Commentary on Ezra Nehemiah Ester Job and Psalms, Commentary 5 · Psalm 73
PSAL. LXXIII.
A Pſalm of Aſaph] Who was not only an excellent Muſician, but a Prophet alſo, an Oratour, and a Poet; not unlike (for his ſtile) to Horace, or Perſius, This, and the ten next Pſalms, that bear this name in the front, conſiſt of complaints for moſt part, and ſad matters.
Verſ. 1. Truly God is good to Iſrael] Or, Yet God is, &c. Thus the Pſalmiſt beginneth abruptly after a ſore Conflict; throwing off the Devil, and his fiery Darts, where-with his heart for a while had been wounded. It is beſt to break off temptations of corrupt and carnal reaſonings, and to ſilence doubts and diſputes, leſt wee be foyled. Hee ſhoots (ſaith Greenham) with Satan in his own bow, who thinks by diſputing and reaſoning to put him off.
To ſuch as are of a clean heart] Such as are Iſraelites indeed, and not Hypocrites and diſſemblers. For as for ſuch as turn a ſide unto their crooked wayes, the Lord ſhall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity (as malefactours are led forth to execution) but Peace ſhall be upon Iſrael, Pſal. 125.5. upon the Iſrael of God, Gal. 6.16.
Verſ. 2. But as for mee my feet were almoſt gone] i. e. I was wel-night brought to beleeve, that there was no divine providence: as the Athenians did, when their good General Nicias was worſted and ſlain in Sicily; as Pompey did,Thucid. when having the better cauſe, he was overcome by Ceſar; as Brutus did (that laſt of the Romans as he was called for his courage) when beaten out of the field by Anthony, he cryed out foreign, Now I ſee that vertue is nothing, but all things are moderated by Fortun, whom he charged his children therefore to worſhip, as a goddeſſe of greateſt power.
My ſteps had wel…nigh ſlipt] Quaſi nihil effuſi, ſunt greſſus mei, that is, as Kimchi interpreteth it, Status meus crat tantillus quaſi nullus eſſet pre figendo peds locus, I had ſcarce any faſtening for my feet, my heels were gone almoſt. What wonder then that Heathens have been ſtounded and ſtaggered?
Cum rapiaent mala fata bonos (ignoſcite faſſo)
Sollicitor nullos eſſe putare Deos.
Saith Ovid. And to the fame purpoſe another Poet.
Marmoreo Licinies tumulo jacet, & Cato parve,
Pompeius nullo; quis putet eſſe Deos?
Verſ. 3. For I was envious at the fooliſh] Heb. At the Bragadochies, the vain-glorious, the mad-boaſters; I aemulated, and ſtomached their proſperity,Jact abundis compared with mine own far-worſe condition. Godly men though cured of their ſpirituall phrenzy, yet play oft many mad tricks; one while fretting at the proſperity of their adverſaries, and another while murmuring at their own afflictions, or plotting courſes how to conform themſelves to the World, &c.
When I ſaw the proſperity of the Wicked] This hath ever been a pearl in the eyes, not of the Heathens only, but of better meu. See Jer. 12.1, 2, Habbak. 1.3. Pſal. 37. &c. Yet Seneca writeth a treatiſe of it, and ſheweth the reaſons, if at leaſt he beleeved himſelf therein. Eraſmus paſſeth this cenſure of him; Read him as a Pagan, and he writeth Chriſtian-like,; read him as 2 Chriſtian, and he writeth Pagan-like.
Verſ. 4. For there are no bands in their death] Or, No knots and knorles; they dye without long ſickneſſe, or much pain, or trouble of mind. If a man dye …ike a Lamb, and paſs out of the World like a bird in a ſhel, he is certainly ſaved, think ſome. The wicked are here ſaid to dye quietly, as if there were no looſening of the band that is betwixt ſoul and body. Julian the Apoſtate dyed with theſe words in his mouth; Vitam repoſcents natura tanquam debitor bonae fidei redditurum exulto, Anomianthat is, I owe a death to Nature, and now that ſhe calleth for it, as a faithfull debtour,c…t. lib. 7. … Diodor. I gladly pay it. The Princes of the Sogdians, when they were drawn forth to death by Alexander the great, carmen more latumtium etcinerut, tripu…iſ que gaudium animi oſtentare caperunt, They ſang and danced to the place of execution.
