threaten him; being prepared for such things as these, by a settled trust and hope in God, that he will take care of him, who hath been as kind as he could to others in their distresses.

Ver. 8. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.] This confidence is the prop and support of his soul; which will not let him be dismayed, but makes him expect the time, when he shall be able securely to look upon all his enemies.

Ver. 9. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; bis righteousness endureth for ever; his born shall be exalted with honour.] He doth not merely heap up riches for himself, but dispenses them to others, especially to the poor and needy, with a liberal hand: nor is he weary of well-doing, but ever producing some new fruit of his charity, which shall gain him the greatest honour, and raise him to an illustrious degree of power and authority.

Ver. 10. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; be shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.] At the sight of which the wicked (who shall not be able to observe it) shall be extremely vexed, or rather furiously enraged; he shall pine away with grief, envy, and impatience, to see himself and his companions disappointed in all that they wished, either of good to themselves, or evil to the righteous.

PSALM CXIII.

THE ARGUMENT.-This psalm, with the five next which follow, the Hebrews call by the name of Hallel, or hymn, which they recited at their table (as in the new moons, and other feasts, so) in the paschal night, after they had eaten the lamb; concluding it with Hallelujah, which is the title of this psalm, (as of the two foregoing), to excite all God's people, especially those that constantly attended the tabernacle, to the praises of God's good providence, which extends itself as far as this earth where we live: several instances of which the psalmist here mentions.

Ver. 1. PRAISE ye the LORD. Praise, O ye serye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.] O ye ministers of the Lord, and whosoever you are that love his service, praise his eternal majesty; be not remiss in this heavenly employment, but, with your best affections, praise the power, wisdom, and goodness of his eternal providence.

Ver. 2. Blessed be the name of the LORD, from this time forth and for evermore.] Praise him now in this present age; and wish that those incomparable perfections of his may be celebrated with the praises of those that live in future times, as long as the world shall last:

Ver. 3. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the LORD's name is to be praised.] And not only here in this little spot of earth, but wheresoever the sun shines, and lets men see how splendid and glorious his majesty is.

VOL. III.

Ver. 4. The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.] For all the nations of the earth are his, and but a little parcel of his supreme dominion; which extends far beyond the sun, and moon, and stars, whose light is but a dim resemblance of the brightness of his glory.

Ver. 5. Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on bigh ?] Do not think that any of them. (though worshipped by other nations as gods) is comparable to that great Lord, and our most gracious. God, whom we adore; for the very place where his glorious majesty resides is far higher than they.

Ver. 6. Who bumbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth.] And it is a great condescension in him, that he will have any respect to the most illustrious of those celestial bodies; though he be so gracious also as to extend his kind and careful providence, even to us who dwell upon this

earth.

Ver. 7. He raiseth the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill Where, among other manifest tokens of his stupendous goodness, he is pleased to take special notice of those whom the world despises; and to raise them out of a mean, nay sordid condition, to such a pitch of honour and dignity,

Ver. 8. That he may set him with prices, even with the princes of his people.] That at last they are advanced to sit upon a throne, and made the governors of his own pecple; (1 Sam. ii. 8. 2 Sam. vii. 8. 9. compared with 1 Sam. xxiv. 14.)

Ver. 9. He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.] And, which is still more strange, he opens the barren womb, (which according to the course of nature would have brought forth nothing), and makes a numerous family spring from thence, to the great joy of her that bears them, (1 Sam. i. 20. ii. 21.) Praise the Lord in these, and such like wonderful works of his.

PSALM CXIV.

for its sanctuary, but stood over the whole camp of Israel, (Exod. xiii. 21. Numb. xiv. 14.), whom he then took for his peculiar kingdom, (Exod. xxi. 6.)

Ver. 3. The sea saw it, and fled; Jordan was driven back.] At which appearance the Red Sea forsook its channel, and left a dry path for them to march through, (Exod. xiv. 21. 24.); and so did Jordan also afterwards, to make way for their easy entrance into Canaan, Josh. iii. 15. 16.

Ver. 4. The mountains skipped like rams, and the little bills like lambs.] All the mountains, great and small, which adjoined unto Sinai, trembled and leaped, like so many affrighted rams, or little lambs, before the same most dreadful majesty, (Exod. xix. 18.) Ver. 5. What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?] To what else shall we ascribe that sudden ebb of the sea? and that no less strange retreat of Jordan, when it overflowed all its banks?

