Psalms 89
PATthey increase continually, like floods of water coming from several places, and at last meeting all together, to enclose and swallow me up. The author of this Psalm was near of kin to him that made the former (see the Argument there); and they lived, I suppose, in the same time. Only Heman bewailed some private affliction, which was befallen himself; whereas Ethan (after a thankful ackuowledgment of the benefits God had bestowed upon them, and especially of his promise made to David by Samuel and JNathan, of settling the kingdom upon him and his posterity for ever) laments most sadly the public calamity; by the subversion of the royal family and government, in the days of Jehoiakim, or of Zedekiah. Whose miserable fate seems, in the conclusion of this Psalm, to be bewailed with the greater passion, because it looked like a breach of God’s promise to David; and gave the Babylonians, and other nations, who assisted in their destruction, occasion to say,.that notwithstanding all the promises they boasted of, and the fidelity of their God in their performance, there was now a, period put to David’s family and kingdom. That is the clearest account I can give of the meaning of the last clause of the last verse but one; where we read that they, reproached the footsteps of his Anointed. The word we render footsteps, signifies properly the heel of a man’s foot: and from thence is translated to signify the end of any thing, as in Psal. cxix. 33. Which notion of ^it, in my judgment, best suits with all that goes before in this Psalm; concerning the stability of David’s kingdom: which their enemies now boasted (as we would express it in our present language), they saw upon its last legs. And the truth is, it was never restored to that family till Christ the son of David came; to whom some passages in this Psalm are applied by the Jews themselves, in both the Bercschiths, and in other books; to which Abcn Ezra and It. Solomon consent. Why this Psalm is called Maschil, see Psal. xxxii. But why any should fancy, as some have done, that it was made by Jehoiachin, after he came out of prison, (2 Kings xxv. 27, 28.) I cannot conceive; unless the first words moved them to think that ho who, in the foregoing Psalm, speaks of himself as in a dungeon, gives God thanks here for his deliverance. Yen 11. The heavens arc thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world, and the fulness thereof thou hast founded them.’] For thou art the owner of all things both in heaven and earth, and hast the justcst right to dispose of them to whom thou pleasest; because the world, and all the inhabitants of it, are thy creatures. 17S gion*, and observe not the rest of the rules of life which I have enjoined them:
Psalms 89:1
J. WILL sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness Jo all generations. The innumerable calamities that are befallen us, shall not blot out the memory of the innumerable benefits which the Lord hath formerly bestowed on us; but I will sing of them without ceasing; and endeavour to make all posterity believe, notwithstanding our present desolation, that thou art faithful and constant to thy word.,
Psalms 89:2
For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever; thy faithfulness shall thou establish in the very heavens. For I am confident thy mercy, which is immoveable, and endures for ever, will raise usout of these ruins: thy promises being as firm and steadfast as the heavens; in which we see an image of the unchangeableness of thy nature and of thy will… f
Psalms 89:3
I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant. Which thou didst declare by thy prophet, saying, (1 Sam. xvi. 13. 2 Sam. iii. 9,10. v. 2." vii. 15, 16. 28.) I have chosen David my faithful servant to be the governor of my people; and have made a covenant with him, confirmed by an oath •
Psalms 89:4
Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne. to all generations. Selah. That not only he, but his children after him, shall be settled in the throne; which, though it totter sometime, or be thrown down, shall be raised again, and continued throughout all succeeding generations.
Psalms 89:5
And the heavens shall praise thy wonders,.0 Lord; thy faithfulness also in the congregation of thy saints. For which stupendous kindness, if we should forget to •praise thee, or in this our calamitous condition distrust thy power and fidelity to make it good, the heavenly inhabitants will not fail to do it: but, in their holy assemblies, confess them both with their solemn praises.
Psalms 89:6
For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of, the mighty can be likened nnto the Lord?. For there are none of the powers of the air they know (much less any upon earth) that can resist the Lord, and hinder the fulfilling of his will: the mightiest among themselves; they aire sensible, are not to be cornspared with his majesty, to whom they are but ministers.
