Works Volume 4, Book 5 · Psalm 139
The Hundred and Thirty Ninth PSALM.
To the chief Muſician a Pſalm of David.
The hundred thirty ninth is the acknowledgment of God in that great attribute of his, of being the ſearcher of hearts, and conſequently an appeal to him, as the witneſs of his ſincerity, and the avenger of him againſt his enemies. It was compoſed by David, it appears not on what particular occaſion, and commended to the Prefect of his Muſick.
O Lord, thou haſt ſearched me and known me.
2. Thou knoweſt my down-ſitting and mine up-riſing; thou underſtandeſt my thoughts ‖from far foreignafar off.
3. Thou †ſearcheſtcompaſſeſt my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4. *or, When there is not a word in my tongue, O Lord, thou knoweſt all (ſee note b)For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knoweſt it altogether.
5. Thou haſt ‖diſtreſt, or begirtbeſet me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
Paraphrase. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Bleſſed Lord, thou haſt the perfect inſpection and knowledge of me, of all my deſigns and undertakings, of the beginnings and ends of my actions, of all the traverſes of our lives, Deut. 6.7. and even of my very thoughts. A long time before my deeds diſcover them to men, they are all naked and bare to thine all-ſeeing eye in heaven. Thou haſt ways of diſcovering and diſcerning the bent and inclination of my heart, not onelyonly as men have by words (and actions) but by immediate inſpection into the heart, being ſo cloſe and preſent to me in every the leaſt motion of that, that a man can no more eſcape or march undiſcovered out of a city the moſt cloſely beſieged, when the galleries are prepared, and the aſſailant juſt ready to enter, than a thought can ariſe in my heart which is not perfectly diſcerned by thee, who art nearer and more intrinſick to me than my very ſoul. See Heb. 4.13.
6. Such knowledge is †admirable abovetoo wonderfull for me: it is high, I cannot *doe or deal with itattain unto it.
7. Whither ſhall I go from thy ſpirit? or whither ſhall I flee from thy preſence?
8. If I aſcend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there.
9. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermoſt parts of the ſea,
10. Even there ſhall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand ſhall hold me.
11. If I ſay, ‖but or yet foreignthe darkneſs ſhall cover me, then the night ſhall be light about me.
12. Yea the darkneſs hideth not from thee, but the night ſhineth as the day: the darkneſs and the light are both alike to thee.
Paraphrase. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. This is an admirable power or vertue, a moſt divine excellence of thine, ſuch as I am no way able to deal with or reſiſt. There is no means imaginable for me or any mortal to eſcape the reach of thy moſt penetrating eye, to ſecure our ſelves from thy all-ſeeing preſence: neither could an aſcent to heaven, nor deſcent to the ſtate of the dead, (that which hath its denomination from being inviſible) nay though we were able to fly as ſwift as light, which of an inſtant overruns the whole horizon, and carries day to the moſt diſtant regions, the utmoſt parts of the world, thoſe beyond the Ocean (whither it is thought there is no paſſage) can ſtand us in any ſtead toward the concealing us from thy ſight and judgments. The darkeſt night, the cloſeſt and moſt artificious receſs, the ſubtileſt diſguiſes and hypocriſies are all naked and bare and diſcernible before thee, and as much ſo as any the moſt open ſcandalous ſins, which are committed before the ſun, or on the houſe top.
13. For thou haſt ‖formed, or power ofpoſſeſſed my reins, thou haſt †compactedcovered me in my mothers womb.
Paraphrase. 13. My very affections and inclinations, the original bents and proneneſſes of my nature are within thy reach; my fabrick and formation in the very womb of my mother being a work of thine.
14. I will *confeſs to foreignpraiſe thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works, and that my ſoul knoweth right well.
Paraphrase. 14. And that work, I muſt confeſs, a ſtrange and prodigious work: ſo that if I look no farther than mine own original and formation, I cannot but acknowledge thee a God of ſtupendious operations.
15. My ſubſtance was not hid from thee when I was made in ſecret, and ‖embroideredcuriouſly wrought in the loweſt parts of the earth.
16. Thine eyes did ſee my †rude maſs, and on thy books were all written (as they were daily faſhioned and not one of them was left out, or when there was not one of them.ſubſtance yet being imperfect, and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were faſhioned, when as yet there were none of them.
