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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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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 XVI.</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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This psalm has something of David in it, but much more of Christ. It
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begins with such expressions of devotion as may be applied to Christ;
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but concludes with such confidence of a resurrection (and so timely a
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one as to prevent corruption) as must be applied to Christ, to him
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only, and cannot be understood of David, as both St. Peter and St. Paul
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have observed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:24,13:36">Acts ii. 24; xiii. 36</A>.
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For David died, and was buried, and saw corruption.
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I. David speaks of himself as a member of Christ, and so he speaks the
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language of all good Christians, professing his confidence in God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:1">
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ver. 1</A>),
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his consent to him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:2">
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ver. 2</A>),
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his affection to the people of God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:3">
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ver. 3</A>),
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his adherence to the true worship of God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:4">
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ver. 4</A>),
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and his entire complacency and satisfaction in God and the interest he
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had in him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:5-7">ver. 5-7</A>.
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II. He speaks of himself as a type of Christ, and so he speaks the
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language of Christ himself, to whom all the rest of the psalm is
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expressly and at large applied
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:25-28">Acts ii. 25</A>,
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&c.). David speaks concerning him (not concerning himself), "I foresaw
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the Lord always before my face," &c. And this he spoke, being a prophet,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:30,31">ver. 30, 31</A>.
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He spoke,
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1. Of the special presence of God with the Redeemer in his services and
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sufferings,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:8">ver. 8</A>.
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2. Of the prospect which the Redeemer had of his own resurrection and
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the glory that should follow, which carried him cheerfully through his
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undertaking,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:9-11">ver. 9-11</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps16_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps16_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps16_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps16_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps16_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps16_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps16_7"> </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>Believing Confidence; Consecration to God.</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>Michtam of David.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I
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put my trust.
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2 <I>O my soul,</I> thou hast said unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, Thou <I>art</I> my
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Lord: my goodness <I>extendeth</I> not to thee;
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3 <I>But</I> to the saints that <I>are</I> in the earth, and <I>to</I> the
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excellent, in whom <I>is</I> all my delight.
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4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied <I>that</I> hasten <I>after</I>
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another <I>god:</I> their drink offerings of blood will I not offer,
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nor take up their names into my lips.
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5 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup:
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thou maintainest my lot.
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6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant <I>places;</I> yea, I
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have a goodly heritage.
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7 I will bless the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, who hath given me counsel: my reins
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also instruct me in the night seasons.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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This psalm is entitled <I>Michtam,</I> which some translate <I>a
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golden</I> psalm, a very precious one, more to be valued by us than
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gold, yea, than much fine gold, because it speaks so plainly of Christ
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and his resurrection, who is the true treasure hidden in the field of
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the Old Testament.</P>
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<P>
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I. David here flies to God's protection with a cheerful believing
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confidence in it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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"<I>Preserve me, O God!</I> from the deaths, and especially from the
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sins, to which I am continually exposed; <I>for in thee,</I> and in
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thee only, <I>do I put my trust.</I>" Those that by faith commit
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themselves to the divine care, and submit themselves to the divine
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guidance, have reason to hope for the benefit of both. This is
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applicable to Christ, who prayed, <I>Father, save me from this
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hour,</I> and trusted in God that he would deliver him.</P>
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<P>
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II. He recognizes his solemn dedication of himself to God as his God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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"<I>O my soul! thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord,</I> and
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therefore thou mayest venture to trust him." Note,
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1. It is the duty and interest of every one of us to acknowledge the
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Lord for our Lord, to subject ourselves to him, and then to stay
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ourselves upon him. <I>Adonai</I> signifies <I>My stayer,</I> the
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strength of my heart.
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2. This must be done with our souls: "O my soul! thou hast said it."
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Covenanting with God must be heart-work; all that is within us must be
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employed therein and engaged thereby.
