Works Volume 4, Book 2 · Psalm 49
The Forty Ninth PSALM.
TO the chief Muſitian, a Pſalm for the ſons of Coreh.
Paraphrase. The forty ninth Pſalm is a conſolation againſt the terrors of death, in time of old age or ſickneſs, and withal a meditation of the tranſitorineſs of all worldly greatneſs and proſperities here, which are ſo ſure to fade ſuddenly. It was committed to the Prefect of the Muſick to be ſung by the poſterity of Coreh.
1. Hear this all ye people; give ear all ye inhabitants of the world,
2. Both low and high, rich and poor together.
Paraphrase. 1, 2. The matter of this inſuing Pſalm is very fit meditation for all ſorts of people in the world, Jews and Gentiles, of the meaner and poorer, and of the nobler and wealthier rank;
3. My mouth ſhall ſpeak ‖wiſdom foreignof wiſdom; and the meditation of my heart †underſtanding foreignſhall be of underſtanding.
Paraphrase. 3. Being that which I have learnt from God, and conſequently is not of certain truth only, but moſt valuable and profitable to be conſidered by all, much more for our turns, than any ſecular wiſdom of the ſubtileſt worlding: This therefore ſhall be the ſubject of my compoſitions at this time.
4. I will incline mine ear to a parable; I will open my dark ſaying upon the harp.
Paraphrase. 4. And I will perform it carefully, weigh it as exactly as I can, do as Muſitians do, when they tune their inſtruments, lay their ear cloſe to them, that, if there be any harſhneſs or unevenneſs in the ſound, they may diſcern it; ſo will I carefully obſerve my preſent compoſure, being on a matter well worth every mans heeding, and therefore I will ſet it to the harp, by that means to ſweeten and inſtil it into all minds. And this is the ſum of it by way of anſwer to this queſtion.
5. Wherefore ſhould I fear in the days of evill, when the *eviliniquity of my heels ſhall compaſs me about?
Paraphrase. 5. When days of ſadneſs, and the diſcomforts of old age approach, and make their cloſe ſiege about men, and death it ſelf is juſt ready to ſeize upon and devour them, can this be any real matter of terror to a truly pious man, that hath placed all his truſt and confidence in God? Undoubtedly it cannot. Or wherefore ſhould I ſubject my ſelf to thoſe terrors which are apt to haunt men at ſuch times?
6. ‖Confident men boaſt themſelves in their wealth, and the—They that truſt in wealth, and boaſt themſelves in the multitude of their riches,
7. †One ſhall not by any means redeem, man ſhall not give his ranſome to God.None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ranſome for him;
8. (For the redemption of the ſoul *ſhall be pretious, and ſhall ceaſe—is pretious, and it ceaſeth for ever)
9. ‖He ſhall yet live.That he ſhould ſtill live for ever, and not ſee corruption.
Paraphrase. 6, 7, 8, 9. 'Tis ordinary for the bold temerarious confident men of the world to place their full truſt in wealth, and never fear any thing elſe, if they have but abundance of that. But 'tis not in their power to reſcue either any other, or themſelves from death. This ſentence which ſin brought into the world, will certainly paſs on the richeſt and proudeſt and ſtouteſt of them; none can ever buy his own, or any other mans immunity or liberty from this▪ ſo as to be quit from ever dying: That indeed of immortal duration, being a gem of too great a price for all the wealth in the world to purchaſe: there is but one way of coming to it, and that is by death and reſurrection, and that alſo is the work of the Meſſias, who by dying once, offering one ſingle ſacrifice for him, never to be repeated, Heb. 9.25, 26. and 10.13. ſhall overcome death, work an eternal redemption, Heb. 9.11. and then fit down at the right hand of God, Heb. 10.12. and there live and reign for ever. This he ſhall do in the fulneſs of time, in the end of the age, then coming in the fleſh to atchieve this victory, and more fully in the end of the world, when he ſhall call all that are dead out of their graves to judgment, on which ſhall follow an everlaſting life.
