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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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<HR>
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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 LIX.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This psalm is of the same nature and scope with six or seven foregoing
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psalms; they are all filled with David's complaints of the malice of
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his enemies and of their cursed and cruel designs against him, his
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prayers and prophecies against them, and his comfort and confidence in
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God as his God. The first is the language of nature, and may be
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allowed; the second of a prophetical spirit, looking forward to Christ
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and the enemies of his kingdom, and therefore not to be drawn into a
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precedent; the third of grace and a most holy faith, which ought to be
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imitated by every one of us. In this psalm,
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I. He prays to God to defend and deliver him from his enemies,
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representing them as very bad men, barbarous, malicious, and
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atheistical,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:1-7">ver. 1-7</A>.
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II. He foresees and foretels the destruction of his enemies, which he
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would give to God the glory of,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:8-17">ver. 8-17</A>.
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As far as it appears that any of the particular enemies of God's people
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fall under these characters, we may, in singing this psalm, read their
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doom and foresee their ruin.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps59_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps59_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps59_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps59_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps59_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps59_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps59_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 Deliverance.</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> <P>To the chief musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David,
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<BR>when Saul sent and they watched the house to kill him.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Deliver me
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from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up
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against me.
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2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from
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bloody men.
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3 For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are
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gathered against me; not <I>for</I> my transgression, nor <I>for</I> my
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sin, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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4 They run and prepare themselves without <I>my</I> fault: awake to
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help me, and behold.
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5 Thou therefore, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake
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to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked
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transgressors. Selah.
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6 They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go
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round about the city.
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7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords <I>are</I> in
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their lips: for who, <I>say they,</I> doth hear?
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The title of this psalm acquaints us particularly with the occasion on
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which it was penned; it was when Saul sent a party of his guards to
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beset David's house in the night, that they might seize him and kill
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him; we have the story
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+19:11">1 Sam. xix. 11</A>.
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It was when his hostilities against David were newly begun, and he had
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but just before narrowly escaped Saul's javelin. These first eruptions
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of Saul's malice could not but put David into disorder and be both
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grievous and terrifying, and yet he kept up his communion with God, and
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such a composure of mind as that he was never out of frame for prayer
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and praises; happy are those whose intercourse with heaven is not
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intercepted nor broken in upon by their cares, or griefs, or fears, or
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any of the hurries (whether outward or inward) of an afflicted state.
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In these verses,</P>
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<P>
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I. David prays to be delivered out of the hands of his enemies, and
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that their cruel designs against him might be defeated
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>):
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"<I>Deliver me from my enemies, O my God!</I> thou art <I>God,</I> and
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cast deliver me, <I>my</I> God, under whose protection I have put
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myself; and thou hast promised me to be a God all-sufficient, and
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therefore, in honour and faithfulness, thou wilt deliver me. Set me on
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high out of the reach of the power and malice of those that rise up
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against me, and above the fear of it. Let me be safe, and see myself
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so, safe and easy, safe and satisfied. O deliver me! and save me." He
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cries out as one ready to perish, and that had his eye to God only for
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salvation and deliverance. He prays
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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"<I>Awake to help me,</I> take cognizance of my case, behold that with
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an eye of pity, and exert thy power for my relief." Thus the disciples,
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in the storm, awoke Christ, saying, <I>Master, save us, we perish.</I>
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And thus earnestly should we pray daily to be defended and delivered
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form our spiritual enemies, the temptations of Satan, and the
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corruptions of our own hearts, which war against our spiritual
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life.</P>
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<P>
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II. He pleads for deliverance. Our God gives us leave not only to pray,
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but to plead with him, to order our cause before him and to fill our
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mouth with arguments, not to move him, but to move ourselves. David
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does so here.</P>
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<P>
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1. He pleads the bad character of his enemies. They are <I>workers of
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iniquity,</I> and therefore not only his enemies, but God's enemies;
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they are <I>bloody men,</I> and therefore not only his enemies, but
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enemies to all mankind. "Lord, let not the workers of iniquity prevail
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against one that is a worker of righteousness, nor bloody men against a
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merciful man."</P>
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<P>
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2. He pleads their malice against him, and the imminent danger he was
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in from them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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"Their spite is great; they aim at my soul, my life, my better part.
