mh_parser/vol_split/19 - Psalms/Chapter 118.xml

<div2 id="Ps.cxix" n="cxix" next="Ps.cxx" prev="Ps.cxviii" progress="62.23%" title="Chapter CXVIII">
<h2 id="Ps.cxix-p0.1">P S A L M S</h2>
<h3 id="Ps.cxix-p0.2">PSALM CXVIII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ps.cxix-p1">It is probable that David penned this psalm when
he had, after many a story, weathered his point at last, and gained
a full possession of the kingdom to which he had been anointed. He
then invites and stirs up his friends to join with him, not only in
a cheerful acknowledgment of God's goodness and a cheerful
dependence upon that goodness for the future, but in a believing
expectation of the promised Messiah, of whose kingdom and his
exaltation to it his were typical. To him, it is certain, the
prophet here bears witness, in the latter part of the psalm. Christ
himself applies it to himself (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.21.42" parsed="|Matt|21|42|0|0" passage="Mt 21:42">Matt.
xxi. 42</scripRef>), and the former part of the psalm may fairly,
and without forcing, be accommodated to him and his undertaking.
Some think it was first calculated for the solemnity of the
bringing of the ark to the city of David, and was afterwards sung
at the feast of tabernacles. In it, I. David calls upon all about
him to give to God the glory of his goodness, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.1-Ps.118.4" parsed="|Ps|118|1|118|4" passage="Ps 118:1-4">ver. 1-4</scripRef>. II. He encourages himself and
others to trust in God, from the experience he had had of God's
power and pity in the great and kind things he had done for him,
<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.5-Ps.118.8" parsed="|Ps|118|5|118|8" passage="Ps 118:5-8">ver. 5-18</scripRef>. III. He gives
thanks for his advancement to the throne, as it was a figure of the
exaltation of Christ, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.19-Ps.118.23" parsed="|Ps|118|19|118|23" passage="Ps 118:19-23">ver.
19-23</scripRef>. IV. The people, the priests, and the psalmist
himself, triumph in the prospect of the Redeemer's kingdom,
<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.24-Ps.118.29" parsed="|Ps|118|24|118|29" passage="Ps 118:24-29">ver. 24-29</scripRef>. In singing
this psalm we must glorify God for his goodness, his goodness to
us, and especially his goodness to us in Jesus Christ.</p>
<scripCom id="Ps.cxix-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118" parsed="|Ps|118|0|0|0" passage="Ps 118" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ps.cxix-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.1-Ps.118.18" parsed="|Ps|118|1|118|18" passage="Ps 118:1-18" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.118.1-Ps.118.18">
<h4 id="Ps.cxix-p1.8">Goodness of God Celebrated; Grateful
Acknowledgments.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.cxix-p2">1 O give thanks unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.1">Lord</span>; for <i>he is</i> good: because his mercy
<i>endureth</i> for ever.   2 Let Israel now say, that his
mercy <i>endureth</i> for ever.   3 Let the house of Aaron now
say, that his mercy <i>endureth</i> for ever.   4 Let them now
that fear the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.2">Lord</span> say, that his
mercy <i>endureth</i> for ever.   5 I called upon the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.3">Lord</span> in distress: the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.4">Lord</span> answered me, <i>and set me</i> in a large
place.   6 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.5">Lord</span> <i>is</i>
on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?   7 The
<span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.6">Lord</span> taketh my part with them that
help me: therefore shall I see <i>my desire</i> upon them that hate
me.   8 <i>It is</i> better to trust in the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.7">Lord</span> than to put confidence in man.   9
<i>It is</i> better to trust in the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.8">Lord</span> than to put confidence in princes.  
10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.9">Lord</span> will I destroy them.   11 They
compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name
of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.10">Lord</span> I will destroy them.
  12 They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as
the fire of thorns: for in the name of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.11">Lord</span> I will destroy them.   13 Thou hast
thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.12">Lord</span> helped me.   14 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.13">Lord</span> <i>is</i> my strength and song, and is
become my salvation.   15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation
<i>is</i> in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.14">Lord</span> doeth valiantly.   16
The right hand of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.15">Lord</span> is
exalted: the right hand of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.16">Lord</span>
doeth valiantly.   17 I shall not die, but live, and declare
the works of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.17">Lord</span>.   18 The
<span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p2.18">Lord</span> hath chastened me sore: but he
hath not given me over unto death.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p3">It appears here, as often as elsewhere,
that David had his heart full of the goodness of God. He loved to
think of it, loved to speak of it, and was very solicitous that God
might have the praise of it and others the comfort of it. The more
our hearts are impressed with a sense of God's goodness the more
they will be enlarged in all manner of obedience. In these
verses,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p4">I. He celebrates God's mercy in general,
and calls upon others to acknowledge it, from their own experience
of it (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.1" parsed="|Ps|118|1|0|0" passage="Ps 118:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>): <i>O
give thanks unto the Lord, for he is</i> not only good in himself,
but good to you, and <i>his mercy endures for ever,</i> not only in
the everlasting fountain, God himself, but in the never-failing
streams of that mercy, which shall run parallel with the longest
line of eternity, and in the chosen <i>vessels of mercy,</i> who
will be everlasting monuments of it. Israel, and the house of
Aaron, and all that <i>fear</i> God, were called upon to <i>trust
in God</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.115.9-Ps.115.11" parsed="|Ps|115|9|115|11" passage="Ps 115:9-11">Ps. cxv.
