Psalm 44-49
1599 Geneva Bible
44 1 The faithful remember the great mercy of God toward his people. 9 After they complain, because they feel it no more. 17 Also they allege the covenant made with Abraham, for the keeping whereof they show what grievous things they suffered. 23 Finally, they pray unto God not to contemn their affliction, seeing the same redoundeth to the contempt of his honor.
To him that excelleth. A Psalm to give instruction, committed to the sons of Korah.
1 We have heard with our [a]ears, O God: our fathers have told us the works that thou hast done in their days, in the old time:
2 How thou hast driven out the [b]heathen with thine hand, and planted [c]them: how thou hast destroyed the [d]people, and caused [e]them to grow.
3 For they inherited not the land by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou didst [f]favor them.
4 Thou art my king, O God: send help unto [g]Jacob.
5 [h]Through thee have we thrust back our adversaries: by thy Name have we trodden down them that rose up against us.
6 For I do not trust in my bow, neither can my sword save me.
7 But thou hast saved us from our adversaries, and hast put them to confusion that hate us.
8 Therefore will we praise God continually, and will confess thy Name forever. Selah.
9 But now thou art far off, and puttest us to [i]confusion, and goest not forth with our armies.
10 Thou makest us to turn back from the adversary, and they which hate us, spoil [j]for themselves.
11 (A)Thou givest us [k]as sheep to be eaten, and dost scatter us among the nations.
12 Thou sellest thy people [l]without gain, and dost not increase their price.
13 Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbors, a jest and laughing stock to them that are round about us.
14 Thou makest us a proverb among the nations, and a nodding of the head among the people.
15 My [m]confusion is daily before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,
16 For the voice of the slanderer and rebuker, for the enemy and [n]avenger.
17 All this is come upon us, yet do we not [o]forget thee, neither deal we falsely concerning thy covenant.
18 Our heart is not turned back: neither our steps gone out of thy paths,
19 Albeit thou hast smitten us down into the place of [p]dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we have forgotten the Name of our God, and held up our hands to a [q]strange god,
21 Shall not God [r]search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
22 Surely for thy sake [s]are we slain continually, and are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
23 Up, why sleepest thou, O Lord? awake, be not far off forever.
24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face? and forgettest our misery and our affliction?
25 For our soul is [t]beaten down unto the dust: our belly cleaveth to the ground.
26 Rise up for our succor, and redeem us for thy [u]mercy’s sake.
45 1 The majesty of Solomon, his honor, strength, beauty, riches, and power are praised, and also his marriage with the Egyptian being an heathen woman, is blessed. 10 If that she can renounce her people and the love of her country, and gave herself wholly to her husband. Under the which figure, the wonderful majesty and increase of the kingdom of Christ and his Church his spouse, now taken of the Gentiles, is described.
To him that excelleth on [v]Shoshannim, a song of [w]love to give instruction, committed to the sons of Korah.
1 Mine heart will utter forth a good matter: I will entreat in my works of the king: my tongue is as the pen of a swift writer.
2 Thou art [x]fairer than the children of men: grace is poured in thy lips, because God hath blessed thee forever.
3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, to wit, thy worship and thy glory:
4 And prosper with thy glory: [y]ride upon the word of truth and of meekness and of righteousness: so thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
5 Thine arrows are sharp to pierce the heart of the King’s enemies: therefore the people shall fall under thee.
6 Thy [z]throne, O God, is forever and ever: the scepter of thy kingdom, is a scepter of righteousness.
7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness, because God, even thy God, hath [aa]anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
8 All thy garments smell of myrrh and aloes, and cassia, when thou comest out of the ivory palaces [ab]where they have made thee glad.
9 King’s daughters were among thine honorable wives: upon thy right hand did stand the [ac]Queen in a vesture of gold of Ophir.
10 [ad]Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear: forget also thine own people and thy father’s house.
11 So shall the King have pleasure in thy beauty: for he is thy Lord, and reverence thou him.
12 And the [ae]daughter of [af]Tyre with the rich of the people, shall do homage before thy face with presents.
13 The King’s daughter is all glorious [ag]within: her clothing is of broidered gold.
14 She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needlework: the virgins that follow after her, and her companions shall be brought unto thee.
15 With joy and gladness shall they be brought, and shall enter into the king’s palace.
16 Instead of thy fathers shall thy [ah]children be: thou shalt make them princes [ai]through all the earth.
17 I will make thy [aj]Name to be remembered through all generations: therefore shall the people give thanks unto thee, world without end.
