Works Volume 4, Book 2 · Psalm 54
The Fifty Fourth PSALM.
TO the ‖Praefect of his ſtringed inſtruments, ſee note … Pſal. 4.….chief Muſitian on Neginoth, Maſchil, A Pſalm of David, when the Ziphims came and ſaid to Saul, Doth not David hide himſelf with us?
Paraphrase. The fifty fourth Pſalm was compoſed by David at a time of his great diſtreſs, and ſeaſonable deliverance afforded him by God, when hiding himſelf in the wilderneſs of Ziph, 1 Sam. 23.15. and of Maon, v. 24. the Ziphites made diſcovery to Saul, v. 19. and he went with forces to ſeek him, v. 25. and compaſſed him round about, v. 26. but was diverted, and called home, and gave over the purſuit, by reaſon of the Philiſtims invading his land, v. 2…. It was ſet to the tune of Maſchil, and committed to the Praefect of the ſtringed inſtruments.
1. Save me, O God, by thy name, and †vindicate. foreignjudge me by thy ſtrength.
2. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
Paraphrase. 1, 2. To thee, O Lord, I addreſs my ſelf in all humility, to thee is my only reſort; that at this time of diſtreſs thou wilt take the care and patronage of me, and by thy power and mercy deliver me out of it.
3. For ſtrangers are riſen up againſt me, and oppreſſors ſeek after my ſoul: they have not ſet God before them. Selah.
Paraphrase. 3. For now malitious men have conſpired to bring miſchief and ruine upon me, and by their diſcoveries excited thoſe who are now hunting me for my life: they only conſider how they may gratine the King, and gain his favour, and have no reſtraint of conſcience or piety to repreſs them from proceeding to the utmoſt evil.
4. Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is with them that uphold my ſoul.
Paraphrase. 4. But their malice ſhall not hurt me, as neer and cloſe as they are gotten about me: the Lord ſhall preſerve me, and deliver me out of their hands,
5. He ſhall reward evil unto mine †treacherous obſervers, ſpi…, foreign:enemies: cut them off in thy truth.
Paraphrase. 5. And execute vengeance on theſe Ziphites that have thus been imployed by Saul to obſerve and betray me, 1 Sam. 23.23. bringing them in his juſt judgment to utter deſtruction.
6. I will ‖ſacrifice … thee a voluntary oblation.freely ſacrifice unto thee; I will praiſe thy name, O Lord, for it is good.
Paraphrase. 6. This obliges me to make my moſt ſolemn acknowledgments, to preſent, as my free-will offerings, my lauds and praiſes, which are moſt due, and a moſt joyful imployment to be paid to him that hath dealt ſo gratiouſly with me;
7. For he hath delivered me out of all trouble, and mine eye †beheld, or looked … mine enemy.hath ſeen his deſire upon mine enemy.
Paraphrase. 7. Having by a ſignal act of his ſpecial providence diverted and called back my enemies, given me a pleaſurable ſight of them in their retreat, and ſo ſet me ſafe from this ſo preſent a danger.
Annotations on Pſal. LIV.
foreignV. 4. With them that uphold] This phraſe foreign the Lord among the ſuſteiners] deſerves here to be taken notice of, as a form not unuſual among the Hebrews, foreignyet ſignifying no more than that God is my upholder; and not he as one of many, but my only upholder. So Jud. 11.35. when Jephtha tells his daughter, thou art among the troublers of me, or one of them that trouble me, the meaning is no more, than that ſhe very much grieved and troubled him. So Iſa. 41.4. when God ſaith of himſelf, I am with the laſt, the meaning is evident, I am the laſt ſimply, as before I am the firſt. So Hoſ. 11.4. I was to them as they that take off the yoke, i. e. I …aſed them. So Pſal. 55.18. there were many with me, i. e. God is with me, and that is as good as the greateſt multitude. So Pſ. 69.26. they whom thou haſt wounded, ſignifies no more than the ſingular number precedent, he whom thou haſt ſmitten. This idiome we ſee continued in the New Teſtament, Joh. 11.19. many of the Jews came foreign, to thoſe about Martha and Mary, i. e. as we render it, to Martha and Mary. So in Greek ſtyle, foreign, is no more than Plato; and foreign, to be of the rich, is no more than to be rich. All this is obſerved by the learned Seb. Caſtellio, and given as the account of his rendring the words, Dominus is eſt qui mihi vitam ſ…ſtentat, The Lord is he that ſuſtains my life: wherein alſo he agrees with the LXXII. foreign, the Lord is the defender of my ſoul, and ſo the Latine, ſuſceptor animae meae, and the Syriack foreign the ſupporter of my ſoul, or life; and ſo the Arabick and Aethiopick.
foreignV. 6. Freely ſacrifice] foreign is the known ſtyle for a free-will offering, the foreign, or voluntary oblation ſo much ſpoken of, and ſo, being here joyned with foreign, I will ſacrifice, it muſt queſtionleſs ſignifie: and the prepoſition ב may either be a pleonaſm, בI will offer a free-will offering, or be thus taken notice of in the rendring, I will ſacrifice to thee by way of free-will oblation. And thus the Chaldee reads foreign, which their interpreter renders ſacrificium ſacrificabo, I will ſacrifice a ſacrifice. In the end of the verſe foreign,foreign for it is good] is capable of a double rendring; either thy name is good, or it is good to praiſe thy name, ſee Pſal. 92.1. and Pſal. 118.8, 9. But the Jewiſh Arab confines it to the former ſenſe, paraphraſing it thus, I will praiſe thy name, and ſay, The Lord is good.
V. 7. Mine eye] foreign from foreign aſpexit, foreignwill beſt be rendred beheld or lookt, and being joyned with foreign on mine enemy, ſignifies no more but beheld, or lookt upon mine enemy. This the Chaldee is willing to ſupply (as ſuppoſing an ellipſis in it) by adtion of foreign revenge, mine eye hath ſeen revenge upon mine enemy, and our Engliſh imitating them, reads, his deſire. But the ſimple reading is followed by the LXXII. foreign, my eye hath looked upon my enemies; and ſo the Syriack and Latine, &c. follow them: and that ſeems to be the beſt rendring of the place, for Davids enemies at this time were not deſtroyed, but only drawn back from purſuing him, by the coming of the news of the Philiſtims being in the land. The more probable notation of the phraſe is, that David was ſo nigh as to behold them marching away; which he might well do, having been incompaſt with them ſo cloſe, as the ſtory of it expreſſes, v. 26. and but on the other ſide of the hill Maon, from the top of which he might well behold them in their retreat: and being ſo neer deſtruction by them, and yet ſo ſafe by this act of Gods providence, recalling them, he might well recount it as an eminent mercy, that his eye thus beheld his enemies, when he was delivered from their purſuit.