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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Psalms XVII].</TITLE>
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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 XVII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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David being in great distress and danger by the malice of his enemies,
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does, in this psalm, by prayer address himself to God, his tried
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refuge, and seeks shelter in him.
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I. He appeals to God concerning his integrity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:1-4">ver. 1-4</A>.
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II. He prays to God still to be upheld in his integrity and preserved
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from the malice of his enemies,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:5-8,13">ver. 5-8, 13</A>.
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III. He gives a character of his enemies, using that as a plea with God
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for his preservation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:9-12,14">ver. 9-12, 14</A>.
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IV. He comforts himself with the hopes of his future happiness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:15">ver. 15</A>.
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Some make him, in this, a type of Christ, who was perfectly innocent,
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and yet was hated and persecuted, but, like David, committed himself
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and his cause to him that judgeth righteously.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps17_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps17_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps17_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps17_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps17_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps17_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps17_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>Sincere and Importunate Prayer.</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 prayer of David.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Hear the right, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, attend unto my
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cry, give ear unto my prayer, <I>that goeth</I> not out of feigned
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lips.
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2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes
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behold the things that are equal.
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3 Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited <I>me</I> in the
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night; thou hast tried me, <I>and</I> shalt find nothing; I am
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purposed <I>that</I> my mouth shall not transgress.
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4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have
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kept <I>me from</I> the paths of the destroyer.
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5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, <I>that</I> my footsteps slip not.
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6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God:
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incline thine ear unto me, <I>and hear</I> my speech.
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7 show thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy
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right hand them which put their trust <I>in thee</I> from those that
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rise up <I>against them.</I>
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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This psalm is a prayer. As there is a time to weep and a time to
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rejoice, so there is a time for praise and a time for prayer. David was
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now persecuted, probably by Saul, who hunted him like a partridge on
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the mountains; without were fightings, within were fears, and both
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urged him as a suppliant to the throne of mercy. He addresses himself
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to God in these verses both by way of appeal (<I>Hear the right, O
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Lord!</I> let my righteous cause have a hearing before thy tribunal,
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and give judgment upon it) and by way of petition (<I>Give ear unto my
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prayer</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>,
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and again
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>,
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<I>Incline thy ear unto me and hear my speech</I>); not that God needs
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to be thus pressed with our importunity, but he gives us leave thus to
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express our earnest desire of his gracious answers to our prayers.
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These things he pleads with God for audience,
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1. That he was sincere, and did not dissemble with God in his prayer:
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<I>It goeth not out of feigned lips.</I> He meant as he spoke, and the
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feelings of his mind agreed with the expressions of his mouth. Feigned
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prayers are fruitless; but, if our hearts lead our prayers, God will
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meet them with his favour.
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2. That he had been used to pray at other times, and it was not his
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distress and danger that now first brought him to his duty: "<I>I have
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called upon thee</I> formerly
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>);
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therefore, Lord, hear me now." It will be a great comfort to us if
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trouble, when it comes, find the wheels of prayer a-going, for then we
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may come with the more boldness to the throne of grace. Tradesmen are
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willing to oblige those that have been long their customers.
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3. That he was encouraged by his faith to expect God would take notice
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of his prayers: "I know <I>thou wilt hear me,</I> and therefore, O God,
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<I>incline thy ear to me.</I>" Our believing dependence upon God is a
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good plea to enforce our desires towards him. Let us now see,</P>
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<P>
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I. What his appeal is; and here observe,</P>
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<P>
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1. What the court is to the cognizance and determination of which he
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makes his appeal; it is the court of heaven. "Lord, do thou hear the
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right, for Saul is so passionate, so prejudiced, that he will not hear
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it. Lord, <I>let my sentence come forth from thy presence,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Men sentence me to be pursued and cut off as an evil-doer. Lord, I
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appeal from them to thee." This he did in a public remonstrance before
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Saul's face
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+24:12">1 Sam. xxiv. 12</A>,
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<I>The Lord judge between me and thee</I>), and he repeats it here in
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his private devotions. Note,
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(1.) The equity and extent of God's government and judgment are a very
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great support to injured innocency. If we are blackened, and abused,
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and misrepresented, by unrighteous men, it is a comfort that we have a
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righteous God to go to, who will take our part, who is the patron of
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the oppressed, whose judgment is according to truth, by the discoveries
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of which every person and every cause will appear in a true light,
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stripped of all false colours, and by the decisions of which all
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unrighteous dooms will be reversed, and to every man will be rendered
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according to his work.
