Works Volume 4, Book 5 · Psalm 141
The Hundred and Forty Firſt PSALM.
A Pſalm of David.
The hundred and forty firſt is an ardent prayer of David's for deliverance from his enemies, but firſt and eſpecially for patience under them, that he be not by their oppoſitions, or the incitements of others, moved out of his courſe of meekneſs, of piety and the other parts of duty incumbent on him. It ſeems to have been compoſed (as the next is by the title affirmed to be) on occaſion of Saul's perſecuting him to the cave of Engedi, 1 Sam. 24.
1. LORD, I cry unto thee, make haſte unto me: give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee:
2. Let my prayer be ‖directed foreignſet forth before thee as incenſe, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening ſacrifice.
Paraphrase. 1, 2. O Lord, I am in diſtreſs, and have no other refuge but thee to whom I may reſort. To thee therefore I moſt humbly and ardently addreſs my prayers, in the ſame manner as thy prieſts are by thee appointed to addreſs their daily oblations, to attone thee, beſeeching thee graciouſly to accept and anſwer them, and in thy time to reſcue me out of mine enemies hands.
3. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and keep the †lifting updoor of my lips.
4. *or, My heart ſhall not incline to an evil word, to contrive devices inimpiety,Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practiſe wicked works with men that work iniquity; and ‖I will not partake in their delicacies.let me not eat of their dainties.
Paraphrase. 3, 4. Meanwhile, O Lord, grant me thy guidance both for my words and actions: for my words, that whatever their dealings toward me are, I may not be provoked to any ſpeech of raſhneſs or impatience or diſloyalty toward Saul; and for my actions, that I may not be tempted to any unlawfull practice, that I may not for any appearance of advantage to my ſelf thereby, give ear to any evil counſel. My reſolutions are firm to the contrary, and how inviting ſoever the temptations are, I hope I ſhall never taſte of the ſweets of them.
5. †Reproach will bruiſe me that am righteous, and rebuke me, but that poiſonous oyle ſhall not bruiſe my head; for my prayer ſhall be in their miſchiefs.Let the righteous ſmite me, it ſhall be a kindneſs; and let him reprove me, it ſhall be an excellent oile, which ſhall not break my head: for yet my prayer alſo ſhall be in their calamities.
6. *Their Judges are left by the ſides of the rock, and have heard my words, that they—When their judges are overthrown in ſtony places, they ſhall hear my words, for they are ſweet.
Paraphrase. 5, 6. I have been moſt carefull to preſerve my loyalty to Saul, and am not guilty of the leaſt diſloyal attempt toward him; yet calumniators have made other repreſentations of me, that I ſeek his life, &c. and ſo have incited him to purſue me to death. But how low ſoever my condition at preſent be, I am confident they ſhall not prevail againſt me to my final ruine. Againſt their bittereſt and moſt poiſonous calumnies, their moſt miſchievous attempts againſt me, my prayers are a ſufficient antidote, and will, I doubt not, avert the miſchief from me. When Saul went into the cave, and left his Commanders and followers without by the ſides of the cliff, they were witneſſes of my dealing with Saul, and the ſignal evidences I gave him of mine integrity, ſufficient to convince the moſt inveterate malice and moſt obſtinate calumny, and accordingly ſo it wrought on Saul himſelf, 1 Sam. 24.16, 17, 18, 19.
7. Our bones are ſcattered at the ‖As one that cuts and ſl…ts the earth, our bones are ſcattered at the mouth of Scheol.graves mouth, as when one cutteth and heweth wood upon the earth.
Paraphrase. 7. We have been terribly harraſt and oppreſt and perſecuted, and now are every minute ready to be deſtroyed.
8. But mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord; in thee is my truſt, †or, pour not ou…, waſt not awayleave not my ſoul deſtitute.
9. Keep me from the ſnare which they have laid for me, and the grins of the workers of iniquity.
10. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilſt that I withall eſcape.
