Paraphrase Upon the Books of the Psalms, Book 4 · Psalm 92 – Psalm 93
The Ninety Second Psalm.
A Psalm or Song for the ‖day of Sabbath, see note c.Sabbath day.
Paraphrase. The ninety second Psalm is a joyous meditation on the gratious works of God toward his people, and his judgments on wicked men, appointed in the Jewish Church to be used on the Sabbath day; not so much to commemorate the Creation, and Sabbath following that, as to foretell their peace and prosperity in this world, and withall, that†foreign the age to come of the Messiah which shalt be all Sabbath. Sol. Jarchi. rest from persecutions which God had promised to give his Church under the Messiah. See note a. on the title to the Romans, and 2 Thess. 1. note a. and Heb. iii. c. (The Jewish Arab ascribes this Psalm also to David.)
1. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most Highest;
2. To shew forth thy loving-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night;
3. Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the Psaltery, upon the‖song or loud voice (see Ps. iii. 6.) on the harpe. foreign harpe with a solemn sound.
There is nothing that better becomes a pious man than to confess and land and magnify the great and glorious name of Allmighty God, morning and evening every day to proclaim his gratious goodness in promising, and his fidelity in performing what he hath promised, and to doe this with all the advantage that art and all sort of Musical Instruments and voices can adde to it; there being no so proper and seasonable imployment for all these, as that of worshipping and glorifying the great and good Creator of all the world, and faithfull protector of his servants.
4. For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work; I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
The works of thy creation were all exceeding good, and thy continued protections and preservations, the glorious, all-wise and all-gratious dispensations of this thy providence, are matter of the most ravishing transporting exultation.
5. O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.
Thy actions and thy counsels are evidences of thy transcendent unfathomable power, and wisdome, and goodness,
6. A brutish man knoweth not, neither doth a fool understand this.
7. a.When the wicked spring as the grass, and†all when all the workers of iniquity do flourish,*that they may be destroyed it is that they shall be destroyed for ever.
Such, as wicked men, that goe on prosperous and uninterrupted in their course, do not at all discern or comprehend the meaning of; for when they from their successes gather matter of triumph, applaud and congratulate their prosperities, this is a most gross and sad mistake in them: The only true account which is to be made, or conclusion to be collected from these their temporary successes, being rather this, 1. that now they are hastening to their excision, their bravery like that of a flower being a most certain indication of their approaching ruine, whilst the righteous flourish like a Palme or Cedar, v. 12. get height and strength and glory from their age; and 2. that Gods vengeances due to them, and not yet inflicted, will one day come upon them the more direfully and unavoidably for these their present short prosperities, even utter ruine and destruction.
8. But thou, Lord, art most high for evermore.
And herein Gods power and justice and fidelity is, and shall be most eminently discernible, to the eternal discomfiture and confusion of all the enemies of him and his Church.
9. For loe thine enemies, O Lord, for loe thine enemies shall perish: all the workers of iniquityb. shall be‖or separated. scattered.
For God shall certainly distinguish and make a difference betwixt wicked and pious men, his enemies and his friends and faithfull servants; and what ever indiscrimination there appears between them here in this world for some time, he will undoubtedly make the separation, he will visibly seise on the ungodly, the oppressors and persecutors of his Church, blast their greatest prosperities, dissolve their strength, rout their armies, bring them to nought, and adjudge them to irremediable perishing.
10. But my horne shalt thou exalt like the horne of an Unicorne; I shall bec. anointed with fresh oyle.
Whilst, on the other side, the truly pious men shall have all their oppressions and sufferings repaired, and be rewarded abundantly with honour and exaltation, deliverance and peace here in Gods season, advancement to a flourishing condition here in this world, and eternal bliss in another life.
11. Mine eye also shall†behold or look on mine enemies. foreign see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall*hear the wicked— foreign hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.
And this change shall be most visible and illustrious; the judgments of God and destructions that fall upon the obstinate enemies of God and his Church, shall be very stupendious and remarkable.
12. The righteous shall flourish like a palme-tree; he shall grow like a Cedar in Lebanon.
And the prosperity and peaceable flourishing of the Church in the fruits as well as the profession of piety, in the former resembling the fertility of the palme-tree, in the latter the tallness of the Cedar, shall be as remarkable also.
13. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the Courts of our God.
