Paraphrase Upon the Books of the Psalms, Book 3 · Psalm 83
The Eighty Third Psalm.
‖A Canticle of Psalm foreign see note on Ps, iii. 2.A Song or Psalm of Asaph.
Paraphrase. The eighty third Psalm, the last of the number of those that were composed by Asaph, is a complaint addrest to God against the oppressors and adversaries of his people the Jews (and, under that type, of the opposers of the Church of Christ) and a prediction of Gods severe punishments that should fall upon them. It seems most probably to have been composed in Jehosaphats time, yet may not unfitly be referred to all the oppositions against the Iews to the time of the captivity under the Assyrians; see note c.
1. Keep not thoua. silence, O God, hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
2. For loe thine enemies make a tumult, and they that hate thee have lift up their head.
O blessed Lord, be thou at length pleased to shew forth thy selfe, to interpose, and vindicate thine own honour, in repressing the proud, tumultuous, importunate adversaries of thee and of thy people.
3. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thyb. †or, treasures.hidden ones.
Their malice and avarice is great, and accordingly their consultations and designes very treacherous and bloody, and cunningly managed for the invading this nation which so neerly relates to thee (but especially thy temple which is among us, either as that which seems to secure thy protection over us, or as by the magnificent structure and riches thereof it invites them to pillage it.)
4. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
And their joynt resolution is, that they will imploy all their strength utterly to destroy us, to invade, and possesse themselves of the land, and finally to root out all the inhabitants.
5. For they have consulted together with one consent, they are confederate against thee;
6. The Tabernacles ofc. Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagarens;
7. Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek, the Philistims with the inhabitants of Tyre.
To this end a multitude of nations have from time to time combined and joyned in the same malitious purpose, (if not altogether, yet all in their several seasons, some after, and taking advantage by the others.) Thus the Idumeans and Arabians, of both sorts, those of the posterity of Ismael and from Cethura, the Moabites, and Syrians, and Ammonites, and Amalekites, and Philistims, and Tyrians, (the neighbours, but inveterate enemies of this Kingdome, 2 Sam. viii. 11.)
8. Assur also is joyned with them; they‖were an arme to foreign have holpen the children of Lot.
And thus at length the Assyrians, either as confederates with them, or as the principal invaders, under Salmanasar and Senacherib, on the same destructive and bloody designe that had been of old espoused, but could not then be effected by the Ammonites and Moabites, have now contributed their utmost to the wasting and destroying this land, and so been successfull instruments of delivering us up to these our neighbours rapines. (See note c.)
9. Do unto them as unto the Midianites, as to Sisera, as to Jabin at the brook of Kison,
10. Which perished atd. Endor; they became as the dung of the earth.
But this their malice to us is not likely to succeed well to them, but shall bring upon them the like destructions which have from time to time befallen the enemies of this Church and chosen people of God, not by their own strength, but by Gods special interposing for us: even such as befell the host of Midian, when by Gods direction to Gideon they were discomfited by no more than three hundred men (a most disproportionable number) with empty pitchers and lamps in them, Iud. vii. 16. and by the sword of the Lord and of Gideon, v. 18. such as under the conduct of Deborah befell Iabin King of Canaan, who was discomfited, and Sisera Captain of his host slain by Iael a woman, Iud. iv. 21. which fight as it was neer the river Kishon, Iud. iv. 7. and v. 21. so Endor neer to Megiddo and Tanaach Iud. v. 19. was the peculiar place where the slaughter was made, wherein that whole host was utterly destroyed.
11. Makee. their†Princes nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb, yea all their Princes as Zeba and as Salmunna,
12. Who said, Let us take to our selvesf. the*beauty, or ornaments, or pastures houses of God in possession.
Such as when in the pursuit of Gideons victory over the Midianites, there were foure Kings slain, Oreb and Zeeb Iud. vii. 25. and Zeba and Salmunna Iud. viii. 12. So shall it fare with all those that designe to oppress and despoil Gods people, and the possessions settled on them by God, or to invade his Temple, and sacrilegiously pillage the riches thereof.
