Davids Harp Strung and Tuned, Book 2 · Psalm 65
PSAL. LXV. Is foreign.
THIS Pſalm is wholly a Pſalm of Thankſgiving, and 'tis the Prophets purpoſe to ſet us a pattern how, and for what we are to praiſe God, both for ſpiritual and temporal bleſſings, and that firſt for thoſe, and then for theſe, and that this praiſe is moſt acceptable to him in his Church, viz. in Zion.
Two general parts of it.
1. He thanks God for his ſingular benefits to his Church, from ver. 1. to 6.
2. He thanks him for the common benefits to all Mankind, from ver. 6. to the end.
1. He ſets forth the grace of God to his people, The firſt part. An Euchariſt to God.of which he reckons many particulars.
1. That he made choice of Iſrael to ſerve, worſhip, praiſe him: Ver. 1 Praiſe waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion, 1For his Election of Iſrael.and unto thee ſhall the vow be performed.
2. That he was ſo propitious to hear their prayers: Thou that heareſt prayer, 2For hearing prayers.to thee ſhall all fleſh come; all thy afflicted people in their diſtreſſes.
3. To admit men to confeſſion, of which we have here a Form; 3For admitting them to confeſſion.My iniquities prevail againſt me; not to extenuate our ſins before God, but to aggravate them.
1. For number, iniquities.
2. For quantity, words, or matters of iniquities.
3. For efficacy, They prevail againſt me, are too mighty for me to conquer without thy grace.
4. That he grants us remiſſion and pardon: As for our tranſgreſſions, 4For remiſſion.thou ſhalt purge them away.
5. That he elects a peculiar people to himſelf, 5For reconciliation.to whom alſo he will after an offence be reconciled, in which lies their happineſs: Bleſſed is the man whom thou chooſeſt, and cauſeſt to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy Courts.
6. That he ſatisfies thoſe that dwell with an honeſt heart in his Courts, 6For his word and Sacraments.with the goodneſs of his Houſe, even of his holy Temple; viz. by the comforts of his Word, and grace of his Sacraments.
7. That he protects, defends, and governs his people: 7For his protection and governance.By terrible things in righteouſneſs, wilt thou anſwer us; i. e. our prayers, O God of our ſalvation.
1. Thou anſwerest us, when we cry and implore thy help.
2. By terrible things, as in Egypt by ſigns and wonders.
3. And the motive to it, is, thy juſtice, He concludes with an Elogy of God and his Providence.that there be a juſt revenge taken upon thy enemies, and a juſt retribution to thy people.
All which he concludes with a double Elogy of God.
1. Shewing what he is peculiarly to his people, O God of our ſalvation.
2. 1In ſpecial.What he is to all: The confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the Sea; for he ſuſtains all, be they where they will; in him they live, The ſecond part.and move, and have their being.
2. And ſo he deſcends from his peculiar Providence, viz. that care and love, and the benefits which from thence flows to his Church, 2In general.to ſpeak of his general Providence, in ordering and ſuſtaining the whole World, of which he gives ſeveral inſtances.
1. 1Ordering Kings.He by his strength ſetteth faſt the Mountains, being girded with power; which literally is true, but tropologically, Kingdoms, Empires.
2. He ſtilleth the noiſe of the Seas, the noiſe of their waves, for to that he ſets bounds; 2People.and the tumult of the people. He ſtills Divels, Tyrants, Armies, Seditions; ſo that they that dwell in the uttermoſt parts, are afraid at thy tokens, viz. either the ſtrange ſigns thou ſheweſt in Heaven above, or the Earth beneath; or elſe the vengeance thou bringeſt on tumultuous, ſeditious men.
3. 3All in Heaven.Thou makest the out-goings of the Morning and Evening to rejoyce; ordereſt the courſe of the Sun, Moon, Stars.
4. Thou viſiteſt the Earth, and watereſt it, thou greatly enrichest it with the River of God, 4On earth,which is full of water, &c. uſ que ad ver. 11. In which the Prophet amplifies this mercy of God, viz. That the rain, that the Rivers which water the Earth are from Gods ſtore, Fertility.his bleſſing; the riches it yields, the corn it brings forth, the fatneſs, the crown of the year is from him.
5. They, the Clouds, the Rivers of God drop upon the Wilderneſs, &c. ver. 12, 13. the fertility of the Deſerts, Hills, Valleys, Meadows, Paſtures, is from thee, in all parts of the Earth thy riches are conſpicuous; ſo much, That they, even the little Hills ſhall rejoyce, they ſhall laugh and ſing: Redebit ager, i. e. florebit. His meaning is, that men may plow, ſowe, dig, dung, &c. but it is God that gives the encreaſe.
A Thankſgiving collected out of the ſixth fifth Pſalm.
O Heavenly Father, the great, the good God, ſo many and ſo great are thy mercies and benefits toward the children of men, that honour and praiſe, and glory is thy due, from all into whoſe Noſtrils thou haſt breathed the breath of life; Ver. 1 but more eſpecially from thoſe whom thou haſt choſen to be thy people: In Zion then, the Manſion that thou haſt made choice to dwell in, we will ſound thy praiſes; in Jeruſalem, the City of the great King, will we perform our vows.
