TITLE. MICHTAM OF DAVID. This is usually
understood to mean THE GOLDEN PSALM, and such a title is
most appropriate, for the matter is as the most fine gold.
Ainsworth calls it "David's jewel, or notable song."
Dr. Hawker, who is always alive to passages full of savour,
devoutly cries, "Some have rendered it precious, others
golden, and others, precious jewel; and as the Holy
Ghost, by the apostles Peter and Paul, hath shown us that it is
all about the Lord Jesus Christ, what is here said of him is
precious, is golden, is a jewel indeed!" We have not met
with the term Michtam before, but if spared to write upon
Psalms 56, 57, 58, 59, and 60, we shall see it again, and shall
observe that like the present these psalms, although they begin
with prayer, and imply trouble, abound in holy confidence and
close with songs of assurance as to ultimate safety and joy. Dr.
Alexander, whose notes are peculiarly valuable, thinks that the
word is most probably a simple derivative of a word signifying
to hide, and signifies a secret or mystery, and indicates
the depth of doctrinal and spiritual import in these sacred
compositions. If this be the true interpretation it well accords
with the other, and when the two are put together, they make up
a name which every reader will remember, and which will bring
the precious subject at once to mind. THE PSALM OF THE
PRECIOUS SECRET.
SUBJECT. We are not left to human interpreters for the key
to this golden mystery, for, speaking by the Holy Ghost, Peter
tells us, "David speaketh concerning HIM." (Acts
2:25.) Further on in his memorable sermon he said, "Men
and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch
David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is
with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing
that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his
loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit
on his throne; he seeing this before spake of the
resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell,
neither his flesh did see corruption." (Acts 2:29-31.) Nor
is this our only guide, for the apostle Paul, led by the same
infallible inspiration, quotes from this psalm, and testifies
that David wrote of the man through whom is preached unto us the
forgiveness of sins. (Acts 13:35-38.) It has been the usual plan
of commentators to apply the psalm both to David, to the saints,
and to the Lord Jesus, but we will venture to believe that in it
"Christ is all;" since in the ninth and tenth
verses, like the apostles on the mount, we can see "no man
but Jesus only."
DIVISION. The whole is so compact that it is difficult to
draw sharp lines of division. It may suffice to note our Lord's
prayer of faith, verse 1, avowal of faith in Jehovah alone, 2,
3, 4, 5, the contentment of his faith in the present, 6, 7, and
the joyous confidence of his faith for the future (8, 11).
EXPOSITION
Verse 1. "Preserve me," keep, or save me, or
as Horsley thinks, "guard me," even as
bodyguards surround their monarch, or as shepherds protect their
flocks. Tempted in all points like as we are, the manhood of
Jesus needed to be preserved from the power of evil; and though
in itself pure, the Lord Jesus did not confide in that purity of
nature, but as an example to his followers, looked to the Lord,
his God, for preservation. One of the great names of God is
"the Preserver of men," (Job 7:20,) and this gracious
office the Father exercised towards our Mediator and
Representative. It had been promised to the Lord Jesus in
express words, that he should be preserved, Isaiah 49:7, 8.
"Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy
One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth,
I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the
people." This promise was to the letter fulfilled, both by
providential deliverance and sustaining power, in the case of
our Lord. Being preserved himself, he is able to restore the
preserved of Israel, for we are "preserved in Christ Jesus
and called." As one with him, the elect were preserved in
his preservation, and we may view this mediatorial supplication
as the petition of the Great High Priest for all those who are
in him. The intercession recorded in John 17 is but an
amplification of this cry, "Holy Father, keep through thine
own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as
we are." When he says, "preserve me," he
means his members, his mystical body, himself, and all in him.
But while we rejoice in the fact that the Lord Jesus used this
prayer for his members, we must not forget that he employed it
most surely for himself; he had so emptied himself, and so truly
taken upon him the form of a servant, that as man he needed
divine keeping even as we do, and often cried unto the strong
for strength. Frequently on the mountain-top he breathed forth
this desire, and on one occasion in almost the same words, he
publicly prayed, "Father, save me from this hour."
(John 12:27.) If Jesus looked out of himself for protection, how
much more must we, his erring followers, do so!
"O
God." The word for God here used is EL (Heb.), by which
name the Lord Jesus, when under a sense of great weakness, as
for instance when upon the cross, was wont to address the Mighty
God, the Omnipotent Helper of his people. We, too, may turn to El,
the Omnipotent One, in all hours of peril, with the confidence
that he who heard the strong crying and tears of our faithful
High Priest, is both able and willing to bless us in him. It is
well to study the name and character of God, so that in our
straits we may know how and by what title to address our Father
who is in heaven.
"For
in thee do I put my trust," or, I have taken shelter
in thee. As chickens run beneath the hen, so do I betake
myself to thee. Thou art my great overshadowing Protector, and I
have taken refuge beneath thy strength. This is a potent
argument in pleading, and our Lord knew not only how to use
it with God, but how to yield to its power when wielded by
others upon himself. "According to thy faith be it done
unto thee," is a great rule of heaven in dispensing favour,
and when we can sincerely declare that we exercise faith in the
Mighty God with regard to the mercy which we seek, we may rest
assured that our plea will prevail. Faith, like the sword of
Saul, never returns empty; it overcomes heaven when held in the
hand of prayer. As the Saviour prayed, so let us pray, and as he
became more than a conqueror, so shall we also through him; let
us when buffeted by storms right bravely cry to the Lord as he
did, "in thee do I put my trust."
Verse 2. "O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord,
Thou art my Lord." In his inmost heart the Lord Jesus
bowed himself to do service to his Heavenly Father, and before
the throne of Jehovah his soul vowed allegiance to the Lord for
our sakes. We are like him when our soul, truly and constantly
in the presence of the heart-searching God, declares her full
consent to the rule and government of the Infinite Jehovah,
saying, "Thou art my Lord." To avow this with the lip
is little, but for the soul to say it, especially in
times of trial, is a gracious evidence of spiritual health; to
profess it before men is a small matter, but to declare it
before Jehovah himself is of far more consequence. This sentence
may also be viewed as the utterance of appropriating faith,
laying hold upon the Lord by personal covenant and enjoyment; in
this sense may it be our daily song in the house of our
pilgrimage.
"My
goodness extendeth not to thee." The work of our Lord
Jesus was not needful on account of any necessity in the Divine
Being. Jehovah would have been inconceivably glorious had the
human race perished, and had no atonement been offered. Although
the life-work and death-agony of the Son did reflect
unparalleled lustre upon every attribute of God, yet the Most
Blessed and Infinitely Happy God stood in no need of the
obedience and death of his Son; it was for our sakes that the
work of redemption was undertaken, and not because of any lack
or want on the part of the Most High. How modestly does the
Saviour here estimate his own goodness! What overwhelming
reasons have we for imitating his humility! "If thou be
righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine
hand?" (Job 35:7.)
Verse 3. "But to the saints that are in the
earth." These sanctified ones, although still upon the
earth, partake of the results of Jesus' mediatorial work, and by
his goodness are made what they are. The peculiar people,
zealous for good works, and hallowed to sacred service, are
arrayed in the Saviour's righteousness and washed in his blood,
and so receive of the goodness treasured up in him; these are
the persons who are profited by the work of the man Christ
Jesus; but that work added nothing to the nature, virtue, or
happiness of God, who is blessed for evermore. How much more
forcibly is this true of us, poor unworthy servants not fit to
be mentioned in comparison with the faithful Son of God! Our
hope must ever be that haply some poor child of God may be
served by us, for the Great Father can never need our aid. Well
may we sing the verses of Dr. Watts:
"Oft have my heart and tongue confess'd
How empty and how poor I am;
My praise can never make thee blest,
Nor add new glories to thy name.
Yet, Lord, thy saints on earth may reap
Some profit by the good we do;
These are the company I keep,
These are the choicest friends I know."
Poor
believers are God's receivers, and have a warrant from the Crown
to receive the revenue of our offerings in the King's name.
Saints departed we cannot bless; even prayer for them is of no
service; but while they are here we should practically prove our
love to them, even as our Master did, for they are the
excellent of the earth. Despite their infirmities, their
Lord thinks highly of them, and reckons them to be as nobles
among men. The title of "His Excellency" more properly
belongs to the meanest saint than to the greatest governor. The
true aristocracy are believers in Jesus. They are the only Right
Honourables. Stars and garters are poor distinctions compared
with the graces of the Spirit. He who knows them best says of
them, "in whom is all my delight." They are his
Hephzibah and his land Beulah, and before all worlds his
delights were with these chosen sons of men. Their own opinion
of themselves is far other than their Beloved's opinion of them;
they count themselves to be less than nothing, yet he makes much
of them, and sets his heart towards them. What wonders the eyes
of Divine Love can see where the Hands of Infinite Power have
been graciously at work. It was this quicksighted affection
which led Jesus to see in us a recompense for all his agony, and
sustained him under all his sufferings by the joy of redeeming
us from going down into the pit.
Verse 4. The same loving heart which opens towards the chosen
people is fast closed against those who continue in their
rebellion against God. Jesus hates all wickedness, and
especially the high crime of idolatry. The text while it shows
our Lord's abhorrence of sin, shows also the sinner's greediness
after it. Professed believers are often slow towards the true
Lord, but sinners "hasten after another god."
They run like madmen where we creep like snails. Let their zeal
rebuke our tardiness. Yet theirs is a case in which the more
they haste the worse they speed, for their sorrows are
multiplied by their diligence in multiplying their sins.
Matthew Henry pithily says, "They that multiply gods
multiply griefs to themselves; for whosoever thinks one god too
little, will find two too many, and yet hundreds not
enough." The cruelties and hardships which men endure for
their false gods is wonderful to contemplate; our missionary
reports are a noteworthy comment on this passage; but perhaps
our own experience is an equally vivid exposition; for when we
have given our heart to idols, sooner or later we have had to
smart for it. Near the roots of our self-love all our sorrows
lie, and when that idol is overthrown, the sting is gone from
grief. Moses broke the golden calf and ground it to powder, and
cast it into the water of which he made Israel to drink, and so
shall our cherished idols become bitter portions for us, unless
we at once forsake them. Our Lord had no selfishness; he served
but one Lord, and served him only. As for those who turn aside
from Jehovah, he was separate from them, bearing their reproach
without the camp. Sin and the Saviour had no communion. He came
to destroy, not to patronize or be allied with the works of the
devil. Hence he refused the testimony of unclean spirits as to
his divinity, for in nothing would he have fellowship with
darkness. We should be careful above measure not to connect
ourselves in the remotest degree with falsehood in religion;
even the most solemn of Popish rites we must abhor. "Their
drink offerings of blood will I not offer." The old
proverb says, "It is not safe to eat at the devil's mess,
though the spoon be never so long." The mere mentioning of
ill names it were well to avoid,—"nor take up their
names into my lips." If we allow poison upon the lip,
it may ere long penetrate to the inwards, and it is well to keep
out of the mouth that which we would shut out from the heart. If
the church would enjoy union with Christ, she must break all the
bonds of impiety, and keep herself pure from all the pollutions
of carnal will-worship, which now pollute the service of God.
Some professors are guilty of great sin in remaining in the
communion of Popish churches, where God is as much dishonoured
as in Rome herself, only in a more crafty manner.
