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Psalm Forty-two
Psalm 42
Chapter Contents
The conflict in the soul of a believer.
Commentary on Psalm 42:1-5
(Read Psalm 42:1-5)
The psalmist looked to the Lord as his chief good
and
set his heart upon him accordingly; casting anchor thus at first
he rides out
the storm. A gracious soul can take little satisfaction in God's courts
if it
do not meet with God himself there. Living souls never can take up their rest
any where short of a living God. To appear before the Lord is the desire of the
upright
as it is the dread of the hypocrite. Nothing is more grievous to a
gracious soul
than what is intended to shake its confidence in the Lord. It
was not the remembrance of the pleasures of his court that afflicted David; but
the remembrance of the free access he formerly had to God's house
and his pleasure
in attending there. Those that commune much with their own hearts
will often
have to chide them. See the cure of sorrow. When the soul rests on itself
it
sinks; if it catches hold on the power and promise of God
the head is kept
above the billows. And what is our support under present woes but this
that we
shall have comfort in Him. We have great cause to mourn for sin; but being cast
down springs from unbelief and a rebellious will; we should therefore strive
and pray against it.
Commentary on Psalm 42:6-11
(Read Psalm 42:6-11)
The way to forget our miseries
is to remember the God of
our mercies. David saw troubles coming from God's wrath
and that discouraged
him. But if one trouble follow hard after another
if all seem to combine for
our ruin
let us remember they are all appointed and overruled by the Lord.
David regards the Divine favour as the fountain of all the good he looked for.
In the Saviour's name let us hope and pray. One word from him will calm every
storm
and turn midnight darkness into the light of noon
the bitterest
complaints into joyful praises. Our believing expectation of mercy must quicken
our prayers for it. At length
is faith came off conqueror
by encouraging him
to trust in the name of the Lord
and to stay himself upon his God. He adds
And my God; this thought enabled him to triumph over all his griefs and fears.
Let us never think that the God of our life
and the Rock of our salvation
has
forgotten us
if we have made his mercy
truth
and power
our refuge. Thus the
psalmist strove against his despondency: at last his faith and hope obtained
the victory. Let us learn to check all unbelieving doubts and fears. Apply the
promise first to ourselves
and then plead it to God.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 42
Verse 1
[1] As the hart panteth after the water brooks
so panteth
my soul after thee
O God.
Panteth — After the enjoyment of thee in thy sanctuary.
Verse 2
[2] My soul thirsteth for God
for the living God: when
shall I come and appear before God?
Thirsteth — Not after vain useless idols
but
after the only true and living God.
Appear — In the place of his special presence and publick
worship.
Verse 4
[4] When I remember these things
I pour out my soul in me:
for I had gone with the multitude
I went with them to the house of God
with
the voice of joy and praise
with a multitude that kept holyday.
Remember — My banishment from God's presence
and mine enemies
triumphs.
In me — I breathe out my sorrows and complaints to God within
my own breast.
The multitudes — Israelites
who went thither in
great numbers.
Holy-day — Or that kept the feast
the three solemn festival
solemnities
which they kept holy unto the Lord.
Verse 5
[5] Why art thou cast down
O my soul? and why art thou
disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of
his countenance.
For — Heb. for the salvations of his face
for those
supports
deliverances and comforts which I doubt not I shall enjoy both in his
presence and sanctuary
and from his presence
and the light of his
countenance.
Verse 6
[6] O my God
my soul is cast down within me: therefore will
I remember thee from the land of Jordan
and of the Hermonites
from the hill
Mizar.
Therefore — Therefore that I may revive my
drooping spirits.
Remember — I will consider thy infinite mercy and power
and
faithfulness.
Mizar — From all the parts of the land
to which I shall be
driven; whether from the parts beyond Jordan on the east: or mount Hermon
which was in the northern parts.
Verse 7
[7] Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts:
all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
Deep — One affliction comes immediately after another
as if
it were called for by the former. A metaphor taken from violent and successive
showers of rain; which frequently come down from heaven
as it were at the
noise
or call of God's water spouts.
Verse 8
[8] Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the
daytime
and in the night his song shall be with me
and my prayer unto the God
of my life.
Command — Will effectually confer upon me.
Loving-kindness — His blessings
the effects of his
loving-kindness.
Verse 10
[10] As with a sword in my bones
mine enemies reproach me;
while they say daily unto me
Where is thy God?
As — As a sword
which cutteth the very bones
so painful
are their reproaches.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and
Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village
Preacher
Other Works
TITLE. To the chief
Musician
Maschil
for the sons of Korah. Dedicated to the Master of Music
this Psalm is worthy of his office; he who can sing best can have nothing
better to sing. It is called
Maschil
or an instructive ode; and full as it is
of deep experimental expressions
it is eminently calculated to instruct those
pilgrims whose road to heaven is of the same trying kind as David's was. It is
always edifying to listen to the experience of a thoroughly gracious and much
afflicted saint.
That
choice band of singers
the sons of Korah
are bidden to make this delightful
Psalm one of their peculiars. They had been spared when their father and all
his company
and all the children of his associates were swallowed up alive in
their sin. Numbers 26:11. They were the spared ones of sovereign grace.
Preserved
we know not why
by the distinguishing favour of God
it may be
surmised that after their remarkable election to mercy
they became so filled
with gratitude that they addicted themselves to sacred music in order that
their spared lives might be consecrated to the glory of God. At any rate
we
who have been rescued as they were from going down into the pit
out of the
mere good pleasure of Jehovah
can heartily join in this Psalm
and indeed in
all the songs which show forth the praises of our God and the pantings of our
hearts after him. Although David is not mentioned as the author
this Psalm
must be the offspring of his pen; it is so Davidic
it smells of the son of
Jesse
it bears the marks of his style and experience in every letter. We could
sooner doubt the authorship of the second part of Pilgrim's Progress than
question David's title to be the composer of this Psalm.
SUBJECT. It is the cry
of a man far removed from the outward ordinances and worship of God
sighing
for the long loved house of his God; and at the same time it is the voice of a
spiritual believer
under depressions
longing for the renewal of the divine
presence
struggling with doubts and fears
but yet holding his ground by faith
in the living God. Most of the Lord's family have sailed on the sea which is
here so graphically described. It is probable that David's flight from Absalom
may have been the occasion for composing this Maschil.
DIVISION. The structure
of the song directs us to consider it in two parts which end with the same
refrain; Ps 42:1-5 and then Ps 42:6-11.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. As the hart panteth after the water brooks
so panteth my soul
after the
O God. As after a long drought the poor fainting hind longs for
the streams
or rather as the hunted hart instinctively seeks after the river
to lave its smoking flanks and to escape the dogs
even so my weary
persecuted
soul pants after the Lord my God. Debarred from public worship
David was
heartsick. Ease he did not seek
honour he did not covet
but the enjoyment of
communion with God was an urgent need of his soul; he viewed it not merely as
the sweetest of all luxuries
but as an absolute necessity
like water to a
stag. Like the parched traveller in the wilderness
whose skin bottle is empty
and who finds the wells dry
he must drink or die—he must have his God or
faint. His soul
his very self
his deepest life
was insatiable for a
sense of the divine presence. As the hart brays so his soul prays. Give him his
God and he is as content as the poor deer which at length slakes its thirst and
is perfectly happy; but deny him his Lord
and his heart heaves
his bosom
palpitates
his whole frame is convulsed
like one who gasps for breath
or
pants with long running. Dear reader
dost thou know what this is
by
personally having felt the same? It is a sweet bitterness. The next best thing
to living in the light of the Lord's love is to be unhappy till we have it
and
to pant hourly after it—hourly
did I say? thirst is a perpetual appetite
and
not to be forgotten
and even thus continual is the heart's longing after God.
When it is as natural for us to long for God as for an animal to thirst
it is
well with our souls
however painful our feelings. We may learn from this verse
that the eagerness of our desires may be pleaded with God
and the more so
because there are special promises for the importunate and fervent.
Verse
2. My soul. All my nature
my inmost self. Thirsteth.
Which is more than hungering; hunger you can palliate
but thirst is awful
insatiable
clamorous
deadly. O to have the most intense craving after the
highest good! this is no questionable mark of grace. For God. Not merely
for the temple and the ordinances
but for fellowship with God himself. None
but spiritual men can sympathise with this thirst. For the living God.
Because he lives
and gives to men the living water; therefore we
with greater
eagerness
desire him. A dead God is a mere mockery; we loathe such a monstrous
deity; but the ever living God
the perennial fountain of life and light and
love
is our soul's desire. What are gold
honour
pleasure
but dead idols?
May we never pant for these. When shall I come and appear before God? He
who loves the Lord loves also the assemblies wherein his name is adored. Vain
are all pretences to religion where the outward means of grace have no
attraction. David was never so much at home as in the house of the Lord; he was
not content with private worship; he did not forsake the place where saints
assemble
as the manner of some is. See how pathetically he questions as to the
prospect of his again uniting in the joyous gathering! How he repeats and
reiterates his desire! After his God
his Elohim (his God to be worshipped
who
had entered into covenant with him)
he pined even as the drooping flowers for
the dew
or the moaning turtle for her mate. It were well if all our resortings
to public worship were viewed as appearances before God
it would then be a
sure mark of grace to delight in them. Alas
how many appear before the
minister
or their fellow men
and think that enough! "To see the face of
God" is a nearer translation of the Hebrew; but the two ideas may be
combined—he would see his God and be seen of him: this is worth thirsting
after!
Verse
3. My tears have been my meat day and night. Salt meats
but
healthful to the soul. When a man comes to tears
constant tears
plenteous
tears
tears that fill his cup and trencher
he is in earnest indeed. As the
big tears stand in the stag's eyes in her distress
so did the salt drops
glitter in the eyes of David. His appetite was gone
his tears not only
seasoned his meat
but became his only meat
he had no mind for other diet.
Perhaps it was well for him that the heart could open the safety valves; there
is a dry grief far more terrible than showery sorrows. His tears
since they were
shed because God was blasphemed
were "honourable dew
"drops of holy
water
such as Jehovah putteth into his bottle. While they continually say
unto me
Where is thy God? Cruel taunts come naturally from coward minds.
