TITLE. To the Chief Musician—a Psalm
of David. The dedication to the chief musician proves that
this song of mingled measures and alternate strains of grief
and woe was intended for public singing, and thus a deathblow
is given to the notion that nothing but praise should be sung.
Perhaps the Psalms, thus marked, might have been set aside as
too mournful for temple worship, if special care had not been
taken by the Holy Spirit to indicate them as being designed
for the public edification of the Lord's people. May there not
also be in Psalms thus designated a peculiar distinct
reference to the Lord Jesus? He certainly manifests himself
very clearly in the twenty-second, which bears this title; and
in the one before us we plainly hear his dying voice in the
fifth verse. Jesus is chief everywhere, and in all the holy
songs of his saints he is the chief musician. The surmises
that Jeremiah penned this Psalm need no other answer than the
fact that it is "a Psalm of David."
SUBJECT. The psalmist in dire affliction appeals to
his God for help with much confidence and holy importunity,
and ere long finds his mind so strengthened that he magnifies
the Lord for his great goodness. Some have thought that the
occasion in his troubled life which led to this Psalm, was the
treachery of the men of Keilah, and we have felt much inclined
to this conjecture; but after reflection it seems to us that
its very mournful tone, and its allusion to his iniquity
demand a later date, and it may be more satisfactory to
illustrate it by the period when Absalom had rebelled, and his
courtiers were fled from him, while lying lips spread a
thousand malicious rumours against him. It is perhaps quite as
well that we have no settled season mentioned, or we might
have been so busy in applying it to David's case as to forget
its suitability to our own.
DIVISION. There are no great lines
of demarcation; throughout the strain undulates, falling into
valleys of mourning, and rising with hills of confidence.
However, we may for convenience arrange it thus: David
testifying his confidence in God pleads for help, Ps 31:1-6;
expresses gratitude for mercies received, Ps 31:7-8;
particularly describes his case, Ps 31:9-13; vehemently pleads
for deliverance, Ps 31:14-18; confidently and thankfully
expects a blessing, Ps 31:19-22; and closes by showing the
bearing of his case upon all the people of God.
EXPOSITION
Verse 1. In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust.
Nowhere else do I fly for shelter, let the tempest howl as it
may. The psalmist has one refuge, and that the best one. He
casts out the great sheet anchor of his faith in the time of
storm. Let other things be doubtful, yet the fact that he
relies on Jehovah, David lays down most positively; and he
begins with it, lest by stress of trial he should afterwards
forget it. This avowal of faith is the fulcrum by means of
which he labours to uplift and remove his trouble; he dwells
upon it as a comfort to himself and a plea with God. No
mention is made of merit, but faith relies upon divine favour
and faithfulness, and upon that alone. Let me never be
ashamed. How can the Lord permit the man to be ultimately
put to shame who depends alone upon him? This would not be
dealing like a God of truth and grace. It would bring
dishonour upon God himself if faith were not in the end
rewarded. It will be an ill day indeed for religion when trust
in God brings no consolation and no assistance. Deliver me
in thy righteousness. Thou are not unjust to desert a
trustful soul, or to break thy promises; thou wilt vindicate
the righteousness of thy mysterious providence, and give me
joyful deliverance. Faith dares to look even to the sword of
justice for protection: while God is righteous, faith will not
be left to be proved futile and fanatical. How sweetly the
declaration of faith in this first verse sounds, if we read it
at the foot of the cross, beholding the promise of the Father
as yea and amen through the Son; viewing God with faith's eye
as he stands revealed in Jesus crucified.
Verse 2. Bow down thine ear to me. Condescend
to my low estate; listen to me attentively as one who would
hear every word. Heaven with its transcendent glories of
harmony might well engross the divine ear, but yet the Lord
has an hourly regard to the weakest moanings of his poorest
people. Deliver me speedily. We must not set times or
seasons, yet in submission we may ask for swift as well as
sure mercy. God's mercies are often enhanced in value by the
timely haste which he uses in their bestowal; if they came
late they might be too late—but he rides upon a cherub, and
flies upon the wings of the wind when he intends the good of
his beloved. Be thou my strong rock. Be my Engedi, my
Adullam; my immutable, immovable, impregnable, sublime,
resort. For an house of defence to save me, wherein I
may dwell in safety, not merely running to thee for
temporary shelter, but abiding in thee for eternal salvation.
How very simply does the good man pray, and yet with what
weight of meaning! he uses no ornamental flourishes, he is too
deeply in earnest to be otherwise than plain: it were well if
all who engage in public prayer would observe the same rule.
Verse 3. For thou art my rock and my fortress.
Here the tried soul avows yet again its full confidence in
God. Faith's repetitions are not vain. The avowal of our
reliance upon God in times of adversity is a principle method
of glorifying him. Active service is good, but the passive
confidence of faith is not one jot less esteemed in the sight
of God. The words before us appear to embrace and fasten upon
the Lord with a fiducial grip which is not to be relaxed. The
two personal pronouns, like sure nails, lay hold upon the
faithfulness of the Lord. O for grace to have our heart fixed
in firm unstaggering belief in God! The figure of a rock and a
fortress may be illustrated to us in these times by the vast
fortress of Gibraltar, often besieged by our enemies, but
never wrested from us: ancient strongholds, though far from
impregnable by our modes of warfare, were equally important in
those remoter ages—when in the mountain fastnesses, feeble
bands felt themselves to be secure. Note the singular fact
that David asked the Lord to be his rock Ps 31:2 because he
was his rock; and learn from it that we may pray to enjoy in
experience what we grasp by faith. Faith is the foundation of
prayer. Therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide
me. The psalmist argues like a logician with his fors and
therefores. Since I do sincerely trust thee, saith he, O my
God, be my director. To lead and to guide are two things very
like each other, but patient thought will detect different
shades of meaning, especially as the last may mean provide
for me. The double word indicates an urgent need—we
require double direction, for we are fools, and the way is
rough. Lead me as a soldier, guide me as a traveller! lead me
as a babe, guide me as a man; lead me when thou art with me,
but guide me even if thou be absent; lead me by thy hand,
guide me by thy word. The argument used is one which is
fetched from the armoury of free grace: not for my own sake,
but for thy name's sake guide me. Our appeal is not to
any fancied virtue in our own names, but to the glorious
goodness and graciousness which shines resplendent in the
character of Israel's God. It is not possible that the Lord
should suffer his own honour to be tarnished, but this would
certainly be the case if those who trusted him should perish.
This was Moses' plea, "What wilt thou do unto thy great
name?"
Verse 4. Pull me out of the net that they have
laid privily for me. The enemies of David were cunning as
well as mighty; if they could not conquer him by power, they
would capture him by craft. Our own spiritual foes are of the
same order—they are of the serpent's brood, and seek to
ensnare us by their guile. The prayer before us supposes the
possibility of the believer being caught like a bird; and,
indeed, we are so foolish that this often happens. So deftly
does the fowler do his work that simple ones are soon
surrounded by it. The text asks that even out of the meshes of
the net the captive one may be delivered; and this is a proper
petition, and one which can be granted; from between the jaws
of the lion and out of the belly of hell can eternal love
rescue the saint. It may need a sharp pull to save a
soul from the net of temptation, and a mighty pull to
extricate a man from the snares of malicious cunning, but the
Lord is equal to every emergency, and the most skilfully
placed nets of the hunter shall never be able to hold his
chosen ones. Woe unto those who are so clever at net laying:
they who tempt others shall be destroyed themselves. Villains
who lay traps in secret shall be punished in public. For
thou art my strength. What an inexpressible sweetness is
to be found in these few words! How joyfully may we enter upon
labours, and how cheerfully may we endure sufferings when we
can lay hold upon celestial power. Divine power will rend
asunder all the toils of the foe, confound their politics and
frustrate their knavish tricks; he is a happy man who has such
matchless might engaged upon his side. Our own strength would
be of little service when embarrassed in the nets of base
cunning, but the Lord's strength is ever available; we have
but to invoke it, and we shall find it near at hand. If by
faith we are depending alone upon the strength of the strong
God of Israel, we may use our holy reliance as a plea in
supplication.
Verse 5. Into thine hand I commit my spirit.
These living words of David were our Lord's dying words, and
have been frequently used by holy men in their hour of
departure. Be assured that they are good, choice, wise, and
solemn words; we may use them now and in the last tremendous
hour. Observe, the object of the good man's solicitude in life
and death is not his body or his estate, but his spirit; this
is his jewel, his secret treasure; if this be safe, all is
well. See what he does with his pearl! He commits it to the
hand of his God; it came from him, it is his own, he has
aforetime sustained it, he is able to keep it, and it is most
fit that he should receive it. All things are safe in
Jehovah's hands; what we entrust to the Lord will be secure,
both now and in that day of days towards which we are
hastening. Without reservation the good man yields himself to
his heavenly Father's hand; it is enough for him to be there;
it is peaceful living and glorious dying to repose in the care
of heaven. At all times we should commit and continue to
commit our all to Jesus' sacred care, then, though life may
hang on a thread, and adversities may multiply as the sands of
the sea, our soul shall dwell at ease, and delight itself in
quiet resting places. Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of
truth. Redemption is a solid base for confidence. David
had not known Calvary as we have done, but temporal redemption
cheered him; and shall not eternal redemption yet more sweetly
console us? Past deliverances are strong pleas for present
assistance. What the Lord has done he will do again, for he
changes not. He is a God of veracity, faithful to his
promises, and gracious to his saints; he will not turn away
from his people.
Verse 6. I have hated them that regard lying
vanities. Those who will not lean upon the true arm of
strength, are sure to make to themselves vain confidences. Man
must have a god, and if he will not adore the only living and
true God, he makes a fool of himself, and pays superstitious
regard to a lie, and waits with anxious hope upon a base
delusion. Those who did this were none of David's friends; he
had a constant dislike to them: the verb includes the present
as well as the past tense. He hated them for hating God; he
would not endure the presence of idolaters; his heart was set
against them for their stupidity and wickedness. He had no
patience with their superstitious observances, and calls their
idols vanities of emptiness, nothings of nonentity. Small
courtesy is more than Romanists and Puseyists deserve for
their fooleries. Men who make gods of their riches, their
persons, their wits, or anything else, are to be shunned by
those whose faith rests upon God in Christ Jesus; and so far
from being envied, they are to be pitied as depending upon
utter vanities. But I trust in the Lord. This might be
very unfashionable, but the psalmist dared to be singular. Bad
example should not make us less decided for the truth, but the
rather in the midst of general defection we should grow the
more bold. This adherence to his trust in Jehovah is the great
plea employed all along: the troubled one flies into the arms
of his God, and ventures everything upon the divine
faithfulness.
