mh_parser/vol_split/19 - Psalms/Chapter 66.xml

<div2 id="Ps.lxvii" n="lxvii" next="Ps.lxviii" prev="Ps.lxvi" progress="43.77%" title="Chapter LXVI">
<h2 id="Ps.lxvii-p0.1">P S A L M S</h2>
<h3 id="Ps.lxvii-p0.2">PSALM LXVI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ps.lxvii-p1">This is a thanksgiving-psalm, and it is of such a
general use and application that we need not suppose it penned upon
any particular occasion. All people are here called upon to praise
God, I. For the general instances of his sovereign dominion and
power in the whole creation, <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.1-Ps.66.7" parsed="|Ps|66|1|66|7" passage="Ps 66:1-7">ver.
1-7</scripRef>. II. For the special tokens of his favour to the
church, his peculiar people, <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.8-Ps.66.12" parsed="|Ps|66|8|66|12" passage="Ps 66:8-12">ver.
8-12</scripRef>. And then, III. The psalmist praises God for his
own experiences of his goodness to him in particular, especially in
answering his prayers, <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.13-Ps.66.20" parsed="|Ps|66|13|66|20" passage="Ps 66:13-20">ver.
13-20</scripRef>. If we have learned in every thing to give thanks
for ancient and modern mercies, public and personal mercies, we
shall know how to sing this psalm with grace and understanding.</p>
<scripCom id="Ps.lxvii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66" parsed="|Ps|66|0|0|0" passage="Ps 66" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ps.lxvii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.1-Ps.66.7" parsed="|Ps|66|1|66|7" passage="Ps 66:1-7" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.66.1-Ps.66.7">
<h4 id="Ps.lxvii-p1.6">All Mankind Exhorted to Praise
God.</h4>
<div class="Center" id="Ps.lxvii-p1.7">
<p id="Ps.lxvii-p2">To the chief musician. A song <i>or</i> psalm.</p>
</div>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.lxvii-p3">1 Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:
  2 Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise
glorious.   3 Say unto God, How terrible <i>art thou in</i>
thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies
submit themselves unto thee.   4 All the earth shall worship
thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing <i>to</i> thy name.
Selah.   5 Come and see the works of God: <i>he is</i>
terrible <i>in his</i> doing toward the children of men.   6
He turned the sea into dry <i>land:</i> they went through the flood
on foot: there did we rejoice in him.   7 He ruleth by his
power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious
exalt themselves. Selah.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lxvii-p4">I. In these verses the psalmist calls upon
all people to praise God, <i>all lands, all the earth,</i> all the
inhabitants of the world that are capable of praising God,
<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.1" parsed="|Ps|66|1|0|0" passage="Ps 66:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. 1. This speaks
the glory of God, that he is worthy to be praised by all, for he is
good to all and furnishes every nation with matter for praise. 2.
The duty of man, that all are obliged to praise God; it is part of
the law of creation, and therefore is required of every creature.
3. A prediction of the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of
Christ; the time should come when all lands should praise God, and
this incense should in every place be offered to him. 4. A hearty
good-will which the psalmist had to this good work of praising God.
He will abound in it himself, and wishes that God might have his
tribute paid him by all the nations of the earth and not by the
land of Israel only. He excites all lands, (1.) To <i>make a joyful
noise to God.</i> Holy joy is that devout affection which should
animate all our praises; and, though it is not making a noise in
religion that God will accept of (hypocrites are said to <i>cause
their voice to be heard on high,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.58.4" parsed="|Isa|58|4|0|0" passage="Isa 58:4">Isa. lviii. 4</scripRef>), yet, in praising God, [1.] We
must be hearty and zealous, and must do what we do with all our
might, with all that is within us. [2.] We must be open and public,
as those that are not ashamed of our Master. And both these are
implied in making a noise, a joyful noise. (2.) To sing with
pleasure, and to <i>sing forth,</i> for the edification of others,
<i>the honour of his name,</i> that is, of all that whereby he has
made himself known, <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.2" parsed="|Ps|66|2|0|0" passage="Ps 66:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>. That which is the honour of God's name ought to be
the matter of our praise. (3.) To <i>make his praise glorious</i>
as far as we can. In praising God we must do it so as to glorify
him, and that must be the scope and drift of all our praises.
