5. Free among the dead] My freedom is to wander among the dead: I am indeed at large, but as one turned adrift, like the Scapegoat, in a desolate wilderness (Lev. xvi. 10). The meaning of the word rendered free (chophshi), may be illustrated by the term applied to the leper's house (rendered in our Version "a several house ") in 2 Kings xv. 5. 2 Chron. xxvi. 21 (chopshith), in which the leper dwelt apart (literally, free) from the society of men. Cp. Rom. vi. 20. So Christ, Who is compared to a leper (in Isa. liii.), is said to be cut off out of the land of the living (Isa. liii. 8), and here is described as "cut off from God's hand." 7. Thy wrath] For the sins of the whole world (Gal. iii. 13. 1 Pet. ii. 24). 8. shut up] In prison, although free (see v. 5); a bewildered captive in the darksome dungeon of death. 140 9. daily] Or, all the day. 10. Shall the dead arise] The dead (Heb. rephaim); literally, the feeble (åμevnvà kápnya). Cp. Job xxvi. 5. Isa. xxvi. 14 (Gesen. 776, 777). 14. LORD, why castest thou off my soul?] Cp. xxii. 1. Matt. xxvii. 46. 18. Lover and friend hast thou put far from me] Cp. xxxviii. 11; and Job xix. 13. 19. This was fulfilled in Christ. All His disciples forsook Him, and fled (Matt. xxvi. 56. S. Athanasius). mine acquaintance into darkness] Rather, my acquaintance are darkness. I look for pity from my friends; but I see nothing around me but blank darkness. These words seem to come forth from the midst of that thick darkness which shrouded the Cross on Calvary at mid-day. I will sing of the Lord. PSALMS LXXXIX. 1-4. God's oath to David. PSALM LXXXIX. Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite. 1 I WILL sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: With my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness † to all generations. 2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: b Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. 3 c I have made a covenant with my chosen, Or, A Psalm for Ethan the Ezrahite, to give instruction. * 1 Kings 4. 31. 1 Chron. 2. 6. a Ps. 101. I. + Heb. to generation and generation: So ver. 4. Ps. 119. 90. b Ps. 119. 89. c 1 Kings 8. 16. Isa. 42. 1. d 2 Sam. 7. 11, &c. 1 Chron. 17. 10, &c. See Jer. 30. 9. Ezek. 34. 23. Hos. 3. 5. e ver. 29, 36. f See ver. 1. Luke 1. 32, 33. Ps. LXXXIX.] The present Psalm makes a pair with the preceding one. It is a spiritual Allegro to that Penseroso. The foregoing Psalm ended in sorrow, in order to rise in joy. That Psalm was the Psalm of the Agony and the Passion. In it the Saviour expires, and His body is laid in the tomb; but His hope cannot perish. And why? Because God had sworn by an oath to David to raise up Christ to sit on his throne, and because that throne is eternal. This, as St. Peter argues (Acts ii. 30, 31), was the guarantee of Christ's Resurrection to glory. And this is the theme of the present Psalm. That Psalin was a dirge of Passion-Tide, this Psalm is a carol of Christmas. The present Psalm is entitled, " a maschil" (or instruction)" of Ethan the Ezrahite." It seems most probable that this Ethan is the same as the Ethan who is coupled in 1 Kings iv. 31 with Heman, the author of the foregoing Psalm, and celebrated like him for his wisdom; and that he is also the same as Jeduthun, one of David's three choir-masters See the Prelim. Note to the preceding Psalm, and to Ps. 39. For evidence that Ethan was the same person as Jeduthun, see 1 Chron. xvi. 41, 42; xxvi. 1; and Carpzov. Int. pt. ii. p. 104; Hävernick, Einleit. 111. 