9-11</scripRef>); here they are called upon to confess that <i>his
mercy endures for ever,</i> and so to encourage themselves to trust
in him, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.2-Ps.118.4" parsed="|Ps|118|2|118|4" passage="Ps 118:2-4"><i>v.</i> 2-4</scripRef>.
Priests and people, Jews and proselytes, must all own God's
goodness, and all join in the same thankful song; if they can say
no more, let them say this for him, that <i>his mercy endures for
ever,</i> that they have had experience of it all their days, and
confide in it for good things that shall last for ever. The praises
and thanksgivings of all that truly <i>fear the Lord</i> shall be
as pleasing to him as those of the house of Israel or the house of
Aaron.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p5">II. He preserves an account of God's
gracious dealings with him in particular, which he communicates to
others, that they might thence fetch both songs of praise and
supports of faith, and both ways God would have the glory. David
had, in his time, waded through a great deal of difficulty, which
gave him great experience of God's goodness. Let us therefore
observe here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p6">1. The great distress and danger that he
had been in, which he reflects upon for the magnifying of God's
goodness to him in his present advancement. There are many who,
when they are lifted up, care not for hearing or speaking of their
former depressions; but David takes all occasions to remember his
own low estate. He was <i>in distress</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.5" parsed="|Ps|118|5|0|0" passage="Ps 118:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>), greatly straitened and at a
loss; there were many that <i>hated him</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.7" parsed="|Ps|118|7|0|0" passage="Ps 118:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), and this could not but be a
great grief to one of an ingenuous spirit, that strove to gain the
good affections of all. <i>All nations compassed me about,</i>
<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.10" parsed="|Ps|118|10|0|0" passage="Ps 118:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. All the
nations adjacent to Israel set themselves to give disturbance to
David, when he had newly come to the throne, Philistines, Moabites,
Syrians, Ammonites, &amp;c. We read of <i>his enemies round
about;</i> they were confederate against him, and thought to cut
off all succours from him. This endeavour of his enemies to
surround him is repeated (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.11" parsed="|Ps|118|11|0|0" passage="Ps 118:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>): <i>They compassed me about, yea, they compassed me
about,</i> which intimates that they were virulent and violent,
and, for a time, prevalent, in their attempts against him, and when
put into disorder they rallied again and pushed on their design.
<i>They compassed me about like bees,</i> so numerous were they, so
noisy, so vexatious; they came flying upon him, came upon him in
swarms, set upon him with their malignant stings; but it was to
their own destruction, as the bee, they say, loses her life with
her sting, <i>Animamque in vulnere ponit—She lays down her life in
the wound. Lord, how are those increased that trouble me!</i> Two
ways David was brought into trouble:—(1.) By the injuries that
men did him (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.13" parsed="|Ps|118|13|0|0" passage="Ps 118:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>): <i>Thou</i> (O enemy!) <i>hast thrust sore at
me,</i> with many a desperate push, <i>that I might fall</i> into
sin and into ruin. <i>Thrusting thou hast thrust at me</i> (so the
word is), so that I was <i>ready to fall.</i> Satan is the great
enemy that thrusts sorely at us by his temptations, to cast us down
from our excellency, that we may fall from our God and from our
comfort in him; and, if Go had not upheld us by his grace, his
thrusts would have been fatal to us. (2.) By the afflictions which
God laid upon him (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.18" parsed="|Ps|118|18|0|0" passage="Ps 118:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>): <i>The Lord has chastened me sore.</i> Men thrust
at him for his destruction; God chastened him for his instruction.
They thrust at him with the malice of enemies; God chastened him
with the love and tenderness of a Father. Perhaps he refers to the
same trouble which God, the author of it, designed for his profit,
that by it he <i>might partake of his holiness</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p6.7" osisRef="Bible:Heb.12.10" parsed="|Heb|12|10|0|0" passage="Heb 12:10">Heb. xii. 10, 11</scripRef>); howbeit, men, who
were the instruments of it, meant not so, <i>neither did their
heart think so, but it was in their heart to cut off and
destroy,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p6.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.10.7" parsed="|Isa|10|7|0|0" passage="Isa 10:7">Isa. x. 7</scripRef>.
