Works Volume 4, Book · Psalm 31
The Thirty Firſt PSALM.
TO the chief Muſitian, a Pſalm of David.
Paraphrase. The Thirty Firſt Pſalm is an excellent mixture of prayer and praiſes, and conſtant affiance in God: it was compoſed by David, and committed to the Prefect of his Muſick.
1. In thee, O Lord, do I put my truſt, let me never be aſhamed; deliver me in thy righteouſneſs.
Paraphrase. 1. O bleſſed Lord, I place my whole affiance and confidence in thee; do not thou forſake and diſappoint me, but make good thy promiſed mercies and deliverances unto me.
2. Bow down thine ear to me, deliver me ſpeedily: be thou my ſtrong rock, for an houſe of defence to ſave me.
Paraphrase. 2. Receive my prayer, and haſten to my relief: be thou to me as a fortreſs, and place of refuge, whereto I may confidently reſort, and find ſafety.
3. For thou art my rock and my fortreſs; therefore for thy names ſake ‖or, thou ſhalt lead me foreignlead me, and guide me.
Paraphrase. 3. And ſuch indeed have I conſtantly experimented thee to be, whenſoever I have made my applications to thee, thou haſt ſuccoured and ſecured me; and ſo, I do not doubt, thou wilt ſtill continue to do, and (though I have no title of claim thereto, but only thy free mercy and moſt gracious promiſe) direct and conduct me in all my ways.
4. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me, for thou art my ſtrength.
Paraphrase. 4. Reſcue me, I pray thee, out of the miſchief that is treacherouſly prepared and deſigned againſt me, for thou art my only helper.
5. Into thy hand I ‖commit, depoſite, give in pledge. foreigncommend my ſpirit: thou haſt redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.
Paraphrase. 5. To thee I offer up my very ſoul, that part which alone is worth thy having; to thee I give it in pledge, as to one, that having already wrought ſo many deliverances for me, haſt obliged me to be wholly thine, and withal ingaged thy ſelf by thoſe pawns of thy goodneſs, to do the like again in all my neceſſities.
6. I have hated them that regard †or, vanitios to no purpoſe.lying vanities, but I truſt in the Lord.
Paraphrase. 6. I deteſt all the Gentile practices, of conſulting auguries and divinations, which, alas, never ſtand them in any ſtead, deceive and fruſtrate their confidences: All my addreſſes ſhall be made to thee, O Lord, and in thee will I repoſe all my confidence.
7. I will be glad and rejoyce in thy mercy: for thou haſt conſidered my trouble; thou haſt known my ſoul in adverſities;
Paraphrase. 7. All my delight and joy ſhall be in recounting thy continual goodneſs toward me, how thou haſt regard to my neceſſities, and owned me, and relieved me in my loweſt condition,
8. And haſt not ſhut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou haſt ſet my feet in a large room.
Paraphrase. 8. And not delivered me up into the power and malice of my adverſaries, but as yet preſerved me in a ſtate of liberty.
9. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; my eye is conſumed with grief, yea, my ſoul and my belly.
Paraphrase. 9. Yet are not my troubles at an end, O Lord; I have long waited for reſt, but have not yet attained to it. This is very grievous unto me, painful to my ſoul, my ſenſitive faculty, and to my bowels, the ſeat of thoſe affections, and of moſt accurate ſenſe: O be thou graciouſly pleaſed to look upon me.
10. For my life is ſpent with grief, and my years with ſighing: my ſtrength faileth becauſe of mine iniquity, and my bones are conſumed.
Paraphrase. 10. For the continual diſtreſſes and troubles wherewith I have been exerciſed have even exhauſted me; thy puniſhments for my ſins have brought me very low: I am ready to ſink and fail under them.
11. I was a reproach among all my enemies, *and very much foreignbut eſpecially among my neighbours; and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did ſee me without fled from me.
Paraphrase. 11. My enemies ſcoff at me; and ſo alſo do my friends in a great degree, ſeeing me, after all my confidence, to continue thus helpleſs. This makes them from whom I have moſt reaſon to expect relief, to be afraid to afford me any; and ſo I am avoided, and left deſtitute by all men.
12. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind, I am like a broken veſſel.
Paraphrase. 12. I am no more conſidered or cared for by them, than as a man dead and buried, and forgotten by his aſſociates. I am lookt on, as one irrecoverably loſt; and am therein reſembled to a potters veſſel, which if broken, cannot be made whole again, Jer. 18.11. and ſo as that refuſe potſheard, caſt out as good for nothing.
