Davids Harp Strung and Tuned, Book 2 · Psalm 69 – Psalm 70
PSAL. LXIX. foreign.
IN this Pſalm, David ſhews to what extream ſtraits he was brought by malicious enemies; and yet he is but the Type, for the bitter paſſion of our Saviour are by theſe not obſcurely ſet out to us.
The parts are:
1. Davids prayer, and the Reaſons he uſeth for help, from ver. 1. to 23.
2. An imprecation againſt his enemies, from ver. 23. to 31.
3. His profeſſion of thanks, from ver. 30. to the end.
1. The firſt part. His prayer, and the occaſion and reaſon.He petitions, Save me, O God, ver. 1. and then adjoyns his Reaſons, which are many.
1. The preſent condition in which he was in, expreſſed by divers Metaphors, comparing his enemies to waters, 1His preſent danger.deep waters, deep mire, great floods.
1. Ver. 1 Save me, for the waters are come in unto my ſoul.
2. I ſink in the deep mire, where there is no ſtanding.
3. I am come into the deep waters, where the floods overflow me; no more hope for me to eſcape without thy help, than for a man of life, who is compaſſed with the waves of the Sea.
Yea, and that which adds to my grief, I call to thee, and thou ſeemeſt not to hear.
1. I am weary of my crying.
2. My throat is dry.
3. My eyes fail while I wait upon my God; nothing is wanting on my part, and yet I have no anſwer, and yet I will wait ſtill, for thou art my God.
2. 2From his enemies.Farther yet; when I conſider my enemies, I have reaſon to cry, Save me; for they are malicious: 2. Many: 3. Mighty: 4. Injurious.
1. Malicious: They hate me without a cauſe.
2. Many: They are more than the hairs of my head.
3. Mighty and injurious: They that would deſtroy me, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty; Then …reſtored that I took not away.
3. 3From his innocence.From his innocence, touching which he appeals to God; O God, Thou knoweſt how guilty I am of that which they impute to me for fooliſhneſs, viz. I am not guilty, and yet my faults are not hid from thee. Before thee I confeſs that I am a ſinner, but not guilty of any folly done to them; for that which they call folly, viz. thy Service, is my greateſt wiſdom.
4. 4From the hurt may come by it.Leſt if he ſuffer thus, and be not ſaved, others then by it will be diſcouraged, fall away, and judge it a vain thing to depend and rely upon thee; and therefore he prayes, Let not them who wait upon thee, O Lord God of Hoſts, be aſhamed for my cauſe; let not them who ſeek thee, be confounded through me, O God of Iſrael.
5. 5That he ſuffers for Gods ſake.And the fifth Reaſon he gives, which may be moſt perſwaſive that God hear and ſave, viz. that what we ſuffer is not for his own, but for Gods ſake: Becauſe for thy ſake have I ſuffered reproach, ſhame hath covered my face; for this I am become a ſtranger to my Brethren, An foreign.an Alien to my mothers children. And upon this cauſe he ſtayes, uſ que , ver. 13. and ſhews how he was affected toward God, that he might make it appear, For it was for,that for this cauſe it was he ſuffered: 2. And then how for it they were affected to him.
1. 1His zeal.He was zealous for his God: The zeal of thy houſe hath eaten me up; and for this he ſuffered: The reproaches of them that reproached thee, are fallen on me.
2. 2A penitent.He was religious, a Penitent, faſted, uſ que ad caſtigationem animae; I wept, and chaſtned my ſoul with faſting; but when I did this, that alſo was turned to my reproof.
3. He humbled himſelf even to wear Sackloth; I made Sackloth my garment; but he could not ſo pleaſe neither, I became a Proverb to them, to them of all ſorts.
