The Book of Psalms Paraphrased, Book 4 · Psalm 105
PSALM CV.
ARGUMENT.
Though this Pſalm have no Title, yet we are aſſured by what we reade in the 1 Chron. XVI. 8, &c. that the firſt part of it, at leaſt (to the end of Ver. 15.) was made by David; and delivered by Him to Aſaph and his Brethren, for the conſtant ſervice of God in the Tabernacle: when, after ſeveral Victories over the Philiſtins, (1 Chr. XIV.) he had ſettled the Ark of God in Sion. And it is moſt probable that he afterward inlarged this Pſalm (for who elſe would adventure to doe it?) that it might be a more compleat commemoration of all the mercies of God, towards their Nation; from the days of Abraham to their taking poſſeſſion of the Land of Canaan. Into which he ſhews, their gracious Lord conducted them by ſo many miraculous providences, in ſeveral ages (according to his faithfull promiſe, made to Abraham his faithfull Servant) that it deſerved their moſt hearty acknowledgments: to which he excites them, by ten ſeveral expreſſions, in the five firſt verſes of the Pſalm.
To which the Greeks praefix an Hallelujah (for they take the laſt word of the foregoing Pſalm, and ſet it on the head of this) as a note how much they were obliged to praiſe the Lord, according to that exhortation; when they remembred, in this Pſalm, the benefits, that He had beſtowed upon their Forefathers: which were ſufficient to excite and whet their minds, to the imitation of their vertue.
And it may ſerve to admoniſh the new people of God, (as Theodoret ſpeaks) that is, us Chriſtians, how much we ought to rejoice in God's goodneſs to us; and how dangerous it is to be ungratefull to Him: which provoked Him to deprive the Jews of that fatherly care which He had taken of their Anceſtours.
1. O Give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the people.
1. STir up your ſelves, all ye that are here aſſembled, to make your moſt gratefull acknowledgments unto the great Lord; who is pleaſed to come, and dwell among you: never approach his preſence to make your petitions to Him, but join his praiſes together with them; and proclaim to all the people round about, what great things He hath done for you, and for your Forefathers.
2. Sing unto him, ſing pſalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.
2. Sing his praiſe with a chearfull voice, and with all the Inſtruments of Muſick: and let the ſubject of your hymns, and of your ordinary diſcourſe, be his many marvellous acts; of which let not one be forgotten.
3. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that ſeek the LORD.
3. For nothing can be ſo great an honour to you, as that you are the ſervants of ſuch a mighty Lord; who infinitely tranſcends all other Beings: triumph therefore, and make your boaſt of this, as a greater happineſs then all worldly goods; let it fill the hearts of all his faithfull worſhippers with the higheſt joy and gladneſs.
4. Seek the LORD and his ſtrength: ſeek his face evermore.
4. Let it incourage them to addreſs themſelves unto Him, upon all occaſions; and, proſtrating themſelves before the Ark of his preſence, (2 Chron. VI. 41.) commend themſelves to his powerfull protection: let them unweariedly ſeek his favour, and implore his gracious aſſiſtance.
5. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth.
5. Which you may with the greater confidence expect, if you call to mind, and thankfully commemorate the marvellous things He hath done for your deliverance; and his terrible executions, (III. Exod. 20.) according to his juſt ſentence paſſed, (VII. Exod. 4.) upon your enemies.
6. O ye ſeed of Abraham his ſervant, ye children of Jacob his choſen.
6. The benefit of which you ſtill enjoy, O ye who are the poſterity of his ſervant Abraham; (whoſe faith and obedience you ought to imitate) the children of Jacob, whom He choſe (rejecting Eſau) to inherit the promiſed bleſſing.
7. He is the LORD our God, his judgments are in all the earth.
7. He is ſtill the ſame mighty Lord, and our moſt gracious God; who continues to execute his judgments every where, upon our enemies, (2 Sam. V. 7, 10, 17, &c.) and therefore let us never ceaſe to praiſe Him, and chearfully ſerve Him, and faithfully depend upon Him.)
8. He hath remembred his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thouſand generations.
8. For He is never unmindfull of his ingagements to us; but punctually performs in all ages, what He hath promiſed in his Covenant.
9. Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Iſaac:
9. Which He firſt ſolemnly made, (XV. Gen. 17, 18.) and then ſware, (XXII. 16.) unto Abraham: and renewed with his Son Iſaac; to whom He promiſed to perform that Oath, which He ſware unto Abraham, XXVI. Gen. 3.
10. And confirmed the ſame unto Jacob for a law, and to Iſrael for an everlaſting covenant:
10. And again confirmed it to Jacob, both when he went to Haran, (XXVIII. Gen. 13, &c.) and at his return, when He changed his name into Iſrael, (XXXV. Gen. 10, &c.) and at laſt paſſed it into a Law, in that Covenant which He made with their poſterity, (XXIII. Exod. 22, 23, 31, 32.) never to be altered, if they keep their Covenant with Him.
11. Saying, Ʋnto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance.
11. The ſum of which was this; I beſtow upon thee, and will bring thee into that good Land, the Land of Canaan: which according to this faithfull Covenant, you now poſſeſs; as by lot it was diſtributed to your ſeveral Tribes, for their inheritance, XIV. Joſh. 1, 2.
12. When they were but a few men in number: yea, very few, and ſtrangers in it.
12. This Covenant He began to make with your Forefathers, (and ſhew'd his intention to perform it, by his ſingular care over them) when their Family was very ſmall, (XII. Gen. 1, 5.) and conſequently ſo weak, that they might eaſily have been deſtroyed in the Land, where they were ſtrangers, (XXIII. Gen. 4.) and had no friends, nor allies to ſupport them:
13. When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people.
13. Nor any ſettled habitation; but were forced to wander to and fro, from one part of Canaan into another, (XII. Gen. 6, 8, 9.) and then to ſojourn in other Kingdoms; ſometimes in Egypt, (XII. Gen. 10.) ſometimes in Gerar, (XX. Gen. 1. XXVI.) and ſometimes in the Eaſtern Country from whence they came, XXIX. Gen. 1.
14. He ſuffered no man to doe them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their ſakes:
14. And whereſoever they ſojourned, He took them into his protection, and ſuffered no man to doe them any injury, (XXXI. Gen. 24, 42.) but gave ſevere checks, even to the King of Egypt, (XII. Gen. 16.) and the King of Gerar, (XX. 3, &c.) to prevent the miſchief, which they were deſigning to them.
15. Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and doe my prophets no harm.
15. For He told them, theſe were ſacred perſons, whom He deſigned to make greater men then themſelves: and therefore charged them not to burt them; but to honour them, not merely as Princes, (XXIII. Gen. 6.) but as Prophets, (XX. 7.) by whoſe prayers they ſhould receive great bleſſings, if they were kind to them.
16. Moreover, he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole ſtaff of bread.
16. And when, in the days of Jacob, He puniſhed the Land of Canaan, as well as other Countries, with ſuch a dearth, (XLI. Gen. 54, &c.) that the earth brought forth no kind of grain, for the ſupport of humane life;
17. He ſent a man before them, even Joſeph, who was ſold for a ſervant.
17. He took a ſpecial care, in a moſt wonderfull way, to provide both for him and for his family: for Joſeph (whom his Brethren firſt conſpired to deſtroy, but afterward were diverted from their purpoſe and onelyonly ſold for a ſlave) was brought into Egypt, by the ſecret Counſel of God, (XLV. Gen. 5, 7, &c.) to be the inſtrument of their preſervation.
18. Whoſe feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron.
18. He was oppreſſed indeed, for a long time, by a moſt grievous calumny: which was a ſorer affliction to him, then the chains and fetters, that were, at firſt, laid upon him in priſon.
19. Ʋntill the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.
19. Till mention at laſt was made of him to Pharaoh, by one of his Officers: who related how exactly Joſeph predicted what had befaln him, and another of his Fellow-ſervants; as if he were a man inſpired, XL. Gen. 21, 22. XLI. 12, 13.
20. The king ſent and looſed him: even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.
20. Whereupon the King preſently ſent for him, (XLI. Gen. 14.) that great Prince, whoſe Dominion extended over many Provinces, commanded him to be ſet at liberty.
21. He made him lord of his houſe, and ruler of all his ſubſtance:
21. And received ſuch ſatisfaction from him, about his dream, which none of his Wiſe men could interpret; that he not onelyonly wholly diſcharged him from his impriſonment, but made him the chief Officer in the Court: and, under himſelf, the ſupreme Governour of his whole Kingdom, XLI. Gen. 40, 41.