13. For I have heard the ſlander of many; ‖fear onfear was on every ſide, while they †aſſembled foreign note on Pſal. 2. c.took counſel together againſt me, they deviſed to take away my life.
Paraphrase. 13. Many, and thoſe no mean ones, I have heard reproaching and taunting me, calling me fugitive, a loſt and undone perſon; hereby indeed expreſſing their wiſhes, and enterprizes, being all riſen up in arms againſt me, and jointly reſolving to deſtroy me utterly.
14. But I truſted in thee, O Lord; I ſaid, Thou art my God.
Paraphrase. 14. Mean while I repoſed my truſt in thee, O Lord, incouraging my ſelf with the meditation of thy mercy and tender care, which would certainly ſecure me.
15. My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from them that perſecute me.
Paraphrase. 15. As for the fitteſt ſeaſon of affording me deliverance, it muſt in all reaſon be referred to thy choice, O Lord, when thou ſeeſt it moſt opportune, be thou pleaſed to do it for me.
16. Make thy face to ſhine upon thy ſervant: ſave me for thy mercies ſake.
Paraphrase. 16. Reſtore thy favourable aſpect unto me; deliver me of thy great kindneſs and mercy to me.
17. Let me not be aſhamed, O Lord, for I have called upon thee: ‖or, the wicked ſhall be aſhamed foreignlet the wicked be aſhamed, and let them be †or, cut offſilent in the grave.
Paraphrase. 17. Lord, I have addreſt my prayers to thee, relied and depended on thee, thine honour is concerned and ingaged in my preſervation: ſhould I be diſappointed in my confidence, it would redound to thy reproach. It is the wicked mans portion to exſpect and miſs deliverance, and ſo to periſh with ſhame and ignominy.
18. *or, the lying lips ſhall— foreignLet the lying lips be put to ſilence, which ſpeak grievous things proudly and contemptuouſly againſt the righteous.
Paraphrase. 18. … it ordinary for the …rer to be diſappointed in his deſigns, and brought to ſhame, and ſo for all others that ſcoff and deride the faithful ſervants of God, and that with the greateſt pride and contumely.
19. O how great is thy goodneſs, which thou haſt laid up for them that fear thee, which thou haſt wrought for them which truſt in thee, before the ſons of men!
Paraphrase. 19. But as for thoſe that ſerve thee faithfully, and repoſe their whole truſt in thee, and ſo uſe no other artifices to advantage themſelves, but thoſe which are perfectly allowable in thy fight, there is abundant mercy laid up for them with God, his works of deliverance and exaltation are conſtantly ſhewed forth to them, in a viſible and eminent manner.
20. Thou ſhalt hide them ‖with the covering of thy countenance.in the ſecret of thy preſence from the pride of man; thou ſhalt keep them ſecretly in a pavilion from the ſtrife of tongues.
Paraphrase. 20. Thy favour and providence over them, repreſented by the Cherubims wings in the Ark, is their ſure refuge and guard, and defence, whatſoever contentious proud men can deſign, or threaten againſt them.
21. Bleſſed be the Lord, for he hath ſhewed me his marvelous kindneſs in a ſtrong city.
Paraphrase. 21. And thus hath God (his Name be ever praiſed for it) given me evidence of his wonderful mercies, ſecuring me, as in a fortified city, from all the attempts of mine enemies.
22. For I ſaid in my †flight, or, fear.haſte, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheleſs thou heardeſt the voice of my ſupplications, when I cryed unto thee.
Paraphrase. 22. I was once in a great ſadneſs of heart, at the time of my flight from Saul, and did verily think I ſhould have been deſtroyed; and yet even then, upon the addreſſing my prayers to thee, thou immediately deliveredſt me out of that danger.
23. O love the Lord all ye his Saints; for the Lord preſerveth the faithful, and *he that doth glorious, or high, or excellent things, rewardeth plenteouſly.plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.
Paraphrase. 23. Here is abundant cauſe for all pious men heartily to love God, and admire his goodneſs and admirable excellencies, by conſidering his conſtant deliverances afforded to all thoſe that cleave faſt to him; and not only deliverances, but victories, all or more than they ſtand in need of.
24. Be of good courage, and ‖let your heart be ſtrengthened, Pſal. 27.14.he ſhall ſtrengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.
Paraphrase. 24. And therefore let all that repoſe their truſt in God chearfully proceed, and firmly and conſtantly adhere unto him, and never be tempted with any difficulties to fall off or forſake him.
