Ver. 1. I will love thee, O Lord my strength] Heb. I will love thee dearly and entirely, ex intimis visceribus, from the very heart-root, from the bottom of my bowels; with like intention of affection, as a tender hearted mother doth her dearest babe, that is her own bowels; herself of the second edition. Neither did David herein supererogate: For God requireth to be loved with all the heart, mind, soul, strength, as one that is best worthy; good without measure, that hath loved us without measure, and therefore is without measure by us to be beloved. Modus sit sine mode (Bern.). Not that we are bound to love God in quantum est diligibilis so much as he is lovely or love worthy; for so God can only love himself; but, Nihil supra, aeque, aut contra, nothing must we love above God or so much as God, much less against God; we must be able to say affectionately, with David, Psalms 73:25,26, “Whom have I in heaven but thee? there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.” And as Bernard, Amo te, Domine, plus quam mea, meos, me I love thee, Lord, more than my goods, my friends, myself. A Christian begins with loving God for himself, but he ends in loving himself, and all other, both persons and things, in and for God. His friend he loveth in the Lord, his foes for the Lord; but God he loveth absolutely, and for himself, affecting not only a union with him, but even a unity, his heart being turned, as it were, into a very lump of love, as was Mary’s, Luke 7:47. Histories tell of a certain woman that came to Vespasian the emperor, professing that she was in love with him; he commanded that a liberal reward should be given her for the same; and when his steward asked him under what item he should put that gift in the book of account, Vespasiano adamato, said the emperor, Item, To her that loved Vespasian. God, saith the apostle, is not unrighteous, to forget your labour of love, &c., Hebrews 6:10. “I love them that love me,” saith Christ, Proverbs 8:17. And his love is not like the winter sun, which hath light, but no heat; he is the strength of his people, their rock, fortress.
Ver. 2. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, &c.] i.e. He is all in all for my preservation. Ten words, say the Hebrews, he here heapeth up, in reference to ten signal victories; or rather because his thankful heart was so enlarged, that he could never satisfy himself in saying what God had been to him and done for him; and hence this congeries, or heap of holy expressions; and all to show that God is a rock of refuge, a firm fortress, a receptacle of rest, a sanctuary of safety to all his saints in time of trouble. David had had his share, and had been put to his shifts; glad to hide himself, as he could, in rocks and strong holds that sheltered him from the storm. To these he alludeth when he calls God his rock, fortress, &c. And my deliverer] Rocks and strong holds do not always deliver (witness the Shechemites, Jebusites, Arimasphes), but God always doth. And the horn of my salvation] Qui veluti cornu petit et conficit hostes meos, saith Vatablus; who goreth and dispatcheth mine enemies. A metaphor either from horned beasts, or else (as some will have it) from the ancient custom of wearing horns of iron upon their helmet, for a crest or military ornament; whereupon the raised horn was a sign of victory, and the horn beaten down a sign of being overcome.
Ver. 3. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised] Or, is the proper object of praises, because he is good and doth good, Psalms 119:68. David vows to praise him, 1. By loving him entirely. 2. By trusting in him steadfastly, Psalms 18:1 3. By calling upon him continually, here, and Psalms 116:2,3, which psalm is very like to this (in the beginning especially) both for matter and method. So shall I be saved, &c.] He hath often proved the power of prayer, especially when he came ready prepared to praise God for the return of prayer; and thence he is bold to promise himself all good.
Ver. 4. The sorrows of death compass me] Or, the pangs, pains, throes as of a travailing woman, these environed me, or came thick and threefold upon me, perveniebant usque ad ףא even to my face (as the Rabbins descant upon the word), or flew upon me; desperate and deadly dangers assailed me. Medrash. Tillin. Aphaphuni pro gnaphaphuni. The worst of an evil escaped is to be thankfully acknowledged, and highest strains of eloquence therein to be used so that pride be avoided, and the praise of God only aimed at. And the floods of ungodly men] Heb. of Belial, that is, of Belialists, acted and agitated by the devil; these same tumbling upon him like many and mighty waters, Fluctus fluctum trudit. Torrentes Belial terrebant me.
Ver. 5. The sorrows] Or, throes, or cords, such as wherewith they bind malefactors led forth to execution. The snares of death prevented me] David knew how to make the most of a mercy; he means, I was almost surprised, and all hope of help seemed to be anticipated; if help should come, it would some too late.
Ver. 6. In my distress I called upon the Lord] This was David’s anchora sacra; sacred anchor, prayer, he knew, could never come too late, nor God want a way to deliver his distressed. The time of affliction is the time of supplication; and man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. And cried unto my God] He grew more and more earnest. We must pray and not faint, Luke 18:1, but rise in our suits. Out of his temple] i.e. Heaven, whereof the temple was a type, as being the place of God’s special presence, and of transcendent holiness.
Ver. 7. Then the earth shook and trembled, &c.] Upon David’s prayer all this befell; like as, Acts 4:31, the house shook wherein they were praying; and the thundering legion procured thunder and rain; and so did Samuel by his prayers, 1 Samuel 12:17,18. But this terrible tempest here described is to be taken rather allegorically than historically. The prophet, in most lofty and lively terms and expressions (far above the strain of the most sublime either poets or orators), describeth God’s powerful presence and concurrence in David’s conquests. The foundations also of the hills] That is, so vehement was the earthquake, that it shook, as it were, the roots of the mountains, which lie deep within the ground, 2 Samuel 22:8. These hills are called the foundation of heaven, as Job 26:11, the pillars of heaven; because the tops of high mountains seem to touch the clouds, and the heavens seem to lean upon them; and because the earth is in the centre of the world, about the which the heavens do continually turn. Because he was wroth] Or, burn did his nose. So
Ver. 8. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils] As angry men breathe vehemently, and seem to spit fire by their blustering speeches and menaces, so here ανθρωποπαθως omnia, quae tamen θεοπρεπως sunt intelligenda.