22. To bind his princes at his pleaſure: and teach his ſenatours wiſedom.
22. Yea intruſted him with an abſolute power, to command all the Rulers of his ſeveral Provinces, what he pleaſed; and to puniſh their diſobedience according to his diſcretion: The moſt ancient and wiſeſt Counſellours in the Realm, were ordered to repair to him; and to doe nothing without his Inſtructions, XLI. Gen. 44.
23. Iſrael alſo came into Egypt: and Jacob ſojourned in the land of Ham.
23. By which great Authority he procured not onelyonly the leave, but the invitation of Pharaoh, (XLV. Gen. 16, 17, &c.) to his Father, to come and bring all his Family with him into Egypt: and accordingly he came, and dwelt in the beſt part of all the Country, XLVI. Gen. 26, 28.
24. And he increaſed his people greatly: and made them ſtronger then their enemies.
24. Where, according to his promiſe, when He bad Jacob accept that invitation, (XLVI. Gen. 3, 4.) the Lord multiplied them exceedingly, (I. Exod. 7.) and made them mightier then the Egyptians, (I. Exod. 9.) who, of Friends, were now become their Enemies.
25. He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal ſubtilly with his ſervants.
25. For the kinder God was to the Iſraelites, and the more He increaſed their Numbers, the greater jealouſie it begat in the heart of the Egyptians; which turned at laſt into an abſolute hatred of them: and provoked their malice to invent the cruelleſt ways, firſt to diminiſh, (I. Exod. 10, 11, &c.) and then to deſtroy them, (Ver. 15, 16.)
26. He ſent Moſes his ſervant, and Aaron whom he had choſen.
26. This moved the Divine compaſſion, when He ſaw their oppreſſion grew intolerable, to give commiſſion to Moſes, whom He had in an extraordinary manner preſerved from periſhing, (III. Exod. 10.) and to Aaron, whom He choſe to be his Aſſiſtant, (IV. Exod. 15.) to go and demand their liberty of Pharaoh, IV. Exod. 23. V. 1.
27. They ſhewed his ſigns among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.
27. And, he diſputing their Commiſſion, (and refuſing to let Iſrael go) they proved it, and perſwaded him to obey it, by many miraculous works: which God commanded them to doe, as tokens that He had ſent them.
28. He ſent darkneſs, and made it dark: and they rebelled not againſt his word.
28. Among which the pitchy darkneſs, which overſpread the whole Land three days (except onelyonly where the Iſraelites dwelt) was a very remarkable puniſhment of Pharaoh's blindneſs: who would not ſee the hand of God in all thoſe other plagues, which Moſes and Aaron, not fearing his diſpleaſure, but purſuing their orders, had inflicted on him.
29. He turned their waters into bloud, and ſlew their fiſh.
29. As firſt of all, the Lord commanded them to ſtretch their hand upon all the waters of Egypt; which He turned into bloud: and made them ſo putrid, that the fiſh which was in the river died, VII. Exod. 20, 21.
30. Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.
30. And, at the next ſtroke, produced ſuch a vaſt number of frogs out of the ſtinking waters and mudd; that not onelyonly the whole earth was covered with them, but no houſe, no room in their houſes; no, not the Cabinets of their King and his Princes, were free from their annoyance, VIII. Exod. 3, 6.
31. He ſpake, and there came divers ſorts of flies, and lice in all their coaſts.
31. And then followed an infinite ſwarm of the moſt peſtilent ſort of flies, (ſee Pſal. LXXVIII. 45.) after a troubleſome and filthy plague of lice, which had infeſted all the Country, VIII. Exod. 17, 24.
32. He gave them hail for rain: and flaming fire in their land.
32. Which was ſucceeded (after a murrain upon their Cattel, and a fiery ulcer on their own bodies) by a dreadfull ſtorm of hail, (when fruitfull ſhowrs of rain were moſt deſirable) together with ſuch lightning, as was never ſeen: for it ran upon the ground, and burnt up all that was not deſtroyed by the hail, IX. Exod. 23, 24, &c.
33. He ſmote their vines alſo, and their fig-trees: and brake the trees of their coaſts.
33. Which not onelyonly ſtruck down the grapes, and the figgs: but ſhattered the vines and fig-trees themſelves; together with many other fruit-trees in the Land.
