Works Volume 4, Book · Psalm 8
The Eighth PSALM.
TO the chief Muſitian upon Gittith, A Pſalm of David.
Paraphrase. The eighth Pſalm was compoſed by David for the magnifying of Gods wonderful goodneſs, as more general in the fabrick of the world, and his dignations to mankind, in making him Lord of that gr… work of his, ſo more particular to himſelf, in uſing him as his inſtrument, to diſcomfit Goliah of Gath, the proud …oaſting Gyant, the Champion of the Philiſtims; and in the Prophetical myſtical ſenſe, his more admirable mercy to men, in exalting our humane nature above all the creatures in the world; which was eminently compleated in our Saviours aſſumption of our fleſh, and aſcending to, and reigning in heaven in it. This Pſalm he committed to the Prefect of his Muſick to be ſung or plaid.
1. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy Name in all the earth? who haſt ſet thy glory above the heavens.
Paraphrase. 1. O thou Lord, Creator and ſole Governour of heaven and earth, which haſt pleaſed to be known to us men in a peculiar relation of care and ſpecial kindneſs, to ‖foreign Our maſter or teacher, ſay the Chaldee.inſtruct, and reveal the knowledge of thy will to us, How art thou to be admired, and praiſed, and magnified by men and angels, and by all both in heaven and earth? whoſe ſuperlative greatneſs and ſuper-eminent Majeſty is infinitely exalted above all the moſt glorious creatures. This is moſt true of thee in thy divine inviſible nature, true alſo in thy ſtrange vouchſafements to me at this time; but above all is moſt admirable matter of obſervation and acknowledgment to us vile ſinners, if conſidered in the great myſtery of our redemption, the deſcenſion firſt, and then exaltation of our Saviour, (to which this Pſalm is diſtinctly applied, Matth. 21.16. 1 Cor. 15.27. and Heb. 2.6, 7, 8.)
2. Out of the mouth of babes and ſucklings haſt thou ordained ſtrength, becauſe of thine enemies, that thou mightſt ſtill the enemy and the avenger.
Paraphrase. 2. It is thy bleſſed and gracious will to give ſtrength to me, a Child, as it were, to ſubdue this proud Gyant, and in him to diſcomfit the hoſt of the Philiſtims. As in the oeconomy of the world, thou wert pleaſed to chuſe us men, which are poor mean impotent creatures, to be principal inſtruments of thy ſervice and glory, to acknowledge thy power, and magnifie thee in all thy glorious attributes; and to that end to ſend thine eternal Son out of thine own boſom, to reduce us, when we were fallen, and call us to this dignity of thy ſervants; which mercy thou haſt not vouchſafed to thoſe which are much higher than we, the Angels, thoſe glorious creatures, who when by pride they fell, were never reſtored by thee. And in like manner among us men, thou art pleaſed to make choice of the meaneſt and loweſt, the moſt humble-ſpirited perſons, and oft-times very children in age, to ſing Hoſannahs to the Son of David, (See Matth. 21.16. and noted.) to acknowledge and promulgate thy Majeſty and might; when the great, and wiſe, being oft alſo the proudeſt men of the world, (ſuch were the Jewiſh Rulers and Phariſees in Chriſts time) are not thus choſen, or honoured by thee. And this haſt thou done on moſt wiſe and glorious deſigns, that they whoſe pride makes them reſiſt and deſpiſe thee, and thy precepts, may be thus viſibly puniſht, finding themſelves deſpiſed, and rejected by thee: and above all, the Devil, that proud and rebellious enemy of God and goodneſs, is by this means ſubdued, and brought down; firſt caſt out of a great part of his kingdom in mens hearts, (none but the proud obdurate ſinner being left to him) and at laſt utterly confounded and deſtroyed, 1 Cor. 15.27.
3. When I conſider the heavens the work of thy fingers, the Moon and the Stars which thou haſt ordained;
Paraphrase. 3. When I look up and behold thoſe glorious Creatures, the Heavens, and the innumerable hoſts of Angels, which behold thy face, and attend thee there, the firſt fruits of thy creation, and in the outworks, the viſible parts of thoſe Heavens, obſerve thoſe radiant beauties, the Sun, Moon, and Stars, all much more excellent Creatures than are any here below, ſet each of them in their ſphere by thine eternal decree, on purpoſe to wait on, and miniſter to us;
4. What is ‖miſerable or mortal man, foreignman that thou art mindful of him, and the ſon of †Adam, or earthly man, foreignman, that thou viſiteſt him?
Paraphrase. 4. It is in my thoughts a miracle of ſuper-abundant mercy to poor miſerable mankind, that was at firſt formed out of the vileſt materials, the duſt of the earth, and is ſtill of a very frail, infirm, mortal condition, that thou ſhouldeſt thus vouchſafe to advance, and dignifie, and take care of it, above thy whole creation. And for me particularly at this time, a youth of a mean parentage, and the moſt deſpicable of all my brethren, 'tis admirable thou ſhouldſt inable me to do ſo great a ſervice for thy people. But above all, this is eminently applyable to Chriſt, that mean deſpicable ſon of man, ſcorn'd, and ſcourg'd, and crucified, yet not forſaken by God, or left in the grave, but exalted by a glorious reſurrection, (Heb. 2.6, 9.)
