affliction upon our loins.] Our enemies have pursued us, and brought us (like to wild beasts taken by the hunter) into most grievous straits, (1 Sam. xiii. 6.). They have used us like beasts of burden, and laid sore loads upon us, which they have fast bound upon our backs. Ib. ver. 19. 20.

Ver. 12. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads: we went through fire and through water; but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.] Thou hast made us slaves to the vilest of men, who exercise the most insolent tyranny over us: we have endured variety of the sorest miseries; and yet, such is thy goodness, thou hast carried us through them all; and at last brought us into a state of perfect liberty, ease, and plenteous prosperity.

Ver. 13. I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings: I will pay thee my vows,] I will go therefore into thy house, and give a good example to all my people; for I will not present myself before thee with empty praises; but acknowledge thy benefits with burnt-offerings, and faithfully discharge the vows wherein I stand engaged.

Ver. 14. Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.] Which I was not more forward to make with open mouth when I was in distress, than I will be to perform with all solemnity, now that thou hast graciously delivered me out of it.

Ver. 15. I will offer unto thee burnt-sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams: I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.] For as I will not come empty into thy house, so I will not bring thee a niggardly present; but offer sacrifices of all sorts, and the best and choicest in every kind.

Ver. 16. Come and bear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.] And together therewith I will make a thankful commemoration of his loving-kindness, (which is the most acceptable sacrifice), and let all pious men know (O that they would come and hearken to me while I relate) how good God hath been unto me.

Ver. 17. I cried unto him with my mouth, and be was extolled with my tongue.] For the ardent prayers which I made unto him, in a very low condition, are now turned into the highest praises of his powerful goodness, whereby I am advanced unto a throne;

Ver. 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear me.] Which hath brought along with it a testimony of my sincerity, far more valuable than my kingdom: for if I had been guilty of any such crimes, or entertained so much as a thought of them, as my enemies charged me withal, the Lord, who hates iniquity, would have denied me my request.

Ver. 19. But verily God hath beard me: be bath attended to the voice of my prayer.] Which now sure you all see he hath graciously granted; and thereby cleared my innocence from all the aspersions that were cast upon me.

Ver. 20. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.] To the praise of God's infinite goodness be it spoken, (not of my own

righteousness), who did not reject my prayer; but vouchsafed me the mercy which I desired.

PSALM LXVII.

To the chief musician upon Neginoth. A Psalm or Song.

THE ARGUMENT. This excellent psalm, all agree, hath the same author with the former; which I have made it probable (see Psal. lxvi.) was composed by David, who being settled in his throne after miserable confusions, and having brought the ark to Jerusalem, and offered burnt-offerings, and peace-offerings, (as he promised in the psalm foregoing, ver. 15.), blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts, 2 Sam. vi. 17. 18., pronounced, that is, this psalm, (as I conjecture), wherein he manifestly imitates that form of blessing, which the priests were appointed to use on solemn occasions, (as you may read Numb. vi. 23. 24. 25.), beseeching God to continue his favour to them, and to make them such an example of his loving-kindness, that it might invite all nations, to whom the fame of it should come, to submit themselves unto his government.

It is no argument against this, to say, that he doth not bless them here in the name of the Lord; which is used in the blessing which Moses taught them. For it is certain he alludes, in the beginning of the next psalm, to the form of prayer used at the setting forward of the ark, (Numb. x. 35.), and yet there also he uses the word Elohim instead of Jehovah, as he doth in this psalm; which he delivered afterwards to the master of music, to be sung as the 4th psalm.

But what difference is there betwixt a song-psalm and a psalm-song, (in which the title of the 45th, and of this and the next, differ from the foregoing, as the title of the 30th, doth from the 48th,), I am not able certainly to resolve. For some think that a psalm-song, or psalm of a song, began with voices, the musical instruments following after; and a song-psalm, or song of a psalm, began with instruments, the voices following after: others give a contrary account, for taking a psalm to be properly the sound of instruments, (whereof there were six or seven sorts), and a song to be the voice of singers, they will have a psalm-song to be that where the sound of instruments preceding, the singing voices followed; and a psalm-song that where the voices preceding, the instrumental music followed. But Kimchi ingenuously confesses, in his preface to the book of psalms, that their nation can give no account of such like things, which we meet with in the title of the psalms.

Ver. 1. GOD be merciful to us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us. Selah.] Be gracious unto us, O God, and complete the happiness which thy Almighty goodness hath begun to

bestow upon us: let us not fall again into those dismal calamities, out of which thou hast delivered us; but declare thou lovest us, by continuing thy gracious presence with us.

