387 lines
27 KiB
XML
387 lines
27 KiB
XML
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<div2 id="Ps.xx" n="xx" next="Ps.xxi" prev="Ps.xix" progress="27.52%" title="Chapter XIX">
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<h2 id="Ps.xx-p0.1">P S A L M S</h2>
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<h3 id="Ps.xx-p0.2">PSALM XIX.</h3>
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<p class="intro" id="Ps.xx-p1">There are two excellent books which the great God
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has published for the instruction and edification of the children
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of men; this psalm treats of them both, and recommends them both to
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our diligent study. I. The book of the creatures, in which we may
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easily read the power and godhead of the Creator, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.1-Ps.19.6" parsed="|Ps|19|1|19|6" passage="Ps 19:1-6">ver. 1-6</scripRef>. II. The book of the
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scriptures, which makes known to us the will of God concerning our
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duty. He shows the excellency and usefulness of that book
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(<scripRef id="Ps.xx-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.7-Ps.19.11" parsed="|Ps|19|7|19|11" passage="Ps 19:7-11">ver. 7-11</scripRef>) and then
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teaches us how to improve it, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.12-Ps.19.14" parsed="|Ps|19|12|19|14" passage="Ps 19:12-14">ver.
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12-14</scripRef>.</p>
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<scripCom id="Ps.xx-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19" parsed="|Ps|19|0|0|0" passage="Ps 19" type="Commentary"/>
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<scripCom id="Ps.xx-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.1-Ps.19.6" parsed="|Ps|19|1|19|6" passage="Ps 19:1-6" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.19.1-Ps.19.6">
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<h4 id="Ps.xx-p1.6">God's Glory Seen in the
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Creation.</h4>
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<div class="Center" id="Ps.xx-p1.7">
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<p id="Ps.xx-p2">To the chief musician. A psalm of David.</p>
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</div>
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<p class="passage" id="Ps.xx-p3">1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the
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firmament showeth his handywork. 2 Day unto day uttereth
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speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. 3 <i>There
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is</i> no speech nor language, <i>where</i> their voice is not
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heard. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and
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their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a
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tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which <i>is</i> as a bridegroom
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coming out of his chamber, <i>and</i> rejoiceth as a strong man to
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run a race. 6 His going forth <i>is</i> from the end of the
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heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing
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hid from the heat thereof.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p4">From the things that are seen every day by
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all the world the psalmist, in these verses, leads us to the
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consideration of the invisible things of God, whose being appears
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incontestably evident and whose glory shines transcendently bright
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in the visible heavens, the structure and beauty of them, and the
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order and influence of the heavenly bodies. This instance of the
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divine power serves not only to show the folly of atheists, who see
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there is a heaven and yet say, "There is no God," who see the
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effect and yet say, "There is no cause," but to show the folly of
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idolaters also, and the vanity of their imagination, who, though
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the heavens declare the glory of God, yet gave that glory to the
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lights of heaven which those very lights directed them to give to
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God only, the Father of lights. Now observe here,</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p5">1. What that is which the creatures notify
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to us. They are in many ways useful and serviceable to us, but in
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nothing so much as in this, that they declare the glory of God, by
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showing his handy-works, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.1" parsed="|Ps|19|1|0|0" passage="Ps 19:1"><i>v.</i>
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1</scripRef>. They plainly speak themselves to be God's
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handy-works; for they could not exist from eternity; all succession
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and motion must have had a beginning; they could not make
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themselves, that is a contradiction; they could not be produced by
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a casual hit of atoms, that is an absurdity, fit rather to be
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bantered than reasoned with: therefore they must have a Creator,
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who can be no other than an eternal mind, infinitely wise,
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powerful, and good. Thus it appears they are God's works, the
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<i>works of his fingers</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.xx-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.8.3" parsed="|Ps|8|3|0|0" passage="Ps 8:3">Ps. viii.
