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Psalm Thirty-two
Psalm 32
Chapter Contents
The happiness of a pardoned sinner. (1
2) The misery that
went before
and the comfort that followed the confession of sins. (3-7)
Sinners instructed
believers encouraged. (8-11)
Commentary on Psalm 32:1
2
(Read Psalm 32:1
2)
Sin is the cause of our misery; but the true believer's
transgressions of the Divine law are all forgiven
being covered with the
atonement. Christ bare his sins
therefore they are not imputed to him. The
righteousness of Christ being reckoned to us
and we being made the
righteousness of God in him
our iniquity is not imputed
God having laid upon
him the iniquity of us all
and made him a sin-offering for us. Not to impute
sin
is God's act
for he is the Judge. It is God that justifies. Notice the
character of him whose sins are pardoned; he is sincere
and seeks
sanctification by the power of the Holy Ghost. He does not profess to repent
with an intention to indulge in sin
because the Lord is ready to forgive. He
will not abuse the doctrine of free grace. And to the man whose iniquity is
forgiven
all manner of blessings are promised.
Commentary on Psalm 32:3-7
(Read Psalm 32:3-7)
It is very difficult to bring sinful man humbly to accept
free mercy
with a full confession of his sins and self-condemnation. But the
true and only way to peace of conscience
is
to confess our sins
that they
may be forgiven; to declare them that we may be justified. Although repentance
and confession do not merit the pardon of transgression
they are needful to
the real enjoyment of forgiving mercy. And what tongue can tell the happiness
of that hour
when the soul
oppressed by sin
is enabled freely to pour forth
its sorrows before God
and to take hold of his covenanted mercy in Christ
Jesus! Those that would speed in prayer
must seek the Lord
when
by his
providence
he calls them to seek him
and
by his Spirit
stirs them up to
seek him. In a time of finding
when the heart is softened with grief
and
burdened with guilt; when all human refuge fails; when no rest can be found to
the troubled mind
then it is that God applies the healing balm by his Spirit.
Commentary on Psalm 32:8-11
(Read Psalm 32:8-11)
God teaches by his word
and guides with the secret
intimations of his will. David gives a word of caution to sinners. The reason
for this caution is
that the way of sin will certainly end in sorrow. Here is
a word of comfort to saints. They may see that a life of communion with God is
far the most pleasant and comfortable. Let us rejoice
O Lord Jesus
in thee
and in thy salvation; so shall we rejoice indeed.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 32
Verse 2
[2] Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not
iniquity
and in whose spirit there is no guile.
Imputeth — Whom God doth not charge with the guilt of his sins
but graciously pardons and accepts him in Christ.
No guile — Who freely confesses all his sins
and turns from sin
to God with all his heart.
Verse 3
[3] When I kept silence
my bones waxed old through my
roaring all the day long.
Silence — From a full and open confession of my sins.
Old — My spirit failed
and the strength of my body decayed.
Roaring — Because of the continual horrors of my conscience
and
sense of God's wrath.
Verse 4
[4] For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my
moisture is turned into the drought of summer. /*Selah*/.
Hand — Thy afflicting hand.
My moisture — Was dried up.
Verse 5
[5] I acknowledged my sin unto thee
and mine iniquity have
I not hid. I said
I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou
forgavest the iniquity of my sin. /*Selah*/.
The iniquity — The guilt of my sin.
Verse 6
[6] For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in
a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they
shall not come nigh unto him.
For this — Upon the encouragement of my example.
Found — In an acceptable and seasonable time
while God
continues to offer grace and mercy.
Waters — In the time of great calamities.
Not come — So as to overwhelm him.
Verse 8
[8] I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which
thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
I will — This and the next verse seems to be the words of God
whom David brings in as returning this answer to his prayers.
Mine eye — So Christ did St. Peter
when he turned and looked
upon him.
Verse 9
[9] Be ye not as the horse
or as the mule
which have no
understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle
lest they come
near unto thee.
Will not — Unless they be forced to it by a bit or bridle. And so
all the ancient translators understand it.
Verse 10
[10] Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that
trusteth in the LORD
mercy shall compass him about.
Sorrows — This is an argument to enforce the foregoing
admonition.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Psalm 32:8~9
The truth of Psalm 32:8~9
is well illustrated by a horse a certain pastor remembers from the ranch he
grew up on. The horse’s name was Jim
and he had been used only for riding or
racing before the ranch manager bought him. Jim was bought to be used for
chasing cattle
to be a workhorse for the livestock. At first
Jim would only
run in a straight line and was almost impossible to stop or turn. When the
cowboys were herding cattle into the corral and one would try to get away
Jim
would start to follow the animal. But
if the animal turned
it would take the
rider a hundred yards to turn Jim! As you can imagine
by that time the animal
would be long gone in another direction.
Training
Jim to work the livestock—to follow on the heels of the cow and calf
to sense
when an animal would turn
and to be able to outwit it—was obviously very
difficult. Of necessity the cowhands had to place a rougher than usual bit in
his mouth as well as wear spurs
but eventually Jim learned to be probably the
best cattle horse on the ranch. A rider could shift his weight ever so slightly
to one side
and Jim would immediately turn that way.
In
the same way
God wants to guide us in a gentle and loving way. Let us not be
stubborn
as Jim was—or as a mule can be—so that he can always direct us
easily.
Psalm 32 - The Blessedness Of Confessing Sin
OBJECTIVES IN STUDYING THIS PSALM
1) To note the connection between this psalm and Psalm 51 2) To observe the use and possible meaning of the word "Maschil" 3) To be impressed with the importance of confessing our sins to God SUMMARY
This psalm was written by David (cf. Ro 4:6-8) and is generally thoughtto have been composed after he received forgiveness in the matter ofBathsheba (cf. 2 Sam 11:1-12:15). In seeking forgiveness
he hadpromised to "teach transgressors Your ways" (cf. Psa 51:13)
and withthis psalm he fulfill his promise. The heading calls this psalm a"Maschil" possibly meaning a poem of contemplation or meditation. It
certainly qualifies as a didactic or instructive psalm (cf. Psa 32:8). It begins with stating the blessedness or joy of forgiveness
where theLord does not count one's sins against him
and in whose spirit there isno guile (1-2). What led David to this conclusion was first the curseof remaining silent
in which he experienced both physical and emotionalstress. This was partly due to the guilt of sin itself
but David alsomentions the chastening hand of the Lord upon him (3-4). But then he confessed his sin to the Lord
and the Lord forgave him.This prompts Dave to bless (speak well of) God as a source of protectioneasily found by the godly in time of trouble
Who will surround himwith songs of deliverance (5-7). The psalm ends with David (though some think it is God speaking)offering to instruct and teach one in the way he should go (cf. Psa51:13). With a caution not to be like the mule or horse which lacks
understanding and must be drawn near
David contrasts the sorrows of thewicked with the mercy that will surround him who puts his trust in theLord. This ought to cause the righteous to be glad in the Lord
and theupright in heart to shout for joy (8-11). OUTLINE
I. THE JOY OF FORGIVENESS (32:1-2)
A. THE BLESSED MAN (1-2a ) 1. Is the one whose transgression is forgiven 2. Is the one whose sin is covered 3. Is the one to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity B. THE GUILELESS MAN (2) 1. Is the one whose sins have been forgiven as described 2. In whose spirit there is no deceit (for he has nothing to hide!) - cf. Re 14:5 II. THE CURSE OF SILENCE (32:3-4)
A. SUFFERING THE EFFECTS OF SIN (3) 1. The psalmist remained silent about his sin 2. The psalmist groaned all day long
his bones wasting away B. EXPERIENCING THE CHASTISEMENT OF THE LORD (4) 1. The heavy hand of the Lord was upon him day and night - cf. Psa38:1-11; 39:10-11
2. His strength sapped as in the heat of summer III. THE BENEFIT OF CONFESSION (32:5-7)
A. DAVID CONFESSED HIS SIN (5a ) 1. He decided to acknowledge his sin to God 2. He chose to no longer hide his sin 3. He confessed his transgressions to the Lord B. THE LORD FORGAVE
AND DAVID BLESSED (5b-7) 1. The Lord forgave David the iniquity of his sin 2. David blesses (speaks wells of) God for His forgiveness a. For this reason everyone who is godly shall pray to Him 1) In a time when He may be found 2) In a flood of great waters
they shall not come near b. God is his hiding place 1) He shall preserve him from trouble 2) He shall surround him with songs of deliverance IV. THE VALUE OF TRUST (32:8-11)
A. DAVID PROPOSES TO INSTRUCT THE READER (8-9) 1. To teach one the way he (or she) should go 2. To guide one with his eye (his insight? perspective?) 3. With a caution not to be like the horse or mule a. Which has no understanding b. Which has to be harnessed
or they will not come near B. THE VALUE OF TRUSTING IN THE LORD (10-11) 1. Many sorrows will be to the wicked 2. Mercy will surround the one who trusts in the Lord a. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice
you righteous! b. Shout for joy
all you upright in heart! REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE PSALM
1) What are the main points of this psalm?
- The joy of forgiveness (1-2) - The curse of silence (3-4) - The benefit of confession (5-7) - The value of trust (8-11) 2) What is the condition of the blessed man described in this psalm?(1-2)
- His transgression is forgiven - His sin is covered - The Lord does not impute iniquity against him - There is no deceit (guile) in his spirit 3) What had been the affect of keeping silent about his sin? (3-4)
- His bones grew old through his groaning all day long - The hand of the Lord had been heavy on him day and night - His vitality had become like the drought of summer 4) What did he then decided to do? What was the result? (5)
- To confess his transgressions to the Lord - The Lord forgave him 5) What will the godly do when in need of forgiveness? (6)
- Pray to God 6) What blessings does God provide for those who put their trust in Him?(6-7)
- In a flood of great waters
they shall not come near - He is their hiding place - He preserves them from trouble - He surrounds them with songs of deliverance 7) What does David (or perhaps God) offer to do in this psalm? (8)
- Instruct and teach one in the way they should go - Guide one with his eye (insight
perspective?) 8) What warning is giving concerning those who read this psalm? (9)
- Don't be like the horse or mule
which lacking understanding have to be drawn in order to come near 9) What antithetical statements are made concerning the wicked and thosewho trust in the Lord? (10)
- Many sorrows shall be to the wicked - He who trusts in the Lord
mercy shall surround him 10) What are the righteous and upright in heart called upon to do? (11)
- Be glad in the Lord and rejoice - Shout for joy
－－《Executable
Outlines》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and
Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village
Preacher
Other Works
TITLE. A Psalm of
David
Maschil. That David wrote this gloriously evangelic Psalm is proved not
only by this heading
but by the words of the apostle Paul
in Ro 4:6-8.
"Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God
imputeth righteousness without works
"&c. Probably his deep
repentance over his great sin was followed by such blissful peace
that he was
led to pour out his spirit in the soft music of this choice song. In the order
of history it seems to follow the fifty-first. Maschil is a new title to
us
and indicates that this is an instructive or didactic Psalm. The experience
of one believer affords rich instruction to others
it reveals the footsteps of
the flock
and so comforts and directs the weak. Perhaps it was important in
this case to prefix the word
that doubting saints might not imagine the Psalm
to be the peculiar utterance of a singular individual
but might appropriate it
to themselves as a lesson from the Spirit of God. David promised in the
fifty-first Psalm to teach transgressors the Lord's ways
and here he does it
most effectually. Grotius thinks that this Psalm was meant to be sung on the
annual day of the Jewish expiation
when a general confession of their sins was
made.
DIVISION. In our reading
we have found it convenient to note the benediction of the pardoned
Ps 32:1-2;
David's personal confession
Ps 32:3-5; and the application of the case to
others
Ps 32:6-7. The voice of God is heard by the forgiven one in Ps 32:8-9;
and the Psalm then concludes with a portion for each of the two great classes
of men
Ps 32:10-11.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. Blessed. Like the sermon on the mount on the mount
this
Psalm begins with beatitudes. This is the second Psalm of benediction. The
first Psalm describes the result of holy blessedness
the thirty-second details
the cause of it. The first pictures the tree in full growth
this depicts it in
its first planting and watering. He who in the first Psalm is a reader of God's
book
is here a suppliant at God's throne accepted and heard. Blessed is he
whose transgression is forgiven. He is now blessed and ever shall be. Be he
ever so poor
or sick
or sorrowful
he is blessed in very deed. Pardoning
mercy is of all things in the world most to be prized
for it is the only and
sure way to happiness. To hear from God's own Spirit the words
"absolvo
te" is joy unspeakable. Blessedness is not in this case ascribed to
the man who has been a diligent law keeper
for then it would never come to us
but rather to a lawbreaker
who by grace most rich and free has been forgiven.
