Davids Harp Strung and Tuned, Book 3 · Psalm 77
PSAL. LXXVII. foreign.
In this Pſalm, the Prophet ſhews the bitter agony which a troubled ſpirit undergoes upon the ſenſe of Gods deſertion, and the comfort again it receives upon the conſideration of Gods great and gracious works.
Two parts of this Pſalm.
1. He ſets forth the ſtrife betwixt the fleſh and the Spirit, and how the fleſh tempts to deſpair, and calls into queſtion the goodneſs and favour of God, from ver. 1. to 10.
2. Next he ſhews the victory of the ſpirit over the fleſh, being raiſed, encouraged, and confirmed by the Nature, Promiſes, and Works of God, from the 10th. verſe, to the end of the Pſalm; an excellent Pſalm this is, and of great uſe in all ſpiritual deſertions.
1. The firſt part.I cryed unto God with my voyce, even unto God with my voyce, and he gave ear unto me; Ver. 1 in the day of my trouble, I ſought the Lord, ver. 1, 2.
Here David ſhews the courſe he took to find eaſe in his extream trouble of ſoul; he accuſed not God of hard dealing to him, David betakes him to God in affliction, and prays very earneſtly.he blaſphemed not, he deſpaired not, nor filled the Aire with empty complaints; but he betook himſelf to his God, opened to him his grief, and of him he deſired help and comfort. 1. He prayed. 2. He prayed often. 3. He prayed earneſtly. 4. With a troubled foul.
1. His prayer was, a cry, 'twas earneſt.
2. Deſpairs not.With his voyce, with his voyce he cryed, it was often.
3. To God he cryed, I ſought the Lord.
4. And it was in his agony; he no queſtion had done it before in his proſperity, which is the beſt way, for then he is near; but yet now he does it again, even in the day of his trouble, and yet he deſpairs not to be heard then; and he gave ear to me. The Pſalm is not then an expreſſion of a deſpairing ſoul, but of one that hath a conflict with tentation.
And now to the 10th. verſe, he expreſſeth two things: Firſt, What were the affrights of his troubled ſoul: Secondly, What did aggravate and increaſe this his trouble.
1. His complaint is bitter, and he ſets down the particulars that troubled him, which were theſe. Ver. 2
1. The particulars that troubled him.His ſore ran in the night, and ceaſed not; whether he means his ſore of body or mind, is indifferent, both troubled him, yea, and in the night, when he ſhould take his reſt, then he found no intermiſſion; and this his hand, as ſome reads it, runs and extends it ſelf in prayer; even in this night, when no man ſaw it, and ſo his complaint was in ſecret, and far from hypocriſie, which loves witneſſes.
2. My ſoul refuſed to be comforted: All the comforts which were offered me were to no purpoſe, my ſoul reſpuebat, as a ſick ſtomack delicious meats; with Rachel, with Jacob, he would not be comforted, all friends were miſerable comforters, as they were to Job; he was ready to ſay, There is no hope.
3. I remembred God, and was troubled: A heavy affliction, Ver. 3 when the memory of Gods goodneſs, his example of mercy, his pardons to great ſinners before us, cannot comfort us; this was Davids caſe, his memory preſented to him all Gods favours to himſelf and others, and yet he was troubled ſtill; I complained, and my ſpirit was overwhelmed, Selah. He was, as it were, in a ſwoon.
4. Thou holdeſt my eyes waking, my ſleep is gone from me; Ver. 4 by the benefit of ſleep, the ſpirits are refreſhed; theſe muſt needs be turbulent and fearful, when his ſleep was departed.
5. I am ſo troubled, that I cannot ſpeak; Curae leves loquuntur, ingentes ſtupent: At the firſt verſe, when he cryed with his voyce, he felt ſome eaſe; but in the extremity of his trouble, he was amazed, he had not a word to ſpeak.
2. Hitherto of his agony, and trouble in body, ſoul, ſpirit; next, That which increaſed his grief, viz. The memory of Gods goodneſs to him before.he ſhews what did aggravate and increaſe his grief, which were, the happineſs which Gods people, and he himſelf enjoyed before, the memory of which did increaſe his grief.
