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Psalm Forty-four
Psalm 44
Chapter Contents
A petition for succour and relief.
Commentary on Psalm 44:1-8
(Read Psalm 44:1-8)
Former experiences of God's power and goodness are strong
supports to faith
and powerful pleas in prayer under present calamities. The
many victories Israel obtained
were not by their own strength or merit
but by
God's favour and free grace. The less praise this allows us
the more comfort
it affords
that we may see all as coming from the favour of God. He fought for
Israel
else they had fought in vain. This is applicable to the planting of the
Christian church in the world
which was not by any human policy or power.
Christ
by his Spirit
went forth conquering and to conquer; and he that
planted a church for himself in the world
will support it by the same power
and goodness. They trusted and triumphed in and through him. Let him that
glories
glory in the Lord. But if they have the comfort of his name
let them
give unto him the glory due unto it.
Commentary on Psalm 44:9-16
(Read Psalm 44:9-16)
The believer must have times of temptation
affliction
and discouragement; the church must have seasons of persecution. At such times
the people of God will be ready to fear that he has cast them off
and that his
name and truth will be dishonoured. But they should look above the instruments
of their trouble
to God
well knowing that their worst enemies have no power
against them
but what is permitted from above.
Commentary on Psalm 44:17-26
(Read Psalm 44:17-26)
In afflictions
we must not seek relief by any sinful
compliance; but should continually meditate on the truth
purity
and knowledge
of our heart-searching God. Hearts sins and secret sins are known to God
and
must be reckoned for. He knows the secret of the heart
therefore judges of the
words and actions. While our troubles do not drive us from our duty to God
we
should not suffer them to drive us from our comfort in God. Let us take care
that prosperity and ease do not render us careless and lukewarm. The church of
God cannot be prevailed on by persecution to forget God; the believer's heart
does not turn back from God. The Spirit of prophecy had reference to those who
suffered unto death
for the testimony of Christ. Observe the pleas used
verses 25
26. Not their own merit and
righteousness
but the poor sinner's pleas. None that belong to Christ shall be
cast off
but every one of them shall be saved
and that for ever. The mercy of
God
purchased
promised
and constantly flowing forth
and offered to
believers
does away every doubt arising from our sins; while we pray in faith
Redeem us for thy mercies' sake.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 44
Verse 4
[4] Thou
art my King
O God: command deliverances for Jacob.
My king —
The whole people speak as one man
being united in one body.
Verse 11
[11] Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us
among the heathen.
Scattered —
Those who were not slain are carried into captivity
and dispersed in several
places.
Verse 16
[16] For
the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.
Avenger —
Who executeth both God's and his own vengeance upon me.
Verse 17
[17] All
this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee
neither have we dealt
falsely in thy covenant.
Yet —
Although we cannot excuse ourselves from many other sins
yet through thy grace
we have kept ourselves from apostacy and idolatry
notwithstanding all examples
and provocations.
Verse 18
[18] Our heart is not turned back
neither have our steps declined from thy
way;
Turned —
From thy worship to idols.
Verse 19
[19]
Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons
and covered us with
the shadow of death.
Broken us — By
inflicting upon us one breach after another
thou hast at last brought us to
this pass.
The place — A
place extremely desolate
such as dragons love
Isaiah 13:21
22
and therefore full of horror
and danger.
Covered us —
With deadly horrors and miseries.
Verse 22
[22] Yea
for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the
slaughter.
Yea —
Because we are constant in thy worship
which they abhor.
Verse 25
[25] For
our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
Our soul —
Our persons.
Our belly — We
are not only thrown down to the earth
but we lie there like dead carcases.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and
Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village
Preacher
TITLE. To the Chief
Musician for the sons of Korah
Maschil. The title is similar to the
forty-second
and although this is no proof that it is by the same author it
makes it highly probable. No other writer should be sought for to father any of
the Psalms when David will suffice
and therefore we are loathe to ascribe this
sacred song to any but the great psalmist
yet as we hardly know any period of
his life which it would fairly describe
we feel compelled to look elsewhere.
Some Israelitish patriot fallen on evil times
sings in mingled faith and
sorrow
his country's ancient glory and her present griefs
her traditions of
former favour and her experience of pressing ills. By Christians it can best be
understood if put into the mouth of the church when persecution is peculiarly
severe. The last verses remind us of Milton's famous lines on the massacre of
the Protestants among the mountains of Piedmont. The song before us is fitted
for the voices of the saved by grace
the sons of Korah
and is to them and to
all others full of teaching
hence the title Maschil.
DIVISION. From Ps
44:1-3
the Lord's mighty works for Israel are rehearsed
and in remembrance of
them faith in the Lord is expressed Ps 44:4-8. Then the notes of complaint are
heard Ps 44:9-16
the fidelity of the people to their God is aroused
Ps
44:17-22
and the Lord is entreated to interpose
Ps 44:23-26.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. We have heard with our ears
O God. Thy mighty acts have
been the subjects of common conversation; not alone in books have we read thy
famous deeds
but in the ordinary talk of the people we have heard of them.
Among the godly Israelites the biography of their nation was preserved by oral
tradition
with great diligence and accuracy. This mode of preserving and
transmitting history has its disadvantages
but it certainly produces a more
vivid impression on the mind than any other; to hear with the ears affects us
more sensitively than to read with the eyes; we ought to note this
and seize
every possible opportunity of telling abroad the gospel of our Lord Jesus viva
voce
since this is the most telling mode of communication. The expression
"heard with our ears
"may denote the pleasure with which they
listened
the intensity of their interest
the personality of their hearing
and the lively remembrance they had of the romantic and soul stirring
narrative. Too many have ears but hear not; happy are they who
having ears
have learned to hear. Our fathers have told us. They could not have had
better informants. Schoolmasters are well enough
but godly fathers are
both
by the order of nature and grace
the best instructors of their sons
nor can
they delegate the sacred duty. It is to be feared that many children of
professors could plead very little before God of what their fathers have told
them. When fathers are tongue tied religiously with their offspring
need they
wonder if their children's hearts remain sin tied? Just as in all free nations
men delight to gather around the hearth
and tell the deeds of valour of their
sires "in the brave days of old
"so the people of God under the old
dispensation made their families cheerful around the table
be rehearsing the
wondrous doings of the Lord their God. Religious conversation need not be dull
and indeed it could not be if
as in this case
it dealt more with facts and
less with opinions. What work thou didst in their days
in the times of old.
They began with what their own eyes had witnessed
and then passed on to what
were the traditions of their youth. Note that the main point of the history
transmitted from father to son was the work of God; this is the core of
history
and therefore no man can write history aright who is a stranger to the
Lord's work. It is delightful to see the footprints of the Lord on the sea of
changing events
to behold him riding on the whirlwind of war
pestilence
and
famine
and above all to see his unchanging care for his chosen people. Those
who are taught to see God in history have learned a good lesson from their
fathers
and no son of believing parents should be left in ignorance of so holy
an art. A nation tutored as Israel was in a history so marvellous as their own
always had an available argument in pleading with God for aid in trouble
since
he who never changes gives in every deed of grace a pledge of mercy yet to
come. The traditions of our past experience are powerful pleas for present help.
