TITLE. Psalm of David, when he changed
his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he
departed. Of this transaction, which reflects no credit upon
David's memory, we have a brief account in 1Sa 21:1-15. Although
the gratitude of the psalmist prompted him thankfully to record
the goodness of the Lord in vouchsafing an undeserved
deliverance, yet he weaves none of the incidents of the escape
into the narrative, but dwells only on the grand fact of his
being heard in the hour of peril. We may learn from his example
not to parade our sins before others, as certain vainglorious
professors are wont to do who seem as proud of their sins as old
Greenwich pensioners of their battles and their wounds. David
played the fool with singular dexterity, but he was not so real
a fool as to sing of his own exploits of folly. In the original,
the title does not teach us that the psalmist composed this poem
at the time of his escape from Achish, the king or Abimelech of
Gath, but that it is intended to commemorate that event, and was
suggested by it. It is well to mark our mercies with well carved
memorials. God deserves our best handiwork. David in view of the
special peril from which he was rescued, was at great pains with
this Psalm, and wrote it with considerable regularity, in almost
exact accordance with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This
is the second alphabetical Psalm, the twenty-fifth being the
first.
DIVISION. The Psalm is split into two
great divisions at the close of Ps 34:10, when the Psalmist
having expressed his praise to God turns in direct address to
men. The first ten verses are A HYMN, and the last twelve A
SERMON. For further assistance to the reader we may subdivide
thus: In Ps 34:1-3, David vows to bless the Lord, and invites
the praise of others; from Ps 34:4-7 he relates his experience,
and in Ps 34:8-10 exhorts the godly to constancy of faith. In Ps
34:1-14, he gives direct exhortation, and follows it up by
didactic teaching from Ps 34:15-22 to the close.
EXPOSITION
Verse 1. I will bless the Lord at all times. He
is resolved and fixed, I will; he is personally and for
himself determined, let others so as they may; he is intelligent
in head and inflamed in heart—he knows to whom the praise is
due, and what is due, and for what and when. To Jehovah, and not
to second causes our gratitude is to be rendered. The Lord hath
by right a monopoly in his creatures praise. Even when a mercy
may remind us of our sin with regard to it, as in this case
David's deliverance from the Philistine monarch was sure to do,
we are not to rob God of his meed of honour because our
conscience justly awards a censure to our share in the
transaction. Though the hook was rusty, yet God sent the fish,
and we thank him for it. At all times, in every
situation, under every circumstance, before, in and after
trials, in bright days of glee, and dark nights of fear. He
would never have done praising, because never satisfied that he
had done enough; always feeling that he fell short of the Lord's
deservings. Happy is he whose fingers are wedded to his harp. He
who praises God for mercies shall never want a mercy for which
to praise. To bless the Lord is never unseasonable. His
praise shall continually be in my mouth, not in my heart
merely, but in my mouth too. Our thankfulness is not to be a
dumb thing; it should be one of the daughters of music. Our
tongue is our glory, and it ought to reveal the glory of God.
What a blessed mouthful is God's praise! How sweet, how
purifying, how perfuming! If men's mouths were always thus
filled, there would be no repining against God, or slander of
neighbours. If we continually rolled this dainty morsel under
our tongue, the bitterness of daily affliction would be
swallowed up in joy. God deserves blessing with the heart, and
extolling with the mouth—good thoughts in the closet, and good
words in the world.
Verse 2. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord.
Boasting is a very natural propensity, and if it were used as in
this case, the more it were indulged the better. The exultation
of this verse is no mere tongue bragging, "the
soul" is in it, the boasting is meant and felt before
it is expressed. What scope there is for holy boasting in
Jehovah! His person, attributes, covenant, promises, works, and
a thousand things besides, are all incomparable, unparalleled,
matchless; we may cry them up as we please, but we shall never
be convicted of vain and empty speech in so doing. Truly he who
writes these words of comment has nothing of his own to boast
of, but much to lament over, and yet none shall stop him of his
boast in God so long as he lives. The humble shall hear
thereof, and be glad. They are usually grieved to hear
boastings; they turn aside from vauntings and lofty speeches,
but boasting in the Lord is quite another matter; by this the
most lowly are consoled and encouraged. The confident
expressions of tried believers are a rich solace to their
brethren of less experience. We ought to talk of the Lord's
goodness on purpose that others may be confirmed in their trust
in a faithful God.
Verse 3. O magnify the Lord with me. Is this
request addressed to the humble? If so it is most fitting. Who
can make God great but those who feel themselves to be little?
He bids them help him to make the Lord's fame greater among the
sons of men. Jehovah is infinite, and therefore cannot really be
made greater, but his name grows in manifested glory as he is
made known to his creatures, and thus he is said to be
magnified. It is well when the soul feels its own inability
adequately to glorify the Lord, and therefore stirs up others to
the gracious work; this is good both for the man himself and for
his companions. No praise can excel that which lays us prostrate
under a sense of our own nothingness, while divine grace like
some topless Alp rises before our eyes and sinks us lower and
lower in holy awe. Let us exalt his name together.
Social, congregated worship is the outgrowth of one of the
natural instincts of the new life. In heaven it is enjoyed to
the full, and earth is like heaven where it abounds.
Verse 4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me. It
must have been in a very confused manner that David prayed, and
there must have been much of self sufficiency in his prayer, or
he would not have resorted to methods of such dubious morality
as pretending to be mad and behaving as a lunatic; yet his poor
limping prayer had an acceptance and brought him succour: the
more reason for then celebrating the abounding mercy of the
Lord. We may seek God even when we have sinned. If sin could
blockade the mercyseat it would be all over with us, but the
mercy is that there are gifts even for the rebellious, and an
advocate for men who sin. And delivered me from all my fears.
God makes a perfect work of it. He clears away both our fears
and their causes, all of them without exception. Glory be to his
name, prayer sweeps the field, slays all the enemies and even
buries their bones. Note the egoism of this verse and of those
preceding it; we need not blush to speak of ourselves when in so
doing we honestly aim at glorifying God, and not at exalting
ourselves. Some are foolishly squeamish upon this point, but
they should remember that when modesty robs God it is most
immodest.
Verse 5. They looked unto him, and were lightened.
The psalmist avows that his case was not at all peculiar, it was
matched in the lives of all the faithful; they too, each one of
them on looking to their Lord were brightened up, their faces
began to shine, their spirits were uplifted. What a means of
blessing one look at the Lord may be! There is life, light,
liberty, love, everything in fact, in a look at the crucified
One. Never did a sore heart look in vain to the good Physician;
never a dying soul turned its darkening eye to the brazen
serpent to find its virtue gone. And their faces were not
ashamed. Their faces were covered with joy but not with
blushes. He who trusts in God has no need to be ashamed of his
confidence, time and eternity will both justify his reliance.
Verse 6. This poor man cried. Here he returns
to his own case. He was poor indeed, and so utterly friendless
that his life was in great jeopardy; but he cried in his heart
to the protector of his people and found relief. His prayer was
a cry, for brevity and bitterness, for earnestness and
simplicity, for artlessness and grief; it was a poor man's cry,
but it was none the less powerful with heaven, for the Lord
heard him, and to be heard of God is to be delivered; and so
it is added that the Lord saved him out of all his troubles.
At once and altogether David was clean rid of all his woes. The
Lord sweeps our griefs away as men destroy a hive of hornets, or
as the winds clear away the mists. Prayer can clear us of
troubles as easily as the Lord made riddance of the frogs and
flies of Egypt when Moses entreated him. This verse is the
psalmist's own personal testimony: he being dead yet speaketh.
Let the afflicted reader take heart and be of good courage.
Verse 7. The angel of the Lord. The covenant
angel, the Lord Jesus, at the head of all the bands of heaven,
surrounds with his army the dwellings of the saints. Like hosts
entrenched so are the ministering spirits encamped around the
Lord's chosen, to serve and succour, to defend and console them.
