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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 LXVI.</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 a thanksgiving-psalm, and it is of such a general use and
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application that we need not suppose it penned upon any particular
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occasion. All people are here called upon to praise God,
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I. For the general instances of his sovereign dominion and power in the
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whole creation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:1-7">ver. 1-7</A>.
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II. For the special tokens of his favour to the church, his peculiar
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people,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:8-12">ver. 8-12</A>.
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And then,
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III. The psalmist praises God for his own experiences of his goodness
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to him in particular, especially in answering his prayers,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:13-20">ver. 13-20</A>.
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If we have learned in every thing to give thanks for ancient and modern
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mercies, public and personal mercies, we shall know how to sing this
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psalm with grace and understanding.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps66_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps66_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps66_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps66_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps66_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps66_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps66_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>All Mankind Exhorted to Praise God.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<CENTER>
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<P>To the chief musician. A song <I>or</I> psalm.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Make a joyful
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noise unto God, all ye lands:
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2 Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.
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3 Say unto God, How terrible <I>art thou in</I> thy works! through
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the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves
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unto thee.
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4 All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee;
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they shall sing <I>to</I> thy name. Selah.
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5 Come and see the works of God: <I>he is</I> terrible <I>in his</I>
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doing toward the children of men.
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6 He turned the sea into dry <I>land:</I> they went through the
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flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.
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7 He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations:
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let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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I. In these verses the psalmist calls upon all people to praise God,
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<I>all lands, all the earth,</I> all the inhabitants of the world that
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are capable of praising God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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1. This speaks the glory of God, that he is worthy to be praised by
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all, for he is good to all and furnishes every nation with matter for
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praise.
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2. The duty of man, that all are obliged to praise God; it is part of
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the law of creation, and therefore is required of every creature.
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3. A prediction of the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of
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Christ; the time should come when all lands should praise God, and this
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incense should in every place be offered to him.
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4. A hearty good-will which the psalmist had to this good work of
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praising God. He will abound in it himself, and wishes that God might
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have his tribute paid him by all the nations of the earth and not by
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the land of Israel only. He excites all lands,
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(1.) To <I>make a joyful noise to God.</I> Holy joy is that devout
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affection which should animate all our praises; and, though it is not
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making a noise in religion that God will accept of (hypocrites are said
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to <I>cause their voice to be heard on high,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:4">Isa. lviii. 4</A>),
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yet, in praising God,
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[1.] We must be hearty and zealous, and must do what we do with all our
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might, with all that is within us.
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[2.] We must be open and public, as those that are not ashamed of our
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Master. And both these are implied in making a noise, a joyful noise.
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(2.) To sing with pleasure, and to <I>sing forth,</I> for the
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edification of others, <I>the honour of his name,</I> that is, of all
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that whereby he has made himself known,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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That which is the honour of God's name ought to be the matter of our
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praise.
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(3.) To <I>make his praise glorious</I> as far as we can. In praising
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God we must do it so as to glorify him, and that must be the scope and
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drift of all our praises. <I>Reckon it your greatest glory to praise
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God,</I> so some. It is the highest honour the creature is capable of
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to be to the Creator for a name and a praise.</P>
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<P>
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II. He had called upon all lands to praise God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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and he foretels
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>)
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that they shall do so: <I>All the earth shall worship thee;</I> some in
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all parts of the earth, even the remotest regions, for <I>the
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everlasting gospel shall be preached to every nation and kindred;</I>
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and this is the purport of it, <I>Worship him that made heaven and
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earth,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+14:6,7">Rev. xiv. 6, 7</A>.
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Being thus sent forth, it shall not return void, but shall bring all
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the earth, more or less, to worship God, and sing unto him. In gospel
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times God shall be worshipped by the singing of Psalms. They shall
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<I>sing to God,</I> that is, <I>sing to his name,</I> for it is only to
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his declarative glory, that by which he has made himself known, not to
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his essential glory, that we can contribute any thing by our
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praises.</P>
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<P>
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III. That we may be furnished with matter for praise, we are here
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called upon <I>to come and see the works of God;</I> for <I>his own
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works praise him,</I> whether we do or no; and the reason why we do not
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praise him more and better is because we do not duly and attentively
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observe them. Let us therefore see God's works and observe the
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instances of his wisdom, power, and faithfulness in them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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and then speak of them, and speak of them to him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works, terrible in thy
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doings!</I>
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1. God's works are wonderful in themselves, and such as, when duly
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considered, may justly fill us with amazement. God <I>is terrible</I>
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(that is, admirable) in his works, through the greatness of his power,
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which is such, and shines so brightly, so strongly, in all he does,
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that it may be truly said there are <I>not any works like unto his
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works.</I> Hence he is said to be <I>fearful in praises,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+15:11">Exod. xv. 11</A>.