Self righteous Pharisees have no portion in this blessedness. Over the
returning prodigal
the word of welcome is here pronounced
and the music and
dancing begin. A full
instantaneous
irreversible pardon of transgression
turns the poor sinner's hell into heaven
and makes the heir of wrath a
partaker in blessing. The word rendered forgiven is in the original taken
off or taken away
as a burden is lifted or a barrier removed. What
a lift is here! It cost our Saviour a sweat of blood to bear our load
yea
it
cost him his life to bear it quite away. Samson carried the gates of Gaza
but
what was that to the weight which Jesus bore on our behalf? Whose sin is
covered. Covered by God
as the ark was covered by the mercyseat
as Noah
was covered from the flood
as the Egyptians were covered by the depths of the
sea. What a cover must that be which hides away for ever from the sight of the
all seeing God all the filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit! He who has
once seen sin in its horrible deformity
will appreciate the happiness of
seeing it no more for ever. Christ's atonement is the propitiation
the
covering
the making an end of sin; where this is seen and trusted in
the soul
knows itself to be now accepted in the Beloved
and therefore enjoys a
conscious blessedness which is the antepast of heaven. It is clear from the
text that a man may know that he is pardoned: where would be the
blessedness of an unknown forgiveness? Clearly it is a matter of knowledge
for
it is the ground of comfort.
Verse
2. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity.
The word blessed is in the plural
oh
the blessednesses! the double
joys
the bundles of happiness
the mountains of delight! Note the three words
so often used to denote our disobedience: transgression
sin
and iniquity
are
the three headed dog at the gates of hell
but our glorious Lord has silenced
his barkings for ever against his own believing ones. The trinity of sin is
overcome by the Trinity of heaven. Non imputation is of the very essence of
pardon: the believer sins
but his sin is not reckoned
not accounted to him.
Certain divines froth at the mouth with rage against imputed righteousness
be
it ours to see our sin not imputed
and to us may there be as Paul words it
"Righteousness imputed without works." He is blessed indeed who has a
substitute to stand for him to whose account all his debts may be set down. And
in whose spirit there is no guile. He who is pardoned
has in every case
been taught to deal honestly with himself
his sin
and his God. Forgiveness is
no sham
and the peace which it brings is not caused by playing tricks with
conscience. Self deception and hypocrisy bring no blessedness
they may drug
the soul into hell with pleasant dreams
but into the heaven of true peace they
cannot conduct their victim. Free from guilt
free from guile. Those who are
justified from fault are sanctified from falsehood. A liar is not a forgiven
soul. Treachery
double dealing
chicanery
dissimulation
are lineaments of
the devil's children
but he who is washed from sin is truthful
honest
simple
and childlike. There can be no blessedness to tricksters with their
plans
and tricks
and shuffling
and pretending: they are too much afraid of
discovery to be at ease; their house is built on the volcano's brink
and
eternal destruction must be their portion. Observe the three words to describe
sin
and the three words to represent pardon
weigh them well
and note their
meaning. (See note at the end.)
Verses
3-5. David now gives us his own experience: no instructor is so
efficient as one who testifies to what he has personally known and felt. He
writes well who like the spider spins his matter out of his own bowels.
Verse
3. When I kept silence. When through neglect I failed to
confess
or through despair dared not do so
my bones
those solid
pillars of my frame
the stronger portions of my bodily constitution
waxed
old
began to decay with weakness
for my grief was so intense as to sap my
health and destroy my vital energy. What a killing thing is sin! It is a
pestilent disease! A fire in the bones! While we smother our sin it rages
within
and like a gathering wound swells horribly and torments terribly. Through
my roaring all the day long. He was silent as to confession
but not as to
sorrow. Horror at his great guilt
drove David to incessant laments
until his
voice was no longer like the articulate speech of man
but so full of sighing
and groaning
that it resembled to hoarse roaring of a wounded beast. None
knows the pangs of conviction but those who have endured them. The rack
the
wheel
the flaming fagot are ease compared with the Tophet which a guilty
conscience kindles within the breast: better suffer all the diseases which
flesh is heir to
than lie under the crushing sense of the wrath of almighty
God. The Spanish inquisition with all its tortures was nothing to the inquest
which conscience holds within the heart.
Verse
4. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me. God's finger
can crush us—what must his hand be
and that pressing heavily and continuously!
Under terrors of conscience
men have little rest by night
for the grim
thoughts of the day dog them to their chambers and haunt their dreams
or else
they lie awake in a cold sweat of dread. God's hand is very helpful when it
uplifts
but it is awful when it presses down: better a world on the shoulder
like Atlas
than God's hand on the heart
like David. My moisture is turned
into the drought of summer. The sap of his soul was dried
and the body
through sympathy appeared to be bereft of its needful fluids. The oil was
almost gone from the lamp of life
and the flame flickered as though it would
soon expire. Unconfessed transgression
like a fierce poison
dried up the
fountain of the man's strength and made him like a tree blasted by the
lightning
or a plant withered by the scorching heat of a tropical sun. Alas!
for a poor soul when it has learned its sin but forgets its Saviour
it goes
hard with it indeed. Selah. It was time to change the tune
for the
notes are very low in the scale
and with such hard usage
the strings of the
harp are out of order: the next verse will surely be set to another key
or
will rehearse a more joyful subject.
Verse
5. I acknowledged my sin unto thee. After long lingering
the
broken heart bethought itself of what it ought to have done at the first
and
laid bare its bosom before the Lord. The lancet must be let into the gathering
ulcer before relief can be afforded. The least thing we can do
if we would be
pardoned
is to acknowledge our fault; if we are too proud for this we double
deserve punishment. And mine iniquity have I not hid. We must confess
the guilt as well as the fact of sin. It is useless to conceal it
for it is
well known to God; it is beneficial to us to own it
for a full confession
softens and humbles the heart. We must as far as possible unveil the secrets of
the soul
dig up the hidden treasure of Achan
and by weight and measure bring
out our sins. I said. This was his fixed resolution. I will confess
my transgressions unto the Lord. Not to my fellow men or to the high
priest
but unto Jehovah; even in those days of symbol the faithful looked to
God alone for deliverance from sin's intolerable load
much more now
when
types and shadows have vanished at the appearance of the dawn. When the soul
determines to lay low and plead guilty
absolution is near at hand; hence we
read
And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Not only was the sin
itself pardoned
but the iniquity of it; the virus of its guilt was put away
and that at once
so soon as the acknowledgment was made. God's pardons are
deep and thorough: the knife of mercy cuts at the roots of the ill weed of sin.
Selah. Another pause is needed
for the matter is not such as may be
hurried over.
"Pause
my soul
adore and wonder
Ask
O why such love to me?
Grace has put me in the number
Of the Saviour's family.
Hallelujah!
Thanks
eternal thanks
to thee."
Verse
6. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a
time when thou mayest be found. If the psalmist means that on account of
God's mercy others would become hopeful
his witness is true. Remarkable
answers to prayer very much quicken the prayerfulness of other godly persons.
Where one man finds a golden nugget others feel inclined to dig. The benefit of
our experience to others should reconcile us to it. No doubt the case of David
has led thousands to seek the Lord with hopeful courage who
without such an
instance to cheer them
might have died in despair. Perhaps the psalmist meant for
this favour or the like all godly souls would seek
and here
again
we can confirm
his testimony
for all will draw near to God in the same manner as he did when
godliness rules their heart. The mercy seat is the way to heaven for all who
shall ever come there. There is
however
a set time for prayer
beyond which
it will be unavailing; between the time of sin and the day of punishment mercy
rules the hour
and God may be found
but when once the sentence has gone forth
pleading will be useless
for the Lord will not be found by the condemned soul.
O dear reader
slight not the accepted time
waste not the day of salvation.
The godly pray while the Lord has promised to answer
the ungodly postpone
their petitions till the Master of the house has risen up and shut to the door
and then their knocking is too late. What a blessing to be led to seek the Lord
before the great devouring floods leap forth from their lairs
for then when
they do appear we shall be safe. Surely in the floods of great waters they
shall not come nigh unto him. The floods shall come
and the waves shall
rage
and toss themselves like Atlantic billows; whirlpools and waterspouts
shall be on every hand
but the praying man shall be at a safe distance
most
surely secured from every ill. David was probably most familiar with those
great land floods which fill up
with rushing torrents
the beds of rivers
which at other times are almost dry: these overflowing waters often did great
damage
and
as in the case of the Kishon
were sufficient to sweep away whole
armies. From sudden and overwhelming disasters thus set forth in metaphor the
true suppliant will certainly be held secure. He who is saved from sin has no
need to fear anything else.
Verse
7. Thou art my hiding place. Terse
short sentences make up
this verse
but they contain a world of meaning. Personal claims upon our God
are the joy of spiritual life. To lay our hand upon the Lord with the clasp of
a personal "my" is delight at its full. Observe that the same man who
in the fourth verse was oppressed by the presence of God
here finds a shelter in
him. See what honest confession and full forgiveness will do! The gospel of
substitution makes him to be our refuge who otherwise would have been our
judge. Thou shalt preserve me from trouble. Trouble shall do me no real
harm when the Lord is with me
rather it shall bring me much benefit
like the
file which clears away the rust
but does not destroy the metal. Observe the
three tenses
we have noticed the sorrowful past
the last sentence was a
joyful present
this is a cheerful future. Thou shalt compass me about with
songs of deliverance. What a golden sentence! The man is encircled in song
surrounded by dancing mercies
all of them proclaiming the triumphs of grace.
There is no breach in the circle
it completely rings him round; on all sides
he hears music. Before him hope sounds the cymbals
and behind him gratitude
beats the timbrel. Right and left
above and beneath
the air resounds with
joy
and all this for the very man who
a few weeks ago
was roaring all the
day long. How great a change! What wonders grace has done and still can do! Selah.
There was a need of a pause
for love so amazing needs to be pondered
and joy
so great demands quiet contemplation
since language fails to express it.
Verse
8. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou
shalt go. Here the Lord is the speaker
and gives the psalmist an answer to
his prayer. Our Saviour is our instructor. The Lord himself deigns to teach his
children to walk in the way of integrity
his holy word and the monitions of
the Holy Spirit are the directors of the believer's daily conversation. We are
not pardoned that we may henceforth live after our own lusts
but that we may
be educated in holiness and trained for perfection. A heavenly training is one
of the covenant blessings which adoption seals to us: "All thy children
shall be taught by the Lord." Practical teaching is the very best of
instruction
and they are thrice happy who
although they never sat at the feet
of Gamaliel
and are ignorant of Aristotle
and the ethics of the schools
have
nevertheless learned to follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. I will guide
thee with mine eye. As servants take their cue from the master's eye
and a
nod or a wink is all that they require
so should we obey the slightest hints
of our Master
not needing thunderbolts to startle our incorrigible
sluggishness
but being controlled by whispers and love touches. The Lord is
the great overseer
whose eye in providence overlooks everything. It is well
for us to be the sheep of his pasture
following the guidance of his wisdom.
Verse
9. Be ye not as the horse
or as the mule
which have no
understanding. Understanding separates man from a brute—let us not act as
if we were devoid of it. Men should take counsel and advice
and be ready to
run where wisdom points them the way. Alas! we need to be cautioned against
stupidity of heart
for we are very apt to fall into it. We who ought to be as
the angels
readily become as the beasts. Whose mouth must be held in with
bit and bridle
lest they come near unto thee. It is much to be deplored
that we so often need to be severely chastened before we will obey. We ought to
be as a feather in the wind
wafted readily in the breath of the Holy Spirit
but alas! we lie like motionless logs
and stir not with heaven itself in view.
Those cutting bits of affliction show how hard mouthed we are
those bridles of
infirmity manifest our headstrong and wilful manners. We should not be treated
like mules if there was not so much of the ass about us. If we will be
fractious
we must expect to be kept in with a tight rein. Oh
for grace to
obey the Lord willingly
lest like the wilful servant
we are beaten with many
stripes. Calvin renders the last words
"Lest they kick against thee
"a version more probable and more natural
but the passage is confessedly
obscure—not however
in its general sense.