Encampeth round about them that fear him. On every side
the watch is kept by warriors of sleepless eyes, and the Captain
of the host is one whose prowess none can resist. And
delivereth them. We little know how many providential
deliverances we owe to those unseen hands which are charged to
bear us up lest we dash our foot against a stone.
Verse 8. O taste and see. Make a trial, an
inward, experimental trial of the goodness of God. You cannot
see except by tasting for yourself; but if you taste you shall
see, for this, like Jonathan's honey, enlightens the eyes. That
the Lord is good. You can only know this really and
personally by experience. There is the banquet with its oxen and
fatlings; its fat things full of marrow, and wine on the lees
well refined; but their sweetness will be all unknown to you
except you make the blessings of grace your own, by a living,
inward, vital participation in them. Blessed is the man that
trusteth in him. Faith is the soul's taste; they who test
the Lord by their confidence always find him good, and they
become themselves blessed. The second clause of the verse, is
the argument in support of the exhortation contained in the
first sentence.
Verse 9. O fear the Lord, ye his saints. Pay to
him humble childlike reverence, walk in his laws, have respect
to his will, tremble to offend him, hasten to serve him. Fear
not the wrath of men, neither be tempted to sin through the
virulence of their threats; fear God and fear nothing else. For
there is no want to them that fear him. Jehovah will not
allow his faithful servants to starve. He may not give luxuries,
but the promise binds him to supply necessaries, and he will not
run back from his word. Many whims and wishes may remain
unfulfilled, but real wants the Lord will supply. The fear of
the Lord or true piety is not only the duty of those who avow
themselves to be saints, that is, persons set apart and
consecrated for holy duties, but it is also their path of safety
and comfort. Godliness hath the promise of the life which now
is. If we were to die like dogs, and there were no hereafter,
yet were it well for our own happiness' sake to fear the Lord.
Men seek a patron and hope to prosper; he prospers surely who
hath the Lord of Hosts to be his friend and defender.
Verse 10. The young lions do lack, and suffer
hunger. They are fierce, cunning, strong, in all the vigour
of youth, and yet they sometimes howl in their ravenous hunger,
and even so crafty, designing, and oppressing men, with all
their sagacity and unscrupulousness, often come to want; yet
simple minded believers, who dare not act as the greedy lions of
earth, are fed with food convenient for them. To trust God is
better policy than the craftiest politicians can teach or
practice. But they that seek the Lord shall not want any good
thing. No really good thing shall be denied to those whose
first and main end in life is to seek the Lord. Men may call
them fools, but the Lord will prove them wise. They shall win
where the world's wiseacres lose their all, and God shall have
the glory of it.
Verse 11. Come, ye children. Though a warrior
and a king, the psalmist was not ashamed to teach children.
Teachers of youth belong to the true peerage; their work is
honourable, and their reward shall be glorious. Perhaps the boys
and girls of Gath had made sport of David in his seeming
madness, and if so, he here aims by teaching the rising race to
undo the mischief which he had done aforetime. Children are the
most hopeful persons to teach—wise men who wish to propagate
their principles take care to win the ear of the young. Hearken
unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. So far as
they can be taught by word of mouth, or learned by the hearing
of the ear, we are to communicate the faith and fear of God,
inculcating upon the rising generation the principles and
practices of piety. This verse may be the address of every
Sabbath school teacher to his class, of every parent to his
children. It is not without instruction in the art of teaching.
We should be winning and attractive to the youngsters, bidding
them "come, "and not repelling them with harsh terms.
We must get them away, apart from toys and sports, and try to
occupy their minds with better pursuits; for we cannot well
teach them while their minds are full of other things. We must
drive at the main point always, and keep the fear of the Lord
ever uppermost in our teachings, and in so doing we may
discreetly cast our own personality into the scale by narrating
our own experiences and convictions.
Verse 12. Life spent in happiness is the desire of
all, and he who can give the young a receipt for leading a happy
life deserves to be popular among them. Mere existence is not
life; the art of living, truly, really, and joyfully living, it
is not given to all men to know. To teach men how to live and
how to die, is the aim of all useful religious instruction. The
rewards of virtue are the baits with which the young are to be
drawn to morality. While we teach piety to God we should also
dwell much upon morality towards man.
Verse 13. Keep thy tongue from evil. Guard with
careful diligence that dangerous member, the tongue, lest it
utter evil, for that evil will recoil upon thee, and mar the
enjoyment of thy life. Men cannot spit forth poison without
feeling some of the venom burning their own flesh. And thy
lips from speaking guile. Deceit must be very earnestly
avoided by the man who desires happiness. A crafty schemer lives
like a spy in the enemy's camp, in constant fear of exposure and
execution. Clean and honest conversation, by keeping the
conscience at ease, promotes happiness, but lying and wicked
talk stuffs our pillow with thorns, and makes life a constant
whirl of fear and shame. David had tried the tortuous policy,
but he here denounces it, and begs others as they would live
long and well to avoid with care the doubtful devices of guile.
Verse 14. Depart from evil. Go away from it.
Not merely take your hands off, but yourself off. Live not near
the pest house. Avoid the lion's lair, leave the viper's nest.
Set a distance between yourself and temptation. And do good.
Be practical, active, energetic, persevering in good. Positive
virtue promotes negative virtue; he who does good is sure to
avoid evil. Seek peace. Not merely prefer it, but with
zeal and care endeavour to promote it. Peace with God, with
thine own heart, with thy fellow man, search after this as the
merchantman after a precious pearl. Nothing can more effectually
promote our own happiness than peace; strife awakens passions
which eat into the heart with corroding power. Anger is murder
to one's own self, as well as to its objects. And pursue it.
Hunt after it, chase it with eager desire. It may soon be lost,
indeed, nothing is harder to retain, but do your best, and if
enmity should arise let it be no fault of yours. Follow after
peace when it shuns you; be resolved not to be of a contentious
spirit. The peace which you thus promote will be returned into
your own bosom, and be a perennial spring of comfort to you.
Verse 15. The eyes of the Lord are upon the
righteous. He observes them with approval and tender
consideration; they are so dear to him that he cannot take his
eyes off them; he watches each one of them as carefully and
intently as if there were only that one creature in the
universe. His ears are open unto their cry. His eyes and
ears are thus both turned by the Lord towards his saints; his
whole mind is occupied about them: if slighted by all others
they are not neglected by him. Their cry he hears at once, even
as a mother is sure to hear her sick babe; the cry may be
broken, plaintive, unhappy, feeble, unbelieving, yet the
Father's quick ear catches each note of lament or appeal, and he
is not slow to answer his children's voice.
Verse 16. The face of the Lord is against them that
do evil. God is not indifferent to the deeds of sinners, but
he sets his face against them, as we say, being determined that
they shall have no countenance and support, but shall be
thwarted and defeated. He is determinately resolved that the
ungodly shall not prosper; he sets himself with all his might to
overthrow them. To cut off the remembrance of them from the
earth. He will stamp out their fires, their honour shall be
turned into shame, their names forgotten or accursed. Utter
destruction shall be the lot of all the ungodly.
Verse 17. The righteous cry. Like Israel in
Egypt, they cry out under the heavy yoke of oppression, both of
sin, temptation, care, and grief. And the Lord heareth;
he is like the night watchman, who no sooner hears the alarm
bell than he flies to relieve those who need him. And
delivereth them out of all their troubles. No net of trouble
can so hold us that the Lord cannot free us. Our afflictions may
be numerous and complicated, but prayer can set us free from
them all, for the Lord will show himself strong on our behalf.
Verse 18. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a
broken heart. Near in friendship to accept and console.
Broken hearts think God far away, when he is really most near
them; their eyes are holden so that they see not their best
friend. Indeed, he is with them, and in them, but they know it
not. They run hither and thither, seeking peace in their own
works, or in experiences, or in proposals and resolutions,
whereas the Lord is nigh them, and the simple act of faith will
reveal him. And saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
What a blessed token for good is a repentant, mourning heart!
