Works Volume 4, Book · Psalm 33
The Thirty Third PSALM.
THe Thirty Third Pſalm is an acknowledgment of the great power and wiſdom and goodneſs of God, in his Works of Creation and Providence, wherein all are obliged to ſing praiſes to his Name, and faithfully to ſerve and depend on him.
1. Rejoyce in the Lord, O ye righteous; for praiſe is ‖or, deſireable, foreigncomely for the upright.
Paraphrase. 1. O bleſs and magnifie the name of God, all ye that apply your ſelves to a careful performance of all offices of Juſtice and goodneſs, and herein delight and pleaſe your ſelves. 'Tis the employment of the bleſſed Saints in heaven, to be continually ſinging praiſes to God; and there can be none other more proper for Saints on earth, who have innumerable obligations to it, and from whom it is moſt graciouſly accepted by God, and to whom it is alſo matter of the greateſt preſent delight, to be buſied in recounting Gods glories, and abundant mercies to them.
2. Praiſe the Lord with harp, ſing unto him with the ‖Pſaltery of ten ſtrings.Pſaltery, and an inſtrument of ten ſtrings.
Paraphrase. 2. To this purpoſe thoſe muſical inſtruments that are in uſe among men in Feſtivities, the Harp and Viol, &c. will be moſt fitly uſed in the ſinging of Pſalms and Hymns unto God.
3. Sing unto the Lord a new ſong; play skilfully with a loud noiſe.
Paraphrase. 3. And the choiſeſt and rareſt ditties, and the beſt compoſed Muſick, and the moſt excellent melodious voices, are all to be called in, to perform this great duty of thankſgiving unto God.
4. For the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are done in truth.
Paraphrase. 4. For all that God ſaith or doth is excellently good; his commands are of thoſe things which are infinitely beſt for us, his promiſes abundantly gracious, and certain to be performed, and his very threats and prohibitions acts of ſpecial mercy, to keep us from thoſe things which are moſt pernicious to us. As for all his works of providence, they are moſt juſt and merciful.
5. He loveth righteouſneſs and judgment: the earth is full of the goodneſs of the Lord.
Paraphrase. 5. Mercifulneſs and juſtice are of all things in the world moſt approved and valued by him, and are by him exemplified to us, in all the daily acts of his providence among us.
6. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the hoſt of them by the breath of his mouth.
Paraphrase. 6. The whole body of the heavens and all that is in them, the Sun, Moon, and all the Planets and leſſer Stars, were created by his bare ſpeaking the word, commanding that they ſhould have a being. Which as it is a moſt illuſtrious evidence of his abſolute omnipotence, ſo is it of his great goodneſs alſo to us, for whoſe benefit they were all created.
7. He gathereth the waters of the Sea together, as an heap; †he layeth them up in the ſtore-houſes of the deep.he layeth up the deep in ſtore-houſes.
Paraphrase. 7. So in like manner did he ſever the waters, which covered the face of the earth, and confined them to hollow places; where though they ſwell much higher then the ſhore, yet they do not overrun it, but are gathered into a round gibbous form, and ſo remain conſtant within their channel. And in thoſe vaſt cavities of an unfathomable depth he hath laid up the whole Ocean, as ſafe, and as far from hurting, or drowning, or overrunning the earth, as corn laid up in a granary, as money in a treaſury, is ſafe from running out of it. (A joynt evidence again of his infinite power and goodneſs.)
8. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world ſtand in awe of him.
Paraphrase. 8. As therefore he is thus able to ſet bounds to that vaſt element, ſo can he and doth he to the moſt enormous power of men; which may therefore be a juſt cauſe of awe and dread to all the men in the world.
9. For he ſpake, and it was done; he commanded, and it ſtood faſt.
Paraphrase. 9. For as a bare word of his immediately created all the world; ſo is every command of his now moſt certainly obeyed: as he pleaſeth to diſpoſe, ſo ſhall it infallibly be.
10. The Lord bringeth the counſel of the heathen to nought; he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
Paraphrase. 10. Whatſoever godleſs men (ſee note on Pſal. 10. m.) deſign, or propoſe to themſelves, contrary to his will, he blaſtes and fruſtrates it, diſſipates all their contrivances, be they never ſo prudently managed by whole multitudes and aſſemblies of them.
11. The counſel of the Lord ſtandeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Paraphrase. 11. OnelyOnly that which he hath decreed and purpoſed, ſhall immutably come to paſs.
