud voice by the prophets, what the
true worship of God is ; namely, that of the First
Commandment: which is, to worship God, and adore
him ; and to acknowledge that we receive all things
from his hand, and that all glory is due to him !

Observe, therefore, — there is here clearly expressed,
in the plainest words, what is the highest worship of
God ; and what sacrifice is the most acceptable to
him. And we are here briefly told, that the true
way and road to God is, to call upon him in the day
of trouble, and give him thanks for the infinite bene
fits 'twhich we receive from him ; (as the last verse
here sings ;) for this is truly to " pay our vows unto
God, and to offer unto him thanksgiving/' (as the
14th verse saith.) These are not those foolish
monastic vows, and the like ; but that highest of all
vows, which the Decalogue and the First Command
ment require; where it saith, "To-day have ye
vowed unto the Lord your God : he will be your
God : " that is, ye are made the people of God, that
ye may have him for your God ; and that ye may
truly believe in him, call upon him, and cleave
unto him alone. Of this those foolish hypocrites and
self-imagined saints know nothing whatever.

PSALM LI.

David prayeth for remission of sins, whereof he maketh a deep con
fession.— He prayeth for sanctification.— God deliyhteth not in sacri
fice but in sincerity . — He prayeth for the church.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet
came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.

PSALM LI. 141

HAVE mercy upon rae, O God, according1 to thy
loving-kindness: according unto the multitude
of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and
cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions : and my sin
is ever before me.

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done
Mi* evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be
justified when thou speakest, and be clear when
thou judgest.

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity ; and in sin did
my mother conceive me.

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts :
and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to
know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean : wash
me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me to hear joy and gladness ; that the bones
which thou hast broken may rejoice.

Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine
iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God ; and 'renew a
right spirit within me.

Cast me riot away from thy presence ; and take
not thy holy spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and up
hold me with thy free spirit.

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways ; and sin
ners shall be converted unto thee.

Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou
God of my salvation : and my tongue shall sing-
aloud of thy righteousness.

O LORD, open thou my lips ; and my mouth shall
shew forth thy praise.

142 PSALM LI.

For thou desirest not sacrifice ; else would I give

it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken

and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not

despise.
Do good in thy good pleasure nnto Zion : build

thou the walls of Jerusalem.
Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of

righteousness, with burnt offering and whole

burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks

upon thine altar.

THIS, among all the Psalms, is a signal and golden
one. It contains experiences and feelings truly
Davidical ; and teaches us what sin is, what the
origin of sin is, and how great and awful an
evil the fall of Adam was. And also, (which is an
excellent part of it indeed,) it shows us how we ob
tain the remission of sins. For in this Psalm, we
have it clearly expressed, that sin is a great and
innate evil, and an awful depravation and corruption
of nature, in all the powers both of soul and body.
Unless, therefore, we are born again by faith in
Christ, and are renewed in spirit and made new
creatures of God, the sense of the loss of God and of
eternal life and salvation is so heavy a burthen, and
the power of sin and the sting of death so great,
that the conscience is shaken with unspeakable dis
tress and terror ; and the anguish that lakes hold on
it drinks up the very marrow, and bruises and breaks
the very inmost bones, until the word of grace and
of the Spirit again raises us up and refreshes us ; as
David here says, " That the bones which thou hast
broken may rejoice.

But in hearts that are purified and renewed by the

PSALM LI. 143

Spirit, there is a new light shining; there are new
motions and spiritual affections; a sure rest and
peace of conscience; a true and full assurance of
salvation ; a fervent and lively joy of spirit ; a re
joicing in God and a peace with him ; a heart full of
thanksgiving, and a patience under afflictions. Hence
those that fear God, those that are born again, if
they are at a point concerning the good will of God
towards them, are those who can rightly teach and
instruct others unto godliness. " Then (says David)
will I teach transgressors thy ways;" then will I
teach them to call upon and praise the name of the
Lord, and to give thanks unto him ; and in a word,
to worship and adore God truly and aright, to bear
patiently the cross and afflictions, and to offer great
and glorious sacrifices ; (for that is the way in which
he here expresses himself, calling "a broken and
a contrite heart " the favourite sacrifice of God;)
for that is the highest and most excellent worship of
God : and he rejects, in plain words, all sacrifices
which are offered by hypocrites without that sacri
fice ; which sacrifices of theirs they consider to be
the highest acts of worship.

In concluding the Psalm, David begs of God that
he would be pleased to build and preserve the city of
Jerusalem; that is, the place of the word and the
true worship of God. In the same manner, we ought
also to pray. " Do good unto Zion, O Lord : " that
is, ' O Lord, thou seest the virulent hatred of hypo
crites : Do thou, O Lord, preserve the true church,
and the true worship of God in it ; that is, the wor
ship of the First Commandment. Confound all those
who boast of their good works and sacrifices, and
who neglect faith towards God, and trample under
foot the First Commandment. But preserve and

144 PSALM LII.

comfort those who adore thee in truth, serve thee,
and sacrifice unto thee in the spirit.

PSALM LII.

David, condemning the. spitefulness of Doeg, prophesieth his destruction.

— The righteous shall rejoice at it. — David, upon his confidence in God's

mercy, giveth thanks.
To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the

Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to

the house of Ahimelech.

WHY boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty
man? the goodness of God endureth continually.

Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs, like a sharp razor,
working deceitfully.

Thou lovest evil more than good, and lying rather
than to speak righteousness. Selah.

Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful
tongue.

God shall likewise destroy thee for ever : he shall
take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwel
ling-place, and root thee out of the land of the
living. Selah.

The righteous also shall see, and fear and shall
laugh at him :

Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength ;
but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and
strengthened himself in his wickedness.

But I am like a green olive-tree in the house of
God : I trust in the mercy of God for ever and
ever.

I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done
it : and I will wait on thy name ; for it is good
before thy saints.

PSALM LIII. 145

THIS is a Psalm of consolation ; and the title of it
shows plainly what are its contents. David is here
complaining of Doeg who betrayed him, and who
was the cause of much hurt and bloodshed. 1 Sam.
xxii.

This Doeg furnishes a type of all those betrayers
and blood-shedding hypocrites who are in the halls
of kings and princes ; and who lyingly, and with
hatred, traduce the word of God and the doctrine of
truth : of which stamp there are now numbers rising
up on every side, who irritate and urge on kings
and princes to slay the sincere ministers of the
word : such as those in our time, who kill many
good men on account of the sacraments and mar
riage, and make no end of shedding the blood of
God's Abels.

Against the furious cruelty of these men, there
fore, this Psalm comforts the godly ; and promises
them, that such shall not go unpunished, but shall
fall under those awful curses mentioned in Deut.
xxviii : — that they shall be rooted out of the earth ;
that their houses shall be destroyed ; and that they
shall lose both their bodies and their estates ; but,
that those who fear God shall be preserved ; that
they shall remain in the house of the Lord ; and that
they shall persevere in teaching and hearing the word
of God, in defiance of the devil and all the wicked.

PSALM LIII.

David describeth the corruption of a natural man.—Heconvinceth the
wicked by the light of their own conscience.— He ylorieth in the salva
tion of God.

To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil. A Psalm of

David.

L

146 PSALM LIII.

THE fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
Corrupt are they, and have done abominable
iniquity : there is none that doeth good.

God looked down from heaven upon the children
of men, to see if there were any that did under
stand, that did seek God.

Every one of them is gone back ; they are alto
gether become filthy : there is none that doeth
good, no, not one.

Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge ? who
eat up my people as they eat bread : they have
not called upon God.

There were they in great fear where no fear was ;
for God hath scattered the bones of him that
encampeth against thee : thou hast put them to
shame, because God hath despised them.

Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of
Zion ! When God bringeth back the captivity
of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel
shall be glad.

THIS Psalm is a prophecy like that of Psalm xiv ;
and it is a Psalm of instruction. The two Psalms
are of the same purport, and contain almost the
same words and expressions. In a word, they both
cut at hypocrites and self-justifiers, who persecute
the sound doctrine and its preachers ; and at the
close they give a prophetic declaration concerning
the gospel, and the kingdom of Christ which should
proceed out of Zion.

147

PSALM LIV.

David, complaining of the Ziphims, prayeth for salvation. Upon hit
confidence in God's help he promiseth sacrifice.

To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when
the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Both not David hide himself
with us.

SAVE me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by

thy strength.
Hear my prayer, O God ; give ear to the words of

my mouth.

For strangers are risen up against me, and op
pressors seek after my soul : they have not set

God before them. Selah.
Behold, God is mine helper : the LORD is with

them that uphold my soul.
He shall reward evil unto mine enemies : cut them

off in thy truth.
I will freely sacrifice unto thee ; I will praise thy

name, O LORD, for it is good.
For he hath delivered me out of all trouble ; and

mine eye hath seen Ms desire upon mine enemies.

THIS is a fervent prayer against the persecutors of
the word, who lay plots against the lives of the good,
and those that fear God, for the word of God's sake ;
just like king Saul and the people of Ziph, who lay
in wait for the life of David, on account of the name
and word of God, by which Saul was to be dethroned
and David made king in his stead. David, there
fore, prays, that the vengeance of God might over
take such cruelty and malice.

L 2

148

PSALM LV.

Davivd in his prayer complaineth of his fearful case.— He prayeth
against his enemies, of whose wickedness and treachery he complaineth.
— He comforteth himself in God's preservation of him, and confusion
of his enemies.

To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil. A Psalm of David.

GIVE ear to ray prayer, O God ; and hide not thy
self from my supplication.
Attend unto me, and hear me : I mourn in my

complaint, and make a noise ;
Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the

oppression of the wicked : for they cast iniquity

upon me, and in wrath they hate me.
My heart is sore pained within me ; and the terrors

of death are fallen upon me.
Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and

horror hath overwhelmed me.
And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove ! for

then would I fly away and be at rest.
Lo then would I wander far off, and remain in the

wilderness. Selah.
I would hasten my escape from the windy storm

and tempest.
Destroy, O LORD, and divide their tongues : for I

have seen violence and strife in the city.
Day and night they go about it upon the walls

thereof; mischief also and sorrow are in the

midst of it.
Wickedness is in the midst thereof; deceit and

guile depart not from her streets.
For it was not an enemy that reproached me : then

I could have borne it: neither was it he that

PSALM LV. 149

hated me that did magnify himself against me ;
then I would have hid myself from him ;

But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and
mine acquaintance.

We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto
the house of God in company.

Let death seize upon them, and let them go down
quick into hell : for wickedness is in their dwel
lings, and among them.

As for me, I will call upon God ; and the LORD
shall save me.

Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray,
and cry aloud ; and he shall hear my voice.

He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle
that was against me : for there were many with
me.

God shall hear and afflict them, even he that
abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no
changes, therefore they fear not God.

He hath put forth his hands against such as be at
peace with him ; he hath broken his covenant.

The words of his mouth were smoother than butter,
but war was in his heart : his words were softer
than oil, yet were they drawn swords.

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sus
tain thee : he shall never suffer the righteous to
be moved.

But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the
pit of destruction : bloody and deceitful men
shall not live out half their days ; but I will
trust in thee.

THIS Psalm is a prayer : and although it may in the
10th and llth verses, be understood of Christ him
self, praying against his betrayer Judas, when he

150 PSALM LV.

says, " If it had been mine enemy that reproached
me/' &c. yet, it is manifest to me, that it is a general
prayer of the godly against all the craft of insidious
and deceitful men, and against the artful Italian
flattery of some persons, who are friends as far as
their tongue goes, but who have one thing on their
tongue and another in their heart, and consider craft
and dissimulation in all tilings to be the highest
wisdom ; as if they could deceive God also !

They know how to promise, and do promise all
things to your face : so that David justly describes
them thus, " Their words are smoother than oil : "
but when you have turned your back, they blacken
your character ; and their mouth is more destructive
than arrows and coals of fire ; and their tongue is a
sharp sword, and a drawn dagger. And this is what
David complains of in verse 12 ; — that they deceive
effectually with their countenance, their look, and
their eyes, and cover, under these fox-like arts,
Satanic bitterness and virulence. They eat and
drink with you, and pretend to be your friends and
intimates, (as Judas did with Christ ;) they keep
holy days and go to the house of God with you.

This is the reason, therefore, that David so utterly
execrates them, and says, " Let them be taken out
of the way suddenly, and let them descend into hell
alive/' For virulent, outside-show hypocrites, like
these, distress the hearts of those that fear God in a
manner that is beyond description.

This very judgment which David threatens in this
Psalm we see executed, in our day, upon many
tyrants and originators of sects ; who are taken off in
a moment. For this execration is prophetic ; fore
telling the end of all hypocrites, who will not listen
to those that admonish them in a godly manner, nor

PSALM LV1. 151

regard their advice ; as it is expressed in verse 19,
"But they (says David) will not regard ; they are
not changed ; nor will they fear God ; they go on
in their course, till they are taken out of the way
suddenly."

PSALM LVI.

David, praying to God in confidence of his word, complaineth of his
enemies.— He professeth his confidence in God' a word, and promiseth to
praise Aim-
To the chief Musician upon Jonathelem-rechokim, Michtam of David,
when the Philistines took him in Gath.

BE merciful unto me, O God ; for man would

swallow me up : he fighting daily oppresseth

me.
Mine enemies would daily swallow me up : for

they be many that fight against me, O thou Most

High.

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
In God I will praise his word ; in God I have .put

my trust : I will not fear what flesh can do unto

me.
Every day they wrest my words : all their thoughts

are against me for evil.

They gather themselves together, they hide them
selves, they mark my steps, when they wait for

my soul.
Shall they escape by iniquity ? in thine anger cast

down the people, O God.
Thou tellest my wanderings : put thou my tears

into thy bottle : are they not in thy book ?
When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies

turn back : this I know ; for God is for me.

152 PSALM LVI.

In God I will praise his word ; in the LORD will I

praise his word.
In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid

what man can do unto me.
Thy vows are upon me, O God : I will render

praises unto thee.
For thou hast delivered my soul from death ; wilt

not thou deliver my feet from falling1, that I may

walk before God in the light of the living?

THIS is a fervent prayer ; in which David complains
of Saul and the men of his party, because he was
obliged to flee out of the land to the Philistines.
So bitterly and hostilely did Saul and the men of
his conspiracy persecute David, and plot against his
life, that he could be in safety no where. He en
courages and supports himself, however, with a con
stant and undaunted faith. « I will glory (says he)
in the word of God : for I have a command, a decla
ration, and a promise of God in my favour: he has
declared that Saul shall be dethroned, and that I
shall be king. I will not be afraid what man can
do unto me. Let them gainsay : let Saul and the
Saulites oppose and fight against me. Let them
say, and say again, that I shall not be king. If God
be for me what can man do against me ? '

We ought also to pray, after the manner of this
Psalm, against tyrants ; who unceasingly persecute
the word of God and us, and will never suffer us to
be at rest. We, however, have that strong and David-
ical consolation, — that the word of God is for us,
though they unceasingly attack that in us, and cor
rupt, pervert, and reproach it ; crying out that we
are heretics ; and arrogating to themselves only, the
appellation of the church,

7

153

PSALM LVII.

David in prayer fleeing unto God, complaineth of his dangerous case.—
He encourageth himself to praise God.

To the chief Musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David, when he fled
from Saul in the cave.

Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto
me : for my soul trusted in thee : yea, in the
shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge,
until these calamities be overpast.

I will cry unto God most high ; unto God that
performeth all things for me.

He shall send from heaven, and save me from the
reproach of him that would swallow me up.
Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his
truth.

My soul is among lions : and I lie even among
them that are set on fire, even the sons of men,
whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their
tongue a sharp sword.

Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens ; let
thy glory be above all the earth.

They have prepared a net for my steps ; my soul
is bowed down : they have digged a pit before
me, into the midst whereof they are fallen them
selves. Selah.

My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed ; I
will sing and give praise.

Awake up, my glory ; awake psaltery and harp ;
I myself will awake early.

I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people ; I
will sing unto thee among the nations :

154 PSALM LVIII.

For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy

truth unto the clouds.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, let

thy glory be above all the earth.

THIS Psalm is a prayer ; in which David again com
plains concerning Saul, and those around him ; on
account of whose plots and snares, he was compelled
to flee into a cave. It is nearly of the same purport
as the Psalm preceding.

We ought to make use of this Psalm also against
tyrants, and against sycophants, and certain powerful
ones, about the palaces of kings and princes ; who
persecute us on account of the word and name of
God, and persecute our doctrine also ; interpreting
every thing that we do in the worst sense ; and
traducing and hating all that fear God.

And David here paints forth the cruelty of these
characters ; " Their teeth (says he) are spears and
arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword." Thanks
be to God therefore, that he does not forsake his
people, but makes their enemies fall into the pit
which they themselves have made ; so that they are
utterly subverted and taken in their own craftiness !

PSALM LVIII.

David reproveth wicked judges, describeth the nature of the wicked,
devoteth them to God's judgments, whereat the righteous shall rejoice.

To the chief Musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David.

Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congrega
tion ? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men ?

Yea, in heart ye work wickedness ; ye weigh
the violence of your hands in the earth.

PSALM LVIII. 155

The wicked are estranged from the womb ; they

go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent ; they

are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear ;
Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers,

charming never so wisely.
Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth ; break

out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD.
Let them melt away as waters which run con
tinually : when he bendeth his bow to shoot his

arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.
As a snail which melteth, let every one of them

pass away : like the untimely birth of a woman,

that they may not see the sun.
Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall

take them away as with a whirlwind, both living

and in his wrath.
The righteous shall rejoice - when he seeth the

vengeance : he shall wash his feet in the blood

of the wicked.
So that a man shall say, verily there is a reward

for the righteous : verily he is a God that

judgeth in the earth/

THIS is a Psalm of consolation against those hardened
heretics, and enthusiastic spirits, who pertinaciously
defend their own errors, and stop their ears ; and
who are so blinded and taken captive, that they can
hear no one ; but pursue, with headlong precipita
tion, their own designs, and rush on to the accom
plishment of them, like a horse at full speed. And
these, as if they would devour the godly, cease not
to threaten them in the most terrifying manner. —
David, however, here makes use of five beautiful
similitudes : under which, he represents their vain

156 PSALM LVIII.

attempts, and shows, that those very plots which
they lay for others, fall upon their own heads.

1. The sudden inundation with which they make
their attack, rushes with such violence and roaring,
that it seems as if it would tear up and carry away
every thing before it : and yet it flows by, and
suddenly disappears !

2. Their arrow, fixed on the bow, threatens certain
destruction : but, in a moment, the bow and arrows
are broken together, and the deadly weapon accom
plishes nothing !

3. The snail puts forth his horns from his shell,
as if he were just going to do some deadly and
mighty injury: but those horns prove to be soft and
ineffectual ; they do nothing: nor have the power of
doing any hurt whatever.

4. An imperfect conception, disengaged by abor
tion, makes the womb of the mother to extend, as if
there were a perfect conception, and as if something
great would at length come forth : but before it is
brought forth, it perishes, and never sees the sun.

5. You may see a branch of buck-thorn, (which
is the most prickly kind of thorn,) filled with
young sharp points and prickles, and seeming as if
it would one day tear many in pieces at once, and
maim persons on every side of it ; but, before the
prickles are fully ripe and strong, the whole bush is,
perhaps, cut down by the woodman, and he burns it
in the fire, and reduces it to ashes !

So, just according to these similitudes, those ene
mies of God and truth, plan, plot, and breathe out
dreadful things ; but like a mighty flame, where
there is no more fuel left to feed it, their fury ends
in nothing !

157

PSALM LIX.

David prayeth to be delivered from his enemies. — He complaineth of their
cruelty. — He trusteth in God. — He prayeth against them. — He praiseth
God,

To the chief Musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David ; when Saul
sent, and they watched the house to kill him.

DELIVER me from mine enemies, O my God : de
fend me from them that rise up against me.

Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and
save me from bloody men.

For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul ; the mighty
are gathered against me ; not for my trans
gression, nor/or my sin, O LORD.

They run and prepare themselves without my
fault : awake to help me, and behold.

Thou, therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God
of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen : be not
merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah.

They return at evening : they make a noise like a
dog, and go round about the city.

Behold, they belch out with their mouth ; swords
are in their lips ; for who, say they, doth hear ?

But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them: thou
shalt have all the heathen in derision.

Because of his strength will I wait upon thee : for
God is my defence.

The God of my mercy shall prevent me ; God
shall let me see my desire upon my enemies.

Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter
them by thy power ; and bring them down, O
LORD our shield.

For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their

158 PSALM LIX.

lips, let them even be taken in their pride ; and

for cursing and lying which they speak.
Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they

may not be ; and let them know that God ruleth

in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah.
And at evening let them return, and let them

make a noise like a dog, and go round about

the city.
Let them wander up and down for meat, and

grudge, if they be not satisfied.
But I will sing of thy power ; yea, I will sing

aloud of thy mercy in the morning : for thou

hast been my defence and refuge in the day of

my trouble.
Unto thee, O my strength, I will sing: for God is

my defence, and the God of my mercy.

THIS Psalm is a prayer ; and may be very properly
understood as offered up in the person of Christ,
complaining of, and prophecying concerning the
Jews ; on whom, on account of their denial of
Christ, and their rejection of the gospel, the awful
judgments of God should fall ; but yet, not so as to
destroy the whole nation entirely ; but, in such a
manner, as to make of them an example to all future
nations ; — that they should be scattered abroad as
exiles, and left vagabonds among all nations ; and
should be punished by being given up to blindness,
and maddened fury ; so as not to be able to teach
anything, or say anything, but blasphemies against
Christ. And this we see fulfilled in them in reality :
for all their books and commentaries are replete with
the most bitter reproaches and blasphemies against
Christ and his gospel. And, for this their wicked
ness, they suffer dreadful and unceasing punish-

PSALM LIX. 159

merits : for they ' go about the city like hungry
dogs/ seeking food, and finding it not.

The meaning of this prophecy is, therefore, that at
the end, after the times of the apostles, the Jews
should be left as exiles, should be banished from
their own land, should wander about as outcasts,
should be oppressed under foreign jurisdictions,
should be driven out from one country to another,
and should be cast out without any certain dwelling-
place ; and that they should seek out any corner of
the world, where they might collect together again
the wrecks and remains of their kingdom, and en
deavour to find out another one to lead them, but
should be frustrated in every attempt. And their
exile and dispersion shall remain unfinished until
the end appointed : till then, they shall remain and
waste away like famished dogs, and run and smell
about round the cities, and gape like dogs, but shall
not be filled: and they shall perish without a king,
and without a kingdom.

But with respect to the history of this Psalm, it
may rightly be understood as referring to David,
praying against the heirs of Saul and the Saulites ;
who, being at length stripped of their kingdom,
wandered about like yawning and hungry dogs,
ejected from their kingdom, and forsaken and held
in contempt, until they all utterly perished. For
God declared that the house of Saul should not be
raised up ; though the posterity of Saul greatly de
sired his kingdom.

160

PSALM LX.

David, complaining to God of former judgment, — now, upon better hope,
prayeth for deliverance.— Comforting himself in God's promises, he
craveth that help whereon he trusteth.

To the chief Musician upon Shushan-eduth, Michtam of David, to
teach; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah,
when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve
thousand.

O GOD, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered

us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to

us again.
Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast

broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it

shaketh.
Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou

hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.
Thou hast given a banner to them that feared thee,

that it may be displayed because of the truth.

Selah.
That thy beloved may be delivered ; save with thy

right hand and hear me.
God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I

will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of

Succoth.
Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine ; Ephraim

also is the strength of mine head ; Judah is my

lawgiver ;
Moab is my washpot ; over Edom will I cast out

my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me.
Who will bring me into the strong city ? who will

lead me into Edom?
Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off?

PSALM LX. 161

and thou, O God, which didst not go out with our

armies ?
Give us help from trouble : for vain is the help of

man.
Through God we shall do valiantly : for he it is

that shall tread down our enemies.

THIS is a signal thanksgiving. David gives thanks
for the happy state of his kingdom, in which religion
and political government flourished and prospered ;
for, in these two things, well-ordered, consist all
things divine and human. Before the time of David,
in the days of Saul, all things were in disorder, and
the kingdom was in a declining state ; as the former
verses of the Psalm show. The Philistines had
greatly afflicted the Israelites : so much so that even
the ark of the Lord was despised and profaned.

Again, in the reign of Saul, all things were carried
on with injury, oppression, and wickedness: which
is always the case, when God forsakes magistrates,
and suffers them to go on in their own ways. And
the example of David, who was obliged to have re
course to such various, wise, and cautious means for
safety, shows that the palace of Saul was full of
Ahithophels, and of all such pests of religion and
good government.

But, says David, " Thou, O Lord, hast given a
sign to them that feared thee, that they may display
it, and may believe and be assured, that thou art
present with them." For God had given to his own
a sign, and had left it to them; by which, all those
that believed in the grace of God, might be comfort
ed ; namely, the ark of the covenant and the mercy-
seat ; which God had delivered, by signal miracles,
out of the hand of the Philistines. For God had
M

162 PSALM LX.

promised and declared, that he would hear all those
that called upon him before this ark, and this mercy-
seat ; and that he would there vouchsafe his presence.

At the end of the Psalm, he enumerates all his
countries and his people ; and, in*a very striking and
eminent way, extols the true worship of God, the
true religion. " God (saith he) speaks in his holi
ness (or sanctuary) ; I will rejoice : " that is, God is
present in my kingdom by his word, which is there
preached : in this I will rejoice.

He enumerates, in order, these countries: Succoth,
Shechem, Gilead, Manasseh, Ephraini, Judah, Moab,
Philistia, And, at the end, he confesses, that, to de
fend and protect all these, by a good government,
and to ensure them victory against all their enemies,
— against Edom and Philistia, (that is to carry on
war and to extend dominions, successfully,) is not in
the power of human wisdom or human strength ;
" For vain (saith he) is the help of man. All suc
cessful valour and victory are from God/' Why he
does not mention by name more countries than these
nine, it belongs to a full commentary to explain; the
narrow limits, therefore, of our present summary, will
not allow us to enter upon that explanation.

We may sing this Psalm to the honour of God
also, because in the church of Christ, God is conti
nually making new orchards and gardens ; and daily
increasing the number of its churches and parishes ;
in which the word of God is preached ; in which the
sacraments are administered in a godly manner; and
in which there are various gifts of the Holy Spirit.

163

PSALM LXI.

David fleeth to God upon his former experience — He voweth perpetual
service unto him, because of his promises,

To the chief Musician upon Neginah. A Psalm of David.

HEAR my cry, O God ; attend unto my prayer.
From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee,

when my heart is overwhelmed ; lead me to the

rock that is higher than I.
For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong

tower from the enemy.
I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever ; I will trust

in the covert of thy wings. Selah.
For thou, O God, hast heard my vows : thou hast

given me the heritage of those that fear thy

name.
Thou wilt prolong the king's life ; and his years

as many generations.
He shall abide before God for ever : O prepare

mercy and truth, which may preserve him.
So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that

I may daily perform my vows.

THIS is a prayer against the enemies of the people
of God, and especially also for magistrates, and for
the king — that God would increase faith in him, and
further him in the knowledge of his holy name and
word; that he may walk in faith and in the fear of
God ; that his government may be happy and en
dure; and that religion and good government may
not be injured and distracted by seditions and wars.
For Solomon, in his Proverbs, says, " That for the
sins of the people, God changes kings and king-
M 2

164 PSALM LXII.

doms." But where there are many kings, there,
(according to the manner of all human vicissitudes,)
what one builds up, another casts down : as the
proverb goes, " A new king, a new law," — all changes
in a state are dangerous: happy is that kingdom,
therefore, which, being once well constituted, is
long preserved in the same state.

PSALM LXII.

David professing his confidence in God discourageth his enemies. — In the
same confidence he encourageth the godly. — No trust is to be put in
worldly things. — Power and mercy belong to God.

To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

TRULY my soul waiteth upon God : from him cometh
my salvation.

He only is my rock and my salvation ; he is my
defence ; I shall not be greatly moved.

How long will ye imagine mischief against a man ?
ye shall be slain all of you : as a bowing wall
shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.

They only consult to cast him down from his ex
cellency : they delight in lies: they bless with
their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.

My soul, wait thou only upon God ; for my ex
pectation is from him.

He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my
defence ; I shall not be moved.

In God is my salvation and my glory : the rock of
my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your
heart before him : God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of

PSALM LXII. 165

high degree are a lie : to be laid in the balance,

they are altogether lighter than vanity.
Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in

robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart

upon them.
God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this ;

that power belongeth unto God.
Also unto thee, O LORD, belongeth mercy : for thou

renderest to every man according to his work.

THIS Psalm contains most excellent doctrine : it
greatly exalts the dignity of faith, showing how firm
a safeguard faith in God is, and what a strong de
fence it is against all the evils of life. On the other
hand, the Psalmist shows the vanity of all confidence
in men ; — that nothing is more vain, or more falla
cious than to trust in man. ' God (says he) is my
rock, my strength, and my defence: God is my hope,
my salvation, my strength, my glory, my life, and my
trust. God is my safe protection. God is my faith
ful helper; who never deceives me. Therefore,
vain are the sons of men. The sons of men are all
liars:' that is, all human things are deceiving, un
certain, and cannot be held fast.

Many are to be found, who trust in the favour of
kings and princes ; and on that account, they are
puffed up with pride and insolence, and oppress
others with the more confidence ; and especially if
they see their wall bowing down and giving way ;
that is, if they see a man declining in his affairs,
who was once in prosperity ; or if they see him not
protected by wealth and influence against injury:
such an one as this, they endeavour to overthrow
wholly ; and to that end, ingratiate themselves with
the powerful, and wind themselves into their affec-

166 PSALM LXIII.

tions, on whose favour they depend ; as on a pro
pitious deity.

But such see not how fallacious the favour of men
is, and how variable and uncertain their wills are;
in a word, they see not that " vain is the help of
man ! " Nor will they believe it to be vain, until
they find it out by experience, and are brought to
lament their error ; as Cicero and many other wise
men have done. Cicero exclaims with respect to
Octavius, ' O how vain was all my reputation for
being a wise man, &c. ! O how far was I from being
wise indeed ; though I sometimes evinced that wis
dom which was esteemed to be such ; but in vain ! '
Thus writes he in his epistle to Octavius.— There
fore the sum of all religion is * Trust in God and
injure not thy neighbour!' So shalt thou rightly
conduct thyself before both God and men !

PSALM LXIII.

David's thirst for God. — His manner of blessing God. — His confidence of
his enemies' destruction, and his own safety.

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

O GOD, thou art my God; early will I seek thee :
my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for
thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is ;

To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen
thee in the sanctuary.

Because thy loving-kindness is better than life,
my lips shall praise thee.

Thus will I bless thee while I live : I will lift up
my hands in thy name.

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fat-

PSALM LXIII. 167

ness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joy
ful lips :

When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate
on thee in the night watches.

Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the
shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand
upholdeth me.

But those tkat seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go
into the lower parts of the earth.

They shall fall by the sword : they shall be a por
tion for foxes.

But the king shall rejoice in God ; every one that
sweareth by him shall glory : but the mouth of
them that speak lies shall be stopped.

THIS is a prayer containing the deep feelings of an
afflicted heart, thirsting after the word of God, which
is the word of consolation ! David called thus
upon God, when he fled from the face of Saul, and
lay hid in the wilderness of Judah. " My soul
thirsteth for thee ; my flesh longeth for thee, that I
may see thee in thy sanctuary/' O how fervently
does he desire to be present in the tabernacle,
and before the mercy-seat in the sanctuary ! And
to hear the word of God, in the assembly of those
who there truly worshipped him ? He complains,
also, bitterly against the Saulites ; who so hostilely
lay in wait for his life, that he could be in safety
no where ; and was compelled to be away from the
place of the worship of God ; even away from the
sanctuary. — Notwithstanding all this, however, he
raises himself up with a holy firmness, and magna
nimity, and glories in being king, depending on
the choice and promise of God ; by which he com-

168 PSALM LXIV.

forts and sustains himself during the time of that
most miserable flight and calamity.

This Psalm may be used by those who are under
the oppression of tyrants, who feel a hungering and
thirsting after the word of God, and who can, under
their calamity, glory in being the sons and heirs of
God, because they have the knowledge of Christ,
and love the word ; and who can persevere in this
confidence, until the impious Saul be destroyed, and
David exalted ; that is, until God raise up and
comfort those that fear him.

PSALM LXIV.

David prayeth for deliverance, complaining of his enemies. — He pro-
miseth himself to see such an evident destruction of his enemies, as the
righteous shall rejoice at it.

To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David.

HEAR my voice, O God, in my prayer : preserve my

life from fear of the enemy.
Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked ;

from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity.
Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend

their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words ;
That they may shoot in secret at the perfect :

suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.
They encourage themselves in an evil matter ; they

commune of laying snares privily; they say,

Who shall see them ?
They search out iniquities; they accomplish a

diligent search : both the inward thought of every

one of them, and the heart, is deep.
But God shall shoot at them with an arrow ; sud
denly shall they be wounded.

PSALM LXIV. 169

So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon

themselves ; all that see them shall flee away.
And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work

of God: for they , shall wisely consider of his

doing.
The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall

trust in him ; and all the upright in heart shall

glory.

THIS is a most ardent prayer, full of the feelings of a
heart under great straits, by reason of the unceasing
and infinite malice of the devil, the perfidy of men,
and the ingratitude of the world.

David here cries unto God, on account of having
experienced so much treachery, even from those of his
own household, (as always is the case, in the cause
of religion). He cries to the Lord against his be
trayers and his most virulent slanderers, — those
vipers, who, by wicked speeches, and all the arts of
perfidy and malice, did not cease to plot against him.
Of this base gang were his own son Absalom, Ahitho-
phel, and others like them ; and especially many in
the court of Saul; Doeg, &c.

He continues, however, perseveringly to comfort
and console himself; — that, by the just judgment of
God, these same enemies shall bring evil upon their
own heads ; and that those very base and viperous
tongues, which now cannot rest nor cease to slander,
shall only wound themselves ; as, in the end, it hap
pened unto Absalom, Ahithophel, and Doeg.

In the same way also, we ought to pray against all
those vipers, our enemies, in the halls of kings,
bishops, and princes: who attack us with satanic
craft and hatred, and with all the arts of wickedness.
But they shall fall themselves into the snares which

170 PSALM LXV.

they have laid, (as we have seen it exemplified in
numberless instances ;) and they shall only plan
mischief which shall fall upon their own heads;
that men may openly behold and see the works of
God, and acknowledge that God himself has visited
them.

PSALM LXV.

David praiseth God for his grace. —The blessedness of God's chosen by

reason of benefits.
To the chief Musician. A Psalm and Song of David.

PRAISE waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion : and
unto thee shall the vow be performed.

O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all
flesh come.

Iniquities prevail against me: as for our trans
gressions, thou shalt purge them away.

Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest
to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy
courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness
of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

Ify terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer
us, O God of our salvation ; who art the confi
dence of all the ends of the earth, and of them
that are afar off upon the sea :

Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains ;
being girded with power :

Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of
their waves, and the tumult of the people.

They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are
afraid of thy tokens : thou makest the outgoings
of the morning and evening to rejoice.

Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it : thou

PSALM LXV. 171

greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which

is full of water : thou preparest them corn, when

thou hast so provided for it.
Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly; thou

settlest the furrows thereof ; thou makest it

soft with showers ; thou blessest the springing

thereof.
Thou crownest the year with thy goodness ; and

thy paths drop fatness.
They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness ;

and the little hills rejoice on every side.
The pastures are clothed with flocks ; the valleys

also are covered over with corn : they shout for

joy, they also sing.

THIS is a remarkable Psalm of thanksgiving ; (and all
productions of this kind were formed by the prophet
out of the First Commandment,) wherein thanks are
rendered unto God, because he preserves among his
people (to whom he has given his word against Satan,
heretics, and all adversaries) the true religion, and
the true worship of God; and because he preserves
also political peace, and guards the state from all
seditions, wars and tumults; and dispels all the
storms of the counsels of war, slaughter and blood
shed. For war is nothing less than a horrible storm
and tempest, which hurls into confusion all things
divine and human ; and throws them into a pertur
bation, like as when the waves of the sea rage with
violence.

The Psalmist gives thanks to God that he pre
serves peace ; — (in which one thing are contained
all the treasures of good;) that he gives rain from
heaven and fruitful seasons; and that he crowns the
year with his goodness : that is, that during the

172 PSALM LXV.

revolution of the year, he accomplishes and per
forms, as it were, a certain round of divine blessing
and goodness. For, in the spring, there first appear
the blossoms; and then, shortly after, the straw
berries and cherries; and then, ere long, plums,
apples, and berries of various juice and virtue ; (to
say nothing about the perpetual verdure of the herbs
which flourishes all the while, and is continually
revived with fresh supplies of dew). To these we
are to add, the infinite variety of herbs and odours.
And then, at the time of harvest, our barns are filled
with wheat, rye, barley, and corn, and grain of every
kind. In the autumn, our presses overflow with
wine of an infinite variety of taste and fragrance,
and our vats are filled to the brim. Thus the Lord
fills the whole revolution of the year, and every part
of it, with his overflowing and infinite goodness : and
indeed every single fruit is, as it were, a fund, and a
world of the goodness of God.

But how few are there, in general, who think about
these numberless and valuable blessings, and render
thanks unto God for them? Alas! we have innu
merable examples of the impious manner in which
the noble, the powerful, and the rich, have abused
the saving doctrine of faith and Christian liberty,
and also that peace which God has hitherto miracu
lously preserved to us : — we have numberless exam
ples, I say, of the manner in which they have abused
these great blessings, to their own lusts, as Sodom
and Gomorrah did : — but they shall be visited with
Sodom and Gomorrah's judgment.

You see, therefore, that those in the kingdom of
David, and among the people of Israel who com
posed these Psalms, were excellent and great men.
For these are spiritual and truly divine poems. No

PSALM LXVI. 173

poems ever equalled these. No poets, not even
Homer himself, ever equalled these poets, who thus
speak of God, his works, and his creatures. These
Psalms contain the greatest and most weighty things,
in a marvellous brevity of expression !

PSALM LXVI.

David exhorteth to praise God, to observe his great works, to bless him
for his gracious benefits. — He voweth for himself religious service to
God. — He declareth God's special goodness to himself.

To the chief Musician, a Song or Psalm.

MAKE a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands :
Sing forth the honour of his name ; make his

praise glorious.
Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works !

through the greatness of thy power shall thine

enemies submit themselves unto thee.
All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing

unto thee ; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Come and see the works of God he is terrible in his

doing toward the children of men.
He turned the sea into dry land : they went through

the flood on foot : there did we rejoice in him.
He ruleth by his power for ever ; his eyes behold

the nations : let not the rebellious exalt them
selves. Selah.
O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice

of his praise to be heard ;
Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not

our feet to be moved.
For thou, O God, hast proved us : thou hast tried

us, as silver is tried.

174 PSALM LXVI.

Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst afflic
tion upon our loins.

Thou hast caused m,en to ride over our heads : we
went through fire and through water ; but thou
broughtest us out into a wealthy place.

I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings ; I
will pay thee my vows,

Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath
spoken, when I was in trouble.

I will offer unto thee burnt-sacrifices of fallings,
with the incense of rams : I will offer bullocks
with goats. Selah.

Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will
declare what he hath done for my soul.

I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was ex
tolled with my tongue.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not
hear me :

But verily God hath heard me ; he hath attended
to the voice of my prayer.

Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my
prayer, nor his mercy from me.

THIS is a general thanksgiving, for God's having
rescued and delivered his people so often out of the
hands of their enemies, and out of the very jaws of
death itself; as he did at the Red Sea. The Books
of Judges and Kings are full of these deliverances.

These deliverances are no less great and won
derful, at this day, in the church, when God delivers
those that fear him out of temptations, both internal
and external. For Satan, of whom that earthly
Pharaoh was so especial a type, being inflamed with
so horrible a desire of distressing and destroying,
daily persecutes the church : and he would, if he

PSALM LXVII. 175

could, so harm every single one of the godly, and
so beset them on every side, that they should see
nothing but death, and an angry God : out of all
these things, however, God delivers his own.

PSALM LXVII.

A prayer for the enlargement of God's kingdom, to the joy of the people,

and the increase of God's blessings.
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, a Psalm or Song.

GOD be merciful unto us, and bless us ; and cause

his face to shine upon us. Selah.
That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving

health among all nations.
Let the people praise thee, O God ; let all the

people praise thee.
O let the nations be glad, and sing for joy ; for

thou shalt judge the people righteously, and

govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
Let the people praise thee, O God ; let all the

people praise thee.
Then shall the earth yield her increase ; and God,

even our God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us ; and all the ends of the earth

shall fear him.

THIS is a prophecy concerning the kingdom of Christ ;
foretelling, that it should be a spiritual kingdom,
in which grace and the remission of sins should be
proclaimed, not only in Judea, but throughout all
nations. " Let the people praise thee, O God, yea
let all the people praise thee; for thou judgest the
people righteously, &c." That is, thou reignest, by

176 PSALM LXVIII,

the Gospel, throughout all nations : thou judgest all :
(that is, all sinners in the hypocrisy of nature,)
that they may be brought to give thanks unto thee
for thy mercy, and may rejoice, and praise the bless
ings of the gospel.

This sacrifice of praise, this offering of thanks, is
the highest worship of God, and is a sacrifice truly
acceptable unto him, (as we have continually ob
served ;) for David does not here say, * The nations
shall become proselytes, and shall be circumcised,
and shall flock to Jerusalem : ' but u The nations
shall remain uncircumcised, and shall, nevertheless,
sing praises unto God, and shall laud and magnify
him : " that is, the gospel shall be preached among
all nations, and the kingdom of Christ shall arise,
the kingdom of grace and of the mercy of God.

PSALM LXVIII.

A prayer at the rcmming of the ark.— An exhortation to praise God for

his mercies, for his care of the church, for his great works.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm or Song of David.

LET God arise, let his enemies be scattered : let

them also that hate him flee before him.
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away : as

wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked

perish in the presence of God.
But let the righteous be glad : let them rejoice

before God ; yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
Sing unto God, sing praises to his name : extol

him that rideth upon the heavens by his name

JAH, and rejoice before him.
A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the

widows, is God in his holy habitation.

PSALM LXVIII. 177

God setteth the solitary in families : he bringetb

out those which are bound with chains ; but the

rebellious dwell in a dry land.
O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people,

when thou didst march through the wilderness ;

Selah :
The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the

presence of God : even Sinai itself was moved at

the presence of God, the God of Israel.
Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby

thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it

was weary.
Thy congregation hath dwelt therein : thou, O

God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.
The LORD gave the word : great was the company

of those that published it.
Kings of armies did flee apace ; and she that

tarried at home divided the spoil.
Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye

be as the wings of a dove covered with silver,

and her feathers with yellow gold.
When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was

white as snow in Salmon.
The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan ; an high

hill, as the hill of Bashan.
Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which

God desireth to dwell in ; yea, the LORD will

dwell in it for ever.
The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even

thousands of angels ; the Lord is among them as

in Sinai, in the holy place.

Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led cap
tivity captive : thou hast received gifts for men ;

yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God

might dwell among them.

N

178 PSALM LXVIII.

Blessed be the LORD, who daily loadeth us with
benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

He that is our God is the God of salvation ; and
unto God the LORD belong the issues from death.

But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and
the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in
his trespasses.

The LORD said, I will bring again from Bashan ;
I will bring my people again from the depths of
the sea :

That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine
enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same.

They have seen thy goings, O GOD ; even the
goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.

The singers went before, the players on instru
ments followed after ; among them were the dam
sels playing with timbrels.

Bless ye God in the congregations, even the LORD
from the fountain of Israel.

There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the
princes of Judah and their council, the princes
of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.

Thy God hath commanded thy strength : strengthen,
O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.

Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings
bring presents unto thee.

Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude
of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till
every one submit himself with pieces of silver :
scatter thou the people that delight in war.

Princes shall come out of Egypt ; Ethiopia shall
soon stretch out her hands unto God.

Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth ; O sing
praises unto the LORD ; Selah :

To him that rideth upon the heaven of heavens

PSALM LXVIII. 179

which were of old : Jo, be doth send out his

voice, and that a mighty voice.
Ascribe ye strength unto God : his excellency is

over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.
O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places :

the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and

power unto his people. Blessed be God.

THIS Psalm is, in the Latin, most obscurely trans
lated ; so much so, that this one Psalm may well
put us in remembrance of what we are indebted unto
God, for the great light which he has given us in
this our day ; in having blessed us with the study
of languages, and with good books and instructors.
Yet, in return for this universal, great, and un
speakable gift, through the unceasing revilings of
Satan, God hears nothing but, ' O this Lutheran
poison ! O this Lutheran heresy ! '—The world shall
suffer heavy punishment for the contempt of the
blessing of this great and merciful light !

In the former Latin translation of this Psalm there
were the most monstrous renderings ; such as Rex
vir tutum dilecti dilecti. — Speciei domus dividere spolia.
— Si dormiatis inter mcdios cleros. — Nives dealbabuntur
in Salmon. — Mons Dei, mans pinguis, mons cocequatus.
— Arundinis increpa feras. Congregatio taurorum in
vaccis populorum,' fyc.

And how much of the same obscurity was there in
Hosea, and the like difficult books? What, then,
have they profited the church, who, by a sort of mad
ness, and from a hatred of, and longing desire to,
suppress the light of the gospel, have all along con
demned not only all pious studies, but all useful
learning and godliness ! But how easy is it to sit
down and condemn all things, and, as it were, to

N 2

180 PSALM LXVIII.

spit at the sun that enlightens all things ! The truly
learned and godly know, however, how arduous it
is to imitate the laborious endeavours of those who
engage in the work of translations. But let us
proceed to speak upon the Psalm. —

This Psalm is a signal prophecy concerning Christ ;
a prophecy more animated and exalted, than usual,
in fervency of spirit; and, as it were, exulting in
the Holy Ghost ; setting before us a view of the
church, and those things which are to take place
under the New Testament ; and all this is done
with a representation so clear and expressive, and
with every thing depicted in that exact order, that
it seems to be, not a prediction of things to come,
but a description of things passing before our eyes.
The Holy Ghost foretels the resurrection and ascen
sion of Christ, the revelation of the Holy Spirit from
heaven, and the mission of the Apostles : he describes,
I say, the whole of this spiritual kingdom : this king
dom of grace and remission of sins, in which Christ
should be preached as the true God, and as the
Saviour and deliverer from death.

He shows also, that the kingdom and priesthood
of the Jews was to be abolished, and that a new and
spiritual kingdom was to be erected ; which should
stand, not in human strength, nor in many thousands
of horse and foot, but in the ministry and power of
the word ! — that it should be a kingdom, in which
the Lord should give the word unto those who should
preach it, in much power; by which the grace of
Christ, and the remission of sins by Christ, should
be preached, and not the law of Moses.

He calls the apostles, " kings and heads of armies ;"
because, by the gospel and the ministry of the word,
they continually attack the kingdom of the devil and

PSALM LXIX. 181

the gates of hell. For what are all the sermons and
exhortations of the apostles, but the most terrible
battles and conflicts against sin, death, the devil,
hell, and all the righteousness and wisdom of the
world ?

He also calls them " high hills, rich hills, and the
inheritance of God ; " and " chariots of the Lord of
many thousands ;" and also, " the multitude of them
that preach good tidings, and sing, and play upon
instruments;" because, the apostles and ministers of
the word, by preaching the joyful gospel and the
word of grace, continually praise, sing of, and cele
brate the immense benefits of Christ, and the mercy
of God. Thus, throughout the whole Psalm, the
fervent prophet exulting in the Holy Ghost, describes,
in a most sweet song, the whole kingdom of Christ !

In the end, he prays that God would be pleased to
render the church more flourishing, and to give his
blessing and a happy success to this kingdom. And
indeed, the prophet felt his heart moved, and was
peculiarly uplifted and fervent in spirit, when he
composed this divine and heavenly psalm concerning
the kingdom of Christ.

PSALM LXIX.

David complaineth of his affliction.— He prayeth for deliverance.— Be
devoteth his enemies to destruction. — He praiseth God with thanks
giving.

To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Psalm of David.

SAVE me, O God ; for the waters are come in unto

my soul.
I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing : I

am come into deep waters, where the floods

overflow me.

182 PSALM LXIX.

I am weary of my crying : my throat is dried :
mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.

They that hate me without a cause are more than
the hairs of mine head : they that would destroy
me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty :
then I restored that which I took not away.

0 God, thou knowest my foolishness ; and my sins
are not hid from thee.

Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of
hosts, be ashamed for my sake : let not those
that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O
God of Israel.

Because for thy sake I have borne reproach ;
shame hath covered my face.

1 am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an
alien unto my mother's children.

For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up ; and
the reproaches of them that reproached thee are
fallen upon me.

When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting,
that was to my reproach.

I made sackcloth also my garment ; and I became
a proverb to them.

They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I
was the song of the drunkards.

But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD,
in an acceptable time : O God, in the multitude
of thy mercy hear me: in the truth of thy sal
vation,

Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink :
let me be delivered from them that hate me, and
out of the deep waters.

Let not the water-flood overflow me, neither let the
deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her
mouth upon me.

PSALM LXIX. 183

Hear me, O LORD ; for thy loving-kindness is

good : turn unto me according to the multitude

of thy tender mercies.
And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am

in trouble ; hear me speedily.
Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it : deliver

me, because of mine enemies.
Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and

my dishonour : mine adversaries are all before

thee.
Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am full of

heaviness : and I looked for some to take pity,

but there was none ; and for comforters, but I

found none.
They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my

thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
Let their table become a snare before them : and

that which should have been for their welfare, let

it become a trap.
Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not ; and

make their loins continually to shake.
Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy

wrathful anger take hold of them.
Let their habitation be desolate ; and let none

dwell in their tents.
For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten ;

and they talk to the grief of those whom thoa

hast wounded.
Add iniquity unto their iniquity ; and let them

not come into thy righteousness.
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living,

and not be written with the righteous.
But I am poor and sorrowful : let thy salvation, O
God, set me up on high.

184 PSALM LXIX.

I will praise the name of God with a song, and

will magnify him with thanksgiving.
This also shall please the LORD better than an ox

or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
The humble shall see this, and be glad : and your

heart shall live that seek God.
For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not

his prisoners.
Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and

every thing that moveth therein :
For God will save Sion, and will build the cities

of Judah ; that they may dwell there, and have

it in possession.
The seed also of his servants shall inherit it ; and

they that love his name shall dwell therein.

THIS Psalm is a prayer full of those most deep and spi
ritual feelings that were experienced in the person of
Christ our Lord. In the beginning of the Psalm, in
the first three verses, with what a fervency and weight
of words does the Psalmist describe those great ter
rors of death and hell which Christ undertook and
endured, for our sins. " Save me now, O Lord,"
saith he, " for the waters overflow me, I sink into
the depth of the mire : I have now no where to stand,
nothing whereon to set my foot, I sink into the abyss
of the sea, and the floods overflow me/' By all
which figures and expressions he shadows forth,
with all his powers, that unspeakable agony of Christ,
which he endured for our sins, when groaning under
the infinite weight of the wrath of God.

In the 7th verse Christ confesses himself as bear
ing our sins, and complains of the Jews, who crucify
him. " They gave me," saith he, ** gall for my meat,
and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink : " so

PSALM LXX. 185

expressively and circumstantially does the prophet
foretel the sufferings of Christ ! And then he speaks,
with the same clearness, concerning the Jews who
should be blinded, and their kingdom and priesthood
which should be destroyed, as also it was fulfilled ;
so that now we see the accomplishment of these
things, and experience has set them plainly before
our eyes.

In the end of the Psalm the prophet shows that
the law should be abolished, and that a new worship
should be instituted without the law and circumci
sion : " I will praise the name of the Lord," saith he,
"with a song, and will magnify him with thanks
giving. This also shall please the Lord better than
an ox or a bullock that hath horns and hoofs." By
these words he shews that the law should be abrogated
with the whole of that splendidly ceremonious wor
ship, the boasted pride of circumcision, the sabbaths,
and the sacrifices ; and that the worship of the New
Testament should be established in its stead ; namely,
the sacrifice of praise and the preaching of the gos
pel ; for it is by faith \n Christ, and obedience to
the gospel that we attain unto the true knowledge of
God, and it is by truly keeping the first command
ment that God is truly worshipped; which, as it is
written, (Mark xii. 33.) is "more than all whole
burnt offerings and sacrifices."

PSALM LXX.

David soliciteth God to the speedy destruction of the wicked, and preser
vation of the godly.
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.

MAKE haste, O God, to deliver me ; make haste to
help me, O LORD.

186 PSALM LXXI.

Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek

after my soul : let them be turned backward,

and put to confusion, that desire my hurt.
Let them be turned back for a reward of their

shame that say, Aha, aha.
Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in

thee : and let such as love thy salvation say

continually, Let God be magnified.
But I am poor and needy : make haste unto me, O

God : thou art my help and my deliverer ; O

LORD, make no tarrying.

THIS Psalm is a prayer against the persecutors and
enemies of the church and of the godly : for such in
struments of the devil cease not to plot against the
good, and those that fear God, with all possible
machinations of craft, and with all the bitterness of
Cain; and, like Satan himself, they burn with an
insatiable desire and determination to destroy the
church ; nay, more than this, they insult the miseries
and calamities of the saints.

PSALM LXXI.

David, in confidence of faith, and experience of God's favour, prayeth
both for himself, and against the enemies of his soul. — He promiseth
constancy. — He prayeth for perseverance. — He praiseth God, and pro
miseth to do it cheerfully.

IN thee, O LORD, do I put my trust : let me never

be put to confusion.
Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to

escape : incline thine ear unto me, and save

me.
Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may

continually resort : thou hast given command-

PSALM LXXI. 187

ment to save me ; for thou art my rock and my

fortress.
Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the

wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and

cruel man.
For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD : thou art my

trust from ray youth.
By thee have I been holden up from the womb :

thou art he that took me out of my mother's

bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.
I am as a wonder unto many: but thou art my

strong refuge.
Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with

thy honour all the day.
Cast me not off in the time of old age ; forsake me

not when my strength faileth.
For mine enemies speak against me ; and they

that lay wait for my soul take counsel together,
Saying, God hath forsaken him : persecute and

take him ; for there is none to deliver him.

0 God, be not far from me; O my God, make
haste for my help.

Let them be confounded and consumed that are
adversaries to my soul ; let them be covered
with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt.

But I will hope continually, and yet will praise
thee more and more.

My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and
thy salvation all the day ; for I know not the
numbers thereof.

1 will go in the strength of the Lord GOD ; I will
make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine
only.

O God, thou hast taught me from my youth : and
hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

188 PSALM LXXI.

Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God,
forsake me not ; until I have shewed thy strength
unto this generation, and thy power to every one
that is to come.

Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who
hast done great things : O God, who is like unto
thee !

Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore trou
bles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me
up again from the depths of the earth.

Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me
on every side.

I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy
truth, O my God : unto thee will I sing with the
harp, O thou Holy One of Israel.

My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto
thee ; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.

My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all
the day long: for they are confounded, for they
are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.

THIS Psalm is a general prayer; which, I think, may
be very properly used in the person of the whole
church against all her enemies and persecutors who
are now or ever shall be, unto the end. "Forsake
me not," saith he, " in the time of mine old age/' &c.
and although this may more especially apply to the
prophet himself, as praying for divine protection
under his infinite temptations; yet the words may
be appropriately applied to the last times, and to the
close of the church militant before the last day. For
the church has her old age also : and Christ himself
and his apostles have foretold, " That in the latter
days perilous times shall come : " as Daniel also
prophesied, that the truth should be persecuted and

PSALM LXXII. 189

iniquity should abound : and this we have expe
rienced under Mahomet, and the Pope, to our infi
nite peril and sorrow.

Hence, in verses 15 — 17, the prophet foretells the
justice and righteousness of God. " My mouth
(saith he) shall show forth thy righteousness. O
God thou hast taught me from my youth, and hitherto
have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also,
when I am old and grey-headed, &c." This pro
phecy may be of singular use to us, and apply to us
very appropriately : because God has, as it were,
brought us back out of hell, and from the depths of
the earth, and has made the light of his word to
shine again, by which our consciences have a firm
and eternal consolation. These our times are like
the times of Elias and Enoch : for they commonly
say of us, 'These men will subvert antichrist, and

PSALM LXXII.

David, praying for Solomon, sheweth the goodness and glory of his, in
type, and in truth, of Christ's kingdom.— He blesseth God.

A Psalm for Solomon.

GIVE the king thy judgments, O God, and thy

righteousness unto the king's son.
He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and

thy poor with judgment.
The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and

the little hills, by righteousness.
He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall

save the children of the needy, and shall break

in pieces the oppressor.

190 PSALM LXXII.

They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon

endure, throughout all generations.
He shall come down like rain upon the mown

grass : as showers that water the earth.
In his days shall the righteous flourish : and

abundance of peace so long as the moon en-

dureth.
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and

from the river unto the ends of the earth.
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before

him ; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring

presents : the kings of Sheba and Seba shall

offer gifts.
Yea, all kings shall fall down before him : all

nations shall serve him.
For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth ; the

poor also, and him that hath no helper.
He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save

the souls of the needy.

He shall redeem their soul from deceit and vio
lence : and precious shall their blood be in his

sight.
And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the

gold of Sheba : prayer also shall be made for

him continually : and daily shall he be praised.
There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon

the top of the mountains ; the fruit thereof shall

shake like Lebanon : and they of the city shall

flourish like grass of the earth.
His name shall endure for ever : his name shall be

continued as long as the sun : and men shall be

blessed in him : all nations shall call him blessed.
Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who

only doeth wondrous things.

PSALM LXXII. 191

And blessed be his glorious name for ever : and let
the whole earth be filled with his glory ; Amen,
and Amen.

The prayers of David the son of Jesse arc ended.

THIS is a most remarkable prophecy concerning
Christ and his kingdom, to be spread throughout the
whole world, over all kingdoms, and the isles of the
sea : which should not be a kingdom of death, sin,
and judgment, but a kingdom of grace, righteousness,
peace, and joy. — But the life, the victory, the peace,
and the glory of the church shall be hidden ; they
shall be hidden in God ; and the saints in this
world shall endure the most bitter hatred of the
world, and its persecutions; they shall shed their
blood for Christ ; nevertheless, that blood shall be
precious in the sight of the Lord, and he shall
require it.

This Psalm also, verse 15, declares that the old
worship of the law of Moses should be abrogated,
and a new worship set up, which should consist in
prayer and the giving of thanks. " Prayer shall be
made unto him (saith he) continually, and daily
shall he be praised." For the sacrifice of praise and
the preaching of the gospel, is the daily sacrifice,
and the highest worship of the New Testament.
Here you hear nothing of circumcision, or the law
of Moses, as that which the nations should receive.
It saith that the kings of nations and nations them
selves shall endure and shall praise this king.
Therefore, this king , Christ, is truly and properly
God. For prayer is the worship of the first and
greatest commandment, and is due to God alone ;
for he alone can deliver from death and every afflic
tion.

192 PSALM LXXIII.

PSALM LXXIII.

Theprophet, prevailing in a temptation, shfweth the occasion thereof, the
prosperity of the wicked.— The wound given thereby, diffidence.— The
victory over it, knowledge of God's purpose, in destroying ofthewiched,
and sustaining the righteous.

A Psalm of Asaph.

TRULY God is good to Israel, even to such as are of

a clean heart.
But as for me, my feet were almost gone ; my steps

had well nigh slipped.
For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the

prosperity of the wicked.
For there are no bands in their death ; but their

strength is firm.
They are not in trouble as other men ; neither are

they plagued like other men.
Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain ;

violence covereth them as a garment.
Their eyes stand out with fatness : they have more

than heart could wish.
They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning

oppression : they speak loftily.
They set their mouth against the heavens ; and

their tongue walketh through the earth.
Therefore his people return hither; and waters of

a full cup are wrung out to them :
And they say, How doth God know? and is there

knowledge in the Most High ?
Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the

world ; they increase in riches.
Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and

washed my hands in innocency.

PSALM LXXIII. 193

For all the day long have I been plagued, and
chastened every morning.

If I say, I will speak thus ; behold, I should offend
against the generation of thy children.

When I thought to know this, it was too painful
for me,

Until I went into the sanctuary of God ; then un
derstood I their end.

Surely thou didst set them in slippery places : thou
castedst them down into destruction.

How are they brought into desolation, as in a mo
ment? they are utterly consumed with terrors.

As a dream when one awaketh ; so, O LORD, when
thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.

Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in
my reins.

So foolish was I and ignorant ; I was as a beast
before thee.

Nevertheless, I am continually with thee ; thou
hast holden me by my right hand.

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and after
ward receive me to glory.

Whom have I heaven but thee? and there is none
upon earth that I desire beside thee.

My flesh and my heart faileth : but God is the
strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish ;
thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring
from thee.

But it is good for me to draw near to God : I have
put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare
all thy works.

THIS is a Psalm that instructs us against that great
offence and stumbling-block concerning which all
o

194 PSALM LXXI1I.

the prophets have complained ; namely, that the
wicked flourish in the world, enjoy prosperity, and
increase in abundance, while the godly suffer cold
and hunger, and are afflicted, and spit upon, and de
spised, and condemned ; and that God seems to be
against and to neglect the latter, and to regard, sup
port and give success to the former. And this outside
appearance of the false church has, moreover, a great
influence with, and excites the admiration of, the
world around. Whatever these hypocrites door say,
they boast with great confidence, is pious, holy and
divine : on the other hand, they consider the lives of
the godly to be ungodly, and their doctrine erroneous.
This offence has existed, and has exercised and
vexed the godly from the very beginning of the
church.

"So foolish was I," saith Asaph, (v. 22.) that
is, I was accounted ungodly, a heretic, and a de-
spiser of God. But these temptations, saith be,
remain until I cast away all my own cogitations
about this offence, and go into the sanctuary : that
is, until I hear or read the word, and find what God
saith concerning the ungodly ; and until I look into
the histories and behold the judgments of God, which
have been since the foundation of the world. There
I find what God threatens in his First Command
ment : and how he has fulfilled this judgment and
executed it, even from Cain ; by which all the un
godly are overthrown and overwhelmed on a sudden :
for they build upon slippery places and upon the
sand, but the godly build upon a rock.

PSALM LXXIV.

195

PSALM LXXIV.

The prophet complaineth of the desolation of the sanctuary.— He moveth
God to kelp in consideration of his power, of his reproachful enemies,
of his children, and of his covenant.

Maschil of Asaph.

O GOD, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why
doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy
pasture ?

Remember thy congregation, which thou hast pur
chased of old ; the rod of thine inheritance, which
thou hast redeemed ; this mount Zion, wherein
thou hast dwelt.

Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations ;
even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in
the sanctuary.

Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congrega
tions ; they set up their ensigns/or signs.

A man was famous according as he had lifted up
axes upon the thick trees.

But now they break down the carved work thereof
at once with axes and hammers.

They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have
defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy
name to the ground.

They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them
together : they have burned up all the syna
gogues of God in the land.

We .see not our signs : there is no more any pro
phet : neither is there among us any that knoweth
how long.

O God, how long shall the adversary reproach ?
shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever ?
o 2

196 PSALM LXXIV.

Why wilhdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right

hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.
For God is my King of old, working salvation in

the midst of the earth.
Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength : thou

brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and

gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting

the wilderness.
Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood : thou

driedst up mighty rivers.
The day is. thine, the night also is thine ; thou hast

prepared the light and the sun.
Thou bast set all the borders of the earth : thou

hast made summer and winter.
Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached,

O LORD, and that the foolish people have blas
phemed thy name.
O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the

multitude of the wicked: forget not the congre
gation of thy poor for ever.
Have respect unto the covenant : for the dark

places of the earth are full of the habitations

of cruelty.
O let not the oppressed return ashamed : let the

poor and needy praise thy name.
Arise, O God, plead thine own cause. : remember

how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
Forget not the voice of thine enemies : the tumult

of those that rise up against thee increaseth

continually.

THIS is a prayer against the enemies who were then
laying waste Jerusalem, the sanctuary, all the holy
places of assembly and of the worship of God in the

PSALM LXXV. 197

land, and even the national cities themselves ; utter
ing at the same time blasphemies against God, as if
he were not able to succour and defend his people.

It seems also to be a prophecy of the future, and
a prayer against that future devastation which was
wrought by those cruel enemies, the Chaldeans, and
by Antiochus Epiphanes ; for it was on these two
occasions only that the temple and the city of Jeru
salem were destroyed, with such cruelty as is here
depicted.

We also use this Psalm against the Turk and
Mahomet ; and also against our Antiochus, the pope ;
who destroys daily the true church and the preaching
of the word of God, daily despoils and scatters all
sacred and divine things, and every where stirs up
and diffuses abroad the poison of the devil and every
abomination.

PSALM LXXV.

The prophet praiseth God. He promiseth to judge uprightly. He re-
buketh the proud by consideration of God's providence. He praiseth
God, and promiseth to execute justice,

To the chief Musician, Al-taschith, a Psalm or Song of Asaph.

UNTO thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee
do we give thanks ; for that thy name is near thy
wondrous works declare.

When I shall receive the congregation I will
judge uprightly.

The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dis
solved : I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.

I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly : and to
the wicked, Lift not up the horn :

198 PSALM LXXV.

Lift not up your horn on high : speak not with a stiff

neck.
For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor

from the west, nor from the south.
But God is the judge : he putteth down one, and

setteth up another.
For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the

wine is red : it is full of mixture ; and he pour-

eth out of the same : but the dregs thereof, all

the wicked of the earth shall wring them out,

and drink them.
But I will declare for ever ; I will sing praises to

the God of Jacob.
All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but

the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

THIS is a Psalm of consolation against all turbulent
and hardened hypocrites, who boast of their church
and their name, and despise alike all threatenings,
and all exhortations ; ever speaking like those arro
gant hypocrites in Psalm xii : " Who shall teach
us?" " Who is Lord over us ? " As if they should
say, the power is ours, and the authority is ours,
and he that does not listen to, and obey us, let him
be accursed.

In like manner also now, our bishops are secure ;
and, from the 'Council of Worms' to this day, are
deaf to all entreaties, and insensible to all tears. And
equally deaf also are most kings and princes and
fanatical spirits ; who are so confident in themselves
and in their own imaginations, that they seem to
think that God himself could not overthrow them or
cast them down.

This Psalm admonishes us, the people of God,
to know and acknowledge, that there is a God

PSALM LXXVI. 199

who will surely judge all iniquity, if we do but
wait his time. For he is the Lord who maketh the
mountains to tremble, and who appeared on Mount
Sinai with such terrible majesty. He, according- to
the word of his First Commandment, visits the
wicked in his own appointed time, and yet preserves
the pillars of the earth ; that is, the godly and the
righteous ; who bear up and sustain this world upon
their shoulders as it were : in the same way as the
Apostle Paul calls the church the " pillar and
ground of the truth." Thus, God preserved the
righteous and innocent Lot when he overthrew
Sodom : and thus he preserved also the believing
Jews and the Apostles when he destroyed Jerusalem,
and overthrew the whole nation and kingdom : for he
knows, when he destroys any nation, how to preserve
his own.

PSALM LXXVI.

A declaration of God's majesty in the church. An exhortation to serve
him reverently.

To the chief Musician on Neginoth. A Psalm or Song of Asaph.

IN Judah is God known ; his name is gfeat in

Israel.
In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling

place in Zion.
There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield,

and the sword, and the battle. Selah.
Thou art more glorious and excellent than the

mountains of prey.
The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their

sleep: and none of the men of might have found

their hands.

200 PSALM LXXVI.

At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot
and horse are cast into a dead sleep.

Thou, even thou, art to be feared : and who may
stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?

Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from hea
ven ; the earth feared, and was still,

When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek
of the earth. Selah.

Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee : the
remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.

Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God : let all
that be round about him bring presents unto
him that ought to be feared.

He shall cut off the spirit of princes : he is terrible
to the kings of the earth.

THIS is a Psalm of thanksgiving, and of the same
subject-matter as Psalm xlvi. It gives thanks unto
God for preserving his word and worship in Jeru
salem ; and shows that it is he who, by marvellous
deeds and wonders, protects and defends his people
against all kings and tyrants ; such as Sennacherib.
For the Lord, the Divine Majesty, is a wonderful
"Man of war"; who has the hearts and spirits of
kings in his hand, and who can fill the enemies with
fear, and break their minds and spirits, whenever
he pleases, with a single nod of his will.

In this manner does God fight for his church
against tyrants and erroneous enemies. In the very
midst of the course of their fury and their hostile
roaring, he brings down and breaks their spirits with
fear: and it is a terrible thing to kick and fight
against him, who can, in a moment, take away that
which is the chief thing in battle — the spirit of a
man ! Satan himself, who makes war against the

PSALM LXXVII. 201

righteous with such unceasing rage, with such hor
rible desire to destroy, and with such confidence
in his might, is cast down in his spirit, in a mo
ment, by a repulse of the shield of faith, and falls
back and is undone : how much more then shall a
mortal man !

This verse, therefore, wherein the Psalmist says,
" He shall cutoff the spirit of princes/' ought greatly
to comfort us ; for thereby we may know, that we
cannot be conquered or oppressed, but as God wills ;
seeing we have that Warrior for our Captain,
who holds in his hand the hearts and spirits of our
enemies ; and who, without any arms or weapons of
men, can lay our adversaries prostrate in a moment,
by striking their spirits with fear !

PSALM LXXVII.

The psalmist sheu<eth what fierce combat he had with diffidence. The
victory which he had by consideration of God's yreat and gracious
works.

To the chief Musician to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

I CRIED unto God with my voice, even unto God
with my voice ; and he gave ear unto me.

In the day of my trouble I sought the LORD : my
sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul
refused to be comforted.

I remembered God, and was troubled : I com
plained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.

Thou holdest mine eyes waking : I am so troubled
that I cannot speak.

I have considered the days of old, the years of
ancient times.

