TITLE. Of David. There is but this word
to denote the authorship; whether it was a song or a meditation
we are not told. It was written by David in his old age Ps
37:25, and is the more valuable as the record of so varied an
experience.
SUBJECT. The great riddle of the prosperity of the
wicked and the affliction of the righteous, which has perplexed
so many, is here dealt with in the light of the future; and
fretfulness and repining are most impressively forbidden. It is
a Psalm in which the Lord hushes most sweetly the too common
repinings of his people, and calms their minds as to his present
dealings with his own chosen flock, and the wolves by whom they
are surrounded. It contains eight great precepts, is twice
illustrated by autobiographical statements, and abounds in
remarkable contrasts.
DIVISION. The Psalm can scarcely be
divided into considerable sections. It resembles a chapter of
the book of Proverbs, most of the verses being complete in
themselves. It is an alphabetical Psalm: in somewhat broken
order, the first letters of the verses follow the Hebrew
alphabet. This may have been not only a poetical invention, but
a help to memory. The reader is requested to read the Psalm
through without comment before he turns to our exposition.
EXPOSITION
Verse 1. The Psalm opens with the first precept. It is
alas! too common for believers in their hours of adversity to
think themselves harshly dealt with when they see persons
utterly destitute of religion and honesty, rejoicing in abundant
prosperity. Much needed is the command, Fret not thyself
because of evildoers. To fret is to worry, to have the
heartburn, to fume, to become vexed. Nature is very apt to
kindle a fire of jealousy when it sees lawbreakers riding on
horses, and obedient subjects walking in the mire: it is a
lesson learned only in the school of grace, when one comes to
view the most paradoxical providences with the devout
complacency of one who is sure that the Lord is righteous in all
his acts. It seems hard to carnal judgments that the best meat
should go to the dogs, while loving children pine for want of
it. Neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
The same advice under another shape. When one is poor, despised,
and in deep trial, our old Adam naturally becomes envious of the
rich and great; and when we are conscious that we have been more
righteous than they, the devil is sure to be at hand with
blasphemous reasonings. Stormy weather may curdle even the cream
of humanity. Evil men instead of being envied, are to be viewed
with horror and aversion; yet their loaded tables, and gilded
trappings, are too apt to fascinate our poor half opened eyes.
Who envies the fat bullock the ribbons and garlands which
decorate him as he is led to the shambles? Yet the case is a
parallel one; for ungodly rich men are but as beasts fattened
for the slaughter.
Verse 2. For they shall soon be cut down like the
grass. The scythe of death is sharpening. Green grows the
grass, but quick comes the scythe. The destruction of the
ungodly will be speedy, sudden, sure, overwhelming,
irretrievable. The grass cannot resist or escape the mower. And
wither as the green herb. The beauty of the herb dries up at
once in the heat of the sun, and so all the glory of the wicked
shall disappear at the hour of death. Death kills the ungodly
man like grass, and wrath withers him like hay; he dies, and his
name rots. How complete an end is made of the man whose boasts
had no end! Is it worth while to waste ourselves in fretting
about the insect of an hour, an ephemeral which in the same day
is born and dies? Within believers there is a living and
incorruptible seed which liveth and abideth for ever; why should
they envy mere flesh, and the glory of it, which are but as
grass, and the flower thereof?
Verse 3. Trust in the Lord. Here is the second
precept, and one appropriate to the occasion. Faith cures
fretting. Sight is cross-eyed, and views things only as they
seem, hence her envy: faith has clearer optics to behold things
as they really are, hence her peace. And do good. True
faith is actively obedient. Doing good is a fine remedy for
fretting. There is a joy in holy activity which drives away the
rust of discontent. So shalt thou dwell in the land. In
"the land" which floweth with milk and honey; the
Canaan of the covenant. Thou shalt not wander in the wilderness
of murmuring, but abide in the promised land of content and
rest. "We which have believed do enter into rest."
Very much of our outward depends upon the inward: where there is
heaven in the heart there will be heaven in the house. And
verily thou shalt be fed, or shepherded. To integrity
and faith necessaries are guaranteed. The good shepherd will
exercise his pastoral care over all believers. In truth they
shall be fed, and fed on truth. The promise of God shall be
their perpetual banquet; they shall neither lack in spirituals
nor in temporals. Some read this as an exhortation, "Feed
on truth; " certainly this is good cheer, and banishes
for ever the hungry heart burnings of envy.
Verse 4. There is an ascent in this third precept. He
who was first bidden not to fret, was then commanded actively to
trust, and now is told with holy desire to delight in God. Delight
thyself also in the Lord. Make Jehovah the joy and rejoicing
of thy spirit. Bad men delight in carnal objects; do not envy
them if they are allowed to take their fill in such vain idols;
look thou to thy better delight, and fill thyself to the full
with thy more sublime portion. In a certain sense imitate the
wicked; they delight in their portion—take care to delight in
yours, and so far from envying you will pity them. There is no
room for fretting if we remember that God is ours, but there is
every incentive to sacred enjoyment of the most elevated and
ecstatic kind. Every name, attribute, word, or deed of Jehovah,
should be delightful to us, and in meditating thereon our soul
should be as glad as is the epicure who feeds delicately with a
profound relish for his dainties. And he shall give thee the
desires of thine heart. A pleasant duty is here rewarded
with another pleasure. Men who delight in God desire or ask for
nothing but what will please God; hence it is safe to give them carte
blanche. Their will is subdued to God's will, and now they
may have what they will. Our innermost desires are here meant,
not our casual wishes; there are many things which nature might
desire which grace would never permit us to ask for; these deep,
prayerful, asking desires are those to which the promise
is made.
Verse 5. Commit thy way unto the Lord. Roll the
whole burden of life upon the Lord. Leave with Jehovah not thy
present fretfulness merely, but all thy cares; in fact, submit
the whole tenor of thy way to him. Cast away anxiety, resign thy
will, submit thy judgment, leave all with the God of all. What a
medicine is this for expelling envy! What a high attainment does
this fourth precept indicate! How blessed must he be who lives
every day in obedience to it! Trust also in him; and he shall
bring it to pass. Our destiny shall be joyfully accomplished
if we confidently entrust all to our Lord. We may serenely
sing—
"Thy way, not mine, O Lord,
However dark it be;
O lead me by thine own right hand,
Choose out the path for me."
"Smooth let it be or rough,
It will be still the best;
Winding or straight, it matters not,
It leads me to thy rest."
"I dare not choose my lot,
I would not if I might;
But choose Thou for me, O my God,
So shall I walk aright."
"Take thou my cup, and it
With joy or sorrow fill;
As ever best to thee may seem,
Choose thou my good and ill."
The ploughman sows and harrows, and then leaves the harvest
to God. What can he do else? He cannot cover the heavens with
clouds, or command the rain, or bring forth the sun or create
the dew. He does well to leave the whole matter with God; and so
to all of us it is truest wisdom, having obediently trusted in
God, to leave results in his hands, and expect a blessed issue.
Verse 6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness
as the light. In the matter of personal reputation we may
especially be content to be quiet, and leave our vindication
with the Judge of all the earth. The more we fret in this case
the worse for us. Our strength is to sit still. The Lord will
clear the slandered. If we look to his honour, he will see to
ours. It is wonderful how, when faith learns to endure calumny
with composure, the filth does not defile her, but falls off
like snowballs from a wall of granite. Even in the worst cases,
where a good name is for awhile darkened, Providence will send a
clearing like the dawning light, which shall increase until the
man once censured shall be universally admired. And thy
judgment as the noonday. No shade of reproach shall remain.
The man shall be in his meridian of splendour. The darkness of
his sorrow and his ill repute shall both flee away.
Verse 7. Rest in the Lord. This fifth is a most
divine precept, and requires much grace to carry it out. To hush
the spirit, to be silent before the Lord, to wait in holy
patience the time for clearing up the difficulties of
Providence—that is what every gracious heart should aim at.
"Aaron held his peace:" "I opened not my mouth,
because thou didst it." A silent tongue in many cases not
only shows a wise head, but a holy heart. And wait patiently
for him. Time is nothing to him; let it be nothing to thee.
God is worth waiting for. "He never is before his time, he
never is too late." In a story we wait for the end to clear
up the plot; we ought not to prejudge the great drama of life,
but stay till the closing scene, and see to what a finis the
whole arrives. Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth
in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to
pass. There is no good, but much evil, in worrying your
heart about the present success of graceless plotters: be not
enticed into premature judgments—they dishonour God, they
weary yourself. Determine, let the wicked succeed as they may,
that you will treat the matter with indifference, and never
allow a question to be raised as to the righteousness and
goodness of the Lord. What if wicked devices succeed and your
own plans are defeated! there is more of the love of God in your
defeats than in the successes of the wicked.
Verse 8. Cease from anger and forsake wrath.
Especially anger against the arrangements of Providence, and
jealousies of the temporary pleasures of those who are so soon
to be banished from all comfort. Anger anywhere is madness, here
it is aggravate insanity. Yet since anger will try to keep us
company, we must resolvedly forsake it. Fret not thyself in
any wise to do evil. By no reasonings and under no
circumstances be led into such a course. Fretfulness lies upon
the verge of great sin. Many who have indulged a murmuring
disposition have at last come to sin, in order to gain their
fancied rights. Beware of carping at others, study to be
yourself found in the right way; and as you would dread outward
sin, tremble at inward repining.
Verse 9. For evil doers shall be cut off. Their
death shall be a penal judgment; not a gentle removal to a
better state, but an execution in which the axe of justice will
be used. But those that wait upon the Lord—those who in
patient faith expect their portion in another life—they
shall inherit the earth. Even in this life they have the
most of real enjoyment, and in the ages to come theirs shall be
the glory and the triumph. Passion, according to Bunyan's
parable, has his good things first, and they are soon over;
Patience has his good things last, and they last for ever.
Verse 10. For yet a little while, and the wicked
shall not be. When bad men reach to greatness, the judgments
of God frequently sweep them away; their riches melt, their
power decays, their happiness turns to wretchedness; they
themselves cease any longer to be numbered with the living. The
shortness of life makes us see that the glitter of the wicked
great is not true gold. O wherefore, tried believer, dost thou
envy one who in a little while will lie lower than the dust? Yea,
thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
His house shall be empty, his chair of office vacant, his estate
without an owner; he shall be utterly blotted out, perhaps cut
off by his own debauchery, or brought to a deathbed of penury by
his own extravagance. Gone like a passing cloud—forgotten as a
dream—where are his boastings and hectorings, and where the
pomp which made poor mortals think the sinner blest?
Verse 11. But the meek shall inherit the earth.
Above all others they shall enjoy life. Even if they suffer,
their consolations shall overtop their tribulations. By
inheriting the land is meant obtaining covenant privileges and
the salvation of God. Such as are truly humble shall take their
lot with the rest of the heirs of grace, to whom all good things
come by a sacred birthright. And shall delight themselves in
the abundance of peace. Peace they love and peace they shall
have. If they find not abundance of gold, abundance of peace
will serve their turn far better. Others find joy in strife, and
thence arises their misery in due time, but peace leads on to
peace, and the more a man loves it the more shall it come to
him. In the halcyon period of the latter days, when universal
peace shall make glad the earth, the full prophetic meaning of
words like these will be made plain.
Verses 12-15. Here is the portrait of a proud
oppressor armed to the teeth.
Verse 12. The wicked plotteth against the just.
Why can he not let the good man alone? Because there is enmity
between the serpent's seed and the seed of the woman. Why not
attack him fairly? Why plot and scheme? Because it is according
to the serpent's nature to be very subtle. Plain sailing does
not suit those who are on board of "The Apollyon." And
gnashed upon him with his teeth. The wicked show by their
gestures what they would do if they could; if they cannot gnaw
they will gnash; if they may not bite they will at least bark.
This is precisely what the graceless world did with "that
just One, "the Prince of Peace. Yet he took no vengeance
upon them, but like a silent lamb received injuries in patience.
Verse 13. The Lord shall laugh at him. The
godly man needs not trouble himself, but leave well deserved
vengeance to be dealt out by the Lord, who will utterly deride
the malice of the good man's enemies. Let the proud scorner
gnash his teeth and foam at the mouth; he has one to deal with
who will look down upon him and his ravings with serene
contempt. For he seeth that his day is coming. The evil
man does not see how close his destruction is upon his heels; he
boasts of crushing others when the foot of justice is already
uplifted to trample him as the mire of the streets. Sinners, in
the hand of an angry God, and yet plotting against his children!