243. Here we may observe the discrimination of the author of these titles of the Psalms. Heman the Ezrahite is described in the title to the foregoing Psalm as one of the sons of Korah; but Ethan the Ezrahite is not so designated in the title to this Psalm. And if we examine the genealogy of Ethan, we find that he was indeed a Levite, as Heman was, but was not, as he was, a Korahite, but a Merarite, in the fourteenth degree from Levi. See 1 Chron. vi. 44; xv. 17. With regard to the historical events which gave occasion to the present Psalm,-first, it may be observed that there was nothing in the reign of David himself which could have suggested it; and that some sceptical critics have entangled themselves in imaginary contradictions by ascribing it to him; see the excellent remarks of Dr. Waterland on this Psalm, in his Scripture Vindicated, p. 204; he concurs in the opinion of those who suppose that this Psalm was written in order to comfort the house of David in its reverses in the fifth year of Rehoboam, David's grandson, when Judah was invaded, and Jerusalem itself was pillaged by Shishak, King of Egypt, in alliance with Jeroboam, the Sovereign of the kingdom of Israel, which had revolted from the house of David. See above on 1 Kings xiv. 25-28. 2 Chron. xii. 1-12. The inviolability of God's promise to David was the source of comfort and hope to the author of this Psalm, and to all true Israelites, in times of national trouble like the days of Rehoboam, when the Hebrew Nation and Church were torn asunder by the schism of Jeroboam, and were humbled by the arms of Egypt. This it was, which afterwards formed the groundwork of Isaiah's prophecy to Ahaz in his distress, when he was threatened by the conspiracy of Israel and Syria: "Hear ye now, O house of David. Behold, the Virgin (of David's house) shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His Name Immanuel," God with us (Isa. vii. 13, 14. Matt. i. 22, 23). This is the source of comfort to all the spiritual seed of Abraham and David in the darkest days of the Church. Ethan, or Jeduthun, was a choir-master and seer to David, and was celebrated for his wisdom in the days of Solomon. See 1 Kings iv. 31. "We must suppose this Ethan, or Jeduthun (says Waterland, p. 205), "to have lived to a great age, it being وو now above forty-five years since he was first appointed chief musician by King David. This good old man, who had seen what a glorious figure King David first, and after him King Solomon, had made, and to what a height of splendour the Hebrew name had been raised, must needs have been exceed. ingly surprised and shocked at its sudden downfall under Rehoboam; and it might well extort from that pious and devout Psalmist those prophetical expostulations which we meet with in this Psalm." The Levites remained loyal to the house of David, when the Ten Tribes revolted from it (2 Chron. xi. 13); and probably Ethan, the Levite who was celebrated for his wisdom (see 1 Kings iv. 31) was one of the ancient counsellors whom King Rehoboam in his folly had despised. But Ethan did not therefore renounce his attachment to the Throne, and cast off his loyalty to his Sovereign, but endeavoured to support the one and to comfort and counsel the other in times of national distress,a noble example of faithfulness and self-sacrifice. It is one of the designs of the present Psalm to inculcate such sentiments as these. But it has a more extensive range. The last words of a foregoing Psalm (Ps. 87) were, "All my fresh springs are in Thee." And this, as we have seen, is the key-note to the next Psalm (Ps. 88), which immediately precedes the present. That Psalm describes the sufferings and death of Christ, which is the source of life to the Church. It is also the key-note to the present Psalm. All the springs of life, hope, and joy to the Church are in the Incarnation of Christ, of the Seed of David, and in the Divine promise of a perpetual and universal dominion to Him. As S. Hilary, S. Basil, S. Augustine, and other ancient expositors affirm, this is the theme of the present Psalm; and therefore this Psalm is appointed by the Church to be used on Christmas Day. The Sarum use, the Latin use, and the present Church of England use, all agree in that appointment. The Psalmist stands on the foundation of that promise, as on an immovable rock; and with the remembrance of that promise, as with a farewell utterance of never-failing comfort, the THIRD BOOK of the Psalter ends. The reader will not fail to notice the similarity of its conclusion to that of the FIRST Book, which displays the glorious consequences of Christ's Passion (see Ps. 41, Prelim. Note); and also to that of the SECOND BOOK. See above, on Ps. 71 and 72, Prelim. Notes, and on Ps. lxxii. 