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Psalm Seventy-three
Psalm 73
Chapter Contents
The psalmist's temptation. (1-14) How he gained a victory
over it. (15-20) How he profited by it. (21-28)
Commentary on Psalm 73:1-14
(Read Psalm 73:1-14)
The psalmist was strongly tempted to envy the prosperity
of the wicked; a common temptation
which has tried the graces of many saints.
But he lays down the great principle by which he resolved to abide. It is the
goodness of God. This is a truth which cannot be shaken. Good thoughts of God
will fortify against Satan's temptations. The faith even of strong believers
may be sorely shaken
and ready to fail. There are storms that will try the
firmest anchors. Foolish and wicked people have sometimes a great share of
outward prosperity. They seem to have the least share of the troubles of this
life; and they seem to have the greatest share of its comforts. They live
without the fear of God
yet they prosper
and get on in the world. Wicked men
often spend their lives without much sickness
and end them without great pain;
while many godly persons scarcely know what health is
and die with great
sufferings. Often the wicked are not frightened
either by the remembrance of
their sins
or the prospect of their misery
but they die without terror. We
cannot judge men's state beyond death
by what passes at their death. He looked
abroad
and saw many of God's people greatly at a loss. Because the wicked are
so very daring
therefore his people return hither; they know not what to say
to it
and the rather
because they drink deep of the bitter cup of affliction.
He spoke feelingly when he spoke of his own troubles; there is no disputing
against sense
except by faith. From all this arose a strong temptation to cast
off religion. But let us learn that the true course of sanctification consists
in cleansing a man from all pollution both of soul and body. The heart is
cleansed by the blood of Christ laid hold upon by faith; and by the begun works
of the Lord's Spirit
manifested in the hearty resolution
purpose
and study
of holiness
and a blameless course of life and actions
the hands are
cleansed. It is not in vain to serve God and keep his ordinances.
Commentary on Psalm 73:15-20
(Read Psalm 73:15-20)
The psalmist having shown the progress of his temptation
shows how faith and grace prevailed. He kept up respect for God's people
and
with that he restrained himself from speaking what he had thought amiss. It is
a sign that we repent of the evil thoughts of the heart
if we suppress them.
Nothing gives more offence to God's children
than to say it is vain to serve
God; for there is nothing more contrary to their universal experience. He
prayed to God to make this matter plain to him; and he understood the wretched
end of wicked people; even in the height of their prosperity they were but
ripening for ruin. The sanctuary must be the resort of a tempted soul. The
righteous man's afflictions end in peace
therefore he is happy; the wicked
man's enjoyments end in destruction
therefore he is miserable. The prosperity
of the wicked is short and uncertain
slippery places. See what their
prosperity is; it is but a vain show
it is only a corrupt imagination
not
substance
but a mere shadow; it is as a dream
which may please us a little
while we are slumbering
yet even then it disturbs our repose.
Commentary on Psalm 73:21-28
(Read Psalm 73:21-28)
God would not suffer his people to be tempted
if his
grace were not sufficient
not only to save them from harm
but to make them
gainers by it. This temptation
the working of envy and discontent
is very
painful. In reflecting upon it
the psalmist owns it was his folly and
ignorance thus to vex himself. If good men
at any time
through the surprise
and strength of temptation
think
or speak
or act amiss
they will reflect
upon it with sorrow and shame. We must ascribe our safety in temptation
and
our victory
not to our own wisdom
but to the gracious presence of God with
us
and Christ's intercession for us. All who commit themselves to God
shall
be guided with the counsel both of his word and of his Spirit
the best
counsellors here
and shall be received to his glory in another world; the
believing hopes and prospects of which will reconcile us to all dark
providences. And the psalmist was hereby quickened to cleave the closer to God.
Heaven itself could not make us happy without the presence and love of our God.
The world and all its glory vanishes. The body will fail by sickness
age
and
death; when the flesh fails
the conduct
courage
and comfort fail. But Christ
Jesus
our Lord
offers to be all in all to every poor sinner
who renounces
all other portions and confidences. By sin we are all far from God. And a
profession Christ
if we go on in sin
will increase our condemnation. May we
draw near
and keep near
to our God
by faith and prayer
and find it good to
do so. Those that with an upright heart put their trust in God
shall never
want matter for thanksgiving to him. Blessed Lord
who hast so graciously
promised to become our portion in the next world
prevent us from choosing any
other in this.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 73
Verse 1
[1] Truly God is good to Israel
even to such as are of a
clean heart.
A clean heart — To all true Israelites
who love
God
and serve him in spirit and truth.
Verse 2
[2] But as for me
my feet were almost gone; my steps had
well nigh slipped.
My feet — My faith in God's providence
was almost overthrown.
Verse 4
[4] For there are no bands in their death: but their
strength is firm.
No bands — They are not dragged to death
by the sentence of the
magistrate
which they deserve.
Verse 5
[5] They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they
plagued like other men.
As other men — As good men frequently are.
Verse 8
[8] They are corrupt
and speak wickedly concerning
oppression: they speak loftily.
And speak — Boasting of their oppressions.
Verse 9
[9] They set their mouth against the heavens
and their
tongue walketh through the earth.
Against — Against God
blaspheming his name
and deriding his
providence.
Walketh — Using all manner of liberty
reproaching all sorts of
persons.
Verse 10
[10] Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full
cup are wrung out to them.
Turn — To this wicked company.
Waters — And partake of the same prosperity with their leaders.
God seems to give them a full cup of consolation
as if he would wring out all
his blessings upon them.
Verse 12
[12] Behold
these are the ungodly
who prosper in the world;
they increase in riches.
Behold — These seem to be the words of the psalmist
summing up
the matter.
Verse 13
[13] Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain
and washed my
hands in innocency.
In vain — Hence I was sometimes tempted
to think that religion
was a vain
unprofitable thing. True religion is here described by its two
principal parts
the cleansing of the heart
and the hands.
Verse 15
[15] If I say
I will speak thus; behold
I should offend
against the generation of thy children.
Offend — By grieving
discouraging and tempting them to revolt
from God.
Verse 16
[16] When I thought to know this
it was too painful for me;
To know — To find out the reason of this providence.
Verse 17
[17] Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood
I their end.
Until — 'Till I consulted the word of God. He alludes to the
practice of those times
which was
in difficult cases to resort to God's
sanctuary
and the oracle therein.
Their end — There I learned that their
prosperity was short.
Verse 19
[19] How are they brought into desolation
as in a moment!
they are utterly consumed with terrors.
Terrors — With God's dreadful judgements unexpectedly seizing
upon them.
Verse 20
[20] As a dream when one awaketh; so
O Lord
when thou
awakest
thou shalt despise their image.
They awake — Out of the pleasant dream of this
vain life.
Despise — Thou shalt make them despicable both to themselves and
to all others; raise them to shame
and everlasting contempt.
Image — All their felicity and glory
which shall be evidently
discerned to be
no real or substantial thing
but a mere image or shadow.
Verse 21
[21] Thus my heart was grieved
and I was pricked in my
reins.
Pricked — I was deeply wounded with disquieting thoughts.
Verse 22
[22] So foolish was I
and ignorant: I was as a beast before
thee.
Nevertheless — Although I gave thee just cause
to cast me off
yet thou didst continue thy care and kindness to me.
Hast held — That my faith might not fail.
Verse 27
[27] For
lo
they that are far from thee shall perish: thou
hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.
Go a whoring — Those who revolt from thee
to
work wickedness; which is called whoredom in scripture.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and
Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village
Preacher
Other Works
TITLE. A Psalm of
Asaph. This is the second Psalm ascribed to Asaph
and the first of eleven
consecutive Psalms bearing the name of this eminent singer. Some writers are
not sure that Asaph wrote them
but incline to the belief that David was the
author
and Asaph the person to whom they were dedicated
that he might sing
them when in his turn he became the chief musician. But though our own heart
turns in the same direction
facts must be heard; and we find in 2Ch 29:30
that Hezekiah commanded the Levites to sing "the words of David and of
Asaph the seer; "and
moreover
in Ne 12:46
David and Asaph are mentioned
together
as distinct from "the chief of the singers
"and as it
would seem
as joint authors of psalmody. We may
therefore
admit Asaph to be
the author of some
if not all
of the twelve Psalms ascribed to him. Often a great
star which seems to be but one to the eyes of ordinary observers
turns out
upon closer inspection to be of a binary character; so here the Psalms of David
are those of Asaph too. The great sun of David has a satellite in the moon of
Asaph. By reading our notes on Psalm Fifty
in Volume 2
the reader will glean
a little more concerning this man of God.
SUBJECT. Curiously
enough this Seventy-third Psalm corresponds in subject with the Thirty-seventh:
it will help the memory of the young to notice the reversed figures. The theme
is that ancient stumbling block of good men
which Job's friends could not get
over; viz.—the present prosperity of wicked men and the sorrows of the godly.
Heathen philosophers have puzzled themselves about this
while to believers it
has too often been a temptation.
DIVISION. In Ps 73:1 the
psalmist declares his confidence in God
and
as it were
plants his foot on a
rock while he recounts his inward conflict. From Ps 73:2-14 he states his
temptation; then
from Ps 73:15-17 he is embarrassed as how to act
but
ultimately finds deliverance from his dilemma. He describes with awe the fate
of the ungodly in Ps 73:18-20
condemns his own folly and adores the grace of
God
Ps 73:21-24
and concludes by renewing his allegiance to his God
whom he
takes afresh to be his portion and delight.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. Truly
or
more correctly
only
God is good to Israel.
He is only good
nothing else but good to his own covenanted ones. He cannot
act unjustly
or unkindly to them; his goodness to them is beyond dispute
and
without mixture. Even to such as are of a clean heart. These are the true
Israel
not the ceremonially clean but the really so; those who are clean in
the inward parts
pure in the vital mainspring of action. To such he is
and must
be
goodness itself. The writer does not doubt this
but lays it down as his
firm conviction. It is well to make sure of what we do know
for this will be
good anchor hold for us when we are molested by those mysterious storms which
arise from things which we do not understand. Whatever may or may not be the
truth about mysterious and inscrutable things
there are certainties somewhere;
experience has placed some tangible facts within our grasp; let us
then
cling
to these
and they will prevent our being carried away by those hurricanes of
infidelity which still come from the wilderness
and
like whirlwinds
smite
the four corners of our house and threaten to overthrow it. O my God
however
perplexed I may be
let me never think ill of thee. If I cannot understand
thee
let me never cease to believe in thee. It must be so
it cannot be
otherwise
thou art good to those whom thou hast made good; and where thou hast
renewed the heart thou wilt not leave it to its enemies.
