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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 XXXVIII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This is one of the penitential psalms; it is full of grief and
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complaint from the beginning to the end. David's sins and his
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afflictions are the cause of his grief and the matter of his
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complaints. It should seem he was now sick and in pain, which reminded
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him of his sins and helped to humble him for them; he was, at the same
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time, deserted by his friends and persecuted by his enemies; so that
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the psalm is calculated for the depth of distress and a complication of
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calamities. He complains,
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I. Of God's displeasure, and of his own sin which provoked God against
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him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:1-5">ver. 1-5</A>.
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II. Of his bodily sickness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:6-10">ver. 6-10</A>.
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III. Of the unkindness of his friends,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:11">ver. 11</A>.
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IV. Of the injuries which his enemies did him, pleading his good
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conduct towards them, yet confessing his sins against God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:12-20">ver. 12-20</A>.
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Lastly, he concludes the psalm with earnest prayers to God for his
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gracious presence and help,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:21,22">ver. 21, 22</A>.
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In singing this psalm we ought to be much affected with the malignity
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of sin; and, if we have not such troubles as are here described, we
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know not how soon we may have, and therefore must sing of them by way
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of preparation and we know that others have them, and therefore we must
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sing of the by way of sympathy.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps38_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_11"> </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>Sorrowful Complaints.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<CENTER>
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<P>A psalm of David to bring to remembrance.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, rebuke
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me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
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2 For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me
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sore.
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3 <I>There is</I> no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger;
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neither <I>is there any</I> rest in my bones because of my sin.
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4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as a heavy
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burden they are too heavy for me.
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5 My wounds stink <I>and</I> are corrupt because of my foolishness.
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6 I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the
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day long.
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7 For my loins are filled with a loathsome <I>disease:</I> and
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<I>there is</I> no soundness in my flesh.
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8 I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the
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disquietness of my heart.
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9 Lord, all my desire <I>is</I> before thee; and my groaning is not
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hid from thee.
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10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light
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of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.
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11 My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my
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kinsmen stand afar off.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The title of this psalm is very observable; it is a psalm <I>to bring
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to remembrance;</I> the 70th psalm, which was likewise penned in a day
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of affliction, is so entitled. It is designed,
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1. To bring to his own remembrance. We will suppose it penned when he
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was sick and in pain, and then it teaches us that times of sickness are
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times to bring to remembrance, to bring the sin to remembrance, for
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which God contended with us, to awaken our consciences to deal
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faithfully and plainly with us, and set our sins in order before us,
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for our humiliation. <I>In a day of adversity consider.</I> Or we may
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suppose it penned after his recovery, but designed as a record of the
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convictions he was under and the workings of his heart when he was in
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affliction, that upon every review of this psalm he might call to mind
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the good impressions then made upon him and make a fresh improvement of
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them. To the same purport was the writing of Hezekiah when he had been
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sick.
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2. To put others in mind of the same things which he was himself
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mindful of, and to teach them what to think and what to say when they
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are sick and in affliction; let them think as he did, and speak as he
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did.</P>
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<P>
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I. He deprecates the wrath of God and his displeasure in his affliction
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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<I>O Lord! rebuke me not in thy wrath.</I> With this same petition he
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began another prayer for the visitation of the sick,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+6:1">Ps. vi. 1</A>.
