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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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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 CVIII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This psalm begins with praise and concludes with prayer, and faith is
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at work in both.
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I. David here gives thanks to God for mercies to himself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+108:1-5">ver. 1-5</A>.
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II. He prays to God for mercies for the land, pleading the promises of
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God and putting them in suit,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+108:6-13">ver. 6-13</A>.
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The former part it taken out of
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+57:7-11,108:1-5">Ps. lvii. 7</A>,
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&c., the latter out of
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+60:5-12,108:6-13">Ps. lx. 5</A>,
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&c., and both with very little variation, to teach us that we may in
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prayer use the same words that we have formerly used, provided it be
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with new affections. It intimates likewise that it is not only
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allowable, but sometimes convenient, to gather some verses out of one
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psalm and some out of another, and to put them together, to be sung to
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the glory of God. In singing this psalm we must give glory to God and
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take comfort to ourselves.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps108_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps108_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps108_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps108_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps108_5"> </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>Directions for Praising God.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<CENTER>
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<P>A song or psalm of David.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 O God, my heart is fixed; I
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will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
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2 Awake, psaltery and harp: I <I>myself</I> will awake early.
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3 I will praise thee, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, among the people: and I will sing
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praises unto thee among the nations.
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4 For thy mercy <I>is</I> great above the heavens: and thy truth
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<I>reacheth</I> unto the clouds.
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5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory
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above all the earth;
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We may here learn how to praise God from the example of one who was
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master of the art.
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1. We must praise God with fixedness of heart. Our heart must be
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employed in the duty (else we make nothing of it) and engaged to the
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duty
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+108:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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<I>O God! my heart is fixed,</I> and then <I>I will sing and give
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praise.</I> Wandering straggling thoughts must be gathered in, and kept
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close to the business; for they must be told that here is work enough
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for them all.
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2. We must praise God with freeness of expression: I will praise him
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<I>with my glory,</I> that is, with my tongue. Our tongue is our glory,
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and never more so than when it is employed in praising God. When the
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<I>heart is inditing</I> this <I>good matter</I> our <I>tongue</I> must
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be as <I>the pen of a ready writer,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+45:1">Ps. xlv. 1</A>.
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David's skill in music was his glory, it made him famous, and this
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should be consecrated to the praise of God; and therefore it follows,
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<I>Awake</I> my <I>psaltery and harp.</I> Whatever gift we excel in we
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must praise God with.
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3. We must praise God with fervency of affection, and must stir up
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ourselves to do it, that it may be done in a lively manner and not
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carelessly
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+108:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>Awake, psaltery and harp;</I> let it not be done with a dull and
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sleepy tune, but let the airs be all lively. <I>I myself will awake
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early</I> to do it, with all that is within me, and all little enough.
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Warm devotions honour God.
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4. We must praise God publicly, as those that are not ashamed to own
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our obligations to him and our thankful sense of his favours, but
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desire that others also may be in like manner affected with the divine
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goodness
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+108:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>I will praise thee among the people</I> of the Jews; nay, <I>I will
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sing to thee among the nations</I> of the earth. Whatever company we
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are in we must take all occasions to speak well of God; and we must not
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be shy of singing psalms, though our neighbours hear us, for it looks
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like being ashamed of our Master.
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5. We must, in our praises, magnify the mercy and truth of God in a
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special manner
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+108:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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mercy in promising, truth in performing. The heavens are vast, but the
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mercy of God is more capacious; the skies are high and bright, but the
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truth of God is more eminent, more illustrious. We cannot see further
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than the heavens and clouds; whatever we see of God's mercy and truth
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there is still more to be seen, more reserved to be seen, in the other
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world.
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6. Since we find ourselves so, defective in glorifying God, we must
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beg of him to glorify himself, to do all, to dispose all, to his own
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glory, to get himself honour and make himself a name
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+108:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>Be thou exalted, O God! above the heavens,</I> higher than the
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angels themselves can exalt thee with their praises, <I>and</I> let
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<I>thy glory</I> be spread over <I>all the earth. Father, glorify thy
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own name. Thou hast glorified it; glorify it again.</I> It is to be our
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first petition, <I>Hallowed be thy name.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Ps108_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps108_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps108_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps108_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps108_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps108_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps108_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps108_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Directions for Praising God.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 That thy beloved may be delivered: save <I>with</I> thy right
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hand, and answer me.
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7 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will
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divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
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8 Gilead <I>is</I> mine; Manasseh <I>is</I> mine; Ephraim also <I>is</I> the
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strength of mine head; Judah <I>is</I> my lawgiver;
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9 Moab <I>is</I> my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over
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Philistia will I triumph.
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10 Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me
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into Edom?
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11 <I>Wilt</I> not <I>thou,</I> O God, <I>who</I> hast cast us off? and wilt
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not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?
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12 Give us help from trouble: for vain <I>is</I> the help of man.
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13 Through God we shall do valiantly: for he <I>it is that</I> shall
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tread down our enemies.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We may here learn how to pray as well as praise.
