Num. 25. 12, 13. Num. 20. 2, 12, 13. Num. 20. 10, 11. Deut. 7. 2, 16. Judg. 2. 2: 3. 5, &c. Ex. 23. 33. Ezek. 22. 3, 4. 31 And that was counted unto him for righteousness, among all posterities [unto all generations] for evermore. 32 They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that he punished Moses for their sakes; 33 Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips. 34 Neither destroyed they the heathen, as the Lord commanded them; 35 But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works; 36 Insomuch that they worshipped their idols, which turned to their own decay; yea, they offered [sacrificed] their sons and their daughters unto devils; 37 And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they offered [sacrificed] unto the idols of Canaan; and the land was defiled with blood. why he should not also have done the other, though the fact has not been recorded. See on Psalm cv. 18. 31 And that, &c. The reward, which Jehovah deigned to confer on Phinehas, in token of his approval, and in return for this act of righteous indignation, was to give unto him "the covenant of an everlasting priesthood," which office accordingly became thenceforth entailed in his family. But this covenanted promise ought not to be understood, as designed to be absolutely unlimited in duration; rather, it was fulfilled by the continuance of the priesthood in the posterity of Phinehas through many generations. 32 For their sakes. For a sin, which they were, in reality, the cause of his committing. 66 33 So that he spake, &c. By indignantly and angrily (Num. xii. 3.) addressing the murmurers, must we fetch you water out of this rock," he attributed to himself and to his brother a power, which belonged solely to the Almighty. Besides, he seems not firmly to have believed, that the water would flow forth at his bidding; wherefore, as if it were not sufficient to speak to the rock, he increased his crime by striking it, and immediately repeating the stroke. 34 Neither destroyed they, &c. The Psalmist now hastens abruptly to occurrences, which took place after the Israelites had entered into the land of Canaan. 36 Devils. It is plain, that these are the same with "the idols of Canaan" occurring in the following verse, and that both signify the dead, but deified, men, who constituted the greatest part of the heathen gods. Ver. 28. 37 And shed, &c. Children, then, were frequently offered as sacrifices to Moloch, the idol-god of the Ammonites, in the very earliest times. Lev. xx. 2, &c. No instance, it should be remarked, is recorded, in which the Israelites were actually guilty of so horrid a Ezek. 20. 30. 38 Thus were they stained with their own | Jer. 3. 13, 14. works, and went a whoring with their own inventions. Judg. 2. 14, 15. 39 Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kin-Deut. 9. 29. dled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance; 40 And he gave them over into the hand of Judg. 6. 1, &c. the heathen; and they, that hated them, were lords over them; 41 Their enemies oppressed them, and had them in subjection. Neh. 9. 26, 27. 12.9. 42 Many a time did he deliver them; but 1 Sam. 3. 12, &c: they rebelled against him with their own inventions, and were brought down in [brought low for] their wickedness. 43 Nevertheless, when he saw their adversity, he heard their complaint; 44 He thought upon his covenant, and pitied them, according unto the multitude of his mercies; yea, he made all those, that led them captive, to pity them. away Judg. 3. 9: 10. 10, &c. Lev. 26. 40, &c. Ezra 9.9. 45 Deliver us, O Lord, our God, and gather 1 Chron. 16.35, 36. us from among the heathen; that we may give thanks unto thy holy name, and make our boast of [triumph in ]thy praise. 46 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from 1 Chron. 29. 10. everlasting, and world without end; and let all the people say, Amen. crime, until long after the days of David (2 Kings xxi. 6); though both Amos (v. 26), and St. Stephen (Acts vii. 43), reproach them with having borne about with them, even in the wilderness, "the tabernacle of Moloch." Against no other kind of idolatry are the prohibitions of the Mosaic law so rigorous, as against this; and yet we find, that it continued to be practised to a very late period. Jeremiah and Ezekiel, who survived the ruin of the state, and saw the beginning of the Babylonish captivity, take notice of it, describing it, not as an old or obsolete abomination, but as one which, in their times, still existed. Jer. vii. 31. Ezek. xvi. 21. 39 Therefore, &c. This and the five following verses refer to the circumstances related' in the book of Judges. 44 Yea, he made, &c. He so influenced the minds of his enemies by his secret agency, that they were unwilling totally to extirpate or destroy his people, when they possessed the power: they only impoverished and enslaved them. 45 And make our boast, &c. And publicly set forth thy praises with the greatest joy and exultation. 46 World. See on Psalm XLI. 13. THE TWENTY SECOND DAY. Morning Prayer. PSALM CVII. THIS Psalm, which was evidently sung in chorus, commemorates the goodness and compassion of God towards mankind, as testified by the immediate and ready help, accustomed to be afforded, in their greatest calamities, to all, who devoutly pray unto him. In the first place, he is represented as assisting those, who wander in the desert, and encounter the horrors of famine: secondly, those who pine in bondage: thirdly, those who are the victims of disease and sickness; and lastly, those who are tossed about upon the ocean, and are in danger of shipwreck: moreover, examples are subjoined, as of the divine severity in punishing the wicked, so also of the divine favor shewn to the devout; and both kinds of them are recommended to the earnest contemplation of every reflecting person. The Psalm is often numbered among those, which were, probably, written in consequence of the release from the Babylonish captivity; and the internal evidence, founded, as it is, upon the circumstances of the Jews at that period, seems to sanction the notion. For, though they had not experienced several of the afflictions here described, yet the mere mention of them served figuratively to depict, both the greatness of their late misery, and the wonderful nature of the divine mercy. Ps. 103. 