Davids Harp Strung and Tuned, Book 4 · Psalm 91
PSAL. XCI. foreign.
THE full intent and purpoſe of this Pſalm, is to encourage and exhort the godly in all extremities, preſſures, troubles, temptations, afflictions, aſſaults, inward, or outward; in a word, in all dangers to put their truſt and confidence in God, and to rely upon his protection.
Two parts of the Pſalm.
1. A general Propoſition, in which is given an aſſurance of help and protection to every godly man, ver. 1. Who ſo dwelleth, &c.
2. The proof of this by three witneſſes.
1. Of the juſt man, in whoſe perſon David ſpeaks, ver. 2. I will ſay to the Lord, &c.
2. Of the Prophet, ver. 3. Surely he ſhall deliver thee, &c. which he amplifies by an enumeration of the dangers, Gods aſſiſtance, and the Angels protection, from ver. 3. to 14.
3. Of God himſelf, whom he brings in ſpeaking to the ſame purpoſe, from ver. 14. to the laſt verſe.
The firſt part or verſe, The firſt part. An aſſurance of Gods protection.is a foreign, or an univerſal Propoſition, in which is contained a comfortable and excellent promiſe made by the Holy Ghoſt, of ſecurity, viz. That Gods help ſhall never be wanting to thoſe who truly put their hope and truſt in him: He that dwells in tho ſecret place of the moſt High, ſhall abide or lodge under the ſhadow of the Almighty. Ver. 1
1. To the godly, and he that puts his truſt in God.He; be he who he will, rich or poor, King or people, God is no Reſpecter of perſons.
2. That dwells; for that he muſt be ſure to do ſo conſtantly, daily, firmly, reſt and acquieſce in God, perſevere in the faith of his promiſe, and carry that about him, as the Snail doth his ſhell, for elſe he cannot be aſſur'd by this promiſe.
3. In the ſecret place; for his aid and defence is not as ſome ſtrong Hold or Caſtle, which is viſible; 'tis a ſecret and inviſible Fortreſs, known only to a faithful ſoul; in that he may repoſe his hope, as a means and ſecondary defence; but he dwells, relies, reſts in that help of God, which is ſecret, and is not ſeen, except to the eye of faith.
4. Who can,Of the moſt High; And upon this he relies, becauſe he is the moſt High; Above he is, and ſees all, nothing is hid from him; and again, above he is, ſits in the higheſt Throne, and rules all; all things are under his feet, he can therefore deliver his from all troubles and dangers.
Yea, And will defend him.and he will do it; for this faithful man, he that relies and truſts in him, ſhall never be fruſtrated of his hope, protected he ſhall be, he ſhall be ſafe.
1. He dwelt, therefore he ſhall abide, he ſhall lodge quietly, ſecurely; pernoctabit, Ithlonan.
2. He dwels in the ſecret place, therefore he ſhall abide under the ſhadow, in refrigerio, in the cool, the favour, the cover from the heat.
3. He dwelt in the ſecret place of the most High, therefore he ſhall abide under the ſhadow of the Almighty, i. e. of the All-powerful God, of the God of Heaven; of that God, whoſe Name is Shaddai, All-ſufficient; by which Name, he made his promiſe to Abraham, Gen. 17.1.
This Propoſition being moſt certainly true, The ſecond part. This the Prophet proves by three Witneſſes.in the next place the Pſalmiſt explains it, and that no man doubt of it, deſcends to prove it by three witneſſes: Firſt, of a juſt man; ſecondly, of the Prophet; thirdly, of God himſelf.
1. Firſt, He brings in the juſt man thus ſpeaking in his own perſon, I will ſay unto the Lord, He is my Refuge, my Fortreſs, my God, in him will I truſt: Ver. 2 Is it ſo? Shall he that dwells in the ſecret of the moſt High, 1Of the juſt man, that applies the protection to himſelf.abide under the ſhadow of the Almighty? therefore I will ſay in the perſon of all juſt men, to the Lord that hath no Superiour, that hath no Peer; to that Lord, to whoſe command all things are ſubject, and who can be commanded by none; I will ſay to him:
1. Thou art my Refuge: If purſued, I will flie to thee, as a Sanctuary.
2. Thou art my Fortreſs: If ſet upon, I will take my ſelf to thee, as a ſtrong Tower.
3. Thou art my God: If aſſaulted by men or Divels, Thou the moſt High, Thou Almighty, a God able to defend me, and therefore I will hope in thee; I will dwell, truſt, rely upon thee, and this thy promiſe, in every temptation and danger.
