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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 XIX.</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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There are two excellent books which the great God has published for the
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instruction and edification of the children of men; this psalm treats
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of them both, and recommends them both to our diligent study.
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I. The book of the creatures, in which we may easily read the power and
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godhead of the Creator,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:1-6">ver. 1-6</A>.
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II. The book of the scriptures, which makes known to us the will of God
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concerning our duty. He shows the excellency and usefulness of that
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book
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:7-11">ver. 7-11</A>)
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and then teaches us how to improve it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:12-14">ver. 12-14</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps19_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps19_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps19_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps19_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps19_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps19_6"> </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>God's Glory Seen in the Creation.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<CENTER>
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<P>To the chief musician. A psalm of David.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The heavens
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declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his
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handywork.
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2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth
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knowledge.
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3 <I>There is</I> no speech nor language, <I>where</I> their voice is not
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heard.
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4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words
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to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the
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sun,
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5 Which <I>is</I> as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, <I>and</I>
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rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
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6 His going forth <I>is</I> from the end of the heaven, and his
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circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the
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heat thereof.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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From the things that are seen every day by all the world the psalmist,
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in these verses, leads us to the consideration of the invisible things
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of God, whose being appears incontestably evident and whose glory
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shines transcendently bright in the visible heavens, the structure and
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beauty of them, and the order and influence of the heavenly bodies.
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This instance of the divine power serves not only to show the folly of
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atheists, who see there is a heaven and yet say, "There is no God," who
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see the effect and yet say, "There is no cause," but to show the folly
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of idolaters also, and the vanity of their imagination, who, though the
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heavens declare the glory of God, yet gave that glory to the lights of
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heaven which those very lights directed them to give to God only, the
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Father of lights. Now observe here,</P>
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<P>
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1. What that is which the creatures notify to us. They are in many ways
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useful and serviceable to us, but in nothing so much as in this, that
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they declare the glory of God, by showing his handy-works,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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They plainly speak themselves to be God's handy-works; for they could
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not exist from eternity; all succession and motion must have had a
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beginning; they could not make themselves, that is a contradiction;
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they could not be produced by a casual hit of atoms, that is an
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absurdity, fit rather to be bantered than reasoned with: therefore they
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must have a Creator, who can be no other than an eternal mind,
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infinitely wise, powerful, and good. Thus it appears they are God's
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works, the <I>works of his fingers</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:3">Ps. viii. 3</A>),
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and therefore they declare his glory. From the excellency of the work
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we may easily infer the infinite perfection of its great author. From
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the brightness of the heavens we may collect that the Creator is light;
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their vastness of extent bespeaks his immensity;, their height his
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transcendency and sovereignty, their influence upon this earth his
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dominion, and providence, and universal beneficence: and all declare
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his almighty power, by which they were at first made, and continue to
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this day according to the ordinances that were then settled.</P>
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<P>
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II. What are some of those things which notify this?
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1. The heavens and the firmament--the vast expanse of air and ether,
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and the spheres of the planets and fixed stars. Man has this advantage
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above the beasts, in the structure of his body, that whereas they are
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made to look downwards, as their spirits must go, he is made erect, to
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look upwards, because upwards his spirit must shortly go and his
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thoughts should now rise.
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2. The constant and regular succession of day and night
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>Day unto day, and night unto night,</I> speak the glory of that God
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who first divided between the light and the darkness, and has, from the
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beginning to this day, preserved that established order without
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variation, according to God's covenant with Noah
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+8:22">Gen. viii. 22</A>),
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that, <I>while the earth remains, day and night shall not cease,</I> to
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which covenant of providence the covenant of grace is compared for its
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stability,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:20,Jer+31:35">Jer. xxxiii. 20; xxxi. 35</A>.
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The counterchanging of day and night, in so exact a method, is a great
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instance of the power of God, and calls us to observe that, as in the
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kingdom of nature, so in that of providence, <I>he forms the light and
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creates the darkness</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+45:7">Isa. xlv. 7</A>),
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and sets the one over-against the other. It is likewise an instance of
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his goodness to man; for he <I>makes the out-goings of the morning and
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evening to rejoice,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+65:8">Ps. lxv. 8</A>.
