and afflict thee, much less boil up to wrath and furious displeasure; or if on a sudden thou art surprised with such a passion, take care, however, that it proceed no farther; and by no means be so incensed (I must repeat that caution, it is so weighty) as to as to follow their example in evil-doing.

Ver. 9. For evil-doers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For how prosperous soever it may prove in the beginning, the end, assure thyself, shall be lamentable. And let those evil-doers expect also to meet with an untimely end, and to be cut off by the hand of justice, in a remarkable manner, from the land of the living ;; when they that follow my advice, and wait patiently till the Lord will do them right, shall possess those good things that he hath promised, in this land which he hath given them for their in heritance.

Ver. 1. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not he yea, thou shalt diligently consider bis place, and it shall not be. And do not think he stays too long. before he doth it; but if that thought come into thy mind, resolve to expect yet a while longer; and still believe that, after a very short time, the wicked, who seem to stand so fast, shall be utterly destroyed., When thou hast made a strict search after him, thou shalt find nothing of him remaining in the place where thou sawest him so flourishing.

Ver. . But the meek shall inherit the earth; and ball delight themselves in the abundance of peace.] Whereas they that meekly submit to their present af flictions, and patiently wait upon God till he be pleas ed to relieve them, shall be settled at last in their possessions, and lead a most pleasant life, in the greatest plenty of all manner of good things in the enjoy ment of which nothing shall disturb them.

Ver. 12. The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.] The wicked, indeed, hope to hinder this; being so furiously inraged at the just, that he is always contriving some mischief against him.

Ver. 13. The LORD shall laugh at him, for he seeth that his day is coming.] But all his plots and crafty devices are ridiculous in the eyes of the Lord, who sees the day of his ruin approaching; which will inevitably seize on him, before his designs can take

effect.

Ver. 14. The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.] He hath numerous partakers, indeed, who have added open force to their secret practices, and armed themselves in a warlike manner for the just man's utter destruction; which they hope may be the more easily compassed, because he is destitute of human help, and will not take any crooked ways for his own pre

servation.

Ver. 15. The sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bones shall be broken.] But all these endeavours also shall prove in vain; and, which is more, they shall not only miss their aim, but their sword, as we say, shall cut their own throat; and

Ver. 16. A little that a righteous man hath, is better than the riches of many wicked.] And as there is more satisfaction in the little pittance a righteous man hath, than in all the abundance which the greatest potentates have gotten by extortion, oppression, and violence; so that small power he hath shall be of more force to protect and preserve him, than all the multitudes which attend upon those violent men to guard them.

Ver. 17. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken : but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.] For the Lord is against the wicked; and, be their power never so great, which they have to oppress and destroy the righteous, he will break it in pieces; but good men will he support, be they never so weak; and both maintain them in what they enjoy, and increase their stock, notwithstanding all that their enemies can do against them.

Ver. 18. The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.] He may seem to neglect them; but there is no day passes wherein he doth not take care of them, and exercise a most gracious providence over them; observing not only all their afflictions, but their patience under them, which shall be rewarded with the blessings he hath promised to them, and to their children after them.

Ver. 19. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.] In calamitous times, when God punishes the world by war or pestilence, they shall not be ashamed of the hope they have placed in God, that he will preserve them; when a famine comes, and pinches others, they shall be sure to have enough.

Ver. 20. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemics of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs, they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.] But the wicked, shall perish in those evil days; for the Lord looks upon them as his enemies, who, when they grow rich and great, are but fatted up as beasts for the slaughter, and on a sudden melt away, as fast as the fat of lambs, that is burnt upon the altar: just so shall the divine vengeance seize on them, when they are in the fulness of their prosperity; and, like that fat, they shall vanish into smoke, and come to nothing.

Ver. 21. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.] You see a man now perhaps grow rich by wicked arts; but he shall in time be reduced to such straits as shall put him to double shame; first of borrowing, and then of not being able to pay at his day; when the righteous shall be so far from borrowing of any, that he shall be able to lend; nay, to exercise mercy, and give freely to him that needeth.

Ver. 22. For such as be blessed of him, shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him, shall be cut of] For upon these God hath entailed a blessing by his gracious promises, (which shall certainly be fulfilled), that they and theirs shall enjoy the good things of the land; and against the other he hath denounced a

curse, (which they nowise shall avoid), that they shall be rooted out.

