Commentary on Ezra Nehemiah Ester Job and Psalms, Commentary 5 · Psalm 41
PSAL. XLI.
A Pſalm of David] Of the ſame ſenſe with the four former Pſalmes, ſaith Kimchi.
Verſ. 1. Bleſſed is his that conſidereth the poor] Heb. That wiſe by … concerning the poor; The poor weakling, whoſe health is impaired, whoſe wealth is waſted. Auſtin rendreth it, Qui praeoccupat vocem …, He that prevenreth the requeſt of the poor begger; wiſely conſidering his caſe, and not ſtaying till he …ave; which poſſibly out of modeſty hee may hee Ioth to do. The moſt interpret it of a charitable Judgement paſſed upon the poor afflicted, not holding him therefore hated of God, becauſe heavily afflicted, as Jobs friends did. At vobis … ſit qui de me quantumvis calamitoſo rectius judicatis, ſo Beza here paraphraſeth; Well may you fare, my friends, who cenſi…e better of mee, though full of miſery; and deal more kindly with mee. The word Maſ…hil ſignifieth both a prudent Judgement, and a deſire to do all good offices, Faith One. It ſignifieth to give comfort and inſtruction to the weak, faith Another, wiſely weighing his caſe, and ready to draw out, not his ſhea… only, but his ſoul to the hungry, Iſa. 58.10. This is a bleſſed man, preſuppoſing him to be a Beleever, and ſo to do it from a right Principle; viz. Charity out of a pure heart, of a good conſcience, and of faith unfeigned, 1 Tim. 1.5.
The Lord will deliver him] i.e. The poor weakling; and the other alſo that dealeth ſo mercifully with him; both ſhall be delivere; according to that of our Saviour, Matth. 10.41. Delivered I ſay he ſhall be in due time; ſupported in the mean while; a good uſe, and a good Iſſue he ſhall be ſure of.Kimchi. Some make it Davids prayer, The Lord deliver him, &c. Others, the mercifull mans prayer for the poor-afflicted.
Verſ. 2. The Lord will preſerve him, and keep him alive] Life in any ſenſe, is a ſingular mercy; Why is a living man ſorrow full, Lam. 3.39? if he be alive, though afflicted, he hath cauſe to be thankfull; how much more if alive to Righteouſneſs? The Arabick here interpreteth it, dabit … filios in quibus poſt mortems vivat, he will give him Children, in whom he may live after his death.
And he ſhall be bleſſed upon the earth] With wealth, and other accommodations; ſo that the World ſhall look upon him as every way bleſſed.
And thou wilt not deliver him into the hands of his enemies] Heb. Do not thou deliver him] This maketh Kimchi conclude, that all this is but oratio viſitantis conſolatoria, the prayer of him that viſiteth the ſick man, for his comfort.
Verſ. 3. The Lord will ſtrengthen him upon the bed of languiſhing] Whether through ſickneſſe of body, as Iſa. 38.2. or ſorrow of heart; for in ſuch caſe alſo men caſt themſelves upon their beds, 1 Kin. 21.4. This God (and not the Phyſicians) will do for the ſick man, die ſeptimo on the ſeventh day, ſaith R. Solomon, when he is at ſickeſt.
Thou wilt make all his bed] Heb. Thou wilt turn, thou wilt ſtirre up Po…hers under him, that he may lye at eaſe; and this by the hand of thoſe poor whom he had conſidered. Or, Thou wilt turn all his bed, That is, his whole body from ſickneſſe to health, as Kabvenaki ſenſeth it.
Verſ. 4. I ſaid, Lord be mercifull unto mee, heal] Heal mee in mercy, and begin at the inſide firſt. Heal my ſoul of ſin, and then my body of ſickneſſe; Heal me every whit. Theſe to the end, are the ſick mans words, ſaith Kimchi. And this is the Character of the Lords poor man, to whom the foreſaid comforts do belong, ſaith Another.
For I have ſinned againſt thee] He cryeth peccavi, not perit. Sanat ionom in capite orditur, he beginneth at the right end.