1. I have conſidered the dayes of old, the years of ancient times; how merciful thou haſt been to our fore-fathers in pardoning them, in delivering them, in ſending them comfort, of which I have now no ſenſe.That he could joy in, and praiſe God.
2. In particular, I call to remembrance my ſong in the night; I remember with how much comfort and joy of heart, even in the night-ſeaſon, I was wont to ſing unto thee, and praiſe thee.
3. But now I commune with mine own heart, Now not ſo.and my spirit makes diligent ſearch; I have a long diſpute with my own heart, and make a diligent ſearch betwixt me and my own ſoul, why it ſhould be thus with me? why I ſhould be thus afflicted? why my God ſhould upon the point caſt me off?
3. And now by an elegant Hypotypoſis in the three following verſes, The debate betwixt hope and deſpair in him.he ſets down what thoſe diſputes and diſquiſitions were he had with his own heart, when he ſtrugled with the wrath of God, and his own heart tempting to deſpair of Gods goodneſs and performance of his Promiſes to his people; he ſaid within himſelf:
1. Will the Lord caſt off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?
2. Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promiſe fail for evermore?
3. Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in his anger ſhut up his tender mercies?
2. Now follows the ſecond part of the Pſalm, The ſecond part. How he recovers.in which David ſhews how he did recover out of this tentation; and firſt, he confeſſeth that it aroſe not from any change in God, or alteration of his good-will, but from his own weakneſs; and ſecondly, 1He checks his foul for weakneſs of faith.ſhewes the way how he would ſecure himſelf from the like trouble for the future.
1. He begins with a correction of himſelf, And I ſaid, it is my own infirmity, it is my own weakneſs of faith that puts me to all this trouble, 2Takes heart upon the memory ofwhich if it were ſtronger, I know I ſhould hope better; the Nature, the Promiſes, the Works of God being ſufficient to confirm me.
2. That therefore I relapſe not:
1. I will remember the years of the right hand of the moſt High; 1Gods wayes.I will remember the power of Gods right hand, which is able to turn the moſt deſperate and darkſom nights of trouble, into the pleaſant and joyful dayes of content, according to our Saviours words, Your ſorrow ſhall be turned to joy.
2. I will remember the works of the Lord, ſurely I will remember thy wonders of old, 2His works.viz. That God calls not his people to the pleaſures of this World, but to dangerous conflicts with Satan, ſin, &c. And yet his preſence is ſuch, that he doth defend them, yea, and miraculouſly ſave them; This is the work of God, theſe are his wonders of old, which I will remember.
3. And I will ſo remember them, that I will ſeriouſly and ſadly meditate upon them, Upon which he would meditate and diſcourſe. On theſe he ſtayes.and ſpeak of them; I will meditate alſo of all thy works, and talk of thy doings.
Upon which works of God he makes a ſtand, and inſiſts to the end of the Pſalm; firſt in general, and then by name, in Iſrael.
1. At the 13th. verſe, he turns his ſpeech to God.
1. Thy way, O God, is in the Sanctuary; that is, in ſecret, and hid from the World; Conſidering Gods wayes to his people in general.he that will underſtand the way of God to his people, muſt by faith enter into his Temple, and enquire of his Word, as it is, Pſal. 73.17. 'tis too hard for him elſe to know; elſe he ſhall never perceive why God brings them into the caſe that David here was.
2. To which he adds a Doxology, Who is ſo great a God as our God? which he confirms in the following verſe, Thou art the God that dost wonders, Thou hast declared thy ſtrength among the people; thy power, thy wiſdom, thy protection of thy Church even to all people, the Heathens themſelves, and ſtrangers to Iſrael, may ſee it, and acknowledge it, if not blind.
2. 2To Iſrael in particular.But in particular, Thou haſt declared thy ſtrength in defence of Iſrael. Thou haſt with thine arm redeemed thy people, the ſons of Jacob and Joſeph.
And he amplifies this ſtory of their deliverance from Aegypt, by ſeveral inſtances of Gods power in it.
1. In the red Sea; The waters ſaw thee, O God, the waters ſaw thee; not only the Aegyptians, but the ſenſleſs Element felt thy power, they were afraid, the depths alſo were troubled, Exod. 14.