Poor souls, thus to run upon the point of Jehovahs's spear.
Verse 14. The wicked have drawn out the sword.
They hold their weapon out of its sheath, and watch for a time
to use it. And have bent their bow. One weapon is not
enough, they carry another ready for action. They carry so
strong a bow that they have trodden upon it to bend it—they
will lose nothing for want of force or readiness. To cast
down the poor and needy. These are their game, the objects
of their accursed malice. These cowards attack not their equals,
but seek out those excellent ones who, from the gentleness of
their spirits and the poverty of their estates, are not able to
defend themselves. Note how our meek and lowly Lord was beset by
cruel foes, armed with all manner of weapons to slay him. And
to slay such as be of upright conversation. Nothing short of
the overthrow and death of the just will content the wicked. The
sincere and straightforward are hated by the crafty schemers who
delight in unrighteousness. See, then, the enemies of the godly
doubly armed, and learn how true were our Lord's words, "If
ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because
ye are not of this world, but I have chosen you our of the
world, therefore the world hateth you."
Verse 15. Their sword shall enter into their own
heart. Like Haman they shall be hanged upon the gallows
built by themselves for Mordecai. Hundreds of times has this
been the case. Saul, who sought to slay David, fell on his own
sword; and the bow, his favourite weapon, the use of which he
taught the children of Israel, was not able to deliver him on
Gilboa. And their bows shall be broken. Their inventions
of evil shall be rendered useless. Malice outwits itself. It
drinks the poisoned cup which it mixed for another, and burns
itself in the fire which it kindled for its neighbour. Why need
we fret at the prosperity of the wicked when they are so
industriously ruining themselves while they fancy they are
injuring the saints? The next nine verses mainly describe the
character and blessedness of the godly, and the light is brought
out with a few black touches descriptive of the wicked and their
doom.
Verse 16. A little that a righteous man hath is
better than the riches of many wicked. This is a fine
proverb. The little of one good man is contrasted with the
riches of many wicked, and so the expression is rendered the
more forcible. There is more happiness in the godly dinner of
herbs than in the stalled ox of profane rioters. In the original
there is an allusion to the noise of a multitude, as if to hint
at the turmoil and hurly burly of riotous wealth, and to
contrast it with the quiet of the humbler portion of the godly.
We would sooner hunger with John than feast with Herod; better
feed on scant fare with the prophets in Obadiah's cave than riot
with the priests of Baal. A man's happiness consists not in the
heaps of gold which he has in store. Content finds multum in
parvo, while for a wicked heart the whole world is too
little.
Verse 17. For the arms of the wicked shall be
broken. Their power to do mischief shall be effectually
taken away, for the arms which they lifted up against God shall
be crushed even to the bone. God often makes implacable men
incapable men. What is a more contemptible sight than toothless
malice, armless malevolence! But the Lord upholdeth the
righteous. Their cause and course shall be safe, for they
are in good keeping. The sword of two edges smites the wicked
and defends the just.
Verse 18. The Lord knoweth the days of the upright.
His foreknowledge made him laugh at the proud, but in the case
of the upright he sees a brighter future, and treats them as
heirs of salvation. Ever is this our comfort, that all events
are known to our God, and that nothing in our future can take
him at unawares. No arrow can pierce us by accident, no danger
smite us by stealth; neither in time nor eternity can any
unforeseen ill occur to us. Futurity shall be but a continual
development of the good things which the Lord has laid up in
store for us. And their inheritance shall be for ever.
Their inheritance fades not away. It is entailed, so that none
cam deprive them of it, and preserved, so that none shall
destroy it. Eternity is the peculiar attribute of the believer's
portion: what they have on earth is safe enough, but what they
shall have in heaven is theirs without end.
Verse 19. They shall not be ashamed in the evil
time. Calamities will come, but deliverances will come also.
As the righteous never reckoned upon immunity from trouble, they
will not be disappointed when they are called to take their
share of it, but the rather they will cast themselves anew upon
their God, and prove again his faithfulness and love. God is not
a friend in the sunshine only, he is a friend indeed and a
friend in need. And in the days of famine they shall be
satisfied. Their barrel of meal and cruse of oil shall last
out the day of distress, and if ravens do not bring them bread
and meat, the supply of their needs shall come in some other
way, for their bread shall be given them. Our Lord stayed
himself upon this when he hungered in the wilderness, and by
faith he repelled the tempter; we too may be enabled not to fret
ourselves in any wise to do evil by the same consideration. If
God's providence is our inheritance, we need not worry about the
price of wheat. Mildew, and smut, and bent, are all in the
Lord's hands. Unbelief cannot save a single ear from being
blasted, but faith, if it do not preserve the crop, can do what
is better, namely, preserve our joy in the Lord.
Verse 20. But the wicked shall perish. Whatever
phantom light may mock their present, their future is black with
dark, substantial night. Judgment has been given against them,
they are but reserved for execution. Let them flaunt their
scarlet and fine linen, and fare sumptuously every day; the
sword of Damocles is above their heads, and if their wits were a
little more awake, their mirth would turn to misery. The
enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs. As the
sacrificial fat was all consumed upon the altar, so shall the
ungodly utterly vanish from the place of their honour and pride.
How can it be otherwise? If the stubble dares to contend with
the flame, to what end can it hope to come? They shall
consume. As dry wood, as heaps of leaves, as burning coals,
they shall soon be gone, and gone altogether, for into smoke
shall they consume away. Sic transit gloria mundi. A puff is
the end of all their puffing. Their fuming ends in smoke. They
made themselves fat, and perished in their own grease. Consumers
of the good they tried to be, and consumed they shall be.
Verse 21. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not
again. Partly because he will not, but mainly because he
cannot. Want follows upon waste, and debt remains undischarged.
Often are the wicked thus impoverished in this life. Their
wanton extravagance brings them down to the usurer's door and to
the bankrupt's suit. But the righteous sheweth mercy, and
giveth, Mercy has given to him, and therefore he gives in
mercy. He is generous and prosperous. He is not a borrower, but
a giver. So far as the good man can do it, he lends an ear to
the requests of need, and instead of being impoverished by what
he imparts, he grows richer, and is able to do more. He does not
give to encourage idleness, but in real mercy, which supposes
real need. The text suggests to us how much better it generally
is to give than to lend. Generally, lending comes to giving in
the end, and it is as well to anticipate the fact, and by a
little liberality forestall the inevitable. If these two
sentences describe the wicked and the righteous, the writer of
these lines has reason to know that in and about the city of
London the wicked are very numerous.
Verse 22. For such as be blessed of him shall
inherit the earth. God's benediction is true wealth after
all. True happiness, such as the covenant secures to all the
chosen of heaven, lies wrapped up in the divine favour. And
they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. His frown is
death; nay, more, It is hell.
Verse 23. The steps of a good man are ordered by
the Lord. All his course of life is graciously ordained, and
in lovingkindness all is fixed, settled, and maintained. No
reckless fate, no fickle chance rules us; our every step is the
subject of divine decree. He delighteth in his way. As
parents are pleased with the tottering footsteps of their babes.
All that concerns a saint is interesting to his heavenly Father.
God loves to view the holy strivings of a soul pressing forward
to the skies. In the trials and the joys of the faithful, Jesus
has fellowship with them, and delights to be their sympathising
companion.
Verse 24. Though he fall. Disasters and
reverses may lay him low; he may, like Job, be stripped of
everything; like Joseph, be put in prison; like Jonah, be cast
into the deep. He shall not be utterly cast down. He
shall not be altogether prostrate. He shall be brought on his
knees, but not on his face; or, if laid prone for a moment, he
shall be up again ere long. No saint shall fall finally or
fatally. Sorrow may bring us to the earth, and death may bring
us to the grave, but lower we cannot sink, and out of the lowest
of all we shall arise to the highest of all. For the Lord
upholdeth him with his hand. Condescendingly, with his own
hand, God upholds his saints; he does not leave them to mere
delegated agency, he affords personal assistance. Even in our
falls the Lord gives a measure of sustaining. Where grace does
not keep from going down, it shall save from keeping down. Job
had double wealth at last, Joseph reigned over Egypt, Jonah was
safely landed. It is not that the saints are strong, or wise, or
meritorious, that therefore they rise after every fall, but
because God is their helper, and therefore none can prevail
against them.
Verse 25. This was David's observation, I have been
young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous
forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. It is not my
observation just as it stands, for I have relieved the children
of undoubtedly good men, who have appealed to me as common
mendicants. But this does not cast a doubt upon the observation
of David. He lived under a dispensation more outward, and more
of this world than the present rule of personal faith. Never are
the righteous forsaken; that is a rule without exception. Seldom
indeed do their seed beg bread; and although it does
occasionally occur, through dissipation, idleness, or some other
causes on the part of their sons, yet doubtless it is so rare a
thing that there are many alive who never saw it. Go into the
union house and see how few are the children of godly parents;
enter the gaol and see how much rarer still is the case. Poor
minster's sons often become rich. I am not old, but I have seen
families of the poor godly become rich, and have seen the Lord
reward the faithfulness of the father in the success of the son,
so that I have often thought that the best way to endow one's
seed with wealth is to become poor for Christ's sake. In the
Indian mission of the "Baptist Missionary Society,
"this is abundantly illustrated.
Verse 26. He is ever merciful, and lendeth. The
righteous are constantly under generous impulses; they do not
prosper through parsimony, but through bounty. Like the
bounteous giver of all good, of whom they are the beloved sons,
they delight in doing good. How stingy covetous professors can
hope for salvation is a marvel to those who read such verses as
this in the Bible. And his seed is blessed. God pays back
with interest in the next generation. Where the children of the
righteous are not godly, there must be some reason for it in
parental neglect, or some other guilty cause. The friend
of the father is the friend of the family. The God of Abraham is
the God of Isaac and of Jacob.
Verses 27-29. Here we have the seventh precept, which
takes a negative and positive form, and is the quintessence of
the entire Psalm
Verse 27. Depart from evil, and do good. We
must not envy the doers of evil, but depart altogether from
their spirit and example. As Lot left Sodom without casting a
look behind, so must we leave sin. No truce or parley is to be
held with sin, we must turn away from it without hesitation, and
set ourselves practically to work in the opposite direction. He
who neglects to do good will soon fall into evil. And dwell
for evermore. Obtain an abiding and quiet inheritance. Short
lived are the gains and pleasures of evil, but eternal are the
rewards of grace.
Verse 28. For the Lord loveth judgment. The
awarding of honour to whom honour is due is God's delight,
especially when the upright man has been traduced by his fellow
men. It must be a divine pleasure to right wrongs, and to defeat
the machinations of the unjust. The great Arbiter of human
destinies is sure to deal out righteous measure both to rich and
poor, to good and evil, for such judgment is his delight. And
forsaketh not his saints. This would not be right, and,
therefore, shall never be done. God is as faithful to the
objects of his love as he is just towards all mankind. They
are preserved for ever. By covenant engagements their
security is fixed, and by suretyship fulfilments that safety is
accomplished; come what may, the saints are preserved in Christ
Jesus, and because he lives, they shall live also. A king will
not lose his jewels, nor will Jehovah lose his people. As the
manna in the golden pot, which else had melted, was preserved in
the ark of the covenant beneath the mercyseat, so shall the
faithful be preserved in the covenant by the power of Jesus
their propitiation. But the seed of the wicked shall be cut
off. Like the house of Jeroboam and Ahab, of which not a dog
was left. Honour and wealth ill gotten seldom reach the third
generation; the curse grows ripe before many years have passed,
and falls upon the evil house. Among the legacies of wicked men
the surest entail is a judgment on their family.
Verse 29. The righteous shall inherit the land.
As heirs with Jesus Christ, the Canaan above, which is the
antitype of "the land, " shall be theirs with all
covenant blessing. And dwell therein for ever. Tenures
differ, but none can match the holding which believers have of
heaven. Paradise is theirs for ever by inheritance, and they
shall live for ever to enjoy it. Who would not be a saint on
such terms? Who would fret concerning the fleeting treasures of
the godless?
Verse 30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh
wisdom. Where the whole Psalm is dedicated to a description
of the different fates of the just and the wicked, it was meet
to give a test by which they could be known. A man's tongue is
no ill index of his character. The mouth betrays the heart. Good
men, as a rule, speak that which is to edifying, sound speech,
religious conversation, consistent with the divine illumination
which they have received. Righteousness is wisdom in action,
hence all good men are practically wise men, and well may the
speech be wise. His tongue talketh of judgment. He
advocates justice, gives an honest verdict on things and men,
and he foretells that God's judgments will come upon the wicked,
as in the former days. His talk is neither foolish nor ribald,
neither vapid nor profane. Our conversation is of far more
consequence than some men imagine.
