Chapter IX: Part 9

For as the heaven is high above the earth, _so_ great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

As far as the east is from the west, _so_ far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Like as a father pitieth _his_ children, _so_ the LORD pitieth them that fear him.

For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we _are_ dust.

_As for_ man, his days _are_ as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth:

For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.

But the mercy of the LORD _is_ from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;

To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.

Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.

Bless ye the LORD, all _ye_ his hosts; _ye_ ministers of his that do his pleasure.

Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.

This is a glorious Psalm, and full of the most ardent feelings and exercises of faith, and of a believing heart, a heart acknowledging the infinite mercies of God, both temporal and spiritual. “Bless the Lord (saith the Psalmist), O my soul,” &c. The Psalmist embraces, in the first three verses, six kinds of divine mercies and benefits, for which he exhorts all the godly to give praise unto God with their whole heart, and to celebrate his great and holy name.

The first kind of mercy enumerated is the remission of all our sins in Christ, and for Christ’s sake, our only Mediator and High-priest: who by himself sustained the just and infinite wrath of God, which burned against our sins: who offered himself a sacrifice to God for them; by which offering he reconciled unto us the Eternal Father, and now pleads for us with an unceasing and prevailing intercession.

The second kind of mercy is the healing of those manifold, and by no means light infirmities, which shall remain in the flesh of the saints, as long as they live in this world: all which remnant of sins God, for Christ’s sake, imputeth not unto them that believe: nor does he only cover those sins by not imputing them, but he moreover purges them away, by the gift of his Holy Spirit.

The third kind of mercy is a continual and daily protection and defence against all the dangers of death, into numbers of which we continually fall; and into more and greater of which we should fall by fire, by water, by sword, by pestilence, and other means of destruction, and be destroyed by them on account of the deserts of our sins, if God did not in his mercy prevent and save and preserve our lives.

The fourth kind of mercy is a manifold dispensation of the grace of God, wherewith he covers and defends us with a shield, and crowns us, giving us the Holy Spirit, and strengthening our minds with the true doctrine against all doubts, and with true consolation in all perils and evils; and bestowing on the godly many and various gifts.

The fifth kind of mercy is that boldness wherewith by the aid and urgency of the Holy Spirit, we fearlessly preach before the world these great mercies of God toward us: whereby many others also may learn to acknowledge and lay hold of the goodness of God in Christ, and, embracing it themselves in the true faith, may, with us, magnify and call upon God.

The sixth kind of mercy is the restoration of our depraved nature by Christ into the image of God; into which image we being renewed by the Holy Ghost, begin with full purpose of heart to obey God; and so continue, until, being made perfect in the life to come, we may be able to render a full obedience with our whole unimpeded powers.

The Psalmist, therefore, first renders thanks to God for his spiritual benefits; and then he from his heart thanks God for bestowing blessings of every kind,—peace, good magistrates, good laws, good wives, good children, the fruits of the earth, and all needful provision. The Psalmist sets forth God as a most kind Father towards us (who are nothing but a loathsome sore, full of sin) and as not dealing with us according to our sins, but treating and protecting us, according to his infinite grace and mercy, as dear children: yet so that he will have us to keep his covenant and his counsel: that is, to believe in him, to fear him, and to have him for our God. For if we trust in our own works or righteousnesses, we thereby immediately break his covenant, and walk not in his counsel, and follow strange gods, and thus sin against the First Commandment.

Now this fulfilling of the law, and keeping the covenant of God, is in and through Christ alone, who was then promised to the fathers, but now in these last days has been given unto us; and manifested; whose kingdom shall rule over all.

At the end of the Psalm, when the Psalmist calls upon the angels and the hosts of God, the powers and the dominions, to praise and magnify him, he means Christ and the church and the apostles who cause his word to be heard. For all our salvation is in Christ, and there is no grace out of Christ; who is preached by the angels; that is, by the apostles.

PSALM CIV.

_A meditation upon the mighty power, and wonderful providence of God.—God’s glory is eternal.—The prophet voweth perpetually to praise God._

Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty:

Who coverest _thyself_ with light as _with_ a garment; who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain;

Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters; who maketh the clouds his chariot; who walketh upon the wings of the wind;

Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire;

_Who_ laid the foundations of the earth, _that_ it should not be removed for ever.

Thou coveredst it with the deep as _with_ a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.