Verse
2. Here begins the narrative of a great soul battle
a spiritual
Marathon
a hard and well fought field
in which the half defeated became in
the end wholly victorious. But as for me. He contrasts himself with his God who
is ever good; he owns his personal want of good
and then also compares himself
with the clean in heart
and goes on to confess his defilement. The Lord is
good to his saints
but as for me
am I one of them? Can I expect to
share his grace? Yes
I do share it; but I have acted an unworthy part
very
unlike one who is truly pure in heart. My feet were almost gone. Errors of
heart and head soon affect the conduct. There is an intimate connection between
the heart and the feet. Asaph could barely stand
his uprightness was going
his knees were bowing like a falling wall. When men doubt the righteousness of
God
their own integrity begins to waver. My steps had well nigh slipped. Asaph
could make no progress in the good road
his feet ran away from under him like
those of a man on a sheet of ice. He was weakened for all practical action
and
in great danger of actual sin
and so of a disgraceful fall. How ought we to
watch the inner man
since it has so forcible an effect upon the outward
character. The confession in this case is
as it should be
very plain and
explicit.
Verse
3. For I was envious at the foolish. "The foolish"
is the generic title of all the wicked: they are beyond all others fools
and
he must be a fool who envies fools. Some read it
"the proud:" and
indeed
these
by their ostentation
invite envy
and many a mind which is out
of gear spiritually
becomes infected with that wasting disease. It is a
pitiful thing that an heir of heaven should have to confess "I was
envious
"but worse still that he should have to put it
"I was envious
at the foolish." Yet this acknowledgment is
we fear
due from most of us.
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. His eye was fixed too much on one
thing; he saw their present
and forgot their future
saw their outward
display
and overlooked their soul's discomfort. Who envies the bullock his fat
when he recollects the shambles? Yet some poor afflicted saint has been sorely
tempted to grudge the ungodly sinner his temporary plenty. All things
considered
Dives had more cause to envy Lazarus than Lazarus to be envious of
Dives.
Verse
4. For there are no bands in their death. This is mentioned
as the chief wonder
for we usually expect that in the solemn article of death
a difference will appear
and the wicked will become evidently in trouble. The
notion is still prevalent that a quiet death means a happy hereafter. The
psalmist had observed that the very reverse is true. Careless persons become
case hardened
and continue presumptuously secure
even to the last. Some are
startled at the approach of judgment
but many more have received a strong
delusion to believe a lie. What with the surgeon's drugs and their own
infidelity
or false peace
they glide into eternity without a struggle. We
have seen godly men bound with doubts
and fettered with anxieties
which have
arisen from their holy jealousy; but the godless know nothing of such bands:
they care neither for God nor devil. Their strength is firm. What care they for
death? Frequently they are brazen and insolent
and can vent defiant
blasphemies even on their last couch. This may occasion sorrow and surprise
among saints
but certainly should not suggest envy
for
in this case
the
most terrible inward conflict is infinitely to be preferred to the profoundest
calm which insolent presumption can create. Let the righteous die as they may
let my last end be like theirs.
Verse
5. They are not in trouble as other men. The prosperous
wicked escape the killing toils which afflict the mass of mankind; their bread
comes to them without care
their wine without stint. They have no need to
enquire
"Whence shall we get bread for our children
or raiment for our
little ones?" Ordinary domestic and personal troubles do not appear to
molest them. Neither are they plagued like other men. Fierce trials do not
arise to assail them: they smart not under the divine rod. While many saints
are both poor and afflicted
the prosperous sinner is neither. He is worse than
other men
and yet he is better off; he ploughs least
and yet has the most
fodder. He deserves the hottest hell
and yet has the warmest nest. All this is
clear to the eyes of faith
which unriddles the riddle; but to the bleared eye
of sense it seems an enigma indeed. They are to have nothing hereafter
let
them have what they can here; they
after all
only possess what is of
secondary value
and their possessing it is meant to teach us to set little
store by transient things. If earthly good were of much value
the Lord would
not give so large a measure of it to those who have least of his love.
Verse
6. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain. They are
as great in their own esteem as if they were aldermen of the New Jerusalem;
they want no other ornament than their own pomposity. No jeweller could
sufficiently adorn them; they wear their own pride as a better ornament than a
gold chain. Violence covereth them as a garment. In their boastful arrogance
they array themselves; they wear the livery of the devil
and are fond of it.
As soon as you see them
you perceive that room must be made for them
for
regardless of the feelings and rights of others
they intend to have their way
and achieve their own ends. They brag and bully
bluster and browbeat
as if
they had taken out license to ride roughshod over all mankind.
Verse
7. Their eyes stand out with fatness. In cases of obesity the
eyes usually appear to be enclosed in fat
but sometimes they protrude; in
either case the countenance is changed
loses its human form
and is
assimilated to that of fatted swine. The face is here the index of the man: the
man has more than suffices him; he is glutted and surfeited with wealth
and
yet is one of the wicked whom God abhorreth. They have more than heart could
wish. Their wishes are gratified
and more; their very greediness is exceeded;
they call for water
and the world gives them milk; they ask for hundreds
and
thousands are lavished at their feet. The heart is beyond measure gluttonous
and yet in the case of certain ungodly millionaires
who have rivalled
Sardanapalus both in lust and luxury
it has seemed as if their wishes were
exceeded
and their meat surpassed their appetite.
Verse
8. They are corrupt. They rot above ground; their heart and
life are depraved. And speak wickedly concerning oppression. The reek of the
sepulchre rises through their mouths; the nature of the soul is revealed in the
speech. They choose oppression as their subject
and they not only defend it
but advocate it
glory in it
and would fain make it the general rule among all
nations. "Who are the poor? What are they made for? What
indeed
but to
toil and slave that men of education and good family may enjoy themselves? Out
on the knaves for prating about their rights! A set of wily demagogues are
stirring them up
because they get a living by agitation. Work them like
horses
and feed them like dogs; and if they dare complain
send them to the
prison or let them die in the workhouse." There is still too much of this
wicked talk abroad
and
although the working classes have their faults
and
many of them very grave and serious ones too
yet there is a race of men who
habitually speak of them as if they were an inferior order of animals. God
forgive the wretches who thus talk. They speak loftily. Their high heads
like
tall chimneys
vomit black smoke. Big talk streams from them
their language is
colossal
their magniloquence ridiculous. They are Sir Oracle in every case
they speak as from the judges' bench
and expect all the world to stand in awe
of them.
Verse
9. They set their mouth against the heavens. Against God
himself they aim their blasphemies. One would think
to hear them
that they
were demigods themselves
and held their heads above the clouds
for they speak
down upon other men as from a sublime elevation peculiar to themselves. Yet
they might let God alone
for their pride will make them enemies enough without
their defying him. And their tongue walketh through the earth. Leisurely and
habitually they traverse the whole world to find victims for their slander and
abuse. Their tongue prowls in every corner far and near
and spares none. They
affect to be universal censors
and are in truth perpetual vagrants. Like the
serpent
they go nowhere without leaving their slime behind them; if there were
another Eden to be found
its innocence and beauty would not preserve it from their
filthy trail. They themselves are
beyond measure
worthy of all honour
and
all the rest of mankind
except a few of their parasites
are knaves
fools
hypocrites
or worse. When these men's tongues are out for a walk
they are
unhappy who meet them
for they push all travellers into the kennel: it is
impossible altogether to avoid them
for in both hemispheres they take their
perambulations
both on land and sea they make their voyages. The city is not
free from them
and the village swarms with them. They waylay men in the king's
highway
but they are able to hunt across country
too. Their whip has a long
lash
and reaches both high and low.
Verse
10. Therefore his people return hither. God's people are
driven to fly to his throne for shelter; the doggish tongues fetch home the
sheep to the Shepherd. The saints come again
and again
to their Lord
laden
with complaints on account of the persecutions which they endure from these
proud and graceless men. And waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. Though
beloved of God
they have to drain the bitter cup; their sorrows are as full as
the wicked man's prosperity. It grieves them greatly to see the enemies of God
so high
and themselves so low
yet the Lord does not alter his dispensations
but continues still to chasten his children
and indulge his foes. The medicine
cup is not for rebels
but for those whom Jehovah Rophi loves.
Verse
11. And they say
How doth God know? Thus dare the ungodly
speak. They flatter themselves that their oppressions and persecutions are
unobserved of heaven. If there be a God
is he not too much occupied with other
matters to know what is going on upon this world? So they console themselves if
judgments be threatened. Boasting of their own knowledge
they yet dare to ask
Is there knowledge in the Most High? Well were they called foolish. A God
and
not know? This is a solecism in language
a madness of thought. Such
however
is the acted insanity of the graceless theists of this age; theists in name
because avowed infidelity is disreputable
but atheists in practice beyond all
question. I could not bring my mind to accept the rendering of many expositors
by which this verse is referred to tried and perplexed saints. I am unable to
conceive that such language could flow from their lips
even under the most
depressing perplexities.
Verse
12. Behold
these are the ungodly
who prosper in the world.
Look! See! Consider! Here is the standing enigma! The crux of Providence! The
stumblingblock of faith! Here are the unjust rewarded and indulged
and that
not for a day or an hour
but in perpetuity. From their youth up these men
who
deserve perdition
revel in prosperity. They deserve to be hung in chains
and
chains are hung about their necks; they are worthy to be chased from the world
and yet the world becomes all their own. Poor purblind sense cries
Behold
this! Wonder
and be amazed
and make this square with providential justice
if
you can. They increase in riches; or
strength. Both wealth and health are
their dowry. No bad debts and bankruptcies weigh them down
but robbery and
usury pile up their substance. Money runs to money
gold pieces fly in flocks;
the rich grow richer
the proud grow prouder. Lord
how is this? Thy poor
servants
who become yet poorer
and groan under their burdens
are made to
wonder at thy mysterious ways.
Verse
13. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain. Poor Asaph! he
questions the value of holiness when its wages are paid in the coin of
affliction. With no effect has he been sincere; no advantage has come to him
through his purity
for the filthy hearted are exalted and fed on the fat of
the land. Thus foolishly will the wisest of men argue
when faith is napping.
Asaph was a seer
but he could not see when reason left him in the dark; even
seers must have the sunlight of revealed truth to see by
or they grope like
the blind. In the presence of temporal circumstances
the pure in heart may
seem to have cleansed themselves altogether in vain
but we must not judge
after the sight of the eyes. And washed my hands in innocency. Asaph had been
as careful of his hands as of his heart; he had guarded his outer as well as
his inner life
and it was a bitter thought that all of this was useless
and
left him in even a worse condition than foul handed
black hearted worldlings.