10. For he ‖ſhall ſee the wiſe die, together ſhall the fool and brute periſhſeeth that wiſe men die,likewiſe the fool and the brutiſh perſon periſh, and leave their wealth to *… ſtrangers.others.
Paraphrase. 10. Mean while the moſt pious vertuous men muſt expect to die, their piety, the one true wiſdom, will not reſcue them from that which Chriſt himſelf Gods eternal wiſdom ſhall once taſte. As for wicked men, whoſe irrational folly hath equalled them to brute beaſts, 'tis certain the ſame fate expects them: their ſouls being ſo little removed above that of a beaſt, 'tis leſs wonder that they ſhould die as a beaſt doth; and though they may be thought by themſelves or others to have provided againſt this danger, to have fenced and ſecured themſelves, yet ſhall they come together, and after the ſame manner to the grave, and ſo be fain to take leave of thoſe poſſeſſions which they have acquired with ſo much induſtry. And then no man knows into whoſe hands their wealth ſhall fall, whether ſtrangers, or perhaps enemies, ſhall live to injoy the fruits of all their labours.
11. ‖Among them their houſes ſhall be for ever, their Tabernacles from age to age: they have impoſed their names on their lands.Their inward thought is that their houſes ſhall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations: they call their lands after their own names.
Paraphrase. 11. Whoſoever they are, the poſſeſſion being now ſetled in them, ſhall never revert to the former owners: theſe new comers ſhall eſtabliſh themſelves in their room, and ſo impoſe their names upon their dwellings; the very memory of the former inhabitants being ſoon loſt.
12. †AndNevertheleſs man *Abides not in honour.being in honour abideth not, but is like the beaſts that periſh.
Paraphrase. 12. And ſo the concluſion is moſt certain, and general, reaching to all; How flouriſhing ſoever their condition is at the preſent, there is no poſſibility of continuance here: be the man never ſo great, he comes to a ſpeedy end, as the beaſts of the field do, is perfectly like them in his death, and not ſo long lived as many of them: our ſpace of abode here is not ſo long as to be fitly compared to ſo much as a nights lodging in an Inn, no conſiſtence of ſteddy reſt is to be had for the leaſt ſpace. And the tenure which his poſterity hath, is of the ſame nature, very ſhort and uncertain alſo; nay, oft-times the greateſt honours and wealth, unjuſtly gotten by the parent deſcend not to any one of his poſterity, (as the beaſts when they die leave nothing behind them to their young ones, but the wide world to feed in) but fall into other hands immediately, for which he never deſigned to gather them.
13. This their way is ‖or folly to them; yet their followers are pleaſed with them.their folly; yet their poſterity approve their ſayings. Selah.
Paraphrase. 13. They flatter themſelves, that they ſhall perpetuate the wealth and greatneſs which they have gathered; but are very wide of their expectations, find themſelves foully deceived and fruſtrated. And yet they that ſucceed them in their eſtates go after them in the ſame track, imitate that folly which was ſo fatal to them, and think themſelves happy that they ſhall enjoy the fruits of it.
14. Like ſheep they are †put into Hades.laid in the grave: death ſhall *conduct them.feed on them, and the upright ſhall have dominion over them in the morning, and their ‖form ſhall do ſo, when Hades ſhall fail to be an habitation to it.beauty ſhall conſume in the grave from their dwelling.
Paraphrase. 14. But then death comes upon them all, and defeats all their expectations. As ſheep, or other ſuch creatures, they die, remove from all their ſplendid poſſeſſions to thoſe dark inviſible plains, where they continue as a flock in a paſture, till that great morning of the reſurrection, when the righteous ſhall be aſſumed by God to aſſiſt in judicacature, and ſo ſhall ariſe in their old ſhapes, when the earth ſhall give up her dead; and the grave, wherein their beauty, ſtrength, and form decayed and was conſumed, ſhall at length it ſelf decay and loſe its ſtrength, death having loſt its ſting, and the grave its victory, and ſo being no longer the manſion for the bodies of juſt men.
