mh_parser/vol_split/19 - Psalms/Chapter 138.xml

<div2 id="Ps.cxxxix" n="cxxxix" next="Ps.cxl" prev="Ps.cxxxviii" progress="68.96%" title="Chapter CXXXVIII">
<h2 id="Ps.cxxxix-p0.1">P S A L M S</h2>
<h3 id="Ps.cxxxix-p0.2">PSALM CXXXVIII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ps.cxxxix-p1">It does not appear, nor is it material to enquire,
upon what occasion David penned this psalm; but in it, I. He looks
back with thankfulness upon the experiences he had had of God's
goodness to him, <scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.138.1-Ps.138.3" parsed="|Ps|138|1|138|3" passage="Ps 138:1-3">ver.
1-3</scripRef>. II. He looks forward with comfort, in hopes, 1.
That others would go on to praise God like him, <scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.138.4-Ps.138.5" parsed="|Ps|138|4|138|5" passage="Ps 138:4,5">ver. 4, 5</scripRef>. 2. That God would go on to do
good to him, <scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.138.6-Ps.138.8" parsed="|Ps|138|6|138|8" passage="Ps 138:6-8">ver. 6-8</scripRef>. In
singing this psalm we must in like manner devote ourselves to God's
praise and glory and repose ourselves in his power and
goodness.</p>
<scripCom id="Ps.cxxxix-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.138" parsed="|Ps|138|0|0|0" passage="Ps 138" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ps.cxxxix-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.138.1-Ps.138.5" parsed="|Ps|138|1|138|5" passage="Ps 138:1-5" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.138.1-Ps.138.5">
<h4 id="Ps.cxxxix-p1.6">Grateful Praise.</h4>
<div class="Center" id="Ps.cxxxix-p1.7">
<p id="Ps.cxxxix-p2"><i>A psalm</i> of David.</p>
</div>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.cxxxix-p3">1 I will praise thee with my whole heart: before
the gods will I sing praise unto thee.   2 I will worship
toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness
and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy
name.   3 In the day when I cried thou answeredst me,
<i>and</i> strengthenedst me <i>with</i> strength in my soul.
  4 All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxxxix-p3.1">O Lord</span>, when they hear the words of thy mouth.
  5 Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxxxix-p3.2">Lord</span>: for great <i>is</i> the glory of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxxxix-p3.3">Lord</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxxxix-p4">I. How he would praise God, compare
<scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.1" parsed="|Ps|111|1|0|0" passage="Ps 111:1">Ps. cxi. 1</scripRef>. 1. He will
praise him with sincerity and zeal—"<i>With my heart, with my
whole heart,</i> with that which is within me and with all that is
within me, with uprightness of intention and fervency of affection,
inward impressions agreeing with outward expressions." 2. With
freedom and boldness: <i>Before the gods will I sing praise unto
thee,</i> before the princes, and judges, and great men, either
those of other nations that visited him or those of his own nation
that attended on him, even in their presence. He will not only
praise God with his heart, which we may do by pious ejaculations in
any company, but will sing praise if there be occasion. Note,
Praising God is work which the greatest of men need not be ashamed
of; it is the work of angels, the work of heaven. <i>Before the
angels</i> (so some understand it), that is, in religious
assemblies, where there is a special presence of angels, <scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.11.10" parsed="|1Cor|11|10|0|0" passage="1Co 11:10">1 Cor. xi. 10</scripRef>. 3. In the way that
God had appointed: <i>I will worship towards thy holy temple.</i>
The priests alone went into the temple; the people, at the nearest,
did but worship towards it, and that they might do at a distance.
Christ is our temple, and towards him we must look with an eye of
faith, as Mediator between us and God, in all our praises of him.
Heaven is God's holy temple, and thitherward we must lift up our
eyes in all our addresses to God. <i>Our Father in heaven.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxxxix-p5">II. What he would praise God for. 1. For
the fountain of his comforts—<i>for thy lovingkindness and for thy
truth,</i> for thy goodness and for thy promise, mercy hidden in
thee and mercy revealed by thee, that God is a gracious God in
himself and has engaged to be so to all those that trust in him.
<i>For thou hast magnified thy word</i> (thy promise, which is
truth) <i>above all thy name.</i> God has made himself known to us
in many ways in creation and providence, but most clearly by his
word. The judgments of his mouth are magnified even above those of
his hand, and greater things are done by them. The wonders of grace
exceed the wonders of nature; and what is discovered of God by
revelation is much greater than what is discovered by reason. In
what God had done for David his faithfulness to his work appeared
more illustriously, and redounded more to his glory, than any other
of his attributes. Some good interpreters understand it of Christ,
the essential Word, and of his gospel, which are magnified above
all the discoveries God had before made of himself to the fathers.