Surely the horrible character of the conclusion must have helped to render it
untenable; it could not be so while God was God. It smelt too strong of a lie
to be tolerated long in the good man's soul; hence
in a verse or two
we see
his mind turning in another direction.
Verse
14. For all the day long have I been plagued. He was smitten
from the moment he woke to the time he went to bed. His griefs were not only
continued
but renewed with every opening day. And chastened every morning.
This was a vivid contrast to the lot of the ungodly. There were crowns for the
reprobates and crosses for the elect. Strange that the saints should sigh and
the sinners sing. Rest was given to the disturbers
and yet peace was denied to
the peace makers. The downcast seer was in a muse and a maze. The affairs of
mankind appeared to him to be in a fearful tangle; how could it be permitted by
a just ruler that things should be so turned upside down
and the whole course
of justice dislocated.
Verse
15. If I say
I will speak thus. It is not always wise to
speak one's thoughts; if they remain within
they will only injure ourselves;
but once uttered
their mischief may be great. From such a man as the psalmist
the utterance which his discontent suggested would have been a heavy blow and
deep discouragement to the whole brotherhood. He dared not
therefore
come to
such a resolution
but paused
and would not decide to declare his feelings. It
was well
for in his case second thoughts were by far the best. I should offend
against the generation of thy children. I should scandalise them
grieve them
and perhaps cause them to offend also. We ought to look at the consequences of
our speech to all others
and especially to the church of God. Woe unto the man
by whom offence cometh! Rash
undigested
ill considered speech
is responsible
for much of the heart burning and trouble in the churches. Would to God that
like Asaph
men would bridle their tongues. Where we have any suspicion of
being wrong
it is better to be silent; it can do no harm to be quiet
and it
may do serious damage to spread abroad our hastily formed opinions. To grieve
the children of God by appearing to act perfidiously and betray the truth
is a
sin so heinous
that if the consciences of heresy mongers were not seared as
with a hot iron
they would not be so glib as they are to publish abroad their
novelties. Expressions which convey the impression that the Lord acts unjustly
or unkindly
especially if they fall from the lips of men of known character
and experience
are as dangerous as firebrands among stubble; they are used for
blasphemous purposes by the ill disposed; and the timid and trembling are sure
to be cast down thereby
and to find reason for yet deeper distress of soul.
Verse
16. When I thought to know this
it was too painful for me.
The thought of scandalising the family of God he could not bear
and yet his
inward thoughts seethed and fermented
and caused an intolerable anguish
within. To speak might have relieved one sorrow
but
as it would have created
another
he forbore so dangerous a remedy; yet this did not remove the first
pangs
which grew even worse and worse
and threatened utterly to overwhelm
him. A smothered grief is hard to endure. The triumph of conscience which
compels us to keep the wolf hidden beneath our own garments
does not forbid
its gnawing at our vitals. Suppressed fire in the bones rages more fiercely
than if it could gain a vent at the mouth. Those who know Asaph's dilemma will
pity him as none others can.
Verse
17. Until I went into the sanctuary of God. His mind entered
the eternity where God dwells as in a holy place
he left the things of sense
for the things invisible
his heart gazed within the veil
he stood where the
thrice holy God stands. Thus he shifted his point of view
and apparent
disorder resolved itself into harmony. The motions of the planets appear most
discordant from this world which is itself a planet; they appear as
"progressive
retrograde
and standing still; "but could we fix our
observatory in the sun
which is the centre of the system
we should perceive
all the planets moving in perfect circle around the head of the great solar
family. Then understood I their end. He had seen too little to be able to
judge; a wider view changed his judgment; he saw with his mind's enlightened
eye the future of the wicked
and his soul was in debate no longer as to the
happiness of their condition. No envy gnaws now at his heart
but a holy horror
both of their impending doom
and of their present guilt
fills his soul. He
recoils from being dealt with in the same manner as the proud sinners
whom
just now he regarded with admiration.
Verse
18. The Psalmist's sorrow had culminated
not in the fact that the
ungodly prospered
but that God had arranged it so: had it happened by mere
chance
he would have wondered
but could not have complained; but how the
arranger of all things could so dispense his temporal favours
was the
vexatious question. Here
to meet the case
he sees that the divine hand
purposely placed these men in prosperous and eminent circumstances
not with
the intent to bless them but the very reverse. Surely thou didst set them in
slippery places. Their position was dangerous
and
therefore
God did not set
his friends there but his foes alone. He chose
in infinite love
a rougher but
safer standing for his own beloved. Thou castedst them down into destruction.
The same hand which led them up to their Tarpeian rock
hurled them down from
it. They were but elevated by judicial arrangement for the fuller execution of
their doom. Eternal punishment will be all the more terrible in contrast with
the former prosperity of those who are ripening for it. Taken as a whole
the
case of the ungodly is horrible throughout; and their worldly joy instead of
diminishing the horror
actually renders the effect the more awful
even as the
vivid lightning amid the storm does not brighten but intensify the thick
darkness which lowers around. The ascent to the fatal gallows of Haman was an essential
ingredient in the terror of the sentence—"hang him thereon." If the
wicked had not been raised so high they could not have fallen so low.
Verse
19. How are they brought into desolation
as in a moment! This
is an exclamation of godly wonder at the suddenness and completeness of the
sinners' overthrow. Headlong is their fall; without warning
without escape
without hope of future restoration! Despite their golden chains
and goodly
apparel
death stays not for manners but hurries them away; and stern justice
unbribed by their wealth hurls them into destruction. They are utterly consumed
with terrors. They have neither root nor branch left. They cease to exist among
the sons of men
and
in the other world
there is nothing left of their former
glory. Like blasted trees
consumed by the lightning
they are monuments of
vengeance; like the ruins of Babylon they reveal
in the greatness of their
desolation
the judgments of the Lord against all those who unduly exalt
themselves. The momentary glory of the graceless is in a moment effaced
their
loftiness is in an instant consumed.
Verse
20. As a dream when one awaketh; so
O Lord
when thou awakest
thou shalt despise their image. They owe their existence and prosperity to
the forbearance of God
which the psalmist compares to a sleep; but as a dream
vanishes so soon as a man awakes
so the instant the Lord begins to exercise
his justice and call men before him
the pomp and prosperity of proud
transgressors shall melt away. When God awakes to judgment
they who despise
him shall be despised; they are already "such stuff as dreams are made of
"but then the baseless fabric shall not leave a wreck behind. Let them
flaunt the little hour
poor unsubstantial sons of dreams; they will soon be
gone; when the day breaketh
and the Lord awake as a mighty man out of his
sleep
they will vanish away. Who cares for the wealth of dreamland? Who indeed
but fools? Lord
leave us not to the madness which covets unsubstantial wealth
and ever teach us thine own true wisdom.
Verse
21. The holy poet here reviews his inward struggle and awards himself
censure for his folly. His pain had been intense; he says
Thus my heart was
grieved. It was a deep seated sorrow
and one which penetrated his inmost
being. Alexander reads it
"My heart is soured." His spirit had
become embittered; he had judged in a harsh
crabbed
surly manner. He had
become atrabilious
full of black bile
melancholy
and choleric; he had
poisoned his own life at the fountain head
and made all its streams to be
bitter as gall. And I was pricked in my reins. He was as full of pain as a man
afflicted with renal disease; he had pierced himself through with many sorrows;
his hard thoughts were like so many calculi in his kidneys; he was utterly
wretched and woebegone
and all through his own reflections. O miserable
philosophy
which stretches the mind on the rack
and breaks it on the wheel! O
blessed faith
which drives away the inquisitors
and sets the captives free!
Verse
22. So foolish was I. He
though a saint of God
had acted as
if he had been one of the fools whom God abhorreth. Had he not even envied
them?—and what is that but to aspire to be like them? The wisest of men have
enough folly in them to ruin them unless grace prevents. And ignorant. He had
acted as if he knew nothing
had babbled like an idiot
had uttered the very
drivel of a witless loon. He did not know how sufficiently to express his sense
of his own fatuity. I was as a beast before thee. Even in God's presence he had
been brutish
and worse than a beast. As the grass eating ox has but this
present life
and can only estimate things thereby
and by the sensual pleasure
which they afford
even so had the psalmist judged happiness by this mortal
life
by outward appearances
and by fleshly enjoyments. Thus he had
for the
time
renounced the dignity of an immortal spirit
and
like a mere animal
judged after the sight of the eyes. We should be very loath to call an inspired
man a beast
and yet
penitence made him call himself so; nay
he uses the
plural
by way of emphasis
and as if he were worse than any one beast. It was
but an evidence of his true wisdom that he was so deeply conscious of his own
folly. We see how bitterly good men bewail mental wanderings; they make no
excuses for themselves
but set their sins in the pillory
and cast the vilest
reproaches upon them. O for grace to detest the very appearance of evil!
Verse
23. Nevertheless I am continually with thee. He does not give
up his faith
though he confesses his folly. Sin may distress us
and yet we
may be in communion with God. It is sin beloved and delighted in which
separates us from the Lord
but when we bewail it heartily
the Lord will not
withdraw from us. What a contrast is here in this and the former verse! He is
as a beast
and yet continually with God. Our double nature
as it always
causes conflict
so is it a continuous paradox: the flesh allies us with the
brutes
and the spirit affiliates us to God. Thou hast holden me by my right
hand. With love dost thou embrace me
with honour ennoble me
with power uphold
me. He had almost fallen
and yet was always upheld. He was a riddle to
himself
as he had been a wonder unto many. This verse contains the two
precious mercies of communion and upholding
and as they were both given to one
who confessed himself a fool
we also may hope to enjoy them.
Verse
24. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel. I have done with
choosing my own way
and trying to pick a path amid the jungle of reason. He
yielded not only the point in debate
but all intentions of debating
and he
puts his hand into that of the great Father
asking to be led
and agreeing to
follow. Our former mistakes are a blessing
when they drive us to this. The end
of our own wisdom is the beginning of our being wise. With Him is counsel
and
when we come to him
we are sure to be led aright. And afterward.
"Afterward!" Blessed word. We can cheerfully put up with the present
when we foresee the future. What is around us just now is of small consequence
compared with afterward. Receive me to glory. Take me up into thy splendour of
joy. Thy guidance shall conduct me to this matchless terminus. Glory shall I
have
and thou thyself wilt admit me into it. As Enoch was not
for God took
him
so all the saints are taken up—received up into glory.
Verse
25. Whom have I in heaven but thee? Thus
then
he turns away
from the glitter which fascinated him to the true gold which was his real
treasure. He felt that his God was better to him than all the wealth
health
honour
and peace
which he had so much envied in the worldling; yea
He was
not only better than all on earth
but more excellent than all in heaven. He
bade all things else go
that he might be filled with his God. And there is
none upon earth that I desire beside thee. No longer should his wishes ramble
no other object should tempt them to stray; henceforth
the Ever living One
should be his all in all.