13. O My God, make themg. ‖aslike a wheel, as the stubble before the wind.
14. As the fire burneth a†a forrest wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire:
15. So persecute them with thy tempest, and*terrifie them foreign make them afraid with thy storme.
Thou, O Lord, shalt in thy time (when they have been thy scourge to chastise us) proceed in great severity against them, use them as the husband-man doth the chaffe in a threshing floor, first threshing, then winnowing, and then burning it up: and so shalt thou afflict them, dissipate them, and finally consume them.
16. Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek thy name, O Lord.
Thy severity toward them may be more for their advantage than any prosperity could be; when they discern themselves disappointed and discomfited in their enterprises of malice, this may possibly work upon them, and bring them to the acknowledgment of thee.
17. Let them be confounded and troubled for ever, yea let them be put to shame and perish.
18. That men may know that thouh. ‖art thy name Jehovah, alone the—or according to thy—art.whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.
But if this be not the success of it, 'tis then just with thee that they should be delivered up to everlasting confusion and destruction, that others, though not they, may be instructed by it, and brought, by the sight of thy judgments on proud obdurate Atheists, to acknowledge thee to be what thy name Iehovah imports, the one supreme ruler and disposer of all the men in the world.
Annotations on Psalm LXXXIII.
V. 1. Silence] From the two acceptions of the word foreign, to be silent, and to be like, is foreign foreignhere variously interpreted. The Lxxii. Latine, Syriack, Arabick and Aethiopick agree to read it in the latter notion, foreign; who shall be likened to thee? But the Chaldee, by reading foreign hold not thy peace, determine it to the former. And so doth the Context, the verse consisting of two phrases more both to the same purpose.
V. 3. Hidden ones] The Chaldee's rendring may here deserve to be considered.foreign Instead of foreign, which we render secret ones, they read foreign that are hidden in thy treasures, and so Abu Walid, those that are kept by thee. And thus foreign is certainly used Ps. xvii. 14. thou shalt fill foreign with thy hidden, i. e. thy treasure; and Ezek. vii. 22. They have polluted foreign my treasure. And therefore in this sense it is most probable to be used in this place also. All the question is, what is meant by Gods treasure; and that is not improbably solved by the Chaldee in that place of Ezek. vii. 22. foreign the earth or land of the house of my Schechinah or habitation, the land or people of the Jews, among whom Gods house or place of residence was, or rather the Temple or Sanctuary it selfe, (which is expresly said to be that which should be defiled, their holy places v. 24. my sanctuary, and my house, c. viii. 6. and ix. 6. and 7.) of which God was justly thought to have such a special care, and yet which was for their sins, v. 20. under the title of the beauty of his ornament, delivered up by him to be polluted. (And that this passage in Ezechiel may possibly be parallel, for the time, to that which is spoken of in this Psalm, see note c.) To this I suppose agrees the rendering of the Lxxii. foreign, thy holies, not as of persons, as the Latine sanctos tuos, but in the neuter gender, as foreign the holies, plural, doe frequently signify the Sanctuary, and particularly in the places of Ezechiel forecited c. viii. 6. and ix. 6. and so the Syriack, foreign thy holies. And thus foreign thy secrets seems elegantly opposed to foreign foregoing, they wage their secrets against Gods adyta. And to this sense will the word foreign treasure be the rather interpreted, because of the great wealth in the Temple, which was that which provoked and invited the avarice of wicked men, to consult and designe the invading of it. And to this sense it would be determined by v. 12. where they are introduced saying, Let us take to our selves the beauty or ornaments of God in possession; but that that word foreign is capable of another interpretation, see note f. But if it be taken in the masculine for the people foregoing, in the beginning of the verse, then it must signify the people of Israel, as those which are under Gods special protection, kept and in special manner tendred by him.