He that magnified the law, and made that honourable, magnifies the
gospel much more. 2. For the streams flowing from that fountain, in
which he himself had tasted that the Lord is gracious, <scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.138.3" parsed="|Ps|138|3|0|0" passage="Ps 138:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. He had been in
affliction, and he remembers, with thankfulness, (1.) The sweet
communion he then had with God. He cried, he prayed, and prayed
earnestly, and God answered him, gave him to understand that his
prayer was accepted and should have a gracious return in due time.
The intercourse between God and his saints is carried on by his
promises and their prayers. (2.) The sweet communications he then
had from God: <i>Thou strengthenedst me with strength in my
soul.</i> This was the answer to his prayer, for God gives more
than good words, <scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.20.6" parsed="|Ps|20|6|0|0" passage="Ps 20:6">Ps. xx. 6</scripRef>.
Observe, [1.] It was a speedy answer: <i>In the day when I
cried.</i> Note, Those that trade with heaven by prayer grow rich
by quick returns. <i>While we are yet speaking God hears,</i>
<scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.65.24" parsed="|Isa|65|24|0|0" passage="Isa 65:24">Isa. lxv. 24</scripRef>. [2.] It was
a spiritual answer. God gave him strength in his soul, and that is
a real and valuable answer to the prayer of faith in the day of
affliction. If God give us strength in our souls to bear the
burdens, resist the temptations, and do the duties of an afflicted
state, if he strengthen us to keep hold of himself by faith, to
maintain the peace of our own minds and to wait with patience for
the issue, we must own that he has answered us, and we are bound to
be thankful.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxxxix-p6">III. What influence he hoped that his
praising God would have upon others, <scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.138.4-Ps.138.5" parsed="|Ps|138|4|138|5" passage="Ps 138:4,5"><i>v.</i> 4, 5</scripRef>. David was himself a king,
and therefore he hoped that kings would be wrought upon by his
experiences, and his example, to embrace religion; and, if kings
became religious, their kingdoms would be every way better. Now, 1.
This may have reference to the kings that were neighbours to David,
as Hiram and others. "They shall all praise thee." When they
visited David, and, after his death, when they sought the presence
of Solomon (as <i>all the kings of the earth</i> are expressly said
to have done, <scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.9.23" parsed="|2Chr|9|23|0|0" passage="2Ch 9:23">2 Chron. ix.
23</scripRef>), they readily joined in the worship of the God of
Israel. 2. It may look further, to the calling of the Gentiles and
the discipling of all nations by the gospel of Christ, of whom it
is said that <i>all kings shall fall down before him,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.72.11" parsed="|Ps|72|11|0|0" passage="Ps 72:11">Ps. lxxii. 11</scripRef>. Now it is here
foretold, (1.) That <i>the kings of the earth shall hear the words
of God.</i> All that came near David should hear them from him,
<scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.46" parsed="|Ps|119|46|0|0" passage="Ps 119:46">Ps. cxix. 46</scripRef>. In the
latter days the preachers of the gospel should be sent into all the
world. (2.) That then they shall praise God, as all those have
reason to do that hear his word, and receive it in the light and
love of it, <scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Acts.13.48" parsed="|Acts|13|48|0|0" passage="Ac 13:48">Acts xiii. 48</scripRef>.
(3.) That they shall <i>sing in the ways of the Lord,</i> in the
ways of his providence and grace towards them; they shall rejoice
in God, and give glory to him, however he is pleased to deal with
them in the ways of their duty and obedience to him. Note, Those
that walk in the ways of the Lord have reason to sing in those
ways, to go on in them with a great deal of cheerfulness, for they
are ways of pleasantness, and it becomes us to be pleasant in them;
and, if we are so, <i>great is the glory of the Lord.</i> It is
very much for the honour of God that kings should walk in his ways,
and that all those who walk in them should sing in them, and so
proclaim to all the world that he is a good Master and his work its
own wages.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ps.cxxxix-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.138.6-Ps.138.8" parsed="|Ps|138|6|138|8" passage="Ps 138:6-8" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.138.6-Ps.138.8">
<h4 id="Ps.cxxxix-p6.7">God's Care of His People.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.cxxxix-p7">6 Though the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxxxix-p7.1">Lord</span>
<i>be</i> high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud
he knoweth afar off.   7 Though I walk in the midst of
trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand
against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save
me.   8 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxxxix-p7.2">Lord</span> will perfect
<i>that which</i> concerneth me: thy mercy, <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxxxix-p7.3">O Lord</span>, <i>endureth</i> for ever: forsake not
the works of thine own hands.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxxxix-p8">David here comforts himself with three
things:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxxxix-p9">I. The favour God bears to his humble
people (<scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.138.6" parsed="|Ps|138|6|0|0" passage="Ps 138:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>):
<i>Though the Lord be high,</i> and neither needs any of his
creatures nor can be benefited by them, <i>yet has he respect unto
the lowly,</i> smiles upon them as well pleased with them,
overlooks heaven and earth to cast a gracious look upon them
(<scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.57.15 Bible:Isa.66.1" parsed="|Isa|57|15|0|0;|Isa|66|1|0|0" passage="Isa 57:15,66:1">Isa. lvii. 15; lxvi.
