Works Volume 4, Book 2 · Psalm 45
The Forty Fifth PSALM.
TO the chief Muſitian upon ‖the ſix ſtringed inſtruments.Soſhannim, for the ſons of Coreh, Maſchil, a ſong of †the beloved maids, foreignloves.
Paraphrase. The Forty fifth Pſalm is thought to be an Epithalamium, or marriage-ſong, upon the nuptials of Solomon and the King of Aegypts daughter, 1 King. 3.1. (but is withall myſtically, and in a moſt eminent manner, applicable to *See the Chaldee v. 2. foreign O King Meſſias— The ſpirit of prophecy in thy lips— So alſo Kimchi, and Aben-Ezra, and Sol Jarchi underſtand the whole Pſalm of the Meſſias.Chriſt) compoſed in the perſons of her bride-maids, and committed to the Praefect of the Muſick, to be ſung by the poſterity of Corch, to the tune known by the name of Maſchil.
1. My heart ‖hath prepared.is inditing a good matter; †my compoſures I will recite, or deliver, or ſpeak unto the—I ſpeak of the things which I have made touching the King: My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
Paraphrase. 1. I have meditated and compoſed a feſtival nuptial hymn, brought it ready prepared, as an oblation Euchariſtical, and I will now recite it to the King, (as he is a type of the great God and King of heaven, the King by whom Kings Reign, the Meſſias, who ſhall eſpouſe a church of believers here on earth;) my tongue being alacriouſly and chearfully bent ſpeedily to deliver it.
2. Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips; *ſeeing that, or becauſe foreign.therefore God hath bleſſed thee for ever.
Paraphrase. 2. O how gloriouſly beautifull is this bridegroom above all the men in the world? what gracious and lovely and excellent ſpeech comes from him? God having accompliſh… and adorned and bleſſed him in a moſt illuſtrious degree and manner. (And in the Myſtical ſenſe, The Meſſias is infinitely beyond all the men in the world; a divine perſon, ſpeaking as never man ſpake, all the fulneſs of the Godhead dwelling bodily in him.)
3. Gird thy ſword upon thy thigh, O moſt mighty, with thy glory and thy majeſty.
Paraphrase. 3. Thou art a mighty Prince; it becometh thee to appear in a glorious and majeſtick manner, as it doth any man of valour to be girt with a belt and ſword. (In the myſticall ſenſe, O thou mighty God and Prince of Peace, be thou pleaſed to ſet up thy ſpiritual kingdom in our hearts, by the power of thy grace to rule and reign in them.)
4. ‖Proſper thou in thy majeſty, ride for the word or cauſe or buſineſs of-And in thy majeſty ride proſperouſly, becauſe of truth and meekneſs and righteouſneſs: and †he ſhall teach thee terrible things with or by thy right hand.thy right hand ſhall teach thee terrible things.
Paraphrase. 4. And mayſt thou long and proſperouſly injoy this thy dignity, reign ſucceſsfully to the maintaining of all divine vertues; ſuch are, beyond others, faith, and humility, and a… manner of juſtice and charity. And making ſuch uſe of thy power, no doubt God will eſtabliſh thee in it, and give thee all manner of ſtrange ſucceſſes, and make thee formidable to all about thee. (In the myſtical ſenſe, God grant him all good ſucceſs in his regal office, in ſubjecting all mens hearts unto his ſpiritual regiment. And as his inſtallment ſhall not be by riding on the regal mule, or being mounted on a proud and ſprightfull horſe, or in any other guiſe of ſecular pompe, but in a much more excellent and divine equipage, all kind of the moſt eminent virtues drawing in his triumphal charriot, and carrying him aloft to victory: ſo may the mighty God of heaven proſper him in thoſe great affairs on which he is imployed; 1. of bringing all men to the faith; 2. of ſubduing all the prides of the hautieſt heathen obdurate hearts, and making them meek, and gentle, and lowly, humble toward God and man; 3. of planting all degrees of juſtice and charity among Chriſtians. In the diſcharge and execution of this great office of ſpiritual ſovereignty, God ſhall be with him, …nabling him to do miracles, to caſt out the heathen falſe gods, or devils, out of their temples, out of mens hearts, and out of the bodies of thoſe that are poſſeſt with them, and ſo to bring down all other religions whereſoever Chriſtianity enters.)