Verse
26. My flesh and my heart faileth. They had failed him
already
and he had almost fallen; they would fail him in the hour of death
and
if he relied upon them
they would fail him at once. But God is the
strength of my heart
and my portion for ever. His God would not fail him
either as protection or a joy. His heart would be kept up by divine love
and filled
eternally with divine glory. After having been driven far out to sea
Asaph
casts anchor in the old port. We shall do well to follow his example. There is
nothing desirable save God; let us
then
desire only him. All other things
must pass away; let our hearts abide in him
who alone abideth for ever.
Verse
27. For
lo
they that are far from thee shall perish. We must
be near God to live; to be far off by wicked works is death. Thou hast
destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. If we pretend to be the Lord's
servants
we must remember that he is a jealous God
and requires spiritual
chastity from all his people. Offences against conjugal vows are very
offensive
and all sins against God have the same element in them
and they are
visited with the direst punishments. Mere heathens
who are far from God
perish in due season; but those who
being his professed people
act
unfaithfully to their profession
shall come under active condemnation
and be
crushed beneath his wrath. We read examples of this in Israel's history; may we
never create fresh instances in our own persons.
Verse
28. But it is good for me to draw near to God. Had he done so
at first he would not have been immersed in such affliction; when he did so he
escaped from his dilemma
and if he continued to do so he would not fall into
the same evil again. The greater our nearness to God
the less we are affected
by the attractions and distractions of earth. Access into the most holy place
is a great privilege
and a cure for a multitude of ills. It is good for all
saints
it is good for me in particular; it is always good
and always will be
good for me to approach the greatest good
the source of all good
even God
himself. I have put my trust in the Lord God. He dwells upon the glorious name
of the Lord Jehovah
and avows it as the basis of his faith. Faith is wisdom;
it is the key of enigmas
the clue of mazes
and the pole star of pathless
seas. Trust and you will know. That I may declare all thy works. He who
believes shall understand
and so be able to teach. Asaph hesitated to utter
his evil surmisings
but he has no diffidence in publishing abroad a good
matter. God's ways are the more admired the more they are known. He who is
ready to believe the goodness of God shall always see fresh goodness to believe
in
and he who is willing to declare the works of God shall never be silent for
lack of wonders to declare.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole
Psalm. The Seventy-third Psalm is a very striking record of the mental
struggle which an eminently pious Jew underwent
when he contemplated the
respective conditions of the righteous and the wicked. Fresh from the conflict
he somewhat abruptly opens the Psalm with the confident enunciation of the
truth of which victory over doubt had now made him more and more intelligently
sure than ever
that God is good to Israel
even to such as are of a clean
heart. And then he relates the most fatal shock which his faith has
received
when he contrasted the prosperity of the wicked
who
though they
proudly contemned God and man
prospered in the world and increased in riches
with his own lot
who
though he had cleansed his heart and washed his hands in
innocency
had been plagued all the day long and chastened every morning.
The place where his doubts were removed and his tottering faith reestablished
was the sanctuary of God. God himself was the teacher. What
then
did
he teach? By what divinely imparted considerations was the psalmist reassured?
Whatever is the proper rendering of Ps 73:4; whether
There are no sorrows
(tending) to their death
or
There are no sorrows until their death
—their whole life to the very last is one unchequered course of happiness—that
verse conveys to us the psalmist's mistaken estimate of the prosperity
of the wicked
before he went unto the sanctuary of God. The true estimate
at
which he afterwards arrived
is found in Ps 73:18-20. Now
admitting (what
by
the way
is somewhat difficult of belief
inasmuch as the sudden and fearful
temporal destruction of all or even the most prosperous
cannot
be made out) that the end of these men means only and always their end in
this world
we come to the conclusion that
in the case of the wicked
this
Psalm does not plainly and undeniably teach that punishment awaits them after
death; but only that
in estimating their condition
it is necessary
in order
to vindicate the justice of God
to take in their whole career
and set over
against their great prosperity the sudden and fearful reverses and destruction
which they frequently encounter. But
in turning to the other side of the
comparison
the case of the righteous
we are not met by the thought
that as the prosperity of the wicked is but the preparation for their ruin
the
raising higher the tower that the fall may be the greater
so the adversity of
the godly is but an introduction to worldly wealth and honour. That though is
not foreign to the Old Testament writers. "Evildoers shall be cut off;
"writes one of them
"but those who wait upon the Lord
they shall
inherit the earth. For yet a little while
and the wicked shall not be: yea
thou shalt diligently consider his place
and it shall not be. But the meek
shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of
peace." Ps 37:9-11. But it is not so much as hinted at here. The
daily chastening may continue
flesh and heart may fail
but God is good to
Israel notwithstanding: he is their portion
their guide
their help while they
live
and he will take them to his glorious presence when they die. Nevertheless
I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt
guide me with thy counsel
and afterward receive me to glory. The New
Testament has nothing higher or more spiritual than this. The reference of the
last clause to happiness after death is
I believe
generally acknowledged by
Jewish commentators. They left it to the candour of Christian expositors to
doubt or deny it. Thomas Thompson Perowne
in "The Essential Coherence
of the Old and New Testaments." 1858.
Whole
Psalm. In Psalm Seventy-three the soul looks out
and reasons on
what it sees there; namely
successful wickedness and suffering righteousness.
What is the conclusion? "I have cleansed my heart in vain." So much
for looking about. In Psalm Seventy-seven the soul looks in
and reasons
on what it finds there. What is the conclusion? "Hath God forgotten to be
gracious?" So much for looking in. Where
then
should we look? Look up
straight up
and believe what you see there. What will be the
conclusion? You will understand the "end" of man
and trace
the "way" of God. From "Things New and Old
a Monthly
Magazine." 1858.
Whole
Psalm. In this Psalm
the psalmist (Asaph) relates the great difficulty
which existed in his own mind
from the consideration of the wicked. He
observes (Ps 73:2-3)
As for me
my feet were almost gone; my steps had well
nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish
when I saw the prosperity of
the wicked. In the fourth and following verses he informs us what
in the
wicked
was his temptation. In the first place
he observed
that they were prosperous
and all things went well with them. He then observed their behaviour in
their prosperity
and the use which they made of it; and that God
notwithstanding such abuse
continued their prosperity. Then he tells us
by what means he was helped out of this difficulty
viz.
by going into the sanctuary
(Ps 73:16-17)
and proceeds to inform us what considerations they were which
helped him
viz.
—
1.
The consideration of the miserable end of wicked men. However they
prosper for the present
yet they come to a woeful end at last (Ps 73:18-20).
2.
The consideration of the blessed end of the saints. Although the saints
while they live
may be afflicted
yet they come to a happy end at last (Ps 73:21-24).
3.
The consideration that the godly have a much better portion than the
wicked
even though they have no other portion but God; as in Ps 73:25-26.
Though
the wicked are in prosperity
and are not in trouble as other men; yet the
godly
though in affliction
are in a state infinitely better
because they
have God for their portion. They need desire nothing else: he that hath God
hath all. Thus the psalmist professes the sense and apprehension which he had
of things: Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that
I desire beside thee. In the twenty-fourth verse the psalmist takes notice
how the saints are happy in God
both when they are in this world and also when
they are taken to another. They are blessed in God in this world
in that he
guides them by his counsel; and when he takes them out of it they are still
happy
in that he receives them to glory. This probably led him to
declare that he desired no other portion
either in this world or in
that to come
either in heaven or upon earth. Jonathan Edwards.
Verse
1. Truly: it's but a particle; but the smallest filings of
gold are gathered up. Little pearls are of great price. And this small particle
is not of small use
being rightly applied and improved. First
take it (as our
translators gave it us) as a note of asseveration. Truly. It's a word of
faith
opposite to the psalmist's sense and Satan's injections. Whatsoever
sense sees or feels
whatsoever Satan insinuates and says; yet precious faith
with confidence asserts
Truly
verily God is good. He is not only good
in word
but in deed also. Not only seemingly good
but certainly good.
Secondly
consider it as an adversative particle
Yet
so our old
translation. Ainsworth renders it
yet surely; taking in the former and
this together. And then the sense runs thus: How ill soever things go in the
world
how ill soever it fares with God's church and people amongst men
yet
God is good to Israel. Thirdly
some conceive that the word carries admiration.
Oh
how good is God to Israel. Where expressions and apprehensions fail
there
the psalmist takes up God's providence with admiration. Oh
how wonderfully
how transcendently good is God to Israel! This yet (as I conceive) hath
a threefold reference to the body of the Psalm. For as interpreters observe
though these words are set in the beginning
yet they suggest the conclusion of
the psalmist's conflict. And the psalmist seems to begin somewhat abruptly. Yet
God is good. But having filled his thoughts with his former follies and
fears
and now seeing himself in a safe condition both for the present and the
future
he is full of confidence and comfort; and that which was the strongest
and chiefest in his heart now breaks our first: Yet God is good.
1.
This yet relates unto his sufferings
Ps 73:14: All the day long have
I been plagued
and chastened every morning. Notwithstanding the variety
and frequency of the saint's sufferings
yet God is good. Though sorrow
salutes them every morning at their first awaking
and trouble attends them to
bed at night
yet God is good. Though temptations many and terrible make
batteries and breeches upon their spirits
yet God is good to Israel.
2.
This yet reflects upon his sinning
the fretting and wrangling of his
distempered heart (Ps 73:2-3
21). Though sinful motions do mutiny in the soul
against God's wise administration
though there be foolish
proud quarrelling
with divine providence
and inexcusable distrust of his faithful promises;
though fretfulness at others prosperity and discontent at their own adversity
yet
God is good. Israel's sinful distempers cause not the Almighty to change
the course of his accustomed goodness. While corruptions are kept from breaking
out into scandal
while the soul contends against them
and is humbled for them
(as the psalmist was)
this conclusion must be maintained: yet God is good.
3.
This yet looks back upon his misgivings. There had been distrustful
despondency upon the good man's heart. For from both the premises (viz.
his
sufferings and sinning) he had inferred this conclusion
Ps 73:13
Verily I
have cleansed my heart in vain
and washed my hands in innocency. As if he
had said
"I have kept fasts
observed Sabbaths
heard sermons
made
prayers
received sacraments
given alms
avoided sins
resisted temptations
withstood lusts
appeared for Christ and his cause and servants in vain":
yea
his heart had added an asseveration (verily) to this faithless
opinion
but now he is of another mind: Yet God is good. The
administrations of God are not according to the sad surmises of his people's
misgiving hearts. For
though they through diffidence are apt to give up their
holy labours as lost
and all their conscientious care and carriage as utterly
cast away; yet God is good to Israel. Simeon Ash
in a Sermon entitled
"God's Incomparable Goodness unto Israel." 1647.