Psalms 89:7
God is greatly to be feared i?i the assembly oftlte saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. And when they assemble, in the greatest numbers, and make the most glorious court, stand in great fear and dread of him: attending, with awful reverence, what; commands he will be pleased to lay upon them.
Psalms 89:8
O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?. With whom I will join, O Lord, the commander of all these heavenly hosts, and celebrate thy name on earth, as they,do in heaven, saying: Where is he among them all. that can equal thee, O most powerful Lord; whose faithfulness is as ready to fulfil thy promises, as the angels are to execute.thy. commands? -Ver. 9. Thou ridest the raying of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.] The sea itself, which submits to nobody else, is under thy government:.. who, when.it is a calm, makest it swell, as if it would overflow the earth; and rcducest it, when it is in its greatest rage, to a,perfect stillness again.
Psalms 89:10
Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain: thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm. There the Egyptians, who had been wounded before with many other grievous plagues, were utterly overthrown: and.with.the like irresistible power the Canaanitcs were scattered, at the entrance of thy people into the promised land.
Psalms 89:12
Tlie north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name. Whether we cast our eyes to the southern or northern parts of the earth, to the west towards Tabor, or eastwards towards Hermon, they all acknowledge thee their Creator; and rejoice in thy bountiful providence, which enriches them with all things needful for them.
Psalms 89:13
Tfiou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. And thy power, extending itself throughout the whole, always effects in every place whatsoever thou designest; and that with an irresistible force; whether it be to punish evil-doers, or to preserve and exalt them that do well.
Psalms 89:14
Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. But none shall be able to say thou dost them any wrong: because thou dost not rule the world merely by thy absolute power; but hast placed thy principal glory in justice and equity, mercy and fidelity; from which thou never swervest.
Psalms 89:15
Blessed is thepeople that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. Happy then are the people who live under thy righteous and merciful government; and hear the trumpet sound, which signifies the royal presence of thy majesty among them, and calls them to attend upon thee: (Numb. x. 10.) they shall spend their days most cheerfully, O Lord; being secure of thy favour, which will let them want nothing that is good for them.
Psalms 89:16
In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. They shall not barely rejoice, but triumph, and that continually, in thy love to them, and thy power to defend them; and, walking in thy holy laws, shall, by thy goodness, be highly exalted, and made superior to all their enemies.
Psalms 89:17
For thou art the glory of their strength; and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted. For they owe not their conquests to their own valour, or forces, though never so great; but it is thou who givest illustrious victories to the smallest armies: and therefore by thy favouT we hope, that our empire, which is now broken, shall be raised again to its former splendour.
Psalms 89:18
Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness. And there is no friend, no neighbour, comes near me to give me the least consolation: but all they whose sweet society was wont to help to mitigate Tny sorrow, are either dead, or kept from my sight; or hide themselves for fear of being thrust down, together with jne, into this doleful place. PSALM LXXXIX.. Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite. For the Lord is our defence: and the Holy One of Israel is our King.] For the Lord is still our protector, though our prince be taken, and made unable to defend us: he whom Israel adores, and acknowledges infinitely to transcend all other beings, is our King and Governor.
Psalms 89:19
Tlien thou spakest in vision to the Holy One, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. Who then didst reveal thy mind, in a vision, to the holy prophet Samuel, (1 Sam. xvi. 1.) when the Philistines defied Israel, and grew terrible to them, (xvii. 10, 11. 24.) saying; I have provided myself a valiant champion (1 Sam. xvi. 18.) to be your deliverer: (2 Sam. iii. 18.) I have designed a person of singular worth, from among the common people, (1 Sam. xvi. 110 t° 1 )C promoted to tbe„ kingdom.
Psalms 89:20
I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him. I have observed David, (1 Sam. xvi. 1.) and find him a man that will faithfully serve me: go, and anoint him with the holy oil; for I intend him for the governor of my people.