V. 6. Edom] It is not resolved among Interpreters to what times this Psalm belongs, and who these several people are who are here named. And I suppose the former of these will be probably resolved on by the latter. Of Edom and Moab and Ammon and Amalek, and the Philistims and the inhabitants of Tyre and Assur, there can be no difficulty: These evidently denote so many people, the Edumaeans and Moabites and Ammonites and Amalekites and Philistims and Tyrians and Assyrians. Then for the Ishmaelites, they are the Arabians called Scenitae, twelve Princes according to their nations, Gen. xxv. 16. And the Hagarenes, the posterity of Abraham by Cetura, (which is supposed to be Hagar after Sarah's death) were Arabians also, and joyned together with the Ishmaelites into one nation.foreign Then for Gebal, that was the name of a region in Arabia, if we may believe Stephanus, foreign (though out of Hecataeus he tells us that Gabala was a City of Phoenice, out of Strabo of Syria) from whence we have the Giblines (foreign,So Plin. l. v. c. xx. saith Stephanus) 1 King. v. 18. (mentioned as excellent artificers) and so again Ezech. xxvii. 9. in both which places the Lxxix. read foreign for foreign.foreign Lastly, for the children of Lot, those, we know, were Moab and Ben-ammi, and so the Moabites and Ammonites before mentioned meant thereby. Now many of these did oppose and were enemies to the children of Israel at several times, and that in a signal manner: To David 2 Sam. viii. who there discomfited the Philistims, the Moabites, the King of Zobah, the Syrians of Damascus, the King of Hamath, the children of Ammon and Amalek, and the Edumaeans. So again in Jehosaphat's reign 2 Chron. xx. and to that many circumstances of this Psalm very fully accord: For as here 'tis said, they are confederate against thee, The Tabernacles of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagarens, Gebal and Ammon; so 2 Chron. xx. 1. the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other besides the Ammonites came against Jehoshaphat to battel, a great multitude &c. and v. 10, and 22. the inhabitants of mount Seir are distinctly named, to answer the mention of the Idumaeans and Ishmaelites. And whereas here the Auxiliary nations are said to have been foreign an arme, foreignor helpe to the children of Lot, which very probably signifies the Moabites and Ammonites to have been the principal in the quarrel, this exactly accords with that story 2 Chron. xx. 1. So to the mention here v. 12. of their designe of taking the houses of God (of which see note f.) in possession, Jehoshaphat v. 11. sets the parallel, Behold how they reward us, to cast us out of our possession which thou hast given us to inherit. Lastly, as the Psalmist by praying v. 15. predicts Gods persecuting them with his tempest, &c. so in that chapter v. 22. the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon &c. and they were smitten. And it is not improbable that Jehoshaphat, an eminent restorer of the Musick of the Temple, who also indited a prayer upon this exigent, v. 6. &c. should likewise take order for a solemn hymn on purpose for this occasion. It is therefore very resonable, what Kimchi positively affirms, foreign this Psalm was spoken of the warr which was in the dayes of Jehoshaphat. And herein it might not be unsafe to aquiesce. Yet the circumstances of the Psalm will also well enough agree to another interpretation, viz. to all the oppositions which had been made to this people, from the beginning of their possessing of Canaan, to that of the Assyrians inclusively. For as those others, Moab and Ammon especially, had violently, but not successfully, invaded them, both in David's and Jehoshaphat's time, and had continually a covetous desire to get this fruitfull soile into their hands, (and we read not that the Assyrians were their auxiliaries in any of those their assaults, as here is affirmed v. 8.) so when the Assyrians at last invaded this people, and carried them captive to Assyria, 'tis evident that in doing so, they did much gratify all those other the neighbours and constant enemies of the Jews, and principally the Moabites and Ammonites. Of the Edumaeans 'tis expresly affirmed, Psal. cxxxvii. 7.— the children of Edom in the day of (i. e. this heavy visitation on) Jerusalem, said, Down with it, down with it, even to the ground. So it is observable of the same Edumaeans, and of the Ishmaelites and the Hagarens (three of those which are here named) Isa. xxi. the first, under the name of the desert of the sea, v. 1. viz. in Etham, Exod. xiii. 20. and xv. 22. Num. xxxiii. 