5. Thine arrows are ſharp ‖the people ſhall fall under thee) in the heart—in the heart of the Kings enemies, whereby the people fall under thee.
Paraphrase. 5. Thy power ſhall be ſufficient to bring down thy greateſt enemies, and many ſhall feel the effects of it, being conquered by thee. (In the myſtery, the grace of Chriſt ſhall come with great efficacy to the converting of Idolatrous heathens, and ſhall be mightily ſucceſsful in bringing the Gentile world to ſubjection to his kingdom.)
6. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the ſcepter of thy kingdom is a right ſcepter.
Paraphrase. 6. The kingdom of the Meſſias is never to have an end: the Laws by which 'tis adminiſtred are admirably good and juſt, moſt agreeable to the dictates of true reaſon, and the nature of man, not ſeduced or corrupted with paſſion. And herein is Solomon a type of him: the kingdom of Judah, now ſetled on him▪ ſhall indure till the time of the Meſſiah's coming, and entring on his immutable kingdom. And they are divine laws, of Gods own preſcribing, by which he ſhall adminiſter his government.
7. Thou loveſt righteouſneſs and hateſt wickedneſs; therefore God thy God hath anointed thee with the oyl of gladneſs above thy fellows.
Paraphrase. 7. He hath earneſtly eſpouſed the cauſe of all goodneſs & juſtice, hath wrought by his precepts and promiſes and grace effectually, to bring the practice of all virtue into the world, and beareth a perfect hatred againſt vice, and by ſtrict prohibitions, and threats of eternal hell, and by ſuffering himſelf upon the croſs for our ſins, (an example of Gods great wrath againſt ſin, chuſing rather to puniſh it on his own Son, than to ſuffer it to go unpuniſht) hath laboured to caſt that out of mens hearts: And therefore God the Father hath advanced and dignified him above all Angels and men, (ſee note on Matth. 26. c. and Act. 10.10.) exalted him to his own right hand, there to reign for ever, and to diſpence his graces abundantly and freely into all mens hearts. Herein alſo was Solomon a type of the Meſſias, whoſe choiſe of wiſdom, rather then of all ſecular wealth, was highly rewarded by God, beyond all other men.
8. †Myrrhe, Aloes and Caſſia are all thy garments, from—All thy garments ſmell of Myrrhe, Aloes, and Caſſia, out of the Ivory palaces, *wherein thou takeſt delight.whereby they have made thee glad.
Paraphrase. 8. This Bridegrooms garments are very richly perfumed, the odour of them comes out from the magnificent rooms wherein he takes pleaſure, and ſo commonly reſides in them. (And ſo the myſtical Bridegroom Chriſt, his graces ſend forth a moſt fragant perfume, moſt grateful and pleaſant to all to whom they come.)
9. Kings daughters were ‖in thy train or magnificence.among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did ſtand the Queen in gold of Ophir.
Paraphrase. 9. He is very magnificently attended, many royal beauties are in his train; and his Bride the Queen is placed at his right hand in the moſt glorious nuptial array. (Proportionably the faith of the Meſſias ſhall be received by many perſons of great rank in the world, and the Church his ſpouſe ſhall be advanced by him to a moſt flouriſhing condition.)
10. Hearken, O daughter, and conſider, and incline thine ear: forget alſo thine own people, and thy fathers houſe.
Paraphrase. 10. It will now be happy for the Bride, if ſhe will conſider the true dignity ſhe is advanced to, and the advantages ſhe may reap by it; if ſhe will utterly forſake the Idolatries wherein ſhe hath been brought up in Aegypt, (as the new-married ſpouſe entring into a new family muſt relinquiſh all her old relations, and not preſerve ſo much as her former name) and give up her faith and obedience uniformly to the law of the true God, which here is worſhipt. (And ſo in the myſtical ſenſe, the Jews being aſſumed, after their many adulteries and divorces, unto that better wedlock, celebrated in the Goſpel, muſt think themſelves obliged to forget their old relations, all the rites of their law, nay, the diſtinctive marks of their extraction from the loins of Abraham, circumciſion, &c. and ſo recommend themſelves to their Lord and Bridegroom. And ſo generally they that will come to be members of the Chriſtian Church, muſt forſake all their old wicked courſes, and perform all diligent, faithful, chearful obedience to the commands of Chriſt; or elſe they will be little the better for being Chriſtians.)
