01 - Chapter 1

PSALM I.

Verse 1. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. The first words of the first Psalm, and the last words of the last, are the Prophet David’s Alpha and Omega of knowledge and practice. For he comprehends all that belongs to man’s knowledge, and all that belongs to his practice in those two; first, in understanding true blessedness, and then in praising God for it. David’s Alpha is beatus vir, O the blessedness of righteous men! And his Omega is laudate Dominum, O that men would therefore bless the Lord! And therefore as he begins this book with God’s blessing of man; so he ends it with the man’s praising of God; for where the last stroke of this psaltery, the last verse of the last Psalm is, let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord, yet he adds one note more to us in particular, praise ye the Lord, and there is the end of all.

Verse 3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doth shall prosper. All fruits of Christians are not all of one sort. For some of them are general, growing upon all the trees of the garden, upon all the branches grafted into the true vine, general duties of piety which lie equally upon every man’s shoulder, as love, joy, peace; some are special, which every tree must bring forth according to his kind; as being his proper fruit whereby he must be known in that calling wherein God hath set him; for thus the olive tree hath its fatness, the fig tree bringeth forth his own fruit in due season; and thus the household of faith oweth a service to God after one sort in the general fruits of holiness, and after another sort in the proper fruits of a particular calling, and as they are the several heads of one mystical body.

PSALM II.

Verse 11. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Fear and service go still together; and fear usually before service; for that unless our service proceed from fear, it is hollow and worthless. One said well that these inward dispositions are as the kernel; outward acts are as the shell; he is but a rotten nut therefore that hath outward service without inward fear. It is true that perfect love thrusts our fear; but it is as true, that fear brings in that perfect love, which is joined with the reverence of sons; for there is no servant of God but fears filially, and again, God hath no son but he serves; even the holy Son of God was so in the form of a servant that he served indeed; and so served that he endured all sorrow, and fulfilled all righteousness. So every Christian is Son and heir to the King of Heaven; and his word must be, I serve.

Verse 12. Kiss the son lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little: blessed are all they that put their trust in him. There were many good uses of kissing one another in God’s Word. First, it was in use among kinsfolks; thus Jacob kissed Rachel and told how near of kin he was to her; now there is no person so near of kin to thee as Christ Jesus, who is thy Father as He provided an inheritance for thee; and thy Brother as He divided this inheritance with thee, and as He died to give thee possession of that inheritance; He is thy twin Brother so like thee, as that His Father, and thine in Him, shall not know you from one another, but mingle your conditions so, as that He shall find thy sins in Him, and His righteousness in thee; and therefore kiss this Son as thy kinsman. This kiss was in use likewise when friends parted; thus Laban rose up early in the morning and kissed his sons and daughters. When thou departest therefore to thy worldly business kiss Christ, take leave of him; and remember all that while thou art gone upon His errand, and though thou work for thy family and posterity, yet thou workest in His vineyard, and dost His work. Lastly, they kissed in reconciliation; thus David kissed Absalom. If thou have not discharged thy stewardship well, restore to the man who is damnified therein, confess to God who hath suffered in that sin, reconcile thyself to Him, and kiss Him in his Son.

PSALM III.

Verse 6. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. Distracting fear is the portion of wicked men; the troubles of the righteous are many, but their fears are few. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people is the resolve of faith: whosoever hath much fear hath but little faith: wherefore are ye afraid ye of little faith was our Savior’s to his disciples, and how can they but be afraid when storms arise who are of no faith? When fear increaseth faith decreaseth, and when faith is come to the height fear is gone: where there is no faith there can be nothing but fear.

Verse 8. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord, thy blessing is upon thy people. The Church’s help is not in herself, and the dangers of it are far greater then she is able without better help then her own to withstand. So was it with the children of Israel at the Red Sea, so with the three children in the fire, what help had they in themselves, being bound? Now God is pleased sometimes to suffer His Church and children to be brought to these straits, that His children being driven out of all other expectations might be vehement in prayer, and fetch help from heaven which they want in themselves. The extremity of the Israelites at the Sea made Moses cry to the Lord with vehemency, and when Jehoshaphat knew not what to do, his eyes were towards the Lord. We may observe further from hence that the Church and people of God are never helpless, but they have an omnipotent power with them and for them; this is their privilege and sanctuary. When Christ was helpless and His disciples fled from Him, yet then He had the power and presence of His Father, and so that every child of God as well as Christ himself; which is a most firm prop to stay and lean upon in all extremities; when we can oppose this help of God against all the threats and boisterous proceedings of our enemies.