Ver. 9. He bowed the heavens] i.e. Velociter venit, saith R. David, he came speedily to destroy mine enemies. And darkness was under his feet] He came invisible.
Ver. 10. And he rode upon a cherub] Which word hath affinity with rechub, a chariot. Hereby is noted God’s swiftness in coming to succour David. He waits to be gracious, and when it is a fit season he comes leaping and skipping over the mountains of Bether or division, all lets and impediments. Gabriel came to Daniel with weariness of flight, Daniel 9:21. He did fly upon the wings of the wind] For, by the ministry of angels, God raiseth and stilleth the winds (Vatablus).
Ver. 11. He made darkness his secret place] As a king, that, being angry, withdraweth himself from his subjects, and will not be seen of them. Vel quia decreta Dei veniunt invisibiliter, said R. David.
Ver. 12. At the brightness that was before him, &c.] i.e. At his bright presence, his thick clouds (wherein he was enveloped) passed, or did cleave, as it were, in sunder; whence came hailstones mixed with coals of fire, or lightnings out of the clouds; which God maketh at once airy seas and airy furnaces; fetching fire out of the midst of water, and hard stone out of the midst of thin vapours.
Ver. 13. The Lord also thundered in the heavens] Quasi pro classico, et auspicio proelii ineundi.
Ver. 14. Yea, he sent out his arrows, &c.] Tandem permiscentur omnia grandine flammis et fulminibus tanquam telis et sagittis Dei adversus hostes pugnantis. After the advance guard, Psalms 18:12, the great ordnance, Psalms 18:13, the battle begins, and all is on a hurry.
Ver. 15. Then the channels of waters were seen] The force of this terrible tempest is further set forth by the effect of it, a dreadful concussion of the universe; not without an allusion to the drying up of the Red Sea and of Jordan before Israel: which deliverances stood for archetypes, or chief patterns, to all posterity.
Ver. 16. He sent from above, he took me] He rescued me as by a hand reached me from heaven. Deus εκ μηχανης, or, he sent his angels to secure me. He drew me out of many waters] As he had once done Moses, Exodus 2:10, who there hence also had his name. Musaeus, for the same cause, calleth him υδχογενης, water spring.
Ver. 17. He delivered me from my strong enemy] Saul; this he oft instanceth, rolling it as sugar under his tongue, and turning aside often to look upon it, as Samson did to see his dead lion fetching honey out of it. For they were too strong for me] And then God’s help was most seasonable when David found himself outmatched.
Ver. 18. They prevented me, &c.] They took me on the sudden, and unprovided. The children of this world are wiser, &c. But the Lord was my stay] Or, my staff, whereon I so leaned as that if he had failed me I had been all along.
Ver. 19. He brought me forth also, &c.] He freed me out of all straits, and stated me in a most happy condition. He delivered, because he delighted in me] All was of free grace and favour, not of any merit. And this he purposely premiseth as a caution to the ensuing profession of his inherency.
Ver. 20. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness] viz. The righteousness of my cause; and my freedom from such crimes of disloyalty and ambition, wherewith mine enemies charged me, as if pricked on by my pride I sought the kingdom. As also, according to mine honest desire and endeavour in all things else to keep a good conscience, void of offence toward God and men. This, though God’s own work, and a debt most due to him, yet he is pleased graciously to reward.
Ver. 21. For I have kept the ways of the Lord] For the main, and for the most part, though not without some particular stumblings and startings aside, against my general resolution and the tendency of mine heart. And have not wickedly departed from my God] By an utter defection; I have not been transformed into sin’s image, by projecting sin, by falling into it with full consent, and by lying under the power of it. Non ex superbia sed errore, saith E. David here; not of presumption have I offended, or with a high hand, but of infirmity, and with reluctance; rising up again by repentance, and renewing my covenant.
Ver. 22. For all his judgments were before me] Mine obedience (in desire and endeavour at least) was universal, extending to the compass of the whole law; and this is a sure sign of sincerity, Hence in the next words,
Ver. 23. I was also upright before him] This he had because he kept God’s commandments, as Psalms 18:22, had respect to them all, Psalms 119:6, both to the magnalia and minutula legis, which he kept as the apple of his eye, Proverbs 7:2, even all God’s wills, Acts 13:22, and was therefore approved in Christ, as Apelles, Romans 16:10, and passed for an Israelite indeed, in whom was no guile, as Nathanael, John 1:47. And I kept myself from mine iniquity] i.e. From my peccatum in deliciis, my darling sin, whereto I am either by nature or custom most inclined and addicted; from the iniquity of my heart and secret thoughts, which no man can charge me with, saith Aben Ezra; from that sin of disloyalty, which Saul and his courtiers charge me with, say others.
Ver. 24. Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me] See on Psalms 18:20. Reward and mercy are joined together in the second commandment; and, Psalms 62:12, it is a mercy in God to reward a man according to his work. According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight] i.e. Which he hath beheld in me; though mine enemies were of another judgment, Qua illo iudice praeditus sum (Vatab.).
Ver. 25. With the merciful, &c.] Hypothesin hic ad thesin transfert. It is as if he should say, I and mine enemies are a pattern of thy truth and justice, that thou wilt do good to those that are good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked paths, thou, Lord, shalt lead them forth with the workers of iniquity, Psalms 125:4,5.
