TITLE AND SUBJECT. Nothing whatever can
be drawn from the title as to the time when this Psalm was
written, for the heading, "A Psalm of David, "is
common to so many of the Psalms; but if one may judge from the
matter of the song, the writer was pursued by enemies, Ps
27:2-3, was shut out from the house of the Lord, Ps 27:4, was
just parting from father and mother, Ps 27:10, and was subject
to slander, Ps 27:12; do not all these meet in the time when
Doeg, the Edomite, spake against him to Saul? It is a song of
cheerful hope, well fitted for those in trial who have learned
to lean upon the Almighty arm. The Psalm may with profit be read
in a threefold way, as the language of David, of the Church, and
of the Lord Jesus. The plenitude of Scripture will thus appear
the more wonderful.
DIVISION. The poet first sounds forth
his sure confidence in his God, Ps 27:1-3, and his love of
communion with him, Ps 27:4-6. He then betakes himself to
prayer, Ps 27:7-12, and concludes with an acknowledgment of the
sustaining power of faith in his own case, and an exhortation to
others to follow his example.
EXPOSITION
Verse 1. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Here is personal interest, "my light, ""my
salvation; "the soul is assured of it, and therefore,
declaring it boldly. "My light; "—into the
soul at the new birth divine light is poured as the precursor of
salvation; where there is not enough light to see our own
darkness and to long for the Lord Jesus, there is no evidence of
salvation. Salvation finds us in the dark, but it does not leave
us there; it gives light to those who sit in the valley of the
shadow of death. After conversion our God is our joy, comfort,
guide, teacher, and in every sense our light; he is light
within, light around, light reflected from us, and light to be
revealed to us. Note, it is not said merely that the Lord gives
light, but that he "is" light; nor that he
gives salvation, but that he is salvation; he, then, who by
faith has laid hold upon God has all covenant blessings in his
possession. Every light is not the sun, but the sun is the
father of all lights. This being made sure as a fact, the
argument drawn from it is put in the form of a question, Whom
shall I fear? A question which is its own answer. The powers
of darkness are not to be feared, for the Lord, our light,
destroys them; and the damnation of hell is not to be dreaded by
us, for the Lord is our salvation. This is a very different
challenge from that of boastful Goliath, for it is based upon a
very different foundation; it rests not upon the conceited
vigour of an arm of flesh, but upon the real power of the
omnipotent I AM. The Lord is the strength of my life.
Here is a third glowing epithet, to show that the writer's hope
was fastened with a threefold cord which could not be broken. We
may well accumulate terms of praise where the Lord lavishes
deeds of grace. Our life derives all its strength from him who
is the author if it; and if he deigns to make us strong we
cannot be weakened by all the machinations of the adversary. Of
whom shall I be afraid? The bold question looks into the
future as well as the present. "If God be for us, "who
can be against us, either now or in time to come?
Verse 2. This verse records a past deliverance, and is
an instance of the way in which experience should be employed to
reassure our faith in times of trial. Each word is instructive. When
the wicked. It is a hopeful sign for us when the wicked hate
us; if our foes were godly men it would be a sore sorrow, but as
for the wicked their hatred is better than their love. Even
mine enemies and my foes. There were many of them, they were
of different sorts, but they were unanimous in mischief and
hearty in hatred. Came upon me—advanced to the attack,
leaping upon the victim like a lion upon its prey. To eat up
my flesh, like cannibals they would make a full end of the
man, tear him limb from limb, and make a feast for their malice.
The enemies of our souls are not deficient in ferocity, they
yield no quarter, and ought to have none in return. See in what
danger David was; in the grip and grasp of numerous, powerful,
and cruel enemies, and yet observe his perfect safety and their
utter discomfiture! They stumbled and fell. God's breath
blew them off their legs. There were stones in the way which
they never reckoned upon, and over these they made an
ignominious tumble. This was literally true in the case of our
Lord in Gethsemane, when those who came to take him went
backward and fell to the ground; and herein he was a prophetic
representative of all wrestling believers who, rising from their
knees shall, by the power of faith, throw their foes upon their
faces.
Verse 3. Though an host should encamp against me, my
heart shall not fear. Before the actual conflict, while
as yet the battle is untried, the warrior's heart, being held in
suspense, is very liable to become fluttered. The encamping host
often inspires greater dread than the same host in actual
affray. Young tells us of some—"Who feel a thousand
deaths in fearing one." Doubtless the shadow of anticipated
trouble is, to timorous minds, a more prolific source of sorrow
than the trouble itself, but faith puts a strengthening plaister
to the back of courage, and throws out of the window the dregs
of the cup of trembling. Though war should rise against me,
in this will I be confident. When it actually comes to push
of pike, faith's shield will ward off the blow; and if the first
brush should be but the beginning of a war, yet faith's banners
will wave in spite of the foe. Though battle should succeed
battle, and one campaign should be followed by another, the
believer will not be dismayed at the length of the conflict.
Reader, this third verse is the comfortable and logical
inference from the second, confidence is the child of
experience. Have you been delivered out of great perils? then
set up your ensign, wait at your watch fire, and let the enemy
do his worst.
Verse 4. One thing. Divided aims tend to
distraction, weakness, disappointment. The man of one book is
eminent, the man of one pursuit is successful. Let all our
affections be bound up in one affection, and that affection set
upon heavenly things. Have I desired—what we cannot at
once attain, it is well to desire. God judges us very much by
the desire of our hearts. He who rides a lame horse is not
blamed by his master for want of speed, if he makes all the
haste he can, and would make more if he could; God takes the
will for the deed with his children. Of the Lord. This is
the right target for desires, this is the well into which to dip
our buckets, this is the door to knock at, the bank to draw
upon; desire of men, and lie upon the dunghill with Lazarus:
desire of the Lord, and to be carried of angels into Abraham's
bosom. Our desires of the Lord should be sanctified, humble,
constant, submissive, fervent, and it is well if, as with the
psalmist, they are all molten into one mass. Under David's
painful circumstances we might have expected him to desire
repose, safety, and a thousand other good things, but no, he has
set his heart on the pearl, and leaves the rest. That will I
seek after. Holy desires must lead to resolute action. The
old proverb says, "Wishers and woulders are never good
housekeepers, "and "wishing never fills a sack."
Desires are seed which must be sown in the good soil of
activity, or they will yield no harvest. We shall find our
desires to be like clouds without rain, unless followed up by
practical endeavours. That I may dwell in the house of the
Lord all the days of my life. For the sake of communion with
the King, David longed to dwell always in the palace; so far
from being wearied with the services of the Tabernacle, he
longed to be constantly engaged in them, as his life long
pleasure. He desired above all things to be one of the household
of God, a home born child, living at home with his Father. This
is our dearest wish, only we extend it to those days of our
immortal life which have not yet dawned. We pine for our
Father's house above, the home of our souls; if we may but dwell
there for ever, we care but little for the goods or ills of this
poor life. "Jerusalem the golden" is the one and only
goal of our heart's longings. To behold the beauty of the
Lord. An exercise both for earthly and heavenly worshippers.
We must not enter the assemblies of the saints in order to see
and be seen, or merely to hear the minister; we must repair to
the gatherings of the righteous, intent upon the gracious object
of learning more of the loving Father, more of the glorified
Jesus, more of the mysterious Spirit, in order that we may the
more lovingly admire, and the more reverently adore our glorious
God. What a word is that, "the beauty of the Lord!"
Think of it, dear reader! Better far—behold it by faith! What
a sight will that be when every faithful follower of Jesus shall
behold "the King in his beauty!" Oh, for that
infinitely blessed vision! And to enquire in his temple.
We should make our visits to the Lord's house enquirers'
meetings. Not seeking sinners alone, but assured saints should
be enquirers. We must enquire as to the will of God and how we
may do it; as to our interest in the heavenly city, and how we
may be more assured of it. We shall not need to make enquiries
in heaven, for there we shall know even as we are known; but
meanwhile we should sit at Jesus' feet, and awaken all our
faculties to learn of him.
Verse 5. This verse gives an excellent reason for the
psalmist's desire after communion with God, namely, that he was
thus secured in the hour of peril. For in the time of
trouble, that needy time, that time when others forsake me, he
shall hide me in his pavilion: he shall give me the best of
shelter in the worst of danger. The royal pavilion was erected
in the centre of the army, and around it all the mighty men kept
guard at all hours; thus in that divine sovereignty which
almighty power is sworn to maintain, the believer peacefully is
hidden, hidden not by himself furtively, but by the king, who
hospitably entertains him. In the secret of his tabernacle
shall he hide me. Sacrifice aids sovereignty in screening
the elect from harm. No one of old dared to enter the most holy
place on pain of death; and if the Lord has hidden his people
there, what foe shall venture to molest them? He shall set me
up upon a rock. Immutability, eternity, and infinite power
here come to the aid of sovereignty and sacrifice. How blessed
is the standing of the man whom God himself sets on high above
his foes, upon an impregnable rock which never can be stormed!