Verse 31. The law of his God is in his heart; none
of his steps shall slide. The best thing in the best place,
producing the best results. Well might the man's talk be so
admirable when his heart was so well stored. To love holiness,
to have the motives and desires sanctified, to be in one's
inmost nature obedient to the Lord—this is the surest method
of making the whole run of our life efficient for its great
ends, and even for securing the details of it, our steps
from any serious mistake. To keep the even tenor of one's way,
in such times as these, is given only to those whose hearts are
sound towards God, who can, as in the text, call God their God.
Policy slips and trips, it twists and tacks, and after all is
worsted in the long run, but sincerity plods on its plain
pathway and reaches the goal.
Verse 32. The wicked watcheth the righteous, and
seeketh to slay him. If it were not for the laws of the
land, we should soon see a massacre of the righteous. Jesus was
watched by his enemies, who were thirsting for his blood: his
disciples must not look for favour where their Master found
hatred and death.
Verse 33. The Lord will not leave him in his hand.
God often appears to deliver his servants, and when he does not
do so in this life as to their bodies, he gives their souls such
joy and peace that they triumphantly rise beyond their
tormentors' power. We may be in the enemy's hand for awhile, as
Job was, but we cannot be left there. Nor condemn him when he
is judged. Time shall reverse the verdict of haste, or else
eternity shall clear away the condemnation of time. In due
season just men will be justified. Temporary injustices are
tolerated, in the order of Providence, for purposes most wise;
but the bitter shall not always be called sweet, nor light for
ever be traduced as darkness; the right shall appear in due
season; the fictitious and pretentious shall be unmasked, and
the real and true shall be revealed. If we have done faithfully,
we may appeal from the petty sessions of society to the solemn
assize of the great day.
Verse 34. Wait on the Lord. We have here the
eighth precept, and it is a lofty eminence to attain to. Tarry
the Lord's leisure. Wait in obedience as a servant, in hope as
an heir, in expectation as a believer. This little word
"wait" is easy to say, but hard to carry out, yet
faith must do it. And keep his way. Continue in the
narrow path; let no haste for riches or ease cause unholy
action. Let your motto be, "On, on, on." Never flag,
or dream of turning aside. "He that endureth to the end,
the same shall be saved." And he shall exalt thee to
inherit the land. Thou shalt have all of earthly good which
is really good, and of heavenly good there shall be no stint.
Exaltation shall be the lot of the excellent. When the wicked
are cut off, thou shalt see it. A sight how terrible and how
instructive! What a rebuke for fretfulness! what an incentive to
gratitude! My soul, be still, as you foresee the end, the awful
end of the Lord's enemies.
Verse 35. A second time David turns to his diary, and
this time in poetic imagery tells us of what he had observed. It
were well if we too took notes of divine providences. I have
seen the wicked in great power. The man was terrible to
others, ruling with much authority, and carrying things with a
high hand, a Caesar in might, a Croesus in wealth. And
spreading himself like a green bay tree. Adding house to
house and field to field, rising higher and higher in the state.
He seemed to be ever verdant like a laurel, he grew as a tree in
its own native soil, from which it had never been transplanted.
No particular tree is here meant, a spreading beech or a wide
expanding oak may serve us to realize the picture; it is a thing
of earth, whose roots are in the clay; its honours are fading
leaves; and though its shadow dwarfs the plants which are
condemned to pine beneath it, yet it is itself a dying things as
the feller's axe shall prove. In the noble tree, which claims to
be king of the forest, behold the grandeur of the ungodly today;
wait awhile and wonder at the change, as the timber is carried
away, and the very root torn from the ground.
Verse 36. Yet he passed away. Tree and man both
gone, the son of man as surely as the child of the forest. What
clean sweeps death makes! And, lo, he was not. To the
surprise of all men the great man was gone, his estates sold,
his business bankrupt, his house alienated, his name forgotten,
and all in a few months. Yea, I sought him, but he could not
be found. Moved by curiosity, if we enquire for the ungodly,
they have left no trace; like birds of ill omen none desire to
remember them. Some of the humblest of the godly are
immortalized, their names are imperishably fragrant in the
church, while of the ablest of infidels and blasphemers hardly
their names are remembered beyond a few years. Men who were in
everybody's mouths but yesterday are forgotten tomorrow, for
only virtue is immortal.
Verse 37. Mark the perfect man, and behold the
upright. After having watched with surprise the downfall of
the wicked, give your attention to the sincerely godly man, and
observe the blessed contrast. Good men are men of mark, and are
worth our study. Upright men are marvels of grace, and worth
beholding. For the end of that man is peace. The man of
peace has an end of peace. Peace without end comes in the end to
the man of God. His way may be rough, but it leads home. With
believers it may rain in the morning, thunder at midday, and
pour in torrents in the afternoon, but it must clear up ere the
sun goes down. War may last till our last hour, but then we
shall hear the last of it.
Verse 38. But the transgressors shall be destroyed
together. A common ruin awaits those who are joined in
common rebellion. The end of the wicked shall be cut off.
Their time shall be shortened, their happiness shall be ended,
their hopes for ever blasted, their execution hastened on. Their
present is shortened by their sins; they shall not live out half
their days. They have no future worth having, while the
righteous count their future as their true heritage.
Verse 39. But the salvation of the righteous is of
the Lord. Sound doctrine this. The very marrow of the gospel
of free grace. By salvation is meant deliverance of every kind;
not only the salvation which finally lands us in glory,
but all the minor rescues of the way; these are all to be
ascribed unto the Lord, and to him alone. Let him have glory
from those to whom he grants salvation. He is their strength
in the time of trouble. While trouble overthrows the wicked,
it only drives the righteous to their strong Helper, who
rejoices to uphold them.
Verse 40. And the Lord shall help them. In all
future time Jehovah will stand up for his chosen. Our Great Ally
will bring up his forces in the heat of the battle. He shall
deliver them from the wicked. As he rescued Daniel from the
lions, so will he preserve his beloved from their enemies; they
need not therefore fret, nor be discouraged. And save them,
because they trust in him. Faith shall ensure they safety of
the elect. It is the mark of the sheep by which they shall be
separated from the goats. Not their merit, but their believing,
shall distinguish them. Who would not try the walk of faith?
Whoever truly believes in God will be no longer fretful against
the apparent irregularities of this present life, but will rest
assured that what is mysterious is nevertheless just, and what
seems hard, is, beyond a doubt, ordered in mercy. So the Psalm
ends with a note which is the death knell of the unhallowed
disquietude with which the Psalm commenced. Happy they who can
thus sing themselves out of ill frames into gracious conditions.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole Psalm. The righteous are preserved in Christ
with a special preservation, and in a peculiar safety. In the
thirty-seventh Psalm this point is excellently and largely
handled, both by direct proof, and by answer to all the usual
objections against their safety. That they shall be preserved is
affirmed, Ps 37:3,17,23,25,32. The objections answered are many.
Objection 1. Wicked men flourish. Solution. A
righteous man should never grieve at that, for "they shall
soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green
herb." Ps 37:2.
Objection 2. Righteous men are in distress. Solution—Ps
37:6. The night of their adversity will be turned into the light
of prosperity; and as surely as they can believe when it is
night that it shall be day, so surely may they be persuaded when
crosses are upon them, that comfort and deliverance shall come.
Objection 3. But there are great plots laid against the
righteous, and they are pursued with great malice, and their
intended ruin is come almost to the very issue. Solution—Ps
37:12-15. The Lord sees all the plots of wicked men, and laughs
at their spiteful and foolish malice; while they are busy to
destroy the righteous, and hope to have a day against them,
"The Lord seeth that their own day is coming upon them,
even a day of destruction, a day of great judgment and eternal
misery; "their bow shall be broken, and the sword that they
have drawn shall enter into their own heart.
Objection 4. But the just have but small means. Solution—Ps
37:16-17. "A little that a righteous man hath is better
than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall
be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous."
Objection 5. Heavy times are like to befall them. Solution—Ps
37:19. "They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in
the days of famine they shall have enough."
Objection 6. But the wicked wax fatter and fatter, and they
prevail in vexing the righteous. Solution—Ps 37:20.
Indeed the wicked are fat, but it is but "the fat of lambs,
"their prosperity shall soon melt; and as they be like
smoke in vexing the godly, so shall they be like smoke in
vanishing away.
Objection 7. But the righteous do fall. Solution—Ps
37:24. Though he do fall, yet he falls not finally, nor totally,
for he "is not utterly cast down; "and besides, there
is an upholding providence of God in all the falls of the
righteous.
Objection 8. We see some wicked men that do not so fall into
adversity, but rather are in prosperity to their dying days. Solution—Ps
37:28. Though they do, yet, "their seed shall be cut
off."
Objection 9. But some wicked men are strong yet, and in their
seed spread also. Solution—Ps 37:35-36. Note also that
these "spreading bay trees" many times "soon pass
away; "and they and their houses are sometimes
"utterly cut off."
Objection 10. But upright men are under many and long
crosses. Solution—Ps 37:37. Yet "his end is
peace."
Objection 11. But nobody stands for the godly when they come
into question. Solution—Ps 37:39-40. "Their
salvation is of the Lord; "he is their strength, he will
help them and deliver them, etc.
But if we would be thus delivered, observe: 1. That we must
not unthankfully fret at God's providence Ps 37:1. 2. We must
"trust in the Lord and do good" Ps 37:3. 3. We must
"delight ourselves in the Lord, "and not place our
contentment on earthly things Ps 37:4. 4. We must "commit
our ways to God" Ps 37:5. 5. We must get patience and
humble affections Ps 37:7-11. 6. We must be of upright
conversation Ps 37:14. 7. We must be merciful Ps 37:25-26. 8. We
must "speak righteous things, "and get "the law
into our hearts" Ps 37:30-31. 9. We must "keep our
way, "and "wait on God" and not use ill means. Nicolas
Byfield.
Whole Psalm. This Psalm may well be styled, The good
man's cordial in bad times; a sovereign plaister for the plague
of discontent; or, a choice antidote against the poison of
impatience. Nathaniel Hardy, in a Funeral Sermon, 1649.
Whole Psalm. This Psalm very much reminds one in its
construction of the sententious and pithy conciseness of the
Book of Proverbs. It does not contain any prayer, nor any direct
allusion to David's own circumstances of persecution or
distress. It is rather the utterance of sound practical wisdom
and godliness from the lips of experience and age, such as we
might suppose an elder of the church, or a father of a family,
to let fall as he sat with his household gathered around him,
and listening to his earnest and affectionate admonitions. Barton
Bouchier.
Whole Psalm. The present Psalm is one of the
alphabetical Psalms, it is called "Providentiae
speculum, "by Tertullian; "Potio contra murmur,
"by Isidore; "Vestis piorum, "by
Luther. Christopher Wordsworth.
Verse 1. Fret, or, inflame not, burn not
thyself with anger or grief. John Diodati.
Verse 1. Neither be thou envious, etc. Queen
Elizabeth envied the milkmaid when she was in prison; but if she
had known what a glorious reign she should have had afterwards
for forty-four years, she would not have envied her. And as
little needeth a godly man, though in misery, to envy a wicked
man in the ruff of all his prosperity and jollity, considering
what he hath in hand, much more what he hath in hope. John
Trapp.
Verse 1. Would it not be accounted folly in a man that
is heir to many thousands per annum that he should envy a stage
player, clothed in the habit of a king, and yet not heir to one
foot of land? who, though he have the form, respect, and apparel
of a king or nobleman, yet he is, at the same time, a very
beggar, and worth nothing? Thus, wicked men, though they are
arrayed gorgeously, and fare deliciously, wanting nothing, and
having more that heart can wish, yet they are but only
possessors: the godly Christian is the heir. What good doth all
their prosperity do them? It does but hasten their ruin, not
their reward. The ox that is the labouring ox is the longer
lived than the ox that is in the pasture; the very putting of
him there doth but hasten his slaughter; and when God puts the
wicked men into fat pastures, into places of honour and power,
it is but to hasten their ruin. Let no man, therefore, fret
himself because of evil doers, nor be envious at the prosperity
of the wicked; for the candle of the wicked shall be put into
everlasting darkness; they shall soon be cut off, and wither as
a green herb. Ludovic de Carbone, quoted by John Spencer.
