TITLE. To the Chief Musician upon
Neginah, a Psalm of David. The original indicates that both
the hymn and the musical instrument were David's. He wrote the
verses and himself sang them to the stringed instrument whose
sound he loved so well. We have left the Psalms entitled Michtam,
but we shall still find much precious meaning though the golden
name be wanting. We have met with the title of this Psalm
before, in Psalms 4, 6, 54, and 55, but with this difference,
that in the present case the word is in the singular number: the
Psalm itself is very personal, and well adapted for the private
devotion of a single individual.
SUBJECT AND DIVISION. This Psalm is a
pearl. It is little, but precious. To many a mourner it has
furnished utterance when the mind could not have devised a
speech for itself. It was evidently composed by David after he
had come to the throne,—see Ps 61:6. The second verse leads us
to believe that it was written during the psalmist's enforced
exile from the tabernacle, which was the visible abode of God:
if so, the period of Absalom's rebellion has been most suitably
suggested as the date of its authorship, and Delitzsch is
correct in entitling it, "Prayer and thanksgiving of an
expelled King on his way back to his throne." We might
divide the verses according to the sense, but it is preferable
to follow the author's own arrangement, and make a break at each
SELAH.
EXPOSITION
Verse 1. Hear my cry, O God. He was in terrible
earnest; he shouted, he lifted up his voice on high. He is not
however content with the expression of his need: to give his
sorrows vent is not enough for him, he wants actual audience of
heaven, and manifold succour as the result. Pharisees may rest
in their prayers; true believers are eager for an answer to
them: ritualists may be satisfied when they have, "said or
sung" their litanies and collects, but living children of
God will never rest till their supplications have entered the
ears of the Lord God of Sabaoth. Attend unto my prayer. Give it
thy consideration, and such an answer as thy wisdom sees fit.
When it comes to crying with us, we need not doubt but that it
will come to attending with God. Our heavenly Father is not
hardened against the cries of his own children. What a consoling
thought it is that the Lord at all times hears his people's
cries, and is never forgetful of their prayers; whatever else
fails to move him, praying breath is never spent in vain!
Verse 2. From the end of the earth will I cry unto
thee. He was banished from the spot which was the centre of
his delight, and at the same time his mind was in a depressed
and melancholy condition; both actually and figuratively he was
an outcast, yet he does not therefore restrain prayer, but
rather finds therein a reason for the louder and more
importunate cries. To be absent from the place of divine worship
was a sore sorrow to saints in the olden times; they looked upon
the tabernacle as the centre of the world, and they counted
themselves to be at the fag end of the universe when they could
no longer resort to the sacred shrine; their heart was heavy as
in a strange land when they were banished from its solemnities.
Yet even they knew right well that no place is unsuitable for
prayer. There may be an end of the earth, but there must not be
an end to devotion. On creation's verge we may call upon God,
for even there he is within call. No spot is too dreary, no
condition too deplorable; whether it be the world's end or
life's end, prayer is equally available. To pray in some
circumstances needs resolve, and the psalmist here expresses it,
I will cry. It was a wise resolution, for had he ceased to
pray he would have become the victim of despair; there is an end
to a man when he makes an end to prayer. Observe that David
never dreamed of seeking any other God; he did not imagine the
dominion of Jehovah to be local: he was at the end of the
promised land, but he knew himself to be still in the territory
of the Great King; to him only does he address his petitions.
When my heart is overwhelmed:—when the huge waves of trouble
wash over me, and I am completely submerged, not only as to my
head, but also my heart. It is hard to pray when the very heart
is drowning, yet gracious men plead best at such times.
