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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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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 CXVI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This is a thanksgiving psalm; it is not certain whether David penned it
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upon any particular occasion or upon a general review of the many
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gracious deliverances God had wrought for him, out of six troubles and
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seven, which deliverances draw from him many very lively expressions of
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devotion, love, and gratitude; and with similar pious affections our
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souls should be lifted up to God in singing it. Observe,
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I. The great distress and danger that the psalmist was in, which almost
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drove him to despair,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:3,10,11">ver. 3, 10, 11</A>.
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II. The application he made to God in that distress,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:4">ver. 4</A>.
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III. The experience he had of God's goodness to him, in answer to
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prayer; God heard him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>),
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pitied him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:5,6">ver. 5, 6</A>),
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delivered him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:8">ver. 8</A>.
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IV His care respecting the acknowledgments he should make of the
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goodness of God to him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:12">ver. 12</A>.
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1. He will love God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:1">ver. 1</A>.
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2. He will continue to call upon him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:2,13,17">ver. 2, 13, 17</A>.
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3. He will rest in him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:7">ver. 7</A>.
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4. He will walk before him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:9">ver. 9</A>.
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5. He will pay his vows of thanksgiving, in which he will own the
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tender regard God had to him, and this publicly,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:13-15,17-19">ver. 13-15, 17-19</A>.
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Lastly, He will continue God's faithful servant to his life's end,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:16">ver. 16</A>.
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These are such breathings of a holy soul as bespeak it very happy.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps116_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps116_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps116_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps116_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps116_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps116_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps116_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps116_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps116_9"> </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>Grateful Acknowledgments.</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 I love the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, because he hath heard my voice <I>and</I> my
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supplications.
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2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I
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call upon <I>him</I> as long as I live.
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3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat
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hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
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4 Then called I upon the name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, I beseech
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thee, deliver my soul.
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5 Gracious <I>is</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and righteous; yea, our God <I>is</I>
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merciful.
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6 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he
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helped me.
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7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath dealt
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bountifully with thee.
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8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from
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tears, <I>and</I> my feet from falling.
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9 I will walk before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> in the land of the living.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In this part of the psalm we have,</P>
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<P>
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I. A general account of David's experience, and his pious resolutions
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>),
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which are as the contents of the whole psalm, and give an idea of it.
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1. He had experienced God's goodness to him in answer to prayer: <I>He
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has heard my voice and my supplications.</I> David, in straits, had
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humbly and earnestly begged mercy of God, and God had heard him, that
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is, had graciously accepted his prayer, taken cognizance of his case,
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and granted him an answer of peace. <I>He has inclined his ear to
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me.</I> This intimates his readiness and willingness to hear prayer; he
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lays his ear, as it were, to the mouth of prayer, to hear it, though it
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be but whispered <I>in groanings that cannot be uttered.</I> He
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<I>hearkens and hears,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+8:6">Jer. viii. 6</A>.
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Yet it implies, also, that it is wonderful condescension in God to hear
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prayer; it is bowing his ear. Lord, what is man, that God should thus
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stoop to him!--
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2. He resolved, in consideration thereof, to devote himself entirely to
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God and to his honour.
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(1.) He will love God the better. He begins the psalm somewhat abruptly
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with a profession of that which his heart was full of: <I>I love the
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Lord</I> (as
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+18:1">Ps. xviii. 1</A>);
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and fitly does he begin with this, in compliance with the first and
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great commandment and with God's end in all the gifts of his bounty to
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us. "I love him only, and nothing besides him, but what I love for
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him." God's love of compassion towards us justly requires our love of
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complacency in him.
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(2.) He will love prayer the better: <I>Therefore I will call upon
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him.</I> The experiences we have had of God's goodness to us, in answer
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to prayer, are great encouragements to us to continue praying; we have
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sped well, notwithstanding our unworthiness and our infirmities in
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prayer, and therefore why may we not? God answers prayer, to make us
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love it, and expects this from us, in return for his favour. Why should
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we glean in any other field when we have been so well treated in this?
