Notes on the Book of Psalms, Psalm 109
The cix. PSALM.
David doth promiscuously and prophetically in this Psalm treat of Christ and himself. And though Saul, Doeg and Judas be eminently to be understood, one, or all of them by the third person singular, in diverse verses; yet for most part he intends thereby his enemies in the general, as they were united in conspiracie against him, together with the nation of the Iews, embodied (as it were) in one …oint combination against Christ, as appears by the third person plural, used in other verses, chieflie in the 20th, which is a summinarie, and explanatorie conclusion to his fore-going maledictions, shewing the persons he meant them to, and for what. And so passeth from his adversaries to himself, where Christ is still here and there to be taken in. Praying as their confusion, so his preservation, argued from Gods merciemercy, his own miserie, and the glorie that God will get, and praises that he will give thereupon.
Psalm cix. To the chief musitian A Psalm of David.To him that is the first and principal of all the Quire, do I David, that made this Psalm, recommend it for his care and ordering it to be sung.
1HOld not thy thy peace, O God, of my praise.1 O Lord, as I know thou art not regardless of my unjust calumniations, so I pray thee make it appear upon my calumniators; let them find thou takest notice of the wrong they do me, O God, who hath all my life long given me cause to praise thee for thy goodness, and with whom I am well accepted, though of men rejected, as the Messiah shall be.
2For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceiptful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.2 For such as make no conscience of what they say, and that studiously abuse the ears of Saul whom they know hates me; they spare not to let flie aginst me all manner of lies and slanders, to gain them his favour, and me his dis-favour.
3They compassed me about also with words of hatred: and fought against me without a cause.3 They do me all the wrong they can, in word, or deed, reproching and threatening me on all hands, as if they would eat me up alive, and causelesly with open violence attempt to take away my life.
4For my love, they are mine adv…rsaries: but I give my self unto prayer.4, 5 Nay, I did not onelyonly walk inoffenssively towards them, but did them many actual good offices,5And they have rewarded me evil for good: and hatred for my love. and ever expressed my self a friend to them as occasion served, and the more I have endeavoured to express my love and loyalty, the more I am requited with hatred and malignity, seeking my life that have saved theirs, as the Jews do Christs; but as he, so I, desire, nor seek not revenge, or like for like, as to my self, but refer me and my cause to be judged by God, upon whose faith and protection I cast my self, praying onelyonly deliverance from them, and that they may be of better minds.
6 But in zeal to thee,6Set thou a wicked man over him: and l…t Satan stand at his right hand. as they are enemies to thy Church and people, and fore-runners of those that shall betray, and murther the Messiah, and as a Prophet and publick person, so I wish that their deserts may over-take them; let them reap oppression as they sow it; let those that hate and persecute me for thy sake, because I am thy select and anointed servant, be as the Jews and Judas shall for betraying and crucifying the Lord of life, how shall the one be captivated to the heathenish Roman Empire, and the other exposed to Satan, that enemy of mankind to prevail against him, and destroy him, even with his own very hands, by making away himself?
7 Let them find such favour as shall Judas at the hands of the Chief-priests and Elders upon his repentance,7When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin. even to be judged and condemned from his own confession out of his own mouth; yea, both by God and man be unpitied and unpardoned.
8 Let them not live to the end of their lives,8Let his daies be few: and let another take his office. as they may be prolonged by nature, but cut short their daies by some violent and unnatural death, such as Judas shall die, and possess another more worthy of their place and office, as Judas his Apostleship shall be transferred upon Matthias, and the Jewish priviledges translated to the Gentiles for crucifying Christ.
9Let his children be fatherless: and his wife a widow.9 As the sin of my persecutour, and Christs crucifiers, is communicative, and tendeth to the destruction not of me onelyonly, but of Christ his Church and Spouse also, so let their punishment be derivative, let their wives and children become widows and fatherless by their untimely ends, pitied and relieved of none, for that they oppress, and are merciless to the innocent and afflicted.
10Let his children be continual vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.10 Let my persecutours prosperity be hatefull, as shall the Jews amongst all nations; let them that have made me an exile out of my own Countrey, among the heathen Idolaters, be themselves, and their children after them, no better, but be like the wandering Jews, that when they have crucifyed the Lord of glorie, shall not be restored into Canaan as aforetime, (out of their captivities) but be continual vagabonds, a dispersed people in all countries, glad to beg an abiding place any where, being hatefull every where, and driven so from place to place, that very necessitie shall inforce them to take up, and seek relief in the most abject desolate places of the world, such as will scarce yield them to keep life and soul, and glad they may.