Verse 2. Cut down like the grass, with a
scythe, and even at one blow. Thomas Wilcocks.
Verse 2. Wither. O bitter word, which will make
the ears of them that hear it to tingle! O sentence intolerable,
which deprives sinners of all good things, and bringeth them to
all woe! The Lord sometime accursed the fig tree, and
immediately, not only the leaves, but also the body and root
were wholly withered: even so, that fearful curse of the last
day shall be no less effectual; for on whomsoever it falleth is
shall so scorch them, and shall so make them destitute of God's
grace, that they shall never more be able to do, to speak,
think, or to hope for any good thing. Thomas Tymme.
Verse 2. Green herb. We cannot gather riper
fruit of patience from any tree than is found upon the low
shrubs of man's short life; for if that fretting canker of envy
at the prosperity of the wicked have overrun thy mind, a
malady from which the saints have no shelter to be freed, out of
this apothecary's shop take antidote; either thy time is short
to behold it, or theirs shorter to enjoy is; "they are set
in slippery places, and are suddenly destroyed, "Ps 73:18;
"They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down
to the grave, " Job 21:13; They shall soon be cut down
like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Edmund Layfield's
Sermon, entitled "The Mappe of Man's Mortality and
Vanity", 1630.
Verse 2. Sometimes the wicked, like the green herb,
wither in their spring, they fall in their rise, they perish in
the beginnings of their mischievous designs; but if they do come
to a full growth, they grow but to harvest, the fit season of
their cutting off. Robert Mossom.
Verse 3. Note well the double precept trust and
do. This is the true order, the two must go together, the
one produces, the other proves; the promise is to both. C. H.
S.
Verse 3. So shall thou dwell in the land, etc.
Thou shalt have a settlement, a quiet settlement, and a
maintenance, a comfortable maintenance: Verily thou shalt be
fed; some read it, Thou shalt be fed by faith, as the just
are said to live by faith, and it is good living, good feeding
upon the promises. Verily thou shalt be fed, as Elijah in
the famine, with what is needful for thee. God himself is a
shepherd, a feeder to all those that trust in him, Ps 23:1. Matthew
Henry.
Verse 3. So shalt thou dwell in the land, etc.
The land of Canaan was considered as the sum of earthly, and the
type of heavenly felicity: to be provided for in the Lord's
land, and there to dwell under his protection, near his
ordinances, and among his people, was all that the genuine
Israelite could desire. Thomas Scott (1744-1821) in
loc.
Verse 3. Thou shalt be fed. A manner of speech
taken from cattle feeding securely, under the conduct and
keeping of a good shepherd. Henry Ainsworth.
Verse 3. Thou shalt be fed. Fed in plenty. Thomas
Secker (Archbishop), 1768.
Verse 3. Fed in security. John Parkhurst.
Verse 4. Note thy part and God's part. Do thou delight,
and he will give. C. H. S.
Verse 4. How much grace and love breathes in these
words, Delight thyself also in the Lord! Trust in him was
recommended before, and now, this being added also, how plain is
it that your ease and rest is the thing designed! Is it fit to
receive so much kindness with neglect? Again, he delights in
you; I speak to such of whom this may be supposed. And it is
indefinitely said, "His delights were with the sons of men,
"Pr 8:31. Think what he is, and what you are; and at once,
both wonder and yield. And what else have you to delight in?
what thing will you name that shall supply the place of GOD, or
be to you in the stead of him? Moreover, who should delight in
him but you—his friends, his sons, those of his own house?
Think what life and vigour it will infuse into you, and that
"the joy of the Lord will be your strength, "Ne 8:10.
How pleasantly will you hold on your course, and discharge all
the other duties of this your present state? You must serve him.
Dare you think of throwing off his yoke? How desirable is it
then to take delight in him whom I must serve; which only makes
that service acceptable to him, and easy to myself! Further,
this is a pleasure none can rob you of; a joy that cannot be
taken from you. Other objects of your delight are vanishing
daily. Neither men nor devils can ever hinder you delighting in
God, if your hearts be so inclined. And were you never brought
to take pleasure in any person or thing to which you had a
former aversion? One that had wronged you might yet possibly win
you by after kindness. Give a reason why you should be more
difficult towards the blessed God that never wronged you, and
whose way towards you hath constantly imported so much good
will! And consider that your condition on earth is such as
exposes you to many sufferings and hardships, which, by your not
delighting in him, you can never be sure to avoid (for they are
things common to men), but which, by your delighting in him, you
may be easily able to endure. Besides all this, seriously
consider that you must die. You can make no shift to avoid that.
How easily tolerable and pleasant will it be to think, then, of
going to him with whom you have lived in a delightful communion
before! And how dreadful to appear before him to whom your own
heart shall accuse you to have been (against all his
importunities and allurements) a disaffected stranger! John
Howe's "Treatise of Delight in God."
Verse 4. We have in the former part extended the
meaning of the words Delight thyself in the Lord, beyond
what they seem at first sight literally to signify; so as not to
understand them merely as requiring that very single act of delight
to be immediately and directly terminated on God himself; but to
take them as comprehending all the sum of all holy and
religious converse with God, i.e., as it is delightful, or
as it is seasoned (intermingled, and as it were besprinkled)
with delight; and upon the same account, of all out other
converse, so far as it is influenced by religion. And I doubt
not, to such as shall attentively have considered what hath been
said, it will be thought very reasonable to take them in that
latitude; whereof the very letter of the text (as may be alleged
for further justification hereof) is most fitly capable. For the
particle which we read in the Lord, hath not that
signification alone, but signifies also with, or by,
or besides, or before, or in presence of,
as if it had been said, "Come and sit down with God, retire
thyself to him, and solace thyself in the delights which are to
be found in his presence and converse, in walking with him, and
transacting thy course as before him, and in his sight." As
a man may be said to delight himself with a friend that puts
himself under his roof, and, besides personal converse with
himself, freely enjoys the pleasure of all the entertainments,
accommodations, and provisions which he is freely willing to
communicate with him, and hath the satisfaction which a sober
person would take in observing the rules and order of a well
governed house. John Howe.
Verse 4. He shall give thee the desires of thine
heart. It shall be unto thee even as thou wilt. It is said
of Luther that he could have what he would of Almighty God. What
may not a favourite, who hath the royalty of his prince's care,
obtain of him? John Trapp.
Verse 4. The desires of thine heart. All the
desires of this spiritual seed are of the nature of this seed,
namely, substantial, and shall meet with substance. All the
desires of natural man, even after God, after Christ, after
righteousness, shall burn and perish with him (for they are not
the truth, nor do they come from the truth, nor can they reach
to the truth;)but all the desires of this spirit shall live with
the Spirit of God, in rest and satisfaction for ever. John
Pennington, 1656.
Verse 4. The desires of God, and the desires
of the righteous, agree in one; they are of one mind in their
desires. John Bunyan.
Verse 5. Commit thy way unto the Lord, etc.
When we bear the burden of our own affairs ourselves, and are
chastised with anxiety and want of success, and with envying the
ungodly who prosper better than we do, the best remedy is first
to do our duty, as we are enabled in the use of the means, then
cast the care of the success over on God, as the ploughman doth
when he hath harrowed his land; and let the burden of it rest on
God, and let us not take it off him again, but put our mind to
rest, resolved to take the harvest in good part, as he shall
send it. David Dickson.
Verse 5. Commit thy way unto the Lord, is
rendered by the Vulgate, Revela viam Domino, reveal thy
way; and by St. Ambrose, understood of revealing our sins to
God. Indeed, since it is impossible to cover, why should we not
discover our sins? Conceal not that which God knoweth already,
and would have thee to make known. It is a very ill office to be
the devil's secretary. Oh, break thy league with Satan be
revealing his secrets, thy sins, to God. Nathaniel Hardy.
Verse 5. Commit thy way unto. Margin and
Hebrew, Roll thy way upon—as one who lays upon the
shoulder of one stronger than himself a burden which he is not
able to bear. William De Burgh, D.D., in "A Commentary
on the Book of Psalms. Dublin:" 1860.
Verse 5. Note the double again, Commit and trust.
C. H. S.
Verse 5. He shall bring it to pass. When a hard
piece of work is put into the hand of an apprentice for the
first assay of his skill, the beholders are justly afraid of a
miscarriage in his young and inexperienced hand; but when the
worker is an old master of craft, none are afraid but his
cunning hand can act again what so oft it hath wrought to the
contentment of all the beholders. Were our God a novice in the
great art of governing the world, and of the church in the bosom
thereof; had he to this day never given any proof of his
infinite wisdom, power, and goodness, in turning about the most
terrible accidents to the welfare and joy of his saints; we
might indeed be amazed whenever we feel ourselves sinking in the
dangers wherein the practices of our enemies oft do plunge us
over head and ears; but the Lord having given in times past so
many documents of his uncontroverted skill and most certain will
to bring about all human affairs, as to his own glory, so to the
real good of all that love him, it would be in us an impious and
unexcusable uncharitableness to suspect the end of any work
which he hath begun. Robert Baylie's Sermon before the House
of Commons, 1643.
Verses 5, 7.
To God thy way commending,
Trust him whose arm of might,
The heavenly circles bending,
Guides every star aright:
The winds, and clouds, and lightning,
By his sure hand are led;
And he will dark shades brightening.
Show thee what path to tread.
Although to make God falter,
The powers of hell combine,
One jot they cannot alter
Of his all wise design:
All projects and volition
Of his eternal mind,
Despite all opposition,
Their due fulfilment find.
No more, then, droop and languish,
Thou sorrow stricken soul;
Even from the depths of anguish,
Whose billows over thee roll,
Thy Father's hand shall draw thee:
In hope and patience stay,
And joy will soon shed over thee
An ever brightening ray.
All faithless murmurs leaving,
Bid them a last good night,
No more thy vexed soul grieving,
Because things seem not right;
Wisely his sceptre wielding,
God sits in regal state,
No power to mortals yielding,
Events to regulate.
Trust with a faith untiring
In thine Omniscient King,
And thou shalt see admiring
What he to light will bring.
Of all thy griefs, the reason
Shall at the last appear:
Why now denied a season,
Will shine in letters clear.
Then raise thine eyes to heaven,
Thou who canst trust his frown;
Thence shall thy meed be given,
The chaplet and the crown:
Thy God the palm victorious
In thy right hand shall plant,
Whilst thou, in accents glorious,
Melodious hymns shall chant.
—Paul Gerhard (1606-1676), translated by Frances
Elizabeth Cox, in "Hymns from the German, "1864.
Verse 6. He shall bring forth thy righteousness as
the light, etc. If thou shouldest be accused as a man of
evil designs, let not that trouble thee neither: for though thy
fame may be obscured for a time by calumnies and slanders, as
the sun is by mists and clouds, yet as that scatters them all at
last, so shall thy integrity appear, and shine as bright as the
sun at noonday. Symon Patrick.
Verse 7. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for
him. There are two words in the original, which express the
privilege and the duty of resting on Christ: one implies such a
state of acquiescence, as silences the clamours of conscience,
and composes the perturbation of the spirit; the other signifies
the refreshment and repose of a weary pilgrim, when he arrives
at the end of his journey, and is settled for life in a secure,
commodious, plentiful habitation. James Hervey.
Verse 7. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for
him. Take the case of one who, with a load above his
strength, has been toiling some steep and broken path, when
suddenly he finds it lifted off and transferred to another whose
strength he knows to be more than equal to the task, and in
whose sympathy he can securely trust. What would his feeling be
but one of perfect rest, and calm reliance, and joyous freedom,
as they went on their way together? And such is the blessedness
of rolling our care upon the Lord—in weakness we are resting
on superior strength, in perplexity and doubt we are resting on
superior wisdom, in all times of trial and hard service we can
stay ourselves on the assurance of his perfect sympathy. The
literal meaning of the word rest, is be silent
towards the Lord. With the eye fixed on him let all unbelieving
thoughts be stilled, such thoughts as rise and rankle in the
querulous spirit when it sees only its troubles, and not God in
them, when the mists of earth hide from its sight the eternal
stars of heaven. Then like Jacob, it may say morosely, "All
these things are against me; "or, like Elijah,
despondently, "It is enough now, O Lord, take away my life;
"or, like Jonah, fretfully, "I do well to be
angry." In regard to all such dark and unbelieving
suggestions, the heart is to keep silence, to be still and know
that he is God; silent as to murmuring, but not silent as to
prayer, for in that holy meditative stillness the heart turns to
commune with him. What is "resting in God, "but the
instinctive movement and upward glance of the spirit to him; the
confiding all one's griefs and fears to him, and feeling
strengthened, patient, hopeful in the act of doing so! It
implies a willingness that he should choose for us, a conviction
that the ordering of all that concerns us is safer in his hands
than in our own.