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Nay, <I>I will call upon him as long as I live</I> (Heb., <I>In my
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days</I>), every day, to the last day. Note, As long as we continue
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living we must continue praying. This breath we must breathe till we
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breathe our last, because then we shall take our leave of it, and till
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then we have continual occasion for it.</P>
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<P>
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II. A more particular narrative of God's gracious dealings with him and
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the good impressions thereby made upon him.</P>
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<P>
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1. God, in his dealings with him, showed himself a good God, and
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therefore he bears this testimony to him, and leaves it upon record
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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"<I>Gracious is the Lord, and righteous.</I> He is righteous, and did
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me no wrong in afflicting me; he is gracious, and was very kind in
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supporting and delivering me." Let us all speak of God as we have
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found; and have we ever found him otherwise than just and good? No;
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<I>our God is merciful,</I> merciful to us, and <I>it is of his mercies
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that we are not consumed.</I></P>
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<P>
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(1.) Let us review David's experiences.
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[1.] He was in great distress and trouble
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>The sorrows of death compassed me,</I> that is, such sorrows as were
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likely to be his death, such as were thought to be the very pangs of
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death. Perhaps the extremity of bodily pain, or trouble of mind, is
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called here <I>the pains of hell,</I> terror of conscience arising from
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sense of guilt. Note, The sorrows of death are great sorrows, and the
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pains of hell great pains. Let us <I>therefore</I> give diligence to
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prepare for the former, that we may escape the latter. These
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<I>compassed</I> him on every side; they arrested him, <I>got hold upon
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him,</I> so that he could not escape. <I>Without were fightings,
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within were fears. "I found trouble and sorrow;</I> not only they found
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me, but I found them." Those that are melancholy have a great deal of
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sorrow of their own finding, a great deal of trouble which they create
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to themselves, by indulging fancy and passion; this has sometimes been
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the infirmity of good men. When God's providence makes our condition
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bad let us not by our own imprudence make it worse.
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[2.] In his trouble he had recourse to God by faithful and fervent
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prayer,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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He tells us that he prayed: <I>Then called I upon the name of the
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Lord;</I> then, when he was brought to the last extremity, then he made
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use of this, not as the last remedy, but as the old and only remedy,
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which he had found a salve for every sore. He tells us what his prayer
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was; it was short, but to the purpose: "<I>O Lord! I beseech thee,
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deliver my soul;</I> save me from death, and save me from sin, for that
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is it that is killing to the soul." Both the humility and the fervency
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of his prayer are intimated in these words, <I>O Lord! I beseech
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thee.</I> When we come to the throne of grace we must come as beggars
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for an alms, for necessary food. The following words
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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<I>Gracious is the Lord,</I> may be taken as part of his prayer, as a
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plea to enforce his request and encourage his faith and hope: "Lord
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<I>deliver my soul,</I> for thou art <I>gracious</I> and
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<I>merciful,</I> and that only I depend upon for relief."
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[3.] God, in answer to his prayer, came in with seasonable and
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effectual relief. He found by experience that God is gracious and
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merciful, and in his compassion <I>preserves the simple,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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Because they are simple (that is, sincere, and upright, and without
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guile) therefore God preserves them, as he preserved Paul, who had his
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conversation in the world <I>not with fleshly wisdom, but in simplicity
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and godly sincerity.</I> Though they are simple (that is, weak, and
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helpless, and unable to shift for themselves, men of no depth, no
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design) yet God preserves them, because they commit themselves to him
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and have no confidence in their own sufficiency. Those who by faith put
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themselves under God's protection shall be safe.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) Let David speak his own experience.
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[1.] God supported him under his troubles: "<I>I was brought low,</I>
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was plunged into the depth of misery, and then <I>he helped me,</I>
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helped me both to bear the worst and to hope the best, helped me to
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pray, else desire had failed, helped me to wait, else faith had failed.
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I was one of the simple ones whom God preserved, the poor man who
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<I>cried and the Lord heard him,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+34:6">Ps. xxxiv. 6</A>.
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Note, God's people are never brought so low but that everlasting arms
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are under them, and those cannot sink who are thus sustained. Nay, it
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is in the time of need, at the dead lift, that God chooses to help,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+32:36">Deut. xxxii. 36</A>.