Verse 5. "The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance
and of my cup." With what confidence and bounding joy
does Jesus turn to Jehovah, whom his soul possessed and
delighted in! Content beyond measure with his portion in the
Lord his God, he had not a single desire with which to hunt
after other gods; his cup was full, and his heart was full too;
even in his sorest sorrows he still laid hold with both his
hands upon his Father, crying, "My God, my God;" he
had not so much as a thought of falling down to worship the
prince of this world, although tempted with an "all these
will I give thee." We, too, can make our boast in the Lord;
he is the meat and the drink of our souls. He is our portion,
supplying all our necessities, and our cup yielding royal
luxuries; our cup in this life, and our inheritance in the life
to come. As children of the Father who is in heaven, we inherit,
by virtue of our joint heirship with Jesus, all the riches of
the covenant of grace; and the portion which falls to us sets
upon our table the bread of heaven and the new wine of the
kingdom. Who would not be satisfied with such dainty diet? Our
shallow cup of sorrow we may well drain with resignation, since
the deep cup of love stands side by side with it, and will never
be empty. "Thou maintainest my lot." Some
tenants have a covenant in their leases that they themselves
shall maintain and uphold, but in our case Jehovah himself
maintains our lot. Our Lord Jesus delighted in this truth, that
the Father was on his side, and would maintain his right against
all the wrongs of men. He knew that his elect would be reserved
for him, and that almighty power would preserve them as his lot
and reward for ever. Let us also be glad, because the Judge of
all the earth will vindicate our righteous cause.
Verse 6. Jesus found the way of obedience to lead into "pleasant
places." Notwithstanding all the sorrows which marred
his countenance, he exclaimed, "Lo, I come; in the volume
of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my
God: yea, thy law is within my heart." It may seem strange,
but while no other man was ever so thoroughly acquainted with
grief, it is our belief that no other man ever experienced so
much joy and delight in service, for no other served so
faithfully and with such great results in view as his recompense
of reward. The joy which was set before him must have sent some
of its beams of splendour a-down the rugged places where he
endured the cross, despising the shame, and must have made them
in some respects pleasant places to the generous heart of the
Redeemer. At any rate, we know that Jesus was well content with
the blood-bought portion which the lines of electing love marked
off as his spoil with the strong and his portion with the great.
Therein he solaced himself on earth, and delights himself in
heaven; and he asks no more "GOODLY HERITAGE" than
that his own beloved may be with him where he is and behold his
glory. All the saints can use the language of this verse, and
the more thoroughly they can enter into its contented, grateful,
joyful spirit the better for themselves, and the more glorious
to their God. Our Lord was poorer than we are, for he had not
where to lay his head, and yet when he mentioned his poverty he
never used a word of murmuring; discontented spirits are as
unlike Jesus as the croaking raven is unlike the cooing dove.
Martyrs have been happy in dungeons. "From the delectable
orchard of the Leonine prison the Italian martyr dated his
letter, and the presence of God made the gridiron of Laurence
pleasant to him." Mr. Greenham was bold enough to say,
"They never felt God's love, or tasted forgiveness of sin,
who are discontented." Some divines think that discontent
was the first sin, the rock which wrecked our race in paradise;
certainly there can be no paradise where this evil spirit has
power, its slime will poison all the flowers of the garden.
Verse 7. "I will bless the Lord, who hath given me
counsel." Praise as well as prayer was presented to the
Father by our Lord Jesus, and we are not truly his followers
unless our resolve be, "I will bless the Lord." Jesus
is called Wonderful, Counsellor, but as man he spake not of
himself, but as his Father had taught him. Read in confirmation
of this, John 7:16; 8:28; and 12:49, 50; and the prophecy
concerning him in Isaiah 11:2, 3. It was our Redeemer's wont to
repair to his Father for direction, and having received it, he
blessed him for giving him counsel. It would be well for us if
we would follow his example of lowliness, cease from trusting in
our own understanding, and seek to be guided by the Spirit of
God. "My reins also instruct me in the night
seasons." By the reins understand the inner man, the
affections and feelings. The communion of the soul with God
brings to it an inner spiritual wisdom which in still seasons is
revealed to itself. Our Redeemer spent many nights alone upon
the mountain, and we may readily conceive that together with his
fellowship with heaven, he carried on a profitable commerce with
himself; reviewing his experience, forecasting his work, and
considering his position. Great generals fight their battles in
their own mind long before the trumpet sounds, and so did our
Lord win our battle on his knees before he gained it on the
cross. It is a gracious habit after taking counsel from above to
take counsel within. Wise men see more with their eyes shut by
night than fools can see by day with their eyes open. He who
learns from God and so gets the seed, will soon find wisdom
within himself growing in the garden of his soul; "Thine
ears shall hear a voice behind thee, saying, This is the way,
walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand and when ye turn
to the left." The night season which the sinner chooses for
his sins is the hallowed hour of quiet when believers hear the
soft still voices of heaven, and of the heavenly life within
themselves.
Verse 8. The fear of death at one time cast its dark shadow
over the soul of the Redeemer, and we read that, "he was
heard in that he feared." There appeared unto him an angel,
strengthening him; perhaps the heavenly messenger reassured him
of his glorious resurrection as his people's surety, and of the
eternal joy into which he should admit the flock redeemed by
blood. Then hope shone full upon our Lord's soul, and, as
recorded in these verses, he surveyed the future with holy
confidence because he had a continued eye to Jehovah, and
enjoyed his perpetual presence. He felt that, thus sustained, he
could never be driven from his life's grand design; nor was he,
for he stayed not his hand till he could say, "It is
finished." What an infinite mercy was this for us! In this
immovableness, caused by simple faith in the divine help, Jesus
is to be viewed as our exemplar; to recognize the presence of
the Lord is the duty of every believer; "I have set the
Lord always before me;" and to trust the Lord as
our champion and guard is the privilege of every saint; "because
he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." The
apostle translates this passage, "I foresaw the Lord always
before my face;" Acts 2:25; the eye of Jesus' faith could
discern beforehand the continuance of divine support to his
suffering Son, in such a degree that he should never be moved
from the accomplishment of his purpose of redeeming his people.
By the power of God at his right hand he foresaw that he should
smite through all who rose up against him, and on that power he
placed the firmest reliance.
Verse 9. He clearly foresaw that he must die, for he speaks
of his flesh resting, and of his soul in the abode of separate
spirits; death was full before his face, or he would not have
mentioned corruption; but such was his devout reliance upon his
God, that he sang over the tomb, and rejoiced in vision of the
sepulchre. He knew that the visit of his soul to Sheol, or the
invisible world of disembodied spirits, would be a very short
one, and that his body in a very brief space would leave the
grave, uninjured by its sojourn there; all this made him say, "my
heart is glad," and moved his tongue, the glory
of his frame, to rejoice in God, the strength of his
salvation. Oh, for such holy faith in the prospect of trial and
of death! It is the work of faith, not merely to create a peace
which passeth all understanding, but to fill the heart full of
gladness until the tongue, which, as the organ of an intelligent
creature, is our glory, bursts forth in notes of harmonious
praise. Faith gives us living joy, and bestows dying rest. "My
flesh also shall rest in hope."
Verse 10. Our Lord Jesus was not disappointed in his hope. He
declared his Father's faithfulness in the words, "thou
wilt not leave my soul in hell," and that faithfulness
was proven on the resurrection morning. Among the departed and
disembodied Jesus was not left; he had believed in the
resurrection, and he received it on the third day, when his body
rose in glorious life, according as he had said in joyous
confidence, "neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to
see corruption." Into the outer prison of the grave his
body might go, but into the inner prison of corruption he could
not enter. He who in soul and body was pre-eminently God's
"Holy One," was loosed from the pains of death,
because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. This
is noble encouragement to all the saints; die they must, but
rise they shall, and though in their case they shall see
corruption, yet they shall rise to everlasting life. Christ's
resurrection is the cause, the earnest, the guarantee, and the
emblem of the rising of all his people. Let them, therefore, go
to their graves as to their beds, resting their flesh among the
clods as they now do upon their couches.
"Since Jesus is mine, I'll not fear undressing,
But gladly put off these garments of clay;
To die in the Lord is a covenant blessing,
Since Jesus to glory through death led the way."
Wretched
will that man be who, when the Philistines of death invade his
soul, shall find that, like Saul, he is forsaken of God; but
blessed is he who has the Lord at his right hand, for he shall
fear no ill, but shall look forward to an eternity of bliss.
Verse 11. "Thou wilt shew me the path of life."
To Jesus first this way was shown, for he is the first begotten
from the dead, the first-born of every creature. He himself
opened up the way through his own flesh, and then trod it as the
forerunner of his own redeemed. The thought of being made the
path of life to his people, gladdened the soul of Jesus. "In
thy presence is fulness of joy." Christ being raised
from the dead ascended into glory, to dwell in constant nearness
to God, where joy is at its full for ever: the foresight of this
urged him onward in his glorious but grievous toil. To bring his
chosen to eternal happiness was the high ambition which inspired
him, and made him wade through a sea of blood. O God, when a
worldling's mirth has all expired, for ever with Jesus may we
dwell "at thy right hand," where "there
are pleasures for evermore;" and meanwhile, may we have
an earnest by tasting thy love below. Trapp's note on the
heavenly verse which closes the Psalm is a sweet morsel, which
may serve for a contemplation, and yield a foretaste of our
inheritance. He writes, "Here is as much said as can be,
but words are too weak to utter it. For quality there is
in heaven joy and pleasures; for quantity, a fulness, a
torrent whereat they drink without let or loathing; for constancy,
it is at God's right hand, who is stronger than all, neither can
any take us out of his hand; it is a constant happiness without
intermission: and for perpetuity it is for evermore.
Heaven's joys are without measure, mixture, or end."
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Title. There is a diversity of opinion as to the
meaning of the title of this Psalm. It is called "Michtam
of David," but Michtam is the Hebrew word
untranslated—the Hebrew word in English letters—and its
signification is involved in obscurity. According to some, it is
derived from a verb which means to hide, and denotes a
mystery or secret. Those who adopt this view, regard the title
as indicating a depth of doctrinal and spiritual import in the
Psalm, which neither the writer nor any of his contemporaries
had fathomed. According to others, it is derived from a verb
which means to cut, to grave, to write, and denotes
simply a writing of David. With this view agree the Chaldee and
Septuagint versions, the former translating it, "a straight
sculpture of David:" and the latter, "an inscription
upon a pillar to David." Others again, look upon "Michtam,"
as being derived from a noun which means gold, and they
understand it as denoting a golden Psalm—a Psalm of surpassing
excellence, and worthy of being written in letters of gold. This
was the opinion of our translators, and hence they have rendered
it on the margin—"A golden Psalm of David."
The works of the most excellent Arabian poets were called
golden, because they were written in letters of gold; and this
golden song may have been written and hung up in some
conspicuous part of the Temple. Many other interpretations have
been given of this term, but at this distance of time, we can
only regard it as representing some unassignable peculiarity of
the composition.—James Frame, 1858.
Title. Such are the riches of this Psalm, that some
have been led to think the obscure title, "Michtam,"
has been prefixed to it on account of its golden stores.
