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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 LXXXIV.</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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Though David's name be not in the title of this psalm, yet we have
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reason to think he was the penman of it, because it breathes so much of
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his excellent spirit and is so much like the sixty-third psalm which
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was penned by him; it is supposed that David penned this psalm when he
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was forced by Absalom's rebellion to quit his city, which he lamented
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his absence from, not so much because it was the royal city as because
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it was the holy city, witness this psalm, which contains the pious
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breathings of a gracious soul after God and communion with him. Though
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it be not entitled, yet it may fitly be looked upon as a psalm or song
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for the sabbath day, the day of our solemn assemblies. The psalmist
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here with great devotion expresses his affection,
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I. To the ordinances of God; his value for them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:1">ver. 1</A>),
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his desire towards them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:2,3">ver. 2, 3</A>),
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his conviction of the happiness of those that did enjoy them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:4-7">ver. 4-7</A>),
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and his placing his own happiness so very much in the enjoyment of
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them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:10">ver. 10</A>.
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II. To the God of the ordinances; his desire towards him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:8,9">ver. 8, 9</A>),
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his faith in him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:11">ver. 11</A>),
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and his conviction of the happiness of those that put their confidence
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in him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:12">ver. 12</A>.
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In singing this psalm we should have the same devout affections working
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towards God that David had, and then the singing of it will be very
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pleasant.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps84_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps84_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps84_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps84_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps84_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps84_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps84_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>The Pleasures of Public Worship; Benefit of Public Worship.</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 Gittith. A psalm for the sons of Korah.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 How amiable <I>are</I> thy tabernacles, O
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts!
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2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
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3 Yea, the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest
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for herself, where she may lay her young, <I>even</I> thine altars, O
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, my King, and my God.
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4 Blessed <I>are</I> they that dwell in thy house: they will be
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still praising thee. Selah.
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5 Blessed <I>is</I> the man whose strength <I>is</I> in thee; in whose
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heart <I>are</I> the ways <I>of them.</I>
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6 <I>Who</I> passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the
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rain also filleth the pools.
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7 They go from strength to strength, <I>every one of them</I> in
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Zion appeareth before God.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The psalmist here, being by force restrained from waiting upon God in
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public ordinances, by the want of them is brought under a more sensible
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conviction than ever of the worth of them. Observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. The wonderful beauty he saw in holy institutions
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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<I>How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!</I> Some think
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that he here calls God the <I>Lord of hosts</I> (that is, in a special
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manner of the angels, the heavenly hosts) because of the presence of
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the angels in God's sanctuary; they attended the Shechinah, and were
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(as some think) signified by the cherubim. God is the Lord of these
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hosts, and his the tabernacle is: it is spoken of as more than one
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(<I>thy tabernacles</I>) because there were several courts in which the
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people attended, and because the tabernacle itself consisted of a holy
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place and a most holy. How amiable are these! How lovely is the
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sanctuary in the eyes of all that are truly sanctified! Gracious souls
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see a wonderful, an inexpressible, beauty in holiness, and in holy
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work. A tabernacle was a mean habitation, but the disadvantage of
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external circumstances makes holy ordinances not at all the less
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amiable; for the beauty of holiness is spiritual, and their glory is
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within.</P>
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<P>
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II. The longing desire he had to return to the enjoyment of public
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ordinances, or rather of God in them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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It was an entire desire; body, soul, and spirit concurred in it. He was
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not conscious to himself of any rising thought to the contrary. It was
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an intense desire; it was like the desire of the ambitious, or
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covetous, or voluptuous. He longed, he fainted, he cried out,
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importunate to be restored to his place in God's courts, and almost
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impatient of delay. Yet it was not so much the courts of the Lord that
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he coveted, but he cried out, in prayer, <I>for the living God</I>
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himself. O that I might know him, and be again taken into communion
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with him!
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+1:3">1 John i. 3</A>.
