Psalms 37 commentary

When we look abroad we see the world full of evil-doers, that flourish and live in ease. So it was seen of old, therefore let us not marvel at the matter. We are tempted to fret at this, to think them the only happy people, and so we are prone to do like them: but this we are warned against. Outward prosperity is fading. When we look forward, with an eye of faith, we shall see no reason to envy the wicked. Their weeping and wailing will be everlasting. The life of religion is a believing trust in the Lord, and diligent care to serve him according to his will. It is not trusting God, but tempting him, if we do not make conscience of our duty to him. A man's life consists not in abundance, but, Thou shalt have food convenient for thee. This is more than we deserve, and it is enough for one that is going to heaven. To delight in God is as much a privilege as a duty. He has not promised to gratify the appetites of the body, and the humours of the fancy, but the desires of the renewed, sanctified soul. What is the desire of the heart of a good man? It is this, to know, and love, and serve God. Commit thy way unto the Lord; roll thy way upon the Lord, so the margin reads it. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, the burden of thy care. We must roll it off ourselves, not afflict and perplex ourselves with thoughts about future events, but refer them to God. By prayer spread thy case and all thy cares before the Lord, and trust in him. We must do our duty, and then leave the event with God. The promise is very sweet: He shall bring that to pass, whatever it is, which thou has committed to him.

Let us be satisfied that God will make all to work for good to us. Let us not discompose ourselves at what we see in this world. A fretful, discontented spirit is open to many temptations. For, in all respects, the little which is allotted to the righteous, is more comfortable and more profitable than the ill-gotten and abused riches of ungodly men. It comes from a hand of special love. God provides plentifully and well, not only for his working servants, but for his waiting servants. They have that which is better than wealth, peace of mind, peace with God, and then peace in God; that peace which the world cannot give, and which the world cannot have. God knows the believer's days. Not one day's work shall go unrewarded. Their time on earth is reckoned by days, which will soon be numbered; but heavenly happiness shall be for ever. This will be a real support to believers in evil times. Those that rest on the Rock of ages, have no reason to envy the wicked the support of their broken reeds.

The Lord our God requires that we do justly, and render to all their due. It is a great sin for those that are able, to deny the payment of just debts; it is a great misery not to be able to pay them. He that is truly merciful, will be ever merciful. We must leave our sins; learn to do well, and cleave to it. This is true religion. The blessing of God is the spring, sweetness, and security of all earthly enjoyments. And if we are sure of this, we are sure not to want any thing good for us in this world. By his grace and Holy Spirit, he directs the thoughts, affections, and designs of good men. By his providence he overrules events, so as to make their way plain. He does not always show them his way for a distance, but leads them step by step, as children are led. God will keep them from being ruined by their falls, either into sin or into trouble, though such as fall into sin will be sorely hurt. Few, if any, have known the consistent believer, or his children, reduced to abject, friendless want. God forsakes not his saints in affliction; and in heaven only the righteous shall dwell for ever; that will be their everlasting habitation. A good man may fall into the hands of a messenger of Satan, and be sorely buffeted, but God will not leave him in his enemy's hands.

Duty is ours, and we must mind it; but events are God's, we must refer the disposal of them to him. What a striking picture is in verses 35, 36, of many a prosperous enemy of God! But God remarkably blights the projects of the prosperous wicked, especially persecutors. None are perfect in themselves, but believers are so in Christ Jesus. If all the saint's days continue dark and cloudy, his dying day may prove comfortable, and his sun set bright; or, if it should set under a cloud, yet his future state will be everlasting peace. The salvation of the righteous will be the Lord's doing. He will help them to do their duties, to bear their burdens; help them to bear their troubles well, and get good by them, and, in due time, will deliver them out of their troubles. Let sinners then depart from evil, and do good; repent of and forsake sin, and trust in the mercy of God through Jesus Christ. Let them take his yoke upon them, and learn of him, that they may dwell for evermore in heaven. Let us mark the closing scenes of different characters, and always depend on God's mercy.

PSALM 37

This psalm, the title of which shows it to have been composed by David, contains most profitable instruction. Since the faithful, so long as they pursue their earthly pilgrimage through life, see things strangely confused in the world, unless they assuaged their grief with the hope of a better issue, their courage would soon fail them. The more boldly any man despises God, and runs to every excess in wickedness, so much the more happily he seems to live. And since prosperity appears to be a token of God’s favor towards the ungodly, what conclusion, it may be said, can be drawn from this, but either that the world is governed by chance, and that fortune bears the sovereignty, or else that God makes no difference between the good and the bad? The Spirit of God accordingly confirms and strengthens us in this psalm against the assaults of such a temptation. However great the prosperity which the wicked enjoy for a time, he declares their felicity to be transient and evanescent, and that, therefore, they are miserable, while the happiness of which they boast is cursed; whereas the pious and devoted servants of God never cease to be happy, even in the midst of their greatest calamities, because God takes care of them, and at length comes to their aid in due season. This, indeed, is paradoxical, and wholly repugnant to human reason. For as good men often suffer extreme poverty, and languish long under many troubles, and are loaded with reproaches and wrongs, while the wicked and profligate triumph, and are regaled with pleasures, might we not suppose that God cares not for the things that are done on earth? It is on this account that, as I have already said, the doctrine of this psalm is so much the more profitable; because, withdrawing our thoughts from the present aspect of things, it enjoins us to confide in the providence of God, until he stretch forth his hand to help those who are his servants, and demand of the ungodly a strict account of their lives, as of thieves and robbers who have foully abused his bounty and paternal goodness.

A Psalm of David.

Psalm 37:1-6

1. Fret not thyself because of the wicked, and be not envious at the workers of iniquity: 2. For they shall soon be cut down like grass; and they shall wither as the green and tender herb. 3. Put thy trust in Jehovah, and do good; dwell in the land, and be fed in truth, [or faithfully. “C’est, jouy des biens d’icelle en repos ferme et asseure.” — Fr. marg. “That is, enjoy the good things of it in quietness and security.” ] 4. And delight thyself in Jehovah, and he will give thee the desires of thy heart. 5. Roll [or devolve] thy ways on Jehovah, and trust in him, and he will bring it to pass. 6. And he will bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgments “C’est, ton bon droict.” — Fr. marg. “That is, thy just cause, or thy rectitude. as the noon day.

1. Fret not thyself because of the wicked. David lays down this as a general principle, that the prosperity of the wicked, in which they greatly rejoice, should on no account vex or disquiet the children of God, because it will soon fade away. On the other hand, although the people of God are afflicted for a time, yet the issue of their afflictions shall be such, that they have every reason to be contented with their lot. Now all this depends upon the providence of God; for unless we are persuaded that the world is governed by him in righteousness and truth, our minds will soon stagger, and at length entirely fail us. David then condemns two sinful affections of the mind, which are indeed closely allied, and the one of which is generated by the other. He first enjoins the faithful not to fret on account of the wicked; and, secondly, that they should not indulge an envious spirit towards them. For, in the first place, when they see the wicked enjoying prosperity, from which it might naturally be supposed that God regards not the affairs of men, there is a danger lest they should shake off the fear of God, and apostatise from the faith. Then another temptation follows, namely, that the influence of the example of the wicked excites in them a desire to involve themselves in the same wickedness with them. This is the natural sense. The Hebrew words, אל-תתחר, al-tithechar, which we have rendered, Fret not thyself, are by some translated, Do not mingle thyself with. That is, do not enter into fellowship with. But this interpretation is too forced, and may be disproved by the context; for in the eighth verse, where mention is expressly made of wrath and anger, it would surely be absurd to interpret in another sense the same verb which immediately follows these two words, and which is there used in the same sense and for the same end as in this first verse. In the second place, the order which David observes is very natural; for when the prosperity of the wicked has irritated our minds, we very soon begin to envy them their happiness and ease. First, then, he exhorts us to be on our guard, lest a happiness which is only transitory, or rather imaginary, should vex or disquiet us; and, secondly, lest envy should lead us to commit sin. The reason by which he enforces this exhortation is added in the following verse: for if the wicked flourish to-day like the grass of the field, to-morrow they shall be cut down and wither. We need not wonder that this similitude is often to be met with in the sacred writings, since it is so very appropriate; for we see how soon the strength of the grass decays, and that when cast down by a blast of wind, or parched with the heat of the sun, even without being cut by the hand of man, it withers away. The fitness of this figure to express the transient and short-lived character of the prosperity of the wicked, will appear in a still more striking light when we take into consideration the great heat of the climate of Palestine. In like manner, David tells us that the judgment of God, like a scythe in the hand of man, shall cut down the wicked, so that they shall suddenly perish.

PSALM 37

Psa 37:1-40. A composed and uniform trust in God and a constant course of integrity are urged in view of the blessedness of the truly pious, contrasted in various aspects with the final ruin of the wicked. Thus the wisdom and justice of God's providence are vindicated, and its seeming inequalities, which excite the cavils of the wicked and the distrust of the pious, are explained. David's personal history abundantly illustrates the Psalm.

1-2. The general sentiment of the whole Psalm is expressed. The righteous need not be vexed by the prosperity of the wicked; for it is transient, and their destiny undesirable.

3. Trust--sure of safety.

shalt thou dwell--or, "dwell thou"; repose quietly.

verily ... fed--or, "feed on truth," God's promise (Psa 36:5; compare Ho 12:1).

4. desires--(Psa 20:5; 21:2), what is lawful and right, really good (Psa 84:11).

5. Commit thy way--(Pr 16:3). Works--what you have to do and cannot set forth as a burden.

trust ... in him--literally, "on Him." He will do what you cannot (compare Psa 22:8; 31:6). He will not suffer your character to remain under suspicion.

7-8. Rest in--literally, "Be silent to the Lord."

and wait--Be submissive--avoid petulance and murmurings, anger and rash doing.

9. Two reasons: The prosperity of the wicked is short; and the pious, by humble trust, will secure all covenant blessing, denoted here by "inherit the earth" (compare Psa 25:13).

10-11. shall not be--literally, "is not"--is not to be found.

12. gnasheth ... teeth--in beastly rage.

13. (Compare Psa 2:4).

seeth--knows certainly.

his day--of punishment, long delayed, shall yet come (He 10:37).

14-15. sword, and ... bow--for any instruments of violence.

slay--literally, "slaughter" (1Sa 25:11).

poor and needy--God's people (Psa 10:17; 12:5). The punishment of the wicked as drawn on themselves--often mentioned (compare Psa 7:15, 16; 35:8).

16. riches--literally, "noise and tumult," as incidental to much wealth (compare Psa 39:6). Thus the contrast with the "little" of one man is more vivid.

17. Even the members of the body needed to hold weapons are destroyed.

18-19. God, who knows His people's changes, provides against evil and supplies all their need.

20. While the wicked, however mighty, are destroyed, and that utterly, as smoke which vanishes and leaves no trace.

21-22. payeth not--not able; having grown poor (compare De 15:7). Ability of the one and inability of the other do not exclude moral dispositions. God's blessing or cursing makes the difference.

23-24. steps--way, or, "course of life"; as ordered by God, failures will not be permanent.

26. his seed is blessed--literally, "for a blessing" (Ge 12:2; Psa 21:6). This position is still true as the rule of God's economy (1Ti 4:8; 6:6).

27-29. The exhortation is sustained by the assurance of God's essential rectitude in that providential government which provides perpetual blessings for the good, and perpetual misery for the wicked.

30-31. The righteous described as to the elements of character, thought, word, and action.

32-33. The devices of the wicked against the good fail because God acquits them.

34. On the contrary, the good are not only blessed, but made to see the ruin of their foes.

35-36. of which a picture is given, under the figure of a flourishing tree (compare Margin), which soon withers.

37. By "the end" is meant reward (Pr 23:18; 24:14), or expectation of success, as in Psa 37:38, which describes the end of the wicked in contrast, and that is cut off (compare Psa 73:17).

38. together--at once; entirely (Psa 4:8).

39-40. strength--(Psa 27:1; 28:8).

trouble--straits (Psa 9:9; 10:1). In trust and quietness is the salvation of the pious from all foes and all their devices.

Fret not thyself because of evil doers - It is as foolish as it is wicked to repine or be envious at the prosperity of others. Whether they are godly or ungodly, it is God who is the dispenser of the bounty they enjoy; and, most assuredly, he has a right to do what he will with his own. To be envious in such a case, is to arraign the providence of God. And it is no small condescension in the Almighty to reason with such persons as he does in this Psalm.

For they shall soon be cut down - They have their portion in this life; and their enjoyment of it cannot be long, for their breath is but a vapor that speedily vanishes away. They fall before death, as the greensward does before the scythe of the mower.

Dwell in the land - Do not flee to foreign climes to escape from that providence which, for thy own good, denies thee affluence in thy own country.

And verily thou shalt be fed - God will provide for thee the necessaries of life: its conveniences might damp thy intellect in its inventions, and lead thee into idleness; and its superfluities would induce thee to pamper thy passions till the concerns of thy soul would be absorbed in those of the flesh and, after having lived an animal life, thou mightest die without God, and perish everlastingly.

The original, ורעה אמונה ureeh emunah, might be translated, "and feed by faith." The Septuagint has και ποιμανθησῃ επι τῳ πλουτῳ αυτης, and thou shalt feed upon its riches. The Vulgate Ethiopic, and Arabic, are the same. The Syriac, seek faith. The Chaldee, be strong in the faith. The Anglo-Saxon, and feeded thou shalt be in its welfare. Old Psalter, and thu sal be fed in ryches of it. But it is probable that אמונה emunah here signifies security. And thou shalt be fed in security.

Dr. Delaney supposed that the Psalm might have been written by David in the behalf of Mephibosheth, who, being falsely aecused by his servant Ziba, had formed the resolution to leave a land where he had met with such bad treatment. David, being convinced of his innocence, entreats him to dwell in the land, with the assurance of plenty and protection. It is more likely that it is addressed to the captives in Babylon; and contains the promise that they shall return to their own land, and again enjoy peace and plenty.

Delight thyself also in the Lord - Expect all thy happiness from him, and seek it in him.

The desires of thine heart - משאלות mishaloth, the petitions. The godly man never indulges a desire which he cannot form into a prayer to God.

Commit thy way unto the Lord - גול על יהוה gol al Yehovah, Roll thy way upon the Lord: probably, a metaphor taken from the camel, who lies down till his load be rolled upon him.

He shall bring it to pass - יעשה yaaseh, "He will work." Trust God, and he will work for thee.

Thy righteousness as the light - As God said in the beginning, "Let there be light, and there was light;" so he shall say, Let thy innocence appear, and it will appear as suddenly and as evident as the light was at the beginning.

Rest in the Lord - דום dom, "be silent, be dumb." Do not find fault with thy Maker; he does all things well for others, he will do all things well for thee.

And wait patiently for him - והתחולל לו vehithcholel lo, and set thyself to expect him; and be determined to expect, or wait for him. Such is the import of a verb in the hithpoel conjugation.

A heathen gives good advice on a similar subject: -

Nil ergo optabunt homines? Si consilium vis,

Permittes ipsis expendere Numinibus, quid

Conveniat nobis, rebusque sit utile nostris.

Nam pro jucundis aptissima quaeque dabunt Di.

Carior est illis homo, quam sibi.

Juv. Sat. 10:346. "What then remains? Are we deprived of will?

Must we not wish, for fear of wishing ill?

Receive my counsel, and securely move;

Intrust thy pastime to the powers above.

Leave them to manage for thee, and to grant

What their unerring wisdom sees thee want.

In goodness, as in greatness, they excel:

Ah, that we loved ourselves but half so well!"

Dryden.

They shall inherit the earth - The word ארץ arets, throughout this Psalm, should be translated land, not earth; for it is most probable that it refers to the land of Judea; and in this verse there is a promise of their return thither.

For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be - A prediction of the destruction of Babylon. This empire was now in its splendor; and the captives lived to see it totally overturned by Cyrus, so that even the shadow of its power did not remain.

Thou shalt diligently consider his place - ואיננו veeynennu, and he is not. The ruler is killed; the city is taken; and the whole empire is overthrown, in one night! And now even the place where Babylon stood cannot be ascertained.

But the meek - ענוים anavim, the afflicted, the poor Jewish captives.

Shall inherit the earth - ארץ arets, the land of Judea given by God himself as an inheritance to their fathers, and to their posterity for ever. See Psa 37:9.

He seeth that his day is coming - The utter desolation of your oppressors is at hand. All this may be said of every wicked man.

The wicked have drawn out the sword - There is an irreconcilable enmity in the souls of sinners against the godly; and there is much evidence that the idolatrous Babylonians whetted their tongue like a sword, and shot out their arrows, even bitter words, to malign the poor captives, and to insult them in every possible way.

Their sword shall enter into their own heart - All their execrations and maledictions shall fall upon themselves, and their power to do mischief shall be broken.

A little that a righteous man hath - This is a solid maxim.

Whatever a good man has, has God's blessing in it; even the blessings of the wicked are cursed.

The arms of the wicked - Their power to do evil. Of this they are often deprived. Talents lent and abused shall be resumed, and the misuser called to a severe account by the Lord of the talents.

The Lord knoweth the days of the upright - He is acquainted with all his circumstances, severings, and ability to bear them; and he will either shorten his trials or increase his power. The Lord also approves of the man and his concerns; and his inheritance shall be for ever. He shall have God for his portion, here and hereafter. This is probably another indirect promise to the captives that they shall be restored to their own land. See Psa 37:11.

They shall not be ashamed - They have expressed strong confidence in the Lord; and he shall so work in their behalf that their enemies shall never be able to say, "Ye have trusted in your God, and yet your enemies have prevailed over you." No; for even in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

The enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs - This verse has given the critics some trouble. Several of the Versions read thus: "But the enemies of the Lord, as soon as they are exalted to honor, shall vanish; like smoke they vanish." If we follow the Hebreto, it intimates that they shall consume as the fat of lambs. That is, as the fat is wholly consumed in sacrifices by the fire on the altar, so shall they consume away in the fire of God's wrath.

The wicked borroweth - Is often reduced to penury, and is obliged to become debtor to those whom he before despised.

And payeth not again - May refuse to do it, because he is a wicked man; or be unable to do it, because he is reduced to beggary.

But the righteous showeth mercy - Because he has received mercy from God, therefore he shows mercy to men. And even to his enemies he showeth mercy, and giveth; his heart being disposed to it by the influence of Divine grace and his hand being enabled to do it by the blessing of God's providence.

Shall inherit the earth - ארץ arets the land, as before. See Psa 37:11.

Shall be cut off - A wicked Jew shall meet with the same fate as a wicked Babylonian; and a wicked Christian shall fare no better.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord - There is nothing for good in the text. גבר geber is the original word, and it properly signifies a strong man, a conqueror or hero; and it appears to be used here to show, that even the most powerful must be supported by the Lord, otherwise their strength and courage will be of little avail.

And he delighteth in his way - When his steps are ordered by the Lord, he delighteth in his way, because it is that into which his own good Spirit has directed him. Or, the man delights in God's way - in the law and testimonies of his Maker.

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down - The original is short and emphatic כי יפל לא יוטל ki yippol, lo yutal, which the Chaldee translates, "Though he should fall into sickness, he shall not die;" for which the reason is given, because the Lord sustains by his hand. Though he may for a time fall under the power of his adversaries, as the Jews have done under the Babylonish captivity, he shall not be forsaken. The right hand of God shall sustain him in his afflictions and distresses; and at last God will give him a happy issue out of them all. Neither the tent nor any of the Versions intimate that a falling into sin is meant; but a falling into trouble, difficulty, etc.

I have been young, and now am old - I believe this to be literally true in all cases. I am now grey-headed myself; I have traveled in different countries, and have had many opportunities of seeing and conversing with religious people in all situations in life; and I have not, to my knowledge, seen one instance to the contrary. I have seen no righteous man forsaken, nor any children of the righteous begging their bread. God puts this honor upon all that fear him; and thus careful is he of them, and of their posterity.

He is ever merciful and lendeth - כל היום חונן kol haiyom chonen, "all the day he is compassionate." He is confirmed in the habit of godliness: he feels for the distresses of men, and is ready to divide and distribute to all that are in necessity.

And his seed is blessed - The preceding words were not spoken casually; his seed, his posterity, is blessed; therefore they are not abandoned to beg their bread.

Depart from evil, and do good - Seeing the above is so, depart from all evil - avoid all sin; and let not this be sufficient, do good. The grace of God ever gives this two-fold power to all who receive it; strength to overcome evil, and strength to do that which is right.

Dwell for evermore - Be for ever an inhabitant of God's house. This may be also a promise of return to their own land, and of permanent residence there. See Psa 37:9, Psa 37:11, etc.

Forsaketh not his saints - את חטידיו eth chasidaiv, his merciful or compassionate ones; those who, through love to him and all mankind, are ever ready to give of their substance to the poor.

But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off - The children who follow the wicked steps of wicked parents shall, like their parents, be cut off. God's judgments descend to posterity, as well as his mercies.

The righteous shall inherit the land - If this be not another promise of return to their own land, from that of their captivity, it must be spiritually understood, and refer to their eternal dwelling with God in glory.

The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom - Foolish and corrupt conversation cannot come out of their mouth. They are taught of God, and they speak according to the wisdom that is from above.

The law of his God is in his heart - The Lord promised that a time should come in which he would make a new covenant with the house of Israel; he would put his laws in their minds, and in their hearts he would write them. This is fulfilled in the case above.

None of his steps shall slide - His holy heart always dictates to his eyes, his mouth, his hands, and his feet. The precepts which direct his conduct are not only written in his Bible, but also in his heart.

The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him - Similar to what is said Psa 37:8 : "The wicked plotteth against the righteous." But it is added, Psa 37:33 : "The Lord will not leave him in his hands;" he will confound his devices, and save his own servants.

Wait on the Lord, and keep his way - This is the true mode of waiting on God which the Scripture recommends; keeping God's way - using all his ordinances, and living in the spirit of obedience. He who waits thus is sure to have the farther blessings of which he is in pursuit. קוה kavah, to wait, implies the extension of a right line from one point to another. The first point is the human heart; the line is its intense desire; and the last point is God, to whom this heart extends this straight line of earnest desire to be filled with the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of peace.

And he shall exalt thee to inherit the land - If ye keep his way, and be faithful to him in your exile, he will exalt you, lift you up from your present abject state, to inherit the land of your fathers. See before, Psa 37:9, Psa 37:11, etc.

When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it - They did see the destruction of the Babylonish king, Belshazzar, and his empire; and it was in consequence of that destruction that they were enlarged.

I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay-tree - Does not this refer to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and to the vision he had of the great tree which was in the midst of the earth, the head of which reached up to heaven? See Dan 4:10, etc.

Yet he passed away - Both Nebuchadnezzar and his wicked successor, Belshazzar; and on the destruction of the latter, when God had weighed him in the balance, and found him wanting, numbered his days, and consigned him to death, his kingdom was delivered to the Medes and Persians; and thus the Babylonian empire was destroyed.

Mark the perfect man - Him who is described above. Take notice of him: he is perfect in his soul, God having saved him from all sin, and filled him with his own love and image. And he is upright in his conduct; and his end, die when he may or where he may, is peace, quietness, and assurance for ever.

Almost all the Versions translate the Hebrew after this manner: Preserve innocence, and keep equity in view; for the man of peace shall leave a numerous posterity.

Bishop Horsley thus translates: "Keep (thy) loyalty, and look well to (thy) integrity; for a posterity is (appointed) for the perfect man." He comes nearer to the original in his note on this verse: "Keep innocency, and regard uprightness; for the perfect man hath a posterity:" "but the rebellious shall be destroyed together; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off," Psa 37:38.

Dr. Kennicott's note is," אחרית acharith, which we render latter end, is posterity, Psa 109:13. The wicked and all his race to be destroyed, the pious man to have a numerous progeny, see his sons' sons to the third and fourth generation. See Job 8:19; Job 18:13-20."

I think the original cannot possibly bear our translation. I shall produce it here, with the literal version of Montanus: - pax viro novissimum quia; rectum vide et, integrum cutodi שלום לאיש אחרית כי ישר וראה תם שמר The nearest translation to this is that of the Septuagint and Vulgate: Φυλασσε ακακιαν, και ιδε ευθυτητα, ὁτι εστιν εγκαταλειμμα ανθρωπῳ ειρηνικῳ· Custodi innocentiam, et vide aequitatem; quoniam, sunt reliquiae homini pacifico. "Preserve innocence, and behold equity; seeing there is a posterity to the pacific man." The Syriac says, "Observe simplicity, and choose rectitude; seeing there is a good end to the man of peace." The reader may choose. Our common version, in my opinion, cannot be sustained. The Psa 37:38 seems to confirm the translation of the Septuagint and the Vulgate, which are precisely the same in meaning; therefore I have given one translation for both.

The old Psalter deserves a place also: Kepe unnoyandnes, and se evenhede; for tha celykes er til a pesful man.

The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord - It is the Lord who made them righteous, by blotting out their sins, and infusing his Holy Spirit into their hearts; and it is by his grace they are continually sustained, and finally brought to the kingdom of glory: "He is their strength in the time of trouble."

The Lord - shall deliver them - For they are always exposed to trials, and liable to fall.

Because they trust in him - They keep faith, prayer, love, and obedience in continual exercise. They continue to believe in, love, and obey God; and he continues to save them.

Fret not - Because they prosper in their wicked enterprizes.

Commit - All thy cares and business, and necessities, commend to God by fervent prayer.

Judgment - It shall be as visible to men, as the light of the sun, at noon - day.

Rest - Do not repine at his dealings, but quietly submit to his will, and wait for his help.

Fret not - Either against the sinner for his success; or against God. Do evil - If grief arise in thee, take care that it do not transport thee to sin.

The earth - This for the most part was literally fulfilled in that state of the church.

Not be - He shall be dead and gone. Diligently - Industriously seeking him. His place - His place and estate, and glory.

But - Those who patiently bear God's afflicting hand, and meekly pass by injuries. Peace - Partly of outward peace and prosperity, which God in his due time will give them: but principally of inward peace, in the sense of God's favour and the assurance of endless happiness.

His day - The day appointed by God for his punishment or destruction.

Knoweth - Observes with care and affection. The days - All things which befal them, their dangers and fears, and suffering. For ever - To them and their seed for ever: and when they die their inheritance is not lost, but exchanged for one infinitely better.

Fat - Which in an instant melts before the fire.

Established - So that he shall not fall into mischief.

Fall - Into trouble.

Forsaken - These temporal promises, were more express to the Jews in the times of the Old Testament, than to Christians.

Blessed - Not only with spiritual, but with temporal blessings.

Dwell - Thou shalt dwell in the land, and afterwards in heaven.

The mouth - Having shewed, God's singular care over the righteous, he proceeds to give a character of them. Judgment - Of God's judgment, word or law.

Heart - His thoughts, meditations and affections are fixed upon it. Slide - Slide, or swerve, from the rule, from God's law.

Bay - tree - Which is continually green and flourishing even in winter.

Yet - He was gone in an instant. But - There was no monument or remainder of him left.

Peace - Though he may meet with troubles in his way, yet all shall end well.

Together - All without exception.

1. FRet not thy self, because of evil doers , neither be thou envious , against the workers of iniquity.

Because they prosper in their wicked Enterprizes, whilst thou art sorely afflicted.

Esteeming them Happy, and secretly wishing that thou wert in their Condition.

Give not way to immoderate Grief or Anger, or impatience.

Marginal references: Psal. 73. 3. Prov. 23. 17. & 24. 1. 9. 19.

2. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb .

For their Happiness, the matter of thy Envy, is but short-lived.

3. Trust in the LORD , and do good , so shalt thou dwell in the land , and verily thou shalt be fed .

Depend upon God's Providence, and Promise for thy Protection and Sustentation: or their Infidelity is the Root of their wickedness.

Continue in the Practise of that which is good and well-pleasing to God.

(i. e.) Upon this Condition, shalt dwell safely and quietly in Canaan; as God had oft Promised. In the Hebrew it is, dwell in the Land, as if it were a Command, to abide in Canaan when Troubles come, and not to flee to the Philistins, or other Heathens for shelter, as he had foolishly done. But it is rather a Promise, by Comp. this with v. 27. 29. such Promises being oft expressed by Imperative Verbs put for Futures, as Gen. 12. 2. and 42. 18. Psal. 128. 6. Amos 5. 4.