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[2.] God saved him out of his troubles
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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<I>Thou hast delivered,</I> which means either the preventing of the
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distress he was ready to fall into or the recovering of him from the
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distress he was already in. God graciously delivered, <I>First,</I> His
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<I>soul from death.</I> Note, It is God's great mercy to us that we are
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alive; and the mercy is the more sensible if we have been at death's
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door and yet have been spared and raised up, just turned to destruction
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and yet ordered to return. That a life so often forfeited, and so often
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exposed, should yet be lengthened out, is a miracle of mercy. The
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deliverance of the soul from spiritual and eternal death is especially
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to be acknowledged by all those who are now sanctified and shall be
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shortly glorified. <I>Secondly,</I> His <I>eyes from tears,</I> that
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is, his heart from inordinate grief. It is a great mercy to be kept
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either from the occasions of sorrow, the evil that causes grief, or, at
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least, from being swallowed up with over-much sorrow. When God comforts
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those that are cast down, looses the mourners' sackcloth and girds them
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with gladness, then he delivers <I>their eyes from tears,</I> which yet
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will not be perfectly done till we come to that world where God shall
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<I>wipe away all tears from our eyes. Thirdly,</I> His <I>feet from
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falling,</I> from falling into sin and so into misery. It is a great
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mercy, when our feet are almost gone, to have God <I>hold us by the
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right hand</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+72:2,23">Ps. lxxii. 2, 23</A>),
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so that though we enter into temptation we are not overcome and
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overthrown by the temptation. Or, "Thou <I>hast delivered my feet from
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falling</I> into the grave, when I had one foot there already."</P>
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<P>
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2. David, in his returns of gratitude to God, showed himself a good
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man. God had done all this for him, and therefore,</P>
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<P>
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(1.) He will live a life of delight in God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>Return unto thy rest, O my soul!</I>
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[1.] "Repose thyself and be easy, and do not agitate thyself with
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distrustful disquieting fears as thou hast sometimes done. Quiet
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thyself, and then enjoy thyself. God has dealt kindly with thee, and
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therefore thou needest not fear that ever he will deal hardly with
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thee."
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[2.] "Repose thyself in God. Return to him as thy rest, and seek not
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for that rest in the creature which is to be had in him only." God is
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the soul's rest; in him only it can <I>dwell at ease;</I> to him
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therefore it must retire, and rejoice in him. He has <I>dealt
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bountifully with us;</I> he has provided sufficiently for our comfort
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and refreshment, and encouraged us to come to him for the benefit of
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it, at all times, upon all occasions; let us therefore be satisfied
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with that. Return to that rest which Christ gives to <I>the weary and
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heavy-laden,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+11:28">Matt. xi. 28</A>.
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Return to thy Noah; his name signifies <I>rest,</I> as the dove, when
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she found no rest, returned to the ark. I know no word more proper to
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close our eyes with at night, when we go to sleep, nor to close them
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with at death, that long sleep, than this, <I>Return to thy rest, O my
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soul!</I></P>
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<P>
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(2.) He will live a life of devotedness to God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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<I>I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living,</I> that is,
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in this world, as long as I continue to live in it. Note,
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[1.] It is our great duty to <I>walk before the Lord,</I> to do all we
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do as becomes us in his presence and under his eye, to approve
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ourselves to him as a holy God by conformity to him as our sovereign
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Lord, by subjection to his will, and, as a God all-sufficient, by a
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cheerful confidence in him. <I>I am the almighty God; walk before
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me,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:1">Gen. xvii. 1</A>.
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<I>We must walk worthy of the Lord unto all well-pleasing.</I>
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[2.] The consideration of this, that we are in the land of the living,
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should engage and quicken us to do so. We are spared and continued in
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the land of the living by the power, and patience, and tender mercy of
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our God, and therefore must make conscience of our duty to him. The
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<I>land of the living</I> is a land of mercy, which we ought to be
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thankful for; it is a land of opportunity, which we should improve.
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Canaan is called the <I>land of the living</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:20">Ezek. xxvi. 20</A>),
|
|
|
|
and those whose lot is cast in such a valley of vision are in a special
|
|
manner concerned to <I>set the Lord always before them.</I> If God has
|
|
delivered our soul from death, we must walk before him. A new life must
|
|
be a new life indeed.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ps116_10"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps116_11"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps116_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps116_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps116_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps116_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps116_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps116_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps116_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps116_19"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Grateful Acknowledgments; Devout Resolutions.</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>10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly
|
|
afflicted:
|
|
11 I said in my haste, All men <I>are</I> liars.
|
|
12 What shall I render unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>for</I> all his benefits
|
|
toward me?
|
|
13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of
|
|
the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
14 I will pay my vows unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> now in the presence of all
|
|
his people.
|
|
15 Precious in the sight of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> the death of his
|
|
saints.