Well may we desire to dwell with the Lord who so effectually
protects his people.
Verse 6. And now shall mine head be lifted up above
mine enemies round about me. He is quite sure of it. Godly
men of old prayed in faith, nothing wavering, and spoke of their
answer to their prayers as a certainty. David was by faith so
sure of a glorious victory over all those who beset him, that he
arranged in his own heart what he would do when his foes lay all
prostrate before him; that arrangement was such as gratitude
suggested. Therefore will I offer in his tabernacle
sacrifices of joy. That place for which he longed in his
conflict, should see his thankful joy in his triumphant return.
He does not speak of jubilations to be offered in his palace,
and feastings in his banqueting halls, but holy mirth he selects
as most fitting for so divine a deliverance. I will sing.
This is the most natural mode of expressing thankfulness. Yea,
I will sing praises unto the Lord. The vow is confirmed by
repetition, and explained by addition, which addition vows all
the praise unto Jehovah. Let who will be silent, the believer
when his prayer is heard, must and will make his praise to be
heard also; and let who will sing unto the vanities of the
world, the believer reserves his music for the Lord alone.
Verse 7. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice.
The pendulum of spirituality swings from prayer to praise. The
voice which in the last verse was tuned to music is here turned
to crying. As a good soldier, David knew how to handle his
weapons, and found himself much at home with the weapon of
"all prayer." Note his anxiety to be heard. Pharisees
care not a fig for the Lord's hearing them, so long as they are
heard of men, or charm their own pride with their sounding
devotions; but with a genuine man, the Lord's ear is everything.
The voice may be profitably used even in private prayer;
for though it is unnecessary, it is often helpful, and aids in
preventing distractions. Have mercy also upon me. Mercy
is the hope of sinners and the refuge of saints. All acceptable
petitioners dwell much upon this attribute. And answer me.
We may expect answers to prayer, and should not be easy without
them any more than we should be if we had written a letter to a
friend upon important business, and had received no reply.
Verse 8. In this verse we are taught that if we would
have the Lord hear our voice, we must be careful to respond to his
voice. The true heart should echo the will of God as the rocks
among the Alps repeat in sweetest music the notes of the
peasant's horn. Observe, that the command was in the plural, to
all the saints, Seek ye; but the man of God turned it
into the singular by a personal application, Thy face, Lord,
will I seek. The voice of the Lord is very effectual where
all other voices fail. When thou saidst, then my heart,
my inmost nature was moved to an obedient reply. Note the
promptness of the response—no sooner said than done; as soon
as God said "seek, "the heart said, "I
will seek." Oh, for more of this holy readiness! Would
to God that we were more plastic to the divine hand, more
sensitive of the touch of God's Spirit.
Verse 9. Hide not thy face far from me. The
word "far" is not in the original, and is a
very superfluous addition of the translators, since even the
least hiding of the Lord's face is a great affliction to a
believer. The command to seek the Lord's face would be a painful
one if the Lord, by withdrawing himself, rendered it impossible
for the seeker to meet with him. A smile from the Lord is the
greatest of comforts, his frown the worst of ills. Put not
thy servant away in anger. Other servants had been put away
when they proved unfaithful, as for instance, his predecessor
Saul; and this made David, while conscious of many faults, most
anxious that divine long suffering should continue him in favour.
This is a most appropriate prayer for us under a similar sense
of unworthiness. Thou hast been my help. How truly can we
join in this declaration; for many years, in circumstances of
varied trial, we have been upheld by our God, and must and will
confess our obligation. "Ingratitude, "it is said,
"is natural to fallen man, "but to spiritual men it is
unnatural and detestable. Leave me not, neither forsake me.
A prayer for the future, and an inference from the past. If the
Lord had meant to leave us, why did he begin with us? Past help
is but a waste of effort if the soul now be deserted. The first
petition, "leave me not, "may refer to
temporary desertions, and the second word to the final
withdrawal of grace, both are to be prayed against; and
concerning the second, we have immutable promises to urge. O
God of my salvation. A sweet title worthy of much
meditation.
Verse 10. When my father and my mother forsake me.
These dear relations will be the last to desert me, but if the
milk of human kindness should dry up even from their breasts,
there is a Father who never forgets. Some of the greatest of the
saints have been cast out by their families, and persecuted for
righteousness' sake. Then the Lord will take me up. Will
espouse my cause, will uplift me from my woes, will carry me in
his arms, will elevate me above my enemies, will at last receive
me to his eternal dwelling place.
Verse 11. Teach me thy way, O Lord. He does not
pray to be indulged with his own way, but to be informed as to
the path in which the righteous Jehovah would have him walk.
This prayer evinces an humble sense of personal ignorance, great
teachableness of spirit, and cheerful obedience of heart. Lead
me in a plain path. Help is here sought as well as
direction; we not only need a map of the way, but a guide to
assist us in the journey. A path is here desired which shall be
open, honest, straightforward, in opposition to the way of
cunning, which is intricate, tortuous, dangerous. Good men
seldom succeed in fine speculations and doubtful courses; plain
simplicity is the best spirit for an heir of heaven: let us
leave shifty tricks and political expediencies to the citizens
of the world—the New Jerusalem owns plain men for its
citizens. Esau was a cunning hunter, Jacob was a plain man,
dwelling in tents. Because of mine enemies. These will
catch us if they can, but the way of manifest, simple honesty is
safe from their rage. It is wonderful to observe how honest
simplicity baffles and outwits the craftiness of wickedness.
Truth is wisdom. "Honesty is the best policy."
Verse 12. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine
enemies; or I should be like a victim cast to the lions, to
be rent in pieces and utterly devoured. God be thanked that our
foes cannot have their way with us, or Smithfield would soon be
on a blaze again. For false witnesses are risen up against
me. Slander is an old fashioned weapon out of the armoury of
hell, and is still in plentiful use; and no matter how holy a
man may be, there will be some who will defame him. "Give a
dog an ill name, and hang him; "but glory be to God, the
Lord's people are not dogs, and their ill names do not injure
them. And such as breathe out cruelty. It is their vital
breath to hate the good; they cannot speak without cursing them;
such was Paul before conversion. They who breathe out cruelty
may well expect to be sent to breathe their native air in hell;
let persecutors beware!
Verse 13. Faintness of heart is a common infirmity;
even he who slew Goliath was subject to its attacks. Faith puts
its bottle of cordial to the lip of the soul, and so prevents
fainting. Hope is heaven's balm for present sorrow. In this land
of the dying, it is our blessedness to be looking and longing
for our fair portion in the land of the living, whence the
goodness of God has banished the wickedness of man, and where
holy spirits charm with their society those persecuted saints
who were vilified and despised among men. We must believe to
see, not see to believe; we must wait the appointed time, and
stay our soul's hunger with foretastes of the Lord's eternal
goodness which shall soon be our feast and our song.
Verse 14. Wait on the Lord. Wait at his door
with prayer; wait at his foot with humility; wait at his table
with service; wait at his window with expectancy. Suitors often
win nothing but the cold shoulder from earthly patrons after
long and obsequious waiting; he speeds best whose patron is in
the skies. Be of good courage. A soldier's motto. Be it
mine. Courage we shall need, and for the exercise of it we have
as much reason as necessity, if we are soldiers of King Jesus. And
he shall strengthen thine heart. He can lay the plaister
right upon the weak place. Let the heart be strengthened, and
the whole machine of humanity is filled with power; a strong
heart makes a strong arm. What strength is this which God
himself gives to the heart? Read the "Book of Martyrs,
"and see its glorious deeds of prowess; go to God rather,
and get such power thyself. Wait, I say, on the Lord.
David, in the words "I say, "sets his own
private seal to the word which, as an inspired man, he had been
moved to write. It is his testimony as well as the
command of God, and indeed he who writes these scanty notes has
himself found it so sweet, so reviving, so profitable to draw
near to God, that on his own account he also feels bound to
write, "Wait, I SAY, on the Lord."
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Verse 1. The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear? Alice Driver, martyr, at her examination,
put all the doctors to silence, so that they had not a word to
say, but one looked upon another; then she said, "Have you
no more to say? God be honoured, you be not able to resist the
Spirit of God, in me, a poor woman. I was an honest poor man's
daughter, never brought up at the University as you have seen;
but I have driven the plough many a time before my father, I
thank God; yet, notwithstanding, in the defence of God's truth,
and in the cause of my Master, Christ, by his grace I will set
my foot against the foot of any of you all, in the maintenance
and defence of the same; and if I had a thousand lives they
should go for the payment thereof." So the Chancellor
condemned her, and she returned to the prison joyful. Charles
Bradbury.