14. They shall‖Yet more foreign still bring forth fruit in old age, they shall be fat and flourishing:
They that sincerely and faithfully give up their names to the service of God and his worship, shall at length inioy great tranquillity, liberty of holy offices, and all other such most desirable priviledges and opportunities of piety: such trees as these, (as men are said to be trees inverted) may, without violation of the law, be planted near the altar, and flourish in the courts of God. And the Church shall be much increased by this means, propagated beyond the holy land over the face of the whole earth, and not decay with age, but herein also imitate the palme-tree v. 12. that the older it grows, is still the more fertile.
15. To†declare or shew forth foreign shew that the Lord is upright; *my rock foreignhe is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
All this as an eminent testimony of the great justice and uprightness of Gods judgements, who although he permit wicked men to flourish, and his own people to be afflicted for a while, yet at length changeth the scene, and by interposition of his allmighty power subdues the wicked, restores and advances his faithfull servants to all prosperity and flourishing in this life.
Annotations on Psalm XCII.
V. 7. When the wicked] The 7. and 8. verses are so to be joyned together, and read as in one period, and affixt to v. 6. that they may set down the error that is there imputed to the ignorant or inconsiderate wicked man; he thinks well of his own condition, measuring by his present successes, and atheistically despising any future account that he shall be concerned in: and this is the error noted v. 6. and refuted in the two following verses; foreign foreignin the wickeds springing or sprouting out like grass, or flowre of the field, or when, or that, or how the wicked do spring foreign— and all the workers of wickedness doe flourish, foreign to their destruction, or that they may be destroyed for ever; foreign say the Lxxii. that they may, this being the event and consequent of their flourishing like grass, for so, we know, the flourishing of that abodes its suddain perishing, either by excision, or natural decay (which is not true of the flourishing of palmes and Cedars v. 12.) foreign foreignand, or but thou, Lord, art most high— They flourish, and thereby do but accelerate their ruine, and over and above, make it more sad when it comes, but God remains just and magnified in these strange turns of his providence. The Jewish Arab here referrs the sixth verse to what precedes ver. 5. reading it, How great are thy works, O Lord, and thy thoughts &c. And man is more foolish then that he should know them all, and more brutish then that he should understand it; and then begins a new sentence with the seventh verse.
V. 9. Scattered] From foreign partitus est, whence both the Latine partiri, and the English part, (in the notion of dividing or separating) is deduced, is foreign foreignhere in Hithpael, which the Interlinear renders segreg…buntur, shall be parted or separated. And thus it may possibly be a judicial phrase, to denote the discrimination that is made betwixt men, as betwixt the sheep and the goats, Matth. xxv. 32. All the nations shall be gathered together or assembled before him (as a Judge) and foreign he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd foreign separates the sheep from the goats. For this interpretation we have the authority of the Chaldee which paraphrase it by foreign &c. in the world to come they shall be separated from the congregation of the just. And in this sense, if it be admitted, it will be all one with what is said in more words, Psal. i. 4. The ungodly are not so, but — and the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, v. 5. as that signifies condemnation, rejection, perishing, v. 6. and so foreign (as in the Jewish, so) in the Christian Church, hath been allwayes used to signify the censures. But the Lxxii. render it by foreign, shall be scattered, and the Syriack foreign shall be dispersed: we have the word, Ps. xxii. 14. my bones are out of joynt, parted asunder; but here being somewhat beyond perishing, it seems to be the scattering of enemies in a route, which have been worsted in battel, and so this may be pitcht on as the more probable rendring.