Surely they might have left the mourner alone; he could weep no more than he
did—it was a supererogation of malice to pump more tears from a heart which
already overflowed. Note how incessant was their jeer
and how artfully they
framed it! It cut the good man to the bone to have the faithfulness of his God
impugned. They had better have thrust needles into his eyes than have darted
insinuations against his God. Shimei may here be alluded to who after this
fashion mocked David as he fled from Absalom. He roundly asserted that David
was a bloody man
and that God was punishing him for supplanting Saul and his
house; his wish was father to his thought. The wicked know that our worst
misfortune would be to lose God's favour
hence their diabolical malice leads
them to declare that such is the case. Glory be to God
they lie in their
throats
for our God is in the heavens
aye
and in the furnace too
succouring
his people.
Verse
4. When I remember these things
I pour out my soul in me.
When he harped upon his woes his heart melted into water and was poured out
upon itself. God hidden
and foes raging
a pair of evils enough to bring down
the stoutest heart! Yet why let reflections so gloomy engross us
since the
result is of no value: merely to turn the soul on itself
to empty it from itself
into itself is useless
how much better to pour out the heart before the Lord!
The prisoner's tread wheel might sooner land him in the skies than mere inward
questioning raise us nearer to consolation. For I had gone with the
multitude
I went with them to the house of God. Painful reflections were
awakened by the memory of past joys; he had mingled in the pious throng
their
numbers had helped to give him exhilaration and to awaken holy delight
their
company had been a charm to him as with them he ascended the hill of Zion.
Gently proceeding with holy ease
in comely procession
with frequent strains
of song
he and the people of Jehovah had marched in reverent ranks up to the
shrine of sacrifice
the dear abode of peace and holiness. Far away from such goodly
company the holy man pictures the sacred scene and dwells upon the details of
the pious march. With the voice of joy and praise
with a multitude that
kept holyday. The festive noise is in his ears
and the solemn dance before
his eyes. Perhaps he alludes to the removal of the ark and to the glorious
gatherings of the tribes on that grand national holy day and holiday. How
changed his present place! For Zion
a wilderness; for the priests in white
linen
soldiers in garments of war; for the song
the sneer of blasphemy; for
the festivity
lamentation; for joy in the Lord
a mournful dirge over his
absence.
Verse
5. Why art thou cast down
O my soul? As though he were two
men
the psalmist talks to himself. His faith reasons with his fears
his hope
argues with his sorrows. These present troubles
are they to last forever? The
rejoicings of my foes
are they more than empty talk? My absence from the
solemn feasts
is that a perpetual exile? Why this deep depression
this
faithless fainting
this chicken hearted melancholy? As Trapp says
"David
chides David out of the dumps; "and herein he is an example for all
desponding ones. To search out the cause of our sorrow is often the best
surgery for grief. Self ignorance is not bliss; in this case it is misery. The
mist of ignorance magnifies the causes of our alarm; a clearer view will make
monsters dwindle into trifles. Why art thou disquieted within me? Why is
my quiet gone? If I cannot keep a public Sabbath
yet wherefore do I deny my
soul her indoor Sabbath? Why am I agitated like a troubled sea
and why do my
thoughts make a noise like a tumultuous multitude? The causes are not enough to
justify such utter yielding to despondency. Up
my heart! What aileth thee?
Play the man
and thy castings down shall turn to up liftings
and thy
disquietudes to calm. Hope thou in God. If every evil be let loose from
Pandora's box
yet is there hope at the bottom. This is the grace that swims
though the waves roar and be troubled. God is unchangeable
and therefore his grace
is the ground for unshaken hope. If everything be dark
yet the day will come
and meanwhile hope carries stars in her eyes; her lamps are not dependent on
oil from without
her light is fed by secret visitations of God
which sustain
the spirit. For I shall yet praise him. Yet will my sighs give place to
songs
my mournful ditties shall be exchanged for triumphal paeans. A loss of
the present sense of God's love is not a loss of that love itself; the jewel is
there
though it gleams not on our breast; hope knows her title good when she
cannot read it clear; she expects the promised boon though present providence
stands before her with empty hands. For I shall yet praise him for the help
of his countenance. Salvations come from the propitious face of God
and he
will yet lift up his countenance upon us. Note well that the main hope and
chief desire of David rest in the smile of God. His face is what he seeks and
hopes to see
and this will recover his low spirits
this will put to scorn his
laughing enemies
this will restore to him all the joys of those holy and happy
days around which memory lingers. This is grand cheer. This verse
like the
singing of Paul and Silas
looses chains and shakes prison walls. He who can
use such heroic language in his gloomy hours will surely conquer. In the garden
of hope grow the laurels for future victories
the roses of coming joy
the
lilies of approaching peace.
Verse
6. O my God
my soul is cast down within me. Here the song
begins again upon the bass. So sweet an ending deserves that for the sake of a
second hopeful close the Psalm should even begin again. Perhaps the psalmist's
dejection continued
the spasm of despondency returned; well
then
he will
down with his harp again
and try again its power upon himself
as in his
younger days
he saw its influence upon Saul when the evil spirit came upon
him. With God the song begins a second time more nearly than at first. The
singer was also a little more tranquil. Outward expression of desire was gone;
there was no visible panting; the sorrow was not all restrained within doors.
Within or upon himself he was cast down; and
verily
it may well be so
while
our thoughts look more within than upward. If self were to furnish comfort
we
should have but poor provender. There is no solid foundation for comfort in
such fickle frames as our heart is subject to. It is well to tell the Lord how
we feel
and the more plain the confession the better: David talks like a sick
child to its mother
and we should learn to imitate him. Therefore will I
remember thee. It is well to fly to our God. Here is terra firma.
Blessed down casting which drives us to so sure a rock of refuge as thee
O
Lord! From the hill Mizar. He recalls his seasons of choice communion by
the river and among the hills
and especially that dearest hour upon the little
hill
where love spake her sweetest language and revealed her nearest
fellowship. It is great wisdom to store up in memory our choice occasions of
converse with heaven; we may want them another day
when the Lord is slow in
bringing back his banished ones
and our soul is aching with fear. "His
love in times past" has been a precious cordial to many a fainting one;
like soft breath it has fanned the smoking flax into a flame
and bound up the
bruised reed. Oh
never to be forgotten valley of Achor
thou art a door of
hope! Fair days
now gone
ye have left a light behind you which cheers our
present gloom. Or does David mean that even where he was he would bethink him
of his God; does he declare that
forgetful of time and place
he would count
Jordan as sacred as Siloa
Hermon as holy as Zion
and even Mizar
that
insignificant rising ground as glorious as the mountains which are round about
Jerusalem! Oh! it is a heavenly heart which can sing
"To
me remains nor place nor time;
my country is in every clime;
I can be calm and free from care
On any shore
since God is there."
"Could
I be cast where thou art not
That were indeed a dreadful lot
But regions none remote I call
Secure of finding God in all."
Verse
7. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts.
Thy severe dealings with me seem to excite all creation to attack me; heaven
and earth
and hell
call to each other
stirring each other up in dreadful
conspiracy against my peace. As in a waterspout
the deeps above and below
clasp hands
so it seemed to David that heaven and earth united to create a
tempest around him. His woes were incessant and overwhelming. Billow followed
billow
one sea echoed the roaring of another; bodily pain aroused mental fear
Satanic suggestions chimed in with mistrustful forebodings
outward tribulation
thundered in awful harmony with inward anguish: his soul seemed drowned as in a
universal deluge of trouble
over whose waves the providence of the Lord moved
as a watery pillar
in dreadful majesty inspiring the utmost terror. As for the
afflicted one he was like a lonely bark around which the fury of a storm is
bursting
or a mariner floating on a mast
almost every moment submerged. All
thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. David thought that every
trouble in the world had met in him
but he exaggerated
for all the
breaking waves of Jehovah have passed over none but the Lord Jesus; there are
griefs to which he makes his children strangers for his love's sake. Sorrow
naturally states its case forcibly; the mercy is that the Lord after all hath
not dealt with us according to our fears. Yet what a plight to be in! Atlantic
rollers sweeping in ceaseless succession over one's head
waterspouts coming nearer
and nearer
and all the ocean in uproar around the weary swimmer; most of the
heirs of heaven can realise the description
for they have experienced the
like. This is a deep experience unknown to babes in grace
but common enough to
such as do business on great waters of affliction: to such it is some comfort
to remember that the waves and billows are the Lord's
"thy waves
and thy billows
"says David
they are all sent
and directed by
him
and achieve his designs
and the child of God knowing this
is the more
resigned.
Verse
8. Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime.
Come what may there shall be "a certain secret something" to sweeten
all. Lovingkindness is a noble life belt in a rough sea. The day may darken
into a strange and untimely midnight
but the love of God ordained of old to be
the portion of the elect
shall be by sovereign decree meted out to them. No
day shall ever dawn on an heir of grace and find him altogether forsaken of his
Lord: the Lord reigneth
and as a sovereign he will with authority command
mercy to be reserved for his chosen. And in the night. Both divisions of
the day shall be illuminated with special love
and no stress of trial shall
prevent it. Our God is God of the nights as well as the days; none shall find
his Israel unprotected
be the hour what it may. His song shall be with me.
Songs of praise for blessings received shall cheer the gloom of night. No music
sweeter than this. The belief that we shall yet glorify the Lord for mercy
given in extremity is a delightful stay to the soul. Affliction may put out our
candle
but if it cannot silence our song we will soon light the candle again. And
my prayer unto the God of my life. Prayer is yoked with praise. He who is
the living God
is the God of our life
from him we derive it
with him in
prayer and praise we spend it
to him we devote it
in him we shall prefect it.
To be assured that our sighs and songs shall both have free access to our
glorious Lord is to have reason for hope in the most deplorable condition.
Verse
9. I will say unto God my rock
Why hast thou forgotten me?
