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Psalm Seventy-nine
Psalm 79
Chapter Contents
The deplorable condition of the people of God. (1-5) A
petition for relief. (6-13)
Commentary on Psalm 79:1-5
(Read Psalm 79:1-5)
God is complained to: whither should children go but to a
Father able and willing to help them? See what a change sin made in the holy
city
when the heathen were suffered to pour in upon them. God's own people
defiled it by their sins
therefore he suffered their enemies to defile it by
their insolence. They desired that God would be reconciled. Those who desire
God's favour as better than life
cannot but dread his wrath as worse than
death. In every affliction we should first beseech the Lord to cleanse away the
guilt of our sins; then he will visit us with his tender mercies.
Commentary on Psalm 79:6-13
(Read Psalm 79:6-13)
Those who persist in ignorance of God
and neglect of
prayer
are the ungodly. How unrighteous soever men were
the Lord was
righteous in permitting them to do what they did. Deliverances from trouble are
mercies indeed
when grounded upon the pardon of sin; we should therefore be
more earnest in prayer for the removal of our sins than for the removal of
afflictions. They had no hopes but from God's mercies
his tender mercies. They
plead no merit
they pretend to none
but
Help us for the glory of thy name;
pardon us for thy name's sake. The Christian forgets not that he is often bound
in the chain of his sins. The world to him is a prison; sentence of death is
passed upon him
and he knows not how soon it may be executed. How fervently
should he at all times pray
O let the sighing of a prisoner come before thee
according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed
to die! How glorious will the day be
when
triumphant over sin and sorrow
the
church beholds the adversary disarmed for ever! while that church shall
from
age to age
sing the praises of her great Shepherd and Bishop
her King and her
God.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 79
Verse 8
[8] O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy
tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.
Prevent — Prevent our utter extirpation.
Verse 11
[11] Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee;
according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed
to die;
The prisoner — Of thy poor people now in
captivity.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and
Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village
Preacher
Other Works
TITLE AND
SUBJECT. A Psalm of Asaph. A Psalm of complaint such as Jeremiah might
have written amid the ruins of the beloved city. It evidently treats of times
of invasion
oppression
and national overthrow. Asaph was a patriotic poet
and was never more at home than when he rehearsed the history of his nation.
Would to God that we had national poets whose song should be of the Lord.
DIVISION. From Ps
79:1-4 the complaint is poured out
from Ps 79:5-12 prayer is presented
and
in the closing verse
praise is promised.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. O God
the heathen are come into thine inheritance. It is
the cry of amazement at sacrilegious intrusion; as if the poet were struck with
horror. The stranger pollutes thine hallowed courts with his tread. All Canaan
is thy land
but thy foes have ravaged it. "Thy holy temple have they
defiled." Into the inmost sanctuary they have profanely forced their
way
and there behaved themselves arrogantly. Thus
the holy land
the holy
house
and the holy city
were all polluted by the uncircumcised. It is an
awful thing when wicked men are found in the church and numbered with her
ministry. Then are the tares sown with the wheat
and the poisoned gourds cast
into the pot. "They have laid Jerusalem on heaps." After
devouring and defiling
they have come to destroying
and have done their work
with a cruel completeness. Jerusalem
the beloved city
the joy of the nation
the abode of her God
was totally wrecked. Alas! alas! for Israel! It is sad to
see the foe in our own house
but worse to meet him in the house of God; they
strike hardest who smite at our religion. The psalmist piles up the agony; he
was a suppliant
and he knew how to bring out the strong points of his case. We
ought to order our case before the Lord with as much care as if our success
depended on our pleading. Men in earthly courts use all their powers to obtain
their ends
and so also should we state our case with earnestness
and bring
forth our strong arguments.
Verse
2. "The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be
meat unto the fowls of the heaven
the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of
the earth." The enemy cared not to bury the dead
and there was not a
sufficient number of Israel left alive to perform the funeral rites; therefore
the precious relics of the departed were left to be devoured of vultures and
torn by wolves. Beasts on which man could not feed fed on him. The flesh of
creation's Lord became meat for carrion crows and hungry dogs. Dire are the
calamities of war
yet have they happened to God's saints and servants. This
might well move the heart of the poet
and he did well to appeal to the heart
of God by reciting the grievous evil. Such might have been the lamentation of
an early Christian as he thought of the amphitheatre and all its deeds of
blood. Note in the two verses how the plea is made to turn upon God's property
in the temple and the people:—we read "thine inheritance
""thy
temple
""thy servants
"and "thy saints." Surely the
Lord will defend his own
and will not suffer rampant adversaries to despoil
them.
