Davids Harp Strung and Tuned, Book 4 · Psalm 98
PSAL. XCVIII. Propheticus, & foreign.
THIS Pſalm is an evident Prophecy of Chriſt's coming to ſave, to judge the world, and therefore the Church hath well ſubjoined it to the Magnificat, for what is here foretold by David, is there chanted forth plainly, ſuppoſe then David to be the voice, and Mary the eccho, and thus you may eaſily ſee the return.
1. O ſing unto the Lord a new Song, ſaith David; My ſoul doth magnifie the Lord, ſaith Mary.
2. David the voice ſaith, He hath done marvellous things. He hath magnified, ſaith the eccho.
3. With his own right-hand, and with his holy arm, hath he gotten himſelf the victory, ſaith David. He hath ſhewed ſtrength with his arm, and ſcattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, ſaith Mary.
4. The Lord hath made known his ſalvation, his righteouſneſs hath he openly ſhewed, &c. ſaith David. His mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations, &c. ſaith Mary.
5. He hath remembred his Mercy and Truth toward the houſe of Iſrael, ſaith David the voice. He remembring his Mercy, hath holpen his Servant Iſrael, ſaith Mary the eccho.
An Egg then cannot be more like an Egg, than this Hymn is like the Magnificat, and both ſung for the ſame end, viz. To praiſe God for the Salvation of the world by Chriſt.
Two parts of the Pſalm.
1. An exhortation to ſing to the Lord, and the reaſons of it, verſ. 1, 2, 3.
2. A new invitation to praiſe him, and that it be univerſal, from verſ. 4. to 9.
1. He begins with a very fervent and earneſt exhortation, it hath an O. The firſt part. He incites to praiſe God.before it.
1. O ſing. Cantate, not canite: 2. A Song; a Hymn it would be. 3. To the Lord, not men. Vers. 1
2. A new Song; becauſe a new occaſion is given for a Song; it is not for your Creation, or Preſervation, you are now to ſing, but for your Redemption. Nova, res, novum Canticum. No common, no ordinary Song will now ſerve turn, but as Gods Mercy in this Work was extraordinary, ſo our thanks ought to be more than ordinary.
And that men may yield to this motion, and put it in practice the more readily, and cheerfully, the Prophet ſubjoins his reaſons.The reaſons to perſwade it. 1. His Miraculous work of Redemption.
1. For he hath done marvellous things, he hath opened his greatneſs and goodneſs in this great work of Redemption eſpecially. In this work there be marvellous things indeed, He was conceived by the Holy Ghoſt, he was born of the Ʋirgin Mary, he cured the blind, healed the lame, raiſed the dead, &c. And which is yet more marvellous, though he were the Lord of life, yet dyed, raiſed himſelf, aſcended into heaven, ſent down the Holy Ghoſt, and by unlearned men, converted the world. Domuit orbem non ferro ſed ligno. A marvellous thing, that men ſhould believe in a Crucified God.
2. His right-hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. 2A work of power and holineſs.It was his own work, he had no Coadjutors in it. And it was a work of his right-hand, and of his arm; that is, of his Son, who in Scripture is called the arm of God. 2. Of his holy arm, for the work was not done by Swords and Warlike Weapons, but by his Holineſs, manifeſted by his Humility, Patience, Obedience, Submiſſion to the Will of God, and a Holy life, and an undeſerved death. 3. He hath gotten himſelf the victory, to himſelf firſt, then to all his, over Sin, Death, Hell.
3. The Lord hath made known his Salvation. Firſt, 3This work made known.by himſelf to the Jews, after, by his Apoſtles to all Nations. His Salvation; that is, Vers. 2 A Salvation of his people from their ſins, which had been of no uſe, had he not in mercy made it known.
4. His righteouſneſs hath he openly ſhewed in the ſight of the heathen.4And applyed to us.
1. His righteouſneſs, by which he makes us juſt, by remiſſion of ſin, and imputation of his juſtice, by which we are alone juſtified at the Bar of God.
2. 5That which moved him to it, Mercy and Truth.This he hath openly ſhewed, plainly revealed in his Goſpel.
3. In the ſight of the heathen, for it is now made known to them, as well as the Jews.
5. Vers. 3 He hath remembred his Mercy and Truth toward the Houſe of Iſrael.
1. To the Houſe of Iſrael, for to them were the Prophecyes given, and with them the promiſe made, which yet concerned us Gentiles.
2. His Mercy in promiſing. For it was out of meer mercy and grace, and not any merit of mans, that he ſhould promiſe, That the ſeed of the woman ſhould break the Serpents head.
3. And he remembred it, when he performed it, by ſending Salvation by his Son. Then he remembred his Truth, and performed the Oath which he ſware to our fore-fathers, by viſiting and Redeeming his people.
