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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Psalms LVI].</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 LVI.</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 seems by this, and many other psalms, that even in times of the
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greatest trouble and distress David never hung his harp upon the
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willow-trees, never unstrung it or laid it by; but that when his
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dangers and fears were greatest he was still in tune for singing God's
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praises. He was in imminent peril when he penned this psalm, at least
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when he meditated it; yet even then his meditation of God was sweet.
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I. He complains of the malice of his enemies, and begs mercy for
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himself and justice against them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:1,2,5-7">ver. 1, 2, 5-7</A>.
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II. He confides in God, being assured that he took his part, comforting
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himself with this, that therefore he was safe and should be victorious,
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and that while he lived he should praise God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:3,4,8-13">ver. 3, 4, 8-13</A>.
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How pleasantly may a good Christian, in singing this psalm, rejoice in
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God, and praise him for what he will do, as well as for what he has
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done.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps56_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps56_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps56_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps56_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps56_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps56_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps56_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Prayer for Help under Oppression; 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 upon Jonath-elem-rechokim,
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<BR>Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Be merciful unto
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me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily
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oppresseth me.
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2 Mine enemies would daily swallow <I>me</I> up: for <I>they be</I> many
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that fight against me, O thou most High.
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3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
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4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I
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will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
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5 Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts <I>are</I>
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against me for evil.
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6 They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they
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mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.
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7 Shall they escape by iniquity? in <I>thine</I> anger cast down the
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people, O God.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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David, in this psalm, by his faith throws himself into the hands of
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God, even when he had by his fear and folly thrown himself into the
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hands of the Philistines; it was when they took him in Gath, whither he
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fled for fear of Saul, forgetting the quarrel they had with him for
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killing Goliath; but they soon put him in mid of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:10,11">1 Sam. xxi. 10, 11</A>.
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Upon that occasion he changed his behaviour, but with so little ruffle
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to his temper that then he penned both this psalm and
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+34:1-22">the 34th</A>.
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This is called <I>Michtam--a golden psalm.</I> So some other psalms are
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entitled, but this has something peculiar in the title; it is upon
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<I>Jonath-elem-rechokim,</I> which signifies <I>the silent dove afar
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off.</I> Some apply this to David himself, who wished for the wings of
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a dove on which to fly away. He was innocent and inoffensive, mild and
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patient, as a dove, was at this time driven from his nest, from the
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sanctuary
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:3">Ps. lxxxiv. 3</A>),
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was forced to wander afar off, to seek for shelter in distant
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countries; there he was like the doves of the valleys, mourning and
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melancholy; but silent, neither murmuring against God nor railing at
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the instruments of his trouble; herein a type of Christ, who was as a
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sheep, dumb before the shearers, and a pattern to Christians, who,
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wherever they are and whatever injuries are done them, ought to be as
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silent doves. In this former part of the psalm,</P>
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<P>
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I. He complains to God of the malice and wickedness of his enemies, to
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show what reason he had to fear them, and what cause, what need, there
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was that God should appear against them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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<I>Be merciful unto me, O God!</I> That petition includes all the good
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we come to the throne of grace for; if we obtain mercy there, we obtain
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all we can desire, and need no more to make us happy. It implies
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likewise our best plea, not our merit, but God's mercy, his free rich
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mercy. He prays that he might find mercy with God, for with men he
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could find no mercy. When he fled from the cruel hands of Saul he fell
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into the cruel hands of the Philistines. "Lord" (says he), "be thou
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merciful to me now, or I am undone." The mercy of God is what we may
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flee to and trust to, and in faith pray for, when we are surrounded on
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all sides with difficulties and dangers. He complains,
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1. That his enemies were very numerous
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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"<I>They are many that fight against me,</I> and think to overpower me
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with numbers; take notice of this, <I>O thou Most High!</I> and make it
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to appear that wherein they deal proudly thou art above them." It is a
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point of honour to come in to the help of one against many. And, if God
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be on our side, how many soever they are that fight against us, we may,
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upon good grounds, boast that there are more with us; for (as that
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great general said) "How many do we reckon him for?"
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2. That they were very barbarous: they would <I>swallow him up,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>
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and again
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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They sought to devour him; no less would serve; they came upon him with
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the utmost fury, like beasts of prey, to eat up his flesh,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:2">Ps. xxvii. 2</A>.
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<I>Man</I> would swallow him up, those of his own kind, from whom he
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might have expected humanity. The ravenous beasts prey not upon those
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of their own species; yet a bad man would devour a good man if he
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could. "They are men, weak and frail; make them to know that they are
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so,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+9:20">Ps. ix. 20</A>.