11. So ſhall the King greatly deſire thy beauty; for he is thy Lord God, and worſhip thou him.
Paraphrase. 11. So ſhall ſhe become truly amiable to her husband, Solomon the King, the type of the Meſſias, that eternal ſon of God, who when he comes into the world, ſhall be the very God of heaven in our humane nature, and is therefore (he and none but he) to be adored by all men in the world, and ſo ſhall be acknowledged and worſhipt by the Chriſtian-Church (ſee Juſtin Martyr Dial. cum Tryph. p. 287. B.)
12. And the daughter of Tyre ſhall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people ſhall intreat thy favour.
Paraphrase. 12. The Tyrians ſhall bring him preſents, (ſee 1 King. 5.) and ſo the greateſt and moſt potent of his Neighbours ſhall court him, and be ambitious of his friendſhip. (And ſo ſhall the heathen people come in to the faith of Chriſt, and in proceſs of time the Emperors and greateſt Princes.
13. The Kings daughter is all glorious within; her cloathing is of ‖eyes of gold.wrought gold.
Paraphrase. 13. The ſpouſe being of a regal extraction, is a very accompliſht perſon, both in reſpect of inward virtues and outward ſplendor and magnificence. (And ſuch ſhall be the Chriſtian Church, gathered firſt and made up of the pious faithful remnant of the Jews)
14. She ſhall be brought unto the King in †embroidered raiment.raiment of needle-work: The virgins her companions that follow her ſhall be brought unto thee.
Paraphrase. 14. She ſhall be conducted to the Bridegroom in a very ſumptuous and glorious guiſe, and attended with her Bride-maids after the nuptial manner. (And this ſignifies the Churches glory; inward, from the graces of God, humility, charity, &c. with which it is content, without any others; and yet hath alſo the acceſſion of outward, from the good Providence of God waiting over it, and advancing it to a very flouriſhing condition. Nor ſhall this Elder ſiſter, the daughter of Sion, the Jewiſh believers, come ſingle to theſe nuptials: But the Gentile Churches, a… virgins to accompany the Spouſe, ſhall likewiſe come in to the faith, be preſented to him a glorious Church, not having ſpot or wrinkle, or any ſuch thing, but holy, and without blemiſh, Epheſ. 5.17.)
15. With gladneſs and rejoycing ſhall they be brought, and ſhall enter into the Kings palace.
Paraphrase. 15. And this ſhall be a very joyful and feſtival meeting. (And ſo ſhall the reception of the Chriſtian faith in the heathen world, their entring into the *foreign LXXII.Church, the palace, and houſe of God, and their giving themſelves faederally to the obedience of Chriſt; there being no ſtate of life in this world ſo bleſſed, and matter of ſo much inward real ſatisfaction and joy, as the life of a ſincerely humble and charitable Chriſtian.)
16. In ſtead of thy fathers ſhall be thy children, whom thou mayſt make Princes in all the *or land foreignearth.
Paraphrase. 16. As ſhe parts with royal parents in Aegypt, ſo now ſhe ſhall be a mother of royal children; her poſterity ſhall ſucceed in the kingdom of Judah. (And ſo in the antitype, Abraham by being diſowned from being the father of the Jewiſh Synagogue, (circumciſion the ſeal of that covenant being deſtroyed) ſhall not loſe, but gain a better title to that name, enjoying the completion of that prophecy, which ſpake him the father of many nations, and ſhall then be the Patriarch of the whole world of faithful perſons; and the Jewiſh Synagogue, honoured before with the dignity of having a believing and righteous father, ſhall now be more highly honoured, in having a multitude of faithful and pious children, by Chriſt begotten, and by her brought forth unto God. And ſo likewiſe in reſpect to the Gentiles, in ſtead of Idolatrous anceſtors, there ſhall be a ſucceſſion of †juſt men ſhall be thy children, Chald.pious Chriſtians, which ſhall become governors of the Church, (ſo the firſt Converts were made Biſhops over all the world)
17. I will make thy Name to be remembred throughout all generations: therefore ſhall the people praiſe thee for ever and ever.
