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النشر الإلكتروني

The psalmist's]

PSALM LXXIII.

A Psalm of Asaph.

PSÁLMS.

TRULY God is good to Israel, even

to such as are of a clean heart. 2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.

3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For there are no bands in their death but their strength is firm.

5 They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.

6 Therefore pride compasseth them

[great temptation.

about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.

7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.

8 They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily.

9 They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.

10 Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them.

11 And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most high?

12 Behold, these are the ungodly,

EXPOSITION-Psalm LXXII. Continued.

a typical prince, and the son of David; and, in his application, he has certainly the sanction of the highest Jewish as well as Christian authorities, and (what is more,) of the inspired writers of the New Testa

ment.

In this psalm, Solomon, or David for him, (if we consider him as the author,) implores judgment and righteousness to qualify him to govern the tribes of Israel -the very request which, we know, Solomon did personally make; "Give thy servant an understanding heart, to judge thy people." (1 Kings iii. 8, 9.) We know, also, from the same authority, that such an heart was given him, and with that, riches and honour unprecedented, also a long and peaceful reign: thus constituting him, not only a great prince, but an eminent type of him, whose greatness was without limit, and whose government is without end.

The blessings here announced, are peace and righteousness, which were to be proclaimed upon the hills, (as was customary,) by a chorus of females, to the inhabitants throughout the country. But peace and righteousness were to be accompanied with a numerous population and abundant

harvests. So, in ver. 16, "A handful of (seed) corn" scattered" on the top of the mountains," should bring forth so fine and plentiful a harvest, that the corn should "shake" and rustle in the wind like the trees of "Lebanon:" and at the same time the population of "the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth."

These blessings were, in a degree, realized in the reign of Solomon; they have been partly realized in the Christianization of the world, and we have reason to expect that the latter blessing, an increase of population and of human food, will take place, in a degree altogether unpre cedented, in the latter days, when, to the suppression of infanticide, human sacrifices, and negro slavery, and the full cultivation of the earth, with hundreds of islands as yet perhaps unknown, shall be added the general suppression of war: who then can calculate the happy issue? Let us join in the doxology which concludes this psalm, and say

"Let Jesus reign where 'cre the sun
Does his successive journies run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more."
Watts.

NOTES.

PSALM LXXIII. Title- A Psalm of Asaph; Marg. "for Asaph. See Note on the title of Psalm 1xxii. We read of Asaph the Musician, (1 Chron. vi. 39.-xvi. 7.) “ Asaph the Seer,' (2 Chron. xxix. 30.) and "Asaph, the father of Joah, the recorder," (2 Kings xviii. 18.) Bishop Patrick thinks the two last were the same person, and probably the author of these psalms.

Ver. 1. Of a clean heart-Heb. "Clean (or pure) of heart." See Matt. v. 8.

Ver. 4. No bands-Or" pangs." Bp. Horne. See Job xxi. 13, 23, 24, Strength is firm-Heb. “fat."

Ver. 7. They have more than heart could wish.Heb. "They pass the thoughts of the heart."

Ver. 10. Return hither-Or, "to them;" i. e. seduced by the boasting language of these profane men, they are sometimes tempted back to the world, and then it costs them abundance of tears and sufferings, before they can return.-Wrung out toOr of them."

Ver. 8. Oppression. Dr. Boothroyd joins this word to the latter clause, thus: "Concerning oppression they speak loftily." This we think preferable.

and happy]

PSALMS.

who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.

13 Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.

14 For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. 15 If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.

16 When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me;

17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. 18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.

19 How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.

20 As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.

PSALM LXXIII.

[deliverance therefrom.

21 Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.

22 So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.

23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.

24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.

26 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish; thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.

28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GoD, that I may declare all thy works. (Y)

EXPOSITION.

(Y) A dangerous temptation triumphed Over-This psalm is ascribed to Asaph, like the fiftieth and ten others; but who this Asaph was is uncertain.

the verse, "Therefore let his people come before them, and waters of a full cup are wrung from them." In part only adopting his, we should rather read, "Therefore his people (i. e. God's) return to them." The profane world, and "waters of a full (cup)," i. e. abundance of bitter tears, "are wrung out of them." Yet are these wicked men heedless of the consequences, and say, "How doth God know?" &c. Behold, these are the ungodly!"

We have supposed him to have been the contemporary of David; but as some of his psalms seem to refer to the times of his captivity, Bishop Patrick and others attribute them to one of his descendants. It is very possible there may have been two sacred" writers of that name; but the question is neither important, nor easy to be decided. This psalm relates to the process of a temptation by which the writer had been much afflicted, and which had occasioned in his mind a long and painful struggle; namely, "the prosperity of the wicked,' and the afflictions of the just. The former are often exempted from those trials with which the just are visited; and advanced to dignity aud power, which they abuse to oppress the poor; and even in death they are often exempted from those anxieties of mind and bodily pangs, which good men suffer.

