Works Volume 4, Book · Psalm 34
The Thirty Fourth PSALM.
A Pſalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech, who ‖diſmiſt him, foreign ſee note on Pſal. 56. a.drove him away, and he departed.
Paraphrase. The Thirty Fourth Pſalm was compoſed by David in remembrance of the time when, in his flight from Saul, he was brought to Achiſh King of the Philiſtims, (called here after their ſtyle, Abimelech, i. e. my Father the King;) at which time being by them deſcryed to be David, ſo famed for his Victories over them; 1 Sam. 21.11. he thought fit to perſonate a mad-man, v. 13. and thereupon was diſmiſt by Achiſh, v. 15. and eſcaped to the Cave of Adullam. c. 22.1.
1. I will bleſs the Lord at all times: his praiſe ſhall continually be in my mouth.
2. My ſoul ſhall †bleſs it ſelf. foreignmake her boaſt in the Lord; the humble ſhall hear thereof, and be glad.
Paraphrase. 1, 2. I will never ceaſe lauding and magnifying the Name of God. I will rejoyce, and eſteem my ſelf moſt happy that I have ſuch a Protector to betake my ſelf to in all my diſtreſſes, and proclaim this to all pious men that depend on his aid, that they may rejoyce and give thanks with me, ſaying,
3. O magnifie the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
Paraphrase. 3. O let us all thus joyn hearts and voices to praiſe and bleſs his holy Name.
4. I ſought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me out of all my fears.
Paraphrase. 4. When I was in my greateſt danger, diſcerned by the ſervants of Achiſh, and brought in to him, as his moſt powerful enemy now fallen into his hands, I addreſt my prayers to God, and he came in to my relief, inclined the King to ſend me out of his houſe, and check his ſervants for bringing me in to him; and by that means I eſcaped my great danger.
5. They looked unto him, and were lightened; and their faces were not aſhamed.
Paraphrase. 5. This dealing of God with David ſhall be matter of great reviving to all that are at any time in diſtreſs; who ſhall from hence take courage and confidence, and what ever their condition be, apply themſelves to God, and not fear being diſappointed by him. For thus ſhall they encourage one another by Davids example;
6. This foreignThe poor man cryed; and the Lord heard him, and ſaved him out of all his troubles.
Paraphrase. 6. Loe there was a man in a ſtate of extreme diſtreſs, and he betook himſelf immediately to God in prayer; and his prayer was anſwered with ſpeedy deliverance out of all his ſtreights.
7. The Angel of the Lord incampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
Paraphrase. 7. And thus ſhall it be with all truly pious men, ſuch as obediently ſerve, and wait on God; they have the promiſe of his protection, and, as the inſtruments thereof, of whole hoſts of Angels to incompaſs them, and ſecure them from all approach of dangers.
8. O taſt and ſee that the Lord is good; bleſſed is the man that truſteth in him.
Paraphrase. 8. Let any man make the experiment, keep cloſe to God in obedience and relyance on him, and he ſhall ſoon diſcern, that he is a moſt gracious maſter, and that there is no ſuch aſſured tenure in, or title to all the felicity in the world, as this, of conſtant faithful dependance and affiance in him.
9. O fear the Lord, all ye his Saints; for there is no want to them that fear him.
Paraphrase. 9. There is no more prudential politick courſe for any pious man, no greater ſecurity from all worldly ſtreights and wants, than to adhere to him, who is the unexhauſted ſpring of all plenty; never taking in any unlawful prohibited aids, but preſerving an uniform obedience to him.
10. The young Lions do lack and ſuffer hunger: but they that ſeek the Lord ſhall not want any good thing.
Paraphrase. 10. Such as uſe themſelves to rapine and injuſtice, by that means to ſecure themſelves of wealth, have oft that curſe of God attending and blaſting them, and their poſterity in this world, that from great wealth they come to great want, and utter deſtitution: and indeed their very rapacity and covetouſneſs, and perpetual inſatiate deſires of gaining, keep them ſtill beggerly, and miſerable, in the midſt of their greateſt plenty, their abundance yields no kind of ſatisfaction to them. On the other ſide, the pious man, that keeps him cloſe to God, depends on, and implores his bleſſing on his honeſt indeavours, and never admits of any unlawful means, either for the getting or preſerving of wealth, he ſhall never want that which is beſt for him in this world, and ſhall have a reſerve of all wealth truly ſatisfactory, all manner of felicity hereafter.
11. Come, ye children, hearken to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Paraphrase. 11. 'Tis therefore very well worth the conſideration of every one that deſires to be adviſed of his own welfare, what rich rewards the pious obedient ſervants of God is ſecured of even in this life.