4. Which now all Nations have ſeen.For all the ends of the earth have ſeen the Salvation of our God. The Nations have heard the Apoſtles, and their Succeſſors, they have believ'd the Goſpel, and ſo by a heart purified by Faith, and experiment of Grace, they have actually ſeen the Salvation of our God. By the eye of faith they embrace it, love it, and labour by a holy life to be partakers of it.
2. The ſecond part.Upon theſe reaſons he perſwades us, to ſing unto the Lord a new Song, that Salvation was by him alone wrought for us. 2. Proclaimed, and made known to us. For this again he perſwades,3. That he had performed his Covenant, and applyed it, making all the ends of the earth partakers of it: And now he returns to exhort us to do that with which he began; and as if he could never ſufficiently expreſs his deſires, he runs deſcant upon it, Praiſe him with a loud voice, ſing with your tonges, exult with your hearts, take in the help of all Inſtruments, and call to all creatures to accompany you, and complete your mirth. This is the Summe of the following verſes.
1. Vers. 4 Make a joyful noyſe unto the Lord, all the whole earth. Jubilate, keep a Jubilce for it; To praiſe him all wayes we can.Cantate, Chant it out aloud. Exultate, Fetch, as it were, a leap for it. And Pſallite, Sing praiſe all the wayes you can. 2. And let all the earth do it, becauſe all the earth is partaker of the Saviour, and Salvation.
2. Vers. 5 Sing unto the Lord with a harp, with the harp, and the voice of a Pſalm, Vers. 6 with Trumpets, and ſound of a Cornet. With Vocal, with Cordal, with Pneumatical Muſick. All wayes we can, are too little to expreſs our joy.
3. Make a joyful noyſe before the Lord our King. You are in conspectu ejus, his eyes ſees, and his ear hears what you do, let it be done heartily.
4. Vers. 7 And to make the Muſick the fuller, as if the ſenſeleſs creatures had ears and hands to give an applauſe at the relation, And call all creatures to join with us.and feet to dance at it, he calls to them to join with him in the mirth.
Let the Sea roar, Vers. 7 and the fulneſs thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein.
Let the floods clap their hands, Vers. 8 let the hills rejoice together. It is a Proſopopeia, frequently uſed in Scripture: as afore, Pſal. 96.11, 12.
5. And let it be heartily and ſincerely done. For it is before the Lord; in his eye, For he cometh to judge.in his ſight, in his preſence, who can judge with what affection any thing is done.
And for this he gives a reaſon, Vers. 9 with which he concludes. For he cometh to judge the earth; which may be referred to his firſt, or ſecond coming.
1. 1Either in humility, as at his firſt.If to the firſt, then the ſenſe is, Let all creatures rejoice, becauſe he comes to judge, that is, to govern and order with juſt and excellent Laws, the whole Orb of the world, not only by the inviſible Majeſty of his Divinity, but being made into the ſimilitude of man, and in form now found a true man.
2. If to the laſt, his ſecond coming, then let all creatures rejoice, 2Or in Glory as at his ſecond coming.becauſe he ſhall root out ſinners from the earth, and make new heavens, and a new earth. The whole creature ſhall be delivered from corruption, under which it greans and travails in pain together until now, and ſhall be reſtored into the glorious liberty of the children of God, Rom. 8.21, 22.
3. Now both theſe ſhall be done with that rectitude of judgement, that there be nothing crooked, nothing oblique, nothing ſavouring of iniquity in it. With righteouſneſs ſhall he judge the world, and the people with his Truth.
A Thankſgiving and Meditation upon the Redemption of Man-kind, taken out of the ninty eighth Pſalm.
I Will ſing unto thee, O gracious God, and merciful Lord, a new Song, Vers. 1 as it becomes me for a new ſavour, an ordinary hymn might be in my mouth for ordinary bleſſings, but this was extraordinary, and therefore requires thanks more than ordinary. That thou didſt create me after thy image, was a great mercy; that thou haſt governed me by thy Word, preſerved me by thy Power, provided for me by thy Fatherly goodneſs ever ſince I was born, are all acts of mercy; but that thou haſt ſet thy love upon me from all eternity, and in the fulneſs of time didſt ſend thy beloved Son to be born, to live, to dye for me, and redéem my poor ſoul from thy juſt wrath, and the conſequents of it, is a favour more than I could expect, more than I could deſerve, and therefore I ſing with the bleſſed Virgin. My ſoul doth magnifie the Lord, and my ſpirit rejoiceth in God my Saviour. Bleſſed be the Lord God of Iſrael, for he hath viſited and redeemed his people.