What men intend for the greatest mischief God intends for the
greatest good, and it is easy to say whose counsel shall stand. God
will sanctify the trouble to his people, as it is his chastening,
and secure the good he designs; and he will guard them against the
trouble, as it is the enemies' thrusting, and secure them from the
evil they design, and then we need not fear.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p7">This account which David gives of his
troubles is very applicable to our Lord Jesus. Many there were that
<i>hated him,</i> hated him without a cause. They <i>compassed him
about;</i> Jews and Romans surrounded him. <i>They thrust sorely at
him;</i> the devil did so when he tempted him; his persecutors did
so when they reviled him; nay, the Lord himself <i>chastened him
sorely,</i> bruised him, and put him to grief, that <i>by his
stripes we might be healed.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p8">2. The favour God vouchsafed to him in his
distress. (1.) God heard his prayer (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.5" parsed="|Ps|118|5|0|0" passage="Ps 118:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>): "<i>He answered me</i> with
enlargements; he did more for me than I was able to ask; he
enlarged my heart in prayer and yet gave more largely than I
desired." <i>He answered me, and set me in a large place</i> (so we
read it), where I had room to bestir myself, room to enjoy myself,
and room to thrive; and the large place was the more comfortable
because he was brought to it out of distress, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.4.1" parsed="|Ps|4|1|0|0" passage="Ps 4:1">Ps. iv. 1</scripRef>. (2.) God baffled the designs of his
enemies against him: They are <i>quenched as the fire of thorns</i>
(<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.12" parsed="|Ps|118|12|0|0" passage="Ps 118:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>), which
burns furiously for a while, makes a great noise and a great blaze,
but is presently out, and cannot do the mischief that it
threatened. Such was the fury of David's enemies; such is <i>the
laughter of the fool,</i> like the <i>crackling of thorns under a
pot</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.7.6" parsed="|Eccl|7|6|0|0" passage="Ec 7:6">Eccl. vii. 6</scripRef>), and
such is the anger of the fool, which therefore is not to be feared,
any more than his laughter is to be envied, but both to be pitied.
They thrust sorely at him, but <i>the Lord helped him</i>
(<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.13" parsed="|Ps|118|13|0|0" passage="Ps 118:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>), helped him
to keep his feet and maintain his ground. Our spiritual enemies
would, long before this, have been our ruin if God had not been our
helper. (3.) God preserved his life when there was but a step
between him and death (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p8.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.18" parsed="|Ps|118|18|0|0" passage="Ps 118:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>): "He has <i>chastened me,</i> but he has not
<i>given me over unto death,</i> for he has not given me over to
the will of my enemies." To this St. Paul seems to refer in
<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p8.7" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.6.9" parsed="|2Cor|6|9|0|0" passage="2Co 6:9">2 Cor. vi. 9</scripRef>. <i>As dying,
and behold we live; as chastened, and not killed.</i> We ought not
therefore, when we are chastened sorely, immediately to despair of
life, for God sometimes, in appearance, <i>turns men to
destruction,</i> and yet <i>says, Return; says unto them,
Live.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p9">This also is applicable to Jesus Christ.
God <i>answered him, and set him in a large place.</i> He quenched
the fire of his enemies; rage, which did but consume themselves;
for <i>through death he destroyed him that had the power of
death.</i> He helped him through his undertaking; and thus far he
did not <i>give him over unto death</i> that he did <i>not leave
him in the grave,</i> nor <i>suffer him to see corruption. Death
had no dominion over him.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p10">3. The improvement he made of this favour.
(1.) It encouraged him to trust in God; from his own experience he
can say, <i>It is better,</i> more wise, more comfortable, and more
safe, there is more reason for it, and it will speed better, <i>to
trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man,</i> yea, though
it be <i>in princes,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.8-Ps.118.9" parsed="|Ps|118|8|118|9" passage="Ps 118:8,9"><i>v.</i>
8, 9</scripRef>. He that devotes himself to God's guidance and
government, with an entire dependence upon God's wisdom, power, and
goodness, has a better security to make him easy than if all the
kings and potentates of the earth should undertake to protect him.