Ver. 6. Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams ? and ye little bills, like lambs] What made the mountains and hills leap up, like affrighted rams or lambs, as if they would run away from the place where they were so firmly fixed?

Ver. 7. Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the God of Jacob.] But only the glorious presence of the divine majesty, who was then bringing his people to the rest he had promised to give them. And let the whole earth be afraid, and tremble before that great Lord who hath honoured us so far, as peculiarly to be our God:

Ver. 8. Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.] And was so kind as to supply the necessities of our forefathers, even when they murmured against him, by a new miracle; bringing out of hard rocks, as hard as flint, such plenty of water, as if they had been dissolved into lakes or rivers, (Exod. xvii. 8. Numb. xx. 11.)

PSALM CXV.

THE ARGUMENT.-There is great reason to think that this psalm was made in some time of sore distress, when their Pagan enemies began to boast and brag, as if their gods were too hard for the God of Israel. But by whom it was made, or on what particular occasion, there are so many conjectures, that it will be no presumption to interpose mine, which is this,-That when Jehoshaphat saw that vast army (which we read of 2 Chron. xx. 2.) composed of several nations coming against him, and after his prayer to God for deliverance, was encouraged by a prophet to hope for it, (ver. 14. 15.), and had by the Levites given him thanks for this hope, he, or that prophet, composed this hymn, to quicken and confirm their faith in God; unto which you read he exhorted them, ver. 20. And it is likely that this was the hymn which, by common consent, the singers were appointed to use, when they went out to encounter those enemies; saying not only those words, which we read there, ver. 21. "Praise the Lord, for his mercy endu

reth for ever;" but these, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake," &c.

Ver. 1. NOT unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.] Prosper our arms, O Lord, and give us the victory over these enemies that invade us; not that we may grow more famous, (no, we have no thoughts of the glory that will accrue to ourselves thereby), but that thy divine majesty may be honoured, and thy goodness and faithfulness to thy promises be made the more illustrious.

Ver. 2. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?] What a sad thing will it be to hear the nations that surround us insult, not so much over us, as over thee, saying, What is become of their God, in whom they trusted? if he be so powerful as they boast, why doth he not deliver them?

Ver. 3. But our God in the heavens; he hath done whatsoever he pleased.] Let them know that thou art infinitely superior to them, and all their gods; being the possessor of the heavens, as well as the earth, (2 Chron. xx. 6.), whom no power of theirs can hurt, or so much as restrain, but art able to do whatsoever thou pleasest, for their confusion, and for our deliver

ance.

Ver. 4. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.] Their idols cannot hinder it in the least, who are of no more value than the silver and gold of which they are made; and so far from being the makers of things, that they themselves are the work of those that adore them.

Ver. 5. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but see not.] They are mere lifeless images, that have mouths, but cannot give a word of advice, or of encouragement and comfort to their supplicants; and eyes also, but cannot see the devotion wherewith they look up unto them, or prostrate themselves before them.

Ver. 6. They have ears, but they hear not; noses have they, but they smell not.] Let their worshippers cry to them never so loudly, they cannot hear a word; all the frankincense and sweet odours which they burn to them, are merely lost, for they cannot smell them.

Ver. 7. They have hands, but they handle not; feet have they, but they walk not; neither speak they through their throat.] Though they have thunderbolts in their hands, they feel them not, nor are able to da either good or harm; they cannot stir a foot from the place where they stand, unless they be carried, nor make so much noise as a fly; being utterly void of breath, as well as of sense and reason.

Ver. 8. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.] To what, then, but to those idols, shall we compare the makers of them, and such as confide in them? who are mere images of men; having eyes, but do no see that the brutes are more excellent than such gods, and that the least help is not to be expected from them.

Ver. 9. O Israel, trust thou in the LORD he is their

help and their skild.] O ye Israelites, who by the divine favour are better instructed, repose that confidence in the eternal Lord, which they do in those vanities and he will not only protect and defend you against all the assaults of your enemies, but help you to overcome them, (2 Chron. xx. 9.)

Ver. 10. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.] O ye priests and Levites, do you above all others rely upon that eternal Lord, whose praise you sing, and to whom you offer continual sacrifice; for he will never fail, not only to protect, but to assist all such as piously confide in him.

