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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Psalms XVII].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
<CENTER>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P S A L M S</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>PSALM XVII.</FONT>
<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
</CENTER>
<FONT SIZE=-1>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
David being in great distress and danger by the malice of his enemies,
does, in this psalm, by prayer address himself to God, his tried
refuge, and seeks shelter in him.
I. He appeals to God concerning his integrity,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:1-4">ver. 1-4</A>.
II. He prays to God still to be upheld in his integrity and preserved
from the malice of his enemies,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:5-8,13">ver. 5-8, 13</A>.
III. He gives a character of his enemies, using that as a plea with God
for his preservation,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:9-12,14">ver. 9-12, 14</A>.
IV. He comforts himself with the hopes of his future happiness,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:15">ver. 15</A>.
Some make him, in this, a type of Christ, who was perfectly innocent,
and yet was hated and persecuted, but, like David, committed himself
and his cause to him that judgeth righteously.</P>
</FONT>
<A NAME="Ps17_1"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps17_2"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps17_3"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps17_4"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps17_5"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps17_6"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps17_7"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Sincere and Importunate Prayer.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<CENTER>
<P>A prayer of David.</P>
</CENTER>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Hear the right, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, attend unto my
cry, give ear unto my prayer, <I>that goeth</I> not out of feigned
lips.
&nbsp; 2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes
behold the things that are equal.
&nbsp; 3 Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited <I>me</I> in the
night; thou hast tried me, <I>and</I> shalt find nothing; I am
purposed <I>that</I> my mouth shall not transgress.
&nbsp; 4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have
kept <I>me from</I> the paths of the destroyer.
&nbsp; 5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, <I>that</I> my footsteps slip not.
&nbsp; 6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God:
incline thine ear unto me, <I>and hear</I> my speech.
&nbsp; 7 show thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy
right hand them which put their trust <I>in thee</I> from those that
rise up <I>against them.</I>
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
This psalm is a prayer. As there is a time to weep and a time to
rejoice, so there is a time for praise and a time for prayer. David was
now persecuted, probably by Saul, who hunted him like a partridge on
the mountains; without were fightings, within were fears, and both
urged him as a suppliant to the throne of mercy. He addresses himself
to God in these verses both by way of appeal (<I>Hear the right, O
Lord!</I> let my righteous cause have a hearing before thy tribunal,
and give judgment upon it) and by way of petition (<I>Give ear unto my
prayer</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>,
and again
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>,
<I>Incline thy ear unto me and hear my speech</I>); not that God needs
to be thus pressed with our importunity, but he gives us leave thus to
express our earnest desire of his gracious answers to our prayers.
These things he pleads with God for audience,
1. That he was sincere, and did not dissemble with God in his prayer:
<I>It goeth not out of feigned lips.</I> He meant as he spoke, and the
feelings of his mind agreed with the expressions of his mouth. Feigned
prayers are fruitless; but, if our hearts lead our prayers, God will
meet them with his favour.
2. That he had been used to pray at other times, and it was not his
distress and danger that now first brought him to his duty: "<I>I have
called upon thee</I> formerly
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>);
therefore, Lord, hear me now." It will be a great comfort to us if
trouble, when it comes, find the wheels of prayer a-going, for then we
may come with the more boldness to the throne of grace. Tradesmen are
willing to oblige those that have been long their customers.