But their ſtrength is firm] They are lively and luſty, they are pingues & praevalidi, fat and fair-liking, fat is their fortitude, ſo ſome render it; Others, ſtrong is their porch or Palace.
Verſ. 5. They are not in trouble as other men] But live in a ſerene clime, under a perpetuall calm; as he did of whom it is ſtoried, that he never had any croſſe, but at laſt was nailed to a croſs, Polycrates I mean, King of Egypt. Marull… telleth us, that Ambroſe comming once to a great mans houſe, who boaſted that he had never ſuffered any adverſity,Marul. l. 5. c. 3. he haſted away thence, and ſaid he did ſo, we una cum …omine perpetuis proſperitatibus uſo periret, leſt he ſhould periſh with the man, that bad been ſo extraordinarily proſperous. And no ſooner was he and his company departed, but the earth opened and ſwallowed up that mans houſe, with all that were in it.
Verſ. 6. Therefore pride compaſſeth them about as a chain] The pride of their hearts breaketh forth in their coſtly habits, whiles they are torquati, & auro ac gemmis amicti, ſetting up their plumes as Peacocks, which have their names in Hebrew from the joy they take in their fair feathers; ſo do theſe glory in their pride, and are puffed up with a fooliſh perſwaſion of their own prudence. Ʋermis divitiarum eſt ſuperbia. Charge the rich that they be not high-minded, 1 Tim. 6.17. He is a great rich man, ſaith Auſtin, and greater than his riches, who doth not therefore think himſelf great, becauſe he is rich. Magna cognatio, ſaith Another, Ut rei ſic nominis, divitiis & vitiis, He is a rare rich man that is not the worſe for his wealth. The Palm-tree, they ſay, wil not grow in a fat ground, but ſalt and aſhes muſt, in that caſe, be caſt at the root, to qualify the ſtrength of the ſoil: So grace will not grow in a fat heart, without the ſalt of mortification, and aſhes of humiliation. Their heart is fat as greaſe, but I delight in thy law.
Violence covereth them as a garment] Violence,Pſal. 119.70. or wrong-dealing is the perpetual companion of pride, and covereth them a… a garment, finely fitted to their bodies, as was the Harlots habit, Prov. 7.10. Aben-Ezra rendreth it, obruit eos, overwhelmeth them; that is, domineereth over them. Some Rabbines render it, Nates eorum violentia tegit.
Verſ. 7. Their eyes ſtand out with fatneſs] The Chaldee hath it, The ſimilitude of their face is changed through fatneſs. See Job 15.27. The Greek, For the wealth which they have, their eyes are lifted up. The Latine, Their iniquity proceedeth as it were from fatneſs.
They have more than heart could wiſh] Heb. They paſs the thoughts of the heart; Which the Greek rendreth,See Jer. 5.28. No man can think how wicked they are; thoſe ſtall-fed Sodomites for inſtance. So Aben-Ezra, Tranſgreſſiones perpetrant quas cogitare nefas eſt, they are more wicked than can be imagined; Others they covet beyond meaſure, and are inſatiable, thinking to incloſe the whole World in their net, as Timothy the Athenian did Cities and Towns in his toyles. Our tranſlation is not to be diſliked;Plut. in Sylla: neither yet are all to be accounted wicked, that have more than heart could wiſh.De Civ. Dei l. 5. c. 25. Bonus Deus Conſtantinum magnum tantis torrenis implevit muneribus, quanta opt are nullus anderet. ſaith Auguſtine.
Verſ. 8. They are corrupt and ſpeak wickedly] Their pride before taxed, verſ. 6. buddeth, and budgeth, Ezek. 7.10. like a foul ſwelling in the body, it breaketh out into ſores of all ſorts, odious words and deeds, abominable to God and man. Diff…uunt & loquuntur in malitia rapinam, They melt and are ſpilt in ſenſuall delights and diſſolute practices. Or, they let looſe themſelves, and keep not within compaſs. Or, they fly-blow and make to ſtink the good names of others, ſc. while they ſpeak evill of them, and reproach them. Tabifici ſunt, ſo Tremellius rendreth it.
