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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Psalms XXVII].</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 XXVII.</FONT>
<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
</CENTER>
<FONT SIZE=-1>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Some think David penned this psalm before his coming to the throne,
when he was in the midst of his troubles, and perhaps upon occasion of
the death of his parents; but the Jews think he penned it when he was
old, upon occasion of the wonderful deliverance he had from the sword
of the giant, when Abishai succoured him
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+21:16,17">2 Sam. xxi. 16, 17</A>)
and his people thereupon resolved he should never venture his life
again in battle, lest he should quench the light of Israel. Perhaps it
was not penned upon any particular occasion; but it is very expressive
of the pious and devout affections with which gracious souls are
carried out towards God at all times, especially in times of trouble.
Here is,
I. The courage and holy bravery of his faith,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
II. The complacency he took in communion with God and the benefit he
experienced by it,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:4-6">ver. 4-6</A>.
III. His desire towards God, and his favour and grace,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:7-9,11,12">ver. 7-9, 11, 12</A>.
IV. His expectations from God, and the encouragement he gives to others
to hope in him,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:10,13,14">ver. 10, 13, 14</A>.
And let our hearts be thus affected in singing this psalm.</P>
</FONT>
<A NAME="Ps27_1"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps27_2"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps27_3"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps27_4"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps27_5"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps27_6"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Devout Confidence; Encouragement in Prayers.</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 psalm of David.</P>
</CENTER>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> my light and my
salvation; whom shall I fear? the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> the strength of my
life; of whom shall I be afraid?
&nbsp; 2 When the wicked, <I>even</I> mine enemies and my foes, came upon
me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
&nbsp; 3 Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not
fear: though war should rise against me, in this <I>will</I> I <I>be</I>
confident.
&nbsp; 4 One <I>thing</I> have I desired of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, that will I seek
after; that I may dwell in the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> all the days of
my life, to behold the beauty of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and to enquire in his
temple.
&nbsp; 5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion:
in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me
up upon a rock.
&nbsp; 6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round
about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of
joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
We may observe here,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. With what a lively faith David triumphs in God, glories in his holy
name, and in the interest he had in him.
1. <I>The Lord is my light.</I> David's subjects called him <I>the
light of Israel,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+21:17">2 Sam. xxi. 17</A>.
And he was indeed a burning and a shining light: but he owns that he
shone, as the moon does, with a borrows light; what light God darted
upon him reflected upon them: <I>The Lord is my light.</I> God is a
light to his people, to show them the way when they are in doubt, to
comfort and rejoice their hearts when they are in sorrow. It is in his
light that they now walk on in their way, and in his light they hope to
see light for ever.
2. "He is <I>my salvation,</I> in whom I am safe and by whom I shall be
saved."
3. "He is <I>the strength of my life,</I> not only the protector of my
exposed life, who keeps me from being slain, but the strength of my
frail weak life, who keeps me from fainting, sinking, and dying away."
God, who is a believer's light, is the strength of his life, not only
by whom, but in whom, he lives and moves. In God therefore let us
strengthen ourselves.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. With what an undaunted courage he triumphs over his enemies; no
fortitude like that of faith. If God be for him, who can be against
him? <I>Whom shall I fear? Of whom shall I be afraid?</I> If
Omnipotence be his guard, he has no cause to fear; if he knows it to be
so, he has no disposition to fear. If God be his light, he fears no
shades; if God be his salvation, he fears no colours. He triumphs over
his enemies that were already routed,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
His enemies came upon him, <I>to eat up his flesh,</I> aiming at no
less and assured of that, but they fell; not, "He smote them and they
fell," but, "<I>They stumbled and fell;</I>" they were so confounded
and weakened that they could not go on with their enterprise. Thus
those that came to take Christ with a word's speaking were made to
stagger and fall to the ground,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+18:6">John xviii. 6</A>.