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3. That they were very unanimous
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>They gather themselves together;</I> though they were many, and of
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different interests among themselves, yet they united and combined
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against David, as Herod and Pilate against the Son of David.
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4. That they were very powerful, quite too hard for him if God did not
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help him: "<I>They fight against me</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>);
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<I>they oppress me,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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I am almost overcome and borne down by them, and reduced to the last
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extremity."
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5. That they were very subtle and crafty
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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"<I>They hide themselves;</I> they industriously cover their designs,
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that they may the more effectually prosecute and pursue them. They hide
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themselves as a lion in his den, that they may mark my steps;" that is,
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"they observe every thing I say and do with a critical eye, that they
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may have something to accuse me of" (thus Christ's enemies watched him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+20:20">Luke xx. 20</A>),
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or "they have an eye upon all my motions, that they may gain an
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opportunity to do me a mischief, and may lay their snares for me."
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6. That they were very spiteful and malicious. They put invidious
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constructions upon every thing he said, though ever so honestly meant
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and prudently expressed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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"<I>They wrest my words,</I> put them upon the rack, to extort that out
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of them which was never in them;" and so they made him an offender for
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a word
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+29:21">Isa. xxix. 21</A>),
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misrepresenting it to Saul, and aggravating it, to incense him yet more
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against him. They made it their whole business to ruin David; all
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their thoughts were against him for evil, which put evil
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interpretations upon all his words.
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7. That they were very restless and unwearied. They continually waited
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for his soul; it was the life, the precious life, they hunted for; it
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was his death they longed for,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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They fought daily against him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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and would daily swallow him up
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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and every day they wrested his words,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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Their malice would not admit the least cessation of arms, or the acts
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of hostility, but they were continually pushing at him. Such as this is
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the enmity of Satan and his agents against the kingdom of Christ and
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the interests of his holy religion, which if we cordially espouse, we
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must not think it strange to meet with such treatment as this, as
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though some strange thing happened to us. Our betters have been thus
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used. So persecuted they the prophets.</P>
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<P>
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II. He encourages himself in God, and in his promises, power, and
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providence,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:3,4"><I>v.</I> 3, 4</A>
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In the midst of his complaints, and before he has said what he has to
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say of his enemies, he triumphs in the divine protection.
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1. He resolves to make God his confidence, then when dangers were most
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threatening and all other confidences failed: "<I>What time I am
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afraid,</I> in the day of my fear, when I am most terrified from
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without and most timorous within, then <I>I will trust in thee,</I> and
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thereby my fears shall be silenced." Note, There are some times which
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are, in a special manner, times of fear with God's people; in these
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times it is their duty and interest to trust in God as their God, and
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to know whom they have trusted. This will fix the heart and keep it in
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peace.
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2. He resolves to make God's promises the matter of his praises, and so
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we have reason to make them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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"<I>In God I will praise,</I> not only his work which he has done, but
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<I>his word</I> which he has spoken; I will give him thanks for a
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promise, though not yet performed. <I>In God</I> (in his strength and
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by his assistance) I will both glory in his word and give him the glory
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of it." Some understand by <I>his word</I> his providences, every event
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that he orders and appoints: "When I speak well of God I will with him
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speak well of every thing that he does."
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3. Thus supported, he will bid defiance to all adverse powers: "<I>When
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in God I have put my trust,</I> I am safe, I am easy, and <I>I will not
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fear what flesh can do unto me;</I> it is but flesh, and cannot do
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much; nay, it can do nothing but by divine permission." As we must not
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trust to an arm of flesh when it is engaged for us, so we must not be
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afraid of an arm of flesh when it is stretched out against us.</P>
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<P>
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III. He foresees and foretels the fall of those that fought against
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him, and of all others that think to establish themselves in and by any
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wicked practices
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>Shall they escape by iniquity?</I> They hope to escape God's
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judgments, as they escape men's, by violence and fraud, and the arts of
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injustice and treachery; but shall they escape? No, certainly they
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shall not. The sin of sinners will never be their security, nor will
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either their impudence or their hypocrisy bring them off at God's bar;
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God will in his anger cast down and cast out such people,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+2:3">Rom. ii. 3</A>.
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None are raised so high, or settled so firmly, but that the justice of
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God can bring them down, both from their dignities and from their
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confidences. <I>Who knows the power of God's anger,</I> how high it can
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reach, and how forcibly it can strike?</P>
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<A NAME="Ps56_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps56_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps56_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps56_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps56_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps56_13"> </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>Comfort under Affliction; 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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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy
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bottle: <I>are they</I> not in thy book?
