Works Volume 4, Book 4 · Psalm 102
The Hundred Second PSALM.
A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the Lord.
Paraphrase. The hundred and ſecond Pſalm, ſtyled from v. 17. and 23. the prayer of the afflicted, ſeems to have been compoſed in time of the foreign in the perſon of the Captives, Kimchi. So Chald. v. 24. foreign the way of our exile.Captivity (ſee v. 13, 14, &c.) probably by Nehemiah, after the return of Ezra with commiſſion for re-building the Temple, ſee Nehem. 1.3, &c. and is a fit form for any that is fore afflicted and ready to ‖foreign when he faints, Chald.faint under the weight, and out of a mournfull ſoul affectionately addreſſeth his prayer to God.
1. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee.
2. Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble: incline thine ear unto me, in the day when I call, anſwer me ſpeedily.
Paraphrase. 1, 2. O bleſſed Lord, that haſt promiſed thy ſeaſonable relief to all that in time of diſtreſs humbly require it from thee, I am now overwhelmed with ſorrow (ſee Nehem. 1.4.) and deſire to pour out my ſoul unto thee, to cry and call for thy relief, O be thou graciouſly pleaſed to admit my addreſs, and not to reject or caſt me from thee, to hear and anſwer my petitions, and that, as the exigence of thy people requires, with all ſpeed poſſible.
3. For my days *…re conſumed in the ſmoak, or end in ſmoak,are conſumed like ſmoak, and my bones are burnt up as ‖dry woodan hearth.
Paraphrase. 3. If thy relief be not ſpeedy, we ſhall ſoon be conſumed, our life will be ſuddenly at an end, our ſtrength is already well-nigh exhauſted.
4. My heart is ſmitten, and withered like graſs, †becauſe foreignſo that I forget to eat my bread.
Paraphrase. 4. The puniſhments which we groan under are ſo preſſing, that they permit me not to take my ordinary food, and that brings fainting and feebleneſs upon me.
5. By reaſon of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.
Paraphrase. 5. My grief and ſorrow is ſuch that it hath wholly emacinated me.
6. I am like a pelican of the wilderneſs, I am like an owle of the ‖waſte places, or deſolations,deſart.
Paraphrase. 6. And for any relief from man, I am as deſtitute and hopeleſs of it as the moſt ſolitary Pelican in the Deſart, which complains ſo ſadly, or the Owle that conſtantly takes up his lodging in ruinous houſes,
7. I watch and am as a ſparrow alone upon the houſe top.
Paraphrase. 7. Or the Sparrow, that having never a mate, ſits very ſad and ſolitary and mournfull, expecting the return of her company, and in the mean time hath no proviſion of food near her, no allay of her ſorrow or ſolitude.
8. Mine enemies reproach me all the day, and †my ſlandeters havethey that are mad againſt me are ſworn againſt me.
Paraphrase. 8. My adverſaries imploy both their tongues and hands, make no ſcruple of the fouleſt ſlanders and perjuries to miſchief me.
9. *whereforeFor I have eaten aſhes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping;
Paraphrase. 9. This hath been matter of exceſſive continual ſorrow to me, and accordingly I have ſolemnly betaken my ſelf to faſting and mourning.
10. Becauſe of thine indignation and thy wrath, for thou haſt lifted me up, and caſt me down.
Paraphrase. 10. And the principal ingredient in my ſorrow is the conſideration of that great diſpleaſure of thine, to which I am to impute all theſe ſad and direfull effects of it.
11. My days are like a ſhadow that declineth, and I am withered like graſs.
12. But thou, O Lord, ſhalt endure for ever, and thy remembrance unto all generations.
13. Thou ſhalt ariſe and have mercy upon Zion; for the time to favour her, yea the ſet time is come.
Paraphrase. 11, 12, 13. My condition is every day worſe and more hopeleſs than other, my joyleſs life haſtening to its fatal period: and unleſs thou pleaſe to interpoſe thy ſovereign power, I am utterly and finally loſt. But herein this one great comfort remains, that thy ſtrength is beyond our weakneſs, thy eternity is oppoſed to our frail tranſitory ſtate, thy mercy ſurmounts our wants and miſery; and on this I ſtill found an hope and confidence, that thou wilt in thy good time return the captivity of our Church and Nation, reſtore us to the priviledges and bleſſings of peaceable aſſemblies, and that it will not now be long ere that moſt deſirable and acceptable time come.