Just when the sinner condemns himself, the Lord graciously
absolves him. If we chasten our own spirits the Lord will spare
us. He never breaks with the rod of judgment those who are
already sore with the rod of conviction. Salvation is linked
with contrition.
Verse 19. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous. Thus are they made like Jesus their covenant
Head. Scripture does not flatter us like the story books with
the idea that goodness will secure us from trouble; on the
contrary, we are again and again warned to expect tribulation
while we are in this body. Our afflictions come from all points
of the compass, and are as many and as tormenting as the
mosquitoes of the tropics. It is the earthly portion of the
elect to find thorns and briars growing in their pathway, yea,
to lie down among them, finding their rest broken and disturbed
by sorrow. BUT, blessed but, how it takes the sting out
of the previous sentence! But the Lord delivereth him out of
them all. Through troops of ills Jehovah shall lead his
redeemed scatheless and triumphant. There is an end to the
believer's affliction, and a joyful end too. None of his trials
can hurt so much as a hair of his head, neither can the furnace
hold him for a moment after the Lord bids him come forth of it.
Hard would be the lot of the righteous if this promise, like a
bundle of camphire, were not bound up in it, but this sweetens
all. The same Lord who sends the afflictions will also recall
them when his design is accomplished, but he will never allow
the fiercest of them to rend and devour his beloved.
Verse 20. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them
is broken. David had come off with kicks and cuffs, but no
broken bones. No substantial injury occurs to the saints.
Eternity will heal all their wounds. Their real self is safe;
they may have flesh wounds, but no part of the essential fabric
of their being shall be broken. This verse may refer to frequent
providential protections vouchsafed to the saints; but as good
men have had broken limbs as well as others, it cannot
absolutely be applied to bodily preservations; but must, it
seems to me, be spiritually applied to great injuries of soul,
which are for ever prevented by divine love. Not a bone of the
mystical body of Christ shall be broken, even as his corporeal
frame was preserved intact. Divine love watches over every
believer as it did over Jesus; no fatal injury shall happen to
us, we shall neither be halt or maimed in the kingdom, but shall
be presented after life's trials are over without spot or
wrinkle or any such thing, being preserved in Christ Jesus, and
kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
Verse 21. Evil shall slay the wicked. Their
adversaries shall be killing; they are not medicine, but poison.
Ungodly men only need rope enough and they will hang themselves;
their own iniquities shall be their punishment. Hell itself is
but evil fully developed, torturing those in whom it dwells. Oh!
happy they who have fled to Jesus to find refuge from their
former sins, such, and such only will escape. And they that
hate the righteous shall be desolate. They hated the best of
company, and they shall have none; they shall be forsaken,
despoiled, wretched, despairing. God makes the viper poison
itself. What desolation of heart do the damned feel, and how
richly have they deserved it!
Verse 22. The Lord redeemeth the soul of his
servants—with price and with power, with blood and with
water. All providential helps are a part of the redemption by
power, hence the Lord is said still to redeem. All thus ransomed
belong to him who bought them—this is the law of justice and
the verdict of gratitude. Joyfully will we serve him who so
graciously purchases us with his blood, and delivers us by his
power. And none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
Faith is the mark of the ransomed, and wherever it is seen,
though in the least and meanest of the saints, it ensures
eternal salvation. Believer, thou shalt never be deserted,
forsaken, given up to ruin. God, even thy God, is thy guardian
and friend, and bliss is thine.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Title. Abimelech was king of Gath, the same
with Achish, 1Sa 21:20: who either had two names, or this of
Abimelech, as it should seem, was a common name to all the kings
of the Philistines (see Ge 20:2 26:8); as Pharaoh was to the
Egyptian kings and Caesar to the Roman emperors: the name
signifies a father king, or my father king, or a royal
father; as kings should be the fathers of their country:
before him David changed his behaviour, his taste, sense,
or reason; he imitated a madman. John Gill.
Whole Psalm. (This Psalm is alphabetical.) The
Alphabetical Psalms, the psalmi abcedarii, as the Latin
fathers called them, are nine in number; and I cannot help
thinking it is a pity that, except in the single instance of the
hundred and nineteenth, no hint of their existence should have
been suffered to appear in our authorised version. I will not
take it upon me to affirm, with Ewald, that no version is
faithful in which the acrostic is suppressed; but I do think
that the existence of such a remarkable style of composition
ought to be indicated in one way or another, and that some
useful purposes are served by its being actually reproduced in
the translation. No doubt there are difficulties in the way. The
Hebrew alphabet differs widely from any of those now employed in
Europe. Besides differences of a more fundamental kind, the
Hebrew has only twenty-two letters, for our twenty-six; and of
the twenty-two, a considerable number have no fellows in ours.
An exact reproduction of a Hebrew acrostic in English version is
therefore impossible. William Binnie, D.D.
Whole Psalm. Mr. Hapstone has endeavoured to imitate
the alphabetical character of this Psalm in his metrical
version. The letter answering to F is wanting, and the last
stanza begins with the letter answering to R. One verse of his
translation may suffice—
"At all times bless Jehovah's name will I;
His praise shall in my mouth be constantly:
Boast in Jehovah shall my soul henceforth;
Hear it, ye meek ones, and exult with mirth."
Verse 1. I will bless the Lord at all times.
Mr. Bradford, martyr, speaking of Queen Mary, at whose cruel
mercy he then lay, said, If the queen be pleased to release me,
I will thank her; if she will imprison me, I will thank her; if
she will burn me, I will thank her, etc. So saith a believing
soul: Let God do with me what he will, I will be thankful. Samuel
Clarks's "Mirror."
Verse 1. Should the whole frame of nature be unhinged,
and all outward friends and supporters prove false and
deceitful, our worldly hopes and schemes be disappointed, and
possessions torn from us, and the floods of sickness, poverty,
and disgrace overwhelm our soul with an impetuous tide of
trouble; the sincere lover of God, finding that none of these
affects his portion and the object of his panting desires,
retires from them all to God his refuge and hiding place, and
there feels his Saviour incomparably better, and more than
equivalent to what the whole of the universe can ever offer, or
rob him of; and his tender mercies, unexhausted fulness, and
great faithfulness, yield him consolation and rest; and enable
him, what time he is afraid, to put his trust in him. Thus we
find the holy psalmist expressing himself: I will bless the
Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
William Dunlop.
Verse 1. S. Basil tells us that the praise of God,
once rightly impressed as a seal on the mind, though it may not
always be carried out into action, yet in real truth causes us
perpetually to praise God. J. M. Neal's Commentary.
Verse 2. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord.
Not like the boasting of the Pharisee, so hateful in the eyes of
God, so offensive in the ears of the humble; for the humble
can hear this boasting and be glad, which they would never
do if it were not conformable to the rules of humility. Can any
boasting be greater than to say, "I can do all
things"? Yet in this boasting there is humility when I add,
"In him that strengtheneth me." For though God likes
not of boasting, yet he likes of this boasting, which arrogates
nothing to ourselves, but ascribes all to him. Sir Richard
Baker.
Verses 2-6. There is somewhat very striking and
pleasing in the sudden transitions, and the change of persons,
that is observable in these few verses. "My soul shall
boast; ""The humble shall hear; " "I sought
the Lord; ""They looked to him; ""This poor
man cried." There is a force and elegance in the very
unconnectedness of the expressions, which, had they been more
closely tied by the proper particles, would have been in a great
measure lost. Things thus separated from each other, and yet
accelerated, discover, as Longinus observes, the earnestness and
the vehemency of the inward working of the mind; and though it
may seem to interrupt, or disturb the sentence, yet quickens and
enforces it. Samuel Chandler, D.D.
Verse 3. Venema remarks that after the affair with
Achish, we are told in 1Sa 22:1, "His brethren, and all his
father's house went down to the cave Adullam unto him, "and
these, together with those who were in debt, and discontented
with Saul's government, formed a band of four hundred men. To
these his friends and comrades, he relates the story of his
escape, and bids them with united hearts and voices extol the
Lord. C. H. S.
Verse 4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me.