Annotations on Pſal. XXXI.
foreignV. 6. I have hated] foreign I have hated, (which the Chaldee retein in like manner in the firſt perſon) the LXXII. render foreign, thou haſt hated, (and ſo the Latine, Syriack, &c.) miſreading, it ſeems, foreign in the ſecond perſon.foreign But foreign that follows in the verſe, ſeems to be by them moſt ſignificantly rendred, foreign, in vain, adverbially, ſo as to affect foreign thoſe that obſerve] precedent, and not to joyn with foreign vanities; for if they be ſuch, the additio… …ing] will add little to them. The ſenſe lies …, that heathen men, when any danger or difficulty approacheth them, are ſolemnly wont to apply themſelves to auguries and divinations, and ſo to falſe Gods, to receive advice and directions from them: but doing ſo, and obſerving their reſponſes moſt ſuperſtitiouſly, they yet gain nothing at all by it; their applications and addreſſes are in vain, return them no manner of profit. And theſe David deteſts, and keeps cloſe to God, hopes for no aid but from him. And thus the Latine and Arabick underſtand it alſo, though the Chaldee read paraphraſtically [works like to vanity and a lye,] and the Syriack, [vain worſhips.]
foreignV. 10. Iniquity] From foreign the verb, is the noun foreign ſin, iniquity; and ſo foreign becauſe of my iniquity. But this the LXXII. read foreign, in poverty, (and from thence the Syriack and Latine, &c.) as if it were foreign in poverty or affliction. The word foreign as it ſignifies ſin, foreignſo it ſignifies alſo the puniſhment of ſin, Iſai. 53.6, 11. and ſo here it ſeems to ſignifie, ſo as to connect with grief, and ſighing precedent, and to denote thoſe miſeries which his ſins had brought upon him. The learned Caſtellio renders it, in hoc ſupplicio, in this puniſhment: and that conſideration perhaps, joyned with the affinity of the word foreign, might move the LXXII. &c. to render it poverty, for that, as it is evil, is a puniſhment of ſin.
V. 13. Fear was on every ſide] foreign ſignifies to dwell, inhabite, and with the prepoſition ם from, to fear, 1 Sam. 18.14. Job 41.17.foreign Pſal. 33.8. Hence foreign here ſignifying fear, is by the LXXII. rendered in that other ſenſe of inhabiting, (and ſo Pſal. 34.4. for foreign my fears] ſome copies of the LXXII. have foreign, my habitations, but others read foreign, and the Latine and Arabick tribulationibus,) and as if it were connected with foreign many] foregoing, (which it cannot do) foreign, of many that dwell on every ſide;foreign whereas the foreign belonging to foreign going before, the reproach of many or of great ones,] foreign fear muſt be joyned with foreign following, fear on every ſide, both governed of foreign I have heard, in the beginning of the verſe. For it muſt here be remembred, what Jeremy ſaith to Paſhur, Jer. 20.3. the Lord, ſaith he, hath not called thee Paſhur, but foreign, we render it there as a proper name, Magor-Miſſabib, but in the margent, fear round about, or on every ſide; and the interpretation of the phraſe is added, v. 4. For thus ſaith the Lord, I will make thee a terrour to thy ſelf, and to all thy friends, &c. even a deſtruction and deportation, in the end of that verſe. This then was a proverbial phraſe, frequently uſed, and fit for a Prophetick and Poetick writing, to ſignifie utter ruine and deſtruction; and being here uſed by enemies againſt David, as a taunt, it ſignifies their threatning him utter deſtruction. I heard, ſaith he, foreign the reproach of many, or of great ones: and then 'tis not ſtrange he ſhould ſpecifie and ſet down the very form of their reproach, Fear round about, i. e. an abject, loſt, ruin'd fellow, as elſewhere he mentions their crying Ah, Ah, &c. And ſo this is the moſt perfect rendring of the place. For as to this nonotion of reproach, for which this is proverbially uſed, it is yet more evident from Jer. 20.10. I heard the defaming of many, Fear on every ſide; juſt as here, I heard the ſlander of many, Fear on every ſide: and as here it follows, they deviſed to take away my life; ſo there, to the like purpoſe, All my familiars waited for my halting, ſaying, he will be entiſed, and we ſhall prevail againſt him, and we ſhall take our revenge on him. Mean-while fear] here muſt be taken, as oft it is in Scripture, for the matter and cauſe of fear, danger. So Iſai. 66.4. foreign and their fears will I bring upon them, i. e. thoſe things which they feared: and ſo Pſal. 34.4. where 'tis rendred tribulations.