Ver. 23. The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD:" and be delighteth in his way.] Let a man but take care that his ways be pleasing to the Lord, by doing what he approves, and he will prosper him in all his undertakings, and guide his counsels and actions so, that he shall meet with good success. Ver. 24. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.] Or if he fail sometime of his end, he shall not be undone; the Lord still supports him by his power, that he be not discouraged; and relieves him by his good providence, that he be not utterly ruined.

Ver. 25. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.] I say nothing but what I can confirm by my own long observation; when I was young I began to take notice of it, and I continued so to do, till now that I am grown old: and I cannot remember that in all my life I ever saw a truly pious, just, and charitable man, left destitute of necessary things, or his children after him reduced to such poverty, that they were constrained to beg from door to door.

Ver. 26. He is ever merciful, and lendeth and his seed is blessed.] No, he rather hath not only enough to supply his own wants, but to spare also for the relief of others; to whom he freely gives, or at least lends; and is so unwearied in these acts of charity, that God rewards it with blessings upon his posterity.

Ver. 27. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.] Take my advice, therefore, if thou wouldst be happy; never do any evil, though it be to gain the greatest advantage this world can afford, but constantly employ thyself in good works, especially in works of mercy; though thereby thou mayest seem to impoverish thyself for the present, be assured this is the way to live a long and prosperous life in great tranquillity and peace.

Ver. 28. For the LORD loveth judgement, and forsaketh not his saints, they are preserved for ever, but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off] For the Lord loveth that which is just and right, and upon that account will not forsake those that are merciful, but be very merciful to them, and continue his mercy to their children after them, when the posterity of injurious and hard-hearted men shall be destroyed.

Ver. 29. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.] Such wretches may flourish for a time; but they that shall be settled and fixed in the land of promise, and leave it as an inheritance to those that succeed them, are only (as I have often said) the godly, just, and merciful men;

Ver. 30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom; and his tongue talketh of judgement.] Who do good not only to men's bodies, but to their souls also; imparting to them (especially to their own children) such precepts of virtuous wisdom, as teach them how to behave themselves aright in every action of their life, and naturally tend to make them prosper

cus.

Ver. 31. The law of his God is in his heart: none of his steps shall slide.] As appears by this righteous man himself, who, making the law of God (which he hath continually before his eyes) the rule of his life, proceeds steadily to the obtaining of his end, and happily finishes his course without falling into those mischiefs, into which wickedness leads those who have no regard unto that rule.

Ver. 32. The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.] His greatest danger is from such lawless men, who (as I have said before) watch for an opportunity, and leave no means unattempted, (though it be by falseness and treachery), not only to give him trouble and disturbance, but to take away his life.

Ver. 33. The LORD will not leave him in his band, nor condemn him when he is judged.] But the Lord will not let them have power to do what they design. He will rescue him from their violence. Or, if they seek to undo him, in a form of law, by false accusations before the public judges, he will find a means to clear his innocence, and reverse even the sentence they have pronounced against him.

Ver. 34. Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.] Therefore, if I should study never so long, I can give a good man no better advice than I did at first: Hope' in God, (when any of these troubles happen), and patiently wait for his mercy, in a stedfast observance of all his commands. Be not moved by any mischiefs that men can threaten, to go out of that way into which thou art directed by God's law, but believe that he will at last, if thou perseverest in it, advance thee to the possession of all the blessings it promiseth; and thou shalt see those that thought to depress thee, utterly destroyed.

Ver. 35. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay-tree.] There want not public examples of this in our own days. For I myself have seen the wicked (such as Saul, Doeg, and Ahitophel) in such power, that he was in no fear that any body could hurt him, but, quite contrary, struck terror into all his offspring was numerous, his possessions large, his revenue exceeding great; being like a tree never yet transplanted, that hath taken root, and sucked abundance of the earth, and spreads juice out of its branches every way..

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Ver. 36. Yet he passed away, and lo, he was not : yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.] And yet, as firm as he seemed to stand, he was gone on a sudden; he vanished, (it is very wonderful), just as you see a cloud pass away, and disappear. I looked about me to see what was become of him, and whẹther he might not be removed (as the tree sometimes is) to another place, but there was no such man, nor any remainder of him to be found.

Ver. 37. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace.] Do you mark, then, and make it your own observation, as I have made it mine, and you will find there is this great difference between him that makes the laws of God the rule of his life, and those that transgress

them; that though the former may meet with some troubles for a time, yet if they do not make him forsake his integrity, nor in any thing swerve from his duty, he shall in the issue be very prosperous and happy.

