Davids Harp Strung and Tuned, Book 4 [i.e. 5] · Psalm 107 – Psalm 108
PSAL. CVII. foreign.
THE Title of this Pſalm is Allelujah, becauſe in it are ſet forth the praiſes of God, for delivering, ſuch as are oppreſſed, from four common miſeries; after every of which, is expreſſed thoſe intercalary verſes, Oh that men would praiſe the Lord for his goodneſs, &c. Then they cryed unto the Lord in their trouble. As alſo for the effects of his Providence, who only by his power orders and governs the change and viciſſitudes we ſee in the World.
There be four eſpecial Points handled in this Pſalm.
1. A Preface, in which he exhorts all to praiſe God, eſpecially the Redeemed, ver. 1, 2.
2. A Declaration of his goodneſs in particular.
1. To the baniſhed and ſtrangers, famiſh'd, from ver. 3. to 9.
2. To the priſoners and captives, from ver. 10. to 16.
3. To the ſick, from ver. 16. to 23.
4. To the Mariners, from ver. 23. to 32.
3. A praiſe of Gods Power and Providence, which is evidently ſeen, in the changes and varieties of the World, of which he gives ſeveral inſtances, by which it is proved, That he is the ſole Diſpoſer and Governour of the Univerſe, from ver. 33. to 42.
4. The Concluſion, which ſets forth the uſe we are to make of it, ver. 42, 43.
1. The firſt part. He incites all to praiſe God.This Pſalm begins, as did the former, and the intention in it is the ſame, viz. That we celebrate and ſet forth Gods praiſe; yea, and for the ſame Reaſons.
O give thanks unto the Lord: Ver. 1 1. For he is good: 2. And merciful; For his mercy endureth for ever.
2. And thoſe who he invites to perform this Duty, are indeed all who are ſenſible that they have received any mercy or goodneſs from him any way, Eſpecially the redeemed.in Soul, or Body, whom he calls the Redeemed of the Lord, that men may know when they are freed from any evil, that it is only by chance, or by their wiſdom, &c. Gods hand is in it, he is the firſt and chief cauſe of it, the reſt, inferiour inſtruments to bring to paſs his Providence.
1. Let the Redeemed of the Lord ſay ſo; i. e. that he is good, that he is merciful.
2. Ver. 2 They ſay ſo, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy. If the Holy Ghoſt by the enemy means the Devil, then he ſpeaks of our Redemption by Chriſt; if by the enemy, ſome Tyrant, Tribulation, &c. then a corporal and temporal Redemption; but the laſt is generally underſtood, and eſpecially is referr'd to the firſt afflicting miſery, Baniſhment; and the next verſe intimates ſo much.
3. And gather'd them out of the Lands, from the East, and from the West; from the North, and from the South; which is yet as true of our ſpiritual Redemption, and Chriſts collection of his Church from all parts of the World, Mat. 8.11. John. 10.16. & 11.52.
2. Moſt Expoſitors therefore begin the ſecond part at the ſecond verſe: But ſome at the fourth; The ſecond part.but the matter is not much material. In thoſe two there was mention made of Gods goodneſs in their deliverance, in their collection from all lands: But in the following, is an evident Declaration of what they ſuffered, during their abſence from their Countrey; which is the firſt miſery deſcribed here by the Prophet, to which a mans life is ſubject. And it is the heavier Croſs, when a man is forc'd to it by Baniſhment, as is apparent by the complaints that have been made of it, by thoſe that have ſuffer'd; they are ſine foco, ſine lare.
Curat nemo vagos, & laedere nemo veretur.
Exul non curae creditur eſſe Deos.
Omnes exhauſti jam caſibus, omnium egeni.
And this is the miſery which the Prophet firſt inſtanceth in this place, which firſt he deſcribes, then ſhewes the courſe the Baniſhed took, and laſtly, acquaints us with the manner of their deliverance, which is the method in the reſt.
1. The firſt kind of miſery, Baniſhment.Their miſery was:
1. That they wander'd, no ſmall diſcomfort to an ingenuous nature, to be a Vagrant, to walk from place to place, and not have a certain Houſe to put his head in. In which they, 1. Wandered. 2. In ſolitary places.Gods people were for a time, foreign, pilgrims and ſtrangers, and all that time, few and evil were their dayes.