15. But God will redeem my ſoul from the power of the grave; for he ſhall receive me. Selah.
Paraphrase. 15. And accordingly my comfort is, that God will after my death one day reſtore me again to life, into his hands I commend my ſpirit, not doubting but he will hereafter receive me to glory. And ſo for all others that conſtantly adhere to, and wait on God, whatever terrors they meet with here, they have this full matter of confidence, that God hath particular care of them, and will either deliver them out of their dangers, or convert them to their greateſt good, rewarding them abundantly in the reſurrection.
16. Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his houſe is increaſed.
Paraphrase. 16. It is therefore moſt unreaſonable to be troubled at, or to envy the increaſe of wordly riches, or honour, or any kind of greatneſs or proſperity to the worldly man.
17. For when he dyeth he ſhall carry nothing away; his glory ſhall not deſcend after him.
Paraphrase. 17. For death will ſoon overtake him, and then he cannot carry his wealth with him; his preſent glory and greatneſs ſhall not then yield him the leaſt advantage.
18. ‖for in his life time.Though whilſt he lived he bleſt his ſoul; †but thou ſhalt be praiſed for doing well unto thy ſelf.and men will praiſe thee when thou doſt well to thy ſelf.
Paraphrase. 18. Indeed might his own word be taken, he were an happy man, for ſo he flattereth himſelf that he hath goods laid up for many years, and as long as this life laſts, he entertains no other thoughts. But when death comes, all theſe flattering fallacies vaniſh. 'Tis not thine own mouth but anothers, whoſe commendation will be worth the having; and that will not be had, but for the real kindneſſes and good turns thou doſt unto thy ſelf, in doing that which will prove thy durable good, and not in ſaying magnificent things of thy preſent ſtate, applauding thy temporal felicities.
19. He ſhall go to the generation of his fathers: they ſhall never ſee light.
Paraphrase. 19. The juſt ſhall be gathered to their fathers in peace, die indeed, as their fathers did before them; but the wicked ſhall be deſtroyed for ever, their death ſhall be their entrance into endleſs unexpreſſible darkneſs and miſery, and to that they ſhall be for ever confined.
20. Man that is in honour and underſtandeth not, is like the beaſts that periſh.
Paraphrase. 20. The concluſion then is. There is not a more brutiſh creature (more fit to be pitied than envied) than a worldly wicked man, advanced to greatneſs in this world, and pleaſing himſelf in it: he doth not at all underſtand his own condition, he triumphs, and thinks himſelf very happy; and whilſt he doth ſo, death unexpectedly ſeiſes upon him, and confutes him, ſweeps him away, helpleſs, and friendleſs, as a beaſt of the field, that juſt now took himſelf for one of the greateſt men in the world; juſt as they periſh and leave all behind them, ſo doth he. (Only the wiſe and virtuous, the upright, v. 10, 14. have better hopes, and ſhall not fail of atteining them.
Annotations on Pſalm XLIX.
foreignV. 2. Low and high] The difference between foreign and foreign may here briefly be noted. The former is taken for a great or eminent perſon, in any reſpect, of virtue, extraction, ſtrength, &c. So 1 Sam. 26.15. Art thou not foreign a man? is expounded by what follows, and who is like thee in Iſrael? ſignifying there the military valour and reputation of Abner; and many the like. Whereas as foreign from foreign earth, foreignſignifies an earthy, or frail, mortal, mean man. And ſo foreign here, ſons of this mean man,] are the lower and ordinary ſort of men: foreign, ſons of the earth, ſay the LXXII. not that they read foreign earth, for foreign, but becauſe they would in their reading allude to the original of the word, as oft they do. And then foreign are the contrary to theſe, perſons of the higher quality. The Chaldee expreſs the former phraſe by the ſons of old Adam, the latter by the ſons of Jacob; making this difference between the reſt of mankind, and the people of Iſrael, and giving the latter the preeminence over all other; and ſo they make them comprehenſive words, containing Gentiles and Jews, i. e. all the men in the world: and that very fitly, the Pſalm following being the equal concernment of them both. But 'tis more likely, that the phraſes denote only the ſeveral conditions of men, of the lower, and higher rank; for ſo the conſequents interpret it, rich and poor; the former (according to the ſacred ſtyle frequently obſervable) explicative of the latter of thoſe, and the latter of the former by way of foreign.