12. Bleſſed is the man whoſe God is the Lord, and the people whom he hath choſen for his own inheritance.
Paraphrase. 12. O then thrice happy is that Nation and people, which have betaken themſelves to the ſincere ſervice of ſo great, and powerful, and gracious a God, and whom he hath in ſo ſpecial a ſort made choice of, to be peculiarly his, among them to reveal himſelf in ſo eminent a manner.
13. The Lord looketh from heaven, he beholdeth all the ſons of men:
14. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
Paraphrase. 13, 14. All the men that are in the earth, the inhabitants of the whole world, are within the compaſs of his moſt particular providence: though he reſide in heaven, in a peculiar manner; yet from thence he exactly ſurveighs and beholds all and every their actions, and even moſt ſecret thoughts.
15. He faſhioneth their hearts ‖together, or, one by one.alike; he conſidereth all their thoughts.
Paraphrase. 15. As he is ſeverally and equally the creator of them all, and former of their ſouls, as well as bodies, ſo he is certainly able to diſcern particularly all the operations of their very hearts; and is no idle ſpectator, but weigheth and and judgeth all, and accordingly rewards every man.
16. There is no King ſaved by the multitude of an hoſt: a mighty man is not delivered by much ſtrength.
Paraphrase. 16. 'Tis not the multitude or ſtrength of an Army, that hath power to ſecure any Potentate▪ not the valour or puiſſance of the moſt glantly perſon, to preſerve himſelf.
17. An horſe is a †ly foreignvain thing for ſafety, neither ſhall he deliver any by his great ſtrength.
Paraphrase. 17. An horſe is the moſt valiant and docile beaſt, and generally the moſt uſed in Military affairs, in reſpect both of his courage, and ſwiftneſs, vigour, and activity: yet he that depends thereon for his ſafety, or good ſucceſs in a battel, oft finds him a very deceitful falſe aid, is pitifully diſappointed by him.
18. Behold the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy.
Paraphrase. 18. The only ſecurity is to be ſought from the favour and protection of God; and the way to qualifie our ſelves for that is, by conjoyning our uniform ſincere obedience to him, and our unſhaken conſtant relyance on his mercy.
19. To deliver their ſoul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
Paraphrase. 19. To ſuch as are thus qualified, his protection will not fail, whatſoever the danger be, how great ſoever the ſeeming deſtitution.
20. Our ſoul *gaſpeth foreignwaiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our ſhield.
Paraphrase. 20. The Lord is our only aid and protector; to him therefore is all the deſire of our ſouls.
21. For our heart ſhall rejoyce in him, becauſe we have truſted in his holy name.
Paraphrase. 21. And whatſoever befalls us, we ſhall moſt cheerfully (and not only patiently) ſupport it, as having full aſſurance, and confidence in him, that he will either reſcue us out of it, or elſe convert it to our greateſt advantage.
22. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.
Paraphrase. 22. O Lord, our full truſt is in thee; let thy mercy come down upon us, we beſeech thee.
Annotations on Pſal. XXXIII.
foreignV. 2. Inſtrument of ten ſtrings] From foreign aruit, emarcuit, to be ſhriveld or withered, is foreign a lethern bottle, or veſſel to put wine in, 1 Sam. 1.24. and from the likeneſs, a muſical inſtrument, called nablium in Latine,
De Arte am. l. iii.Diſce etiam duplici genialia nablia palmâ.
Vertere, conveniunt dulcibus illa modis.
in Ovid. Anſwerable to it is the Greek foreign, (and ſo 'tis here rendred by the LXXII.) of which Grammarians tell us, that it is an inſtrument more ſweet and pleaſant than a harp; like it in forme, but differing from it. Accordingly we render it ſometimes a Pſaltery, as here, and Pſal. 144.9. ſometimes a Viol, Iſa. 14.11. As for foreign,foreign which is added to it, and ſignifies decachord, or inſtrument of ten ſtrings, it is not ſet (as here, and Pſal. 144.11. it is in our Engliſh) for a third ſort of Inſtrument, but in appoſition with foreign, a Pſaltery or Viol of ten ſtrings. And ſo all the antient Interpreters uniformly render it: the LXXII. foreign, on a decachord Pſaltery … the Chaldee, foreign on a nablium of ten ſtrings; who yet Pſal. 92.4. where foreign and foreign are diſjoyned, foreign upon the decachord, and upon the Pſaltery] render it, upon the harp of ten ſtrings, and upon the nablium,] ſignifying that of ten ſtrings to belong to both Harp and Pſaltery, cithara and nablium, which yet (as was ſaid) differ one from the other.