Paraphrase. 8, 9, 10. But, O Lord, on thee is our full affiance and confidence, thy power and thy mercy is our ſure refuge; to thee we addreſs our humbleſt requeſts, that thou wilt not caſt us out of thy care, but preſerve us from all the ambuſhes and treacherous deſigns that wicked men have laid againſt us. And this I have full confidence thou wilt doe, bringing miſchief on them that deſign miſchief, and by the ſame means deliverance to us who are injured by them.
Annotations on Pſal. CXLI.
foreignV. 2. Evening ſacrifice] The reaſon why the Evening ſacrifice is here named, is rendred by Kimchi, becauſe that ſuppoſeth and comprehends the morning ſacrifice; but by R. Saadiah, becauſe there is no ſin-offering brought after that, all things being then atoned. The Jewiſh Arab reads, as an accepted or acceptable oblation.
foreignV. 3. Door] From foreign to draw up, is foreign here, and ſo ſignifies the lifting up: foreign ſaith the Chaldee, elevation; and ſo the Jewiſh Arab, the lifting up of my lips, making it to be of the ſame root that foreign Iſa 38.14. which according to him muſt b… Mine eyes are lifted up on high, from foreign and ſo Kimchi ſaith his father interpreted it, that the meaning ſhould be, the words which I take into my lips. So Abu Walid ſeems to have taken it. From the root foreign is foreign a door, and that metaphorically applied to the lips, Job 41.14. Who ſhall open foreign the door of his face, i. e. his lips? and ſo foreign is thought here to be uſed by Apocope. But although the lips are fitly ſtyled the door of the face, or the mouth, yet they will not ſo commodiouſly be ſtyled foreign the door of the lips, eſpecially when that other rendring of the Chaldee is ſo much more agreeable, the lifting up, as that ſignifies the opening of the lips, or mouth, which is the moſt obvious and frequent Periphraſis of ſpeaking: Job 11.5. O that God would ſpeak foreign and open his lips againſt thee; and ſo Job 32.20. I will ſpeak that I may be refreſht, I will open my lips— and Pſal. 51.15. Open thou my lips— And therefore as the Syriack omits the rendring of this word foreign, and onelyonly reads, ſet a guard foreign on my lips; ſo the LXXII. that have foreign a door, do uſe that with foreign joyned with it, for a Periphraſis of the guard, the rendring of foreign, not of foreign, ſet, O Lord, a watch on my mouth, and a door of guard about my lips: and ſo the Latin and Arabick, oſtium circumſtantiae, and oſtium munitum, a guarded door to my lips; where 'tis evident the lips are not lookt on as the door, but the guard, the grace of vigilance and circumſpection, that is to be ſet upon them, and is uſefull, as a door, to keep all cloſe, to keep any thing from coming out that ought to be kept in.
