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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Psalms XXXI].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P S A L M S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>PSALM XXXI.</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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It is probable that David penned this psalm when he was persecuted by
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Saul; some passages in it agree particularly to the narrow escapes he
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had, at Keilah
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+23:13">1 Sam. xxiii. 13</A>),
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then in the wilderness of Maon, when Saul marched on one side of the
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hill and he on the other, and, soon after, in the cave in the
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wilderness of En-gedi; but that it was penned upon any of those
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occasions we are not told. It is a mixture of prayers, and praises, and
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professions of confidence in God, all which do well together and are
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helpful to one another.
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I. David professes his cheerful confidence in God, and, in that
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confidence, prays for deliverance out of his present troubles,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:1-8">ver. 1-8</A>.
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II. He complains of the very deplorable condition he was in, and, in
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the sense of his calamities, still prays that God would graciously
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appear for him against his persecutors,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:9-18">ver. 9-18</A>.
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III. He concludes the psalm with praise and triumph, giving glory to
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God, and encouraging himself and others to trust in him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:19-24">ver. 19-24</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps31_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_8"> </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>Prayer for Deliverance; Profession of Confidence in 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>To the chief musician. A psalm of David.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 In thee, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>,
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do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy
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righteousness.
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2 Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my
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strong rock, for a house of defence to save me.
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3 For thou <I>art</I> my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy
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name's sake lead me, and guide me.
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4 Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me:
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for thou <I>art</I> my strength.
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5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of truth.
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6 I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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7 I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast
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considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities;
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8 And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast
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set my feet in a large room.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Faith and prayer must go together. He that believes, let his pray--<I>I
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believe, therefore I have spoken:</I> and he that prays, let him
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believe, for the prayer of faith is the prevailing prayer. We have both
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here.</P>
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<P>
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I. David, in distress, is very earnest with God in prayer for succour
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and relief. This eases a burdened spirit, fetches in promised mercies,
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and wonderfully supports and comforts the soul in the expectation of
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them. He prays,
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1. That God would deliver him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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that his life might be preserved from the malice of his enemies, and
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that an end might be put to their persecutions of him, that God, not
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only in his mercy, but in righteousness, would deliver him, as a
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righteous Judge betwixt him and his unrighteous persecutors, that he
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would bow down his ear to his petitions, to his appeals, and deliver
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him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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It is condescension in God to take cognizance of the case of the
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greatest and best of men; he humbles himself to do it. The psalmist
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prays also that he would deliver him speedily, lest, if the deliverance
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were long deferred, his faith should fail.
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2. That if he did not immediately deliver him out of his troubles, yet
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he would protect and shelter him in his troubles; "<I>Be thou my strong
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rock,</I> immovable, impregnable, as a fastness framed by nature, and
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my <I>house of defence,</I> a fortress framed by art, and all <I>to
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save me.</I>" Thus we may pray that God's providence would secure to us
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our lives and comforts, and that by his grace we may be enabled to
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think ourselves safe in him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+18:10">Prov. xviii. 10</A>.
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3. That his case having much in it of difficulty, both in respect of
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duty and in respect of prudence, he might be under the divine guidance:
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"<I>Lord, lead me and guide me</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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so order my steps, so order my spirit, that I may never do any thing
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unlawful and unjustifiable--against my conscience, nor unwise and
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indiscreet--against my interest." Those that resolve to follow God's
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direction may in faith pray for it.
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4. That his enemies being very crafty, as well as very spiteful, God
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would frustrate and baffle their designs against him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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"<I>Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me,</I> and
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keep me from the sin, the trouble, the death, they aim to entrap me
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in."</P>
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<P>
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II. In this prayer he gives glory to God by a repeated profession of
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his confidence in him and dependence on him. This encouraged his
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prayers and qualified him for the mercies he prayed for
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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"<I>In thee, O Lord! do I put my trust,</I> and not in myself, or any
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sufficiency of my own, or in any creature; <I>let me never be
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ashamed,</I> let me not be disappointed of any of that good which thou
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hast promised me and which therefore I have promised myself in thee."