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3</scripRef>), and therefore they declare his glory. From the
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excellency of the work we may easily infer the infinite perfection
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of its great author. From the brightness of the heavens we may
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collect that the Creator is light; their vastness of extent
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bespeaks his immensity, their height his transcendency and
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sovereignty, their influence upon this earth his dominion, and
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providence, and universal beneficence: and all declare his almighty
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power, by which they were at first made, and continue to this day
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according to the ordinances that were then settled.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p6">II. What are some of those things which
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notify this? 1. The heavens and the firmament—the vast expanse of
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air and ether, and the spheres of the planets and fixed stars. Man
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has this advantage above the beasts, in the structure of his body,
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that whereas they are made to look downwards, as their spirits must
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go, he is made erect, to look upwards, because upwards his spirit
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must shortly go and his thoughts should now rise. 2. The constant
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and regular succession of day and night (<scripRef id="Ps.xx-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.2" parsed="|Ps|19|2|0|0" passage="Ps 19:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>): <i>Day unto day, and night unto
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night,</i> speak the glory of that God who first divided between
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the light and the darkness, and has, from the beginning to this
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day, preserved that established order without variation, according
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to God's covenant with Noah (<scripRef id="Ps.xx-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.22" parsed="|Gen|8|22|0|0" passage="Ge 8:22">Gen. viii.
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22</scripRef>), that, <i>while the earth remains, day and night
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shall not cease,</i> to which covenant of providence the covenant
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of grace is compared for its stability, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.33.20 Bible:Jer.31.35" parsed="|Jer|33|20|0|0;|Jer|31|35|0|0" passage="Jer 33:20,Jer 31:35">Jer. xxxiii. 20; xxxi. 35</scripRef>. The
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counterchanging of day and night, in so exact a method, is a great
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instance of the power of God, and calls us to observe that, as in
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the kingdom of nature, so in that of providence, <i>he forms the
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light and creates the darkness</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.xx-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.7" parsed="|Isa|45|7|0|0" passage="Isa 45:7">Isa. xlv. 7</scripRef>), and sets the one over-against
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the other. It is likewise an instance of his goodness to man; for
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he <i>makes the out-goings of the morning and evening to
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rejoice,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.65.8" parsed="|Ps|65|8|0|0" passage="Ps 65:8">Ps. lxv. 8</scripRef>. He
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not only glorifies himself, but gratifies us, by this constant
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revolution; for as the light of the morning befriends the business
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of the day, so the shadows of the evening befriend the repose of
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the night; every day and every night speak the goodness of God,
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and, when they have finished their testimony, leave it to the next
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day, to the next night, to stay the same. 3. The light and
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influence of the sun do, in a special manner, declare the glory of
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God; for of all the heavenly bodies that is the most conspicuous in
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itself and most useful to this lower world, which would be all
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dungeon, and all desert, without it. It is not an improbable
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conjecture that David penned this psalm when he had the rising sun
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in view, and from the brightness of it took occasion to declare the
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glory of God. Concerning the sun observe here, (1.) The place
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appointed him. In the heavens God has <i>set a tabernacle for the
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sun.</i> The heavenly bodies are called <i>hosts of heaven,</i> and
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therefore are fitly said to <i>dwell in tents,</i> as soldiers in
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their encampments. The sun is said to have a tabernacle set him, no
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only because he is in continual motion and never has a fixed
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residence, but because the mansion he has will, at the end of time,
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be taken down like a tent, when the heavens shall be rolled
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together like a scroll and the sun shall be turned to darkness.
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(2.) The course assigned him. That glorious creature was not made
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to be idle, but <i>his going forth</i> (at least as it appears to
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our eye) <i>is from one point of the heavens, and his circuit</i>
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thence to the opposite point, and thence (to complete his diurnal
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revolution) to the same point again; and this with such steadiness
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and constancy that we can certainly foretel the hour and the minute
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at which the sun will rise at such a place, any day to come. (3.)