8. the second, under that of the inhabitants of Dumah v. 11. one of the sons of Ishmael Gen. xxv. 14. the third, under the title of Arabia v. 13. For all these having joyned with the Assyrians against the Jews, are foretold there the punishments which they should meet with for it; as here v. 9, 10, 11. is likewise foretold of them, and of the Edumaeans again upon the same account, Isa. xxxiv. 5. and Lxiii. 1. And the same must be supposed of those other people, the Moabites, and Ammonites, &c. which being neighbours and enemies to the Jews, the Assyrians that came and wasted Jerusalem may not unfitly be said to have been foreign an arme to these children of Lot, foreigni. e. to have effectively performed that which they so vehemently desired, and oft attempted to doe. And accordingly soon after the carrying away of Zedechiah follows the destruction of the Ammonites, and that as a punishment for their possession of the land of Israel after their ejection, Jer. xlix. 1. so again of the Edumaeans, v. 7. of the Syrians of Damascus v. 23. of the Arabians, noted by Kedar, v. 28. But most expresly in the prophecy of Ezechiel c.xxv. where first the Ammonites are to be punished for their clapping their hands, and stamping with their feet, and rejoycing in heart, with all their despight against the land of Israel, v. 6. and 10. then the Moabites v. 8. for saying, Behold the house of Judah is like to all the heathen, i. e. for triumphing and rejoycing over her affliction: then the Edumaeans v. 13. and lastly the Philistims, because they dealt by revenge, and took vengeance with a despitefull heart, to destroy Israel for the old hatred or enmity that was betwixt them, v. 15. And so it fared also with Tyre Ezech. xxvi. because Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people; I shall be replenished, now she is laid wast, v. 2. All which put together, 1. the conjunction of all these in this desolation of the Jews by the Assyrians, the former enmities, and frequent invasions and warrs of all these against the Jews, 2. and the not only rejoycing at it, but partaking of the spoyles of it, 3. the destructions which soon befell them as a punishment thereof, may serve for a key to let us in to the full importance of this Psalm, which will best be divided into these two parts, the conjunction and continual (not any one single) conspiration of the enemies of God against his people, and the destructions that at last attended them, v. 9, 10. &c.
V. 10. Endor] foreign Endor is not mentioned in the story to which this passage of the discomfiture of Jabin's host and slaughter of Sisera belongs,foreign Jud. iv. yet appears Jos. xvii. 11. to be part of the portion that fell to Manasses. Now to this adjoyned Taanach and Megiddo, as is exprest in that place of Joshua. And in Deborah's song we finde that this fight with the King of Canaan was in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, Jud. v. 19. and so it will not be strange, that they should here be affirmed to have perished at Endor, which so neer joyns to those places.
V. 11. Nobles] foreign from foreign voluntary, foreigningenuous, liberal, is the title not of Nobles only, but especially of Rulers or Princes, to whom that quality so properly belongs, and so well becomes, and bears analogy to that of foreign benefactors Lu. xxii. 25. (see note c. on that Chapter.)
V. 12. Houses] That foreign in Piel signifies to desire, and foreign in Niphal, desirable, faire, beautifull (for which the Rabbines use foreign, and foreign, the Chaldee foreign) there is no doubt.foreign From this foreign here doth regularly come, and not from foreign, and in this sense the word is used, Ps. xxxiii. 1. foreign, praise is comely, foreign, say the Lxxii. So xciii. 5. foreign holiness is comely for thy house, and Isa. Lii. 7. How foreign beautifull? And so the Chaldee understands it here, foreign all the bravery or ornaments of God, from the Hebrew foreign ornatus est (as Ezek. vii. 20. the Sanctuary is styled foreign the glory or beauty of his ornament, in the same word which the Chaldee here useth.) The Latine render them duly omne mundum; but the Syriack seems to have misread the Chaldee, foreign cities, for foreign mundum, and accordingly they read foreign City. But the Jewish Arab reads the dwelling places of God, foreign, the Arabick foreign, that answereth to foreign in Hebrew, signifying to dwell, and making it probable that the root in Hebrew also might have that signification. And the Lxxii. seem to have exprest this notion, reading foreign altar, and so the Arabick and Aethiopick; or as other copies have it, foreign, Sanctuary, which the Latine follows, and read Sanctuarium. This therefore may well be the meaning of the foreign here, the Sanctuary or Temple of God, (especially if the Psalm be understood of the Assyrian invasion, for that fell heavy on the Temple) the Hebrew foreign (very easily transmuted into the Greek foreign and foreign) that beautiful fabrick, set apart to his service. There is yet another notion wherein foreign is oft used for pastures, or feeding grounds, and hath frequently the addition of foreign wilderness, or desert, by which title the Jews call all land that was untilled. So Joel i. 19. the pastures of the wilderness, the Lxxii. read foreign the beautifull places, and Jer. ix. 10. foreign, the paths; but Jer. xxiii. 