PSALM IV.

Verse 6. There be many that say, who will show us any good? Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. To erect and settle a tottering and dejected soul, an overthrown, a bruised, a broken, a trodden, a ground, a battered, an evaporated, an annihilated spirit, this is an act of such weight as requires the assurance, the presence, the countenance of God, and indeed except the God of comfort give it thee in the light of His countenance and the peace of thy conscience, nec subtus, nec circa, nec intus te est, saith Saint Bernard, non subtus, not from below thee, from the reverence and acclamation of thy inferiors; non circa, not from about thee, when all places, all preferments are within thy reach, so that thou may’st lay thine hand and set thy foot where thou wilt, non intus, not from within thee, though thou have an inward testimony of a moral constancy in all afflictions that can fall; yet not from below thee, not from about thee, not from within thee, but from above, from the light of God’s countenance must come thy comfort or it is mistaken.

Verse 8. I will both lay me down in peace and sleep; for thou Lord only makes me dwell in safety. That poverty which comes from the hand of God is as rich a blessing as any that comes from His hand; he that is poor with a good conscience, that hath labored and yet not prospered; knows to whom to go, and what to say, Lord thou hast put gladness into my heart, more then in the time when corn and wine increased (more now then when I had more) I will therefore lay me down and sleep, &c. Does every rich man dwell in safety; can every rich man lie down in peace and sleep? No not every poor man neither but he that is poor with a good conscience can, and though he that is rich with a good conscience may in a good measure do so too, (sleep in peace) yet not so out of the sphere and latitude of envy, and free from the machinations and supplantations, and underminings of malicious men, (that feed upon the confiscations and build upon the ruins of others) as the poor man is.

PSALM V.

Verse 3. My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord, in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up. It was an ancient custom with God’s people to seek Him in the morning, early in the morning; and the heathens likewise by the light of nature took the same course in their prophane and superstitious worships too. From whence we may learn, first, that God is to be sought unto without delay; as it is with vows so with prayers, defer not to pay them, defer not to pray; seek ye first the Kingdom of God was our Savior’s; first in time, not only chiefly but early, put not God behind in the latter end of the day, or in the latter end of your business. It is best to begin with Him who is best. Then secondly, God must be sought unto with diligence, in the morning will I direct my prayer saith David, that is, diligently: they that come in the morning about their business are diligent in their business: we must lay our strength and spirits out in seeking God. It is not a sleight inquiry which finds out God; we read that He is found of some who seek him not at all, but that He is found of any who seek him negligently we read not; free grace prevents those who have not ability to seek Him, but it never meets those who will not lay out their abilities in seeking Him.

Verse 7. But as for me, I will come into Thy house in the multitude of Thy mercy; and in Thy fear will I worship toward Thy holy temple. God, both in the Old and New Testament, hath conditioned His doctrine and His religion (that is, His outward worship) so that as evermore there should be preserved a Majesty and a reverent fear, and an awful discrimination of divine things from evil. And therefore the love of God, which is so often proposed unto us, is as often seasoned with the fear of God; nay all our religious affections are reduced to that one, to a reverential fear, if He be a Master He calls for fear, and if He be a Father He calls for honor, and honor implies a reverential fear; and that is the art which David professes to teach, Come ye children and hearken unto me, and I will teach you the fear of the Lord, Psalms 34:1-22, that you think not divinity an occupation nor church service a recreation; but still to remember that with holy David you worship towards God’s holy temple in fear, that is by not being over fellowly with God, nor over homely with places and acts of religion.

PSALM VI.