(2.) It enabled him to triumph in that trust. [1.] He triumphs in
God, and in his relation to him and interest in him (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.6" parsed="|Ps|118|6|0|0" passage="Ps 118:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>): "<i>The Lord is on my
side.</i> He is a righteous God, and therefore espouses my
righteous cause and will plead it." If we are on God's side, he is
on ours; if we be for him and with him, he will be for us and with
us (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.7" parsed="|Ps|118|7|0|0" passage="Ps 118:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>): "<i>The
Lord takes my part,</i> and stands up for me, <i>with those that
help me.</i> He is to me among my helpers, and so one of them that
he is all in all both to them and me, and without him I could not
help myself nor could any friend I have in the world help me." Thus
(<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.14" parsed="|Ps|118|14|0|0" passage="Ps 118:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>), "<i>The
Lord is my strength and my song;</i> that is, I make him so
(without him I am weak and sad, but on him I stay myself as my
strength, both for doing and suffering, and in him I solace myself
as my song, by which I both express my joy and ease my grief), and,
making him so, I find him so: he strengthens my heart with his
graces and gladdens my heart with his comforts." If God be our
strength, he must be our song; if he work all our works in us, he
must have all praise and glory from us. God is sometimes the
strength of his people when he is not their song; they have
spiritual supports when they want spiritual delights. But, if he be
both to us, we have abundant reason to triumph in him; for, he be
our strength and our song, he has become not only our Saviour, but
our salvation; for his being our strength is our protection to the
salvation, and his being our song is an earnest and foretaste of
the salvation. [2.] He triumphs over his enemies. Now shall his
head be lifted up above them; for, <i>First,</i> He is sure they
cannot hurt him: "God is for me, and then <i>I will not fear what
man can do against me,</i>" <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.6" parsed="|Ps|118|6|0|0" passage="Ps 118:6"><i>v.</i>
6</scripRef>. He can set them all at defiance, and is not disturbed
at any of their attempts. "They can do nothing to me but what God
permits them to do; they can do no real damage, for they cannot
separate between me and God; they cannot do any thing but what God
can make to work for my good. The enemy is a man, a depending
creature, whose power is limited, and subordinate to a higher
power, and therefore I will not fear him." <i>Who art thou, that
thou shouldst be afraid of a man that shall die?</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p10.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.51.12" parsed="|Isa|51|12|0|0" passage="Isa 51:12">Isa. li. 12</scripRef>. The apostle quotes
this, with application to all Christians, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p10.7" osisRef="Bible:Heb.13.6" parsed="|Heb|13|6|0|0" passage="Heb 13:6">Heb. xiii. 6</scripRef>. They may boldly say, as boldly
as David himself, <i>The Lord is my helper,</i> and <i>I will not
fear what man shall do unto me;</i> let him do his worst.
<i>Secondly,</i> He is sure that he shall be too hard for them at
last: "<i>I shall see my desire upon those that hate me</i>
(<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p10.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.7" parsed="|Ps|118|7|0|0" passage="Ps 118:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>); I shall see
them defeated in their designs against me; nay, <i>In the name of
the Lord I will destroy them</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p10.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.10-Ps.118.12" parsed="|Ps|118|10|118|12" passage="Ps 118:10-12"><i>v.</i> 10-12</scripRef>); I trust in the name of
the Lord that I shall destroy them, and in his name I will go forth
against them, depending on his strength, by warrant from him, and
with an eye to his glory, not confiding in myself nor taking
vengeance for myself." Thus he went forth against Goliath, <i>in
the name of the God of Israel,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p10.10" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.17.45" parsed="|1Sam|17|45|0|0" passage="1Sa 17:45">1
Sam. xvii. 45</scripRef>. David says this as a type of Christ, who
triumphed over the powers of darkness, destroyed them, and <i>made
a show of them openly.</i> [3.] He triumphs in an assurance of the
continuance of his comfort, his victory, and his life.
<i>First,</i> Of his comfort (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p10.11" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.15" parsed="|Ps|118|15|0|0" passage="Ps 118:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>): <i>The voice of rejoicing and
salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous,</i> and in mine
particularly, in my family. The dwellings of the righteous in this
world are but tabernacles, mean and movable; here we have no city,
<i>no continuing city.</i> But these tabernacles are more
comfortable to them than the palaces of the wicked are to them; for
in the house where religion rules, 1. There is salvation; safety
from evil, earnests of eternal salvation, which <i>has come to this
house,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p10.12" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.9" parsed="|Luke|19|9|0|0" passage="Lu 19:9">Luke xix. 9</scripRef>. 2.
Where there is salvation there is cause for rejoicing, for
continual joy in God. Holy joy is called <i>the joy of
salvation,</i> for in that there is abundant matter for joy. 3.
