Davids Harp Strung and Tuned, Book 4 [i.e. 5] · Psalm 109
PSAL. CIX. foreign.
THE later Expoſitors expound this Pſalm, of Doeg, Achitophel, and other Perſecutors of David, and ſo it may be underſtood in the Type: But the Ancient Fathers apply it to Judas the Traytor, and the Jewes that put Chriſt to death; which opinion, becauſe it is more probable, being occaſioned by thoſe words of Peter, Acts 1.20. which by him are applied to Judas out of this Pſalm; I ſhall expound it of Chriſt, whom David doth perſonate; and of Judas, and the malicious Jewes, very fitly underſtood in the perſons of his wicked and ſlanderous enemies.
There be four parts of this Pſalm.
1. A ſhort Ejaculation, ver. 1. and the Reaſons of it expreſſ'd in a Complaint of the fraud and malice of his enemies, ver. 6.
2. A bitter Imprecation againſt them, from ver. 6. to 21.
3. A Supplication preſented to God for himſelf, from ver. 21. and the Reaſons, to ver. 30.
4. A profeſſion of thanks, ver. 30, 31.
1. The firſt part. He begins with an ejaculation.He begins with an Ejaculation: Hold not thy peace, O God of my praiſe, ver. 1. Obſerve,
1. Ver. 1 The Epithite, or Title he uſeth, O God of my praiſe. In the reading Tranſlators vary; O God.for thus they read: Deus laudis meae, Deus laus, mea, Deus laudabilis mihi; and they expound it:
1. Either actively; that is, O God, whom I praiſe, even in my greateſt preſſures or calamities.
2. Or paſſively, Who art my praiſe; the Witneſs and Advocate of my innocency and integrity, when I am condemned by malicious tongues; which ſenſe ſeems fitteſt for this place, and to this the Vulgar gives more light, that thus reads it, Domine laudem meam, ne tacueres: And Bellarmine puts the words into Chriſts mouth, in which he deſites that God would not conceal his Charity, Innocence, and other Virtues, being very like that prayer, John 17.5. Father, glorifie thy Son.
2. Hold not thy peace.Hold not thy peace. Tacere, in Scripture, when referr'd to God, is to connive, and reſt, and ſeems as it were, not to regard; and the contrary, loqui, to ſpeak, to do ſomewhat for revenge or deliverance: This then is that which David here asks, That when the malice of his enemies arrived at that height, that it could be no longer endured, that God would connive at them, ſuffer them, and hold his peace no longer, but would declare his diſpleaſure againſt them.
2. The reaſon, the malice of his enemies. Whom he deſcribes to be:And after by way of Complaint he deſcribes unto us their malicious nature, and unſufferable conditions, which he aggravates by an elegant Gradation: For the mouth of the wicked, and the mouth of the deceitful, are opened againſt me, they have spoken againſt me with a lying tongue.
They were, 1. Impious. 2. Deceitful. 3. Lyars. Impiety, deceit, lying, were then the ingredients of their ſin. Ver. 2
1. 1Turpious.For the mouth of the wicked. Caiaphas, Judas, the Prieſts, the Jewes, moved with envy and malice.
2. 2Deceitful.And the mouth of the deceitful is opened against me. Deceitful thoſe words were, Maſter, Thou teacheſt the way of God truly: Tell us whither, They ſought to entrap him in his words?
3. 3Lyars.They have ſpoken againſt me with a lying tongue. He caſteth out Devils, through Belzebub, the Prince of Devils. He ſaid, he would deſtroy the Temple, and raiſe it in three dayes.
And yet the miſchief riſes higher; for this deceit and lying, aroſe from hatred and malice.
1. Ver. 3 They compaſſed me about with words of hatred, manifeſting in plain words the malice which they carried in their hearts, 4Malicious.ſaying, This man is not of God, behold a gluttonous perſon, and a wine-bibber, Away with him, Crucifie him. Yea now, but what evil hath he done, that would be known? why ſo much ſpoken againſt? why ſo hated? But ſuch there was not, which aggravates their fault.
