9 When God arose to judgment, and to help [save] all the meek upon earth. 10 The fierceness of man shall turn to thy praise; and the fierceness of them shalt thou refrain. 11 Promise [Vow] unto the Lord your God, and keep it, all ye that are round about him: bring presents unto him, that ought to be feared. 12 He shall refrain the spirit of princes, and is wonderful among [terrible to] the kings of the earth. PSALM LXXVII. ASAPH, the author of this Psalm, evidently wrote it under great depression of spirits, indeed, he commences in so melancholy a strain, that he almost seems to be overcome with despair, as if God had utterly forsaken his nation. He comforts himself, however, with reflecting on the divine mercies formerly conferred on it, but, especially, with calling to mind the wonderful deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. What the particular cause of grief was, which gave occasion to this mournful complaint, is not apparent, though some commentators imagine it to have been the duration and miseries of the Babylonish captivity. The Psalm terminates very abruptly, as if only a fragment of a longer composition. nounce from heaven in favor of our land, terrified by the greatness of thy power, instantly desisted from their design of destroying or enslaving us, and thought only of making a hasty retreat by the way, by which they had come. 9 When God arose, &c. See on Psalm vii. 6. God executed judgment upon the blasphemous invaders, but brought deliverance to all his humble and afflicted servants throughout the land of Judah. 10 Refrain. See on Psalm xxxviii. 17. 11 Promise, &c. If, in the time of trouble, you have made any vows unto the Lord your God, now pay them cheerfully and scrupulously.—All ye, &c. The Jews are thought to be described in this manner from the position of their tents, when they lived in the wilderness, round the ark of God. Num. ii. On the other hand, the allusion may be to the attendance of body-guards on the person of their king.- -Presents. It was customary amongst the people of Israel to bind themselves to offer sacrifices to the Almighty, either as a means of procuring blessings and of averting evils, or as a token of gratitude for benefits already received. Gen. xxviii. 20, &c. Jon. i. 16. 12 The spirit of princes. The word "spirit" points out, either the life, or such pride and elation of mind, as Sennacherib may be supposed to have felt before he was compelled to return, defeated and disgraced, to his own country. All heathen rulers could, at any time, be as easily controlled or subdued by Jehovah, as had lately been the powerful monarch of the Assyrians. Ps. 3. 4, &c 55. 2, 20. Isai. 26. 9, 16. 2 Cor. 12. 7, 8. Ps. 143. 6, &c. Job 2. 13: 7. 13, &c. Deut. 32. 7, &c. Job 35. 10. Rom. 11. 1, &c. Num. 23. 19. I WILL cry unto God with my voice, even unto God will I cry with my voice, and he shall hearken unto me. 2 In the time of my trouble I sought the Lord: : my sore ran, and ceased not in the nightseason: my soul refused comfort. 3 When I am in heaviness, I will think upon God: when my heart is vexed, I will complain. 4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so feeble, that I cannot speak. 5 I have considered the days of old, and the years that are past [the years of ancient times]. 6 I call to remembrance my song; and in the night I commune with mine own heart, and search out my spirits. 7 Will the Lord absent himself for ever? and, will he be no more intreated? 8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? and, is his promise come utterly to an end for evermore? 2 I sought the Lord. That, which had always been the Psalmist's practice in affliction, is here mentioned; as, in the next verse, he expresses his determination never, under similar circumstances, to omit so devout and religious a custom.- -Refused comfort. Not obstinately nor peevishly; but his misery was so great, that it did, as it were, stop up every avenue to comfort. Gen. xxxvii. 35. Jer.xxxi. 15. 3 I will think, &c. I will call to mind the mercies, which, in the days of my happiness, I received from God, and thence derive hope for the future. Or, rather, he declares, that, recollecting the efficacy of prayer, he will not hesitate again to pour out his complaints before God, and to supplicate for relief.- -Vexed. The perturbation of Asaph's mind is aptly described by a word, which expresses the tumult of the waves in a storm. See on Psalm xxxviii. 17. 4 Thou holdest, &c. The numerous sorrows, which thou hast heaped upon me, render me unable even to close my eyes in sleep during the watches of the night. 5 The days of old. The wonders, that thou didst for our forefathers in former years. 6 My song. My previous and usual practice of singing to thy praise, and of recounting thy blessings in hymns of thankfulness.And search out, &c. And enquire into the state of my mind, to ascertain what notions it entertains respecting both my present condition, and the causes, why thou dost now forsake thy people. 7 Will the Lord, &c. Commencing with this verse, the Psalm now details the subject of Asaph's meditations. 8 His promise. The Psalmist means the divine promise vouchsafed to the Israelites of never forsaking them, but of continuing them in an uninterrupted state of spiritual and temporal superiority to the rest of the world. 9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? and, Isai. 49. 15. will he shut up his loving-kindness in displeasure? 10 And I said, It is mine own infirmity; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most Highest: 11 I will remember the works of the Lord, and call to mind thy wonders of old time: 12 I will think also of all thy works, and my talking shall be of thy doings. 13 Thy way, O God, is holy: who is so great a God, as our God? 14 Thou art the God that doeth wonders, and hast declared thy power among the people. 15 Thou hast mightily delivered thy people, even the sons of Jacob and Joseph. 16 The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee, and were afraid; the depths also were troubled. Mark 4. 37. Deut. 4. 34. Isai. 5. 12, &c. Deut. 6. 6, &c. Luke 24. 13, &c. Ex. 15. 11. Isai. 52. 10. Matt. 24. 14. Ex. 6. 6. Deut. 9. 29. Ex. 14. 21. 9 Will he shut up, &c. Precisely the same sentiment was purposed to be expressed, as occurs in the Bible version:-will "he, in anger, shut up his tender mercies?" 