Verse
10. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked. Like refractory
horses and mules
they have many cuts and bruises. Here and hereafter the
portion of the wicked is undesirable. Their joys are evanescent
their sorrows
are multiplying and ripening. He who sows sin will reap sorrow in heavy
sheaves. Sorrows of conscience
of disappointment
of terror
are the sinner's
sure heritage in time
and then for ever sorrows of remorse and despair. Let
those who boast of present sinful joys
remember the shall be of the
future and take warning. But he that trusteth in the Lord
mercy shall
compass him about. Faith is here placed as the opposite of wickedness
since it is the source of virtue. Faith in God is the great charmer of life's
cares
and he who possesses it
dwells in an atmosphere of grace
surrounded
with the bodyguard of mercies. May it be given to us of the Lord at all times
to believe in the mercy of God
even when we cannot see traces of its working
for to the believer
mercy is as all surrounding as omniscience
and every
thought and act of God is perfumed with it. The wicked have a hive of wasps
around them
many sorrows; but we have a swarm of bees storing honey for
us.
Verse
11. Be glad. Happiness is not only our privilege
but our
duty. Truly we serve a generous God
since he makes it a part of our obedience
to be joyful. How sinful are our rebellious murmurings! How natural does it
seem that a man blest with forgiveness should be glad! We read of one who died
at the foot of the scaffold of overjoy at the receipt of his monarch's pardon;
and shall we receive the free pardon of the King of kings
and yet pine in
inexcusable sorrow? "In the Lord." Here is the directory by
which gladness is preserved from levity. We are not to be glad in sin
or to
find comfort in corn
and wine
and oil
but in our God is to be the garden of
our soul's delight. That there is a God and such a God
and that he is ours
ours for ever
our Father and our reconciled Lord
is matter enough for a never
ending psalm of rapturous joy. And rejoice
ye righteous
redouble your
rejoicing
peal upon peal. Since God has clothed his choristers in the white
garments of holiness
let them not restrain their joyful voices
but sing aloud
and shout as those who find great spoil. And shout for joy
all ye that are
upright in heart. Our happiness should be demonstrative; chill penury of
love often represses the noble flame of joy
and men whisper their praises
decorously where a hearty outburst of song would be far more natural. It is to
be feared that the church of the present day
through a craving for excessive
propriety
is growing too artificial; so that enquirers' cries and believers'
shouts would be silenced if they were heard in our assemblies. This may be
better than boisterous fanaticism
but there is as much danger in the one
direction as the other. For our part
we are touched to the heart by a little
sacred excess
and when godly men in their joy over leap the narrow bounds of
decorum
we do not
like Michal
Saul's daughter
eye them with a sneering
heart. Note how the pardoned are represented as upright
righteous
and without
guile; a man may have many faults and yet be saved
but a false heart is
everywhere the damning mark. A man of twisting
shifty ways
of a crooked
crafty nature
is not saved
and in all probability never will be; for the
ground which brings forth a harvest when grace is sown in it
may be weedy and
waste
but our Lord tells us it is honest and good ground. Our
observation has been that men of double tongues and tricky ways are the least
likely of all men to be saved: certainly where grace comes it restores man's
mind to its perpendicular
and delivers him from being doubled up with vice
twisted
with craft
or bent with dishonesty. Reader
what a delightful Psalm! Have you
in perusing it
been able to claim a lot in the goodly land? If so
publish to
others the way of salvation.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Title. The term Maschil
is prefixed to thirteen Psalms. Our translators have not ventured to do more
in the text
than simply print the word in English characters; in the margin
however they render it
as the Geneva version had done before them
"to
give instruction." It would be going too far to affirm that this
interpretation is subject to no doubt. Some good Hebraists take exception to
it; so that
perhaps
our venerable translators did well to leave it
untranslated. Still the interpretation they have set down in the margin
as it
is in the most ancient
so it is sustained by the great preponderance of
authority. It agrees remarkably with the contents of the thirty-second Psalm
which affords the earliest instance of its use
for that Psalm is preeminently
didactic. Its scope is to instruct the convicted soul how to obtain peace with
God
and be compassed about with songs of deliverance. William Binnie
D.D.
in "The Psalms: Their History
Teachings
and Use
"1870.
Whole
Psalm. This is a Didactic Psalm
wherein David teacheth sinners to
repent by his doctrine
who taught them to sin by his example. This science is
universal and pertaineth to all men
and which necessarily we must all learn;
princes
priests
people
men
women
children
tradesmen; all
I say
must be
put to this school
without which lesson all others are unprofitable. But to
the point. This is a mark of a true penitent
when he hath been a stumbling
block to others
to be as careful to raise them up by his repentance as he was
hurtful to them by his sin; and I never think that man truly penitent who is
ashamed to teach sinners repentance by his own particular proof. The Samaritan
woman
when she was converted
left her bucket at the well
entered the city
and said
"Come forth
yonder is a man who hath told me all that I have
done." And our Saviour saith to St. Peter
"When thou art converted
strength thy brethren." Joh 4:29 Lu 22:32. St. Paul also after his
conversion is not ashamed to call himself chiefest of all sinners
and to teach
others to repent of their sins by repenting for his own. Happy
and thrice
happy
is the man who can build so much as he hath cast down. Archibald
Symson.
Whole
Psalm. It is told of Luther that one day being asked which of all the
Psalms were the best
he made answer
"Psalmi Paulini
" and
when his friends pressed to know which these might be
he said
"The 32nd
the 51st
the 130th
and the 143rd. For they all teach that the forgiveness of
our sins comes
without the law and without works
to the man who believes
and
therefore I call them Pauline Psalms; and David sings
`There is forgiveness
with thee
that thou mayest be feared
'this is just what Paul says
`God hath
concluded them all in unbelief
that he might have mercy upon all.' Ro 11:32.
Thus no man may boast of his own righteousness. That word
`That thou mayest be
feared
'dusts away all merit
and teaches us to uncover our heads before God
and confess gratia est
non meritum: remissio
non satisfactio; it is
mere forgiveness
not merit at all." Luther's Table Talk.
Whole
Psalm. Some assert that this Psalm used to be sung on the day of
expiation. Robert Leighton.
The
Penitential Psalms. When Galileo was imprisoned by the Inquisition at Rome
for
asserting the Copernican System
he was enjoined
as a penance
to repeat the
Seven Penitential Psalms every week for three years. This must have been
intended as extorting a sort of confession from him of his guilt
and
acknowledgment of the justice of his sentence; and in which there certainly was
some cleverness and
indeed
humour
however adding to the iniquity (or
foolishness) of the proceeding. Otherwise it is not easy to understand what
idea of painfulness or punishment the good fathers could attach to a devotional
exercise such as this
which
in whatever way
could only have been agreeable
and consoling to their prisoner. M. Montague
in "The Seven Penitential
Psalms in Verse...with an Appendix and Notes
" 1844.
Verse
1. Blessed. Or
O blessed man; or
Oh
the felicities of that
man! to denote the most supreme and perfect blessedness. As the elephant
to
denote its vast bulk
is spoken of in the plural number
Behemoth. Robert
Leighton.
Verse
1. Notice
this is the first Psalm
except the first of all
which
begins with Blessedness. In the first Psalm we have the blessing of innocence
or rather
of him who only was innocent: here we have the blessing of
repentance
as the next happiest state to that of sinlessness. Lorinus
in
Neale's Commentary.
Verse
1. Blessed is the man
saith David
whose sins are
pardoned
where he maketh remission of sins to be true felicity. Now there
is no true felicity but that which is enjoyed
and felicity cannot be enjoyed
unless it be felt; and it cannot be felt unless a man know himself to be in
possession of it; and a man cannot know himself to be in possession of it
if
he doubt whether he hath it or not; and therefore this doubting of the
remission of sins is contrary to true felicity
and is nothing else but a
torment of the conscience. For a man cannot doubt whether his sins be pardoned
or not
but straightway
if his conscience be not seared with a hot iron
the
very thought of his sin will strike a great fear into him; for the fear of
eternal death
and the horror of God's judgment will come to his remembrance
the consideration of which is most terrible. William Perkins.
Verse
1. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven
whose sin is
covered. Get your sins hid. There is a covering of sin which proves a
curse. Pr 28:13. "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper;
"there is a covering it
by not confessing it
or which is worse
by denying it—Gehazi's covering—a covering of sin by a lie; and there is also a
covering of sin by justifying ourselves in it. I have not done this thing; or
I did no evil in it. All these are evil coverings: he that thus covereth his
sin shall not prosper. But there is a blessed covering of sin:
forgiveness of sin is the hiding it out of sight
and that's the blessedness. Richard
Alleine.
Verse
1. Whose transgression is forgiven. We may lull the soul
asleep with carnal delights
but the virtue of that opium will be soon spent.
All those joys are but stolen waters
and bread eaten in secret—a poor sorry
peace that dares not come to the light and endure the trial; a sorry peace that
is soon disturbed by a few serious and sober thoughts of God and the world to
come; but when once sin is pardoned
then you have true joy indeed. "Be of
good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." Mt 9:2. Thomas Manton.
Verse
1. Forgiven. Holy David
in the front of this Psalm shows us
wherein true happiness consists: not in beauty
honour
riches (the world's
trinity)
but in the forgiveness of sin. The Hebrew word to forgive
signifies to carry out of sight; which well agrees with that Jer 50:20.
"In those days
saith the Lord
the iniquity of Israel shall be sought
for
and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah
and they shall not be
found." This is an incomprehensible blessing
and such as lays a
foundation for all other mercies. I shall but glance at it
and lay down these
five assertions about it. 1. Forgiveness is an act of God's free grace. The
Greek word to forgive
deciphers the original of pardon; it ariseth not
from anything inherent in us
but is the pure result of free grace. Isa 43:25.
"I
even I
am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own
sake." When a creditor forgives a debtor
he doeth it freely. Paul cries
out
"I obtained mercy." 1Ti 1:13. The Greek signifies
"I was
be-mercied; "he who is pardoned
is all bestrewed with mercy. When the Lord
pardons a sinner
he doth not pay a debt
but gives a legacy.
2.
God in forgiving sin
remits the guilt and penalty. Guilt cries for justice: no
sooner had Adam eaten the apple
but he saw the flaming sword
and heard the
curse; but in remission God doth indulge the sinner; he seems to say thus to
him: Though thou art fallen into the hands of my justice
and deserve to die
yet I will absolve thee
and whatever is charged upon thee shall be discharged.
3.
Forgiveness of sin is through the blood of Christ. Free grace is the impulsive
cause; Christ's blood is the meritorious. "Without shedding of blood is no
remission." Heb 9:22. Justice would be revenged either on the sinner or
the surety. Every pardon is the price of blood.
4.
Before sin is forgiven
it must be repented of. Therefore repentance and
remission are linked together. "That repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in his name." Lu 24:47. Not that repentance doth in a
Popish sense merit forgiveness; Christ's blood must wash our tears; but
repentance is a qualification
though not a cause. He who is humbled for sin
will the more value pardoning mercy.
5.
God having forgiven sin
he will call it no more into remembrance. Jer 31:34.
The Lord will make an act of indemnity
he will not upbraid us with former
unkindnesses
or sue us with a cancelled bond. "He will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea." Mic 7:19. Sin shall not be cast in as a cork
which riseth up again
but as lead which sinks to the bottom. How should we all
labour for this covenant blessing! Thomas Watson.
Verse
1. Sin is covered. Every man that must be happy
must have
something to hide and cover his sins from God's eyes; and nothing in the world
can do it
but Christ and his righteousness
typified in the ark of the
covenant
whose cover was of gold
and called a propitiatory
that as it
covered the tables that were within the ark
so God covers our sins against
those tables. So the cloud covering the Israelites in the wilderness
signified
God's covering us from the danger of our sins. Thomas Taylor's "David's
Learning: or the Way to True Happiness." 1617.