Ver. 26. With the pure, &c.] Cum candido candide agere soles. The pure shall have all that heart can wish. And with the froward thou wilt show thyself froward] Or, thou wilt wrestle, viz. with such cross pieces, as proudly and perversely err from thy precepts, as it were, on purpose to thwart thee, or to try masteries with thee. Against such stubborn persons God threateneth not eight degrees (which are the highest notes in music and degrees in qualities, as the philosopher distinguisheth them), but twenty and eight degrees of wrath, Leviticus 26:18,21,24,28. Exiget ab iis rationem minutissimorum, saith R. Obad. Gaon upon this text; he will reckon with them for their least offences, and not bate them an ace of their due punishment. He will pay them home in their own coin, over shoot them in their own bow, fill them with their own ways, be as cross as they are, for the hearts of them; yet still in a way of justice, though he break the necks of them in wrestling, and send them packing to their place in hell. Ainsworth rendereth it, With the froward thou wilt show thyself wry. It is a similitude taken from wrestlers, and noteth a writhing of one’s self against an adversary. Compare herewith Deuteronomy 32:5. They are a perverse and crooked generation (the same two words that are here in this text); the latter importeth, that they wriggled and writhed after the manner of wrestlers that wave up and down, and wind the other way, when one thinks to have them here or there. But all will not serve their turn to save them from punishment. God will be sure to meet with them, his word will lay hold on them, and their sin shall find them out.
Ver. 27. For thou wilt save the afflicted people] Even the same whom before he had called merciful, or godly, upright, pure, here are the afflicted, and seem by God to be neglected; but he will save them assuredly, though he bear long with them, Luke 18:7. But wilt bring down high looks] In Samuel it is, “Thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down,” 2 Samuel 22:28, q.d. God’s eyes are upon them all the while that he spareth them, to watch for a fit season to ruin them.
Ver. 28. For thou wilt light my candle] Or, Thou hast lighted my candle, that is, thou hast bettered my condition, which seemed to be put out in obscurity. The wicked man’s is, Job 18:6 21:17 Pr 13:9. The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness] He hath, and yet still will turn my grief into joy, as Esther 8:17, and meanwhile direct and comfort me in mine afflictions; as a candle is a great comfort in the dark, though it doth not make day where it comes, as the sun doth,
Ver. 29. For by thee have I run through a troop] Though but a little man, yet by God’s help he achieved great matters, did great exploits. Homo tricubitalis, saith a Father concerning Paul; Et coelum ascendit: so here. Some render it, Currebam accinctus: I ran well appointed (Bucholcer); and they interpret it of his victory over Goliath, whom he ran upon and cut off his head, after that he had hurled at him with as good a force; Perinde ac si fundae suae tunicis non lapillum, sed Deum ipsum induisset ae implicuisset, saith one; as if he had got not a stone, but God himself, into the bought of his sling. And by my God have I leapt over a wall] That is, I have stormed a walled town, or fort, with very little ado; being no less valiant and venturous than Alexander the Great was among the Indians; but upon far better grounds, because in the strength of God, as at the fort of Zion.
Ver. 30. As for God, his way is perfect] All his dispensations toward his children, his actions and directions, his providences and promises, are most trusty and true; having neither vice, vanity, insincerity, nor deceit in them, 2 Samuel 22:31. The word of the Lord is tried] This is a famous sentence, and was much in the mouths of God’s people. See Proverbs 30:5, [See Trapp on “Pr 30:5”]
Ver. 31. For who is God save the Lord?] Fictitios Deos et vanas spes prosternit, saith Vatablus. Here he striketh down to the ground all false gods and all vain hopes. Contemno minutulos istos Deos mode Iovem mihi propitium habeam, said a heathen. David might much better say, I care not for those petty deities, so I may have Jehovah to favour me.
Ver. 32. It is God that girdeth me with strength] It is a metaphor, saith Vatablus, either from a soldier’s belt, which buckleth his armour close to him, and maketh him more steady; or else from the reins themselves, in which the Scripture sometimes placeth strength and vigour. God did all for David; and hath here the glory of all his valour and victories. And maketh my way perfect] i.e. Completeth and prospereth all my designs and enterprises. For want hereof many attempt much, but effect little or nothing. Antiochus, king of Syria, was called Magnus for undertaking much and performing little. Guicciardin saith of Charles VIII, in his expedition to Naples, that he came into the field like thunder and lightning, but went out like a snuff; more than a man at first, and less than a woman at last.
Ver. 33. He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet] Heb. He matcheth my feet, like hinds’ feet; that is, not only swift, if I have occasion by flight to provide for myself, or to pursue mine enemies flying before me; but also steady, if I come into any dangerous places. Asahel was swift of foot as a wild roe, 2 Samuel 2:18. Josephus saith of him, that he contended with horses in running. Saul and Jonathan are said to be swifter than eagles, 2 Samuel 1:23. Achilles was ποδας ωκυς, saith Homer. The hind, when pursued by the wolf, runs most swiftly; witness the poet (Horat. lib. 1, Od. 15, 23): Quem tu, cervus uti vallis in altera Visum parte lupum, graminis immemor, Sublimi fugies mollis anhelitu. And again, Vitas hinnuleo me similis, Chloe, &c. But they that wait upon the Lord have a promise that they shall not only run as hinds, but mount up as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint, Isaiah 40:31. He setteth me upon my high places] Where, having by flight or fight escaped, I am secured; yea, he hath advanced me, and brought me to this high honour, Securus postquam evasi ab illis (R. David).
Ver. 34. He teacheth mine hands to war] David ascribeth all his military skill and success to God; so did not other great warriors, Alexander, Scipio, Fabius, &c., but sacrificed to their own nets, and were ready to say, as Sesostris, king of Egypt, did when he had conquered any country, he was wont to set up pillars with these words engraven upon them, This country I got b y mine own strength and valour, ταυτην την χωρην ωμοισι τοις εμοισιν εκτησαμην (Herodot. l. 2). So that a bow of steel, &c.] Which is more flexible and stronger than a bow of iron; whence is that, Job 20:24.
Ver. 35. Thou hast also given me, &c.] i.e. Thou hast preserved and settled me. [See Trapp on “Ps 5:12”] And thy gentleness hath made me great] Or, Thy meekness hath multiplied me, i.e. Thou hast so far stooped to my meanness as to advance me to this height of honour. Or, by thy humbling me thou hast magnified me, according to 1 Peter 5:6 Pr 15:33.