At thy rebuke they fled: at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.

They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys, unto the place which thou hast founded for them.

Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over, that they turn not again to cover the earth.

He sendeth the springs into the valleys, _which_ run among the hills.

They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.

By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, _which_ sing among the branches.

He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth;

And wine _that_ maketh glad the heart of man, _and_ oil to make _his_ face to shine, and bread _which_ strengthened man’s heart.

The trees of the LORD are full _of sap_: the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

Where the birds make their nests: _as for_ the stork, the fir-trees _are_ her house.

The high hills _are_ a refuge for the wild goats, _and_ the rocks for the conies.

He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.

Thou makest darkness, and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep _forth_.

The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.

The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.

Man goeth forth unto his work, and to his labour, until the evening.

O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches;

_So is_ this great and wide sea, wherein _are_ things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.

There go the ships; _there is_ that leviathan, _whom_ thou hast made to play therein.

These wait all upon thee, that them mayest give _them_ their meat in due season.

_That_ thou givest them, they gather; thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.

Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the earth.

The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.

He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.

I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

My meditation of him shall be sweet; I will be glad in the LORD.

Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.

This is a most spiritual song and a Psalm of glory to God. It is drawn out of the First Commandment: and with a grand enumeration of all the creatures of God, it sets forth and exalts the whole work of creation. By this recounting of the works of creation the Psalmist’s design is to show, that all the creatures, whether those in the heavens, those in the earth, or those in the sea, are monuments of the goodness of God. And what orator or what poet ever has existed, or ever will exist, with an eloquence adequate to describe the infinite use and benefits of even one creature of God. If any one of those creatures were gifted with speech, so as to declare its own nature and value, it would praise God with a thousand tongues. Not only, therefore, the whole of God’s works together, as one glorious universe, but each one creature, if you would explain its nature and use, exceeds all the eloquence of men and angels.

What philosopher or sage could even open or utter the extent of the use and blessings of common light, in which we live? What one of them could ever explain what that is which we call light, in which we all breathe, all are nourished, and all live; by which the night and darkness are dispelled in one short moment; by which the whole creation is rendered visible, and as it were, recreated; and by which all creatures, from out of one same obscure darkness, receive each their proper hues and colours?

Who, again, can recount the benefit and blessings of that one creature the sun? and then those of the moon? Who can enumerate the blessings of fire, of water, of fountains and springs? If one creature were deprived for one short hour of the blessings of fire or of water, you would in a moment see the wide and infinite benefit of one of those creatures of God.

But alas! who can even touch one of these creatures with anything like a due comment or reflection! And yet, when heathen men have contemplated the whole universe of creatures so diligently, (as we see it done in Cicero’s second book ‘De Natura Deorum;’) and have thence gathered and concluded that there exists some eternal Deity who created and who governs all these things; it would be a shame in one professing the fear and worship of that God, to be cold and not affected with these same things, and not to meditate and reflect upon them.

This Psalm, therefore, is a Psalm of thanksgiving for all the creatures which God has created, whether in the heavens, in the earth, or in the sea; and a rendering of thanks unto God also, that he hath made a covenant with the day and the night, and hath given laws to the heaven and the earth; laws so certain that they cannot be moved, but continue in their appointed order. The moon, saith the Psalmist, distinguished the seasons; the sun knoweth his going down; the day cometh, and also the night; the summer returns at its appointed time, and the winter also in its season. Thou fillest, saith he, that immense space of the heaven with light: thou stretchest out the heaven itself like a curtain, which resteth not on any beams or columns: and thou suspendest the mighty range of clouds, at thy word, like a glorious canopy. The winds rise, and blow over and blow through all things, having neither wings nor feathers. And the angels whom thou sendest forth, saith he, fulfil their commands like the winds, and like a “flame of fire.”

