Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/4_200.lzh/4_245.TXT

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either in the New Jerusalem, or ultimate glory, when
there will be nothing more of this kind, Rev. vii. 15,
And there are some periods in the present state, when
those entirely cease; nor are the saints ever really hurt
by them, they being always tbr their good; or, however,
not so asto affect their eternal happiness. The Targum
is," in the day, when the sun rules, the morning spirits
"shall not smite thee; nor the nocturnal ones in the
"night, when the moon rules."
Ver. 7 Thee Lord shall preserve them from all evil,
&c.] The Word of the Lord, as the Targum. Not
from the evil of affliction, though from that as a penal
evil; or as a real one, it being made to work for good:
but from the evil of sin; not from the being or com-
mission of it; but from its dominion and damning
power, or from a final and total falling away by it:
and from the evil of the world; not from tribulation
in it, nor from the reproach or persecution of it; but
from the wickedness and lusts that are in it, anti
from the wicked men of it, their power, rage, and fury:
and from the evil one, Satan; not from his temptations,
butfr0m sinking under them, and perishing bythem; see
John xvii. 12, 15. He shall preserve thy soul: he pre-
serves the bodies of his people, oftentimes from diseases
and disasters, and from death, till the appointed time
comes; and then he preserves their dust in the grave,
and raises it np at the last day; but more especially
their souls, the redemption and salvation of which
he undertook, and has effected; and which are pre-
served by him safe to his coming, kingdom, anti glory.
Vet. 8. The Lord shall preserre thy going out, and thy
coming in, &c.] In transacting all the business of life,
in .going in and out about it; in all ways, works, and
conversation; in journeying and travelling; in all
affairs, civil and religious; and not only preserve, but
prosper in all, Psal. i. 3. the Lord blessing him, coming
in anti going out, Dent. xxviii. 6. and such, with the
poet {x}, are said to go with a good or prosperous foot.
And such persons, in the Punic language, are called
Namphanians, as Austin observes {y}; who s,ys the
word signifies a man of a good foot: and the word
seems to be the contraction of \^wmep Men\^, which signifies
his good or pleasant foot {z}; and so one that, wherever
he comes and goes, things prosper with him, anti with
those that are in connexion with him: such an one
was Jacob in the house of Laban, whom the Lord
blessed, as he says, since my coming, or at my .foot,
Gen. xxx. 30. see the note there; and such a foot
Joseph had wherever he went, Gen. xxxix..5, 23.
Aroma interprets it ofa man's going out into the air of
this world, and of his entrance into the world to come.
The Targum is, "the Lord will keep thy going out to
"business, and thy coming in to study in the law."
From this time forth, and even for evermore; tbr the
Lord not only preserves his people in life and at
death, but in heaven, to all eternity; in the utmost
safety and peace from a!l molestations by .men or
devils, and from their wrath and malice: not only'
his purpose and decree, but his power and
dence, are the vast gulf between the one and the
other; by means of which the wicked cease from
troubling, and the weary are at rest, Luke xvi.
Job iii. 17.
THIS is the first of the songs of degrees that bears
the name of David: and Kimchi thinks they only
were written by him which have his name to them;
though he, Abendana, and others, are of opinion that
this psalm was composed with a view to the captives
in Babylon; who are here personated, and are repre-
sented as rejoicing at their going up to Jerusalem, to
the solemn feasts there. The inscription in the Syriac
version is, "a psalm of David, one of the psalms of
"ascent, when Cyrus commanded the captivity to go
"up; spiritually, a promise of good things." It seems
to be designed for the use of the Israelites, and to
be sung by them when they went up to the feasts,
three times a year. Some say {a} they sung this by
the way, when they carried the first-fruits to Jeru-
salem.
Ver. 1. I was glad when they said unto me, &c.] Or,
I-rejoiced in, or because of, those that said unto me b; Or,
in what was said unto me. For it may regard not only
the time when he had this pleasure of mind, but the
persons who gave it, as well as the ground and reason
of the things said unto him, as follows: let us go into
the house of the Lord; the house of the sanctuary, as
the Targum; the tabernacle, the place of divine wor-
ship, typical of the church of God; which is an house
of his building, beautitying, and repairing, and where
he dwells: it has all the essentiality of a house; its
materials are lively stones; its foundation Christ; its
pillars ministers of the word; the beams of it stable
believers; its windows the ordinances; and the door
into it faith in Christ, and a profession of it. Now it
is both the duty and privilege of believers to go into it;
here they find spiritual pleasure, enjoy abundance of
peace and comfort, and have their spiritual strength
renewed, as well as it is to their honour and glory: and
it becomes them to stir up one another to go thither;
some are slothful and backward; some are lukewarm
and indifferent; some are worldly and earnally minded;
and others are conceited of their knowledge, and think
themselves wiser than their teachers, and therefore
need to be excited to their duty; and truly gracious
souls are glad when they are stirred up to it, both on

{x} Virgil. AEneid. l. 8. Adi pede sacra secundo; & l. 10. adsis pede
diva secundo.
{y} Epist. 44.
{z} Vid. Sterringae Philol. Sacr. p. 169. Reinesium de Lingua Punica,
c. 8. s. 10.
{a} Weemse's Christ. Synagog. l. 1. c. 6. s. 4. p. 144.
{b} \^yl Myrmab\^ , in dicentibus mihi, Montanus; so Ainswortb, Va-
tablus, Cocceius; in his quae dicta  sunt mihi, V. L. so Junius &
Tremellius.