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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<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 XV.</FONT>
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<P>
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The scope of this short but excellent psalm is to show us the way to
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heaven, and to convince us that, if we would be happy, we must be holy
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and honest. Christ, who is himself the way, and in whom we must walk as
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our way, has also shown us the same way that is here prescribed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+19:17">Matt. xix. 17</A>.
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"If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." In this psalm,
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I. By the question
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+15:1">ver. 1</A>)
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we are directed and excited to enquire for the way.
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II. By the answer to that question, in the rest of the psalm, we are
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directed to walk in that way,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+15:2-5">ver. 2-5</A>.
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III. By the assurance given in the close of the psalm of the safety and
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happiness of those who answer these characters we are encouraged to
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walk in that way,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+15:5">ver. 5</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps15_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps15_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps15_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps15_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps15_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>The Citizen of Zion.</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>A psalm of David.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, who shall abide in thy
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tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
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2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and
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speaketh the truth in his heart.
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3 <I>He that</I> backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to
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his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
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4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth
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them that fear the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>. <I>He that</I> sweareth to <I>his own</I> hurt,
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and changeth not.
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5 <I>He that</I> putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh
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reward against the innocent. He that doeth these <I>things</I> shall
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never be moved.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. A very serious and weighty question concerning the characters of a
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citizen of Zion
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+14:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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"<I>Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?</I> Let me know who shall
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go to heaven." Not, who by name (in this way the <I>Lord</I> only knows
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those that are his), but who by description: "What kind of people are
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those whom thou wilt own and crown with distinguishing and everlasting
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favours?" This supposes that it is a great privilege to be a citizen of
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Zion, an unspeakable honour and advantage,--that all are not thus
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privileged, but a remnant only,--and that men are not entitled to this
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privilege by their birth and blood: all shall not <I>abide in God's
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tabernacle</I> that have Abraham to their father, but, according as
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men's hearts and lives are, so will their lot be. It concerns us all to
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put this question to ourselves, <I>Lord, what shall I be, and do, that
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I may abide in thy tabernacle?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+18:18,Ac+16:30">Luke xviii. 18; Acts xvi. 30</A>.
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1. Observe to whom this enquiry is addressed--to God himself. Note,
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Those that would find the way to heaven must look up to God, must take
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direction from his word and beg direction from his Spirit. It is fit he
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himself should give laws to his servants, and appoint the conditions of
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his favours, and tell who are his and who not.
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2. How it is expressed in Old-Testament language.
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(1.) By the <I>tabernacle</I> we may understand the church militant,
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typified by Moses's tabernacle, fitted to a wilderness-state, mean and
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movable. There God manifests himself, and there he meets his people, as
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of old in the tabernacle of the testimony, the tabernacle of meeting.
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Who shall dwell in this tabernacle? Who shall be accounted a true
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living member of God's church, admitted among the spiritual priests to
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lodge in the courts of this tabernacle? We are concerned to enquire
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this, because many pretend to a place in this tabernacle who really
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have no part nor lot in the matter.
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(2.) By the <I>holy hill</I> we may understand the church triumphant,
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alluding to Mount Zion, on which the temple was to be built by Solomon.
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It is the happiness of glorified saints that they dwell in that holy
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hill; they are at home there: they shall be for ever there. It
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concerns us to know who shall dwell there, that we may make it sure to
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ourselves that we shall have a place among them, and may then take the
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comfort of it, and rejoice in prospect of that holy hill.</P>
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<P>
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II. A very plain and particular answer to this question. Those that
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desire to know their duty, with a resolution to do it, will find the
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scripture a very faithful director and conscience a faithful monitor.
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Let us see then the particular characters of a citizen of Zion.</P>
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<P>
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1. He is one that is sincere and entire in his religion: He <I>walketh
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uprightly,</I> according to the condition of the covenant
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:1">Gen. xvii. 1</A>),
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"<I>Walk before me, and be thou perfect</I>" (it is the same word that
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is here used) "and then thou shalt find me a God all-sufficient." He is
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really what he professes to be, is sound at heart, and can approve
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himself to God, in his integrity, in all he does; his conversation is
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uniform, and he is of a piece with himself, and endeavours to stand
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complete in all the will of God. His eye perhaps is weak, but it is
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single; he has his spots indeed, but he does not paint; he is an
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<I>Israelite indeed in whom is no guile,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+1:47,2Co+1:12">John i. 47; 2 Cor. i. 12</A>.
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I know no religion but sincerity.</P>
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<P>
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2. He is one that is conscientiously honest and just in all his
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dealings, faithful and fair to all with whom he has to do: He
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<I>worketh righteousness;</I> he walks in all the ordinances and
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commandments of the Lord, and takes care to give all their due, is just
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both to God and man; and, in speaking to both, he speaks that which is
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<I>the truth in his heart;</I> his prayers, professions, and promises,
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to God, come not out of feigned lips, nor dares he tell a lie, or so
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much as equivocate, in his converse or commerce with men. He walks by
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the rules of righteousness and truth, and scorns and abhors the gains
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of injustice and fraud. He reckons that that cannot be a good bargain,
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nor a saving one, which is made with a lie, and that he who wrongs his
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neighbour, though ever so plausibly, will prove, in the end, to have
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done the greatest injury to himself.</P>
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<P>
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3. He is one that contrives to do all the good he can to his
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neighbours, but is very careful to do hurt to no man, and is, in a
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particular manner, tender of his neighbour's reputation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+14:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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He <I>does no evil</I> at all <I>to his neighbour</I> willingly or
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designedly, nothing to offend or grieve his spirit, nothing to
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prejudice the health or ease of his body, nothing to injure him in his
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estate or secular interests, in his family or relations; but walks by
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that golden rule of equity, To do as he would be done by. He is
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especially careful not to injure his neighbour in his good name, though
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many, who would not otherwise wrong their neighbours, make nothing of
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that. If any man, in this matter, bridles not his tongue, his religion
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is vain. He knows the worth of a good name, and therefore <I>he
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backbites not,</I> defames no man, speaks evil of no man, makes not
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others' faults the subject of his common talk, much less of his sport
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and ridicule, nor speaks of them with pleasure, nor at all but for
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edification. He makes the best of every body, and the worst of nobody.
