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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P S A L M S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>PSALM LXXI.</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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David penned this psalm in his old age, as appears by several passages
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in it, which makes many think that it was penned at the time of
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Absalom's rebellion; for that was the great trouble of his later days.
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It might be occasioned by Sheba's insurrection, or some trouble that
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happened to him in that part of his life of which it was foretold that
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the sword should not depart from his house. But he is not
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over-particular in representing his case, because he intended it for
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the general use of God's people in their afflictions, especially those
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they meet with in their declining years; for this psalm, above any
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other, is fitted for the use of the old disciples of Jesus Christ.
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I. He begins the psalm with believing prayers, with prayers that God
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would deliver him and save him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:2,4">ver. 2, 4</A>),
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and not cast him off
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:9">ver. 9</A>)
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or be far from him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:12">ver. 12</A>),
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and that his enemies might be put to shame,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:13">ver. 13</A>.
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He pleads his confidence in God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:1,3,5,7">ver. 1, 3, 5, 7</A>),
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the experience he had had of help from God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:6">ver. 6</A>),
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and the malice of his enemies against him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:10,11">ver. 10, 11</A>.
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II. He concludes the psalm with believing praises
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:14">ver. 14</A>,
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&c.). Never was his hope more established,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:16,18,20,21">ver. 16, 18, 20, 21</A>.
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Never were his joys and thanksgivings more enlarged,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:15,19,22-24">ver. 15, 19, 22-24</A>.
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He is in an ecstasy of joyful praise; and, in the singing of it, we too
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should have our faith in God encouraged and our hearts raised in
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blessing his holy name.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps71_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_13"> </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>David Professes His Confidence in God; Believing Prayers.</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 In thee, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, do I put my trust: let me never be put to
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confusion.
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2 Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape:
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incline thine ear unto me, and save me.
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3 Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually
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resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou <I>art</I> my
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rock and my fortress.
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4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of
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the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
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5 For thou <I>art</I> my hope, O Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>: <I>thou art</I> my trust from
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my youth.
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6 By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that
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took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise <I>shall be</I>
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continually of thee.
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7 I am as a wonder unto many; but thou <I>art</I> my strong refuge.
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8 Let my mouth be filled <I>with</I> thy praise <I>and with</I> thy
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honour all the day.
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9 Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when
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my strength faileth.
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10 For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait
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for my soul take counsel together,
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11 Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for
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<I>there is</I> none to deliver <I>him.</I>
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12 O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help.
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13 Let them be confounded <I>and</I> consumed that are adversaries
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to my soul; let them be covered <I>with</I> reproach and dishonour
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that seek my hurt.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Two things in general David here prays for--that he might not be
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confounded and that his enemies and persecutors might be
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confounded.</P>
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<P>
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I. He prays that he might never be made ashamed of his dependence upon
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God nor disappointed in his believing expectations from him. With this
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petition every true believer may come boldly to the throne of grace;
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for God will never disappoint the hope that is of his own raising. Now
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observe here,</P>
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<P>
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1. How David professes his confidence in God, and with what pleasure
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and grateful variety of expression he repeats his profession of that
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confidence, still presenting the profession of it to God and pleading
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it with him. We praise God, and so please him, by telling him (if it be
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indeed true) what an entire confidence we have in him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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"<I>In thee, O Lord!</I> and in thee only, <I>do I put my trust.</I>
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Whatever others do, I choose the God of Jacob for my help." Those that
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are entirely satisfied with God's all-sufficiency and the truth of his
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promise, and in dependence upon that, as sufficient to make them
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amends, are freely willing to do and suffer, to lose and venture, for
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him, may truly say, <I>In thee, O Lord! do I put my trust.</I> Those
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that will deal with God must deal upon trust; if we are shy of dealing
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with him, it is a sign we do not trust him. <I>Thou art my rock and my
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fortress</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>);
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and again, "<I>Thou art my refuge, my strong refuge</I>"
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>);
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that is, "I fly to thee, and am sure to be safe in thee, and under thy
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protection. If thou secure me, none can hurt me. <I>Thou art my hope
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and my trust</I>"
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>);
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that is, "thou hast proposed thyself to me in thy word as the proper
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object of my hope and trust; I have hoped in thee, and never found it
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in vain to do so."</P>
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<P>
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2. How his confidence in God is supported and encouraged by his
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experiences
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>):
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"<I>Thou hast been my trust from my youth;</I> ever since I was capable
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of discerning between my right hand and my left, I stayed myself upon
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thee, and saw a great deal of reason to do so; for <I>by thee have I
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been holden up from the womb.</I>" Ever since he had the use of his
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reason he had been a dependent upon God's goodness, because ever since
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he had had a being he had been a monument of it. Note, The
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consideration of the gracious care which the divine Providence took of
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us in our birth and infancy should engage us to an early piety and
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constant devotedness to his honour. He that was our help from our birth
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ought to be our hope from our youth. If we received so much mercy from
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God before we were capable of doing him any service, we should lose no
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time when we are capable. This comes in here as a support to the
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psalmist in his present distress; not only that God had given him his
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life and being, bringing him out of his mother's bowels into the world,
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and providing that he should not die from the womb, nor give up the
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ghost when he came out of the belly, but that he had betimes made him
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one of his family: "Thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels
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into the arms of thy grace, under the shadow of thy wings, into the
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bond of thy covenant; thou tookest me into thy church, as a son of thy
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handmaid, and born in thy house,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:16">Ps. cxvi. 16</A>.
