TITLE. To the Chief Musician upon Muth-labben, a
Psalm of David. The meaning of this title is very doubtful.
It may refer to the tune to which the Psalm was to be sung, so
Wilcocks and others think; or it may refer to a musical
instrument now unknown, but common in those days; or it may have
a reference to Ben, who is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 15:18, as
one of the Levitical singers. If either of these conjectures
should be correct, the title of Muth-Labben has no teaching for
us, except it is meant to show us how careful David was that in
the worship of God, all things should be done according to due
order. From a considerable company of learned witnesses we
gather that the title will bear a meaning far more instructive,
without being fancifully forced: it signifies a Psalm concerning
the death of the Son. The Chaldee has, "concerning the
death of the Champion who went out between the camps,"
referring to Goliath of Gath, or some other Philistine, on
account of whose death many suppose this Psalm to have been
written in after years by David. Believing that out of a
thousand guesses this is at least as consistent with the sense
of the Psalm as any other, we prefer it; and the more especially
so because it enables us to refer it mystically to the victory
of the Son of God over the champion of evil, even to enemy of
souls (verse 6). We have here before us most evidently a
triumphal hymn; may it strengthen the faith of the militant
believer and stimulate the courage of the timid saint, as he
sees here THE CONQUEROR, on whose vesture and thigh is
the name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
ORDER. Bonar remarks, "The position of the Psalms in
their relation to each other is often remarkable. It is
questioned whether the present arrangement of them was the order
to which they were given forth to Israel, or whether some later
compiler, perhaps Ezra, was inspired to attend to this matter,
as well as to other points connected with the canon. Without
attempting to decide this point, it is enough to remark that we
have proof that the order of the Psalms is as ancient as the
completing of the canon, and if so, it seems obvious that the
Holy Spirit wished this book to come down to us in its present
order. We make these remarks, in order to invite attention to
the fact, that as the eighth caught up the last line of the
seventh, this ninth Psalm opens with an apparent reference to
the eighth:
"I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in thee. (Compare Song 1:4;
Revelation 19:7)
I will sing to THY NAME, O thou Most High." Verses 1, 2.
As if "The Name," so highly praised in
the former Psalm, were still ringing in the ear of the sweet
singer of Israel. And in verse 10, he returns to it, celebrating
their confidence who "know" that "name" as
if its fragrance still breathed in the atmosphere around.
DIVISION. The strain so continually changes, that it is
difficult to give an outline of it methodically arranged: we
give the best we can make. From verses 1 to 6 is a song of
jubilant thanksgiving; from 7 to 12, there is a continued
declaration of faith as to the future. Prayer closes the first
great division of the Psalm in verses 13 and 14. The second
portion of this triumphal ode, although much shorter, is
parallel in all its parts to the first portion, and is a sort of
rehearsal of it. Observe the song for past judgments, verses 15,
16; the declaration of trust in future justice, 17, 18; and the
closing prayer, 19, 20. Let us celebrate the conquests of the
Redeemer as we read this Psalm, and it cannot but be a
delightful task if the Holy Ghost be with us.
EXPOSITION Verse 1. With a holy resolution
the songster begins his hymn; I will praise thee, O Lord.
It sometimes needs all our determination to face the foe, and
bless the Lord in the teeth of his enemies; vowing that whoever
else may be silent we will bless his name; here, however,
the overthrow of the foe is viewed as complete, and the song
flows with sacred fulness of delight. It is our duty to praise
the Lord; let us perform it as a privilege. Observe that David's
praise is all given to the Lord. Praise is to be offered to God
alone; we may be grateful to the intermediate agent, but our
thanks must have long wings and mount aloft to heaven. With
my whole heart. Half heart is no heart. I will show
forth. There is true praise to the thankful telling forth to
others of our heavenly Father's dealings with us; this is one of
the themes upon which the godly should speak often to one
another, and it will not be casting pearls before swine if we
make even the ungodly hear of the loving-kindness of the Lord to
us. All thy marvellous works. Gratitude for one mercy
refreshes the memory as to thousands of others. One silver link
in the chain draws up a long series of tender remembrances. Here
is eternal work for us, for there can be no end to the showing
forth of all his deeds of love. If we consider our own
sinfulness and nothingness, we must feel that every work of
preservation, forgiveness, conversion, deliverance,
sanctification, etc., which the Lord has wrought for us, or in
us is a marvellous work. Even in heaven, divine
loving-kindness will doubtless be as much a theme of surprise as
of rapture.
Verse 2. Gladness and joy are the appropriate spirit in which
to praise the goodness of the Lord. Birds extol the Creator in
notes of overflowing joy, the cattle low forth his praise with
tumult of happiness, and the fish leap up in his worship with
excess of delight. Moloch may be worshipped with shrieks of
pain, and Juggernaut may be honoured by dying groans and inhuman
yells, but he whose name is Love is best pleased with the holy
mirth, and sanctified gladness of his people. Daily rejoicing is
an ornament to the Christian character, and a suitable robe for
God's choristers to wear. God loveth a cheerful giver,
whether it be the gold of his purse or the gold of his mouth
which he presents upon his altar. I will sing praise to thy
name, O thou most High. Songs are the fitting expression of
inward thankfulness, and it were well if we indulge ourselves
and honoured our Lord with more of them. Mr. B. P. Power has
well said, "The sailors give a cheery cry as they weigh
anchor, the ploughman whistles in the morning as he drives his
team; the milkmaid sings her rustic song as she sets about her
early task; when soldiers are leaving friends behind them, they
do not march out to the tune of the 'Dead March in Saul,' but to
the quick notes of some lively air. A praising spirit would do
for us all that their songs and music do for them; and if only
we could determine to praise the Lord, we should surmount many a
difficulty which our low spirits never would have been equal to,
and we should do double the work which can be done if the heart
be languid in its beating, if we be crushed and trodden down in
soul. As the evil spirit in Saul yielded in olden time to the
influence of the harp of the son of Jesse, so would the spirit
of melancholy often take flight from us, if only we would take
up the song of praise.
Verse 3. God's presence is evermore sufficient to work the
defeat of our most furious foes, and their ruin is so complete
when the Lord takes them in hand, that even flight cannot save
them, they fall to rise no more when he pursues them. We must be
careful, like David, to give all the glory to him whose presence
gives the victory. If we have here the exultings of our
conquering Captain, let us make the triumphs of the Redeemer the
triumphs of the redeemed, and rejoice with him at the total
discomfiture of all his foes.