2. The place adds to the miſery; Baniſhed men are not confined to ſolitary places alwayes, though that they have not the company they deſire, yet company they may have; but the caſe of theſe Baniſhed was, That they wander'd in the Wilderneſs in a ſolitary place, they fovnd no City to dwell in: Literally it was fulfilled in the Iſraelites, while they travelled through the Wilderneſs.
3. Hungry and thirſty, omnium egeni. Men may wander, and be in ſolitary places, 3Suffer'd hunger and thirſt.but yet have a ſupply of neceſſary food: To this paſs ſometimes Gods people come, that they have nor meat, nor drink, as Eliah, the Iſraelites, David, &c.
4. 4Even to fainting.And the Famine may be ſo great, that their ſouls; that is, their life is ready to faint in them. This is the Incrementum that the Prophet uſeth, to aggravate the miſery of Baniſhed men, and are the ſeveral ſteps by which it riſeth.
2. The courſe they took.Next the Prophet ſhewes us the Courſe that theſe baniſhed and hungry ſouls took for eaſe and help, and that it failed them not; no, nor the reſt following that took the ſame Courſe, and therefore he four times repeats it, verſu intercalari. The way was, That when all humane helps failed, they implored the aid and help of God Almighty.
1. Then in their trouble. When no other Courſe will work, this will do it, Ve. 6 and therefore God lets his be brought into trouble. In proſperity, They cryed to God.the heart of the beſt man is often too ſecure, and thinks not on God; but let ſuch a one be brought into ſome extremity and ſtreight, and he will cry: They did ſo here.
2. They cryed. In their Petition they were very earneſt, 'twas not a cold prayer, that might freeze in the way before it came to Heaven; but it was fervent, a Cry.
3. And they cryed. Not to any falſe god, as did Baals Prieſts; nor relied wholly on any humane help: But they cryed unto the Lord; their cry was rightly directed.
Now the ſucceſs was anſwerable to their deſire.
1. In general: He delivered them out of their diſtreſſes.He delivered them.
2. But in particular, the deliverance was every way fit, and accommodated to the exigence they were in, the manner being this.
1. They wandered in the Wilderneſs in a ſolitary way, they found no City to dwell in, ver. 4. But he led them forth by the right way, Ver. 7 that they might go to a City of habitation.
2. They were hungry and thirsty, and their ſoul fainted in them, ver. 5. But he ſatisfieth the longing ſoul, and filleth the hungry ſoul with goodneſs: Which mercies are every way correſpondent to them, expreſſ'd in ver. 4, 5.
And upon this he inculcates his Exhortation to praiſe God, For which he exhorts them to praiſe God.with which he began, ver. 1. But is ſo earneſt to have it done, that he interſerts between the mercies, as if he were loth to have it deferr'd; which Courſe he alſo perpetually takes, as may be ſeen after in the Pſalm.
Oh that men would praiſe the Lord for his goodneſs, and for his wonderful works to the children of men.
1. The Lord deliver'd, the Lord led them forth; let him then have the praiſe, 'tis his due.
2. It was out of meer goodneſs he did it, not out of deſert: For he is good, ver. 1.
3. And the effect of his goodneſs was ſeen in his works, his wonderful works. He would then have his praiſe be as publick as were his works, open, manifeſt: And it was his hearts deſire it ſhould be ſo; Oh that men would praiſe.
2. The ſecond Corporal Miſery to which men are ſubject, is Captivity and Impriſonment, which as before he firſt deſcribes; The ſecond miſery, captivity.then ſhewes the Courſe the Captives and Priſoners took, and the conſequent of it; viz. Gods mercy in their deliverance, upon which he exhorts them, as he did the baniſh'd and hunger-ſtarv'd, to be thankful.
1. He deſcribes their miſery.
1. Captives they were, taken by the enemy, put into Dungeons and Priſons, Ver. 10 where they were debarred of the comfort of the Sun: In which they ſuffer often very ſorely.For they ſate in darkneſs, and ſhadow of death; for ſuch is a Dungeon, and they in it, are in daily expectation of death.
2. Beſides in this place, They were faſt bound with affliction and iron, the iron enters into their ſouls.For diſobedience againſt God.
