work alone; for my enemies are not only very numerous, but so mighty and formidable in their power, so insolent also and furious, and have inclosed and hem. med me in so strictly, that it is impossible without thy miraculous providence to escape them. Ver. 13. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.] A hungry lion is not more fierce nor more dreadful, when he is ready to seize on his trembling prey, than these my persecutors; whom I hear roaring and thundering out their threats, and see coming with open mouth to fall upon me, greedily desiring and aiming to devour me. Ver. 14. 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.] Which have struck me with such consternation, that I am as weak as water; my bones are so loosed, that they are not able to support my body; my heart fails me, and my spirit dissolves and faints away, as wax melts before the fire. Ver. 15. 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.] Fear, sadness, and sorrow, have quite dried up my vital moisture: I have scarce strength enough left to complain, but am just upon the point to expire, and to be laid in my grave. Ver. 16. For dogs have compassed me, the assembly of the wicked bave inclosed me: they pierced my bands and my feet.] For that malicious company which have combined together to persecute me, are as greedy and as cruel as the hungry dogs who have hunted down a hind, (see the title), and are all gathered about her to tear her in pieces: they use me most shamefully, as well as cruelly, and have bored through my hands and my feet*. (There is nothing like this in the history of David; of whom it can be only spoken poetically by an hyperbole.) Ver. 17. 1 may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.] Grief and sorrow have so consumed my flesh, that my bones stick out through my skin, and may be distinctly numbered: and they that behold inisery are so far from having compassion on me, that they feed their eyes, and are exceedingly satisfied with this lamentable sight. my Ver. 18. They part my garments among them, and cast lets upon my vesture.] They make themselves sure I shall never recover; no more than the poor hinde, whose skin the hunters have divided, or cast lots to whose share it should fall. For so have they parted my upper garments among them, and cast lots who shall have my inner t. (This also was more literally fulfilled in Christ than in David, in whose story we find nothing like it; and therefore it can signify nothing more, (if applied to him), than that they looked upon him as utterly undone; and rifled his house, and despoiled him of all, when he fled from Saul, Sam. xix.) Ver. 19. But be not thou far from me, O LORD: 0 my strength, haste thee to help me. Once more, there fore, I humbly beseech thee, O Lord, to interpose by thy power, in this grievous strait, for my deliverance it is easy for thee to affect it, who art allmighty, and I depend merely on thy aid; which I in treat thee to send speedily for my relief, or else it will come too late. Ver. 20. Deliver my soul from the sword: my darling from the power of the dog.] Rescue my life from the sword which the enemy hath drawn to dispatch me it is all I have left, and it is left without all defence but thine, who, I hope, wilt preserve it from the power of him that with the rage and fury of a dog maliciously persecutes me. Ver. 21. Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast keard me from the borns of the unicorns.] Thou hast done as great things heretofore, and sent me relief when the fiercest and strongest enemies were pushing at me, and insulting over me; which makes me presume of thy favour now in this sore exigence, when the most violent men are ready to fall upon me, and tear me in pieces, if thou dost not save me. Ver. 22. I will declare thy name unto my brethren : in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.] Save me, O Lord, and it will redound to thy praise, and not merely to my own satisfaction: For I will tell all my brethren how good and gracious thou art, and publicly proclaim the greatness of thy power, and wisdom, and justice, (as well as of thy love), in the midst of thy faithful people. (* This David did in the 18th Psalm; and this our Saviour did by his apostles, Heb. ii. 12. who preached his resurrection, &c. every where, to the praise and glory of God's grace, Eph. i. 6 ) ye the Ver. 23. Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all seed of Israel.] I will call upon him all the devout worshippers of the Lord, to join with me in praising and giving thanks unto him, (1 Chron. xvi.). Let the whole posterity of Jacob (and whosoever hath any thing of his spirit in him) set forth the glory of his most excellent perfections. which shine in his marvellous works: let them all, I say, whom he hath chosen to be his peculiar people, most humbly worship and adore his majesty, and learn to give him faithful obe dience. (All that follows is as applicable to Christ as to David; and some passages more fulfilled in him.) Ver. 24. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither bath be bid bis face from him; but when be cried unto him, he beard.] For that poor despicable person, (whom men contemned and scorned, ver. 6. 