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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 LV.</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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It is the conjecture of many expositors that David penned this psalm
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upon occasion of Absalom's rebellion, and that the particular enemy he
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here speaks of, that dealt treacherously with him, was Ahithophel; and
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some will therefore make David's troubles here typical of Christ's
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sufferings, and Ahithophel's treachery a figure of Judas's, because
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they both hanged themselves. But there is nothing in it particularly
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applied to Christ in the New Testament. David was in great distress
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when he penned this psalm.
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I. He prays that God would manifest his favour to him, and pleads his
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own sorrow and fear,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:1-8">ver. 1-8</A>.
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II. He prays that God would manifest his displeasure against his
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enemies, and pleads their great wickedness and treachery,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:9-15,20,21">ver. 9-15 and again ver. 20, 21</A>.
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III. He assures himself that God would, in due time, appear for him
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against his enemies, comforts himself with the hopes of it, and
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encourages others to trust in God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:16-19,22,23">ver. 16-19
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and again ver. 22, 23</A>.
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In singing this psalm we may, if there be occasion, apply it to our own
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troubles; if not, we may sympathize with those to whose case it comes
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nearer, foreseeing that there will be, at last, indignation and wrath
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to the persecutors, salvation and joy to the persecuted.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps55_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps55_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps55_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps55_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps55_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps55_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps55_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps55_8"> </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>Supplications of David in Distress.</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 on Neginoth, Maschil. <I>A psalm</I> of David.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from
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my supplication.
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2 Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and
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make a noise;
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3 Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression
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of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they
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hate me.
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4 My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death
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are fallen upon me.
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5 Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath
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overwhelmed me.
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6 And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! <I>for then</I> would
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I fly away, and be at rest.
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7 Lo, <I>then</I> would I wander far off, <I>and</I> remain in the
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wilderness. Selah.
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8 I would hasten my escape from the windy storm <I>and</I> tempest.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In these verses we have,</P>
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<P>
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I. David praying. Prayer is a salve for every sore and a relief to the
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spirit under every burden: <I>Give ear to my prayer, O God!</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>.
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He does not set down the petitions he offered up to God in his
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distress, but begs that God would hear the prayers which, at every
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period, his heart lifted up to God, and grant an answer of peace to
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them: <I>Attend to me, hear me.</I> Saul would not hear his petitions;
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his other enemies regarded not his pleas; but, "Lord, be thou pleased
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to hearken to me. <I>Hide not thyself from my supplication,</I> either
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as one unconcerned and not regarding it, nor seeming to take any notice
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of it, or as one displeased, angry at me, and therefore at my prayer."
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If we, in our prayers, sincerely lay open ourselves, our case, our
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hearts, to God, we have reason to hope that he will not hide himself,
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his favours, his comforts, from us.</P>
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<P>
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II. David weeping; for in this he was a type of Christ that he was a
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man of sorrows and often in tears
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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"<I>I mourn in my complaint</I>" (or in my <I>meditation,</I> my
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<I>melancholy musings</I>), "and I make a noise; I cannot forbear such
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sighs and groans, and other expressions of grief, as discover it to
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those about me." Great griefs are sometimes noisy and clamorous, and
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thus are, in some measure, lessened, while those increase that are
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stifled, and have no vent given them. But what was the matter?
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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It is <I>because of the voice of the enemy,</I> the menaces and insults
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of Absalom's party, that swelled, and hectored, and stirred up the
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people to cry out against David, and shout him out of his palace and
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capital city, as afterwards the chief priests stirred up the mob to cry
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out against the Son of David, <I>Away with him--Crucify him.</I> Yet it
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was not the voice of the enemy only that fetched tears from David's
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eyes, but their oppression, and the hardship he was thereby reduced to:
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<I>They cast iniquity upon me.</I> They could not justly charge David
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with any mal-administration in his government, could not prove any act
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of oppression or injustice upon him, but they loaded him with
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calumnies. Though they found no iniquity in him relating to his trust
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as a king, yet they cast all manner of iniquity upon him, and
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represented him to the people as a tyrant fit to be expelled. Innocency
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itself is no security against violent and lying tongues. They hated him
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themselves, nay, in wrath they hated him; there was in their enmity
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both the heat and violence of anger, or sudden passion, and the
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implacableness of hatred and rooted malice; and therefore they studied
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to make him odious, that others also might hate him. This made him
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mourn, and the more because he could remember the time when he was the
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darling of the people, and answered to his name, <I>David</I>--<I>a
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beloved one.</I></P>
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<P>
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III. David trembling, and in great consternation. We may well suppose
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him to be so upon the breaking out of Absalom's conspiracy and the
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general defection of the people, even those that he had little reason
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to suspect.
