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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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[<A HREF="MHC19146.HTM">Previous</A>]
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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 CXLVII.</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 another psalm of praise. Some think it was penned after the
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return of the Jews from their captivity; but it is so much of a piece
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with
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+145:1-21">Ps. cxlv.</A>
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that I rather think it was penned by David, and what is said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:2,13">ver. 2, 13</A>)
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may well enough be applied to the first building and fortifying of
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Jerusalem in his time, and the gathering in of those that had been
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out-casts in Saul's time. The Septuagint divides it into two; and we
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may divide it into the first and second part, but both of the same
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import.
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I. We are called upon to praise God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:1,7,12">ver. 1, 7, 12</A>.
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II. We are furnished with matter for praise, for God is to be
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glorified,
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1. As the God of nature, and so he is very great,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:4,5,8,9,15-18">ver. 4, 5, 8, 9, 15-18</A>.
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2. As the God of grace, comforting his people,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:3,6,10,11">ver. 3, 6, 10, 11</A>.
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3. As the God of Israel, Jerusalem, and Zion, settling their civil
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state
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:2,13,14">ver. 2, 13, 14</A>),
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and especially settling religion among them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:19,20">ver. 19, 20</A>.
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It is easy, in singing this psalm, to apply it to ourselves, both as to
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personal and national mercies, were it but as easy to do so with
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suitable affections.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps147_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_11"> </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>A Call to Praise God; Reasons for Praise.</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 Praise ye the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: for <I>it is</I> good to sing praises unto our
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God; for <I>it is</I> pleasant; <I>and</I> praise is comely.
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2 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the
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outcasts of Israel.
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3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
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4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by
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<I>their</I> names.
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5 Great <I>is</I> our Lord, and of great power: his understanding
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<I>is</I> infinite.
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6 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to
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the ground.
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7 Sing unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the
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harp unto our God:
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8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for
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the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
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9 He giveth to the beast his food, <I>and</I> to the young ravens
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which cry.
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10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh
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not pleasure in the legs of a man.
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11 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those
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that hope in his mercy.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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I. The duty of praise is recommended to us. It is not without reason
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that we are thus called to it again and again: <I>Praise you the
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Lord</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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and again
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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<I>Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving, sing praise upon the harp to
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our God</I> (let all our praises be directed to him and centre in him),
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<I>for it is good</I> to do so; it is our duty, and therefore good in
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itself; it is our interest, and therefore good for us. It is acceptable
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to our Creator and it answers the end of our creation. The law for it
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is holy, just, and good; the practice of it will turn to a good
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account. It is good, for
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1. It is pleasant. Holy joy or delight are required as the principle of
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it, and that is pleasant to us as men; giving glory to God is the
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design and business of it, and that is pleasant to us as saints that
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are devoted to his honour. Praising God is work that is its own wages;
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it is heaven upon earth; it is what we should be in as in our element.
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2. It is comely; it is that which becomes us as reasonable creatures,
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much more as people in covenant with God. In giving honour to God we
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really do ourselves a great deal of honour.</P>
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<P>
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II. God is recommended to us as the proper object of our most exalted
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and enlarged praises, upon several accounts.</P>
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<P>
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1. The care he takes of his chosen people,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Is Jerusalem to be raised out of small beginnings? Is it to be
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recovered out of its ruins? In both cases, <I>The Lord builds up
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Jerusalem.</I> The gospel-church, the Jerusalem that is from above, is
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of this building. He framed the model of it in his own counsels; he
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founded it by the preaching of his gospel; he adds to it daily such as
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shall be saved, and so increases it. He will build it up unto
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perfection, build it up as high as heaven. Are any of his people
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outcasts? Have they made themselves so by their own folly? He gathers
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them by giving them repentance and bringing them again into the
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communion of saints. Have they been forced out by war, famine, or
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persecution? He opens a door for their return; many that were missing,
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and thought to be lost, are brought back, and those that were scattered
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in the cloudy and dark day are gathered together again.</P>
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<P>
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2. The comforts he has laid up for true penitents,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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They are <I>broken in heart,</I> and wounded, humbled, and troubled,
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for sin, inwardly pained at the remembrance of it, as a man is that is
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sorely wounded. Their very hearts are not only pricked, but rent, under
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the sense of the dishonour they have done to God and the injury they
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have done to themselves by sin. To those whom God heals with the
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consolations of his Spirit he speaks peace, assures them that their
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sins are pardoned and that he is reconciled to them, and so makes them
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easy, pours the balm of Gilead into the bleeding wounds, and then binds
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them up, and makes them to rejoice. Those who have had experience of
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this need not be called upon to praise the Lord; for when he brought
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them <I>out of the horrible pit,</I> and <I>set their feet upon a
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rock,</I> he <I>put a new song into their mouths,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+40:2,3">Ps. xl. 2, 3</A>.