7.), he hath not disdained to look graciously upon in his lowest and vilest condition. But though he seemed to neglect him for a time, hath seasonably appeared in his favour, and granted the earnest prayers which he put up unto him in his dis tress. Ver. 25. My praise shall be of thee in the great congre gation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.] Which shall be openly acknowledged when I return to thy house with the heartiest praises to thee, from whom I am sensible I receive all the blessings I enjoy. And as I have been forward, in my trouble, to vow thee many sacrifices, if thou wouldst restore me; so I will certainly offer them in the presence of those that devoutly worship the Divine Majesty. Ver. 26. The meek shall eat and be satisfied; they shall praise the LORD that seek him; your heart shall live for ever.] I will invite also those poor people who were partakers with me in my sufferings, to come and feast with me on that plentiful provision I will make for them; and thereby encourage all those that seek the Lord sincerely, and depend upon him, to hope that they shall also praise him. Let me assure all such faithful souls, your hearts shall be always full of comfort and joy, which nothing shall be able to take away from you. Ver. 27. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.] Nor shall the fame of thy wonderful works, O Lord, be confined within the narrow bounds of this one country, but spread itself to the farthermost parts of the earth; where they shall, with thankful commemorations of thy goodness, universally prostrate themselves before thee, and become thy subjects. Ver. 28. For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations.] For the Lord is the Sovereign of the whole world; and therefore, as all nations are under his dominion, so they shall all submit unto his government. Ver. 29. 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.] All they that are rich and powerful shall partake of his altar*, and humbly worship him that bestows such benefits upon them: and so shall all the poor and miserable also think themselves happy in his service. For he is the protector of them all; and the greatest, as well as the meanest, must acknowledge, that of him alone cometh their salvation. (* As they that eat of the sacrifices did, 1 Cor. x. 18.) Ver. 30. A seed shall serve him, it shall be accounted to the LORD for a generation.] Their posterity likewise shall devote themselves unto him, and propagate his religion unto future generations, whom the Lord shall adopt into his family. Ver. 31. They shall come, and declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.] They shall join themselves to the society of his people, and publish to those that shall succeed them, the loving-kindness and faithfulness of the Lord in this wonderful deliverance, which he alone hath wrought for me. PSALM XXIII. A Psalm of David. THE ARGUMENT.-This psalm seems to have been composed by David, after God had brought him out of that great distress of which he complained in the foregoing, and settled him in a prosperous condition; wherein he was confident God would continue him. Ver. 1. THE LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.] There is no shepherd exercises a more tender and constant care over his Acck, than the Lord doth over me; and therefore I am confident I shall not want any thing that is necessary, either for my sustenance, or for my defence against those who would bereave me of my happiness. Ver. 2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters] For as a good shepherd leads his sheep in the violent heat to shady places, where they may lie down and feed, (not in parched, but) in fresh and green pastures; and in the evening leads them, (not to muddy and troubled waters, but) to pure and quiet streams: so hath he already made a fair and plentiful provision for me; which I enjoy in peace without any disturbance. Ver. 3. He rest weth my soul; he leadsth me in the paths of righteousness, for his name's sake.] And lest i should lose so great a happiness, his goodness is pleased, (for to nothing else can I ascribe it), both to direct and guide me in the right course of pious living, and to reduce me when I go astray; just as a shepherd brings back his wandering sheep from those craggy, untrodden paths wherein they would lose themselves, and leads them into plain and easy ways, wherein they find rest and safety. Ver. 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shalow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.] Which makes me resolve to take a good courage, though I should fall again into the most dismal dangers, (as a poor sheep sometimes doth into a deep pit); it shall not tertify me, when I remember that thou art present with me, to protect and defend me: thy royal power, and pastoral care, shall be my support and comfort. Ver. 5. Thou preparest a table before me in presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.] But (such is thy extraordinary kindness to me) thou hast not merely provided food, but a feast for me; a most sumptuous feast, which, with great care and order, thou hast set before me, to the astonishment of my enemies, who with shame and grief behold me, whom they lately despised, rejoicing in thy royal bounty towards me, which entertains me even with superfluity of all good things. Ver. 6. 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] And therefore I am bold to hope, that the same bounteous goodness and tender mercy which hath, without my desert, done all this for me, and pursues me as zealously with its favour, as my enemies do with their malice, will still most graciously attend me to the end of my days, and settle me in a quiet enjoyment of his house, (as well as my own), where I will never cease to praise his wonderful love towards me, and to give him thanks for all the benefits he hath bestowed upon his unworthy servant. PSALM XXIV. A Psalm of David. THE ARGUMENT.