Tribulation brings us to God, and brings God to us. Faith's
greatest triumphs are achieved in her heaviest trials. It is all
over with me, affliction is all over me; it encompasses me as a
cloud, it swallows me up like a sea, it shuts me in with thick
darkness, yet God is near, near enough to hear my voice, and I
will call him. Is not this brave talk? Mark how our psalmist
tells the Lord, as if he knew he were hearing him, that he
intended to call upon him: our prayer by reason of our distress
may be like to a call upon a far off friend, but our inmost
faith has its quiet heart whispers to the Lord as to one who is
assuredly our very present help. Lead me to the rock that is
higher than I. I see thee to be my refuge, sure and strong;
but alas! I am confused, and cannot find thee; I am weak, and
cannot climb thee. Thou art so steadfast, guide me; thou art so
high, uplift me. There is a mint of meaning in this brief
prayer. Along the iron bound coast of our northern shores, lives
are lost because the rocks are inaccessible to the shipwrecked
mariner. A clergyman of one of the coast villages has with
immense labour cut steps up from the beach to a large chamber,
which he has excavated in the chalk cliffs; here many mariners
have been saved; they have climbed the rock, which had else been
too high for them, and they have escaped. We have heard of late,
however, that the steps have been worn away by the storms, and
that poor sailors have perished miserably within sight of the
refuge which they could not reach, for it was too high for them:
it is therefore proposed to drive in iron stanchions, and to
hang up chain ladders that shipwrecked mariners may reach the
chambers in the rock. The illustration is self interpreting. Our
experience leads us to understand this verse right well, for the
time was with us when we were in such amazement of soul be
reason of sin, that although we knew the Lord Jesus to be a sure
salvation for sinners, yet we could not come at him, by reason
of our many doubts and forebodings. A Saviour would have been of
no use to us if the Holy Spirit had not gently led us to him,
and enabled us to rest upon him. To this day we often feel that
we not only want a rock, but to be led to it. With this in view
we treat very leniently the half unbelieving prayers of awakened
souls; for in their bewildered state we cannot expect from them
all at once a fully believing cry. A seeking soul should at once
believe in Jesus, but it is legitimate for a man to ask to be
led to Jesus; the Holy Spirit is able to effect such a leading,
and he can do it even though the heart be on the borders of
despair. How infinitely higher that we are is the salvation of
God. We are low and grovelling, but it towers like some tall
cliff far above us. This is its glory, and is our delight when
we have once climbed into the rock, and claimed an interest in
it; but while we are as yet trembling seekers, the glory and
sublimity of salvation appal us, and we feel that we are too
unworthy ever to be partakers of it; hence we are led to cry for
grace upon grace, and to see how dependent we are for
everything, not only for the Saviour, but for the power to
believe on him.
Verse 3. For thou hast been a shelter for me.
Observe how the psalmist rings the changes on, Thou hast,
and I will, —Ps 61:3-6. Experience is the nurse of
faith. From the past we gather arguments for present confidence.
Many and many a time had the persecutions of Saul and the perils
of battle imperilled David's life, and only by miracle had he
escaped, yet was he still alive and unhurt; this he remembers,
and he is full of hope. And a strong tower from the enemy. As in
a fort impregnable, David had dwelt, because surrounded by
omnipotence. Sweet is it beyond expression to remember the
lovingkindnesses of the Lord in our former days, for he is
unchangeable, and therefore will continue to guard us from all
evil.
Verse 4. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever.
Let me once get back to thy courts, and nothing shall again
expel me from them: even now in my banishment my heart is there;
and ever will I continue to worship thee in spirit wherever my
lot may be cast. Perhaps by the word tabernacle is here
meant the dwelling place of God; and if so, the sense is, I will
dwell with the Lord, enjoying his sacred hospitality, and sure
protection.
"There would I find a settled rest,
While others go and come;
No more a stranger or a guest,
But like a child at home."
He who communes with God is always at home. The divine
omnipresence surrounds such a one consciously; his faith sees
all around him the palace of the King, in which he walks with
exulting security and overflowing delight. Happy are the indoor
servants who go not out from his presence. Hewers of wood and
drawers of water in the tents of Jehovah are more to be envied
than the princes who riot in the pavilions of kings. The best of
all is that our residence with God is not for a limited period
of time, but for ages; yea, for ages of ages, for time and for
eternity: this is our highest and most heavenly privilege, I
will abide in thy tabernacle for ever. I will trust in the
covert of thy wings. Often does our sweet singer use this
figure; and far better is it to repeat one apt and instructive
image, than for the sake of novelty to ransack creation for
poor, strained metaphors. The chicks beneath the hen how safe,
how comfortable, how happy! How warm the parent's bosom! How
soft the cherishing feathers! Divine condescension allows us to
appropriate the picture to ourselves, and how blessedly
instructive and consoling it is! O for more trust; it cannot be
too implicit: such a covert invites us to the most unbroken
repose. SELAH. Rest we well may when we reach this point. Even
the harp may be eloquently silent when deep, profound calm
completely fills the bosom, and sorrow has sobbed itself into a
peaceful slumber.