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Ordinances are empty things if we meet not with God in the
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ordinances.</P>
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<P>
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III. His grudging the happiness of the little birds that made their
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nests in the buildings that were adjoining to God's altars,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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This is an elegant and surprising expression of his affection to God's
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altars: <I>The sparrow has found a house and the swallow a nest for
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herself.</I> These little birds, by the instinct and direction of
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nature, provide habitations for themselves in houses, as other birds do
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in the woods, both for their own repose and in which to lay their
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young; some such David supposes there were in the buildings about the
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courts of God's house, and wishes himself with them. He would rather
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live in a bird's nest nigh God's altars than in a palace at a distance
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from them. He sometimes wished for <I>the wings of a dove,</I> on which
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to <I>fly into the wilderness</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:6">Ps. lv. 6</A>);
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here for the wings of a sparrow, that he might fly undiscovered into
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God's courts; and, though to <I>watch as a sparrow alone upon the
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house-top</I> is the description of a very melancholy state and spirit
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+102:7">Ps. cii. 7</A>),
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yet David would be glad to take it for his lot, provided he might be
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near God's altars. It is better to be serving God in solitude than
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serving sin with a multitude. The word for a sparrow signifies any
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little bird, and (if I may offer a conjecture) perhaps when, in David's
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time, music was introduced so much into the sacred service, both vocal
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and instrumental, to complete the harmony they had singing-birds in
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cages hung about the courts of the tabernacle (for we find the singing
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of birds taken notice of to the glory of God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+104:12">Ps. civ. 12</A>),
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and David envies the happiness of these, and would gladly change places
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with them. Observe, David envies the happiness not of those birds that
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flew over the altars, and had only a transient view of God's courts,
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but of those that had nests for themselves there. David will not think
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it enough to sojourn in God's house <I>as a way-faring man that turns
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aside to tarry for a night;</I> but let this be his rest, his home;
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here he will dwell. And he takes notice that these birds not only have
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nests for themselves there, but that there they lay their young; for
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those who have a place in God's courts themselves cannot but desire
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that their children also may have in God's house, and within his walls,
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a place and a name, that they may <I>feed their kids beside the
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shepherds' tents.</I> Some give another sense of this verse: "Lord, by
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thy providence thou hast furnished the birds with nests and
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resting-places, agreeable to their nature, and to them they have free
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recourse; but thy altar, which is my nest, my resting-place, which I am
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as desirous of as ever the wandering bird was of her nest, I cannot
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have access to. Lord, wilt thou provide better for thy birds than for
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thy babes? <I>As a bird that wanders from her nest</I> so am I, now
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that I wander from the place of God's altars, for that is my place
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+27:8">Prov. xxvii. 8</A>);
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I shall never be easy till I return to my place again." Note, Those
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whose souls are at home, at rest, in God, cannot but desire a
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settlement near his ordinances. There were two altars, one for
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sacrifice, the other for incense, and David, in his desire of a place
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in God's courts, has an eye to both, as we also must, in all our
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attendance on God, have an eye both to the satisfaction and to the
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intercession of Christ. And, <I>lastly,</I> Observe how he eyes God in
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this address: Thou art the <I>Lord of hosts, my King and my God.</I>
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Where should a poor distressed subject seek for protection but with his
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king? <I>And should not a people seek unto their God?</I> My King, my
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God, is Lord of hosts; by him and his altars let me live and die.</P>
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<P>
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IV. His acknowledgment of the happiness both of the ministers and of
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the people that had liberty of attendance on God's altars: "<I>Blessed
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are they.</I> O when shall I return to the enjoyment of that
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blessedness?"
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1. Blessed are the ministers, the priests and Levites, who have their
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residence about the tabernacle and are in their courses employed in the
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service of it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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<I>Blessed are those that dwell in thy house,</I> that are at home
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there, and whose business lies there. He is so far from pitying them,
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as confined to a constant attendance and obliged to perpetual
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seriousness, that he would sooner envy them than the greatest princes
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in the world. There are those that bless the covetous, but he blesses
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the religious. <I>Blessed are those that dwell in thy house</I> (not
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because they have good wages, a part of every sacrifice for themselves,
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which would enable them to keep a good table, but because they have
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good work): <I>They will be still praising thee;</I> and, if there be a
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heaven upon earth, it is in praising God, in continually praising him.
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Apply this to his house above; blessed are those that dwell there,
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angels and glorified saints, for they <I>rest not day nor night from
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praising God.</I> Let us therefore spend as much of our time as may be
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in that blessed work in which we hope to spend a joyful eternity.
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2. Blessed are the people, the inhabitants of the country, who, though
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they do not constantly dwell in God's house as the priests do, yet have
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liberty of access to it at the times appointed for their solemn feasts,
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the three great feasts, at which all the males were obliged to give
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their attendance,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+16:16">Deut. xvi. 16</A>.
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David was so far from reckoning this an imposition, and a hardship put
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upon them, that he envies the happiness of those who might thus attend,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:5-7"><I>v.</I> 5-7</A>.