Verse 1. The Lord is my light, etc. St. John
tells us, that "in Christ was life; and the life was the
light of men; "but he adds that, "the light shineth in
darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." Joh 1:4-5.
There is a great difference between the light, and the
eye that sees it. A blind man may know a great deal about the
shining of the sun, but it does not shine for him—it gives him
no light. So, to know that "God is light, "is one
thing 1Jo 1:5, and to be able to say, "The Lord is my
light, "is quite another thing. The Lord must be the light
by which the way of life is made plain to us—the light by
which we may see to walk in that way—the light that exposes
the darkness of sin—the light by which we can discover the
hidden sins of our own hearts. When he is thus our light,
then he is our salvation also. He is pledged to guide us
right; not only to show us sin, but to save us from it. Not only
to make us see God's hatred of sin, and his curse upon it, but
also to draw us unto God's love, and to take away the curse.
With the Lord lighting us along the road of salvation, who, or
what need we fear? Our life is hid with Christ in God. Col 3:3.
We are weak, very weak, but his "strength is made perfect
in weakness." 2Co 12:2. With the Lord himself pledged to be
the strength of our life, of whom need we be afraid? From
Sacramental Meditations on the Twenty-seventh Psalm, 1843.
Verse 1. The Lord is my light. "Light"
which makes all things visible, was the first made of all
visible things; and whether God did it for our example, or no, I
know not; but ever since, in imitation of this manner of God's
proceeding, the first thing we do when we intend to do anything,
is to get us "light." Sir Richard Baker.
Verse 1. The Lord is my light. Adorable Sun,
cried St. Bernard, I cannot walk without thee: enlighten my
steps, and furnish this barren and ignorant mind with thoughts
worthy of thee. Adorable fulness of light and heat, be thou the
true noonday of my soul; exterminate its darkness, disperse its
clouds; burn, dry up, and consume all its filth and impurities.
Divine Sun, rise upon my mind, and never set. Jean Baptiste
Elias Avrillon, 1652-1729.
Verse 1. Whom shall I fear? Neither spiritual
nor military heroes do exploits through cowardice, Courage is a
necessary virtue. In Jehovah is the best possible foundation for
unflinching intrepidity. William S. Plumer.
Verse 1. Of whom shall I be afraid? I have no
notion of a timid, disingenuous profession of Christ. Such
preachers and professors are like a rat playing at hide and seek
behind a wainscot, who puts his head through a hole to see if
the coast is clear, and ventures out if nobody is in the way;
but slinks back again if danger appears. We cannot be honest to
Christ except we are bold for him. He is either worth all
we can lose for him, or he is worth nothing. H. G. Salter,
A.M., in "The Book of Illustrations, "1840.
Verse 2. When the wicked, even mine enemies and my
foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
There is no such dainty dish to a malicious stomach, as the
flesh of an enemy; it goes down without chewing, and they
swallow it up whole like cormorants. But though malice have a
ravenous stomach, yet she hath but slow digestion; though her
teeth be sharp, yet her feet are lame, at least apt to stumble;
and this made well for David, for when his enemies came upon him
to eat up his flesh, because they came upon the feet of malice, they
stumbled and fell. A man may stumble and yet not fall;
but to stumble and fall withal, is the proper stumbling of the
wicked, and especially of the maliciously wicked; and such,
it seems, was the stumbling of David's enemies, because the
enemies were such; and such I doubt not shall be the stumbling
of mine enemies, because mine are such; and of what then, of
whom now, should I be afraid? Sir Richard Baker.
Verse 2. When the wicked, even mine enemies and my
foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
He describes his enemies by their malice and by their ruin. 1.
His enemies were cruel enemies, blood suckers, eaters of
flesh. We call them cannibals. As indeed men that have not
grace, if they have greatness, and be opposed, their greatness
is inaccessible, one man is a devil to another. The Scripture
calls them "wolves, that leave nothing till morning."
Zep 3:3. As the great fishes eat up the little ones, so great
men they make no more conscience of eating up other men, than of
eating bread; they make no more bones of overthrowing men and
undoing them, than of eating bread. "They eat up my people
as they eat bread." Ps 14:4. 2. But not withstanding their
cruelty, they were overthrown. Saith David, When my
foes came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
For, indeed, God's children, when they are delivered, it is
usually with the confusion of their enemies. God doth two things
at once, because the special grievance of God's children it is
from inward and outward enemies. He seldom or never delivers
them but with the confusion of their enemies. This will be most
apparent at the day of judgment when Satan, and all that are led
by his spirit, all the malignant church, shall be sent to their
own place, and the church shall be for ever free from all kind
of enemies. When the church is most free, then the enemies of
the church are nearest to destruction; like a pair of balances,
when they are up at the one end, they are down at the other. So
when it is up with the church, down go the enemies. Richard
Sibbes.
Verse 2. The wicked, mine enemies. The wicked
hate the godly; there is enmity between the seed of the woman
and the serpent. Ge 3:15. As in nature there is an antipathy
between the vine and the bay tree, the elephant and the dragon.
Vultures have an antipathy against sweet smells: so in the
wicked there is an antipathy against the people of God; they
hate the sweet perfumes of their graces. It is true the saints
have their infirmities; but the wicked do not hate them for
these, but for their holiness; and from this hatred ariseth open
violence: the thief hates the light, therefore would blow it
out. Thomas Watson.
Verse 2. There was great wisdom in the prayer of John
Wesley: "Lord, if I must contend, let it not be with thy
people." When we have for foes and enemies those who hate
good men, we have at least this consolation, that God is not on
their side, and therefore it is essentially weak. William S.
Plumer.
Verse 3. Though an host should encamp against me, etc.
He puts the case of the greatest danger that can be. Though
an host should encompass me, my heart shall not fear: though war
should rise against me, in this will I be confident. Here is
great courage for the time to come. "Experience
breeds hope and confidence." David was not so
courageous a man of himself; but upon experience of God's former
comfort and assistance, his faith brake as fire out of the
smoke, or as the sun out of a cloud. Though I was in such and
such perplexities, yet for the time to come, I have such
confidence and experience of God's goodness, that I will not
fear. He that seeth God by a spirit of faith in his greatness
and power, he sees all other things below as nothing. Therefore,
he saith here, he cares not for the time to come for any
opposition; no, not of an army. "If God be with us, who can
be against us?" Ro 8:31. He saw God in his power; and then,
looking from God to the creature, alas! who was he? As Micah,
when he had seen God sitting upon his throne; what was Ahab to
him, when he had seen God once? So when the prophet David had
seen God once, then "though an host should encamp
against me, my heart shall not fear, "etc. Richard
Sibbes.
Verse 3. Though an host should encamp against me, etc.
If I love my God, and I love him with a noble spirited love, all
my enemies will fight against me in vain; I shall never fear
them, and the whole world cannot harm me. Charity cannot be
offended, because she takes offence at nothing. Enemies,
enviers, slanderers, persecutors, I defy you; if I love, I shall
triumph over your attacks. Ye can take away my goods; but if my
love has a generous spirit, I shall be always rich enough, and
ye cannot take away my love, which alone makes all my riches and
treasures. Ye may blacken my reputation; but as I hold you
cheaply quit of all homage of praise and applause, I, with all
my heart, give you a free leave to blame and to defame. Happily
for me, ye cannot blacken me before my God, and his esteem alone
makes amends to me, and rewards me, for all your contempt. Ye
can persecute my body, but there I even will help you on by my
penances; the sooner it shall perish, the sooner shall I be
delivered from this domestic enemy, which is a burden to me.
What harm, then, can ye do me? If I am resolved to suffer all,
and if I think I deserve all the outrages ye can do me, ye will
only give more loftiness of spirit to my love, more brilliancy
to my crown. Jean Baptiste Elias Avrillon.
Verse 3. Those who are willing to be combatants for
God, shall also be more than conquerors through God. None
are so truly courageous as those who are truly religious. If a
Christian live, he knows by whose might he stands; and if he
die, he knows for whose sake he falls. Where there is no
confidence in God, there will be no continuance with
God. When the wind of faith ceases to fill the sails, the ship
of obedience cease to plough the seas. The taunts of Ishmael
shall never make an Isaac disesteem his inheritance, William
Secker.
Verses 3-4. The favourite grows great by the many
favours, gifts, jewels, offices, the prince bestows upon him.
The Christian grows rich in experiences, which he wears
as bracelets, and keeps as his richest jewels. He calls one Ebenezer—"hitherto
God hath helped; "and other Naphtali—"I have
wrestled with God and prevailed; "another Gershom—"I
was a stranger; "another Joseph—"God will yet
add more; "and another, Peniel—"I have seen
the face of God." 1Sa 7:12 Ge 30:8 Ex 2:22 Ge 30:24 Ge
32:30. I have been delivered from the lion, therefore
shall be from the bear; from lion and bear, therefore
from the Philistine; from the Philistine, therefore from Saul;
from Saul, therefore God will deliver me from every evil work,
and preserve me blameless to his heavenly kingdom. John
Sheffield.