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In all his doings towards the children of men he is terrible, and to be
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eyed with a holy awe. Much of religion lies in a reverence for the
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divine Providence.
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2. They are formidable to his enemies, and have many a time forced and
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frightened them into a feigned submission
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Through the greatness of thy power,</I> before which none can stand,
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<I>shall thy enemies submit themselves unto thee; they shall lie unto
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thee</I> (so the word is), that is, they shall be compelled, sorely
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against their wills, to make their peace with thee upon any terms.
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Subjection extorted by fear is seldom sincere, and therefore force is
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no proper means of propagating religion, nor can there be much joy of
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such proselytes to the church as will in the end be found liars unto
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it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+33:29">Deut. xxxiii. 29</A>.
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3. They are comfortable and beneficial to his people,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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When Israel came out of Egypt, <I>he turned the sea into dry land</I>
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before them, which encouraged them to follow God's guidance through the
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wilderness; and, when they were to enter Canaan, for their
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encouragement in their wars Jordan was divided before them, and <I>they
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went through that flood on foot;</I> and such foot, so signally owned
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by heaven, might well pass for cavalry, rather than infantry, in the
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wars of the Lord. There did the enemies tremble before them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+15:14,15,Jos+5:1">Exod. xv. 14, 15; Josh. v. 1</A>),
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but <I>there did we rejoice in him,</I> both trust his power (for
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relying on God is often expressed by rejoicing in him) and sing his
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praise,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+106:12">Ps. cvi. 12</A>.
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There did we rejoice; that is, our ancestors did, and we in their
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loins. The joys of our fathers were our joys, and we ought to look upon
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ourselves as sharers in them.
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4. They are commanding to all. God by his works keeps up his dominion
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in the world
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>He rules by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations.</I>
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(1.) God has a commanding eye; from the height of heaven his eye
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commands all the inhabitants of the world, and he has a clear and full
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view of them all. <I>His eyes run to and fro through the earth;</I>
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the most remote and obscure nations are under his inspection.
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(2.) He has a commanding arm; his power rules, rules for ever, and is
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never weakened, never obstructed. <I>Strong is his hand, and high is
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his right hand.</I> Hence he infers, <I>Let not the rebellious exalt
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themselves;</I> let not those that have revolting and rebellious hearts
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dare to rise up in any overt acts of rebellion against God, as Adonijah
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exalted himself, saying, <I>I will be king.</I> Let not those that are
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in rebellion against God exalt themselves as if there were any
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probability that they should gain their point. No; let them be still,
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for God hath said, <I>I will be exalted,</I> and man cannot gainsay
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it.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps66_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps66_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps66_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps66_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps66_12"> </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>The Saints Exhorted to Praise 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 O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise
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to be heard:
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9 Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to
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be moved.
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10 For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as
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silver is tried.
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11 Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon
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our loins.
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12 Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through
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fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy
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<I>place.</I>
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In these verses the psalmist calls upon God's people in a special
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manner to praise him. Let all lands do it, but Israel's land
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particularly. Bless our God; bless him as ours, a God in covenant with
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us, and that takes care of us as his own. Let them <I>make the voice of
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his praise to be heard</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>);
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for from whom should it be heard but from those who are his peculiar
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favourites and select attendants? Two things we have reason to bless
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God for:--</P>
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<P>
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I. Common protection
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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<I>He holdeth our soul in life,</I> that it may not drop away of
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itself; for, being continually in our hands, it is apt to slip through
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our fingers. We must own that it is the good providence of God that
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keeps life and soul together and his visitation that preserves our
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spirit. <I>He puts our soul in life,</I> so the word is. He that gave
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us our being, by a constant renewed act upholds us in our being, and
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his providence is a continued creation. When we are ready to faint and
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perish he restores our soul, and so puts it, as it were, into a new
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life, giving new comforts. <I>Non est vivere, sed valere, vita--It is
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not existence, but happiness, that deserves the name of life.</I> But
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we are apt to stumble and fall, and are exposed to many destructive
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accidents, killing disasters as well as killing diseases, and therefore
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as to these also we are guarded by the divine power. He <I>suffers not
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our feet to be moved,</I> preventing many unforeseen evils, which we
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ourselves were not aware of our danger from. To him we owe it that we
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have not, long ere this, fallen into endless ruin. <I>He will keep the
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feet of his saints.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. Special deliverance from great distress. Observe,</P>
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<P>
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1. How grievous the distress and danger were,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>.
