50 The same is my comfort in my trouble, Isai. 43. 1, &c. for thy word hath quickened me. 2 Cor. 12. 9. Tim. 3. 12. 51 The proud have had me exceedingly in Luke 6. 22, 23. derision, yet have I not shrinked [declined] from thy law; 52 For I remembered thine everlasting judgments [thy judgments of old], O Lord, and received comfort. 53 I am horribly afraid for the ungodly, that forsake thy law. 54 Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. 55 I have thought upon thy name, O Lord, in the night-season, and have kept thy law. 56 This I had, because I kept thy commandments. EIGHTH PORTION. 2 2 Rom. 15. 4. Luke 23. 28. Heb. 11. 13. Ex. 34. 6, 7. Isai. 50. 10. John 14. 21, 23. THOU Heb. 5. 9. 50 For thy word, &c. God's word of promise will ever afford comfort to the sorrowing man, and will so excite his hopes, as to become the happy means of giving him, as it were, "life from the dead." 51 The proud. The insolent despisers of the scriptures and of their divine author. Ver. 69, 78. 52 Thine everlasting judgments. We may apply this expression, either to God's righteous decrees contained in his word, for the punishment of the wicked and for the reward of the pious, which were always to continue in force; or, to the many and wonderful instances of his executing those decrees, which, from the beginning of time, are recorded in sacred history. 54 In the house, &c. As it cannot be proved, that the Psalm was composed by David, it seems better to refer these words to a life passed in the midst of trouble and affliction, than to one, which had actually been imbittered by the miseries of exile or wandering. Gen. XLvii. 9. Psalm xxxix. 14. 55 Thy name. See on Psalm v. 12. He, who bears in mind, that God is the Lord Jehovah, will necessarily think also upon every attribute, which pertains to him. -And have kept, &c. Since the Psalmist meditated on the divine perfections, when other persons were asleep, he was graciously aided in his wish to comply with the requirements of revelation, as the appropriate reward of his piety. 56 This I had, &c. This cheerfulness of mind in the fulfilment of my religious duties, and this ability to perform them under all trials and difficulties, were mercifully conferred on me, because heretofore I had never been wilfully disobedient to thy law. 57 My portion. See on Psalm xvi. 6. Gen. 32. 26. Jer. 8. 6. Luke 15. 18, 19. 2 Tim. 1.6. John 16. 22. Ps. 149. 5. 2 Chron. 19. 2. Mal. 3. 16. Job. 34. 32. Gen. 48. 15, 16. 1 Kings 3. 9. 1 Cor. 1. 4, 5. Jer. 22. 21. Dan. 4. 36, 37. John 17. 3. Matt. 5. 11. Isai. 6. 9, 10. 58 I made my humble petition in thy presence with my whole heart: O be merciful unto me, according to thy word. 59 I called mine own ways to remembrance, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. 60 I made haste, and prolonged not the time [delayed not] to keep thy commandments. 61 The congregations [bands] of the ungodly have robbed me; but I have not forgotten thy law. 62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee, because of thy righteous judgments. 63 I am a companion of all them, that fear thee, and keep thy commandments. 64 The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy: O teach me thy statutes. NINTH PORTION. O LORD, thou hast dealt graciously with thy servant, according unto thy word. 66 O learn [Teach] me true understanding and knowledge, for I have believed thy commandments. 67 Before I was troubled, I went wrong [astray]; but now have I kept thy word. 68 Thou art good and gracious: O teach me thy statutes. 69 The proud have imagined [forged] a lie against me, but I will keep thy commandments with my whole heart. 70 Their heart is as fat as brawn, but my deEphes. 4. 18, 19. light hath been in thy law. 58 In thy presence. God at Jerusalem? 59 Mine own ways. versely walked. Does not this refer to the public worship of Psalm xcviii. 7, 9. The crooked paths of sin, in which I had per 61 But I have not, &c. The verse ought scarcely to be taken literally. Though my worshipping of thee has been attended with much anxiety and trouble, I have not, on that account, been less faithful to my duty, because I esteem Thy favor as more than a sufficient recom→ pence for every disquietude. Heb. x. 34. 66 For I have believed, &c. For I am ready to be directed by thy revealed word, from confidence in its authority, and from conviction of its excellence, having, at the same time, an unhesitating belief, that it is the only way to happiness, and that in keeping it there will be great reward. 70 Their heart, &c. By rendering the original word "brawn" in 71 It is good for me, that I have been in trouble; that I may learn thy statutes. 72 The law of thy mouth is dearer unto me, than thousands of gold and silver. Evening Prayer. TENTH PORTION. THY thy commandments. 74 They, that fear thee, will be glad, when they see me, because I have put my trust in thy word. 75 I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right; and that thou, of very faithfulness, hast caused me to be troubled. 76 O let thy merciful kindness be my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant. 77 O let thy loving mercies come unto me, that I may live; for thy law is my delight. 78 Let the proud be confounded, for they go wickedly about to destroy me; but I will be occupied [I will meditate] in thy commandments. 2 Rev. 4. 11. 1 Ps. 27. 15, 16. Sam 3, 17, 18. Isai. 39. 8. Job 13. 15, 16. John 4. 13, 14. Isai. 66. 13. Hos. 11. 8, 9. Luke 18. 7, 8. John 15. 25. stead of "grease," as it is in the Bible version, our old translators, perhaps, wished to point out the wilful and perverse obstinacy of "the proud," whose hearts, as if consisting solely of muscles, were far too hard for the law of God to make the least impression upon them. An objection may, doubtless, be alleged to such a mode of interpretation from the occurrence of the epithet "fat;" but it seems not at all unlikely, that this is nothing more than the literal translation of a Latin word (see on Psalm cxxi. 6), which, when applied figuratively to the understanding, is used to express " dulness of perception." For it is well known, that the fat of the human body, and, indeed, of every creature, is absolutely insensible. 