Heb. Thou shalt be [illegible: 1+ letters]ed (i. e. every way provided for) in Truth, (i. e.) Truly or assuredly; Or, with, or by Faith, as this Word signifies. (i. e.) By thy trusting in the Lord, thou shalt Live by thy Faith, as is said, Habak. 2. 4.

Marginal references: Heb. in Truth▪ Or, stableness.

4. Delight thy self also in the LORD ; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart ▪

In his Favour and Service, and in the study of his Word and Promises.

(i. e.) Thy just Desires, or whatsoever is truly desirable and good for thee. Which Limitation is necessarily to be understood, both from divers places of Scripture, and from the Nature of the things; for it is unreasonable to imagine that God would engage himself to grant their sinful and inordinate Desires, and it would also be a Curse to them, to have them granted.

5. Commit thy way unto the LORD: trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass .

(i. e.) All thy Cares and Business, thy Desires and Necessities. Commend them to God by fervent Prayer, referring them to his good Will, and expecting an Happy issue of all from him.

Heb. He shall do, or work, to wit, for thee, or what is fit to be done, or what thou desirest, in the Sence given on v. 4.

Marginal references: Heb. Roll thy way upon the LORD.; Psal. 55. 22. Prov. 16. 3. Mat. 6. 25. Luk. 12. 22. 1 Pet. 5. 7.

6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light , and thy judgment as the noon-day.

To the view of the World; from which it hath hitherto seemed to be hid, or Eclipsed by Reproaches, and by grievous Calamities, which most men are apt to mistake for Tokens, and Punishments of great Wickedness.

It shall be as visible to Men, as the Light of the Sun, and that at Noonday, as it is in the next Branch. So effectually will I plead thy Cause.

The same thing with Righteousness, as this Word is used here below, v. 28. and 99. 4. and oft elsewhere.

7. Rest in the LORD p, and wait patiently for him: fret not thy self because of him who prospereth in his way , because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

Heb. Be silent unto, Or, for, Or, because of the Lord; (i. e.) Do not murmur nor repine at his dealings, bur silently and quietly submit to his Will, and adore his Judgmentss, and as it follows, Wait for his Help. This Advice and Command is pressed again and again, to teach us how hard it is, to Learn and practise this Lesson.

(i. e.) In his Evil way, as it is limited in the following Words.

Marginal references: Heb. be silent to the LORD.

8. Cease from anger s, and forsake wrath: fret not thy self in any wise, to do evil .

Or, at least so far as to do Evil. If any such Anger, or Grief, do secretly arise in thee, take Care that it do not Transport thee; Either, to Reproach, or distrust God's Providence, or to the dislike of his ways, or to an Approbation, or Imitation of the wicked Practices of those Men, in Hopes of the same success.

t Either against the sinner for his Success; Or against God, for so disposing of things, as Ionah was, Ch. 4. 1.

9. For evil doers shall be cut off : but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the Earth .

To wit, from the Earth, by Comparing this with the next Clause, and with Psal. 34. 16. Their end shall certainly be most miserable.

According to God's Promise, oft made to such; which also for the most part was literally fulfilled in that state of the Church; and if it was not, it was fulfilled with far greater Advantage, in spiritual and Eternal Blessings.

10. For yet a little while and the wicked shall not be : yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place , and it shall not be .

Their Time and Prosperity is very short, and therefore no matter of Envy.

To wit, in the Land of the Living. He shall be dead and gone, as this Phrase is commonly taken.

Industriously seeking to find him.

(i. e.) His place and Estate, and Glory shall be goue. Or, he shall not be, as before.

Marginal references: Job 7. 10. & 20. 9.

11. But the meek , shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace .

(i. e.) The Godly, who are frequently thus called, as Psal. 22. 26. and 149. 4. those who Patiently bear God's afflicting hand, and meekly pass by injuries from ungodly men.

Partly, of outward Peace and Prosperity, which God in his due time will give them: and principally of inward Peace, and satisfaction of Mind, in the Sence of God's Favour, and the assurance of his own endless Happiness.

Marginal references: Psal. 25▪ 9. Mat. 5. 5:

12. The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth .

Out of Malice and Rage. See on Psal. 35. 16.

Marginal references: Or; Practis [illegible: 1+ letters]h.

13. The LORD shall laugh at him , for he seeth that his day is coming.

(i. e.) Shall despise and deride all their Hopes, and indeavours against the good, as most vain and foolish.

Either, 1. God's day, which is an usual Phrase, as Isa. 2. 12. and 13. 9. or 2. His own day, as 1 Sam. 26. 10. Ezik. 21. 25. 29. Both signifie the same thing, the day appointed by God, for his Punishment or Destruction, as Isa. 9. 4. Ier. 50. 27.

Marginal references: Psal. 2. 4.

14. The wicked, have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation .

They are furnished with all sorts of Arms, and are ready to give the deadly blow.

Such against whom they have no Quarrel, for any injury they have done them, but only for their Integrity and Righteousness, or because they are better than themselves, and will not comply with their wicked Counsels and Courses.

Marginal references: Heb. T[illegible: 1+ letters] [illegible: 1+ letters] right of way.

15. Their sword shall enter into their own heart , and their bows shall be broken.

God will not onely defend the upright from their Mischievous De[illegible: 1+ letters]igns, but will make them to fall upon their own Heads.

16. A little that a righteous man hath, is better than the riches of many wicked .

Because he hath it with many great and glorious Advantages, with God's Favour and Blessings, with great Serenity and Satisfaction of his own Mind. which is infinitely more Desirable and Comfortable than all Earthly Possessions, with the Consolations of God's Spirit, and the assurance of everlasting Felicity: whilst wicked mens Riches are loaded with many Incumbrances, with the Wrath and Curse of God, the Torment of their own Consciences and Passions, and the dreadful Expectation of an after-reckoning, and of endless Miseries.

17. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous .

This is a Proof of what he said, v. 16: For what the wicked have, shall suddenly be lost and gone, but God will maintain the righteous in their happy Estate.

Marginal references: Psal. 10. 15.

18. The LORD knoweth the days of the upright : and their inheritance shall be for ever .

Observeth with singular Care and Affection.

(i. e.) Their Condition and all things, which do or may besal them, their Dangers and Fears, and suffering from ungodly men; and therefore will watch over them, and preserve them from all the Designs and Attempts of their Enemies. Days or Years, or Times, are oft put for things done, or Events happening in them, as Deut. 32. 7. Psal. 31. 15. and 77. 5. and 143. 5. Isa. 63. 11.

To them and to their seed for ever: Comp. v. 29. And when they dye their inheritance is not lost, but exchanged for one infinitely better.

Marginal references: Psal. 1. 6: & 31. 7.

19. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine, they shall be satisfied.

For the disappointment of their Hopes, but their Hopes and Desires shall be satisfied, as it follows.

Marginal references: Psal. 33. 19.

20. But the wicked shall perish, and the Enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs , they shall consume: into smoke shall they consume away.

Which in an instant melteth before the Fire.

(i. e. Utterly and irrecoverably.

Marginal references: Heb. The preciousness of Lambs.

21. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again : but the righteous sheweth mercy and giveth.

Either through Covetousness and injustice; Or rather, because of that great penury into which God shall bring him, whilst the righteous is not onely provided sufficiently for himself, but hath abundance and to spare for others. For he is here Comparing the wicked and the righteous, not so much in their Vertues or moral Qualities, as in their outward Conditions, which also appears from the following Verse, which gives the reason of this.

Marginal references: Psal. 112. 9.

22. For such as be blessed of him , shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him, shall be cut off.

(i. e.) Of the Lord, as appears both from v. 20. where he is named, and from the Nature of the thing, this being God's Prerogative to Bless or to Curse men. And this he mentions, both as the Foundation, and as the Proof of the Certainty, of their future Happiness.

23. The steps of a good man , are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way .

Or, of that Man, to wit, the Righteous or Blessed Man, expressed, v. 21, 22.

Or, directed or disposed, (i. e.) So governed, as to attain the end and Happy issue at which he A[illegible: 1+ letters]ms. Or, strengthned or established so as he shall not stumble nor fall into Mischief. For still he seems to be describing not their Vertue, but their Felicity.

Or, and he favoureth his way, (i. e.) Succeeds and prospers his Counsels and Enterprizes.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 span].

24. Though he fall , he shall not be utterly cast down ; for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

Either, 1. Into sin, as this Word is used, Ier. 8. 4. 1. 1 Cor. 10. 12. Or rather, 2. Into Distress or Trouble, as Mic. 7. 8.

(i. e.) Not totally, nor irrecoverably Ruined.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 24. 16. 2 [illegible: 1 word]. 4. 9.

25. I have been young, and now am old: yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread .

This assertion seems to be Contradicted by many Experiences: nor can it be denied, that both good Men and their Children, have sometimes been reduced to great want: Quest. How then is this true? Ans. 1. Some render the last Clause thus, nor (did I ever see) his seed (to wit, forsaken, as was now said) though begging Bread. So the Sence is, I have s[illegible: 1+ letters]en him brought to beggery, yet even then God did not forsake him. But this Sence agrees not with the Context, nor Scope, which is to shew the Plenty and Prosperity, wherewith God blesseth him. 2. This is to be understood of the seed of the Righteous, treading in their Fathers steps, from which if they degenerate, they lose all their Priviledges, as many places of Scripture witness. 3. Some few Exceptions, do not destroy the Truth of a general Proposition. 4. These temporal Promises were more express, and particular to the Iews in the times of the Old Testament, than to Christians in the New, and therefore were more literally fulfilled. 5. He speaks not of any kind of wanting or desiring, or receiving Relief from others, for so David himself did, 1 Sam. 21. 3. and 25. 8. but of the Customary Practise and Trade of begging, which was threatned as a Curse to the disobedient, Deut. 28. Psal. 109. 10. 6. Not begging, to wit, in vain, Or, so as to be forsaken, as was now expressed, and may very well be here understood, Or, so as not to be sustained or relieved by others. 7. David speaks onely of his own Experience, which if since that time it be Contradicted by other mens Experiences, it is no more than what happens in all the Concernments of humane Life.

26. He is ever merciful, and lendeth : and his seed is blessed .

He is so far from begging from others, that he hath Ability as well as Inclination, to give or lend to others, as need requires.

Not onely with Spiritual, but with Temporal blessings. So far shall he be from wasting his Estate, and undoing himself, and Family by his Bounty and Charity, as Covetous Worldings objected or feared.

Marginal references: Psal. 112. 9.; Heb. all the [illegible: 1 word].

27. Depart from evil, And do good : and dwell for evermore .

Having therefore these glorious Promises and Priviledges, let no man do any Evil or unjust thing, to enrich or secure himself, nor abstaining from Pious and Charitable Actions, for f[illegible: 1+ letters]ar of undoing himself by them, but let every man Live in the Conscionable discharge of all his Duties to God and Men, committing himself and all his Affairs to God's fatherly Care and Providence, and Confidently expecting his Blessing thereupon.

(i. e.) Thou shalt dwell, as before, v. 3. to wit, in the Land, as is expressed, v. 3. and afterwards in Heaven.

Either Properly: Or for a long time; of which that Word is oft used.

Marginal references: Psal. 34. 14.

28. For the LORD loveth judgment , and forsaketh not his Saints , they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

(i. e.) Just judgment, or Righteousness, as that Word is oft taken, as hath been shewed again and again; Either, 1. In himself, (i. e.) He loveth to execute Judgment upon the wicked, and for the Righteous; which he doth in the manner expressed in this Psalm. Or, 2. In the Righteous themselves, whose Justice and Piety, and Charity he sees and Loves, and will reward it.

Or, his Favourites, or they to whom be hath a good [illegible: 1+ letters]ill: Or, his bountiful Ones, who exercise Benignity and Charity to others.

Marginal references: Psal. 102. 28.

29. The righteous shall inherit the land , and dwell therein for ever .

See on v. 3.

See on v. 18.

Marginal references: Prov. 2. 21▪

30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom ; and his tongue talketh of judgment .

And that Freely, and Customarily, and from his Heart, as the next Verse shews. Having shewed in divers Verses, God▪s singular Care over, and Respect to the Righteous, he proceeds to give a Character of them, and withal to assign one Reason of the great Difference of God's dealings with them, and with other Men.

Either, 1. For the manner of it, with Wisdom and Judgment. Or rather, 2. For the Matter of it, Heavenly Wisdom, and God's judgment, or Word or Law, as it follows, v. 31. When the Discourses of other Men, are either Wicked or Vain, and useless, his are serious and Edifying, and Pious concerning the Word and ways of God.

Either, 1. For the manner of it, with Wisdom and Judgment. Or rather, 2. For the Matter of it, Heavenly Wisdom, and God's judgment, or Word or Law, as it follows, v. 31. When the Discourses of other Men, are either Wicked or Vain, and useless, his are serious and Edifying, and Pious concerning the Word and ways of God.

Marginal references: Prov. 10. 3[illegible: 1+ letters] ▪

31. The law of his God is in his heart , none of his steps shall slide .

According to God's Command, Deut. 6. 6. and Promise, Heb. 8. 10. His Thoughts and Meditations, and Affections are fixed upon it. He doth not talk Religiously in Design, or with Ostentation, but out of the abundance of his Heart, Mat. 12. 35.

This passage describes, Either, 1. His Safety, Consequent upon his Piety; God will uphold and preserve him, from falling into that Mischief, which wicked men Plot against him. Or rather, 2. His Vertue or Piety: Which is evidenced by his Words, v. 30. by his Heart, in the former part of this Verse, and by his Actions in these Words. His steps or goings (i. e. his Actions) shall not (or rather, do not: For this Verb though Future, may and should be rendred by the present, as Futures frequently are in the Hebrew Language, and as the two foregoing Future Verbs are rendred, v. 30.) slide, or slip, or swerve, to wit, from the Rule, or from God's Law. Which is to be understood as that Passage, Psal. 119. 3. They do no iniquity; and some such Expressions, not simply and absolutely, as if all good Men were Sinless; which is abundantly Confuted, both by many Scriptures and by universal Experience▪ but Comparatively, and in Respect of his Design and Course, or Custome. His Conversation is ordinarily Regular and unblameable. He not onely begins well, but Constantly preseveres in God's ways, and will not be drawn to forsake God and Religion, upon any Terms.

Marginal references: Psal. 40. 8. & 119. 98. Isa. 51. 7.; Psal. 38. 17. & 40. 2.; Or, goings.

32. The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.

To find out a fit season or occasion to destroy him.

33. The LORD will not leave him in his hand , nor condemn him when he is judged.

(i. e.) Not give him up to his Power and Rage.

(i. e.) Not give his Consent to the Sentence of Condemnation, which the wicked have pronounced against him, but will justifie him, and Vindicate his innocency and deliver him: For such Negatives do oft imply the contrary Affirmatives, as God's not holding a man Guiltless, commonly implies that he will severely punish him.

34. Wait on the LORD , and keep his way , and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it .

Seeking and trusting to him, and to him onely, for Help and Deliverance.

Continue in the Practise of thy Duty, or in those ways which God hath prescribed to thee in his Word, and do not use indirect and irregular means to deliver thy self.

Thou shalt not onely escape the Destruction which they Design for thee, but shalt Live to see their Ruin.

Marginal references: Psal. 119. 27. 32, 33. 35.; Psal. 91. 8.

35. I have seen the wicked in great power , and spreading himself like a green bay-tree .

Or, Formidable: Not onely himself out of Danger, as it seemed, but terrible to others.

And therefore firmly, and deeply Rooted.

Which is continually Green and flourishing, yea even in the Winter season. Or, like a Green Tree in its own Native soil; where Trees flourish much better, than when they are Transplanted into another soil.

Marginal references: Job. [illegible: 1+ letters]. 3.; Or, a green Tree that groweth in his ow[illegible: 1+ letters] [illegible: 1 word].

36. Yet he passed away , and lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found .

He was gone in an instant, like a Tree blasted and blown down, or cut off and Rooted out, and carried away in a Moment.

There was no Monument nor Remainder of him left.

37. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace .

Though he may meet with Troubles in his way, yet all shall end well with him, he shall be happy at last.

38. But the transgressours shall be destroyed together , the end of the wicked shall be cut off .

Or, alike, one as well as another, all without any Exception or Respect of Persons.

(i. e.) He shall be cut off at last, or in the End. His Prosperity shall end in Destruction. Or, the Posterity (as this Word signifies, Psol. 109. 13. Ier. 31. 17. Ezek. 23. 25. Dan. 11. 4.) of the wicked, &c.

39. But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD , he is their strength in the time of trouble.

And therefore it shall certainly come to them.

The Seeming Prosperity of the Wicked, and the Real Prosperity of the Godly

The bond of connection between Psa 36:1-12 and 37 is their similarity of contents, which here and there extends even to accords of expression. The fundamental thought running through the whole Psalm is at once expressed in the opening verses: Do not let the prosperity of the ungodly be a source of vexation to thee, but wait on the Lord; for the prosperity of the ungodly will suddenly come to an end, and the issue determines between the righteous and the unrighteous. Hence Tertullian calls this Psalm providentiae speculum; Isodore, potio contra murmur; and Luther, vestis piorum, cui adscriptum: Hic Sanctorum patientia est (Rev 14:12). This fundamental thought the poet does not expand in strophes of ordinary compass, but in shorter utterances of the proverbial form following the order of the letters of the alphabet, and not without some repetitions and recurrences to a previous thought, in order to impress it still more convincingly and deeply upon the mind. The Psalm belongs therefore to the series Ps 9 and Psa 10:1, Psa 25:1, Psa 34:1, - all alphabetical Psalms of David, of whose language, cheering, high-flown, thoughtful, and at the same time so easy and unartificial, and withal elegant, this Psalm is fully worthy. The structure of the proverbial utterances is almost entirely tetrastichic; though ד, כ, and ק are tristichs, and ח (which is twice represented, though perhaps unintentionally), נ, and ת are pentastichs. The ע is apparently wanting; but, on closer inspection, the originally separated strophes ס and ע are only run into one another by the division of the verses. The ע strophe begins with לעולם, Psa 37:28, and forms a tetrastich, just like the ס. The fact that the preposition ל stands before the letter next in order need not confuse one. The ת, Psa 37:39, also begins with ותשׁועת. The homogeneous beginnings, זמם רשׁע, לוה רשׁע, צופה רשׁע, Psa 37:12, Psa 37:21, Psa 37:32, seem, as Hitzig remarks, to be designed to give prominence to the pauses in the succession of the proverbial utterances.

Psa 37:1-2

Olshausen observes, “The poet keeps entirely to the standpoint of the old Hebrew doctrine of recompense, which the Book of Job so powerfully refutes.” But, viewed in the light of the final issue, all God’s government is really in a word righteous recompense; and the Old Testament theodicy is only inadequate in so far as the future, which adjusts all present inconsistencies, is still veiled. Meanwhile the punitive justice of God does make itself manifest, as a rule, in the case of the ungodly even in the present world; even their dying is usually a fearful end to their life’s prosperity. This it is which the poet means here, and which is also expressed by Job himself in the Book of Job, Job 27:1. With התחרה, to grow hot or angry (distinct from תּחרה, to emulate, Jer 12:5; Jer 22:15), alternates קנּא, to get into a glow, excandescentia, whether it be the restrained heat of sullen envy, or the incontrollable heat of impetuous zeal which would gladly call down fire from heaven. This first distich has been transferred to the Book of Proverbs, Pro 24:19, cf. Pro 23:17; Pro 24:1; Pro 3:31; and in general we may remark that this Psalm is one of the Davidic patterns for the Salomonic gnome system. The form ימּלוּ is, according to Gesenius, Olshausen, and Hitzig, fut. Kal of מלל, cognate אמל, they wither away, pausal form for ימּלוּ like יתּממוּ, Psa 102:28; but the signification to cut off also is secured to the verb מלל by the Niph. נמל, Gen 17:11, whence fut. ימּלוּ = ימּלּוּ; vid., on Job 14:2; Job 18:16. ירק דּשׁא is a genitival combination: the green (viror) of young vigorous vegetation.

Psa 37:3-4

The “land” is throughout this Psalm the promised possession (Heilsgut), viz., the land of Jahve’s presence, which has not merely a glorious past, but also a future rich in promises; and will finally, ore perfectly than under Joshua, become the inheritance of the true Israel. It is therefore to be explained: enjoy the quiet sure habitation which God gives thee, and diligently cultivate the virtue of faithfulness. The two imperatives in Psa 37:3, since there are two of them (cf. Psa 37:27) and the first is without any conjunctive Waw, have the appearance of being continued admonitions, not promises; and consequently אמוּנה is not an adverbial accusative as in Psa 119:75 (Ewald), but the object to רעה, to pasture, to pursue, to practise (Syriac רדף, Hos 12:2); cf. רעה, רע, one who interests himself in any one, or anything; Beduin râ‛â = ṣâḥb, of every kind of closer relationship (Deutsch. Morgenländ. Zeitschr. v. 9). In Psa 37:4, ויתן is an apodosis: delight in Jahve (cf. Job 22:26; Psa 27:10; Isa 58:14), so will He grant thee the desire (משׁאלת, as in Psa 20:5) of thy heart; for he who, entirely severed from the creature, finds his highest delight in God, cannot desire anything that is at enmity with God, but he also can desire nothing that God, with whose will his own is thoroughly blended in love, would refuse him.

Psa 37:5-6

The lxx erroneously renders גּול (= גּל, Psa 22:9) by ἀποκάλυψον instead of ἐπίῤῥιψον, 1Pe 5:7 : roll the burden of cares of thy life’s way upon Jahve, leave the guidance of thy life entirely to Him, and to Him alone, without doing anything in it thyself: He will gloriously accomplish (all that concerns thee): עשׂה, as in Ps 22:32; 52:11; cf. Pro 16:3, and Paul Gerhardt’s Befiehl du deine Wege, “Commit thou all thy ways,” etc. The perfect in Psa 37:6 is a continuation of the promissory יעשׂה. הוציא, as in Jer 51:10, signifies to set forth: He will bring to light thy misjudged righteousness like the light (the sun, Job 31:26; Job 37:21, and more especially the morning sun, Pro 4:18), which breaks through the darkness; and thy down-trodden right (משׁפּטך is the pausal form of the singular beside Mugrash) like the bright light of the noon-day: cf. Isa 58:10, as on Psa 37:4, Isa 58:14.

Psa 37:7

The verb דּמם, with its derivatives (Psa 62:2, Psa 62:6; Lam 3:28), denotes resignation, i.e., a quiet of mind which rests on God, renounces all self-help, and submits to the will of God. התחולל (from הוּל, to be in a state of tension, to wait) of the inward gathering of one’s self together in hope intently directed towards God, as in B. Berachoth 30b is a synonym of התחונן, and as it were reflexive of חלּה of the collecting one’s self to importunate prayer. With Psa 37:7 the primary tone of the whole Psalm is struck anew. On Psa 37:7 compare the definition of the mischief-maker in Pro 24:8.

Psa 37:8-9

On הרף (let alone), imper. apoc. Hiph., instead of הרפּה, vid., Ges. §75, rem. 15. אך להרע is a clause to itself (cf. Pro 11:24; Psa 21:5; Psa 22:16): it tends only to evil-doing, it ends only in thy involving thyself in sin. The final issue, without any need that thou shouldst turn sullen, is that the מרעים, like to whom thou dost make thyself by such passionate murmuring and displeasure, will be cut off, and they who, turning from the troublous present, make Jahve the ground and aim of their hope, shall inherit the land (vid., Psa 25:13). It is the end, the final and consequently eternal end, that decides the matter.

Psa 37:10-11

The protasis in Psa 37:10 is literally: adhuc parum (temporis superest), עוד מעט ו, as e.g., Exo 23:30, and as in a similar connection מעט ו, Job 24:24. והתבּוננתּ also is a protasis with a hypothetical perfect, Ges. §155, 4, a. This promise also runs in the mouth of the Preacher on the Mount (Mat 5:5) just as the lxx renders Psa 37:11: οἱ δὲ πρᾳεῖς κληρονομήσουσι γῆν. Meekness, which is content with God, and renounces all earthly stays, will at length become the inheritor of the land, yea of the earth. Whatever God-opposed self-love may amass to itself and may seek to acquire, falls into the hands of the meek as their blessed possession.

Psa 37:12-13

The verb זמם is construed with ל of that which is the object at which the evil devices aim. To gnash the teeth (elsewhere also: with the teeth) is, as in Psa 35:16, cf. Job 16:9, a gesture of anger, not of mockery, although anger and mockery are usually found together. But the Lord, who regards an assault upon the righteous as an assault upon Himself, laughs (Psa 2:4) at the enraged schemer; for He, who orders the destinies of men, sees beforehand, with His omniscient insight into the future, his day, i.e., the day of his death (1Sa 26:10), of his visitation (Psa 137:7, Oba 1:12, Jer 50:27, Jer 50:31).

Psa 37:14-15

That which corresponds to the “treading” or stringing of the bow is the drawing from the sheath or unsheathing of the sword: פּתח, Eze 21:28, cf. Psa 55:22. The combination ישׁרי־דּרך is just like תמימי־דוך, Psa 119:1. The emphasis in Psa 37:14 is upon the suffix of בלבּם: they shall perish by their own weapon. קשּׁתותם has (in Baer) a Shebâ dirimens, as also in Isa 5:28 in correct texts.

Psa 37:16-17

With Psa 37:16 accord Pro 15:16; Pro 16:8, cf. Tobit 12:8. The ל of לצּדּיק is a periphrastic indication of the genitive (Ges. §115). המון is a noisy multitude, here used of earthly possessions. רבּים is not per attract. (cf. Psa 38:11, הם for הוּא) equivalent to רב, but the one righteous man is contrasted with many unrighteous. The arms are here named instead of the bow in Psa 37:15. He whose arms are broken can neither injure others nor help himself. Whereas Jahve does for the righteous what earthly wealth and human power cannot do: He Himself upholds them.

Psa 37:18-19

The life of those who love Jahve with the whole heart is, with all its vicissitudes, an object of His loving regard and of His observant providential care, Psa 1:6; Psa 31:8, cf. Psa 16:1-11. He neither suffers His own to lose their heritage nor to be themselves lost to it. The αἰώνιος κληρονομία is not as yet thought of as extending into the future world, as in the New Testament. In Psa 37:19 the surviving refers only to this present life.

Psa 37:20

With כּי the preceding assertion is confirmed by its opposite (cf. Psa 130:4). כּיקר בּרים forms a fine play in sound; יקר is a substantivized adjective like גּדל ekil evitcejda, Exo 15:16. Instead of בעשׁן, it is not to be read כּעשׁן, Hos 13:3; the ב is secured by Psa 102:4; Psa 78:33. The idea is, that they vanish into smoke, i.e., are resolved into it, or also, that they vanish in the manner of smoke, which is first thick, but then becomes thinner and thinner till it disappears (Rosenmüller, Hupfeld, Hitzig); both expressions are admissible as to fact and as to the language, and the latter is commended by בּהבל, Psa 78:33, cf. בּצלם, Psa 39:7. בעשׁן belongs to the first, regularly accented כּלוּ; for the Munach by בעשׂן is the substitute for Mugrash, which never can be used where at least two syllables do not precede the Silluk tone (vid., Psalter ii. 503). The second כּלוּ has the accent on the penult. for a change (Ew. §194, c), i.e., variation of the rhythm (cf. למה   למה, Psa 42:10; Psa 43:2; עורי   עורי, Jdg 5:12, and on Psa 137:7), and in particular here on account of its pausal position (cf. ערוּ, Psa 137:7).

Psa 37:21-22

It is the promise expressed in Deu 15:6; Deu 28:12, Deu 28:44, which is rendered in Psa 37:21 in the more universal, sententious form. לוה signifies to be bound or under obligation to any one = to borrow and to owe (nexum esse). The confirmation of Psa 37:22 is not inappropriate (as Hitzig considers it, who places Psa 37:22 after Psa 37:20): in that ever deeper downfall of the ungodly, and in that charitableness of the righteous, which becomes more and more easy to him by reason of his prosperity, the curse and blessing of God, which shall be revealed in the end of the earthly lot of both the righteous and the ungodly, are even now foretold. Whilst those who reject the blessing of God are cut off, the promise given to the patriarchs is fulfilled in the experience of those who are blessed of God, in all its fulness.