Verse 4. One of our nobility has for his motto, "I will
maintain it;" but the Christian has a better and more
humble one, "Thou hast maintained it." "God and
my right," are united by my faith: while God lives my right
shall never be taken from me. If we seek to maintain the cause
and honour of our Lord we may suffer reproach and
misrepresentation, but it is a rich comfort to remember that he
who sits on the throne knows our hearts, and will not leave us
to the ignorant and ungenerous judgment of erring man.
Verse 5. God rebukes before he destroys, but when he once
comes to blows with the wicked he ceases not until he has dashed
them in pieces so small that their very name is forgotten, and
like a noisome snuff their remembrance is put out for ever and
ever. How often the word "thou" occurs in this and the
former verse, to show us that the grateful strain mounts up
directly to the Lord as doth the smoke from the altar when the
air is still. My soul send up all the music of all thy powers to
him who has been and is thy sure deliverance.
Verse 6. Here the Psalmist exults over the fallen foe. He
bends as it were, over his prostrate form, and insults his once
vaunted strength. He plucks the boaster's song out of his mouth,
and sings it for him in derision. After this fashion doth our
Glorious Redeemer ask of death, "Where is thy sting?"
and of the grave, "Where is thy victory?" The spoiler
is spoiled, and he who made captive is led into captivity
himself. Let the daughters of Jerusalem go forth to meet their
King, and praise him with timbrel and harp.
In the light of the past the future is not doubtful. Since
the same Almighty God fills the throne of power, we can with
unhesitating confidence, exult in our security for all time to
come.
Verse 7. The enduring existence and unchanging dominion of
our Jehovah, are the firm foundations of our joy. The enemy and
his destructions shall come to a perpetual end, but God and his
throne shall endure for ever. The eternity of divine
sovereignty yields unfailing consolation. By the throne being prepared
for judgment, are we not to understand the swiftness of
divine justice. In heaven's court suitors are not worn out with
long delays. Term-time lasts all the year round in the court of
King's Bench above. Thousands may come at once to the throne of
the Judge of all the earth, but neither plaintiff nor defendant
shall have to complain that he is not prepared to give their
cause a fair hearing.
Verse 8. Whatever earthly courts may do, heaven's throne
ministers judgment in uprightness. Partiality and respect of
persons are things unknown in the dealings of the Holy One of
Israel. How the prospect of appearing before the impartial
tribunal of the Great King should act as a check to us when
tempted to sin, and as a comfort when we are slandered or
oppressed.
Verse 9. He who gives no quarter to the wicked in the day of
judgment, is the defence and refuge of his saints in the day of
trouble. There are many forms of oppression; both from man and
from Satan oppression comes to us; and for all its forms, a
refuge is provided in the Lord Jehovah. There were cities of
refuge under the law, God is our refuge-city under the gospel.
As the ships when vexed with tempest make for harbour, so do the
oppressed hasten to the wings of a just and gracious God. He is
a high tower so impregnable, that the hosts of hell cannot carry
it by storm, and from its lofty heights faith looks down with
scorn upon her enemies.
Verse 10. Ignorance is worst when it amounts to ignorance of
God, and knowledge is best when it exercises itself upon the
name of God. This most excellent knowledge leads to the most
excellent grace of faith. O, to learn more of the attributes and
character of God. Unbelief, that hooting nightbird, cannot live
in the light of divine knowledge, it flies before the sun of
God's great and gracious name. If we read this verse literally,
there is, no doubt, a glorious fulness of assurance in the names
of God. We have recounted them in the "Hints for
Preachers," and would direct the reader's attention to
them. By knowing his name is also meant an experimental
acquaintance with the attributes of God, which are every one of
them anchors to hold the soul from drifting in seasons of peril.
The Lord may hide his face for a season from his people, but he
never has utterly, finally, really, or angrily forsaken them
that seek him. Let the poor seekers draw comfort from this
fact, and let the finders rejoice yet more exceedingly, for what
must be the Lord's faithfulness to those who find if he is so
gracious to those who seek.
"O hope of every contrite heart,
O joy of all the meek,
To those who fall how kind thou art,
How good to those who seek.
"But what to those who find, ah, this
Nor tongue nor pen can show
The love of Jesus what it is,
None but his loved ones know."
Verse 11. Being full of gratitude himself, our inspired
author is eager to excite others to join the strain, and praise
God in the same manner as he himself vowed to do in the first
and second verses. The heavenly spirit of praise is gloriously
contagious, and he that hath it is never content unless he can
excite all who surround him to unite in his sweet employ.
Singing and preaching, as means of glorifying God, are here
joined together, and it is remarkable that, connected with all
revivals of gospel ministry, there has been a sudden outburst of
the spirit of song. Luther's Psalms and Hymns were in all men's
mouths, and in the modern revival under Wesley and Whitefield,
the strains of Charles Wesley, Cennick, Berridge, Toplady, Hart,
Newton, and many others, were the outgrowth of restored piety.
The singing of the birds of praise fitly accompanies the return
of the gracious spring of divine visitation through the
proclamation of the truth. Sing on brethren, and preach on, and
these shall both be a token that the Lord still dwelleth in
Zion. It will be well for us when coming up to Zion, to remember
that the Lord dwells among his saints, and is to be had in
peculiar reverence of all those that are about him.
Verse 12. When an inquest is held concerning the blood of the
oppressed, the martyred saints will have the first remembrance;
he will avenge his own elect. Those saints who are living shall
also be heard; they shall be exonerated from blame, and kept
from destruction, even when the Lord's most terrible work is
going on; the man with the inkhorn by his side shall mark them
all for safety, before the slaughtermen are permitted to smite
the Lord's enemies. The humble cry of the poorest saints shall
neither be drowned by the voice of the thundering justice nor by
the shrieks of the condemned.
Verse 13. Memories of the past and confidences concerning the
future conducted the man of God to the mercy seat to plead for
the needs of the present. Between praising and praying he
divided all his time. How could he have spent it more
profitably? His first prayer is one suitable for all persons and
occasions, it breathes a humble spirit, indicates
self-knowledge, appeals to the proper attributes, and to the
fitting person. Have mercy upon me, O Lord. Just as
Luther used to call some texts little bibles, so we may call
this sentence a little prayer-book; for it has in it the soul
and marrow of prayer. It is multum in parvo, and like the
angelic sword turns every way. The ladder looks to be short, but
it reaches from earth to heaven.