The tenth verse is admitted to be diffi cult of explanation. Mr. Mudgé renders

From a contemplation of these facts, the psalmist was tempted to think that he had served God in vain, and was puzzled to account for this unequal distribution of the blessings of providence: nor was he able to do it till he went into God's sanctuary. "Then (says he) understood I their end." But how so? By hearing the word of God there read (for the Hebrews had not Bibles as we have,) he learned that these wicked men, though prosperous in the world, were under the curse of God: and, firm as they might seem, they were in slippery places, and in the road to everlasting ruin! He saw now that their felicity was all a dream, and that when God should arise and awaken them to the judg

NOTES.

Ver. 14. Plagued--"Smitten." Josh. viii. 15. Ver. 15. I will speak" Reckon," or "reason." Peters on Job, p. 287.

Ver. 16. Too painful-Heb. "It (was) labour in mine eyes."

Ver. 20. When thou awakest-Or, "When thou

awakest them;" viz. from the grave. Ainsworth. Ver. 22. And ignorant-Heb. "I knew not." Ver. 25. Beside thee-Heb. "With," or in comparison of "thee." Horne.

Ver. 27. Go a whoring-That is, after idols. See Exod. xxxiv. 15, 16.

The temple destroyed]

PSALM LXXIV.

Maschil of Asaph.

PSALMS.

GOD, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?

2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.

3 Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.

4 Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.

5 A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick

trees.

6 But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.

7 They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.

8 They said in their hearts, Let us

[by the heathen.

destroy them together they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.

9 We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.

10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?

11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.

12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.

13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.

14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to he meat to the people inhabiting the wil derness.

15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.

16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.

17 Thou hast set all the borders of

EXPOSITION-Psalm LXXIII. Continued.

ment," the vain show," the image of splendour in which they walked, would appear altogether despicable. (See Psalm xlix. 6.)

But the psalmist now reverses the scene, and contemplates himself-poor, destitute, and afflicted,-yet in the hand of Godguided by his counsel, and advancing

steadily in the way to glory. And then he breaks out into a devotional rapture"Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire compared with thee."

"Lord, 'tis enough that thou art mine, My life, my portion, and my God."

NOTES.

PSALM LXXIV. Ver. 2. The rod - Measured portion, or lot. See Deut. xxxii. 9; Jer. x. 16. Or, as margin. "Tribe;" viz. Judah.

Ver. 3. Lift up thy feet-That is, hasten to our deliverance.

Ver. 4. Thine enemies roar Like lions. Amos iii. 8.They set up their ensigns (adorned with their idolatrous emblems) for signs-To shew that their idols have got the ascendancy.

Ver. 7. They have cast fire, &c.-Heb. " "They have sent thy sanctuary into the fire."

Ver. 8. Burned all the synagogues-Congregations for prayer, &c. This is the first vengeance of a heathen populace.

Ver. 9. We see not our signs-That is, miracles; the usual signs of the divine presence. No more any prophet-Bishop Patrick hence infers, this must have been after the death of Jeremiah; but if he were in prison, it was the same: they could not consult bim.

Watts.

Ver. 13. Heads of the dragons (Taninim) seamonsters, or large serpents.

Ver. 14. Heads of leviathan.-These terms seem here used for Pharaoh and his military captains

"People," or wild inhabitants of the desert; the beasts and birds of prey, that doubtless feasted on the drowned carcases when thrown on shore. See Bishop Horne. Comp. Isa, li. 9-11. and Rev. xix. 17.

Ver. 15. Thou didst cleave-This verse refers to the miracle of cleaving the rock for water, and drying up the Jordan.Mighty rivers-Heb." Rivers of strength."

Ver. 19. To the multitude-Ainsworth, "wild beasts;" Boothroyd, "birds of prey," namely, eagles, or vultures.

Ver. 23. Increaseth Gen. iv. 10.

Heb. "Ascendeth." See

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the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.

18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.

190 deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.

20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. 210 let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.

22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.

23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually. (Z)

PSALM LXXIV.

[earnestly implored.

PSALM LXXV.

To the chief Musician, Al-taschith.
A Psalm or Song of Asaph.

UNTO thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.

2 When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly.

3 The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: 1 bear up the pillars of it. Selah.

4 I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:

5 Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.

6 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.

7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

EXPOSITION.

(Z) The psalmist laments the destruction of the temple by the heathen, and impleres divine interference.-We have hinted that some of Asaph's psalms had refer ence to the time of the captivity, and this is one of that number, as it refers to the destruction and burning of the temple. It could not be composed by the first Asaph, but by one of his descendants. The psalmist observes, that time was, when men acquired fame by felling the woods; now they sought promotion and reward by cutting down the sacred ornaments of the temple, and burning them with fire. He calls upon the Lord, therefore, to return quickly to his temple, and plead his own cause against the heathen.