3. And the farther it will enter, if the cauſe be, as it is of the moſt, their rebellion againſt God; when they are conſcious of this, their irons will be far the more afflictive: To others, as Joſeph, the Apoſtles, Jeremy, the Dungeon will be the leſs troubleſom. But as I ſaid, this is the cauſe of few; the moſt come thither, Becauſe they rebelled against the words of the Lord, Ver. 11 and contemn'd the counſel of the moſt High, as did the Iſraelites in the time of the Judges, and after. And therefore he brought down their heart, took down their pride, with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
2. But then they took the ſame courſe that the baniſhed did.
1. The remedy as before.They cryed unto the Lord in their trouble.
2. And found the ſame favour. And he ſaved them out of their diſtreſses.
3. The manner being very ſutable to their diſtreſs.
1. For they ſate in darkneſs, and ſhadow of death, ver. 10. But he brought them out of darkneſs, When the ſame courſe is taken.and ſhadow of death.
2. They were bound in affliction and iron, he brake their Bands aſunder; yea, and ſet open the Priſon-doors: For he hath broken the gates of Braſs; and cut the bars of iron in ſunder. The Priſon was not ſo ſtrong, but he was ſtronger; and in mercy did deliver his, from the ſevereſt and ſharpeſt Captivity.
Now he interpoſeth, as before, his Exhortation to be thankful. Oh that men would praiſe the Lord for his goodneſs, and for his wonderful works to the children of men.
3. The third miſery, ſome great ſickneſs.The third Miſery in which the Prophet inſtanceth, is, ſome great ſickneſs, or pining away of the Body under ſome grievous diſeaſe, incurable by man, ſuch as was that of the Iſraelites, when ſtung by fiery Serpents, or after of Hezekiah: And about this he uſeth his former method.
1. Deſcribes the danger and dolour under which the ſick parties languiſh.
2. Shewes the Courſe they took for recovery, which was the very ſame with the Exiles and Captives.
3. And the Conſequent upon it, their recovery; upon which, he the third time calls upon the delivered to be thankful.
1. Which God ſends on fooliſh ſinners.The appellation he faſtens upon theſe diſeaſed perſons, is, Fools: Not but that they may be wiſe enough in other things; but in that they ſin with a high hand againſt God, for which they draw ſome plague upon them, they are Fools.
2. For ſome grievous ſin.Now ſuch Fools God often ſmites with an incurable diſeaſe. Fools, becauſe of their tranſgreſſion, and becauſe of their iniquity, are afflicted. Not but all ſickneſs is from ſin; but this that the Prophet here ſpeaks of, being extraordinary, was for ſome general Apoſtacy, Rebellion, Contempt of God and his Word, ſome more than ordinary ſin. You have the firſt deſcription of their ſickneſs from the Cauſe.
3. For which the ſickneſs ſharp.The next is from the Effect, which was lamentable, and double.
1. Their ſoul abhorred all manner of meat. Meat, with which the life of man is ſuſtained, all manner of meat becomes loathſom to them; the diſeaſe was grievous.
2. And deadly to the eye of man.Yea, and deadly too, no Art of Phyſitians able to cure them; For they draw near to the gates of death, i. e. the Grave, where death exerciſeth his power, as the Judges of Iſrael did in the gates.
2. This cauſeth them to cry to God.But theſe being but dead men in the eye of man, took the ſame Courſe as they before.
1. Then they cryed unto the Lord in their trouble.
2. Ver. 19 And by Gods bleſſing they recovered, beyond all hope and expectation, God above, and alone, was their Phyſitian.
3. This was the manner of their Cure, He ſaveth them out of their diſtreſſes.
1. And he reſtores them to life and health.He ſent his Word, and healed them. He ſaid the word only, and they were made whole; or if any Dos were applied, as put caſe, a Brazen Serpent, Ver. 20 or a Bunch of Figs, yet it was his Word, his Will, his Command that made them Medicinal, Wiſd. 16.12, 13. And therefore the Prophet uſeth an apt word to put us in mind of this, He ſent his Word; no otherwiſe than ſome great Prince ſends forth his Embaſſadour to do his Command; and I little doubt but the Centurion had this in his mind, when he ſaid to our Saviour, Say the word only, and my ſervant ſhall be whole, Mat. 8.
2. And he delivered them from their deſtructions; which is oppoſed to the danger they were in, ver. 18. They draw nigh to the gates of death.For which he calls on them to be thankful.
3. But again he remembers the delivered to acknowledge the Cure with a grateful heart. Ver. 21
Oh that men would praiſe the Lord for his goodneſs, and for his wonderful works to the children of men.
And he adds:
1. And let them ſacrifice their Sacrifices; their foreign.
2. But yet with theſe conditions and limitations. Ver. 22
1. That it be with a thankful heart; they muſt be Sacrifices of Thankſgiving, an outward Sacrifice was nothing worth without it.