A few practical remarks: 1. Our "resting
patiently" in the Lord applies only to the trials which
he sends, not to the troubles which even Christians often make
for themselves. There is a difference in the burdens that come
in the way of duty, and those that come through our wandering
into other ways. We can roll the one upon the Lord, but with the
other our punishment may be to be left to bear them long, and to
be bruised in bearing them. 2. The duty here enjoined is to be
carried through all our life. We all admit that patient
waiting is needed for the great trials of life, but may not
acknowledge so readily that it is needed as much for little,
daily, commonplace vexations. But these are as much a test of
Christian principle as the other. 3. This resting in God is a
criterion of a man's spiritual state. It needs a special faculty
of discernment, a new sense to be opened in the soul, before our
fallen nature can understand or desire it. James D. Burns,
M.A.
Verse 7. (first clause). Hold thee still
(so it may be translated). And this is the hardest precept that
is given to man; insomuch that the most difficult precept of
action sinks into nothing when compared with this command to
inaction. Jerome.
Verse 7. (first clause). The Hebrew word
rendered silent is (owr), dom, from which the
English word dumb appears to be derived. The silence here
enjoined is opposed to murmuring or complaining. James
Anderson, in Calvin's Commentary.
Verse 7. Note again the twin duties, rest and wait.
Verse 7. Bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Observe the opposition between this and God's bringing to
pass, in verse five. The ground for grief is that the ungodly
appear to achieve their end, the reason for comfort is that our
end shall be achieved also, and that in the best manner by God
himself. C. H. S.
Verse 8. Forsake wrath; which is anger wrought
up to a greater degree; and the rather to be shunned and
avoided, as being very disagreeable to the character of a good
man. Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil; evil may be
done by fretting at the prosperity of wicked men, or by
imitating them, doing as they do, in hope of being prosperous as
they are. John Gill.
Verse 9. They shall inherit the earth. He means
that they shall live in such a manner as that the blessing of
God shall follow them, even to the grave. John Calvin.
Verse 10. Thou shalt diligently consider his place,
and it shall not be. To wit, because he shall be grubbed up
by the roots. Arthur Jackson.
Verse 10. His place...shall not be. The very
land he occupied as a home, and the title to which was
unimpeachable, is no longer his place. It has passed into
other hands. Nothing of all he had on earth is his. He is as
poor as the most miserable object that subsisted on alms. William
S. Plumer.
Verse 10. The peacock, a glorious fowl, when he
beholds that comely fan and circle which he maketh of the
beautiful feathers of his tail, he rejoiceth, he setteth, and
beholdeth every part thereof: but when he looketh on his feet,
which he perceiveth to be black and foul, he by and by, with
great misliking, vails his top gallant, and seemeth to sorrow.
In like manner, a great many know by experience, that when they
see themselves to abound in riches and honours, they glory and
are deeply conceited of themselves; they praise their fortune,
and admire themselves; they make plots, and appoint much for
themselves to perform in many years to come. This year, they
say, we will bear this office, and the next year that; afterward
we shall have the rule of such a province; then we will build a
palace in such a city, whereunto we will adjoin such gardens of
pleasure, and such vineyards: and thus they make a very large
reckoning aforehand, who if they did but once behold their feet,
if they did but think upon the shortness of their life, so
transitory and inconstant; how soon would they let fall their
proud feathers, forsake their arrogancy, and change their
purpose, their minds, their lives, and their manners. Thomas
Tymme.
Verse 11. The meek shall inherit the earth. In
the meantime, they, and they only, possess the present earth, as
they go toward the kingdom of heaven, by being humble, and
cheerful, and content with what their good God has allotted
them. They have no turbulent, repining, vexatious thoughts that
they deserve better; nor are vexed when they see others
possessed of more honour, or more riches, than their wise God
has allotted for their share. But they possess what they have
with a meek and contented quietness; such a quietness as makes
their very dreams pleasing, both to God and themselves. Isaak
Walton (1593-1683), in "The Complete Angler."
Verse 11. The meek. What is thy Beloved more
than any other beloved? It is spoken to the spouse. So what is
meekness more than any other virtues? We may say, here is synecdoche
speciei, one particular taken for the general, one virtue
for all the rest. Or the effect is put for the cause; because
meekness is one of the principal and chiefest parts of holiness.
But if you will give me leave to conjecture, the Holy Ghost may
seem in this promise at once to show the condition of the
church, and to comfort her; and because being laid hard at on
every side, she stands in need of this virtue more than any
other, to fit and fashion the reward to the virtue, to cherish
and exalt it in us with the promise of something beyond our
expectation, even the inheritance of the earth. And
indeed what fitter reward can there be of meekness? What more
fit and just than that they who have been made the anvil for
injuries to beat on, who have been viri perpessitii, as
Seneca speaks of Socrates, men of great sufferance, who have
suffered not only their goods to be torn from them by oppression
and wrong, but their reputations to be wounded with the sharp
razor of detraction, and have withstood the shock of all spectantibus
similes, with the patience of a looker on, should be raised
and comforted with a promise of that which their meekness gave
up to the spoil; and that by the providence of God which loves
to thwart the practice of the world, they should be made heirs
even of those possessions which the hand of violence hath
snatched from them. Anthony Farindon, B.D., 1596-1658.
Verse 11. Not the hot stirring spirits who bustle for
the world shall have it, but the meek, who are thrust up and
down from corner to corner, and hardly suffered to remain
anywhere quietly in it. This earth, which they seem most
deprived of, they only shall have and enjoy. When the Lord hath
made it worth the having, then none shall have it but they. They
shall inherit the earth. The earth is the Lord's; these are
the children of the Lord, and they shall inherit this earth.
When the Lord taketh it into his own possession and enjoyment,
they shall succeed him in the possession and enjoyment of it. It
is their right, and shall descend unto them by right, by
inheritance. It is the Lord's right, and by the Lord shall
descend to them as their right. They cannot yet have it, for the
Lord hath it not yet; but when the Lord hath it, it shall fairly
descend to them. This accursed earth they shall never have, but
when it is taken into the hands of the Lord, and blessed by the
Lord, then it shall be theirs, then it shall be inherited by the
children of blessing. John Pennington.
Verse 11. And shall delight themselves in the
abundance of peace. Surely when the glory of the Lord covers
the earth, and all the kingdoms of this world become the
kingdoms of the Prince of Peace, and the wicked one is rooted
out, we may well expect peace in rich abundance. W. Wilson.
Verses 12-13. Note how the gesture of the wicked in gnashing
their teeth is returned to them in the Lord's scornful laughter
at their devices. Their plotting, too, is countermined by that
winding up of all plots, which the Lord knoweth, though they are
wilfully ignorant of it. C. H. S.
Verse 13. The Lord shall laugh at him, etc. He
seems to provide very coldly for our consolation under sorrow,
for he represents God as merely laughing. But if God
values highly our salvation, why does he not set himself to
resist the fury of our enemies, and vigorously oppose them? We
know that this, as has been said in Ps 2:4, is a proper trial of
our patience when God does not come forth at once, armed for the
discomfiture of the ungodly, but connives for a time, and
withholds his hand. Lest the flesh should still murmur and
complain, demanding why God should only laugh at the wicked, and
not rather take vengeance upon them, the reason is added, that
he sees the day of their destruction at hand. For he seeth
that his day is coming. John Calvin.
Verse 13. For he seeth that his day is coming.
He laughs at such poor worms, who make themselves so great upon
the earth, and act so loftily in their impotence, seeing it must
so soon be over with them. Berleb. Bible, quoted by E. W.
Hengstenberg.
Verse 13. For he seeth that his day is coming.
His dismal day, his death's day, which will also be his doom's
day. John Trapp.
Verses 14-15. The tongue is a sword and a bow,
which shooteth its arrows, even bitter words, against the humble
and upright, Jesus and his disciples. But these are not the only
weapons that have been drawn against them. How the malice of the
Jews returned upon their own heads no one is ignorant, though
few lay it to heart, and consider them as set forth for an
example. George Horne.
Verses 14-15. When the wicked are most near to do a
mischief to the Lord's people, then is a mischief most near unto
them. David Dickson.
Verse 16. A little that a righteous man hath,
etc. To wit, 1. Because the wicked do often enrich themselves by
unjust means, and so have much vexation and trouble with them,
and likewise thereby do treasure up wrath against the day of
wrath; whereas the righteous with a little, well gotten, have
much peace of conscience, with hope of heaven hereafter. 2.
Because the righteous use theirs well, and are the better for
them; whereas the wicked abuse theirs many ways, and are in many
respects the worse for them. 3. Because the righteous enjoy what
they have from hand to mouth as the gifts of God, and the
pledges of his fatherly love and care over them, and so it is to
them as manna from heaven, and hereby they enjoy much sweet
comfort, and are fully satisfied with what they have; whereas
the wicked have none of this joy nor satisfaction by their
wealth. 4. Because God by his blessing doth usually make that
the righteous enjoy to be more effectual for their good than is
the abundance of the wicked. A little coarse fare makes them
more healthful and strong than the wicked are with all their
plenty. And, 5. Because the wicked enjoys not his wealth long,
as the righteous man doth; and this indeed agrees best with the
following words. Arthur Jackson.
Verse 16. Strangers to Christ have the use of outward
mercies, but cannot be properly said to have the enjoyment; they
seem to be masters of them, but indeed they are servants to
them; possessors as to outward use, but slaves as to their
inward affections; they serve them while they seem to dispose of
them; they do not dominari, but servire—have not
the command of, but are enslaved. Nor is their use truly
comfortable; they may fancy comfort, but their comfort is but a
fancy; it flows from another fountain tan can be digged in
earth; true, solid comfort is the portion of those only who have
the righteousness of Christ for their portion. These may look
upon every temporal enjoyment as a token of everlasting love, as
a pledge and earnest of eternal glory; and both these, because
they may receive them as the purchase of the blood and
righteousness of Christ; aye, here is the well spring of
comfort, the fountain of that comfort which is better than life.
Oh, what comfort is it to taste the sweetness of Christ's love
in every enjoyment! When we can say, "Christ loved me, and
gave himself for me, that I might enjoy these blessings,
"oh, how will this raise the value of every common mercy!
Christ's righteousness which was performed, the highest
expression of his love, purchased this for me! Upon this account
is that of the psalmist true, A little that a righteous man
hath is better than the riches of many wicked. He that hath
but food and raiment hath in this respect more than he that hath
the Turkish empire, or the gold of the Indies. He hath more
ground of comfort in his little than they in all. David
Clarkson.
Verse 16. If thine estate were but little, yet it
would be perfumed with love, and that lump of sugar in thy cup
would make the liquor sweet, be it never so small. As the waters
which flow from the hills of some of the islands of Molucca
taste of the cinnamon and cloves which grow there, so should thy
gift, though it were but water, taste of the goodwill and
special grace of the Giver. Thy little, with the fear of
the Lord, would be better than the riches of many wicked men.
As a little ring with a very costly diamond in it is far more
worth than many great ones without it, so thy estate, though it
were but a penny, should be joined with the precious jewel of
that love which is better than life, and enjoyed by special
promise, and thereby be infinitely more worth than the thousands
and millions of others bestowed merely from common bounty, and
enjoyed only by a general providence. George Swinnock.
Verse 16. It is as possible for a wicked man to fill
his body with air and his chest with grace, as his mind with
wealth. It is with them as with a ship; it may be overladen with
silver and gold, even unto sinking, and yet have compass and
sides to hold ten times more. So here, a covetous wretch, though
he have enough to sink him, yet he shall never have enough to
satisfy him. So that the conclusion which the psalmist delivers
is most worthy to be observed: A little that a righteous man
hath is better than the riches of many wicked; he doth not
say of how many, because let us think of never so many, yea, all
of them, the righteous man's little is better in very many
respects than all their greatest treasures heaped together. The
King of Spain although the greatest prince in Christendom by
far, having his empire so far extended, that he may truly say,
that the sun ever shines upon his dominions, yet gives this for
his motto, Totus non sufficit orbis, The whole world is
not sufficient. God by Solomon tells us that "In the house
of the righteous is much treasure" Pr 15:6, although many
times there is scarce a good bed to lie, or a seat to sit on.