Verse 5. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows.
Proofs of divine faithfulness are to be had in remembrance, and
to be mentioned to the Lord's honour. The prayer of Ps 61:1 is
certain of an answer because of the experience of Ps 61:5, since
we deal with an immutable God. Vows may rightly be joined with
prayers when they are lawful, well considered, and truly for
God's glory. It is great mercy on God's part to take any notice
of the vows and promises of such faithless and deceitful
creatures as we are. What we promise him is his due already, and
yet he deigns to accept our vows as if we were not so much his
servants as his free suitors who could give or withhold at
pleasure. Thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy
name. We are made heirs, joint heirs with all the saints,
partakers of the same portion. With this we ought to be
delighted. If we suffer, it is the heritage of the saints; if we
are persecuted, are in poverty, or in temptation, all this is
contained in the title deeds of the heritage of the chosen.
Those we are to sup with we may well be content to dine with. We
have the same inheritance as the Firstborn himself; what better
is conceivable? Saints are described as fearing the name of God;
they are reverent worshippers; they stand in awe of the Lord's
authority; they are afraid of offending him, they feel their own
nothingness in the sight of the Infinite One. To share with such
men, to be treated by God with the same favour as he metes out
to them, is matter for endless thanksgiving. All the privileges
of all the saints are also the privileges of each one.
Verse 6. Thou wilt prolong the king's life; or,
better, "days to the days of the King thou wilt add."
Death threatened, but God preserved his beloved. David,
considering his many perils, enjoyed a long and prosperous
reign. And his years as many generations. He lived to see
generation after generation personally; in his descendants he
lived as king through a very long period; his dynasty continued
for many generations; and in Christ Jesus, his seed and son,
spiritually David reigns on evermore. Thus he who began at the
foot of the rock, half drowned, and almost dead, is here led to
the summit, and sings as a priest abiding in the tabernacle, a
king ruling with God for ever, and a prophet foretelling good
things to come. (Ps 61:7.) See the uplifting power of faith and
prayer. None so low but they may yet be set on high.
Verse 7. He shall abide before God for ever.
Though this is true of David in a modified sense, we prefer to
view the Lord Jesus as here intended as the lineal descendant of
David, and the representative of his royal race. Jesus is
enthroned before God to eternity; here is our safety, dignity,
and delight. We reign in him; in him we are made to sit together
in the heavens. David's personal claim to sit enthroned for ever
is but a foreshadowing of the revealed privilege of all true
believers. O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him. As
men cry, "Long live the king, "so we hail with
acclamation our enthroned Immanuel, and cry, "Let mercy and
truth preserve him." Eternal love and immutable
faithfulness are the bodyguards of Jesus' throne, and they are
both the providers and the preservers of all those who in him
are made kings and priests unto God. We cannot keep ourselves,
and nothing short of divine mercy and truth can do it; but these
both can and will, nor shall the least of the people of God be
suffered to perish.
Verse 8. So will I sing praise unto thy name for
ever. Because my prayer is answered, my song shall be
perpetual; because Jesus for ever sits at thy right hand, it
shall be acceptable; because I am preserved in him, it shall be
grateful. David had given vocal utterance to his prayer by a
cry; he will now give expression to his praise by a song: there
should be a parallel between our supplications and our
thanksgivings. We ought not to leap in prayer, and limp in
praise. The vow to celebrate the divine name for ever is
no hyperbolical piece of extravagance, but such as grace and
glory shall enable us to carry out to the letter. That I may
daily perform my vows. To God who adds days to our days we will
devote all our days. We vowed perpetual praise, and we desire to
render it without intermission. We would worship God de die
in diem, going right on as the days roll on. We ask no
vacation from this heavenly vocation; we would make no pause in
this sacred service. God daily performs his promises, let us
daily perform our vows: he keeps his covenant, let us not forget
ours. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth, even
for evermore.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
TITLE. The word Neginah (the singular of Neginoth)
may be understood to be synonymous with the kinnor or
harp: that is to say, the instrument of eight strings, probably
played with a bow or plectrum. John Jess.
Verse 1. Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.
Aquinas saith that some read the words thus, Intende ad
cantica mea, attend unto my songs—and so the words may be
safely read, from the Hebrew word hgr ranah, which
signifies to shout or shrill out for joy—to note that the
prayers of the saints are like pleasant songs and delightful
ditties in the ears of God. No mirth, no music, can be so
pleasing to us as the prayers of the saints are pleasing to God.