Verse
1. David opens the Psalm abruptly
and from this we learn what is
worthy of particular notice
that
before he broke forth into this language
his mind had been agitated with many doubts and conflicting suggestions. As a
brave and valiant champion
he had been exercised in very painful struggles and
temptations; but
after long and arduous exertion
he at length succeeded in
shaking off all perverse imaginations
and came to the conclusion that yet
God is gracious to his servants
and the faithful guardian of their welfare.
Thus these words contain a tacit contrast between the unhallowed imaginations
suggested to him by Satan
and the testimony in favour of true religion with
which he now strengthens himself
denouncing
as it were
the judgment of the
flesh
in giving place to misgiving thoughts with respect to the providence of
God. We see
then
how emphatic is this exclamation of the psalmist. He does
not ascend into the chair to dispute after the manner of the philosophers
and
to deliver his discourse in a style of studied oratory; but as if he had
escaped from hell
he proclaims with a loud voice
and with impassioned
feeling
that he had obtained the victory. John Calvin.
Verse
1. (first clause).
Yet
sure the gods are good: I would think so
If they would give me leave!
But virtue in distress
and vice in triumph
Make atheists of mankind. Dryden.
Verse
1. God is good. There is a beauty in the name appropriated by
the Saxon nations to the Deity
unequalled except by his most reverential
Hebrew appellation. They called him "GOD
"which is literally
"THE GOOD." The same word thus signifying the Deity
and his most
endearing quality. Turner.
Verse
1. God is good. Let the devil and his instruments say what
they will to the contrary
I will never believe them; I have said it before
and I see no reason to reverse my sentence: Truly God is good. Though
sometimes he may hide his face for awhile
yet he doth that in faithfulness and
love; there is kindness in his very scourges
and love bound up in his rods; he
is good to Israel: do but mark it first or last: "The true Israelite
in
whom there is no guile
shall be refreshed by his Saviour." The Israelite
that wrestles with tears with God
and values his love above the whole world
that will not be put off without his Father's blessing
shall have it with a
witness: "He shall reap in joy though he may at present sow in tears. Even
to such as are of a clean heart." The false hearted hypocrite
indeed
that gives God only his tongue and lip
cap and knee
but reserves his heart
and love for sin and the world
that hath much of compliment
but nothing of
affection and reality
why let such a one never expect
while in such a state
to taste those reviving comforts that I have been treating of; while he drives
such a trade
he must not expect God's company. James Janeway.
1636-1674.
Verse
1. Even to such as are of a clean heart. Purity of heart is
the characteristic note of God's people. Heart purity denominates us the Israel
of God; it makes us of Israel indeed; "but all are not Israel which are of
Israel." Ro 9:6. Purity of heart is the jewel which is hung only upon the
elect. As chastity distinguishes a virtuous woman from an harlot
so the true
saint is distinguished from the hypocrite by his heart purity. This is like the
nobleman's star or garter
which is a peculiar ensign of honour
differing him
from the vulgar; when the bright star of purity shineth in a Christian's heart
it doth distinguish him from the formal professor. . . . God is good to
the pure in heart. We all desire that God should be good to us; it is the sick
man's prayer: "The Lord be good to me." But how is God good to them?
Two ways.
1.
To them that are pure all things are sanctified
Tit 1:15: "To the pure
all things are pure; " estate is sanctified
relations are sanctified; as
the temple did sanctify the gold and the altar did sanctify the offering. To
the unclean nothing is clean; their table is a snare
their temple devotion a
sin. There is a curse entailed upon a wicked man (De 28:16)
but holiness
removeth the curse
and cuts off the entail: "to the pure all things are
pure."
2.
The clean hearted have all things work for their good. Ro 8:28. Mercies and
afflictions shall turn to their good; the most poisonous drugs shall be
medicinal; the most cross providence shall carry on the design of their
salvation. Who
then
would not be clean on heart? Thomas Watson.
Verse
2. But as for me. Literally
it is
And I
which ought
to be read with emphasis; for David means that those temptations which cast an
affront upon the honour of God
and overwhelm faith
not only assail the common
class of men
or those who are endued only with some small measure of the fear
of God
but that he himself
who ought to have profited above all others in the
school of God
had experienced his own share of them. By thus setting himself
forth as an example
he designed the more effectually to arouse and incite us
to take great heed to ourselves. John Calvin.
Verse
2. Let such also as fear God and begin to look aside on the things
of this world
know it will be hard even for them to hold out in faith and in
the fear of God in time of trial. Remember the example of David
he was a man
that had spent much time in travelling towards heaven; yet
looking but a
little aside upon the glittering show of this world
had very near lost his
way
his feet were almost gone
his steps had well nigh slipped. Edward
Elton. 1620.
Verse
2. He tells us that his feet were almost gone. The word
signifies to bow
or bend under one. My steps had well nigh slipped
or
poured out
kept not within their true bounds; but like water poured
out and not confined
runs aside. Though these expressions be metaphorical
and seemingly dark and cloudy
yet they clearly represent unto us this truth
that his understanding was misguided
his judgment was corrupt
his affections disordered
turbulent
and guilty of too great a passion;
and this
the consequence (Ps 73:22 in which he acknowledges himself ignorant
foolish
and brutish) do sufficiently evidence. Our understanding
and judgment may well bear the comparison for feet
for as the
one
in our motion
supports the body
so the other
in human actions
and all employments
underprops the soul. The affections
also
are as paths and steps; as these of the feet
so these are
the prints and expressions of the judgment and mind. Edward Parry
in
"David Restored." 1660.
Verse
2. Almost gone. There is to be noted that the prophet said he
was almost gone
and not altogether. Here is the presence
providence
strength
safeguard
and keeping of man by Almighty God
marvellously set
forth. That although we are tempted and brought even to the very point to
perpetrate and do all mischief
yet he stays us and keeps us
that the
temptation shall not overcome us. John Hooper. 1495-1555.
Verse
2-14. But the prosperity of wicked and unjust men
both in
public and in private life
who
though not leading a happy life in reality
are yet thought to do so in common opinion
being praised improperly in the
works of poets
and all kinds of books
may lead you—and I am not surprised at
your mistake—to a belief that the gods care nothing for the affairs of men.
These matters disturb you. Being led astray by foolish thoughts
and yet not
able to think ill of the gods
you have arrived at your present state of mind
so as to think that the gods to indeed exist
but that they despise and neglect
human affairs. Plato.
Verse
8. They are corrupt. Prosperity
in an irreligious heart
breeds corruption
which from thence is emitted by the breath in
conversation
to infect and taint the minds of others. George Horne.
Verse
8. They speak wickedly concerning oppression. Indeed
we see
that wicked men
after having for some time got everything to prosper according
to their desires
cast off all shame
and are at no pains to conceal
themselves
when about to commit iniquity
but loudly proclaim their own
turpitude. "What!" they will say
"is it not in my power to
deprive you of all that you possess
and even to cut your throat?"
Robbers
it is true
can do the same thing; but then they hide themselves for
fear. These giants
or rather inhuman monsters
of whom David speaks
on the
contrary not only imagine that they are exempted from subjection to any law
but
unmindful of their own weakness
foam furiously
as if there were no
distinction between good and evil
between right and wrong. John Calvin.
Verse
15. I should offend
etc. That is
I do God's church a great
deal of injury
which hath always been under afflictions
if I think or say
that all her piety hath been without hope
or her hope without effect. Others
understand it to mean
I deceive the generation
viz.
I propound a false
doctrine unto them
which is apt to seduce them. Others
"behold the
generation
"etc.; that is to say
notwithstanding all afflictions
it is
certain that thou art a Father to the Church only; which is sufficient to make
me judge well of these afflictions; I have done ill
and confess I have erred
in this my rash judgment. John Diodati.
Verse
17. By the sanctuaries of God some
even among the Hebrews
understand the celestial mansions in which the spirits of the just and angels
dwell; as if David had said
This was a painful thing in my sight
until I came
to acknowledge in good earnest that men are not created to flourish for a short
time in this world
and to luxuriate in pleasures while in it
but that their
condition here is that of pilgrims
whose aspirations
during their earthly pilgrimage
should be towards heaven. I readily admit that no man can form a right judgment
of the providence of God but he who elevates his mind above the earth; but it
is more simple and natural to understand the word sanctuary as denoting
celestial doctrine. As the book of the law was laid up in the sanctuary
from
which the oracles of heaven were to be obtained
that is to say
the
declaration of the will of God; and as this was the true way of acquiring
profitable instruction
David very properly puts entering into the
sanctuaries for coming to the school of God
as if his meaning were
this: Until God become my schoolmaster
and until I learn by his word what
otherwise my mind
when I come to consider the government of the world
cannot
comprehend
I stop short all at once
and understand nothing about the subject.
When
therefore
we are here told that men are unfit for contemplating the
arrangements of divine providence
until they obtain wisdom elsewhere than from
themselves
how can we attain to wisdom but by submissively receiving what God
teaches us
both by his word and by his Holy Spirit? David by the word sanctuary
alludes to the external manner of teaching
which God had appointed among his
ancient people; but along with the word he comprehends the secret illumination
of the Holy Spirit. John Calvin.
Verse
17. The joy of a wicked man is imperfect in itself
because it is not
so as it seems to be
or it is not sincerely so. It is not pure gold
but
alloyed and adulterated with sorrow. It may look well to one that is blear
eyed
but it will not pass for good to one that looks well to it. Let any one
consider and weigh it well in the balance of the sanctuary
whither
David went to fetch the scales for the same purpose
and he will find it too
light by many grains. It is not so inside as it is without; no more than a mud
wall that is plastered with white
or a stinking grave covered with a glorious
monument. It is upouloz
looking fair and smooth
like true joy; as a wounded
member that is healed too soon (and you know how God by the prophet complains
of the hurt of his people that was slightly healed
Jer 6:14)
and it looks as
well as any other part of the body; but
underneath
there is still a sore
which festers so much more
and is the worse
for that the outside is so well.
Where pretences
and cloaks
and disguises are the fairest; there the knavery
and the poison
and the evil concealed are usually foulest. Zachary Bogan
(1625-1659)
in "Meditations of the Mirth of a Christian Life."