Psalms 89:21
With whom my hand shall be established; mine arm also shall strengthen him. With whom I will always be powerfully present, for his assistance, (1 Sam. xvii. 45, &c.) nnd never desert him, as I did Saul: (xviii. 12. 24.28.) but my mighty power shall extraordinarily strengthen him in all his enterprises, (1 Sam. xxx. 6. 2 Sam. viii.6.14.)
Psalms 89:22
TJie enemy shall not exact upon him; northeson of wickedness afflict him. The subtlest of his enemies shall not be able to circumvent him; nor the most malicious, how powerful soever, oppress him.
Psalms 89:23
And will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. But after all their vain attempts, I will not only protect him from their crafty violence, but subdue all his adversaries under him, and destroy those that hate him. (2 Sam. vii. 9.)
Psalms 89:24
But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him; and in my name shall his horn be exalted. He shall ever find me, not only faithful in my promise to him, but kind above his expectation; and, by my powerful assistance, and his confidence in it, his authority shall be highly exalted. (1 Chron. xiv. 17. 2 Sam. vii. 9. viii. 13.)
Psalms 89:25
Iicill set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. On one hand he shall conquer the Philistines, and those that live upon the coast of the sea; (2 Sam. viii. 1.) and on the other hand the Syrians, as far as Tigris and Euphrates. (2 Sam. viii. 9, &c. x. 16. 19.)
Psalms 89:26
He shall cry unto me, TJiou art my Father, my God, and tlie Rock of my salvation. .For he shall entirely depend on me in all his distresses, and fly to me for succour, as achild to his parent; saying, with more than usual love and confidence, Thou art my Father, as well as my omnipotent God, from whom alone T expect protection and deliverance.
Psalms 89:27
Also I will make him my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth. Which I will never fail to afford him, till I raise him to the prime dignity, among all those whom I call my sons; and set him so high above all other kings in the world, that he shall be a most eminent type of my Son, Christ, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords.
Psalms 89:28
My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. Nothing shall alter these kind intentions towards him; but I will always have a love for him, and faithfully perform my covenant with him.
Psalms 89:29
His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. Which is, that his family shall never be extinct; but, notwithstanding the changes which all things are subject unto hero below, have the royal power continued in it, as long as the heavens endure. (2 Sam. vii. 16. 28, 29. Luke i. 32, 33.)
Psalms 89:30
If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments. If his successors, indeed, shall depart from the law which I have given you by my servant Moses, and not judge my people righteously;
Psalms 89:31
If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments. If they profanely neglect or corrupt my reli-
Psalms 89:32
Then will I visit their transgressions with a rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Then will I execute the threatenings which are in my law (Lev. xxvi.) upon them; and punish their transgressions with sof e diseases, and their idolatries with several plagues, (2 Sam. vii. 14.)
Psalms 89:33
Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. But I will not so chastise them, as never more to do good to his family; (2 bam. vii. 25.) but I will still have a kindness for it, and faithfully keep my promise with it, (1 Kings xi. 34—36. xv. 4. 2 Kings viii. 19, &c.)
Psalms 89:34
My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips-. I will not violate the covenant I have made with David, (2 Chron. xxi. 7.) nor retract the promise which I have solemnly passed to his family.
Psalms 89:35
Once have I sworn by my holiness, that I will not lie unto David. For I have unalterably sworn by my own incommunicable excellences, that I will as soon cease to be what I am, as deceive him.
Psalms 89:36
His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. His family (as I said ver. 29.) shall never be quite extinct; but always remain in my favour, and hold the royal dignity as long as the sun shineth.
Psalms 89:37
It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah. The moon may as well fall from her orb, as his authority fall to the ground, and rise no more: let that be a witness of my fidelity, when you look upon it; (Jer. xxxiii. 20, 21.) and conclude, that after all the changes and eclipses his kingdom may suffer, it shall stand as fast as that and all the rest of the heavenly bodies.