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Ver. 38. But the transgressors shall be destroyed to gether the end of the wicked shall be cut off.] But the other shall be utterly destroyed; none of them shall escape by any of their cunning tricks and devices, but shall all alike perish; though for the present they may thrive in their wickedness, yet in the con clusion they shall be cut off, both root and branch.

Ver. 39. But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD; be is their strength in the time of trouble.] For the Lord, whom none can resist, undertakes to be the defender, deliverer, and benefactor of just and good men; they may safely depend on him for power and strength to support and protect them, whensoever they fall into any distress.

Ver. 40. And the LORD shall help them and deliver them : he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.] He will not fail to help them during their troubles, and at last to deliver them out of them; the wicked shall not be able to hinder it, but he will deliver them from all their secret plots, or open attempts to destroy them; he will therefore deliver them, because they entirely rely on him for safety, and will not take any other course but such as he allows, to save themselves from dan ger.

PSALM XXXVIII.

A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. THE ARGUMENT.-This psalm was composed by David, either during his affliction, to desire God graciously to remember him, (as the title of it is), and send him deliverance; or afterwards, to put himself in remembrance of the moans he made when he was in that sad condition, and how earnest he then was with God, to pardon all the sins which had brought him into it, and to release him out of it; and what hope and confidence he then had in God; which might encourage him and all others to place the like humble, trust in his goodness for the

time to come....

What the affliction was, it is not so certain as it may seem at first sight. It is generally thought he was sick, and that of some noisome, ulcerous disease, as, in the beginning of the psalm, several expressions, if they be taken literally, plainly enough denote. But he presently falling into a doleful complaint of the malignity of his enemies, and the coldness of his friends' affection towards him, as it is thought not improperly by others, that he describes the crazy condition he was in, (under the persecution of Saul), by the languish ment of a sick man under some dangerous disease. And thus Theodoret understands it; only he supposes that he reflects upon the disastrous things that befel him after he came to the crown, by the

murder of his son Amnon, the rebellion of Absalom, the falseness of Ahitophel, the abusive reproaches of Shimei, and all the other afflictions mentioned in his history, which were sent by God upon him for the cure of his sins. And this sense we must follow, or else say, he was at the very same time sick of a grievous disease, when he laboured under one of those persecutions. And since the psalm will be of larger use, if we so interprate it, I shall follow that conjecture; so I call it, because we do not read of any sickness David had, nor are we certain what the particular sins were which he bewails in so sad a manner, that it hath made this be called one of the penitential psalms, beginning just as the first of them doth, Psalm vi.

Ver. 1.

LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath; neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.] O Lord, I am sorely afflicted, and it is but just I should be so. Yet let me prevail with thee for so much mercy, as not to proceed to any farther severity; or if thou dost, yet still to mitigate it with some favour, that I may not suffer in the utmost extremity.

Ver. 2. For thine arrows, stick fast in me, and thy band presseth me sore,] For (beside the trouble which my enemies give me without) the pains I already endure in my body are exceeding sharp, and touch me to the very quick; thou hast inflicted on me a heavy punishment, which presses me down to the ground.

Ver. 3. There is no soundness in my flesh, because of thine anger: neither is there any rest in my bones, because of my sin.] There is no part of my body but feels the sad effects of thy displeasure, which my sins have so provoked, that I am in perpetual pain, without any intermission.

Ver. 4. For mine iniquities have gone over my bead: as an heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.] They have brought a great number of evils upon me, which like a deluge have overwhelmed me, and lie upon me as an intolerable burden, under which I am ready to sink, unless thou support me.

Ver. 5. My wounds stink, and are corrupt, because of my foolishness. I am full of ulcers, and they are full of putrified matter, which grows noisome and offensive to me; as a just reward of my folly, whereby, to satisfy my unreasonable desires, I have inconside rately offended thee, (2 Sam. xi. 2. 3. 4.)

Ver, 6. I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.] I am not able to go upright, being grown crooked beyond measure; the posture of a mourner, who goes, or rather creeps softly, and bowed down, is mine continually.

Ver. 7. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease; and there is no soundness in my flesh.] Fiery boils break out in the parts about my loins; and though there be so many of them, that one would think all the ill humours were run thither, yet in the rest of my body, as I said before, there is no part but is out of order.

