The psalmist's earnest PSALM LXXXVIII. prayer to God. A Song or Psalm 'for the sons of Korah, to || more: and they are cut off from thy A. M. 2981. the chief Musician, upon Mahalath Leannoth, hand. B. C. 1023. 6 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. 7 Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah. 8 h Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomina 3 For my soul is full of troubles: and my life tion unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot • draweth nigh unto the grave. NOTES ON PSALM LXXXVIII. come forth. 9 Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, 'I have called daily upon thee, m I have stretched out my hands unto thee. 10 Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah. 5 Psa. xlii. 7.- h Job xix. 13, 19; Psalm xxxi. 11; cxlii. 4. i Lam. iii. 7.- Psa. xxxviii, 10.- Psa. lxxxvi. 3.- m Job xi. 13; Psa. cxliii. 6.- Psa. vi. 5; xxx. 9; cxv. 17; cxviii. 17; Isa. xxxviii. 18. greatly may good men be afflicted, and such dismal Title. Upon Mahalath Leannoth-Dr. Waterland apprehensions may they have concerning their afflicrenders this, The hollow instrument for answering; tions, and such dark conclusions may they someand Houbigant, For the choirs that they may an- times be ready to make concerning the issue of swer. But Mudge renders the latter word, To cre- them, through the power of melancholy, and the ate dejection; to raise a pensive gloom or melancholy weakness of faith. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me— in the mind; agreeably to the tenor of the Psalm; The sense of thy wrath, or rather, the effects of it, but probably the words are only the name of the as the next clause explains it. Thou hast afflicted tune to which it was set to music, or of the instru- me with all thy waves-With thy judgments breakment on which it was played. Maschil of Heman-ing in furiously upon me, like the waves of the sea. Probably the same person who was famous in David's time, both for his skill in music and for general wisdom: see 1 Kings iv. 31; 1 Chron. vi. 33. Verses 1-4. O Lord God of my salvation-Who hast so often saved me in former distresses; I have cried day and night before thee-Thus God's own elect are said, by Christ, to cry to him, Luke xviii. 7; and thus ought men always to pray and not to faint. Let my prayer come before thee-To be accepted of thee. For my soul is full of troubles-Troubles of mind, from a sense of God's wrath and departure from him, as appears verses 14-16. I am counted with them that go down into the pit—I am given up by my friends and acquaintance for a lost man. Verse 5. Free among the dead-Well nigh discharged from the warfare of the present life, and entered, as a member, into the society of the dead; or, removed from all the affairs and conversation of men as if I were really dead. Like the slain, whom thou rememberest no more-Whom thou seemest wholly to neglect and to bury in oblivion. He speaks of these matters, not as they are in truth, for he knew very well that forgetfulness was not incident to God, and that God did remember all the dead, and would call them to an account; but only as to appearance, and the opinion of the world, and the things of this life. And they are cut off from thy hand-From the care and conduct of thy providence, which is to be understd as the former clause. Verses 6, 7. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, &c.-In hopeless and remediless calamities. Thus Verses 8, 9. Thou hast put away mine acquaint||ance far from me--I can have no more familiarity or intercourse with my friends than if I were in another world; for thy providence hath removed, or rendered them incapable, or disinclined, to be serviceable to me. Thou hast made me an abomination unto them-They are not only shy, but weary of me; and I am looked upon by them, not only with contempt, but with abhorrence. Reader, do not think it strange if thou should be called to encounter such a trial as this, since Heman, who was so famed for wisdom, was thus neglected when the world frowned upon him, and despised as a broken vessel, in which is no pleasure. I am shut up-A close prisoner under the arrest of the divine wrath; I cannot come forth-There being no way of escape open. He therefore lies down and sinks under his troubles, because he sees not any probability of getting out of them. Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction— But though I thus give vent to my grief, my troubled spirit receives no relief thereby nevertheless, I have called daily upon thee-My weeping has not hindered my praying. I have stretched out my hands unto thee-For help and deliverance, though hitherto without effect, for thou dost not hear nor answer me. Verses 10-12. Wilt thou show wonders to the dead?