Verſ. 5. Mine enemies speak evill of mee] Notwithſtanding my pitty and devotion; that's no target againſt perſecution. Davids integrity and the ſeverity of his diſcipline diſpleaſed theſe yokeleſſe Balialiſts; they were ſick of his ſtrict government, and longed for a new King who would favour their wicked practices; ſuch as was abſolom, whom they ſhortly after ſet up. David they could not name, becauſe be did Juſtice and Judgement to all the people. Theſe …bertines were of the E… … loquaces & ingenieſi in prafect … eulpam, infamiam non effugiat, ſuch as loved to ſpeak evill of dignities; and could not give their governours (how blameleſſe ſoever) a good word.
When ſhall be dye, and his name periſh?] Nothing leſſe would ſatisfie their malice, than utter extermination. But David recovereth, and his name ſurviveth, when they lie wrapt up in the ſheet of ſhame.
Verſ. 6. And if he come to ſee mee] That is, Achitaphel, or ſome ſuch hollow-hearted Holophanta.Plaut. Ore pro mea ſinitate orant ſed cordequaerunt malum. Midraſh Tillin.
He ſpeaketh vanity] Pretending that he is very ſorry to ſee mee ſo ill at eaſe; and letting fall ſome Crocodiles tears perhaps.
Has heart gathereth iniquity to it ſelf] As Toads and Serpents gather venom to vomit at you.
When be goeth abroad, be telleth it] Boaſting to his treacherous Brotherhood, of his baſe behaviour.
Verſ. 7. All thas hate mee, whiſper together againſt mee] Heb. Muſſitant, they mutter as Charmers uſe to do. Theſe whiſperers are dangerous fellows, Rom. 1.29. like the wind that creepeth in by chinks in a wall, or cracks in a window. A vente percolato, & inimice reconciliato, libera nos Demine, ſaith the Italian.
Againſt mee do they deviſe] Cogitant quaſi coagitant.
Verſ. 8. An evill diſeaſe, ſay they, …leaveth fast unto him] Heb. A thing of Belial,Omnes impietates quas perpetravit.: R. Solom. a vengeance hath befallen him; God for his foul offence hath put him over to the Devill to be tormented by a peſtilentiall diſeaſe, that will ſurely make an end of him. So Genebrard (that mad dog) in the fourth book of his Chronology, Anno Dom. 1564. reckoning up thoſe diverſe diſeaſes whereof Calvin dyed (all which was well known to be falſe) addeth, An Herodes terribilius animam Satana reddiderit, equidens naſcio, whether Herod yeelded up his ſoul to the Devill in a more horrible manner,Lib. 5. cap. 1. I know not. With as little charity did Evagrius ſay of Juſtinian the great Law-giver, ad ſupplicia juſto Dei judicio apud inferos luenda profect us eſt, he went to hell-torments,Lib. de Miffi privats. Anno 1533. when he dyed by Gods juſt Judgement. And Luther of Oecolampadius, ſe credere Occolampadium ignit is Satane telis & haſt is confoſſum …ubitanea morte periiſſe. — tant …e animis caleſtibus ire? This falſe conceit is ſufficiently confuted by the hiſtory of his life and death ſet forth by Simon Grynaus, as alſo is that concerning Calvin, by his life written by Beza, and others.
Verſ. 9. Yea mine own familiar friend] Heb. The man of my peace. This was a great cut to David, foreign, ſaith Sophacles, what greater wound can there be than a treacherous friend? ſuch as was Abitophel to David, Judas to our Saviour, Brutus to Julius Caſar (who was ſlain in the Senat-houſe with three and twenty wounds,Ann Dom. 337 given for moſt part by them whoſe lives he had preſerved) Magnentius to Conſtans the Emperour, who had formerly ſaved his life from the Souldiers fury: Michael Balbus to the Emperour Leo Armenius, whom he ſlew the ſame night that he had pardoned and releaſed him. This evil dealing made Socrates cry out, foreign, Friends, there is hardly a friend to bee found; and Queen Elizabeth complain, that in truſt ſhe had found Treaſon; and King Antigon…s pray to God to preſerve him from his friends; and King Alphonſus to complain of the ingratitude of his Favourites.
