mh_parser/vol_split/19 - Psalms/Chapter 92.xml

<div2 id="Ps.xciii" n="xciii" next="Ps.xciv" prev="Ps.xcii" progress="54.06%" title="Chapter XCII">
<h2 id="Ps.xciii-p0.1">P S A L M S</h2>
<h3 id="Ps.xciii-p0.2">PSALM XCII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ps.xciii-p1">It is a groundless opinion of some of the Jewish
writers (who are usually free of their conjectures) that this psalm
was penned and sung by Adam in innocency, on the first sabbath. It
is inconsistent with the psalm itself, which speaks of the workers
of iniquity, when as yet sin had not entered. It is probable that
it was penned by David, and, being calculated for the sabbath day,
I. Praise, the business of the sabbath, is here recommended,
<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.1-Ps.92.3" parsed="|Ps|92|1|92|3" passage="Ps 92:1-3">ver. 1-3</scripRef>. II. God's works,
which gave occasion for the sabbath, are here celebrated as great
and unsearchable in general, <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.4-Ps.92.6" parsed="|Ps|92|4|92|6" passage="Ps 92:4-6">ver.
4-6</scripRef>. In particular, with reference to the works both of
providence and redemption, the psalmist sings unto God both of
mercy and judgment, the ruin of sinners and the joy of saints,
three times counterchanged. 1. The wicked shall perish (<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.7" parsed="|Ps|92|7|0|0" passage="Ps 92:7">ver. 7</scripRef>), but God is eternal, <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.8" parsed="|Ps|92|8|0|0" passage="Ps 92:8">ver. 8</scripRef>. 2. God's enemies shall be cut
off, but David shall be exalted, <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.9-Ps.92.10" parsed="|Ps|92|9|92|10" passage="Ps 92:9,10">ver. 9, 10</scripRef>. 3. David's enemies shall be
confounded (<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.11" parsed="|Ps|92|11|0|0" passage="Ps 92:11">ver. 11</scripRef>), but
all the righteous shall be fruitful and flourishing, <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.12-Ps.92.15" parsed="|Ps|92|12|92|15" passage="Ps 92:12-15">ver. 12-15</scripRef>. In singing this psalm
we must take pleasure in giving to God the glory due to his name,
and triumph in his works.</p>
<scripCom id="Ps.xciii-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92" parsed="|Ps|92|0|0|0" passage="Ps 92" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ps.xciii-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.1-Ps.92.6" parsed="|Ps|92|1|92|6" passage="Ps 92:1-6" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.92.1-Ps.92.6">
<h4 id="Ps.xciii-p1.10">Incitements to Praise of
God.</h4>
<div class="Center" id="Ps.xciii-p1.11">
<p id="Ps.xciii-p2">A psalm <i>or</i> song for the sabbath day.</p>
</div>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.xciii-p3">1 <i>It is a</i> good <i>thing</i> to give
thanks unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xciii-p3.1">Lord</span>, and to sing
praises unto thy name, O most High:   2 To show forth thy
lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,
  3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery;
upon the harp with a solemn sound.   4 For thou, <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xciii-p3.2">Lord</span>, hast made me glad through thy work: I will
triumph in the works of thy hands.   5 <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xciii-p3.3">O Lord</span>, how great are thy works! <i>and</i> thy
thoughts are very deep.   6 A brutish man knoweth not; neither
doth a fool understand this.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xciii-p4">This psalm was appointed to be sung, at
least it usually was sung, in the house of the sanctuary on the
sabbath day, that day of rest, which was an instituted memorial of
the work of creation, of God's rest from that work, and the
continuance of it in his providence; for <i>the Father worketh
hitherto.</i> Note, 1. The sabbath day must be a day, not only of
holy rest, but of holy work, and the rest is in order to the work.