foreignV. 4. Dark ſaying] The Hebrew foreign a proverb or parable, is of great latitude: ſignifies primarily any ſimilitude, by which another thing is expreſt; thence a figurative ſpeech, either by way of fiction and fable, ſuch are riddles or ſignificant apologues, as that of Jotham, Jud. 9.7. and many others in Scripture, both in the old and new Teſtament; or by way of application of ſome true example or ſimilitude, as when the ſluggard is bid go to the ant, the impenitent ſinner to the ſwallow and crane, which return at their certain ſeaſons, and ſo are fit to preach returning or repentance to ſinners. And finally it belongs to all moral doctrine, either darkly, or only ſententiouſly delivered, becauſe the wiſe men of the world were wont to deliver that in ſhort conciſe ſentences, or foreign, ſometimes in ſchemes or figures, ſometimes without, (as we ſee in Solomons foreign Proverbs or Parables, many of them are plain moral ſayings, foreign, without any figure, or darkneſs, or compariſon (from whence yet they are called foreign,) in them, as, The fear of God is the beginning of wiſdom, &c. and ſo 1 Sam. 24.13. as ſaith the Proverb of the Antients, Wickedneſs proceedeth from the wicked.) Of this ſort is that which is here ſpoken of, a moral ſentence, not much veiled with figures, nor ſo conciſe as ordinarily Proverbs are, but a larger declaration of this wiſe Ethical maxime, the vanity of all wicked mens proſperity: and this is by the LXXII. rendred foreign, which ſignifies literally a compariſon, but is more looſely taken for any moral ſentence; as is alſo foreign, which Heſychius fully defines foreign, a ſaying profitable for mens lives, and foreign, exhortations, adviſes, admonitions, for the rectifying of manners and paſſions; ſo called indeed, as being foreign, or foreign, beſide the ordinary road, in figures or artificial ſchemes, or poetical, and ſo not vulgar expreſsions, (many of which will be diſcovered here in this Pſalm) but uſed more looſely alſo, and indifferently for thoſe which have no figure in them. And of the ſame kind is foreign my riddle, foreignthat here follows, from foreign to ſpeak acutely or darkly, uſed for a riddle in the ſtory of Samſon, Jud. 17. for queſtions of ſome difficulty, ſuch as the Queen of Sheba askt Solomon, 1 King. 10.1. and accordingly 'tis here rendred by the LXXII. foreign, my Problem or difficult queſtion: which yet is not only the asking of ſuch a queſtion, (which is here done, v. 5.) but the anſwering of it alſo, (as 'tis there in the following words) and ſo the ſtating or reſolving, or giving an account of any difficulty (as we know thoſe of Ariſtotle and Aphrodiſaeus were, and ſome of them moral, as well as natural;) and then it belongs very fitly to the matter in hand, the wiſe, moral, foreign, here delivered, but ſomewhat obſcurely in the reſt of the Pſalm.