<i>Reckon it your greatest glory to praise God,</i> so some. It is
the highest honour the creature is capable of to be to the Creator
for a name and a praise.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lxvii-p5">II. He had called upon all lands to praise
God (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.1" parsed="|Ps|66|1|0|0" passage="Ps 66:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>), and he
foretels (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.4" parsed="|Ps|66|4|0|0" passage="Ps 66:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>) that
they shall do so: <i>All the earth shall worship thee;</i> some in
all parts of the earth, even the remotest regions, for <i>the
everlasting gospel shall be preached to every nation and
kindred;</i> and this is the purport of it, <i>Worship him that
made heaven and earth,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.14.6-Rev.14.7" parsed="|Rev|14|6|14|7" passage="Re 14:6,7">Rev. xiv.
6, 7</scripRef>. Being thus sent forth, it shall not return void,
but shall bring all the earth, more or less, to worship God, and
sing unto him. In gospel times God shall be worshipped by the
singing of Psalms. They shall <i>sing to God,</i> that is, <i>sing
to his name,</i> for it is only to his declarative glory, that by
which he has made himself known, not to his essential glory, that
we can contribute any thing by our praises.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lxvii-p6">III. That we may be furnished with matter
for praise, we are here called upon <i>to come and see the works of
God;</i> for <i>his own works praise him,</i> whether we do or no;
and the reason why we do not praise him more and better is because
we do not duly and attentively observe them. Let us therefore see
God's works and observe the instances of his wisdom, power, and
faithfulness in them (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.5" parsed="|Ps|66|5|0|0" passage="Ps 66:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>), and then speak of them, and speak of them to him
(<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.3" parsed="|Ps|66|3|0|0" passage="Ps 66:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>): <i>Say unto
God, How terrible art thou in thy works, terrible in thy
doings!</i> 1. God's works are wonderful in themselves, and such
as, when duly considered, may justly fill us with amazement. God
<i>is terrible</i> (that is, admirable) in his works, through the
greatness of his power, which is such, and shines so brightly, so
strongly, in all he does, that it may be truly said there are
<i>not any works like unto his works.</i> Hence he is said to be
<i>fearful in praises,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Exod.15.11" parsed="|Exod|15|11|0|0" passage="Ex 15:11">Exod. xv.
11</scripRef>. In all his doings towards the children of men he is
terrible, and to be eyed with a holy awe. Much of religion lies in
a reverence for the divine Providence. 2. They are formidable to
his enemies, and have many a time forced and frightened them into a
feigned submission (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.3" parsed="|Ps|66|3|0|0" passage="Ps 66:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>): <i>Through the greatness of thy power,</i> before
which none can stand, <i>shall thy enemies submit themselves unto
thee; they shall lie unto thee</i> (so the word is), that is, they
shall be compelled, sorely against their wills, to make their peace
with thee upon any terms. Subjection extorted by fear is seldom
sincere, and therefore force is no proper means of propagating
religion, nor can there be much joy of such proselytes to the
church as will in the end be found liars unto it, <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.33.29" parsed="|Deut|33|29|0|0" passage="De 33:29">Deut. xxxiii. 29</scripRef>. 3. They are
comfortable and beneficial to his people, <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.6" parsed="|Ps|66|6|0|0" passage="Ps 66:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. When Israel came out of Egypt,
<i>he turned the sea into dry land</i> before them, which
encouraged them to follow God's guidance through the wilderness;
and, when they were to enter Canaan, for their encouragement in
their wars Jordan was divided before them, and <i>they went through
that flood on foot;</i> and such foot, so signally owned by heaven,
might well pass for cavalry, rather than infantry, in the wars of
the Lord. There did the enemies tremble before them (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p6.7" osisRef="Bible:Exod.15.14-Exod.15.15 Bible:Josh.5.1" parsed="|Exod|15|14|15|15;|Josh|5|1|0|0" passage="Ex 15:14,15,Jos 5:1">Exod. xv. 14, 15; Josh. v.
1</scripRef>), but <i>there did we rejoice in him,</i> both trust
his power (for relying on God is often expressed by rejoicing in
him) and sing his praise, <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p6.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.106.12" parsed="|Ps|106|12|0|0" passage="Ps 106:12">Ps. cvi.
12</scripRef>. There did we rejoice; that is, our ancestors did,
and we in their loins. The joys of our fathers were our joys, and
we ought to look upon ourselves as sharers in them. 4. They are
commanding to all. God by his works keeps up his dominion in the
world (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p6.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.7" parsed="|Ps|66|7|0|0" passage="Ps 66:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>): <i>He
rules by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations.</i> (1.)