2. The proper work of the sabbath is praising God; every sabbath
day must be a thanksgiving-day; and the other services of the day
must be in order to this, and therefore must by no means thrust
this into a corner. One of the Jewish writers refers it to the
kingdom of the Messiah, and calls it, <i>A psalm or song for the
age to come,</i> which shall be all sabbath. Believers, through
Christ, enjoy that <i>sabbatism which remains for the people of
God</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Heb.4.9" parsed="|Heb|4|9|0|0" passage="Heb 4:9">Heb. iv. 9</scripRef>), the
beginning of the everlasting sabbath. In these verses,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xciii-p5">I. We are called upon and encouraged to
praise God (<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.1-Ps.92.3" parsed="|Ps|92|1|92|3" passage="Ps 92:1-3"><i>v.</i>
1-3</scripRef>): <i>It is a good thing to give thanks unto the
Lord.</i> Praising God is good work: it is good in itself and good
for us. It is our duty, the rent, the tribute, we are to pay to our
great Lord; we are unjust if we withhold it. It is our privilege
that we are admitted to praise God, and have hope to be accepted in
it. It is good, for it is pleasant and profitable, work that is its
own wages; it is the work of angels, the work of heaven. It is good
to give thanks for the mercies we have received, for that is the
way of fetching in further mercy: it is fit to sing to his name who
is Most High, exalted above all blessing and praise. Now observe
here, 1. How we must praise God. We must do it by <i>showing forth
his lovingkindness and his faithfulness.</i> Being convinced of his
glorious attributes and perfections, we must show them forth, as
those that are greatly affected with them ourselves and desire to
affect others with them likewise. We must show forth, not only his
greatness and majesty, his holiness and justice, which magnify him
and strike an awe upon us, but his lovingkindness and his
faithfulness; for his goodness is his glory (<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.33.18-Exod.33.19" parsed="|Exod|33|18|33|19" passage="Ex 33:18,19">Exod. xxxiii. 18, 19</scripRef>), and by these he
proclaims his name. His mercy and truth are the great supports of
our faith and hope, and the great encouragements of our love and
obedience; these therefore we must show forth as our pleas in
prayer and the matter of our joy. This was then done, not only by
singing, but by music joined with it, <i>upon an instrument of ten
strings</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.3" parsed="|Ps|92|3|0|0" passage="Ps 92:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>);
but then it was to be <i>with a solemn sound,</i> not that which
was gay, and apt to dissipate the spirits, but that which was
grave, and apt to fix them. 2. When we must praise God—<i>in the
morning and every night,</i> not only on sabbath days, but every
day; it is that which the duty of every day requires. We must
praise God, not only in public assemblies, but in secret, and in
our families, showing forth, to ourselves and those about us, his
lovingkindness and faithfulness. We must begin and end every day
with praising God, must give him thanks every morning, when we are
fresh and before the business of the day comes in upon us, and
every night, when we are again composed and retired, and are
recollecting ourselves; we must give him thanks every morning for
the mercies of the night and every night for the mercies of the
day; going out and coming in we must bless God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xciii-p6">II. We have an example set before us in the
psalmist himself, both to move us to and to direct us in this work
(<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.4" parsed="|Ps|92|4|0|0" passage="Ps 92:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): <i>Thou,
Lord, hast made me glad through thy work.</i> Note, 1. Those can
best recommend to others the duty of praise who have themselves
experienced the pleasantness of it. "God's works are to be praised,
for they have many a time rejoiced my heart; and therefore,
whatever others may think of them, I must think well and speak well
of them." 2. If God has given us the joy of his works, there is all
the reason in the world why we should give him the honour of them.
Has he made our hearts glad? Let us then make his praises glorious.