Ver. 2. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.] That the fame of thy wonderful providence over us, and the deliverances thou workest for us, being spread not only here in this country, but throughout all other nations, they may be moved thereby to acknowledge and worship thee as the only true God.

Ver. 3. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.] Ó that we might see that happy day: O that the people would confess and praise thee, O God; that all the people every where, with one consent, would confess and praise thee.

Ver. 4. O let the nations be glad, and sing for joy ; for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.] O that the nations were so sensible what an happiness it is to be under thy care; that they may noise and shout for joy, to know that thou art the governor of the world! who by thy power oppressest none, but distributest equal justice unto all; and graciously providest for the welfare of those who become thy subjects, and commit themselves unto thy conduct.

Ver. 5. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.] We cannot often enough wish to see them so happy; but must again and again repeat our desires, that the people would confess thee, O God, to be the Lord of all; that all the people every where would with one consent celebrate thee with their praises, and confess that thou alone canst make them happy.

- Ver. 6. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own'God, shall bless us.] As thou dost us, whose land of late hath been so exceeding fruitful, (2 Sam. vi. 19.), that we may look upon it as an earnest of future blessings; which may it please our good God, whose people we are by peculiar covenant, to multiply upon us.

Ver. 7. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.] With this prayer let us conclude as we began, that God would be pleased stiil to pour down his benefits upon us; that so the people who live in the remotest parts of the earth may all devoutly worship and serve him.

THE ARGUMENT.-David having brought the ark to Jerusalem with a great deal of joy and triumph, (2 Sam. vi.), after it had been long neglected in the reign of Saul, (1 Chron. xiii. 3.), which was one cause, it is like, that he had no better success against his foreign enemies, hoped God would be more propitious to him, according to the prayer he had made in the foregoing psalm. For now he had (to repair that negligence of Saul) not

only brought the ark near to his own palace, in the chief city of the kingdom, but prepared a noble place for its reception, (2 Sam. vi. 16. 2 Chron. i. 4.), which it had been a long time without. For ever since its falling into the hands of the Philistines, (1 Sam. iv. 11.), it had been separated from the tabernacle of the congregation, built for it by Moses, which was God's habitation or dwellingplace; and after the destruction of Shiloh, was removed to Nob, (1 Sam. xxi. 6.), and from thence, after Doeg had slain the priests, to Gibeon, (2.7. 1. 3.), where it remained till the building of Solomon's temple. All which time, it is manifest, it had no ark of God's presence in it, for that was in Kirjeath-jearim, (1 Sam. vii. 1.), from whence David fetched it ( Chron. xiii. 5.) to Mount Sion; where he having made a tabernacle for its entertainment, the Lord God might be said (as we render it, ver. 18. of this psalm) to dwell among them, with an intention not to remove from thence (as the ark had done before) to any other mountain, ver. 16. And indeed here he dwelt more magnificently than he had done before, and was more royally attended and solemnly served; David appointing a little before he died, (as he had begun to do before, 1 Chr. xvi.), the priests and Levites, in their courses, constantly to wait upon him, with songs and instruments of music; and settling all other officers belonging to a house, and suitable to the greatness of the majesty that dwelt there, I Chron. xxiii. xxiv. xxv. xxvi.

Which honour being done to God, he hoped, as I said, that God would favour him in his enterprizes better than he had done Saul, who took care of no such matters. And being shortly to engage some potent enemies, (2 Sam. viii.), he earnestly begs the presence of God with him (of which the ark was a token) in this excellent psalm. And he begs in that very form of words, (ver. 1.), which Moses had directed the priests to use every time they took up the ark, to set forward in their march to the land of Canaan, Numb. x. 35. Upon which occasion, he calls to mind what wonders God had done for them in leading them, by the ark of his presence, through the wilderness into their good land. Where he hoped he would establish and settle his people, now that he had in so pompous and triumphant a manner ascended into the high hill of Sion, (out of which David had expelled the Jebusites, a Sam. v. 6.), and by his special direction and conduct already given them such great victories over the Philistines, their mortal enemies, (2 Sam. v. 19. 23.), that it was an emblem of the far more glorious ascension of the Lord Christ, after he had overcome death itself, the last and greatest enemy of mankind, into the highest heavens.

dwell in it for ever.] But do not grow proud of this, ye lofty mountains, for neither the height of Salmon, nor of Bashan, shall invite him there to make his habitation; Sion is the hill which he hath chosen to honour with that favour; yea, there the Lord hath resolved to fix his tabernacle, and never (till the Messiah come) to remove to any other.