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9 When I cry <I>unto thee,</I> then shall mine enemies turn back:
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this I know; for God <I>is</I> for me.
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10 In God will I praise <I>his</I> word: in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will I praise
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<I>his</I> word.
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11 In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man
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can do unto me.
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12 Thy vows <I>are</I> upon me, O God: I will render praises unto
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thee.
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13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: <I>wilt</I> not <I>thou
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deliver</I> my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the
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light of the living?
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Several things David here comforts himself with in the day of his
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distress and fear.</P>
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<P>
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I. That God took particular notice of all his grievances and all his
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griefs,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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1. Of all the inconveniences of his state: <I>Thou tellest my
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wanderings,</I> my <I>flittings,</I> so the old translation. David was
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now but a young (under thirty) and yet he had had many removes, from
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his father's house to the court, thence to the camp, and now driven out
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to sojourn where he could find a place, but not allowed to rest any
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where; he was hunted like a partridge upon the mountains; continual
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terrors and toils attended him; but this comforted him, that God kept a
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particular account of all his motions, and numbered all the weary steps
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he took, by night or by day. Note, God takes cognizance of all the
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afflictions of his people; and he does not cast out from his care and
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love those whom men have cast out from their acquaintance and converse.
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2. Of all the impressions thus made upon his spirit. When he was
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wandering he was often weeping, and therefore prays, "<I>Put thou my
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tears into thy bottle,</I> to be preserved and looked upon; nay, I know
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they are <I>in thy book,</I> the book of thy remembrance." God has a
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bottle and a book for his people's tears, both those for their sins and
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those for their afflictions. This intimates,
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(1.) That he observes them with compassion and tender concern; he is
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afflicted in their afflictions, and knows their souls in adversity. As
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the blood of his saints, and their deaths, are precious in the sight of
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the Lord, so are their tears, not one of them shall fall to the ground.
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<I>I have seen thy tears,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+20:5">2 Kings xx. 5</A>.
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<I>I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himself,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+31:18">Jer. xxxi. 18</A>.
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(2.) That he will remember them and review them, as we do the accounts
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we have booked. Paul was mindful of Timothy's tears
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ti+1:4">2 Tim. i. 4</A>),
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and God will not forget the sorrows of his people. The tears of God's
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persecuted people are bottled up and sealed among God's treasures; and,
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|
when these books come to be opened, they will be found vials of wrath,
|
|
which will be poured out upon their persecutors, whom God will surely
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|
reckon with for all the tears they have forced from his people's eyes;
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|
and they will be breasts of consolation to God's mourners, whose
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|
sackcloth will be turned into garments of praise. God will comfort his
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|
people according to the time wherein he has afflicted them, and give to
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those to reap in joy who sowed in tears. What was sown a tear will come
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|
up a pearl.</P>
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|
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<P>
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II. That his prayers would be powerful for the defeat and discomfiture
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|
of his enemies, as well as for his own support and encouragement
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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"<I>When I cry unto thee, then shall my enemies turn back;</I> I need
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no other weapons than prayers and tears; <I>this I know, for God is for
|
|
me,</I> to plead my cause, to protect and deliver me; and, if God be
|
|
for me, who can be against me so as to prevail?" The saints have God
|
|
for them; they may know it; and to him they must cry when they are
|
|
surrounded with enemies; and, if they do this in faith, they shall find
|
|
a divine power exerted and engaged for them; their enemies shall be
|
|
made to turn back, their spiritual enemies, against whom we fight best
|
|
upon our knees,
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|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+6:18">Eph. vi. 18</A>.</P>
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|
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|
<P>
|
|
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|
III. That his faith in God would set him above the fear of man,
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:10,11"><I>v.</I> 10, 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
Here he repeats, with a strong pathos, what he had said
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
|
|
|
|
"<I>In God will I praise his word;</I> that is, I will firmly depend
|
|
upon the promise for the sake of him that made it, who is true and
|
|
faithful, and has wisdom, power, and goodness enough to make it good."