I call to remembrance my song in the night: I

202 PSALM LXXVII.

commune with mine own heart: and my spirit

made diligent search.
Will the LORD cast off for ever? and will he be

favourable no more ?
Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise

fail for evermore ?
Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in

anger shut up his tender mercies ? Selah.
And I said, This is my infirmity : but I will re
member the years of the right hand of the Most

High.
I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I

will remember thy wonders of old.
I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of

thy doings.
Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so

great a God as our God !
Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast

declared thy strength among the people.
Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people,

the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee :

they were afraid : the depths also were troubled.
The clouds poured cutwater: the skies sent out

a sound : thine arrows also went abroad.
The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the

lightnings lightened the world: the earth trem
bled and shook.
Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great

waters, and thy footsteps are not known.
Thou leddest thy people like a tlock, by the hand

of Moses and Aaron.

THIS Psalm contains a blessed doctrine : the Psalmist
puts forth himself as an example : and the whole is

PSALM LXXVII. 203

for the consolation of the godly : for the Psalmist
describes the unspeakable anguish and sorrow of a
heart alarmed at the wrath of God and sin : and he
says, verse 4, that he was so overwhelmed with these
terrors and sorrows, that he could neither sleep nor
speak. And in verses 7 — 10, he, as it were, repeats
all these his feelings of sorrow and dread, saying,
" Will God forget to be merciful ? Doth his promise
fail for evermore " ?

But here, as the Psalm saith, lies the greatest and
best of all consolations, — you will at once find com
fort and deliverance if, casting away from your
mind (if you can by any means do it,) all these ap
prehensions of evils and sorrows, (by which indeed
you are distressed in vain,) you turn to the word
and works of God, and to the histories of God's doings
and dealings from the beginning of the world : for
you will there find that the works and doings of God
from the beginning have been these, — to be merciful
to and to save and help the sorrowful, the distressed,
the destitute, and the afflicted ; and to visit, in ven
geance, the secure, the proud, the despisers, and
the wicked, in the same way as he delivered the
Israelites, and destroyed the Egyptians. Hence
it is that David says, " Thy way, O God, is in the
deep," and " in the sea : " for God saves in the
midst of death and of destruction, when despair
is on every side.

Learn this, my Christian brother! This Psalm
thus sets forth to us God and the ways of God :
that is, how he works, and what he does, in his
church and in the saints : and all this is thus written,
that we should not despair in perils and afflictions,
when we are beyond the reach of all human help :
but that rather, casting away all our own appre-

204 PSALM LXXVIII.

hensions and distressing thoughts, we should, at,
and from that time, begin to trust in God, and to
trust in him more and more, waiting for his help.

PSALM LXXVIII.

An exhortation both to learn and to preach the law of God. The story
of God's wrath against the incredulous and disobedient. The Israelites
being rejected, God chose Judah, Zion, and David.
Maschil of Asaph.

GIVE ear, O my people, to my law : incline your
ears to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in a parable ; I will utter
dark sayings of old ;

Which we have heard and known, and our fathers
have told us.

We will not hide them from their children, shewing
to the generation to come the praises of the
LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works
that he hath done.

For he established a testimony in Jacob, and ap
pointed a law in Israel, which he commanded
our fathers, that they should make them known
to their children ;

That the generation to come might know them,
even the children which should be born, who
should arise and declare them to their children :

That they might set their hope in God, and not
forget the works of God ; but keep his com
mandments :

And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and
rebellious generation ; a generation that set not
their heart aright, and whose spirit was not sted-
fast with God.

PSALM LXXVIII. 205

The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying

bows, turned back in the day of battle.
They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to

walk in his law;
And forgat his works, and his wonders that he

had shewed them.
Marvellous things did he in the sight of their

fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
He divided the sea, and caused them to pass

through ; and he made the waters to stand as

an heap.
In the day-time also he led them with a cloud, and

all the night with a light of fire.
He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave

them drink as out of the great depths.
He brought streams also out of the rock, and

caused waters to run down like rivers.
And they sinned yet more against him, by pro
voking the Most High in the wilderness.
And they tempted God in their heart, by asking

meat for their lust.
Yea, they spake against God : they said, Can

God furnish a table in the wilderness ?
Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed

out, and the streams overflowed ; can he give

bread also ? can he provide flesh for his people ?
Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth : so

a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also

came up against Israel.
Because they believed not in God, and trusted not

in his salvation ;
Though he had commanded the clouds from above,

and opened the doors of heaven,
And had rained down manna upon them to eat,

and had given them of the corn of heaven.

206 PSALM LXXVIII.

Man did eat angels' food : he sent them meat to

the full.
He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven ;

and by his power he brought in the south wind.
He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and

feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea;
And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round

about their habitations.
So they did eat and were well filled : for he gave

them their own desire ;
They were not estranged from their lust : but while

their meat was yet in their mouths,
The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the

fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men

of Israel.
For all this they sinned still, and believed not for

his wondrous works.
Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and

their years in trouble.
When he slew them, then they sought him ; and

they returned and inquired early after God :
And they remembered that God was their Rock,

and the high God their Redeemer.
Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth,

and they lied unto him with their tongues :
For their heart was not right with him, neither

were they stedfast in his covenant.
But he, being full of compassion, forgave their

iniquity, and destroyed them not : yea, many

a time turned he his anger away, and did not

stir up all his wrath :
For he remembered that they were but flesh ; a

wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness,

and grieve him in the desert !

PSALM LXXVIII. 207

Yea, they turned back, and tempted God, and

limited the Holy One of Israel.
They remembered not his hand, nor the day when

he delivered them from the enemy :
How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his

wonders in the field of Zoan :
And had turned their rivers into blood ; and their

floods, that they could not drink.
He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which

devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed

them.
He gave also their increase unto the caterpillar,

and their labour unto the locust.
He destroyed their vines with hail, and their syca
more-trees with frost.
He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their

flocks to hot thunderbolts.
He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger,

wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending

evil angels among them.
He made a way to his anger ; he spared not their

soul from death, but gave their life over to the

pestilence ;
And smote all the first-born in Egypt ; the chief of

their strength in the tabernacles of Ham :
But made his own people to go forth like sheep,

and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
And he led them on safely, so that they feared not :

but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
And he brought them to the border of his sanc
tuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand

had purchased.
He cast out the heathen also before them, and

divided them an inheritance by line, and made

the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.

208 PSALM LXXVIII.

Yet they tempted arid provoked the most high

God, and kept not his testimonies :
But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their

fathers : they were turned aside like a deceitful

bow.
For they provoked him to anger with their high

places, and moved him to jealousy with their

graven images.
When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly

abhorred Israel :
So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the

tent which he placed among men ;
And delivered his strength into captivity, and his

glory into the enemy's hand.
He gave his people over also unto the sword; and

was wroth with his inheritance.
The fire consumed their young men ; and their

maidens were not given to marriage.
Their priests fell by the sword ; and their widows

made no lamentation.
Then the LORD awaked as one out of sleep, and

like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.
And he smote his enemies in the hinder part: he

put them to a perpetual reproach.
Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and

chose not the tribe of Ephraim :
But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion

which he loved.
And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like

the earth which he hath established for ever.
He chose David also his servant, and took him

from the sheepfolds:
From following the ewes great with young he

brought him, to feed Jacob his people, and Israel

his inheritance.

PSALM LXXVIII. 209

So he fed them according to the integrity of his
heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of
his hands.

THIS Psalm, by a glorious instruction, in a long re
cital of the acts of the children of Israel as examples,
from the departure out of Egypt down to David,
teaches us to believe and trust in God : showing us,
how "very present" God always was to those who
believed in him, in all their perils, and even in the
midst of death. And, on the other hand, it shows
us. how surely and terribly God always visited those
who despised his word and departed from him.

For, according to the words of the first command
ment, God has, from the beginning, wrought, not
only in his own people, but in the Gentiles also ;
and so he will work down to the world's end ; show
ing mercy to those that love him, and visiting in
judgment those that hate him.

And although the world despises, more unconcern
edly than all things else, the threatenings of God and
his promises also ; yet, nevertheless, God still goes on
working, according to the words of his first com
mandment ; and that commandment still prevails
over all the kingdoms of the earth ; laying prostrate
kings, overturning kingdoms, uprooting families,
and blotting out mighty names. And, on the other
hand, the same commandment still and ever goes on,
preserving those in the church of God who love him ;
lifting up them that are down ; succouring the op
pressed ; feeding the poor, the captives, and the
exiles ; loosing those that are in prison ; raising the
dead ; and bringing salvation.

The hardened and unbelieving world do not be
lieve God : nevertheless, this first commandment
p

210 PSALM LXXIX.

goes on thus according to the word which it contains,
to accomplish God's will, in things private, and in
things public, in this present age, and throughout
all the ages to come.

PSALM LXXIX.

The psalmist complaineth of the desolation of Jerusalem. He prayeih
for deliverance, and promiseth thankfulness.

A Psalm of Asaph.

O GOD, the heathen are come into thine inherit
ance ; thy holy temple have they defiled ; they

have laid Jerusalem on heaps.
The dead bodies of thy servants have they given

to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the

flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.
Their blood have they shed like water round about

Jerusalem ; and there was none to bury them.
We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a

scorn and derision to them that are round

about us.
How long, LORD ? wilt thou be angry for ever ?

shall thy jealousy burn like fire?
Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have

not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that

have not called upon thy name.
For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his

dwelling-place.
O remember not against us former iniquities : let

thy tender mercies speedily prevent us ; for we

are brought very low.

Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of
thy name ; and deliver us, and purge away our

sins, for thy name's sake.

PSALM LXXX. 211

Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their
God ? let him be known among the heathen in
our sight, by the revenging of the blood of thy
servants which is shed.

Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee ;
according to the greatness of thy power preserve
thou those that are appointed to die :

And render unto our neighbours seven-fold into
their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have
reproached thee, O LORD.

So we thy people, and sheep of thy pasture, will
give thee thanks for ever ; we will shew forth
thy praise to all generations.

THIS Psalm is a prayer to God against that future
national destruction, which was wrought by the
Chaldeans and Antiochus Epiphanes ; it is of the
same subject-matter as Psalm Ixxiv, and therefore it
may be set forth by the explication there given.
Isaiah has the same prayer against future devas
tations, chap. 63.

PSALM LXXX.

The psalmist in his prayer complaineth of the miseries of the church.
God? s former favours are turned into judgments. He pray eth for de
liverance.

To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim-Eduth, A Psalm of Asaph.

GIVE ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest
Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between
the cherubims. shine forth.

Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh,
stir up thy strength, and come and save us.
p 2

212 PSALM LXXX.

Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to

shine ; and we shall be saved.
O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry

against the prayer of thy people ?
Thou feedest them with the bread of tears ; and

givest them tears to drink in great measure.
Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours ; and

our enemies laugh among themselves.
Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face

to shine ; and we shall be saved.
Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt ; thou hast

cast out the heathen, and planted it.
Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it

to take deep root, and it filled the land.
The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and

the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.
She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her

branches unto the river.
Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that

all they which pass by the way do pluck her?
The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the

wild beast of the field doth devour it.
Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts, look

down from heaven, and behold, and visit this

vine ;
And the vineyard which thy right hand hath

planted, and the branch that thou madest strong

for thyself.
It is burned with fire ; it is cut down : they perish

at the rebuke of thy countenance.
Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand,

upon the son of man whom thou madest strong

for thyself.
So will not we go back from thee : quicken us, and

we will call upon thy name.

PSALM LXXX.

213

Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts ; cause thy
face to shine, and we shall be saved.

THIS is a prayer against those most bitter and daily
enemies, the neighbouring Philistines, Syrians, Moab-
ites, Edomites, &c.: for Jerusalem was situated in
the midst of these nations, all enemies, on every
side.

This Psalm is appropriate for us against bishops,
and monks, and priests, who hate us more bitterly
than any Edomite or any Cain. The fathers used
this Psalm (such was the state of the church then)
against her error-broaching enemies.

PSALM LXXXI.

An exhortation to a solemn praising of God. — God challengeth that duty
by reason of his benefits, — God exhorting to obedience; complaineth of
their disobedience, which proveth their own hurt.

To the chief Musician upon Gittith, a Psalm of Asaph.

SING aloud unto God our strength : make a joyful

noise unto the God of Jacob.
Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the

pleasant harp with the psaltery.
Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time

appointed, on our solemn feast day.
For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the

God of Jacob.
This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when

he went out through the land of Egypt: where

I heard a language that I understood not.
I removed his shoulder from the burden : his

hands were delivered from the pots.

214 PSALM LXXXI.

Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee ; I
answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I
proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.

Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee:

0 Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me ;

There shall no strange god be in thee; neither

shalt thou worship any strange god.
I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of

the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I

will fill it.
But my people would not hearken to my voice;

and Israel would none of me.
So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust :

and they walked in their own counsels.
Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and

Israel had walked in my ways !
I should soon have subdued their enemies, and

turned my hand against their adversaries.
The haters of the Lord should have submitted

themselves unto him : but their time should have

endured for ever.
He should have fed them also with the finest of the

wheat: and with honey out of the rock should

1 have satisfied thee.

THIS is the form of a prayer and a solemn song
for the people of the Jews, which was sung yearly at
the feast of tabernacles, to admonish that people,
and to keep them in the true worship of God ; namely,
that of the first commandment. This Psalm, there
fore, like the prophets, in all their great instructions,
holds forth and enforces the very words of the first
commandment, " I am the Lord thy God : thou shalt
have none other gods but me : " that is, thou shalt
hold me as thy God, thou shalt cleave unto me, thou

PSALM LXXXI. 215

shalt trust alone in me; thou shalt not worship,
thou shalt not call upon, any other God.

But here the whole world lieth in wickedness, the
whole is unclean, the whole is the kingdom of the
devil. Not only were the people of the Jews in this
state of transgression against the first commandment,
but all nations, and all religions, and all worshippers,
from the beginning of the world ; and they will be the
same down to the end of the world. The Israelites
were indeed the people of God ; they had the pro
phets, and the godly priests and Levites, continually
enforcing on them this great and highest worship of
the first commandment in all their preachings : and
yet they fell away from this worship. Their mouth
ought to have been full of God and the praise of
God, but it was full of idolatry, and of idolatrous
doctrines and abominations.

Here is the perverseness of the world : they will
admire, they will take up with, they will profess, all
other kinds of worship, all other forms and kinds of
religions and hypocrisies, and they will multiply and
adorn them : but they will trample that very glorious
worship of the first commandment under foot: that
worship the devil cannot bear ; that worship he
works to extinguish by all the ways and means in his
power.

And in the church of God, under the New Testa
ment, this Psalm teaches us the righteousness of
faith and of Christ; that we ought to set Christ and
his righteousness before and above all works : for
our mouth ought to be full of Christ. But we, like
the Jews, turn aside to other gods, embracing some
times these and sometimes those sayings and tradi
tions, each one following the idol imaginations and
thoughts of his own heart.

216 PSALM LXXXII.

PSALM LXXXII.

The psalmist having exhorted the judges, and reproved their negligence,
prayeth. God to judge.

A Psalm of Asaph.

GOD standeth in the congregation of the mighty:
he judgeth among the gods.

How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the
persons of the wicked ? Selah.

Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the
afflicted and needy.

Deliver the poor and needy : rid them out of the
hand of the wicked.

They know not, neither will they understand ; they
walk on in darkness : all the foundations of the
earth are out of course.

I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are chil
dren of the Most High.

But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the
princes.

Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt in
herit all nations.

THIS is a Psalm of consolation against tyrants, and
wicked kings and magistrates, who oppressed the
destitute, the fatherless, and the widows. I have
given a full commentary on this Psalm, which is now
in public ; therefore I need not say more upon it
here.

PSALM LXXXIII. 217

PSALM LXXXIII.

A complaint to God of the enemies' conspiracies. — A prayer against them
that oppress the church.

A Song or Psalm of Asaph.

KEEP not thou silence, O God : hold not thy peace,

and be not still, O God.
For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult; and they

that hate thee have lifted up the head.
They have taken crafty counsel against thy people,

and consulted against thy hidden ones.
They have said, Come, and let us cut them off

from being a nation; that the name of Israel may

be no more in remembrance.
For they have consulted together with one consent ;

they are confederate against thee :
The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites ; of

Moab and the Hagarenes ;
Gebal, and Aminon, and Amalek ; the Philistines,

with the inhabitants of Tyre;
Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen

the children of Lot. Selah.
Do unto them as unto the Midianites ; as to Sisera,

as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison ;
Which perished at En-dor: they became as dung

for the earth.
Make their nobles like Oreb and likeZeeb; yea,

all their princes as Zebah and as Zalmunna:
Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of

God in possession.
O my God, make them like a wheel ; as the stubble

before the wind.

218 PSALM LXXXIV.

As fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth

the mountains on fire,
So persecute them with thy tempest, and make

them afraid with thy storm.
Fill their faces with shame ; that they may seek

thy name, O LORD.
Let them be confounded and troubled for ever;

yea, let them be put to shame, and perish :
That men may know that thou, whose name alone

t* JEHOVAH, art the Most High over all the

earth.

THIS Psalm is a prayer of the same nature as
Psalm Ixxx. as the same mentioned names of the
same nation show, who were bitter enemies unto
Israel. The same explanation, therefore, will
suffice.

PSALM LXXXIV.

The prophet longing for the communion of the sanctuary, sheweth how
blessed they are that dwell therein.— He prayeth to be restored unto it.

To the chief Musician upon Gittith, a Psalm for the sons of Korah.

How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of

hosts!
My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth, for the courts

of the LORD ; my heart and my flesh crieth out

for the living God.
Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the

swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her

young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my

King, and my God.

PSALM LXXXIV. 219

Blessed are they that dwell in thy house : they will

be still praising thee. Selah.
Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee ; in

whose heart are the ways of them :
Who passing through the valley of Baca, make it

a well : the rain also filleth the pools.
They go from strength to strength ; every one of

them in Zion appeareth before God.
O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer : give ear,

0 God of Jacob. Selah.

Behold, O God, our shield, and look upon the face

of thine anointed.
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand.

1 had rather be a door-keeper in the house
of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wick
edness.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield : the LORD
will give grace and glory : no good thing will he
withhold from them that walk uprightly.

O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in
thee.

THIS is a Psalm of consolation, which breaks forth into
the most sweet and powerful expressions, in praise
and love of the ministry of the word. " Blessed are
they (says David) that dwell in thy house:" that
is, they alone are truly blessed, and rest on a sure
and eternal consolation, who dwell in thy house and
in thy tabernacle : that is, in the place where thy
word is taught and heard. For such, as the Apostle
saith, (1 Cor. i.) " are increased in all good, and
enriched in all wisdom and all knowledge, and with
every good gift, so that they can want nothing." They
have all riches.

Wherefore let the world have their rich ones, their

220 PSALM LXXXIV.

powerful ones, and their wise ones, and their conso
lations in this world ; let them trust and glory in
their wisdom, their might, their wealth, and their
possessions, — my heart triumphs in the living God ;
that is, I rejoice, and triumph, and glory, with all my
heart, that I know God in his word, and that I am
of his true church. And I would rather cleave and
hold to this poor despised flock of God's people, to
his church of poor afflicted ones, who call upon God
in truth ; I would rather cleave to them, and hover
over them, as a bird over her young in the nest, than
live in the moM splendid palace of all earthly kings.
I had rather sit at the door of the house of the Lord ;
that is, occupy the lowest place among the people of
God, despised and disregarded by the world, than
be loaded with all the dainties and riches of the
universe, and not belong to the assembly of them
that hear, and love, and know the word of God.

This Psalm, therefore, exhorts us rather to suffer
ourselves to be torn away from all the riches, honours,
consolations and pleasures of the world, than from
the house of God. For no riches, nor even king
doms, can deliver us from sin or death, or from the
kingdom of the devil ; nor can they overcome, in our
hearts, the terrors of hell or of the judgment of God.
But God gives, by his word, grace and victory over
all these. " He is a sun and a shield " that is, in all
darkness and in all afflictions, of every kind, the
word of God is a joyful light, a sure consolation, a
firm bulwark, and an invincible armour against the
violent assault of the devil and of sin: neither of
which can the riches or the wisdom of this world
vanquish. He, therefore, that hath the word of God
hath every thing : he that hath not the word of God
hath nothing. O blessed, eternally blessed are they,

PSALM LXXXV. 221

who thus love and value the word of God ! but
where are they ! how few such are there to be found !
for the world is full of mockers and despisers !

PSALM LXXXV.

The Psalmist, out of the experience of former mercies, prayethfor the
continuance thereof. — He promiseth to wait thereon, out of confidence
of God's goodness.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm to the sons of Korah.

LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land :
thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.

Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people ; thou
hast covered all their sin. Selah.

Thou hast taken away all thy wrath : thou hast
turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.

Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine
anger towards us to cease.

Wilt thou be angry with us for ever ? wilt thou
draw out thine anger to all generations?

Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people
may rejoice inthee?

Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy sal
vation.

I will hear what God the LORD will speak : for he
will speak peace unto his people, and to his
saints : but let them not turn again to folly.

Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him ;
that glory may dwell in our land.

Mercy and truth are met together ; righteousness
and peace have kissed each other.

Truth shall spring out of the earth ; and righteous
ness shall look down from heaven.

222 PSALM LXXXV.

Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good : and

our land shall yield her increase.
Righteousness shall go before him, and shall set us

in the way of his steps.

THIS Psalm is a prayer containing the feelings of a
heart that fears God ; and it persuades, in the most
impressive words, such an one, not to dread God's
anger. For those who fear God, are not like the
despisers and Epicureans, who are secure and care
for nothing that happens ; but when calamities fall
upon godly men, their first and main concern is to
turn to God that smites them, and to make anew their
peace with him.

The anger wherewith God chastised his people, at
this time, was this : he had taken away from them,
for a time, the word ; he had diminished the number
of those that preached it in truth, and had made few
the true prophets, priests and Levites. In addition
to which, the peace of the nation was broken by sedi
tions ; and many evils prevailed in the state and
among the rulers thereof. And this was not all :
there came on also the dread and expectation of war,
and the want of the necessary provisions of life: for
these calamities generally follow, one after the other,
when God, according to the first commandment,
visits the iniquities of a people.

The Psalmist, therefore, prays that God would be
pleased again to preserve the church, and also the
nation ; again to restore the real ministers of the
word, who preached it in truth, and by whom alone
God truly speaks unto men.

The Psalmist, therefore, breaks forth with a won
derful burden of heart, as if he had said, " O that I
might again hear the Lord truly speaking ! O that

PSALM LXXXVI. 223

the word of God were again truly preached, lest even
the godly should be " turned to folly " (' or ignorance ;
that is, lest they should be so broken down and
utterly worn out, by the greatness of their afflictions,
as not to know what to do.) ' O that both the wor
ship of God, and the prosperity of our nation, may
be restored, and that peace, and concord, and truth,
and justice, may flourish among us ! that the fruits
of the earth, and the produce of the fields and of the
vineyards may be blessed ; that we may lead a godly
life in this our day, and, as St. Paul saith, may
" look for the glorious appearing of the great
God ! " '

PSALM LXXXVI.

David strengthened his prayer by the conscience of his religion, — by the
goodness and power of God. — He desireth the continuance of former
grace. — Complaining of the proud he craveth some token of God's
goodness.

A Prayer of David.

Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me ; for I am

poor and needy.
Preserve my soul, for I am holy : O thou my God,

save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
Be merciful unto me, O LORD : for I cry unto thee

daily.
Rejoice the soul of thy servant : for unto thee, O

LORD, do I lift up my soul.
For thou, LORD, art good, and ready to forgive ;

and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call

upon thee.
Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer ; and attend to

the voice of my supplications.

224 PSALM LXXXVI.

In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee : for

thou wilt answer me.
Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O

LORD ;' neither are there any works like unto thy

works.
All nations whom thou hast made shall come and

worship before thee, O LORD ; and shall glorify

thy name.
For thou art great, and doest wondrous things,

thou art God alone.
Teach me thy way, O LORD ; I will walk in thy

truth : unite my heart to fear thy name.
I will praise thee, O LORD my God, with all my

heart ; and T will glorify thy name for evermore.
For great is thy mercy toward me ; and thou hast

delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
O God, the proud are risen against me, and the

assemblies of violent men have sought after my

soul, and have not set thee before them.
But thou, O LORD, art a God full of compassion,

and gracious ; long-suffering, and plenteous in

mercy and truth.
O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me : give

thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son

of thine handmaid.
Shew me a token for good ; that they which hate

me may see it, and be ashamed ; because thou,

LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

THIS Psalm is a supplication, and, as the title shows,
a prayer of David : and here you may see that prayer
is the highest exercise of faith, and the highest wor
ship of God. Every one knows with what destroying
calamities that great man David, that " man after
God's own heart," was surrounded ; and yet you

PSALM LXXXVI. 225

may see, in the book of Kings, that, in his deepest
straits and most calamitous afflictions, he calls upon
God with all the ardour of his heart against his ene
mies, Saul, his son Absalom, &c. those "instruments
of the devil, who so heavily afflicted him.

Behold what an example of prayer for us to follow,
this great, this most spiritual man, gives us in the
6th, 9th, 10th and llth verses. See how fixedly he
has before his eyes the first commandment. " O
God," saith he, " who is like unto thee among the
gods ? " who doeth works like unto thy works ? " Thou
art great and doest wonderful works ; thou art God
alone. Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion
and gracious, long-suffering and plenteous in mercy
and in truth, unto all that call upon thee."

Behold here how he calls up and sharpens, as it
were, his faith, at a view of the mercy of God ! so
that, apprehending that mercy and the promise, he
goes forth on the assurance, that God is not only
powerful and great, and invincible against all the
assaults of the devil and of the world, and against
all creatures; but that he is also ever present unto
the godly, and ever merciful to those that call upon
him, and believe in him. And thus, we also ought
to apprehend the word of the divine promise of mercy,
and cast out of our hearts all doubt, that we may be
enabled to call upon him without misgiving'.

At the end David prays, " Show me a token for
good." God sometimes permits the wicked to glory
for a while, as if they certainly should soon devour
the saints, and those that fear him. But God never
finally forsakes his people : for here, in the church
below, he often delivers the godly, who fear him, out
of the greatest perils ; yea, out of the very jaws of
death ; and plainly proves that he is ever present and
Q

226 PSALM LXXXVII.

near his own : for their deliverances plainly show
the hand of God. It is for such a token, or sign, as
this, that David here prays.

PSALM LXXXVII.

The nature and (/lory of the church. — The increase, honour, and comfort
of the members thereof.

A Psalm or Song for the sons of Korah.

His foundation is in the holy mountains.

The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all
the dwellings of Jacob.

Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God.
Selah.

I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to
them that know me : behold Philistia, and Tyre,
with Ethiopia; this man was born there.

And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was
born in her: and the highest himself shall esta
blish her.

The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the
people, that this man was born there. Selah.

As well the singers as the players on instruments
shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

THIS is a prophecy concerning the kingdom of Christ
and the church, in times to come. The Psalmist,
after the manner of the prophets, sets before us the
future Jerusalem and the future Zion, as if repre
sented in a painting before our eyes : the houndaries
of which should be those of the world itself, reaching
from east to west, and from north to south ; and in
which church there should be born men of every

PSALM LXXXVIII. 227

nation, kingdom, tribe, and tongue, — Ethiopians,
Egyptians, Babylonians, Tyrians, Philistines, &c.
and that these should be born in this church, not by
a natural birth, but by the word of the gospel.

" Great, excellent, and glorious things shall be
spoken and preached in thee, O city of God ! " For
the gospel is a great and glorious doctrine, the highest
of all doctrines, even the word of salvation ; hence,
as Paul saith, (Phil. i. 10.) the gospel contains, in
comparison with the law, " the things that are ex
cellent." For by the gospel is given to us the know
ledge of the counsel and will of God ; in what
manner God is pacified ; how we are delivered from
sin, from the power of the devil, and from eternal
death ; which things neither the law, nor any human
philosophy, could teach.

In the last verse also, the Psalm most beautifully
sets forth what the highest worship, under the New
Testament, should be. " There shall be in thee,
(saith the Psalmist,) as the harmonious concert of
those playing on instruments ; " that is, it is not
Moses, or the law, that shall be taught in that city ;
but the sweet and joyful message of the gospel shall
be preached by the ministry of the word, even grace
and the remission of sins by Jesus Christ.

PSALM LXXXVIII.

A prayer containing a grievous complaint.

A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon
Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.

O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and
night before thee.

Q 2

•228 PSALM LXXXVIII.

Let ray prayer come before thee : incline thine ear

unto my cry ;
For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draweth

nigh unto the grave.
I am counted with them that go down into the pit :

I am as a man that hatk no strength :
Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the

grave, whom thou rememberest no more : and

they are cut off from thy hand.
Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness,

in the deeps.

Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast af
flicted me with all thy waves. Selah.
Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from

me; thou hast made me an abomination unto

them : I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction : LORD,

I have called daily upon thee ; I have stretched

out my hands unto thee.
Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead ? shall the

dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave?

or thy faithfulness in destruction?
Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy

righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
But unto thee have I cried, O LORD ; and in the

morning shall my prayer prevent thee.
LORD, why castest thou off my soul I why hidest

thou thy face from me ?
I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up :

while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
Thy fierce wrath goeth over me ; thy terrors have

cut me off.
They came round about me daily like water, they

compassed me about together.

PSALM LXXXVIII. 229

Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and
mine acquaintance into darkness.

THIS is a prayer, as in the person of Christ and of
all the saints. It contains those mighty feelings
and conflicts of heart, which no mortals but those
who experience them, can either describe or con
ceive ; I mean those pangs and pains, and that heavy
sorrow of spirit, (above all natural distress of body
or of mind, and above all natural fear and dread,)
when the heart is filled with a sense of the majesty
and anger of God, and is alarmed at the nature and
end of sin ; while God also, as yet, holds off all con
solation ; and the soul is shaken in the midst of
darkness and terror, and, as Christ saith himself,
" sifted by the devil like wheat in a sieve ; " while the
malicious Satan craftily augments the soul's views of
the anger of God, and drives out of sight all hope of
mercy and grace.

David here calls these unspeakable terrors of soul,
" hell," " darkness," " the shadow of death." " Thou
hast cast me (saith he) into the lowest pit, into dark
ness and the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me ;
and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves."
And rightly does David describe these pains and
terrors by the terms, " death," " hell," &c. because
this anguish of soul is of the very nature, and power,
and poison, and sting of hell and death ; for no
sooner is the darkness dispersed, by some shining in
of divine consolation, than death is no longer death,
but we die gladly. And indeed, where such fears
and terrors of mind abound and continue, they
extend to the body, bring on a paleness and ema
ciation, and affect the whole man. Paul calls them
the " buffetting of Satan/' and " thorns in the

'230 PSALM LXXXIX.

flesh ; " which has reference to a custom in certain
nations of punishing criminals by transfixing their
bodies with a certain sharp pointed conical instru
ment, in the shape of a thorn ; and mocking and
deriding them in their suffering. And just thus it is
that the nations of the world contemptuously call
Christ ' that crucified fellow/ and the Jews, ' That
fellow that was hanged.' For the world, in their
malice, not only persecute Christ, but also deride
and mock his sufferings, and the sufferings of his
members. And hence it is David complains thus in
this Psalm, " Lover and friend hast thou put far
from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness."

PSALM LXXXIX.

The psalmist praiseth God for his covenant, for his wonderful power, for
the care of his church, for his favour to the kinydom of David. — Then
complaining of contrary events, he expostulateth, prayeth, and blesseth
God.

Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

I WILL sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever :
with my mouth will I make known thy faithful
ness to all generations.

For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever :
thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very
heavens.

I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have
sworn unto David my servant,

Thy seed will t establish for ever, and build up
thy throne to all generations. Selah.

Arid the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O
LORD : thy faithfulness also in the congregation
of the saints.

PSALM LXXXIX. 231

For who in the heaven can be compared unto the

LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can

be likened unto the LORD?
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the

saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that

are about him.
O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like

unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about

thee?
Thou rulestthe raging of the sea: when the waves

thereof arise, thou stillest them.
Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is

slain ; thou hast scattered thine enemies with

thy strong arm.
The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine : as

for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast

founded them.
The north and the south thou hast created them :

Tabor and Herinon shall rejoice in thy name.
Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and

high is thy right hand.
Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy

throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy

face.
Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound :

they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy

countenance.
In thy name shall they rejoice all the day : and in

thy righteousness shall they be exalted.
For thou art the glory of their strength : and in thy

favour our horn shall be exalted.
For the LORD is our defence ; and the Holy One

of Israel is our king.

Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one,
and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is

232 PSALM LXXXIX.

mighty ; I have exalted one chosen out of the

people.
I have found David my servant ; with my holy oil

have I anointed him :
With whom my hand shall be established ; mine

arm also shall strengthen him.
The enemy shall not exact upon him ; nor the son

of wickedness afflict him.
And I will beat down his foes before his face, and

plague them that hate him.
But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with

him; and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right

hand in the rivers.
He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, my

God, and the Rock of my salvation.
Also I will make him my first-born, higher than

the kings of the earth.
My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and

my covenant shall stand fast with him.
His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and

his throne as the days of heaven.
If his children forsake my law, and walk not in

my judgments ;

If they break my statutes, and keep not my com
mandments ;
Then will I visit their transgression with the rod,

and their iniquity with stripes.
Nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not ut
terly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness

to fail.
My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing

that is gone out of my lips.
Once have I sworn by my holiness, that I will not

lie unto David.

PSALM LXXXIX. 233

His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as

the sun before me.
It shall he established for ever as the moon, and

a* a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.
But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been

wroth with thine anointed.
Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant ;

thou hast profaned his crown, by casting it to the

ground.
Thou hast broken down all his hedges ; thou hast

brought his strong holds to ruin.
All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a re
proach to his neighbours.

Thou hast set up the right hand of his adver
saries ; thou hast made all his enemies to

rejoice.
Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and

hast not made him to stand in the battle.
Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his

throne down to the ground.
The days of his youth hast thou shortened : thou

hast covered him with shame. Selah.
How long, LORD? wilt thou hide thyself for ever ?

shall thy wrath burn like fire?
Remember how short my time is : wherefore hast

thou made all men in vain !
What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death ?

shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the

grave? Selah.
LORD, where are thy former loving-kindnesses,

which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?
Remember, LORD, the reproach of thy servants ;

how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the

mighty people ;
Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O

234 PSALM LXXXIX.

LORD ; wherewith they have reproached the
footsteps of thine anointed.

Blessed be the LORD for evermore. Amen, and
amen.

THIS is a remarkable prophecy concerning Christ
and his kingdom ; he speaks of the church or king
dom of Christ, as a " kingdom in the heavens ; " in
the same manner as Christ himself calls it " the
kingdom of heaven/' And though this spiritual
kingdom of Christ is here upon earth, yet the
Psalmist gloriously describes it as being " in the
heavens."

The Psalmist, indeed, here apprehends the promise
made to David concerning Christ ; and, opening that
promise in a wonderful manner, he describes the
riches of this spiritual kingdom. He enforces the
everlasting firmness and sureness of that promise;
and, taking a stand of heavenly meditation therein,
he dwells upon the effectual power of that promise
against all the violence of sin, and the malice and
accusation of the devil; and here the Psalmist takes
up his divine abode ; here he fixes his standing ; as
the apostle hath it, " by faith ye stand:" and he
says that this truth of God, this his promise was
prepared from everlasting, built up in the fulfilment
of God's purpose of mercy, and firm, and " established
in the heavens."