V. 5. Iniquity of my heels] What is meant by foreign evill of my heels, foreignwill be beſt judged by taking the words aſunder. And firſt foreign ſignifies evil both of fault, and puniſhment; frequently in the former, but ſometimes in the latter alſo. So 1 Sam. 28.10. when Saul ſware to the witch, that no foreign (that muſt be puniſhment) ſhould happen to her for this. So Iſa. 53.11. he ſhall bear foreign, their iniquities, we read, it muſt be the puniſhments of their iniquities; and ſo v. 6. The Lord hath laid on him foreign, not the iniquity, but the puniſhment of us all: and ſo Pſal. 31.10. my grief and my ſighing, and foreign my (not iniquity, but) puniſhment, belong to the ſame matter, and interpret one the other. And thus moſt probably 'tis taken here. Then for foreign my heels, foreign'twill beſt be underſtood in the notion which Aben Ezra and Jarchi have of it: foreign, my heels, ſaith Sol Jarchi, foreign my latter end, and ſo it frequently ſignifies in Arabick; and then the evil of my heels, ſaith Aben Ezra, is foreign the days of old age, called the evil days, Eccl. 12.1. and to this the Chaldee here may ſeem to refer, adding in their paraphraſe foreign in my end. And this evil of our heels is ſaid to incompaſs us, when old age and approach of death ſurround us on every ſide, and ſo is ready inevitably to ſeize upon us. This therefore is no obſcure interpretation of the queſtion-part of this probleme, or parable, on the underſtanding of which all the ſubſequent part of the Pſalm depends, Why ſhould I fear in my decrepit age, in ſickneſs, or in death? Is there any reaſon for a pious man to apprehend death with any diſquiet, when it begins its cloſe approaches, and is moſt unavoidably ready to ſeize on him?
V. 6. Truſt] foreign from foreign confidit, foreignſignifies confident, ſecure men: ſuch was he that ſaid, he had goods laid up for many years, and thereupon gave himſelf up to enjoy the pleaſures of this life, to eat, drink, and he merry. Of theſe ſaith the Pſalmiſt here, foreign,foreign they will glory, triumph, or applaud themſelves foreign over, or for, or in their wealth, foreign and in the ſtrength, or multitude of their riches. This is the moſt literal importance of the verſe, making of it ſelf a complete propoſition, Confident men boaſt themſelves in their wealth, &c. and then follows, with good connexion, foreign a brother by redeeming ſhall not redeem, i. e. no man ſhall in any wiſe be able to redeem either another or himſelf. foreign, &c. a man ſhall not give his ranſome to God, i. e. no meer man ſhall ever be able to pay foreign, a price of equal value, to reſcue one ſinner from the power of death, to which he is ſentenced. This the LXXII. ſeem to have thus read, though now in the copies it is much deformed; 'Tis now thus read, foreign, or foreign. But with a light change of the punctation, and of foreign, for foreign, 'tis exactly conſonant to the Hebrew, foreign, &c. A brother ſhall in no wiſe redeem, a man ſhall not give, &c. Then follows foreign for the redemption of their ſoul or life ſhall be pretious, i. e. of a great and high rate, foreign and ceaſeth for ever; ſhall be a high-prized redemption, which coſts very dear, but then it is alſo a ſingular eternal redemption, that being once wrought▪ ſhall need never to be repeated again: whereon it follows, and he ſhall yet live for ever, ſo foreign is literally to be rendred, and ſo the Chaldee paraphraſes it foreign and he ſhall yet live an eternal life, never dying any more, death having no more dominion or power over him. And thus it belongs expreſly to Chriſt, of whom the Apoſtle reſolves, for in that he died, he died unto ſin, or to put away ſin once, or but once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. And ſo certainly the next words foreign he ſhall not ſee corruption] are peculiarly applyed to Chriſt, Pſal. 16.10. and in that ſenſe frequently appealed to by the Apoſtles, Act. 2.27, and 31. c. 13.35, and 37. to which purpoſe the words of Moſes Hadarſan are very obſervable. This verſe, ſaith he, is ſpoken foreign of the King Meſſiah, foreign who ſhall dye to redeem the fathers, and after that ſhall live for ever, he ſhall not ſee corruption: which expreſly interprets the whole paſſage to this matter. And the gloſs of Siphra and Midras Tehillim is worth taking notice of: foreign, &c. A man ſhall not ſay, my father was righteous, by his merit I ſhall eſcape, or be delivered, Abraham delivered not his ſon Iſhmael, and Jacob delivered not his brother Eſau: he ſaith a brother ſhall not, &c. to ſignifie that no meer man ſhall redeem any.