So 2:14 Ps 141:2. Thomas Brooks.
Verse 1. My cry. There is a text in Job where
the "hypocrites in heart" are spoken of condemningly,
because "they cry not when he bindeth them." I like to
feel that no hard fortitude is required of the chastened child
of God, but that it ought to feel, and may cry, under the rod,
without a single rebellious thought. Mary B. M. Duncan.
Verses 1-2. One ejaculation begetteth another. Hear
my cry; attend unto my prayer (yet no words thereof
mentioned); and Ps 61:2. From the end of the earth will I
cry: he had thus cried, and he will therefore cry again and
again. As billows of temptation ever and anon stop his mouth and
interrupt him, so as he now and then doth but peep above water,
and get breathing space, he will thus cry, Lead me, or
"guide me, "or carry me to yonder rock which is
higher than I. Thomas Cobbet (1608-1686), on Prayer.
Verse 2. From the end of the earth. This may be
taken two ways: either naturally, and then it is an
allusion to men that are far distant and remote from help,
relief and comfort: or, as I may say, ecclesiastically,
with reference to the temple of God, which was "in medio
terrae, ""in the midst and heart of the land,
"where God manifested and gave tokens of his gracious
presence and favour: as if he had said, "I am at the end of
the earth; far from any tokens, pledges, or manifestations of
the love and favour of God, as well as from outward help and
assistance." John Owen.
Verse 2. The end of the earth. What place was
this, the end of the earth, referring the expression to
the writer of the Psalm? We know that the centre of the
affections and devotions of the pious Israelite was the
"holy city, Jerusalem; whither the tribes went up, even the
tribes of the Lord, to testify unto Israel, and to give thanks
unto the name of the Lord." The country of which this city
was the capital, was to the Jew the world; it was the world
within the world; the earth within the earth; the whole globe
besides was to him a waste, a place out of the world; an
extraterrestrial territory, beyond the limits set up by the Lord
Almighty. Thus in Holy Writ what is called the world, or the
earth, frequently signifieth only that part thereof which was
the heritage of the chosen people... The end of the earth,
then, as referred to the psalmist, would signify any place of
bodily absence from the temple where the Deity had taken up his
special abode, or any place whence his spiritual affections were
unable to reach that temple. As referred to us, the expression
signifies any sensible distance from God: for as God is the
centre of life, hope, love, and joy, distance from him, of
whatsoever degree, is the antipodes of the soul, a region of
sterility and darkness; the Iceland of man's spirit. Alfred
Bowen Evans, 1852.
Verse 2. I will cry unto thee. There is in this
expression an endeavour to approach unto God; as you do when you
cry after one whom you see at a distance, and are afraid
he will go farther from you. It is the great work of faith to
cry out after God, at a distance, when you are afraid lest at
the next turn he should be quite out of sight. Crying to the
Lord supposes him to be withdrawing or departing. John Owen.
Verse 2. Cry. No matter how abrupt the prayer
be, so it be the representation of our hearts. Thus did David.
Where doth he pray? In banishment. When? When his spirit is
overwhelmed. How does he pray? He cried. Thus Hannah
prayed herself into a composed state of mind. Remember,
resignation is the work of the Spirit of God; and therefore you
must plead for it before you have it. John Singleton (1706),
in "The Morning Exercises."
Verse 2. Cry. Crying is a substitute for
speech; and also the expression of earnestness. William Jay.
Verse 2. When my heart is overwhelmed. Troubles
are of various kinds; some are provoking, some are gnawing,
some are perplexing, and some are overwhelming;
but whatever form they assume, they are troubles, and are part
of the wear and tear of life. ...Overwhelming troubles
are such as sweep over a man, just as the mighty billows of the
ocean sweep over and submerge the sands. These are troubles
which struggle with us, as it were, for life and death; troubles
which would leave us helpless wrecks; troubles which enter into
conflict with us in our prime, which grapple with us in our
health and strength, and threaten to conquer us by sheer force,
no matter how bravely we may contend. Such trouble the psalmist
knew. Philip Bennett Power, in "The I wills
of the Psalms, "1861.