Verse
2. How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand. The
destruction of the Canaanites from the promised land is the work here brought
to remembrance. A people numerous
warlike
gigantic and courageous
firmly
established and strongly fortified
were driven out by a far feebler nation
because the Lord was against them in the fight. It is clear from Scripture that
God sent a plague (so that the land ate up the inhabitants thereof)
and also a
visitation of hornets against the Canaanites
and by other means dispirited
them
so that the easy victories of Joshua were but the results of God's having
worked beforehand against the idolatrous nation. And plantedst them. The
tribes of Israel were planted in the places formerly occupied by the heathen. Hivites
and Jebusites were chased from their cities to make room for Ephraim and Judah.
The Great Wonder worker tore up by the roots the oaks of Bashan
that he might
plant instead thereof his own chosen "vineyard of red wine." How
thou didst afflict the people. With judgments and plagues the condemned
nations were harassed
by fire and sword they were hunted to the death
till
they were all expelled
and the enemies of Israel were banished far away. And
cast them out. This most probably refers to Israel and should be read
"caused them to increase." He who troubled his enemies smiled on his
friends; he meted out vengeance to the ungodly nations
but he reserved of his
mercy for the chosen tribes. How fair is mercy when she stands by the side of justice!
Bright beams the star of grace amid the night of wrath! It is a solemn thought
that the greatness of divine love has its counterpart in the greatness of his
indignation. The weight of mercy bestowed on Israel is balanced by the
tremendous vengeance which swept the thousands of Amorites and Hittites down to
hell with the edge of the sword. Hell is as deep as heaven is high
and the
flame of Tophet is as everlasting as the blaze of the celestial glory. God's
might
as shown in deeds both of mercy and justice
should be called to mind in
troublous times as a stay to our fainting faith.
Verse
3. For they got not the land in possession by their own sword.
Behold how the Lord alone was exalted in bringing his people to the land which
floweth with milk and honey! He
in his distinguishing grace
had put a
difference between Canaan and Israel
and therefore
by his own effectual
power
he wrought for his chosen and against their adversaries.
The tribes fought for their allotments
but their success was wholly due to the
Lord who wrought with them. The warriors of Israel were not inactive
but their
valour was secondary to that mysterious
divine working by which Jericho's
walls fell down
and the hearts of the heathen failed them for fear. The
efforts of all the men at arms were employed
but as these would have been
futile without divine succour
all the honour is ascribed unto the Lord. The
passage may be viewed as a beautiful parable of the work of salvation; men are
not saved without prayer
repentance
etc.
but none of those save a man
salvation is altogether of the Lord. Canaan was not conquered without the
armies of Israel
but equally true is it that is was not conquered by them; the
Lord was the conqueror
and the people were but instruments in his hands. Neither
did their own arm save them. They could not ascribe their memorable
victories to themselves; he who made sun and moon stand still for them was
worthy of all their praise. A negative is put both upon their weapons and
themselves as if to show us how ready men are to ascribe success to second
causes. But thy right hand
and thine arm
and the light of thy countenance.
The divine hand actively fought for them
the divine arm
powerfully sustained them with more than human energy
and the divine smile
inspired them with dauntless courage. Who could not win with such triple help
though earth
death
and hell should rise in war against him? What mattered the
tallness of the sons of Anak
or the terror of their chariots of iron
they
were as nothing when Jehovah arose for the avenging of Israel. Because thou
hadst a favour unto them. Here is the fountain from whence every stream of
mercy flows. The Lord's delight in his people
his peculiar affection
his
distinguishing regard—this is the mainspring which moves every wheel of a
gracious providence. Israel was a chosen nation
hence their victories and the
scattering of their foes; believers are an elect people
hence their spiritual
blessings and conquests. There was nothing in the people themselves to secure
them success
the Lord's favour alone did it
and it is ever so in our case
our hope of final glory must not rest on anything in ourselves
but on the free
and sovereign favour of the Lord of Hosts.
Verse
4. Thou art my King
O God. Knowing right well thy power and
grace my heart is glad to own thee for her sovereign prince. Who among the
mighty are so illustrious as thou art? To whom
then
should I yield my homage
or turn for aid? God of my fathers in the olden time
thou art my soul's
monarch and liege Lord. Command deliverances for Jacob. To whom should a
people look but to their king? he it is who
by virtue of his office
fights
their battles for them. In the case of our King
how easy it is for him to
scatter all our foes! O Lord
the King of kings
with what ease canst thou
rescue thy people; a word of thine can do it
give but the command and thy
persecuted people shall be free. Jacob's long life was crowded with trials and
deliverances
and his descendants are here called by his name
as if to typify
the similarity of their experience to that of their great forefather. He who
would win the blessings of Israel must share the sorrows of Jacob. This verse
contains a personal declaration and an intercessory prayer; those can pray best
who make most sure of their personal interest in God
and those who have the
fullest assurance that the Lord is their God should be the foremost to plead
for the rest of the tried family of the faithful.
Verse
5. Through thee will we push down our enemies. The fight was
very close
bows were of no avail
and swords failed to be of service
it came
to daggers drawing
and hand to hand wrestling
pushing and tugging. Jacob's
God was renewing in the seed of Jacob their father's wrestling. And how fared
it with faith then? Could she stand foot to foot with her foe and hold her own?
Yea
verily
she came forth victorious from the encounter
for she is great at
a close push
and overthrows all her adversaries
the Lord being her helper.
Through
thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. The Lord's
name served instead of weapons
and enabled those who used it to leap on their
foes and crush them with jubilant valour. In union and communion with God
saints work wonders; if God be for us
who can be against us? Mark well that
all the conquests of these believers are said to be "through thee
""through thy name:" never let us forget this
lest going a
warfare at our own charges
we fail most ignominiously. Let us not
however
fall into the equally dangerous sin of distrust
for the Lord can make the
weakest of us equal to any emergency. Though today we are timid and defenceless
as sheep
he can by his power make us strong as the firstling of his bullock
and cause us to push as with the horns of unicorns
until those who rose up
against us shall be so crushed and battered as never to rise again. Those who
of themselves can scarcely keep their feet
but like little babes totter and
fall
are by divine assistance made to overthrow their foes
and set their feet
upon their necks. Read Christian's fight with Apollyon
and see how
"The
man so bravely played the man
He made the fiend to fly."