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(2.) Sincerity dreads no scrutiny, no, not that of God himself,
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according to the tenour of the covenant of grace: <I>Let thy eyes
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behold the things that are equal.</I> God's omniscience is as much the
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joy of the upright as it is the terror of hypocrites, and is
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particularly comfortable to those who are falsely accused and in any
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wise have wrong done them.</P>
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<P>
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2. What the evidence is by which he hopes to make good his appeal; it
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is the trial God had made of him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Thou hast proved my heart.</I> God's sentence is <I>therefore</I>
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right, because he always proceeds upon his knowledge, which is more
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certain and infallible than that which men attain to by the closest
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views and the strictest investigations.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) He knew God had tried him,
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[1.] By his own conscience, which is God's deputy in the soul. <I>The
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spirit of a man is the candle of the Lord,</I> with this God had
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searched him, and <I>visited him in the night,</I> when he <I>communed
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with his own heart upon his bed.</I> He had submitted to the search,
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and had seriously reviewed the actions of his life, to discover what
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was amiss, but could find nothing of that which his enemies charged him
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with.
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[2.] By providence. God had tried him by the fair opportunity he had,
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once and again, to kill Saul; he had tried him by the malice of Saul,
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the treachery of his friends, and the many provocations that were given
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him; so that, if he had been the man he was represented to be, it would
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have appeared; but, upon all these trials, there was nothing found
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against him, no proof at all of the things whereof they accused
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him.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) God tried his heart, and could witness to the integrity of that;
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but, for the further proof of his integrity, he himself takes notice of
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two things concerning which his conscience bore him record:--
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[1.] That he had a fixed resolution against all sins of the tongue:
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"<I>I have purposed</I> and fully determined, in the strength of God's
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grace, <I>that my mouth shall not transgress.</I>" He does not say, "I
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hope that it will not," or, "I wish that it may not," but, "I have
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fully purposed that it shall not:" with this bridle he kept his mouth,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+39:1">Ps. xxxix. 1</A>.
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Note, Constant resolution and watchfulness against sins of the tongue
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will be a good evidence of our integrity. <I>If any offend not in word,
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the same is a perfect man,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:2">Jam. iii. 2</A>.
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He does not say, "My mouth never shall transgress" (for in many things
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we all offend), but, "I have purposed that it shall not;" and he that
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searches the heart knows whether the purpose be sincere.
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[2.] That he had been as careful to refrain from sinful actions as from
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sinful words
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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"<I>Concerning the</I> common <I>works of men,</I> the actions and
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affairs of human life, <I>I have,</I> by the direction of thy word,
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<I>kept myself from the paths of the destroyer.</I>" Some understand it
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particularly, that he had not been himself a destroyer of Saul, when it
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lay in his power, nor had he permitted others to be so, but said to
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Abishai, <I>Destroy him not,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+26:9">1 Sam. xxvi. 9</A>.
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But it may be taken more generally; he kept himself from all evil
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works, and endeavoured, according to the duty of his place, to keep
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others from them too. Note, <I>First,</I> The ways of sin are paths of
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the destroyer, of the devil, whose name is <I>Abaddon</I> and
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<I>Apollyon,</I> a destroyer, who ruins souls by decoying them into the
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paths of sin. <I>Secondly,</I> It concerns us all to keep out of the
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paths of the destroyer; for, if we walk in those ways that lead to
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destruction, we must thank ourselves if destruction and misery be our
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portion at last. <I>Thirdly,</I> It is by the word of God, as our guide
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and rule, that we must keep out of the paths of the destroyer, by
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observing its directions and admonitions,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:9">Ps. cxix. 9</A>.