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What particular trouble of the church this refers to does not appear;
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it might be the trouble of some private persons or families only. But,
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whatever it was, they were surprised with it as a bird with a snare,
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enclosed and entangled in it as a fish in a net; they were pressed down
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with it, and kept under as with a load <I>upon their loins,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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But they owned the hand of God in it. We are never in the net but God
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brings us into it, never under affliction but God lays it upon us. Is
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any thing more dangerous than fire and water? <I>We went through
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both,</I> that is, afflictions of different kinds; the end of one
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trouble was the beginning of another; when we had got clear of one sort
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of dangers we found ourselves involved in dangers of another sort. Such
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may be the troubles of the best of God's saints, but he has promised,
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<I>When thou passest through the waters, through the fire, I will be
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with thee,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+43:1">Isa. xliii. 1</A>.
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Yet proud and cruel men may be as dangerous as fire and water, and more
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so. <I>Beware of men,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+10:17">Matt. x. 17</A>.
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When men rose up against us, that was fire and water, and all that is
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threatening
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+124:2,3,4">Ps. cxxiv. 2, 3, 4</A>),
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and that was the case here: "<I>Thou hast caused men to ride over our
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heads,</I> to trample upon us and insult over us, to hector and abuse
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us, nay, and to make perfect slaves of us; they have said to our souls,
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<I>Bow down, that we may go over,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+51:23">Isa. li. 23</A>.
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While it is the pleasure of good princes to rule in the hearts of their
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subjects it is the pride of tyrants to ride over their heads; yet the
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afflicted church in this also owns the hand of God: "Thou hast caused
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them thus to abuse us;" for the most furious oppressor has no power but
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what is given him from above.</P>
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<P>
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2. How gracious God's design was in bringing them into this distress
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and danger. See what the meaning of it is
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
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<I>Thou, O God! hast proved us, and tried us.</I> Then we are likely to
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get good by our afflictions, when we look upon them under this notion,
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for then we may see God's grace and love at the bottom of them and our
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own honour and benefit in the end of them. By afflictions we are proved
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as silver in the fire.
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(1.) That our graces, by being tried, may be made more evident and so
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we may be approved, as silver, when it is touched and marked sterling,
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and this will be <I>to our praise at the appearing of Jesus Christ</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:7">1 Pet. i. 7</A>)
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and perhaps in this world. Job's integrity and constancy were
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manifested by his afflictions.
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|
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(2.) That our graces, by being exercised, may be made more strong and
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|
active, and so we may be improved, as silver when it is refined by the
|
|
fire and made more clear from its dross; and this will be to our
|
|
unspeakable advantage, for thus we are made partakers of God's
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|
holiness,
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:10">Heb. xii. 10</A>.
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|
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|
Public troubles are for the purifying of the church,
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+11:35,Re+2:10,De+8:2">Dan. xi. 35;
|
|
Rev. ii. 10; Deut. viii. 2</A>.</P>
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|
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<P>
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|
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|
3. How glorious the issue was at last. The troubles of the church will
|
|
certainly end well; these do so, for
|
|
|
|
(1.) The outlet of the trouble is happy. They are in fire and water,
|
|
but they get through them: "<I>We went through fire and water,</I> and
|
|
did not perish in the flames or floods." Whatever the troubles of the
|
|
saints are, blessed be God, there is a way through them.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The inlet to a better state is much more happy: <I>Thou broughtest
|
|
us out into a wealthy place,</I> into a <I>well-watered</I> place (so
|
|
the word is), <I>like the gardens of the Lord,</I> and therefore
|
|
fruitful. God brings his people into trouble that their comforts
|
|
afterwards may be the sweeter and that their affliction may thus yield
|
|
the peaceable fruit of righteousness, which will make the poorest place
|
|
in the world a wealthy place.</P>
|
|
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|
<A NAME="Ps66_13"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Ps66_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps66_15"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Ps66_16"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Ps66_17"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Ps66_18"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Ps66_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps66_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>David Resolves to Praise God; David Declaring What God Has Done for His Soul.</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>13 I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay
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|
thee my vows,
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|
14 Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I
|
|
was in trouble.
|
|
15 I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with
|
|
the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.
|
|
16 Come <I>and</I> hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare
|
|
what he hath done for my soul.
|
|
17 I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my
|
|
tongue.
|
|
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear
|
|
<I>me:</I>
|
|
19 <I>But</I> verily God hath heard <I>me;</I> he hath attended to the
|
|
voice of my prayer.