|
|
16 O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, truly I <I>am</I> thy servant; I <I>am</I> thy servant, <I>and</I>
|
|
the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
|
|
17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will
|
|
call upon the name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
18 I will pay my vows unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> now in the presence of all
|
|
his people,
|
|
19 In the courts of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>'s house, in the midst of thee, O
|
|
Jerusalem. Praise ye the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The Septuagint and some other ancient versions make these verses a
|
|
distinct psalm separate from the former; and some have called it the
|
|
<I>Martyr's psalm,</I> I suppose for the sake of
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
Three things David here makes confession of:--</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. His faith
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I believed, therefore have I spoken.</I> This is quoted by the
|
|
apostle
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+4:13">2 Cor. iv. 13</A>)
|
|
|
|
with application to himself and his fellow-ministers, who, though they
|
|
suffered for Christ, were not ashamed to own him. David believed the
|
|
being, providence, and promise of God, particularly the assurance God
|
|
had given him by Samuel that he should exchange his crook for a
|
|
sceptre: a great deal of hardship he went through in the belief of
|
|
this, and therefore he spoke, spoke to God by prayer
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
|
|
|
|
by praise,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that believe in God will address themselves to him. He spoke to
|
|
himself; because he believed, he said to his soul, <I>Return to thy
|
|
rest.</I> He spoke to others, told his friends what his hope was, and
|
|
what the ground of it, though it exasperated Saul against him and he
|
|
was greatly afflicted for it. Note, Those that believe with the heart
|
|
must confess with the mouth, for the glory of God, the encouragement of
|
|
others, and to evidence their own sincerity,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+10:10,Ac+9:19,20">
|
|
Rom. x. 10; Acts ix. 19, 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that live in hope of the kingdom of glory must neither be afraid
|
|
nor ashamed to own their obligation to him that purchased it for them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+10:22">Matt. x. 22</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. His fear
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I was greatly afflicted,</I> and then <I>I said in my haste</I>
|
|
(somewhat rashly and inconsiderately--in my <I>amazement</I> (so some),
|
|
when I was in a consternation--<I>in my flight</I> (so others), when
|
|
Saul was in pursuit of me), <I>All men are liars,</I> all with whom he
|
|
had to do, Saul and all his courtiers; his friends, who he thought
|
|
would stand by him, deserted him and disowned him when he fell into
|
|
disgrace at court. And some think it is especially a reflection on
|
|
Samuel, who had promised him the kingdom, but deceived him; for, says
|
|
he, <I>I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+27:1">1 Sam. xxvii. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. The faith of the best of saints is not perfect, nor always alike
|
|
strong and active. David <I>believed</I> and <I>spoke well</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
but now, through unbelief, he spoke amiss.
|
|
|
|
2. When we are under great and sore afflictions, especially if they
|
|
continue long, we are apt to grow weary, to despond, and almost to
|
|
despair of a good issue. Let us not therefore be harsh in censuring
|
|
others, but carefully watch over ourselves when we are in trouble,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+39:1-3">Ps. xxxix. 1-3</A>.
|
|
|
|
3. If good men speak amiss, it is in their haste, through the surprise
|
|
of a temptation, not deliberately and with premeditation, as the wicked
|
|
man, who <I>sits in the seat of the scornful</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:1">Ps. i. 1</A>),
|
|
|
|
sits and <I>speaks against his brother,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+50:19,20">Ps. l. 19, 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
4. What we speak amiss, in haste, we must by repentance unsay again (as
|
|
David,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:22">Ps. xxxi. 22</A>),
|
|
|
|
and then it shall not be laid to our charge. Some make this to be no
|
|
rash word of David's. He was greatly afflicted and forced to fly, but
|
|
he did not trust in man, nor make flesh his arm. No: he said, "<I>All
|
|
men are liars;</I> as <I>men of low degree are vanity,</I> so <I>men of
|
|
high degree are a lie,</I> and therefore my confidence was in God only,
|
|
and in him I cannot be disappointed." In this sense the apostle seems
|
|
to take it.
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+3:4">Rom. iii. 4</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Let God be true and every man a liar</I> in comparison with God. All
|
|
men are fickle and inconstant, and subject to change; and therefore let
|
|
us cease from man and cleave to God.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. His gratitude,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. God had been better to him than his
|
|
fears, and had graciously delivered him out of his distresses; and, in
|
|
consideration hereof,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He enquires what returns he shall make
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards
|
|
me?</I> Here he speaks,
|
|
|
|
(1.) As one sensible of many mercies received from God--<I>all his
|
|
benefits.</I> This psalm seems to have been penned upon occasion of
|
|
some one particular benefit
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:6,7"><I>v.</I> 6, 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
but in that one he saw many and that one brought many to mind, and
|
|
therefore now he thinks of all God's benefits towards him. Note, When
|
|
we speak of God's mercies we should magnify them and speak highly of
|
|
them.