God expects to hear from you before you can expect to hear from
him. If you restrain prayer, it is no wonder the mercy promised
is retained. Meditation is like the lawyer's studying the case
in order to his pleading at the bar; when, therefore, thou hast
viewed the promise, and affected thy heart with the riches of
it, then fly thee to the throne of grace, and spread it before
the Lord. William Gurnall.
Verse 4. He delivered me from all my fears. To
have delivered me from all my troubles had been a great favour,
but a far greater to deliver me from all my fears; for where
that would but have freed me from present evil, this secures me
from evil to come; that now I enjoy not only tranquillity, but
security, a privilege only of the godly. The wicked may be free
from trouble, but can they be free from fear? No; God knows,
though they be not in trouble like other men, yet they live in
more fear than other men. Guiltiness of mind, or mind of the
world, never suffers them to be secure: though they be free
sometimes from the fit of an ague, yet they are never without a
grudging; and (if I may use the expression of poets) though they
feel not always the whip of Tysiphone, yet they feel always her
terrors; and, seeing the Lord hath done this for me, hath
delivered me from all my fears, have I not cause, just cause, to
magnify him, and exalt his name? Sir Richard Baker.
Verse 5. They looked unto him. The more we can
think upon our Lord, and the less upon ourselves, the better.
Looking to him, as he is seated upon the right hand of the
throne of God, will keep our heads, and especially our hearts,
steady when going through the deep waters of affliction. Often
have I thought of this when crossing the water opposite the old
place of Langholm. I found, when I looked down on the water, I
got dizzy; I therefore fixed my eyes upon a steady object on the
other side, and got comfortably through. David Smith,
1792-1867.
Verse 6. This poor man cried. The reasons of crying
are 1. Want cannot blush. The pinching necessity of the saints
is not tied to the law of modesty. Hunger cannot be ashamed.
"I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise, "saith
David Ps 55:2; and Hezekiah, "Like a crane or a swallow, so
did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove" Isa 38:14. "I
went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the
congregation" Job 30:28. 2. Though God hear prayer only as
prayer offered in Christ, not because very fervent; yet fervour
is a heavenly ingredient in prayer. An arrow drawn with full
strength hath a speedier issue; therefore, the prayers of the
saints are expressed by crying in Scripture. "O my
God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not" Ps 22:2.
"At noon, will I pray, and cry aloud" Ps 55:17.
"In my distress I cried to the Lord" Ps 18:6.
"Unto thee have I cried, O Lord" Ps 88:13. "Out
of the depths have I cried" Ps 130:1. "Out of the
belly of hell cried I" Jon 2:2. "Unto thee will I cry,
O Lord my rock" Ps 28:1. Yea, it goeth to somewhat more
than crying: "I cry out of wrong, but I am not
heard" Job 19:7. "Also when I cry and shout, he
shutteth out my prayer" La 3:8. He who may teach us all to
pray, sweet Jesus, "In the days of his flesh, when he had
offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and
tears" Heb 5:7; he prayed with war shouts. 3. And these
prayers are so prevalent, that God answereth them: This poor
man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his
fears Ps 34:6. "My cry came before him, even into his
ears" Ps 18:6. The cry addeth wings to the prayer,
as a speedy post sent to court upon life and death: "Our
fathers cried unto thee, and were delivered" Ps 22:5. "The
righteous cry, and the Lord heareth" Ps 34:17. Samuel
Rutherford.
Verse 7. The angel of the Lord encampeth round
about them that fear him, and delivereth them. I will not
rub the questions, whether these angels can contract themselves,
and whether they can subsist in a point, and so stand together
the better in so great a number, neither will I trouble myself
to examine whether they are in such and such a place in their substance,
or only in their virtue and operation. But this
the godly man may assure himself of, that whensoever he shall
want their help, in spite of doors, and locks, and bars, he may
have it in a moment's warning. For there is no impediment,
either for want of power because they are spirits, or from want
of good will, both because it is their duty, and because they
bear an affection to him; not only rejoicing at his first
conversion Lu 15:10, but, I dare confidently affirm, always
disposed with abundance of cheerfulness to do anything for him.
I cannot let pass some words I remember of Origen's to this
purpose, as I have them from his interpreter. He brings in the
angels speaking after this manner:—"If he (meaning the
Son of God) went down, and went down into a body, and was
clothed with flesh, and endured its infirmities and died for
men, what do we stand still for? Come, let's all down from
heaven together." Zachary Bogan.
Verse 7. The angel of the Lord encampeth round
about them that fear him. This is the first time that, in
the psalter, we read of the ministrations of angels. But many
fathers rather take this passage of the "Angel of the Great
Counsel, "and gloriously to him it applies. J. M. Neale.
Verse 7. The angel of the Lord encampeth round
about them that fear him, etc. By whom may be meant, either
the uncreated Angel, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Angel of God's
presence, and of the covenant, the Captain of salvation, the
Leader and Commander of the people; and whose salvation is as
walls and bulwarks about them, or as an army surrounding them;
or a created angel may be intended, even a single one, which is
sufficient to guard a multitude of saints, since one could
destroy at once such a vast number of enemies, as in 2Ki 19:35;
or one may be put for more, since they are an innumerable
company that are on the side of the Lord's people, and to whom
they are joined; and these may be said to encamp about them,
because they are an host or army (see Ge 32:1-2 Lu 2:13); and
are the guardians of the saints, that stand up for them and
protect them, as well as minister to them. John Gill.
Verse 7. The angel of the Lord is represented
in his twofold character in this pair of Psalms, as an angel of
mercy, and also as an angel of judgment, Ps 35:6. This pair of
Psalms (the thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth), may in this respect
be compared with the twelfth chapter of the Acts of the
Apostles, where the angel of the Lord is displayed as encamping
about St. Peter, and delivering him, and also as smiting the
persecutor, Herod Agrippa. Christopher Wordsworth, D.D.
Verse 7. Round about. In illustration of this
it may be observed, that according to D'Arvieux, it is the
practice of the Arabs to pitch their tents in a circular form;
the prince being in the middle, and the Arabs about him, but so
as to leave a respectful distance between them. And Thevenot,
describing a Turkish encampment near Cairo, having particularly;
noticed the spaciousness, decorations, and conveniences of the
Bashaw's tent, or pavilion, adds, "Round the pale of his
tent, within a pistol shot, were above two hundred tents,
pitched in such a manner that the doors of them all looked
towards the Bashaw's tent; and it ever is so, that they may have
their eye always upon their master's lodging, and be in
readiness to assist him if he be attacked." Richard Mant.
Verse 8. O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Our senses help our understandings; we cannot by the most
rational discourse perceive what the sweetness of honey is; taste
it and you shall perceive it. "His fruit was sweet to my taste."
Dwell in the light of the Lord, and let thy soul be always
ravished with his love. Get out the marrow and the fatness that
thy portion yields thee. Let fools learn by beholding thy face
how dim their blazes are to the brightness of thy day. Richard
Alleine, in "Heaven Opened, "1665.
Verse 8. O taste and see, etc. It is not enough
for thee to see it afar off, and not have it, as Dives did; or
to have it in thee, and not to taste it, as Samson's lion had
great store of honey in him, but tasted no sweetness of it; but
thou must as well have it as see it, and as well taste it as
have it. O taste and see, says he, "how sweet the
Lord is; "for so indeed Christ giveth his church not
only a sight but also "a taste" of his
sweetness. A sight is where he saith thus: "We will
rise up early, and go into the vineyard, and see whether the
vine have budded forth the small grapes, and whether the
pomegranates flourish; "there is a sight of the
vine. A taste is where he says thus, "I will bring
thee into the wine cellar, and cause thee to drink spice wine,
and new wine of the pomegranates; "there is a taste
of the wine. The church not only goes into the vineyard and sees
the wine, but also goes into the wine cellar, and tastes
the wine. Thomas Playfere.
