Works Volume 4, Book · Psalm 12
The Twelfth PSALM.
TO the chief Muſitian upon ‖the Right ſee Pſal. 6.Sheminith, a Pſalm of David.
Paraphrase. The Twelfth Pſalm is ſpent in meditation of the malice and wickedneſs of men, and the relief which is to be expected from none but God. It was compoſed by David, and committed to the Maſter of his Muſick to be ſung, or played on the harp of eight ſtrings.
1. Help Lord, for the Godly man ceaſeth; for *or, fidelities foreign LXXII. and ſo Syr. Lat. Arab. Aethiop.the faithful ſail from among the children of men.
Paraphrase. 1. It is a ſad ſight or meditation, to conſider how wicked the World grows, very few pious men to be met with any where; ſo few, that one may rely on, or truſt, that I have reaſon to complain, that even truth or fidelity it ſelf is departed out of this earth of ours. And this may well drive one to his one ſure hold, the help and aſſiſtance of God; on which alone I rely, and in that I reſt, and beſeech him in his good time to afford it me.
2. They ſeek vanity *one with another foreignevery one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and ‖with a heart, foreignwith a double heart do they ſpeak.
Paraphrase. 2. Among men there is nothing but falſeneſs and diſſimulation; fair words perhaps, but no reality in them.
3. The Lord ſhall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that ſpeaketh proud things.
Paraphrase. 3. But God ſhall deſtroy theſe falſe deceitful perſons, and all ſuch Atheiſtical deſigners, which if they can by any policy attain their ends, never apprehend or fear any revenge from God, and make no ſcruple to profeſs ſo.
4. Who have ſaid, with our tongues will we prevail; our lips are †with us, foreignour own, who is Lord over us?
Paraphrase. 4. Saying, our tongues ſhall gain us whatſoever we want, ſupply all other defects of right, &c. who can hinder us from making our utmoſt advantage of theſe, to acquire whatſoever we can by the uſe of them? why ſhould we ſtand ſo ſtrictly to conſider, whether what we ſay be true or no? So we may advantage our ſelves by it, to whom ſhould we be accountable for that?
5. For the oppreſſion of the poor, for the ſighing of the needy, now will I ariſe *will the Lord ſay, foreignſaith the Lord; I will ſet him in ſafety ‖he will ſpeak freely to him, or puffe at him, or it ſhall ſpeak out to him.from him that puffeth at him.
Paraphrase. 5. To ſuch Atheiſtical oppreſſors and deſpiſers as theſe God will at length ſhew forth his power, and juſt vengeance: the prayers and ſighs of the injured, and the loud cry of his proud vaunting oppreſſors impieties, will excite and raiſe up the Lord of hoſts, to the reſcue of the one, and infliction of vengeance on the other. Thoſe that cry to him, and relye on him, he will certainly hear and relieve effectually; or he that ſcorns his all-ſeeing eye and juſt providence, ſhall be ſcorned and rebuked by him.
6. The words of the Lord are pure words, as ſilver tried in*a cruſible, or ſining pot foreign a furnace of earth, purified ſeven times.
Paraphrase. 6. This God hath promiſed, and then there can be no doubt of his fidelity in performing it. The ſilver that is moſt perfectly refined, is not freer from droſs, than his words from all mixture of deceit. He cannot lie, nor will he ever fail thoſe that relie and truſt on him.
7. Thou ſhalt keep them, O Lord, thou ſhalt †preſerve him.preſerve ‖foreignthem from this generation for ever.
Paraphrase. 7. He will undoubtedly perform his promiſe, keep his word inviolable, and ſo, I am confident, ſupport and defend every godly perſon from this ſort of wicked Atheiſts, how often, or how confidently ſoever they ſhall riſe up againſt him.
8. The wicked walk on every ſide, when the vileſt *of the ſons of men.men are exalted.
Paraphrase. 8. And it ſhall be matter of obſervation, and withall of aſtoniſhment to wicked men, to be witneſſes of this act of Gods juſtice, to ſee thoſe whom they moſt extremely vilified, to be now exalted by him, and made evidences and inſtances of his Governing the World, and taking ſpecial care of thoſe that depend on him, how vile and abject ſoever they are in the eyes of men.