1. To the high, and ſuch as were in Authority: Thoſe that ſit in the Gate ſpeak againſt me.
2. To the low, common and ordinary people: And I was the ſong of the Drunkards.
2. This I ſuffer for thy ſake, and therefore he now renews again his Petition, He renews his Petition.and enforceth it near upon the ſame Arguments; and firſt he prayes earneſtly, hoping that he hath choſen for this a fit ſeaſon: But as for me, my prayer is unto thee in an acceptable time.
1. Hear me, ver. 13. Deliver me, let me not ſink, let me be delivered, ver. 14. Let not the water-flood overflow me, neither let the deep ſwallow me, &c. And again, Hear me, O Lord, turn unto me; Hide not thy face from thy ſervant; Hear me speedily; Draw nigh to my ſoul, and redeem it; Deliver me.
2. Thus earneſt he was in his prayer, and his Arguments to perſwade Audience: are,
1. Gods goodneſs, mercy, truth: In the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy ſalvation: Hear me, O Lord, for thy loving-kindneſs is good; Turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
2. I am in very great troubles and dangers: In the mire, and like to ſink; in deep waters that overflow, and are ready to ſwallow me; in a pit, whoſe mouth is ready to ſhut upon me; I am in trouble, therefore hear me ſpeedily, and deliver me.
3. I am thy ſervant, 'tis for my ſervice to thee I ſuffer; therefore hide not thy face, &c.
4. Do it, do it, becauſe of my enemies; as if he had ſaid, Though I be not worthy for whom thou ſhouldſt do this, yet mine enemies are ſuch, that they deſerve no favour, they deſerve not that I be left in their hands.
1. They are ſcorners, and that thou knoweſt: Thou hast known my reproach, my ſhame, and my diſhonour; my Adverſaries are all before thee; in thy ſight they do it.
2. And this their baſe uſage toucheth me near, and puts me into an agony; Reproach hath broken my heart, I am full of heavineſs.
3. My friends ſtand afar off, flie, and forſake me: And I looked for ſome to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.
4. Laſtly, they were inhumane: They gave me Gall to eat; and in my thirſt they gave me Ʋinegar to drink: Nothing more true than theſe four degrees in Chriſts Paſſion, ſuch enemies he found, ſuch Jewes.
2. His prayer being ended, The ſecond part. An imprecation.he fitly ſubjoins a heavy imprecation by way of a Prophecy.
1. And firſt he prayes, That as they gave him Gall and Vinegar in his thirſt, that they might find the like at their Table: Let their Table be made a ſnare to them, and that for their welfare a Trap: A heavy judgment, The degrees are eight.when that which God ordains for our neceſſity, delight, content, health, proſperity, ſhould be our hurt, diſcontent, ſickneſs, death.
2. That they be ſtruck blind; and he means not ſo much in body, as in mind; a grievous judgment, when a man can neither ſee imminent dangers, nor future evils: Let their eyes be darkned that they ſee not.
3. That they be infeebled in their bodies and counſels, Make their loyns continually to ſhake; i. e. let them be unfit for War and action; or, as Saint Paul renders it, Ever bow down their backs, let them be in perpetual ſlavery, and carry burdens.
4. That they ſuffer ſpeedily, greatly, and continually.
1. Greatly; for he prays, effunde, poure out, and that is commonly out of a full Veſſel, and plentifully.
2. Speedily; Poure out thy indignation on them; for foreign. Baſil.
3. Perpetually; Let thy wrathful anger take hold of them; for foreign.
5. That their Countrey be waſted, and their poſterity thruſt from their inheritance and houſes: Let their habitation be deſolate, and none dwell in their Tents: And here the Prophet interſerts a Reaſon, which was their foreign, or which is worſe, their adding affliction to affliction; ſo far from commiſeration, that they help to increaſe the grief of thoſe whom God hath wounded; For they perſecute him whom thou haſt ſmitten, and they talk to grieve thoſe whom thou haſt wounded.
6. That they may fill up the meaſure of their iniquity, and ſo be ripe for Gods Sickle, Add iniquity to iniquity; withdraw thy grace, that they ſin freely.