|
|
20 Blessed <I>be</I> God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor
|
|
his mercy from me.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The psalmist, having before stirred up all people, and all God's people
|
|
in particular, to bless the Lord, here stirs up himself and engages
|
|
himself to do it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. In his devotions to his God,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:13-15"><I>v.</I> 13-15</A>.
|
|
|
|
He had called upon others to sing God's praises and to make a joyful
|
|
noise with them; but, for himself, his resolutions go further, and he
|
|
will praise God,
|
|
|
|
1. By costly sacrifices, which, under the law, were offered to the
|
|
honour of God. All people had not wherewithal to offer these
|
|
sacrifices, or wanted zeal to be at such an expense in praising God;
|
|
but David, for his part, being able, is as willing, in this chargeable
|
|
way to pay his homage to God
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings.</I> His sacrifices
|
|
should be public, in the place which God had chosen: "I will go into
|
|
thy house with them." Christ is our temple, to whom we must bring our
|
|
spiritual gifts, and by whom they are sanctified. They should be the
|
|
best of the king--<I>burnt-sacrifices,</I> which were wholly consumed
|
|
upon the altar, to the honour of God, and of which the offerer had no
|
|
share; and burnt-sacrifices <I>of fatlings,</I> not the lame or the
|
|
lean, but the best fed, and such as would be most acceptable at his own
|
|
table. God, who is the best, must be served with the best we have. The
|
|
feast God makes for us is a <I>feast of fat things, full of marrow</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+25:6">Isa. xxv. 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
and such sacrifices should we bring to him. He will <I>offer bullocks
|
|
with goats,</I> so liberal will he be in his return of praise, and not
|
|
strait-handed: he would not offer that which cost him nothing, but that
|
|
which cost him a great deal. And this <I>with the incense of rams,</I>
|
|
that is, with the fat of rams, which being burnt upon the altar, the
|
|
smoke of it would ascend like the smoke of incense. Or <I>rams with
|
|
incense.</I> The incense typifies Christ's intercession, without which
|
|
the fattest of our sacrifices will not be accepted.
|
|
|
|
2. By a conscientious performance of his vows. We do not acceptably
|
|
praise God for our deliverance out of trouble unless we make conscience
|
|
of paying the vows we made when we were in trouble. This was the
|
|
psalmist's resolution
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:13,14"><I>v.</I> 13, 14</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered when I was in
|
|
trouble.</I> Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) It is very common, and very commendable, when we are under the
|
|
pressure of any affliction, or in the pursuit of any mercy, to make
|
|
vows, and solemnly to speak them before the Lord, to bind ourselves out
|
|
from sin and bind ourselves more closely to our duty; not as if this
|
|
were an equivalent, or valuable consideration, for the favour of God,
|
|
but a qualification for receiving the tokens of that favour.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The vows which we made when we were in trouble must not be
|
|
forgotten when the trouble is over, but be carefully performed, for
|
|
better it is not to vow than to vow and not pay.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. In his declarations to his friends,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
He calls together a congregation of good people to hear his thankful
|
|
narrative of God's favours to him: "<I>Come and hear, all you that fear
|
|
God,</I> for,
|
|
|
|
1. You will join with me in my praises and help me in giving thanks."
|
|
And we should be as desirous of the assistance of those that fear God
|
|
in returning thanks for the mercies we have received as in praying for
|
|
those we want.
|
|
|
|
2. "You will be edified and encouraged by that which I have to say.
|
|
<I>The humble shall hear of it and be glad,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+34:2">Ps. xxxiv. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Those that fear thee will be glad when they see me</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:74">Ps. cxix. 74</A>),
|
|
|
|
and therefore let me have their company, and I will declare to them,
|
|
not to vain carnal people that will banter it and make a jest of it"
|
|
(pearls are not to be cast before swine); "but to those that fear God,
|
|
and will make a good use of it, I will declare what God has done for my
|
|
soul," not in pride and vain-glory, that he might be thought more a
|
|
favourite of heaven than other people, but for the honour of God, to
|
|
which we owe this as a just debt, and for the edification of others.
|
|
Note, God's people should communicate their experiences to each other.
|
|
We should take all occasions to tell one another of the great and kind
|
|
things which God has done for us, especially which he has done for our
|
|
souls, the spiritual blessings with which he has blessed us in heavenly
|
|
things; these we should be most affected with ourselves, and therefore
|
|
with these we should be desirous to affect others. Now what was it that
|
|
God had done for his soul?