5. For thou haſt made him †or a little while: See Annot. on Heb. 4. c.a little lower than the Angels, and crowned him with glory and honour.
Paraphrase. 5. Thou haſt at firſt created man in a lower condition, than that of the Angels; yet haſt abundantly recompenſed that lowlineſs of his preſent ſtate: whilſt he lives here, thoſe glorious Spirits miniſter to him, and at length he is aſſumed to participation of their glory. Nay, our humane nature, by being aſſumed by Chriſt, is thereby extolled above all Angels And for me at this time, thou haſt advanced me to the imployment of an Angel, by thy chaſtiſing, and ſubduing this vaunting Champion by my hands. And in the diviner ſenſe, Chriſt the Son of God, being for a while humbled to our fleſh, and for the ſpace of three and thirty years ſubmitted to a lower condition than that of Angels, is yet by this diminution exalted, by ſuffering in our fleſh on earth, advanced to the greateſt dignities in Heaven, made ſupreme Ruler and Judge of Men and Angels, (Heb. 2.7.)
6. Thou madeſt him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou haſt put all things under his feet:
7. All ſheep and oxen, yea, and the beaſts of the field:
8. The fowls of the air and fiſh of the ſea, and †The Chaldee read foreign Leviathan that paſſethwhatſoever paſſeth through the paths of the ſeas.
Paraphrase. 6, 7, 8. This vile clod of earth, man, thou didſt at firſt inveſt with a ſovereign power over all inferiour, ſublunary creatures, Gen. 1.26, 28. all beaſts, and fowls, and fiſhes, and plants, to be commanded, and injoyed by him. And in the like manner thou haſt given me power over the chief of theſe, over the Lion and the Bear, 1 Sam. 17.36. and over this gyantly Philiſtim. And, in the myſtery, thou haſt given to Chriſt, a man on earth, a power over all theſe inferiour creatures, for them all to be abſolutely ſubject to all his commands, to ſtill the ſea, remove mountains, &c. and ſo likewiſe the victory over all his enemies, over men, and devils, and over death it ſelf; and in thy time this victory ſhall be ſo compleated, that there ſhall be nothing left of oppoſition to his Kingdom, and abſolute Sovereignty, which ſhall not be wholly ſubdued unto him. See Heb. 2.8. and 1 Cor. 15.27.
9. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy Name in all the earth?
Paraphrase. 9. O thou omnipotent Lord, and our moſt gracious Maſter, how glorious is thy Majeſty in all that thou haſt and ſhalt do among us? The whole world ſhall never ceaſe to glorifie thee for theſe things.
Annotations on Pſal. VIII.
Tit. Gittith.] The Titles of the Pſalms are known to have great difficulty in them, and accordingly the explications muſt be very uncertain. Many of them refer to the names of inſtruments; and divers of thoſe may well be unknown to us. Beſides, the names and titles of ſuch kind of compoſures, as they are very various in all languages, ſo are they inexplicable to all thoſe that are not acquainted familiarly with the Poetry and Muſick of each Nation. The ſeveral ſorts of matter give ſeveral names to Poeſies; as Panegyrick, Elegy, Hymn, and Anthem, &c. The particular matters do ſo in like manner; as on Cuſh the Benjamite, or when he fled from Abſalom, &c. So again the occaſions or ſeaſons for which they were provided to be ſung.
