PSALM XVII.

The blessed man Christ Jesus, in the name, and as head of the church, is here also represented as making supplication, ver. 1-3. professing to watch the ways of the destroyer, ver. 4. praying to be upheld and preserved from the wicked, ver. 5-15. desiring only a renewal of the divine image, in the members of his mystical body; which, because it is his body, he desires and rejoices in as for himself.

VER. 3. "Thou hast visited me in the night."]-God visited and redeemed his people in the night of jewish darkness; he visits and calls them by his grace in the night of unregeneracy; and so he visits with his gracious presence in the night of desertion; and he often visits by granting counsel, comfort, and support, in the night of affliction, which seems to be intended here: thus he visited the human nature of Christ in the midst of his sorrows and sufferings, when it was the jews' hour and power of darkness.

Ver. 5. "Hold up my goings in thy paths."]-Which being spoken by David in his own person, and for himself, shews that he was conscious of his own inability to keep bimself in the ways of God, and to direct his steps therein; and was sensible of the need he stood in of divine power to uphold and support him in them.

"That my footsteps slip not."]-Out of the paths of truth and duty, of faith and holiness; of which there is danger, should a man be left to himself, destitute of divine direction and aid; see Psalm lxxiii. 2.

Ver. 7. "Shew thy marvellous loving-kindness."]Such is the loving-kindness of God to his people in Christ, which is sovereign, free, special, distinguishing, everlasting, and unchangeable; it is better than life, and passes knowledge, and which is set upon men and not angels, some and not all, and these by nature children of wrath as others, and which has appeared in choosing them in Christ, putting them into hish and, and making a covenant with him for them; in sending him into the world to suffer and die for them; in regenerating, adopting, justifying, pardoning, and saving them with an everlasting salvation; all which is marvellous in their and will be the wonder of men and angels to all I his sometimes is hidden from the objects of it, as it might be from the psalmist, therefore he desires a manifestation of it.

Ver. 8. "Keep me as the apple of the eye."]-Which fitly represents the weak estate and condition of God's people, his affection for them, and tender care of them; who, as he has provided tunics for the eye, and guarded it with eye-brows, so he has taken care for the safety of his dear children, Deut. xxxii. 10. Zech. ii. 8.

"Hide me under the shadow of thy wings."]—AlJuding either to the wings of the cherubim over the mercyseat, where God granted his presence, or to birds, who cover their young with their wings to save them from birds of prey.

Ver. 15. "As for me, I will, or shall behold thy face in righteousness."-That is, appear before God in public worship, where was the ark, the symbol of the face of God, enjoy his gracious presence, have the discoveries of his love, and see his face and favour; than which nothing was more desirable by him and delightful to him. Or God himself may be meant by his face, and especially God as he is to be beheld in the face of Christ, the angel of his presence, and who is to be beheld by faith in the present state of things, though as through a glass darkly, and in the future state perfectly, and as he is, both with the eyes of the understanding, and after the resurrection with the eyes of the body; see the notes on Job xix. 26, 27.

"I shall be satisfied, when I awake with thy likeness."] -At which time the saints will arise with the image of the heavenly One upon them; they will be like to Christ both in soul and body; see him as he is, and be like him, and be for ever in his presence; which will yield endless pleasure and unspeakable satisfaction: for the words may be interpreted, not of David's awaking, but of the glory of God awaking or appearing.

PSALM XVIII.

The deliverances and victories of king David might be the occasion on which he wrote this psalm; but in the words of it, we may plainly see it was designed by the Spirit to raise our thoughts much higher, even to the triumphs of his great root and offspring, the David or Christ, on his obtaining the deliverance he prays for in the foregoing psalm, and conquering finally, both in himself and his mystical body also, all the powers of death and hell. He began to triumph over them by his own resurrection when there was a great carthquake. Earthquakes

also seem to be pointed at in the following parts of the psalm; in which we see him going forth, as it were,

quer."

conquering and to con

VER. 1. “I will love thee, O Lord, my strength."]As in David, so in all regenerate ones, there is love to God: Jehovah is loved by them in all his persons: Jehovah the Father is loved, and to be loved, for the perfections of his nature, because of the works of his hands, of creation and providence; and particularly because of his works of special grace and goodness, and especially because of his love wherewith he has loved his people, 1 John iv. 19. Jehovah the Son is loved, and to be loved, above all creatures and things whatever, sincerely and heartily, fervently and constantly, because of the loveliness of his person, the love of his heart, and his works of grace and redemption; all of him is lovely, and he is to be loved, and is loved, in his person, offices, relations, people, word, and ordinances. Jehovah, the Spirit, is loved, and to be loved, because of his person and perfections, and operations of grace, as a sanctifier, comforter, the spirit of adoption, the earnest and pledge of eternal glory. The word here used signifies the most intimate, tender, and affectionate love.