-Namely, in raising them to life again in this world? No: I know thou wilt not. And therefore now hear and help me, or it will be too late. Shall the dead arise and praise thee?-Namely, The psalmist celebrates A. M. 2981. PSALM LXXXIX. B. C. 1023. the mercy of God. 11 Shall thy loving-kindness be de- || why hidest thou thy face from me? A. M. 2981. clared in the grave? or thy faithful- 15 I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted. ness in destruction? 12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? Pand thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13 But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. r 16 Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off. 17 They came round about me 5 daily like water; they "compassed me about together. 18 Lover and friend hast thou put far from 14 LORD, why castest thou off my soul? me, and mine acquaintance into darkness. • Job x. 21; Psa. cxliii. 3.- Psa. xxxi. 12; Verse 5; Eccl. viii. 10; ix. 5.-9 Psa. v. 3; cxix. 147. Psa. xliii. 2. Job xiii. 24; Psalm xiii. 1.-—t Job vi. 4. 5 Or, all the day. " Psa. xxii. 16.- Job xix. 13; Psa. xxxi. 11; xxxviii. 11.' among mortal men in this world? Shall thy loving-|| before the ordinary time of morning prayer, or bekindness be declared in the grave? &c.—I am not without hopes, that thou bearest a real good-will toward me, and wilt faithfully perform thy gracious promises made to me, and to all that love thee, and call upon thee in truth, but then this must be done speedily, or I shall be utterly incapable of receiving such a mercy. Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? In the grave, which is called the land of || darkness, Job x. 21, 22. Thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?—The grave, so called, either, 1st, Because there men forget and neglect all the concerns of this life, being indeed but dead carcasses without any sense or remembrance. Or, rather, 2d, Because there men are forgotten even by their nearest relations. Verses 13-18. In the morning shall my prayer prevent thee-That is, shall be offered to thee early, || fore the dawning of the day, or the rising of the sun. The sense is, Though I have hitherto got no answer to my prayers, yet I will not give over praying and hoping for an answer. Why hidest thou thy face from me?-This proceeding seems not to agree with the benignity of thy nature, nor with the manner of thy dealing with thy people. I am ready to die from my youth up—My whole life hath been filled with a succession of deadly calamities. O Lord, take some pity upon me, and let me have a little breathing space before I die. While I suffer thy terrors-Upon my mind and conscience, which accompany and aggravate my outward miseries, I am distracted-I am so astonished, that I know not what to do with myself. They came about me like water-As the waters of the sea encompass him who is in the midst, and at the bottom of it. PSALM LXXXIX. As this Psalm manifestly treats of the declining state of the house and kingdom of David, it is probable the author of it lived either in the time of Jehoiachin or Zedekiah, about the beginning of the Babylonish captivity. He praises God and rejoices in him, 1-18. He builds all his hopes on God's covenant with David, 19-37. He laments the present calamities of the king and royal family, 38-45. Expostulates with, prays to God, and praises him, 46–52. soever hath befallen us, it proceeded not from thy unfaithfulness. For I have said-That is, within myself. I have been assured in my own mind; Mercy shall be built up for ever-As thou hast laid a sure foundation of mercy to David's family, by that everlasting covenant which thou hast made with Verses 1,2. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord -He speaks this by way of preface, lest the follow-it; so I concluded that thou wouldest carry on the ing complaints of present miseries should argue ingratitude for former mercies. I will make known thy faithfulness-Assuring posterity, from my own observation and experience, that thou art true to every word that thou hast spoken, and that what same project of mercy toward it; that thou wouldest build it up, and not destroy it. Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens-That is, in thy eternal counsels, which are above the changes of this lower region, and out of the reach of the oppo of the saints, and to be had in reverence of ||ated them: 4 Tabor and * Hermon shall rejoice all them that are about him. b Psa. cxix. 89.- - 1 Kings viii. 16; Isa. xlii. 1.- d 2 Sam. vii. 11. &c.; 1 Chron. xvii. 10, &c.; Jer. xxx. 9; Ezek. xxxiv. 23; Hos. iii. 5.