Ver. 11. Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.] And let all that fear the Lord, and devoutly worship him, (of whatsoever nation they be), place the like confidence in his almighty goodness; for he will never forsake those that depend on him alone, (though they be not of the seed of Abraham), but defend them also in all dangers, and aid them against all their enemies.

Ver. 12. 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.] We have had abundant experience of his care over us in all ages; and therefore, though now for the present our enemies afflict us, yet let us believe that the Lord will do us good, and bless us with a glorious deliverance: all the house of Israel shall see how kind he is, especially they that minister unto him in his holy temple.

Ver. 13. He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.] And he will not forget those pious proselytes that are come to worship him there, as the only God, but, without any respect of persons, give them his blessing also; which shall not be denied, either to old or young, to rich or poor.

Ver. 14. The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.] Nor will he grant you only a single blessing, by sending a present deliverance, but heap his benefits, and multiply his mercies upon you, upon all those that shall succeed you.

and

Ver. 15. You are blessed of the LORD, which made heaven and earth.] Ye are a happy people, who live under the care, and love, and benediction, of that mighty Lord, whose power nothing can confine; for he is not made, (like the Gentile gods), but himself created both the heaven and the earth.

Ver. 16. The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's: but the earth bath he given to the children of men.] In which he cannot be comprehended neither, for his empire extends farther than you can see; to the heavens, which are above these visible heavens; from whence his providence reaches down, even to us the children of men, whom he hath placed upon this earth, to admire and praise his infinite majesty.

Ver. 17. The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.] And therefore will not suffer us to be rooted out, as our enemies design, (2 Chron. xx. 11.), for then the earth would have none in it to sing his praises, which the dead, who dwell in the silent grave, cannot celebrate.

forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.] But will continue us still alive, that we may praise the Lord, and speak good of his name, as we do at this time, (2 Chron. xx. 21. 22.), and leave those to succeed us, who shall continue his praises in all future generations to the world's end. Hallelujah, praise the Lord.

PSALM CXVI.

THE ARGUMENT.-I do not understand the reason why Theodoret applies this psalm to the times of Antiochus Epiphanes, when it agrees so exactly to the condition of David in his flight from his son Absalom, (which seems to be mentioned ver. 11.), when Ahitophel and others proved very false unto him, and he had little or nothing to depend upon but the goodness of the Almighty, who was pleased to plead his cause, and deliver him. For which he resolved to be very thankful, and to call all his friends to rejoice with him, as I have expressed it, ver. 13. where the first words sufficiently declare the sense; but I have added more to explain the phrase, which is borrowed from the custom of those days; about which the reader may consult Mr Mede, p. 433. last edition. In this resolution he was so serious, that he repeats it in the conclusion, and saith he will pay his vows in the midst of Jerusalem; from whence, the history tells us, he was forced to fly in great haste, to save his life, (2 Sam. xv. 14.)

This seems to be the occasion of the psalm, which may very well befit any other persons that receive any great deliverance from God; and accordingly I will order the paraphrase, and fit it for the expressing of their devout affections.

Ver. 1.

LOVE the LORD, because he hath beard my voice, and my supplication.] O how I love the Lord! He knows that I love him exceedingly; and there is the greatest reason for it, because he hath so graciously heard my prayer, when in my distress I cried unto him.

Ver. 2. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.] I cannot choose but mention again this love of his, in granting so readily my desires; which encourages and engages me, on all such occasions, to address myself, with thankful acknowledgements, unto him, and to the last breath of my life, to expect deliverance from him.

Ver. 3. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me; I found trouble and sorrow.] Great was my misery, exceeding great; death itself and the grave were ready to seize on me, and I saw no way to escape; nay, I myself, in the anguish of my soul, inconsiderately cast myself into danger.

Ver. 4. Then called I upon the name of the LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.] Yet I did not despond in these straits, but made the mighty, wise, and good providence of God my refuge; to

Ver. 18. But we will bless the LORD, from this time

whom I cried, saying, O Lord, who wast before all things, and commandest them as thou pleasest; rescue me, I most humbly beseech thee, from those dangers which threaten my destruction.

Ver. 5. Gracious is the LORD, and righteous: yea, our God is merciful.] And it was not in vain that I cried unto him, for the Lord hath shewn me how ready he is to do good, and how faithful in his promises; and withal how gentle in his punishments, and inclinable to pardon our faults, which demonstrates that no people serve such a gracious Master as our merciful God.