Verse
6. For I will not trust in my bow
neither shall my sword save
me. Thy people Israel
under thy guidance
shouldered out the heathen
and
gained their land
not by skill of weapons or prowess of arms
but by thy power
alone; therefore will we renounce for ever all reliance upon outward
confidences
of which other men make such boast
and we will cast ourselves
upon the omnipotence of our God. Bows having been newly introduced by king
Saul
were regarded as very formidable weapons in the early history of Israel
but they are here laid aside together with the all conquering sword
in order
that there may be room for faith in the living God. This verse
in the first
person singular
may serve as the confession of faith of every believer
renouncing his own righteousness and strength
and looking alone to the Lord
Jesus. O for grace to stand to this self renunciation
for alas! our proud nature
is all too apt to fix its trust on the puffed up and supposititious power of
the creature. Arm of flesh
how dare I trust thee? How dare I bring upon myself
the curse of those who rely upon man?
Verse
7. But thou hast saved us from our enemies. In ages past all
our rescues have been due to thee
O God. Never hast thou failed us. Out of
every danger thou has brought us. And hast put them to shame that hated us.
With the back of thy saving hand thou hast given them a cuff which has made
them hide their faces; thou hast defeated them in such a manner as to make them
ashamed of themselves to be overthrown by such puny adversaries as they thought
the Israelites to be. The double action of God in blessing his people and
confounding his enemies is evermore to be observed; Pharaoh is drowned
while
Israel passes through the sea; Amalek is smitten
while the tribes rejoice; the
heathen are chased from their abodes
while the sons of Jacob rest beneath
their vine and fig tree.
Verse
8. In God we boast all the day long. We have abundant reason
for doing so while we recount his mighty acts. What blessed boasting is this!
it is the only sort of boasting that is bearable. All other manna bred worms
and stank except that which was laid up before the Lord
and all other boasting
is loathsome save this glorying in the Lord
which is laudable and pleasing. And
praise thy name for ever. Praise should be perpetual. If there were no new
acts of love
yet ought the Lord to be praised for what he has done for his
people. High let the song be lifted up as we bring to remembrance the eternal
love which chose us
predestinated us to be sons
redeemed us with a price
and
then enriched us with all the fulness of God. Selah. A pause comes in
fitly here
when we are about to descend from the highest to the lowest key. No
longer are we to hear Miriam's timbrel
but rather Rachel's weeping.
Verse
9. But thou hast cast off
and put us to shame. Here the
patriot bard begins to contrast the past glories of the nation's history with
its present sadness and distress; which he does not ascribe to the death of
some human champion
or to the accidents of war
but solely and alone to the
withdrawal of Israel's God. It seemed to the mourner that Jehovah had grown
weary of his people and put them away in abhorrence
as men lay aside leprous
garments
loathing the sight of them. To show his displeasure he had made his
people to be ridiculed by the heathen
whose easy victories over their largest
armies covered Israel with disgrace. Alas! for a church and people when the
Lord in the active energy of his Spirit withdraws from them
they want no
greater shame or sorrow. He will not cast away his people finally and totally
but many a church has been left to defeat and disgrace on account of sin
and
therefore all churches should be exceedingly watchful lest the like should
happen to themselves. Poverty and distress bring no shame on a people
but the
Lord's absence takes from a church everything which can exalt and ennoble. And
goest not forth with our armies. If the Lord be not the leader
of what
avail are strong battalions? Vain are the combined efforts of the most zealous
workers if God's arm be not revealed. May none of us in our churches have to
mourn over the ministry
the Sabbath school
the missionary work
the visiting
the street preaching
left to be carried out without the divine aid. If our
great ally will not go with us our defeat is inevitable.
Verse
10. Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy. The
humiliating consciousness that the Lord has left them soon makes men cowards.
Flight closes the fight of those who have not the Lord in the van. And they
which hate us spoil for themselves. After defeat and retreat
comes
spoliation. The poor
vanquished nation paid a terrible penalty for being overcome;
plunder and murder desolated the conquered land
and the invaders loaded
themselves with every precious thing which they could carry away. In spiritual
experience we know what it is to be despoiled by our enemies; doubts and fears
rob us of our comforts
and terrible forebodings spoil us of our hopes; and all
because the Lord
for wise purposes
sees fit to leave us to ourselves. Alas!
for the deserted soul; no calamity can equal the sorrow of being left of God
though it be but for a small moment.
Verse
11. Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat. As sheep
are slaughtered for food
so were the people slain in flocks
with ease
and
frequency. Not with dignity of sacrifice
but with the cruelty of the shambles
were they put to death. God appeared to give them up like sheep allotted to the
butcher
to abandon them as the hireling abandons the flock to wolves. The
complaint is bitterly eloquent. And hast scattered us among the heathen.
Many were carried into captivity
far off from the public worship of the temple
of God
to pine as exiles among idolaters. All this is ascribed to the Lord
as
being allowed by him
and even appointed by his decree. It is well to trace the
hand of God in our sorrows
for it is surely there.
Verse
12. Thou sellest thy people for nought. As men sell
merchandise to any one who cares to have it
so the Lord seemed to hand over
his people to any nation who might choose to make war upon them. Meanwhile no
good result was perceptible from all the miseries of Israel; so far as the
psalmist could discover
the Lord's name received no honour from the sorrows of
his people; they were given away to their foes as if they were so little valued
as not to be worth the ordinary price of slaves
and the Lord did not care to
gain by them so long as they did but suffer. The woe expressed in this line is
as vinegar mingled with gall: the expression is worthy of the weeping prophet. And
dost not increase thy wealth by their price. If Jehovah had been glorified
by all this wretchedness it could have been borne patiently
but it was the
reverse; the Lord's name had
through the nation's calamities
been despised by
the insulting heathen
who counted the overthrow of Israel to be the defeat of
Jehovah himself. It always lightens a believer's trouble when he can see that
God's great name will be honoured thereby
but it is a grievous aggravation of
misery when we appear to be tortured in vain. For our comfort let us rest
satisfied that in reality the Lord is glorified
and when no revenue of glory
is manifestly rendered to him
he none the less accomplishes his own secret
purposes
of which the grand result will be revealed in due time. We do not
suffer for nought
nor are our griefs without result.
Verse
13. Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours. Scorn is
always an intensely bitter ingredient in the cup of the oppressed. The taunts
and jeers of the victors pain the vanquished almost as much as their swords and
spears. It was a mystery indeed that God should suffer his royal nation
his
peculiar people
to be taunted by all who dwelt near them. A scorn and a
derision to them that are round about us. The down trodden people had
become a common jest; "as base as Israel" cried the cruel tongue of
the tyrant: so ordinary had the scorn become that the neighbouring nations
though perhaps equally oppressed
borrowed the language of the conquerors
and
joined in the common mockery. To be a derision to both strong and weak
superiors
equals
and inferiors
is hard to bear. The tooth of scoffing bites
to the bone. The psalmist sets forth the brutality of the enemy in many words
in order to move the pity of the Lord
to whose just anger he traced all the
sorrows of his people: he used the very best of arguments
for the sufferings
of his chosen touch the heart of God far more readily than any other
reasonings. Blessed be his name
our great Advocate above knows how to avail
himself of this powerful plea
and if we are at this hour enduring reproach for
truth's sake
he will urge it before the eternal throne; and shall not God
avenge his own elect? A father will not long endure to see his children
despitefully entreated; he may put up with it for a little
but his love will
speedily arouse his anger
and then it will fare ill with the persecutor and
reviler.
