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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P S A L M S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>PSALM IV.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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David was a preacher, a royal preacher, as well as Solomon; many of his
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psalms are doctrinal and practical as well as devotional; the greatest
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part of this psalm is so, in which Wisdom cries to men, to the sons of
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men (as
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+8:4,5">Prov. viii. 4, 5</A>),
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to receive instruction. The title does not tell us, as that of the
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former did, that it was penned on any particular occasion, nor are we
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to think that all the psalms were occasional, though some were, but
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that many of them were designed in general for the instruction of the
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people of God, who attended in the courts of his house, the assisting
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of their devotions, and the directing of their conversations: such a
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one I take this psalm to be. Let us not make the prophecy of scripture
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to be of more private interpretation than needs must,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+1:20">2 Pet. i. 20</A>.
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Here
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I. David begins with a short prayer
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:1">ver. 1</A>)
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and that prayer preaches.
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II. He directs his speech to the children of men, and,
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1. In God's name reproves them for the dishonour they do to God and the
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damage they do to their own souls,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:2">ver. 2</A>.
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2. He sets before them the happiness of godly people for their
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encouragement to be religious,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:3">ver. 3</A>.
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3. He calls upon them to consider their ways,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:4">ver. 4</A>.
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III. He exhorts them to serve God and trust in him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:5">ver. 5</A>.
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IV. He gives an account of his own experiences of the grace of God
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working in him,
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1. Enabling him to choose God's favour for his felicity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:6">ver. 6</A>.
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2. Filling his heart with joy therein,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:7">ver. 7</A>.
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3. Quieting his spirit in the assurance of the divine protection he
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was under, night and day,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:8">ver. 8</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps4_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps4_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps4_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps4_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps4_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Expostulation with Sinners.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<CENTER>
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<P>To the chief musician on Neginoth. A psalm of David.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me
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<I>when I was</I> in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
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2 O ye sons of men, how long <I>will ye turn</I> my glory into
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shame? <I>how long</I> will ye love vanity, <I>and</I> seek after leasing?
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Selah.
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3 But know that the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath set apart him that is godly for
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himself: the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will hear when I call unto him.
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4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon
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your bed, and be still. Selah.
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5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The title of the psalm acquaints us that David, having penned it by
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divine inspiration for the use of the church, delivered it to the chief
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musician, or master of the song, who (according to the divine
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appointment of psalmody made in his time, which he was chiefly
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instrumental in the establishment of) presided in that service. We have
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a particular account of the constitution, the modelling of the several
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classes of singers, each with a chief, and the share each bore in the
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work,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+25:1-31">1 Chron. xxv.</A>
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Some <I>prophesied according to the order of the king,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Others <I>prophesied with a harp, to give thanks, and to praise the
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Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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Of others it is said that they were to <I>lift up the horn,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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But of them all, that they were <I>for song in the house of the
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Lord</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>)
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and were <I>instructed in the songs of the Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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This psalm was committed to one of the chiefs, to be sung on
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<I>neginoth--stringed instruments</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hab+3:19">Hab. iii. 19</A>),
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which were played on with the hand; with music of that kind the
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choristers were to sing this psalm: and it should seem that then
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<I>they</I> only sung, not the people; but the New-Testament appoints
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all Christians to sing
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+5:19,Col+3:16">Eph. v. 19; Col. iii. 16</A>),
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from whom it is expected that they do it decently, not artfully; and
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therefore there is not now so much occasion for musical instruments as
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there was then: the melody is to be made in the heart. In
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:1-5">these verses,</A></P>
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<P>
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I. David addresses himself to God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Whether the <I>sons of men,</I> to whom he is about to speak, will
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hear, or whether they will forbear, he hopes and prays that God will
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give him a generous audience, and an answer of peace: "<I>Hear me when
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I call,</I> and accept my adorations, grant my petitions, and judge
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upon my appeals; <I>have mercy upon me, and hear me.</I>" All the
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notice God is pleased to take of our prayers, and all the returns he is
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pleased to make to them, must be ascribed, not to our merit, but purely
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to his mercy. "Hear me for thy mercy-sake" is our best plea. Two things
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David here pleads further:--
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1. "Thou art <I>the God of my righteousness;</I> not only a righteous
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God thyself, but the author of my righteous dispositions, who hast by
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the grace wrought that good that is in me, hast made me a righteous
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man; therefore <I>hear men,</I> and so attest thy own work in me; thou
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art also the patron of my righteous cause, the protector of my wronged
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innocency, to whom I commit my way, and whom I trust to <I>bring forth
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my righteousness as the light.</I>" When men condemn us unjustly, this
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is our comfort, <I>It is God that justifies;</I> he is the God of a
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believer's righteousness.