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The brightness wherein he appears. He is <i>as a bridegroom coming
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out of his chamber,</i> richly dressed and adorned, as fine as
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hands can make him, looking pleasantly himself and making all about
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him pleasant; for <i>the friend of the bridegroom rejoices greatly
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to hear the bridegroom's voice,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:John.3.29" parsed="|John|3|29|0|0" passage="Joh 3:29">John iii. 29</scripRef>. (4.) The cheerfulness wherewith
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he makes this tour. Though it seems a vast round which he has to
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walk, and he has not a moment's rest, yet in obedience to the law
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of this creation, and for the service of man, he not only does it,
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but does it with a great deal of pleasure and <i>rejoices as a
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strong man to run a race.</i> With such satisfaction did Christ,
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the Sun of righteousness, finish the work that was given him to do.
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(5.) His universal influence on this earth: <i>There is nothing
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hidden from the heart thereof,</i> no, not metals in the bowels of
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the earth, which the sun has an influence upon.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p7">III. To whom this declaration is made of
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the glory of God. It is made to all parts of the world (<scripRef id="Ps.xx-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.3-Ps.19.4" parsed="|Ps|19|3|19|4" passage="Ps 19:3,4"><i>v.</i> 3, 4</scripRef>): <i>There is no
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speech nor language</i> (no nation, for the nations were divided
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<i>after their tongues,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.10.31-Gen.10.32" parsed="|Gen|10|31|10|32" passage="Ge 10:31,32">Gen. x.
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31, 32</scripRef>) <i>where their voice is not heard. Their line
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has gone through all the earth</i> (the equinoctial line, suppose)
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<i>and</i> with it <i>their words to the end of the world,</i>
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proclaiming the eternal power of God of nature, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.4" parsed="|Ps|19|4|0|0" passage="Ps 19:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. The apostle uses this as a reason
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why the Jews should not be angry with him and others for preaching
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the gospel to the Gentiles, because God had already made himself
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known to the Gentile world by the works of creation, and left not
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himself without witness among them (<scripRef id="Ps.xx-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Rom.10.18" parsed="|Rom|10|18|0|0" passage="Ro 10:18">Rom. x. 18</scripRef>), so that they were without excuse
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if they were idolaters, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Rom.1.20-Rom.1.21" parsed="|Rom|1|20|1|21" passage="Ro 1:20,21">Rom. i. 20,
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21</scripRef>. And those were without blame, who, by preaching the
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gospel to them, endeavoured to turn them from their idolatry. If
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God used these means to prevent their apostasy, and they proved
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ineffectual, the apostles did well to use other means to recover
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them from it. <i>They have no speech or language</i> (so some read
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it) <i>and yet their voice is heard.</i> All people may hear these
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natural immortal preachers speak to them in their own tongue the
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wonderful works of God.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p8">In singing <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.1-Ps.19.6" parsed="|Ps|19|1|19|6" passage="Ps 19:1-6">these verses</scripRef> we must give God the glory of
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all the comfort and benefit we have by the lights of the heaven,
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still looking above and beyond them to the Sun of
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righteousness.</p>
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</div><scripCom id="Ps.xx-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.7-Ps.19.14" parsed="|Ps|19|7|19|14" passage="Ps 19:7-14" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.19.7-Ps.19.14">
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<h4 id="Ps.xx-p8.3">The Excellency of the
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Scriptures.</h4>
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<p class="passage" id="Ps.xx-p9">7 The law of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xx-p9.1">Lord</span> <i>is</i> perfect, converting the soul: the
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testimony of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xx-p9.2">Lord</span> <i>is</i>
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sure, making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xx-p9.3">Lord</span> <i>are</i> right, rejoicing the
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heart: the commandment of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xx-p9.4">Lord</span>
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<i>is</i> pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the
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<span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xx-p9.5">Lord</span> <i>is</i> clean, enduring for
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ever: the judgments of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xx-p9.6">Lord</span>
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<i>are</i> true <i>and</i> righteous altogether. 10 More to
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be desired <i>are they</i> than gold, yea, than much fine gold:
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sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by
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them is thy servant warned: <i>and</i> in keeping of them <i>there
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is</i> great reward. 12 Who can understand <i>his</i>
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errors? cleanse thou me from secret <i>faults.</i> 13 Keep