Verse
14. Thou makest us a byword among the heathen
a shaking of the
head among the people. The lamentation is here repeated. They had sunk so
low that none did them reverence
but universally and publicly they were
treated as infamous and despicable. Those who reviled others dragged in
Israel's name by the way as a garnish to their insults
and if perchance they
saw one of the seed of Jacob in the street they used lewd gestures to annoy
him. Those whose heads were emptiest wagged them at the separated people. They
were the common butts of every fool's arrow. Such has been the lot of the
righteous in ages past
such is their portion in a measure now
such may be yet
again their heritage in the worst sense. The world knows not its nobility
it has
no eye for true excellence: it found a cross for the Master
and cannot be
expected to award crowns to his disciples.
Verse
15. My confusion is continually before me. The poet makes
himself the representative of his nation
and declares his own constant
distress of soul. He is a man of ill blood who is unconcerned for the sorrows
of the church of which he is a member
or the nation of which he is a citizen;
the better the heart the greater its sympathy. And the shame of my face hath
covered me. One constant blush
like a crimson mantle
covered him both
before God and man; he felt before God that the divine desertion was well
deserved
and before man
that he and his people were despicable indeed now
that heavenly help was gone. It is well for a nation when there still exist in
it men who lay to heart its sin and shame. God will have pity on his chastened
ones
and it is a pledge thereof when he sends us choice ministers
men of
tenderness
who make the people's case their own.
Verse
16. For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth. It
seems that from mocking the people of God
the adversaries advanced to reviling
God himself
they proceeded from persecution to the sin which is next of kin
namely blasphemy. By reason of the enemy and avenger. The enemy boasted
of avenging the defeats of their forefathers; they took revenge for the ancient
victories of Israel
by insulting over the now fallen people. Here was a sad
plight for a nation to be placed in
but it was by no means a hopeless case
for the Lord who brought all this evil upon them could with equal ease release
them from it. So long as Israel looked alone to her God
and not to her own
arm
no foe could retain her beneath his foot; she must arise
for God
was on her side.
Verse
17. All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee.
Here the psalmist urges that Israel had not turned away from her allegiance to
Jehovah. When in the midst of many griefs we can still cling to God in loving
obedience
it must be well with us. True fidelity can endure rough usage. Those
who follow God for what they get
will leave him when persecution is stirred
up
but not so the sincere believer; he will not forget his God
even though
the worst come to the worst. Neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
No idol was set up
the ordained worship was not relinquished
God was still
nationally acknowledged
and therefore the psalmist is more earnest that the
Lord should interpose. This and the succeeding verses are suitable for the lips
of martyrs
indeed the entire psalm might be called the martyr's complaint. Not
for sin but for righteousness did the saints suffer
not for falsehood but for
truth
not for forsaking the Lord
but for following hard after him. Sufferings
of such a sort may be very terrible
but they are exceedingly honourable
and
the comforts of the Lord shall sustain those who are accounted worthy to suffer
for Christ's sake.
Verse
18. Our heart is not turned back
neither have our steps declined
from thy way. Heart and life were agreed
and both were true to the Lord's
way. Neither within nor without had the godly sufferers offended; they were not
absolutely perfect
but they were sincerely free from all wilful transgression.
It was a healthy sign for the nation that her prophet poet could testify to her
uprightness before God
both in heart and act; far oftener the case would have
worn quite another colour
for the tribes were all too apt to set up other gods
and forsake the rock of their salvation.
Verse
19. Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons.
Though utterly crushed and rendered desolate and driven as it were to associate
with creatures such as jackals
owls
serpents
which haunt deserted ruins
yet
Israel remained faithful. To be true to a smiting God
even when the blows lay
our joys in ruinous heaps
is to be such as the Lord delighteth in. Better to
be broken by God than from God. Better to be in the place of dragons than of
deceivers. And covered us with the shadow of death. The language is very
strong. The nation is described as completely enveloped in the dense darkness
of despair and death
covered up as though confined in hopelessness. Yet the
claim is made that they still remained mindful of their God
and a glorious
plea it is. Better death than false of faith. Those who are true to God shall
never find him false to them.
Verse
20. An appeal is now made to the omniscience of God; he is himself
called in to bear witness that Israel had not set up another God. If we have
forgotten the name of our God. This would be the first step in apostasy;
men first forget the true
and then adore the false. Or stretched out our
hands to a strange god. Stretching out the hands was the symbol of
adoration or of entreaty in prayer; this they had not offered to any of the idols
of the heathens.
Verse
21. Shall not God search this out? Could such idolatry be
concealed from him? Would he not with holy indignation have detected
unfaithfulness to itself
even had it been hidden in the heart and unrevealed
in the life? For he knoweth the secrets of the heart. He is acquainted
with the inner workings of the mind
and therefore this could not have escaped
him. Not the heart only which is secret
but the secrets of the heart
which
are secrets of the most secret thing
are as open to God as a book to a reader.
The reasoning is that the Lord himself knew the people to be sincerely his
followers
and therefore was not visiting them for sin; hence
then
affliction
evidently came from quite another cause.
Verse
22. Yea
i.e.
assuredly
certainly
for thy sake
not
for our offences
but for obeying thee; the trials of these suppliants came
upon them because they were loyal to their God. Are we killed all the day
long. Persecution never ceased to hound them to the death
they had no
respite and found no door of escape; and all in God's behalf
because they
would not forsake their covenant God and King. We are counted as sheep for
the slaughter; as if we were only meant to be killed
and made on purpose
to be victims; as if it were as easy and as innocent a thing to slay us as to
slaughter sheep. In this and following verses we clearly hear the martyr's cry.
From Piedmont and Smithfield
from St. Bartholomew's massacre and the
dragoonades of Claverhouse
this appeal goes up to heaven
while the souls
under the altar continue their solemn cry for vengeance. Not long shall the
church plead in this fashion
her shame shall be recompensed
her triumph shall
dawn.
Verse
23. Awake
why sleepest thou
O Lord. God sleepeth not
but
the psalmist puts it so
as if on no other theory he could explain the divine
inaction. He would fain see the great Judge ending oppression and giving peace
to the holy
therefore does he cry "Awake; "he cannot understand why
the reign of tyranny and the oppression of virtue are permitted
and therefore
he enquires "Why sleepest thou?" Arise. This is all thou
needest to do
one move of thine will save us. Cast us not off for ever.
Long enough hast thou deserted us; the terrible effects of thine absence are
destroying us; end thou our calamities
and let thine anger be appeased. In
persecuting times men are apt to cry
Where is the God of Israel? At the
thought of what the saints have endured from their haughty enemies
we join our
voices in the great martyr cry and sing with the bard of Paradise:
"Avenge
O Lord
thy slaughtered saints
whose bones
Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold;
Even those who kept thy truth so pure of old
When all our fathers worshipped stocks and stones
Forget not: in thy book record their groans
Who were thy sheep."