14. For thy ſervants ‖reſent,take pleaſure in her ſtones, and †will favour, or deal kindly withfavour the duſt thereof.
Paraphrase. 14. To this hope I am induced by thine own promiſe, that whenſoever thy people are carried captive by heathen enemies, if they ſhall be truly ſenſible of thy puniſhments, and humbled for their ſins, thou wilt then remember thy Covenant, and reſtore them. And this is our condition at this time. Now thy Church is laid waſte among us, (ſee Nehem. 1.3.) we cannot chooſe but be ſenſible of our loſs and our ſins, and with all compaſſion and affection be tranſported, when we think of either. At preſent the want of outward proſperity hath not rendred her leſs deſirable in our eyes, but rather inhanſed the value of thoſe interdicted felicities, and made us vow all readineſs to endeavour the repairing of thoſe ruines, whenſoever thou ſhalt pleaſe to grant us that welcome opportunity.
15. So the heathen ſhall fear the name of the Lord, and all the Kings of the earth thy glory.
16. When the Lord ſhall build up Zion, he ſhall appear in his glory.
17. He will regard the prayer of the *ſhrub foreigndeſtitute, and not deſpiſe their prayer.
Paraphrase. 15, 16, 17. When that bleſſed time ſhall come, it ſhall be an effectual means to bring in whole heathen nations, Princes and people to thy ſervice, when they ſee ſo great a deliverance wrought for thy people, their captivity returned, and their Temple re-edified, evidences as of the omnipotent power of God, ſo of his readineſs to hear the prayers of thoſe that are brought to the loweſt ebbe of miſery and deſtitution.
18. This ſhall be written for the generation to come, and the people which ſhall be created ſhall praiſe the Lord.
Paraphrase. 18. The wonderfulneſs of this deliverance ſhall be recorded to all poſterity, and in probability be a means of bringing in thoſe that have not yet any being, to be proſelytes to the ſervice of ſo great and compaſſionate a God;
19. For he hath looked down from the height of his ſanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth,
20. To hear the groaning of the priſoner, to looſe thoſe that are appointed to death,
21. To declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praiſe in Jeruſalem,
22. When the people are gathered together, and the Kingdoms to ſerve the Lord.
Paraphrase. 19, 20, 21, 22. When they hear how ſignally he doth exerciſe his power and providence in affairs of the world here below, and how ready he is to relieve and reſcue thoſe that are in the greateſt diſtreſs and deſtitution, to return their captivity, and reſtore them to their country again, there to bleſs and praiſe, and proclaim the power and mercy of God in his Temple, making their conſtant ſolemn reſort thither, from all the quarters of the land, at the times by God appointed.
23. He weakened my ſtrength in the way, he ſhortened my days.
24. I ſaid, O my God, take me not away in the midſt of my days: thy years are throughout all generations.
Paraphrase. 23, 24. When I conſider the ſadneſs of our ſtate, the miſery and ſhortneſs of our lives, and on the other ſide the ſtrength and eternity of God, I cannot but addreſs my prayers unto him, with ſome hope that he will ſpare us, and reſtore us to ſome proſperity, and not cut us off in the moſt flouriſhing part of our lives.
25. Of old haſt thou laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26. They ſhall periſh, but thou ſhalt endure; they all ſhall wax old like a garment, as a veſture ſhalt thou ‖ſee Heb. 1. note c.change them, and they ſhall be changed:
27. But thou art the ſame, and thy years ſhall have no end.
Paraphrase. 25, 26, 27. 'Twas he, that by his almighty power at firſt created the whole world, and all the parts thereof; and though by the ſame he will in his due time either deſtroy, or change them quite from the condition of their creation, yet through all theſe tranſmutations he ſhall continue the ſame to all eternity.
28. The children of thy ſervants ſhall continue, and their ſeed ſhall be eſtabliſhed before thee.
Paraphrase. 28. And this irreſiſtible power and immutable will of his is a ground of firm hope and confidence to me, that there ſhall be a time of reſt to God's faithfull ſervants, that upon our ſincere return to him, and reformation of our ſins, he will return our captivity: and if this fall not out in our days, yet our children and their poſterity ſhall receive the benefit and comfort of it, and be continued a people to him, and thereby for ever ingaged to ſerve him.