Ver. 2." The Lord is my rock."]-To whom the saints have recourse for shelter and safety, for supply, support, and divine refreshment; and in whom they are secure, and on whom they build their hopes of eternal life and hap piness, and so are safe from all enemies, and from all danger. Christ is called a rock on all these accounts, Psalm 1xi.. 2, 3. Isaiah xxxii. 2. and xxxiii. 16. Matt. xvi. 18. 1 Cor. x. 4.

"And my fortress."]-Or garrison; so the saints are kept in and by the power of God as in a garrison, 1 Peter i. 5..

"And my deliverer."]-Out of all afflictions, and from all temptations, and out of the hands of all enemies, from a body of sin and death at last, and from wrath to come.

"My God."]-The strong and mighty One, who is able to save, and who is the covenant God and Father of his people.

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My strength in whom I will trust."]-As Christ did, and to whom these words are applied in Heb. ii, 13. and as his people are enabled to do even under very distressing and discouraging circumstances, Job xiii. 15. Isaiah xxvi. 4.

"My buckler."]-Or shield, who protects and defends them from their enemics, and preserves them from the fiery darts of satan.

Ver. 4. "And the floods of ungodly men made me afraid."]-As the violent and impetuous attacks upon Christ in the garden, when being in an agony or conflict with him, his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood, Luke xxii. 44. The Septuagint render the word, the torrents of iniquity troubled me;' which was true of Christ, when all the sins of his people came flowing in upon him, like mighty torrents, from all quarters; when God laid on him the iniquity of them all, and he was made sin for them; and in a view of all this, "he began to be sore amazed," Mark xiv. 33.

Ver. 6. "In my distress, I called upon the Lord."]— The great Jehovah, the everlasting I AM, who is the Most High in all the earth, and who is able to save, Heb. v. 7.

"And cried unto my God."]-As Jesus did, Matt. xxvii. 46. so the members of Christ, when in distress, as they often are, through sin and satan, through the hidings of God's face, a variety of afflictions, and the persecutions of men, betake themselves to the Lord, and call upon their God: a time of distress is a time of prayer.

Ver. 16. "He sent from above."]-Either his hand, as in Psalm cxliv. 7. he exerted and displayed his mighty power in raising Christ from the dead; or he sent help from his sanctuary, as in Psalm xx. 2. and helped and strengthened him in a day of salvation, or when he wrought out the salvation of his people; or he sent his word, as in Psalm cvii. 20. his word of command, to take up his life again, as he had given it to lay it down, John x. 18.

Ver. 17. "He delivered me from my strong enemy."] -Which, as it may respect David, may be understood of Goliath, the philistine champion, who was a man of war from his youth, or Saul, king of Israel; and as it may respect David's antitype, may design either the chief priests, scribes, and pharisees, who were men of power and influence, or more especially satan, the strong man armed, with all his principalities and powers, or likewise death, the last enemy, from whose pains and cords he was loosed when raised from the dead, and when he was delivered from every other strong enemy.

Ver. 19. "He brought me forth also into a large place."]-Into heaven, a place of the glorious liberty of Christ, after his captivity to death and the grave, whither

he ascended, leading captivity captive, and also of the children of God; and a spacious place, where there is room enough for Christ and all his people; here he now is, and will remain till his second coming, and from hence we expect him; see John xiv. 2, 3. Psalm xxxi. 8. and cxviii. 5. "He delivered me because he delighted in me;" God delivered David from all his enemies, because he was a man after his own heart, in whom he delighted; not for any merit and worthiness in him, but of his good-will and pleasure he delivered Christ because he was his elect, in whom his soul delighted, and who was daily his delight, rejoicing in his presence before the world was: and he delivers his church and people, because they are his Hephzibah, in whom is his delight; the Father delighted in them, and therefore chose them to salvation; the Son delighted in them, and gave himself for them, and ransomed them out of the hands of him that is stronger than they; the Holy Spirit delighted in them, and therefore regenerates, renews, and sanctifies them, and seals them up unto the day of redemption.

Ver. 20. "The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness."]-Which, if applied to David, cannot be understood of his own personal righteousness, or of works of righteousness done by him, for these merit nothing at the hand of God; but it is best to apply it to Christ, and understand it of his righteousness, which he, as mediator, has wrought out for his people; this is perfect, pure, and spotless, and entirely agreeable to the law of God; what will bear the sight of God, is satisfying to his justice, is wellpleasing to him, and is what he accepts of, and imputes to them that believe in Christ, and by which they are justified from all things. Now, according to this righteousness, Christ in strict justice has been rewarded in his own person, as he had the work of man's redemption assigned him, and he agreed to do it, he had a reward promised him, and which he claimed, when he had glorified his Father, and finished his work, and which he received when he was set down at the right hand of God, crowned with glory and honour, in consequence of his obedience, sufferings, and death: see Phil. ii. 7—10.

Ver. 21. "For I have kept the ways of the Lord."]These words agree with Christ, who kept the law of God perfectly, and did his will completely: he came from heaven to do it; it was his meat and drink to accomplish it, and