Verse 7. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy.
For mercy past he is grateful, and for mercy future, which he
believingly anticipates, he is joyful. In our most importunate
intercessions, we must find breathing time to bless the Lord:
praise is never a hindrance to prayer, but rather a lively
refreshment therein. It is delightful at intervals to hear the
notes of the high sounding cymbals when the dolorous sackbut
rules the hour. Those two words, glad and rejoice,
are an instructive reduplication, we need not stint ourselves
in our holy triumph; this wine we may drink in bowls without
fear of excess. For thou hast considered my trouble.
Thou hast seen it, weighed it, directed it, fixed a bound to
it, and in all ways made it a matter of tender consideration.
A man's consideration means the full exercise of his mind;
what must God's consideration be? Thou hast known my soul
in adversities. God owns his saints when others are
ashamed to acknowledge them; he never refuses to know his
friends. He thinks not the worse of them for their rags and
tatters. He does not misjudge them and cast them off when
their faces are lean with sickness, or their hearts heavy with
despondency. Moreover, the Lord Jesus knows us in our pangs in
a peculiar sense, by having a deep sympathy towards us in them
all; when no others can enter into our griefs, from want of
understanding them experimentally, Jesus dives into the lowest
depths with us, comprehending the direst of our woes, because
he has felt the same. Jesus is a physician who knows every
case; nothing is new to him. When we are so bewildered as not
to know our own state, he knows us altogether. He has known us
and will know us: O for grace to know more of him! "Man,
know thyself, "is a good philosophic precept, but
"Man, thou art known of God, "is a superlative
consolation. Adversities in the plural—"Many are
the afflictions of the righteous."
Verse 8. And hast not shut me up into the hand of
the enemy. To be shut up in one's hand is to be delivered
over absolutely to his power; now, the believer is not in the
hand of death or the devil, much less is he in the power of
man. The enemy may get a temporary advantage over us, but we
are like men in prison with the door open; God will not let us
be shut up, he always provides a way of escape. Thou hast
set my feet in a large room. Blessed be God for liberty:
civil liberty is valuable, religious liberty is precious,
spiritual liberty is priceless. In all troubles we may praise
God if these are left. Many saints have had their greatest
enlargements of soul when their affairs have been in the
greatest straits. Their souls have been in a large room when
their bodies have been lying in Bonner's coal hole, or in some
other narrow dungeon. Grace has been equal to every emergency;
and more than this, it has made the emergency an opportunity
for displaying itself.
Verse 9. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in
trouble. Now, the man of God comes to a particular and
minute description of his sorrowful case. He unbosoms his
heart, lays bare his wounds, and expresses his inward
desolation. This first sentence pithily comprehends all that
follows, it is the text for his lamenting discourse. Misery
moves mercy—no more reasoning is needed. "Have
mercy" is the prayer; the argument is as prevalent as it
is plain and personal, "I am in trouble." Mine
eye is consumed with grief. Dim and sunken eyes are plain
indicators of failing health. Tears draw their salt from our
strength, and floods of them are very apt to consume the
source from which they spring. God would have us tell him the
symptoms of our disease, not for his information, but to show
our sense of need. Yea, my soul and my belly (or body).
Soul and body are so intimately united, that one cannot
decline without the other feeling it. We, in these days, are
not strangers to the double sinking which David describes; we
have been faint with physical suffering, and distracted with
mental distress: when two such seas meet, it is well for us
that the Pilot at the helm is at home in the midst of the
water floods, and makes storms to become the triumph of his
art.
Verse 10. For my life is spent with grief, and my
years with sighing. It had become his daily occupation to
mourn; he spent all his days in the dungeon of distress. The
sap and essence of his existence was being consumed, as a
candle is wasted while it burns. His adversities were
shortening his days, and digging for him an early grave. Grief
is a sad market to spend all our wealth of life in, but a far
more profitable trade may be driven there than in Vanity Fair;
it is better to go to the house of mourning than the house of
feasting. Black is good wear. The salt of tears is a healthy
medicine. Better spend our years in sighing than in sinning.
The two members of the sentence before us convey the same
idea; but there are no idle words in Scripture, the
reduplication is the fitting expression of fervency and
importunity. My strength faileth because of mine iniquity.
David sees to the bottom of his sorrow, and detects sin
lurking there. It is profitable trouble which leads us to
trouble ourselves about our iniquity. Was this the psalmist's
foulest crime which now gnawed at his heart, and devoured his
strength? Very probably it was so. Sinful morsels, though
sweet in the mouth, turn out to be poison in the bowels: if we
wantonly give a portion of our strength to sin, it will by and
by take the remainder from us. We lose both physical, mental,
moral, and spiritual vigour by iniquity. And my bones are
consumed. Weakness penetrated the innermost parts of his
system, the firmest parts of his frame felt the general
decrepitude. A man is in a piteous plight when he comes to
this.
Verse 11. I was a reproach among all mine
enemies. They were pleased to have something to throw at
me; my mournful estate was music to them, because they
maliciously interpreted it to be a judgment from heaven upon
me. Reproach is little thought of by those who are not called
to endure it, but he who passes under its lash knows how deep
it wounds. The best of men may have the bitterest foes, and be
subject to the most cruel taunts. But especially among my
neighbours. Those who are nearest can stab the sharpest.
We feel most the slights of those who should have shown us
sympathy. Perhaps David's friends feared to be identified with
his declining fortunes, and therefore turned against him in
order to win the mercy if not the favour of his opponents.
Self interest rules the most of men: ties the most sacred are
soon snapped by its influence, and actions of the utmost
meanness are perpetrated without scruple. And a fear to
mine acquaintance. The more intimate before, the more
distant did they become. Our Lord was denied by Peter,
betrayed by Judas, and forsaken by all in the hour of his
utmost need. All the herd turn against a wounded deer. The
milk of human kindness curdles when a despised believer is the
victim of slanderous accusations. They that did see me
without fled from me. Afraid to be seen in the company of
a man so thoroughly despised, those who once courted his
society hastened from him as though he had been infected with
the plague. How villainous a thing is slander which can thus
make an eminent saint, once the admiration of his people, to
become the general butt, the universal aversion of mankind! To
what extremities of dishonour may innocence be reduced!
Verse 12. I am forgotten as a dead man out of
mind. All David's youthful prowess was now gone from
remembrance; he had been the saviour of his country, but his
services were buried in oblivion. Men soon forget the deepest
obligations; popularity is evanescent to the last degree: he
who is in every one's mouth today may be forgotten by all
tomorrow. A man had better be dead than be smothered in
slander. Of the dead we say nothing but good, but in the
psalmist's case they said nothing but evil. We must not look
for the reward of philanthropy this side of heaven, for men
pay their best servants but sorry wages, and turn them out of
doors when no more is to be got out of them. I am like a
broken vessel, a thing useless, done for, worthless, cast
aside, forgotten. Sad condition for a king! Let us see herein
the portrait of the King of kings in his humiliation, when he
made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a
servant.
Verse 13. For I have heard the slander of many.
One slanderous viper is death to all comfort—what must be
the venom of a whole brood? What the ear does not hear the
heart does not rue; but in David's case the accusing voices
were loud enough to break in upon his quiet—foul mouths had
grown so bold, that they poured forth their falsehoods in the
presence of their victim. Shimei was but one of a class, and
his cry of "Go up, thou bloody man, "was but the
common speech of thousands of the sons of Belial. All
Beelzebub's pack of hounds may be in full cry against a man,
and yet he may be the Lord's anointed. Fear was on every
side. He was encircled with fearful suggestions,
threatenings, remembrances, and forebodings; no quarter was
clear from incessant attack. While they took counsel
together against me, they devised to take away my life.
The ungodly act in concert in their onslaughts upon the
excellent of the earth: it is to be wondered at that sinners
should often be better agreed than saints, and generally set
about their wicked work with much more care and foresight than
the righteous exhibit in holy enterprises. Observe the cruelty
of a good man's foes! they will be content with nothing less
than his blood—for this they plot and scheme. Better fall
into the power of a lion than under the will of malicious
persecutors, for the beast may spare its prey if it be fed to
the full, but malice is unrelenting and cruel as a wolf. Of
all fiends the most cruel is envy. How sorely was the psalmist
bestead when the poisoned arrows of a thousand bows were all
aimed at his life! Yet in all this his faith did not fail him,
nor did his God forsake him. Here is encouragement for us.
Verses 14-18. In this section of the Psalm he renews
his prayers, urging the same pleas as at first: earnest
wrestlers attempt over and over again the same means of
gaining their point.
Verse 14. But I trusted in thee, O Lord.
Notwithstanding all afflicting circumstances, David's faith
maintained its hold, and was not turned aside from its object.
What a blessed saving clause is this! So long as our faith,
which is our shield, is safe, the battle may go hard, but its
ultimate result is no matter of question; if that could be
torn from us, we should be as surely slain as were Saul and
Jonathan upon the high places of the field. I said, Thou
art my God. He proclaimed aloud his determined allegiance
to Jehovah. He was no fair weather believer, he could hold to
his faith in a sharp frost, and wrap it about him as a garment
fitted to keep out all the ills of time. He who can say what
David did need not envy Cicero his eloquence: "Thou art
my God, "has more sweetness in it than any other
utterance which human speech can frame. Note that this
adhesive faith is here mentioned as an argument with God to
honour his own promise by sending a speedy deliverance.
Verse 15. My times are in thy hand. The
sovereign arbiter of destiny holds in his own power all the
issues of our life; we are not waifs and strays upon the ocean
of fate, but are steered by infinite wisdom towards our
desired haven. Providence is a soft pillow for anxious heads,
an anodyne for care, a grave for despair. Deliver me from
the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
It is lawful to desire escape from persecution if it be the
Lord's will; and when this may not be granted us in the form
which we desire, sustaining grace will give us deliverance in
another form, by enabling us to laugh to scorn all the fury of
the foe.
Verse 16. Make thy face to shine upon thy
servant. Give me the sunshine of heaven in my soul, and I
will defy the tempests of earth. Permit me to enjoy a sense of
thy favour, O Lord, and a consciousness that thou art pleased
with my manner of life, and all men may frown and slander as
they will. It is always enough for a servant if he pleases his
master; others may be dissatisfied, but he is not their
servant, they do not pay him his wages, and their opinions
have no weight with him. Save me for thy mercies' sake.
The good man knows no plea but mercy; whoever might urge legal
pleas David never dreamed of it.
Verse 17. Let me not be ashamed, O Lord; for I
have called upon thee. Put not my prayers to the blush! Do
not fill profane mouths with jeers at my confidence in my God.
Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the
grave. Cause them to their amazement to see my wrongs
righted and their own pride horribly confounded. A milder
spirit rules our prayers under the gentle reign of the Prince
of Peace, and, therefore, we can only use such words as these
in their prophetic sense, knowing as we do full well, that
shame and the silence of death are the best portion that
ungodly sinners can expect. That which they desired for
despised believers shall come upon themselves by a decree of
retributive justice, at which they cannot cavil—"As he
loved mischief, so let it come upon him."
Verse 18. Let the lying lips be put to silence.
A right good and Christian prayer; who but a bad man would
give liars more license than need be? May God silence them
either by leading them to repentance, by putting them to
thorough shame, or by placing them in positions where what
they may say will stand for nothing. Which speak grievous
things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
The sin of slanderers lies partly in the matter of their
speech; "they speak grievous things; "things cutting
deep into the feelings of good men, and wounding them sorely
in that tender place—their reputations. The sin is further
enhanced by the manner of their speech; they speak proudly and
contemptuously; they talk as if they themselves were the cream
of society, and the righteous the mere scum of vulgarity.
Proud thoughts of self are generally attended by debasing
estimates of others. The more room we take up ourselves, the
less we can afford our neighbours. What wickedness it is that
unworthy characters should always be the loudest in railing at
good men! They have no power to appreciate moral worth of
which they are utterly destitute, and yet they have the
effrontery to mount the judgment seat, and judge the men
compared with whom they are as so much chaff. Holy indignation
may well prompt us to desire anything which may rid the world
of such unbearable impertinence and detestable arrogance.
Verses 19-22. Being full of faith, the psalmist
gives glory to God for the mercy which he is assured will be
his position.
Verse 19. Oh how great is thy goodness. Is it
not singular to find such a joyful sentence in connection with
so much sorrow? Truly the life of faith is a miracle. When
faith led David to his God, she set him singing at once. He
does not tell us how great was God's goodness, for he could
not; there are no measures which can set forth the
immeasurable goodness of Jehovah, who is goodness itself. Holy
amazement uses interjections where adjectives utterly fail.
Notes of exclamation suit us when words of explanation are of
no avail. If we cannot measure we can marvel; and though we
may not calculate with accuracy, we can adore with fervency. Which
thou hast laid up for them that fear thee. The psalmist in
contemplation divides goodness into two parts, that which is
in store and that which is wrought out. The Lord has laid up
in reserve for his people supplies beyond all count. In the
treasury of the covenant, in the field of redemption, in the
caskets of the promises, in the granaries of providence, the
Lord has provided for all the needs which can possibly occur
to his chosen. We ought often to consider the laid up goodness
of God which has not yet been distributed to the chosen, but
is already provided for them: if we are much in such
contemplations, we shall be led to feel devout gratitude, such
as glowed in the heart of David. Which thou hast wrought
for them that trust in thee before the sons of men.
Heavenly mercy is not all hidden in the storehouse; in a
thousand ways it has already revealed itself on behalf of
those who are bold to avow their confidence in God; before
their fellow men this goodness of the Lord has been displayed,
that a faithless generation might stand rebuked. Overwhelming
are the proofs of the Lord's favour to believers, history
teems with amazing instances, and our own lives are full of
prodigies of grace. We serve a good Master. Faith receives a
large reward even now, but looks for her full inheritance in
the future. Who would not desire to take his lot with the
servants of a Master whose boundless love fills all holy minds
with astonishment?
Verse 20. Thou shalt hide them in the secret of
thy presence from the pride of man. Pride is a barbed
weapon: the proud man's contumely is iron which entereth into
the soul; but those who trust in God, are safely housed in the
Holy of holies, the innermost court, into which no man may
dare intrude; here in the secret dwelling place of God the
mind of the saint rests in peace, which the foot of pride
cannot disturb. Dwellers at the foot of the cross of Christ
grow callous to the sneers of the haughty. The wounds of Jesus
distil a balsam which heals all the scars which the jagged
weapons of contempt can inflict upon us; in fact, when armed
with the same mind which was in Christ Jesus, the heart is
invulnerable to all the darts of pride. Thou shalt keep
them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
Tongues are more to be dreaded than beasts of prey—and when
they strive, it is as though a whole pack of wolves were let
loose; but the believer is secure even in this peril, for the
royal pavilion of the King of kings shall afford him quiet
shelter and serene security. The secret tabernacle of
sacrifice, and the royal pavilion of sovereignty afford a
double security to the Lord's people in their worst
distresses. Observe the immediate action of God, "Thou
shalt hide, ""Thou shalt keep, "the Lord
himself is personally present for the rescue of his afflicted.
Verse 21. Blessed be the Lord. When the Lord
blesses us we cannot do less than bless him in return. For
he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.
Was this in Mahanaim, where the Lord gave him victory over the
hosts of Absalom? Or did he refer to Rabbath of Ammon, where
he gained signal triumphs? Or, best of all, was Jerusalem the
strong city where he most experienced the astonishing kindness
of his God? Gratitude is never short of subjects; her
Ebenezers stand so close together as to wall up her path to
heaven on both sides. Whether in cities or in hamlets our
blessed Lord has revealed himself to us, we shall never forget
the hallowed spots: the lonely mount of Hermon, or the village
of Emmaus, or the rock of Patmos, or the wilderness of Horeb,
are all alike renowned when God manifests himself to us in
robes of love.
Verse 22. Confession of faults is always proper; and
when we reflect upon the goodness of God, we ought to be
reminded of our own errors and offences. For I said in my
haste. We generally speak amiss when we are in a hurry.
Hasty words are but for a moment on the tongue, but they often
lie for years on the conscience. I am cut off from before
thine eyes. This was an unworthy speech; but unbelief will
have a corner in the heart of the firmest believer, and out of
that corner it will vent many spiteful things against the Lord
if the course of providence be not quite so smooth as nature
might desire. No saint ever was, or ever could be, cut off
from before the eyes of God, and yet no doubt many have
thought so, and more than one has said so. For ever be such
dark suspicions banished from our minds. Nevertheless thou
heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.
What a mercy that if we believe not, yet God abideth
faithful, hearing prayer even when we are labouring under
doubts which dishonour his name. If we consider the hindrances
in the way of our prayers, and the poor way in which we
present them, it is a wonder of wonders that they ever prevail
with heaven.
Verse 23. O love the Lord, all ye his saints.
A most affecting exhortation, showing clearly the deep love of
the writer to his God: there is the more beauty in the
expression, because it reveals love toward a smiting God, love
which many waters could not quench. To bless him who gives is
easy, but to cling to him who takes away is a work of grace.
All the saints are benefited by the sanctified miseries of
one, if they are led by earnest exhortations to love their
Lord the better. If saints do not love the Lord, who will?
Love is the universal debt of all the saved family: who would
wish to be exonerated from its payment? Reasons for love are
given, for believing love is not blind. For the Lord
preserveth the faithful. They have to bide their time, but
the recompense comes at last, and meanwhile all the cruel
malice of their enemies cannot destroy them. And
plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. This also is cause
for gratitude: pride is so detestable in its acts that he who
shall mete out to it its righteous due, deserves the love of
all holy minds.
Verse 24. Be of good courage. Keep up your
spirit, let no craven thoughts blanch your cheek. Fear
weakens, courage strengthens. Victory waits upon the banners
of the brave. And he shall strengthen your heart. Power
from on high shall be given in the most effectual manner by
administering force to the fountain of vitality. So far from
leaving us, the Lord will draw very near to us in our
adversity, and put his own power into us. All ye that hope
in the Lord. Every one of you, lift up your heads and sing
for joy of heart. God is faithful, and does not fail even his
little children who do but hope, wherefore then should
we be afraid?
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Verse 1. In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust.
Let us therefore shun mistrust; doubt is death, trust alone is
life. Let us make sure that we trust the Lord, and never take
our trust on trust. Let me never be ashamed. If David
prays against being ashamed, let us strive against it. Lovers
of Jesus should be ashamed of being ashamed. C. H. S.
Verse 1. Deliver me in thy righteousness. For
supporting thy faith, mark well whereon it may safely rest;
even upon God's righteousness, as well as upon his
mercy. On this ground did the apostle in faith expect the
crown of righteousness 2Ti 4:7-8, because the Lord from whom
he expected it is a righteous judge; and the psalmist is bold
to appeal to the righteousness of God. Ps 35:24. For we may be
well assured that what God's goodness, grace, and mercy moved
him to promise, his truth, his faithfulness, and righteousness
will move him to perform. William Gouge.
Verses 1-3.
Shadows are faithless, and the rocks are false;
No trust in brass, no trust in marble walls;
Poor cots are even as safe as princes' halls.
Great God! there is no safety here below;
Thou art my fortress, thou that seemest my foe,
It is thou that strik'st the stroke, must guard the blow.
Thou art my God, by thee I fall or stand;
Thy grace hath given me courage to withstand
All tortures, but my conscience and thy hand.
I know thy justice is thyself; I know,
Just God, thy very self is mercy too;
If not to thee, where, whither shall I go?
—Francis Quarles.
Verse 2. Bow down thy ear. Listen to my
complaint. Put thy ear to my lips, that thou mayest hear all
that my feebleness is capable of uttering. We generally
put our ear near to the lips of the sick and dying that we may
hear what they say. To this the text appears to allude. Adam
Clarke.
Verse 2. Deliver me speedily. In praying that
he might be delivered speedily there is shown the
greatness of his danger, as if he had said, All will soon be
over with my life, unless God makes haste to help me. John
Calvin. Verses 2-3. Be thou my strong rock, etc.
What the Lord is engaged to be unto us by covenant, we may
pray and expect to find him in effect. "Be thou my
strong rock," saith he, "for thou art my
rock." David Dickson.
Verse 3. For thy name's sake. If merely a
creature's honour, the credit of ministers, or the glory of
angels were involved, man's salvation would indeed be
uncertain. But every step involves the honour of God. We plead
for his name's sake. If God should begin and not
continue, or if he should carry on but not complete the work,
all would admit that it was for some reason that must bring
reproach on the Almighty. This can never be. God was self
moved to undertake man's salvation. His glorious name makes it
certain the top stone shall be laid in glory. William S.
Plumer.
Verse 3. For thy name's sake. On account of
the fame of thy power, thy goodness, thy truth, &c. Lead
me. As a shepherd an erring sheep, as a leader military
bands, or as one leads another ignorant of the way. See Ge
24:27 Ne 9:12-13 Ps 23:3 73:24. Govern my counsels, my
affections, and my thoughts. Martin Geier, 1614-1681.
Verse 4. Pull me out of the net: that noted
net, as the Hebrew hath it. John Trapp.
