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Psalm Forty
Psalm 40
Chapter Contents
Confidence for deliverance. (1-5) Christ's work of
redemption. (6-10) Prayer for mercy and grace. (11-17)
Commentary on Psalm 40:1-5
(Read Psalm 40:1-5)
Doubts and fears about the eternal state
are a horrible
pit and miry clay
and have been so to many a dear child of God. There is power
enough in God to help the weakest
and grace enough to help the unworthiest of
all that trust in him. The psalmist waited patiently; he continued believing
hoping
and praying. This is applicable to Christ. His agony
in the garden and
on the cross
was a horrible pit and miry clay. But those that wait patiently
for God do not wait in vain. Those that have been under religious melancholy
and by the grace of God have been relieved
may apply verse 2 very feelingly to themselves; they are
brought up out of a horrible pit. Christ is the Rock on which a poor soul can
alone stand fast. Where God has given stedfast hope
he expects there should be
a steady
regular walk and conduct. God filled the psalmist with joy
as well
as peace in believing. Multitudes
by faith beholding the sufferings and glory
of Christ
have learned to fear the justice and trust in the mercy of God
through Him. Many are the benefits with which we are daily loaded
both by the
providence and by the grace of God.
Commentary on Psalm 40:6-10
(Read Psalm 40:6-10)
The psalmist foretells that work of wonder
redemption by
our Lord Jesus Christ. The Substance must come
which is Christ
who must bring
that glory to God
and that grace to man
which it was impossible the
sacrifices should ever do. Observe the setting apart of our Lord Jesus to the
work and office of Mediator. In the volume
or roll
of the book it was written
of him. In the close rolls of the Divine decrees and counsel
the covenant of
redemption was recorded. Also
in all the volumes of the Old Testament
something was written of him
John 19:28. Now the purchase of our salvation is
made
the proclamation is sent forth
calling us to come and accept it. It was
preached freely and openly. Whoever undertook to preach the gospel of Christ
would be under great temptation to conceal it; but Christ
and those he calls
to that work
are carried on in it. May we believe his testimony
trust his
promise
and submit to his authority.
Commentary on Psalm 40:11-17
(Read Psalm 40:11-17)
The best saints see themselves undone
unless continually
preserved by the grace of God. But see the frightful view the psalmist had of
sin. This made the discovery of a Redeemer so welcome. In all his reflections
upon each step of his life
he discovered something amiss. The sight and sense
of our sins in their own colours
must distract us
if we have not at the same
time some sight of a Saviour. If Christ has triumphed over our spiritual
enemies
then we
through him
shall be more than conquerors. This may
encourage all that seek God and love his salvation
to rejoice in him
and to
praise him. No griefs nor poverty can render those miserable who fear the Lord.
Their God
and all that he has or does
is the ground of their joy. The prayer
of faith can unlock his fulness
which is adapted to all their wants. The
promises are sure
the moment of fulfilment hastens forward. He who once came
in great humility
shall come again in glorious majesty.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 40
Verse 2
[2] He
brought me up also out of an horrible pit
out of the miry clay
and set my
feet upon a rock
and established my goings.
Pit —
Desperate dangers and calamities.
Rock — A
place of strength and safety.
Established —
Kept me from falling into mischief.
Verse 3
[3] And he hath put a new song in my mouth
even praise unto our God: many
shall see it
and fear
and shall trust in the LORD.
And fear —
Shall stand in awe of that God
whom they see to have so great power
either to
save or to destroy.
Verse 4
[4]
Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust
and respecteth not the
proud
nor such as turn aside to lies.
The proud —
Or
the mighty
the great and proud potentates of the world
to whom most men
are apt to look and trust.
Turn —
From God
in whom alone they ought to trust.
To lies — To
lying vanities
such as worldly power and wisdom
and riches
and all other
earthly things
or persons
in which men are prone to trust: which are called
lies
because they promise more than they perform.
Verse 5
[5]
Many
O LORD my God
are thy wonderful works which thou hast done
and thy
thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee:
if I would declare and speak of them
they are more than can be numbered.
Many —
This verse seems to be interposed as a wall of partition
between that which
David speaks in his own person
and that which he speaks in the person of the
Messiah
in the following verses.
Verse 6
[6] Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened:
burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
Sacrifice —
These and the following words
may in an improper sense belong to the time of
David; when God might be said
not to desire or require legal sacrifices
comparatively. Thou didst desire obedience rather than sacrifices
but in a
proper sense
they belong only to the person and times of the Messiah
and so
the sense is
God did not desire or require them
for the satisfaction of his
own justice
and the expiation of mens sins
which could not possibly be done
by the blood of bulls or goats
but only by the blood of Christ
which was
typified by them
and which Christ came into the world to shed
in pursuance of
his father's will
as it here follows
verse 7
8. So here is a prediction concerning the
cessation of the legal sacrifice
and the substitution of a better instead of
them.
Opened —
Heb. bored. I have devoted myself to thy perpetual service
and thou hast
accepted of me as such
and signified so much by the boring of mine ears
according to the law and custom in that case
Exodus 21:5
6. The seventy Jewish interpreters
whom the apostle follows
Hebrews 10:5
translate these words
a body hast
thou prepared me.
Verse 7
[7] Then
said I
Lo
I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me
Them —
These words literally and truly belong to Christ
and the sense is this; seeing
thou requirest a better sacrifice than those of the law
lo
I offer myself to
come
and I will in due time come
into the world
as this phrase is explained
in divers places of scripture
and particularly Hebrews 10:5
where this place is expressly
applied to Christ.
Volume —
These two words
volume and book are used of any writing
and both express the
same thing. Now this volume of the book is the law of Moses
which is commonly
and emphatically called the book
and was made up in the form of a roll or
volume
as the Hebrew books generally were. And so this place manifestly points
to Christ
concerning whom much is said in the books of Moses.
Verse 8
[8] I
delight to do thy will
O my God: yea
thy law is within my heart.
I delight —
This is eminently true
of Christ
and is here observed as an act of heroic
obedience
that he not only resolved to do
but delighted in doing the will of
God
or what God had commanded him
which was to die
and that a most shameful
and painful
and cursed death.
My heart — I
do not only understand it
but receive it with heartiest love
delighting both
to meditate of it
and to yield obedience to it.
Verse 9
[9] I
have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo
I have not refrained
my lips
O LORD
thou knowest.
Righteousness —
Thy faithfulness.
Great congregation — In
the most public and solemn assemblies: not only to the Jews
but also to all
nations; to whom Christ preached by his apostles
as is observed Ephesians 2:17.
Not refrained —
From preaching it
even to the face of mine enemies.
Verse 11
[11]
Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me
O LORD: let thy lovingkindness
and thy truth continually preserve me.
With-hold not —
David
having been transported by the spirit of God to the commemoration of the
great mystery of the Messiah
he now seems to be led back by the same spirit
to the consideration of his own case.
Verse 12
[12] For
innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon
me
so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine
head: therefore my heart faileth me.
Taken hold —
Mens sins are figuratively said to take hold of them
as an officer takes hold
of a man whom he arrests.
To look —
Unto God or men
with any comfort: I am ashamed and confounded.
Verse 15
[15] Let
them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me
Aha
aha.
Shame —
Their sinful and shameful actions.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and
Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village
Preacher
Other Works
TITLE. To the Chief
Musician. Well might so exceedingly precious a Psalm be specially committed to
the most skilled of the sacred musicians. The noblest music should be made
tributary to a subject so incomparable. The dedication shows that the song was
intended for public worship
and was not a merely personal hymn
as its being
in the first person singular might lead us to suppose. A Psalm of David. This
is conclusive as to the authorship: lifted by the Holy Spirit into the region
of prophecy
David was honoured to write concerning a far greater than himself.
SUBJECT. Jesus is
evidently here
and although it might not be a violent wresting of language to
see both David and his Lord
both Christ and the church
the double comment
might involve itself in obscurity
and therefore we shall let the sun shine
even though this should conceal the stars. Even if the New Testament were not
so express upon it
we should have concluded that David spoke of our Lord in Ps
40:6-9
but the apostle in Heb 10:5-9
puts all conjecture out of court
and
confines the meaning to him who came into the world to do the Father's will.