-As the foregoing psalm seems to have been composed by David presently after his settlement in his kingdom; so this, it is most like ly, was penned by him, when he brought the ark from the house of Obed-Edom, and settled it (after many flittings and removals) in Mount Zion. Which place, upon that account, he prefers before all the rest of the world; and excites the people, who attended the ark thither with extraordinary pomp and solemnity, not to content themselves merely with that sort of piety, but to add the practice of all moral virtue; that so they might enjoy the blessings which might be expected from the divine presence with them, and comfortably wait for the coming of the Messiah. Whose ascension to heaven is represented by the carrying of the ark up into Mount Zion; which was a type of heaven, as the ark was of the Lord Christ. The Hebrews (from whom some copies of the LXX. add in the title, rys μiãs tãr cußßúrwy) were wont to sing this psalm on the first day of the week; (see the argument of Psal. xciii.); because, as some fancy, there is mention in the beginning of it of the creation of the earth; which Moses says was on that day but rather, I should think, because therein their prophets and wise men saw a prophecy of Christ; whose first step to the throne of his glory was upon the first day of the week, when we constantly commemorate his resurrection. And there is so remarkable a difference between the 8th verse and the 10th, that we may justly think some new thing is intended in the 9th and 10th verses, which are a repetition of the 7th and 8th; viz. the ascension of our Lord Christ. For in the beginning of the verse, the question is put with great emphasis, "Who is this King of glory?" And in the latter end of the words, "mighty in battle," are omitted: because in the days of Christ, as Aben Ezra himself gives the account, men are "to turn their swords into plough-shares," &c. Ver. I. THE HE earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.] What a favour is this, that the divine Majesty will vouchsafe to take up his special residence here amongst us when the whole earth is his, and all the creatures wherewith it is filled; this great world, and all the people that inhabit it. Ver. 2. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.] For by his almighty power it was formed, and therefore he hath a just propriety in it. He hath settled it also so firmly, that though the seas and the rivers beat against it, they cannot overwhelm it; but together with it, make a convenient dwelling for those that live in every part of it. Ver. 3. Who shall ascend into the bill of the LORD? and who shall stand in his holy place?] And, blessed be God, we dwell in that part of the earth, where he himself hath fixed his royal palace. (For this is the mountain that he hath chosen, and separated from all other, to be the place of his special presence.) But who is worthy to appear before him? Who may hope to be admitted to a gracious audience with him? Ver. 4. He that bath clean hands and a pure heart; who hath not lift up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.] Not every one that lives in this happy country, (though chosen to be his peculiar people), but he that carefully keeps his commands in thought, and deed, and word: He, I say, who not only preserves his hands from pure murder and theft, and such like injurious actions, but his heart also from so much as designing them; who uses no lies, much less false oaths, to deceive his neighbour, and enrich himself; but religiously observes all his promises, especially those that are made in God's presence, though it be to his own detriment. Ver. 5. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.] This is the worshipper, and he alone, who shall receive a blessing, not only from the priest, (when he comes out of the sanctuary), but from the Lord himself, who will faithfully keep his promises with them, and amply reward them who are thus faithful to him. Ver. 6. This is the generation of them that seek him ; that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selab.] This is the genuine people of God, whose prayers are like to prevail with him. Such should all those proselytes be, who seek the favour of being received into your com munion, O ye children of Jacob! Ver. 7. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in.] And let all those who thus follow the Lord, (not merely with their bodies, but with their hearts), in this solemn entrance he now makes into the holy place, join with me and say, Be ye open, O ye gates of the sanctuary; stand wide open, ye durable doors, and the King of incomparable majesty will enter, and, by the special token of his presence, dwell among us. Ver. 8. Who is this King of glory? the LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.] And if any ask who this King is, whose majesty we proclaim to be so transcendent; let them know, it is the Lord, who made and governs the world; that most mighty and invincible Lord, by whose presence with me, I have been victorious in so many battles. Ver. 9. Lift up your beads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in.] Therefore make no delay, Oye gates of the [heavenly] sanctuary; be ye open, wide open, O ye doors, which never shall decay; and the King of incomparable majesty, as I said, shall enter, and fix his seat in his holy place. Ver. 10. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of Hosts, he is the King of glory. Selab.] And if you ask again (as there is reason) with greater admiration, Who is this, the King of incomparable majesty ? know that the Lord of the sun, moon, and stars, yea, of all the angelical powers, he is the King, whose transcendent majesty is come to make his residence here. See the Argument. THE ARGUMENT.-This psalm seems to have been penned by David after the commission of some great sin, (ver. 11.), and in some great distress, wherein he had fallen, (ver. 15. 