2. That with the Sacrifice there go an Annunciation; that men declare his works, publiſh what great things God had done for them, that the Cure was his.
3. That it be done with rejoycing; that we have an experience of Gods preſence, his mercy and favour; in which the heart ought more to rejoyce, than for the Cure done upon the Body.
4. The fourth Miſery, ariſeth from the danger at Sea, of which, all Travellers, The fourth miſery, ShipwrackMerchants, Mariners, have experience; which,
1. He deſcribes.
2. Shewes the courſe they take in a ſtorm.
3. And the event following upon their prayers.
4. Upon which he calls upon, as upon the three before to praiſe God.
1. They that go down to the Sea in ſhips: Go down; Ver. 23 for now the Sea is lower than the Earth.The ſtorm deſcribed, to which he prefaceth.
2. That do buſineſs in great waters. Have a Calling and Vocation to go down, as Merchants, Mariners; for, as for Pyrates, they have no Vocation, they may periſh, they have no promiſe of Protection, nor Audience.
3. Theſe men ſee the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. Ver. 24 Others hear of them by Relation, but theſe ſee them. They ſee the great Whales, innumerable kinds of ſtrange Fiſhes and Monſters; they ſee what the vaſtneſs and depth of the Sea is; they ſee Iſlands innumerable, diſperſed and ſafe in the Waves; they find in it many Whirle-pools, Quick-ſands, Rocks; they have experience of the virtue of the Load-ſtone; they diſcover many Stars that we know not; they behold the working of the Sea, the raging of it; through which, fear and horrour of death invades the hearts even of the moſt valiant men.
4. For he commandeth. Now he begins to deſcribe the Tempeſt, foreign.
1. From the cauſe. God it is that ſayes the word, and his word is a Command.
2. And with his word, He raiſeth the ſtormy wind. Incutit vim ventis.
3. Which, inſpired with his word, lifts up the waves thereof, that is, the Sea.
— Fluctus ad ſidera tolli.Virgil. Aenead. 1.
4. They, that is, the paſſengers, mount up to heaven, they go down to the depth.
Hi ſummo in fluctu pendent, his unda dehiſcens.
— Terram inter fluctus aperit.
5. Their ſoul is melted becauſe of trouble. Their ſtrength fails, and their ſpirit for fear and horrour faints.
Extemplo Aeneae ſolvuntur frigore membra.
6. They reel too and fro, they are toſſed this way and that way.
Tres curus ab alto in Brevia & Syrtes urget.
7. They ſtagger and totter, as a drunken man; an apt ſimilitude.
— Cui dubii stantque labantque pedes.
8. And are at their wits end: Or, Omnis ſapientia corum abſorbetur. Their Judgment roves, their Art fails, their Skill is at end.
Et meminiſſe viae media Palinuras in unda. — Denegat, Acts 27.14.
Hitherto the Prophet hath Poetically deſcribed the Tempeſt and Storm, Then they cry to God.and now he comes to acquaint us with the Courſe they in this danger took for to ſave their lives: They all flie to the common Remedy; this they thought was ſafeſt, and might do it, when all failed.
Then they cryed unto the Lord in their trouble. The Courſe that the Mariners in Jonah took, Jonah 1. I ſee the old Proverb will be true, Qui neſcit orare, diſcat navigare.
And the Conſequent was as before, And he quiets the Tempeſt.And he brings them out of their diſtreſſes: The manner this.
1. He makes the ſtorm a calm. Dicto cirius tumida aequora placat.
2. So that the waves thereof are ſtill. Et cunctus pelagi cecidit fragor.
3. Then are they glad, becauſe they be quiet, which is the firſt Effect: No more reeling too and fro, no more at their wits end; but taken out of the jawes of death by a ſudden calm, whence ariſeth much joy.
— Laeto teſtantur gaudia plauſu.
4. And ſets them ſafe on ſhore.And to increaſe it, at laſt he ſets them ſafe on ſhore: So he brings them to their deſired Haven.
Magno telluris amore Egreſſi, optata nautae potiuntur arenâ
Et ſale tabentes artus in littore ponunt.
3. For which he calls on them to praiſe God.And now in the laſt place he puts them in mind of their Duty, and wiſhes that they would pay their Tribute for the miracle done upon them, in ſaving of their lives out of ſo great danger.
Oh that men would praiſe the Lord for his goodneſs, and for his wonderful works to the children of men.