Annotations on Pſal. CII.
foreignV. 3. Like ſmoak] For foreign in ſmoak, which we reade in the Hebrew, the Chaldee and LXXII. are thought to have read foreign as ſmoak, and accordingly they render it foreign as ſmoak. But 'tis more probable that they ſo expreſs what they thought to be the meaning, than that they read it otherwiſe than we do: For the Jewiſh Arab, though reading foreign, yet renders it foreign, &c. as ſmoak is conſumed or vaniſheth. The Syriack reade foreign in ſmoak, and ſo the ſenſe will beſt bear either my days or time of my life foreign conſume, and wither in ſmoak, as Pſal. 1.19.83. a bottle in the ſmoak, afflictions have had the ſame effect on me, as ſmoak on thoſe things that are hung in it, dried me up, and deformed me: or perhaps foreign end, or fail, or conſume in ſmoak (as when any combuſtible matter is conſumed, ſmoak is all that comes from it, and ſo it ends in that:) and to that the latter part of the verſe may ſeem to incline it, foreign and my bones, foreignor members, or body, foreign are burnt up, as that is all one with conſumed; ſo foreign ſignifies uſtus, exuſtus eſt, Iſa. 24.6. the inhabitants of the earth foreign are burnt up, foreign ſaith the Chaldee, are conſumed; and Ezech. 15.4. it is caſt into the fire for fewel, the fire devoureth both ends, and the midſt foreign is burnt up; and Ezec. 24.10. ſpeaking, as here, of the bones foreign let them be burnt up. As for foreign,foreign that is added, the interpreters differ in the underſtanding it. The word coming from foreign accenſus eſt, may be either the place where the fire is, or the pot which is heated by the flame of the fire, or the wood which is ſet on fire. The Syriack ſeems to take it in the firſt notion, rendring it, my bones are grown white, as the hearth, for ſo the chimney or hearth doth with the fire conſtantly burning on it. The Chaldee reads foreign as one of the ſtones that is ſet under the pot or cauldron, for that is the moſt probable meaning of foreign, and the Arabick foreign, ſee note on Pſal. 68. g. But the LXXII. reade foreign as dry wood (foreign ſaith Heſychius) and the Latin, ſicut cremium, as dry combuſtible wood, and that is moſt appliable to the matter in hand; the bones or members of the body there being burnt up as dry wood, notes the ſpeedy exhauſting of the radical moiſture, which ſoon ends in the conſumption of the whole. And then the whole verſe fitly accords, My days are withered away in the ſmoak, or perhaps end in ſmoak, my bones are burnt up like dry wood.
V. 6. Deſart] From foreign to be deſtroyed, foreignor laid waſte, Iſa. 60.12. Jer. 26.8. Zeph. 3.6. is foreign, a waſte place, or deſolation, the ruines of an houſe, or an houſe ready to fall down, being uninhabited. In this ſenſe it muſt here be taken, ſo as to fit it for the Owle (ſo foreign ſignifies Lev. 11.17.foreign Deut. 14.16.) here mentioned, for that is known to chooſe its lodging or place of abode in ſuch ruinous places. The LXXII. render it foreign in the foundation of an houſe that is fallen; though the Latin miſtook it, when they read, in domicilio, in an houſe. The Jewiſh Arab read waſte deſolate places, or ruines.
V. 8. Mad againſt me] foreign, foreignwhich ordinarily ſignifies landavit, ſignifies alſo to behave ones ſelf indecently, like a mad-man, and in the Chaldee and Syriack dialect to reproach, or ſlander. Thus Pſal. 75.5. I ſaid foreign, the Chaldee renders it foreign to the ſcoffers, foreign they reade again foreign ſcoff not, and ſo the ſenſe beſt bears there, ſpeaking of the rebels that depraved and defamed and ſlandered him. And ſo here foreign, adjoyned to foreign my enemies reproach me, are moſt probably my reproachers, or ſlanderers; the Chaldee reads again foreign my ſcoffers or backbiters, and to them moſt properly belongs, foreign they have ſworn againſt me, foreignconfirmed their ſlanders by oaths, or execrations upon themſelves if they be not true, ſee Num. 5.21. The LXXII. reade foreign, they that commend me, from the firſt notion of foreign laudavit, and the Syriack and Latin and Arabick agree with them.
foreignV. 9. For] That foreign ſometimes is a note of the cauſe, ſometimes of the effect, and accordingly is ſometimes rendred foreign for, or becauſe, ſometimes foreign wherefore, ſee note Luk. 7. d. And to the latter ſenſe the context inclines it here, his eating aſhes for bread, i. e. his mourning (ſee note e.) and plenty of tears, being ſure the effect of the reproaches and ſlanders precedent, cauſed by them, and therefore not to be thought mentioned here as the cauſe of them, as the Greek foreign, and Latin quia, and Engliſh for, muſt import.