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They are subtle and very politic: <I>They lie in wait,</I> taking an
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opportunity to do me a mischief. They are all mighty, men of honour and
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estates, and interest in court and country. They are in a confederacy;
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they are united by league, and actually <I>gathered</I> together
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<I>against me,</I> combined both in consultation and action. They are
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very ingenious in their contrivances, and very industrious in the
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prosecution of them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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<I>They run and prepare themselves,</I> with the utmost speed and fury,
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to do me a mischief." He takes particular notice of the brutish conduct
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of the messengers that Saul sent to take him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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"<I>They return at evening</I> from the posts assigned them in the day,
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to apply themselves to their works of darkness (their night-work, which
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may well be their day-shame), and then <I>they make a noise like a
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hound</I> in pursuit of the hare." Thus did David's enemies, when they
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came to take him, raise an out cry against him as a rebel, and traitor,
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a man not fit to live; with this clamour they went <I>round about the
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city,</I> to bring a bad reputation upon David, if possible to set the
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mob against him, at least to prevent their being incensed against them,
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which otherwise they had reason to fear they would be, so much was
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David their darling. Thus the persecutors of our Lord Jesus, who are
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compared to dogs
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+22:16">Ps. xxii. 16</A>),
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ran him down with noise; for else they could not have taken him, at
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least <I>no on the feast-day, for there would have been an uproar among
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the people. They belch out with their mouth</I> the malice that boils
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in their hearts,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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<I>Swords are in their lips;</I> that is, reproaches that would my
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heart with grief
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+42:10">Ps. xlii. 10</A>),
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and slanders that stab and wound my reputation. They were continually
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suggesting that which drew and whetted Saul's sword against him, and
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the fault is laid upon the false accusers. The sword perhaps would not
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have been in Saul's hand if it had not been first in their lips.</P>
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<P>
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3. He pleads his own innocency, not as to God (he was never backward to
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own himself guilty before him), but as to his persecutors; what they
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charged him with was utterly false, nor had he ever said or done any
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thing to deserve such treatment from them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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"<I>Not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Lord!</I> thou knowest,
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who knowest all things." And again
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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<I>without my fault.</I> Note,
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(1.) The innocency of the godly will not secure them from the malignity
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of the wicked. Those that are harmless like doves, yet, for Christ's
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sake, are hated of all men, as if they were noxious like serpents, and
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obnoxious accordingly.
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(2.) Though our innocency will not secure us from troubles, yet it will
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greatly support and comfort us under our troubles. The testimony of our
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conscience for us that we have behaved ourselves well towards those
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that behave themselves ill towards us will be very much our rejoicing
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in the day of evil.
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(3.) If we are conscious to ourselves of our innocency, we may with
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humble confidence appeal to God and beg of him to plead our injured
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cause, which he will do in due time.</P>
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<P>
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4. He pleads that his enemies were profane and atheistical, and
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bolstered themselves up in their enmity to David, with the contempt of
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God: <I>For who,</I> say they, <I>doth hear?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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Not God himself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+10:11,94:7">Ps. x. 11; xciv. 7</A>.
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Note, It is not strange if those regard not what they say who have made
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themselves believe the God regards not what they say.</P>
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<P>
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III. He refers himself and his cause to the just judgment of God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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"The Lord, the Judge, be Judge between me and my persecutors." In this
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appeal to God he has an eye to him as <I>the Lord of hosts,</I> that
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has power to execute judgment, having all creatures, even hosts of
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angels, at his command; he views him also as <I>the God of Israel,</I>
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to whom he was, in a peculiar manner, King and Judge, not doubting that
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he would appear on the behalf of those that were upright, that were
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Israelites indeed. When Saul's hosts persecuted him, he had recourse to
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God as <I>the Lord of all hosts;</I> when those maligned him who in
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spirit were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel he had recourse to
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God as <I>the God of Israel.</I> He desires (that is, he is very sure)
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that God will <I>awake to visit all the nations,</I> will make an early
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and exact enquiry into the controversies and quarrels that are among
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the children of men; there will be a day of visitation
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:3">Isa. x. 3</A>),
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and to that day David refers himself, with this solemn appeal, <I>Be
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not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah--Mark that.</I>
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1. If David had been conscious to himself that he was a wicked
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transgressor, he would not have expected to find mercy; but, as to his
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enemies, he would say he was no transgressor at all
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:3,4"><I>v.</I> 3, 4</A>):
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"<I>Not for my transgression,</I> and therefore thou wilt appear for
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me." As to God, he could say he was no <I>wicked</I> transgressor; for,
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though he had transgressed, he was a penitent transgressor, and did not
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obstinately persist in what he had done amiss.