7. That they dye in the ſtate of impenitency, Let them not come into thy righteouſneſs.
8. That they finally periſh, Let them be blotted out of the Book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
3. The third part. He ſings praiſeHitherto we have heard Davids complaints and prayers; but now out of the ſenſe of divine protection, he breaks out into praiſes.
1. Ver. 29 He confeſſes his own condition: As for me, I am poor and ſorrowful; and then acknowledgeth Gods help; Let thy ſalvation ſet me on high.And aſſures himſelf of Gods acceptance. The effects ſhall be,
2. Then with full voyce he ſings praiſe: I will praiſe the Name of God with a Song, and will magnifie it with Thanksgiving.
3. And of this praiſe he promiſeth himſelf acceptance: This alſo ſhall pleaſe the Lord better than an Oxe or Bullock, that hath Horns and Hoofs.
And the effect of this his praiſe for his deliverance, 1Joy to the afflicted.will be double: Firſt, upon the godly poor afflicted people; and ſecondly, upon the whole World▪
1. The effect upon the poor will be joy: The humble and meek ſhall ſee this, and be glad; and your heart ſhall live that ſeek God; their ſad heart ſhall revive.
2. The Reaſon is; For the Lord heareth the poor, and deſpiſeth not his Priſoners: David and Chriſt he heard, and this gives aſſurance that he will hear ſuos vincta, thoſe that ſuffer for him.
Then ſecondly, 2Thankſgiving in all men.the effect it ſhall have upon the whole World, is a general Thankſgiving.
1. Let the Heaven and the Earth praiſe him, the Seas, and every thing that moveth therein.
2. And the Reaſon he gives for it, is worth noting, which is, his goodneſs to his Church and people.
1. For Gods goodneſs to his Church.In ſaving them from their enemies: He will ſave Zion.
2. In confirming his Kingdom among them: He will build the Cities of Judah.
3. In giving them ſecurity and peace; That men may dwell there, and have it in poſſeſſion.
4. In conſerving it perpetually, that the Cates of Hell ſhall not prevail againſt it: The ſeed alſo of his ſervants ſhall inherit it, and they that love his Name ſhall dwell therein: Not Hypocrites, but they who love him ſincerely, and worſhip him in Spirit and Truth.
The Prayer collected out of the ſixty ninth Pſalm.
O Bleſſed Lord God, who art more ready to grant, than we to ask, let this be the time when my prayer ſhall be accepted by thée; O God, Ver. 13 in the multitude of thy mercy hear me. Hear me, O Lord, for thy loving-kindneſs is good; Turn unto me, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies; and hide not thy face from thy ſervant, for I am in trouble: Hear me ſpeedily, Ver. 1 and ſave me, O my God.
The waters are come even unto my ſoul, Ver. 1 O let not the water-flood overflow me, neither let the deep ſwallow me up; and let not the pit ſhut her mouth upon me: I ſink in deep mire, where there is no ſtanding; deliver me out of the mire, Ver. 2 and let me not ſink. Now in the midſt of theſe extremities, I am weary with crying unto thee, my throat is dry and hoarſe through my daily complaining; yea, and my eyes are grown weak and dim in looking upward, Ver. 18 and in waiting for help from my God; Draw nigh then unto my ſoul, and redeem it, and let me have an experience of the truth of thy ſalvation.
My enemies, O Lord, are many and mighty, and malicious; Ver. 4 Thoſe that hate me, are more in number than the hairs of my head: Mighty they are alſo, Ver. 5 and moſt injurious; for they call me to an account for that I never took, and puniſh me for that I never deſerved: O Lord, Thou knoweſt my fooliſhneſs, Ver. 4 and my faults are not hid from thee, againſt thee only I have ſinned, but to them I have done no harm; and yet ſuch is their malice, that they ſéek to deſtroy me wrongfully, and without any cauſe of mine ſéek to take away my life.