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1. He had chosen God for his protector, and God had, by his promise,
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undertaken to be so
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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"<I>Thou art my rock and my fortress,</I> by thy covenant with me and
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my believing consent to that covenant; therefore <I>be my strong
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rock,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Those that have in sincerity avouched the Lord for theirs may expect
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the benefit of his being so; for God's relations to us carry with them
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both name and thing. <I>Thou art my strength,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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If God be our strength, we may hope that he will both put his strength
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in us and put forth his strength for us.
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2. He gave up his soul in a special manner to him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>Into thy hands I commit my spirit.</I>
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(1.) If David here looks upon himself as a dying man, by these words he
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resigns his departing soul to God who gave it, and to whom, at death,
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the spirit returns. "Men can but kill the body, but I trust in God to
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<I>redeem my soul from the power of the grave,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:15">Ps. xlix. 15</A>.
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He is willing to die if God will have it so; but let my soul <I>fall
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into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies are great.</I> With these
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words our Lord Jesus yielded up the ghost upon the cross, and made his
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soul an offering, a free-will offering for sin, voluntarily laying down
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his life a ransom. By Stephen's example we are taught in, our dying
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moment, to eye Christ at God's right hand, and to commit our spirits to
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him: <I>Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.</I> But,
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2. David is here to be looked upon as a man in distress and trouble.
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And,
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[1.] His great care is about his soul, his spirit, his better part.
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Note, Our outward afflictions should increase our concern for our
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souls. Many think that while they are perplexed about their worldly
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affairs, and Providence multiplies their cares about them, they may be
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excused if they neglect their souls; whereas the greater hazard our
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lives and secular interests lie at the more we are concerned to look to
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our souls, that, though the outward man perish, the inward man may
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suffer no damage
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+4:16">2 Cor. iv. 16</A>),
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and that we may keep possession of our souls when we can keep
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possession of nothing else,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+21:19">Luke xxi. 19</A>.
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[2.] He thinks the best he can do for the soul is to commit it into the
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hand of God, and lodge that great trust with him. He had prayed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>)
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to be plucked out of the net of outward trouble, but, as not insisting
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upon that (God's will be done), he immediately lets fall that petition,
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and commits the spirit, the inward man, into God's hand. "Lord, however
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it goes with me, as to my body, let it go well with my soul." Note, It
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is the wisdom and duty of every one of us solemnly to commit our
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spirits into the hands of God, to be sanctified by his grace, devoted
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to his honour, employed in his service, and fitted for his kingdom.
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That which encourages us to commit our spirits into the hand of God is
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that he has not only created, but redeemed, them; the particular
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redemptions of the Old-Testament church and the Old-Testament saints
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were typical of our redemption by Jesus Christ,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+48:16">Gen. xlviii. 16</A>.
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The redemption of the soul is so precious that it must have ceased for
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ever if Christ had not undertaken it; but, by redeeming our souls, he
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has not only acquired an additional right and title to them, which
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obliges us to commit them to him as his own, but has shown the
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extraordinary kindness and concern he has for them, which encourages us
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to commit them to him, to be preserved to his heavenly kingdom
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ti+1:12">2 Tim. i. 12</A>):
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"<I>Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth!</I> redeem me according
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to a promise which thou wilt be true to."</P>
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<P>
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III. He disclaimed all confederacy with those that made an arm of flesh
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their confidence
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>I have hated those that regard lying vanities</I>--idolaters (to
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some), who expect aid from false gods, which are vanity and a
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lie--astrologers, and those that give heed to them, so others. David
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abhorred the use of enchantments and divinations; he consulted not, nor
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even took notice of, the flight of birds or entrails of beasts, good
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omens or bad omens; they are lying vanities, and he not only did not
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regard them himself, but hated the wickedness of those that did. He
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trusted in God only, and not in any creature. His interest in the court
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or country, his retreats or strongholds, even Goliath's sword
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itself--these were lying vanities, which he could not depend upon, but
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trusted in the Lord only. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+40:4,Jer+17:5">Ps. xl. 4; Jer. xvii. 5</A>.</P>
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<P>
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IV. He comforted himself with his hope in God, and made himself, not
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only easy, but cheerful, with it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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Having relied on God's mercy, he will be glad and rejoice in it; and
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those know not how to value their hope in God who cannot find joy
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enough in that hope to counterbalance their grievances and silence
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their griefs.</P>
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<P>
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V. He encouraged himself in this hope with the experiences he had had
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of late, and formerly, of God's goodness to him, which he mentions to
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the glory of God; he that has delivered doth and will.
