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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 LXIX.</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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David penned this psalm when he was in affliction; and in it,
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I. He complains of the great distress and trouble he was in and
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earnestly begs of God to relieve and succour him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:1-21">ver. 1-21</A>.
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II. He imprecates the judgments of God upon his persecutors,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:22-29">ver. 22-29</A>.
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III. He concludes with the voice of joy and praise, in an assurance
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that God would help and succour him, and would do well for the church,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:30-36">ver. 30-36</A>.
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Now, in this, David was a type of Christ, and divers passages in this
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psalm are applied to Christ in the new Testament and are said to have
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their accomplishment in him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:4,9,21">ver. 4, 9, 21</A>),
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and
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:22">ver. 22</A>
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refers to the enemies of Christ. So that (like the
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+22:1-31">twenty-second psalm</A>)
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it begins with the humiliation and ends with the exaltation of Christ,
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one branch of which was the destruction of the Jewish nation for
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persecuting him, which the imprecations here are predictions of. In
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singing this psalm we must have an eye to the sufferings of Christ, and
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the glory that followed, not forgetting the sufferings of Christians
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too, and the glory that shall follow them; for it may lead us to think
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of the ruin reserved for the persecutors and the rest reserved for the
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persecuted.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps69_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps69_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps69_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps69_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps69_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps69_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps69_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps69_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps69_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps69_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps69_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps69_12"> </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>Complaints and Petitions.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<CENTER>
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<P>To the chief musician upon Shoshannim. <I>A psalm</I> of David.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto <I>my</I>
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soul.
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2 I sink in deep mire, where <I>there is</I> no standing: I am come
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into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
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3 I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail
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while I wait for my God.
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4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of
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mine head: they that would destroy me, <I>being</I> mine enemies
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wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored <I>that</I> which I took not
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away.
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5 O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid
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from thee.
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6 Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT> of hosts, be
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ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded
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for my sake, O God of Israel.
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7 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath
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covered my face.
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8 I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my
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mother's children.
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9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the
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reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
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10 When I wept, <I>and chastened</I> my soul with fasting, that was
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to my reproach.
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11 I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to
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them.
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12 They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I <I>was</I> the
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song of the drunkards.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In these verses David complains of his troubles, intermixing with those
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complaints some requests for relief.</P>
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<P>
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I. His complaints are very sad, and he pours them out before the Lord,
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as one that hoped thus to ease himself of a burden that lay very heaven
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upon him.</P>
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<P>
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1. He complains of the deep impressions that his troubles made upon his
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spirit
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>):
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"The <I>waters of affliction,</I> those bitter waters, <I>have come
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unto my soul,</I> not only threaten my life, but disquiet my mind; they
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fill my head with perplexing cares and my heart with oppressive grief,
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so that I cannot enjoy God and myself as I used to do." We shall bear
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up under our troubles if we can but keep them from our hearts; but,
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when they put us out of the possession of our own souls, our case is
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bad. <I>The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity;</I> but what
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shall we do when the spirit is wounded? That was David's case here. His
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thoughts sought for something to confide in, and with which to support
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his hope, but he found nothing: He sunk <I>in keep mire, where there
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was no standing,</I> no firm footing; the considerations that used to
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support and encourage him now failed him, or were out of the way, and
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he was ready to give himself up for gone. He sought for something to
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comfort himself with, but found himself <I>in deep waters</I> that
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<I>overflowed</I> him, overwhelmed him; he was like a sinking drowning
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man, in such confusion and consternation. This points at Christ's
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sufferings in his soul, and the inward agony he was in when he said,
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<I>Now is my soul troubled;</I> and, <I>My soul is exceedingly
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sorrowful;</I> for it was his soul that he made an offering for sin.
