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PSALM IX

Ver. 1. Domine Deus noster, quoniam admirabile est nomen tuum in universa terra.

Trans. "Lord our Lord, qwat thi name es wonderfull in al the Erde." Par. The prophete in louing, bygynnes and says: Lord of al, thow ert specialy our Lord that dredes the, loves the. "Thi name" that es the ioy and the fame of thi name Ihesu: for the creaturs that thu hes made and bought qwat it es wonderful. Als so say withouten end: for nane suffis for to knaw al creaturs: in qwilk wonder of the, and that in al the Erd, nought in a party anely.

Quoniam elevata est magnificencia tua super Celos.

Trans. "For lyfted es thi worchyp aboven hevens." Par. That es at say, thu ert mare worthy to be loued and wirchepyd than any Aungel or haly Saule may thynk.

Ver. 2. Ex ore infancium et lactencium perfecisti laudem, propter inimicos tuos, ut destruas inimicum et ultorem.

Trans. "Of the mouth of nought spekand, and sowkand, thou has made louying, for thin enmys, that tbou destroye the enmy and the venger." Par. Nought anely thow ert loued of perfite men, bot of the mouthe of barnes that spekes nought: Zit there er tha that kan nought speke the wisdom of this werld: and of soukand, the qwilk gladdely resayves the lare of haly Kyrk theare moder. Thow has made thi luf thug perfyte for thin enmys: fals cristen men, to schame and to schende for thai er wer than er haythen men. That thu destruy the enmy; that es, he that es wyse in his awen eghen; and wil nought be underloute til thi wil: "and the venger": that es he that defends his Syn; and sais that he synnes nought; or that his syn es les than other mennes.

Ver. 3. Quoniam videbo celos tuos, et opera digitorum tuorum, lunam et stellas quas tu fundasti.

Trans. "For I sal se thi hevens werkes of thi fyngers the mone and the Sternys the quilk thow groundid." Par. Thow destrues al that es contrariand til the; bot i in al thying confourom me to do thi wil, for thi i sal se in lyf withouten end. "Thi hevens", that es Aungels and Apostels the qwilk er werkes of thi fingers: that es, that er mode perfyte thurgh the Haly Gost, of qwam es seven gyftes. Of he be bot a Spirit, als mani fyngers er in a hand. And i sal see the "Mone", that es haly Kyrk: and the sternes that es ilk a ryghtwise man by hym selfe, the qwilk thu groundid in charite.

Ver. 4. Quid est homo quod memor es ejus; aut filius hominis, quoniam visitas eum? Trans. "What es man that thu ert menand of hym: or son of man for thou visites hym?" Par. Als it war with despyte, he sais "man", erdely and synful, qwat es he, that thu has mynd of hym. Als fer sett fra the; at the lest gyfand hym hele and ese of body. Or "son of man": that es, he that es gastely, and beres the ymage of heven. Qwat es he, for thou visits hym. Als present the qwilk es nere the for clennes of lyf. Or "son of man" he calles Crist, thrugh qwam he visits mannes kynd.

Ver. 5. Minuisti eum paullo minus ab angelis: gloria et honoure coronasti eum; et constituisti eum super opera manuum tuarum.

Trans. "Thow lessed hym a littil fra aungels; with ioy and honour thu coround hym: and thu sett him aboven the werkes of thi hend." Par. Crist was lessed fra aungels, for he was dedely, and mught suffer pyne; but a littel; for in other thyng, es he abouen aungels, thair Kyng and Sychthu thou coround hym with ioy, that es with brighthede of body, na mare sufferand pyne; and honour, for he es honourable til al: and thou sett hym abouen aungels and al creatures.

Ver. 6, 7. Omnia subjecisti sub pedibus ejus: oves et boves insuper et pecora campi.