foreignIbid. Eaten aſhes like bread] The importance of this phraſe foreign I have eaten aſhes, may perhaps be miſtaken by thoſe who interpret it literally, of feeding on aſhes, or mixing aſhes with their food, whether it be by eating panem ſubcinericium, bread baked in the embers, which is not cleanſed from the aſhes that ſtick to it, or whether by making aſhes one of the ingredients in their bread, or (as ‖in vit…: Franc. c. 5. cinere conficitbat cib…ria.Bonaventure ſaith of S. Francis) caſting aſhes upon his meat. The uſe of aſhes in mourning is frequently mentioned in Scripture, but that not as of a kind of diet, but as of that which accompanied ſackcloth, and was caſt upon their head, or tumbled and wallowed in, or ſat in. See 2 Sam. 13.19. Eſth. 4.1, 3. Job 2.8. and 42.6. Iſa. 58.5. and 61.3. Jer. 6.26. Lam. 3.16. Ezech. 27.30. Dan. 9.3. Jon. 3.6. And that certainly was the uſe of aſhes among the Jews to diſguiſe them (ſee 1 King. 20.38. and 41.) to make them look ſadly and neglectedly. But this had no relation to eating, but was generally uſed in their times of humiliation and faſting, when they ate nothing at all. OnelyOnly Iſa. 44.20. we reade, He feedeth on aſhes, but that certainly in a prophetical, i. e. figurative ſenſe; for it is applied to the Idol-worſhipper v. 17. who prayed to that which cannot hear or help him, any more than aſhes would nouriſh; he cheats and abuſeth himſelf, a deceived heart hath turned him aſide, as there it follows. It remains therefore that this one place here in this Pſalm, which ſpeaks of eating aſhes like bread, be lookt on as a poetical phraſe, to be interpreted by the context, and by the general uſe of aſhes in the Scripture. The context ſpeaks of ſadneſs and mourning, and aſhes were the ſolemn rite thereof, being caſt upon the head, &c. and then faſting being joyn'd with mourning, the union of theſe two are here poetically expreſt by eating aſhes like bread, i. e. eating no bread, taking no food at all, but inſtead of that, entertaining themſelves with aſhes, though not eating them, but ſitting down or wallowing in them. And this being the importance of this phraſe, the other that follows foreign I mingled my drink with weeping, foreignmuſt be underſtood by analogy therewith, not literally, that he put any of his tears into his drink, but that inſtead of drinking (which is expreſt by mingling of drink, becauſe they commonly drank their wine mixt with water) he ſpent his time wholly in weeping and lamenting. Thus Pſal. 42.3. my tears have been my meat, is no more, but inſtead of eating I weep; as when Chriſt ſaith Jo. 4.34. My meat is to doe the will of him that ſent me, i. e. he follows that task incumbent on him from his Father, and his doing ſo ſupplies the place of eating, he doth this inſtead of that: and ſo Pſal. 80.5. Thou feedeſt them with the bread of tears, giveſt them tears to drink, i. e. they weep and faſt, or eat nothing. And ſo that is the utmoſt importance of this whole verſe, mourning and faſting accompanied with aſhes, the ceremony, and tears, a natural conſequent of both theſe.
V. 10. foreignLifted up] What is meant by foreign thou haſt lifted me up, &c. is to be judged by the immediate antecedents, foreign indignation and wrath; by thoſe is meant a vehement diſpleaſure and anger, and in God, in whom anger is not found, effects that bear analogy with thoſe which proceed from angry men. To ſuch it is ordinary to caſt to the ground any thing that they are diſpleaſed with, and when the diſpleaſure is vehement, to lift it up firſt as high as they can, that they may caſt it down with more violence, and daſh it in pieces by the fall. And this is the meaning of the phraſe here, and ſo is a pathetical expreſſion of his preſent affliction, heightned by the dignity of the publick Office wherein Nehemiah was at the time of writing this mournfull Pſalm, Nehem. 1.1. and 2.1. The greater his place was at Shuſhan, the deeper this ſorrow for his countrey-men, and for Jeruſalem, Nehem. 1.3. pierced him, whereupon he complains that God by way of indignation hath dealt with him, as thoſe that take an earthen veſſel, and throw it againſt the pavement, and that they may beat it to pieces the more certainly, lift it up firſt, as high as they can, to throw it down with more violence. This the LXXII. have fitly rendred foreign, and the Latin elevans illiſiſti me, having lifted me up, thou haſt daſht me to pieces. The Jewiſh Arab reads, as if thou hadſt carried me, and then caſt me to them.