Verse 2. Heart. The heart is here represented
to us as being overwhelmed, or, as it is otherwise translated,
"covered over; "it is smothered in, unable to perform
its functions with proper action, unable to throw out the blood
to the extremities, to give them needed vitality and power for
necessary effort. When the action of the heart is paralysed,
even temporarily, it will tell upon all the members, a chill
there send its cold vibration through every limb; Satan knows
this well, and so all his dealings are heart dealings, efforts
to paralyse the very spring of life itself. This is precisely
what we ourselves have experienced; we have partially felt death
within us, we have felt a gradual numbing of our heart; a
gradual diminution in the quickness of its beat; a gradual
closing in, and pressure of a weight upon it, and this was the overwhelming
process. Philip Bennett Power.
Verse 2. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
The tower, in Ps 18:2, is "an high tower, "and
the rock is here an high rock, the rock higher
than I; and yet there is a way to get into the highest
towers; by scaling ladders a man may get over the high walls of
towers. This tower and rock were too high for David himself to
get into, and therefore he sets to the scaling ladder. "Lead
me to the rock, and into the tower that is higher than I.
Hear my cry, attend unto my prayer." So he makes prayer
the scaling ladder to get upon that rock and into that tower
that otherwise had been too high for him; he gets that safety
and deliverance which otherwise but by prayer unto God had been
impossible to have been obtained. Jeremiah Dyke.
Verse 2. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
The language is very remarkable. It gives us the idea of a man
suffering shipwreck. The vessel in which he has been sailing has
sunk. He has been plunged into the mighty ocean; and there he is
buffeting the waves, struggling for life, panting for breath,
and just about to give up all for lost. Suddenly he discovers a rock
towering above him. If he can but climb up to the top of it, and
get sure footing upon it, the billows will not be able to reach
him, and he will be safe. Now, the prayer in our text is the cry
of that poor wretch for help. He is so spent and exhausted, that
he cannot reach the rock himself. He shouts aloud for the
friendly hand of some one stronger than himself, or for a rope
that may be flung to him by those who are already safe on the
rock, if by these helps he may gain it. Lead me to the rock,
cries the poor perishing wretch. "O, lead me, guide me,
direct me to it; for I am so worn and spent, that I cannot reach
it otherwise. I am at the point to die; and I must sink, and be
no more seen for ever, if there is none to help me." Thus
he calls for some one to rescue him from the deep, and to place
him on the rock. But what rock? He knows that unless the
rock be a high one, he will not be in safety, though he should
be on it. The rock, he says, "must be higher than
I, or the waves will reach me, and wash me off again."
It is not a rock, the top of which just shows itself above the
sea, no higher than a man's own body, that will save the life of
a shipwrecked mariner. Such a rock may occasion the wreck, but
it will not afford any help to the sufferers afterwards; it is a
rock to split upon for destruction, not to stand upon for
safety. Lead me to the rock, or as it is in the Prayer
book version, "Set me upon the rock that is higher than
I!" ...The text having shown us the danger of sin,
does not leave us comfortless; it shows us the security of
the refuge. We have before remarked, that the prayer of
David, as a shipwrecked man, is, to be "led to, "and
set upon a rock, that is higher than himself. The
expression seems to imply much. The rock that is higher than he,
must be higher than any man; for David was a mighty
monarch. He implies, therefore, that the refuge he seeks must be
more than any "arm of flesh" can afford him; it must
be therefore divine. Condensed from a Sermon by Fountain
Elwin, 1842.
Verse 2. It is more the image of one overtaken by the
tide, as he is hastening onwards to get beyond its reach, and
yet with every step he sees it rolling nearer and nearer to him;
he hears its angry roar, the loosening sand sinks beneath his
tread—a few minutes more, and the waves will be around him;
despair hath "overwhelmed his heart; "when in
the very depths of his agony he sees a point of rock high above
the waves. "O that I could reach it and be safe!" And
then comes the cry, the agonizing cry, to him that is mighty to
save, Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. It is
the sinner's cry to the sinner's Saviour! Barton Bouchier,
A.M., in "Manna in the Heart; or, Daily Comments on the
Book of Psalms," 1855.
Verse 2. Lead me to the rock. If we would find
ourselves upon the rock, and enjoy the realisation of being so,
we must be dependent upon another's hand. And that hand can do
everything for us, even in our worst of times. When we are so
blinded by the salt waves that dash in our eyes, so reeling in
brain that we perhaps cannot think, much less make continuous
efforts, there is a hand which can lead us, which can draw us
out of the waters, which can set our feet upon the rock. Surely
we have already experienced the power and tenderness of that
hand? and it may be that in the reader's case, the waves, as
they made sure of their prey, found it supernaturally drawn
forth from them, that it might be set upon a rock, immoveable
amid all the waters, and sufficient amid all storms! Philip
Bennett Power.
