Paraphrase Upon the Books of the Psalms, Book 4 · Psalm 101
The Hundred First Psalm.
A Psalm of David.
Paraphrase. The hundred and first Psalm, composed by David, is a meditation, and resolution of all care of piety both in his own person and family, and in the administration of the regal office, to incourage and advance virtue, and rebuke and chastise impiety. It seems to have been composed on occasion of bringing up the Arke to the city of David, to qu…lify them for the presence of that amongst them: and it is an excellent directory to all persons in the greatest or lowest place of authority on earth, whose sole end and designe it ought to be, if they desire Gods blessing upon them, to people the world with virtuous living, and to discountenance all wickedness.
1. I will sing of mercy and judgment; unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.
This Psalm will I address unto the Lord of heaven, the subject of it being a firme resolution and vow that I have inwardly made to him, for the setting up all goodness in my own, my servants, and subjects hearts, and for the managing of that office to which he hath raised me, so as may most tend to the incouraging of piety, and repressing of impiety, by distributing rewards and punishments with that impartial justice as shall most contribute to those ends.
2. Ia. will‖instruct in the perfect- behave my selfe wisely in a perfect way:†when he shall come unto me, O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
Now that God hath restored my peace, and establisht me in the Kingdome, and afforded me this signall testimony of his presence, the Arke of his Covenant, I am obliged to endeavour my utmost to fit and qualify my selfe for so great mercies, and am therefore stedfastly purposed, that from the day of his Arks coming into Ierusalem, I will with all the wisdome and prudence with which he shall indow me, set my selfe to the most exact performance of my duty, and in all things indeavour to approve my selfe to him, ordering all my affairs and actions, those especially of my Court, and of publick administration, so as may best demonstrate the sincerity of my heart, and the uprightness of my desires and purposes in his service.
3. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the worke of them that turne aside, it shall not cleave to me.
I will not entertain any one unlawfull designe, though it should pretend to reason of state, or appear to contribute to worldly advantages never so much. The least declination from the rules of justice, whatsoever the plausible pretense be, I will for ever detest and avoid, and never permit my selfe to be thus insnared by the politick maximes of the world, as to admit that as prudential, which is not exactly consonant to the strictest laws of justice and piety.
4. b.A*crooked or cunning froward heart shall depart from me: I‖know no evill foreign will not know a wicked person.
He that shall think to obtain my favour, or gain admission into my court or Counsels, by being more shrewd or subtle or …unning than other men, by being able to direct me to wayes of serpentine wisdome, shall much faile in his project: There is none I shall more solicitously avoid, and banish from my secrets or service, than such, being absolutely bent never to make use of any one such art in all my deliberations.
5. Who so privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look andc. a†wide or vast foreign proud heart, will not I suffer.
Those wayes of whispering and detraction, by which men are wont to gain confidence and favour and imployment from Princes, shall not only miss of that success with me, but be sure to be severely punished, whensoever I meet with them: As for those whose pride, and ambition and insatiable desires of inriching or advancing themselves, do put them forward to seek offices or imployments under me, I will have no patience for them, assuring my selfe that those that designe such advantages to themselves, are never likely to intend the good of the publick.
6. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithfull in the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.
In the choise of Counsellers, or servants and officers, this shall be my constant rule, to seek out those that are of most tryed fidelity and exact honesty, that for any advantage whatsoever, even the preservation of the Kingdome, will not admit of any unlawfull practice: such and none but such I shall expect will do me service; and I will not admit any else, but such as shall thus approve themselves, into any imployment about me.
7. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell*in the midst of foreign within my house; he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
A subtile, cunning, false person shall be so farr from getting advancement in my Court or Counsels, or being preferred to the supreme offices of state, that he that hath been found guilty of such arts as these, that makes no conscience of injustice or deceit, shall not be indured in my presence.
8. I will‖in the morning foreign d.early destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord.
When wicked men are brought before my tribunals, I shall judicially proceed against them, and extirpate them out of the nation, and reforme and reduce all this people, called by Gods name, to the practice of all godliness, leaving, if it be possible, never an obstinate notorious sinner among them.
Annotations on Psalm CI.