And it might be, that in their danger they had made ſome Vow, as was uſual for men in a great danger at Sea to do. Read the life of Nazianzen, who in ſuch a caſe vowed himſelf to God: This the Prophet would have paid, and yet openly.
1. Let them exalt him alſo in the Congregation of the people. In a Congregation, where all the people are aſſembled to praiſe God.
2. And that, not only before the promiſcuous Multitude, but in the preſence of thoſe who excel in Authority, Wiſdom, and Power, even the Princes: Let them praiſe him in the Aſsembly of the Elders. Me tabula ſacer votiva paries indicat, vida ſuſpendiſſe potenti veſtimento Maris Deo.
3. The third part: Gods Providence in the alterations of Kingdoms.After the Prophet had exalted Gods mercies in freeing men from theſe four former Miſeries and Calamities, Baniſhment, Captivity, Sickneſs, and Shipwrack; now he manifeſts his Power, Providence, and Wiſdom, in the viciſſitudes and alterations we find in things below, which proceed not from Chance and Caſualty, but from his wiſe Diſpenſation. In the Earth we ſee ſtrange Mutations, in Kingdoms wonderful Revolutions; and though for theſe, we are apt to aſſign inferiour Cauſes, and fix on them, yet we muſt go higher, and not reſt, till we acknowledge Gods Hand in all, whoſe Wiſdom orders all, and whoſe Power hath an influence in all theſe Alterations and Revolutions; let Epicurus and his Scholars think what they pleaſe to the contrary. Now of theſe Changes the Prophet produceth ſome Inſtances, upon which Tertullian very wittily deſcants in his Cap. 2. de Pallio. His firſt Inſtance is in the Earth, for in that he finds a great Change; but yet ſo, as God is the Cauſe of it, that he would have remembred.
1. He turns Rivers into a Wilderneſs, and Water-ſprings into a dry ground. 1Changes in the Earth.The fertility of any Land ariſeth from the Rivers, Ver. 33 as is apparent in Aegypt, which is made ſo fruitful by the overflow of Nilus: From fertile to barren, and è contra.And when Eliſha would free the Soyle from barrenneſs, he firſt healed the waters. Now when God pleaſeth to bring ſterility upon a Land, he can dry up theſe Rivers, or ſtay them, that they ſhall not overflow, as it was in Aegypt in the ſeven years Famine: And eaſie it were to produce examples of Rivers that have left their Channels, and diverted their Courſes, by which, the Land that was formerly fruitful, is become barren and deſolate as a Wilderneſs; and when there were Springs of water, now very dry ground; ſo that a fruitful Land is turned into barrenneſs; as Sodom, Gomorrah, Gen. 14. & 19. And if ſtories be true, the whole Land of Canaan, which was a Land flowing with milk and honey; but is now in compariſon of what it was, very barren.
2. And the Cauſe of this is, The iniquity of them that dwell therein. Iniquity the cauſe.Sodom is an inſtance. In my ears are the cry of your ſins, ſaith the Lord of Hoſts, and therefore of a truth many houſes ſhall be deſolate, even great and fair without an Inhabitant; yea, ten Acres of Ʋineyard ſhall yield one Bath, and the ſeed of an Homer ſhall yield an Ephah, Iſa. 5.9, 10.
2. And now on the contrary, 2From barren to fruitful land.that which more yet illuſtrates his Mercy and Providence, is, the Change we find in barren, dry, and incultivated grounds, which at his will become fruitful, inhabited, and abundant in all neceſſaries, for the life of man, which muſt be aſcribed to his Power; for no Power is able to turn Nature into a better courſe, but that of God: Or if it be done by mans induſtry, yet it is God that teacheth him the skill to do it, and gives the bleſſing to his labour. It was an impious Speech of Cyclops in Euripides:
foreign,
— foreign.
Now this our Prophet in this place inſiſts on, and amplifies at large.This from God.
1. He, that is, God, turneth the Wilderneſs into a standing water, and dry ground into Water-springs; i. e. He hath brought to paſs, that in deſert and dry places, there ſhould be Pools of water; and the Earth, which had no water, ſhould abound with Springs and Rivers; which is all one, as if he had ſaid, They ſhould be very fertile and fruitful; which is done for mans ſake.
2. For there he makes the hungry to dwell. Upon the diſcovery of ſome new found good Land, Colonies are tranſported thither, He puts into mens minds to plant Colonies.and ſuch who live in want and hunger at home, betake themſelves to theſe Forrain Plantations, which yet is done ſo much upon their own choice, as Gods ſecret direction: For there he makes the hungry to dwell.