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back thy servant also from presumptuous <i>sins;</i> let them not
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have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be
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innocent from the great transgression. 14 Let the words of
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my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy
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sight, <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.xx-p9.7">O Lord</span>, my strength, and my
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redeemer.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p10">God's glory, (that is, his goodness to man)
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appears much in the works of creation, but much more in and by
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divine revelation. The holy scripture, as it is a rule both of our
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duty to God and of our expectation from him, is of much greater use
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and benefit to us than day or night, than the air we breathe in, or
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the light of the sun. The discoveries made of God by his works
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might have served if man had retained his integrity; but, to
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recover him out of his fallen state, another course must be taken;
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that must be done by the word of God. And here,</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p11">1. The psalmist gives an account of the
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excellent properties and uses of the word of God, in six sentences
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(<scripRef id="Ps.xx-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.7-Ps.19.9" parsed="|Ps|19|7|19|9" passage="Ps 19:7-9"><i>v.</i> 7-9</scripRef>), in each
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of which the name <i>Jehovah</i> is repeated, and no vain
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repetition, for the law has its authority and all its excellency
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from the law-maker. Here are six several titles of the word of God,
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to take in the whole of divine revelation, precepts and promises,
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and especially the gospel. Here are several good properties of it,
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which proves its divine original, which recommend it to our
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affection, and which extol it above all other laws whatsoever. Here
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are several good effects of the law upon the minds of men, which
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show what it is designed for, what use we are to make of it, and
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how wonderful the efficacy of divine grace is, going along with it,
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and working by it. 1. <i>The law of the Lord is perfect.</i> It is
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perfectly free from all corruption, perfectly filled with all good,
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and perfectly fitted for the end for which it is designed; and it
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will make the man of God perfect, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:2Tim.3.17" parsed="|2Tim|3|17|0|0" passage="2Ti 3:17">2
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Tim. iii. 17</scripRef>. Nothing is to be added to it nor taken
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from it. It is of use to <i>convert the soul,</i> to bring us back
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to ourselves, to our God, to our duty; for it shows us our
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sinfulness and misery in our departures from God and the
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indispensable necessity of our return to him. 2. <i>The testimony
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of the Lord</i> (which witnesses for him to us) <i>is sure,</i>
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incontestably and inviolably sure, what we may give credit to, may
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rely upon, and may be confident it will not deceive us. It is a
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sure discovery of the divine truth, a sure direction in the way of
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duty. It is a sure foundation of living comforts and a sure
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foundation of lasting hopes. It is of use to make us wise, wise to
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salvation, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:2Tim.3.15" parsed="|2Tim|3|15|0|0" passage="2Ti 3:15">2 Tim. iii. 15</scripRef>.
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It will give us an insight into things divine and a foresight of
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things to come. It will employ us in the best work and secure to us
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our true interests. It will make even <i>the simple</i> (poor
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contrivers as they may be for the present world) wise for their
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souls and eternity. Those that are humbly simple, sensible of their
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own folly and willing to be taught, shall be made wise by the word
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of God, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.25.9" parsed="|Ps|25|9|0|0" passage="Ps 25:9">Ps. xxv. 9</scripRef>. 3.
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<i>The statutes of the Lord</i> (enacted by his authority, and
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binding on all wherever they come) <i>are right,</i> exactly
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agreeing with the eternal rules and principles of good and evil,
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that is, with the right reason of man and the right counsels of
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God. All God's precepts, concerning all things, are right
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(<scripRef id="Ps.xx-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.128" parsed="|Ps|119|128|0|0" passage="Ps 119:128">Ps. cxix. 128</scripRef>), just as
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they should be; and they will set us to rights if we receive them
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and submit to them; and, because they are right, they <i>rejoice
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the heart.</i> The law, as we see it in the hands of Christ, gives
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cause for joy; and, when it is written in our hearts, it lays a
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foundation for everlasting joy, by restoring us to our right mind.