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And it instructs us, when we are in affliction, to commit the keeping
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of our souls to God, that we may be neither soured with discontent nor
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sink into despair.</P>
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<P>
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2. He complains of the long continuance of his troubles
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>I am weary of my crying.</I> Though he could not keep his head above
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water, yet he cried to his God, and the more death was in his view the
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more life was in his prayers; yet he had not immediately an answer of
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peace given in, no, nor so much of that support and comfort in praying
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which God's people used to have; so that he was almost weary of crying,
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grew hoarse, and his <I>throat</I> so <I>dried</I> that he could cry no
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more. Nor had he his wonted satisfaction in believing, hoping, and
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expecting relief: <I>My eyes fail while I wait for my God;</I> he had
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almost looked his eyes out, in expectation of deliverance. Yet his
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pleading this with God is an indication that he is resolved not to give
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up believing and praying. His throat is dried, but his heart is not;
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his eyes fail, but his faith does not. Thus our Lord Jesus, on the
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cross, cried out, <I>Why hast thou forsaken me?</I> yet, at the same
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time, he kept hold of his relation to him: <I>My God, my God.</I></P>
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<P>
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3. He complains of the malice and multitude of his enemies, their
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injustice and cruelty, and the hardships they put upon him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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They hated him, they would destroy him, for hatred aims at the
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destruction of the person hated; but what was his iniquity, what was
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his sin, what provocation had he given them, that they were so spiteful
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towards him? None at all: "<I>They hate me without a cause;</I> I
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never did them the least injury, that they should bear me such
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ill-will." Our Saviour applies this to himself
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+15:25">John xv. 25</A>):
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<I>They hated me without a cause.</I> We are apt to use this in
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justification of our passion against those that hate us, that we never
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gave them cause to hate us. But it is rather an argument why we should
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bear it patiently, because then we suffer as Christ did, and may then
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expect that God will give us redress. "They are <I>my enemies
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wrongfully,</I> for I have been no enemy to them." In a world where
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unrighteousness reigns so much we must not wonder if we meet with those
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that are our enemies wrongfully. Let us take care that we never do
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wrong and then we may the better bear it if we receive wrong. These
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enemies were not to be despised, but were very formidable both for
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their number--<I>They are more than the hairs of my head</I> (Christ's
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enemies were numerous; those that came to seize him were a great
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multitude; how were those increased that troubled him!) and for their
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strength--They <I>are mighty</I> in authority and power. We are weak,
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but our enemies are strong; for <I>we wrestle against principalities
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and powers. Then I restored that which I took not away.</I> Applying
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this to David, it was what his enemies compelled him to (they made him
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suffer for that offence which he had never been guilty of); and it was
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what he consented to, that, if possible, he might pacify them and make
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them to be at peace with him. He might have insisted upon the laws of
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justice and honour, the former not requiring and the latter commonly
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thought to forbid the restoring of that which we took not away, for
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that is to wrong ourselves both in our wealth and in our reputation.
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Yet the case may be such sometimes that it may become our duty. Blessed
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Paul, though free from all men, yet, for the honour of Christ and the
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edification of the church, made himself a servant to all. But, applying
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it to Christ, it is an observable description of the satisfaction which
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he made to God for our sin by his blood: <I>Then he restored that which
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he took not away;</I> he underwent the punishment that was due to us,
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paid our debt, suffered for our offence. God's glory, in some instances
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of it, was taken away by the sin of man; man's honour, and peace, and
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happiness, were taken away; it was not he that took them away, and yet
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by the merit of his death he restored them.</P>
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<P>
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4. He complains of the unkindness of his friends and relations, and
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this is a grievance which with an ingenuous mind cuts as deeply as any
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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"<I>I have become a stranger to my brethren;</I> they make themselves
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strange to me and use me as a stranger, are shy of conversing with me
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and ashamed to own me." This was fulfilled in Christ, whose <I>brethren
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did not believe on him</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+7:5">John vii. 5</A>),
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who <I>came to his own and his own received him not</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+1:11">John i. 11</A>),
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and who was forsaken by his disciples, whom he had been free with as
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his brethren.</P>
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<P>
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5. He complains of the contempt that was put upon him and the reproach
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with which he was continually loaded. And in this especially his
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complaint points at Christ, who for our sakes submitted to the greatest
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disgrace and made himself of no reputation. We having by sin injured
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God in his honour, Christ made him satisfaction, not only by divesting
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himself of the honours due to an incarnate deity, but by submitting to
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the greatest dishonours that could be done to any man. Two things David
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here takes notice of as aggravations of the indignities done him:--
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(1.) The ground and matter of the reproach,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:10,11"><I>v.</I> 10, 11</A>.
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They ridiculed him for that by which he both humbled himself and
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honoured God. When men lift up themselves in pride and vain glory they
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are justly laughed at for their folly; but David chastened his soul,
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and clothed himself with sackcloth, and from his abasing himself they
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took occasion to trample upon him. When men dishonour God it is just
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that their so doing should turn to their dishonour; but when David,
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purely in devotion to God and to testify his respect to him, <I>wept,
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and chastened his soul with fasting,</I> and <I>made sackcloth his
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garment,</I> as humble penitents used to do, instead of commending his
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devotion and recommending it as a great example of piety, they did all
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they could both to discourage him in it and to prevent others from
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following his good example; for <I>that was to his reproach.</I> They
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laughed at him as a fool for mortifying himself thus; and even for this
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he <I>became a proverb to them;</I> they made him the common subject of
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their banter. We must not think it strange if we be ill spoken of for
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that which is well done, and in which we have reason to hope that we
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are accepted of God. Our Lord Jesus was stoned for his good works
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+10:32">John x. 32</A>),
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and when he cried, <I>Eli, Eli--My God, my God,</I> was bantered, as if
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he called for Elias.
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(2.) The persons that reproached him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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[1.] Even the gravest and the most honourable, from whom better was
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expected: <I>Those that sit in the gate speak against me,</I> and their
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reproaches pass for the dictates of senators and the decrees of judges,
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and are credited accordingly.
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[2.] The meanest, and the most despicable, the abjects
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+35:15">Ps. xxxv. 15</A>),
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and scum of the country, the <I>children of fools,</I> yea, the
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<I>children of base men,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+30:8">Job xxx. 8</A>.
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Such drunkards as these make themselves vile, and he was the song of
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the drunkards; they made themselves and their companions merry with
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him. See the bad consequences of the sin of drunkenness; it makes men
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<I>despisers of those that are good,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ti+3:3">2 Tim. iii. 3</A>.
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When <I>the king was made sick with bottles of wine he stretched out
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his hand with scorners,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+7:5">Hos. vii. 5</A>.