In order to stir up the Almighty (as it Were to avenge the cause of his church, he is put in mind that it is his own cause, that her enemies are his also, and that those who reproach her blaspheme her God. He is also reminded of his irresist

PSALM LXXV. Title---Al-taschith. of palm lvii. and Note.

ible power, and what he had done for the salvation of his people in times of old, particularly at the Red sea, and is intreated to remember also his covenant of old, and to save his "turtle dove," (so the church is called,) from the hands of his and her enemies.

An important passage here occurs, as relates to the cause of missions. "The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty:" from which we may infer, that, instead of ignorance being the "mother of devotion," or paganism a harmless system, we shall always find the habitations of cruelty in the lands of ignorance and idolatry. Infanticide, selfimmolation, witchcraft, and human sacrifices are found more or less in all the re

gions of idolatry.

NOTES. See title

Ver. 2. When I shall receive the congregation--Mary." When I shall take a set time." The same word signifies both a set time, and a set meeting.

Ver, 3. The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are disalted---That is, things are returning to a moral chaos, bear up the pillars of it---I am left alone, to support the sinking church and state.

"Kingdoms wide that sit in darkness,
Let them have the glorious light;
And from eastern coast to western
May the morning chase the night.
Let the gospel
Soon resound from pole to pole."

Ver. 6. From the south---Heb. "desert." The land of Canaan had a desert at both ends, north and sonth. The Jews were not to look for support to any of the surrounding nations.

Ver. 8. Shall wring them out.---See Ps. Ixxiii, 10. Ver. 10. All the horns, &c.---To cut off the horn, is to reduce to insignificance; to lift the horn, is to raise to power and dignity. A silver horn on the top of the head, is a part of the Abyssinian dress,

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them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.

25 Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.

26 For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.

27 Add iniquity unto their iniquity and let them not come into thy righteousness.

28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.

29 But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high, 30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.

PSALM LXIX.

[of Zion.

31 This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.

32 The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.

33 For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners,

34 Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.

35 For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah; that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.

36 The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein, (T)

EXPOSITION.

(T) David complains of his afflictions, in which he was a type of the Messiah.That several parts of this psalm belong to the Messiah, we doubt not, for they are quoted by him, and are applied to him in

the New Testament: but we resist the principle, that because some parts are, the whole must therefore be so applied Mr. Ainsworth hath made the important remark on our Lord's quoting the thirtyfirst Psalm, (ver. 5,) that, while he used the first member of the verse, which was applicable to his circumstances, he seems purposely to have omitted the following words as inapplicable. (See our Exposition.) And we may add, that though our Lord has quoted and applied to himself many passages from the Psalms of David, we know of no one of them in which he either confesses or laments his sins, or implores mercy. We can by no means, therefore, allow the application to him of the fifth verse of the Psalm before us, in which David says, " O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee." If we are questione, "How shall we decide what parts are or are not applicable?" we reply, 1. We admit this of all which are so applied, by either Christ or the inspired writers: and, secondly, we object not to the accommodation of any passages not inconsistent

with Messiah's character. The parts applied to him in this psalm, we shall notice as they occur, premising, however, that we find no passage wholly inapplicable to David, who probably composed it, as is suggested by Bishop Patrick, during Absalom's rebellion, when banished from Jerusalem; and during which period he seems to have fallen among false friends, who aggravated his afflictions by ill-treatment and reproaches.

The first verses are highly metaphorical, and resemble many other passages in this sacred book, in which troubles and dangers are compared to sinking in the mire and in the flood; and may certainly, without violence, be applied to 11im who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, and whose sympathies still take part in the af flictions of his people. It is true, that neither type nor antitype derived any assistance or support from his family connexions; but, on the contrary, both were reproached, deserted, and betrayed. On one occasion, at least, it seems they gave the psalmist sour wine (or vinegar,) with some bitter ingredients, which he calls by the name of gall; a name probably used for any bitter or deleterious substance mixed with wine, (See Deut. xxix. 18:) and this we know was literally the case with our Lord himself in his last agonies. (See Matt. xxvii. 34.)

NOTES-Psalm LXIX. Con.

Ver. 25. Their habitation Heb. "palaces," or tower. But Gesenius explains it of a village of moveable tents, which seems to suit best the context.

Ver. 26. Those whom thou hast wounded-Heb. "Thy wounded."

Ver. 27. Add iniquity-Marg. "Add punishment to their iniquity." That is, sutler them to fill up the measure of their iniquity, until they are ripe for destruction. Rom. 1. 24, 28. Bp. Horne.

Ver.34. Moveth-Heb. "creepeth.”

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