Verse
1. Sin covered. This covering hath relation to some
nakedness and filthiness which should be covered
even sin
which defileth us
and maketh us naked. Why
saith Moses to Aaron
hast thou made the people
naked? Ex 32:25. The garments of our merits are too short and cannot cover us
we have need therefore to borrow of Christ Jesus his merits and the mantle of
his righteousness
that it may be unto us as a garment
and as those breeches
of leather which God made unto Adam and Eve after their fall. Garments are
ordained to cover our nakedness
defend us from the injury of the weather
and
to adorn us. So the mediation of our Saviour serveth to cover our nakedness
that the wrath of God seize not upon us—he is that "white raiment"
wherewith we should be clothed
that our filthy nakedness may not appear—to
defend us against Satan—he is "mighty to save
"etc.—and to be an
ornament to decorate us
for he is that "wedding garment:"
"Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ." Re 3:18 Isa 63:1 Mt 22:11 Ro
13:14. Archibald Symson.
Verse
1. The object of pardon—about which it is conversant
is set forth
under diverse expressions—iniquity
transgression
and sin. As in
law many words of like import and signification are heaped up and put together
to make the deed and legal instrument more comprehensive and effectual. I
observe it the rather
because when God proclaims his name the same words are
used
Ex 34:7
"Taking away iniquity
transgressions
and sin." Well
we have seen the meaning of the expression. Why doth the holy man of God use
such vigour and vehemency of inculcation. "Blessed is the man!"
and again
"Blessed is the man!" Partly with respect to his
own case. David knew how sweet it was to have sin pardoned; he had felt the
bitterness of sin in his own soul
to the drying up of his blood
and therefore
he doth express his sense of pardon in the most lively terms. And then
partly
too
with respect to those for whose use this instruction was written
that
they might not look upon it as a light and trivial thing
but be thoroughly
apprehensive of the worth of so great a privilege. Blessed
happy
thrice happy
they who have obtained pardon of their sins
and justification by Jesus Christ.
Thomas Manton.
Verses
1-2. In these verses four evils are mentioned; 1.—Transgression
(evp) pesha. 2. Sin
(hajx) chataah. 3.—Iniquity
(Nwe) avon. 4.—Guile
(hymd) remiyah. The first
signifies the passing over a boundary
doing what is prohibited. The second
signifies the missing of a mark
not doing what was commanded; but it is
often taken to express sinfulness
or sin in the nature
producing
transgression in the life. The third signifies what is turned out of
its proper course or situation; anything morally distorted or perverted.
Iniquity
what is contrary to equity or justice. The fourth
signifies fraud
deceit
guile
etc. To remove these evils
three
acts are mentioned: forgiving
covering
and not imputing.
1.
TRANSGRESSION
(evp) pesha
must be forgiven
(ywsn) nesui
borne
away
i.e.
by a vicarious sacrifice; for bearing sin
or bearing
away sin
always implies this.
2.
SIN
(hajx) chataah
must be covered
(ywob) kesui
hidden
from the sight. It is odious and abominable
and must be put out of sight.
3.
INIQUITY
(Nwe) avon
what is perverse or distorted
must
not be imputed
(bsxyal) lo yachshobh
must not be reckoned to his
account.
4.
GUILE
(hymd) remiyah
must be annihilated from the soul. In whose
spirit there is no GUILE. The man whose transgression is forgiven;
whose sin is hidden
God having cast it as a millstone into the depths
of the sea; whose iniquity and perversion is not reckoned to his account; and
whose guile
the deceitful and desperately wicked heart
is annihilated
being emptied of sin
and filled with righteousness
is necessarily a happy
man. Adam Clarke.
Verses
1-2. Transgression. Prevarication. Some understand by it sins
of omission and commission.
Sin. Some
understand those inward inclinations
lusts
and motions
whereby the soul
swerves from the law of God
and which are the immediate cause of external
sins.
Iniquity. Notes original
sin
the root of all.
Levatus
forgiven
eased
signifies to take away
to bear
to carry away. Two words in Scripture
are chiefly used to denote remission
to expiate
to bear or carry away: the
one signifies the manner whereby it is done
namely
atonement
the other the
effect of this expiation
carrying away; one notes the meritorious cause
the
other the consequent.
Covered. Alluding to
the covering of the Egyptians in the Red Sea. Menochius thinks it alludes to
the manner of writing among the Hebrews
which he thinks to be the same with
that of the Romans; as writing with a pencil upon wax spread upon tables
which
when they would blot out they made the wax plain
and drawing it over the
writing
covered the former letters. And so it is equivalent with that
expression of "blotting out sin
"as in the other allusion it is with
"casting sin into the depths of the sea."
Impute. Not charging
upon account. As sin is a defection from the law
so it is forgiven; as it is
offensive to God's holiness
so it is covered; as it is a debt involving man in
a debt of punishment
so it is not imputed; they all note the certainty
and
extent
and perfection of pardon: the three words expressing sin here
being
the same that are used by God in the declaration of his name. Stephen
Charnock.
Verses
1-2
6-7. Who is blessed? Not he who cloaks
conceals
confesses not his
sin. As long as David was in this state he was miserable. There was guile in
his spirit Ps 32:2 misery in his heart
his very bones waxed old
his moisture
was dried up as the drought in summer Ps 32:3-4. Who is blessed? He that is
without sin
he who sins not
he who grieves no more by his sin the bosom on
which he reclines. This is superlative blessedness
its highest element the
happiness of heaven. To be like God
to yield implicit
ready
full
perfect
obedience
the obedience of the heart
of our entire being; this is to be
blessed above all blessedness. But among those who live in a world of sin
who
are surrounded by sin
who are themselves sinners
who is blessed? He whose
transgression is forgiven
whose sin is covered
to whom the Lord imputeth not
iniquity; and especially does he feel it to be so
who can
in some degree
enter into the previous state of David's soul Ps 32:3-4. Ah
in what a wretched
state was the psalmist previously to this blessedness! How must sin have
darkened and deadened his spiritual faculties
to have guile in the spirit of
one who could elsewhere exclaim
"Search me
O God
and know my heart: try
me
and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me
" any
way of pain or grief
any way of sin which most surely leads to these. Ps
139:23-34. What a mournful condition of soul was his
who while he roared all
the day long
yet kept silence before God
had no heart to open his heart unto
God
was dumb before him
not in submission to his will
not in accepting the
punishment of his iniquity Le 26:46
not in real confession
and honest
upright
and sincere acknowledgment of his iniquity to him against whom he had
committed it. "I kept silence
"not merely I was silent
"I kept silence
"resolutely
perseveringly; I kept it notwithstanding
all the remembrance of my past mercies
notwithstanding my reproaches of
conscience
and my anguish of heart. I kept it notwithstanding "thy
hand was heavy upon me day and night
"notwithstanding "my
moisture
"all that was spiritual in me
my vital spirit
all that was
indicative of spiritual life in my soul
seemed dried up and gone. Yes
Lord
notwithstanding all this
I kept it. But Nathan came
thou didst send
him. He was to me a messenger full of reproof
full of faithfulness
but full of
love. He came with thy word
and with the word of a King there was power. I
acknowledged my sin unto him
and my iniquity did I not hide
but this was
little. Against thee
thee only
did I sin
and to thee was my confession made.
I acknowledged my sin unto thee
O Lord. I solemnly said that I would do so
and I did it. I confessed my transgression unto the Lord
"and thou
forgavest the iniquity of my sin."
Blessed
is he whose transgression is forgiven. Behold the man who is blessed; blessed
in the state of his mind
his guileless spirit
his contrite heart
the fruit
of the spirit of grace; blessed in the forgiveness of a forgiving God; a
forgiveness
perfect
entire
lacking nothing
signified by sin "covered
""iniquity not imputed" of the Lord; blessed in the blessings
which followed it. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from
trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Beneath the
hollow of that hand which was once so heavy upon me
I can now repose. Thou art
my hiding place
I dread thee no more; nay
I dwell in thee as my habitation
and my high tower
my covert
my safety
my house. Safe in thy love
whatever
trouble may be my portion
and by the mouth of Nathan thy servant thou hast
declared that trouble shall be my portion
I shall yet be preserved; yea
more
so fully wilt thou deliver me that I believe thou wilt encompass me so with the
arms of thy mercy
as to call forth songs of grateful praise for thy gracious
interposition.
Behold
the blessedness of him whom God forgives! No wonder
then
that the psalmist
adds
for this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when
thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come
nigh unto him. As much as if he had said
Surely after this thy gracious
conduct towards me
all that truly love and fear thee
every one that
is godly
when he hears of thy dealings with me
"will pray unto
thee." Encouraged by my example
he will not keep silence as I
foolishly and sinfully did
but will confess and supplicate before thee
since
thou art to be "found
"and hast so wondrously shown that thou
art
of all that truly seek thee
since there is the place of finding
as I lay my hand upon the victim
and look through that victim to him the promised
Seed; since there is the time of finding
declared in thy word
and
manifested by the secret drawing of my heart to thee by thy grace; since the
unwillingness is not in thee
but in thy sinning creature to come to thee; for
this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee
then
however deep the
water floods may be
however fierce the torrent
and headlong the stream
they
shall not even come nigh unto him
much less shall they overwhelm him. James
Harrington Evans
M.A.
1785-1849.
Verse
2. Unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. Aben Ezra
paraphrases it
of whose sins God does not think
does not regard them
so as to bring them into judgment
reckoning them as if they were not; ou me
logizetai does not count or calculate them; does not require for them the
debt of punishment. To us the remission is entirely free
our Sponsor having
taken upon him the whole business of paying the ransom. His suffering is our
impunity
his bond our freedom
and his chastisement our peace; and therefore
the prophet says
"The chastisement of our peace was upon him
and by his
stripes we are healed." Robert Leighton.
Verse
2. In whose spirit there is no guile. In the saint's trouble
conscience is full of Scripture sometimes
on which it grounds its verdict
but
very ill interpreted. Oh
saith the poor soul
this place is against me! Blessed
is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity
and in whose spirit there
is no guile. Here
saith he
is a description of a sincere soul
to be one
in whose spirit there is no guile; but I find much guile in me
therefore I am
not the sincere one. Now this is a very weak
yea
false inference. By a spirit
without guile
is not meant a person that hath not the least deceitfulness and
hypocrisy remaining in his heart. To be without sin
and to be without guile
in this strict sense are the same—a prerogative here on earth peculiar to the
Lord Christ 1Pe 2:22
"Who did no sin
neither was guile found in his
mouth." And therefore when we meet with the same phrase attributed to the
saints
as to Levi
Mal 2:6; "Iniquity was not found in his lips;
"and to Nathanael
Joh 1:47: "Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is
no guile!" we must sense it in an inferior way
that may suit with their
imperfect state here below
and not put that which was only Christ's crown on
earth
and is the glorified saint's robe in heaven
on the weak Christian while
militant here on earth
not only with a devil without
but with a body of sin
within him. Wipe thine eyes again
poor soul
and then if thou readest such
places
wherein the Spirit of God speaks so highly and hyperbolically of his
saint's grace
thou shalt find he doth not assert the perfection of their
grace
free from all mixture of sin
but rather to comfort poor drooping souls
and cross their misgiving hearts
which
from the presence of hypocrisy
are
ready to overlook their sincerity as none at all
he expresses his high esteem
of their little grace
by speaking of it as if it were perfect
and their
hypocrisy none at all. William Gurnall.
Verse
2. In whose spirit there is no guile. When once pardon is
realized
the believer has courage to be truthful before God: he can afford to
have done with guile in the spirit. Who would not declare all his debts
when they are certain to be discharged by another? Who would not declare his
malady when he was sure of a cure? True faith knows not only that guile
before God is impossible
but also that it is no longer necessary. The believer
has nothing to conceal: he sees himself as before God
stripped
and laid open
and bare; and if he has learned to see himself as he is
so also has he learned
to see God as he reveals himself. There is no guile in the spirit of one who is
justified by faith; because in the act of justification truth has been
established in his inward parts. There is no guile in the spirit of him who
sees the truth of himself in the light of the truth of God. For the truth of
God shows him at once that in Christ he is perfectly righteous before God
and
in himself he is the chief of sinners. Such a one knows he is not his own
for
he is bought with a price
and therefore he is to glorify God. There is no
guile in the spirit of him whose real object is to glorify Christ and not
himself. But when a man is not quite true to Christ
and has not quite ceased
to magnify self
there may be guile
for he will be more occupied with thoughts
about himself than with the honour of Christ. But if the truth
and honour
and
glory of Christ be his supreme care
he may leave himself out of the question
and
like Christ
"O commit himself to him that judgeth righteously."