Has God made us glad through the works of his providence for us,
and of his grace in us, and both through the great work of
redemption? (1.) Let us thence fetch encouragement for our faith
and hope; so the psalmist does: <i>I will triumph in the works of
thy hands.</i> From a joyful remembrance of what God has done for
us we may raise a joyful prospect of what he will do, and triumph
in the assurance of it, triumph over all opposition, <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:2Thess.2.13-2Thess.2.14" parsed="|2Thess|2|13|2|14" passage="2Th 2:13,14">2 Thess. ii. 13, 14</scripRef>. (2.) Let us
thence fetch matter for holy adorings and admirings of God
(<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.5" parsed="|Ps|92|5|0|0" passage="Ps 92:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>): <i>O Lord!
how great are thy works</i>—great beyond conception, beyond
expression, the products of great power and wisdom, of great
consequence and importance! men's works are nothing to them. We
cannot comprehend the greatness of God's works, and therefore must
reverently and awfully wonder at them, and even stand amazed at the
magnificence of them. "Men's works are little and trifling, for
their thoughts are shallow; but, Lord, <i>thy works are great</i>
and such as cannot be measured; for <i>thy thoughts are very
deep</i> and such as cannot be fathomed." God's counsels as much
exceed the contrivances of our wisdom as his works do the efforts
of our power. <i>His thoughts are above our thoughts,</i> as his
<i>ways</i> are <i>above our ways,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.55.9" parsed="|Isa|55|9|0|0" passage="Isa 55:9">Isa. lv. 9</scripRef>. <i>O the depth</i> of God's
designs! <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.33" parsed="|Rom|11|33|0|0" passage="Ro 11:33">Rom. xi. 33</scripRef>. The
greatness of God's works should lead us to consider the depth of
his thoughts, that counsel of his own will according to which he
does all things—what a compass his thoughts fetch and to what a
length they reach!</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xciii-p7">III. We are admonished not to neglect the
works of God, by the character of those who do so, <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.6" parsed="|Ps|92|6|0|0" passage="Ps 92:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. Those are fools, they are
brutish, who do not know, who do not understand, how great God's
works are, who will not acquaint themselves with them, nor give him
the glory of them; they <i>regard not the work of the Lord</i> nor
<i>consider the operation of his hands</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.28.5" parsed="|Ps|28|5|0|0" passage="Ps 28:5">Ps. xxviii. 5</scripRef>); particularly, they understand
not the meaning of their own prosperity (which is spoken of
<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.7" parsed="|Ps|92|7|0|0" passage="Ps 92:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>); they take it
as a pledge of their happiness, whereas it is a preparative for
their ruin. If there are so many who know not the designs of
Providence, nor care to know them, those who through grace are
acquainted with them, and love to be so, have the more reason to be
thankful.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ps.xciii-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.7-Ps.92.15" parsed="|Ps|92|7|92|15" passage="Ps 92:7-15" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.92.7-Ps.92.15">
<h4 id="Ps.xciii-p7.5">The Triumph of the Righteous; The Happiness
of the Righteous.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.xciii-p8">7 When the wicked spring as the grass, and when
all the workers of iniquity do flourish; <i>it is</i> that they
shall be destroyed for ever:   8 But thou, <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xciii-p8.1">Lord</span>, <i>art most</i> high for evermore.  
9 For, lo, thine enemies, <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xciii-p8.2">O Lord</span>,
for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity
shall be scattered.   10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like
<i>the horn of</i> an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
  11 Mine eye also shall see <i>my desire</i> on mine enemies,
<i>and</i> mine ears shall hear <i>my desire</i> of the wicked that
rise up against me.   12 The righteous shall flourish like the
palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.   13 Those
that be planted in the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xciii-p8.3">Lord</span> shall flourish in the courts of our God.