Verse 4. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that
will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all
the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to
enquire in his temple. Some interpreters vary concerning
what the psalmist aims at; I understand thus much in a
generality, which is clear that he means a communion and
fellowship with God, which is that one thing, which if a
Christian had, he needs desire no more: that we should all
desire and desire again and be in love with, and that is enough
even to satisfy us, the fruition of God, and the beholding of
him in his ordinances, in his temple, to have correspondence and
fellowship and communion with him there. O God, vouchsafe us
that! Now this is so infinitely sweet, that it was the
psalmist's only desire, and the sum of all his desires here, and
therefore much more in the tabernacle of heaven, which doth make
up the consummation and completeness of all our happiness. John
Stoughton.
Verse 4. One thing have I desired of the Lord,
etc. Seeing David would make but one request to God, why
would he not make a greater? for, alas! what a poor request is
this—to desire to dwell in God's house? and what to do?
but only to see? and to see what? but only a beauty,
a fading thing, at most but to enquire; and what is
enquiring? but only to hear news; a vain fancy. And what cause
in any of these why David should make it his request to God? But
mark, O my soul, what goes with it! Take altogether—to
behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in his temple.
And now tell me, if there be, if there can be, any greater
request to be made? any greater cause to be earnest about it?
For though worldly beauty be a fading thing, yet "the
beauty of the Lord, "shall continue when the world
shall fade away; and though enquiring after news be a vain
fancy, yet to enquire in God's Temple is the way to learn
there is no new thing under the sun, and there it was that
Solomon learned that "all is vanity." Indeed, this "one
thing, "that David desires, is in effect that unum
necessarium that Christ speaks of in the gospel; which Mary
makes choice of there, as David doth here. Sir Richard Baker.
Verse 4. One thing, etc. A heavenly mind
gathers itself up into one wish and no more. "One thing
have I desired of the Lord, which I will require."
Grant me thyself, O Lord, and I will ask no more. The new
creature asks nothing of God, but to enjoy God: give me this, O
Lord, and for the rest, let Ziba take all. I will part with all
to buy that one pearl, the riches of heavenly grace. Jeremy
Taylor.
Verse 4. One thing. The first thing, then, is
David's choice, summarily described in the word, "one
thing." So Christ confirmeth the prophet's word, while
he called Mary's choice, "one thing." Lu 10:42.
And that for these three reasons: First, because it is not a
common but a chief good. If there be any good above it,
it is not the chief good; and if there be any good equal unto
it, it is not alone. Next, because it is the last end
which we mind eternally to enjoy; if there be any end beyond it,
it is not the last, but amidst, and a degree to it. All mids and
ends are used for it, but it is sought for itself, and,
therefore, must be but one. Thirdly, it is a centre
whereunto all reasonable spirits draw. As all lines from a
circle meet in the centre, so every one that seeketh happiness
aright meeteth in the chief good, as the only thing which they
intend, and, therefore, must be one. William Struther, in
"True Happiness, or King David's Choice," 1633.
Verse 4. One thing. Changes, great changes, and
many bereavements there have been in my life. I have been
emptied from vessel to vessel. But one thing has never
failed—one thing makes me feel that my life has been one;
it has calmed my joys, it has soothed my sorrows, it has guided
me in difficulty, it has strengthened me in weakness. It is the presence
of God—a faithful and loving God. Yes, brethren, the presence
of God is not only light, it is unity. It gives unity
to the heart that believes it—unity to the life that is
conformed to it. It was the presence of God in David's soul that
enabled him to say, "One thing have I desired of the
Lord; "and in St, Paul's that enabled him to say,
"This one thing I do." George Wagner, in the
"Wanderings of the Children of Israel," 1862.
Verse 4. One thing.—
One master passion in the breast,
Like Aaron's serpent, swallows up the rest.
—Alexander Pope.
Verse 4. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life. To approach continually unto the
temple, and thither continually to repair was the dwelling,
no doubt, here meant; to dwell, to reside continually
there, not to come for a spurt or a fit...And thus dwelt Hannah,
the daughter of Phanuel, who is said, in the second of Luke, for
the space of four score and four years not to have gone out of
the temple. Not that she was there always, but often, saith Lyra;
and venerable Bede to the same purpose. Not that she was never
absent, no, not an hour; but for that she was often in the
temple. And the same St. Luke, speaking of our Saviour's
disciples, after they had seen him ascended into
heaven—"They returned, "saith he, "to Jerusalem
with great joy: and were continually in the temple, praising and
blessing God, " Lu 24:52-53. Thus, St. Austin's mother, in
her time too, might be said to dwell in God's house,
whereunto she came so duly and truly twice a day, "That
she, in thy Scriptures, "saith St. Austin, "might
hear, O God, what thou saidst to her, and thou, in her prayers,
what she said to thee." In a word, such were the Christians
the same St. Austin speaks of in another place, whom he calleth the
emmets of God. "Behold the emmet of God, "saith
he, "it rises early every day, it runs to God's church, it
there prays, it hears the lesson read, it sings a psalm, it
ruminates what it hears, it meditates thereupon, and hoards up
within itself the precious corn gathered from that barn
floor." John Day's "David's Desire to go to Church,
"1609.
Verse 4. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life. In the beginning of the Psalm,
David keeps an audit of his soul's accounts, reckoning up the
large incomes and lasting treasures of God's bounty, grace, and
mercy; the sum whereof is this: The Lord is my light and my
life, my strength and my salvation. And now, where shall David
design his presence, but where is his light? Where shall he
desire his person, but where is his strength? Where shall he
wish his soul, but where is his life? and where shall he fix his
habitation, but where is his salvation? even in communion with
his God; and this, especially, in the holy worship of his
sanctuary. No wonder, then, if above all things he desires and
seeks after this "one thing, ""to dwell in
the house of the Lord, "etc. Robert Mossom.
Verse 4. The house of the Lord. It (the
tabernacle, the sanctuary), is called the house of God because
he is present there, as a man delights to be present in his
house. It is the place where God will be met withal. As a man
will be found in his house, and there he will have suitors come
to him, where he reveals his secrets. A man rests, he lies, and
lodgeth in his house. Where is a man so familiar as in his
house? and what other place hath he such care to protect and
provide for as his house? and he lays up his treasures and his
jewels in his house. So God lays up all the treasures of grace
and comfort in the visible church. In the church he is to be
spoken with as a man in his house. There he gives us sweet
meetings; there are mutual, spiritual kisses. "Let him kiss
me with the kisses of his mouth." So 1:2. A man's house is
his castle, as we say, that he will protect and provide for. God
will be sure to protect and provide for his church. Therefore he
calls the church of God, that is, the tabernacle (that was the
church at that time), the house of God. If we apply it to
our times, that answers the tabernacle now is particular visible
churches under particular pastors, where the means of salvation
are set up. Particular visible churches now are God's
tabernacle. The church of the Jews was a national church. There
was but one church, but one place, and one tabernacle; but now
God hath erected particular tabernacles. Every particular church
and congregation under one pastor, their meeting is the church
of God, a several church independent. Richard Sibbes.
Verse 4. To behold the beauty of the Lord. That
was one end of his desire, to dwell in the house of God; not to
feed his eyes with speculations and goodly sights (as indeed
there were in the tabernacle goodly things to be seen). No; he
had a more spiritual sight than that. He saw the inward
spiritual beauty of those spiritual things. The other were but
outward things, as the apostle calls them. I desire to dwell in
the house of the Lord, to behold the beauty of the Lord,
the inward beauty of the Lord especially. Richard Sibbes.
Verse 4. The beauty of the Lord. In connection
with these words, we would try to show that the character of God
is attractive, and fitted to inspire us with love for him, and
to make us, as it were, run after him. The discussion of our
subject may be arranged under three heads. I. Some of the
elements of the beauty of the Lord. II. Where the beauty of the
Lord may be seen. III. Peculiar traits of the beauty of the
Lord. I. Some of the elements of the beauty of the Lord. God is
a Spirit. Hence his beauty is spiritual, and its elements must
be sought for in spiritual perfection. 1. One of the elements of
this beauty is holiness. 2. But the elements of the divine
beauty on which we intend at this time to dwell, are those which
are included under the general description of God's mercy and
grace. The attractiveness of these is more easily perceived, and
their influence is sooner felt by persons in our fallen
condition. It is mainly through the instrumentality of these
that sinners are won over from their enmity against God, and
that the Holy Ghost sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts.