DIVISION. From Ps
40:1-3
is a personal thanksgiving
followed by a general declaration of
Jehovah's goodness to his saints
Ps 40:4-5. In Ps 40:6-10
we have an avowal
of dedication to the Lord's will; Ps 40:11-17
contains a prayer for deliverance
from pressing trouble
and for the overthrow of enemies.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. I waited patiently for the Lord. Patient waiting upon God
was a special characteristic of our Lord Jesus. Impatience never lingered in
his heart
much less escaped his lips. All through his agony in the garden
his
trial of cruel mockings before Herod and Pilate
and his passion on the tree
he waited in omnipotence of patience. No glance of wrath
no word of murmuring
no deed of vengeance came from God's patient Lamb; he waited and waited on; was
patient
and patient to perfection
far excelling all others who have according
to their measure glorified God in the fires. Job on the dunghill does not equal
Jesus on the cross. The Christ of God wears the imperial crown among the
patient. Did the Only Begotten wait
and shall we be petulant and rebellious? And
he inclined unto me
and heard my cry. Neither Jesus the head
nor any one
of the members of his body
shall ever wait upon the Lord in vain. Mark the
figure of inclining
as though the suppliant cried out of the lowest
depression
and condescending love stooped to hear his feeble moans. What a
marvel is it that our Lord Jesus should have to cry as we do
and wait as we
do
and should receive the Father's help after the same process of faith and
pleading as must be gone through by ourselves! The Saviour's prayers among the
midnight mountains and in Gethsemane expound this verse. The Son of David was
brought very low
but he rose to victory; and here he teaches us how to conduct
our conflicts so as to succeed after the same glorious pattern of triumph. Let
us arm ourselves with the same mind; and panoplied in patience
armed with
prayer
and girt with faith
let us maintain the Holy War.
Verse
2. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit. When our
Lord bore in his own person the terrible curse which was due to sin
he was so
cast down as to be like a prisoner in a deep
dark
fearful dungeon
amid whose
horrible glooms the captive heard a noise as of rushing torrents
while
overhead resounded the tramp of furious foes. Our Lord in his anguish was like
a captive in the oubliettes
forgotten of all mankind
immured amid
horror
darkness
and desolation. Yet the Lord Jehovah made him to ascend from
all his abasement; he retraced his steps from that deep hell of anguish into
which he had been cast as our substitute. He who thus delivered our surety in
extremis
will not fail to liberate us from our far lighter griefs. Out
of the miry clay. The sufferer was as one who cannot find a foothold
but
slips and sinks. The figure indicates not only positive misery as in the former
figure
but the absence of solid comfort by which sorrow might have been
rendered supportable. Once give man a good foothold
and a burden is greatly lightened
but to be loaded and to be placed on slimy
slippery clay
is to be tried
doubly. Reader
with humble gratitude
adore the dear Redeemer who
for thy
sake
was deprived of all consolation while surrounded with every form of
misery; remark his gratitude at being born up amid his arduous labours and
sufferings
and if thou too hast experienced the divine help
be sure to join
thy Lord in this song. And set my feet upon a rock
and established my
goings. The Redeemer's work is done. He reposes on the firm ground of his
accomplished engagements; he can never suffer again; for ever does he reign in
glory. What a comfort to know that Jesus our Lord and Saviour stands on a sure
foundation in all that he is and does for us
and his goings forth in love are not
liable to be cut short by failure in years to come
for God has fixed him
firmly. He is for ever and eternally able to save unto the uttermost them that
come unto God by him
seeing that in the highest heavens he ever liveth to make
intercession for them. Jesus is the true Joseph taken from the pit to be Lord
of all. It is something more than a "sip of sweetness" to remember
that if we are cast like our Lord into the lowest pit of shame and sorrow
we
shall by faith rise to stand on the same elevated
sure
and everlasting rock
of divine favour and faithfulness.
Verse
3. And he hath put a new song in my mouth
even praise unto our
God. At the passover
before his passion
our Lord sang one of the grand
old Psalms of praise; but what is the music of his heart now
in the midst of
his redeemed! What a song is that in which his glad heart for ever leads the
chorus of the elect! Not Miriam's tabor nor Moses' triumphant hymn over
Miriam's chivalry can for a moment rival that ever new and exulting song.
Justice magnified and grace victorious; hell subdued and heaven glorified;
death destroyed and immortality established; sin overthrown and righteousness
resplendent; what a theme for a hymn in that day when our Lord drinketh the red
wine new with us all in our heavenly Father's kingdom! Even on earth
and
before his great passion
he foresaw the joy which was set before him
and was
sustained by the prospect. Our God. The God of Jesus
the God of Israel
"my God and your God." How will we praise him
but ah! Jesus will
be the chief player on our stringed instruments; he will lead the solemn
hallelujah which shall go up from the sacramental host redeemed by blood. Many
shall see it
and fear
and shall trust in the Lord. A multitude that no
man can number shall see the griefs and triumphs of Jesus
shall tremble
because of their sinful rejection of him
and then through grace shall receive
faith and become trusters in Jehovah. Here is our Lord's reward. Here is the
assurance which makes preachers bold and workers persevering. Reader
are you
one among the many? Note the way of salvation
a sight
a fear
a trust! Do you
know what these mean by possessing and practising them in your own soul?
Trusting in the Lord is the evidence
nay
the essence of salvation. He who is
a true believer is evidently redeemed from the dominion of sin and Satan.
Verse
4. Blessed. This is an exclamation similar to that of the
first Psalm
"Oh
the happiness of the man." God's blessings are
emphatic
"I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed
"indeed and
in very truth. Is that man that maketh the Lord his trust. Faith
obtaineth promises. A simple single eyed confidence in God is the sure mark of
blessedness. A man may be as poor as Lazarus
as hated as Mordecai
as sick as
Hezekiah
as lonely as Elijah
but while his hand of faith can keep its hold on
God
none of his outward afflictions can prevent his being numbered among the
blessed; but the wealthiest and most prosperous man who has no faith is
accursed
be he who he may. And respecteth not the proud. The proud
expect all men to bow down and do them reverence
as if the worship of the
golden calves were again set up in Israel; but believing men are too noble to
honour mere money bags
or cringe before bombastic dignity. The righteous pay
their respect to humble goodness
rather than to inflated self consequence. Our
Lord Jesus was in this our bright example. No flattery of kings and great ones
ever fell from his lips; he gave no honour to dishonourable men. The haughty
were never his favourites. Nor such as turn aside to lies. Heresies and
idolatries are lies
and so are avarice
worldliness
and pleasure seeking. Woe
to those who follow such deceptions. Our Lord was ever both the truth and the
lover of truth
and the father of lies had no part in him. We must never pay
deference to apostates
time servers
and false teachers; they are an ill
leaven
and the more we purge ourselves of them the better; they are blessed
whom God preserves from all error in creed and practice. Judged by this verse
many apparently happy persons must be the reverse of blessed
for anything in
the shape of a purse
a fine equipage
or a wealthy establishment
commands
their reverence
whether the owner be a rake or a saint
an idiot or a
philosopher. Verily
were the arch fiend of hell to start a carriage and pair
and live like a lord
he would have thousands who would court his acquaintance.
Verse
5. Many
O Lord my God
are thy wonderful works which thou hast
done. Creation
providence
and redemption
teem with wonders as the sea
with life. Our special attention is called by this passage to the marvels which
cluster around the cross and flash from it. The accomplished redemption
achieves many ends
and compasses a variety of designs; the outgoings of the
atonement are not to be reckoned up
the influences of the cross reach further
than the beams of the sun. Wonders of grace beyond all enumeration take their
rise from the cross; adoption
pardon
justification
and a long chain of
godlike miracles of love proceed from it. Note that our Lord here speaks of the
Lord as "my God." The man Christ Jesus claimed for himself and us a
covenant relationship with Jehovah. Let our interest in our God be ever to us
our peculiar treasure. And thy thoughts which are toward us. The divine
thoughts march with the divine acts
for it is not according the God's wisdom
to act without deliberation and counsel. All the divine thoughts are good and
gracious towards his elect. God's thoughts of love are very many
very
wonderful
very practical! Muse on them
dear reader; no sweeter subject ever
occupied your mind. God's thoughts of you are many
let not yours be few in
return. They cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee. Their sum is so
great as to forbid alike analysis and numeration. Human minds fail to measure
or to arrange in order
the Lord's ways and thoughts; and it must always be so
for he hath said
"As the heavens are higher than the earth
so are my
ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts." No maze to
lose oneself in like the labyrinth of love. How sweet to be outdone
overcome
and overwhelmed by the astonishing grace of the Lord our God! If I would
declare and speak of them
and surely this should be the occupation of my
tongue at all seasonable opportunities
they are more than can be numbered;
far beyond all human arithmetic they are multiplied; thoughts from all
eternity
thoughts of my fall
my restoration
my redemption
my conversion
my
pardon
my upholding
my perfecting
my eternal reward; the list is too long
for writing
and the value of the mercies too great for estimation. Yet
if we
cannot show forth all the works of the Lord
let us not make this an excuse for
silence; for our Lord
who is in this our best example
often spake of the tender
thoughts of the great Father.
