11. — into the net;] That is, into the power of our enemies. Dr. Wells. 12. Thou hast caused &c.] Thou hast caused us to be miserably trampled upon by our scornful enemies; and hast put us to all manner of hard trials; but, at last, Thou hast settled us in a quiet plenty. Bp. Hall. 13. — with the incense of rams;] With the smoke of the fat of rams. 18. If I regard iniquity &c.] Inwardly regard and cherish iniquity. Bp. Horne. If a virtuous and pious life were to receive no reward and advantage in the next world, it were to be chosen for the very pleasure and comfort it administers to us in this: there being no delight equal to that which a man feels from doing well; and consequently no joy worthy to be named with that which possesses a man, when he is contemplating the greatness and glory of his Creator, and making due acknowledgments for the blessings and deliverances he hath received from his Divine providence and mercy. Lord Clarendon. Psalm LXVII. This Psalm seems to allude to, or rather to foretell, the incarnation of Christ, and the calling of the Gentiles, when all the nations of the earth should partake of the heavenly blessing, and become Ver. 2. That thy way &c.] The sense of the verse is, Deal so graciously with thy people Israel, that thereby the Gentiles may be allured to join themselves with them, and to embrace their religion. Bp. Patrick, Psale. — thy saving health! Thy salvation. Merrick. Ver. 4. — JAH.] Or, Jehovah. Street. See the note on Exod. vi. 3. — this is the hill ] Namely, Zion. Bp. Patrick. 4. O let the nations &c.] A very sufficient cause, surely, is here assigned why the "nations" should "be glad, and sing for joy," upon the erection of Messiah's kingdom in the midst of them; namely, because He would "judge the people righteously;" breaking the yoke of the oppressor, and the iron rod of the prince of this world; becoming Himself an advocate in the cause of his church; introducing her into the glorious liberty of the children of God, whose service is perfect freedom; and with a sceptre, around which justice and mercy are wreathed together, "governing the nations upon earth." Bp. Horne. 6. God setteth the solitary &c.] God provides for those that are destitute, and settles them in comfortable habitations; He releases the miserable captives from slavery and oppression, but those who are obstinate and rebellious He punishes by want and scarcity. Bp. Patrick. Here is an allusion to the deliverance from the Egyptian bondage, and the destruction of the murmurers in the desert: which brings in with great ease the full subject of the exodus in the next verse. Bp. Louth. — in a dry land. In a barren wilderness. Merrick. 7. — all the ends] The remotest inhabitants. Bp. Wilson. Let us with that affection and charity which becomes the servants of one Master, and the children of one Father, be indulgent to one another's infirmities, and compassionate to one another's weaknesses. This is the way to make "the earth yield her increase," such an increase as God takes delight in, an increase of Christian conversation, of brotherly affection, of knowledge, of humility, of justice, and of charity, and of all those graces which will prevail with Him to shower down all temporal blessings in this world, and to afford an assurance of eternal in the world that is to come. Lord Clarendon. LET *God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee † before him. a Numb. 10. 33. 7. — when thou wentest forth before thy people.] In a pillar of a cloud by day, and a fire by night. Green. 8. — the heavens also dropped] The clouds dropped down water. Green. 9. Thou, O God, didst send &c.] Didst send plentiful An exhortation to praise God for his mercies, &c. confirm it. plentiful rain, whereby thou didst was weary. 10. — hath dwelt therein. ] In thy inheritance. 11. The Lord gave the word. ] That is, the joyful news. Bp. Lowth. — great was the company of those that published? The word for "those that published" is feminine in the original; and points out the women who with musick, songs, and dancing, celebrated the victories of the Israelites over their enemies, according to the custom of those times. See ver. 25; Exod. xv. 20; 1 Sam. xviii. 6. Parkhurst. 12. — and she that tarried &c. ] The spoil was so great, that the women, who staid at home, had their shares in the division of it. Bp. Hall. 13. Though ye have lien &c. ] That is, Though you were formerly obscure and oppressed slaves, tied down to the drudgery of brickmaking and pottery in Egypt, you shall now be as glorious as you then were contemptible. Dr. Delaney. 14. When the Almighty &c. ] When the all-powerful God dispersed the hostile kings on your account, ye became as splendid and conspicuous as the bright snow on the top of the lofty hill of Salmon. Travell, and Old Translation. 15. The hill of God &c. ] The hill of Zion where God has chosen to fix his sanctuary, though low and barren in comparison of the lofty hill of Bashan, is yet far superior to it in real eminence and dignity. Travell. 