The ruin of some of the enemies of God's people is an earnest of the
complete conquest of them all. And therefore, these having fallen, he
is fearless of the rest: "Though they be numerous, <I>a host</I> of
them,--though they be daring and their attempts threatening,--though they
<I>encamp against me,</I> an army against one man,--though they wage war
upon me, yet <I>my heart shall not fear.</I>" Hosts cannot hurt us if
the Lord of hosts protect us. Nay, in this assurance that God is for me
"<I>I will be confident.</I>" Two things he will be confident of:--
1. That he shall be safe. "If God is my salvation, <I>in the time of
trouble he shall hide me;</I> he shall set me out of danger and above
the fear of it." God will not only find out a shelter for his people in
distress (as he did
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+36:26">Jer. xxxvi. 26</A>),
but he will himself be their hiding-place,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+32:7">Ps. xxxii. 7</A>.
His providence will, it may be, keep them safe; at least his grace will
make them easy. His name is the strong tower into which by faith they
run,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+18:10">Prov. xviii. 10</A>.
"<I>He shall hide me,</I> not in the strongholds of En-gedi
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+23:29">1 Sam. xxiii. 29</A>),
but <I>in the secret of his tabernacle.</I>" The gracious presence of
God, his power, his promise, his readiness to hear prayer, the witness
of his Spirit in the hearts of his people--these are the secret of his
tabernacle, and in these the saints find cause for that holy security
and serenity of mind in which they dwell at ease. This sets them upon a
rock which will not sink under them, but on which they find firm
footing for their hopes; nay, it sets them <I>up upon a rock</I> on
high, where the raging threatening billows of a stormy sea cannot touch
them; it is a rock that is <I>higher than we,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+61:2">Ps. lxi. 2</A>.
2. That he shall be victorious
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
"<I>Now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies,</I> not only so as
that they cannot reach it with their darts, but so as that I shall be
exalted to bear rule over them." David here, by faith in the promise of
God, triumphs before the victory, and is as sure, not only of the
laurel, but of the crown, as if it were already upon his head.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
III. With what a gracious earnestness he prays for a constant communion
with God in holy ordinances,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
It greatly encouraged his confidence in God that he was conscious to
himself of an entire affection to God and to his ordinances, and that
he was in his element when in the way of his duty and in the way of
increasing his acquaintance with him. If our hearts can witness for us
that we delight in God above any creature, that may encourage us to
depend upon him; for it is a sign we are of those whom he protects as
his own. Or it may be taken thus: He desired to dwell in the house of
the Lord that there he might be safe from the enemies that surrounded
him. Finding himself surrounded by threatening hosts, he does not say,
"<I>One thing have I desired,</I> in order to my safety, that I may
have my army augmented to such a number," or that I may be master of
such a city or such a castle, but "<I>that I may dwell in the house of
the Lord,</I> and then I am well." Observe,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. What it is he desires--<I>to dwell in the house of the Lord.</I> In
the courts of God's house the priests had their lodgings, and David
wished he had been one of them. Disdainfully as some look upon God's
ministers, one of the greatest and best of kings that ever was would
gladly have taken his lot, have taken his lodging, among them. Or,
rather, he desires that he might duly and constantly attend on the
public service of God, with other faithful Israelites, according as the
duty of every day required. He longed to see an end of the wars in
which he was now engaged, not that he might live at ease in his own
palace, but that he might have leisure and liberty for a constant
attendance in God's courts. Thus Hezekiah, a genuine son of David,
wished for the recovery of his health, not that he might go up to the
thrones of judgment, but that he might <I>go up to the house of the
Lord,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+38:22">Isa. xxxviii. 22</A>.
Note, All God's children desire to dwell in God's house; where should
they dwell else? Not to sojourn there as a wayfaring man, that turns
aside to tarry but for a night, nor to dwell there for a time only, as
the servant that abides not in the house for ever, but to dwell there
all the days of their life; for there the Son abides ever. Do we hope
that praising God will be the blessedness of our eternity? Surely them
we ought to make it the business of our time.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. How earnestly he covets this: "This is the <I>one thing I have
desired of the Lord</I> and which I will seek after." If he were to ask
but one thing of God, this should be it; for this he had at heart more
than any thing. He desired it as a good thing; he desired it of the
Lord as his gift and a token of his favour. And, having fixed his
desire upon this as the one thing needful, he sought after it; he
continued to pray for it, and contrived his affairs so as that he might
have this liberty and opportunity. Note, Those that truly desire
communion with God will set themselves with all diligence to seek after
it,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+18:1">Prov. xviii. 1</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
3. What he had in his eye in it. He would dwell in God's house, not for
the plenty of good entertainment that was there, in the feasts upon the
sacrifices, nor for the music and good singing that were there, but
<I>to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in his temple.</I>
He desired to attend in God's courts,
(1.) That he might have the pleasure of meditating upon God. He knew
something of the beauty of the Lord, the infinite and transcendent
amiableness of the divine being and perfections; his holiness is his
beauty
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+110:3">Ps. cx. 3</A>),
his goodness is his beauty,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+9:17">Zech. ix. 17</A>.