20. 1. I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever] However men and nations may fail, however dark and cloudy may be the days of Israel (and such they were when this Psalm was written), yet I will never faint through fear or despondency; but I will sing of the mercies of the Lord, which never fail. 2. Mercy shall be built up for ever] "I will give you the sure mercies of David," says God to His people (Isa. lv. 3. Acts xiii. 34). 3. I have made a covenant with my chosen] God Himself is here introduced, speaking and ministering comfort to Israel, on the ground of the Divine promise of eternal dominion to David, which is fulfilled in Christ. See above, Prelim. Note to 2 Sam. vii. Thou didst break Rahab. g Ps. 19. 1. & 97.6. Rev. 7. 10, 11, 12. h ver. 7. i Ps. 40. 5. & 71. 19. & 86. 8. & 113. 5. k Ps. 76. 7, 11. 1 Exod. 15. 11. 1 Sam. 2. 2. Ps. 35. 10. & 71. 19. m Ps. 65. 7. & 93. 3, 4. & 107. 29. n Exod. 14. 26, 27, 28. Ps. 87. 4. Isa. 30. 7. & 51.9. | Or, Egypt. + Heb. with the arm of thy strength. o Gen. 1. 1. 1 Chron. 29. 11. Ps. 24. 1, 2. & 50. 12. p Job 26. 7. q Josh. 19. 22. r Josh. 12. 1. + Heb. an arm with might. 8 Ps. 97. 2. Or, establish ment. t Ps. 85. 13. u Num. 10. 10. & 23. 21. Ps. 98. 6. x Ps. 4. 6. & 44. 3. y ver. 24. Ps. 75. 10. & 5 PSALMS LXXXIX. 5-18. The Holy One of Israel. 6 For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD? k 7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, 8 And to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD 'like unto thee? Or to thy faithfulness round about thee? 9 m Thou rulest the raging of the sea: When the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. 10 n Thou hast broken || Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; Thou hast scattered thine enemies † with thy strong arm. 11 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: As for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. 12 P The north and the south thou hast created them: 14 Justice and Judgment are the || habitation of thy throne: They shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance. 17 For thou art the glory of their strength: And in thy favour our horn shall be exalted. 92. 10. & 132. 17. 18 For || the LORD is our defence; 5. O LORD] The incommunicable Name JEHOVAH, the ever-living, self-existing One, is repeated here four times, and is followed by JAH, in v. 8. Cp. lxviii. 18. This is the Name by which God revealed Himself unto Moses, when He was about to vanquish the false gods of Egypt. See on Exod. vi. 3. the saints] The holy ones, the angels; and so v. 7. Cp. Job xv. 15. 8. who is a strong LORD like unto thee?] Or, Who is strong like to thee, JAH? 10. Thou hast broken Rahab] Thou didst crush Egypt (see above, lxxxvii. 4), and overwhelmedst the host of Pharaoh in the Red Sea (Exod. xiv. 27, 28. Theodoret). Therefore, if Rehoboam and Judah had been true to Thee, they needed have feared nothing from Egypt, and the army of Shishak. But they rebelled against God, and He chastened them for their sius by the arms of Rahab (Egypt), as Shemaiah the prophet told them. See 1 Kings xiv. 22-25. 2 Chron. xii. 1-12. 12. The north and the south thou hast created] Since the heavens and the earth are Thine (v. 11), and since Thou hast created the north and south, and since Thou art our God Who dwellest in Zion, therefore we need not have feared any thing from Jeroboam on the north, or from Shishak on the south, if we had been true to Thee. Tabor and Hermon] The one on the west of Jordan, the other on the east; both of which were formerly under the sceptre of David, and which would have remained subject to its sway, if we and our King had been faithful to God. 15. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound] Here is another admonition to Rehoboam and Judah; let them turn to God, and He will defend them. This warning was not altogether unavailing. See 2 Chron. xii. 7. 12. 17. in thy favour our horn shall be exalted] Our horn shall be exalted. This metaphor-the exaltation of the horn (repeated in v. 24)-serves to connect this prophecy with that of Hannah, concerning the Incarnation (see above, on 1 Sam. ii. 1. 10), and the declaration of its fulfilment in the Gospel, "He that raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David" (Luke i. 69). Cp. Ps. cxxxii. 17. 18. the LORD is our defence] Rather, our shield belongs to the Lord. It may be suggested for the reader's consideration, whether there is not a reference here to the circumstance mentioned in the history of Rehoboam, that in his reign Shishak, King of Egypt, took away from Jerusalem all the shields of gold which Solomon had made, and that Rehoboam made shields of brass in their place. See 1 Kings xiv. 26, 27. 2 Chron. xii. 9, 10, in which places the word for shield is the same as here (maghen). May not the Psalmist intend to comfort Jerusalem with the assurance, that the true shield-the genuine golden shield-of the King and Nation, belongs to Jehovah, and cannot be taken away from them by any Prince of Egypt, or by any earthly power, if they are true to God, the God of David their father? the Holy One of Israel is our king] Rather, and our king (belongs) to the Holy One of Israel, and therefore he (Rehoboam) cannot be vanquished, if he is loyal to Jehovah, the "King of kings, and Lord of lords." The Name, Holy One of Israel, is emphatic, and is never introduced into the Psalms, except with some special significance (see above, on lxxi. 22); and it here intimates that if the House of David, and the kingdom of Judah, had been faithful to Jehovah, Israel would never have been severed from it, as it now was, by the fault of Rehoboam, and by the fault of Judah itself, as well as by Jeroboam's sin. See 1 Kings xi. 9—13. 31. 33; xii. 12. I have found David. 19 PSALMS LXXXIX. 19-37. His seed shall endure for ever. I have exalted one chosen out of the people. 20 a I have found David my servant; With my holy oil have I anointed him : 21 b With whom my hand shall be established: c Mine arm also shall strengthen him. 22 The enemy shall not exact upon him; Nor the son of wickedness afflict him. 23 d And I will beat down his foes before his face, And plague them that hate him. 24 But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: And 'in my name shall his horn be exalted. 25 8 I will set his hand also in the sea, And his right hand in the rivers. 26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, My God, and the rock of my salvation. And their iniquity with stripes. 33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness † will I not utterly take from him, Nor suffer my faithfulness † to fail. 34 My covenant will I not break, Nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 35 Once have I sworn by my holiness That I will not lie unto David. 36 y His seed shall endure for ever, And his throne as the sun before me. 37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, And as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah. z ver. 3. 1 Kings 11. 34. a 1 Sam. 16. 1, 12. b Ps. 80. 17. e 2 Sam. 7. 13. d 2 Sam. 7. 9. e Ps. 61. 7. f ver. 17. g Ps. 72. 8. & 80. 11. h 2 Sam. 7. 14. 1 Chron. 22. IC. 12 Sam. 22. 47. k Ps. 2. 7. Col. 1. 15, 18. 1 Num. 24. 7. m Isa. 55. 3. n ver. 34. o ver. 4, 36. p ver. 4. Isa. 9. 7. Jer. 33. 17. q Deut 11. 21. r 2 Sam. 7. 14. 8 Ps. 119. 53. Jr. 9. 13. + Heb. profane my statutes. t 2 Sam. 7. 14. 1 Kings 11. 31. u 2 Sam. 7. 13. + Heb. to lie. x Amos 4. 2. + Heb. if I lie. y 2 Sam. 7. 16. 19. to thy holy one] To Nathan. 1 Chron. xvii. 3—15. 20. I have found David my servant] David, God's servant, was found by God, and is thus contrasted with Saul, who was not found by God, but was given to the people when they desired a King, in opposition to God's will. See above, on 1 Sam. viii. 5. 