Hence the prophet, as you see, has all these things depicted in his mind, and his faith is kindled by a meditation on this wonderful and ineffable work of creation. But, alas! how few, how very few, are there who thus look into, meditate on, and admire these created things? Here, therefore, with a view to reprove both the indolence and the wickedness of certain characters, I cannot help transcribing the words of Cicero, a heathen, who cites another heathen, Aristotle: ‘Aristotle,’ says Cicero, ‘has most greatly and beautifully spoken thus. “If there could be men, who had lived under the earth in grand and noble habitations; habitations adorned with paintings and works of art, and with all those embellishments which ornament the houses of those who are now accounted wealthy and happy; and if it could so be that such subterranean inhabitants had never been above ground, but had heard by fame and report that there was a certain Deity, and a certain Almighty power of that Deity; and then if it could so be, that, at a certain time, the doors of the earth’s surface should be thrown open, and they should come forth from their subterranean abysses into these above-ground regions which we inhabit:—when such men beheld, on a sudden, the earth, the sea, and the heavens; when they saw the expanded grandeur of the clouds, and felt the mighty power of the winds; when they looked up to the sun and beheld his glorious magnitude and his beauty, and knew something of his influence and efficacy in all creation,—that it is he, who, by diffusing his light through the whole heaven, makes the day; and when such mortals, newly admitted on earth, should see by the departure of the sun the whole creation veiled in the darkness of night, while the whole heaven was studded and bespangled with stars; and when they saw and understood the various degrees of the light of the moon, and the increasings and decreasings of that heavenly body; and the various risings and settings of all the celestial luminaries; and, finally, when such astonished and contemplating strangers on the earth’s surface should know the appointed and never-erring and never-varying courses and revolutions of all these glorious creatures,—they would, with one voice, confess that there was a God, and that all these creatures were the works of that God! But our minds, by daily use, become insensible to these things; and as we daily see all these creatures we inquire not their nature, nor wonder at their glory: as if the novelty of such things, and not their greatness and glory, is that which should lead us to meditate on their natures, and the ends of their creation.”’ Thus far Cicero, the heathen! I shall perhaps be deemed by some a silly man for bringing forth these things out of the books of a heathen! Let those that would fear God, then, remember what is required of them!

PSALM CV.

_An exhortation to praise God, and to seek out his works.—The story of God’s providence over Abraham,—over Joseph,—over Jacob, in Egypt,—over Moses delivering the Israelites,—over the Israelites brought out of Egypt, fed in the wilderness, and planted in Canaan._

O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.

Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.

Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.

He _is_ the LORD our God: his judgments _are_ in all the earth.

He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word _which_ he commanded to a thousand generations.

Which _covenant_ he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;

And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, _and_ to Israel _for_ an everlasting covenant:

Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:

When there were _but_ a few men in number: yea, very few, and strangers in it.

When they went from one nation to another, from _one_ kingdom to another people;

He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;

_Saying_, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

Moreover, he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.

He sent a man before them, _even_ Joseph, _who_ was sold for a servant:

Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:

Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.

The king sent and loosed him: _even_ the ruler of the people, and let him go free.

He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance:

To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.

Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.

He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.

He sent Moses his servant; _and_ Aaron whom he had chosen.

They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.

He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish.

Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.

He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, _and_ lice in all their coasts.

He gave them hail for rain, _and_ flaming fire in their land.

He smote their vines also and their fig-trees; and brake the trees of their coasts.

He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number,

And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.

He smote also all the first-born in their land, the chief of all their strength.

He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and _there was_ not one feeble _person_ among their tribes.

Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them.

He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.

_The people_ asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places _like_ a river.

For he remembered his holy promise, _and_ Abraham his servant.

And he brought forth his people with joy, _and_ his chosen with gladness:

And gave them the lands of the heathen; and they inherited the labour of the people;

That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the LORD.

This is a Psalm of particular thanksgiving; and a song especially adapted to the people of the Jews; that in the use of this Psalm they might render thanks unto God for all those, his wonderful works, which he wrought from Abraham down to the time when they were led into the promised land of Canaan. And the Psalmist, having recounted all these glorious works in their order, concludes with that word of Moses, (Deut. ix.) “That God did not do all these mighty works on account of any righteousness or merit of theirs, but because of the covenant and the promise which he had made with their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob:” for how righteous they were and what they deserved at the hand of God, is sung in the Psalm following.

PSALM CVI.

_The Psalmist exhorteth to praise God.—He prayeth for pardon of sin, as God did with the fathers.—The story of the people’s rebellion, and God’s mercy.—He concludeth with prayer and praise._

Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for _he is_ good: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever.

Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? _who_ can shew forth all his praise?

Blessed _are_ they that keep judgment, _and_ he that doeth righteousness at all times.

Remember me, O LORD, with the favour _that thou bearest unto_ thy people: O visit me with thy salvation;

That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.

We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.

Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked _him_ at the sea, _even_ at the Red Sea.

Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.

He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.

And he saved them from the hand of him that hated _them_, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left.

Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.

They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:

But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.

And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

They envied Moses also in the camp, _and_ Aaron the saint of the LORD.

The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.

And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.

Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.

They forgat God their Saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;

Wondrous works in the land of Ham, _and_ terrible things by the Red Sea.

Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy _them_.

Yea, they despised the pleasant land; they believed not his word;

But murmured in their tents, _and_ hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD:

Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness:

To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.

They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.

Thus they provoked _him_ to anger with their inventions; and the plague brake in upon them.

Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and _so_ the plague was stayed.

And that was counted unto him for righteousness, unto all generations for evermore.

They angered _him_ also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes:

Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.

They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them:

But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.

And they served their idols; which were a snare unto them.

Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,

And shed innocent blood, _even_ the blood of their sons, and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.

Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.

Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.

And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them.

Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.

Many times did he deliver them: but they provoked _him_ with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.

Nevertheless, he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry:

And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.

He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.

Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, _and_ to triumph in thy praise.

Blessed _be_ the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD.

This is a Psalm of acknowledgment, of confession, and of thanksgiving. The Psalmist confesses all those sins of murmuring and unbelief, and those other numerous transgressions against the first commandment, by which the people of Israel provoked God, and rendered themselves utterly unworthy of all his mercies.

At the conclusion of the Psalm, therefore, the Psalmist proclaims the exceeding greatness of the divine mercy of God; whereby he continued mindful of his counsel and his covenant, and did not pour forth all his wrath, but was merciful to them for his own name’s sake. As Moses saith also, (Deut. ix.) “Know ye, that not for your righteousness doth the Lord God give unto you this good land: for ye are a stiff-necked people.” Therefore as the Israelites, the whole of that people of God, could glory in nothing, but that they were saved by the mercy and grace of God; so also we cannot glory in any work or merit of our own, but in the mercy of God only!

PSALM CVII.

_The psalmist exhorteth the redeemed, in praising God, to observe his manifold providence, over travellers, over captives, over sick men, over seamen, and in divers varieties of life._

O give thanks unto the LORD, for _he is_ good: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever.

Let the redeemed of the LORD say _so_, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.

They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.

Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.

Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, _and_ he delivered them out of their distresses.

And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.

Oh that _men_ would praise the LORD _for_ his goodness, and _for_ his wonderful works to the children of men!

For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, _being_ bound in affliction and iron;

Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the Most High:

Therefore he brought down their heart with labour: they fell down, and _there was_ none to help.

Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, _and_ he saved them out of their distresses.

He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.

Oh that _men_ would praise the LORD _for_ his goodness, and _for_ his wonderful works to the children of men!

For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.

Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted:

Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.

Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble; and he saveth them out of their distresses.

He sent his word and healed them, and delivered _them_ from their destructions.

Oh that _men_ would praise the LORD _for_ his goodness, and _for_ his wonderful works to the children of men!

And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;

These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.

For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths; their soul is melted because of trouble.

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end.

Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

Oh that _men_ would praise the LORD _for_ his goodness, and _for_ his wonderful works to the children of men!

Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the water-springs into dry ground;

A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.

He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into water-springs.

And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;

And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.

He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly, and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.

Again, they are minished, and brought low, through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.

He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, _where there is_ no way.

Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh _him_ families like a flock.

The righteous shall see _it_, and rejoice; and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.

Whoso _is_ wise, and will observe these _things_, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the LORD.

This is a Psalm of thanksgiving, in general; rendering praise for that infinite and incomparable mercy and goodness of God, wherewith he daily helps and succours all men, both the righteous and the wicked, under the various calamities of life, and defends them against the Devil: preserving also the public peace, giving healthfulness of air and climate, and blessing the earth to the springing of its productions; as Paul saith, 2 Tim. ii. “Who is the Saviour of all men, especially of them that believe.”

In the fourth verse, where the Psalmist says, “They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way,” he refers to all kinds of calamities; and especially to the afflictions of those who are oppressed with poverty, who are exiles, and deserted, and wandering without any certain dwelling-place.

In the ninth verse by those “sitting in darkness,” &c. he means those throughout the whole world, who on account of their own crimes, or for other causes, are held in bonds and in prisons, and who are sometimes delivered by the interposition and help of God himself.