Ver. 36. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me] Or, Thou hast widened my passage, and made room for me; when the wicked man’s strong passages are straitened, Job 18:7, his pace impeded. And my feet did not slip] Heb. mine ankles, or my heels; Sept. my footsteps.
Ver. 37. I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them, &c.] Of David we may say, as one did of Julius Caesar, you may perceive him to have been an excellent soldier by his very language; for he wrote with the same spirit he fought. In eo tanta vis, id acumen, ea concitatio, saith Quintilian concerning Caesar’s Commentaries, ut illum eodem animo dixisse appareat quo bellavit.
Ver. 38. I have wounded them that they were not able to rise] Much less to resist. And herein he was a type of Christ; all whose foes shall be his footstool, Psalms 110:1.
Ver. 39. Thou hast girded me with strength, &c.] See Psalms 18:32. It is God that weakeneth or strengtheneth either part, Ezekiel 30:24, and rendereth their weapons vain or prosperous, Isaiah 54:17 Jer 50:9. Thou hast subdued under me, &c.] David ascribeth all to God, and useth wonderful variety of expressions in setting forth his benefts.
Ver. 40. Thou hast given me the necks of mine enemies] sc. To chop them off at my pleasure; or to cut the throats.
Ver. 41. They cried] Through grief and impatience, clamore incondito, as beasts when in durance fill the air with loud outcries. Even unto the Lord] As nature prompteth men in an extremity to look up for help; but because it is but the prayer of the flesh for ease, and not of the spirit for grace, and a good use of calamities, and not but in extreme despair of help elsewhere, therefore God hears them not. In Samuel it is, They looked, but there was none to save them; q.d. If they could have made any other shift God should never have heard of them. Therefore Sero, inquit Nero.
Ver. 42. Then did I beat them as small as the dust] When God once withdraws his protection and help from a people it is an easy matter to tread them down and beat them in pieces. Lay hold upon him, therefore, as the Church did, and hang on. Say, as Jeremiah 14:21, Do not abhor us for thy name’s sake; for as Bodin said well of obtaining, so for retaining, religion and civil rights, Non disputationibus, sed rogationibus agendum, prayer is most prevalent. If once our shadow depart, &c., woe be unto them when I depart from them. I did cast them out, &c.] Evacuabam eos, I dealt by them as men do by the sweepings of the house, or noisome excrements. God sometimes dungeth his vineyard with the dead bodies of his enemies.
Ver. 43. Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people] viz. In the rebellions under Absalom, and Sheba, the son of Bichri. These, like bubbles which children blow up into the air, were soon blown out; and fell into the eyes of those who with the blasts of disloyalty and ambition held up the same. Thou hast made me head of the heathen] Philistines, Syrians, Ammonites, &c. This is most true of Christ, head of his Church, which consisteth of all nations, and most of these were unknown unto him as man; and, by hearing of him, they were brought to submit unto him, when the apostles came and preached him among them. Hence it followeth,
Ver. 44. As soon as they hear of me] Heb. At the hearing of the ear; that is, by the preaching of the gospel they shall be brought to yield the obedience of faith. The strangers shall submit] Heb. falsely, deny or dissemble with me; their submission is forced and feigned, they dare do no less; they receive my yoke, but their hearts I have not, Subiectio fucosa et hypocritica. Christ hath many such false hearted subjects, fawning and feigning profligate professors, carnal gospellers, &c.
Ver. 45. The strangers shall fade away] As do the dry leaves of trees; their vigour and confidence shall perish in a moment. And be afraid out of their close places] Whence they shall come creeping to me, their conqueror, to seek favour. And this may very fitly also be applied to Christ and his subjects, who must be driven unto him out of their close places, or starting holes of self confidences, self conceitedness, &c., by the spirit of bondage, before they will unfeignedly submit to Christ’s government.
Ver. 46. The Lord liveth] Or, Vivat Dominus, Let the Lord live. It is spoken, saith Calvin, after the manner of men, who use such kinds of acclamations to the kings whom they love and honour. The wicked could wish God extinct, that so they might never come to an account before him; but the saints cry out, Let the Lord live, let Christ reign, &c. Blessed be God that he is God, was a learned man’s motto. Luther’s was, Vivit, sc. Christus. Si non viveret, vellem me non unam horam vivere, de., Christ is alive, otherwise I would not wish to live an hour. Another good man saith, Christ liveth and reigneth, alioque totus totus desperassem, otherwise I should be utterly out of hope (Miconius). Let the God of my salvation be exalted] Triumphali elogio ab omnibus celebretur, let him be set up in all hearts and houses.
Ver. 47. It is God that avengeth me] Heb. that giveth vengeances for me; whence also he is called the God of vengeances, Psalms 94:1, and the God of recompenses, Jeremiah 51:56. And subdueth the people under me] It is the great work of God to persuade the hearts of so many millions to obey one man.
Ver. 48. He delivereth me from mine enemies] This David hath never done with, but goeth over it again and again, as desirous to do the Lord all the right that might be. From the violent man] That is, from Saul, saith R. David, and him he mentioneth last, quia erat principium omnis Davidicae gloriae, because the fall of his house was the rise of all David’s glory. The Chaldee hath it, From Gog and his armies.
Ver. 49. Therefore I will give thanks, &c.] See how the psalmist in these three last verses endeth as he began. Among the heathen] This the apostle applieth to Christ and his people, as a prophecy of his kingdom, and of the calling of the Gentiles, Romans 15:9. I, that is, Christ (but yet in the person of his faithful, and especially his ministers), will praise thee, or confess unto thee, &c. And sing praises unto thy name] Which to have done absurdum fuisset apud surdos, would have been absurd, had not those heathens had their ears opened.
