Paraphrase Upon the Books of the Psalms, Book 1 · Psalm 41 – Annotations
The Forty First Psalm.
TO the chief Musitian, A Psalm of David.
Paraphrase. The Forty first Psalm sets forth the present reward of mercifull-minded men in this life, and from thence ascendeth to the assured mercies of God to his faithfull servants that stand in need of them. It was composed by David, and committed to the Praefect of his Musick.
1. Blessed is he that considereth the‖sick, foreign poor: the Lord will deliver him in the time of trouble.
The blessings of God shall not fail to be poured out on the mercifull-minded man, who is carefull to consider and succour those that are in sickness, or any kinde of misery: God shall be sure to succour him, when afflictions come upon him.
2. 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.
Whatsoever his diseases or dangers are, God will interpose for his relief, and if he see it best for him, signally secure his life, and restore him to a prosperous flourishing condition in this world; and what ever the malice of his enemies be, deliver him out of their hands.
3. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt†turne, foreign make all his bed in his sickness.
When he falls into sickness or distress, (for from those the pious man is not secured in this life) the God of might and mercy will be his upholder; he will smooth and soften all that befalls him, and make it cheerfully supportable.
4. I said, Lord, be mercifull unto me: heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee.
Upon this account I have all confidence to address my prayers to God in time of my distress: This duty of mercifulness being one that as he prescribes, so he eminently exemplifies to us by his own practice, (Luk. vi. 36.) To him therefore I make my address, for mercy of the highest and most valuable sort; his balsame to my wounded soul, his free pardon for my sins, which have justly deserved all the calamities that can fall upon me.
5. Mine enemies speak evill of me; When shall he dy, and his name perish?
My enemies are very malicious against me, very industriously diligent to seek my ruine.
6. And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to it selfe; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it.
When they are in my presence, they speak flatteringly and deceitfully: meanwhile they plot and project mischief against me, and discourse it abroad, where ever they have opportunity.
7. All that hate me, whisper together against me; against me doe they devise my hurt.
All mine enemies conspire together secretly, and joyn their mischievous indeavours, to doe me what hurt they can.
8. ‖A word of Belial, or, A wicked word cleaveth to him.Ana. evill disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him; and now that he lieth, he shall rise up no more.
They are confident their calumnies shall mischief me, and that I shall never recover or deliver my selfe out of this pertinacious ruine, which now they have by their slanders contrived against me.
9. Yea†the man of my peace. mine own familiar friend in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lift up his heel against me.
And in this not onelyonly my known profest enemies have joyned against me; but one particularly that profest the greatest kindness to me, a servant in whom I reposed trust, and that lived by my service, (Achitophel probably, one of Davids counsellors, 2 Sam. 16.23.) hath most insidiously and perfidiously set himselfe against me. (And herein was David a type of Christ, betrayed by his own disciple, that was in a special manner intrusted by him, Joh. xiii. 18.)
10. But thou, O Lord, be mercifull unto me; and raise me up, that I may requite them.
But doe thou, O Lord, preserve me from their mischievous purposes: restore me to my throne in safety, and I shall chastise this their wickedness.
11. By this I know thou favourest me, because my enemy doth not triumph over me.
As yet my adversaries have not been able to prevail against me, as fain they would; and thereby I discern thy watchfull providence over me, which alone hath disappointed them.
12. And as for me thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.
Thou hast undertaken the patronage of my cause, and not suffered me to perish in mine innocence, but rescued me out of their hands, and reserved me for thy service:
13. b.Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
And for this and all other his mercies, his glorious majesty be now and ever magnified by me, and all the congregation of those that profess his service.
The end of the first Book.
Annotations on Psalm XLI.
V. 8. An evill disease] What is here meant by foreign,foreign is matter of some difficulty. The Antient Interpreters generally render it a perverse, or mischievous, or wicked word; the Chaldee, a perverse word; the Syriack, a word of iniquity; the Lxxii. foreign; the Latine, iniquum verbum, a wicked word; the Arabick, words contrary to the law. And so in all probability it is set to signifie a great slander, or calumny; that as men of Belial] are slanderous persons, so the speech of Belial] shall signifie a slanderous speech. And this is said to cleave to him on whom it is fastened; it being the nature of calumnies, when strongly affixt on any, to cleave fast, and leave some evill mark behinde them: Calumniare fortiter, aliquid haerebit. 'Tis true indeed, foreign doth sometimes signifie a plague or pestilence: but there is no cause of rendring it so here. The consequents of [now that he lyeth he shall rise up no more,] are but a proverbial phrase among the Hebrews, applicable to any sort of ruine, as well as that which comes by disease: the Calumniator may destroy and ruine, as well as the pestilence; and from him was Davids danger most frequently, and not from a pestilential disease.
V. 13. Blessed] This forme of benediction here,foreign and the like, at the end of every book of the Psalms, is by the Jews said to be affixt by the Compiler of the Book, who having finisht it, praises God. So saith Aben-Ezra, on Psal. Lxxxix. 52. and gives for instance the perpetual custome of their writers, of closing with some comprecation. That which will make this more to be heeded is, that all the severall books end in this manner, (see note on Title of Psalms.) Nor will it be more strange to say, that Ezra, or whosoever composed the books of Psalms in this forme & division, added their conclusions to them, then 'tis to say, that the end of the last chapter of Deuteronomy was affixt to the Pentateuch by the Sanhedrim, or the fourteenth verse of the one and twentieth of S. John, by the Church of Ephesus, (see note c. on that Chapter.) 'Tis sure that the Psalter was antiently received in this division. Jerome in his Epistle to Marcella, recounting the Hagiographa, sayes, Primus liber incipit à Job, Secundus à Davide, quem quin{que} incisionibus, & uno Psalmorum volumine comprehendunt; The first begins from Job, the second from David, which they comprize in five divisions, as one volume of Psalms. So*de pond: & mens. Epiphanius; foreign. The Hebrews divided the Psalter into five Books, so that it is another Pentateuch. And then they that thus distributed it, may reasonably be thought to have afforded every book those solemnities of conclusive benedictions, which we finde they have, and which are so perfectly agreeable to the subjects of each book, lauding, and praising God.