Verse
6. Here we enter upon one of the most wonderful passages in the
whole of the Old Testament
a passage in which the incarnate Son of God is seen
not through a glass darkly
but as it were face to face. Sacrifice and offering
thou didst not desire. In themselves considered
and for their own sakes
the Lord saw nothing satisfactory in the various offerings of the ceremonial
law. Neither the victim pouring forth its blood
nor the fine flour rising in
smoke from the altar
could yield content to Jehovah's mind; he cared not for
the flesh of bulls or of goats
neither had he pleasure in corn and wine
and
oil. Typically these offerings had their worth
but when Jesus
the Antitype
came into the world
they ceased to be of value
as candles are of no
estimation when the sun has arisen. Mine ears hast thou opened. Our Lord
was quick to hear and perform his Father's will; his ears were as if excavated
down to his soul; they were not closed up like Isaac's wells
which the Philistines
filled up
but clear passages down to the fountains of his soul. The prompt
obedience of our Lord is here the first idea. There is
however
no reason
whatever to reject the notion that the digging of the ear here intended may
refer to the boring of the ear of the servant
who refused out of love to his
master to take his liberty
at the year of jubilee; his perforated ear
the
token of perpetual service
is a true picture of our blessed Lord's fidelity to
his Father's business
and his love to his Father's children. Jesus irrevocably
gave himself up to be the servant of servants for our sake and God's glory. The
Septuagint
from which Paul quoted
has translated this passage
"A body
hast thou prepared me:" how this reading arose it is not easy to imagine
but since apostolical authority has sanctioned the variation
we accept it as
no mistake
but as an instance of various readings equally inspired. In any
case
the passage represents the Only Begotten as coming into the world
equipped for service; and in a real and material body
by actual life and
death
putting aside all the shadows of the Mosaic law. Burnt offering and
sin offering hast thou not required. Two other forms of offerings are here
mentioned; tokens of gratitude and sacrifices for sin as typically presented
are set aside; neither the general nor the private offerings are any longer
demanded. What need of mere emblems when the substance itself is present? We
learn from this verse that Jehovah values far more the obedience of the heart than
all the imposing performances of ritualistic worship; and that our expiation
from sin comes not to us as the result of an elaborate ceremonial
but as the
effect of our great Substitute's obedience to the will of Jehovah.
Verse
7. Then said I. That is to say
when it was clearly seen that
man's misery could not be remedied by sacrifices and offerings. It being
certain that the mere images of atonement
and the bare symbols of propitiation
were of no avail
the Lord Jesus
in propria persona
intervened. O
blessed "then said I." Lord
ever give us to hear and feed on such
living words as these
so peculiarly and personally thine own. Lo
I come.
Behold
O heavens
and thou earth
and ye places under the earth! Here is
something worthy of your most intense gaze. Sit ye down and watch with
earnestness
for the invisible God comes in the likeness of sinful flesh
and
as an infant the Infinite hangs at a virgin's breast! Immanuel did not send but
come; he came in his own personality
in all that constituted his
essential self he came forth from the ivory palaces to the abodes of misery; he
came promptly at the destined hour; he came with sacred alacrity as one freely
offering himself. In the volume of the book it is written of me. In the
eternal decree it is thus recorded. The mystic roll of predestination which
providence gradually unfolds
contained within it
to the Saviour's knowledge
a written covenant
that in the fulness of time the divine I should descend to
earth to accomplish a purpose which hecatombs of bullocks and rams could not
achieve. What a privilege to find our names written in the book of life
and
what an honour
since the name of Jesus heads the page! Our Lord had respect to
his ancient covenant engagements
and herein he teaches us to be scrupulously
just in keeping our word; have we so promised
it is so written in the book of
remembrance? then let us never be defaulters.
Verse
8. I delight to do thy will
O my God. Our blessed Lord alone
could completely do the will of God. The law is too broad for such poor
creatures as we are to hope to fulfil it to the uttermost: but Jesus not only
did the Father's will
but found a delight therein; from old eternity he had
desired the work set before him; in his human life he was straitened till he reached
the baptism of agony in which he magnified the law
and even in Gethsemane
itself he chose the Father's will
and set aside his own. Herein is the essence
of obedience
namely
in the soul's cheerful devotion to God: and our Lord's
obedience
which is our righteousness
is in no measure lacking in this eminent
quality. Notwithstanding his measureless griefs
our Lord found delight in his
work
and for "the joy that was set before him he endured the cross
despising the shame." Yea
thy law is within my heart. No outward
formal devotion was rendered by Christ; his heart was in his work
holiness was
his element
the Father's will his meat and drink. We must each of us be like
our Lord in this
or we shall lack the evidence of being his disciples. Where
there is no heart work
no pleasure
no delight in God's law
there can be no
acceptance. Let the devout reader adore the Saviour for the spontaneous and
hearty manner in which he undertook the great work of our salvation.
Verse
9. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation.
The purest morality and the highest holiness were preached by Jesus.
Righteousness divine was his theme. Our Lord's whole life was a sermon
eloquent beyond compare
and it is heard each day by myriads. Moreover
he never
shunned in his ministry to declare the whole counsel of God; God's great plan
of righteousness he plainly set forth. He taught openly in the temple
and was
not ashamed to be a faithful and a true witness. He was the great evangelist;
the master of itinerant preachers; the head of the clan of open air
missionaries. O servants of the Lord
hide not your lights
but reveal to
others what your God has revealed to you; and especially by your lives testify
for holiness
be champions for the right
both in word and deed. Lo
I have
not refrained my lips
O Lord
thou knowest. Never either from love of
ease
of fear of men
did the Great Teacher's lips become closed. He was
instant in season and out of season. The poor listened to him
and princes
heard his rebuke; Publicans rejoiced at him
and Pharisees raged
but to them
both he proclaimed the truth from heaven. It is well for a tried believer when
he can appeal to God and call him to witness that he has not been ashamed to
bear witness for him; for rest assured if we are not ashamed to confess our
God
he will never be ashamed to own us. Yet what a wonder is here
that the
Son of God should plead
just as we plead
and urge just such arguments as
would befit the mouths of his diligent minsters! How truly is he "made
like unto his brethren."
Verse
10. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart. On the
contrary
"Never man spake like this man." God's divine plan of
making men righteous was well known to him
and he plainly taught it. What was
in our great Master's heart he poured forth in holy eloquence from his lips.
The doctrine of righteousness by faith he spake with great simplicity of
speech. Law and gospel equally found in him a clear expositor. I have
declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation. Jehovah's fidelity to his
promises and his grace in saving believers were declared by the Lord Jesus on
many occasions
and are blessedly blended in the gospel which he came to
preach. God
faithful to his own character
law and threatenings
and yet
saving sinners
is a peculiar revelation of the gospel. God faithful to the
saved ones evermore is the joy of the followers of Christ Jesus. I have not
concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation. The
tender as well as the stern attributes of God
our Lord Jesus fully unveiled.
Concealment was far from the Great Apostle of our profession. Cowardice he
never exhibited
hesitancy never weakened his language. He who as a child of
twelve years spake in the temple among the doctors
and afterward preached to
five thousand at Gennesaret
and to the vast crowds at Jerusalem on that great
day
the last day of the feast
was always ready to proclaim the name of the
Lord
and could never be charged with unholy silence. He could be dumb when so
the prophecy demanded and patience suggested
but otherwise
preaching was his
meat and his drink
and he kept back nothing which would be profitable to his
disciples. This in the day of his trouble
according to this Psalm
he used as
a plea for divine aid. He had been faithful to his God
and now begs the Lord
to be faithful to him. Let every dumb professor
tongue tied by sinful shame
bethink himself how little he will be able to plead after this fashion in the
day of his distress.
Verse
11. Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me
O Lord.
Alas! these were to be for awhile withheld from our Lord while on the accursed
tree
but meanwhile in his great agony he seeks for gentle dealing; and the
coming of the angel to strengthen him was a clear answer to his prayer. He had
been blessed aforetime in the desert
and now at the entrance of the valley of
the shadow of death
like a true
trustful
and experienced man
he utters a
holy
plaintive desire for the tenderness of heaven. He had not withheld his
testimony to God's truth
now in return he begs his Father not to withhold his
compassion. This verse might more correctly be read as a declaration of his
confidence that help would not be refused; but whether we view this utterance
as the cry of prayer
or the avowal of faith
in either case it is instructive
to us who take our suffering Lord for an example
and it proves to us how
thoroughly he was made like unto his brethren. Let thy lovingkindness and
thy truth continually preserve me. He had preached both of these
and now
he asks for an experience of them
that he might be kept in the evil day and
rescued from his enemies and his afflictions. Nothing endears our Lord to us
more than to hear him thus pleading with strong crying and tears to him who was
able to save. O Lord Jesus
in our nights of wrestling we will remember thee.
Verse
12. For innumerable evils have compassed me about. On every
side he was beset with evils; countless woes environed the great Substitute for
our sins. Our sins were innumerable
and so were his griefs. There was no
escape for us from our iniquities
and there was no escape for him from the
woes which we deserved. From every quarter evils accumulated about the blessed
One
although in his heart evil found no place. Mine iniquities have taken
hold upon me
so that I am not able to look up. He had no sin
but sins
were laid on him
and he took them as if they were his. "He was made sin
for us." The transfer of sin to the Saviour was real
and produced in him
as man the horror which forbade him to look into the face of God
bowing him
down with crushing anguish and woe intolerable. O my soul
what would thy sins
have done for thee eternally if the Friend of sinners had not condescended to
take them all upon himself? Oh
blessed Scripture! "The Lord hath made to
meet upon him the iniquity of us all." Oh
marvellous depth of love
which
could lead the perfectly immaculate to stand in the sinner's place
and bear
the horror of great trembling which sin must bring upon those conscious of it. They
are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me. The
pains of the divine penalty were beyond compute
and the Saviour's soul was so
burdened with them
that he was sore amazed
and very heavy even unto a sweat
of blood. His strength was gone
his spirits sank
he was in an agony.