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And for this let others praise him also.</P>
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<P>
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3. The sovereign dominion he has over the lights of heaven,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:4,5"><I>v.</I> 4, 5</A>.
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The stars are innumerable, many of them being scarcely discernible with
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the naked eye, and yet he counts them, and knows the exact number of
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them, for they are all the work of his hands and the instruments of his
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providence. Their bulk and power are very great; but <I>he calleth them
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all by their names,</I> which shows his dominion over them and the
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command he has them at, to make what use of them he pleases. They are
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his servants, his soldiers; he musters them, he marshals them; they
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come and go at his bidding, and all their motions are under his
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direction. He mentions this as one instance of many, to show that
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<I>great is our Lord and of great power</I> (he can do what he
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pleases), and of <I>his understanding there is no computation,</I> so
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that he can contrive every thing for the best. Man's knowledge is soon
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drained, and you have his utmost length; hitherto his wisdom can reach
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and no further. But God's knowledge is a depth that can never be
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fathomed.</P>
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<P>
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4. The pleasure he takes in humbling the proud and exalting those of
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low degree
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>The Lord lifts up the meek,</I> who abase themselves before him, and
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whom men trample on; but <I>the wicked,</I> who conduct themselves
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insolently towards God and scornfully towards all mankind, who lift up
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themselves in pride and folly, he <I>casteth down to the ground,</I>
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sometimes by very humbling providences in this world, at furthest in
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the day when their faces shall be <I>filled with everlasting shame.</I>
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God proves himself to be God by <I>looking on the proud and abasing
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them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+40:12">Job xl. 12</A>.</P>
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<P>
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5. The provision he makes for the inferior creatures. Though he is so
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great as to command the stars, he is so good as not to forget even the
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fowls,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:8,9"><I>v.</I> 8, 9</A>.
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Observe in what method he feeds man and beast.
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(1.) <I>He covereth the heaven with clouds,</I> which darken the air
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and intercept the beams of the sun, and yet in them he <I>prepareth</I>
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that <I>rain for the earth</I> which is necessary to its fruitfulness.
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Clouds look melancholy, and yet without them we could have no rain and
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consequently no fruit. Thus afflictions, for the present, look black,
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and dark, and unpleasant, and we are in heaviness because of them, as
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sometimes when the sky is overcast it makes us dull; but they are
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necessary, for from these clouds of affliction come those showers that
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make the harvest to <I>yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:11">Heb. xii. 11</A>),
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which should help to reconcile us to them. Observe the necessary
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dependence which the earth has upon the heavens, which directs us on
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earth to depend on God in heaven. All the rain with which the earth is
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watered is of God's preparing.
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(2.) By the rain which distils on the earth he <I>makes grass to grow
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upon the mountains,</I> even the high mountains, which man neither
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takes care of nor reaps the benefit of. The mountains, which are not
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watered with the springs and rivers, as the valleys are, are yet
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watered so that they are not barren.
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(3.) This grass he <I>gives</I> to <I>the beast</I> for <I>his
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food,</I> the beast of the mountains which runs wild, which man makes
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no provision for. And even the <I>young ravens,</I> which, being
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forsaken by their old ones, <I>cry,</I> are heard by him, and ways are
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found to feed them, so that they are kept from perishing in the
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nest.</P>
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<P>
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6. The complacency he takes in his people,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:10,11"><I>v.</I> 10, 11</A>.
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In times when great things are doing, and there are great expectations
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of the success of them, it concerns us to know (since the issue
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proceeds from the Lord) whom, and what, God will delight to honour and
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crown with victory. It is not the strength of armies, but the strength
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of grace, that God is pleased to own.