Ver. 50. Great deliverance giveth he to his king] In Samuel it is, He is the tower of salvation for his king. This tower is Messias, say the Jewish doctors, Qui est turris salutis. Oh that those poor creatures would once run to that strong tower and be safe. To David and to his seed for evermore] That is, to Christ (who was made of the seed of David, according to the flesh, Romans 1:3 Ac 13:23), and to all faithful Christians, who are called Christ’s seed, Isaiah 53:10 Ps 72:17. Filiabitur nomine eius, the name of Christ shall endure for ever, it shall be begotten as one generation is begotten of another; there shall be a succession of it to the world’s end. The heavens declare the glory of God] The world, saitb Clement of Alexandria, is Dei Scriptura, the first Bible that God made for the institution of man. The heavens (here instanced as a chief part of that Mundi totius machina) are compared to a scroll that is written, Revelation 6:14. As in a horn book, which little ones carry, there be letters in a paper within which appear through the same; so, under the blue sapphire of the firmament, is spread a sheet of royal paper written all over with the wisdom and power of God. This book was imprinted, saith one, at the New Jerusalem, by the finger of Jehovah, and is not to be sold, but to be seen, at the sign of glory, of every one that lifts up his eyes to heaven; where he may plainly perceive Deum esse mentem, architectricem, intelligentem, sapientem, potentem, &c. This lesson is fairly lined out unto us in the brows of the firmament, which, therefore, we are bidden to behold and discern; since therein God hath made himself visible, yea, legible, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that men are left without excuse, Romans 1:20. But because this book of nature (with its three great leaves, heaven, earth, and sea), though never so diligently read over, cannot bring a man to the saving knowledge of God in Christ, nor make him perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works, behold another and better Book, even that of the Holy Scriptures, set forth, Psalms 19:7,8, &c., of this psalm, that like as where the philosopher endeth the physician beginneth; so, where nature faileth us, Scripture may inform and comfort us. In this excellent psalm, then, we have the sum of all true divinity, saith reverend Beza, the end whereof is to give us that knowledge of God, and of his holy worship, whereby we may be made partakers of eternal life. Here, then, in the six first verses the prophet showeth that God manifesteth his glory to mankind by his works; and, first, by the work of creation, Psalms 19:1; next, of government, Psalms 19:2,3, &c., and that, 1. In the revolution of the starry sky, which revolution, first, causeth a perpetual vicissitude of days and nights, and so declareth the glory of God. 2. It bespeaketh all people at once, as a catholic preacher of God’s glory, Psalms 19:4,5. Secondly, in the constant course of the sun (that common servant, as his name importeth), Psalms 19:4, who, with his motion, Psalms 19:5, enlighteneth all things with his light, and pierceth all things with his heat, Psalms 19:6. Thus “the heavens declare the glory of God”; that is, they yield matter and occasion of glorifying him, according to that, Psalms 145:10, “All thy works praise thee, O Lord; but thy saints bless thee.” Some philosophers, and with them some Rabbis (Maimonides), have deemed, or rather doted, that the heaven was a living creature, and did actually praise and serve God. But this conceit is exploded by the wiser sort; and that axiom maintained, Formica coelos dignitate superat, An ant, because a living creature, is more excellent than the whole visible heavens. As for the saints and servants of God, it is truly affirmed by divines that there is not so much of the glory of God in all his works of creation and providence as in one gracious action that they perform. And the firmament showeth his handywork] The expanse or outspread firmament. It is taken both for the air, Genesis 1:6, and for the sky, Genesis 1:14, the whole cope of heaven, which showeth, Quam eleganter et ad amussim operetur Deus manibus suis; how neatly and exactly God worketh with his hands, which are attributed to him for our weakness’ sake (Vatablus).
Ver. 2. Day unto day uttereth speech] Some read it, one day succeeding another uttereth (or welleth out, as a fountain, continually, and plentifully) speech, yet without sound, Sicut fons scaturiens (R. Menahem); by a dumb kind of eloquence, eructant; by a continual revolution and succession of days men are instructed concerning the power and providence of God, as also concerning his truth and faithfulness; for if God had hitherto kept promise with nights and days, that one shall succeed the other, will he not much more keep promise with his people? Jeremiah 33:20,25. And night unto night showeth knowledge] Days and nights by their perpetual course and order, Dei potentiam et sapientiam concelebrant; there being no less necessity of the night in its kind than of the day. The knowledge it showeth us is, that man in himself is weak, and cannot long hold out hard labour; that he is permitted to sleep a while, and take his rest; that he must abridge himself of some part of his rest to commune with his own heart on his bed, and be still; that if he bestir not himself, and do up his work quickly, the night of death cometh, when no man can work, &c.
Ver. 3. There is no speech nor language where their voice] And yet few hear these universal preachers, these Regii Professores, these real expositors of the divinity, as one styleth them, who do preach to all people at once, Non solum diserte sed et exerte, at surdis plerumque fabulam, they are by the most as little respected as is the cuckoo in June.
Ver. 4. Their line is gone out through all the earth] Or, their rule, or direction, or delineation, or Scripture, [confer Isaiah 28:13] Quod in coelis tanquam in volumine omnibus conspicuo descripta sit Dei gloria, because that in the heavens, as in an open book, is written down the glory of the Creator. The like is done also in other less considerable creatures; every of which do after a sort write as well as speak, and have a pen as well as a tongue. The Chaldee word אעבכ for a mint signifieth also a book of histories, because in that one herb large stories of God’s wisdom, might, and love are described unto us. The same word also that signifieth an ear of grain signifieth a word, חלילמ because every field of corn is a book of God’s praise, every land a leaf, every sheaf a verse, every ear a word, every corn of wheat a letter, to express the glory of God by, Praesentem narrat quaelibet herba Deum. Antony, the hermit, being asked by a certain philosopher how he could contemplate high things having no help of books? answered, That the whole world was to him instead of a well furnished library; this he had ready by him at all times and in all places, and in this he could read when he pleased the great things of God (Aug. de Doct. Christ. 1. 1; Niceph. l. 8, c. 40). Bernard also saith that was the time when he had no other masters, nisi quercus et fagos, but the oaks and beech trees. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun] That prince of planets, but servant to the saints of the Most High, as his name importeth: so sweet a creature he is, that Eudoxus, the philosopher, professed that he would be content to be burnt up by the heat of it so he might be admitted to come so near it as to learn the nature of it. A tabernacle, or flitting tent, it is here said to have in the heavens; because it never stayeth in one place, but courseth about with incredible swiftness.
