Works Volume 4, Book · Psalm 30
The Thirtieth PSALM.
‖A Pſalm of David, a dedicatory ſong for an houſe, or his houſe.A Pſalm and ſong at the dedication of the houſe of David.
Paraphrase. The Thirtieth Pſalm was compoſed by David to accompany the feſtival at the dedication of his houſe, (the building whereof is mentioned 2 Sam. 5.11. ſoon after the end of his war with Sauls houſe, and his being anointed King over Iſrael) and is the commemoration of his own great troubles and dangers, and Gods rich mercy in delivering him out of them.
1. I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou haſt †drawn me up (out of the pit, v. 3.) foreignlifted me up, and haſt not made my foes to rejoyce over me.
Paraphrase. 1. I will magnifie thy mercy, O Lord, who haſt reſtored me peaceably to the throne, out of a very low and well-nigh loſt condition. When I was made like water ſpilt upon the earth, and not only ſo, but as ſuch water again ſunk into the pit, v. 3. thou wert then pleaſed, as it were, to let down the pitcher into that pit, and from thoſe many waters, that there are loſt, to recover and gather up one who could not deſerve to be eſteemed as a drop of the bucket, and ſo to lift me, and to draw me out of that pit, to enable me to overcome all difficulties, and not ſuffer mine enemies to prevail againſt me, who would have triumpht abundantly, if thou hadſt not reſcued and delivered me out of their hands.
2. O Lord my God, I cryed unto thee, and thou haſt healed me.
Paraphrase. 2. When I was in diſtreſs, I addreſt my prayers to thee, and thou gaveſt me releaſe.
3. O Lord, thou haſt brought up my ſoul from the grave; thou haſt kept me alive, ‖from among the deſcenders into, or from going down. foreignthat I ſhould not go down to the pit.
Paraphrase. 3. It was thy continued aid and protection that ſtill ſupported me, without which I had certainly been deſtroyed.
4. Sing unto the Lord, O ye Saints of his, and give thanks for the remembrance of his holineſs.
Paraphrase. 4. O let this be matter of rejoycing and bleſſing God to all pious men; let it excite all ſuch to knowledge and commemorate his fidelity and mercy to all that wait on him.
5. For his anger endureth but a moment, in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Paraphrase. 5. When he chaſtiſeth his ſervans for their ſins, this endureth but for a ſmall time, but the effects of his favour ‖foreign life eternal, Chald.never have any end; he exerciſeth them with ſadneſs and light affliction for ſome ſmall ſpace, but then preſently follow ſolid and durable joys.
6. And in my proſperity I ſaid, I ſhall never be moved.
7. Lord, by thy favour thou haſt †eſtabliſht ſtrength upon my hill.made my mountain to ſtand ſtrong: thou didſt hide thy face, and I was troubled.
Paraphrase. 6, 7. When Saul was dead, and I was crowned both over Judah and Iſrael, in Hebron, and the Ark, the pledge of Gods preſence and powerful aſſiſtance, placed and ſetled in the hill of Sion, I deemed my quiet and proſperity ſo compleat, that I needed not to fear removing out of it. Gods ſpecial favour to me had exalted me to the throne, and, as I thought, now ſecured me in it: But he was pleaſed for ſome time to withhold my reſt. For as after my firſt crowning I was ſeven years together exerciſed by enemies of the houſe of Saul, 2 Sam. 5.5. ſo after this ſecond, other troubles aſſaulted me; thereby to inſtruct me, by what tenure it was that I held my ſecurity, meerly by his continued favour and mercy toward me.
8. I cryed to thee, O Lord, and unto the Lord I made ſupplication.
9. What profit is there in my blood when I go down into the pit? ſhall the duſt praiſe thee? ſhall it declare thy truth?
Paraphrase. 8, 9. In this eſtate I made my moan to God, and beſought him, that he would not give me up to the malice of mine enemies, to be deſtroyed and ſlaughtered by them, but magnifie in me at once his mercy and his fidelity; the one in preſerving my life, and reſtoring me to peace, the other in performing thoſe promiſes, which would ſeem to have been fruſtrated by my death.
10. Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me: Lord, be thou mine helper.
Paraphrase. 10. And to that end, that he would now ſeaſonably interpoſe his hand for my aſſiſtance.