Verse
3. "Their blood have they shed like water round about
Jerusalem." The invaders slew men as if their blood was of no more
value than so much water; they poured it forth as lavishly as when the floods
deluge the plains. The city of holy peace became a field of blood. "And
there was none to bury them." The few who survived were afraid to
engage in the task. This was a serious trial and grievous horror to the Jews
who evinced much care concerning their burials. Has it come to this
that there
are none to bury the dead of thy family
O Lord? Can none be found to grant a
shovelful of earth with which to cover up the poor bodies of thy murdered
saints? What woe is here! How glad should we be that we live in so quiet an
age
when the blast of the trumpet is no more heard in our streets.
Verse
4. "We are become a reproach to our neighbours."
Those who have escaped the common foe make a mockery of us
they fling our
disasters into our face
and ask us
"Where is your God?" Pity should
be shown to the afflicted
but in too many cases it is not so
for a hard logic
argues that those who suffer more than ordinary calamities must have been
extraordinary sinners. Neighbours especially are often the reverse of
neighbourly; the nearer they dwell the less they sympathize. It is most
pitiable it should be so. "A scorn and a derision to them that are
round about us." To find mirth in others' miseries
and to exult over
the ills of others
is worthy only of the devil and of those whose father he
is. Thus the case is stated before the Lord
and it is a very deplorable one. Asaph
was an excellent advocate
for he gave a telling description of calamities
which were under his own eyes
and in which he sympathized
but we have a
mightier Intercessor above
who never ceases to urge our suit before the
eternal throne.
Verse
5. "How long
Lord?" Will there be no end to these
chastisements? They are most sharp and overwhelming; wilt thou much longer
continue them? "Wilt thou be angry for ever?" Is thy mercy
gone so that thou wilt for ever smite? "Shall thy jealousy burn like
fire?" There was great cause for the Lord to be jealous
since idols
had been set up
and Israel had gone aside from his worship
but the psalmist
begs the Lord not to consume his people utterly as with fire
but to abate
their woes.
Verse
6. "Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known
thee." If thou must smite look further afield; spare thy children and
strike thy foes. There are lands where thou art in no measure acknowledged; be
pleased to visit these first with thy judgments
and let thine erring Israel
have a respite. "And upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy
name." Hear us the prayerful
and avenge thyself upon the prayerless.
Sometimes providence appears to deal much more severely with the righteous than
with the wicked
and this verse is a bold appeal founded upon such an
appearance. It in effect says—Lord
if thou must empty out the vials of thy
wrath
begin with those who have no measure of regard for thee
but are openly
up in arms against thee; and be pleased to spare thy people
who are thine
notwithstanding all their sins.
Verse
7. "For they have devoured Jacob." The oppressor
would quite eat up the saints if he could. If these lions do not swallow us
it
is because the Lord has sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths. "And
laid waste his dwelling place
" or his pasture. The invader left no
food for man or beast
but devoured all as the locust. The tender mercies of
the wicked are cruel.
Verse
8. "O remember not against us former iniquities."
Sins accumulate against nations. Generations lay up stores of transgressions to
be visited upon their successors; hence this urgent prayer. In Josiah's days
the most earnest repentance was not able to avert the doom which former long
years of idolatry had sealed against Judah. Every man has reason to ask for an
act of oblivion for his past sins
and every nation should make this a
continual prayer. "Let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we
are brought very low." Hasten to our rescue
for our nation is
hurrying down to destruction; our numbers are diminished and our condition is
deplorable. Observe how penitent sorrow seizes upon the sweeter attributes
and
draws her picas from the "tender mercies" of God; see
too
how she
pleads her own distress
and not her goodness
as a motive for the display of
mercy. Let souls who are brought very low find an argument in their abject
condition. What can so powerfully appeal to pity as dire affliction? The quaint
prayer-book version is touchingly expressive: "O remember not our old
sins
but have mercy upon us
and that soon; for we are come to great
misery." This supplication befits a sinner's life. We have known seasons
when this would have been as good a prayer for our burdened heart as any that
human mind could compose.
Verse
9. "Help us
O God of our salvation
for the glory of thy
name." This is masterly pleading. No argument has such force as this.
God's glory was tarnished in the eyes of the heathen by the defeat of his
people
and the profanation of his temple; therefore
his distressed servants
implore his aid
that his great name may no more be the scorn of blaspheming
enemies. "And deliver us
and purge away our sins
for thy name's
sake." Sin
—the root of the evil—is seen and confessed; pardon of sin
is sought as well as removal of chastisement
and both are asked not as matters
of right
but as gifts of grace. God's name is a second time brought into the
pleading. Believers will find it their wisdom to use very frequently this noble
plea: it is the great gun of the battle
the mightiest weapon in the armoury of
prayer.
Verse
10. "Wherefore should the heathen say
Where is their
God?" Why should those impious mouths be filled with food so sweet to
them
but so bitter to us? When the afflictions of God's people become the
derision of sinners
and cause them to ridicule religion
we have good ground
for expostulation with the Lord. "Let him be known among the heathen in
our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed."