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The bench of the drunkards is the seat of the scornful. See what is
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commonly the lot of the best of men: those that are the praise of the
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wise are the song of fools. But it is easy to those that rightly judge
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of things to despise being thus despised.</P>
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<P>
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II. His confessions of sin are very serious
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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"<I>O God! thou knowest my foolishness,</I> what is and what is not; my
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sins that I am guilty of are not hidden from thee, and therefore thou
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knowest how innocent I am of those crimes which they charge upon me."
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Note, Even when, as to men's unjust accusations, we plead <I>Not
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guilty,</I> yet, before God, we must acknowledge ourselves to have
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deserved all that is brought upon us, and much worse. This is the
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genuine confession of a penitent, who knows that he cannot prosper in
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covering his sin, and that <I>therefore</I> it is his wisdom to
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acknowledge it, because it is naked and open before God.
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1. He knows the corruption of our nature: <I>Thou knowest the
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foolishness</I> that is bound up in my heart. All our sins take rise
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from our foolishness.
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2. He knows the transgressions of our lives; they are not hidden from
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him, no, not our heart-sins, no, not those that are committed most
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secretly. They are all done in his sight, and are never cast behind his
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back till they are repented of and pardoned. This may aptly be applied
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to Christ, for he knew no sin, yet he was made sin for us; and God knew
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it, nor was it hidden from him, when it pleased the Lord to bruise him
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and put him to grief.</P>
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<P>
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III. His supplications are very earnest.
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1. For himself
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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"<I>Save me, O God!</I> save me from sinking, from despairing." Thus
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Christ was heard in that he feared, for he was saved from letting fall
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his undertaking,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+5:7">Heb. v. 7</A>.
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2. For his friends
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>Let not those that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts! and that seek
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thee, O God of Israel!</I> (under these two characters we ought to seek
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God, and in seeking him to wait on him, as the <I>God of hosts,</I> who
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has all power to help, and as the <I>God of Israel</I> in covenant with
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his people, whom therefore he is engaged in honour and truth to help)
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<I>be ashamed and confounded for my sake.</I> This intimates his fear
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that if God did not appear for him it would be a discouragement to all
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other good people and would give their enemies occasion to triumph over
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them, and his earnest desire that whatever became of him all that seek
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|
God, and wait upon him, might be kept in heart and kept in countenance,
|
|
and might neither be discouraged in themselves nor exposed to contempt
|
|
from others. If Jesus Christ had not been owned and accepted of his
|
|
Father in his sufferings, all that seek God, and wait for him, would
|
|
have been ashamed and confounded; but they have confidence towards God,
|
|
and in his name come boldly to the throne of grace.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. His plea is very powerful,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:7,9"><I>v.</I> 7, 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
Reproach was one of the greatest of his burdens: "Lord, roll away the
|
|
reproach, and plead my cause, for,
|
|
|
|
1. It is for thee that I am reproached, for serving thee and trusting
|
|
in thee: <I>For thy sake I have borne reproach.</I>" Those that are
|
|
evil spoken of for well-doing may with a humble confidence leave it to
|
|
God to <I>bring forth their righteousness as the light.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. "It is with thee that I am reproached: <I>The zeal of thy house has
|
|
eaten me up,</I> that is, has made me forget myself, and do that which
|
|
they wickedly turn to my reproach. Those that hate thee and thy house
|
|
for that reason hate me, because they know how zealously affected I am
|
|
to it. It is this that has made them ready to eat me up and has eaten
|
|
up all the love and respect I had among them." Those that blasphemed
|
|
God, and spoke ill of his word and ways, did therefore reproach David
|
|
for believing in his word and walking in his ways. Or it may be
|
|
construed as an instance of David's zeal for God's house, that he
|
|
resented all the indignities done to God's name as if they had been
|
|
done to his own name. He laid to heart all the dishonour done to God
|
|
and the contempt cast upon religion; these he laid nearer to his heart
|
|
than any outward troubles of his own. And <I>therefore</I> he had
|
|
reason to hope God would interest himself in the reproaches cast upon
|
|
him, because he had always interested himself in the reproaches cast
|
|
upon God. Both the parts of
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:9">this verse</A>
|
|
|
|
are applied to Christ.
|
|
|
|
(1.) It was an instance of his love to his Father that <I>the zeal of
|
|
his house did even eat him up</I> when he whipped the buyers and
|
|
sellers out of the temple, which reminded his disciples of this text,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+2:17">John ii. 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) It was an instance of his self-denial, and that he pleased not
|
|
himself, that the <I>reproaches of those that reproached God fell upon
|
|
him</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+15:3">Rom. xv. 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
and therein he set us an example.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_21"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Complaints and Petitions.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>13 But as for me, my prayer <I>is</I> unto thee, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, <I>in</I> an
|
|
acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in
|
|
the truth of thy salvation.
|
|
14 Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be
|
|
delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.
|
|
15 Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep
|
|
swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.
|
|
16 Hear me, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; for thy lovingkindness <I>is</I> good: turn unto
|
|
me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
|
|
17 And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble:
|
|
hear me speedily.
|
|
18 Draw nigh unto my soul, <I>and</I> redeem it: deliver me because
|
|
of mine enemies.