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1. See what fear seized him. David was a man of great boldness, and in
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some very eminent instances had signalized his courage, and yet, when
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the danger was surprising and imminent, his heart failed him. Let not
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the stout man therefore glory in his courage any more than the strong
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man in his strength. Now David's <I>heart is sorely pained within him;
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the terrors of death have fallen upon him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Fearfulness of mind and trembling of body came upon him, and horror
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covered and overwhelmed him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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When without are fightings no marvel that within are fears; and, if it
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was upon the occasion of Absalom's rebellion, we may suppose that the
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remembrance of his sin in the matter of Uriah, which God was now
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reckoning with him for, added as much more to the fright. Sometimes
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David's faith made him, in a manner, fearless, and he could boldly say,
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when surrounded with enemies, <I>I will not be afraid what man can do
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unto me.</I> But at other times his fears prevail and tyrannise; for
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the best men are not always alike strong in faith.
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2. See how desirous he was, in this fright, to retire into a desert,
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any where to be far enough from hearing the voice of the enemy and
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seeing their oppressions. He said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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said it to God in prayer, said it to himself in meditation, said it to
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his friends in complaint, <I>O that I had wings like a dove!</I> Much
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as he had been sometimes in love with Jerusalem, now that it had become
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a rebellious city he longed to get clear of it, and, like the prophet,
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wished he had <I>in the wilderness a lodging place of way-faring men,
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that he might leave his people and go from them; for they were an
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assembly of treacherous men,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+9:2">Jer. ix. 2</A>.
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This agrees very well with David's resolution upon the breaking out of
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that plot, <I>Arise, let us flee, and make speed to depart,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+15:14">2 Sam. xv. 14</A>.
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Observe,
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(1.) How he would make his escape. He was so surrounded with enemies
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that he saw not how he could escape but upon the wing, and therefore he
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wishes, <I>O that I had wings!</I> not like a hawk that flies swiftly;
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he wishes for wings, not to fly upon the prey, but to fly from the
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birds of prey, for such his enemies were. The wings of a dove were most
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agreeable to him who was of a dove-like spirit, and therefore the wings
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of an eagle would not become him. The dove flies low, and takes shelter
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as soon as she can, and thus would David fly.
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(2.) What he would make his escape from--<I>from the wind, storm, and
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tempest,</I> the tumult and ferment that the city was now in, and the
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danger to which he was exposed. Herein he was like a dove, that cannot
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endure noise.
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(3.) What he aimed at in making this escape, not victory but rest:
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"<I>I would fly away and be at rest,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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I would fly any where, if it were to a barren frightful wilderness,
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ever so far off, so I might be quiet,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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Note, Peace and quietness in silence and solitude are what the wisest
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and best of men have most earnestly coveted, and the more when they
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have been vexed and wearied with the noise and clamour of those about
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them. Gracious souls wish to retire from the hurry and bustle of this
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world, that they may sweetly enjoy God and themselves; and, if there be
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any true peace on this side heaven, it is they that enjoy it in those
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retirements. This makes death desirable to a child of God, that it is a
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final escape from all the storms and tempests of this world to perfect
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and everlasting rest.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps55_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps55_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps55_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps55_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps55_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps55_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps55_15"> </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>Prophetic Imprecations.</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>9 Destroy, O Lord, <I>and</I> divide their tongues: for I have seen
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violence and strife in the city.
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10 Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof:
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mischief also and sorrow <I>are</I> in the midst of it.
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11 Wickedness <I>is</I> in the midst thereof: deceit and guile
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depart not from her streets.
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12 For <I>it was</I> not an enemy <I>that</I> reproached me; then I could
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have borne <I>it:</I> neither <I>was it</I> he that hated me <I>that</I> did
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magnify <I>himself</I> against me; then I would have hid myself from
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him:
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13 But <I>it was</I> thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine
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acquaintance.
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14 We took sweet counsel together, <I>and</I> walked unto the house
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of God in company.
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15 Let death seize upon them, <I>and</I> let them go down quick into
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hell: for wickedness <I>is</I> in their dwellings, <I>and</I> among them.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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David here complains of his enemies, whose wicked plots had brought
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him, though not to his faith's end, yet to his wits' end, and prays
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against them by the spirit of prophecy. Observe here,</P>
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<P>
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I. The character he gives of the enemies he feared. They were of the
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worst sort of men, and his description of them agrees very well with
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Absalom and his accomplices.