Justice is desired that God may be vindicated and feared. It is but meet that
those who taunted the people of God because they smarted under the Lord's rod
should be made themselves also to smart by the same hand. If any complain of
the spirit of this imprecation
we think they do so needlessly; for it is the
common feeling of every patriot to desire to see his country's wrongs
redressed
and of every Christian to wish a noble vengeance for the church by
the overthrow of error. The destruction of Antichrist is the recompense of the
blood of the martyrs
and by no means is it to be deprecated; far rather is it
one of the most glorious hopes of the latter days.
Verse
11. "Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee."
When thy people cannot sing
and dare not shout aloud
then let their silent
sigh ascend into thine ear
and secure for them deliverance. These words are
suitable for the afflicted in a great variety of conditions; men of experience
will know how to adapt them to their own position and to use them in reference
to others. "According to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those
that are appointed to die." Faith grows while it prays; the appeal to
the Lord's tender mercy is here supplemented by another addressed to the divine
power
and the petitioner rises from a request for those who are brought low
to a prayer for those who are on the verge of death
set apart as victims for
the slaughter. How consoling is it to desponding believers to reflect that God
can preserve even those who bear the sentence of death in themselves. Men and
devils may consign us to perdition
while sickness drags us to the grave
and
sorrow sinks us in the dust; but
there is One who can keep our soul alive
ay
and bring it up again from the depths of despair. A lamb shall live between the
lion's jaws if the Lord wills it. Even in the charnel
life shall vanquish
death if God be near.
Verse
12. "And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their
bosom their reproach
wherewith they have reproached thee
O Lord."
They denied thine existence
mocked thy power
insulted thy worship
and
destroyed thy house; up
therefore
O Lord
and make them feel to the full that
thou art not to be mocked with impunity. Pour into their laps good store of
shame because they dared insult the God of Israel. Recompense them fully
till
they have received the perfect number of punishments. It will be so. The wish
of the text will become matter of fact. The Lord will avenge his own elect
though he bear long with them.
Verse
13. "So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee
thanks far ever; we will shew forth thy praise to all generations."
The gratitude of the church is lasting as well as deep. On her tablets are
memorials of great deliverances
and
as long as she shall exist
her sons will
rehearse them with delight. We have a history which will survive all other
records
and it is bright in every line with the glory of the Lord. From the
direst calamities God's glory springs
and the dark days of his people become
the prelude to unusual displays of the Lord's love and power.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole
Psalm. This Psalm is
in every respect
the pendant of Psalm 74. The
points of contact are not merely matters of style (Ps 79:5
"how long for
ever?" with Ps 74:1
10 79:10
edwy
with Ps 74:5 79:2
the giving over to
the wild beasts
with Ps 74:19
14 79:13
the conception of Israel as of a
flock
in which respect Psalm 79 is judiciously appended to Ps 78:70-72
with
Ps 74:1 and also with Ps 74:19.) But the mutual relationships lie still deeper.
Both Psalms have the same Asaphic stamp
both stand in the same relation to
Jeremiah
and both send forth their complaints out of the same circumstances of
the time
concerning a destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem
such as only
the age of the Seleucidae (1 Maccabees 1:31 3:45 2 Maccabees 8:3)
together
with the Chaldean period can exhibit
and in conjunction with a defiling of the
Temple and a massacre of the servants of God
of the Chasîdîm (1
Maccabees 7:13 14:6)
such as the age of the Seleucidae exclusively can
exhibit. The work of the destruction of the Temple which was in progress in Ps
74:1-23
appears in Ps 79:1-13 as completed
and here
as in the former Psalm
one receives the impression of the outrages
not of some war
but of some
persecution: it is straightway the religion of Israel for the sake of which the
sanctuaries are destroyed and the faithful are massacred.—Franz Delitzsch.
Verse
1. Thy holy temple have they defiled. This was not only the
highest degree of the enemy's inhumanity and barbarity
...but also a calamity
to the people of God never to be sufficiently deplored. For by the overthrow of
the temple the true worship of God
which had been instituted at that temple
alone
appeared to be extinguished
and the knowledge of God to vanish from
among mankind. No pious heart could ponder this without the greatest grief. Mollerus.
Verse
1. They have laid Jerusalem on heaps. They have made
Jerusalem to be nothing but graves. Such multitudes were cruelly slain
and murdered
that Jerusalem was
as it were
but one grave.—Joseph Caryl.
