Paraphrase Upon the Books of the Psalms, Book 2 · Psalm 43
The Forty Third Psalm.
Paraphrase. THe Forty third Psalm is exactly of the same mournfull subject, and probably on the same occasion, with the former, but perhaps lightly varied from thence on some other occasion, such as the Babylonish captivity, (as the mention of the ungodly nation inclines it v. 1.) and adjoyned to Psalm 42. because of its affinity to it. 'Tis a complaint of ill usage from enemies, yet endeth with full relyance on God, and place of hope from thence, as the former did.
1. Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against the ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitfull and‖unmercifull foreign unjust man.
O God, what ever our sins against thee have been, we have certainly not injured these which are maliciously bent against us. Be thou pleased therefore to vindicate our innocency in this, to clear us from the calumnies of these, and to rescue us out of their treacheries, and bloody designes.
2. For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why goe I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
To thee alone can we appeal, who art our onelyonly defender: O be thou pleased to restore us to thy favour; not to forsake us utterly, not to leave us to that sad disconsolate condition, to which the oppressions of our mortall enemies have brought us.
3. O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.
O let thy mercy shew forth it selfe, and thy fidelity in performing thy promise to us: let these be our guide and safeguard in our way, as thy pillar of cloud and fire to the Israelites, in their passage from Aegypt to Canaan; and at length restore us successefully to that rest and peace, that we may securely resort to thy publick service, in the place which thou hast appointed for it, where the Arke is.
4. Then shall I goe unto the altar of God†the gladness of my joy, or, of my youth, or, who makes my sorrow joy. mya. exceeding joy: yea upon theb. harp will I praise thee, O God my God.
And that will be an happy time indeed, to goe in the society of the saints to offer sacrifice to God; that God that revives out of the greatest sadness, is the only author of all the felicity of my life: when that time comes, we shall be most happy, and celebrate thy mercies and goodness to us in the most solemn manner of exultation, and never give over acknowledging thy goodness and fatherly bounty toward us.
5. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
Meanwhile there is a competent stay to our drooping souls, an argument that we should not be too much dejected or disturbed, that we have still place of hope and trust in God, that we shall yet live to receive deliverance from him, and injoy happy opportunities of acknowledging his mercies in the publick assembly, who is, even now that he thus permits us to be distrest, the only comfort and support of our lives, and our mercifull loving father, even now that we are under his sharpest chastisement.
Annotations on Psalm XLIII.
V. 4. Exceeding joy] The chief difficulty of this Psalm is, how the foreign is to be rendred. As for foreign foreignthat in Hebrew denotes commotion, and generally any kind of commotion, (as Abu Walid tells us, see note on Psal. ii. k.) whether of joy or sorrow. It is certain it most frequently signifies exultation and joy: and so it must be thought to do as oft as it is joyned with foreign rejoycing, by any conjunctive particle, as Psal. XLV. 15. with gladness and rejoycing shall they be brought; and so 'tis there rendred by the Lxxii. foreign; who yet in this place have rendred foreign much otherwise, foreign, God that makes merry my youth: and therein the Syriack, Latine, Arabick, and Aethiopick follow them, and only the Chaldee otherwise, foreign from whom is the joy of my exultation. Of this rendring of the Lxxii. the account is ordinary, that they took foreign in a notion wherein tis used in Arabick, for age or generation. So in their rendring of Psal. Lxxix. 13. we will shew forth thy praise from generation to generation, foreign. So Gen. iii. 9. Noah was upright in his foreign generation. So Psalm cxii. 2. foreign the generation of the just shall be blessed. And Mat. 1. These are foreign the generations. And then tis conceived that in this notion of generation, as that signifies the whole age and course of a mans life, the Lxxii. taking the word, thought fit to render it foreign my youth, viz. the former part of my age. But the word foreign in Arabick signifies also a fat well-grown youth; and the Arabick being but a dialect of the Hebrew, and the word foreign evidently thus signifying in the Arabick, 'tis most probable that thus it did signifie originally in the Hebrew, and the Lxxii. their thus understanding it, and rendring it foreign youth, is a fair evidence for it. And if indeed it thus did signifie in the Hebrew, then there is all reason to understand it so here, and to render it foreign foreignthe joy of my youth, i. e. of my whole course of life, from my youth till now, and to make that the title of God, that he hath always been such to David, i. e. the only author of joy and rejoycing (foreign) that ever David had. And thus the rendring is more literal, than either to read it, the God of my joy and gladness (for there is neither any reason to make the former word to be in the genitive case, nor is there any ו conjunction between them, and the Chaldee, that alone differs from the Lxxii. yet read it in this other form, from whom is the joy of—) or God, my exceeding joy. If this notion of foreign be not accepted, it may then be, as our English margine hath it, God the gladness of my joy, i. e. he that is the great author of all the joy I have. But if it may here be taken in the notion of the other contrary passion, or commotion, that of sorrow, then foreign will be he that maketh glad my sorrow, or turneth my commotions into joy.
V. 4. The harps] Of foreign foreignit may here be observed, that being among the Graecians used in sadness only, (and so defined by Hesychius, foreign, a musical instrument, a mournful harp, and from thence foreign, to mourn and waile, and foreign, wailing and mournful) 'tis yet among the Hebrews generally a cheerful, joyful musick, so Gen. xxxi. 17. and 2. Chron. x. 28. Job xxi. 12. and xxx. 13. and frequently in these Psalms, see Psal. xxxiii. 2. Lxxi. 22. Lxxxi. 3. xcii. 4. cxxxvii. 2. cxLix. 3. Is. v. 12. xxiv. 8. Ezek. xxvi. 13. and 1 Mac. iii. 5.