Paraphrase. 17. This nuptial ſong ſhall perpetuate thy memory, and bring thee continual praiſe and honour among all poſterities. And ſo ſhall the Church of Chriſt be for ever illuſtrious and viſible upon the earth; and this very Pſalm be lookt on by Chriſtians, as the deſcription of theſe bleſſed ſpiritual eſpouſals betwixt Chriſt and his Church.
Annotations on Pſalm XLV.
Tit. Shoſhannim] foreign from foreign Six, in all probability ſignifie inſtruments of ſix ſtrings. The Chaldee render it foreign the aſſeſſors of the Sanhedrim, as if it were from foreign a title of the Doctors of the Jews. The LXXII. render foreign, and ſeem to refer to the cuſtome of alternate ſinging (of which we have ſpoken on Pſal. 24. foreign) one verſe by one, another by the other part of the quire; which alternation as it is not unfitly expreſt by foreign, ſo it might by them be thought to be noted by this word, deduced by them, as alſo by the Chaldee, from foreign to change or vary. Of the ſons of Coreh ſee Pſal. 42.1. of Maſchil ſee Pſal. 32. note a. As for foreign in the foeminine plural from foreign beloved, foreignit muſt ſignifie the female or virgin friends, they that had the ſame reſpect to the Bride, as the friends of the Bridegroom had to him, John 3.29. (ſee note b. on that chapt.) Theſe are the attendants of the ſolemnity, and their chief buſineſs is to increaſe and ingage the love of the Bride to her Huſband: And in their perſons this Pſalm is indited, as if it were ſpoken by them, and ſo is called foreign a canticle of theſe beloved, or friends of the Bride, the Bride-maids; the LXXII. read foreign, for the beloved, and ſo the Latine, as if it were foreign not foreign.
foreignV. 1. Inditing] That foreign, uſed only in this one place in Scripture, ſignifies ebullivit prae fervare, to boil or ſeeth out through exceſs of heat, is agreed by all: The LXXII. render it foreign, the Latine eructavit the ſtyle ordinarily uſed of a ſpring or fountain; and ſo the Jewiſh Arab Interpreter renders it by foreign from foreign which belongs to the ſpringing forth of water, originally, but is applyed to any new invention, or good thing, produced by the mind. So Abu Walid alſo would have it rendred, that ſo firſt his heart ſent forth, and then his tongue altered what that produced or dictated. He obſerves alſo the affinity of foreign with the Arabick foreign wherein the radicals are the ſame, only tranſpoſed, which ſignifies to ſwell forth or diſtill, as water out of an hill or rock. And indeed foreign in Arabick, without tranſpoſition, ſignifies motion or commotion; and ſo Kimchi renders the Hebrew word. And thus the word is deemed applicable to ſpeech, which is thus ſent out from the heart at the mouth, and is produced by the heat or motion of thoughts or meditation; my heart was hot within me, and the fire kindled, and at laſt I ſpake with my tongue. But it is not improbable, that the metaphore ſhould here be taken from boiling over the fire in a pot or pan, which is the way of dreſſing or preparing of meat. So the word ſignifies, and is by the Chaldee rendred foreign ferbuit, calefactus eſt: and from that notion of it we have foreign, a frying-pan, Lev. 7.9. that wherein the mincha or meat-offering was dreſt with oyl, v. 10. And to this it very well agrees, that a ſacred hymn prepared by a Prophet, firſt compoſed by the ſpirit in his heart, then readily brought forth by his tongue, (which in that reſpect being here compared to the pen of a ready writer, agreeth alſo with another notion both of foreign and foreign for making haſt) ſhould be here expreſt by a peace-offering, or ſacrifice of thanksgiving, dreſt with oyl over the fire, whether fried or boiled, (the ebulliency denoted in foreign being equal in both of them) and then by the ſacrificer preſented to God, Lev. 2.8. as this here is to the King in the next words. So that not queſtioning the original notion of the word for ebullivit, we may yet beſt expreſs the metaphor here by preparing, which is a general word, common to the dreſſing of meat or offering, and to the compoſing of any hymn, which is the ſpiritual oblation, and is here part of the nuptial feſtival compoſed for the celebrating of it.foreign As for foreign by the LXXII. foreign, verbum bonum in the vulgar, the good word, or ſpeech, or matter, it will by analogy ſignifie a feſtival hymn, as foreign ſignifies laetus, as well as bonus, and foreign a good day, is a feſtival day, a day of rejoycing, and the feaſt being a marriage feaſt foreign a good or feſtival hymn will be diſtinctly an Epithalamium. And then that which followeth foreign,foreign will be beſt literally rendred, my compoſures will I deliver, or recite to the King, (ſo the Chaldee exactly in the ſame form, reading only foreign for foreign which is the ſame,foreign any kind of works, or compoſures.)
