Expositions on the Book of Psalms (continued)
Psatm CV.] ON THE 521 PSALMS.
here, whence we become conscious that we ought thus to seek, since even when found He is still to be sought? To wit, faith hath already found Him, but hope still seeketh Him. But love hath both found Him through faith, and seeketh to have Him by sight, where He will then be found so as to satisfy us, and no longer to need our search. For unless faith discovered Him in this life, it would not be said, " Seek the Lord." Also, if when discovered by faith, He were not still to be diligently sought, it would not be said, "For if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.'* . .. And truly this is the sense of the words, "Seek His face evermore ;"' meaning that discovery should not terminate that seeking, by which love is testified, but with the increase of love the seeking of the discovered One should increase.
Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting 5 testament" (ver. 10). But if in this passage the Old Testament is to be understood, on account of the land of Canaan; for thus the language of the Psalm runneth, "saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan: the lot of your inheritance"' (ver. 11) : how is it to be understood. as everlasting, since that earthly inheritance could not be everlasting? And for this reason it is called the Old Testament, because it is abolished by the New. But a thousand generations do not seem to signify anything eternal, since they involve an end; and yet are also too numerous for this very temporal state. For by howsoever few years a generation is limited, such as in Greek is called yevéa, whereof the shortest period some have fixed is at fifteen years, after which period man hath the power of generation ; what then are those " thousand generations," not only from the time of Abraham, when that promise was made him, unto the New Testament, but from Adam himself down to the end of the world? For who would dare to say that this world should last for 15000 years? Hence it seemeth to me that we ought not to understand here the Old Testament, which it said through the prophet was to be cancelled by the New: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant."® ... After saying, "' He hath been mindful of His covenant unto an age ;"' which we ought to understand as lasting for evermore, the covenant, namely, of justification and an eternal inheritance, which God hath promised to faith; he addeth, "'and the Word that He commanded? unto a thousand generations." What meaneth "commanded"? . . . The command then was faith, that the righteous should live by faith ;% and an eternal inheritance is set before this faith. "A thousand generations," then, are, on account of the perfect number, to be understood for all; that is, as long as generation succeedeth generation, so long is it commanded to us to live by faith. This the people of God doth observe, the sons of promise who succeed by birth, and depart by death, until every generation be finished ; and this is signified by the number thousand ; because the solid square of the number ten, ten times ten, and this taken ten times amounts to a thousand. " Even the covenant," he saith, "which He made with Abraham: and the oath that He sware unto Isaac; and appointed the same unto Jacob," that is, Jacob himself, "for a law." These are the very three
4. " Remember," he saith, " His marvellous works that He hath done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth" (ver. 5). This passage seemeth like that, "Thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you:" an expression which, in ever so small part, scarce a mind? taketh in. Then mentioning His own Name, He mercifully mingled in His grace towards men, saying, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ; this is My Name for ever."3 By which He would have it to be understood, that they whose God He declared Himself lived with Him for ever, and He said this, which might be understood even by children, that they who by the great powers of love knew how to seek His face for evermore, might according to their capacity comprehend, I am THaT I am.
5. Unto whom is it said, ""O ye seed of Abraham His servant, ye children of Jacob, His chosény™e-(ver. 6)..'.... Hemnext-addeth, "He is the Lord our God: His judgments are in all the world" (ver. 7). Is He the God of the Jews only?* God forbid! "He is the Lord our God:" because the Church, where His judgments are preached, is in all the world... . 6. * He hath been alway mindful of His covyenant" (ver. 8). Other copies read, " for evermore ;"' and this arises from the ambiguity of the Greek. But if we are to understand " alway" of this world and not of eternity, why, when he explaineth what covenant He was mindful of, doth he add, 'The word that He made to a thousand generations"? Now this may be understood with a certain limitation ; but he afterwards saith, " Even the covenant that He made with Abraham "' (ver. 9) : "and the oath that He sware unto Isaac ; and appointed the same unto
5 [He adds: " Where there is no room for doubt: for the Greek has aiwveov, which our interpreters have never rendered by any other word than eternal; though scarce any authors in any passage have used aiwvios in the sense of everlasting. Unless perhaps, because they render aiwy as meaning time, ina more familiar way, they may choose to interpret atwvcov, not eternal, but ' for an age; ' which I do not remember any one having ventured to do." Conf. Matt. xxv. 46. CUjer. XXxie 3,22. 7 Mandavit. 8 Rom. i, 17.
1 Rom, viii. 25. 2 Rara mens. 3 Exod. iii. 14, 15. Oxf.'mss. read '' a pure mind." _
4 Rom, ili. 29.