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<I>Fourthly,</I> If we carefully avoid all the paths of sin, it will be
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very comfortable in the reflection, when we are in trouble. If we
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<I>keep ourselves, that the wicked one touch us not</I> with his
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temptations
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+5:18">1 John v. 18</A>),
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we may hope he will not be able to touch us with his terrors.</P>
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<P>
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II. What his petition is; it is, in short, this, That he might
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experience the good work of God in him, as an evidence of and
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qualification for the good will of God towards him: this is grace and
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peace from God the Father.
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1. He prays for the work of God's grace in him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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"<I>Hold up my going in thy paths.</I> Lord, I have, by thy grace, kept
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myself from the paths of the destroyer; by the same grace let me be
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kept in thy paths; let me not only be restrained from doing that which
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is evil, but quickened to abound always in that which is good. Let my
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goings be held in thy paths, that I may not turn back from them nor
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turn aside out of them; let them be held up in thy paths, that I may
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not stumble and fall into sin, that I may not trifle and neglect my
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duty. Lord, as thou hast kept me hitherto, so keep me still." Those
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that are, through grace, going in God's paths, have need to pray, and
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do pray, that their goings may be held up in those paths; for we stand
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no longer than he is pleased to hold us, we go no further than he is
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pleased to lead us, bear us up, and carry us. David had been kept in
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the way of his duty hitherto, and yet he does not think that this would
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be his security for the future, and therefore prays, "Lord, still hold
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me up." Those that would proceed and persevere in the way of God must,
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by faith and prayer, fetch in daily fresh supplies of grace and
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strength from him. David was sensible that his way was slippery, that
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he himself was weak, and not so well fixed and furnished as he should
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be, that there were those who watched for his halting and would improve
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the least slip against him, and therefore he prays, "Lord, hold me up,
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that my foot slip not, that I may never say nor do any thing that looks
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either dishonest or distrustful of thee and thy providence and
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promise."
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2. He prays for the tokens of God's favour to him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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Observe here,
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(1.) How he eyes God as the protector and Saviour of his people, so he
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calls him, and thence he takes his encouragement in prayer: <I>O thou
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that savest by thy right hand</I> (by thy own power, and needest not
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the agency of any other) <I>those who put their trust in thee from
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those that rise up against them.</I> It is the character of God's
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people that they trust in him; he is pleased to make them confidants,
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for his secret is with the righteous; and they make him their trust,
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for to him they commit themselves. Those that trust in God have many
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enemies, many that rise up against them and seek their ruin; but they
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have one friend that is able to deal with them all, and, if he be for
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them, no matter who is against them. He reckons it his honour to be
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their Saviour. His almighty power is engaged for them, and they have
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all found him ready to save them. The margin reads it, <I>O thou that
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savest those who trust in thee from those that rise up against thy
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right hand.</I> Those that are enemies to the saints are rebels against
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God and his right hand, and therefore, no doubt, he will, in due time,
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appear against them.
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(2.) What he expects and desires from God: <I>Show thy marvellous
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loving-kindness.</I> The word signifies,
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[1.] Distinguishing favours. "Set apart thy loving-kindnesses for me;
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put me not off with common mercies, but be gracious to me, <I>as thou
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usest to do to those who love thy name.</I>"
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[2.] Wonderful favours. "O make thy loving-kindness admirable! Lord,
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testify thy favour to me in such a way that I and others may wonder at
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it." God's loving-kindness is marvellous for the freeness and the
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fulness of it; in some instances it appears, in a special manner,
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marvellous
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+118:23">Ps. cxviii. 23</A>),
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and it will certainly appear so in the salvation of the saints, when
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Christ shall come to be <I>glorified in the saints and to be admired in
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all those that believe.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Ps17_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps17_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps17_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps17_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps17_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps17_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps17_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps17_15"> </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>Prayer for Protecting Mercy; Character of David's Enemies.</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 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of
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thy wings,
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9 From the wicked that oppress me, <I>from</I> my deadly enemies,
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<I>who</I> compass me about.
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10 They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they
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speak proudly.
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11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their
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eyes bowing down to the earth;
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12 Like as a lion <I>that</I> is greedy of his prey, and as it were
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a young lion lurking in secret places.
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13 Arise, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my
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soul from the wicked, <I>which is</I> thy sword:
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14 From men <I>which are</I> thy hand, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, from men of the
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world, <I>which have</I> their portion in <I>this</I> life, and whose belly
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thou fillest with thy hid <I>treasure:</I> they are full of children,
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and leave the rest of their <I>substance</I> to their babes.