Verse
24. Wherefore hidest thou thy face
and forgettest our affliction
and our oppression? Not petulantly
but piteously and inquiringly
we may
question the Lord when his dealings are mysterious. We are permitted to order
our case with arguments
and plead the right before the face of the august
Majesty. Why
Lord
dost thou become oblivious of thy children's woes? This
question is far more easily asked than answered; it is hard
indeed
in the
midst of persecution to see the reason why we are left to suffer so severely.
Verse
25. For our soul is bowed down to the dust. Our heart is low
as low can be
as low as the dust beneath the soles of men's feet. When the
heart sinks
the man is down indeed. Heart sorrow is the very heart of sorrow. Our
belly cleaveth unto the earth. The man is prone upon the earth
and he is
not only down
but fastened down on the earth and glued to it. It is misery
indeed
when the heart cannot escape from itself
is shut up in its own
dejection
and bound with the cords of despondency. God's saints may be thus
abject
they may be not only in the dust
but on the dunghill with Job and
Lazarus
but their day cometh
and their tide will turn
and they shall have a
brave summer after their bitter winter.
Verse
26. Arise for our help. A short
but sweet and comprehensive
prayer
much to the point
clear
simple
urgent
as all prayers should be. And
redeem us for thy mercies' sake. Here is the final plea. The favour is
redemption
the plea is mercy; and this
too
in the case of faithful sufferers
who had not forgotten their God. Mercy is always a safe plea
and never will
any man find a better.
"Were
I a martyr at the stake.
I would plead my Saviour's name
Intreat a pardon for his sake
And urge no other claim."
Here
ends this memorable Psalm
but in heaven its power ends not
but brings down
deliverance for the tried people of God.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole
Psalm. On a survey of this Psalm
it would seem not to admit of a doubt
that the speakers are of the race of Israel; and yet expositors for the most
part have found much difficulty in so understanding it
in this—the natural
sense—so as even to be compelled to abandon it
owing to the impossibility of
fixing on any period in the history of that people which would furnish an
occasion for it
and verify its language. Thus
it cannot be referred to the
times of the Babylonish captivity; for to this it is objected
and with reason;
first
that Ps 44:11 4:14 represent the speakers as "scattered among the
nations
"and "a byword among the peoples
"whereas their exile
was then confined to one country; and
secondly
that in Ps 44:17-21 there is
an assertion of faithful adherence to the worship of the true God
which he is
called to witness as acquitting the sufferers of having brought the evil on
themselves
while that captivity was a punishment of the nation for their
apostasy
and especially for the grievous sin of idolatry. And the same
objections lie to interpreting it with reference to the times of Antiochus
Epiphanes and the Maccabees; beside that
the history of the canon of Scripture
is decisive against assigning so late a date to any of the Psalms. Still less
can the times of David be looked to for the occasion
since
though religion was
then pure
there was
on the other hand
no dispersion of the nation nor any
calamity such as to warrant the lamentation
"Thou hast cast us off
and
put us to shame. ...Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat
"etc. Whence it appeared that there was no alternative but to consider the
Psalm as exclusively the language of the Christian church
and
in her
primitive days
as the period at once of her greatest purity and suffering. William
de Burgh.
Whole
Psalm. S. Ambrose observes
that in former Psalms we have seen a
prophecy of Christ's passion
resurrection
and ascension and of the coming of
the Holy Ghost
and that here we are taught that we ourselves must be ready to
struggle and suffer
in order that these things may profit us. Human will must
work together with divine grace. Christopher Wordsworth.
Verse
1. We have heard with our ears
i.e.
we have both heard and
heeded it with utmost attention and affection. It is not a pleonasmus
but an emphasis that is here used. John Trapp.
Verse
1. Our fathers have told us. Hear this
saith Basil
ye
fathers that neglect to teach your children such things as may work his fear
and love in them
and faith to rely upon and seek to him in all times of
danger. They made their mouths
as it were
books
wherein the mighty deeds of
the Lord might be read to his praise
and to the drawing of their children's
hearts unto him. John Mayer.
Verse
1. What work thou didst. Why only work in the
singular
when such innumerable deliverances had been wrought by him
from the
passage of the Red Sea to the destruction of the hundred and eighty-five
thousand in the camp of the Assyrians? Because all these were but types of that
one great work
that one stretching forth of the Lord's hand
when Satan was
vanquished
death destroyed
and the kingdom of heaven opened to all believers.
Ambrose.
Verse
1. What work thou didst. While the songs of other nations
sing of the heroism of their ancestors
the songs of Israel celebrate the works
of God. Augustus F. Tholuck.
Verse
1. Three necessary requirements for learning well: 1. Intention and
attention in him who hears
we have heard with our ears. 2. Authority in
him that teaches
our fathers have told us. 3. Love between the teacher
and the taught
"our fathers." Hugo (Cardinal)
quoted in
Neale's Commentary.
Verses
1-2
4-8. Children are their parent's heirs; it were unnatural for a father
before he dies to bury up his treasure in the earth
where his children should
not find or enjoy it; now the mercies of God are not the least part of his
treasure
nor the least of his children's inheritance
being both helps to
their faith
matter for their praise
and spurs to their obedience. Our
fathers have told us
what work thou didst in their days
how thou didst drive
out the heathen
etc. Ps 44:1-2; from this they ground their confidence; Ps
44:4: Thou art my King
O God: command deliverances for Jacob; and
excite their thankfulness
Ps 44:8 In God we boast all the day long
and
praise thy name for ever. Indeed
as children are their parent's heirs
so
they become in justice liable to pay their parents' debts; now the great debt
which the saint at death stands charged with
is that which he owes to God for
his mercies
and
therefore it is but reason he should tie his posterity to the
patent thereof. Thus mayest thou be praising God in heaven and earth at the
same time. William Gurnall.
Verse
3. They got not the land in possession by their own sword.
The Lord's part in a work is best seen when man's part
and all that he as an
instrument hath done
or could have done in it
is declared null; being
considered as separate from God who moved the instruments
and did work by them
what he pleased. David Dickson.
Verse
3. Because thou hadst a favour unto them. Free grace was the
fundamental cause of all their felicity. God loved them because he loved them.
De 7:7. He chose them of his love
and then loved them for his choice. John
Trapp.
Verse
3. God's love to Israel was free
unmerited
and amazing
and he
gave them a land for which they did not labour
and cities which they built
not
and vineyards and oliveyards which they planted not. Jos 24:13. In some
cases neither sword nor bow were used
but hornets were the instruments of
conquest. Jos 24:12. Since the fall of Adam all good things in the lot of any
mere man are undeserved kindnesses. William S. Plumer.
Verse
3. (last clause). The prophet does not suppose any worthiness
in the person of Abraham
nor imagine any desert in his posterity
on account
of which God dealt so bountifully with them; but ascribes the whole through the
good pleasure of God...Nor does the psalmist here treat of the general
benevolence of God
which extends to the whole human race: but he discourses of
the difference which exists between the elect and the rest of the world
and
the cause of this difference is here referred to the mere good pleasure of God.