V. 7. foreignAs an heap] From foreign and foreign to be moved, to flie, is foreign an heap, and foreign a bladder, or skin, or battle. In this place all the antient interpreters ſeem to have read the latter of theſe foreign, as a battle; ſignifying the waters of the Sea to be ſo kept within the banks, as water is which is put into a bottle. And ſo in like manner it is rendred, Pſal. 78.13. where yet it belongs to another matter, the receding of the red ſea to the Iſraelites, and not the framing of the Ocean in the creation. But the modern copies of the Hebrew have in both places foreign,foreign which is beſt rendred, as an heap. Thus the word is uſed, Exod. 15.8. the floods ſtood up foreign as an heap: where the Targum read foreign as a wall; the LXXII. foreign, as a wall; and ſo the Samaritan; the Arabick, as mountains: but the Syriack, as in bottles (ſo as here,) but certainly amiſs, as will appear from the paſſage of ſtorie (both there and Pſal. 78. referred to) Exod. 14.22. where 'tis ſaid, that the waters were a wall unto them. In this variety, the context here will be fitteſt to determine, and that may be thought in one reſpect to incline it in this one place to the former ſenſe, in which the ancient interpreters read it, foreign, as a bottle. For the matter in hand is the miraculous congregating of the waters in the creation, that is ſet down, Gen. 1.9. God ſaid, let the waters under the heaven be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear, and v. 10. the gathering together of the waters called he Seas. Here the one place for the waters, or the one place whereto they are confined, may be fitly compared to a veſſel, or bottle, which keeps them from running over, and ſo ſevers them from dry land. And this alſo agrees with what here follows, he layeth them up in the deep, as in ſtore-houſes: for thus the words are to be rendred, foreign giving, foreignor he gives, or puts them, foreign in the treaſures of the deeps; ſo the Chaldee verbatim reads it, he puts them, i. e. the waters, in the ſtore-houſes of the deeps: and ſo the ſenſe exacts, the deep, or abyſſe (the great cavities which God created) being the place wherein the water of the Sea is put, and laid up, as in a repoſitory ſtore-houſe, or treaſury, where it is kept ſafe from hurting any thing. Accordingly Seb. Caſtellio renders it, undis in cellas conditis, the waters being laid up in cellars or repoſitories. The LXXII. indeed read foreign, the deeps in treaſures; and ſo the Syriack and Arabick; but the former, that of the Chaldee, is as literal, and that which the ſenſe exacteth, for 'tis the waters that are laid up in the deeps, and not the deeps themſelves. And ſo ſtill to this conſideration very fitly accords the notion of foreign for bottle, or other ſuch veſſel, that gathers and holds water; and not the other of foreign for an heap, which in Exodus it certainly ſignifies. But beſide this act of Gods mercy in reſtraining the Ocean, and ſo keeping it as a bottle doth, there is another act of Gods providence very remarkable in the creation of the Ocean, viz. that it is demonſtrably of a gibbous, circular form, and ſtands above the ſhore, which yet confines it. And this inſtance of providence is moſt perſpicuouſly adumbrated by this ſcheme of an heap, viz. that it riſeth into a cumulus: and to that moſt properly belongs the gathering here mentioned, for that any collection naturally makes an heap. And therefore it ſeems beſt not to ſollicite the ordinary reading, but to take it in the notion of foreign an heap, which moſt certainly belongs to it in thoſe other places, Exod. 15.8. and Pſal. 78.13.
V. 10.] In the end of this v. 10. the LXXII. over and above what we find in the Hebrew, add foreign, and fruſtrates the counſels of Princes; and ſo from them the Latine, Arabick, and Aethiopick. But the Chaldee and Syriack have it not, but agree with our Hebrew copies, and give us reaſon to reſolve that thoſe Greek Tranſlators took the liberty of Paraphraſe, and kept not themſelves to the ſtrict bounds of literal interpreters.
V. 15. Alike] For foreign ſimul, the LXXII. foreignread foreign, the Latine, ſigillatim, ſeveraly; they are therefore thought to have read foreign unicum, ſeparatum, and that taken adverbially. But 'tis more likely that they took foreign in that ſenſe, from the verb that ſignifies to make one, and ſo may in the adverb fitly ſignifie, one by one; and that is all that is meant by foreign, or ſeverally.