1</scripRef>), and, sooner or later, he will put honour upon them,
while <i>he knows the proud afar off,</i> knows them, but disowns
them and rejects them, how proudly soever they pretend to his
favour. Dr. Hammond makes this to be the sum of that gospel which
the kings of the earth shall hear and welcome—that penitent
sinners shall be accepted of God, but the impenitent cast out;
witness the instance of the Pharisee and the publican, <scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.18.9-Luke.18.14" parsed="|Luke|18|9|18|14" passage="Lu 18:9-14">Luke xviii.</scripRef></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxxxix-p10">II. The care God takes of his afflicted
oppressed people, <scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.138.7" parsed="|Ps|138|7|0|0" passage="Ps 138:7"><i>v.</i>
7</scripRef>. David, though a great and good man, expects to
<i>walk in the midst of trouble,</i> but encourages himself with
hope, 1. That God would comfort him: "When my spirit is ready to
sink and fail, <i>thou</i> shalt <i>revive me,</i> and make me easy
and cheerful under my troubles." Divine consolations have enough in
them to revive us even when we walk in the midst of troubles and
are ready to die away for fear. 2. That he would protect him, and
plead his cause: "<i>Thou shalt stretch forth thy hand,</i> though
not against my enemies to destroy them, yet <i>against the wrath of
my enemies,</i> to restrain that and set bounds to it." 3. That he
would in due time work deliverance for him: <i>Thy right hand shall
save me.</i> As he has one hand to stretch out against his enemies,
so he has another to save his own people. Christ is the right hand
of the Lord, that shall save all those who serve him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxxxix-p11">III. The assurance we have that whatever
good work God has begun in and for his people he will perform it
(<scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.138.8" parsed="|Ps|138|8|0|0" passage="Ps 138:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): <i>The Lord
will perfect that which concerns me,</i> 1. That which is most
needful for me; and he knows best what is so. We <i>are careful and
cumbered about many things</i> that do not concern us, but he knows
what are the things that really are of consequence to us (<scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.6.32" parsed="|Matt|6|32|0|0" passage="Mt 6:32">Matt. vi. 32</scripRef>) and he will order them
for the best. 2. That which we are most concerned about. Every good
man is most concerned about his duty to God and his happiness in
God, that the former may be faithfully done and the latter
effectually secured; and if indeed these are the things that our
hearts are most upon, and concerning which we are most solicitous,
there is a good work begun in us, and he that has begun it will
perfect it, we may be confident he will, <scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Phil.1.6" parsed="|Phil|1|6|0|0" passage="Php 1:6">Phil. i. 6</scripRef>. Observe, (1.) What ground the
psalmist builds this confidence upon: <i>Thy mercy, O Lord! endures
for ever.</i> This he had made very much the matter of his praise
(<scripRef id="Ps.cxxxix-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.13.6" parsed="|Ps|13|6|0|0" passage="Ps 13:6">Ps. xiii. 6</scripRef>), and therefore
he could here with the more assurance make it the matter of his
hope. For, if we give God the glory of his mercy, we may take to
ourselves the comfort of it. Our hopes that we shall persevere must
be founded, not upon our own strength, for that will fail us, but
upon the mercy of God, for that will not fail. It is well pleaded,
"<i>Lord, thy mercy endures for ever;</i> let me be for ever a
monument of it." (2.) What use he makes of this confidence; it does
not supersede, but quicken prayer; he turns his expectation into a
petition: "<i>Forsake not,</i> do not let go, <i>the work of thy
own hands.</i> Lord, I am the work of thy own hands, my soul is so,
do not forsake me; my concerns are so, do not lay by thy care of
them." Whatever good there is in us it is the work of God's own
hands; <i>he works in us both to will and to do;</i> it will fail
if he forsake it; but his glory, as Jehovah, a perfecting God, is
so much concerned in the progress of it to the end that we may in
faith pray, "Lord, do not forsake it." Whom he loves he loves to
the end; and, as for God, his work is perfect.</p>
</div></div2>