2. Next to aſſert the truth of this, 2By the atteſtation of the Prophet, who enumerates the particulars from which he ſhall be delivered.he brings in the atteſtation of the Prophet for being moved by the Holy Ghoſt, he ſaith as much, Surely he ſhall deliver thee; and then falls upon the particulars, from which the godly man ſhall be delivered, ſet down in many Metaphors.
1. He ſhall deliver thee from the ſnare of the Fowler; from the deceits of evil men or Divels.
2. From the noyſom peſtilence; all danger to which we are incident, by plague, Ver. 3 war, famine.
Again, when thou art little in thy own eyes, as it were, but a Chicken:
1. He ſhall cover thee, as the Hen doth her young Birds, with his feathers, and under his wings ſhalt thou truſt; ſecured from the Kite, the rain, the ſtorm, and heat of the Sun.
2. When thou art grown up, and able to encounter an enemy in the field, he ſhall help thee to a ſhield and a buckler, and that ſhall be his Truth, Ver. 5 his Veracity, thy faith in it; and which is yet more, Thou ſhalt not be afraid.
1. For the terrour by night; any hidden, ſecret tentation, danger, treachery, detraction, conſpiracy.
2. Nor for the arrow that flies by day; any open perſecution, calamity, proud aſſault, invaſion.
3. Nor for the peſtilence that walks in darkneſs; Ver. 6 the machinations of wicked men hatched in the dark.
4. Nor for the destruction that walks at noon-day; the bold Threats and Decrees of Tyrants and Perſecutors.
Moller obſerves rightly, that the promiſes of deliverance here made, do not belong to one or other kind of evil, but to all kind of calamities, open or ſecret, and ſo may be appliable to any; ſome of which ſteal upon us, as in the night ſecretly; other overwhelm us, as in the day, openly: But the promiſe is general, as Bellarmine well obſerves, whether the danger come by day or night, thoſe that truſt in God are armed with his ſhield of Truth againſt it. For if God be with us, who can be againſt us? Rom. 8.
The Prophet goes on, and confirms the godly in their ſecurity, by the diſſimilitude, or unlike condition of wicked men; when thou ſhalt be ſafe, Ver. 7 they ſhall fall.But with the wicked it is not ſo, they ſhall fall.
1. A thouſand ſhall fall at thy ſide, on thy left hand, overcome by adverſity.
2. Ten thouſand on thy right hand, flattered into ſin by proſperity: But not the night fear, nor the arrow by day, ſhall not come nigh thee.
3. And which is another cauſe of comfort & pleaſure; Only with thy eyes ſhalt thou behold, Ver. 8 and ſee the reward of the wicked; which ſometimes falls out in this life, as the Iſraelites ſaw the Egyptians dead upon the Sea-ſhore; Moſes and Aaron, Dathan and Abiram ſwallowed up quick, &c. But ſhall be fully fulfilled at the laſt judgment, Mat. 23.
Of which ſecurity, Ver. 9 comfort, content, the Prophet in the next verſe gives the Reaſon, But not the godly, becauſe God is their help.the danger ſhall not come nigh thee; when they fall, thou ſhalt ſee it, and conſider it with content; Becauſe thou haſt made the Lord, which is my Refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; Thou truſteſt in him, as I do, and therefore ſhalt have the like protection, deliverance, comfort, that I by his promiſe have: Farther yet,
There ſhall no evil befall thee, Ver. 10 neither ſhall any plague come nigh thy dwelling: The meaning of which, No evil ſhall befall them. Not from ſin: Nor puniſhment.is not, as if the godly man ſhould be free either from the evil of ſin, or puniſhment; for while they carry about them this body of fleſh, they are ſubject to both: But evil from ſin may well be ſaid not to befall them, becauſe it humbles them, makes them more cautelous, cauſes them to love God the more, to adhere to him the faſter, and ſue forth a Pardon and Petition for grace to reſiſt; and ſo though evil in it ſelf, yet is not a deſtructive evil to them: Again, the evil of puniſhment is to them a fatherly correction to mend and better them, not to ruine them; and in this ſenſe we may juſtifie the Prophet in his words, There ſhall no evil befall thee, neither ſhall any plague come nigh thy dwelling: Be it ſin or puniſhment, all ſhall work together for the beſt for thoſe that love God, and then not properly evil.