46 1 A song of triumph or thanksgiving for the deliverance of Jerusalem, after Sennacherib with his army was driven away, or some other like sudden and marvelous deliverance by the mighty hand of God. 8 Whereby the Prophet commending this great benefit, doth exhort the faithful to give themselves wholly into the hand of God, doubting nothing but that under his protection they shall be safe against all the assaults of their enemies, because this is his delight to assuage the rage of the wicked, when they are most busy against the just.
To him that excelleth upon [ak]Alamoth, a song committed to the sons of Korah.
1 God is our [al]hope and strength, and help in [am]troubles, ready to be found.
2 Therefore will not we [an]fear, though the earth be moved, and though the mountains fall into the midst of the sea,
3 Though the waters thereof [ao]rage and be troubled, and the mountains shake at the surges of the same. Selah.
4 Yet there is a [ap]River, whose stream shall make glad the City of God: even the Sanctuary of the Tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of it: therefore shall it not be moved: God shall help it [aq]very early.
6 When the nations raged, and the kingdoms were moved, God [ar]thundered, and the earth melted.
7 The Lord of hosts is [as]with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
8 Come and behold the works of the Lord, [at]what desolations he hath made in the earth.
9 He maketh wars to cease unto the ends of the world, he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear, and burneth the chariots with fire.
10 Be [au]still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the heathen, and I will be exalted in the earth.
11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
47 1 The Prophet exhorteth all people to the worship of the true and everlasting God, commending the mercy of God toward the posterity of Jacob. 9 And after prophesieth of the kingdom of Christ in the time of the Gospel.
To him that excelleth. A Psalm committed to the sons of Korah.
1 All people [av]clap your hands; sing loud unto God with a joyful voice.
2 For the Lord is high, and terrible; a great King over all the earth.
3 He hath [aw]subdued the people under us, and the nations under our feet.
4 He hath chosen [ax]our inheritance for us: even the glory of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.
5 God is gone up with triumph, even the Lord with the [ay]sound of the trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the king of all the earth: sing praises everyone that hath [az]understanding.
8 God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon his holy Throne.
9 The princes of the people are gathered unto the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the world belong to God: he [ba]is greatly to be exalted.
48 1 A notable deliverance of Jerusalem from the hands of many kings is mentioned, for the which thanks are given to God, and the state of that city is praised, that hath God so presently at all times ready to defend them. This Psalm seemeth to be made in the time of Ahaz, Jehoshaphat, Asa, or Hezekiah: for in their times chiefly was the city by foreign princes assaulted.
[bb]A song or Psalm committed to the sons of Korah.
1 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the [bc]City of our God, even upon his holy Mountain.
2 Mount Zion, lying Northward, is fair in situation: it is the [bd]joy of the whole earth, and the City of the great king.
3 In the palaces thereof God is known for a [be]refuge.
4 For lo, the kings were [bf]gathered, and went together.
5 When they saw [bg]it, they marveled: they were astonied, and suddenly driven back.
6 Fear came there upon them, and sorrow, as upon a woman in travail.
7 As with an East wind thou breakest the ships [bh]of Tarshish, so were they destroyed.
8 As we have [bi]heard, so have we seen in the City of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it forever. Selah.
9 We wait for thy loving-kindness, O God, in the midst of thy Temple.
10 O God, according to thy Name, so is thy praise unto the [bj]world’s end: thy right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let [bk]mount Zion rejoice, and the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.
12 [bl]Compass about Zion, and go round about it, and tell the towers thereof.
13 Mark well the wall thereof: behold her towers, that ye may tell your posterity.
14 For this God is our God forever and ever, he shall be our guide unto the death.
49 1 The holy Ghost calleth all men to the consideration of man’s life, 7 showing them not to be most blessed that are most wealthy, and therefore not to be feared: but contrariwise he lifteth up our minds to consider how all things are ruled by God’s providence: 14 Who as he judgeth these worldly misers to everlasting torments, 15 so doth he preserve his, and will reward them in the day of the resurrection, 1 Thess. 1:6.
To him that excelleth. A Psalm committed to the sons of Korah.
1 Hear [bm]this all ye people: give ear, all ye that dwell in the world,
2 As well low as high, both rich and poor.
3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom, and the meditation of mine heart is of knowledge.
4 I will incline mine ear to a parable, and utter my grave matter upon the harp.
5 Wherefore should I [bn]fear in the evil days, when iniquity shall compass me about, as at mine heels?
6 They trust in their [bo]goods, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches.
7 Yet a man can by no means redeem his brother: he cannot give his ransom to God,
8 (So [bp]precious is the redemption of their souls, [bq]and the continuance forever)
9 That he may live still forever, and not see the grave.
10 For he seeth that wise men [br]die: and also that the ignorant and foolish perish, and leave their riches for [bs]others.
11 Yet they think their houses and their habitations shall continue forever, even from generation to generation, and [bt]call their lands by their names.