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(1.) Not the strength of armies--not in the cavalry, <I>for he
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delighteth not in the strength of the horse,</I> the war-horse, noted
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for his courage
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:19">Job xxxix. 19</A>,
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&c.)--nor in the infantry, for he <I>taketh no pleasure in the legs of a
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man;</I> he does not mean the swiftness of them for flight, to quit the
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field, but the steadiness of them for charging, to stand the ground. If
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one king, making war with another king, goes to God to pray for
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success, it will not avail him to plead, "Lord, I have a gallant army,
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the horse and foot in good order; it is a pity that they should suffer
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any disgrace;" for that is no argument with God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+20:7">Ps. xx. 7</A>.
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Jehoshaphat's was much better: <I>Lord, we have no might,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+20:12">2 Chron. xx. 12</A>.
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But,
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(2.) God is pleased to own the strength of grace. A serious and
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suitable regard to God is that which is, in the sight of God, of great
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price in such a case. The Lord accepts and <I>takes pleasure</I> in
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those that <I>fear him and that hope in his mercy.</I> Observe,
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[1.] A holy fear of God and hope in God not only may consist, but must
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concur. In the same heart, at the same time, there must be both a
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reverence of his majesty and a complacency in his goodness, both a
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believing dread of his wrath and a believing expectation of his favour;
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not that we must hang in suspense between hope and fear, but we must
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act under the gracious influences of hope and fear. Our fear must save
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our hope from swelling into presumption, and our hope must save our
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fear from sinking into despair; thus must we take our work before us.
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[2.] We must <I>hope in God's mercy,</I> his general mercy, even when
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we cannot find a particular promise to stay ourselves upon. A humble
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confidence in the goodness of God's nature is very pleasing to him, as
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that which turns to the glory of that attribute in which he most
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glories. Every man of honour loves to be trusted.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps147_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps147_20"> </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>Jerusalem and Zion Called to Praise to God; God's Favour to Israel.</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>12 Praise the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.
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13 For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath
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blessed thy children within thee.
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14 He maketh peace <I>in</I> thy borders, <I>and</I> filleth thee with
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the finest of the wheat.
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15 He sendeth forth his commandment <I>upon</I> earth: his word
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runneth very swiftly.
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16 He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like
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ashes.
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17 He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before
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his cold?
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18 He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his
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wind to blow, <I>and</I> the waters flow.
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19 He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his
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judgments unto Israel.
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20 He hath not dealt so with any nation: and <I>as for his</I>
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judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Jerusalem, and Zion, the holy city, the holy hill, are here called upon
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to <I>praise God,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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For where should praise be offered up to God but where his altar is?
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Where may we expect that glory should be given to him but in the beauty
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of holiness? Let the inhabitants of Jerusalem praise the Lord in their
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own houses; let the priests and Levites, who attend in Zion, the city
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of their solemnities, in a special manner praise the Lord. They have
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more cause to do it than others, and they lie under greater obligations
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to do it than others; for it is their business, it is their profession.
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"<I>Praise thy God, O Zion!</I> he is thine, and therefore thou art
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bound to praise him; his being thine includes all happiness, so that
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thou canst never want matter for praise." Jerusalem and Zion must
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praise God,</P>
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<P>
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I. For the prosperity and flourishing state of their civil interests,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:13,14"><I>v.</I> 13, 14</A>.
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1. For their common safety. They had gates, and kept their gates barred
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in times of danger; but that would not have been an effectual security
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to them if God had not <I>strengthened the bars of their gates</I> and
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fortified their fortifications. The most probable means we can devise
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for our own preservation will not answer the end, unless God give his
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blessing with them; we must therefore in the careful and diligent use
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of those means, depend upon him for that blessing, and attribute the
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undisturbed repose of our land more to the wall of fire than to the
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wall of water round about us,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+2:5">Zech. ii. 5</A>.
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2. For the increase of their people. This strengthens the bars of the
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gates as much as any thing: <I>He hath blessed thy children within
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thee,</I> with that first and great blessing, <I>Be fruitful, and
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multiply, and replenish the land.</I> It is a comfort to parents to see
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their children blessed of the Lord
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:9">Isa. lxi. 9</A>),
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and a comfort to the generation that is going off to see the rising
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generation numerous and hopeful, for which blessing God must be
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blessed.