Next, the meaſure of the verſe is conſiderable, from whence it is an Ode, an Epode, &c. So the Mood, either Dorick, or Ionick, &c. among the Graecians; a Pavin, or Almain, &c. among us: So the key, a ſong in Gammut, in D Sol Re, and the like: And laſtly the tune, of which there be innumerable names taken from the firſt known Ditty, that was ſet to each. This ſhews us in general how difficult, or rather impoſſible it muſt be, for thoſe that are not acquainted with the Hebrew Poetry or Muſick (of which we have now ſmall remainders) to paſs any certain judgment on thoſe things which wholly depend on this. Accordingly ſo it is in the particular now before us,foreign what is the meaning of foreign here, and in ſome other places: The Chaldee on one ſide, and the LXXII. and thoſe that follow them on the other ſide, have pitcht on very diſtant rendrings of it. The Hebrew foreign and foreign ſignifies a winepreſs, and from thence the LXXII. and Latine and Aethiopick have their verſion, foreign, pro torcularibus, for the winepreſſes; as if this Pſalm of Thankſgiving were appointed to be uſed peculiarly in the Vintage, as a time wherein Gods mercy to man in the fruits of the earth were to be acknowledged, and from thence, by way of aſcent of the ſoul, his other ſublimer mercies, which with the eye of faith and prophecy David ſaw afar off, under the times of the Goſpel. But the ſame foreign Gath is alſo the name of a City of the Philiſtims, and foreign Gittite, a man of that City, and from thence the Chaldee deduceth the word, and renders it foreign. This is ordinarily rendred cithara quam attulit de Gath, a Muſical inſtrument which he brought from Gath. But of any ſuch we find no mention elſewhere in Scripture, nor the leaſt ground of ſuſpicion among their writings, that Gittith ſhould be the name of an Inſtrument. Kimchi, that recites the names of them, hath another notion of this. It will therefore be the more pardonable boldneſs to propoſe a ſlight conjecture on this paraphraſe of the Chaldee; viz. that the word foreign may have been by the Tranſcriber lightly varied from foreign a ſtrong man, or gyant. Thus we have in the Targum 2 Sam. 21.20. foreign a gyant of Gath. And then why ſhould not the whole Paraphraſe of the Chaldee foreign be rendered, the gyant (i. e. Goliah) which was of Gath, or from Gath? However thus much we have gained from their Paraphraſe, that foreign may ſignifie that or him, foreign that was from Gath; and then ſure we may thus ſafely interpret foreign, viz. that this Pſalm was made on▪ Goliah the Philiſtim of Gath, or Goliah the Gittite, 2 Sam. 21.19. and 1 Chron. 20.5. ſet here without name, or … he that was from Gath] (though compoſed ſome time after Davids incounter with him, and victory over him) that mighty Gyant that proudly and ſcornfully defied all the hoſt of Iſrael. And to this the Pſalm at leaſt in ſome part ſeems to belong, being a meditation of Gods power and wiſdom, in ſubduing the proud by weak deſpiſed Inſtruments, Children and Sucklings, as it were; and this enlarged, and farther conſidered and obſerved both in Gods dealing toward mankind in general, and toward particular men, toward young David at this time, and toward Chriſt in his ſtate of exinanition. Againſt this conjecture 'twill be obvious to object, 1. That two other Pſalms, LXXXI. and LXXXIV. are alſo intituled foreign upon Gittith, and yet are not either of them applyable to this matter of Goliah the Gittite; and 2. That there alſo the Chaldee Paraphraſe is the ſame; and 3. That as there we read foreign cithara, ſo 'tis ordinarily reſolved by Lexicographers, that Gittith was a Muſical Inſtrument, and that ſo called from foreign a Winepreſs, becauſe it was uſed to be played on in the time of Vintage, which was a Feſtival time. To all this I have but one thing to ſay, viz. That the learned Hebrews, that ſet down the Muſick of the Antients, do not ſet down Gittith for an Inſtrument, but much otherwiſe. Witneſs Kimchi, before named, on the third Pſalm; where having once for all, ſet down the Inſtruments of the Jewiſh Muſick, that were uſed in the Houſe of the Sanctuary, Cymbals, Cornets, Trumpets, &c. he adds, that theſe Muſical Inſtruments were divided into Melodies, which were known among them, i. e. there were ſeveral tunes well known among the Jews, that were skilful in that art, (to which they plaid on theſe Inſtruments) and Gittith was one of them. Here now is evidently a great difference betwixt theſe Inſtruments themſelves, and the ſeveral Melodies or Tunes that they plaid upon them; and Gittith is with him expreſly the name of a Tune, and not, as was ſuppoſed from the Chaldee, an Inſtrument brought from Gath. Now of Tunes it is well enough known, that they take their names from the Songs which were firſt compoſed to that Tune, ſometimes from the matter of the Song, and ſometimes alſo from the firſt words, or elſe from ſome principal words in it. And if ſo, then why may not this eighth Pſalm be the firſt which was made to this Tune, and from the matter of it be here inſcribed foreign upon the Gittite, or Philiſtime of Gath; and then all other Pſalms, afterward ſet to that tune, called after the name of the firſt, and ſo the Lxxxi. and Lxxxiv. be inſcribed foreign to ſignifie them to be ſet to the ſame tune with this, which was made on Goliah the Gittite? If there be ſmall probability in this, it remains that we return to that which was firſt ſaid, that the difficulties of this kind are inexplicable. And this may ſtop, though not ſatisfie, our curioſities.
foreignV. 3. When I conſider.] foreign in this place is by the Chaldee rendred foreign becauſe or for, and by the LXXII. foreign, becauſe, and ſo in the reſt of the Antient Interpreters, this being the moſt frequent uſe of it. Yet 'tis certain the Hebrew particle hath four ſignifications; and in one of them denotes a condition (and is beſt rendred If) and alſo time, and is fully rendred, when. So Gen. iv.12. foreign the Chaldee read foreign if, or, when thou tilleſt the ground; and ſo 2 Sam. 7.1. It came to paſs foreign when the King ſat in his houſe, for which 1 Chron. 17.1. they read foreign, and we render, as, i. e. when he ſate. And thus the context inclines it here, When I conſider— What is Man.— i. e. I have then by that conſideration all reaſon to cry out by way of admiration, What is man—And thus the Jewiſh Arabick Tranſlation renders it, When I ſee the heavens, &c. I ſay, What is Man—