12 But man shall not continue in honor; he is like the [bu]beasts that die.
13 This their way uttereth their foolishness; yet their posterity [bv]delight in their talk. Selah.
14 [bw]Like sheep they lie in grave; [bx]death devoureth them; and the righteous shall have domination over them in the [by]morning; for their beauty shall consume, when they shall go from their house to grave.
15 But God shall deliver my soul from the power of the grave; [bz]for he will receive me. Selah.
16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, and when the glory of his house is increased.
17 (B)For he shall take nothing away, when he dieth, neither shall his pomp descend after him.
18 For while he lived, [ca]he rejoiced himself; and [cb]men will praise thee, when thou makest much of thyself.
19 [cc][cd]He shall enter into the generation of his fathers, [ce]and they shall not live forever.
20 Man is in honor; and [cf]understandeth not; he is like to beasts that perish.
Footnotes
- Psalm 44:1 This psalm seemeth to have been made by some excellent Prophet for the use of the people, when the Church was in extreme misery, either at their return from Babylon, or under Antiochus, or in such like affliction.
- Psalm 44:2 That is, the Canaanites.
- Psalm 44:2 To wit, our fathers.
- Psalm 44:2 Of Canaan.
- Psalm 44:2 That is, our fathers.
- Psalm 44:3 God’s free mercy and love is the only fountain and beginning of the Church, Deut. 4:37.
- Psalm 44:4 Because thou art our king, therefore deliver thy people from their misery.
- Psalm 44:5 Because they and their forefathers made both one Church, they apply that to themselves which before they did attribute to their fathers.
- Psalm 44:9 As they confessed before that their strength came of God, so now they acknowledge that this affliction came by his just judgment.
- Psalm 44:10 Or, at their pleasure.
- Psalm 44:11 Knowing God to be author of this calamity, they murmur not, but seek remedy at his hands, who wounded them.
- Psalm 44:12 As slaves which are sold for a low price, neither lookest thou for him that offereth most, but takest the first chapman.
- Psalm 44:15 I dare not lift up my head for shame.
- Psalm 44:16 Meaning, the proud and cruel tyrant.
- Psalm 44:17 They boast not of their virtues, but declare that they rest upon God in the midst of their afflictions: who punished not now their sins, but by hard afflictions called them to the consideration of the heavenly joys.
- Psalm 44:19 Or, whales: meaning, the bottomless seas of tentations: here we see the power of faith, which can be overcome by no perils.
- Psalm 44:20 They show that they honored God aright, because they trusted in him alone.
- Psalm 44:21 They take God to witness that they were upright to himward.
- Psalm 44:22 The faithful make this their comfort, that the wicked punish them not for their sins, but for God’s cause, Matt. 5:10; 1 Pet. 4:14.
- Psalm 44:25 There is no hope of recovery, except thou put to thine hand and raise us up.
- Psalm 44:26 Which is the only sufficient ransom to deliver both body and soul from all kinds of slavery and misery.
- Psalm 45:1 This was a certain tune or an instrument.
- Psalm 45:1 Of that perfect love that ought to be between the husband and the wife.
- Psalm 45:2 Solomon’s beauty and eloquence to win favor with his people, and his power to overcome his enemies, is here described.
- Psalm 45:4 He alludeth to them that ride in chariots in their triumphs, showing that the quiet state of a kingdom standeth in truth, meekness and justice, not in worldly pomp and vanity.
- Psalm 45:6 Under this figure of this kingdom of justice is set forth the everlasting kingdom of Christ.
- Psalm 45:7 Hath established thy kingdom as the figure of Christ, which is the peace and joy of the Church.
- Psalm 45:8 In the which palace the people made thee joyful to see them give thanks and rejoice for thee.
- Psalm 45:9 Though he had many Kings’ daughters among his wives, yet he loved Pharaoh’s daughter best.
- Psalm 45:10 Under the figure of Pharaoh’s daughter, he showeth that the Church must cast off all carnal affections to obey Christ only.
- Psalm 45:12 He signifieth that divers of them that be rich shall be benefactors to the Church, albeit they give not perfect obedience to the Gospel.
- Psalm 45:12 Or, Zor.
- Psalm 45:13 There is nothing feigned, nor hypocritical, but she is glorious both within and without: and howbeit the Church hath not at all times this outward glory, the fault is to be imputed only to their own ingratitude.
- Psalm 45:16 They shall have greater graces than their fathers.
- Psalm 45:16 He signifieth the great compass of Christ’s kingdom, which shall be sufficient to enrich all his members.
- Psalm 45:17 This only must be referred to Christ and not to Solomon.
