Davids Harp Strung and Tuned, Book 3 · Psalm 80
PSAL. LXXX. foreign.
THE occaſion of this Pſalm, is the ſame with the former, viz. An oppreſſion of Iſrael, and devaſtation, as is moſt likely by the Aſſyrians.
The parts are,
1. A Prayer, verſ. 1, 2, 3.
2. A complaint by way of expoſtulation, from verſ. 3. to 8.
3. In the twelve laſt verſes, to move God to commiſeration, He
1. Firſt reckons up Gods love to Iſrael, under the Allegory of a vine, from verſ. 8. to 12.
2. Deplores the waſte made upon it, verſ. 12, 13.
3. Prayes that God would return, look upon, and reſtore the vine, from verſ. 13. to 18.
4. Makes a vow of perpetual ſervice, verſ. 18.
1. The firſt part. His Petition.In the beginning of this Pſalm, the Prophet offers up his Petition for audience, for help, for favour, for repentance, and remiſſion of ſin.
1. Vers. 1 For audience. Give ear. For if God will not hear, 'tis to no end to pray.1For audience.
2. Vers. 2 For aid, aſſiſtance, help. Stir up thy ſtrength, and come and ſave us, ſhine forth, 2For aſſiſtance.ſhew us a favourable countenance.
3. Vers. 3 For amendment, which is the eſſenſe of repentance. Turn us again, and cauſe thy face (which ſeems to us cloudy, 3For grace to amend.angry now) to ſhine, and we ſhall be ſaved. Vere faelices.
And the Argument he uſeth to perſwade this, His Argument to perſwade it, Gods love to his Church.is from the perſon of God, and his former adminiſtration; 1. He ſhew'd himſelf a ſhepherd. 2. He was glorious in Iſrael.
1. O ſhepherd of Iſrael, thou that leadest Joſeph like a ſheep. Free us from theſe Wolves.
2. Thou that fitt'ſt between the Cherubims, haſt taken up thy ſeat among us, and ſhew'd thy glorious preſence by the Ark that the Cherubims cover. Shine forth, and ſhew thou haſt not left us. 2. Shew thy ſelf before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manaſſeh, i.e. before all Iſrael.
2. The ſecond part.To his Prayer, as ardent Petitioners uſe, he adjoins his Complaint. Of which the particulars are theſe.
1. His complaint. 1. For Godsanger.He complains that God was angry, and ſhews his anger in this, that a prayer would not be heard. O Lord, how long wilt thou be angry againſt the prayer of thy people? A ſad caſe this, when God, who hath commanded, Call on me in trouble, and I will hear thee, yet will not hear. No marvel if he began the Pſalm with, Give ear, O Lord.
2. He complains of their lamentable condition, their grief and calamity was ſo great, 2For the miſery the Church was in.that they eat nor drank without tears, no pleaſane meat came in their mouths. Thou feedeſt them with the bread of tears, and giveſt them tears to drink in great meaſure.
3. He complains of the ill uſage they found from all, Vers. 6 both Neighbours and enemies.3By the ill uſage of their oppreſſors.
1. Thou makest us a strife, i.e. an occaſion of ſtrife to our Neighbours, for they contend about us, ſtriving who ſhall reign and domineer over us.
2. And our enemies laugh among themſelves. Make a mock, and ſcorn of us.
After which complaint, the Prophet ingeminates his principal Petition.Upon which he redoubles his prayes.
1. Turn us again, O Lord God of Hoſts. Make us penitents, Converts, new men.
2. And cauſe thy face to ſhine. Clear up thy countenance, and frown no more.
3. And then we know the effect. We ſhall be ſaved, q.d. Vivemus, regnabimus, faelices erimus, nullo bono destituti.
3. And that he might the ſooner move God to commiſeration, The third part. And puts God in mind, what he had done for his people.under the Metaphor of a Vine,
1. Firſt he puts God in mind, what he had done for his people Iſrael.
1. He brought this Vine out of Egypt. A choice Vine then, tranſlated thence.
2. Thou caſteſt out the heathen. Purgeſt, as it were, Under the Metaphor of a Vine.the ground for it.
3. Thou planteſt it. A plant it was of thy own, and men love their own plants.
4. Thou prepareſt room before it. Removedſt all impediments, that might hinder the growth.
5. And didſt cauſe it to take root. Elſe the planting, the making room had been in vain.
6. And it fill'd the Land. The Vine, that is, the people grew and multiplyed. Which is amplified in the two following verſes, in which the Amplitude and Glory of the Kingdom is declared.
1. The hills were covered with the ſhadow of it, and the boughs thereof like the goodly Cedars.
2. She ſent out her boughs to the Sea, and her branches to the river, i.e. Euphrates.
2. The Prophet deplores the waſte now made upon the Vine, 1And he deplores the waſte made upon it.and that by God. For he faith,
1. Why haſt thou broken down her hedges? The fence being broken down, the Vine cannot be ſafe. This the Prophet laments, that God had ſaid flat. Whether Angels, or Laws, or his Statutes were the Hedge, all was gone. Or if the Kings power, that was taken away.