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2. He knew his enemies were wicked transgressors, wilful, malicious,
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and hardened in their transgressions both against God and man, and
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therefore he sues for justice against them, judgment without mercy. Let
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not those expect to find mercy who never showed mercy, for such are
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wicked transgressors.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps59_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps59_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps59_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps59_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps59_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps59_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps59_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps59_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps59_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps59_17"> </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>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 But thou, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all
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the heathen in derision.
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9 <I>Because of</I> his strength will I wait upon thee: for God <I>is</I>
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my defence.
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10 The God of my mercy shall prevent me: God shall let me see
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<I>my desire</I> upon mine enemies.
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11 Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy
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power; and bring them down, O Lord our shield.
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12 <I>For</I> the sin of their mouth <I>and</I> the words of their lips
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let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying
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<I>which</I> they speak.
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13 Consume <I>them</I> in wrath, consume <I>them,</I> that they <I>may</I> not
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<I>be:</I> and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of
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the earth. Selah.
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14 And at evening let them return; <I>and</I> let them make a noise
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like a dog, and go round about the city.
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15 Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be
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not satisfied.
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16 But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy
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mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in
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the day of my trouble.
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17 Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God <I>is</I> my
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defence, <I>and</I> the God of my mercy.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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David here encourages himself, in reference to the threatening power of
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his enemies, with a pious resolution to wait upon God and a believing
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expectation that he should yet praise him.</P>
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<P>
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I. He resolves to wait upon God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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"<I>Because of his strength</I>" (either the strength of his enemies,
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the fear of which drove him to God, or because of God's strength, the
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hope of which drew him to God) "<I>Will I wait upon thee,</I> with a
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believing dependence upon thee and confidence in thee." It is our
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wisdom and duty, in times of danger and difficulty, to wait upon God;
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for he is our defence, our high place, in whom we shall be safe. He
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hopes,
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1. That God will be to him a God of mercy
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
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"<I>The God of my mercy shall prevent me</I> with the blessings of his
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goodness and the gifts of his mercy, prevent my fears, prevent my
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prayers, and be better to me than my own expectations." It is very
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comfortable to us, in prayer, to eye God, not only as the God of mercy,
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but as the God of our mercy, the author of all good in us and the giver
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of all good to us. Whatever mercy there is in God, it is laid up for
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us, and is ready to be laid out upon us. Justly does the psalmist call
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God's mercy <I>his mercy,</I> for all the blessings of the new covenant
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are called <I>the sure mercies of David</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:3">Isa. lv. 3</A>);
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and they are <I>sure to all the seed.</I>
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2. That he will be to his persecutors a God of vengeance. His
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expectation of this he expresses partly by way of prediction and partly
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by way of petition, which come all to one; for his prayer that it might
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be so amounts to a prophecy that it shall be so. Here are several
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things which he foretels concerning his enemies, or observers, that
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sought occasions against him and opportunity to do him a mischief, in
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all which he should see his desire, not a passionate or revengeful
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desire, but a believing desire upon them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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(1.) He foresees that God would expose them to scorn, as they had
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indeed made themselves ridiculous,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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"They think <I>God does not hear them,</I> does not heed them; <I>but
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thou, O Lord! shalt laugh at them</I> for their folly, to think that he
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who planted the ear shall not hear, and <I>thou shalt have</I> not them
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only, but all such other heathenish people that live without God in the
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world, <I>in derision.</I>" Note, Atheists and persecutors are worthy
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to be laughed at and had in derision. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:4,Pr+1:26,Isa+37:22">Ps. ii. 4;
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Prov. i. 26; Isa. xxxvii. 22</A>.