Psalms 89:38
But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed. But all these promises, alas! so sacredly confirmed and oft repeated, have not secured it from a dismal subversion: for thou hast rejected, with the greatest contempt and indignation, our sovereign; one of the posterity of David, and his lawful successor in the kingdom, (2 Kings xxiv. 20. xxv. 6, 7. Lam. iv. 20.)
Psalms 89:39
Tfiou hast made void the covenant of thy servant; thou hast profaned his ctown, by casting it to the ground^. Thou seemest not to regard the covenant made with that thy faithful servant, (which thou promisedst not to break, ver. 34.) and, instead of raising his family higher than all other kiiags, (ver. 27.) hath suffered it to lose all its authority; which, together with the royal diadem, is vilely trodden under foot.
Psalms 89:40
TJiou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strongholds to ruin. Thou hast broken down all the walls of Jerusalem, (2 Kings xxv. 10.) and made all his fortified places a mere desolation.
Psalms 89:41
All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours. So that he hath no defence against those who have a mind to make a prey of him, (2 Kings xxiv. 2.) and is now scorned and derided by those who formerly dreaded him.
Psalms 89:42
Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice. Thou hast made his adversaries (whom thou promisedst to depress, ver. 23.) far stronger than himself: they have executed all that they designed, and now triumph in his ruin.
Psalms 89:43
TTtou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle. His forces have done him no service; but being shamefully routed, durst never rally again, to make any opposition to their enemies.
Psalms 89:44
TJiou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground. Thou hast put out that splendour which we thought should have been perpetual; (ver. 37, 38.) and hast utterly overturned his kingdom.
Psalms 89:45
The days of his youth are shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah. Thou hast made a speedy end of the reign of Jehoiachin, who in his youth is made a slave: (2 Kings xxiv. 8, &c.) and suffered Zedekiah to be most disgracefully condemned as a rebel, to lose his eyes, and remain a prisoner all the days of his life, (2 Kings xxv. 6, 7.)
Psalms 89:46
How long, Lord,wiltthotthide thyself? for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?. O what a sad condition is this, in which thou seemest wholly to neglect us! but, O Lord,. wilt thou never appear for us again, and put a period to our miseries? wilt thou let thy anger burn, till we be utterly consumed?
Psalms 89:47
Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?. Our natural weakness pleads for some mercy; and emboldens us to beseech thee, that, since we must not only die unavoidably, but a short time will bring us to our graves, thou wilt be pleased to let us spend that little time in more ease; and not live, as if we were made for nothing else, but only to be miserable and to die.
Psalms 89:48
What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah. For where is the man whose constitution is so firm, that he shall not yield to death? For what ability have we, though our enemies should not thus destroy us, to defend ourselves from the power of the gTave?
Psalms 89:49
Lord, where are thy former loving-kindnesses, j which thou sioarest unto David in thy truth?. Lord, what a difference is there between our times, and those when thou wast so exceeding good to David! and swarest, most faithfully, to continue to him for ever thy loving-kindness, which we beseech thee now restore unto us.
Psalms 89:50
Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear-in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people.~. Shew, O Lord, that thou dost not forget the scoffs and jeers, whereby our enemies augment the sufferings of thy servants: there is nothing I lay to heart so much, as all the reproaches of many and mighty nations.
Psalms 89:51
WJierewith thine enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed. Who are thy enemies as well as ours: and have blasphemed thee, O Lord, and mocked at thee; as if our slavery were the effect of thy inability to protect us; and as if there were an end of the family and kingdom of David, thine anointed, which thou saidst should last for ever.
Psalms 89:52
Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and amen. But let them laugh on; neither their scoffs, nor our calamity, shall hinder us from praising the Lord, and speaking good of him continually, in assured hope that he will at last deliver us. Let it be so, we beseech thee; let it be so, as we desire and hope; that we may ever praise thee for our happy restoration. Digitizecfby Microsoft ® [psalm xc. PART IV,