Verses
1-4. In the time of the Maccabees
Demetrius
the son of Seleuces
sent Bacchides to Jerusalem; who slew the scribes
who came to require justice
and the Assideans
the first of the children of Israel who sought peace of
them. Bacchides "took of them threescore men
and slew them in one day
according to the words which he wrote
the flesh of thy saints have they cast
out
and their blood have they shed round about Jerusalem
and there was none
to bury them." And in that last and most fearful destruction
when the
eagles of Rome were gathered round the doomed city
and the temple of which God
had said
"Let us depart hence; "when one stone was not to be left
upon another
when the fire was to consume the sanctuary
and the foundations
of Sion were to be ploughed up; when Jerusalem was to be filled with slain
and
the sons of Judah were to be crucified round her walls in such thick multitudes
that no more room was left for death; when insult
and shame
and scorn was the
lot of the child of Israel
as he wandered an outcast
a fugitive in all lands;
when all these bitter and deadly things came upon Jerusalem
it was as a
punishment for many and long repeated crimes; it was the accomplishment of a
warning which had been often sent in vain. Yea
fiercely did thy foes assault
thee
O Jerusalem
but thy sins more fiercely still!—"Plain
Commentary."
Verses
1
4
5. Entering the inhabited part of the old city
and winding through
some crooked
filthy lanes
I suddenly found myself on turning a sharp corner
in a spot of singular interest; the "Jews' place of Wailing." It is a
small paved quadrangle; on one side are the backs of low modern houses
without
door or window; on the other is the lofty wall of the Haram
of recent date
above
but having below five courses of bevelled stones in a perfect state of
preservation. Here the Jews are permitted to approach the sacred enclosure
and
wail over the fallen temple
whose very dust is dear to them
and in whose
stones they still take pleasure. Ps 102:14. It was Friday
and a crowd of
miserable devotees had assembled—men and women of all ages and all nations
dressed in the quaint costumes of every country of Europe and Asia. Old men
were there
—pale
haggard
careworn men tottering on pilgrim staves; and little
girls with white faces
and lustrous black eyes
gazing wistfully now at their
parents
now at the old wall. Some were on their knees
chanting mournfully
from a book of Hebrew prayers
swaying their bodies to and fro; some were
prostrate on the ground
pressing forehead and lips to the earth; some were
close to the wall
burying their faces in the rents and crannies of the old
stones; some were kissing them
some had their arms spread out as if they would
clasp them to their bosoms
some were bathing them with tears
and all the
while sobbing as if their hearts would burst. It was a sad and touching
spectacle. Eighteen centuries of exile and woe have not dulled their hearts'
affections
or deadened their feelings of devotion. Here we see them assembled
from the ends of the earth
poor
despised
down trodden outcasts
—amid the
desolations of their fatherland
beside the dishonoured ruins of their ancient
sanctuary
—chanting now in accents of deep pathos
and now of wild woe
the
prophetic words of their own psalmist
—O God the heathen are come into thine
inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled...We are become a reproach to
our neighbours
a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. How long
Lord? wilt thou be angry for ever?—J. L. Porter
in "The Giant Cities of
Bashan." 1865.
Verse
2. "The dead bodies of thy servants
"etc. It is a
true saying of S. Augustine
The care of our funeral
the manner of our burial
the exequial pomp
all these magis sunt vivorum solatia quam subsidia
mortuorum
are rather comforts for the living than any way helps for the
dead. To be interred profiteth not the party deceased; his body feels it not
his soul regards it not; and we know that many holy martyrs have been excluded
from burial
who in a Christian scorn thereof bespoke their persecutors in
words of those which were slain at Pharsalia: "You effect nothing by this
anger; what matters it whether disease dissolve the body
or the funeral
pile!" But yet there is an honesty (i.e. a right
a proper respect)
which belongeth to the dead body of man. Jehu commanded Jezebel to be buried;
David thanked the people of Jabesh Gilead for burying of Saul. Peter
who
commanded Ananias and Sapphira
those false abdicators of their patrimony
to
die
commanded to have them buried being dead. It is an axiom of charity
Mortuo
non prohibeas gratiam
withhold not kindness from the dead. It shows our
love and regard for men in our own flesh to see them buried; it manifests our
faith and hope of the resurrection; and therefore when that body which is to
rise again
and to be made glorious and immortal in heaven
shall be cast to
the fowls of the air or beasts of the field
it argues in God great indignation
against sin (Jer 22:19
of Jehoiakim
"He shall be buried as an ass is
buried
and cast forth without the gates of Jerusalem"); in man inhuman
and barbarous cruelty.—John Dunster
in "Prodromus." 1613.
Verses
2
3. (The following extract is from the writings of a godly monk who
applies the language of the Psalm to the persecutions of his time. He wrote at
Rome during the period of the Reformation
and was evidently a favourer of the
gospel.) At this day what river is there
what brook
in this our afflicted
Europe
(if it is still ours) that we have not seen flowing with the blood of
Christians? And that too shed by the swords and spears of Christians? Wherefore
there is made a great wailing in Israel; and the princes and elders mourn; the
young men and virgins are become weak
and the beauty of the women is changed.