Faith is allowed to enquire of her God the causes of his displeasure
and she
is even permitted to expostulate with him and put him in mind of his promises
and ask why apparently they are not fulfilled. If the Lord be indeed our
refuge
when we find no refuge
it is time to be raising the question
"Why is this?" Yet we must not let go our hold
the Lord must be my
rock still; we must keep to him as our alone confidence
and never forego our
interest in him. Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
He who condescends to be pleaded with by Abraham
his friend
allows us to put
to him the question that we may search out the causes of his severity towards
us. Surely he can have no pleasure in seeing the faces of his servants stained
and squalid with their tears; he can find no content in the harshness with
which their foes assail them. He can never take pleasure in the tyranny with
which Satan vexes them. Why then does he leave them to be mocked by his enemies
and theirs? How can the strong God
who is as firm and abiding as a rock
be
also as hard and unmoved as a rock towards those who trust in him? Such
enquiries humbly pressed often afford relief to the soul. To know the reason
for sorrow is in part to know how to escape it
or at least to endure it. Want
of attentive consideration often makes adversity appear to be more mysterious
and hopeless than it really is. It is a pitiable thing for any man to have a
limb amputated
but when we know that the operation was needful to save life
we are glad to hear that it has been successfully performed; even thus as trial
unfolds
the design of the Lord sending it becomes far more easy to bear.
Verse
10. As with a sword in my bones
mine enemies reproach me.
Cruel mockeries cut deeper than the flesh
they reach the soul as though a
rapier were introduced between the ribs to prick the heart. If reproaches kill
not
yet they are killing
the pain caused is excruciating. The tongue cuts to
the bone
and its wounds are hard to cure. While they say daily unto me
Where is thy God? This is the most unkind cut of all
reflecting as it does
both upon the Lord's faithfulness and his servant's character. Such was the
malice of David's foes
that having thought of the cruel question
they said
it
said it daily
repeated it to him
and that for a length
of
time; surely the continual yapping of these curs at his heel was enough to
madden him
and perhaps would have done so had he not resorted to prayer and
made the persecutions of his enemies a plea with his Lord.
Verse
11. Why art thou cast down
O my soul? and why art thou disquieted
within me? In the rehearsal of his sorrow
he finds after all no sufficient
ground for being disquieted. Looked in the face
his fears were not so
overwhelming as they seemed when shrouded in obscurity. Hope thou in God.
Let the anchor still keep its hold. God is faithful
God is love
therefore
there is room and reason for hope. Who is the health of my countenance
and
my God. This is the same hopeful expression as that contained in verse
five
but the addition of and my God shows that the writer was growing
in confidence
and was able defiantly to reply to the question
"Where is
thy God?" Here
even here
he is
ready to deliver me. I am not ashamed to
own him amid your sneers and taunts
for he will rescue me out of your hands.
Thus faith closes the struggle
a victor in fact by anticipation
and in heart
by firm reliance. The saddest countenance shall yet be made to shine
if there
be a taking of God at his word and an expectation of his salvation.
"For
yet I know I shall him praise
Who graciously to me
The health is of my countenance
Yea
mine own God is he."
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
TITLE. "Sons
of Korah." Who were the sons of Korah? These opinions have more
or less prevailed. One is that they sprang from some one of that name in the
days of David. Mudge and others think that the sons of Korah were a society of
musicians
founded or presided over by Korah. Others think that the sons of
Korah were the surviving descendants of that miserable man who
together with
two hundred and fifty of his adherents
who were princes
perished when
"the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up
together with
Korah." In Nu 26:11 we read: "Notwithstanding the children of Korah
died not." They had taken the warning given
and had departed from the
tents of these wicked men. Nu 16:24
26. It must be admitted that the name Korah
and the patronymic Korahite are found in the Scriptures in a way that
creates considerable doubt respecting the particular man from whom the
Korahites are named. See 1Ch 1:35 2:43 6:22
54 9:19 26:1 2Ch 20:19. Yet the
more common belief is that they descended from him who perished in his
gainsaying. This view is taken by Ainsworth with entire confidence
by Gill
and others. Korah
who perished
was a Levite. Whatever may have been their
origin
it is clear the sons of Korah were a Levitical family of
singers. Nothing
then
could be more appropriate than the dedication of a
sacred song to these very people. William S. Plumer.
Title. "Sons
of Korah." The "Korah" whose "sons"
are here spoken of
is the Levite who headed the insurrection against Moses and
Aaron in the wilderness. Nu 16:1-50. We find his descendants existing as a
powerful Levitical family in the time of David
at least
if they are to be
identified
as is probable
with the Korahites mentioned in 1Ch 12:6
who
like
our own warlike bishops of former times
seem to have known how to doff the
priestly vestment for the soldier's armour
and whose hand could wield the
sword as well as strike the harp. The Korahites were a part of the band who
acknowledged David as their chief
at Ziklag; warriors "whose faces
"it is said
"were like the faces of lions
and who were (for speed)
like gazelles upon the mountains." According to 1Ch 9:17-19
the Korahites
were in David's time
keepers of the threshold of the tabernacle; and still
earlier
in the time of Moses
watchmen at the entrance of the camp of the
Levites. In 1Ch 26:1-19
we find two branches of this family associated with
that of Merari
as guardians of the doors of the Temple. There is probably an
allusion to this their office
in Ps 84:10. But the Korahites were also celebrated
musicians and singers; see 1Ch 6:16-33
where Heman
one of the three famous
musicians of the time
is said to be a Korahite (compare 1Ch 25:1-31). The
musical reputation of the family continued in the time of Jehoshaphat 2Ch
20:19
where we have the peculiar doubly plural form (Myxrqhynb)
"Sons of
the Korahites." J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Title. "Sons
of Korah." Medieval writers remark how here
as so often
it was the
will of God to raise up saints where they could have been least looked for. Who
should imagine that from the posterity of him who said
"Ye take too much
upon you
ye sons of Aaron
"should have risen those whose sweet Psalms
would be the heritage of the church of God to the end of time? J. M. Neale.
Verse
1. The hart panteth after the water brooks. And here we have
started up
and have sent leaping over the plain another of Solomon's
favourites. What elegant creatures these gazelles are
and how gracefully they
bound! ...The sacred writers frequently mention gazelles under the various names
of harts
roes
and hinds...I have seen large flocks of these panting harts
gather round the water brooks in the great deserts of Central Syria
so subdued
by thirst that you could approach quite near them before they fled. W. M.
Thomson.
Verse
1. Little do the drunkards think that take so much pleasure in
frequenting the houses of Bacchus
that the godly take a great deal more
and
have a great deal more joy in frequenting the houses of God. But it is a thing
that God promised long ago by the prophet: "Then will I bring to my holy
mountain
and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and
their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be
called an house of prayer for all people." Isa 56:7. And I think
I hear
the willing people of God's power
merrily calling one to another in the words
of Mic 4:2
"Come
and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord
and to
the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways
and we will
walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion
and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem." How is a godly man ravished with "the beauty of
holiness
"when he is at such meetings! How was holy David taken with
being in the house of God at Jerusalem! insomuch
that if he were kept from it
but a little while
his soul panted for it
and longed after it
and fainted
for lack of it
as a thirsty hart would do for lack of water! As the hart
panteth after the water brooks
so panteth my soul after thee
O God. My soul
thirsteth for God
for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
The poor disconsolate captives preferred it to the best place in their memory.
"If I forget thee
O Jerusalem
let my right hand forget her
cunning." Ps 137:5; nay
they preferred it to their chiefest joy: "If
I do not remember thee
let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I
prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy
"Ps 42:6. There was no place in
the world that David regarded or cared to be in in comparison of it. "A
day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in
the house of my God
than to dwell in the tents of wickedness" Ps 84:10
insomuch
that he could find it in his heart
nay
and would choose
if he
might have his desire
to spend all his days in that house. Ps 27:4. Zachary
Bogan.
Verse
1. The soul strongly desires acquaintance with God here in his
ordinances. Chrysostom's very rhetorical upon the text
and tells us how that
David
like a lover in absence
must express his affection; as they have their
dainty sighs
and passionate complaints
their loving exclamations
and sundry
discoveries of affection; they can meet with never a tree
but in the bark of
it they must engrave the name of their darling
Denfos d o erws d kittos auton
ek paaes anadeoai profaoews; it will twine upon every opportunity
as the
Moralist speaks. And the true lovers of God
they are always thinking upon him
sighing for him
panting after him
talking of him
and (if it were possible)
would engrave the name of the Lord Jesus upon the breasts of all the men in the
world. Look upon David
now a banished man
and fled from the presence of Saul
and see how he behaves himself: not like Themistocles or Camillus
or some of
those brave banished worthies. He does not complain of the ungratefulness of
his country
the malice of his adversaries
and his own unhappy success. No
instead of murmuring
he falls a panting
and that only after his God. He is
banished from the sanctuary
the palace of God's nearest presence
and chiefest
residence; he cannot enjoy the beauty of holiness
and all other places seem to
him but as the tents of Kedar. He is banished from the temple
and he thinks
himself banished from his God
as it is in the following words
When shall I
come and appear before God? The whole stream of expositors run this way
that it is meant of his strong longing to visit the Temple
and those amiable
courts of his God
with which his soul was so much taken. Nathanael
Culverwel's "Panting Soul
" 1652.
Verses
1-3. are an illustration of the frequent use of the word Elohim in the
second book of Psalms. We give Fry's translation of the first three verses.—
As
the hart looketh for the springs of water
So my soul looketh for thee
O Elohim.
My soul is athirst for Elohim for the living El:
When shall I go and see the face of Elohim?
My tears have been my meat day and night
While they say to me continually
Where is thy Elohim?
Verse
3. My tears have been my meat day and night. The psalmist
could eat nothing because of his extreme grief. John Gadsby.
Verse
3. They say unto me. It is not only of me
but to me; they
spake it to his very face
as those who were ready to justify it and make it
good
that God had forsaken him. Backbiting argues more baseness
but open
reproach carries more boldness
and shamelessness
and impudence in it; and
this is that which David's enemies were guilty of here in this place. Thomas
Horton.