3. Yea, and to build houſes, That they may prepare a City for habitation.
Pars aptare locum tecto, Aenead. 1, &c.pars ducere muros.
4. Farther yet, the ſtudies and endeavours of theſe new Colonies are:
1. To ſowe Fields.
2. To plant Ʋineyards, which may yield fruits of increaſe. That innocent work of Husbandry is their Profeſſion, which was the firſt Trade in the World.
5. And Gods bleſſing is upon their honeſt endeavours, He bleſſeth them alſo.
1. In Children: So that they are multiplied greatly.
2. In Cattle: And ſuffereth not their Cattle to decreaſe.
2. 2But even in theſe changes.But there is nothing in this World perpetual and ſtable, which leads the way to his ſecond Inſtance, even thoſe that God ſometimes had bleſſed, and by bleſſing, multiplied and enriched, continue not alwayes at the ſame ſtay.
1. Ver. 39 Theſe are miniſhed and brought low.
2. Theſe are worn out by oppreſſion, affliction, and ſorrow; by ſome publick Calamity or other; either War, Famine, Peſtilence, Invaſion, Inundations, &c. Neither is this only true in common men, but even in the greateſt Princes, 3Monarchy mutable.Principalities and Monarchies, even theſe are ſubject to Changes: All the Monarchies are fallen.
1. He poures Contempt upon Princes. This, to our grief, we have liv'd to ſee and feel: And it is a heavy judgment, both to Princes and people, and a great Argument of ſome grievous precedent ſins, that he ſuffer Princes, whether Civil or Eccleſiaſtical, to become contemptible; for then the Reins of Diſcipline is let looſe, confuſion followes, and all things grow worſe; which effuſion of vengeance, when it happens, is ſometimes cauſed for the ſin of the Prince, ſometime of the people, ſometime of both. 'Tis certainly, as he ſaid before, For the iniquity of thoſe that dwell in the Land.
2. Monarchs brought low.And cauſeth them to wander in the Wilderneſs, where there is no way; which Clauſe is ſubject to a double Interpretation.
1. Either that he ſuffers Princes to erre in their Counſels, in their Lives, and Examples; being deſtitute of the light of Wiſdom and Grace, they live vitiouſly and ſcandalouſly; or, they enact unjuſt Lawes, favour wicked men, and oppreſs the good, in which there is no way of God.
2. Or elſe he ſuffers them to be Wanderers in the World, as baniſhed Perſons; which I read with tears, well knowing, That there cannot be a greater Calamity to a Noble and ingenious ſpirit.
But yet there is ſome Comfort in the following verſe, To whom he will look, and raiſe them.That it ſhall not be ſo alwayes.
1. Yet he will look upon the poor afflicted, penitent, and raiſe him: Yet ſetteth he the poor man on high from affliction; He will give him eaſe and releaſe from his temporal and ſpiritual affliction.
2. And make him Families like a Flock: He will yet multiply him, gather him and his Family into one Fold, become his Shepherd, feed him, and govern him by his ſingular Providence and Manuduction.
4. The fourth part. All this written for our meditation.He concludes the Pſalm with an Epiphonema, in which he perſwades all good men to conſider the former Premiſes, and lay it to heart: To obſerve the whole courſe of Gods Providence, that they impute not the Changes of the World to Chance and Fortune, nor be overmuch dejected at them, but rather bleſs God for all, as Job did.
1. The righteous ſhall ſee it: Conſider, and ſeriouſly meditate upon it.
2. And rejoyce; when they are aſſured, that God is their Guardian, and that therefore the Croſſes which he layes upon them, are trials for their good, not for their ruine.
3. And all iniquity ſhall stop her mouth: By obſervation of the event at laſt, evil doers ſhall not have occaſion to laugh, and blaſpheme, and find fault with Gods wayes, but confeſs, That all was by God juſtly done, and wiſely diſpoſed.
But this is a Conſideration not for every brain, 'tis for wiſe men, that look afar off, and think on it.
1. Who is ſo wiſe, will obſerve theſe things: That is, viciſſitudes and changes of this World.
2. And they ſhall underſtand the loving-kindneſs of the Lord: It ſhall appear unto them at laſt, how ineffable his mercy is toward them which truly fear him, and call upon his Name; but our life is hid with Chriſt in God.
The Prayer collected out of the One hundred and ſeventh Pſalm.