-e Verses 29, 36.- f Verse 1; Luke i. 32,|| 33.5 Psa. xix. 1; xcvii. 6; Rev. vii. 10, 11, 12.- b Verse 7. iPsalm xl. 5; lxxi. 19; lxxxvi. 8; cxiii. 5.—k Psalm 1xxvi. || 7, 11. sition of earth and hell. Or, as the Hebrew may be rendered, with the very heavens; that is, as firmly and durably as the heavens themselves, as with the sun, in the Hebrew text, Psa. lxxii. 5, is by most interpreters rendered, As long as the sun endureth, as it is in our translation. And so this phrase, in this last branch of the verse, answers to for ever in the former. Verses 3-5. I have made a covenant with my chosen-With David, whom I have chosen to the kingdom. Thy seed will I establish for ever, &c. -I will perpetuate the kingdom to thy posterity; which was promised upon condition, and was literally accomplished in Christ, who was of the seed of David. And the heavens shall praise thy wonders-That is, the inhabitants of heaven, the holy angels, who clearly discern and constantly adore thy mercy and faithfulness; when men upon earth are filled with doubts and perplexities about it. Thy || faithfulness also-Understand, shall be praised; (which supplements are usual in Scripture;) in the congregation of the saints-Either, 1st, Of thy saints on earth in their public assemblies; who always acknowledge and celebrate thy truth, though they cannot always discern the footsteps of it: or, rather, 2d, Of the angels in heaven, of whom he speaks in the foregoing clause; and who are often called saints, or holy ones. Verses 6, 7. Who among the sons of the mighty-|| That is, of the most mighty princes upon earth: or among the highest angels; who well may and needs must admire and adore thee, because thou art incomparably and infinitely more excellent than they. God is greatly to be feared-With a fear of reverence; for dread and terror have no place in those blessed mansions, and holy spirits. In the assembly of the saints-The whole society of angels, called saints, or holy ones, again, as in verse 5. And to be in thy name. m 1 Exod. xv. 11; 1 Sam. ii. 2; Psa. xxxv. 10; lxxi. 19.Psa. Ixv. 7; xciii. 3, 4; cvii. 29.- Exod. xiv. 26, 27, 28; Psalm lxxxvii. 4; lsa. xxx. 7; li. 9.- - Or, Egypt. Heb. with the arm of thy strength. Gen. i. 1; 1 Chron. xxix. 11; Psalm xxiv. 1, 2; 1. 12.—P Job xxvi. 7.-9 Josh. xix. 22. Josh. xii. 1. had in reverence of all about him--The angels, who are always in his presence, and encompass his throne. Verses 8-10. Who is a strong Lord like unto thee?-Who is equal to thee in power, or, as it follows, in faithfulness. Or to thy faithfulness round about thee-Hebrew, and thy faithfulness is round about thee, encompassing and adorning thee like a girdle. It appears in all thy paths and actions, in thy words and works. Thou rulest the raging of the sea-Giving commands, and setting bounds to its waves when they are most impetuous and unruly. Thou hast broken Rahab-Egypt, as Psalm Ixxxvii. 4. As one that is slain-Thou didst wound them not slightly, but unto death. Verses 11, 12. The earth also is thine, and the fulness thereof-All the creatures wherewith it is replenished, as Psalm xxiv. 1, and 1. 12. Thou hast founded them-They are all thy creatures, and of consequence are wholly subject to thy power and pleasure; and therefore all the monarchs and kingdoms of the earth cannot hinder thee from making good thy promise to the house and kingdom of David. The north and the south thou hast created them-That is, the northern and southern parts of the world, yea, even the remotest ends thereof, though not yet known to us, were made and are ruled by thee. Tabor and Hermon-Two eminent mountains in the land of Canaan; Tabor in the west, and within Jordan, Hermon on the east, and without Jordan. By which he may intend either, 1st, The western and eastern parts of the world, and so all the four parts of it are contained in this verse. Or, 2d, Only the several parts of the land of Canaan, both within Jordan and without it. And the mountains may be named rather than the valleys, because, when their fertility is expressed, the fertility of the valleys is more strongly supposed. Shall rejoice- b 16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: 21 With whom my hand shall be establishand in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.ed: mine arm also shall strengthen him. 17 For thou art the glory of their strength; 22 The enemy shall not exact upon him; y and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted. • Heb. an arm with might. - Psa. xcvii. 2.-7 Or, establishment. Psa. lxxxv. 13.- - Num. x. 10; xxiii. 21; Psalm xcviii. 6. — Psa. iv. 6; xliv. 3.——y Verse 24; Psa. lxxv. 10; xcii. 10; cxxxii. 