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3. For the public tranquillity, that they were delivered from the
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terrors and desolations of war: <I>He makes peace in thy borders,</I>
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by putting an end to the wars that were, and preventing the wars that
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were threatened and feared. <I>He makes peace within thy borders,</I>
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that is, in all parts of the country, by composing differences among
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neighbours, that there may be no intestine broils and animosities, and
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<I>upon thy borders,</I> that they may not be attacked by invasions
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from abroad. If there be trouble any where, it is in the borders, the
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marches of a country; the frontier-towns lie most exposed, so that, if
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there be peace in the borders, there is a universal peace, a mercy we
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can never be sufficiently thankful for.
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4. For great plenty, the common effect of peace: He <I>filleth thee
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with the finest of the wheat</I>--wheat, the most valuable grain, the
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fat, the finest of that, and a fulness thereof. What would they more?
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Canaan abounded with the best wheat
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+32:14">Deut. xxxii. 14</A>)
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and exported it to the countries abroad, as appears,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+27:17">Ezek. xxvii. 17</A>.
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The land of Israel was not enriched with precious stones nor spices,
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but with <I>the finest of the wheat,</I> with bread, which strengthens
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man's heart. This made it the glory of all lands, and for this God was
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praised in Zion.</P>
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<P>
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II. For the wonderful instances of his power in the weather,
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|
particularly the winter-weather. He that protects Zion and Jerusalem is
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that God of power from whom all the powers of nature are derived and on
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whom they depend, and who produces all the changes of the seasons,
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which, if they were not common, would astonish us.</P>
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<P>
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1. In general, whatever alterations there are in this lower world (and
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it is that world that is subject to continual changes) they are
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produced by the will, and power, and providence of God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
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<I>He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth,</I> as one that has an
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|
incontestable authority to give orders, and innumerable attendants
|
|
ready to carry his orders and put them in execution. As the world was
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|
at first made, so it is still upheld and governed, by a word of
|
|
almighty power. <I>God speaks and it is done,</I> for all are his
|
|
servants. That word takes effect, not only surely, but speedily. <I>His
|
|
word runneth very swiftly,</I> for nothing can oppose or retard it. As
|
|
the lightning, which passes through the air in an instant, such is the
|
|
word of God's providence, and such the word of his grace, when it is
|
|
sent forth with commission,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+17:24">Luke xvii. 24</A>.
|
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Angels, who carry his word and fulfil it, <I>fly swiftly,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+9:21">Dan. ix. 21</A>.</P>
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<P>
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2. In particular, frosts and thaws are both of them wonderful changes,
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|
and in both we must acknowledge the word of his power.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) Frosts are from God. With him are the <I>treasures of the snow and
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|
the hail</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+38:22,23">Job xxxviii. 22, 23</A>),
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and out of these treasures he draws as he pleases.
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|
[1.] <I>He giveth snow like wool.</I> It is compared to wool for its
|
|
whiteness
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+1:18">Isa. i. 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
and its softness; it falls silently, and makes no more noise than the
|
|
fall of a lock of wool; it covers the earth, and keeps it warm like a
|
|
fleece of wool, and so promotes its fruitfulness. See how God can work
|
|
by contraries, and bring meat out of the eater, can warm the earth with
|
|
cold snow.
|
|
|
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[2.] <I>He scatters the hoar-frost,</I> which is dew congealed, as the
|
|
snow and hail are rain congealed. This looks like ashes scattered upon
|
|
the grass, and is sometimes prejudicial to the products of the earth
|
|
and blasts them as if it were hot ashes,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+78:47">Ps. lxxviii. 47</A>.
|
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|
[3.] <I>He casts forth his ice like morsels,</I> which may be
|
|
understood either of large hail-stones, which are as ice in the air, or
|
|
of the ice which covers the face of the waters, and when it is broken,
|
|
though naturally it was as drops of drink, it is as morsels of meat, or
|
|
crusts of bread.