God has a commanding eye; from the height of heaven his eye
commands all the inhabitants of the world, and he has a clear and
full view of them all. <i>His eyes run to and fro through the
earth;</i> the most remote and obscure nations are under his
inspection. (2.) He has a commanding arm; his power rules, rules
for ever, and is never weakened, never obstructed. <i>Strong is his
hand, and high is his right hand.</i> Hence he infers, <i>Let not
the rebellious exalt themselves;</i> let not those that have
revolting and rebellious hearts dare to rise up in any overt acts
of rebellion against God, as Adonijah exalted himself, saying, <i>I
will be king.</i> Let not those that are in rebellion against God
exalt themselves as if there were any probability that they should
gain their point. No; let them be still, for God hath said, <i>I
will be exalted,</i> and man cannot gainsay it.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ps.lxvii-p6.10" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.8-Ps.66.12" parsed="|Ps|66|8|66|12" passage="Ps 66:8-12" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.66.8-Ps.66.12">
<h4 id="Ps.lxvii-p6.11">The Saints Exhorted to Praise
God.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.lxvii-p7">8 O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice
of his praise to be heard:   9 Which holdeth our soul in life,
and suffereth not our feet to be moved.   10 For thou, O God,
hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.   11
Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our
loins.   12 Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we
went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out
into a wealthy <i>place.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lxvii-p8">In these verses the psalmist calls upon
God's people in a special manner to praise him. Let all lands do
it, but Israel's land particularly. Bless our God; bless him as
ours, a God in covenant with us, and that takes care of us as his
own. Let them <i>make the voice of his praise to be heard</i>
(<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.8" parsed="|Ps|66|8|0|0" passage="Ps 66:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>); for from whom
should it be heard but from those who are his peculiar favourites
and select attendants? Two things we have reason to bless God
for:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lxvii-p9">I. Common protection (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.9" parsed="|Ps|66|9|0|0" passage="Ps 66:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>): <i>He holdeth our soul in
life,</i> that it may not drop away of itself; for, being
continually in our hands, it is apt to slip through our fingers. We
must own that it is the good providence of God that keeps life and
soul together and his visitation that preserves our spirit. <i>He
puts our soul in life,</i> so the word is. He that gave us our
being, by a constant renewed act upholds us in our being, and his
providence is a continued creation. When we are ready to faint and
perish he restores our soul, and so puts it, as it were, into a new
life, giving new comforts. <i>Non est vivere, sed valere, vita—It
is not existence, but happiness, that deserves the name of
life.</i> But we are apt to stumble and fall, and are exposed to
many destructive accidents, killing disasters as well as killing
diseases, and therefore as to these also we are guarded by the
divine power. He <i>suffers not our feet to be moved,</i>
preventing many unforeseen evils, which we ourselves were not aware
of our danger from. To him we owe it that we have not, long ere
this, fallen into endless ruin. <i>He will keep the feet of his
saints.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lxvii-p10">II. Special deliverance from great
distress. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lxvii-p11">1. How grievous the distress and danger
were, <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.11-Ps.66.12" parsed="|Ps|66|11|66|12" passage="Ps 66:11,12"><i>v.</i> 11, 12</scripRef>.
What particular trouble of the church this refers to does not
appear; it might be the trouble of some private persons or families
only. But, whatever it was, they were surprised with it as a bird
with a snare, enclosed and entangled in it as a fish in a net; they
were pressed down with it, and kept under as with a load <i>upon
their loins,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.11" parsed="|Ps|66|11|0|0" passage="Ps 66:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>. But they owned the hand of God in it. We are never
in the net but God brings us into it, never under affliction but
God lays it upon us. Is any thing more dangerous than fire and
water? <i>We went through both,</i> that is, afflictions of
different kinds; the end of one trouble was the beginning of
another; when we had got clear of one sort of dangers we found
ourselves involved in dangers of another sort. Such may be the
troubles of the best of God's saints, but he has promised, <i>When
thou passest through the waters, through the fire, I will be with
thee,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.43.1" parsed="|Isa|43|1|0|0" passage="Isa 43:1">Isa. xliii. 1</scripRef>.
