Chapter IV: Part 4

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 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 prophet Elisha, 2 Kings vi. 16. when he said concerning 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 prayeth for his own safety, and his enemies’ confusion.—He complaineth 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.

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 mourneth _for his_ mother.

But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered 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 deceitful 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 righteousness; 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 swallowed 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 continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.

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 powerful 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 himself much misery and distress.

The matter of this Psalm may be a great consolation 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, adultery, 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 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 unbounded and insatiable cruelty is ever raging against those that fear God; as David here complains.

PSALM XXXVI.

_The grievous estate of the 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.

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 doctrine, 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 Psalm exactly described these characters in their own colours, 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 the 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 enemies: that fountain and river of life will still remain; that is, this word of thine, whereby afflicted consciences will be raised up and revived.

And here, if any where, the prophet expressively describes those false teachers. He _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 impudence, 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, precipitate, 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 bitterly, and traduce and defame them: they excel in this one thing only,—in adorning and setting off themselves, in using boasted self-praising words, in contemptuously despising others, and in arrogating to themselves only the spirit and worship of God, and the appellation of the true church.

In the _third_ place, their doctrines are most pernicious, 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 immediately 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 enormities they perpetrate with a wonderfully unconcerned and insensible security; as if they were all the time pleasing God and doing him service.

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.

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 conversation.

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 LORD 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.

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 condemn 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_.

I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading 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 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 contempt 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 contemned. 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 altogether 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 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, David himself says, “I have been young, and now am old, yet saw I never the righteous forsaken.” 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.

O 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.

I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.

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 _is_ before thee; and my groaning 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 off.

They also that seek after my life lay snares _for me_: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.

But I, as a deaf _man_, heard not; and _I 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_ continually 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 adversaries; 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.

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 hypocrites, 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 afflicted, 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 conflict 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 of men but of God,) as a strong fortress against Satan and his cause, and here again flows in the consolation of faith, &c. 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 handbreadth, 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.

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 amassing 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 themselves to coveting the things thereof, and to pride and ambition, as if they should live here for ever. 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 happiness, 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 expectation: 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 inflameth 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_ 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 congregation: 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 salvation: 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 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 continually, 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 kingdom 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 serpent’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 rejected. 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 Testament; 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.—He fleeth 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 his sickness.

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; _when_ he 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 _now_ 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 integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.

Blessed _be_ the LORD God of Israel, from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.

This Psalm is a prophecy; where, after the manner of the Psalms, Christ himself speaks, and with a wonderful 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, “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 consider 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 encourageth his soul to trust in God._

To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah.

As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

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 _is_ thy God?

When I remember these _things_, 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.

O 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 waterspouts; 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.

I will say unto God my rock, why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

_As_ with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, where _is_ thy God?

Why 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.

This is an ardent prayer to God; evincing an exceeding greatness of spiritual feeling, and an unutterable groaning of the Spirit. Under this similitude of a hart, at the beginning of the Psalm, the Psalmist describes his feelings in the hour of temptation, 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 comfort 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 blasphemies 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 chastens his saints, that he may afterwards comfort them; but not that he may forsake, destroy, or condemn 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 refreshed; 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 “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.

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: 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 blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.

All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten 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;

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 slaughtered 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 slaughtered 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 governs the world with such an appearance of injustice; and is in appearance, an unjust judge, permitting the saints to be afflicted whom he ought to support 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 art fairer 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 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 shall 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 kingdom 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 warrior’s armour, the splendour of regal dress, and success in war against his enemies, &c.; and also as possessing all kingly virtues,—righteousness, clemency, &c.

And moreover that he may set the kingdom of Christ before our eyes in its sweetest appearance, 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 conqueror 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 foundation of whose throne is in righteousness: who justifies 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 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 tabernacle 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 desolations 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 exalted 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.