V. 15. Times] From foreign opportunè fecit, or locutus eſt, doing or ſpeaking opportunely, is foreign a ſeaſon or opportune time; and ſo foreign ſignifies here,foreign the fit ſeaſons of Gods relieving him. The Chaldee reads it foreign the times of my redemption. For this the Copies of LXXII. read foreign, and the Latine from thence ſortes meae, my lots; and ſo Apollinarius, foreign, my lots, and the Arabick and Aethiopick, my inheritance. But the Syriack read foreign times; and ſo the old Roman Pſaltery, tempora mea, my times: which makes it very probable, that the purer reading of the LXXII. was foreign, my ſeaſons, but that by the Scribes antiently diſguiſed into foreign, my lots.
V. 17. Silent] foreign from foreign, foreignwhich ſignifies both to be ſilent and to be cut off, is here by the addition of foreign in the grave, confined to the latter ſenſe, cut off, deſtroyed. The Chaldee have been willing to take in both ſignifications, Let them be put to ſilence, and deſcend into the grave; the LXXII. no more than foreign, Let them be brought down—
V. 20. foreignSecret of thy preſence] That Gods face or preſence, promiſcuouſly expreſt by foreign his faces, is frequently attributed to the Sanctuary, the peculiar place of his gracious reſidence, appears by the phraſes of ſeeking his face there, and coming before his face, and many the like indications. Now this preſence of his being ſaid to be hid under the wings of the Cherubims, the phraſe here foreign the covering of thy countenance, or preſence, is evidently deſigned to ſignifie this bleſſing, preſence and favour of Gods, exhibited in the Sanctuary: as more manifeſtly appears by the enſuing mention of foreign Pavillion, or Tabernacle, the place of Gods inhabiting, or reſidence. And this very fitly expreſſeth a place or guard of perfect ſecurity; Gods gracious preſence, or interpoſition, being moſt eminently ſuch.
V. 22. My haſte] foreign ſignifies to make haſte, foreignſo as they that fly; thus Exodus the 12th and the 13th Verſe, they were to eat the Paſſoever in haſte: and acaccording to fly through fear, 2 King. 7.11. where the LXXII. read foreign, to be ſore afraid, as Pſal. 103.8. 'tis rendred foreign, to be afraid, and Pſal. 48.5. foreign, they were ſet a ſhaking: and ſo alſo to be in an amazement, as fearful men are under a terror. In this laſt ſenſe the LXXII. render it here foreign, aſtoniſhment, or ecſtaſie, the Latine, exceſſus mentis, exceſs of minde, and ſo the Arabick and Aethiopick: but the Syriack reads foreign in my ſwiftneſs, and the Chaldee more fully foreign when I ſought to fly. And this is moſt probably the meaning of it, foreign in the time of Davids flight, that his greateſt danger, and exigence (and ſo again, Pſal. 116.11. foreign in my flying, the Chaldee read foreign when I fled) or in his great fear, ſuch as he was in, when he fled from Saul.
foreignV. 23. Preſerveth]▪ Where the Hebrew reads foreign preſerveth the faithful, the Copies which now we have of the LXXII.foreign read foreign, requireth truth: but 'tis probable the right reading was foreign: and then foreign, to require] being uſed by them for Gods avenging, or taking the part of innocent perſons againſt thoſe that injure them, they might well ſet that as the paraphraſe for foreign Gods preſerving his faithful ſervants, and evidencing this by avenging them on their enemies. But in the latter part of the verſe the difficulty is greater, ariſing from the ambiguity of the word foreign for foreign ſignifying elatus eſt, eminuit, that is taken ſometimes in a bad ſenſe, for pride and arrogancy, Pſal. 10.2. ſometimes in a good ſenſe, for ſplendor, magnificence, ſtrength, excellence. In this latter ſenſe 'tis uſed of God, Pſal. 68.35. foreign,foreign his height, or excellence, and ſtrength are in the clouds. And in this notion of the word foreign he that doth high things, foreignor excellent things, is a fit title for God, and ſo in conſtruction with foreign, and ſhall abundantly reward,] the rendring is very prompt and perſpicuous, the Lord preſerveth the faithful, and he that doth excellent things abundantly rewards them; ſo foreign from foreign abundavit, foreignſuperfuit, reliquum fuit) is beſt rendered full meaſure, and running over, what they want, and more, ſhall God give them.