2. 5Without cauſe.They hated me, gratis, without a cauſe. Hate, and lie, and ſpeak ill they would, becauſe they would, John 15.
4. Farther, They were not only wicked, deceitful, and malicious, but very ungrateful perſons alſo. I went about doing good, healing every ſickneſs, Ver. 4 and evely diſeaſes among the people, and I loved them, as a Hen her Chickens, 6Ungrateful.and would have gathered them. Now he is of a very ill nature, that being beloved, will not love again; but he of a worſe, that for love will return hatred; and this they did.
1. For my love, they are my adverſaries. Enough this to turn the heart of any man from them: But,
2. I give my ſelf to prayer. I pray'd for them on the Croſs, Father, Ver. 5 forgive them, they know not what they do.
Which baſe ingratitude of theirs he yet farther opens in fuller words, ver. 5. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. I ſee that of Theognis is moſt true.
foreign.
Fluctere naturam gratia nulla potest.
A Jew will ever be a Jew.
2. The Prophet having complained of the malice, hatred, ſpiteful uſage, The ſecond part. An Imprecation.and ingratitude of his Nation, their crafty dealing with him, the lies and ſlanders which they heaped upon him, proceeds to pray againſt them, and that in a moſt bitter and fearful imprecation. Enemies he fore-ſaw they would be to the Son, God; and hinder, ſo much as lay in them, the flouriſhing eſtate of Chriſts Church; yea, and that nothing was of force to reſtrain or amend them, and therefore he curſes them with a curſe, the moſt bitter that ever fell from the lips of man; and had it not been directed and inſpired by the Holy Ghoſt, not juſtifiable. In particular, Judas that was guide to them, who took Jeſus, is pointed at: But as Auguſtine obſerves, he repreſented the perſon of the whole Synagogue, the Imprecations then that are prayed for againſt him, do alſo involve them reſpectively.
1. The firſt is a fearful imprecation: Set thou a wicked man over him, Ver. 6 and let Satan ſtand at his right hand.1That he be under the power of the wicked.
1. Subject him to the will of ſome impious and wicked man, to whoſe luſt and violence he may be no better than a ſlave. Others, by a wicked man, underſtand ſome falſe Teacher, that may ſeduce him by falſe Doctrine: But Bellarmine by Peccator here, underſtands the Spirit of Covetouſneſs, which was ſet over Judas, when he ſold Chriſt, to whom he unhappily ſerv'd till death.
2. Let Satan ſtand at his right hand; have full power over him, let him ſtand, 2And Satan.which ſignifies a perpetual, and indefatigable endeavour, to urge and preſs him forward, till he effect the miſchief intended; and ſo it was in Judas, and the Jewes; for after that Satan had put into his heart to betray his Maſter, and the Jewes had taken counſel to crucifie him, Satan would never permit them to give it over, till they had brought him to the Croſs; the Devil was their Guide, and they followed him.
2. The ſecond is, When he ſhall be judged, let him be condemned. Ver. 7 Find no mercy; no favour at the Judges hand, 3When judged, condemned.but have the ſentence of condemnation pronounced againſt him at the Bar of man, and at the Bar of God. Literally it fell out in Judas, when his own conſcience accuſed and condemned him for betraying the innocent; the very High Prieſts that bribed him, would not acquit him; and he went out; and became his own Executioner, He hang'd himſelf.
3. The third, Let his prayer be turned into ſin; his ſupplication be abominable, 4Let his prayer be ſin.Prov. 28. For he turns his ear from hearing God, why then ſhould God hear him; no prayer can be acceptable to God, but through Chriſt; none; but from a heart purified by faith: Nor any impious man that lives in a conſtant courſe of ſin, hath ſuch a heart; nor the Jewes, nor Judas, offer any prayer through Chriſt, and therefore Davids curſe is fallen upon them, Their prayer is become ſin.
4. The fourth is, the ſhortning of their life and their honour.
1. Of their life: Let his dayes be few. Length of dayes is promiſed to the obedient, 5His life and honour ſhort.and is a bleſſing; wherefore David prayes, that this man may be of a ſhort life, which fell out in Judas, for he enjoyed not long his bargain.