Yet proud and cruel men may be as dangerous as fire and water, and
more so. <i>Beware of men,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Matt.10.17" parsed="|Matt|10|17|0|0" passage="Mt 10:17">Matt.
x. 17</scripRef>. When men rose up against us, that was fire and
water, and all that is threatening (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.124.2-Ps.124.4" parsed="|Ps|124|2|124|4" passage="Ps 124:2,3,4">Ps. cxxiv. 2, 3, 4</scripRef>), and that was the
case here: "<i>Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads,</i> to
trample upon us and insult over us, to hector and abuse us, nay,
and to make perfect slaves of us; they have said to our souls,
<i>Bow down, that we may go over,</i>" <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.51.23" parsed="|Isa|51|23|0|0" passage="Isa 51:23">Isa. li. 23</scripRef>. While it is the pleasure of
good princes to rule in the hearts of their subjects it is the
pride of tyrants to ride over their heads; yet the afflicted church
in this also owns the hand of God: "Thou hast caused them thus to
abuse us;" for the most furious oppressor has no power but what is
given him from above.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lxvii-p12">2. How gracious God's design was in
bringing them into this distress and danger. See what the meaning
of it is (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.10" parsed="|Ps|66|10|0|0" passage="Ps 66:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>):
<i>Thou, O God! hast proved us, and tried us.</i> Then we are
likely to get good by our afflictions, when we look upon them under
this notion, for then we may see God's grace and love at the bottom
of them and our own honour and benefit in the end of them. By
afflictions we are proved as silver in the fire. (1.) That our
graces, by being tried, may be made more evident and so we may be
approved, as silver, when it is touched and marked sterling, and
this will be <i>to our praise at the appearing of Jesus Christ</i>
(<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.1.7" parsed="|1Pet|1|7|0|0" passage="1Pe 1:7">1 Pet. i. 7</scripRef>) and perhaps in
this world. Job's integrity and constancy were manifested by his
afflictions. (2.) That our graces, by being exercised, may be made
more strong and active, and so we may be improved, as silver when
it is refined by the fire and made more clear from its dross; and
this will be to our unspeakable advantage, for thus we are made
partakers of God's holiness, <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.12.10" parsed="|Heb|12|10|0|0" passage="Heb 12:10">Heb.
xii. 10</scripRef>. Public troubles are for the purifying of the
church, <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Dan.11.35 Bible:Rev.2.10 Bible:Deut.8.2" parsed="|Dan|11|35|0|0;|Rev|2|10|0|0;|Deut|8|2|0|0" passage="Da 11:35,Re 2:10,De 8:2">Dan. xi. 35;
Rev. ii. 10; Deut. viii. 2</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lxvii-p13">3. How glorious the issue was at last. The
troubles of the church will certainly end well; these do so, for
(1.) The outlet of the trouble is happy. They are in fire and
water, but they get through them: "<i>We went through fire and
water,</i> and did not perish in the flames or floods." Whatever
the troubles of the saints are, blessed be God, there is a way
through them. (2.) The inlet to a better state is much more happy:
<i>Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place,</i> into a
<i>well-watered</i> place (so the word is), <i>like the gardens of
the Lord,</i> and therefore fruitful. God brings his people into
trouble that their comforts afterwards may be the sweeter and that
their affliction may thus yield the peaceable fruit of
righteousness, which will make the poorest place in the world a
wealthy place.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ps.lxvii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.13-Ps.66.20" parsed="|Ps|66|13|66|20" passage="Ps 66:13-20" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.66.13-Ps.66.20">
<h4 id="Ps.lxvii-p13.2">David Resolves to Praise God; David
Declaring What God Has Done for His Soul.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.lxvii-p14">13 I will go into thy house with burnt
offerings: I will pay thee my vows,   14 Which my lips have
uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.   15
I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the
incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.   16
Come <i>and</i> hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what
he hath done for my soul.   17 I cried unto him with my mouth,
and he was extolled with my tongue.   18 If I regard iniquity
in my heart, the Lord will not hear <i>me:</i>   19 <i>But</i>
verily God hath heard <i>me;</i> he hath attended to the voice of
my prayer.   20 Blessed <i>be</i> God, which hath not turned
away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lxvii-p15">The psalmist, having before stirred up all
people, and all God's people in particular, to bless the Lord, here
stirs up himself and engages himself to do it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lxvii-p16">I. In his devotions to his God, <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.13-Ps.66.15" parsed="|Ps|66|13|66|15" passage="Ps 66:13-15"><i>v.</i> 13-15</scripRef>. He had called
upon others to sing God's praises and to make a joyful noise with
them; but, for himself, his resolutions go further, and he will
praise God, 1. By costly sacrifices, which, under the law, were
offered to the honour of God. All people had not wherewithal to
offer these sacrifices, or wanted zeal to be at such an expense in
praising God; but David, for his part, being able, is as willing,
in this chargeable way to pay his homage to God (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.13" parsed="|Ps|66|13|0|0" passage="Ps 66:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>): <i>I will go into thy house
with burnt-offerings.</i> His sacrifices should be public, in the
place which God had chosen: "I will go into thy house with them."
