Paraphrase Upon the Books of the Psalms, Book 5 · Psalm 118
The Hundred and Eighteenth Psalm.
The hundred and eighteenth Psalm seems to be a gratulatory hymne to David upon his full and most undisturbed possession of the Kingdome, after the Ark was brought to Jerusalem, as may be conjectured from ver. 19, 20, 26, 27. and was probably appointed to be sung at the feast of Tabernacles, v. 15. (some parts of it in the person of the people, and others, by way of alternation, in the person of the King himself) the most joyfull solemnity in the whole year, as about which time the armies returned home from the field, and Hosanna v. 25. the acclamation then used of course, though no extraordinary accident had happened. It is applied both by our Saviour, Mat. xxi. 42. and by S. Peter, 1 Pet. ii. 4. to Christ the Son of David, as by his ascension he was installed to be the King, and so the head corner-stone of the Church; and it is therefore made up of lauds and praises to God for all his mercies.
1. O Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, because his mercy endureth for ever.
2. Let Israel now confess that his mercy endureth for ever.
3. Let the house of Aaron now say that his mercy endureth for ever.
4. Let them now that fear the Lord say that his mercy endureth for ever.
Paraphrase. It is now a fit season for all, people and Priests, especially for all truly pious men, (the most concerned and interessed persons) to laud and magnify the great goodness and constant mercies of God toward us, let all therefore joyne uniformely in the performance of it.
5. I called unto the Lord in distresse: the Lord answered me,‖with inlargement, foreign and set me in a large place.
When I was brought into great distress, (may David now say) I addrest my prayers to God for deliverance, and he presently sent me a most seasonable relief.
6. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear what man can do unto me.
And having God to take my part, I have no reason to apprehend the power or malice of man, whatsoever it is.
7. The Lord†is to me among my helpers foreign taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I*look upon, see note on Ps. cxii. a. see my desire upon them that hate me.
As long as he is on my side to support and assist me, I shall not fear to meet an whole host of enemies.
8. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put any confidence in man.
9. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put any confidence in Princes.
He that reposeth his whole trust in God, hath thereby a farre better security than all the Princes or men in the world can yeeld him.
10. All nations compassed me about;‖in the name of the Lord will I trust, therefore I will- see note a. but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them.
11. They compassed me about, yea they compassed me about;†see v. 10. but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
Let all the men and nations in the world begirt me never so close, and leave me no way in humane sight for mine escape and relief, yet I have my confidence in God; and being thus fortified with ammunition and auxiliaries from heaven, I shall make no doubt to repell and destroy them all.
12. They compassed me about like bees, a.they‖or flamed are quenched as the fire of thorns,†In the name— see v. 10. for in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
Let them swarme about me as thick as bees, seise on me with the same violence that the fire doth upon‖Chaffe, Syr. chaffe or thorns which it presently sets a flaming and consumes; yet being thus armed as I am with a full trust and reliance on the omnipotent power of God, I shall escape their fury, and cut them off, in stead of being destroyed by them.
13. Thou hast thrust sore at me,b. *to ruine or fallingthat I might fall: but the Lord helped me.
Mine enemies violence was so great, that I had no power to resist it, but was just ready …o fall and sink under it: and just then, when my distress was greatest, God interposed for my relief.
14. The Lord is my strength and my song, and is become my salvation.
On him have I allwayes depended as my onelyonly support, him have I allwayes acknowledged and praised, and exprest my confidence in him; and accordingly now in time of my want he hath rescued me, and set me in perfect safety.
15. The voice of rejoycing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord doth valiantly,
16. The right hand of the Lordc. is exalted, the right hand of the Lord doth valiantly.
And thus it is with all that adhere stedfastly to their obedience to, and trust in God; their whole lives are made up of receiving and celebrating mercies and deliverances from God, such as his omnipotent hand worketh for them, either without the assistance of humane aids, or so as the success is eminently imputable to God and not to man.
17. I shall not dye, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.
And having received this instance of his mercy at this time, being now secured from my greatest dangers, what remains for me, but to spend my whole age in proclaiming the power, and mercy, and fidelity of my deliverer, and call all men off from their vain and weak trusts, the arme of flesh, to this more skilfull and politick dependance on God?
18. The Lord hath chastened me sore; but he hath not given me over unto death.
God hath most justly delivered me up to be severely punisht, pursued and hunted by my enemies; but then hath seasonably delivered me out of their hands, and not permitted me to be overwhelmed by them.