J. W. Reeve
M.A.
in "Lectures on the Thirty-second Psalm
"
1860.
Verse
2. No guile. Sincerity is that property to which pardoning
mercy is annexed. True
indeed
it is that Christ covers all our sins and
failings; but it is only the sincere soul over which he will cast his skirt. Blessed
is he whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not
iniquity. None will doubt this; but which is the man? The next words tell
us his name; And in whose spirit there is no guile. Christ's
righteousness is the garment which covers the nakedness and shame of our
unrighteousness; faith the grace that puts this garment on; but what faith?
None but the faith unfeigned
as Paul calls it. 2Ti 1:5. "Here is water
"said the eunuch
"what doth hinder me to be baptized?" Ac 8:36.
Now mark Philip's answer
Ac 8:37
"If thou believest with all thine heart
thou mayest; "as if he had said
Nothing but an hypocritical heart can
hinder thee. It is the false heart only that finds the door of mercy shut. William
Gurnall.
Verse
2. Guile. The guile of the spirit is an inward corruption in
the soul of man
whereby he dealeth deceitfully with himself before God in the
matter of salvation. Thomas Taylor.
Verse
3. My bones waxed old. God sports not at the sins of his
elect
but outwardly doth deal with them more hardly
and chastise them more
rigorously than he doth the reprobate. David's troubles and pains were partly
external
partly internal: external I call those that were cast on his body;
internal upon his conscience. And in the body were torments and vexations
seizing sometimes on his flesh—which was less painful—sometimes on his bones
which was more grievous
yea
almost intolerable
as experience teacheth. And
this is God's just recompense; when we bestow our strength on sin
God abates
it
and so weakens us. Samson spent his strength on Delilah
but to what
weakness was he brought! Let us
therefore
learn
that God hath given us bones
and the strength thereof for another use
that is
to serve him
and not waste
or be prodigal of them in the devil's service. Archibald Symson.
Verse
3. My bones waxed old. By bones
the strength of the body
the inward strength and vigour of the soul is meant. The conscience of sin
and
the terror of judgment doth break the heart of a true penitent
so long as he
beholdeth his sin deserving death
his judge ready to pronounce the sentence of
it
hell open to receive him for it
and the evil angels
God's executioners
at
hand to hurry him to it. Samuel Page
in "David's Broken Heart
"1646.
Verse
3. My bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.
David here not only mourns for sin as a man
but he roars
as it were
like a
pained beast. He seems fitter for a wilderness to cry out
than for a secret
chamber to weep in; at other times he can "water his couch" in the
night
now he "roars" all the day long; at other times
"his moisture is dried
"now his "bones
"the
pillars of his house shake and wax old. Alexander Carmichael
1677.
Verse
4. Thy hand. A correcting hand
whereby God scourges
and buffets his own children. Now the sense of God's power punishing or
correcting
is called God's hand
as 1Sa 5:11. The hand of God was sore at
Ekron
because of the ark; and a heavy hand in resemblance
because when
men smite they lay their hand heavier than ordinary. Hence
we may note three
points of doctrine: first
that all afflictions are God's hand; secondly
that
God lays his hand heavily often upon his dear children; thirdly
that God often
continues his heavy hand night and day on them. Thomas Taylor.
Verse
4. My moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Another
meaning may be attributed to these words. We may suppose the psalmist to be
referring to spiritual drought. Charles H. Bingham
B.A.
in "Lectures
on the Thirty-second Psalm
" 1836.
Verse
4. My moisture is turned into the drought of summer. The
summer is from the middle of August to the middle of November. The intensity of
the heat is great
and almost intolerable...Up to the beginning or middle of
September there are no showers
rain being as scarce in summer as snow...The
dry grass of the fields sometimes takes fire
and produces desolating
conflagrations
and the parched earth is cleft and broken into chasms. John
Eadie
D.D.
LL.D.
in Biblical Cyclopaedia
1868.
Verse
4. The drought of summer. Dr. Russell
in his account of the
weather at Aleppo
which very much resembles that of Judea
says that the
verdure of the spring fades before the middle of May
and before the end of
that month the whole country puts on so parched and barren an aspect that one
would scarce think it capable of producing anything
there being but very few
plants that have vigour enough to resist the extreme heat. Thomas Harmer's
"Observations
" 1775.
Verse
4. The drought of summer. During the twelve years from 1846
to 1859 only two slight showers fell in Jerusalem between the months of May and
October. One fell in July
1858
another in June 1859. Dr. Whitty's
"Water Supply of Jerusalem
" quoted in Kitto's Cyclopaedia.
Verse
4. If God striketh those so sore whom he favoureth
how sharply and
sore will he strike them whom he favoureth not. Gregory.
Verses
4-5. If our offences have been not gnats
but camels
our sorrow must
be not a drop
but an ocean. Scarlet sins call for bloody tears; and if Peter
sin heinously he must weep bitterly. If
then
thy former life hath been a cord
of iniquity
twisted with many threads
a writing full of great blots
a course
spotted with various and grievous sins
multiply thy confessions and enlarge
thy humiliation; double thy fastings and treble thy prayers; pour out thy
tears
and fetch deep sighs; in a word
iterate and aggravate thy
acknowledgments
though yet
as the apostle saith in another case
I say in
this
"Grieve not as without hope
"that upon thy sincere and
suitable repentance divine goodness will forgive thee thy sins. Nathanael
Hardy.
Verse
5. I acknowledged my sin unto thee
and mine iniquity have I not
hid. The godly man is ingenuous in laying open his sins. The hypocrite doth
vail and smother his sin; he doth not abscindere peccatum
but abscondere;
like a patient that hath some loathsome disease in his body
he will rather die
than confess his disease; but a godly man's sincerity is seen in this—he will
confess and shame himself for sin. "Lo
I have sinned
and I have done
wickedly." 2Sa 24:17. Nay
a child of God will confess sin in particular;
an unsound Christian will confess sin by wholesale; he will acknowledge he is a
sinner in general
whereas David doth
as it were
point with his finger to the
sore: "I have done this evil" Ps 51:4; he doth not say I have done
evil
but this evil. He points at his blood guiltiness. Thomas Watson.
Verse
5. I said
I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and
thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Be thine own accuser in the free
confession of thy sins. Peccavi pater (as the prodigal child)
"Father
I have sinned against heaven
and in thy sight." For it
fares not in the court of heaven as it doth in our earthly tribunals. With men
a free confession makes way for a condemnation; but with God
the more a sinner
bemoans his offence
the more he extenuates the anger of his Judge. Sin cannot
but call for justice
as it is an offence against God; yet
when once it is a
wound to the soul it moveth him to mercy and clemency. Wherefore as David
having but resolved to confess his sins
was accosted eftsoon with an
absolution: so
Tu agnosce
et Dominus ignoscet (Augustine.) Be thou
unfeigned in confessing
and God will be faithful in forgiving. 1Jo 1:9. Only
let confessio peccati be professo desinendi (Hilary.)—the
acknowledgment of thy sin an obligation to leave it; and then thou mayest build
upon it. "He that confesseth and forsaketh shall have mercy." Pr
28:13. Isaac Craven's Sermon at Paul's Cross
1630
Verse
5. I said
I will confess
etc. Justified persons
who have
their sins forgiven
are yet bound to confess sin to God...There are many
queries to be dispatched in the handling of this point. The first query is
what are the reasons why persons justified and pardoned are yet bound to make
confession of sin unto God in private? The reasons are six. First
they are to
confess sin unto God because holy confession gives a great deal of ease and
holy quiet unto the mind of a sinner: concealed and indulged guilt contracts
horror and dread on the conscience. Secondly
because God loves to hear the
complaints and the confessions of his own people. Lying on the face is the best
gesture
and the mourning weed the best garment that God is well pleased with.
A third reason is
because confession of sin doth help to quicken the heart to
strong and earnest supplication to God (see Ps 32:6). Confession is to the soul
as the whetstone is to the knife
that sharpens it and puts an edge on it; so
doth confession of sin. Confessing thy evils to God doth sharpen and put an
edge on thy supplication; that man will pray but faintly that doth confess sin
but slightly. A fourth reason is
because confession of sin will work a holy
contrition and a godly sorrow in the heart. Ps 38:18. Declaration doth work
compunction. Confession of sin is but the causing of sin to recoil on the
conscience
which causeth blushing and shame of face
and grief of heart. A
fifth reason is
because secret confession of sin doth give a great deal of
glory to God. It gives glory to God's justice. I do confess sin
and do confess
God in justice may damn me for my sin. It gives glory to God's mercy. I confess
sin
yet mercy may save me. It gives glory to God's omniscience. In confessing
sin I do acknowledge that God knoweth my sin. A sixth reason why justified
persons must confess sin unto God is
because holy confession of sin will
embitter sin
and endear Christ to them
when a man shall let sin recoil on his
conscience
by a confession. Condensed from Christopher Love's "Soul's
Cordial
" 1683.
Verse
5. I said
I will confess...and thou forgavest. It remaineth
as a truth
remission is undoubtedly annexed to confession. Tantum valent
tres syllabae PEC-CA-VI
saith St. Austin
of so great force are those
three syllables in the Latin
three words in the English
when uttered with a
contrite heart
"I have sinned." Nathanael Hardy.
Verse
5. Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. This sin seems very
probably to have been his adultery with Bathsheba
and murder of Uriah. Now
David
to make the pardoning mercy of God more illustrious
saith he did not
only forgive his sin
but the iniquity of his sin; and what was
that? Surely the worst that can be said of that
his complicated sin
is that
there was so much hypocrisy in it
he woefully juggled with God and man in it;
this
I do not doubt to say
was the iniquity of his sin
and put a
colour deeper on it than the blood which he shed. And the rather—I lay the
accent there—because God himself
when he would set out the heinousness of this
sin
seems to do it rather from the hypocrisy in the fact than the fact itself
as appears by the testimony given this holy man 1Ki 15:5: "David did that
which was right in the eyes of the Lord
and turned not aside from any thing
that he commanded him all the days of his life
save only in the matter of
Uriah the Hittite." Were there not other false steps which David took
beside this? Doth the Spirit of God
by excepting this
declare his approbation
of all that else he ever did? No
sure the Spirit of God records other sins
that escaped this eminent servant of the Lord; but all those are drowned here
and this mentioned is the only stain of his life. But why? Surely because there
appeared less sincerity
yea
more hypocrisy in this one sin than in all his
others put together; though David in them was wrong as to the matter of his
actions
yet his heart was more right in the manner of committing them. But
here his sincerity was sadly wounded
though not to the total destruction of
the habit
yet to lay it in a long swoon
as to any actings thereof. And truly
the wound went very deep when that grace was stabbed in which did run the life
blood of all the rest. We see
then
God hath reason
though his mercy prompted
him
yea
his covenant obliged him
not to let his child die of this wound
yet
so to heal it that a scar might remain upon the place
a mark upon the sin
whereby others might know how odious hypocrisy is to God. William Gurnall.
Verse
5. Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. We must observe the
matter forgiven
and the manner of forgiving. The matter forgiven
is the iniquity of his sin. It is disputed what is here meant by iniquity
whether culpa or paena. Some understand paenam
and think
that an allusion is made in this word unto the message of Nathan
wherein God
doth remit the heaviest stroke of his wrath
but yet retains some part in
punishing the child
and permitting Absalom to rebel and abuse king David's
concubines: so Theodoret
Deus non condigna paena Davidem punivit. Some
understand culpam
and will have this phrase to be an amplification of
that
as if superbia defendens
or taciturnitas celans
or impietas
contra Deum assurgens
or some such great guilt were meant by this phrase.
But as I do not censure these opinions
which may well stand
so I think the
phrase looks back into that word which was in the confession. The sin
confessed was (evp) and this is but an analysis of this word; for (ytajx Nwe)
what is it
word for word
but the perverseness of my aberration? (hajx)
is an aberration from the scope or mark whereat we aim; all men aim at
felicity
but most men stray from it
because they are not led by the law that
guides unto it
the violating whereof is called (hajx) But some do stray out of
mere ignorance
and they only break the law; some out of stubbornness
which
will not submit themselves to the Lawgiver; these men's sin is called perverseness
which God is said here to forgive. So that David did not confess more against
himself than God includes in his pardon. Well may God exceed our desire; he
never doth come short thereof if it do concern our spiritual
our eternal good.