34. He ſpake, and the locuſts came: and caterpillers, and that without number,
34. And whatſoever eſcaped this tempeſtuous ſtorm (for ſome things were not then grown up, IX. Exod. 31.) was, not long after, devoured by an innumerable army of various ſorts of locuſts, X. Exod. 5, 12, &c.
35. And did eat up all the herbs in their land: and devoured the fruit of their ground.
35. Which, by his command, came and covered the whole face of the Country: eating up the very leaves of the trees, as well as all the graſs and herbs upon the ground, X. Exod. 15.
36. He ſmote alſo all the firſt-born in their land: the chief of all their ſtrength.
36. And at laſt He finiſhed theſe plagues, in the ſlaughter of all the firſt-born, both of man and beaſt: the Angel of the Lord killing, in one and the ſame night, (XII. Exod. 29.) the principal prop of every Family; and the beſt of all their flocks and their herds.
37. He brought them forth alſo with ſilver and gold: and there was not one feeble perſon among their tribes.
37. Which terrible deſtruction ſo affrighted them, that they not onelyonly let Iſrael go; but were forward to thruſt them out of Egypt, and that loaded with ſilver and gold, (XII. Exod. 31, 35.) And, which is very wonderfull, among ſo many thouſand perſons, (Ver. 37.) there was not one, at that time, ſo feeble, as to be unable to travel.
38. Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them.
38. And great was the joy at their departure; not onelyonly among the Iſraelites, but among the Egyptians: who thought themſelves not ſafe till the Iſraelites had their liberty; but were in dread of another plague, which they thought might kill them, as the former had done their children, XII. Exod. 33.
39. He ſpread a cloud for a covering: and fire to give light in the night.
39. Nor did the Divine providence deſert our Fathers after it had brought them out of Egypt; but leſt they ſhould ſuffer any prejudice by the exceeding great heats, or miſtake their way, in a deſolate wilderneſs, He defended them in the day, from the ſcorching rays of the Sun, by a cloud: which it ſelf gave them light to comfort, and (if need were) to guide them in the night, XIII. Exod. 21, 22.
40. The people asked, and he brought quails: and ſatisfied them with the bread of heaven.
40. He provided alſo a delicate food, for that vaſt multitude; even when they were ſo ungratefull as to murmur againſt Him: (XVI. Exod. 12, &c.) ſending them, in the evening, ſuch flights of quails, and, in the morning, ſuch ſhowrs of corn, out of the clouds; as abundantly ſatisfied every one of them.
41. He opened the rock, and the waters guſhed out: they ran in the dry places like a river,
41. And when they murmured again for want of drink, (XVII. Exod. 2, 6.) He was ſo kind as to ſtop their complaints, by making water to ſpring out of a rock: from whence it guſht ſo conſtantly, and in ſuch abundance, that it made a ſtream; which followed them in all the parched grounds, through which they marched.
42. For he remembred his holy promiſe, and Abraham his ſervant.
42. For the Lord was reſolved punctually to perform his promiſe, paſſed in former ages, (XV. Gen. 18. II. Exod. 24.) which made Him reward the fidelity of his ſervant Abraham even upon his incredulous poſterity; at that very time which He had prefixed for it, XV. Gen. 13. XII. Exod. 41.
43. And he brought forth his people with joy, and his choſen with gladneſs.
43. When, with much mirth and joy, He brought his people out of the Egyptian bondage; and made them ſhout to ſee the difference He made between them and the Egyptians: who were drowned in the red Sea; while they were conducted ſafe through it on dry Land, XV. Exod. 1, 13, 19.
44. And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people:
44. And, in concluſion, He caſt out ſeven Nations, to make room for them in the Land of Canaan: where their poſterity took poſſeſſion of Cities and Towns, Fields and Vineyards; which the labour of others had built and planted for them, VI. Deut. 10, 11. XXIV. Joſh. 13.
45. That they might obſerve his ſtatutes, and keep his laws. Praiſe ye the LORD.
45. That they might have the more leiſure, to purge the Country of all its ancient ſuperſtition, and filthineſs: and ſet themſelves heartily to worſhip God, after that manner that He preſcribed; in a ſtrict obſervance of all the reſt of his holy Laws.
For which, and all other his benefits, excite your ſelves to praiſe the Lord.