Well, For the Angels have a charge to keep them.I am (the juſt man may ſay) ſecure, that no evil ſhall befall me, but I deſire to know, how I ſhall know that I may be kept ſo, that I fall not among Thieves? Ver. 11 This Objection the Prophet prevents, ſaying, in effect, Fear not:
For he ſhall give his Angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy wayes.
They ſhall bear thee up in their hands, Ver. 12 leſt thou daſh thy foot againſt a ſtone: In which verſes conſider:
1. That the good man is protected by Angels; many Angels have a care of one poor man.
2. That they are commanded by God to do it; for are not they miniſtring Spirits ſent by God to that end? Hebr. 1.
3. That it is a particular adminiſtration, a charge given, De te, the pooreſt, the meaneſt Saint.
4. That they are to keep, to look to, defend thee, and what is thine; Thou haſt an inviſible Guard.
5. But then mark the limitation and reſtriction, it is, in all thy wayes, in the walk of thy Vocation to which God hath called thee; either walk in them, or the Angels have no charge to keep thee.
6. Laſtly, In all thy wayes, not in one, but all; for the wayes of men are many, and in all he needs the cuſtody of Angels.
1. The Law is a way, and the way of the Law is manifold.
2. Our works and operations are manifold, which are our way too.
3. Our life is a way, and there be many parts and conditions of our life, various ages, manifold ſtates; and in all theſe wayes we need a Guardian, for we may ſlip in every Law, in every operation, in every age, in every ſtate of life.
Which that it be not done, God hath given his Angels charge over us to keep us; to keep us only, nay, which is more:
1. They ſhall bear thee, as kind Mothers and Nurſes do their Children.
2. They ſhall bear thee in their hands; the will, the underſtanding, wiſdom and power are, as it were, the Angels hands, with all theſe they will bear us.
3. That thou daſh not thy foot; that is, thy affections, which carry the ſoul to good or bad.
4. Againſt a ſtone; which are all difficulties and obſtacles, which as ſtones the Divel caſts in out way to hinder us; that we be not ſcandalized at theſe, we have the help of Angels.
And which is yet more, under their cuſtody, we ſhall tread under foot Satan, And they ſhall tread under foot all their enemies.and all his Complices; him, a roaring Lyon, an old Serpent, a fierce Dragon, and all his Aſſociates, Tyrants, Perſecutors, all Hereticks and Hypocrites; for ſuch is the promiſe, Thou ſhalt tread upon the Lyon and Adder, the young Lyon and Dragon ſhalt thou trample under feet. Ver. 13
3. In the mouth of two or thrte witneſses ſhall every word ſtand, ſaith God; and here we find the Law ſtrictly obſerved: To be proved it was, that all who truly truſt in God, were to be protected by God; of which one witneſs, The third witneſs that the good man ſhall be protected, God himſelf, who is here brought in to atteſt all this on three conditions.was the juſt man, ver. 2. Another, the teſtimony of the Spirit by the Prophet, from ver. 3. to this verſe. To which a third, we have here even God himſelf; for in theſe three laſt verſes, the Prophet brings in God himſelf teſtifying this great and comfortable Truth with his own mouth, and adding much to what was formerly ſaid: But yet upon theſe three conditions preſuppoſed in the protected. 1. His love. 2. His acknowledgment of Gods Name. 3. He ſhall call upon me with vehemency, with an earneſt deſire.
1. Becauſe he hath ſet his love upon me, Chaſak, pleaſed me, loved me, Ver. 14 adhered cloſe to me, hoped in me, truſted to me with a filial love and adherence.1The good mans love to God.
