Davids Harp Strung and Tuned, Book 2 · Psalm 63
PSAL. LXIII. foreign.
DAVID at this time being forced to flie into the Wilderneſs, complains of his condition, that he was compelled to be abſent from the Aſſembly of Gods ſervants, and expreſſeth his vehement deſire to be again joyned unto them.
The Contents are.
1. His ardent affection to be preſent in the Aſſembly of Saints, ver. 1. and the Reaſons that moved him to it, 2, 3, 4, 5.
2. That being where he was, yet he forgot not his God, ver. 6, 7, 8.
3. A double Prophecy what ſhould befall his enemies, ver. 9. & 10. and what to himſelf, ver. 11.
1. O God, thou art my God: He premiſeth this phraſe, The firſt part. Premiſing his confidence in God.as the foundation of his deſires, contemplations, meditation, invocation, conſolation.
2. Then he by a Congeries expreſſeth his ardent deſire, and fervent affection.
1. Early will my ſoul ſeek thee; foreign, Thee, not other things. Ver. 1
2. My ſoul thirſteth for thee, my fleſh longeth after thee in a barren, dry, He expreſſeth his ardent deſire to be preſent where the Ark was.and thirſty Land, where no water is: No queſtion in this barren and dry Land, he muſt want many things; but of that he complains, 'tis only that he wanted the preſence of God in his Sanctuary.
2. And ſo he expreſſeth himſelf in the following verſe, Athirst his ſoul was, Ver. 2 to ſee the power and glory of God; viz. The Ark of the Covenant, which was a Type of Gods power and glory, as he had formerly done, ſo as I have ſeen thee in the Sanctuary.
And the Reaſon of this he interſerts by a Parentheſis (becauſe thy loving-kindneſs is better than life) A life indeed I live, but it is not vita vitalis, Ver. 3 The Reaſon.I have not ſo much comfort in it, as long as I am abſent from thy Sanctuary; then I ſhould ſee thy goodneſs in the uſe of thy Ordinances, The conſequences three.and that I account far beyond my life; could I be ſo happy to be admitted again thither, then theſe effects would follow: 1. Praiſe. 2. Invocation. 3. And Content. Ver. 4
1. Praiſe: For my lips ſhall praiſe thee, thus will I bleſs thee, &c.
2. Invocation and prayer: I will lift up my hands unto thee. Ver. 5
3. Content, great content and joy ariſing from theſe: My mouth ſhall be ſatisfied, as with marrow and fatneſs, when my mouth ſhall praiſe thee with joyful lips.
2. The ſecond part. But yet in the caſe he was, he forgets not his duty.Yea, but doth David now being in the Wilderneſs forget his duty, did he not praiſe, and pray to his God? yes verily, and that he next ſignifies, that no man doubt of it; but it was not with ſuch content, as in the company of Gods people.
1. Ver. 6 Even here; When I remember thee upon my Bed, and meditate on thee in the night-watches.
2. (Becauſe thou haſt been my help) therefore under the ſhadow of thy wings will I rejoyce.
3. My ſoul followeth hard after thee, thy right hand hath upholden me: 'Tis evident then, that David here wanted not his comfort; for,
1. He meditates and remembers what God had done for him.
2. He remembers that he had been his help, and therefore he rejoyceth in it.
3. He ſtill adheres to him, and follows hard after him for help ſtill.
3. The third part. He foretels what ſhould fall.And now being ſecure of Gods protection, he foretels what would happen to his enemies: 2. and what to himſelf.
1. To his enemies ruine: But thoſe that ſeek after my ſoul to deſtroy it, they ſhall go (ſome of them) into the lower parts of the Earth, or the Grave, or Hell: 1To his enemies.2. They ſhall fall by the Sword, as did Saul, and be a portion for Foxes; be unburged, and be devoured by wild Beaſts. foreign.
2. To himſelf honour and a Crown: But the King; i. e. David, ſhall rejoyce in God; the Reaſon is,
1. Every one that ſwears by him, that is, by God, viz. that worſhips and fears him; an Oath being by a Synecedoche, for the whole worſhip of God.
2. But on the contrary, the mouth of thoſe that ſpeak lyes, utter blaſphemies, curſes, perjuries, ſhall be stopped; ſhamed he ſhall be, and confounded.
The Prayer collected out of the ſixty third Pſalm.
O God, Ver. 1 thou art my God, the God whom I only ſerve, that God whom I have alwayes found propitious unto me; therefore even before the morning light, I will awake, and ſéek thée; I am at this time baniſhed, and forced to dwell in a dry and thirſty land, where no water is; yet the want of neceſſary relief doth not ſo much afflict me, as the want of thy preſence; after thée therefore I thirſt, to thée I ſigh, of thée I more attentively meditate, than of any bodily ſuſtenance.
It is the grief of my heart, that I cannot be preſent to hear thy holy Word, to offer up my ſupplications before thée, Ver. 2 to receive the Seals of thy love, and my ſalvation, in the Aſſemblies of thy Saints; there I was wont to behold thy power in thy Sanctuary; Ver. 5 I did contemplate thy glory, and my mouth ſhall be ſatisfied, as it were, with marrow and fatneſs, even with the chiefeſt delights, might I be again reſtored to thoſe ſpiritual comforts in thy houſe.
My life is not ſo dear unto me, as is thy loving-kindneſs, that kindneſs which I was wont to enjoy in thy preſence; Ver. 3 bring me then back again to thy Sanctuary, Ver. 5 and my lips ſhall praiſe thee: Thus will I bleſs thée whil'ſt I live, and with the invocation of thy Name in prayer I will lift up my hands unto thée, begging help and grace of none but thée, who art my Gracious, Merciful, and Almighty God: This I account the joy of my heart, and for this, my mouth ſhall praiſe thee with joyful lips.
And yet being where I am, in a deſolate Wilderneſs, in a thirſty and dry land, I will remember thee in my Bed, Morning, and in the Night-ſeaſon I will meditate upon thee, and not without great reaſon; for thou alwayes haſt béen my help: Thou haſt protected me, as the Hen doth her Chickens under her feathers; and therefore under the ſhadow of thy wings will I rejoyce. My ſoul, out of the conſideration of thy power and goodneſs, ſhall cleave unto thée, and follow hard after thee; and I am perſwaded, that I ſhall not be fruſtrate of my hope, for in all my dangers hitherto, thy right hand hath upholden me.
This is my hope, this is my confidence. I doubt not therefore, but that all thoſe that ſeek after my life to deſtroy it, ſhall quickly periſh, and be brought to the power of death, or to the lower parts of the earth: And many of them, as they have ſought to ſhed my blood, have their own blood let out by the edge of the Sword, and their bodies being unburied, torn and devoured by Birds of prey, and Beaſts of rapine and cruelty.
O Lord, let the King, ſéeing the vengeance which thou wilt take of his enemies, rejoyce in thee, in thy help, in thy ſalvation: And let all thoſe who religiouſly ſerve thée, and truly fear an Oath, glory in thee, and make their boaſt of thée, eſpecially when they ſhall ſée, That the mouth of all thoſe that have ſpoken lyes againſt thy people, and by perjury oppreſſed and undone them, ſhall be ſtopped by an immature death, and made an example to others, that they do no more ſo wickedly, nor any more calumniate thy people, that ſerve thée with an honeſt and ſincere heart. Amen.