Trans. "Al thynges thu underkest undyr his fete: schepe and oxen al over that, and the bestes of the feld." Par. That undyr hys Lordschyp and hys myght, in has cestyn al thyng: tha er "schepe" that er innocentes, als well aungels als men. "And oxen", tha er, traveland men gastely, in haly Kyrk, "over that"; and the "bestes of the feld"; thai er lufers of this werld, wonnand, in the feld of fleschly lusts; noght in hillis of vertus; and so be the brode way thai ga til hell.

Ver. 8. Volucres celi et pisces maris qui perambulant semitas maris.

Trans. "Fowls of heven and fysche of the see, that gas the wayes of the see." Par. "Fowls of heven", er prowde men that wald hee thair setil abouen al other. "Fysches of the see", er covaytus men, the qwilk in the ground of the werld, sekes erthdly gudes, that all stretes in the see, sone wither oway. A1 thir sal be underlout til Crist onther herts in grace, or thare in pine.

Ver. 9. Domine Deus noster, quam admirabile est nomen tuum in universa terra.

Trans. "Lard our Lard qwat thi name is wonderful in al the erth." Par. Als he bigan swa he endes, schewand that bygyning and endyng of al gode, is of Gode; and til his louing agh i for to be done.

The reader will no doubt be struck with the remarkable agreement between the pious bishop of Norwich and this ancient translator and paraphrast, particularly on the 7th and 8th verses. The language also is in several respects singular. The participle of the present tense, which we terminate with "ing", is here almost always terminated with "and." So "Spekand, sowkand, gyfand, sufferand, traveland", for speaking, sucking, giving, suffering, travelling, &c.

As the participle signifies the continuance of the action, the termination and seems much more proper than ing; speak- and, i.e., continuing to speak; give-and, continuing to give; suffer-and, suffer more; travel-and, travel on, &c. There are some words in this ancient MS. which I have met nowhere else.

ANALYSIS OF THE EIGHTH PSALM

This Psalm begins and ends with a general proposition, figured by an exclamation, which contains an admiration; for he admires what he cannot perfectly comprehend. "O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens." Such is the glory of thy divinity, power, and goodness, that it fills not only the earth, but transcends the very heavens, in which angels and blessed spirits, though they know much more than we on earth, yet cannot comprehend thy Majesty, which fills all and exceeds all.

This general proposition being premised, the prophet descends to some particular instances, in which the excellence of God's name particularly appears; and he mentions three: i. lnfants. ii. The heavens, with the moon and stars. iii. Man himself.

I. The excellence of God's power, divinity, and goodness, appears in infants: "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast ordained strength." 1. The sucking of babes, and speaking of young children, are evident demonstrations of God's excellent name; for who taught the babe to suck, or the dumb infant to speak, but the Lord our Governor? 2. The children that cried "Hosanna!" in the temple, struck with the miracles of our Lord; while the priests, through envy, were dumb. 3. Or by babes may be meant such as the worldly-wise repute no better than children and fools. By simple prophets, ignorant fishermen, humble confessors, and faithful martyrs, hath he stilled the enemy and the avenger; confounded the wisest philosophers, and stopped the mouths of devils.

II. The next instance in which the glory and excellence of God's name appears is the heavens. the moon and the stars: these are the works of his fingers, and therefore called Thy heavens; whose amplitude is great, order and orbs wonderful, beauty admirable, matter durable, and motions various yet stable; together with the stars, whose multitude is innumerable, magnitude vast and various, order admirable, and influences secret and wonderful. The varying, yet regular and constant course of the moon, her changes, phases, and influences on the earth and the waters, on men and other animals. All these have been ordained by the all-wise God; and the earth and its inhabitants are receiving continual benefits from them.

When I consider these things, then I say to myself: III. "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?" This is the psalmist's third instance to manifest the excellence of God's providence and government of the world, in which he reflects upon man in his baseness and in his dignity.