Christ is our temple, to whom we must bring our spiritual gifts,
and by whom they are sanctified. They should be the best of the
king—<i>burnt-sacrifices,</i> which were wholly consumed upon the
altar, to the honour of God, and of which the offerer had no share;
and burnt-sacrifices <i>of fatlings,</i> not the lame or the lean,
but the best fed, and such as would be most acceptable at his own
table. God, who is the best, must be served with the best we have.
The feast God makes for us is a <i>feast of fat things, full of
marrow</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.6" parsed="|Isa|25|6|0|0" passage="Isa 25:6">Isa. xxv. 6</scripRef>),
and such sacrifices should we bring to him. He will <i>offer
bullocks with goats,</i> so liberal will he be in his return of
praise, and not strait-handed: he would not offer that which cost
him nothing, but that which cost him a great deal. And this <i>with
the incense of rams,</i> that is, with the fat of rams, which being
burnt upon the altar, the smoke of it would ascend like the smoke
of incense. Or <i>rams with incense.</i> The incense typifies
Christ's intercession, without which the fattest of our sacrifices
will not be accepted. 2. By a conscientious performance of his
vows. We do not acceptably praise God for our deliverance out of
trouble unless we make conscience of paying the vows we made when
we were in trouble. This was the psalmist's resolution (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.13-Ps.66.14" parsed="|Ps|66|13|66|14" passage="Ps 66:13,14"><i>v.</i> 13, 14</scripRef>), <i>I will pay
thee my vows, which my lips have uttered when I was in trouble.</i>
Note, (1.) It is very common, and very commendable, when we are
under the pressure of any affliction, or in the pursuit of any
mercy, to make vows, and solemnly to speak them before the Lord, to
bind ourselves out from sin and bind ourselves more closely to our
duty; not as if this were an equivalent, or valuable consideration,
for the favour of God, but a qualification for receiving the tokens
of that favour. (2.) The vows which we made when we were in trouble
must not be forgotten when the trouble is over, but be carefully
performed, for better it is not to vow than to vow and not pay.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lxvii-p17">II. In his declarations to his friends,
<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.16" parsed="|Ps|66|16|0|0" passage="Ps 66:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. He calls
together a congregation of good people to hear his thankful
narrative of God's favours to him: "<i>Come and hear, all you that
fear God,</i> for, 1. You will join with me in my praises and help
me in giving thanks." And we should be as desirous of the
assistance of those that fear God in returning thanks for the
mercies we have received as in praying for those we want. 2. "You
will be edified and encouraged by that which I have to say. <i>The
humble shall hear of it and be glad,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.34.2" parsed="|Ps|34|2|0|0" passage="Ps 34:2">Ps. xxxiv. 2</scripRef>. <i>Those that fear thee will be
glad when they see me</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.74" parsed="|Ps|119|74|0|0" passage="Ps 119:74">Ps. cxix.
74</scripRef>), and therefore let me have their company, and I will
declare to them, not to vain carnal people that will banter it and
make a jest of it" (pearls are not to be cast before swine); "but
to those that fear God, and will make a good use of it, I will
declare what God has done for my soul," not in pride and
vain-glory, that he might be thought more a favourite of heaven
than other people, but for the honour of God, to which we owe this
as a just debt, and for the edification of others. Note, God's
people should communicate their experiences to each other. We
should take all occasions to tell one another of the great and kind
things which God has done for us, especially which he has done for
our souls, the spiritual blessings with which he has blessed us in
heavenly things; these we should be most affected with ourselves,
and therefore with these we should be desirous to affect others.