To thée, O Lord, all things are manifeſt, Thou haſt known my reproach, my ſhame, and my diſhonour, and my Adverſaries are alwayes before thee; and this reproach is ſo great, that it hath even broken my heart, and I am full of heavineſs; and which is yet more grievous, in this my diſtreſs, I looked for ſome to take pity on me, but I found none; and for comſorters, but I found none; for not only my enemies afflicted me, but even my friends ran from me, Ver. 8 and forſook me. I am become, as it were, a ſtranger unto my Friends and Brethren, and an Alien to thoſe who are of my own blood, my mothers children, and moſt familiar friends ſtand ſtaring upon my trouble, deny me, and afford me no comfort.
And all this is done unto me without any fault or offence of mine, Ver. 7 it is for thy ſake I have born this reproach: For thy ſake ſhame hath covered my face; for the zeal of thy Houſe hath eaten me up: I have béen very zealous for the Lord God of Hoſts, they have thrown down thine Altars, and ſlain thy Prophets with the edge of the Sword; very ſtudious I have béen, and fervent to maintain thy Religion in its purity, which others have caſt down; and in it, ſo much as lies in them, have reproached thée; but the reproaches of them that reproached thee, are fallen upon me.
Becauſe thy Name was diſhonoured, I wept, I chaſtned even my ſoul with faſting; and whereas I ought for this to have béen more dear unto them, I became a ſcorn; even my humiliation and acts of repentance, were turned to my reproach: I teſtified alſo my ſadneſs, by my Sackloth; and for this, I became a Proverb of reproach. The Iudges, the chief of the City, they which ſit in the Gates, ſpeak againſt me, condemning me, and detracting from me; and as for the common, ordinary ſort of people, the Drunkards, they made ſongs of me. In a word, They gave me Gall to eat, and Vinegar to drink; ſo inhumane they were, that whereas in my greateſt ſufferings and extremities they ought to have refreſhed and relieved me, they increaſed my ſorrows, and under a colour of refreſhment, added affliction to the afflicted.
Now in the midſt of theſe grievances, that which moſt grieves my heart, is, the ſcandal of the Croſs; afraid I am, leſt that any of thy people looking upon thoſe things which I ſuffer, ſhould eſtéem me ſtricken, ſmitten of God, and afflicted; and thereby take an occaſion to renounce the Truth of Religion, and fall from thée: I beſéech thée therefore O Lord God of Hoſts, Let not them that wait on thee, be aſhamed for my ſake; let not them that ſeek thee, be confounded for my ſake, O Lord God of Iſrael.
O Lord, to remove this ſcandal, there is no readier way, than to bring them down, to humble them, and to poure the vials of thy wrath upon them. Let then their Table be made a ſnare unto them, and what ſhould have been a welfare, let it become a trap. Gall and bitterneſs they have offered to me, let their dainties be bitterneſs in their mouths, and gall to their palates: A ſnare they have laid for my féet, and let that, in which they hope to be proſperous and happy, be an occaſion of falling; the very eating of the Paſchal Lamb their ruine, and thy Word, the food of their ſouls, an occaſion of errour.
In hearing, let them hear, and not underſtand; and in ſéeing, let them ſée, and not perceive; make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and ſhut their eyes, leſt they ſée with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and underſtand with their heart, and convert, and be healed: Inféeble them, O Lord, and make their loins to tremble and ſhake, bow down their backs with ſlavery and hard bondage, and preſs them continually with ſuch burdens of miſeries, that they may groan and ſigh under the heavy hand of their Oppreſſors; Plentifully and ſpeedily poure forth thy indignation upon them, and let thy fierceſt anger and vengeance continually purſue them; let their houſes be deſolate, not a ſtone left upon a ſtone, and their land without an inhabitant; let them procéed from one wickedneſs to another, and add ſin to ſin, till their iniquity come to the full; neither ever let them repent them of their wicked wayes, that thou might'ſt pardon and forgive their heinous tranſgreſſions, or juſtifie them at thy great Tribunal, with mercy thou wilt indulge to all true penitents: And although hitherto they have béen reckoned among thy people, of whom they are born, and with whom thou haſt eſtabliſhed thy Covenant, yet, O Lord, let them be blotted out of the Book of the living, and not be written among the righteous: And it is but juſt that all this happen unto them, becauſe when common humanity, and thy Word alſo requires, That we weep with him that weeps, and lament with him that laments, they have helped on the affliction; for they perſecute Him whom thou haſt ſmitten, and they talk to the grief of thoſe whom thou haſt wounded.