V. 4. To practiſe wicked works] The Hebrew here reade, foreign to machinate machinations in evil: the LXXII. reade, foreign, to pretend pretences in ſins, and ſo the Jewiſh Arab, that I ſhould pretend cauſes with the people that work deceit; noting this to be the manner of wicked men, when they project or contrive iniquity, to project alſo ſome ſpecious pretences of doing it, whereby they much facilitate the practice of it, and hope to gain impunity, if they proſper not in it. And thus indeed doth the Hebrew foreign,foreign here uſed ſignifie, ſeeking occaſions; pretences of doing any thing. But the Chaldee interprets it here by foreign thinking, contriving, and the Syriack by ſpeaking and committing iniquity; and ſo 'tis not amiſs expreſt by our Engliſh, to practiſe wicked works. In the end of the verſe, for foreign eat of their dainties, from foreign pleaſant, delightfull, the LXXII. reade foreign, combine, or, as the Latin, communicabo, communicate with their choſen things, i. e. certainly with the beſt or fatteſt of their diet, as foreign is a cram'd foul, and as the LXXII. Gen. 49.15. render the ſame word foreign by foreign fat. The Chaldee reade, foreign — I will not be fed with the ſong of the houſe of their feaſts, from a notion of foreign, in which the Rabbins uſe it, for Muſick, or Song, and becauſe Muſick was a feſtival ceremony. But the Syriack foreign I will not joyn, or mix, or, from the notion of foreign for ſalt, I will not eat ſalt with them, as foreign Act. 1.4. to eat ſalt with, is to converſe familiarly with them. The onelyonly difficulty in this verſe is, whether it be a prayer, or a reſolution: and indeed the words will bear either ſenſe,foreign foreign being interpretable, in accord with the former verſe, in form of a prayer, Incline not my heart, and yet (as beginning this period) they may as fitly be rendred, my heart ſhall not incline; and to this the deſign of the following verſes ſeems to exact it. The occaſion of the Pſalm ſeems to have been that eminent paſſage of David's ſtory, to which the title of the next Pſalm refers, when he was in the cave, 1 Sam. 24. when Saul entred into the cave to cover his feet, and David might have killed him if he would, and was by his ſervant incited to doe ſo, but reſolved he would not touch the Lord's anointed; and when he had cut off the skirt of his garment, his heart ſmote him for it. To this the verſe ſeems to refer, as a reflexion on that reſolution of his, not to joyn with any, on never ſo advantageous a proſpect, in any unlawfull practice, yea though it were to get the inſtant poſſeſſion of a Kingdom. And therefore that ſeems to be the moſt commodious rendring of it, My heart ſhall not incline, &c. The Jewiſh Arab interpreting it as a prayer, ſaith in a note, that he means not a forcing, but the defending him from his enemies, that his heart might not include, or bend aſide, to buſie his thoughts about them, and how to doe, or to think of them, or ſeek to beware of them.
V. 5. Let the righteous ſmite me, foreignit ſhall be a kindneſs] The Hebrew words foreign are acknowledged very obſcure; yet by obſerving the deſign of the Pſalm forementioned, and the ambiguity of the word foreign, which ſignifies reproach as well as mercy, they may receive their explication: for then it will thus readily ſignifie, Reproach will bruiſe me that am righteous, and rebuke me. Herein there is no difficulty, the like elliptical ſcheme being elſewhere not rarely met with, Ezech. 22.5. foreign they ſhall mock at thee infamous, i. e. which art infamous, and Jo. 8.40. foreign, &c. ye ſeek to kill me, a man, i. e. who am a man, &c. Then follows foreign.foreign That foreign ſignifies poiſon, as well as head, appears by Deut. 29.18. and Jer. 9.15. Hoſ. 10.4. Am. 6.12. and here Pſal. 69.21. and that it is thought appliable to wine, ſee Deut. 32.32. Their grapes are grapes of gall, i. e. poiſonous, and their cluſters are bitter. And then why may it not as fitly be the epithet of oyle, and ſo ſignifie calumnies or reproach (foreign ſay the LXXII. the oyle of the wicked) ſuch as David fell under among Saul's ſervants, as if he ſought the King's life, &c. But this, ſaith he, foreign ſhall not break or bruiſe mine head, foreign(by that cuſtomary ſcheme of alluſion betwixt foreign my head, and foreign poiſon, the ſame word in different ſenſes, here farther exemplified in foreign and foreign and the like) i. e. ſhall not finally deſtroy me. So bruiſing the head ſignifies Gen. 3.15. in contradiction to bruiſing the heel, which hath not that fatal conſequence. That their calumny, though poiſonous, and probable to bring ruine on him from the King, ſhould yet not doe it, his argument of aſſurance is, from a ſure Antidote to which he had reſort, foreign for my prayer ſhall be in their miſchiefs; i. e. my addreſſes to God ſhall be the inſtrument of preſerving me from any real or conſiderable harm that calumny can do me. For foreign in their miſchiefs; (actively, their miſchievous deſigns and enterpriſes) the LXXII. reads foreign in their good pleaſures, (as from foreign which in Chaldee ſignifies will;) and it may well enough be born, by wills meaning their evil deſigns or attempts. In a place of ſo much difficulty, it will not be amiſs to add ſome other conjectures, as, by retaining the uſually-received ſignification of the words, thus, Kindneſs will bruiſe me that am righteous, and rebuke me, i. e. work on me more than harſher dealing: Let not oyle on the head, i. e. flattering words, as ſmooth as oyle poured on the head, break my head; i. e. overcome me to be perſwaded or enticed by them: for my prayer ſhall yet be in or againſt their miſchiefs, i. e. that I may not be intrapped by thoſe miſchiefs which they intend when they ſpeak me faireſt. Some Jews, by another ſenſe of foreign, would have this the ſenſe, rendring the firſt words, Let the righteous ſmite me, it ſhall be a kindneſs, and reprove me, the oyle of my head, with which I was anointed for King, ſhall not remove my head from the ſtroke of his correction or reproof, but my prayer ſhall be for them, that God would repay them good, and deliver them from their calamities.