2. And upon the remove of the Hedge, there followed a Triple miſchief.
1. All thoſe that paſs by the way, do pluck her. Every one that would, made havock of the Cluſters.
2. The Boar out of the wood doth waſte it. Some home-bred enemy in power, enters and ſpoils it.
3. The wild beasts of the field devoure it. Tyrants from abroad.
3. He prayes to God to have compaſſion, 2Prayes that God would have compaſſion on the Vine.and look upon his Vine again.
1. Return, we beſeech thee, O Lord God of hoaſts. Thou art the Lord of Armies, return then and fight for us. We neglected thee, when preſent, but once more return, and we ſhall more eſteem thy favour, and beware how we drive thee from us.
2. Look down from heaven. Thence protect us. For earth cannot help us.
3. Behold, and viſit this Vine. Take it once again into thy care. For he that will not viſit his Vine, is not like to have any care of it.
4.
And on the Vineyard.He prayes for the whole Land, the Vineyard. And viſit the Ʋineyard that thy right-hand hath planted, Vers. 15 i.e. thy power. And the branch, i. e. people, that thou madeſt ſtrong (by thy promiſe and Covenant, that it ſhould grow into an ample and great Kingdom) for thy ſelf, i. e. for thy glory, for thy ſervice. To bring forth grapes for thee.
And now once more he interſerts and repeats his complaint.
1. It is burnt with fire. 2. It is cut down, Igne, & ferro graſſantur hoſtes.He repeats the complaint.
2. They, i. e. the boughs, branches, ſhoots of the Vine, periſh at the rebuke of thy countenance. It is not the enemies ſwords, but thy rebuke of us for our ſins, that hath brought upon us this devaſtation.
5.
And again prayes.He prayes again almoſt in the ſame words of the 15. verſe, Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right-hand, and upon the ſon of man, whom thou madeſt ſtrong for thy ſelf.
In the interpretation of this verſe, Interpreters agree not. For by the ſon of man,
1. Some underſtand Chriſt, who is often call'd the ſon of man, and is the man on Gods right-hand.
2. The Jews, Zerobabel, or ſome other chief Leader. Which Janſenius ſaith, is the more probable opinion.
3. Others, the Jewiſh Nation, and the whole body of that people, whom God is pleaſed to call His Son. Iſrael is my firſt-born, who was the man of his righthand, becauſe grown ſtrong by his power. To this opinion Muſculus and Moller encline.
According to the firſt interpretation, which is Baſils, the ſenſe is this. Let thy hand and power be ſhew'd by the man of thy right-hand, thy Son, and for his ſake ſpare thy Vineyard, and let not the enemy utterly waſte it. 2. According to the ſecond, he prayes that God would ſend them ſome ſtrong and mighty Saviour or Deliverer. 3. According to the third, he prayes, that God would ſhew his power and might, and not ſuffer his people, whom he had taken unto him in the place of a Son, and to the glory of his name, join'd to himſelf by the right-hand of his power and ſtrength of Covenant, now (to the ignominy of his name) to periſh by the cruelty of wicked men.
4. The fourth part.The laſt part of the Pſalm, contains a promiſe of Gratitude. That they would revolt and rebell no more, but conſtantly adhere to God, and renounce their Idols.A vow of Gratitude.
1. So will not we go back from thee. We will no more be backſliders.
2. Quicken us. Revive us from this death, this calamity. Or, Quicken us by thy Spirit and Grace.
3. And we will call upon thy name. We will ſerve thee, and not any ſtrange god.
And ſo he concludes the Pſalm, with that verſe twice before ſet down and explain'd, verſ. 3. verſ. 7. now repeated.
Turn us again, O Lord God of hoaſts, cauſe thy face to ſhine, and we ſhall be ſaved.
The Prayer collected out of the eightieth Pſalm.
O Almighty and Merciful God, Vers. 1 who haſt béen accuſtomed to be preſent with thy people, and to lead them and féed them as a good Shepherd doth his flock, give ear at this time to our prayers, and graciouſly hear, now we call on thée. Thou, who art the Lord of all Spirits, Vers. 2 and ſits inviſibly above the Cherubims, manifeſt now thy power, turn away thy ſrowning countenance, and let the gracious light of thy face once more ſhine upon us. Stir up thy ſtrength, which thou haſt ſéemed to withdraw, and come and ſave us from thoſe evils, with which we are at this preſent compaſſed, and deliver us from thoſe oppreſſors and oppreſſions we are forced to endure.