Psa 37:23-24

By Jahve (מן, ἀπό, almost equivalent to ὑπό with the passive, as in Job 24:1; Ecc 12:11, and in a few other passages) are a man’s steps made firm, established; not: ordered or directed (lxx, Jerome, κατευθύνεται), which, according to the extant usage of the language, would be הוּכנוּ (passive of הכין, Pro 16:9; Jer 10:23; 2Ch 27:6), whereas כּוננוּ, the Pulal of כּונן, is to be understood according to Psa 40:3. By גּבר is meant man in an emphatic sense (Job 38:3), and in fact in an ethical sense; compare, on the other hand, the expression of the more general saying, “Man proposes, and God disposes,” Pro 16:9; Pro 20:24; Jer 10:23. Psa 37:23 shows that it is the upright man that is meant in Psa 37:23: to the way, i.e., course of life, of such an one God turns with pleasure (יחפּץ pausal change of vowel for יחפּץ): supposing he should fall, whether it be a fall arising from misfortune or from error, or both together, he is not prostrated, but Jahve upholds his hand, affords it a firm point of support or fulcrum (cf. תּמך בּ, Psa 63:9, and frequently), so that he can raise himself again, rise up again.

Psa 37:25-26

There is an old theological rule: promissiones corporales intelligendae sunt cum exceptione crucis et castigationis. Temporary forsakenness and destitution the Psalm does not deny: it is indeed even intended to meet the conflict of doubt which springs up in the minds of the God-fearing out of certain conditions and circumstances that are seemingly contradictory to the justice of God; and this it does, by contrasting that which in the end abides with that which is transitory, and in fact without the knowledge of any final decisive adjustment in a future world; and it only solves its problem, in so far as it is placed in the light of the New Testament, which already dawns in the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Psa 37:27-28

The round of the exhortations and promises is here again reached as in Psa 37:3. The imperative שׁכן, which is there hortatory, is found here with the ו of sequence in the sense of a promise: and continue, doing such things, to dwell for ever = so shalt thou, etc. (שׁכן, pregnant as in Ps 102:29, Isa 57:15). Nevertheless the imperative retains its meaning even in such instances, inasmuch as the exhortation is given to share in the reward of duty at the same time with the discharge of it. On Psa 37:28 compare Psa 33:5.

Psa 37:30-31

The verb הגה unites in itself the two meanings of meditating and of meditative utterance (vid., Psa 2:1), just as אמר those of thinking and speaking. Psa 37:31 in this connection affirms the stability of the moral nature. The walk of the righteous has a fixed inward rule, for the Tôra is to him not merely an external object of knowledge and a compulsory precept; it is in his heart, and, because it is the Tôra of his God whom he loves, as the motive of his actions closely united with his own will. On תּמעד, followed by the subject in the plural, compare Psa 18:35; Psa 73:2 Chethîb.

Psa 37:32-33

The Lord as ἀνακρίνων is, as in 1Co 4:3., put in contrast with the ἀνακρίνειν of men, or of human ἡμέρᾳ. If men sit in judgment upon the righteous, yet God, the supreme Judge, does not condemn him, but acquits him (cf. on the contrary Psa 109:7). Si condemnamur a mundo, exclaimed Tertullian to his companions in persecution, absolvimur a Deo.

Psa 37:34

Let the eye of faith directed hopefully to Jahve go on its way, without suffering thyself to be turned aside by the persecution and condemnation of the world, then He will at length raise thee out of all trouble, and cause thee to possess (לרשׁת, ut possidas et possideas) the land, as the sole lords of which the evil-doers, now cut off, conducted themselves.

Psa 37:35-36 עריץ (after the form צדּיק) is coupled with רשׁע, must as these two words alternate in Job 15:20 : a terror-inspiring, tyrannical evil-doer; cf. besides also Job 5:3. The participle in Psa 37:35 forms a clause by itself: et se diffundens, scil. erat. The lxx and Jerome translate as though it were כארז הלבנן, “like the cedars of Lebanon,” instead of כאזרח רענן. But אזרח רענן is the expression for an oak, terebinth, or the like, that has brown from time immemorial in its native soil, and has in the course of centuries attained a gigantic size in the stem, and a wide-spreading overhanging head. ויּעבר does not mean: then he vanished away (Hupfeld and others); for עבר in this sense is not suitable to a tree. Luther correctly renders it: man ging vorüber, one (they) passed by, Ges. §137, 3. The lxx, Syriac, and others, by way of lightening the difficulty, render it: then I passed by.

Psa 37:37-38 תּם might even be taken as neuter for תּם, and ישׂר for ישׁר; but in this case the poet would have written רעה instead of ראה; שׁמר is therefore used as, e.g., in 1Sa 1:12. By כּי that to which attention is specially called is introduced. The man of peace has a totally different lot from the evil-doer who delights in contention and persecution. As the fruit of his love of peace he has אחרית, a future, Pro 23:18; Pro 24:14, viz., in his posterity, Pro 24:20; whereas the apostates are altogether blotted out; not merely they themselves, but even the posterity of the ungodly is cut off, Amo 4:2; Amo 9:1; Eze 23:25. To them remains no posterity to carry forward their name, their אחרית is devoted to destruction (cf. Psa 109:13 with Num 24:20).

Psa 37:39-40

The salvation of the righteous cometh from Jahve; it is therefore characterized, in accordance with its origin, as sure, perfect, and enduring for ever. מעוּזּם is an apposition; the plena scriptio serves, as in 2Sa 22:33, to indicate to us that מעוז is meant in this passage to signify not a fortress, but a hiding-place, a place of protection, a refuge, in which sense Arab. ma'âd‛llh (the protection of God) and m‛âḏwjh‛llh (the protection of God’s presence) is an Arabic expression (also used as a formula of an oath); vid., moreover on Psa 31:3. The moods of sequence in Psa 37:40 are aoristi gnomici. The parallelism in Psa 37:40 is progressive after the manner of the Psalms of degrees. The short confirmatory clause kichā'subo forms an expressive closing cadence.

Exhortations and Promises.

1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the Lord , and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the Lord ; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

The instructions here given are very plain; much need not be said for the exposition of them, but there is a great deal to be done for the reducing of them to practice, and there they will look best.

I. We are here cautioned against discontent at the prosperity and success of evil-doers (v. 1, 2): Fret not thyself, neither be thou envious. We may suppose that David speaks this to himself first, and preaches it to his own heart (in his communing with that upon his bed), for the suppressing of those corrupt passions which he found working there, and then leaves it in writing for instruction to others that might be in similar temptation. That is preached best, and with most probability of success, to others, which is first preached to ourselves. Now, 1. When we look abroad we see the world full of evil-doers and workers of iniquity, that flourish and prosper, that have what they will and do what they will, that live in ease and pomp themselves and have power in their hands to do mischief to those about them. So it was in David's time; and therefore, if it is so still, let us not marvel at the matter, as though it were some new or strange thing. 2. When we look within we find ourselves tempted to fret at this, and to be envious against these scandals and burdens, these blemishes and common nuisances, of this earth. We are apt to fret at God, as if he were unkind to the world and unkind to his church in permitting such men to live, and prosper, and prevail, as they do. We are apt to fret ourselves with vexation at their success in their evil projects. We are apt to envy them the liberty they take in getting wealth, and perhaps by unlawful means, and in the indulgence of their lusts, and to wish that we could shake off the restraints of conscience and do so too. We are tempted to think them the only happy people, and to incline to imitate them, and to join ourselves with them, that we may share in their gains and eat of their dainties; and this is that which we are warned against: Fret not thyself, neither be thou envious. Fretfulness and envy are sins that are their own punishments; they are the uneasiness of the spirit and the rottenness of the bones; it is therefore in kindness to ourselves that we are warned against them. Yet that is not all; for, 3. When we look forward with an eye of faith we shall see no reason to envy wicked people their prosperity, for their ruin is at the door and they are ripening apace for it, v. 2. They flourish, but as the grass, and as the green herb, which nobody envies nor frets at. The flourishing of a godly man is like that of a fruitful tree (Ps. i. 3), but that of the wicked man is like grass and herbs, which are very short-lived. (1.) They will soon wither of themselves. Outward prosperity is a fading thing, and so is the life itself to which it is confined. (2.) They will sooner be cut down by the judgments of God. Their triumphing is short, but their weeping and wailing will be everlasting.

II. We are here counselled to live a life on confidence and complacency in God, and that will keep us from fretting at the prosperity of evil-doers; if we do well for our own souls, we shall see little reason to envy those that do so ill for theirs. Here are three excellent precepts, which we are to be ruled by, and, to enforce them, three precious promises, which we may rely upon.

1. We must make God our hope in the way of duty and then we shall have a comfortable subsistence in this world, v. 3. (1.) It is required that we trust in the Lord and do good, that we confide in God and conform to him. The life of religion lies much in a believing reliance on God, his favour, his providence, his promise, his grace, and a diligent care to serve him and our generation, according to his will. We must not think to trust in God and then live as we wish. No; it is not trusting God, but tempting him, if we do not make conscience of our duty to him. Nor must we think to do good, and then to trust to ourselves, and our own righteousness and strength. No; we must both trust in the Lord and do good. And then, (2.) It is promised that we shall be well provided for in this world: So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. He does not say, "So shalt thou get preferment, dwell in a palace, and be feasted." This is not necessary; a man's life consists not in the abundance of these things; but, "Thou shalt have a place to live in, and that in the land, in Canaan, the valley of vision, and thou shalt have food convenient for thee." This is more than we deserve; it is as much as a good man will stipulate for (Gen. xxviii. 20) and it is enough for one that is going to heaven. "Thou shalt have a settlement, a quiet settlement, and a maintenance, a comfortable maintenance: Verily thou shalt be fed." Some read it, Thou shalt be fed by faith, as the just are said to live by faith, and it is good living, good feeding, upon the promises. "Verily thou shalt be fed, as Elijah in the famine, with what is needful for thee." God himself is a shepherd, a feeder, to all those that trust in him, Ps. xxiii. 1.

2. We must make God our heart's delight and then we shall have our heart's desire, v. 4. We must not only depend upon God, but solace ourselves in him. We must be well pleased that there is a God, that he is such a one as he has revealed himself to be, and that he is our God in covenant. We must delight ourselves in his beauty, bounty, and benignity; our souls must return to him, and repose in him, as their rest, and their portion for ever. Being satisfied of his loving-kindness, we must be satisfied with it, and make that our exceeding joy, Ps. xliii. 4. We were commanded (v. 3) to do good, and then follows this command to delight in God, which is as much a privilege as a duty. If we make conscience of obedience to God, we may then take the comfort of a complacency in him. And even this pleasant duty of delighting in God has a promise annexed to it, which is very full and precious, enough to recompense the hardest services: He shall give thee the desires of thy heart. He has not promised to gratify all the appetites of the body and the humours of the fancy, but to grant all the desires of the heart, all the cravings of the renewed sanctified soul. What is the desire of the heart of a good man? It is this, to know, and love, and live to God, to please him and to be pleased in him.

3. We must make God our guide, and submit in every thing to his guidance and disposal; and then all our affairs, even those that seem most intricate and perplexed, shall be made to issue well and to our satisfaction, v. 5, 6. (1.) The duty is very easy; and, if we do it aright, it will make us easy: Commit thy way unto the Lord; roll thy way upon the Lord (so the margin reads it), Prov. xvi. 3; Ps. lv. 22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, the burden of thy care, 1 Pet. v. 7. We must roll it off ourselves, so as not to afflict and perplex ourselves with thoughts about future events (Matt. vi. 25), not to cumber and trouble ourselves either with the contrivance of the means or with expectation of the end, but refer it to God, leave it to him by his wise and good providence to order and dispose of all our concerns as he pleases. Retreat thy way unto the Lord (so the LXX.), that is, "By prayer spread thy case, and all thy cares about it, before the Lord" (as Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh, Judg. xi. 11), "and then trust in him to bring it to a good issue, with a full satisfaction that all is well that God does." We must do our duty (that must be our care) and then leave the event with God. Sit still, and see how the matter will fall, Ruth iii. 18. We must follow Providence, and not force it, subscribe to Infinite Wisdom and not prescribe. (2.) The promise is very sweet. [1.] In general, "He shall bring that to pass, whatever it is, which thou hast committed to him, if not to thy contrivance, yet to thy content. He will find means to extricate thee out of thy straits, to prevent thy fears, and bring about thy purposes, to thy satisfaction." [2.] In particular, "He will take care of thy reputation, and bring thee out of thy difficulties, not only with comfort, but with credit and honour: He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light and thy judgment as the noon-day." (v. 6), that is, "he shall make it to appear that thou art an honest man, and that is honour enough." First, It is implied that the righteousness and judgment of good people may, for a time, be clouded and eclipsed, either by remarkable rebukes of Providence (Job's great afflictions darkened his righteousness) or by the malicious censures and reproaches of men, who give them bad names which they no way deserve, and lay to their charge things which they know not. Secondly, It is promised that God will, in due time, roll away the reproach they are under, clear up their innocency, and bring forth their righteousness, to their honour, perhaps in this world, at furthest in the great day, Matt. xiii. 43. Note, If we take care to keep a good conscience, we may leave it to God to take care of our good name.

Exhortations and Promises.

7 Rest in the Lord , and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord , they shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. 11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. 13 The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming. 14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. 15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. 16 A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous. 18 The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. 19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

In these verses we have,

I. The foregoing precepts inculcated; for we are so apt to disquiet ourselves with needless fruitless discontents and distrusts that it is necessary there should be precept upon precept, and line upon line, to suppress them and arm us against them. 1. Let us compose ourselves by believing in God: "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him (v. 7), that is, be well reconciled to all he does and acquiesce in it, for that is best that is, because it is what God has appointed; and be well satisfied that he will still make all to work for good to us, though we know not how or which way." Be silent to the Lord (so the word is), not with a sullen, but a submissive silence. A patient bearing of what is laid upon us, with a patient expectation of what is further appointed for us, is as much our interest as it is our duty, for it will make us always easy; and there is a great deal of reason for it, for it is making a virtue of necessity. 2. Let us not discompose ourselves at what we see in this world: "Fret not thyself because of him who prospers in his wicked way, who, though he is a bad man, yet thrives and grows rich and great in the world; no, nor because of him who does mischief with his power and wealth, and brings wicked devices to pass against those that are virtuous and good, who seems to have gained his point and to have run them down. If thy heart begins to rise at it, stroke down thy folly, and cease from anger (v. 8), check the first stirrings of discontent and envy, and do not harbour any hard thoughts of God and his providence upon this account. Be not angry at any thing that God does, but forsake that wrath; it is the worst kind of wrath that can be. Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil; do not envy them their prosperity, lest thou be tempted to fall in with them and to take the same evil course that they take to enrich and advance themselves or some desperate course to avoid them and their power." Note, A fretful discontented spirit lies open to many temptations; and those that indulge it are in danger of doing evil.

II. The foregoing reasons, taken from the approaching ruin of the wicked notwithstanding their prosperity, and the real happiness of the righteous notwithstanding their troubles, are here much enlarged upon and the same things repeated in a pleasing variety of expression. We were cautioned (v. 7) not to envy the wicked either worldly prosperity or the success of their plots against the righteous, and the reasons here given respect these two temptations severally:—

1. Good people have no reason to envy the worldly prosperity of wicked people, nor to grieve or be uneasy at it, (1.) Because the prosperity of the wicked will soon be at an end (v. 9): Evil-doers shall be cut off by some sudden stroke of divine justice in the midst of their prosperity; what they have got by sin will not only flow away from them (Job xx. 28), but they shall be carried away with it. See the end of these men (Ps. lxxiii. 17), how dear their ill-got gain will cost them, and you will be far from envying them or from being willing to espouse their lot, for better, for worse. Their ruin is sure, and it is very near (v. 10): Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be what they now are; they are brought into desolation in a moment, Ps. lxxiii. 19. Have a little patience, for the Judge stands before the door, Jam. v. 8, 9. Moderate your passion, for the Lord is at hand, Phil. iv. 5. And when their ruin comes it will be an utter ruin; he and his shall be extirpated; the day that comes shall leave him neither root nor branch (Mal. iv. 1): Thou shalt diligently consider his place, where but the other day he made a mighty figure, but it shall not be, you will not find it; he shall leave nothing valuable, nothing honourable, behind. him. To the same purport (v. 20), The wicked shall perish; their death is their perdition, because it is the termination of all their joy and a passage to endless misery. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord; but undone, for ever undone, are the dead that die in their sins. The wicked are the enemies of the Lord; such those make themselves who will not have him to reign over them, and as such he will reckon with them: They shall consume as the fat of lambs, they shall consume into smoke. Their prosperity, which gratifies their sensuality, is like the fat of lambs, not solid or substantial, but loose and washy; and, when their ruin comes, they shall fall as sacrifices to the justice of God and be consumed as the fat of the sacrifices was upon the altar, whence it ascended in smoke. The day of God's vengeance on the wicked is represented as a sacrifice of the fat of the kidneys of rams (Isa. xxxiv. 6); for he will be honoured by the ruin of his enemies, as he was by the sacrifices. Damned sinners are sacrifices, Mark ix. 49. This is a good reason why we should not envy them their prosperity; while they are fed to the full, they are but in the fattening for the day of sacrifice, like a lamb in a large place (Hos. iv. 16), and the more they prosper the more will God be glorified in their ruin. (2.) Because the condition of the righteous, even in this life, is every way better and more desirable than that of the wicked, v. 16. In general, a little that a righteous man has of the honour, wealth, and pleasure of this world, is better than the riches of many wicked. Observe, [1.] The wealth of the world is so dispensed by the divine Providence that it is often the lot of good people to have but a little of it, and of wicked people to have abundance of it; for thus God would show us that the things of this world are not the best things, for, if they were, those would have most that are best and dearest to God. [2.] That a godly man's little is really better than a wicked man's estate, though ever so much; for it comes from a better hand, from a hand of special love and not merely from a hand of common providence,—it is enjoyed by a better title (God gives it to them by promise, Gal. iii. 18),—it is theirs by virtue of their relation to Christ, who is the heir of all things,—and it is put to better use; it is sanctified to them by the blessing of God. Unto the pure all things are pure, Tit. i. 15. A little wherewith God is served and honoured is better than a great deal prepared for Baal or for a base lust. The promises here made to the righteous secure them such a happiness that they need not envy the prosperity of evil-doers. Let them know to their comfort, First, That they shall inherit the earth, as much of it as Infinite Wisdom sees good for them; they have the promise of the life that now is, 1 Tim. iv. 8. If all the earth were necessary to make them happy, they should have it. All is theirs, even the world, and things present, as well as things to come, 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22. They have it by inheritance, a safe and honourable title, not by permission only and connivance. When evil-doers are cut off the righteous sometimes inherit what they gathered. The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just, Job xxvii. 17; Prov. xiii. 22. This promise is here made, 1. To those that live a life of faith (v. 9); Those that wait upon the Lord, as dependents on him, expectants from him, and suppliants to him, shall inherit the earth, as a token of his present favour to them and an earnest of better things intended for them in the other world. God is a good Master, that provides plentifully and well, not only for his working servants, but for his waiting servants. 2. To those that live a quiet and peaceable life (v. 11): The meek shall inherit the earth. They are in least danger of being injured and disturbed in the possession of what they have and they have most satisfaction in themselves and consequently the sweetest relish of their creature-comforts. Our Saviour has made this a gospel promise, and a confirmation of the blessings he pronounced on the meek, Matt. v. 5. Secondly, That they shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace, v. 11. Perhaps they have not abundance of wealth to delight in; but they have that which is better, abundance of peace, inward peace and tranquility of mind, peace with God, and then peace in God, that great peace which those have that love God's law, whom nothing shall offend (Ps. cxix. 165), that abundance of peace which is in the kingdom of Christ (Ps. lxxii. 7), that peace which the world cannot give (John xiv. 27), and which the wicked cannot have, Isa. lvii. 21. This they shall delight themselves in, and in it they shall have a continual feast; while those that have abundance of wealth do but cumber and perplex themselves with it and have little delight in it. Thirdly, That God knows their days, v. 18. He takes particular notice of them, of all they do and of all that happens to them. He keeps account of the days of their service, and not one day's work shall go unrewarded, and of the days of their suffering, that for those also they may receive a recompence. He knows their bright days, and has pleasure in their prosperity; he knows their cloudy and dark days, the days of their affliction, and as the day is so shall the strength be. Fourthly, That their inheritance shall be for ever; not their inheritance in the earth, but that incorruptible indefeasible one which is laid up for them in heaven. Those that are sure of an everlasting inheritance in the other world have no reason to envy the wicked their transitory possessions and pleasures in this world. Fifthly, That in the worst of times it shall go well with them (v. 19): They shall not be ashamed of their hope and confidence in God, nor of the profession they have made of religion; for the comfort of that will stand them in stead, and be a real support to them, in evil times. When others droop they shall lift up their heads with joy and confidence: Even in the days of famine, when others are dying for hunger round about them, they shall be satisfied, as Elijah was; in some way or other God will provide food convenient for them, or give them hearts to be satisfied and content without it, so that, if they should be hardly bestead and hungry, they shall not (as the wicked do) fret themselves and curse their king and their God (Isa. vii. 21), but rejoice in God as the God of their salvation even when the fig-tree does not blossom, Hab. iii. 17, 18.

2. Good people have no reason to fret at the occasional success of the designs of the wicked against the just. Though they do bring some of their wicked devices to pass, which makes us fear they will gain their point and bring them all to pass, yet let us cease from anger, and not fret ourselves so as to think of giving up the cause. For,

(1.) Their plots will be their shame, v. 12, 13. It is true the wicked plotteth against the just; there is a rooted enmity in the seed of the wicked one against the righteous seed; their aim is, if they can, to destroy their righteousness, or, if that fail, then to destroy them. With this end in view they have acted with a great deal both of cursed policy and contrivance (they plot, they practice, against the just), and of cursed zeal and fury—they gnash upon them with their teeth, so desirous are they, if they could get it into their power, to eat them up, and so full of rage and indignation are they because it is not in their power; but by all this they do but make themselves ridiculous. The Lord shall laugh at them, Ps. ii. 4, 5. They are proud and insolent, but God shall pour contempt upon them. He is not only displeased with them, but he despises them and all their attempts as vain and ineffectual, and their malice as impotent and in a chain; for he sees that his day is coming, that is, [1.] The day of God's reckoning, the day of the revelation of his righteousness, which now seems clouded and eclipsed. Men have their day now. This is your hour, Luke xxii. 53. But God will have his day shortly, a day of recompences, a day which will set all to rights, and render that ridiculous which now passes for glorious. It is a small thing to be judged of man's judgment, 1 Cor. iv. 3. God's day will give a decisive judgment. [2.] The day of their ruin. The wicked man's day, the day set for his fall, that day is coming, which denotes delay; it has not yet come, but certainly it will come. The believing prospect of that day will enable the virgin, the daughter of Zion, to despise the rage of her enemies and laugh them to scorn, Isa. xxxvii. 22.

(2.) Their attempts will be their destruction, v. 14, 15. See here, [1.] How cruel they are in their designs against good people. They prepare instruments of death, the sword and the bow, no less will serve; they hunt for the precious life. That which they design is to cast down and slay; it is the blood of the saints they thirst after. They carry on the design very far, and it is near to be put in execution: They have drawn the sword, and bent the bow; and all these military preparations are made against the helpless, the poor and needy (which proves them to be very cowardly), and against the guiltless, such as are of upright conversation, that never gave them any provocation, nor offered injury to them or any other person, which proves them to be very wicked. Uprightness itself will be no fence against their malice. But, [2.] How justly their malice recoils upon themselves: Their sword shall turn into their own heart, which implies the preservation of the righteous from their malice and the filling up of the measure of their own iniquity by it. Sometimes that very thing proves to be their own destruction which they projected against their harmless neighbours; however, God's sword, which their provocations have drawn against them, will give them their death's wound.

(3.) Those that are not suddenly cut off shall yet be so disabled for doing any further mischief that the interests of the church shall be effectually secured: Their bows shall be broken (v. 15); the instruments of their cruelty shall fail them and they shall lose those whom they had made tools of to serve their bloody purposes with; nay, their arms shall be broken, so that they shall not be able to go on with their enterprises, v. 17. But the Lord upholds the righteous, so that they neither sink under the weight of their afflictions nor are crushed by the violence of their enemies. He upholds them both in their integrity and in their prosperity; and those that are so upheld by the rock of ages have no reason to envy the wicked the support of their broken reeds.

Exhortations and Promises.

21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth. 22 For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. 23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord : and he delighteth in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 26 He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. 27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. 28 For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever. 30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. 32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. 33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

These verses are much to the same purport with the foregoing verses of this psalm, for it is a subject worthy to be dwelt upon. Observe here,

I. What is required of us as the way to our happiness, which we may learn both from the characters here laid down and from the directions here given. If we would be blessed of God, 1. We must make conscience of giving every body his own; for the wicked borrows and pays not again, v. 21. It is the first thing which the Lord our God requires of us, that we do justly, and render to all their due. It is not only a shameful paltry thing, but a sinful wicked thing, not to repay what we have borrowed. Some make this an instance, not so much of the wickedness of the wicked as of the misery and poverty to which they are reduced by the just judgment of God, that they shall be necessitated to borrow for their supply and then be in no capacity to repay it again, and so lie at the mercy of their creditors. Whatever some men seem to think of it, as it is a great sin for those that are able to deny the payment of their just debts, so it is a great misery not to be able to pay them. 2. We must be ready to all acts of charity and beneficence; for, as it is an instance of God's goodness to the righteous that he puts it into the power of his hand to be kind and to do good (and so some understand it, God's blessing increases his little to such a degree that he has abundance to spare for the relief of others), so it is an instance of the goodness of the righteous man that he has a heart proportionable to his estate: He shows mercy, and gives, v. 21. He is ever merciful, or every day, or all the day, merciful, and lends, and sometimes there is as true charity in lending as in giving; and giving and lending are acceptable to God when they proceed from a merciful disposition in the heart, which, if it be sincere, will be constant, and will keep us from being weary of well-doing. he that is truly merciful will be ever merciful. 3. We must leave our sins, and engage in the practice of serious godliness (v. 27): Depart from evil and do good. Cease to do evil and abhor it; learn to do well and cleave to it; this is true religion. 4. We must abound in good discourse, and with our tongues must glorify God and edify others. It is part of the character of a righteous man (v. 30) that his mouth speaketh wisdom; not only he speaks wisely, but he speaks wisdom, like Solomon himself, for the instruction of those about him. His tongue talks not of things idle and impertinent, but of judgment, that is, of the word and providence of God and the rules of wisdom for the right ordering of the conversation. Out of the abundance of a good heart will the mouth speak that which is good and to the use of edifying. 5. We must have our wills brought into an entire subjection to the will and word of God (v. 31): The law of God, of his God, is in his heart; and in vain do we pretend that God is our God if we do not receive his law into our hearts and resign ourselves to the government of it. It is but a jest and a mockery to speak wisdom, and to talk of judgment (v. 30), unless we have the law in our hearts, and we think as we speak. The law of God must be a commanding ruling principle in the heart; it must be a light there, a spring there, and then the conversation will be regular and uniform: None of his steps will slide; it will effectually prevent backsliding into sin, and the uneasiness that follows from it.

II. What is assured to us, as instances of our happiness and comfort, upon these conditions.

1. That we shall have the blessing of God, and that blessing shall be the spring, and sweetness, and security of all our temporal comforts and enjoyments (v. 22): Such as are blessed of God, as all the righteous are, with a Father's blessing, by virtue of that shall inherit the earth, or the land (for so the same word is translated, v. 29), the land of Canaan, that glory of all lands. Our creature-comforts are comforts indeed to us when we see them flowing from the blessing of God, we are sure not to want any thing that is good for us in this world. The earth shall yield us her increase if God, as our own God, give us his blessing, Ps. lxvii. 6. And as those whom God blesses are thus blessed indeed (for they shall inherit the land), so those whom he curses are cursed indeed; they shall be cut off and rooted out, and their extirpation by the divine curse will set off the establishment of the righteous by the divine blessing and be a foil to it.