2. And let another take his Office; which, without contradiction, muſt be applied to Judas, ſince St. Peter, Acts 1. ſo interprets it. And is at this day as true of the Jewes, for they have no High Prieſt: Another, after the order of Melchizedech, hath ſucceeded into the Prieſthood of Aaron.
5. Let his Children be fatherleſs, and his Wife a Widow; which muſt needs be the conſequent of the former curſe; 6His children fatherleſs.for if his dayes be few, a Widow muſt on neceſſity be left behind, and fatherleſs children alſo: This curſe reacheth to his Family, and he adds to it.
1. Let his children be Vagabonds, and beg. Vagabonds the Jewes are to this day; Vagabonds, and beg.and upon the overthrow of Jeruſalem, no better than Beggars for a longtime. Juven. Sat. 3. In qua te quaero proſeuchâ.
2. Let them ſeek their bread alſo out of deſolate places. Have no houſes at all to dwell in, but ſuch as ruinous, fallen, and deſolate, i. e. dwell among old walls, 7His Goods ſpoiled by the Extortioner.as Beggars, and thence rome abroad to ſeek their bread.
6. The ſixth Execration, is upon his Goods.
1. Let the Extortioner catch all that he hath. The Extortioner might be the Publicans, who, for their Extortions, were hateful to the Jewes.
2. And the ſtranger spoil his labour; which was verified in Titus Souldiers, that rip't up the Bellies of the captive Jewes for gold. And to this day, in the Turkiſh Empire, they are uſed as Spunges, ſuffer'd to gather riches, as the Spunge ſucks in water, for no other end, but to be ſqueezed.
7. 8No pity ſhew'd to his children.But the Prophet again returns to his Children, and layes yet other curſes upon them.
1. Let there be none to extend mercy unto him, neither let there be any to favour his fatherleſs Children. To beg, to want, is a miſery; but there is ſome comfort in it, when the Beggar meets with ſome one, that will pity and relieve him. This our Prophet votes againſt, Let there be none to pity him and his; and probatum eſt, upon Judas; for he found no pity from the High Prieſts: What is that to us, ſay they, look thou to it. And the poſterity of thoſe Murders did, have, do find as little; for who pities a Jew?
2. Men, becauſe they muſt dye themſelves, deſire they do to be immortal, if poſſible, 9His poſterity quickly cut off.in their iſſue, they would have their houſes to continue for ever. That ſuch a happineſs befall not theſe Reprobates, David prayes, Let his poſterity be cut off, and in the Generation following, let their name be blotted out: He would have a quick diſpatch of them. 'Tis acutely obſerved by Bellarmine, That Judas in the place he was in, his Biſhops had no ſeed; for Matthias that came into his place, derived not his Office from him. And for the Jewes, though a poſterity of them yet remain after the fleſh, yet in the very next Generation, their Eccleſiaſtical and Civil Policy was at an end; and ſince their diſperſion, they ſit without King, without Prieſt, without Sacrifice, without Altar, without Ephod, without Teraphim, as it was foretold by Hoſee.
3. Yet farther, the Prophet continues his Imprecation againſt the poſterity of theſe Reprobates: 10The ſin of the father revenged on the child.Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembred before the Lord, and let not the ſin of his mother be blotted out. This Imprecation anſwers Gods threat in the Commandment, I will viſit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children; and the Jewes have found this curſe to come upon them to the uttermoſt, they devoted themſelves, and their poſterity; Let his blood be upon us, and our children: And 'tis known to the whole World, that it hath taken its effect to the full. The guilt of his blood is yet upon them, the iniquity of their fathers is remembred; and the ſin of their mother, the Synagogue, is not yet done away.
4. And he repeats again, what he mentioned of the iniquity of their fathers, and the indelible Character of the Synagogues ſin; for this verſe is but the expolition of the former.
1. Let them be before the Lord continually: As if he had ſaid, Let the memory of their father and mothers ſin live for ever, never let God caſt it behind his back.