The time will certainly come, when the richest wicked men that
ever lived will see clearly that their account would have been
much narrower, and consequently their condition to all eternity
less miserable, if they had been so poor as to have begged their
bread from door to door all their lives long. It is with the
blessings of this life as it is with perfumed gloves; when they
are richly perfumed their perfume is much more valuable than the
leather of which they are made: so, not so much earthly
blessings considered in themselves, as their being perfumed with
the sweet love of God in Christ, is that which maketh them
blessings indeed, truly deserving the name they bear. Now all
the blessings of those who have made Mary's choice are all thus
perfumed; all the barley bread they eat, be it never so coarse;
all the clothes they wear, be they never so mean; with all their
other temporal blessings, they proceed from the same sweet love
of God, wherewith he was moved to bestow Jesus Christ upon them
for salvation. Ro 8:32. John Glascock's Sermon, entitled
"Mary's Choice, "1659.
Verses 16-17. A little blest is better than a great
deal curst; a little blest is better than a world enjoyed; a
pound blest is better than a thousand curst; a black crust blest
is better than a feast curst; the gleanings blest are better
than the whole harvest curst; a drop of mercy blest is better
than a sea of mercy curst; Lazarus crumbs blest was better than
Dives' delicates curst; Jacob's little blest unto him was better
than Esau's great estate that was curst unto him. It is always
better to have scraps with a blessing, than to have manna and
quails with a curse; a thin table with a blessing is better than
a full table with a snare; a threadbare coat with a blessing is
better than a purple robe curst; a hole, a cave, a den, a barn,
a chimney corner with a blessing, is better than stately palaces
with a curse; a woollen cap blest is better than a golden crown
curst; and it may be that emperor understood as much, that said
of his crown, when he looked on it with tears: "If you knew
the cares that are under this crown you would never stoop to
take it up." And therefore, why should not a Christian be
contented with a little, seeing his little shall be blest unto
him? Isaac tills the ground and sows his seed, and God blesses
him with an hundredfold; and Cain tills the ground and sows his
seed, but the earth is cursed to him and commanded not to yield
to him his strength. Oh, therefore never let a Christian murmur
because he hath but little, but rather let him be still blessing
of that God that hath blest his little, and doth bless his
little, and that will bless his little to him. Thomas Brooks.
Verse 17. For the arms of the wicked shall be
broken: but he upholdeth (or underprops) the righteous.
By the arms of the wicked, you are to understand their
strength, their valour, their power, their wit, their wealth,
their abundance, which is all the arms they have to support and
bear up themselves in the world with. Now, these arms shall be
broken, and when they are broken, then, even then, will God
uphold the righteous, that is, God will be a continual
overflowing fountain of good to his righteous ones; so that they
shall never want, though all the springs of the wicked are dried
up round about them. Thomas Brooks.
Verse 18. The Lord knoweth the days of the upright.
Deposits their days, lays them up in safety for them: for such
is the original idea of (edy). John Fry.
Verse 18. The Lord knoweth the days of the upright,
and they cannot be cut short by the malice of man. W. Wilson.
Verse 20. As the fat of lambs. As the glory of
fat sheep, which are at length slain. Targum.
Verse 20. Fat of lambs. As the fat of the
sacrifices was consumed on the altar by the fire (which was a
type of God's righteous vengeance upon sinners), till it
vanished into smoke; so the wicked will be the sacrifices to
God's justice, and be destroyed by the fire of his indignation. Thomas
Scott.
Verse 20. Into smoke shall they consume.
"What hath pride profited us? or what hath our boasting of
riches given us?" Such are the things, they shall speak who
are in hell and who have sinned. For, the hope of the ungodly is
like a dry thistle down, by the wind carried away, or the thin
foam spread upon the billows, or as a smoke floated hither and
thither by the wind, or as the remembrance of a wayfaring man
for a day. Wouter of Stoelwyk, 1541.
Verse 21. Payeth not again; i.e., has it not in
his power, from his straitened circumstances, to repay what he
has borrowed: compare De 28:12. A Jew thus circumstanced became
the bond slave of his creditors: compare 2Ki 4:1. Daniel
Cresswell.
Verse 22. God promises that the seed of his people
shall inherit the earth. The child of such a tenant as paid his
rent well, shall not be put out of his farm. John Glascock.
Verse 23. The steps of a good man are ordered by
the Lord. When this Pilot undertakes to steer their course,
their vessel shall never split upon the rock, run upon the
sands, or spring a leak, so as to sink in the seas. To be sure
he will see them safe in their harbour. He was no Christian, yet
I suppose none will deny but he spake good divinity, who said,
"If a man will choose God for his Friend, he shall travel
securely through a wilderness that hath many beasts of prey in
it; he shall pass safely through this world; for he only is safe
that hath God for his guide." (Ar. Epist. 27) Doth he not
speak a little like David himself Ps 37:23, who never expected
to come to glory except he were guided by his counsel? Now, if a
poor heathen could say thus, and see good reason to trust God,
and admire his faithfulness as he doth frequently (and so doth
Seneca, justifying God's faithfulness in all his dealings with
the best men in all their sufferings, and the prosperity of the
wicked); what then shall the heavenly Christian say, who hath
experienced so much of God's faithfulness in answering his
prayers, in fulfilling his promises, and supplying all his
exigencies? James Janeway.
Verse 23. He delighteth in his way. Note that
in verse four, we are bidden to delight in the Lord, and here he
delights in us, and as here our way is his delight, so in verse
thirty-four we are to "keep his way." These
antitheses are instructive. C. H. S.
Verses 23-24. Strange words to us! the very steps
all ordered, and that by an Almighty One, who
"delights" in the goodness of the good man's way. And
yet the inference so distinctly to be drawn is that the good man
may fall, and that his God and Guide may stand by and
behold and permit! Let us add to the suggestion of these verses,
one or two references which may help us to establish the
principle in our hearts, that the child of God may fall and
still remain the child of God; and also to explain somewhat of
the reason why this is part of their lot, whether ordered, or
only permitted, at all events, a step of the "right way,
"by which God leads them to a "city of
habitation." Ps 107:7. It is observed near the close of
Hezekiah's good and prosperous life that, "in the business
of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon...God left him to
try him, that he might know all that was in his heart,
" 2Ch 32:31. And again, in Daniel's prophecy regarding the
latter days, we find Da 11:35, "And some of them of
understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge,
and make them white." In the two preceding verses,
we have also some valuable details regarding such falls, such as
the help with which God will uphold them, the flatteries with
which the world will still beset, and hinder them from rising
again; the outward troubles into which their fall shall lead
them, as through a furnace; the high position (instructors of
many) which yet shall not save them from their needed
ordeal—the time appointed—and the end in view. So here. The
acknowledgment of the possibility of the good man's fall is
accompanied with the precious assurance that he shall not be
utterly cast down. Mary B. M. Duncan, in "Under the Shadow,
1867."
Verse 24. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly
cast down, etc. Thus the Spirit comforts and answers the
secret thoughts which everyone might have, saying with himself,
I have, however, seen it happen, that the righteous is
oppressed, and his cause is trodden in the dust by the wicked.
Nay, he replies, dear child, let it be so, that he falls; he
still cannot remain lying thus and be cast away; he must be up
again, although all the world doubts of it. For God catches him
by the hand, and raises him again. Martin Luther.
Verse 24. Though he fall, namely, as one that
were faint hearted, he shall not be cast off, namely,
utterly, or for ever from God 2Co 4:9; "for the Lord
putteth under his hand, "i.e., his power and might,
namely, to uphold him from utter falling away, which we should
quickly do if God were not with us. Thomas Wilcocks.
Verse 24. A man pardoned, and justified by faith in
Christ, though he may, and sometimes doth, fall into foul sins,
yet they never prevail so far as to reverse pardon, and reduce
to a state of non-justification. Though he fall, he shall not
be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand!
He speaks of a good man pardoned, justified; he may fall; but
how far? from pardon, from justification? No, then he should
utterly fall, be cast down beneath God's hand; but the text
saith, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth
him with his hand; or, as Montanus renders the words, the Lord
upholdeth his hands, and he will not let him sink into such a
condition. If it were so, then sin should have dominion over
him, but, Ro 6:14. "Sin shall not have dominion over you;
"and Ro 8:2, justified ones are freed from the law of sin
and death; and Ro 8:30, the predestinated, called, justified,
and glorified ones, are so linked together, that there is no
breaking their chain; if they do sin, they have an
"Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and
he is the propitiation for our sins." 1Jo 2:1-2. William
Greenhill.
Verse 25. I have been young, and now am old, yet
have I not seen the righteous forsaken (he doth not say, In
my experience I never saw the righteous afflicted, but, I never
saw him left or forsaken in his affliction), and I never saw
his seed begging their bread: he puts in that, because
begging of bread, especially in the commonwealth of Israel, and
in the state of the Jews, was a note of utter dereliction! for
though God had told them that they should have the poor always
with them, yet he had given an express law that there should be
no beggar among them; therefore, saith he, I have not seen the
righteous so forsaken, that they should be forced to live by
begging. If any say, that David himself begged, he asked bread
of Abimelech and of Nabal; I answer, it is a good rule, and it
resolves the case; transitory cases, and sudden accidents, make
no beggars: we must not say, David was a beggar, or begged his
bread, because once he was in a strait and asked bread of
Abimelech; and in a second strait sent to Nabal: in such sudden
cases, the richest man in the world may be put to ask a piece of
bread. A good man may fall into such wants, but good men are
rarely, if ever or at all, left in them. Joseph Caryl.
Verse 25. Yet have I not seen the righteous
forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Perhaps it will be
objected that their have been many righteous men poor: but the
place speaketh of a righteous charitable man, for so the
following verse showeth, which saith, "He is ever merciful,
and lendeth; and his seed is blessed." And who hath seen
such a one or his seed to be brought to such poverty as to beg
his bread? When our Saviour Christ had fed four thousand with
seven loaves and a few fishes, all being filled, seven baskets
full of fragments were gathered up: and it is Saint Austin's
note upon it, crescit dum impenditur victus, sic eleemosyna
si indigentibus erogetur, the victuals in expending were
augmented, and so is the alms which is given to the poor. Michael
Jermin.
Verse 25. Yet have I not seen, etc. I believe
this to be literally true in all cases. I am now grey headed
myself; I have travelled in different countries, and have had
many opportunities of seeing and conversing with religious
people in all situations in life; and I have not, to my
knowledge, seen one instance to the contrary. I have seen no righteous
man forsaken, nor any children of the righteous begging
their bread. God puts honour upon all that fear him; and
thus careful is he of them, and of their posterity.
Adam Clarke.
Verse 25. Begging bread. This is not meant of
an occasional seeking relief in want (for so David himself
desired bread of Abimelech, 1Sa 21:3, and he and his soldiers
desired some supply of victuals from Nabal, 1Sa 25:8); but of
living in a continual way of begging from door to door, which is
denounced as a curse against the wicked Ps 109:10, "Let his
children be continually vagabonds, and beg." Nor doth it
hence follow, that neither the righteous man, not his seed, are
ever brought to this sad degree of misery; but only that it doth
so rarely happen, that David in all his time had never seen it. Arthur
Jackson.
Verse 25. This observation of the psalmist will be
found generally verified. We find indeed exceptions, as in the
case of Eli's family. But this was the result of his defect of
character as a righteous man. And we know that the promises must
fail, if they neglect the means necessary to their
accomplishment (see Ge 18:19). But some think that this verse
admits of an explanatory supplement; and render the last clause
thus, "Nor his seed (forsaken, though) begging bread."
David Davidson, in "The Pocket Commentary,
1836."
Verse 25. These words must be taken as a general
observation, not absolutely verified in every case; yet the
strict fact is, I apprehend, that the immediate descendants of
truly pious persons are very seldom, if ever, reduced to such
extremities, unless by their own great imprudence, or their
abandoned practices. William Walford.
Verse 25. Here he records an experiment of his (such
as whereof Psalm 119 is mostly made up), and if other men's
experiences agree not altogether with his, it is no wonder:
kings use not to mind beggars. John Trapp.
Verses 25-26. Many persons are solicitously perplexed
how their children shall do when they are dead; yet they
consider not, how God provided for them when they were children.