They ſpeak loftily] De celſuudine, from aloft; tapides loquuntur, they threaten thunder bolts,Dionyſ. commiſſo ſacrilegio Deum dicebat ſacrilegi… bonam navigationem▪ concedere. Act. & Mon. fol. 1417. Turk. hiſt. 423.568. throw daggers, faſtuoſa voce omnes territant.
Verſ. 9. They ſet their mouth againſt the Heavens] They houl upward, as Woolves; bark at the Moon, as dogs piſs againſt the Sun, belch out blaſphemies againſt God, as did Pharaoh, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Dionyſius the tyrant, Antiochus, Antichriſt, Rev. 13.6. (Pope Julius the third for inſtance, who would have his pork-meat (forbidden him by his Phyſicians) at despi… di Dio) The great Turk at the …ge of Sc…dra, and again at the Rhodes; beſides Hack… in Queen Elizabeths time, and the Ranters in ours.
And their tongue walketh thorough the earth] Snapping at every one they meet, like a mad dog; and not ſparing to ſpeak, or rather to ſpue out whatſoever lyeth uppermoſt. Thou ſhalt not walk up and down as a ſlanderer, or Pedler with his pack, which he openeth eftſoons, and diſperſeth his wares, Levit. 19.16. That's a true ſaying of Seneca, Ut quiſ que eſt diſſolutiſſimae vitae, ita eſt ſollutiſſimae lingua. As any one is more diſſolute in his life, ſo hee is more heedleſſe of his ſpeeches.
Verſ. 10. Therefore his people return hither] i.e. Some good men are as wiſe (or rather as fooliſh) as I have been, to miſ-cenſure on this manner, and to repent mee of my repentance, or to ſay, as verſ. 11.
How doth God know, &c? becauſe Waters of a full cup are wrung out unto them] That is, becauſe the wicked drink wine in bowls, their ſervants wringing the rich ripe grapes thereinto, as Gen. 40.11. Or, becauſe God ſendeth them, (his people) perpetual and extreme afflictions, which is meant, ſay ſome, by drinking off a cup, and ſqueezing all the liquor into it. Others read it, Full Waters are wrung out to them, that is, ſay they, theſe their thoughts and ſpeeches ſavouring of infidelity, ſhall coſt them abundance of tears; as Peters fall did him.
Verſ. 11. And they ſay, how doth God know?] Even the godly through infirmity, are drawn ſometimes to doubt of Gods providence and government, becauſe of the inequality of events in human affairs. It had like to have coſt the Pſalmiſt here a fall, and made him almoſt caſt of all care off Religion. Baſil alſo was in ſome doubt of the divine providence; under the heat of the Arian perſecution. For hath the Lord utterly forſaken his Churches, ſaith he? is it now the laſt hour? In the next age Salvian (for the ſatisfaction of ſome good people) was forced to write eight books, De gubernatione Dei, & de juſta praeſenti que ejus Judicio, of Gods governing the World, and the righteouſneſs of his proceedings. Upon a like occaſion Auſtin wrote thoſe twenty two moſt excellent and elaborate books, De civitate Dei.
Verſ. 12. Behold thoſe are the ungodly] q.d. If God do take knowledge of things here below, and ordereth all events, how it is that the ungodly proſper, whilſt better men ſuffer?
Who prosper in the World] An ill character, every thing conſidered. See Pſal. 17.14. with the Note. Behold theſe are the ungodly, the fortunate men of the World, ſo ſome render it. He that liveth in the height of the Worlds blandiſhments, is not far from deſtruction. Periculoſa eſt ſummè bona corporis valetudo, ſaith Hippocrates. The height of health is neareſt to ſickneſſe and death.
They increaſe in riches] They wallow in wealth; God pouring honey into their hives; but for a vengeance.