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He not only glorifies himself, but gratifies us, by this constant
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revolution; for as the light of the morning befriends the business of
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the day, so the shadows of the evening befriend the repose of the
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night; every day and every night speak the goodness of God, and, when
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they have finished their testimony, leave it to the next day, to the
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next night, to stay the same.
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3. The light and influence of the sun do, in a special manner, declare
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the glory of God; for of all the heavenly bodies that is the most
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conspicuous in itself and most useful to this lower world, which would
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be all dungeon, and all desert, without it. It is not an improbable
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conjecture that David penned this psalm when he had the rising sun in
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view, and from the brightness of it took occasion to declare the glory
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of God. Concerning the sun observe here,
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(1.) The place appointed him. In the heavens God has <I>set a
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tabernacle for the sun.</I> The heavenly bodies are called <I>hosts of
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heaven,</I> and therefore are fitly said to <I>dwell in tents,</I> as
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soldiers in their encampments. The sun is said to have a tabernacle set
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him, no only because he is in continual motion and never has a fixed
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residence, but because the mansion he has will, at the end of time, be
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taken down like a tent, when the heavens shall be rolled together like
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a scroll and the sun shall be turned to darkness.
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(2.) The course assigned him. That glorious creature was not made to be
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idle, but <I>his going forth</I> (at least as it appears to our eye)
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<I>is from one point of the heavens, and his circuit</I> thence to the
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opposite point, and thence (to complete his diurnal revolution) to the
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same point again; and this with such steadiness and constancy that we
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can certainly foretel the hour and the minute at which the sun will
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rise at such a place, any day to come.
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(3.) The brightness wherein he appears. He is <I>as a bridegroom
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coming out of his chamber,</I> richly dressed and adorned, as fine as
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hands can make him, looking pleasantly himself and making all about him
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pleasant; for <I>the friend of the bridegroom rejoices greatly to hear
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the bridegroom's voice,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+3:29">John iii. 29</A>.
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(4.) The cheerfulness wherewith he makes this tour. Though it seems a
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vast round which he has to walk, and he has not a moment's rest, yet in
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obedience to the law of this creation, and for the service of man, he
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not only does it, but does it with a great deal of pleasure and
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<I>rejoices as a strong man to run a race.</I> With such satisfaction
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did Christ, the Sun of righteousness, finish the work that was given
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him to do.
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(5.) His universal influence on this earth: <I>There is nothing hidden
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from the heart thereof,</I> no, not metals in the bowels of the earth,
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which the sun has an influence upon.</P>
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<P>
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III. To whom this declaration is made of the glory of God. It is made
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to all parts of the world
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:3,4"><I>v.</I> 3, 4</A>):
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<I>There is no speech nor language</I> (no nation, for the nations were
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divided <I>after their tongues,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+10:31,32">Gen. x. 31, 32</A>)
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<I>where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone through all the
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earth</I> (the equinoctial line, suppose) <I>and</I> with it <I>their
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words to the end of the world,</I> proclaiming the eternal power of God
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of nature,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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The apostle uses this as a reason why the Jews should not be angry with
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him and others for preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, because God
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had already made himself known to the Gentile world by the works of
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creation, and left not himself without witness among them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+10:18">Rom. x. 18</A>),
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so that they were without excuse if they were idolaters,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+1:20,21">Rom. i. 20, 21</A>.
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And those were without blame, who, by preaching the gospel to them,
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endeavoured to turn them from their idolatry. If God used these means
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to prevent their apostasy, and they proved ineffectual, the apostles
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did well to use other means to recover them from it. <I>They have no
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speech or language</I> (so some read it) <I>and yet their voice is
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heard.</I> All people may hear these natural immortal preachers speak
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to them in their own tongue the wonderful works of God.</P>
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<P>
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In singing
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:1-6">these verses</A>
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we must give God the glory of all the comfort and benefit we have by
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the lights of the heaven, still looking above and beyond them to the
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Sun of righteousness.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps19_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps19_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps19_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps19_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps19_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps19_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps19_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps19_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Excellency of the Scriptures.</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>7 The law of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> perfect, converting the soul: the
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testimony of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> sure, making wise the simple.
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8 The statutes of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>are</I> right, rejoicing the heart:
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the commandment of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> pure, enlightening the eyes.
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9 The fear of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> clean, enduring for ever: the
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judgments of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>are</I> true <I>and</I> righteous altogether.
