Works Volume 4, Book · Psalm 26
The Twenty Sixth PSALM.
A Pſalm of David.
Paraphrase. The Twenty Sixth Pſam was compoſed by David, as an appeal to God to vindicate his integrity, and deliver him from his enemies.
1. ‖Plead for, or defend me. foreignJudge me, O Lord, for I have walked in mine integrity: †and in the Lord I have truſted, I will not be ſhaken.I have truſted alſo in the Lord, therefore I ſhall not ſlide.
Paraphrase. 1. To thee, O Lord, I appeal for patronage and relief; and to qualifie my ſelf for ſo great a dignity, am able only to ſay this for my ſelf, 1. That I have not injured them that invade me, nor by any other wilful prevarication from my duty forfeited thy protection; 2. That I have conſtantly and immutably repoſed my full truſt and dependance on thee my only helper.
2. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me: try my reins and my heart.
Paraphrase. 2. For theſe two I humbly offer my ſelf to thy divine moſt exact inſpection, and examination, even of my moſt inward thoughts; and if thou ſeeſt good, to thy caſting me even into the furnace of affliction, for the approving my ſincerity herein.
3. For thy loving-kindneſs is before mine eyes, and I have walked in thy truth.
Paraphrase. 3. What ever thy trials are, this thou wilt certainly find, that I have never failed to meditate on, delight in, and repoſe all my truſt in thy mercies, and that I have ſincerely performed obedience to all thy commandments.
4. I have not ſat with *falſe foreignvain perſons, neither ‖gone in (ſee note d.) with flagitious men.will I go in with diſſemblers.
Paraphrase. 4. My converſation hath not been tainted with the evil examples of the world; I have not been guilty either of falſeneſs or treachery, or any manner of baſe unworthy dealing.
5. I have hated the congregation of evil doers, and †have not ſat; ſee note d.will not ſit with the wicked.
Paraphrase. 5. On the contrary, I have deteſted and abhorred all aſſemblies of thoſe that deſign ſuch things, and conſtantly eſchewed entring into any of their conſultations.
6. I ‖have waſhtwill waſh mine hands in innocency; †and compaſt.ſo will I compaſs thine altar, O Lord.
Paraphrase. 6. I have indeavoured daily ſo to prefere my thoughts and actions from all impurity, that I might be duly qualified to offer my oblations to thee, with confidence to be accepted of thee;
7. That I may publiſh with the voice of thankſgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.
Paraphrase. 7. To proclaim to all men, in the ſolemneſt manner, thy abundant rich mercies to thoſe that keep cloſe to thee.
8. Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy houſe, and the place *of the tabernacle of thy glory.where thine honour dwelleth.
Paraphrase. 8. O what a pleaſure hath it alwayes been to me to come, and offer up my prayers before the Ark, the place where thou art graciouſly pleaſed to preſentiate and exhibite thy ſelf?
9. ‖Unite not. foreignGather not my ſoul with ſinners, nor my life with bloody Men.
Paraphrase. 9. This I hope may be ground of aſſurance to me, that thou wilt not deal with me as with wicked and bloody men, that thou wilt not permit me to fall under their fate, to *foreign, LXXII.periſh as they do;
10. In whoſe hand is miſchief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
Paraphrase. 10. Who deſign, and conſult, and contrive nothing but injuſtice, and ſpare no liberalities that may be uſeful toward that end.
11. But as for me, †I have walkt, ſo the Syriack and LXXII. and Lat. ſee note d.I will walk in mine integrity. Redeem me, and be merciful unto me.
Paraphrase. 11. Out of ſuch mens power and malice be thou pleaſed to reſcue me, who have never yet forfeited mine integrity.
12. My foot ſtandeth ‖or in the plain, or court.in an even place; in the congregation will I bleſs the Lord.
Paraphrase. 12. I am conſtant and ſteady in my adherence and relyance on thee: thou, I know wilt ſupport me, and I will make my moſt ſolemn acknowledgments of it to thee. Or, And now what have I to do, but to offer ſacrifice to thee, and bleſs and praiſe thee for ever in the publick aſſembly?
Annotations on Pſalm XXVI.