Verse 8. Taste and see. There are some things,
especially in the depths of the religious life, which can only
be understood by being experienced, and which even then are
incapable of being adequately embodied in words. O taste and
see that the Lord is good. The enjoyment must come before
the illumination; or rather the enjoyment is the illumination.
There are things that must be loved before we can know them to
be worthy of our love; things to be believed before we can
understand them to be worthy of belief. And even after
this—after we are conscious of a distinct apprehension of some
spiritual truth, we can only, perhaps, answer, if required to
explain it, in the words of the philosopher to who the question
was put, "What is God?" "I know, if I am not
asked." Thomas Binney's "Sermons," 1869.
Verse 8. Taste and see. Be unwilling that all
the good gifts of God should be swallowed without taste, or
maliciously forgotten, but use your palate, know them, and
consider them. D. H. Mollerus.
Verse 8. Heaven and earth are replete with the
goodness of God. We omit to open our mouths and eyes, on which
account the psalmist desires us to taste and see. Agustus
F. Tholuck.
Verse 8. The taste and see invite, as it were,
to a sumptuous feast, which has long been ready; to a rich sight
openly exposed to view. The imperatives are in reality not
oratory but persuasive. E. W. Hengstenberg.
Verse 8. All that the believer can attain of spiritual
consolation in this life is but a taste. David Dickson.
Verse 8.
O taste the Lord, and see how sweet He is,
The man that trusts in him lives still in bliss.
—Sir John Davies, 1569-1626.
Verses 8-10. All these verses are beautiful
representations of the fulness, suitableness, completeness, and
all sufficiency of God in Christ to answer all the wants of his
people. And is there not a vast elegance in the comparison taken
from the hunger and rapacity of the lion, even the impetuousness
of the young lion, to that of the patience and silent waiting of
the faithful believer? A life of faith will find food in
everything, because it is all founded in Christ. The young lions
may, and will lack, because nothing will supply their voracious
appetites but that which is carnal. Robert Hawker.
Verse 10. The young lions do lack, and suffer
hunger, The old lions will have it for them, if it be to be
had. But they that seek the Lord shall not want any good
thing. As they would feel no evil thing within, so they
shall want no good thing without. He that freely opens the
upper, will never wholly close the nether springs. There shall
be no silver lacking in Benjamin's sack, while Joseph has it to
throw in. Grace is not such a beggarly visitant, as will not pay
its own way. When the best of beings is adored, the best of
blessings are enjoyed. William Secker.
Verse 10. People are apt to fancy that a wild beast's
life must be happy—in a brute's sense—and that the
carnivorous and graminivorous creatures which have never come
under the dominion of mankind are better off than the
domesticated quadrupeds which buy their quieter and safer lives
at the price of ministering to the luxuries or necessities of
their human lords. But the contrary is the case: the career of a
flesh eating animal must be wretched, even from the tiger's or
leopard's point of view. They must often suffer pangs of long
continued hunger, and when they find and kill food they
frequently have to wage desperate war for the enjoyment of their
victim. The cry of almost every wild beast is so melancholy and
forlorn, that it impresses the traveller with sadness more even
than with fear. If the opportunity occurs for watching them in
the chase, they are seen to sneak and sniff about, far less like
"kings of the forest, "than poor, dejected, starving
wretches, desperate upon the subject of their next meal. They
suffer horribly from diseases induced by foul diet and long
abstinence; and very few are found without scars in their
hide—the tokens of terrible combats. If they live to old age
their lot is piteous: their teeth are worn down, their claws are
blunt, and in this state numbers of them perish by starvation.
Not one half of the wild animals die a natural death; and their
life, so far as can be observed, is a series of stern
privations, with desperate and bloody fights among themselves. Clipping
from "Daily Telegraph."
Verse 10. They that seek the Lord shall not want
any good thing. There shall be no want to such, and such
shall want no good thing: so that he must be such an one to whom
the promise is made; and he must also be sure that it is good
for him which is promised. But oftentimes it is not good for a
man to abound with earthly blessings; as strong drink is not
good for weak brains. Yea, if anything be wanting to a good man,
he may be sure it is not good for him; and then better that he
doth want it, than that he did enjoy it; and what wise man will
complain of the want of that, which if he had, would prove more
gainful than hurtful to him? As a sword to a madman, a knife to
a child, drink to them that have a fever or the dropsy. "No
good thing will God withhold, "etc., and therefore, not
wants themselves, which to many are also good, yea, very good
things, as I could reckon up many. Want sanctified is a notable
means to bring to repentance, to work in us amendment of life,
it stirs up prayer, it weans from the love of the world, it
keeps us always prepared for the spiritual combat, discovers
whether we be true believers or hypocrites, prevents greater
evils of sin and punishment to come; it makes us humble,
conformable to Christ our Head, increaseth our faith, our joy,
and thankfulness, our spiritual wisdom, and likewise our
patience, as I have largely shown in another treatise. Richard
Young, in the "Poor's Advocate," 1653.
Verse 10. I remember as I came through the country,
that there was a poor widow woman, whose husband fell at
Bothwell: the bloody soldiers came to plunder her house, telling
her they would take all she had. "We will leave thee
nothing, "said they, "either to put in thee, or on
thee." "I care not," said she, "I will not
want as long as God is in the heavens." That was a believer
indeed. Alexander Peden's Sermon, 1682.
Verse 10. Take a survey of heaven and earth and all
things therein, and whatsoever upon sure ground appears good,
ask it confidently of Christ; his love will not deny it. If it
were good for you that there were no sin, no devil, no
affliction, no destruction, the love of Christ would instantly
abolish these. Nay, if the possession of all the kingdoms of the
world were absolutely good for any saint, the love of Christ
would instantly crown him monarch of them. David Clarkson.
Verse 10. (last clause). Part of his last
afternoon was spent by Columba, in transcribing the Psalms of
David. Having come to that passage in the thirty-fourth Psalm,
where it is said, They that seek the Lord shall not want any
good thing, he said, "I have come to the end of a page,
and I will stop here, for the following Ps 34:11, "Come,
ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the
Lord, "will better suit my successor to transcribe than
me. I will leave it, therefore, to Baithen." As usual the
bell was rung at midnight for prayers. Columba was the first to
hasten to church. On entering it soon after, Dermid found him on
his knees in prayer, but evidently dying. Raising him up in his
arms, he supported his head on his bosom. The brethren now
entered. When they saw Columba in this dying condition they wept
aloud. Columba heard them. He opened his eyes and attempted to
speak, but his voice failed. He lifted up his hands as if to
bless them, immediately after which he breathed out his spirit.
His countenance retained in death the expression it wore in
life, so that it seemed as if he had only fallen asleep. "Story
of Columba and his successors, "in the Christian Treasury
for 1848.
Verse 11. Come, ye children. Venema in
substance remarks that David in addressing his friends in the
cave, called them his sons or children, because he was about to
be their teacher, and they his disciples; and again, because
they were young men in the flower of their age, and as sons,
would be the builders up of his house; and still more, because
as their leader to whose discipline and command they were
subject, he had a right to address them as his children. C.
H. S.
Verse 11. Come, ye children, etc. You know your
earthly parents, aye, but labour to know your heavenly. You know
the fathers of your flesh, aye, but strive to know the Father of
your spirits. You are expert it may be in Horace's Odes,
Virgil's Eclogues, Cicero's Orations; oh! but strive to get
understanding in David's Psalms, Solomon's Proverbs, and the
other plain books of Holy Writ. Manna was to be gathered in the
morning. The orient pearl is generated of the morning dew; aurora
musis amica, the morning is a friend to the muses. O "remember
thy Creator, "know him in the morning of thy childhood.
When God had created the heavens and the earth, the first thing
he did was to adorn the world with light, and separate it from
the darkness. Happy is that child on whom the light of saving
knowledge begins to dawn early. God, in the law, required the
firstborn, and the first fruits, so he doth still our first
days, to be offered to him. They are wisdom's words, "They
that seek me early shall find me." Pr 8:17. Where a rabbin
observeth a (n is added to the verb more than usual, which in
numbering goeth for fifty. With this note, that early seeking
hath not only twenty, or thirty, but fifty, nay, indeed, an
hundred fold recompense attending on it. Nathaneal Hardy.