Verse
17. Then understood I. There is a famous story of providence
in Bradwardine to this purpose. A certain hermit that was much tempted
and was
utterly unsatisfied concerning the providence of God
resolved to journey from
place to place till he met with some who could satisfy him. An angel in the
shape of a man joined himself with him as he was journeying
telling him that
he was sent from God to satisfy him in his doubts of providence. The first
night they lodged at the house of a very holy man
and they spent their time in
discourses of heaven
and praises of God
and were entertained with a great
deal of freedom and joy. In the morning
when they departed
the angel took
with him a great cup of gold. The next night they came to the house of another
holy man
who made them very welcome
and exceedingly rejoiced in their society
and discourse; the angel
notwithstanding
at his departure killed an infant in
the cradle
which was his only son
he having been for many years before
childless
and
therefore
was a very fond father of this child. The third
night they came to another house
where they had like free entertainment as
before. The master of the family had a steward whom he highly prized
and told
them how happy he accounted himself in having such a faithful servant. Next
morning he sent his steward with them part of their way
to direct them
therein. As they were going over the bridge the angel flung the steward into
the river and drowned him. The last night they came to a very wicked man's
house
where they had very untoward entertainment
yet the angel
next morning
gave him the cup of gold. All this being done
the angel asked the hermit
whether he understood those things? He answered
his doubts of providence were
increased
not resolved
for he could not understand why he should deal so
hardly with those holy men
who received them with so much love and joy
and
yet give such a gift to that wicked man who used them so unworthily. The angel
said
I will now expound these things unto you. The first house where we came
the master of it was a holy man; yet
drinking in that cup every morning
it
being too large
it did somewhat unfit him for holy duties
though not so much
that others or himself did perceive it; so I took it away
since it is better
for him to lose the cup of gold than his temperance. The master of the family
where we lay the second night was a man given much to prayer and meditation
and spent much time in holy duties
and was very liberal to the poor all the
time he was childless; but as soon as he had a son he grew so fond of it
and
spent so much time in playing with it
that he exceedingly neglected his former
holy exercise
and gave but little to the poor
thinking he could never lay up
enough for his child; therefore I have taken the infant to heaven
and left him
to serve God better upon earth. The steward whom I did drown had plotted to
kill his master the night following; and as to that wicked man to whom I gave
the cup of gold
he was to have nothing in the other world
I therefore gave him
something in this
which
notwithstanding
will prove a snare to him
for he
will be more intemperate; and "let him that is filthy be filthy
still." The truth of this story I affirm not
but the moral is very good
for it shows that God is an indulgent Father to the saints when he most
afflicts them; and that when he sets the wicked on high he sets them also in
slippery places
and their prosperity is their ruin. Pr 1:32. Thomas White
in "A Treatise of the Power of Godliness." 1658.
Verse
17. Their end. Providence is often mysterious and a source of
perplexity to us. Walking in Hyde Park one day
I saw a piece of paper on the
grass. I picked it up; it was a part of a letter; the beginning was wanting
the end was not there; I could make nothing of it. Such is providence. You
cannot see beginning or end
only a part. When you can see the whole
then the
mystery will be unveiled. Thomas Jones. 1871.
Verse
18. Slippery places. The word in the original signifies slick
or smooth
as ice or polished marble
and is from thence by a metaphor
used for flattery. Hence
Abenezra renders it
In locis adulationis posuisti
eos: thou hast set them in places of flattery. Edward Parry.
Verse
18. They are but exalted
as the shellfish by the eagle
according to
the naturalist
to be thrown down on some rock and devoured. Their most
glorious prosperity is but like a rainbow
which showeth itself for a little
time in all its gaudy colours
and then vanisheth. The Turks
considering the
unhappy end of their viziers
use this proverb
"He that is in the
greatest office is but a statue of glass." Wicked men walk on glass or
ice
thou hast set them in slippery places; on a sudden their feet
slip—they fall
and break their necks. George Swinnock.
Verses
18
20. Their banqueting house is very slippery
and the feast
itself a mere dream. Thomas Adams.
Verse
19. They are utterly consumed with terrors. Their destruction
is not only sudden
but entire; it is like the breaking in pieces of a potter's
vessel
a sherd of which cannot be gathered up and used; or like the casting of
a millstone into the sea
which will never rise more; and this is done with
terrors
either by terrible judgments inflicted on them from without
or
with terrors inwardly seizing upon their minds and consciences
as at the time
of temporal calamities
or at death
and certainly at the judgment
when the
awful sentence will be pronounced upon them. See Job 27:20. John Gill.
Verse
19. If thou shouldest live the longest measure of time that any man
hath done
and spend all that time in nothing but pleasures (which no man ever
did but met with some crosses
afflictions
or sicknesses)
but at the evening
of this life
must take up thy lodging in the "everlasting burnings"
and "devouring fire" (Isa 30:14); were those pleasures answerable to
these everlasting burnings? An English merchant that lived at Dantzic
now with
God
told us this story
and it was true. A friend of his (a merchant also)
upon what grounds I know not
went to a convent
and dined with some friars.
His entertainment was very noble. After he had dined and seen all
the merchant
fell to commending their pleasant lives: "Yea
"said one of the
friars to him
"we live gallantly indeed
had we anybody to go to hell for
us when we die." Giles Firmin (1617-1617)
in "The Real Christian
or
A Treatise of Effectual Calling."
Verse
20. As a dream when one awaketh. The conception is rather
subtle
but seems to have been shrewdly penetrated by Shakespeare
who makes
the Plantagenet prince (affecting
perhaps
the airs of a ruler in God's stead)
say to his discarded favourite—
"I
have long dreamt of such a kind of man
So surfeit swelled
so old and so profane
But being awake I do not despise my dream."
—Henry IV.
For
as it is the inertness of the sleeper's will and intellect that gives reality
to the shapes and figments
the very sentiments and purposes that throng his
mind; so it seems
as it were
to be the negligence and oversight of the Moral
Ruler that makes to prosper the wicked or inane life and influence. So Paul
says
in reference to the polytheism of the ancient world: "and the times
of this ignorance God winked at." Ac 17:30. C. B. Cayley
in "The
Psalms in Metre." 1860.
Verse
21. Thus my heart was grieved
etc. Two similitudes are used
by which his grief and indignation or zeal are described. First
he says his
heart boiled over like yeast. The passion which was stirred up in his thoughts
he compares to the yeast which inflates the whole mass
and causes it to swell
or boil over... The other simile is taken from the internal pains which calculi
produce; I was pricked in my reins. They who have felt them are aware of
the torture
and there is no need for a long description. It signifies that his
great pain was mingled with indignation
and that this came fresh upon him as
often as he looked upon the prosperity of the ungodly. Mollerus.
Verse
21. Reins. Before all the other intestines there are the
kidneys (twylb
nefroi)
placed on both sides of the lumbar vertebrae on the
hinder wall of the abdomen
of which the Scripture makes such frequent mention
and in the most psychically significant manner. It brings the most tender and
the most inward experience of a manifold kind into association with them. When
man is suffering most deeply within
he is pricked in his kidneys
("reins"). When fretting affliction overcomes him
his kidneys
are cloven asunder (Job 16:13; compare La 3:13); when he rejoices profoundly
they exult (Pr 23:16); when he feels himself very penetratingly warned
they
chasten him (Ps 16:7); when he very earnestly longs
they are consumed away
with his body (Job 19:27). As the omniscient and all penetrating knower of the
most secret hidden things of man
God is frequently called (from Ps 7:10 to the
Apocalypse) the Trier of the hearts and reins; and of the ungodly it is said
that God is far from their reins (Jer 12:2)
that is
that he
being withdrawn
back into himself
allows not himself to be perceived by them. Franz
Delitzsch.
Verse
22. So foolish was I
and ignorant
etc. Is not a cavilling
spirit at the Lord's dispensations bad
both in its roots and fruits? What are
the roots of it but (1) ignorance; (2) pride
this lifteth up (Heb 2:4); (3)
impatience
or want of waiting on God to see the issues of matters; so in Jon
4:8-11; (4) forgetfulness who the Lord is
and who man is that grumbles at his
Maker
La 3:39
Ro 9:20. And as for the fruits
they are none of the best
but
bad enough. Men are ready to flag in duty
yea
to throw it off
Ro 9:13
and
Mal 3:14; yea
in the way to blaspheme God; see Job 2:9 Mal 3:13 Re 16:9. Thomas
Crane
in "A Prospect of Divine Providence." 1672.
Verse
22. I was as a beast before thee. I permitted my mind to be
wholly occupied with sensible things
like the beasts that perish
and
did not look into a future state
nor did I consider nor submit to the wise
designs of an unerring providence. Adam Clarke.
Verse
22. I was as a beast before thee. The original has in it no
word of comparison; it ought to be rather translated
I was a very beast
before thee
and we are told that the Hebrew word being in the plural
number
gives it a peculiar emphasis
indicating some monstrous or astonishing
beast. It is the word used by Job which is interpreted "behemoth
"—"I was a very monster before thee
"not only a beast
but one
of the most brutish of all beasts
one of the most stubborn and intractable of
all beasts. I think no man can go much lower than this in humble confession.
This is a description of human nature
and of the old man in the renewed saint
which is not to be excelled. C.H.S.
Verse
22. Among the many arguments to prove the penman of the Scripture
inspired by the Spirit of God
this is not the last and least—that the penmen
of holy writ do record their own faults and the faults of their dearest and
nearest relatives. For instance hereof
how coarsely doth David speak of
himself: So foolish was I
and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.
And do you think that the face of St. Paul did look the more foul by being
drawn with his own pencil
when he says
"I was a murderer
a persecutor
the greatest of sinners
"etc? This is not usual in the writings of human
authors
who praise themselves to the utmost of what they could
and rather
than lose a drop of applause they will lick it up with their own tongues. Tully
writes very copiously in setting forth the good service which he did the Roman
state
but not a word of his covetousness
of his affecting popular applause
of his pride and vain glory
of his mean extraction and the like. Whereas
clean contrary
Moses sets down the sin and punishment of his own sister
the
idolatry and superstition of Aaron his brother
and his own fault in his
preposterous striking the rock
for which he was excluded the land of Canaan. Thomas
Fuller.
Verse
23. I am continually with thee
as a child the tender care of
a parent; and as a parent
during my danger of falling in a slippery path
"thou
hast holden me
thy child
by my right hand." George Horne.
Verse
23. I am continually with thee. He does not say that the Lord is
continually with "his people
"and holds
and guides
and receives
them; he says
"He is continually with me; He holds me; He
will guide me; He will receive me." The man saw
and felt
and rejoiced in his own personal interest in God's care and love. And he did
this (mark)
in the very midst of affliction
with "flesh and heart
failing; "and in spite too of many wrong
and opposite
and sinful
feelings
that had just passed away; under a conviction of his own sinfulness
and folly
and
as he calls it
even "brutishness." Oh! it is a
blessed thing
brethren
to have a faith like this. Charles Bradley.
1838.
