Psalms 89

This Psalm manifestly treats of the declining and calamitous time and state of the House and Kingdom of David, either first in Rehoboams Reign, as a late judicious Interpreter conceives. To which those expressions v. 40, 41, 42. do not agree, or rather secondly in or about the time of the Babylonish Captivity.

I Will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever Intending to discourse of the doleful estate of Davids Family and of the Kingdom, he prefaceth this, partly lest the following complaints of present miseries should argue ingratitude for former mercies: and partly to move God to pity from the remembrance of his former mercies.: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness Whatsoever has befallen or shall befal Davids House, or any other, it proceedeth not from thy unfaithfulness but from some other causes., to all generations.

For I have said Within my self. 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 Davids Family by that everlasting Covenant which thou hast made and established with it; so I concluded, That thou wouldst carry on the same project of mercy towards it, that thou wouldest build it up and not destroy it.: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens So the sense may be this, Thou sittest in the Heavens, and there thou didst make this everlasting and unchangeable Decree and Covenant concerning David and his House, and from thence thou beholdest and orderest all the affairs of his lower World, and therefore, I doubt not, thou wilt so order these matters as to accomplish thine own counsel and word. But the Hebrew words are by some others, and may very well be translated thus, with (as the Hebrew prefix Beth is oft rendred) the very heavens, i. e. as firmly and durably as the Heavens themselves, as with the sun in the Hebrew Text, Psal. 72. 5. is by most Interpreters rendred, as long as the sun endureth, as our translation has it. And so this phrase in this last branch of this Verse answers to for ever in the former; as it is also in the foregoing Verse, and so in v. 4. in both which Verses for ever in the first clause is explained thus in the latter, to all generations.

I have made a covenant with my chosen With David; whom I have chosen to the Kingdom., I have sworn unto David my servant.

Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations I will perpetuate the Kingdom to thy Posterity; which was promised upon condition, and was literally and fully accomplished in Christ who was of the seed of David.. Selah.

And the heavens i. e. The Inhabitants of Heaven, the Holy Angels, as Iob 15. 15. who clearly discern and constantly adore thy mercy and faithfulness; when men upon earth are filled with doubts and perplexities about it. shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also Understand, shall be praised, out of the foregoing clause; which supplements are most usual in Scripture, as has been already showed by divers instances., in the congregation of the saints Either first of thy Saints upon Earth in their publick Assemblies; who always acknowledge and celebrate thy truth, although they cannot always discern the footsteps of it. Or rather secondly, of the Angels of Heaven, of whom he speaks in the foregoing clause; who are oft called Saints or holy ones, as Deut. 33. 2. Iob 15. 15. Dan. 4. 13, 17. & 8. 13..

For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty Either first among the Potentates of the Earth: or rather secondly among the highest Angels; who well may and needs must admire and adore thee because thou art incomparably and infinitely more excellent than they., can be likened unto the LORD?

God is greatly to be feared With a fear of reverence: for dread and terrour have no place in those blessed Mansions and holy Spirits. in the assembly of the saints To the whole Society of Angels, called Saints, as v. 5.: and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him The Angels which are always in his presence and encompass his Throne..

O LORD God of hosts, 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 Heb. and thy faithfulness is round about thee, like a girdle adorning and encompassing thee. It appeareth 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.: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.

Thou hast broken Rahab Egypt, as Psal. 87. 4. in pieces, as one that is slain Thou didst wound them not slightly but unto death. See Exod. 14. 15.; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.

