Davids Harp Strung and Tuned, Book 3 · Psalm 85
PSAL. LXXXV. foreign.
MYſtically this whole Pſalm is a Propheſie concerning the redemption of Mankind from the Tyranny of ſin and Satan, by the coming of Chriſt, prefigured by the deliverance of the Jewes, either from Egypt, or rather from Babylon, after which they fell again into grievous troubles under Antiochus.
Three parts of the Pſalm.
1. An Acknowledgment of Gods formet mercies, ver. 1, 2, 3.
2. A Petition upon that ground, that he would ſtill do the like, 4, 5, 6, 7.
3. A profeſſion of obedience, and an advice to continue in it, ver. 8. that men may be partakers of the promiſes, both ſpiritual, 9, 10, 11. and temporal, ver. 12. which ſhall be performed to thoſe who keep in the wayes of God, ver. 13.
1. In the three firſt verſes, A Commemoration of Gods mercies.the Prophet makes a Commemoration of Gods mercies to his people; of which the Fountain, is, his good will and favour; Lord, Thou baſt been favourable; of which the effects were, temporal and ſpiritual.The firſt part.
1. Temporal: Thou haſt been favourable to thy Land, Ver. 1 Thou haſt turned away, or brought back the captivity of Jacob, 1Temporal.freed them from the Babylonian yoke.
2. Spiritual; which conſiſted in two things. Ver. 2
1. Juſtification: Thou haſt forgiven the iniquity of thy people, 2Spiritual.and covered all their ſins. Ver. 3
2. Reconciliation; Thou haſt taken away all thy wrath, and haſt turned thy ſelf from the fierconeſs of thy anger.
2. And now upon the experience of theſe former mercies, The ſecond part. Upon this favour, he prayes.the Prophet commends a new Petition, the ſum whereof is briefly this, Thou haſt been favourable to us before, and therefore we hope that thou wilt be ſo now; this is the conſequent of the former antecedent, and upon it in confidence he prayes.
Turn us then, O God, our Saviour, &c. to the 8th. verſe; Ver. 4 in which Petition is ſaid over again, That God would aſſure thoſe mercies.what was acknowledged before in the Commemoration of the benefits.
1. Thou haſt turned away the captivity; Reſtore us then, turn us then, or return to us, O God our Saviour.
2. Thou haſt been reconciled, be again reconciled to us: Thou haſt taken away all thy wrath, &c. ver. 3. Ver. 5 Now cauſe thine anger towards us to ceaſe; Wilt thou be diſpleaſed at us for ever? Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all Generations? This is contrary to thy nature, who art ſlow to anger.
3. Thou haſt brought us back, and ſo revived our hearts, ver. 1. And wilt thou not revive us again, by delivering us from our preſent calamities, and this death, that thy people may rejoyce in thee?
4. Thou haſt forgiven the iniquity of thy people, &c. ver. 2. Shew us then thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy ſalvation. Save us in mercy, firſt from ſins, the cauſe of our ſufferings, and then from the puniſhment, our preſent miſeries.
3. And that the Church might prevail in her Petition, ſhe now promiſeth obedience, and to wait upon God; I will hear what the Lord God will speak: The third part.As if ſhe had ſaid, For which he waits.why do I expoſtulate thus with my God? why do I thus complain, I will attend to his Word, and hear what he will ſay; for he is a truſty Counſellor in all our afflictions, Ver. 8 and this it is, that he will ſay, I wound, and I make whole, I kill, and I give life.Being aſſured that God will turn all to the beſt.
1. For he will ſpeak peace unto his people, and to his Saints: Though he begins to his people in the cup of his Croſs, yet he keeps the beſt wine till the laſt, and turns his Croſs into a Crown; if they hear what he ſaith, he will ſpeak peace to them.And ſpeak peace to his people.
2. If they hear, I ſay; for he ſpeaks upon a condition, that they be not Backſliders, the Prophet puts in a Caveat for that; But let them not turn again to folly.
And this the Prophet confirms in the next verſe by a vehement aſſeveration.
1. Surely his ſalvation; i. e. freedom from all dangers, is nigh them that fear him.
2. And the end is, That glory may dwell in our land; i.e. That our Land may be in a happy condition, enjoying peace, and the fruits of peace, plenty, laws, liberty, and quietneſs; for glory here is oppoſed to devaſtation.
And this the Prophet amplifies by an enumeration of the conſequences of peace: The conſequences of peace.Inter arma ſilent leges, ſilent virtutes; Cruelty the oppoſite to mercy, falſhood and errour which is oppoſed to Truth; Injuſtice the oppoſite to righteouſneſs bears all the ſway; but when God ſhall ſpeak peace to his people, all will be contrary.