What
a noble title is here given to the Most High. Thou that
liftest me up from the gates of death! What a glorious lift!
In sickness, in sin, in despair, in temptation, we have been
brought very low, and the gloomy portal has seemed as if it
would open to imprison us, but, underneath us were the
everlasting arms, and, therefore, we have been uplifted even to
the gates of heaven. Trapp quaintly says, "He commonly
reserveth his hand for a dead lift, and rescueth those who were
even talking of their graves."
Verse 14. We must not overlook David's object in desiring
mercy, it is God's glory: "that I may show forth all thy
praise." Saints are not so selfish as to look only to
self; they desire mercy's diamond that they may let others see
it flash and sparkle, and may admire Him who gives such
priceless gems to his beloved. The contrast between the gates of
death and the gates of the New Jerusalem is very striking; let
our songs be excited to the highest and most rapturous pitch by
the double consideration of whence we are taken, and to what we
have been advanced, and let our prayers for mercy be made more
energetic and agonizing by a sense of the grace which such a
salvation implies. When David speaks of his showing forth all
God's praise, he means that, in his deliverance grace in all its
heights and depths would be magnified. Just as our hymn puts
it:—
"O the length and breadth of love!
Jesus, Saviour, can it be?
All thy mercy's height I prove,
All the depth is seen in me.
Here ends the first part of this instructive Psalm, and in
pausing awhile we feel bound to confess that our exposition has
only flitted over its surface and has not digged into the
depths. The verses are singularly full of teaching, and if the
Holy Spirit shall bless the reader, he may go over this Psalm,
as the writer has done scores of times, and see on each occasion
fresh beauties.
Verse 15. In considering this terrible picture of the Lord's
overwhelming judgments of his enemies, we are called upon to
ponder and meditate upon it with deep seriousness by the two
untranslated words, Higgaion, Selah. Meditate, pause. Consider,
and tune your instrument. Bethink yourselves and solemnly adjust
your hearts to the solemnity which is so well becoming the
subject. Let us in a humble spirit approach these verses, and
notice, first, that the character of God requires the punishment
of sin.
Verse 16. Jehovah is known by the judgment which he
executeth; his holiness and abhorrence of sin is thus
displayed. A ruler who winked at evil would soon be known by all
his subjects to be evil himself, and he, on the other hand, who
is severely just in judgment reveals his own nature thereby. So
long as our God is God, he will not, he cannot spare the guilty;
except through that one glorious way in which he is just, and
yet the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. We must
notice, secondly, that the manner of his judgment is singularly
wise, and indisputably just. He makes the wicked become their
own executioners. "The heathen are sunk down in the pit
that they made," etc. Like cunning hunters they prepared a
pitfall for the godly and fell into it themselves: the foot of
the victim escaped their crafty snares, but the toils surrounded
themselves: the cruel snare was laboriously manufactured, and it
proved its efficacy by snaring its own maker. Persecutors and
oppressors are often ruined by their own malicious projects.
"Drunkards kill themselves; prodigals beggar
themselves;" the contentious are involved in ruinous costs;
the vicious are devoured with fierce diseases; the envious eat
their own hearts; and blasphemers curse their own souls. Thus,
men may read their sin in their punishment. They sowed the seed
of sin, and the ripe fruit of damnation is the natural result.
Verse 17. The justice which has punished the wicked, and
preserved the righteous, remains the same, and therefore in days
to come, retribution will surely be meted out. How solemn is the
seventeenth verse, especially in its warning to forgetters of
God. The moral who are not devout, the honest who are not
prayerful, the benevolent who are not believing, the amiable who
are not converted, these must all have their own portion with
the openly wicked in the hell which is prepared for the devil
and his angels. There are whole nations of such; the forgetters
of God are far more numerous than the profane or profligate, and
according to the very forceful expression of the Hebrew, the
nethermost hell will be the place into which all of them shall
be hurled headlong. Forgetfulness seems a small sin, but it
brings eternal wrath upon the man who lives and dies in it.
Verse 18. Mercy is as ready to her work as ever justice can
be. Needy souls fear that they are forgotten; well, if it be so,
let them rejoice that they shall not alway be so. Satan
tells poor tremblers that their hope shall perish, but they have
here the divine assurance that their expectation shall not
perish for ever. "The Lord's people are a humbled
people, afflicted, emptied, sensible of need, driven to a daily
attendance on God, daily begging of him, and living upon the
hope of what is promised;" such persons may have to wait,
but they shall find that they do not wait in vain.
Verse 19. Prayers are the believer's weapons of war. When the
battle is too hard for us, we call in our great ally, who, as it
were, lies in ambush until faith gives the signal by crying out,
"Arise, O Lord." Although our cause be all but lost,
it shall be soon won again, if the Almighty doth but bestir
himself. He will not suffer man to prevail over God, but with
swift judgments will confound their gloryings. In the very sight
of God the wicked will be punished, and he who is now all
tenderness will have no bowels of compassion for them, since
they had no tears of repentance while their day of grace
endured.
Verse 20. One would think that men would not grow so vain as
to deny themselves to be but men, but it appears to be a lesson
which only a divine schoolmaster can teach to some proud
spirits. Crowns leave their wearers but men, degrees of
eminent learning make their owners not more than men,
valour and conquest cannot elevate beyond the dead level of "but
men;" and all the wealth of Croesus, the wisdom of
Solon, the power of Alexander, the eloquence of Demosthenes, if
added together, would leave the possessor but a man. May we ever
remember this lest like those in the text, we should be put
in fear.
Before
leaving this Psalm, it will be very profitable if the student
will peruse it again as the triumphal hymn of the Redeemer, as
he devoutly brings the glory of his victories and lays it down
at his Father's feet. Let us joy in his joy, and our joy shall
be full.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole Psalm. We are to consider this song of praise,
as I conceive, to be the language of our great Advocate and
Mediator, "in the midst of the church giving thanks unto
God," and teaching us to anticipate by faith his great and
final victory over all the adversaries of our peace temporal and
spiritual, with especial reference to his assertion of his royal
dignity on Zion, his holy mountain. The victory over the enemy,
we find by the fourth verse, is again ascribed to the decision
of divine justice, and the award of a righteous judge, who has
at length resumed his tribunal. This renders it certain, that
the claim preferred to the throne of the Almighty, could proceed
from the lips of none but our MELCHIZEDEC. John Fry, B.A.,
1842.