V. 10. Wiſe men] The difference in this place betwixt wiſe men, and fooliſh is to be taken from the general uſe of Scripture, where, according to Sacred idiome, the nouns are uſed in a moral practick ſenſe, for piety and impiety. And thus it is moſt agreeable to the aim of the Pſalm deſigning to ſhew the different future ſtate of the good and bad:foreign foreign the wiſe may dye as their redeemer did, who was wiſdome it ſelf, but then foreign the fool, or wicked man, he, foreign and the brute, or brutiſh perſon, foreign ſhall (more then dye) even periſh together, and then no longer poſſeſs or receive benefit from their wealth, in which they ſo much confided, but leave it foreign to ſtrangers; ſo the LXXII. render it, foreign, to others, which are not of their family, and for whom they never deſired to gather it. Of which ſtrangers it follows, v. 11. foreign among them, foreigni. e. among theſe ſtrangers, that ſucceed to their poſſeſſions, foreign their houſes ſhall abide or continue for ever, never reverting to the kindred of the former poſſeſſor, foreign their Tabernacles the places of their tranſitory abode ſhall abide from generation to generation: and then as the antient poſſeſſors are irreverſibly gone, ſo is their memory;foreign the new poſſeſſors foreign call by their names over their land, i. e. (by an uſual hypallage) impoſe their names on their lands, or call the lands after their names. And ſo this is a very literal and obvious ſenſe of theſe words, which the antient Interpreters have generally miſtaken, reading their ſepulchres for foreign, either from the vicinity of foreign, a ſepulchre, to foreign, the middle or inner part, or becauſe foreign may ſignifie the inner part, or cloſer receſs of their large and nobler ſepulchres, Davids being ſo large, as to receive the bodies of many of his ſucceſſors, (Abrahams from the name Machpelah is ſuppoſed to have been double) and the Heroes being among the antient heathens buried in adytis, in the receſſes or vaults of the Temples, from whence conſequently the Reſponſes of Oracles were delivered.
V. 12. foreignAbideth not] The Hebrew foreign ſhall not abide, is viſibly miſtaken by the LXXII. for foreign ſhall not underſtand, which they after found, v. 20. and accordingly they render it here, as there, foreign, underſtood not: And herein the Syriack, and Latine, and Arabick follow them; but the Chaldee accord with our Hebrew, foreign ſhall not lodge, or ſtay a night, for ſo the Chaldee foreign (the root from which is foreign houſe) ſignifies.
V. 13. foreignTheir folly] foreign is literally folly to them, i. e. though this their way (the worldlings truſt in his wealth,) ſeem to them a piece of ſpecial wiſdome, yet in the event it proves otherwiſe, it becomes perfect folly to them (the LXXII. ſeem to have read foreign ſcandal) when they come to diſcern their fruſtrations. And then it fitly follows, their ſucceſſors, they that poſſeſs what they part with,foreign foreign are pleaſed at their mouth, i. e. (as foreign is as an expletive, Exod. 12.14.) with them.