2. That he may cut off the memory of them from the Earth: Never let there be any memory of them, except it be in contempt; which that ungrateful Nation hath found true.
And ſo the Prophet having ended his Execrations, acquaints us with the cauſes of this bitterneſs: 2. And then prayes, that they pierce far, and work effectually upon them.The cauſes of theſe Imprecations.
The cauſes he aſſigns, are theſe.
1. The firſt was, their want of pity toward men in diſtreſſe: Hard-hearted men they were, without any bowels of compaſſion. 1Their want of compaſſion.By the Prophet Jeremy this is complained on, Lam. 1.12. Have ye no regard all ye that paſs by? Never was there ſorrow like my ſorrow, and yet nor Judas, Ver. 16 nor the Jewes conſidered it: 'Tis but juſt then, That they find judgment without mercy, that would ſhew no mercy, Jam. 2, Let his memory be cut off, &c. Becauſe he remembred not to ſhew mercy.
2. So far from that, That he perſecuted the poor and needy man, 2They perſecuted the afflicted. i.e. Chriſt, who was:that he might even ſlay the broken in heart; which is the ſecond cauſe, the inhumanity and cruelty of Judas, and the Jewes, againſt Chriſt, who is here call'd:
1. Poor, becauſe when he was rich, yet for our ſakes became poor, 1Poor.that we through his poverty might be rich, 2 Cor. 9.
2. The needy man: For the Foxes have Holes, 2Needy.and he Birds of the Aire Nests, but the Son of man hath not whereon to lay his head, Luk. 9.58.
3. The broken in heart: For he was in an agony, and his ſoul was troubled, 3Broken in heart.and beſieged with ſorrowes, when he ſweat drops of blood, when he cryed, My God, my God; but not with Compunction, or Contrition for any fault he had committed; but out of the ſenſe of pain, and anxiety, and ſollicitude, which he bore in his heart continually for the ſalvation of Mankind.
In this verſe then there is noted the extream cruelty and inhumanity of the Jewes; for they that perſecute a man for his life, have ſome reaſons that move them unto it: Either they are incens'd to do it by anger for ſome injury receiv'd, or mov'd by hope of gain by ſpoiling ſome rich man; or elſe through envy, that grudgeth at anothers felicity. But Chriſt was humble and low in heart, a poor man, that never did any man wrong: He contemn'd the World, was needy, and had not what ſhould provoke the eye of any covetous wretch. Laſtly, he was broken in heart, and wept for other mens ſins; not in ſo happy a condition, that any man ſhould envy him. It then aggravates their ſin, that they ſhould perſecute him; and becauſe they did it, they are juſtly accurſed.
3. And yet there is a third cauſe behind, He loved curſing; 3He loved curſing.and then 'tis but reaſon, that he have what he loved; he delighted not in bleſſing, why then ſhould any man delight to bleſs him? As he loved curſing, ſo let it come unto him; as he delighted not in bleſſing, ſo let it be far from him. No man can love a curſe, or hate a bleſſing, if it be propoſed to the will under the form of curſing and bleſſing: But a man is then ſaid to love a curſe, and hate a bleſſing, when he is the cauſe, by his own choice, of a wicked courſe, that he be curſed, and not bleſſed. This Judas, and the Jewes did; Judas, by loving money more than his Maſter; love a curſe, he forſook Chriſt, and would not be bleſſed. The Jewes refuſed him, and would have his blood upon them; as they loved then, ſo let them have; as they delighted not in bleſſing, ſo let it be far from them.
— Neque enim lex juſtior ulla est, &c.
Yea, Let this then ſit cloſe to himand let this curſe, as our Prophet adds farther, come with effect upon them, ſit as cloſe to him, as the garment about him; let it be converted into his very ſubſtance, as is the water he drinks, and pierce his marrow and bones, as the oyle, with which he anoints him; let him carry it perpetually along with him, as he doth his garment, and his girdle: For this is it which the Prophet intends by the following ſimilitudes, who would have the curſe be not only piercing and efficacious, but laſting and perpetual.