2. That God will direct and dispose of our actions and affairs so as may be most for his glory (v. 23): The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. By his grace and Holy Spirit he directs the thoughts, affections, and designs of good men. He has all hearts in his hand, but theirs by their own consent. By his providence he overrules the events that concern them, so as to make their way plain before them, both what they should do and what they may expect. Observe, God orders the steps of a good man; not only his way in general, by his written word, but his particular steps, by the whispers of conscience, saying, This is the way, walk in it. He does not always show him his way at a distance, but leads him step by step, as children are led, and so keeps him in a continual dependence upon his guidance; and this, (1.) Because he delights in his way, and is well pleased with the paths of righteousness wherein he walks. The Lord knows the way of the righteous (Ps. i. 6), knows it with favour, and therefore directs it. (2.) That he may delight in his way. Because God orders his way according to his own will, therefore he delights in it; for, as he loves his own image upon us, so he is well pleased with what we do under his guidance.

3. That God will keep us from being ruined by our falls either into sin or into trouble (v. 24): Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down. (1.) A good man may be overtaken in a fault, but the grace of God shall recover him to repentance, so that he shall not be utterly cast down. Though he may, for a time, lose the joys of God's salvation, yet they shall be restored to him; for God shall uphold him with his hand, uphold him with his free Spirit. The root shall be kept alive, though the leaf wither; and there will come a spring after the winter. (2.) A good man may be in distress, his affairs embarrassed, his spirits sunk, but he shall not be utterly cast down; God will be the strength of his heart when his flesh and heart fail, and will uphold him with his comforts, so that the spirit he has made shall not fail before him.

4. That we shall not want the necessary supports of this life (v. 25): "I have been young and now am old, and, among all the changes I have seen in men's outward condition and the observations I have made upon them, I never saw the righteous forsaken of God and man, as I have sometimes seen wicked people abandoned both by heaven and earth; nor do I ever remember to have seen the seed of the righteous reduced to such an extremity as to beg their bread." David had himself begged his bread of Abimelech the priest, but it was when Saul hunted him; and our Saviour has taught us to except the case of persecution for righteousness' sake out of all the temporal promises (Mark x. 30), because that has such peculiar honours and comforts attending it as make it rather a gift (as the apostle reckons it, Phil. i. 29) than a loss or grievance. But there are very few instances of good men, or their families, that are reduced to such extreme poverty as many wicked people bring themselves to by their wickedness. He had not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread. Forsaken (so some expound it); if they do want God will raise them up friends to supply them, without a scandalous exposing of themselves to the reproach of common beggars; or, if they go from door to door for meat, it shall not be with despair, as the wicked man that wanders abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? Job xv. 23. Nor shall he be denied, as the prodigal, that would fain have filled his belly, but no man gave unto him, Luke xv. 16. Nor shall he grudge if he be not satisfied, as David's enemies, when they wandered up and down for meat, Ps. lix. 15. Some make this promise relate especially to those that are charitable and liberal to the poor, and to intimate that David never observed any that brought themselves to poverty by their charity. It is withholding more than is meet that tends to poverty, Prov. xi. 24.

5. That God will not desert us, but graciously protect us in our difficulties and straits (v. 28): The Lord loves judgment; he delights in doing justice himself and he delights in those that do justice; and therefore he forsakes not his saints in affliction when others make themselves strange to them and become shy of them, but he takes care that they be preserved for ever, that is, that the saint in every age be taken under his protection, that the succession be preserved to the end of time, and that particular saints be preserved from all the temptations and through all the trials of this present time, to that happiness which shall be for ever. He will preserve them to his heavenly kingdom; that is a preservation for ever, 2 Tim. iv. 18; Ps. xii. 7.

6. That we shall have a comfortable settlement in this world, and in a better when we leave this. That we shall dwell for evermore (v. 27), and not be cut off as the seed of the wicked, v. 28. Those shall not be tossed that make God their rest and are at home in him. But on this earth there is no dwelling for ever, no continuing city; it is in heaven only, that city which has foundations, that the righteous shall dwell for ever; that will be their everlasting habitation.

7. That we shall not become a prey to our adversaries, who seek our ruin, v. 32, 33. There is an adversary that takes all opportunities to do us a mischief, a wicked one that watches the righteous (as a roaring lion watches his prey) and seeks to slay him. There are wicked men that do so, that are very subtle (they watch the righteous, that they may have an opportunity to do them a mischief effectually and may have a pretence wherewith to justify themselves in the doing of it), and very spiteful, for they seek to slay him. But it may very well be applied to the wicked one, the devil, that old serpent, who has his wiles to entrap the righteous, his devices which we should not be ignorant of,—that great red dragon, who seeks to slay them,—that roaring lion, who goes about continually, restless and raging, and seeking whom he may devour. But it is here promised that he shall not prevail, neither Satan nor his instruments. (1.) He shall not prevail as a field-adversary: The Lord will not leave him in his hand; he will not permit Satan to do what he would, nor will he withdraw his strength and grace from his people, but will enable them to resist and overcome him, and their faith shall not fail, Luke xxii. 31, 32. A good man may fall into the hands of a messenger of Satan, and be sorely buffeted, but God will not leave him in his hands, 1 Cor. x. 13. (2.) He shall not prevail as a law-adversary: God will not condemn him when he is judged, though urged to do it by the accuser of the brethren, who accuses them before our God day and night. His false accusations will be thrown out, as those exhibited against Joshua (Zech. iii. 1, 2), The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan! It is God that justifies, and then who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?

Exhortations and Promises.

34 Wait on the Lord , and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. 35 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. 36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. 37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. 38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. 39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord : he is their strength in the time of trouble. 40 And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

The psalmist's conclusion of this sermon (for that is the nature of this poem) is of the same purport with the whole, and inculcates the same things.

I. The duty here pressed upon us is still the same (v. 34): Wait on the Lord and keep his way. Duty is ours, and we must mind it and make conscience of it, keep God's way and never turn out of it nor loiter in it, keep close, keep going; but events are God's and we must refer ourselves to him for the disposal of them; we must wait on the Lord, attend the motions of his providence, carefully observe them, and conscientiously accommodate ourselves to them. If we make conscience of keeping God's way, we may with cheerfulness wait on him and commit to him our way; and we shall find him a good Master both to his working servants and to his waiting servants.

II. The reasons to enforce this duty are much the same too, taken from the certain destruction of the wicked and the certain salvation of the righteous. This good man, being tempted to envy the prosperity of the wicked, that he might fortify himself against the temptation, goes into the sanctuary of God and leads us thither (Ps. lxxiii. 17); there he understands their end, and thence gives us to understand it, and, by comparing that with the end of the righteous, baffles the temptation and puts it to silence. Observe,

1. The misery of the wicked at last, however they may prosper awhile: The end of the wicked shall be cut off (v. 38); and that cannot be well that will undoubtedly end so ill. The wicked, in their end, will be cut off from all good and all hopes of it; a final period will be put to all their joys, and they will be for ever separated from the fountain of life to all evil. (1.) Some instances of the remarkable ruin of wicked people David had himself observed in this world—that the pomp and prosperity of sinners would not secure them from the judgments of God when their day should come to fall (v. 36, 35): I have seen a wicked man (the word is singular), suppose Saul or Ahithophel (for David was an old man when he penned this psalm), in great power, formidable (so some render it), the terror of the mighty in the land of the living, carrying all before him with a high hand, and seeming to be firmly fixed and finely flourishing, spreading himself like a green bay-tree, which produces all leaves and no fruit; like a native home-born Israelite (so Dr. Hammond), likely to take root. But what became of him? Eliphaz, long before, had learned, when he saw the foolish taking root, to curse his habitation, Job v. 3. And David saw cause for it; for this bay-tree withered away as soon as the fig-tree. Christ cursed: He passed away as a dream, as a shadow, such was he and all the pomp and power he was so proud of. He was gone in an instant: He was not; I sought him with wonder, but he could not be found. He had acted his part and then quitted the stage, and there was no miss of him. (2.) The total and final ruin of sinners, of all sinners, will shortly be made as much a spectacle to the saints as they are now sometimes made a spectacle to the world (v. 34): When the wicked are cut off (and cut off they certainly will be) thou shalt see it, with awful adorations of the divine justice. The transgressors shall be destroyed together, v. 38. In this world God singles out here one sinner and there another, out of many, to be made an example in terrorem—as a warning; but in the day of judgment there will be a general destruction of all the transgressors, and not one shall escape. Those that have sinned together shall be damned together. Bind them in bundles, to burn them.

2. The blessedness of the righteous, at last. Let us see what will be the end of God's poor despised people. (1.) Preferment. There have been times the iniquity of which has been such that men's piety has hindered their preferment in this world, and put them quite out of the way of raising estates; but those that keep God's way may be assured that in due time he will exalt them, to inherit the land (v. 34); he will advance them to a place in the heavenly mansions, to dignity, and honour, and true wealth, in the New Jerusalem, to inherit that good land, that land of promise, of which Canaan was a type; he will exalt them above all contempt and danger. (2.) Peace, v. 37. Let all people mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; take notice of him to admire him and imitate him, keep your eye upon him to observe what comes of him, and you will find that the end of that man is peace. Sometimes the latter end of his days proves more comfortable to him than the beginning was; the storms blow over, and he is comforted again, after the time that he was afflicted. However, if all his days continue dark and cloudy, perhaps his dying day may prove comfortable to him and his sun may set in brightness; or, if it should set under a cloud, yet his future state will be peace, everlasting peace. Those that walk in their uprightness while they live shall enter into peace when they die, Isa. lvii. 2. A peaceful death has concluded the troublesome life of many a good man; and all is well that thus ends everlastingly well. Balaam himself wished that his death and his last end might be like that of the righteous Num. xxiii. 10. (3.) Salvation, v. 39, 40. The salvation of the righteous (which may be applied to the great salvation of which the prophets enquired and searched diligently, 1 Pet. i. 10) is of the Lord; it will be the Lord's doing. The eternal salvation, that salvation of God which those shall see that order their conversation aright (Ps. l. 23), is likewise of the Lord. And he that intends Christ and heaven for them will be a God all-sufficient to them: He is their strength in time of trouble, to support them under it and carry them through it. He shall help them and deliver them, help them to do their duties, to bear their burdens, and to maintain their spiritual conflicts, help them to bear their troubles well and get good by them, and, in due time, shall deliver them out of their troubles. He shall deliver them from the wicked that would overwhelm them and swallow them up, shall secure them there, where the wicked cease from troubling. He shall save them, not only keep them safe, but make them happy, because they trust in him, not because they have merited it from him, but because they have committed themselves to him and reposed a confidence in him, and have thereby honoured him.

PSAL. XXXVII.

1 A Psalme of David.

FRet not thy selfe for the evill doers; envie not for them that doe injurious evill. 2 For they shall soone be cut downe as grasse, and shall fade as the greennesse of the budding herb.

3 Trust thou in Iehovah, and doe good; dwell in the land, and feed on faith. 4 And delight thy selfe in Iehovah, and he will give thee the petitions of thy heart.

5 Turne confidently thy way upon Iehovah, and trust upon him, and he will doe. 6. And will bring forth thy justice as the light, and thy judgment as the noone brightnesse.

7. Be silent for Iehovah, and wait still patiently for him; fret not thy selfe for him that prospereth in his way, for the man that effecteth dovices.

8. Surcease from anger and leave off wrath, fret not thy selfe also to doe evill. 9. For evill doers shall be cut downe, and they that earnestly wait on Iehovah, they shall inherit the land.

10. And yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: and thou shalt consider his place and he shall not be. 11. And the meeke shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the multitude of peace.

12. The wicked deviseth against the just, and gnasheth his teeth against him. 13. The Lord laugheth at him, for he seeth that his day doth come.

14. The wicked have drawne the sword, and bent their bow, to fell downe the poore afflicted and needy one, to slay them that be right of way. 15. Their sword shall enter into their owne heart, and their bowes shall be broken.

16. Better is the little of a just man, than the plenteous mammon of many wicked men. 17. For the armes of wicked men shall be broken; but Iehovah upholdeth the just.

18. Iehovah knoweth the dayes of perfect men, and their inheritance shall be for ever. 19. They shall not be abashed in time of evill and in the dayes of famine they shall have enough.

20. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of Iehovah, as the precious fat of rammes; they are consumed, with the smoke they are consumed.

21. The wicked boroweth and repayeth not, and the just sheweth grace and giveth. 22. For his blessed ones shall inherit the land, and his accursed ones shall be cut off.

23. By Iehovah the steps of the man are established, and his way hee delighteth. 24. When he shall fall he shall not be cast off, for Iehovah upholdeth his hand.

25. I have beene young, also I am waxed old, and I have not seene the just man for saken; and his seed seeking bread. 26. All the day he sheweth grace and lendeth, and his seed are in the blessing.

27. Eschew▪ evill and doe good, and dwell for ever. 28. For Iehovah loveth iudgement, and will not forsake his gracious Saints▪ they are kept for ever, and the seed of the wicked is cut off.

29. Iust men shall inherit the land, and shall dwell thereon to perpetuall aye.

30. The mouth of the just will utter wisdome, and his tongue speake judgement. 31. The Law of his God is in his heart, it shall not stagger in his steps.

32. The wicked spieth for the just, and seeketh to worke his death. 33. Iehovah will not leave him in his hand, nor condemne him for wicked when he is judged.

34. Wait thou earnestly for Iehovah, and keepe his way, and he will exalt thee for to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

35. I have seene the wicked daunting terrible, and spreading himselfe bare, as a green selfe-growing lawrell. 36. And he passed away, and loe he was not, and I sought him and he was not found.

37. Observe the perfect man▪ and see the righteous, for the after end of the man shall be peace. 38 And trespassers shall be destroyed together, the after end of the wicked shall be cut off.

39. And the salvation of just men is of Iehovah, their strength in time of distresse. 40 And Iehovah will helpe them, and deliver them: hee will deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they hope for safetie in him.

Annotations. THis is the third Psalme penned Alphabetwise; there being two verses allowed to every letter, except foure, in verse 7. 20. 29. 34. See Psal. 25. 1. Vers. 1. Fret] or, Inslame not, burne not thy selfe with anger or griefe. So after, verse 7. and 8. Pro. 24. 19. evill doers] to be like unto them, as the Chaldee addeth; which accordeth with verse 8. envie not] or, have not envious zeale or emulation. This word is generall for all hot and fervent zeale, whether good or evill; emulation, jealousie, envie, and the like, Psal. 106. 16. and 69. 10. Vers. 3. Dwell in the land] This may be taken either for a commandement, to dwell in the land of Canaan, which God had given them to possesse, Num. 33. 53. though troubles and wants should arise therein, as did the Patriarchs by faith, Gen. 37. 1. and 26. 3. 12. Heb. 11. 9. Or, for a promise, dwell, that is, thou shalt dwell, that is, abide long, as after in v. 27. So, see, for thou shalt see, Psal. 128. 5, 6. Seeke mee and live, Amos. 5. 4. that is, yee shall live▪ feed on faith;] to wit, which shall gr[illegible: 1 letter]w out of the land, Psal. 85. 12. that is, of the fruits which the land truly and faithfully bringeth forth. Or, as a promise, thou shalt feed on faith, that is, on the faithfull constant increase; and thus the Greeke explaineth it, thou shalt be fed with the riches therof, meaning, of the land. Or, feed on faith, that is, nourish thy selfe and live by it; for the just man liveth by his faith, Habak. 2. 4. and walketh by it, not by sight, 2 Cor. 5. 7. The Chaldee expoundeth it, Studie (or exercise thy selfe) in the faith. Or, feed in faith, that is, thou shalt be fed faithfully and assuredly. Contrary hereunto, is to feed on the wind, Hos. 12. 1. and on ashes, Isa. 44. 20. Vers. 4. delight thy selfe] or, thou shalt delight, or solace thee: so vers. 11. and Iob 22. 26. Vers. 5. Turne confidently] Commit of trust: in Hebrew, Roll; in Chaldee, Reveale before the Lord: see Psal. 22. 9. So Prov. 16. 3. Roll (or Commit) thy workes unto Iehovah. will doe] that which thou desirest; or will execute, to wit, thy judgement, as the next verse sheweth, and as elsewhere is expressed, Mic. 7. 9. Vers. 6. as the light] to wit, of the morning, or sunne: (for so light sometime signifieth, Nehem. 8. 3. Iob 31. 26.) that is, clearely, manifestly. So Hos. 6. 5. Compare also Iob. 11. 17. Vers. 7. be silent] or, bee still, stay and tarry silently. See Psal. 4. 5. The Greeke saith, be subject. wait still patiently] or, paine thy selfe, that is, set thy selfe with earnestnesse and patience to wait for. Vers. 8. Surcease] or, Slake, Let goe. A word contrary to holding fast, applied here to the shaking or abating of anger; so Iudg. 8. 3. also to doe] or, which is but to doe; or, at least to doe evill. Vers. 9. inherit] or possesse. So Isa. 57. 13. He that trusteth in me (saith the Lord) shall inherit the land, and possesse my holy mountaine. Vers. 11. And the meeke] or But the meeke. From hence our Lord saith, Blessed are the meeke, for they shall inherit the land, Mat. 5. 5. Vers. 13. his day] that is, his dismall day, the time appointed for his affliction and destruction, 1 Sam. 26. 10. Ezek. 21. 25. 29. So the Chaldee explaineth it, the day of his calamitie. Day is often used for the time of punishment; as, The posterity shall be astonied at his day, Iob 18. 20. Woe unto them, for their day is come, Ier. 50. 27. So, the day of Madian, Isa. 9. 4. the day of Iezreel, Hos. 1. 11. the day of Ierusalem, Psal. 137. 7. Vers. 14. drawne] Hebrew, opened, or loosed, meaning out of the shead. A like phrase is, the emptying of the sword, Psal. 35. 3. Vers. 16. the little of a just man] or, a little (a small portion) to the just. See Prov. 15. 16. and 16. 8. plenteous mammon] The Hebrew hamon signifieth multitude, plenty or store, of riches, or any other thing. Here the Greeke translateth it riches. From this Hebrew word, riches are called mammon▪ Luk. 16. 9. 11. 13. many wicked] or great (mighty) wicked. Vers. 17. armes] that is, power, helpe, &c. See Psal. 10. 15. Vers. 18. knoweth] that is; acknowledgeth and regardeth, as Psal. 1. 6. the dayes] that is, the [illegible: 1 letter]vents, good or evill, estates, calamities that at any time befall them, as vers. 13. Psal. 116. 2. and 119. 84. See also Psal. 31. 16. shall bee for ever] meaning, that they and their seed after them should inherit the land, as Exod. 32. 13. Ios. 14. 9. 1 Chron. 28. 8. Prov. 13. 22. Isa. 60. 21. and then come to their immortall inheritance, 1 Pet. 1. 4. Vers. 20. the precious fat] that which is precious in the rammes, the best, and that was the fat, all which was the Lords, and might not therefore be eaten by any man, but was burned upon the altar, and so consumed away in smoke, Levit. 3. 15, 16, 17. So, the precious fruit of the earth, I am. 5. 7. The Hebrew Carim, elsewhere used for fields or pastures, Psal. 65. 14. is here fat pastured rammes or muttons: so Deut. 32. 14. Isa. 34. 6. Amos 6. 4. with the smoke] which vanisheth in the aire; therefore the Greeke saith, as the smoke: so Psal. 102. 4. The Chaldee paraphraseth, they shall be consumedin the smoke of Gehenna, (or of Hell.) Vers. 21. repaieth not] shall not, or will not pay againe. It may intend both his inabilitie that hee cannot, and his unconscionablenesse that hee will not pay. Borrowing in the Law is noted for a curse; as lending, for a blessing, Deut. 28. 12. 44. for the borrower is servant to the lender, Prov. 22. 7. sheweth grace] or, doth graciously, that is, is liberall and bountifull. So the Apostle calleth liberality, grace, 1 Cor. 16. 3. 2 Cor. 8. 4. 19. Vers. 22. his blessed ones] or [illegible: 3 letters]y that are blessed of him, that is, of God. The Chaldee addeth, they that are blessed by his Word: and after, they that are cursed by his oath. Vers. 23. steps of the man] the gate, or wayes of such a man as is before shoken of; or as after followeth, whose way God delighteth; called here Geber, a valiant man. A like phrase is in Esa. 60. 12. the nations, that is, those nations, such as are there before mentioned. stablished] or firmely directed and perfected. The word noteth the ordering, perfecting and fast stablishing of any thing. and his way] or thus, to wit, whose way he delighteth (or affecteth.) So Gedeon & his house, Iudg. 8. 27. for, Gedeon, to wit, (or that is to say) his house. Vers. 24. shall fall] to wit, into sinne, by occasion or infirmitie, Gal. 6. 1. or into affliction and trouble, Mic. 7. 9. Thus the Chalde[illegible: 1 letter] expoundeth it, if he fall into sicknesse, he shall not die. For, the just man falleth seven times, and riseth againe, Prov. 24. 16. upholdeth his hand] and consequently; raiseth him up. A like phrase is of strengthing the hand, Isa 8. 11. 1 Sam. 23. 16. Vers. 26. his seed] that is, his children or posterity are in the blessing, or, are appointed to the blessing, as the heires thereof, Gen. 28. 4. 1 Pet. 3. 9. and have still abundance, though they give to others▪ For, the blessing of the Lord maketh rich, Prov. 10. 22. And, there is that scattereth, and is more increased, Prov. 11. 24. Vers. 27. dwell for ever] that is, thou shalt dwell; as vers. 3. The like promise is in Ier. 7. 5▪—7. V. 28. [illegible: 1 word] cut off] a like judgmēt is in Iob 18. 19. He shall have neither son nor nephew among his people, nor any posteritie in his dwellings. See also Psal. 21. 11. and 109. 13. and the contrary, Psal. 102. 29. Vers. 30. will meditate] usually meditateth, that is, resoundeth, uttereth, as Psal. 35. 28. Vers. 31. in his heart] so God commanded, Deut. 6. 6. and there hath he promised to write his law, Hebr. 8. 10. See also Psal. 40. 9. Isa. 51. 7. it shall not stagger] understand, his foot shall not stagger, or, faulter, Iob 12. 5. Or, any one of his steps (or feet) shall not stagger or slide. Vers. 33. condemne him for wicked] make (or pronounce) him wicked, that is, condemne him. Opposed to justifying: so Psal. 94. 21. Iob 9. 20. Vers. 35. daunting terrible] sorely dismaying others with his terrour: in Greeke, lifted very high. See Psal. 10. 18. spreading bare] making bare, that is, thrusting forth and shewing himselfe. greene] that is, fresh and flourishing, as Dan. 4 1. It is not meant for colour onely, but for juice and vigour. So Psal. 52. 10. selfe-growing lawrell] a tree that groweth in his naturall place, which commonly sprout and thrive better than such as are removed to another soile: therefore the Greeke explaineth it, as the Cedars of Lebanon. Vers. 37. the after end] or, the last, or the posteritie. This word is sometimes used for the end, as Deut. 11. 12. and 32. 20. 29. Ier. 29. 11. sometime for posteritie of children left behinde, as Ps. 109. 13. Dan. 11. 4. And thus it may be understood here, specially in the verse following. The Greeke translateth, there is a remnant to the peaceable man. Vers. 40. in him] Chaldee in his word.

PSAL. XXXVII.

VErſ. 1. Fret not thy ſelf becauſe of evill doers] Who proſper in the World, when better men ſuffer many times. This made good David ſick of the Fret, as himſelf teſtifieth, Pſal. 73. till better informed and ſetled, by repairing to the Sanctuary, Verſ. 17. he wrote this thirty ſeventh Pſalm for the good of Gods people; leſt they being ſcandalized in like manner, and ſtumbling at the ſame ſtone that he had done, ſhould want direction, and ſo fall into inconvenience, temptation and a ſnare. David was old when he wrote this Pſalm (as appeareth Verſ. 25. I have been young, and now am old) therefore ſhould his counſel here given be the more acceptable. He might as well ſay to mens tumultuating paſſions, as once Auguſtus did to his mutinous ſouldiers, and thereby quieted them, Audite ſenem juvenes, quem juvenem ſenes aud[illegible: 1 letter]erunt. Fret not your ſelves, Fret not your ſelves, I ſay, to do evill. Be not angry at God, as Jonah was; or aggrieved, as Jeremy, chap. 12.1. and Habbakkuk, chap. 1.13. as if the divine providence did not juſtly divide to every man his due demenſe, and do him right; But have patience a while, yea let patience have line and rope, her perfect work, as St. James hath it; and quiet your boyling ſpirits with that word, wherewith Chriſt becalmed the raging ſea, Peace, be still. God will unriddle his providences erelong; and then men ſhall ſee the reaſon of all occurrences, and that all was done in ſingular wiſdome. Pompoy beaten out of the field by Ceſar, complained that there was a miſt over the eye of providence; when as indeed all the fault was in the ſoreneſſe or dimneſſe of his own eyes, and the twinkling light of Natures ruſh-candle. Seneca ſaw as farre, and ſaid as much to this matter as a Heathen could, in his Tract, Cur malis bene ſit, &c. But it is the Sanctuary alone that can afford ſound ſatisfaction to a ſoul thus puzzled; as for Philoſophicall comforts and counſells in this caſe, Cicero ſaid well of them, N[illegible: 1 letter]ſ[illegible: 1 letter]io quommodo imbe[illegible: 1 letter]illior eſt medicina quam morbus, However it cometh to paſs, the diſeaſe is too hard for the medicine.

Neither be thou envious againſt, &c.] Their proſperity is their portion, all they are like to have, Pſal. 17.14. and what is it more than a ſmall annuity for term of life, in the utmoſt part of that large Lord-ſhip, whereof thou art the heir, and ſhalt ſhortly be the poſſeſſour? Queen Elizabeth envyed the Milkmaid, when ſhe was in priſon. But if ſhe had known what a glorious reign ſhe ſhould have had afterwards for forty four years, ſhe would not have envyed her. And as little needeth a godly man, though in miſery, to envy a wicked man in the ruffe of all his proſperity and jollity, conſidering what he hath in hand, much more what hee hath in hope.

Verſ. 2. For they ſhall ſoon be cut down like the graſs] Faeneâ quadam felicitate tempor aliter florent, as Auſtin phraſeth it, but their felicity is ſhort-liv'd; this proud graſſe ſhall be mowed down ere long, Pſal. 92.7. if not ſooner, yet at death howſoever, which unto them is but a trap-door to Hell. Envy mee not my grapes, ſaid that ſouldier; I muſt dye for them. So may wicked men ſay of their preſent proſperity, which is but like Hamans banquet before execution.

Verſ. 3. Truſt in the Lord, and do good] Theſe, and the following are excellent means and medicines againſt the Fret. True faith will truſt in God, where it cannot trace him; it will alſo work by love, and by doing good approve it ſelf to be right; as it appeared by the fruits that it was a good Land; and as it appeared by the coats, that Dorcas was a good woman.

So ſhalt thou dwell in the Land] Heb. Dwell thou in the Land, viz. bee content with thy lot, not looking at the larger allowances of wicked rich men; who the more they have of the ſat of the earth, the more they will fry and bla[illegible: 2 letters] in Hell. Do thou abide in thy ſtation, and ſerve Gods providence in thy particular calling.

And verily thou ſhalt be fed] Fed like a Sheep, under the conduct and keeping of a good Shepherd, as the word ſignifieth. Kimchi readeth it, Paſce in veritate, Feed others with the truth; as the lips of the righteous feed many. Tremellius rendreth it, Paſcere fide, feed on faith; that is, nouriſh thy ſelf, and live by it, according to that of Habbakkuk, chap. 2.4. The juſt ſhall live by his faith. Some render it, Paſce fidem, feed Faith, ſc. by pondering the Promiſes of God, which are, Pabulum fidei, the food of Faith. Others, Paſcere fideliter, get thy living faithfully, and honeſtly by thy true labour.