As he doth exclude no sinner that doth confess
so doth he except against no
sin that is confessed. Arthur Lake.
Verse
6. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a
time when thou mayest be found
etc. Seeing he is such a God
who should
refuse or delay his return! Surely every rational and pious mind will
without
delay
invoke so gentle and mild a Lord; will pray to him while he is
exorable
or
as the Hebrew expresses it
in a time of finding. For
he who promises pardon
does not promise tomorrow. There are tempora fandi—certain
times in which he may be spoken with
and a certain appointed day of pardon and
of grace
which if a man by stupid perverseness despise
or by sloth neglect
surely he is justly overwhelmed with eternal might and misery
and must
necessarily perish by the deluge of divine wrath; since he has contemned and
derided that Ark of salvation which was prepared
and in which whoever enters
into it shall be safe
while the world is perishing. Robert Leighton.
Verse
6. For this shall every one that is godly pray to thee
saith
David. For this! What? Because of his sins. And who? Not the most
wicked
but the godly
in this respect
have cause to pray. And for what
should he pray? Surely
for renewed pardon
for increase of grace
and for the
perfection of glory. We cannot say we have no sin. Oh
then let us pray with
David
"Enter not into judgment with thy servant
O Lord!" Where
there is a double emphasis observable
it is not ab hoste
but a
servo. Though God's servant
yet he would not have God to enter into
judgment with him. And again
ne intres
it is the very entrance into
judgment that he dreads
and prayeth against; not only do not proceed
but do not so much as enter. Nathanael Hardy.
Verse
6. For this shall every one that is godly. We are here
furnished with a fact which does not appear in the history of David. It is
commonly supposed that after his grievous fall
till Nathan reproved him
he
had been careless and stupefied; and this has often been adduced as a proof of
the hardening nature of sin. But the thing was far otherwise. He was all the
while tortured in his mind
yet unwilling to humble himself before God
and
condemn himself before men
as he ought to have done. He kept silence and
endeavoured to pass off the distress by time
palliation
and excuse. But the
repression and concealment of his anguish preyed not only upon his peace
but
his health
and endangered life itself. At length he was reduced to the deepest
penitence
and threw himself
by an unqualified confession
on the compassion
of God. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee. Here we
see not only that all the godly pray
but every one of them prays for pardon.
This is the very thing which our Saviour teaches his disciples: "When ye
pray
say
Forgive us our trespasses." And this praying does not only
regard the manifestation of forgiving mercy
as some would have it
but the
exercise of it. William Jay.
Verse
6. Godly. A godly man is like God
he hath the same judgment
with God! he thinks of things as God doth; he hath a God like disposition; he
partakes of the divine nature. 2Pe 1:4. A godly man doth bear God's name and
image: godliness is God likeness. Thomas Watson.
Verse
6. A time. There be seasons
which
if taken
sweeten
actions
and open the door for their better entertainment: Pr 25:11
"A
word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver; "the
Hebrew is
A word spoken upon its wheels: fit times and seasons are wheels to
carry words with great advantage. And so for actions; when things are done in
due time they are beautiful
acceptable. When God gives rain to a land in
season
how acceptable is it! when a tree bears fruit in its season
it is
grateful: so when angels or men do things seasonably
it is pleasing to the
Lord Christ: there are fit times
which
if we miss
actions are unlovely
and
miss of their aims. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in
a time when thou mayest be found. There are times
if we have the wisdom to
discern them
when prayer will be seasonable
acceptable
effectual. William
Greenhill.
Verse
6. Surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh
unto him. The effects of prayer heretofore have been wonderful. Prayer hath
sent down hailstones from heaven to overcome five kings with their armies.
Prayer hath shut up the windows of heaven that it should not rain
and again
hath opened them that the earth might give her increase. Prayer hath stayed the
swift course of the sun and caused it to go backward fifteen degrees. Prayer
hath held God's hands that he could not strike when he was ready to plague his
people. Prayer without any other help or means hath thrown down the strong
walls of Jericho. Prayer hath divided the sea that the floods thereof could not
come near the Israelites. In this place it delivereth the faithful man from all
the dangers of this world. Surely in the floods of many waters they shall
not come nigh unto him. The sum is this
That no calamity of this world
no
troubles of this life
no terrors of death
no guiltiness of sin
can be so
great
but that a godly man by means of his faith and felicity in Christ
shall wade out of them well enough. For howsoever other things go
still he
shall have such a solace in his soul
such a comfort in his conscience
such a
heaven in his heart
knowing himself reconciled to God and justified by faith
that
Surely in the floods of many waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
Which
that it may better appear
I shall desire you to observe two things
the
danger
the deliverance. The danger is in these words
In the floods of many
waters; where the tribulations that the godly man is subject to in this
life are likened
first
to waters; then to many waters; thirdly
to a flood of many waters. The deliverance is in these words
Surely
they shall not come near him; where the deliverance of the godly man hath
three degrees also. First
"they shall not come near; "secondly
him
"they shall not come near him; "then
surely—"surely
they shall not come near him." Thomas Playfere.
Verse
6. The floods of great waters. The afflictions of the
faithful are likened to waters. Fire and water have no mercy
we say.
But of the two water is the worst. For any fire may be quenched with water; but
the force of water
if it begins to be violent
cannot by any power of man
be
resisted. But these our tribulations which are waters are "many
waters." Our common proverb is
"Seldom comes sorrow alone:" but
as waters come rolling and waving many together
so the miseries of this life. Thomas
Playfere.
Verse
6. Floods of great waters. Unfamiliar with the sudden
flooding of thirsty water courses
we seldom comprehend the full force of the
most striking images in the Old and New Testaments. W.J. Conybeare
and J.S.
Howson
in "Life and Epistles of St. Paul."
Verse
6. In the floods
etc. Washed he may be
as Paul was in the
shipwreck
but not drowned with those floods of great waters: be they never so
great they are bounded. Joseph Trapp.
Verse
6. Him. This word must in no case be omitted; it helpeth us
to answer a very strong objection. For it may be said
Many holy men have lost
their goods
have suffered great torments in their body
have been troubled
also in mind; how then did not the "floods of many waters" come near
them? The word him helps us to answer. The very philosophers themselves
reckoned their goods pertained no more to them
than
be it spoken with
reverence and regard
the parings of their nails. Zenon hearing news he had
lost all he had by sea
said only thus
Thou hast done very well
Fortune
to
leave me nothing but my cloak. Another
called Anaxarchus
when as Nicocreon
the tyrant commanded he should be beaten to death in a mortar
spake thus to
the executioner
Beat and bray as long as thou wilt Anaxarchus his bag or
satchel (so he called his own body)
but Anaxarchus thou canst not touch. Yet
these
making so small reckoning of their goods and body
set their minds
notwithstanding at a high rate. The mind of a man is himself
say they. Hence
it is that Julius Caesar
when Amyclas the pilot was greatly afraid of the
tempest
spake to him thus: What meanest thou to fear
base fellow? dost thou
not know thou carriest Caesar with thee? As if he should say
Caesar's body may
well be drowned
as any other man's may; but his mind
his magnanimity
his
valour
his fortitude
can never be drowned. Thus far went philosophy; but
divinity goeth a degree further. For philosophy defines him
that is
a
man
by his reason
and the moral virtues of the mind; but divinity defines a
Christian man by his faith
and his conjunction thereby with Christ. Excellently
saith Saint Austin: Whence comes it that the soul dieth? Because faith is not
in it. Whence that the body dieth? Because a soul is not in it. Therefore the
soul of thy soul is faith. So that if we would know what is a faithful man
we
must define him
not by his natural soul
as he is reasonable
but by the soul
of his soul
which is his faith. And then we easily answer the objection
that
a flood may come near a faithful man's goods
near his body
near his
reasonable soul; but to his faith
that is
to HIM
it can never come near. Thomas
Playfere.
Verse
6. Few verses in the Psalms are harder to be understood than this:
and none has given rise to more varied expositions among the commentators. For
this. Some will have it: encouraged by this example
that after so foul a
fall God so readily forgave. Others again: for this
namely
warned by
this example
they who are holy shall make their prayers that they may not be
permitted to fall as David did. Whichever be the sense
they well argue from
this passage
that the state of absolute and enduring perfection is impossible
to a Christian in this life. Lorinus
and Cajetan (1469-1534)
quoted
by Neale.
Verse
7. Thou art my hiding place. David does not say
"Thou
art a hiding place" merely
as one among many; or the "hiding
place
"as the only one; but
"Thou art my hiding place."
There lies all the excellency of the text. "He is mine; I
have embraced the offer of his salvation
"says David; "I have
applied to him in my own person: I have
as a sinner
taken shelter in his love
and compassion; I have placed myself under his wings; I have covered myself
with the robe of his righteousness; and now
therefore
I am safe."
"Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven
whose sin is covered."
This is having a part and a lot in the matter
having the personal and
individual benefit of the Saviour's work of atonement. How different is an appropriating
from a speculative faith! Men tell us that they believe the doctrine
that they acknowledge the truth
that they assent to our creed; and they say
that to declare to them the character of Christ as the sinner's only help and
safety
is merely putting before them what they already know. Now
follow up
the idea suggested by the figure in our text
and see the folly and danger of
acting thus. Suppose a traveller upon a bleak and exposed heath to be alarmed
by the approach of a storm. He looks out for shelter. But if his eye discern a
place to hide him from the storm
does he stand still and say
"I see
there is a shelter
and therefore I may remain where I am"? Does he
not betake himself to it? Does he not run
in order to escape the stormy wind
and tempest? It was a "hiding place" before; but it was his
hiding place only when he ran into it
and was safe. Had he not gone into it
though it might have been a protection to a thousand other travellers who
resorted there
to him it would have been as if no such place existed. Who does
not see at once
from this simple illustration
that the blessings of the
gospel are such only in their being appropriated to the soul? The
physician can cure only by being applied to; the medicine can heal only
by being taken; money can enrich only by being possessed; and the
merchantman in the parable would have been none the wealthier for discovering
that there was a "pearl of great price
"had he not made it his.
So with the salvation of the gospel: if Christ is the "Balm in Gilead
"apply the remedy; if he is the "physician there
"go to
him; if he is the "pearl of great price
"sell all that you have and buy
it; and if he is the "hiding place
"run into it and be safe;
there will be no solid joy and peace in the mind until he is your
"hiding place." Fountain Elwin
1842.
Verse
7. Thou art my hiding place. An allusion
probably
to the city
of refuge. Adam Clarke.
Verse
7. Hiding place. Kirke White has a beautiful hymn upon this
word
beginning
"Awake
sweet harp of Judah
wake." We have no room
to quote it
but it will be found in "Our Own Hymn Book
"No. 381.
Verse
7. Thou shalt preserve me from trouble. If we content
ourselves with that word which our translators have chosen here
trouble
we must rest in one of these two senses; either that God shall arm
and indue
those that are his with such a constancy
as those things that trouble others
shall not trouble them; but
"As the sufferings of Christ abound in them
so their consolation also aboundeth by Christ:" "As unknown
and yet
well known; as dying
and behold we live; as sorrowful
yet always rejoicing;
as poor
yet making many rich; as having nothing
and yet possessing all
things" 2Co 1:5 6:9; for God uses both these ways in the behalf of his
servants—sometimes to suspend the working of that that should work their
torment
as he suspended the rage of the lions for Daniel
and the heat of the
fire in the furnace for the others; sometimes by imprinting a holy stupefaction
and insensibleness in the person that suffers; so St. Lawrence was not only
patient
but merry and facetious when he lay broiling upon the fire
and so we
read of many other martyrs that have been less moved
less affected with their
torments than their executioners or their persecutors have been. That which
troubled others never troubled them; or else the phrase must have this sense
that though they be troubled with their troubles
though God submit them so far
to the common condition of men
that they be sensible of them
yet he shall
preserve them from that trouble so as that it shall never overthrow them
never
sink them into a dejection of spirit
or diffidence in his mercy! they shall
find storms
but a stout and strong ship under foot; they shall feel thunder
and lightning
but garlands of triumphant bays shall preserve them; they shall
be trodden into earth with scorns and contempt
but yet as seed is buried
to
multiply to more. So far this word of our translators assists our devotion
Thou
shalt preserve me from trouble
thou shalt make me insensible of it
or
thou shalt make me victorious in it. John Donne.