10. foreign the feeding-places of the wilderness, and Joel ii. 22. foreign, the fields of the desert. And in this sense tis possible it should be here taken, in reference to the Scenitae, Arabians, and Moabites (if the Psalm belong to their warre in Jehosaphat's time) whose wealth was their cattel, and not being content with their own pastures, they would take these pastures and fat demeans of God into their Common. Thus the Midianites had done, Jud. vi. 5. for they came up with their cattel, and their tents, &c. and the story of Gideon in repelling these, and taking Oreb and Zeeb, Jud. vii. 25. is here mentioned v. 11. and to the mention of them it here follows immediately, Who said, Let us take to our selves these foreign whether beauties, ornaments, or pastures of God in possession. Which, if it belong to those Midianites in Judges, cannot be applicable to the Temple: And if it belong to the Moabites &c. in Jehoshaphat's time, then still this circumstance of the persons to whom 'tis applied, makes this interpretation the more probable, in case the Psalm belong to that warre, wherein the Moabites and Ammonites were the principal, who probably most affected these their pastures.
V. 13. Wheel] What foreign here signifies,foreign must be uncertain, because of the ambiguity of the word foreign, which as it signifies a wheel, so it is also used for straws, stubble, dust, or chaffe, &c. which, because of its lightness, is tossed and turned and carried away by the wind, according to the primitive notion of foreign to turne. In this latter sense the word is found Isa. xvii. 13. as the chaffe of the mountains before the wind, foreign and as galgal before the whirle-wind. The Chaldee there retain the very Hebrew word foreign in what notion soever belongs to that word; but the Lxxii. read foreign the dust of the wheel, and so the Arabick from them, and the Syriack to the same sense foreign, which the translator there duly renders festuca; and so the Syriack word signifies without any question (Mat. vii. 3. where for foreign mote in thy brothers eye, they read foreign. Thus Abu Walid saith that foreign is here foreign small motes or pieces of any thing, lying on the ground, as of straw, &c. which he saith is manifest by foreign, which follows, though, saith he, some render it in the notion of wheel, by a manifest error, though an antient one. So the Jewish Arab renders it foreign as small dusts that one scatters with his hand, or scatterings of things. And thus the learned Val. Schindler understands it in this place, and then there can be no difficulty in the whole passage; foreign as motes or chaffe will be all one with foreign as motes (the English word of great affinity with the Hebrew) and stubble, which is joyned with it in Isaiah, and foreign to the same sense here. In Isaiah, they will be chased as the foreign of the mountains before the wind, and like the foreign before the whirle-wind; where foreign and foreign seem to differ as little as wind and whirle-wind. And here only the order inverted, and foreign for foreign, make them as foreign and as foreign, as chaffe and as stubble before the wind. And thus the rendring is very natural. And yet after all this, none of the antient interpreters adhere to this notion, but render it in the former (as Abu Walid truly observed of the antients) that of a wheel; so the Chaldee with a large paraphrase to express this to be their meaning, as a wheel foreign — which is turned and moved and never stands still in a declivity. The Lxxii. foreign as a wheel; the Syriack as foreign, the word which they certainly use for a wheel Eccl. xii. 6. Isa. xxviii. 28. and Ezech. xxiii. 24. And so the Latine, pone eos ut rotam, and the Arabick and Aethiopick, set them as a wheel. And in reverence to this concurrent judgement of all these, together with the Interlinear and our modern translators, it will not be amiss to retain this notion of wheel, yet so as may best agree with the context, and with the mention of wheels when it is joyned with chaffe &c. in other places. For the wheel was the instrument used in husbandry for the beating the corne out of the straw, and breaking the straw into small parts, foreign Isa. xxviii. 