Why? The holy place itself is desolate as a wilderness. Hast thou ever seen so
dire a spectacle? They have piled up in heaps the dead bodies of thy servants
to be devoured by birds: the unburied remains of thy saints
I say
they have given
to the beasts of the earth. What greater cruelty could ever be committed? So
great was the effusion of human blood at that time
that the rivulets
yea
rather
the rivers round the entire circuit of the city
flowed with it. And
thus truly is the form of our most beautiful city laid waste
and its
loveliness; and so reduced is it
that not even the men who carry forth dead
bodies for burial can be obtained
though pressed with the offer of large
rewards; so full of fear and horror were their minds: and this was all the more
bitter
because "We are become a reproach to those round about
us
" and are spoken of in derision by the infidels abroad and by
enemies at home. Who is so bold as to endure this and live? How long therefore
shall this most bitter disquietude last?—Giambattista Folengo.
1490-1559.
Verse
2. "Dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat
unto the fowls." With what unconcern are we accustomed to view
on all
sides of us
multitudes
"dead in trespasses and sins
"torn in
pieces
and devoured by wild passions
filthy lusts
and infernal spirits
those dogs and vultures of the moral world! Yet
to a discerning eye
and a
thinking mind
the latter is by far the more melancholy sight of the two.—George
Horne.
Verse
2. "Thy servants." "Thy saints." No
temporal wrath
no calamities whatsoever can separate the Lord's children from
God's love and estimation of them
nor untie the relation between God and them:
for here
albeit their carcases fall
and be devoured by the fowls of heaven and
beasts of the earth
yet remain they the Lord's servants and saints under these
sufferings.—David Dickson.
Verse
4. "We are become a reproach." If God's professing
people degenerate from what themselves and their fathers were
they must expect
to be told of it; and it is well if a just reproach will help to bring us to a
true repentance. But it has been the lot of the gospel Israel to be made
unjustly a reproach and derision; the apostles themselves were "counted as
the off scouring of all things."—Matthew Henry.
Verse
4. "A scorn and derision to them that are round about
us." This was more grievous to them than stripes or wounds
saith
Chrysostom
because these being inflicted upon the body are divided after a
sort betwixt soul and body
but scorns and reproaches do wound the soul only. Habet
quendam aculeum contumelia
they leave a sting behind them
as Cicero
observeth.—John Trapp.
Verse
4. It is the height of reproach a father casts upon his child when
he commands his slave to beat him. Of all outward judgments this is the sorest
to have strangers rule over us
as being made up of shame and cruelty. If once
the heathen come into God's inheritance
no wonder the church complains that
she is "become a reproach to her neighbours
a shame and derision to
all round about her."—Abraham Wright.
Verse
5. "How long
Lord? Wilt thou be angry for ever?"
The voice of complaint says not
How long
Lord
shall this wickedness of our
enemy endure? How long shall we see this desolation? But
How long
O Lord?
Wilt thou be angry for ever? We are admonished
therefore
in this passage
that we should recognize the anger of God against us in all our afflictions
lest as the nations are accustomed
we only accuse the malice of our enemies
and never think of our sins and the divine punishment. It cannot be that he who
acknowledges the anger of God that is upon him
should not at the same time
acknowledge his fault also
unless he wishes to attribute the iniquity to God
of being angry and inflicting stripes upon the undeserving.—Musculus.
Verse
5. The word "jealousy" signifies not mere revenge
but revenge mingled with love
for unless he loved
says Jerome
he would not
be jealous
and after the manner of a husband avenge the sin of his wife.—Lorinus.
Verse
6. Neglect of prayer by unbelievers is threatened with punishment.
The prophet's imprecation is the same in effect with a threatening
see Jer
10:25
and same imprecation
Ps 79:6. The prophets would not have used such an
imprecation against those that call not upon God
but that their neglect of
calling on his name makes them liable to his wrath and fury; and no neglect
makes men liable to the wrath of God but the neglect of duty. Prayer
then
is
a duty even to the heathen
the neglect of which provokes him to pour out his
fury on them.—David Clarkson.
Verse
7. "They have devoured Jacob." Like wolves who
cruelly tear and devour a flock of sheep. For the word which follows signifies
not only a habitation in general
but also a sheepcote.—Mollerus.
Verse
8. "O remember not against us former iniquities."
The prophet numbers himself with the people not only in their affliction
but
also in their distress
and liability to the anger of God because of the crimes
committed. He was not a partner in those enormous sins by which they had
provoked the jealousy of God
and yet he exempts not himself from the people at
large. Thus
in the following verse
he says
"And purge away our
sins." He says not
Remember not the iniquity of this people; nor
And
purge away their sins: But
Remember not our iniquities: and Purge away our
sins. In this way the prophets
though holy men
were wont to make themselves
sharers of the people's sins
not by sinning
but by weeping and praying and
imploring the mercy of God. See Isaiah 59:12. "Our transgressions are
multiplied before thee
and our sins testify against us." . . . Daniel
9:5. "We have sinned
and have committed iniquity
and have done
wickedly
and have rebelled
" etc. 1. Let us also follow this example
that so far we may have fellowship with the whole Church
that we may be
partners of those who truly love and worship God. 2. Then
that abstaining from
false worship
we may not sin wickedly with the wicked. 3. That whenever we
ought to weep or pray
we may mourn and confess not only our own
but also the
shortcomings of the whole church corporate
as if they were common to
ourselves
even if we have no part in them
and may implore for them the mercy
of God.—Musculus.