2. Becauſe he hath known my Name, acknowledged my Power, Wiſdom, Goodneſs, 2His acknowledging of Godtheſe are the cauſes and the conditions preſuppoſed in the protected.
3. He ſhall call upon me; Invocation neceſſary alſo.3His Invocation.
Therefore I will deliver him, I will anſwer him, I will be with him in trouble, Therefore ſaith God.I will honour him; which Bellarmine ſuppoſeth to belong to this life.
I will glorifie him, or ſet him on high; and the ſecond, I will deliver him; 1I will deliver him.with long life I will ſatisfie him, and ſhew him my ſalvation.
1. I will deliver him, by the ſhield, by my Angels, by other wayes, mediatly, 2I will glorifie him.or immediatly, yet ſo, that it be remembred that I do it; Ver. 14 for theſe ſhall not deliver without me.3I will anſwer his prayers.
2. I will anſwer him; anſwer his deſires, anſwer his prayers, ſo they be cries.
3. I will be with him in trouble; joyn my ſelf cloſe to him, 4I will be with him in trouble.go into priſon with him, as it were, ſuffer with him, and think my ſelf purſued, when he is perſecuted; give him comfort even then: Martyres non eripuit; ſed nec deſeruit; They ſung in priſon.
4. I will h…our him: For the names of thoſe who ſuffered for his ſake, 5I will honour him.are honourable; right dear in the ſight of the Lord, is the death of all his Saints.
Theſe Promiſes may belong to this life, to the other, thoſe which follow. Ver. 15
1. I will deliver him: For the juſt by death, and by death only, The promiſes for the other life repeated.are freed from the preſent, and all future miſeries: Bleſſed are the dead, for they rest from their labours.
2. I will glorifie him: As if it were not enough to deliver him; 1Reſt.ſuch a thing in this life may fall out, as it happened to Joſeph, Job, David, 2Glory.Daniel: But the true glory no queſtion muſt be, When the righteous ſhall ſhine like the Sun, be ſet upon their Thrones, and judge the twelve Tribes of Iſrael.
3. With long life will I ſatisfie him, i. e. with eternal felicity, Ver. 16 with a continuance in bliſs, which ſhall be eternal, for without eternity, 3Eternity.even the length of dayes cannot ſatisfie; as appears by old men, who yet have complained of a ſhort life.
4. And that the Prophet ſpeaks of this eternal felicity, 4The beatifical Viſion.is more than probable, becauſe he adds, I will ſhew him my ſalvation; Salutare meum; My Chriſt, his Jeſus, or ſalutem meam, my ſalvation; that is, I will bring to paſs, that when through his whole life I have given him ſufficient evidences of my fatherly affection, I will at laſt tranſlate him to a place, where he ſhall no longer live by faith, but ſhall ſee, and experimentally feel what he hath believed; I will make all manifeſt, and ſhew it unto him. Happy he ſhall be in the enjoyment of the Beatifical Viſion, which nor ignorance, nor trouble, nor labour, nor ſorrow, nor death it ſelf, nor fear of it ſhall interrupt.
The Prayer.
O Gracious God, who haſt made ſo comfortable promiſes of ſecurity, aid and help to all thoſe, that with faith, love and hope, adhere and truſt to thée; Teach us in all our temptations, preſſures and ſorrows, to dwell in thy ſecret place, to rely upon thy viſible aſſiſtance, and to abide under the ſhadow of the Almighty: Ver. 1 Make us know, That thou art our Refuge, That thou art our Fortreſs, Ver. 2 That thou art our God, That in thee alone muſt be our truſt and confidence.