Verse 4. Pull me out of the net that they have
laid privily for me. By these words, he intimates that his
enemies did not only by open force come against him, but by
cunning and policy attempted to circumvent him, as when they
put him on, as Saul instructed them, to be the king's
son-in-law, and to this end set him on to get two hundred
foreskins of the Philistines for a dowry, under a pretence of
goodwill, seeking his ruin; and when wait also was laid for
him to kill him in his house. But he trusted in God, and
prayed to be delivered, if there should be any the like
enterprise against him hereafter. John Mayer.
Verse 4. For thou art my strength.
Omnipotence cuts the net which policy weaves. When we poor
puny things are in the net, God is not. In the old fable the
mouse set free the lion, here the lion liberates the mouse. C.
H. S.
Verse 5. Into thine hand I commit my spirit.
These were the last words of Polycarp, of Bernard, of Huss, of
Jerome of Prague, of Luther, of Melancthon, and many others.
"Blessed are they, "says Luther, "who die not
only for the Lord, as martyrs, not only in the
Lord, as all believers, but likewise with the Lord, as
breathing forth their lives in these words, 'Into thine hand I
commit my spirit.'" J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Verse 5. Into thine hand I commit my spirit.
These words, as they stand in the Vulgate, were in the
highest credit among our ancestors; by whom they were used on
all dangers, difficulties, and in the article of death. In
manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum, was used by
the sick when about to expire, if they were sensible; and if
not, the priest said it in their behalf. In forms of prayer
for sick and dying persons, these words were frequently
inserted in Latin, though all the rest of the prayer was
English; for it was supposed there was something sovereign in
the language itself. But let not the abuse of such
words hinder their usefulness. For an ejaculation nothing can
be better; and when the pious or the tempted with confidence
use them, nothing can exceed their effect. Adam Clarke.
Verse 5. Into thine hand I commit my spirit,
etc. For what are the saints to commit their spirits into the
hands of God by Jesus Christ? 1. That they may be safe; i.e.,
preserved in their passage to heaven, from all the enemies and
dangers that may stand in the way. When saints die, the powers
of darkness would, doubtless, if possible, hinder the
ascending of their souls to God. As they are cast out of
heaven, they are filled with rage to see any out of our world
going thither. One thing, therefore, which the saint means in
committing his spirit into the hands of God, is, that the
precious depositum may be kept from all that wish or
would attempt its ruin. And they are sure that almighty power
belongs to God: and if this is engaged for their preservation,
none can pluck them out of his hand. The Redeemer hath spoiled
principalities and powers, and proved it by his triumphant
ascension to glory; and hath all his and the believer's
enemies in a chain, so that they shall be more than conquerors
in and through him. Angels, for order's sake, are sent forth
to minister to them and be their guard, who will faithfully
attend them their charge, till they are brought to the
presence of the common Lord of both. "I know, "saith
the apostle, "whom I have believed; and I am persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him
against that day."
2. They commit their soul into the hands of God, that they
may be admitted to dwell with him, even in that presence of
his where there is fulness of joy, and where there are
pleasures for evermore: where all evil is excluded, and all
good present, to fill their desires, and find them matter of
praise to all eternity.
3. They commit their departing spirits into the hands of
God, that their bodies may be at length raised and reunited to
them, and that so they may enter at last into the blessedness
prepared for them that love him...The grounds on which they
may do this with comfort, i.e., with lively hopes of
being happy for ever, are many. To mention only two:
(a) God's interest in them, and upon the most endearing
foundation, that of redemption. Into thine hand I commit my
spirit; for thou hast redeemed me. Redeemed me from hell
and the wrath to come, by giving thy Son to die for me. Lord,
I am not only thy creature, but thy redeemed creature, bought
with a price, saith the saint. Redeemed me from the power of
my inward corruption, and from love to it, and delight in it;
and with my consent hast drawn me to be thine, and thine for
ever. Lord, I am thine, save me unchangeably.
(b) His known faithfulness. Into thine hand I commit my
spirit, O Lord God of truth. Into thine hand I commit my
spirit, who hast been a God of truth, in performing thy
promises to all thy people that are gone before me out of this
world; and has been so to me hitherto, and, I cannot doubt,
wilt continue so to the end. Daniel Wilcox.
Verse 5. Into thine hand. When those hands
fail me, then I am indeed abandoned and miserable! When they
sustain and keep me, then am I safe, exalted, strong, and
filled with good. Receive me then, O Eternal Father, for the
sake of our Lord's merits and words; for he, by his obedience
and his death, hath now merited from thee everything which I
do not merit of myself. Into thy hands, my Father and my God,
I commend my spirit, my soul, my body, my powers, my desires.
I offer up to thy hands, all; to them I commit all that I have
hitherto been, that thou mayest forgive and restore all; my
wounds, that thou mayest heal them; my blindness, that thou
mayest enlighten it; my coldness, that thou mayest inflame it;
my wicked and erring way, that thou mayest set me forth in the
right path; and all my evils, that thou mayest uproot them all
from my soul. I commend and offer up into thy most sacred
hands, O my God, what I am, which thou knowest far better than
I can know, weak, wretched, wounded, fickle, blind, deaf,
dumb, poor, bare of every good, nothing, yea, less than
nothing, on account of my many sins, and more miserable than I
can either know or express. Do thou, Lord God, receive me and
make me to become what he, the divine Lamb, would have me to
be. I commend, I offer up, I deliver over into thy divine
hands, all my affairs, my cares, my affections, my success, my
comforts, my labours, and everything which thou knowest to be
coming upon me. Direct all to thy honour and glory; teach me
in all to do thy will, and in all to recognise the work of thy
divine hands; to seek nothing else, and with this reflection
alone to find rest and comfort in everything.
O hands of the Eternal God, who made and still preserve the
heavens and earth for my sake, and who made me for yourselves,
suffer me not ever to stray from you. In those hands I possess
my Lamb, and all I love; in them therefore must I be also,
together with him. Together with him, in these loving hands
shall I sleep and rest in peace, since he in dying left me
hope in them and in their infinite mercies, placed me within
them, as my only and my special refuge. Since by these hands I
live and am what I am, make me continually to live through
them, and in them to die; in them to live in the love of our
Lord, and from them only to desire and look for every good;
that from them I may at last, together with the Lord, receive
the crown. Fra Thome de Jesu.
Verse 5. Into thine hand I commit my spirit.
No shadowy form of a dark destiny stands before him at the end
of his career, although he must die on the cross, the
countenance of his Father shines before him. He does not
behold his life melting away into the gloomy floods of
mortality. He commends it into the hands of his Father. It is
not alone in the general spirit of humanity, that he will
continue to live. He will live on in the definite personality
of his own spirit, embraced by the special protection and
faithfulness of his Father. Thus he does not surrender his
life despondingly to death for destruction, but with
triumphant consciousness to the Father for resurrection. It
was the very centre of his testament: assurance of life;
surrender of his life into the hand of a living Father. With
loud voice he exclaimed it to the world, which will for ever
and ever sink into the heathenish consciousness of death, of
the fear of death, of despair of immortality and resurrection,
because it for ever and ever allows the consciousness of the
personality of God, and of personal union with him, to be
obscured and shaken. With the heart of a lion, the dying
Christ once more testified of life with an expression which
was connected with the word of the Old Testament Psalm, and
testified that the Spirit of eternal life was already
operative, in prophetic anticipation, in the old covenant.
Thus living as ever, he surrendered his life, through death,
to the eternally living One. His death was the last and
highest fact, the crown of his holy life. J.P. Lange, D.D.,
in "The Life of the Lord Jesus Christ." 1864.
Verse 5. Into thine hand I commit my spirit.
David committed his spirit to God that he might not die, but
Christ and all Christians after him, commit their spirit to
God, that they may live for ever by death, and after death.
This Psalm is thus connected with the twenty-second Psalm.
Both of these Psalms were used by Christ on the cross. From
the twenty-second he derived those bitter words of anguish,
"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" From the present
Psalm he derived those last words of love and trust which he
uttered just before his death. The Psalter was the hymn book
and prayer book of Christ. Christopher Wordsworth.
Verse 6. I have hated. Holy men have strong
passions, and are not so mincing and charitable towards evil
doers as smooth tongued latitudinarians would have them. He
who does not hate evil does not love good. There is such a
thing as a good hater. C. H. S
Verse 6. They that regard lying vanities. The
Romanists feign miracles of the saints to make them, as they
suppose, the more glorious. They say that the house wherein
the Virgin Mary was when the angel Gabriel came unto her was,
many hundred years after, translated, first, out of Galilee
into Dalmatia, above 2,000 miles, and thence over the sea into
Italy, where also it removed from one place to another, till
at length it found a place where to abide, and many most
miraculous cures, they say, were wrought by it, and that the
very trees when it came, did bow unto it. Infinite stories
they have of this nature, especially in the Legend of Saints,
which they call "The Golden Legend, "a book so full
of gross stuff that Ludovicus Vives, a Papist, but learned and
ingenuous, with great indignations cried out, "What can
be more abominable than that book?" and he wondered why
they should call it "golden, "when as he that wrote
it was a man "of an iron mouth and of a leaden
heart." And Melchior Canus, a Romish bishop, passed the
same censure upon that book, and complains (as Vives also had
done before him), that Laertius wrote the lives of
philosophers, and Suetonius the lives of the Caesars, more
sincerely than some did the lives of the saints and martyrs.
They are most vain and superstitious in the honour which they
give to the relics of the saints; as their dead bodies, or
some parts of them; their bones, flesh, hair; yea, their
clothes that they wore, or the like. "You may now,
everywhere, "saith Erasmus, "see held out for gain,
"Mary's milk, which they honour almost as much as
Christ's consecrated body; prodigious oil; so many pieces of
the cross, that if they were all gathered together a great
ship would scarce carry them. Here Francis's hood set forth to
view; there the innermost garment of the Virgin Mary; in one
place, Anna's comb; in another place, Joseph's stocking; in
another place, Thomas of Canterbury's shoe; in another place,
Christ's foreskin, which, though it be a thing uncertain, they
worship more religiously than Christ's whole person. Neither
do they bring forth these things as things that may be
tolerated, and to please the common people, but all religion
almost is placed in them. (Erasmus, on Mt 23:5). Christopher
Cartwright.
Verse 6. The sense lies thus, that heathen men, when
any danger or difficulty approacheth them, are solemnly wont
to apply themselves to auguries and divinations, and so to
false gods, to receive advice and direction from them: but
doing so and observing their responses most superstitiously,
they yet gain nothing at all by it. These David detests, and
keeps close to God, hoping for no aid but from him. H.
Hammond, D.D.
Verse 7. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy.
