mh_parser/vol_split/19 - Psalms/Chapter 38.xml

<div2 id="Ps.xxxix" n="xxxix" next="Ps.xl" prev="Ps.xxxviii" progress="34.50%" title="Chapter XXXVIII">
<h2 id="Ps.xxxix-p0.1">P S A L M S</h2>
<h3 id="Ps.xxxix-p0.2">PSALM XXXVIII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ps.xxxix-p1">This is one of the penitential psalms; it is full
of grief and complaint from the beginning to the end. David's sins
and his afflictions are the cause of his grief and the matter of
his complaints. It should seem he was now sick and in pain, which
reminded him of his sins and helped to humble him for them; he was,
at the same time, deserted by his friends and persecuted by his
enemies; so that the psalm is calculated for the depth of distress
and a complication of calamities. He complains, I. Of God's
displeasure, and of his own sin which provoked God against him,
<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.1-Ps.38.5" parsed="|Ps|38|1|38|5" passage="Ps 38:1-5">ver. 1-5</scripRef>. II. Of his
bodily sickness, <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.6-Ps.38.10" parsed="|Ps|38|6|38|10" passage="Ps 38:6-10">ver.
6-10</scripRef>. III. Of the unkindness of his friends, <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.11" parsed="|Ps|38|11|0|0" passage="Ps 38:11">ver. 11</scripRef>. IV. Of the injuries which
his enemies did him, pleading his good conduct towards them, yet
confessing his sins against God, <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.12-Ps.38.20" parsed="|Ps|38|12|38|20" passage="Ps 38:12-20">ver. 12-20</scripRef>. Lastly, he concludes the psalm
with earnest prayers to God for his gracious presence and help,
<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.21-Ps.38.22" parsed="|Ps|38|21|38|22" passage="Ps 38:21,22">ver. 21, 22</scripRef>. In singing
this psalm we ought to be much affected with the malignity of sin;
and, if we have not such troubles as are here described, we know
not how soon we may have, and therefore must sing of them by way of
preparation and we know that others have them, and therefore we
must sing of the by way of sympathy.</p>
<scripCom id="Ps.xxxix-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38" parsed="|Ps|38|0|0|0" passage="Ps 38" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ps.xxxix-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.1-Ps.38.11" parsed="|Ps|38|1|38|11" passage="Ps 38:1-11" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.38.1-Ps.38.11">
<h4 id="Ps.xxxix-p1.8">Sorrowful Complaints.</h4>
<div class="Center" id="Ps.xxxix-p1.9">
<p id="Ps.xxxix-p2">A psalm of David to bring to remembrance.</p>
</div>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.xxxix-p3">1 <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xxxix-p3.1">O Lord</span>, rebuke
me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
  2 For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth
me sore.   3 <i>There is</i> no soundness in my flesh because
of thine anger; neither <i>is there any</i> rest in my bones
because of my sin.   4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine
head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.   5 My
wounds stink <i>and</i> are corrupt because of my foolishness.
  6 I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all
the day long.   7 For my loins are filled with a loathsome
<i>disease:</i> and <i>there is</i> no soundness in my flesh.
  8 I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of
the disquietness of my heart.   9 Lord, all my desire
<i>is</i> before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.  
10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of
mine eyes, it also is gone from me.   11 My lovers and my
friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar
off.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xxxix-p4">The title of this psalm is very observable;
it is a psalm <i>to bring to remembrance;</i> the 70th psalm, which
was likewise penned in a day of affliction, is so entitled. It is
designed, 1. To bring to his own remembrance. We will suppose it
penned when he was sick and in pain, and then it teaches us that
times of sickness are times to bring to remembrance, to bring the
sin to remembrance, for which God contended with us, to awaken our
consciences to deal faithfully and plainly with us, and set our
sins in order before us, for our humiliation. <i>In a day of
adversity consider.</i> Or we may suppose it penned after his
recovery, but designed as a record of the convictions he was under
and the workings of his heart when he was in affliction, that upon
every review of this psalm he might call to mind the good
impressions then made upon him and make a fresh improvement of
them. To the same purport was the writing of Hezekiah when he had
been sick. 2. To put others in mind of the same things which he was
himself mindful of, and to teach them what to think and what to say
when they are sick and in affliction; let them think as he did, and
speak as he did.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xxxix-p5">I. He deprecates the wrath of God and his
displeasure in his affliction (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.1" parsed="|Ps|38|1|0|0" passage="Ps 38:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>): <i>O Lord! rebuke me not in thy
wrath.</i> With this same petition he began another prayer for the
visitation of the sick, <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.6.1" parsed="|Ps|6|1|0|0" passage="Ps 6:1">Ps. vi.