Verse
23. I am still with thee. The word translated still
properly means always
and denotes that there had been no change or
interruption in the previous relation of the parties. There is a perfectly
analogous usage of the French toujours. Joseph Addison Alexander.
Verse
24. Thou shalt guide me. How are we to work our way in strange
lands
if left entirely to our own resources? Hence it is
that so much is said
in the Bible about guides
and that the Lord is called the guide of his people.
They are in a foreign land
a land of pits and snares; and
without a good
guide
they will be sure to fall into the one
or be caught in the other.
"This God is our God
for ever and ever
"saith the psalmist; and not
only so
but he condescends to "be our guide
and will be
even
unto death" (Ps 48:14). Can we have a better guide? When a guide
has been well recommended to us by those who have tried him
it is our wisdom
to place ourselves unreservedly in his hands; and if he say our way lies to the
right
it would show our folly to say we were determined to go to the left. John
Gadsby.
Verse
24. Guide... receive. After conversion
God still works with
us: he doth not only give grace
but actual help in the work of obedience:
"He worketh all our works in us
"Isa 26:12. His actual help is
necessary to direct
quicken
strengthen
protect and defend us. In our way to
heaven
we need not only a rule and path
but a guide. The rule is the law
of God; but the guide is the Spirit of God. Thomas Manton.
Verse
24. Afterward. After all our toil in labour and duty
after
all our crosses and afflictions
after all our doubts and fears that we should
never receive it; after all the hiding of his face
and clouds and darkness
that have passed over us; and after all our battles and fightings for it
oh
then how seasonably will the reception of this reward come in: Thou wilt
guide me with thy counsel
and afterward receive me to glory. O blessed afterwards;
when all your work is done
when all your doubts and fears are over
and when
all your battles are fought; then
O then
ye shall receive the reward. John
Spalding.
Verse
24. Receive me to glory. Mendelssohn in his Beor
has
perceived the probable allusion in this clause to the translation of Enoch. Of
Enoch it is said
Ge 5:24
Myhla wta xql
"God took him." Here
(Ps 73:24)
the psalmist writes
ygzqt Kwbk. "Thou shalt take me to
glory
or gloriously." In another (Ps 49:16) we read
ygzqy yk. "For
he (God) shall take me." I can hardly think that the two latter
expressions were written and read in their context by Jews without reference to
the former. Thomas Thompson Perowne.
Verse
26. My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my
heart
and my portion for ever. In which words we may take notice of five
things.
1.
The order inverted. When he mentions his malady he begins with the failing of
the flesh
and then of the heart; but when he reports the relief he begins with
that of the heart. From hence observe that when God works a cure in man
(out of love) he begins with the heart—he cures that first. And there may be
these reasons for it.
1.
Because the sin of the heart is often the procuring cause of the malady of body
and soul.
2.
The body ever fares the better for the soul
but not the soul for the body.
3.
The cure of the soul is the principal cure.
2.
The suitableness of the remedy to the malady. Strength of heart for failing of
heart
and a blessed portion for the failing of the flesh. Observe
that
there is a proportionate remedy and relief in God for all maladies and
afflictions whatsoever
both within and without. If your hearts fail you
God
is strength; if your flesh fails you
or comforts fail you
God is a portion.
3.
The prophet's interest; he calls God his portion. Observe
that true
Israelites have an undoubted interest in God:—He is theirs.
4.
The prophet's experience in the worst time. He finds this to be true
that when
communicated strength fails
there is a never failing strength in God. Observe
that Christians' experiences of God's all sufficiency are then fullest and
highest when created comforts fail them.
5.
There is the prophet's improvement of his experience for support and comfort
against future trials and temptations. Observe
that a saint's consideration
of his experience of God's all sufficiency in times of exigency
is enough to
bear up and to fortify his spirit against all trials and temptations for the
time to come.
Thus
you may improve the text by way of observation; but there are two principal
doctrines to be insisted on. First
that God is the rock of a saint's heart
his strength
and his portion for ever. Secondly
that divine influence and
relief passeth from God to his people when they stand in most need thereof.
First.
God is the rock of a saint's heart
strength
and portion for ever. Here are
two members or branches in this doctrine.
1.
That God is the rock of a saint's heart
strength.
2.
That God is the portion of a saint. Branch 1. God is the rock of a saint's
heart
strength. He is not only strength
and the strength of their hearts
but
the rock of their strength; so Isa 17:10. Ps 62:7
rwu
the same word that is
used in the text
from hence comes our English word "sure."
Explication. God is the rock of our strength
both in respect of our naturals
and also of our spirituals: he is the strength of nature and of grace (Ps
27:1); the strength of my life natural and spiritual. God is the strength of
thy natural faculties—of reason and understanding
of wisdom and prudence
of
will and affections. He is the strength of all thy graces
faith
patience
meekness
temperance
hope
and charity; both as to their being and exercise.
He is the strength of all thy comfort and courage
peace and happiness
salvation and glory. Ps 140:7. "O God
the rock of my salvation." In
three respects. First. He is the author and giver of all strength. Ps 18:32:
"It is God that girdeth me with strength." Ps 24:11: "He will
give strength to his people." Ps 138:3 68:35. Secondly. He is the
increaser and perfecter of a saint's strength; it is God that makes a saint
strong and mighty both to do and suffer
to bear and forbear
to believe and to
hope to the end; so Heb 11:34: "Out of weakness they were made strong;
"so 1Jo 2:14. And therefore is that prayer of Peter
1Pe 5:10.
Thirdly. He is the preserver of your strength; your life is laid up in God. Col
3:3. Your strength is kept by the strength of God; so Ps 91:1. God doth
overshadow the strength of saints
that no breach can be made upon it. Ps 63:7.
"In the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice." Samuel Blackerby.
1673.
Verse
26. Oh
strange logic! Grace hath learned to deduce strong
conclusions out of weak premises
and happy out of sad. If the major be
My flesh and my heart faileth; and the minor
"There is no
blossom in the fig tree
nor fruit in the vine
"etc.; yet his conclusion
is firm and undeniable: The Lord is the strength of my heart
and my portion
for ever; or
Yet will I rejoice in the God of my salvation. And if
there be more in the conclusion than in the premises
it is the
better; God comes even in the conclusion. John Sheffield
in "The
Rising Sun." 1654.
Verse
26. My flesh and my heart faileth. They who take the
expression in a bad sense
take it to be a confession of his former sin
and to
have relation to the combat mentioned in the beginning of the Psalm
between
the flesh and the spirit; as if he had said
I was so surfeited with self
conceitedness that I presumed to arraign divine actions at the bar of human
reason
and to judge the stick under water crooked by the eye of my sense
when
indeed
it was straight: but now I see that flesh is no fit judge in
matters of faith; that neither my flesh nor heart can determine rightly of
God's dispensations
nor hold out uprightly under Satan's temptations; for if
God had not supported me my flesh had utterly supplanted me: My flesh and my
heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart. Flesh is sometimes
taken for corrupt nature. Ga 5:13. First
because it is propagated by the flesh
(Joh 3:6); secondly
because it is executed by the flesh (Ro 7:25); thirdly
because corruption is nourished
strengthened
and increased by the flesh. 1Jo
2:16. They who take the words in a good sense
do not make them look back so
far as the beginning of the Psalm
but only to the neighbour verse. George
Swinnock.
Verse
26. God is the strength of my heart
and my portion for ever.
The Hebrew carrieth it
but God is the rock of my heart
i.e.
a sure
strong
and immovable foundation to build upon. Though the winds may blow
and the
waves beat
when the storm of death cometh
yet I need not fear that the house
of my heart will fall
for it is built on a sure foundation: God is the rock of
my heart. The strongest child that God hath is not able to stand alone; like
the hop or ivy
he must have somewhat to support him
or he is presently on the
ground. Of all seasons
the Christian hath most need of succour at his dying
hour; then he must take his leave of all his comforts on earth
and then he
shall be sure of the sharpest conflicts from hell
and therefore
it is
impossible he should hold out without extraordinary help from heaven. But the
psalmist had armour of proof ready
wherewith to encounter his last enemy. As
weak and fearful a child as he was
he durst venture a walk in the dark entry
of death
having his Father by the hand: "Though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy
rod and thy staff they comfort me
"Psalm 23. Though at the troubles
of my life
and my trial at death
my heart is ready to fail me
yet I have a
strong cordial which will cheer me in my saddest condition: God is the
strength of my heart.
And
my portion. It is a metaphor taken from the ancient custom among the Jews
of
dividing inheritances
whereby every one had his allotted portion; as if he had
said
God is not only my rock to defend me from those tempests which assault
me
and
thereby
my freedom from evil; but he is also my portion
to supply my
necessities
and to give me the fruition of all good. Others
indeed
have
their parts on this side the land of promise
but the author of all portions is
the matter of my portion. My portion doth not lie in the rubbish and lumber
as
theirs doth whose portion is in this life
be they never so large; but my
portion containeth him whom the heavens
and heaven of heavens
can never
contain. God is the strength of my heart
and my portion for ever; not
for a year
or an age
or a million of ages
but for eternity. Though others'
portions
like roses
the fuller they blow
the sooner they shed; they are
worsted often by their pride
and wasted through their prodigality
so that at
last they come to want—and surely death always rends their persons and portions
asunder; yet my portion will be ever full
without diminution. Without
alteration
this God will be my God for ever and ever
my guide and aid unto
death; nay
death
which dissolves so many bonds
and unties such close knots
shall never part me and my portion
but give me a perfect and everlasting
possession of it. George Swinnock.
Verse
28. It is good for me to draw near to God. When he saith
it
is good
his meaning is it is best. This positive is superlative. It
is more than good for us to draw nigh to God at all times
it is best for us to
do so
and it is at our utmost peril not to do so; For
lo
saith the
psalmist (Ps 73:27)
they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast
destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. It is dangerous to be far
from God
but it is more dangerous to go far from him. Every man is far off by
nature
and wicked men go further off: the former shall perish
the
latter shall be destroyed. He that fares best in his withdrawing from
God
fares bad enough; therefore
it is best for us to draw nigh unto God. He
is the best friend at all times
and the only friend at sometimes. And may we
not say that God suffers and orders evil times
and the withdrawing of the
creature
for that very end
that we might draw nearer unto him? Doth he not
give up the world to a spirit of reviling and mocking that he may stir up in
his people a spirit of prayer? Joseph Caryl.