In the midst of trouble faith will furnish matter of joy, and
promise to itself gladness, especially from the memory of by
past experiences of God's mercy; as here, I will be glad
and rejoice in thy mercy. ...The ground of our gladness,
when we have found a proof of God's kindness to us should not
be in the benefit so much as in the fountain of the benefit;
for this giveth us hope to drink again of the like experience
from the fountain which did send forth that benefit. Therefore
David says, I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy. David
Dickson.
Verse 7. Thou hast considered my trouble:
Man's plea to man, is, that he never more
Will beg, and that he never begged before:
Man's plea to God, is, that he did obtain
A former suit, and, therefore sues again.
How good a God we serve, that when we sue,
Makes his old gifts the examples of his new!
—Francis Quarles.
Verse 7. Thou hast known my soul in adversities.
One day a person who, by the calamities of war, sickness, and
other affliction, had been reduced from a state of affluence
to penury, came to Gotthold in great distress. He complained
that he had just met one of his former acquaintances, who was
even not distantly related to him, but that he had not
condescended to bow, far less to speak to him, and he had
turned his eyes away, and passed him as if he had been a
stranger. O sir, he exclaimed with a sigh, how it pained me! I
felt as if a dagger had pierced my heart! Gotthold replied, Do
not think it strange at all. It is the way of the world to
look high, and to pass unnoticed that which is humble and
lowly. I know, however, of One who, though he dwelleth
on high, humbleth himself to behold the things that are in
heaven and in the earth Ps 113:5-6, and of whom the royal
prophet testifies: Thou hast known my soul in adversities.
Yes; though we have lost our rich attire, and come to him in
rags; though our forms be wasted because of grief, and waxed
old (Ps 6:7, Luther's Version); though sickness and sorrow
have consumed our beauty like a moth Ps 39:11; though blushes,
and tears, and dust, overspread our face Ps 69:7, he still
recognises, and is not ashamed to own us. Comfort yourself
with this, for what harm will it do you at last, though men
disown, if God the Lord have not forgotten you? Christian
Scriver.
Verse 8. He openeth and no man shutteth. Let us
bless the Lord for an open door which neither men nor devils
can close. We are not in man's hands yet, because we are in
the hands of God; else had our feet been in the stocks and not
in the large room of liberty. Our enemies, if they were as
able as they are willing, would long ago have treated us as
fowlers do the little birds when they enclose them in their
hand. C. H. S.
Verse 9. Mine eye is consumed with grief.
This expression seems to suggest that the eye really suffers
under the influence of grief. There was an old idea, which
still prevails amongst the uninstructed, that the eye, under
extreme grief, and with a constant profuse flow of tears,
might sink away and perish under the ordeal. There is no solid
foundation for this idea, but there is a very serious form of
disease of the eyes, well known to oculists by the title of
Glaucoma, which seems to be very much influenced by mental
emotions of a depressing nature. I have know many striking
instances of cases in which there has been a constitutional
proneness to Glaucoma, and in which some sudden grief has
brought on a violent access of the disease and induced
blindness of an incurable nature. In such instances the
explanation seems to be somewhat as follows. It is essential
to the healthy performance of the functions of the eye, that
it should possess a given amount of elasticity, which again
results from an exact balance between the amount of fluid
within the eye, and the external fibrous case or bag that
contains or encloses it. If this is disturbed, if the fluid
increases unduly in quantity, and the eye becomes too hard,
pain and inflammation may be suddenly induced in the interior
of the eye, and sight may become rapidly extinguished. There
are a special set of nerves that preside over this peculiar
physical condition, and keep the eye in a proper state of
elasticity; and it is a remarkable fact, that through a long
life, as a rule, we find that the eye preserves this elastic
state. If, however, the function of these nerves is impaired,
as it may readily be under the influence of extreme grief, or
any depressing agent, the eye may become suddenly hard. Until
a comparatively recent date, acute Glaucoma, or sudden
hardening of the eye, attended with intense pain and
inflammation, caused complete and hopeless blindness; but in
the present day it is capable of relief by means of an
operation. The effect of grief in causing this form of
blindness seems to be an explanation of the text, Mine eye
is consumed with grief. On application for information to
the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital, as to the effect of
grief upon the eye, we received the above, with much other
valuable information, from GEORGE CRITCHETT, Esq., the senior
medical officer. The courtesy of this gentleman, and of the
secretary of that noble institution, deserves special mention.
Verses 9-10.
If thou wouldst learn, not knowing how to pray,
Add but a faith, and say as beggars say: Master, I am
poor, and blind, in great distress, Hungry, and lame, and
cold, and comfortless; O succour him that's gravelled on the
shelf Of pain, and want, and cannot help himself Cast down
thine eye upon a wretch, and take Some pity on me for sweet
Jesus' sake: But hold! take heed this clause be not put in, I
never begged before, nor will again.—Francis Quarles.
Verse 10. Mine iniquity. Italian version, "my
pains; "because that death and all miseries are come
into the world by reason of sin, the Scripture doth often
confound the names of the cause and of the effects. John
Diodati.
Verse 10.. I find that when the saints are under
trial and well humbled, little sins raise great cries in the
conscience; but in prosperity, conscience is a pope that gives
dispensations and great latitude to our hearts. The cross is
therefore as needful as the crown is glorious. Samuel
Rutherford.
Verse 11. I was a reproach among all mine
enemies. If anyone strives after patience and humility, he
is a hypocrite. If he allows himself in the pleasures of this
world, he is a glutton. If he seeks justice, he is impatient;
if he seeks it not, he is a fool. If he would be prudent, he
is stingy; if he would make others happy, he is dissolute. If
he gives himself up to prayer, he is vainglorious. And this is
the great loss of the church, that by means like these many
are held back from goodness! which the psalmist lamenting
says, I became a reproof among all mine enemies. Chrysostom,
quoted by J.M. Neale.
Verse 11. They that did see me without fled from
me. I once heard the following relation from an old man of
the world, and it occurs to me, as illustrative of what we are
now considering. He was at a public assembly, and saw there an
individual withdrawing herself from the crowd, and going into
a corner of the room. He went up to her, she was an old and
intimate friend of his; he addressed himself to her—she,
with a sigh, said, "Oh, I have seen many days of trouble
since we last met." What does the man of the world do?
Immediately he withdrew himself from his sorrow stricken
friend and hid himself in the crowd. Such is the sympathy of
the world with Christ or his servants. Hamilton Verschoyle.
Verse 12. I am forgotten as a dead man out of
mind. A striking instance of how the greatest princes are
forgotten in death is found in the deathbed of Louis XIV.
"The Louis that was, lies forsaken, a mass of abhorred
clay; abandoned `to some poor persons, and priests of the Chapelle
Ardente, 'who make haste to put him `in two lead coffins,
pouring in abundant spirits of wine.' The new Louis with his
court is rolling towards Choisy, through the summer afternoon:
the royal tears still flow; but a word mispronounced by
Monseigneur d'Artois sets them all laughing, and they weep no
more." Thomas Carlyle in "The French
Revolution."
Verse 12. I am forgotten, etc. As a dying man
with curtains drawn, whom friends have no hope of, and
therefore look off from; or rather like a dead man laid aside
out of sight and out of mind altogether, and buried more in
oblivion than in his grave; when the news is, "she is
dead, trouble not the Master." Lu 8:49. Anthony
Tuckney, D.D., 1599-1670.
Verse 12. I am like a broken vessel. As a
vessel, how profitable soever it hath been to the owner, and
how necessary for his turn, yet, when it is broken is thrown
away, and regarded no longer: even so such is the state of a
man forsaken of those whose friend he hath been so long as he
was able to stand them in stead to be of advantage to them. Robert
Cawdray.
Verse 13. I have heard the slander of many.
From my very childhood when I was first sensible of the
concerns of men's souls, I was possessed with some admiration
to find that everywhere the religious, godly sort of people,
who did but exercise a serious care of their own and other
men's salvation, were made the wonder and obloquy of the
world, especially of the most vicious and flagitious men; so
that they that professed the same articles of faith, the same
commandments of God to be their law, and the same petitions of
the Lord's prayer to be their desire, and so professed the
same religion, did everywhere revile those that endeavoured to
live in good earnest in what they said. I thought this was
impudent hypocrisy in the ungodly, worldly sort of men—to
take those for the most intolerable persons in the land who
are but serious in their own religion, and do but endeavour to
perform what all their enemies also vow and promise. If
religion be bad, and our faith be not true, why do these men
profess it? If it be true, and good, why do they hate and
revile them that would live in the serious practise of it, if
they will not practise it themselves? But we must not expect
reason when sin and sensuality have made men unreasonable. But
I must profess that since I observed the course of the world,
and the concord of the word and providence of God, I took it
for a notable proof of man's fall, and of the truth of the
Scripture, and of the supernatural original of true
sanctification, to find such a universal enmity between the
holy and the serpentine seed, and to find Cain and Able's case
so ordinarily exemplified, and he that is born after the flesh
persecuting him that is born after the Spirit. And I think to
this day it is a great and visible help for the confirmation
of our Christian faith. Richard Baxter.
Verse 13. Slander. Be thou as chaste as ice,
as pure a snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. William
Shakespeare.
Verse 13. They took counsel together against me,
etc. While they mangled his reputation, they did it in such a
manner as that they covered their wickedness under the
appearance of grave and considerate procedure, in consulting
among themselves to destroy him as a man who no longer ought
to be tolerated on the earth. It is not to be wondered at,
therefore, that his mind was wounded by so many and so sharp
temptations. John Calvin.
Verse 14. But I trusted in thee, O Lord. The
rendering properly is, And I have trusted in thee, but
the Hebrew copulative particle (K), vau, and, is used
here instead of the adversative particle yet, or nevertheless.
David, setting the steadfastness of his faith in opposition to
the assaults of the temptations of which he has made mention,
denies that he had ever fainted, but rather maintains, on the
contrary, that he stood firm in his hope of deliverance from
God. Nor does this imply that he boasted of being so
magnanimous and courageous that he could not be overthrown
through the infirmity of the flesh. However contrary to one
another they appear, yet these things are often joined
together, as they ought to be, in the same person, namely,
that while he pines away with grief, and is deprived of all
strength, he is nevertheless supported by so strong a hope
that he ceases not to call upon God. David, therefore, was not
so overwhelmed in deep sorrow, and other direful sufferings,
as that the hidden light of faith could not shine inwardly in
his heart; nor did he groan so much under the weighty load of
his temptations, as to be prevented from arousing himself to
call upon God. He struggled through many obstacles to be able
to make the confession which he here makes. He next defines
the manner of his faith, namely, that he reflected with
himself thus—that God would never fail him nor forsake him.