1</scripRef>. This was most upon his heart, and should be most upon
ours when we are in affliction, that, however God rebukes and
chastens us, it may not be in wrath and displeasure, for that will
be wormwood and gall in the affliction and misery. Those that would
escape the wrath of God must pray against that more than any
outward affliction, and be content to bear any outward affliction
while it comes from, and consists with, the love of God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xxxix-p6">II. He bitterly laments the impressions of
God's displeasure upon his soul (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.2" parsed="|Ps|38|2|0|0" passage="Ps 38:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>): <i>Thy arrows stick fast in
me.</i> Let Job's complaint (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.7.4" parsed="|Job|7|4|0|0" passage="Job 7:4"><i>ch.</i>
vii. 4</scripRef>) expound this of David. By the arrows of the
Almighty he means the terrors of God, which did set themselves in
array against him. He was under a very melancholy frightful
apprehension of the wrath of God against him for his sins, and
thought he could look for nothing but judgment and fiery
indignation to devour him. God's arrows, as they are sure to hit
the mark, so they are sure to stick where they hit, to stick fast,
till he is pleased to draw them out and to bind up with his
comforts the wound he has made with his terrors. This will be the
everlasting misery of the damned—the arrows of God's wrath will
stick fast in them and the wound will be incurable. "<i>Thy
hand,</i> thy heavy hand, <i>presses me sore,</i> and I am ready to
sink under it; it not only lies hard upon me, but it lies long; and
who knows the power of God's anger, the weight of his hand?"
Sometimes God shot his arrows, and stretched forth his hand, for
David (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.18.4" parsed="|Ps|18|4|0|0" passage="Ps 18:4">Ps. xviii. 14</scripRef>), but
now against him; so uncertain is the continuance of divine
comforts, where yet the continuance of divine grace is assured. He
complains of God's wrath as that which inflicted the bodily
distemper he was under (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.3" parsed="|Ps|38|3|0|0" passage="Ps 38:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>): <i>There is no soundness in my flesh because of thy
anger.</i> The bitterness of it, infused in his mind, affected his
body; but that was not the worst: it caused the disquietude of his
heart, by reason of which he forgot the courage of a soldier, the
dignity of a prince, and all the cheerfulness of the sweet psalmist
of Israel, and roared terribly, <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.8" parsed="|Ps|38|8|0|0" passage="Ps 38:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. Nothing will disquiet the heart
of a good man so much as the sense of God's anger, which shows what
a fearful thing it is to fall into his hands. The way to keep the
heart quiet is to keep ourselves in the love of God and to do
nothing to offend him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xxxix-p7">III. He acknowledges his sin to be the
procuring provoking cause of all his troubles, and groans more
under the load of guilt than any other load, <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.3" parsed="|Ps|38|3|0|0" passage="Ps 38:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. He complains that his flesh had
no soundness, his bones had no rest, so great an agitation he was
in. "It is <i>because of thy anger;</i> that kindles the fire which
burns so fiercely;" but, in the next words, he justifies God
herein, and takes all the blame upon himself: "It is <i>because of
my sin.</i> I have deserved it, and so have brought it upon myself.