|
|
|
|
(1.) He had wrought in him a love to the duty of prayer, and had by his
|
|
grace enlarged his heart in that duty
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I cried unto him with my mouth.</I> But if God, among other things
|
|
done for our souls, had not given us the Spirit of adoption, teaching
|
|
and enabling us to cry, <I>Abba, Father,</I> we should never have done
|
|
it. That God has given us leave to pray, a command to pray,
|
|
encouragements to pray, and (to crown all) a heart to pray, is what we
|
|
have reason to mention with thankfulness to his praise; and the more
|
|
if, when we cried to him with our mouth, <I>he was extolled with our
|
|
tongue,</I> that is, if we were enabled by faith and hope to give glory
|
|
to him when we were seeking for mercy and grace from him, and to praise
|
|
him for mercy in prospect though not yet in possession. By crying to
|
|
him we do indeed extol him. He is pleased to reckon himself honoured
|
|
by the humble believing prayers of the upright, and this is a great
|
|
thing which he has done for our souls, that he has been pleased so far
|
|
to unite interests with us that, in seeking our own welfare, we seek
|
|
his glory. <I>His exaltation was under my tongue</I> (so it may be
|
|
read); that is, I was considering in my mind how I might exalt and
|
|
magnify his name. When prayers are in our mouths praises must be in our
|
|
hearts.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He had wrought in him a dread of sin as an enemy to prayer
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>If I regard iniquity in my heart,</I> I know very well <I>the Lord
|
|
will not hear me.</I> The Jewish writers, some of them that have the
|
|
leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, put a very corrupt gloss
|
|
upon these words: <I>If I regard iniquity in my heart,</I> that is (say
|
|
they), If I allow myself only in heart-sins, and iniquity does not
|
|
break out in my words and actions, <I>God will not hear me,</I> that
|
|
is, he will not be offended with me, will take no notice of it, so as
|
|
to lay it to my charge; as if heart-sins were no sins in God's account.
|
|
The falsehood of this our Saviour has shown in his spiritual exposition
|
|
of the law,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+5:7-48">Matt. v.</A>
|
|
|
|
But the sense of this place is plain: <I>If I regard iniquity in my
|
|
heart,</I> that is, "If I have favourable thoughts of it, if I love it,
|
|
indulge it, and allow myself in it, if I treat it as a friend and bid
|
|
it welcome, make provision for it and am loth to part with it, if I
|
|
roll it under my tongue as a sweet morsel, though it be but a heart sin
|
|
that is thus countenanced and made much of, if I delight in it after
|
|
the inward man, God will not hear my prayer, will not accept it, nor be
|
|
pleased with it, nor can I expect an answer of peace to it." Note,
|
|
Iniquity, regarded in the heart, will certainly spoil the comfort and
|
|
success of prayer; for <I>the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination
|
|
to the Lord.</I> Those that continue in love and league with sin have
|
|
no interest either in the promise or in the Mediator, and therefore
|
|
cannot expect to speed in prayer.
|
|
|
|
(3.) He had graciously granted him an answer of peace to his prayers
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>But verily God has heard me;</I> though, being conscious to myself
|
|
of much amiss in me, I began to fear that my prayers would be rejected,
|
|
yet, to my comfort, I found that God was pleased to regard them." This
|
|
God did for his soul, by answering his prayer, he gave him a token of
|
|
his favour and an evidence that he had wrought a good work in him. And
|
|
therefore he concludes
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Blessed be God.</I> The
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:18,19">two foregoing verses</A>
|
|
|
|
are the major and minor propositions of a syllogism: <I>If I regard
|
|
iniquity in my heart, God will not hear my prayer;</I> that is the
|
|
proposition: <I>but verily God has heard me;</I> that is the
|
|
assumption, from which he might have rationally inferred, "Therefore I
|
|
do not regard iniquity in my heart;" but, instead of taking the comfort
|
|
to himself, he gives the praise to God: <I>Blessed be God.</I> Whatever
|
|
are the premises, God's glory must always be the conclusion. <I>God has
|
|
heard me,</I> and therefore <I>blessed be God.</I> Note, What we win by
|
|
prayer we must wear with praise. Mercies in answer to prayer do, in a
|
|
special manner, oblige us to be thankful. He has <I>not turned away my
|
|
prayer, nor his mercy.</I> Lest it should be thought that the
|
|
deliverance was granted for the sake of some worthiness in his prayer,
|
|
he ascribes it to God's mercy. This he adds by way of correction: "It
|
|
was not my prayer that fetched the deliverance, but his mercy that sent
|
|
it." <I>Therefore</I> God does not turn away our prayer, because he
|
|
does not turn away his own mercy, for that is the foundation of our
|
|
hopes and the fountain of our comforts, and therefore ought to be the
|
|
matter of our praises.</P>
|
|
|
|
<!-- (End Body) -->
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