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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 CXV.</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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Many ancient translations join this psalm to that which goes next
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before it, the Septuagint particularly, and the vulgar Latin; but it
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is, in the Hebrew, a distinct psalm. In it we are taught to give glory,
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I. To God, and not to ourselves,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:1">ver. 1</A>.
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II. To God, and not to idols,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:2-8">ver. 2-8</A>.
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We must give glory to God,
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1. By trusting in him, and in his promise and blessing,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:9-15">ver. 9-15</A>.
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2. By blessing him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:16-18">ver. 16-18</A>.
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Some think this psalm was penned upon occasion of some great distress
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and trouble that the church of God was in, when the enemies were in
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insolent and threatening, in which case the church does not so much
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pour out her complaint to God as place her confidence in God, and
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triumph in doing so; and with such a holy triumph we ought to sing this
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psalm.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps115_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_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>The Absurdity of Idolatry.</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>1 Not unto us, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, not unto us, but unto thy name give
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glory, for thy mercy, <I>and</I> for thy truth's sake.
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2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where <I>is</I> now their God?
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3 But our God <I>is</I> in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he
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hath pleased.
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4 Their idols <I>are</I> silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
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5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but
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they see not:
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6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they
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smell not:
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7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but
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they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
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8 They that make them are like unto them; <I>so is</I> every one
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that trusteth in them.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Sufficient care is here taken to answer both the pretensions of self
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and the reproaches of idolaters.</P>
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<P>
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I. Boasting is here for ever excluded,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Let no opinion of our own merits have any room either in our prayers or
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in our praises, but let both centre in God's glory.
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1. Have we received any mercy, gone through any service, or gained any
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success? We must not assume the glory of it to ourselves, but ascribe
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it wholly to God. We must not imagine that we do any thing for God by
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our own strength, or deserve any thing from God by our own
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righteousness; but all the good we do is done by the power of his
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grace, and all the good we have is the gift of his mere mercy, and
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therefore he must have all the praise. Say not, <I>The power of my
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hand has gotten me this wealth,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+8:17">Deut. viii. 17</A>.
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Say not, <I>For my righteousness the Lord has</I> done these great and
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kind things for me,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+9:4">Deut. ix. 4</A>.
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No; all our songs must be sung to this humble tune, <I>Not unto us, O
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Lord!</I> and again, <I>Not unto us, but to thy name,</I> let all the
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glory be given; for whatever good is wrought in us, or wrought for us,
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it is for his mercy and his truth's sake, because he will glorify his
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mercy and fulfil his promise. All our crowns must be cast at the feet
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of <I>him that sits upon the throne,</I> for that is the proper place
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for them.
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2. Are we in pursuit of any mercy and wrestling with God for it? We
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must take our encouragement, in prayer, from God only, and have an eye
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to his glory more than to our own benefit in it. "Lord, do so and so
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for us, not that we may have the credit and comfort of it, but that thy
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mercy and truth may have the glory of it." This must be our highest and
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ultimate end in our prayers, and therefore it is made the first
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petition in the Lord's prayer, as that which guides all the rest,
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<I>Hallowed be thy name;</I> and, in order to that, <I>Give us our
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daily bread,</I> &c. This also must satisfy us, if our prayers be not
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answered in the letter of them. Whatever becomes of us, <I>unto thy
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name give glory.</I> See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+12:27,28">John xii. 27, 28</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. The reproach of the heathen is here for ever silenced and justly
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retorted.</P>
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<P>
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1. The psalmist complains of the reproach of the heathen
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>Wherefore should they say, Where is now their God?</I>
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(1.) "Why do they say so? Do they not know that our God is every where
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by his providence, and always nigh to us by his promise and grace?"
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(2.) "Why does God permit them to say so? Nay, why is Israel brought so
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low that they have some colour for saying so? Lord, appear for our
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relief, that thou mayest vindicate thyself, and glorify thy own
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name."</P>
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<P>
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2. He gives a direct answer to their question,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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"Do they ask where is our God? We can tell where he is."
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(1.) "In the upper world is the presence of his glory: <I>Our God is in
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the heavens,</I> where the gods of the heathen never were, <I>in the
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heavens,</I> and therefore out of sight; but, though his majesty be
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unapproachable, it does not therefore follow that his being is
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questionable."
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(2.) "In the lower world are the products of his power: <I>He has done
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whatsoever he pleased,</I> according to the counsel of his will; he has
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a sovereign dominion and a universal uncontrollable influence. Do you
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ask where he is? He is at the beginning and end of every thing, <I>and
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not far from any of us.</I>"</P>
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<P>
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3. He returns their question upon themselves. They asked, Where is the
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God of Israel? because he is not seen. He does in effect ask, What are
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the gods of the heathen? because they are seen.