The harmony of all his attributes is the beauty of his nature. With an
eye of faith and holy love we with pleasure behold this beauty, and
observe more and more in it that is amiable, that is admirable. When
with fixedness of thought, and a holy flame of devout affections, we
contemplate God's glorious excellencies, and entertain ourselves with
the tokens of his peculiar favour to us, this is that view of the
beauty of the Lord which David here covets, and it is to be had in his
ordinances, for there he manifests himself.
(2.) That he might have the satisfaction of being instructed in his
duty; for concerning this he would <I>enquire in God's temple.</I>
Lord, <I>what wilt thou have me to do?</I> For the sake of these two
things he desired that one thing, to <I>dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of his life;</I> for blessed are those that do so; they
will be still praising him
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:4">Ps. lxxxiv. 4</A>),
both in speaking to him and in hearing from him. Mary's sitting at
Christ's feet to hear his word Christ calls the <I>one thing
needful,</I> and <I>the good part.</I></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
4. What advantage he promised himself by it. Could he but have a place
in God's house,
(1.) There he should be quiet and easy: there troubles would not find
him, for he should be hid in secret; there troubles would not reach
him, for he should be set on high,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
Joash, one of David's seed, was hidden in the house of the Lord six
years, and there not only preserved from the sword, but reserved to the
crown,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+11:3">2 Kings xi. 3</A>.
The temple was thought a safe place for Nehemiah to abscond in,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ne+6:10">Neh. vi. 10</A>.
The safety of believers however is not in the walls of the temple, but
in the God of the temple and their comfort in communion with him.
(2.) There he should be pleasant and cheerful: there he would offer
sacrifices of joy,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
For God's work is its own wages. There <I>he would sing, yea, he would
sing praises to the Lord.</I> Note, Whatever is the matter of our joy
ought to be the matter of our praise; and, when we attend upon God in
holy ordinances, we ought to be much in joy and praise. It is for the
glory of our God that we should sing in his ways; and, whenever God
lifts us up above our enemies, we ought to exalt him in our praises.
<I>Thanks be to God, who always causeth us to triumph,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+2:14">2 Cor. ii. 14</A>.</P>
<A NAME="Ps27_7"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps27_8"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps27_9"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps27_10"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps27_11"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps27_12"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps27_13"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps27_14"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Confidence in Divine Goodness.</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>7 Hear, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, <I>when</I> I cry with my voice: have mercy also
upon me, and answer me.
&nbsp; 8 <I>When thou saidst,</I> Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee,
Thy face, L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, will I seek.
&nbsp; 9 Hide not thy face <I>far</I> from me; put not thy servant away in
anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
&nbsp; 10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will
take me up.
&nbsp; 11 Teach me thy way, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and lead me in a plain path,
because of mine enemies.
&nbsp; 12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false
witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out
cruelty.
&nbsp; 13 <I>I had fainted,</I> unless I had believed to see the goodness
of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> in the land of the living.