Ver. 5. Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber] sc. After long expectation, with a great, deal of pomp and gaiety; such is the sun rasing, when he first showeth himself above our horizon. Kimchi addeth, that as the bride groom when he is abroad hasteneth home to his bride, so doth the sun to his descent, anhelat ad occasum, Ecclesiastes 1:5. And rejoiceth as a strong man (or champion) to run a race] Readily running, and effectually affecting all things with his heat. The Persian angari, or posts, the ostrich, the wild ass, the bustard, the dromedary, the eagle, is nothing so swift as the sun. Bellarmine saith (De Ascens. Mentis in Demn), that he runneth in the eighth part of an hour seven thousand miles. This dumb creature gives check to our dulness; as Balaam’s ass also did to that prophet’s madness.
Ver. 6. His going forth is from the end of the heaven] i.e, From the east unto the west, in which course, notwithstanding, while he compasseth the circle of heaven and earth, he visiteth the south and the north, and is unweariable. And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof] i.e. From the beneft of the sun’s heat, who is ut cor incorpore, as the heart in the body, saith Aben Ezra; all things feel the quickening heat of the sun; not only the roots of trees, plants, &c., but metals and minerals, in the bowels of the earth.
Ver. 7. The law of the Lord is perfect] Or, doctrine; the whole word of God, commonly distinguished into law and gospel, is perfect, immaculate, sincere, entire, complete. If Cicero dared to say, that the law of the twelve tables in Rome did exceed all the libraries of philosophers, both in weight of authority and fruitfulness of matter, how much rather is this true of God’s law! saith a learned writer. Nothing may be added to it without marring it, Proverbs 30:6. Note this against Jewish, Popish, and Turkish traditions and additions; as also against anti-scripturists, and who at first rejected all books but the Bible, and after that grew so wise as to be religious enough without that also. And last of all they came to blaspheme that blessed book, as a dead letter, and a beggarly element, &c.; when as the apostle telleth us, that all Scripture is pure, precious, and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, &c., that the man of God may be perfect, &c., 2 Timothy 3:16,17. Here in this and the two following verses it is easy to observe—1. That every one of them are in the Hebrew written with ten words. 2. That here is a sixfold commendation of God’s holy word. (l.) By the several names thereunto given, law, testimony, statutes, &c (2.) By the nature, perfect, sure, right, &c. (3.) By the effects, converting the soul, making wise the simple, &c. Converting the soul] This no doctrine besides can do. Integra est doctrina, ae proinde animos redintegrat. Plato went thrice to Sicily to convert Dionysius the tyrant, but could not. Ambrose saith well of Polemo, who of a drunkard, by hearing Xenocrates, became a philosopher, Si resipuit a vino, fuit semper tamen temulentus sacrilegio, If he gave over his drunkenness, yet he continued still drunk with superstition. Seneca the philosopher wrote a book (now lost) against superstitions, but yet lived and died in them; Colebat quod reprohendebat, agebat quod arguebat, quod culpabat adorabat, saith Austin of him, he exercised what he condemned, and would not leave what he did so utterly dislike. But the word works a transmentation, an entire change of the mind and manners, a new creation, 2 Corinthians 5:17. The testimony of the Lord is sure] These words are faithful and true, Revelation 22:6, they are all in righteousness, neither is there in them anything perverse or froward, Proverbs 8:8. Testimonies they are called, 1. Because they testify (as a record) to all ages what the will of the Lord is, John 5:39 2. They were given with great contestation, and pressing of all men to keep them. 3. They will be a witness against all such as do not. The gospel also is called a testimony, 1 Corinthians 2:1 2Th 1:10 Isa 8:20. Making wise the simple] That is, the humble, teachable, and such as are not puffed up with a conceit of their own wisdom, 1 Corinthians 7:18, the very entrance into God’s word giveth light, it giveth understanding to the simple, or to the persuadable, Psalms 119:130. It is reasonable milk, 1 Peter 2:2.
Ver. 8. The statutes of the Lord are right] As being the issue of the most righteous will of God. Of human laws Demosthenes saith, that they are ευρημα των Θεων, the invention of the gods. Much better may we say the like of this law here commended; right it is, because it teacheth men the right way to life, non flexuosum quale doter care et cautio humana; right also, because it speaketh right to every man’s case and condition, de quolibet in re sua, affording a salve for every sore, a medicine for every malady; so that it may better be called, than was that famous library at Alexandria, η της φυχης ιατρεια, physic for the soul, food and physic both, and of the best sort, the best of the best. Rejoicing the heart] This is the proper work of the gospel; the sweet promises whereof hid in the heart, and there mingled with faith, make it to overly abound exceedingly with joy, and to conceive strong consolation; the martyrs of all ages, for instance. And although it be the doctrine of the cross, yet Lecythos habet in malis, it hath cordials of comfort, such as the world can neither give nor take away. The gospel is a precious book; every leaf drops myrrh and mercy. We should therefore prize it much more than Caesar did his Commentaries; Maior fuit cura Caesari libellorum quam purpurae; for, swimming through the waters to escape his enemies, he carried his books in his hand above the waters, but lost his robe. Now what were his books to God’s? The commandment of the Lord is pure] And so differeth from human laws, which establish wickedness sometimes; as those of Lycurgus did some kind of theft, adultery, &c. Human doctrines also are mixed with many errors. Irenaeus justly taxeth Plato for this, that he did laete gypsum miscere, mingle lime with milk, stain the pure stream of divine truth with fabulous narrations and fopperies. But every word of God is pure, Psalms 12:7 18:32. [See Trapp on “Ps 12:7”] [See Trapp on “Ps 18:32”] Enliqhtening the eyes] Giving both light and sight, Acts 26:18, the saving knowledge of God and his will, of ourselves and of our duties; and bringing us out of darkness into his marvellous light, 1 Peter 2:9. When Christ came preaching, the people which sat in darkness saw a great light, Matthew 4:16. And we have a more sure light of prophecy, whereunto we must take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, 2 Peter 1:19. While the moon looketh directly upon the sun, she is bright and beautiful; but if she once turn aside, and be left to herself, she loseth all her glory, and enjoyeth but only a shadow of light, which is her own; so while men with humility and teachableness turn their faces toward Christ revealed in the gospel, and those stars in his right hand, the faithful ministers, to receive illumination and instruction; God doth graciously vouch safe unto them the glorious light of saving knowledge. But when they turn their backs upon him and his oracles, and will needs walk by the light of their own tinder boxes kindling a fire, and compassing themselves with sparks, Isaiah 1:11, they are sure to be bewildered, and to lie down in sorrow.