V. 14. foreignTake pleaſure in her ſtones] The fulleſt meaning of foreign will be fetched from the promiſe of God to the Jews, Lev. 26.41. that when they are carried captive by the heathens, and there pine in the enemies land, if they ſhall confeſs their iniquity — and if their uncircumciſed heart be humbled, foreign we reade, and accept of the puniſhment of their iniquity, then will God remember his Covenant with Jacob, &c. and remember the land. In thoſe words it is certain, that foreign is (as we render it) the puniſhment of iniquity, ſee 1 Sam. 28.10. and ſuch ſurely was the demoliſhing of the Temple, the ruine of that fabrick, which is here expreſt by foreign her ſtones, foreigni. e. rubbiſh, or heaps of the ruinated ſtones of the Temple. So that in what ſenſe ſoever foreign is taken in Leviticus, applyed to foreign puniſhment of iniquity, in the ſame it muſt be taken here, where 'tis applied to the ſtones or ruines of the Temple; and that is ſure a paſſionate reſentment with humble melting ſorrow, to look upon the judgments inflicted, aſſenting to the equity of them. In this ſenſe, I ſuppoſe, foreign muſt be taken in the thirty fourth verſe of that 26. of Levit. foreign then ſhall the land reſent (we miſrender, enjoy) her ſabbaths, ſpeaking of the deſolate countrey, lamenting and bewailing the loſs of thoſe precious opportunities which they formerly had, and made not uſe of. And thus in Veſpaſian's coyn, in memory of the conqueſt of Palaeſtine, there was on one ſide a woman ſitting weeping under a Palm-tree, and Judaea Capta Jury taken, in the reverſe. And ſo of this Captivity the Pſalmiſt tells us, Pſal. 137.1. By the waters of Babylon we ſat down, and wept when we remembred thee, O Sion. To which kind of melting reſentment ſeeing the promiſe is made in that place of Levit. that God will then remember the covenant, and the land, the Pſalmiſt here fitly endeavours to prove that the time is come, in which God ſhould have mercy upon Sion, v. 13. by this argument, for or becauſe thy ſervants foreign paſſionately reſent her ſtones, &c. referring in all likelihood to that promiſe of God, of which that reſentment was the expreſs condition. As for that which follows,foreign foreign it will beſt be rendred (as it is) in the future tenſe, they will or ſhall favour, or deal kindly with her duſt or rubbiſh, i. e. they now promiſe moſt affectionately to repair her ruines, according to that of Zorobabel, Zach. 4.7. he ſhall bring forth the head-ſtone thereof with ſhoutings, foreign grace, grace to it, or favour, favour, in accord with foreign ſhall favour the duſt of it here: they that now paſſionately bewail and lament thoſe ruines, and their own and their fathers ſins, as the cauſes of them, ſhall hereafter joyfully joyn in the repairing thereof, and celebrate their finiſht work with the ſame tender, though more gratefull or pleaſing paſſion. The Jewiſh Arab thus renders the verſe, For now thy ſervants are pleaſed with the ſtones thereof, contented [or contentedly] and are tenderly affected towards its duſt, in honour [or honouring it:] and he explains himſelf in a note, that whereas formerly they ſet light by the Sanctuary, and ſinned againſt it, they now ſought after it, veſtigium poſt oculum (an Arabick phraſe proverbially ſignifying the ſeeking after that which one hath let go) magnifying, or honouring the duſt thereof, how much more the building thereof, if it might be built?
V. 23. Weakned] From the different acceptions of foreign for anſwering and afflicting, and by reading foreign for foreign, the LXXII. have much deformed this ver. 22.foreign rendring foreign he hath afflicted or humbled my ſtrength in the way, by foreign, he anſwered him in the way of his ſtrength; and the Latin take it from them, reſpondit ei in viâ virtutis ſuae; but the Syriack depart from them, and reade foreign &c. They have humbled my ſtrength on earth. foreignThen to foreign he hath ſhortned my days, the LXXII. connect the foreign I will ſay, following, and render it foreign — and the Latin likewiſe, paucitatem dierum meorum nuncia mihi, declare to me the paucity of my days. And herein the Syriack alſo agree with them; onelyonly the Chaldee divide them, and render them aright, My ſtrength is afflicted through the labour of the journey of my exile, my days are ſhortned, I will ſay before the Lord. And this is ſurely the full rendring of the verſe. The Jewiſh Arab reads, He hath weakned in this way my ſtrength, and ſhortned my age from it, i. e. ſaith he, the way of patience, or enduring and calling [out on thee] and we being in captivity our ſtrength is weakned from [or by it, or from bearing] it, by reaſon of the length of it.