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4. <i>The commandment of the Lord is pure;</i> it is clear, without
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darkness; it is clean, without dross and defilement. It is itself
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purified from all alloy, and is purifying to those that receive and
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|
embrace it. It is the ordinary means which the Spirit uses in
|
|||
|
<i>enlightening the eyes;</i> it brings us to a sight and sense of
|
|||
|
our sin and misery, and directs us in the way of duty. 5. <i>The
|
|||
|
fear of the Lord</i> (true religion and godliness prescribed in the
|
|||
|
word, reigning in the heart, and practised in the life) <i>is
|
|||
|
clean,</i> clean itself, and will make us clean (<scripRef id="Ps.xx-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:John.15.3" parsed="|John|15|3|0|0" passage="Joh 15:3">John xv. 3</scripRef>); it will cleanse our way,
|
|||
|
<scripRef id="Ps.xx-p11.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.9" parsed="|Ps|119|9|0|0" passage="Ps 119:9">Ps. cxix. 9</scripRef>. And it
|
|||
|
<i>endureth for ever;</i> it is of perpetual obligation and can
|
|||
|
never be repealed. The ceremonial law is long since done away, but
|
|||
|
the law concerning the fear of God is ever the same. Time will not
|
|||
|
alter the nature of moral good and evil. 6. <i>The judgments of the
|
|||
|
Lord</i> (all his precepts, which are framed in infinite wisdom)
|
|||
|
<i>are true;</i> they are grounded upon the most sacred and
|
|||
|
unquestionable truths; they are <i>righteous,</i> all consonant to
|
|||
|
natural equity; and they are so <i>altogether:</i> there is no
|
|||
|
unrighteousness in any of them, but they are all of a piece.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p12">II. He expresses the great value he had for
|
|||
|
the word of God, and the great advantage he had, and hoped to have,
|
|||
|
from it, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.10-Ps.19.11" parsed="|Ps|19|10|19|11" passage="Ps 19:10,11"><i>v.</i> 10,
|
|||
|
11</scripRef>.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p13">1. See how highly he prized the
|
|||
|
commandments of God. It is the character of all good people that
|
|||
|
they prefer their religion and the word of God, (1.) Far before all
|
|||
|
the wealth of the world. It is <i>more desirable than gold,</i>
|
|||
|
than fine gold, <i>than much fine gold.</i> Gold is of the earth,
|
|||
|
earthly; but grace is the image of the heavenly. Gold is only for
|
|||
|
the body and the concerns of time; but grace is for the soul and
|
|||
|
the concerns of eternity. (2.) Far before all pleasures and
|
|||
|
delights of sense. The word of God, received by faith, is sweet to
|
|||
|
the soul, <i>sweeter than honey and the honey comb.</i> The
|
|||
|
pleasures of sense are the delight of brutes, and therefore debase
|
|||
|
the great soul of man; the pleasures of religion are the delight of
|
|||
|
angels, and exalt the soul. The pleasures of sense are deceitful,
|
|||
|
will soon surfeit, and yet never satisfy; but those of religion are
|
|||
|
substantial and satisfying, and there is no danger of exceeding in
|
|||
|
them.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p14">2. See what use he made of the precepts of
|
|||
|
God's word: <i>By them is thy servant warned.</i> The word of God
|
|||
|
is a word of warning to the children of men; it warns us of the
|
|||
|
duty we are to do, the dangers we are to avoid, and the deluge we
|
|||
|
are to prepare for, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.3.17 Bible:Ezek.33.7" parsed="|Ezek|3|17|0|0;|Ezek|33|7|0|0" passage="Eze 3:17,33:7">Ezek. iii.
|
|||
|
17; xxxiii. 7</scripRef>. It warns the wicked not to go on in his
|
|||
|
wicked way, and warns the righteous not to turn from his good way.