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And therefore,"
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(1.) "I have reason to hope that thou wilt protect me; thou that hast
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held me up hitherto wilt not let me fall now; thou that madest me wilt
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not forsake the work of thy own hands; thou that helpedst me when I
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could not help myself wilt not abandon me now that I am as helpless as
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I was then."
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(2.) "Therefore I have reason to resolve that I will devote myself unto
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thee: <I>My praise shall therefore be continually of thee;</I>" that
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is, "I will make it my business every day to praise thee and will take
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all occasions to do it."</P>
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<P>
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3. What his requests to God are, in this confidence.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) That he might <I>never be put to confusion</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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that he might not be disappointed of the mercy he expected and so made
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ashamed of his expectation. Thus we may all pray in faith that our
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confidence in God may not be our confusion. Hope of the glory of God is
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hope that makes not ashamed.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) That he might be delivered out of the hand of his enemies
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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"<I>Deliver me in thy righteousness.</I> As thou art the righteous
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Judge of the world, pleading the cause of the injured and punishing the
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injurious, cause me in some way or other to escape" (God will, with the
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temptation, make a way to escape,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+10:13">1 Cor. x. 13</A>):
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"<I>Incline thy ear unto my prayers,</I> and, in answer to them, save
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me out of my troubles,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Deliver me, O my God! out of the hands of those that are ready to pull
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me in pieces." Three things he pleads for deliverance:--
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[1.] The encouragement God had given him to expect it: <I>Thou hast
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given commandment to save me</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>);
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that is, thou hast promised to do it, and such efficacy is there in
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God's promises that they are often spoken of as commands, like that,
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<I>Let there be light, and there was light.</I> He speaks, and it is
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done.
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[2.] The character of his enemies; they are <I>wicked, unrighteous,
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cruel men,</I> and it will be for the honour of God to appear against
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them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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for he is a holy, just, and good God.
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[3.] The many eyes that were upon him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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"<I>I am as a wonder unto many;</I> every one waits to see what will be
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the issue of such extraordinary troubles as I have fallen into and such
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extraordinary confidence as I profess to have in God." Or, "I am looked
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upon as a monster, am one whom every body shuns, and therefore am
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undone if the Lord be not my refuge. Men abandon me, but God will
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not."</P>
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<P>
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(3.) That he might always find rest and safety in God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Be thou my strong habitation;</I> by thou to me <I>a rock of repose,
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whereto I may continually resort.</I> Those that are at home in God,
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that live a life of communion with him and confidence in him, that
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continually resort unto him by faith and prayer, having their eyes ever
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towards him, may promise themselves a strong habitation in him, such as
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will never fall of itself nor can ever be broken through by any
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invading power; and they shall be welcome to resort to him continually
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upon all occasions, and not be upbraided as coming too often.</P>
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<P>
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(4.) That he might have continual matter for thanksgiving to God, and
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might be continually employed in that pleasant work
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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"<I>Let my mouth be filled with thy praise,</I> as now it is with my
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complaints, and then I shall not be ashamed of my hope, but my enemies
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will be ashamed of their insolence." Those that love God love to be
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praising him, and desire to be doing it all the day, not only in their
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morning and evening devotions, not only <I>seven times a day</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:164">Ps. cxix. 164</A>),
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but <I>all the day,</I> to intermix with all they say something or
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other that may redound to the honour and praise of God. They resolve to
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do it while they live; they hope to be doing it eternally in a better
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world.</P>
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<P>
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(5.) That he might not be neglected now in his declining years
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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<I>Cast me not off</I> now <I>in the time of</I> my <I>old gage;
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forsake me not when my strength fails.</I> Observe here,
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[1.] The natural sense he had of the infirmities of age: <I>My strength
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fails.</I> Where there was strength of body and vigour of mind, strong
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sight, a strong voice, strong limbs, alas! in old age they fail; the
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life is continued, but the strength is gone, or that which is his
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<I>labour and sorrow,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+90:10">Ps. xc. 10</A>.