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This was most upon his heart, and should be most upon ours when we are
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in affliction, that, however God rebukes and chastens us, it may not be
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in wrath and displeasure, for that will be wormwood and gall in the
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affliction and misery. Those that would escape the wrath of God must
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pray against that more than any outward affliction, and be content to
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bear any outward affliction while it comes from, and consists with, the
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love of God.</P>
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<P>
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II. He bitterly laments the impressions of God's displeasure upon his
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soul
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>Thy arrows stick fast in me.</I> Let Job's complaint
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+7:4"><I>ch.</I> vii. 4</A>)
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expound this of David. By the arrows of the Almighty he means the
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terrors of God, which did set themselves in array against him. He was
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under a very melancholy frightful apprehension of the wrath of God
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against him for his sins, and thought he could look for nothing but
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judgment and fiery indignation to devour him. God's arrows, as they are
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sure to hit the mark, so they are sure to stick where they hit, to
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stick fast, till he is pleased to draw them out and to bind up with his
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comforts the wound he has made with his terrors. This will be the
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everlasting misery of the damned--the arrows of God's wrath will stick
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fast in them and the wound will be incurable. "<I>Thy hand,</I> thy
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heavy hand, <I>presses me sore,</I> and I am ready to sink under it; it
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not only lies hard upon me, but it lies long; and who knows the power
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of God's anger, the weight of his hand?" Sometimes God shot his arrows,
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and stretched forth his hand, for David
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+18:4">Ps. xviii. 14</A>),
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but now against him; so uncertain is the continuance of divine
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comforts, where yet the continuance of divine grace is assured. He
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complains of God's wrath as that which inflicted the bodily distemper
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he was under
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>There is no soundness in my flesh because of thy anger.</I> The
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bitterness of it, infused in his mind, affected his body; but that was
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not the worst: it caused the disquietude of his heart, by reason of
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which he forgot the courage of a soldier, the dignity of a prince, and
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all the cheerfulness of the sweet psalmist of Israel, and roared
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terribly,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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Nothing will disquiet the heart of a good man so much as the sense of
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God's anger, which shows what a fearful thing it is to fall into his
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hands. The way to keep the heart quiet is to keep ourselves in the love
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of God and to do nothing to offend him.</P>
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<P>
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III. He acknowledges his sin to be the procuring provoking cause of all
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his troubles, and groans more under the load of guilt than any other
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load,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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He complains that his flesh had no soundness, his bones had no rest, so
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great an agitation he was in. "It is <I>because of thy anger;</I> that
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kindles the fire which burns so fiercely;" but, in the next words, he
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justifies God herein, and takes all the blame upon himself: "It is
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<I>because of my sin.</I> I have deserved it, and so have brought it
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upon myself. My own iniquities do correct me." If our trouble be the
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fruit of God's anger, we may thank ourselves; it is our sin that is the
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cause of it. Are we restless? It is sin that makes us so. If there were
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not sin in our souls, there would be no pain in our bones, no illness
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in our bodies. It is sin therefore that this good man complains most
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of,
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1. As a burden, a heavy burden
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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"<I>My iniquities have gone over my head,</I> as proud waters over a
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man that is sinking and drowning, or as a heavy burden upon my head,
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pressing me down more than I am able to bear or to bear up under."
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Note, Sin is a burden. The power of sin dwelling in us is a weight,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:1">Heb. xii. 1</A>.
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All are clogged with it; it keeps men from soaring upward and pressing
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forward. All the saints are complaining of it as a body of death they
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are loaded with,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+7:24">Rom. vii. 24</A>.
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The guilt of sin committed by us is a burden, a heavy burden; it is a
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burden to God (he is pressed under it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+2:13">Amos ii. 13</A>),
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a burden to the whole creation, which groans under it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+8:21,22">Rom. viii. 21, 22</A>.
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It will, first or last, be a burden to the sinner himself, either a
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burden of repentance when he is pricked to the heart for it, labours,
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and is heavy-laden, under it, or a burden of ruin when it sinks him to
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the lowest hell and will for ever detain him there; it will be a talent
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of lead upon him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+5:8">Zech. v. 8</A>.
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Sinners are said to bear their iniquity. Threatenings are burdens.
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2. As wounds, dangerous wounds
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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"<I>My wounds stink and are corrupt</I> (as wounds in the body rankle,
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and fester, and grow foul, for want of being dressed and looked after),
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and it is through my own <I>foolishness.</I>" Sins are wounds
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+4:23">Gen. iv. 23</A>),
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painful mortal wounds. Our wounds by sin are often in a bad condition,
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no care taken of them, no application made to them, and it is owing to
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the sinner's foolishness in not confessing sin,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+32:3,4">Ps. xxxii. 3, 4</A>.