Paraphrase. 15, 16. But even then when in the womb of my mother, that place which no mortal eye can look into, my body was moſt ſecretly wrought, and all the art uſed that is imaginable to adorn it with the moſt various imbroidery, from the firſt being of that maſs, through all the changes that daily and hourly and minutely were made, till at length it came to a perfect formation, with all the parts which it brings into the world with it; thy all-ſeeing eye long before, even from all eternity, exactly diſcerned every the leaſt change or variety which happened all that while, and thy book of regiſter ſtill retains them, not one the leaſt circumſtance being omitted.
17. How precious alſo are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how *prevailing or exceedinggreat is the ſumm of them!
18. If I ſhould count them, they are ‖multiplied above the—more in number than the ſand: when I awake, I am ſtill with thee.
Paraphrase. 17, 18. And as thy omniſcience and all-ſeeing power is moſt wonderfull, ſo are thy counſels, and moſt wiſe and various diſpenſations of thy providence moſt obſervable. OnelyOnly the depth of them is ſo great, and the variety ſo infinite, that it is not poſſible for me to get by all my ſearch to the bottom of them. The farther I proceed in this ſtudy, the farther I am from an end of it; I am as it were in a maze, no farther advanced to day than I was yeſterday, this being indeed an abyſs unſearchable, which cannot be founded by any humane underſtanding. In all the turns and varieties of my life, whatſoever my condition is, thy aſſiſtance and ſafeguard is continually preſent to me.
19. †or wilt thou foreignSurely thou wilt ſlay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
20. For they *talk of thee for miſchief.ſpeak againſt thee wickedly; and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
21. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I ‖wearied, nauſeated, foreigngrieved with thoſe that riſe up againſt thee?
22. I hate them with a perfect hatred: †they have been to me for enemies. foreignI count them mine enemies.
Paraphrase. 19, 20, 21, 22. All that I can reach unto in the view of thy acts of providence, that particularly of permitting wicked men to proſper here in their impieties, is, that they are reſerved for ſome greater evil, their proſperity will not long laſt, but end in utter ruine and deſtruction. Whether this be the deſign of thy permitting them to proſper, I cannot affirm; but this I am reſolved of, that I will have nothing to doe with ſuch kind of bloody men, ſuch as oppoſe and hate God, yet talk demurely of him, make uſe of his name in their profeſſions and proteſtations, as of an art of deceiving and miſchieving others more advantageouſly. And thoſe that doe ſo, that profeſs kindneſs to God, and yet reſiſt and oppoſe him, and under the veil of piety cover their miſchievous deſigns, I cannot but abhor, and nauſeate, and vehemently diſlike; I am weary to think of them: I am as much concerned, as nearly toucht with theſe their impieties, as if they were acts of injury and enmity againſt my ſelf; no wrong that could be done me, would incenſe me more than what I ſee thus committed againſt piety and humanity it ſelf, under the pretence of both.
23. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.
24. And ſee if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlaſting.
Paraphrase. 23, 24. And for this I appeal to thy all-ſearching eye, which I am ſure diſcerns the deepeſt of my heart, v. 4. even the ſecrets of my thoughts, in which I hope thou wilt not finde any the leaſt degree of unſincerity, any falſe accurſed concealment. If there be, I heartily deſire to be rid of it, to have it quite purged out of my heart, and to be conſtantly led and directed in that courſe of uprightneſs, both toward God and man, which alone can be able to bear the inſpection of that all-ſeeing eye, and which alone will finally be the gainer, when frauds and colours and diſguiſes are brought forth and ſeverely puniſhed.
Annotations on Pſal. CXXXIX.