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He does not <I>take up a reproach,</I> that is, he neither raises it
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nor receives it; he gives no credit nor countenance to a calumny, but
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frowns upon a backbiting tongue, and so silences it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+25:23">Prov. xxv. 23</A>.
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If an ill-natured character of his neighbour be given him, or an
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ill-natured story be told him, he will disprove it if he can; if not,
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it shall die with him and go no further. His <I>charity will cover a
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multitude of sins.</I></P>
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<P>
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4. He is one that values men by their virtue and piety, and not by the
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figure they make in the world,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+14:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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(1.) He thinks the better of no man's wickedness for his pomp and
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grandeur: <I>In his eyes a vile person is contemned.</I> Wicked people
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are vile people, worthless and good for nothing (so the word
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signifies), as dross, as chaff, and as salt that has lost its savour.
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They are vile in their choices
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+2:13">Jer. ii. 13</A>),
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in their practices,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+32:6">Isa. xxxii. 6</A>.
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For this wise and good men contemn them, not denying them civil honour
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and respect as men, as men in authority and power perhaps
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+2:17,Ro+13:7">1 Pet. ii. 17, Rom. xiii. 7</A>),
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but, in their judgment of them, agreeing with the word of God. They are
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so far from envying them that they pity them, despising their gains
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:15">
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Isa. xxxiii. 15</A>),
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as turning to no account, their dainties
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+141:4">Ps. cxli. 4</A>),
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their pleasures
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:24,25">Heb. xi. 24, 25</A>)
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as sapless and insipid. They despise their society
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:115,2Ki+3:14">Ps. cxix. 115; 2 Kings iii. 14</A>);
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they despise their taunts and threats, and are not moved by them, nor
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disturbed at them; they despise the feeble efforts of their impotent
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malice
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:1,4">Ps. ii. 1, 4</A>),
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and will shortly triumph in their fall,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+52:6">Ps. lii. 6</A>,
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7. God despises them, and they are of his mind.
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(2.) He thinks the worse of no man's piety for his poverty and
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meanness, <I>but he knows those that fear the Lord.</I> He reckons that
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serious piety, wherever it is found, puts an honour upon a man, and
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makes his face to shine, more than wealth, or wit, or a great name
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among men, does or can. He honours such, esteems them very highly in
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love, desires their friendship and conversation and an interest in
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their prayers, is glad of an opportunity to show them respect or do
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them a good office, pleads their cause and speaks of them with
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veneration, rejoices when they prosper, grieves when they are removed,
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and their memory, when they are gone, is precious with him. By this we
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may judge of ourselves in some measure. What rules do we go by in
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judging of others?</P>
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<P>
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5. He is one that always prefers a good conscience before any secular
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interest or advantage whatsoever; for, if he has promised upon oath to
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do any thing, though afterwards it appear much to his damage and
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prejudice in his worldly estate, yet he adheres to it and <I>changes
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not,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+14:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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See how weak-sighted and short-sighted even wise and good men may be;
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they may <I>swear to their own hurt,</I> which they were not aware of
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when they took the oath. But see how strong the obligation of an oath
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is, that a man must rather suffer loss to himself and his family than
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wrong his neighbour by breaking his oath. An oath is a sacred thing,
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which we must not think to play fast and loose with.</P>
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<P>
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6. He is one that will not increase his estate by any unjust practices,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+14:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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(1.) Not by extortion: <I>He putteth not out his money to usury,</I>
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that he may live at ease upon the labours of others, while he is in a
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capacity for improving it by his own industry. Not that it is any
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breach of the law of justice or charity for the lender to share in the
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profit which the borrower makes of his money, any more than for the
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owner of the land to demand rent from the occupant, money being, by art
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and labour, as improvable as land. But a citizen of Zion will freely
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lend to the poor, according to his ability, and not be rigorous and
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severe in recovering his right from those that are reduced by
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Providence.
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(2.) Not by bribery: He will not <I>take a reward against the
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innocent;</I> if he be any way employed in the administration of public
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justice, he will not, for any gain, or hope of it, to himself, do any
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thing to the prejudice of a righteous cause.</P>
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<P>
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III. The psalm concludes with a ratification of this character of the
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citizen of Zion. He is like Zion-hill itself, which cannot be moved,
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but abides for ever,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+125:1">Ps. cxxv. 1</A>.
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Every true living member of the church, like the church itself, is
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built upon a rock, which the gates of hell cannot prevail against:
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<I>He that doeth these things shall never be moved;</I> shall not be
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moved <I>for ever,</I> so the word is. The grace of God shall always be
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sufficient for him, to preserve him safe and blameless to the heavenly
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kingdom. Temptations shall not overcome him, troubles shall not
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overwhelm him, nothing shall rob him of his present peace nor his
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future bliss.</P>
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<P>
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In singing this psalm we must teach and admonish ourselves, and one
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another, to answer the characters here given of the citizen of Zion,
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that we may never be moved from God's tabernacle on earth, and may
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arrive, at last, at that holy hill where we shall be for ever out of
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the reach of temptation and danger.</P>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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