2. In the Heaven; The clouds poured out water, the skies ſent out a ſound, thine arrows alſo went abroad; the voyce of thy Thunder was in the Heavens, thy lightnings lightned the World, Exod. 14.24, 25.
3. In the earth, The earth trembled and ſhook; and all this was done, that Iſrael might have a paſſage through it; Thy way is in the Sea, and thy paſſage in the great waters, and thy footſteps are not known.
And the final cauſe of this miracle was, The final cauſe of it.that he might ſhew his ſeverity toward his enemies, and his goodneſs toward his people, for whoſe deliverance he ſent Moſes and Aaron, ordained a King and a Prieſt; by them, Thou leddeſt thy people like ſheep, by the hands of Moſes and Aaron.
The Prayer collected out of the ſeventy ſeventh Pſalm.
VVITH all ardency of ſpirit, earneſtneſs of ſoul, and contention of voyce, Ver. 1 have I cryed unto thée, O Lord, conſtantly and fervently have I cryed unto thée, O hear the voyce of my prayer, and let my cry come unto thée; when I was in trouble, I expected, I called for no humane help, but I fled to thée, to thée I called for aid and comfort, with ſtretched-out hands and eyes bent to Heaven, I ſtood before my God, O let me not be diſappointed of my hope.
In the night-ſeaſon, Ver. 2 when others devoid of care, take their reſt and ſléep, my ſore ran, and ceaſed not; I found no reſt in my bones, by reaſon of my ſin; yea, ſo great was the grief of my ſoul, That I refuſed comfort; I remembred my God, whom I had ſo often, and ſo foully offended, and I was troubled at it; my ſin, my grievous ſin lies heavy upon my ſoul, it makes me to complain; and the conſcience of it ſo far depreſſeth my ſpirit, That I am even overwhelmed with fear and ſorrow.
By the dread I have of thy anger, my eyes are held waking, and I paſs the long night, in which others are refreſhed with ſléep, without any reſt; and I am ſo troubled in my ſelf, that I have no mind to ſpeak. I revolved in my mind the times that were paſt, and the years of former Generations, in which thou hadſt dealt mercifully with afflicted ſouls: And in the night-ſeaſon, a ſeaſon moſt fit for meditation, I called to remembrance my ſong, my ſong in which with a joyful heart I was wont to praiſe thée, and yet ſo I received not comfort: I communed with my own heart, I ſearched out, as with a Lanthorn, my ſoul; I called to mind thy clemency to thy children, thy Truth in thy Word, thy Iuſtice in thy Promiſes, the cauſes of all calamities, and theſe my ſorrows, and yet ſo I could not be comforted.
Ah merciful Lord, and loving Father, Wilt thou caſt me off for ever? and wilt thou no more be favourable to me? Thou art patient and long-ſuffering, Thou art the Father of mercies, thy property is to have pity, thy promiſe to forgive, and ſpare thy people; and is thy mercy now gone for ever? and doth thy promiſe fail for evermore? What, h…ſt thou forgotten to be gracious? and wilt thou in anger ſhut up thy tender bowels of mercies, that I ſhall never more have any ſenſe or féeling of them?
Of a truth, Lord, for my wicked life. I have deſerved the fierceſt of thy wrath, and all the judgments which thou haſt threatned againſt rebellious ſinners; but, O Lord, Thou art able of a Saul to make a Paul, of a Publican a Diſciple, of Zachaeus a Penitent, of Mary Magdalen a Convert; theſe changes are in the hand of the moſt High: Turn then me, O Lord, and ſo I ſhall be turned; and turn unto me, and ſo I ſhall be refreſhed; pardon my ſin, and change my heart, and ſo I ſhall be aſſured, that thy mercy is not clean gone.
For after this long debate betwixt me and my own ſoul, upon the ſerious thoughts of thy mercy, I came to this reſolve, that my diffidence proceeded from my own puſillanimity; for I ſaid, all this trouble is from my own infirmity: I will remember the years of the right hand of the moſt High; I will remember how gracious he hath béen to other ſinners, how ſtrangely he hath converted them, how mercifully he hath forgiven them, and this change hath put me in good hope of an old man, to become a new man, of a veſſel of wrath, a veſſel of mercy; and that though in anger for a time he hath ſéemed to deſert me, yet out of méer compaſſion he will return, and be gracious to me.