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1. God had taken notice of his afflictions and all the circumstances of
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them: "<I>Thou hast considered my trouble,</I> with wisdom to suit
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relief to it, with condescension and compassion regarding the low
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estate of they servant."
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2. He had observed the temper of his spirit and the workings of his
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heart under his afflictions: "<I>Thou hast known my soul in
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adversities,</I> with a tender concern and care for it." God's eye is
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upon our souls when we are in trouble, to see whether they be humbled
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for sin, submissive to the will of God, and bettered by the affliction.
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If the soul, when cast down under affliction, has been lifted up to him
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in true devotion, he knows it.
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3. He had rescued him out of the hands of Saul when he had him safe
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enough in Keilah
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+23:7">1 Sam. xxiii. 7</A>):
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"<I>Thou hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy,</I> but set me
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at liberty, in a <I>large room,</I> where I may shift for my own
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safety,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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Christ's using those words
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>)
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upon the cross may warrant us to apply all this to Christ, who trusted
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in his Father and was supported and delivered by him, and (because he
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humbled himself) highly exalted, which it is proper to think of when we
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sing
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:1-8">these verses</A>,
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as also therein to acknowledge the experience we have had of God's
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gracious presence with us in our troubles and to encourage ourselves to
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trust in him for the future.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps31_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps31_18"> </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>Sorrowful Complaints; Humble and Believing 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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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>9 Have mercy upon me, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, for I am in trouble: mine eye is
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consumed with grief, <I>yea,</I> my soul and my belly.
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10 For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing:
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my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are
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consumed.
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11 I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially
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among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that
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did see me without fled from me.
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12 I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken
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vessel.
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13 For I have heard the slander of many: fear <I>was</I> on every
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side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised
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to take away my life.
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14 But I trusted in thee, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: I said, Thou <I>art</I> my God.
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15 My times <I>are</I> in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine
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enemies, and from them that persecute me.
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16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy
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mercies' sake.
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17 Let me not be ashamed, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; for I have called upon thee:
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let the wicked be ashamed, <I>and</I> let them be silent in the grave.
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18 Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous
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things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In the
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:1-8">foregoing verses</A>
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David had appealed to God's righteousness, and
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|
pleaded his relation to him and dependence on him; here he appeals to
|
|
his mercy, and pleads the greatness of his own misery, which made his
|
|
case the proper object of that mercy. Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The complaint he makes of his trouble and distress
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Have mercy upon me, O Lord! for I am in trouble,</I> and need thy
|
|
mercy." The remembrance he makes of his condition is not much unlike
|
|
some even of Job's complaints.
|
|
|
|
1. His troubles had fixed a very deep impression upon his mind and made
|
|
him a man of sorrows. So great was his grief that his very soul was
|
|
consumed with it, and his life spent with it, and he was continually
|
|
sighing,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Herein he was a type of Christ,--who was intimately acquainted with
|
|
grief and often in tears. We may guess by David's complexion, which was
|
|
ruddy and sanguine, by his genius for music, and by his daring
|
|
enterprises in his early days, that his natural disposition was both
|
|
cheerful and firm, that he was apt to be cheerful, and not to lay
|
|
trouble to his heart; yet here we see what he is brought to: he has
|
|
almost wept out his eyes, and sighed away his breath. Let those that
|
|
are airy and gay take heed of running into extremes, and never set
|
|
sorrow at defiance; God can find out ways to make them melancholy if
|
|
they will not otherwise learn to be serious.
|
|
|
|
2. His body was afflicted with the sorrows of his mind
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>My strength fails, my bones are consumed,</I> and all <I>because of
|
|
my iniquity.</I> As to Saul, and the quarrel he had with him, he could
|
|
confidently insist upon his righteousness; but, as it was an affliction
|
|
God laid upon him, he owns he had deserved it, and freely confesses his
|
|
iniquity to have been the procuring cause of all his trouble; and the
|
|
sense of sin touched him to the quick and wasted him more than all his
|
|
calamities.