11Let the extortioner catch all that he hath: and let the stranger spoil his labour.11, 12 Let them become a prey to all manner of men; let the griping usurious extortioner, so entangle their estates in bonds and bils, and use upon use, that they may never be able to come out of debt,12Let there be none to extend merciemercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children. till the creditor seize on all they have, and turn them out of doors a begging; let them find no manner of mercy, but be esteemed as enemies of mankind; every where, where they are, let them be made a prey, counted for intruders, and exposed to the spoil and rapine of the inhabitants, and natives of all countries where they come, as a people not fit to be entertained any where into scocietie and protection; both they and their children, though never so fatherless, and destitute, let them be relict and deserted of all, according to the curse of guiltless bloud, which they brought upon them and theirs; so let it be with them, and upon them.
13 Let my persecutours by the sword of thy justice,13Let his posterity be cut off, and in the generation following let their name be blotted out. weilded in the hands of their enemies, be quite cut off; let them be destroyed root and branch, so that after a while, no succession, or name of them may remain, (though in, yet) not over Israel, but the rule thereof be utterly and for ever trans-ferred from them to another, as shall befall the rebellious Jews, Christs persecutours, by the Romans, no name, nor place of any such nation, (once so famous) shall remain, but be quite blotted out, a Lo-ammi or vagabond people they shall be at best, and Christian, written in the room of it in the next age of thy Church, which shall be among the Gentiles, to whom thou wilt trans-fer thy grace and favour for ever.
14 Let the persisting in the same sin of abrenunciation,14Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembred of the Lord: and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. and blaspheming Christ by their scattered progeny, bring to remembrance the guilt of all their stiff-necked predecessours transgressions, and rebellions ever since they were a Church, espoused to thee their Lord and husband, the punishment whereof was then sparingly inflicted by thee, but now upon divorce, and putting away, let justice and judgement run down like a torrent upon them without any mixture and stop of merciemercy.
15Let them be before the Lord continually: that he may cut off the memory of them, from the earth.15 As the bloud of Christ shall alwaies appear before God, so let the sins of them do that murtherously shed it, that as they would have destroyed the Messiah, whom yet God raised again, so his vengeance may root out them, either to have no being, or to be hatefull and odious where ever they are.
16Because that he remembered not to shew merciemercy: but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.16 Let such things befall mine enemies, whose mercilesness to me doth in a figure pourtray out the usage of Christ himself; for as they shew me no more merciemercy in miserie, but are the more cruel and pitiless, by how much I am the more miserable, and the more they see me implunged into distress, and insupportable grief of bodie and mind, by so much the more eagerly lust they after my life to take it away, thus shall it be with him, and so as aforesaid, let it be with them.
17As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing so let it be far from him.17 Let the cursed calumnies and balsphemies, of mine and his enemies, wherein they are so conversant, bring like evil upon their own heads, as they intend to others; let their curses light upon themselves that refuse salvation and blessing, and put it far from them when God graciously visites them with it, renouncing me for their King, and Christ when he comes for their Saviour.
18As he clothed himself with cursing, like as with a garment: so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oyl into his bones.18 Let such as take the curse, and bring the guilt of mine and Christs guiltless bloud upon themselves, have enough for it, as they are ambitious to be known to be his crucifiers, and my persecutours, and voluntarily involve themselves into so great a sin, and the deadly consequences that attend it, by acting the one, and labouring the other, so let it be unto them, let hardness of heart, blindness of mind, and seared consciences, be the cursed product of such wicked bloud-suckers.
19 Let the guilt and curse they so sinfully bring upn themselves,19Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him; and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually. never depart from them, but stick by them, and accompanie them in all places and throughout all ages.
20 Let these foresaid maledictions be the judgement and reward of mine,20Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against my soul. and my Lord Christs adversaries, who can right himself and me, though all men joyn together to wrong us, and devise to take away both good name and life it self, as mine enemies and his do endeavour, and shall in great measure effect; but wo be to them by whom such offences do come.