For (Heb.) is used of the "gold of Ophir" (e.g., Psalm
45:9), and (Heb.) might be a derivative from that root. But as
there is a group of five other Psalms (namely, 56, 57, 58, 59,
60), that bear this title, whose subject matter is various, but
which all end in a tone of triumph, it has been suggested
that the Septuagint may be nearly right in their Sphlografia,
as if "A Psalm to be hung up or inscribed on a pillar to
commemorate victory." It is, however, more likely still
that the term "Michtam" (like "Maschil"),
is a musical term, whose real meaning and use we have lost, and
may recover only when the ransomed house of Israel return home
with songs. Meanwhile, the subject matter of this Psalm itself
is very clearly this—the righteous one's satisfaction with
his lot.—Andrew A. Bonar.
Whole Psalm. Allow that in verse ten it is clear that
our Lord is in this Psalm, yet the application of every verse to
Jesus in Gethsemane appears to be farfetched, and
inaccurate. How verse nine could suit the agony and bloody
sweat, it is hard to conceive, and equally so it is with regard
to verse six. The "cup" of verse five is so direct a
contrast to that cup concerning which Jesus prayed in anguish of
spirit, that it cannot be a reference to it. Yet we think it
right to add, that Mr. James Frame has written a very valuable
work on this Psalm, entitled "Christ in Gethsemane,"
and he has supported his theory by the opinion of many of the
ancients. He says, "All the distinguished interpreters of
ancient days, such as Eusebius, Jerome, and Augustine, explain
the Psalm as referring to the Messiah, in his passion and his
victory over death and the grave, including his subsequent
exaltation to the right hand of God;" and, in a foot note
he gives the following quotations: Jerome.—"The
Psalm pertains to Christ, who speaks in it. . . . . It is the
voice of our King, which he utters in the human nature that he
had assumed, but without detracting from his divine nature. . .
. . The Psalm pertains to his passion." Augustine.—"Our
King speaks in this Psalm in the person of the human nature that
he assumed, at the time of his passion, the royal title
inscribed will show itself conspicuous."—C. H. S.
Whole Psalm. The present Psalm is connected in thought
and language with the foregoing, and linked on to the following
Psalm by catchwords. It is entitled in the Syriac and Arabic
versions, a Psalm on the Election of the Church, and on the
Resurrection of Christ."—Christopher Wordsworth, D.D.,
1868.
Verse 1. "Preserve me, O God." Here
David desireth not deliverance from any special trouble, but
generally prayeth to be fenced and defended continually by the
providence of God, wishing that the Lord would continue his
mercy towards him unto the end; whereby he foresaw it was as
needfull for him to be safeguarded by God, his protection in the
end, as at the time present; as also how he made no less account
of it in his prosperity than in adversity. So that the man of
God still feared his infirmity, and therefore acknowledgeth
himself ever to stand in need of God his help. And here is a
sure and undoubted mark of the child of God, when a man shall
have as great a care to continue and grow in well-doing, as to
begin; and this praying for the gift of final perseverance is a
special note of the child of God. This holy jealousy of the man
of God made him so desire to be preserved at all times, in all
estates, both in soul and body.—Richard Greenham,
1531-1591.
Verse 1. "For in thee do I put my trust."
Here the prophet setteth down the cause why he prayeth to God;
whereby he declareth, that none can truly call upon God unless
they believe. Romans 10:14. "How shall they call on him in
whom they have not believed?" In regard whereof as he
prayeth to God to be his Saviour, so he is fully assured that
God will be his Saviour. If, then, without faith we cannot truly
call upon God, the men of this world rather prate like parrots
than pray like Christians, at what time they utter these words;
for that they trust not in God they declare both by neglecting
the lawful means, and also in using unlawful means. Some we see
trust in friends; some shoulder out, as they think, the cross
with their goods; some fence themselves with authority; others
bathe and baste themselves in pleasure to put the evil day far
from them; others make flesh their arm; and others make the
wedge of gold their confidence; and these men when they seek for
help at the Lord, mean in their hearts to find it in their
friends, good authority and pleasure, howsoever for fear, they
dare not say this outwardly. Again, here we are to observe under
what shelter we may harbour ourselves in the showers of
adversity, even under the protection of the Almighty. And why?
"Whoso dwelleth in the secret of the Most High, shall abide
in the shadow of the Almighty." And here in effect is
showed, that whosoever putteth his trust in God shall be
preserved; otherwise the prophet's reason here had not been
good. Besides, we see he pleadeth not by merit, but sueth by
faith, teaching us that if we come with like faith, we may
obtain the like deliverance.—Richard Greenham.
Verse 2. "O my soul, thou hast said unto the
Lord, Thou art my Lord." I wish I could have heard what
you said to yourself when these words were first mentioned. I
believe I could guess the language of some of you. When you
heard me repeat these words, "O my soul, thou hast said
unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord," you thought, "I
have never said anything to the Lord, unless when I cried out,
Depart from me, for I desire not the knowledge of thy
ways." Has not something like this passed in your minds? I
will try again. When I first mentioned the text, "Let me
consider," you secretly said, "I believe that I did
once say to the Lord, Thou art my Lord; but it was so long ago,
that I had almost forgotten it; but I suppose that it must have
been at such a time when I was in trouble. I had met with
disappointments in the world; and then, perhaps, I cried, Thou
art my portion, O Lord. Or, perhaps, when I was under serious
impressions, in the hurry of my spirits, I might look up to God
and say, Thou art my Lord. But, whatever I could or did formerly
say, I am certain that I cannot say it at present." Have
none of you thought in this manner? I will hazard one conjecture
more; and I doubt not but in this case I shall guess rightly.
When I repeated these words, "O my soul, thou hast said
unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord;" "So have I,"
thought one; "So have I," thought another; I have said
it often, but I said it with peculiar solemnity and pleasure,
when, in an act of humble devotion, I lately threw my ransomed,
rescued, grateful soul at his feet and cried, "O Lord,
truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant; thou hast loosed my
bonds." The very recollection of it is pleasant; and I
shall now have an opportunity of renewing my vows, and hope to
recover something of the divine serenity and joy which I at that
time experienced."—Samuel Lavington's Sermons,
1810.
Verse 2. "Thou art my Lord." He
acknowledgeth the Lord Jehovah; but he seeth him not as it were
then afar off, but drawing near unto him, he sweetly embraceth
him; which thing is proper unto faith, and to that particular
applying which we say to be in faith.—Robert Rollock, 1600.
Verse 2. "My goodness extendeth not to
thee." I think the words should be understood of what
the Messiah was doing for men. My goodness, (Heb.) tobhathi,
"my bounty" is not to thee. What I am doing can add
nothing to thy divinity; thou art not providing this astonishing
sacrifice because thou canst derive any excellence from it; but
this bounty extends to the saints—to all the spirits of
just men made perfect, whose bodies are still in the earth; and
to the excellent, (Heb.) addirey, "the noble or
super-eminent ones," those who through faith and patience
inherit the promises. The saints and illustrious ones not only
taste of my goodness, but enjoy my salvation. Perhaps angels
themselves may be intended; they are not uninterested in the
incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord. They desire
to look into these things; and the victories of the cross in
the conversion of sinners cause joy among the angels of God.—Adam
Clarke.
Verse 2. "My goodness extendeth not to
thee;" "My well-doing extendeth not to thee."
Oh, what shall I render unto thee, my God, for all thy benefits
towards me? what shall I repay? Alas! I can do thee no good, for
mine imperfect goodness cannot pleasure thee who art most
perfect and goodness itself; my well-doing can do thee no good,
my wickedness can do thee no harm. I receive all good from thee,
but no good can I return to thee; wherefore I acknowledge thee
to be most rich, and myself to be most beggardly; so far off is
it that thou standest in any need of me. Wherefore I will join
myself to thy people, that whatsoever I have they may profit by
it; and whatsoever they have I may profit by it, seeing the
things that I have received must be put out to loan, to gain
some comfort to others. Whatsoever others have, they have not
for their own private use, but that by them, as by pipes and
conduits, they liberally should be conveyed unto me also.
Wherefore in this strain we are taught, that if we be the
children of God, we must join ourselves in a holy league to his
people, and by mutual participation of the gifts of God, we must
testify each to other, that we be of the number and communion of
saints; and this is an undoubted badge and cognizance of him
that loveth God, if he also loveth them that are begotten of
God. Wherefore, if we so profess ourselves to be of God and to
worship him, then we must join ourselves to the church of God
which with us doth worship God. And this must we do of
necessity, for it is a branch of our belief that there is a
communion of saints in the church; and if we believe that there
is a God, we must also believe that there is a remnant of
people, unto whom God revealeth himself, and communicateth his
mercies, in whom we must have all our delight, to whom we must
communicate according to the measure of grace given unto every
one of us.—Richard Greenham.
Verse 2. "My goodness extendeth not to
thee." Oh, how great is God's goodness to you! He calls
upon others for the same things, and conscience stands as
Pharaoh's taskmasters, requiring the tale of bricks but not
allowing straw; it impels and presseth, but gives no enlargement
of heart, and buffets and wounds them for neglect: as the hard
creditor that, taking the poor debtor by the throat, saith,
"Pay me that thou owest me," but yields him no power
to do it; thus God might deal with you also, for he oweth not
assistance to us; but we owe obedience to him.
Remember, we had power, and it is just to demand what we cannot
do, because the weakness that is in us is of ourselves: we have
impoverished ourselves. Therefore, when in much mercy he puts
forth his hand into the work with thee, be very thankful. If the
work be not done, he is no loser; if done, and well done, he is
no gainer. Job 22:2; 35:6-8. But the gain is all to thee; all
the good that comes by it is to thyself.—Joseph Symonds,
1639.
Verse 2 (last clause). It is a greater glory to
us that we are allowed to serve God, than it is to him that we
offer him that service. He is not rendered happy by us; but we
are made happy by him. He can do without such earthly servants;
but we cannot do without such a heavenly Master.—William
Secker.
Verse 2 (last clause). There is nothing added
to God; he is so perfect, that no sin can hurt him; and so
righteous, that no righteousness can benefit him. O Lord, my
righteousness extendeth not to thee! thou hast no need of my
righteousness. Acts 17:24, 25. God hath no need of
anything.—Richard Stock, 1641.
Verse 2. As Christ is the head of man, so is God the
head of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:3); and as man is subject unto
Christ, so is Christ subject to God; not in regard of the divine
nature, wherein there is an equality, and consequently no
dominion or jurisdiction; nor only in his human nature, but in
the economy of a Redeemer, considered as one designed, and
consenting to be incarnate, and take our flesh; so that after
this agreement, God had a sovereign right to dispose of him
according to the articles consented to. In regard of his
undertaking and the advantage he was to bring to the elect of
God upon earth, he calls God by the solemn title of "his
Lord." "O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou
art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; but to the
saints that are in the earth." It seems to be the speech of
Christ in heaven, mentioning the saints on earth as at a
distance from him. I can add nothing to the glory of thy
majesty, but the whole fruit of my mediation and suffering will
redound to the saints on earth.—Stephen Charnock.
Verses 2, 3. "My goodness extendeth not to
thee; but to the saints." God's goodness to us should
make us merciful to others. It were strange indeed a soul should
come out of his tender bosom with a hard uncharitable heart.