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(1.) He shows that their gods, though they are not shapeless things,
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are senseless things. Idolaters, at first, worshipped the sun and moon
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+31:26">Job xxxi. 26</A>),
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which was bad enough, but not so bad as that which they were now come
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to (for evil men grow worse and worse), which was the worshipping of
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images,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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The matter of them was <I>silver and gold,</I> dug out of the earth
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(<I>man found them poor and dirty in a mine,</I> Herbert), proper
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things to make money of, but not to make gods of. The make of them was
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from the artificer; they are creatures of men's vain imaginations and
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<I>the works of men's hands,</I> and therefore can have no divinity in
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them. If man is the work of God's hands (as certainly he is, and it was
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his honour that he was made <I>in the image of God</I>) it is absurd to
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think that that can be God which is the work of men's hands, or that it
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can be any other than a dishonour to God to make him in the image of
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man. The argument is irrefragable: <I>The workmen made it, therefore it
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is not God,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+8:6">Hos. viii. 6</A>.
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These idols are represented here as the most ridiculous things, a mere
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jest, that would seem to be something, but were really nothing, fitter
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for a toy shop than a temple, for children to play with than for men to
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pray to. The painter, the carver, the statuary, did their part well
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enough; they made them with <I>mouths</I> and <I>eyes, ears</I> and
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<I>noses, hands</I> and <I>feet,</I> but they could put no life into
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them and therefore no sense. They had better have worshipped a dead
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carcase (for that had life in it once) than a dead image, which neither
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has life nor can have. <I>They speak not,</I> in answer to those that
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consult them; the crafty priest must speak for them. In Baal's image
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there was <I>no voice, neither any that answered. They see not</I> the
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prostrations of their worshippers before them, much less their burdens
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and wants. <I>They hear not</I> their prayers, though ever so loud;
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<I>they smell not</I> their incense, though ever so strong, ever so
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sweet; <I>they handle not</I> the gifts presented to them, much less
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have they any gifts to bestow on their worshippers; they cannot
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<I>stretch forth their hands to the needy. They walk not,</I> they
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cannot stir a step for the relief of those that apply to them. Nay,
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they do not so much as <I>breathe through their throat;</I> they have
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not the least sign of symptom of life, but are as dead, after the
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priest has pretended to consecrate them and call a deity into them, as
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they were before.
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(2.) He thence infers the sottishness of their worshippers
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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<I>Those that make them</I> images show their ingenuity, and doubtless
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are sensible men; but <I>those that make them</I> gods show their
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stupidity and folly, and <I>are like unto them,</I> as senseless
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blockish things; <I>they see not</I> the invisible things of the true
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and living God in the works of creation; <I>they hear not</I> the voice
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of the day and the night, which in every speech and language declare
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his glory,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:2,3">Ps. xix. 2, 3</A>.
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By worshipping these foolish puppets, they make themselves more and
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more foolish like them, and set themselves at a greater distance from
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every thing that is spiritual, sinking themselves deeper into the mire
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of sense; and withal they provoke God to <I>give them up to a reprobate
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mind, a mind void of judgment,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+1:28">Rom. i. 28</A>.
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Those <I>that trust in them</I> act very absurdly and very
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unreasonably, are senseless, helpless, useless, like them; and they
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will find it so themselves, to their own confusion. We shall know where
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our God is, and so shall they, to their cost, when their gods are gone,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+10:3-11,Isa+44:9">Jer. x. 3-11; Isa. xliv. 9</A>,
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&c.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps115_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps115_18"> </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>Confidence in God.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>9 O Israel, trust thou in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: he <I>is</I> their help and
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their shield.
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10 O house of Aaron, trust in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: he <I>is</I> their help and
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their shield.
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11 Ye that fear the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, trust in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: he <I>is</I> their help
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and their shield.
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12 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath been mindful of us: he will bless <I>us;</I> he
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will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
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13 He will bless them that fear the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, <I>both</I> small and
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great.
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14 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall increase you more and more, you and your
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children.
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15 Ye <I>are</I> blessed of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> which made heaven and earth.
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16 The heaven, <I>even</I> the heavens, <I>are</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>'s: but the
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earth hath he given to the children of men.
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17 The dead praise not the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, neither any that go down into
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silence.