Is the Lord's arm shortened? Did he take thee from thy mothers
breasts; and when thy parents forsook thee (as the psalmist
saith), became thy Father? And cannot this experienced mercy to
thee, persuade thee that he will not forsake thine? Is not
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for
ever?" "I have been young, "saith David,
"and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous
forsaken, "that is granted, nay, "not his seed begging
bread."
Many distrustful fathers are so carking for their posterity,
that while they live they starve their bodies, and hazard their
souls, to leave them rich. To such a father it is said justly, Dives
es haeredi, pauper inopsque tibi. Like an over kind hen, he
feeds his chickens, and famishes himself. If usury,
circumvention, oppression, extortion, can make them rich, they
shall not be poor. Their folly is ridiculous; they fear lest
their children should be miserable, yet take the only course to
make them miserable; for they leave them not so much heirs to
their goods as to their evils. They do as certainly inherit
their fathers' sins as their lands: "God layeth his
iniquity for his children: and his offspring shall want a morsel
of bread." Job 21:19.
On the contrary, the good man is merciful, and lendeth;
and his seed is blessed. What the worldling thinks shall
make his posterity poor, God saith shall make the good man's
rich. The precept gives a promise of mercy to obedience, not
confined to the obedient man's self, but extended to his seed,
and that even to a thousand generations, Ex 20:6. Trust, then,
Christ with thy children; when thy friends shall fail, usury
bear no date, oppression be condemned to hell, thyself rotten to
the dust, the world itself turned and burned into cinders, still
"Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and
forever." Thomas Adams.
Verse 26. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his
seed is blessed. He, the good man, is merciful to himself,
for mercy, like charity, begins at home; he is not afraid to eat
a good meal because he hath children. And he is merciful to others
too; for he will lend and do good to whom he can, and then his
seed fares the better for it. Mark, that the more he gives and
lends in doing works of mercy, the better it is for his
children; for those children are ever best provided for whose
parents bear this mind—they had rather trust God with their
children, than their children with riches; and have made this
their hope, that though they die, yet God lives. Did but one of
those rich and wretched parents (who pinched and pined himself
to make his son a gentleman, forsooth), rise from the dead, and
see that proverb of Solomon fulfilled in himself, "He
begetteth a son, and in his hand is nothing; "I persuade
myself, the rumination of this would afflict him in his soul as
much as any one pain of sense, even in hell itself. O consider
this, you that now live and see it in others; and remember
withal, that if your goods be either ill gotten, or worse kept,
it may be your children's case when you are departed, and feel
it, though you see it not. Matthew Griffith.
Verse 28. For the Lord...forsaketh not his saints;
they are preserved for ever. How? since they die as others
do. Mark the antithesis, and that will explain it. They
are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut
off. They are preserved in their posterity: children are but
the parents multiplied, and the parents continued; it is nodosa
aeternitas; when the father's life is run out to the last,
there is a knot tied, and the line is still continued by the
child. I confess temporal blessings, such as long life, and the
promise of an happy posterity, are more visible in the eye of
that dispensation of the covenant; but yet God still taketh care
for the children of his people, and many promises run that way
that belong to the gospel administration, and still God's
service is the surest way to establish a family, as sin is the
ready way to root it out. And if it doth not always fall out
accordingly, yet for the most part it doth; and we are no
competent judges of God's dispensations in this kind, because we
see providence by pieces, and have not the skill to set them
together; but at the day of judgment, when the whole contexture
of God's dealings is laid before us, we shall clearly understand
how the children of his servants continue, and their seed is
established. Ps 102:28. Thomas Manton.
Verse 29. The righteous shall inherit the land,
or the earth. There is clearly an emphasis in the repetition of
the same promise in the same terms which ought to have been
uniformly rendered throughout Ps 37:9,11,22,29,34. And it cannot
be doubted, that there is a reference to the new heavens and the
new earth of Isa 56:17 2Pe 3:13. W. Wilson.
Verse 29. The righteous shall inherit the land,
etc. Compare Mt 5:5. Consider well this Bible truth, of the
future exclusive possession of the earth by the righteous. The
millennial kingdom furnishes a fuller explanation. T. C.
Barth.
Verse 31. The law of his God is in his heart,
etc. The flock of sheep that's indisposed and unwilling to
drive, start out of the way into every lane's end, one this way
and another that; and just so is it with an unwilling heart; one
thought starts this way, and another that, and it's a piece of
skill to drive them through. But a willing heart, a heart
prepared and ready to every good work, it flies quite up an end,
and delights itself in the Lord. Richard Steele.
Verse 31. (first clause). He hath a Bible in
his head, and another in his heart; he hath a good treasure
within, and there hence bringeth good things. John Trapp.
Verses 32-33. The Jews watched that Just One
daily and hourly; they sought to slay him, and did so;
but Jehovah left him not in their hands, but vindicated
his innocence by raising him from the dead. George Horne.
Verse 34. Wait on the Lord, etc. He that truly
trusts in God will stay God's time, and use God's means, and
walk in God's way, though it seem round about; they will not
neglect their souls for haste; they know this would be to make
more haste than good speed. Nor would they step out of the way,
the way that is holy and righteous, though they may escape a
loss, an affliction by it, though they might gain some desirable
advantage by it. True faith goes leaning upon God, and therefore
will keep his way. He that will not be liberal for the
promoting and honouring of the gospel; he that fears poverty or
affliction more than he fears sin; he that is more careful for
the things of the world than for his soul; he that takes
indirect or suspected courses, to get, or increase, or secure
his estate; he that is not jealous or watchful, lest his cares
for the world (when he is much engaged therein) should be
immoderate—it is plain he doth not trust God with his estate;
and that he does not trust God for his estate, whatever he
thinks or pretend, he does not trust God for his soul, for his
salvation; his hopes of heaven and salvation are but
presumption. David Clarkson.
Verse 34. Wait on the Lord. Bind him not to a
day, wake not the Beloved till he please. John Trapp.
Verse 34. Wait...keep. While we are waiting let
us take heed of wavering. Go not a step out of God's way, though
a lion be in the way; avoid not duty to meet with safety; keep
God's highway, the good old way Jer 6:16, the way which is paved
with holiness. "And an highway shall be there, and a way,
and it shall be called the way of holiness." Isa 35:8.
Avoid crooked paths, take heed of turning to the left hand, lest
you be set on the left hand. Sin doth cross our hopes, it
barricades up our way; a man may as well expect to find heaven
in hell, as in a sinful way. Thomas Watson.
Verse 35. Green bay tree. The LXX translate (Nner
xrzak) as if it were (Nnbl xrzak), "Like the cedar of
Lebanon; "but (Nner xrza) according to Delitzsch, means a
noble timber tree, one that in the course of centuries of growth
has acquired a gigantic trunk, and an umbrageous, dome like
crown.
Verse 35. Green bay tree. The marginal
rendering—"a tree that groweth in his own
soil"—is, no doubt, the true one. The idea generally
formed of this passage by the reader of the English Bible is
that the tree referred to was the bay laurel (Prunus
laurocerasus), or cherry laurel of our gardens. But this
plant belongs to an entirely different family. The bay and the
Portugal laurels, whose forms of growth and evergreen leaves
make them highly ornamental in shrubberies, belong to a
subfamily (Drupaceae, Lind.) of the rose tribe (Rosaceae),
but the bay tree proper, which flourisheth luxuriantly in
Southern Europe, is the type of the laurel family (Lauraceae).
Several circumstances make it unlikely that the true bay tree
represents the Hebrew esrach. There is no evidence that
it was ever so plentiful in Palestine as to be chosen by the
psalmist in an illustration in a poem for popular use. It is
indeed to be met with, but that chiefly in localities on the
borders of the eastern shore of the Great Sea. The chief
objection to the supposition that the bay tree was referred to
by the royal poet is to be found in the Psalm itself. Having
mentioned it in the lines quoted above, he adds, "Yet he
passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he
could not be found." The idea here is not one which could
be represented and illustrated by an evergreen plant, slow of
growth, and yet reaching in maturity a height of above thirty
feet. The words demand a quick growing tree, in a soil more than
usually favourable to its growth. Thus planted, and shooting up
in calm and sunshine, it would attract every eye; but when the
storm broke over it, when the strong wind swept imperiously
through its branches, it would not stand. Torn up by the root,
and its timber comparatively useless, like Abraham's dead, it
would be buried out of sight. And thus with the wicked. He was
sought and could not be found. John Duns, D.D., F.R.S.E., in
"Biblical Natural Science."
Verse 35. We see no force in the observation of Dr.
Duns; in fact, if there were not other reasons for preferring
the translation given in the following note by Wilson, we should
see all the more reason to keep to the bay tree. It was a tree
of permanence and of long continued verdure, and so the
prosperous wicked seem to be. They look as if their happiness
would be eternal; yet, for all that, those who carefully note
the dealings of providence, observe with holy wonder that divine
justice cuts short their glory, and they perish utterly. C.
H. S.
Verse 35. I have seen the wicked in great power
(terrible, fierce, violent), and spreading himself like a
green bay tree (a tree in its native soil, vigorous, and
luxuriant, that had never been transplanted). A striking figure
of the ungodly man of the world, firmly rooted in earthly
things—his native soil, grown proud and wanton in his
prosperity, without fear or apprehension of any reverse. William
Wilson.
Verse 35. Like a green bay tree, which produces
all leaves and no fruit. Matthew Henry.
Verse 35. I have seen the wicked, saith David, in
great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
And why like a green bay tree? Because in the winter, when all
other trees—as the vine tree, fig tree, apple tree, etc.,
which are more profitable trees—are withered and naked, yet
the bay tree continueth as green in the winter as the summer. So
fares it with wicked men when the children of God, in the storms
of persecutions, and afflictions, and miseries, seem withered,
and, as it were, dead, yet the wicked all that time flourish,
and do appear green in the eyes of the world: they wallow in
worldly wealth, but it is for their destruction; they wax fat,
but it is for the day of slaughter. It was the case of Hophni
and Phinehas: the Lord gave them enough and suffered them to go
on and prosper in their wickedness; but what was the reason?
Because he would destroy them. J. Gore's Sermon at St.
Paul's, 1633.
Verses 35-36.
—Today he puts forth
The tender leaves of hopes, tomorrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honours upon him:
Third day comes a frost, a killing frost;
And—when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a ripening—nips his root,
And then he falls, as I do.
—William Shakespeare, in Henry VIII.
Verses 36-37. The hawk flies high, and is as highly
prized, being set upon a perch, vervelled with the jingling
bells of encouragement, and carried on his master's fist; but
being once dead and picked over the perch, is cast upon the
dunghill as good for nothing. The hen scrapes in the dust, not
anything rewarded when she is alive, but being dead, is brought
as a choice dish to her master's table. Thus wicked men are
commonly set in high places, and prosper in this life; and good
men lie grovelling with their mouths in the dust, as the very
underlings of the world; but being once dead, the one is cast
into the dungeon of hell, the other advanced to the kingdom of
heaven: the one is into Abraham's bosom, whilst the other is
tormented with the devil and his angels. Thomas Westfield,
D.D., 1644.
Verse 37. Mark...and behold. Herodotus maketh
mention of a custom among the Ethiopians to set the dead bodies
of their friends in glazed sepulchres, that their proportions
might be obvious to the passengers. How needless soever that
custom was, it is doubtless no more than just that the pious
lineaments of their minds who die in the Lord should be
presented to the living in the mirror of art. Indeed,
commendation after death is the tribute of a religious life.
Good works are jewels not to be locked up in a cabinet, but to
be set forth to public view. If Christ would have Mary's name
remembered in the gospel until the world's end for one box of
ointment poured on his head, we cannot imagine that he would
have the many pious and charitable deeds of his servants to be
buried in oblivion. Consult the Scriptures and you shall scarce
find any godly man laid in his grave without an epitaph of
honour. View the fathers, and you shall observe it their
practice to honour the death of the good by giving them their
deserved praises. Nathaniel Hardy.
Verse 37. The perfect man, etc.—Divines well
distinguish of a double perfection, it is absoluta or comparata.