Verse 1. "I will praise thee, O Lord, with my
whole heart." As a vessel by the scent thereof tells
what liqour is in it, so should our mouths smell continually of
that mercy wherewith our hearts have been refreshed: for we are
called vessels of mercy. William Cowper, 1612.
Verse 1. "I will praise the Lord with my whole
heart, I will shew forth all thy marvellous works." The
words "With my whole heart," serve at once to
show the greatness of the deliverance wrought for the psalmist,
and to distinguish him from the hypocrites—the coarser, who
praise the Lord for his goodness merely with the lips; and the
more refined, who praise him with just half their heart, while
they secretly ascribe the deliverance more to themselves than to
him. "All thy wonders," the marvellous tokens
of thy grace. The psalmist shows by this term, he recognized
them in all their greatness. Where this is done, there the Lord
is also praised with the whole heart. Half-heartedness,
and the depreciation of divine grace, go hand in hand. The
(Heb.) is the (Heb.) instrum. The heart is the instrument
of praise, the mouth only its organ. E. W. Hengstenberg.
Verse 1 (second clause). When we have received
any special good thing from the Lord, it is well, according as
we have opportunities, to tell others of it. When the woman who
had lost one of her ten pieces of silver, found the missing
portion of her money, she gathered her neighbours and her
friends together, saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have
found the piece which I had lost." We may do the same; we
may tell friends and relations that we have received
such-and-such a blessing, and that we trace it directly to the
hand of God. Why have we not already done this? Is there a
lurking unbelief as to whether it really came from God; or are
we ashamed to own it before those who are perhaps accustomed to
laugh at such things? Who knows so much of the marvellous works
of God as his own people; if they be silent, how can we expect
the world to see what he has done? Let us not be ashamed to
glorify God, by telling what we know and feel he has done; let
us watch our opportunity to bring out distinctly the fact of his
acting; let us feel delighted at having an opportunity, from our
own experience, of telling what must turn to his praise; and
them that honour God, God will honour in turn; if we be willing
to talk of his deeds, he will give us enough to talk about. P.
B. Power, in 'I Wills' of the Psalms.
Verses 1, 2. "I will confess unto thee, O
Lord, with my whole heart," etc. Behold with what a
flood of the most sweet affections he says that he "will
confess," "show forth," "rejoice,"
"be glad," and "sing," being
filled with ecstasy! He does not simply say, "I will
confess," but, "with my heart," and "with
my whole heart." Nor does he propose to speak simply of
"works," but of the "marvellous
works" of God, and of "all" those "works."
Thus his spirit (like John in the womb) exults and rejoices in
God his Saviour, who has done great things for him, and those
marvellous things which follow. In which words are opened the
subject of this Psalm: that is, that he therein sings the
marvellous works of God. And these works are wonderful, because
he converts, by those who are nothing, those who have all
things, and, by the ALMUTH who live in hidden faith, and are
dead to the world, he humbles those who flourish in glory, and
are looked upon in the world. Thus accomplishing such mighty
things without force, without arms, without labour, by the cross
only and blood. But how will his saying, that he will show forth
"all" his marvellous works, agree with that of
Job 9:10, "which doeth great things past finding out; yea,
and wonders without number"? For, who can show forth all
the marvellous works of God? We may say, therefore, that these
things are spoken in that excess of feeling in which he said,
(Psalm 6:6), "I will water my couch with my tears."
That is, he hath such an ardent desire to speak of the wonderful
works of God, that, as far as his wishes are concerned, he would
set the "all" forth, though he could not
do it, for love has neither bounds nor end: and, as Paul saith
(1 Corinthians 13:7), "Love beareth all things, believeth
all things, hopeth all things;" hence it can do all things,
and does do all things, for God looketh at the heart and spirit.
Martin Luther.
Verse 3. "When mine enemies are turned
back," etc. Were turned back, repulsed, and put
to flight. To render this in the present time, as our
translators did, is certainly improper; it destroys the
coherence, and introduces obscurity. Ainsworth saw this, and
rendered in the past, "When mine enemies turned
backward." "At thy presence." That is, by
thine anger. For as God's presence or face denotes his favour to
such as fear and serve him, so it denotes his anger towards the
wicked. "The face of Jehovah is against them that do
evil." B. Boothroyd, 1824.
Verse 3. "They shall fall and perish."
It refers to those that either faint in a march, or are wounded
in a battle, or especially that in flight meet with galling haps
in their way, and so are galled and lamed, rendered unable to go
forward, and so fall, and become liable to all the chances of
pursuits, and as here, are overtaken and perish in the fall. Henry
Hammond, D.D.
Verse 5. "Thou hast rebuked the heathen,"
etc.— Augustine applieth all this mystically, as is intimated
(verse 1) that it should be applied, for, "I will
speak," saith he, "of all thy wonderful works;"
and what so wonderful as the turning of the spiritual enemy
backward, whether the devil, as when he said, "Get thee
behind me, Satan;" or the old man, which is turned backward
when he is put off, and the new man put on? John Mayer.
Verse 8. "He shall judge the world in
righteousness." In this judgment tears will not
prevail, prayers will not be heard, promises will not be
admitted, repentance will be too late; and as for riches,
honourable titles, sceptres, and diadems, these will profit much
less; and the inquisition shall be so curious and diligent, that
not one light thought nor one idle word (not repented of in the
life past), shall be forgotten. For truth itself hath said, not
in jest, but in earnest, "Of every idle word which men have
spoken, they shall give an account in the day of judgment."
Oh, how many which now sin with great delight, yea, even with
greediness (as if we served a god of wood or of stone, which
seeth nothing, or can do nothing), will be then astonished,
ashamed, and silent! Then shall the days of thy mirth be ended,
and thou shalt be overwhelmed with everlasting darkness; and
instead of thy pleasures, thou shalt have everlasting torments. Thomas
Tymme.
Verse 8. "He shall judge the world in
righteousness." Even Paul, in his great address on
Mars' Hill, a thousand years after, could find no better words
in which to teach the Athenians the doctrine of the judgment-day
than the Septuagint rendering of this clause. William S.