Ver. 17. The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels; the LORD is among them in Sinai, as in the holy place.] Nor let the heathen brag of the multitude of their chariots, wherein consists their strength; for in Zion there are ten thousand times more, innumerable hosts of angels attending upon the divine majesty, who is with them there, as he was upon Mount Sinai, which now is in the sanc

tuary.

Ver. 18. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive; thou hast received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.] Thou hast declared as much, O God, who art gone up' thither, and hast highly exalted thyself by illustrious victories; which, through their invisible ministry, thou hast given us over our enemies, (as the Messiah, who shall be thy sanctuary, will do far more magnificently, when, after the conquest of death, &c. he shall ascend in a bright chariot, Acts, i. 9. attended with the heavenly hosts, into the highest heavens, to be exalted at thy right-hand), whom by thy aid we have carried away captive, and their spoils together with them, to be distributed among thy people, (an emblem of the rich gifts the Messiah shall bestow upon us, and distribute among us after his ascension); yea, the rebellious opposers of thee in other nations shall become proselytes to dwell with thee, O Lord God, and worship at thy sanctuary, (as the Gentile world shall, by that effusion of divine gifts, submit themselves to the Messiah, the Lord God of all the world).

Ver. 19. Blessed be the LORD, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selab.] Blessed be the Lord, who day by day exercises as tender and careful a providence over us, as a mother over her children, (Isa. xlvi. 3.). That mighty God be blessed, to whom we owe all our deliverances.

Ver. 20. He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the LORD belong the issues of death.] And they are very great and very many, which it is not in the power of any other God to bestow, but of him alone that dwells in Sion; who, as the Author of all men's being, and their supreme Lord and Governor, disposes of their lives, and assigns them what passages he pleases out of the world.

Ver. 21. But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in bis trespasses.] And certainly God, the righteous Judge, will now break in pieces all those enemies that lift up their heads so high, in hope to destroy us; their fierce captain, (2 Sam. viii. 3.), whose shaggy hair makes him look very terribly, shall not escape, if he go on still presumptuously to offend thee.

Ver. 22. The LORD said, I will bring again from Bashan; I will bring my people again from the depths

VOL. III.

of the sea.] Thus the Lord hath determined within himself, saying, I will renew the wonders I wrought in former times, and make my people as victorious over all these mighty armies, as they were over Og the king of Bashan, (Numb. xxi.), and over Pharaot, when they marched through the Red Sea, (Exod. xv.)

Ver. 23. That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies; and the tongue of thy dogs in the same } The victory shall be so complete, and such a slaughter made, that thou mayest wade, and thy dogs put their tongues in the blood that shall flow from those enemies, and from him that leads them.

Ver. 24. They have seen thy goings, O God, even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.] For thy people, O God, have seen to their joy, and thy enemies to their terror, what a solemn entrance thou madest, (by the ark of thy presence), with what pomp thou, my mighty God and my King, was brought into the sanctuary, 2 Sam. vi. 13. 15. 16.

Ver. 45. The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; amongst them were the damsels playing with timbrels.] Part of the Levites were singing before, and the rest with musical instruments followed after, (1 Chron. xv. 16. 28.), and to complete the melody, the damsels playing with timbrils came between them both.

Ver. 26. Bless ye God in the congregations, even the LORD, from the fountain of Israel.] And as they went along, they sung this song, O bless your good God, all your assemblies; bless the Lord, all ye that are the offspring of Israel.

Ver. 27. There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah, and their counsel, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.] Who were universally assembled to accompany that pomp, (1 Chr. xiii. 5. xv. 3.), for not only the nearest tribes were there, viz. Benjamin, little indeed in number, (Judges, xxi 6.), but from whom the first king of Israel came; and the princes of the tribe of Judah, the great support and prop of the kingdom; but the princes also of those which are most remote, as Zebulun and Naphtali, came to attend at that solemnity.

Ver. 28. Thy God bath commanded thy strength; strengthen, O God, that which thou bast wrought for us.] This happy union, thy God, O Israel, hath brought about, and thereby made thee strong and formidable to thy enemies; and may it please thee, O God, to continue and confirm it; for as it is begun, so it must be perfected by thee alone.

Ver. 29. Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee.] Pour down thy blessings upon Jerusalem, out of thy sanctuary, (1 Sam. i. 9. iii. 3.), which now thou hast settled there; and so shall heathen kings bring presents, (2 Sam. viii. 10. 11.), in token of their subjection to thee.