1. Mercy and Truth are met together, righteouſneſs and peace have kiſſed each other: A combination of mercy, truth, juſtice: peace.Theſe vertues ſhall be in great honour, viz. Mercy and Truth, Righteouſneſs and the ſtudy of peace and concord. Juſtice and peace kiſs; for there is ſuch a league betwixt theſe two, that where peace is made without juſtice, it is not like long to continue; and Mercy and Truth muſt meet, for it is no mercy to ſpare errour and falſhood.
2. Truth ſhall flouriſh out of the Earth; i. e. Becauſe men ſhall be lovers and obſervers of Truth in their bargains, contracts, leagues, words and promiſes, they ſhall make the earth flouriſhing, and the land where peace dwells happy.
3. And righteouſneſs hath looked down from Heaven: For as the rain that deſcends from Heaven doth make the earth fruitful, ſo the juſtice that comes from Heaven, Gods juſtice is that which will make a people happy; for this will teach to love thy Neighbour as thy ſelf: Quod tibi hoc alteri; which the ſtatutes of Omri will not do.
4. In a word, which is the ſum of all the promiſes, 1 Tim. 4.8.
1. They ſhall enjoy ſpiritual bleſſings: For the Lord ſhall give that which is good.
2. And temporal; And our Land ſhall yield her increaſe.
4. The laſt part. Our duties for this bleſſing.In the laſt verſe, for theſe mercies, he ſets down our Duty.
1. Righteouſneſs ſhall go before him, i.e. God: His Saints ſhall walk before him in holineſs and righteouſneſs.
2. And ſhall ſet us in the way of his ſteps; that is, ſhall teach us to walk conſtantly and happily in the wayes of his Commandments all the dayes of our life, Luk. 1.72.
How this Pſalm is aptly applied to Chriſt and his Kingdom, both by all Ancient and Modern Expoſitors, I leave it to be ſearched in the Authors themſelves, becauſe the Application would be tedious, and is not ſo conſonant to my intent.
The Prayer collected out of the eighty fifth Pſalm.
O Bleſſed Lord God, we have béen beſet with many troubles, Ver. 1 but thou out of méer love haſt delivered us from them; Thou haſt delivered thy people into captivity, but haſt again brought them from the houſe of bondage; great have béen the provocations by which we have diſhonoured thée, and yet in mercy, Thou haſt forgiven the iniquity of thy people; infinite are our tranſgreſſions, and yet Thou haſt covered all our ſins; Though we have béen ſlaves of the fleſh, and Captives of the Divel, yet Thou-haſt taken away thy wrath, Thou haſt turned thy ſelf from the fierceneſs of thy anger.
Theſe experiences we have had of thy love, theſe pawns and pledges of thy mercy; therefore, O merciful God, we are bold to approach thy Throne, and beg of thée with an humble heart, that thou, who art the God of our ſalvation, wouldſt turn us unto thee, and wouldſt alſo be turned unto us, and cauſe thine anger, which we have juſtly kindled againſt us, to ceaſe. What, haſt thou changed thy ſelf, as I may ſo ſay, into another nature; ſo that thou who haſt proclaimed thy ſelf to be patient and long-ſuffering, paſſing by ſins, and forgiving tranſgreſſions; wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all Generations? Return, return, O Lord, receive us again to thy favour, revive us again by the favour of thy countenance, that thy people may rejoyce in thée; let us have experience of thy mercy as thou haſt promiſed, and grant us thy ſalvation.
Make us, who have béen heretofore contumacious and rebellious againſt thée, to hearken to what our Lord God will ſpeak; for then we are aſſured, that ſalvation would be near unto us, and our land would be glorious for plenty, liberty and peace. O Lord, ſpeak peace once more unto us thy people, who have béen miſerably torn and waſted by the fury of war, and we will never (being aſſiſted by thy grace) turn back again to our former folly.
Put into us the bowels of thy mercy, and make us ſtudious of Truth, let juſtice and peace méet and kiſs in our hearts, and be tyed together with ſuch an indiſſoluble knot, that we may bring forth plentiful fruits of righteouſneſs and holineſs. Our land is now over-run with Errors and falſe Doctrine, O let thy Truth flouriſh again amongſt us; we meaſure out juſtire by the crooked line of mans Ordinances, O let thy righteouſneſs look down from Heaven, and cauſe us to love our Naighbours as our ſelves, and do to others, as we deſire and expect they ſhould do to us.
Godlineſs hath the promiſe of this life, and that which is to come; teach us then to deny ungodlineſs, and worldly luſts, and to live righteouſly, ſoberly and godly in this preſent World, That thou, Lord, may'ſt give us what is good, and our land may yield her encreaſe. Thou haſt delivered us from the hands of our enemies, O ſtir up our minds to be thankful unto thée, and to make a conſcience to ſerve thée in righteouſneſs and holineſs all the dayes of our life.