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1. We must be public-spirited in prayer, and bear upon our hearts, at
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the throne of grace, the concerns of the church of God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+108:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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It is God's <I>beloved,</I> and therefore must be ours; and therefore
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we must pray for its deliverance, and reckon that we are answered if
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God grant what we ask for his church, though he delay to give us what
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we ask for ourselves. "<I>Save</I> thy church, <I>and</I> thou
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<I>answerest me;</I> I have what I would have." <I>Let the earth be
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filled with God's glory, and the prayers of David are ended</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+72:19,20">Ps. lxxii. 19, 20</A>);
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he desires no more.
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2. We must, in prayer, act faith upon the power and promise of
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God--upon his power (<I>Save with thy right hand,</I> which is mighty
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to save), and upon his promise: <I>God has spoken in his holiness,</I>
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in his holy word, to which he has sworn by his holiness, and therefore
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<I>I will rejoice,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+108:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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What he has promised he will perform, for it is the word both of his
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truth and of his power. An active faith can rejoice in what God has
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said, though it be not yet done; for with him saying and doing are not
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two things, whatever they are with us.
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3. We must, in prayer, take the comfort of what God has secured to us
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and settled upon us, though we are not yet put in possession of it. God
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had promised David to give him,
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(1.) The hearts of his subjects; and therefore he surveys the several
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parts of the country as his own already: "<I>Shechem</I> and
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<I>Succoth, Gilead</I> and <I>Manasseh, Ephraim</I> and <I>Judah,</I>
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are all my own,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+108:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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With such assurance as this we may speak of the performance of what God
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has promised to the Son of David; he will, without fail, give him the
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heathen for his <I>inheritance and the utmost parts of the earth for
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his possession,</I> for so has he <I>spoken in his holiness;</I> nay,
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of all the particular persons that were given him he will <I>lose
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none;</I> he also, as David, shall have the hearts of his subjects,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+6:37">John vi. 37</A>.
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And,
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(2.) The <I>necks of his enemies.</I> These are promised, and therefore
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David looks upon <I>Moab,</I> and <I>Edom,</I> and <I>Philistia,</I> as
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his own already
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+108:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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<I>Over Philistia will I triumph,</I> which explains
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+60:8">Ps. lx. 8</A>,
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<I>Philistia, triumph thou because of me,</I> which some think should
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be read, <I>O my soul! triumph thou over Philistia.</I> Thus the
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exalted Redeemer is set down at God's right hand, in a full assurance
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that all his enemies shall in due time <I>be made his footstool, though
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all things are not yet put under him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+2:8">Heb. ii. 8</A>.
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4. We must take encouragement from the beginnings of mercy to pray and
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hope for the perfecting of it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+108:10,11"><I>v.</I> 10, 11</A>):
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"<I>Who will bring me into the strong cities</I> that are yet
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unconquered? Who will make me master of the country of <I>Edom,</I>
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which is yet unsubdued?" The question was probably to be debated in his
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privy council, or a council of war, what methods they should take to
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subdue the Edomites and to reduce that country; but he brings it into
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his prayers, and leaves it in God's hands: <I>Wilt not thou, O God?</I>
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Certainly thou wilt. It is probable that he spoke with the more
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assurance concerning the conquest of Edom because of the ancient oracle
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concerning Jacob and Esau, that <I>the elder should serve the
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younger,</I> and the blessing of Jacob, by which he was made Esau's
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lord,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+27:37">Gen. xxvii. 37</A>.
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5. We must not be discouraged in prayer, nor beaten off from our hold
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of God, though Providence has in some instances frowned upon us:
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"Though thou hast <I>cast us off,</I> yet thou wilt now <I>go forth
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with our hosts,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+108:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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Thou wilt <I>comfort us again</I> after the time that thou <I>hast
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afflicted us.</I>" Adverse events are sometimes intended for the trial
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of the constancy of our faith and prayer, which we ought to persevere
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in whatever difficulties we meet with, and not to <I>faint.</I>
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6. We must seek help from God, renouncing all confidence in the
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creature
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+108:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
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"<I>Lord, give us help from trouble,</I> prosper our designs, and
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defeat the designs of our enemies against us." It is not unseasonable
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to talk of trouble at the same time that we talk of triumphs,
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especially when it is to quicken prayer for help from heaven; and it is
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a good plea, <I>Vain is the help of man.</I> "It is really so, and
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therefore we are undone if thou do not help us; we apprehend it to be
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so, and therefore depend upon thee for help and have the more reason to
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expect it."
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7. We must depend entirely upon the favour and grace of God, both for
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strength and success in our work and warfare,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+108:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
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(1.) We must do our part, but we can do nothing of ourselves; it is
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only <I>through God that we shall do valiantly.</I> Blessed Paul will
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own that even he can <I>do nothing,</I> nothing to purpose, <I>but
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through Christ strengthening him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+4:13">Phil. iv. 13</A>.
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(2.) When we have acquitted ourselves ever so well, yet we cannot speed
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by any merit or might of our own; it is God himself that <I>treads down
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our enemies,</I> else we with all our valour cannot do it. Whatever we
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do, whatever we gain, God must have all the glory.</P>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC19107.HTM">Previous</A>]
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[<A HREF="MHC19109.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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