The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world, and the fulness thereof All the Creatures wherewith it is replenished, as Psal. 24. 1. & 50. 12., thou hast founded them They are all thy Creatures, and therefore 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 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. Or possibly he may understand the northern and southern Empires and people of the World, who have from time to time annoyed and disturbed the Kingdom of David and of Israel, of which this Psalm principally treats, such as Syria, Chaldea, and Assyria; which in Scripture phrase are called the north, in reference to that Kingdom; and Egypt, and Ethiopia and Arabia, which are southward from it. These, says he, are all thy Creatures, and none of them can withstand thee, if thou wilt undertake to deliver thy people. But this I only propose with submission. thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon Two eminent Mountains in the land of Canaan, Tabor in the West and within Iordan, Hermon on the East and without Iordan. By which he may understand either first the Western and Eastern parts of the World: and so all the four parts of the World are contained in this Verse. But this may seem an uncouth and incongruous description of the East and West, partly because the North and the South here mentioned are not those parts of the land of Canaan but of the World with respect to it; and therefore the East and West should in reason have been so too; and partly because these places were not so situated in Canaan; for Tabor was not in the West part of Canaan, but rather in the middle space between the Sea and Iordan; and Hermon was not so much on the East as on the North, being indeed the northern border of the land without Iordan. Or secondly the several parts of the land of Canaan, both within Iordan, where Mount Tabor is; and without it, where Hermon lyes. 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 i. e. Shall be fruitful and prosperous, and so give their Inhabitants cause to rejoice. Joy and singing are oft ascribed to Mountains and Fields, &c. in a Poetical strain. in thy name In or by thy favour and the fruits thereof..

Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand Either thy left hand, because the right hand seems to be opposed to it: or thy right hand, as it is limited and explained in the next clause., and high is Or, is or shall be exalted, or lifted up. That strength of thine hand has been, or shall be, put forth for thy people as occasion requireth. thy right hand.

Justice and judgment i. e. Just judgment or justice in judging, as Ier. 9. 24. & 22. 3. A common figure called Hendiaduo. are the habitation Or, the basis or foundation, as this word is used, Ezra 2. 68. & 3. 3. Psal. 97. 2. & 104. 5. the groundwork of all his proceedings and the stability of his Throne and Government. For God could not be the Judge and Ruler of the World if he did not right, Gen. 18. 25. Comp. Prov. 16. 12. The sense and scope of this Verse may be this, Though thy present dispensations in breaking thy Covenant with David, and in suffering his Posterity and thine own people to be devoured by such as are much more wicked than they, be a great deep and secret, yet I rest satisfied that they are just. In like manner the Prophet fortifies himself under the like thoughts, Ier. 12. 1. of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face As thy Harbengers and Companions wheresoever thou goest. Thou art neither unmerciful nor unfaithful in any of thy dealings..

Blessed is the people The Psalmist intending to describe the doleful estate of the Royal Family and Kingdom of Israel, aggravates it by the consideration of their former felicity. that know the joyful sound i. e. Who enjoy the presence of God and his Ordinances, and the tokens of his grace and mercy to them, to which they were called and invited by the sound of Trumpets, which upon that only reason was very pleasant and grateful to the Israelites. See Numb. 10. 9, 10. So the sign is put for the thing signified, as is manifest both from the following clause of the Verse, and because otherwise the hearing of the outward sound of Trumpets could never make them blessed.: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance They shall live under the comfortable influences of thy grace and favour; whereof at present we are bereaved..

In thy name In the knowledge and remembrance of thy name, i. e. of thy infinite power and goodness, revealed and imparted to them. shall they rejoyce all the day: and in thy righteousness Whereby thou art both inclined and in some sort ingaged to hear the Prayers of thy people, and to save them from all their Enemies. shall they be exalted.

For thou art the glory of their strength All that strength in which they do or may glory is not their own, but is a mere vouchsafement of thy grace, and to thee alone belongs the glory of all their valiant archievements.: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted i. e. Our power and honour, which now lies in the dust, shall be raised and recovered..

For This Verse gives a reason of the Psalmists confidence that their horn would be exalted. the LORD is our defence: and the holy one of Israel is our king Having therefore so potent a friend, we have no reason to despair of our restitution to our former selic... y. Or, as the words may well be, and are by divers, rendred, Of or From the Lord is or was our shield, (to wit, our King, as it is explained in the next branch of the Verse, compared with Psal. 47. 10.) and of or from the holy one of Israel (i. e. the Lord, who is oft so called) is or was our King. He gave us our King and Royal Family at first, and therefore he can easily restore it when he sees it fit..