17, 18. Mic. 4. 10. Luke 1. 68, &c. Isai. 43. 5, 6. Deut. 32. 10. Mark 8.2, 3. Hos. 5. 15. Ezra 8. 21, &c. GIVE thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious, and his mercy endureth for ever. 2 Let them give thanks, whom the Lord hath redeemed, and delivered from the hand of the enemy; 3 And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. 4 They went astray in the wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in. 5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them : 6 So they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; 7 He led them forth by the right way, that 3 And gathered, &c. The two tribes, during their captivity, were, most likely, dispersed, in the various offices of slavery, throughout the whole extent of the empire of Babylon. 7 To the city, &c. To the city, where they would be able to obtain they might go to the city, where they dwelt | Heb. 12. 22, &c. [to a city of habitation]. 8 0 that men would, therefore, praise the Lord Deut. 5. 29. for his goodness; and declare the wonders, that Isai. 48. 18, 19. he doeth for the children of men! 9 For he satisfieth the empty soul, and filleth | the hungry soul with goodness. 10 Such as sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, being fast bound in misery and iron; 11 Because they rebelled against the words of the Lord, and lightly regarded the counsel of the most Highest: 12 He also brought down their heart through heaviness; they fell down, and there was none to help them: 13 So, when they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, he delivered them out of their distress. 14 For he brought them out of darkness, and out of the shadow of death, and brake their bonds in sunder. Ps. 34. 9, 10. Matt. 14. 15, &c. Job 36. 8, &c. Luke 7. 30. Prov. 12. 25. 2 Chron. 33.18, 19. Acts 12.7: 16. 26. 6. 27. 15 O that men would, therefore, praise the Dan. 4. 2, 3: Lord for his goodness; and declare the wonders, that he doeth for the children of men! 16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, and smitten the bars of iron in sunder. 17 Foolish men are plagued [afflicted] for their offence, and because of their wickedness. 18 Their soul abhorred all manner of meat, and they were even hard at death's door: Mic. 2. 13. Ps. 39. 12. Lam. 3. 39. Job 33. 19, &c. 19 So, when they cried unto the Lord in Jer. 33. 3, &c. their trouble, he delivered them out of their distress; 20 He sent his word, and healed them; and Matt. 8. 8. they were saved from their destruction. John 1. 1, 4. a residence, and which of themselves they were unable to find. Ver. 4, 40. 9 With goodness. With good things: with abundance of provisions. 10 In darkness, &c. In a dark and dreary dungeon. See on Psalm xxiii. 4. A present tense is now used for a past. See on Psalm xxxii. 4. Such as sat, &c. 11 The counsel, &c. The divine precepts and commandments, as contained in revelation. 17 Foolish men, &c. Folly and wickedness are in the scriptures considered to be synonymous. The Israelites brought on themselves the miseries of captivity, (which are here compared to the effect of bodily diseases,) by their own impiety. See on Psalm xxxi. 12. 18 Death's door. See on Psalm ix. 13. 2 Chron. 32. 15. Luke 17. 17, 18. Lev. 7. 12. Heb. 13. 15. Acts 27. 22, &c. Jon. 1. 4. Ps. 116. 4, &c. Acts 16. 30, 31. Ps. 89. 10. John 6. 21. Ps. 71. 17, &c. Acts 4. 8, &c. 1 Kings 17. 1, 7. Deut. 29. 22, &c. 21 O that men would, therefore, praise the Lord for his goodness; and declare the wonders, that he doeth for the children of men! 22 That they would offer unto him the sacrifice of thanksgiving; and tell out his works with gladness [singing]! 23 They that go down to the sea in ships, and оссиру their business in great waters, 24 These men see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. 25 For, at his word, the stormy wind ariseth, which lifteth up the waves thereof: 26 They are carried up to the heaven, and down again to the deep: their soul melteth because of the trouble: away 27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man; and are at their wit's end. 28 So, when they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, he delivereth them out of their distress. 29 For he maketh the storm to cease, so that the waves thereof are still. 30 Then are they glad, because they are at rest [they be quiet]; and so he bringeth them unto the haven, where they would be. 31 O that men would, therefore, praise the Lord, for his goodness; and declare the wonders, that he doeth for the children of men! 32 That they would exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the seat [assembly] of the elders! 33 Who turneth the floods [rivers] into a wilderness, and drieth up the water-springs. 34 A fruitful land maketh he barren, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein. 26 They. The waves of the sea. So also, ver. 30 :— are at rest." "because they 32 Also in the congregation, &c. Not only in their own hearts, and in the midst of their own families, but likewise, as they have opportunity, in public assemblies; and that, as well where the common people, as where the magistrates and rulers, are gathered together. 33 Who turneth, &c. These instances of divine favor may be intentionally introduced to point out the desolation of the land of Judah, when the two tribes were carried into captivity, and its renovated condition in consequence of their return.- -The floods. See on Psalm iii. 3. |