Davids Harp Strung and Tuned, Book 1 · Psalm 37
PSAL. XXXVII. foreign.
THE intent of this Pſalm is, that good men be not over-much troubled at the proſperity of wicked men; and what is here delivered, may be reduced to theſe two general Heads.
1. He ſets down the Duty of a good man, which is to be patient, and put his confidence in God, when he ſees the wicked proſper and flouriſh.The firſt part. That we fret not at wicked mens proſperity.
2. He gives many Reaſons to perſwade unto it.
1. He begins with an Interdict, and then deſcends to give forth ſome Commands.
1. His Interdict is, Fret not thy ſelf becauſe of evil doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. Be nor angry, not envious; to which he adds this Reaſon, That their proſperity is but ſhort; for they ſhall be cut down as the graſs, and wither as the green herb: This interdict is repeated, ver. 7, 8. and the reaſon, ver. 9, 10, 35, 36, 38.He ſets down ſome Rules to keep from envy.
2. Then he ſets down ſome commands or rules to keep from fretting and anger.
1. The firſt, is a perpetual rule for our whole life, Truſt in the Lord; rely not on humane helps, riches, friends, &c. truſt to God.
2. Do good, increaſe not thy ſtate by ill arts and means.
3. Dwell in the land, deſert not thy ſtation; for verily thou ſhalt be fed.
4. And therefore enjoy quietly what thou haſt at preſent.
5. Delight thou in the Lord, be pleaſed with his way: Ratio; Dabit petitiones cordis.
6. Commit thy way unto the Lord; labour in an honeſt vocation, leave the reſt to him; for he ſhall bring it to paſs; he ſhall bring forth thy righteouſneſs, &c.
7. Rest and acquieſce in the Lord, and wait patiently for him; his time is the beſt, and then he repeats his Interdict, Fret not thy ſelf.
Then he reſumes his former Reaſon mentioned at the ſecond verſe, The firſt Reaſon.and amplifies it by an Antitheſis, viz. that bonis benè, malis malè erit, ver. 9, 10, 11. The ſecond part. Evil doers cut off.and ſo it falls out plerum que , but not ſemper, which is enough for temporal bleſſings.
1. Evil doers ſhall be cut off; but thoſe that wait on the Lord, ſhall inherit the Earth.
2. Yet a little while, and the wicked ſhall not be; yea, and thou ſhalt diligently conſider his place, and it ſhall not be: But the meek ſhall inherit the Earth, and ſhall delight themſelves in the abundance of peace.
To this he adds a ſecond Reaſon, taken from the Providence of God: 1. The ſecond Reaſon. Gods Providence. Object. 1. Bad men hate good men.In protecting the righteous, and confounding their enemies: 2. In bleſſing the little they have, in which he ſeems to remove a double objection: The firſt, about the tyranny of the wicked over juſt men; The ſecond, that they were commonly in want and poverty.
The firſt Tentation that much troubles pious ſouls, is the power, the cruelty, the implacable hatred of wicked men; The wicked plotteth againſt the juſt, and gnaſheth upon him with his teeth: To which David anſwereth:Reſp. God ſhall revenge it.
The Lord ſhall laugh at him; for he ſeeth that his day, dies ultionis, is coming.Reply; yea, they kill them.
Yea, But the wicked have drawn out their Sword, and have bent their Bowe (which is beyond plotting and deriſion) to caſt down the poor and needy, Reſp. They kill'd for it.and ſlay ſuch as are of an upright Converſation. David anſwers:
Be it ſo, Their Sword ſhall enter into their own heart, and their Bowe ſhall be broken. Object. 2
The other Tentation, is beggery and poverty; foreign. Good men poor. Reſp. Their little better, than great Riches.The ungodly ſwim in wealth, but the godly are commonly poor, and therefore expoſed to contempt; foreign.
To this David anſwers, A little that the righteous hath, is better than the riches of many wicked; better, becauſe uſed better; better, becauſe poſſeſſed with content; better, becauſe it hath Gods bleſſing upon it: And this David proves by many Reaſons.His Reaſons for it, his Riches durable.
1. For the arms of the wicked: i. e. Their arm and ſtrength of riches, ſhall be broken; but God ſuſtains with his bleſſing, that little of the righteous.
2. The Lord knows the dayes, good or bad, of the upright; he loves them, and they are his care; and their inheritance ſhall be for ever, firm, ſtable.Not ſo with wicked rich men.