I will remember the works of the Lord, ſurely I will remember thy wonders of old time, I will meditate alſo of all thy works, and talk of thy doings; I will call to mind, That thou doſt not call thy people to partake of the pleaſures of this World, but to deſperate conflicts with ſin, death, Satan and Hell; that there is not any of thy ſervants of old, but have born this burden and heat of the day, and ſhall I then look to eſcape? ſhall I hope to be exempted? Thy way, O God, is in the Sanctuary. A ſecret there is, why thou dealeſt thus with thy ſervants, and known it cannot be, till we go into thy Sanctuary, there we may learn, That thou chaſtneſt every child that thou receiveſt; there we ſhall find, That the reaſon of all thy procéedings are full of equity and holineſs, and that there is nothing we can juſtly reprehend, or complain of.
Which of the gods of the Nations is in power to be compared unto thée? which in mercy is like thée? Thou art the God that doſt wonders, Thou haſt declared thy ſtrength in our weakneſs, thy power in our infirmity: O ſhew therefore thy ſelf to be the ſelf-ſame God, and in this my weakneſs and infirmity ſupport me.
It is not for nothing, that thy favour to thy people Iſrael is left upon Record, the Redemption of the ſons of Jacob and Joſeph, are expreſſions of thy power and mercy: Then, O Lord, the waters of the red Sea law thee, then the waters felt thy preſence, and as if they had béen ſtrucken with fear by thy hand, they fled, and the depths of the Ocean being troubled, forgetting to flow on the right and left hand, ſtood up in heaps, as if they had béen congealed to Mountains of ice; but after thy people were paſſed through, at thy command they relented, and with an haſty and hideons reflux, overwhelmed Pharoah and his Chariots by their violence.
Then the clouds poured out water, from above there came a fearful noiſe, which aſtoniſhed his warlike Horſes, thy hail in manner of arrows were ſhot from Heaven, Thou roaredſt from the sky in the voyce of Thunder, and thy lightning flaſhed in their faces; from which their fear was ſo great, that they thought the immovable Orb of the earth did ſhake and tremble under their féet. Thy way was then in the Sea, and thy path in the waters; and after the parted ſtreams came together again, thy footſteps are not known, no evidence there was thou hadſt béen there; Moſes thy Prince, and Aaron thy Prieſt, were then thy Miniſters, who led thy people, as a Shepherd his flock, through the depths of the red Sea.
This thy miraculous redemption is written for our inſtruction; I do remember, O Lord, what thou haſt done, fréed a diſtreſſed people, delivered a broken hearted Nation, ſaved from death thoſe who did deſpair of life; Lord, I am diſtreſſed, ſend from Heaven and relieve me; I am brokenhearted, O Lord, come and heal me; I am even at the point to dye, ſave and quicken me: As thou haſt ſet me up for a mark of thy juſtice, ſo make me alſo a monument of thy compaſſion; let me obtain mercy, that in me, firſt, Chriſt Ieſus might ſhew forth all long-ſuffering for a pattern to them, which ſhould hereafter believe on him to everlaſting life. Deſpair I will not, for I ſerve a good Lord; hope for pardon I will, for I truſt in a merciful God. This is a faithful ſaying, and worthy of all acceptation, That Jeſus Chriſt came into the World to ſave ſinners; of theſe I am the chief, the chiefeſt object then, O Lord, for thy mercy; thy goodneſs can be no where ſo conſpicuous, as in ſaving me: Lord then have mercy upon me, Chriſt have mercy upon me; Lord have mercy upon me, hear my voyce, give ear to my cry, in the day of my trouble I have ſought to thee; let me find thée, ſo ſhall my heart rejoyce, my fleſh reſt in hope, and my tongue be encouraged to ſing, Now unto the King Eternal, Immortal, Inviſible, the only wiſe God, be Honour and Glory for ever and ever. Amen.