3. That he was encouraged by his faith to expect God would take notice
of his prayers: "I know <I>thou wilt hear me,</I> and therefore, O God,
<I>incline thy ear to me.</I>" Our believing dependence upon God is a
good plea to enforce our desires towards him. Let us now see,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. What his appeal is; and here observe,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. What the court is to the cognizance and determination of which he
makes his appeal; it is the court of heaven. "Lord, do thou hear the
right, for Saul is so passionate, so prejudiced, that he will not hear
it. Lord, <I>let my sentence come forth from thy presence,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
Men sentence me to be pursued and cut off as an evil-doer. Lord, I
appeal from them to thee." This he did in a public remonstrance before
Saul's face
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+24:12">1 Sam. xxiv. 12</A>,
<I>The Lord judge between me and thee</I>), and he repeats it here in
his private devotions. Note,
(1.) The equity and extent of God's government and judgment are a very
great support to injured innocency. If we are blackened, and abused,
and misrepresented, by unrighteous men, it is a comfort that we have a
righteous God to go to, who will take our part, who is the patron of
the oppressed, whose judgment is according to truth, by the discoveries
of which every person and every cause will appear in a true light,
stripped of all false colours, and by the decisions of which all
unrighteous dooms will be reversed, and to every man will be rendered
according to his work.
(2.) Sincerity dreads no scrutiny, no, not that of God himself,
according to the tenour of the covenant of grace: <I>Let thy eyes
behold the things that are equal.</I> God's omniscience is as much the
joy of the upright as it is the terror of hypocrites, and is
particularly comfortable to those who are falsely accused and in any
wise have wrong done them.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. What the evidence is by which he hopes to make good his appeal; it
is the trial God had made of him
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
<I>Thou hast proved my heart.</I> God's sentence is <I>therefore</I>
right, because he always proceeds upon his knowledge, which is more
certain and infallible than that which men attain to by the closest
views and the strictest investigations.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(1.) He knew God had tried him,
[1.] By his own conscience, which is God's deputy in the soul. <I>The
spirit of a man is the candle of the Lord,</I> with this God had
searched him, and <I>visited him in the night,</I> when he <I>communed
with his own heart upon his bed.</I> He had submitted to the search,
and had seriously reviewed the actions of his life, to discover what
was amiss, but could find nothing of that which his enemies charged him
with.
[2.] By providence. God had tried him by the fair opportunity he had,
once and again, to kill Saul; he had tried him by the malice of Saul,
the treachery of his friends, and the many provocations that were given
him; so that, if he had been the man he was represented to be, it would
have appeared; but, upon all these trials, there was nothing found
against him, no proof at all of the things whereof they accused
him.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(2.) God tried his heart, and could witness to the integrity of that;
but, for the further proof of his integrity, he himself takes notice of
two things concerning which his conscience bore him record:--
[1.] That he had a fixed resolution against all sins of the tongue:
"<I>I have purposed</I> and fully determined, in the strength of God's
grace, <I>that my mouth shall not transgress.</I>" He does not say, "I
hope that it will not," or, "I wish that it may not," but, "I have
fully purposed that it shall not:" with this bridle he kept his mouth,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+39:1">Ps. xxxix. 1</A>.
Note, Constant resolution and watchfulness against sins of the tongue
will be a good evidence of our integrity. <I>If any offend not in word,
the same is a perfect man,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:2">Jam. iii. 2</A>.
He does not say, "My mouth never shall transgress" (for in many things
we all offend), but, "I have purposed that it shall not;" and he that
searches the heart knows whether the purpose be sincere.
[2.] That he had been as careful to refrain from sinful actions as from
sinful words
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
"<I>Concerning the</I> common <I>works of men,</I> the actions and
affairs of human life, <I>I have,</I> by the direction of thy word,
<I>kept myself from the paths of the destroyer.</I>" Some understand it
particularly, that he had not been himself a destroyer of Saul, when it
lay in his power, nor had he permitted others to be so, but said to
Abishai, <I>Destroy him not,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+26:9">1 Sam. xxvi. 9</A>.
But it may be taken more generally; he kept himself from all evil
works, and endeavoured, according to the duty of his place, to keep
others from them too. Note, <I>First,</I> The ways of sin are paths of
the destroyer, of the devil, whose name is <I>Abaddon</I> and
<I>Apollyon,</I> a destroyer, who ruins souls by decoying them into the
paths of sin. <I>Secondly,</I> It concerns us all to keep out of the
paths of the destroyer; for, if we walk in those ways that lead to
destruction, we must thank ourselves if destruction and misery be our
portion at last. <I>Thirdly,</I> It is by the word of God, as our guide
and rule, that we must keep out of the paths of the destroyer, by
observing its directions and admonitions,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:9">Ps. cxix. 9</A>.