Ver. 6. The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.] I had perished, I am sure, if I had relied only on my own wisdom, or the skill and policy of others: but the Lord was my hope, who preserves the most simple and incautious souls, when they commit themselves to him, and wholly depend on his providence. I ought to say so, who was reduced to a most forlorn estate, and then, by his assistance, in a wonderful manner delivered.

Ver. 7. Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the LORD Lath dealt bountifully with thee.] What hast thou then to do, O my soul, who hast been tempestuously tossed, but to settle thyself again in peace and tranquillity? loving and praising the Lord, who hath very many ways expressed his bounty most liberally

to thee.

Ver. 8. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.] For when the dangers of death surrounded me, thou, O my God, didst deliver me; whenever any sadness seized on me, thou hast been my comforter; and when I have been in danger of hurts, maims, or bruises, (or of falling into the hands of my enemies), thou still hast been my protector.

Ver. 9. I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.] I ought therefore, and I am resolved, to employ all that health and chearfulness, that soundness of body and mind, that peace and safety, which thou hast thus graciously bestowed on me, in doing thee (to whom as my sovereign Lord I owe) all faithful service, as long as I stay in this world.

Ver. 10. I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted] I had nothing, I will thankfully remember, to depend upon, but only thy kind providence; in this I placed my trust, in this I gloried to others, when I was in my greatest straits; for the truth is, I was extremely miserable;

Ver. 11. I said in my haste, All men are liars.] Pressed on all sides with dangers; from which, when I fled as fast as I was able, (2 Sam. xv. 14. xvii. 16. -22.), I concluded it was vain to rely on the friendship and help of men; for they in whom I trusted proved so false and treacherous, (2 Sam. xv. 31.), har I had reason to think the rest would deceive and fail my expectation, when I was in the greatest need

of them.

Ver. 12. What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits towards me?] O the greatness of thy love, who even then didst interpose and deliver me, by the

assistance of some faithful friends, who still stuck to me! (2 Sam. xvii. 13. &c.) What shall I render unto the Lord, who heard my prayer! (2 Sam. xv. 31.); how shall I shew myself grateful to him for this, and for all other his benefits, which he hath heaped upon me!

Ver. 13. I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.] All that I can do, cannot make him more happy; but, as my duty binds me, I will praise the Lord, and speak good of his name, and give him thanks, in the best and most solemn manner I am able: I will call all my friends together to rejoice with me, and taking the cup, which we call the cup of deliverance, (because, when blessed and set apart, we are wont to commemorate the blessings we have reccived), I will magnify the power, goodness, and faithfulness of God my Saviour before all the company; and will drink myself, and then give it to them, that they may praise his name together with me.

Ver. 14. I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.] And whatsoever I have promised thee, O Lord, in the time of my distress, I will faithfully engage myself to perform before them all: they shall see I am not forgetful of thee, who wast so mindful of me in my trouble;

Ver. 15. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.] As indeed thou art of all good men, whose lives thou preservest as a precious jewel; and wilt not give them up to the pleasure of their enemics, nor suffer them to be lost, but by thy special providence.

Ver. 16. O LORD, truly I am thy servant; 1am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.] Accept, good Lord, of these my resolu tions; for I am sensible that I am thy servant; every way thy servant, and entirely obliged to be faithful to thee; both by my birth, and by my education, and by this marvellous deliverance, whereby thou hast rescued me from the power of death, which had in a manner taken hold of me.

Ver. 17. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.] I. can never sure prove ungrateful to thee, unto whom I am tied by so many bonds, but will always be making thee my most thankful, solemn acknowledgements for the benefits I have received; and, together with those praises and thanksgivings, wait upon thy goodness for the like mercies in time to come.

Ver. 18. I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.] I resolve again, religiously to make good these, and all my other vows wherein I stand engaged to the Lord; and that not only in private, but here at this solemnity, in the face of all his people;

Ver. 19. In the courts of the LORD's bouse, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.] When they are gathered together at his house, in the midst of the holy city of our God, where they meet to worship him, and to do him honour. There let them all join with me, to bless and praise the great Creator and Preserver of all things.

PSALM CXVII.