Aſſaulted we are ſecretly and openly, the Fowler, the Divel, ſets his ſnares for us, Ver. 3 and hopes to take us in his Net, as a ſilly Bird; in danger we are to be devoured by the Sword, and the noyſome peſtilence. In the night we are ſurprized with terrours, Ver. 5 too often affrighted with conſpiracies and treaſons of treacherous enemies, and the ſecret whiſpers of falſe friends. In the day of our proſperity, Ver. 6 the kéen arrows of bloody enemies and perſecutors are let flie at us; the peſtilence, and peſtilent plots of thoſe which watch for our ruine, walk about in the darkneſs, and the malice of Tyrants by a perpetual deſtruction, labours to waſte us at noon-day, even in the ſight of the Sun. Cover us, Ver. 4 O gracious God, as the Hen doth her tender Birds, with thy feathers, and give us confidence under thy wings, aſſure our hearts by a lively faith of the Truth of thy promiſes, and let thy faithfulneſs in the performance, be unto us a Shield and a Buckler, by which we may receive and quench all the fiery darts of the Divel. O Lord, we have made thée, who haſt no Superiour, our Refuge, our Sanctuary to flie to; we have made thée our habitation to reſt, Ver. 9 to dwell in, who art the moſt High, above all, and ſéeſt what is done below, and ſits in the higheſt Throne, and over-ruleſt the whole World: When then a thouſand ſhall fall by our ſide, Ver. 7 or ten thouſand at our right hand; let not thy heavy indignation come near to us, let no evil befall us, that repoſe our confidence in thée, Ver. 10 nor any plague come nigh our dwelling. Thou oftentimes, even in this World, takeſt vengeance upon the wicked, Pharaoh and his Hoſt are drowned in the red Sea; Dathan and Abiram were ſwallowed up by the gaping earth; if it be thy good pleaſure, O let our eyes behold and ſee the reward of the wicked; Ver. 8 let us lay it to heart, and conſider it, and rejoyce, when we ſée the vengeance, but not for the calamities that befall theſe miſerable men; but becauſe thy juſtice is magnified, thy wiſdom exalted, thy love and care of thy people, the poor flock of thy paſture, in a ſtrange manner made apparent, by the puniſhment and recompence taken upon theſe impudent, obſtinate and rebellious ſinners, who have not ſet thée before their eyes.
As for thy people, direct them in thy Truth, and preſerve them in the right way, Ver. 11 make thy Law their light and guide, that their works may be good, and their lives holy; and as thou haſt given a charge to thoſe miniſtring Spirits, the Angels, ſo command them to kéep thine in all their wayes, let them bear them up in their hands, Ver. 12 employ their wiſdom, power, will and intelligence for their perſeverance, that through their miſguided affections of love and fear, they ſtumble not, and fall at thoſe impediments, obſtacles, ſcandals, and diſcouragements, laid in their way as ſo many ſtones, by the common enemy of thy Church, and his complices.
He is a roaring Lyon in our way, that goes about, Ver. 13 ſeeking whom he may devoure: He is an Adder in our path, that is ready to bite our héel; give us power to tread upon him, and bruiſe his head: He, and the Tyrants, Perſecutors, Sectaries and Hypocrites he hath raiſed, are as young Lyons and Dragons to us, arm us with magnanimity and conſtancy to trample them under our féet.
Our love we ſet upon thée, therefore deliver us, Ver. 14 we know and acknowledge thy Name, thy Power, thy Wiſdom, thy Goodneſs, Ver. 15 therefore once more honour us, and ſet us on high. We earneſtly and inſtantly cry unto thée, and call upon thée, hear us therefore, and anſwer us; the ſorrows of our hearts are enlarged, and our troubles are great, make then this promiſe good unto us, and be with us in trouble, let thy bowels yearn upon us, go along with us to our priſons, leave us not in our extremities, and make them know, that they who purſue us, do perſecute thée.
And in thy good time, O Lord, take us from our miſeries, and take us to thy ſelf; honour and glorifie us with thy Saints, in thoſe Manſions which thou haſt prepared for us, ſet us upon our promiſed Thrones, where we ſhall ſhine as the Sun in his glory; Even ſo come Lord Jeſus, Ver. 16 come quickly. This life, becauſe ſhort, and full of miſery, will give no ſatisfaction; ſatisfie us with that, in which is length and eternity of dayes; here we live by faith, but there we ſhall experimentally ſee and féel, what we have believed; ſhew us therefore, O Lord, thy ſalvation, and let us be happy in thy preſence for evermore. Amen. Amen.