Annotations on Pſalm XII.
foreignV. 5. Puffeth] Of foreign it is queſtion'd, whether it be the right reading, or no; for all the antient interpreters read it in the firſt perſon▪ foreign, ſay the LXXII. fiducialiter agam ſaith the Latine, and I will teſtifie ſaith the Chaldee, and foreign I will work ſalvation openly ſay the Syriack. And ſo all theſe ſuppoſe it to be foreign (not foreign) I will—as in the antecedents, the Lord ſaith, foreign I will riſe, and foreign I will ſet; whereas our Engliſh Tranſlation, that read and render it in the third perſon, do 1. ſuppoſe a very unuſual ellipſis, to be ſupplied with no leſs than three words [from him that] and 2. apply the following [foreign bin… ] in the ſingular to [the poor and needy] both which are in the plural [foreign and foreign] and ſo cannot accord with it. If we ſhall take it in the firſt perſon, then for the nature of the word, it is acknowledged, that foreign ſignifie… two things: 1. fl… vit, foreignſufflavit, to blow, and puffe, and ſo to ſcorn or deſpiſe; and 2. by a metaphor, to ſpeak boldly, freely, confidently, (as ſometimes alſo 'tis ſimply to ſpeak.) This latter notion ſome of the antient interpreters follow: foreign, ſay the LXXII. and fiducialiter agam in eo, the Latine, I will ſpeak or deal boldly with him; and the Chaldee with ſome change, I will teſtifie evil againſt the wicked: the Syriack (as was ſaid) and Arabick expreſs it by addition only of [palam openly] to the precedent phraſe [I will work ſalvation openly.] In either of theſe rendrings the ſenſe will not be amiſs; either I will ſpeak freely to him (i. e. to the unjuſt Atheiſtical oppreſſor, mention'd in the former part of the Pſalm) or, I will puffe at him. If the former ſhould be it, then ſpeaking freely to him, muſt ſignifie rebuking of him, and that as an act of Gods vindicative juſtice, which he now promiſes to execute upon the oppreſſor, when at the ſame time he will redeem the oppreſſed: if the latter, then puffing at him is contemning or ſcorning his proud language foregoing. And with either of theſe accord the conſequents, The words of the Lord are pure words—i. e. his promiſes of deliverance to the poor, by rebuking, or contemning the oppreſſor, are very faithful, ſuch as he will undoubtedly perform. Thus much on ſuppoſition, that the word were foreign in the firſt perſon. But if we leave this conjecture, and retein foreign in the third perſon, and render it, he ſhall rebuke him, or in the firſt notion, he ſhall puff at him (as 'twas Pſal. 10.5.) i. e. ſcorn, or contemn him, then ſtill this will return to the ſame, if it be ſo underſtood as to belong to God; and ſo it may, if it be in conſtruction connected with foreign, the Lord will ſay] thus, The Lord will ſay, I will ariſe, and ſet them in ſafety; he will puffe at him, contemn, and ſcorn, or rebuke him. But, it may alſo be in the third perſon, and yet not be referred to the Lord, but perhaps to the immediate antecedent foreign ſalvation or deliverance, thus foreign I will ſet him in ſafety, or give, or work Salvation, foreign It ſhall ſpeak, or ſpeak aloud to him (ſo as Hab. 2.3. foreign it ſhall ſpeak at the end) i. e. ſhall give him the effect, and ſhew him the accompliſhment of my promiſe. This perhaps the antient interpreters ſaw, (but only thought it more perſpicuous and intelligible, to render it not literally in the third, but by way of Paraphraſe, in the firſt perſon) eſpecially the Syriack, whoſe rendring [I will work Salvation openly] comes perfectly home to it. And to this fitly connects, v. 6. The words of the Lord, &c.
V. 7. Shalt keep them.] 'Tis not ordinarily obſerved to what the foreign in foreign refers. That 'tis a connotation of the whether perſons, foreignor things in the plural, that God will keep, there is no doubt; and 'tis ordinarily applyed to the perſons. The Chaldee renders it foreign the juſt; the LXXII. foreign, us, and ſo the Latine, and Arabick, and Aethiopick; the Syriack foreign them, and ſo our Engliſh, them, both there, and in the next words,foreign where yet it is foreign thou ſhalt keep him, in the ſingular. But that which removes all difficulty, is to underſtand the [them] of the words of the Lord, in the praecedent verſe, ſo as foreign to keep, is to obſerve and performe, whether ſtatutes, or promiſes, as ordinarily 'tis uſed. And then the [him] following, will certainly be the godly, or juſt man, to whom thoſe words or promiſes are made. And this may be reſolved on to be the meaning of the verſe, Thou, O Lord, ſhalt keep, or perform thoſe words, thou ſhalt perſerve the juſt man from— The Jewiſh Arabick tranſlator takes a great liberty here, rendring foreign in the latter place, as in the firſt perſon plural, and thus expreſſes the whole verſe; 0 Lord, as thou haſt promiſed to keep them, ſo keep us from a generation that is thus conditioned.