THE ARGUMENT.-This psalm (like the 116th) seems to be altogether prophetical of the joy that all the world should conceive, at the coming of the Messiah; to give salvation, first to the Jews, and then to all other nations, according to his faithful promise. Saint Paul applies the first words of it to this business, Rom. xv. 11. and some of the Hebrews justify his application; confessing that this psalm belongs to that matter. The brevity of it makes it the more remarkable, and easier to be remembered both by Jews and Gentiles.

Ver. 1. PRAISE the LORD, all ye nations; praise him, all ye people.] Let not the praises, which are due to the great Lord of all, be confined to our nation; but let all people upon the face of the earth praise him; let all mankind sing thankful hymns unto him.

Ver. 2. For his merciful kindness is great towards us; and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.] For they are all concerned in his transcendent kindness, which hath done mighty things for us; and the Lord, who changes not, will never fail to perform his faithful promises to the world's end. Therefore let us all join our praises to our common benefactor.

PSALM CXVIII.

THE ARGUMENT.-There is nothing more probable than that David composed this psalm, after God had settled him upon the throne of Israel as well as Judah; and also subdued the Philistines, (who hoped to have crushed him before he grew too powerful, 2 Sam. v. 17.), together with other enemies round about him, who, though they are not mentioned, yet in all likelihood joined with them, as we may gather from ver. 10. 11. of this psalm, compared with 2 Sam. vii. 1. For that it was written after he had brought the ark to Jerusalem, (mentioned there, chap. vi.), and placed it in the house he had prepared for it, seems very plain from ver. 19. of this psalm; where he begins to praise God in such words, as had not their complete fulfilling till the Lord's Christ (whom the Jews rejected, and said, He shall not reign over us) was made King of the world. For to him R. Solomon himself acknowledges those words, "The stone which the builders refused," &c. are to be applied. And as the latter part of the psalm is a prophecy of Christ, in David his type, so the former part may be accommodated to all Christians; who being persecuted, (as Theodoret speaks), and tormented, and disgracefully treated, by many princes and their people, by kings and governors, got a glorious victory over them all, after they had endured a thousand deaths.

It seems also to have been pronounced, at first, in some solemn assembly of all the people, met together to

praise the Lord for his benefits. And it is the common opinion of most interpreters, that they all had a part in this psalm. The greatest part of which was spoken by David; who begins with a declaration how much he was indebted to God, desiring all to assist him in his praises: And then coming in a solemn procession, I suppose, to the gates of the tabernacle, calls upon the porters, ver. 19. to open them to him, that he might praise God in his sanctuary; which he doth in the very entrance, ver. 20. and then in the courts of his house, ver. 21. After which all the people shout, and magnify the divine goodness, in making him, who was banished from his country, their king, ver. 22. &c. And then the priests come forth, and bless both the king and people in the name of the Lord, ver. 26. and exhort them to be thankful, ver. 27. And then David seems to take the words out of their mouths, and to declare that he will never be unmindful of God's benefits; desiring all the people also to remember them, ver. 28. 29. According to which account of the psalm I have ordered the paraphrase.

Ver. 1. because bis mercy endureth for ever.] O make your thankful acknowledgements to the great Lord of all the world; who, as he is the author of all good, and hath been exceeding bountiful unto us, so will continue his kindness to all succeeding generations.

GIVE thanks to the LORD, for he is good:

Ver. 2. Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.] Let the children of Israel, who have had such long experience of his love, and now see his promises fulfilled; let them confess and thankfully ac knowledge, that his kindness continues to all generations.

Ver. 3. Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.] Let the priests and the Lvites, whose business it is to attend upon his service, confess now, and thankfully acknowledge, that his kindness extends unto all ages.

Ver. 4. Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever.] And let all the devout worshippers of the Lord, of whatsoever nation they be, join together with us, (for there is one Lord of all, who dispenses various benefits to every one of us), and confess now most thankfully, that there is no end of his kindness.

Ver. 5. I called upon the LORD in distress; the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.] You may see an example of it in me, who was in grievous straits and dangers, (1 Sam. xxiii. 26. xxvii. 1.); but then imploring the divine protection, the Lord not only delivered me, but placed me in a secure estate, free from all such molestation, 2 Sam. v. 3. vii. 1.

Ver. 6. The LORD is on my side, I will not fear ; what can man do unto me?] For the Lord, it is evident, takes my part; and therefore, though I have many enemies, I am not afraid of them; for when he is for me, what disturbance can men, be they never so powerful, give me?

Ver. 7. The LORD taketh my part with them that