16. Why leap ye, ye high hills? ] Bashan, and the mountains about it, are poetically represented as leaping for joy at Jehovah's presence, and ambitious of his abode upon them; as if there was a rivalship among them which should be honoured with it. Green. Or rather, the rendering should be, Why look ye with envy on Zion? Bp. Horne. the LORD is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. 17. The chariots of God &c. ] Here is declared the majesty and magnificence of Jehovah's appearance on mount Zion as a mighty Conqueror of the enemies of his people, riding upon the cherubim, as in a triumphal chariot, with all the hosts of heaven, as it were, in his retinue. Bp. Horne. 18. Thou hast ascended &c. ] Thou, O God, hast now taken possession of thy holy mountain, and hast given us the victory over our enemies, whom by thy aid we have carried away captive in great numbers, and have distributed their spoils among the people, yea, even among those who have transgressed thy laws; and Thou, O Lord, shalt now have a fixed habitation in this sacred place. So shall Christ hereafter ascend up to heaven, and take possession of his glorious kingdom, having led captive his conquered enemies, sin and death; and there He shall receive those precious gifts and graces of the Spirit, which He shall bestow upon his followers, even upon such as had before violated his laws, and rebelled against Him: thus shall the Lord God dwell in their hearts, and make his abode with them, Eph. iv. 8. Travell. 20. — the issues from death. ] This should be translated, agreeably to the version of the Seventy, "the passages to death," the ways by which death goes out upon men to destroy them. Dr. Hammond, Bp. Lowth. 22. The Lord said, &c. ] Jehovah had promised to repeat in Israel, by David, his glorious acts; to work as signal victories and deliverances for his people, as He had formerly done in the field of Bashan, and at the Red sea, when they saw their enemies dead at their feet. Bp. Horne. 24. They have seen thy goings. ] Thy triumphal procession and solemn entry into the sanctuary. Abp. Secker, Green. Ver. 1. — the waters are come &c.] That is, I am almost overwhelmed with calamities. Dr. Wells. 4. — restored that &c.] The meaning is, that he was contented rather to part with his own right than to quarrel with them. Bp. Patrick. 5. O God, thou &c.] Thou, O God, who art privy to my follies, and from whom none of my sins can be concealed, Thou knowest that I never did them any injury. Travell. 9. For the zeal &c.] My zeal for thy honour and service is that which made my enemies endeavour to take away my life; and their blasphemies against Thee moved my indignation as much as if they had been against myself. So was the Lord Christ disowned by his brethren, his zeal for God's glory deeply affected Him, and the reproaches which were levelled against God He felt as if aimed at Himself. Dr. Wells, Travell. 12. They that sit in the gate; That is, vain and idle persons, that spent their time in the gates, in which there used to be a confluence of people. Roseumüller. 13. — an acceptable time.] Meaning a time which he hoped God would think the fittest to shew him favour. Bp. Patrick, Travell. VOL. II. — in the truth of thy salvation.] That is, according to the promises which Thou hast made of saving me. Dr. Wells. 19. — mine adversaries are all before thee.] That is, Thou knowest them thoroughly, and all their injurious and wicked devices. Poole. 21. They gave me &c.] These words, which David spake figuratively of himself, were literally fulfilled in the soldiers' treatment of our Lord while He hung upon the cross. Green. — gall! See the note on Deut. xxix. 18. — vinegar to drink. Vinegar, in the East, was the ordinary refreshment of a slave, or of a wretched prisoner, rather than of a prince: and vinegar or sour wine, mixed with water, was the common drink of the Roman soldiers. Travell. 22. Let their table &c.] Their very feasts shall become a trap to them; they that eat at their table shall betray them, and their prosperity shall prove their ruin. Bp. Patrick. In addition to what has been said on the subject of imprecations, in the note upon Psalm v. 10, it may be remarked, that this and the following verses to the twenty-ninth inclusive, are strictly prophetical of F 26. — even the Lord, &c.] The "fountain of Israel" is the same with the "stock, or family of Israel." See Isa. xliii. 1. The sense of this clause therefore is, "Bless the Lord, ye who are sprung from the stock of Israel." Bp. Horne. 27. There is little Benjamin &c.] The literal rendering of this verse is, "There is little Benjamin their ruler, the princes of Judah their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali." In this enumeration of the tribes of Israel, that were present at the removal of the ark, four only are mentioned; Benjamin and Judah, who dwelt nearest to the city of David; Zebulun and Naphtali, who were farthest distant from it; to shew, as Dr. Chandler observes, the unanimity of the whole nation, and of all the tribes far and near, in attending this solemnity, to testify their willing acknowledgment of David for their king, and the city of David for their capital, and where all the great solemnities of religion should be performed, and their annual festivals continually celebrated. Benjamin, though the youngest tribe, is named first, and called the "ruler," because from that tribe sprang Saul, the first king of Israel. Upon David's accession to the crown, Judah became the royal tribe, and supported the throne by its counsels. Zebulun and Naphtali were tribes of eminent learning and knowledge. See Gen. xlix. 21; Judges v. 14. Bp. Horne. 