Verse
3. Where is thy God? God's children are impatient
as far as
they are men
of reproaches; but so far as they are Christian men
they are
impatient of reproaches in religion; Where is now thy God? They were not
such desperate Atheists as to think there was no God
to call in question
whether there were a God or no
though
indeed
they were little better; but
they rather reproach and upbraid him with his singularity
where is thy
God? You are one of God's darlings; you are one that thought nobody served God
but you; you are one that will go alone—your God! So this is an ordinary
reproach
an ordinary part for wicked men to cast at the best people
especially when they are in misery. What it become of your profession now? What
is become of your forwardness and strictness now? What is become of your God
that you bragged so of
and thought yourselves so happy in
as if he had been
nobody's God but yours? We may learn hence the disposition of wicked men. It is
a character of a full of poison
cursed disposition to upbraid a man with his
religion. But what is the scope? The scope is worse than the words Where is
thy God? The scope is to shake his faith and his confidence in God
and
this is that which touched him so nearly while they upbraided him. For
the devil knows well enough that as long as God and the soul join together
it
is in vain to trouble any man
therefore he labours to put jealousies
to
accuse God to man
and man to God. He knows there is nothing in the world can
stand against God. As long as we make God our confidence
all his enterprises
are in vain. His scope is
therefore
to shake our affiance in God. Where is
thy God? So he dealt with the head of the church
our blessed Saviour
himself
when he came to tempt him. "If thou be the Son of God
command
these stones to be made bread." Mt 4:3. He comes with an "if
"he laboured to shake him in his Sonship. The devil
since he was
divided from God himself eternally
is become a spirit of division; he labours
to divide even God the Father from his own Son; "If thou be the Son of
God?" So he labours to sever Christians from their head Christ. Where
is thy God? There was his scope
to breed division if he could
between his
heart and God
that he might call God into jealousy
as if he had not regarded
him: thou hast taken a great deal of pains in serving thy God; thou seest how
he regards thee now; Where is thy God? Richard Sibbes.
Verse
3. How powerfully do the scoffs and reproaches of the ungodly tend
to shake the faith of a mind already dejected! How peculiarly afflictive to the
soul that loves God
is the dishonour cast upon him by his enemies! Henry
March
in "Sabbaths at Home
"1823.
Verse
3. Where is thy God?
"Where
is now thy God!" Oh
sorrow!
Hourly thus to hear him say
Finding thus the longed for morrow
Mournful as the dark to day.
Yet not thus my soul would languish
Would not thus be grieved and shamed
But for that severer anguish
When I hear the Lord defamed.
"Where
is now thy God!" Oh
aid me
Lord of mercy
to reply—
"He is HERE—though foes invade me
Know his outstretched arm is nigh."
Help me thus to be victorious
While the shield of faith I take;
Lord
appear
and make thee glorious:
Help me for thy honour's sake.
—Henry March.
Verse
4. When I remember these things
etc. To a person in misery
it is a great increase of misery to have been once happy: it was to David an
occasion of new tears when he remembered his former joys. Time was
says the
poor soul
when I thought of God with comfort
and when I thought of him as my
own God; and to lose a God that I once enjoyed is the loss of all my losses
and of all my terrors the most terrible. Time was when I could go and pray to
him
and ease myself in prayer; but now I have no boldness
no hope
no success
in prayer. I cannot call him my Father any more. Time was when I could
read the Bible and treasure up the promises
and survey the land of Canaan as
my own inheritance; but now I dare not look into the Word lest I read my own
condemnation there. The Sabbath was formerly to me as one of the days of
heaven
but now it is also
as well as the rest
a sad and mournful day. I
formerly rejoiced in the name of Christ
"I sat under his shadow." So
2:3. I was in his eyes as one that found favour; but now my soul is like the
deserts of Arabia
I am scorched with burning heat. From how great a height
have I fallen! How fair was I once for heaven and for salvation
and now am
like to come short of it! I once was flourishing in the courts of the Lord
and
now all my fruit is blasted and withered away: "his dew lay all night upon
my branches
"but now I am like the mountains of Gilboa
no rain falls
upon me. Had I never heard of heaven I could not have been so miserable as I
now am: had I never known God
the loss of him had not been so terrible as now
it is like to be. Job 29:2-3. Timothy Rogers.
Verse
4. (first clause). The blessedness of even the remembrance of
divine worship is so great
that it can save the soul from despair. J. P.
Lange's Commentary.
Verse
4. I pour out my soul. The very soul of prayer lies in the
pouring out of the soul before God. Thomas Brooks.
Verse
4. I had gone with the multitude
I went with them to the house
of God
with the voice of joy and praise
with a multitude that kept holyday.
The gracious God is pleased to esteem it his glory to have many beggars
thronging at the beautiful gate of his temple
for spiritual and corporal alms.
What an honour is it to our great Landlord that multitudes of tenants flock
together to his house to pay their rent of thanks and worship for their all
which they hold of him! How loud and lovely is the noise of many golden
trumpets! Good Lord
what an echo do they make in heaven's ears! When many
skilful musicians play in concert with well tuned and prepared instruments the
music cannot but be ravishing to God himself. George Swinnock.
Verse
4. Do but consider David's tears and grief for want of
and his
fervent prayers for the fruition of public ordinances even then
when he had
opportunities for private performances; and surely thou wilt esteem the
ministry of the Word no mean mercy. See his sorrow when he was driven from
God's sanctuary. When I remember these things I pour out my soul in me: for
I had gone with the multitude
I went with them to the house of God."
"My soul is poured out; that is
I am overwhelmed with grief
and ever
ready to die when I compare my present condition with my former happiness in
the fruition of religious assemblies. There is an elegancy in the phrase poured
out; the word is applied to water
or any liquid thing
and in Scripture
signifieth abundance. Joe 2:28. My life is ready to be poured out as water upon
the ground
which cannot be gathered up again
when I remember my former
mercies
and consider my present misery...The loss of his father
mother
wives
children
lands
liberty—nay
of his very life
would not have gone so
near his heart as the loss of public ordinances. As his sorrow was great for
the want
so was his suit most earnest for the enjoyment of them. How many a
prayer doth he put up for the liberty of the tabernacle! Ps 43:3-4 27:4
8. It
is the one thing
the principal thing which he begs of God. Henry Smith.
Verse
4. The bias of the soul is remarkably shown by the objects of
regretful recollection. Henry March.
Verse
4. With a multitude that kept holy day.
Though
private prayer be a brave design
Yet public hath more promises
more love:
And love's a weight to hearts
to eyes a sign.
We all are but cold suitors; let us move
Where it is warmest. Leave thy six and seven;
Pray with the most: for where most pray
is heaven.
—George Herbert
in "The Temple."
Verse
5. WHY art thou cast down
O my soul? Athanasius counselled
his friend
that when any trouble should fall upon him
he should fall
presently to the reading of this Psalm; for there was a way
he thought
of
curing by the like
as well as by the contrary: for it is observed
indeed that when two instruments are tuned to the same unison
if you touch the
strings of the one
the strings of the other will move too
though untouched
if placed at a convenient distance. That therefore you may try the same
experiments upon yourselves
do but set your affections for a tune in the same
key in which these words were spoken; if really you feel none
imagine
some affliction laid upon you; when you have done so
that you may be the more
fully moved
place your attention at a convenient distance
look narrowly on
this holy prophet
observe how he retires himself
shuts out the world
calls
his sad soul to as sad a reckoning: Quare tam tristis? O my soul! thou
that wert infused to give me life; nay
says Philo the Jew
a spark
a beam of
the divinity
thou
which shouldest be to this dark body of mine as the sun is
to the earth
enlightening
quickening
cheering up my spirits; tell me
why
art thou clouded? why art thou cast down? ...
Think
of this
ye that feel the heaviness of your soul; think of it
ye that do not
for ye may feel it. Know there is a sorrow "that worketh repentance not to
be repented of." Know again there is a sorrow "that worketh
death." Remember that there were tears that got sinful Mary heaven;
remember again there were tears that got sinful Esau nothing. For as in
martyrdom
it is not the sword
the boiling lead
or fire
not what we
suffer
but why
that makes us martyrs; so in our sorrows
it is not how
deep they wound
but why
that justifies them. Let every one
therefore
that hath a troubled heart
ask his soul the "Why:" "Why art
thou cast down?" Is it not for thine own sins
or the sins of others?
Take either of them
thine eyes will have a large field to water. Is it for
that thou hast been a child of wrath
a servant of the devil? Is it for that
thou art a candle set in the wind
blown at by several temptations? or is it
for that thou wouldst be freed from them? "Woe is me
that I sojourn in
Mesech
that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!" Ps 120:5. Art thou troubled
as St. Augustine was
when he read that the way to heaven was narrow
the
number small that travelled thither? Or hast thou put on St. Bernard's
resolution
who had made a compact with his soul
never to joy till he had
heard his Saviour call him
"Come ye blessed
"nor never to leave
sorrowing till he had escaped the bitter sentence
"Go
ye cursed?"
If any of these be the Why
the ground of thy sorrows
if such thoughts
have cast thee down; know
that thy Saviour hath already blessed thee
for "Blessed are they that mourn." The angels are thy servants
they
gather thy tears; God is thy treasurer
he lays them up in his bottle; the Holy
Ghost is thy comforter
he will not leave thee. Fear not
then
to be thus cast
down
fear not to be thus disquieted within thee. Brian Duppa (Bishop)
1588-1662
in a Sermon entitled "The Soule's Soloquie."
Verse
5. Why art thou cast down
O my soul? Why
or what may be the
reason
that this text is three times used in this Psalm and in the next?
whereas you do not find two verses of the same length used in all the Book of
Psalms besides
except in Psalm 107
where is often repeated
"O that men
would praise the Lord
"etc. Now
surely the frequent mention of this text
and words doth argue and note unto us the weightiness of the matter...Wicked men
oppressed David
and the devil tempted him; yet he chides his own heart and
nothing else. David did not chide at Saul
nor chide at Absalom; but he chides
and checks his own heart. "Why art thou cast down
O my soul?" Though
the devil and wicked men
the one do tempt
the other do oppress as instruments
of punishment for sin; yet we with David are to chide our own hearts. Consider
what though in our translations the words are translated and rendered
passively
Why art thou cast down? yet
in the original
they are
rendered actively; we read it
Why art thou cast down? etc; but in the
original it is read
(yle ymht-hmw yvkn yxxwtvt-hm) "Why bowest (or
pressest) thou down thyself
my soul? and why tumultest thou against
me?" As Arias Montanus
Cur humiliasti te? Cur deprimes te anima
mea? So Lorinus
Pr 12:25. And the words so read
they do not intimate thus
much
that God's own people may be cast down too much for the sense of sin
and
they are most active in their own down casting. It is not God nor the devil
that cast thee down; but Why dost thou cast thyself down? to create more
trouble on thyself than either God doth inflict or the devil tempt thee to. Christopher
Love
in "The Dejected Soul's Cure
" 1657.
