Works Volume 4, Book 3 · Psalm 87
The Eighty Seventh Pſalm.
A Pſalm or Song for the ſons of Corah.
Paraphrase. The eighty Seventh Pſalm is a brief compariſon, firſt betwixt Sion, the place of Gods Worſhip, and all Judaea beſides; and then betwixt it and all other heathen people, particularly in reſpect of the numerouſneſs of eminent perſons in the one, above what was to be found in all the others. It ſeems to have been compoſed as a prophetick ſcheme to foretel the return of the Jews captivity (as Iſa. 54.1. &c.) and the great proſperity of Jeruſalem conſequent to it, and was deſigned to be ſung by the poſterity of Corah.
1. ‖The foundation thereof, or, The foundation, or beginning thereof is on the hills of holineſs.His foundation is in the holy mountain.
2. The Lord loveth the gates of Sion, more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Paraphrase. 2. The Lord of heaven hath choſen one place on all the earth, wherein he is pleaſed to reſide in a peculiar manner, to exhibit himſelf to his people that call upon him there; and as this he hath by promiſe determin'd to the Cities of Judah, rather than any other nation upon the earth, ſo hath he now of all them choſen out Jeruſalem, and on the north ſide thereof, Pſal. 48.2. the hill of Sion, and there he appointed the Temple to be ſumptuouſly and magnificently built, and many Schools of learning to be erected there.
3. Glorious things are ſpoken of thee, O City of God. Selah.
Paraphrase. 3. This then is the place of Gods reſidence (the embleme of his future incarnation, or inhabitation of his glorious Majeſty among …n, as alſo of the Chriſtian Church, wherein God by his grace exhibits and preſentiates himſelf) and all that ever have ſpoken of this place, have given it huge elogies, for the beauty of the ſituation, beyond all other places, Pſal. 48.2.
4. I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philiſtia and Tyre, with Aethiopia; ‖this was.this man was born there.
Paraphrase. 4. And if it be compared with all other nations, Aegyptians, Babylonians, Philiſtims, Tyrians, and Arabians, the difference will be found very great, eſpecially in reſpect of the number of eminent pious men produced by the one, much greater than in all the other. To which alſo muſt be added one ſupereminent advantage, viz. that the only true God by his ſpecial preſence and providence will continue this flouriſhing condition to this place above all others.
5. And of Sion it ſhall be ſaid, this and that man was born in her; and the higheſt himſelf ſhall eſtabliſh her.
6. The Lord ſhall count, †In the writing, or the Book of the People, that this was—when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah.
7. *But the ſingers as the minſtrels ſhall co…, all—As well the ſingers as the players on inſtruments ſhall be there: all my ſprings are in thee.
Paraphrase. 6, 7. Among the nations very few can be found conſiderable for piety, and thoſe diſcernible only by God, who exactly knows and conſiders every man living; whereas through Gods ſpecial favour to the Jews, in taking ſuch care for the inſtructing them in his will, and ingaging them to his ſervice▪ the number of eminent knowing and pious men is ſo great, that the burthen of the ſong, by which they are praiſed and celebrated, ſounds to this ſenſe, that whole fountains are here to be found, when all other places yield but their ſingle drops; vaſt multitudes of pious men are here to be met with, and in compariſon with them very few in all other nations.
Annotations on Pſalm LXXXVII.
foreignV. 1. Foundation] Of the meaning of this phraſe here in the front foreign, no judgment can be made, till it be firſt reſolved what is the deſign of this Pſalm. Herein the Hebrew Interpreters do in a manner concur, that it is a Panegyrick on Sion: And if it be ſo, then probably this firſt verſe is but a part of the title, thus, To the ſons of Coreh, foreign a Song-Canticle, or Canticle-Song, foreign the beginning or foundation whereof foreign is of, or on the hills of holineſs, i. e. Gods holy hills, thoſe of Sion, whereon the Temple was built, and of which the next verſe (which muſt then be the firſt of the Pſalm) begins expreſly, The Lord loveth the gates of Sion — Thus from foreign fundavit, foreign is ſometimes metaphorically uſed for a beginning, Ezr. 7.9. The firſt day of the firſt month, which is foreign the beginning of the going up out of Babel. And to this conſtruction here the the Chaldee accord, who read it thus conjoyned in the title, By the hands of the ſons of Coreh was ſaid foreign the Canticle that was founded. If this will not be allowed (as indeed beſide the LXXII. and Syriack and other interpreters, Kimchi, Sol. Jarchi, and