22. The enemy shall not exact upon him] So Gesen. 570; or, shall not seize upon him. Cp. lv. 15. The enemy shall not do to David what had been done to his grandson, Rehoboam, when this Psalm was made. Nor the son of wickedness afflict him] See the promise in 2 Sam. vii. 10. 1 Chron. xvii. 9. 25-29.] These promises, and those in vv. 36, 37, are fulfilled to David in his Seed, which is CHRIST. See above, Prelim. Note to 2 Sam. vii., and Ps. lxxii. 8, which connects this prophecy with Christ. 30. If his children forsake my law] Here is the explication of the distress of King Rehoboam, to which the Psalmist refers. It was due to the sins of Rehoboam himself in forsaking the law of God. See 1 Kings xi. 9-13. 31-33; xii. 12. Cp. 2 Sam. vii. 14. 35. Once] Once for all (Sept.). That I will not lie] Rather, Surely I will not lie. 36. the sun] Cp. Ps. Ixxii. 17, which connects this prophecy with Christ. 37. as the moon] See lxxii. 7, which also connects this prophecy with Christ. a faithful witness] Supposed by some to mean the rainbow (Gen. ix. 12), but more probably the moon. The rainbow Thou hast cast off thine anointed. PSALMS LXXXIX. 38–52. a 1 Chron. 28. 9. Ps. 44. 9. & 60. 1, 10. b Deut. 32. 19. Ps. 78. 59. © Ps. 74. 7. Lam. 5. 16. d Ps. 80. 12. e Ps. 44. 13. & 79. 4. f ver. 39. But thou hast cast off and abhorred, 39 Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: с Blessed be the Lord. Thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground. 40 d Thou hast broken down all his hedges; Thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin. All that pass by the way spoil him: He is a reproach to his neighbours. 42 Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; 43 Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, ↑ Heb. brightness. 44 Thou hast made his † glory to cease, g Ps. 79. 5. h Ps. 78. 63. i Job 7. 7. & 10. 9. & 14. 1. Ps. 39. 5. & 119. 84. k Ps. 49. 9. 1 Heb. 11. 5. m 2 Sam. 7. 15. Isa. 55. 3. n Ps. 54. 5. o Ps. 69. 9, 19. p Ps. 74. 22. Wherefore hast thou made all men in vain ? 48 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah. How I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people; 51 P Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O LORD; Wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed. is a witness, but only an occasional witness; the moon is a faithful witness, even in the constancy of its changes, by which the time of the world is regulated; see Ecclus. xliii. 6-8; and thus it is an appropriate emblem of the seed of David, and is transferred to Christ's Body, the Church (Cant. vi. 10). 38. thine anointed] Our anointed King, Rehoboam. See Prelim. Note. 39. Thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground] Cp. lxxiv. 7. 40. Thou hast broken down all his hedges] Or, fences. Cp. lxxx. 12, and the next note. Thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin] In 2 Chron. xii. 3, 4, it is related that Shishak, King of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem, and against Rehoboam, and took the fenced cities of Judah. The Psalm refers to that calamity. 41-44. These verses also are very applicable to the ignominious state to which the Kingdom of Judah was reduced under Rehoboam, when it was invaded and plundered by a foreign foe, and was despoiled of the largest part of its inheritance by Jeroboam. 45. of his youth] Of his youthful strength. Job xx. 11. Gesen. 631. 1 Sam. xxviii. 14. Isa. lix. 17, where the same verb (atah, to 50. I do bear in my bosom—people] I bear in my bosom all 51. Wherewith] Or, Who have reproached, (being) Thine enemies, O Lord (not mine only, but Thine), who have reproached the footsteps of Thine Anointed; who pursue me with insult and wrong wherever I go. The Psalmist speaks in the name of his anointed Sovereign, now humbled by his enemies. 52. Blessed be the LORD for evermore. Amen, and Amen] Thus ends the THIRD BOOK of the Psalms. It concludes 1 |