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(2.) That God would make them standing monuments of his justice
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
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<I>Slay them not;</I> let them not be killed outright, <I>lest my
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people forget.</I> If the execution be soon done, the impressions of it
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will not be keep, and therefore will not be durable, but will quickly
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wear off. Swift destructions startle men for the present, but they are
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soon forgotten, for which reason he prays that this might be gradual:
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"<I>Scatter them by thy power,</I> and let them carry about with them,
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in their wanderings, such tokens of God's displeasure as may spread the
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notice of their punishment to all parts of the country." Thus Cain
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himself, though a murderer, was not slain, lest the vengeance should be
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forgotten, but was sentenced to be <I>a fugitive and a vagabond.</I>
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Note, When we think God's judgments come slowly upon sinners we must
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conclude that God has wise and holy ends in the gradual proceedings of
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his wrath. "So scatter them as that they may never again unite to do
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mischief, <I>bring them down, O Lord, our shield!</I>" If God has
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undertaken the protection of his people as their shield, he will
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doubtless humble and abase all those that fight against them.
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(3.) That they might be dealt with according to their deserts
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
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<I>For the sin of their mouth, even for the words of their lips</I>
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(for every word they speak has sin in it), <I>let them</I> for this
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<I>be taken in their pride,</I> even for their cursing others and
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themselves (a sin Saul was subject to,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+14:28">1 Sam. xiv. 28, 44</A>),
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and lying. Note, There is a great deal of malignity in tongue-sins,
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more than is commonly thought of. Note, further, Cursing, and lying,
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and speaking proudly, are some of the worst of the sins of the tongue;
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and that man is truly miserable whom God deals with according to the
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deserts of these, <I>making his own tongue to fall on him.</I>
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(4.) That God would glorify himself, as Israel's God and King, in their
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destruction
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
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"<I>Consume them in wrath, consume them;</I> that is, follow them with
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one judgment after another, till they be utterly ruined; let them be
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|
sensibly, but gradually wasted, that they themselves, while they are in
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|
the consuming, may know, and that the standers-by may likewise draw
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this inference form it, <I>That God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of
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the earth.</I>" Saul and his party think to rule and carry all before
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them, but they shall be made to know that there is a higher than they,
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that there is one who does and will overrule them. The design of God's
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judgments is to convince men that the Lord reigns, that he fulfils his
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|
own counsels, gives law to all the creatures, and disposes all things
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|
to his own glory, so that the greatest of men are under his check, and
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he makes what use he pleases of them. He <I>rules in Jacob;</I> for
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there he keeps his court; there it is known, and his name is great. But
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|
he <I>rules to the end of the earth;</I> for all nations are within the
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|
territories of his kingdom. He <I>rules to the ends of the earth,</I>
|
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even over those that know him not, but he <I>rules for Jacob</I> (so it
|
|
may be read); he has an eye to the good of his church in the government
|
|
of the world; the administrations of that government, even to the ends
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|
of the earth, are <I>for Jacob his servant's sake and for Israel's his
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|
elect,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+45:4">Isa. xlv. 4</A>.
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(5.) That he would make their sin their punishment,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>,
|
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|
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compare
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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Their sin was their hunting for David to make a prey of him; their
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|
punishment should be that they should be reduced to such extreme
|
|
poverty that they should hunt about for meat to satisfy their hunger,
|
|
and should miss of it as they missed of David. Thus they should be, not
|
|
cut off at once, but scattered
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|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
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and gradually consumed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>);
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those that die by famine die by inches, and feel themselves die,
|
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+4:9">Lam. iv. 9</A>.