In whom I truſted] So did not our Saviour in Judas, for hee knew him better than ſo, and therefore this clauſe is left out, Joh. 13.18. where hee applieth this ſaying to himſelf. Hiero…s and ſome others apply the whole Pſalm to Chriſt, and for that end they render theſe words actively, Cui credidi, to whom I entruſted or committed my miniſtery.
Who did eat of my bread] My fellow-commoner, with whom I had eaten little leſs than a buſhel of Salt. A mans enemies are many times thoſe of his own houſe, the Birds of his own boſom. Judas dipt in the ſame diſh with Jeſus, be…rayed him with a kiſs. Caveatur of culuns I ſcarioticuns.
Hath lif… up his heel againſt me] Heb. Hath magnified the heel, or the feet-ſole, ſc. to ſupplant me, or to trample upon me, or to ſpurn againſt me. Metaphera ab equis calcitre…ibus, ſaith Vatablus, a Metaphor from unruly and refractory Horſes, See Judg. 15.8. it importeth contempt, deſpite, and cruelty.
Verſ. 10. But thou, O Lord, be merciful unte me] As ſtorms beat a Ship into the harbour: ſo did mens miſuſages drive David to God; and as Children meeting with hard meaſure abroad, hye home to their Parents; ſo here.
And raiſe mee up] From off this bed of weakneſſe; and from under their feet of inſolency and cruelty.
That I may requite them] Not in a way of private revenge (for that was utterly unlawfull, and would not bear a prayer) but of Juſtice, as I am a King, and a lawfull Magiſtrate. The fear of this might happily make Ahitophel (foreſeeing that all would be naught on Abſoloms ſide) to ſave the hangman a labour.
Verſ. 11. By this I know that thou favoureſt mee] This is the triumph of truſt, and the fruit of faithfull prayer; ever anſwered, ſometimes before it is uttered, ſometimes in, and ſometimes after the act; but we may be ſure of an un-miſcarrying return, if we pray and not faint, Luk. 18.1. even ſuch as ſhall bring us word, that God favoureth our perſons.
Verſ. 12. And as for mee, thou upholdeſt mee in mine integrity] Which earth and hell had conſpired to rob mee of, but in vain, through thy help. My ſhield is yet in ſafety. My faith faileth mee not, nor yet mine innocency in regard of men, or the Righteouſneſſe of my cauſe.
And ſetteſt mee before thy face for ever] So that being never out of thy ſight, I cannot poſſibly be out of thy mind. Confer 1 King. 17.1.
Verſ. 13. Bleſſed be the Lord God of Iſrael] Thus he ſweetly ſhutteth up this firſt book of the Pſalmes (as ſome diſtinguiſh) with a patheticall doxology, redoubling his Amen, Fiat, Fiat, to ſhew his fervency, and moſt earneſt deſire that God ſhould be bleſſed by his whole Iſrael. This was the cuſtome of the Scribes to do, ſaith Kimchi, when they had finiſhed any book. The other four books of Pſalmes (as they are reckoned) end in like manner.
From everlaſting to everlaſting] i.e. From the beginning of the World, to the end of it; or, as the Chaldee hath it, from this World, unto the World to come.
Amen and Amen] So be it, and ſo it ſhall bee. Dictio eſt acclamationis, approbationis, & confirmationis. The Rabbines ſay, that our Amen in the cloſe of our prayers muſt not be firſt, haſty, but with conſideration, 1 Cor. 14.16. Secondly, nor maimed or defective; wee muſt ſtretch out our hearts after it, and be ſwallowed up in God. Thirdly, nor alone, or an Orphan; that is, without faith, love, and holy confidence. The ſpirits of the whole prayer are contracted into it, and ſo ſhould the ſpirit of him that prayeth.