" Thy faithfulness and truth/' (says the Psalmist,)
"are established in the heavens;" that is, a hea
venly righteousness is preached by the gospel, which
is not placed in us, or in any worthiness or merit of
ours ; but is out of us, and is the righteousness of
Christ, and is imputed, for Christ's sake, unto all
that believe in him : and hence, the promised riches

PSALM LXXXIX. 235

of this kingdom are the gift of the Spirit, and the
remission of sins, with ajl other spiritual blessings :
all which are not offered unto us on any condition
of the law, or of our works or our merit, but are given
unto us freely of God. Salvation, therefore, is not a
matter conditional on our works, but freely given
unto us for Christ's sake; that thus all doubting
and uncertainty may be taken from our souls ; and
that we may safely rest, entirely and only on the
immutable and immoveable certainty of this truth
and promise of God.

The temporal kingdom of the Jews was promised
to that people, on condition of a law given to them ;
that, if they kept that law, nationally, as a people,
if they were therein good and obedient, they should
be preserved and blessed. And, in the same way
also, all the kingdoms of the world are given to their
people under a like condition of a law, and, as long
as they are good and obedient, God preserves them.
But the immense and glorious riches of this spiritual
kingdom, the forgiveness of sins, the gift of the
Spirit, victory over death and the devil, &c. are
promised and held forth without any condition of
a law ; and, in a word, the remission of sins is
promised, freely, not only to those who have done
nothing to deserve it, but to those who have done
everything to forfeit it. This is a throne, therefore,
not of angry and destroying majesty, but of grace
alone ; and being founded, not on the basis of our
good works and merits, but on the rock of the sure
and everlasting truth of God, it affords a great and
marvellous consolation to the afflicted consciences
of sinners.

After, however, the prophetic Psalmist has de
scribed the flower and glory of this kingdom and

236 PSALM LXXXIX.

church of Christ, he deplores, on the other hand,
from verse 39, in the most powerful expressions, the
desolations and destructions of it : saying, that it
shall come to pass that this kingdom, like as the
apostle has also foretold, shall be so disturbed
and torn to pieces by antichrist, that it shall seem
as if God had wholly forgotten his promise unto
it; nay, as if, contrary to the word of his promise,
he did nothing but show his wrath against this
kingdom.

All these things, however, are written for a con
solation unto the godly ; and especially unto us who,
in these last times, have witnessed such abomi
nations of papacy ; these things, I say, are written
for our comfort and consolation; that we should not
be broken-spirited, or terrified, at the multitude
and diversity of offences ; nor be driven to despair,
though wickedness should have the dominion for a
time, and though Satan should, as it were, so subvert
all things human and divine, that there should seem
to be no church of Christ at all, no remains of the
kingdom of Christ upon earth. For if you look
at the abomination of the Pope, and of Mahomet,
which have spread themselves over the whole
world, no other appearance is presented than that
there is not a vestige of the true church remaining:
and yet, it is not wholly blotted or rooted out from
the earth ; for, under the reign of each abomination
and tyranny, there has ever existed a true church
of Christ, although greatly despised and greatly
oppressed.

PSALM XC. 237

PSALM XC.

Moses, setting forth God's providence, complaineth of human fragility,
divine chastisements, and brevity of life.— He prayethfor the know
ledge and sensible experience of God's good providence.

A prayer of Moses, the Man of God.

LORD, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all
generations.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever
thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even
from everlasting to everlasting thou art God.

Thou turnest man to destruction ; and sayest, Re
turn, ye children of men.

For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yes
terday when it is past, and as a watch in the
night.

Thou carriest them away as with a flood ; they
are as a sleep : in the morning they are like
grass which groweth up.

In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in
the evening it is cut down, and withereth.

For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy
wrath are we troubled.

Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret
sins in the light of thy countenance.

For all our days are passed away in thy wrath :
we spend our years as a tale that is told.

The days of our years are threescore years and
ten ; and if by reason of strength they be four
score years, yet is their strength labour and sor
row ; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even ac
cording to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

238 PSALM XC.

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply

our hearts unto wisdom.
Return, O LORD, how long? arid let it repent thee

concerning thy servants.
O satisfy us early with thy mercy ; that we may

rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad according to the days wherein thou

hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have

seen evil.
Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy

glory unto their children.
And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon

us : and establish thou the work of our hands

upon us : yea, the work of our hands establish

thou it.

THIS Psalm contains a very great and important
doctrine ; in which Moses teaches what is the origin
and cause of that death to which the whole human
race is subject, and the reason why so horrible a
punishment was inflicted on the whole race of mor
tals : the Psalmist saith, it was on account of sin :
and the guilt and desert of sin are greater than can
be conceived by the human mind, unless God touch
the heart with a knowledge of it ; arid yet, in this
sin and guilt, and under this wrath, all the sons of
Adam are born.

Moses here opens widely this punishment of sin,
and this horrible misery ; setting forth the proof of it
in the shortness and uncertainty of human life ;
which life, in addition to this its shortness and un
certainty, is subject also to all kinds of calamity:
and, in verse 11, Moses saith that this very un
speakable misery — death, and all other human ca
lamities, as parts of that death, tend, or should lead

PSALM XC. 239

us, to seek the grace and mercy of God, who alone
can deliver us from all these evils, — sin, the slavery
of the devil, and death. Hence all the calamities
and afflictions of life, and even death itself, the
punishment of sin, work together for good unto the
elect, and unto those that fear God ; that they may,
by all things, be humbled, broken down, and cruci
fied, and so, thirst after grace.

" So teach us that we must die/' says Moses, " that
we may become wise:" that is, that we may learn
to know God and his will aright; for this is what
Moses calls "becoming wise." The wicked, and
fools, who are not exercised with afflictions, who
number not their days, nor think of death, nor medi
tate on the misery of life, but remain unexperienced
and ignorant of all spiritual things, and are wrapped
up in their own hypocrisy, never rightly know God,
nor truly seek his help and mercy.

Moses then closes his Psalm with a divinely con
cluding prayer, " Let thy work appear unto thy
servants," or " Show us thy work, O Lord." Here,
by the work of God, he means deliverance from sin
and death ; and, in a word, all that deliverance that
our fathers expected from that blessed seed, which
we have revealed to us in Christ. And again, saith
Moses, " O satisfy us early with thy mercy : " and
he twice repeats, " Prosper thou the works of our
hands : " that is, for the time that we live, direct and
prosper thou our whole life : preserve thy true reli
gion and the good government of our nation : guard
us from heresies, errors, wars, seditions, and all such
evils. This Psalm, therefore, is a short but a most
spiritual prayer.

240 PSALM XCI.

PSALM XCI.

The state of the godly.— Their safety .—Their habitation.— Their ser
vants.— Their friends ; with the effects, of them all.

HE that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most

High, shall abide under the shadow of the Al
mighty.
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge, and my

fortress : my God ; in him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the

fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under

his wings shalt thou trust ; his truth shall be thy

shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night,

nor for the arrow that flieth by day,
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness,

nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day.
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand

at thy right hand ; but it shall not come nigh

thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, and see

the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my

refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation.
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any

plague come nigh thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to

keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou

dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the

PSALM XCI. 241

young lion and the dragon shall thou trample

under feet.
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore

will I deliver him : I will set him on high, be
cause he hath known my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him : I

will be with him in trouble ; I will deliver him,

and honour him.
With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him

my salvation.

THIS is a most distinguished jewel among all the
Psalms of consolation. The Psalmist highly exalts
faith in God, and shews that it is an invincible
strength against all evils, and against all the gates
of hell.

At the very outset, the Psalmist says, " He that
dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High,
abideth under the shadow of the Almighty ; " and
such an one shall say unto the Lord, " Thou art my
confidence, my protection, my fortress and my God/'
that is, he that believeth and trusteth in God, and
rests in his protection, — he shall find, though shaken
on every side, by the devil, by sin, by the world, and
by various and endless temptations, that the godly
are proof and invincible against all these evils ; that
God is most high over all ; that he is Omnipotent ;
and, in a word, that " greater is he that is in us than
he that is in the world."

Towards the conclusion, this Psalm contains, accu
mulated together, eight or nine promises of grace,
which the Psalmist drew out of the first command
ment, as out of a fountain. This Psalm, therefore,
ought to be set before afflicted souls. 1. The Psalm
ist says " Because he hath hoped in me, therefore
R

'242 PSALM XCI.

will I deliver him." 2. " I will set him on high."
3. "Because he hath called upon me, I will hear
him." 4. "I will be with him in trouble." 5. "I
will deliver him." 6. " I will set him on high, or
glorify him." 7. *« With long life will I satisfy him."
8. " I will show him my salvation:" that is, that I
am " mighty to save ! "

And this also is the second Psalm wherein angels
are proclaimed as our watchful guardians and pro-
tectors : which is a truth very greatly consoling to
the really godly, who know with what fury Satan
unceasingly assaults the church, and all the saints.
This Psalm enumerates four kinds of evils and afflic
tions, which are to be endured by the saints and
those that fear God :

1. " Mighty fear,"—" terror by night." The scrip
ture frequently represents temptations and afflictions
under the figures of darkness and night; and conso
lations under the figurative descriptions of light and
day. The Psalmist, therefore, here sets forth all
those horrible instances of hatred, that Cain-like
purpose to destroy, (which is ever secretly bound up
in the hearts of pharisaic religionists) all those mali
cious threats, those hostile traps and snares, those
created perils, those injuries, and all those other ter
rible oppositions which Satan ever raises up against
the word of God, by nightly fear, or " terror by
night."

2. "The arrow that flielh by day." By which are
meant to be described all those open clamours, re
proaches, execrations, and blasphemies, by which
tyrants and hypocrites openly attack and condemn
the word of God, and the doctrine of Christ. Of this
kind are the pope's bulls, (and truly they are bulls I)
and also, the edicts of kings and princes, the viru-

PSALM XCI. -243

lent and blasphemous books of erroneous disputers,
and the writings of erroneous and visionary men,
such as the anabaptists, and the like.

3. " The pestilence that creepeth (or walketh) in
darkness/' These are the deceits, the crafts, and
the artifices of the papists ; and the leagues, the
covert conspiracies, the secret counsels, by which
those enemies consult and plan among themselves
in their private conclaves: which clandestine machi
nations they think they can keep hidden, even from
the eyes of God himself; and by all which diabolical
means, they plot to destroy and root out the godly
and all doctrine that is truly good and saving.

4. " The disease (or contagion, or destruction)
that wasteth at noon day/' This is the work of open
persecution ; whereby these holy Cains, in their
unheard-of cruelty and tyranny, shed the blood of
the Abels, drive into exile the godly, plunder their
substance, and slaughter them by every cruelty of
torture ; thereby attempting to lay the true church
utterly waste, and to leave not a vestige of the true
word remaining.

This is my view of the Psalm. I know that St.
Bernard gives other interpretations. Let others,
therefore, if they can, put forth a better explication
than I have done: that my view is simple, and
agreeable to the mind and spirit of the prophets, is
self-manifest, and proved by experience: for we see
and experience daily, that the saints of God are
attacked and exercised by these four afflictions for the
word's sake, by means of the devil and by the world.
The Holy Spirit, therefore, by this Psalm, revives
and strengthens our faith ; and by the cluster of
promises at the end of the Psalm, the same Holy
Spirit quickens and refreshes our hearts with con-
R 2

•244 PSALM XCII.

solation : this Psalm therefore ought to be most ac
ceptable to all the saints.

PSALM XCII.

The prophet cxhorteth to praise God, for his great works, for his judg
ments on the wicked, and for his goodness to the godly.

A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath-day.

IT is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD,

and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most

High:
To shew forth thy loving-kindness in the morning,

and thy faithfulness every night,
Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the

psaltry ; upon the harp with a solemn sound.
For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy

work ; I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
O LORD, how great are thy works ! and thy thoughts

are very deep,
A brutish man knoweth not ; neither doth a fool

understand this.
When the wicked spring as the grass, and when

all the workers of iniquity do flourish ; it is that

they shall be destroyed for ever :
But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore.
For, lo, thine enemies, O LORD, for, lo, thine

enemies shall perish ; all the workers of ini
quity shall be scattered ;
But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an

unicorn : I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies ;

and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked

that rise up against me.

PSALM XCII. 245

The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree ; he

shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those that be planted in the house of the LORD

shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they

shall be fat and flourishing ;
To shew that the LORD is upright ; he is my rock,

and there is no unrighteousness in him.

THIS is a consolatory Psalm. The first six verses are
full of the most sweet experiences of a heart rejoicing
and triumphing in that incomparable treasure — a
knowledge of the true and sure word of God, and of the
promises of grace in Christ. It is the same rejoicing
of heart as that of the apostle, when he, exulting in
the Spirit, saith, " Thanks be unto God for his un
speakable gift."

At the very opening of the Psalm, the Psalmist
saith, " O how excellent, how sweet a thing is it to
give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto
thy name, O Most High ! " that is, O what is sweeter
than to know God aright by his word, and by true
faith; to acknowledge his infinite mercies; to give
thanks unto him joyfully and adoringly, with every
cord and string of our hearts; to proclaim and
praise him unceasingly with a full heart and a full
mouth ; to triumph in his goodness ; and to offer him
the full sacrifice of thanksgiving ! in a word, to
worship him with that all high and all-true worship
of the first commandment, which requires for its high
worship, above all things, true faith, and such joyful
exercises of faith as these ; as if the Psalmist had
said, ' How precious is that worship of God ! How
acceptable unto God, how grateful in his sight, and
in the sight of angels too, are all such sabbaths, such

•246 PSALM XC1II.

sacrifices as these ! Though we saints, all the while,
are said, by the world, to know nothing about wor
shipping God ! '

All these glorious things are pointed by the Psalm
ist against false saints and hypocrites ; who honour
God (as they think) with cold hearts and Jips, and
tread all the while that high worship of the first
commandment under foot ; and yet make a great
show of the name of church among them, and flourish
in the sight of the wrorld, and display much wealth
and much power and greatness. But though they
greatly flourish and prosper thus for a time ; yet they
at length perish and go to destruction : and, accord
ing to the word of Paul, " Their folly is made mani
fest unto all."

But the godly and the saints, though thus exer
cised and broken with afflictions, flourish, never
theless, like palm-trees, in the house of the Lord,
and will flourish for evermore! Neither time, nor
age, nor sorrow of mind, nor any afflictions, nor
death itself, can root them out, or hurt them ! But,
both living and dying, and even in death itself, they
live and bring forth fruit through the word of God,
as Paul saith, " No creature can separate them!"
But fools, that is, the wicked and epicureans of this
world, regard not these things, they will not hear
or endure them ; and of this sort we may see thou
sands of atheistical men in our day.

PSALM XCIII.

The majesty, power, and holiness of Christ's kingdom.

THE LORD reigneth ; he is clothed with majesty :
the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he

PSALM XCIII. 247

hath girded himself: the world also is estab
lished, that it cannot be moved.
Thy throne is established of old: thoti art from

everlasting.
The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have

lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their

waves.
The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of

many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of

the sea.
Thy testimonies are very sure : holiness becometh

thine house, O LORD, for ever.

THIS is a prophecy concerning the spread of the
kingdom of Christ, as far and wide as the earth is
extended, and its establishment for ever. But against
this kingdom, as the Psalmist saith, the " waves "
and "mighty waters" will swell and lift up them
selves ; that is, the kingdoms and peoples of the
world will roar against the Lord and against his
Anointed; and will rage against the godly with
sword and fire; but they shall not prevail: for, as
Daniel saith, " this kingdom shall break in pieces all
other kingdoms beneath it, and shall stand for ever."
— Daniel ii. 44.

But thy kingdom shall be established in no other
way than by the word of the gospel. It shall not
stand by the force of arms, nor by external pomp, or
glory, before the world ; but it shall be husbanded,
and shall be increased and adorned, by the ministry
of the word of the gospel. This is the " holiness,"
(namely the ministry of the word) that shall " be
come," or " adorn," the house of the Lord. For this
true and high worship of God which is in the king
dom of Christ, takes the place of all sacrifices and

248 PSALM XCIV.

of all oblations, candlesticks, and the like ; and the
preaching of the word, and the giving of thanks, are
instead of all external representations of mercy :
hence Paul saith, that the Old Testament is done
away by this New Testament worship.

PSALM XCIV.

The prophet, calling for justice, complaineth of tyranny and impiety. —
Heteacheth God's providence. — He sheweth the blessedness of affliction.
— God is the defender of the afflicted.

O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth ; O
God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew
thyself.

Lift up thyself, thou Judge of the earth : render a
reward to the proud.

LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall
the wicked triumph?

How long shall they utter and speak hard things?
and all the workers of iniquity boast them
selves ?

They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and af
flict thine heritage :

They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder
the fatherless.

Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall
the God of Jacob regard it.

Understand, ye brutish among the people ; and,

ye fools, when will ye be wise?
, He that planted the ear, shall he not hear ? he that
formed the eye, shall he not see ?

He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he cor
rect? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not
lie know ?

PSALM XCIV. 249

The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they

are vanity.
Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD,

and teachest him out of thy law ;
That thou mayest give him rest from the days

of adversity, until the pit be digged for the

wicked.
For the LORD will not cast oft' his people, neither

will he forsake his inheritance :
But judgment shall return unto righteousness;

and all the upright in heart shall follow it.
Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers?

or who will stand up for me against the workers

of iniquity ?
Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had

almost dwelt in silence.
When I said, My footslippeth ; thy mercy, O LORD,

held me up.
In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy

comforts delight my soul.
Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with

thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
They gather themselves together against the soul

of the righteous, and condemn the innocent

blood.
But the LORD is my defence ; and my God i* the

rock of my refuge.

And he shall bring upon them their own ini
quity, and shall cut them off in their own

wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut

them off.

THIS is a general but a most fervent prayer, filled
with the feelings of an afflicted and sorrowful heart,
grieving that the blood of the Abels should be shed

250 PSALM XCIV.

and drank up, with such iniquity and cruelty, by
Cainish hypocrites.

The Psalmist complains, (as I consider it,) not of
hostile nations, but of those domestic hypocrites and
enemies, who will have it to appear that they, yea,
that they alone, are the people of God ; that is, the
Psalmist complains of the wicked kings, and princes,
and priests, and prophets, among the people of Is
rael. It is to these the Psalmist turns, in this apo
strophe, " Understand, ye brutish among the people ;
and, ye fools, when will ye be wise?" He calls
these characters " fools;" that is, ignorant and im
pious despisers of God ; because they taught and
ruled the people without knowledge, and wickedly.

In a word, the Psalmist here directs his word
against all who persecuted the true prophets, and
their disciples and followers, and slew them with
Cainish hatred, and nevertheless boasted all the
while in God, and the name of God ; who (they said)
had given them power, and made, and defended, and
protected them, as magistrates and priests ; but who
did not regard heretics, who seditiously resisted
them that were the princes and magistrates of the
people of God. And many such things they continued
to say.

Now, against all such the prophet burns with zeal ;
and (with a certain zealous mimicry, as it were,)
imitates their own words and expressions ; saying,
(that is, meaning that they say,) " The Lord shall not
see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it." And
it is thus that the papists say, in their security, * Do
you think God regards these heretics ! No ! he re
gards us : he has respect unto us, the catholic
church, whom we certainly represent in the world.'
Against such as these, the prophet burns with the

PSALM XCV. 251

rage of zeal ; and against such he prays, and begs of
God, that there may be enough to stand forward for
the truth.

But, in the 16th verse, the Psalmist, on the other
hand, strikes at the perfidious deceitfulness of the
world : " Who (saith he) is on my side? Who will
rise up for me against the evil doers ? " As if he
had said, ' I know the world careth nothing about
this: the blood of God's Abels is shed, and no one
regardeth it. But (continues the holy Psalmist) this
is my sure and eternal consolation, that the cause
which I love and espouse is the right cause ; nay,
the cause of God, and not my cause : and I know in
whom I have believed/ I am assured, saith the
Psalmist, (verse 20.) that the "seat of the scornful,"
and the "counsel of the ungodly," cleave not, and
belong not, unto thee: that is, I am sure that thou,
O God, approvest not any impious or blasphemous
doctrine. I am sure that thou requirest and de-
mandest the blood, (and every drop of that blood,)
and the tears, of the Abels, at the hands of their
persecutors ; and that thou wilt keep, and fulfil, and
glorify thy word, even in the midst of the death of
thy saints; and that thou wilt revenge all blasphemy
and wickedness against thee and them.

PSALM XCV.

An exhortation to praise Cod for his greatness, and for his goodness,
and not to tempt him.

O COME, let us sing unto the LORD ; let us make a

joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanks-

252 PSALM XCV.

giving, and make a joyful noise unto him with

psalms.
For the LORD is a great God, and a great King

above all gods.
In his hand are the deep places of the earth ; the

strength of the hills is his also.
The sea is his, and he made it; and his hands

formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us

kneel before the LORD our Maker.
For he is our God; and we are the people of his

pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To-day, if

ye will hear his voice,
Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and

as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and

saw my work.

Forty years long was I grieved with this genera
tion, and said, It is a people that do err in their

heart, and they have not known my ways :
Unto whom I sware in my wrath, that they should

not enter into my rest.

THIS Psalm is a prophecy concerning Christ, and its
contents are fully and learnedly explained in the
Apostle's epistle to the Hebrews. It prophecies
concerning the time of the New Testament, and sets
forth the lovely and sweet voice of the gospel. In a
word, the Psalmist instructs us in, and allures us to,
the knowledge of the riches of the grace of God ;
which riches were known to our fathers as well as
unto us, in the promised seed — Christ.

* Come (saith the Psalmist) and let us rejoice in
the Lord. Come ye that are afar off and ye that are
near, and let us exult in the Lord ; let us trium h in

PSALM XCVI. 253

the God of such salvation : ' that is, Come and let
us rejoice with the whole triumph of our hearts, in
that infinite benefit and mercy— the granted grace of
Christ! Since we have such promises, let us not
neglect such great salvation. For to believe in the
promise of grace, contrary to all the objections of
conscience, the temptations of Satan, and the fears
of the heart, is the true worship of God !

In a word, the Psalmist warns against unbelief.
" Harden not your hearts (says he) as ye did at
Massah and Meribah in the desert: your fathers, on
account of their unbelief, entered not into the holy
land of promise. "

The whole of this Psalm is to be referred to Christ:
for he is that blessed God in whom we ought to re
joice, and whom the Psalmist would have to be
known. He is our Shepherd, and we are the sheep
of his pasture. He is that God, whom our fathers
tempted in the desert, as Paul saith, (1 Cor. x.) It
was he who took out of the way the law, and abo
lished all the ceremonial worship of the Old Testa
ment. He will no longer have the worship esta
blished by Moses ; but he will have faith in the
gospel, the preaching of the remission of sins, and
that one true offering — praise, instead of the whole
Levitical worship.

PSALM XCVI.

An exhortation to praise God,— for his greatness,— for his kingdom, for
his general judgment.

O SING unto the LORD a new song : sing unto the
LORD, all the earth.

254 PSALM XCVI.

Sing unto the LORD, bless his name ; shew forth

his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders

among all people.
For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised :

he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the

LORD made the heavens.
Honour and majesty are before him : strength and

beauty are in his sanctuary.
Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people,

give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name :

bring an offering, and come into his courts.
O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness : fear

before him, all the earth.
Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth :

the world also shall be established that it shall not

be moved ; he shall judge the people righteously.
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad ;

let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.
Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein : then

shall all the trees of the wood rejoice
Before the LORD : for he cometlt, for he cometh to

judge the earth : he shall judge the world with

righteousness, and the people with his truth.

THIS is a prophecy concerning the kingdom of Christ,
and the spreading of the gospel over the whole world
and before every creature ; which gospel will be a
word of joy and thanksgiving, of peace, of rejoicing,
and of a continued sacrifice of praise: as the clear
text of the Psalm of itself plainly shows.

Here, commandment is given to all nations, king
doms, peoples, woods, rivers, fountains, trees, &c.

PSALM XCVII. '255

that they should praise and magnify the Lord, and
celebrate his name with rejoicing, because he judg-
eth the world in righteousness and in truth : that is,
because, through Christ, the promised seed, he de
livers, and will deliver the people from sin, from the
power of the devil, from the wrath of God, and from
eternal death : and because, instead of the kingdom
of death and of darkness, he sets up the kingdom of
light, of the remission of sins, and of eternal life,
before all men.

This is that most joyful shout of victory, that pecu
liar song, that most sweet note of the New Testa
ment, concerning the kingdom and grace of Christ;
in which kingdom there are born new men and new
creatures ; not by the law or by the works of Moses,
but by faith, by the Spirit of God through Christ, so
that each believer is a new creature and a marvel
lous work of God ; and all believers daily do mar
vellous works and are marvellous monuments, in
that they continue in spiritual life, and are finally
conquerors over the mighty powers of sin and the
devil; hence it is that David says, verse 1. " Declare
his wonders among all people."

PSALM XCVII.

The majesty of Cod's kingdom.— The church rejoiceth at God's judgments
vpon idolaters. — An exhortation to godliness and gladness.

THE LORD reigneth ; let the earth rejoice ; let the
multitude of isles be glad thereof.

Clouds and darkness are round about him : right
eousness and judgment are the habitation of his
throne.

256 PSALM XCVII.

A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his ene
mies round about.
His lightnings enlightened the world : the earth

saw and trembled.
The hills melted like wax at the presence of the

LORD, at the presence of the LORD of the whole

earth.
The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the

people see his glory.
Confounded be all they that serve graven images,

that boast themselves of idols : worship him, all

ye gods.
Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of

Judah rejoiced, because of thy judgments, O

LORD.
For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth : thou

art exalted far above all gods.
Ye that love the LORD, hate evil : he preserveth

the souls of his saints ; he delivereth them out

of the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for

the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous ; and give thanks

at the remembrance of his holiness.

THIS also, like the preceding, is a prophecy concern
ing Christ and his kingdom ; and the sum of it is to
proclaim, that Christ establishes and strengthens his
spiritual kingdom by the gospel ; wherein he preaches
repentance, and whereby his lightnings and thunders
terrify the whole world, and cause the mountains to
melt like wax before the fire of his face : that is, by
the gospel he condemns, casts down, and humbles
all human righteousness, human wisdom, and human
patience, throughout the world, and brings down

PSALM XCVIII.

257

every thing that is high and lifted up ; as Isaiah
saith, chapter 3, " And the Lord alone shall be ex
alted in that day/' For Christ alone is our " righteous
ness, our sanctification, and our redemption," and
that by the counsel of God, as it is written, " There
is no other name given under heaven whereby we
must be saved, but Jesus Christ and him crucified."
Together also with these enemies of the gospel and
these mountains of the world, the ceremonial king
dom of the Jews perisheth, and all the outward
worship of the law, and, indeed, every thing that is
not in Christ. For he (as the apostle Paul saith,
Col. i.) "in all things hath the pre-eminence." And
again, " For there is one Mediator between God and
man, the Man Christ Jesus." And so also, in Daniel,
The stone cut out of the mountain filled the world,
and broke in pieces all other kingdoms.

PSALM XCVIII.

The Psalmist exhorteth the Jews, the Gentiles, and all the creatures to
praise God.

A Psalin.

O SING unto the LORD a new song ; for he hath
done marvellous things : his right hand, and his
holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

The LORD hath made known his salvation : his
righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight
of the heathen.

He hath remembered his mercy and his truth to
ward the house of Israel : all the ends of the
earth have seen the salvation of our God.

258 PSALM XCVIII.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth :

make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
Sing unto the LORD with the harp ; with the harp,

and the voice of a psalm.
With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful

noise before the LORD, the King.
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the

world, and they that dwell therein.
Let the floods clap their hands ; let the hills be

joyful together
Before the LORD ; for he cometh to judge the

earth : with righteousness shall he judge the

world, and the people with equity.

THIS again is a prophecy concerning the preaching
of Christ and the spread of his kingdom, and it is of
the same subject as the two preceding Psalms ; it
calls upon us to rejoice in God, to triumph, to give
thanks, and to praise God for that great salvation :
that is, to preach the remission of sins, and those
riches of grace which are by Christ Jesus.

In this Psalm you again have set before you what
is the highest worship of God, namely, that of the
New Testament; which standeth not in the offering
of thanks in Jerusalem, but in knowing Christ, —
that King who ruleth the people in righteousness ;
who is himself righteous, and who maketh the people
righteous throughout the world ; and who alone de-
livereth them from sin, from death, and from the
power of the devil ; and doeth it all without any
merit of theirs.

259

PSALM XCIX.

The prophet, setting forth the kingdom of God in Zion,—fxhorteth ail,
by the example of forefathers, to worship God at Ms holy hill.

THE LORD reigneth ; let the people tremble : he

sitteth between the cherubims ; let the earth be

moved.
The LORD is great in Zion ; and he is high above

all the people.
Let them praise thy great and terrible name ; for

it is holy.
The king's strength also loveth judgment; thou

dost establish equity, thou executest judgment

and righteousness in Jacob.
Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his

footstool ; for he is holy.
Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel

among them that call upon his name ; they called

upon the LORD, and he answered them.
He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar : they

kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he

gave them.
Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God : thou

wast a God that forgavest them, though thou

tookest vengeance of their inventions.
Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy

hill ; for the LORD our God is holy.

THIS Psalm is a Psalm of blessed doctrine. It ex
horts the people of God to preserve sacredly that
true worship of the first commandment, the praising
of God alone, and the continuing in the faith of him,
although the nations on all sides and the whole

S 2

260 PSALM XCIX.

world should roar against that people who glory in
being the people of God, and who know that God is
to be found no where but in this and that corner of
the earth, in that tabernacle, in that sanctuary,
and at that mercy-seat, where the word and the pro
mise of God are preached. And the Psalm shows
that this true people of God are exposed to the most
bitter hatred of the world and of the devil, and to
afflictions of every kind.

The Psalmist mentions, by name, Moses, and
Aaron, and Samuel ; those best of men among the
people of God, who endured great afflictions, both
inward and outward, for the sake of the name and
the word of God. The Psalmist shows, however, (as
is set forth verses 4 and 5.) and teaches this people
of God, that the highest worship of God is not placed
in ceremonial sacrifices : therefore he says, " Let
them praise thy great and terrible name, for it is holy."
k' In this kingdom of God, (says the Psalmist,) jus
tice and judgment are loved." "Thou justifiest,"
says he, " thy people ; " that is, thou deliverest from
sin and death, and extendest unto them the remis
sion of their sins.

And unto us, who are in and of the church of God,
the present Psalm is a glorious prophecy of Christ,
who governs and rules this church, the true Zion, in
the Spirit, throughout the whole world, wheresoever
she is. The holy Psalmist shews us, that Christ,
sitting at the right hand of the Majesty in the hea
vens, is there continually as our Sacrificer and our
Sacrifice. And he testifies that the whole world rages
and roars against this people and church of God, and
kills the saints, and loads them with all manner of
afflictions, on account of their profession and worship
of Christ.

261

PSALM C.

An exhortation to praise God cheerfully, for his greatness awl for his
power.

A Psalm of Praise.

MAKE a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness; come before his

presence with singing.
Know ye that the LORD he is God : it is he that

hath made us, and not we ourselves: we are his

people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his

courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and

bless his name.
For the LORD is good, his mercy is everlasting ;

and his truth endureth to all generations.

THIS Psalm again is a prophecy concerning Christ.
It calls upon all to rejoice, to triumph, and to give
thanks ; to enter his gates with thanksgiving, and
his courts and sanctuary with praise : because, by
the gospel and the preaching of the remission of sins,
that kingdom of Christ is established and strength
ened, which shall remain and stand for ever: and
for the setting-up of which kingdom thanks are for
ever to be given.

PSALM CI.

David maketh a vow andprofession of godliness.
A Psalm of David.

262 PSALM CI.

I WILL sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O

LORD, will I sing.
I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O !

when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk

within my house with a perfect heart.
I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes : I hate

the work of them that turn aside, it shall not

cleave to me.
A froward heart shall depart from me ; I will not

know a wicked person.
Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will

I cut off: him that hath an high look and a

proud heart will not I suffer.
Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land,

that they may dwell with me : he that walketh

in a perfect way, he shall serve me.
He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within

my house ; he that telleth lies shall not tarry in

my sight.
I will early destroy all the wicked of the land,

that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city

of the LORD.

THIS Psalm contains a most solemn and necessary
doctrine : and David puts forth himself, so great a
king, as an example. He teaches that impious mem
bers and courtiers ought not to be borne with by any
godly magistrate or prince. He recounts also the
iniquities, by which those who are in the courts of
kings and princes, more especially harm the state
and the church. He shews that they do the greatest
evil when they are given to sin or to false doctrine ;
and when they injure the causes of good men by their
hatred of them.
In the opening of the Psalm David says, " I will

PSALM CII. 263

sing of mercy and of judgment:" that is as if he
had said, ' I will sing that God most certainly, ac
cording to the word of the first commandment, visits
the godly with mercy, and the ungodly with judg
ment, at all times.' Of this visiting mercy David was
himself an example, seeing that he had been so
many times delivered from the very claws and jaws
of the devil. And of the divine visitations of judg
ment, Absalom, Ahithophel, Joab, and others, were
examples. And every king and magistrate, who sets
himself to defend the true religion, and to do good
to his nation, is at once exposed to the hatred of all
men, even of his own family and court : which is
plainly seen in the case of Absalom, Ahithophel, and
other persecutors of David.

Hence it is that David, having so often experi
enced God's fulfilment of the word of his first com
mandment, sings in all places and at all times, 'that
God is God over all, exercising mercy and judg
ment/ And it is with God alone that a kingdom
and commonwealth can be rightly governed : for
where God is not, there all things are scattered and
in confusion, and neither families are subject to their
heads, nor citizens to their rulers.

PSALM CII.

The prophet in his prayer maketh a grievous complaint .— He taketh com
fort in the eternity and mercy of God. — The mercies of God are to be
recorded.— He sustaineth his weakness by the unchangeableness of God.

A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out
his complaint before the LORD.

HEAR my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come
unto thee,

264 PSALM CII.

Hide not thy face from me in tbe day when I am

in trouble; incline thine ear unto me : in the day

when I call, answer me speedily.
For my days are consumed like smoke, and my

bones are burned as an hearth.
My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so

that I forget to eat my bread.
By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones

cleave to my skin.
I am like a pelican of the wilderness ; I am like

an owl of the desert.
I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the

house-top.
Mine enemies reproach me all the day ; and they

that are mad against me are sworn against me.
For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my

drink with weeping ;
Because of thine indignation and thy wrath : for

thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.
My days are like a shadow that declineth ; and I

am withered like grass.
But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever, and thy

remembrance unto all generations.
Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion :

for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is

come.
For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and

favour the dust thereof.
So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD,

and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall ap
pear in his glory.
He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not

despise their prayer.
This shall be written for the generation to come ;

PSALM CII.

265

and the people which shall be created shall

praise the LORD.
For he hath looked down from the height of his

sanctuary ; from heaven did the LORD behold

the earth ;
To hear the groaning of the prisoner, to loose those

that are appointed to death ;
To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his

praise in Jerusalem ;
When the people are gathered together, and the

kingdoms, to serve the LORD.

He weakened my strength in the way ; he short
ened my days.
I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst

of my days; thy years are throughout all gener
ations.
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth ;

and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
They shall perish, but thou shalt endure ; yea, all

of them shall wax old like a garment ; as a

vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall

be changed :
But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no

end.
The children of thy servants shall continue, and

their seed shall be established before thee.