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1. He complains of the city of Jerusalem, which strangely fell in with
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Absalom and fell off from David, so that he had none there but how own
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guards and servants that he could repose any confidence in: <I>How has
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that faithful city become a harlot!</I> David did not take the
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representation of it from others; but with his own eyes, and with a sad
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heart, did himself see nothing but <I>violence and strife in the
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city</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>);
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for, when they grew disaffected and disloyal to David, they grew
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mischievous one to another. If he walked the rounds upon the walls of
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the city, he saw that violence and strife went about it day and night,
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and mounted its guards,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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All the arts and methods which the rebels used for the fortifying of
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the city were made up on violence and strife, and there were no remains
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of honesty or love among them. If he looked into the heart of the city,
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mischief and injury, mutual wrong and vexation, were in the midst of
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it: <I>Wickedness,</I> all manner of wickedness, <I>is in the midst
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thereof. Jusque datum sceleri--Wickedness was legalized.</I> Deceit and
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guile, and all manner of treacherous dealing, <I>departed not from her
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streets,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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It may be meant of their base and barbarous usage of David's friends
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and such as they knew were firm and faithful to him; they did them all
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the mischief they could, by fraud or force. Is this the character of
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Jerusalem, the royal city, and, which is more, the holy city, and in
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David's time too, so soon after the thrones of judgment and the
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testimony of Israel were both placed there? <I>Is this the city that
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men call the perfection of beauty?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+2:15">Lam. ii. 15</A>.
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Is Jerusalem, the head-quarters of God's priests, so ill taught? Can
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Jerusalem be ungrateful to David himself, its own illustrious founder,
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and be made too hot for him, so that he cannot reside in it? Let us not
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be surprised at the corruptions and disorders of this church on earth,
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but long to see the New Jerusalem, where there is no violence nor
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strife, no mischief nor guilt, and into which no unclean thing shall
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enter, nor any thing that disquiets.
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2. He complains of one of the ringleaders of the conspiracy, that had
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been very industrious to foment jealousies, to misrepresent him and his
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government, and to incense the city against him. It was one that
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reproached him, as if he either abused his power or neglected the use
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of it, for that was Absalom's malicious suggestion: <I>There is no man
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deputed of the king to hear thee,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+15:3">2 Sam. xv. 3</A>.
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That and similar accusations were industriously spread among the
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people; and who was most active in it? "Not a sworn enemy, not Shimei,
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nor any of the nonjurors; then I could have borne it, for I should not
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have expected better from them" (and we find how patiently he did bear
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Shimei's curses); "not one that professed to hate me, then I would have
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stood upon my guard against him, would have hidden myself and counsels
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from him, so that it would not have been in his power to betray me.
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<I>But it was thou, a man, my equal,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
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The Chaldee-paraphrase names Ahithophel as the person here meant, and
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nothing in that plot seems to have discouraged David so much as to hear
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that Ahithophel was <I>among the conspirators with Absalom</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+15:31">2 Sam. xv. 31</A>),
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for he was <I>the king's counsellor,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+27:33">1 Chron. xxvii. 33</A>.
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"<I>It was thou, a man, my equal,</I> one whom I esteemed as myself, a
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friend as my own soul, whom I had laid in my bosom and made equal with
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myself, to whom I had communicated all my secrets and who knew my mind
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as well as I myself did,--my guide, with whom I advised and by whom I
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was directed in all my affairs, whom I made president of the council
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and prime-minister of state,--my intimate acquaintance and familiar
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friend; this is the man that now abuses me. I have been kind to him,
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but I find him thus basely ungrateful. I have put a trust in him, but I
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find him thus basely treacherous; nay, and he could not have done me
|
|
the one-half of the mischief he does if I had not shown him so much
|
|
respect." All this must needs be very grievous to an ingenuous mind,
|
|
and yet this was not all; this traitor had seemed a saint, else he had
|
|
never been David's bosom-friend
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>We took counsel together,</I> spent many an hour together, with a
|
|
great deal of pleasure, in religious discourse," or, as Dr. Hammond
|
|
reads it, "<I>We joined ourselves together to the assembly;</I> I gave
|
|
him the right hand of fellowship in holy ordinances, and then <I>we
|
|
walked to the house of God in company,</I> to attend the public
|
|
service." Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) There always has been, and always will be, a mixture of good and
|
|
bad, sound and unsound, in the visible church, between whom, perhaps
|
|
for a long time, we can discern no difference; but the searcher of
|
|
hearts does. David, who went to the house of God in his sincerity, had
|
|
Ahithophel in company with him, who went in his hypocrisy. The Pharisee
|
|
and the publican went together to the temple to pray; but, sooner or
|
|
later, those that are perfect and those that are not will be made
|
|
manifest.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Carnal policy may carry men on very far and very long in a
|
|
profession of religion while it is in fashion, and will serve a turn.