V. 2. Behave my selfe wisely] From foreign to understand, is foreign foreignhere in Hiphil, I will make wise, or instruct; so Psal. xxxii. 8. foreign I will instruct thee. The Chaldee interpret it as a speech of God to David, foreign I will instruct thee; but the rest of the Psalm favours not this interpretation, being all in sequence to the first verse, in the first person, applicable to none but David himselfe. Of him therefore the word here in Hiphil being used, it must be applied in relation to his Kingdome, or family, that he will instruct them, or perhaps as 'tis sometimes used intransitively, I will understand, or (as elsewhere 'tis frequent) in the notion of Hithpael, reciprocally, I will instruct my selfe: which the Lxxii. have sufficiently exprest by foreign, I will understand, and the Syriack by foreign and I will walke, which is the paraphrase, though not the literal rendring of it; the only end and use of his knowing, learning, or instructing himselfe in the way, being the walking in it. And indeed knowing in the scripture-style so frequently signifying doing (viz. the practical knowledge) and wisdome being used for piety, as folly for sin, 'tis but regular, and agreeing to rules of analogy here, that understanding, or instructing ones selfe in the right way, should signify the walking in it. The Jewish Arab here reads, I will shew understanding or deal with understanding in an upright way, or I will consider the perfect way, till thy enlargement or refreshment come unto me, and I will walk in perfectness or uprightness of my heart, in the midst of my family. But if we consider the latter part of the verse, which may most probably direct us to the occasion of composing this Psalm, we shall finde reason to apply it to others as well as himself, and indeed particularly to his houshold, or family. When David resolved to bring up the Ark of the Lord to Jerusalem, 2 Sam. vi. they brought it on a cart out of the house of Abinadab, and Uzza driving the cart and taking hold of the Arke, God smote Uzza and he died v. 7. On this David was displeased v. 8. and afraid v. 9. and said, How shall the Arke of the Lord come to me? And David would not remove the Arke unto him into the city of David, but carried it aside unto the house of Obed-Edom, and there it continued three moneths. But then being incouraged by the blessing of the Lord on Obed-Edom and his houshold, v. 12. he resumed the enterprize again, & brought up the Arke of God into the City of David with gladness, and offered sacrifice v. 13. & danced v. 14. & offered burnt offerings and peace offerings v. 17. and blessed the people v. 18. and dealt to all the people to every one a portion of bread, and flesh, and wine, v. 19. and then David returned to bless his houshold v. 20. Where beside the solemnities of carrying up the Ark, two things are observable in order to this present verse of this Psalm: 1. his being afraid of the Lord, which caused him to say, How shall the Arke of the Lord come to me? v. 9. and 2ly, his returning to bless his houshold v. 20. These two passages had in all probability relation the one to the other. He was afraid, the sins or unworthiness of his family might so farr unqualify them for receiving benefit by the presence of the Arke, that it might bring a curse instead of a blessing upon him; and although by the experience of it on Obed-Edom, he was encouraged to hope well, yet as soon as he had brought up the Arke, he omits no time, neglects no care, to sit and prepare his family for such a blessing; and that sure was by instructing them in the rules of Gods worship and obedience, purging out all unreformed evill livers, not permitting one wicked person, slanderer, lyar, to remain in his houshold, which as it is the meaning of his returning to bless his houshold (in the notion of blessing, Act. iii. 26. for turning every one from his iniquities) and withall, the interpretation of what we read in the latter part of this Psalm, A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person v. 4. Who so privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and proud heart, I will not suffer v. 5. Mine eyes shall be on the faithfull, that they may dwell with me, and serve me v. 6. He that worketh deceit, shall not dwell in the midst of my house; he that tells lies shall not tarry in my sight v. 7. so it is exactly equivalent to his instructing in a perfect way, he (which therefore probably must be interpreted to belong, as the bl…ssing did, to his houshold or family, yet including himself as his first care, the chief member of it.) Thus again to those words of his, caused by his fear, foreign how shall the Arke of the Lord come to me? the next words here are answerable, foreign foreignwhen it shall come to me, by it meaning the Arke or God, which had that his peculiar residence in the Arke. (Aben Ezra reads, I will understand the perfect way, when it, i. e. that way shall come unto me.) By this accordance we have little reason to doubt, but this of the second preparation of bringing up the Arke to Jerusalem, was the occasion and season of composing this Psalm, and his resolution of purging, and so blessing of his houshold, the subject of it: and this will prove a fit key to let us in to the meaning and full importance both of this verse, and the rest of the Psalm; and therefore I have thus farr enlarged on it.
V. 4. A froward heart] From foreign pervertit, curvat, to bend the wrong way, or make crooked, is foreign foreigncrooked, or cunning; he, or that, which recedes from streightness or directness; and so 'tis to be taken here, in sequence to them that decline or turne aside, v. 3. The Lxxii. render it foreign a crooked heart (so saith Hesychius, foreign, the word signifies crooked) in opposition to directness and clearness of dealing; and so the Chaldee foreign, from foreign oblique or crooked. All to express that serpentine subtilety, made up of crooked motions and Maeanders, which are most opposite to upright and honest and clear dealings.
V. 5. Proud heart] From foreign latus or dilatatus est, is the noune foreign foreignhere, broad, or wide, or large, and being applied to the heart or soule, it notes largeness of desires. So Pro. 28.25. foreign he here that is large in soule, The Lxxii. fitly rendred foreign, insatiable, applying it either to wealth or honour, the insatiate desire of either of which (as there it follows) stirrs up strife. And so here they have rendred it again, foreign, he that cannot be filled in the heart, i. e. the covetous or ambitious man: the Syriack read foreign; wide or broad, so the Jewish Arab, Him that is high of eyes, and wide of heart, I can have no patience with those two.
V. 8. Early] The judicatures for the examination and sentencing of wicked men were wont to be in the Morning,foreign saith the Learned Hugo Grotius, who thinks this also to be the meaning of Job xxxviii. 13. where of the morning 'tis said, that wicked men are driven away by it. And thus 'tis possible that phrase of being dispelled or driven away may be used for the cutting them off in judicature, for so Psal. i. 4. the ungodly being driven away by the wind, is attended with their not standing in judgment. But it may perhaps in that passage in Job more probably referr to the dispersing of those, whom the darkness of the night incouraged to wickedness, theeves, treacherous persons &c. whom the light would discover. To those the consequents seem to refer it; see the learned Castellio on that place. However of the custome it selfe there can be no doubt, both as to sitting in Courts of Judicature, and to executions, that among them, as among us, they were usually in the morning, at least began then, when they continued till the evening. And to this most probably foreign in the plural, in the mornings, here referrs, the season wherein David, as a Judge, entring on the Tribunal, destroyes and cuts off the wicked-doers. The former part of the Psalm contains his resolution for choise of Counsellers and officers of state, preferring the plain, honest, and not the subtilest contrivers; and this last for the execution of justice, discountenancing, and judicially cutting off all wicked men. The Jewish Arab reads according to the passing of the mornings, i. e. continually, day after day, every day or morning.