11. Thou haſt turned for me my mourning into dancing; thou haſt ‖opened.put off my ſack-cloth, and girded me with gladneſs:
Paraphrase. 11. … at length my … been heard, and all my ſorrow and affliction exchanged for joy, and a moſt proſperous condition and eſtabliſhment in the Kingdom, 2 Sam. 5.12. which is now the more glorious by compariſon with my former ſadneſs.
12. To the end that †glory, ſee note on Pſ. 16.1.my glory may ſing praiſe to thee, and not be ſilent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to thee for ever.
Paraphrase. 12. And this obligeth me for ever with ſoul and tongue to give glory to God, and never to think I have done enough in praiſing and magnifying his mercy. This therefore ſhall be my continual practice, O thou powerful God, and to me a moſt gracious Father.
Annotations on Pſal. XXX.
foreignTit. Dedication] The word foreign is generally uſed in the Titles of Pſalms, to denote the Author to be David, and ſo here may beſt be joyned in conſtruction, a Pſalm of David. foreignThen foreign and foreign being joyn'd, and made one word by Maccaph, will be a dedicatory ſong. All the difficulty is concerning foreign the houſe. For from foreign to initiate, to inſtruct, and, by a metaphor, to dedicate a houſe, is foreign the initiation, dedication, either the conſecration of an holy houſe, or Temple, or the dedication, i. e. initiation, or entring on a common houſe new built, when the owner comes firſt to dwell in it: For this was wont to be obſerved and celebrated, as a day of ſolemnity and feſtivity; ſo we ſee (Deut. 20.5.) care taken for him that hath built a new houſe, and hath not dedicated it, that he ſhall be permitted to return from the battel, as he that hath betrothed a wife, and not taken her, or planted a vineyard, and not eaten of the fruit of it, cuſtom among the Jews having made every one of theſe a ſolemn time of rejoycing. When a man firſt eats in a new houſe, ſay the Jews, he makes a feaſt and rejoyceth himſelf. And thus, I ſuppoſe, it was with David. When he was quietly ſeated in the Kingdom of Iſrael, as well as Judah, and after his taking of Sion, and dwelling in the fort, and calling it the City of David, and building round about from Millo and inward, 2 Sam. 5.9. at length we read that Hiram King of Tyre ſent Meſſengers to David, and cedar trees, and Carpenters and Maſons, and they built David an houſe, v. 11. And this being finiſhed, this Pſalm may reaſonably be thought to have been fitted by him for a feſtivity, at the foreign, (as the LXXII. render it) the dedication of his houſe. Thus the ſucceeding Church of the Jews have made uſe of this thirtieth Pſalm, at the firſt injoyment of the fruits of the earth, according to that feſtival manner preſcribed Deut. 26.10. Maimonides tells us, this Pſalm was repeated by the Levites, in the Court of the Sanctuary, over thoſe that brought their baskets on their ſhoulders. And the foreign or dedication of an houſe was of the ſame kind, in a ſolemn and religious manner of entring on the poſſeſſion of it. And 'tis not impoſſible that ſuch days might be kept yearly, as the Natales of men and of cities were; and then here will be place for the conjecture of thoſe, which apply this Dedicatory Pſalm to Davids victorious return from the danger of Abſaloms rebellion. To this the m…ter of the Pſalm fitly agrees, ſee v. 1, 2, 3, 5, … And the building of a Royal Palace having been the effect of his eſtabliſhment in his Kingdom, 2 Sam. 5. 'tis not unlikely the feſtival remembrance of it ſhould be in a ſpecial manner obſerved, after ſuch an interruption as this rebellion gave it. The Chaldee indeed read foreign the houſe of the Sanctuary, and to that the Emphaſis in the Hebrew foreign the houſe, inclines, as if David had built ſome ſuch houſe as he deſigned, 2 Sam. 7.2. But we know he was not permitted by God to do it, v. 5. but the dignity was reſerved for Solomon, v. 13. Then indeed at the building of the Temple there was a feaſt, and ſong of dedication. Nay, four ſuch we find mentioned among the Jews: the firſt at the building it by Solomon, in Autumn, 1 King. 8.63. the ſecond in the Spring, at the re-edifying it by Zorobabel, Ezra 6.16. the third of the Altar, when Judas Maccabaeus repaired it, after Antiochus's profanation, in the Winter, Joh. 10.22. and the fourth at Herods building the ſecond Temple. But this of Davids here cannot be thought (by way of prophecy) to reſpect that, unleſs, as Kimchi fanſies, taking order for the future building of the Temple, 1 Chron. 28.9. and giving a model of it to Solomon, he gave him alſo this Pſalm for the dedicating it, together with the ſilver and gold and braſs, and other materials for that ſacred work. This conjecture of his was not unfit here to be mentioned. But the Pſalm more probably belongs to his own houſe, which he built new at his being peaceably ſetled in the Kingdom of Iſrael, as well as Judah, and, as 'tis probable, celebrated with an Anniverſary ever after.