My own iniquities do correct me." If our trouble be the fruit of
God's anger, we may thank ourselves; it is our sin that is the
cause of it. Are we restless? It is sin that makes us so. If there
were not sin in our souls, there would be no pain in our bones, no
illness in our bodies. It is sin therefore that this good man
complains most of, 1. As a burden, a heavy burden (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.4" parsed="|Ps|38|4|0|0" passage="Ps 38:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): "<i>My iniquities have
gone over my head,</i> as proud waters over a man that is sinking
and drowning, or as a heavy burden upon my head, pressing me down
more than I am able to bear or to bear up under." Note, Sin is a
burden. The power of sin dwelling in us is a weight, <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.12.1" parsed="|Heb|12|1|0|0" passage="Heb 12:1">Heb. xii. 1</scripRef>. All are clogged with it;
it keeps men from soaring upward and pressing forward. All the
saints are complaining of it as a body of death they are loaded
with, <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Rom.7.24" parsed="|Rom|7|24|0|0" passage="Ro 7:24">Rom. vii. 24</scripRef>. The
guilt of sin committed by us is a burden, a heavy burden; it is a
burden to God (he is pressed under it, <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Amos.2.13" parsed="|Amos|2|13|0|0" passage="Am 2:13">Amos ii. 13</scripRef>), a burden to the whole creation,
which groans under it, <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p7.6" osisRef="Bible:Rom.8.21-Rom.8.22" parsed="|Rom|8|21|8|22" passage="Ro 8:21,22">Rom. viii.
21, 22</scripRef>. It will, first or last, be a burden to the
sinner himself, either a burden of repentance when he is pricked to
the heart for it, labours, and is heavy-laden, under it, or a
burden of ruin when it sinks him to the lowest hell and will for
ever detain him there; it will be a talent of lead upon him,
<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p7.7" osisRef="Bible:Zech.5.8" parsed="|Zech|5|8|0|0" passage="Zec 5:8">Zech. v. 8</scripRef>. Sinners are said
to bear their iniquity. Threatenings are burdens. 2. As wounds,
dangerous wounds (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p7.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.5" parsed="|Ps|38|5|0|0" passage="Ps 38:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>): "<i>My wounds stink and are corrupt</i> (as wounds
in the body rankle, and fester, and grow foul, for want of being
dressed and looked after), and it is through my own
<i>foolishness.</i>" Sins are wounds (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p7.9" osisRef="Bible:Gen.4.23" parsed="|Gen|4|23|0|0" passage="Ge 4:23">Gen. iv. 23</scripRef>), painful mortal wounds. Our
wounds by sin are often in a bad condition, no care taken of them,
no application made to them, and it is owing to the sinner's
foolishness in not confessing sin, <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p7.10" osisRef="Bible:Ps.32.3-Ps.32.4" parsed="|Ps|32|3|32|4" passage="Ps 32:3,4">Ps. xxxii. 3, 4</scripRef>. A slight sore, neglected,
may prove of fatal consequence, and so may a slight sin slighted
and left unrepented of.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xxxix-p8">IV. He bemoans himself because of his
afflictions, and gives ease to his grief by giving vent to it and
pouring out his complaint before the Lord.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xxxix-p9">1. He was troubled in mind, his conscience
was pained, and he had no rest in his own spirit; and a wounded
spirit who can bear? He was <i>troubled,</i> or distorted, <i>bowed
down greatly,</i> and went <i>mourning all the day long,</i>
<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.6" parsed="|Ps|38|6|0|0" passage="Ps 38:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. He was always
pensive and melancholy, which made him a burden and terror to
himself. His spirit was feeble and sorely broken, and his heart
disquieted, <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.8" parsed="|Ps|38|8|0|0" passage="Ps 38:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>.
Herein David, in his sufferings, was a type of Christ, who, being
in his agony, cried out, <i>My soul is exceedingly sorrowful.</i>
This is a sorer affliction than any other in this world; whatever
God is pleased to lay upon us, we have no reason to complain as
long as he preserves to us the use of our reason and the peace of
our consciences.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xxxix-p10">2. He was sick and weak in body; his loins
were filled with a loathsome disease, some swelling, or ulcer, or
inflammation (some think a plague-sore, such as Hezekiah's boil),
and there was <i>no soundness in his flesh,</i> but, like Job, he
was all over distempered. See (1.) What vile bodies these are which
we carry about with us, what grievous diseases they are liable to,
and what an offence and grievance they may soon be made by some
diseases to the souls that animate them, as they always are a cloud
and clog. (2.) That the bodies both of the greatest and of the best
of men have in them the same seeds of diseases that the bodies of
others have, and are liable to the same disasters. David himself,
though so great a prince and so great a saint, was not exempt from
the most grievous diseases: there was no soundness even in his
flesh. Probably this was after his sin in the matter of Uriah, and
thus did he smart in his flesh for his fleshly lusts. When, at any
time, we are distempered in our bodies, we ought to remember how
God has been dishonoured in and by our bodies. He was <i>feeble and
sorely broken,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.8" parsed="|Ps|38|8|0|0" passage="Ps 38:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>. His <i>heart panted,</i> and was in a continual
palpitation, <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.10" parsed="|Ps|38|10|0|0" passage="Ps 38:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>.