Verse 11. Come, ye children. David in this
latter part of the Psalm undertakes to teach children; though a
man of war and anointed to be king, he did not think it below
him: though now he had his head so full of cares, and his hands
of business, yet he could find heart and time to give good
counsel to young people from his own experience. Matthew
Henry.
Verse 11. Observe. I. What he expects from them, Hearken
unto me, leave your play, lay by your toys, and hear what I
have to say to you; not only give me the hearing, but observe
and obey me. II. What he undertakes to teach them, The fear
of the Lord, inclusive of all the duties of religion. David
was a famous musician, a statesman, a soldier, but he doth not
say to his children, I will teach you to play upon the harp, or
to handle the sword or spear, or draw the bow, or I will teach
you the maxims of state policy, but I will teach you the fear
of the Lord, which is better than all arts and sciences,
better than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. That is it which
we should be solicitous both to learn ourselves, and to teach
our children. Matthew Henry.
Verse 11. I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
I shall introduce the translation and paraphrase
from my old Psalter; and the rather because I believe there is a
reference to that very improper and unholy method of teaching
youth the system of heathen mythology before they are taught one
sound lesson of true divinity, till at last their minds
are imbued with heathenism and the vicious conduct
of gods, goddesses, and heroes (here very properly called
tyrants), becomes the model of their own; and they are as
heathenish without as they are heathenish within.
Translation. Cummes sones lere me: dred of Lard I sal you lere.
Paraphrase. "Cummes, with trauth and luf: sones, qwam I
gette in haly lere: beres me. With eres of hert. I sal lere you,
noght the fabyls of poets; na the storys of tryauntz; bot the
dred of oure Larde, that wyl bring you til the felaghschippe of
aungels; and thar in is lyfe." I need not paraphrase this
paraphrase, as it is plain enough. Adam Clarke.
Verse 11. The fear of the Lord. The Master of
Sentences dwells, from this verse, on the four kinds of fear:
mundane, servile, initial, filial. Mundane, when we fear
to commit sin, simply lest we should lose some worldly advantage
or incur some worldly inconvenience. Servile, when we
fear to commit sin simply because of hell torments due to it. Initial,
when we fear to commit it, lest we should lose the happiness of
heaven. Filial, when we fear, only, and entirely because
we dread to offend that God whom we love with all our hearts. I
will teach. Whence notice, that this fear is not a thing to
be learnt all at once; it needs careful study and a good master.
S. Chrysostom compares the Psalmist's school here with the
resort of heathen students to the academy; and S. Ephraem,
referring to this passage, calls the fear of God itself the
school of the mind. As if he proclaimed, "says S. Lawrence
Justiniani, "I will teach you, not the courses of the
stars, not the nature of things, not the secrets of the heavens,
but the fear of the Lord." The knowledge of such
matters, without fear, puffs up; but the fear of the Lord,
without any such knowledge, can save." "Here,
"says Cassiodorus, "is not fear to be feared, but to
be loved. Human fear is full of bitterness; divine fear of
sweetness: the one drives to slavery, the other allures to
liberty; the one dreads the prison of Gehenna, the other opens
the kingdom of heaven." J. M. Neale.
Verse 11. The fear of the Lord. Let this,
therefore, good children, be your principal care and study: for
what shall it avail you to be cunning in Tully, Virgil, Homer,
and other profane writers, if you be unskilful in God's book? to
have learned Greek and Latin, if you learn not withal the
language of Canaan? to have your speech agreeable to the rules
of Priscian, of Lily, if your lives and courses be not consonant
to the rules and laws of Christianity? to have knowledge of the
creatures when you are ignorant of the Creator? to have learned
that whereby you may live a while here, and neglect that whereby
you may live eternally hereafter? Learn to fear God, to serve
God, and then God will bless you; for "He will bless them
that fear him, both small and great." Ps 115:13. Thomas
Gataker's "David's Instructor, "1637.
Verse 12. It is no great matter to live long, or
always, but to live happily. That loyal prayer, "Let the
king live" (in every language) imports a prosperous state.
When the psalmist saith, "Who is the man that would see
life?" he explains himself presently after by "good
days." Vivere among the Latins is sometimes as much
as valere, to live is as much as to be well; and upon
this account it is that, on the one hand, the Scripture calls
the state of the damned an eternal death, because their life is
only a continuance in misery; so on the other hand the state of
the blessed is an eternal life, because it is a perpetual abode
in felicity. Nathanael Hardy.
Verse 12. The benefit of life is not in the length,
but in the use of it. He sometimes lives the least that lives
the longest. Seneca.
Verse 13. Keep thy tongue from evil, etc.
Ficinus, after his tracts, De sanitate tuenda, of keeping
good health; and another, of recovering health; and a
third, of prolonging life; because all will not do,
wisely addeth a fourth, of laying hold on eternal life;
which cannot be done but by mortifying this earthly member, a
loose and lewd tongue. "For by thy words thou shalt be
justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned, "saith
the Judge himself. Mt 12:37. Compare Ge 49:21, with De 33:23,
and it will appear that good words ingratiate with God and man. John
Trapp.
Verse 13. And thy lips from speaking guile.
Perhaps David is warning us that we speak no guile, reflects
upon his own sin in changing his behaviour. They that truly
repent of what they have done amiss, will warn others to take
heed in doing likewise. Matthew Henry.
Verse 14. Depart from evil, etc. This denotes
that evil is near to men; it keeps close to them, and should be
declined and shunned: and it regards all sorts of evil; evil men
and their evil company; evil things, evil words and works, and
all appearance of evil; and the fear of the Lord shows itself in
a hatred of it, and a departure from it. Pr 8:13 16:6. John
Gill.
Verse 14. Depart from evil. The other precepts
are the duty of works, and they are four, where the precepts of
words were but two; because we must be more in works than in
words; and they are all affirmative, for it is against the
nature of a work to be in the negative; for so working should be
no better than idleness: the two former are general, as general
as good and evil; that if we meet with anything that is evil,
our part is to depart, for there is no demurring upon
evil. Sir Richard Baker.
Verse 14. Do good. Negative goodness is not
sufficient to entitle us to heaven. There are some in the world
whose religion runs all upon negatives; they are not drunkards,
they are not swearers, and for this they do bless themselves.
See how the Pharisee vapours Lu 18:11, "God, I thank thee
that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust,
adulterers, "etc. Alas! the not being scandalous will no
more make a Christian than a cypher will make a sum. We are bid,
not only to cease from evil, but to do good. It
will be a poor plea at last—Lord, I kept myself from being
spotted with gross sin: I did no hurt. But what good is there in
thee? It is not enough for the servant of the vineyard that he
doth no hurt there, he doth not break the trees, or destroy the
hedges; if he doth not work in the vineyard he loseth his pay.
It is not enough for us to say at the last day, we have done no
hurt, we have lived in no gross sin; but what good have we done
in the vineyard? Where is the grace we have gotten? If we cannot
show this, we shall lose our pay, and miss of salvation. Thomas
Watson.
Verse 14. Seek peace, and pursue it. Yea, do
well, and thou shalt not need to pursue it; peace will find thee
without seeking. Augustine says, Fiat justitia, et habebis
pacem—Live righteously, and live peaceably. Quietness
shall find out righteousness wheresoever he lodgeth. But she
abhorreth the house of evil. Peace will not dine where grace
hath not first broken her fast. Let us embrace godliness, and
"the peace of God, that passeth all understanding, shall
preserve our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ." Php 4:7. Thomas
Adams.
Verse 14. See peace and pursue it. The most
desirable things are not the easiest to be obtained. What is
more lovely to the imagination than the tranquillity of peace?
But this great blessing does not voluntarily present itself: it
must be sought. Even when sought it often eludes the
grasp: it flies away, and must be pursued.