Verse
5. Why art thou cast down
O my soul? Consider but this
how
much there is of God in the affliction. 1. Came it not without God's
privity? Why art thou troubled
then? Thy Father knowing of it would have
stopped its course if it had been best for thee. 2. Came it not without his
command? Why art thou troubled? It is the cup that thy Father hath given
thee
and wilt thou not drink it? 3. Is it thy Father's will that thou
shouldest suffer
and shall it be thy humour to rebel? 4. Hath God done no
more than he might do? Why dost thou murmur
as if he had done thee wrong?
5. Is it a piece of his wise acting? Why dost thou exalt thy foolish
will above his infinite wisdom? 6. Is his way a way of mercy? Why does
thy mutinous spirits tumble at it
as a rough way? 7. Is the thing good
that is befallen thee? Why dost thou quarrel as if it were evil? 8. Is it less
than men suffer
than his own people
yea
than his own Son hath suffered
and hast thou cause to complain? 9. Is it but thy merit? and less than
that
too; and shall the living man complain for the punishment of his sin? 10.
Is it in measure
ordered with care? (1) by the physician's hand; and
(2) a little draught
and (3) proportioned to thy strength; (4) measured out
according to the proportion of strength and comfort he intends to measure thee
out
to bear it withal? Why are thou cast down? Why art thou disquieted? Is the
end and fruit of it but to make thee white
and purify thee? to purge thy sin
past
and to prevent it for the time to come? and dost thou find a present
fruit in it? Dost thou find that now thou art turned into a chalk stone; thy
groves and images—those corruptions which did attend thee while thou wert in
prosperity
and which would attend thee if you had those good things which you
want
and are disquieted for; and if those evils which you feel or fear were
far from your sense and fear
would still attend thee—that those do not now
stand up? Lift up thy head
Christian! say to thy soul
Why art thou cast
down
O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? Meditate what there is
of God in the cause of thy disquietments. John Collinge (1623-1690) in
"A Cordial for a Fainting Soule
" 1652.
Verse
5. Why art thou disquieted? more literally
tumultuated
a word frequently applied to the roaring and tumult and tossing of the sea. See
Isa 17:12 Jer 5:22 6:23 51:55. Henry March.
Verse
5. Hope thou in God. I shall show what powerful influence hope
hath on the Christian in affliction
and how. First
it stills and silences him
under affliction. It keeps the king's peace in the heart
which else would soon
be in an uproar. A hopeless soul is clamorous: one while it charges God
another while it reviles his instruments. It cannot long rest
and no wonder
when hope is not there. Hope hath a rare art in stilling a froward spirit
when
nothing else can; as the mother can make the crying child quiet by laying it to
the breast
when the rod makes it cry worse. This way David took
and found it
effectual; when his soul was unquiet by reason of his present affliction
he
lays it to the breast of the promise: "Why art thy cast down O my soul?
and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God." And here his soul
sweetly sleeps
as the child with the breast in his mouth; and that this was
his usual way
we may think by the frequent instances we find; thrice we find
him taking this course in two Psalms
42 and 43...Secondly
this hope fills the
afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation
that it can laugh while
tears are in the eye
sigh and sing all in a breath; it is called "the
rejoicing of hope
"Heb 3:6. And hope never affords more joy than in
affliction. It is on a watery cloud that the sun paints those curious colours
in the rainbow...There are two graces
which Christ useth above any other
to
fill the soul with joy—faith and hope
because these two fetch all their wine
of joy without door. Faith tells the soul what Christ hath done for it; and so
comforts it; hope revives the soul with the news of what Christ will do: both
draw at one tap—Christ and his promise. Condensed from William Gurnall.
Verse
5. Hope thou in God. The word which is here rendered
hope
denotes that expectation which is founded on faith in God
and which
leads the soul to wait upon him. The idea is beautifully expressed in Ps
39:7. "And now
Lord
what wait I for? my hope is in thee." Henry
March.
Verse
5. I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
When it may be said
"He whom God loveth is sick
"then it may be
said
"This sickness is not unto death; "and though it be to the
first death
yet not to the second. Who would think when Jonah was in the sea
Jon 3:1-10
that he would preach at Nineveh? Who would think when
Nebuchadnezzar was in the forest Da 4:1-37
that he should reign again in
Babel? Who would think when Joseph was banished of his brethren
that his
brethren should seek unto him like his servants? Who would think when Job
scraped his sores upon the dunghill
all his houses were burned
all his cattle
stolen
and all his children dead
that he should be richer than ever he was?
These are the acts of mercy which make the righteous sing
"The Lord hath
triumphed valiantly." Exodus 15-21. Henry Smith.
Verse
5. I shall yet praise him. David's mind is upon the duty
more than upon the mercy; upon the duty
as it is a matter of grace
more than upon the mercy
as it is a matter of sense. And
therefore
by a happy mistake
his tongue slips
as men are wont to do in such
cases
and he puts one for the other; when he should say
I shall receive
mercy from God
he says
I shall give praise to him. Thomas Horton.
Verse
5. He is the skilful physician
who at the same time that he
evacuates the disease
doth also comfort and strengthen nature; and he the true
Christian
that doth not content himself with a bare laying aside evil customs
and practices
but labours to walk in the exercise of the contrary graces. Art
thou discomposed with impatience
haunted with a discontented spirit under any
affliction? Think it not enough to silence thy heart from quarrelling with God
but leave not till thou canst bring it sweetly to rely on God. Holy David drove
it thus far
he did not only chide his soul for being disquieted
but he
charges it to trust in God. William Gurnall.
Verse
5. There was one Alice Benden
who
among others
was imprisoned for
religion in Canterbury Castle; but after awhile
by the bishop's order
she was
let down into a deep dungeon
where none of her friends could come at her.
There she was fed with an halfpenny bread
and a farthing beer a day
neither
would they allow her any more for her money. Her lodging was upon a little
straw
between a pair of stocks and a stone wall. This made her grievously to
bewail and lament her estate
reasoning with herself
why her Lord God did in
so heavy a wise afflict her
and suffered her thus to be sequestered from the
sweet society of her loving prison fellows. In this extremity of misery
and in
the midst of these dolorous mournings she continued
till on a night
repeating
that of the psalmist: "Why art thou so heavy
O my soul? and why art
thou so cast down within me? Still trust in God
"etc.; and
God's
right hand can change all this
etc.; she received comfort in the midst of
her sorrows
and so continued joyful to the time of her release. Samuel
Clarke's "Mirror."
Verses
5
11. In case thou art at any time oppressed with sorrows
ask thy
heart and soul that question which David did in the like case twice in one
Psalm: Why art thou cast down
O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within
me? and certainly the soul would return answer
My distress of sadness
springs from my unbelief. You may know the disease by the cure
in the very
next words
O put thy trust in God; hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise
him
who is the health of my countenance
and my God. All sorrow of heart
springs principally from our unbelief
not from the greatness of other evils; I
mean
destructive sorrow
for godly sorrow is a friend to godly joy. It
is not so much the weight of the burden
as the soreness of the back
that
troubles the poor beast: so it is not so much the weight of outward evils
as
the inward soreness of a galled conscience
not purified nor healed by faith
that vexes and troubles the poor creature. Matthew Lawrence
in "The
Use and Practice of Faith
" 1657.
Verses
5
11. As afflictions do proceed from ourselves
they may be called
troubles
or perturbations; for the best man doth sometimes cause this bad
liquor to boil out of his own bowels. David
not once
but often
hath cried
out
Why art thou cast down
O my soul? and why art thy disquieted in me?
And show me the man that annoys and troubles not himself in vain
because with
patience he doth not tarry the Lord's leisure? The foolish bird
who
being in
a room whose door is locked
and the casements shut
beateth herself against
the wall and windows
breaking her feathers and bruising her body
whereas
would she stay till the passages were by the keeper opened
she might depart
being not at all wounded; even so falleth it out with us: for when the Lord
doth shut us up
and straiten our liberty for a time
we would fain make way
for ourselves
having many devices in our hearts to break through the walls of
his providence; whereas
if we would stay his leisure
depend on his promise
and submit ourselves to be disposed of by his hand
we might with more ease endure
this prison
and with less hurt at the last be set at liberty. For God is in
one mind
and who can change him? He will bring to pass that thing that he hath
decreed upon us. John Barlow's Sermon
1618.
Verses
5
11. If you would get assurance
spend more time in strengthening your
evidences for heaven
than in questioning of them. It is the great fault of
many Christians they will spend much time in questioning
and not in
strengthening their comforts. They will reason themselves into unbelief
and say
Lord
why should I believe? Why should I take hold of a promise that am so
unholy and so unmortified a creature? And so by this they reason themselves to
such a pass that they dare not lay hold upon Christ
whereas it should be your
work to reason yourselves into Christ as much as you can. Labour to strengthen
your comforts
and reason thus
Why should I not believe in Christ? Thus David
did. Psalm 42. "Why art thou troubled
O my soul
and why art thou cast
down within me?" Is not the mercy of God more than sin in the
creature? Is not there free grace where there is guilt? Are not there pardoning
mercies where condemnation is deserved? You should reason up your comforts
rather than reason them down
and spend more time in strengthening than in
questioning of them. You would count him a very unwise man that hath a lease of
so much land
and he himself shall create scruples and doubts
and shall use no
means to make his title good. And truly many Christians are as unwise for
heaven. They have
as I may say
good bond and seal that God will bring them to
heaven
and yet they will question and cavil themselves into unbelief. Beloved
this should not be
but you ought rather to strengthen your comforts than
question them. Christopher Love.