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2. "<I>Thou has</I> formerly <I>enlarged me when I was in distress,</I>
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enlarged my heart in holy joy and comfort under my distresses, enlarged
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my condition by bringing me out of my distresses; therefore <I>now,
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Lord, have mercy upon me, and hear me.</I>" The experience we have had
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of God's goodness to us in enlarging us when we have been in distress
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is not only a great encouragement to our faith and hope for the future,
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but a good plea with God in prayer. "<I>Thou hast; wilt thou not?</I>
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For thou art God, and changest not; thy work is perfect."</P>
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<P>
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II. He addresses himself to the children of men, for the conviction and
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conversion of those that are yet strangers to God, and that will not
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have the Messiah, the Son of David, to reign over them.</P>
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<P>
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1. He endeavours to convince them of the folly of their impiety
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>).
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"<I>O you sons of Men</I>" (of <I>great</I> men, so some, men of high
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degree, understanding it of the partisans of Saul or Absalom), "<I>how
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long will you</I> oppose me and my government, and continue disaffected
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to it, under the influence of the false and groundless suggestions of
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those that wish evil to me?" Or it may be taken more generally. God, by
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the psalmist, here reasons with sinners to bring them to repentance.
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"You that go on in the neglect of God and his worship, and in contempt
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of the kingdom of Christ and his government, consider what you do."
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(1.) "You debase yourselves, for you are <I>sons of men</I>" (the word
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signifies man as a noble creature); "consider the dignity of your
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nature, and the excellency of those powers of reason with which you are
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endued, and do not act thus irrationally and unbecoming yourselves."
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Let the <I>sons of men</I> consider and show themselves men.
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(2.) "You dishonour your Maker, and <I>turn his glory into shame.</I>"
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They may well be taken as God's own words, charging sinners with the
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wrong they do him in his honour: or, if David's words, the term glory
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may be understood of God, whom he called <I>his glory,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+3:3">Ps. iii. 3</A>.
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Idolaters are charged with <I>changing the glory of God</I> into shame,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+1:23">Rom. i. 23</A>.
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All wilful sinners do so by disobeying the commands of his law,
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despising the offers of his grace, and giving the affection and service
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to the creature which are due to God only. Those that profane God's
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holy name, that ridicule his word and ordinances, and, while they
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profess to know him, in works deny him, do what in them lies to <I>turn
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his glory into shame.</I>
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(3.) "You put a cheat upon yourselves: <I>You love vanity,</I> and
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<I>seek after leasing,</I> or <I>lying,</I> or that which is <I>a
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lie.</I> You are yourselves vain and lying, and you love to be so." Or,
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"You set your hearts upon that which will prove, at last, but vanity
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and a lie." Those that love the world, and seek the things that are
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beneath, love vanity, and seek lies; as those also do that please
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themselves with the delights of sense, and portion themselves with the
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wealth of this world; for these will deceive them, and so ruin them.
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"How long will you do this? Will you never be wise for yourselves,
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never consider your duty and interest? <I>When shall it once be?</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+13:27">Jer. xiii. 27</A>.
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The God of heaven thinks the time long that sinners persist in
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dishonouring him and in deceiving and ruining themselves.</P>
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<P>
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2. He shows them the peculiar favour which God has for good people, the
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special protection they are under, and the singular privileges to which
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they are entitled,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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This comes in here,
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(1.) As a reason why they should not oppose or persecute him that is
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godly, nor think to run him down. It is at their peril if they
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<I>offend one of these little ones,</I> whom God has <I>set apart for
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himself,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+18:6">Matt. xviii. 6</A>.
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God reckons that those who touch them touch the apple of his eye; and
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he will make their persecutors to know it, sooner or later. They have
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an interest in heaven, God will hear them, and therefore let none dare
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to do them any injury, for God will hear their cry and plead their
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cause,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+22:23">Exod. xxii. 23</A>.