His <i>strength</i> and limbs <i>failed</i> him. As for <i>the
light of his eyes,</i> that <i>had gone from him,</i> either with
much weeping or by a defluxion of rheum upon them, or perhaps
through the lowness of his spirits and the frequent returns of
fainting. Note, Sickness will tame the strongest body and the
stoutest spirit. David was famed for his courage and great
exploits; and yet, when God contended with him by bodily sickness
and the impressions of his wrath upon his mind, his hair is cut,
his heart fails him, and he becomes weak as water. Therefore let
not the strongman glory in his strength, nor any man set grief at
defiance, however it may be thought at a distance.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xxxix-p11">3. His friends were unkind to him
(<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.11" parsed="|Ps|38|11|0|0" passage="Ps 38:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>): <i>My
lovers</i> (such as had been merry with him in the day of his
mirth) now <i>stand aloof from my sore;</i> they would not
sympathize with him in his griefs, nor so much as come within
hearing of his complaints, but, like the priest and Levite
(<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.10.31" parsed="|Luke|10|31|0|0" passage="Lu 10:31">Luke x. 31</scripRef>), <i>passed on
the other side.</i> Even <i>his kinsmen,</i> that were bound to him
by blood and alliance, <i>stood afar off.</i> See what little
reason we have to trust in man or to wonder if we disappointed in
our expectations of kindness from men. Adversity tries friendship,
and separates between the precious and the vile. It is our wisdom
to make sure a friend in heaven, who will not stand aloof from our
sore and from whose love no tribulation nor distress shall be able
to separate us. David, in his troubles, was a type of Christ in his
agony, Christ, on his cross, feeble and sorely broken, and then
deserted by his friends and kinsmen, who beheld afar off.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xxxix-p12">V. In the midst of his complaints, he
comforts himself with the cognizance God graciously took both of
his griefs and of his prayers (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.9" parsed="|Ps|38|9|0|0" passage="Ps 38:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>): "<i>Lord, all my desire is
before thee.</i> Thou knowest what I want and what I would have:
<i>My groaning is not hidden from thee.</i> Thou knowest the
burdens I groan under and the blessings I groan after." The
<i>groanings which cannot be uttered</i> are not hidden from him
that <i>searches the heart and knows what is the mind of the
Spirit,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.8.26-Rom.8.27" parsed="|Rom|8|26|8|27" passage="Ro 8:26,27">Rom. viii. 26,
27</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xxxix-p13">In singing this, and praying it over,
whatever burden lies upon our spirits, we would by faith cast it
upon God, and all our care concerning it, and then be easy.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ps.xxxix-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.12-Ps.38.22" parsed="|Ps|38|12|38|22" passage="Ps 38:12-22" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.38.12-Ps.38.22">
<h4 id="Ps.xxxix-p13.2">Sorrowful Complaints.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.xxxix-p14">12 They also that seek after my life lay snares
<i>for me:</i> and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things,
and imagine deceits all the day long.   13 But I, as a deaf
<i>man,</i> heard not; and <i>I was</i> as a dumb man <i>that</i>
openeth not his mouth.   14 Thus I was as a man that heareth
not, and in whose mouth <i>are</i> no reproofs.   15 For in
thee, <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xxxix-p14.1">O Lord</span>, do I hope: thou wilt
hear, O Lord my God.   16 For I said, <i>Hear me,</i> lest
<i>otherwise</i> they should rejoice over me: when my foot
slippeth, they magnify <i>themselves</i> against me.   17 For
I <i>am</i> ready to halt, and my sorrow <i>is</i> continually
before me.   18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be
sorry for my sin.   19 But mine enemies <i>are</i> lively,
<i>and</i> they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are
multiplied.   20 They also that render evil for good are mine
adversaries; because I follow <i>the thing that</i> good <i>is.</i>
  21 Forsake me not, <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xxxix-p14.2">O Lord</span>: O
my God, be not far from me.   22 Make haste to help me, O Lord
my salvation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xxxix-p15">In these verses,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xxxix-p16">I. David complains of the power and malice
of his enemies, who, it should seem, not only took occasion from
the weakness of his body and the trouble of his mind to insult over
him, but took advantage thence to do him a mischief. He has a great
deal to say against them, which he humbly offers as a reason why
God should appear for him, as <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.25.19" parsed="|Ps|25|19|0|0" passage="Ps 25:19">Ps. xxv.