V. 8. Vileſt men. ] The meaning of this laſt parcel of the Pſalm is very obſcure. The LXXII. render it, foreign, according to thy height thou haſt highly or greatly regarded the ſons of men; and from thence the Latine verbatim, ſave that they have turned foreign, thou haſt regarded, into multiplicaſti, thou haſt multiplyed. Of this rendring of the LXXII. I ſuppoſe this account may be given; 1. that the tranſcribers miſtake foreign for foreign, and that we are to read it foreign, according to the height or degree, wherewith then haſt taken care for the ſons of men, or according to the height of the care which thou haſt taken— 2. that the LXXII.foreign for foreign read foreign with the change of ד for ן, and … for ו. This word we find Pſal. 30.1. where we rightly render it [thou haſt lifted up] but the LXXII. have foreign, thou haſt taken up, or taken care of, in the ſenſe of foreign, to take ſpecial care of. And then their meaning is plain, [according to the height wherewith thou haſt taken care of the ſons of Men.] But then ſtill this is nothing to the reading foreign which now we have. In the next place then, the Chaldee paraphraſe renders it, as a blood-ſucker which ſucks the blood of the ſons of Men, for foreign, reading foreign,foreign as a worm, from a third notion of foreign for vermibus ſcatet, and underſtanding by foreign either the vileſt parts of the body, to which thoſe blood-ſuckers are faſten'd, to ſuck out the corrupteſt blood, (as the Syriack renders it obſcanities) or poſſibly taking the word in that notions of foreign, wherein it ſignifies abſorbere, deglutire, as here Abu-Walid and others interpret it for devouring of men. Paſſing by all theſe, as remote from the meaning of the place, the plain ſenſe of it will be beſt gathered, by obſerving the importance of foreign vilitates, literally baſ… …ſſes; but that to be explained by the adjunct, ſons of men, ſo as to ſignifie the vileſt perſons; probably not thoſe which are really ſuch, but in the eſteem, and repute of men; foreign, 1 Cor. vi. 4. thoſe that are deſpiſed and mad… nothing of among them. Such was David, to whom particularly R. Salomo applyes it, who was exalted from a very low and mean condition. And then, whether we read foreign ſecundum, or juxta exaltationem, or with a light change foreign in enaltando, the ſenſe will be clear, The wicked walk about, or on every ſide (as thoſe that would view a thing throughly do uſe to do, go round about, to view it in every appearance of it) at the exalting of the vileſt of the Sons of Men, i. e. when thoſe that are moſt vilified by them, are by God exalted, and ſet above them. Thus ſome Greek Copies render it, foreign, when the mean or vile of the ſons of Men are exalted. So that now the onelyonly queſtion is,foreign what is meant by the wicked walking round about: and that, I ſuppoſe, will beſt be anſwered, that by this expreſſion is ſet out their ſeeing evidently, and being witneſſes of it, and obſerving withall, and wondring, and perhaps grieving at it, as that which they did not fear, or look for, and now that they ſee it, find themſelves pitifully defeated; and thus it beſt agrees with the context, Thou ſhalt keep, O Lord, &c. from this generation for ever, v. 7. i. e. thou ſhalt preſerve theſe good men that are thus deſpiſed, from their proudeſt enemies, that thus vilify them, and then follows, The wicked walk on every ſide—they ſee, and obſerve, and wonder at it, but cannot help it. But if indeed foreign ſhould ſignifie thoſe that are really baſe and vile, then the meaning muſt be, when vile and baſe perſons are exalted, then wicked and injurious men bear all the ſway, ſwarm every where. And this alſo hath ſome affinity with the former part of the Pſalm, v. 1, 2, 3. but doth not ſo properly connect with the immediate antecedents.