Plumer.
Verse 8. The guilty conscience cannot abide this day.
The silly sheep, when she is taken, will not bleat, but you may
carry her and do what you will with her, and she will be
subject; but the swine, if she be once taken, she will roar and
cry, and thinks she is never taken but to be slain. So of all
things the guilty conscience cannot abide to hear of this day,
for they know that when they hear of it, they hear of their own
condemnation. I think if there were a general collection made
through the whole world that there might be no judgment-day,
then God would be so rich that the world would go a-begging and
be a waste wilderness. Then the covetous judge would bring forth
his bribes; then the crafty lawyer would fetch out his bags; the
usurer would give his gain, and a double thereof. But all the
money in the world will not serve for our sin, but the judge
must answer his bribes, he that hath money must answer how he
came by it, and just condemnation must come upon every soul of
them; then shall the sinner be ever dying and never dead, like
the salamander, that is ever in the fire and never consumed. Henry
Smith.
Verse 9. It is reported of the Egyptians that, living
in the fens, and being vexed with gnats, they used to sleep in
high towers, whereby, those creatures not being able to soar so
high, they are delivered from the biting of them: so would it be
with us when bitten with cares and fear, did we but run to God
for refuge, and rest confident of his help. John Trapp.
Verse 10. "They that know thy name will put
their trust in thee." Faith is an intelligent grace;
though there can be knowledge without faith, yet there can be no
faith without knowledge. One calls it quicksighted faith.
Knowledge must carry the torch before faith. 2 Timothy 1:12.
"For I know whom I have believed." As in Paul's
conversion a light from heaven "Shined round about
him" (Acts 9:3), so before faith be wrought, God shines in
with a light upon the understanding. A blind faith is as bad as
a dead faith: that eye may as well be said to be a good eye
which is without sight, as that faith is good without knowledge.
Devout ignorance damns; which condemns the church of Rome, that
thinks it a piece of their religion to be kept in ignorance;
these set up an altar to an unknown God. They say ignorance is
the mother of devotion; but sure where the sun is set in the
understanding, it must needs be night in the affections. So
necessary is knowledge to the being of faith, that the
Scriptures do sometimes baptise faith with the name of
knowledge. Isaiah 53:11. "By his knowledge shall my
righteous servant justify many." Knowledge is put there for
faith. Thomas Watson.
Verse 10. "They that know thy name will put
their trust in thee: for, thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them
that seek thee." The mother of unbelief is ignorance of
God, his faithfulness, mercy, and power. They that know thee,
will trust in thee. This confirmed Paul, Abraham, Sarah, in
the faith. "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him
against that day." 2 Timothy 1:12. "He is faithful
that promised," and "able also to perform."
Hebrews 10:23, and 11:11; Romans 4:21. The free promises of the
Lord are all certain, his commandments right and good, the
recompense of reward inestimably to be valued above thousands of
gold and silver; trust therefore in the Lord, O my soul, and
follow hard after him. Thou hast his free promise, who never
failed, who hath promised more than possibly thou couldst ask or
think, who hath done more for thee than ever he promised, who is
good and bountiful to the wicked and ungodly; thou doest his
work, who is able and assuredly will bear thee out. There is a
crown of glory proposed to thee above all conceit of merit;
stick fast unto his word, and suffer nothing to divide thee from
it. Rest upon his promises though he seem to kill thee; cleave
unto his statutes though the flesh lust, the world allure, the
devil tempt, by flatteries or threatenings to the contrary. John
Ball, 1632.
Verse 10. "They that know thy name will put
their trust in thee." They can do no otherwise who
savingly know God's sweet attributes, and noble acts for his
people. We never trust a man till we know him, and bad men are
better known than trusted. Not so the Lord; for where his name
is ointment poured forth, the virgins love him, fear him,
rejoice in him, and repose upon him. John Trapp.
Verse 12. "When he maketh inquisition for
blood, he remembereth them." There is a time when God
will make inquisition for innocent blood. The Hebrew word doresh,
from darash, that is here rendered inquisition,
signifies not barely to seek, to search, but to seek, search,
and enquire with all diligence and care imaginable. Oh, there is
a time a-coming when the Lord will make a very diligent and
careful search and enquiry after all the innocent blood of his
afflicted and persecuted people, which persecutors and tyrants
have spilt as water upon the ground; and woe to persecutors when
God shall make a more strict, critical, and careful enquiry
after the blood of his people than ever was made in the
inquisition of Spain, where all things are carried with the
greatest diligence, subtlety, secrecy, and severity. O
persecutors, there is a time a-coming, when God will make a
strict enquiry after the blood of Hooper, Bradford, Latimer,
Taylor, Ridley, etc. There is a time a-coming, wherein God will
enquire who silenced and suspended such-and-such ministers, and
who stopped the mouths of such-and-such, and who imprisoned,
confined, and banished such-and-such, who were once burning and
shining lights, and who were willing to spend and be spent that
sinners might be saved, and that Christ might be glorified.
There is a time when the Lord will make a very narrow enquiry
into all the actions and practices of ecclesiastical courts,
high commissions, committees, assizes, etc., and deal with
persecutors as they have dealt with his people. Thomas
Brooks.
Verse 12. "When he maketh inquisition for
blood, he remembereth them." There is vox sanguinis,
a voice of blood; and "he that planted the ear, shall he
not hear?" It covered the old world with waters. The earth
is filled with cruelty; it was vox sanguinis that cried,
and the heavens heard the earth, and the windows of heaven
opened to let fall judgment and vengeance upon it. Edward
Marbury, 1649.
Verse 12. "When he maketh inquisition for
blood," etc. Though God may seem to wink for a time at
the cruelty of violent men, yet will call them at last to a
strict account for all the innocent blood they have shed, and
for their unjust and unmerciful usage of meek and humble
persons; whose cry he never forgets (though he doth not
presently answer it), but takes a fit time to be avenged of
their oppressors. Symon Patrick, D.D., 1626-1707.
Verse 12. "He maketh inquisition for
blood." He is so stirred at this sin, that he will up,
search out the authors, contrivers, and commissioners of this
scarlet sin, he will avenge for blood. William Greenhill.