foreignV. 3. Compaſſeth my path and my lying down] For foreign my lying down, from foreign recubuit, our copies of the LXXII. reade foreign, and from thence the Latin funiculum meum, my cord. But the Chaldee retains the Hebrew, with an addition of foreign lying down to ſtudy: and the Syriack foreign which the tranſlater renders my path, may more fitly be rendred my reſt, my vacancy; for there appears no reaſon why for lying down they ſhould render path, when foreign immediately precedent had ſignified that. The LXXII. as now we have them, reade foreign: but 'tis the conjecture of the learned Hugo Grotius, that they read not foreign but foreign, not cord but lying down, and that the affinity cauſed the change of one into the other, and then the Latin following the corrupted copies, render foreign funiculum. foreignThe greater difficulty is how foreign is to be rendred. The Chaldee certainly miſtake it, rendring it foreign art become ſtrange, as if it were from foreign ſtrange; but the Syriack foreign thou knoweſt, and the LXXII. foreign thou haſt ſought out and inveſtigated, and ſo the Latin and Arabick, (though the Jewiſh Arab, deriving it againſt analogy of Grammar from foreign a ſpan, render it, thou haſt as it were ſpanned.) And this comes neareſt the ſenſe of it; for the Hebrew foreign as it ſignifies to diſperſe and diſſipate, ſo 'tis peculiarly taken in the ſenſe of fanning or ventilating. So Jer. 4.11. foreign to fan, and ſo Jer. 51.2. foreign and they ſhall fan them. And then as fanning is deſigned to the ſeparating and diſcriminating the good corn from the chaff, ſo the word is here uſed in the metaphorical ſenſe for ſearching, examining, as ſifting, ventilating, winnowing, doth oft ſignifie. As for the ſuppoſed uſe of the word for incompaſſing, it is no where met with in Scripture, nor pretended by Lexicographers, ſave onelyonly in this place whereof the queſtion is, and ſo that deſerves not much to be conſidered.
foreignV. 5. Beſet me] The Hebrew foreign ſignifies 1. to preſs, afflict, diſtreſs, 2. to beſiege, 3. by preſſing to form or frame any thing. The LXXII. taking it in the laſt ſenſe render foreign here, foreign, thou haſt formed me, (and ſo the Syriack, foreign thou haſt framed me, and ſo the Latin and the Arabick, thou haſt coagulated me) and to that purpoſe joyn the foreign behind and before, to the former part of the period, thus, foreign, thou, O Lord, knoweſt all things, the laſt and the firſt. But the Chaldee confirm our punctation and reading of the period out of the Hebrew, onelyonly with this change, v. 4. that they render foreign not for but when, foreignWhen there is not a word in my mouth, and then ſuppoſe the foreign all to belong to all that is within, i. e. to all the thoughts of the heart. And truly that is a very probable interpretation, foreign when there is not a word in my mouth, foreign behold, O Lord, thou knoweſt all. Our words are the onelyonly inſtruments by which men come to know our hearts: but God without that help, though there be not a word ſpoken, knows, diſcovers all, hath his immediate inſpection into the heart, and there ſees the thoughts, without any optick of our words to look through. And then for foreign, they render it foreign thou haſt preſt, diſtreſt, driven me to ſtraits, as one that hath laid a cloſe ſiege on every ſide, that there is no eſcaping. And that this is the meaning of it appears by what follows, foreign and thou haſt put thy hand upon me, as they that have beſieged ſo cloſe that they can ſieze on or take when they pleaſe. And ſo 'tis all one whether we reade it diſtreſt me, or begirt me, taking it either way in the notion of a ſtrict and cloſe ſiege, by which means the beſieger, i. e. God here, hath exact knowledge of the ſtate of the beſieged, and can ſeize on him whenſoever he pleaſeth.
V. 6. Too wonderfull for me] The Hebrew foreign is beſt rendred admirable above me, foreigni. e. more admirable than that I can reſiſt it or avoid it. To that ſenſe the Antecedents and Conſequents exact it: the Antecedents, which affirm the very thoughts to be manifeſt, and diſcernible before him; and the Conſequents, that whitherſoever he goes, he is ſtill within his proſpect. To the ſame ſenſe is the other part of the verſe, It is high, foreign,foreign I cannot to it, or with it, i. e. I cannot deal with it. I am not able to doe ought that may be of any force this way, i. e. toward the concealing any thing from him; whither ſhall I goe? i. e. I can goe no whither, from thy ſpirit.