Verse
6. O my God
my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I
remember thee. "Because I am very low in spirit
am deeply sorrowful
therefore
will I remember thee. I will remember how condescending thou art to thy `poor
and afflicted people; 'how ready to receive them when deserted or cast out by
men; how kind and patient to hear their complaint when they pour out the soul
before thee. I will remember thy lovingkindness to me in seasons past;
how thou hast looked on my distress
hast heard the voice of my supplications
hast delivered me from my trials
or helped me to bear their burden
strengthening me with strength in my soul. I will remember all that I have
enjoyed of thy presence when waiting on thee in thy house
or when celebrating
thy praises in company with thy `saints
the excellent of the earth.' I will
remember what thou ART; how meet an object for the trust of a desolate being
like myself! For though I am poor
thou art rich; though I am weak
thou art
mighty; though I am miserable
thou art happy. I will remember that thou art my
God. That thou hast manifested thyself to my soul
that thou hast enabled me to
choose thee for my portion
that I have trusted in thee
and have never been
confounded. I will remember that word of promise on which thou hast caused me
to hope
to which thou hast ever been faithful throughout all the past
and will
be
as I truly believe
even unto the end." Oh
how happy
even in the
midst of their unhappiness
are they
who in their trials
can take shelter in
God! Henry March.
Verse
6. "MY God." Astonishing expression! Who shall dare
to say to the Creator of the ends of the earth
the Majesty in the heavens
"My
God"? An exile
a wanderer
an outcast; a man forsaken
despised
reviled; a soul cast down and disquieted: he shall dare. By what right?
Of covenant. Henry March.
Verse
6. Therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan
and of
the Hermonites
from the hill Mizar. It is remarkable what course the
psalmist took to regain comfort; he would remember three experiments of his
goodness—"the land of Jordan
"the land "of the Hermonites
"and "the hill Mizar." First
will I remember the
land Jordan; that is
I will remember the great goodness of God in
drying up the river Jordan
that so the tribes of Israel might pass over to the
promised land: why
God that hath been good
will be good. Then
I will
remember the land of the Hermonites; in that land were Sihon
king of
the Amorites
and Og
king of Bashan
defeated; that you read of in Jos 12:1-2.
"Now these are the kings of the land
which the children of Israel smote
and possessed their land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun
from the river Arnon unto Mount Hermon." Mizar
some think to be a
little hill near Mount Sinai
where the law was given. I will remember God's
goodness
in giving a law to his people. Here David would call to remembrance
the goodness of God of old
to regain to him comfort and quietness in his mind.
Christopher Love.
Verse
6. The Hermons
or the peaks or ridges of Hermon
the plural
being used either because of the two peaks of the mountain (Wilson
"Land
of the Bible")
or as I think probably
of the whole range of its
snowy heights. J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Verse
6. The Hermons
i.e.
as some suppose
Mount Hermon
and the
other mountains upon that side of the river
just as Baalim means Baal
and
other idols worshipped with him; or more probably Mount Hermon considered not
as a single eminence
but a chain or range
like the Alps
the Alleghenies
etc. J. A. Alexander.
Verse
6. From the hill. He that has a rich life of past experience
is thereby placed upon an eminence from which he may take a happy view of the
path lying before him. J. P Lange's Commentary.
Verse
7. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts.
Here he has conjoined two awful and terrific phenomena of nature. It is a fact
well ascertained by the evidence of travellers
that the falling of waterspouts
is not uncommon on the coast of Judea. It should seem that they are occasioned
by the congregating of great masses of cloud
whose waters concentrating to a
point
pour themselves down in a tremendous column
accompanied with a roaring
noise. Now
the image conceived in the mind of the psalmist seems to be that of
the rushing of this vast waterspout down into the sea
already agitated
and
increasing the turbulence and disorder of its waves. And awful picture!
Especially if there be added to it the ideas of a black tempestuous sky
and
the deafening roar occasioned by the tumult. What would be the situation of a
vessel in the midst of such a tempest
the deluge pouring down from above
and
all around her the furious ocean heaving its tremendous surges—how
ungovernable
how helpless
how next to impossible that she should escape
foundering except by some almost miraculous interference! Yet to such a
situation does David here compare the state of his soul when submersed
as it
were
under a sea of afflictions; "all thy waves and thy billows are gone
over me." How pungent must his sense of grief have been to occasion him to
make use of such a comparison
so strongly expressive of the utmost danger and
terror! Henry March.
Verse
7. Deep calleth unto deep
etc. The abyss above calls on the
abyss below
in the voice of the droppings of thy waterspouts. Targum.
Verse
7. Deep calleth unto deep. So let prayer unto prayer
and
faith unto faith
and one grace to the exercise of another. If we cannot
prevail with God it may be the first time
yet we may the second; or if not
then
the third. Thomas Horton.
Verse
7. Deep calleth unto deep. What's that? Why
it is expressed
in the verse before: "O God
"says he
"my soul is
cast down within me." "Down
"that is deep into the
jaws of distrust and fear. And
Lord
my soul in this depth of sorrow
calls for help to thy depth of mercy. For though I am sinking and going
down
yet not so low but that thy mercy is yet underneath me. Do
of thy
compassions
open those everlasting arms
and catch him that has no help or
stay in himself. For so it is with one that is falling into a well or a dungeon.
John Bunion.
Verse
7. Here the psalmist feels the spirit of bondage
which is wrath and
fear; and he prays for the joy of God's salvation
and to be upheld by God's
free spirit
which is the Holy Spirit
the spirit of love and power. He complains
of "deep calling unto deep." A soul in the horrible pit hears
little else but the calls of law and justice for vengeance
which are always
answered again by the accusations of Satan and conscience. The storms of Sinai
like a waterspout at sea
threaten the earthen vessel with a deluge of
wrath
which would soon drown it in destruction and perdition. These waves of
real
and some imaginary
displeasure (no less terrible than real)
rolling
over the poor creature
are ready to send the bark to the bottom. This is the
terrible way in which some fallen and backsliding souls are purged and
reclaimed
and especially such as have brought public scandal upon the gospel
and church of Christ. William Huntington (1744-1813) in
"Contemplations of the God of Israel."
Verse
7. Thy waterspouts. Dr. Boothroyd translates (Kyrwnu)
"thy
cataracts." In justification of which translation
he observes that
the situation of David suggested this forcible image. He saw the torrents
falling from the precipices
and heard them resounding
and as if calling to
one another for assistance; so
says he
all thy waves
that is
afflictions
and troubles
come upon me and overwhelm me. John Morison.
Verse
7. Waterspouts. Look at those clouds which hang like a heavy
pall of sackcloth over the sea
along the western horizon. From them
on such
windy days as these
are formed waterspouts
and I have already noticed
several incipient "spouts" lengthening downward from their lower
edge. These remarkable phenomena occur most frequently in spring
but I have
also seen them in autumn. They are not accompanied with much rain; and between
the dark stratum above and the sea
the sky is clear and bright. Here and there
fragments of black vapour
shaped like long funnels
are drawn down from the clouds
towards the sea
and are seen to be in violent agitation
whirling around on
themselves as they are driven along by the wind. Directly beneath them
the
surface of the sea is also in commotion by a whirlwind
which travels on in
concert with the spout above. I have often seen the two actually unite in
midair
and rush toward the mountains
writhing
and twisting
and bending
like a huge serpent
with its head in the clouds and its tail on the deep. They
make a loud noise
of course
and appear very frightful. Deep calleth unto
deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone
over me
said David
when his soul was cast down within him. But
though
formidable in appearance
they do very little injury. I have never heard of more
than one instance in which they proved destructive even to boats
though the
sailors are extremely afraid of them. As soon as they approach the shore
they
dissolve and disappear. That kind of waterspout which bursts on the mountains
generally in the dry months of summer
does immense mischief. In a few minutes
the wadies along its track are swollen into furious rivers
which sweep away
grain
olives
raisins
and every other produce of the farmer. I have
frequently known them to carry off and drown flocks of sheep and goats
and
even cows
horses
and their owners alike. W. M. Thomson.
Verse
7. All thy waves and thy billows.
Deep
to deep incessant calling
Tossed by furious tempests' roll
Endless waves and billows falling
Overwhelm my fainting soul.
Yet
I see a Power presiding
Mid the tumult of the storm
Ever ruling
ever guiding
Love's intentions to perform.
Yes
mid sorrows most distressing
Faith contemplates thy design
Humbly bowing
and confessing
All the waves and billows THINE.
—Henry March.
Verse
7. All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
Wide
over misfortune's surging tide
Billows succeeding billows spread;
Should one
its fury spent
subside
Another lifts its boisterous head.
—Agschylus in "The Seven Chief's against Thebes."
Verse
8. Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness. His
expression is remarkable; he does not say simply that the Lord will bestow
but
command his lovingkindness. As the gift bestowed is grace—free favour to
the unworthy; so the manner of bestowing it is sovereign. It is given by
decree; it is a royal donative. And if he commands the blessing
who
shall hinder its reception? Henry March.
Verse
8. It is all one to a godly man
night or day. For
what night can there be to him who hath God always with him
who is a sun
to comfort him
as well as a shield to protect him Ps 84:11; and the light
of whose countenance
if it be but very little
is more comfortable than
all things else whatsoever that the day can bring with it. He can say
"When I sit in darkness
the Lord shall be a light unto me" Mic 7:8;
and "the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness." Ps 18:28. To tell
you the truth
I think the night is the merriest time that the godly man
hath
and the saddest for the wicked man (who
though he may make use of darkness
to hide his sin
yet is he afraid
because of that very thing in which his
safety consists). For if a man be merry in good company
he must needs be more
merry when he enjoys it better
and there is less to disturb his mirth. So as
it is with a godly man in the night
when the greatest part of his
hindrances are removed
and he can "delight himself in the Almighty"
without disturbance. Job 27:10. David says that the Lord would indeed command
his lovingkindness in the daytime. but
in the night (says he) his
song shall be with me.—"His song
"as I think
not of thanksgiving
but of joy and exultation
such as God uses to give at that time. Job
35:10. In the daytime the soul is so taken up with base employments
so
distracted with variety of sensible objects
and so busied with work for the
body
that either she hath no leisure at all to do her own work (such as this
joy is as much as anything) or she cannot do it so well as she would
or so
well as she could in the night
when she hath less to do. I doubt not
but the worldly and carnal man
now that I am talking so much of night
and sleep
will be ready to say that I do but dream
and to answer me as
the fellow did the hunter
when he bade him hear "what heavenly music his
dogs made." For I know he counts the music and songs that we speak of
nothing but a frenzy
or a fancy at least
such as mad and diseased people have
in their brain
while they imagine it to be in the air. But
as Peter said of
those upon whom the Holy Ghost fell
"These men are not drunk
as ye
suppose; "so may I reply to such men
No such matter
the godly are not
mad
as ye suppose
for their songs are not works of their own fancy
not made
of their own head
but set for them by God himself
"who giveth songs in
the night." Job 35:10. Zachary Bogan.