Verse 12. "He forgetteth not the cry of the
humble." Prayer is a haven to the shipwrecked man, an
anchor to them that are sinking in the waves, a staff to the
limbs that totter, a mine of jewels to the poor, a healer of
diseases, and a guardian of health. Prayer at once secures the
continuance of our blessings, and dissipates the clouds of our
calamities. O blessed prayer! thou art the unwearied conqueror
of human woes, the firm foundation of human happiness, the
source of ever-enduring joy, the mother of philosophy. The man
who can pray truly, though languishing in extremest indigence,
is richer than all beside, whilst the wretch who never bowed the
knee, though proudly sitting as monarch of all nations, is of
all men most destitute. Chrysostom.
Verse 14. "That I may show forth all thy
praise," etc. To show forth all God's praise is
to enter largely into the work. An occasional "God, I
thank thee," is no fit return for a perpetual stream of
rich benefits. William S. Plumer.
Verse 15. "The heathen are sunk down in the
pit that they made," etc. Whilst they are digging pits
for others, there is a pit a-digging and a grave a-making for
themselves. They have a measure to make up, and a treasure to
fill, which at length will be broken open, which, methinks,
should take off them which are set upon mischief from pleasing
themselves in their plots. Alas! they are but plotting their own
ruin, and building a Babel which will fall upon their own heads.
If there were any commendation in plotting, then that great
plotter of plotters, that great engineer, Satan, would go beyond
us all, and take all the credit from us. But let us not envy
Satan and his in their glory. They had need of something to
comfort them. Let them please themselves with their trade. The
day is coming wherein the daughter of Sion shall laugh them to
scorn. There will be a time wherein it shall be said,
"Arise, Sion, and thresh." Micah 4:13. And usually the
delivery of God's children is joined with the destruction of his
enemies; Saul's death, and David's deliverance; the Israelites'
deliverance, and the Egyptians drowning. The church and her
opposites are like the scales of a balance; when one goes up,
the other goes down. Richard Sibbs.
Verses 15-17. It will much increase the torment of the
damned, in that their torments will be as large and strong as
their understandings and affections, which will cause those
violent passions to be still working. Were their loss never so
great, and their sense of it never so passionate, yet if they
could but lose the use of their memory, those passions would
die, and that loss being forgotten, would little trouble them.
But as they cannot lay by their life and being, though then they
would account annihilation a singular mercy, so neither can they
lay aside any part of their being. Understanding, conscience,
affections, memory, must all live to torment them, which should
have helped to their happiness. And as by these they should have
fed upon the love of God, and drawn forth perpetually the joys
of his presence, so by these must they now feed upon the wrath
of God, and draw forth continually the dolours of his absence.
Therefore, never think, that when I say the hardness of their
hearts, and their blindness, dulness, and forgetfulness shall be
removed, that therefore they are more holy and happy than
before: no, but morally more vile, and hereby far more
miserable. Oh, how many times did God by his messengers here
call upon them, "Sinners, consider whither you are going.
Do but make a stand awhile, and think where your way will end,
what is the offered glory that you so carelessly reject: will
not this be bitterness in the end?" And yet, these men
would never be brought to consider. But in the latter days,
saith the Lord, they shall perfectly consider it, when they are ensnared
in the work of their own hands, when God hath arrested them,
and judgment is passed upon them, and vengeance is poured out
upon them to the full, then they cannot choose but consider it,
whether they will or no. Now they have no leisure to consider,
nor any room in their memories for the things of another life.
Ah! but then they shall have leisure enough, they shall be where
they shall have nothing else to do but consider it: their
memories shall have no other employment to hinder them; it shall
even be engraven upon the tables of their hearts. God would have
the doctrine of their eternal state to have been written on the
posts of their doors, on their houses, on their hands, and on
their hearts: he would have had them mind it and mention it, as
they rise and lie down, and as they walk abroad, that so it
might have gone well with them at their latter end. And seeing
they rejected this counsel of the Lord, therefore shall it be
written always before them in the place of their thraldom, that
which way soever they look they may still behold it. Richard
Baxter.
Verse 16. "The Lord is known by the judgments
which he executeth." Now if the Lord be known by the
judgment which he executeth; then, the judgment which he
executeth must be known; it must be an open judgment; and such
are very many of the judgments of God, they are acted as upon a
stage. And I may give you an account in three particulars why
the Lord will sometimes do justice in the place of beholders, or
in the open sight of others. First, that there may be witnesses
enough of what he doth, and so a record of it be kept, at least
in the minds and memories of faithful men for the generations to
come. Secondly, the Lord doth it not only that he may have
witnesses of his justice, but also that his justice and the
proceedings of it, may have an effect and a fruit upon those who
did not feel it, nor fall under it. This was the reason why the
Lord threatened to punish Jerusalem in the sight of the nations.
Ezekiel 5:6, 7, 8, 14, 15. . . . . . God would execute judgment
in Jerusalem, a city placed in the midst of the nations, that as
the nations had taken notice of the extraordinary favours,
benefits, deliverances, and salvations which God wrought for
Jerusalem, so they might also take notice of his judgments and
sore displeasure against them. Jerusalem was not seated in some
nook, corner, or by-place of the world, but in the midst of the
nations, that both the goodness and severity of God toward them
might be conspicuous. . . . . . . God lets some sinners suffer,
or punisheth them openly, both because he would have all others
take notice that he dislikes what they have done, as also
because he would not have others do the like, lest they be made
like them, both in the matter and manner of their sufferings. 'Tis
a favour as well as our duty, to be taught by other men's harms,
and to be instructed by their strokes, to prevent our own . . .
. . . Thirdly, God strikes some wicked men in open view, or in
the place of beholders for the comfort of his own people, and
for their encouragement. Psalm 58:10, 11. "The righteous
shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance;" not that he
shall be glad of the vengeance, purely as it is a hurt or a
suffering to the creature; but the righteous shall be glad when
he seeth the vengeance of God as it is a fulfilling of the
threatening of God against the sin of man, and an evidence of
his own holiness. . . . . . . It is said (Exodus 14:30, 31),
that God having overwhelmed the Egyptians in the Red Sea, the
Israelites saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore: God did
not suffer the carcases of the Egyptians to sink to the bottom
of the sea, but caused them to lie upon the shore, that the
Israelites might see them; and when Israel saw that dreadful
stroke of the Lord upon the Egyptians, it is said, "The
people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant
Moses." Thus they were confirmed in their faith by God's
open judgments upon the Egyptians. They were smitten in the
place of the beholders, or in the open sight of others. Condensed
from Joseph Caryl.