Verse
13. Be pleased
O Lord
to deliver me: O Lord
make haste to help
me. How touching! How humble! How plaintive! The words thrill us as we
think that after this sort our Lord and Master prayed. His petition is not so
much that the cup should pass away undrained
but that he should be sustained
while drinking it
and set free from its power at the first fitting moment. He
seeks deliverance and help; and he entreats that the help may not be slow in
coming; this is after the manner of our pleadings. Is it not? Note
reader
how
our Lord was heard in that he feared
for there was after Gethsemane a calm
endurance which made the fight as glorious as the victory.
Verse
14. Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my
soul to destroy it. Whether we read this as a prayer or a prophecy it
matters not
for the powers of sin
and death
and hell
may well be ashamed as
they see the result of their malice for ever turned against themselves. It is
to the infinite confusion of Satan that his attempts to destroy the Saviour
destroyed himself; the diabolical conclave who plotted in council are now all
alike put to shame
for the Lord Jesus has met them at all points
and turned
all their wisdom into foolishness. Let them be driven backward and put to
shame that wish me evil. It is even so; the hosts of darkness are utterly
put to the rout
and made a theme for holy derision for ever and ever. How did
they gloat over the thought of crushing the seed of the woman! but the
Crucified has conquered
the Nazarene has laughed them to scorn
the dying Son
of Man has become the death of death and hell's destruction. For ever blessed
be his name.
Verse
15. Let them be desolate
or amazed; even as Jesus was
desolate in his agony
so let his enemies be in their despair when he defeats
them. The desolation caused in the hearts of evil spirits and evil men by envy
malice
chagrin
disappointment
and despair
shall be a fit recompense for
their cruelty to the Lord when he was in their hands. For a reward of their
shame that say unto me
Aha
aha. Did the foul fiend insult over our Lord?
Behold how shame is now his reward! Do wicked men today pour shame upon the
name of the Redeemer? Their desolation shall avenge him of his adversaries!
Jesus is the gentle Lamb to all who seek mercy through his blood; but let
despisers beware
for he is the Lion of the tribe of Judah
and "who shall
rouse him up?" The Jewish rulers exulted and scornfully said
"Aha
aha; "but when the streets of Jerusalem ran like rivers deep with gore
"and the temple was utterly consumed
"then their house was left unto
them desolate
and the blood of the last of the prophets
according to their
own desire
came upon themselves and upon their children. O ungodly reader
if
such a person glance over this page
beware of persecuting Christ and his
people
for God will surely avenge his own elect. Your "ahas" will
cost you dear. It is hard for you to kick against the pricks.
Verse
16. Let all those that seek thee
rejoice and be glad in thee.
We have done with Ebal and turn to Gerizim. Here our Lord pronounces
benedictions on his people. Note who the blessed objects of his petition are:
not all men
but some men
"I pray for them
I pray not for the
world." He pleads for seekers: the lowest in the kingdom
the babes of the
family; those who have true desires
longing prayers
and consistent endeavours
after God. Let seeking souls pluck up heart when they hear of this. What riches
of grace
that in his bitterest hour Jesus should remember the lambs of the
flock! And what does he entreat for them? it is that they may be doubly glad
intensely happy
emphatically joyful
for such the repetition of terms implies.
Jesus would have all seekers made happy
by finding what they seek after
and
by winning peace through his grief. As deep as were his sorrows
so high would
he have their joys. He groaned that we might sing
and was covered with a
bloody sweat that we might be anointed with the oil of gladness. Let such as
love thy salvation say continually
The Lord be magnified. Another result
of the Redeemer's passion is the promotion of the glory of God by those who
gratefully delight in his salvation. Our Lord's desire should be our directory;
we love with all our hearts his great salvation
let us then
with all our
tongues proclaim the glory of God which is resplendent therein. Never let his
praises cease. As the heart is warm with gladness let it incite the tongue to
perpetual praise. If we cannot do what we would for the spread of the kingdom
at least let us desire and pray for it. Be it ours to make God's glory the
chief end of every breath and pulse. The suffering Redeemer regarded the
consecration of his people to the service of heaven as a grand result of his atoning
death; it is the joy which was set before him; that God is glorified as the
reward of the Saviour's travail.
Verse
17. But I am poor and needy. The man of sorrows closes with
another appeal
based upon his affliction and poverty. Yet the Lord thinketh
upon me. Sweet was this solace to the holy heart of the great sufferer. The
Lord's thoughts of us are a cheering subject of meditation
for they are ever
kind and never cease. His disciples forsook him
and his friends forgat him
but Jesus knew that Jehovah never turned away his heart from him
and this
upheld him in the hour of need. Thou art my help and my deliverer. His
unmoved confidence stayed itself alone on God. O that all believers would
imitate more fully their great Apostle and High Priest in his firm reliance
upon God
even when afflictions abounded and the light was veiled. Make no
tarrying
O my God. The peril was imminent
the need urgent
the suppliant
could not endure delay
nor was he made to wait
for the angel came to
strengthen
and the brave heart of Jesus rose up to meet the foe. Lord Jesus
grant that in all our adversities we may possess like precious faith
and be
found like thee
more than conquerors.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole
Psalm. David's Psalm
or
a Psalm of David;but David's
name is here set first
which elsewhere commonly is last: or A Psalm
concerning David
that is Christ
who is called David in the
prophets: Ho 3:5 Jer 30:9 Eze 34:23 32:24. Of him this Psalm entreateth as the
apostle teacheth
Heb 10:5-6
etc. Henry Ainsworth.
Whole
Psalm. It is plain
from Ps 40:6-8 of this Psalm
compared with Heb
10:5
that the prophet in speaking in the person of Christ
who
Ps 40:1-5
celebrates the deliverance wrought for his mystical body
the church
by his resurrection
from the grave
effecting that of his members from the guilt and dominion of
sin; for the abolition of which he declareth
Ps 40:6-8
the inefficacy of the
legal sacrifices
and mentions his own inclination to do the will of his
Father
and Ps 40:9-10
to preach righteousness to the world. Ps 40:11-13. He
represents himself as praying
while under his sufferings
for his own
and his
people's salvation; he foretells
Ps 40:14-15
the confusion and desolation of
his enemies
and
Ps 40:16
the joy and thankfulness of his disciples and
servants; for the speedy accomplishment of which
Ps 40:17
he prefers a
petition. George Horne.
Verse
1. I waited patiently for the Lord: and he inclined unto me
and
heard my cry. I see that the Lord
suppose he drifts and delays the effect
of his servant's prayer
and grants not his desire at the first
yet he hears
him. I shall give a certain argument
whereby thou may know that the Lord
heareth thee
suppose he delay the effect of thy prayers. Do you continue in
prayer? Hast thou his strength given thee to persevere in suiting (petitioning
for or praying for) anything? Thou may be assured he heareth; for this is one
sure argument that he heareth thee
for naturally our impatience carrieth us to
desperation; our suddenness is so great
specially in spiritual troubles
that
we cannot continue in suiting. When thou
therefore
continues in suiting
thou
may be sure that this strength is furnished of God
and cometh from heaven
and
if thou have strength
he letteth thee see that he heareth thy prayer; and
suppose he delay the effect and force thereof
yet pray continually. This
doctrine is so necessary for the troubled conscience
that I think it is the
meetest bridle in the Scripture to refrain our impatience; it is the meetest
bit to hold us in continual exercise of patience; for if the heart understand
that the Lord hath rejected our prayer altogether
it is not possible to
continue in prayer; so when we know that the Lord heareth us
suppose he delay
let us crave patience to abide his good will. Robert Bruce
1559-1631.
Verse
1. I waited for the Lord. The infinitive (hwq) being placed
first brings the action strongly out: I waited. This strong emphasis on
the waiting
has the force of an admonition; it suggests to the sufferer
that everything depends on waiting. E. W. Hengstenberg.
Verse
1. I waited patiently: rather anxiously; the original
has it
waiting I waited; a Hebraism which signifies vehement
solicitude. Daniel Cresswell.
Verse
1. I waited. The Saviour endureth his sufferings waitingly
as well as patiently and prayerfully. He "waited for the Lord." He
expected help from Jehovah; and he waited for it until it came. James Frame
in "Christ and his Work: an Exposition of Psalm 40." 1869.
Verse
1. Patiently. Our Lord's patience under suffering was an
element of perfection in his work. Had he become impatient as we often do
and
lost heart
his atonement would have been vitiated. Well may we rejoice that in
the midst of all his temptations
and in the thickest of the battle against sin
and Satan
he remained patient and willing to finish the work which his Father
had given him to do. James Frame.