V. 14. foreignGrave] That foreign is here taken for the ſtate of the dead, there can be no doubt, the whole contex inforcing it, which is of the periſhing of men like ſheep, v. 10, 12, 20. So that this phraſe foreign as ſheep they are put into that ſtate of the dead, is exactly parallel to [they are compared to the beaſts that periſh] twice repeated in this Pſalm: for as foreign as ſheep] is directly all one with their being compared to beaſts] ſo foreign being put in Scheol] is the paraphraſe of periſhing.] This then will be a key to the opening the next next part of the expreſſion,foreign foreign death ſhall deal with them as a ſhepherd with a flock of ſheep, foreign, death ſhall do with them as a paſtor doth, ſay the LXXII. The Hebrew foreign is to give the ſheep paſture, foreignor look to them, when they are feeding, Gen. 29.7. water ye the ſheep and go foreign feed them, or lead them to their paſtures, for that purpoſe. So Gen. 30.32. foreign I will return, I will feed, I will keep thy ſheep: foreignwhere foreign contains under it all the care and conduct, in order to their feeding, as foreign the defending, and ſeeing that they come to no harm. Now this feeding of ſheep is very diſtant from feeding on them, as much as the Kings office of preſerving his people from the enemies invaſive arms for the ſlaughtering them. The ſame word is frequently uſed for ruling, governing; and ſo 'tis generally, when 'tis applied to men, the ruler of whom is ordinarily ſtyled foreign, paſtor, in all dialects. In this place the metaphore of ſheep muſt needs rule the ſignification of it. As ſheep are put into a paſture, there to continue together in a common place; ſo men are put into foreign, the ſtate of the dead, in the former words, and to that regularly follows, death foreign is as the ſhepherd that conducts or leads them into this paſture (thoſe Elyſian fields.) An excellent piece of divine poeſie, to ſignifie, how men like ſheep, like beaſts, go by flocks and herds out of this life; or more plainly, that men die as ordinarily, and regularly, as ſheep, are lead to their paſture. Then for the next part of this verſe, foreign which the LXXII. render not amiſs, foreign, the juſt ſhall have dominion of them in the morning, foreignthe full meaning of it will be, that after this night of death ſhall follow a morning in the reſurrection, in which the juſt ſhall judge the world, and ſo ſubjugate the wicked wordlings to all eternity. Then follows, foreign and their beauty, foreignor form, or figure, (ſo foreign ſignifies from foreign effinxit, formavit, foreign being a contraction of foreign) which being an imperfect ſenſe, muſt be ſupplied from that which went before, and their form, i. e. ſo likewiſe ſhall their form do; as the upright ſhall in the reſurrection have dominion over the wicked, riſe and raign joyfully, ſo likewiſe ſhall their form, or figure, referring to the reſtauration of their bodies, they ſhall riſe again in their old ſhapes, foreign to the failing of Hades from an habitation to it, i. e. where Hades ſhall fail to be an habitation to it, i. e. when the grave, or common repoſitory of the dead, in which their beauty, form, and figure was conſumed, ſhall it ſelf decay and loſe its ſtrength, death having forfeited her ſting, and the grave her victory, no longer to be a manſion to the bodies of the juſt. And this being here ſpoken in general of all juſt men, is by David particularly applied to himſelf, v. 15. But God will deliver my ſoul from the power of the grave, &c. For foreign] the LXXII.foreign read foreign, their help] (as from foreign petra, a rock, and by metaphore, ſtrength, refuge, and ſo help:) and the Latine follows them; but Syriack reads foreign their form or image. And ſo this is the interpretation of this whole verſe, the principal part of difficulty in this parable, or dark ſaying for, which this Pſalm was deſigned.
V. 15. foreignReceive me] Gods receiving here is to be underſtood in the ſame ſenſe as Enochs being received, or taken by God, Gen. 5.24. or as we find Pſal. 73.34. thou ſhalt after receive me to glory. Thus Jonah, 4.3. he prays, take, I beſeech thee, my life—And then it will ſignifie Gods future receiving him to glory.
V. 18. Though whilſt he lived] The Hebrew of the 18. verſe is thus literally and clearly rendred, foreign for in his living, foreignor life time, he bleſt his ſoul; the impious worldling applauded much his own preſent ſtate,foreign foreign but men ſhall praiſe thee, or, thou ſhalt be praiſed, foreign if, or when thou doſt well to thy ſelf, i. e. for doing well to thy ſelf, for doing that which may tend really and eternally to thy good, and not for ſaying well, for applauding thy preſent felicity.
V. 19. Shall go] To go or to be gathered to the fathers, is a known expreſſion of dying in peace, and the ſame is the importance of the phraſe here foreign he ſhall go to the generation of his fathers;foreign So the Chaldee read it, foreign &c. the memory of the juſt ſhall come, and be added to the generation of their fathers, but the wicked ſhall never ſee light.