Then again, verse 6, he refers to those who live wickedly and fear not God; on whom God sends diseases and distresses to punish them; of whom some, although they call not upon God, are delivered by his pure mercy alone.

In verse 22, he speaks of those who are in perils on the seas, and there enduring storms and shipwrecks; under which calamities God often delivers wicked sailors, and preserves them from shipwreck and death, and from the power of the Devil, by his mere goodness and mercy.

Verse 32 has reference to those fields and vineyards that are visited with barrenness or any other calamity; unto whom God gives rain and fruitfulness, not according to their merits, but of his abounding mercy, whereby he sendeth rain upon the just and upon the unjust.

Verse 38 applies to those who are oppressed by the Turk or any other tyrants, or by wars and seditions, and whose all in this world is in peril; unto whom God often, on a sudden, gives peace and quietness, as he calmeth the waves of the sea.

This Psalm, therefore, shows that all salvation is to be sought and expected from God alone; who will never forsake his people, or his church, or those that trust in him; and that he often bestows these benefits on the Turks, and on the openly impious and profane; even when they are seeking all these great blessings from their idols of wood and stone. And we who profess the name of Christ also, not at all unlike the Turks, leave God our true and only Saviour and implore the help of saints. Hence St. Leonard is worshipped as the liberator of the imprisoned; St. Sebastian is invoked by those who are in dread of pestilence; St. George is the protecting saint of military troops of horse and foot; St. Erasmus is said to bless with riches those that call upon him; St. Christopher is openly worshipped as the god of land and sea; and his image is affixed to all doors of temples, and to all prows of ships, and adored by all sailors. And thus we have divided the glory of God and of his saving mercies, which is due to him alone, unto saints set up by idolatrous men; just in the same way as the heathens gave to their gods the attributes and functions which belong to God only. This Psalm, however, rightly ascribes all the glory to God alone.

PSALM CVIII.

_David encourageth himself to praise God.—He prayeth for God’s assistance according to his promise.—His confidence in God’s help._

A Song or Psalm of David.

O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.

Awake, psaltery and harp; I _myself_ will awake early.

I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people; and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.

For thy mercy is great above the heavens, and thy truth _reacheth_ unto the clouds.

Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; and thy glory above all the earth:

That thy beloved may be delivered, save _with_ thy right hand, and answer me.

God hath spoken in his holiness, I will rejoice; I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.

Gilead _is_ mine; Manasseh _is_ mine; Ephraim also _is_ the strength of mine head; Judah _is_ my law-giver;

Moab _is_ my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph.

Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?

_Wilt_ not _thou_, O God, _who_ hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?

Give us help from trouble: for vain _is_ the help of man.

Through God we shall do valiantly: for he _it is that_ shall tread down our enemies.

This is a Psalm of thanksgiving of the same substance, and almost in the same words as Psalm lx.; wherein the Psalmist gives thanks for the happy state of his kingdom, for the establishment of the true religion and good government, and for the increase of his dominions.

The first verses of the Psalm, however, refer to the kingdom of Christ. David prays that God would be pleased to set up this kingdom of Christ in all nations; that thus the kingdom and dominion of David may be extended far and wide throughout all nations, according to the promise. For this temporal kingdom of David was confined within very narrow limits in comparison with the whole world, and was a kingdom not likely to be extended over all the nations and people of the earth; and yet this kingdom God promised to enlarge and extend, as in Isaiah, “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people,” Isa. xi. 10. And again, chapter ix. 7, “Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish it for ever.”

PSALM CIX.

_David, complaining of his slanderous enemies, under the person of Judas devoteth them.—He sheweth their sin.—Complaining of his own misery, he prayeth for help.—He promiseth thankfulness._

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;

For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.

They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.

For my love they are my adversaries: but I _give myself unto_ prayer.

And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.

When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.

Let his days be few; _and_ let another take his office.

Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.

Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek _their bread_ also out of their desolate places.

Let the extortioner catch all that he hath: and let the strangers spoil his labour.

Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.

Let his posterity be cut off; _and_ in the generation following let their name be blotted out.

Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.

Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.

As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.

As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.

Let it be unto him as the garment _which_ covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.

_Let_ this _be_ the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul.

But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy _is_ good, deliver thou me.

For I _am_ poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.

I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.

My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.

I became also a reproach unto them: _when_ they looked upon me they shaked their heads.

Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy:

That they may know that this _is_ thy hand; _that_ thou, LORD, hast done it.

Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.

Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.

I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.

For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save _him_ from those that condemn his soul.

Certain hypocrites of monks are accustomed to use this Psalm, (generally known by the name of ‘The God of praise,’) as a sort of incantation: and they say that, to a certainty, against what person soever they babble and sing out the terrible words of this Psalm; that man is at once death-struck, and never lives a year afterwards.

This Psalm, however, is most certainly full of the complaints, tears, and groans of the godly against these very hypocrites themselves. It may be very properly considered as used in the person of Christ, deeply complaining against his betrayers the Jews, and against the cruelty of the Jews, which was not satisfied, even after the shedding of his innocent blood.

Like unto Judas Iscariot, and unto all the Jews, are pharisaical saints and hypocrites, of all nations and ages; of whom Christ doth not say in vain, that they are guilty of all the blood that has been shed from Abel downwards. For so great and bitter is the terribleness and fury of their virulent and Satanic hatred, that they cannot rest satisfied with the shedding of the blood of Abel and all the saints from the beginning of the world, but must hang Christ himself on the cross; and that is not all, they must (as the Psalmist saith, ver. 22.) wag their heads at him, and insult and mock his sufferings; “If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross.”

Concerning these wretches, David says, (ver. 2.) “They have opened their blaspheming mouth against me:” for the raving fury of such hypocrites is incredible. And again he says, “For my love they are my adversaries, but I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.” And again, “They fight against me without a cause.”

These are the true and real colours of these hypocrites who pretend to be in the truth. We have here pourtrayed not only the Cainish countenances of these Iscariots, but their pharisaic and virulent hearts themselves; which are now become organs and instruments of the devil. And we have also here depicted their thoughts, their furious purposes of injuring and harming, by which the minds of such are incessantly actuated. For these embittered wretches knowingly and purposely, and against the light of their own consciences, fight against and deny the known truth; and, as Stephen says, cease not to resist the Holy Ghost. And although they are convinced by natural reason, by the Scriptures, and by their natural understanding, they still reject and fight against God and Christ, and harden themselves in the denial of the truth. And finally, “They delight not in blessing;” but refuse and cast from them God and his Christ.

In addition to all this, they “render evil for good.” The ingratitude of these hypocrites and of the world surely is enough, in not returning any thing for all that good which is offered to them by God himself, and by the saints in his name: but they rest not here; they render, for all this good, hatred and cursing, and a purpose to injure and to destroy: which is manifestly not human, but Satanic cruelty.

But we, the people of God, are hereby admonished throughout all times and ages of the church that, whenever God is pleased to reveal his word, and Christ is preached, so surely will the church have her Judases: that is, so surely will she have her enemies and her hypocrites; who, though they boast of the name of being the church of God, will prove themselves “vipers.”

To set forth, therefore, the terrible judgments that shall fall on those, who thus, with cruelty and without mercy, rage against the people of God, the Psalmist shows (ver. 16.) that God will, to recompense their iniquity, direct his fury also against them, who thus mercilessly oppress “his poor,” and will pour out all his wrath upon them: and that, as these hypocrites so confidently despised God and his saints; and as, though covered with the shed blood, and bathed with the tears of so many saints, they still laughed at their calamities, as if they really sought cursing and not blessing; so, that cursing shall flow in upon them like a river.

And again (saith David) they have cast away the word of God from them, and have rejected and despised the offered salvation, therefore all consolation and salvation shall depart from them, and no more be brought near unto them, neither now nor to all eternity. On the other hand, as they loved cursing, they shall be clothed with it as with a girdle; it shall enter like water into their bowels, and like oil into their bones: and they shall bear about with them, like Cain, everlasting fears and terrors, and shall be tormented unceasingly with the stings of their wickedness and sin; and they shall moreover be exiles, deserted outcasts, vagabonds, and held in contempt of all, as the Jews now are, exhibiting an awful fulfilment of the judgments herein denounced.

PSALM CX.

_The kingdom, the priesthood, the conquest, and the passion of Christ._

A Psalm of David.

The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

Thy people _shall be_ willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.

The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou _art_ a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

The LORD at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.

He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill _the places_ with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.