1. In his baseness, vileness, and misery, signified by the question, What is man? As if he should say, What a poor creature? how miserable! What except dust and ashes, as to his body, when he was at the best; for he was taken from the dust of the pround, even when his soul was formed in thc image of God. But now miserable dust while he lives, and to dust he shall return when he dies. What then is this miserable creature, of what worth, that thou, so great, and so glorious a Being, who art higher than the heavens, shouldst visit and take care of him! 2. This is his dignity; he can know, love, serve, and enjoy thee for ever; and thou settest thy love upon him above all other creatures. This thou hast showed in the following ways: - 1. In visiting him, and in being mindful of him:

1. Thou visitest him by conferring on him many temporal blessings. 2. In illuminating his mind by thy Holy Spirit. 3. In sending him thy law and thy Gospel, by prophets and apostles. 4. In giving thy Son to take upon himself human nature, and to die, the just for the unjust, that thou mightest bring him to thyself, through whom he is to receive remission of sins, and an eternal inheritance among the saints in light. 6. In making him, fallen and wretched as he is, lord of thy creatures; giving him all sheep and oxen, the beasts of the field, the fowls of heaven, and the fish of the sea. 6. But this universal dominion belongs principally to the Lord Jesus, through whom and by whom all good comes to man, and to whom all glory should be given, world without end. Let God's excellent name be exalted throughout all the earth! PSALM IX David praises God for the benefits which he has granted to Israel in general, and to himself in particular, 1-4. He encourages himself in the Lord, knowing that he will ever judge righteously, and be a refuge for the distressed, 7-10. He exhorts the people to praise God for his judgments, 11, 12; prays for mercy and support; and thanks God for his judgments executed upon the heathen, 13-16. He foretells the destruction of the ungodly, 17; prays for the poor and needy, and against their oppressors, 18-20.

NOTES ON PSALM IX

The inscription to this Psalm in the HEBREW text is, To the chief Musician upon Muth-lab-ben, A Psalm of David. The CHALDEE has, "A Song of David, to be sung concerning the Death of the Strong Man, (or champion, arbgd degabra,) who went out between the Camps," that is, Goliath, on account of whose defeat this Psalm has been supposed by many to have been composed. The date in the margin is several years posterior to the death of Goliath. See the introduction.

The VULGATE: A Psalm of David, for the end; concerning the secrets of the Son." The SEPTUAGINT and AETHIOPIC are the same with the Vulgate.

The SYRIAC: "A Psalm of David concerning Christ's receiving the throne and the kingdom, and defeating his enemies.

The ARABIC: "Concerning the mysteries of the Son, as to the glory of Christ, his resurrection, and kingdom, and the destruction of all the disobedient." Houbigant causes the Hebrew title to agree with the Vulgate, Septuagint, and AEthiopic, by uniting twm l[ al muth, "concerning the death," into the word twml[ alamoth, which signifies secret, or hidden things. "To the chief musician, or conqueror; secrets concerning the Son: A Psalm of David.

About a hundred MSS. and printed editions unite the words as above.

Some translate twml[ alamoth, "concerning the youth or infancy; the infancy of the Son." Several of the fathers have on this ground interpreted it, "concerning the incarnation of our Lord." Indeed the title and the Psalm have been so variously understood, that it would be as painful as it would be useless to follow the different commentators, both ancient and modern, through all their conjectures.

Verse 1. "I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart " - And it is only when the whole heart is employed in the work that God can look upon it with acceptance.