O Lord, I am wounded, I ſuffer juſtly under thy hand, but to them I have done no harm; at this time I am poor and ſorrowful, deſtitute of all humane help, and affected with extream heavineſs, Ariſe then for me, and let thy ſalvation ſet me up on High.
Deliver me, O Lord, from theſe troubles, and ſo ſhall I praiſe thy Name with a Song; Ver. 30 Save me from my enemies, and I ſhall magnifie thee with Thankſgiving, which ſacrifice, Ver. 31 I know, will better pleaſe thee, than the fat of fed Beaſts, or the incenſe of Rams: Beſides, all thoſe that are of a dejected ſpirit, humbled and brought low at the ſight of my afflictions, will conſider this, ſée they will, That God heareth the poor, and deſpiſeth not thoſe who are in captivity, and impriſoned for his ſake, and they will be glad, and rejoyce at it; and the heart of all thoſe that ſeek th…, which was even dead before, will then revive and live.
O Lord, ſave Sion, and build the Cities of Judah, let men dwell there, and have it in poſſeſſion; let the ſeed of thy ſervants inherit it, and all thoſe that love thy Name dwell therein; ſo ſhall the Heaven and Earth praiſe thee, and every thing that moveth therein. Amen. Amen.
PSAL. LXX. foreign.
THIS Pſalme is the ſame with the five laſt verſes of the fortieth Pſalm.
The Contents of this Pſalm are.
1. The Prayer of David for himſelf, that he may be freed from his enemies, ver. 1. which he repeats, ver. 5.
2. For the ſpeedy deſtruction of the wicked, ver. 2, 3.
3. For the proſperity of the godly, ver. 4.
4. The Arguments he urgeth to move God to grant his prayer.
1. His miſerable condition, I am poor and needy.
2. Gods office, Thou art my Helper and Redeemer, therefore make no long tarrying; O my God.
The Pſalm needs no farther Analyſis, becauſe it is fully Analyſed before in the end of the fortieth Pſalm.
The Prayer out of the ſeventieth Pſalm.
O Lord, we therefore daily implore thy mercy, becauſe we are daily beſet with danger; Enemies we have, without, within us, from whoſe malice and cruelty we can find no ſafety, Ver. 5 except in thy favour and mercy: Thou alone art our Help and Deliverer, make then no long tarrying, O my God; rather make haſte to deliver us, Ver. 1 make haſte to help us.
Many there are that ſeek after my ſoul, let them be aſhamed and confounded; Ver. 2 many there are that deſire my hurt, let them be turned backward, and put to confuſion; ſuddenly let them be turned back, and put to flight, Ver. 3 that rejoyce at my harm and downfall.
On the contrary, let all thoſe who ſeek thee, who are zealous of glory, and call upon thy Name, rejoyce and be glad in thee; Ver. 4 and when they ſhall ſee thy ſalvation, that thy great deliverance of me from an imminent and unexpected danger, be in love with thy ſalvation, and ſay alway, The merciful and juſt God be continually praiſed, who hath ſent his Angel, and ſo miraculouſly delivered his ſervants; delay not therefore, O Lord, but ſend us help through Ieſus Chriſt our Lord.