|
|
|
|
3. His friends were unkind and became shy of him. He was <I>a fear to
|
|
his acquaintance,</I> when they saw him they <I>fled from him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
They durst not harbour him nor give him any assistance, durst not show
|
|
him any countenance, nor so much as be seen in his company, for fear of
|
|
being brought into trouble by it, now that Saul had proclaimed him a
|
|
traitor and outlawed him. They saw how dearly Ahimelech the priest had
|
|
paid for aiding and abetting him, though ignorantly; and therefore,
|
|
though they could not but own he had a great deal of wrong done him,
|
|
yet they had not the courage to appear for him. He was forgotten by
|
|
them, <I>as a dead man out of mind</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
and looked upon with contempt <I>as a broken vessel.</I> Those that
|
|
showed him all possible respect when he was in honour at court, now
|
|
that he had fallen into disgrace, though unjustly, were strange to him.
|
|
Such swallow-friends the world is full of, that are gone in winter. Let
|
|
those that fall on the losing side not think it strange if they be thus
|
|
deserted, but make sure a friend in heaven, that will not fail them,
|
|
and make use of him.
|
|
|
|
4. His enemies were unjust in their censures of him. They would not
|
|
have persecuted him as they did if they had not first represented him
|
|
as a bad man; he was a <I>reproach among all his enemies, but
|
|
especially among his neighbours,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that had been the witnesses of his integrity, and could not but
|
|
be convinced in their consciences that he was an honest man, were the
|
|
most forward to represent him quite otherwise, that they might curry
|
|
favour with Saul. Thus he <I>heard the slander of many;</I> every one
|
|
had a stone to throw at him, because <I>fear was in every side;</I>
|
|
that is, they durst not do otherwise, for he that would not join with
|
|
his neighbours to accuse David was looked upon as disaffected to Saul.
|
|
Thus the best of men have been represented under the worst characters
|
|
by those that resolved to give them the worst treatment.
|
|
|
|
5. His life was aimed at and he went in continual peril of it. Fear was
|
|
on every side, and he knew that, whatever counsel his enemies took
|
|
against him, the design was not to take away his liberty, but to take
|
|
away his life
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
a life so valuable, so useful, to the good services of which all Israel
|
|
owed so much, and which was never forfeited. Thus, in all the plots of
|
|
the Pharisees and Herodians against Christ, still the design was to
|
|
take away his life, such are the enmity and cruelty of the serpent's
|
|
seed.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. His confidence in God in the midst of these troubles. Every thing
|
|
looked black and dismal round about him, and threatened to drive him to
|
|
despair: "<I>But I trusted in thee, O Lord!</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>)
|
|
|
|
and was thereby kept from sinking." His enemies robbed him of his
|
|
reputation among men, but they could not rob him of his comfort in God,
|
|
because they could not drive him from his confidence in God. Two things
|
|
he comforted himself with in his straits, and he went to God and
|
|
pleaded them with him:--
|
|
|
|
1. "<I>Thou art my God;</I> I have chosen thee for mine, and thou hast
|
|
promised to be mine;" and, if he be ours and we can by faith call him
|
|
so, it is enough, when we can call nothing else ours. "Thou art my God;
|
|
and therefore to whom shall I go for relief but to thee?" Those need
|
|
not be straitened in their prayers who can plead this; for, if God
|
|
undertake to be our God, he will do that for us which will answer the
|
|
compass and vast extent of the engagement.
|
|
|
|
2. <I>My times are in thy hand.</I> Join this with the former and it
|
|
makes the comfort complete. If God have our times in his hand, he can
|
|
help us; and, if he be our God, he will help us; and then what can
|
|
discourage us? It is a great support to those who have God for their
|
|
God that their times are in his hand and he will be sure to order and
|
|
dispose of them for the best, to all those who commit their spirits
|
|
also into his hand, to suit them to their times, as David here,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
The time of life is in God's hands, to lengthen or shorten, embitter or
|
|
sweeten, as he pleases, according to the counsel of his will. Our times
|
|
(all events that concern us, and the timing of them) are at God's
|
|
disposal; they are not in our own hands, for the way of man is not in
|
|
himself, not in our friends' hands, nor in our enemies' hands, but in
|
|
God's; <I>every man's judgment proceedeth from him.</I> David does not,
|
|
in his prayers, prescribe to God, but subscribe to him. "Lord, my times
|
|
are in thy hand, and I am well pleased that they are so; they could not
|
|
be in a better hand. Thy will be done." </P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. His petitions to God, in this faith and confidence,
|
|
|
|
1. He prays that God would deliver him out of the hand of his enemies
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
and save him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
and this for his mercies' sake, and not for any merit of his own. Our
|
|
opportunities are in God's hand (so some read it), and therefore he
|
|
knows how to choose the best and fittest time for our deliverance, and
|
|
we must be willing to wait that time. When David had Saul at his mercy
|
|
in the cave those about him said, "<I>This is the time</I> in which God
|
|
will deliver thee,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+24:4">1 Sam. xxiv. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
"No," says David, "the time has not come for my deliverance till it can
|
|
be wrought without sin; and I will wait for that time; for it is God's
|
|
time, and that is the best time."