1. The man of a peaceable carriage must be cautious not to
give offence when needless, or, when it may innocently be
spared.
2. Another part of the peaceable man's character is, not to
take offence; especially in small matters, which are hardly
worth a wise man's notice. 3. If any needless offence has been
either given or taken, we must endeavour to put a stop to it as
soon as may be. If a difference is already begun, stifle it in
the birth, and suffer it not to proceed farther. Condensed
from Dr. Waterland's Sermon, in J. R. Pitman's Course of Sermons
on the Psalms, 1846.
Verse 15. His ears are open unto their cry. The
word "open" is not in the original, but the meaning is
that the ear of God is propense, and in a leaning kind of
posture, towards the cries of the righteous; the word may here
be taken emphatically, as many times in Scripture it is, for
some worthy, choice, and excellent strain of righteousness.
Those who are worthy and righteous indeed, the ear of God, I
say, is propense, and leans and hangs towards them and their
prayers, according to that of So 2:14, "Let me hear thy
voice, for sweet is thy voice." There is a kind of
naturalness and pleasantness between the ear of God and the
prayers, and petitions, and cries of such a righteous man. Joh
15:7. John Goodwin.
Verse 15. His ears are open unto their cry.
Hebrew, Are to their cry, or as St. Peter hath it, His
ears are into their prayers 1Pe 3:12; to show that though
their prayers are so faint and feeble that they cannot enter
into the ears of the Lord of Hosts, yet that he will bow down
and incline his ears unto, nay, into their
prayers, their breathings. La 3:56. John Trapp.
Verses 15-17. The eyes of the Lord are upon the
righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
Strangers may howl, and we take little notice what they ail—it
is a venture whether we relieve them or no; but if our children
cry, being in great distress, we hasten to their help. Our
relation to God may well strengthen our hope that our desires
shall be heard. He that can cry, Abba, Father, may be
confident of the success of his suit, and that God will deal
with him as a son. George Swinnock.
Verse 18. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a
broken heart. God is nigh unto them (with reverence
be it spoken), God takes so much complacency in the company of
such, that he cannot endure to have them far from him; he must
have them always under his eyes; as for these broken
ones, he will be sure not to leave them long, nor go far from
them, but will be ready at hand to set their bones, to bind up
their wounds to keep them from festering. It may be he may put
them to much pain before he brings the cure to perfection, but
it is to prevent future aches. He is a foolish cruel chirurgeon,
who, for fear of putting his patient to some pain, never
searcheth the wound, but skins it over presently; and a wise man
will not think him unmerciful that puts him to exquisite pain,
so he may make a thorough cure of it. Thus God doth by his
patients sometimes, when the nature of their distemper calls for
it. But, however, he will be sure not to be out of the way when
they want him most. It is possible that they may look upon
themselves as forgotten by God, they may not know their
Physician when he is by them, and they may take their Friend for
an enemy; they may think God far off when he is near; but when
their eyes are opened and their distemper is pretty well worn
off, they will, with shame and thankfulness, acknowledge their
error; nay, they do from their souls confess, that they do not
deserve the least look of kindness from God, but to be counted
strangers and enemies; but God will let them know that he loves
to act like himself, that is, like a God of love, mercy, and
goodness; and that they are the persons that he hath set his
heart upon; he will have them in his bosom, never leave them nor
forsake them; and though these contrite ones many times look
upon themselves as lost, yet God will save them, and they shall
sing a song of thankfulness amongst his delivered ones. James
Janeway.
Verse 18. The Lord is nigh unto them, etc.
Consider the ADVANTAGES of this broken heart; as I. A broken
heart is acceptable and wellpleasing to God, "A broken and
a contrite heart, O God thou wilt not despise." Ps 51:17.
II. It makes up many defects in your service and duties,
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit." Ps 51:17.
III. It makes the soul a fit receptacle for God to dwell in,
"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth
eternity, whose name is holy; I dwell in the high and holy
place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to
revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the
contrite ones." Isa 57:15. IV. It brings God near to men, "The
Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth
such as be of a contrite spirit." Ps 34:18. And V. It
lays you open to Christ's sweet healing, "I will bind up
that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was
sick." Eze 34:16. And, oh, who would not be broken that
they might find Christ's soft hand healing them, and find the
proof of that sweet word, "For I will restore health unto
thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord."
Jer 30:17. Yea, VI. It puts you in the right road to heaven,
where all your wounds and bruises will be cured; for there is a
tree Re 22:2 the leaves whereof are for the healing of the
nations; there is no complaining there of wounds or bruises, but
all are perfectly healed. John Spalding, in "Synaxis
Sacra, or a Collection of Sermons, " etc., 1703.
Verse 18. "The Lord is nigh unto them, "etc.
We are apt to overlook men, in proportion as they are humbled
beneath us; God regards them in that proportion. Vessels of
honour are made of that clay which is "broken"
into the smallest parts. George Horne.
Verse 18. Broken heart...contrite spirit. Oh,
this is the misery of all miseries which ministers have most
cause to complain of, that men are not fitted enough for Jesus
Christ, they are not lost enough in themselves for a Saviour.
"In thee the fatherless findeth mercy." Ho 14:3. Were
we more hopeless, helpless, and fatherless, we should find more
mercy from the hand of Jesus Christ. O that God would awaken and
shake some sin sleeping soul this day! O that this doctrine thus
opened might be as a thunderbolt to let some of you see the
inside of yourselves! O poor sinner, thou hast an unsupportable
burden of sin and guilt lying on thy soul, ready to press thee
down to hell, and yet you feel it not; thou hast the wrath of
God hanging over thy head by the twined thread of a short life,
which it may be thou mayest not be free from one year, nay,
perhaps not one month, but thou seest it not; if thou didst but
see it, then thou wouldest cry out as he did in Bosworth field,
"A horse! a horse! a kingdom for a horse!" So thou
wouldest cry out, None but Christ! nothing but Christ! ten
thousand worlds for Christ! James Nalton, 1664.
Verse 18. A contrite spirit. (xwr-yakd), dakkeey
ruach, "the beaten out spirit." In both words the hammer
is necessarily implied; in breaking to pieces the ore first, and
then plating out the metal when it has been separated from the
ore. This will call to the reader's remembrance Jer 23:29,
"Is not my word like as a fire?" saith the Lord: and
like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
The breaking to shivers, and the beating out are
metaphorical expressions: so are the hammer and the rock.
What the large hammer struck on a rock by a powerful hand
would do, so does the word of the Lord when struck on the
sinner's heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. The broken
heart, and the contrite spirit, are two essential
characteristics of true repentance. Adam Clarke.
Verse 19. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, etc. Be our troubles many in number, strange in
nature, heavy in measure; yet God's mercies are more numerous,
his wisdom more wondrous, his power more miraculous; he will
deliver us out of all. Thomas Adams.
Verse 19. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, etc. When David did behold his trouble, like the
host of the Aramites 2Ki 6:16, he looked back unto God like
Elisha, and spied one with him stronger than all against him.
Therefore, respecting his afflictions he crieth, Many are the
troubles of the righteous; respecting the promise he says, The
Lord delivereth him out of all. Thus, by his own foot, David
measures the condition of the righteous, and saith, Many are
the troubles of the righteous; and then, by his own cure, he
showeth how they should be healed, saying, The Lord will
deliver him out of them all. ...The lawyer can deliver his
client but from strife, the physician can deliver his patient
but from sickness, the master can deliver his servant but from
bondage, but the Lord delivereth us from all. As when
Moses came to deliver the Israelites, he would not leave a hoof
behind him, so when the Lord cometh to deliver the righteous he
will not leave a trouble behind him. He who saith, "I put
away all thine iniquities," will also say, "I put away
all thine infirmities." Henry Smith.
Verse 20. He keepeth all his bones, which were
very many. Perhaps (saith Abenezra here), David had been
scourged by the Philistines, but his bones were not broken, nor
were our Saviour's. Joh 19:36. John Trapp.