Ver. 9. The fear of the Lord is clean] That is, the doctrine which teacheth the true fear of God is such as cleanseth the conscience, ferreteth out corruption, sanctifieth the whole man, John 17:17 15:3 Ac 20:32 26:18. Enduring for ever] “For ever, O Lord, thy word is established in heaven.” Psalms 119:89. Heaven and earth shall pass, but not one jot or tittle of the law; not one hair of that sacred head shall fall to the ground, Matthew 5:18; should all the powers on earth make war against the very paper of the Scriptures, they cannot possibly destroy it. What God hath written he hath written, and it shall stand inviolable to the world’s end. Antiochus, Epiphanes, Dioclesian, and other tyrants have attempted to burn up all Bibles, but could never effect it. Other laws and religions are antiquated and altered, as all histories testify; not so this. The judgments of the Lord are true] Heb. truth, as coming from a God of truth, and without iniquity, just and righteous is he, Deuteronomy 32:4. All his sayings are faithful, and therefore worthy of all acceptation, 1 Timothy 1:15. The Eternity of Israel cannot lie, 1 Samuel 15:29. He will not suffer his faithfulness to fail, nor alter the thing that is gone out of his mouth, Psalms 89:33,34. Μονιμον η αληθεια, saith Plato; truth is lasting, and γλυκεια η αληθεια,, Truth is sweet, said Mercury’s priests when they ate their figs. Divine truths should be so to us in a special manner. And as Cyprian, in any great doubt or difficulty, would call to Paulus Concordiensis (who was his notary), for Tertullian’s works, saying, Da magistrum, Reach hither my master; so should we call for the Bible, and therehence fetch satisfaction and settlement, as holding it infallible. And righteous altogether] Not one of them to be found fault with; but all of them every way complete and absolute. Iustificata sunt simul, so some render it, they are altogether justified. What a high esteem the Jews at this day have of the law hath been elsewhere noted; while they carry it usually about their synagogues at the end of their service in procession, with many ornaments of crowns and sceptres; the children kissing it as it passeth by them. To their disciples they prescribe, not to write any letter of the law without a copy, no line of it without a rule, no parchment but made of the skin of a clean beast, no word must be written in a different colour. No man might carry it behind him, but lay it next to his heart in his travel; nor read it, but in a clean place; nor sell it, though the copy were moth eaten, and himself half famished (Schicard. de iure Reg. Heb.). The last day of the feast of tabernacles they call Shimchah Torah, the rejoining at the law. They have chosen also, then, two, that are called sponsi legis; one of which is to read the end of it, called Chathan Torah, the bridegroom of the law ended; the other Chathan Bereshith, because he presently beginneth it again; these are to express joy (Leo Modena of Jewish Rites).
Ver. 10. More to be desired are they than gold] Old people are all for profit, young for pleasure; here is gold for the one, yea, the finest gold (gold of Fez, Aceto melle, Plin. l. xi. c. 15), in great quantity; here is honey for the other, yea, live honey dropping from the comb, liquor of the honeycomb. As manna had all sorts of sweet tastes in it; so hath the word to those that have spiritual senses exercised to discern good and evil. Great is the sweetness of human learning to those that have got a taste of it, as it was to Pythagoras and Plato, who travelled far for it; to Julian the apostate, who preferred the study of it before all pastimes whatsoever; to M. Aurelius, the emperor, who said he would not leave the knowledge he might learn in one hour for all the gold that he possessed; to Alphonsus, king of Arragon, who preferred his skill in the mathematics before the empire of Germany when it was offered unto him; he professed that he had rather lose his jewels than his books, and all his kingdoms rather than that little learning he had attained unto. How, then, should we prize divine learning, which is infinitely more precious, profitable, and pleasant! David had much of it, and yet he cries to God ever and anon, “Teach me thy statutes.” Moses was but newly come down from the mount, and he presently prays, as one insatiate, “Lord, show me thy glory.” The angels themselves know not so much of the mystery of Christ but they would fain know more, 1 Peter 1:12 Eph 3:10, &c.
Ver. 11. Moreover by them is thy servant warned] Clearly admonished, or furbished and brightened, Daniel 12:3, made circumspect. God’s testimonies were David’s counsellors, Psalms 119:24, better than ever was Polybius to Scipio, Agrippa to Augustus, Seneca to Nero, Anaxagoras to Themistocles, Plato to Dio, Aristotle to Alexander or Nigidius to Cicero; princes of old had their Μαημονες, Monitores, remembrancers. David desired no better than God’s statutes for his learned counsel, and by them he resolved to be ruled; for so it followeth, And in keeping of them] Xenophon writes that in Lycurgus’s laws this was much to be admired, that whereas all men commended them, yet no other city besides that of Sparta would ever observe them. Men do rather praise right things than practise them; as it was said of Demosthenes. But David was of another strain; he, after a large encomium of God’s commandments, is set upon the keeping of them; and the rather because In keeping of them there is great reward] Not only for keeping, but in keeping of them. As every flower hath its sweet smell, so every good action hath its sweet reflection upon the soul; and as Cardan saith, that every precious stone hath some egregious virtue, so here, righteousness is its own reward, though few men think so and act accordingly: Haud facile invenies multis e millibus unum, Virtutem pretium qui putet esse sui. Howbeit, the chief reward is not till the last cast, till we come to heaven. The word here rendered reward signifieth the heel, and, by a metaphor, the end of a work, and the reward of it, which is not till the end. Gnekebh sic τελος apud Graecos. Sicut opus non est usque ad mortem perfectum, sic nec merecs, saith R. David here; As the work is not done till death, so neither is full wages till then to be had.