3. They ſhall not be aſhamed in the evil time, nor deſtitute, nor forſaken of neceſſaries, and in the dayes of famine they ſhall be ſatisfied.
But with rich wicked men it is not ſo; though they abound in wealth, yet they ſhall inſenſibly conſume, periſh, as the fat of Lambs, that burnt upon the Altar, vaniſheth into ſmoke, 2Out of his little he hath to give.and paſſeth away.
4. And yet another bleſſing there is upon the good mans little, that he hath over and above, and ſomething to ſpare, to give; whereas the wicked, notwithſtanding his ample fortune, But the wicked a borrower, and payes not.is a borrower, and hath this ill quality, that he payeth not again; the righteous ſheweth mercy, and giveth.
Of which he gives this Reaſon: For ſuch as God bleſſeth, ſhall poſſeſs the earth; and they that be curſed of him, ſhall be cut off: i. e. They ſhall have, but not enjoy the goods of this life.
And thus much David proves by his own experience; I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not ſeen the righteous forſaken, nor his ſeed begging their bread; his liberality was the cauſe of it, He is ever merciful, and lendeth, The third Reaſon. God upholds him.and his ſeed is bleſſed.
Another Argument of Gods protection, is, that God upholds him: The ſteps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way; and be it that by infirmity, he erre, ſlip, fall; yet though he fall, yet he ſhall not utterly be caſt down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.
In the reſt of the Pſalm, 1He repeats his Rule, to flie evil, and do good.David makes a repetition of all that went before, he ingeminates his chief rule, his promiſes, his comforts, his comminations.
And he begins with his Rule, ver. 3. Depart from evil, and do good, and dwell for evermore: In which he exhorts to obedience, and inſtanceth in both parts of Repentance, His Reaſons. 1. A promiſe to the godly.Mortification, Vivification; which he fortifieth with a double Reaſon, the ſame before.
1. A promiſe to the godly: For the Lord loveth righteouſneſs, he forſaketh not his Saints, Ver. 28 they are preſerved for ever.
2. 2A commination to the wicked.A commination to the wicked; but the ſeed of the wicked ſhall be cut off.
Theſe two Reaſons he reſumes, amplifies, and illuſtrates.
Firſt, That of the righteous: The righteous ſhall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever; 1He illuſtrates the firſt.and that you may know who he means by his righteous man, he further ſets down his Character; he it is,
1. The character of the righteous.Whoſe mouth speaks wiſdom; he ſpeaks honourably and reverently of Gods Juſtice, and denies not his Providence.
2. Whoſe mouth talks of judgment; i. e. that only which is juſt and right.
3. The Law of God is in his heart; not in his tongue alone, or his brain.
4. None of his ſteps ſhall ſlide; he keeps on his right way, and will not be ſeduced: This is the righteous man I mean; but this righteous man, as I ſaid before, ver. 12, 13, 14, 15. hath his enemies; for the wicked watcheth the righteous, And him God protects.and ſeeks to ſlay him.
Well, be it ſo, that this righteous man hath his Protector alſo; The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged: And therefore do what I have formerly adviſed, ver. 3, 7. Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he ſhall exalt thee to inherit the Land; when the wicked are cut off, thou ſhalt ſee it.
Secondly, 2He illuſtrates the ſecond; viz his commination.For they ſhall be cut off, as I ſaid, ver. 28. This I know by my own experience, I have ſeen the wicked in great power, and flouriſhing like a green bay Tree; yet he paſſed by, and lo he was gone; I ſought him, but he could not be found.
And what I have in my time obſerved, that you by your own experience, if you be diligent and attentive, ye may obſerve to be as true alſo, even in both kinds, both juſt and unjuſt, godly, and ungodly; for,
1. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace.
2. But the Tranſgreſſors ſhall be deſtroyed together, the end of the wicked ſhall be cut off.
Of which, The cauſe of both, Gods doing.if you ſhall enquire the cauſe, it is eaſie to give it, and I have ſaid it before, but I will here ſay it over again, for it can be never too often repeated, that it may be the better remembred: But the ſalvation of the righteous is of the Lord, he is their ſtrength in the time of trouble; and the Lord ſhall help them, and deliver them from the wicked, and ſave them, becauſe they truſt in him; and on the contrary, the wicked ſhall be cut off, and periſh, becauſe they truſt not in him.
The Prayer collected out of the thirty ſeven Pſalm.