"I will show forth " - hrpsa asapperah, "I will number out, or reckon up;" a very difficult task, ūytwalpn niphleotheycha, "thy miracles;" supernatural interventions of thy power and goodness. He whose eye is attentive to the operation of God's hand will find many of these. In the Vulgate this Psalm begins with Confitebor tibi, Domine, "I will confess unto thee, O Lord," which my old MS. above quoted translates thus: "I sal schrife Lard, til the, in al my hert, I sal tel al twi wonders." On which we find the following curious paraphrase: "Here the prophete spekes agaynes that grucches with ese of il men: and the travel and anguis of gude men. I sal schrife til the Lard, that is, I sal lufe the in al my hert, hally gederant it til thi luf: and gyfand na party tharof tyl errour, na to covatyse: ne til fleschly luf. A vile errour it is that some men says, that God dose unrightwisly in mani thinges in erthe: for tham thynk that tay sold noght be done. Als I hard say noght lang sythem, of a man of religyon, and of grete fame, that qwen he was in tlle see, in poynte to peryshe, he said tyl Gode: Lard thu dos unryghtwysly if thou sofyr us to perysch here. God myght haf answered and said, My rightwysnes reches to sofer a beter man than thou ert to perisse here: for I hope, had he ben a ryghtwyse man, he had noght sayd swa: for al ar unryghtwyse, that hopes that any unrightwysnes may be in Godes wylle. Bot I sal luf the in al thi workes; and tel al thy wonders; that is, bathe that er sene, and that ar noght sene; visibels and invisibels."

Verse 2. "I will be glad and rejoice in thee " - I am glad that thou hast heard my prayer, and showed me mercy; and I will rejoice in thee, in having thee as my portion, dwelling and working in my heart.

Verse 3. "When mine enemies are turned back " - It is a sure sign of a nearly approaching complete conquest over sin, when, by resistance to its influences, it begins to lose its power. That is the time to follow on to know the Lord.

Verse 5. "Thou hast rebuked the heathen " - We know not what this particularly refers to, but it is most probably to the Canaanitish nations, which God destroyed from off the face of the earth; hence it is said, Thou hast put ovt their name for ever and ever, d[w µlw[l leolam vaed, endlessly. Here µlw[ olam has its proper signification, without end. He who contends it means only a limited time, let him tell us where the Hivites, Perizzites, Jebusites, &c., now dwell; and when it is likely they are to be restored to Canaan.

Verse 6. "Destructions are come to a perpetual end " - Rather, "The enemy is desolated for ever; for thou hast destroyed their cities, and their memory is perished with them." Multitudes of the cities of the Canaanites have perished so utterly that neither name nor vestige remains of them.

Verse 7. "But the Lord shall endure " - All things shall have an end but God and holy spirits.

Verse 8. "He shall judpe the world in righteousness " - All the dispensations of God's providence are founded in righteousness and truth.

Verse 9. "A refuge " - bgm misgab, a high place, where their enemies can neither reach nor see them. He who has God for his portion has all safety in him.

Verse 10. "They that know thy name " - Who have an experimental acquaintance with thy mercy, will put their trust in thee, from the conviction that thou never hast forsaken, and never wilt forsake, them that trust in thee.

Verse 11. "Declare among the people his doings. " - It is the duty of all those who have received the salvation of God, to recommend him and his salvation to the whole circle of their acquaintance, Christians, so called, when they meet, seldom speak about God! Why is this? Because they have nothing to say.

Verse 12. "When he maketh inquisition for blood " - This not only applies to the Canaanites, Moabites, Ammonites, and Philistines, who shed the blood of God's people unjustly, but to all the nations of the earth who, to enlarge their territory, increase their wealth, or extend their commerce, have made destructive wars. For the blood which such nations have shed, their blood shall be shed. If man should make no inquisition for this iniquitously spilt blood, GOD will do it, for he remembers them; and the cry of the humbled, distressed people, driven to distraction and ruin by such wars, is not forgotten before him.

Verse 13. "Have mercy upon me, O Lord " - David, having laid down the preceding maxims, now claims his part in their truth. I also am in trouble through the unjust dealings of my enemies; I am brought to the gates of death; have mercy on me, and lift me up, that, being saved from the gates of death, I may show forth thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion.

The gates of death-an open grave, leading to a yawning hell. The gates of the daughter of Zion-all the ordinances of God, by which the soul is helped forward to heaven.

Verse 15. "The heathen are sank down to the pit " - See on Psalm vii. 15.