This is a favour ſo beyond all favours, and ſo neerly concerns all the world, that I wiſh all men had hearts, and all creatures tongues to ſound it forth. O come and make a joyful noyſe unto the Lord, all the earth, make a loud noyſe, and rejoice, and ſing praiſe. Your voices are not ſwéet enough, take then the Harp, and join to the Harp the voice of a Pſalm. Your voices are not loud enough, call then for Trumpets to ſound it out, and blow it abroad with the wind of a Cornet. Let the praiſe vsus illuſtrious, and the noyſe joyful, for it is before the Lord the King.
And O that the inanimate creatures, who ſhall be by this one day freed from the bondage of corruption, had tongues alſo to join with you. However in their kind let them do what they can, let the Sea roare forth the praiſes of God, and the fulneſs thereof reſound the fulneſs of his mercy, and let the world, and they that dwell therein, as in a clap of thunder, ſay Amen, Amen to it: Let the floods join with the Sea, and clap their hands, let the hills be joyful together, and eccho forth the praiſe of the Lord our Redeemer.
For he hath done marvellous things. Things which we may admire, Vers. 1 but ſhall never be able to comprehend; ſhall and muſt ſearch into, but ſhall never fully fathom. For without controverſie, great is the Myſtery of Godlineſs: God was manifeſted in the fleſh, juſtified in the Spirit, ſéen of Angels, preach'd unto the Gentiles, believ'd on in the world, receiv'd up into glory.
Marvellous, O ſwéet Saviour, was thy conception, marvellous thy incarnation, marvellous thy life, marvellous thy death. We cannot chooſe but wonder, that the Lord of life ſhould dye, that the Lord of heaven and earth ſhould be buried in the earth. And that which increaſeth the wonder, is, that he ſhould riſe from thence to juſtifie us, that he ſhould aſcend in our nature to heaven to prepare a place for us, that he ſhould ſit on the right-hand of God to be our Advocate to plead for us, to be our Interceſſor to ſtep between, and make our peace when our God is offended with us. And that we yet marvel the more, all this was done for us, when we were without ſtrength, and could not help our ſelves; without grace, and could not deſerve his, when we were ungodly, and thought not of him, ſinners that did provoke him, enemies that did cebell againſt him. In this then God commended his love, that while we were yet ſinners, Chriſt dyed for us. O ſweet Jeſus, thy love to us was wonderful, paſſing the love of women.
This was a work that paſſed the power of men and Angels; Angels were too weak, and man too ſinful to undertake in it. Yet ſo great was thy love to loſt man, that rather than he ſhould periſh for ever, thou, who wert without ſin, Vers. 1 wouldſt be made ſin for him; thou, who wert the arm and power of God, wouldſt appear clothed with our infirmities. Yet ſo powerful thou wert in this weakneſs, ſo mighty in our infirm fleſh, that by thy right-hand, and thy holy arm, thou haſt gotten to thy ſelf the victory, conquer and triumph thou didſt over Sin, Death, and Hell, and over all the power of the Prince of darkneſs. It was thine own right-hand without any other power, that did it; thine own arm without any aſſiſtant, that led Captivity Captive, and received gifts for men, yea even for thine enemies, that the Lord God might dwell among them.
We the heathens, Vers. 2 were the greateſt part of theſe enemies, yet to us thou ſenteſt thy Apoſtles to preach theſe glad-tidings, and ever ſince by thy Miniſters haſt made known thy ſalvation. Thy righteouſneſs, which is now our righteouſneſs, bleſſed be thy name for it, by which our pardon is ſealed, and we are juſtified, is not as a Candle hid under a buſhel, but is openly ſhew'd in the ſight of the heathen: It is not in Judaea only that God is known, but all the ends of the earth have ſeen the ſalvation of our God, all Nations now ſée and know that thou wert a merciful God in promiſing, and a faithful God in performing thy Holy Covenant, that thou haſt remembred thy Mercy and Truth toward the houſe of Iſrael.
This is a mercy beyond all mercies, and in mercy, good Lord, continue this mercy unto us. Never remove our Candleſtick, or remove the light of thy Goſpel from us. And though at this time it be eclipſed, and that very juſtly for our unthankfulneſs in the uſe of this light, for our undervaluing of it, and not rejoicing in it, yet, we beſéech thée, upon our contrition and amendment of our lives, let it repent thee of the evil that thou haſt brought upon thy people, and all miſts of error and hereſie, all darkneſs of prophaneneſs being diſpell'd, ſhew forth the bright beams of thy countenance unto thoſe thouſands of Iſrael, who ſeek and ſigh after thy Truth with an honeſt heart.
Deſcend, Vers. 9 O Lord, deſcend, and with righteouſneſs judge the cauſe of thy poor afflicted, oppreſſed people, in equity raiſe their grieved ſouls; Let thy Truth flouriſh, the Goſpel have a free paſſage amongſt us, and bring to a ſpéedy confuſion, all that are enemies to thy peace, through Ieſus Chriſt our Lord.