Some children do not indeed take after their earthly parents, as
Cicero's son, who had nothing of his father but his name; but
God's children all partake of their heavenly Father's nature.
Philosophy tells us, that there is no reaction from the earth to
the heavens; they indeed shed their influences upon the lower
world, which quicken and fructify it, but the earth returns none
back to make the sun shine the better. David knew that his
goodness extended not unto God, but this made him reach it
forth to his brethren. Indeed, God hath left his poor saints to
receive the rents we owe unto him for his mercies. An ingenuous
guest, though his friend will take nothing for his
entertainment, yet, to show his thankfulness, will give
something to his servants.—William Gurnall.
Verse 3. "But to the saints that are in the
earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight."
My brethren, look upon saintship as the greatest excellency to
love it. So did Christ. His eye was "upon the excellent
ones in the earth;" that is, upon the saints, who were
excellent to him; yea, also even when not saints, because God
loved them. Isaiah 43:4. It is strange to hear how men by their
speeches will undervalue a saint as such, if without some other
outward excellency. For whilst they acknowledge a man a saint,
yet in other respects, they will contemn him; "He is a holy
man," they will say, "but he is weak," etc. But
is he a saint? And can there be any such other imperfection or
weakness found as shall lay him low in thy thoughts in
comparison of other carnal men more excellent? Hath not Christ
loved him, bought him, redeemed him?—Thomas Goodwin.
Verse 3. "But to the saints." I
understand that a man then evinces affection towards God, and
towards those who love God, when his soul yearns after
them—when he obliges himself to love them by practically
serving and benefiting them—acting towards them as he would
act towards God himself were he to see him in need of his
service, as David says he did.—Juan de Valdes, 1550.
Verse 3. "The saints." The Papists
could abide no saints but those which are in heaven; which
argueth that they live in a kingdom of darkness, and err, not
knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God; for if they were
but meanly conversant in the Scriptures, in the holy epistles,
they should find almost in every epistle mention made of the
saints who are thereunto called in Jesus Christ, through whom
they are sanctified by the Holy Ghost. And mark, he calleth them
"excellent." Some think rich men to be
excellent, some think learned men to be excellent, some count
men in authority so to be, but here we are taught that those men
are excellent who are sanctified by God's graces.—Richard
Greenham.
Verse 3. By David's language, there were many singular
saints in his day: "To the saints that are in the earth,
and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight." Was
it so then, and should it not be so now? We know the New
Testament outshines the Old as much as the sun outshines the
moon. If we then live in a more glorious dispensation, should we
not maintain a more glorious conversation?. . . . "The
excellent." Were the sun to give no more delight than a
star, you could not believe he was the regent of the day; were
he to transmit no more heat than a glow-worm, you would question
his being the source of elementary heat. Were God to do no more
than a creature, where would his Godhead be? Were a man to do no
more than a brute, where would his manhood be? Were not a saint
to excel a sinner, where would his sanctity be?—William
Secker.
Verse 3. Ingo, an ancient king of the Draves, who
making a stately feast, appointed his nobles, at that time
Pagans, to sit in the hall below, and commanded certain poor
Christians to be brought up into his presence-chamber, to sit
with him at his table, to eat and drink of his kingly cheer, at
which many wondering, he said, he accounted Christians, though
never so poor, a greater ornament to his table, and more worthy
of his company than the greatest peers unconverted to the
Christian faith; for when these might be thrust down to hell,
those might be his comforts and fellow princes in heaven.
Although you see the stars sometimes by reflections in a puddle,
in the bottom of a well, or in a stinking ditch, yet the stars
have their situation in heaven. So, although you see a godly man
in a poor, miserable, low, despised condition, for the things of
this world, yet he is fixed in heaven, in the region of heaven:
"Who hath raised us up," saith the apostle, "and
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus."—Charles Bradbury's "Cabinet of
Jewels," 1785.
Verse 3. To sum up all, we must know that we neither
do nor can love the godly so well as we should do; but all is
well if we would love them better, and do like ourselves the
less because we do love them no more, and that this is common or
usual with me, then I am right: so that we are to love the godly
first because God commands it, because they are good; and in
these cases our faith doth work by our love to good men. Next,
when I am at the worst, like a sick sheep, I care not for the
company of other sheep, but do mope in a corner by myself; but
yet I do not delight in the society of goats or dogs, it proves
that I have some good blood left in me; it is because for the
present I take little or no delight in myself or in my God, that
I delight no better in the godly: yet as I love myself for all
that, so I may be said to love them for all this. Man indeed is
a sociable creature, a company-keeper by nature when he is
himself; and if we not associate ourselves with the ungodly,
though for the present, and care not much to show ourselves
amongst the godly, the matter is not much, it is a sin of
infirmity, not a fruit of iniquity. The disciples went from
Christ, but they turned not to the other side as Judas did, who
did forsake his Master, and joined himself to his Master's
enemies, but they got together. Some say that Demas did repent
(which I think to be the truth), and then he did "embrace
this present world," but for the present fit: put case he
did forsake Paul; so did better men than he. Indeed as long as a
man hath his delights about him, he will embrace the delights of
this present world, or the delights which belong to the world to
come; join with Paul, or cleave to the world. In this temptation
our stay is, first, that we care not for the company of goats;
next, that as we should, so we would, and desire that we may
take delight in the company of sheep, to count them the only excellent
men in the world, in whom is all our delight. The
conclusion is, that to love the saints as saints, is a sound
proof of faith; the reason is, for that we cannot master our
affections by love, but first we must master our understandings
by faith,—Richard Capel, 1586-1656.
Verse 4. "Drink offerings of blood."
The Gentiles used to offer, and sometimes drink part of the
blood of their sacrifices, whether of beasts or of men, as
either of them were sacrificed.—Matthew Poole.
Verse 4. "Drink offerings of blood."
It is uncertain whether this expression is to be understood
literally to be blood, which the heathen actually mixed in their
libations when they bound themselves to the commission of some
dreadful deed, or whether their libations are figuratively
called offerings of blood to denote the horror with which the
writer regarded them.—George R. Noyes, in loc. 1846.
Verse 4 (last clause). A sin rolled under the
tongue becomes soft and supple, and the throat is so short and
slippery a passage, that insensibly it may slide down from the
mouth into the stomach; and contemplative wantonness quickly
turns into practical uncleanness.—Thomas Fuller.
Verse 5. "The Lord is the portion of mine
inheritance." If the Lord be thy portion, then thou
mayest conclude, omnipotentcy is my portion, immensity,
all-sufficiency, etc. Say not, If so, then I should be
omnipotent, etc. There is a vast difference betwixt identity and
interest, betwixt conveying of a title, and transmutation of
nature. A friend gives thee an invaluable treasure, and all the
securities of it that thou canst desire; wilt thou deny it is
thine because thou art not changed into its nature? The
attributes are thine, as thy inheritance, as thy lands are thine;
not because thou art changed into their nature, but because the
title is conveyed to thee, it is given thee, and improved for
thy benefit. If another manage it, who can do it with greater
advantage to thee than to thyself, it is no infringement of thy
title. . . . . The Lord is our portion, and this is
incomparably more than if we had heaven and earth; for all the
earth is but as a point compared with the vastness of the
heavens, and the heavens themselves are but a point compared
with God. What a large possession have we then! There is no
confiscation of it, no banishment from it. Our portion fills
heaven and earth, and is infinitely above heaven and below
earth, and beyond both. Poor men boast and pride themselves of a
kingdom, but we have more than all the kingdoms of the world and
the glory thereof. Christ has given us more than the devil could
offer him.—David Clarkson.
Verse 5. "Portion of mine inheritance and of
my cup," may contain an allusion to the daily supply of
food, and also to the inheritance of Levi. Deuteronomy 18:1,
2.—"Critical and Explanatory Pocket Bible." By
A. R. Fausset and B. M. Smith, 1867.
Verses 5, 6. "The Lord is the portion of mine
inheritance: the lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places;
yea, I have a goodly heritage." "Blessed are the
people that are in such a case; yea, blessed are the people
whose God is the Lord." No greater mercy can be bestowed
upon any people, family, or person than this, for God to dwell
among them. If we value this mercy according to the excellence
and worth of that which is bestowed, it is the greatest; if we
value it according to the good will of him that gives it, it
will appear likewise to be the greatest favour. The greatness of
the good will of God in giving himself to be our acquaintance,
is evident in the nature of the gift. A man may give his estate
to them to whom his love is not very large, but he never gives
himself but upon strong affection. God gives abundantly to all
the works of his hands; he causeth the sun to shine upon the
evil and upon the good, and the rain to descend upon the just
and the unjust; but it cannot be conceived that he should give
himself to be a portion, a friend, father, husband, but in
abundance of love. Whosoever therefore shall refuse acquaintance
with God, slighteth the greatest favour that ever God did bestow
upon man. Now, consider what a high charge this is; to abuse
such a kindness from God is an act of the greatest vileness.
David was never so provoked as when the king of Ammon abused his
kindness, in his ambassadors, after his father's death. And God
is highly provoked when his greatest mercies, bestowed in the
greatest love, are rejected and cast away. What could God give
more and better than himself?. . . . . Ask David what he thinks
of God; he was well acquainted with him, he dwelt in his house,
and by his good will would never be out of his more immediate
presence and company; enquire, I pray, what he found amiss in
him. That you may know his mind the better, he hath left it upon
record in more than one or two places, what a friend he hath had
of God. "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant
places; yea, I have a goodly heritage." Why, what is
that you boast of so much, O David? Have not others had kingdoms
as well as you? No, that's not the thing; a crown is one of the
least jewels in my cabinet: "The Lord is the portion of
mine inheritance and of my cup."—James Janeway.
Verses 5, 6. Take notice not only of the mercies of
God, but of God in the mercies. Mercies are never so savoury as
when they savour of a Saviour.—Ralph Venning,
1620-1673.
Verse 6. "The lines are fallen unto me in
pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage." Bitter
herbs will go down very well, when a man has such delicious
"meats which the world knows not of." The sense of our
Father's love is like honey at the end of every rod; it turns
stones into bread, and water into wine, and the valley of
trouble into a door of hope; it makes the biggest evils seem as
if they were none, or better than none; for it makes our deserts
like the garden of the Lord, and when we are upon the cross for
Christ, as if we were in paradise with Christ. Who would quit
his duty for the sake of suffering, that hath such a relief
under it? Who would not rather walk in truth, when he hath such
a cordial to support him, than by the conduct of fleshly wisdom,
to take any indirect or irregular method for his own
deliverance?—Timothy Cruso.
Verse 6. "The lines." Probably
alluding to the division of the land by lot, and the measuring
of it off by ropes and lines. David believed in an overruling
destiny which fixed the bounds of his abode, and his
possessions; he did more, he was satisfied with all the
appointment of the predestinating God.—C. H. S.