|
|
In the court of pious David none was more devout than Ahithophel, and
|
|
yet his heart was not right in the sight of God.
|
|
|
|
(3.) We must not wonder if we be sadly deceived in some that have made
|
|
great pretensions to those two sacred things, religion and friendship;
|
|
David himself, though a very wise man, was thus imposed upon, which may
|
|
make similar disappointments the more tolerable to us.</P>
|
|
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<P>
|
|
|
|
II. His prayers against them, which we are both to stand in awe of and
|
|
to comfort ourselves in, as prophecies, but not to copy into our
|
|
prayers against any particular enemies of our own. He prays,
|
|
|
|
1. That God would disperse them, as he did the Babel-builders
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Destroy, O Lord! and divide their tongues;</I> that is, blast their
|
|
counsels, by making them to disagree among themselves, and clash with
|
|
one another. Send an evil spirit among them, that they may not
|
|
understand one another, but be envious and jealous one of another."
|
|
This prayer was answered in the turning of Ahithophel's counsel into
|
|
foolishness, by setting up the counsel of Hushai against it. God often
|
|
destroys the church's enemies by dividing them; nor is there a surer
|
|
way to the destruction of any people than their division. A kingdom, an
|
|
interest, divided against itself, cannot long stand.
|
|
|
|
2. That God would destroy them, as he did Dathan and Abiram, and their
|
|
associates, who were confederate against Moses, whose throat being an
|
|
open sepulchre, the earth therefore opened and swallowed them up. This
|
|
was then a new thing which God executed,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+16:30">Num. xvi. 30</A>.
|
|
|
|
But David prays that it might now be repeated, or something equivalent
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Let death seize upon them</I> by divine warrant, and <I>let them go
|
|
down quickly into hell;</I> let them be dead, and buried, and so
|
|
utterly destroyed, in a moment; for wickedness is wherever they are; it
|
|
is in the midst of them." The souls of impenitent sinners go down
|
|
quick, or alive, into hell, for they have a perfect sense of their
|
|
miseries, and shall <I>therefore</I> live still, that they may be still
|
|
miserable. This prayer is a prophecy of the utter, the final, the
|
|
everlasting ruin of all those who, whether secretly or openly, oppose
|
|
and rebel against the Lord's Messiah.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ps55_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps55_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps55_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps55_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps55_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps55_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps55_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps55_23"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Confidence in God.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>16 As for me, I will call upon God; and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall save me.
|
|
17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry
|
|
aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
|
|
18 He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle <I>that
|
|
was</I> against me: for there were many with me.
|
|
19 God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of
|
|
old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not
|
|
God.
|
|
20 He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with
|
|
him: he hath broken his covenant.
|
|
21 <I>The words</I> of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war
|
|
<I>was</I> in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet <I>were</I>
|
|
they drawn swords.
|
|
22 Cast thy burden upon the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and he shall sustain thee: he
|
|
shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
|
|
23 But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of
|
|
destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half
|
|
their days; but I will trust in thee.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
In these verses,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. David perseveres in his resolution to call upon God, being well
|
|
assured that he should not seek him in vain
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>As for me,</I> let them take what course they please to secure
|
|
themselves, let violence and strife be their guards, prayer shall be
|
|
mind; this I have found comfort in, and therefore this will I abide by:
|
|
<I>I will call upon God,</I> and commit myself to him, and <I>the Lord
|
|
shall save me;</I>" for whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord,
|
|
in a right manner, shall be saved,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+10:13">Rom. x. 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
He resolves to be both fervent and frequent in this duty.
|
|
|
|
1. He will pray fervently: "<I>I will pray and cry aloud. I will
|
|
meditate</I>" (so the former word signifies); "I will speak with my own
|
|
heart, and the prayer shall come thence." Then we pray aright when we
|
|
pray with all that is within us, think first and then pray over our
|
|
thoughts; for the true nature of prayer is lifting up the heart to God.
|
|
Having meditated, he will cry, he will cry aloud; the fervour of his
|
|
spirit in prayer shall be expressed and yet more excited by the
|
|
intenseness and earnestness of his voice.