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10 More to be desired <I>are they</I> than gold, yea, than much fine
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gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
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11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: <I>and</I> in keeping of
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them <I>there is</I> great reward.
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12 Who can understand <I>his</I> errors? cleanse thou me from secret
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<I>faults.</I>
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13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous <I>sins;</I> let
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them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I
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shall be innocent from the great transgression.
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14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart,
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be acceptable in thy sight, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, my strength, and my redeemer.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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God's glory, (that is, his goodness to man) appears much in the works
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of creation, but much more in and by divine revelation. The holy
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scripture, as it is a rule both of our duty to God and of our
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expectation from him, is of much greater use and benefit to us than day
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or night, than the air we breathe in, or the light of the sun. The
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discoveries made of God by his works might have served if man had
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retained his integrity; but, to recover him out of his fallen state,
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another course must be taken; that must be done by the word of God. And
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here,</P>
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<P>
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1. The psalmist gives an account of the excellent properties and uses
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of the word of God, in six sentences
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:7-9"><I>v.</I> 7-9</A>),
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in each of which the name <I>Jehovah</I> is repeated, and no vain
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repetition, for the law has its authority and all its excellency from
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the law-maker. Here are six several titles of the word of God, to take
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in the whole of divine revelation, precepts and promises, and
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especially the gospel. Here are several good properties of it, which
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proves its divine original, which recommend it to our affection, and
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which extol it above all other laws whatsoever. Here are several good
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effects of the law upon the minds of men, which show what it is
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designed for, what use we are to make of it, and how wonderful the
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efficacy of divine grace is, going along with it, and working by it.
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1. <I>The law of the Lord is perfect.</I> It is perfectly free from all
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corruption, perfectly filled with all good, and perfectly fitted for
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the end for which it is designed; and it will make the man of God
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perfect,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ti+3:17">2 Tim. iii. 17</A>.
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Nothing is to be added to it nor taken from it. It is of use to
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<I>convert the soul,</I> to bring us back to ourselves, to our God, to
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our duty; for it shows us our sinfulness and misery in our departures
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from God and the indispensable necessity of our return to him.
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2. <I>The testimony of the Lord</I> (which witnesses for him to us)
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<I>is sure,</I> incontestably and inviolably sure, what we may give
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credit to, may rely upon, and may be confident it will not deceive us.
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It is a sure discovery of the divine truth, a sure direction in the way
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of duty. It is a sure foundation of living comforts and a sure
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foundation of lasting hopes. It is of use to make us wise, wise to
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salvation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ti+3:15">2 Tim. iii. 15</A>.
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It will give us an insight into things divine and a foresight of things
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to come. It will employ us in the best work and secure to us our true
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interests. It will make even <I>the simple</I> (poor contrivers as they
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may be for the present world) wise for their souls and eternity. Those
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that are humbly simple, sensible of their own folly and willing to be
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taught, shall be made wise by the word of God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+25:9">Ps. xxv. 9</A>.
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3. <I>The statutes of the Lord</I> (enacted by his authority, and
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binding on all wherever they come) <I>are right,</I> exactly agreeing
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with the eternal rules and principles of good and evil, that is, with
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the right reason of man and the right counsels of God. All God's
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precepts, concerning all things, are right
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:128">Ps. cxix. 128</A>),
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just as they should be; and they will set us to rights if we receive
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them and submit to them; and, because they are right, they <I>rejoice
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the heart.</I> The law, as we see it in the hands of Christ, gives
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cause for joy; and, when it is written in our hearts, it lays a
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foundation for everlasting joy, by restoring us to our right mind.
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4. <I>The commandment of the Lord is pure;</I> it is clear, without
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darkness; it is clean, without dross and defilement. It is itself
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purified from all alloy, and is purifying to those that receive and
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embrace it. It is the ordinary means which the Spirit uses in
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<I>enlightening the eyes;</I> it brings us to a sight and sense of our
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sin and misery, and directs us in the way of duty.
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5. <I>The fear of the Lord</I> (true religion and godliness prescribed
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in the word, reigning in the heart, and practised in the life) <I>is
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clean,</I> clean itself, and will make us clean
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+15:3">John xv. 3</A>);
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it will cleanse our way,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:9">Ps. cxix. 9</A>.