16.), probably after the matter of Uriah, and when Absalom rebelled against him. Which brought to mind all the offences of his youth, (ver. 7), and made him an earnest supplicant for the pardon of them, and for deliverance from his enemies. He began to make this petition with an extraordinary art; but the method is presently disturbed, by the ardency of his desires, and his passionate sorrow, which would not let him follow exactly the order of the letters of the alphabet, in the beginning of every verse, as he first designed. Ver. I. UNTO NTO thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.] O Lord, my constant and only refuge in all my troubles, I look up unto thee in this distress; most humbly waiting on thee, and hoping in thee, that thou wilt deliver me. Ver. 2. O my God, I trust in thee; let me not be ashamed; let not mine enemies triumph over me.] Thou knowest, O my God, that I place no confidence in any thing but thine almighty goodness, upon which 1 profess entirely to depend: and therefore do not fail to relieve me, lest I hang down my head in confusion of face, and my enemies insult over me, when they see me disappointed of the help which I have so often declared I expect from thee, Ver. 3. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause] Yea, for their sakes, who, by my example, wait upon thee, do not deny me: let not those who take my part, and place the same confidence in thee that I do, be disappointed of their hopes; but let them be utterly defeated, who, against all law and all obligations, have broke their faith with me, and without any pro vocation vainly labour to destroy me. Ver. 4. Shew me thy ways, O LORD: teach me thy paths.] It is hard to know what to do in these diflicult times, especially in this great agitation of thoughts, wherein my troubled mind is tossed up and down: therefore do thou be pleased, O Lord, to shew me the course thou wouldest have me take, and go vern my actions so, that they may be pleasing unto thee. Ver. 5. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me for thou art the God of my salvation, on thee do I wait all the day.] I have as much need of thy guidance, as a little child hath of its parents; and I cry as earnestly to thee, that thou wilt direct me in every step: and especially that thou wilt preserve me as faithful to thee, as I doubt not thou wilt be to me: for thou art the Author of all the deliverances I have received; and on thee I have, with a constant and perseverant hope, depended in all my trials: Ver. 6. Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies, and thy loving-kindnesses: for they have been ever of old.] Who art ready to help the miserable, when they humbly seek thee, that all ages have left us remembrances of thy most compassionate bounty towards them. And therefore I beseech thee to do to me as thou hast ever done : I beg no new thing of thee, but implore that clemency and mercy, which thou never yet deniedst to any pious supplicant. Ver. 7. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy, remember thou me, for thy goodness sake, O LORD.] I am a sinner indeed, and began to be so very early; for in my youth I childishly and foolishly went astray from thee, and since that time have committed much more grievous offences. But thy goodness is so great, that thou art not wont to punish us according to our deserts, but to pardon us according to thy tender mercies: to which I now betake myself, beseeching thee not to consider the greatness of my sins, but only the largeness and freeness of thy mercy, which gives me hope thou wilt be graciously reconciled to me. Ver. 8. Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the avay.] For such is the lovingkindness of the Lord, such is his love to rectitude and holiness, that he will rather choose to reduce sinners, and instruct them in the way of virtue, than destroy them because they have wandered from it; Ver. 9. The meek will be guide in judgement: and the meek will he teach his way.] If they repent, that is, and, being troubled for what they have done amiss, meekly submit to his will and pleasure, he will sweetly direct them to discern what is acceptable to him. Such humble souls will be apt to learn, and therefore he will not fail to teach them the way to recover his favour. and Ver. 10. All the paths of the LORD are mercy truth, unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.] And when they carefully observe the covenant wherein they stand engaged to him, (by obeying his laws, which testify what his will and pleasure is), he will order and dispose all things for their good, and faithfully perform the promises he hath made to such duri ful servants. Ver. 11. For thy name sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity: for it is great.] I beseech thee, therefore, again, by this mercy and faithfulness of thine, which shall be always celebrated and praised by me, to grant me a gracious pardon: for which I am the more earnest, because my sin is so foul, so heinous, and such a multiplied wickedness, that I can have no rest till thou art reconciled to me : Ver. 12. What man is he that feareth the LORD ? him shall be teach in the way that he shall chuse.