O Omnipotent God, when we look upon the ſtrange viciſſitudes and alterations of the things of this World, our faith would waver, and our hearts would faint, were we not aſſured, that all things are guided by thy hand, and over-ruled by thy Providence, and ſecret Will and Counſel, Ver. 1 Who art good, and whoſe mercy endures for ever.
Be it then, that we are brought to wander in the Wilderneſs in a ſolitary way; that we be pilgrims and ſtrangers, and have no City to dwell in; that we are oppreſſ'd with hunger, and dryed up with thirſt, ſo that our ſoul is ready to faint within us; yet will we not deſpair. In our trouble, to thée will we cry, to thée will we make our moan, nothing doubting, but that if it ſhall be for thy glory, and our good, Thou wilt deal by us, as thou haſt done formerly with thy ſervants; them thou haſt deliver'd from their diſtreſſes, thoſe thou haſt led forth by the right way, and brought to dwell in their own Cities and Habitations. Thou haſt ſatisfied their longing ſouls, and filled their hungry ſouls with good things; which, ſince thou art good, and thy mercy endureth for ever, we are in good hope, Thou wilt do for us. Redéem, O Lord, thy baniſhed, and bring them home; So ſhall we praiſe thee for thy goodneſs, and declare thy wonderful works which thou doſt for the Children of men.
Long it is, O merciful God, That we have ſate in darkneſs, Ver. 10 and in the ſhadow of death; our back is bowed down with many iron hands, that we cannot lift up our head; our heart is brought low through affliction, and we find none to help; and all this is juſtly come upon us, becauſe we have rebelled againſt the words of our God, and contemned the Counſel of the moſt High. We have not done thy Will, nor kept thy Commandments; but have ſet up abominations, and have multiplied offences: But now, O Lord, in our trouble we cry unto thée, we how the knées of our hearts, beſéeching thée of grace, forgive, forgive, O Lord, and deſtroy us not with our iniquities. Save us, Lord, from our diſtreſſes, bring us out of this darkneſs and ſhadow of death, and break our Bands aſunder, break theſe gates of Braſs, and cut aſunder theſe Bands of Iron; ſo ſhall we thy redeemed praiſe thee, O Lord, for thy goodneſs, all the dayes of our lives, and declare the wonderful works which thou doſt for the children of men.
O Lord, I confeſs againſt mine own ſoul, that I have béen ſeduced, and pielded to many fooliſh luſts of the fleſh; Ver. 17 and becauſe of this my iniquity and tranſgreſſion, I am juſtly afflicted, and ſéel no whole part in my body, that thou ſhouldſt lengthen out my dayes any farther, I ſée no hope; my diſeaſe is ſo grievous, That my ſoul abhorreth all manner of meat; and my vital ſpirits ſo far ſpent, That I am drawing to the gates of death. To whom, O Lord, ſhould I flie, but to thée? To whom ſhould I cry in this my trouble, but to thée? O God, be merciful to thy ſervant, and preſs me not beyond my ſtrength, ſave me out of my diſtreſs, ſend out thy Word, and heal me, and deliver me from deſtructions. O let not thy fierce anger go beyond a fatherly correction, and in judgment remember thy mercy, that endures for ever. So ſhall I, whom Thou haſt redeemed from the jawes of death, praiſe thee, my God, for thy goodneſs, and for thy wonderful works to the children of men. I will ſacrifice the Sacrifices of Thankſgiving, and declare thy works with rejoycing.
O Lord, our Vocation calls upon us to go down to the Sea in Ships, and to negotiate, Ver. 23 and do our buſineſs in great waters, where we ſee the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. At thy Command the ſtormy wind ariſeth, and the waves of the Sea are lifted up. Toſſed we are, and mount up to Heaven, and by and by we go down to the bottom of the Sea; ſo that there we dwell in the ſhadow of death, and our ſoul is melted, and faints, becauſe of the preſent trouble; we reel too and fro, and ſtagger like a drunken man, and are at our wits end; for our wiſdom and our skill then fails us, our ſole refuge is in our prayers. In this inſtant of our trouble, as thou haſt commanded, We cry unto thee, look down upon thy ſervants, who in the abyſs of the Seas, and the abyſs of our trouble, invocate the abyſs of thy mercies; bring us out of theſe diſtreſſes. Thou which didſt command the winds, and rebuke the Seas, and they obeyed thée, Make the ſtorm a calm; Rebuke the furious winds and waves, and ſtill them by thy power; make us glad, by reſcuing us from the preſent danger, and quietly bring us to the deſired Haven: So will we praiſe thee, O Lord, for thy goodneſs, and for thy wonderful works to the children of men. And when we come to land, We will exalt thy Name in the Congregation of thy people, and praiſe thee in the Aſſembly of the Elders.