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A slight sore, neglected, may prove of fatal consequence, and so may a
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slight sin slighted and left unrepented of.</P>
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<P>
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IV. He bemoans himself because of his afflictions, and gives ease to
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his grief by giving vent to it and pouring out his complaint before the
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Lord.</P>
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<P>
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1. He was troubled in mind, his conscience was pained, and he had no
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rest in his own spirit; and a wounded spirit who can bear? He was
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<I>troubled,</I> or distorted, <I>bowed down greatly,</I> and went
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<I>mourning all the day long,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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He was always pensive and melancholy, which made him a burden and
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terror to himself. His spirit was feeble and sorely broken, and his
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heart disquieted,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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Herein David, in his sufferings, was a type of Christ, who, being in
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his agony, cried out, <I>My soul is exceedingly sorrowful.</I> This is
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a sorer affliction than any other in this world; whatever God is
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pleased to lay upon us, we have no reason to complain as long as he
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preserves to us the use of our reason and the peace of our
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consciences.</P>
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<P>
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2. He was sick and weak in body; his loins were filled with a loathsome
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disease, some swelling, or ulcer, or inflammation (some think a
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plague-sore, such as Hezekiah's boil), and there was <I>no soundness in
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his flesh,</I> but, like Job, he was all over distempered. See
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(1.) What vile bodies these are which we carry about with us, what
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grievous diseases they are liable to, and what an offence and grievance
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they may soon be made by some diseases to the souls that animate them,
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as they always are a cloud and clog.
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(2.) That the bodies both of the greatest and of the best of men have
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in them the same seeds of diseases that the bodies of others have, and
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are liable to the same disasters. David himself, though so great a
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prince and so great a saint, was not exempt from the most grievous
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diseases: there was no soundness even in his flesh. Probably this was
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after his sin in the matter of Uriah, and thus did he smart in his
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flesh for his fleshly lusts. When, at any time, we are distempered in
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our bodies, we ought to remember how God has been dishonoured in and by
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our bodies. He was <I>feeble and sorely broken,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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His <I>heart panted,</I> and was in a continual palpitation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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His <I>strength</I> and limbs <I>failed</I> him. As for <I>the light of
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his eyes,</I> that <I>had gone from him,</I> either with much weeping
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or by a defluxion of rheum upon them, or perhaps through the lowness of
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his spirits and the frequent returns of fainting. Note, Sickness will
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tame the strongest body and the stoutest spirit. David was famed for
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his courage and great exploits; and yet, when God contended with him by
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bodily sickness and the impressions of his wrath upon his mind, his
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hair is cut, his heart fails him, and he becomes weak as water.
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Therefore let not the strongman glory in his strength, nor any man set
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grief at defiance, however it may be thought at a distance.</P>
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<P>
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3. His friends were unkind to him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
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<I>My lovers</I> (such as had been merry with him in the day of his
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mirth) now <I>stand aloof from my sore;</I> they would not sympathize
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with him in his griefs, nor so much as come within hearing of his
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complaints, but, like the priest and Levite
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+10:31">Luke x. 31</A>),
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<I>passed on the other side.</I> Even <I>his kinsmen,</I> that were
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bound to him by blood and alliance, <I>stood afar off.</I> See what
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little reason we have to trust in man or to wonder if we disappointed
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in our expectations of kindness from men. Adversity tries friendship,
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and separates between the precious and the vile. It is our wisdom to
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make sure a friend in heaven, who will not stand aloof from our sore
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and from whose love no tribulation nor distress shall be able to
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separate us. David, in his troubles, was a type of Christ in his agony,
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Christ, on his cross, feeble and sorely broken, and then deserted by
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his friends and kinsmen, who beheld afar off.</P>
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<P>
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V. In the midst of his complaints, he comforts himself with the
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cognizance God graciously took both of his griefs and of his prayers
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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"<I>Lord, all my desire is before thee.</I> Thou knowest what I want
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and what I would have: <I>My groaning is not hidden from thee.</I> Thou
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|
knowest the burdens I groan under and the blessings I groan after." The
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|
<I>groanings which cannot be uttered</I> are not hidden from him that
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<I>searches the heart and knows what is the mind of the Spirit,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+8:26,27">Rom. viii. 26, 27</A>.</P>
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<P>
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In singing this, and praying it over, whatever burden lies upon our
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spirits, we would by faith cast it upon God, and all our care
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concerning it, and then be easy.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps38_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps38_22"> </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.</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>12 They also that seek after my life lay snares <I>for me:</I> and
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they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine
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deceits all the day long.