<I>Fourthly,</I> If we carefully avoid all the paths of sin, it will be
very comfortable in the reflection, when we are in trouble. If we
<I>keep ourselves, that the wicked one touch us not</I> with his
temptations
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+5:18">1 John v. 18</A>),
we may hope he will not be able to touch us with his terrors.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. What his petition is; it is, in short, this, That he might
experience the good work of God in him, as an evidence of and
qualification for the good will of God towards him: this is grace and
peace from God the Father.
1. He prays for the work of God's grace in him
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
"<I>Hold up my going in thy paths.</I> Lord, I have, by thy grace, kept
myself from the paths of the destroyer; by the same grace let me be
kept in thy paths; let me not only be restrained from doing that which
is evil, but quickened to abound always in that which is good. Let my
goings be held in thy paths, that I may not turn back from them nor
turn aside out of them; let them be held up in thy paths, that I may
not stumble and fall into sin, that I may not trifle and neglect my
duty. Lord, as thou hast kept me hitherto, so keep me still." Those
that are, through grace, going in God's paths, have need to pray, and
do pray, that their goings may be held up in those paths; for we stand
no longer than he is pleased to hold us, we go no further than he is
pleased to lead us, bear us up, and carry us. David had been kept in
the way of his duty hitherto, and yet he does not think that this would
be his security for the future, and therefore prays, "Lord, still hold
me up." Those that would proceed and persevere in the way of God must,
by faith and prayer, fetch in daily fresh supplies of grace and
strength from him. David was sensible that his way was slippery, that
he himself was weak, and not so well fixed and furnished as he should
be, that there were those who watched for his halting and would improve
the least slip against him, and therefore he prays, "Lord, hold me up,
that my foot slip not, that I may never say nor do any thing that looks
either dishonest or distrustful of thee and thy providence and
promise."
2. He prays for the tokens of God's favour to him,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
Observe here,
(1.) How he eyes God as the protector and Saviour of his people, so he
calls him, and thence he takes his encouragement in prayer: <I>O thou
that savest by thy right hand</I> (by thy own power, and needest not
the agency of any other) <I>those who put their trust in thee from
those that rise up against them.</I> It is the character of God's
people that they trust in him; he is pleased to make them confidants,
for his secret is with the righteous; and they make him their trust,
for to him they commit themselves. Those that trust in God have many
enemies, many that rise up against them and seek their ruin; but they
have one friend that is able to deal with them all, and, if he be for
them, no matter who is against them. He reckons it his honour to be
their Saviour. His almighty power is engaged for them, and they have
all found him ready to save them. The margin reads it, <I>O thou that
savest those who trust in thee from those that rise up against thy
right hand.</I> Those that are enemies to the saints are rebels against
God and his right hand, and therefore, no doubt, he will, in due time,
appear against them.
(2.) What he expects and desires from God: <I>Show thy marvellous
loving-kindness.</I> The word signifies,
[1.] Distinguishing favours. "Set apart thy loving-kindnesses for me;
put me not off with common mercies, but be gracious to me, <I>as thou
usest to do to those who love thy name.</I>"
[2.] Wonderful favours. "O make thy loving-kindness admirable! Lord,
testify thy favour to me in such a way that I and others may wonder at
it." God's loving-kindness is marvellous for the freeness and the
fulness of it; in some instances it appears, in a special manner,
marvellous
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+118:23">Ps. cxviii. 23</A>),
and it will certainly appear so in the salvation of the saints, when
Christ shall come to be <I>glorified in the saints and to be admired in
all those that believe.</I></P>
<A NAME="Ps17_8"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps17_9"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps17_10"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps17_11"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps17_12"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps17_13"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps17_14"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps17_15"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Prayer for Protecting Mercy; Character of David's Enemies.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of
thy wings,
&nbsp; 9 From the wicked that oppress me, <I>from</I> my deadly enemies,
<I>who</I> compass me about.