V. 10. Anointed] From foreign perfundere, is foreign foreignhere I am anointed; and so the Chaldee and Syriack appear to have read it. The Lxxii. seem to have read it as from foreign senuit, and so render it foreign, my old age, and so the Latine and Arabick: and then for foreign with fresh or green oile, the copies which we now have of the Lxxii. read foreign, which the Latine render in misericordia uberi. But as the Syriack, so the Arabick and Aethiopick depart here from the Latine, and assure us that the Lxxii. wrote not foreign, but foreign oyle. Now as there were many uses of oile, some vulgar among the Jews (see Mat. vi. note i.) others were extraordinary, the ceremony of inauguration to some office of dignity; so it might here be uncertain to which of these the phrase belonged, did not the context determine it, and the conjunction of anointing with exaltation, foreign foreignthe exalting of the horne, foreign foreignas of an Unicorne, is questionless the advancing to Regal Monarchick power, of which that horne of an Unicorne is a most significant Emblem: and then the anointing with fresh or rich oile, adjoyned to it, must in all reason be applied to the same matter, and denote the inauguration to the Regal power; and then as the Chaldee confirm this, foreign, thou hast magnified, i. e. exalted or inaugurated me with the oile of exaltation or inauguration (anointing by them being still exprest by exalting) so the very reading of the Lxxii. (though varied from the Hebrew) may bear a commodious sense, and that which sufficiently expresses the true meaning, foreign, my old age shall be in fat oile, i. e. the latter part of my age shall be advanced to regal power. What is primarily meant by this, or so as might be applied to the Psalmist's time which wrote it, cannot easily be determined, because the writer of the Psalm is not resolved on among the Jews: the Rabbins saying it to have been made by Adam presently after the creation, before the Sabbath, and so the Chaldee paraphrase, and Kimchi; but others, as Aben Ezra, saying that all from the XC. to CI. were written by Moses. Which though it be readily refuted from Samuels being mentioned Ps. xcix. yet may have truth to this, as to some others, particularly the XC. and then that being accepted that Moses was the author of the Psalm, and the title of the Psalm being A Psalm or Song (a joyfull Eucharistical celebration) foreign for the day of Sabbath, designing it to be used on their Sabbath-dayes, and probably referring to that Sabbath, that rest, which was by Moses promised the people of the Jews, Deut. xii. 9, 10. this may most fitly be resolved on as the primary sense of it, that God would bring his people the Jews at length, after a wilderness of troubles and many enemies, to rest in Canaan, and establish them a Kingdome in peace. But the more eminent, and that as (or more) literal sense of it, pertains to the Christian Church, first Christ, then Christians. Christ the Messias, after his being persecuted and crucified, was to be raised and inaugurated to his spiritual Kingdome, and that commencing in the destruction of his enemies the Jews; and the Christians for some time after his death persecuted by the same Jews, were to have their rest, halcyonian dayes of peace (see note on Heb. iii. c.) and this exprest by their being Kings and Priests unto God (see note on Apoc. i. d.) parallel to the horne being exalted as the horne of an Unicorne, and being anointed with fresh oile here, as it hath before been interpreted.
The Ninety Third Psalm.
The ninety third Psalm is a brief meditation on the power of God, and his providence, as in the works of his creation, and the stability of those laws whereby all are governed, notwithstanding the tumults of this sublunary world, so in setling his Church in peace, and faithfull performing of his promises to his servants. It is resolved by the‖R. Saad: Gaon, and Rasi, and Kimchi. Jews to have its fullest completion in the Messias.
1. THe Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength,†he hath girded himselfe foreign wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is established, that it cannot be moved.
Paraphrase. The Lord hath now been pleased powerfully and illustriously to shew forth himself, to give signal testimonies of his omnipotence, he is come out as in a royall, so in a military manner, hath secured the whole nation (see note on Mat. 24. e.) from all the dangers that incompast it, and set it safe from the fear of evil; (And this an emblem of the spiritual Kingdome of Christ, see note c. on Psal. cvi.)
2. Thy throne is established of old, thou art from everlasting.
This gives us occasion now seasonably to praise and magnify him in all his glorious attributes of power and justice, which from all eternity have belonged to him, his righteousness being as eternal as his being.
3. The flouds have lifted up, O Lord, the flouds have lifted up their voice, the flouds lift up their waves.
When the violent uproars and seditions of wicked men did their utmost to disturb and overwhelme all, imitating the waves and surges of the rivers or seas v. 4. which make a great noise and roaring, (And so when the devils and wicked men stood out against, rejected, and crucified the Messias.)
4. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea even than the mighty waves of the Sea.
God was then pleased seasonably to interpose his allmighty power, to subdue and quiet them, and frustrate their most boisterous assaults, shewing them and all the world beside, that his strength is farre superior to the strength of the most riotous unruly creatures, and can, when he please, restrain and still them: (And so did he in the resurrection set up the Kingdome of the Messias.)
5. Thy testimonies are very sure; holiness becometh thine house, O Lord,‖to length of dayes foreign for ever.
And according to his strength, so is his fidelity; he is able to performe whatsoever he please, and having interposed his promise, he will certainly fulfill it; he can no more faile in that, than he can renounce his holiness, which is of all others his most divine attribute, allwayes most illustriously visible in all his proceedings, and so shall continue to the end of the world. (And this discernible in nothing more, than in his making good his promises to the Christian Church.)