Ver. 8. I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. I am exceedingly weak, and worn away with pain and grief;

wherewith my heart is so perpetually tormented, that 1 roar, rather than sigh, and groan and cry under the apparent anguish of it.

Ver. 9. LORD, all my desire is before thee and my groaning is not bid from thee.] But why do I complain in this manner, and make such a particular enumeration of my sufferings? thou, Lord, understandest what I want, and what I would have: though I should say never a word, all my miseries, and the sighs they have cost me. are not unknown to thee.

Ver. 10. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.] Thou seest the great agitation of my mind, which wanders up and down in restless thought, but all to no purpose; for my strength hath forsaken me; the light of my eyes is so weak, that I can scarce make any use of them.

Ver. 11. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore and my kinsmen stand afar off] And if I could, I should see none of those whom one would expect, in such a condition, to come and comfort me, 2 Sam. xv. 31. For I am deserted by those who professed great love to me yea, they with whom I contracted a friendship and intimate familiarity, neglect me; and such whom nature hath inclined to pity and relieve me, keep at a distance, and give me no assistance in my affliction.

Ver. 12. They also that seek after my life, lay snares for me and they that seek my hurt, speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.] Mean while my enemies are very busy, and employ all their subtilty to find a way how to make an end of this miserable life of mine: they discourse of nothing else, but what mischief they may do me; and what they cannot do by force, they are continually contriving how to compass by fraud and deceit.

Ver. 13, But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man, that openeth not his mouth.] I wanted not information how they calumniated me; but was so oppressed with the weight of my other afflictions, and of those sins which have brought them upon me, that I took no notice of it; but lay as if I were deaf, and heard not what they said; or dumb, and could not make an answer.

Ver. 14. Thus I was as a man that beareth not, and in aubose mouth are no reproofs.] I was as silent, I say, as if I knew nothing of their false accusations, or as if I were not able to confute them.

laid me, thou wilt not think fit to let them insult over me, and brag that they have got the better of me, Ver. 17. For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.] As they are in danger now to do; for I am so weak every way, that I am ready to fall; and have nothing but a sad prospect of ruin before mine eyes.

Ver. 18. For I will declare mine iniquity: I will be sorry for my sin.] I know, and confess, that I have deserved it by my iniquity: which, when I consider, (and nothing else), I have reason to fear the worst that they can do unto me.

Ver, 19. But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong; and they that bate me wrongfully, are multiplied.J And what cannot they do, who, while I lie in this weak and miserable condition, are flourishing and prosperous, strong, and mighty, and by false rumours make me still more odious to the multitude, and increase their forces against me?

Ver. 20. They also that render evil for good are mine aduersaries; because I fellow the thing that good is. With which are joined even those whom I have highly obliged; who do not think it bad enough not to be my friends, but are become my adversaries for no other reason that I can find, but because I make a conscience of what I do, and faithfully study, and earnestly seek, the good of all this kingdom.

Ver. 21. Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me.] I humbly, therefore, betake myself to thee, O Lord, beseeching thee, that thou wilt not desert me as they have done. O my God, who hast been very gracious to me on sundry occasions, and seest that I still depend entirely upon thee, let not my sins make thee to abandon me.

Ver. 22. Make haste to help me, O LORD my salvation.] But rather let my misery, and the imminent danger I am in, move thee speedily to relieve me. Defer no longer, O Lord, whose property it is to deliver those who have none to help them, and trust in thee alone, as I now do, for safety and preservation.

PSALM XXXIX.

To the chief musician, to Jedutham. A Psalm of David.

THE ARGUMENT.It is thought by some, that this psalm (which David delivered afterwards to Jedutham, an excellent musician, and governor of the music in the tabernacle, 1 Chron. xxy.) was made upon the same occasion with the foregoing. And so in part it was, for though there is little reason to think that he was still sick when he composed it, (as they imagine), yet his enemies, it is manifest, pressed him sorely. And the consideration of the flourishing condition wherein they were, though very wicked, (whilst he, a pious servant of God, was lamentably afflicted), put him into some commotion, notwithstanding his resolution to the contrary, till the thoughts of the shortness of man's life, and consequently of his sufferings, and how

easy it was for God to cut off his enemies, com. posed his spirit again, and made him patient and contented with his present condition.