10 It is, &c. This dejection of mind and this distrust, in consequence of present affliction, arise from the weakness of my faith. Instead of nourishing them, I ought to reflect, as an antidote to despondency, that God has shewn his goodness towards us, and exercised his power in the administration of our affairs, for a long series of ages; and that, though he now appears to have cast us off, he has yet very frequently shewn himself our deliverer, working miracles in our favor, and bestowing on us vast mercies.-The most Highest. See on Psalm ix. 2. 13 Thy way, &c. The exercise of thy sovereign authority, both over the world and over the inhabitants of the world, is under the direction of infinite wisdom, and in perfect agreement with every principle of justice, truth, and goodness. Psalm xxii. 3. 14 And hast declared, &c. By thy constant and miraculous protection of the chosen people, thou hast proved to all the heathen nations the immensity of thy power. 15 Delivered. See on Psalm cxix. 154. Even the sons, &c. The Israelites are very properly styled the posterity of Joseph, as well as of Jacob; for, as the latter was the author of their being, so was the former the preserver of it. Still it has been suggested, that Joseph alone, of all the sons of Jacob, is here mentioned, because, as if he had been the first-born (1 Chron. v. 1, 2), he received a double portion of the inheritance, having two out of the twelve tribes descended from himself. Gen. xLviii. 5, 6. Doubtless also, in other places, as Psalm LXXX. 1: Lxxxi. 5, the whole family of Jacob is, for this latter reason, called by the name of Joseph. 16 The waters. Those of the Red sea. Ps. 18. 14. Matt. 27. 51: 28.2. Ex. 14. 28. Isai. 63. 11, 12. 17 The clouds poured out water; the air thundered, and thine arrows went abroad. 18 The voice of thy thunder was heard round about: the lightnings shone upon the ground: the earth was moved, and shook withal. 19 Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. 20 Thou leddest thy people, like sheep, by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Evening Prayer. PSALM LXXVIII. THE present Psalm is the first of those, which are called historical. Besides, however, recording the chief events pertaining to the chosen people, it celebrates the praises of God, by commemorating many of the works and miracles, which he had performed for them. It seems to have been written, both that the Israelites and their posterity might preserve in mind a remembrance of the divine mercies; and that, perceiving how often the fickleness of their forefathers had provoked the divine vengeance, and brought injury upon themselves, they might be so thoroughly instructed, as to become remarkable for greater fidelity and for stronger feelings of gratitude towards their heavenly benefactor. Since the author closes his composition with the reign of David, it is highly probable, that the Asaph, to whom it is generally ascribed, (for some assign it to David himself,) was he, who belonged to the tabernacle in the days of that king. 1 Chron. xvi. 5. 17 Thine arrows, &c. Thy lightnings. A violent tempest, then, happened at the passage of the Red sea, and soon after the Egyptians had entered into it, though we have no other record of the circumstance, than what can be gathered from Exod. xiv. 24, 25. See on Psalm L. 3: LXXXi. 7. 19 Thy way, &c. Asaph imagines Jehovah to have walked before his people through the sea, leaving, however, no traces of himself behind him. His presence was known only by the miracle, which he there wrought. 20 Thou leddest, &c. This, apparently, alludes to a subsequent period, when God conducted the Israelites, by the instrumentality of Moses and Aaron, through the wilderness. Psalm LXXviii. 53. But the verse may be understood in the following manner,—The Egyptians indeed thou didst overwhelm in the sea; whilst, on the contrary, our ancestors reached the opposite shore in safety, under the guidance of Moses and Aaron. HEAR my law, O my people: incline your ears unto the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will declare hard sentences [utter dark sayings] of old, Isai. 51. 4. Rev. 2. 7. Matt. 13. 34, 35. 3 Which we have heard and known; and such Ex. 12. 26, 27. as our fathers have told us; 4 That we should not hide them from the children of the generations to come; but to shew the honor [praises] of the Lord, his mighty and wonderful works, that he hath done. 5 He made a covenant with Jacob; and gave Israel a law, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children; 6 That their posterity might know it, and the children which were yet unborn; 7 To the intent, that, when they came up [should arise], they might shew their children the same; Joel 1. 2, 3. Acts 2. 38, 39. Gen. 18. 19. Deut. 11. 19 Esth. 9. 28. Ps. 102. 18. Deut. 29. 29. John 14.21. 8 That they might put their trust in God, Ex. 12. 24, &c. and not to forget the works of God, but to keep his commandments; 1 My law. My instruction: the lessons gathered out of the records of God's dealings with his people, which I am now going to teach you. -My people. My fellow-countrymen. 2 In a parable. See on Psalm xLix. 4.- -Hard sentences of old. Remarkable instances of divine providence, either such as relate to former times, or those which have been handed down to us from former ages. The ancient history of the Israelitish nation became, by the lapse of time, enveloped in some degree of obscurity, especially as it was preserved among the people, in part at least, by tradition; and on this account, the subject of the Psalm, though itself a plain narrative of facts, may be declared to be mysterious. But it must also be borne in mind, that those facts were, what St. Paul affirms them to have been (1 Cor. x. 6, 11), "ensamples," types or representations of other facts connected with the Christian church, so that a portion of divine wisdom was necessary thoroughly to comprehend, as well as rightly to apply, the instruction and admonitions conveyed by them. 4 But to shew, &c. But that, on the contrary, we should shew, &c. See ver. 8, 9. 5 A law. The whole law of Moses may not be meant, but only that part of it, which exists Deut. iv. 9, whereby the Israelites were enjoined to hand down to all generations the memory of the divine power and goodness, exercised for their advantage in their passage to Canaan. 7 When they came up. When this second generation of men (see ver. 6.) had been born, and were now grown up. |