|
|
|
|
2. That God would give him the comfort of his favour in the mean time
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Make they face to shine upon thy servant;</I> let me have the
|
|
comfortable tokens and evidences of thy favour to me, and that shall
|
|
put gladness in my heart in the midst of all my griefs."
|
|
|
|
3. That his prayers to God might be answered and his hopes in God
|
|
accomplished
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Let me not be ashamed</I> of my hopes and prayers, <I>for I have
|
|
called upon thee,</I> who never saidst to thy people, Seek in vain, and
|
|
hope in vain."
|
|
|
|
4. That shame and silence might be the portion of wicked people, and
|
|
particularly of his enemies. They were confident of their success
|
|
against David, and that they should run him down and ruin him. "Lord,"
|
|
says he, "let them be made ashamed of that confidence by the
|
|
disappointment of their expectations," as those that opposed the
|
|
building of the wall about Jerusalem, when it was finished, were
|
|
<I>much cast down in their own eye,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ne+6:16">Neh. vi. 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Let them be silent in the grave.</I> Note, Death will silence the
|
|
rage and clamour of cruel persecutors, whom reason would not silence.
|
|
In the grave the wicked cease from troubling. Particularly, he prays
|
|
for (that is, he prophesies) the silencing of those that reproach and
|
|
calumniate the people of God
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Let lying lips be put to silence, that speak grievous things proudly
|
|
and contemptuously against the righteous.</I> This is a very good
|
|
prayer which,
|
|
|
|
(1.) We have often occasion to put up to God; for those that set their
|
|
mouth against the heavens commonly revile the heirs of heaven.
|
|
Religion, in the strict and serious professors of it, are every where
|
|
spoken against,
|
|
|
|
[1.] With a great deal of malice: They speak <I>grievous things,</I> on
|
|
purpose to vex them, and hoping, with what they say, to do them a real
|
|
mischief. They speak <I>hard things</I> (so the word is), which bear
|
|
hard upon them, and by which they hope to fasten indelible characters
|
|
of infamy upon them.
|
|
|
|
[2.] With a great deal of falsehood: They are <I>lying lips,</I> taught
|
|
by the father of lies and serving his interest.
|
|
|
|
[3.] With a great deal of scorn and disdain: They speak <I>proudly and
|
|
contemptuously,</I> as if the righteous, whom God has honoured, were
|
|
the most despicable people in the world, and not worthy to be set with
|
|
the dogs of their flock. One would think they thought it no sin to tell
|
|
a deliberate lie if it might but serve to expose a good man either to
|
|
hatred or contempt. <I>Hear, O our God! for we are despised.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) We may pray in faith; for these lying lips shall be put to
|
|
silence. God has many ways of doing it. Sometimes he convinces the
|
|
consciences of those that reproach his people, and turns their hearts.
|
|
Sometimes by his providence he visibly confutes their calumnies, and
|
|
brings forth the righteousness of his people as the light. However,
|
|
there is a day coming when God will convince ungodly sinners of the
|
|
falsehood of all the hard speeches that have spoken against his people
|
|
and will execute judgment upon them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jude+1:14,15">
|
|
Jude 14, 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
Then shall this prayer be fully answered, and to that day we should
|
|
have an eye in the singing of it, engaging ourselves likewise by
|
|
well-doing, if possible, to <I>silence the ignorance of foolish
|
|
men,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+2:15">1 Pet. ii. 15</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ps31_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps31_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps31_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps31_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps31_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps31_24"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Triumphant Praise.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>19 <I>Oh</I> how great <I>is</I> thy goodness, which thou hast laid up
|
|
for them that fear thee; <I>which</I> thou hast wrought for them that
|
|
trust in thee before the sons of men!