12. What man is he that deſireth life, and loveth ‖dayes to ſee good, foreignmany dayes that he may ſee good?
Paraphrase. 12. If a man would project for the injoying a long life in this world, and the greateſt tranquility and proſperity and contentation in it.
13. Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from ſpeaking guile.
Paraphrase. 13. There is not a more probable hopeful ways for the attaining it, then to begin with his tongue, and reſtrain that from all contumelious, injurious, and deceitful ſpeaking; which though it be ordinarily deſigned to the advantage of him that uſeth it, yet moſt frequently brings miſchievous effects, the greateſt real diſadvantages:
14. Depart from evil, and do good; ſeek peace, and inſue it.
Paraphrase. 1…. And then to cleanſe his actions from all known ſin, (which, if continued in, muſt needs be the forfeiting of Gods protection, and bring his blaſts and curſes upon him) and ſo regularly proceed to ſuperſtruct all works of piety to God, and juſtice and charity to men: particularly, to live peaceably with all men, to be as induſtrious in that purſuit, as the moſt malicious perſon is in purſuing his deſigns of revenge, and withall to be a peace-maker among others.
15. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
Paraphrase. 15. And then, beſides the natural tendency of this method to a quiet, and ſo a proſperous and long life, (which on the contrary is frequently ſhortned, but conſtantly diſturbed and made miſerable, by contentions and unpeaceableneſs) there is an aſſurance of Gods protection and preſervation; which duly waits over all obedient, faithful ſervants of his, to bleſs and proſper all they undertake, and to grant whatſoever they requeſt of him, either in kind, or in equivalence, what they chooſe to deſire for themſelves, or what he chooſes (as ſeeing beſt) for them.
16. The face of the Lord is againſt them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
Paraphrase. 16. (Whereas, on the other ſide, Gods diſpleaſure and puniſhments purſue ungodly men, to the utter eradication of them and their poſterity.)
17. ‖They cry.The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
Paraphrase. 17. ‖They cry.Whenſoever they implore Gods aid, he is ready to anſwer their requeſt, and ſend them ſeaſonable deliverance.
18. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and ſaveth ſuch as be of a contrite ſpirit.
Paraphrase. 18. All humble-minded men, ſincerely changed from all their former ſins, have aſſurance of Gods ſpecial favour to them, and of the effects thereof, his merciful deliverances whenſoever they ſtand in need of them.
19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivereth them out of them all.
Paraphrase. 19. Though pious and good men fall into many afflictions, Gods providence, for their exerciſe, and other wiſe ends, ſo diſpoſing, or permitting it; yet he in his choſen ſeaſon reſcueth them out of all.
20. He keepeth all his bones; not one of them is broken.
Paraphrase. 20. The providence of God pertaineth to every the leaſt part of the body of every ſervant of his, and evidenceth it ſelf in a ſignal preſervation of ſuch from all dangers. (This had a more eminent and literal completion in our bleſſed Saviour, whoſe legs were not broken, when they were of both the Theeves that were crucified with him, Joh. 19.36.)
21. Evil ſhall ſlay the wicked, and they that hate the righteous ſhall be deſolate.
Paraphrase. 21. On the other ſide, the (perhaps fewer) afflictions that befall wicked men, ſhall be the utter deſtroying of them: and generally the aphoriſm will be found to hold, That they that deſign miſchief to good men, ſhall be remarkably puniſht in this world.
22. The Lord redeemeth the ſoul of his ſervants; and ‖all they— ſhall not— foreignnone of them that truſt in him ſhall be deſolate.
Paraphrase. 22. Whilſt the obedient ſervants of God, that rely and depend on him, have aſſurance of being delivered, and never forſaken by him.
Annotations on Pſal. XXXIV.
V. 5. They looked] the LXXII. render the verſe in the Imperative, which the Hebrew, as now we have it, doth not bear. This makes ſome think, that they read otherwiſe than now we do, not foreign they lookt, foreignbut foreign look, or come, or addreſs; and ſo render it foreign, and the Latine accedite, come ye; and then foreign being taken,foreign as it may, in the imperative, and ſo rendred foreign, be ye inlightned, foreignthe change will be eaſie from foreign their faces, to foreign, your faces. But it is more likely, that the LXXII. choſe to render the ſenſe, not the words, and ſo put it into the Imperative mood, thereby moſt perſpicuouſly to expreſs it, (and herein the Syriack, as well as the Latine and Arabick and Aethiopick follow them:) to which they might be inclined, by ſeeing that there was no antecedent immediately foregoing, to which the relative [they] ſhould be thought to refer. Only the Chaldee adheres literally to the Hebrew, and will both of them be beſt interpreted by referring to the humble, v. 2. and by making David himſelf to be the [him] to whom the humble looking, and ſeeing how God had dealt with him, were inlightned, revived, and encouraged by that means; and ſo to them alſo may be fitly applyed the ſixth verſe, as the ſpeech of theſe humble, The poor man cryed, i. e. David in his diſtreſs, and the Lord heard him, &c.