Ver. 12. Who can understand his errors?] This David speaketh doubtless out of a deep sense of his own imperfections and defects in what the law (so much by him commended) requireth; and to prevent mistakes, lest any man, hearing him speak of great reward, should think that heaven may be merited and salvation attained by a man’s own righteousness. No such matter, believe it, saith holy David, I have neither done the law nor deserved the reward, but do fly to God by prayer; and three things I have to beg of him: First, That he would graciously pardon my secret sins and errors, unknown to myself, or at least to others. Secondly, That he would keep me from proud and presumptuous sins, Psalms 19:13. Thirdly, That he would bridle my tongue and mind from speaking, or but thinking, aught that may be offensive to his majesty, Psalms 19:14. For the first of these, Humanum est, errare et ignorare suum, It is incident to every man to err, and then to be ignorant of his errors (Jun.). Certain it is, that our lives are fuller of sins than the firmament is of stars, or the furnace of sparks. And if the best man’s faults were written in his forehead, it would make him pull his hat over his eyes, as the proverb hath it. David here seeth such volumes of corruptions in his heart, and so many foul erratas in his life, that he cannot but cry out, Who can understand, &c., O cleanse, &c. The most perfect saints are the most sensible of their imperfections; as the more delicate the senses are the more sharply are they affected with what offends them, Romans 7:14 1Co 15:9,10. Alas for us (saith one good man)! Ipsae lachrymae sunt lachrymabiles; we had need to weep over our tears, sigh over our sobs, mourn over our griefs, &c. Look how when we have swept a room never so clean (saith Spinaeus, De Instit. Christian.), if the sun do but come into it at the windows, we soon espy abundance of filthy motes, mingled with the beams thereof; so is it with our hearts, when once enlightened. What a blind buzzard then was he that said, Non habeo, Domine, quod mihi ignoscas, Lord, I have nothing for thee to pardon! And no wiser was Bellarmine, that great scholar, but ill read in his own heart, if that be true that is reported of him, viz. that when the priest came to absolve him, he could not remember any particular sin to confess till he went back in his thoughts as far as his youth. Of Philip III, king of Spain, it is said, that he lived so strictly that he never committed any gross crime or wilful wickedness; yet coming to die, he cried out, Oh that I had never reigned! Oh that I had lived a private life in the wilderness, that I might not have now to answer for not doing the good or hindering the evil that I might have done in my government! (Val. Max. Christ. 263). Cleanse thou me from secret faults] Secret from myself, many of them (sins of ignorance and of inadvertency), secret from the world, more of them, heart sins, but not secret from the Lord, Psalms 90:8 Heb 4:13. These are of daily and hourly incursion, involuntary and unavoidable infirmities, yet are they sins properly so called; and we must be cleansed from them by the merit and Spirit of Christ; they must be repented of in general at least; and then there is a pardon of course for them, and they do not usually distract and plunge the conscience.
Ver. 13. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins] Heb. Withdraw, inhibit, for we are naturally prone to the worst of sins, even the best of us, and to lie buried with the world in a bog of wickedness, adding rebellion to sin, and doing wickedly with both hands earnestly, unless God rein us in, and restrain us from such enormities. Pray we therefore as here, Etiam a superbiis contine servum tuum (Midrash Tillin. in Psalms 19:13). David’s murdering Uriah was a sin of this sort. The Rabbis here observe how the prophet riseth in his request, first for pardon of lesser sins, and then for power against greater; like as a beggar, say they, first craves a little water, and then a morsel of bread. We should do so. Let them not have dominion over me] Sin will rebel, but it must not reign in our mortal bodies, it must not play King, and bear sway in the soul. Pray hard against that in chief, Ne iniquitas victrix dominetur, that our lusts be not our lords, that vice vanquish us not. Then shall I be upright] Then, when I have gotten both pardoning and prevailing grace, to be cleansed from infirmities and kept from presumptions and arrogance, which cum temerario ausu et fastu fiunt contumaciter, I shall be upright in God’s account and entire in his obedience. And shall be innocent from the great transgression] That sin unto death, 1 John 5:16; that wickedness with a witness, for which there remaineth no more sacrifice, Hebrews 10:26, and unto which a way is paved by sins of presumption with a high hand committed against knowledge and conscience.
Ver. 14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation, &c.] Sint ad beneplaeitum verba, &c. Let both my words and thoughts, as well as my life and actions, be to favourable acceptation; let them be such as may suit with thy law and will. O Lord, my strength] Heb. my rock, In Mare, vel in Marah, vel in hoc mundo, say the Rabbis; in the sea of sorrow, and all along the wilderness of this world (Midrash Tillin.). And my redeemer] Or, my near kinsman, who is Jesus Christ, in whom we may look for all good from God, by virtue of the covenant. This David well understood, and therefore he layeth all the weight on this, “O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.” A Psalm of David] Or, concerning David; so Kimchi. Or, for and on the behalf of David; so Aben Ezra. David, as a prophet, dictated this form of prayer to be made by the people for himself, their king; when he went forth to fight their battles, probably, against the Ammonites and Syrians; or, when he fled from Absalom, and was to help them from the city by his prayers, 2 Samuel 18:3, as Aben Ezra thinketh.