Verse
8. "O remember not against us former iniquities."
The Jews have a saying
that there is no punishment happens to Israel
but
there is an ounce in it for the sin of the calf; their meaning is
that this is
always remembered and visited
according to Exodus 32:34; the phrase may take
in all the sins of former persons
their ancestors
and of former times
from
age to age
they had continued in
which had brought ruin upon them; and all
their own sins of nature and of youth
all past ones to the present time.—John
Gill.
Verse
8. "O remember not against us former iniquities."
Old debts vex most; the delay of payment increases them by interest upon
interest; and the return of them being unexpected
a person is least provided
for them. We count old sores
breaking forth
incurable. Augustus wondered at a
person sleeping quietly that was very much in debt
and sent for his pillow
saying
"surely there is some strange virtue in it
that makes him rest so
secure." My brethren
if one debt unto God's law be more than the whole
creation can satisfy
what do any of us mean to rest secure with so vast a
burden upon our consciences and accounts? Ah! take heed thou beest not
surprised and arrested with old debts. O God
thou rememberest former
iniquities against us. God will call over
and charge thy sins upon thee
when all the sweet is gone.—Elias Pledger (—1681)
in "Morning
Exercises."
Verse
8. "O remember not against us former iniquities."
The only right way to remedy a miserable condition
is to sue for the remission
of sins
and for the renewed evidence of reconciliation: for before the church
here do ask any thing for their outward delivery
they pray
"O
remember not against us former iniquities."—David Dickson.
Verse
8. "Speedily." Lest they come too late
for we are
at our last gasp.—John Trapp.
Verse
8. "Prevent." God's mercy must anticipate
"come
to meet
" man's necessity.—J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Verse
8. "We are brought very low." Literally
"We
are greatly thinned." Few of us remain.—Adam Clarke.
Verse
8. "We are brought very low." We are very greatly
exhausted (emptied out): that is
we are utterly destitute of all things
both
fortune
and strength of mind and body
just like a well or a vessel completely
emptied.—Martin Geier.
Verse
8. "Very low." Past the hopes of all human help
and therefore the glory of our deliverance will be wholly thine.—Matthew
Pool.
Verse
8. "Help us
O God of our salvation
for the glory of thy
name and deliver us." "Help us" under our troubles
that we
may bear them well; "help us" out of our troubles
that the spirit
may not fail. "Deliver us" from sin
and from sinking.—Matthew
Henry.
Verse
9. "God of our salvation." If human reason were to
judge of the many and great blows wherewith God so often smote and wasted his
people
it would call God not the Saviour of the people
but the destroyer and
oppressor. But the faith of the Prophet judges far otherwise of God
and sees
even in an angry and pursuing God
the salvation of his people. The gods of the
nations
though they do not afflict even in temporal things
are gods not of
the salvation of their worshippers but of their perdition. But our God
even
when he is most severely angry
and smites
is not the God of destruction
but
of salvation.—Musculus.
Verse
9. "For thy name's sake." Twice the appeal is made "for
thy name's sake;" that revelation of God which he had made of himself
to Moses when he passed by and proclaimed the name of Jehovah
Ex. 24:6
7.
Compare Ps. 20:1
23:3; 29:2.—J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Verse
9. "For thy name's sake." The good which God doth
unto his church
be it temporal or spiritual
is for his own sake. What I do
(saith God)
I do for mine holy name's sake; there is nothing to move me but
mine own name; that is holy
great
and glorious
and I will for my name's sake
do much for my church and people. That they were preserved in Babylon
was for
his holy name's sake; that they were brought out of Babylon
was for his holy
name's sake; that they were replanted in Canaan
was for his holy name's sake;
that they had a temple
sacrifices
priests
prophets
ordinances again
was
for his name's sake; when they were near to destruction often
in former days
God wrought for his name's sake
Ezek. 20; so Isaiah 48:8
9. It is not for the
enemies' sake that God doth preserve or deliver his people; nor for their
sakes
their prayers
tears
faith
obedience
holiness
that he doth great
things for them
bestows great mercies upon them; but it is for his own name's
sake. For man's sake God cursed the earth
Gen. 8:21; but it is for his name's
sake that he blesseth it. The choicest mercies God's people have
are for his
name's sake; they have pardon of sin for his name's sake
Ps. 25:11
1 John
2:12; purging of sin for his name's sake; Ps. 79:9; leading in the paths of
righteousness for his name's sake
Ps. 23:2; quickening of their dead and dull
hearts for his name's sake
Ps. 143:11. Though his people offend him
yet he
forsakes them not
for his great name's sake.—William Greenhill.