  14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall
be fat and flourishing;   15 To show that the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xciii-p8.4">Lord</span> <i>is</i> upright: <i>he is</i> my rock,
and <i>there is</i> no unrighteousness in him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xciii-p9">The psalmist had said (<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.4" parsed="|Ps|92|4|0|0" passage="Ps 92:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>) that from the works of God he
would take occasion to triumph; and here he does so.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xciii-p10">I. He triumphs over God's enemies
(<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.7 Bible:Ps.92.9 Bible:Ps.92.11" parsed="|Ps|92|7|0|0;|Ps|92|9|0|0;|Ps|92|11|0|0" passage="Ps 92:7,9,11"><i>v.</i> 7, 9, 11</scripRef>),
triumphs in the foresight of their destruction, not as it would be
the misery of his fellow-creatures, but as it would redound to the
honour of God's justice and holiness. He is confident of the ruin
of sinners, 1. Though they are flourishing (<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.7" parsed="|Ps|92|7|0|0" passage="Ps 92:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>): <i>When the wicked spring as the
grass</i> in spring (so numerous, so thickly sown, so green, and
growing so fast), <i>and all the workers of iniquity do
flourish</i> in pomp, and power, and all the instances of outward
prosperity, are easy and many, and succeed in their enterprises,
one would think that all this was in order to their being happy,
that it was a certain evidence of God's favour and an earnest of
something as good or better in reserve: but it is quite otherwise;
it is <i>that they shall be destroyed for ever.</i> The very
<i>prosperity of fools shall slay them,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.32" parsed="|Prov|1|32|0|0" passage="Pr 1:32">Prov. i. 32</scripRef>. The sheep that are designed for
the slaughter are put into the fattest pasture. 2. Though they are
daring, <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.9" parsed="|Ps|92|9|0|0" passage="Ps 92:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. They
are thy enemies, and impudently avow themselves to be so. They are
contrary to God, and they fight against God. They are in rebellion
against his crown and dignity, and therefore it is easy to foresee
that they shall perish; for <i>who ever hardened his heart against
God and prospered?</i> Note, All the impenitent workers of iniquity
shall be deemed and taken as God's enemies, and as such they shall
perish and be scattered. Christ reckons those his enemies that will
not have him to reign over them; and they shall be brought forth
and slain before him. The workers of iniquity are now associated,
and closely linked together, in a combination against God and
religion; but they shall be scattered, and disabled to help one
another against the just judgment of God. <i>In the world to come
they shall be separated from the congregation of the righteous;</i>
so the Chaldee, <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.1.5" parsed="|Ps|1|5|0|0" passage="Ps 1:5">Ps. i. 5</scripRef>. 3.
Though they had a particular malice against the psalmist, and, upon
that account, he might be tempted to fear them, yet he triumphs
over them (<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p10.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.11" parsed="|Ps|92|11|0|0" passage="Ps 92:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>):
"<i>My eye shall see my desire on my enemies that rise up against
me;</i> I shall see them not only disabled from doing me any
further mischief, but reckoned with for the mischief they have done
me, and brought either to repentance or ruin:" and this was his
desire concerning them. In the Hebrew it is no more than thus,
<i>My eye shall look on my enemies, and my ear shall hear of the
wicked.</i> He does not say what he shall see or what he shall
hear, but he shall see and hear that in which God will be glorified
and in which he will therefore be satisfied. This perhaps has
reference to Christ, to his victory over Satan, death, and hell,
the destruction of those that persecuted and crucified him, and
opposed his gospel, and to the final ruin of the impenitent at the
last day. Those that rise up against Christ will fall before him
and be made his footstool.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xciii-p11">II. He triumphs in God, and his glory and
grace. 1. In the glory of God (<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.8" parsed="|Ps|92|8|0|0" passage="Ps 92:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): "<i>But thou, O Lord! art most
high for evermore.</i> The workers of iniquity who fight against us
may be high for a time, and think to carry all before them with a
high hand, but <i>thou art high, most high, for evermore.</i> Their
height will be humbled and brought down, but thine is everlasting."
Let us not therefore fear the pride and power of evil men, nor be
discouraged by their impotent menaces, for the moth shall eat them
up as a garment, but <i>God's righteousness shall be for ever,</i>
<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.51.7-Isa.51.8" parsed="|Isa|51|7|51|8" passage="Isa 51:7,8">Isa. li. 7, 8</scripRef>. 2. In the
grace of God, his favour and the fruits of it, (1.) To himself
(<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.10" parsed="|Ps|92|10|0|0" passage="Ps 92:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): "Thou, O
Lord! that art thyself most high, <i>shalt exalt my horn.</i>" The
great God is the fountain of honour, and he, being <i>high for
evermore,</i> himself will exalt his people for ever, for <i>he is
the praise of all his saints,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.148.14" parsed="|Ps|148|14|0|0" passage="Ps 148:14">Ps.