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15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall
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be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We may observe, in these verses,</P>
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<P>
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I. What David prays for. Being compassed about with enemies that sought
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his life, he prays to God to preserve him safely through all their
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attempts against him, to the crown to which he was anointed. This
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prayer is both a prediction of the preservation of Christ through all
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the hardships and difficulties of his humiliation, to the glories and
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joys of his exalted state, and a pattern to Christians to commit the
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keeping of their souls to God, trusting him to <I>preserve them to his
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heavenly kingdom.</I> He prays,</P>
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<P>
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1. That he himself might be protected
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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"Keep me safe, hide me close, where I may not be found, where I may not
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be come at. Deliver my soul, not only my mortal life from death, but my
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immortal spirit from sin." Those who put themselves under God's
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protection may in faith implore the benefit of it.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) He prays that God would keep him,
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[1.] With as much care as a man keeps the apple of his eye with, which
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nature has wonderfully fenced and teaches us to guard. If we keep God's
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law as the <I>apple of our eye</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+7:2">Prov. vii. 2</A>),
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we may expect that God will so keep us; for it is said concerning his
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people that whoso <I>touches them touches the apple of his eye,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+2:8">Zech. ii. 8</A>.
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[2.] With as much tenderness as the hen gathers her young ones under
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her wings with; Christ uses the similitude,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+23:37">Matt. xxiii. 37</A>.
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"<I>Hide me under the shadow of thy wings,</I> where I may be both safe
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and warm." Or, perhaps, it rather alludes to the wings of the cherubim
|
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shadowing the mercy-seat: "Let me be taken under the protection of that
|
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glorious grace which is peculiar to God's Israel." What David here
|
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prays for was performed to the Son of David, our Lord Jesus, of whom it
|
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is said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:2">Isa. xlix. 2</A>)
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that God hid <I>him in the shadow of his hand,</I> hid him <I>as a
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polished shaft in his quiver.</I></P>
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<P>
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(2.) David further prays, "Lord, keep me from the wicked, from men of
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the world,"
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[1.] "From being, and doing, like them, from walking in their counsel,
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and standing in their way, and eating of their dainties."
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[2.] "From being destroyed and run down by them. Let them not have
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their will against me; let them not triumph over me."</P>
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<P>
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2. That all the designs of his enemies to bring his either into sin or
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into trouble might be defeated
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
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"<I>Arise, O Lord!</I> appear for me, disappoint him, and cast him down
|
|
in his own eyes by the disappointment." While Saul persecuted David,
|
|
how often did he miss his prey, when he thought he had him sure! And
|
|
how were Christ's enemies disappointed by his resurrection, who thought
|
|
they had gained their point when they had put him to death!</P>
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|
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<P>
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|
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II. What he pleads for the encouraging of his own faith in these
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|
petitions, and his hope of speeding. He pleads,</P>
|
|
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|
<P>
|
|
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|
1. The malice and wickedness of his enemies: "They are such as are not
|
|
fit to be countenanced, such as, if I be not delivered from them by the
|
|
special care of God himself, will be my ruin. Lord, see what wicked men
|
|
those are that oppress me, and waste me, and run me down."
|
|
|
|
(1.) "They are very spiteful and malicious; they are <I>my deadly
|
|
enemies,</I> that thirst after my blood, my heart's blood--<I>enemies
|
|
against the soul,</I>" so the word is. David's enemies did what they
|
|
could to drive him to sin and drive him away from God; they bade him
|
|
<I>go serve other gods</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+26:19">1 Sam. xxvi. 19</A>),
|
|
|
|
and therefore he had reason to pray against them. Note, Those are our
|
|
worst enemies, and we ought so to account them, that are enemies to our
|
|
souls.