V. 4. foreignAnd in thy Majeſty] The fourth verſe is literally to be rendered, foreign and proſper with thy honour or majeſty, i. e. we wiſh it long continuance, foreign ride upon the horſes of the Kingdome; ſaith the Chaldee, foreign for or upon the word, or buſineſs of truth— ſo the phraſe ſignifies, foreign being uſually taken for matter, as well as words; and ſo the Chaldee here, foreign for the buſineſs: the word ſignifies a cauſe depending in debate, a contention, and then more generally negotium, tractatus; and accordingly ſo muſt foreign be here underſtood.foreign Then follows foreign and he, that is, ſaith the Chaldee, God ſhall teach thee terrible things with, or by thy right hand. Againſt this rendring there is but one objection, viz. that foreign is in the foeminine gender, and ſo cannot ſo well be ſpoken of God. Why then may it not belong to the immediate praecedents, whether foreign righteouſneſs, or foreign meekneſs, or foreign truth, that all or any of thoſe, i. e. God by them, ſhall teach him terrible things by his right hand; or, as the foeminine is oft taken neutrally, his riding or ingaging for the cauſe of theſe ſhall bring Gods bleſſing upon him, and ſo cauſe him, or teach him to do theſe terrible things with his right hand? The LXXII. indeed read foreign. But the Chaldee ſuggeſts a more probable rendring.
V. 5. Thine arrows] The fifth verſe may moſt conveniently be read with a parentheſis; Thy arrows are ſharp (then as an effect of that, [the people ſhall fall under thee] for that is an evidence of the ſharpneſs of arrows, when men are thereby wounded and killed) foreign in or upon or againſt the heart of the enemy of the King;foreign thoſe being the mark againſt which his ſhafts are directed, and the ſharpneſs of them experimented upon them. This our laſt Engliſh deſigned in tranſpoſing the words, firſt, thine arrows are ſharp in the heart of the Kings enemies] and then [whereby the people fall under thee.] This the Jewiſh Arab agrees to, and for taking away the harſhneſs of the parentheſis, tranſpoſeth the words in like manner, thus; And thine arrows being ſharp fall into the heart of the Kings enemies, and the nations fall under thee. So the Chaldee, having rendred the former part of the verſe, [Thy arrows are brought out to ſlay armies, the people ſhall fall under thee] They then add foreign and the ſons of thy bow, i. e. the arrows in the beginning of the verſe, ſhall be ſent againſt the heart of the Kings enemies. Yet are theſe words capable of a rendring, without either tranſpoſing, or parentheſis, thus; Thine arrows are ſharp, people ſhall fall under thee, in the midſt of the Kings enemies, i. e. being reached by thine arrows in the midſt of thine enemies armies. Thus foreign heart, is elſewhere uſed for the midſt of a thing; as Deut. 4.11. foreign the heart, i. e. the midſt of heaven, and Exod. 15.8. foreign in the heart, i. e. the midſt of the ſea, ſo the heart of the earth, for the midſt of it. And in the Arabick, foreign which ſignifies the ſame with the Hebrew foreign] is the proper ſtyle for middle or main body of an army.