&nbsp; 10 They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they
speak proudly.
&nbsp; 11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their
eyes bowing down to the earth;
&nbsp; 12 Like as a lion <I>that</I> is greedy of his prey, and as it were
a young lion lurking in secret places.
&nbsp; 13 Arise, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my
soul from the wicked, <I>which is</I> thy sword:
&nbsp; 14 From men <I>which are</I> thy hand, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, from men of the
world, <I>which have</I> their portion in <I>this</I> life, and whose belly
thou fillest with thy hid <I>treasure:</I> they are full of children,
and leave the rest of their <I>substance</I> to their babes.
&nbsp; 15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall
be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
We may observe, in these verses,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. What David prays for. Being compassed about with enemies that sought
his life, he prays to God to preserve him safely through all their
attempts against him, to the crown to which he was anointed. This
prayer is both a prediction of the preservation of Christ through all
the hardships and difficulties of his humiliation, to the glories and
joys of his exalted state, and a pattern to Christians to commit the
keeping of their souls to God, trusting him to <I>preserve them to his
heavenly kingdom.</I> He prays,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. That he himself might be protected
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
"Keep me safe, hide me close, where I may not be found, where I may not
be come at. Deliver my soul, not only my mortal life from death, but my
immortal spirit from sin." Those who put themselves under God's
protection may in faith implore the benefit of it.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(1.) He prays that God would keep him,
[1.] With as much care as a man keeps the apple of his eye with, which
nature has wonderfully fenced and teaches us to guard. If we keep God's
law as the <I>apple of our eye</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+7:2">Prov. vii. 2</A>),
we may expect that God will so keep us; for it is said concerning his
people that whoso <I>touches them touches the apple of his eye,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+2:8">Zech. ii. 8</A>.
[2.] With as much tenderness as the hen gathers her young ones under
her wings with; Christ uses the similitude,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+23:37">Matt. xxiii. 37</A>.
"<I>Hide me under the shadow of thy wings,</I> where I may be both safe
and warm." Or, perhaps, it rather alludes to the wings of the cherubim
shadowing the mercy-seat: "Let me be taken under the protection of that
glorious grace which is peculiar to God's Israel." What David here
prays for was performed to the Son of David, our Lord Jesus, of whom it
is said
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:2">Isa. xlix. 2</A>)
that God hid <I>him in the shadow of his hand,</I> hid him <I>as a
polished shaft in his quiver.</I></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(2.) David further prays, "Lord, keep me from the wicked, from men of
the world,"
[1.] "From being, and doing, like them, from walking in their counsel,
and standing in their way, and eating of their dainties."
[2.] "From being destroyed and run down by them. Let them not have
their will against me; let them not triumph over me."</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. That all the designs of his enemies to bring his either into sin or
into trouble might be defeated
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
"<I>Arise, O Lord!</I> appear for me, disappoint him, and cast him down
in his own eyes by the disappointment." While Saul persecuted David,
how often did he miss his prey, when he thought he had him sure! And
how were Christ's enemies disappointed by his resurrection, who thought
they had gained their point when they had put him to death!</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. What he pleads for the encouraging of his own faith in these
petitions, and his hope of speeding. He pleads,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. The malice and wickedness of his enemies: "They are such as are not
fit to be countenanced, such as, if I be not delivered from them by the
special care of God himself, will be my ruin. Lord, see what wicked men
those are that oppress me, and waste me, and run me down."