|
|
|
|
(2.) "They are very secure and sensual, insolent and haughty
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>They are enclosed in their own fat,</I> wrap themselves, hug
|
|
themselves, in their own honour, and power, and plenty, and then make
|
|
light of God, and set his judgments at defiance,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+73:7,Job+15:27">Ps. lxxiii. 7; Job xv. 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
They wallow in pleasure, and promise themselves that to-morrow shall be
|
|
as this day. And therefore with their mouth they speak proudly,
|
|
glorying in themselves, blaspheming God, trampling upon his people, and
|
|
insulting them." See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+13:5,6">Rev. xiii. 5, 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
"Lord, are not such men as these fit to be mortified and humbled, and
|
|
made to know themselves? Will it not be for thy glory <I>to look upon
|
|
these proud men and abase them?</I>"
|
|
|
|
(3.) "They are restless and unwearied in their attempts against me:
|
|
They <I>compass me about,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
They have now in a manner gained their point; they have surrounded us,
|
|
they have compassed us in our steps, they track us wherever we go,
|
|
follow us as close as the hound does the hare, and take all advantages
|
|
against us, being both too many and too quick for us. And yet they
|
|
pretend to look another way, and set their eyes bowing down to the
|
|
earth, as if they were meditating, retired into themselves, and
|
|
thinking of something else;" or (as some think), "They are watchful and
|
|
intent upon it, to do us a mischief; they are down-looked, and never
|
|
let slip any opportunity of compassing their design."
|
|
|
|
(4.) "The ringleader of them (that was Saul) is in a special manner
|
|
bloody and barbarous, politic and projecting
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>like a lion</I> that lives by prey and is therefore greedy of it."
|
|
It is as much the meat and drink of a wicked man to do mischief as it
|
|
is of a good man to do good. He is like <I>a young lion lurking in
|
|
secret places,</I> disguising his cruel designs. This is fitly applied
|
|
to Saul, who sought David <I>on the rocks of the wild goats</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+24:2">1 Sam. xxiv. 2</A>)
|
|
|
|
and in <I>the wilderness of Ziph</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+26:2">Ps. xxvi. 2</A>),
|
|
|
|
where lions used to lurk for their prey.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The power God had over them, to control and restrain them. He
|
|
pleads,
|
|
|
|
(1.) "Lord, they are <I>thy sword;</I> and will any father suffer his
|
|
sword to be drawn against his own children?" As this is a reason why we
|
|
should patiently bear the injuries of men, that they are but the
|
|
instruments of the trouble (it comes originally from God, to whose will
|
|
we are bound to submit), so it is an encouragement to us to hope both
|
|
that their wrath shall praise him and that the remainder thereof he
|
|
will restrain, that they are God's sword, which he can manage as he
|
|
pleases, which cannot move without him, and which he will sheathe when
|
|
he has done his work with it.
|
|
|
|
(2.) "They are <I>thy hand,</I> by which thou dost chastise thy people
|
|
and make them feel thy displeasure." He therefore expects deliverance
|
|
from God's hand because from God's hand the trouble came. <I>Una
|
|
eademque manus vulnus opemque tulit--The same hand wounds and
|
|
heals.</I> There is no flying from God's hand but by flying to it. It
|
|
is very comfortable, when we are in fear of the power of man, to see it
|
|
dependent upon and in subjection to the power of God; see
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:6,7,15">Isa. x. 6, 7, 15</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. Their outward prosperity
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
"Lord, appear against them, for,"
|
|
|
|
(1.) "They are entirely devoted to the world, and care not for thee and
|
|
thy favour. They are <I>men of the world,</I> actuated by the spirit of
|
|
the world, walking according to the course of this world, in love with
|
|
the wealth and pleasure of this world, eager in the pursuits of it
|
|
(making them their business) and at ease in the enjoyments of it--making
|
|
them their bliss. They <I>have their portion in this life;</I> they
|
|
look upon the good things of this world as the best things, and
|
|
sufficient to make them happy, and they choose them accordingly, place
|
|
their felicity in them, and aim at them as their chief good; they rest
|
|
satisfied with them, their souls take their ease in them, and they look
|
|
no further, nor are in any care to provide for another life. These
|
|
things are their consolation
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+6:24">Luke vi. 24</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>their good things</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:25">Luke xvi. 25</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>their reward</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+6:5">Matt. vi. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
the penny they agreed for,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+20:13">Matt. xx. 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Now, Lord, shall men of this character be supported and countenanced
|
|
against those who honour thee by preferring thy favour before all the
|
|
wealth in this world, and taking thee for their portion?"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:5">Ps. xvi. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They have abundance of the world.