- Psalm 46:1 Which was either a musical instrument or a solemn tune, unto the which this Psalm was sung.
- Psalm 46:1 Or, protection.
- Psalm 46:1 In all manner of troubles God showeth his speedy mercy and power in defending his.
- Psalm 46:2 That is, we will not be overcome with fear.
- Psalm 46:3 Though the afflictions rage never so much, yet the rivers of God’s mercies bring sufficient comfort to his.
- Psalm 46:4 The river of Shiloah, which passed through Jerusalem: meaning, though the defense seem never so small, yet if God have appointed it, it is sufficient.
- Psalm 46:5 Always when need requireth.
- Psalm 46:6 Hebrew, gave his voice.
- Psalm 46:7 They are assured that God can and will defend his Church from all dangers and enemies.
- Psalm 46:8 To wit, how oft he hath destroyed his enemies, and delivered his people.
- Psalm 46:10 He warneth them that persecute the Church, to cease their cruelty: for else they shall feel that God is too strong for them against whom they fight.
- Psalm 47:1 Here is figured Christ, unto whom all his should give willing obedience, and who would show himself terrible to the wicked.
- Psalm 47:3 He hath made the Jews, who were the keepers of the Law and Prophets, schoolmasters to the Gentiles, that they should with gladness obey them.
- Psalm 47:4 God hath chosen us above all other nations, to enjoy a most glorious inheritance.
- Psalm 47:5 He doth allude unto the trumpets, that were blown at solemn feasts: but he doth further signify the triumph of Christ and his glorious ascension into the heavens.
- Psalm 47:7 He requireth that understanding be joined with singing, lest the Name of God be profaned with vain crying.
- Psalm 47:9 He praiseth God’s highness, for that he joineth the great princes of the world (whom he calleth shields) to the fellowship of his Church.
- Psalm 48:1 Some put this difference between a song and Psalm, saying that it is called a song, when there is no instrument, but the voice: and the Psalm, the contrary. The song of the Psalm is when the instruments begin, and the voice followeth. The Psalm of the song the contrary.
- Psalm 48:1 Albeit God shows his wonders through all the world, yet he will be chiefly praised in his Church.
- Psalm 48:2 Because the word of salvation came thence to all them that should believe.
- Psalm 48:3 Except God were the defense thereof, neither situation nor munition could prevail.
- Psalm 48:4 They conspired and went against God’s people.
- Psalm 48:5 The enemies were afraid at the sight of the City.
- Psalm 48:7 That is, of Cilicia, or of the sea called Mediterranean.
- Psalm 48:8 To wit, of our fathers: so have we proved: or God hath performed his promise.
- Psalm 48:10 In all places where thy Name shall be heard of, men shall praise thee, when they hear of thy marvelous works.
- Psalm 48:11 Let Jerusalem and the cities of Judea rejoice, for thy just judgments against thine enemies.
- Psalm 48:12 For in this outward defense and strength God’s blessings did also appear: but the chief is to be referred to God’s favor and secret defense, who never leaveth his.
- Psalm 49:1 He will entreat how God governeth the world by his providence, which cannot be perceived by the judgment of the flesh.
- Psalm 49:5 Though wickedness reign, and enemies rage, seeing God will execute his judgments against the wicked in time convenient.
- Psalm 49:6 To trust in riches is mere madness, seeing they can neither restore life, nor prolong it.
- Psalm 49:8 That is, so rare or not to be found, as prophecy was precious in the days of Eli, 1 Sam. 3:1.
- Psalm 49:8 Meaning, it is impossible to live forever: also that life and death are only in God’s hands.
- Psalm 49:10 In that that death maketh no difference between the persons.
- Psalm 49:10 That is, not to their children, but to strangers. Yet the wicked profit not by these examples, but still dream an immortality in earth.
- Psalm 49:11 Or, labor that their name may be famous in earth.
- Psalm 49:12 As touching the death of the body.
- Psalm 49:13 They speak and do the same thing that their fathers did.
- Psalm 49:14 As sheep are gathered into the fold, so shall they be brought to the grave.
- Psalm 49:14 Because they have no part of life everlasting.
- Psalm 49:14 Christ’s coming is as the morning, when the elect shall reign with Christ their head over the wicked.
- Psalm 49:15 Or, because he hath received me.
- Psalm 49:18 Hebrew, he blessed his soul.
- Psalm 49:18 The flatterers praise them that live in delight and pleasures.
- Psalm 49:19 Or, his soul.
- Psalm 49:19 And not pass the term appointed for life.
- Psalm 49:19 Both they and their fathers shall live here but a while, and at length die forever.
- Psalm 49:20 He condemneth man’s ingratitude, who having received excellent gifts of God, abuseth them like a beast to his own condemnation.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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