Verse 20. All his bones. Muis observes,
"It says not his body, for this he permits to be
afflicted; but it signifies that the evils of the godly are
light, and scarcely penetrate to the bone; "but Geier
observes, "This is too subtle, rather the bone reminds us
of the essential parts of the body, by whose injury the whole
frame is endangered. It is a proverbial form of speech like that
in Mt 10:30, `The very hairs of your head are all numbered, '
expressing the remarkable defence afforded to the
righteous." Genebrard says, "The bones are put by
synecdoche for all the members." From Poli Synopsis.
Verse 20. The passover lamb, of which not a bone was
broken, prefigured Jesus as one, "not a bone of whose body
should be broken; " and yet, at the same time, it
prefigured the complete keeping and safety of Christ's body, the
church; as it is written, He keepeth all his bones; not one
of them is broken. Andrew A. Bonar's Commentary on Leviticus.
Verse 20. Christ's bones were in themselves breakable,
but could not actually be broken by all the violence in the
world, because God had fore decreed, a bone of him shall not
be broken. So we confess God's children mortal; but all the
power of devil or man may not, must not, cannot, kill them
before their conversion, according to God's election of them to
life, which must be fully accomplished. Thomas Fuller.
Verse 20. Observe as a point of resemblance between
this and the following Psalm, the mention of the bones here and
in Ps 35:10. C. Wordsworth.
Verse 21. Evil. Afflictions though in the
plural, prove not ruinous to the righteous, for the Lord
delivers him out of them all, whereas evil in the
singular slays the wicked, to signify the difference of
God's economy towards righteous and wicked men. The former is
permitted to fall into many pressures, the latter is not so
frequently exercised with them, yet the many that befall the one
do no hurt, but work good for him, whereas the few that befall
the wicked, or perhaps the one singular affliction of his
life is the utter ruin of him. Henry Hammond.
Verse 21. Conscience self the culprit tortures,
gnawing him with pangs unknown; For that now amendment's season
is for ever past and gone, And that late repentance findeth
pardon none for all her moan. S. Peter Damiano, 988-1072.
Verse 21. Shall be desolate. In the margin it
is, shall be guilty. And this is the proper meaning of
the original word, (wmvay). They are guilty, and liable to
punishment. Thus the word is frequently rendered in our version
(see Le 4:13,22); and generally includes it in the idea of
guilt, and the punishment incurred by it. Samuel Chandler,
D.D.
Verse 22. The promises of God to his church, and his
threatenings of sin recorded in the living book of his word, are
not antiquate; no age shall ever superannuate them, or put them
out of full force and virtue. What if good persons and good
causes do suffer oppression? The poet is a divine in that
case—
Informes hiemes reducit
Jupiter; idem
Summovet. Non si male nunc, et olim
Sic erit.
After foul weather comes fair; though it be ill with us now,
it will not be always. What if enemies of religion and moths of
commonwealth do flourish and prosper, and have all things at
will, let it not trouble David and Job; both of them saw as fair
a sunshine shut up in a dark cloud, and a world of foul weather
following. Edward Marbury.
Verse 22. Satan cannot tempt longer than God shall
give him leave; and he will never suffer thee to be tempted
above measure, but will give a good issue unto the temptation.
Thou art called to fight under the banner of Christ Jesus, and
in the name of the Lord thou shalt be enabled to do valiantly
and overcome. If Satan continue his assaults, "God's grace
is sufficient for thee." 2Co 12:9. If thy strength be clean
gone, God's power shall be magnified the more in thee, and he
hath brought thee low that thou mayest not trust in thyself, but
in the living Lord, and that the whole praise of the victory
might be ascribed unto him. If thy strength did remain, it was
not to be leaned unto; and now it is decayed and gone, there is
no cause of fear, for the Lord will be thy stay. In the most
difficult assaults and tedious encounters, we are exhorted to
"be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his
might." Be of good courage, and God will grant thee an
easy, a joyful victory. Satan's drift in tempting is to turmoil,
dishearten, and perplex with fears, and drive into despair; and
if thou take heart to rest quietly upon God's grace, and fly
unto his name, thou shalt put him to flight, thou hast already
got the day. Wait but awhile, and these dark mists and terrible
storms shall be dispersed. By these temptations the Lord hath
taught thee to see by weakness, and the malice of Satan; to deny
thine own wisdom and prize his favour, lightly to esteem all
things here below, and highly to value mercy reaching to the
pardon of sin, and heavenly communion and fellowship with God.
And if this bitter potion hath wrought so kindly for thy
spiritual good, why shouldest thou be dismayed? Trust in the
Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thee. The
Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that
trust in him shall be desolate, John Ball.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse 1. Firm resolution, serious difficulties in
carrying it out, helps for its performance, excellent
consequences of so doing. Six questions.—Who?
"I." What? "Will bless." Whom?
"The Lord." When? "At all times." How?
Why?
Verse 1. Direction for making a heaven below.
Verse 2. The commendable boaster and his gratified
audience. We may boast of the Lord, in himself, his
manifestations of himself, his relationship to us, our interest
in him, our expectations from him, etc. The duty of believers to
relate their experience for the benefit of others.
Verse 3. Invitation to united praise.
Verse 3. Magnifying—or making great the work
of God, a noble exercise.
Verse 4. Confessions of a ransomed soul.
Simple, honouring to God, exclude merit, and encourage others to
seek also.
Verse 4. Four stages, "fears,
""sought, ""heard,
""delivered."
Verse 5. The power of a faith look.
Verse 6.
1. The poor man's heritage, "troubles."
2. The poor man's friend.
3. The poor man's cry.
4. The poor man's salvation.
Verse 6. The poor man's wealth.
The position of prayer in the economy of grace, or the
natural history of mercy in the soul.
Verse 7. Castra angelorum, salvatio bonorum.
Verse 7. The ministry of angels. In what sense Jesus
is "The angel of the Lord."
Verse 8. Experience the only true test of religious
truth.
Verse 8. Taste. The sanctified palate, the recherche
provision, the gratified verdict, the celestial host.
Verse 9. The blest estate of a God fearing man.
Verse 9. Fear expelling fear. Similia similibus
curantur.
Verse 10. Lions lacking, but the children satisfied.
See "Spurgeon's Sermons, "No. 65.
1. Description of a true Christian, "seek the
Lord."
2. The promise set forth by a contract.
3. The promise fulfilled.
Verse 10. What is a good thing?
Verse 11. A royal teacher, his youthful disciples, his
mode of instruction, "Come; "his choice subject.
Verse 11. Sunday school work.
Verses 12-14. How to make the best of both worlds.
Verse 13. Sins of the tongue—their mischief, their
cause, and their cure.
Verse 14. (first clause). The relation between
the negative and positive virtues.
Verse 14. (second clause). The royal hunt.
The game, the difficulties of the chase, the hunters, their
methods, and their rewards.
Verse 15. Our observant God. Eyes and ears both set on
us.
Verse 16. The evil man checkmated in life, and
forgotten in death.
Verse 17. Afflictions and their threefold blessing.
1. They make us pray.
2. They bring us the Lord's hearing ear.
3. They afford room for joyful experience of deliverance.
Verse 18. The nearness of God to broken hearts, and
the certainty of their salvation.
Verse 19. Black and white, or bane and antidote.
Special people, special trials, special deliverances, special
faith as a duty.
Verse 20. The real safety of a believer when in great
perils. His soul, his spiritual life, his faith, hope, love,
etc.; his interest in Jesus, his adoption, justification, these
all kept.
Verse 21. Wickedness, its own executioner, illustrated
by scriptural cases, by history, by the lost in hell. Lessons
from the solemn fact. The forlorn condition of a man of
malicious spirit.
Verses 21-22. Who shall and who shall not be desolate.
Verse 22. Redemption in its various meanings; faith
in its universal preservation; the Lord in his unrivalled
glory in the work of grace.
WORK UPON THE THIRTY-FOURTH PSALM
Meditations upon the XXXIV. Psalme, in Sir RICHARD BAKER'S
Works.