17. Shall be fruitful and prosperous, and so give their inhabitants cause to rejoice; in thy name--In or by thy favour, and the fruits thereof. Verses 13, 14. Thou hast a mighty arm, &c.Thy power, extending itself throughout the whole, always effects, in every place, whatsoever thou designest, and that with an irresistible force; whether it be to punish evil-doers, or to preserve and exalt them that do well. Justice and judgment-That is,|| just judgment, or justice in judging; are the habitation of thy throne, or the basis, or foundation, as the word mechon, is used, Ezra ii. 68, and iii. 3; Psa. xcvii. 2, and civ. 5. They are the ground-work of all thy proceedings, and the stability of thy throne and government. For God could not be the Ruler and Judge of the world if he did not in all things act according to the most perfect righteousness, which indeed is the result of his most holy and righteous nature, Gen. xviii. 25. Mercy and truth || shall go before thy face-As thy harbingers and companions whithersoever thou goest. Thou art neither unjust, nor unmerciful, nor unfaithful in any of thy dealings with thy creatures: none shall be able to say thou doest them any wrong; for thou dost not rule the world merely by thy absolute power; but placest thy principal glory in justice and equity, mercy and fidelity; from which thou never swervest. Verse 15. Blessed are the people, &c.-Next to the praises of Jehovah, is declared the happiness of those who have him for their God, who are his worshippers and servants, living under his righteous and merciful government; that know-That hear, from time to time, acknowledge and obey; the joyful sound-"The sound of the trumpet, by which the festivals of the Jewish Church were proclaimed, and the people were called together to the offices of devotion;" that is, who have God's word and ordinances among them, and are favoured with his presence, and with the tokens of his mercy and grace, in and by these means; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance-Being blessed with the light of truth, and being enabled to walk therein, they shall live under the comfortable influences of с nor the son of wickedness afflict him. 8 Or, our shield is of the LORD, and our king is of the Holy One of Israel; Psalm xlvii. 9. Verse 3; 1 Kings xi. 34. lxxx. 17.- 2 Samuel vii. a 1 Samuel xvi. 1, 12.b Psalm 13. thy love and favour. Remember, reader, "these blessings are now become our own; the evangelical trumpet hath sounded through the once heathen world; the Sun of righteousness hath risen upon all nations. Let us attend to the joyful sound; let us walk in the glorious light.”—Horne. Verses 16-18. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day-That is, in the knowledge and remembrance of thy name, or of thy infinite power and goodness, revealed and imparted to them; and in thy righteousness— -Whereby thou art both inclined, and, in some sort, engaged to hear the prayers of thy people, and to save them from all their enemies; or, in and by thy mercy, for righteousness frequently means mercy; or in and through the obedience unto death of him who is the Lord our righteousness, and is made of God unto us righteousness, and through the righteousness of faith in him, Rom. iv. 3, 22-24, shall they be exalted-To the dignity of thy sons and daughters here, and to the heavenly inheritance hereafter. For thou art the glory of their strength-All that strength in which they do, or may glory, is from thee as the gift of thy grace: and to thee alone belongs the glory of all their victories over their enemies, and of all their achievements. In thy favour our horn shall be exalted-The efforts of our power shall be crowned with victory and success. For the Lord is our defence-Here the psalmist assigns the reason of his confidence, that their horn should be exalted. And the Holy One of Israel is our King-Having therefore so pow erful a deliverance and protector, we have no reason to despair of our restitution to our former felicity. Hebrew, 1 h, to Jehovah belongs our shield, or, as the margin reads it, our shield is of the Lord, our King is the Holy One of Israel. Our relation to God, as his worshippers and subjects, is the ground of our confidence for deliverance and protection. If God be our ruler, he will be our defender, and who is he then that can harm us? Verses 19-22. Then-That is, of old; thou spakest in vision—Which then was the usual way by which God spake to the prophets; to thy Holy e of the righteous. B. C. 599. 