|
|
19 Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour:
|
|
mine adversaries <I>are</I> all before thee.
|
|
20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness:
|
|
and I looked <I>for some</I> to take pity, but <I>there was</I> none; and
|
|
for comforters, but I found none.
|
|
21 They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they
|
|
gave me vinegar to drink.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
David had been speaking before of the spiteful reproaches which his
|
|
enemies cast upon him; here he adds, <I>But, as for me, my prayer is
|
|
unto thee.</I> They spoke ill of him for his fasting and praying, and
|
|
for that he was made the song of the drunkards; but, notwithstanding
|
|
that, he resolves to continue praying. Note, Though we may be jeered
|
|
for well-doing, we must never be jeered out of it. Those can bear but
|
|
little for God, and their confessing his name before men, that cannot
|
|
bear a scoff and a hard word rather than quit their duty. David's
|
|
enemies were very abusive to him, but this was his comfort, that he had
|
|
a God to go to, with whom he would lodge his cause. "They think to
|
|
carry their cause by insolence and calumny; but I use other methods.
|
|
Whatever they do, <I>As for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord!</I>"
|
|
And it was in an acceptable time, not the less acceptable for being a
|
|
time of affliction. God will not drive us from him, though it is need
|
|
that drives us to him; nay, it is the more acceptable, because the
|
|
misery and distress of God's people make them so much the more the
|
|
objects of his pity: it is seasonable for him to help them when all
|
|
other helps fail, and they are undone, and feel that they are undone,
|
|
if he do not help them. We find this expression used concerning Christ.
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:8">Isa. xlix. 8</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>In an acceptable time have I heard thee.</I> Now observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. What his requests are.
|
|
|
|
1. That he might have a gracious audience given to his complaints, the
|
|
cry of his affliction, and the desire of his heart. <I>Hear me</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
and again, <I>Hear me, O Lord!</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Hear me speedily</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
not only hear what I say, but grant what I ask. Christ knew that
|
|
<I>the Father heard him always,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+11:42">John xi. 42</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. That he might be rescued out of his troubles, might be saved from
|
|
sinking under the load of grief (<I>Deliver me out of the mire;</I> let
|
|
me not stick in it, so some, but help me out, and <I>set my feet on a
|
|
rock,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+40:2">Ps. xl. 2</A>),
|
|
|
|
might be saved from his enemies, that they might not swallow him up,
|
|
nor have their will against him: "<I>Let me be delivered from those
|
|
that hate me,</I> as a lamb from the paw of a lion,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
Though I have come into keep waters
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
|
|
|
|
where I am ready to conclude that the floods will overflow me, yet let
|
|
my fears be prevented and silenced; let not the waterflood, though it
|
|
flow upon me, overflow me,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let me not fall into the gulf of despair; let not that deep swallow me
|
|
up; let not that pit shut her mouth upon me, for then I am undone." He
|
|
gave himself up for lost in the beginning of the psalm; yet now he has
|
|
his head above water, and is not so weary of crying as he thought
|
|
himself.
|
|
|
|
3. That God would turn to him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
that he would smile upon him, and not hide his face from him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
The tokens of God's favour to us, and the light of his countenance
|
|
shining upon us, are enough to keep our spirits from sinking in the
|
|
deepest mire of outward troubles, nor need we desire any more to make
|
|
us safe and easy,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
"Draw nigh to my soul, to manifest thyself to it, and that shall redeem
|
|
it."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. What his pleas are to enforce these petitions.
|
|
|
|
1. He pleads God's mercy and truth
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>In the multitude of thy mercy hear me.</I> There is mercy in God, a
|
|
multitude of mercies, all kinds of mercy, inexhaustible mercy, mercy
|
|
enough for all, enough for each; and hence we must take our
|
|
encouragement in praying. The truth also of his salvation (the truth of
|
|
all those promises of salvation which he has made to those that trust
|
|
in him) is a further encouragement. He repeats his argument taken from
|
|
the mercy of God: "<I>Hear me,</I> for <I>thy lovingkindness of
|
|
good.</I> It is so in itself; it is rich and plentiful and abundant. It
|
|
is so in the account of all the saints; it is very precious to them, it
|
|
is their life, their joy, their all. O let me have the benefit of it!
|
|
Turn to me, <I>according to the multitude of thy tender mercies,</I>"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
See how highly he speaks of the goodness of God: in him there are
|
|
mercies, tender mercies, and a multitude of them. If we think well of
|
|
God, and continue to do so under the greatest hardships, we need not
|
|
fear but God will do well for us; for <I>he takes pleasure in those
|
|
that hope in his mercy,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:">Ps. cxlvii. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. He pleads his own distress and affliction: "<I>Hide not thy face</I>
|
|
from me, <I>for I am in trouble</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
and therefore need thy favour; therefore it will come seasonably, and
|
|
therefore I shall know how to value it." He pleads particularly the
|
|
reproach he was under and the indignities that were done him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Thou hast known my reproach, my shame, and my dishonour.</I> See
|
|
what a stress is laid upon this; for, in the sufferings of Christ for
|
|
us, perhaps nothing contributed more to the satisfaction he made for
|
|
sin, which had been so injurious to God in his honour, than the
|
|
reproach, and shame, and dishonour he underwent, which God took notice
|
|
of, and accepted as more than an equivalent for the everlasting shame
|
|
and contempt which our sins had deserved, and therefore we must by
|
|
repentance take shame to ourselves and bear the reproach of our youth.