Verse 16. "The Lord is known by the judgment
which he executeth;" when he lays his hand upon
sinners, saints tremble, consider his power, majesty, greatness,
the nature of his judgments, and so judge themselves, and remove
out of the way whatever may provoke. . . . . . . As fire begets
a splendour round about where it is, so do the judgments of God
set out to the world his glory, justice, holiness. William
Greenhill.
Verse 16. "Snared in the work of his own
hands." The wages that sin bargains with the sinner are
life, pleasure, and profit; but the wages it pays him with are
death, torment, and destruction. He that would understand the
falsehood and deceit of sin, must compare its promises and its
payment together. Robert South, D.D., 1633-1716.
Verse 16. "Higgaion, Selah," that is,
as Ainsworth renders it, "Meditation, Selah:" showing
this ought to be seriously considered of. The word "Higgaion"
is again had (Psalm 92:3); being mentioned among other musical
instruments, whereby we may gather it to be one of them; for
there is psaltery, nable, higgaion, and harp, John Mayer.
Verse 16. "The wicked is snared in the work of
his own hands." Not only do we read it in the word of
God, but all history, all experience, records the same righteous
justice of God, in snaring the wicked in the work of their own
hands. Perhaps the most striking instance on record, next to
Haman on his own gallows, is one connected with the horrors of
the French Revolution, in which we are told that, "within
nine months of the death of the queen Marie Antoinette by the
guillotine, every one implicated in her untimely end, her
accusers, the judges, the jury, the prosecutors, the witnesses,
all, every one at least whose fate is known, perished by the
same instrument as their innocent victim." "In the net
which they had laid for her was their own foot taken—into the
pit which they digged for her did they themselves fall. Barton
Bouchier, 1855.
Verse 17. The ungodly at death must undergo God's fury
and indignation. "The wicked shall be turned into
hell." I have read of a lodestone in Ethiopia which
hath two corners, with one it draws the iron to it, with the
other it puts the iron from it: so God hath two hands, of mercy
and justice; with the one he will draw the godly to heaven, with
the other he will thrust the sinner to hell; and oh, how
dreadful is that place! It is called a fiery lake (Revelation
20:15); a lake, to denote the plenty of torments in hell; a
fiery lake, to show the fierceness of them: fire is the most
torturing element. Strabo in his geography mentions a lake in
Galilee of such a pestiferous nature that it scaldeth off the
skin of whatsoever is cast into it; but, alas! that lake is cool
compared with this fiery lake into which the damned are thrown.
To demonstrate this fire terrible, there are two most pernicious
qualities in it. 1. It is sulphurous, it is mixed with brimstone
(Revelation 21:8), which is unsavoury and suffocating. 2. It is
inextinguishable; though the wicked shall be choked in the
flames, yet not consumed (Revelation 20:10); "And the devil
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast
and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night
forever and ever." Behold the deplorable condition of all
ungodly ones in the other world, they shall have a life that
always dies, and a death that always lives: may not this
affright men out of their sins, and make them become godly?
unless they are resolved to try how hot the hell-fire is. Thomas
Watson.
Verse 17. "The wicked shall be turned into
hell," etc. By "the wicked" here we
must understand unregenerate persons, whoever they are that are
in a state of unregeneracy. . . . . . That person is here spoken
of as a "wicked" man that "forgets
God," who does not think of him frequently, and with
affection, with fear and delight, and those affections that are
suitable to serious thoughts of God. . . . . To forget God and
to be a wicked person is all one. And these two things will
abundantly evince the truth of this assertion: namely, that this
forgetfulness of God excludes the prime and main essentials of
religion, and also includes in it the highest and most heinous
pieces of wickedness, and therefore must needs denominate the
subject, a wicked person. . . . . . Forgetfulness of God
excludes the principal and essential parts of religion. It
implies that a man doth neither esteem nor value the
all-sufficiency and holiness of God, as his happiness and
portion, as his strength and support; nor doth he fear him, nor
live in subjection to his laws and commands, as his rule; nor
doth he aim at the glory of God as his end: therefore every one
who thus forgets God, must certainly be a wicked person. . . . .
. . To exclude God out of our thoughts and not to let him have a
place there, not to mind, nor think upon God, is the greatest
wickedness of the thoughts that can be. And, therefore, though
you cannot say of such a one, he will be drunk, or he will
swear, cozen, or oppress; yet if you can say he will forget God,
or that he lives all his days never minding nor thinking upon
God, you say enough to speak him under wrath, and to turn him
into hell without remedy. John Howe, 1630 - 1705.
Verse 17. "The wicked shall be turned into
hell." (Heb.); Lisholah—headlong into hell, down
into hell. The original is very emphatic. Adam Clarke.
Verse 17. All wickedness came originally with the
wicked one from hell; thither it will again be remitted, and
they who hold on its side must accompany it on its return to
that place of torment, there to be shut up for ever. The true
state of "nations," and the individuals of which they
are composed, is to be estimated from one single circumstance;
namely, whether in their doings they remember, or "forget
God." Remembrance of him is the well-spring of virtue;
forgetfulness of him, the fountain of vice. George Horne, D.D.
Verse 17.
Hell, their fit habitation, fraught with fire
Unquenchable, the house of woe and pain.
John Milton, 1608-1674.
Verse 17.
Will without power, the element of hell,
Abortive all its acts returning still
Upon itself;. . . . Oh, anguish terrible!
Meet guerdon of self-love, its proper ill!
Malice would scowl upon the foe he fears;
And he with lip of scorn would seek to kill;
But neither sees the other, neither hears—
For darkness each in his own dungeon bars,
Lust pines for dearth, and grief drinks its own tears—
Each in its solitude apart. Hate wars
Against himself, and feeds upon his chain,
Whose iron penetrates the soul it scars,
A dreadful solitude each mind insane,
Each its own place, its prison all alone,
And finds no sympathy to soften pain.
J. A. Heraud.
Verse 18. "For the needy shall not alway be
forgotten," etc. This is a sweet promise for a thousand
occasions, and when pleaded before the throne in his name who
comprehends in himself every promise, and is indeed himself the
great promise of the Bible, it would be found like all others,
yea and amen. Robert Hawker, D.D., 1820.