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He foretels that they should be forced to beg their bread from door to
|
|
door.
|
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[1.] That they should do it with the greatest regret and reluctancy
|
|
imaginable. <I>To beg they are ashamed</I> (which makes it the greater
|
|
punishment to them), and therefore they do it at evening, when it
|
|
begins to be dark, that they may not be seen, at the time when other
|
|
beasts of prey creep forth,
|
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|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+104:20">Ps. civ. 20</A>.
|
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|
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[2.] That yet they should be very clamorous and loud in their
|
|
complaints, which would proceed from a great indignation at their
|
|
condition, which they cannot in the least degree reconcile themselves
|
|
to: <I>They shall make a noise like a dog.</I> When they were in quest
|
|
of David they made a noise like an angry dog snarling and barking; now,
|
|
when they are in quest of meat, they shall make a noise like a hungry
|
|
dog howling and wailing. Those that repent of their sins <I>mourn,</I>
|
|
when in trouble, <I>like doves;</I> those whose hearts are hardened
|
|
make a noise, when in trouble, like dogs, <I>like a wild bull in a net,
|
|
full of the fury of the Lord.</I> See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+7:14">
|
|
Hos. vii. 14</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>They have not cried unto me with their heart when they howled on
|
|
their beds for corn and wine.</I>
|
|
|
|
[3.] That they should meet with little relief, but the hearts of people
|
|
should be very much hardened towards them, so that they should <I>go
|
|
round about the city,</I> and <I>wander up and down for meat</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
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|
|
and should get nothing but by dint of importunity (according to our
|
|
marginal reading, <I>If they be not satisfied, they will tarry all
|
|
night</I>), so that what people do give them is not with good-will, but
|
|
only to get rid of them, lest by their continual coming they weary
|
|
them.
|
|
|
|
[4.] That they should be insatiable, which is the greatest misery of
|
|
all in a poor condition. <I>They are greedy dogs which can never have
|
|
enough</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+56:11">Isa. lvi. 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
and <I>they grudge if they be not satisfied.</I> A contented man, if he
|
|
has not what he would have, yet does not grudge, does not quarrel with
|
|
Providence, nor fret within himself; but those whose God is their
|
|
belly, if that be not filled and its appetites gratified, fall out both
|
|
with God and themselves. It is not poverty, but discontent, that makes
|
|
a man unhappy.</P>
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|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. He expects to praise God, that God's providence would find him
|
|
matter for praise and that God's grace would work in him a heart for
|
|
praise,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:16,17"><I>v.</I> 16, 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. What he would praise God for.
|
|
|
|
(1.) He would praise his power and his mercy; both should be the
|
|
subject-matter of his song. Power, without mercy, is to be dreaded;
|
|
mercy, without power, is not what a man can expect much benefit from;
|
|
but God's power by which he is able to help us, and his mercy by which
|
|
he is inclined to help us, will justly be the everlasting praise of all
|
|
the saints.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He would praise him because he had, many a time, and all along,
|
|
found him his defence and his refuge in the day of trouble. God brings
|
|
his people into trouble, that they may experience his power and mercy
|
|
in protecting and sheltering them, and may have occasion to praise him.
|
|
|
|
(3.) He would praise him because he had still a dependence upon him and
|
|
a confidence in him, as his strength to support him and carry him on in
|
|
his duty, his defence to keep him safe from evil, and the God of his
|
|
mercy to make him happy and easy. He that is all this to us is
|
|
certainly worthy of our best affections, praises, and services.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. How he would praise God.
|
|
|
|
(1.) He would <I>sing.</I> As that is a natural expression of joy, so
|
|
it is an instituted ordinance for the exerting and exciting of holy joy
|
|
and thankfulness.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He would <I>sing aloud,</I> as one much affected with the glory of
|
|
God, that was not ashamed to own it, and that desired to affect others
|
|
with it. He will sing of God's power, but he will sing aloud of his
|
|
mercy; the consideration of that raises his affections more than any
|
|
thing else.
|
|
|
|
(3.) He would sing aloud <I>in the morning,</I> when his spirits were
|
|
most fresh and lively. God's compassions are new every morning, and
|
|
therefore it is fit to begin the day with his praises.
|
|
|
|
(4.) He would <I>sing unto God</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+59:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
to his honour and glory, and with him in his eye. As we must direct our
|
|
prayers to God, so to him we must direct our praises, and must look up,
|
|
making melody to the Lord.</P>
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|
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