Ver. 30. Rebuke the company of spear-men, the mul titude 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. in war.] Destroy that fierce prince, (2 Sam. viii. 3.), who like a wild beast

out of the forest comes against us, with a great number of captains as furious as bulls, and of soldiers as insolent as young heifers; who prances in arms plated with silver, and, unprovoked by us, makes war upon us merely to satisfy his vain ambition, or desire of wealth; scatter, good Lord, all such people as have no better reason for the blood they delight to shed.

Ver. 31. Princes shall come out of Egypt, Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.] Which shall invite even the Egyptians to send princely ambassadors to Jerusalem, and the neighbouring countries also (1 Kings, iv. 21.) shall make haste to stretch out their hands unto the divine majesty, in oblations and prayers: (which the most idolatrous nations in the world shall in abundance offer unto the Lord Christ when he reigns).

Ver. 32. Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the LORD. Selab.] Nothing shall conduce so much to their happiness; and therefore, O ye kingdoms of the earth, both far and near, sing joyful songs unto God, set forth the praises of the great Lord of all the world, with hymns and psalms.

Ver. 33. To him that rideth upon the heaven of beavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.] Whose empire is the most ancient of all other, and extends beyond the highest heavens; hearken when it thunders, and consider how terrible his majesty is; for that is his voice, which makes the mightiest men on earth to tremble.

Ver. 34. Ascribe ye strength unto God; his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.] I would advise you all to acknowledge his divine power, by hearty submission to him; whose care over Israel as plainly appears in many magnificent works, as thunder declares his strength in the clouds.

Ver. 35. O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places; the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power to his people: Blessed be God.] O God, thy dreadful majesty is to be most humbly adored, who strikest terror into thy enemies, both out of thy sanctuary in Sion, and out of thy sanctuary in heaven; but art most gracious to thy people, whom, as thy peculiar portion, thou induest with mighty strength, and invincible courage. Blessed be God for his goodness to us.

PSALM LXIX.

To the chief musician upon Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.

THE ARGUMENT.-This psalm, the title assures us, was composed by David; and the matter of it sufficiently declares, that he was in extreme great dan ger when it was penned. I should suppose it might have been about that time, when he concluded, that he should one day perish by the hand of Saul, (1 Sam. xxvii. 1.), were it not for what we read here, ver. 35. of this psalm, concerning God's love to Zion; which was not then in the possession of the Israelites. And therefore it must rather be indited when he was persecuted by his rebellious son

Absalom; who pressed him so sorely, and redu. ced him to such lamentable straits, that, as he fear ed, he should never be able to extricate himself; so he could find no words high enough to express the agonies into which they cast him. But this is not so considerable a difficulty, as to be suf ficient to incline those who read the whole psalm seriously, to conclude that it hath no reference to Saul's persecution; unto which some passages in it seem more plainly to belong than to the other. And therefore I suppose he only reviewed it, (see Psal. lxx.) and added the 35th verse in the rebellion of Absalom; which was likewise so grievous and dangerous, that he could find no words fitter to represent his sad condition, than those he had formerly used in the like distress. And some of the expressions, it is manifest, are such as were not literally fulfilled in him, in either of those afflictions, but in our Saviour Christ; of whom David was a figure, both in his sufferings, and in his advancement after them to a kingdom. There is no mystery, I suppose, in the word Shoshannim, (as some of the Jews fancy); but it only denotes that the master of the music was to take care this psalm should be sung as the 45th; to which I refer you for an account of this word.

Why Theodoret should think this psalm was made without respect to David, for the Jews in the captivity of Babylon, praying for deliverance out of that servitude, I cannot imagine. But what he' adds concerning our Saviour's sufferings, which are here foretold, together with the utter overthrow of the Jewish nation, who were the authors of them, is very considerable. For because, saith he, they were so audaciously wicked, as to do that to their benefactor and Saviour, which they had suffered from their spiteful enemies; God the righteous Judge condemned them to suffer that themselves, which they prayed might fall on the heads of those enemies.

Ver. 1. SAVE me, for the waters are come in unto my soul.] most mughty God, in whom alone I hope for safety, deliver me, I beseech thee, out of this miserable condition; wherein I am overwhelmed with so many calamities, that my life is in extreme danger, unless thou mercifully preserve it.

Ver. 2. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing : I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.] There is no hope otherwise that I should escape, for I am like a man that sinks deeper and deeper into the mud, and can find no bottom; or that is fallen into the very deepest place in a river, and carried away out of the reach of human help, by the violence. of the stream.

Ver. 3. 1 am weary of my crying, my throat is dried; mine eyes fail, while I wait for my God.] I have long also implored thy help, with most earnest prayers, even till I am tired with my crying;, I can now scarce speak a word, nor lift up my eyes towards heaven, from whence, with great intention of mind,