THIS Psalm is a prayer of an afflicted and tempted
heart, miserably sighing and praying for deliverance
and the coming of the kingdom of God. And indeed
the whole sum and substance of this Psalm is, " Thy
kingdom come."

This Psalm may be used as a general prayer. It
was used especially by the fathers under the law :
who being most spiritual men, and knowing the in-

266 PSALM CII.

finite weight of sin, and the kingdom of death, longed
for the coming and revelation of Christ, the kingdom
of grace, and the blessing promised.

" Have mercy upon Zion (saith the Psalmist) for
the time to have mercy upon her is come." For thy
servants (saith he) long for her to be built up again,
and for the stones and cement to be made ready :
that is, they long for that grace and that blessing to
be revealed unto all nations, and to be preached in
all kingdoms; that those who are captives and in
chains under the power of the devil and of sin, and
who are the sons of wrath and death, may be deli
vered ; and that there may flow together into the true
Zion, the church of God, those out of all nations and
kingdoms, who may magnify the name of the Lord,
and may preach and hear the gospel, and that all
the rigid demands and ceremonies of the law, and
the whole of the Old Testament dispensation, may
cease. For out of and without Christ there is no
thing but the kingdom of sin and death : that is, a
continual misery and distress in this life, by various
and hard temptations of the devil and the world :
and also a shortness of life itself, and that life change
able and uncertain, full of sorrow and full of death ;
which life the godly consider it a ** gain " to have
shortened and finished : as the apostle saith, " to me
to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

But amidst all this misery, in Christ is consolation
and eternal life ; for he is before every creature ; he
created the heaven and the earth, and by him all
things consist ; and he also, in the regeneration, will
renew the heavens and the earth. Hence he is inde
pendent of and above all time and years, and of his
years there is no end. He now dies no more, death
hath no more dominion over him. For this kingdom

PSALM CHI. 267

of life and of salvation (saith the Psalmist) we pray
and long. May this kingdom come. Amen.

PSALM GUI.

An exhortation to bless God for his mercy, and for the constancy thereof.
A Psalm of David.

BLESS the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within

me, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his

benefits :
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth

all thy diseases ;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction ; who

crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender

mercies ;
W'ho satisfieth thy mouth with good things ; so that

thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment

for all that are oppressed.
He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts

unto the children of Israel.
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger,

and plenteous in mercy.
He will not alway chide ; neither will he keep Ms

anger for ever.

He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor re
warded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great

is his mercy toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he

removed our transgressions from us.

268 PSALM cm.

Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD

pitieth them that fear him.
For he knovveth our frame ; he remembereth that

we are dust.
As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of

the field, so he flourisheth :
For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone ; and

the place thereof shall know it no more.
But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to

everlasting upon them that fear him, and his

righteousness unto children's children ;
To such as keep his covenant, and to those that

remember his commandments to do them.
The LORD hath prepared his throne in the hea
vens ; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength,

that do his commandments, hearkening unto the

voice of his word.
Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts ; ye ministers

of his that do his pleasure.
Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his

dominion : bless the LORD, O my soul.

THIS is a glorious Psalm, and full of the most ardent
feelings and exercises of faith, and of a believing
heart, a heart acknowledging the infinite mercies of
God, both temporal and spiritual. "Bless the Lord
(saith the Psalmist), O my soul," &c. The Psalmist
embraces, in the first three verses, six kinds of divine
mercies and benefits, for which he exhorts all the
godly to give praise unto God with their whole heart,
and to celebrate his great and holy name.

The first kind of mercy enumerated is the remis
sion of all our sins in Christ, and for Christ's sake,
our only Mediator and High-priest : who by himself

PSALM CHI. 269

i

sustained the just and infinite wrath of God, which
burned against our sins : who offered himself a sacri
fice to God for them ; by which offering he reconciled
unto us the Eternal Father, and now pleads for us
with an unceasing and prevailing intercession.

The second kind of mercy is the healing of those
manifold, and by no means light infirmities, which
shall remain in the flesh of the saints, as long as they
live in this world : all which remnant of sins God,
for Christ's sake, imputeth not unto them that be
lieve : nor does he only cover those sins by not im
puting them, but he moreover purges them away, by
the gift of his Holy Spirit.

The third kind of mercy is a continual and daily
protection and defence against all the dangers of
death, into numbers of which we continually fall ;
and into more and greater of which we should fall-
by fire, by water, by sword, by pestilence, and other
means of destruction, and be destroyed by them on
account of the deserts of our sins, if God did not
in his mercy prevent and save and preserve our lives.

The fourth kind of mercy is a manifold dispen
sation of the grace of God, wherewith he covers and
defends us with a shield, and crowns us, giving us
the Holy Spirit, and strengthening our minds with
the true doctrine against all doubts, and with true
consolation in all perils and evils; and bestowing on
the godly many and various gifts.

The fifth kind of mercy is that boldness wherewith
by the aid and urgency of the Holy Spirit, we fear
lessly preach before the world these great mercies
of God toward us : whereby many others also may
learn to acknowledge and lay hold of the goodness
of God in Christ, and, embracing it themselves in the
true faith, may, with us, magnify and call upon God.

270 PSALM cm.

The sixth kind of mercy is the restoration of our
depraved nature by Christ into the image of God ;
into which image we being renewed by the Holy
Ghost, begin with full purpose of heart to obey God ;
and so continue, until, being made perfect in the life
to come, we may be able to render a full obedience
with our whole unimpeded powers.

The Psalmist, therefore, first renders thanks to
God for his spiritual benefits ; and then he from his
heart thanks God for bestowing blessings of every
kind, — peace, good magistrates, good laws, good
wives, good children, the fruits of the earth, and all
needful provision. The Psalmist sets forth God as a
most kind Father towards us (who are nothing but a
loathsome sore, full of sin) and as not dealing with us
according to our sins, but treating and protecting us,
according to his infinite grace and mercy, as dear
children : yet so that he will have us to keep his
covenant and his counsel : that is, to believe in him,
to fear him, and to have him for our God. For if we
trust in our own works or righteousnesses, we thereby
immediately break his covenant, and walk not in his
counsel, and follow strange gods, and thus sin against
the First Commandment.

Now this fulfilling of the law, and keeping the
covenant of God, is in and through Christ alone, who
was then promised to the fathers, but now in these
last days has been given unto us ; and manifested ;
whose kingdom shall rule over all.

At the end of the Psalm, when the Psalmist calls
upon the angels and the hosts of God, the powers
and the dominions, to praise and magnify him, he
means Christ and the church and the apostles who
cause his word to be heard. For all our salvation
is in Christ, and there is no grace out of Christ;

PSALM CIV. 271

who is preached by the angels ; that is, by the
apostles.

PSALM CIV.

A meditation upon the miyhty power, and wonderful providence of God.
.—God's glory is eternal.— The prophet voweth perpetually to praise
God.

BLESS the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God,

thou art very great ; thou art clothed with

honour and majesty :
Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment ;

who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain ;
Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the

waters ; who maketh the clouds his chariot ;

who walketh upon the wings of the wind ;
Who maketh his angels spirits ; his ministers

a flaming fire ;
Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it

should not be removed for ever.
Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment ;

the waters stood above the mountains.
At thy rebuke they fled : at the voice of thy thun
der they hasted away.
They go up by the mountains ; they go down by

the valleys, unto the place which thou^ hast

founded for them.
Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass

over, that they turn not again to cover the

earth.
He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run

among the hills.
They give drink to every beast of the field: the

wild asses quench their thirst.

272 PSALM CIV.

By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their

habitation, which sing among the branches.
He watereth the hills from his chambers : the

earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and

herb for the service of man, that he may bring

forth food out of the earth ;
And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and

oil to make his face to shine, and bread which

strengthened man's heart.
The trees of the LORD are full of sap : the cedars

of Lebanon, which he hath planted ;
Where the birds make their nests : as for the stork,

the fir-trees are her house.
The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats, and

the rocks for the conies.
He appointed the moon for seasons : the sun

knoweth his going down.
Thou makest darkness, and it is night, wherein all

the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
The young lions roar after their prey, and seek

their meat from God.
The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together,

and lay them down in their dens.
Man goeth forth unto his work, and to his labour,

until the evening.
O LORD, how manifold are thy works ! in wisdom

ha^st thou made them all : the earth is full of thy

riches ;
So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things

creeping innumerable, both small and great

beasts.
There go the ships ; there is that leviathan, whom

thou hast made to play therein.

PSALM CIV. 273

These wait all upon thee, that them mayest give

them their meat in due season.
That thou givest them, they gather ; thou openest

thine hand, they are filled with good.
Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled : thou

takest away their breath, they die, and return to

their dust.
Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created ;

and thou renewest the face of the earth.
The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever : the

LORD shall rejoice in his works.
He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth ; he

toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live ; I will

sing praise to my God while I have my being.
My meditation of him shall be sweet; I will be

glad in the LORD.
Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and

let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD,

O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.

THIS is a most spiritual song and a Psalm of glory to
God. It is drawn out of the First Commandment :
and with a grand enumeration of all the creatures of
God, it sets forth and exalts the whole work of crea
tion. By this recounting of the works of creation
the Psalmist's design is to show, that all the crea
tures, whether those in the heavens, those in the
earth, or those in the sea, are monuments of the
goodness of God. And what orator or what poet ever
has existed, or ever will exist, with an eloquence
adequate to describe the infinite use and benefits
of even one creature of God. If any one of those
creatures were gifted with speech, so as to declare its
own nature and value, it would praise God with a

T

274 PSALM CIV.

thousand tongues. Not only, therefore, the whole
of God's works together, as one glorious universe,
but each one creature, if you would explain its na
ture and use, exceeds all the eloquence of men and
angels.

What philosopher or sage could even open or utter
the extent of the use and blessings of common light,
in which we live? What one of them could ever
explain what that is which we call light, in which
we all breathe, all are nourished, and all live; by
which the night and darkness are dispelled in one
short moment ; by which the whole creation is ren
dered visible, and as it were, recreated; and by which
all creatures, from out of one same obscure dark
ness, receive each their proper hues and colours?

Who, again, can recount the benefit and blessings
of that one creature the sun ? and then those of the
moon ? Who can enumerate the blessings of fire, of
water, of fountains and springs? If one creature
were deprived for one short hour of the blessings of
fire or of water, you would in a moment see the
wide and infinite benefit of one of those creatures
of God.

But alas ! who can even touch one of these crea
tures with anything like a due comment or reflection !
And yet, when heathen men have contemplated the
whole universe of creatures so diligently, (as we
see it done in Cicero's second book * Be Natura
Deorum;') and have thence gathered and con
cluded that there exists some eternal Deity who
created and who governs all these things ; it would
be a shame in one professing the fear and worship
of that God, to be cold and not affected with these
same things, and not to meditate and reflect upon
them.

PSALM CIV. 275

This Psalm, therefore, is a Psalm of thanksgiving
for all the creatures which God has created, whether
in the heavens, in the earth, or in the sea ; and a
rendering of thanks unto God also, that he hath
made a covenant with the day and the night, and
hath given laws to the heaven and the earth ; laws
so certain that they cannot be moved, but continue
in their appointed order. The moon, saith the
Psalmist, distinguished the seasons ; the sun know-
eth his going down ; the day cometh, and also the
night; the summer returns at its appointed time, and
the winter also in its season. Thou fillest, saith
he, " that immense space of the heaven with light :
thou stretchest out the heaven itself like a curtain,
which resteth not on any beams or columns : and
thou suspendest the mighty range of clouds, at thy
word, like a glorious canopy. The winds rise, and
blow over and blow through all things, having nei
ther wings nor feathers. And the angels whom
thou sendest forth, saith he, fulfil their commands
like the winds, and like a " flame of fire."

Hence the prophet, as you see, has all these things
depicted in his mind, and his faith is kindled by a
meditation on this wonderful and ineffable work of
creation. But, alas ! how few, how very few, are
there who thus look into, meditate on, and admire
these created things? Here, therefore, with a view
to reprove both the indolence and the wickedness of
certain characters, I cannot help transcribing the
words of Cicero, a heathen, who cites another hea
then, Aristotle : ' Aristotle,' says Cicero, * has most
greatly and beautifully spoken thus. * If there could
be men, who had lived under the earth in grand and
noble habitations ; habitations adorned with paint
ings and works of art, and with all those embellish-
T 2

276 PSALM CIV.

ments which ornament the houses of those who are
now accounted wealthy and happy ; and if it could
so be that such subterranean inhabitants had never
been above ground, but had heard by fame and re
port that there was a certain Deity, and a certain
Almighty power of that Deity; arid then if it could
so be, that, at a certain time, the doors of the earth's
surface should be thrown open, and they should
come forth from their subterranean abysses into
these above-ground regions which we inhabit: — when
such men beheld, on a sudden, the earth, the sea,
and the heavens ; when they saw the expanded gran
deur of the clouds, and felt the mighty power of the
winds ; when they looked up to the sun and beheld
his glorious magnitude and his beauty, and knew
something of his influence and efficacy in all crea
tion, — that it is he, who, by diffusing his light through
the whole heaven, makes the day ; and when such
mortals, newly admitted on earth, should see by the
departure of the sun the whole creation veiled in
the darkness of night, while the whole heaven was
studded and bespangled with stars ; and when they
saw and understood the various degrees of the light
of the moon, and the increasings and decreasings
of that heavenly body; and the various risings and
settings of all the celestial luminaries ; and, finally,
when such astonished and contemplating strangers
on the earth's surface should know the appointed and
never-erring and never-varying courses and revolu
tions of all these glorious creatures, — they would,
with one voice, confess that there was a God, and
that all these creatures were the works of that God !
But our minds, by daily use, become insensible to
these things ; and as we daily see all these creatures
we inquire not their nature, nor wonder at their

PSALM CV. 277

glory : as if the novelty of such things, and not their
greatness and glory, is that which should lead us to
meditate on their natures, and the ends of their crea
tion/ Thus far Cicero, the heathen ! I shall perhaps
be deemed by some a silly man for bringing forth
these things out of the books of a heathen ! Let those
that would fear God, then, remember what is required
of them !

PSALM CV.

An exhortation to praise God, and to seek out his works. — The story of
God's providence over Abraham, — over Joseph, — over Jacob, in Eyypt,
— over Moses delivering the Israelites, — over the Israelites brouyht ou t
of Egypt, fed in the wilderness, and planted in Canaan.

O GIVE thanks unto the LORD ; call upon his

name : make known his deeds among the people.
Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of

all his wondrous works.
Glory ye in his holy name : let the heart of them

rejoice that seek the LORD.
Seek the LORD, and his strength : seek his face

evermore.
Remember his marvellous works that he hath done ;

his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth ;
O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of

Jacob his chosen.
He is the LORD our God : his judgments are in all

the earth.
He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the

word which he commanded to a thousand gene
rations.
Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his

oath unto Isaac ;

278 PSALM CV.

And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and

to Israel/or an everlasting covenant :
Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan,

the lot of your inheritance :
When there were but a few men in number: yea,

very few, and strangers in it.
When they went from one nation to another, from

one kingdom to another people ;
He suffered no man to do them wrong : yea, he re
proved kings for their sakes ;

Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my pro
phets no harm.
Moreover, he called for a famine upon the land :

he brake the whole staff of bread.
He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was

sold for a servant :

Whose feetthey hurt with fetters : he was laid in iron :
Until the time that his word came : the word of

the LORD tried him.
The king sent and loosed him : even the ruler of

the people, and let him go free.
He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all

his substance :
To bind his princes at his pleasure ; and teach

his senators wisdom.
Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned

in the land of Ham.
And he increased his people greatly ; and made

them stronger than their enemies.
He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal

subtilly with his servants.
He sent Moses his servant ; and Aaron whom he

had chosen.
They shewed his signs among them, and wonders

in the land of Ham.

PSALM CV. 279

He sent darkness, and made it dark ; and they

rebelled not against his word.
He turned their waters into blood, and slew their

fish.
Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in

the chambers of their kings.
He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and

lice in all their coasts.
He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in

their land.
He smote their vines also and their fig-trees ; and

brake the trees of their coasts.
He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillars,

and that without number,

And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and de
voured the fruit of their ground.
He smote also all the first-born in their land, the

chief of all their strength.
He brought them forth also with silver and gold :

and there was not one feeble person among their

tribes.
Egypt was glad when they departed : for the fear

of them fell upon them.
He spread a cloud for a covering ; and fire to give

light in the night.

The people asked, and he brought quails, and satis
fied them with the bread of heaven.
He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out ;

they ran in the dry places like a river.
For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham

his servant.
And he brought forth his people with joy, and his

chosen with gladness :
And gave them the lands of the heathen ; and they

inherited the labour of the people ;

280 PSALM CVI.

That they might observe his statutes, and keep his
laws. Praise ye the LORD.

THIS is a Psalm of particular thanksgiving ; and a
song especially adapted to the people of the Jews ;
that in the use of this Psalm they might render
thanks unto God for all those, his wonderful works,
which he wrought from Abraham down to the time
when they were led into the promised land of Canaan.
And the Psalmist, having recounted all these glo
rious works in their order, concludes with that word
of Moses, (Deut. ix.) " That God did not do all these
mighty works on account of any righteousness or
merit of theirs, but because of the covenant and the
promise which he had made with their fathers,
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob : " for how righteous they
were and what they deserved at the hand of God, is
sung in the Psalm following.

PSALM CVI.

The Psalmist exhorteth to praise God. — lie prayethfor pardon of sin,
as God did with the fathers.— The story of the people's rebellion, and
God's mercy. — He concludeth with prayer and praise.

PRAISE ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the

LORD ; for he is good : for his mercy endureth

for ever.
Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD ? tvho

can shew forth all his praise ?
Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that

doeth righteousness at all times.
Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou

bearest unto thy people : O visit me with thy

salvation ;

PSALM CVI. 281

That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may

rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may

glory with thine inheritance.

We have sinned with our fathers, we have com
mitted iniquity, we have done wickedly.
Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt ;

they remembered not the multitude of thy mer
cies ; but provoked him at the sea, even at the

Red Sea.
Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake,

that he might make his mighty power to be

known.
He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up :

so he led them through the depths, as through

the wilderness.
And he saved them from the hand of him that

hated them, and redeemed them from the hand

of the enemy.
And the waters covered their enemies : there was

not one of them left.

Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.
They soon forgat his works ; they waited not for

his counsel :
But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and

tempted God in the desert.
And he gave them their request ; but sent leanness

into their soul.
They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron

the saint of the LORD.
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and

covered the company of Abiram.
And a fire was kindled in their company ; the

flame burned up the wicked.
They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the

molten image.

282 PSALM CVI.

Thus they changed their glory into the similitude

of an ox that eatetli grass.
They forgat God their Saviour, which had done

great things in Egypt ;
Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible

things by the Red Sea.
Therefore he said that he would destroy them*

had not Moses his chosen stood before him in

the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should

destroy them.

Yea, they despised the pleasant land ; they be
lieved not his word ;
But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not

unto the voice of the LORD :
Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to

overthrow them in the wilderness :
To overthrow their seed also among the nations,

and to scatter them in the lands.
They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, and

ate the sacrifices of the dead.

Thus they provoked Mm to anger with their inven
tions ; and the plague brake in upon them.
Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment :

and so the plague was stayed.
And that was counted unto him for righteousness,

unto all generations for evermore.
They angered him also at the waters of strife, so

that it went ill with Moses for their sakes :
Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake

unadvisedly with his lips.
They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom

the LORD commanded them :
But were mingled among the heathen, and learned

their works.
And they served their idols ; which were a snare

unto them.

PSALM CVI. 283

Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters
unto devils,

And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their
sons, and of their daughters, whom they sacri
ficed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land
was polluted with blood.

Thus were they defiled with their own works, and
went a whoring with their own inventions.

Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled
against his people, insomuch that he abhorred
his own inheritance.

And he gave them into the hand of the heathen ;
and they that hated them ruled over them.

Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were
brought into subjection under their hand.

Many times did he deliver them: but they pro
voked him with their counsel, and were brought
low for their iniquity.

Nevertheless, he regarded their affliction, when he
heard their cry :

And he remembered for them his covenant, and
repented according to the multitude of his mer
cies.

He made them also to be pitied of all those that
carried them captives.

Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from
among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy
name, and to triumph in thy praise.

Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting
to everlasting : and let all the people say, Amen.
Praise ye the LORD.

THIS is a Psalm of acknowledgment, of confession,
and of thanksgiving. The Psalmist confesses all
those sins of murmuring and unbelief, and those

284 PSALM CVII.

other numerous transgressions against the first com
mandment, by which the people of Israel provoked
God, and rendered themselves utterly unworthy of
all his mercies.

At the conclusion of the Psalm, therefore, the
Psalmist proclaims the exceeding greatness of the
divine mercy of God; whereby he continued mind
ful of his counsel and his covenant, and did not pour
forth all his wrath, but was merciful to them for his
own name's sake. As Moses saith also, (Deut. ix.)
" Know ye, that not for your righteousness doth the
Lord God give unto you this good land : for ye are
a stiff-necked people/' Therefore as the Israelites,
the whole of that people of God, could glory in
nothing, but that they were saved by the mercy
and grace of God ; so also we cannot glory in any
work or merit of our own, but in the mercy of God
only !

PSALM CVII.

The psalmist exhorteth the redeemed, in praising God, to observe, his mani
fold providence, over travellers, over captives, over sick men, over sea
men, and in divers varieties of life.

O GIVE thanks unto the LORD, for he is good : for

his mercy endureth for ever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he

hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy ;
And gathered them out of the lands, from the east,

and from the west, from the north, and from the

south.
They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary

way ; they found no city to dwell in.
Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.

PSALM CVII. 285

Then they cried unto the LORD in their trou
ble, and he delivered them out of their dis
tresses.

And he led them forth by the right way, that they
might go to a city of habitation.

Oh that men would praise the LORD for his good
ness, and/or his wonderful works to the children
of men !

For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the
hungry soul with goodness.

Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
being bound in affliction and iron ;

Because they rebelled against the words of God,
and contemned the counsel of the Most High :

Therefore he brought down their heart with la
bour:, they fell down, and there was none to
help.

Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble,
awdhe saved them out of their distresses.

He brought them out of darkness and the shadow
of death, and brake their bands in sunder.

Oh that men would praise the LoRDybr his good
ness, and fat his wonderful works to the children
of men !

For he Lath broken the gates of brass, and cut the
bars of iron in sunder.

Fools, because of their transgression, and because
of their iniquities, are afflicted :

Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat ; and they
draw near unto the gates of death.

Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble ; and
he saveth them out of their distresses.

He sent his word and healed them, and delivered
them from their destructions.

Oh that men would praise the LORD for his good-

'286 PSALM CVII.

ness, and/or his wonderful works to the children

of men !

And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanks
giving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do

business in great waters ;
These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders

in the deep.
For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind,

which lifteth up the waves thereof.
They mount up to the heaven, they go down again

to the depths ; their soul is melted because of

trouble.
They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken

man, and are at their wit's end.
Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and

he bringeth them out of their distresses.
He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves

thereof are still.
Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he

bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Oh that men would praise the LORD for his good
ness, and for his wonderful works to the children

of men !
Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the

people, and praise him in the assembly of the

elders.

He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the water-
springs into dry ground ;
A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness

of them that dwell therein.
He turneth the wilderness into a standing water,

and dry ground into water-springs.
And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that

they may prepare a city for habitation ;

PSALM CVII. 287

And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which

may yield fruits of increase.
He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied

greatly, and suffereth not their cattle to de
crease.
Again, they are minished, and brought low, through

oppression, affliction, and sorrow.
He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth

them to wander in the wilderness, where there is

no way.
Yet selteth he the poor on high from affliction, and

maketh him families like a flock.
The righteous shall see it, and rejoice ; and all

iniquity shall stop her mouth.
Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even

they shall understand the loving-kindness of the

LORD.

THIS is a Psalm of thanksgiving, in general ; render
ing praise for that infinite and incomparable mercy
and goodness of God, wherewith he daily helps and
succours all men, both the righteous and the wicked,
under the various calamities of life, and defends
them against the Devil: preserving also the public
peace, giving healthfulness of air and climate, and
blessing the earth to the springing of its productions ;
as Paul saith, 2 Tim. ii. " Who is the Saviour of all
men, especially of them that believe."

In the fourth verse, where the Psalmist says,
" They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary
way/' he refers to all kinds of calamities ; and es
pecially to the afflictions of those who are oppressed
with poverty, who are exiles, and deserted, and
wandering without any certain dwelling-place.

In the ninth verse by those " sitting in darkness," &c.

288 PSALM CVII.

he means those throughout the whole world, who on
account of their own crimes, or for other causes, are
held in bonds and in prisons, and who are some
times delivered by the interposition and help of God
himself.

Then again, verse 6, he refers to those who live
wickedly and fear not God ; on whom God sends
diseases and distresses to punish them ; of whom
some, although they call not upon God, are delivered
by his pure mercy alone.

In verse 22, he speaks of those who are in perils
on the seas, and there enduring storms and ship
wrecks ; under which calamities God often delivers
wicked sailors, and preserves them from shipwreck
and death, and from the power of the Devil, by his
mere goodness and mercy.

Verse 32 has reference to those fields and vine
yards that are visited with barrenness or any other
calamity ; unto whom God gives rain and fruitful-
ness, not according to their merits, but of his abound
ing mercy, whereby he sendeth rain upon the just
and upon the unjust.

Verse 38 applies to those who are oppressed by
the Turk or any other tyrants, or by wars and se
ditions, and whose all in this world is in peril ; unto
whom God often, on a sudden, gives peace and quiet
ness, as he calmeth the waves of the sea.

This Psalm, therefore, shows that all salvation is
to be sought and expected from God alone ; who will
never forsake his people, or his church, or those that
trust in him ; and that he oflen bestows these benefits
on the Turks, and on the openly impious and pro
fane ; even when they are seeking all these great
blessings from their idols of wood and stone. And
we who profess the name of Christ also, not at all

PSALM CVII1. 289

unlike the Turks, leave God our true and only Sa
viour and implore the help of saints. Hence St.
Leonard is worshipped as the liberator of the im
prisoned ; St. Sebastian is invoked by those who are
in dread of pestilence ; St. George is the protecting
saint of military troops of horse and foot; St. Eras
mus is said to bless with riches those that call upon
him ; St. Christopher is openly worshipped as the
god of land and sea ; and his image is affixed to all
doors of temples, and to all prows of ships, and adored
by all sailors. And thus we have divided the glory
of God and of his saving mercies, which is due to
him alone, unto saints set up by idolatrous men ; just
in the same way as the heathens gave to their gods
the attributes and functions which belong to God
only. This Psalm, however, rightly ascribes all the
glory to God alone.

PSALM CVIII.

David encourageth himself to praise God.— He prayeth for God's as
sistance according to his promise. — His confidence in God's help.

A Song or Psalm of David.

0 GOD, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give
praise, even with my glory.

Awake, psaltery and harp ; I myself will awake
early.

1 will praise thee, O LORD, among the people ;
and I will sing praises unto thee among the
nations.

For thy mercy is great above the heavens, and thy

truth reacheth unto the clouds.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; and

thy glory above all the earth :
u

290 PSALM CVIII.

That thy beloved may be delivered, save with thy

right hand, and answer me.
God hath spoken in his holiness, I will rejoice ; I

will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of

Suecoth.
Gilead is mine ; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also

is the strength of mine head ; Judah is my law
giver ;
Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out

my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph.
Who will bring me into the strong city ? who will

lead me into Edom ?
Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and

wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?
Give us help from trouble : for vain is the help

of man.
Through God we shall do valiantly : for he it is

that shall tread down our enemies.

THIS is a Psalm of thanksgiving of the same sub
stance, and almost in the same words as Psalm lx.;
•wherein the Psalmist gives thanks for the happy state
of his kingdom, for the establishment of the true
religion and good government, and for the increase
of his dominions.

The first verses of the Psalm, however, refer to the
kingdom of Christ. David prays that God would be
pleased to set up this kingdom of Christ in all na
tions ; that thus the kingdom and dominion of David
may be extended far and wide throughout all na
tions, according to the promise. For this temporal
kingdom of David was confined within very narrow
limits in comparison with the whole world, and was
a kingdom not likely to be extended over all the na
tions and people of the earth ; and yet this kingdom

PSALM CIX. 291

God promised to enlarge and extend, as in Isaiah,
" And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse,
which shall stand for an ensign of the people," Isa.
xi. 10. And again, chapter ix. 7, "Upon the throne
of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it and to
establish it for ever."

PSALM CIX.

David, complaining of his slanderous enemies, under the person of Judas
devoteth them. — He sheweth their sin. — Complaining of his own misery,
heprayethfor help. — He promiseth thankfulness.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

HOLD not thy peace, O God of my praise ;

For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the

deceitful are opened against me : they have

spoken against me with a lying tongue.
They compassed me about also with words of

hatred ; and fought against me without a cause.
For my love they are my adversaries : but I give

myself unto prayer.
And they have rewarded me evil for good, and

hatred for my love.
Set thou a wicked man over him : and let Satan

stand at his right hand.
When he shall be judged, let him be condemned :

and let his prayer become sin.
Let his days be few ; and let another take his

office.
Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a

widow.
Let his children be continually vagabonds, and

beg : let them seek their bread also out of their

desolate places.

u 2

292 PSALM CIX.

Let the extortioner catch all that he hath : and let

the strangers spoil his labour.
Let there be none to extend mercy unto him :

neither let there be any to favour his fatherless

children.
Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation

following let their name be blotted out.
Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with

the LORD ; and let not the sin of his mother be

blotted out.
Let them be before the LORD continually, that

he may cut off the memory of them from the

earth.
Because that he remembered not to shew mercy,

but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he

might even slay the broken in heart.
As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him : as

he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from

him.
As he clothed himself with cursing like as with

his garment, so let it come into his bowels like

water, and like oil into his bones.
Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth

him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded

continually.
Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the

LORD, and of them that speak evil against my

soul.
But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy

name's sake : because thy mercy is good, deliver

thou me.
For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded

within me.
I am gone like the shadow when it declineth : I

am tossed up and down as the locust.

PSALM CIX, 293

My knees are weak through fasting ; and my flesh
faileth of fatness.

I became also a reproach unto them : when they
looked upon me they shaked their heads.

Help me, O LORD my God : O save me according
to thy mercy :

That they may know that this is thy hand ; that
thou, LORD, hast done it.

Let them curse, but bless thou : when they arise,
let them be ashamed ; but let thy servant re
joice.

Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and
let them cover themselves with their own con
fusion, as with a mantle.

I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth ;
yea, I will praise him among the multitude.

For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to
save him from those that condemn his soul.

CERTAIN hypocrites of monks are accustomed to use
this Psalm, (generally known by the name of ' The
God of praise/) as a sort of incantation : and they
say that, to a certainty, against what person soever
they babble and sing out the terrible words of this
Psalm ; that man is at once death-struck, and never
lives a year afterwards.

This Psalm, however, is most certainly full of the
complaints, tears, and groans of the godly against
these very hypocrites themselves. It may be very
properly considered as used in the person of Christ,
deeply complaining against his betrayers the Jews, and
against the cruelty of the Jews, which was not satis
fied, even after the shedding of his innocent blood.

Like unto Judas Iscariot, and unto all the Jews,
are pharisaical saints and hypocrites, of all nations

294 PSALM CIX.

and ages ; of whom Christ doth not say in vain, that
they are guilty of all the blood that has been shed
from Abel downwards. For so great and bitter is
the terribleness and fury of their virulent and Sa
tanic hatred, that they cannot rest satisfied with the
shedding of the blood of Abel and all the saints
from the beginning of the world, but must hang
Christ himself on the cross; and that is not all,
they must (as the Psalmist saith, ver. 22.) wag their
heads at him, and insult and mock his sufferings ;
" If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down
from the cross/'

Concerning these wretches, David says, (ver. 2.)
"They have opened their blaspheming mouth against
me:" for the raving fury of such hypocrites is in
credible. And again he sa}rs, " For my love they
are my adversaries, but I give myself unto prayer.
And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred
for my love." And again, u They fight against me
without a cause."

These are the true and real colours of these hypo
crites who pretend to be in the truth. We have here
pourtrayed not only the Cainish countenances of these
Iscariots, but their pharisaic and virulent hearts
themselves ; which are now become organs and instru
ments of the devil. And we have also here depicted
their thoughts, their furious purposes of injuring and
harming, by which the minds of such are incessantly
actuated. For these embittered wretches knowingly
and purposely, and against the light of their own con
sciences, fight against and deny the known truth ; and,
as Stephen says, cease not to resist the Holy Ghost.
And although they are convinced by natural reason,
by the Scriptures, and by their natural understanding,
they still reject and fight against God and Christ,

PSALM CIX. 295

and harden themselves in the denial of the truth.
And finally, "They delight not in blessing;" but
refuse and cast from them God and his Christ.

In addition to all this, they " render evil for good."
The ingratitude of these hypocrites and of the world
surely is enough, in not returning any thing for all
that good which is offered to them by God himself,
and by the saints in his name : but they rest not here ;
they render, for all this good, hatred and cursing,
and a purpose to injure and to destroy: which is
manifestly not human, but Satanic cruelty.

But we, the people of God, are hereby admonish
ed throughout all times and ages of the church
that, whenever God is pleased to reveal his word,
and Christ is preached, so surely will the church have
her Judases: that is, so surely will she have her
enemies and her hypocrites; who, though they boast
of the name of being the church of God, will prove
themselves " vipers."

To set forth, therefore, the terrible judgments that
shall fall on those, who thus, with cruelty and with
out mercy, rage against the people of God, the
Psalmist shows (ver. 16.) that God will, to recom
pense their iniquity, direct his fury also against
them, who thus mercilessly oppress " his poor," and
will pour out all his wrath upon them : and that, as
these hypocrites so confidently despised God and his
saints ; and as, though covered with the shed blood,
and bathed with the tears of so many saints, they still
laughed at their calamities, as if they really sought
cursing and not blessing ; so, that cursing shall flow
in upon them like a river.

And again (saith David) they have cast away the
word of God from them, and have rejected and de
spised the offered salvation, therefore all consolation

296 PSALM CX.

and salvation shall depart from them, and no more
be brought near unto them, neither now nor to all
eternity. On the other hand, as they loved cursing,
they shall be clothed with it as with a girdle ; it shall
enter like water into their bowels, and like oil into
their bones: and they shall bear about with them,
like Cain, everlasting fears and terrors, and shall be
tormented unceasingly with the stings of their wick
edness and sin ; and they shall moreover be exiles,
deserted outcasts, vagabonds, and held in contempt
of all, as the Jews now are, exhibiting an awful ful
filment of the judgments herein denounced.

PSALM CX.

The kingdom, the priesthood, the conquest, and the passion of Christ.
A Psalm of David.

THE LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my
right hand, until I make thine enemies thy foot
stool.

The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of
Zion : rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy
power, in the beauties of holiness from the
womb of the morning : thou hast the dew of thy
youth.

The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou
art a priest for ever after the order of Melchi-
zedek.

The LORD at thy right hand shall strike through
kings in the day of his wrath.

He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the

PSALM CX. 297

places with the dead bodies ; he shall wound the
heads over many countries.

He shall drink of the brook in the way : therefore
shall he lift up the head.