19</scripRef>, <i>Consider my enemies.</i> 1. "They are very
spiteful and cruel: <i>They seek my hurt;</i> nay, they <i>seek
after my life,</i>" <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.12" parsed="|Ps|38|12|0|0" passage="Ps 38:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>. That life which was so precious in the sight of the
Lord and all good men was aimed at, as if it had been forfeited, or
a public nuisance. Such is the enmity of the serpent's seed against
the seed of the woman; it would wound the head, though it can but
reach the heel. It is the blood of the saints that is thirsted
after. 2. "They are very subtle and politic. They <i>lay
snares,</i> they <i>imagine deceits,</i> and herein they are
restless and unwearied: they do it <i>all the day long.</i> They
speak mischievous things one to another; every one has something or
other to propose that may be a mischief to me." Mischief, covered
and carried on by deceit, may well be called a <i>snare.</i> 3.
"They are very insolent and abusive: <i>When my foot slips,</i>
when I fall into any trouble, or when I make any mistake, misplace
a word, or take a false step, they magnify themselves against me;
they are pleased with it, and promise themselves that it will ruin
my interest, and that if I slip I shall certainly fall and be
undone." 4. "They are not only unjust, but very ungrateful: They
<i>hate me wrongfully,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.19" parsed="|Ps|38|19|0|0" passage="Ps 38:19"><i>v.</i>
19</scripRef>. I never did them any ill turn, nor so much as bore
them any ill-will, nor ever gave them any provocation; nay, <i>they
render evil for good,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.20" parsed="|Ps|38|20|0|0" passage="Ps 38:20"><i>v.</i>
20</scripRef>. Many a kindness I have done them, for which I might
have expected a return of kindness; but <i>for my love they are my
adversaries,</i>" <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p16.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.109.4" parsed="|Ps|109|4|0|0" passage="Ps 109:4">Ps. cix.
4</scripRef>. Such a rooted enmity there is in the hearts of wicked
men to goodness for its own sake that they hate it, even when they
themselves have the benefit of it; they hate prayer even in those
that pray for them, and hate peace even in those that would be at
peace with them. Very ill-natured indeed those are whom no courtesy
will oblige, but who are rather exasperated by it. 5. "They are
very impious and devilish: <i>They are my adversaries</i> merely
<i>because I follow the thing that good is.</i>" They hated him,
not only for his kindness to them, but for his devotion and
obedience to God; they hated him because they hated God and all
that bear his image. If we suffer ill for doing well, we must not
think it strange; from the beginning it was so (Cain slew Abel,
because his works were righteous); nor must we think it hard,
because it will not be always so; for so much the greater will our
reward be. 6. "They are many and mighty: They <i>are lively; they
are strong; they are multiplied,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p16.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.19" parsed="|Ps|38|19|0|0" passage="Ps 38:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>. <i>Lord, how are those
increased that trouble me?</i>" <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p16.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.3.1" parsed="|Ps|3|1|0|0" passage="Ps 3:1">Ps. iii.