V. 6. Thy throne] The difficulty here is, to whom this verſe and the following are literally and primarily appliable. And the doubt ariſeth from the ſtyle, which is here inhaunced from the King, to God. 'Tis true indeed, foreign which is here uſed,foreign is ſometimes applied to others beſides God: 1. to the Gods of the Gentiles, who are ſo called Iſa. 35.18.foreign foreign the Gods of the nations: 2. to Angels, Pſal. 86.8. Who is like to thee foreign among the Gods? the Chaldee reads, among the high foreign, the Greek foreign, Angels, transformed by them: 3. to divine and excellent men, Prophets, and Judges, or Princes, &c. So Exod. 22.28. Thou ſhalt not vilifie foreign the Gods] is explained by what follows, nor curſe the ruler of thy people; and Exod. 21.6. his maſter ſhall bring him foreign to the Gods;foreign we duly render it, to the Judges; and Exod. 4.16. thou (Moſes) ſhalt be to Aaron foreign for a God, foreign for a Prince, ſaith the Chaldee. And accordingly 'twere not ſtrange for foreign to be applied to King Solomon here. But the Apoſtle to the Hebrews c. 1.7. affirming expreſly, that theſe words are ſpoken to Chriſt the Son of God; and the Targum interpreting the King v. 2. (and ſo the whole Pſalm) of the Meſſias, and ſo Kimchi, Aben Ezra, and Jarchi alſo; It is not reaſonable or ſafe to apply them to any other but him; and ſo to take foreign in the principal ſignification, wherein it is moſt frequently uſed for the one God of heaven and earth, and of him to underſtand theſe two verſes, as alſo v. 11. allowing to Solomon only an imperfect, limited, partial ſenſe of them, as he was a type of this Meſſias. Which may well be reconcileable with the underſtanding the reſt of this Pſalm literally of Solomon, and only myſtically of Chriſt; it being not unfrequent with Prophets of the old Teſtament, ſpeaking of ſome other matter myſtically referring to Chriſt, but immediately to ſomewhat of preſent concernment, to be carried by the Divine Spirit, whereby they were acted, to ſpeak immediately of Chriſt. Of this ſee Juſtin Martyr in his Dialogue with Tryphon the Jew, p. 287. where he concludes from this teſtimony, foreign, that he was to be worſhipt, being God and Chriſt, v. 11. As alſo S. Auguſtine de Civ. Dei, l. 17. c. 16.
V. 8. Made thee glad] The former part of v. 8. being read, as it lies in the Hebrew, Myrrhe and Aloes and Caſſia all thy cloaths, i. e. they are ſo perfumed with theſe odors, as if they were nothing elſe; that which follows will be clear alſo,foreign foreign from the palaces of tooth, thereby, ſaith the Chaldee, meaning the Elephants tooth brought from Armenia, (it may more probably be ſaid from Africa) with which it ſeems their choice rooms were beautified (of this Solomons throne is ſaid to be made, 1 King. 10.18. and ſo Ahab made an Ivory houſe, 1 King. 22.39.) from which as the bridegroom paſſeth, or from whence, as he abideth therein, his garments yeeld this high perfume over all the adjoyning rooms. As for that which is added in the cloſe, foreign,foreign with which they have delighted thee] it muſt be underſtood according to the vulgar Hebraiſme, oft taken notice of (ſee Luk. 16. note b.) they have delighted thee, i. e. thou art delighted or pleaſed with them.
V. 9. Thy honourable] From foreign pretioſus, foreignhonorabilis fuit, is foreign honour, glory, ſplendor; and ſo here in the plural, foreign in or among thy ſplendors, thy honours, thy ornaments, i. e. thy magnificent train. The LXXII. renders it foreign, in thy honour, to this ſenſe clearly.
V. 13. foreignOf wrought gold] Of the difference between foreign here and foreign in the next verſe, this only need be obſerved: that the former ſignifies ocellare, to work a garment full of eyes, which eyes being here of gold, are probably ſuch as are with us called oes, as being of the form of an eye; the latter is to paint with a needle, i. e. to work upon cloth &c. divers colours and figures, to imbroider with ſeveral coloured ſilks, thereby imitating the various plumes of birds, from whence thoſe artificers are called plumarii. (See the learned Nic. Fuller Miſcell. l. 1. c. 20.)