THIS is a peculiar and glorious prophecy concerning
the kingdom of Christ. This Psalm is cited by
Christ himself, Matt. xxii. and he applies it to his
own kingdom and priesthood. It speaks gloriously
of Christ sitting at the right hand of the Majesty in the
heaven, and as being the son and the seed of David,
according to the flesh, and also David's Lord and
God, the Creator and the Maker of all things, all
power being given unto him in heaven and in earth :
as the apostle also saith, "Who was born of the seed
of David according to the flesh, and declared to be
the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of
holiness." Rom. i. 3.

Christ cites this Psalm, (which, as we have said,
is a very glorious one) to confound the Pharisees.
Indeed there is not a Psalm like it in the whole
scripture ; and it ought to be very dear unto the
church ; seeing that it confirms that great article of
faith— Christ's sitting at the right hand of God the
Father Almighty. For Christ is here declared to be
a King and Priest; sitting at God's right hand, not
only as truly man, but also as properly God; the
Propitiator and Mediator between God and men ;
the Omnipotent and the Eternal !

Christ is no where, throughout all the books of the
prophets, and of the whole scripture, so plainly and
clearly declared to be " a Priest," and so " a Priest
for ever," who alone did, and alone could abrogate
the Aaronic and Levitical priesthood ; and who is,
and ever will be an eternal propitiation and reconci-

298 PSALM CXI.

liation for us ; as is most beautifully, most fully,
and with a wonderful power of the Holy Spirit,
opened by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews.

Hence, this heavenly and golden Psalm has a
blessed author (David) and a glorious interpreter
(Christ.) And all the apostles, all godly consciences,
and all who are not utterly unacquainted with the
temptations of sin, and of Satan, know how great and
firm a consolation it is against all the violent attacks
of the devil, to be able to see Christ as our High
Priest. Hence it is that Paul breaks forth into those
great words, " If God be for us, who can be against
us! Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that
died ; yea, rather that is risen again ; who is even at
the right hand of God ; who also maketh interces
sion for us." Rom. viii. 31 — 34.

It is, therefore, of infinite benefit to the universal
church of Christ, that the glorious things of this
Psalm, the remission of sins, and the reconciliation
of God toward us, which are brought in unto us by
the priesthood of Christ, and which are infinite and
eternal, are most carefully and most fully explained
to us in the epistle to the Hebrews ; and that such
glorious doctrines of the truth concerning the priest
hood of Christ are always present, and ready to our
hands.

PSALM CXI.

The Psalmist by his example inciteth others to praise Cod for his glorious
and gracious works* — ITiefear of God breedeth true wisdom.

PRAISE ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with
my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright,
and in the congregation.

PSALM CXI. 299

The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all
them that have pleasure therein.

His work is honourable and glorious ; and his
righteousness endureth for ever.

He hath made his wonderful works to be remem
bered : the LORD is gracious and full of com
passion.

He hath given meat unto them that fear him : he
will ever be mindful of his covenant.

He hath shewed his people the power of his works,
that he may give them the heritage of the hea
then.

The works of his hands are verity and judgment ;
all his commandments are sure.

They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in
truth and uprightness.

He sent redemption unto his people : he hath com
manded his covenant for ever : holy and reverend
is his name.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom :
a good understanding have all they that do his
commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

THIS is a Psalm of thanksgiving, and a song for the
people of Israel, to be sung at the feast of the pass-
over, or at the eating of the paschal Larnb. For by
this short song the people were instructed to give
thanks, and to magnify and praise God for those
great and glorious works of his,— the leading them
out of Egypt at the first; and also, for giving them
a good and divine government, for the priesthood he
established, for the law he gave them, and for ap
pointing the preaching of his word; for their feasts
and for their Sabbaths, for public peace and a good
administration of the laws, and, in a word, for all his

300 PSALM CX1I.

infinite mercies : all which I have more fully opened
in my more extended commentary on this Psalm.

PSALM CXII.

Godliness hath the promises of this life, and of the life to come.— The
prosperity of the godly shall be an eyesore to the wicked.

PRAISE ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that
feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his
commandments.

His seed shall be mighty upon earth : the genera
tion of the upright shall be blessed.

Wealth and riches shall be in his house : and his
righteousness endureth for ever.

Unto the upright there ariseth light in the dark
ness : he is gracious, and full of compassion,
and righteous.

A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth : he will
guide his affairs with discretion.

Surely he shall not be moved for ever : the right
eous shall be in everlasting remembrance.

He shall not be afraid of evil tidings : his heart is
fixed, trusting in the LORD.

His heart is established, he shall not be afraid,
until he see his desire upon his enemies.

He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his
righteousness endureth forever; his horn shall
be exalted with honour.

The wicked shall see it, and be grieved ; he shall
gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the de
sire of the wicked shall perish.

THIS is a Psalm of consolation for those that fear God :

PSALM CXII. 301

in which those that truly fear him are encouraged and
praised in their Christian conversation : " Blessed is
the man that feareth the Lord," saith the Psalmist.
As if he had said, The people of God appear to them
to be of all men the most miserable ; and both their life
and their doctrine are condemned by the world, and
by those tongues which the devil raises up and uses
for the work. All things in the saints make them
appear to the world, as if they were left and forsaken,
and deserted of God, and as if they, and their pos
terity, and all like them, must surely perish. And
then again, their lives and conversations, (though
they render most essential services, both to their
nation and to the church, and though they conduct
themselves blamelessly before God and man,) are, by
the malice of the devil, represented as most abomin
able, and they themselves are looked upon as the
contempt and off-scouring of the earth.

On the other hand, all hypocrites in the world are
lauded as the saints of God. " But/' as the wise
man saith, " better is the little in the house of the
righteous, than the great revenues of the wicked."
In the midst of all this false representation, however,
the righteous, standing fast in all these their afflic
tions, and steadily trusting in God, are delivered and
saved, and gain blessed consolation, while the wicked
perish on every side. " To the upright," saith the
Psalmist, k< there ariseth light in darkness." Here,
according to the general language of the scriptures,
he calleth consolation, light ; and temptation, dark
ness.

And, then, in the end of the Psalm, that noble and
unsubdued steadiness of faith is greatly praised :
which, in such mighty struggles, and in such agoniz
ing conflicts, is yet unwearied and unyielding, rest-

302 PSALM CXIII.

ing in the promise of God ; and which, though con
tending with such mighty waves, is yet enabled to
sing with Paul, " Thanks be unto God who always
causeth us to triumph in Christ." " He shall not be
afraid of evil tidings," saith the Psalmist, "his heart
is fixed, trusting in the Lord : his heart is esta
blished, he shall not be afraid until he see his desire
upon his enemies." verse 7, 8. For unless there
were in us divine strength communicated by Christ,
it would be impossible that we could stand against
such numerous and mighty assaults of temptation.

PSALM CXIII.

An exhortation to praise God for his excellency,— for his mercy.

PRAISE ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the

LORD, praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time

forth and for evermore.
From the rising of the sun unto the going down

of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised.
The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory

above the heavens.
Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth

on high,
Who humbleth himself io behold the things that are

in heaven, and in the earth !
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth

the needy out of the dunghill ;
That he may set him with princes, even with the

princes of his people.
He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and

to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the

LORD.

PSALM CXIV. 303

THIS is a most conspicuous and most blessed pro
phecy of the kingdom of Christ, and of its extension
from the rising unto the setting of the sun through
out all the kingdoms of the earth : it calls upon all
nations to laud and magnify God, and to proclaim
the riches of his grace ; that is, the remission of
sins for Christ's sake. For Christ is the God of the
humble, the God of the afflicted, and the God of
those that call upon him and that cry unto him ; he
is an altogether loving and lovely Saviour and God,
who sitteth at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
and loves and has respect unto the humble, the af
flicted, the oppressed, and the trembling and con
trite in heart.

The peculiar and express office of Christ, and the
work of the kingdom of Christ is to bring down the
proud, to put to shame the wise, and to condemn
hypocrites and false saints : and, on the other side,
to raise up and exalt the humble, to enlighten and
instruct fools, to sanctify unclean sinners, to make
fruitful the barren, to comfort the fatherless ; that is,
those who are in any way afflicted or distressed.

PSALM CXIV.

An exhortation, by the example of the dumb creatures, to fear God i» his
church.

WHEN Israel went out of Egypt, the house of
Jacob from a people of strange language,

Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his do
minion.

The sea saw it, and fled ; Jordan was driven
back.

304 PSALM CXV.

The mountains skipped like rams, and the little

hills like lambs,
What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?

thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?
Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams ; and ye

little hills like lambs ?
Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the LORD,

at the presence of the God of Jacob ;
Which turned the rock into a standing water, the

flint into a fountain of waters.

THIS is a Psalm of thanksgiving, and a song for the
people of Israel, to praise God while celebrating the
feast of the passover; to magnify him for bringing
them with a high hand out of Egypt, through the Red
Sea, through the desert, over mountains, and through
Jordan, into the land of promise. We use this
Psalm to give thanks unto Christ, who delivered us
from the kingdom of darkness, and translated us
into the kingdom of light, even into his own king
dom, the kingdom of God's dear Son, and led us
forth into eternal life.

PSALM CXV.

Because God is truly glorious, and idols are vanity, lie exhorteth to confi
dence in God. — God is to be blessed for his blessings.

NOT unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy
name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy
truth's sake.

Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now
their God?

PSALM CXV. 305

Bat our God is in the heavens ; he hath done what
soever he hath pleased.
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's

hands.
They have mouths, but they speak not ; eyes have

they, but they see not;
They have ears, but they hear not; noses have they,

but they smell not ;
They have hands, but they handle not ; feet have

they, but they walk not ; neither speak they

through their throat.
They that make them are like unto them; so is

every one that trusteth in them.
O Israel, trust thou in the LORD ; he is their help

and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD ; he is their

help and their shield.
Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD ; he is

their help and their shield.
The LORD hath been mindful of us; he will bless

us: he will bless the house of Israel, he will

bless the house of Aaron.
He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small

and great,
The LORD shall increase you more and more, you

and your children.
Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven

and earth.
The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S : but

the earth hath he given to the children of men.
The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go

down into silence.
But we will bless the LORD from this time forth

and for evermore. Praise the LORD.

306 PSALM CXVI.

THIS is a glorious Psalm of thanksgiving, wherein
the God of Israel is praised, as being the one, only,
true, living God, the Saviour of all men, and espe
cially of them that believe ; and wherein also, all
the other gods of the nations, who can save neither
themselves nor others, are confessed, in the true faith,
to be dumb idols.

Wherefore the Psalmist, in the first verse, saith
" Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy
name give the glory." As if he had said, ' Look not
upon us, O Lord, to see how good or how righteous
we are, for if thou do this, thou wilt never help us,
thou wilt never save us; we shall remain a people
without salvation, and without God, like all the na
tions around us ; or we shall ever be at an uncer
tainty whether we shall be saved or not. But look,
O our God, at thy holy word, and at the glory of
thine own name, — that thou callest thyself our God ;
and that thou art the true and the living God, with
whom is mercy, and with whom is plenteous redemp
tion. According, O Lord, to thy promises of grace,
according to thy counsel and thy covenant, in the
which thou hast said, " I am the Lord your God;"
according to this thy glorious name deal thou with
us, O Lord; but not according to any name of ours,
whereby we may be called sacrificers, or good-workers,
or singers, or fathers, or the like : for all these names
the nations that know not thee may assume, and yet
remain still nations without God.

PSALM CXVI.

The psalmist professeth his love and duty to God for his deliverance.
He studieth to be thankful.

PSALM CXVI. 307

I LOVE the LORD, because he hath heard my voice
and my supplications.

Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, there
fore will I call upon him as long as I live.

The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains
of hell gat hold upon me : I found trouble and
sorrow.

Then called I upon the name of the LORD : O LORD,
I beseech thee, deliver my soul.

Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God
is merciful.

The LORD preserveth the simple : I was brought
low, and he helped me.

Return unto thy rest, O my soul ; for the LORD
hath dealt bountifully with tbee.

For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine
eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.

I will walk before the LORD in the land of the
living.

I believed, therefore have I spoken : I was greatly
afflicted.

I said in my haste, All men are liars.

What shall I render unto the LORD for all his ben
efits towards me?

I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the
name of the LORD.

I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the pre
sence of all his people.

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of
his saints.

0 LORD, truly I am thy servant ; I am thy servant,
and the son of thine handmaid : thou hast loosed
my bonds.

1 will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and will call upon the name of LORD.

x 2

308 PSALM CXVI.

I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the pre
sence of all his people,

In the courts of the LORD'S house, in the midst of
thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.

THIS is a Psalm of thanksgiving, in which the
Psalmist renders thanks, after coming out of a most
heavy trial, and again rejoices in God ; praising
God for having delivered him from the terrors of
death, and from the pains of hell; for by such terms
does he express those deep and heavy spiritual temp
tations, concerning which he had spoken before,
Psalm vi., which are not known unto all. And the
Psalmist complains also that he suffered all these
things, and was thus overwhelmed and almost de
stroyed by these heavy trials, because of his confes
sion of his faith and the truth of God before the
world. " I believed (saith he) and therefore have I
spoken:" but I am heavily afflicted for the word's
sake. For all the saints confess and teach the right
eousness of faith ; and, on the other hand, they ex
pose and condemn all the righteousness, wisdom,
and holiness of the world, and also all hypocrisy,
and the outside form of godliness. And this the
world will by no means whatever endure : they ever
rage and roar against it : and they load the godly
with every kind of affliction, because of their unso
cial confession: and hence arise all those terrors
without and those fears within, by which the church
of Christ and the saints have ever been afflicted from
the kingdom of the devil, in the midst of which their
confession is made.

But amid all these great, and hard, and numerous
afflictions of Satan and the world, the Psalmist has
this firm consolation, that his work and cause are

i

PSALM CXVI. 309

right before God ; therefore he comforts and encour
ages himself by relying on the word of God, and stirs
up and strengthens himself unto all confidence. " I
will take (saith he) the cup of salvation, and call
upon the name of the Lord." As if he had said, If
they drink my destruction from the cup of their fury,
and hate and persecute me unto death ; what then.'
" I will take the cup of God's salvation and helping
grace : " that is (as if he had said), Supporting and
strengthening my faith with the glad word of thy
promise, as with strong and generous wine, I shall
be filled with the Spirit, by drinking of that cup;
and, by my continuing to preach and spread the
word, I shall hold out the cup, to others also, who
confess with me the same truth, and preach the same
word; that they also may draw the same consolation
with me, out of the same most blessed word of the
grace of God.

This (saith the Psalmist) is our case, and this is
the way in which we drink of it and use it. We
drink of it ourselves, and then we hold it out to others,
and invite them to drink also ; and this is the true
worship of God ; and by this we laud and magnify
his name. By this service we truly pay our vows
unto God, namely, the vow of the first command
ment, paid unto God by his people ; for the greatest
and highest vow of the first commandment is this —
God, the true, the living God, alone shall be our
God : we will cleave unto him alone: him only will
we adore; him only will we worship ; him only will
we seek ; on him only will we call !

As, therefore, in many other Psalms, so also in this,
you may see what is the true sacrifice of praise (of
that praise which is wrought in the heart and in the
spirit by the Holy Ghost, and is not lip-service only.)

310 PSALM CXVII.

And in this Psalm you may also see that the true
preaching of the word, and the true confession of the
word, before the world, form the highest and most
precious worship of God.

PSALM CXVII.

An exhortation to praise God for his mercy and truth.

O PRAISE the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all

ye people.
For his merciful kindness is great toward us : and

the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise

ye the LORD.

THIS is a prophecy concerning Christ ; that all peoples
out of all kingdoms and islands, shall know Christ
in his kingdom; that is, in his church ; in that king
dom where mercy and grace, and the remission of
sins, and eternal life, and everlasting consolation,
shall be preached against sin, death, the power of
the devil, and all evil. This Psalm has been before
explained in my more full commentary thereon.

PSALM CXVIII.

An exhortation to praise God for his mercy. — The psalmist by his ex
perience sheweth how (jooditis trust in God. — Under the type of the
psalmist, the coming of Christ in his kingdom is expressed.

O GIVE thanks unto the LORD ; for he is good ; be
cause his mercy endureth for ever.

Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for
ever.

PSALM CXVIII. 311

Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy
endureth for ever.

Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his
mercy endureth for ever.

I called upon the LORD in distress : the LORD an
swered me, and set me in a large place.

The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what
can man do unto me?

The LORD taketh my part with them that help me :
therefore shall I see my desire upon them that
hate me.

It is better to trust in the LORD, than to put confi
dence in man :

It is better to trust in the LORD, than to put confi
dence in princes.

All nations compassed me about : but in the name
of the LORD will I destroy them.

They compassed me about; yea, they compassed
me about : but in the name of the LORD I will
destroy them.

They compassed me about like bees ; they are
quenched as the fire of thorns : for in the name
of the LORD I will destroy them.

Thou hast thrust sore at me, that I might fall : but
the LORD helped me.

The LORD is my strength and song, and is be
come my salvation.

The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the taber
nacles of the righteous : the right hand of the
LORD doeth valiantly.

The right hand of the LORD is exalted ; the right

hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of
the LORD.

312 PSALM CXVIII.

The LORD hath chastened me sore : but he hath

not given me over unto death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness : I will go

in to them, and I will praise the Lord ;
This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous

shall enter.
I will praise thee ; for thou hast heard me, and art

become my salvation.
The stone which the builders refused is become the

head stone of the corner.
This is the LORD'S doing ; it is marvellous in our

eyes.
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will

rejoice and be glad in it.
Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD : O LORD, I

beseech thee, send now prosperity.
Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the

LORD : we have blessed you out of the house of

the LORD.
God i* the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind

the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of

the altar.
Thou art my God, and I will praise thee ; thou art

my God, I will exalt thee.
O give thanks unto the LORD ; for he is good : for

his mercy endureth for ever.

THIS is also a Psalm of thanksgiving. This Psalm,
" O give thanks unto the Lord," which I so much
love and admire, is the one which I, in particular,
call the golden Psalm ; and is the Psalm which has
often revived and comforted me in my temptations.

The Psalmist gives thanks, and at the same time
utters forth a prophecy concerning Christ, who by
his suffering entered into glory; who is that stone

PSALM CXIX.

313

rejected of the builders, which became the head
of the corner ; as Christ himself also saith, Matt.
xxi. citing this Psalm. The Psalmist also describes
with blessed feelings of heart the joyful day of
the gospel, the day of salvation and peace, the day
of joy and consolation, and the true and glorious
feast-day.

Among other things the Psalmist speaks of the
church and the children of God, who are to be con
formed to the image of his Son ; shewing, that they
must be surrounded with afflictions on every side,
and by the cross and through death enter into glory.

A brief summary, however, like this, cannot set
forth the great and glorious contents of this Psalm :
but my particular and more full Commentary on it
will supply, in some measure, what is here wanting.

PSALM CXIX.

This psalm containeth sundry prayers, praises, and professions of
obedience.

S ALEPH.

BLESSED are the undefined in the way, who walk in

the law of the LORD.
Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that

seek him with the whole heart.
They also do no iniquity : they walk in his ways.
Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts

diligently.
O that my ways were directed to keep thy

statutes.
Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect

unto all thy commandments.

314 PSALM CXIX.

I will praise thee with uprightness of heart,
when I shall have learned thy righteous judg
ments.

I will keep thy statutes : O forsake me not
utterly.

^ BETH.

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way ?

by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
With my whole heart have I sought thee : O let

me not wander from thy commandments.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might

not sin against thee.

Blessed art thou, O LORD : teach me thy statutes.
With my lips have I declared all the judgments of

thy mouth.
I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as

much as in all riches.
I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect

unto thy ways.
I will delight myself in thy statutes : I will not

forget thy word.

^ GIMEL.

Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live,
and keep thy word.

Open thou mine eyes, that T may behold wondrous
things out of thy law.

I am a stranger in the earth : hide not thy com
mandments from me.

My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto
thy judgments at all times.

Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed,
which do err from thy commandments.

Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I
have kept thy testimonies.

PSALM CXIX.

315

Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy
servant did meditate in thy statutes.

Thy testimonies also are my delight and my coun
sellors.

•7 DALETH.

My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me

according to thy word.
I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me :

teach me thy statutes.
Make me to understand the way of thy precepts :

so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.
My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou

me according unto thy word.
Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me

thy law graciously.
I have chosen the way of truth : thy judgments

have I laid before me.
I have stuck unto thy testimonies : O LORD, put

me not to shame.
I will run the way of thy commandments, when

thou shalt enlarge my heart.

n HE.

Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes : and I

shall keep it unto the end.
Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy

law ; yea, I shall observe it with my whole

heart.
Make me to go in the path of thy commandments ;

for therein do I delight.
Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to

covetousness.
Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity ; and

quicken thou me in thy way.

316 PSALM CXIX.

Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted

to thy fear.
Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy

judgments are good.
Behold I have longed after thy precepts : quicken

me in thy righteousness.

1 VAU.

Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even
thy salvation, according to thy word.

So shall I have wherewith to answer him that re-
proacheth me : for I trust in thy word.

And take not the word of truth utterly out of my
mouth ; for I have hoped in thy judgments.

So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and
ever.

And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy pre
cepts.

I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings,
and will not be ashamed.

And I will delight myself in thy commandments,
which I have loved.

My hands also will I lift up unto thy command
ments which I have loved ; and I will meditate
in thy statutes.

t ZAIN.

Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which

thou hast caused me to hope.
This is my comfort in my affliction : for thy word

hath quickened me.
The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet

have I not declined from thy law.
I remembered thy judgments of old, O LORD ; and

have comforted myself.

PSALM CXIX. 317

Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the

wicked that forsake thy law.
Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of

my pilgrimage.
I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night,

and have kept thy law.
This I had, because I kept thy precepts.

fl CHETH.

Thou art my portion, O LORD : I have said that I

would keep thy words.
I entreated thy favour with my whole heart : be

merciful unto me according to thy word.
I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy

testimonies.

I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy com
mandments.
The bands of the wicked have robbed me, but I

have not forgotten thy law.
At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee,

because of thy righteous judgments.
I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of

them that keep thy precepts.
The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy: teach me

thy statutes.

ft TETH.

Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD,
according unto thy word.

Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I
have believed thy commandments.

Before I was afflicted I went astray ; but now have
I kept thy word.

Thou art good, and doest good : teach me thy sta
tutes.

318 PSALM CXIX.

The proud have forged a lie against me : but I will
keep thy precepts with my whole heart.

Their heart is as fat as grease : but I delight in thy
law.

It is good for me that I have been afflicted ; that I
might learn thy statutes.

The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thou
sands of gold and silver.

> JOD.

Thy hands have made me and fashioned me : give
me understanding, that I may learn thy com
mandments.

They that fear thee will be glad when they see me:
because I have hoped in thy word.

I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right,
and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.

Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my
comfort, according to thy word unto thy ser
vant.

Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may
live : for thy law is my delight.

Let the proud be ashamed: for they dealt per
versely with me without a cause : but I will me
ditate in thy precepts.

Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those
that have known thy testimonies.

Let my heart be sound in thy statutes, that I be
not ashamed.

3 CAPH.

My soul fainteth for thy salvation ; but I hope in

thy word.
Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt

thou comfort me ?

PSALM CXIX. 319

For I am become like a bottle in the smoke ; yet

do I not forget thy statutes.
How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt

thou execute judgment on them that persecute

me?
The proud have digged pits for me, which are not

after thy law.

All thy commandments are faithful : they perse
cute me wrongfully; help thou me.
They had almost consumed me upon earth: but I

forsook not thy precepts.
Quicken me after thy loving-kindness ; so shall I

keep the testimony of thy mouth.

b LAMED.

For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Thy faithfulness is unto all generations : thou hast
established the earth, and it abideth.

They continue this day according to thine ordi
nances : for all are thy servants.

Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then
have perished in mine affliction.

I will never forget thy precepts : for with them
thou hast quickened me.

I am thine, save me ; for I have sought thy precepts.

The wicked have waited for me to destroy me : but
I will consider thy testimonies.

I have seen an end of all perfection : but thy com
mandment is exceeding broad.

ft MEM.
O how love I thy law ! it is my meditation all the

day.
Thou through thy commandments hast made me

wiser than mine enemies : for they are ever with

me.

320 PSALM CXIX.

I have more understanding than all my teachers :
for thy testimonies are my meditation.

T understand more than the ancients, because I
keep thy precepts.

I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that
I might keep thy word.

I have not departed from thy judgments ; for thou
hast taught me.

How sweet are thy words unto my taste ! yea,
sweeter than honey to my mouth !

Through thy precepts I get understanding: there
fore I hate every false way.

1 NUN.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto

my path.
I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will

keep thy righteous judgments.
I am afflicted very much : quicken me, O LORD,

according unto thy word.
Accept, I beseech thee, the free-will offerings of

my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judg
ments.
My soul is continually in my hand : yet do I not

forget thy law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me : yet I erred

not from thy precepts.
Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for

ever ; for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes

alway, even unto the end.

D SAMECH.

I hate vain thoughts : but thy law do I love.
Thou art my hiding place and my shield : I hope
in thy word.

PSALM CXIX. 321

Depart from me, ye evildoers : for I will keep the

commandments of my God.
Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may

live : and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe : and I will

have respect unto thy statutes continually.
Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy

statutes : for their deceit is falsehood.
Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like

dross : therefore I love thy testimonies.
My flesh trernbleth for fear of thee ; and I am

afraid of thy judgments.

y AIN.

I have done judgment and justice: leave me not

to mine oppressors.
Be surety for thy servant for good : let not the

proud oppress me.
Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word

of thy righteousness.
Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy,

and teach me thy statutes,
lam thy servant; give me understanding, that I

may know thy testimonies.
It is time for thee, LORD, to work : for they have

made void thy law.
Therefore I love thy commandments above gold ;

yea, above fine gold.
Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all

things to be right ; and I hate every false way.

a PE.

Thy testimonies are wonderful : therefore doth my

soul keep them.
The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth

understanding unto the simple.

322 PSALM CXIX.

I opened my mouth, and panted : for I longed for
thy commandments.

Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as
thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.

Order my steps in thy word : and let not any in
iquity have dominion over me.

Deliver me from the oppression of man : so will I
keep thy precepts.

Make thy face to shine upon thy servant ; and
teach me thy statutes.

Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they
keep not thy law.

2 TSADDI.

Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy

judgments.
Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are

righteous and very faithful.
My zeal hath consumed me: because mine enemies

have forgotten thy words.
Thy word is very pure : therefore thy servant

loveth it.
I am small and despised ; yet do not I forget thy

precepts.
Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,

and thy law is the truth.
Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me; yet

thy commandments are my delights.
The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting :

give me understanding, and I shall live.

p KOPH.
I cried with my whole heart ; hear me, O LORD :

I will keep thy statutes.
I cried unto thee ; save me, and I shall keep thy

testimonies.

PSALM CXIX. 323

F prevented the dawning of the morning, and
cried : I hoped in thy word.

Mine eyes prevent the m^Af-watches, that I might
meditate in thy word.

Hear my voice, according unto thy loving-kind
ness : O LORD, quicken me according to thy
judgment.

They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they
are far from thy law.

Thou art near, O LORD ; and all thy command
ments are truth.

Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old
that thou hast founded them for ever.

-) RESH.

Consider mine affliction, and deliver me ; for I do
not forget thy law.

Plead my cause, and deliver me : quicken me ac
cording to thy word.

Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek
not thy statutes.

Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD ; quicken
me according to thy judgments.

Many are my persecutors and mine enemies ; yet
do I not decline from thy testimonies.

I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved ; be
cause they kept not thy word.

Consider how I love thy precepts : quicken me, O
LORD, according to thy loving-kindness.

Thy word is true from the beginning : and every
one of thy righteous judgments endureth for
ever.

\D SCHIN.

Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but
my heart standeth in awe of thy word.
Y 2

324 PSALM CXIX.

I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great

spoil.

I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.
Seven times a-day do I praise thee, because of thy

righteous judgments.
Great peace have they which love thy law: and

nothing shall offend them.
LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done

thy commandments.
My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love

them exceedingly.
I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies : for

all my ways are before thee.

n TAU.

Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD ; give

me understanding according to thy word.
Let my supplication come before thee ; deliver me

according to thy word.
My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught

me thy statutes.
My tongue shall speak of thy word : for all thy

commandments are righteousness.
Let thine hand help me : for I have chosen thy

precepts.
I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD ; and thy

law is my delight.
Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee ; and let

thy judgments help me.
I have gone astray like a lost sheep : seek thy

servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

THIS Psalm is the most extended in the whole
Psalter. It contains prayers, consolations, doctrines,
thanksgivings, and repeats all these with a varied
fulness. It is however given forth with a deep and

PSALM CXIX. 325

blessed intent: namely, that by this repetition and
fulness, it may invite and exhort us to hear and dili
gently to treasure up the word of God. For through
out the whole Psalm the Psalmist exalts unto the
heavens, with the highest praises, the pure doctrine
of God's holy word. He sets it forth as to be pre
ferred before all gold and precious stones, and before
all the riches of the world ; as Solomon also beau
tifully speaks of it in his Proverbs.

On the other hand, the Psalmist earnestly warns
against all false doctrine and against all security and
contempt of the word. For no pestilence is more
destroying than false doctrine, or human doctrines
without or contrary to the word of God. And know
ing that Satan without cessation assaults the church
of God with all kinds of heresies and false doctrine ;
the Psalmist takes up a great part of this Psalm in
consolations.

The principal, and indeed whole foundation and
truth of godliness lies in the pure teaching and
hearing of the word of God. For where that word is
purely taught and heard, there, to a certainty, will
be begotten pure and prevailing prayer, calling upon
God, diligence in reading, teaching, and exhortation,
consolation for the weak that are afflicted and tried,
strengthening of heart and spirit, joy, peace of con
science, thanksgivings, prophecyings, an abundant
understanding of the scriptures ; and, in a word, true
religion, and the true worship of God ; and also, con
fidence in God under the cross and afflictions, and
perseverance unto the end ; and, finally, all the
blessed operations and gifts of the Holy Spirit, and
all those things which please God and displease the
Devil.

On the contrary, where the pure word is not taught,

326 PSALM CXIX.

or where there is a weariness and loathing of
the word, there the true religion becomes extin
guished, and all true worship of God perishes. For
where the true word of God is not taught, there
is not any truth of God ; there is found a great
noise of external holiness, and the form of godliness,
and hypocrisy ; ' there, indeed, is psalm-singing,
prayer, doctrines, consolation, thanksgiving, and all
the varieties of the worship of God, with all inter
pretations of the scriptures. I will add, also, that
there you may find sufferings and martyrdoms. But
all is outside show ; all is the form of godliness only ;
all is false ; all is feigned, and nothing but lies ; all
is full of the poison of the devil. Nor without true
faith in the heart, nor without the divine word, nor
without the worship of the First Commandment, is
there, or can there be, any true and real worship
of God.

How many thousands of priests and monks have
sung this Psalm at their first, third, sixth, and ninth
hours, in their temples.

But what did they do during all their singings?
They did nothing else but call down God's judgment
and indignation on their own heads ! For the design
of this Psalm, in every word of it, is to glorify the
word of God, and to confound, put to shame, destroy,
and blot out all hypocrisy upon the face of the
earth.

i Luther is here deeply opening up the extent to which the " form
of godliness " may be carried, yet without the truth and " power ''
of it.

327

PSALM CXX.

David prayeth against Doeg, reproveth his tongue, complaincth of his
necessary conversation with the wicked.

A Song of degrees.

IN my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he

heard me.
Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and

from a deceitful tongue.
What shall be given unto thee, or what shall be

done unto thee, thou false tongue?
Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
Woe is me that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell

in the tents of Kedar !
My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth

peace.
I am for peace : but, when I speak, they are for war.

THIS Psalm is an earnest prayer ; and it complains,
with deep feelings of sorrow, of those horrible evils
which Satan causes in the church by a false and
crafty tongue : that is, by that virulent and truly
serpentine tongue which boasts of God and the wor
ship of God, and never instructs any one in the truth,
nor leads them to God.

For false teachers cause infinite and terrible evils
in the church ; and like giants with immense wea
pons in their hands, they never strike without in
flicting some mighty wound : or, like fire-brands
cast into a grove of juniper trees, they consume in
all directions, with a sudden and devouring flame.
And just so, the common people often burst out into
one general flame, even by the throwing in among
them of one single spark of false and wicked doc-

328 PSALM CXXI.

trine ; and not only do they blaze forth with a sudden
flame of their minds and spirits, but even greatly
admire the error and the hypocrisy. For all doctrines
of this kind, as being more congenial to human
reason than the truth of God, quickly please men ;
as Paul saith, 2 Tim. iv. " They will heap to them
selves teachers, having itching ears."

Mesech are the nations nigh unto Jerusalem itself,
towards the north ; where the Tartars now are. And
Kedar are the Arabs, to the east of Jerusalem. These
nations are types of all enemies and heretics who
oppose themselves as adversaries to the true church.
The Mesech of Christians, at this time are the
Turks, who derive their origin from the Tartars.
And the Kedar are Mahomet and the Saracens ; for
they are from Arabia. These with their Alcoran
have oppressed and laid waste the Gospel in many
places : and that fire of wicked doctrine, broke out
into a mighty blaze, just like a brand cast into a
thicket of juniper trees.

PSALM CXXI.

The great safety of the godly, who put their trust in God'* protection,
A Song of degrees.

I WILL lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from
whence cometh my help.

My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven
and earth.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that
keepeth thee will not slumber.

Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slum
ber nor sleep.

PSALM CXXII. 329

The LORD is thy keeper; the LORD it shade

upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon

by night.
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil : he

shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD shall preserve thy going out, and thy

coming in, from this time forth, and even for

evermore,

THIS is a Psalm of consolation, wherein the Psalmist,
from his own experience, exhorts the godly to a
constancy of faith, and to an expectation of help
and defence from God. For although in the hour of
temptation God puts off' his help, and all things ap
pear as if he were asleep, or had forgotten us alto
gether, and had left us to be scorched by the heat
of the sun by day, and by the beams of the moon by
night ; that is, as though he had given us up to be
afflicted and destroyed by all manner of temptations,
by Satan, by the world, and by sin, day and night :
yet it is not so; — he has not given us up, as we, ac
cording to the weakness of our flesh, imagine and
feel. He sees and regards us, and watches over us ;
nor does he suffer us to be so burnt as to be de
stroyed, nor so tempted or distressed, as to be swal
lowed up of over-much sorrow : and this all blessedly
experience, who call upon him for his help and
patiently wait for it.

PSALM CXXII.

David professeth his joy for the church, and prayeth for the peace
thereof.

A Song of degrees of David.

330 PSALM CXXII.

I WAS glad when they said unto me, Let us go into

the house of the LORD.

Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact

together :
Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD,

unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto

the name of the LORD.
For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones

of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem : they shall prosper

that love thee.
Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within

thy palaces.
For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will

now say, Peace be within thee.
Because of the house of the LORD our God I will

seek thy good.

THIS is a Psalm of thanksgiving, it contains the
feelings of a glad, a rejoicing, and a thankful heart,
for that unspeakable gift of God, — the ministry of
his word. This Psalm in the person of the Jews,
rejoices that God had appointed a certain place,
namely Jerusalem, in the midst of that people,
where the name and the word of God had a certain
dwelling-place and could there be found : and where
it was administered by certain persons, the Levites
and the priests, to certain disciples ; namely, to the
tribes of Israel.