Verse
8. And my prayer unto the God of my life. Here may be seen
that David's religion was a religion of prayer after deliverance
as
well as before. The selfish who cry out in trouble will have done with their
prayers
when the trouble is over. With David it was the very reverse.
Deliverance from trouble would strengthen his confidence in God
embolden his
addresses to him
and furnish him with new arguments...There is great need
of prayer after deliverance; for the time of deliverance is often a time of
temptation; the soul being elated
and thrown off its guard. At such seasons
much of the joy that is felt may be merely natural
as David's would probably
be when rescued from that corroding care which injures the body as well as
distresses the soul. There is danger of mistaking; of supposing it to be all
spiritual
and hence of imagining the soul to be in a higher state of grace
than it really is
and so
of being imperceptibly drawn into a state of false
security. There is then especial need of that prayer. "Hold thou me up
and I shall be safe." And with some peculiarly
who being of a sanguine
constitution of mind
are in times of enjoyment
soon puffed up and brought
into danger. Henry March.
Verse
8. (last clause). Your song and your prayer must be directed
to God as the God of your life. You do not own him as God
except you
own and adore him as your all sufficient good
and that "fulness which
filleth all in all." You detract from the glory of his Godhead
if you
attribute not this to him; and if
accordingly
as one that cannot live without
him
you do not seek union with him
and join yourself to him
and then rejoice
and solace yourself in that blessed conjunction. John Howe.
Verse
9. God my rock. David was a fugitive
with little means of
defence
and continually pursued by enemies who were powerful and numerous. The
country in which he wandered was mountainous
and he often sought and found
shelter on the tops of precipitous rocks
or in their natural hollows or excavated
caves. Thus the idea of shelter and defence being associated in his mind with
that of a rock
how natural that he should apply the term to God
and when
seeking him as his refuge and helper
should address him by that appellation...
Why hast thou forgotten me? Not that he supposed he was literally
forgotten of God
so as to be given up and abandoned by him; because he had
still sufficient trust in his faithfulness to seek him for a refuge
and to
hope in his mercy. His expression is to be regarded as the language of feeling
not of judgment. He felt
he seemed
as one forgotten by God. Those visits of
love
those manifestations of favour with which he had formerly been indulged
and which then seemed to him to be so many tokens of the divine remembrance
were
now withheld
now when
on account of his distress
they appeared so
unspeakably more needful and desirable; whence it was that he felt as one
forgotten. Henry March.
Verse
10. Mine enemies. It is strange that he should have
enemies
that was so harmless a man that when they were sick and distressed
he
prayed for them
and put on sackcloth for them
as it is
Ps 35:1-28. This
compassionate sweet natured man
yet
notwithstanding
you see he had enemies
and enemies that would discover themselves to reproach him
and that bitterly;
in the bitterest manner
they reproach him in his religion. We may be armed by
this observation against the scandal of opposition—that if we meet with enemies
in the world
we should not be much offended at it; grieve we may
but wonder
we need not. Was there ever any that did more good than our Saviour Christ?
"He went about doing good." Ac 10:38. He did never a miracle that was
harmful (but only of the swine that were drowned in the sea
and that was their
own fault)
but he went about doing all the good he could; yet
notwithstanding
we see what malicious opposites he had. That that is true of
the head must be true in the members. Therefore we should rejoice in our
conformity to Christ
if it be in a good cause
that we find enemies and
opposition. The devil is not made a Christian yet
and he will never be made
good
for his is in termino
as we say
he is in his bounds
his nature
is immovable; he is in hell in regard of his estate
though he be loose to do
mischief. Now
until the devil be good
God's children shall never want
enemies; and he will never be good; therefore
though there were good kings and
good governors over all the world
yet good men shall never want enemies as
long as the devil is alive
as long as he hath anything to do in the world.
Enemies
therefore
we must look for
and such enemies as will not conceal
their malice neither; for that were something
if they would suffer their
malice to boil and concoct in their own hearts
but that will not be
but
"out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak." Richard
Sibbes.
Verse
10. They say daily unto me. Here's their constancy and
perseverance in this their carriage and language
it is daily
or all
the day
(Mwyh-lk) It is not only for a fit and away
but it is their
frequent and continual practice; it's every
and it's all the day; they begin
in the morning
and they hold out still till night as unquiet persons use to
do; and they begin the week with it
and so they continue till the end; he could
never come into their company or near them
but he had such language from them.
Thomas Horton.
Verse
10. Where is thy God? David might rather have said to them
Where are your eyes? where is your sight? for God is not only in heaven
but in
me. Though David was shut out from the sanctuary
yet David's soul was a
sanctuary for God; for God is not tied to a sanctuary made with hands. God hath
two sanctuaries
he hath two heavens—the heaven of heavens and a broken spirit.
God dwelt in David as in his temple. God was with David and in him; and he was
never more with him
nor never more in him than in his greatest afflictions.
They wanted eyes
he wanted not God. Though sometimes God hide himself
not
only from the world but from his own children
yet he is there; howsoever their
sorrow is such that it dims their sight (as we see in Hagar)
so that they
cannot see him for the present
he sometimes looks in their face
as we see in
Mary's case. She could not see Christ distinctly
but thought him to be the
gardener. There is a kind of concealment awhile in heavenly wisdom
yet
notwithstanding
God is with his children always
and they know it by faith
though not by feeling always...Therefore
it was an ignorant question of them
to ask
Where is thy God? It showed that they were ignorant of the
passages of God's dealing with his children
as indeed none are greater
atheists than your scoffers. Where is thy God? as if God had been only a
God of observation
to be observed outwardly in all his passages towards his
children; whereas
as I said
he is a God hiding himself ofttimes; and he shows
himself in contrary conditions most of all
most comfortably. His work is by
contraries. But these carnal men were ignorant of the mysteries of religion
and the mysteries of divine providence towards God's children. Therefore
their
question savours of their disposition
Where is now thy God? Richard Sibbes.
Verse
10. Where is thy God? It is the deriding question which
persecutors put to the saints in the time of their trials and troubles
Ubi
Deus? "Where is now your God?" But they may return a bold and
confident answer
Hic Deus
"Our God is here
"our God is nigh
unto us
our God is round about us
our God is in the midst of us
our God has
given us his promise "that he will never leave us nor forsake us."
Heb 13:5. In every trouble
in every danger
in every death
the Lord will be
sure to keep us company. God will bear his children company
not only whilst
they are in a delightful paradise
but also when they are in a howling wilderness.
Ho 2:14. When a company of poor Christians were going into banishment
one
standing by to see them pass along said
that it was a very sad condition that
those poor people were in
to be thus hurried from the society of men
and to
be made companions of the beasts of the fields. True
said another
it were a
sad condition indeed
if they were carried to a place where they should not
find their God; but let them be of good cheer
for God goes along with them
and will exhibit the comforts of his presence whithersoever they go
his
presence is infinite
and filleth all places. The Rabbins put Makom
which signifies place
among the names of God; Bythner brings them in
expounding that text Es 4:14
thus: "Deliverance shall arise from another
place
"that is
from God. Now
they called God place
because he
is in every place
filling heaven and earth with his presence. Thomas
Brooks.
Verse
10. Forest flies
small as they are
drive the noble war horse mad;
therefore David says
As with a sword in my bones
mine enemies reproach me;
while they say daily unto me
Where is thy God? Frederick William Robertson
1851.
Verse
11. Imitate here the example of David
instead of yielding to a vague
grief: cite your soul; enquire of it the particular cause of your
sorrow: different remedies will be requisite according to the different sources
of your distress; and be careful that you trifle not with God
and your
comfort
and your salvation
while you enquire of your soul
Why art thou
cast down
O my soul? Be impartial
there is another and more solemn
judgment to succeed: be persevering
like the psalmist
return
again and again
to the investigation: be prayerful; self love
or the delusion of your heart
may otherwise deceive you. Pray then to God
to "search you
and see if
there be any wicked way in you." Henry Kollock
D.D.
in
"Sermons
" etc. 1822.
Verse
11. Hope. Hope is like the sun
which
as we journey towards
it
casts the shadow of our burden behind us. Samuel Smiles
L.L.D.
Verse
11. God...is the health of my countenance. The health of
David's countenance was not in his countenance
but in his God
and this
makes his faith silence his fears
and so peremptorily resolve upon it
that
there is a time coming (how near so ever he now lies to the grave's mouth) when
he shall yet praise him. The health and life of thy grace lie both of
them
not in thy grace
saith faith
but in God
who is thy God
therefore I shall yet live and praise him. I do not wonder that the weak
Christian is melancholy and sad
when he sees his sickly face in any other
glass than this. William Gurnall.
Verse
11. The health of my countenance. The countenance is often a
true index to the mind. In the present awakening in religion
nothing is more
remarkable than the sad or joyous looks of those whom God has spiritually
exercised. It is easy who are sad
and who happy. There is nothing new in this;
the psalmist says
"My soul is cast down within me." Therefore had he
a dejected countenance; but said he
"Send thy light and thy truth; let
them lead me; then will I go unto God
my exceeding joy...And he shall be the
health of my countenance." In his sorrow
the face of Jesus was marred
more than any man's
and his visage more than the sons of men. The martyr
Stephen was so filled with the sight of Jesus
that in the midst of his
persecutors
with death in prospect
he had a face which "shone as the
face of an angel." My friend
how is it with thee? Is thy countenance sad?
or doth it shine with the joy of the Lord
telling the true tale of thy life
and lot? J. Denham Smith. 1860.