19. Open to me the gates of righteousnesse: occasions as may make way for the praysing God, I will goe into them, and I will praise the Lord.
20. This‖is the gate foreign gate of the Lord into which the righteous shall enter.
The sanctuary of God, the holy place whither all good men resort, to petition mercies, and to acknowledge them when they are received, is that to which, as I am most bound, I will now make my most solemn addresse, and there commemorate Gods mercies to me. Or, I will make use of all†so the Jewish Arab.
21. I will praise thee, for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.
Proclaiming to all the gracious returns I have received to my prayers, the abundant and seasonable deliverances which God hath afforded me.
22. d.The stone which the builders refused, is become the head-stone of the corner.
23. This†was from the Lord foreign is the Lords doing, it is marvelous in our eyes.
And now may all the assembly of Israel rejoyce, and joyne in their congratulations, that being now fallen out in King Davids exaltation to the throne (and much more eminently in the resurrection and ascension of the Messiah) which is ordinarily said, (whether by way of History or Parable) that the stone which, in the laying the foundation of some eminent building, was oft tried by the builders, and as oft rejected by them, as unfit for their use to any part of the fabrick, and thereupon …st among and covered over with rubbish, was at length, when they wanted a stone for the most eminent use, the coupling and joynting the whole fabrick together, found most exactly fitted for the turne, and so put in the most honourable place, the chief corner of the building. A thing so unexpected and strange, that it was with reason judged as special an act of Gods providence, as if it had been sent them down immediately from heaven. As strange was it, and as imputable to Gods special hand, that David, of no eminent family, the sonne of Jesse, and withall the youngest and most despised of his brethren, should be in Sauls stead exalted by God to the regal throne, and being for this driven by Saul from his court, and pursued as a partridge on the mountains, should yet continually escape his hand, and be peaceably placed in his throne. And so yet farther in the mysterie, that the Messiah, the Son of a Carpenters wife, with him brought up in the trade, that whilst he made known the will of God had no dwelling-place, that was rejected by the chief of the Jews, as a drunkard and glutton, and one that acted by the Devil, as a blasphemous and seditious person, and as such put to the vilest death, the death of the Cross, and was held some space under the power of the grave, should be raised the third day from death, taken up to heaven, and there sit in his throne to rule and exercise regal power over his Church for ever. This certainly was a worke purely divine, and so ought to be acknowledged and admired by us.
24. This is the day the Lord hath made: we will rejoyce and be glad in it.
25. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
This day is the celebrating of a mercy wrought eminently, signally and peculiarly by the Lord ('twas he that exalted David to the throne, and he that will advance the Messias to his regality in heaven) and thereby peculiarly consecrated by God to his service, and so for ever deserves to be solemnized by us, being matter of the greatest joy imaginable to all subjects, either of Davids or of Christs Kingdome (and so this Psalm fit for a Paschal Psalm in the Church of Christ for ever.) Now it is seasonable to use Hosannahs (see note on Psal. xx. d. and Mat. xxi. a.) acclamations and wishes of all manner of prosperity to this King exalted by God, David, the type of the Messiah. Let us all joyne in doing it most solemnly, crying, people and priest together,
26. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you‖from foreign out of the house of the Lord.
The Lord be praised for the great mercy of this King, sent us so peculiarly by God, but especially for the Messias, whose coming hath been so long promised and expected (see Mat. xxi. 9.) All we that belong to the house of God, the Priests that wait on his sanctuary, do heartily bless God for this day, and beseech his blessing on him that is now crowned: and so shall all the Church of the Messias for ever celebrate him, bless God for his exaltation, and pray to God to prosper this regal office unto him, bringing in the whole world unto his service.
27. God is the Lord†and hath shined upon us foreign which hath shewed us light: binde thee. sacrifice with cords, even to the hornes of the altar.
Thus hath God shewed forth himself as in mercy, so in power for us; he hath magnified himself, exercised this double act of his dominion over the world, 1. in raising David from so mean an estate to the Regal throne, 2. in raising Christ from death to life, and then assuming him to an intire dominion over the world, to endure to the day of judgment. And in both these he hath revived us with the most chearfull beams of his divine goodness. O let us in commemoration thereof keep an anniversary sacrifical feast (see v. 24.) to praise and magnify his name for these and all his mercies, every man giving thanks and saying,
28. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.