He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

This is a peculiar and glorious prophecy concerning the kingdom of Christ. This Psalm is cited by Christ himself, Matt. xxii. and he applies it to his own kingdom and priesthood. It speaks gloriously of Christ sitting at the right hand of the Majesty in the heaven, and as being the son and the seed of David, according to the flesh, and also David’s Lord and God, the Creator and the Maker of all things, all power being given unto him in heaven and in earth: as the apostle also saith, “Who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness.” Rom. i. 3.

Christ cites this Psalm, (which, as we have said, is a very glorious one) to confound the Pharisees. Indeed there is not a Psalm like it in the whole scripture; and it ought to be very dear unto the church; seeing that it confirms that great article of faith—Christ’s sitting at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. For Christ is here declared to be a King and Priest; sitting at God’s right hand, not only as truly man, but also as properly God; the Propitiator and Mediator between God and men; the Omnipotent and the Eternal!

Christ is no where, throughout all the books of the prophets, and of the whole scripture, so plainly and clearly declared to be “a Priest,” and so “a Priest for ever,” who alone did, and alone could abrogate the Aaronic and Levitical priesthood; and who is, and ever will be an eternal propitiation and reconciliation for us; as is most beautifully, most fully, and with a wonderful power of the Holy Spirit, opened by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews.

Hence, this heavenly and golden Psalm has a blessed author (David) and a glorious interpreter (Christ.) And all the apostles, all godly consciences, and all who are not utterly unacquainted with the temptations of sin, and of Satan, know how great and firm a consolation it is against all the violent attacks of the devil, to be able to see Christ as our High Priest. Hence it is that Paul breaks forth into those great words, “If God be for us, who can be against us! Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died; yea, rather that is risen again; who is even at the right hand of God; who also maketh intercession for us.” Rom. viii. 31–34.

It is, therefore, of infinite benefit to the universal church of Christ, that the glorious things of this Psalm, the remission of sins, and the reconciliation of God toward us, which are brought in unto us by the priesthood of Christ, and which are infinite and eternal, are most carefully and most fully explained to us in the epistle to the Hebrews; and that such glorious doctrines of the truth concerning the priesthood of Christ are always present, and ready to our hands.

PSALM CXI.

_The Psalmist by his example inciteth others to praise God for his glorious and gracious works.—The fear of God breedeth true wisdom._

Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with _my_ whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and _in_ the congregation.

The works of the LORD _are_ great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.

His work _is_ honourable and glorious; and his righteousness endureth for ever.

He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD _is_ gracious and full of compassion.

He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.

He hath shewed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.

The works of his hands _are_ verity and judgment; all his commandments _are_ sure.

They stand fast for ever and ever, _and are_ done in truth and uprightness.

He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend _is_ his name.

The fear of the LORD _is_ the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do _his commandments_: his praise endureth for ever.

This is a Psalm of thanksgiving, and a song for the people of Israel, to be sung at the feast of the passover, or at the eating of the paschal Lamb. For by this short song the people were instructed to give thanks, and to magnify and praise God for those great and glorious works of his,—the leading them out of Egypt at the first; and also, for giving them a good and divine government, for the priesthood he established, for the law he gave them, and for appointing the preaching of his word; for their feasts and for their Sabbaths, for public peace and a good administration of the laws, and, in a word, for all his infinite mercies: all which I have more fully opened in my more extended commentary on this Psalm.

PSALM CXII.

_Godliness hath the promises of this life, and of the life to come.—The prosperity of the godly shall be an eyesore to the wicked._

Praise ye the LORD. Blessed _is_ the man _that_ feareth the LORD, _that_ delighteth greatly in his commandments.

His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.

Wealth and riches _shall be_ in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: _he is_ gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.

Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.

He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.

His heart _is_ established, he shall not be afraid, until he see _his desire_ upon his enemies.

He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.

The wicked shall see _it_, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

This is a Psalm of consolation for those that fear God: in which those that truly fear him are encouraged and praised in their Christian conversation: “Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord,” saith the Psalmist. As if he had said, The people of God appear to them to be of all men the most miserable; and both their life and their doctrine are condemned by the world, and by those tongues which the devil raises up and uses for the work. All things in the saints make them appear to the world, as if they were left and forsaken, and deserted of God, and as if they, and their posterity, and all like them, must surely perish. And then again, their lives and conversations, (though they render most essential services, both to their nation and to the church, and though they conduct themselves blamelessly before God and man,) are, by the malice of the devil, represented as most abominable, and they themselves are looked upon as the contempt and off-scouring of the earth.