Midraſch Tehillim agree to make the firſt verſe a part not of the Title but the Pſalm) then ſtill applying the Pſalm to the Temple, foreign will hold good in the ordinary notion of a foundation, thus, The foundation thereof, i. e. of the Temple, is on the holy hills; ſo the Jewiſh Arab, A Pſalm which is a deſcription of the Sanctuary, the foundations of which are in the mountain of holineſs, (but then His foundation will have no ſenſe.) To this deſign of the Pſalm, the Hebrew writers generally agreeing, I have thought beſt to accord the whole interpretation of the Pſalm; yet I ſhall not omit to advertiſe the reader, that 'tis not improbable the Pſalm ſhould be of another ſcheme, a Carmen Genethliacon at the celebrating the nativity of ſome eminent perſon, pointed out to the Jews by God (ſuch was Hezekiah, celebrated by the Prophecy of Iſaiah, chap. 9.6. To us a child is born, &c.) And the uſe of theſe is known among the Jews as well as other nations, the Scripture having left us ſeveral copies of them, Hannahs Hymn in the Old Teſtament, Zacharies, and Simeons, and the Angels in the New. And if this ſhould be the deſign of this Pſalm, then foreign will moſt probably be rendred, His original, beginning, extraction, is from the holy hills; the perſon whom we celebrate was born in the Royal Palace, upon the holy hill, contiguous to the Temple, nothing being more frequent in ſuch compoſures than the mention of the place of his birth. If this which profeſſes to be but a conjecture ſhould be deemed the right, it muſt then be conſequent, that all the Pſalm have an interpretation agreeable. As when, v. 4. he ſaith foreign,foreign &c. it muſt then be rendred, not I will mention, but, I will atteſt Rahab, i. e. Aegypts, Tyres, Babels, and the Chuſhites Kings, ‖See 2 King. 18.21. & 19.9. & 22.12.confederate with this Prince (ſuppoſe Hezechiah) who were jealous of the Aſſyrian greatneſs, and ſecured of ſo formidable an enemy by his defeat before Jeruſalem, and ſo were fit to give the moſt competent account of this glorious Prince, and ſo to be atteſted to that purpoſe by the Pſalmiſt. So again, v. 5. if it look this way, foreign muſt be rendred this, foreigneven this man, this notable perſon was born there. But the interpretation I adhere to, as moſt allowed, being the extolling and praiſing of Sion, to that ſenſe I ſhall apply all the parts thereof, thinking it ſufficient to have made this mention of the other.
foreignV. 4. Rahab] From foreign to be ſtrong, is foreign the title of Aegypt. The Chaldee here render it foreign the Aegyptians (ſo Pſal. 89.11. of Rahab they adde foreign this is Pharaoh) the mention whereof in this place joyned with Babylon, and Philiſtia, and Tyre, and foreign or Arabia (ſee note c.) was deſigned as an inſtance of ſo many of the chief and eminenteſt of the heathen nations, which yet were no way able to compare with Mount Sion, the ſubject of this preſent Pſalm. This is here expreſt by the oppoſition betwixt its being ſaid of theſe foreign this was borne there, foreigni. e. ſome one particular, and perhaps contemptible perſon,foreign and mens ſaying foreign this and that man, i. e. many eminent men were born in that. For 1. foreign this, is but a forme of contempt, either this without any addition, or this fellow, or the like; whereas foreign a man is a note of ſome honour: and 2. foreign is ſome one, and no more, but foreign man and man, or man after man, denotes a multitude of ſeveral men, as Iſa. 61.7. double ſignifies great, and as etiam atque etiam, again and again ſignifies very often, and as in all languages, repetition ſignifies greatneſs of that which is ſpoken of, as thrice happy, &c. What ſort of eminence it is that is here ſpoken of, and attributed to the Jews in Sion, before all other Nations, cannot be obſcure, when the advantages of the Jews above all others are famouſly known; Rom. 3.2. where yet the Oracles of God being committed to them is taken notice of as the chief. And to that the Chaldee ſeems to refer in this place, who in the firſt verſe rendring the gates of Sion, the gates foreign of the houſes of learning, or the ſchools which are built in Sion (of which ſort the Jewiſh Writers tell us there were very many in Jeruſalem) implies this to be the matter of the compariſon betwixt the Jews and all other Nations here, that they have among them many more Learned and knowing men, viz. in the wayes of God, the true, moſt valuable learning, thoſe that have more underſtanding of the divine laws than all other people in the World, according to that of the Pſalmiſt, He hath not dealt ſo with any Nation, and as for his judgments they have not known them, Pſal. 147.20.