21 But Lord,21But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy names sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me. as much as others are against me, and mine Anti-type, the Lord Christ; so thou that art his God and father, and in him mine, be thou as much for me and him, for thy covenant and righteousness sake, wherein and whereby thy grace and faithfulness is engaged to approve thy self a mercifull good God, protector of the innocent, and deliverer of the oppressed, be thou so to me, let my preservation and deliverance from mine enemies by thine Almighty power, adumbrate Christs powerfull resurrection out of the grave, whence thou shalt raise him, and the Churches final deliverance out of all her terrestial miseries by thy merciemercy, both whom I personate.
22 Let both thy merciemercy,22For I am poor and needy: and mine heart is wounded within me. and my misery move thee, who am low brought by reason of outward afflictions, & inward fears and terrours which affect me deeply, and distress me sore, as Christ himself shall be with complicate evils, within and without, in soul and body-sufferings.
23I am gone like the shadow, when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.23 My life seemeth to me by reason of mine imminent dangers that threaten death every moment, to be but as a shadow when the sun is setting, ready to extinguish, and whilest I do live, I have no setlement, but am harrowed hither and thither, from place to place, by the incessant persecutions and various contrivances of mine enemies to take away my life, even as the grashopper, that never rests in a place, but by every blast of wind is driven to and fro.
24My knees are weak through fasting: and my flesh faileth of fatness.24 My sorrows are so great, perils so many, and mind so restless, that through voluntarie abstinence, and involuntarie faintness, and decay of nature, I am become stomackless and strengthless, my joints enfeebled, and my flesh macerated.
25I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me, they shaked their heads.25 And this my misery was so far from moving merciemercy, or pitie in my persecutours, that they rejoyced to see it, and mocked at me, yea, and at thee too for it, reviling me with taunting tearms, saying in derision, Is this the man that must be King of Israel? and in disdainfull diffidence of any such matter, wagging their heads at me, by that reproachfull gesture, scornfully concluding the contrarie, like as they shall demean themselves to Christ hanging upon the Cross, pass by him, look upon him, and in that dolorous posture afford him no other pitie then scornfull nods, and bitter mocks.
26Help me, O Lord my God: O save me according to thy merciemercy.26 I am in a condition so desperate, hopeless, and friendless, that none but thy self can or will stand me in any stead. But though it be so with me, yea, if it were worse, if worse could be, I would not doubt either thy power, or merciemercy, nor shall the badness of my condition overthrow my faith of relation, but I still believe thee to be as my God, in Christ, so as able and gracious to deliver me, as powerfull and faithfull to raise him, which I pray thee to do for thy mercies sake in him.
27 That my wicked and ungodly enemies may by experience of thy just judgements upon themselves,27That they may know, that this is thy hand; that thou Lord hast done it. and evident signes of favour unto me, know thou hast done it for me, because none but an Almighty power and goodness, could have effected it, as shall appear to be in Christ his resurrection, and Jews dispersion.
28 Their cursed wishes,28Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise let them be asham…d: but let thy servant rejoice. false slanders, and wicked devices, Lord, frustrate them, nay, let them bring forth quite contrary effects, the more ill they intend me, let the greater good befall me, and let the evil befall themselves, let them do nothing that they may have cause to brag of in the issue, when they are most confident, let them be least successfull in what they unjustly attempt, but let me have cause to make my boasts of thee, and rejoice, when as they hang their heads for sorrow and shame,
29 Let mine adversaries have no cause of insulting over me,29Let mine adversa…ies be clothed with shame: and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle. but be ashamed of all they have done, when they see that it is not against me, but thee they did it, by the event; let them see what a fair thread they have spun, that ends in nothing but shame and confusion, that that is the web they have taken so much pains to weave for themselves all this while.
30I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth: yea, I will praise him among the multitude.30 When thou shalt have so done, whereof I am most sure and certain, then will I publish thy praises, and magnifie thy mercies in the sight and hearing of all thy people, by Sacrifices and Psalms.
31For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor: to save him from those that condemn his soul.31 For all my sad condition, and the grievous plight I am in, yet it shall appear God is not so far from me as they think for, but that he is at hand to help, when his mine, and their time is come, spight of what they can do to hinder; and notwithstanding their confidence because of their power, and my povertie, yet he can, and will save me from those that in their own thoughts have adjudged, and concluded me to death.