74 When they see me. When they witness my deliverance from all my sorrows, and know, that this great mercy has been shewn me, beunder every discouragement, I trusted firmly in the divine cause, promises. 75 I know, &c. The dispensations of God's providence towards his people, though sometimes severe, are always just and merciful: moreover, in sending them, he is faithful and true to his word, wherein we are assured, that chastisement is designed to benefit our souls, and, therefore, to be the precursor of reward. 1 Cor. x. 13. Heb. xii. 1. 77 That I may live. The Psalmist does not pray simply for the temporal enjoyment of this earth; but, that he may be enabled, by divine grace, to pass a life of faith and love here, so as to be rendered meet to partake of everlasting happiness hereafter. Ver. 40. See on Psalm xxxix. 15. Acts 2. 47. Ps. 139. 23. 24. Isai. 25. 9. Ps. 90. 12, &c. Job 2. 10. Ps. 32. 4. Isai. 65. 13, 14. 2 Thess. 1. 6, 7. Heb. 11. 36, &c. Ex. 14. 13, 14. 79 Let such, as fear thee, and have known thy testimonies, be turned unto me. 80 O let my heart be sound in thy statutes, that I be not ashamed. ELEVENTH PORTION. MY soul hath longed for thy salvation; and 83 For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes. 84 How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou be avenged of them, that persecute me? 85 The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law. 86 All thy commandments are true [faithful]: they persecute me falsely; O be thou my help. 79 Be turned unto me. Become my friends, and, by uniting themselves with me, shew that they rejoice in my deliverance. Psalm CXLii. 9. 80 That I be not ashamed. Without soundness of heart, and that steadiness of devotion, which springs from it, men will, at last, be put to shame, either in this world or at the day of judgment, by the punishments inflicted on them for their mere form of godliness. 82 Mine eyes, &c. Mine eyes look out with intense desire for the arrival of thy promised salvation. Ver. 123. In both our translations the eyes are here poetically represented to be gifted with the power of speech, in the same manner as to the tongue is attributed elsewhere (Psalm Lii. 3.) the faculty of imagining or devising. Psalm ix. 4: xxiv. 7, 9. 83 Like a bottle, &c. The bottles used in the East were made of the skins of goats or kids, wherefore, if hung up in the heat and smoke, they would naturally become dry and shrivelled. Such a change had sorrow wrought in the outward frame of the Psalmist. Josh ix. 4, 13. 84 How many, &c. How long wilt thou permit thy servant to be thus afflicted? Jer. L. 27. Or, this may be an entreaty, founded on the shortness of human life, that God would hasten to his succour. 85 Pits. See on Psalm vii. 16. -Which are not, &c. This is a mode of expression not unusual in the scriptures, to signify, that a thing is absolutely forbidden. Jer. vii. 31. 86 All thy commandments, &c. Man is perfidious and deceitful: God's revelation, on the contrary, enjoins faithfulness and truth; which consideration encourages the Psalmist, particularly as one suffering without a cause, to pray and hope for deliverance from above. 87 They had almost made an end of me upon 2 Chron. 16. 9. earth; but I forsook not thy commandments. 88 O quicken me after thy loving-kindness, and so shall I keep the testimonies of thy mouth. Luke 22. 31, 32. Ephes. 2. 4, 5. TWELFTH PORTION. LORD, thy word endureth for ever in 90 Thy truth also remaineth from one generation to another: thou hast laid the foundation of the earth, and it abideth. 91 They continue this day, according to thine ordinance; for all things serve Thee. 92 If my delight had not been in thy law, I should have perished in my trouble. 93 I will never forget thy commandments, for with them thou hast quickened me. 87 Upon earth. When they had cast me down upon the ground. Psalm vii. 5: XLiv. 25. But his mind may have been directed towards the enjoyment of another life, when he should be far removed from this earth, and, therefore, out of the reach of his enemies. Luke xii. 4. 89 Thy word. Thy powerful command, in obedience to which the heavenly bodies always perform their accustomed revolutions It would be better, however, to understand the phraseology of the verse as designed to imply a comparison. See on Psalm XLviii. 6. Jehovah's word of promise, then, as contained in the scriptures, remains, he says, fixed and settled like the heavens, which, from their unvarying appearance, form a lively emblem of his own eternity, and of the immutability of his counsels. The stability of the divine promises is, indeed, often found to be so expressed. Psalm Lxxxix. 2. Jer. xxxi. 35, 36. 90 Thy truth, &c. God's faithfulness in the fulfilment of all his engagements is now likened to the durability of the earth, which he has established for ever: that continues exactly the same, as it was "in the beginning," and so do the divine attributes of goodness and mercy, though one generation of men passeth away, and another cometh, in their stead. Eccles. i. 4. 91 They. The heavens and the earth.- -For all things, &c. For whatever thou hast created, whether "in heaven above, or in the earth beneath," keeps its station and fulfils its end, according to thy original appointment. 93 For with them, &c. By means of the revealed word, or, rather, of the encouragements, which it holds out to sincere obedience, the Psalmist had been made alive to God, and animated in his service. See the word "quick," on Psalm iii. 3. |