Verſ. 13. Verily I have cleanſed my heart in vain] For all is to little purpoſe, if the cards play on this faſhion, if the good muſt be thus extremely under, and the bad a top of the wheel. Surely I have troubled my ſelf to no purpoſe or profit; If it be ſo, why am I thus? as ſhe ſaid. I read of a prophane ſouldier, who at the ſiege of a Town, paſſing a place of danger, was heard ſwearing, and when one that ſtood by warned him, ſaying, Fellow-ſouldier, do not ſwear, the bullets flye, he anſwered, They that ſwear come off as well as thoſe that pray; But ſoon after this, a ſhot hit him, and down he fell. It is not ſafe for Saints to ſymbolize with ſinners in ſuch deſperate ſpeeches; leſt the Lord hear it and be diſpleaſed.
Omne trahit ſe cum numinis ira malum.Ovid.
Verſ. 14. For all the day long have I been plagued] Gods beſt beloved are moſt afflicted, neither have any out of hell ever ſuffered more than the heirs of heaven. See my treatiſe called Gods love-tokens.
And chaſtened every morning] Singulis matutinis, I am no ſooner awake than ſome new miſery ſeizeth mee, quaſi egiſſet excubias, as if it had laid wait for mee.
Verſ. 15. If I ſay I will ſpeak thus] If I ſhould give way to ſuch a wicked thought, &c. Here the Spirit beginneth to get the upper hand, to gain the wind and the hill of the fleſh. The Spirit would alwaies get the better of the fleſh, were it upon equal tearms. But when the Fleſh ſhall get the hill, as it were of temptation, and ſhall have wind to drive the ſmoak upon the face and eyes of the Combatant, that is, to blind him, upon ſuch a diſadvantage he may ſeem to be overcome.
Behold I ſhall offend againſt the generation, &c.] As if they were no children, becauſe ſo ſharply chaſtened; whereas the Saints are unto God as the apple of his eye, that little man in the eye, as the word ſignifieth. The eye is a tender part; yet when dim and dusky we apply ſharp powders, or waters to it, to eat out the web, pearl or blindneſs, and yet love it never the leſſe. No more doth God his Children, though he apply corroſives or cauſticks to their fleſh, if need require.
Verſ. 16. When I thought to know this, it was too painfull for mee] Heb. It was labour in mine eyes, labour in vain, I could do no good on't, ſed labyrinthis & Maeandris inextricabilibus implicabar, I did but tread a Maze, for Gods Judgements are unſearchable, and his wayes (of providence) are paſt finding out; they are farre above the reach of human reaſon.
Verſ. 17. Untill I went into the Sanctuary of God] And there conſulted with the Scriptures, heard the lectures of the law, prayed, went thorough all the exerciſes of Gods School.
Then underſtood I their end] To be ſuch as God pronounceth of them in the Scriptures, and as the effect and common experience ſometimes declareth. For ſome wicked God puniſheth here,In Pſal. 36. leſt his providence, but not all, leſt his patience and promiſe of Judgement ſhould be called into queſtion, ſaith Auſtin.
Verſ. 18. Surely thou didſt ſet them in ſlippery places] Where they can have no more certainty than if they went upon the ſmootheſt Ice, or walked upon a mine of gun-powder. The Turks ſeeing ſo few of their Viſiers to dye in their beds, have taken up this proverb, Hee that is even in the greateſt office, is but a ſtatue of glaſs.
Thou caſtedſt them down into destruction] Improbos ex magna proſperitate tanquam ex Tarpeia rupe in barathrum perditionis praecipitaſti. Haman for inſtance.
Verſ. 19. How are they brought into deſolation, &c?] Such as the Pſalmiſt expreſſeth by an exclamation, cauſed by an admiration at Gods dreadfull Judgements which his faith beheld as preſent and unavoidable, and ſuch as aſtonied the beholders. See it in the literall and myſticall Babylon, Jer. 51.37, 41. Rev. 18.10, 17.
They are utterly conſumed with terrours] Heb. They are ended, they are conſumed with troubleſome frights; eſpecially when from their death-beds they behold that three-fold terrible ſpectacle, Death, Judgement, Hell, and all to be paſſed thorough by their poor ſouls.