3. Another thing, which we may call an element of beauty in God,
is the combination of his various attributes in one harmonious
whole. The colours of the rainbow are beautiful, when taken one
by one: but there is a beauty in the rainbow, which arises not
from any single tint; there is a beauty in it which would not
exist if the several hues were assumed in succession—a beauty
which is a result of their assemblage and collocation, and
consists in their blended radiance. In like manner so the
several perfections, which coexist and unite in the nature of
God, produce a glorious beauty. Holiness is beautiful; mercy is
beautiful; truth is beautiful. But, over and above, there is a
beauty which belongs to such combinations and harmonies as the
psalmist describes, when he tells us, "Mercy and truth are
met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each
other." "Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy
faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like
the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep, "etc.
II. We are next to inquire where the beauty of the Lord may be
seen It may so far be seen in the natural world. The
throne of nature, although in some respects clouds and darkness
are round about it, is not without its rainbow of beauty, any
more than the throne of grace. The beauty of the Lord may be
seen in the moral law. In the law! Even so. In the
unbending law, with its terrible anathema, his beauty and
amiableness shine forth. The law is full of love. The duties of
the law are duties of love. Love is the fulfilling of the law.
The curse of the law is designed and employed for the
maintenance of love. Obedience to the law, and the reign of
love, are but different aspects of the same state of things. And
one of the most sublime lessons of the law is the fact, that God
is love. Again, the beauty of the Lord may be seen in the gospel.
We see it, as it were, by reflection, in the law; in the gospel,
we see it directly. The law shows us the hearts of men, as God
would have them to be; the gospel shows us God's own heart.
Again the beauty of the Lord is seen in Christ. It is
seen in Christ, for he is the brightness of the Father's glory,
and the express image of his person; and he that hath seen
Christ, hath seen the Father. The beauty of the Lord is seen in
Christ, when we consider him as the Father's gift, and when we
look to his offices and to his character. The character of
Christ was the finest spectacle of moral beauty which men or
angels ever set their eyes on. III. We conclude by noticing some
traits of the beauty of the Lord. 1. It never deceives. 2. It
never fades. 3. It never loses its power. 4. It never
disappoints. Condensed from Andrew Gray (1805-1861), in
"Gospel Contrasts and Parallels."
Verse 4. The beauty of the Lord. The Lord's beauty,
to be seen in his house, is not the beauty of his essence, for
so no man can see God and live Ex 23:18,20; before this glorious
beauty the angels cover their faces with their wings Isa 6:1-2;
but it is the beauty of his ordinances, wherein God doth reveal
to the eyes of men's minds, enlightened by his Spirit, the
pleasant beauty of his goodness, justice, love, and mercy in
Jesus Christ. Thomas Pierson, M.A., 1570-1633.
Verse 4. The beauty of the Lord. "Beauty"
is too particular a word to express the fulness of the Holy
Ghost, the pleasantness or the delight of God. Take the word in
a general sense, in your apprehensions. It may be the object of
all senses, inward and outward. Delight is most transcendent for
pleasantness; for indeed God in his ordinances, is not only
"beauty" to the eye of the soul, but is ointment to
the smell, and sweetness to the taste, and all in all to all the
powers of the soul. God in Christ, therefore, he is delightful
and sweet...The beauty of the Lord is especially the
amiable things of God, which is his mercy and love, that makes
all other things beautiful that is in the church. Richard
Sibbes.
Verse 4. To enquire in his temple. The more
grace the more business ye will find ye have to do with God in
his ordinances; little grace hath little to do, and much grace
hath much to do; he hath always business with God, special
earnest business. To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to
enquire in his temple. Oh, I have somewhat to enquire after;
I am to do something by this duty, and therefore cannot trifle.
He that comes to visit his friend in a compliment, he talks, he
walks, he trifles, and goes home again; but he that comes upon
business, he is full of it: he is like Abraham's honest and
faithful servant. Ge 24:33. "And there was set meat before
him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told my
errand." I have great business with the Lord, about the
church and about my soul, and I will not eat, nor talk, nor
think, nor dally about anything, till I have told mine errand,
or heard my Maker's errand unto me. And for this end it's a rare
thing to carry somewhat always on the spirit, to spread before
God, a heart pregnant with some needful request or matter
whereof to treat with God. Ps 45:1. Richard Steele's
"Antidote against Distractions, "1673.
Verse 4. It was David's earnest prayer, One thing
have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may
dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to
behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.
There are many that pray David's words, but not with David's
heart. Unum petii, one thing have I desired, de
praeterito, for the time past; et hoc requiram, this
I will seek after, de futuro, for the time to come: I
have required it long, and this suit I will urge till I have
obtained it. What? To dwell in some of the houses of God all the
days of my life, and to leave them to my children after me; not
to serve him there with devotion, but to make the place mine own
possession? These love the house of God too well; they love it
to have and to hold; but because the conveyance is made by the
lawyer, and not by the minister, their title will be found
naught in the end; and if there be not a nisi prius to
prevent them, yet at that great day of universal audit, the
Judge of all the world shall condemn them. By this way, the
nearer to the church, the further from God. The Lord's temple is
ordained to gain us to him, not for us to gain it from him. If
we love the Lord, we "will love the habitation of his
house, and the place where his honour dwelleth; "that so by
being humble frequenters of his temple below, we may be made
noble saints of his house above, the glorious kingdom of Jesus
Christ. Thomas Adams.
Verse 4. David being in this safe condition, what doth
he now think upon or look at, as his main scope? Not as Pyrrhus,
king of Epirus, to sit still and be merry, when he had overcome
the Romans and all his enemies, as he sometime said to Cyneas,
the philosopher, but to improve his rest to perpetual piety, in
going from day to day to God's house, as Hannah is said
afterwards to have done. Luke 2. And this, first, for the solace
of his soul, in seeing the beauty of his sanctuary. Secondly,
that he might still be directed aright and be safe. Thirdly,
that he might yet be more highly exalted in kingly glory.
Fourthly, for all this, as he should have abundant cause,
sacrificing and singing psalms to God without ceasing: see Ps
27:5-6. John Mayer.
Verse 4. O my soul, what sights have I seen in the
house of God! what provisions have I tasted! what entertainments
have I had! what enlargements in prayer, and answers thereto!
what impression under his word, what entertainment at his table,
as he has sometimes brought me into his banqueting house, and
his banner over me has been love! And though I cannot, it may
be, say so much of this as some others; yet what I have found, I
cannot but remember with thankfulness, and desire more; and as
this was in the house of God, here would I still desire
to dwell. Daniel Wilcox, 1676-1733.
Verse 5. The time of trouble. Though God does
not always deliver his people out of trouble, yet he delivers
them from the evil of trouble, the despair of trouble, by
supporting the spirit; nay, he delivers by trouble, for he
sanctifies the trouble to cure the souls, and by less troubles
delivers them from greater. From a Broad Sheet in the British
Museum, dated, London: printed for D. M., 1678.
Verse 5. He shall hide me. The word here used
means to hide, to secrete, and then, to defend or protect. It
would properly be applied to one who had fled from oppression,
or from any impending evil, and who should be secreted in
a house or cavern, and thus rendered safe from pursuers, or from
the threatening evil. Albert Barnes.
Verse 5. Pavilion comes from papilio, a butterfly.
It signifies a tent made of cloth stretched out on poles,
which in form resembles in some measure the insect above named. Adam
Clarke.
Verse 5. In the secret of his tabernacle shall he
hide me. He alludes to the ancient custom of offenders, who
used to flee to the tabernacle or altar, where they esteemed
themselves safe. 1Ki 2:28. Matthew Poole.
Verse 5. In the secret of his tabernacle. Were
there no other place, he would put me in the holy of holies,
so that an enemy would not dare to approach me. Adam Clarke.
Verse 6. Now shall mine head be lifted up above
mine enemies round about me. A man cannot drown so long as
his head is above water. Now, it is the proper office of hope to
do this for the Christian in times of any danger. Lu 21:28.
"When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and
lift up your heads: for your redemption draweth nigh." A
strange time, one would think, for Christ then to bid his
disciples lift up their heads in, when they see other
men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those
things which are coming on the earth Lu 21:26; yet now is the
time of the rising of their sun, when others' is setting, and
the blackness of darkness is overtaking others; because now the
Christian's feast is coming, for which hope hath saved its
stomach so long. "Your redemption draweth nigh." Two
things make the head hang down—fear and shame; hope eases the
Christian's heart of both these, and so forbids him to give any
sign of a desponding mind by a dejected countenance. William
Gurnall.