Verſ. 4. Delight thy ſelf alſo in the Lord] Whilſt others delight in riches and pleaſures; as if there were no other happineſs but to have, and to hold, no ſport unleſs men may have the Devil their Play-fellow. The like counſel hereunto giveth Saint Paul to his Son Timothy, 1 Epiſt. 6.12. whilſt others lay hold as with tooth and nayl on riches, &c. lay thou hold on eternal life; make God thy portion and thou art made for ever.

And he ſhall give thee the deſires of thy heart] It ſhall be unto thee even as thou wilt. It is ſaid of Luther, that he could have what he would of Almighty God. What may not a Favourite, who hath the royalty of his Princes eare, obtain of him? It is ſaid of S[illegible: 1 letter]ianus, that in all his deſigns he found in Tiberius the Emperour ſo great facility and affection to his deſires, that he needed only to ask and give thanks.

Verſ. 5. Commit thy way unto the Lord] Heb. Roll thy way, &c. That is, depend wholly upon him for direction and ſucceſs in all thine undertakings and affairs; eaſing thy minde to him by prayer,Volve, i. e. omnem neceſſitatem in cum exoneres. Kimchi. and caſting thy ſelf by faith upon his care and conduct; Caſt thy burden upon the Lord, ſaith David elſewhere.

Truſt alſo in him] Things are therefore repeated in this Pſalm, that they may take the better impreſſion, and beget incouragement.

And he ſhall bring it to paſs] It, that is, whatſoever thou committeſt to him.

Verſ. 6. And he ſhall bring forth thy righteouſneſs as the light] God will ſo oyl thy good name that infamy ſhall not ſtick to it. Dirt will ſtick upon a Mud-wall, not ſo upon Marble. But ſay thou be aſperſed, and denigrated by calumnies, and contumelies caſt upon thee, and thou lye under them for a time, as the earth doth under the darkneſs of the night; yet as the morning ſuddenly ariſing driveth away that darkneſs, ſo ſhall God clear up thy wronged innocency; and as the Moon wadeth out of a Cloud, ſo ſhalt thou get over all thy troubles in this kind, or any other; it ſhall be with thee as it was once with Cato (whom Seneca calleth, the lively picture of Vertues) who was thirty two times accuſed in open Court, and as many times cleared and abſolved.

And thy judgements as the noon-day] At the Day of Judgement howſoever, if not ſooner; then there will be a Reſurrection as well of names as bodies.

Verſ. 7. Reſt in the Lord] Heb. Be ſilent to the Lord; Digito compeſce labellum, lay thine hand upon thy mouth when chafing ripe, when ready to let fly at thoſe that wrong thee. The more ſilent the Patient is, the more ſhrill the Wrong will be, as Numb. 12.2. while Moſes is dumb, God ſpeaks; deaf, God hears and ſtirs; the leſs he ſaid and did, the more God ſtruck in for him; and the leſs any man ſtriveth for himſelf, the more is God his Champion; ſo he do it to the Lord, that is, in obedience to him, and not for a name, as ſome Heathens did.

And wait patiently for him] Or, put thy ſelf to pain for him; that is, though it go againſt the hair with thee, and thou finde it hard to ſuffer evil, and to wait patiently for better, yet do it for his ſake, and therein thou ſhalt do thy ſelf no diſſervice at all.

Who bringeth wicked devices to paſs] And pleaſeth himſelf in them, becauſe for preſent he proſpereth; as Dionyſius did in his Sacriledge, becauſe no harm to him followed upon it. Saeculi laetitia, eſt impunita nequitia, ſaith Auſtin.

Verſ. 8. Ceaſe from anger and forſake wrath] Repetitio eſt, ut mag is inculcet, ſaith Vatablus; This precept is doubled and redoubled, that we may the better retain and practiſe it. Angry a man may be, and muſt be at evil-doers, in as much as they break Gods Law, Pſal. 119.135. pollute his Name, Ezek. 36.20.23. Rom. 2.23, 24. procure the Judgments of God upon others alſo, Joſh. 22.18. pull down ſwift deſtruction upon themſelves, 2 Pet. 2.1. Romans 2.5. Thus Moſes was angry, Exod. 32.19. and our Saviour, Mark 3.5. yet not ſo angry but that they could at ſome time pity thoſe they were diſpleaſed with, and pray for them too. This they that cannot do, are inordinately and ſinfully angry, and muſt at any rate ſuppreſs ſuch paſſionate diſtempers.

Fret not thy ſelf in any miſe to do evil] And he ſhall have much a do not to overdo, not to do amiſs, that bridleth not his paſſions, for theſe, like heavie bodies down ſteep hills, once in motion, move themſelves, and ſeldom know any ground but the bottom. Ne igitur accendaris irâ ſaltem ad malefaciendum. Kimchi rendreth it, Ne miſce as teipſum, Come not in company with the ungodly, at leaſt to do evil; to do as they do. So to thoſe words in the firſt verſe, Eret net thy ſelf becauſe of evil-doers, the Chaldee addeth, to be like unto them.

Verſ. 9. For evil-doers ſhall be cut off] Yea, they ſhall ſoon be cut off, verſ. 10. and ſo ſhall all ſuch, as having a while fretted at them, do at length revolt to them; as David was ready to do, once at leaſt, Pſal. 73.12, 13, 14. and as ſome others did out and out, as they ſay, verſ. 10. therefore his people return hither to their temporal undoing at leaſt.

But thoſe that wait upon the Lord] For deliverance in due ſeaſon, and for accompliſhment of the Promiſes. All good people are ſuch Expectants, and ſhould they dye in a waiting condition (for comfort, I mean) yet are they bleſſed, becauſe God hath ſaid, Bleſſed are all they that wait for him, Iſa. 3.18.

They ſhall inherit the earth] Having a right to all, as Heirs of the World together with faithful Abraham, Rom. 4. and although it be detained from them for a while, as the promiſed Land was from the Iſraelites, by the Amorites, till their ſins were full, Gen. 15.16. yet the Saints ſhall one day have power over all things; and mean while they are ſure of a ſufficiency, if not a ſuperfluity. An Heir during his Minority is many times held to ſtraight allowance, and forced to borrow of Servants: ſo tis with the Saints.

Verſ. 10. For yet a little while and the micked, &c.] Tantillum, tantillum, adhuc pauxillum; wait therefore, and fret not. See verſ. 9. the ſame in effect with this and the next; for more certainty of the matter, and to correct our ſhort-ſpiritedneſs, who would have things done ſtrait upon't, or not at all.

Yea thou ſhalt diligently conſider his place] There is neither root nor branch to be found, tale nor tidings to be heard of him, he is utterly vaniſhed, and baniſhed out of the world.

Verſ. 11. But the meek ſhall inherit the earth] Our Saviour (and probably from hence) ſaith the ſame, Matth. 5.5. See the Notes there, and above, on verſ. 9. of this Pſalm.

And ſhall delight themſelves in the abundance of peace] becauſe cured of the Fret, and well content with their preſent portion; hence that [non-Latin text not transcribed], rectitude of mind, the mother of all true mirth; when the wicked are in a perpetual inquietude, [non-Latin text not transcribed], they are never at reſt.

Verſ. 12. The wicked plotteth againſt the juſt] Plotteth and practiſeth, being ſet on by that old Man-ſlayer, who lendeth the wicked man his ſeven Heads to plot, and his ten Horns to puſh.

And gnaſheth upon him with his teeth] Saying unto him, when he hath laid hold on him, Nunc inveni te, as Kimchi Paraphraſeth. Now I have found you, and ſhall be even with you. Art thou come, thou Villain, ſaid Stephen Gardiner to Doctor Taylour, Martyr, when he firſt appeared before him?Act. and Mo[illegible: 1 letter] How dareſt thou look me in the face for ſhame? Knoweſt thou not who I am? Thus that proud Prelate, gnaſhing his teeth, and boaſting great matters with his tongue, and he was bravely anſwered, as hath been before related.

Verſ. 13, The Lord will laugh at him] See Pſal. 2.4. the righteous alſo ſhall have a time to laugh at him. Pſal. 52.6. and mean while comforteth himſelf with this, that God laugheth at him, and that therefore himſelf hath no great cauſe to cry, ſith riden do irritos reddit, by laughing at them, he blaſteth all their deſigns, and that with diſgrace: men love not to be laughed at.

For he ſeeth that his day is coming] His diſmal day, his Deaths day (which wil alſo be his Doomſ-day) that day wherein God hath determined to ſlay them with their own ſword, and to ſave the Righteous; as it is in the two next verſes. But eſpecially that laſt and great day of the World, wherein Dicetur reprobis Ite, Venite probis.

Verſ. 14. The Wicked have drawn out the ſword, and have bent their how] That they may aſſault the Righteous, both cominus, nearer hand, and eminus, at a diſtance; for which purpoſe they come againſt him (like a walking Armorie) with ſword, how, and other inſtruments of death; as reſolved to kill and ſlay. We are counted as ſheep to the ſlaughter, Rom. 8.

Verſ. 15. Their ſword ſhall enter into their own heart] As did Sauls, and his armour-bearers, 1 Sam. 31. See Pſal. 7.16.

Per quod quis peccat, per idem punitur & ipſe.

And their bows ſhall be broken] Neither their bowes only, but their armes alſo, Verſ. 17. They ſhall utterly be diſarmed and diſabled, when once God takes them to do; which is commonly when they are at the ſtrongeſt, and moſt confident.

Verſ. 16. A little that the Righteous man hath, &c.] Whereas it was ſaid before, The meek ſhall inherit the earth, ſome man might object that ſuch are commonly poor enough; and that's no ſmall affliction, as the Heathens (Menander, Euripides, Alcaeus, &c.) have affirmed; and experience aſſureth it. Hereunto is anſwered, that a little that the Righteous man hath is better, &c. as a box of pearles is more worth than many loads of pibbles. And as a bird with a little eye, and the advantage of a wing to ſoar with, may ſee farre wider than an Ox with a greater; ſo the Righteous with a little eſtate, joyned with faith, tranquillity and devotion, may have more pleaſure, feel more comfort, ſee more of Gods bounty, than one of vaſt poſſeſſions, whoſe heart cannot lift it ſelf above the earth, as One well obſerveth. Some render it thus, Better is the little of one Righteous man, than the plentious Mammon of many Wicked. The Bee is as well (if not better) content with feeding on the dew, or ſucking from a flower, as Behemoth that grazeth on the Mountaines. Here the Pſalmiſt ſpeaketh, ſaith Vatablus, of the ſecret bleſſing of God; Quia etſi in diem victitent, è caelotamen non ſecus ac Manna paſcuntur; for although they have but from hand to mouth, yet they are fed from Heaven, as it were with Manna.

Verſ. 17. For the armes of the wicked ſhall be broken] i.e. His power, valour, all that wherein they think their ſtrength and help ſtandeth. See verſ. 15. the ſtrongeſt ſinew in the arm of fleſh cracks.

But the Lord upholdeth the Righteous▪ ] Though ſeemingly never ſo weak and wealthleſſe.

Verſ. 18. The Lord knoweth the dayes of the upright] In b[illegible: 1 letter]num novit, Pſal. 1.6. id eſt prolongat, ſaith Kimchi; he knoweth, that is, he acknowledgeth, approveth, hath a gracious regard unto their dayes, and the events thereof; he hath decreed to a minute how long they ſhall ſuffer; and what happineſſe ſhall ſucceed their ſufferings.

And their inheritance ſhall be for ever] Here, long; and hereafter, eternal. What they want here, ſhall be there made up abundantly.

Verſ. 19. They ſhall not be aſhamed, &c.] They ſhall hold up their heads, when others droop; neither ſhall they be without comfort in times of common calamity, as Noah was — media tranquillus in unda.

And in the dayes of famin they ſhall be ſatisfied] God will work wonders rather than they ſhall want any thing that is good for them; as he fed the Iſraelites in the Wilderneſſe, Eliah by the Ravens, Jeremy by a ſpecial providence in the ſiege. As Rochel was relieved by an extraordinary ſhoal of fiſh caſt in upon them by divine providence. And as Leiden beſiedged by the Duke of Alva, and forced for their ſuſtenance to ſearch and ſcrape dunghills, to boil old leather, &c. was reſcued by the turning of the Winds, and ſwelling of the Tide, which forced the Duke to raiſe the ſiege and be gone.

Verſ. 20. But the Wicked ſhall periſh] In the midſt of their wealth, and greateſt abundance; their mony ſhall periſh with them.

And the enemies of the Lord] Theſe are worſe than thoſe Wicked aforementioned, ſaith Theodoret; they are ſuch as go on ſtill in their treſpaſſes, Pſal. 68.21.

Shall be as the fat of Lambes] which in ſacrifices was wholly to be burnt and conſumed, Levit. 3.15, 16, 17.

Into ſmoak ſhall they conſume away] Smoak, the higher it aſcendeth, the ſooner it vaniſheth. Quanto fuerit globus ille grandior, tanto vanior, ſaith Auſtin. They ſhall be conſumed in the ſmoak of Gehenna, or Hell, ſaith the Chaldee here.

Verſ. 21. The Wicked borroweth, and payeth not again] Either becauſe he cannot, he is ſo unable; or becauſe he cares not, he is ſo unconſcionable. But in the midſt of his wealth, he is many times wanting; in the fullneſſe of his ſufficiency,Non ſunt [illegible: 1 word] dendo. he is in ſtraits; and to ſupply his neceſſities, ſticketh long in the Uſurers furnace, which leaveth him at laſt neither metall, nor matter.

But the Righteous ſheweth mercy and giveth] Of that which is his own; to which end he hath a great care to pay his debts. When Archb. Cranmer diſcerned the ſtorm which after fell upon him in Queen Maries dayes, he took expreſſe order for the payment of all his debts, which when it was done, a moſt joyfull man was hee. How hoſpitable he was and liberall, Tremelius teſtifieth in his Epiſtle before his comment on Hoſea.

Verſ. 22. For ſuch as be bleſſed of him, &c.] See Verſ. 9. & 11.

Shall be cut off] In hoc ſeculo & futuro, ſaith Kimchi. Or this verſe may be taken as a reaſon of the former, viz. why are Wicked rich men ſo neceſſitated, and Righteous men ſo enabled, enlarged? God curſeth the one, but bleſſeth the other, and that is it which maketh the odds betwixt them.

Verſ. 23. The ſteps of a good man are ordered by the Lord] Heb. The ſteps of a man; for good men only are reckoned of by God, Jer. 5.1. ſo a wife is put for a good wife, Prov. 18.22. A bad wife is but (according to Lamechs ſecond wives name) Zillah, that is, the ſhaddow of a wife. Now as God choſe out the Iſraelites way for them all along the wilderneſſe; ſo he doth ſtill for thoſe that are good, not alwaies the ſhorteſt way, but the ſafeſt; nor alwaies the ſtreighteſt way, but that which moſt conduceth to their journeys end. As therefote Iſrael in the Wilderneſſe, ſo muſt we follow God, though hee ſeem to lead us in and out, backward and forward, as if we were treading a maze.

And he delighteth in his way] His way it is called, for encouragement ſake, though it be God alone who chuſeth and chalketh out his way, yea cauſeth him to keep his Commandements, Ezek. 36. Certum eſt nos facere quod facimus; ſed Ille facit ut faciamus. God doth all our works for us.

Verſ. 24. Though hee fall, hee ſhall not be utterly caſt down] See Prov. 24.16. If he fall, yet he falleth forward; and if he be caſt down, yet he continueth not,Quum ruit [illegible: 1 word] corruit. Vat. So 2 Cor. 4.9. as do the wicked, Ezek. 32.4. whom God caſteth into the briars, and there leaveth them.

For the Lord upholdeth him with his hand] Gods hand is ſtill under his; and his goodneſſe lower than they can fall. His ſupporting grace preſerveth them from utter recidivation; His Almighty power from utter deſtruction.

Verſ. 25. I have been young, &c.] Here he recordeth an experiment of his (ſuch as whereof, Pſal. 119. is moſtly made up) and if other mens experiences agree not altogether with his, it is no wonder; Kings uſe not to mind beggars. Or he might only mean Vagrants; according to that; Let their children bee Vagabonds, and beg their bread. Good men may be compelled to crave their bread, as David himſelf did of Ahimelech the High-Prieſt; as Eliah did of the widdow of Sarepta; as thoſe pauperes de Lugduno, and many others have lived upon almes. But ſeldome or never have good people needed to crave relief of the ungodly.

Yet have I not ſeen the Righteous for ſaken] Left he may be for a time (as the Lion leaveth his whelps till they are almoſt famiſhed, and have wel-nigh killed themſelves with roaring, to make them more hardy and valiant) but never forſaken, no though he beg his bread; becauſe God hath ſaid, I will never leave thee, nor forſake thee. The Righteous is never forſaken, nor his ſeed too, ſaid Mr. Perkins. God may caſt godly Parents into want, but their godly Children ſhall ſurely be bleſſed. Others underſtand by Righteous here, mercifull men, who give almes for the love of God, and therefore come not to poverty, Pſal. 112.5.9. Prov. 11.24, 25. Pſal. 41.1. See Mr. Bradfords ſweet letter to Mr. John Hall and his Wife, Priſoners for the Goſpell. Act. and Mon. 1495.

Verſ. 26. He is over mercifull, and lendeth] Heb. Every day, according to others neceſſitie, and his own ability; for to ſtretch beyond the ſtaple, were to marre all. But he is ever ready to diſtribute, willing to communicate, 1 Tim. 6.17. as Mr. Wiſeheart, the Scotch Martyr,Act. & Mon. 1155. Ib. 1344. whoſe charity had never anend, night, day, nor noon, ſaith Mr. Fox; and Thomas Tomkins, an Engliſh Martyr, very forward to lend, looking for nothing again.

And his ſeed is bleſſed] Heb. Is in the bleſſing, that is, receiveth grace, and communication of all true goodneſſe from God; and praiſes, good-will, and good wiſhes from men.Diod.

Verſ. 27. Depart from evill, and do good] See Pſal. 34.14.

And dwel for evermore] Sine indigentia, ſaith Kimchi, without ſuch indigency and poverty as may drive thee abroad, and make thee beg thy bread. Univerſall Righteouſneſſe ſecureth a man from ſuch ſtraights.

Verſ. 28. For the Lord loveth Judgement] See Pſal. 11.7.

But the ſeed of the Wicked ſhall be cut off] See Job 18.19. with the Note.

Verſ. 29. The Righteous ſhall inherit, &c.] This verſe hath been expounded before, and is here repeated for more aſſurance, Verbatoties inculcata viva ſunt, vera ſunt, ſana ſunt, plana ſunt.

Verſ. 30. The mouth of the righteous ſpeaketh wiſdome] Having ſpoken of the priviledges of the Righteous, he now deſcribeth them; Tales autem ſunt non quicunque nomen Juſtorum praetexunt, &c. Such are not all they that pretend to Righteouſneſſe, or can talk of it; but that can ſpeak of it fruitfully, feelingly, and from an inward Principle: And as he talketh, ſo he walketh, ne dicta fact is erubeſcant, as Tertullian hath it; leſt his life ſhould ſeem to give the lye to his lips.

Verſ. 31. The law of his God is in his heart] He hath a Bible in his head, and another in his heart; he hath a good treaſure within, and therehence bringeth good things; he ſpeaketh not by rote, and as a bungler, or as a Philoſopher only; but by proof, and as one that can ſay, I beleeved, I have felt it, and therefore have I ſpoken.

None of his ſteps ſhall ſlide] How ſhould they, when they walk ſo exactly, and by ſuch a rule? Jeremy holding to it, durſt ſay, Lord if I am deceived, thou haſt deceived mee.

Verſ. 32. The wicked watcheth the righteous] See Pſal. 10.8, 9, 10. with the Notes. Speculatur, he accurately obſerveth; looking this way and that, as a watchman in a watch-Tower. Thus Sauleyed David, and laid out for him. Thus Jeroboam watched thoſe of the ten Tribes that went to Jeruſalem to worſhip, he watched them, and waylaid them, Hoſ. 5.1.

And ſeeketh to ſlay him] All malice is bloody, and there want not thoſe ſtill that carry about Cains bloody club, hating to the death that goodneſſe in another, that they neglect in themſelves.

Verſ. 33. The Lord will not leave him in his hands] For he knoweth how to deliver his, 2 Pet. 3.9. as that Apoſtle could ſay by good experience, Act. 12. when he was inter ſaxum & ſacrum, as they ſay.

Nor condemn him, when he is judged] Heb. condem him for wicked; but clear and acquit him, when falſely accuſed, yea when wrongfully condemned.

Verſ. 34. Wait on the Lord] Bind him not to a day, wake not the Beloved, til he pleaſe.

Keep his way] For out of Gods precincts, out of his protection,

When the Wicked are cut off, thou ſhall ſee it] See and ſmile, look and laugh, Pſal. 52.6, 7. See the Note there.

Verſ. 35. I have ſeem the wicked in great power] Or, Formidable to others; firſt, a terrour, and ſhortly after, a ſcorn.

And spreading himſelf like a green Bay tree] Or, Cedars of Lebanon, as the Greek hath it, i.e. priding himſelf in his great proſperity,

Verſ. 36. Yet be paſſed away, &c.] The Greek and Latine have it, I paſſed by. See verſ. 10. how ſoon and utterly withered and waſted the Fig-tree, Chriſt curſed? ſo forcible is his curſe.

Verſ. 37. Mark the perfect m[illegible: 1 letter]n, &c.] As we muſt treaſure up experiences our ſelves: ſo we muſt ſtir up others to do the like. There is a wo [illegible: 1 letter]o ſuch as conſider not the operation of Gods hands, Iſa. 5.12.

For the end of that man is peace] Though his beginning and middle may bee troubleſome, yet his end (his after-and at leaſt) ſhall be peace. He ſhall by death enter into peace, reſt in his bed, Iſa. 57.2.

Verſ. 38. But the tranſgreſſours, &c. Here the end is worſe than the beginning. Sin ever ends tragically.

The end of the wicked ſhall be cut off] Their end is not death but deſtruction; they are killed with death, Rev. 2.23. life and hope end together.

Verſ. 39. But the ſalvation of the righteous, &c.] [illegible: 1 word] ut pa[illegible: 1 letter]o[illegible: 1 letter]i[illegible: 1 letter] [illegible: 1 word] co[illegible: 2 letters]lectar, their ſalvation temporal and eternal is of the Lord: ſo is alſo the deſtruction of the wicked, as is here neceſſarily implied.

He is their ſtrength, &c.] That they faint not; ſink not under the heavieſt burden of their light afflictions, which are but for a moment.

Verſ. 40. And the Lord ſhall help them, &c.] He ſhall, He ſhall, He ſhall. Oh the Rhetorick of God! the ſafety of the Saints! the certainty of the Promiſes!

The Psalm opens with the first precept. It is alas! too common for believers in their hours of adversity to think themselves harshly dealt with when they see persons utterly destitute of religion and honesty, rejoicing in abundant prosperity. Much needed is the command, Fret not thyself because of evildoers. To fret is to worry, to have the heartburn, to fume, to become vexed. Nature is very apt to kindle a fire of jealousy when it sees lawbreakers riding on horses, and obedient subjects walking in the mire: it is a lesson learned only in the school of grace, when one comes to view the most paradoxical providences with the devout complacency of one who is sure that the Lord is righteous in all his acts. It seems hard to carnal judgments that the best meat should go to the dogs, while loving children pine for want of it. Neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. The same advice under another shape. When one is poor, despised, and in deep trial, our old Adam naturally becomes envious of the rich and great; and when we are conscious that we have been more righteous than they, the devil is sure to be at hand with blasphemous reasonings. Stormy weather may curdle even the cream of humanity. Evil men instead of being envied, are to be viewed with horror and aversion; yet their loaded tables, and gilded trappings, are too apt to fascinate our poor half opened eyes. Who envies the fat bullock the ribbons and garlands which decorate him as he is led to the shambles? Yet the case is a parallel one; for ungodly rich men are but as beasts fattened for the slaughter.

For they shall soon be cut down like the grass. The scythe of death is sharpening. Green grows the grass, but quick comes the scythe. The destruction of the ungodly will be speedy, sudden, sure, overwhelming, irretrievable. The grass cannot resist or escape the mower. And wither as the green herb. The beauty of the herb dries up at once in the heat of the sun, and so all the glory of the wicked shall disappear at the hour of death. Death kills the ungodly man like grass, and wrath withers him like hay; he dies, and his name rots. How complete an end is made of the man whose boasts had no end! Is it worth while to waste ourselves in fretting about the insect of an hour, an ephemeral which in the same day is born and dies? Within believers there is a living and incorruptible seed which liveth and abideth for ever; why should they envy mere flesh, and the glory of it, which are but as grass, and the flower thereof?

Trust in the Lord. Here is the second precept, and one appropriate to the occasion. Faith cures fretting. Sight is cross-eyed, and views things only as they seem, hence her envy: faith has clearer optics to behold things as they really are, hence her peace. And do good. True faith is actively obedient. Doing good is a fine remedy for fretting. There is a joy in holy activity which drives away the rust of discontent. So shalt thou dwell in the land. In "the land" which floweth with milk and honey; the Canaan of the covenant. Thou shalt not wander in the wilderness of murmuring, but abide in the promised land of content and rest. "We which have believed do enter into rest." Very much of our outward depends upon the inward: where there is heaven in the heart there will be heaven in the house. And verily thou shalt be fed, or shepherded. To integrity and faith necessaries are guaranteed. The good shepherd will exercise his pastoral care over all believers. In truth they shall be fed, and fed on truth. The promise of God shall be their perpetual banquet; they shall neither lack in spirituals nor in temporals. Some read this as an exhortation, "Feed on truth; " certainly this is good cheer, and banishes for ever the hungry heart burnings of envy.

There is an ascent in this third precept. He who was first bidden not to fret, was then commanded actively to trust, and now is told with holy desire to delight in God. Delight thyself also in the Lord. Make Jehovah the joy and rejoicing of thy spirit. Bad men delight in carnal objects; do not envy them if they are allowed to take their fill in such vain idols; look thou to thy better delight, and fill thyself to the full with thy more sublime portion. In a certain sense imitate the wicked; they delight in their portion —take care to delight in yours, and so far from envying you will pity them. There is no room for fretting if we remember that God is ours, but there is every incentive to sacred enjoyment of the most elevated and ecstatic kind. Every name, attribute, word, or deed of Jehovah, should be delightful to us, and in meditating thereon our soul should be as glad as is the epicure who feeds delicately with a profound relish for his dainties. And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. A pleasant duty is here rewarded with another pleasure. Men who delight in God desire or ask for nothing but what will please God; hence it is safe to give them carte blanche. Their will is subdued to God's will, and now they may have what they will. Our innermost desires are here meant, not our casual wishes; there are many things which nature might desire which grace would never permit us to ask for; these deep, prayerful, asking desires are those to which the promise is made.

Commit thy way unto the Lord. Roll the whole burden of life upon the Lord. Leave with Jehovah not thy present fretfulness merely, but all thy cares; in fact, submit the whole tenor of thy way to him. Cast away anxiety, resign thy will, submit thy judgment, leave all with the God of all. What a medicine is this for expelling envy! What a high attainment does this fourth precept indicate! How blessed must he be who lives every day in obedience to it! Trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. Our destiny shall be joyfully accomplished if we confidently entrust all to our Lord. We may serenely sing —

"Thy way, not mine, O Lord,

However dark it be;

O lead me by thine own right hand,

Choose out the path for me."

"Smooth let it be or rough,

It will be still the best;

Winding or straight, it matters not,

It leads me to thy rest."

"I dare not choose my lot,

I would not if I might;

But choose Thou for me, O my God,

So shall I walk aright."

"Take thou my cup, and it

With joy or sorrow fill;

As ever best to thee may seem,

Choose thou my good and ill."

The ploughman sows and harrows, and then leaves the harvest to God. What can he do else? He cannot cover the heavens with clouds, or command the rain, or bring forth the sun or create the dew. He does well to leave the whole matter with God; and so to all of us it is truest wisdom, having obediently trusted in God, to leave results in his hands, and expect a blessed issue.