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And it <I>endureth for ever;</I> it is of perpetual obligation and can
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never be repealed. The ceremonial law is long since done away, but the
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law concerning the fear of God is ever the same. Time will not alter
|
|
the nature of moral good and evil.
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6. <I>The judgments of the Lord</I> (all his precepts, which are framed
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|
in infinite wisdom) <I>are true;</I> they are grounded upon the most
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|
sacred and unquestionable truths; they are <I>righteous,</I> all
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|
consonant to natural equity; and they are so <I>altogether:</I> there
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is no unrighteousness in any of them, but they are all of a piece.</P>
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|
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<P>
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|
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II. He expresses the great value he had for the word of God, and the
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|
great advantage he had, and hoped to have, from it,
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:10,11"><I>v.</I> 10, 11</A>.</P>
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<P>
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|
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1. See how highly he prized the commandments of God. It is the
|
|
character of all good people that they prefer their religion and the
|
|
word of God,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Far before all the wealth of the world. It is <I>more desirable
|
|
than gold,</I> than fine gold, <I>than much fine gold.</I> Gold is of
|
|
the earth, earthly; but grace is the image of the heavenly. Gold is
|
|
only for the body and the concerns of time; but grace is for the soul
|
|
and the concerns of eternity.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Far before all pleasures and delights of sense. The word of God,
|
|
received by faith, is sweet to the soul, <I>sweeter than honey and the
|
|
honey comb.</I> The pleasures of sense are the delight of brutes, and
|
|
therefore debase the great soul of man; the pleasures of religion are
|
|
the delight of angels, and exalt the soul. The pleasures of sense are
|
|
deceitful, will soon surfeit, and yet never satisfy; but those of
|
|
religion are substantial and satisfying, and there is no danger of
|
|
exceeding in them.</P>
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|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. See what use he made of the precepts of God's word: <I>By them is
|
|
thy servant warned.</I> The word of God is a word of warning to the
|
|
children of men; it warns us of the duty we are to do, the dangers we
|
|
are to avoid, and the deluge we are to prepare for,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+3:17,33:7">Ezek. iii. 17; xxxiii. 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
It warns the wicked not to go on in his wicked way, and warns the
|
|
righteous not to turn from his good way. All that are indeed God's
|
|
servants take this warning.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. See what advantage he promised himself by his obedience to God's
|
|
precepts: <I>In keeping them there is great reward.</I> Those who make
|
|
conscience of their duty will not only be no losers by it, but
|
|
unspeakable gainers. There is a reward, not only after keeping, but in
|
|
keeping, God's commandments, a present great reward of obedience.
|
|
Religion is health and honour; it is peace and pleasure; it will make
|
|
our comforts sweet and our crosses easy, life truly valuable and death
|
|
itself truly desirable.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. He draws some good inferences from this pious meditation upon the
|
|
excellency of the word of God. Such thoughts as these should excite in
|
|
us devout affections, and they are to good purpose.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He takes occasion hence to make a penitent reflection upon his sins;
|
|
for <I>by the law is the knowledge of sin.</I> "Is the commandment thus
|
|
holy, just, and good? Then <I>who can understand his errors?</I> I
|
|
cannot, whoever can." From the rectitude of the divine law he learns to
|
|
call his sins his <I>errors.</I> If the commandment be true and
|
|
righteous, every transgressions of the commandment is an error, as
|
|
grounded upon a mistake; every wicked practice takes rise from some
|
|
corrupt principle; it is a deviation from the rule we are to work by,
|
|
the way we are to walk in. From the extent, the strictness, and
|
|
spiritual nature, of the divine law he learns that his sins are so many
|
|
that he cannot understand the number of them, and so exceedingly sinful
|
|
that he cannot understand the heinousness and malignity of them. We are
|
|
guilty of many sins which, through our carelessness and partiality to
|
|
ourselves, we are not aware of; many we have been guilty of which we
|
|
have forgotten; so that, when we have been ever so particular in the
|
|
confession of sin, we must conclude with an <I>et cetera--and such
|
|