Now what was it that God had done for his soul? (1.) He had wrought
in him a love to the duty of prayer, and had by his grace enlarged
his heart in that duty (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.17" parsed="|Ps|66|17|0|0" passage="Ps 66:17"><i>v.</i>
17</scripRef>): <i>I cried unto him with my mouth.</i> But if God,
among other things done for our souls, had not given us the Spirit
of adoption, teaching and enabling us to cry, <i>Abba, Father,</i>
we should never have done it. That God has given us leave to pray,
a command to pray, encouragements to pray, and (to crown all) a
heart to pray, is what we have reason to mention with thankfulness
to his praise; and the more if, when we cried to him with our
mouth, <i>he was extolled with our tongue,</i> that is, if we were
enabled by faith and hope to give glory to him when we were seeking
for mercy and grace from him, and to praise him for mercy in
prospect though not yet in possession. By crying to him we do
indeed extol him. He is pleased to reckon himself honoured by the
humble believing prayers of the upright, and this is a great thing
which he has done for our souls, that he has been pleased so far to
unite interests with us that, in seeking our own welfare, we seek
his glory. <i>His exaltation was under my tongue</i> (so it may be
read); that is, I was considering in my mind how I might exalt and
magnify his name. When prayers are in our mouths praises must be in
our hearts. (2.) He had wrought in him a dread of sin as an enemy
to prayer (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.18" parsed="|Ps|66|18|0|0" passage="Ps 66:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>):
<i>If I regard iniquity in my heart,</i> I know very well <i>the
Lord will not hear me.</i> The Jewish writers, some of them that
have the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, put a very
corrupt gloss upon these words: <i>If I regard iniquity in my
heart,</i> that is (say they), If I allow myself only in
heart-sins, and iniquity does not break out in my words and
actions, <i>God will not hear me,</i> that is, he will not be
offended with me, will take no notice of it, so as to lay it to my
charge; as if heart-sins were no sins in God's account. The
falsehood of this our Saviour has shown in his spiritual exposition
of the law, <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p17.6" osisRef="Bible:Matt.5.7-Matt.5.48" parsed="|Matt|5|7|5|48" passage="Mt 5:7-48">Matt. v.</scripRef> But
the sense of this place is plain: <i>If I regard iniquity in my
heart,</i> that is, "If I have favourable thoughts of it, if I love
it, indulge it, and allow myself in it, if I treat it as a friend
and bid it welcome, make provision for it and am loth to part with
it, if I roll it under my tongue as a sweet morsel, though it be
but a heart sin that is thus countenanced and made much of, if I
delight in it after the inward man, God will not hear my prayer,
will not accept it, nor be pleased with it, nor can I expect an
answer of peace to it." Note, Iniquity, regarded in the heart, will
certainly spoil the comfort and success of prayer; for <i>the
sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.</i> Those
that continue in love and league with sin have no interest either
in the promise or in the Mediator, and therefore cannot expect to
speed in prayer. (3.) He had graciously granted him an answer of
peace to his prayers (<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p17.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.19" parsed="|Ps|66|19|0|0" passage="Ps 66:19"><i>v.</i>
19</scripRef>): "<i>But verily God has heard me;</i> though, being
conscious to myself of much amiss in me, I began to fear that my
prayers would be rejected, yet, to my comfort, I found that God was
pleased to regard them." This God did for his soul, by answering
his prayer, he gave him a token of his favour and an evidence that
he had wrought a good work in him. And therefore he concludes
(<scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p17.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.20" parsed="|Ps|66|20|0|0" passage="Ps 66:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>), <i>Blessed
be God.</i> The <scripRef id="Ps.lxvii-p17.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.18-Ps.66.19" parsed="|Ps|66|18|66|19" passage="Ps 66:18,19">two foregoing
verses</scripRef> are the major and minor propositions of a
syllogism: <i>If I regard iniquity in my heart, God will not hear
my prayer;</i> that is the proposition: <i>but verily God has heard
me;</i> that is the assumption, from which he might have rationally
inferred, "Therefore I do not regard iniquity in my heart;" but,
instead of taking the comfort to himself, he gives the praise to
God: <i>Blessed be God.</i> Whatever are the premises, God's glory
must always be the conclusion. <i>God has heard me,</i> and
therefore <i>blessed be God.</i> Note, What we win by prayer we
must wear with praise. Mercies in answer to prayer do, in a special
manner, oblige us to be thankful. He has <i>not turned away my
prayer, nor his mercy.</i> Lest it should be thought that the
deliverance was granted for the sake of some worthiness in his
prayer, he ascribes it to God's mercy. This he adds by way of
correction: "It was not my prayer that fetched the deliverance, but
his mercy that sent it." <i>Therefore</i> God does not turn away
our prayer, because he does not turn away his own mercy, for that
is the foundation of our hopes and the fountain of our comforts,
and therefore ought to be the matter of our praises.</p>
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