Commentary on Ezra Nehemiah Ester Job and Psalms, Commentary 5 · Psalm 11
PSAL. XI.
VErſ. 1. In the Lord put I my truſt] This was that which David had and held, wherewith to anſwer him that reproached him (and it was an excellent good one) that hee truſted in Gods Word, Pſal. 119.42. When it was that he gave this anſwer, In the Lord put I my truſt (whether when Sauls courtiers,See the like Neh. 6.10. Luk. 13.31. under pretence of friendſhip, counſelled him to quit the Court for fear of Saul, which hee was very loth to do; or elſe when he was with Samuel at Naioth, 1 Sam. 19.18. &c. where his carnall friends might adviſe him, as Peter did his Maſter, Mat. 16.22. with a Fuge, fuge, David, cito, citius, citiſſime) is uncertain. But this is certain, that all the troops of ungodlineſs aime and act vigorouſly to caſt down the caſtle of confidence we have in God. This therefore we muſt be ſure to ſecure, as the Serpent doth his Head, the Souldier his Shield, Epheſ. 6.16. This is the victory whereby we overcome the World (with its Allurements, or Affrightments) even our faith, 1 Joh. 5.4. The beleever walketh about as a Conquerour; and he alone is the man whom the Heathen Poet elegantly deſcribeth,
Juſtum & tenacem propoſiti virum,
Non sivium ard or prava jubentium,Horat. Carm. lib. 3. Od 7
Non vult us inſtantis tyranni
Mente quatit ſolida, &c.
Si fractus illabatur orbis,
Impavidum ferient ruinae.
The Poet inſtanceth in Hercules and Bacchus, but had he known of David, Moſes, Micaiah, Nehemiah, Daniel, and his three friends, &c. he would rather have pitched upon them, or ſome others of thoſe Worthies, of whom the world was not worthy, Heb. 11.
Flee as a Bird to your mountain] Get you gone, you and your followers (the Hebrew word Flee is plural) or flee to your mountain, O bird; ſee you not the Fowlers ſnare? and will you not away with all ſpeed? Thus they ſought to fright him (as Birds are fearful, Iſa. 16.2. and to make him flee from his place, as a Bird fleeth from her Neſt, Prov. 27.8. But he was never without his Cordial, the ſame that releeved him at the ſack of Ziglag, where, in the fail of all other comforts, he incouraged himſelf in the Lord his God, 1 Sam. 30.6. he knew that as birds flying, ſo will the Lord of Hoſts defend his people; defending alſo, he will deliver them, and paſſing over he will preſerve them, Iſa. 31.5. This, though it were not written in Davids days, yet he had the good aſſurance of it in his ſoul.
Verſ. 2. For loe, the wicked bend their bow] ſcil. to ſhoot at you a ſilly Bird; you were beſt therefore to be packing,Nam ecce inquitis impii appoſuerunt pedem arcui. Beza. and not to ſtay till you come tumbling down, as a Bird fetcht off with a bolt. This hath ever been the guiſe of the Churches enemies, and is ſtill, to terrifie her (if they could) and affright her out of her faith, and true religion. Nebuchadnezzar for inſtance, Antiochus that little Antichriſt, the primitive Perſecutors, and ſtill the Papiſts with their cruel Inquiſition, and otherwiſe. But what ſaith the Apoſtle, In nothing be terrified by your adverſaries, Phil. 1.28. Be not afraid with any amazement, 1 Pet. 3.6. Nos quidem ne que expaveſcimus ne que pertimeſcimus ea quae ab ignorantibus patimur, Ad Scapulam,ſaith Tertullian; We fear not what any of you can do to us, do your worſt. Contemptus eſt à me Romanin & favor & furor, ſaid Luther, I care not for Romes frowns, or fair hooks. This the blinde World counteth, and calleth ſillineſs, or ſtubbornneſs, but they know not the force of faith, nor the privie armour of proof, that the Saints have about their hearts. They make ready their Arrow upon the ſtring (not in the quiver as the Vulgar reads it.)
That they may privily ſhoot] Heb. to ſhoot in the darkneſs: ſo that although the Saints hide themſelves in Caves, and dark corners, yet they are ferreted out thence by their Perſecutors, as David was by Saul often. And this ſome hold to bee the meaning of that place, Pſal. 74.20. The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty; that is, we can hideour ſelves no where, but the Perſecutors find us out.
Verſ. 3. If the foundations be deſtroyed] If all things be turned topſie turvie in the State, and no regard had to right or wrong, Sed vi geritur res, ut in regno Cyclopico; If Saul, not withſtanding mine alliance to him, and innocency toward him, his many fair promiſes to me, and thoſe hazards and hardſhips I have ſuffered for his ſake, will needs go on to hunt me up and down, as a Partridge in the mountains, and to ſeek mine utter undoing, what can I do to help it? how can it bee but the moſt righteous muſt have his ſhare of ſufferings? See Pſal. 82.5.
VVhat can the righteous do?] More than glorifie God, by ſuffering his Will, and patiently wait for better times, comforting himſelf (as in the next verſe) in this confidence, that God is in Heaven, &c. Some render it, What hath the righteous done? The wicked will ſay, that he hath undone all, and that David with his complices are the cauſes of all the publick calamities and confuſions. So the Primitive Perſecutors charged the Chriſtians, and Papiſts do ſtill the Proteſtants,Chriſtianos ad leones. Tertul. to be the troublers of the State, the Seeds-men of ſedition, the diſturbers of the Churches peace, &c. when as indeed themſelves are flagella Reip. flabella ſeditionis, the only traitors and troublers of Iſrael; with Athaliah they cry out Treaſon, Treaſon, when themſelves are the greateſt Traitors and Incendiaries of Chriſtendom. We may confidently ſay with the Pſalmiſt, The foundations are deſtroyed, but what hath the righteous done? Some render the words thus, But thoſe purpoſes or counſels (of Saul and his flatterers, verſ. 2.) ſhall be deſtroyed. (Saul ſhall be fruſtrated of his hope, therefore I will not flee into the mountains) But what hath the righteous done? That is, I have done nothing unrighteouſly againſt Saul, therefore I will not fly, &c.
