17 For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. 18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. 19 But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong; and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. 20 They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is. 21 Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. 22 Make haste to help me, O LORD my salvation. PSALM XXXIX. To the chief musician, even to Jeduthun, A psalm of David. I SAID, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue; I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. 2 I was dumb with silence; I held my peace, eren from good; and my sorrow was stirred. 3 My heart was hot within me; while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue. 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. 5 Behold, thou hast made my days as an hand-breadth, and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. 6 Surely every man walketh in a disvain shew; surely they are quieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them, 7 And now, LORD, what wait I for my hope is in thee. 8 Deliver me from all my transgressions make me not the reproach of the foolish. 9 I was dumb, 1 opened not my mouth; because thou didst it. 10 Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand. 11 When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah. 12 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. 13 O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more. PSALM XL. To the chief musician, A psalm of David. WAITED patiently for the LORD, and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. 4 Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respect Psal. XXXVIII. This psalm is generally believed to have been composed by David in a season of great sickness and affliction. Psal. XXXIX. This was probably composed about the same time, as it was certainly composed on a similar occasion, as the preceding psalm. eth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. 5 Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward; they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. 6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. 7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me. 8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. 9 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, 1 have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. 10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation. 11 Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me. 12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about; mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up: they are more than the hairs of mine head; therefore my heart faileth 14 Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward, and put to shame, that wish me evil. 15 Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aba! 16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified. 17 But I am poor and needy; yet the LORD thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God. PSALM XLI. To the chief musician, A psalm of David. BLESSED is he that considereth the poor the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. 2 The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. 3 The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. 4 I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee. 5 Mine enemies speak evil of me; When shall he die, and his name perish? 6 And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity; his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it. 7 All that hate me whisper to Psal. XL. The inspired writers of the New Testament plainly apply this psalm as a prophecy of Christ. See Matth. xii. 7; Heb. x. 5; Rom. vii. 22. gether against me: against me do they devise my hurt. 8 An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth, he shall rise up no more. 9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. 10 But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them. 11 By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. 12 And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever. 13 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen. PSALM XLII. To the chief musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. AS the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? 4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holy-day. 5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him for the help of over me. 8 Yet the LORD will command his loving-kindness in the day-time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. 9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 10 As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God? 11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. Psal. XLI. This, like the preceding, is directly applicable to Christ, of whom David was the express type; whence that which the psalmist could literally and truly say of himself, was true, but in a higher sense, of the Redeemer. Psal. XLII. This exquisite and pathetic psalm was composed by David when, driven from his abode by the rebellion of Absalom, he shed in vain for the comfort he had enjoyed in the established ordinances of divine worship. To express the sorrows of his heart, he uses the most striking figures that language could supply: we see him wandering among the rocky crags of Her PSALM XLIII. JUDGE me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. 2 For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me, let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. 4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God, my God. 5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God; for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. PSALM XLIV. To the chief musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. WE have heard with our ears. O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old. 2 How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out. 3 For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them. 4 Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob. 5 Through thee will we push down our enemies; through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. 6 For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. 7 But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us. 8 In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah. 9 But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies. 10 Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy; and they which hate us spoil for themselves. 11 Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen. 12 Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price. 13 Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us. 14 Thou makest us a by-word among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people. 15 My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me, mon-the stormy eddies, the boiling water-spouts, of the sea that beat upon the coasts of his country, furnish him with a metaphor to describe the overwhelming nature of his calamities; and we see him ready to perish but for the hold he keeps on the rock of ages. Psal. XLIII. This is generally regarded as forming only one psalm with the preceding; but it is as complete in itself as it is eminently beautiful. 16 For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger. 17 All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy cove nant. 18 Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way; 19 Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death. 20 If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; 21 Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. 22 Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. 23 Awake, why sleepest thou, O LORD: arise, cast us not off for ever. 24 Wherefore hidest thou thy 12 And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favour. 13 The King's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold. 14 She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needle-work: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. 15 With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the King's palace. 16 Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. 17 I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever. PSALM XLVI. To the chief musician for the sons of Korah, A song upon Alamoth. face, and forgettest our affliction GOD is our refuge and strength, and our oppression ? 25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly cleaveth unto the earth. 26 Arise for our help, and redeem us, for thy mercies' sake. PSALM XLV. To the chief musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A song of loves. MY heart is inditing a good mat ter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. 2 Thou art fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into thy lips therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. 3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. 4 And in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. 5 Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. 6 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. 7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 8 All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad. 9 Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. 