28. Thy God hath commanded thy strength:] This is an acknowledgment that all the power and strength of the kingdom of Israel was from God. Bp. Nicholson. 29. Because of thy temple &c.] David foretells, that on the establishment of the church and worship at Jerusalem, the kings of the Gentiles should come, and make their oblations at the temple of God; which happened in his days, and those of his son Solomon, as an earnest and figure of that plenary accession of the kings of the earth to the Church of Christ, which was to take place in the latter days, under the Gospel. See 30. Rebuke the company of spearmen, &c.] This verse Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. 33. — send out his voice.] That is, in thunder. Green. We learn in general from this Psalm, that God has at all times displayed his power in favour of his people, by protecting them against their enemies, and showering down his mercies upon them. This He has done for the Christian church, as well as for the children of Israel: and what is said in this Psalm of the protection God vouchsafed to Zion against the assaults of the neighbouring nations, should convince us that the church shall always subsist, in spite of all the attempts of the world and the devil. Ostervald. Psalm LXIX. The application of many passages of this Psalm to our Lord, made by Himself and his Apostles, as well as the appointment of the whole by the Church to be used on Good Friday, direct us to consider it as highly prophetic of our Saviour's sufferings; and indeed many of the expressions are such as were more literally fulfilled in Jesus Christ than in David; who, both in his sufferings and in his advancement after them to a kingdom, was an eminent type or pattern of our Saviour. Travell, Bp. Horne. David complaineth of his affliction. He prayeth for deliverance. SAVE me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. Ver. 1. In thee, O Lord, &c.] The promises of salvation are made to those, who, renouncing all confidence in the world, "trust" in God alone for it. For this reason the Psalmist so often begins his prayer with a declaration of his faith, which is to the soul in affliction, what an anchor is to a ship in distress. Bp. Horne. 2. Deliver me in thy righteousness.] A second argument here used is the "righteousness" of God, who cannot but be faithful and just to his own gracious word. Bp. Horne. 7. I am as a wonder unto many;] That is, My deplorable miseries have made many consider me as a prodigy of wretchedness. Travell. 20. Thou, which hast shewed &c.] Great and numberless as my distresses have been, I have ever found soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt. Ver. 1. Give the king thy judgments.] That is, cause him to govern the kingdom according to thy precepts. Rosenmuller. — the king—the king's son.] The king and the king's son are the same person, a character that belongs to none before Solomon, who was the first prince in Israel that was at the same time king and son of a king. Mudge. 3. The mountains shall bring &c.] In other words, Peace, manifested by its consequence, plenteousness, shall be upon the mountains and little hills of Judea, by means of that righteous judgment, which Solomon will execute in the land. Bp. Horne. 5. They shall fear thee &c.] His righteous administration shall redound to his everlasting honour, and shall gain him the esteem and reverence of his people, through all generations: so that he shall be a lively emblem of the great King, Christ Jesus, whose dominion shall endure as long as the world remaineth. Travell, Bp. Patrick. 8. He shall have dominion &c.] "From sea to sea," that is, with reference to the Messiah, over all the earth. 9. They that dwell &c.] The most barbarous nations shall do him homage, and his enemies shall be constrained to prostrate themselves at his feet with the most abject submission. Travell. 10. — Tarshish] For Tarshish, see note at 1 Kings x. 22. — Sheba—Seba] For the former see the note on 1 Kings x. 1; the latter was also probably in Arabia Felix. Consult the "map of the world" for their probable situations. 14. He shall redeem &c.] He shall preserve them from being ruined either by the deceitful wiles or violent attacks of their enemies; nor shall he, to gratify his own ambition, be prodigal of their precious lives. So shall the Saviour of the world redeem the souls of his people from their most cruel enemies, sin and death; and so valuable in his sight shall their blood be, that He shall shed his own for it! Bps. Patrick and Horne, Travell. 