|
|
|
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[4.] When we see the frost, and snow, and ice, we feel it in the air:
|
|
<I>Who can stand before his cold?</I> The beasts cannot; they retire
|
|
into dens
|
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|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+37:8">Job xxxvii. 8</A>);
|
|
|
|
they are easily conquered then,
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+23:20">2 Sam. xxiii. 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
Men cannot, but are forced to protect themselves by fires, or furs, or
|
|
both, and all little enough where and when the cold is in extremity. We
|
|
see not the causes when we feel the effects; and therefore we must call
|
|
it <I>his cold;</I> it is of his sending, and therefore we must bear it
|
|
patiently, and be thankful for warm houses, and clothes, and beds, to
|
|
relieve us against the rigour of the season, and must give him the
|
|
glory of his wisdom and sovereignty, his power and faithfulness, which
|
|
shall not cease any more than summer,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+8:22">Gen. viii. 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
And let us also infer from it, If we cannot stand before the cold of
|
|
his frosts, how can we stand before the heat of his wrath?</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) Thaws are from God. When he pleases
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>)
|
|
|
|
<I>he sends out his word and melts them;</I> the frost, the snow, the
|
|
ice, are all dissolved quickly, in order to which he <I>causes the
|
|
wind,</I> the <I>south wind, to blow,</I> and <I>the waters,</I> which
|
|
were frozen, <I>flow</I> again as they did before. We are soon sensible
|
|
of the change, but we see not the causes of it, but must resolve it
|
|
into the will of the First Cause. And in it we must take notice not
|
|
only of the power of God, that he can so suddenly, so insensibly, make
|
|
such a great and universal alteration in the temper of the air and the
|
|
face of the earth (what cannot he do that does this every winter,
|
|
perhaps often every winter?) but also of the goodness of God. Hard
|
|
weather does not always continue; it would be sad if it should. He does
|
|
not <I>contend for ever,</I> but <I>renews the face of the earth.</I>
|
|
As he remembered Noah, and released him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+8:1">Gen. viii. 1</A>),
|
|
|
|
so he remembers the earth, and his covenant with the earth,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+2:11,12">Cant. ii. 11, 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
This thawing word may represent the gospel of Christ, and this thawing
|
|
wind the Spirit of Christ (for the Spirit is compared to the wind,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+3:8">John iii. 8</A>);
|
|
|
|
both are sent for the melting of frozen souls. Converting grace, like
|
|
the thaw, softens the heart that was hard, moistens it, and melts it
|
|
into tears of repentance; it warms good affections, and makes them to
|
|
flow, which, before, were chilled and stopped up. The change which the
|
|
thaw makes is universal and yet gradual; it is very evident, and yet
|
|
how it is done is unaccountable: such is the change wrought in the
|
|
conversion of a soul, when God's word and Spirit are sent to melt it
|
|
and restore it to itself.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. For his distinguishing favour to Israel, in giving them his word
|
|
and ordinances, a much more valuable blessing than their peace and
|
|
plenty
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
|
|
|
|
as much as the soul is more excellent than the body. Jacob and Israel
|
|
had God's statutes and judgments among them. They were under his
|
|
peculiar government; the municipal laws of their nation were of his
|
|
framing and enacting, and their constitution was a theocracy. They had
|
|
the benefit of divine revelation; the great things of God's law were
|
|
written to them. They had a priesthood of divine institution for all
|
|
things pertaining to God, and prophets for all extraordinary occasions.
|
|
No people besides went upon sure grounds in their religion. Now this
|
|
was,
|
|
|
|
1. A preventing mercy. They did not find out God's statutes and
|
|
judgments of themselves, but <I>God showed his word unto Jacob,</I> and
|
|
by that word he made known to them his <I>statutes and judgments.</I>
|
|
It is a great mercy to any people to have the word of God among them;
|
|
for <I>faith comes by hearing</I> and reading that word, that faith
|
|
without which it is impossible to please God.
|
|
|
|
2. A distinguishing mercy, and upon that account the more obliging:
|
|
"<I>He hath not dealt so with every nation,</I> not with <I>any</I>
|
|
nation; and, <I>as for his judgments, they have not known them,</I> nor
|
|
are likely to know them till the Messiah shall come and take down the
|
|
partition-wall between Jew and Gentile, that the gospel may be preached
|
|
to every creature." Other nations had plenty of outward good things;
|
|
some nations were very rich, others had pompous powerful princes and
|
|
polite literature, but none were blessed with God's statutes and
|
|
judgments as Israel were. Let <I>Israel</I> therefore <I>praise the
|
|
Lord</I> in the observance of these statutes. <I>Lord, how is it that
|
|
thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not to the world! Even so,
|
|
Father, because it seemed good in thy eyes.</I></P>
|
|
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