1. Ver. 18 As he cloathed himſelf with curſing, like as with a garment; lov'd to have it alwayes about him, 1Efficaciouſlyas a man doth the cloaths he moſt delights in.
2. 2Perpetually.So let it come, as waters into his bowels; that the ſtomack concocts, and turns into the very fleſh of the Animal; ſo let this curſe be converted into his nature and manners.
3. But water pierceth not the bones, oyle will do that, and therefore let it come as oyle into his bones. The intent of the Prophet is, That it be wholly, outwardly, and inwardly accurſed, deprived of all good, and fill'd with miſchief, and all evil.
And as he would have the curſe to be of great efficacy, ſo he would have him carry it alwayes about him.
1. Let it be unto him, as the garment that alwayes covers him: That is, let it alwayes ſtick cloſe to him, as his garment, which he puts not off, leaſt his nakedneſs appear.
2. And for a girdle, with which he is girded continually; i. e. compaſs him, and go round about him, being faſtned either with buckles or knots.
1. Moller, for a garment, reads Pallium, which is a Cloak that a man puts off at home, and calls for when he goes abroad: By which he conceives the Prophet deſires, that God would ſet ſome external mark upon him, as a note upon him, that he may be known to be a Caſt-away. 'Tis noted of the Jewes, that they carry an illſent about them, and their ears are grown into a Proverb; ſome ſay, their Viſage betrayes them.
2. If Doeg were the Type of Judas, as moſt agree, in this Pſalm, then by the girdle alſo might be underſtood, Cingulum militare, which they caſt not off while they were of that profeſſion: And he Doeg being a miſitary man, he would have the curſe cleave as long to him, and encompaſs him, as did his girdle.
And now the Prophet concludes this part of the Pſalm with an Exclamation and Vote, He concludes the Imprecation with a vote.by which he ſhewes, that he was perſwaded, that his execrations were not in vain.
Let this be the reward of my Adverſaries from the Lord, and of them that ſpeak evil againſt my ſoul; The third part. He prayes for protection. For himſelf, and his Churchthat ſay I am a Deceiver, a Seducer, and deny me to be the Son of God.
3. The Prophet now turns from curſing, into prayer, and in the perſon of Chriſt directs his prayer to God for protection and deliverance, both of himſelf, and for the whole Church; and as before he pray'd againſt Judas and the Synagogue, and indeed foreſaw the evils that were to fall upon them; ſo doth in this, pray for himſelf, and in that for the Church, foreſeeing the many good things that ſhould be conferred on that Body, of which the Meſſiah was to be the Head.
1. He begins his prayer in this Form: But do thou to me, O God the Lord, Ver. 21 for thy Names ſake, becauſe thy mercy is good. Help he asks againſt his Perſecutors, on three grounds.
1. Becauſe his Lord was Jehovah, the Fountain of all Being, of all Power; and therefore could, if he would, Upon Gods mercy.repreſs his Perſecutors.
2. Becauſe it would be for his honour: Do it for thy Names ſake; thy Name, i. e. thy Clemency, thy Goodneſs, thy Faithfulneſs in defence of thy Church, and Juſtice in executing Vengeance on her enemies, will be thereby celebrated, and declared; for the Name of God imports all this.
3. Do it, becauſe thy mercy is good; Deliverance.is eaſily inclined to ſuccour ſuch as are in miſery, which animates me alſo to ask, being aſſured that out of mercy, thou wilt do it.
2. Deliver thou me; methinks this part of the Petition ſeems to have an eye to that houre in which Chriſt prayed: Father, ſave me from this houre, John 12.27. O my Father, if it be poſſible, let this cup paſs from me, Mat. 26.39. For the reaſons to perſwade it are the ſame.
1. Deliver me, for I am poor and needy, deſtitute of humane help; And that becauſe:the Diſciples ſlept, fled.
2. Deliver me, for my heart is wounded within me, my ſoul it exceeding ſorrowful, even unto death, Mat. 26.38.
And to theſe, he adds many other Reaſons; the firſt of which, illuſtrated by the two ſimilitudes of the Evening ſhadow, and the Locuſt; Bellarmine very acutely refers to his apprehenſion in the Garden, 1His life ſhort, and he patient and ſilent.and his being poſted off from the High Prieſts to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, and ſo back again.