foreignIbid. Aethiopia] foreign Chuſhi, which is here joyned with Tyre and Philiſtia, though it be by the LXXII. rendred foreign, the people of Aethiopia, (reading foreign with ▪ as if it were foreign the people) is by the Chaldee rendred foreign the Chuſhites. Who theſe are there can be little doubt, if (not the authority of Philo and Joſephus, and others that follow them, but) the evidence of ſeveral texts of the Scripture and the expreſs paraphraſe of Jonathan be conſidered, Gen. 10.6. For the Hebrew Chuſh that hath foreign Arabia. And to that the teſtimonies of Scripture agree, Hab. 3.7. Chuſan (the diminutive of Chuſh) is all one with Madian following in that verſe; and accordingly Moſe's Wife Sephora the Chuſhite, Num. 12.1. is the daughter of the prieſt of Midian, Exod. 2.16. and Midian or Madaan is by Joſephus and Ptolemaens and others generally placed in Arabia, on the ſhore of the Red Sea. So Ezek. 29.10. Where the total deſolation of Aegypt is expreſt by making it deſolate from Syene to Chuſh, ſetting thoſe two as oppoſite points, the one on one ſide, the other on the other ſide of Aegypt; and then Syene being the boundary of Aegypt toward Aethiopia by acknowledgment of all, foreign, ſaith ‖de bell. Jud. l. 5. c. 1. ſee Plin. l. v. c. 9. Solon. c. 35. Strabo l. 17. p. 817.Joſephus, Syene divides Aegypt from the Aethiopians, it follows of neceſſity that Chuſh muſt ſignifie Arabia, which borders on Aegypt in the point moſt oppoſite to Aethiopia. So when Ezek. 30.9. immediately after the viſitation of Aegypt, follows, Meſſengers ſhall go from me in ſhips to make careleſs Chuſh afraid, this is very appliable to Arabia, to which they oft paſs by ſhip from Aegypt by the Red Sea, but not to Aethiopia, to which they cannot paſs by Nilus, becauſe of the cataracts near Syene. So 2 Chron. 21.16. the Arabians are ſaid to be neighbours of the Aethiopians: and accordingly when Sennacherib beſieged Libna in the Tribe of Judah, 2 King. 19.9. Tirhacha King of Chuſh came upon him unawares, which their neighbours the Arabians might do, but the Aethiopians could not without firſt ſubduing Aegypt, which lay betwixt them. So when Iſa. 20.5. Chuſh is ſaid to have been the Expectation of Aſhdod, or Azotus, v. 1. (the City of the Philiſtims) this may well be underſtood of their neighbours the Arabians, but not of the Aethiopians ſo far removed from them. To theſe doth the learned Bochart adde, Iſa. 18.1. where Aegypt is by the Prophet in Jewry ſaid to be beyond the Rivers of Chuſh, which cannot be applied to Aethiopia, which is directly beyond Aegypt. This then may be ſafely reſolved, that Chuſh in this and other places muſt ſignifie the inhabitants of Arabia, thoſe that were vulgarly called Scenitae, becauſe they dwelt in tents, called thence the tents of Chuſhan, Hab. 3.7. and accordingly for the tents of Kedar, Cant. 1.5. the Chaldee reads foreign as the ſons of Chuſh, which dwell in thoſe black tents, or tents of Kedar.
V. 6. When he writeth up] From foreign ſcripſit, deſcripſit, is foreign here in writing, in ſetting down, foreignforeign, in the deſcription, or writing, ſay the LXXII. To this the inſuing foreign is to be annext, as in the genitive caſe, the writing of the people: foreign, the writing of the People and Princes, ſay the LXXII. and Latine, foreign, ſay the Syriack, in the book of the people. And what this ſignifies the Chaldee have more largely expreſt by foreign the book in which are written the numbrings of all the people, i. e. the roll, or matricula, wherein the names of all the inhabitants are ſet down. This book as appears by v. 4 muſt refer to the Nations there named▪ in the view, or on the inſpection of which, God, to whoſe eyes all mens hearts are diſcernible, ſhall count, ſaith the Pſalmiſt (as before, v. 4.) foreign this (or this fellow) was borne there, ſome one pious man or ſervant of God in an age, in a nation, as Job and the like, Job 1.1. whereas v. 7. foreign the ſingers foreign as, foreignor like, the minſtrels, ſhall recite or count (ſo the Ellipſis muſt be ſupplied, by repeating the verb uſed in the beginning of the 6.foreign verſe) foreign all my fountains are in thee. In which words muſt be explained, 1. what the ſingers and minſtrels refers to, 2. what is meant by all my fountains. For the former it is ſufficiently known that the ſingers and minſtrels joyned in celebrating the praiſes of eminent men, as alſo in the ſervice of God. And as at the removal of the Arke the ſingers go before, and the minſtrels follow after, the ſingers begin and lead the tune, as the Praecentors, and the players on inſtruments followed after, as the quire; ſo here the ſingers are ſuppoſed to begin, and the minſtrels, or players on inſtruments, taberers, tympaniſtae, ſaith the Jewiſh Arab, follow to the ſame tune, both joyning in this celebration of the divine knowledge and piety of thoſe that dwell in Zion, and the great multitude of ſuch; which is the moſt probable importance of the laſt words whereof their Antheme conſiſts, All my fountains are in thee. 2. Then for my fountains, it will beſt be explained by foreign they that were from the veine, or (as the LXXII. foreign,) fountains of Iſrael, Pſal. 68.26. By vein of Iſrael there the people of Iſrael were meant, and thoſe as numerous as the drops of water coming from a ſpring, or duſt of any metal in a mineral vein; and ſo here my fountains, or ſprings, or flowings of water, are the great multitude of pious people, which as ſuch are called my, i. e. Gods fountains. And ſo theſe two verſes 6. and 7. are but the ſame which had been ſaid, v. 4. and 5. only varied in the expreſsion. The Jewiſh Arab reads, the ſingers and taberers ſhall deſcribe [ſet forth, or reherſe] all your root, or ſtock, which is as a fountain to you.