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13 But I, as a deaf <I>man,</I> heard not; and <I>I was</I> as a dumb man
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<I>that</I> openeth not his mouth.
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14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth
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<I>are</I> no reproofs.
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15 For in thee, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my
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God.
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16 For I said, <I>Hear me,</I> lest <I>otherwise</I> they should rejoice
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over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify <I>themselves</I> against
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me.
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17 For I <I>am</I> ready to halt, and my sorrow <I>is</I> continually
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before me.
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18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my
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sin.
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19 But mine enemies <I>are</I> lively, <I>and</I> they are strong: and
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they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.
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20 They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries;
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because I follow <I>the thing that</I> good <I>is.</I>
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21 Forsake me not, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: O my God, be not far from me.
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22 Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In these verses,</P>
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<P>
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I. David complains of the power and malice of his enemies, who, it
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should seem, not only took occasion from the weakness of his body and
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the trouble of his mind to insult over him, but took advantage thence
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to do him a mischief. He has a great deal to say against them, which he
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humbly offers as a reason why God should appear for him, as
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+25:19">Ps. xxv. 19</A>,
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<I>Consider my enemies.</I>
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1. "They are very spiteful and cruel: <I>They seek my hurt;</I> nay,
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they <I>seek after my life,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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That life which was so precious in the sight of the Lord and all good
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men was aimed at, as if it had been forfeited, or a public nuisance.
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Such is the enmity of the serpent's seed against the seed of the woman;
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it would wound the head, though it can but reach the heel. It is the
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blood of the saints that is thirsted after.
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2. "They are very subtle and politic. They <I>lay snares,</I> they
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|
<I>imagine deceits,</I> and herein they are restless and unwearied:
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they do it <I>all the day long.</I> They speak mischievous things one
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|
to another; every one has something or other to propose that may be a
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mischief to me." Mischief, covered and carried on by deceit, may well
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|
be called a <I>snare.</I>
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3. "They are very insolent and abusive: <I>When my foot slips,</I>
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when I fall into any trouble, or when I make any mistake, misplace a
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word, or take a false step, they magnify themselves against me; they
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|
are pleased with it, and promise themselves that it will ruin my
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interest, and that if I slip I shall certainly fall and be undone."
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4. "They are not only unjust, but very ungrateful: They <I>hate me
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wrongfully,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
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I never did them any ill turn, nor so much as bore them any ill-will,
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nor ever gave them any provocation; nay, <I>they render evil for
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good,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
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Many a kindness I have done them, for which I might have expected a
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|
return of kindness; but <I>for my love they are my adversaries,</I>"
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+109:4">Ps. cix. 4</A>.
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|
Such a rooted enmity there is in the hearts of wicked men to goodness
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for its own sake that they hate it, even when they themselves have the
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|
benefit of it; they hate prayer even in those that pray for them, and
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|
hate peace even in those that would be at peace with them. Very
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|
ill-natured indeed those are whom no courtesy will oblige, but who are
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|
rather exasperated by it.
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|
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5. "They are very impious and devilish: <I>They are my adversaries</I>
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merely <I>because I follow the thing that good is.</I>" They hated him,
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not only for his kindness to them, but for his devotion and obedience
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|
to God; they hated him because they hated God and all that bear his
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|
image. If we suffer ill for doing well, we must not think it strange;
|
|
from the beginning it was so (Cain slew Abel, because his works were
|
|
righteous); nor must we think it hard, because it will not be always
|
|
so; for so much the greater will our reward be.
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|
6. "They are many and mighty: They <I>are lively; they are strong; they
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|
are multiplied,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
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|
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|
<I>Lord, how are those increased that trouble me?</I>"
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|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+3:1">Ps. iii. 1</A>.