Then i. e. Of old: for this Particle is sometimes put indefinitely. Or, Then when thou didst set David in the Throne. thou spakest in vision Which then was the usual way by which God spake to the Prophets, Numb. 12. 6. to thy holy 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., and saidst, I have laid help I have provided help and relief for my people which I have put into safe hands. upon one that is mighty Upon a person of singular courage and wisdom and every way fit for so great a charge., I have exalted one chosen out of the people One whom I have pickt and chosen out of all the people, as the fittest for the Kingly Office, one enriched with eminent gifts and graces, &c..

I have found This is spoken of God figuratively after the manner of men, to imply the great scarcity of such persons, and the difficulty of finding them out. David my servant: with my holy oyl Both with material oyl, 1 Sam. 16. 13. 2 Sam. 5. 3. and with the gifts and graces of my holy Spirit, which are oft signified by oyl or unction, as Psal. 45. 8. compared with Heb. 1. 9. Isai. 61. 3. 1 Ioh. 2. 20, 27. have I anointed him.

With whom my hand shall be established i. e. Constantly abide to protect and assist him.: mine arm also shall strengthen him.

The enemy shall not exact upon him Not conquer him or make him tributary. Or, shall not deceive or circumvent him, as this word is used Gen. 3. 13. 2 Kings 18. 29.: nor the son of wickedness afflict him To wit, so as to overthrow or destroy him..

And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.

But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him Faithfulness in making good all my promises to him; and mercy either in doing more for him than I have promised, or in pardoning his sins, for which I might justly make him to know my breach of promise.: and in my name By my favour and help. shall his horn be exalted.

I will set his hand i. e. Establish his power and dominion. also in the sea The midland Sea., and his right hand in the rivers To wit, Euphrates, called Rivers in the Plural Number, as Nilus also is, Isai. 18. 1. Ezek. 29. 3, 4. in regard of divers branches of it and rivers which flow into it. So here is a description of the utmost bounds of the promised land, Exod. 23. 31. Numb. 34. 3. to which the Israelitish power was extended by David and Solomon..

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 to me as such for all necessary supplies and assistances, which Parents willingly afford to their children, as need requires., my God, and the rock of my salvation.

Also I will make him my first-born As he calls me father, v. 26. so I will make him my son, yea my first-born; who had divers priviledges above other sons. This and the following passage in some sort agree to David, who may well be called Gods first-born, as all the people of Israel are, Exod. 4. 22. and so is... raim, Ier 31. 9. Nor can I see fit wholly to exclude David here, of whom all the foregoing and following Verses may, and some of them must be, understood. But this is more fully and properly accomplished in Christ, and seems to be ascribed to David here as a type of Christ, and that our minds might be led through David to him whom David represented, even to the Messias, to whom alone this does strictly and literally belong., higher than the kings of the earth This also was in some sort accomplished in David, partly because he had a greater power and dominion than any of the Neighbouring Kings, yea than any other Kings of his age and in those parts of the world, except the Assyrian Monarch; nor is the expression here universal, but indefinite and if it had been said, higher than all the Kings, yet even such universal expressions admit of some limitation or exception, as is manifest and confessed: and partly because David had many priviledges wherein he did excel all other Kings of the Earth of his Age without exception; which probably he did in the honour and renown which he got by his military atchievements; and by that wisdom and justice wherewith he managed all his Dominions; but certainly he did in this, that he was a King chosen and advanced by the immediate order and appointment of God himself; that he was set over Gods own peculiar and beloved people; that he was intrusted with the care and Patronage of the true Religion and the worship of God in the World; and especially that he was not only an eminent type, but also the Progenitor, of the Messias, who is King of kings and Lord of lords, and God blessed for ever..

My mercy Declared and promised to him and his Seed, as it here follows. will I keep with him for evermore, and my covenant Of which see 2 Sam. 7. 12, 13, &c. shall stand fast with him.

His seed also will I make to endure for ever i. e. 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 Davids Seed according to the flesh., and his throne as the days of heaven i. e. For ever, as he now said, as long as the World shall have a being. It shall be as unchangeable and durable as the Heavens themselves, which are of an incorruptible nature. See the like expression, Deut. 11. 21. Ier. 31. 35, 36..

If his children forsake my law Of this and the two next Verses, see the notes on 2 Sam. 7. 14, 15., and walk not in my judgments:

If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments By this variety of expressions he implies, that God will pardon not only their lesser but even their greater sins.:

Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.