foreignV. 1. Slide] The only difficulty in this verſe, is, in what ſenſe foreign is to be taken. The verbe foreign ſignifies to trip, to totter, to be ſhaken, or moved, to be ready to fall, inconſtant, or not able to ſtand. And it may be applyed either to the ſubject matter of his hope, that he ſhall not be caſt down by his enemies, forſaken by God, (and that look't on as a reward of his hope;) and ſo our Engliſh underſtands it, and accordingly infers it with the illative, therefore: Or elſe it may be applyed to the hope it ſelf, or David hoping; and then it ſignifies the conſtancy of his unſhaken hope; that however God deal with David, he will immutably truſt in him. And thus I ſuppoſe it is to be underſtood here, if the words be ſimply read, as they are in the original, thus, Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in mine integrity, foreign and in the Lord I have truſted, foreign I will not be ſhaken. Where in his appeal to God he propoſeth two things to his trial (examine me—v. 2.) 1. whether he have not continued upright before him; 2. whether he have not, and do not ſtill conſtantly continue to adhere and depend on him for his protection: which being the two things to qualifie a man for God: audience and acceptance, (ſincerity of obedience to, and of truſt in God) he may now chearfully appeal to him, and adventure himſelf to his divine examination. And thus all the antient Interpreters ſeem to have underſtood it, none of them interpoſing the [therefore,] or varying from the ſimple reading, as our Engliſh doth; but, on the contrary, the Arabick interpreting foreign by fearing, (which is the ſhaking of his hope) I have truſted in the Lord, and will not fear,] have confined it to this ſenſe; and ſo the LXXII. foreign, and truſting in the Lord I will not be ſhaken, or as other copies read, foreign, grow weak: the Latine in like manner, (and the Aethiopick) & in Domino ſperans non infirmabor, and hoping in the Lord I will not be weakned, i. e. I do hope, and will continue firm in ſo doing. To this the learned Caſtellio hath expreſt his ſenſe, Patrocinare, Jehovah, qui me innocenter gero, immotam in Jehova fiduciam habens, foreignO Lord take my part, who behave my ſelf innocently, having an unmoved truſt in the Lord. And conſidering that it is here his requeſt to God to take his part, that which follows in the reſt of the period, muſt in reaſon be the recital of the qualifications neceſſarily required to the hearing of this prayer, rather than the inferring or concluding that God will take his part, i. e. that his prayer ſhall be heard. And this alſo appears by v. 3. where, having offered himſelf to Gods examination, v. 2. for the truth of what he had here pretended, he ſpecifies expreſly, or inſtances in theſe two things; (only by way of foreign, frequent in ſacred ſtyle, the latter is mentioned firſt) For thy loving kindneſs is before mine eyes, (there is his unmoved hope) and I have walked in thy truth, (there is his integrity.)
V. 2. foreignTry] The Hebrew foreign ſignifies originally ſo to try, as the metalliſt doth his gold, by diſſolving and melting it. So Pſal. 66.10. thou haſt tried me as ſilver is tried; where the Targum foreign thou haſt melted us as the goldſmith melts his ſilver. So Iſa. 47.10. foreign I have melted thee— I have tried thee in the crucible of affliction. And thus the LXXII. renders it here, foreign, ſet on fire; the Latine, Ʋre, burn; and the Arabick, make to burn. And thus it ſpecially belongs to afflictions, by which, as by fire, ſuch trials are made.
V. 4. Diſſemblers] From foreign hiding himſelf, foreignis foreign here, which therefore literally ſignifies thoſe that hide themſelves; which becauſe all wicked men deſire to do, their actions averting and hating the light, therefore the LXXII. here render it foreign, and the Latine iniqua gerentes, wicked doers, the Arabick, breakers of the Law: and ſo in ſenſe it is to be rendered, but literally the ſecret dealers; the greateſt wickedneſſes being thoſe that are moſt ſecretly contrived: and accordingly the Chaldee ſo paraphraſeth it, they that hide themſelves that they may do ill.
V. 6. I will waſh] That the future tenſe in Hebrew is frequently taken in the preter tenſe, is known to all. Here the context requires it to be ſo, both in v. 5. and 6. being all but an explication, or recital at large of what had been ſaid, v. 1. viz. that he had walked in integrity. And therefore as it is, v. 3. I have walked in thy truth, and v. 4. I have not ſat, and 5. I have hated; ſo in all reaſon muſt the futures be rendred in the latter part of thoſe verſes, 4. and v. 5. I have not, (not I will not) go, and ſit. foreignAnd then by conſequence ſo it muſt be in this v. 6. I have (not, will, for the future) waſht my hands in innocency, and ſo compaſt— Now for the phraſe, waſhing hands in innocency, the LXXII. render it, foreign, i. e. literally, among the guiltleſs;foreign and ſo the Latine render it, inter innocentes, among the innocent. But this ſure ſignifies no more than the ordinary reading of the Hebrew imports, to waſh the hands in token of innocence. This we know was common aamong the Jews (from Deut. 21.6.) in any ſolemn buſineſs of proteſting innocency, to waſh the hands, as a token of it; and ſo Pilate did, Matth. 