1</scripRef>. Holy David was weak and faint; his heart panted, and
his strength failed; he was melancholy and of a sorrowful spirit,
and persecuted by his friends; but at the same time his wicked
enemies were strong and lively, and their number increased. Let us
not therefore pretend to judge of men's characters by their outward
condition; none knows love or hatred by all that is before him. It
should seem that David in this, as in other complaints he makes of
his enemies, has an eye to Christ, whose persecutors were such as
are here described, perfectly lost to all honour and virtue. None
hate Christianity but such as have first divested themselves of the
first principles of humanity and broken through its most sacred
bonds.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xxxix-p17">II. He reflects, with comfort, upon his own
peaceable and pious behaviour under all the injuries and
indignities that were done him. It is then only that our enemies do
us a real mischief when they provoke us to sin (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Neh.6.13" parsed="|Neh|6|13|0|0" passage="Ne 6:13">Neh. vi. 13</scripRef>), when they prevail to put us out
of the possession of our own souls, and drive us from God and our
duty. If by divine grace we are enabled to prevent this mischief,
we quench their fiery darts, and are saved from harm. If still we
hold fast our integrity and our peace, who can hurt us? This David
did here. 1. He kept his temper, and was not ruffled nor
discomposed by any of the slights that were put upon him or the
mischievous things that were said or done against him (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.13-Ps.38.14" parsed="|Ps|38|13|38|14" passage="Ps 38:13,14"><i>v.</i> 13, 14</scripRef>): "<i>I, as a
deaf man, heard not;</i> I took no notice of the affronts put upon
me, did not resent them, nor was put into disorder by them, much
less did I meditate revenge, or study to return the injury." Note,
The less notice we take of the unkindness and injuries that are
done us the more we consult the quiet of our own minds. Being deaf,
he was dumb, as a man <i>in whose mouth there are no reproofs;</i>
he was as silent as if he had nothing to say for himself, for fear
of putting himself into a heat and incensing his enemies yet more
against him; he would not only not recriminate upon them, but not
so much as vindicate himself, lest his necessary defence should be
construed his offence. Though they sought after his life, and his
silence might be taken for a confession of his guilt, yet he was as
a dumb man that opens not his mouth. Note, When our enemies are
most clamorous it is generally our prudence to be silent, or to say
little, lest we make bad worse. David could not hope by his
mildness to win upon his enemies, nor by his soft answers to turn
away their wrath; for they were men of such base spirits that they
rendered him evil for good; and yet he conducted himself thus
meekly towards them, that he might prevent his own sin and might
have the comfort of it in the reflection. Herein David was a type
of Christ, who was as a sheep dumb before the shearer, and, when he
was reviled, reviled not again; and both are examples to us not to
render railing for railing. 2. He kept close to his God by faith
and prayer, and so both supported himself under these injuries and
silenced his own resentments of them. (1.) He trusted in God
(<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.15" parsed="|Ps|38|15|0|0" passage="Ps 38:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>): "<i>I was
as a man that opens not his mouth, for in thee, O Lord! do I
hope.</i> I depend upon thee to plead my cause and clear my
innocency, and, some way or other, to put my enemies to silence and
shame." His lovers and friends, that should have owned him, and
stood by him, and appeared as witnesses for him, withdrew from him,
<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.10" parsed="|Ps|38|10|0|0" passage="Ps 38:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. But God is a
friend that will never fail us if we hope in him. "<i>I was as a
man that heareth not, for thou wilt hear.</i> Why need I hear, and
God hear too?" <i>He careth for you</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.5.7" parsed="|1Pet|5|7|0|0" passage="1Pe 5:7">1 Pet. v. 7</scripRef>), and why need you care and God
care too? "<i>Thou wilt answer</i>" (so some) "and therefore I will
say nothing." Note, It is a good reason why we should bear reproach
and calumny with silence and patience, because God is a witness to
all the wrong that is done us, and, in due time, will be a witness
for us and against those that do us wrong; therefore let us be
silent, because, if we be, then we may expect that God will appear
for us, for this is an evidence that we trust in him; but, if we
undertake to manage for ourselves, we take God's work out of his
hands and forfeit the benefit of his appearing for us. Our Lord
Jesus, when he suffered, threatened not, because he <i>committed
himself to him that judges righteously</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p17.6" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.2.23" parsed="|1Pet|2|23|0|0" passage="1Pe 2:23">1 Pet. ii. 23</scripRef>); and we shall lose nothing, at
last, by doing so. <i>Thou shalt answer, Lord, for me.</i> (2.) He
called upon God (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p17.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.16" parsed="|Ps|38|16|0|0" passage="Ps 38:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>): <i>For I said,</i> Hear me (that is supplied);
"<i>I said so</i>" (as <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p17.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.15" parsed="|Ps|38|15|0|0" passage="Ps 38:15"><i>v.</i>
15</scripRef>); "in thee do I hope, for thou wilt hear, lest they
should rejoice over me. I comforted myself with that when I was
apprehensive that they would overwhelm me." It is a great support
to us, when men are false and unkind, that we have a God to go to
whom we may be free with and who will be faithful to us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xxxix-p18">III. He here bewails his own follies and
infirmities. 1. He was very sensible of the present workings of
corruption in him, and that he was now ready to repine at the
providence of God and to be put into a passion by the injuries men
did him: <i>I am ready to halt,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.17" parsed="|Ps|38|17|0|0" passage="Ps 38:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. This will best be explained by
a reflection like this which the psalmist made upon himself in a
similar case (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.73.2" parsed="|Ps|73|2|0|0" passage="Ps 73:2">Ps. lxxiii.