John Calvin.
Verse
5. Through thee will we push down our enemies:
literally
"We will toss them in the air with our horn; "a metaphor taken from
an ox or bull tossing the dogs into the air which attack him. Adam Clarke.
Verse
6. I will not trust in my bow
neither shall my sword save me.
By bow and sword
he meaneth all manner of weapons and warlike
instruments whatsoever; and by "saving
"he meaneth delivering
from dangers
speaking under the person of one (because all the faithful are
but one body)
in the name of all the rest. Thomas Wilcocks.
Verse
6. I will not trust in my bow
etc. I will not trust in my
own sword or bow
but in the sword of the Divine Warrior
and in the
bow of the Divine Archer
whose arrows are sharp in the heart of his
enemies as described in the next Ps 45:3-5
which is connected by that imagery
with this Psalm
as well as by its inner meaning. Christopher Wordsworth.
Verse
6. The less confidence we have in ourselves or in anything beside
God
the more evidence have we of the sincerity of our faith in God. David
Dickson.
Verses
6-7. The two verses correspond exactly to Ps 44:3. As there
in
reference to the past
the salvation was ascribed wholly to God
so here in
reference to the future. E. W. Hengstenberg.
Verse
11. Like sheep appointed for meat. This very strongly and
strikingly intimates the extent of the persecution and slaughter to which they
were exposed; there being no creature in the world of which such vast numbers
are constantly slaughtered as of sheep for the subsistence of man. The
constancy of such slaughter is also mentioned in Ps 44:22 as illustrating the
continual oppression to which the Hebrews were subject. Kitto's Pictorial
Bible.
Verse
11. Like sheep appointed for meat
and not reserved for
breeding or for wool. Arthur Jackson.
Verse
12. Thou sellest thy people for nought
and dost not increase thy
wealth by their price. The sense is: Thou hast given thy people unto the
power of their enemies without trouble
without causing the victory even to be
clearly bought
as one who parts with a good for any price
which he despises
and hates
desiring merely to get rid of it. E. W. Hengstenberg.
Verse
12. Thou sellest thy people for nought
etc. Referring to the
siege of Jerusalem by Titus
Eusebius says: "Many were sold for a small
price; there were many to be sold
but few to buy."
Verse
12. And dost not increase thy wealth by their price. Thou hast
not advanced thy honour and service thereby; for thy enemies do not serve thee
more and better than thy people
nor yet so much. Matthew Pool.
Verse
12. (last clause). Takest no money for them; literally
enhances not the price of them
as a seller usually does to the buyer. Daniel
Creswell.
Verse
14. Thou makest us a byword; literally
for a similitude
(lvm) stands here
as in the original passage De 28:37
in the common
signification
similitude. The misery of Israel is so great
that people
would figuratively call a miserable man a Jew
just as liars were called
Cretans; wretched slaves
Sardians. So far as the people from being now
"blessed of the Lord" in whom according to the promise
all the
heathen are to be blessed. E. W. Hengstenberg.
Verse
15. My confusion in continually before me. When the visible
church is visited with sad calamities
the true members thereof are partakers
of the trouble
and sorrow
and shame of that condition. David Dickson.
Verse
17. Eusebius
narrating the cruelties inflicted upon the Christians
by the Eastern tyrant
Maximinus
says: "He prevailed against all sorts of
people
the Christians only excepted
who contemned death and despised his
tyranny. The men endured burning
beheading
crucifying
ravenous devouring of
beasts
drowning in the sea
maiming and broiling of the members
goring and
digging out of the eyes
mangling of the whole body; moreover
famine and
imprisonment: to be short
they suffered every kind of torment for the service
of God rather than they would leave the worship of God
and embrace the
adoration of idols. Women also
not inferior to men through the power of the
word of God
put on a manly courage
whereof some suffered the torments with
men
some attained unto the like masteries of virtue." From "The
Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus."
Verse
17. Yet have we not forgotten thee
neither have we dealt falsely
in thy covenant. Although we cannot excuse ourselves from many other sins
for which thou hast justly punished us
yet this we must say for ourselves
that through thy grace we have kept ourselves from apostasy and idolatry
notwithstanding all the examples and provocations
rewards proposed and
promised
or punishments threatened to induce us thereunto; which we hope thou
wilt graciously consider
and not suffer us to be tempted above what we are
able to bear. Matthew Poole.
Verse
17. If any of you would abide by Jesus Christ in this storm
try how
ye have covenanted with him
and how ye have closed the bargain with him
and
upon what terms. But I trow there are many of you in this age that are like
young wanton folk
that run fast together and marry
but never take any account
of how they will keep house
but presently go to poverty and beggary. I trow it
falls out so with many of you that are professors in this generation. Ye take
up your religion
and ye wot not how
and ye cannot give an account how ye came
by it. I will tell you
sirs; ye will abide no longer by Christ than till a
storm blow
and then ye will quit him and deny his cause. Ye have need to take
heed to this
for it will ruin your souls in the end of the day. But I shall
tell you
sirs
the right way of covenanting with God. It is when Christ and
the believer meet. Our Lord gives him his laws
statutes
and commands
and he
charges him not to quit a hoof of them. No; though he should be torn into a
thousand pieces; and the right covenanter says
Amen. Alexander Peden's
Sermon
1682.
Verses
17-19. Neither the persecuting hand of men
nor the chastising hand of
God
relaxed ancient singular saints. Believers resemble the moon
which
emerges from her eclipse by keeping her motion
and ceases not to shine because
the dogs bark at her. Shall we cease to be professors because others will not
cease to be persecutors? William Secker.
Verses
17-19. The church having reported her great troubles
speaks it as an
argument of much sincerity towards God
and strength of grace received from
him: All this has come upon us (that is
all these common calamities and
afflictions)
yet have we not forgotten thee
neither have we dealt falsely
in thy covenant. Our heart is not turned back
neither have our steps declined
from thy way; as if she had said
These afflictions have been strong
temptations upon us to cause us to decline from thy ways
but through grace we
have kept our ground and remained constant in thy covenant
yea
though thou
hast sore broken us in the place of dragons
and covered us with the shadow of
death. As many
yea
most of the saints have improved under the cross
so
there have been some
who either through their present unbelief
or
forgetfulness of "the exhortation which" (as the apostle saith
Heb
12:5); "speaketh unto them as unto children
" have had their
faintings or declinings under it. Joseph Caryl.
Verse
19. Thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons
etc.