O Lord, we ſet our minds too much upon earthly things, and attribute too much to Nature, and ſecond Cauſes; whereas, all the power that is in the Creature, is from thée; and that reſtraint that is upon the Creature, procéeds from thée. Remove from our hearts this heavy and groſs ignorance, and impiety, and make us know and acknowledge, that it is thy hand, That turns Rivers into a Wilderneſs, and a land water'd with pleaſant Springs into a dry ground, by which a fruitful land becomes barren. But in this change, thy Iuſtice, O Lord, is exalted, by this thou ſheweſt thy hatred to ſin, and incorrigible ſinners; for this is cauſed, for the wickedneſs of them that dwell therein. Good God, ſo let us lay to heart this judgment, That our Houſes be not deſolate, great and fair without an Inhabitant; that ten Acres of Vineyard yield not a Bath, and the ſeed of an Homer yield not an Ephah.
And in this viciſſitude, thy Mercy is as conſpicuous as thy Iuſtice; for on the contrary, Thou turneſt the Wilderneſs into a ſtanding water, and dry ground into Water-ſprings. Put into the hearts of thy hungry to dwell there, thither lead their Colonies, in them let them prepare their Cities for habitation, give life to the ſéed of the Fields which they ſowe, and water the Vineyards that they plant, That they may yield them fruits of increaſe. Bleſs them alſo, O Lord, ſo that they be multiplied greatly in the fruit of their bodies, and ſuffer not their Cattle to decreaſe. But yet if theſe ſin againſt thée, and kick after they are waxed fat, viſit their offences with the rod, and their ſin with ſcourges; as thou didſt multiply them, ſo again diminiſh them; as thou didſt exalt them, ſo again bring them low, let ſome oppreſſing enemy, or ſharp and afflictive diſeaſe, put them to grief and ſorrow.
My bowels, my bowels, I am pained at the very heart, my eyes do fail with tears, and my liver is poured out upon the Earth; for the Lord hath deſpiſed in the indignation of his anger the King and the Prieſt. How long ſhall I ſée thy Standard, and hear the ſound of thy Trumpet? How long wilt thou poure contempt upon Princes, and cauſe them to wander in a ſtrange land, where yet they can find no way, no way of relief, no way of help. In mercy return good God, and viſit the ſéed of the righteous, caſt not his Crown to the ground for ever; but ſet the poor man on high from affliction; build him a ſure houſe, gather him and his family into one flock and fold; become his Shepherd, féed and govern him by thy ſingular Providence and Manuduction; and let thy work in it be ſo manifeſt, that all who ſée it, may fear, and ſay, This is the Lords doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. The righteous ſhall ſee and conſider it, and rejoyce, and then all iniquity ſhall ſtop her mouth.
Make us wiſe, O Lord, to obſerve, and in obſerving, to conſider, and by conſidering, to lay to heart theſe things; That thou ſitting in thy Throne above, yet ordereſt the things below; that honour and contempt are from thée, that ſickneſs and health are thy gife; that relief in a Famine, that reſtitution to the Baniſh'd, that liberty to the Captive, that deliverance from any furious ſtorm and tempeſt, is from thy hand; that the barrenneſs of the ground is from thy curſe, and the fertility of the earth followes upon thy bleſſing; for ſo ſhall we underſtand the loving-kindneſs of the Lord. O that men would praiſe the Lord for his goodneſs, and fo… his wonderful works to the children of men. O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord ſay ſo, thoſe whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gather'd them out of all lands, and brought them into his Church, that they bow their knees at the Name of Jeſus, by whom all mercies paſs to us, and to whom be all praiſe, honour, laud and dominion this day, and for evermore.
PSAL. CVIII. foreign.
THIS Pſalm is wholly compoſed and drawn into one out of two Pſalms. The firſt part of it, untill the 6th. verſe, is verbatim taken out of the 57th. Pſalm, beginning at the 7th. verſe; the latter part, from ver. 6. to the end, is taken out of the 60th. Pſalm, beginning, as it doth here, at the 6th. verſe, and is continued, as here, unto the end. I ſhall not need therefore to Analyſe and explain, or inſert a Meditation upon it, ſince it is done already; and therefore I paſs on to the next.