|
|
|
|
2. He will pray frequently, every day, and three times a
|
|
day--<I>evening, and morning, and at noon.</I> It is probable that this
|
|
had been his constant practice, and he resolves to continue it now that
|
|
he is in his distress. Then we may come the more boldly to the throne
|
|
of grace in trouble when we do not then first begin to seek
|
|
acquaintance with God, but it is what we have constantly practised, and
|
|
the trouble finds the wheels of prayer going. Those that think three
|
|
meals a day little enough for the body ought much more to think three
|
|
solemn prayers a day little enough for the soul, and to count it a
|
|
pleasure, not a task. As it is fit that in the morning we should begin
|
|
the day with God, and in the evening close it with him, so it is fit
|
|
that in the midst of the day we should retire awhile to converse with
|
|
him. It was Daniel's practice to pray three times a day
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+6:10">Dan. vi. 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
and noon was one of Peter's hours of prayer,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+10:9">Acts x. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let not us be weary of praying often, for God is not weary of hearing.
|
|
"He shall hear my voice, and not blame me for coming too often, but the
|
|
oftener the better, the more welcome."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. He assures himself that God would in due time give an answer of
|
|
peace to his prayers.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. That he himself should be delivered and his fears prevented; those
|
|
fears with which he was much disordered
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:4,5"><I>v.</I> 4, 5</A>)
|
|
|
|
by the exercise of faith were now silenced, and he begins to rejoice in
|
|
hope
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>God has delivered my soul in peace,</I> that is, he will deliver it;
|
|
David is as sure of the deliverance as if it were already wrought. His
|
|
enemies were at war with him, and the battle was against him, but God
|
|
delivered him in peace, that is, brought him off with as much comfort
|
|
as if he had never been in danger. If he did not deliver him in
|
|
victory, yet he delivered him in peace, inward peace. He delivered his
|
|
soul in peace; by patience and holy joy in God he kept possession of
|
|
that. Those are safe and easy whose hearts and minds are kept by that
|
|
peace of God which <I>passes all understanding,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+4:7">Phil. iv. 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
David, in his fright, thought all were against him; but now he sees
|
|
there were many with him, more than he imagined; his interest proved
|
|
better than he expected, and this he gives to God the glory of: for it
|
|
is he that raises us up friends when we need them, and makes them
|
|
faithful to us. There were many with him; for though his subjects
|
|
deserted him, and went over to Absalom, yet God was with him and the
|
|
good angels. With an eye of faith he now sees himself surrounded, as
|
|
Elisha was, with chariots of fire and horses of fire, and therefore
|
|
triumphs thus, <I>There are many with me,</I> more <I>with me than
|
|
against me,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+6:16,17">2 Kings vi. 16, 17</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. That his enemies should be reckoned with, and brought down. They had
|
|
frightened him with their menaces
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
but here he says enough to frighten them and make them tremble with
|
|
more reason, and no remedy; for they could not ease themselves of their
|
|
fears as David could, by faith in God.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) David here gives their character as the reason why he expected God
|
|
would bring them down.
|
|
|
|
[1.] They are impious and profane, and stand in no awe of God, of his
|
|
authority or wrath
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Because they have no changes</I> (no afflictions, no interruption
|
|
to the constant course of their prosperity, no crosses to empty them
|
|
from vessel to vessel) <I>therefore they fear not God;</I> they live in
|
|
a constant neglect and contempt of God and religion, which is the cause
|
|
of all their other wickedness, and by which they are certainly marked
|
|
for destruction."
|
|
|
|
[2.] They are treacherous and false, and will not be held by the most
|
|
sacred and solemn engagements
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>He has put forth his hand against such as are at peace with
|
|
him,</I> that never provoked him, nor gave him any cause to quarrel
|
|
with them; nay, to whom he had given all possible encouragement to
|
|
expect kindness from him. He has put forth his hand against those whom
|
|
he had given his hand to, and has broken his covenant both with God and
|
|
man, has perfidiously violated his engagement to both," than which
|
|
nothing makes men riper for ruin.
|
|
|
|
[3.] They are base and hypocritical, pretending friendship while they
|
|
design mischief
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>The words of his mouth</I>" (probably, he means Ahithophel
|
|
particularly) "<I>were smoother than butter and softer than oil,</I> so
|
|
courteous was he and obliging, so free in his professions of respect
|
|
and kindness and the proffers of his service; yet, at the same time,
|
|
<I>war was in his heart,</I> and all this courtesy was but a stratagem
|
|
of war, and those very words had such a mischievous design in them that
|
|
they were as <I>drawn swords</I> designed to stab." They smile in a
|
|
man's face, and cut his throat at the same time, as Joab, that kissed
|
|
and killed. Satan is such an enemy; he flatters men into their ruin.