Verſ. 4. The Lord is in his holy Temple] i. e. in Heaven, and there-hence hee both can and will do much for the releef of his poor oppreſſed,Ubi deficit auxilium humanum incip… divinum. Philo. though the righteous can do little for themſelves: he alſo knows, and will clear their innocency; for he ſits between the Cherubims, whence he is wont to ſend help, Pſal. 20.3. and hath his Throne in Heaven, whence he is wont to ſtrike terrour into the enemies, Pſal. 18.8, &c.
The Lords Throne is in Heaven] This is the ſame with the former, ſerving to ſet forth Gods Sufficiency, as the following words do his Efficiency,Dei ſolium eſt noſtrum aſylum. thoſe props of Davids faith, anſwerable to Jachin and Boaz, thoſe two braſen Pillars in Salomons Temple.
His eyes behold, his eye-lids try the children of men] The eye of God is taken in Scripture (ſaith one) either for his knowledge, or for his judgement; his eye in this Text pointeth out his knowledge, his eye-lids his critical deſcant. It is a manner of ſpeech, ſaith another, taken from thoſe mens actions who being deſirous to look upon a thing more intently do wink with their eyes, or cloſe up one of them, that they may ſee the better with the other.
Verſ. 5. The Lord trieth the righteous] or approveth, as Jam. 1.12, he juſtifieth and accepteth him as appeareth by the oppoſition here. The vulgar rendreth it thus; Deus interrogat juſtum & impium, ſc. quiae per interrogatoria veritas dignoſe… tur. The Lord interrogateth the juſt and the wicked ſcil. that ſo he may ſift out the truth of things. But neither doth the Hebrew word ſo ſignifie, nor doth God need any ſuch help.
His ſoul hateth] i.e. he can in no wiſe away with; and this is ſpoken of God after the manner of men, for fury, hatred, and the like affections are not in him. If it could be ſaid of Trajan the Emperour, that hee neither feared nor hated any man, how much more of God? And if of the Tribunal at Zant, much better of Gods Throne.
Hic locus odit, amat, punit, conſervat, honorat,
Nequitiam, pacem, crimina, jura, bonos.
Verſ. 6. Upon the wicked he ſhall rain ſnares] His ſoul hateth them; and, as revenge is the next effect of hatred, he will exerciſe horrible Judgements upon them. Go on they may in their wicked ways for a time, and haply think to out-run Wrath, but it ſhall eaſily overtake them, and inevitably; for the firſt thing that God ſhall rain upon them is Snares, to catch and hold them faſt, that they may ſurely ſuffer the reſt that follow. Take him, and lead him away ſafely, ſaith Judas concerning Jeſus to the Souldiers. Mark 14.44. And the ſame in effect ſaith God to his Judgements concerning the wicked, on whom for that purpoſe he raineth Snares, i.e. he ſuddenly ſurpriſeth them: as by unexpected foul weather.
Fire and Brimſtone] Hell from Heaven, as once upon Sodom and her Siſters, figuring the vengeance of eternal fire. Jude 7. Rev. 20.10.Perdic ſe… … diſperdit. &c cruciat ita ut nunquam perimar. Camero. where the Sacrifice is ſalted with fire, Mark 9.49. that is, burneth, but conſumeth not, Fire being of a burning, but Salt of a preſerving nature. Tophet is of a moſt tormenting temper, the fuel thereof is fire and much wood: the breath of the Lord like a ſtream of fire doth kindle it, Iſa. 30.33. Utinam ubi que de Gehenna differeretur, ſaith a Father; O that men would think, and talk much of Hell! O that they would take a turn in it; and taking a view of that formidable fire fed with a river of Brimſtone, and blown by the breath of the Almighty, they would haſten out of their Natural condition, as Lot did out of Sodome; ſith there is the ſmell of the fire and brimſtone already upon them!
And an horrible tempeſt] Ventus procelloſiſſimus, a moſt terrible blaſting Whirlwind, ſuch as the Greeks call Preſter; whereof ſee Plin. Lib. 2. c. 48. and the Evangeliſt calleth Euroclydon, Act. 27.14. The mariners miſchief.
This ſhall be the portion of their cup] Vel, portio part is eorum, id eſt, ipſiſſima eorum portio; duplicatur idem ſenſus duobus verbis, ſaith R. David. He ſeemeth to allude to the cuſtom at Feaſts, where each had his Cup, his demenſum, or meaſure of meat and drink. Wicked ones ſhall drink up the cup of Gods Wrath (worſe than that cup of boyling Lead powred down the drunken Turks throat by the command of the Baſhaw) though it be brim-full, and have eternity to the bottom, Pſal. 75.8.
Verſ. 7. For the righteous Lord loveth righteouſneſs] Sc. as a reflection of himſelf, as a peece of his own image. This is better than eyes opened, limbs reſtored, Pſal. 146.8.
His countenance] Heb. Countenances, or their faces, in myſtery of the Holy Trinity.
Doth behold the upright] With ſingular delight and complacency.Vide Vicars in Loc.