Let us mark his manner of speech: I have said, Thou art my
God. In these words he intimates that he was so entirely
persuaded of this truth, that God was his God, that he would
not admit even a suggestion to the contrary. And until this
persuasion prevails so as to take possession of our minds, we
shall always waver in uncertainty. It is, however, to be
observed, that this declaration is not only inward and
secret—made rather in the heart than with the tongue—but
that it is directed to God himself, as to him who is the alone
witness of it. Nothing is more difficult, when we see our
faith derided by the whole world, than to direct our speech to
God only, and to rest satisfied with this testimony which our
conscience gives us, that he is our God. And certainly
it is an undoubted proof of genuine faith, when, however
fierce the waves are which beat against us, and however sore
the assaults by which we are shaken, we hold fast this as a
fixed principle, that we are constantly under the protection
of God, and can say to him freely, Thou art our God. John
Calvin.
Verse 14. Thou art my God. How much it is
more worth than ten thousand mines of gold, to be able to say,
God is mine! God's servant is apprehensive of it, and he seeth
no defect, but this may be complete happiness to him, and
therefore he delights in it, and comforts himself with it. As
he did sometime who was a great courtier in King Cyrus's
court, and one in favour with him; he was to bestow his
daughter in marriage to a very great man, and of himself he
had no great means; and therefore one said to him, O Sir,
where will you have means to bestow a dowry upon your daughter
proportionable to her degree? Where are your riches? He
answered, What need I care, opou Kuros moi filos Cyrus
is my friend. But may not we say much more, opou Kurios moi
filos, where the Lord is our friend, that hath those
excellent and glorious attributes that cannot come short in
any wants, or to make us happy, especially we being capable of
it, and made proportionable. John Stoughton's
"Righteous Man's Plea to True Happiness," 1640.
Verse 15. My times are in thy hand. It is
observable that when, of late years, men grow weary of the
long and tedious compass in their voyages to the East Indies,
and would needs try a more compendious way by the North west
passage, it ever proved unsuccessful. Thus it is that we must
not use any compendious way; we may not neglect our body, nor
shipwreck our health, nor anything to hasten death, because we
shall gain by it. He that maketh haste (even this way) to be
rich shall not be innocent; for our times are in God's hands,
and therefore to his holy providence we must leave them. We
have a great deal of work to do, and must not, therefore, be
so greedy of our Sabbath day, our rest, as not to be contented
with our working day, our labour. Hence it is that a composed
frame of mind, like that of the apostle's Php 1:21, wherein
either to stay and work, or to go and rest, is the best temper
of all. Edward Reynolds, in J. Spencer's "Things New
and Old."
Verse 15. My times. He does not use the
plural number, in my opinion, without reason; but rather to
mark the variety of casualties by which the life of man is
usually harassed. John Calvin.
Verse 15. In thy hand. The watch hangs
ticking against the wall, when every tick of the watch is a
sigh, and a consciousness, alas! Poor watch! I called once to
see a friend, the physician and the secretary of one of the
most noble and admirable of the asylums for the insane in this
country. A poor creature, with a clear, bright intelligence,
only that some of its chords had become unstrung, who had
usually occupied itself innocently by making or unmaking
watches, had just before I called, exhibited some new,
alarming symptoms, dashing one and then another upon the stone
floor, and shivering them. Removed into a more safe room, I
visited him with the secretary. "How came you to destroy
your favourite watches, so much as you loved them, and so
quiet as you are?" said my friend; and the poor patient
replied, in a tone of piercing agony, "I could not bear
the tick, tick, ticking, and so I dashed it on the
pavement." But when the watch is able to surrender itself
to the maker, to the hand holding the watch, and measuring out
the moments, it becomes a sight affecting indeed, but very
beautiful, very sublime. We transfer our thoughts from the
watch to the hand that holds the watch. My times,
Thy hand; the watch and the hour have a purpose, and so
are not in vain. God gives man permission to behold two
things. Man can see the whole work, the plan's completeness,
also the minutest work, the first step towards the plan's
completeness. Nothing is more certain, nothing are men more
indisposed to perceive than this. We have to
"Wait for some transcendent life,
Reserved by God to follow this."
—Robert Browning.
To this end God's real way is made up of all the ways of
our life. His hand holds all our times. My times;
""Thy hand." Some lives greatly differ
from others. This we know; but see, some lives fulfil life's
course, gain life's crown—life in their degree. This, on the
contrary, others quite miss. Yet, for even human strength
there must be a love meted out to rule it. It is said, there
is a moon to control the tides of every sea; is there not a
master power for souls? It may not always be so, apparently,
in the more earthly lives, but it is so in the heavenly; not
more surely does the moon sway tides, than God sways souls. It
does not seem sometimes as if man found no adequate external
power, and stands forth ordained to be a law to his own
sphere; but even then his times are in the hands of God, as
the pathway of a star is in the limitations of its system—as
the movements of a satellite are in the forces of its planet.
But while I would not pause on morbid words or views of life,
so neither do I desire you to receive or charge me with giving
only a moody, morbid view of the world, and an imperfect
theology; but far other. My times are in thy hand—the
hand of my Saviour."
"I report as a man may of God's work—all's love, but
all's law. In the Godhead I seek and I find it, and so it
shall be
A face like my face that receives thee, a Man like to me Thou
shalt love and be loved by for ever, a hand like this hand
Shall throw open the gates of new life to thee: See the
Christ stand!"—Robert Browning.
And now he is "the restorer of paths to dwell
in." The hand of Jesus is the hand which rules our times.
He regulates our life clock. Christ for and Christ in us. My
times in his hand. My life can be no more in vain than
was my Saviour's life in vain. E. Paxton Hood, in
"Dark Sayings on a Harp," 1865.
Verse 15. When David had Saul at his mercy in the
cave, those about him said, This is the time in which
God will deliver thee. 1Sa 24:4. No, saith David, the time is
not come for my deliverance till it can be wrought without
sin, and I will wait for that time; for it is God's time, and
that is the best time. Matthew Henry.
Verse 16. Make thy face to shine upon thy
servant. When the cloud of trouble hideth the Lord's
favour, faith knoweth it may shine again, and therefore
prayeth through the cloud for the dissolving of it. Make
thy face to shine upon thy servant. David Dickson.
Verse 18. Lying lips...which speak grievous
things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
The primitive persecutors slighted the Christians for a
company of bad, illiterate fellows, and therefore they used to
paint the God of the Christians with an ass's head and a book
in his hand, saith Tertullian; to signify, that though they
pretended learning, yet they were silly and ignorant people.
Bishop Jewel, in his sermon upon Lu 11:15, cites this out of
Tertullian and applies it to his times. Do not our adversaries
the like, saith he, against all that profess the gospel? Oh!
say they, who are those that favour this way? None but
shoemakers, tailors, weavers, and such as never were at the
University. These are the bishop's own words. Bishop White
said in open court, that the Puritans were all a company of
blockheads. Charles Bradbury.
Verse 18. Lying lips...which speak grievous
things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
In that venerable and original monument of the Vaudois Church,
entitled "The Golden Lesson, " of the date 1100, we
meet with a verse, which has been thus translated:—
"If there be anyone who loves and fears Jesus Christ,
Who will not curse, nor swear, nor lie,
Nor be unchaste, nor kill, nor take what is another's.
Nor take vengeance on his enemies;
They say that he is a Vaudes, and worthy of punishment."
—Antoine Monastier, in "A History of Vaudois
Church," 1859.
Verse 19. Oh how great is thy goodness, which
thou hast laid up for them that fear thee. As a provident
man will regulate his liberality towards all men in such a
manner as not to defraud his children or family, nor
impoverish his own house, by spending his substance prodigally
on others; so God, in like manner, in exercising his
beneficence to aliens from his family, knows well how to
reserve for his own children that which belongs to them, as it
were by hereditary right; that is to say, because of their
adoption. John Calvin.
Verse 19. Oh how great is thy goodness, which
thou hast laid up for them that fear thee. Mark the phrase
"Laid up for them; "his mercy and goodness it is
intended for them, as a father that lays by such a sum of
money, and writes on the bag, "This is a portion for such
a child." But how comes the Christian to have this right
to God, and all that vast and untold treasure of happiness
which is in him? This indeed is greatly to be heeded; it is
faith that gives him a good title to all this. That which
maketh him a child, makes him an heir. Now, faith makes him a
child of God. Joh 1:12, "But as many as received him, to
them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believed on his name." As therefore if you would not
call your birthright into question, and bring your interest in
Christ and those glorious privileges that come along with him,
under a sad dispute in your soul, look to your faith. William
Gurnall.
Verse 19. How great is thy goodness, which thou
hast laid up for them that fear thee. When I reflect upon
the words of thy prophet, it seems to me that he means to
depict God as a father who, no doubt, keeps his children under
discipline, and subjects them to the rod; but who, with all
his labours and pains, still aims at nothing but to lay up for
them a store which may contribute to their comfort when they
have grown to maturity, and learned the prudent use of it. My
Father, in this world thou hidest from thy children thy great
goodness, as if it did not pertain to them. But being thy
children, we may be well assured that the celestial treasure
will be bestowed upon none else. For this reason, I will bear
my lot with patience. But, oh! from time to time, waft to me a
breath of air from the heavenly land, to refresh my sorrowful
heart; I will then wait more calmly for its full fruition. Christian
Scriver.
Verse 19. Oh how great is thy goodness. Let
me, to set the crown on the head of the duty of meditation,
add one thing over and above—let meditation be carried up
to admiration: not only should we be affected, but
transported, rapt up and ravished with the beauties and
transcendencies of heavenly things; act meditation to
admiration, endeavour the highest pitch, coming the nearest to
the highest patterns, the patterns of saints and angels in
heaven, whose actings are the purest, highest ecstasies and
admirations. Thus were these so excellent artists in
meditation, David, an high actor of admiration in meditation,
as often we see it in the psalms; so in Ps 8:1,9 31:19; "Oh
how great is thy goodness, "etc.: Ps 104:24 "O
Lord, how manifold are thy works, "etc; and in other
places David's meditation and admiration were as his harp,
well tuned, and excellently played on, in rarest airs and
highest strains; as the precious gold, and the curious
burnishing; or the richest stone, and the most exquisite
polishing and setting of it. So blessed Paul, who was a great
artist in musing, acted high in admiration, his soul was very
warm and flaming up in it: it was as a bird with a strong and
long wing that soars and towers up aloft, and gets out of
sight. Nathanael Ranew.
Verse 19. Before the sons of men, i.e., openly.
The psalmist here perhaps refers to temporal blessings
conferred on the pious, and evident to all. Some, however,
have supposed the reference to be to the reward of the
righteous, bestowed with the utmost publicity on the day of
judgment; which better agrees with our interpretation of the
former part of the verse. Daniel Cresswell, D.D., F.R.S.
(1776-1844), in loc.