foreignV. 13. Poſſeſſed my reins] The word foreign as it ſignifies to get, to acquire, ſo 'tis alſo ſimply to have in ones power or dominion. In the notion of getting, 'tis indifferently uſed of whatſoever kind of acquiring, particularly of that which is by way of generation; as when Eve names her firſt-born Cain, Gen. 4.1. ſhe renders that reaſon of it, foreign I have gotten a man from the Lord (or a man the Lord, as foreign may probably be rendred.) In that place, as in this, the LXXII. render it by foreign I have poſſeſt. But Gen. 14.19. where God is called foreign, we reade poſſeſſor of heaven and earth; the LXXII. reade foreign who created, and ſo the Latin, qui creavit, and ſo the Perſian Targum, the Creator of heaven and earth. And here the Syriack, that retains (as the Chaldee doth alſo) the Hebrew word, foreign, is by the interpreter rendred condidiſti, haſt framed. Thus 'tis certain the Chaldee have rendred the word, Prov. 8.22. where for the Hebrew foreign the Lord hath poſſeſſed me, they reade foreign the Lord hath begotten or created me, and ſo the Syriack alſo foreign, as well as the LXXII. foreign. And though that were made uſe of by the Arrians, to prove Chriſt to be foreign a creature, and to avoid that conſequent 'tis conjectured that the true reading was foreign poſſeſt, not foreign created; yet ſome prejudices there are againſt that conjecture: as 1. that the LXXII. never uſe that word in the active, but ſtill foreign, and foreign, and foreign, which hath not that affinity with foreign: 2. that the Chaldee and Syriack render it by foreign, which exactly accords with foreign, not with foreign. It will therefore be more reaſonable to render ſuch an account of the LXXII. their rendring it by foreign, as may be applicable to thoſe other interpreters, and yet reconcileable with Catholick doctrin, viz. that foreign with them is not ſo ſtrictly or nicely to be taken, as to denote a creation foreign out of nothing, nor any more than what is taught by the Church, of Chriſt's eternal generation, in reſpect of which he is truly ſtyled the eternal Son of God. Thus we know that foreign is uſed in Chaldee of generation, Job 3.3. There is a man-child conceived, they reade foreign. And ſo the Hebrew foreign is Zach. 13.5. rendred by the LXXII. foreign begotten (where yet the context inclines it to the notion of educating.) And ſo ſtill this notion of foreign for forming or begetting may have place in this verſe of this Pſalm, and the rendring be, thou haſt formed (in ſtead of poſſeſſed) my reins; as Deut. 32.6. after, is he not thy Father? is added foreign, we reade, that hath bought thee, the Chaldee more generally foreign thou art his, and the Jewiſh Arab, thou art King or poſſeſſor of my inward parts, but the Perſian Targum, he hath created thee; and to that the conſequents alſo incline it, foreign he hath made thee and formed thee, (as all the interpreters acknowledge.) And thus it well connects here with the Pſalmiſts argument, of God's knowing him, and nothing being concealed from him; for having formed the reins, the natural ſeats of the affections, from whence proceed the very firſt motions of ſin, he muſt needs be acknowledged to know them exactly. And thus it beſt ſuits alſo with what follows, foreign,foreign we render, thou haſt covered me, but the Chaldee foreign thou haſt founded me, Caſtellio, compoſuiſti me, haſt compounded me: and ſo it may moſt probably be from the notion of foreign to mix or put together, thereby expreſſing the formation of the child in the womb. Or if it be in the notion of covering, then 'tis to be expounded by Job 10.2. thou haſt clothed me with skin and fleſh, foreign (from foreign, which is all one with foreign) thou haſt fenced me with bones and ſinews, (to which notion the LXXII. their foreign haſt holpen me in this place muſt be referred, ſo as covering and fencing, protecting and helping are all one) and ſo ſtill this returns to that of compounding or compacting, (ſo the Chaldee renders it in Job) and then the whole verſe will be beſt thus rendred, Thou haſt formed my reins, thou haſt compacted me in my mothers womb: and then regularly follows, v. 14. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. If this notion of foreign be not yet accepted, then it muſt be reſolved to ſignifie ſuch a poſſeſſing as praerequires not any acquiring, but onelyonly implies having power over, as the Jewiſh Arab rendred it. And ſo the ſenſe will well bear, Thou haſt power over my reins, thou haſt covered, or formed me in my mothers womb; he that hath ſo formed, having certainly the power over his very reins, and he that hath that creative power, having nothing concealed from him.