Verse 2. The rock that is higher than I. The
rock of our salvation, then, is "higher than we." Here
we have the Deity of Christ, the Rock, set forth; in this he is
"higher than we." And except as he is thus higher, as
he is God, he could not be a Saviour; for "He is a just
God, as well as a Saviour." A being no higher than we, or
but a little higher, as the angels (for we are but "a
little lower than they"), though he might teach us, or warn
us, or console us, could never save us. The prey is in the hands
of the mighty, and the Almighty alone is mightier. But a rock is
not only high, but deep; it not only erects its front above the
waves, but its base is fixed in the ocean's bed. "Canst
thou by searching find out God? canst thou find our the Almighty
unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do?
deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is
longer than the earth, and broader than the sea." Job 11:7.
Here we have the humanity of him who is the rock; that humanity
by which he was able to go down to the deeps, as well as ride
triumphantly on the bosom of the waters—those deeps, whereof
David speaking experimentally of himself, spake prophetically of
him; the depths of our fall and degradation—that humanity in
which he went down into the grave, into the recesses of the
intermediate state, and "preached to the spirits in
prison." This is our rock, both deep and high; the rock of
our salvation; to which those whose sons have set them at
"the end of the earth, "desire to be brought, that
they may find a place of safe standing. Let not those fear who
feel the bitterness of distance from God, for they shall be
brought nigh; desolate may be the coast to which they are
driven, but over against it is the Paradise of God; clouds and
darkness may gather at the base of this rock of safety, but
"eternal sunshine settles in its head." Alfred
Bowen Evans.
Verse 2. Higher. A hiding place must be locus
exelsissimus. Your low houses are soon scaled. Jesus Christ
is a high place; he is as high as heaven. He is the Jacob's
ladder that reacheth from earth to heaven. Ge 28:12. He is too
high for men, too high for devils; no creature can scale these
high walls. Ralph Robinson (1614-1655), in "Christ All
and in All."
Verse 4. I will abide in thy tabernacle. Some
render it, I shall dwell in thy tent or pavilion
royal, making it a metaphor from warfare, where those that
are in the king's own tent must needs be in greatest safety. And
this sense suits well with the following words: I will trust
in the covert of thy wings. John Trapp.
Verse 4. Covert of thy wings. To a person who
should penetrate the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, the most
conspicuous object would be the outspread wings above the
mercyseat: under their shelter and upon the mercyseat David
would abide in quiet confidence. C. H. S.
Verse 5. (first clause). About this time I
began to know that there is a God who hears and answers prayer. John
Newton, in his Journal.
Verse 5. Thou, O God, hast heard my vows: that
is, his prayers, which are always to be put up with vows.
Indeed, that prayer is a blank which hath not a vow in it. Is it
a mercy thou prayest him to give? If sincere, thou wilt vow to
praise him for it, and serve him with it. Is it a sin thou
prayest against? Except you juggle with God, thou wilt vow as
well as pray against it. William Gurnall.
Verse 5. The heritage. Eternal life is called
an inheritance. Theodoret remarks: "The true inheritance is
eternal life, concerning which Christ saith to the sheep on his
right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you before the foundation of the world. This
inheritance the Lord giveth to them that fear him." In Eph
1:14, the Spirit is called "the earnest of our
inheritance." In Col 1:12, the apostle exhorts them
"to give thanks unto the Father, who hath made them meet to
be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." On
this verse we have the golden comment of Chrysostom, reiterated
by Theophylact. He calls it an inheritance, to show that no man
obtaineth the kingdom by his own good works; for no man hath so
lived as to render himself worthy of the kingdom, but all is of
the grace of God. Wherefore he saith, "When ye have done
all, say that we are unprofitable servants, for we have only
done that which we ought to have done." John Caspar
Suicer's "Thesaurus," 1728.