|
|
And if at any time we be called out to suffer reproach, and shame, and
|
|
dishonour, for his sake, this may be our comfort, that he knows it,
|
|
and, as he is before-hand with us, so he will not be behind-hand with
|
|
us. The Psalmist speaks the language of an ingenuous nature when he
|
|
says
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Reproach has broken my heart; I am full of heaviness;</I> for it
|
|
bears hard upon one that knows the worth of a good name to be put under
|
|
a bad character; but when we consider what an honour it is to be
|
|
dishonoured for God, and what a favour to be counted worthy to suffer
|
|
shame for his name (as they deemed it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+5:41">Acts v. 41</A>),
|
|
|
|
we shall see there is no reason at all why it should sit so heavily or
|
|
be any heart-breaking to us.
|
|
|
|
3. He pleads the insolence and cruelty of his enemies
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Deliver me because of my enemies,</I> because they were such as he
|
|
had before described them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
"<I>My adversaries are all before thee</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>);
|
|
|
|
thou knowest what sort of men they are, what danger I am in from them,
|
|
what enemies they are to thee, and how much thou art reflected upon in
|
|
what they do and design against me." One instance of their barbarity is
|
|
given
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>They gave me gall for my meat</I> (the word signifies a bitter herb,
|
|
and is often joined with wormwood) <I>and in my thirst they gave me
|
|
vinegar to drink.</I> This was literally fulfilled in Christ, and did
|
|
so directly point to him that he would not say <I>It is finished</I>
|
|
till this was fulfilled; and, in order that his enemies might have
|
|
occasion to fulfil it, he said, <I>I thirst,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+19:28,29">John xix. 28, 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
Some think that the hyssop which they put to his mouth with the vinegar
|
|
was the bitter herb which they gave him with the vinegar for his meat.
|
|
See how particularly the sufferings of Christ were foretold, which
|
|
proves the scripture to be the word of God, and how exactly the
|
|
predictions were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, which proves him to be the
|
|
true Messiah. This is he that should come, and we are to look for no
|
|
other.
|
|
|
|
4. He pleads the unkindness of his friends and his disappointment in
|
|
them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I looked for some to take pity, but there was none;</I> they all
|
|
failed him like the brooks in summer. This was fulfilled in Christ, for
|
|
in his sufferings all his disciples forsook him and fled. We cannot
|
|
expect too little from men (miserable comforters are they all); nor can
|
|
we expect too much from God, for he is the Father of mercy and the God
|
|
of all comfort and consolation.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_29"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Pleading with God; Prophetic Imprecations.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>22 Let their table become a snare before them: and <I>that which
|
|
should have been</I> for <I>their</I> welfare, <I>let it become</I> a trap.
|
|
23 Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make
|
|
their loins continually to shake.
|
|
24 Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful
|
|
anger take hold of them.
|
|
25 Let their habitation be desolate; <I>and</I> let none dwell in
|
|
their tents.
|
|
26 For they persecute <I>him</I> whom thou hast smitten; and they
|
|
talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.
|
|
27 Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into
|
|
thy righteousness.
|
|
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not
|
|
be written with the righteous.
|
|
29 But I <I>am</I> poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set
|
|
me up on high.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
These imprecations are not David's prayers against his enemies, but
|
|
prophecies of the destruction of Christ's persecutors, especially the
|
|
Jewish nation, which our Lord himself foretold with tears, and which
|
|
was accomplished about forty years after the death of Christ. The first
|
|
two verses of this paragraph are expressly applied to the judgments of
|
|
God upon the unbelieving Jews by the apostle
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:22,23,Ro+11:9,10">Rom. xi. 9, 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
and therefore the whole must look that way. The rejection of the Jews
|
|
for rejecting Christ, as it was a signal instance of God's justice and
|
|
an earnest of the vengeance which God will at last take on all that are
|
|
obstinate in their infidelity, so it was, and continues to be, a
|
|
convincing proof of the truth of the Christian religion. One great
|
|
objection against it, at first, was, that it set aside the ceremonial
|
|
law; but its doing so was effectually justified, and that objection
|
|
removed, when God so remarkably set it aside by the utter destruction
|
|
of the temple, and the sinking of those, with the Mosaic economy, that
|
|
obstinately adhered to it in opposition to the gospel of Christ. Let us
|
|
observe here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. What the judgments are which should come upon the crucifiers of
|
|
Christ; not upon all of them, for there were those who had a hand in
|
|
his death and yet repented and found mercy
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:23,3:14,15">Acts ii. 23; iii. 14, 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
but upon those of them and their successors who justified it by an
|
|
obstinate infidelity and rejection of his gospel, and by an inveterate
|
|
enmity to his disciples and followers. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Th+2:15,16">1 Thess. ii. 15, 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is here foretold,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. That their sacrifices and offerings should be a mischief and
|
|
prejudice to them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Let their table become a snare.</I> This may be understood of the
|
|
altar of the Lord, which is called <I>his table and theirs</I> because
|
|
in feasting upon the sacrifices they were partakers of the altar. This
|
|
should have been for their welfare or peace (for they were
|
|
peace-offerings), but it became a snare and a trap to them; for by
|
|
their affection and adherence to the altar they were held fast in their
|
|
infidelity and hardened in their prejudices against Christ, that altar
|
|
which those had no right to eat of who continued to serve the
|
|
tabernacle,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+13:10">Heb. xiii. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Or it may be understood of their common creature-comforts, even their
|
|
necessary food; they had given Christ gall and vinegar, and therefore
|
|
justly shall their meat and drink be made gall and vinegar to them.