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3. Those who have avouched the Lord for their Lord should be often
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putting themselves in mind of what they have done. "Hast thou said unto
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the Lord, <I>Thou art my Lord?</I> Say it again then, stand to it,
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abide by it, and never unsay it. Hast thou said it? Take the comfort of
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it, and live up to it. He is thy Lord, and worship thou him, and let
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thy eye be ever towards him."</P>
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<P>
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III. He devotes himself to the honour of God in the service of the
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saints
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>):
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<I>My goodness extends not to thee, but to the saints.</I> Observe,
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1. Those that have taken the lord for their Lord must, like him, be
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good and do good; we do not expect happiness without goodness.
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2. Whatever good there is in us, or is done by us, we must humbly
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acknowledge that it extends not to God; so that we cannot pretend to
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merit any thing by it. God has no need of our services; he is not
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benefited by them, nor can they add any thing to his infinite
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perfection and blessedness. The wisest, and best, and most useful, men
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in the world cannot be profitable to God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+22:2,35:7">Job xxii. 2; xxxv. 7</A>.
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God is infinitely above us, and happy without us, and whatever good we
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do it is all from him; so that we are indebted to him, not he to us:
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David owns it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+29:14">1 Chron. xxix. 14</A>),
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<I>Of thy own have we given thee.</I>
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3. If God be ours, we must, for his sake, extend our goodness to those
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that are his, to the saints in the earth; for what is done to them he
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is pleased to take as done to himself, having constituted them his
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receivers. Note,
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(1.) There are saints in the earth; and saints on earth we must all be,
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or we shall never be saints in heaven. Those that are renewed by the
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grace of God, and devoted to the glory of God, are saints on earth.
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(2.) The saints in the earth are excellent ones, great, mighty,
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magnificent ones, and yet some of them so poor in the world that they
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need to have David's goodness extended to them. God makes them
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excellent by the grace he gives them. <I>The righteous is more
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excellent than his neighbour,</I> and then he accounts them excellent.
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They are precious in his sight and honourable; they are his jewels, his
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peculiar treasure. Their God is their glory, and a diadem of beauty to
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them.
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(3.) All that have taken the Lord for their God delight in his saints
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as excellent ones, because they bear his image, and because he loves
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them. David, though a king, was a <I>companion of all that feared
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God</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:63">Ps. cxix. 63</A>),
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even the meanest, which was a sign that his delight was in them.
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(4.) It is not enough for us to delight in the saints, but, as there is
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occasion, our goodness must extend to them; we must be ready to show
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them the kindness they need, distribute to their necessities, and
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abound in the labour of love to them. This is applicable to Christ. The
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salvation he wrought out for us was no gain to God, for our ruin would
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have been no loss to him; but the goodness and benefit of it extend to
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us men, in whom he delighteth,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+8:31">Prov. viii. 31</A>.
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<I>For their sakes,</I> says he, <I>I sanctify myself,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+17:19">John xvii. 19</A>.
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Christ delights even in the saints on earth, notwithstanding their
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weaknesses and manifold infirmities, which is a good reason why we
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should.</P>
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<P>
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IV. He disclaims the worship of all false gods and all communion with
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their worshippers,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Here,
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1. He reads the doom of idolaters, who hasten after another God, being
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mad upon their idols, and pursuing them as eagerly as if they were
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afraid they would escape from them: <I>Their sorrows shall be
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multiplied,</I> both by the judgments they bring upon themselves from
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the true God whom they forsake and by the disappointment they will meet
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with in the false gods they embrace. Those that multiply gods multiply
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griefs to themselves; for, whoever thinks one God too little, will find
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two too many, and yet hundreds not enough.