And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light. In the matter of personal reputation we may especially be content to be quiet, and leave our vindication with the Judge of all the earth. The more we fret in this case the worse for us. Our strength is to sit still. The Lord will clear the slandered. If we look to his honour, he will see to ours. It is wonderful how, when faith learns to endure calumny with composure, the filth does not defile her, but falls off like snowballs from a wall of granite. Even in the worst cases, where a good name is for awhile darkened, Providence will send a clearing like the dawning light, which shall increase until the man once censured shall be universally admired. And thy judgment as the noonday. No shade of reproach shall remain. The man shall be in his meridian of splendour. The darkness of his sorrow and his ill repute shall both flee away.

Rest in the Lord. This fifth is a most divine precept, and requires much grace to carry it out. To hush the spirit, to be silent before the Lord, to wait in holy patience the time for clearing up the difficulties of Providence —that is what every gracious heart should aim at. "Aaron held his peace:" "I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it." A silent tongue in many cases not only shows a wise head, but a holy heart. And wait patiently for him. Time is nothing to him; let it be nothing to thee. God is worth waiting for. "He never is before his time, he never is too late." In a story we wait for the end to clear up the plot; we ought not to prejudge the great drama of life, but stay till the closing scene, and see to what a finis the whole arrives. Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. There is no good, but much evil, in worrying your heart about the present success of graceless plotters: be not enticed into premature judgments —they dishonour God, they weary yourself. Determine, let the wicked succeed as they may, that you will treat the matter with indifference, and never allow a question to be raised as to the righteousness and goodness of the Lord. What if wicked devices succeed and your own plans are defeated! there is more of the love of God in your defeats than in the successes of the wicked.

Cease from anger and forsake wrath. Especially anger against the arrangements of Providence, and jealousies of the temporary pleasures of those who are so soon to be banished from all comfort. Anger anywhere is madness, here it is aggravate insanity. Yet since anger will try to keep us company, we must resolvedly forsake it. Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. By no reasonings and under no circumstances be led into such a course. Fretfulness lies upon the verge of great sin. Many who have indulged a murmuring disposition have at last come to sin, in order to gain their fancied rights. Beware of carping at others, study to be yourself found in the right way; and as you would dread outward sin, tremble at inward repining.

For evil doers shall be cut off. Their death shall be a penal judgment; not a gentle removal to a better state, but an execution in which the axe of justice will be used. But those that wait upon the Lord —those who in patient faith expect their portion in another life —they shall inherit the earth. Even in this life they have the most of real enjoyment, and in the ages to come theirs shall be the glory and the triumph. Passion, according to Bunyan's parable, has his good things first, and they are soon over; Patience has his good things last, and they last for ever.

For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be. When bad men reach to greatness, the judgments of God frequently sweep them away; their riches melt, their power decays, their happiness turns to wretchedness; they themselves cease any longer to be numbered with the living. The shortness of life makes us see that the glitter of the wicked great is not true gold. O wherefore, tried believer, dost thou envy one who in a little while will lie lower than the dust? Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. His house shall be empty, his chair of office vacant, his estate without an owner; he shall be utterly blotted out, perhaps cut off by his own debauchery, or brought to a deathbed of penury by his own extravagance. Gone like a passing cloud —forgotten as a dream —where are his boastings and hectorings, and where the pomp which made poor mortals think the sinner blest?

But the meek shall inherit the earth. Above all others they shall enjoy life. Even if they suffer, their consolations shall overtop their tribulations. By inheriting the land is meant obtaining covenant privileges and the salvation of God. Such as are truly humble shall take their lot with the rest of the heirs of grace, to whom all good things come by a sacred birthright. And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Peace they love and peace they shall have. If they find not abundance of gold, abundance of peace will serve their turn far better. Others find joy in strife, and thence arises their misery in due time, but peace leads on to peace, and the more a man loves it the more shall it come to him. In the halcyon period of the latter days, when universal peace shall make glad the earth, the full prophetic meaning of words like these will be made plain.

Verses 12-15. Here is the portrait of a proud oppressor armed to the teeth.

The wicked plotteth against the just. Why can he not let the good man alone? Because there is enmity between the serpent's seed and the seed of the woman. Why not attack him fairly? Why plot and scheme? Because it is according to the serpent's nature to be very subtle. Plain sailing does not suit those who are on board of "The Apollyon." And gnashed upon him with his teeth. The wicked show by their gestures what they would do if they could; if they cannot gnaw they will gnash; if they may not bite they will at least bark. This is precisely what the graceless world did with "that just One, "the Prince of Peace. Yet he took no vengeance upon them, but like a silent lamb received injuries in patience.

The Lord shall laugh at him. The godly man needs not trouble himself, but leave well deserved vengeance to be dealt out by the Lord, who will utterly deride the malice of the good man's enemies. Let the proud scorner gnash his teeth and foam at the mouth; he has one to deal with who will look down upon him and his ravings with serene contempt. For he seeth that his day is coming. The evil man does not see how close his destruction is upon his heels; he boasts of crushing others when the foot of justice is already uplifted to trample him as the mire of the streets. Sinners, in the hand of an angry God, and yet plotting against his children! Poor souls, thus to run upon the point of Jehovahs's spear.

The wicked have drawn out the sword. They hold their weapon out of its sheath, and watch for a time to use it. And have bent their bow. One weapon is not enough, they carry another ready for action. They carry so strong a bow that they have trodden upon it to bend it —they will lose nothing for want of force or readiness. To cast down the poor and needy. These are their game, the objects of their accursed malice. These cowards attack not their equals, but seek out those excellent ones who, from the gentleness of their spirits and the poverty of their estates, are not able to defend themselves. Note how our meek and lowly Lord was beset by cruel foes, armed with all manner of weapons to slay him. And to slay such as be of upright conversation. Nothing short of the overthrow and death of the just will content the wicked. The sincere and straightforward are hated by the crafty schemers who delight in unrighteousness. See, then, the enemies of the godly doubly armed, and learn how true were our Lord's words, "If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of this world, but I have chosen you our of the world, therefore the world hateth you."

Their sword shall enter into their own heart. Like Haman they shall be hanged upon the gallows built by themselves for Mordecai. Hundreds of times has this been the case. Saul, who sought to slay David, fell on his own sword; and the bow, his favourite weapon, the use of which he taught the children of Israel, was not able to deliver him on Gilboa. And their bows shall be broken. Their inventions of evil shall be rendered useless. Malice outwits itself. It drinks the poisoned cup which it mixed for another, and burns itself in the fire which it kindled for its neighbour. Why need we fret at the prosperity of the wicked when they are so industriously ruining themselves while they fancy they are injuring the saints? The next nine verses mainly describe the character and blessedness of the godly, and the light is brought out with a few black touches descriptive of the wicked and their doom.

A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. This is a fine proverb. The little of one good man is contrasted with the riches of many wicked, and so the expression is rendered the more forcible. There is more happiness in the godly dinner of herbs than in the stalled ox of profane rioters. In the original there is an allusion to the noise of a multitude, as if to hint at the turmoil and hurly burly of riotous wealth, and to contrast it with the quiet of the humbler portion of the godly. We would sooner hunger with John than feast with Herod; better feed on scant fare with the prophets in Obadiah's cave than riot with the priests of Baal. A man's happiness consists not in the heaps of gold which he has in store. Content finds multum in parvo, while for a wicked heart the whole world is too little.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken. Their power to do mischief shall be effectually taken away, for the arms which they lifted up against God shall be crushed even to the bone. God often makes implacable men incapable men. What is a more contemptible sight than toothless malice, armless malevolence! But the Lord upholdeth the righteous. Their cause and course shall be safe, for they are in good keeping. The sword of two edges smites the wicked and defends the just.

The Lord knoweth the days of the upright. His foreknowledge made him laugh at the proud, but in the case of the upright he sees a brighter future, and treats them as heirs of salvation. Ever is this our comfort, that all events are known to our God, and that nothing in our future can take him at unawares. No arrow can pierce us by accident, no danger smite us by stealth; neither in time nor eternity can any unforeseen ill occur to us. Futurity shall be but a continual development of the good things which the Lord has laid up in store for us. And their inheritance shall be for ever. Their inheritance fades not away. It is entailed, so that none cam deprive them of it, and preserved, so that none shall destroy it. Eternity is the peculiar attribute of the believer's portion: what they have on earth is safe enough, but what they shall have in heaven is theirs without end.

They shall not be ashamed in the evil time. Calamities will come, but deliverances will come also. As the righteous never reckoned upon immunity from trouble, they will not be disappointed when they are called to take their share of it, but the rather they will cast themselves anew upon their God, and prove again his faithfulness and love. God is not a friend in the sunshine only, he is a friend indeed and a friend in need. And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. Their barrel of meal and cruse of oil shall last out the day of distress, and if ravens do not bring them bread and meat, the supply of their needs shall come in some other way, for their bread shall be given them. Our Lord stayed himself upon this when he hungered in the wilderness, and by faith he repelled the tempter; we too may be enabled not to fret ourselves in any wise to do evil by the same consideration. If God's providence is our inheritance, we need not worry about the price of wheat. Mildew, and smut, and bent, are all in the Lord's hands. Unbelief cannot save a single ear from being blasted, but faith, if it do not preserve the crop, can do what is better, namely, preserve our joy in the Lord.

But the wicked shall perish. Whatever phantom light may mock their present, their future is black with dark, substantial night. Judgment has been given against them, they are but reserved for execution. Let them flaunt their scarlet and fine linen, and fare sumptuously every day; the sword of Damocles is above their heads, and if their wits were a little more awake, their mirth would turn to misery. The enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs. As the sacrificial fat was all consumed upon the altar, so shall the ungodly utterly vanish from the place of their honour and pride. How can it be otherwise? If the stubble dares to contend with the flame, to what end can it hope to come? They shall consume. As dry wood, as heaps of leaves, as burning coals, they shall soon be gone, and gone altogether, for into smoke shall they consume away. Sic transit gloria mundi. A puff is the end of all their puffing. Their fuming ends in smoke. They made themselves fat, and perished in their own grease. Consumers of the good they tried to be, and consumed they shall be.

The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again. Partly because he will not, but mainly because he cannot. Want follows upon waste, and debt remains undischarged. Often are the wicked thus impoverished in this life. Their wanton extravagance brings them down to the usurer's door and to the bankrupt's suit. But the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth, Mercy has given to him, and therefore he gives in mercy. He is generous and prosperous. He is not a borrower, but a giver. So far as the good man can do it, he lends an ear to the requests of need, and instead of being impoverished by what he imparts, he grows richer, and is able to do more. He does not give to encourage idleness, but in real mercy, which supposes real need. The text suggests to us how much better it generally is to give than to lend. Generally, lending comes to giving in the end, and it is as well to anticipate the fact, and by a little liberality forestall the inevitable. If these two sentences describe the wicked and the righteous, the writer of these lines has reason to know that in and about the city of London the wicked are very numerous.

For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth. God's benediction is true wealth after all. True happiness, such as the covenant secures to all the chosen of heaven, lies wrapped up in the divine favour. And they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. His frown is death; nay, more, It is hell.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. All his course of life is graciously ordained, and in lovingkindness all is fixed, settled, and maintained. No reckless fate, no fickle chance rules us; our every step is the subject of divine decree. He delighteth in his way. As parents are pleased with the tottering footsteps of their babes. All that concerns a saint is interesting to his heavenly Father. God loves to view the holy strivings of a soul pressing forward to the skies. In the trials and the joys of the faithful, Jesus has fellowship with them, and delights to be their sympathising companion.

Though he fall. Disasters and reverses may lay him low; he may, like Job, be stripped of everything; like Joseph, be put in prison; like Jonah, be cast into the deep. He shall not be utterly cast down. He shall not be altogether prostrate. He shall be brought on his knees, but not on his face; or, if laid prone for a moment, he shall be up again ere long. No saint shall fall finally or fatally. Sorrow may bring us to the earth, and death may bring us to the grave, but lower we cannot sink, and out of the lowest of all we shall arise to the highest of all. For the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. Condescendingly, with his own hand, God upholds his saints; he does not leave them to mere delegated agency, he affords personal assistance. Even in our falls the Lord gives a measure of sustaining. Where grace does not keep from going down, it shall save from keeping down. Job had double wealth at last, Joseph reigned over Egypt, Jonah was safely landed. It is not that the saints are strong, or wise, or meritorious, that therefore they rise after every fall, but because God is their helper, and therefore none can prevail against them.

This was David's observation, I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. It is not my observation just as it stands, for I have relieved the children of undoubtedly good men, who have appealed to me as common mendicants. But this does not cast a doubt upon the observation of David. He lived under a dispensation more outward, and more of this world than the present rule of personal faith. Never are the righteous forsaken; that is a rule without exception. Seldom indeed do their seed beg bread; and although it does occasionally occur, through dissipation, idleness, or some other causes on the part of their sons, yet doubtless it is so rare a thing that there are many alive who never saw it. Go into the union house and see how few are the children of godly parents; enter the gaol and see how much rarer still is the case. Poor minster's sons often become rich. I am not old, but I have seen families of the poor godly become rich, and have seen the Lord reward the faithfulness of the father in the success of the son, so that I have often thought that the best way to endow one's seed with wealth is to become poor for Christ's sake. In the Indian mission of the "Baptist Missionary Society, "this is abundantly illustrated.

He is ever merciful, and lendeth. The righteous are constantly under generous impulses; they do not prosper through parsimony, but through bounty. Like the bounteous giver of all good, of whom they are the beloved sons, they delight in doing good. How stingy covetous professors can hope for salvation is a marvel to those who read such verses as this in the Bible. And his seed is blessed. God pays back with interest in the next generation. Where the children of the righteous are not godly, there must be some reason for it in parental neglect, or some other guilty cause. The friend of the father is the friend of the family. The God of Abraham is the God of Isaac and of Jacob.

Verses 27-29. Here we have the seventh precept, which takes a negative and positive form, and is the quintessence of the entire Psalm

Depart from evil, and do good. We must not envy the doers of evil, but depart altogether from their spirit and example. As Lot left Sodom without casting a look behind, so must we leave sin. No truce or parley is to be held with sin, we must turn away from it without hesitation, and set ourselves practically to work in the opposite direction. He who neglects to do good will soon fall into evil. And dwell for evermore. Obtain an abiding and quiet inheritance. Short lived are the gains and pleasures of evil, but eternal are the rewards of grace.

For the Lord loveth judgment. The awarding of honour to whom honour is due is God's delight, especially when the upright man has been traduced by his fellow men. It must be a divine pleasure to right wrongs, and to defeat the machinations of the unjust. The great Arbiter of human destinies is sure to deal out righteous measure both to rich and poor, to good and evil, for such judgment is his delight. And forsaketh not his saints. This would not be right, and, therefore, shall never be done. God is as faithful to the objects of his love as he is just towards all mankind. They are preserved for ever. By covenant engagements their security is fixed, and by suretyship fulfilments that safety is accomplished; come what may, the saints are preserved in Christ Jesus, and because he lives, they shall live also. A king will not lose his jewels, nor will Jehovah lose his people. As the manna in the golden pot, which else had melted, was preserved in the ark of the covenant beneath the mercyseat, so shall the faithful be preserved in the covenant by the power of Jesus their propitiation. But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. Like the house of Jeroboam and Ahab, of which not a dog was left. Honour and wealth ill gotten seldom reach the third generation; the curse grows ripe before many years have passed, and falls upon the evil house. Among the legacies of wicked men the surest entail is a judgment on their family.

The righteous shall inherit the land. As heirs with Jesus Christ, the Canaan above, which is the antitype of "the land, " shall be theirs with all covenant blessing. And dwell therein for ever. Tenures differ, but none can match the holding which believers have of heaven. Paradise is theirs for ever by inheritance, and they shall live for ever to enjoy it. Who would not be a saint on such terms? Who would fret concerning the fleeting treasures of the godless?

The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom. Where the whole Psalm is dedicated to a description of the different fates of the just and the wicked, it was meet to give a test by which they could be known. A man's tongue is no ill index of his character. The mouth betrays the heart. Good men, as a rule, speak that which is to edifying, sound speech, religious conversation, consistent with the divine illumination which they have received. Righteousness is wisdom in action, hence all good men are practically wise men, and well may the speech be wise. His tongue talketh of judgment. He advocates justice, gives an honest verdict on things and men, and he foretells that God's judgments will come upon the wicked, as in the former days. His talk is neither foolish nor ribald, neither vapid nor profane. Our conversation is of far more consequence than some men imagine.

The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. The best thing in the best place, producing the best results. Well might the man's talk be so admirable when his heart was so well stored. To love holiness, to have the motives and desires sanctified, to be in one's inmost nature obedient to the Lord —this is the surest method of making the whole run of our life efficient for its great ends, and even for securing the details of it, our steps from any serious mistake. To keep the even tenor of one's way, in such times as these, is given only to those whose hearts are sound towards God, who can, as in the text, call God their God. Policy slips and trips, it twists and tacks, and after all is worsted in the long run, but sincerity plods on its plain pathway and reaches the goal.

The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. If it were not for the laws of the land, we should soon see a massacre of the righteous. Jesus was watched by his enemies, who were thirsting for his blood: his disciples must not look for favour where their Master found hatred and death.

The Lord will not leave him in his hand. God often appears to deliver his servants, and when he does not do so in this life as to their bodies, he gives their souls such joy and peace that they triumphantly rise beyond their tormentors' power. We may be in the enemy's hand for awhile, as Job was, but we cannot be left there. Nor condemn him when he is judged. Time shall reverse the verdict of haste, or else eternity shall clear away the condemnation of time. In due season just men will be justified. Temporary injustices are tolerated, in the order of Providence, for purposes most wise; but the bitter shall not always be called sweet, nor light for ever be traduced as darkness; the right shall appear in due season; the fictitious and pretentious shall be unmasked, and the real and true shall be revealed. If we have done faithfully, we may appeal from the petty sessions of society to the solemn assize of the great day.

Wait on the Lord. We have here the eighth precept, and it is a lofty eminence to attain to. Tarry the Lord's leisure. Wait in obedience as a servant, in hope as an heir, in expectation as a believer. This little word "wait" is easy to say, but hard to carry out, yet faith must do it. And keep his way. Continue in the narrow path; let no haste for riches or ease cause unholy action. Let your motto be, "On, on, on." Never flag, or dream of turning aside. "He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." And he shall exalt thee to inherit the land. Thou shalt have all of earthly good which is really good, and of heavenly good there shall be no stint. Exaltation shall be the lot of the excellent. When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. A sight how terrible and how instructive! What a rebuke for fretfulness! what an incentive to gratitude! My soul, be still, as you foresee the end, the awful end of the Lord's enemies.

A second time David turns to his diary, and this time in poetic imagery tells us of what he had observed. It were well if we too took notes of divine providences. I have seen the wicked in great power. The man was terrible to others, ruling with much authority, and carrying things with a high hand, a Caesar in might, a Croesus in wealth. And spreading himself like a green bay tree. Adding house to house and field to field, rising higher and higher in the state. He seemed to be ever verdant like a laurel, he grew as a tree in its own native soil, from which it had never been transplanted. No particular tree is here meant, a spreading beech or a wide expanding oak may serve us to realize the picture; it is a thing of earth, whose roots are in the clay; its honours are fading leaves; and though its shadow dwarfs the plants which are condemned to pine beneath it, yet it is itself a dying things as the feller's axe shall prove. In the noble tree, which claims to be king of the forest, behold the grandeur of the ungodly today; wait awhile and wonder at the change, as the timber is carried away, and the very root torn from the ground.

Yet he passed away. Tree and man both gone, the son of man as surely as the child of the forest. What clean sweeps death makes! And, lo, he was not. To the surprise of all men the great man was gone, his estates sold, his business bankrupt, his house alienated, his name forgotten, and all in a few months. Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. Moved by curiosity, if we enquire for the ungodly, they have left no trace; like birds of ill omen none desire to remember them. Some of the humblest of the godly are immortalized, their names are imperishably fragrant in the church, while of the ablest of infidels and blasphemers hardly their names are remembered beyond a few years. Men who were in everybody's mouths but yesterday are forgotten tomorrow, for only virtue is immortal.

Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright. After having watched with surprise the downfall of the wicked, give your attention to the sincerely godly man, and observe the blessed contrast. Good men are men of mark, and are worth our study. Upright men are marvels of grace, and worth beholding. For the end of that man is peace. The man of peace has an end of peace. Peace without end comes in the end to the man of God. His way may be rough, but it leads home. With believers it may rain in the morning, thunder at midday, and pour in torrents in the afternoon, but it must clear up ere the sun goes down. War may last till our last hour, but then we shall hear the last of it.

But the transgressors shall be destroyed together. A common ruin awaits those who are joined in common rebellion. The end of the wicked shall be cut off. Their time shall be shortened, their happiness shall be ended, their hopes for ever blasted, their execution hastened on. Their present is shortened by their sins; they shall not live out half their days. They have no future worth having, while the righteous count their future as their true heritage.

But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. Sound doctrine this. The very marrow of the gospel of free grace. By salvation is meant deliverance of every kind; not only the salvation which finally lands us in glory, but all the minor rescues of the way; these are all to be ascribed unto the Lord, and to him alone. Let him have glory from those to whom he grants salvation. He is their strength in the time of trouble. While trouble overthrows the wicked, it only drives the righteous to their strong Helper, who rejoices to uphold them.

And the Lord shall help them. In all future time Jehovah will stand up for his chosen. Our Great Ally will bring up his forces in the heat of the battle. He shall deliver them from the wicked. As he rescued Daniel from the lions, so will he preserve his beloved from their enemies; they need not therefore fret, nor be discouraged. And save them, because they trust in him. Faith shall ensure they safety of the elect. It is the mark of the sheep by which they shall be separated from the goats. Not their merit, but their believing, shall distinguish them. Who would not try the walk of faith? Whoever truly believes in God will be no longer fretful against the apparent irregularities of this present life, but will rest assured that what is mysterious is nevertheless just, and what seems hard, is, beyond a doubt, ordered in mercy. So the Psalm ends with a note which is the death knell of the unhallowed disquietude with which the Psalm commenced. Happy they who can thus sing themselves out of ill frames into gracious conditions.

Whole Psalm. The righteous are preserved in Christ with a special preservation, and in a peculiar safety. In the thirty-seventh Psalm this point is excellently and largely handled, both by direct proof, and by answer to all the usual objections against their safety. That they shall be preserved is affirmed, Ps 37:3,17,23,25,32. The objections answered are many.

Objection 1. Wicked men flourish. Solution. A righteous man should never grieve at that, for "they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb." Ps 37:2.

Objection 2. Righteous men are in distress. Solution —Ps 37:6. The night of their adversity will be turned into the light of prosperity; and as surely as they can believe when it is night that it shall be day, so surely may they be persuaded when crosses are upon them, that comfort and deliverance shall come.

Objection 3. But there are great plots laid against the righteous, and they are pursued with great malice, and their intended ruin is come almost to the very issue. Solution —Ps 37:12-15. The Lord sees all the plots of wicked men, and laughs at their spiteful and foolish malice; while they are busy to destroy the righteous, and hope to have a day against them, "The Lord seeth that their own day is coming upon them, even a day of destruction, a day of great judgment and eternal misery; "their bow shall be broken, and the sword that they have drawn shall enter into their own heart.

Objection 4. But the just have but small means. Solution —Ps 37:16-17. "A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous."

Objection 5. Heavy times are like to befall them. Solution —Ps 37:19. "They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall have enough."

Objection 6. But the wicked wax fatter and fatter, and they prevail in vexing the righteous. Solution —Ps 37:20. Indeed the wicked are fat, but it is but "the fat of lambs, "their prosperity shall soon melt; and as they be like smoke in vexing the godly, so shall they be like smoke in vanishing away.

Objection 7. But the righteous do fall. Solution —Ps 37:24. Though he do fall, yet he falls not finally, nor totally, for he "is not utterly cast down; "and besides, there is an upholding providence of God in all the falls of the righteous.

Objection 8. We see some wicked men that do not so fall into adversity, but rather are in prosperity to their dying days. Solution —Ps 37:28. Though they do, yet, "their seed shall be cut off."

Objection 9. But some wicked men are strong yet, and in their seed spread also. Solution —Ps 37:35-36. Note also that these "spreading bay trees" many times "soon pass away; "and they and their houses are sometimes "utterly cut off."

Objection 10. But upright men are under many and long crosses. Solution —Ps 37:37. Yet "his end is peace."

Objection 11. But nobody stands for the godly when they come into question. Solution —Ps 37:39-40. "Their salvation is of the Lord; "he is their strength, he will help them and deliver them, etc.

But if we would be thus delivered, observe: 1. That we must not unthankfully fret at God's providence Ps 37:1. 2. We must "trust in the Lord and do good" Ps 37:3. 3. We must "delight ourselves in the Lord, "and not place our contentment on earthly things Ps 37:4. 4. We must "commit our ways to God" Ps 37:5. 5. We must get patience and humble affections Ps 37:7-11. 6. We must be of upright conversation Ps 37:14. 7. We must be merciful Ps 37:25-26. 8. We must "speak righteous things, "and get "the law into our hearts" Ps 37:30-31. 9. We must "keep our way, "and "wait on God" and not use ill means. Nicolas Byfield.

Whole Psalm. This Psalm may well be styled, The good man's cordial in bad times; a sovereign plaister for the plague of discontent; or, a choice antidote against the poison of impatience. Nathaniel Hardy, in a Funeral Sermon, 1649.

Whole Psalm. This Psalm very much reminds one in its construction of the sententious and pithy conciseness of the Book of Proverbs. It does not contain any prayer, nor any direct allusion to David's own circumstances of persecution or distress. It is rather the utterance of sound practical wisdom and godliness from the lips of experience and age, such as we might suppose an elder of the church, or a father of a family, to let fall as he sat with his household gathered around him, and listening to his earnest and affectionate admonitions. Barton Bouchier.

Whole Psalm. The present Psalm is one of the alphabetical Psalms, it is called "Providentiae speculum, "by Tertullian; "Potio contra murmur, "by Isidore; "Vestis piorum, "by Luther. Christopher Wordsworth.

Fret, or, inflame not, burn not thyself with anger or grief. John Diodati.

Neither be thou envious, etc. Queen Elizabeth envied the milkmaid when she was in prison; but if she had known what a glorious reign she should have had afterwards for forty-four years, she would not have envied her. And as little needeth a godly man, though in misery, to envy a wicked man in the ruff of all his prosperity and jollity, considering what he hath in hand, much more what he hath in hope. John Trapp.

Would it not be accounted folly in a man that is heir to many thousands per annum that he should envy a stage player, clothed in the habit of a king, and yet not heir to one foot of land? who, though he have the form, respect, and apparel of a king or nobleman, yet he is, at the same time, a very beggar, and worth nothing? Thus, wicked men, though they are arrayed gorgeously, and fare deliciously, wanting nothing, and having more that heart can wish, yet they are but only possessors: the godly Christian is the heir. What good doth all their prosperity do them? It does but hasten their ruin, not their reward. The ox that is the labouring ox is the longer lived than the ox that is in the pasture; the very putting of him there doth but hasten his slaughter; and when God puts the wicked men into fat pastures, into places of honour and power, it is but to hasten their ruin. Let no man, therefore, fret himself because of evil doers, nor be envious at the prosperity of the wicked; for the candle of the wicked shall be put into everlasting darkness; they shall soon be cut off, and wither as a green herb. Ludovic de Carbone, quoted by John Spencer.

Cut down like the grass, with a scythe, and even at one blow. Thomas Wilcocks.

Wither. O bitter word, which will make the ears of them that hear it to tingle! O sentence intolerable, which deprives sinners of all good things, and bringeth them to all woe! The Lord sometime accursed the fig tree, and immediately, not only the leaves, but also the body and root were wholly withered: even so, that fearful curse of the last day shall be no less effectual; for on whomsoever it falleth is shall so scorch them, and shall so make them destitute of God's grace, that they shall never more be able to do, to speak, think, or to hope for any good thing. Thomas Tymme.

Green herb. We cannot gather riper fruit of patience from any tree than is found upon the low shrubs of man's short life; for if that fretting canker of envy at the prosperity of the wicked have overrun thy mind, a malady from which the saints have no shelter to be freed, out of this apothecary's shop take antidote; either thy time is short to behold it, or theirs shorter to enjoy is; "they are set in slippery places, and are suddenly destroyed, "Ps 73:18; "They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave, " Job 21:13; They shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Edmund Layfield's Sermon, entitled "The Mappe of Man's Mortality and Vanity", 1630.