10 Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; 11 So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord, and worship thou him. Psal. XLIV. This is a supplicatory remonstrance with the Lord as the sovereign of his chosen people but there is the deepest humility in the apparent boldness of the language, for it is faith only, faith in the holiness, in the power and majesty, and goodness of the Almighty that could teach the souls of a people thus to speak. a very present help in trouble: 2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. 4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. 6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. 7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. 8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. 9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. 10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. PSALM XLVII. To the chief musician, A psalm for the sons of Korah. CLAP your hands, all ye people shout unto God with the voice of triumph: Psal. XLV. It is the general opinion of commentators, that this psalm was composed on the occasion of Solomon's marriage with the daughter of Pharaoh but as it is not to be supposed that the compilers of this sacred book would have admitted it to a place among so many inspired songs, unless it had a spiritual signification, we need not doubt but that it celebrates the mystical marriage of Christ and the Church. Psal. XLVI. The believer loves to contemplate in this psalm, as in a mirror, the glory and steadfastness of that heavenly city in which no sound of war or tumult shall be heard, but peace and glory shall flourish for evermore. 2 For the LORD most High is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth. 3 He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. 4 He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob, whom he loved. Selah. 5 God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises unto our King, sing praises. 7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing ye praises with understanding. 8 God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. 9 The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham; for the shields of the earth belong unto God he is greatly exalted. PSALM XLVIII. A song and psalm for the sons of GREAT is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holi ness. 2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. 3 God is known in her palaces for a refuge. 4 For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. 5 They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. 6 Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail. 7 Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. 8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God Selah. will establish it for ever. 9 We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. 10 According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends. of the earth thy right hand is full of righteousness. 11 Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. 12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers. thereof. 13 Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell if to the generation following. 14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death. PSALM XLIX. To the chief musician, A psalm for the sons of Korah. HEAR this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: Psal. XLVII. Faith speaks in this psalm as if beholding the last great triumph of the Lord, when, leading captivity captive, he shall prepare to sit down on his throne in the heavens. Psal. XLVII. Zion here is the type of the Church, great and glorious, assailed by foes, but triumphant over all by the power of God. 2 Both low and high, rich and poor, together. 3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. 4 I will incline mine ear to a parable; I will open my dark saying upon the harp. 5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about? 6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; 7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him; 8 (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever :) 9 That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. 10 For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. 11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling-places to all generations: they call their lands after their own names. 12 Nevertheless, man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish. 13 This their way is their folly; yet their posterity approve their savings. Selah. 14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. 15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave; for he shall receive me. Selah. 16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; 17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him: 18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul; and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. 19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light. 20 Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish. PSALM L. A psalm of Asaph. THE mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth, from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. 3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. 4 He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. 5 Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. Psal. XLIX. High and mysterious wisdom is embodied in this psalm it declares the necessity of redemption in answer to the question, Wherefore should I fear?" because man is corrupt to the innermost part of his being: it sets forth also the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, and its future happiness with God. 6 And the heavens shali declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah. 7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God. 8 I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices, or thy burnt-offerings, to have been continually before me. 91 will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy folds : 10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. 11 I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are mine. 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee, for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. 13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? 14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: 15 And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. 16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? 17 Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. 18 When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. 19 Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth de ceit. 20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son. 21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. 22 Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. 23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God. 5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden. part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladTess; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit: 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee. 14 Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O LORD, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16 For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it; thou delightest not in burnt-offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt-offering, and whole burnt-offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar. PSALM LII. To the chief musician, Maschil, A psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech. WH WHY boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. 2 Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. 3 Thou lovest evil more than good, and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. 4 Thou lovest all-devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. 5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwellingplace, and root thee out of the land of the living, Selah. 6 The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: 7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wicked ness. 8 But I am like a green olivetree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. 9 I will praise thee for ever, be Psal. LI. As the preceding psalm shews the insufficiency of the legal sacrifices to procure justification, so this teaches the necessity of a purifying grace, of a sanctification not to be obtained without the special operation of God's power upon the soul. cause thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints. PSALM LIII. To the chief musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, 4 psalm of David. THE fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity there is none that doeth. good. 2 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. 3 Every one of them is gone back; they are altogether become filthy there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 4 Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God. 5 There were they in great fear, where no fear was for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them. 6 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion? When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad. PSALM LIV. To the chief musician on Neginoth, Maschil, Apsalm of David, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us? AVE me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength. 2 Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. 3 For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah. 4 Behold, God is mine helper: the LORD is with them that uphold my soul. 5 He shall reward evil unto mine enemies cut them off in thy truth. 