Verse 6. Thou wilt prolong the king's life,
etc. David cannot be considered as using these words of
gratulation with an exclusive reference to himself. It is true
that he lived to an extreme old age, and died full of days,
leaving the kingdom in a settled condition, and in the hands of
his son, who succeeded him; but he did not exceed the period of
one man's life, and the greater part of it was spent in
continued dangers and anxieties. There can be no doubt,
therefore, that the series of years, and even ages, of which he
speaks, extends prospectively to the coming of Christ, it being
the very condition of the kingdom, as I have often remarked,
that God maintained them as one people under on head, or when
scattered, united them again. The same succession still subsists
in reference to ourselves. Christ must be viewed as living in
his members to the end of the world. To this Isaiah alludes when
he says, "Who shall declare his generation or
age?"—words in which he predicts that the church would
survive through all ages, notwithstanding the incessant danger
of destruction to which it is exposed through the attacks of its
enemies, and the many storms assailing it. So here David
foretells the uninterrupted succession of the kingdom down to
the time of Christ. John Calvin.
Verse 6. The king's life: and his years. David
speaks designedly of the days of the king instead of his own
days, as might have been expected from what had been said, for
the purpose of showing that he considered the promise of eternal
dominion as relating not to himself personally, but to his
family—the royal family of David. E. W. Hengstenberg.
Verse 7. O prepare mercy. David having declared
in his own behalf the purpose of God towards him for everlasting
salvation, he, speaking of himself, shall abide before
God for ever: he withal considering what he was to run
through in this life, and what it might require to keep him unto
the end, and so for ever, doth presently thereupon, in
way of prayer, subjoin prepare mercy and truth, which may
preserve me. As if he had said, I have yet a long journey to
go, and through many hazards, and thy promise is, I shall
abide before thee for ever. Lord, thou hast need lay up and
aforehand prepare an abundance of mercy and truth to preserve me
for time to come. Thomas Goodwin.
Verse 8. They that are godly are oppressed and vexed
in the church or congregation for this purpose: that when they
are pressed, they should cry; and when they cry, that they
should be heard; and when they are heard, that they should laud
and praise God. Augustine.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Whole Psalm. The progressive I wills.
1. I will cry.
2. I will abide in thy tabernacle.
3. I will trust.
4. I will sing praise.
Verse 1. Answers to prayer to be earnestly sought.
1. What hinders the answer of prayer?
2. What is our duty when answers are denied?
3. What encouragements we have to believe that the delay is
only temporary.
Verse 2. Lead me.
1. Show me the way: reveal Jesus.
2. Enable me to tread it: work faith in me.
3. Uplift me when I cannot tread: do for me what is beyond
me.
Verse 2. Higher than I. Jesus greater than our
highest efforts, attainments, desires, expectations,
conceptions.
Verse 2. God, the saint's rock. John Owen's Two
Sermons. Works. Vol. 9, pp. 237-256.
Verse 2. The heart's cry and desire.
1. A recognition of a place of safety; then,
2. We have this place brought before us, as abundantly
sufficient, when personal weakness has been realised.
3. This place cannot be attained without the help of
another's hand.
4. The character of this refuge, and the position of a
believer when availing himself of it: the place of refuge is
"a rock, "and the position of the believer is
"upon a rock." P. B. Power.
Verses 2-3.
1. How would he pray? I will cry unto thee.
2. Where would he pray? From the ends of the earth.
3. When would he pray? When my heart is
overwhelmed.
4. For what would he pray? Lead me to the rock that
is higher than I.
5. Whence does he derive his encouragement to pray?
For thou hast been, etc. (Ps 61:3). William Jay.
Verse 3. A shelter from the rain of trouble,
the storm of persecution, the floods of Satanic temptation, the
heat of divine wrath, the blast of death. The ark, Lot's
mountain, the blood stained door in Egypt, the city of refuge,
the cave Adullam. A strong tower: lasting in itself,
impregnable against foes, secure for the occupant.
Verse 5. (second clause). Enquire whether or no
it fares with us as with the saints.
Verses 5, 8.
1. Vows heard in heaven.
2. Vows to be carefully fulfilled on earth.
Verse 5. (second clause).
1. They that fear God have a "heritage."
2. This heritage is "given."
3. We may know that we possess it. William Jay.
Verse 6. Our King, his eternal existence, our personal
joy in this, and our joy for our descendants.
Verses 4, 7.
1. My privilege, I will abide (Ps 61:4).
2. The ground of it, He shall abide, etc. (Ps 61:7).
Verses 5, 8.
1. Vows heard in heaven.
2. Vows to be carefully fulfilled on earth.