1. I am gone like the ſhadow, when it declines; which paſſeth away in a moment ſilently, without the leaſt noiſe: So was Chriſt pull'd from his Diſciples, and led away as a Priſoner, without any murmur, 2Unworthily uſed.without any reſiſtance, without any defence: He was led as a Lamb to the Slaughter, Iſa. 53.
2. I am toſſed up and down, as the Locuſt: Toſſed from one Tribunal to another, as the Locuſts, baſe Creatures, that the wind carries from place to place, Exod. 10.12, 19. 3Pains with trouble.And ſo alſo it fell out to the Apoſtles and Martyrs, who dyed patiently, and were foreign, toſſed up and down the World.
2. A ſecond Reaſon, from his debility, or weak condition his body was now in.
1. My knees are weak through faſting: The little ſuſtenance Chriſt took in the night before the Paſſion, his watching in prayer that night, makes this good.
2. And my fleſh faileth of fatneſs; through the loſs of much blood, 4Opprobriouſly uſed.ſo faint he was, that they compelled Simon of Cyrene to carry his Croſs.
3. A third Reaſon yet to move God to pity and deliver, is, taken from his opprobrious uſage, the Sarcaſms, and Scorns, and Jeers they put upon him; than which, there is no injury more grievous to a Noble and ingenious ſpirit: I am become alſo a reproach unto them; when they looked upon me, they ſhaked their head; He prayes for the Reſurrection.which needs no illuſtration, the four Goſpels being an ample Comment upon this verſe, and ſo he concludes the Paſſion.
This is the firſt part of his prayer: A ſecond part there is of it, which follows, for a ſpeedy Reſurrection, as he prayed before in the 22. Pſalm, which was alſo a Pſalm of the Paſſion, which is there ſet out to ver. 18. And then he prayes, as here, that he might not lie long in the Grave, ver. 19.20, 21. Help me, O Lord my God, ſave me from the pains of death, Acts 2.24. according to thy mercy.
And he backs his Petition with a ſtrong Reaſon, drawn from the final cauſe, Help me, ſave me, that they may know, that this is thy hand, that thou, Lord, hast done it: That all men, eſpecially the Jewes, may know by my riſing again, in deſpite of their watch and ſeal, that it was not their malice, nor power, that brought me to this ignominious death; but the whole matter, my Paſſion, ſuffering, and death, proceeded from thy hand, Acts 2.23. & cap. 3.18. And by his Reſurrection he was declared to be the Son of God, Rom. 1.4.
And in the cloſe of his prayer, His vote.he ſings, as it were, a Triumph over all his enemies, the Devil, Judas, the Jewes, thoſe great enemies to him and his Church; over them he inſults in a bitter Epitrope.
1. Let them curſe; ſpeak evil of me, call me a deceiver, blaſpheme me, as the Jewes do in a ſolemn manner to this day; 1That God bleſs him.let them eſteem my followers, as the off-ſcouring and out-caſts of the World.
2. 2That the Jewes be confounded.But bleſs thou: So thou return me good for their curſing, 2 Sam. 16.12. And not only to me in glorifying me, and ſetting me on his right hand; but for my ſake, bleſs all Nations, that by faith in Baptiſm ſhall give up their names to me.
3. When they ariſe: For,
1. Ariſe they will, plot, endeavour, and oppoſe all they can, both by force and fraud the eſtabliſhment of my Kingdom.
2. But let them be aſhamed, confounded and aſtoniſhed, that all their attempts are fruſtrate.
4. 3That he rejoyce.But let thy ſervant (for Chriſt took upon him the name and condition of a ſervant) rejoyce; not only that they are ſaved, and their enemies confounded, but becauſe thy Name is thereby glorified.