Where there is rejoicing there ought to be <i>the voice</i> of
rejoicing, that is, praise and thanksgiving. Let God be served with
joyfulness and gladness of heart, and let the voice of that
rejoicing be heard daily in our families, to the glory of God and
encouragement of others. <i>Secondly,</i> Of his victory: <i>The
right hand of the Lord does valiantly</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p10.13" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.15" parsed="|Ps|118|15|0|0" passage="Ps 118:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>) and <i>is exalted;</i> for (as
some read it) <i>it has exalted me.</i> The right hand of God's
power is engaged for his people, and it acts vigorously for them
and therefore victoriously. For what difficulty can stand before
the divine valour? We are weak, and act but cowardly for ourselves;
but God is mighty, and acts valiantly for us, with jealousy and
resolution, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p10.14" osisRef="Bible:Isa.63.5-Isa.63.6" parsed="|Isa|63|5|63|6" passage="Isa 63:5,6">Isa. lxiii. 5,
6</scripRef>. There is spirit, as well as strength, in all God's
operations for his people. And, when God's right hand does
valiantly for our salvation, it ought to be exalted in our praises.
<i>Thirdly,</i> Of his life (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p10.15" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.17" parsed="|Ps|118|17|0|0" passage="Ps 118:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>): "<i>I shall not die</i> by
the hands of my enemies that seek my life, <i>but live and declare
the works of the Lord;</i> I shall live a monument of God's mercy
and power; his works shall be declared in me, and I will make it
the business of my life to praise and magnify God, looking upon
that as the end of my preservation." Note, It is not worth while to
live for any other purpose than to <i>declare the works of God,</i>
for his honour and the encouragement of others to serve him and
trust in him. Such as these were the triumphs of the Son of David
in the assurance he had of the success of his undertaking and that
the <i>good pleasure of the Lord</i> should <i>prosper in his
hand.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Ps.cxix-p10.16" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.19-Ps.118.29" parsed="|Ps|118|19|118|29" passage="Ps 118:19-29" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.118.19-Ps.118.29">
<h4 id="Ps.cxix-p10.17">David Triumphs in God; The Humiliation and
Exaltation of the Messiah.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.cxix-p11">19 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will
go into them, <i>and</i> I will praise the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p11.1">Lord</span>:   20 This gate of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p11.2">Lord</span>, into which the righteous shall enter.
  21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art
become my salvation.   22 The stone <i>which</i> the builders
refused is become the head <i>stone</i> of the corner.   23
This is the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p11.3">Lord</span>'s doing; it
<i>is</i> marvellous in our eyes.   24 This <i>is</i> the day
<i>which</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p11.4">Lord</span> hath made; we
will rejoice and be glad in it.   25 Save now, I beseech thee,
<span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p11.5">O Lord</span>: <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p11.6">O
Lord</span>, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.   26 Blessed
<i>be</i> he that cometh in the name of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p11.7">Lord</span>: we have blessed you out of the house of
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p11.8">Lord</span>.   27 God <i>is</i>
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p11.9">Lord</span>, which hath showed us
light: bind the sacrifice with cords, <i>even</i> unto the horns of
the altar.   28 Thou <i>art</i> my God, and I will praise
thee: <i>thou art</i> my God, I will exalt thee.   29 O give
thanks unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxix-p11.10">Lord</span>; for <i>he
is</i> good: for his mercy <i>endureth</i> for ever.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p12">We have here an illustrious prophecy of the
humiliation and exaltation of our Lord Jesus, his sufferings, and
the glory that should follow. Peter thus applies it directly to the
chief priests and scribes, and none of them could charge him with
misapplying it, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Acts.4.11" parsed="|Acts|4|11|0|0" passage="Ac 4:11">Acts iv. 11</scripRef>.
Now observe here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p13">I. The preface with which this precious
prophecy is introduced, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.19-Ps.118.21" parsed="|Ps|118|19|118|21" passage="Ps 118:19-21"><i>v.</i>
19-21</scripRef>. 1. The psalmist desires admission into the
sanctuary of God, there to celebrate the glory of him <i>that
cometh in the name of the Lord: Open to me the gates of
righteousness.</i> So the temple-gates are called, because they
were shut against the uncircumcised, and forbade the stranger to
come nigh, as the sacrifices there offered are called <i>sacrifices
of righteousness.</i> Those that would enter into communion with
God in holy ordinances must become humble suitors to God for
admission. And when the gates of righteousness are opened to us we
must <i>go into them,</i> must enter into the holiest, as far as we
have leave, <i>and praise the Lord.</i> Our business within God's
gates is to praise God; <i>therefore</i> we should long till the