Verse
11. Hast thou seen the sun shine forth in February
and the sky blue
and the hedgerows bursting into bud
and the primrose peeping beneath the bank
and the birds singing in the bushes? Thou hast thought that spring was already
come in its beauty and sweet odours. But a few days
and the clouds returned
and the atmosphere was chilled
and the birds were mute
and snow was on the
ground
and thou hast said that spring would never come. And thus sometimes the
young convert finds his fears removed
and the comforts of the gospel shed
abroad in his heart
and praise and thanksgiving
and a new song put in his
mouth. And he deems unadvisedly that his troubles are past for ever. But
awhile
and his doubts return
and his comforts die away
and his light is
taken from him
and his spirit is overwhelmed
and he is fain to conclude that
salvation and all its blessings are not for him. But the spring
though late
shall break at last. Why art thou cast down
O my soul? and why art thou
disquieted within me? H. G. Salter's "Book of Illustrations
"
1840.
Verse
11. His arguments and motives hereunto are impregnated with very
great sense and strength; and urged upon himself as the just rate thereof. Hope
thou in God. For he is 1. God. 2. Thy God. 3. The health
of thy countenance
and 4. One whom thou shalt (certainly and for
ever) praise as such. And 5. Do it yet
as lamentable and
hopeless as thy case appears at present through seeming difficulties or
unlikelihoods. God and ourselves well understood
deeply considered
and
skilfully urged and improved
give gracious hearts the best encouragements and
supports under the severest accidents of time. And they will very strangely
animate our hopes in God under our sorest troubles and dejections. David had
(1) confidence in God; and (2) reasons for it; and (3) skill and a heart to
urge them. When he reviewed himself
he saw that his soul was gracious; and so
he knew God valued it. It was bent for praising God; and so he knew that he
should have an opportunity and cause to do it
through some signal favours from
him. He had an interest in God; and he would neither lose it nor neglect it
and he had great experience of God's former mercies
and he would not forget
them. And when he thinks on God
then praises must be thought on too
and
everything relating to it
and all the divine perfections
within the
circumference of his knowledge
must have their fresh remembrances and powerful
sense revived upon his own heart. Matthew Sylvester (1636-1708)
in
"Morning Exercises."
Verse
11. The soul
when once greatly disturbed
is often not soon calmed
on account of infirmities and remaining corruptions. Henry March.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse
1. The longing heart and the panting hart compared.
Verses
1
2. Those who have enjoyed the presence of God in the public
ordinances of religion will greatly desire
if deprived of them
to be favoured
with them again...Prevention from attending the public ordinances of God's
house may be made the means of great benefit to the soul.
1.
By renewing our relish for the provisions of the Lord's house
which so soon
and so often palls.
2.
By making us to prize the means of grace more highly. There is
through human
degeneracy
a proneness to value things less
however excellent in themselves
because of their being common
or plentiful
or of easy attainment.
3.
By driving us more directly from God. H. March.
Verses
1-3. The home sickness of the soul. What awakens it in the soul? To
what is it directed
or does it point or tend? Wherewith can it be satisfied?
By the bitter
but ofttimes wholesome food of tears. J. P. Lange.
Verses
1-2. Those who have enjoyed the presence of God in the public
ordinances of religion will greatly desire
if deprived of them
to be favoured
with them again...Prevention from attending the public ordinances of God's
house may be
Verse
2.
1.
What thirsts? "my soul."
2. For what? "for God."
3. In what way? "when shall I come."
Or
the cause
incentives
excellences
and privileges of spiritual thirst.
Verse
2. (last clause). The true view of public worship.
Verse
2. (last clause). Appearance before God here and hereafter. Isaac
Watts
D.D.
Two Sermons.
Verses
1-3. The home sickness of the soul. What awakens it in the soul? To
what is it directed
or does it point or tend? Wherewith can it be satisfied?
By the bitter
but ofttimes wholesome food of tears. J. P. Lange.
Verse
3. The believer's Lent
and its salt meats.
1.
What causes the sorrow?
2. What will remove it?
3. What benefit will come of it?
Verses
3
10. The carriage of David's enemies.
1.
The nature of it
and that was reproach.
2.
The expression of it
They say unto me.
3.
The constancy of it: daily
or
all the day long.
4.
The specification of it
in a scornful and opprobrious question: Where
is (now) thy God? Thomas Horton.
Verse
4.
1.
It is common for the mind
in seasons of sorrow
to seek relief from the
present in recollections of the past.
2.
In recollections of past enjoyments
those that relate to social worship will
be peculiarly dear to the servant of God.
3.
Man is a social being
hence he derives help from united worship.
Verse
4. I pour out my soul in me. The uselessness of mistrustful
introspection.
Verse
4. I had gone with the multitude
etc. Company
if it be that
which is good
is a very blessed and comfortable accommodation in sundry
respects.
1.
It is an exercise of men's faculties
and the powers and abilities of the mind.
2.
It is a fence against danger
and a preservative against sadness and various
temptations.
3.
An opportunity of doing more good. Thomas Horton.
Verse
4. I had gone
etc. Sunny memories
their lessons of
gratitude and hope.
Verse
4. (last clause). Not Chaucer's tales of the Canterbury
pilgrims
but David's tales of the Jerusalem pilgrims.
Verse
4. With the voice
etc. Congregational singing defended
extolled
discriminated
and urged.
Verse
5. Sorrow put to the question
or the Consolatory Catechism.
Verse
5. The sweetness
safety
and rightness of hope in God. Good
grip for the anchor.
Verse
5. The music of the future
I shall yet praise him.
Verse
5. The help of his countenance
or the sustaining power of
God's presence.
Verse
5. Why art thou cast down?
1.
The mind
even of a holy man
may be unduly cast down and disquieted.
2.
In cases of undue dejection and disquietude
the proper remedy is to
expostulate with the soul
and to direct it to the only true source of
relief.
3.
Expostulation with the soul in times of distress
is then productive of its
proper end
when it leads to an immediate application to God. H. March.
Verse
5. An emphasis of enquiry or examination; David calls himself
to account for his present passion and trouble of mind. An emphasis of reproof
or objurgation; David chides and rebukes himself for his present distemper.
"Why art thou thus?" Thomas Horton.
Verses
5
11. or help and health.
Verse
6. Remember thee. The consolation derivable from thoughts of
God.
Verse
6. Therefore will I remember thee. There are two ways of understanding
this; each of them instructive and profitable...
1.
It may be considered as an expression of determined remembrance of God
should he ever be found in such places and conditions. Believers can suppose
the worst
and yet hope for the best.
2.
The language may be considered as an expression of encouragement derived
from reflection. He had been in these situations and circumstances
and had
experienced in them displays of divine providence and grace. W. Jay.
Verse
6. Ebenezers
many
varied
remembered
helpful.
Verse
7. Deep calleth unto deep. See Spurgeon's Sermons
No. 865.
Verse
7. Deep calleth unto deep. One evil inviting another.
1.
The variety of evils—one evil to another.
2.
The conjunction of evils—one evil with another.
3.
The connexion of evils
or dependence and mutual reference—one evil upon
another. T. Horton.
Verse
7. The threefold depth which the saints and servants of God are
subject to here in this life.
1.
The depth of temptation.
2.
The depth of desertion.
3.
The depth of affliction and human calamities. T. Horton.
Verses
7
8. In seasons of affliction the servants of God will be
distinguished from others by their ready perception and acknowledgment of the
hand of God in their trials. H. March.
Verse
8. Daily mercy and nightly song; the mercies of sunshine and shade.
Verse
8. (last clause). The blessed alternation between praise and
prayer.
Verse
8. God of my life. Author
sustainer
comforter
object
crown
consummation.
Verse
8. The God of my life. There is a threefold life whereof we
partake
and God is the God of each unto us. First
the life of nature;
secondly
the life of grace; thirdly
the life of glory. T. Horton.
Verse
9. God my rock. Appellations of God
suited to circumstances.
Verse
9. My rock. See Keach in his metaphors.
Verse
9.
1.
Why thou?
2.
Why I?
3.
Why he? It is a why to all three. To God
Why has thou
forgotten me? To David himself
Why do I go mourning? To David's adversary
whoever he was
Why does the enemy oppress me?—T. Horton.
Verse
10. The most grievous of taunts.
Verse
11. My God.
1.
It's a word of interest—My God
as in covenant with him.
2.
A word of compliance—My God
as submitting to him.
3.
A word of affection—My God
as taking delight
and rejoicing in him. T.
Horton.
Verse
11. A catechism
a consolation
a commendation.
Verse
11.
1.
David's experience of God. He is the health
or help of my
countenance.
2.
His relation to God
and interest in him—And my God. T.
Horton.
WORKS UPON THE
FORTY-SECOND PSALM
A
Practical Exposition of the Forty-second Psalm
in ten Sermons
in Choice
and Practical Expositions on four select Psalms. Psalms 4
42
51
63. By
THOMAS HORTON
D.D. 1675. Folio.
Sabbaths
at Home: or
a help to their right improvement; founded on the Forty-second
and Forty-third Psalms. Intended for the use of pious persons when
prevented from attending the public worship of God. By HENRY MARCH. London:
1823.
On
the eleventh verse of this Psalm there are the following works:—Twelve Sermons
in "A Cordial for a Fainting Soule." By JOHN COLLINGS. 1652.
Part 2
pp. 133-206.
Thirteen
Sermons in the works of WILLIAM BRIDGE (1600-1670)
entitled
"A
Lifting Up for the Downcast." Volume 2
of the edition of 1845.
Comfort
and Counsel for Dejected Souls. By JOHN DURANT. 8vo. 1651.
The
Soul's Conflict with Itself. By RICHARD SIBBES. (Numerous old editions). In
Sibbes' Works
Nichol's Puritan Series
vol. I.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》