And he continues his Imprecation, But his adverſaries cloathed with ſhame.and comes over it again by way of Expolition: Let my Adverſaries be cloathed with ſhame, and let them cover themſelves with their own confuſion, as with a Mantle. Confounded at the laſt day for their ingratitude, fooliſhneſs, and malice, before men and Angels, and wrapp'd about with it, as veſte talari, as with a Robe, or a lined Mantle, that comes about, and covers every part of the body.
4. And at laſt, he cloſeth all with thanks, which he oppoſeth to the confuſion of the wicked; The fourth part. For which he would praiſe God publickly.they, for amazement and aſtoniſhment of heart, ſhall be ſtruck dumb, as the man without the wedding garment; but,
1. I will greatly praiſe the Lord with my mouth, with great affection, with a …great Jubilee.
2. Ver. 30 And that not cloſely, among private Walls, but in open Theater of the whole World; yea, I will praiſe him among the multitude.
Of which praiſe he renders this reaſon.
1. He ſhall ſtand at the right hand of the poor, i. e. ſuch poor, who are poor in ſpirit, God will defend and ſave his people.meek and humble; and being conſcious of their own wants, and lack of ſtrength, are alwayes begging, and beating at the door of God, who is rich in mercy; at the right hand of ſuch a poor man he will ſtand, as a Sword and Buckler, to keep off every blow aimed at him, for ſo it followes.
2. I will ſtand at the right hand of the poor, to ſave him from thoſe that condemn his ſoul; from the Devil, and all his inſtruments. Chriſt is the foreign to his Church, and he hath blotted out the hand-writing of Ordinances that was againſt us, and nail'd it to the Croſs, Col. 2.14. So that cùm à mundo damnamur, à Chriſto abſolvimur. Tertull.
The Prayer collected out of the One hundred and ninth Pſalm.
O Almighty, Merciful, and Gracious Father, Ver. 1 Thou art the God of whom we make our boaſt all the day long, and deſire to magnifie and praiſe all our life long, who art alone the Witneſs of the honeſty and integrity of our hearts, hold not thy peace in this néedful time of trouble, but be our Advocate, and plead our cauſe againſt the wicked and deceitful men, the enemies of thy Church, and Oppreſſors of thy Truth and people. It is not Lord, Ver. 2 unknown to thée, That the mouths of theſe wicked and falſe-hearted hypocrites are opened againſt thée, our Religion, and Profeſſion. It is not unknown unto thée, That they not only load us with lies and blaſphemies, but that forgetful of all humanity and piety, They have compaſſed us about with words of hatred. Ver. 3 They hate and malice us, and what foul aſperſions their malice could invent, thoſe they have caſt upon us: But with this, their malice was not ſatisfied; for from words, they came to blowes; our blood have they ſhed like water, by the fury of War, and defiled their hands with the ſlaughter of innocents; our Mothers Children have riſen, and ſought againſt us without a cauſe.
For what cauſe have we given them, except it were, that in charity we would have taught, and informed them in the Truth, and continued them in the boſom of thy Church? What cauſe, except it were, that we prayed for them, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do? Ver. 4 but ſuch is their ingratitude, That for our love, they are become our Adverſaries; they have rewarded us evil for good, and hatred for our love: And for our good-will, Ver. 5 repay us with oppreſſion, and make uſe of their power, and lay hold of the time put into their hands, to deſtroy, waſte, and root out thy inheritance. As for us, we have no means to reſiſt their fury, no power to oppoſe againſt their rage, but our prayers and tears, and therefore we will give our ſelves to prayer, and firſt pray for them, Lord, lay not this ſin to their charge: Or, if they ſhall perſiſt, and go on in their wickedneſs, againſt them, as thou haſt taught us in this Pſalm.
O Lord, the Curſes are bitter, the Execrations are fearful, and we know of what ſpirit we are, we ſhall then leave it to thy Iuſtice to execute them, as on whom, and when thou ſhalt think fit, not looking ſo much what theſe men of a reprobate mind have deſerved, as what is our Duty, taught and enjoyned by thée, To love our enemies, to bleſs them that curſe us, to do good to them that hate us, to pray for them that deſpitefully uſe us, and perſecute us. Afraid we are, leſt we indulge too much to our humane affections of ſelf-love, anger, hatred, and impatience, even in uſing this Form that thou haſt taught, and therefore we will forbear to curſe them, and ſollicite for our ſelves.