|
|
<I>When he speaks fair, believe him not.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) David here foretels their ruin.
|
|
|
|
[1.] God shall afflict them, and bring them into straits and frights,
|
|
and recompense tribulation to those that have troubled his people, and
|
|
this in answer to the prayers of his people: <I>God shall hear and
|
|
afflict them,</I> hear the cries of the oppressed and speak terror to
|
|
their oppressors, <I>even he that abides of old,</I> who is God from
|
|
everlasting, and world without end, and who sits Judge from the
|
|
beginning of time, and has always presided in the affairs of the
|
|
children of men. Mortal men, though ever so high and strong, will
|
|
easily be crushed by an eternal God and are a very unequal match for
|
|
him. This the saints have comforted themselves with in reference to the
|
|
threatening power of the church's enemies
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hab+1:12">Hab. i. 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord?</I>
|
|
|
|
[2.] God shall <I>bring them down,</I> not only to the dust, but <I>to
|
|
the pit of destruction</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>),
|
|
|
|
to the bottomless pit, which is called <I>destruction,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+26:6">Job xxvi. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
He afflicted them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>)
|
|
|
|
to see if that would humble and reform them; but, they not being
|
|
wrought upon by that, he shall at last bring them to ruin. Those that
|
|
are not reclaimed by the rod of affliction will certainly be brought
|
|
down into the pit of destruction. They are <I>bloody and deceitful
|
|
men</I> (that is, the worst of men) and therefore <I>shall not live out
|
|
half their days,</I> not half so long as men ordinarily live, and as
|
|
they might have lived in a course of nature, and as they themselves
|
|
expected to live. They shall live as long as the Lord of life, the
|
|
righteous Judge, has appointed, with whom the number of our months is;
|
|
but he has determined to cut them off by an untimely death in the midst
|
|
of their days. They were bloody men, and cut others off, and therefore
|
|
God will justly cut them off: they were deceitful men, and defrauded
|
|
others of the one-half perhaps of what was their due, and now God will
|
|
cut them short, though not of that which was their due, yet of that
|
|
which they counted upon.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. He encourages himself and all good people to commit themselves to
|
|
God, with confidence in him. He himself resolves to do so
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>I will trust in thee,</I> in thy providence, and power, and mercy,
|
|
and not in my own prudence, strength, or merit; when bloody and
|
|
deceitful men are cut off in the midst of their days I shall still live
|
|
by faith in thee." And this he will have others to do
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Cast thy burden upon the Lord,</I>" whoever thou art that art
|
|
burdened, and whatever the burden is. "<I>Cast thy gift upon the
|
|
Lord</I>" (so some read it); "whatever blessings God has bestowed upon
|
|
thee to enjoy commit them all to his custody, and particularly commit
|
|
the keeping of thy soul to him." Or, "Whatever it is that thou desirest
|
|
God should give thee, leave it to him to give it to thee in his own way
|
|
and time. <I>Cast thy care upon the Lord,</I>" so the LXX., to which
|
|
the apostle refers,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+5:7">1 Pet. v. 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
Care is a burden; it makes the heart stoop
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+12:25">Prov. xii. 25</A>);
|
|
|
|
we must cast it upon God by faith and prayer, commit our way and works
|
|
to him; let him do as seemeth him good, and we will be satisfied. To
|
|
cast our burden upon God is to stay ourselves on his providence and
|
|
promise, and to be very easy in the assurance that all shall work for
|
|
good. If we do so, it is promised,
|
|
|
|
1. That he will sustain us, both support and supply us, will himself
|
|
carry us in the arms of his power, as the nurse carries the
|
|
sucking-child, will strengthen our spirits so by his Spirit as that
|
|
they shall sustain the infirmity. He has not promised to free us
|
|
immediately from that trouble which gives rise to our cares and fears;
|
|
but he will provide that we be not tempted above what we are able, and
|
|
that we shall be able according as we are tempted.
|
|
|
|
2. That he will never suffer the righteous to be moved, to be so shaken
|
|
by any troubles as to quit either their duty to God or their comfort in
|
|
him. However, he will not suffer them to be moved for ever (as some
|
|
read it); though they fall, they shall not be utterly cast down.</P>
|
|
|
|
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