Verse 7. "I will bless the Lord, who hath
given me counsel." The Holy Ghost is a spirit of
counsel, powerfully instructing and convincingly teaching how to
act and walk, for he directs us to set right steps, and to walk
with a right foot, and thereby prevents us of many a sin, by
seasonable instruction set on upon our hearts with a strong
hand; as Isaiah 8:11. For, as the same prophet says (Isaiah
11:2), he is the spirit of counsel and of might. Of counsel to
direct; of might, to strengthen the inner man. Such he was to
Christ the Head, of whom it is there spoken. For instance, in
the agony (on the determination of which our salvation
depended), and conflict in the garden, when he prayed, "Let
this cup pass," it was this good Spirit that counselled him
to die; and he blessed God for it: "I bless the Lord that
hath given me counsel." It was that counsel that in that
case caused his heart to say, "Not my will, but thine."—Thomas
Goodwin.
Verse 7. "My reins." Common
experience shows that the workings of the mind, particularly the
passions of joy, grief, and fear, have a very remarkable effect
of the reins or kidneys, and from their retired situation in the
body, and their being hid in fat, they are often used in
Scripture to denote the most secret working of the soul and
affections.—John Parkhurst.
Verse 7. "My reins also instruct me in the
night seasons." This shows that God, who, he says, was
always present to him, had given him some admonition in his
dreams, or at least his waking thoughts by night, from whence he
gathered a certain assurance of his recovery; possibly he might
be directed to some remedy. Antonine thanks the gods for
directing him in his sleep to remedies.—Z. Mudge, in loc,
1744.
Verse 7. "My reins also instruct me in the
night seasons." We have a saying among ourselves, that
"the pillow is the best counsellor;" and there is much
truth in the saying, especially if we have first committed
ourselves in prayer to God, and taken a prayerful spirit with us
to our bed. In the quiet of its silent hours, undisturbed by the
passions, and unharassed by the conflicts of the world, we can
commune with our own heart, and be instructed and guarded as to
our future course even "in the night season."
David especially seems to have made these seasons sources of
great profit as well as delight. Sometimes he loved to meditate
upon God, as he lay upon his bed; and it was no doubt as he
meditated on the Lord's goodness, and on the way by which he had
led him, that he was, as it were, constrained, even at midnight,
to arise and pray. While, therefore, we acknowledge the pillow
to be a good counsellor, let us with David here acknowledge also
that it is the Lord who gives the counsel, and sends the
instruction in the night season.—Burton Bouchier.
Verse 8. "I have set the Lord always before
me." David did not by fits and starts set the Lord
before him; but he "always" set the Lord before
him in his course; he had his eye upon the Lord, and so much the
Hebrew word imports: I have equally set the Lord before me; that
is the force of the original word, that is, I have set the Lord
before me, at one time as well as another, without any irregular
affections or passions, etc. In every place, in every condition,
in every company, in every employment, and in every enjoyment, I
have set the Lord equally before me; and this raised him, and
this will raise any Christian, by degrees, to a very great
height of holiness.—Thomas Brooks.
Verse 8. "I have set the Lord always before
me." Hebrew, I have equally set, or proposed.
The apostle translateth it, "I foresaw the Lord always
before my face." Acts 2:25. I set the eye of my faith full
upon him, and suffer it not to take to other things; I look him
in the face, oculo irretorto, as the eagle looketh upon
the sun; and oculo adamantino, with an eye of adamant,
which turns only to one point: so here, I have equally set
the Lord before me, without irregular affections and
passions. And this was one of those lessons that his reins
had taught him, that the Holy Spirit had dictated unto
him.—John Trapp.
Verse 8. "I have set the Lord ALWAYS before
me." Like as the gnomon doth ever behold the north
star, whether it be closed and shut up in a coffer of gold,
silver, or wood, never losing its nature; so a faithful
Christian man, whether he abound in wealth or be pinched with
poverty, whether he be of high or low degree in this world,
ought continually to have his faith and hope surely built and
grounded upon Christ, and to have his heart and mind fast fixed
and settled in him, and to follow him through thick and thin,
through fire and water, through wars and peace, through hunger
and cold, through friends and foes, through a thousand perils
and dangers, through the surges and waves of envy, malice,
hatred, evil speeches, railing sentences, contempt of the world,
flesh, and devil, and even in death itself, be it never so
bitter, cruel, and tyrannical, yet never to lose sight and view
of Christ, never to give over faith, hope, and trust in him.—Robert
Cawdray.
Verse 8. "I have set the Lord always before
me." By often thinking of God, the heart will be
enticed into desires after him. Isaiah 26:8. "The desire of
our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee;"
and see what follows, verse 9: "With my soul have I desired
thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek
thee early." Love sets the soul on musing, and from musing
to praying. Meditation is prayer in bullion, prayer in the
ore—soon melted and run into holy desires. The laden cloud
soon drops into rain; the piece charged soon goes off when fire
is put to it. A meditating soul is in proxima potentia to
prayer.—William Gurnall.
Verse 8. "I have set the Lord always before
me," etc. He that by faith eyes God continually as his
protector in trouble "shall not be moved" with
any evil that he suffers, and he that eyes God by faith as his
pattern in holiness, shall not be moved from doing that which is
good. This thought—the Lord is at our right hand—keeps
us from turning either to the right hand or to the left. It is
said of Enoch, that "he walked with God" (Genesis
5:22), and though the history of his life be very short, yet
'tis said of him a second time (verse 24), that "he walked
with God." He walked so much with God that he walked as
God: he did not "walk" (which kind of walking
the apostle reproves, 1 Corinthians 3:3), "as men."
He walked so little like the world, that his stay was little in
the world. "He was not," saith the text, "for God
took him." He took him from the world to himself, or, as
the author to the Hebrews reports it, "he was translated
that he should not see death, for he had this testimony, that he
pleased God."—Joseph Caryl.
Verse 8. "Because he is at my right
hand," etc. Of ourselves we stand not at any time, by
his power we may overcome at all times. And when we are sorest
assaulted he is ever ready at our right hand to support
and stay us that we shall not fall. He hath well begun, and
shall happily go forward in his work, who hath in truth begun.
For true grace well planted in the heart, how weak soever, shall
hold out for ever. All total decays come from this—that the
heart was never truly mollified, nor grace deeply and kindly
rooted therein.—John Ball.
Verse 8. "He is at my right hand."
This phrase of speech is borrowed from those who, when they take
upon them the patronage, defence, or tuition of any, will set
them on their right hand, as in place of most safeguard.
Experience confirmeth this in children, who in any imminent
danger shroud and shelter themselves under their father's arms
or hands, as under a sufficient buckler. Such was the estate of
the man of God, as here appeareth, who was hemmed and hedged in
with the power of God, both against present evils, and dangers
to come.—Richard Greenham.
Verse 8. Even as a column or pillar is sometimes on
thy right hand, and sometimes on thy left hand, because thou
dost change thy standing, sitting or walking, for it is
unmovable and keepeth one place; so God is sometimes favourable
and bountiful unto thee, and sometimes seemeth to be wroth and
angry with thee, because thou dost fall from virtue to vice,
from obedience and humility to pride and presumption; for in the
Lord there is no change, no, not so much as any shadow of
change. He is immutable, always one and everlasting. If thou
wilt bend thyself to obedience, and to a virtuous and godly
life, thou shalt ever have him a strong rock, whereupon thou
mayst boldly build a castle and tower of defence. He will be
unto thee a mighty pillar, bearing up heaven and earth, whereto
thou mayst lean and not be deceived, wherein thou mayst trust
and not be disappointed. He will ever be at thy right hand, that
thou shalt not fall. He will take thy part, and will mightily
defend thee against all enemies of thy body and of thy soul; but
if thou wilt shake hands with virtue, and bid it adieu and
farewell, and, forsaking the ways of God, wilt live as thou
list, and follow thy own corruption, and make no conscience of
aught thou doest, defiling and blemishing thyself with all
manner of sin and iniquity, then be sure the Lord will appear
unto thee in his fury and indignation. From his justice and
judgments none shall ever be able to deliver thee.—Robert
Cawdray.
Verse 9. "My heart is glad." Men may
for a time be hearers of the gospel, men may for order's sake
pray, sing, receive the sacraments; but if it be without joy,
will not that hypocrisy in time break out? Will they not begin
to be weary? Nay, will they not be as ready to hear any other
doctrine? Good things cannot long find entertainment in our
corruptions, unless the Holy Ghost hath changed us from our old
delights to conceive pleasure in these things.—Richard
Greenham.
Verse 9. "My heart is glad, and my glory
rejoiceth." His inward joy was not able to contain
itself. We testify our pleasure on lower occasions, even at the
gratification of our senses; when our ear is filled with
harmonious melody, when our eye is fixed upon admirable and
beauteous objects, when our smell is recreated with agreeable
odours, and our taste also by the delicacy and rareness of
provisions; and much more will our soul show its delight, when
its faculties, that are of a more exquisite constitution, meet
with things that are in all respects agreeable and pleasant to
them; and in God they meet with all those: with his light our
understanding is refreshed, and so is our will with his goodness
and his love.—Timothy Rogers.
Verse 9. "Therefore my heart is glad,"
etc. That is, I am all over in very good plight, as well as
heart can wish, or require; I do over-abound exceedingly with
joy; "God forgive me mine unthankfulness and unworthiness
of so great glory" (as that martyr said): "In all the
days of my life I was never so merry as now I am in this dark
dungeon," etc. Wicked men rejoice in appearance, and not in
heart (2 Corinthians 5:12); their joy is but skin deep, their
mirth frothy and flashy, such as wetteth the mouth, but warmeth
not the heart. But David is totus totus, quantus quantus
exultabundus; his heart, glory, flesh, (answerable,
as some think to that of the apostle, 1 Thessalonians 5:23; spirit,
soul, and body) were all overjoyed.—John Trapp.
Verse 9. "My flesh shall rest in hope."
If a Jew pawned his bed-clothes, God provided mercifully that it
should be restored before night: "For," saith he,
"that is his covering: wherein shall he sleep?" Exodus
22:27. Truly, hope is the saint's covering, wherein he wraps
himself, when he lays his body down to sleep in the grave: "My
flesh," saith David, "shall rest in hope."
O Christian, bestir thyself to redeem thy hope before this sun
of thy temporal life goes down upon thee, or else thou art sure
to lie down in sorrow. A sad going to the bed of the grave he
hath who hath no hope of a resurrection to life.—William
Gurnall.
Verse 9. "My flesh shall rest in hope."
That hope which is grounded on the word, gives rest to the soul;
'tis an anchor to keep it steady. Hebrews 6:13. Which shows the
unmovableness of that which our anchor is fastened to. The
promise sustains our faith, and our faith is that which supports
us. He that hopes in the Word as David did (Psalm 119:81), lays
a mighty stress upon it; as Samson did when he leaned upon the
pillars of the house, so as to pull it down upon the
Philistines. A believer throws the whole weight of all his
affairs and concernments, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, upon
the promises of God, like a man resolved to stand or fall with
them. He ventures himself, and all that belongs to him, entirely
upon this bottom, which is in effect to say, if they will not
bear me up, I am content to sink; I know that there shall be a
performance of those things which have been told me from the
Lord, and therefore I will incessantly look for it.—Timothy
Cruso.
Verse 10. "For thou wilt not leave my soul in
hell," etc. The title of this golden text may be—The
embalming of the dead saints: the force whereof is to free
the souls from dereliction in the state of death, and to secure
the bodies of God's saints from corruption in the grave. It is
the art which I desire to learn, and at this time, teach upon
this sad occasion [A Funeral Sermon], even the preparing
of this confection against our burials.—George Hughes,
1642.