That is absolutely perfect, to which nothing (that it may
be accounted truly good) is wanting; and thus He only is perfectus
who is infactus; God, who made all things, and himself is
not made, only enjoying an all sufficient perfection, in and of
himself. That is comparatively perfect, in which,
notwithstanding some wants there is a fulness compared with
others. Thus every saint is perfect in comparison of the
wicked among whom he liveth. In this respect it is said of Noah,
That he was a perfect man in his generations; his grace
compared with the wickedness of the old world well deserving the
name of perfection; indeed every upright man is perfect
in comparison of them who are openly bad, or but openly good;
stained with wickedness, or but painted with holiness. Thus one
saint may be perfect if compared with another, the strong
Christian in respect of the weak, whom he outstrips in grace and
piety: such saints Paul means when he saith, "We speak
wisdom among them that are perfect; " that is, such as have
attained to greater measures of grace than others. It was said
of Benaiah, "He was more honourable than thirty, but he
attained not to the first three; "and though no saint can
ever attain to the perfections of the first three, the
blessed Trinity, yet many saints may be honourable amongst thirty
perfect in comparison of those among whom they live.
We must further distinguish of a double perfection, it is extrinseca
and intrinseca. Extrinsic perfection so called, because
by imputation, is that which every believer is partaker of
through the perfect righteousness of Christ, whereby all his
imperfections are covered; in this respect the author to the
Hebrews tells us, "That by one offering he hath perfected
for ever them that are sanctified; "and S. Paul tells the
Colossians that they were "complete in him, "meaning
Christ. Indeed omnia Dei mandata tune facta deptutantua,
quando id quod non fit ignoscitur: divine commands are then
in God's account fulfilled when our defects for Christ's sake
are pardoned; and the evangelical perfection of a Christian
consists not in perfectione virtutum, sed remissions vitiorum,
in the completion of our graces, but remission of our sins.
Intrinsical perfection, so called because by inhesion, is no
less rationally than usually thus distinguished, there is perfectio
partium et graduum. He is said to be perfect, cui nihil
deest eorum quae ad statum salutis necessaria, who wants no
graces that accompany salvation; or he is perfect, cui nihil
deest in gradibus gratiarum et virtutum; who is not
defective in the measures of those graces; both these are
frequently and fitly illustrated by the resemblance of a child,
and a grown man; the one whereof hath all the essential and
integral parts of a man, the other a complete use and measure of
those parts. Nathaniel Hardy.
Verse 37. The end. All wise men affect the
conclusion to be best: to ride two or three miles of fair way,
and to have a hundred deep and foul ones to pass afterward is
uncomfortable; especially when the end is worse than the way.
But let the beginning be troublesome, the progress somewhat more
easy, and the journey's end happy, and there is fair amends. Mark
the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man
is peace. Mark him in the setting out, he hath many
oppositions; mark him in the journey, he is full of
tribulations; but mark in the conclusion, and the end of that
man is peace. Thomas Adams.
Verse 37. The end of that man is peace. Give me
leave to determine what it is to end or die in peace. To end in
peace with Euthymius, is to end in pace cogitationis,
in peace of mind as it is opposed to doubting. To end in peace
with Cyprian, is to end in pace securitatis, in
peace of security, as it is opposed to final falling. To end in
peace with Origen, is to end in pace conscientiae,
in peace of conscience as it is opposed to despairing. To end in
peace with old Irenaeus, is to end in pace mortis,
in the peace of death as it is opposed to labouring. Again, to
end in peace, is to end in pace Dei, in the peace of God
which passeth all understanding, i.e., far beyond men's
apprehensions. To end in peace, is to end in pace proximi,
in peace with our neighbours, i.e., when no outcries or
exclamations follow us. And lastly, to end in peace, is to end
in pace sui, in peace with ourselves, i.e., when
no distractions or perturbations of mind molest us. Richard
Parre.
Verse 37. The text may be divided into these two
parts. Here is 1. The godly man's property; and 2. The
godly man's privilege. His property is perfection; his
privilege is peace. Here is the saint's character and the
saint's crown: he is characterised by uprightness or
sincerity, and crowned with peace. Here is the Christian's way
and his end, his motion, and his rest. His
way is holiness, his end happiness; his motion is towards
perfection and in uprightness; his rest is peace at his
journey's end. John Whitlock, in a Funeral Sermon entitled,
"The Upright Man and his Happy End, "1658.
Verse 37. Time would fail me to tell how Christians
die, nor can anything save the pen of the recording angel who
has stood by their bed of death and borne them to Abraham's
bosom narrate the unnumbered instances of their delightful
departure from the present world, which verify the truth of the
Bible. "I could never have believed, "said a dying
saint, "that it was so delightful a thing to die, or that
it was possible to have such views of the heavenly world as I
now enjoy." The memorable Melancthon just before he died,
chanted in his sleep the words, "I will not any more eat
thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God." He
seemed restless, and on being asked by one near him,
"Whether there was anything more that he desired?"
replied, Aliud nihil nisi coelum—nothing more, unless
it be heaven. Gardiner Spring.
Verse 37. To die well be sure to live well; we must
not think to have Lazarus's death, and Dive's life; like him in
Plutarch that would live with Craesus, as he said, but he would
die with Socrates. No, Balaam's wishes are foolish and
fruitless: If you would die well, Christians, you must have a
care to live well: qualis vita, finis ita, if you would
die quietly, you must live strictly; if you would die
comfortably, you must live conformably; if you would die
happily, you must live holily. Mark the perfect man, and
behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace. John
Kitchin, M.A., 1660.
Verse 38. The end of the wicked shall be cut off.
The wicked in this world do easily run up without rub or
interruption, many times with acclamations and applause, all the
golden steps of honours and preferments; but upon the highest
stair they find the most slippery standing, and the top of their
earthly felicity is the most immediate and certain descent unto
the greatest downfall. They are royally mounted here upon earth,
and gallop swiftly over the fair and green plains of plenty and
pleasures; but at the end of their race they are overturned
horse and man, and tumbled headlong into the pit of destruction.
They fairly glide over the sea of this world with full sail,
with much calmness and serenity, and richly laden; but in the
brightest sunshine, and when they least suspect it, they
suddenly and without recovery, sink into the gulf of darkness
and desolation. Robert Bolton.
Verse 40. And the Lord shall help them. He shall,
he shall, he shall. Oh, the rhetoric of God! the
safety of the saints! the certainty of the promises! John
Trapp.
Luther closes his Exposition of the Psalm with the words, Oh,
shame on our faithlessness, mistrust, and vile unbelief, that we
do not believe such rich, powerful, consolatory, declarations of
God, and take up so readily with little grounds of offence,
whenever we but hear the wicked speeches of the ungodly. Help. O
God, that we may once attain to right faith. Amen.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse 1. The art of tranquillity. W. Jones.
Verses 1-2. A frequent temptation, and a double
corrective—a sight of sinners in death and hell.
Verses 1,2. A frequent temptation, and a double
corrective—a sight of sinners in death and hell.
Verse 2. How and when the wicked perish.
Verse 3.
1. A combination descriptive of holy living.
2. A combination descriptive of happy living.
Verse 3. The believer portrayed.
1. His object of trust.
2. His mode of life.
3. His place of abode.
4. His certainty of provision.
Verse 3. (last clause). Read it in four ways.
1. "Certainly fed, "or the certainty of supply.
2. "Fed in verity, "or the sufficiency of the
provision for soul and body.
3. "Fed on truth, "or the spirituality of the
provision.
4. "Feed on truth, "or the duty of choosing such
provision.
Verse 4. Explain the delight and the desire of the
believer, and show the connection between them.
Verses 5-6. The higher life.
1. Based on hearty resignation.
2. Sustained by faith.
3. Constantly unfolded by the Lord.
4. Consummated in meridian splendour.
Verses 5-6. The higher life.
1. Based on hearty resignation.
2. Sustained by faith.
3. Constantly unfolded by the Lord.
4. Consummated in meridian splendour.
Verse 6. Sweet comfort for slandered saints. Where
their character now is. Who shall reveal it. The gradual yet
sure manner of the revelation, and the glorious conclusion.
Verse 7. Rest in the Lord. What? Where? When?
Why? How?
Verse 7. Peace, patience, self possession.
Verse 7. Stillness in God. Bishop Wilberforce.
Verse 7. Rest in the Lord.
1. Rest in the will of God, for whatever he wills is
for your good, your highest good.
2. Rest in the love of God, and often meditate on the
words of Jesus on this point, "Thou hast loved them as thou
hast loved me."
3. Rest in the mercy of God.
4. Rest in the word of God.
5. Rest in the relation thy God fills to thee; he is
the Father.
6. Rest in the Lord as he is manifested in Jesus, thy God in
covenant.
James Smith.
Verse 8. A SERMON FOR THE FRETFUL.
1. Cease from present anger. It is madness, it is sin;
it shuts out our prayers; it will grow into malice; it may lead
to worse.
2. Forsake it for the future. Repent of it, watch
temper, discipline thy passions, etc.
3. Avoid all kindred feelings of fretfulness,
impatience, envy, etc., for they lead to evil.
Verse 9. How the humble are the true lords of the
land.
Verse 10.
1. Consider what the departed sinner has left. Possessions,
joys, honours, aims, hopes, etc.
2. Consider where he has gone.
3. Consider whether you will share the same lot.
Verses 10-11. Terror to the wicked: comfort for
believers. A. Farindon.
Verse 11. The meek man's delight, or "the harvest
of a quiet eye."
Verse 14. Upright conversation.
1. What it excludes. The horizontal or earthly, the crooked
or crafty, the slanting or sinister.
2. What it includes. Motive, object, language, action.
3. What it achieves. It stands like a pillar; it supports
like a column; it ascends like a tower; it adorns like a
monument; it illuminates like a Pharos.
Verse 15. The self destructive nature of evil.
Verse 16. How to make much of a little.
Verses 16-17.
1. The owners contrasted.
2. The possessions compared.
3. The preference given.
4. The reasons declared.
Verse 17. (last clause).
1. The favoured persons.
2. Their evident need, "upholding."
3. Their singular blessedness, "upheld, "above
trial, under trial, after trial.
4. Their august Patron.
Verse 18. The comforts derivable from a consideration
of the divine knowledge. The eternity of the righteous man's
possessions.
Verse 18.
1. The persons, "the upright."
2. The period, "their days." These are known
to God. (1) He knows them kindly and graciously;
(2) He knows their number; (3) He knows the nature
of them.
3. The portion, "their inheritance shall be for
ever."
—William Jay.
Verse 18 (last clause). What it is. How they
come by it. How long they hold it.
Verse 19. Good words for hard times.
Verse 21. Monetary transactions tests of character.
Verse 22. The divine blessing the secret of happiness.
The divine displeasure the essence of misery.
Verses 23-24.
1. The divine predestination.
2. The divine delight.
3. The divine support.
Verse 24. Temporary trials.
1. To be expected.
2. Have their limit.
3. Have their results.
4. Our secret comfort under them.
What may be. What cannot be. What shall be.
Verse 25. Memorandum of an aged observer.
Verse 26. The righteous man's merciful disposition,
generous action, and rich reward.
Verse 26. The benediction of the good man's family:
what it is, and what it is not.
Verse 27. Negative, positive, remunerative.
Verse 28.
1. The Lord's love of right.
2. His faithfulness to the righteous.
3. Their sure preservation thus doubly guaranteed.
4. The doom of the wicked thus certified.
Verse 29. Canaan as a type of the righteous man's
inheritance.
Verse 30. Our speech as a test of godliness.
Verse 31.
1. The best thing.
2. In the best place.
3. With the best of results.
Verses 32-33. Our enemies; their inveterate malice;
our safeguard and justification.
Verse 34.
1. A twofold admonition: (a) Wait on the Lord. (b)
And keep his way; wait and work, wait and walk, get grace
and exercise it.
2. A twofold promise: (a) He shall exalt thee to inherit
the land; God is the source of all elevation and honour. (b)
When the wicked are cur off, thou shalt see it; and they
will be cut off. William Jay.
Verse 34. Patient faith, persevering holiness, and
promised exaltation.
Verse 34 (last clause). Emotions caused in the
godly by a sight of the sinner's doom.
Verse 34. (last clause). The wicked are often
cut off 1. Even in life, from their places, and riches,
and prospects. 2. At death they are cut off from all
their possessions and comforts. 3. In the last day they
will be cut off from "the resurrection of life." William
Jay.
Verses 35-37. Three memorable scenes.
1. The imposing spectacle.
2. The astounding disappearance.
3. The delightful exit.
Verses 35-37. Three memorable scenes.
1. The imposing spectacle.
2. The astounding disappearance.
3. The delightful exit.
Verses 39-40.
1. The doctrines of grace condensed.
2. The experience of the gracious epitomised.
3. The promises of grace summarised.
4. The grandest evidence of grace declared: because they
trust in him.