gates of heaven be opened to us, that we may go into them to dwell
in God's house above, where we shall be still praising him. 2. He
sees admission granted him (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.20" parsed="|Ps|118|20|0|0" passage="Ps 118:20"><i>v.</i>
20</scripRef>): <i>This is the gate of the Lord,</i> the gate of
his appointing, <i>into which the righteous shall enter;</i> as if
he had said, "The gate you knocked at is opened, and you are
welcome. <i>Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.</i>" Some by
this gate understand Christ, by whom we are taken into fellowship
with God and our praises are accepted; he is <i>the way;</i> there
is no coming to the Father but by him (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:John.14.6" parsed="|John|14|6|0|0" passage="Joh 14:6">John xiv. 6</scripRef>), he is the <i>door of the
sheep</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:John.10.9" parsed="|John|10|9|0|0" passage="Joh 10:9">John x. 9</scripRef>); he
is the gate of the temple, by whom, and by whom only, the
righteous, and they only, shall enter, and <i>come into God's
righteousness,</i> as the expression is, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.69.27" parsed="|Ps|69|27|0|0" passage="Ps 69:27">Ps. lxix. 27</scripRef>. The psalmist triumphs in the
discovery that the gate of righteousness, which had been so long
shut, and so long knocked at, was now at length opened. 3. He
promises to give thanks to God for this favour (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p13.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.21" parsed="|Ps|118|21|0|0" passage="Ps 118:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>): <i>I will praise thee.</i>
Those that saw Christ's day at so great a distance saw cause to
praise God for the prospect; for in him they saw that God had heard
them, had heard the prayers of the Old-Testament saints for the
coming of the Messiah, and would be their salvation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p14">II. The prophecy itself, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.22-Ps.118.23" parsed="|Ps|118|22|118|23" passage="Ps 118:22,23"><i>v.</i> 22, 23</scripRef>. This may have some
reference to David's preferment; he was the stone which Saul and
his courtiers rejected, but was by the wonderful providence of God
advanced to be the headstone of the building. But its principal
reference is to Christ; and here we have, 1. His humiliation. He is
<i>the stone which the builders refused;</i> he is the <i>stone cut
out of the mountain without hands,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.2.34" parsed="|Dan|2|34|0|0" passage="Da 2:34">Dan. ii. 34</scripRef>. He is a stone, not only for
strength, and firmness, and duration, but for life, in the building
of the spiritual temple; and yet a <i>precious stone</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.2.6" parsed="|1Pet|2|6|0|0" passage="1Pe 2:6">1 Pet. ii. 6</scripRef>), for the foundation of
the gospel-church must be <i>sapphires,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.54.11" parsed="|Isa|54|11|0|0" passage="Isa 54:11">Isa. liv. 11</scripRef>. This stone was <i>rejected by
the builders,</i> by the rulers and people of the Jews (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Acts.4.8 Bible:Acts.4.10 Bible:Acts.4.11" parsed="|Acts|4|8|0|0;|Acts|4|10|0|0;|Acts|4|11|0|0" passage="Ac 4:8,10,11">Acts iv. 8, 10, 11</scripRef>); they refused
to own him as the stone, the Messiah promised; they would not build
their faith upon him nor join themselves to him; they would make no
use of him, but go on in their building without him; they <i>denied
him in the presence of Pilate</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p14.6" osisRef="Bible:Acts.3.13" parsed="|Acts|3|13|0|0" passage="Ac 3:13">Acts
iii. 13</scripRef>) when they said, <i>We have no king but
Cæsar.</i> They trampled upon this stone, threw it among the
rubbish out of the city; nay, they stumbled at it. This was a
disgrace to Christ, but it proved the ruin of those that thus made
light of him. Rejecters of Christ are rejected of God. 2. His
exaltation. He <i>has become the headstone of the corner;</i> he is
advanced to the highest degree both of honour and usefulness, to be
above all, and all in all. He is the chief corner-stone in the
foundation, in whom Jew and Gentile are united, that they may be
built up one holy house. He is the chief top-stone in the corner,
in whom the building is completed, and who must in all things have
the pre-eminence, as the <i>author and finisher of our faith.</i>
Thus highly <i>has God exalted him, because he humbled himself;</i>
and we, in compliance with God's design, must make him the
foundation of our hope, the centre of our unity, and the end of our
living. <i>To me to live is Christ.</i> 3. The hand of God in all
this: <i>This is the Lord's doing;</i> it is from the Lord; it is
with the Lord; it is the product of his counsel; it is his
contrivance. Both the humiliation and the exaltation of the Lord
Jesus were his work, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p14.7" osisRef="Bible:Acts.2.23 Bible:Acts.4.27-Acts.4.28" parsed="|Acts|2|23|0|0;|Acts|4|27|4|28" passage="Ac 2:23,4:27,28">Acts ii.
23; iv. 27, 28</scripRef>. He sent him, sealed him; his hand went
with him throughout his whole undertaking, and from first to last
he did his Father's will; and this ought to be <i>marvellous in our
eyes.</i> Christ's name is <i>Wonderful;</i> and the redemption he
wrought out is the most amazing of all God's works of wonder; it is
what the angels <i>desire to look into,</i> and will be admiring to
eternity; much more ought we to admire it, who owe our all to it.