Verse 10. Many of the elder Reformers held that our
Lord in soul actually descended into hell, according to some of
them to suffer there as our surety, and according to others to
make a public triumph over death and hell. This idea was almost
universally, and as we believe, most properly repudiated by the
Puritans. To prove this fact, it may be well to quote from
Corbet's witty itinerary of,
"Foure clerkes of Oxford, doctors two, and two
That would be doctors."
He laments the secularisation of church appurtenances at
Banbury, by the Puritans, whom he described as,
———————"They which tell
That Christ hath nere descended into Hell,
But to the grave."
—C. H. S. The quotation is from Richard Corbet's Poems,
1632.
Verse 10. "My soul in hell." Christ
in soul descended into hell, when as our surety he submitted
himself to bear those hellish sorrows (or equivalent to them),
which we were bound by our sins to suffer for ever. His
descension is his projection of himself into the sea of God's
wrath conceived for our sins, and his ingression into most
unspeakable straits and torments in his soul, which we should
else have suffered for ever in hell. This way of Christ's
descending into hell is expressly uttered in the person of
David, as the type of Christ. Psalm 86:13; 116:3; 69:1-3. Thus
the prophet Isaiah saith, "His soul was made an
offering." Isaiah 53:10. And this I take it David means,
when he said of Christ, "Thou wilt not leave my soul in
hell." Psalm 16; Acts 2. And thus Christ descended into
hell when he was alive, not when he was dead. Thus his soul was
in hell when in the garden he did sweat blood, and on the cross
when he cried so lamentably, "My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me?" Matthew 26:38.—Nicholas Byfield's
"Exposition of the Creed," 1676.
Verse 10. "In hell." Sheol
here, as hades in the New Testament, signifies the state
of the dead, the separate state of souls after death, the
invisible world of souls, where Christ's soul was, though it did
not remain there, but on the third day returned to its body
again. It seems best of all to interpret this word of the grave
as it is rendered; Genesis 42:38; Isaiah 38:18.—John Gill.
Verse 10. "Thine Holy One." Holiness
preserves the soul from dereliction, in the state of death, and
the body of the saint from corruption in the grave. If it be
desired by any that doubt of it, to see the clear issue of this
from the text, I shall guide them to read this text with a great
accent upon that term, "Thine Holy One," that
they may take special notice of it, even the quality of that man
exempted from these evils. In this the Spirit of God puts an
emphasis on holiness, as counter-working and prevailing
over death and the grave. It is this and nothing but this, that
keeps the man, dead and buried, from desertion in death, and
corruption in the grave.—George Hughes.
Verse 10. The great promise to Christ is, that though
he took a corruptible body upon him, yet he should "not
see corruption," that is, partake of corruption:
corruption should have no communion with, much less power over
him.—Joseph Caryl.
Verse 10. Quoted by the apostle Peter (Acts 2:27); on
which Hackett (Com. in loc.) observes:—"The sense
then may be expressed thus: Thou wilt not give me up as prey to
death; he shall not have power over me, to dissolve the body and
cause it to return to dust."
Verse 11. In this verse are four things observable:
1.
A Guide, THOU.
2.
A Traveller, ME.
3.
A Way, THE PATH.
4.
The End, LIFE, described after. For that which follows is
but the description of this life.
This
verse is a proper subject for a meditation. For, all
three are solitary. The guide is but one, the traveller,
one; the way one; and the life, the only one. To
meditate well on this is to bring all together; and at last make
them all but one. Which that we may do, let us first seek
our Guide.
The
Guide. Him we find named in the first verse—Jehovah. Here
we may begin, as we ought in all holy exercises, with adoration.
For "unto him all knees shall bow;" nay, unto his name.
For holy is his name. Glory be to thee, O God! He is Deus,
therefore holy; he is Deus fortis, therefore able.
"For the strength of the hills is his;" and if there
be a way on earth, he can "show" it; for
in his hands are all the corners of the earth. But is he willing
to "show?" Yes, though he be Deus, holy
(which is a word terrible to poor flesh and blood), yet he is Deus
meus, my holiness. That takes away servile fear. He is meus,
we have a property in him; and he is willing: "Thou wilt
show," etc. And that you may know he will guide,
David shows a little above, how diligently he will guide. First,
he will go before, he will lead the way himself: if I can
but follow, I shall be sure to go right. And he that hath a guide
before him, and will not follow, is worthy to be left behind.
But say, I am willing, I do desire to go, and I do follow: what
if, through faintness in the long way, I fall often? or, for
want of care step out of the way, shall I not then be left
behind? Fear not; for "He is at my right hand, so that I
shall not slip." Verse 8. This is some comfort indeed. But
we are so soon weary in this way, and do fall and err so often,
that it would weary the patience of a good guide to lead
us but one day. Will he bear with us, and continue to the end?
Yes, always; or this text deceives us; for all this is found in
the eighth verse. We must have him or none; for he is
one, and the only one. So confessed Asaph: "Whom have I on
earth but thee? Seek this good Guide, he is easy to be
found: "Seek, and ye shall find." You shall find that
he is first holy; secondly, able; thirdly, willing;
fourthly, diligent; and fifthly, constant. O my
soul! to follow him, and he will make thee both able to
follow to the end; and holy in the end.
The
traveller. Having found the Guide, we shall not long
seek for one that wants him; for, see, here is a man out of
his way. And that will soon appear if we consider his
condition. For, he is a stranger ("Thou wilt show
me"); and what am I? "I am a stranger, and a
sojourner, as all my fathers were," says he, in another
place. But this was in the old time under the law; what, are we,
their sons in the gospel, any other? Peter tells us no: that we
are strangers and pilgrims too; that is, travellers. We travel,
as being out of our country; and we are strangers to
those we converse with. For neither the natives be our friends,
nor anything we possess truly our own. It is time we had animum
revertendi; and surely so we have if we could but pray on
the way, Converte nos Domine. But it is so long since we
came hither, we have forgot the way home: obliti sunt montis
mei. Yet still we are travelling; and, we think, homewards.
For all hope well: oculi omnium sperant in te. But right,
like pilgrims, or rather wanderers. For we scarce know if we go
right; and, what is worse, have little care to enquire.
"Me."
David still keeps the singular number. As there is but one
guide, so he speaks in the person but of one traveller.
There is somewhat, peradventure, in that. It is to show his confidence.
The Lord's prayer is in the plural, but the creed is in the
singular. We may pray that God would guide all; but we
can be confident for none but ourselves. "Thou wilt
show," or thou dost, or hast, as some translate: all is
but to show particular confidence. "Thou wilt show
me;" me, not us, a number indefinite wherein I may
be one; but me in particular that am out of the way;
that am myself alone; that must walk in "the
path" alone. Either I must follow, or go before others;
I must work for myself alone; believe for myself alone; and be
saved by one alone. The way in this text that I must walk
is but one; nay, it is but a "path" where but
one can go: this is no highway, but a way of sufferance
by favour: it is none of ours. It is no road; you cannot
hurry here, or gallop by troops: it is but semita, a
small footpath for one to go alone in. Nay, as it is a way
for one alone, so it is a lonely way: preparate vias
ejus in solitudine, saith John, and he knew which way God
went, who is our Guide in solitudine: there is the
sweetness of solitariness, the comforts of meditation. For God
is never more familiar with man than when man is in
solitudine, alone, in his path by himself. Christ
himself came thus, all lonely; without troop, or noise,
and ever avoided the tumultuous multitude, though they would
have made him a king. And he never spake to them but in
parables; but to his that sought him, in solitudine,
in private, he spake plain; and so doth he still love to do to
the soul, in private and particular. Therefore well said David, "Thou
wilt show me," in particular, and in the singular
number. But how shall I know that I, in particular, shall be
taught and showed this way? This prophet, that had
experience, will tell us: mites docebit, the humble he
will teach. Psalm 25:9. If thou canst humble thyself, thou
mayst be sure to see thy guide; Christ hath crowned this
virtue with a blessing: "Blessed are the meek;" for
them he will call to him and teach. But thou must be humble
then. For heaven is built like our churches, high-roofed within,
but with a strait low gate; they then that enter there must
stoop, ere they can see God. Humility is the mark at every
cross, whereby thou shalt know if thou be in the way: if any be
otherwise minded, God also shall reveal it unto you, for, "Thou
wilt show."
"The
path." But let us now see what he will show
us: "The path." We must know, that as men have many
paths out of their highway—the world—but they all end in
destruction; so God hath many paths out of his highway,
the word, but they all end in salvation. Let us oppose ours to
his (as indeed they are opposite), and see how they agree. Ours
are not worth marking, his marked with an attendite,
to begin withal; ours bloody, his unpolluted; ours
crooked, his straight; ours lead to hell, his
to heaven. Have not we strayed then? We had need to turn and
take another path, and that quickly: we may well say, semitas
nostrus,. . . vis tus. Well, here is the Book,
and here are the ways before you; and he will show
you. Here is semita mandatorum, in the one
hundred-and-nineteenth Psalm, verse thirty-five: here is semita
pacifica (Proverbs 3:17); here is semita aequitatis
(Proverbs 4:11); here is semita justitiae (Psalm 23:3);
here is semita judicii (Proverbs 17:23); and many others.
These are, every one of them, God's ways; but these are
somewhat too many and too far off: we must seek the way
where all these meet, and that will bring us into "the
path;" these are many, but I will show you yet "a
more excellent way," saith Paul. 1 Corinthians 12:31.
We
must begin to enter at via mandatorum; for till then we
are in the dark and can distinguish no ways, whether they
be good or bad. But there we shall meet with a lantern
and a light in it. Thy commandment is a lantern, and thy
law a light. Proverbs 6:23. Carry this with thee (as a good man
should, lex Dei in corde ejus); and it will bring thee
into the way. And see how careful our Guide is;
for lest the wind should blow out this light, he hath put it
into a lantern to preserve it. For the fear, or sanction, of the
"commandments," preserves the memory of the law in our
hearts, as a lantern doth a light burning within it. The law is
the light, and the commandment the lantern. So that neither
flattering Zephyrus, nor blustering Boreas shall be able to blow
it out, so long as the fear of the sanction keeps it in. This is
lucerna pedibus (Psalm 119:105); and will not only show
thee where thou shalt tread, but what pace thou shalt keep. When
thou hast this light, take Jeremy's counsel; enquire for semita
antiqua, before thou goest any further. "Stand (saith
he) in the ways, and behold and ask for the old way; which is
the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your
souls." This will bring you some whither where you may rest
awhile. And whither is that? Trace this path, and you
shall find this "old way" to run quite through all the
Old Testament till it end in the New, the gospel of peace, and
there is rest. And that this is so Paul affirms. For the
law, which is the "old way," is but the pedagogue to
the gospel. This then is "a more excellent way" than
the law, the ceremonies whereof in respect of this were called
"beggarly rudiments." When we come there, we shall
find the way pleasant and very light, so that we shall
plainly see before us that very path, that only path,
"the path of life" (semita vitae), in which the
gospel ends, as the law ends in the gospel. Now what is semita
vitae that we seek for? "All the ways of God are truth,"
saith David. Psalm 119:151. He doth not say they are verae,
or veritates, but veritas; all one truth. So, all
the ways of God end in one truth. Semita vitae,
then, is truth. And so sure a way to life is truth,
that John says, he had "no greater joy: than to hear that
his sons "walked in truth." 3 John 1:3. "No
greater joy:" for it brings them certainly to a joy, than
which there is none greater. Via veritatis is "the
gospel of truth," but semita vitae is the truth
itself. Of these, Esay prophesied, "et erit ibi semita
et via," etc. "There shall be a path, and a
way;" and the way shall be called holy, the proper
epithet of the gospel: "the holy gospel," that
is the way. But the path is the epitome of this way
(called in our text, by way of excellence, "the
path," in the singular); than which there is no other.