|
|||
|
All that are indeed God's servants take this warning.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p15">3. See what advantage he promised himself
|
|||
|
by his obedience to God's precepts: <i>In keeping them there is
|
|||
|
great reward.</i> Those who make conscience of their duty will not
|
|||
|
only be no losers by it, but unspeakable gainers. There is a
|
|||
|
reward, not only after keeping, but in keeping, God's commandments,
|
|||
|
a present great reward of obedience. Religion is health and honour;
|
|||
|
it is peace and pleasure; it will make our comforts sweet and our
|
|||
|
crosses easy, life truly valuable and death itself truly
|
|||
|
desirable.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p16">III. He draws some good inferences from
|
|||
|
this pious meditation upon the excellency of the word of God. Such
|
|||
|
thoughts as these should excite in us devout affections, and they
|
|||
|
are to good purpose.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p17">1. He takes occasion hence to make a
|
|||
|
penitent reflection upon his sins; for <i>by the law is the
|
|||
|
knowledge of sin.</i> "Is the commandment thus holy, just, and
|
|||
|
good? Then <i>who can understand his errors?</i> I cannot, whoever
|
|||
|
can." From the rectitude of the divine law he learns to call his
|
|||
|
sins his <i>errors.</i> If the commandment be true and righteous,
|
|||
|
every transgressions of the commandment is an error, as grounded
|
|||
|
upon a mistake; every wicked practice takes rise from some corrupt
|
|||
|
principle; it is a deviation from the rule we are to work by, the
|
|||
|
way we are to walk in. From the extent, the strictness, and
|
|||
|
spiritual nature, of the divine law he learns that his sins are so
|
|||
|
many that he cannot understand the number of them, and so
|
|||
|
exceedingly sinful that he cannot understand the heinousness and
|
|||
|
malignity of them. We are guilty of many sins which, through our
|
|||
|
carelessness and partiality to ourselves, we are not aware of; many
|
|||
|
we have been guilty of which we have forgotten; so that, when we
|
|||
|
have been ever so particular in the confession of sin, we must
|
|||
|
conclude with an <i>et cetera—and such like;</i> for God knows a
|
|||
|
great deal more evil of us than we do of ourselves. In many things
|
|||
|
we all offend, and who can tell how often he offends? It is well
|
|||
|
that we are under grace, and not under the law, else we were
|
|||
|
undone.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p18">2. He takes occasion hence to pray against
|
|||
|
sin. All the discoveries of sin made to us by the law should drive
|
|||
|
us to the throne of grace, there to pray, as David does here, (1.)
|
|||
|
For mercy to pardon. Finding himself unable to specify all the
|
|||
|
particulars of his transgressions, he cries out, <i>Lord, cleanse
|
|||
|
me from my secret faults;</i> not secret to God, so none are, nor
|
|||
|
only such as were secret to the world, but such as were hidden from
|
|||
|
his own observation of himself. The best of men have reason to
|
|||
|
suspect themselves guilty of many secret faults, and to pray to God
|
|||
|
to cleanse them from that guilt and not to lay it to their charge;
|
|||
|
for even our sins of infirmity and inadvertency, and our secret
|
|||
|
sins, would be our ruin if God should deal with us according to the
|
|||
|
desert of them. Even secret faults are defiling, and render us
|
|||
|
unfit for communion with God; but, when they are pardoned, we are
|
|||
|
cleansed from them, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:1John.1.7" parsed="|1John|1|7|0|0" passage="1Jo 1:7">1 John i.