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It is generally supposed that David speaks of his own designation to
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the throne; he is the <I>godly</I> man whom <I>the Lord has set
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apart</I> for that honour, and who does not usurp it or assume it to
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himself: "The opposition therefore which you give to him and to his
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advancement is very criminal, for the rein you fight against God, and
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it will be vain and ineffectual." God has, in like manner, set apart
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the Lord Jesus for himself, that merciful One; and those that attempt
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to hinder his advancement will certainly be baffled, for the Father
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hears him always. Or,
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(2.) As a reason why they should themselves be good, and walk no longer
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in the counsel of the ungodly: "You have hitherto sought vanity; be
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truly religious, and you will be truly happy here and for ever; for,"
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[1.] "God will secure to himself his interest in you." <I>The Lord has
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set apart him that is godly,</I> every particular godly man, <I>for
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himself,</I> in his eternal choice, in his effectual calling, in the
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special disposals of his providence and operations of his grace; his
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people are <I>purified unto him a peculiar people.</I> Godly men are
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God's separated, sealed, ones; he knows those that are his, and has set
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his image and superscription upon them; he distinguishes them with
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uncommon favours: <I>They shall be mine, saith the Lord, in that day
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when I make up my jewels. Know this;</I> let godly people know it, and
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let them never alienate themselves from him to whom they are thus
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appropriated; let wicked people know it, and take heed how they hurt
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those whom God protects.
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[2.] "God will secure to you an interest in himself." This David speaks
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with application: <I>The Lord will hear when I call unto him.</I> We
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should think ourselves happy if we had the ear of an earthly prince;
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and is it not worth while upon any terms, especially such easy ones, to
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gain the ear of the King of kings? Let us know this, and forsake lying
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vanities for our own mercies.</P>
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<P>
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3. He warns them against sin, and exhorts them both to frighten and to
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reason themselves out of it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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"<I>Stand in awe and sin not</I>" (<I>be angry and sin not,</I> so the
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LXX., and some think the apostle takes that exhortation from him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+4:26">Eph. iv. 26</A>);
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"<I>commune with your own hearts;</I> be converted, and, in order
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thereunto, consider and fear." Note,
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(1.) We must not sin, must not miss our way and so miss our aim.
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(2.) One good remedy against sin is to stand in awe. <I>Be moved</I>
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(so some), in opposition to carelessness and carnal security. "Always
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keep up a holy reverence of the glory and majesty of God, and a holy
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dread of his wrath and curse, and dare not to provoke him."
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(3.) One good means of preventing sin, and preserving a holy awe, is to
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be frequent and serious in <I>communing with our own hearts: "Talk with
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your hearts;</I> you have a great deal to say to them; they may be
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spoken with at any time; let it not be unsaid." A thinking man is in a
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fair way to be a wise and a good man. "<I>Commune with your hearts;</I>
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examine them by serious self-reflection, that you may acquaint
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yourselves with them and amend what is amiss in them; employ them in
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solemn pious meditations; let your thoughts fasten upon that which is
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good and keep closely to it. Consider your ways, and observe the
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directions here given in order to the doing of this work well and to
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good purpose."
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[1.] "Choose a solitary time; do it when you lie awake <I>upon your
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beds.</I> Before you turn yourself to go to sleep at night" (as some of
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the heathen moralists have directed) "examine your consciences with
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respect to what you have done that day, particularly what you have done
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amiss, that you may repent of it. When you awake in the night meditate
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upon God, and the things that belong to your peace." David himself
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practised what he here counsels others to do
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+63:6">Ps. lxiii. 6</A>),
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<I>I remember thee on my bed.</I> Upon a sick-bed, particularly, we
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should consider our ways and commune with our own hearts about them.
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[2.] "Compose yourselves into a serious frame: <I>Be still.</I> When
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you have asked conscience a question be silent, and wait for an answer;
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even in unquiet times keep you spirits calm and quiet."</P>
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<P>
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4. He counsels them to make conscience of their duty
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>Offer to God the sacrifice of righteousness.</I> We must not only
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cease to do evil, but learn to do well. Those that were disaffected to
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David and his government would soon come to a better temper, and return
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to their allegiance, if they would but worship God aright; and those
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that know the concerns that lie between them and God will be glad of
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the Mediator, the Son of David. It is required here from every one of
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us,
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(1.) That we serve him: "<I>Offer sacrifices to him,</I> your own
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selves first, and your best sacrifices." But they must be <I>sacrifices
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of righteousness,</I> that is, good works, all the fruits of the
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reigning love of God and our neighbour, and all the instances of a
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religious conversation, which are better than all burnt-offerings and
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sacrifices. "Let all your devotions come from an upright heart; let all
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your alms be sacrifices of righteousness." The sacrifices of the
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unrighteous God will not accept; they are an abomination,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+1:11-15">Isa. i. 11</A>,
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&c.