V. 15. foreignCuriouſly wrought] The Hebrew foreign ſignifies being embroidered. So Exod. 35.35. with the ingraver and cunning workman is joyned foreign and the embroiderer. Of this ſee the learned Nicholas Fuller, Miſcellan. l. 1. c. 20. And thus is it here moſt fitly uſed of the formation and contexture of the child in the womb (that certainly is the meaning of foreign in the lower parts of the earth; for which the Jewiſh Arab reads, as if I had been in the loweſt or bottom of the earth, ſaying that he adds foreign as if, becauſe the ſcope of the words is to deſcribe the ſtate or manner of his forming in the mothers womb: and ſo the like phraſe may be underſtood not improbably Eph. 4.9. ſee note on that place) wherein the fleſh, and bones, and skin, and veins, and nerves, and arteries are ſo artificially weaved together, that no embroidery or carpet-work in the world can compare with it. What is here ſaid of being made in ſecret, may ſeem to have ſome Emphaſis, and reflect on the way of tapeſtry work, which requires a clear light, both to ſee what is wrought, and to view the pattern. For this the LXXII. put foreign, reading, as the learned Val. Schindler moſt probably conjectures, foreign (from foreign ſtature) through the affinity betwixt ד and ו, and not, as the learned H. Grotius, foreign my ſubſtance, riches, which is much more remote in ſound, if not alſo in ſignification.
V. 16. Subſtance being yet imperfect] The Hebrew here hath no more than foreign. foreignThe word ſignifies an embryon, or unformed lump, or maſs of fleſh, which the Chaldee reade foreign my body, but the LXXII. foreign that which was unwrought of me, the maſs or lump, before it had that curious embroidery mentioned in the former verſe. An evident continuation of the former ſimilitude of tapeſtry, to the making of which there is nothing praerequired but rude glomi or skeins of ſilk, and yet when the artificers hand hath paſt upon it, there ariſes preſently an unexpected beauty and accurate harmony of colours and proportions. And as the workman hath ſtill his book or pattern before him, to which he always recurrs, by as exact a method were all my members faſhioned. Rabbi Tanchum reads, my matter before the introduction of the form of man, and ſo makes the matter fit for the reception of any form, before the introduction of the form, to be foreign. The Syriack here ſeems to have miſread it, by changing the order of the letters, for foreign, and ſo render it foreign my retribution. Of this rude mole or maſs in the womb, two things are here added, one in reſpect of it ſelf, the other in relation to God's ſeeing it, which is the principal thing here conſidered. In the firſt reſpect 'tis ſaid,foreign foreign they are formed or faſhioned daily, i. e. from that rude maſs receive daily ſome degree of figuration. In the ſecond reſpect 'tis ſaid, that in God's book, foreignforeign upon his book, or regiſter, or book of remembrance, as the Chaldee ſtyles it, foreign they are all written; to which, I ſuppoſe, is to be annext that which ends the verſe, foreign:foreign the LXXII. render it literally, foreign, and not one of or among them. Wherein there being an Ellipſis, that may not improbably be thus beſt ſupplied, There was not one, or any of or among them, omitted. 'Tis true, the words are ſo placed, that that part of the period foreign are daily formed, lies betwixt their being written in the book, and this cloſe of the verſe, not one of, or among them: but this is no unuſual Hyperbaton, and may be avoided alſo by including thoſe words in a Parentheſis, thus, Thine eyes did ſee my rude maſs, and on thy regiſter all were written (they were, or as they were daily faſhioned) and not any of them was left out or omitted. And this is very conſonant to the context, which is wholly deſigned to ſet down how all things lie open before God's eyes, are diſcerned and regiſtred by him, and ſo written in his book, even to the leaſt figuration in the body of the child in the womb, not one of them omitted. But it may alſo be thus rendred, foreign and there was not one of them, i. e. before there was any one of them formed, for this anſwers the knowing the thoughts, afar off, the knowing the word, when 'tis not in the tongue, v. 4. which Aben Ezra underſtands of God's preſcience.