2</scripRef>): <i>My feet were almost gone, when I saw the
prosperity of the wicked.</i> So here: <i>I was ready to halt,</i>
ready to say, <i>I have cleansed my hands in vain.</i> His sorrow
was continual: <i>All the day long have I been plagued.</i>
(<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.73.13-Ps.73.14" parsed="|Ps|73|13|73|14" passage="Ps 73:13,14">Ps. lxxiii. 13, 14</scripRef>),
and it was continually before him; he could not forbear poring upon
it, and that made him almost ready to halt between religion and
irreligion. The fear of this drove him to his God: "In thee do I
hope, not only that thou wilt plead my cause, but that thou wilt
prevent my falling into sin." Good men, by setting their sorrow
continually before them, have been ready to halt, who, by setting
God always before them, have kept their standing. 2. He remembered
against himself his former transgressions, acknowledging that by
them he had brought these troubles upon himself and forfeited the
divine protection. Though before men he could justify himself,
before God he will judge and condemn himself (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p18.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.18" parsed="|Ps|38|18|0|0" passage="Ps 38:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>): "<i>I will declare my
iniquity,</i> and not cover it; <i>I will be sorry for my sin,</i>
and not make a light matter of it;" and this helped to make him
silent under the rebukes of Providence and the reproaches of men.
Note, If we be truly penitent for sin, that will make us patient
under affliction, and particularly under unjust censures. Two
things are required in repentance:—(1.) Confession of sin: "<i>I
will declare my iniquity;</i> I will not only in general own myself
a sinner, but I will make a particular acknowledgment of what I
have done amiss." We must declare our sins before God freely and
fully, and with their aggravating circumstances, that we may give
glory to God and take shame to ourselves. (2.) Contrition for sin:
<i>I will be sorry for it.</i> Sin will have sorrow; every true
penitent grieves for the dishonour he has done to God and the wrong
he has done to himself. "I will be in care or fear about my sin"
(so some), "in fear lest it ruin me and in care to get it
pardoned."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xxxix-p19">IV. He concludes with very earnest prayers
to God for his gracious presence with him and seasonable powerful
succour in his distress (<scripRef id="Ps.xxxix-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.21-Ps.38.22" parsed="|Ps|38|21|38|22" passage="Ps 38:21,22"><i>v.</i>
21, 22</scripRef>): "<i>Forsake me not, O Lord!</i> though my
friends forsake me, and though I deserve to be forsaken by thee. Be
not far from me, as my unbelieving heart is ready to fear thou
art." Nothing goes nearer to the heart of a good man in affliction
than to be under the apprehension of God's deserting him in wrath;
nor does any thing therefore come more feelingly from his heart
than this prayer: "<i>Lord, be not thou far from me; make haste for
my help;</i> for I am ready to perish, and in danger of being lost
if relief do not come quickly." God gives us leave, not only to
call upon him when we are in trouble, but to hasten him. He pleads,
"Thou art <i>my God,</i> whom I serve, and on whom I depend to bear
me out; and <i>my salvation,</i> who alone art able to save me, who
hast engaged thyself by promise to save me, and from whom alone I
expect salvation." Is any afflicted? let him thus pray, let him
thus plead, let him thus hope, in singing this psalm.</p>
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