foreignV. 10. Young Lions] Where the Hebrew reads foreign young lions, (and ſo the Chaldee from them foreign ſons of lions) the LXXII. render foreign, the rich; and herein the Latine and Syriack and Arabick and Aethiopick follow them: not that they can be thought to have read the original any otherwiſe than now we do, but after their wont rendring the ſenſe, rather than words; and ſo as in prophetick writings, Ezek. 38.13. foreign his young lions] is by the Chaldee paraphraſed foreign his Kings, ſo here cruel and rapacious men being compared to lions, they have choſen for [lions whelps] to ſet rich men] viz. ſuch, whoſe wealth is gathered by the rapine of their parents.
foreignV. 16. The face] What foreign faces here ſignifies, will be beſt learnt from Maimonides, More Nevoch. par. 1. c. 37. It is uſed, ſaith he, for anger and indignation: to which purpoſe he cites 1 Sam. 1.18. where, ſaith he, the phraſes foreign her faces were no more to her, ſignifies, her anger continued to her no longer: (and to this ſenſe the Arabick renders it, her countenance was no more changed for the exprobration of her rival] expreſſing it to be the paſſion of jealouſie, and that is anger, which is there ſpoken of.) So Lam. 4.16. we read, the anger (it is foreign faces) of the Lord divided them. So Lev. 20.5. I will ſet my face, i. e. my anger againſt that man—and ſo frequently elſewhere: and ſo, ſaith he, it is in this verſe. Accordingly, the Chaldee read, but the countenance of the Lord is angry againſt them: and ſo the conſequents inforce, to cut off— Upon the ſame grounds it is that foreign, and foreign parts of the face, ſignifie anger, becauſe paſſion immediately diſcovers it ſelf there. So Dan. 3.18. the forme of Nebuchadnezzars viſage was changed; and Gen. 2.5. Cain was very wroth, and his Countenance fell.
V. 17. foreignThe righteous cry] The placing of foreign they cryed, in the beginning of this v. 17. may be worthy to be taken notice of. That it belongs to righteous, or pious men there can be no doubt; and accordingly all the Interpreters thus ſupply it; foreign, the righteous cryed, ſay the LXXII. and ſo all the reſt. But how it comes to be ſo, when the verſe immediately precedent belongs to them that do evill, is the only matter of difficulty. And the anſwer is obvious; that the ſixteenth verſe is to be read as in a parentheſis, and the word righteous (v. 15. who are there ſaid to cry) will be the immediate antecedent, to which [they cryed] muſt neceſſarily refer. And therefore it will be beſt ſo to include, v. 16. and in token thereof, to affix the moſt literal rendring to foreign They cryed, and not, The righteous cryed.
V. 21. Evil ſhall ſlay] For foreign ſhall ſlay, foreignwhich we read from the Hebrew, the LXXII. ſeem to have read foreign occiſion, for ſo they render it in conjunction with foreign,foreign foreign, the death of ſinners is evil. But the Syriack adhere to our vulgar reading, foreign Evil ſhall ſlay the wicked, by foreign underſtanding the ſame that foreign v. 19. had ſignified, i. e. afflictions, or evil of puniſhment: which being applyed to the righteous, though in the plural, prove not ruinous or hurtful to him, the Lord delivers him out of them; whereas here evil in the ſingular ſlayes the wicked; to ſignifie the difference of Gods oeconomy toward righteous and wicked men. The former is permitted to fall into many preſſures; the latter is not ſo frequently exerciſed with them: yet the many that befall the one, do him no hurt, but work good for him; whereas the fewer that befall the wicked, perhaps the foreign one ſingular affliction of his life, is the utter ruine of him.
V. 22. foreignShall be deſolate] foreign to be laid waſt or deſolate] ſignifies alſo to be guilty, or culpable: accordingly foreign ſhall not be deſolate] which the Chaldee (with the Syriack) renders foreign ſhall not be condemned, is by the LXXII. rendred foreign, by the Latine, non delinquent, ſhall not offend; but this certainly after that part of the Helleniſts dialect, wherein ſin ſignifies ſometimes the puniſhment of ſin, and accounting guilty is condemning to vengeance.