|
|
|
|
(2.) As one solicitous and studious how to express his gratitude:
|
|
<I>What shall I render unto the Lord?</I> Not as if he thought he could
|
|
render any thing proportionable, or as a valuable consideration for
|
|
what he had received; we can no more pretend to give a recompense to
|
|
God than we can to merit any favour from him; but he desired to render
|
|
something acceptable, something that God would be pleased with as the
|
|
acknowledgment of a grateful mind. He asks God, <I>What shall I
|
|
render?</I> Asks the priest, asks his friends, or rather asks himself,
|
|
and communes with his own heart about it. Note, Having received many
|
|
benefits from God, we are concerned to enquire, <I>What shall we
|
|
render?</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. He resolves what returns he will make.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) He will in the most devout and solemn manner offer up his praises
|
|
and prayers to God,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:13,17"><I>v.</I> 13, 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
[1.] "<I>I will take the cup of salvation,</I> that is, I will offer
|
|
the drink-offerings appointed by the law, in token of my thankfulness
|
|
to God, and rejoice with my friends in God's goodness to me;" this is
|
|
called <I>the cup of deliverance</I> because drunk in memory of his
|
|
deliverance. The pious Jews had sometimes a <I>cup of blessing,</I> at
|
|
their private meals, which the master of the family drank first of,
|
|
with thanksgiving to God, and all at his table drank with him. But some
|
|
understand it not of the cup that he would present to God, but of the
|
|
cup that God would put into his hand. <I>I will receive, First,</I> The
|
|
<I>cup of affliction.</I> Many good interpreters understand it of that
|
|
cup, that bitter cup, which is yet sanctified to the saints, so that to
|
|
them it is a cup of salvation.
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+1:19">Phil. i. 19</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>This shall turn to my salvation;</I> it is a means of spiritual
|
|
health. David's sufferings were typical of Christ's, and we, in ours,
|
|
have communion with his, and his cup was indeed a cup of salvation.
|
|
"God, having bestowed so many benefits upon me, whatever cup he shall
|
|
put into my hands I will readily take it, and not dispute it; welcome
|
|
his holy will." Herein David spoke the language of the Son of David.
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+18:11">John xviii. 11</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>The cup that my Father has given me, shall I not</I> take it and
|
|
<I>drink it? Secondly,</I> The cup of consolation: "I will receive the
|
|
benefits God bestows upon me as from his hand, and taste his love in
|
|
them, as that which is <I>the portion</I> not only <I>of my
|
|
inheritance</I> in the other world, but <I>of my cup</I> in this."
|
|
|
|
[2.] <I>I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving,</I> the
|
|
thank-offerings which God required,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+7:11,12">Lev. vii. 11, 12</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. Note, Those whose hearts are truly thankful will express their
|
|
gratitude in thank-offerings. We must first <I>give our ownselves</I>
|
|
to God as <I>living sacrifices</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+12:1,2Co+8:5">Rom. xii. 1, 2 Cor. viii. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
and then lay out of what we have for his honour in works of piety and
|
|
charity. <I>Doing good</I> and <I>communicating</I> are
|
|
<I>sacrifices</I> with which <I>God is well pleased</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+13:15,16">Heb. xiii. 15, 16</A>)
|
|
|
|
and this must accompany our <I>giving thanks to his name.</I> If God
|
|
has been bountiful to us, the least we can do in return is to be
|
|
bountiful to the poor,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:2,3">Ps. xvi. 2, 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
Why should we offer that to God which costs us nothing?
