Paraphrase Upon the Books of the Psalms, Book 1 · Psalm 34
The Thirty Fourth Psalm.
A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech, who ‖dismist him, foreign see note on Ps. lvi. 2.drove him away, and he departed.
Paraphrase. The Thirty Fourth Psalm was composed by David in remembrance of the time when, in his flight from Saul, he was brought to Achish King of the Philistims, (called here after their style Abimelech, i. e. my Father the King;) at which time being by them descryed to be David, so famed for his victories over them, 1 Sam. xxi. 11. he thought fit to personate a mad-man, v. 13. and thereupon was dismist by Achish v. 15. and escaped to the Cave of Adullam c. xxii. 1.
1. I will blesse the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2. My soul shall†blesse it selfe, foreign make her boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
I will never cease lauding and magnifying the name of God. I will rejoyce, and esteem my selfe most happy that I have such a Protector to betake my selfe to in all my distresses, and proclaim this to all plous men that depend on his aid, that they may rejoyce and give thanks with me, saying,
3. O magnifie the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
O let us all thus joyn hearts and voices to praise and bless his holy name.
4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me out of all my fears.
When I was in my greatest danger, discerned by the servants of Achish, and brought in to him, as his most powerfull enemy now fallen into his hands, I addrest my prayers to God; and he came in to my relief, inclined the King to send me out of his house, and check his servants for bringing me in to him; and by that means I escaped my great danger.
5. a.They looked unto him, and were lightened; and their faces were not ashamed.
This dealing of God with David shall be matter of great reviving to all that are at any time in distress; who shall from hence take courage and confidence, and what ever their condition be, apply themselves to God, and not fear being disappointed by him. For thus shall they encourage one another by Davids example;
6. *This foreignThe poor man cryed; and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
Loe there was a man in a state of extreme distress, and he betook himself immediately to God in prayer; and his prayer was answered with speedy deliverance out of all his streights.
7. The Angel of the Lord incampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
And thus shall it be with all truly pious men, such as obediently serve, and wait on God; they have the promise of his protection, and, as the instruments thereof, of whole hosts of Angels to incompass them, and secure them from all approach of dangers.
8. O tast and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
Let any man make the experiment, keep close to God in obedience and relyance on him, and he shall soon discern, that he is a most gracious master, and that there is no such assured tenure in, or title to all the felicity in the world, as this, of constant faithful dependance and affiance in him.
9. O fear the Lord, all ye his Saints; for there is no want to them that fear him.
There is no more prudential politick course for any pious man, no greater security from all worldly streights and wants, than to adhere to him, who is the unexhausted spring of all plenty; never taking in any unlawfull prohibited aids, but preserving an uniform obedience to him.
10. Theb. young lions doe lack and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.
Such as use themselves to rapine and injustice, by that means to secure themselves of wealth, have oft that curse of God attending and blasting them, and their posterity in this world, that from great wealth they come to great want, and utter destitution: and indeed their very rapacity and covetousness, and perpetuall insatiate desires of gaining, keep them still beggerly, and miserable, in the midst of their greatest plenty, their abundance yeelds no kinde of satisfaction to them. On the other side, the pious man, that keeps him close to God, depends on, and implores his blessing on his honest indeavours, and never admits of any unlawful means, either for the getting or preserving of wealth, he shall never want that which is best for him in this world, and shall have a reserve of all wealth truly satisfactory, all manner of felicity hereafter.
11. Come, ye children, hearken to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Tis therefore very well worth the consideration of every one that desires to be advised of his own welfare, what rich rewards the pious obedient servant of God is secured of even in this life.
12. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth‖dayes to see good, foreign many dayes that he may see good?
If a man would project for the injoying a long life in this world, and the greatest tranquillity and prosperity and contentation in it,
13. Keep thy tongue from evill, and thy lips from speaking guile.
There is not a more probable hopeful way for the atteining it, then to begin with his tongue, and restrain that from all contumelious, injurious, and deceitful speaking; which though it be ordinarily designed to the advantage of him that useth it, yet most frequently brings mischievous effects, the greatest reall disadvantages:
14. Depart from evil, and doe good; seek peace, and insue it.
And then to cleanse his actions from all known sin, (which, if continued in, must needs be the forfeiting of Gods protection, and bring his blasts and curses upon him) and so regularly proceed to superstruct all works of piety to God, and justice and charity to men: particularly, to live peaceably with all men, to be as industrious in that pursuit, as the most malicious person is in pursuing his designes of revenge, and withall to be a peace-maker among others.
15. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
And then, besides the natural tendency of this method to a quiet, and so a prosperous and long life, (which on the contrary is frequently shortned, but constantly disturbed and made miserable, by contentions and unpeaceablenesse) there is an assurance of Gods protection and preservation; which duly waits over all obedient, faithfull servants of his, to blesse and prosper all they undertake, and to grant whatsoever they request of him, either in kinde, or in equivalence, what they choose to desire for themselves, or what he chooses (as seeing best) for them.
16. Thec. face of the Lord is against them that doe evill, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
(Whereas, on the other side, Gods displeasure and punishments pursue ungodly men, to the utter eradication of them and their posterity.)
17. ‖They cry.Thed. righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
Whensoever they implore Gods aid, he is ready to answer their request, and send them seasonable deliverance.
18. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
All humble-minded men, sincerely changed from all their former sins, have assurance of Gods speciall favour to them, and of the effects thereof, his mercifull deliverances whensoever they stand in need of them.
19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivereth them out of them all.
Though pious and good men fall into many afflictions, Gods providence, for their exercise and other wise ends, so disposing, or permitting it; yet he in his chosen season rescueth them out of all.