Verse
1. Heard my cry. Our Saviour endured his sufferings prayerfully
as well as patiently. James Frame.
Verse
2. An horrible pit. Some of the pits referred to in the Bible
were prisons
one such I saw at Athens
and another at Rome. To these there
were no openings
except a hole at the top
which served for both door and
window. The bottoms of these pits were necessarily in a filthy and revolting
state
and sometimes deep in mud. He brought me up also out of an horrible
pit
out of the miry clay; one of these filthy prisons being in the
psalmist's view
in Isa 38:17
called "the pit of corruption
"or
putrefaction and filth. John Gadsby.
Verse
2. An horrible pit; or
as it is in the Hebrew
a pit of
noise; so called because of waters that falling into it with great
violence
make a roaring dreadful noise; or because of the strugglings and
outcries they make that are in it; or because when anything is cast into deep
pits
it will always make a great noise; and where he stuck fast in miry
clay
without seeming possibility of getting out. And some refer this to
the greatness of Christ's terrors and sufferings
and his deliverance from them
both. Arthur Jackson.
Verse
2. Three things are stated in verse two. First
resurrection as the
act of God
He brought me up
etc. Secondly
the justification of the
name and title of the Sufferer
and set my feet upon a rock. Jesus is
set up
as alive from the dead
upon the basis of accomplished truth. Thirdly
there is his ascension
He establisheth my goings. The Son of God having
trodden
in gracious and self renouncing obedience the passage to the grave
now enters finally as Man the path of life. "He is gone into heaven
"says the Spirit. And again
"He ascended on high
and led captivity
captive." Arthur Pridham in "Notes and Reflections on the Psalms
"1869.
Verse
3. A new song. See Notes on Ps 33:3.
Verse
3. Many shall see it
and fear
and shall trust in the Lord.
The terms fear
and hope
or trust
do not seem at first
view to harmonise; but David has not improperly joined them together
for no
man will ever entertain the hope of the favour of God but he whose mind
is first imbued with the fear of God. I understand fear
in
general
to mean the feeling of piety which is produced in us by the knowledge
of the power
equity
and mercy of God. John Calvin.
Verse
3. Many shall see it
and fear
and shall trust in the Lord.
First of all they see. Their eyes are opened; and their opened eyes see
and survey what they are
where they are
whence they
came
and whither they are going...When the attention of sinners is
really and decisively arrested by the propitiation of Jesus
not only are their
eyes opened to their various moral relations
not only do they "see"
but they fear too. They "see" and "fear."
...Conviction follows illumination...But while the sinner only sees and fears
he is but in the initial stage of conversion
only in a state of readiness to
flee from the city of destruction. He may have set out on his pilgrimage
but
he has not yet reached his Father to receive the kiss of welcome and
forgiveness. The consummating step has not yet been taken. He has seen indeed;
he has feared too; but he still requires to trust
to trust in the Lord
and banish all his fears. This is the culminating point in the great change;
and
unless this be reached
the other experiences will either die away
like
an untimely blossom
or they will only be fuel to the unquenchable fire. James
Frame.
Verse
5. Many
O Lord my God
are thy wonderful works which thou hast
done
etc. Behold God in the magnificence and wisdom of the works which his
hands have made
even this immense universe
which is full of his glory. What
art and contrivance! What regularity
harmony
and proportion
are to be seen
in all his productions
in the frame of our own bodies
or those that are about
us! And with what beams of majestic glory do the sun
moon
and stars proclaim
how august and wonderful in knowledge their Maker is! And ought not all these
numberless beauties wherewith the world is stored
which the minds of
inquisitive men are ready to admire
lead up our thoughts to the great Parent
of all things
and inflame our amorous souls with love to him
who is
infinitely brighter and fairer than them all? Cast abroad your eyes through the
nations
and meditate on the mighty acts which he hath done
and the wisdom and
power of his providence
which should charm all thy affections. Behold his
admirable patience
with what pity he looks down on obstinate rebels; and how
he is moved with compassion when he sees his creatures polluted in their blood
and bent upon their own destruction; how long he waits to be gracious; how unwillingly
he appears to give up with sinners
and execute deserved vengeance on his
enemies; and then with what joy he pardons
for "with him is plenteous
redemption." And what can have more force than these to win thy esteem
and make a willing conquest of thy heart? so that every object about thee is an
argument of love
and furnishes fuel for this sacred fire. And whether you
behold God in the firmament of his power
or the sanctuary of his grace
you
cannot miss to pronounce him "altogether lovely." William Dunlop.
Verse
5. Thy thoughts which are toward us
they cannot be reckoned up
in order unto thee: i.e.
there is no one can digest them in order; for
although that may be attempted according to the comprehension and meaning of
men
yet not before thee
every attempt of that nature being infinitely
beneath thy immeasurable glory. Victorinus Bythner's "Lyre of David;
"translated by T. Dee: new edition
by N. L. Benmohel
1847.
Verse
5. Toward us. It is worthy of notice that while addressing
his Father
as Jehovah and his God
our Saviour speaks of the members of the
human family as his fellows. This is implied in the expression "toward
us." He regarded himself as most intimately associated with the children
of men. James Frame.
Verse
5. They cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee. They are
"in order" in themselves
and if they could be "reckoned
up" as they are
they would be "reckoned in order." Created mind
may not be able to grasp the principle of order that pervades them
but such a
principle there is. And the more we study the whole series in its
interrelations
the more shall we be convinced that as to time and place all
the preparations for the mediatorial work of Christ
all the parts of its
accomplishment
and all the divinely appointed consequences of its acceptation
throughout all time into eternity
are faultlessly in order; they are precisely
what and where and when they should be. James Frame.
Verse
5. They are more than can be numbered. The pulses of
Providence are quicker than those of our wrists or temples. The soul of David
knew right well their multiplicity
but could not multiply them aright by any
skill in arithmetic; nay
the very sum or chief heads of divine kindnesses were
innumerable. His "wonderful works" and "thoughts" towards
him could not be reckoned up in order by him
they were more than could be
numbered. Samuel Lee (1625-1691)
in The Triumph of Mercy in the Chariot
of Praise.
Verse
5. It is Christ's speech
of whom the Psalm is made
and that
relating unto his Father's resolved purposes and contrivings from eternity
and
those continued unto his sending Christ into the world to die for us
as Ps
40:6-7. It follows so
as although his thoughts and purposes were but one
individual act at first
and never to be altered; yet they became many
through
a perpetuated reiteration of them
wherein his constancy to himself is
seen...My brethren
if God have been thinking thoughts of mercy from
everlasting to those that are his
what a stock and treasury do these thoughts
arise to
besides those that are in his nature and disposition! This is in his
actual purposes and intentions
which he hath thought
and doth think over
again and again
every moment. Many
O Lord my God
are thy wonderful works
which thou hast done
and thy thoughts which are toward us
saith Jesus
Christ; for Psalm 40 is a Psalm of Christ
and quoted by the apostle
and
applied unto Christ in Hebrews 10
How many are thy thoughts toward
us!—he speaks it in the name of the human nature—that is
to me and mine. If
I would declare and speak of them
they are more than can be numbered. And
what is the reason? Because God hath studied mercies
mercies for his children
even from everlasting. And then
"He renews his mercies every morning;
"not that any mercies are new
but he actually thinketh over mercies again
and again
and so he brings out of his treasury
mercies both new and old
and
old are always new. What a stock
my brethren
must this needs amount unto! Thomas
Goodwin.
Verse
6. Sacrifice and offering...burnt offering and sin offering.
Four kinds are here specified
both by the psalmist and apostle: namely
sacrifice
(xbz) zebhach
yusia; offering
(hxnm) minchah
prosfora; burnt
offering
(hlwe) olah
olokautwma; sin offering
(hajx) chataah
peri amartias. Of all these we may say with the apostle
it was impossible
that the blood of bulls and goats
etc.
should take away sin. Adam Clarke.
Verse
6. Mine ears hast thou opened. The literal translation is
mine
ears hast thou digged (or pierced) through; which may well be
interpreted as meaning
"Thou hast accepted me as thy slave
" in
allusion to the custom Ex 21:6 of masters boring the ear of a slave
who had
refused his offered freedom
in token of retaining him. Daniel Cresswell.
Verse
6. John Calvin
in treating upon the interpretation
"mine ears
hast thou bored
"says
"this mode of interpretation appears to be
too forced and refined."
Verse
6. Mine ears hast thou opened. If it is to be said that the
apostle to the Hebrews read this differently
I answer
this does not appear to
me. It is true
he found a different
but corrupted translation (wtia
ears
as the learned have observed
having been changed into swma
body) in
the LXX
which was the version then in use; and he was obliged to quote it as
he found it
under the penalty
if he altered it
of being deemed a false
quoter. He therefore took the translation as he found it
especially as it
served to illustrate his argument equally well. Upon this quotation from the
LXX the apostle argues
Ps 40:9
"He
(Christ) taketh away the first
(namely
legal sacrifices)
that he may establish the second" (namely
obedience to God's will)
in offering himself a sacrifice for the sins of
mankind; and thus he must have argued upon a quotation for the Hebrew text as
it stands at present. Green
quoted in S. Burder's "Scripture
Expositor."