So that this psalm seems to be rather of the same kind with the 37th and 38th. Only there David gives counsel to others, after God had delivered him from many persecutions, to be patient by his example; but here he himself puts the counsel in practice, (perhaps when the rebellion of Absalom renewed his trouble, which is the opinion of Theodoret); though he shews it is very difficult on some occasions, not to be very much disturbed at wicked mens' prosperity, and good mens' affliction, especially when it comes to be a man's own case under some grievous calamity.

Ver. 1. Said, I will take beed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.] It is a very great provocation to anger and discontent, to see the wicked still continue prosperous, and to hear how they abuse and calumniate me. But I resolved with myself not to be vexed at it, but rather to take care, as I have exhorted others, (Psal. xxxvii.), to be more inoffensive in all my actions, and especially to watch over my tongue, and to lay the strictest restraint upon it, that no undecent complaint, no irreverent dis course about God's providence, no, nor any intemperate speeches against my adversaries, should proceed out of my mouth, 2 Sam. xvi. 8. 13.

Ver. 2. I was dumb with silence; I held my peace, even from good, and my sorrow was stirred.] And this purpose I kept for some time so stedfastly, that I spake not a word, either good or bad, but remained like a dumb man in perfect silence; being so afraid of breaking out into impatient language against my unjust accusers, that I would not so much as vindicate myself, and clear my innocence. Though the truth is, while I thus denied all vent to my inward grief, (which I could not quite suppress), it was the more increased.

Ver. 3. My heart was hot within me; while I was musing, the fire burned; then spake I with my tongue.] . For though I said nothing, yet I could not chuse but have many sad thoughts of the injuries I suffered; and musing long upon them, and upon the impunity of those who committed them, my sorrow grew sa great at last, that it could no longer be pent up; but, burning like a fire with vehement heat in my breast, it broke forth into such expressions as these. Ver. 4. LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.] Lord, I do not murmur nor repine at my sufferings; but that I may be able to bear them still patiently, make me sensible, I humbly beseech thee, how short this frail life is, and how soon it will have an end; that, duly considering this, I may be the less concerned about the miseries I endure, which will end together with it.

Ver. 5. Behold, thou hast made my days as an bandbreath, and mine age is as nothing before thee; verily, every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selab.

And it is strange I should forget it, seeing it is so apparent thou hast circumscribed my days within a very narrow compass; and that, compared with thy eternal duration, they are just nothing. Besides, there is no man so strong, so firm, but he may die in an instant, (as my enemies may do), in the height of. his prosperity, and most flourishing condition; for be he never so settled, as he thinks, in his greatness, it is certain he is mere emptiness and vanity. Ver. 6. Surely every man walketh in a vain sherv : surely they are disquieted in vain: be heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.] What an ima ginary thing, then, is the life of man! who promises himself mighty matters, but hath no more than the image and shadow of them in his brain: for on a sudden he himself vanishes, and is gone; yet for these he makes a lamentable bustle and stir, whereby, if he get any thing, alas! it is to very small purpose; for after all the pains he hath taken to heap up wealth, he hath no certainty whether he shall dive to enjoy it; no, nor whether his son or his kindred (for perhaps a stranger, nay, his enemy) shall possess it."

Ver. 7. And now, LORD, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.] And therefore I am resolved, Ŏ Lord, with thy gracious assistance, not to trouble myself so much as I have done about these vain and uncertain things: for what is there even in a kingdom, that I should desire and expect it impatiently, which may so soon be lost again? I have done with all these empty hopes, and content myself with this alone; that thou wilt not forsake me, but be my gracious God, and chuse what is best for me.

Vet 8 Deliver me from all my transgressions, make me not the reproach of the foolish.] And, first, I hope thou wilt forgive me all those sins, which have justly deserved these heavy punishments; and then shew me so much favour, that wicked men, who are so foolish, that they understand not thy meaning in these afflictions which have befallen me, but imagine thou hast cast me off, may not make me their laughing-stock, nor mock at my reliance on thee, and patient submission to thee.

Ver. 9. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth: because thou didst it.] For I did not complain, but silently endured their insolent and scurrilous language, together with all my other sufferings; reverencing thy justice, by whom every thing is ordered, (2 Sam. xvi. 10.); and this they interpreted to be yielding the cause, and justifying their proceedings against me.

Ver. 1o. Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.] May it please thee, therefore, who hath inflicted sore judgements on me, at length to remove them: put a speedy end to them, (if thou intendest to confute their foolish reproaches); because I cannot long subsist under such a burden, as hath already taken away all my strength from me.

Ver. 1. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selab.] Aud indeed, who is able to contend with thee, if thou wilt