I will laud and praise thy mercies, so eminently vouchsafed unto me, and in so peculiar a manner inhansed to the benefit of my soule, and proclaim thy goodness and superlative divine excellencies to all the world:
29. O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever.
Calling unto all to confess and extoll thy acts of providence and divine dispensation, wherein thou hast most graciously exhibited thy selfe to us, and from time to time continued to oblige us, and so wilt continue for ever.
Annotations on Psalm CXVIII.
V. 12. Quenched] foreign,foreign which from foreign to be extinguisht, or go out, is regularly interpreted, quenched, is yet by the antient interpreters farre otherwise rendred. The Chaldee read foreign burning, and the Lxxii. foreign were on fire, the Arabick inflamed, and the Latine exarserunt, they burnt or flamed; which makes it probable, that as many other words in the Hebrew language are used in contrary senses (see Mr. Pocock in his Miscellany notes cap. 2.) so foreign, which signifies in other places passively to be consumed or extinguish…, may signify here, as an foreign, to flame, or in an active sense, as in Arabick 'tis used, violently to break in or set upon, as in warre or contention, when men violently rush one on another. So R. Solomon on the place, notes the signification of foreign to be suddain leaping, used therefore of fire and water, for their suddain leaping out of their place, and then applied to fire, it will be flaming. And thus it best agrees with that which follows, as fire among the thorns, for 'tis certain that flames violently: and thus it best connects with the antecedents, the other example of their coming about him like bees, with which 'tis joyned without any note of disjunction. This I say, because all the antient interpreters, except the Syriack, agree in this rendring; and the Syriack reteining the Hebrew word foreign, must be interpreted to the same sense that shall appear to belong to the Hebrew, and by the addition of the copulative and, doth rather incline to this sense, They came about me like bees, and they— If this be not it, then the meaning of those interpreters must be supposed to be, that as the fire among thorns is soon extinguisht by the consumption of the thorns, so for the time that it burns, it flames extremely; and so the similitude of his enemies is supposed to hold in the burning, as well as the extinction, (and so 'tis observed of the bees that they dye, or lose all vigor, when they sting, animas{que} in vulnere ponunt) and then still this divolves to the same effect or purpose. But for the notation of the word it self, that 'tis here used in the sense of flaming, and not being extinguished, one farther argument may be drawn from the whole contexture, specially from the phrase foreign in the name of the Lord, and the foreign which follows, both thrice repeated in the same manner v. 10, 11, 12. thus, All nations compassed me about; foreign in the name of the Lord, foreign foreigntherefore (so saith the Chaldee, and so foreign oft signifies) I will destroy them. That the words are to be rendred by supply of an ellipsis from v. 9. I will trust in the name of the Lord, rather than by reading foreign in construction before in the name of the Lord, and so rendring it for in the former, and but in this verse, we are taught by the Chaldee, who thus render that verse, All people compassed me about; I trusted in the name of the word of the Lord, foreign therefore I shall cut them off. And so again v. 11. They compassed me about, they compassed me about; In the name of the word of the Lord foreign I trusted, therefore I shall cut them off. And then in all reason so it must be here, v. 12. In the name of the Lord I trusted, therefore I shall destroy them. And if so it be, then the former part of the verse, if it goe on in the same scheme with the former two verses, must most probably set down the enemies besieging, and assaults only, leaving their destruction to the last words of the verse, as in the two former it was; and then foreign must signify they were inflamed, or burnt, as the fire among the thorns, or else it will not belong to that sense. The other rendring is prest with diverse, but especially with this inconvenience, that after he hath said they are quenched or extinct, he is supposed to adde, that he will destroy them, which cannot in propriety belong to those that are extinct, i. e. destroyed allready. And whereas our English endeavours to help that, by rendring foreign for in this verse, whereas it was rendred but v. 10. and 11. first there is no appearance of reason for that change, but to answer this objection, to facilitate this rendring, (of which the principal doubt is;) and secondly, it doth not performe what it pretends to, for it cannot be any reason (so for notes) of their being extinct allready, that he will, or hath confidence that he shall destroy them. If therefore the notion of quenching be still reteined, it must be by taking the praeter tense in signification of the future, thus, they compassed me like bees, they shall be extinct— So the Jewish Arab takes it, If or though they compass &c. certainly they shall be extinguished—making foreign a particle of asseveration, as Abu Walid notes.