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Those whom he pronounces blessed are here described.
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(1.) They are such as act in religion from a rooted principle of
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dependence upon God and devotedness to him: <I>Blessed is the man whose
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strength is in thee,</I> who makes thee his strength and strongly stays
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himself upon thee, who makes thy name his strong tower into which he
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runs for safety,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+18:10">Prov. xviii. 10</A>.
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<I>Happy is the man whose hope is in the Lord his God,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+40:4,146:5">Ps. xl. 4; cxlvi. 5</A>.
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Those are truly happy who go forth, and go on, in the exercises of
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religion, not in their own strength (for then the work is sure to
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miscarry), but in the strength of the grace of Jesus Christ, from whom
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all our sufficiency is. David wished to return to God's tabernacles
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again, that there he might strengthen himself in the Lord his God for
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service and suffering.
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(2.) They are such as have a love for holy ordinances: <I>In whose
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heart are the ways of them,</I> that is, who, having placed their
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happiness in God as their end, rejoice in all the ways that lead to
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him, all those means by which their graces are strengthened and their
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communion with him kept up. They not only walk in these ways, but they
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have them in their hearts, they lay them near their hearts; no care or
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concern, no pleasure or delight, lies nearer than this. Note, Those who
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have the new Jerusalem in their eye must have the ways that lead to it
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in their heart, must mind them, their eyes must look straight forward
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in them, must ponder the paths of them, must keep close to them, and be
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afraid of turning aside to the right hand or to the left. If we make
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God's promise our strength, we must make God's word our rule, and walk
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by it.
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(3.) They are such as will break through difficulties and
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discouragements in waiting upon God in holy ordinances,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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When they come up out of the country to worship at the feasts their way
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lies through many a dry and sandy valley (so some), in which they are
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ready to perish for thirst; but, to guard against that inconvenience,
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they dig little pits to receive and keep the rain-water, which is ready
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to them and others for their refreshment. When they make the pools the
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ram of heaven fills them. If we be ready to receive the grace of God,
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that grace shall not be wanting to us, but shall be sufficient for us
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at all times. Their way lay through many a weeping valley, so Baca
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signifies, that is (as others understand it), many watery valleys,
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which in wet weather, when <I>the rain filled the pools,</I> either
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through the rising of the waters or through the dirtiness of the way
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were impassable; but, by draining and trenching them, they made a road
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through them for the benefit of those who went up to Jerusalem. Care
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should be taken to keep those roads in repair that lead to church, as
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well as those that lead to market. But all this is intended to show,
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[1.] That they had a good will to the journey. When they were to attend
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the solemn feasts at Jerusalem, they would not be kept back by bad
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weather, or bad ways, nor make those an excuse for staying at home.
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Difficulties in the way of duty are designed to try our resolution; and
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<I>he that observes the wind shall not sow.</I>
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[2.] That they made the best of the way to Zion, contrived and took
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pains to mend it where it was bad, and bore, as well as they could, the
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inconveniences that could not be removed. Our way to heaven lies
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through a valley of Baca, but even that may be made a well if we make a
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due improvement of the comforts God has provided for the pilgrims to
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the heavenly city.
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(4.) They are such as are still pressing forward till they come to
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their journey's end at length, and do not take up short of it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>They go from strength to strength;</I> their company increases by
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the accession of more out of every town they pass through, till they
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become very numerous. Those that were near staid till those that were
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further off called on them, saying, <I>Come, and let us go to the house
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of the Lord</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+122:1,2">Ps. cxxii. 1, 2</A>),
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that they might go together in a body, in token of their mutual love.
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Or the particular persons, instead of being fatigued with the
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tediousness of their journey and the difficulties they met with, the
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nearer they came to Jerusalem the more lively and cheerful they were,
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and so went on <I>stronger and stronger,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:9">Job xvii. 9</A>.
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Thus it is promised that those that <I>wait on the Lord shall renew
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their strength,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+40:31">Isa. xl. 31</A>.
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Even where they are weak, there they are strong. They go <I>from virtue
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to virtue</I> (so some); it is the same word that is used for the
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virtuous woman. Those that press forward in their Christian course
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shall find God adding grace to their graces,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+1:16">John i. 16</A>.