V. 6. When their Judges are overthrown in ſtony places] This paſſage alſo will receive its explication from the ſtory 1 Sam. 24. Where Saul ſeeking David upon the rocks of the wild goats, v. 2. left his captains and followers there on the ſides of the rock, whilſt he went into the cave to cover his feet. Of them therefore it is here fitly ſaid, their Judges (i. e. the commanders of his army,foreign according to the ſtyle known in the book of Judges) are left (ſo foreign uſually ſignifies) foreign by the ſides of the rock (ſo foreign hand metaphorically ſignifies:) the LXXII. reads foreign near or cloſe by the rock. And being there left, it is aptly added, foreign and have heard my words that they are ſweet; for ſo 'tis certain they there heard David expoſtulate his caſe with Saul, with thoſe gentle words which melted the inveterate hatred of Saul himſelf, who upon that Apology then made by David v. 14. diſmiſt his people from all further purſuit of him.
V. 7. foreignGraves mouth] foreign at the mouth of Scheol, is a very full expreſſion of the condition of David and his men in the cave, in which they ſeemed as it were buried alive, and yet were in ſo deſperate a condition as to be worſe than dead.
Ibid. Wood upon the earth] The Hebrew here reads, foreignforeign as one that cuts and ſlits the earth, (ſo the Jewiſh Arab) or upon the earth, and in all probability belongs to the digging or ploughing up the ſurface of the earth: ſo the Chaldee render it, as a man that ſlits and cuts the earth foreign with plough-ſhares, and ſo the Syriack, as foreign the ſhare cleaves the earth; and to that ſenſe the LXXII. alſo, though not by literal rendring, yet by way of paraphraſe, foreign, as the thickneſs, the cruſt, i. e. the uppermoſt clod of the ground is broken in pieces on the earth. And ſo in all reaſon we are to render it, not by ſuppoſing an Ellipſis, to be ſupplied by addition of wood; but without any Ellipſis,foreign as he that cuts and ſlits foreign the earth, the ב being frequently abundant. And then this is a fit deſcription of a great diſtreſs, and very proportionable to David's then preſent condition in the cave expreſt in the beginning of the verſe, by Our bones are ſcattered at the mouth of Scheol. When a pit is made, the earth that is digged and fetcht out to make the pit, lies in an heap rudely at the mouth of the pit, and that that lies ſo is ready to tumble into it: Juſt ſo, ſaith the Pſalmiſt, we have been ploughed and harraſt out by ſharp oppreſſions, we now lie like earth ſo digged or ploughed, at the mouth of the great pit, call'd Scheol, i. e. ready to be deſtroyed.
V. 8. Leave not] From foreign to empty or pour out, foreignis foreign here in the notion of caſting away, pouring out, as that which one cares not for. So the Chaldee render it, foreign pour not out my ſoul, the LXXII. foreign take not away, the Syriack foreign caſt not off, or away, my ſoul.