Conſcious we are to our ſelves, that we have not lived a life worthy of thy Truth and Goſpel revealed unto us, which is the juſt cauſe that at this time, Ver. 21 in thy worſhip, there remains almoſt nothing which is not corrupted with Novelty, and polluted with falſhood: But, O merciful God, give us true contrition for our former ingratitude, and forgive this great ſin of thy people; once more let thy light ſhine amongſt us, and do for us, O Iehovah the Lord, for thy Names ſake, becauſe thy mercy is good, deliver us. Thou art the mighty Iehovah, Thou then canſt, and thy mercy is great, and therefore we hope thou wilt do it for us; we plead no merit, we ask it not for any deſert, but méerly for thy Names ſake; for we are aſſured, that by the doing of it, thy Name will be magnified, thy Clemency, thy Goodneſs, thy Faithfulneſs in defence of thy Church, and thy Iuſtice in executing vengeance upon the enemy, will be exalted and celebrated.
Our condition, O Lord, at this time, is very low, poor we are, and men of a troubled ſpirit; néedy we are, being robb'd and outed of our worldly Goods; Ver. 22 our heart is wounded within us, in a ſharp and true compunction for our rebellions againſt Heaven, drawing we are to our laſt home, as the ſhadow, that at Even departs, and yet we can have no reſt, but are toſt up and down from Herod to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, as the Locuſt; we have chaſtiſed ou… ſoul with faſting, till our knees are weak, and our fleſh is worn away for want of fatneſs: And yer all this we could digeſt with patience, were it not for the opprobrious language and uſage we ſuſtain from them; it wounds our hearts, and pierceth our ſouls, that we ſhould become a reproach to them, when they, theſe mockers of Religion, theſe wolves in ſhéeps cloathing, theſe monſters of men, deſtitute of all humanity and piety, looked upon us in our affliction, ſo far they were from remembring to ſhew mercy, That they perſecuted us, whom thou hadſt ſmitten; they ſhaked their heads at us, and cryed, Ah thou wretch!
Ariſe, help us, O Lord our God, O ſave us, according to thy mercy. They blaſphemouſly entitle thée to all their Actions, they impute all to thy Providence; aſhamed they are not, to declare, That thou art pleaſed with all their enormities: But, O our God, ariſe, and in thy good time make them know, That they were but thy Rod and thy Scourge; that the blowes they gave, were from thee, and ſo many as thou pleaſeſt (in which they ought to take ſmall content) that it was thy hand, thus, for their ſins, to chaſtiſe thy people, and that thou, Lord, haſt done it; and that being done, Thou wilt take them, and caſt them into the fire.
Let them, then, O Lord, curſe: Let them ſpeak evil, as they do, of us; let them vlaſpheme, and account us the off-ſcouring of the World, out-caſts, and a ſpectacle to men and Angels: But do thou, O Lord, bleſs; bleſs thy people, bleſs thine inheritance. They ariſe againſt us, but let them be aſhamed, and aſtoniſhed, that all their plots are fruſtrate, and brought to naught: Let our Adverſaries be cloathed with ſhame, and cover and enwrap themſelves with their own confuſion, as with a Mantle.
This at the laſt day will be certainly done, when they ſhall deſire, if poſſible, to fly from the preſence of the Almighty; whereas thy ſervants then, with great boldneſs, ſhall ſtand in the preſence of the Almighty, and lift up their heads, and rejoyce.
O Gracious God, defend and help thy poor Church, ſtand at the right hand of every one that is poor in ſpirit, and of an humble heart; ſave him from thoſe that would condemn his ſoul: So will we greatly praiſe the Lord with our mouths, yea, we will praiſe thee among the multitude, in all the Churches of the Saints, with great affections, and many Jubilees, we will honour thy Name, and ſound forth thy praiſe, through Jeſus Chriſt our Lord. Amen.