|
|
20 Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the
|
|
pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from
|
|
the strife of tongues.
|
|
21 Blessed <I>be</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: for he hath showed me his marvellous
|
|
kindness in a strong city.
|
|
22 For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes:
|
|
nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I
|
|
cried unto thee.
|
|
23 O love the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, all ye his saints: <I>for</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
|
|
preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud
|
|
doer.
|
|
24 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all
|
|
ye that hope in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have three things in these verses:--</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The believing acknowledgment which David makes of God's goodness to
|
|
his people in general,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:19,20"><I>v.</I> 19, 20</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. God is good to all, but he is, in a special manner, good to Israel.
|
|
His goodness to them is wonderful, and will be, to eternity, matter of
|
|
admiration: <I>O how great is thy goodness!</I> How profound are the
|
|
counsels of it! how rich are the treasures of it! how free and
|
|
extensive are the communications of it! Those very persons whom men
|
|
load with slanders God loads with benefits and honours. Those who are
|
|
interested in this goodness are described to be such as fear God and
|
|
trust in him, as stand in awe of his greatness and rely on his grace.
|
|
This goodness is said to be <I>laid up for them</I> and <I>wrought for
|
|
them.</I>
|
|
|
|
(1.) There is a goodness laid up for them in the other world, an
|
|
inheritance <I>reserved in heaven</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:4">1 Pet. i. 4</A>),
|
|
|
|
and there is a goodness wrought for them in this world, goodness
|
|
wrought in them. There is enough in God's goodness both for the
|
|
portion and inheritance of all his children when they come to their
|
|
full age, and for their maintenance and education during their
|
|
minority. There is enough in bank and enough in hand.
|
|
|
|
(2.) This goodness is laid up in his promise for all that fear God, to
|
|
whom assurance is given that they shall want no good thing. But it is
|
|
wrought, in the actual performance of the promise, for those that trust
|
|
in him--that by faith take hold of the promise, put it in suit, and
|
|
draw out to themselves the benefit and comfort of it. If what is laid
|
|
up for us in the treasures of the everlasting covenant be not wrought
|
|
for us, it is our own fault, because we do not believe. But those that
|
|
trust in God, as they have the comfort of his goodness in their own
|
|
bosoms, so they have the credit of it (and the credit of an estate goes
|
|
far with some); it is wrought for them <I>before the sons of men.</I>
|
|
God's goodness to them puts an honour upon them and rolls away their
|
|
reproach; <I>for all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they
|
|
are the seed which the Lord hath blessed,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:9">Isa. lxi. 9</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. God preserves man and beast; but he is, in a special manner, the
|
|
protector of his own people
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Thou shalt hide them.</I> As his goodness is hid and reserved for
|
|
them, so they are hid and preserved for it. The saints are God's hidden
|
|
ones. See here,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The danger they are in, which arises from the pride of man and
|
|
from the strife of tongues; proud men insult over them and would
|
|
trample on them and tread them down; contentious men pick quarrels with
|
|
them; and, when tongues are at strife, good people often go by the
|
|
worst. The pride of men endangers their liberty; the strife of tongues
|
|
in perverse disputings endangers truth. But,
|
|
|
|
(2.) See the defence they are under: <I>Thou shalt hide them in the
|
|
secret of thy presence, in a pavilion.</I> God's providence shall keep
|
|
them safe form the malice of their enemies. He has many ways of
|
|
sheltering them. When Baruch and Jeremiah were sought for <I>the Lord
|
|
hid them,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+36:36">Jer. xxxvi. 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
God's grace shall keep them safe from the evil of the judgments that
|
|
are abroad; to them they have no sting; and they shall hidden in the
|
|
day of the Lord's anger, for there is no anger at them. His comforts
|
|
shall keep them easy and cheerful; his sanctuary, where they have
|
|
communion with him, shelters then from the fiery darts of terror and
|
|
temptation; and the mansions in his house above shall be shortly, shall
|
|
be eternally, their hiding-place from all danger and fear.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The thankful returns which David makes for God's goodness to him in
|
|
particular,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:21,22"><I>v.</I> 21, 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
Having admired God's goodness to all the saints, he here owns how good
|
|
he had found him.