Where men
comparable to dragons for their poison and cruelty
dwell
particularly in Rome
and the Roman jurisdiction
both Pagan and Papal
the
seat of Satan the great red dragon
and of his wretched brood and offspring
the beast
to whom he has given his power; where the saints and followers of
Christ have been sorely afflicted and persecuted
and yet have held fast the
name of Christ
and not denied his faith. See Re 2:13 12:3. The wilderness is
the habitation of dragons; and this is the name of the place where the church
is said to be in the times of the Papacy
and where she is fed and preserved
for a time
and times
and half time. Re 12:6
14. And covered us with the
shadow of death. As the former phrase denotes the cruelty of the enemies of
Christ's church and people
this their dismal afflictions and forlorn state and
condition; and may have some respect to the darkness of Popery
when it was at
the height
and the church of Christ was covered with it
there being very
little appearances and breakings forth of gospel light anywhere. John Gill.
Verse
19. Dragons. The word rendered dragons—(Mynt)
tannim—means
either a great fish
a sea monster
a serpent
a dragon
or a crocodile. It may
also mean a jackal
a fox
or a wolf. De Wette renders it here jackals.
The idea in the passage is essentially the same
whichever
interpretation of the word is adopted. The "place of dragons"
would denote the place where such monsters are found
or where they had their
abode; that is to say
in desolate places
wastes
deserts
old ruins
depopulated towns. Albert Barnes.
Verse
20. Stretched out our hands to a strange god. The stretching out
the hand towards an object of devotion
or an holy place
was an ancient
usage among the Jews and heathens both
and it continues in the East at
this time
which continuance I do not remember to have seen remarked. That this
attitude in prayer has continued among the Eastern people
appears by
the following passage from Pitts
in his account of the religion and manners of
the Mohammedans. Speaking of the Algerians throwing wax candles and pots of oil
overboard
as a present to some marabbot (or Mohammedan saint)
Pitt goes on
and says
"When this is done
they all together hold up their hands
begging the marabbot's blessing
and a prosperous voyage." In the same
page he tells us
"the marabbots have generally a little neat room built
over their graves
resembling in figure their mosques or churches
which is
very nicely cleaned
and well looked after." And in the succeeding page he
tells us
"Many people there are who will scarce pass by any of them
without lifting up their hand
and saying some short prayer." In
like manner
he tells us
that at quitting the Beat
or holy house at
Mecca
to which they make devout pilgrimages
"they hold up their hands
towards the Beat
making earnest petitions." Harmer's
"Observations."
Verse
21. Shall not God search this out? etc. Are there such variety
of trials appointed to examine the sincerity of men's graces? How great a
vanity
then
is hypocrisy! and to how little purpose do men endeavour to
conceal and hide it! We say
murder will out; and we may as confidently affirm
hypocrisy will out. When Rebekah had laid the plot to disguise her son Jacob
and by personating his brother to get the blessing
Jacob thus objects against
it: "My father peradventure will feel me
and I shall seem to him as a
deceiver
and I shall bring a curse upon me and not a blessing." As if he
should say
But what if my father detect the cheat? How
then
shall I look him
in the face? How shall I escape a curse? After the same manner every upright
soul scares itself from the way of hypocrisy. If I dissemble
and pretend to be
what I am not
my Father will find me out. There is no darkness nor shadow of
death that can conceal the hypocrite; but out it will come at last
let him use
all the art he can to hide it...If men's works be not good
it is impossible
they should be hid long. A gilded piece of brass may pass from hand to hand a
little while
but the touchstone will discover the base metal; and if that does
not
the fire will. John Flavel.
Verse
21. A godly man dares not sin secretly. He knows that God sees in
secret. As God cannot be deceived by our subtlety
so he cannot be excluded by
our secrecy. Thomas Watson.
Verse
21. In time of persecution for religion
nothing can counterbalance
the terrors and allurements of the persecutors
and make a man steadfast in the
cause of God
save the fear of God
and love to God settled in the heart; for
the reason of the saint's steadfastness in this Psalm
is because God would
have searched out their sin if they had done otherwise
for he knoweth the
secrets of the heart. David Dickson.
Verse
22. Yea
for thy sake are we killed all the day long
etc.
Leonard Schoener left
amongst other papers
the following admonition
to
comfort all who were suffering for Christ's name:
"We
pray thee
O eternal God
to bow down thy gracious ear. Lord of Sabaoth
thou
Lord of hosts
hear our complaint
for great affliction and persecution have
prevailed. Pride has entered thine inheritance
and many supposed to be
Christians
have united themselves therewith
and have thus brought in the
abomination of desolation. They waste and destroy the Christian sanctuary. They
have trodden the same under foot
and the abomination of desolation is
worshipped as God. They have troubled thy holy city
thrown down thy holy
altar
and slain her servants when they could lay their hands upon them. And
now that we as a little flock are left
they have driven us into all thy lands
with contempt and reproach. We are scattered as sheep having no shepherd. We
have been compelled to forsake house and home. We are as night ravens which
abide in the rocks; our chambers are in holes and crags. They watch for us as
fowls that fly in the air. We wander in the woods
they hunt us with dogs. They
lead us away
seized and bound
as lambs that open not their mouths. They cry
out against us as seditious persons and heretics. We are brought like sheep to
the slaughter. Many sit oppressed
and in bonds which even decay their bodies.
Some have sunk under their sufferings
and died without fault. Here is the
patience of the saints in the earth. We must be tried by suffering here. The
faithful have they hanged on trees
strangled
hewn in pieces
secretly and
openly drowned. Not only men
but likewise women
and maidens have borne
witness to the truth
that Jesus Christ is the truth
the only way to eternal
life. The world still rages
and rests not; it raves as if mad. They invent
lies against us. They cease not their fires and murders. They make the world
too narrow for us. O Lord
how long wilt thou be silent? How long wilt thou not
judge the blood of thy saints? Let it come up before thy throne. How precious
in thine eyes is the blood of thy holy ones! Therefore have we comfort in all
our need
a refuge in thee alone
and in none besides; but neither comfort
nor
rest
nor peace on this earth. But he who hopeth in thee shall never be
confounded. O Lord
there is no sorrow so great that can separate us from thee;
therefore
without ceasing we call upon thee
through Christ thy Son our Lord
whom thou of thy free grace hast given us for our comfort. He hath prepared and
made known to us the straight path
and the way to eternal life. Everlasting
glory and triumph
honour and praise
be given unto thee
both now and to
eternity
and let thy righteousness remain for ever. Let all the people bless
thy holy name
through Christ the righteous Judge
who cometh to judge the
whole world. Amen." From "A Martyrology of the Churches of Christ
commonly called Baptists. Edited by E. B. Underhill
" 1850.
Verse
22. For thy sake are we killed. It is mercy to us
that when
God might punish us for our sins
he doth make our correction honourable
and
our troubles to be for a good cause. For thy sake
etc. David
Dickson.
Verse
22. For thy sake. This passage is cited by St. Paul
Ro 8:36
apparently from the LXX
in illustration of the fact that the church of God has
in all ages been a persecuted church. But there is this remarkable difference
between the tone of the psalmist and the tone of the apostle: the former cannot
understand the chastening
and complains that God's heavy hand has been laid
without cause upon his people; the latter can rejoice in persecutions also
and
exclaim
"Nay
in all these things we are more than conquerors
through
him that loved us." J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Verse
22. Killed. The word here used is not from (ljq)
but from
(grh)
which means to strangle: this is the rendering given in
"Lange's Bibelwerk."