Verse
6. The apostle's reading Heb 10:5
though it be far distant from the
letter of the Hebrew
and in part from the LXX (as I suppose it to have been
originally)
yet is the most perspicuous interpretation of the meaning of it: Christ's
body comprehended the ears
and that assumed on purpose to perform
in it the utmost degree of obedience to the will of God
to be obedient even to
death
and thereby to be as the priest. Henry Hammond.
Verse
6.
Nor
sacrifice thy love can win
Nor offerings from the stain of sin
Obnoxious man shall clear:
Thy hand my mortal frame prepares
(Thy hand
whose signature it bears
)
And opens my willing ear.
—James Merrick
M.A.
1720-1769.
Verses
6-7. In these words an allusion is made to a custom of the Jews to
bore the ears of such as were to be their perpetual servants
and to
enrol their names in a book
or make some instrument of the covenant.
"Sacrifices and burnt offerings thou wouldst not have; "but because I
am thy vowed servant
bored with an awl
and enrolled in thy book
I said
Lo
I come; I delight to do thy will
O my God. These words of the Psalm
are alleged by S. Paul
Hebrews 10. But the first of them with a most strange
difference. For whereas the psalmist hath
according to the Hebrew verity
Sacrifice
and burnt offering thou wouldst not: mine ears thou hast bored or digged
(tyrn); S. Paul reads with the LXX
swma kathrtisw moi
"A body thou
hast prepared or fitted me." What equipollency can be in sense
between these two? This difficulty is so much the more augmented because most
interpreters make the life of the quotation to lie in those very words where
the difference is
namely
That the words
"A body thou hast prepared
me
"are brought by the apostle to prove our Saviour's incarnation;
whereunto the words in the Psalm itself (Mine ears hast thou bored
or digged
or opened)
take them how you will in no wise suit. I answer
therefore
That the life of the quotation lies not in the words of difference
nor can do
because this epistle was written to the Hebrews
and so first in the Hebrew
tongue
where this translation of the LXX could have no place. And if the life
of the quotation lay here
I cannot see how it can possibly be reconciled. It
lies therefore in the words where there is no difference
namely
That Christ
was such a High Priest as came to sanctify us
not with the legal offerings and
sacrifices
but by his obedience in doing like a devoted servant the will of
his Father. Thus
the allegation will not depend at all upon the words of
difference
and so they give us liberty to reconcile them: Mine ears hast
thou bored
saith the psalmist
i.e.
Thou hast accepted me for a
perpetual servant
as masters are wont
according to the law
to bore
such servants' ears as refuse to part from them. Now the LXX
according
to whom the apostle's epistle readeth
thinking perhaps the meaning of this
speech would be obscure to such as knew not that custom
chose rather to
translate it generally swma de katertisw moi
"Thou hast fitted my
body
"namely
to be thy servant
in such a manner as servants' bodies
are wont to be. And so the sense is all one
though not specified to the Jewish
custom of boring the ear with an awl
but left indifferently applicable to the
custom of any nation in marking and stigmatising their servants' bodies. Joseph
Mede
B.D.
1586-1638.
Verses
6-10. Here we have in Christ for our instruction
and in David also
(his type) for our example; 1. A firm purpose of obedience
in a bored ear
and a yielding heart. 2. A ready performance thereof: Lo
I come. 3. A
careful observance of the word written: In the volume of the Book it is
written of me
Ps 40:7. 4. A hearty delight in that observance
Ps 40:8. 5.
A public profession and communication of God's goodness to others
Ps 40:9-10.
Now
we should labour to express Christ to the world
to walk as he walked 1Jo
2:6: our lives should be in some sense parallel with his life
as the
transcript with the original: he left us a copy to write by
saith St. Peter
1Pe 2:21. John Trapp.
Verse
7. Then said I
Lo
I come. As his name is above every name
so this coming of his is above every coming. We sometimes call our own births
I confess
a coming into the world; but properly
none ever came into the world
but he. For
1. He only truly can be said to come
who is before he comes; so
were not we
only he so. 2. He only strictly comes who comes willingly; our
crying and struggling at our entrance into the world
shows how unwillingly we
come into it. He alone it is that sings out
Lo
I come. 3. He only
properly comes who comes from some place or other. Alas! we had none to come
from but the womb of nothing. He only had a place to be in before he
came. Mark Frank.
Verse
7. Then said I
Lo
I come
to wit
as surety
to pay the
ransom
and to do thy will
O God. Every word carrieth a special emphasis as 1.
The time
then
even so soon as he perceived that his Father had
prepared his body for such an end
then
without delay. This speed implies
forwardness and readiness; he would lose no opportunity. 2. His profession in
this word
said I; he did not closely
secretly
timorously
as being
ashamed thereof
but he maketh profession beforehand. 3. This note of
observation
Lo
this is a kind of calling angels and men to witness
and a desire that all might know his inward intention
and the disposition of
his heart; wherein was as great a willingness as any could have to anything. 4.
An offering of himself without any enforcement or compulsion; this he manifests
in this word
I come. 5. That very instant set out in the present tense
I come; he puts it not off to a future and uncertain time
but even in
that moment
he saith
I come. 6. The first person twice expressed
thus
"I said
""I come." He sends not another
person
nor substitutes any in his room; but he
even he himself in his own
person
comes. All which do abundantly evidence Christ's singular readiness and
willingness
as our surety
to do his Father's will
though it were by suffering
and by being made a sacrifice for our sins. Thomas Brooks.
Verse
7. Lo
I come
i.e.
to appear before thee; a phrase used to
indicate the coming of an inferior into the presence of a superior
or of a
slave before his master
Nu 22:38 2Sa 19:20: as in the similar expression
"Behold
here I am
"generally expressive of willingness. J. J.
Stewart Perowne.
Verse
7. Lo
I come. Christ's coming in the spirit is a joyful
coming. I think this
Lo
I come
expresses 1. Present joy. 2. It
expresses certain joy: the Lo
is a note of certainty; the thing
is certain and true; and his joy is certain; certain
true
solid joy. 3. It
expresses communicative joy; designing his people shall share of his
joy
Lo
I come! The joy that Christ has as Mediator is a fulness of
joy
designed for his people's use
that out of his fulness we may receive
and grace for grace
and joy for joy; grace answering grace in Jesus
and
joy answering joy in him. 4. It expresses solemn joy. He comes with a
solemnity; Lo
I come! according to the council of a glorious Trinity.
Now
when the purpose of heaven is come to the birth
and the decree breaks
forth
and the fulness of time is come
he makes heaven and earth witness
as
it were
to his solemn march on the errand: he says it with a loud
Lo!
that all the world of men and angels may notice
Lo
I come! And
indeed
all the elect angels brake forth into joyful songs of praise at this
solemnity; when he came in the flesh
they sang
"Glory to God in the
highest
peace on earth
and good will towards man." Ralph Erskine
1685-1752.
Verse
7. Lo
I come
or
am come
to wit
into the world
Heb 10:5
and particularly to Jerusalem
to give myself a sacrifice for
sin. Henry Ainsworth.
Verse
7. The volume of the book. What book is meant
whether the
Scripture
or the book of life
is not certain
probably the latter. W.
Wilson
D.D.
Verse
7. The volume of the book. But what volume of manuscript roll
is here meant? Plainly
the one which was already extant when the psalmist was
writing. If the psalmist was David himself (as the title of the Psalm seems to
affirm)
the only parts of the Hebrew Scriptures then extant
and of course
the only part to which he could refer
must have been the Pentateuch
and
perhaps the book of Joshua. Beyond any reasonable doubt
them
the kefalis
biblion (rpo tlnm) was the Pentateuch...But I apprehend the meaning of the
writer to be
that the book of the law
which prescribes sacrifices that
were merely skiai or parabolai of the great atoning sacrifice by
Christ
did itself teach
by the use of these
that something of a higher and
better nature was to be looked for than Levitical rites. In a word
it pointed
to the Messiah; or
some of the contents of the written law had respect
to him. Moses Stuart
M.A.
in "A Commentary on the Epistle to the
Hebrews
" 1851.