Verse
9. If God could not he more glorified in our peace and
reconciliation
than in our death and damnation
it were a wicked thing to
desire it. But God hath cleared this up to us
that he is no loser by acts of
mercy. In this lies the greatest revenue of his crown
or else he would not
love "mercy rather than sacrifice." God is free to choose what suits
his own heart best
and most conduceth to the exalting of his great name: and
he delights more in the mercy shown to one than in the blood of all the damned
that are made a sacrifice to his justice. And
indeed
he had a higher end in
their damnation than their suffering; and that was the enhancing of the glory
of his mercy
in his saved ones. This is the beautiful piece God takes delight
in
and the other but the shadow of it. Then thou art in a fit disposition to
pray for peace
and mayest go with encouragement when thy heart is deeply
affected with the honour that will accrue to God by it. It is an argument God
will not deny. "This
" said Abigail to David
"shall be no grief
to thee nor offence of heart unto my Lord
" 1 Sam. 25; she meant
he should
never have cause to repent that he was kept from Shedding blood. Thus mayest
thou plead with God
and say
O Lord
when I shall with saints and angels be
praising thy pardoning grace in heaven
it will not grieve thee that thy mercy
kept thee from shedding my blood
damning my soul in hell.—William Gurnall.
Verse
9. When the Lord's people are brought very low
let them not look
for a lifting up or relief except from God only; therefore say they here
"Help
us
O Lord." Such as have laid hold on God for salvation promised in
the covenant
may also look for particular deliveries out of particular
troubles
as appendices of the main benefit of salvation; therefore
"Help
us
O God of our salvation
" say they. When men do ask anything
the
granting whereof may glorify God
they may confidently expect to have it; and
in special when God may be so glorified
and his people may also be preserved
and comforted: "Help us (say they) for the glory of thy name:
and deliver us." As the conscience of sin useth to step in oftener
between us and mercy
so must we call oftener for remission of sin; for earnest
affection can double and treble the same petition without babbling; "Deliver
us
and purge away our sins." It is the glory of the Lord to forget
sin
and when remission of sins is prayed for according to God's promise
the
Lord's glory is engaged for the helping of faith to obtain it: "Purge
away our sins
for thy name's sake."—David Dickson.
Verse
11. "Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee."
The propriety of styling the sons of Adam "prisoners
" can
scarcely fail to be discerned when we remember the restraint which the immortal
spirit endures whilst it inhabits its present earthly house
or recollect the
hardships to which many of our race are subjected
or
once more
the degrading
slavery to which they reduce themselves by serving their own lusts and refusing
to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ would make them free. Now
in
whichever of these senses men are prisoners
it is clear that they have
occasion and that they are wont to sigh
and that it is the part of the pious
and faithful believer in God to bear this in mind
and
inasmuch as he has put
on bowels of compassion
to say
as well for others as for himself
"Let
the sighing of the prisoner came before thee." Three things
then
are
suggested by the first clause of the passage before us. The first is
that all
who live in this world are prisoners . . .. We would go on to remark
secondly
that these various prisoners have their respective sorrowful sighings. Thirdly
then
let it be observed
will the believer
conscious of these several
sighings of the crowd of prisoners whom he sees all around him
pray to the
Almighty that they may come before his everlasting presence.—W. C. Le Breton.
(1849.)
Verse
11. "The sighing." The nature of a sigh will suggest
to us some important particulars connected with the state of bondage spoken of
in the text. A sigh is an unexpressed declaration. Although we do not
speak
still we can tell a long tale of sorrow with a sigh. How often the
mourner who will not tell a human being of his grief
will vent it when he is
alone
with a long-drawn
an uneven sigh! Now
I direct your attention to this
because it is a perfect picture of the spiritual condition in which some men
are. They are not loud in their complaints; they are not standing in the
corners of the streets proclaiming their exceeding sinfulness; they are not
continually making their neighbours and their friends hear them preach about
their vileness—a vileness which
if any one else attributed to them
would stir
up all their wrath. Theirs is not the character of men in strife; but of men
bearing a heavy burden
which presses from them an evidence of what they
endure. And if any of you
brethren
thus walk in sighs and sorrow before God
he takes these sighs as applications to him for relief. Your misery
if
entirely pent in
would be obstinate impenitency
but if vented
even in a
sigh
is a declaration of your need. Let me encourage you
brethren
not to
spare these evidences of your state. There are times when you feel so dead that
you cannot enter into long confessions; when the spirit is so weary that you
feel that you cannot speak. Much might at such a season be spoken by a sign.
"Destroy it not
" we say
"for a blessing is in it:" pour
it forth
find it will reach the throne. And here it will prove to be not only an
unexpressed declaration of your state
but also an unexpressed wish for
deliverance therefrom. When the captive gazes through the bars of iron
which night and day stand like mute sentinels before the narrow window of his
cell
and when his eyes fall upon the green fields and groves beyond
he sighs
and turns away from the scene with a wish. He spake not a word
yet he wished.