O Almighty Lord, ſince the weakneſs of thy beſt children hath béen ſuch, that they have béen offended at the proſperity, and repined at the ſucceſſes of wicked men; yea, this temptation hath ſo far ſeized upon them, that they have called in queſtion thy Providence, and béen ſtaggered in the way of Truth and Piety: Enable me thy ſervant with thy grace, that I be not tempted above my ſtrength; Ver. 1 never let me murmur at the ſuppoſed happineſs of evil doers, nor fret at their power, nor be envious, becauſe they proſper in their way, and bring their devices to paſs. Of a truth, Lord, the workers of iniquity are in great power, riches, and honour, they are exalted, like a Cedar of Lebanon, and ſpread and flouriſh like a green bay Tree: Expect they do, all men ſhould come, and put their truſt under their ſhadow, which if any juſt man refuſe, they obſerve his way, and mark his ſteps, ſéeking an occaſion and opportunity to deſtroy him; for they are ready with a drawn Sword in their hand, and a bended Bowe in their fiſt; that they firſt caſt down the poor and needy, and then ſlay him that is innocent, and of an upright Converſation.
Good God, never ſuffer our faith and confidence to be ſhaken at theſe procéedings of thy Providence, but with an equal and patient mind, let us reſign our ſelves to thy will, and be content, thou do what ſéems good in thy eyes, being fully aſſured, that all things ſhall work together for the beſt to thoſe that love God.
O Lord, let us reſt in thee, and wait patiently for thee; for thou haſt ſaid it, and thy Word is true, That wicked doers ſhall be cut off, and yet a little while, and his perſon ſhall deſcend into the grave; his pomp ſhall vaniſh, his power come to naught, his riches take the wing, and flie away; yea, his very place ſhall not be, and that there ſhall be no remainder of him; in thy good time, O Lord, make good this thy promiſe, and let him be cut down as the graſs, and wither, as the gréen herb; let his Sword, that he hath drawn againſt the innocent, enter into his own heart; let the Bowe, which he hath bent to wound the guiltleſs, break in his hand, and wound himſelf; becauſe he is the enemy of thy people, he is an enemy to thée, and therefore let him ſuddenly and wholly vaniſh away, as ſmoke, leaving no ſign at all behind of his ill-purchaſed glory.
But as for the meek, who with a patient ſoul delight in thée, and chearfully undergo thoſe affronts and injuries which the proſperity of the wicked ſhall lay upon them, well knowing, that all is done by thy wiſdom and permiſſion; Give them and their poſterity a ſure poſſeſſion in the earth, and let them be delighted with abundance of peace, and tranquility of conſcience; uphold Lord the righteous, and let their inheritance be for ever.
Let the little they have, be unto them better than the great riches of the ungodly, which they have heaped together by unjuſt wayes; make them content with it, enjoy it ſwéetly and ſecurely, and let it alwayes be ſufficient to ſupply their neceſſities; and ſo bleſs Lord their ſubſtance, that in the dayes of want and famine, they may have enough; forſake them not, O Lord, and ſuffer not their ſeed to beg their bread; when by ſome miſfortune they ſhall fall from a high eſtate, and have experience of adverſity; or elſe, if through infirmity they fall into ſin, yet Lord, let them not be utterly caſt down, but even then put to thy helping hand, and lift them up, reſtore them to their former ſtate, and to thy favour.
This that they may the ſooner recover, recall them when they go aſtray, and ever after, order their ſteps in thy Word, and delight in their way; teach them to eſchew evil, and to do good, ſo ſhall they dwell for evermore; let them ſhew mercy, and give and lend, that their ſeed may be bleſſed: Teach their mouth to ſpeak wiſdom, and their tongue to talk of judgment; let the Law of thee their God, be in their heart, that their ſteps and goings may not ſlide; forſake not, O Lord, thy Saints, love judgment, and preſerve them for ever; leave them not, good Lord, in the hand of the wicked, nor condemn them when they are judged; approve not thou that unjuſt ſentence which wicked men paſs upon them.
O ye righteous, then wait on the Lord, and keep his way; good God, give us all grace to delight in thée, and to commit our wayes unto thée, well-knowing that thy ſervants ſhall be exalted, when the wicked ſhall be cut off: Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace: O Lord, let me dye the death of the righteous, and let my latter end be like his; when the Tranſgreſſours ſhall be deſtroyed, and cut off together, then Lord, be thou a ſalvation to the righteous, and their ſtrength in time of trouble,
O Lord, ariſe, help us, and deliver us, deliver us from the wicked, and ſave us, becauſe we put our truſt only in thee. Amen.