Verse
28. It is good; that is
it puts in us a blessed quality and
disposition. It makes a man to be like God himself; and
secondly
it is
good
that is
it is comfortable; for it is the happiness of the creature
to be near the Creator; it is beneficial and helpful. To draw near. How
can a man but be near to God
seeing he filleth heaven and earth: "Whither
shall I go from thy presence?" Ps 139:7. He is present always in power and
providence in all places
but graciously present with some by his Spirit
supporting
comforting
strengthening the heart of a good man. As the soul is
said to be tota in toto
in several parts by several faculties
so God
is present to all
but in a diverse manner. Now we are said to be near to God
in diverse degrees: first
when our understanding is enlightened;
intellectus est veritatis sponsa; and so the young man speaking discreetly
in things concerning God
is said not to be far from the kingdom of God
Mr
12:34. Secondly
in minding: when God is present to our minds
so that
the soul is said to be present to that which it minds; contrarily it is said of
the wicked
that "God is not in all their thoughts
"Ps 10:4. Thirdly
when the will upon the discovery of the understanding comes to choose the
better part
and is drawn from that choice to cleave to him
as it was said
of Jonathan's heart
"it was knit to David
" 1Sa 18:1. Fourthly
when our whole affections are carried to God
loving him as the chief
good. Love is the firstborn affection. That breeds desire of communion with
God. Thence comes joy in him
so that the soul pants after God
"as the
hart after the water springs
"Ps 41:1. Fifthly
and especially
when
the soul is touched with the Spirit of God working faith
stirring up
dependence
confidence
and trust on God. Hence ariseth sweet communion. The
soul is never at rest till it rests on him. Then it is afraid to break with him
or to displease him; but it groweth zealous and resolute
and hot in love
stiff in good cases; resolute against his enemies. And yet this is not all
for
God will have also the outward man
so as the whole man must present itself before
God in word
in sacraments; speak of him and to him with reverence
and yet
with strength of affection mounting up in prayer
as in a fiery chariot; hear
him speak to us; consulting with his oracles; fetching comforts against
distresses
directions against maladies. Sixthly
and especially
we
draw near to him when we praise him; for this is the work of the souls
departed
and of the angels in heaven
that are continually near unto him. The
prophet here saith
It is good for me. How came he to know this? Why
he
had found it by experience
and by it he was thoroughly convinced. Richard
Sibbes.
Verse
28. To draw near to God. It is not one isolated act. It is nor
merely turning to God
and saying
"I have come to him." The
expression is draw. It is not a single act; it is the drawing
the
coming
the habitual walk
going on
and on
and on
so long as we are on
earth. It is
therefore
an habitual religion which must be pressed and
enforced upon us. Montagu Villiers. 1855.
Verse
28. To draw near to God. To draw near to God
1.
A man should make his peace with God
in and through the Mediator Jesus Christ;
for
until once that be done
a man must be said to be far from God
and there
is a partition wall standing betwixt God and him. It is the same with that
advice given by Eliphaz to Job: "Acquaint now thyself with him
and be
at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee
" Job 22:21. Be friends
with God
and all shall be well with you.
2.
It is to seek more after communion and fellowship with God
and to pursue after
intimacy and familiarity with him; and to have more of his blessed company with
us in our ordinary walk and conversation; according to that word
"Blessed
is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk
O Lord
in the light
of thy countenance
"Ps 89:15.
3.
As it stands here in the text
it is the expression of one who hath made up his
peace already
and is on good terms with God; and doth differ a little from
what the words absolutely imply; and so we may take it thus
(a)
It implies the confirming or making sure our interest in God
and so it
supposes the man's peace to be made with God; for
whoever be the author of
this Psalm
it supposes he has made his peace; and
therefore
in the following
words it is subjoined
I have put my trust in the Lord
etc.; that is
I
have trusted my soul unto God
and made my peace with him through a mediator.
It is good
whatever comes
it is always good to be near to
God
that way
and to be made sure in him.
(b)
It implies to be more conformed unto the image of God
and
therefore
this
nearness to him is opposed to that of being far from God. It is good
says he
to draw near to God in our duty; when so many are far from him.
(c)
It implies
to lay by all things in the world
and to seek fellowship and
communion with God
and to be more set apart for his blessed company
and to
walk with him in a dependence upon him as the great burden bearer
as he who is
to be all in all unto us.
In
a word
to draw near unto God
is to make our peace with him
and to secure and
confirm that peace with him
and to study a conformity unto him
and to be near
unto him in our walk and conversation; in our fellowship
and whole carriage
and deportment
to be always near unto him. William Guthrie.
Verse
28. The Epicurean
says Augustine
is wont to say
It is good for
me to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh: the Stoic is wont to say
For me
it is good to enjoy the pleasures of the mind: The Apostle used to say (not
in words but in sense)
It is good for me to cleave to God. Lorinus.
Verse
28. The Lord God. The names The Lord Jehovah are a
combination expressive of God's sovereignty
self existence
and covenant
relation to his people. Joseph Addison Alexander.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Whole
Psalm. It containeth the godly man's trial
in the former part of
it
and his triumph
in the latter part of it. We have
1.
The grievous conflict between the flesh and the spirit
to the 15th verse.
2.
The glorious conquest of the spirit over the flesh
to the end. G. Swinnock.
Whole
Psalm.
1.
The cause of his distemper.
2. The cure of it.
3. The psalmist's carriage after it.
—G. Swinnock.
Verse
1. The true Israel
the great blessing
and the sureness of it: or
the proposition of the text expounded
enforced
and applied.
Verse
1. (first clause). Israel's receipts from God are
1.
For quantity
the greatest;
2. For variety
the choicest;
3. For quality
the sweetest;
4. For security
the surest;
5. For duration
the most lasting.
—Simeon Ash.
Verse
2.
1.
How far a believer may fall.
2. How far he shall not fall.
3. What fears are and what are not allowable.
Verse
2. A retrospect of our slips; prospect of future danger; present
preparation for it.
Verse
4. Quiet death; the cases of the godly and ungodly distinguished by
the causes of the quiet
and the unreliability of mere feelings shown.
Verse
5. The bastard's portion contrasted with that of the true son.
Verse
7. The dangers of opulence and luxury.
Verse
8. Connection between a corrupt heart and a proud tongue.
Verse
10.
1.
The believer's cup is bitter.
2.
It is full.
3.
Its contents are varied waters.
4.
It is but a cup
measured and limited.
5.
It is the cup of his people
and
consequently
works good in the
highest degree.
Verse
11. The atheists open question; the oppressor's practical question;
the careless man's secret question; and the fearful saint's fainting question.
The reasons why it is ever asked
and the conclusive reasons which put the
matter beyond question.
Verse
12. This verse suggests solemn enquiries for persons who are growing
rich.
Verse
14. The frequent and even constant chastisement of the righteous; the
necessity and design thereof; and the consolations connected therewith.
Verse
15. How we may bring injury on the saints; why we should avoid so
doing
and how.
Verse
17.
1.
Entrance into the place of fellowship with God
it privileges
and the way
thereto.
2.
Lessons learned in that hallowed place; the text mentions one.
3.
Practical influence of the fellowship
and the instruction.
Verses
17-18. The sinner's end; See "Spurgeon's Sermons
" No. 486.
Verse
18. Thou didst set them in slippery places.
1.
It implies that they were always exposed to sudden
unexpected destruction.
As he that walks in slippery places is every moment liable to fall
he cannot
foresee one moment whether he shall stand or fall the next; and when he does
fall
he falls at once without warning.
2.
They are liable to fall of themselves
without being thrown down by the
hand of another; as he that stands or walks on slippery ground needs nothing
but his own weight to throw him down.
3.
There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell but the
mere pleasure of God. Jonathan Edwards.
Verses
18-20. The end of the wicked is
1.
Near: Thou hast set
etc. It may happen at any time.
2.
Judicial: Thou bringest
etc.
3.
Sudden: How are they
etc.
4.
Tormenting: They are utterly consumed
etc.
5.
Eternal: Left to themselves; gone from the mind of God; and disregarded as a
dream when one awaketh. No after act respecting them
either for deliverance or
annihilation.
Verse
19. The first sight and sense of hell by a proud and wealthy sinner
who has just died in peace.
Verse
20. The contemptible object:—a self righteous
or boastful
or persecuting
or cavilling
or wealthy sinner when his soul is called before God.
Verse
22. Our folly
ignorance
and brutishness. When displayed. What
effect the fact should have upon us; and how greatly it illustrates divine
grace.
Verse
22-25.
1.
The psalmist's confession concerning the flesh.
2.
The faithful expressions of the spirit.
3.
The conclusion of the whole matter. See "Spurgeon's Sermons
"No.
467.
Verse
25. God the best portion of the Christian. Jonathan Edwards'
Works
Vol. 2
pp. 104-7.
Verse
25. Heaven and earth ransacked to find a joy equal to the Lord
himself. Let the preacher take up various joys and show the inferiority.
Verse
26.
1.
The psalmist's complaint: My flesh and my heart faileth.
2.
His comfort: But God
etc. Or
we may take notice
(a) Of the frailty of
his flesh; (b) Of the flourishing of his faith.
Doctrine
1. That man's flesh will fail him. The highest
the holiest man's heart will
not always hold out. The prophet was great and gracious
yet his flesh failed
him.
Doctrine
2. That it is the comfort of a Christian
in his saddest condition
that God is
his portion. G. Swinnock.
Verse
26. "The Fading of the Flesh
" Swinnock's Treatise.
(Nichol's Puritan Series.)
Verse
26. Where we fail and where we cannot fail.
Verse
27.
1.
The sad conditions.
2. The terrible punishments.
3. The implied consolations.
Verse
28. To draw near to God is our wisdom
our honour
our safety
our
peace
our riches. Thomas Watson's Sermon
"The Happiness of Drawing
near to God." 1669. See also
"The Saint's Happiness
"R.
Sibbes's Sermons.
Verse
28. David's conclusion; or
the saint's resolution. R. Sibbes.
Verse
28.
1.
The language of prayer: It is good
etc.
2.
Of faith: I have put
etc.
3.
Of praise: That I may declare. G. R.
Verse
28. See "Spurgeon's Sermons
" Nos. 287-8
"Let us
pray." No. 879
"An assuredly good thing."
WORKS UPON THE
SEVENTY-THIRD PSALM
Certain
Comfortable Expositions of the Constant Martyr of Christ JOHN HOOPER
Bishop of
Gloucester and Worcester
1555
written in the time of his Tribulation and
Imprisonment
upon the Twenty-third
Sixty-second
Seventy-third
and Seventy-seventh
Psalm of the prophet David. (In Parker Society's publications
and also in the
"British Reformers" series of the Religious Tract Society.)
David
Restored; or
And Antidote against the Prosperity of the Wicked and the
Afflictions of the Just
shewing the different ends of both. In a most
seasonable discourse upon the Seventy-third Psalm. By the Right Reverend Father
in God EDWARD PARRY. Late Lord Bishop of Killaloe. 1660.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》