Verse 18. "The expectation of the poor shall
not perish." A heathen could say, when a bird, scared
by a hawk, flew into his bosom, I will not betray thee unto thy
enemy, seeing thou comest for sanctuary unto me. How much less
will God yield up a soul unto its enemy, when it takes sanctuary
in his name, saying, Lord, I am hunted with such a temptation,
dogged with such a lust; either thou must pardon it, or I am
damned; mortify it, or I shall be a slave to it; take me into
the bosom of thy love for Christ's sake; castle me in the arms
of thy everlasting strength; it is in thy power to save me from,
or give me up into the hands of my enemy; I have no confidence
in myself or any other: into thy hands I commit my cause myself,
and rely on thee. This dependence of a soul undoubtedly will
awaken the almighty power of God for such a one's defence. He
hath sworn the greatest oath that can come out of his blessed
lips, even by himself, that such as thus fly for refuge to hope
in him, shall have strong consolation. Hebrews 6:17. This indeed
may give the saint the greater boldness of faith to expect kind
entertainment when he repairs to God for refuge, because he
cannot come before he is looked for; God having set up his name
and promises as a strong tower, both calls his people into these
chambers and expects they should betake themselves thither. William
Gurnall.
Verse 18. As sometimes God is said to hear us in not
hearing us, so we may say he should sometimes deny us if he did
not delay us, It is (saith Chrysostom) like money, which lying
long in the bank, comes home at last with a duck in its mouth,
with use upon use; when money is out a great time, it makes a
great return: we can stay thus upon men, and cannot we, shall
not we, stay upon the Lord, and for the Lord, for a large
return? God causeth us by delay to make the more prayers; and
the more we pray, the longer we stay, the more comfort we shall
have, and the more sure we are that we shall have it in the
latter end. Distinguish between denying and delaying. . . . In
God our Father are all dimensions of love, and that in an
infinite degree; infinitely infinite: what if he defer us? so do
we our children, albeit we mean no other but to give them their
own asking, yet we love to see them wait, that so they may have
from us the best things, when they are at the best, in the best
time, and in the best manner: if a mother should forget her only
boy, yet God hath an infinite memory, he nor can, nor will
forget us; the expectation of the waiter shall not fail for
ever, that is, never. Richard Capel.
Verse 19. "Arise, O Lord," etc. What
does this mean? Are we to consider the psalmist as praying for
the destruction of his enemies, as pronouncing a malediction, a
curse upon them? No; these are not the words of one who is
wishing that mischief may happen to his enemies; they are the
words of a prophet, of one who is foretelling, in Scripture
language, the evil that must befall them on account of their
sins. Augustine.
Verse 20. "Put them in fear, O Lord,"
etc. We should otherwise think ourselves gods. We are so
inclined to sin that we need strong restraints, and so swelled
with a natural pride against God, that we need thorns in the
flesh to let out the corrupt matter. The constant hanging the
rod over us makes us lick the dust, and acknowledge ourselves to
be altogether at the Lord's mercy. Though God hath pardoned us,
he will make us wear the halter about our necks to humble us. Stephen
Charnock.
Verse 20. "That the nations may know
themselves to be but men." The original word is (Heb.),
enosh; and therefore it is a prayer that they may know
themselves to be but miserable, frail, and dying men. The word
is in the singular number, but it is used collectively. John
Calvin.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
I.
The only object of our praise—"thee, O Lord."
II.
The abundant themes of praise—"all thy marvellous
works."
III.
The proper nature of praise—"with my whole heart." B.
Davies.
Verse 1. "I will show forth." Endless
employment and enjoyment.
Verse 1. "Thy marvellous works."
Creation, Providence, Redemption, are all marvellous, as
exhibiting the attributes of God in such a degree as to excite
the wonder of all God's universe. A very suggestive topic.
Verse 2. Sacred song: its connection with holy
gladness.
Verse 4.
(1)
The rights of the righteous are sure to be assailed,
(2)
but equally sure to be defended.
Verse 6.
I.
The great enemy.
II.
The destruction he has caused.
III.
The means of his overthrow.
IV.
The rest which shall ensue.
Verse 7 (first clause). The eternity of
God—the comfort of saints, the terror of sinners.
Verse 8. The justice of God's moral government,
especially in relation to the last great day.
Verse 9. Needy people, needy times, all-sufficient
provision.
Verse 10.
I.
All-important knowledge—"know thy name."
II.
Blessed result—"will put their trust in thee."
III.
Sufficient reason—"for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them
that seek thee." T. W. Medhurst.
Knowledge, Faith, Experience, the connection of the three.
Verse 10. The names of God inspire trust. JEHOVAH Jireh,
Tsidkenu, Rophi, Shammah, Nissi, ELOHIM, SHADDAI, ADONAI,
etc.
Verse 11.
I.
Zion, what is it?
II.
Her glorious inhabitant, what doth he?
III.
The twofold occupation of her sons—"sing praises,"
"declare among the people his doings."
IV.
Arguments from the first part of the subject to encourage us in
the double duty.
Verse 12.
I.
God on awful business.
II.
Remembers his people; to spare, honour, bless, and avenge them.
III.
Fulfils their cries, in their own salvation, and overthrow of
enemies. A consolatory sermon for times of war or pestilence.
Verse 13. "Have mercy upon me, O Lord."
The publican's prayer expounded, commended, presented, and
fulfilled.
Verse 13. "Thou that liftest me up from the
gates of death." Deep distresses, Great deliverances.
Glorious exaltations.
Verse 14. "I will rejoice in thy
salvation." Especially because it is thine, O
God, and therefore honours thee. In its freeness, fulness,
suitability, certainty, everlastingness. Who can rejoice in
this? Reasons why they should always do so.
Verse 15. Lex talionis. Memorable instances.
Verse 16. Awful knowledge; a tremendous alternative as
compared with verse 10.
Verse 17. A warning to forgetters of God.
Verse 18. Delays in deliverance.
I.
Unbelief's estimate of the— "forgotten,"
"perish."
II.
God's promise—"not always."
III.
Faith's duty—wait.
Verse 19. "Let not man prevail." A
powerful plea. Cases when employed in Scripture. The reason of
its power. Times for its use.
Verse 20. A needful lesson, and how it is taught.