cxlviii. 14</scripRef>. The wicked are forbidden to <i>lift up the
horn</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.75.4-Ps.75.5" parsed="|Ps|75|4|75|5" passage="Ps 75:4,5">Ps. lxxv. 4, 5</scripRef>),
but those that serve God and the interest of his kingdom with their
honour or power, and commit it to him to keep it, to raise it, to
use it, and to dispose of it, as he pleases, may hope that he will
<i>exalt their horn as the horn of a unicorn,</i> to the greatest
height, either in this world or the other: <i>My horn shalt thou
exalt,</i> when <i>thy enemies perish;</i> for <i>then shall the
righteous shine forth as the sun,</i> when the wicked shall be
doomed to <i>shame and everlasting contempt.</i> He adds, <i>I
shall be anointed with fresh oil,</i> which denotes a fresh
confirmation in his office to which he had been anointed, or
abundance of plenty, so that he should have fresh oil as often as
he pleased, or renewed comforts to revive him when his spirits
drooped. Grace is the anointing of the Spirit; when this is given
to help in the time of need, and is received, as there is occasion,
from the fulness that is in Christ Jesus, we are then anointed with
fresh oil. Some read it, <i>When I grow old thou shalt anoint me
with fresh oil. My old age shalt thou exalt with rich mercy;</i> so
the LXX. Compare <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.14" parsed="|Ps|92|14|0|0" passage="Ps 92:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>, <i>They shall bring forth fruit in old age.</i> The
comforts of God's Spirit, and the joys of his salvation, shall be a
refreshing oil to the <i>hoary heads that are found in the way of
righteousness.</i> (2.) To all the saints. They are here
represented as <i>trees of righteousness,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.61.3 Bible:Ps.1.3" parsed="|Isa|61|3|0|0;|Ps|1|3|0|0" passage="Isa 61:3,Ps 1:3">Isa. lxi. 3; Ps. i. 3</scripRef>. Observe, [1.]
The good place they are fixed in; they are <i>planted in the house
of the Lord,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.13" parsed="|Ps|92|13|0|0" passage="Ps 92:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>. The trees of righteousness do not grow of
themselves; they are <i>planted,</i> not in common soil, but in
paradise, <i>in the house of the Lord.</i> Trees are not usually
planted in a house; but God's trees are said to be planted in his
house because it is from his grace, by his word and Spirit, that
they receive all the sap and virtue that keep them alive and make
them fruitful. They fix themselves to holy ordinances, take root in
them, abide by them, put themselves under the divine protection,
and bring forth all their fruits to God's honour and glory. [2.]
The good plight they shall be kept in. It is here promised,
<i>First,</i> That they shall grow, <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.12" parsed="|Ps|92|12|0|0" passage="Ps 92:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. Where God gives true grace he
will give more grace. God's trees shall grow higher, like the
cedars, the tall cedars in Lebanon; they shall grow nearer heaven,
and with a holy ambition shall aspire towards the upper world; they
shall grow stronger, like the cedars, and fitter for use. <i>He
that has clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. Secondly,</i>
That they shall flourish, both in the credit of their profession
and in the comfort and joy of their own souls. They shall be
cheerful themselves and respected by all about them. <i>They shall
flourish like the palm-tree,</i> which has a stately body
(<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.10" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.7" parsed="|Song|7|7|0|0" passage="So 7:7">Cant. vii. 7</scripRef>), and large
boughs, <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.11" osisRef="Bible:Lev.23.40 Bible:Judg.4.5" parsed="|Lev|23|40|0|0;|Judg|4|5|0|0" passage="Le 23:40,Jdg 4:5">Lev. xxiii. 40; Judg.