Verse 19. Believe it, Sirs, you cannot conceive what
a friend you shall have of God, would you be but persuaded to
enter into covenant with him, to be his, wholly his. I tell
you, many that sometimes thought and did as you do now, that
is, set light by Christ and hate God, and see no loveliness in
him, are now quite of another mind; they would not for ten
thousand worlds quit their interest in him. Oh, who dare say
that he is a hard Master? Who that knows him will say that he
is an unkind friend? Oh, what do poor creatures all, that they
do entertain such harsh sour thoughts of God? What, do they
think that there is nothing in that scripture, Oh how great
is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear
thee! Doth the psalmist speak too largely? Doth he say
more than he and others could prove? Ask him, and he will tell
you in verse 21, that he blesseth God. These were things he
could speak to, from his own personal experience; and many
thousands as well as he, to whom the Lord had showed his
marvellous kindness, and therefore he doth very passionately
plead with the people of God to love him, and more highly to
express their sense of his goodness, that the world might be
encouraged also to have good thoughts of him. James Janeway.
Verse 19. Very observable is that expression of the
psalmist, Oh how great is thy goodness which thou hast laid
up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought before the
sons of men for them that trust in thee. In the former
clause, God's goodness is said to be laid up; in the
latter, to be wrought. Goodness is laid up in the
promise, wrought in the performance; and that goodness which
is laid up is wrought for them that trust in God; and thus, as
God's faithfulness engages us to believe, so our faith, as it
were, engages God's faithfulness to perform the promise. Nathanael
Hardy.
Verse 20. Thou shalt keep them secretly in a
pavilion from the strife of tongues. This our beloved God
does secretly, so that no human eyes may or can see, and the
ungodly do not know that a believer is, in God, and in the
presence of God, so well protected, that no reproach or
contempt, and no quarrelsome tongue can do him harm. Arndt,
quoted by W. Wilson, D.D.
Verse 22. I said in my haste, I am cut off from
before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my
supplications. Who would have thought those prayers should
ever have had any prevalence in God's ears which were mixed
with so much infidelity in the petitioner's heart! William
Secker.
Verse 22. I said in my haste, I am cut off from
before thine eyes. No, no, Christian; a prayer sent up in
faith, according to the will of God, cannot be lost, though it
be delayed. We may say of it, as David said of Saul's sword
and Jonathan's bow, that they never return empty. So David
adds, Nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my
supplications when I cried unto thee. John Flavel.
Verse 22. I said in my haste, I am cut off from
before thine eyes, etc. Let us with whom it was once
night, improve that morning joy that now shines upon us. Let
us be continual admirers of God's grace and mercy to us. He
has prevented us with his goodness, when he saw nothing in us
but impatience and unbelief, when we were like Jonas in the
belly of hell, his bowels yearned over us, and his power
brought us safe to land. What did we to hasten his
deliverance, or to obtain his mercy? If he had never come to
our relief till he saw something in us to invite him, we had
not yet been relieved. No more did we contribute to our
restoration than we do to the rising of the sun, or the
approach of day. We were like dry bones without motion, and
without strength. Eze 37:1-11. And we also said, that `we were
cut off for our parts, and our hope was gone, and he caused
breath to enter into us, and we live.' Who is a God like to
our God that pardoneth iniquity, transgression, and sin? that
retains not his anger for ever? that is slow to wrath and
delights in mercy? that has been displeased with us for a
moment, but gives us hope of his everlasting kindness? Oh!
what love is due from us to Christ, that has pleaded for us
when we ourselves had nothing to say! That has brought us out
of a den of lions, and from the jaws of the roaring lion! To
say, as Mrs. Sarah Wright did, "I have obtained mercy,
that thought my time of mercy past for ever; I have hope of
heaven, that thought I was already damned by unbelief; I said
many a time, there is no hope in mine end, and I thought I saw
it; I was so desperate, I cared not what became of me. Oft was
I at the very brink of death and hell, even at the very gates
of both, and then Christ shut them. I was as Daniel in the
lion's den, and he stopped the mouth of those lions, and
delivered me. The goodness of God is unsearchable; how great
is the excellency of his majesty, that yet he would look upon
such a one as I; that he has given me peace that was full of
terror, and walked continually as amidst fire and
brimstone." Timothy Rogers.
Verse 22. I said in my haste, I am cut off from
before thine eyes:—i.e., Thou hast quite forsaken me,
and I must not expect to be looked upon or regarded by thee
any more. I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul, and so
be cut off from before thine eyes, be ruined while thou
lookest on 1Sa 27:1. This he said in his flight (so some read
it), which notes the distress of his affairs: Saul was just at
his back, and ready to seize him, which made the temptation
strong; in his haste (so we read it), which notes the
disturbance and discomposure of his mind, which made the
temptation surprising, so that it found him off his guard.
Note, it is a common thing to speak amiss, when we speak in
haste and without consideration; but what we speak amiss in
haste, we must repent of at leisure, particularly that which
we have spoken distrustfully of God. Matthew Henry.
Verse 22. I said in my haste. Sometimes a
sudden passion arises, and out it goes in angry and froward
words, setting all in an uproar and combustion: by and by our
hearts recur upon us, and then we wish, "O that I had bit
my tongue, and not given it such an unbridled liberty."
Sometimes we break out into rash censures of those that it may
be are better than ourselves, whereupon when we reflect, we
are ashamed that the fools' bolt was so soon shot, and wish we
had been judging ourselves when we were censuring our
brethren. Richard Alleine.
Verse 22. Nevertheless thou heardest the voice of
my supplications when I cried unto thee. As if he had
said, when I prayed with so little faith, that I, as it were,
unprayed my own prayer, by concluding my case in a manner
desperate; yet God pardoned my hasty spirit, and gave me that
mercy which I had hardly any faith to expect; and what use
doth he make of this experience, but to raise every saint's
hope in time of need? "Be of good courage and he shall
strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord."
William Gurnall.
Verse 22. He confesseth the great distress he was
in, and how weak his faith was under the temptation; this he
doth to his own shame acknowledge also, that he may give the
greater glory to God. Whence learn, 1.—The faith of the
godly may be slackened, and the strongest faith may sometimes
show its infirmity. I said in my haste, I am cut off from
before thine eyes. 2.—Though faith be shaken, yet it is
fixed in the root, as a tree beaten by the wind keeping strong
grips of good ground. Though faith seem to yield, yet it
faileth not, and even when it is at the weakest, it is
uttering itself in some act, as a wrestler, for here the
expression of David's infirmity in faith, is directed to God,
and his earnest prayer joined with it, I am cut off from
before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my
supplications. 3.—Praying faith, how weak soever, shall
not be misregarded of God; for nevertheless, saith he, thou
heardest the voice of my supplications. 4.—There may be
in a soul at one time, both grief oppressing, and hope
upholding; both darkness of trouble, and the light of faith;
both desperately doubting, and strong gripping of God's truth
and goodness; both a fainting and a fighting; a seeming
yielding in the fight, and yet a striving of faith against all
opposition; both a foolish haste, and a settled staidness of
faith; as here, I said in my haste, etc. David
Dickson.
Verse 22. David vents his astonishment at the Lord's
condescension in hearing his prayer. How do we wonder at the
goodness of a petty man in granting our desires! How much more
should we at the humility and goodness of the most sovereign
Majesty of heaven and earth! Stephen Charnock.
Verse 23. O love the Lord, all ye his saints.
The holy psalmist in the words does, with all the warmth of an
affectionate zeal, incite us to the love of God, which is the
incomparably noblest passion of a reasonable mind, its
brightest glory and most exquisite felicity; and it is, as
appears evident from the nature of the thing, and the whole
train of divine revelation, the comprehensive sum of that duty
which we owe to our Maker, and the very soul which animates a
religious life, that we "love the Lord with all our
heart, and strength, and mind." William Dunlap. A.M.,
1692-1720.
Verse 23. O love the Lord, all ye his saints,
etc. Some few words are to be attended in the clearing of the
sense. Saints here in the text is or may be read, ye
that feel mercies. "Faithful, " the word
is sometimes taken for persons, sometimes things;
and so the Lord is said to preserve true men, and truths,
faithful men, and faithfulnesses. He plenteously rewardeth
the proud doer; or, the Lord rewardeth plenteously; the
Lord, who doth wonderful things. Plenteously is
either in cumulum, abunde, or in nepotes, as
some would have it; but I would rather commend, than go
about to amend translations: though I could wish some
of my learned brethren's quarrelling hours were spent rather
upon clearing the originals, and so conveying over pure
Scripture to posterity, than in scratching others with their
sharpened pens, and making cockpits of pulpits. Hugh
Peter's "Sermon preached before both Houses of
Parliament, "the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City of
London, and the Assembly of Divines, at the last Thanksgiving
Day, April 2. For the recovering of the West, and disbanding
of 5,000 of the King's Horse, etc., 1645.
Verse 23. And plentifully rewardeth the proud
doer. The next query is, how God rewardeth the proud
doer? in which, though the Lord's proceedings be diverse,
and many times his paths in the clouds, and his judgments in
the deep, and the uttermost farthing shall be paid the proud
doer at the great day; yet so much of his mind he hath left
unto us, that even in this life he gives out something to the
proud which he calls "the day of recompense, "which
he commonly manifests in these particulars:
1. By way of retaliation—for Adonibezek
that would be cutting off thumbs, had his thumbs cut off. Jud
1:7. So the poor Jews that cried so loud, "Crucify him,
crucify him, "were so many of them crucified, that if you
believe Josephus, there was not wood enough to make crosses,
nor in the usual place room enough to set up the crosses when
they were made. Snares are made and pits are digged by the
proud for themselves commonly, to which the Scripture
throughout gives abundant testimony.
2. By shameful disappointments, seldom reaping what
they sow, nor eating what they catch in hunting, which is most
clear in the Jewish State when Christ was amongst them. Judas
betrays him to get money, and hardly lived long enough to
spend it. Pilate, to please Caesar, withstands all
counsels against it, and gives way to that murder, by which he
ruined both himself and Caesar. The Jewish priests, to
maintain that domination and honour (which they thought the
son of Joseph and Mary stole from them) cried loud for his
death, which proved a sepulchre to them and their glory. And
the poor people that crucified him (through fear of the Romans
taking their city) by his death had their gates opened to the Romans—yea,
Caesar himself, fearing a great change in his
government by Christ living near him (which today sets all the
king craft in the world to work) met such a change that
shortly he had neither crown nor sceptre to boast of, if you
read the story of Titus and Vespasian, all which dealings of
God with the proud is most elegantly set forth unto us by the
psalmist. "Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath
conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood. He made a
pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he
made." Hugh Peters.