Verse 16. "The Lord is known by the judgment " - It is not every casualty that can properly be called a judgment of God. Judgment is his strange work; but when he executes it, his mind is plainly to be seen. There are no natural causes to which such calamities can be legally attributed.

"The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. " - There is nothing that a wicked man does that is not against his own interest. He is continually doing himself harm, and takes more pains to destroy his soul than the righteous man does to get his saved unto eternal life. This is a weighty truth; and the psalmist adds: Higgaion, Selah. Meditate on this; mark it well. See on Psa. iii. 3. Some think that it is a direction to the musicians, something like our Presto, Largo, Vivace, Allegro, "Play briskly and boldly; beat away; and let sense and sound accompany each other."

Verse 17. "The wicked shall be turned into hell " - hlwal lisholah, headlong into hell, down into hell. The original is very emphatic.

"All the nations that forget God. " - They will not live in his fear. There are both nations and individuals who, though they know God, forget him, that is, are unmindful of of him, do not acknowledge him in their designs, ways and works. These are all to be thrust down into hell. Reader, art thou forgetful of thy Maker, and of HIM who died for thee?

Verse 18. "The needy shall not alway be forgotten " - The needy, and the poor, whose expectation is from the Lord, are never forgotten, though sometimes their deliverance is delayed for the greater confusion of their enemies, the greater manifestation of God's mercy, and the greater benefit to themselves.

Verse 19. "Arise, O Lord " - Let this be the time in which thou wilt deliver thy poor people under oppression and persecution.

Verse 20. "Put them in fear " - µhl hrwm hwhy hty shithah Yehovah morah lahem, "O Lord, place a teacher among them," that they may know they also are accountable creatures, grow wise unto salvation, and be prepared for a state of blessedness. Several MSS. read arwm morre, fear; but teacher or legislator is the reading of all the versions except the Chaldee. Coverdale has hit the sense, translating thus: "O Lorde, set a Scholemaster over them": and the old Psalter, "Sett Lorb a brynger of Law abouen tham." That the nations may know themselves to be but men - wna enosh; Let the Gentiles be taught by the preaching of thy Gospel that they are weak and helpless, and stand in need of the salvation which Christ has provided for them. This may be the spirit of the petition. And this is marked by the extraordinary note Selah; Mark well, take notice. So the term may be understood.

"This whole Psalm," says Dr. Horsley, "seems naturally to divide into three parts. The first ten verses make the FIRST part; the six following, the SECOND; and the remaining four the THIRD.

"The FIRST part is prophetic of the utter extermination of the irreligious persecuting faction. The prophecy is delivered in the form of an epinikion, or song of victory, occasioned by the promise given in the fifteenth verse of the tenth Psalm; and through the whole of this song the psalmist, in the height of a prophetic enthusiasm, speaks of the threatened vengeance as accomplished.

"The SECOND part opens with an exhortation to the people of God to praise him as the Avenger of their wrongs, and the watchful Guardian of the helpless, and, as if the flame of the prophetic joy which the oracular voice had lighted in the psalmist's mind was beginning to die away, the strain is gradually lowered, and the notes of triumph are mixed with supplication and complaint, as if the mind of the psalmist were fluttering between things present and to come, and made itself alternately present to his actual condition and his future hope.

"In the THIRD part the psalmist seems quite returned from the prophetic enthusiasm to his natural state, and closes the whole song with explicit but cool assertions of the future destruction of the wicked, and the deliverance of the persecuted saints, praying for the event."

ANALYSIS OF THE NINTH PSALM

"This Psalm consists of five chief parts: " - I. David's thanksgiving, ver. 1, 2, amplified and continued till the tenth verse.

II. An exhortation to others to do the like, ver. 11, and the reason of it, ver. 12.

III. A petition for himself, ver. 13, and the reason of it, ver. 14.

IV. A remembrance of God's mercy in the overthrow of his enemies, for which he sings a song of triumph, from ver. 15- 19.