Verse 6. Therefore will I offer in his tabernacle
sacrifices of joy. "Surely, "some may say,
"he could have called on God beyond the precincts of the
temple. Wherever he wandered as an exile, he carried with him
the precious promise of God, so that he needed not to put so
great a value upon the sight of the external edifice. He
appears, by some gross imagination or other, to suppose that God
could be enclosed by wood and stones." But if we examine
the words more carefully, it will be easy to see, that his
object was altogether different from a mere sight of the noble
building and its ornaments, however costly. He speaks, indeed,
of the temple, but he places that beauty not so much in the
goodliness that was to be seen by the eye, as in its being the
celestial pattern which was shown to Moses, as it is written in
Ex 25:40: "And look that thou make them after their
pattern, which was showed thee in the mount." As the
fashion of the temple was not framed according to the wisdom of
man, but was an image of spiritual things, the prophet directed
his eyes and all his affections to this object. Their madness
is, therefore, truly detestable who wrest this place in favour
of pictures and images, which, instead of deserving to be
numbered among temple ornaments, are rather like the dung and
filth, defiling all the purity of holy things. John Calvin.
Verse 8. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my
heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. In the
former verse, David begins a prayer to God, "Hear, O Lord;
have mercy upon me, and answer me." This verse is a ground
of that prayer, Seek ye my face, saith God. The heart
answers again, Thy face, Lord, will I seek; therefore I
am encouraged to pray to thee. In the words are contained God's
command and David's obedience. God's warrant and David's work
answerable, the voice and the echo: the voice, "Seek my
face; "the rebound back again of a gracious heart, "Thy
face, Lord, will I seek." "When thou saidst."
It is not in the original. It only makes way to the sense.
Passionate speeches are usually abrupt: "Seek my
face:" "Thy face, Lord, will I seek." ...
God is willing to be known. He is willing to open and
discover himself; God delights not to hide himself. God stands
not upon state, as some emperors do that think their presence
diminishes respect. God is no such God, but he may be searched
into. Man, if any weakness be discovered, we can soon search
into the depth of his excellency; but with God it is clean
otherwise. The more we know of him, the more we shall admire
him. None admire him more than the blessed angels, that see most
of him, and the blessed spirits that have communion with him.
Therefore he hides not himself, nay, he desires to be known; and
all those that have his Spirit desire to make him known. Those
that suppress the knowledge of God in his will, what he performs
for men, and what he requires of them, they are enemies to God
and of God's people. They suppress the opening of God, clean
contrary to God's meaning; "Seek my face; "I
desire to be made known, and lay open myself to you. Therefore
we may observe by the way, that when we are in any dark
condition, that a Christian finds not the beams of God shining
on him, let him not lay the blame upon God, as if God were a God
that delighted to hide himself. Oh, no! it is not his delight.
He loves not strangeness to his poor creatures. It is not a
point of his policy. He is too great to affect (Choose=love)
such poor things. No; the fault is altogether in us. We walk not
worthy of such a presence; we want humility and preparation. If
there be any darkness in the creature, that he finds God doth
not so shine on him as in former times, undoubtedly the cause is
in himself; for God saith, "Seek my face." He
desires to reveal himself. Richard Sibbes.
Verse 8. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face,
etc. All the Spirit's motions are seasonable, and therefore not
to be put off; for delay is a kind of denial, and savours of
such ungrateful contempt, as must needs be very displeasing to
him. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto
thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. God does not only expect
such an answer, but expects it immediately upon his call.
Whenever he blows with his wind, he looks that we should spread
our sails. If we refuse his offered help, we may deservedly want
it when desired. As Christ withdrew himself from the spouse
because she let him stand knocking so long at the door of her
heart, and she still deferred to open, and tired out his loving
forbearance with vain and frivolous excuses. So 5:2, etc. But as
we must not omit the present performance of any duty which he
excites unto, we must not check his influences by being weary of
the duties which he assists us in: if we do not improve
extraordinary aids by holding out the longer, we provoke him to
depart. Timothy Cruso.
Verse 8. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face,
etc. We see here thus much, that God must begin with us,
before we can close with him; God must seek us, before we
can seek him; God must first desire that we draw near to him,
before we for our particulars are able to draw near unto God.
Thou saidst, Seek my face; and then and not till then my heart
said, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Thomas Horton.
Verse 8. When thou saidst, etc. Now God then
speaks to the heart to pray when not only he puts upon the duty
by saying to the conscience, This thou oughtest to do; but God's
speaking to pray is such as his speech at first was, when he
made the world, when he said, "Let there be light, and
there was light:" so he says, let there be a prayer, and
there is a prayer; that is, he pours upon a man a spirit of
grace and supplication, a praying disposition; he puts in
motives, suggests arguments and pleas to God; all which you
shall find come in readily, and of themselves, and that likewise
with a quickening heat and enlargement of affection, and with a
lingering and longing, and restlessness of spirit to be alone,
to pour out the soul to God, and to vent and form those motions
and suggestions into a prayer, till you have laid them together,
and made a prayer of them. And this is a speaking to the heart.
Observe such times when God doth thus, and neglect them not,
then to strike whilst the iron is hot; thou hast then his ear;
it is a special opportunity for that business, such a one as
thou mayest never have the like. Suitors at court observe molissima
fandi tempora, their times of begging when they have kings
in a good mood, which they will be sure to take the advantage
of; but especially if they should find that the king himself
should begin of himself to speak of the business which they
would have of him: and thus that phrase of Ps 10:17, that God
prepares the heart, is understood by some, that God prepares the
heart, and causeth the ear to hear; that is, he fashions it and
composes it into a praying frame. And sure it is a great sign
that God means to hear us when himself shall thus indite the
petition. Thomas Goodwin.
Verse 8. When thou saidst, etc. And well may
this be pleaded, in that God useth not so to stir up and
strengthen us to seek him, but when he intends to be found of
us. Ps 10:17. "Thou hast heard the desire of the humble:
thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to
hear." Jer 29:13. "And ye shall seek me, and find me,
when ye shall search for me with all your heart." And God
maketh it an argument to himself, that if he say to any inwardly
as well as outwardly, Seek my face, he that speaketh
righteousness cannot speak thus to them, and frustrate their
prayers, and so bid them seek his face in vain. Isa 45:19,
"I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain; I
the Lord speak right things." If Ahasuerus bid his spouse
to ask, surely he will not fail to grant her petition Es 7:2; so
here. And as when Christ called the blind man to come to him to
tell him his grievance, it was truly said to him by them,
"Be of good comfort, rise, for he calleth thee." Mr
10:49. So it is in this case. Thomas Cobbett.
Verse 8. My heart said unto thee. The heart is
between God and our obedience, as it were, an ambassador. It
understands from God what God would have done, and then it lays
a command upon the whole man. The heart and conscience of man is
partly divine, partly human. It hath some divinity in it,
especially if the man be a holy man. God speaks, and the heart
speaks. God speaks to the heart, and the heart speaks to us. And
ofttimes when we hear conscience speaking to us, we neglect it;
and as St. Augustine said of himself, "God spake often to
me, and I was ignorant of it." When there is no command in
the word that the heart directly thinks of (as indeed many
profane careless men scarce have a Bible in their houses), God
speaks to them thus; conscience speaks to them some broken
command, that they learn against their wills. They heed it not,
but David did not so. God said, Seek ye my face: his heart
answers, "Thy face, Lord, will I seek." The heart
looks upward to God, and then to itself, My heart said.
It said to thee and then to itself. First, his heart said to
God, "Lord, I have encouragement from thee. Thou hast
commanded that I should seek thy face." So his heart looked
to God, and then it speaks to itself. Thy face, Lord, will I
seek. It looks first to God, and then to all things that
come from itself. Richard Sibbes.
Verse 8. There are diverse things considerable of us
in this answer and compliance of David's with
God's command or invitation to him. First, it was seasonable,
and in due time; presently does David make this return:
"Thy face, Lord, will I seek." This is the property
and disposition of every wise and prudent Christian, to close
with the very first opportunities of God's invitation. Secondly,
this answer, as it was seasonable and present, so it was also full
and complete; the performance was proportionable to the
injunction. Ye shall have some kind of people in the world that
God bids them do one thing and they will be sure to do the quite
contrary; or, at least, not do as much as the should do, but do
it by halves. But, now, here David makes return to God in the
full extent and proportion of obedience. God said, Seek my
face, and he answered Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
Thirdly, it was real, and entire, and sincere; "My heart
said." It is one thing to say it with the mouth, and
it is another thing to say it with the heart. With the mouth
it is quite easy and ordinary, and nothing more usual. Lord, thy
face will we seek, especially in any trouble or calamity, which
is incident unto us; but for the heart to say it, that is not so
frequent. Fourthly, it was settled and peremptory.
"Thy face will I seek; "there is nothing shall hinder
me of it, or keep me from it, but I will do it against all
opposition. Lastly, this protestation of David was absolute
and indefinite and unlimited; "I will seek thy face;
"without prescription of time, or place, or condition; not
only now, but hereafter: not only for a time, but for ever, in
all seasons, in all estates, in all circumstances, still I shall
keep me to this—to hold my communion with thee. Then are we
Christians, indeed, when we are so immutably and irreversibly
and independently upon the opinions or practices of any other
person. Condensed from Thomas Horton.