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|
|
|
Holy David was weak and faint; his heart panted, and his strength
|
|
failed; he was melancholy and of a sorrowful spirit, and persecuted by
|
|
his friends; but at the same time his wicked enemies were strong and
|
|
lively, and their number increased. Let us not therefore pretend to
|
|
judge of men's characters by their outward condition; none knows love
|
|
or hatred by all that is before him. It should seem that David in this,
|
|
as in other complaints he makes of his enemies, has an eye to Christ,
|
|
whose persecutors were such as are here described, perfectly lost to
|
|
all honour and virtue. None hate Christianity but such as have first
|
|
divested themselves of the first principles of humanity and broken
|
|
through its most sacred bonds.</P>
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|
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|
<P>
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|
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|
II. He reflects, with comfort, upon his own peaceable and pious
|
|
behaviour under all the injuries and indignities that were done him. It
|
|
is then only that our enemies do us a real mischief when they provoke
|
|
us to sin
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ne+6:13">Neh. vi. 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
when they prevail to put us out of the possession of our own souls, and
|
|
drive us from God and our duty. If by divine grace we are enabled to
|
|
prevent this mischief, we quench their fiery darts, and are saved from
|
|
harm. If still we hold fast our integrity and our peace, who can hurt
|
|
us? This David did here.
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|
|
|
1. He kept his temper, and was not ruffled nor discomposed by any of
|
|
the slights that were put upon him or the mischievous things that were
|
|
said or done against him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:13,14"><I>v.</I> 13, 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>I, as a deaf man, heard not;</I> I took no notice of the affronts
|
|
put upon me, did not resent them, nor was put into disorder by them,
|
|
much less did I meditate revenge, or study to return the injury." Note,
|
|
The less notice we take of the unkindness and injuries that are done us
|
|
the more we consult the quiet of our own minds. Being deaf, he was
|
|
dumb, as a man <I>in whose mouth there are no reproofs;</I> he was as
|
|
silent as if he had nothing to say for himself, for fear of putting
|
|
himself into a heat and incensing his enemies yet more against him; he
|
|
would not only not recriminate upon them, but not so much as vindicate
|
|
himself, lest his necessary defence should be construed his offence.
|
|
Though they sought after his life, and his silence might be taken for a
|
|
confession of his guilt, yet he was as a dumb man that opens not his
|
|
mouth. Note, When our enemies are most clamorous it is generally our
|
|
prudence to be silent, or to say little, lest we make bad worse. David
|
|
could not hope by his mildness to win upon his enemies, nor by his soft
|
|
answers to turn away their wrath; for they were men of such base
|
|
spirits that they rendered him evil for good; and yet he conducted
|
|
himself thus meekly towards them, that he might prevent his own sin and
|
|
might have the comfort of it in the reflection. Herein David was a type
|
|
of Christ, who was as a sheep dumb before the shearer, and, when he was
|
|
reviled, reviled not again; and both are examples to us not to render
|
|
railing for railing.
|
|
|
|
2. He kept close to his God by faith and prayer, and so both supported
|
|
himself under these injuries and silenced his own resentments of them.
|
|
|
|
(1.) He trusted in God
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>I was as a man that opens not his mouth, for in thee, O Lord! do I
|
|
hope.</I> I depend upon thee to plead my cause and clear my innocency,
|
|
and, some way or other, to put my enemies to silence and shame." His
|
|
lovers and friends, that should have owned him, and stood by him, and
|
|
appeared as witnesses for him, withdrew from him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
But God is a friend that will never fail us if we hope in him. "<I>I
|
|
was as a man that heareth not, for thou wilt hear.</I> Why need I hear,
|
|
and God hear too?" <I>He careth for you</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+5:7">1 Pet. v. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
and why need you care and God care too? "<I>Thou wilt answer</I>" (so
|
|
some) "and therefore I will say nothing." Note, It is a good reason why
|
|
we should bear reproach and calumny with silence and patience, because
|
|
God is a witness to all the wrong that is done us, and, in due time,
|
|
will be a witness for us and against those that do us wrong; therefore
|
|
let us be silent, because, if we be, then we may expect that God will
|
|
appear for us, for this is an evidence that we trust in him; but, if we
|
|
undertake to manage for ourselves, we take God's work out of his hands
|
|
and forfeit the benefit of his appearing for us. Our Lord Jesus, when
|
|
he suffered, threatened not, because he <I>committed himself to him
|
|
that judges righteously</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+2:23">1 Pet. ii. 23</A>);
|
|
|
|
and we shall lose nothing, at last, by doing so. <I>Thou shalt answer,
|
|
Lord, for me.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) He called upon God
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>For I said,</I> Hear me (that is supplied); "<I>I said so</I>" (as
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>);
|
|
|
|
"in thee do I hope, for thou wilt hear, lest they should rejoice over
|
|
me. I comforted myself with that when I was apprehensive that they
|
|
would overwhelm me." It is a great support to us, when men are false
|
|
and unkind, that we have a God to go to whom we may be free with and
|
|
who will be faithful to us.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. He here bewails his own follies and infirmities.