Verse 1. O Lord, rebuke me not in Thine anger, neither chasten me in Thy hot displeasure. To be rebuked was to be chidden, but to be chastened was to be beaten; and yet David was heartily afraid of the first, of the least of them, when it was to be done in anger; this word that is here to rebuke is for the most part to convince by way of argument; so that this doth but amount to an instruction and an amendment; yet David here would not be disputed withal, would not be instructed nor amended by God in His anger; the anger of God is such a catechism, such a way of teaching as the Law was: the Law is a schoolmaster, but such a schoolmaster as brings not a rod but a sword; God’s anger should instruct us; but if we use it not aright it hardens us; for when a sinner considers himself to be under the anger of God, naturally he conceives such an horror as puts him farther off. As soon as Adam heard the voice of God in an accent of anger, he fled from his presence and hid himself among the trees.

Verse 2. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak. O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed. The reason of our own weakness is a good motive to God for mercy; that thou art weak of thyself is a just reason to induce God to bring thee to Himself; but to leave Him again, when He hath brought thee, not to make use of that strength which He by his grace offers thee, this is not the affection of the spouse, when the person languisheth for the love of Christ, but it is when the love of Christ languisheth in that person, and therefore if you be come so far with David as to this, have mercy O Lord for I am weak, that an apprehension of your own weakness hath brought you to Him in a prayer for mercy and more strength, go forward with him still to his next petition, O Lord heal me, for God is always ready to build upon His own foundations, and accomplish His own beginnings.

Verse 4. Return, O Lord, deliver my soul. O save me for Thy mercy’s sake. As God came long ago, six thousand years ago in nature, when we were created in Adam, and then in nature returned to us, in the generation of our parents: so our Savior Jesus Christ came to us long ago, sixteen hundred years ago, in grace, and yet, in grace returns to us as often as we meet Him in his ordinances; when thou canst love Him and embrace Him; as often as He offers Himself to thee in prayer or preaching, or the sacraments. Wish therefore every day a Sunday, and every meal a sacrament, and every discourse an homily; and He shall shine upon thee in all dark ways, and rectify thee in all rugged ways, and direct thee in all cross ways, and stop thee in all doubtful ways, and return to thee in every corner and relieve thee in every danger & arm thee even against Himself by advancing thy work in which thou besiegest Him, that is, this prayer, and enabling thee to prevail upon Him, with this petition. Return, O Lord, deliver my soul.

PSALM VII.

Verse 6. Arise, O Lord in Thy wrath; lift up Thyself against the rage of mine enemies. Execrations and maledictions are not to be directed upon the person, but his sin. And therefore when David asks of God here, which he desired God to forbear in the beginning of the former Psalm, Saint Augustine begins to wonder, quid? illum quem &c. would David provoke God who is all sweetness and mildness to anger against any man? No, not against any man, but diaboli possessie peccator, saith that Father, every sinner is a slave to his beloved sin; and therefore misericors erat adversus cum quicumque orat, how bitterly soever I curse that sin, yet I pray for that sinner, David would have God angry with the tyrant, not with the slave that is oppressed; with the sin, not with the soul that is enthralled to it; and so as the words may be a malediction in David’s mouth, we may take them into our mouth too, and say, arise O Lord in Thy anger against our enemies, our sins.

Verse 15. He made a pit and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch, which he hath made. It is an old adage, evil counsel is worst to the counselor; it may do hurt to those against whom it is given, but it shall certainly do them hurt by whom it is given; thus God turns the counsels and projects of evil men upon their own heads and against themselves; and this likewise shows the extreme vanity of human policy as it is separated from the wisdom that is from above, seeing it is not only unable to help us, but it doth us hurt, it is not only weak to assist, but strong to ruin us. But doth every man that digs a pit fall into it himself? Not so neither; for we may dig pits for wolves and foxes, wicked men; but when wicked men dig pits for the innocent, who prepares mischief for those have done him no wrong, may fall into the pit himself.

Verse 16. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate. God hath a way to punish the enemies of His Church with the same vengeance as they have inflicted on His Church, or intended against it, according to this of the Psalm. And this is most just with God, that the righteous law of retaliation might be turned on their own heads; how just is it that he who breweth mischief should drink of it? This is that just retaliation our Savior threatens in Matthew 7:1-29. If the Egyptians make a wicked decree to drown the Israelite’s children, and will needs follow them into the sea to drown the parents also, ’tis just that themselves should be drowned by a memorable destruction. And thus God repays the enemies of His Church and doth many times order that the mischief they have plotted against His dearly beloved, shall recoil upon themselves as a piece overcharged and recoiling beats down the gunner, not him it was aimed at.