Such is thy gracious goodneſs, Ver. 2 that thou wilt encline thine ear, and hear the prayers of a poor afflicted people: In trouble, when man would turn away his face, and ſtand afar off, then thou haſt commanded to call on thée, and haſt promiſed deliverance; in trouble therefore ſhall fleſh, weak and ſinful, but penitent and believing fleſh come unto thée, being aſſured that thou wilt hear: Is this the faſhion of men, O bleſſed Lord God? nay, they ſtop their ears, they turn away their faces, this thou wilt not do, and for this, thy Name be praiſed.
This is an act of thy méer mercy, Ver. 3 not of our deſert; for our iniquities prevail againſt us; many they are, even a plurality of them; great they are, ſins of a ſcarlet dye, of a crimſon colour, and they prevail againſt us, far excéeding our ſtrength to maſter; if either the multitude, or quantity, or prevalence were able to condemn, our condition were miſerable, our caſe deſperate: But we know, O Lord, that thou art a merciful God, and that thou haſt ordained a Laver for us of thy dear Sons blood, and we believe, That the blood of Jeſus Chriſt ſhall purge us from all our ſins; as for our tranſgreſſions, we know thou wilt purge them away.
This is an ineſtimable favour, but thy goodneſs ſtayed not here; Ver. 4 as out of love, Thou haſt elected us before the foundation of the World; ſo again, after our ſubmiſſion, Thou wilt again be reconciled unto us, and cauſe us to approach unto thée: O the bleſſed eſtate of that ſoul whom thou haſt choſen, for he ſhall dwell in thy Courts, and be ſatisfied with the goodneſs of thy Houſe, even of thy holy Temple.
O ſatisfie our thirſty ſouls with the pleaſures of this houſe, ſéed us with the bread of thy heavenly Word, refreſh and ſtrengthen our ſouls with thy holy Sacraments, ſo ſhall our dying hearts rejoyce, and our mouth ſhall be filled with thy praiſe; for thy loving-kindneſs is better than life it ſelf, our lips ſhall praiſe thee.
O God of our ſalvation, Thou that art the hope of all the ends of the Earth, Ver. 5 and the confidence of them that remain in the broad Sea, we know thou haſt done terrible things for thy people, and ſhewed mighty ſigns and wonders for their deliverance; in righteouſneſs thou haſt procéeded againſt their Oppreſſors, and anſwered their Petitions when they cryed unto thée; Thou art the ſame God ſtill, hear us, and anſwer us alſo, and do wonders for us on Earth, and ſigns in the Heavens above, that ſo the out-goings of the Morning, Ver. 8 they that dwell where the Sun ariſeth; and the out-goings of the Evening, that dwell where the Sun ſets, may rejoyce and ſing, beholding the great deliverance which thou haſt given to thy people.
Vnworthy we are of the leaſt of thy mercies, but yet thy goodneſs hath overflowed unto us; Thou haſt opened thy hand, and filled us not only with theſe, but with many temporal bleſſings: Thou by thy ſtrength haſt ſet faſt the Mountains, Thou haſt ſtilled the noiſe of the Seas, and ſet bounds to its pround waves, that they return not again to cover the Earth; Thou haſt quieted, and ſtilled the tumults and madneſs of the people: Thou haſt appointed the Moon for certain ſeaſons, and the Sun knoweth his going down: Thou in mercy to us, haſt viſited the Earth, when it was parched and burnt, and dry; and by the Bottles of thy Clouds, haſt watered it, and greatly enriched it by thy Rivers, cauſing that dry Element to be a kind nurſing mother to all kind of fruits and herbs for the ſuſtenance of man and beaſts: The Corn that ſtands in the Vallies, is thy Corn; the water that deſcends into the furrows thereof, is thy rain, Thou makeſt it ſoft with thy ſhowres; for ſo thou haſt prepared it, ſo thou haſt provided for it, that it bring forth meat for the uſe and ſervice of men. The ſéed faſtens upon the root, ſhoots into the blade, knits in the ear; but this ſpring is from thée, it is thy bleſſing that it fills, it ſwells, it ripens for the Sickle: The crown and glory of the year is thy goodneſs; and the fatneſs and fertilty of the earth is from thee: Paul may plant, and Apollo may water, but it is God that gives the increaſe: That every part of the year yields its fruits in dus ſeaſon, is from the continuance in that path which thou haſt ordained for every creature to walk in.
Thy drops deſcend upon the Paſtures of the deſert places, that the wild Beaſts may have whereon to féed; thy Clouds empty themſelves upon the little hills, that the cluſters of Grapes ſhrink not and wither; by the abundance of paſture the ſhéep are cloathed with wool; and from thy bounty the Vallies ſtand ſo thick with corn, That men ſhall laugh and ſing.
Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty; juſt and true are thy wayes, Thou King of Saints; thy wiſdom is infinite, thy mercies are glorious, and we are not worthy to appear before that preſence, at which the Angels cover their faces; yet ſince thou, O Lord, art worthy to receive glory and honour, and power, becauſe thou haſt made, preſerved, redeemed us; we unworthy wretches, do in all humility and obedience offer thée all poſſible laud, praiſe, and honour; O my God, I will give thanks to thée for ever. Amen.