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18 But we will bless the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> from this time forth and for
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evermore. Praise the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In these verses,</P>
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<P>
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I. We are earnestly exhorted, all of us, to repose our confidence in
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God, and not suffer our confidence in him to be shaken by the heathens'
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insulting over us upon the account of our present distresses. It is
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folly to trust in dead images, but it is wisdom to trust in the living
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God, for he is a <I>help and a shield</I> to those that do <I>trust in
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them,</I> a help to furnish them with and forward them in that which is
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good, and a shield to fortify them against and protect them from every
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thing that is evil. Therefore,
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1. Let Israel trust in the Lord; the body of the people, as to their
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public interests, and every particular Israelite, as to his own private
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concerns, let them leave it to God to dispose of all for them, and
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believe it will dispose of all for the best and will be <I>their help
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and shield.</I>
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2. Let the priests, the Lord's ministers, and all the families of the
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<I>house of Aaron, trust in the Lord,</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>);
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they are most maligned and struck at by the enemies and therefore of
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them God takes particular care. They ought to be examples to others of
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a cheerful confidence in God, and a faithful adherence to him in the
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worst of times.
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3. Let the proselytes, who are not of the seed of Israel, but <I>fear
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the Lord,</I> who worship him and make conscience of their duty to him,
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let them <I>trust in him,</I> for he will not fail nor forsake them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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Note, Wherever there is an awful fear of God, there may be a cheerful
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faith in him: those that reverence his word may rely upon it.</P>
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<P>
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II. We are greatly encouraged to trust in God, and good reason is given
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us why we should stay ourselves upon him with an entire satisfaction.
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Consider,
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1. What we have experienced
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
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<I>The Lord has been mindful of us,</I> and never unmindful, has been
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so constantly, has been so remarkably upon special occasions. He has
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been mindful of our case, our wants and burdens, mindful of our prayers
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to him, his promises to us, and the covenant-relation between him and
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us. All our comforts are derived from God's <I>thoughts to us-ward;</I>
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he <I>has been mindful of us,</I> though we have forgotten him. Let
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<I>this</I> engage us to trust in him, that we have found him faithful.
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2. What we may expect. From what he has done for us we may infer, <I>He
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will bless us;</I> he that has been our <I>help and our shield</I> will
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be so; he that has <I>remembered us in our low estate</I> will not
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forget us; for he is still the same, his power and goodness the same,
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and his promise inviolable; so that we have reason to hope that he who
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has delivered, and does, will yet deliver. Yet this is not all: <I>He
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will bless us;</I> he has promised that he will; he has pronounced a
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blessing upon all his people. God's blessing us is not only speaking
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good to us, but doing well for us; those whom he blesses are blessed
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indeed. It is particularly promised that <I>he will bless the house of
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Israel,</I> that is, he will bless the commonwealth, will bless his
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people in their civil interests. <I>He will bless the house of
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Aaron,</I> that is, the church, the ministry, will bless his people in
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their religious concerns. The priests were to bless the people; it was
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their office
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+6:23">Num. vi. 23</A>);
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but God blessed them, and so blessed their blessings. Nay
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
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<I>he will bless those that fear the Lord,</I> though they be not of
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the house of Israel or the house of Aaron; for it was a truth, before
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Peter perceived it, <I>That in every nation he that fears God is
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accepted or him,</I> and blessed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+10:34,35">Acts x. 34, 35</A>.
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<I>He will bless them both small and great,</I> both young and old. God
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has blessings in store for those that are good betimes and for those
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that are old disciples, both those that are poor in the world and those
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that make a figure. The greatest need his blessing, and it shall not be
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denied to the meanest that fear him. Both the weak in grace and the
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strong shall be blessed of God, the lambs and the sheep of his flock.
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It is promised
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
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<I>The Lord shall increase you.</I> Whom God blesses he increases; that
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was one of the earliest and most ancient blessings, <I>Be fruitful and
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multiply.</I> God's blessing gives an increase--increase in number,
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building up the family--increase in wealth, adding to the estate and
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honour--especially an increase in spiritual blessings, with the
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increasings of God. He will bless you with the increase of knowledge
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and wisdom, of grace, holiness, and joy; those are blessed indeed whom
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God thus increases, who are made wiser and better, and fitter for God
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and heaven. It is promised that this shall be,
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(1.) A constant continual increase: "<I>He shall increase you more and
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more;</I> so that, as long as you live, you shall be still increasing,
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|
till you come to perfection, as the shining light,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+4:18">Prov. iv. 18</A>.
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(2.) An hereditary increase: "<I>You and your children;</I> you in your
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children." It is a comfort to parents to see their children increasing
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in wisdom and strength. There is a blessing entailed upon the seed of
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those that fear God even in their infancy. For
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
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<I>You are blessed of the Lord,</I> you and your children are so;
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<I>all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed
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which the Lord has blessed,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+59:9">Isa. lix. 9</A>.