&nbsp; 14 Wait on the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: be of good courage, and he shall
strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
David in these verses expresses,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. His desire towards God, in many petitions. If he cannot now go up to
the house of the Lord, yet, wherever he is, he can find a way to the
throne of grace by prayer.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. He humbly bespeaks, because he firmly believes he shall have, a
gracious audience: "<I>Hear, O Lord, when I cry,</I> not only with my
heart, but, as one in earnest, <I>with my voice too.</I>" He bespeaks
also an answer of peace, which he expects, not from his own merit, but
God's goodness: <I>Have mercy upon me, and answer me,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
If we pray and believe, God will graciously hear and answer.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. He takes hold of the kind invitation God had given him to this duty,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
It is presumption for us to come into the presence of the King of kings
uncalled, nor can we draw near with any assurance unless he <I>hold
forth to us the golden sceptre.</I> David therefore going to pray
fastens, in his thoughts, upon the call God had given him to the throne
of his grace, and reverently touches, as it were, the top of the golden
sceptre which was thereby held out to him. <I>My heart said unto
thee</I> (so it begins in the original) or <I>of</I> thee, <I>Seek you
my face;</I> he first revolved that, and preached that over again to
himself (and that is the best preaching: it is hearing twice what God
speaks once)--<I>Thou saidst</I> (so it may be supplied), <I>Seek you
my face;</I> and then he returns what he had so meditated upon, in this
pious resolution, <I>Thy face, Lord, will I seek.</I> Observe here,
(1.) The true nature of religious worship; it is seeking the face of
God. This it is in God's precept: <I>Seek you my face;</I> he would
have us seek him for himself, and make his favour our chief good; and
this it is in the saint's purpose and desire: "<I>Thy face, Lord, will
I seek,</I> and nothing less will I take up with." The opening of his
hand will satisfy the desire of other living things
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+145:16">Ps. cxlv. 16</A>),
but it is only the shining of his face that will satisfy the desire of
a living soul,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:6,7">Ps. iv. 6, 7</A>.
(2.) The kind of invitation of a gracious God to this duty: <I>Thou
saidst, Seek you my face;</I> it is not only permission, but a precept;
and his commanding us to seek implies a promise of finding; for he is
too kind to say, <I>Seek you me in vain.</I> God calls us to seek his
face in our conversion to him and in our converse with him. He calls
us, by the whispers of his Spirit to and with our spirits, to seek his
face; he calls us by his word, by the stated returns of opportunities
for his worship, and by special providences, merciful and afflictive.
When we are foolishly making our court to lying vanities God is, in
love to us, calling us in him to seek our own mercies.
(3.) The ready compliance of a gracious soul with this invitation. The
call is immediately returned: <I>My heart answered, Thy face, Lord,
will I seek.</I> The call was general; "<I>Seek you my face;</I>" but,
like David, we must apply it to ourselves, "<I>I will seek it.</I>" The
word does us no good when we transfer it to others, and do not
ourselves accept the exhortation. The call was, <I>Seek you my
face;</I> the answer is express, <I>Thy face, Lord, will I seek;</I>
like that
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+3:22">Jer. iii. 22</A>),
<I>Behold, we come unto thee.</I> A gracious heart readily echoes to
the call of a gracious God, being made willing in the day of his
power.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
3. He is very particular in his requests.
(1.) For the favour of God, that he might not be shut out from that
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
"<I>Thy face, Lord, will I seek,</I> in obedience to thy command;
therefore <I>hide not thy face from me;</I> let me never want the
reviving sense of the favour; love me, and let me know that thou lovest
me; <I>put not thy servant away in anger.</I>" He owns he had deserved
God's displeasure, but begs that, however God might correct him, he
would not cast him away from his presence; for what is hell but that?
(2.) For the continuance of his presence with him: "<I>Thou hast been
my help</I> formerly, and <I>thou are the God of my salvation;</I> and
therefore whither shall I go but to thee? <I>O leave me not, neither
forsake me;</I> withdraw not the operations of they power from me, for
then I am helpless; withdraw not the tokens of thy good-will to me, for
then I am comfortless."
(3.) For the benefit of divine guidance
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
"<I>Teach me thy way, O Lord!</I> give me to understand the meaning of
thy providences towards me and make them plain to me; and give me to
know my duty in every doubtful case, that I may not mistake it, but may
walk rightly, and that I may not do it with hesitation, but may walk
surely." It is not policy, but plainness (that is, downright honesty)
that will direct us into and keep us in the way of our duty. He begs
to be guided <I>in a plain path, because of his enemies,</I> or (as the
margin reads it) his <I>observers.</I> His enemies watched for his
halting, that they may find occasion against him. Saul eyed David,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+18:9">1 Sam. xviii. 9</A>.