That sigh was a wish that he could be set free. And such sighs as these are
heard by God. Your longings
your sorrows
when they are not fulfilled
your
sad thoughts
—"Oh! when shall I be delivered from the burden of my sin
and from the coldness of my heart!"—all these wishes were your sighs
and
they have been heard on high.—Philip Bennett Power.
Verse
11. "The prisoner." An eastern prison is still a
place of great misery
chiefly from the limited supply of water to the
prisoners.—Daniel Cresswell.
Verse
11. "Come before thee."
Though
not a human votes he hears
And not a human form appears
His solitude to share
He is not all alone—the eye
Of him who hears the prisoner's sigh
Is even on him there.
—J.
L. Chester.
Verse
11. "Preserve thou those that are appointed to die." Ought
not pious people more closely to imitate their heavenly Father in caring for
those who have been condemned to die? An eminent Christian lady keeps a record
of all who have been sentenced to death
so far as she hears of them
and prays
for them every day till their end come. Is not such conduct in sympathy with
the heart of God!—William S. Plummer.
Verse
12. "Render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their
bosom
" etc. This may seem to be contrary to common justice; because
that the punishment should not exceed the fault. But here you are to know
that
this hath not respect unto what the enemies of God's church have acted
but
what they have deserved. And therefore when the prophet here says
"Render
unto our neighbours sevenfold
" it is not sevenfold beyond their
deserts; for one scorn that a wicked man poureth upon a child of God (and so
upon God)
cannot be recompensed with ten thousand reproaches poured upon
wicked men. The least reproach poured upon God is an infinite wrong. And the reproach
of his people is so much his
as he reckons it as his own; and will therefore
render to their enemies their reproach "sevenfold" (and that's
but equal) "into their bosom."—Abraham Wright.
Verse
12. "Unto our neighbours." Because their scorn was more
intolerable
and also more inexcusable than the oppression of distant enemies.—J.
J. Stewart Perowne.
Verse
12. "Into their bosom." An expression which
originally seems to have had reference to the practice of carrying and holding
things in the lap
or the front fold of the flowing oriental dress
has in
usage the accessory sense of retribution or retaliation.—Joseph Addison
Alexander.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse
4. Saints the subject of derision to sinners. When justly so. When
unjustly. What do they see to excite ridicule; what shall we do under the
trial; how will it end?
Verse
5.
1.
The cause of anger: jealousy.
2.
The moderation of it. If it continued for ever
the people would perish
the
promises be unfulfilled
the covenant fail
and the Lord's honour be impeached.
3.
The staying of it. By prayer; by pleading his name
his glory
and the blood of
Jesus.
Verse
8. A sinner's confession
petition
and plea.
Verse
9. I. A threefold prayer. II. An encouraging title: "God of our
salvation." III. A victorious plea.
Verse
10.
I. The Prayer. "Help us
" etc.
1. Purge away sin.
2. Deliver us from our troubles.
3. Help us to serve thee in future.
II. The Plea.
1. For thy name's sake.
2. The glory of thy name.
3. The glory of thy name as our salvation. The order in both cases is
inverted.—G. R.
Verse
10. The revenge for the martyrs
which it is lawful and incumbent
upon us to desire.
Verse
11.
I. The prisoner.
1. Under forced bondage to sin.
2. Under the bondage of conviction.
3. In the dungeon of despair.
II. The prisoner's application for relief.
III. The source from which he looked for help.—P. B. Power.
Verse
11.
I. The degree of protection solicited: "According to the greatness of thy
power."
II. The protection itself: "Preserve thou."
III. The objects of it: "Those that are appointed to die."—W. C.
Le Breton.
Verse
11.
I. Mournful condition. A prisoner
sighing
appointed to die.
II. Hopeful facts: a God
a God hearing sighs
a God of great power.
III. Suitable prayers: "come before thee": "preserve."
Verse
11. "Appointed to die
" used as a description of
deep spiritual distress. Fears of the divine decree
of having apostatised
of
having sinned away the day of grace
of the sin which is unto death
etc. How
these cases can be effectually met.
Verse
13. The obligations of the Protestant church based on her martyrs'
blood
her great deliverances
her nearness to God. She ought to secure gospel
teaching to coming generations.
Verse
13.
I. Relation claimed: "We thy people
the sheep of
" etc.
II. Obligation admitted: "So we
" etc.
when thou hast interposed for
our deliverance
we will praise thee.
III. Resolution formed. 1. To give thanks for ever. 2. To transmit his praise
to generations following.—G. R
WORK UPON THE
SEVENTY-NINTH PSALM
"Prodromus
or the Literal Destruction of Jerusalem as it is described in the 79th
Psalm...1613" (By JOHN DUNSTER.)
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》