6 I will freely sacrifice unto thee; I will praise thy name, O LORD, for it is good. 7 For he hath delivered me out of all trouble; and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies. PSALM LV. To the chief musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A psalm of David. IVE ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication. 2 Attend unto me, and hear me : I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise; 3 Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the Psal. LII. This psalm was evidently composed either immediately after, or, which seems the more probable, on the eve of some signal victory over an enemy. It is sup posed to have been written soon after Saul destroyed the priests of the Lord in the city of Nob. See 1 Sam. xxii. an event which could not fail to fill the heart of David with feelings of indignant zeal. Psal. LIII. The folly and impiety of the world have in every age prompted the people of God to exclaim, "Oh, that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! Psal. LIV. A strong and earnest prayer, fit for the Christian in every period of his probation, wicked for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. 4 My heart is sore pained within me; and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. 5 Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. 6 And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. 7 Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah. 8 I would hasten my escape from the windy storin and tempest. 9 Destroy, O LORD, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city. 10 Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it. 11 Wickedness is in the midst thereof; deceit and guile depart not from her streets. 12 For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: 13 But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. 14 We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. 15 Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them. 16 As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. 17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud; and he shall hear my voice. 18 He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me; for there were many with me. 19 God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God. 20 He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him; he hath broken his covenant. 21 The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords. 22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. 23 But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee. PSALM LVI. To the chief musician upon Jonath-elem-rechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath. BE merciful unto me, O God; for man would swallow me up: he fighting daily oppresseth me. Psal. LV. David was in the depth of affliction when he composed this psalm; his own son had raised his arm against him; his nearest and most trusted friends were in league with this his unnatural enemy and how truly was all this the case with Christ, who came. unto his own, and his own received him not who came full of grace 2 Mine enemies would daily. swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. 3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. 4 In God I will praise his word; in God I have put my trust: I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. 5 Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. 6 They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul. 7 Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God. 8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? 9 When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turu back: this I know; for God is for me. 10 In God will I praise his word; in the LORD will I praise his word. 11 In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what nian can do unto me. 12 Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee. 13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living? PSALM LVII. To the chief musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. BE merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me; for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. 2 I will cry unto God most High; unto God that performeth all things for me. 3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. 4. My soul is among lions; and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. 5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth. 6 They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down : they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah. 7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise. 8 Awake up, my glory; awake, and truth, and was scorned, baffeted, and finally subjected to the most cruel tortures, for his very perseverance in mercy! Psal. LVI. In what a tumult is the world when it would destroy Rome object of God's special grace! Like a ravening lion, or a deep and strong sea, it is ever ready to swallow him up; but the consolations of faith are sufficient to carry him through the danger: the vows of God are upon him, and he knows that what God has sealed for his own, no hostile power can permanently injure. psaltery and harp: I myself will 9 I will praise thee, O LORD, 10 For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. 11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth. PSALM LVIII. To the chief musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David. Do ye indeed speak righteous ness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? 2 Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. 3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. 4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; 5 Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. 6 Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth; break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD. 7 Let them melt away as waters which run continually when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. 8 As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away; like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. 9 Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath. 10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth. PSALM LIX. to visit all the heathen be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah. 6 They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. 7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips for who (say they) doth hear? 8 But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision. 9 Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence. 10 The God of my mercy shall prevent me; God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies. 11 Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O LORD our shield. 12 For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, let them even be taken in their pride; and for cursing and lying which they speak. 13 Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be ; and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah. 14 And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. 15 Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied. 16 But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge ir the day of my trouble. 17 Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy. PSALM LX. To the chief musician upon Shushan-eduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aram-naharaim, and with Aram-zobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of Salt twelve thousand. T To the chief musician, Al- ed the house to kill him. DELIVER me from mine ene mies, O my God; defend me from them that rise up against me. 2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men. 3 For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD. 4 They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me, and behold. 5 Thou therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake Psal. LVII. Like a weary traveller pelted by the pitiless storm, and seeking shelter under the beetling hill, the child of God, chased by foes and misfortune, flees for security to his Almighty Father, and, under the shadow of his wings, rests safely and resigned till the tempest that is passing by ceases, and the sky grows clear and serene. under the returning light of heaven. Psal. LVIII. The description of the wicked here given is fearfully correct; nor have we the slightest reason to think that their fate will be less terrible than that indicated by the prophetical denunciations of the psalmist. GOD, thou hast cast us off, Ithou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again. 2 Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh. 3 Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment. 4 Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. 5 That thy beloved may be delivered, save with thy right hand, and hear me. 6 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice: I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. Psal. LIX. As the type of the Church of Christ," the true Israel of old was assailed by enemies intent on its destruction, led thereto by the conviction, that the kingdom. of darkness must necessarily be resisted by the election of this peculiar people; and, in carrying on this design, they omitted not to employ all the arts which Satan could teach them, but, both by open violence and secret fraud, sought to overturn the structure which had been raised by the wisdom and provi dence of God. 4 |