V. A prayer in the conclusion against the prevalence of the heathen, ver. 19, 20.

I. His profession of praise is set down in the two first verses, in which we may perceive: - 1. The matter of it, with the extent: All the marvellous works of God.

2. That he varies the synonyms. I will pratse thee; I will show forth; I will be glad and rejoice in thee; I win sing praise to thy name, O thou Most High! in which there is a climax.

3. The principle whence this praise flowed:

1. Not from the lips, but from the heart. 2. From the whole heart: "I will praise thee with my whole heart." This he amplifies from the cause, which is double:

1. That which outwardly moved him, and gave him a just occasion to do so; the overthrow of his enemies: "When my enemies are turned back;" who were not overcome by strength or valor, but by the presence and power of God.

2. They shall fall and perish at thy presence. Thou wast the chief cause of this victory; and, therefore, deservest the thanks. Of this the prophet makes a full narrative in the two next verses, setting God as it were upon the bench, and doing the office of Judge. 1. "Thou maintainest my right, and my cause." 2. "Thou sattest on the throne judging right." 3. "Thou hast rebuked the heathen." 4. "Thou hast destroyed the wicked; thou hast put out their name for ever." In a word, Thou art a just Judge, and defendest the innocent, and punishest their oppressors; and therefore I will praise thee.

3. And then, upon the confidence of God's justice and power, he exults over his enemies. O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end. Thy power of hurting and destroying is taken away; the fortified cities in which thou dwellest are overthrown; and their memory and thine are perished.

4. Next, to make his assertion clearer; to the enemies' power he opposes that of God; his kingdom to their kingdom. But the Lord, in the administration of his kingdom, is, 1. Eternal: "The Lord shall endure for ever." 2. His office to be Judge: "He hath prepared his throne for judgment." 3. He is a universal Judge: "He shall judge the whole world." 4. He is a just Judge: "He shall judge in righteousness; he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness." 5. He is a merciful Judge: "For the Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed; a refuge in times of trouble." 5. The effect of this execution of justice. His people are encouraged: who are here described, 1. By their knowing him: "They that know thy name." 2. By trusting in him: "Will put their trust in thee." 3.By their seeking him: "For thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee." II. An exhortation to others to praise God: "Sing praises to the Lord." The reason of this, 1. He dwells in Zion. 2. He works graciously there: "Sing praises to the Lord that DWELLS in Zion: declare among the people his DOINGS." 3. That will destroy their oppressors, and avenge their blood: "When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them; he forgetteth not the cry of the humble." III. A petition for himself: "Have mercy on me, O Lord; consider my trouble," &c.; for which he gives these reasons: - 1. That "I may show forth thy praise." 2. "ALL thy praise." 3. "In the gates of the daughter of Zion." 4. That I may do it with joyful lips.

5. Which I will do: "I WILL rejoice in thy salvation." IV. Then he sings forth his song of triumph ever his enemies: - 1. The "heathen are sunk down in the pit they have made." 2. "In the net which they hid are their own feet taken." 3. This is the Lord's work. Though wicked men did doubt before of his providence and justice; yet now "the Lord was known by the judgment which he executed." 4. For "the wicked was snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion, Selah." Which is a thing exceedingly to be meditated upon, and not forgotten.

5. "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the people that forget God." 1. Their breath is in their nostrils, and die they must. 2. If they repent not, they shall suffer eternal punishment. 3. However this may be, God's goodness shall be manifested to the innocent: "The expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever." V. A prayer in the conclusion against the prevalence of the heathen, in which he shows great earnestness and faith: - 1. "Arise, O Lord; let not man prevail." 2. "Let the heathen be judged in thy sight." 3. "Put them in fear, O Lord!" Now they fear nothing, being in their height of prosperity. They are insolent and proud; manifest thy Divine presence to their terror. 4. For then they will know themselves to be but men-infirm and mortal creatures; and not insult over thy people, nor glory in their own strength and prosperity.