16. There shall be an handful &c.] The country shall be so fruitful in his days, that even a handful of corn, sown upon the lofty hills, shall produce a crop that shall shake with a loud noise, like the cedars upon mount Lebanon: and the people in the city shall be fruitful and populous, like the innumerable blades of grass in a field, which the Lord hath blessed. Such, under the reign of the Messiah, shall be the amazing increase of the word, when sown in hearts that before were barren; such the astonishing multiplication of citizens in the Christian church. Travell, Bp. Horne. — as a chain:] Alluding to the prevailing custom of wearing collars or chains on their necks. See Cant. iv. 9. Bp. Horne. See notes on Job xxix. 14. 4. For there are no bands in their death:] They are in no peril of death. Old Translation. 6. Therefore pride &c.] Among men who have not the love of God in their hearts, or his fear before their 7. Their eyes stand &c.] Their very countenance expresses the proud swelling of their hearts, which are puffed up by such a constant state of prosperity, even beyond their own sanguine expectations. Travell. 8. They are corrupt, &c.] They are so corrupt, that they mock at the rules of justice, and defy those who would oppose them: they haughtily claim to themselves an exemption from the laws of God and man. Travell. 9. They set &c.] They blaspheme the God of heaven, and calumniate his servants on earth. Green. 10. Therefore his people &c.] Therefore God's people falleth off to them, and from thence they reap no small advantage. Green. This passage is extremely difficult: according to our old translation, the sense of the ninth and tenth verses may possibly be. They presume to scan the mysterious ways of Heaven with as much clearness and precision as they affect to display in judging of human affairs. This raises their credit in the opinion of ignorant people, which they are sure to turn to their own advantage. Travell. 11—14. — How doth God &c.] The whole of this seems to be the reflection of God's people on the apparent prosperity of the wicked, and the despairing inference they drew from it: it was so contrary to the usual face of things under the Mosaick dispensation, and to all they had been taught to expect, that it tempted them to doubt even the first principles of all religion. Dr. Kennicott. 20. The prayers of David &c.] Meaning perhaps, that this is the end of the first collection of Psalms that was made, probably under Solomon, for the service of the temple. Michaelis. As most of the things mentioned in this Psalm agree more perfectly to the kingdom of our Lord than to that of Solomon, since Jesus Christ was to be that glorious King, who was to bring the most distant people into subjection, whose kingdom was to last to the end of the world, and under whose government men were to enjoy complete happiness, and be filled with the choicest blessings of heaven; we have therefore here the description of our own happiness, which should put into our own mouths the praises with which David concludes this hymn, "Blessed be the Lord God, &c." Osterwald. The end of the second Book of Psalms. Psalm LXXIII. This Psalm, and several which follow, were composed by Asaph; they are chiefly filled with sad and melancholy complaints. Travell. Who this Asaph was is uncertain. Some have thought it was Asaph the singer, who was famous in David's days. But it seems more probable that it was Asaph the seer, who lived in the days of Hezekiah, 2 Chron. xxix. 30. Dr. Wells. Ver. 2. But as for me, &c.] Yet, notwithstanding my conviction of this truth, my faith in the Divine goodness began to stagger, and I was in danger of falling into a state of distrust and infidelity. Travell, Bp. Patrick. 3. Lift up thy feet &c.] God is represented as having withdrawn Himself, and departed afar off; He is therefore entreated to return without delay, to view the long lasting desolations of the once highly-favoured city, and the ravages made by enemies in the sanctuary. Bp. Horne. 4. Thine enemies roar &c.] That is, they send up shouts of triumph in those places where thy people used to praise thy name. Bp. Patrick. — they set up their ensigns for signs.] They erect their standards in token of victory. Bp. Patrick. 5, 6. A man was famous &c.] It was formerly thought an employment of much honour, to cut down and prepare trees for the building of thy holy sanc- 15. If I say, &c.] But, if I persevere in such discourse, and speak like these men, I shall betray the cause of all those who are thy true children, O God. Travell. 17. Until I went &c.] Until I applied to Thee by prayer and meditation on thy word. See Ps. lxxvii. 13. 20. As a dream &c.] Their prosperity is but as a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when Thou seest fit to punish them, Thou shalt cause all their glory and prosperity quickly to vanish. Dr. Wells. 21. — I was pricked in my reins.] I was deeply wounded with disquieting thoughts and tormenting passions, envy, sorrow, and anger. Poole. 23. Nevertheless I am continually with thee.] Notwithstanding these foolish thoughts, I am under the care of thy good providence. Bp. Patrick.