foreignV. 17. Thy thoughts] foreign is an equivocal word, ſignifying both thy thoughts and thy friends. In the latter notion all the ancient interpreters take it: foreign thy lovers, ſay the Chaldee; foreign, thy friends, the LXXII. and ſo the reſt. But the deſign of the whole context inclines it the other way. How precious to me are thy thoughts? (as moſt latter interpreters have acknowledged) and then foreign muſt be lookt on as a numeral word, and is by us rightly rendred the ſumm of them (though the Chaldee, in accordance with their other interpretation, reade foreign their rulers, and the LXXII. foreign, the Latin, principatus eorum, their principalities) as more clearly appears foreign If I number them — v. 18. But then foreign is not ſo fully rendred how great? foreignbut (as the LXXII. foreign they are advanced in ſtrength) how prevailing is the ſumm of them, how exceeding? i. e. much above me, or my comprehenſion. For ſo it follows, If I number them foreign they are multiplied foreign above the ſand All the difficulty is, what is the meaning of the concluſion of the verſe, foreign literally,foreign I awaked, and I am ſtill with thee. A way of explaining it will be by keeping this latter part of the verſe to the ſame matter to which the former part belonged, and ſo making the parts of this anſwerable to the parts of that. There 'twas, I will number them, the future for the ſubjunctive, If, or when I would number them: Here, I awaked, i. e. in proportion with that, when I do awake. There 'twas, They are multiplied above the ſands: Here 'tis, I am ſtill with thee, i. e. as in a work which hath no end, (ſuch is numbring of ſands, and ſuch is comprehending the counſels or thoughts of God) when I awake, I ſtill am i. e. where I was before I went to ſleep, the more I think of it the more I may, 'tis ſuch an Abyſs, that I can never get to the bottom of it. Another interpretation the phraſe is capable of, by laying the weight on the Amphibology which foreign occaſions, ſignifying 1. to be faint, and wearied out by work, then 2. to awake from ſleep, which uſually refreſhes, and 3. to ariſe from the dead, ſee 2 King. 4.31. the child is not awaked, i. e. revived, and Iſa. 26.19. Thy dead men ſhall live, ariſe, awake, &c. And then by the elegance of this comprehenſive word, the meaning may be, that whether fainting, or refreſht, or riſing from the dead, in whatſoever condition we are, God is preſent with us by his ſpecial aſſiſtance: and then fitly follows on the other ſide, his vengeance on wicked men, ſurely thou wilt ſlay, &c.
V. 20. Speak againſt thee wickedly] The Hebrew foreign ſignifying a thought (whence the LXXII. foreignrender it foreign) but that generally is an ill ſenſe, a wicked, miſchievous thought, a contrivance for the hurt of ſome body, the phraſe foreign muſt be rendred, for miſchief, (and that ſo foreign ſignifies, by which the LXXII. render it, ſee note on Matth. 15. e.foreign) and then foreign muſt be interpreted (not they ſpeak againſt thee, but) they ſpeak or talk of thee, their talking of God, pretending to piety, is but a ſtratagem to doe miſchief. That this is the meaning of the phraſe, appears by that which immediately follows, foreign Firſt,foreign they are God's enemies (ſo certainly foreign ſignifies 1 Sam. 18.16. and ſo foreign is rendred by the LXXII. foreign enemies, Iſa. 14.21. though here they reade it, as from foreign city, foreign thy cities) and being ſo, ſure their mentioning or naming of God muſt be on deſign to doe miſchief by it. Secondly, their aſſuming in vain,foreign (foreign aſſuming for vanity or falſeneſs, ſay the LXXII.) is ſwearing falſely, mentioning the name of God for the confirming ſome falſity; and ſo that perfectly agrees with the former ſenſe, of ſpeaking of God for miſchief. And accordingly the Chaldee render both phraſes to the ſame ſenſe, foreign they ſwear by thy name for deceit, and again, they ſwear falſely.
V. 24. Wicked way] The Original hath foreign way of falſeneſs. foreignforeign ſignifies ſorrow, labour, and withall any thing laboriouſly or artificially contrived, and ſo frequently an idol or image, which is expreſt in ſcripture ſtyle by vanity and falſeneſs. And ſo here the Chaldee render it foreign the way of error, and the Syriack foreign of falſeneſs; the LXXII. reade more generally foreign iniquity. This the Pſalmiſt here diſclaims in reference to the deceitfull pretenders to piety, v. 20. their way being a way of deceit and falſeneſs; and becauſe he looked on that as that which would not long ſtand, God would at length diſcover and bring out ſuch glozers, he therefore here adds, and lead me foreign into the way of laſting, of eternity, foreignthat way which alone will hold out when all others faile, when the way of the ungodly ſhall periſh.