For what calamity or misery can be greater than
to seek the word of God anxiously, and not be able
to find it? This calamity and misery the children of
Israel experienced in the times of God's anger,
when, being forsaken by him, and left to their own

PSALM CXXIII. 331

inventions, they sought and worshipped idols. And
in these our times of monkery also, the masses and
the travellings about to so many Marys have given
abundant proofs of what it is to seek the word of
God and not to find it.

Our Jerusalem, our certain place, is the church,
and our temple is Christ. Wheresoever Christ is
preached and the sacraments are duly administered,
there we are sure God dwells ; and there is our
temple, our tabernacle, our cherubim, and our
mercy-seat ; for there God is present with us by
his word.

PSALM CXXIII.

The godly profess their confidence in God, and pray to be delivered from
contempt.

A Song of degrees.

UNTO thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest

in the heavens.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand

of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden

unto the hand of her mistress ; so our eyes wait

upon the LORD our God, until that he have

mercy upon us.
Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon

us : for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of

those that are at ease, and with the contempt of

the proud.

THIS Psalm is a fervent prayer against all those
secure and proud despisers of the word of God
and its true ministers, And the Gentile nations

332 PSALM CXX1V.

were not the only despisers who contemned the
whole religion of the Israelites and the true worship
of God, and condemned it as sedition altogether :
but the idolaters and false teachers which were in
the midst of that very people themselves proudly
despised and derided the godly, that little flock
of God, and the true prophets ; as Psalms xii. and
xiv. complain. And in the same way also our papists
and fanatics now, who seem in their own eyes to be
more holy than the gospel itself, more proudly and
contemptuously than any others despise, trample un
derfoot, and spit upon all true and good ministers of
the word of God. Not to say anything- now about
that security and pride wherein, at this day, even
our bishops and priests themselves, who are more
profane than all heathen nations put together, de
spise the true word of God. So that we, as the
Psalmist saith in its conclusion, are indeed filled
with the derision of the rich and the contempt of the
proud. But may God, (and he will!) regard us, and
glorify his word. Auien.

PSALM CXXIV.

The church blesseth God for a miraculous deliverance.
A Song of degrees of David.

IF it had not been the LORD who was on our side,

now may Israel say ;
If it had not been the LORD who was on our side

when men rose up against us ;
Then they had swallowed us up quick, when

their wrath was kindled against us :
Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream

had gone over our soul :

PSALM CXXV. 333

Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us a* a

prey to their teeth.
Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of

the fowlers : the snare is broken, and we are

escaped.
Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made

heaven and earth.

THE Psalmist, in this Psalm, gives thanks unto God
for defending his little helpless flock, here in the
midst of the kingdom of the devil, struggling against
all temptations, against tyrants, and against blood-
thirsting hypocrites; and for delivering them from
the snares of virulent calumniators; the number of
whom is so great, that compared with the little flock
of God, they are like a sweeping torrent, or a mighty
deluge, to one solitary rivulet.

Though, however, their teeth were of iron ; that is,
though their power were infinitely greater than it is,
and though their snares (that is, their cunning de
vices,) were infinitely more crafty than they are ; yet
" Greater is he that is in us, than he that is in the
world ;" he breaks and destroys their teeth, he de-
feateth their snares, and wonderfully delivers his
people, as we have seen it in our own times, on
many and great occasions.

PSALM CXXV.

The safety of such as trust in God. — A prayer for the godly, and against
the wicked.

A Song of degrees.

THEY that trust in the LORD shall be as mount

334 PSALM CXXV.

Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for
ever.

As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so
the LORD is round about his people from hence
forth, even for ever.

For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the
lot of the righteous ; lest the righteous put forth
their hands unto iniquity.

Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to
them that are upright in their hearts.

As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways,
the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers
of iniquity : but peace shall be upon Israel.

THIS also is a Psalm of thanksgiving containing the
feelings of an exercised faith : thanking God, that,
although he sometimes permits false prophets and
fanatical spirits to prevail, as if they would possess
all things (which thing God often does so permit to
be, as a punishment for the ingratitude of his people,
who value not the blessing of the word ;) yet he visits
such with the more terrible judgment, and suffers
them not to prevail in all things against the right
eous, lest the righteous, being entirely broken by
too great afflictions and sorrows, should, through
discouragement and despair, fall away from the
word unto ungodliness and sin.

For the final end of all false teachers and blas
phemers ever is, — confusion, terrible judgment, and
destruction ; " And their glory," as the apostle saith,
"is turned into shame." But the end of the poor
flock of God, even though the church be proved and
tried by a thousand fires and deaths, though it appear
a thousand times over to be oppressed, destroyed
and extirpated is; — eternal life, eternal consolation,,

PSALM CXXVI. 335

eternal glory ! This is what the Psalmist means,
when he says, " The Lord doth good to them that be
good, and to them that are upright in their hearts :
but as for them that turn aside unto their crooked
ways, the Lord shall lead them forth with the evil
doers, but peace shall be upon Israel."

PSALM CXXVI.

The church, celebrating her incredible return out of captivity, prayeth
for, and prophesieth the good success thereof.

A Song of degrees.

WHEN the LORD turned again the captivity of

Zion, we were like them that dream.
Then was our mouth tilled with laughter, and our

tongue with singing: then said they among the

heathen, The LORD hath done great things for

them.
The LORD hath done great things for us ; whereof

we are glad.
Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams

in the south.

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious

seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,

bringing his sheaves with him.

THIS is a Psalm of thanksgiving for deliverance from
the Babylonish captivity ; whether it was written
after the captivity, or before it, as a prophecy to com
fort the Jews with the certain hope of deliverance,
and that they should not despair, is uncertain : but
at what particular time it was written, it matters not.

336 PSALM CXXVI.

This Psalm ends with a remarkable and glo
rious conclusion ; which embraces, in a few words,
the whole counsel and the immutable decree of God
concerning his church ; namely, that it behoved
Christ first to suffer, and then to be raised up, and
exalted of God and glorified. And so also Christians
must first fill up a certain measure of afflictions be
fore they enter into their joy; while, on the contrary,
the men of the world fill up a certain measure of their
joy before they are eternally punished and damned.

The church, therefore, is that poor little helpless
flock, in the midst of a wicked nation. They are that
little company who pray, cry, are tempted, and are af
flicted by the world ; who sow in tears, but reap in joy.
" But," says the Psalmist, "they went, and wept as
they went, sowing precious seed ; but they shall
come again with joy, bringing their sheaves with
them."

These afflictions, and these deaths of the saints are
very precious ; hence it is that the Psalmist calls
them " precious seed ; " because they are followed by
the most fruitful crops, and by the most abundant
harvests. But we infants in grace, we poor little
child:en, under our tears and our sighs, understand
not the voice, or the mind, or the will of our hea
venly Father in these afflictions: nor can we see or
understand how precious this seed is in the sight of
God; who calls even "death," (which is the worst
and lowest of all these seeds " precious ; " saying, in
another place, " Precious in the sight of the Lord is
the death of his saints ; " and God sets this precious
seed thus sown by his children, before all the trea
sures of the world.

337

PSALM CXXVIT.

The virtue of God's blessing. —Good children are his gift.
A song of degrees for Solomon.

EXCEPT the LORD build the house, they labour in

vain that build it: except the LORD keep the

city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to

eat the bread of sorrows : for so he giveth his

beloved sleep.
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD ; and the

fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man ; so are

children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them ;

they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak

with the enemies in the gate.

THIS Psalm contains a most blessed and important
doctrine. It is of the same subject-matter as that
contained in the book of Solomon, called Eccle-
siastes. The Psalmist teaches, that all governments
and commonwealths rightly constituted are the good
and free gifts of God : and that none of them can be
either rightly constituted, at the first, nor preserved
afterwards, by any human wisdom or might: but
that all these things are in the hand of God : that,
where he giveth not peace, where he giveth not men
desirous of the arts of peace, and wise therein, where
he holdeth not the helm of the state,— that there, all
human wisdom, however great, all laws, all ordi
nances, all might, all arms, all preparations are vain,
z

338 PSALM CXXVIII.

In the next place, the Psalmist saith, that where
God blesseth not a domestic household, where he
giveth not concord between husband and wife, suc
cess and happiness in the bringing up of children, dili
gence and faithfulness to men-servants and maid
servants ; there, all labour and industry and toil are
vain: concerning all which I have spoken more
largely in my more full commentary on this psalm.

PSALM CXXVIII.

The sundry blessings which follow them that fear God.
A Song of degrees.

BLESSED is every one that feareth the LORD ; that

walketh in his ways.
For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands : happy

shah thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of

thine house : thy children like olive-plants round

about thy table.
Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that

feareth the LORD.
The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion : and thou

shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of

thy life.
Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and

peace upon Israel.

THIS is a Psalm of consolation, wherein the Psalmist
extols, with the highest praises, marriage, as a holy
and godly kind of life, instituted of God himself.
The Holy Spirit here comforts and encourages all
husbands and wives with a divine consolation ; and

PSALM CXXVIII. 339

confirms and fortifies them against all those wrong co
gitations and thoughts of human reason ; which reason
does not look at what good there is in marriage, but
only beholds and exaggerates what of evil there may
be in it; and thus blasphemes the glorious work of
God in the two sexes. Hence, here arises all those
blasphemous sayings among the heathen : ' There
are three great evils in life ; fire, water, and woman.'
But Solomon saith, " He that findeth a wife findeth
a good thing."

This Psalm reminds husbands and wives that they
should not look at the labours, the troubles, the cares,
or the various temptations and trials which are to be
endured in marriage; but that they should rather keep
their eyes fixed on the word and will of God ; from
which they ought to hold themselves assured that
marriage was not a human invention, nor a matter
casually contrived of men ; but that the whole human
race were, from the beginning, created and formed
of God, man and woman, and that neither of the sexes,
nor their design can or ought to be altered or
changed by men, by the devil, or any other creature,
any more than the sun and moon and their offices
can or ought to be altered or changed.

God, saith the scripture, created them male and
female, and blessed them. Marriage, therefore, is
that kind of life, which, as being the creation and
institution of God, greatly pleases him. If, there
fore, thou shalt obey God herein, and shall keep the
eyes of thy faith fixed on the good, and on the bles
sings of marriage ; if thou shalt obey the command
ment and the call of God in taking to thyself a wife,
the sexes created of God will not be vile, but pre
cious in thy sight: and all the little troubles and
trials of marriage shall be drowned and lost in
z 2

'340 PSALM CXXIX.

that divine blessedness, — the knowing that God
favours husbands and wives, and is present with
them ; that the joining of marriage is one of his own
works ; and that he provides for, and defends those
who are joined together.

To fortify thyself, therefore, against all that blas
phemy of human reason and of the devil, by which they
condemn marriage, hold thou fixed in thine heart that
heavenly word, " And the Lord made them male and
female, and said, Be fruitful and multiply." And if
thou fear the Lord thou shalt be happy, and it shall
be well with thee in marriage, even though the viru
lent and blaspheming mouth of the devil, and the
whole world together with him, should say it shall
be evil with thee !

PSALM CXXIX.

A ?i exhortation to praise God for saving Israel in their great afflictions. —
The haters of the church are cursed.

A Song of degrees.

MANY a time have they afflicted me from my youth,

may Israel now say :
Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth :

yet they have not prevailed against me.
The plowers plowed upon my back : they made

long their furrows.
The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the

cords of the wicked.
Let them all be confounded and turned back that

hate Zion :
Let them be as the grass upon the house-tops, which

withereth afore it grovveth up :

PSALM CXXIX. 341

Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand, nor he

that bindeth sheaves, his bosom.
Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of

the LORD be upon you ; we bless you in the name

of the LORD.

THIS is a Psalm of thanksgiving, wherein the people of
Israel give thanks unto the God of Israel for his deli
verances and consolations of every kind : seeing that
from the beginning he had often mightily and marvel
lously delivered them from the hand of their enemies,
as we have it recorded in the books of Judges and
Kings ; where we find that the Israelites were often op
pressed by the cruel power and tyranny of their Gentile
enemies, who afflicted them for a long time, and, as it
were, ploughed upon their backs (as the Psalmist
saith) and made long their furrows, and held them
most cruelly under their yokes ; until God sent them
a Saviour, and delivered them both from the plough-
ers and the ploughs, and their yokes also.

At the conclusion, the Psalmist prays against them ;
or rather, prophesies that they shall perish, and shall
be burnt up like grass upon the house-tops; as it
also came to pass : for all the enemies and the na
tions that were adversaries unto Israel perished ; but
Israel remained, and was afterwards lifted up with
new consolations.

In the same way also all the wicked and the ene
mies of God and of his word, are like grass upon the
house-tops ; which flourishes, indeed, like a thriving
garden, as if it would remain ; but before it is grown
up, it withers, is burnt up, and becomes of no use
whatever. So also the enemies of the word, and all
erroneous teachers, when they are shining in pride
and magnifying themselves in their boastings against

342 PSALM CXXX.

God, wither on a sudden like the falling grass ;
while Christians and the church of God flourish for
evermore.

PSALM CXXX.

The Psalmist professeth his hope in prayer, and his patience in hope. —
He ea'horteth Israel to hope in God.

A Song of degrees.

OUT of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD :
Lord, hear my voice : let thine ears be attentive to

the voice of my supplications.
If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord,

who shall stand?
But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest

be feared.
T wait for the LORD; my soul doth wait, and in his

word do I hope.
My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that

watch for the morning : I say, more than they

that watch for the morning.
Let Israel hope in the LORD : for with the LORD

there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemp
tion.
And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

THIS is a very blessed Psalm and a prayer unto God,
proceeding from a spirit and feeling of heart truly
Davidical : for this Psalm confesses that none is
righteous before God on account of his own works
and merits, but only through grace and by faith in
the promise of God, freely giving the remission of
sins and peace by Jesus Christ : on this promise of

PSALM CXXX. 343

God the Psalmist relies; and with this word of pro
mise he supports and comforts himself when strug
gling in the depths of sin and hell.

And he exhorts all Israel with a loud voice, to
learn and to do the same. " For (says the Psalmist)
with thee only is mercy, and with thee is plenteous
redemption, that thou mayest be feared : " that is, that
thou mayest be worshipped with the worship of the
first and greatest commandment, — with the sacrifice
of praise and thanksgiving. " And he (continues the
Psalmist) shall redeem Israel from all his iniqui
ties ;" that is, neither Israel, nor any man, shall be
delivered from sin, from the power of the devil, and
from death, in any other way than by the grace and
the free remission of sins : but he shall, without these,
remain in the deep; that is, in the kingdom of sin,
death, and the devil, and under the wrath of God.

Behold in how few words this Psalm expresses
the most glorious things ! The Psalmist is a truly
great teacher of divine truths, and of the whole sum
of godliness. He has a clear and thorough view of
those glorious promises. ** I will put enmity between
thee and the serpent, and between thy seed and his
seed : thou shalt bruise his head : " and, " In thy
seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."
The Psalmist wraps up both these promises in that
one verse, " And he shall redeem Israel from all his
iniquities/'

PSALM CXXXI.

David professing his humility, exhorteth Israel to hope in God.
A Song of Degrees of David.

344 PSALM CXXXI.

LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty :

neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or

in things too high for me.
Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a

child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is

even as a weaned child.
Let Israel hope in the LORD, from henceforth and

for ever.

THIS is also a blessed Psalm, containing, in a few
brief words, the same most important doctrine which
was taught also in the preceding Psalm, — that we
are not to trust in our own righteousness or works :
and it attacks all proud and arrogant hypocrites,
who, by human strength, attempt works beyond all
human powers, namely to pacify God ; and under
stand not the power of grace nor the remission of
sins; but endeavour to pacify God by their own
works.

" My heart is not lifted up," (saith the Psalmist) ;
as if he had said, Those proud saints (as they ima
gine themselves) being ignorant of all trials and
temptations, and spiritual things, trust greatly in
their own works, and know not what sin is, nor what
the anger and judgment of God are. But I, being
broken down and humbled by these things, know
what they are. For whenever I leave off to trust
closely and wholly to the promise of grace ; as often
as I cease to suck the breast of mercy and promised
pardon, my rest is gone, and I begin to weep and
howl with distresses and straits of conscience ; just
as a little newly-weaned infant cries unceasingly,
night and day, for the breast of its mother which it
has lost.

The sum therefore of all true religion and godliness

PSALM CXXXII. 345

is this, " Let Israel hope in the Lord:" that is,
there is no other salvation, there is no other conso
lation, there is no other sure peace of conscience for
any mortal, than the apprehending and embracing
the promise of grace. Take care, therefore, that thou
neglect not this true mother's breast for thy soul;
take heed that thou lose it not out of thy mouth ;
for this breast alone is that which can relieve, refresh,
and quiet thirsting and sinking consciences, in any
of their agonies on account of sin. Christ alone is
eternal life, peace, and consolation !

PSALM CXXXII.

David in his prayer commendeth unto God fhe religious care he had for
the ark.— His prayer at the removing of the ark, with a repetition of
God's promises.

A Song of Degrees.

LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions ;
How he sware unto the LORD, and vowed unto the

mighty God of Jacob ;
Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my

house, nor go up into my bed ;
I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to

mine eyelids,
Until I find out a place for the LORD, an habitation

for the mighty God of Jacob.
Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah ; we found it in the

fields of the wood.
We will go into his tabernacles ; we will worship

at his footstool.
Arise, O LORD, into thy rest ; thou and the ark of

thy strength.

346 PSALM CXXXII.

Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness ; and

let thy saints shout for joy.
For thy servant David's sake turn not away the

face of thine anointed.
The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David, he will

not turn from it ; Of the fruit of thy body will I

set upon thy throne.
If thy children will keep my covenant, and my

testimony that I shall teach them, their children

shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.
For the LORD hath chosen Zion : he hath desired

it for his habitation.
This is my rest for ever : here will I dwell; for I

have desired it.
I will abundantly bless her provision : I will satisfy

her poor with bread.
I will also clothe her priests with salvation ; and

her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
There will I make the horn of David to bud : I

have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.
His enemies will I clothe with shame : but upon

himself shall his crown flourish.

THIS Psalm is a prayer, in which Solomon and the
people of Israel beg of God to preserve the priest
hood and the kingdom : that is, that he would main
tain the true religion, the true worship of God, and
a prosperous and happy state of the kingdom among
that people. In a word, it is a prayer to God that
he would be pleased to preserve the ministry of the
word above all things ; and then also the laws, the
magistrates, and the public peace : for where these
two things, the word and the laws, are rightly con
stituted and preserved, there all things go well with
a kingdom.

PSALM CXXXIII. 347

In the eleventh verse, the Psalmist, turning his
eye, as it were, to the promise, feels the fullest assur
ance that he is heard. For God had promised by
oath that he would dwell in that place, namely, in
Jerusalem or Zion ; and would bless both the priest
hood and the kingdom, if they would keep the com
mandments of their God, and obey him.

Why the Psalmist calls, in the sixth verse, this
habitation of God, Jerusalem, " Ephratah," and "the
fields of the wood," is explained in my more full
commentary elsewhere, on these " Psalms of De
grees."

PSALM CXXXIII.

The benefit nf the communion of saints.
A song of degrees.

BEHOLD, how good and how pleasant it is for bre
thren to dwell together in unity !

It is like the precious ointment upon the head,
that ran down upon the beard ; even Aaron's
beard ; that went down to the skirts of his gar
ments ;

As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that de
scended upon the mountains of Zion : for there
the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for
evermore.

THIS Psalm contains an important doctrine, and an
exhortation unto concord in the church, and also in
the state ; and especially an exhortation unto unity
in the Spirit ; concerning which Paul speaks, Phil,
ii.; and also, it exhorts unto agreement in doctrine,
and unto peace in general. Let the wise, the strong,

348 PSALM CXXXIV.

and the holy, (the Psalmist would say,) bear with
and support the simple, the weak-minded, and the
infirm ; which is indicated and implied by the two
similitudes of" ointment" and "dew."

The Psalmist alludes to the priesthood and the
kingdom. For divine harmony and agreement in the
priesthood, or in the doctrine of the truth, is a great
and lovely gift of God, and diffuseth a fragrance
like precious ointment ; and this fragance descendeth
or runneth down ; that is, unity in the doctrine of
truth, runs down from the high priest Aaron, down
his beard, and even unto the skirts of his clothing ;
that is, down to all other teachers of the truth.

And this "dew of Hermon" signifies literally that
dew which revives the flower of Lebanon ; and, spi
ritually, the concord of Lebanon ; that is, of Jerusa
lem. For, as the natural dew fructifies Lebanon, and
all the places near unto Lebanon, so concord in divine
and spiritual things causes a kingdom to flourish and
prosper.

Wherever, therefore, concord in a state and in its
church flourishes, there God dwells with all his
grace and blessing ; but where there are dissensions,
divisions, and discord, there is the dwelling of Satan.

PSALM CXXXIV.

An exhortation to Ness God.
A song of degrees.

BEHOLD, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the
LORD, which by night stand in the house of
the LORD.

Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the
LORD.

PSALM CXXXIV. 349

The LORD, that made heaven and earth, bless thee
out of Zion.

THIS again is a very short and brief Psalm, but it
contains a most blessed doctrine. It teaches and
exhorts priests and Levites, to perform the duties of
their office diligently, and to be constant and careful
in the worship of God ; that they be instant day and
night in teaching and exhorting by the word ; as
Paul exhorteth Timothy to the continual preaching
of the word ; saying, " be instant in season and out of
season." As if he had said, Be thou ever at the duty
of thy office ; teach, exhort, rebuke ; exercise both
thyself and others unto godliness by a constant
preaching of the word ; and continue therein, even
though some be turned unto fables, and others despise
thee.

For where the pure word of God is not sought and
learnt, there, most certainly, is no worship of God ;
there, of necessity, perishes all true religion ; and
there as surely perishes also, the good and prosperity
of the nation ; which is certainly either deserted of
God, or involved in darkness, errors, and the power
of the Devil. But where the word of God continues
in truth, and the scriptures are rightly set forth, there
God gives his blessing. And although Satan will
there greatly oppose himself to, and will afflict both
the church and the state ; yet God, who made the hea
vens and the earth, and who is therefore greater
than all creatures and the Devil also, preserves that
state and that church ; and, on account of their hold
ing fast his name and his word, he saves them, even
though they be ungrateful and unworthy of his sal
vation.

Let all ministers, and preachers, and bishops

350 PSALM CXXXV.

therefore, know, that this Psalm, beginning " Behold,
bless ye the Lord^all ye servants of the Lord," &c.
pertains unto them ; teaching them to know that the
highest worship of God is the preaching of the word;
because, thereby are praised and celebrated the name
and the benefits of Christ.

PSALM CXXXV.

An exhortation to praise God for his mercy, fur his power, for his judg
ments. . The vanity of idols. An exhortation to bless God.

PRAISE ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the

LORD ; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD.
Ye that stand in the house of the LORD, in the

courts of the house of our God,
Praise the LORD ; for the LORD is good : sing

praises unto his name ; for it is pleasant.
For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself,

and Israel for his peculiar treasure.
For I know that the LORD is great, and that our

LORD is above all gods.
Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in

heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep

places.
He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends

of the earth ; he maketb lightnings for the rain :

he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.
Who smote the first-born of Egypt, both of man

and beast.
Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of

thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his

servants.
Who smote great nations, and slew mighty kings ;

PSALM CXXXV. 351

Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Ba-

shan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan :
And gave their land for an heritage, an heritage

unto Israel his people.
Thy name, O LORD, endureth for ever; and thy

memorial, OLORD, throughout all generations.
For the LORD will judge his people, and he will

repent himself concerning his servants.
The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the

work of men's hands.
They have mouths, but they speak not ; eyes have

they, but they see not;
They have ears, but they hear not : neither is there

any breath in their mouths.
They that make them are like unto them: so is

every one that trusteth in them.
Bless the LORD, O house of Israel : bless the

LORD, O house of Aaron :
Bless the LORD, O house of Levi; ye that fear the

LORD, bless the LORD.
Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, which dwelteth

at Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.

THIS Psalm is a Psalm of thanksgiving; exhorting
all priests and ministers of the word to preach and
to praise God in his great and marvellous works,
done in Egypt and in the land of Canaan, that the
people might not forget God and his wonderful
works, and be turned unto idols, and false kinds of
worship ; which very soon takes place through se
curity or contempt; where the word of God is not
taught diligently and with a great willingness and
fervor of heart ; as we have already seen in the
preceding Psnlm.

But where God judges a people; as the Psalmist

352 PSALM CXXXVI.

sets it forth, verse 14 ; that is, when God by the mouth
of his ministers, judges and condemns our sin ;
there he manifests his grace unto us; there is a
ground of firm consolation for afflicted consciences ;
there God is found and known, (for he is found in
no other places and doctrines than these! ) there, to
a certainty, he will be propitious and merciful to his
servant. But, where the word of God is not ; there
God is silent; for where he doth not preach, he doth
not judge ; and there, to a certainty, is the wrath of
God and blindness. " Therefore," (as saith the
Psalmist) " Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise
him, all ye servants of the Lord : " that is, preach the
word and explain it, with all diligence ; and pro
claim the works of the Lord.

PSALM CXXXVI.

An exhortation to give thanks to God for particular mercies.

O GIVE thanks unto the LORD ; for he is good : for

his mercy endureth for ever.
O give thanks unto the God of gods : for his mercy

endureth for ever.
O give thanks to the LORD of lords : for his mercy

endureth for ever.
To him who alone doeth great wonders : for his

mercy endureth for ever.
To him that by wrisdom made the heavens : for his

mercy endureth for ever.
To him that stretched out the earth above the

waters : for his mercy endureth for ever.
To him that made great lights : for his mercy

endureth for ever.

PSALM CXXXVI. 353

The sun to rule by day : for his mercy endureth for
ever.

The moon and stars to rule by night: for his
mercy endureth for ever.

To him that smote Egypt in their first-born : for
his mercy endureth for ever.

And brought out Israel from amongst them : for
his mercy endureth for ever :

With a strong hand, and with a stretched-out arm :
for his mercy endureth for ever.

To him which divided the Red Sea into parts : for
his mercy endureth for ever:

And made Israel to pass through the midst of it :
for his mercy endureth for ever.

But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red
Sea : for his mercy endureth for ever.

To him which led his people through the wilder
ness : for his mercy endureth for ever.

To him which smote great kings: for his mercy
endureth for ever :

And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth
for ever.

Sihon king of the Amorites : for his mercy en
dureth for ever :

And Og the king of Bashan : for his mercy en
dureth for ever :

And gave their land for an heritage : for his mercy
endureth for ever :

Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his
mercy endureth for ever.

Who remembered us in our low estate : for his
mercy endureth for ever :

And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his
mercy endureth for ever.
2 A

354 PSALM CXXXVI.

Who giveth food to all flesh : for his mercy en-

dureth for ever.
O give thanks unto the God of heaven : for his

mercy endureth for ever.

THIS Psalm is a blessed and general thanksgiving
for the infinite, unspeakable, and never-failing mer
cies of God, both with respect to the body and the
soul. In this golden and glorious Psalm, the
Psalmist's design is to embrace and set forth a sum- ,
mary, as it were, to all priests and ministers of the
word; as a pattern for the subject matter of all
sermons, exhortations, and Psalms to be delivered
to the people : that all false and wicked doctrine
might be avoided, and also all false worship of God ;
and that God might be worshipped truly with that
worship required by the first commandment of the
Decalogue.

For this ought to be the sum and substance of all
true worship, — "Let us praise the Lord, for he is
good, for his mercy endureth for ever : " that is,
praise, laud, and proclaim, without ceasing, the in
finite largeness of his grace. Learn ye, from his
word, that as he hath promised, so he is ever present
with us, and continually bestows his blessings upon
us; and that the riches of his goodness are bound
less and inexhaustible.

To fortify our hearts, therefore, against the devil,
(whose whole aim and employment is to destroy in
our hearts faith in God, and the knowledge of his
goodness and mercy, and to cast us under doubting
and sorrow,) the Psalmist repeats this holy sentence
at the end of every verse — " For his mercy endureth
for ever : " by which words, so often repeated,
the holy man wishes to impress and fix on our

PSALM CXXXVI. 355

hearts the doctrine of grace and the worship of the
first commandment : as if he had said, it is the
infinite goodness of God, and not any human works
or merits of your own, that has done all these won
derful things for you. It is the pure and unspeakable
greatness of God's goodness and grace, that pours
forth all these things upon you, and therefore they
are poured forth upon you freely and without any
merit or deserving of yours, and even while you are
wholly undeserving of such mercies.

In this repeated expression also the Psalmist
refers, after the manner of the prophets, to the
promise of Christ to come ; for it was from no works
of men, nor from any merit of theirs, that the promise
of Christ was given unto Abraham, which said, ** In
thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."

Learn, thou, therefore, to rehearse and impress
upon thine own heart, and on the hearts of others
also, this repeated conclusion of each verse ; that it
may be a bulwark for thee against the devil, wfro is
ever maliciously jeering our temptations, and saying,
that it is not the mercy of God, but his judgment,
that " endureth for ever." Hypocrites and enthu
siasts sing not, nor can sing, this blessed conclusion
of the verses, " For his mercy endureth for ever/'
They can only sing, « For our goodness endureth for
ever/ But do thou, Christian brother, hold fast this
doctrine of a Davidical heart; the truly divine and
heavenly doctrine of the remission of sins ; a re
mission " enduring for ever," and which sin can
never destroy ; which alone overcomes the devil and
all errors, and which alone can give the conscience
rest under all temptations, and the agonizing con
flicts of death.

2 A 2

356

PSALM CXXXVII.

The constancy of the Jews in captivity. The prophet curseth Edom and
Babel.

BY the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea,
we wept, when we remembered Zion.

We hanged our harps upon the willows in the
midst thereof.

For there they that carried us away captive re
quired of ns a song ; and they that wasted us
required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the
songs of Zion.

How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange
land?

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand
forget her cunning.

Tf I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave
to the roof of my mouth ; if I prefer not Jeru
salem above my chief joy.

Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the
day of Jerusalem ; who said, Rase it, rase it, even
to the foundation thereof.

O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed ;
happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou
hast served us.

Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy
little ones against the stones.

THIS Psalm is a prayer in the persons of the captives
of Babylon ; whether we understand it as having
been written after the captivity, or before it in the
way of prophecy. The captives here pray for the

PSALM CXXXVIII. 357

city of Jerusalem ; that is, for the place of the word
and the worship of God ; for all these things had
been destroyed by the Babylonians.

This Psalm shows us that the first concern of all
that fear and know God should be the preservation
of a place for the ministration of the word, and for
the true religion and true worship of God. For, as
here, when Jerusalem is destroyed, Babylon and
Edom, and all other wicked nations rejoice, and
triumph over the grief and the tears of the people of
God, which adds great bitterness to their afflictions.
But such enemies shall never enjoy their triumph
unpunished of God. They themselves shall be laid
waste in their appointed time, and shall be utterly
overthrown and laid in ruins and in ashes ; their
flourishing youth shall be destroyed by the sword,
their children shall be dashed against the stones,
and neither age nor sex shall find mercy. But Israel
and the people of God shall remain for evermore.
In this manner fell Babylon, that queen of nations:
and in the same manner also shall fall all the Baby
lonians and Edomites in our day, who rejoice, like
their forefathers, in the afflictions and calamities of
the true church of God.

PSALM CXXXVIII.

David praiseth God for the truth of his word.— He prophesieth that the
kings of the earth shall praise God. — He profeasath his confidence in
God.

A Psalm of David.

I WILL praise thee with my whole heart: before

the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise

358 PSALM CXXXVIII.

thy name for thy Jovingkindness and for thy

truth : for thou hast magnified thy word above

all thy name.
In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and

strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O

LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth.
Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for

great is the glory of the LORD.
Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect

unto the lowly : hut the proud he knowelh afar

off.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt

revive me : thou shalt stretch forth thine hand

against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right

hand shall save me.
The LORD will perfect that which concern eth me :

thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever : forsake

not the work of thine own hands.

THIS is a Psalm of general thanksgiving unto God
for all his help against enemies : and it prays that
the kingdom of Christ may come ; and it prophesies
also that even kings and nations shall hear the gospel,
shall render thanks unto God for the same, and shall
know and worship him in truth ; and shall acknow
ledge the eternal kingdom of Christ, namely, his
exaltation over all things, and over every name that
is named; and that he succours, helps, and saves
humble, tempted, and afflicted sinners.

In the conclusion of the Psalm, the Psalmist prays,
" Forsake not the work of thine own hands ; " that is,
Raise up, establish, and preserve this promised king
dom of Christ, for the sake of which thou hast chosen
this people.

359

PSALM CXXXIX.

David praiseth God for his allseeing providence, and for his infinite
mercies.— He defieth the wicked.— He prayethfor sincerity.

To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Thou knovvest my downsitting and mine uprising,

thou understandest my thought afar off.
Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and

art acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O

LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid

thine hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high,

I cannot attain unto it.
Whither shall 1 go from thy spirit? or whither

shall I flee from thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there : if I

make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in

the uttermost parts of the sea ;
Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right

hand shall hold me.
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me ; even

the night shall be light above me.
Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee ; but the

night shineth as the day : the darkness and the

light are both alike to thee.

For thou hast possessed my reins : thou hast co
vered me in my mother's womb.
I will praise thee ; for I am fearfully and wonder-

360 PSALM CXXXIX.

fully made : marvellous are thy works ; and that

my soul knoweth right well.
My substance was not hid from thee, when I was

made in secret, and curiously wrought in the

lowest parts of the earth.
Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being un-

perfect; and in thy book all my members were

written, which in continuance were fashioned,

when as yet there was none of them.
How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O

God ! how great is the sum of them !
If I should count them, they are more in number

than the sand: when I awake, I am still with

thee.
Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God : depart

from me, therefore, ye bloody men.
For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine

enemies take thy name in vain.
Do not T hate them, O LORD, that hate thee ? and

am not I grieved with those that rise up against

thee ?
I hate them with perfect hatred : I count them

mine enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart : try me,

and know my thoughts :
And see if there be any wicked way, and lead me

in the way everlasting.

THIS is a high and glorious Psalm of thanksgiving,
wherein the Psalmist, with a marvellous fervour of
spirit, touches on that all-high matter, — God's pre
destination of all things ; and proclaims that incom-
prehensibleness of the divine wisdom and goodness,
whereby, in a wonderful manner, he himself and all
men, with all their affairs, all their works and all

PSALM CXXXIX. 361

their thoughts, both the greatest and the least, were
predestinated of God from everlasting. This mani
fold wisdom of God is incomprehensible to flesh and
blood !

" Thou, O Lord (saith the Psalmist) hast searched
me out and known me ; thou knowest me altogether ;
thou understandest my thoughts long before they
are conceived by me. Wherever I move, whither
soever I go, thou surroundest me on every side ; and
being ever present with me, thou beholdest all my
undertakings, and my works, and my ways, and all
that I think of doing or undertaking. There is no
speech, not even the least word, upon my tongue, but
thou, O God, knowest it, before I utter it. Thine
eyes beheld me, when yet imperfect in my mother's
womb; and thou didst wonderfully form and fashion
me there." And (ver. 6) the Psalmist exclaims,
" Such knowledge is too high and wonderful ; no
mortal thought can attain unto it."