Nevertheless my loving kindness My mercy promised to David. will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

Once have I sworn by my holiness Here he gives some reasons why he would not break his Covenant with David, though he should have just cause to do so, and though he had upon such just cause broke his Covenant made with others; first because this Covenant was confirmed by his Oath, which adds not only more solemnity, but more stability and certainty to it, as is evident from Heb. 6. 17. wherein he shows that God added an Oath to his Promise or Covenant to make and prove it to be immutable; and from Heb. 7. 20, &c. where he proveth the Priesthood of Melchisedeck to be unchangeable, because it was confirmed by an Oath. And though judgments simply threatned have not always been executed, but sometimes were prevented, yet those comminations which were confirmed by Oath were thereby rendred and declared to be irrevocable, as we see Numb. 14. 28, 29, 30. Ier. 44. 26. Secondly, because this is said to be sworn once, which word and phrase sometimes implies the compleatness, certainty and irrevocableness of the thing said or done, as Prov. 28. 18. shall fall at once. Thus Christ is said to have died or suffered once, Rom. 6. 10. Heb. 9. 26, 28. Thirdly, because God sware by his holiness; in or by which God is but seldom read to speak or swear, and when he is, it constantly adds more weight and confirmation to the speech, as Psal. 60. 6. and 108. 7. Amos 4. 2., that I will not lye unto David.

His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun In respect of perpetual duration, as appears both from the foregoing words, and from the following Verse. before me.

It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven Whereby he understands either first the moon last mentioned, to which this clause may be added rather than to the Sun, to imply that as the Moon, though subject to Eclipses and frequent and manifold changes, yet does constantly and perpetually remain in Heaven; as a witness of my covenant of the night, as it is called Ier. 33. 20. so shall the House and Kingdom of David continue for ever notwithstanding all the Changes and Calamities which it may undergo. Or secondly the Rainbow, which though in it self it be unstable and transient, and does but seldom appear, which learned men object against this opinion, yet in Scripture is mentioned as Gods faithful and perpetual witness, being called a token of Gods everlasting covenant between God and every living creature for perpetual generations, Gen. 9. 12, 16. And although it do not always appear to us, neither do the Sun or Moon do so, yet its appearances are doubtless very frequent in one or other part of the World, and will be repeated from time to time to the end of the World. Add to this that the word here rendred Heaven, may as well be rendred the Cloud or Clouds, as it is used Deut. 33. 26. Iob 35. 5. and 36. 28. Psal. 18. 12. and 77. 17. and 78. 23. Prov. 3. 20. Isa. 45. 8. And so the place being thus translated, and as the faithful witness in the Cloud or Clouds, does plainly point us to the Rainbow.. Selah.

But Having hitherto declared the certainty of Gods promises, he now proceeds to show the unsuitableness of the present dispensations of Gods Providence thereunto; and humbly expostulates with God about it. thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed That Person and Family which thou hast invested with the Kingdom..

Thou hast made void Which seems contrary to thy word given, v. 34. the covenant of thy servant i. e. made with him.: thou hast profaned his crown By exposing that sacred Person and Family and Kingdom to contempt, and giving his Scepter and Power into the hands of the Uncircumcised., by casting it to the ground.

Thou hast broken down all his hedges All the means of his protection and safety.; thou hast brought his strong-holds to ruine.

All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach An object of their scorn and reproach. Is this the anointed of the Lord? Is this the Everlasting Family and Kingdom? to his neighbours.

Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries Thou hast given them Courage, and Power and Success.: thou hast made all his enemies to rejoyce.

Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword So that he can neither offend his Enemies, nor defend himself., and hast not made him to stand But to flee and fall before his Enemies: for more is understood than what is expressed. in the battel.

Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.

The days of his youth hast thou shortned The youthful and flourishing estate of David's kingdom was very short, and reached not beyond his next successor, and it has been languishing by degrees till this time when it seems to be dead and buried.: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.

How long, LORD, wilt thou hide thy self, for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?