(1.) "They are very spiteful and malicious; they are <I>my deadly
enemies,</I> that thirst after my blood, my heart's blood--<I>enemies
against the soul,</I>" so the word is. David's enemies did what they
could to drive him to sin and drive him away from God; they bade him
<I>go serve other gods</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+26:19">1 Sam. xxvi. 19</A>),
and therefore he had reason to pray against them. Note, Those are our
worst enemies, and we ought so to account them, that are enemies to our
souls.
(2.) "They are very secure and sensual, insolent and haughty
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
<I>They are enclosed in their own fat,</I> wrap themselves, hug
themselves, in their own honour, and power, and plenty, and then make
light of God, and set his judgments at defiance,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+73:7,Job+15:27">Ps. lxxiii. 7; Job xv. 27</A>.
They wallow in pleasure, and promise themselves that to-morrow shall be
as this day. And therefore with their mouth they speak proudly,
glorying in themselves, blaspheming God, trampling upon his people, and
insulting them." See
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+13:5,6">Rev. xiii. 5, 6</A>.
"Lord, are not such men as these fit to be mortified and humbled, and
made to know themselves? Will it not be for thy glory <I>to look upon
these proud men and abase them?</I>"
(3.) "They are restless and unwearied in their attempts against me:
They <I>compass me about,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
They have now in a manner gained their point; they have surrounded us,
they have compassed us in our steps, they track us wherever we go,
follow us as close as the hound does the hare, and take all advantages
against us, being both too many and too quick for us. And yet they
pretend to look another way, and set their eyes bowing down to the
earth, as if they were meditating, retired into themselves, and
thinking of something else;" or (as some think), "They are watchful and
intent upon it, to do us a mischief; they are down-looked, and never
let slip any opportunity of compassing their design."
(4.) "The ringleader of them (that was Saul) is in a special manner
bloody and barbarous, politic and projecting
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
<I>like a lion</I> that lives by prey and is therefore greedy of it."
It is as much the meat and drink of a wicked man to do mischief as it
is of a good man to do good. He is like <I>a young lion lurking in
secret places,</I> disguising his cruel designs. This is fitly applied
to Saul, who sought David <I>on the rocks of the wild goats</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+24:2">1 Sam. xxiv. 2</A>)
and in <I>the wilderness of Ziph</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+26:2">Ps. xxvi. 2</A>),
where lions used to lurk for their prey.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. The power God had over them, to control and restrain them. He
pleads,
(1.) "Lord, they are <I>thy sword;</I> and will any father suffer his
sword to be drawn against his own children?" As this is a reason why we
should patiently bear the injuries of men, that they are but the
instruments of the trouble (it comes originally from God, to whose will
we are bound to submit), so it is an encouragement to us to hope both
that their wrath shall praise him and that the remainder thereof he
will restrain, that they are God's sword, which he can manage as he
pleases, which cannot move without him, and which he will sheathe when
he has done his work with it.
(2.) "They are <I>thy hand,</I> by which thou dost chastise thy people
and make them feel thy displeasure." He therefore expects deliverance
from God's hand because from God's hand the trouble came. <I>Una
eademque manus vulnus opemque tulit--The same hand wounds and
heals.</I> There is no flying from God's hand but by flying to it. It
is very comfortable, when we are in fear of the power of man, to see it
dependent upon and in subjection to the power of God; see
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:6,7,15">Isa. x. 6, 7, 15</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
3. Their outward prosperity
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
"Lord, appear against them, for,"
(1.) "They are entirely devoted to the world, and care not for thee and
thy favour. They are <I>men of the world,</I> actuated by the spirit of
the world, walking according to the course of this world, in love with
the wealth and pleasure of this world, eager in the pursuits of it
(making them their business) and at ease in the enjoyments of it--making
them their bliss. They <I>have their portion in this life;</I> they
look upon the good things of this world as the best things, and
sufficient to make them happy, and they choose them accordingly, place
their felicity in them, and aim at them as their chief good; they rest
satisfied with them, their souls take their ease in them, and they look
no further, nor are in any care to provide for another life. These
things are their consolation
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+6:24">Luke vi. 24</A>),
<I>their good things</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:25">Luke xvi. 25</A>),
<I>their reward</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+6:5">Matt. vi. 5</A>),
the penny they agreed for,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+20:13">Matt. xx. 13</A>.