V. 5. Moment] From foreign ſubito motus eſt, foreignis foreign a moment: but the LXXII. read it foreign, anger, either becauſe that is a ſuddain commotion of the ſoul, or elſe taking it for foreign anger; (ſo the Syriack reads foreign in his anger, in the latter part of the verſe) meaning, I ſuppoſe, the effects of his anger, chiding, increpation, (as the Syriack foreign is rendred) or other ſuch puniſhments: for otherwiſe that there ſhould be foreign, anger in his anger, would have no great ſenſe in it; and yet thus hath the Latine rendred it, ira in indignatione ejus.
V. 7. foreignMy mountain] foreign from foreign mountain) is literally ſtrength in or on my mountain, referring poſſibly to Sion the hill of David, ſince the time of the Arks being placed there. For thus is foreign in both the notions, both for praiſe and ſtrength, applyed to the Schechinah, or preſence of God in the Ark or Temple; Pſal. 96.6. ſtrength and beauty are in his Sanctuary, and Pſal. 132.8. the Ark of thy ſtrength. And then the ſetting or eſtabliſhing ſtrength on that mountain, may be the placing of the Ark there. But the LXXII. for mountain read foreign, beauty or comelineſs: either reading foreign from foreign which ſignifies that, or elſe from the affinity of theſe words both in ſound and ſignification, (foreign and foreign mountain and glory) they thought fit to take in the ſenſe of the one, the more fully to paraphraſe the other. And thus if applyed only to Davids perſon, the ſenſe will bear, being in the Hebrew figurative, foreign Thou haſt ſet or eſtabliſht ſtrength on my mountain; but in the LXXII. more clear, foreign (it ſhould be, I ſuppoſe, foreign) foreign, thou haſt afforded ſtrength to my beauty, made my ſplendor (or proſperous ſtate v. 7. firm and durable: which may probably enough be the intire meaning of the phraſe, without referring to the Ark; yet was it not amiſs to mention the other in the Paraphraſe, as the means of his conceived ſafety.
V. 10. Hear] For foreign hear thou, foreignthe LXXII. read foreign hath heard, and ſo for foreign be thou, foreign thou haſt been; and ſo convert the petition of David, into a report of Gods having granted it, which is the ſubject of the next verſe.
foreignV. 11. Dancing] From foreign to bore, is foreign a pipe, or hollow muſical inſtrument, ordinarily uſed in ſinging or dancing, and from thence foreign here for dancing. So the Chaldee renders it, foreign into dancing, and ſo the Interlinear: and though the copy of the LXXII. antiently, as well as now, read it foreign, into joy, and ſo is followed by the Latine, Syriack, and Arabick; yet the conjecture of our learned Country-man Mr. Nic. Fuller is very probable,L. 3. c. 9. that their original reading was foreign, to dancing, not foreign, to gladneſs, the Hebrew word thus exacting, and the conjunction with foreign, wailing and lamentation not unfitly agreeing thereto, for to that is oppoſed, and properly ſucceedeth dancing, ſee Matth. 9.17. To this is here added foreign,foreign literally, thou haſt opened my ſackcloth. For in time of mourning the manner was to gird it on, ſo 2 Sam. 3.3. Rend your clothes, and gird you with ſackcloth, Joel 1.13. Gird your ſelves and lament — and ſo Iſa. 32.11. gird upon your loyns. In ſtead of that melancholy cincture, gladneſs here becomes a cincture, as if ſorrow, like a conquered enemy, were to be carried in triumph, adding to the glory of the victory, and taken in as an ingredient in our joy.
V. 12. foreignMy glory] What is here meant by foreign glory, is ſomewhat uncertain. The Chaldee render it foreign the honourable of the earth, that they may praiſe thee; the Syriack read it, as after the verb of the firſt perſon, foreign I will ſing to thee glory; but the LXXII. foreign ▪ that my glory may ſing, and ſo the Latine, Arabick, and Aethiopick) in the notion of glory, for the tongue or heart of man, praiſing God, as elſewhere, and here the context directs to interpret it.