V. 13. That I might fall] The full importance of foreign foreignis best exprest gerundially, ad cadendum, to falling, not only to express their desire who thus prest and thrust at him, that he might fall, for that is supposed in the violence of their impulsion, exprest by repetition of the verb foreign thou hast by thrusting thrust me, but to signify the event or successe of it, that I was falling, or ready to fall, foreign say the Lxxii. in the infinitive mood gerundially, and so the Chaldee and the Syriack; and so the Jewish Arab, It is a long while that thou hast driven or thrust me to falling. And this expresses the greatness and seasonableness of the deliverance, that when he was falling, God helped him.
V. 16. Is exalted] For the passive notion of foreign,foreign which the Chaldee follows, reading foreign exalted, the Lxxii. read foreign, hath exalted me, and so the Syriack and Latine and Arabick; either from the active notion of foreign exaltavit, elevavit, wherein we have it v. 28. foreign I will exalt thee, from which foreign is the participle, and so literally signifies exalting; or else expressing the sense by a short paraphrase, Gods right hand being therefore said to be exalted, as also to do valiantly, because it had exalted him, and given him victory over his enemy.
V. 22. The stone] The author of Historia Scholastica mentions it as a Tradition,foreign that at the building of the second Temple, there was a particular stone of which that was literally true which is here parabolically rehersed, viz. that it had the hap to be often taken up by the builders, and as oft rejected, and at last was found to be perfectly fit for the most honourable place, that of the chief corner-stone, which coupled the sides of the walls together, the extraordinariness whereof occasioned the speech here following, This is of the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes. If there were indeed any such tradition of the Jews, as he reporteth, and truth in the tradition, it were necessary to resolve that this Psalm was made at the foreign or dedication and consecration of the second Temple, or on some like occasion after that. But although these two verses thus historically interpreted might incline to that date of it, (and then the gates of righteousness v. 19. would well refer to the gate of the second Atrium, the publick solemn way into the temple, by which the Jews and Proselytes of righteousness entred, the Proselytes of the gates entring only the first court) yet the rest of the Psalm is not so agreeable thereto, being much more applicable to David in respect of the difficulties which he had overcome in his way to the Kingdome. And accordingly the Chaldee interpret all the verses to the end expresly of him, foreign &c. The builders despised the youth which was among the sons of Jessai, and he deserved to be constituted foreign the King and Ruler. This hath been from the Lord, said the builders; this is wonderfull in our eyes, said the sonnes of Jessai. The Lord made this day, said the builders; let us rejoyce and be glad in it, said the sonnes of Jessai. We pray thee, O Lord, bestow salvation now, said the builders; we pray thee, O Lord, prosper us now, said the sonns of Jessai. Blessed is he which cometh in the name of the word of the Lord, said the builders; let them bless you from the house of the sanctuary of the Lord, said David. The Lord our God hath shined on us, said the tribes of the house of Judah; Binde the young lambe (foreign, the Latine absurdly renders it puerum) f… a sacrifice of solemnity with chains till you have sacrificed him, and poured out his blood upon the hornes of the altar, said Samuel the Prophet. Thou art my God, I will confess before thee; thou art my God, I will praise thee, said David. Samuel answered and said, Praise ye, all ye congregation of Israel, confesse before the Lord that he is good, that his mercy endureth for ever. This makes it not unreasonable to resolve, that the whole Psalm belongs to David, and that it was composed either by him, or by some other in commemoration of his exaltation to, and full possession of the Kingdome; which being from a very low condition, and other the like circumstances of improbability, it was very fitly resembled by this of the stone which the builders refused &c. whether that were a story of any real passage, or whether only an emblem and parabolical expression of what was here done; and both that emblem and this real exaltation of David a most lively type of the humiliation and exaltation of the Messiah, and his ascension, and taking possession of heaven, and so is made use of Mat. xxi. 42. Mar. xii. 10. Luk. xxi. 17. Act. iv. 11. Eph. ii. 20. 1 Pet. ii. 4. and by way of Prophecy, Isai. xxviii. 16. And to him it belongs more eminently and more completely, than to Davids person it could, the tribes of Israel and Judah being not divided before, and so not united by David; whereas Christ of Jew and Gentile made one Church, and so was most literally the chief corner-stone, that coupled the walls and knit the building together, which cannot so literally be affirmed of David. Of this we have the confession of the Jews themselves. Sol. Jarchi on Mich. v. 2. saith, Out of Bethlehem shall come foreign Messiah the son of David, foreign so he (the Psalmist) saith, the stone which the builders refused, &c. (And so v. 15. the voice of joy &c. Kimchi & Jarchi refer to the days of the Messiah, as from the stones of Israel Gen. 29.24. they fetch their dream of their suffering Messias Ben Joseph, or Ben Ephraim.)