Verse
7. The volume of the book etc. When I first considered Ro
5:14
and other Scriptures in the New Testament which make the first Adam
and
the whole story of him both before and after
and in his sinning or falling
to
be the type and lively shadow of Christ
the second Adam; likewise observing
that the apostle Paul stands admiring at the greatest of this mystery or
mystical type
the Christ
the second Adam should so wonderfully be shadowed
forth therein
as Eph 5:32
he cries out
"This is a great mystery
"which he speaks applying and fitting some passages about Adam and Eve
unto Christ and his church; it made me more to consider an interpretation of a
passage in Heb 10:7
out of Ps 40:7
which I before had not only not regarded
but wholly rejected
as being too like a postil (A marginal note) gloss. The
passage is
that "when Christ came into the world
"to take our
nature on him
he alleged the reason of it to be the fulfilling of a Scripture
written in "the beginning of God's book
"en kefalisi Biblion
so out
of the original the words may be
and are by many interpreters
translated
though our translation reads them only thus
In the volume of the book it is
written of me. It is true
indeed
that in the fortieth Psalm
whence they
are quoted
the words in the Hebrew may signify no more than that in God's book
(the manner of writing which was anciently in rolls of parchment
folded up in
a volume) Christ was everywhere written and spoken of. Yet the word kefalis
which out of the Septuagint's translation the apostle took
signifying
as all
know
the beginning of a book; and we finding such an emphasis set by the
apostle in the fifth chapter of the Ephesians
upon the history of Adam in the
beginning of Genesis
as containing the mystery
yea
the great mystery about
Christ
it did somewhat induce
though not so fully persuade
me to think
that
the Holy Ghost in those words might have some glance at the story of Adam in
the first of the first book of Moses. And withal the rather because so
the
words so understood do intimate a higher and further inducement to Christ to
assume our nature
the scope of the speech
Hebrews 10
being to render the
reason why he so willingly took man's nature: not only because God liked not
sacrifice and burnt offering
which came in but upon occasion of sin
and after
the fall
and could not take sin away
but further
that he was prophesied of
and his assuming a body prophetically foresighted
as in the fortieth Psalm
so
even by Adam's story before the fall
recorded in the very beginning of
Genesis
which many other Scriptures do expressly apply it unto. Thomas
Goodwin.
Verse
10. I have not hid. This intimates
that whoever undertook to
preach the gospel of Christ would be in great temptation to hide it
and
conceal it
because it must be preached with great contention
and in the face
of great opposition. Matthew Henry.
Verse
10. I have not hid
etc. What God has done for us
or for the
church
we should lay to heart; but not lock up in our heart. Carl
Bernhard Moll in Lange's "Bibelwerk." 1869.
Verse
11. Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me. Do not
hinder them from coming showering down upon me. Let thy lovingkindness and
thy truth continually preserve me; or
do thou employ them in preserving
me. John Diodati.
Verse
12. For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities
have taken hold upon me
so that I am not able to look up; they are more than
the hairs of mine head. We lose ourselves when we speak of the sins of our
lives. It may astonish any considering man to take notice how many sins he is
guilty of any one day; how many sins accompany any one single act; nay
how
many bewray themselves in any one religious duty. Whensoever ye do anything
forbidden
you omit the duty at that time commanded; and whenever you neglect
that which is enjoined
the omission is joined with the acting of something
forbidden; so that the sin
whether omission or commission
is always double;
nay
the apostle makes every sin tenfold. Jas 2:10. That which seems one to us
according to the sense of the law
and the account of God
is multiplied by
ten. He breaks every command by sinning directly against one
and so sins ten
times at once; besides that swarm of sinful circumstances and aggravations
which surround every act in such numbers
as atoms use to surround your body in
a dusty room; you may more easily number these than those. And though some
count these but fractions
incomplete sins
yet even from hence it is more
difficult to take an account of their number. And
which is more for
astonishment
pick out the best religious duty that ever you performed
and
even in that performance you may find such a swarm of sins as cannot be
numbered. In the best prayer that ever you put up to God
irreverence
lukewarmness
unbelief
spiritual pride
self seeking
hypocrisy
distractions
etc.
and many more
that an enlightened soul grieves and bewails; and yet
there are many more that the pure eye of God discerns
than any man does take
notice of. David Clarkson.
Verse
12. Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me. They seized him
as the sinner's substitute
to deal with him as regards their own penalty
according to the sinner's desert. James Frame.
Verse
13. The remaining verses of this Psalm are almost exactly identical
with Psalm 70.
Verse
14. Let them be ashamed and confounded
etc. Even this prayer
carried benevolence in its bosom. It sought from the divine Father
such a
manifestation of what was glorious and like God as might unnerve each rebel
arm
and overawe each rebel heart in the traitor's company. If each arm were
for a little unnerved
if each heart were for a little unmanned
there might be
time for the better principles of their nature to rise and put an arrest upon
the prosecution of their wicked design. Such being the benevolent aim of the
prayer
we need not wonder that it issued from the same heart that by and by
exclaimed
"Father
forgive them
for they know not what they do;
"neither need we marvel that it was answered to the very letter
and that
as soon as he said to the traitor band
"I am he
" they went
backward and fell to the ground. James Frame.
Verse
15. Aha
aha. An exclamation which occurs three times in the
Psalms; and in each case there seems to be reference to the mockery at the
Passion. See Ps 35:21 70:3
which appear to belong to the same time as the
present Psalm. Christopher Wordsworth.
Verse
16. Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee.
As every mercy to every believer giveth a proof of God's readiness to show the
like mercy to all believers
when they stand in need; so should every mercy
shown to any of the number
being known to the rest
be made the matter and
occasion of magnifying the Lord. David Dickson.
Verse
16. Such as love thy salvation. To love God's salvation is to
love God himself
the Saviour
or Jesus. Martin Geier.
Verse
16. Such as love thy salvation. One would think that self love
alone should make us love salvation. Aye
but they love it because it is his
"that love thy salvation." It is the character of a holy saint
to love salvation itself; not as his own only
but as God's
as God's that
saves him. Thomas Goodwin.
Verse
16. Let such as love thy salvation say continually
The Lord be
magnified. Jesus who gave us our capacity of happiness and our capacity of
speaking
realised the relation which he had established between them; and
hence in praying for his friends
he prayed that in the joy and gladness of
their souls they might say
"The Lord be magnified." He
desired them to speak of their holy happiness; and it was his wish that when
they did speak of it they should speak in terms of praise of Jehovah
for he
was the source of it. He desired them to say continually
The Lord be
magnified. James Frame.
Verse
17. In Dr. Malan's memoir
the editor
one of his sons
thus writes
of his brother Jocelyn
who was for some years prior to his death
the subject
of intense bodily sufferings:—"One striking feature in his character was
his holy fear of God
and reverence for his will." One day I was repeating
a verse from the Psalms
`As for me
I am poor and needy
but the Lord
careth for me: thou art my helper and deliverer; O Lord
make no long
tarrying.' He said
`Mamma
I love that verse
all but the last bit
it
looks like a murmur against God. He never `tarries' in my case.' From
"The Life
Labours
and Writings of Caesar Malan" (1787-1864): By one
of his sons
1869.
Verse
17. Yet the Lord thinketh upon me. Sacred story derives from
heaven the kindness of Abimelech to Abraham
of Laban and Esau to Jacob
of
Ruth to Naomi
of Boaz to Ruth
and Jonathan to David. When others think of
kindness to us
let us imitate David
it is the Lord that thinketh upon me
and
forms those thoughts within their hearts. This should calm our spirits when a
former friend's heart is alienated by rash admissions of false suggestions
or
when any faithful Jonathan expires his spirit into the bosom of God. It should
not be lost what Hobson
the late noted carrier of Cambridge
said to a young
student receiving a letter of the sad tidings of his uncle's decease (who
maintained him at the University)
and weeping bitterly
and reciting the cause
of his grief
he replied
Who gave you that friend? Which saying did
greatly comfort him
and was a sweet support to him afterwards in his ministry.
The Ever living God is the portion of a living faith
and he can never
want that hath such an ocean. He that turns the hearts of kings like
rivers at his pleasure
turns all the little brooks in the world into what
scorched and parched ground he pleases. Samuel Lee.
Verse
17. The Lord thinketh upon me. There are three things in God's
thinking upon us
that are solacing and delightful. Observe the frequency
of his thoughts. Indeed
they are incessant. You have a friend
whom you esteem
and love. You wish to live in his mind. You say when you part
and when you
write
"Think of me." You give him
perhaps
a token to revive his
remembrance. How naturally is Selkirk
in his solitary island
made to say:—
"My
friends
do they now and then send
A wish or a thought after me?
O tell me
I yet have a friend
Though a friend I am never to see."
"Ye winds
that have made me your sport
Convey to this desolate shore
Some cordial
endearing report
Of a land I shall visit no more."
But
the dearest connexion in the world cannot be always thinking upon you. Half his
time he is in a state of unconsciousness; and how much during the other half is
he engrossed! But there is no remission in the Lord's thoughts...Observe in the
next place
the wisdom of his thoughts. You have a dear child
absent
from you
and you follow him in your mind. But you know not his present
circumstances. You left him in such a place; but where is he now? You left him
in such a condition. But what is he now? Perhaps while you are thinking upon
his health
he is groaning under a bruised limb
or a painful disorder.