Verse 24. Be of good courage. Christian
courage may thus be described. It is the undaunted audacity of
a sanctified heart in adventuring upon difficulties and
undergoing hardships for a good cause upon the call of God.
The genus, the common nature of it is an undaunted
audacity. This animosity, as some phrase it, is common both
unto men and to some brutes. The lion is said to be the
strongest among beasts, that turneth not away from any. Pr
30:30. And there is an elegant description of the war horse in
regard of boldness. Job 39:19, etc. And this boldness that is
in brutes is spoken of as a piece of this same courage
that God is pleased to give to men. Eze 3:9. This is the
Lord's promise—"As an adamant harder than flint have I
made thy forehead." The word "harder" is the
same in the Hebrew that is here in my text—fortiorem
petra—the rock that is not afraid of any weather, summer
or winter, sun and showers, heat and cold, frost and snow; it
blushes not, shrinks not, it changes not its complexion, it is
still the same. Such a like thing is courage, in the
common nature of it. Secondly, consider the subject, it is the
heart, the castle where courage commands and exerciseth
military discipline; (shall I so say) it's within the bosom,
it is the soul of a valiant soldier. Some conceive our English
word courage to be derived from cordis actio,
the very acting of the heart. A valiant man is described 2Sa
17:10 for to be a man whose heart is as the heart of a lion.
And sometimes the original translated courageous, as Am
2:16, may most properly be rendered a man of heart.
Beloved, valour doth not consist in a piercing eye, in a
terrible look, in big words; but it consists in the mettle,
the vigour that is within the bosom. Sometimes a coward may
dwell at the sign of a roaring voice and of a stern
countenance; whereas true fortitude may be found within his
breast whose outward deportment promises little or nothing in
that kind. Thirdly, note the qualification of this same
subject; I said a sanctified heart; for I am not now speaking
of fortitude as a moral virtue, whereof heathens that have not
God are capable, and for which many among them that are not
Christians, have been worthily commended. But I am now
discoursing of courage as a virtue theological, as a gracious
qualification, put upon the people of God by special covenant.
And there are three things that do characterize it, and which
do distinguish it from the moral virtue of fortitude. (1) The root,
whence it ariseth; (2) the rule, whereby it is
directed; (3) the end, to which it is referred. The root,
whence it ariseth, is love to God: all the saints of
God that love the Lord be of good courage. The love of Christ
constraineth me to make these bold and brave adventures, saith
the apostle. 2Co 5:14. The rule, whereby it is
directed, is the word of God—what the Lord hath
pleased to leave on record for a Christian's guidance in holy
pages. 1Ch 22:12-13. "Only the Lord give thee wisdom and
understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that
thou mayest keep the law of the Lord thy God. Then shalt thou
prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and
judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel:
be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be
dismayed." Be a man of mettle, but let thy mettle be
according to my mind, according to this rule. And the end,
to which it refers, is God. For every sanctified man
being a self denying and a God advancing man, his God is his
centre, wherein his actings, his undertakings rest; and his
soul is not, yea, it cannot be satisfied but in God. Simeon
Ash's "Sermon preached before the Commanders of the
Military Forces of the renowned Citie of London,
1642."
Verse 24. Be of good courage. Shall I hint
some of the weighty services that are charged upon all our
consciences? The work of mortification, to pick out our eyes,
to chop off our hands, to cut off our feet; do you think that
a milksop, a man that is not a man of a stout spirit, will do
this? Now to massacre fleshly lusts, is (as it were) for a man
to mangle and dismember his own body; it is a work painful and
grievous, as for a man to cut off his own feet, to chop off
his own hands, and to pick out his own eyes, as Christ and the
apostle Paul do express it. Besides this, there are in
Christian's bosoms strongholds to be battered, fortifications
to be demolished; there are high hills and mountains that must
be levelled with the ground; there are trenches to be made,
valleys to be filled. O beloved, I may not mention the hills
that lie before us in heaven way, which we must climb up, and
craggy rocks that we must get over; and without courage
certainly the work put upon our hands will not be discharged.
There are also the walls of Jerusalem to be repaired, and the
temple to be edified again. If Nehemiah had not been a man of
a brave spirit he would never have gone through stitch with
that church work, those weighty services which he did
undertake. How this is applicable to us for the present time,
the time of our begun reformation, I speak not, but rather do
refer it to your considerations. I beseech you to read Ne
4:17-18, "They which builded on the wall, and they that
bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his
hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a
weapon. For the builders, every one had his sword girded by
his side, and so builded, and he that sounded the trumpet was
by me." While they were at work, they were all ready for
war. Simeon Ash.
Verse 24. And he shall strengthen your heart.
Put thou thyself forth in a way of bold adventure for him, and
his providence shall be sweetly exercised for thy good. A
worthy commander, how careful he is of a brave blade, a man
that will fight at a cannon's mouth! Doth he hear from him
that a bone is broken? Send for the bone setter. Is he like to
bleed to death? Call for the surgeon; let him post away to
prevent that peril. Doth he grow weaker and weaker? Is there
anything in the camp that may restore his spirit? withhold
nothing; nothing is too good, too costly; would he eat gold he
should have it. Thus it is with God. Oh, what letters of
commendation doth he give in manifestation of his own love to
them in Pergamos upon this very ground. "Thou, saith the
Lord, thou hast held forth my name, and not denied it, even in
those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was
slain among you, where Satan dwelleth!" thou didst fight
for Christ in the cave where the devil commanded; thou didst
stand and appear for him when other men did lose heart and
courage. Here is a man that God will own; such a one shall
have God's heart and hand to do him honour, to yield him
comfort. And therefore I appeal to your consciences, is not
this courage worth the having? worth the seeking? Simeon
Ash.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse 1. Faith expressed, confusion deprecated,
deliverance sought.
Verse 1. (first clause). Open avowal of
faith. 1. Duties which precede it, self examination, etc.
2. Modes of making the confession.
3. Conduct incumbent on those who have made the profession.
Verse 1. (last clause). How far the
righteousness of God is involved in the salvation of a
believer.
Verse 2. (first clause). God's hearing prayer
a great condescension.
Verse 2 (second clause). How far we may be
urgent with God as to time.
Verses 2-3 (last and first clauses). That
which we have we may yet seek for.
Verses 2-3. (last and first clauses). That
which we have we may yet seek for.
Verse 3. Work out the metaphor of God as a rocky
fastness of the soul.
Verse 3. (last clause). 1. A blessing needed,
lead me.
2. A blessing obtainable.
3. An argument for its being granted, for thy name's
sake.
Verse 4. The rescue of the ensnared.
1. The fowlers.
2. The laying of the net.
3. The capture of the bird.
4. The cry of the captive.
5. The rescue.
Verse 4. (last clause). The weak one girt
with omnipotence.
Verse 5. 1. Dying, in a saint's account, is a
difficult work.
2. The children of God, when considering themselves as
dying, are chiefly concerned for their departing immortal
spirits.
3. Such having chosen God for their God, have abundant
encouragement when dying, to commit their departing spirits
into his hand, with hopes of their being safe and happy for
ever with him. —Daniel Wilcox.
Verse 5. The believer's requiem. Redemption the
foundation of our repose in God.
1. What we do—commit ourselves to God.
2. What God has done—redeemed us.
Verse 6. Holy detestation, as a virtue discriminated
from bigotry: or, the good hater.
Verse 7. 1. An endearing attribute rejoiced in.
2. An interesting experience related.
3. A directly personal favour from God delighted in.
Verse 7. (centre clause). Consider the
measure, the effects, the time, the tempering, the ending, and
the recompense.
Verse 7. (last clause). The Lord's
familiarity with his afflicted.
Verse 8. Christian liberty, a theme for gladness.
Verse 9. The mourner's lament.
Verse 9. (last clause). Excessive sorrow, its
injurious effects on the body, the understanding, and the
spiritual nature. Sin of it, cure of it.
Verses 9-10. The sick man's moan, a reminder to
those who enjoy good health.
Verses 9-10. The sick man's moan, a reminder to
those who enjoy good health.
Verse 10. My strength faileth because of mine
iniquity. The weakening influence of sin.
Verse 11.. The good man evil spoken of.
Verses 12-15.
Forgot as those who in the grave abide,
And as a broken vessel past repair,
Slandered by many, fear on every side.
Who counsel take and would my life ensnare.
But, Lord, my hopes on thee are fixed: I said,
Thou art my God, my days are in thy hand;
Against my furious foes oppose thy aid,
And those who persecute my soul withstand.
—George Sandys.
Verse 12. The world's treatment of its best friends.
Verse 14. Faith peculiarly glorious in season of
great trial.
Verse 15. The believer the peculiar care of
providence.
Verse 15. (first clause). 1. The character of
the earthly experience of the saints, "My times,
"that is, the changes I shall pass through, etc.
2. The advantage of this variety.
(a) Changes reveal the various aspects of the Christian
character.
(b) Changes strengthen the Christian character.
(c) Changes lead us to admire an unchanging God.
3. Comfort for all seasons.
(a) This implies the changes of life are subject to the
divine control.
(b) That God will support his people under them.
(c) And, consequently, they shall result in our being
abundantly profited.
4. The deportment which should characterise us. Courageous
devotion to God in times of persecution; resignation and
contentment in times of poverty and suffering; zeal and hope
in times of labour. —From Stems and Twigs, or Sermon
Framework.
Verse 16. A sense of divine favour.
1. Its value.
2. How to lose it.
3. How to obtain a renewal of it.
4. How to retain it.
The heavenly servant's best reward.
Verse 16. (last clause). A prayer for saints
in all stages. Note its object, save me; and its plea, Thy
mercies' sake. Suitable to the penitent, the sick, the
doubting, the tried, the advanced believer, the dying saint.
Verse 17. The shame and silence of the wicked in
eternity. The silence of the grave, its grave eloquence.
Verse 19. See "Spurgeon's Sermons," No.
773." David's Holy Wonder at the Lord's Great
Goodness."
Verse 20. The believer preserved from the sneers of
arrogance by a sense of the divine presence, and kept from the
bitterness of slander by the glory of the King whom he serves.
Verse 21. Marvellous kindness. Marvellous
that it should come to me in such a way, at such a time, in
such a measure, for so long.
Verse 21. Memorable events in life to be observed,
recorded, meditated on, repeated, made the subject of
gratitude, and the ground of confidence.
Verse 22. Unbelief confessed and faithfulness
adored. The mischief of hasty speeches.
Verse 23. An exhortation to love the Lord. 1. The
matter of it, love the Lord.
2. To whom addressed, all ye his saints.
3. By whom spoken.
4. With what arguments supported, for the Lord
preserveth, etc.
Verse 24. Holy courage. Its excellences,
difficulties, encouragements, and triumphs.