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They shall be changed from glory to glory
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:18">2 Cor. iii. 18</A>),
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from one degree of glorious grace to another, till, at length, <I>every
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one of them appears before God in Zion,</I> to give glory to him and
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receive blessings from him. Note, Those who grow in grace shall, at
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last, be perfect in glory. The Chaldee reads it, <I>They go from the
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house of the sanctuary to the house of doctrine; and the pains which
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they have taken about the law shall appear before God, whose majesty
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dwells in Zion.</I> We must go from one duty to another, from prayer to
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the word, from practising what we have learned to learn more; and, if
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we do this, the benefit of it will appear, to God's glory and our own
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everlasting comfort.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps84_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps84_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps84_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps84_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps84_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>Delight in God's Ordinances.</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 L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of
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Jacob. Selah.
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9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine
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anointed.
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10 For a day in thy courts <I>is</I> better than a thousand. I had
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rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in
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the tents of wickedness.
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11 For the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God <I>is</I> a sun and shield: the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will give
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grace and glory: no good <I>thing</I> will he withhold from them that
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walk uprightly.
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12 O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, blessed <I>is</I> the man that trusteth in thee.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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I. The psalmist prays for audience and acceptance with God, not
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mentioning particularly what he desired God would do for him. He needed
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to say no more when he had professed such an affectionate esteem for
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the ordinances of God, which now he was restrained and banished from.
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All his desire was, in that profession, plainly before God, and his
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longing, his groaning, was not hidden from him; therefore he prays
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:8,9"><I>v.</I> 8, 9</A>)
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only that God would hear his prayer and give ear, that he would behold
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his condition, behold his good affection, and look upon his face, which
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way it was set, and how his countenance discovered the longing desire
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he had towards God's courts. He calls himself (as many think) <I>God's
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anointed,</I> for David was anointed by him and anointed for him. In
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this petition,
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1. He has an eye to God under several of his glorious titles--as <I>the
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Lord God of hosts,</I> who has all the creatures at his command, and
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therefore has all power both in heaven and in earth,--as the <I>God of
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Jacob,</I> a God in covenant with his own people, a God who never said
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to the praying seed of Jacob, <I>Seek you me in vain,</I>--and as
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|
<I>God our shield,</I> who takes his people under his special
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|
protection, pursuant to his covenant with Abraham their father.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:1">Gen. xv. 1</A>,
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<I>Fear not, Abraham, I am thy shield.</I> When David could not be
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hidden in the secret of God's tabernacle
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:5">Ps. xxvii. 5</A>),
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being at a distance from it, yet he hoped to find God his shield ready
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to him wherever he was.
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|
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2. He has an eye to the Mediator; for of him I rather understand those
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|
words, <I>Look upon the face of thy Messiah,</I> thy anointed one, for
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|
of his anointing David spoke,
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+45:7">Ps. xlv. 7</A>.
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|
In all our addresses to God we must desire that he would look upon the
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|
face of Christ, accept us for his sake, and be well-pleased with us in
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|
him. We must look with an eye of faith, and then God will with an eye
|
|
of favour look <I>upon the face of the anointed,</I> who does show his
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|
face when we without him dare not show ours.</P>
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|
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<P>
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|
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II. He pleads his love to God's ordinances and his dependence upon God
|
|
himself.</P>
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|
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|
<P>
|
|
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|
1. God's courts were his choice,
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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|
A very great regard he had for holy ordinances: he valued them above
|
|
any thing else, and he expresses his value for them,
|
|
|
|
(1.) By preferring the time of God's worship before all other time:
|
|
<I>A day spent in thy courts,</I> in attending on the services of
|
|
religion, wholly abstracted from all secular affairs, <I>is better than
|
|
a thousand,</I> not than a thousand in thy courts, but any where else
|
|
in this world, though in the midst of all the delights of the children
|
|
of men. Better than a thousand, he does not say <I>days,</I> you may
|
|
supply it with years, with ages, if you will, and yet David will set
|
|
his hand to it. "A day in thy courts, a sabbath day, a holy day, a
|
|
feast-day, though but one day, would be very welcome to me; nay" (as
|
|
some of the rabbin paraphrase it), "though I were to die for it the
|
|
next day, yet that would be more sweet than years spent in the business
|
|
and pleasure of this world. One of these days shall with its pleasure
|
|
<I>chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight,</I> to shame,
|
|
as not worthy to be compared."