|
|
When the supports of life and delights of sense, through the corruption
|
|
of our nature, become an occasion of sin to us, and are made the food
|
|
and fuel of our sensuality, then our table is a snare, which is a good
|
|
reason why we should never feed ourselves without fear,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jude+1:12">Jude 12</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. That they should never have the comfort either of that knowledge or
|
|
of that peace which believers are blessed with in the gospel of Christ
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>),
|
|
|
|
that they should be given up,
|
|
|
|
(1.) To a judicial blindness: <I>Let their eyes be darkened,</I> that
|
|
they see not the glory of God in the face of Christ. Their sin was that
|
|
they would not see, but shut their eyes against the light, loving
|
|
darkness rather; their punishment was that they should not see, but be
|
|
given up to their own hearts' lusts, which were hardening, and the god
|
|
of this world should be permitted to blind their minds,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+4:4">2 Cor. iv. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
This was foretold concerning them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+6:10">Isa. vi. 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
and Christ ratified it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+13:14,15,Joh+12:40">Matt. xiii. 14, 15; John xii. 40</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) To a judicial terror. There is a gracious terror, which opens the
|
|
way to comfort, such as that of Paul
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+9:6">Acts ix. 6</A>);
|
|
|
|
he trembled and was astonished. But this is a terror that shall never
|
|
end in peace, but shall make their loins continually to shake, through
|
|
horror of conscience, as Belshazzar, when the joints of his loins were
|
|
loosed. "Let them be driven to despair, and filled with constant
|
|
confusion." This was fulfilled in the desperate counsels of the Jews
|
|
when the Romans came upon them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. That they should fall and lie under God's anger and fiery
|
|
indignation
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Pour out thy indignation upon them.</I> Note, Those who reject God's
|
|
great salvation proffered to them may justly fear that his indignation
|
|
will be poured out upon them; for those that submit not to the Son of
|
|
his love will certainly be made the generation of his wrath. It is the
|
|
doom passed on those who believe not in Christ that the <I>wrath of God
|
|
abideth on them</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+3:36">John iii. 36</A>);
|
|
|
|
it takes hold of them, and will never let them go. Salvation itself
|
|
will not save those that are not willing to be ruled by it. Behold the
|
|
goodness and severity of God!</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. That their place and nation should be utterly taken away, the very
|
|
thing they were afraid of, and to prevent which, as they pretended,
|
|
they persecuted Christ
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+11:48">John xi. 48</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Let their habitation be desolate</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>),
|
|
|
|
which was fulfilled when their country was laid waste by the Romans,
|
|
and <I>Zion, for their sakes, was ploughed as a field,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+3:12">Mic. iii. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
The temple was the house which they were in a particular manner proud
|
|
of, but this was <I>left unto them desolate,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+23:38">Matt. xxiii. 38</A>.
|
|
|
|
Yet that is not all; it ought to be some satisfaction to us, if we be
|
|
cut off from the enjoyment of our possessions, that others will have
|
|
the benefit of them when we are dislodged: but it is here added, <I>Let
|
|
none dwell in their tents,</I> which was remarkably fulfilled in Judah
|
|
and Jerusalem, for after the destruction of the Jews it was long ere
|
|
the country was inhabited to any purpose. But this is applied
|
|
particularly to Judas, by St. Peter,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+1:20">Acts i. 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
For, he being <I>felo de se--a suicide,</I> we may suppose his estate
|
|
was confiscated, so that <I>his habitation was desolate and no man</I>
|
|
of his own kindred <I>dwelt therein.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
5. That their way to ruin should be downhill, and nothing should stop
|
|
them, nor interpose to prevent it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>):
|
|
|
|
"Lord, leave them to themselves, to <I>add iniquity to iniquity.</I>"
|
|
Those that are bad, if they be given up to their own hearts' lusts,
|
|
will certainly be worse; they will add sin to sin, nay, they will
|
|
<I>add rebellion to their sin,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+34:37">Job xxxiv. 37</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is said of the Jews that they <I>filled up their sin always,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Th+2:16">1 Thess. ii. 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Add the punishment of iniquity to their iniquity</I> (so some read
|
|
it), for the same word signifies both sin and punishment, so close is
|
|
their connexion. If men will sin, God will reckon for it. But those
|
|
that have multiplied to sin may yet find mercy, for God multiplies to
|
|
pardon, through the righteousness of the Mediator; and therefore, that
|
|
they might be precluded from all hopes of mercy, he adds, <I>Let them
|
|
not come into thy righteousness,</I> to receive the benefit of the
|
|
righteousness of God, which is by faith in a Mediator,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+3:9">Phil. iii. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
Not that God shuts out any from that righteousness, for the gospel
|
|
excludes none that do not by their unbelief exclude themselves; but let
|
|
them be left to take their own course and they will never come into
|
|