This quickened him to pray, "Lord, <I>lead me in a plain path,</I> that
they may have nothing ill, or nothing that looks ill, to lay to my
charge."
(4.) For the benefit of a divine protection
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
"<I>Deliver me not over to the will of my enemies.</I> Lord, let them
not gain their point, for it aims at my life, and no less, and in such
a way as that I have no fence against them, but thy power over their
consciences; for <I>false witnesses have risen up against me,</I> that
aim further than to take away my reputation or estate, for they
<I>breathe out cruelty;</I> it is the blood, the precious blood, they
thirst after." Herein David was a type of Christ; for false witnesses
rose up against him, and such as breathed out cruelty; but though he
was delivered into their wicked hands, he was not delivered over to
their will, for they could not prevent his exaltation.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. He expresses his dependence upon God,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. That he would help and succour him when all other helps and succours
failed him
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
"<I>When my father and my mother forsake me,</I> the nearest and
dearest friends I have in the world, from whom I may expect most relief
and with most reason, when they die, or are at a distance from me, or
are disabled to help me in time of need, or are unkind to me or
unmindful of me, and will not help me, when I am as helpless as ever
poor orphan was that was left fatherless and motherless, then I know
<I>the Lord will take me up,</I> as a poor wandering sheep is taken up,
and saved from perishing." His time to help those that trust in him is
when all other helpers fail, when it is most for his honour and their
comfort. With him <I>the fatherless find mercy.</I> This promise has
often been fulfilled in the letter of it. Forsaken orphans have been
taken under the special care of the divine Providence, which has raised
up relief and friends for them in a way that one would not have
expected. God is a surer and better friend than our earthly parents are
or can be.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. That in due time he should see the displays of his goodness,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
He believed he should <I>see the goodness of the Lord in the land of
the living;</I> and, if he had not done so, he would <I>have
fainted</I> under his afflictions. Even the best saints are subject to
faint when their troubles become grievous and tedious, their spirits
are overwhelmed, and their flesh and heart fail. But then faith is a
sovereign cordial; it keeps them from desponding under their burden and
from despairing of relief, keeps them hoping, and praying, and waiting,
and keeps up in them good thoughts of God, and the comfortable
enjoyment of themselves. But what was it the belief of which kept David
from fainting?--<I>that he should see the goodness of the Lord,</I>
which now seemed at a distance. Those that walk by faith in the
goodness of the Lord shall in due time walk in the sight of that
goodness. This he hopes to see in the land of the living, that is,
(1.) In this world, that he should outlive his troubles and not perish
under them. It is his comfort, not so much that he shall see the land
of the living as that he shall see the goodness of God in it; for that
is the comfort of all creature-comforts to a gracious soul.
(2.) In the land of Canaan, and in Jerusalem where the lively oracles
were. In comparison with the heathen, that were dead in sin, the land
of Israel might fitly be called <I>the land of the living;</I> there
God was known, and there David hoped to see his goodness; see
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+15:25,26">2 Sam. xv. 25, 26</A>.
Or,
(3.), In heaven. It is that alone that may truly be called <I>the land
of the living,</I> where there is no more death. This earth is the land
of the dying. There is nothing like the believing hope of eternal life,
the foresights of that glory, and foretastes of those pleasures, to
keep us from fainting under all the calamities of this present
time.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
3. That in the mean time he should be strengthened to bear up under his
burdens
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>);
whether he says it to himself, or to his friends, it comes all to one;
this is that which encourages him: <I>He shall strengthen thy
heart,</I> shall sustain thy spirit, and then the spirit shall sustain
the infirmity. In that strength,
(1.) Keep close to God and to your duty. <I>Wait on the Lord</I> by
faith, and prayer, and a humble resignation to his will; <I>wait, I
say, on the Lord;</I> whatever you do, grow not remiss in your
attendance upon God.
(2.) Keep up your spirits in the midst of the greatest dangers and
difficulties: <I>Be of good courage;</I> let your hearts be fixed,
trusting in God, and your minds stayed upon him, and then let none of
these things move you. Those that wait upon the Lord have reason to be
of good courage.</P>
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