} Which if thou wilt be, O, how happy shall I think myself! for he that fears to offend thy majesty, (as I in all reason ought hereafter to do, both because I on no other terms expect thy merciful pardon, and have felt also the sad burden of being a sinner), him will the Lord instruct, and lead into those ways which are conformable to his blessed will, and which will prove most grateful to him that walks in them. Ver. 13. His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.] He shall be at ease within himself, or rather filled with joy, and all manner of satisfaction: none of the blessings of this life shall be wanting to him, and he shall leave them as an inherit ance to his posterity after him. Ver. 14. The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him and he will shew them his covenant.] Or if he fall into any straits and difficulties, the greatest comfort of all is, that the Lord is present to them that fear to do any thing displeasing to him, (though it were to deliver themselves from danger), to counsel, and secretly suggest good advice unto them: for he hath engaged himself to shew them what is best for their safety and preservation. Ver. 15. Mine eyes are ever towards the LORD, for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.] In confidence of which, my mind is fixed in a constant dependance upon the Lord: I expect no help from any one else, but on him will I patiently wait, for I believe he will wind me out these perplexities, and deliver me from the snares which my enemies have laid for me. Ver. 16. Turn thou unto me, and have mercy upon me: for I am desolate and afflicted.] Behold, O Lord, how entirely I trust in thee: have a respect to my faith, and hope, and patience, and take pity upon me, now that thou seest I am in a manner forsaken by all, and reduced from the estate of a king to the condition of a beggar. Ver. 17. The troubles of my heart are enlarged: 0 bring thou me out of my distresses.] Great are the oppressions that lie upon my heart, and they are still growing into new cares, and fears, and vexatious thoughts: O deliver me out of such grievous straits, which press so sore upon me. Ver. 18. Look upon mine affliction, and my pain, and forgive all my sins.] Have compassion upon the miserable and toilsome life which I lead, and remove all my sins out of thy sight, which I know are the cause of it. Ver. 19. Consider mine enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with cruel hatred.] Discountenance my enemies; who (as they are very numerous, so) bear an implacable hatred to me; which disposes them to do me all the mischief imaginable, though I have not been in the least injurious to them. Ver. 20. O keep my soul, and deliver me; let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in thee.] O preserve me from falling into their hands, for they seek my life, and rescue me from the danger I am now in of losing it and let not (I again most humbly beseech thee) the trust and confidence which I repose in thee, be turned into shame and confusion, as it will be if thou dost not deliver me. Ver. 21. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me: for I wait on thee.] I have grievously offended thy majesty, it is true, and I have sorrowfully bewailed it but as for them that rise up against me, they have so little reason to accuse me, that I desire thee to deal with me according to my uprightness and integrity in all my administrations: let my innocence be my guard, and my honest dealing my protection; for I depend on nothing but thy favour in such courses. Ver. 21. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.] Nor do I plead my own private cause alone, but beseech thee to have mercy upon the whole nation, who are lamentably distracted. by these divisions; and to restore them to peace and quietness, by delivering me from this rebellion that is raised against me. PSALM XXVI. A Psalm of David. THE ARGUMENT.In this psalm David asserts that uprightness and integrity, to which he pretended in the 21st verse of the foregoing psalm; and appeals. to God as the judge of his sincerity, who was privy to his most secret intentions. But it seems to relate to former times, when he was persecuted by Saul, and looked upon as a public enemy, 1: Sani. xxiv. 9. Thus Theodoret understands it: and thinks he was now among the Philistines, or in some other strange country, into which he was some time forced by that persecution. Ver. 1. JUDGE me, O LORD, for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD, therefore I shall net \slide.] I am accused of grievous crimes by those that persecute me; but am not afraid to appeal to thee, O Lord, as the judge of that matter: nothing doubting but thou wilt acquit me, and punish my false accusers and persecutors. For thou knowest I kept a good conscience when I was at court, (1 Sam. xix. 4.); and since I have been banished thence, have taken no wicked course to deliver myself, (1 Sam. xxiv. 11. 12), but entirely depended upon thee alone for safety in which resolution nothing shall shake me. Ver. 2. Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.] Thou seest into the secret thoughts of my mind, and inclinations of my will: if I have not sufficiently approved myself to have not so much as designed any such evil as I am charged withal, go on, good Lord, to make a farther search; and if thou wilt still expose to the fiery trial of sorer afflictions, I hope it will only still discover more of my integrity. Ver. 3. For thy loving-kindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.] For I trust to nothing. but thy loving-kindness, which is the pattern I have set before my eyes to imitate: I ever designed good, not hurt, to them; and have ever kept my faith, and punctually performed my promises to them; after the example of thy truth, by which I have squared all my actions. Ver. 4. I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.] I never loved the company of false and treacherous persons; nor have had any thing to do with those, who under specious shows cover ungodly designs. Ver. 5. I have hated the congregation of evil-doers: and will not sit with the wicked] No, I perfectly |