like;</I> for God knows a great deal more evil of us than we do of
|
|
ourselves. In many things we all offend, and who can tell how often he
|
|
offends? It is well that we are under grace, and not under the law,
|
|
else we were undone.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. He takes occasion hence to pray against sin. All the discoveries of
|
|
sin made to us by the law should drive us to the throne of grace, there
|
|
to pray, as David does here,
|
|
|
|
(1.) For mercy to pardon. Finding himself unable to specify all the
|
|
particulars of his transgressions, he cries out, <I>Lord, cleanse me
|
|
from my secret faults;</I> not secret to God, so none are, nor only
|
|
such as were secret to the world, but such as were hidden from his own
|
|
observation of himself. The best of men have reason to suspect
|
|
themselves guilty of many secret faults, and to pray to God to cleanse
|
|
them from that guilt and not to lay it to their charge; for even our
|
|
sins of infirmity and inadvertency, and our secret sins, would be our
|
|
ruin if God should deal with us according to the desert of them. Even
|
|
secret faults are defiling, and render us unfit for communion with God;
|
|
but, when they are pardoned, we are cleansed from them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+1:7">1 John i. 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) For grace to help in time of need. Having prayed that his sins of
|
|
infirmity might be pardoned, he prays that presumptuous sins might be
|
|
prevented,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
All that truly repent of their sins, and have them pardoned, are in
|
|
care not to relapse into sin, nor to return again to folly, as appears
|
|
by their prayers, which concur with David's here, where observe,
|
|
|
|
[1.] His petition: "Keep me from ever being guilty of a wilful
|
|
presumptuous sin." We ought to pray that we may be kept from sins of
|
|
infirmity, but especially from presumptuous sins, which most offend God
|
|
and wound conscience, which wither our comforts and shock our hopes.
|
|
"However, let none such <I>have dominion over me,</I> let me not be at
|
|
the command of any such sin, nor be enslaved by it."
|
|
|
|
[2.] His plea: "<I>So shall I be upright;</I> I shall appear upright; I
|
|
shall preserve the evidence and comfort of my uprightness; and I
|
|
<I>shall be innocent from the great transgression;</I>" so he calls a
|
|
presumptuous sin, because no sacrifice was accepted for it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+15:28-30">Num. xv. 28-30</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, <I>First,</I> Presumptuous sins are very heinous and dangerous.
|
|
those that sin against the habitual convictions and actual admonitions
|
|
of their consciences, in contempt and defiance of the law and its
|
|
sanctions, that sin with a high hand, sin presumptuously, and it is a
|
|
great transgression. <I>Secondly,</I> Even good men ought to be jealous
|
|
of themselves, and afraid of sinning presumptuously, yea, though
|
|
through the grace of God they have hitherto been kept from them. Let
|
|
none be high-minded, but fear. <I>Thirdly,</I> Being so much exposed,
|
|
we have great need to pray to God, when we are pushing forward towards
|
|
a presumptuous sin, to keep us back from it, either by his providence
|
|
preventing the temptation or by his grace giving us victory over
|
|
it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. He takes occasion humbly to beg the divine acceptance of those his
|
|
pious thoughts and affections,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe the connexion of this with what goes before. He prays to God to
|
|
keep him from sin, and then begs he would accept his performances; for,
|
|
if we favour our sins, we cannot expect God should favour us or our
|
|
services,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:18">Ps. lxvi. 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
(1.) What his services were--the <I>words of his mouth and the
|
|
meditations of his heart,</I> his holy affections offered up to God.
|
|
The pious meditations of the heart must not be smothered, but expressed
|
|
in the words of our mouth, for God's glory and the edification of
|
|
others; and the words of our mouth in prayer and praise must not be
|
|
formal, but arising from the meditation of the heart,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+45:1">Ps. xlv. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) What was his care concerning these services--that they might be
|
|
acceptable with God; for, if our services be not acceptable to God,
|
|
what do they avail us? Gracious souls must have all they aim at if they
|
|
be accepted of God, for that is their bliss.
|
|
|
|
(3.) What encouragement he had to hope for this, because God was his
|
|
strength and his redeemer. If we seek assistance from God as our
|
|
strength in our religious duties, we may hope to find acceptance with
|
|
God in the discharge of our duties; for by his strength we have power
|
|
with him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
In singing this we should get our hearts much affected with the
|
|
excellency of the word of God and delivered into it, we should be much
|
|
affected with the evil of sin, the danger we are in of it and the
|
|
danger we are in by it, and we should fetch in help from heaven against
|
|
it.</P>
|
|
|
|
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