Perhaps
while you are thinking of his safety
some enemy is taking advantage
of his innocency. Perhaps
while you are rejoicing in his prudence
he is going
to take a step that will involve him for life. But when God thinketh upon you
he is perfectly acquainted with your situation
your dangers
your wants. He
knows all your walking through this great wilderness
and can afford you the
seasonable succour you need. For again
observe the efficiency of his
thoughts. You think upon another
and you are anxious to guide
or defend
or
relieve him. But in how many cases can you think only? Solicitude cannot
control the disease of the body
cannot dissipate the melancholy of the mind.
But with God all things are possible. He who thinks upon you is a God at hand
and not afar off; he has all events under his control; he is the God of all
grace. If
therefore
he does not immediately deliver
it is not because he is
unable to redress
but because he is waiting to be gracious. William Jay.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse
1.
1. My
part—praying and waiting.
2. God's part—condescension and reply.
Verse
2.
1.
The depth of God's goodness to his people. It finds them often in a
horrible pit and miry clay. There is a certain spider which forms a pit in
sand
and lies concealed at the bottom
in order to seize upon other insects
that fall into it. Thus David's enemies tried to bring him into a pit.
2.
The height of his goodness. He brought me out and set my feet upon a
rock. That rock is Christ. Those feet are faith and hope.
3.
The breadth of his goodness establisheth my goings
restored me
to my former place in his love
showing me still to have been his during my low
estate. He was the same to me
though I felt not the same to him. My goings
refer both to the past and the future.
4.
The strength of his goodness established my goings
making me
stand firmer after every fall. —George Rogers.
Verses
2-3. The sinner's position by nature
and his rescue by grace.
Verses
2-3. By one and the same act the Lord works our salvation
our
enemies' confusion
and the church's edification. J. P. Lange's Commentary.
Verse
3. The new song
the singer
the teacher.
Verse
4. (last clause).
1.
Find out who turn aside to lies—Atheists
Papists
self righteous
lovers of
sin.
2.
Show their folly in turning aside from God and truth
and in turning to
fallacies which lead to death.
3.
Show how to be preserved from the like folly
by choosing truth
truthful
persons
and above all the service of God.
Verse
5.
1. There
are works of God in his people and for his people. There are his works of
creation
of providence
and of redemption
and also his works of grace
wrought in them by his Spirit
and around them by his providence
as well as
for them by his Son.
2. These
are wonderful works; wonderful in their variety
their tenderness
their
adaptation to their need
their cooperation with outward means and their power.
3. They
are the result of the divine thoughts respecting us. They come not by
chance
not by men
but by the hand of God
and that hand is moved by his will
and that will by his thought respecting us. Every mercy
even the least
represents some kind thought in the mind of God respecting us. God thinks of
each one of his people
and every moment.
4.
They are innumerable. They cannot be reckoned up. Could we see all the
mercies of God to us and his wonderful works wrought for us individually
they
would be countless as the sands
and all these countless mercies represent
countless thoughts in the mind and heart of God to each one of his people.
—George Rogers.
Verse
5. The multitude of God's thoughts
and deeds of grace; beginning in
eternity
continuing for ever; and dealing with this life
heaven
hell
sin
angels
devils
and indeed all things.
Verse
6. Here David goes beyond himself
and speaks the language of
David's Son. This was naturally suggested by God's wonderful works
and
innumerable thoughts of love to man.
1. The
sacrifices that were not required. These were the sacrifices and burnt
offerings under the law. (a) When required? From Adam to the coming of Christ.
(b) When not required? (c) Why required before? As types of the one method of
redemption. (d) Why not now required? Because the great Antitype had come.
2. The
sacrifice that was required. This was the sacrifice offered on Calvary. (a)
It was required by God by his justice
his wisdom
his faithfulness
his love
his honour
his glory. (b) It was required by man to give him salvation and
confidence in that salvation. (c) It was required for the honour of the moral
government of God throughout the universe.
3. The
person by whom this sacrifice was offered. Mine ears hast thou opened.
This is the language of Christ
prospectively denoting—(a) Knowledge of the
sacrifice required. (b) Consecration of himself as a servant for that end.
—George Rogers.
Verse
6. Mine ears hast thou opened. Readiness to hear
fixity of
purpose
perfection of obedience
entireness of consecration.
Verses
6-8. The Lord gives an ear to hear his word
a mouth to confess it
a
heart to love it
and power to keep it. —James Merrick
M.A.
1720-1769.
Verses
6-8. The Lord gives an ear to hear his word
a mouth to confess it
a
heart to love it
and power to keep it.
Verse
7.
1.
The time of Christ's coming. Then said I. When types were exhausted
when prophecies looked for their fulfilment
when worldly wisdom had done its
utmost
when the world was almost entirely united under one empire
when the
time appointed by the Father had come.
2.
The design of his coming. In the volume was written—(a) The constitution
of his person. (b) His teaching. (c) The manner of his life. (d) The design of
his death. (e) His resurrection and ascension. (f) The kingdom he would
establish.
3.
The voluntariness of his coming
Lo
I come. Though sent by the Father
he came of his own accord. "Christ Jesus came into the world." Men do
not come into the world
they are sent into it. Lo
I come
denotes
pre-existence
pre-determination
pre-operation. —George Rogers.
Verses
6-8. The Lord gives an ear to hear his word
a mouth to confess it
a
heart to love it
and power to keep it.
Verse
8. To do thy will
O God.
1.
The will of God is seen in the fact of salvation. It has its origin in the will
of God.
2.
The will of God is seen in the plan of salvation. All things have proceeded
are proceeding
and will proceed according to that plan.
3.
It is seen in the provision of salvation
in the appointment of his own Son to
become the mediator the atoning sacrifice
the law fulfiller
the head of the
church
that his plan required.
4.
It is seen in the accomplishment of salvation.
Verse
9. Referring to our Lord; a great preacher
a great subject
a great
congregation
and his great faithfulness in the work.
Verse
10. (first clause).
1.
The righteousness possessed by God.
2. The righteousness prescribed by God.
3. The righteousness provided by God. James Frame.
Verse
10.
1.
The preacher must reveal his whole message. 2. He must not conceal any part:
(a) Not of the righteousness of the law or the gospel; (b) Not of the
lovingkindness of grace; (c) Not of any portion of the truth with flowers of
rhetoric; (d) To give a partial representation; (e) To put one truth in the
place of another; (f) To give the letter without the spirit. G.R.
Verse
10. The great sin of concealing what we know of God.
Verse
11. Enrichment and preservation sought. The true riches are from God
gifts of his sovereignty
fruits of his mercy
marked with his tenderness. The
best preservations are divine love and faithfulness.
Verses
11-13. As an instance of clerical ingenuity
it may be well to mention
that Canon Wordsworth has a sermon from these verses upon "the duty of
making responses in public prayer."
"Came
at length the dreadful night.
Vengeance with its iron rod
Stood
and with collected might
Bruised the harmless Lamb of God
See
my soul
thy Saviour see
Prostrate in Gethsemane!"
"There
my God bore all my guilt
This through grace can be believed;
But the horrors which he felt
Are too vast to be conceived.
None can penetrate through thee
Doleful
dark Gethsemane."
"Sins
against a holy God;
Sins against his righteous laws;
Sins against his love
his blood;
Sins against his name and cause;
Sins immense as is the sea—
Hide me
O Gethsemane!"
Verses
11-13. As an instance of clerical ingenuity
it may be well to mention
that Canon Wordsworth has a sermon from these verses upon "the duty of
making responses in public prayer."
Verse
12. Compare this with Ps 40:5. The number of our sins
and the number
of his thoughts of love.
Verse
12. (second clause).
1.
The soul arrested—"taken hold."
2. The soul bewildered—"cannot look up."
3. The soul's only refuge—prayer
Ps 40:13.
Verses
11-13. As an instance of clerical ingenuity
it may be well to mention
that Canon Wordsworth has a sermon from these verses upon "the duty of
making responses int public prayer."
Verse
13.
1.
The language of believing prayer—deliver me
help me; looking for deliverance
and help to God only.
2.
Of earnest prayer—make haste to help me.
3.
Of submissive prayer—be pleased
O Lord
if according to thy good pleasure.
4.
Of consistent prayer. Help me
which implies efforts for his own deliverance
putting his own shoulder to the wheel.
Verse
14. Honi soit mal y pense; or
the reward of malignity.
Verse
16. (last clause). An everyday saying. Who can use it? What
does it mean? Why should they say it? Why say it continually?
Verse
17. The humble But
and the believing Yet. The little I
am
and the great Thou art. The fitting prayer.
Verse
17. The Lord thinketh upon me. Admire the condescension
and
then consider that this is—
1.
A promised blessing.
2.
A practical blessing—he thinks upon us to supply
protect
direct
sanctify
&c.
3.
A precious blessing—kind thoughts
continual
greatly good. He thinks of us as
his creatures with pity
as his children with love
as his friends with
pleasure.
4.
A present blessing—promises
providences
visitations of grace.
Verse
17.
1.
The less we think of ourselves the more God will think upon us.
2.
The less we put trust in ourselves the more we may trust in God for help and
deliverance.
3.
The less delay in prayer and active efforts the sooner God will appear for us.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》