Verse
7. Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. In
these words the prophet David riseth up by a gradation
and goeth beyond that
which he had formerly said concerning his confidence in God. First
he had said
that God was his hiding place; secondly
that he would preserve him
in trouble; and now
thirdly
that the Lord would make him joyful
and to triumph over his troubles and enemies
by compassing him
instead of
troubles
with mercies... Learn to acknowledge God's goodness to thyself with
particular application
as David saith here
"Thou shalt compass me
about with songs of deliverance." Not only confess his goodness to others
as to Abraham
Isaac
Jacob; nor only his deliverance of Noah
Daniel
Lot; but
also his mercies to and deliverance of thyself
as Paul did: "Christ gave
himself for me
and died for me." Ga 2:20. This will
exceedingly whet up thankfulness; whereas only to acknowledge God good in
himself
or to others
and not to thyself
will make thee murmur and repine. Thomas
Taylor.
Verse
7. Thou shalt compass me about. This word imports
that as we
are besieged on every side with troubles
so we are compassed with as many
comforts and deliverances; as our crosses grow daily
so our consolations are
augmented day by day. We are on every side offended and on every side defended;
therefore we ought on every side to sound God's praise
as David saith
"Bless the Lord
O my soul; and all that is within me." Ps 103:1. Archibald
Symson.
Verse
7. Songs of deliverance. In that he will not be content only
with thanks
but also will have them conjoined with songs
he letteth us
see how high all the strings of his heart are bent that he cannot contain
himself for the mercies of God to his church
and for his manifold deliverances
for the same. Many sing praises to God with an half open mouth; and
albeit
they can sing aloud any filthy ballad in their house
they make the mean
I
warrant you
in the church
that scarce can they hear the sound of their own
voice. I think they be ashamed to proclaim and show forth God's praises
or
they fear to deafen God by their loud singing; but David bent all his forces
within and without to praise his God. Archibald Symson.
Verse
8. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou
shalt go. No other than God himself can undertake so much as is promised in
the text. For here is faith
a rectifying of the understanding
I will
instruct thee
and in the original there is somewhat more than our
translation reaches to; it is there
Intelligere faciam te
I will make thee
understand. Man can instruct
God only can make us understand. And then it
is Faciam te
I will make thee
thee understand; the work is the
Lord's
the understanding is the man's: for God does not work in man as the
devil did in idols and in pythonissis
and in ventriloquis
in
possessed persons
who had no voluntary concurrence with the action of the
devil
but were merely passive; God works so in man as that he makes man work
too
faciam te
I will make thee understand; that that shall be done by
me
but in thee; the power that rectifies the act is God's
the act is man's; Faciam
te
says God
I will make thee
thee
every particular person (for that
arises out of this singular and distributive word
thee
which threatens
no exception
no exclusion)
I will make every person to whom I present
instruction
capable of that instruction; and if he receive it not
it is only
his
and not my fault. And so this first part is an instruction de
credendis
of such things
as by God's rectifying of our understanding we
are bound to believe. And then
in a second part
there follows a more
particular instructing
Docebo
"I will teach thee
"and that in
via
"in the way; "it is not only de via
to teach thee
which is the way
that thou mayest find it
but in via
how to keep the
way when thou art in it; he will teach thee
not only ut gradiaris
that
you may walk in it and not sleep
but quomodo gradieris
that you may
walk in it and not stray; and so this second part is an institution de
agendis
of those things which
thine understanding being formerly
rectified
and deduced into a belief
thou art bound to do. And then in the
last words of the text
I will guide thee with mine eye
there is a
third part
and establishment
a confirmation by an incessant watchfulness in
God; he will consider
consult upon us (for so much the original word imports)
he will not leave us to contingencies
to fortune; no
nor to his own general
providence
by which all creatures are universally in his protection and
administration
but he will ponder us
consider us
study us; and that with his
eye
which is the sharpest and most sensible organ and instrument
soonest
feels if anything be amiss
and so inclines him quickly to rectify us; and so
this third part is an instruction de sperandis
it hath evermore a
relation to the future
to the constancy and perseverance of God's goodness
towards us; to the end
and in the end he will guide us with his eye: except
the eye of God can be put out we cannot be put out of his sight and his care.
So that
both our freight which we are to take in
that is
what we are to
believe concerning God; and the voyage which we are to make
how we are to
steer and govern our course
that is
our behaviour and conversation in the
household of the faithful; and then the haven to which we must go
that is
our
assurance of arriving at the heavenly Jerusalem
are expressed in this chart
in this map
in this instruction
in this text. John Donne.
Verse
8. This threefold repetition
I will instruct thee
I will teach
thee
I will guide thee
teaches us three properties of a good teacher.
First
to make the people understand the way of salvation; secondly
to go
before them; thirdly
to watch over them and their ways. Archibald Symson.
Verse
8. The way. If we compare this way with all other ways
it
will whet our care to enter into and continue in it; for
first
this is the King's
highway
in which we have promise of protection. Ps 91:11. Secondly
God's
ways are the cleanest of all. 2Sa 22:31. Thirdly
God's ways are the rightest
ways; and
being rightest
they be also the shortest ways. Ho 14:9.
Fourthly
God's ways are most lightsome and cheerful. Pr 3:17.
Therefore
God's ways being the safest
cleanest
rightest
shortest
and
lightsomest ways
we must be careful to walk in them. Condensed from Thomas
Taylor.
Verse
8. I will guide thee with mine eye. We read in natural story
(A reviewer remarks upon the bad natural history which we quote. We reply that
to alter it would be to spoil the allusions
and we are making a book for men
not for babes. No person in his senses is likely at this day to believe the
fables which in former ages passed current for facts.)
of some creatures
Qui
solo oculorum aspectu fovent ova (Pliny)
which hatch their eggs only by
looking upon them. What cannot the eye of God produce and hatch in us? Plus
est quod probatur aspectu
quam quod sermone (Ambrose.) A man may seem to
commend in words
and yet his countenance shall dispraise. His word infuses
good purposes into us; but if God continue his eye upon us it is a further
approbation
for he is a God of pure eyes
and will not look upon the wicked.
"This land doth the Lord thy God care for
and the eyes of the Lord are
always upon it from beginning of the year
even to the end thereof." De
11:12. What a cheerful spring
what a fruitful autumn hath that soul
that hath
the eye of the Lord always upon her! The eye of the Lord upon me makes midnight
noon; it makes Capricorn Cancer
and the winter's the summer's solstice; the
eye of the Lord sanctifies
nay
more than sanctifies
glorifies all the
eclipses of dishonour
makes melancholy cheerfulness
diffidence assurance
and
turns the jealousy of the sad soul into infallibility...This guiding us with
his eye manifests itself in these two great effects; conversion to him
and
union with him. First
his eye works upon ours; his eye turns ours to look upon
him. Still it is so expressed with an Ecce; "Behold
the eye of the
Lord is upon all them that fear him; "his eye calls ours to behold that;
and then our eye calls upon his
to observe our cheerful readiness...When
as a
well made picture doth always look upon him that looks upon it
this image of
God in our soul is turned to him
by his turning to it
it is impossible we
should do any foul
any uncomely thing in his presence...The other great effect
of his guiding us with his eye
is
that it unites us to himself; when he fixes
his eye upon us
and accepts the return of ours to him
then he
"keeps" us as the "apple" of his "eye." Zec 2:8
...These are the two great effects of his guiding us by his eye
that first
his eye turns us to himself
and then turns us into himself; first
his eye
turns ours to him
and then
that makes us all one with himself
so as that our
afflictions shall be put upon his patience
and our dishonours shall be
injurious to him; we cannot be safer than by being his; but thus we are not
only his
but he; to every persecutor
in every one of our behalf
he shall
say
Cur me? Why persecutest thou me? And as he is all power
and can
defend us
so here he makes himself all eye
which is the most tender part
and
most sensible of our pressures. Condensed from John Donne.
Verse
8. I will guide thee with mine eye. Margin
I will counsel
thee
mine eye shall be upon thee. The margin expresses the sense
of the Hebrew. The literal meaning is
"I will counsel thee; mine
eyes shall be upon thee." De Wette: "my eye shall be directed towards
thee." The idea is that of one who is telling another what way he
is to take in order that he may reach a certain place; and he says he will
watch him
or will keep an eye upon him; he will not let him go wrong. Albert
Barnes.
Verse
8. Mine eye. We may consider mercies as the beamings of the
Almighty's eye
when the light of his countenance is lifted up upon us; and
that man as guided by the eye
whom mercies attract and attach to his Maker.
But oh! let us refuse to be guided by the eye
and it will become needful that
we be curbed with the hand. If we abuse our mercies
if we forget their Author
and yield him not gratefully the homage of our affections
we do but oblige
him
by his love for our souls
to apportion us disaster and trouble. Complain
not
then
that there is so much of sorrow in your lot; but consider rather how
much of it you may have wilfully brought upon yourselves. Listen to the voice
of God. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way in which thou shalt
go; I will guide thee with mine eye—mine eye
whose glance gilds all that
is beautiful
whose light disperses all darkness
prevents all danger
diffuses
all happiness. And why
then
is it that ye are sorely disquieted? why is it
that "fear and the pit" are so often upon you; that one blessing
after another disappears from your circle; and that God seems to deal with you
as with the wayward and unruly
on whom any thing of gentleness would be
altogether lost? Ah! if you would account for many mercies that have departed
if you would insure permanence to those that are yet left
examine how
deficient you may hitherto have been
and strive to be more diligent for the
future
in obeying an admonition which implies that we should be guided by the
soft lusters of the eye
if our obduracy did not render indispensable the harsh
constraints of the rein. Henry Melvill.
Verse
9. Be ye not as the horse
or as the mule
etc. How many run
mad of this cause
inordinate and furious lusts! The prophet Jeremiah
Jer
2:24
compares Israel to "a swift dromedary
traversing her ways
"and to "a wild ass used to the wilderness
that snuffeth up the wind
at her pleasure." Be ye not
said the psalmographer
"as the
horse
or as the mule
which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in
with bit and bridle." Men have understanding
not beasts; yet when the
frenzy of lust overwhelms their senses
we may take up the word of the prophet
and pour it on them: "Every man is a beast by his own knowledge." And
therefore "man that is in honour and understandeth not
is like unto
beasts that perish" Ps 49:20. Did not the bridle of God's overruling
providence restrain their madness
they would cast off the saddle of reason
and kick nature itself in the face. Thomas Adams.
Verse
9. Be ye not as the horse
or as the mule
etc. According to
the several natures of these two beasts
the fathers and other expositors have
made several interpretations; at least
several allusions. They consider the
horse and the mule to admit any rider
any burden
without discretion or
difference
without debate or consideration; they never ask whether their rider
be noble or base
nor whether their load be gold for the treasure
or roots for
the market. And those expositors find the same indifference in an habitual
sinner to any kind of sin; whether he sin for pleasure
or sin for profit
or
sin but for company
still he sins. They consider in the mule
that one of his
parents being more ignoble than the other
he is like the worst
he hath more
of the ass than of the horse in him; and they find in us
that all our actions
and thoughts taste more of the more ignoble part of the earth than of heaven.
St. Hierome thinks fierceness and rashness to be presented in the horse
and
sloth in the mule. And St. Augustine carries these two qualities far; he thinks
that in this fierceness of the horse the Gentiles are represented
which ran
far from the knowledge of Christianity; and by the laziness of the mule the
Jews
who came nothing so fast
as they were invited by their former helps to
the embracing thereof. They have gone far in these allusions and applications;
and they might have gone as far further as it had pleased them; they have sea
room enough
that will compare a beast and a sinner together; and they shall
find many times
in the way
the beast the better man. John Donne.
Verse
9. Be ye not as the horse
or as the mule
etc. Consider the
causes why a broken leg is incurable in a horse
and easily curable in a man.
The horse is incapable of counsel to submit himself to the farrier; and
therefore in case his leg be set he flings
flounces
and flies out
unjointing
it again by his misemployed mettle
counting all binding to be shackles and
fetters unto him: whereas a man willingly resigns himself to be ordered by the surgeon
preferring rather to be a prisoner for some days
than a cripple all his life. Be
ye not as the horse
or as the mule
which have no understanding; but
"let patience have its perfect work in thee." Jas 1:4. Thomas
Fuller.