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Those that are the blessed of the Lord have encouragement enough to
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<I>trust in the Lord,</I> as <I>their help and shield,</I> for it is he
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|
that <I>made heaven and earth;</I> therefore his blessings are free,
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|
for he needs not any thing himself; and therefore they are rich, for he
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|
has all things at command for us if we fear him and trust in him. He
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that <I>made heaven and earth</I> can doubtless make those happy that
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trust in him, and will do it.</P>
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<P>
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III. We are stirred up to praise God by the psalmist's example, who
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concludes the psalm with a resolution to persevere in his praises.
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1. God is to be praised,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
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He is greatly to be praised; for,
|
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(1.) His glory is high. See how stately his palace is, and the throne
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|
he has prepared in the heavens: <I>The heaven, even the heavens are the
|
|
Lord's;</I> he is the rightful owner of all the treasures of light and
|
|
bliss in the upper and better world, and is in the full possession of
|
|
them, for he is himself infinitely bright and happy.
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|
|
|
(2.) His goodness is large, for <I>the earth he has given to the
|
|
children of men,</I> having designed it, when he made it, for their
|
|
use, to find them with meat, drink, and lodging. Not but that still he
|
|
is proprietor in chief; <I>the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness
|
|
thereof;</I> but he has let out that vineyard to these unthankful
|
|
husbandmen, and from them he expects the rents and services; for,
|
|
though he has given them the earth, his eye is upon them, and he will
|
|
call them to render an account how they use it. Calvin complains that
|
|
profane wicked people, in his days, perverted this scripture, and made
|
|
a jest of it, which some in our days do, arguing, in banter, that God,
|
|
having given the earth to the children of men, will no more look after
|
|
it, nor after them upon it, but they may do what they will with it, and
|
|
make the best of it as their portion; it is as it were thrown like a
|
|
prey among them, Let him seize it that can. It is a pity that such an
|
|
instance as this gives of God's bounty to man, and such a proof as
|
|
arises from it of man's obligation to God, should be thus abused. From
|
|
the highest heavens, it is certain, God beholds all the children of
|
|
men; to them he has given the earth; but to the children of God heaven
|
|
is given.
|
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|
2. The dead are not capable of praising him
|
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|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
nor <I>any that go into silence.</I> The soul indeed lives in a state
|
|
of separation from the body and is capable of praising God; and <I>the
|
|
souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burdens of the
|
|
flesh,</I> do praise God, are still praising him; for they go up to the
|
|
land of perfect light and constant business. But the dead body cannot
|
|
praise God; death puts an end to our glorifying God in this world of
|
|
trial and conflict, to all our services in the field; the grave is a
|
|
land of darkness and silence, where there is no work or device. This
|
|
they plead with God for deliverance out of the hand of their enemies,
|
|
"Lord, if they prevail to cut us off, the idols will carry the day, and
|
|
there will be none to praise thee, to bear thy name, and to bear a
|
|
testimony against the worshippers of idols." <I>The dead praise not the
|
|
Lord,</I> so as we do in the business and for the comforts of this
|
|
life. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:9,88:10">Ps. xxx. 9; lxxxviii. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
3. Therefore it concerns us to praise him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>But we,</I> we that are alive, <I>will bless the Lord;</I> we and
|
|
those that shall come after us, will do it, <I>from this time forth and
|
|
for evermore,</I> to the end of time; we and those we shall remove to,
|
|
<I>from this time forth</I> and to eternity. <I>The dead praise not the
|
|
Lord,</I> therefore we will do it the more diligently."
|
|
|
|
(1.) Others are dead, and an end is thereby put to their service, and
|
|
therefore we will lay out ourselves to do so much the more for God,
|
|
that we may fill up the gap. <I>Moses my servant is dead, now
|
|
therefore, Joshua, arise.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) We ourselves must shortly go to the land of silence; <I>but, while
|
|
we do live, we will bless the Lord,</I> will improve our time and work
|
|
that work of him that sent us into the world to praise him before the
|
|
night comes, and because <I>the night comes, wherein no man can work.
|
|
The Lord will bless us</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>);
|
|
|
|
he will do well for us, and therefore <I>we will bless</I> him, we will
|
|
speak well of him. Poor returns for such receivings! Nay, we will not
|
|
only do it ourselves, but will engage others to do it. <I>Praise the
|
|
Lord;</I> praise him with us; praise him in your places, as we in ours;
|
|
praise him when we are gone, that he may be praised <I>for evermore.
|
|
Hallelujah.</I></P>
|
|
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