Sometimes the wicked, like the green herb, wither in their spring, they fall in their rise, they perish in the beginnings of their mischievous designs; but if they do come to a full growth, they grow but to harvest, the fit season of their cutting off. Robert Mossom.

Note well the double precept trust and do. This is the true order, the two must go together, the one produces, the other proves; the promise is to both. C. H. S.

So shall thou dwell in the land, etc. Thou shalt have a settlement, a quiet settlement, and a maintenance, a comfortable maintenance: Verily thou shalt be fed; some read it, Thou shalt be fed by faith, as the just are said to live by faith, and it is good living, good feeding upon the promises. Verily thou shalt be fed, as Elijah in the famine, with what is needful for thee. God himself is a shepherd, a feeder to all those that trust in him, Ps 23:1. Matthew Henry.

So shalt thou dwell in the land, etc. The land of Canaan was considered as the sum of earthly, and the type of heavenly felicity: to be provided for in the Lord's land, and there to dwell under his protection, near his ordinances, and among his people, was all that the genuine Israelite could desire. Thomas Scott (1744-1821) in loc.

Thou shalt be fed. A manner of speech taken from cattle feeding securely, under the conduct and keeping of a good shepherd. Henry Ainsworth.

Thou shalt be fed. Fed in plenty. Thomas Secker (Archbishop), 1768.

Fed in security. John Parkhurst.

Note thy part and God's part. Do thou delight, and he will give. C. H. S.

How much grace and love breathes in these words, Delight thyself also in the Lord! Trust in him was recommended before, and now, this being added also, how plain is it that your ease and rest is the thing designed! Is it fit to receive so much kindness with neglect? Again, he delights in you; I speak to such of whom this may be supposed. And it is indefinitely said, "His delights were with the sons of men, "Pr 8:31. Think what he is, and what you are; and at once, both wonder and yield. And what else have you to delight in? what thing will you name that shall supply the place of GOD, or be to you in the stead of him? Moreover, who should delight in him but you —his friends, his sons, those of his own house? Think what life and vigour it will infuse into you, and that "the joy of the Lord will be your strength, "Ne 8:10. How pleasantly will you hold on your course, and discharge all the other duties of this your present state? You must serve him. Dare you think of throwing off his yoke? How desirable is it then to take delight in him whom I must serve; which only makes that service acceptable to him, and easy to myself! Further, this is a pleasure none can rob you of; a joy that cannot be taken from you. Other objects of your delight are vanishing daily. Neither men nor devils can ever hinder you delighting in God, if your hearts be so inclined. And were you never brought to take pleasure in any person or thing to which you had a former aversion? One that had wronged you might yet possibly win you by after kindness. Give a reason why you should be more difficult towards the blessed God that never wronged you, and whose way towards you hath constantly imported so much good will! And consider that your condition on earth is such as exposes you to many sufferings and hardships, which, by your not delighting in him, you can never be sure to avoid (for they are things common to men), but which, by your delighting in him, you may be easily able to endure. Besides all this, seriously consider that you must die. You can make no shift to avoid that. How easily tolerable and pleasant will it be to think, then, of going to him with whom you have lived in a delightful communion before! And how dreadful to appear before him to whom your own heart shall accuse you to have been (against all his importunities and allurements) a disaffected stranger! John Howe's "Treatise of Delight in God."

We have in the former part extended the meaning of the words Delight thyself in the Lord, beyond what they seem at first sight literally to signify; so as not to understand them merely as requiring that very single act of delight to be immediately and directly terminated on God himself; but to take them as comprehending all the sum of all holy and religious converse with God, i.e., as it is delightful, or as it is seasoned (intermingled, and as it were besprinkled) with delight; and upon the same account, of all out other converse, so far as it is influenced by religion. And I doubt not, to such as shall attentively have considered what hath been said, it will be thought very reasonable to take them in that latitude; whereof the very letter of the text (as may be alleged for further justification hereof) is most fitly capable. For the particle which we read in the Lord, hath not that signification alone, but signifies also with, or by, or besides, or before, or in presence of, as if it had been said, "Come and sit down with God, retire thyself to him, and solace thyself in the delights which are to be found in his presence and converse, in walking with him, and transacting thy course as before him, and in his sight." As a man may be said to delight himself with a friend that puts himself under his roof, and, besides personal converse with himself, freely enjoys the pleasure of all the entertainments, accommodations, and provisions which he is freely willing to communicate with him, and hath the satisfaction which a sober person would take in observing the rules and order of a well governed house. John Howe.

He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. It shall be unto thee even as thou wilt. It is said of Luther that he could have what he would of Almighty God. What may not a favourite, who hath the royalty of his prince's care, obtain of him? John Trapp.

The desires of thine heart. All the desires of this spiritual seed are of the nature of this seed, namely, substantial, and shall meet with substance. All the desires of natural man, even after God, after Christ, after righteousness, shall burn and perish with him (for they are not the truth, nor do they come from the truth, nor can they reach to the truth;)but all the desires of this spirit shall live with the Spirit of God, in rest and satisfaction for ever. John Pennington, 1656.

The desires of God, and the desires of the righteous, agree in one; they are of one mind in their desires. John Bunyan.

Commit thy way unto the Lord, etc. When we bear the burden of our own affairs ourselves, and are chastised with anxiety and want of success, and with envying the ungodly who prosper better than we do, the best remedy is first to do our duty, as we are enabled in the use of the means, then cast the care of the success over on God, as the ploughman doth when he hath harrowed his land; and let the burden of it rest on God, and let us not take it off him again, but put our mind to rest, resolved to take the harvest in good part, as he shall send it. David Dickson.

Commit thy way unto the Lord, is rendered by the Vulgate, Revela viam Domino, reveal thy way; and by St. Ambrose, understood of revealing our sins to God. Indeed, since it is impossible to cover, why should we not discover our sins? Conceal not that which God knoweth already, and would have thee to make known. It is a very ill office to be the devil's secretary. Oh, break thy league with Satan be revealing his secrets, thy sins, to God. Nathaniel Hardy.

Commit thy way unto. Margin and Hebrew, Roll thy way upon —as one who lays upon the shoulder of one stronger than himself a burden which he is not able to bear. William De Burgh, D.D., in "A Commentary on the Book of Psalms. Dublin:" 1860.

Note the double again, Commit and trust. C. H. S.

He shall bring it to pass. When a hard piece of work is put into the hand of an apprentice for the first assay of his skill, the beholders are justly afraid of a miscarriage in his young and inexperienced hand; but when the worker is an old master of craft, none are afraid but his cunning hand can act again what so oft it hath wrought to the contentment of all the beholders. Were our God a novice in the great art of governing the world, and of the church in the bosom thereof; had he to this day never given any proof of his infinite wisdom, power, and goodness, in turning about the most terrible accidents to the welfare and joy of his saints; we might indeed be amazed whenever we feel ourselves sinking in the dangers wherein the practices of our enemies oft do plunge us over head and ears; but the Lord having given in times past so many documents of his uncontroverted skill and most certain will to bring about all human affairs, as to his own glory, so to the real good of all that love him, it would be in us an impious and unexcusable uncharitableness to suspect the end of any work which he hath begun. Robert Baylie's Sermon before the House of Commons, 1643.

To God thy way commending,

Trust him whose arm of might,

The heavenly circles bending,

Guides every star aright:

The winds, and clouds, and lightning,

By his sure hand are led;

And he will dark shades brightening.

Show thee what path to tread.

Although to make God falter,

The powers of hell combine,

One jot they cannot alter

Of his all wise design:

All projects and volition

Of his eternal mind,

Despite all opposition,

Their due fulfilment find.

No more, then, droop and languish,

Thou sorrow stricken soul;

Even from the depths of anguish,

Whose billows over thee roll,

Thy Father's hand shall draw thee:

In hope and patience stay,

And joy will soon shed over thee

An ever brightening ray.

All faithless murmurs leaving,

Bid them a last good night,

No more thy vexed soul grieving,

Because things seem not right;

Wisely his sceptre wielding,

God sits in regal state,

No power to mortals yielding,

Events to regulate.

Trust with a faith untiring

In thine Omniscient King,

And thou shalt see admiring

What he to light will bring.

Of all thy griefs, the reason

Shall at the last appear:

Why now denied a season,

Will shine in letters clear.

Then raise thine eyes to heaven,

Thou who canst trust his frown;

Thence shall thy meed be given,

The chaplet and the crown:

Thy God the palm victorious

In thy right hand shall plant,

Whilst thou, in accents glorious,

Melodious hymns shall chant. —Paul Gerhard (1606-1676), translated by Frances Elizabeth Cox, in "Hymns from the German, "1864.

To God thy way commending,

Trust him whose arm of might,

The heavenly circles bending,

Guides every star aright:

The winds, and clouds, and lightning,

By his sure hand are led;

And he will dark shades brightening.

Show thee what path to tread.

Although to make God falter,

The powers of hell combine,

One jot they cannot alter

Of his all wise design:

All projects and volition

Of his eternal mind,

Despite all opposition,

Their due fulfilment find.

No more, then, droop and languish,

Thou sorrow stricken soul;

Even from the depths of anguish,

Whose billows over thee roll,

Thy Father's hand shall draw thee:

In hope and patience stay,

And joy will soon shed over thee

An ever brightening ray.

All faithless murmurs leaving,

Bid them a last good night,

No more thy vexed soul grieving,

Because things seem not right;

Wisely his sceptre wielding,

God sits in regal state,

No power to mortals yielding,

Events to regulate.

Trust with a faith untiring

In thine Omniscient King,

And thou shalt see admiring

What he to light will bring.

Of all thy griefs, the reason

Shall at the last appear:

Why now denied a season,

Will shine in letters clear.

Then raise thine eyes to heaven,

Thou who canst trust his frown;

Thence shall thy meed be given,

The chaplet and the crown:

Thy God the palm victorious

In thy right hand shall plant,

Whilst thou, in accents glorious,

Melodious hymns shall chant. —Paul Gerhard (1606-1676), translated by Frances Elizabeth Cox, in "Hymns from the German, "1864.

He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, etc. If thou shouldest be accused as a man of evil designs, let not that trouble thee neither: for though thy fame may be obscured for a time by calumnies and slanders, as the sun is by mists and clouds, yet as that scatters them all at last, so shall thy integrity appear, and shine as bright as the sun at noonday. Symon Patrick.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. There are two words in the original, which express the privilege and the duty of resting on Christ: one implies such a state of acquiescence, as silences the clamours of conscience, and composes the perturbation of the spirit; the other signifies the refreshment and repose of a weary pilgrim, when he arrives at the end of his journey, and is settled for life in a secure, commodious, plentiful habitation. James Hervey.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Take the case of one who, with a load above his strength, has been toiling some steep and broken path, when suddenly he finds it lifted off and transferred to another whose strength he knows to be more than equal to the task, and in whose sympathy he can securely trust. What would his feeling be but one of perfect rest, and calm reliance, and joyous freedom, as they went on their way together? And such is the blessedness of rolling our care upon the Lord —in weakness we are resting on superior strength, in perplexity and doubt we are resting on superior wisdom, in all times of trial and hard service we can stay ourselves on the assurance of his perfect sympathy. The literal meaning of the word rest, is be silent towards the Lord. With the eye fixed on him let all unbelieving thoughts be stilled, such thoughts as rise and rankle in the querulous spirit when it sees only its troubles, and not God in them, when the mists of earth hide from its sight the eternal stars of heaven. Then like Jacob, it may say morosely, "All these things are against me; "or, like Elijah, despondently, "It is enough now, O Lord, take away my life; "or, like Jonah, fretfully, "I do well to be angry." In regard to all such dark and unbelieving suggestions, the heart is to keep silence, to be still and know that he is God; silent as to murmuring, but not silent as to prayer, for in that holy meditative stillness the heart turns to commune with him. What is "resting in God, "but the instinctive movement and upward glance of the spirit to him; the confiding all one's griefs and fears to him, and feeling strengthened, patient, hopeful in the act of doing so! It implies a willingness that he should choose for us, a conviction that the ordering of all that concerns us is safer in his hands than in our own.

A few practical remarks: 1. Our "resting patiently" in the Lord applies only to the trials which he sends, not to the troubles which even Christians often make for themselves. There is a difference in the burdens that come in the way of duty, and those that come through our wandering into other ways. We can roll the one upon the Lord, but with the other our punishment may be to be left to bear them long, and to be bruised in bearing them. 2. The duty here enjoined is to be carried through all our life. We all admit that patient waiting is needed for the great trials of life, but may not acknowledge so readily that it is needed as much for little, daily, commonplace vexations. But these are as much a test of Christian principle as the other. 3. This resting in God is a criterion of a man's spiritual state. It needs a special faculty of discernment, a new sense to be opened in the soul, before our fallen nature can understand or desire it. James D. Burns, M.A.

(first clause). Hold thee still (so it may be translated). And this is the hardest precept that is given to man; insomuch that the most difficult precept of action sinks into nothing when compared with this command to inaction. Jerome.

(first clause). The Hebrew word rendered silent is (owr), dom, from which the English word dumb appears to be derived. The silence here enjoined is opposed to murmuring or complaining. James Anderson, in Calvin's Commentary.

Note again the twin duties, rest and wait.

Bringeth wicked devices to pass. Observe the opposition between this and God's bringing to pass, in verse five. The ground for grief is that the ungodly appear to achieve their end, the reason for comfort is that our end shall be achieved also, and that in the best manner by God himself. C. H. S.

Forsake wrath; which is anger wrought up to a greater degree; and the rather to be shunned and avoided, as being very disagreeable to the character of a good man. Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil; evil may be done by fretting at the prosperity of wicked men, or by imitating them, doing as they do, in hope of being prosperous as they are. John Gill.

They shall inherit the earth. He means that they shall live in such a manner as that the blessing of God shall follow them, even to the grave. John Calvin.

Thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. To wit, because he shall be grubbed up by the roots. Arthur Jackson.

His place...shall not be. The very land he occupied as a home, and the title to which was unimpeachable, is no longer his place. It has passed into other hands. Nothing of all he had on earth is his. He is as poor as the most miserable object that subsisted on alms. William S. Plumer.

The peacock, a glorious fowl, when he beholds that comely fan and circle which he maketh of the beautiful feathers of his tail, he rejoiceth, he setteth, and beholdeth every part thereof: but when he looketh on his feet, which he perceiveth to be black and foul, he by and by, with great misliking, vails his top gallant, and seemeth to sorrow. In like manner, a great many know by experience, that when they see themselves to abound in riches and honours, they glory and are deeply conceited of themselves; they praise their fortune, and admire themselves; they make plots, and appoint much for themselves to perform in many years to come. This year, they say, we will bear this office, and the next year that; afterward we shall have the rule of such a province; then we will build a palace in such a city, whereunto we will adjoin such gardens of pleasure, and such vineyards: and thus they make a very large reckoning aforehand, who if they did but once behold their feet, if they did but think upon the shortness of their life, so transitory and inconstant; how soon would they let fall their proud feathers, forsake their arrogancy, and change their purpose, their minds, their lives, and their manners. Thomas Tymme.

The meek shall inherit the earth. In the meantime, they, and they only, possess the present earth, as they go toward the kingdom of heaven, by being humble, and cheerful, and content with what their good God has allotted them. They have no turbulent, repining, vexatious thoughts that they deserve better; nor are vexed when they see others possessed of more honour, or more riches, than their wise God has allotted for their share. But they possess what they have with a meek and contented quietness; such a quietness as makes their very dreams pleasing, both to God and themselves. Isaak Walton (1593-1683), in "The Complete Angler."

The meek. What is thy Beloved more than any other beloved? It is spoken to the spouse. So what is meekness more than any other virtues? We may say, here is synecdoche speciei, one particular taken for the general, one virtue for all the rest. Or the effect is put for the cause; because meekness is one of the principal and chiefest parts of holiness. But if you will give me leave to conjecture, the Holy Ghost may seem in this promise at once to show the condition of the church, and to comfort her; and because being laid hard at on every side, she stands in need of this virtue more than any other, to fit and fashion the reward to the virtue, to cherish and exalt it in us with the promise of something beyond our expectation, even the inheritance of the earth. And indeed what fitter reward can there be of meekness? What more fit and just than that they who have been made the anvil for injuries to beat on, who have been viri perpessitii, as Seneca speaks of Socrates, men of great sufferance, who have suffered not only their goods to be torn from them by oppression and wrong, but their reputations to be wounded with the sharp razor of detraction, and have withstood the shock of all spectantibus similes, with the patience of a looker on, should be raised and comforted with a promise of that which their meekness gave up to the spoil; and that by the providence of God which loves to thwart the practice of the world, they should be made heirs even of those possessions which the hand of violence hath snatched from them. Anthony Farindon, B.D., 1596-1658.

Not the hot stirring spirits who bustle for the world shall have it, but the meek, who are thrust up and down from corner to corner, and hardly suffered to remain anywhere quietly in it. This earth, which they seem most deprived of, they only shall have and enjoy. When the Lord hath made it worth the having, then none shall have it but they. They shall inherit the earth. The earth is the Lord's; these are the children of the Lord, and they shall inherit this earth. When the Lord taketh it into his own possession and enjoyment, they shall succeed him in the possession and enjoyment of it. It is their right, and shall descend unto them by right, by inheritance. It is the Lord's right, and by the Lord shall descend to them as their right. They cannot yet have it, for the Lord hath it not yet; but when the Lord hath it, it shall fairly descend to them. This accursed earth they shall never have, but when it is taken into the hands of the Lord, and blessed by the Lord, then it shall be theirs, then it shall be inherited by the children of blessing. John Pennington.

And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Surely when the glory of the Lord covers the earth, and all the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of the Prince of Peace, and the wicked one is rooted out, we may well expect peace in rich abundance. W. Wilson.

Verses 12-13. Note how the gesture of the wicked in gnashing their teeth is returned to them in the Lord's scornful laughter at their devices. Their plotting, too, is countermined by that winding up of all plots, which the Lord knoweth, though they are wilfully ignorant of it. C. H. S.

The Lord shall laugh at him, etc. He seems to provide very coldly for our consolation under sorrow, for he represents God as merely laughing. But if God values highly our salvation, why does he not set himself to resist the fury of our enemies, and vigorously oppose them? We know that this, as has been said in Ps 2:4, is a proper trial of our patience when God does not come forth at once, armed for the discomfiture of the ungodly, but connives for a time, and withholds his hand. Lest the flesh should still murmur and complain, demanding why God should only laugh at the wicked, and not rather take vengeance upon them, the reason is added, that he sees the day of their destruction at hand. For he seeth that his day is coming. John Calvin.

For he seeth that his day is coming. He laughs at such poor worms, who make themselves so great upon the earth, and act so loftily in their impotence, seeing it must so soon be over with them. Berleb. Bible, quoted by E. W. Hengstenberg.

For he seeth that his day is coming. His dismal day, his death's day, which will also be his doom's day. John Trapp.

Verses 14-15. The tongue is a sword and a bow, which shooteth its arrows, even bitter words, against the humble and upright, Jesus and his disciples. But these are not the only weapons that have been drawn against them. How the malice of the Jews returned upon their own heads no one is ignorant, though few lay it to heart, and consider them as set forth for an example. George Horne.

Verses 14-15. When the wicked are most near to do a mischief to the Lord's people, then is a mischief most near unto them. David Dickson.

A little that a righteous man hath, etc. To wit, 1. Because the wicked do often enrich themselves by unjust means, and so have much vexation and trouble with them, and likewise thereby do treasure up wrath against the day of wrath; whereas the righteous with a little, well gotten, have much peace of conscience, with hope of heaven hereafter. 2. Because the righteous use theirs well, and are the better for them; whereas the wicked abuse theirs many ways, and are in many respects the worse for them. 3. Because the righteous enjoy what they have from hand to mouth as the gifts of God, and the pledges of his fatherly love and care over them, and so it is to them as manna from heaven, and hereby they enjoy much sweet comfort, and are fully satisfied with what they have; whereas the wicked have none of this joy nor satisfaction by their wealth. 4. Because God by his blessing doth usually make that the righteous enjoy to be more effectual for their good than is the abundance of the wicked. A little coarse fare makes them more healthful and strong than the wicked are with all their plenty. And, 5. Because the wicked enjoys not his wealth long, as the righteous man doth; and this indeed agrees best with the following words. Arthur Jackson.

Strangers to Christ have the use of outward mercies, but cannot be properly said to have the enjoyment; they seem to be masters of them, but indeed they are servants to them; possessors as to outward use, but slaves as to their inward affections; they serve them while they seem to dispose of them; they do not dominari, but servire —have not the command of, but are enslaved. Nor is their use truly comfortable; they may fancy comfort, but their comfort is but a fancy; it flows from another fountain tan can be digged in earth; true, solid comfort is the portion of those only who have the righteousness of Christ for their portion. These may look upon every temporal enjoyment as a token of everlasting love, as a pledge and earnest of eternal glory; and both these, because they may receive them as the purchase of the blood and righteousness of Christ; aye, here is the well spring of comfort, the fountain of that comfort which is better than life. Oh, what comfort is it to taste the sweetness of Christ's love in every enjoyment! When we can say, "Christ loved me, and gave himself for me, that I might enjoy these blessings, "oh, how will this raise the value of every common mercy! Christ's righteousness which was performed, the highest expression of his love, purchased this for me! Upon this account is that of the psalmist true, A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. He that hath but food and raiment hath in this respect more than he that hath the Turkish empire, or the gold of the Indies. He hath more ground of comfort in his little than they in all. David Clarkson.

If thine estate were but little, yet it would be perfumed with love, and that lump of sugar in thy cup would make the liquor sweet, be it never so small. As the waters which flow from the hills of some of the islands of Molucca taste of the cinnamon and cloves which grow there, so should thy gift, though it were but water, taste of the goodwill and special grace of the Giver. Thy little, with the fear of the Lord, would be better than the riches of many wicked men. As a little ring with a very costly diamond in it is far more worth than many great ones without it, so thy estate, though it were but a penny, should be joined with the precious jewel of that love which is better than life, and enjoyed by special promise, and thereby be infinitely more worth than the thousands and millions of others bestowed merely from common bounty, and enjoyed only by a general providence. George Swinnock.

It is as possible for a wicked man to fill his body with air and his chest with grace, as his mind with wealth. It is with them as with a ship; it may be overladen with silver and gold, even unto sinking, and yet have compass and sides to hold ten times more. So here, a covetous wretch, though he have enough to sink him, yet he shall never have enough to satisfy him. So that the conclusion which the psalmist delivers is most worthy to be observed: A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked; he doth not say of how many, because let us think of never so many, yea, all of them, the righteous man's little is better in very many respects than all their greatest treasures heaped together. The King of Spain although the greatest prince in Christendom by far, having his empire so far extended, that he may truly say, that the sun ever shines upon his dominions, yet gives this for his motto, Totus non sufficit orbis, The whole world is not sufficient. God by Solomon tells us that "In the house of the righteous is much treasure" Pr 15:6, although many times there is scarce a good bed to lie, or a seat to sit on. The time will certainly come, when the richest wicked men that ever lived will see clearly that their account would have been much narrower, and consequently their condition to all eternity less miserable, if they had been so poor as to have begged their bread from door to door all their lives long. It is with the blessings of this life as it is with perfumed gloves; when they are richly perfumed their perfume is much more valuable than the leather of which they are made: so, not so much earthly blessings considered in themselves, as their being perfumed with the sweet love of God in Christ, is that which maketh them blessings indeed, truly deserving the name they bear. Now all the blessings of those who have made Mary's choice are all thus perfumed; all the barley bread they eat, be it never so coarse; all the clothes they wear, be they never so mean; with all their other temporal blessings, they proceed from the same sweet love of God, wherewith he was moved to bestow Jesus Christ upon them for salvation. Ro 8:32. John Glascock's Sermon, entitled "Mary's Choice, "1659.

Verses 16-17. A little blest is better than a great deal curst; a little blest is better than a world enjoyed; a pound blest is better than a thousand curst; a black crust blest is better than a feast curst; the gleanings blest are better than the whole harvest curst; a drop of mercy blest is better than a sea of mercy curst; Lazarus crumbs blest was better than Dives' delicates curst; Jacob's little blest unto him was better than Esau's great estate that was curst unto him. It is always better to have scraps with a blessing, than to have manna and quails with a curse; a thin table with a blessing is better than a full table with a snare; a threadbare coat with a blessing is better than a purple robe curst; a hole, a cave, a den, a barn, a chimney corner with a blessing, is better than stately palaces with a curse; a woollen cap blest is better than a golden crown curst; and it may be that emperor understood as much, that said of his crown, when he looked on it with tears: "If you knew the cares that are under this crown you would never stoop to take it up." And therefore, why should not a Christian be contented with a little, seeing his little shall be blest unto him? Isaac tills the ground and sows his seed, and God blesses him with an hundredfold; and Cain tills the ground and sows his seed, but the earth is cursed to him and commanded not to yield to him his strength. Oh, therefore never let a Christian murmur because he hath but little, but rather let him be still blessing of that God that hath blest his little, and doth bless his little, and that will bless his little to him. Thomas Brooks.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but he upholdeth (or underprops) the righteous. By the arms of the wicked, you are to understand their strength, their valour, their power, their wit, their wealth, their abundance, which is all the arms they have to support and bear up themselves in the world with. Now, these arms shall be broken, and when they are broken, then, even then, will God uphold the righteous, that is, God will be a continual overflowing fountain of good to his righteous ones; so that they shall never want, though all the springs of the wicked are dried up round about them. Thomas Brooks.

The Lord knoweth the days of the upright. Deposits their days, lays them up in safety for them: for such is the original idea of (edy). John Fry.

The Lord knoweth the days of the upright, and they cannot be cut short by the malice of man. W. Wilson.

As the fat of lambs. As the glory of fat sheep, which are at length slain. Targum.

Fat of lambs. As the fat of the sacrifices was consumed on the altar by the fire (which was a type of God's righteous vengeance upon sinners), till it vanished into smoke; so the wicked will be the sacrifices to God's justice, and be destroyed by the fire of his indignation. Thomas Scott.

Into smoke shall they consume. "What hath pride profited us? or what hath our boasting of riches given us?" Such are the things, they shall speak who are in hell and who have sinned. For, the hope of the ungodly is like a dry thistle down, by the wind carried away, or the thin foam spread upon the billows, or as a smoke floated hither and thither by the wind, or as the remembrance of a wayfaring man for a day. Wouter of Stoelwyk, 1541.

Payeth not again; i.e., has it not in his power, from his straitened circumstances, to repay what he has borrowed: compare De 28:12. A Jew thus circumstanced became the bond slave of his creditors: compare 2Ki 4:1. Daniel Cresswell.

God promises that the seed of his people shall inherit the earth. The child of such a tenant as paid his rent well, shall not be put out of his farm. John Glascock.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. When this Pilot undertakes to steer their course, their vessel shall never split upon the rock, run upon the sands, or spring a leak, so as to sink in the seas. To be sure he will see them safe in their harbour. He was no Christian, yet I suppose none will deny but he spake good divinity, who said, "If a man will choose God for his Friend, he shall travel securely through a wilderness that hath many beasts of prey in it; he shall pass safely through this world; for he only is safe that hath God for his guide." (Ar. Epist. 27) Doth he not speak a little like David himself Ps 37:23, who never expected to come to glory except he were guided by his counsel? Now, if a poor heathen could say thus, and see good reason to trust God, and admire his faithfulness as he doth frequently (and so doth Seneca, justifying God's faithfulness in all his dealings with the best men in all their sufferings, and the prosperity of the wicked); what then shall the heavenly Christian say, who hath experienced so much of God's faithfulness in answering his prayers, in fulfilling his promises, and supplying all his exigencies? James Janeway.

He delighteth in his way. Note that in verse four, we are bidden to delight in the Lord, and here he delights in us, and as here our way is his delight, so in verse thirty-four we are to "keep his way." These antitheses are instructive. C. H. S.