PSALM VIII.

Verse 6. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; hast put all things under his feet. Here is a supreme estate, a very great dominion and sovereignty given to man; yet we have forfeited this justification, this dominion, and more, our own essence; we are not only inferior to the beasts, and under their annoyance, but we are ourselves become beasts; now to restore us again to our primitive sovereign power, we shall do well to consider the dignity of our soul, which only of all other creatures is capable, susceptible of grace; if God would bestow grace anywhere else, no creature could receive it but thou, thou art so necessary to God, as yet God had no utterance, no exercise, no employment for His grace and mercy, but for thee; and if thou make thyself incapable of His mercy and grace, of which nothing but thou is capable, then thou destroyest thy nature; and remember then, that as in the kingdom of heaven, in those orders, which we conceive to be in those glorious spirits, there is no falling from an higher to a lower order; a Cherubum or Seraphim does not fall, and so become an Archangel, or an angel; but those of that place, that fell, fell into the bottomless pit; so if thou depart from thy nature, from thy susceptibleness, that capacity of receiving of grace; if thou degenerate so from man to beast, thou shalt not rest their in the state and nature of a beast, whose soul breathes out to nothing, and vanishes with the life; thou shalt not be so happy; but thy better nature will remain, in despite of thee, thine everlasting soul must suffer everlasting torment.

Verse 9. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth. It is not enough to find a God, a great and incomprehensible power; a God that enjoys His own eternity, His own peace, His own blessedness, but respects not us, reflects not upon us, communicates nothing to us, but we must find a God that is Deus noster, ours, as we are His creatures; ours, as we are like Him, made to His image; ours as He is like us in assuming our nature; ours, as he hath descended to us in his incarnation; and ours, as we are ascended with him in his glorification: so that we do not consider God as our God, except we come to the consideration of God in Christ, God and man. It is not enough to find Deum, a God in general; not to find Deum meum, a God so particularly my God, as that He is a God of my making: that I should seek God by any other motions, or know God by any other notions, or worship God in any other fashions then the true Church of God doth; for there He is Deus noster, as He is received in the unanimous consent of the Catholic church: Sects are no bodies, for there is nihil nostrum, nothing in common amongst them, nothing that goes through them all; all is singular, all is meum and tuum, my spirit and thy spirit, my opinion and thy opinion, my God and thy God: no such apprehension, no such worship of God as the whole Church hath evermore been acquainted withal, and consented with.

PSALM IX.

Verse 8. And He shall judge the world in righteousness; He shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. The judges of the earth may absolve the guilty, and condemn the innocent, being corrupted by fear. Pilate for the fear of Caesar condemned Christ; whom the testimony of his own conscience pronounced innocent: but this Judge in the text, which is our blessed Savior, cannot be corrupted; for, whom shall He fear that is omnipotent? Or they may be corrupted with their own affections of partiality; Herod adjudges John Baptist to death for the love of Herodias’ daughter, but this Judge cannot be thus corrupted, for He is no accepter of persons: or they may be corrupted with bribes, but Christ our Judge cannot be so corrupted, if He would take a bribe, thou shalt have none to give Him at that day: a good conscience will do more good then a full purse; Riches profit not in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivereth from death, Proverbs 11:4.

Verse 16. The Lord is known by the judgment which He executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands Higgaion, Selah. Aliter suis, aliter, impiis innotescit dominus; God is in a different manner known to His own; and His enemies; to His in the codonation of their sins; and donation of blessings; to His adversaries in imputing their sins to them, inflicting His judgments on them: indeed, judicia indicia, every judgment on the wicked is a character, yea an oracle to evidence God’s presence. Then do all men see the majesty of a God, when the wicked feel the stripes of His rod. Oleaster derives the name Jehovah from a word which signifies destruction: I will not assess the naturalness of the etymology; yet thus much is true; when God brings calamity on the wicked, He gives glory to Himself, and manifestly appears to be Jehovah. Whiles God is suffering wrong from His enemies, He seems as it were to be asleep, and the world takes little notice of Him, but when He is vindictam agens, doing right, He showeth himself the Judge of the world.