<i>Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p15">III. The joy wherewith it is entertained
and the acclamations which attend this prediction.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p16">1. Let the day be solemnized to the honour
of God with great joy (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.24" parsed="|Ps|118|24|0|0" passage="Ps 118:24"><i>v.</i>
24</scripRef>): <i>This is the day the Lord has made.</i> The whole
time of the gospel-dispensation, that <i>accepted time,</i> that
<i>day of salvation,</i> is what the Lord has made so; it is a
continual feast, which ought to be kept with joy. Or it may very
fitly be understood of the Christian sabbath, which we sanctify in
remembrance of Christ's resurrection, when the rejected stone began
to be exalted; and so, (1.) Here is the doctrine of the Christian
sabbath: <i>It is the day which the Lord has made,</i> has made
remarkable, made holy, has distinguished from other days; he has
made it for man: it is therefore called <i>the Lord's day,</i> for
it bears his image and superscription. (2.) The duty of the
sabbath, the work of the day that is to be done in his day: <i>We
will rejoice and be glad in it,</i> not only in the institution of
the day, that there is such a day appointed, but in the occasion of
it, Christ's becoming the <i>head of the corner.</i> This we ought
to rejoice in both as his honour and our advantage. Sabbath days
must be rejoicing days, and then they are to us as the days of
heaven. See what a good Master we serve, who, having instituted a
day for his service, appoints it to be spent in holy joy.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p17">2. Let the exalted Redeemer be met, and
attended, with joyful hosannas, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.25-Ps.118.26" parsed="|Ps|118|25|118|26" passage="Ps 118:25,26"><i>v.</i> 25, 26</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p18">(1.) Let him have the acclamations of the
people, as is usual at the inauguration of a prince. Let every one
of his loyal subjects shout for joy, <i>Save now, I beseech thee, O
Lord!</i> This is like <i>Vivat rex—Long live the king,</i> and
expresses a hearty joy for his accession to the crown, an entire
satisfaction in his government, and a zealous affection to the
interests and honour of it. <i>Hosanna</i> signifies, <i>Save now,
I beseech thee.</i> [1.] "Lord, save me, I beseech thee; let this
Saviour be my Saviour, and, in order to that, my ruler; let me be
taken under his protection and owned as one of his willing
subjects. His enemies are my enemies; Lord, I beseech thee, save me
from them. Send me an interest in that prosperity which his kingdom
brings with it to all those that entertain it. Let my soul prosper
and be in health, in that peace and righteousness which his
government brings, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.72.3" parsed="|Ps|72|3|0|0" passage="Ps 72:3">Ps. lxxii.
3</scripRef>. Let me have victory over those lusts <i>that war
against my soul,</i> and let divine grace go on in my heart
<i>conquering and to conquer.</i>" [2.] "Lord, preserve him, I
beseech thee, even the Saviour himself, and <i>send him
prosperity</i> in all his undertakings; give success to his gospel,
and let it be <i>mighty, through God, to the pulling down of
strong-holds</i> and reducing souls to their allegiance to him. Let
his name be sanctified, his <i>kingdom come,</i> his <i>will be
done.</i>" Thus <i>let prayer be made for him continually,</i>
<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.72.15" parsed="|Ps|72|15|0|0" passage="Ps 72:15">Ps. lxxii. 15</scripRef>. On the
Lord's day, when we rejoice and are glad in his kingdom, we must
pray for the advancement of it more and more, and its establishment
upon the ruins of the devil's kingdom. When Christ made his public
entry into Jerusalem he was thus met by his well-wishers (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.21.9" parsed="|Matt|21|9|0|0" passage="Mt 21:9">Matt. xxi. 9</scripRef>): <i>Hosanna to the Son
of David;</i> long live King Jesus; let him reign for ever.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p19">(2.) Let the priests, the Lord's ministers,
do their part in this great solemnity, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.26" parsed="|Ps|118|26|0|0" passage="Ps 118:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>. [1.] Let them bless the prince
with their praises: <i>Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the
Lord.</i> Jesus Christ is <i>he that cometh</i>—<b><i>ho
erchomenos,</i></b> he that was to come and is yet to come again,
<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.8" parsed="|Rev|1|8|0|0" passage="Re 1:8">Rev. i. 8</scripRef>. He <i>comes in the
name of the Lord,</i> with a commission from him, to act for him,
to do his will and to seek his glory; and therefore we must say,
<i>Blessed be he that cometh;</i> we must rejoice that he has come;
we must speak well of him, admire him, and esteem him highly, as
one we are eternally obliged to, call him blessed Jesus, blessed
for ever, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.45.2" parsed="|Ps|45|2|0|0" passage="Ps 45:2">Ps. xlv. 2</scripRef>. We
must bid him welcome into our hearts, saying, "Come in, thou
blessed of the Lord; come in by thy grace and Spirit, and take
possession of me for thy own." We must bless his faithful ministers
that come in his name, and receive them for his sake, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p19.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.52.7 Bible:John.13.20" parsed="|Isa|52|7|0|0;|John|13|20|0|0" passage="Isa 52:7,Joh 13:20">Isa. lii. 7; John xiii. 20</scripRef>.