|
|
|
|
1. Without were fightings; but God had wonderfully preserved his life:
|
|
"<I>He has shown me his marvellous loving-kindness,</I> he has given me
|
|
an instance of his care for me and favour to me, beyond what I could
|
|
have expected." God's loving-kindness to his people, all things
|
|
considered, is wonderful; but some instances of it, even in this world,
|
|
are in a special manner marvelous in their eyes; as this here, when God
|
|
preserved David from the sword of Saul, in caves and woods, as safe as
|
|
if he had been in a strong city. In Keilah, that strong city, God
|
|
showed him great mercy, both in making him an instrument to rescue the
|
|
inhabitants out of the hands of the Philistines and then in rescuing
|
|
him from the same men who would have ungratefully delivered him up into
|
|
the hand of Saul,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+23:5,12">1 Sam. xxiii. 5, 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
This was marvellous loving-kindness indeed, upon which he writes, with
|
|
wonder and thankfulness, <I>Blessed be the Lord.</I> Special
|
|
preservations call for particular thanksgivings.
|
|
|
|
2. Within were fears; but God was better to him than his fears,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
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He here keeps an account,
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(1.) Of his own folly, in distrusting God, which he acknowledges, to
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his shame. Though he had express promises to build upon, and great
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experience of God's care concerning him in many straits, yet he had
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entertained this hard and jealous thought of God, and could not forbear
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telling it him to his face. "<I>I am cut off before thy eyes;</I> thou
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hast quite forsaken me, and I must not expect to be looked upon or
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regarded by thee any more. <I>I shall one day perish by the hand of
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Saul,</I> and so be cut off before thy eyes, be ruined while thou
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lookest on,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+27:1">1 Sam. xxvii. 1</A>.
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This he said in his <I>flight</I> (so some read it), which denotes the
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distress of his affairs. Saul was just at his back, and ready to seize
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him, which made the temptation strong. <I>In my haste</I> (so we read
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it), which denotes the disturbance and discomposure of his mind, which
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made the temptation surprising, so that it found him off his guard.
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Note, It is a common thing to speak amiss when we speak in haste and
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without consideration; but what we speak amiss in haste we must repent
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of at leisure, particularly that which we have spoken distrustfully of
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God.
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(2.) Of God's wonderful goodness to him notwithstanding. Though his
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faith failed, God's promise did not: <I>Thou hearest the voice of my
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supplication,</I> for all this. He mentions his own unbelief as a foil
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to God's fidelity, serving to make his loving-kindness the more
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marvellous, the more illustrious. When we have thus distrusted God he
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might justly take us at our word, and bring our fears upon us, as he
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did on Israel,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+14:28,Isa+66:4">Num. xiv. 28; Isa. lxvi. 4</A>.
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But he has pitied and pardoned us, and our unbelief has not made his
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promise and grace of no effect; for he knows our frame.</P>
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<P>
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III. The exhortation and encouragement which he hereupon gives to all
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the saints,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:23,24"><I>v.</I> 23, 24</A>.
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1. He would have them set their love on God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>):
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<I>O love the Lord! all you his saints.</I> Those that have their own
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hearts full of love to God cannot but desire that others also may be in
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love with him; for in his favour there is no need to fear a rival. It
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|
is the character of the saints that they do love God; and yet they must
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still be called upon to love him, to love him more and love him better,
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|
and give proofs of their love. We must love him, not only for his
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goodness, because <I>he preserves the faithful,</I> but for his
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justice, because he <I>plentifully rewards the proud doer</I> (who
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would ruin those whom he preserves), according to their pride. Some
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take it in a good sense; he plentifully rewards the magnificent (or
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excellent) doer, that is daringly good, whose heart, like
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Jehoshaphat's, is lifted up in the ways of the Lord. He rewards him
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that does well, but plentifully rewards him that does excellently well.
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2. He would have them set their hope in God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:24">
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<I>v.</I> 24</A>):
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"<I>Be of good courage;</I> have a good heart on it; whatever
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difficulties or dangers you may meet with, the God you trust in shall
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|
by that trust strengthen your heart." Those that hope in God have
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reason to be of good courage, and let their hearts be strong, for, as
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|
nothing truly evil can befal them, so nothing truly good for them shall
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be wanting to them.</P>
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<P>
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In singing this we should animate ourselves and one another to proceed
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and persevere in our Christian course, whatever threatens us, and
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whoever frowns upon us.</P>
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