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2. He declares his resolution to have no fellowship with them nor with
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their unfruitful works of darkness: "<I>Their drink-offerings of blood
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will I not offer,</I> not only because the gods they are offered to are
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a lie, but because the offerings themselves are barbarous." At God's
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altar, because the blood made atonement, the drinking of it was most
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strictly prohibited, and the drink-offerings were of wine; but the
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devil prescribed to his worshippers to drink of the blood of the
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sacrifices, to teach them cruelty. "I will have nothing to do" (says
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David) "with those bloody deities, nor so much as take their names into
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my lips with any delight in them or respect to them." Thus must we hate
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idols and idolatry with a perfect hatred. Some make this also
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applicable to Christ and his undertaking, showing the nature of the
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sacrifice he offered (it was not the blood of bulls and goats, which
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was offered according to the law; that was never named, nor did he ever
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make any mention of it, but his own blood), showing also the multiplied
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sorrows of the unbelieving Jews, who hastened after another king,
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Cæsar, and are still hastening after another Messiah, whom they
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in vain look for.</P>
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<P>
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V. He repeats the solemn choice he had made of God for his portion and
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happiness
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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takes to himself the comfort of the choice
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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and gives God the glory of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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This is very much the language of a devout and pious soul in its
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gracious exercises.</P>
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<P>
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1. Choosing the Lord for its portion and happiness. "Most men take the
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world for their chief good, and place their felicity in the enjoyments
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of it; but this I say, <I>The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and
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of my cup,</I> the portion I make choice of, and will gladly take up
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with, how poor soever my condition is in this world. Let me have the
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love and favour of God, and be accepted of him; let me have the comfort
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of communion with God, and satisfaction in the communications of his
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graces and comforts; let me have an interest in his promises, and a
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title by promise to everlasting life and happiness in the future state;
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and I have enough, I need no more, I desire no more, to complete my
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felicity." Would we do well and wisely for ourselves, we must take God,
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in Christ, to be,
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(1.) The portion of our inheritance in the other world. Heaven is an
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inheritance. God himself is the inheritance of the saints there, whose
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everlasting bliss is to enjoy him. We must take that for our
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inheritance, our home, our rest, our lasting, everlasting, good, and
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look upon this world to be no more ours than the country through which
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our road lies when we are on a journey.
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(2.) The portion of our cup in this world, with which we are nourished,
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and refreshed, and kept from fainting. Those have not God for theirs
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who do not reckon his comforts the most reviving cordials, acquaint
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themselves with them, and make use of them as sufficient to
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counterbalance all the grievances of this present time and to sweeten
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the most bitter cup of affliction.</P>
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<P>
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2. Confiding in him for the securing of this portion: "<I>Thou
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maintainest my lot.</I> Thou that hast by promise made over thy self to
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me, to be mine, wilt graciously make good what thou hast promised, and
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never leave me to myself to forfeit this happiness, nor leave it in the
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power of my enemies to rob me of it. Nothing shall pluck me out of thy
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hands, nor separate me from thy love, and the sure mercies of David."
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The saints and their bliss are kept by the power of God.</P>
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<P>
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3. Rejoicing in this portion, and taking a complacency in it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places.</I> Those have
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reason to say so that have God for their portion; they have a worthy
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portion, a goodly heritage. What can they have better? What can they
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desire more? <I>Return unto thy rest, O my soul!</I> and look no
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further. Note, Gracious persons, though they still covet more of God,
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never covet more than God; but, being satisfied of his loving-kindness,
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they are abundantly satisfied with it, and envy not any their carnal
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mirth and sensual pleasures and delights, but account themselves truly
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happy in what they have, and doubt not but to be completely happy in
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what they hope for. Those whose lot is cast, as David's was, in a land
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of light, in a valley of vision, where God is known and worshipped,
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have, upon that account, reason to say, <I>The lines have fallen to me
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in pleasant places;</I> much more those who have not only the means,
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but the end, not only Immanuel's land, but Immanuel's love.</P>
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<P>
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4. Giving thanks to God for it, and for grace to make this wise and
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happy choice
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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"<I>I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel,</I> this counsel,
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to take him for my portion and happiness." So ignorant and foolish are
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we that, if we be left to ourselves, our hearts will follow our eyes,
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and we shall choose our own delusions, and forsake our own mercies for
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lying vanities; and therefore, if we have indeed taken God for our
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portion and preferred spiritual and eternal blessings before those that
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are sensible and temporal, we must thankfully acknowledge the power and
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goodness of divine grace directing and enabling us to make that choice.