Verse
9. Bit and bridle (Norw-ntk) The LXX render the first of
these two words by calinw
the second by kemw. The word calinos signifies the
iron of the common bridle
which is put into the horse's mouth
the bit
or
curb. But kemoz was something like a muzzle
which was put upon mischievous
horses or mules to keep them from biting. Xenephon says
that it allowed them
to breathe
but kept the mouth shut
so that they could not bite. Not knowing
the term of art for this contrivance
I call it a muzzle. The verb (brq) is a
military term
and signifies to advance
as an enemy
to attack. The
"coming near
"therefore
intended here
is a coming near to do
mischief. The admonition given by the psalmist to his companions
is to submit
to the instruction and guidance graciously promised from heaven
and not to
resemble
in a refractory disposition
those ill conditioned colts which are
not to be governed by a simple bridle; but
unless their jaws are confined by a
muzzle
will attack the rider as he attempts to mount
or the groom as he leads
them to the pasture and the stable. Samuel Horsley.
Verse
9. Lest they come near unto thee. The common version of this
clause would be suitable enough in speaking of a wild beast
but in reference
to a mule or a horse the words can only mean
because they will not follow or
obey thee of their own accord; they must be constantly coerced
in the way both
of compulsion and restraint. J. A. Alexander.
Verse
9. "Be ye not like a horse or mule
which have no
understanding
and whose ornament is a bridle and bit
to hold them: they do
not come unto thee of themselves." Charles Carter
in "The Book of
Psalms." 1869. A new Translation.
Verse
10. He that trusteth in the Lord
mercy shall compass him about.
Even as in the midst of the sphere is the centre
from which all lines being
drawn do tend towards their circumference: so a good Christian man hath God for
his circumference; for whatever he thinketh
speaketh
or doth
it tendeth to
Christ
of whom he is compassed round about. Robert Cawdray.
Verse
10. Mercy shall compass him about. He shall be surrounded
with mercy—as one is surrounded by the air
or by the sunlight. He shall find
mercy and favour everywhere—at home
abroad; by day
by night; in society
in
solitude; in sickness
in health; in life
in death; in time
in eternity. He
shall walk amidst mercies; he shall die amidst mercies; he shall live in a
better world in the midst of eternal mercies. Albert Barnes.
Verse
10. "Mark that text
"said Richard Adkins to his grandson
Abel
who was reading to him the thirty-second Psalm. "Mark that text
`He
that trusteth in the Lord
mercy shall compass him about.' I read it in my
youth and believed it; and now I read it in my old age
thank God
I know it to
be true. Oh! it is a blessed thing in the midst of the joys and sorrows of the
world
Abel
to trust in the Lord." The Christian Treasury
1848.
Verse
11. Be glad in the Lord
and rejoice
ye righteous: and shout for
joy
all ye that are upright in heart. This exhortation containeth three
parts. First
what he doth exhort unto
to rejoice. Secondly
whom
the righteous
and upright men. Thirdly
the limitation
in the Lord. He
exhorteth them three times—be glad
rejoice
and be joyful; and as he made
mention of a threefold blessing
so doth he of a threefold joy. Wherein we have
two things necessary to be observed. First the dulness of our natures
who as
slow horses need many spurs and provocations to spiritual things
whereas we
are naturally overmuch bent to carnal things
that we need no incitations
thereunto. But by the contrary in spiritual things
we are cast into a deep
sleep
who cannot be awakened at the first cry; but as men after drink have
need to be roused often
that they may behold the light; so men drunken with
the pleasures of sin
as Nazianzen saith
must be wakened by divers
exhortations; as this same prophet in the subsequent Psalm redoubles his
exhortations for the same effect. And the apostle to the Philippians saith:
"Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say
rejoice
"Php 4:4. Next
perceive that this exhortation grows: for the word be glad
properly in
the original signifieth an inward and hearty joy
by the presence or hope at
least of a thing desirable or good. The word rejoice
to express our joy
by some outward gesture
sometimes used for dancing
as
"The hills skip
for gladness." Ps 65:12. The word be joyful
to cry for gladness
as the dumb man's tongue shall sing. This gradation teacheth us
that this is
the nature of spiritual joy—that it still increaseth in us by certain degrees
until it come to the perfection of all joy
which is signified by the last
word
importing
as it were
a triumph and shouting after victory. So that they
are truly penitent who have overcome sin and Satan in their spiritual combat
and have triumphed over them as vanquished enemies. Archibald Symson.
Verse
11. Be glad in the Lord
and rejoice
ye righteous. There's
never a joyful man alive but a believer. Will you say that men take pleasure in
their sins? Why
that is the Devil's joy; or that they rejoice in full
barns and bags? That is the fool's joy; or that they rejoice in wine
that is
all dainties that gratify the palate? That is a Bedlam joy. Read
and believe Ec 2:3; indeed
from the first verse to the eleventh
the whole
book
but especially that chapter
is the most divine philosophy that ever was
or will be. Christopher Fowler (1610-1678)
in "Morning
Exercises."
Verse
11. Shout for joy
all ye that are upright in heart. When the
poet Carpani enquired of his friend Haydn
how it happened that his church
music was so cheerful
the great composer made a most beautiful reply. "I
cannot
"he said
"make it otherwise
I write according to the thoughts
I feel: when I think upon God
my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance
and leap
as it were
from my pen: and
since God has given me a cheerful
heart
it will be pardoned me that I serve him with a cheerful spirit." John
Whitecross's Anecdotes.
Verse
11. Here the sensual man
that haply would catch hold when it is
said
Rejoice
by and by
when it is added
in the Lord
will let
his hold go. But they that
by reason of the billows and waves of the
troublesome sea of this world
cannot brook the speech when it is said
Rejoice
are to lay sure hold fast upon it when it is added
Rejoice in the Lord.
Henry Airay.
Verse
11.
O
sing unto this glittering glorious King.
O praise his name let every living thing;
Let heart and voice
like bells of silver
ring
The comfort that this day doth bring.
—Kinwellmersh
quoted by A. Moody Stuart.
Verse
11. It is storied by the famous Tully concerning Syracuse
that there
is no day throughout the whole year so stormy and tempestuous in which the
inhabitants have not some glimpse and sight of the sun. The like observation
may be truly made on all those Psalms of David in which his complaints are most
multiplied
his fears and pressures most insisted on; that there is not any of
them so totally overcast with the black darkness of despair
but that we may
easily discern them to be here and there intervened and streaked with some
comfortable expressions of his faith and hope in God. If in the beginning of a
Psalm we find him restless in his motions
like Noah's dove upon the
overspreading waters; yet in the close we shall see him like the same dove
returning with an olive branch in its mouth
and fixing upon the ark. If we
find him in another Psalm staggering in the midst of his distresses
through
the prevalence of carnal fears
we may also in it behold him recovering himself
again
by fetching arguments from faith
whose topics are of a higher elevation
than to be shaken by the timorous suggestions that arise from the flesh. If at
another time we behold him like to a boat on drift
that is
tossed and beaten
by the inconstant winds and fierce waves; yet we shall still find all his
rollings and agitations to be such as carry him towards the standing shore
where he rides at last both in peace and safety. William Spurstowe.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse
1. Gospel benedictions. Take the first Psalm with thirty-second
show the doctrinal and practical harmoniously blended. Or
take the first
the
thirty-second
and the forty-first
and show how we go from reading the word
to feeling its power
and thence to living charitably towards men.
Verse
1. Evangelical Blessedness. 1. The original condition of its
possessor.
2. The nature of the benefit received.
3. The channel by which it came.
4. The means by which it may be obtained by us.
Verses
1-2. The nature of sin and the modes of pardon.
Verse
2. Non imputation
a remarkable doctrine.—Prove
explain
and
improve it.
Verse
2. No guile. The honesty of heart of the pardoned man.
Verse
3. Retention of our griefs to ourselves. Natural tendency of
timidity and despair; danger of it; means of divulging grief; encouragements to
do so; the blessed person who is ready to hear confession. The silent mourner
the greatest sufferer.
Verses
3-4. "Terrible Conviction and Gentle Drawings." See
"Spurgeon's Sermons
"No. 313.
Verse
4. The sorrows of a convinced soul. Daily
nightly
from God
heavy
weakening
destroying.
Verse
4. (last clause) Spiritual drought.
Verse
5. The gracious results of a full confession; or
confession and
absolution scripturally explained.
Verse
6. The godly man's picture
drawn with a Scripture pencil. Thomas
Watson.
Verse
6. The experience of one
the encouragement of all.
Verse
6. (first clause).—The day of grace
how to improve it.
Verse
6. (whole verse).—Pardon of sin the guarantee that other
mercies shall be given.
Verse
6. (last clause).—Imminent troubles
eminent deliverances.
Verse
6. (last clause).—The felicity of the faithful. Thomas
Playfere.
Verse
7. Danger felt
refuge known
possession claimed
joy experienced.
Verse
7. (first sentence).—Christ
a hiding place from sin
Satan
and sorrow
in death and at judgment.
Verse
7. (second sentence).—Troubles from which saints shall be
preserved.
Verse
7. (last sentence).—The circle of song—who draws the circle
what is the circumference
who is in the centre.
Verse
7. Songs of deliverance. From guilt
hell
death
enemies
doubts
temptations
accidents
plots
etc. The divine schoolmaster
his
pupils
their lessons
their chastisements and their rewards.
Verse
8. The power of the eye. Henry Melvill. In which he vainly
tries to prove infant baptism and episcopacy
which he admits are not expressly
taught in Scripture
but declares them to be hinted at as with the divine eye.
Verse
9. God's bits and bridles
the mules who need them
and reasons why
we ought not to be of the number.
Verse
9. How far in our actions we are better
and how far worse than
horses and mules.
Verse
10. The many sorrows which result from sin. The encompassing mercy of
the believer's life even in his most troublesome times. The portion of the
wicked
and the lot of the faithful.
Verse
11. A believer's gladness. Its spring
"in the Lord;
" its vivacity
"shout; "its propriety
it is
commanded; its beautiful results and its abundant reasons.
Verse
11. Upright in heart
an instructive description. Not
horizontal or grovelling
nor bent
nor inclined
but vertical in heart.
WORKS
UPON THE THIRTY-SECOND PSALM
This
treatyse concernynge the fruytful sonnges of David the Kynge & prophete in
the seuen penytencyall psalmes. Deuyded in seuen sermons was made and compyled
by the ryght reuerent fader In god Juhau fyssher doctore of dyuynyte &
bysshop of Rochester at the exortacyo and sterynge of the most excellet
princesse Margarete contesse of Rychemont and Derby & moder to our
souerayne lorde Kynge henry the VII.
(No
date
but marked in the B.M. Cat. 1509. An 8 volume edition has on Title Page
An. M.D.J.A.)
David's
Learning
or Way to True Happiness: in a Commentarie upon the 32 Psalme.
Preached and now published by THOMAS TAYLOR
late fellow of Christ's College in
Cambridge. London: 1617.
David's
Teares. By SIR JOHN HAYWARD
Knight
Doctor of Lawe. London. Printed by
John Bell. 1623. On Psalms VI
XXXII
and CXXX.
Meditations
on Psalm XXXII. in Archbishop Leighton's Works.
In
the Works of JOHN DONNE: Sermons on Psalm XXXII. Vols. II.
III.
Alford's Edition.
A
Godly and Fruitful Exposition on the Thirty-second Psalme
the Third of the
Penitentials; in A Sacred Septenarie; or
a Godly and Fruitful
Exposition on the Seven Psalmes of Repentance. By Mr. ARCHIBALD SYMSON
late Pastor of the Church at Dalkeeth in Scotland. 1638.
Meditations
and Disquisitions upon the 32 Psalme
in Meditations and Disquisitions upon
the Seven Psalmes of David
commonly called the Penitential Psalmes. By SIR
RICHARD BAKER
Knight. 1639.
Lectures
on the Thirty-second Psalm. By CHARLES H. BINGHAM
B.A.
Curate of Hale Magna. 1836.
Lectures
on the Thirty-second Psalm
preached in Portman Chapel
Baker Street
during Lent
1859. By
the Rev. J. W. REEVE
M.A.
Minister of the Chapel. 1859.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》