V. 27. Sacrifice] The Hebrew word here is foreign,foreign which is ordinarily used for a festival, but sometimes by metonymie signifies the sacrifice used at such times. So Exo. xxiii. 18. the fat foreign, not of my feast, but foreign of my festival sacrifice, saith the Chaldee. So Isa. xxix. 1. foreign behead or kill the sacrifices. So Amos v. 21. where we read, I hate, I despise foreign, it is most probably to be rendred your sacrifices: for as what follows, I will not smell in your solemn assemblies, must be understood of the smoak of their sacrifice, or their incense, foreign oblation saith the Chaldee, and the Lxxii. foreign sacrifices, and not of the dayes or assemblies themselves; so the insuing verse is express, Though you offer me burnt-offerings and meat-offerings, I will not accept them. So Mal. ii. 3. the dung foreign (in all probability) of their sacrifices. And thus have the Chaldee rendred it in this place, foreign the young lamb for a festival sacrifice. Of this 'tis here said, foreign binde it with cords, as the sacrifice is wont to be when 'tis killed, foreign foreigneven to the hornes of the altar; i. e. after 'tis bound, kill it, and do all other things preparatory to the offering it up, till at last you lay it upon the altar, and sprinkle the blood on the horns of it. So Kimchi and Jarchi literally expound this of bringing the sacrifice bound, till he came to the altar, foreign. But the Jewish Arab will have it signify the continuance or being instant in sacrificing or bringing sacrifices. The hornes of the altar were on every corner of it, Exo. xxvii. 1. and so by sprinkling the blood on the horns of the altar, was perhaps meant the sprinkling it round about (so we know the appointment was Exod. xxix. 15, 16. Thou shalt take the ram— and thou shalt take his blood and sprinkle it round about upon the altar; so Lev. i. 5. they shall sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar.) Or else sprinkling it on the horns was the shorter way (see Lev. iv. 7, 18. and c. viii. 15. and c. ix. 9. and xvi. 18.) and was by interpretation the sprinkling it round about, every horne representing the side next that corner. But for binding the sacrifice to the hornes of the altar, whilst it was killed, we finde no such custome in the Law; and therefore sure the words are to be interpreted by supposing an ellipsis in them, which is to be supplied as the Chaldee hath done, binde it with bands till ye have sacrificed it, and poured the blood thereof upon the hornes of the altar. But from the ambiguity of foreign used frequently for a feast, the Lxxii. have farr departed from this sense, and read foreign, appoint the feast in condensis, (the vulgar renders it) in the thick boughs; and so Hesychius, foreign. But also foreign signifies to hide or cover; foreign, saith he. And so the Lxxii. here may have used it for the booths or tabernacles, of which the Jews had a foreign or feast yearly. However though I suppose them to have receded from the true meaning of the words allready shewed, yet they seem to have had a meaning very commodious to the Hosannah foregoing, v. 25. For as there was use of those acclamations at the feast of tabernacles (in that notion of foreign) so to them were adjoyned branches of trees &c. as we see in the Gospel, where they cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way, and cried Hosannah. And so Neh. viii. 15. Goe forth and fetch Olive branches, and Pine branches, and Palme branches, and branches of thick trees; the Hebrew reads foreign, the very word which is here used for a band or cord, and is there rendred by the Lxxii. foreign thick wood (as here foreign) perhaps it were better rendred wood of bands, i. e. bundles of wood, for so Elias Levita tells us in his Thisbi, that to binde up Hosannahs was to binde up bundles of willow boughs, which were most used in the feast of tabernacles. And so by foreign, they probably meant the feast of Tabernacles, celebrated with willow boughs, with which they strewed and adorned the court of the Temple, foreign, even to the hornes of the altar. The Syriack here read, Binde with chains foreign their Latine renders it solennitates, solemnities; but this sure (proportionable to the notion of foreign) for the sacrifices used at those solemnities, as when eating the feast (foreign 2 Chron. xxx. 22. a word of the same origination) must needs signify the sacrifices of the feast.