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If we have the pleasure of it, let God have the praise of it.</P>
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<P>
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5. Making a good use of it. God having given him counsel by his word
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and Spirit, his own <I>reins</I> also (his own thoughts) instructed him
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in the night-season; when he was silent and solitary, and retired from
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the world, then his own conscience (which is called the <I>reins,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+17:10">Jer. xvii. 10</A>)
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not only reflected with comfort upon the choice he had made, but
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instructed or admonished him concerning the duties arising out of this
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choice, catechized him, and engaged and quickened him to live as one
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that had God for his portion, by faith to live upon him and to live to
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him. Those who have God for their portion, and who will be faithful to
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him, must give their own consciences leave to deal thus faithfully and
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plainly with them.</P>
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<P>
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All this may be applied to Christ, who made the Lord his portion and
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was pleased with that portion, made his Father's glory his highest end
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and made it his meat and drink to seek that and to do his will, and
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delighted to prosecute his undertaking, pursuant to his Father's
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counsel, depending upon him to maintain his lot and to carry him
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through his undertaking. We may also apply it to ourselves in singing
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it, renewing our choice of God as ours, with a holy complacency and
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satisfaction.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps16_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps16_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps16_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps16_11"> </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>Prophecy Relating to the Messiah; Sufferings and Consequent Glory of Christ.</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>8 I have set the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> always before me: because <I>he is</I> at my
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right hand, I shall not be moved.
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9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh
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also shall rest in hope.
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10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou
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suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
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11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence <I>is</I>
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fulness of joy; at thy right hand <I>there are</I> pleasures for
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evermore.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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All these verses are quoted by St. Peter in his first sermon, after the
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pouring out of the Spirit on the day of pentecost
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:25-28">Acts ii. 25-28</A>);
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and he tells us expressly that David in them speaks concerning Christ
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and particularly of his resurrection. Something we may allow here of
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the workings of David's own pious and devout affections towards God,
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depending upon his grace to perfect every thing that concerned him, and
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looking for the blessed hope, and happy state on the other side death,
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in the enjoyment of God; but in these holy elevations towards God and
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heaven he was carried by the spirit of prophecy quite beyond the
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|
consideration of himself and his own case, to foretel the glory of the
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Messiah, in such expressions as were peculiar to that, and could not be
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understood of himself. The New Testament furnishes us with a key to let
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us into the mystery of these lines.</P>
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<P>
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I. These verses must certainly be applied to Christ; of him speaks the
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prophet this, as did many of the Old-Testament prophets, who
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<I>testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that
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should follow</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:11">1 Pet. i. 11</A>),
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|
and that is the subject of this prophecy here. It is foretold (as he
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|
himself showed concerning this, no doubt, among other prophecies in
|
|
this psalm,
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+24:44,46">Luke xxiv. 44, 46</A>)
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that <I>Christ should suffer, and rise from the dead,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+15:3,4">
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|
1 Cor. xv. 3, 4</A>.</P>
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<P>
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1. That he should suffer and die. This is implied here when he says
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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<I>I shall not be moved;</I> he supposed that he should be struck at,
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|
and have a dreadful shock given him, as he had in his agony, when his
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|
soul was exceedingly sorrowful, and he prayed that the cup might pass
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|
from him. When he says, "<I>My flesh shall rest,</I>" it is implied
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|
that he must put off the body, and therefore must go through the pains
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|
of death. It is likewise plainly intimated that his soul must go into a
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|
state of separation from the body, and that his body, so deserted,
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|
would be in imminent danger of seeing corruption--that he should not
|
|
only die, but be buried, and abide for some time under the power of
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|
death.</P>
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|
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|
<P>
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|
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|
2. That he should be wonderfully borne up by the divine power in
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|
suffering and dying.