Verse
23. Awake
why sleepest thou
O Lord? and Ps 121:4
"Behold
he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." If God at no
time sleep
why doth the church call on him so often to awake? If he must be
awakened from sleep
why doth the psalmist say he never sleeps? Are not these
places contradictory?
ANSWER:
It is one thing what the afflicted church cries in the heat of her sufferings
another thing what the Spirit of truth speaks for the comfort of the saints. It
is ordinary for the best of saints and martyrs
during the storm
to go to God
as Peter did to Christ at sea (sleeping in the stern of the ship)
with such
importunity in prayer as if the Lord were no more sensible of their agony than
Jonah was of the mariners' misery
ready to perish in the turbulent ocean
and
he cried out
What meanest thou
O sleeper? Arise! Saints are so familiar with
God in prayer
as if they were at his bedside. THE SOUL'S APPLICATION.—O thou never
slumbering Watchman of the house of Israel
carest not thou that we perish?
Awake
awake! put on strength
gird thyself
O thou arm of God! I know thou art
up
but what am I the better except thou help me up? I know thou sleepest not
as man doth
but what advantage hath my soul by that
except thou show thyself
that I may know thou art waking? Oh
it is I that am asleep! You seem to sleep
only to awaken me. O that I could watch with thee one hour
as you bid me; I
should soon perceive that thy vigilance over me for ever. William Streat in
"The Dividing of the Hoof." 1654.
Verse
23. Awake
why sleepest thou
O Lord? etc. The weakness of our
faith is open to the temptation of supposing that God regards not the situation
of his people in the world; and the Spirit
who knows our infirmities
provides
a petition suited to this trial
which expresses at the same time an
expectation that God will arise to claim his people as his own. W. Wilson.
Verse
25. For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth
unto the earth. We are as to body and soul
smitten and thrown down
glued
as it were to the ground
so that we cannot raise ourselves up. E. W.
Hengstenberg.
Verse
25. For our soul is bowed down to the dust
etc. The speech is
metaphorical
expressing the depth of their misery
or the greatness of their
sorrow and humiliation. 1. The depth of their misery
with the allusion to the
case of a man overcome in battle
or mortally wounded
and tumbling in the
dust
or to a man dead and laid in the earth; as
"Thou hast brought me
into the dust of death." Ps 22:15. Sure we are
the expression imports the
extremity of distress and danger
either as a man dead or near death. 2. The
greatness of their sorrow and humiliation; and so the allusion is taken from a man
prostrate and grovelling on the ground
which was their posture of humbling
themselves before the Lord
or when any great calamity befell them. As when
Herod Agrippa died
they put on sackcloth and lay upon the earth weeping. Thomas
Manton.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse
1. The encouraging traditions of church history. The days of yore.
Verse
1. The parent's duty
and the children's privilege.
Verse
1. Family conversation
the most profitable subject for it.
Verse
1. The true glory of the good old times.
Verse
2. The contrast; or
the dealings of God with saints and sinners.
Verse
3. Free grace exalted.
1.
In putting a negative upon human power.
2. In manifestations of divine energy.
3. In its secret source
Because thou hadst a favour unto them.
Verse
3.
1.
The creature laid low.
2. The Lord exalted.
3. Discriminating grace revealed.
Verse
3. (last clause). The eternal well spring of all mercy.
Verse
4.
1.
Divine royalty acknowledged.
2.
Royal interposition entreated.
3.
Divine covenant hinted at
Jacob; or
the loyal subject seeking royal
aid for the royal seed.
Verse
4. Personal allegiance and pleading intercession.
Verse
4. My King. This intends—
1.
My Ruler.
2. My Honour.
3. My Leader.
4. My Defender.
Verse
4. The deliverances of Jacob
illustrated by his eventful life.
Verse
5. Our enemies
in what ways we push them down
by what strength
and in what spirit.
Verse
5. Our enemies
their activity
the closeness of their approach
the
certainty of their overthrow
the secret of our strength.
Verse
6. Relinquishment of outward trusts. My bow may miss its aim
may be broken
may be snatched away. My sword may snap
or grow blunt
or slip from my hold. We may not trust in our abilities
our experience
our
shrewdness
our wealth
etc.
Verse
6. Self renunciation—the duty of saint and sinner.
Verse
7. Accomplished salvation. How never achieved
But. By whom
wrought
thou. When performed
hast. For whom
us. To what
extent
from our enemies.
Verse
7. Salvation completed
hell confounded
Christ exalted.
Verse
8. Praise
its continuance—how to make it continual
how to manifest
it perpetually
influence of its continuance
and reasons to compel us to abide
in it.
Verse
9. A lament for the declension of the church.
Verse
9. In what sense God casts off his people
and why.
Verse
9. (last clause). The greatest of all calamities for our
churches.
Verse
12. The human and divine estimate of the results of persecution.
Verse
12. In answer to this complaint.
1.
God's people lose nothing eventually by their privations.
2.
The wicked gain nothing by their triumphs.
3.
God loses none of his glory in his dealings with either. —George Rogers.
Verse
13. Trial of cruel mockings; our conduct under them
comfort in them
and crown from them.
Verse
14. Unholy proverbs or godless bywords.
Verse
15. Confessions of a penitent.
Verse
17. The trial
truth
and triumph of the godly.
Verse
17. The faithful soul holding fast his integrity.
Verse
17. What it is to be false to our covenant with God.
Verse
18. (first clause). When we may be sure that our heart has not
apostatised.
Verse
18.
1.
The position of the heart in religion—it comes first.
2.
The position of the outer moral life in religion—it follows the heart.
3.
Necessity of the agreement of the two.
4.
The need that both should be faithful to God.
Verse
18. Connection between the heart and the life
both in constancy and
apostasy.
Verse
18. God's delight in the progress of the upright. Thomas Brooks.
Upright
hearts will hold on in the ways of God
and in the ways of well doing
notwithstanding all afflictions
troubles
and discouragements
they meet
withal. Thomas Brooks.
Verse
18. Thy ways. The ways of God are
(1)
righteous ways;
(2) blessed ways;
(3) soul refreshing ways;
(4) transcendent ways—ways that transcend all other ways;
(5) soul strengthening ways; and
(6) sometimes afflicted
perplexed
and persecuted ways. —Thomas
Brooks.
Verse
21. Can he not? Will he not?
Verse
21. A question and an assertion.
Verse
22.
1.
Innocence in the midst of suffering
sheep.
2. Honour in the midst of shame
for thy sake. G. Rogers.
Verse
23. The cry of a church in sad circumstances. The complaint of a
deserted soul.
Verse
24. Reasons for the withdrawal of divine comfort.
Verse
25. The great need
the great prayer
the great plea.
Verse
26. A fit prayer for souls under conviction
for saints under trial
or persecution
and for the church under oppression or decay.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》