|
|
|
|
[1.] They have enlarged appetites, and a great deal wherewith to
|
|
satisfy them: <I>Their bellies thou fillest with thy hidden
|
|
treasures.</I> The things of this world are called <I>treasures,</I>
|
|
because they are so accounted; otherwise, to a soul, and in comparison
|
|
with eternal blessings, they are but trash. They are hidden in the
|
|
several parts of the creation, and hidden in the sovereign disposals of
|
|
Providence. They are God's hidden treasures, for the earth is his and
|
|
the fulness thereof, though the men of the world think it is their own
|
|
and forget God's property in it. Those that fare deliciously every day
|
|
have their <I>bellies filled with these hidden treasures;</I> and they
|
|
will but <I>fill the belly</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+6:13">1 Cor. vi. 13</A>);
|
|
|
|
they will not fill the soul; they are not bread for that, nor can they
|
|
satisfy,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:2">Isa. lv. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
They are husks, and ashes, and wind; and yet most men, having no care
|
|
for their souls, but all for their bellies, take up with them.
|
|
|
|
[2.] They have numerous families, and a great deal to leave to them:
|
|
<I>They are full of children,</I> and yet their pasture is not
|
|
overstocked; they have enough for them all, and <I>leave the rest of
|
|
their substance to their babes,</I> to their grand-children; and this
|
|
is their heaven, it is their bliss, it is their all. "Lord," said
|
|
David, "<I>deliver me from them;</I> let me not have my portion with
|
|
them. Deliver me from their designs against me; for, they having so
|
|
much wealth and power, I am not able to deal with them unless the Lord
|
|
be on my side."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. He pleads his own dependence upon God as his portion and happiness.
|
|
"They have their portion in this life, but as for me
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>)
|
|
|
|
I am none of them, I have but little of the world. <I>Nec habeo, nec
|
|
careo, nec curo--I neither have, nor need, nor care for it.</I> It is
|
|
the vision and fruition of God that I place my happiness in; that is it
|
|
I hope for, and comfort myself with the hopes of, and thereby
|
|
distinguish myself from those who have their portion in this life."
|
|
Beholding God's face with satisfaction may be considered,
|
|
|
|
(1.) As our duty and comfort in this world. We must in righteousness
|
|
(clothed with Christ's righteousness, having a good heart and a good
|
|
life) by faith behold God's face and set him always before us, must
|
|
entertain ourselves from day to day with the contemplation of the
|
|
beauty of the Lord; and, when we awake every morning, we must be
|
|
satisfied with his likeness set before us in his word, and with his
|
|
likeness stamped upon us by his renewing grace. Our experience of God's
|
|
favour to us, and our conformity to him, should yield us more
|
|
satisfaction than those have whose belly is filled with the delights of
|
|
sense.
|
|
|
|
2. As our recompence and happiness in the other world. With the
|
|
prospect of that he concluded the foregoing psalm, and so this. That
|
|
happiness is prepared and designed only for the righteous that are
|
|
justified and sanctified. They shall be put in possession of it when
|
|
they awake, when the soul awakes, at death, out of its slumber in the
|
|
body, and when the body awakes, at the resurrection, out of its slumber
|
|
in the grave. That blessedness will consist in three things:--
|
|
|
|
[1.] The immediate vision of God and his glory: <I>I shall behold thy
|
|
face,</I> not, as in this world, through a glass darkly. The knowledge
|
|
of God will there be perfected and the enlarged intellect filled with
|
|
it.
|
|
|
|
[2.] The participation of his likeness. Our holiness will there be
|
|
perfect. This results from the former
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:2">1 John iii. 2</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>When he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as
|
|
he is.</I>
|
|
|
|
[3.] A complete and full satisfaction resulting from all this: <I>I
|
|
shall be satisfied,</I> abundantly satisfied with it. There is no
|
|
satisfaction for a soul but in God, and in his face and likeness, his
|
|
good-will towards us and his good work in us; and even that
|
|
satisfaction will not be perfect till we come to heaven.</P>
|
|
|
|
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