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(1.) That he should not be moved, should not be driven off from his
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|
undertaking nor sink under the weight of it, that he should not fail
|
|
nor be discouraged
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|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:4">Isa. xlii. 4</A>),
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|
|
|
but should proceed and persevere in it, till he could say, <I>It is
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|
finished.</I> Though the service was hard and the encounter hot, and he
|
|
trod the winepress alone, yet he was not moved, did not give up the
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|
cause, but set his face as a flint,
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|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+50:7-9">Isa. l. 7-9</A>.
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|
<I>Here am I, let these go their way.</I> Nay,
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|
|
|
(2.) That his heart should rejoice and his glory be glad, that he
|
|
should go on with his undertaking, not only resolutely, but cheerfully,
|
|
and with unspeakable pleasure and satisfaction, witness that saying
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+17:11">John xvii. 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Now I am no more in the world, but I come to thee,</I> and that
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+18:11">John xviii. 11</A>),
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|
|
|
<I>The cup that my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?</I> and
|
|
many the like. By his glory is meant his <I>tongue,</I> as appears,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:26">Acts ii. 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
For our tongue is our glory, and never more so than when it is employed
|
|
in glorifying God. Now there were three things which bore him up and
|
|
carried him on thus cheerfully:--
|
|
|
|
[1.] The respect he had to his Father's will and glory in what he did:
|
|
<I>I have set the Lord always before me.</I> He still had an eye to his
|
|
Father's commandment
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+10:18,14:31">John x. 18, xiv. 31</A>),
|
|
|
|
the will of him that sent him. He aimed at his Father's honour and the
|
|
restoring of the interests of his kingdom among men, and this kept him
|
|
from being moved by the difficulties he met with; for he always did
|
|
those things that pleased his Father.
|
|
|
|
[2.] The assurance he had of his Father's presence with him in his
|
|
sufferings: <I>He is at my right hand,</I> a present help to me, nigh
|
|
at hand in the time of need. <I>He is near that justifieth me</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+50:8">Isa. l. 8</A>);
|
|
|
|
he is at my right hand, to direct and strengthen it, and hold it up,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+89:21">Ps. lxxxix. 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
When he was in his agony an angel was sent from heaven to strengthen
|
|
him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+22:43">Luke xxii. 43</A>.
|
|
|
|
To this the victories and triumphs of the cross were all owing; it was
|
|
the Lord at his right hand that <I>struck through kings,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+110:5,Isa+42:1,2">Ps. cx. 5; Isa. xlii. 1, 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
[3.] The prospect he had of a glorious issue of his sufferings. It was
|
|
<I>for the joy set before him</I> that <I>he endured the cross,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:2">Heb. xii. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
He rested in hope, and that made his rest glorious,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:10">Isa. xi. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
He knew he should be justified in the Spirit by his resurrection, and
|
|
straightway glorified. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+13:31,32">John xiii. 31, 32</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. That he should be brought through his sufferings, and brought from
|
|
under the power of death by a glorious resurrection.
|
|
|
|
(1.) That his soul should not be left in hell, that is, his human
|
|
spirit should not be long left, as other men's spirits are, in a state
|
|
of separation from the body, but should, in a little time, return and
|
|
be re-united to it, never to part again.