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(2.) That we confide in him. "First make conscience of offering the
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sacrifices of righteousness and then you are welcome to put your trust
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in the Lord. Serve God without any diffidence of him, or any fear of
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losing by him. Honour him, by trusting in him only, and not in your
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wealth nor in an arm of flesh; trust in his providence, and lean not to
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your own understanding; trust in his grace, and go not about to
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establish your own righteousness or sufficiency."</P>
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<P>
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In singing
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:1-4">these verses</A>
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we must preach to ourselves the doctrine of the
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provoking nature of sin, the lying vanity of the world, and the
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unspeakable happiness of God's people; and we must press upon ourselves
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the duties of fearing God, conversing with our own hearts, and offering
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spiritual sacrifices; and in praying over
|
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:1-4">these verses</A>
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we must beg of God grace thus to think and thus to do.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps4_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps4_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps4_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Good Man's Desire.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 <I>There be</I> many that say, Who will show us <I>any</I> good? L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>,
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lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
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7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time
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<I>that</I> their corn and their wine increased.
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8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>,
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only makest me dwell in safety.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here,</P>
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<P>
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I. The foolish wish of worldly people: <I>There be many that say, Who
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will show us any good? Who will make us to see good?</I> What good they
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meant is intimated,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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It was the increase of their corn and wine; all they desired was plenty
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of the wealth of this world, that they might enjoy abundance of the
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delights of sense. Thus far they are right, that they are desirous of
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|
good and solicitous about it; but there are these things amiss in this
|
|
wish:--
|
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|
1. They enquire, in general, "Who will make us happy?" but do not apply
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|
themselves to God who alone can; and so they expose themselves to be
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|
ill-advised, and show they would rather be beholden to any than to God,
|
|
for they would willingly live without him.
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2. They enquire for good that may be seen, seeming good, sensible good;
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|
and they show no concern for the good things that are out of sight and
|
|
are the objects of faith only. The source of idolatry was a desire of
|
|
gods that they might see, therefore they worshipped the sun; but, as we
|
|
must be taught to worship an unseen God, so to seek an unseen good,
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+4:18">2 Cor. iv. 18</A>.
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|
We look with an eye of faith further than we can see with an eye of
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|
sense.
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3. They enquire for <I>any</I> good, not for the chief good; all they
|
|
want is outward good, present good, partial good, good meat, good
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|
drink, a good trade, and a good estate; and what are all these worth
|
|
without a good God and a good heart? Any good will serve the turn of
|
|
most men, but a gracious soul will not be put off so. This way, this
|
|
wish, of carnal worldlings is their folly, yet <I>many there be</I>
|
|
that join in it; and their doom will be accordingly. "<I>Son, remember
|
|
that thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things,</I> the penny
|
|
thou didst agree for."</P>
|
|
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|
<P>
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|
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|
II. The wise choice which godly people make. David, and the pious few
|
|
that adhered to him, dissented from that wish, and joined in this
|
|
prayer, <I>Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.</I>
|
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|
|
1. He disagrees from the vote of the many. God had set him apart for
|
|
himself by distinguishing favours, and therefore he sets himself apart
|
|
by a distinguishing character. "They are for any good, for worldly
|
|
good, but so am not I; I will not say as they say; any good will not
|
|
serve my turn; the wealth of the world will never make a portion for my
|
|
soul, and therefore I cannot take up with it."
|
|
|
|
2. He and his friends agree in their choice of God's favour as their
|
|
felicity; it is this which in their account is better than life and all
|
|
the comforts of life.
|
|
|
|
(1.) This is what they most earnestly desire and seek after; this is
|
|
the breathing of their souls, "<I>Lord, lift thou up the light of thy
|
|
countenance upon us.</I> Most are for other things, but we are for
|
|
this." Good people, as they are distinguished by their practices, so
|
|
they are by their prayers, not the length and language of them, but the
|
|
faith and fervency of them; those whom God has set apart have a prayer
|
|
by themselves, which, though others may speak the words of it, they
|
|
only offer up in sincerity; and this is a prayer which they all say
|
|
<I>Amen</I> to; "Lord, let us have thy favour, and let us know that we
|
|
have it, and we desire no more; that is enough to make us happy. Lord,
|
|
be at peace with us, accept of us, manifest thyself to us, let us be
|
|
satisfied <I>of</I> thy loving-kindness and we will be satisfied
|
|
<I>with</I> it." Observe, Though David speaks of himself only in the
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:7,8">7th and 8th verses</A>,
|
|
|
|
he speaks, in this prayer, for others also,--"<I>upon us,</I>" as Christ
|
|
taught us to pray, <I>"Our Father.</I>" All the saints come to the
|
|
throne of grace on the same errand, and in this they are one, they all
|
|
desire God's favour as their chief good. We should beg it for others as
|
|
well as for ourselves, for in God's favour there is enough for us all
|
|
and we shall have never the less for others sharing in what we have.
