Paraphrase Upon the Books of the Psalms, Book 5 · Psalm 131
The Hundred Thirty First Psalm.
A Song of Degrees of David. The hundred thirty first is a profession of humility, as that which best qualifies for Gods mercy, and is the only sure foundation of hope in him. It seems to have been first formed by David in the time of his distresses, to vindicate himselfe before God of the accusation which Sauls sycophants so studiously threw upon him, that he designed mischief to Saul, and thereby the kingdome to himself. And after it was appointed to be used at the returne from captivity, no temper better becoming those that have received the greatest mercies, than that of humility and affiance.
1. LOrd, mine heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty; neither doe I exercise my selfe in great matters, or in things too high for me.
Paraphrase. O Lord, I have allwayes indeavoured to keep all pride and ambition out of my heart, not to meddle with things of weight and difficulty, and such as are above my strength to manage.
2. ‖Buta.Surely I have†or level'd and quieted my soule, behaved and quieted my selfe, as a childe that is weaned*with or toward foreign of his mother: my soule is‖with me as— foreign as a weaned child.
But on the contrary to learn and practice humility, self-denial, resignation and submission to the will of God, to look on my selfe as a most feeble impotent child, able to doe nothing of my selfe, but wholly to be directed, supported, and inabled by him in all my undertakings, and so to wean my selfe from my natural affections and desires, as an infant is when he is estranged from his mothers breast.
3. O Israel, hope in the Lord from henceforth and for ever.
And the same temper I shall recommend to all pious men, as that which will for ever stand them in most stead, with an utter abrenunciation of all selfe-trusts, or secular confidences, to roll and repose themselves wholly upon God, who will undoubtedly answer and supply, and never be wanting to them that thus depend on him.
Annotations on Psalm CXXXI.
V. 2. Surely I have behaved] foreign foreignis according to sense to be rendred quin, but. The Lxxii. attending to the letter, render it, foreign, if not. For foreign foreignthat follows from foreign to set, or dispose, the Chaldee read foreign I put my hand upon my mouth (and the Lxxii. to the same sense, foreign I was humbly disposed) and so most rationally it is to be rendred, if not by force of foreign, yet by virtue of foreign that follows, which notes imposing silence upon himself; and then the putting preparative to that, must be the putting the hand upon the mouth: and so the Chaldees rendring may seem rather a supply of an Ellipsis, than by way of paraphrase. But there is another notion of foreign to level, Isa. xxviii. 25. foreign when he hath made plain the face of the ground, a scheme which the Baptist uses, for working such a temper in the heart, as is qualified for the reception of piety, Luk. iii. 5. To which that of the Lxxii. comes neerer, humility and lowliness of minde being the plain meaning of that other more poetical phrase. For foreign foreignthe Lxxii. seem to have read foreign, and so render it foreign, but have elevated: but hereby they have varied the sense little, their if I have not humbled, but exalted my soule, being all one in effect with I have not exalted, but humbled. The similitude that follows, foreign foreignas a weanling with, or toward the mother, (so foreign signifies with or toward) is a denotation of the greatest obedience and dependence and self-denial and resignation that can be; for so the weanling, though he begin to goe, and speak, and live without the teat, yet wholly depends on the mothers aide, and teaching, and provision for each of these. And so in the application, my soule is foreign as a weanling with me; where yet the Lxxii. render foreign as retributions, from another notion of foreign to retribute, which cannot belong to that place. The Jewish Arab reads, But I have equalled my soule, and made it like to a weanling, foreign that desireth after his mother, as if foreign were of the same notion with foreign to be like, and foreign and that were much alike in signification. The sense he gives in a note, I cast my affairs on the Lord, as a childe doth on his mother; and his repeating it, my soule is with me as a weaned childe, is as much as to say, I have weaned it from transgressions.