"The gospel of your salvation," saith Paul, is
"the word of truth;" and "thy word is
truth," saith our Saviour to his Father. Truth,
then, is "the path of life," for it is the
epitome of the gospel, which is the way. This is that
truth which Pilate (unhappy man) asked after, but never stayed
to be resolved of. He himself is the word; the word is the
truth; and the truth is "the path of life,"
trodden by all the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs and
confessors, that ever went to heaven before us. The abstract of
the gospel, the gate of heaven, semita vitae, "the path
of life," even Jesus Christ the righteous, who hath
beaten the way for us, gone himself before us, and left us the
prints of his footsteps for us to follow, where he himself sits
ready to receive us. So, the law is the light, the gospel is the
way, and Christ is "the path of life."—William
Austin, 1637.
Verse 11. It is Christ's triumphing in the
consideration of his exaltation, and taking pleasure in the
fruits of his sufferings: "Thou wilt show me the paths
of life." God hath now opened the way to paradise,
which was stopped up by a flaming sword, and made the path plain
by admitting into heaven the head of the believing world. This
is a part of the joy of the soul of Christ; he hath now a
fulness of joy, a satisfying delight instead of an overwhelming
sorrow; a "fulness of joy," not only some sparks and
drops as he had now and then in his debased condition; and that
in the presence of his Father. His soul is fed and nourished
with a perpetual vision of God, in whose face he beholds no more
frowns, no more designs of treating him as a servant but such
smiles that shall give a perpetual succession of joy to him, and
fill his soul with fresh and pure flames. Pleasures they are,
pleasantness in comparison whereof the greatest joys in this
life are anguish and horrors. His soul hath joys without
mixture, pleasures without number, a fulness without want, a
constancy without interruption, and a perpetuity without end.—Stephen
Charnock.
Verse 11. "In thy presence," etc. To
the blessed soul resting in Abraham's bosom, there shall be
given an immortal, impassible, resplendent, perfect, and
glorious body. Oh, what a happy meeting will this be, what a
sweet greeting between the soul and the body, the nearest and
dearest acquaintance that ever were! What a welcome will that
soul give to her beloved body! Blessed be thou (will she say),
for thou hast aided me to the glory I have enjoyed since I
parted with thee; blessed art thou that sufferedst thyself to be
mortified, giving "thy members as weapons of righteousness
unto God." Romans 6:13. Cheer up thyself, for now the time
of labour is past, and the time of rest is come. Thou wast sown
and buried in the dust of earth with ignominy, but now raised in
glory; sown in weakness, but raised in power; sown a natural
body, but raised a spiritual body; sown in corruption, but
raised in incorruption. 1 Corinthians 15:43. O my dear companion
and familiar, we took sweet counsel together, we two have walked
together as friends on God's house (Psalm 55:14). for when I
prayed inwardly, thou didst attend my devotions with bowed knees
and lifted-up hands outwardly. We two have been fellow labourers
in the works of the Lord, we two have suffered together, and now
we two shall ever reign together; I will enter again into thee,
and so both of us together will enter into our Master's joy,
where we shall have pleasures at his right hand for evermore.
The
saints, entered as it were into the chambers of God's presence,
shall have joy to their ears in hearing their own commendating
and praise, "Well done, good and faithful servant"
(Matthew 25:21); and in hearing the divine language of heavenly
Canaan; for our bodies shall be vera et viva, perfect
like Christ's glorious body, who did both hear other and speak
himself after his resurrection, as it is apparent in the
gospel's history. Now, then, if the words of the wise spoken in
due places be like "apples of gold with pictures of
silver" (Proverbs 25:11). if the mellifluous speech of
Origen, the silver trumpet of Hillary, the golden mouth of
Chrysostom, bewitched as it were their auditory with exceeding
great delight; if the gracious eloquence of heathen orators,
whose tongues were never touched with a coal from God's altar,
could steal away the hearts of their hearers, and carry them up
and down whither they would, what a "fulness of
joy" will it be to hear not only the sanctified, but
also the glorified tongues of saints and angels in the kingdom
of glory? . . . . . Bonaventure fondly reports at all adventure,
that St. Francis hearing an angel a little while playing on a
harp, was so moved with extraordinary delight, that he thought
himself in another world. Oh! what a "fulness of
joy" will it be to hear more than twelve legions of
angels, accompanied with a number of happy saints which no man
is able to number, all at once sing together, "Hallelujah,
holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is
to come." "And every creature which is in heaven, and
on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea,
and all them that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and
honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the
throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." Revelation
4:8; 5:13. If the voices of mortal men, and the sound of cornet,
trumpet, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and other well-tuned
instruments of music, passing through our dull ears in this
world be so powerful, that all our affections are diversely
transported according to the divers kinds of harmony, then how
shall we be ravished in God's presence when we shall hear
heavenly airs with heavenly ears!
Concerning
"fulness of joy" to the rest of the senses, I
find a very little or nothing in holy Scriptures, and therefore
seeing God's Spirit will not have a pen to write, I may not have
a tongue to speak. Divines in general affirm, that the smelling,
and taste, and feeling, shall have joy proportionable to their
blessed estate, for this corruptible must put on incorruption,
and this mortal immortality; the body which is sown in weakness
is to be raised in power; it is sown a natural body, but it is
raised a spiritual body; buried in dishonour, raised in glory;
that is, capable of good, and, as being impassible, no way
subject to suffer evil, insomuch that it cannot be hurt if it
should be cast into hell fire, no more than Shadrach, Meshech,
and Abednego, were hurt in the burning oven. In one word, God is
not only to the souls, but also to the bodies of the saints, all
in all things; a glass to their sight, honey to their taste,
music to their hearing, balm to their smelling.—John Boys.
Verse 11. "In thy presence is fulness of
joy." The saints on earth are all but viatores,
wayfaring men, wandering pilgrims far from home; but the saints
in heaven are comprehensores, safely arrived at the end
of their journey. All we here present for the present, are but
mere strangers in the midst of danger, we are losing ourselves
and losing our lives in the land of the dying. But ere long, we
may find our lives and ourselves again in heaven with the Lord
of life, being found of him in the land of the living. If when
we die, we be in the Lord of life, our souls are sure to be
bound up in the bundle of life, that so when we live again we
may be sure to find them in the life of the Lord. Now we have
but a dram, but a scruple, but a grain of happiness, to an
ounce, to a pound, to a thousand weight of heaviness; now we
have but a drop of joy to an ocean of sorrow; but a moment of
ease to an age of pain; but then (as St. Austin very sweetly in
his Soliloquies), we shall have endless ease, without any
pain, true happiness without any heaviness, the greatest measure
of felicity without the least of misery, the fullest measure of
joy that may be, without any mixture of grief. Here therefore
(as St. Gregory the divine adviseth us), let us ease our
heaviest loads of sufferings, and sweeten our bitterest cups of
sorrows with the continual meditation and constant expectation
of the fulness of joy in the presence of God, and of the
pleasure at his right hand for evermore.
"In
thy presence, IS," etc., there it is, not there
it was, nor there it may be, nor there it will be, but there
it is, there it is without cessation or intercision,
there it always hath been, and is, and must be. It is an
assertion aeternae veritatis, that is always true, it may
at any time be said that there it is. "In thy
presence is the fulness of joy;" and herein consists
the consummation of felicity; for what does any man here present
wish for more than joy? And what measure of joy can any man wish
for more than fulness of joy? And what kind of fulness would any
man wish for rather than this fulness, the fulness kat exochn?
And where would any man wish to enjoy this fulness of joy rather
than in the presence of God, which is the ever-flowing and the
over-flowing fountain of joy? And when would any man wish for
this enjoyment of the fulness of joy in the very fountain of joy
rather than presently, constantly, and incessantly? Now all
these desirables are encircled within the compass of the first
remarkable, to make up the consummation of true felicity. "In
thy presence is fulness of joy."—The Consummation
of Felicity," by Edward Willan, 1654.
Verse 11. The human nature of Christ in heaven hath a
double capacity of glory, happiness and delight; one on that
mere fellowship and communion with his Father and the other
persons, through his personal union with the Godhead. Which joy
of his in this fellowship, Christ himself speaks of as to be
enjoyed by him: "In thy presence is fulness of joy, and
at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore." And this
is a constant and settled fulness of pleasure, such as admits
not any addition or diminution, but is always one and the same,
and absolute and entire in itself; and of itself alone
sufficient for the Son of God, and heir of all things to live
upon, though he should have had no other comings in of joy and
delight from any creature. And this is his natural
inheritance.—Thomas Goodwin.
Verse 11. "In thy presence is FULNESS of
joy." In heaven they are free from want; they can want
nothing there is unless it be want itself. They may find the
want of evil, but never feel the evil of want. Evil is but the
want of good, and the want of evil is but the absence of want.
God is good, and no want of good can be in God. What want then
can be endured in the presence of God, where no evil is, but all
good that the fulness of joy may be enjoyed? Here some men eat
their meat without any hunger, whilst others hunger without any
meat to eat, and some men drink extremely without any thirst,
whilst others thirst extremely without any drink. But in the
glorious presence of God, not any one can be pampered with too
much, nor any one be pined with too little. They that gather
much of the heavenly manna, "have nothing over;" and
"they that gather little have no lack." They that are
once possessed of that presence of God, are so possessed with it
that they can never feel the misery of thirst or hunger.—Edward
Willan.
Verse 11. "Fulness." Every soul shall
there enjoy an infinite happiness, because it shall enjoy an
infinite goodness. And it shall be for ever enjoyed, without
disliking of it, or losing of it, or lacking any of it. Every
soul shall enjoy as much good in that presence, by the presence
of that good, as it shall be able to receive, or to desire to
receive. As much as shall make it fully happy. Every one shall
be filled so proportionably full; and every desire in any soul
shall be filled so perfectly in that presence of glory, with the
glory of that presence, that no one shall ever wish for any
more, or ever be weary of that it has, or be willing to change
it for any other.—Edward Willan.
Verse 11. "Fulness of joy." When a
man comes to the sea, he doth not complain that he wants his
cistern of water: though thou didst suck comfort from thy
relations; yet when thou comest to the ocean, and art with
Christ, thou shalt never complain that thou hast left thy
cistern behind. There will be nothing to breed sorrow in heaven;
there shall be joy, and nothing but joy: heaven is set
out by that phrase, "Enter thou into the joy of thy
Lord." Here joy enters into us, there we enter into joy;
the joys we have here are from heaven; the joys that we shall
have with Christ are without measure and without mixture. "In
thy presence is fulness of joy."—Thomas Watson.