Remember how short my time i. e. Our time, the time of our king and kingdom, in whose name the Psalmist puts up this petition, and about whom he was much more solicitous than about himself, as is evident both from the following verses and from the whole body of the Psalm. The sense seems to be this, Our king and all his people, and I among the rest, are short-lived and perishing creatures, that of themselves and according to the course of nature must shortly die. And therefore there is no need that thou shouldest add further afflictions to sweep them away before their time. is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain! Wherefore hast thou made us and our King (and consequently all other men whose condition is in nothing better than ours, and in respect of thy grace and mercy is much worse than ours) in vain or to so little purpose? Didst thou raise us and him, establish us for thy people, settle the crown upon David and his seed for ever by a solemn and unchangeable Covenant, erect a magnificent and glorious Temple, and vouchsafe so many and great promises and priviledges, and all this but for a few years, that our Crown and glory should be taken from us within a little time after it was put upon our heads, that our Kingdom should be broken almost as soon as it was firmly established, that thy worship should be so soon corrupted, and thy Temple quickly robbed, and not long after frequently abused, and polluted and wasted, and now at last utterly demolished? It is not strange that such considerations as these did fill the Psalmists mind with amusement and sad and perplexing thoughts. Nor does the Psalmist accuse or upbraid God herewith, but only useth it as an argument to move God to repair and restore their decayed state, that they might live to praise and serve and glorify him, and not be such useless and insignificant Creatures as now they were in this forlorn estate of things, and as they should be if they should go into the place and state of the dead before the restitution of their broken State and Kingdom.

What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death All men at their best estate are mortal and miserable, Kings and People must unavoidably die by the condition of their natures; and therefore, Lord, do not increase our affliction which of it self is more than enough; neither proceed in these violent courses upon us who, without such severity, must perish of and from our selves.? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave! Selah.

Lord, where are thy former loving kindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth Hast thou forgotten or repented of all that mercy and kindness which thou hast promised and sworn, and sometimes performed unto David and his Family and Kingdom??

Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I i. e. We thy servants, as he now said; our King and his people; of whom he speaks as of one person, as is very usual in holy Scripture. Or, the Psalmist shows how particularly and passionately he resented those reproaches which were cast upon their King and Kingdom, as if they were cast upon himself. do bear in my bosom This phrase may denote either first the multitude of these reproaches, things being said to be given or recieved into a mans bosom, which are given or received in great plenty, as Isa. 65. 6. Luke 6. 38. Or secondly their grievousness, that they pierced him to the very heart, which is sometimes called the bosom, as Eccl. 7. 9. the reproach of all the mighty people Of the great Potentates and Princes of the World who now reproached the House of David with their vain and confident boasting of the everlastingness of their Kingdom, which was now in a desperate and lost condition. Or, all the reproaches of many people..

Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O LORD, wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed Or, of thy Messiah. By whom he seems to understand either first the Kings of Iudah, the singular number being put for the plural; and by their footsteps may be meant either their ways or actions, and the sad consequences thereof; or the traces or memorials of their antient splendor and dominion, wherewith they now upbraid them; Or rather secondly the Messiah most properly and eminently so called; of whom not only many Christians, but the Chaldee Paraphrast and the Hebrew Doctors, understand this place. And this suits very well both with the singular number here used which points at one particular and eminent person anointed by God to be the King of his People, and with the matter and occasion of this Psalm. For it was universally believed by the Jews, that the Messiah should come of the Seed of David, and that by him the antient glory and power of Davids House should be revived and vastly increased. And this coming of the Messiah the Jews did continually expect for a long time together before he did come, and supported themselves therewith under all their Calamities. All which being well known to many of the Heathens, they reproached the Jews with the vanity of this belief and expectation. And by the footsteps of the Messiah he may understand his coming, as by the feet or footsteps of Ministers, Isa. 52. 7. their coming and bringing the Gospel with them is understood..

Blessed be the LORD Let thine Enemies reproach thee and thy promises concerning the sending of the Messiah and the deliverance of thy people by his hand. I do and will heartily bless and praise thee for them and encourage my self with them, not doubting but thou wilt consider and take away all our reproaches, and in thine own due time (which is the best) send him who is the consolation and expectation of Israel and the desire of all Nations. for evermore. Amen and Amen.