Verses 23-24. Strange words to us! the very steps all ordered, and that by an Almighty One, who "delights" in the goodness of the good man's way. And yet the inference so distinctly to be drawn is that the good man may fall, and that his God and Guide may stand by and behold and permit! Let us add to the suggestion of these verses, one or two references which may help us to establish the principle in our hearts, that the child of God may fall and still remain the child of God; and also to explain somewhat of the reason why this is part of their lot, whether ordered, or only permitted, at all events, a step of the "right way, "by which God leads them to a "city of habitation." Ps 107:7. It is observed near the close of Hezekiah's good and prosperous life that, "in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon...God left him to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart, " 2Ch 32:31. And again, in Daniel's prophecy regarding the latter days, we find Da 11:35, "And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and make them white." In the two preceding verses, we have also some valuable details regarding such falls, such as the help with which God will uphold them, the flatteries with which the world will still beset, and hinder them from rising again; the outward troubles into which their fall shall lead them, as through a furnace; the high position (instructors of many) which yet shall not save them from their needed ordeal —the time appointed —and the end in view. So here. The acknowledgment of the possibility of the good man's fall is accompanied with the precious assurance that he shall not be utterly cast down. Mary B. M. Duncan, in "Under the Shadow, 1867."

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, etc. Thus the Spirit comforts and answers the secret thoughts which everyone might have, saying with himself, I have, however, seen it happen, that the righteous is oppressed, and his cause is trodden in the dust by the wicked. Nay, he replies, dear child, let it be so, that he falls; he still cannot remain lying thus and be cast away; he must be up again, although all the world doubts of it. For God catches him by the hand, and raises him again. Martin Luther.

Though he fall, namely, as one that were faint hearted, he shall not be cast off, namely, utterly, or for ever from God 2Co 4:9; "for the Lord putteth under his hand, "i.e., his power and might, namely, to uphold him from utter falling away, which we should quickly do if God were not with us. Thomas Wilcocks.

A man pardoned, and justified by faith in Christ, though he may, and sometimes doth, fall into foul sins, yet they never prevail so far as to reverse pardon, and reduce to a state of non-justification. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand! He speaks of a good man pardoned, justified; he may fall; but how far? from pardon, from justification? No, then he should utterly fall, be cast down beneath God's hand; but the text saith, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand; or, as Montanus renders the words, the Lord upholdeth his hands, and he will not let him sink into such a condition. If it were so, then sin should have dominion over him, but, Ro 6:14. "Sin shall not have dominion over you; "and Ro 8:2, justified ones are freed from the law of sin and death; and Ro 8:30, the predestinated, called, justified, and glorified ones, are so linked together, that there is no breaking their chain; if they do sin, they have an "Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins." 1Jo 2:1-2. William Greenhill.

I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken (he doth not say, In my experience I never saw the righteous afflicted, but, I never saw him left or forsaken in his affliction), and I never saw his seed begging their bread: he puts in that, because begging of bread, especially in the commonwealth of Israel, and in the state of the Jews, was a note of utter dereliction! for though God had told them that they should have the poor always with them, yet he had given an express law that there should be no beggar among them; therefore, saith he, I have not seen the righteous so forsaken, that they should be forced to live by begging. If any say, that David himself begged, he asked bread of Abimelech and of Nabal; I answer, it is a good rule, and it resolves the case; transitory cases, and sudden accidents, make no beggars: we must not say, David was a beggar, or begged his bread, because once he was in a strait and asked bread of Abimelech; and in a second strait sent to Nabal: in such sudden cases, the richest man in the world may be put to ask a piece of bread. A good man may fall into such wants, but good men are rarely, if ever or at all, left in them. Joseph Caryl.

Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Perhaps it will be objected that their have been many righteous men poor: but the place speaketh of a righteous charitable man, for so the following verse showeth, which saith, "He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed." And who hath seen such a one or his seed to be brought to such poverty as to beg his bread? When our Saviour Christ had fed four thousand with seven loaves and a few fishes, all being filled, seven baskets full of fragments were gathered up: and it is Saint Austin's note upon it, crescit dum impenditur victus, sic eleemosyna si indigentibus erogetur, the victuals in expending were augmented, and so is the alms which is given to the poor. Michael Jermin.

Yet have I not seen, etc. I believe this to be literally true in all cases. I am now grey headed myself; I have travelled in different countries, and have had many opportunities of seeing and conversing with religious people in all situations in life; and I have not, to my knowledge, seen one instance to the contrary. I have seen no righteous man forsaken, nor any children of the righteous begging their bread. God puts honour upon all that fear him; and thus careful is he of them, and of their posterity. Adam Clarke.

Begging bread. This is not meant of an occasional seeking relief in want (for so David himself desired bread of Abimelech, 1Sa 21:3, and he and his soldiers desired some supply of victuals from Nabal, 1Sa 25:8); but of living in a continual way of begging from door to door, which is denounced as a curse against the wicked Ps 109:10, "Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg." Nor doth it hence follow, that neither the righteous man, not his seed, are ever brought to this sad degree of misery; but only that it doth so rarely happen, that David in all his time had never seen it. Arthur Jackson.

This observation of the psalmist will be found generally verified. We find indeed exceptions, as in the case of Eli's family. But this was the result of his defect of character as a righteous man. And we know that the promises must fail, if they neglect the means necessary to their accomplishment (see Ge 18:19). But some think that this verse admits of an explanatory supplement; and render the last clause thus, "Nor his seed (forsaken, though) begging bread." David Davidson, in "The Pocket Commentary, 1836."

These words must be taken as a general observation, not absolutely verified in every case; yet the strict fact is, I apprehend, that the immediate descendants of truly pious persons are very seldom, if ever, reduced to such extremities, unless by their own great imprudence, or their abandoned practices. William Walford.

Here he records an experiment of his (such as whereof Psalm 119 is mostly made up), and if other men's experiences agree not altogether with his, it is no wonder: kings use not to mind beggars. John Trapp.

Verses 25-26. Many persons are solicitously perplexed how their children shall do when they are dead; yet they consider not, how God provided for them when they were children. Is the Lord's arm shortened? Did he take thee from thy mothers breasts; and when thy parents forsook thee (as the psalmist saith), became thy Father? And cannot this experienced mercy to thee, persuade thee that he will not forsake thine? Is not "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever?" "I have been young, "saith David, "and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, "that is granted, nay, "not his seed begging bread."

Many distrustful fathers are so carking for their posterity, that while they live they starve their bodies, and hazard their souls, to leave them rich. To such a father it is said justly, Dives es haeredi, pauper inopsque tibi. Like an over kind hen, he feeds his chickens, and famishes himself. If usury, circumvention, oppression, extortion, can make them rich, they shall not be poor. Their folly is ridiculous; they fear lest their children should be miserable, yet take the only course to make them miserable; for they leave them not so much heirs to their goods as to their evils. They do as certainly inherit their fathers' sins as their lands: "God layeth his iniquity for his children: and his offspring shall want a morsel of bread." Job 21:19.

On the contrary, the good man is merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. What the worldling thinks shall make his posterity poor, God saith shall make the good man's rich. The precept gives a promise of mercy to obedience, not confined to the obedient man's self, but extended to his seed, and that even to a thousand generations, Ex 20:6. Trust, then, Christ with thy children; when thy friends shall fail, usury bear no date, oppression be condemned to hell, thyself rotten to the dust, the world itself turned and burned into cinders, still "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever." Thomas Adams.

He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. He, the good man, is merciful to himself, for mercy, like charity, begins at home; he is not afraid to eat a good meal because he hath children. And he is merciful to others too; for he will lend and do good to whom he can, and then his seed fares the better for it. Mark, that the more he gives and lends in doing works of mercy, the better it is for his children; for those children are ever best provided for whose parents bear this mind —they had rather trust God with their children, than their children with riches; and have made this their hope, that though they die, yet God lives. Did but one of those rich and wretched parents (who pinched and pined himself to make his son a gentleman, forsooth), rise from the dead, and see that proverb of Solomon fulfilled in himself, "He begetteth a son, and in his hand is nothing; "I persuade myself, the rumination of this would afflict him in his soul as much as any one pain of sense, even in hell itself. O consider this, you that now live and see it in others; and remember withal, that if your goods be either ill gotten, or worse kept, it may be your children's case when you are departed, and feel it, though you see it not. Matthew Griffith.

For the Lord...forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever. How? since they die as others do. Mark the antithesis, and that will explain it. They are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. They are preserved in their posterity: children are but the parents multiplied, and the parents continued; it is nodosa aeternitas; when the father's life is run out to the last, there is a knot tied, and the line is still continued by the child. I confess temporal blessings, such as long life, and the promise of an happy posterity, are more visible in the eye of that dispensation of the covenant; but yet God still taketh care for the children of his people, and many promises run that way that belong to the gospel administration, and still God's service is the surest way to establish a family, as sin is the ready way to root it out. And if it doth not always fall out accordingly, yet for the most part it doth; and we are no competent judges of God's dispensations in this kind, because we see providence by pieces, and have not the skill to set them together; but at the day of judgment, when the whole contexture of God's dealings is laid before us, we shall clearly understand how the children of his servants continue, and their seed is established. Ps 102:28. Thomas Manton.

The righteous shall inherit the land, or the earth. There is clearly an emphasis in the repetition of the same promise in the same terms which ought to have been uniformly rendered throughout Ps 37:9,11,22,29,34. And it cannot be doubted, that there is a reference to the new heavens and the new earth of Isa 56:17 2Pe 3:13. W. Wilson.

The righteous shall inherit the land, etc. Compare Mt 5:5. Consider well this Bible truth, of the future exclusive possession of the earth by the righteous. The millennial kingdom furnishes a fuller explanation. T. C. Barth.

The law of his God is in his heart, etc. The flock of sheep that's indisposed and unwilling to drive, start out of the way into every lane's end, one this way and another that; and just so is it with an unwilling heart; one thought starts this way, and another that, and it's a piece of skill to drive them through. But a willing heart, a heart prepared and ready to every good work, it flies quite up an end, and delights itself in the Lord. Richard Steele.

(first clause). He hath a Bible in his head, and another in his heart; he hath a good treasure within, and there hence bringeth good things. John Trapp.

Verses 32-33. The Jews watched that Just One daily and hourly; they sought to slay him, and did so; but Jehovah left him not in their hands, but vindicated his innocence by raising him from the dead. George Horne.

Wait on the Lord, etc. He that truly trusts in God will stay God's time, and use God's means, and walk in God's way, though it seem round about; they will not neglect their souls for haste; they know this would be to make more haste than good speed. Nor would they step out of the way, the way that is holy and righteous, though they may escape a loss, an affliction by it, though they might gain some desirable advantage by it. True faith goes leaning upon God, and therefore will keep his way. He that will not be liberal for the promoting and honouring of the gospel; he that fears poverty or affliction more than he fears sin; he that is more careful for the things of the world than for his soul; he that takes indirect or suspected courses, to get, or increase, or secure his estate; he that is not jealous or watchful, lest his cares for the world (when he is much engaged therein) should be immoderate —it is plain he doth not trust God with his estate; and that he does not trust God for his estate, whatever he thinks or pretend, he does not trust God for his soul, for his salvation; his hopes of heaven and salvation are but presumption. David Clarkson.

Wait on the Lord. Bind him not to a day, wake not the Beloved till he please. John Trapp.

Wait...keep. While we are waiting let us take heed of wavering. Go not a step out of God's way, though a lion be in the way; avoid not duty to meet with safety; keep God's highway, the good old way Jer 6:16, the way which is paved with holiness. "And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness." Isa 35:8. Avoid crooked paths, take heed of turning to the left hand, lest you be set on the left hand. Sin doth cross our hopes, it barricades up our way; a man may as well expect to find heaven in hell, as in a sinful way. Thomas Watson.

Green bay tree. The LXX translate (Nner xrzak) as if it were (Nnbl xrzak), "Like the cedar of Lebanon; "but (Nner xrza) according to Delitzsch, means a noble timber tree, one that in the course of centuries of growth has acquired a gigantic trunk, and an umbrageous, dome like crown.

Green bay tree. The marginal rendering —"a tree that groweth in his own soil" —is, no doubt, the true one. The idea generally formed of this passage by the reader of the English Bible is that the tree referred to was the bay laurel (Prunus laurocerasus), or cherry laurel of our gardens. But this plant belongs to an entirely different family. The bay and the Portugal laurels, whose forms of growth and evergreen leaves make them highly ornamental in shrubberies, belong to a subfamily (Drupaceae, Lind.) of the rose tribe (Rosaceae), but the bay tree proper, which flourisheth luxuriantly in Southern Europe, is the type of the laurel family (Lauraceae). Several circumstances make it unlikely that the true bay tree represents the Hebrew esrach. There is no evidence that it was ever so plentiful in Palestine as to be chosen by the psalmist in an illustration in a poem for popular use. It is indeed to be met with, but that chiefly in localities on the borders of the eastern shore of the Great Sea. The chief objection to the supposition that the bay tree was referred to by the royal poet is to be found in the Psalm itself. Having mentioned it in the lines quoted above, he adds, "Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found." The idea here is not one which could be represented and illustrated by an evergreen plant, slow of growth, and yet reaching in maturity a height of above thirty feet. The words demand a quick growing tree, in a soil more than usually favourable to its growth. Thus planted, and shooting up in calm and sunshine, it would attract every eye; but when the storm broke over it, when the strong wind swept imperiously through its branches, it would not stand. Torn up by the root, and its timber comparatively useless, like Abraham's dead, it would be buried out of sight. And thus with the wicked. He was sought and could not be found. John Duns, D.D., F.R.S.E., in "Biblical Natural Science."

We see no force in the observation of Dr. Duns; in fact, if there were not other reasons for preferring the translation given in the following note by Wilson, we should see all the more reason to keep to the bay tree. It was a tree of permanence and of long continued verdure, and so the prosperous wicked seem to be. They look as if their happiness would be eternal; yet, for all that, those who carefully note the dealings of providence, observe with holy wonder that divine justice cuts short their glory, and they perish utterly. C. H. S.

I have seen the wicked in great power (terrible, fierce, violent), and spreading himself like a green bay tree (a tree in its native soil, vigorous, and luxuriant, that had never been transplanted). A striking figure of the ungodly man of the world, firmly rooted in earthly things —his native soil, grown proud and wanton in his prosperity, without fear or apprehension of any reverse. William Wilson.

Like a green bay tree, which produces all leaves and no fruit. Matthew Henry.

I have seen the wicked, saith David, in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. And why like a green bay tree? Because in the winter, when all other trees —as the vine tree, fig tree, apple tree, etc., which are more profitable trees —are withered and naked, yet the bay tree continueth as green in the winter as the summer. So fares it with wicked men when the children of God, in the storms of persecutions, and afflictions, and miseries, seem withered, and, as it were, dead, yet the wicked all that time flourish, and do appear green in the eyes of the world: they wallow in worldly wealth, but it is for their destruction; they wax fat, but it is for the day of slaughter. It was the case of Hophni and Phinehas: the Lord gave them enough and suffered them to go on and prosper in their wickedness; but what was the reason? Because he would destroy them. J. Gore's Sermon at St. Paul's, 1633.

Verses 35-36. —Today he puts forth

The tender leaves of hopes, tomorrow blossoms,

And bears his blushing honours upon him:

Third day comes a frost, a killing frost;

And —when he thinks, good easy man, full surely

His greatness is a ripening —nips his root,

And then he falls, as I do. —William Shakespeare, in Henry VIII.

Verses 36-37. The hawk flies high, and is as highly prized, being set upon a perch, vervelled with the jingling bells of encouragement, and carried on his master's fist; but being once dead and picked over the perch, is cast upon the dunghill as good for nothing. The hen scrapes in the dust, not anything rewarded when she is alive, but being dead, is brought as a choice dish to her master's table. Thus wicked men are commonly set in high places, and prosper in this life; and good men lie grovelling with their mouths in the dust, as the very underlings of the world; but being once dead, the one is cast into the dungeon of hell, the other advanced to the kingdom of heaven: the one is into Abraham's bosom, whilst the other is tormented with the devil and his angels. Thomas Westfield, D.D., 1644.

Mark...and behold. Herodotus maketh mention of a custom among the Ethiopians to set the dead bodies of their friends in glazed sepulchres, that their proportions might be obvious to the passengers. How needless soever that custom was, it is doubtless no more than just that the pious lineaments of their minds who die in the Lord should be presented to the living in the mirror of art. Indeed, commendation after death is the tribute of a religious life. Good works are jewels not to be locked up in a cabinet, but to be set forth to public view. If Christ would have Mary's name remembered in the gospel until the world's end for one box of ointment poured on his head, we cannot imagine that he would have the many pious and charitable deeds of his servants to be buried in oblivion. Consult the Scriptures and you shall scarce find any godly man laid in his grave without an epitaph of honour. View the fathers, and you shall observe it their practice to honour the death of the good by giving them their deserved praises. Nathaniel Hardy.

The perfect man, etc. —Divines well distinguish of a double perfection, it is absoluta or comparata. That is absolutely perfect, to which nothing (that it may be accounted truly good) is wanting; and thus He only is perfectus who is infactus; God, who made all things, and himself is not made, only enjoying an all sufficient perfection, in and of himself. That is comparatively perfect, in which, notwithstanding some wants there is a fulness compared with others. Thus every saint is perfect in comparison of the wicked among whom he liveth. In this respect it is said of Noah, That he was a perfect man in his generations; his grace compared with the wickedness of the old world well deserving the name of perfection; indeed every upright man is perfect in comparison of them who are openly bad, or but openly good; stained with wickedness, or but painted with holiness. Thus one saint may be perfect if compared with another, the strong Christian in respect of the weak, whom he outstrips in grace and piety: such saints Paul means when he saith, "We speak wisdom among them that are perfect; " that is, such as have attained to greater measures of grace than others. It was said of Benaiah, "He was more honourable than thirty, but he attained not to the first three; "and though no saint can ever attain to the perfections of the first three, the blessed Trinity, yet many saints may be honourable amongst thirty perfect in comparison of those among whom they live.

We must further distinguish of a double perfection, it is extrinseca and intrinseca. Extrinsic perfection so called, because by imputation, is that which every believer is partaker of through the perfect righteousness of Christ, whereby all his imperfections are covered; in this respect the author to the Hebrews tells us, "That by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified; "and S. Paul tells the Colossians that they were "complete in him, "meaning Christ. Indeed omnia Dei mandata tune facta deptutantua, quando id quod non fit ignoscitur: divine commands are then in God's account fulfilled when our defects for Christ's sake are pardoned; and the evangelical perfection of a Christian consists not in perfectione virtutum, sed remissions vitiorum, in the completion of our graces, but remission of our sins.

Intrinsical perfection, so called because by inhesion, is no less rationally than usually thus distinguished, there is perfectio partium et graduum. He is said to be perfect, cui nihil deest eorum quae ad statum salutis necessaria, who wants no graces that accompany salvation; or he is perfect, cui nihil deest in gradibus gratiarum et virtutum; who is not defective in the measures of those graces; both these are frequently and fitly illustrated by the resemblance of a child, and a grown man; the one whereof hath all the essential and integral parts of a man, the other a complete use and measure of those parts. Nathaniel Hardy.

The end. All wise men affect the conclusion to be best: to ride two or three miles of fair way, and to have a hundred deep and foul ones to pass afterward is uncomfortable; especially when the end is worse than the way. But let the beginning be troublesome, the progress somewhat more easy, and the journey's end happy, and there is fair amends. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. Mark him in the setting out, he hath many oppositions; mark him in the journey, he is full of tribulations; but mark in the conclusion, and the end of that man is peace. Thomas Adams.

The end of that man is peace. Give me leave to determine what it is to end or die in peace. To end in peace with Euthymius, is to end in pace cogitationis, in peace of mind as it is opposed to doubting. To end in peace with Cyprian, is to end in pace securitatis, in peace of security, as it is opposed to final falling. To end in peace with Origen, is to end in pace conscientiae, in peace of conscience as it is opposed to despairing. To end in peace with old Irenaeus, is to end in pace mortis, in the peace of death as it is opposed to labouring. Again, to end in peace, is to end in pace Dei, in the peace of God which passeth all understanding, i.e., far beyond men's apprehensions. To end in peace, is to end in pace proximi, in peace with our neighbours, i.e., when no outcries or exclamations follow us. And lastly, to end in peace, is to end in pace sui, in peace with ourselves, i.e., when no distractions or perturbations of mind molest us. Richard Parre.

The text may be divided into these two parts. Here is 1. The godly man's property; and 2. The godly man's privilege. His property is perfection; his privilege is peace. Here is the saint's character and the saint's crown: he is characterised by uprightness or sincerity, and crowned with peace. Here is the Christian's way and his end, his motion, and his rest. His way is holiness, his end happiness; his motion is towards perfection and in uprightness; his rest is peace at his journey's end. John Whitlock, in a Funeral Sermon entitled, "The Upright Man and his Happy End, "1658.

Time would fail me to tell how Christians die, nor can anything save the pen of the recording angel who has stood by their bed of death and borne them to Abraham's bosom narrate the unnumbered instances of their delightful departure from the present world, which verify the truth of the Bible. "I could never have believed, "said a dying saint, "that it was so delightful a thing to die, or that it was possible to have such views of the heavenly world as I now enjoy." The memorable Melancthon just before he died, chanted in his sleep the words, "I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God." He seemed restless, and on being asked by one near him, "Whether there was anything more that he desired?" replied, Aliud nihil nisi coelum —nothing more, unless it be heaven. Gardiner Spring.

To die well be sure to live well; we must not think to have Lazarus's death, and Dive's life; like him in Plutarch that would live with Craesus, as he said, but he would die with Socrates. No, Balaam's wishes are foolish and fruitless: If you would die well, Christians, you must have a care to live well: qualis vita, finis ita, if you would die quietly, you must live strictly; if you would die comfortably, you must live conformably; if you would die happily, you must live holily. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace. John Kitchin, M.A., 1660.

The end of the wicked shall be cut off. The wicked in this world do easily run up without rub or interruption, many times with acclamations and applause, all the golden steps of honours and preferments; but upon the highest stair they find the most slippery standing, and the top of their earthly felicity is the most immediate and certain descent unto the greatest downfall. They are royally mounted here upon earth, and gallop swiftly over the fair and green plains of plenty and pleasures; but at the end of their race they are overturned horse and man, and tumbled headlong into the pit of destruction. They fairly glide over the sea of this world with full sail, with much calmness and serenity, and richly laden; but in the brightest sunshine, and when they least suspect it, they suddenly and without recovery, sink into the gulf of darkness and desolation. Robert Bolton.

And the Lord shall help them. He shall, he shall, he shall. Oh, the rhetoric of God! the safety of the saints! the certainty of the promises! John Trapp.

Luther closes his Exposition of the Psalm with the words, Oh, shame on our faithlessness, mistrust, and vile unbelief, that we do not believe such rich, powerful, consolatory, declarations of God, and take up so readily with little grounds of offence, whenever we but hear the wicked speeches of the ungodly. Help. O God, that we may once attain to right faith. Amen.

The art of tranquillity. W. Jones.

Verses 1-2. A frequent temptation, and a double corrective —a sight of sinners in death and hell.

Verses 1,2. A frequent temptation, and a double corrective —a sight of sinners in death and hell.

How and when the wicked perish.

1. A combination descriptive of holy living.

2. A combination descriptive of happy living.

The believer portrayed.

1. His object of trust.

2. His mode of life.

3. His place of abode.

4. His certainty of provision.

(last clause). Read it in four ways.

1. "Certainly fed, "or the certainty of supply.

2. "Fed in verity, "or the sufficiency of the provision for soul and body.

3. "Fed on truth, "or the spirituality of the provision.

4. "Feed on truth, "or the duty of choosing such provision.

Explain the delight and the desire of the believer, and show the connection between them.

Verses 5-6. The higher life.

1. Based on hearty resignation.

2. Sustained by faith.

3. Constantly unfolded by the Lord.

4. Consummated in meridian splendour.

Verses 5-6. The higher life.

1. Based on hearty resignation.

2. Sustained by faith.

3. Constantly unfolded by the Lord.

4. Consummated in meridian splendour.

Sweet comfort for slandered saints. Where their character now is. Who shall reveal it. The gradual yet sure manner of the revelation, and the glorious conclusion.

Rest in the Lord. What? Where? When? Why? How?

Peace, patience, self possession.

Stillness in God. Bishop Wilberforce.

Rest in the Lord.

1. Rest in the will of God, for whatever he wills is for your good, your highest good.

2. Rest in the love of God, and often meditate on the words of Jesus on this point, "Thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me."

3. Rest in the mercy of God.

4. Rest in the word of God.

5. Rest in the relation thy God fills to thee; he is the Father.

6. Rest in the Lord as he is manifested in Jesus, thy God in covenant.

James Smith.

A SERMON FOR THE FRETFUL.

1. Cease from present anger. It is madness, it is sin; it shuts out our prayers; it will grow into malice; it may lead to worse.

2. Forsake it for the future. Repent of it, watch temper, discipline thy passions, etc.

3. Avoid all kindred feelings of fretfulness, impatience, envy, etc., for they lead to evil.

How the humble are the true lords of the land.

1. Consider what the departed sinner has left. Possessions, joys, honours, aims, hopes, etc.

2. Consider where he has gone.

3. Consider whether you will share the same lot.

Verses 10-11. Terror to the wicked: comfort for believers. A. Farindon.

The meek man's delight, or "the harvest of a quiet eye."

Upright conversation.

1. What it excludes. The horizontal or earthly, the crooked or crafty, the slanting or sinister.

2. What it includes. Motive, object, language, action.

3. What it achieves. It stands like a pillar; it supports like a column; it ascends like a tower; it adorns like a monument; it illuminates like a Pharos.

The self destructive nature of evil.

How to make much of a little.

Verses 16-17.

1. The owners contrasted.

2. The possessions compared.

3. The preference given.

4. The reasons declared.

(last clause).

1. The favoured persons.

2. Their evident need, "upholding."

3. Their singular blessedness, "upheld, "above trial, under trial, after trial.

4. Their august Patron.

The comforts derivable from a consideration of the divine knowledge. The eternity of the righteous man's possessions.

1. The persons, "the upright."

2. The period, "their days." These are known to God. (1) He knows them kindly and graciously; (2) He knows their number; (3) He knows the nature of them.

3. The portion, "their inheritance shall be for ever." —William Jay.

Verse 18 (last clause). What it is. How they come by it. How long they hold it.

Good words for hard times.

Monetary transactions tests of character.

The divine blessing the secret of happiness. The divine displeasure the essence of misery.

Verses 23-24.

1. The divine predestination.

2. The divine delight.

3. The divine support.

Temporary trials.

1. To be expected.

2. Have their limit.

3. Have their results.

4. Our secret comfort under them.

What may be. What cannot be. What shall be.

Memorandum of an aged observer.

The righteous man's merciful disposition, generous action, and rich reward.

The benediction of the good man's family: what it is, and what it is not.

Negative, positive, remunerative.

1. The Lord's love of right.

2. His faithfulness to the righteous.

3. Their sure preservation thus doubly guaranteed.

4. The doom of the wicked thus certified.

Canaan as a type of the righteous man's inheritance.

Our speech as a test of godliness.

1. The best thing.

2. In the best place.

3. With the best of results.

Verses 32-33. Our enemies; their inveterate malice; our safeguard and justification.

1. A twofold admonition: (a) Wait on the Lord. (b)  And keep his way; wait and work, wait and walk, get grace and exercise it.

2. A twofold promise: (a) He shall exalt thee to inherit the land; God is the source of all elevation and honour. (b) When the wicked are cur off, thou shalt see it; and they will be cut off. William Jay.

Patient faith, persevering holiness, and promised exaltation.

Verse 34 (last clause). Emotions caused in the godly by a sight of the sinner's doom.

(last clause). The wicked are often cut off 1. Even in life, from their places, and riches, and prospects. 2. At death they are cut off from all their possessions and comforts. 3. In the last day they will be cut off from "the resurrection of life." William Jay.

Verses 35-37. Three memorable scenes.

1. The imposing spectacle.

2. The astounding disappearance.

3. The delightful exit.

Verses 35-37. Three memorable scenes.

1. The imposing spectacle.

2. The astounding disappearance.

3. The delightful exit.

Verses 39-40.

1. The doctrines of grace condensed.

2. The experience of the gracious epitomised.

3. The promises of grace summarised.

4. The grandest evidence of grace declared: because they trust in him.