20. He keepeth all his bones; not one of them is broken.
The providence of God perteineth to every the least part of the body of every servant of his, and evidenceth it selfe in a signal preservation of such from all dangers. (This had a more eminent and literal completion in our blessed Saviour, whose legs were not broken, when they were of both the theeves that were crucified with him, Joh. xix. 36.)
21. e.Evill shall slay the wicked, and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
On the other side, the (perhaps fewer) afflictions that befall wicked men, shall be the utter destroying of them: and generally the aphorism will be found to hold, That they that designe mischief to good men, shall be remarkably punisht in this world.
22. The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants; and‖all they— shall not— foreign none of them that trust in himf. shall be desolate.
Whilst the obedient servants of God, that rely and depend on him, have assurance of being delivered, and never forsaken by him.
Annotations on Psalm XXXIV.
V. 5. They looked] the LXXII. render the verse in the Imperative, which the Hebrew, as now we have it, doth not bear. This makes some think that they read otherwise than now we doe, not foreign foreignthey lookt, but foreign look, or come, or address; and so render it foreign, and the Latine accedite, come ye; and then foreign foreignbeing taken, as it may, in the imperative, and so rendred foreign, be ye inlightned, the change will be easie from foreign foreigntheir faces, to foreign, your faces. But it is more likely, that the LXXII. chose to render the sense, not the words, and so put it into the Imperative mood, thereby most perspicuously to express it, (and herein the Syriack, as well as the Latine and Arabick and Aethiopick, follow them:) to which they might be inclined, by seeing that there was no antecedent immediately foregoing, to which the relative [they] should be thought to refer. Only the Chaldee adheres literally to the Hebrew, and will both of them be best interpreted by referring to the humble v. 2. and by making David himselfe to be the [him] to whom the humble looking, and seeing how God had dealt with him, were inlightned, revived, and encouraged by that means; and so to them also may be fitly applyed the sixth verse, as the speech of these humble, The poor man cryed, i. e. David in his distress, and the Lord heard him, &c.
V. 10. Yong Lions] Where the Hebrew reads foreign foreignyong lions, (and so the Chaldee from them foreign sons of lions) the Lxxii. render foreign the rich; and herein the Latine and Syriack and Arabick and Aethiopick follow them: not that they can be thought to have read the original any otherwise than now we doe, but after their wont rendring the sense, rather than words; and so as in prophetick writings, Ezek. xxxviii. 13. foreign his yong lions] is by the Chaldee paraphrased foreign his Kings, so here cruel and rapacious men being compared to lions, they have chosen for [lions whelps] to set rich men] viz. such, whose wealth is gathered by the rapine of their parents.
V. 16. The face] What foreign foreignfaces here signifies, will be best learnt from Maimonides, More Nevoch. par. 1. c. 37. It is used, saith he, for anger and indignation: to which purpose he cites 1 Sam. 1.18. where, saith he, the phrases foreign her faces were no more to her, signifies, her anger continued to her no longer: (and to this sense the Arabick renders it, her countenance was no more changed for the exprobration of her rival] expressing it to be the passion of jealousie, and that is anger, which is there spoken of.) So Lam. iv. 16. we read, the anger (it is foreign faces) of the Lord hath devided them. So Lev. xx. 5. I will set my face, i. e. my anger against that man— and so frequently elsewhere: and so, saith he, it is in this verse. Accordingly the Chaldee read, but the countenance of the Lord is angry, against them: and so the consequents inforce, to cut off— Upon the same grounds it is that foreign, and foreign, parts of the face, signify anger, because passion immediately discovers it selfe there. So Dan. iii. 18. the forme of Nebuchadnezzars visage was changed; and Gen. ii. 5. Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
V. 17. The righteous cry] The placing of foreign foreignthey cryed, in the beginning of this v. 17. may be worthy to be taken notice of. That it belongs to righteous or pious men there can be no doubt; and accordingly all the Interpreters thus supply it; foreign, the righteous cryed, say the Lxxii. and so all the rest. But how it comes to be so, when the verse immediately precedent belongs to them that doe evill, is the only matter of difficulty. And the answer is obvious; that the sixteenth verse is to be read as in a parenthesis, and the word righteous (v. 15. who are there said to cry) will be the immediate antecedent, to which [they cryed] must necessarily refer. And therefore it will be best so to include v. 16. and in token thereof, to affix the most literal rendring to foreign They cryed, and not, The righteous cryed.
V. 21. Evill shall slay] For foreign foreignshall slay, which we read from the Hebrew, the Lxxii. seem to have read foreign occision, for so they render it in conjunction with foreign,foreign foreign, the death of sinners is evil. But the Syriack adhere to our vulgar reading, foreign Evill shall slay the wicked, by foreign understanding the same that foreign v. 19. had signified, i. e. afflictions, or evill of punishment: which being applyed to the righteous, though in the plural, prove not ruinous or hurtfull to him, the Lord delivers him out of them; whereas here evill in the singular slayes the wicked; to signifie the difference of Gods oeconomy toward righteous and wicked men. The former is permitted to fall into many pressures; the latter is not so frequently exercised with them: yet the many that befall the one, doe him no hurt, but worke good for him; whereas the sewer that befall the wicked, perhaps the foreign, one singular affliction of his life, is the utter ruine of him.
V. 22. Shall be desolate] foreign to be laid wast or desolate] signifies also to be guilty, or culpable: accordingly foreign foreignshall not be desolate, which the Chaldee (with the Syriack) renders foreign shall not be condemned, is by the Lxxii. rendred foreign, by the Latine, non delinquent, shall not offend; but this certainly after that part of the Hellenists dialect, wherein sin signifies sometimes the punishment of sin, and accounting guilty is condemning to vengeance.