|
|
|
|
1. He was very sensible of the present workings of corruption in him,
|
|
and that he was now ready to repine at the providence of God and to be
|
|
put into a passion by the injuries men did him: <I>I am ready to
|
|
halt,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
This will best be explained by a reflection like this which the
|
|
psalmist made upon himself in a similar case
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+73:2">Ps. lxxiii. 2</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>My feet were almost gone, when I saw the prosperity of the
|
|
wicked.</I> So here: <I>I was ready to halt,</I> ready to say, <I>I
|
|
have cleansed my hands in vain.</I> His sorrow was continual: <I>All
|
|
the day long have I been plagued.</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+73:13,14">Ps. lxxiii. 13, 14</A>),
|
|
|
|
and it was continually before him; he could not forbear poring upon it,
|
|
and that made him almost ready to halt between religion and irreligion.
|
|
The fear of this drove him to his God: "In thee do I hope, not only
|
|
that thou wilt plead my cause, but that thou wilt prevent my falling
|
|
into sin." Good men, by setting their sorrow continually before them,
|
|
have been ready to halt, who, by setting God always before them, have
|
|
kept their standing.
|
|
|
|
2. He remembered against himself his former transgressions,
|
|
acknowledging that by them he had brought these troubles upon himself
|
|
and forfeited the divine protection. Though before men he could justify
|
|
himself, before God he will judge and condemn himself
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>I will declare my iniquity,</I> and not cover it; <I>I will be
|
|
sorry for my sin,</I> and not make a light matter of it;" and this
|
|
helped to make him silent under the rebukes of Providence and the
|
|
reproaches of men. Note, If we be truly penitent for sin, that will
|
|
make us patient under affliction, and particularly under unjust
|
|
censures. Two things are required in repentance:--
|
|
|
|
(1.) Confession of sin: "<I>I will declare my iniquity;</I> I will not
|
|
only in general own myself a sinner, but I will make a particular
|
|
acknowledgment of what I have done amiss." We must declare our sins
|
|
before God freely and fully, and with their aggravating circumstances,
|
|
that we may give glory to God and take shame to ourselves.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Contrition for sin: <I>I will be sorry for it.</I> Sin will have
|
|
sorrow; every true penitent grieves for the dishonour he has done to
|
|
God and the wrong he has done to himself. "I will be in care or fear
|
|
about my sin" (so some), "in fear lest it ruin me and in care to get it
|
|
pardoned."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. He concludes with very earnest prayers to God for his gracious
|
|
presence with him and seasonable powerful succour in his distress
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:21,22"><I>v.</I> 21, 22</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Forsake me not, O Lord!</I> though my friends forsake me, and
|
|
though I deserve to be forsaken by thee. Be not far from me, as my
|
|
unbelieving heart is ready to fear thou art." Nothing goes nearer to
|
|
the heart of a good man in affliction than to be under the apprehension
|
|
of God's deserting him in wrath; nor does any thing therefore come more
|
|
feelingly from his heart than this prayer: "<I>Lord, be not thou far
|
|
from me; make haste for my help;</I> for I am ready to perish, and in
|
|
danger of being lost if relief do not come quickly." God gives us
|
|
leave, not only to call upon him when we are in trouble, but to hasten
|
|
him. He pleads, "Thou art <I>my God,</I> whom I serve, and on whom I
|
|
depend to bear me out; and <I>my salvation,</I> who alone art able to
|
|
save me, who hast engaged thyself by promise to save me, and from whom
|
|
alone I expect salvation." Is any afflicted? let him thus pray, let him
|
|
thus plead, let him thus hope, in singing this psalm.</P>
|
|
|
|
<!-- (End Body) -->
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