Now, Lord, shall men of this character be supported and countenanced
against those who honour thee by preferring thy favour before all the
wealth in this world, and taking thee for their portion?"
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:5">Ps. xvi. 5</A>.
(2.) They have abundance of the world.
[1.] They have enlarged appetites, and a great deal wherewith to
satisfy them: <I>Their bellies thou fillest with thy hidden
treasures.</I> The things of this world are called <I>treasures,</I>
because they are so accounted; otherwise, to a soul, and in comparison
with eternal blessings, they are but trash. They are hidden in the
several parts of the creation, and hidden in the sovereign disposals of
Providence. They are God's hidden treasures, for the earth is his and
the fulness thereof, though the men of the world think it is their own
and forget God's property in it. Those that fare deliciously every day
have their <I>bellies filled with these hidden treasures;</I> and they
will but <I>fill the belly</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+6:13">1 Cor. vi. 13</A>);
they will not fill the soul; they are not bread for that, nor can they
satisfy,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:2">Isa. lv. 2</A>.
They are husks, and ashes, and wind; and yet most men, having no care
for their souls, but all for their bellies, take up with them.
[2.] They have numerous families, and a great deal to leave to them:
<I>They are full of children,</I> and yet their pasture is not
overstocked; they have enough for them all, and <I>leave the rest of
their substance to their babes,</I> to their grand-children; and this
is their heaven, it is their bliss, it is their all. "Lord," said
David, "<I>deliver me from them;</I> let me not have my portion with
them. Deliver me from their designs against me; for, they having so
much wealth and power, I am not able to deal with them unless the Lord
be on my side."</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
4. He pleads his own dependence upon God as his portion and happiness.
"They have their portion in this life, but as for me
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>)
I am none of them, I have but little of the world. <I>Nec habeo, nec
careo, nec curo--I neither have, nor need, nor care for it.</I> It is
the vision and fruition of God that I place my happiness in; that is it
I hope for, and comfort myself with the hopes of, and thereby
distinguish myself from those who have their portion in this life."
Beholding God's face with satisfaction may be considered,
(1.) As our duty and comfort in this world. We must in righteousness
(clothed with Christ's righteousness, having a good heart and a good
life) by faith behold God's face and set him always before us, must
entertain ourselves from day to day with the contemplation of the
beauty of the Lord; and, when we awake every morning, we must be
satisfied with his likeness set before us in his word, and with his
likeness stamped upon us by his renewing grace. Our experience of God's
favour to us, and our conformity to him, should yield us more
satisfaction than those have whose belly is filled with the delights of
sense.
2. As our recompence and happiness in the other world. With the
prospect of that he concluded the foregoing psalm, and so this. That
happiness is prepared and designed only for the righteous that are
justified and sanctified. They shall be put in possession of it when
they awake, when the soul awakes, at death, out of its slumber in the
body, and when the body awakes, at the resurrection, out of its slumber
in the grave. That blessedness will consist in three things:--
[1.] The immediate vision of God and his glory: <I>I shall behold thy
face,</I> not, as in this world, through a glass darkly. The knowledge
of God will there be perfected and the enlarged intellect filled with
it.
[2.] The participation of his likeness. Our holiness will there be
perfect. This results from the former
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:2">1 John iii. 2</A>):
<I>When he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as
he is.</I>
[3.] A complete and full satisfaction resulting from all this: <I>I
shall be satisfied,</I> abundantly satisfied with it. There is no
satisfaction for a soul but in God, and in his face and likeness, his
good-will towards us and his good work in us; and even that
satisfaction will not be perfect till we come to heaven.</P>
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