For thoſe iniquities and grievous ſins we have committed againſt thée, Vers. 3 we do acknowledge, that thou haſt juſtly rejected us from thy grace and favour, and, as it were, turn'd thy back upon us; But gracious God, turn us from our ungracious and malicious wayes, and turn us unto thée, that ſo thou may'ſt furn from thy ſterce anger, and turn unto us; Aſſured we are, that upon our turning, thou wilt refurn, and we ſhall revive, we ſhall live the life of grace, we ſhall be proſperous, we ſhall be happy. For ſo efficacious is the light of thy countenance, that upon the leaſt ſhine thereof upon us, all our enemies will be put to flight, and we ſhall be ſafe.
O Lord, in this needful time of trouble, we have, as thou haſt commanded, called and cryed unto thee, but thou ſéemeſt not to hear, nor yet to anſwer our Petitions, than which there cannot be a greater ſign of thy diſpleaſure. O Lord God of hoaſts, that commandeſt all the Armies of heaven and earth, vow down thine ear and hear us, look down from heaven and conſider our afflictions. O Merciful and Almighty God, how long wilt thou be angry againſt the prayer of thy people? They know no other way to paci …ée, no other way to recover thy favour. If thou reject our ſupplications, we are undone for ever.
Heavy are the things, which we now ſuffer; ſo heavy, that the bread we cat, is ſoaked in tears, and the drink we drink, mingled with tears, and that not ſparingly, but in a very great meaſure; ſo that when we are to take our ordinary repaſt, we have more mind to wéep, than to take theſe refreſhments, for thou haſt brought us to that low condition, that our Neighbours, who were wont to ſtand in feare of us, ſtrive who ſhall trample upon us, and our enemies provoke and load us with ill words, inſult over and deride us.
But, O Lord God, thou which haſt the power over all Armies, now at length convert us unto thée, by thy grace draw us from our evil wayes, and receive us to thy favour, which for ſome years thou haſt with-held, which if in mercy thou ſhalt vouchſafe, then we ſhall be ſaved.
Thou, Lord, haſt béen heretofore very gracious and indulgent to thy Church. She is the Vine, and we are the branches. This Vine thou haſt brought out of Egyptian darkneſs, thou haſt called it thy choice Vine, thou haſt planted it in a very fruitful hill, thou haſt fenced it, and gathered out the ſtones thereof, thou haſt prepared room for it, and cauſed it to take root, and it flouriſhed ſo much, that it filled the Land, the ſhadow thereof covered the Mountains, and the boughs thereof were tall and ſpreading as the Cedars, the branches reached from Sea to Sea, and her green Cyences to the end of the earth. In a word, thou haſt choſen, planted, ſenced, rooted, huſbanded, propagaſed, extended this Vine, Kings became her Nurſing fathers, and Queens her Nurſing mothers.
O then, why haſt thou broken down the Hedges, with which ſhe was formerly ſecured? Why haſt thou withdrawn thy protection, under which ſhe was ſo ſafe? To that paſs, being deſtitute of thy ſavour, we are duplicate page duplicate page brought, that all that paſs by, every one that liſts, now enters into thy Vineyard, and without any prohibition, pluck off the grapes. The Boare out of the Wood doth unroot it, the wild beaſts out of the field, crop, devour, and trample upon it, Vers. 13 cruel and prophane tyrants, more like beaſts than men, do riot in, and depopulate thy Vineyard.
O thou Lord of hoaſts, who being angry, haſt turned away thy face from us, take pity of thy own plant, look down from heaven thy dwelling place, and ſend us help from thence, for vain is the help of man; behold, and viſit yet once more this thy Vine with a pleaſing countenance. That Vine, which not with another, but with thy own right-hand thou haſt vouchſafed to plant, that Vine I beſéech thée to reſtore to its former beauty, look upon that people, which thou haſt call'd thy Son, thy firſt-born, a weak and unable people to help it ſelf, and ſubſiſting only by thy ſtrength, that power, with which, to the honour of thy name, thou haſt fortified them againſt their enemies. And now upon the withdrawing of thy hand, the mercileſs enemy burns it with fire, and hacks and hews it, and cuts it down with the ſword, all which is befallen to it, at the rebuke of thy countenance, which angry look, if it pleaſe thée to turn upon our enemies, they alſo ſhall eaſily periſh. One angry and frowning look of thy face will do it, O let them féel this rebuke and periſh.
Shew thy power and might, and ſuffer not thy people, whom thou haſt adopted, and joyned to thy ſelf, and ſtrengthned by thy promiſe and Covenant, to the ignominy of thy name, to periſh by the pride of a cruel enemy.
VponUpon which favour and help, O Lord, we will conſtantly adhere unto thee, and never more depart from thee. When thou ſhalt quicken us from this death, and free us from theſe evils, renouncing all other falſe and ſtrange gods with all humane imaginations, we will worſhip thee alone, and call upon thy name for ever.
Turn us then again, O Lord God of hoaſts, cauſe thy face to ſhine upon us, and we ſhall be ſaved. Grant us this mercy, good Lord, for Ieſus Chriſts ſake, thy only Son our Saviour. Amen.