29 His seed also will I make to A. M. 3405. endure for ever, P and his throne as the days of heaven. r 30 If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; 24 But my faithfulness and my mercy shall One-To thy holy prophets, the singular number being put for the plural; especially to Samuel and Nathan; for part of the following message was delivered to the former, and part to the latter; I have laid help upon one that is mighty-I have provided help and relief for my people through a person of singular courage and wisdom, whom I have properly qualified for so great an undertaking. I have exalted one chosen out of the people-One whom I have singled out as the fittest of all others for the kingly office. I have found David my servant-In saying I have found, God speaks after the manner of men, to intimate the great scarcity of such persons and the difficulty of finding them; with my holy oil I have anointed him-Both with material oil, (1 Sam. xvi. 13; 2 Sam. v. 3,) and with the gifts and graces of my Holy Spirit, which are often signified by oil or unction, as Psa. xlv. 7, compared with Isa. lxi. 1; 1 John ii. 20, 27. With whom my hand shall be established-That is, constantly abide to protect and assist him. The enemy shall not exact upon himNot conquer him to make him tributary. Hebrew, , lo jashi, shall not deceive, or circumvent him, as this word is often rendered; nor the son of wickedness afflict him-Namely, so as to overthrow or destroy him. Verses 24-26. My faithfulness and mercy shall be with him--Faithfulness in making good all my promises to him; and mercy in doing more for him than I promised, and in pardoning his sins, for which I might justly make him to know my breach of promise. And in my name-That is, by my favour and help; shall his horn be exalted-He shall have both power and victory. I will set his hand also in the sea-That is, I will extend his dominion, and establish his power over the countries westward, as far as the Mediterranean sea. And his right hand in the rivers--Namely, eastward, as far as the Euphrates and Tigris, and the various branches of these rivers. He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father-He shall find me to be a true and a kind father to him, and shall familiarly and confidently make his addresses 31 If they break my statutes, and keep not 32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. 33 "Nevertheless, my loving-kindness 10 will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness 11 to fail. 34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. P Verse 4; Isa. ix. 7; Jeremiah xxxiii. 17.-9 Deut. xi. 21. r 2 Sam. vii. 14.- Psa. cxix. 53; Jer. ix. 13.-9 Heb. profane my statutes. t2 Sam. vii. 14; 1 Kings xi. 31.- -"2 Sam. vii. 13.- 10 Heb. I will not make void from him. 11 Heb. to lie. to me as such, for all necessary supplies and assistances, which parents willingly afford to their children. Verse 27. I will make him my firstborn-As he calls me father, so I will make him my son, yea, my firstborn; the firstborn had divers privileges above other sons. This and the following passage, in some sort, agree to David, but are much more fully and properly accomplished in Christ, and seem to be ascribed to David here chiefly as he was a type of Christ, and that the mind of the reader might be led through him to Christ. Higher than the kings of the earth-If this be, in some sense, applicable to David, because he had a greater power and dominion than any of the neighbouring kings, or because he excelled all other kings of the earth in privileges, as he also probably did in honour and renown, obtained by his military achievements, and by that wisdom and justice by which he governed his dominions; and especially because he was a king chosen and advanced by the immediate appointment of God himself; was set over God's peculiar and beloved people, and was intrusted with the care and patronage of the true religion and the worship of God in the world; if, on these accounts, it might be said that David was higher than the kings of the earth, how much more may it be affirmed of him who is King of kings, and Lord of lords, and God blessed for ever? Verses 28-34. My mercy-Declared and promised to him and his seed, as it here follows; will I keep for him for evermore-Nothing shall alter my kind intentions, but I will mercifully fulfil all my promises to him; and my covenant shall stand fast, &c.— Of which see notes on 2 Sam. vii. 12, 13. His seed will I make to endure for ever-That is, to sit upon the throne for ever, as the next words explain it. This was accomplished only in Christ, the eternal king of the church and of the world, who was of David's seed according to the flesh. And his throne as the days of heaven-As long as the world shall have a being, or for ever, as was now said. It shall be as unchangeable and durable as the heavens themselves, which are of an incorruptible nature. |