|
|
|
|
(2.) That being God's holy One in a peculiar manner, sanctified to the
|
|
work of redemption and perfectly free from sin, he should not see
|
|
corruption nor feel it. This implies that he should not only be raised
|
|
from the grave, but raised so soon that his dead body should not so
|
|
much as being to corrupt, which, in the course of nature, it would have
|
|
done if it had not been raised the third day. We, who have so much
|
|
corruption in our souls, must expect that our bodies also will corrupt
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+24:19">Job xxiv. 19</A>);
|
|
|
|
but that holy One of God who knew no sin saw no corruption. Under the
|
|
law it was strictly ordered that those parts of the sacrifices which
|
|
were not burnt upon the altar should by no means be kept till the third
|
|
day, lest they should putrefy
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+7:15,18">Lev. vii. 15, 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
which perhaps pointed at Christ's rising the third day, that he might
|
|
not see corruption--neither was a bone of him broken.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. That he should be abundantly recompensed for his sufferings, with
|
|
the joy set before him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
He was well assured,
|
|
|
|
(1.) That he should not miss of his glory: "<I>Thou wilt show me the
|
|
path of life,</I> and lead me to that life through this darksome
|
|
valley." In confidence of this, when he gave up the ghost, he said,
|
|
<I>Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit;</I> and, a little before,
|
|
<I>Father, glorify me with thy own self.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) That he should be received into the presence of God, to sit at his
|
|
right hand. His being admitted into God's presence would be the
|
|
acceptance of his service and his being set at his right hand the
|
|
recompence of it.
|
|
|
|
(3.) Thus, as a reward for the sorrows he underwent for our redemption,
|
|
he should have a <I>fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore;</I> not
|
|
only the glory he had with God, as God, before all worlds, but the joy
|
|
and pleasure of a Mediator, in seeing his seed, and the success and
|
|
prosperity of his undertaking,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+53:10,11">Isa. liii. 10, 11</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Christ being the Head of the body, the church, these verses may,
|
|
for the most part, be applied to all good Christians, who are guided
|
|
and animated by the Spirit of Christ; and, in singing them, when we
|
|
have first given glory to Christ, in whom, to our everlasting comfort,
|
|
they have had their accomplishment, we may then encourage and edify
|
|
ourselves and one another with them, and may hence learn,
|
|
|
|
1. That it is our wisdom and duty to set the Lord always before us, and
|
|
to see him continually at our right hand, wherever we are, to eye him
|
|
as our chief good and highest end, our owner, ruler, and judge, our
|
|
gracious benefactor, our sure guide and strict observer; and, while we
|
|
do thus, we shall not be moved either from our duty or from our
|
|
comfort. Blessed Paul set the Lord before him, when, though bonds and
|
|
afflictions did await him, he could bravely say, <I>None of these
|
|
things move me,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+20:24">Acts xx. 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. That, if our eyes be ever towards God, our hearts and tongues may
|
|
ever rejoice in him; it is our own fault if they do not. If the heart
|
|
rejoice in God, out of the abundance of that let the mouth speak, to
|
|
his glory, and the edification of others.
|
|
|
|
3. That dying Christians, as well as a dying Christ, may cheerfully put
|
|
off the body, in a believing expectation of a joyful resurrection:
|
|
<I>My flesh also shall rest in hope.</I> Our bodies have little rest in
|
|
this world, but in the grave they shall rest as in their beds,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+57:2">Isa. lvii. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
We have little to hope for from this life, but we shall rest in hope of
|
|
a better life; we may put off the body in that hope. Death <I>destroys
|
|
the hope of man</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+14:19">Job xiv. 19</A>),
|
|
|
|
but not the hope of a good Christian,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+14:32">Prov. xiv. 32</A>.
|
|
|
|
He has hope in his death, living hopes in dying moments, hopes that the
|
|
body shall not be left for ever in the grave, but, though it see
|
|
corruption for a time, it shall, at the end of the time, be raised to
|
|
immortality; Christ's resurrection is an earnest of ours if we be his.
|
|
|
|
4. That those who live piously with God in their eye may die
|
|
comfortably with heaven in their eye. In this world sorrow is our lot,
|
|
but in heaven there is joy. All our joys here are empty and defective,
|
|
but in heaven there is a fulness of joy. Our pleasures here are
|
|
transient and momentary, and such is the nature of them that it is not
|
|
fit they should last long; but those at God's right hand are pleasures
|
|
for evermore; for they are the pleasures of immortal souls in the
|
|
immediate vision and fruition of an eternal God.</P>
|
|
|
|
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