Verse 8. God hath promised his favour, and, therefore,
his people may seek his favour. Nay, he hath commanded his
people to seek his favour, and therefore they should seek it. It
is an unadvised folly, during the suspension of God's favour, to
unson ourselves, and unpeople ourselves, i.e., by denying
the grace and spiritual relation which exist between us and God.
That is not the way to gain favour; for when we have undone our
relation of children we exclude ourselves from the expectation
of favour. No, the wisest and surest way is to seek the renewing
of God's loving countenance, and not to be driven away from God
by our unbelief. Obadiah Sedgwick, in "The Doubting
Believer, "1653.
Verse 9. Hide not thy face far from me. When I
seek thy face, vouchsafe, O God, not to hide thy face from me;
for to what purpose should I seek it if I cannot find it? and
what hope of finding it if thou be bent to hide it? Sir
Richard Baker.
Verse 9. Put not thy servant away in anger. God
puts away many in anger for their supposed goodness, but not any
at all for their confessed badness. John Trapp.
Verse 9. Thy servant. It is a blessed and happy
thing to be God's true "servant." Consider what
the Queen of Sheba said of Solomon's servants 1Ki 10:8:
"Happy are these thy servants, "&c. Now Christ
Jesus is greater than Solomon, Mt 12:42, and so a better Master.
Good earthly masters will honour good servants, as Pr 27:18,
"He that waiteth on his master shall be honoured; " Pr
17:2, "A wise servant shall have a portion, or inheritance,
among the brethren." But however some earthly masters may
be Nabals and Labans, yet God will not be so: Joh 12:26:
"Where I am, there shall also my servant be." "If
any man serve me, him will my father honour, "see Lu 12:37.
The watchful servants are blessed; their master will make them
to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them, as Mt
25:21,23: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler
over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Thomas
Pierson.
Verse 9. Thou hast been my help; leave me not,
etc. One act of mercy engages God to another. Men argue thus: I
have showed you kindness already, therefore trouble me no more;
but because God has shown mercy he is more ready still to show
mercy; his mercy in election makes him justify, adopt, glorify. Thomas
Watson.
Verse 9. Leave me not; rather, "dismiss me
not; ""let not go thy hold of me." This is the
proper sense of the Hebrew verb (vjn), to set a thing loose, to
let it go, to abandon it. Samuel Horsley.
Verse 10. When my father and my mother forsake me.
As there seems to be some difficulty in supposing the psalmist's
parents to have "deserted" him, they might perhaps be
said to have "forsaken" him (as Muis
conjectures), that is, to have left him behind them, as
being dead. James Merrick, M.A., 1720-1769.
Verse 10. When my father and my mother forsake me.
It is indeed the nature of all living creatures, though never so
tender of their young ones, yet when they are grown to a
ripeness of age and strength, to turn them off to shift for
themselves; and even a father and a mother, as tender as they
are, have yet somewhat of this common nature in them; for while
their children are young they lead them by the hand, but when
they are grown up they leave them to their own legs, and if they
chance to fall let them rise as they can. But God even then
takes his children up, for he knows of what they are made; he
knows their strength must be as well supported as their weakness
be assisted; he knows they must as well be taken up when they
fall, as be held up when they stand. Sir Richard Baker.
Verse 10. Father and mother. First, who are
they? Properly and chiefly our natural parents, of whom we were
begotten and born; to whom (under God) we owe our being and
breeding. Yet here, not they only; but by synecdoche all
other kinsfolks, neighbours, friends, acquaintances, or, indeed,
more generally yet, all worldly comforts, stays, and helps
whatsoever. 2. But, then, why these named the rathest, and the
rest to be included in these? Because we promise to ourselves
more help from them than from any of the other. We have a nearer
relation to, and a greater interest in them than in any other;
and they of all other are the least likely to forsake us. The
very brute creatures forsake not their young ones. A hen will
not desert her chickens, nor a bear endure to be robbed of her
whelps. 3. But, then, thirdly, why both named—father
and mother too? Partly because it can hardly be imagined
that both of them should forsake their child, though one should
hap to be unkind. Partly, because the father's love being
commonly with more providence, the mother's with
more tenderness; both together do better express than
alone either would do, the abundant love of God towards us, who
is infinitely dear over us, beyond the care of the most
provident father, beyond the affection of the most tender
mother. 4. But, then, fourthly, when may they be said to forsake
us? When at any time they leave us destitute of such help as we
stand in need of; whether it be out of choice, when they
list not to help us, though they might if they would; or out of necessity,
when they cannot help us, though they would if they could. Robert
Sanderson.
Verse 10. Then the Lord will take me up. But dictum
factum: these are but words: Are there producible and
deeds to make it good? Verily, there are, and that to the
very letter. When Ishmael's mother, despairing of his life, had forsaken
him, and laid him down gasping (his last, for ought she knew or
could do to help it), in the wilderness, the Lord took him
up; he opened a new spring of water, and opened her eyes to
see it, and so the child was preserved. Genesis 21. When Moses'
parents had also forsaken him (for they durst not stand
by him any longer), and laid him down among the rushy flags, the
Lord took him up too. He provided him of a saviour, the
king's own daughter, and of a nurse the child's own mother—and
so he was preserved too. Ex 2:6-9. Take but two examples more,
out of either Testament one. David and St. Paul, both forsaken
of men, both taken up of God. How was David forsaken, in
Ps 142:4, when he had looked upon his right hand, and saw no man
that would know him; he had no place to fly unto, and no man
cared for his soul. But all the while Dominus ad dextris,
there was one at his right hand (though at first he was not
aware of him), ready to take him up; as it there
followeth, Ps 142:5, "I cried unto thee, O Lord; I said,
Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the
living." And how St. Paul was forsaken; take it from
himself, 2Ti 4:16, "At my first answer no man stood with
me, but all men forsook me:" a heavy case, and had been
heavier had there not been one ready to take his part, at the
next verse, "Nevertheless the Lord stood with me, and
strengthened me, "etc. What need we any more witnesses? In
ore duorum—in the mouth of two such witnesses the point is
sufficiently established. But you will yet say, these two might
testify what they had already found post factum. But
David, in the text, pronounces it de futuro, beforehand,
and that somewhat confidently: "The Lord will take me
up." As he doth also elsewhere: "Sure I am that
the Lord will avenge the poor, and maintain the cause of the
helpless, " Psalm 109. But is there any ground for that?
Doubtless there is; a double ground; one in the nature,
another in the promise of God. In his nature four qualities
there are (we take leave so to speak, suitably to our own low
apprehensions, for in the Godhead there are properly no qualities);
but call them qualities or attributes or what else
you will; there are four perfections in God, opposite to
those defects which in our earthly parents we have
found to be the chief causes why they do so oft forsake
us; which give us full assurance that he will take us up
when all other succors fail us. Those are his love, his wisdom,
his power, his eternity, and all in his nature. To
which four, add his promise, and you have the
fulness of all the assurance that can be desired. Robert
Sanderson.
Verse 10. The Lord will take me up: Hebrew, will
gather me, that is, take me into his care and keeping. In
the civil law, we find provision made for outcasts and
friendless persons; some hospitals to entertain them, some
liberties to comfort and compensate their trouble. It is sure,
that in God the forlorn and fatherless find mercy. John
Trapp.
Verse 11. Teach me thy way, O Lord. Having
compared himself to an exposed, deserted infant, adopted by God,
he anon fairly asks to be shown how to walk. He asks the grace
of being able to observe all his holy commandments, which he
never loses sight of through the whole one hundred and fifty
Psalms. What else could he do? when it was the only path to that
heavenly house of God, which he had just declared to be the only
wish and desire of his heart. Robert Bellarmine (Cardinal),
1542-1621.
Verse 11. Lead me in a plain path, because of mine
enemies. If a man travelling in the King's highway, be
robbed between sun and sun, satisfaction is recoverable upon the
county where the robbery was made; but if he takes his journey
in the night, being an unseasonable time, then it is at his own
peril, he must take what falls. So, if a man keep in God's
ways, he shall be sure of God's protection; but if he stray
out of them, he exposes himself to danger. Robert Skinner
(Bishop), 1636.