28. the threshing-wheels of a cart: see the manner of it largely set down in Annot. on Mat. iii. 1. And then the phrase in this sense will be very intelligible and expressive also, if only we be carefull to observe, that the wheel here is the instrument of breaking or threshing, and so that the words must be thus rendred, not make them ut rotam, as a wheel, i. e. as a wheel is made, but, make them ut rota, as a wheel makes other things, i. e. as a wheel deals with the corne, so shalt thou deal with them, thresh and break them in pieces. So shall we finde the phrase in that eminent place Isa. xxviii. 28. Corn is bruised, because he will not ever be threshing it, nor breaking it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen: where the wheel is the agent (and not the patient) that which breaks. This was needfull to be advertised; because in the next word foreign like the chaffe or stubble before the wind, the chaffe is the patient (and not the agent) that which is driven away by the wind, after the wheel hath done its execution upon the sheaves, thresht out the corne, broken the straw, for then what remains, but that the dust and chaff, and all that is good for nothing, be winnowed, and carried away with the wind? What their manner of winnowing was, is also at large set down Annot. on Mat. iii. 1. And from thence this 14th verse explained, as farr as the flames setting the mountains on fire, not burning the earth or body of the mountains, but only burning the chaff which is winnowed from the corne upon the threshing-floor, situate for that turne on some eminent place, and so making a flame upon the mountain. This being without question the meaning of that latter part of v. 14. it is most probable that it should belong also to the former. All the difficulty is in the notion of foreign,foreign which we render a wood (and may be thought to referr to fire burning wood) but signifies any open place, where grass and trees grow, a forrest, &c. so Ps. cxxxii. 6. where we render foreign the wood, 'tis certain the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite is meant by it, for there we know the Temple was built; and so 1 King. vii. 2. we render foreign forrest, the house of the forrest of Lebanon, Solomons own house being neer the Temple, in that tract of ground (not in that wood) called Lebanon, where the tall cedars grew. The Chaldee there renders it foreign a house of pleasure or summer-house for the Kings, such as was wont to be in the freest and coolest aire. The same is Mic. iii. 12. called the mountain of the house foreign on the high place of the forrest. And then this very well agrees to the matter in hand, the forrest and the mountain being in effect as to this use, all one, both of them open places, where the wind comes and drives away the dust and chaffe (especially when it is the higher part of the forest, such as that floor of Araunah was) and such as were generally set apart for this purpose. And so for the fire to burn the forest, is no more than the flames burning the mountains, both of them to express the conclusion of a threshing, when the chaffe hath the fire set to it, and is burnt all up, that it be not, upon the turning of the wind, blown back on the corne again: of which see more, Annot. on Mat. iii. i. That both these verses 13. and 14. intirely belong to this one matter, the threshing and winnowing, and burning the chaffe consequent to it, appears by the foreign or application of the similitude v. 15. so persecute them with thy tempest, and terrifie them with thy storme or whirle-wind, which hath no propriety to any other notion of the words but that of winnowing.
V. 18. Whose name is Jehovah] The construction of the words in the close of the Psalm lyes most probably thus, foreign foreignand they shall know, i. e. it shall be known by this means, foreign foreignthou art thy name Jehovah, i. e. that thou art what thy name Jehovah imports; and what that is, is expounded in the remainder of the verse, foreign —thou only the high over all the earth, that being indeed the meaning of Jehovah, the infinite, eternal, and so onelyonly supreme power over all the world. But it is possible that before foreign thy name, some preposition (as 'tis ordinary) is understood, and so it will be rendred more expresly, to the same sense, that thou, according to thy name Jehovah, art only, &c. Or because foreign name is among the Rabbins ordinarily used for God himselfe, therefore it will not be remote from Hebrew style, if foreign be resolved to signify no more then Jehovah, and then this will be the rendring, that thou, Jehovah, art alone the most High —