Verse 11. "In thy presence is fulness of
joy." In this life our joy is mixed with sorrow like a
prick under the rose. Jacob had joy when his sons returned home
from Egypt with the sacks full of corn, but much sorrow when he
perceived the silver in the sack's mouth. David had much joy in
bringing up the ark of God, but at the same time great sorrow
for the breach made upon Uzza. This is the Lord's great wisdom
to temper and moderate our joy. As men of a weak constitution
must have their wine qualified with water for fear of distemper,
so must we in this life (such is our weakness), have our joy
mixed with sorrow, lest we turn giddy and insolent. Here our joy
is mixed with fear (Psalm 2), "Rejoice with
trembling;" the women departed from the sepulchre of our
Lord "with fear and great joy." Matthew 28:8. In our
regenerate estate, though we have joy from Christ that is
"formed in us," yet the impression of the terrors of
God before the time of our new birth remains in us; as in a
commotion of the sea by a great tempest after a stormy wind hath
ceased, yet the impression of the storm remains and makes an
agitation. The tender mother recovering her young child from
danger of a fall hath joy from the recovery; but with much fear
with the impression of the danger; so after we are recovered
here from our dangerous falls by the rich and tender mercies of
our God, sometime prevening us, sometime restoring us; though we
rejoice in his mercy, and in our own recovery out of the snares
of Satan, yet in the midst of our joy the remembrance of former
guiltiness and danger do humble our hearts with much sorrow, and
some trepidation of heart. As our joy here is mixed with fears,
so with sorrow also. Sound believers do look up to Christ
crucified, and do rejoice in his incomparable love, that such a
person should have died such a death for such as were enemies to
God by sinful inclinations and wicked works; they look down also
upon their own sins that have wounded and crucified the Lord of
glory, and this breaketh the heart, as a widow should mourn, who
by her froward and lewd behaviour hath burst the heart of a kind
and loving husband.
The
sound believers look to their small beginnings of grace, and
they rejoice in the work of God's hands; but when they compare
it with that original and primitive righteousness, they mourn
bitterly, as the elders of Israel did at the rebuilding of the
temple (Ezra 3:12; "They who had seen the first house
wept." But in heaven our joy will be full, without mixture
of sorrow (John 16:20); "Your sorrow," saith our Lord,
"shall be turned into joy." Then will there be no
sorrow for a present trouble, nor present fear of future
troubles. Then their eye will deeply affect their heart; the
sight and knowledge of God the supreme and infinite good will
ravish, and take up all their heart with joy and delight. Peter
in the Mount (Matthew 17), was so affected with that glorious
sight, that he forgot both the delights and troubles that were
below; "It is good to be here," said he. How much more
will all worldly troubles and delights be forgot at that
soul-satisfying sight in heaven, which is as far above that of
Peter in the Mount, as the third heaven is above that Mount, and
as the uncreated is above the created glory!—William
Colvill's "Refreshing Streams," 1655.
Verse 11. "In thy presence is fulness of joy;
at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."
Mark, for quality, there are pleasures; for quantity, fulness;
for dignity, at God's right hand; for eternity, for
evermore. And millions of years multiplied by millions, make
not up one minute to this eternity of joy that the saints shall
have in heaven. In heaven there shall be no sin to take away
your joy, nor no devil to take away your joy; nor no man to take
away your joy. "Your joy no man taketh from you." John
16:22. The joy of the saints in heaven is never ebbing, but
always flowing to all contentment. The joys of heaven never
fade, never wither, never die, nor never are lessened nor
interrupted. The joy of the saints in heaven is a constant joy,
an everlasting joy, in the root and in the cause, and in the
matter of it and in the objects of it. "Their joy lasts for
ever whose objects remain for ever."—Thomas Brooks.
Verse 11. "Pleasures for evermore."
The soul that is once landed at the heavenly shore is past all
storms. The glorified soul shall be for ever bathing itself in
the rivers of pleasure. This is that which makes heaven
to be heaven, "We shall be ever with the Lord." 1
Thessalonians 4:17. Austin saith, "Lord, I am content to
suffer any pains and torments in this world, if I might see thy
face one day; but alas! were it only a day, then to be ejected
heaven, it would rather be an aggravation of misery;" but
this word, "ever with the Lord," is very
accumulative, and makes up the garland of glory: a state of
eternity is a state of security.—Thomas Watson.
Verse 11. This then may serve for a ground of comfort
to every soul distressed with the tedious bitterness of this
life; for short sorrow here, we shall have eternal joy; for a
little hunger, an eternal banquet; for light sickness and
affliction, everlasting health and salvation; for a little
imprisonment, endless liberty; for disgrace, glory. Instead of
the wicked who oppress and afflict them, they shall have the
angels and saints to comfort and solace them, instead of Satan
to torment and tempt them, they shall have Jesus to ravish and
affect them. Joseph's prison shall be turned into a palace;
Daniel's lions' den into the presence of the Lion of the Tribe
of Judah; the three children's hot fiery furnace, into the new
Jerusalem of pure gold; David's Gath, into the tabernacle of the
living God.—John Cragge's "Cabinet of Spiritual
Jewels," 1657.
Verse 11. This heavenly feast will not have an end, as
Ahasuerus's feast had, though it lasted many days; but "At
thy right hand are pleasures for evermore."—William
Colvill.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Michtam
of David. Under the title of "The Golden Psalm,"
Mr. Canon Dale has published a small volume, which is valuable
as a series of good simple discourses, but ought hardly to have
been styled "an exposition." We have thought it right
to give the headings of the chapters into which his volume is
divided, for there is much showiness, and may be some solidity
in the suggestions.
Verse
1. The seeking of the gold. The believer conscious of
danger, trusting in God only for deliverance.
Verses
2, 3. The possessing of the gol.d The believer looking
for justification to the righteousness of God alone, while
maintaining personal holiness by companionship with the saints.
Verses
4, 5. The testing of the gold. The believer finding his
present portion, and expecting his eternal inheritance in the
Lord.
Verse
6. The prizing or valuing of the gold. The believer
congratulating himself on the pleasantness of his dwelling and
the goodness of his heritage.
Verses
7, 8. The occupying of the gold. The believer seeking
instruction from the counsels of the Lord by night, and
realising his promise by day.
Verses
9, 10. The summing or reckoning of the gold. The believer
rejoicing and praising God for the promise of a rest in hope and
resurrection into glory.
Verse
11. The perfecting of the gold. The believer realising at
God's right hand the fulness of joy and the pleasures for
evermore.
Upon this suggestive Psalm we offer the following few hints
out of many—
Verse 1. The prayer and the plea. The preserver and
the truster. The dangers of the saints and the place of their
confidence.
Verse 2. "Thou art my Lord." The
soul's appropriation, allegiance, assurance, and avowal.
Verses 2, 3. The influence and sphere of goodness. No
profit to God, or departed saints or sinners, but to living men.
Need of promptness, etc.
Verse 2, 3. Evidences of true faith.
- I. Allegiance to divine authority.
- II. Rejection of self-righteousness.
- III. Doing good to the saints.
- IV. Appreciation of saintly excellence.
- V. Delight in their society.
Verse 3. Excellent of the earth. May be
translated noble, wonderful, magnificent. They are so in their
new birth, nature, clothing, attendance, heritage, etc., etc.
Verse 3. "In whom is all my delight."
Why Christians should be objects of our delight. Why we do not
delight in them more. Why they do not delight in us. How to make
our fellowship more delightful.
Verse 3. Collection sermon for poor believers.
- I. Saints.
- II. Saints on the earth.
- III. These are excellent.
- IV. We must delight in them.
- V. We must extend our goodness to them.
—Matthew Henry. Verse 4. Sorrows of idolatry
illustrated in heathens and ourselves.
Verse 4 (Second clause). The duty of complete
separation from sinners in life and lip.
Verse 5. Future inheritance and present cup found in
God. (See exposition.)
Verse 6.
- I. "Pleasant places." Bethlehem, Calvary,
Olivet, Tabor, Zion, Paradise, etc.
- II. Pleasant purposes, which made these lines fall
to me.
- III. Pleasant praises. By service, sacrifice, and
song.
Verse 6 (second clause).
- I. A heritage.
- II. A goodly heritage.
- III. I have it.
- IV. Yea, or the Spirit's witness.
Verse 6. "A goodly heritage." That
which makes our portion good is—
- I. The favour of God with it.
- II. That it is from a Father's hand.
- III. That it comes through the covenant of grace.
- IV. That it is the purchase of Christ's blood.
- V. That it is an answer to prayer, and a blessing from
above upon honest endeavours.
Verse 6. We may put this acknowledgment into the mouth
of—
- I. An indulged child of providence.
- II. An inhabitant of this favoured country.
- III. A Christian with regard to his spiritual
condition.
—William Jay.
Verse 7. Taking counsel's opinion. Of whom? Upon what?
Why? When? How? What then?
Verse 7. Upward and inward, or two schools of
instruction.
Verse 8. Set the Lord always before you as—
- I. Your protector.
- II. Your leader.
- III. Your example.
- IV. Your observer.
—William Jay.
Verses 8, 9. A sense of the divine presence our best
support. It yields,
- I. Good confidence concerning things without. "I
shall not be moved."
- II. Good cheer within. "My heart is glad."
- III. Good music for the living tongue. "My glory
rejoiceth."
- IV. Good hope for the dying body. "My flesh
also," etc.
Verse 9. (last clause).
- I. The saint's Sabbath (rest).
- II. His sarcophagus (in hope).
- III. His salvation (for which he hopes).
Verses 9, 10. Jesus cheered in prospect of death by
the safety of his soul and body; our consolation in him as to
the same.
Verse 10. Jesus dead, the place of his soul and his
body. A difficult but interesting topic.
Verses 10, 11. Because he lives we shall live also.
The believers, therefore, can also say, "Thou wilt show me
the path of life." This life means the blessedness reserved
in heaven for the people of God after the resurrection. It has
three characters. The first regards its source—it flows
from "his presence." The second regards its
plenitude—it is "fulness" of joy." The
third regards its permanency—the pleasures are "for
evermore."—William Jay.
Verse 11. A sweet picture of heaven. (See EXPOSITION.)
WORKS UPON THE SIXTEENTH PSALM
An
Exposition upon some select Psalms of David. . . . . . By
ROBERT ROLLOCK. 1600. 16mo.
A
Godly Exposition of the Sixteenth Psalm: in R. Greenham's
"Works:" pp. 316-331. Folio: 1612.
In
the "Works" of John Boys, 1626, folio, pp. 898-908,
there is an Exposition of Psalm Sixteen,
"Devotions
Augustinianae Flamma; or, Certayne Devout, Godly, and Learned
Meditations. Written by the excellently accomplisht
gentleman, WILLIAM AUSTIN, of Lincolnes Inne, Esquire. . . .
1637," contains "Notes on the Sixteenth Psalme; more
particularly on the last verse." Small folio.
The
Golden Psalm. Being an Exposition practical, experimental,
and prophetical of Psalm Sixteenth. By the Rev. THOMAS DALE,
M.A. Canon Residentiary of St. Paul's, London, and Vicar of St.
Pancras, Middlesex. London: 1847.
Christ
in Gethsemane. An Exposition of Psalm Sixteen. By JAMES
FRAME, Minister of Queen Street Chapel, Ratcliff, London: 1858.