|
|
When we give credit to a man's bill we honour him that drew it; so when
|
|
we do, and suffer, for God, in a dependence upon his promise, not
|
|
staggering at it, we give glory to God, we praise his word, and so give
|
|
praise to him. Having thus put his trust in God, he looks with a holy
|
|
contempt upon the threatening power of man: "<I>In God have I put my
|
|
trust,</I> and in him only, and therefore <I>I will not be afraid what
|
|
man can do unto me</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
though I know very well what he would do if he could,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
This triumphant word, so expressive of a holy magnanimity, the apostle
|
|
puts into the mouth of every true believer, whom he makes a Christian
|
|
hero,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+13:6">Heb. xiii. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
We may each of us boldly say, <I>The Lord is my helper,</I> and then
|
|
<I>I will not fear what man shall do unto me;</I> for he has no power
|
|
but what he has given him from above.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. That he was in bonds to God
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Thy vows are upon me, O God!</I>--not upon me as a burden which I
|
|
am loaded with, but as a badge which I glory in, as that by which I am
|
|
known to be thy menial servant--not upon me as fetters that hamper me
|
|
(such are superstitious vows), but upon me as a bridle that restrains
|
|
me from what would be hurtful to me, and directs me in the way of my
|
|
duty. Thy vows are upon me, the vows I have made to thee, to which thou
|
|
art not only a witness, but a party, and which thou hast commanded and
|
|
encouraged me to make." It is probably that he means especially those
|
|
vows which he had made to God in the day of his trouble and distress,
|
|
which he would retain the remembrance of, and acknowledge the
|
|
obligations of, when his fright was over. Note, It ought to be the
|
|
matter of our consideration and joy that <I>the vows of God are upon
|
|
us</I>--our baptismal vows renewed at the Lord's table, our occasional
|
|
vows under convictions, under corrections, by these we are bound to
|
|
live to God.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. That he should still have more and more occasion to praise him: <I>I
|
|
will render praises unto thee.</I> This is part of the performance of
|
|
his vows; for vows of thankfulness properly accompany prayers for
|
|
mercy, and when the mercy is received must be made good. When we study
|
|
what we shall render this is the least we can resolve upon, to render
|
|
praises to God--poor returns for rich receivings! Two things he will
|
|
praise God for:--
|
|
|
|
1. For what he had done for him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Thou has delivered my soul,</I> my life, <I>from death,</I> which
|
|
was just ready to seize me." If God have delivered us from sin, either
|
|
from the commission of it by preventing grace or from the punishment of
|
|
it by pardoning mercy, we have reason to own that he has thereby
|
|
delivered our souls from death, which is the wages of sin. If we, who
|
|
were by nature dead in sin, are quickened together with Christ, and are
|
|
made spiritually alive, we have reason to own that God has delivered
|
|
our souls from death.
|
|
|
|
2. For what he would do for him: "<I>Thou hast delivered my soul from
|
|
death,</I> and so hast given me a new life, and thereby hast given me
|
|
an earnest of further mercy, that thou wilt <I>deliver my feet from
|
|
falling;</I> thou hast done the greater, and therefore thou wilt do the
|
|
less; thou hast begun a good work, and therefore thou wilt carry it on
|
|
and perfect it." This may be taken either as the matter of his prayer,
|
|
pleading his experience, or as the matter of his praise, raising his
|
|
expectations; and those that know how to praise in faith will give God
|
|
thanks for mercies in promise and prospect, as well as in possession.
|
|
See here,
|
|
|
|
(1.) What David hopes for, that God would deliver his feet from falling
|
|
either into sin, which would wound his conscience, or into the
|
|
appearance of sin, from which his enemies would take occasion to wound
|
|
his good name. Those that think the stand must take heed lest they
|
|
fall, because the best stand no longer than God is pleased to uphold
|
|
them. We are weak, our way is slippery, many stumbling-blocks are in
|
|
it, our spiritual enemies are industrious to thrust us down, and
|
|
therefore we are concerned by faith and prayer to commit ourselves to
|
|
his care who <I>keeps the feet of his saints.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) What he builds this hope upon: "<I>Thou hast delivered my soul
|
|
from death,</I> and therein hast magnified thy power and goodness, and
|
|
put me into a capacity of receiving further mercy from thee; and now
|
|
wilt thou not secure and crown thy own work?" God never brought his
|
|
people out of Egypt to slay them in the wilderness. He that in
|
|
conversion delivers the soul from so great a death as sin is will not
|
|
fail <I>to preserve it to his heavenly kingdom.</I>
|
|
|
|
(3.) What he designs in these hopes: <I>That I may walk before God in
|
|
the light of the living,</I> that is,
|
|
|
|
[1.] "That I may get to heaven, the only land of light and life; for in
|
|
this world darkness and death reign."
|
|
|
|
[2.] "That I may do my duty while this life lasts." Note, This we
|
|
should aim at, in all our desires and expectations of deliverance both
|
|
from sin and trouble, that we may do God so much the better
|
|
service--<I>that, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, we
|
|
may serve him without fear.</I></P>
|
|
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|
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