|
|
|
|
[3.] <I>I will call upon the name of the Lord.</I> This he had promised
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>)
|
|
|
|
and here he repeats it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>
|
|
|
|
and again
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
If we have received kindness from a man like ourselves, we tell him
|
|
that we hope we shall never trouble him again; but God is pleased to
|
|
reckon the prayers of his people an honour to him, and a delight, and
|
|
no trouble; and therefore, in gratitude for former mercies, we must
|
|
seek to him for further mercies, and continue to <I>call upon
|
|
him.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) He will always entertain good thoughts of God, as very tender of
|
|
the lives and comforts of his people
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints,</I> so
|
|
precious that he will not gratify Saul, nor Absalom, nor any of David's
|
|
enemies, with his death, how earnestly soever they desire it. This
|
|
truth David had comforted himself with in the depth of his distress and
|
|
danger; and, the event having confirmed it, he comforts others with it
|
|
who might be in like manner exposed. God has a people, even in this
|
|
world, that are his saints, his merciful ones, or men of mercy, that
|
|
have received mercy from him and show mercy for his sake. The saints of
|
|
God are mortal and dying; nay, there are those that desire their death,
|
|
and labour all they can to hasten it, and sometimes prevail to be the
|
|
death of them; but it is <I>precious in the sight of the Lord; their
|
|
life</I> is so
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:13">2 Kings i. 13</A>);
|
|
|
|
their <I>blood</I> is so,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+72:14">Ps. lxxii. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
God often wonderfully prevents the death of his saints when there is
|
|
but a step between them and it; he takes special care about their
|
|
death, to order it for the best in all the circumstances of it; and
|
|
whoever kills them, how light soever they may make of it, they shall be
|
|
made to pay dearly for it when inquisition is made for the blood of the
|
|
saints,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+23:35">Matt. xxiii. 35</A>.
|
|
|
|
Though <I>no man lays it to heart</I> when <I>the righteous perish,</I>
|
|
God will make it to appear that he lays it to heart. This should make
|
|
us willing to die, to die for Christ, if we are called to it, that our
|
|
death shall be registered in heaven; and let that be precious to us
|
|
which is so to God.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) He will oblige himself to be God's servant all his days. Having
|
|
asked, <I>What shall I render?</I> here he surrenders himself, which
|
|
was <I>more than all burnt-offerings and sacrifice</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>O Lord! truly I am thy servant.</I> Here is,
|
|
|
|
[1.] The relation in which David professes to stand to God: "<I>I am
|
|
thy servant;</I> I choose to be so; I resolve to be so; I will live and
|
|
die in thy service." He had called God's people, who are dear to him,
|
|
<I>his saints;</I> but, when he comes to apply it to himself, he does
|
|
not say, <I>Truly I am thy saint</I> (that looked too high a title for
|
|
himself), but, <I>I am thy servant.</I> David was a king, and yet he
|
|
glories in this, that he was God's servant. It is no disparagement, but
|
|
an honour, to the greatest kings on earth, to be the servants of the
|
|
God of heaven. David does not here compliment God, as it is common
|
|
among men to say, <I>I am your servant, Sir.</I> No; "Lord, I am
|
|
<I>truly thy servant; thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I am
|
|
so.</I>" And he repeats it, as that which he took pleasure in the
|
|
thoughts of and which he was resolved to abide by: "<I>I am thy
|
|
servant, I am thy servant.</I> Let others serve what master they will,
|
|
<I>truly I am</I> they <I>servant.</I>"
|
|
|
|
[2.] The ground of that relation. Two ways men came to be
|
|
servants:--<I>First,</I> by birth. "Lord, I was born in thy house; I am
|
|
<I>the son of thy handmaid,</I> and therefore thine." It, is a great
|
|
mercy to be the children of godly parents, as it obliges us to duty and
|
|
is pleadable with God for mercy. <I>Secondly,</I> By redemption. He
|
|
that procured the release of a captive took him for his servant.
|
|
"<I>Lord, thou hast loosed my bonds;</I> those sorrows of death that
|
|
compassed me, thou hast discharged me from them, and therefore <I>I am
|
|
thy servant,</I> and entitled to thy protection as well as obliged to
|
|
thy work." <I>The very bonds which thou hast loosed shall tie me faster
|
|
unto thee.</I> Patrick.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(4.) He will make conscience of paying his vows and making good what he
|
|
had promised, not only that he would offer the sacrifices of praise,
|
|
which he had vowed to bring, but perform all his other engagements to
|
|
God, which he had laid himself under in the day of his affliction
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I will pay my vows;</I> and again,
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>now in the presence
|
|
of all his people.</I> Note, Vows are debts that must be paid, for it
|
|
is better not to vow than to vow and not pay. He will pay his vows,
|
|
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[1.] Presently; he will not, like sorry debtors, delay the payment of
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them, or beg a day; but, "<I>I will pay them now,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+5:4">Eccl. v. 4</A>.
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[2.] Publicly; he will not huddle up his praises in a corner, but what
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service he has to do for God he will do it <I>in the presence of all
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his people;</I> nor for ostentation, but to show that he was not
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ashamed of the service of God, and that others might be invited to join
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with him. He will pay his vows in the courts of the tabernacle, where
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there was a crowd of Israelites attending, <I>in the midst of
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Jerusalem,</I> that he might bring devotion into more reputation.</P>
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