We must pray for the enlargement and edification of his church, for
the ripening of things for his second coming, and then that he who
has said, <i>Surely I come quickly,</i> would <i>even so come.</i>
[2.] Let them bless the people with their prayers: <i>We have
blessed you out of the house of the Lord.</i> Christ's ministers
are not only warranted, but appointed to pronounce a blessing, in
his name, upon all his loyal subjects that love him and his
government in sincerity, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p19.5" osisRef="Bible:Eph.6.24" parsed="|Eph|6|24|0|0" passage="Eph 6:24">Eph. vi.
24</scripRef>. We assure you that in and through Jesus Christ you
are blessed; for he came to bless you. "You are <i>blessed out of
the house of the Lord,</i> that is, <i>with spiritual blessings in
heavenly places</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p19.6" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.3" parsed="|Eph|1|3|0|0" passage="Eph 1:3">Eph. i.
3</scripRef>), and therefore have reason to bless him who has thus
blessed you."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p20">3. Let sacrifices of thanksgiving be
offered to his honour who offered for us the great atoning
sacrifice, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.27" parsed="|Ps|118|27|0|0" passage="Ps 118:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>.
Here is, (1.) The privilege we enjoy by Jesus Christ: <i>God is the
Lord who has shown us light.</i> God is Jehovah, is known by that
name, a God performing what he has promised and perfecting what he
has begun, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.6.3" parsed="|Exod|6|3|0|0" passage="Ex 6:3">Exod. vi. 3</scripRef>. <i>He
has shown us light,</i> that is, he has given us the knowledge of
himself and his will. He <i>has shined upon us</i> (so some); he
has favoured us, and lifted up upon us the light of his
countenance; he has given us occasion for joy and rejoicing, which
is light to the soul, by giving us a prospect of everlasting light
in heaven. <i>The day which the Lord has made</i> brings light with
it, true light. (2.) The duty which this privilege calls for:
<i>Bind the sacrifice with cords,</i> that, being killed, the blood
of it may be sprinkled <i>upon the horns of the altar,</i>
according to the law; or perhaps it was the custom (though we read
not of it elsewhere) to <i>bind the sacrifice to the horns of the
altar</i> while things were getting ready for the slaying of it. Or
this may have a peculiar significancy here; the sacrifice we are to
offer to God, in gratitude for redeeming love, is ourselves, not to
be slain upon the altar, but <i>living sacrifices</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Rom.12.1" parsed="|Rom|12|1|0|0" passage="Ro 12:1">Rom. xii. 1</scripRef>), to be bound to the
altar, spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise, in which our
hearts must be fixed and engaged, as the sacrifice was bound
<i>with cords to the horns of the altar,</i> not to start back.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxix-p21">4. The psalmist concludes with his own
thankful acknowledgments of divine grace, in which he calls upon
others to join with him, <scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.28-Ps.118.29" parsed="|Ps|118|28|118|29" passage="Ps 118:28,29"><i>v.</i>
28, 29</scripRef>. (1.) He will praise God himself, and endeavour
to exalt him in his own heart and in the hearts of others, and this
because of his covenant-relation to him and interest in him:
"<i>Thou art my God,</i> on whom I depend, and to whom I am
devoted, who ownest me and art owned by me; <i>and</i> therefore
<i>I will praise thee.</i>" (2.) He will have all about him to give
thanks to God for these glad tidings of great joy to all people,
that there is a Redeemer, even Christ the Lord. In him it is that
God <i>is good</i> to man and that <i>his mercy endures for
ever;</i> in him the covenant of grace is made, and in him it is
made sure, made good, and made an everlasting covenant. He
concludes this psalm as he began it (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.118.1" parsed="|Ps|118|1|0|0" passage="Ps 118:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>), for God's glory must be the
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, of all our addresses to
him. <i>Hallowed by thy name,</i> and <i>thine is the glory.</i>
And this fitly closes a prophecy of Christ. The angels give thanks
for man's redemption. <i>Glory to God in the highest</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.2.14" parsed="|Luke|2|14|0|0" passage="Lu 2:14">Luke ii. 14</scripRef>), for there is <i>on earth
peace,</i> to which we must echo with our hosannas, as they did,
<scripRef id="Ps.cxix-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.38" parsed="|Luke|19|38|0|0" passage="Lu 19:38">Luke xix. 38</scripRef>. <i>Peace in
heaven</i> to us through Christ, and therefore <i>glory in the
highest.</i></p>
</div></div2>