this government; for being ignorant of the demands of God's
|
|
righteousness, and going about to establish the merit of their own,
|
|
they <I>have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+10:3">Rom. x. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
And those that are so proud and self-willed that they will not come
|
|
into God's righteousness shall have their doom accordingly; they
|
|
themselves have decided it: they <I>shall not come into his
|
|
righteousness.</I> Let not those expect any benefit by it that are not
|
|
willing and glad to be beholden to it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
6. That they should be cut off from all hopes of happiness
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;</I> let them not
|
|
be suffered to live any longer, since, the longer they live, the more
|
|
mischief they do. Multitudes of the unbelieving Jews fell by sword and
|
|
famine, and none of those who had embraced the Christian faith perished
|
|
among them; the nation, as a nation, was blotted out, and became not a
|
|
people. Many understand it of their rejection from God's covenant and
|
|
all the privileges of it; that is <I>the book of the living:</I> "Let
|
|
the commonwealth of Israel itself, Israel according to the flesh, now
|
|
become alienated from that covenant of promise which hitherto it has
|
|
had the monopoly of. Let it appear that they were never written in the
|
|
Lamb's book of life, but reprobate silver let <I>men call them, because
|
|
the Lord has rejected them.</I> Let them <I>not be written with the
|
|
righteous;</I> that is, let them not have a place in the congregation
|
|
of the saints when they shall all be gathered in the general assembly
|
|
of those whose names are written in heaven,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:5">Ps. i. 5</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. What the sin is for which these dreadful judgments should be
|
|
brought upon them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>They persecute him whom thou hast smitten, and talk to the grief of
|
|
thy wounded.</I>
|
|
|
|
1. Christ was he whom God had smitten, for <I>it pleased the Lord to
|
|
bruise him,</I> and he was esteemed <I>stricken, smitten of God, and
|
|
afflicted,</I> and therefore men <I>hid their faces from him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+53:3,4,10">Isa. liii. 3, 4, 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
They persecuted him with a rage reaching up to heaven; they cried,
|
|
<I>Crucify him, crucify him.</I> Compare that of St. Peter with this,
|
|
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:23">Acts ii. 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
Though he was <I>delivered by the counsel and foreknowledge of God,</I>
|
|
it was <I>with wicked hands that they crucified and slew him.</I> They
|
|
talked to the grief of the Lord Jesus when he was upon the cross,
|
|
saying, <I>He trusted in God, let him deliver him,</I> than which
|
|
nothing could be said more grieving.
|
|
|
|
2. The suffering saints were God's wounded, wounded in his cause and
|
|
for his sake, and them they persecuted, and <I>talked to their
|
|
grief.</I> For these things <I>wrath came upon them to the
|
|
uttermost,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Th+2:16">1 Thess. ii. 16</A>;
|
|
|
|
and see
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+23:34-36">Matt. xxiii. 34</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. This may be understood more generally, and it teaches us that
|
|
nothing is more provoking to God than to insult over those whom he has
|
|
smitten, and to add affliction to the afflicted, upon which it justly
|
|
follows here, <I>Add iniquity to iniquity;</I> see
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+1:15">Zech. i. 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that are of a wounded spirit, under trouble and fear about their
|
|
spiritual state, ought to be very tenderly dealt with, and care must be
|
|
taken not to <I>talk to their grief and not to make the heart of the
|
|
righteous sad.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. What the psalmist thinks of himself in the midst of all
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>But I am poor and sorrowful;</I> that is the worst of my case,
|
|
under outward afflictions, yet <I>written among the righteous,</I> and
|
|
not under God's indignation as they are." It is better to be poor and
|
|
sorrowful, with the blessing of God, than rich and jovial and under his
|
|
curse. For those who come into God's righteousness shall soon see an
|
|
end of their poverty and sorrow, and his salvation shall set them up on
|
|
high, which is the thing that David here prays for,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:10">Isa. lxi. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
This may be applied to Christ. He was, in his humiliation, poor and
|
|
sorrowful, a man of sorrows, and that had not where to lay his head.
|
|
But God highly exalted him; the salvation wrought for him, the
|
|
salvation wrought by him, <I>set him up on high, far above all
|
|
principalities and powers.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_31"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_32"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_33"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_34"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_35"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps69_36"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Comfort for the Persecuted; Thanksgiving and Praise.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify
|
|
him with thanksgiving.
|
|
31 <I>This</I> also shall please the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> better than an ox <I>or</I>
|
|
bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
|
|
32 The humble shall see <I>this, and</I> be glad: and your heart
|
|
shall live that seek God.
|
|
33 For the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> heareth the poor, and despiseth not his
|
|
prisoners.
|
|
34 Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every
|
|
thing that moveth therein.
|
|
35 For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah:
|
|
that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.