iv. 5</scripRef>. Dates, the fruit of it, are very pleasant, but it
is especially alluded to here as being ever green. The wicked
flourish as the grass (<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.12" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.7" parsed="|Ps|92|7|0|0" passage="Ps 92:7"><i>v.</i>
7</scripRef>), which is soon withered, but the righteous as the
palm-tree, which is long-lived and which the winter does not
change. It has been said of the palm-tree, <i>Sub pondere
crescit—The more it is pressed down the more it grows;</i> so the
righteous flourish under their burdens; the more they are afflicted
the more they multiply. Being planted in <i>the house of the
Lord</i> (there their root is), <i>they flourish in the courts of
our God</i>—there their branches spread. <i>Their life is hid with
Christ in God.</i> But their light also shines before men. It is
desirable that those who have a place should have a name in God's
house, and within his walls, <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.13" osisRef="Bible:Isa.56.5" parsed="|Isa|56|5|0|0" passage="Isa 56:5">Isa. lvi.
5</scripRef>. Let good Christians aim to excel, that they may be
eminent and may flourish, and so may adorn the doctrine of God our
Saviour, as flourishing trees adorn the courts of a house. And let
those who flourish in God's courts give him the glory of it; it is
by virtue of this promise, <i>They shall be fat and
flourishing.</i> Their flourishing without is from a fatness
within, from the <i>root and fatness of the good olive,</i>
<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.14" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.17" parsed="|Rom|11|17|0|0" passage="Ro 11:17">Rom. xi. 17</scripRef>. Without a
living principle of grace in the heart the profession will not be
long flourishing; but where that is <i>the leaf also shall not
wither,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.15" osisRef="Bible:Ps.1.3" parsed="|Ps|1|3|0|0" passage="Ps 1:3">Ps. i. 3</scripRef>. <i>The
trees of the Lord are full of sap,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.16" osisRef="Bible:Ps.104.16" parsed="|Ps|104|16|0|0" passage="Ps 104:16">Ps. civ. 16</scripRef>. See <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.17" osisRef="Bible:Hos.14.5-Hos.14.6" parsed="|Hos|14|5|14|6" passage="Ho 14:5,6">Hos. xiv. 5, 6</scripRef>. <i>Thirdly,</i> That they
shall be fruitful. Were there nothing but leaves upon them, they
would not be trees of any value; but <i>they shall still bring
forth fruit.</i> The products of sanctification, all the instances
of a lively devotion and a useful conversation, good works, by
which God is glorified and others are edified, these are the fruits
of righteousness, in which it is the privilege, as well as the
duty, of the righteous to abound; and their abounding in them is
the matter of a promise as well as of a command. It is promised
that they shall bring forth fruit in old age. Other trees, when
they are old, leave off bearing, but in God's trees the strength of
grace does not fail with the strength of nature. The last days of
the saints are sometimes their best days, and their last work is
their best work. This indeed shows that they are upright;
perseverance is the surest evidence of sincerity. But it is here
said <i>to show that the Lord is upright</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.18" osisRef="Bible:Ps.92.15" parsed="|Ps|92|15|0|0" passage="Ps 92:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>), that he is true to his
promises and faithful to every word that he has spoken, and that he
is constant to the work which he has begun. As it is by the
promises that believers first partake of a divine nature, so it is
by the promises that that divine nature is preserved and kept up;
and therefore the power it exerts is an evidence that the <i>Lord
is upright,</i> and so he will show himself <i>with an upright
man,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xciii-p11.19" osisRef="Bible:Ps.18.25" parsed="|Ps|18|25|0|0" passage="Ps 18:25">Ps. xviii. 25</scripRef>.
This the psalmist triumphs in: "<i>He is my rock and there is no
unrighteousness in him.</i> I have chosen him for my rock on which
to build, in the clefts of which to take shelter, on the top of
which to set my feet. I have found him a rock, strong and stedfast,
and his word as firm as a rock. I have found" (and let every one
speak as he finds) "that there is no unrighteousness in him." He is
as able, and will be as kind, as his word makes him to be. All that
ever trusted in God found him faithful and all-sufficient, and none
were ever made ashamed of their hope in him.</p>
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