|
|
|
|
(2.) This is what, above any thing, they rejoice in
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Thou hast</I> hereby often <I>put gladness into my heart;</I> not
|
|
only supported and refreshed me, but filled me with joy unspeakable;
|
|
and therefore this is what I will still pursue, what I will seek after
|
|
all the days of my life." When God puts grace in the heart he <I>puts
|
|
gladness in the heart;</I> nor is any joy comparable to that which
|
|
gracious souls have in the communications of the divine favour, no, not
|
|
the joy of harvest, of a plentiful harvest, when the corn and wine
|
|
increase. This is gladness in the heart, inward, solid, substantial
|
|
joy. The mirth of worldly people is but a flash, a shadow; <I>even in
|
|
laughter their heart is sorrowful,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+14:13">Prov. xiv. 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
"Thou hast <I>given</I> gladness in my heart;" so the word is. True joy
|
|
is God's gift, <I>not as the world giveth,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+14:27">John xiv. 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
The saints have no reason to envy carnal worldlings their mirth and
|
|
joy, but should pity them rather, for they may know better and will
|
|
not.
|
|
|
|
(3.) This is what they entirely confide in, and in this confidence they
|
|
are always easy,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
He had laid himself down and slept
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+3:5">Ps. iii. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
and so he will still: "<I>I will lay myself down</I> (having the
|
|
assurance of thy favour) <I>in peace,</I> and with as much pleasure as
|
|
those whose corn and wine increase, and who lie down as Boaz did in his
|
|
threshing-floor, at the end of the heap of corn, to sleep there when
|
|
<I>his heart was merry</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:7">Ruth iii. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>for thou only makest me to dwell in safety.</I> Though I am alone,
|
|
yet I am not alone, for God is with me; though I have no guards to
|
|
attend me, the Lord alone is sufficient to protect me; he can do it
|
|
himself when all other defences fail." If he have the light of God's
|
|
countenance,
|
|
|
|
[1.] He can enjoy himself. His soul returns to God, and reposes itself
|
|
in him as its rest, and so he lays himself down and sleeps in peace. He
|
|
has what he would have and is sure that nothing can come amiss to him.
|
|
|
|
[2.] He fears no disturbance from his enemies, sleeps quietly, and is
|
|
very secure, because God himself has undertaken to keep him safe. When
|
|
he comes to sleep the sleep of death, and to lie down in the grave, and
|
|
to make his bed in the darkness, he will then, with good old Simeon,
|
|
<I>depart in peace</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+2:29">Luke ii. 29</A>),
|
|
|
|
being assured that God will receive his soul, to be safe with himself,
|
|
and that his body also shall be made to dwell in safety in the grave.
|
|
|
|
[3.] He commits all his affairs to God, and contentedly leaves the
|
|
issue of them with him. It is said of the husbandman that, having
|
|
<I>cast his seed into the ground, he sleeps and rises night and day,
|
|
and the seed springs and grows up, he knows not how,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+4:26,27">Mark iv. 26, 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
So a good man, having by faith and prayer cast his care upon God,
|
|
sleeps and rests night and day, and is very easy, leaving it to his God
|
|
to perform all things for him and prepared to welcome his holy
|
|
will.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
In singing
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:6-8">these verses</A>,
|
|
|
|
and praying over them, let us, with a holy contempt of the wealth and
|
|
pleasure of this world, as insufficient to make us happy, earnestly
|
|
seek the favour of God and pleasingly solace ourselves in that favour;
|
|
and, with a holy indifferency about the issue of all our worldly
|
|
concerns, let us commit ourselves and all our affairs to the guidance
|
|
and custody of the divine Providence, and be satisfied that all shall
|
|
be made to work for good to us if we keep ourselves in the love of
|
|
God.</P>
|
|
|
|
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