Verse 11. Because of mine enemies. If once a
man commence a professor, the eyes of all are upon him; and well
they may, for his profession in the world is a separation
from the world. Believers condemn those by their lives
who condemn them by their lips. Righteous David saw many who
were waiting to triumph in his mistakes. Hence the more they
watched, the more he prayed: "Teach me thy way, O Lord, and
lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies." It may
be rendered, because of mine observers. Christian, if you
dwell in the open tent of licentiousness, the wicked will not
walk backward, like modest Shem and Japheth, to cover your
shame: but they will walk forward, like cursed Ham, to publish
it. Thus they make use of your weakness as a plea for their
wickedness. Men are merciless in their censures of Christians;
they have no sympathy for their infirmity: while God weighs them
in more equal scales, and says, "The spirit is willing, but
the flesh is weak." While a saint is a dove in the
eyes of God, he is only a raven in the estimation of
sinners. William Secker.
Verse 13. I had fainted, etc. Study much the
all sufficiency, the power, the goodness, the unchangeableness
of God. 1. The all sufficiency of God. What fulness there is in
him to make up all you can lose for him; what refreshments there
are in him to sweeten all you can suffer for him. What fulness!
You may as well doubt that all the waters of the ocean cannot
fill a spoon, as that the divine fulness cannot be enough to
you, if you should have nothing left in this world; for all the
waters that cover the sea are not so much as a spoonful,
compared with the boundless and infinite fulness of all
sufficiency. What refreshments in him! One drop of divine
sweetness is enough to make one in the very agony of the
cruellest death to cry out with joy, "The bitterness of
death is past." Now in him there are not only drops, but
rivers; not a scanty sprinkling, but an infinite fulness. 2. Eye
much the power of God, how it can support under the cross, what
it can bring to pass for you by the cross. No cross so sharp and
grievous, but he can make it sweet and comfortable. No cross so
heavy and intolerable, but he can make light and easy. No cross
so ignominious and reproachful, but he can turn it to your
honour. No cross so fastened to you, but he can easily remove
it. 3. His goodness. His all sufficiency and power make
him able, his goodness makes him willing to do for his
people under the cross what his all sufficiency and almighty
power can afford. His goodness sets his mighty power to
work for his suffering saints. His goodness sets his all
sufficiency, his fulness, abroach for them, so that it runs
freely upon them; and never more freely than when they are under
the cross. I had fainted unless I had believed to see the
goodness of the Lord, &c. What is it that makes you
ready to faint under the cross, or thoughts and foresight
of it? Look to the goodness of God, there is support. Condensed
from David Clarkson.
Verse 13. I had fainted. The words in italics
are supplied by our translators; but, far from being necessary,
they injure the sense. Throw out the words, I had fainted,
and leave a break after the verse, and the elegant figure
of the psalmist will be preserved: "Unless I had believed
to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the
living"—what! what, alas! should have become of me! Adam
Clarke.
Verse 13. Unless I had believed to see the goodness
of the Lord in the land of the living. In the Hebrew this
verse is elliptical, as Calvin here translates it. In the French
version he supplies the ellipsis, by adding to the end of the
verse the words, "C'estoit fait de moy, ""I had
perished." In our English version the words, "I had
fainted, "are introduced as a supplement in the beginning
of the verse. Both the supplement of Calvin, and that of our
English version, which are substantially the same, doubtless
explain the meaning of the passage; but they destroy the elegant
abrupt form of the expression employed by the psalmist, who
breaks off in the middle of his discourse without completing the
sentence, although what he meant to say is very evident. Editorial
note to Calvin, in loc.
Verse 13. Under sore trouble and distress, labour to
exercise a strong and lively faith. It was a noble and heroic
resolution in that holy man Job, under his singular trials Job
13:15: "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him;
"as if he had said, Let my strokes be never so sore and
heavy, yet I will not let go my grips of his word and promises,
I will not raze these foundations of my hope. It was the way the
psalmist kept himself from sinking under his heavy burdens: I
had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the
Lord in the land of the living. ...Faith brings new strength
and auxiliary supplies of grace from heaven, when the former
supply is exhausted and spent; whereof David had the sweet
experience here. As God doth plant and actuate grace in the
soul, so he is pleased to come in with seasonable supplies and
reinforcements to the weak and decayed graces of his people,
answerable to their present exigencies and pressures; and thus
he doth from time to time feed the believer's lamp with fresh
oil, give in more faith, more love, more hope, and more desires;
and hereby he gives power to the faint, and strengthens the
things which remain when ready to die. John Willison.
Verse 13. Unless I had believed to see the goodness
of the Lord in the land of the living: a cordial made up of
three sovereign ingredients—a hope to see; and to see the
goodness of God; and the goodness of God in the land of
the living. Sir Richard Baker.
Verse 13. The land of the living. Alas! what a land
of the living is this, in which there are more dead than
living, more under ground than above it; where the earth is
fuller of graves than houses; where life lies trembling under
the hand of death; and where death hath power to tyrannize over
life! No, my soul, there only is the land of the
living where there are none but the living; where there is a
church, not militant, but triumphant; a church indeed, but no
churchyard, because none dead, nor none that can die; where life
is not passive, nor death active; where life sits crowned, and
where death is swallowed up in victory. Sir Richard Baker.
Verse 14. Wait on the Lord, be of good courage. Be
comfortable, hold fast (as the Greek hath), be manly,
or quit thee as a man; which word the apostle useth. 1Co
16:13. These are the words of encouragement against remissness,
fear, faintness of heart, or other infirmities. Henry
Ainsworth.
Verse 14. Wait on the Lord, be of good courage.
Stand but your ground, your ghostly foes will fly—
Hell trembles at a heaven directed eye;
Choose rather to defend than to assail—
Self confidence will in the conflict fail:
When you are challenged you may dangers meet—
True courage is a fixed, not sudden heat;
Is always humble, lives in self distrust,
And will itself into no danger thrust.
Devote yourself to God, and you will find
God fights the battles of a will resigned.
Love Jesus! love will no base fear endure—
Love Jesus! and of conquest rest secure.
—Thomas Ken (Bishop), 1637-1710-11.
Verse 14. Think not the government is out of Christ's
hand, when men are doing many sad things, and giving many heavy
blows to the work of God. No, no; men are but his hand; and it
is the hand of God that justly and righteously is lying heavy
upon his people. Look above men, then; you have not to do with
them: there is a turn of matters, just as he is pleased to turn
his hand. Ralph Erskine, 1685-1752.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse 1. (first clause). The relation of
illumination to salvation, or the need of light if men would be
saved.
Verse 1. The Christian hero, and the secret springs of
his courage.
Verse 1. The believer's fearless challenge.
Verse 2. The character, number, power, and cruelty of
the enemies of the church, and the mysterious way in which they
have been defeated.
Verse 3. Christian peace. 1. Exhibited in the calm
foresight of trouble.
2. Displayed in the confident endurance of affliction.
3. Sustained by divine help and past experience Ps 27:1-2.
4. Producing the richest results, glory to God, etc.
Verse 4. Model Christian life.
1. Unity of desire.
2. Earnestness of action.
3. Nearness of communion.
4. Heavenliness of contemplation.
5. Progress in divine education.
Verse 4. The affection of moral esteem towards God. Thomas
Chalmers.
Verse 4. A breathing after God. R. Sibbes's Sermon.
Verse 4. (last clause). Sabbath occupations and
heavenly delights.
Verse 4. (final clause). Matters for enquiry in
the Temple of old opened up in the light of the New Testament.
Verse 6. The saint's present triumph over his
spiritual foes, his practical gratitude, and his vocal praises.
Verse 7. Prayer. To whom addressed? How? Cry,
etc. When? Left indefinite. On what is it based? Mercy.
What it needs? Hear, answer.
Verse 8. The heart in tune with its God. Note, the
promptness, heartiness, personality, unreservedness, accuracy,
and resolution of the response to the precept.
Verse 8. The successful seeker. R. Sibbe's Sermon.
Verse 8. The echo. See Spurgeon's Sermons. No. 767.
Verse 9. 1. Desertion deprecated in all its forms.
2. Experience pleaded.
3. Divine aid implored.
Verse 9. The horror of saints at the hell of sinners. James
Scot.
Verse 10. The portion of the orphan, the comfort of
the persecuted, the paradise of the departing.
Verse 11. The plain man's pathway desired, described,
divinely approved, "thy way", "a plain
way", and divinely taught, "teach me, O Lord,
""lead me."
Verse 13. Faith, its precedence of sight, its objects,
its sustaining power.
Verse 13. Believing to see. See Spurgeon's Sermons.
No. 766.
Verse 14. The believer's position,"
wait;" his condition, "good courage;"
his support," he shall," etc.; his
perseverance, "wait" repeated a second time;
his reward.
WORKS UPON THE TWENTY-SEVENTH PSALM
Excellent Encouragements against Afflictions, containing
David's Triumph over Distress; or an Exposition of Psalm 27.
By THOMAS PIERSON, M.A. (Reprinted in Nichol's Series of Puritan
Commentaries.)
Meditations upon the 27th Psalm of David. By SIR
RICHARD BAKER.