Here, it is as if the Psalmist had said, it is not in
the capacity or powers of any mortal to think or de
termine how he will lead his life, what he will un
dertake, what he will do, what he will speak, what
he will think, where he will go, or to, or from, or in
what place he will turn ; but all our acts, motions,
and thoughts, are nothing less than the works of God
ever present with us, doing and ruling all things as
he will. And hence (ver. 19.) he utters his indigna
tion against the wicked ; saying, " Surely thou wilt
slay the wicked, O God." Here he burns with zeal
against hypocrites, who, being ignorant of all the
works and words of God, and utterly blind and mad,
ascribe all their doings to their own works and
merits.

These mortals are perpetually putting forth and

362 PSALM CXXXIX.

boasting of their own ability and works, and are ever
relying on their own doings and merits, and ascrib
ing unto themselves that glory which belongs to God
alone ; whereas they have not one of their words in
their own power, as of, or from, themselves ; but all
their words and thoughts are in the hand of God. —
This glory, I say, they arrogate to themselves, when
they are all the while so far from the wisdom of God
and his divine works, that they neither know them
selves nor any one part of themselves ; nor understand
how they were formed or fashioned in the womb of
their mother; nor what their own body is, nor what
are its properties and organs; nor what their eyes
are, nor what their brain is ; nor what the origin and
nature of that motion is, by which their body is
moved ; and, in a word, when they know not what the
soul and this natural life are ; nor whence arise all
those various motions and affections of the mind with
in, nor how they are uttered outwards by the tongue.

When, therefore, this whole that we are, and this
all that we do, are not our own wisdom or doing, but
God's ; and since we cannot comprehend these earthly
things ; since, I say, we neither can know nor do
any one of these earthly and corporal things, as of
ourselves; how awful a sin is that enormous arro
gance, whereby we profess that we have so much
power in ourselves and in our free-will, that we can
understand God, and do his divine and spiritual
works, and deliver ourselves from sin, and death,
and hell.

Wherefore (ver. 20.) the Psalmist utters his holy
indignation against such hypocrites and teachers of
human works and doings ; saying, " Thine enemies
speak blasphemously against thee, O Lord, and they
are proud and lifted up against thee without cause.

PSALM CXL. 363

Guard thou me, and prove and try me, that I may
continue in the right way ; the way that is true and
eternal ; that is, in the way of the knowledge of the
word of thy grace.

PSALM CXL.

David prayeth to be delivered from Saul and Doey.— He prayeth against
them. — He comforteth himself by confidence in God.

To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

DELIVER me, O LORD, from the evil man : preserve
me from the violent man ;

Which imagine mischiefs in their heart: continu
ally are they gathered together/or war.

They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent ;
adders' poison ?'* under their lips. Selab.

Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked ;
preserve me from the violent man, who have pur
posed to overthrow my goings.

The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords :
they have spread a net by the way-side : they
have set gins for me. Selah.

I said unto the LORD, Thou art my God : hear the
voice of my supplications, O LORD.

O GOD the LORD, the strength of my salvation;
thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.

Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
further not his wicked device, lest they exalt
themselves. Selah.

vis for the head of those that compass me about,
let the mischief of their own lips cover them.

Let burning coals fall upon them : let them be cast

364 PSALM CXL.

into the fire ; into deep pits, that they rise not
up again.

Let not an evil speaker be established in the
earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to over
throw him.

I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of
the afflicted, and the right of the poor.

Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy
name; the upright shall dwell in thy presence.

THIS Psalm is an ardent prayer against those hypo
crites, who not only cause many offences, and lay
many nets and snares for them that go on the right
way, but proceed with terrible threats and unceasing
cruelty against all who will not approve and follow
their errors and wicked ways.

The Psalmist therefore here prays that God would
be pleased to disappoint their counsels and purposes,
and all the wicked plots which they form, and de
vise, and to turn them on themselves and on their
own heads ; that all these enemies of the people of
God may perish with that horrible judgment with
which Pharaoh perished in the Red Sea, who, being
at the same time struck with lightning from heaven,
and overwhelmed with the waves of the sea, was ut
terly destroyed.

This Psalm affords an abundant consolation to the
godly; as the Psalmist sa:th in its conclusion, "The
wicked shall fall into their own nets, whilst that I at
all times escape."

365

PSALM CXLI.

David prayeth that his suit may be acceptable, his conscience sincere, and
his life safe from snares.

A Psalm of David.

LORD, I cry unto thee : make haste unto me; give

ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.
Let my prayer be set forth before thee a* incense ;

and the lifting up of my hands as the evening

sacrifice.
Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth ; keep the

door of my lips.
Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise

wicked works with men that work iniquity : and

let me not eat of their dainties.
Let the righteous smite me ; it shall be a kindness :

and let him reprove me ; it shall be an excellent

oil, which shall not break my head : for yet my

prayer also shall be in their calamities.
When their judges are overthrown in stony places,

they shall hear my words ; for they are sweet.
Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as

when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the

earth.
But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord : in

thee is my trust ; leave not my soul destitute.
Keep me from the snares which they have laid for

me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity.
Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that

I withal escape.

THIS Psalm also is a fervent prayer, wherein the

366 PSALM CXLII.

Psalmist prays to be delivered from wicked teachers,
who pretend to speak of peace, and craftily use soft
and flattering words, after they have found that they
can prevail nothing by terrors and threats. " Let the
righteous," saith he, " smite me : " that is, I had
rather that true and faithful teachers should rebuke
and condemn me, and reprove my ways, than that
hypocrites should flatter me and applaud me as a
saint.

And farther, (saith the Psalmist) although I suffer
affliction for the sake of that true and sound doctrine
to which I cleave, and though, by afflictions returning
again and again, my bones be broken in pieces and
scattered like clods of earth before the penetrating
and dividing plough ; yet I had rather be reproved
and smitten by godly and true teachers, and so ac
knowledge my sin, and rest upon the promise of God,
than hear all the flattering words of those hypocrites
who deceive themselves and others ; and who pretend
to have peace with God, when there is no such peace
unto them. For all such teachers and their hypo
crisies shall be hurled, as it were, from a mighty
precipice, and they shall suddenly be dashed to
pieces and shall perish together ; their glory shall be
hurried into confusion, and their end shall be utter
destruction ; and then it shall appear how bitter
their pleasing doctrine is.

PSALM CXLII.

David sheweth that in his trouble all his comfort was in prayer unto God.
Maschil of David ; a Prayer when he was in the cave.

I CRIED unto the LORD with my voice : with my
voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.

PSALM CXLII. 367

I poured out my complaint before him : I shewed

before him my trouble.
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then

thou knewest my path ; in the way wherein I

walked have they privily laid a snare for me.
I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there

was no man that would know me ; refuge failed

me; no man cared for my soul.
I cried unto thee, O LORD : I said, Thou art my

refuge, and my portion in the land of the living.
Attend unto my cry ; for I am brought very low :

deliver me from my persecutors : for they are

stronger than I.
Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy

name : the righteous shall compass me about ;

for thou shall deal bountifully with me.

THIS Psalm is a prayer ; wherein the Psalmist, being
now surrounded with peril on every side, cries unto
God out of prison, as it were, by reason of the great
cruelty and malice of false teachers, who persecuted
him on account of the word.

As the people of Israel were a stiff-necked people,
their Cainish malice and bitterness had so hardened
them, that they stoned, rejected, and killed the true
prophets, on account of their preaching of the word,
and maintaining the true worship of God ; and had
given themselves up to hypocrisy and idolatry ; and
all this, their histories of them testify ; as does Christ
also, (Matt, xxiii.) and Stephen. (Acts vii.)

Hence, as these things were fully known, so we
find most of the Psalms grievously complaining of
the cruel malice of false prophets and hypocrites.
And just in the same way, from the very beginning,
hypocrites and false teachers have afflicted the true

368 PSALM CXLIII.

church of God ; and the true saints in all ages found
it necessary to cry unto God continually, against all
such hypocrites and Cainish pretenders to saintship.
All this is abundantly testified by the histories of
the times of Elijah and king Ahab and Jezebel ; when
all the true prophets of the Lord were compelled to
flee and to hide themselves, to escape the furious
cruelty of these adversaries ; all which histories might
have been adduced as examples in this Psalm. And
the recent times of the Arian heresy afford also a
plain example of the same persecution and malice,
when all the catholic bishops were compelled to
flee ; for Satan neither can nor will endure the pure
word of God !

PSALM CXLIII.

David prayeth for favour in judgment — He complaineth of hisyriefs.—
He strenytheneth his faith by meditation and prayer. — He prayeth for
grace, for deliverance, for sanct ification, for destruction of his enemies,

A Psalm of David.

HEAR my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my sup
plications : in thy faithfulness answer me, and
in thy righteousness.

And enter not into judgment with thy servant : for
in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

For the enemy hath persecuted my soul ; he hath
smitten my life down to the ground : he hath
made me to dwell in darkness, as those that hath
been long dead.

Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me :
my heart within me is desolate.

I remember the days of old ; I meditate on all thy
works : I muse on the work of thy hands.

PSALM CXLIII. 369

I stretch forth my hands unto thee : my soul
thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.

Hear me speedily, O LORD ; my spirit faileth :
hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto
them that go down into the pit.

Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morn
ing ; for in thee do I trust : cause me to know
the way wherein I should walk ; for I lift up my
soul unto thee..

Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies : I flee
unto thee to hide me.

Teach me to do thy will ; for thou art my God :
thy Spirit is good ; lead me into the land of up
rightness.

Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake : for thy
righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.

And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy
all them that afflict my soul : for I am thy ser
vant.

THIS is a prayer, expressing the deep feelings of an
afflicted and agonizing conscience. The Psalmist,
being in the midst of the sense and peril of sin, and
terrified at the judgment of God, begs of God not to
enter into judgment with him, and firmly cleaves to
the promise of mercy, and of the remission of sins.
He complains, on the other hand, of hypocrites and
teachers of the law and of works ; by means of whom,
as his instruments, the devil terribly harasses the
godly, and loads them with various trials and straits
of mind and conscience, and endeavours to draw
them away from the certainty of the divine promise
unto doubt ; in which state, consciences are horribly
shaken with fear and darkness, and the dread of the
wrath of an unappeased God.
2 B

370 PSALM CXLI1I.

" The enemy," saith David, " hath persecuted my
soul ; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those
that have been long dead ; therefore my spirit is over
whelmed within me." Here David refers to those
straits into which consciences are cast by those who
lay upon them burdens too heavy to be borne, (as
Christ saith concerning the Pharisees, Matt, xxiii.)
And yet will not so much as touch them with one of
their fingers. And hence this Psalm blessedly shows
that there is no sure or solid consolation for con
sciences, save for those who depend on the promise
of the free remission of sins, and on the word of God's
grace: "Enter not," saith David, " into judgment
with thy servant, O Lord, for in thy sight shall no
man living be justified.

That afflicted hearts and consciences can find rest
in no other way than this, all the scriptural histories
bear witness. All the holy patriarchs, from the be
ginning of the world, were justified before God by
the free, unmerited imputation of righteousness,
and not by their own works ; as Peter also testifies
(Acts xv.) concerning the law, " Why tempt ye God ;
to lay upon us a yoke which neither we nor our
fathers were able to bear. But we believe that by
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be Scived,
as they."

" I remember," says David again, " the days of old,
I meditate on the works of thy hands ; " as if he had
added, ' By these, thy works from the beginning, I
comfort and support myself in all my temptations :
for all the great saints from the beginning were
saved, not by any merit of their own righteousness,
but by grace alone : they were delivered from sin
and from the wrath of God, by faith in Christ the
promised seed : as Abraham also wras, by the same

PSALM CXLIV. 371

grace of God in Christ, called out of idolatry/ Joshua
xxiv. 2, 3.

Therefore God leaves here no ground for any mor
tal's boasting in his own works and merits : and yet,
by this doctrine of works Satan hath never ceased to
distress and tornrent consciences, contrary to the
manifest words and works of God.

PSALM CXLIV.

David blesseth God for his mercy both to Mm and to man.— He prayeth
that God would powerfully deliver him from his enenfes. — Hepromiseth
to praise God.— He prayeth for the happy state of the kingdom.

A Psalm of David.

BLESSED be the LORD my strength, which teacheth

my hands to war, and my fingers to fight :
My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower,

and my deliverer ;< my shield, and he in whom I

trust ; who subdueth my people under me.
LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge

of him ! or the son of man, that thou makest

account of him !
Man is like to vanity : his days are as a shadow

that passeth away.
Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down : touch

the mountains, and they shall smoke.
Cast forth lightning, and scatter them : shoot out

thine arrows and destroy them.
Send thine hand from above ; rid me, and deliver

me out of great waters, from the hand of strange

children ;
Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right

hand is a right hand of falsehood.

2 B 2

372 PSALM CXLIV.

I will sing a new song unto thee, O God : upon a
psaltry and an instrument of ten strings will I
sing praises unto thee.

It is he that giveth salvation unto kings : who de-
livereth David his servant from the hurtful
sword.

Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange
children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and
their right hand is a right hand of falsehood :

That our sons may be as plants grown up in their
youth ; that our daughters may be as corner
stones,. polished after the similitude of a palace :

That our garners may be full, affording all manner
of store : that our sheep may bring forth thou
sands and ten thousands in our streets :

That our oxen may be strong to labour ; that there
be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be
no complaining in our streets.

Happy is that people that is in such a case : yeaf
happy is that people whose God is the LORD.

THIS is a blessed Psalm of thanksgiving for kings,
princes, and all magistrates. David here, as a king
and a magistrate himself, who had to govern the
state and carry on wars, confesses that all prosperous
and happy government, all success at home and
abroad, all the arts of peace, and all victory in war,
are the good gifts of God ; and that a man can no
more effect these things by human wisdom or
strength, or by any ability of his own, than he can
hold the millions of minds of nations bound unto
himself, and make their multitudes obey him alone :
for what could any mortal man do towards preserv
ing whole kingdoms, and cities, and provinces in
quiet from sedition and commotions amid all the

PSALM CXLIV. 373

infinite malice of the devil and the world? Every
mortal man would fail, like a vanishing shadow,
before the thought of such an undertaking.

But the God of all majesty, as Isaiah saith, is the
Lord of all the kingdoms and kings of the earth.
He, as Daniel saith, removes and establishes king
doms. That monarch of heaven and earth also
taketh down one king and sitteth up another. And
he it is, who, in the time of peace, curbs the wills
and holds the minds of the multitude, and stills all
civil commotions like the waves of the sea, against
all the raised winds of the devil. And it is the same
God also, who, in the time of war, terrifieth the
enemies of a nation, and maketh their hearts to
tremble, when he thunders in the heavens, when he
touches the mountains and great hills of nations
and of peoples : he is terrible ; and who can stand
before him? When he strikes the hearts of the enemy
with fear, it is easy for us to conquer. But what
human wisdom or power can strike this terror, or do
or ordain such mighty things ?

David then prays against the deeds of his own
people, and rebukes their ungodliness. The Israelites,
because they had that especial honour and glory of
being the people of God, were above all people of a
stiff-neck ; proud, seditious, avaricious, envious, un
believing, and disobedient ; and all these things they
manifested in their conduct to Moses, to David him
self, and to other godly kings. And although they
saw David, in the same manner as Moses before
him, with the manifest presence of God, and with
great and divine miracles, governing the state, and
conducting wars successfully, in the midst of the as
saults of enemies on every side ; yet falling into
pride and security, from a confidence in their high

374 PSALM CXLIV.

title, as the people of God ; they showed themselves to
be no better than those of their forefathers, of whom
Moses saith, "Ye have always been a rebellious
and stiff-necked people before the Lord, from the
day that I first knew you." For the people of David
were carnally affected and ungodly; and were as if
they had said, ' Command, and command again, if
thou wilt ; expect, and expect still ; and why dost
thou preach unto us faith, whereas we all the while
continue in affliction ? Those whom God favors,
and to whom he shows mercy, he blesses : to them
he gives wives, children, riches, houses, lands, and
all things, and happiness in all things ; and happy are
the people that are in such a case/ Nor were false
prophets wanting, to dwell upon temporal promises in
their preaching, and to withstand the true prophets;
denying that those were the favorites of God who
were not blessed with temporal prosperities; and
saying that all the saints of God were so blessed.

Against these, therefore, David now most fer
vently prays, and encourages himself in heart and
in faith by his past experiences of God's mercies
and deliverances. " If, (saith David,) thou hast
aforetime delivered me from the sword of Goliath,
and hast given me the victory, as thou hast done also
unto other kings ; so now defend me from this un
godly, hardened, and unbelieving people; who neither
regard God nor his civil ministers; who care not
with what evils a good king is surrounded in his
government, nor what perils of war prevail, nor
what blessings of peace are enjoyed ; but are an
ignosant and unfeeling herd; the very dregs and
sink of men : yea, very swine, who regard nothing
but their bell}' ; whom it is more difficult to rule,
than to conduct the most fierce and perilous wars,

PSALM CXLV. 375

Exactly like unto these are some of our nobles and
citizens and countrymen now ; who, for the sake of
their belly, trample and spit upon all true religion
and good learning ; and indeed on all things human
and divine.

David here attacks these ungodly ones with a
most severe rebuke ; calling them " strange child
ren ; " hereby cutting up that glorying of theirs,
wherein they boasted of being the children of Abra
ham, and the peculiar people of God : and yet were
all the while worse than any heathen nation, and
were false children and strangers ; for they honoured
God with their mouth and with their lips, while their
heart was far from him.

PSALM CXLV.

David praiseth God for his fame, for his goodness, for his kingdom, for
his providence, for his saving mercy.

David's Psalm of praise.

I WILL extol thee, my God, O king ; and I will

bless thy name for ever and ever.
Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy

name for ever and ever.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised ; and

his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise thy works to another,

and shall declare thy mighty acts.
I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty,

and of thy wondrous works.
And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible

acts : and I will declare thy greatness.
They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy

376 PSALM CXLV.

great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteous
ness.
The LORD is gracious and full of compassion ;

slow to anger, and of great mercy.
The LORD is good to all and his tender mercies

are over all his works.
All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD ; and thy

saints shall bless thee.
They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and

talk of thy power ;
To make known to the sons of men his mighty

acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy

dominion endureth throughout all generations.
The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up

all those that be bowed down.
The eyes of all wait upon thee ; and thou givest

them their meat in due season.
Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire

of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in

all his works.
The LORD t* nigh unto all them that call upon

him, to all that call upon him in truth.
He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him : he

also will hear their cry, and will save them.
The LORD preserveth all them that love him : but

all the wicked will he destroy.
My mouth jshall speak the praise of the LORD :

and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever

and ever.

THIS is a very blessed Psalm of thanksgiving for the
kingdom and dominion of Christ, which God was about
to raise up among the people of Israel : for it was

PSALM CXLV. 377

on account of Christ, that this whole people was from
the beginning chosen out of all other nations; and on
account of Christ also that the law was given unto
them, and the whole Mosaic worship established.

This Psalm also most especially urges forward that
highest and most excellent of all works, the peculiar
and most glorious worship of God, which the first
table of the decalogue demands ; that is, the sacri
fice of praise. The Psalmist in the most exalted
expressions proclaims the power of God, and his
infinite mercy ; which is above all his works.

The whole Psalm presents to us a wonderful dis
play of the eloquence of the Holy Spirit; setting
forth, by a great depth of feeling, and by a luxuriant
abundance of words and expressions, the glorious
height of the worship of God embraced in these
words of the first commandment of the decalogue,
"I AM THE LORD THY GOD!" And the Psalm
prays that men may acknowledge the kingdom of
Christ, " That thy power/' says David, " may be
known unto men, and the glorious majesty of thy
kingdom : " that is, that it may be known by the
gospel, that there is no other deliverance from the
power of the devil, and from sin and eternal death,
than by faith in the word of thy mercy and grace,
given unto us in Jesus Christ.

The power and kingdom of Christ lies hidden
under the outward appearance of the cross and of
weakness ; and the word of the gospel is a con
temptible doctrine with the wise and powerful of
the world ; for " the gospel," as Paul saith, "is the
wisdom of God hidden in a mystery." And again,
saith he, " Christ crucified, is, unto the Jews, a
stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness."
But when this kingdom is, by the preaching of the

378 PSALM CXLVI.

word, and by the teaching and the confession of the
saints, made known before the world, it is proved
to be the kingdom of God and the power of God.

That which the Psalmist saith, (verse 14) pertains
especially unto the kingdom of Christ, which is a
kingdom that "upholdeth all that fall, and lifteth
up all them that are down ; " for Christ is the king
of the afflicted, of the poor, of the fallen ,- and the
king who justifies sinners and raises the dead: by
whom God is reconciled unto us, and hears us as a
father; fulfilling the desire of them that fear him,
and feeding and clothing us whom the world hateth,
and guarding and defending us against the gates
of hell.

From a worshipping admiration therefore, of the
largeness of the grace of God, the Psalmist breaks
out into this fervent wish and prayer, " and let all
flesh bless his holy name ; " as if he had said, the
blessings and riches of the kingdom of Christ are
immense and unsearchable ; as Paul also saith,
" Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."

PSALM CXLVI.

The Psalmist votveth perpetual praises to God. — He exhorteth not to
trust in man,— God, for his power, justice, mercy, and eingdom, is only
worthy to be trusted.

PRAISE ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my

soul.
While I live will I praise the LORD: T will sing

praises unto my God while I have any being.
Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of

man, in whom there is no help.

PSALM CXLVI. 379

His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth ;

in that very day his thoughts perish.
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his

help, whose hope is in the LORD his God :
Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all

that therein is; which keepeth truth for ever :
Which executeth judgment for the oppressed :

which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD

looseth the prisoners :
The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind : the LORD

raiseth them that are bowed down : the LORD

loveth the righteous :
The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth

the fatherless and widow : but the way of the

wicked he turneth upside down.
The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, Q

Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD.

THIS is a Psalm of thanksgiving ; and it contains a
blessed doctrine ; namely, that we ought to trust in
God, who alone can defend ; and who does defend
faithfully all those that trust in him, and all those
whom the world hates and casts out. And the Psalm
shows, that we ought not to trust in any man, not
even in kings or princes, nor in the mighty, nor
in the rich, as the world do. For (as the Psalmist
saith) " it is God alone that can mightily and glo
riously deliver out of affliction , " and all trust in
man is deceitful and vain ; for (to say nothing
about the vanity of such trust in all other par
ticulars) no man knowetfi any thing certain respect
ing his own life !

380

PSALM CXLVII.

The Prophet exhorteth to praise God for his care of the church, his
power, and his mercy : — to praise him for his providence :—to praise
him for his blessings upon the kingdom, for his power over the meteors,
and for his ordinances in the church.

PRAISE ye the LORD : for it is good to sing praises

unto our God ; for it is pleasant, and praise is

comely.
The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth

together the outcasts of Israel.
He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up

their wounds.
He telleth the number of the stars ; he calleth

them all by their names.

Great is our LORD, and of great power : his under
standing is infinite.
The LORD lifteth up the meek : he casteth the

wicked down to the ground.
Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving : sing praise

upon the harp unto our God :
Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who pre-

pareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to

grow upon the mountains.
He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young

ravens which cry.
He delighteth not in the strength of the horse : he

taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him,

in those that hope in his mercy.
Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem ; praise thy God,

O Zion.

PSALM CXLVII. 381

For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates ;

he hath blessed thy children within thee.
He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee

with the finest of the wheat.
He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth :

his word runneth very swiftly.
He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoar
frost like ashes. -
He casteth forth his ice like morsels : who can

stand before his cold?
He sendetli out his word, and melteth them : he

causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and

his judgments unto Israel.
He hath not dealt so with any nation : and as for

his judgments, they have not known them.

Praise ye the LORD.

THIS is a very blessed Psalm of thanksgiving for
the various unequalled and infinite mercies and
gifts of God.

In the first place, it thanks him for that especial
mercy — his regarding in, and miraculously delivering
out of, afflictions, the nations of Israel, his peculiar
people, and the city of Jerusalem, though placed in
the midst of Gentile enemies. •

In the next place, it blesses God for that great
and unspeakable mercy, his giving throughout all
the earth, to the godly and to the ungodly, to the
grateful and to the ungrateful, all necessary food
and gladness of heart, as Paul saith, Acts xiv. 17,
" Filling the hearts of men with food and glad
ness."

And more especially the Psalmist renders thanks
unto God for his refreshing, reviving, and comforting

382 PSALM CXLV1I.

with his consolations, the hearts of the godly when
distressed and weakened by the devil, and burnt
up, as it were, by the greatness of the temptations ;
and for helping them in all times of their tempta
tion, affliction, and labour.

Again, it thanks him for giving rain from heaven
and fruitful seasons, both unto the evil and unto the
good ; and for giving food unto man and unto all
the beasts of the earth ; even so, that he suffereth
not even the ravens to hunger.

And above all, the Psalmist gives thanks unto
God, because he hears and regards the godly, who
call upon him ; and that, especially in Jerusalem ;
which is the place of his name and of his word ;
and because he giveth Jerusalem, his city, civil
peace, and a happy state of government.

Further, the Psalmist praises God for health of
body and his blessing therein, and for the good
bringing up of children, and domestic order and
prosperity. And also for defence against all out
ward enemies, and for the preservation of the
boundaries of their land, and for national peace
and happiness. And, finally, he blesses God for
the richness and fertility of the land of Judah, and
for the abundance of its fruits.

The chosen people of God, and the elect places
of his Zion have the privilege, above all other na
tions, of being blessed with the word and the worship
of God. Wherefore they, above all others, show
forth the works of God and his wonders among the
people. And all the creatures of God, and his daily
wonders, and blessings of rain, snow, dew, frost,
&c. are more clearly known where his word and
worship are, than among idolatrous nations, who
have neither the prophets, nor the Spirit, nor the

PSALM CXLVIII. 383

word, nor see his worlcs, though they daily enjoy
his creatures and all his heavenly gifts and mercies ;
on all which abundant gifts and mercies they feed
like swine ; for as they are ignorant of the word,
they are altogether ignorant of God.

PSALM CXLVIII.

The Psalmist exhorteth the celestial, the terrestrial, and the rational
creatures to praise God.

PRAISE ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the

heavens : praise him in the heights.
Praise ye him, all his angels : praise ye him, all his

hosts.
Praise ye him, sun and moon : praise him, all ye

stars of light.
Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters

that be above the heavens.
Let them praise the name of the LORD : for he

commanded, and they were created.
He hath also stablished them for ever and ever :

he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and

all deeps :
Fire and hail ; snow and vapour ; stormy wind

fulfilling his word:
Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all

cedars :
Beasts, and all cattle ; creeping things, and flying

fowl :
Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and

all judges of the earth :

384 PSALM CXLVIII.

Both young men and maidens ; old men and chil
dren:

Let them praise the name of the LORD : for his
name alone is excellent ; his glory is above the
earth and heaven.

He also exalteth the horn of his people, the
praise of all his saints ; even of the children of
Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the
LORD.

THIS is a Psalm of thanksgiving; wherein the Psalm
ist calls upon, and exhorts all creatures, both in
heaven and in earth, to praise God ; calling more
especially on his saints, the children of Israel, among
whom is the word and the worship of God.

In this Psalm you may remark this blessed doc
trine, that all orders of men, all kinds of life, which
are created of God, are good, — that is, kings, magis
trates, judges, young men, old men, &c. For if to
hold the office of a magistrate and to hear and judge
causes were of itself wicked, then such magistrates
could not call upon and praise God, nor would the
Holy Spirit exhort them in this Psalm to that praise
of God. And where there are magistrates and laws,
kings and princes, there also there are subjects, town-
sergeants and constables. And there also there must
be artificers in the cities, and men-servants and maid
servants, and countrymen, and soldiers, &c. And,
again, where there are young men and old men, there
are also wives and children, and so whole families
and households.

All these things are good and holy gifts of God,
and by no means to be condemned or refused, as
the pope blasphemously saith they are. All these
things, moreover, show that their all-high and AI-

PSALM CXLVni. 385

mighty Creator is good ; and that all these his good
creatures ought to speak his praise, to sound it forth
with thousands of tongues, and to celebrate this
infinite goodness and the countless and unspeakable
mercies of God !

If, therefore, thou desirest, contrary to the blas
phemous doctrine of the pope, and all like him, to
know how supremely good all the creatures of God
are, from the least of them even to the greatest of
them ; then, suppose to thyself that one of these crea
tures, out of the universal whole, were deficient or
wanting, for one short moment; suppose there were
no fire or no sun for a moment's space even ; suppose
there were no women, no infantine offspring ; — sup
pose, I say, any deficiency of this kind: by this
thought thou wilt immediately feel that no one can
sufficiently praise God, even for one of his creatures ?
And how many creatures has he formed ! What
worlds of goodness has he created !

PSALM CXLIX.

The prophet exhorteth to praise God for his love to the church, and for
that power which he hath given to the church.

PRAISE ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new

song, and his praise in the congregation of

saints.
Let Israel rejoice in him that made him : let the

children of Zion be joyful in their King.
Let them praise his name in the dance : let

them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and

harp.
For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people : he

will beautify the meek with salvation.

2C

386 PSALM CXLIX.

Let the saints be joyful in glory : let them sing
aloud upon their beds.

Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and
a two-edged sword in their hand ;

To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and pun
ishments upon the people ;

To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles
with fetters of iron ;

To execute upon them the judgment written :
this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the
LORD.

THIS Psalm is also a Psalm of thanksgiving for that
infinite goodness of God, his being merciful to his
people ; and for assuring them, by his word, and by
his promises of his good will towards them ; and that
he will hear them, regard them, and have mercy
upon them. To which immense goodness of God,
no thanks of his people can be equal. And that
treasure of mercy, which is greater than the whole
world unto afflicted consciences, — that God freely
promises to his people his blessing, in the seed of
Abraham, and the remission of sins; and does not
regard their unworthiness in the gift; — that trea
sure of mercy, I say, is greater than the mind of man
is capable of conceiving.

This Psalm, therefore, (if we may so speak) is pro
perly a Psalm of the New Testament. Hence the
Psalmist saith, " Sing unto the Lord a new song: "
showing that all praise is to be sung unto the king
of Israel and of Zion ; whom all ought to laud with
rejoicing, " upon their beds : " that is, in the churches
and temples where they meet for worship ; as the
prophet Isaiah also mentions their temples, their
altars, their beds, and their couches, where Israel

PSALM CL. 387

committed fornication ; that is, worshipped their
idols.

And that also pertains to the New Testament where
the Psalmist saith, «' And a two-edged sword in their
hand, to execute vengeance on the heathen, and to
bind their kings with chains." This is not to be un
derstood simply of the Jews or of the Mahometans,
with respect to any earthly tyranny ; but this is the
vengeance promised in the scriptures ; which the
seed of Abraham, that is, the Israelites and the apos
tles, should execute by the sword of the Spirit, by
which they should destroy idolatry in so many na
tions, and should put to shame the wisdom of the
whole world, as the apostle Paul saith. 2 Cor. x.

PSALM CL.

An exhortation to praise God with all kinds of instruments.

PRAISE ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanc
tuary : praise him in the firmament of his
power.

Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him ac
cording to his excellent greatness.

Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise
him with the psaltery and harp.

Praise him with the timbrel and dance : praise
him with stringed instruments and organs.

Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him
upon the high sounding cymbals.

Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD.
Praise ye the LORD.

THIS is a Psalm of praise, written for the people of
2 c 2

388 PSALM CL.

Israel, (to praise God in his holiness, or in his sanc
tuary) : that is, to praise him for that infinite and
unequalled mercy, of erecting his sanctuary, his
tabernacle, his ark, his mercy-seat among the Israel
ites; and thereby making Jerusalem the place of his
dwelling. For God dwelt in that place, the city of
Jerusalem, as in the heaven of his habitation. Hence
other prophets call that people " the heavens," and
the place of the habitation, of the name, and of the
word of God. Because the presence, the power, and
the majesty of God are there, where he manifests
himself forth by his acts and his wonderful works.

The Psalmist then mentions many musical instru
ments, which were used by the people of Israel in
their worship, according to the appointed ceremonies
of the Levitical worship and priesthood. But among
Christians and the people of the New Testament, the
trumpet, psaltery, the harp, the timbrels, are the gospel
itself in the ministration of the word.

389

CONCLUDING ADMONITION.

I WOULD, in conclusion, have all godly souls (whom
Satan, without ceasing, harasses with temptations,)
to bear in mind that all the laudatory Psalms, or
Psalms of thanksgiving, are also promises of God,
designed to lift up, to sustain, and to refresh af
flicted consciences, and to furnish them with argu
ments against the devil ; assuring them that God is
the God of peace, of life, of consolation, and not the
God of misery, cruelty, and damnation. For when
David and other saints thus joyfully, and with all
possible abundance of expression, praise God, they
thereby show forth unto all the afflicted, that God
never forsakes his own in their temptations, but
pities all such ; and that he gives them breathing-
times in their conflicts, succours them in their dis
tresses, beholds their contrite hearts, gives them in
due time an end of their afflictions, delivers them
from all evils, and oft-times most sweetly and mar
vellously comforts them.

Wherefore, every thanksgiving in the Psalms, is
at the same time, a promise of grace, and a sweet
doctrine to the tempted and the afflicted : because
thereby is sho\qi, by the example of David and of
others, that God regardeth the afflicted, heareth all
that call upon him, and giveth peace unto them in
all the various afflictions under which they labour.

Learn thou well then how to gather, throughout
the book of Psalms, the blessed argument against

390 CONCLUDING ADMONITION.

the devil, contained in the words, " PRAISE YE THE
LORD!" It was this that comforted David himself
while praising God : for they are not the dead that
praise the Lord, nor they that are swallowed up of
sorrow, nor they that go down into hell !

As therefore God ceaseth not, during this short
and momentous life, to try and prove his church, by
causing her to undergo these many and great offences,
temptations, and afflictions, and these most bitter
hatreds of Satan and of the word; so he will, as
surely, most marvellously and excellently comfort
her from heaven, and deliver her, and save her!

All, therefore, that believe, how many soever they
be, and how many or great soever their afflictions,
are ever lifted up by the consolations of God. And
hence God will comfort us also, and all saints ; and
he will open our mouths to praise him ; that Satan
may be confounded in all his devices and in all his
works, and that Jesus Christ, the Lord our God,
may be glorified ! who, with the Father and the
Holy Spirit, liveth and reigneth, One God, blessed
for evermore. Amen.

391

THE PRINTER

TO THE GODLY READER, GREETING.

BEHOLD, we here present unto thee, good Reader,
the summary Commentary of Doctor Martin Luther,
collected from his mouth by those that heard him,
with all possible care and diligence. We could
scarcely obtain leave from the holy author to edit
this commentary in his name: because he felt that
many things were wanting in this extemporaneous
explication, which a diligent writing down might
have rendered more perfect and more clear. But as
he was satisfied that the sense and substance of each
Psalm were every where faithfully given, and that
a very important part of the true religion was here
copiously handled ; he was, under these assurances,
the more willing to overlook any thing that might be
wanting in the way of greater correctness, and loftier
language and expression.

We hope, therefore, that this our labour will not
be unacceptable to the lovers of the Holy Scriptures
and divine things. For they will here see how bless
edly this great man opened and taught the word of
God, and what his only aim and object were
therein. And they will also be the better enabled to
judge of the writings of others. For while others
devote all their labours, pains, and aims, to thrust
their books upon the world ; they never, in those
books, touch in the least upon those things which
form the substance of the true religion ! Reader,
farewell ! May thy soul be blessed by our labour!

PRINTED BY
L. AND G. SEELEY, THAMES DITTON, SURREY.

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