27. But it particularly belong'd as a ceremony preparative to praying; for unleſs we come pure to that work there is no hope to be heard. If I incline to wickedneſs in my heart, the Lord will not hear, ſaith David: and, ſurely the Lord heareth not ſinners, ſaith the man in the Goſpel that was born blind: and Iſa. 1. when you make long prayers, I will not hear, your hands are full of blood; waſh you, make you clean: 'Twas therefore a common uſage among all the Jews, always to waſh before prayers. So ſaith Ariſteas in his Hiſtory of the LXXII.p. 890. D. foreign, It is the cuſtom for all the Jews to waſh their hands, as oft as they pray to God ▪ whence the Apoſtle takes that phraſe or lifting up holy hands, 1 Tim. 2.8. (ſee note b. on that chapter.) So in the Yad Tephillah, c. 4. Sect. 2. The hands are to be waſht before prayers. To this belongs the rule of the Jews, that every one ſhould waſh, as ſoon as he riſes in the morning, thereby to prepare himſelf for the reading of the Shemaah, and praying; not accounting him foreign pure or clean, before he hath waſht his hands in water: and this in imitation of the Prieſts miniſtring in the Sanctuary, who were not to perform any ſacred office till they had poured water out of the Laver, (that was ſet in the Temple to that purpoſe,) and waſht their hands in it. In place of which offices of the Prieſt, is, ſay they, the reading of the Shemaah in the morning, and at other times, which belongs to all, and muſt be prepared for by waſhing. See Mr. Pococks Miſcell. p. 388.c. 9. This then being premiſed, the only difficulty remaining is, what is meant by incompaſſing the Altar;foreign this referring, no doubt, to the Prieſts officiating or ſacrificing, at which time he was wont to go about the Altar, (as it here follows in the next verſe) publiſhing and telling of all his wondrous works, (in order to which going about the Altar was adapted) praiſing of God, or praying to him. In reference to this cuſtom of the Prieſts going about the Altar, it is, that the LXXII. Pſal. 27.6. have theſe words, foreign, I compaſt and ſacrificed in his Tabernacle a ſacrifice of ſhouting; and the Arabick reads foreign to walk about, to perambulate, rendred by the Latine luſtravi, ſo compaſſing, as in a luſtration. The truth is,foreign the Hebrew foreign in that place ſignifies round about me, and ſo is moſt rightly rendered by the LXXII. foreign, (they ſeem rather to have read it foreign) I compaſſed: Yet is that mis-rendering of theirs founded in this cuſtome of the Prieſts going round the Altar, in time of his oblation: And then it being this cuſtom of the Prieſts waſhing before his officiating, from whence came the cuſtom of the peoples waſhing before Prayers, the whole verſe muſt thus be underſtood with reference to the Prieſts practice, who firſt waſht his hands, and then offered ſacrifice, and in offering encompaſt the Altar. In proportion whereto David willing to expreſs his coming with a pure heart to pray to God, doth it by this ſimilitude of a Prieſt, that as a Prieſt waſhes his hands, and then offers oblation, ſo had he conſtantly joyned purity and devotion together; which ſtill belong to the two things mentioned, v. 1. and again, v. 3. as the qualifications to fit him for Gods patronage. The waſhing hands in innocency being perfectly all one with walking innocently, v. 1. walking in thy truth, v. 3. as his Compaſſing Gods Altar, i. e. offering up his prayer in a pious hope and reliance on God, is equivalent with truſting in him, v. 1. and having Gods loving-kindneſs before his eyes, v. 3. And ſo ſtill the decorum is obſerved throughout the Pſalm, and concludes it again, But as for me, I will walk innocently, v. 11. (there is the former) My foot ſtandeth in an even place, v. 12. and ſo ſteady, firm, to ſignifie the ſtability of his hope, (there is the latter.)
V. 8. Habitation] The Hebrew foreign habitation, foreignfrom foreign to dwell, is here by the LXXII. rendered foreign, comlineſs, miſreading it, as ſome think, foreign, by inverting the letters. In another place they render it foreign, a cloud, Zach. 2.13. as if it had been foreign that ſo ſignifies. But … Sam. 2.29. they render it foreign, eye, as if it were from foreign oculus. And ſo probably they took it here, the eye ſignifying alſo the aſpect, wherein conſiſts the foreign, or comelineſs of any living thing. The Syriack here render foreign miniſtery; but the Chaldee foreign habitation. The only queſtion can be, whether by habitation of thy houſe] be meant Davids inhabiting Gods houſe, as Pſal. 27.4. One thing have I deſired, that I may dwell in the houſe of the Lord; or Gods inhabiting it himſelf. And the latter ſeems moſt agreeable, ſo as the habitation of thy houſe, be the houſe which thou inhabiteſt, foreignor foreign by appoſition, thy habitation-houſe, as we uſe in Engliſh a manſion-houſe, i. e. a place for daily habitation, ſuch as the Temple or Tabernacle was to God, having promiſed to be continually preſent there. Anſwerable to which is the latter phraſe in the verſe,foreign foreign the place of the Tabernacle of thy glory; ſo 'tis literally to be rendred (foreign Tabernacle, from foreign habitavit) and ſo the Chaldee reads, and ſo the LXXII. foreign, the place of the Tabernacle of thy glory, by glory, as formerly, meaning the Ark which was placed in the Tabernacle.
V. 12. In an even place] From foreign rectus, aequus, foreignplanus fuit, is foreign planicies, a plain or valley. So Deut. 3. all the cities foreign of the plain, and the Chaldee foreign. And then 'tis not improbable, the word may here be uſed for the area, or atrium, the court where the Altar ſtood, and ſo bear ſome analogy with the mention of the Altar, v. 6. the habitation of thy houſe, &c. v. 8. and with the congregation where God is praiſed, in the end of this verſe.