|
|||
|
7</scripRef>. (2.) For grace to help in time of need. Having prayed
|
|||
|
that his sins of infirmity might be pardoned, he prays that
|
|||
|
presumptuous sins might be prevented, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.13" parsed="|Ps|19|13|0|0" passage="Ps 19:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. All that truly repent of their
|
|||
|
sins, and have them pardoned, are in care not to relapse into sin,
|
|||
|
nor to return again to folly, as appears by their prayers, which
|
|||
|
concur with David's here, where observe, [1.] His petition: "Keep
|
|||
|
me from ever being guilty of a wilful presumptuous sin." We ought
|
|||
|
to pray that we may be kept from sins of infirmity, but especially
|
|||
|
from presumptuous sins, which most offend God and wound conscience,
|
|||
|
which wither our comforts and shock our hopes. "However, let none
|
|||
|
such <i>have dominion over me,</i> let me not be at the command of
|
|||
|
any such sin, nor be enslaved by it." [2.] His plea: "<i>So shall I
|
|||
|
be upright;</i> I shall appear upright; I shall preserve the
|
|||
|
evidence and comfort of my uprightness; and I <i>shall be innocent
|
|||
|
from the great transgression;</i>" so he calls a presumptuous sin,
|
|||
|
because no sacrifice was accepted for it, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Num.15.28-Num.15.30" parsed="|Num|15|28|15|30" passage="Nu 15:28-30">Num. xv. 28-30</scripRef>. Note, <i>First,</i>
|
|||
|
Presumptuous sins are very heinous and dangerous. Those that sin
|
|||
|
against the habitual convictions and actual admonitions of their
|
|||
|
consciences, in contempt and defiance of the law and its sanctions,
|
|||
|
that sin with a high hand, sin presumptuously, and it is a great
|
|||
|
transgression. <i>Secondly,</i> Even good men ought to be jealous
|
|||
|
of themselves, and afraid of sinning presumptuously, yea, though
|
|||
|
through the grace of God they have hitherto been kept from them.
|
|||
|
Let none be high-minded, but fear. <i>Thirdly,</i> Being so much
|
|||
|
exposed, we have great need to pray to God, when we are pushing
|
|||
|
forward towards a presumptuous sin, to keep us back from it, either
|
|||
|
by his providence preventing the temptation or by his grace giving
|
|||
|
us victory over it.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p19">3. He takes occasion humbly to beg the
|
|||
|
divine acceptance of those his pious thoughts and affections,
|
|||
|
<scripRef id="Ps.xx-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.14" parsed="|Ps|19|14|0|0" passage="Ps 19:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. Observe the
|
|||
|
connexion of this with what goes before. He prays to God to keep
|
|||
|
him from sin, and then begs he would accept his performances; for,
|
|||
|
if we favour our sins, we cannot expect God should favour us or our
|
|||
|
services, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.18" parsed="|Ps|66|18|0|0" passage="Ps 66:18">Ps. lxvi. 18</scripRef>.
|
|||
|
Observe, (1.) What his services were—the <i>words of his mouth and
|
|||
|
the meditations of his heart,</i> his holy affections offered up to
|
|||
|
God. The pious meditations of the heart must not be smothered, but
|
|||
|
expressed in the words of our mouth, for God's glory and the
|
|||
|
edification of others; and the words of our mouth in prayer and
|
|||
|
praise must not be formal, but arising from the meditation of the
|
|||
|
heart, <scripRef id="Ps.xx-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.45.1" parsed="|Ps|45|1|0|0" passage="Ps 45:1">Ps. xlv. 1</scripRef>. (2.) What
|
|||
|
was his care concerning these services—that they might be
|
|||
|
acceptable with God; for, if our services be not acceptable to God,
|
|||
|
what do they avail us? Gracious souls must have all they aim at if
|
|||
|
they be accepted of God, for that is their bliss. (3.) What
|
|||
|
encouragement he had to hope for this, because God was his strength
|
|||
|
and his redeemer. If we seek assistance from God as our strength in
|
|||
|
our religious duties, we may hope to find acceptance with God in
|
|||
|
the discharge of our duties; for by his strength we have power with
|
|||
|
him.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Ps.xx-p20">In singing this we should get our hearts
|
|||
|
much affected with the excellency of the word of God and delivered
|
|||
|
into it, we should be much affected with the evil of sin, the
|
|||
|
danger we are in of it and the danger we are in by it, and we
|
|||
|
should fetch in help from heaven against it.</p>
|
|||
|
</div></div2>
|