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|
|
|
(2.) By preferring the place of worship before any other place: <I>I
|
|
would rather be a door-keeper,</I> rather be in the meanest place and
|
|
office, <I>in the house of my God, than dwell</I> in state, as master,
|
|
<I>in the tents of wickedness.</I> Observe, He calls even the
|
|
tabernacle a house, for the presence of God in it made even those
|
|
curtains more stately than a palace and more strong than a castle. It
|
|
is the house of my God; the covenant-interest he had in God as his God
|
|
was the sweet string on which he loved dearly to be harping; those, and
|
|
those only, who can, upon good ground, call God theirs, delight in the
|
|
courts of his house. I would rather be a porter in God's house than a
|
|
prince in those tents where wickedness reigns, rather lie at the
|
|
threshold (so the word is); that was the beggar's place
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+3:2">Acts iii. 2</A>):
|
|
|
|
"no matter" (says David), "let that be my place rather than none." The
|
|
Pharisees loved synagogues well enough, provided they might have the
|
|
uppermost seats there
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+23:6">Matt. xxiii. 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
that they might make a figure. Holy David is not solicitous about that;
|
|
if he may but be admitted to the threshold, he will say, <I>Master, it
|
|
is good to be here.</I> Some read it, <I>I would rather be fixed to a
|
|
post in the house of my God than live at liberty in the tents of
|
|
wickedness,</I> alluding to the law concerning servants, who, if they
|
|
would not go out free, were to have their ear bored to the door-post,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+21:5,6">Exod. xxi. 5, 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
David loved his master and loved his work so well that he desired to be
|
|
tied to this service for ever, to be more free to it, but never to go
|
|
out free from it, preferring bonds to duty far before the greatest
|
|
liberty to sin. Such a superlative delight have holy hearts in holy
|
|
duties; no satisfaction in their account comparable to that in
|
|
communion with God.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. God himself was his hope, and joy, and all. <I>Therefore</I> he
|
|
loved the house of his God, because his expectation was from his God,
|
|
and there he used to communicate himself,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
See,
|
|
|
|
(1.) What God is, and will be, to his people: <I>The Lord God is a sun
|
|
and shield.</I> We are here in darkness, but, if God be our God, he
|
|
will be to us a sun, to enlighten and enliven us, to guide and direct
|
|
us. We are here in danger, but he will be to us a shield to secure us
|
|
from the fiery darts that fly thickly about us. <I>With his favour he
|
|
will compass us as with a shield.</I> Let us therefore always <I>walk
|
|
in the light of the Lord,</I> and never throw ourselves out of his
|
|
protection, and we shall find him a sun to supply us with all good and
|
|
a shield to shelter us from all evil.
|
|
|
|
(2.) What he does, and will, bestow upon them: <I>The Lord will give
|
|
grace and glory.</I> Grace signifies both the good-will of God towards
|
|
us and the good work of God in us; glory signifies both the honour
|
|
which he now puts upon us, in giving us the adoption of sons, and that
|
|
which he has prepared for us in the inheritance of sons. God will give
|
|
them grace in this world as a preparation for glory, and glory in the
|
|
other world as the perfection of grace; both are God's gift, his free
|
|
gift. And as, on the one hand, wherever God gives grace he will give
|
|
glory (for grace is glory begun, and is an earnest of it), so, on the
|
|
other hand, he will give glory hereafter to none to whom he does not
|
|
give grace now, or who receive his grace in vain. And if God will give
|
|
grace and glory, which are the two great things that concur to make us
|
|
happy in both worlds, we may be sure that <I>no good thing will be
|
|
withheld from those that walk uprightly.</I> It is the character of all
|
|
good people that they walk uprightly, that they worship God in spirit
|
|
and in truth, and have their conversation in the world in simplicity
|
|
and godly sincerity; and such may be sure that God will withhold <I>no
|
|
good thing from them,</I> that is requisite to their comfortable
|
|
passage through this world. Make sure grace and glory, and <I>other
|
|
things shall be added.</I> This is a comprehensive promise, and is such
|
|
an assurance of the present comfort of the saints that, whatever they
|
|
desire, and think they need, they may be sure that either Infinite
|
|
Wisdom sees it is not good for them or Infinite Goodness will give it
|
|
to them in due time. Let it be our care to walk uprightly, and then let
|
|
us trust God to give us every thing that is good for us.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
<I>Lastly,</I> He pronounces those blessed who put their confidence in
|
|
God, as he did,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those are blessed who have the liberty of ordinances and the privileges
|
|
of God's house. But, though we should be debarred from them, yet we are
|
|
not therefore debarred from blessedness if we trust in God. If we
|
|
cannot go to the house of the Lord, we may go by faith to the Lord of
|
|
the house, and in him we shall be happy and may be easy.</P>
|
|
|
|
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