Verſ. 20. As a dream when one awaketh] Such is the wicked mans pomp and bravery; now what are dreams but pleaſant follies and deluſions, the empty bubbles of the mind, Children and tales of fancy, idle and fruitleſs notions, meer bawbles?Sic Mycillus apud Lucian. See Iſa. 29.7, 8. The Fiſher-man in Theocritus dreamt that he was ſome demy-god; but when he awaked, all his golden hopes vaniſhed. The Chaldee explaineth it, As the dream of a drunken man; who ſleeping on the ſteep of a rock may think himſelf a King; and ſtarting for joy may ſoon break his neck at the bottom.
So, O Lord, when thou awakeſt thou ſhalt despiſe their image] That is, that whereof they dreamt, and whereon they do ſtill doat; viz. their worldly pomp and pride, which is nothing elſe but magnum nihil, a glorious phancy, a non-entity. Some read it thus, When thou ſhalt raiſe up (the dead) thou ſhalt despiſe their image, that is, their ſouls; they ſhall riſe to everlaſting ſhame and contempt, Dan. 12.2.
Verſ. 21. Thus my heart was grieved] Heb. Leavened and ſoured, ſc. with the greatneſſe of godly ſorrow, & quaſi aceto acri perfundebatur, it was ſteeped as it were in Vineger. So Peter wept bitterly; waters of Marah flowed from his eyes.
And I was pricked in my reins] Pricked at heart, as thoſe, Act. 2. put to as much pain as thoſe that have the ſtone in the kidneyes, exceedingly grieved for my miſ-conſtruing and miſ-cenſuring of Gods wayes and people.
Verſ. 22. So fooliſh was I and ignorant] By this be-fooling and be-beaſting himſelf, hee retracteth and bewaileth his former fluctuation and folly, verſ. 2, 3. This is the proper fruit of his godly ſorrow, verſe 21.
I was as a beaſt before thee] Heb. Behemoth, as a great beaſt, or as many beaſts in one. Thus he aggravateth, and layeth load upon his ſin, and ſo muſt we.
Verſ. 23. Nevertheleſs, I am continually with thee] Or, yet I was always with thee, ſc. when at worſt. Infirmities diſcard us not. The Marriage knot is not diſſolved by every falling out; not the League betwixt Princes broken by the wrongs done by Pirates.
Thou haſt holden me by my right hand] That I ſhould not utterly fall from thee: there was ſtill a ſupporting grace.Quando … mens vacil…ba… Aben-Ezra.
Verſ. 24. Thou ſhalt guide me with thy counſel] We had his repentance, verſ. 21, 22. his faith, 23. and here; we have … hope of ſafety here, and ſalvation hereafter.
And afterwards receive me] As thou didſt holy Henoch.
Verſ. 25. Whom have I in heaven but thee] I would I were in heaven with thee, ſo Aben-Ezra rendreth it; and to the ſame ſenſe Beza paraphraſeth, Apage terra, quod utinam Deus in calo jam & tecum eſſem: quid enim eſt in terra quod me vel tantillum vetineat?
Verſ. 26. My fleſh faileth, and my heart faileth] Some think that the Pſalmiſt, through egreſſion of affection unto God, having ſpent and exhaled his ſpirits, fell into a ſwoon; out of which he recovered again by the joy of the Lord, which was his ſtrength, even the rock of his heart. The Greek ſaith, The God of my heart.
Verſ. 27. For loe, they that are farre from thee ſhall periſh] How can they do otherwiſe, when as Salvation is farre from them? Pſal. 119.155. And upon this ground it is, that I do ſo earneſtly deſire to be with thee; ſith
Thou haſt deſtroyed (or ſhut up from puniſhment) all them that go a whoring from thee] Having their hearts full of Harlotry, as appeareth by their courting the Creature.
Verſ. 28. But it is good for me to draw nigh to God] To hang ever upon thee (in this general defection of others) by the faith of the Goſpel, Heb. 7.19. by putting my truſt in thee, that I may declare all thy works, and relate my experiments; A circle is the perfecteſt figure, becauſe it beginneth and endeth; the laſt point meeteth in the firſt from whence it came. We ſhall never come to perfection or ſatiſfaction, till we draw nigh to God, till God make the circle meet, &c.