_The state of the godly.—Their safety.—Their habitation.—Their
servants.—Their friends; with the effects of them all._
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide
under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, _He is_ my refuge, and my fortress: my God; in
him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, _and_ from
the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou
trust; his truth _shall be thy_ shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, _nor_ for the arrow
_that_ flieth by day,
_Nor_ for the pestilence _that_ walketh in darkness, _nor_ for the
destruction _that_ wasteth at noon-day.
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand;
_but_ it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, and see the reward of the
wicked.
Because thou hast made the LORD, _which is_ my refuge, _even_ the Most
High, thy habitation.
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh
thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy
ways.
They shall bear thee up in _their_ hands, lest thou dash thy foot
against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the
dragon shall thou trample under feet.
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I
will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I _will be_ with him in
trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
This is a most distinguished jewel among all the Psalms of
consolation. The Psalmist highly exalts faith in God, and shews that
it is an invincible strength against all evils, and against all the
gates of hell.
At the very outset, the Psalmist says, “He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the Most High, abideth under the shadow of the Almighty;” and
such an one shall say unto the Lord, “Thou art my confidence, my
protection, my fortress and my God,” that is, he that believeth and
trusteth in God, and rests in his protection,—he shall find, though
shaken on every side, by the devil, by sin, by the world, and by
various and endless temptations, that the godly are proof and
invincible against all these evils; that God is most high over all;
that he is Omnipotent; and, in a word, that “greater is he that is in
us than he that is in the world.”
Towards the conclusion, this Psalm contains, accumulated together,
eight or nine promises of grace, which the Psalmist drew out of the
first commandment, as out of a fountain. This Psalm, therefore, ought
to be set before afflicted souls. 1. The Psalmist says “Because he
hath hoped in me, therefore will I deliver him.” 2. “I will set him on
high.” 3. “Because he hath called upon me, I will hear him.” 4. “I
will be with him in trouble.” 5. “I will deliver him.” 6. “I will set
him on high, or glorify him.” 7. “With long life will I satisfy him.”
8. “I will show him my salvation:” that is, that I am “mighty to
save!”
And this also is the second Psalm wherein angels are proclaimed as our
watchful guardians and protectors: which is a truth very greatly
consoling to the really godly, who know with what fury Satan
unceasingly assaults the church, and all the saints. This Psalm
enumerates four kinds of evils and afflictions, which are to be
endured by the saints and those that fear God:
1. “Mighty fear,”—“terror by night.” The scripture frequently
represents temptations and afflictions under the figures of darkness
and night; and consolations under the figurative descriptions of light
and day. The Psalmist, therefore, here sets forth all those horrible
instances of hatred, that Cain-like purpose to destroy, (which is ever
secretly bound up in the hearts of pharisaic religionists) all those
malicious threats, those hostile traps and snares, those created
perils, those injuries, and all those other terrible oppositions which
Satan ever raises up against the word of God, by nightly fear, or
“terror by night.”
2. “The arrow that flieth by day.” By which are meant to be described
all those open clamours, reproaches, execrations, and blasphemies, by
which tyrants and hypocrites openly attack and condemn the word of
God, and the doctrine of Christ. Of this kind are the pope’s bulls,
(and truly they are bulls!) and also, the edicts of kings and princes,
the virulent and blasphemous books of erroneous disputers, and the
writings of erroneous and visionary men, such as the anabaptists, and
the like.
3. “The pestilence that creepeth (or walketh) in darkness.” These are
the deceits, the crafts, and the artifices of the papists; and the
leagues, the covert conspiracies, the secret counsels, by which those
enemies consult and plan among themselves in their private conclaves:
which clandestine machinations they think they can keep hidden, even
from the eyes of God himself; and by all which diabolical means, they
plot to destroy and root out the godly and all doctrine that is truly
good and saving.
4. “The disease (or contagion, or destruction) that wasteth at noon
day.” This is the work of open persecution; whereby these holy Cains,
in their unheard-of cruelty and tyranny, shed the blood of the Abels,
drive into exile the godly, plunder their substance, and slaughter
them by every cruelty of torture; thereby attempting to lay the true
church utterly waste, and to leave not a vestige of the true word
remaining.
This is my view of the Psalm. I know that St. Bernard gives other
interpretations. Let others, therefore, if they can, put forth a
better explication than I have done: that my view is simple, and
agreeable to the mind and spirit of the prophets, is self-manifest,
and proved by experience: for we see and experience daily, that the
saints of God are attacked and exercised by these four afflictions for
the word’s sake, by means of the devil and by the world. The Holy
Spirit, therefore, by this Psalm, revives and strengthens our faith;
and by the cluster of promises at the end of the Psalm, the same Holy
Spirit quickens and refreshes our hearts with consolation: this Psalm
therefore ought to be most acceptable to all the saints.