|
|
36 The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they
|
|
that love his name shall dwell therein.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The psalmist here, both as a type of Christ and as an example to
|
|
Christians, concludes a psalm with holy joy and praise which he began
|
|
with complaints and remonstrances of his griefs.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. He resolves to praise God himself, not doubting but that therein he
|
|
should be accepted of him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:30,31"><I>v.</I> 30, 31</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>I will praise the name of God,</I> not only with my heart, but with
|
|
my song, and <I>magnify him with thanksgiving;</I>" for he is pleased
|
|
to reckon himself magnified by the thankful praises of his people. It
|
|
is intimated that all Christians ought to glorify God with their
|
|
praises, <I>in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs.</I> And <I>this
|
|
shall please the Lord,</I> through Christ the Mediator of our praises
|
|
as well as of our prayers, better than the most valuable of the legal
|
|
sacrifices
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>an ox or bullock.</I> This is a plain intimation that in the days of
|
|
the Messiah an end should be put, not only to the sacrifices of
|
|
atonement, but to those of praise and acknowledgment which were
|
|
instituted by the ceremonial law; and, instead of them, spiritual
|
|
sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving are accepted--the calves of our
|
|
lips, not the calves of the stall,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+13:15">Heb. xiii. 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is a great comfort to us that humble and thankful praises are more
|
|
pleasing to God than the most costly pompous sacrifices are or ever
|
|
were.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. He encourages other good people to rejoice in God and continue
|
|
seeking him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:32,33"><I>v.</I> 32, 33</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The humble shall see this and be glad.</I> They shall observe, to
|
|
their comfort,
|
|
|
|
1. The experiences of the saints. They shall see how ready God is to
|
|
hear the poor when they cry to him, and to give them that which they
|
|
call upon him for, how far he is from despising his prisoners; though
|
|
men despise them, he favours them with his gracious visits and will
|
|
find a time to enlarge them. <I>The humble shall see this and be
|
|
glad,</I> not only because when one member is honoured all the members
|
|
rejoice with it, but because it is an encouragement to them in their
|
|
straits and difficulties to trust in God. It shall revive the hearts of
|
|
those who seek God to see more seals and subscriptions to this truth,
|
|
that Jacob's God never said to Jacob's seed, <I>Seek you me in
|
|
vain.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. The exaltation of the Saviour, for of him the psalmist had been
|
|
speaking, and of himself as a type of him. When his sorrows are over,
|
|
and he enters into the joy that was set before him, when he is heard
|
|
and discharged from his imprisonment in the grave, the humble shall
|
|
look upon it and be glad, and those that seek God through Christ shall
|
|
live and be comforted, concluding that, if they suffer with him, they
|
|
shall also reign with him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. He calls upon all the creatures to praise God, the heaven, and
|
|
earth, and sea, and the inhabitants of each,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:34"><I>v.</I> 34</A>.
|
|
|
|
Heaven and earth, and the hosts of both, were made by him, and
|
|
therefore <I>let heaven and earth praise him.</I> Angels in heaven, and
|
|
saints on earth, may each of them in their respective habitations
|
|
furnish themselves with matter enough for constant praise. Let the
|
|
fishes of the sea, though mute to a proverb, praise the Lord, for the
|
|
sea is his, and he made it. The praises of the world must be offered
|
|
for God's favours to his church,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:35,36"><I>v.</I> 35, 36</A>.
|
|
|
|
For God will save Zion, the holy mountain, where his service was kept
|
|
up. He will save all that are sanctified and set apart to him, all that
|
|
employ themselves in his worship, and all those over whom Christ
|
|
reigns; for he was King upon the holy hill of Zion. He has mercy in
|
|
store for the cities of Judah, of which tribe Christ was. God will do
|
|
great things for the gospel church, in which let all that wish well to
|
|
it rejoice. For,
|
|
|
|
1. It shall be peopled and inhabited. There shall be added to it such
|
|
as shall be saved. <I>The cities of Judah shall be built,</I>
|
|
particular churches shall be formed and incorporated according to the
|
|
gospel model, that there may be a remnant to <I>dwell there</I> and to
|
|
<I>have it in possession,</I> to enjoy the privileges conferred upon it
|
|
and to pay the tributes and services required from it. Those that love
|
|
his name, that have a kindness for religion in general, shall embrace
|
|
the Christian religion, and take their place in the Christian church;
|
|
they shall dwell therein, as citizens, and of the household of God
|
|
|
|
2. It shall be perpetuated and inherited. Christianity was not to be
|
|
<I>res unius ætatis--a transitory thin.</I> No: <I>The seed of
|
|
his servants shall inherit it.</I> God will secure and raise up for
|
|
himself a seed to serve him, and they shall inherit the privileges of
|
|
their fathers; for the promise is to you and your children, as it was
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of old. <I>I will be a God to thee, and thy seed after thee.</I> The
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land of promise shall never be lost for want of heirs, for God <I>can
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out of stones raise up children unto Abraham</I> and will do so rather
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than the entail shall be cut off. David shall never want a man to
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stand before him. The Redeemer shall see his seed, and prolong his days
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in them, till the mystery of God shall be finished and the mystical
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body completed. And since the holy seed is the substance of the world,
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and if that were all gathered in the world would be at an end quickly,
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it is just that for this assurance of the preservation of it heaven and
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earth should praise him.</P>
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