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[2.] The gracious desire he had of the continuance of God's presence
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with him under these infirmities: <I>Lord, cast me not off;</I> do
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<I>not then forsake me.</I> This intimates that he should look upon
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himself as undone if God should abandon him. To be cast off and
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forsaken of God is a thing to be dreaded at any time, especially in the
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time of old age and when our strength fails us; for it is God that is
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the strength of our heart. But it intimates that he had reason to hope
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God would not desert him; the faithful servants of God may be
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comfortably assured that he will not cast them off in old age, nor
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forsake them when their strength fails them. He is a Master that is not
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wont to cast off old servants. In this confidence David here prays
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again
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
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"<I>O God! be not far from me;</I> let me not be under the apprehension
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of thy withdrawings, for then I am miserable. <I>I my God!</I> a God in
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covenant with me, <I>make haste for my help,</I> lest I perish before
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help come."</P>
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<P>
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II. He prays that his enemies might be made ashamed of their designs
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against him. Observe,
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1. What it was which they unjustly said against him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:10,11"><I>v.</I> 10, 11</A>.
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Their plot was deep and desperate; it was against his life: <I>They lay
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wait for my soul</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>),
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and are adversaries to that,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
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Their powers and policies were combined: <I>They take counsel
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together.</I> And very insolent they were in their deportment: They
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say, <I>God has forsaken him; persecute and take him.</I> Here their
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premises are utterly false, that because a good man was in great
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trouble and had continued long in it, and was not so soon delivered as
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perhaps he expected, therefore God had forsaken him and would have no
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more to do with him. All are not forsaken of God who think themselves
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so or whom others think to be so. And, as their premises were false, so
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their inference was barbarous. If God has forsaken him, then persecute
|
|
and take him, and doubt not but to make a prey of him. This is
|
|
<I>talking to the grief of one whom God has smitten,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:26">Ps. lxix. 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
But thus they endeavour to discourage David, as Sennacherib endeavoured
|
|
to intimidate Hezekiah by suggesting that God was his enemy and fought
|
|
against him. <I>Have I now come up without the Lord against this city,
|
|
to destroy it?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+36:10">Isa. xxxvi. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is true, if God has forsaken a man, there is none to deliver him;
|
|
but <I>therefore</I> to insult over him ill becomes those who are
|
|
conscious to themselves that they deserve to be for ever forsaken of
|
|
God. But <I>rejoice not against me, O my enemy! though I fall, I shall
|
|
rise.</I> He that seems to forsake for a small moment will gather with
|
|
everlasting kindness.
|
|
|
|
2. What it was which he justly prayed for, from a spirit of prophecy,
|
|
not a spirit of passion
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my
|
|
soul.</I> If they will not be confounded by repentance, and so saved,
|
|
let them be confounded with everlasting dishonour, and so ruined." God
|
|
will turn into shame the glory of those who turn into shame the glory
|
|
of God and his people.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps71_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps71_24"> </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>Joyful Praises; Rejoicing in Hope.</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>14 But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more
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and more.
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15 My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness <I>and</I> thy
|
|
salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers <I>thereof.</I>
|
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16 I will go in the strength of the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>: I will make
|
|
mention of thy righteousness, <I>even</I> of thine only.
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17 O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have
|
|
I declared thy wondrous works.
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18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me
|
|
not; until I have showed thy strength unto <I>this</I> generation,
|
|
<I>and</I> thy power to every one <I>that</I> is to come.
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|
19 Thy righteousness also, O God, <I>is</I> very high, who hast done
|
|
great things: O God, who <I>is</I> like unto thee!
|
|
20 <I>Thou,</I> which hast showed me great and sore troubles, shalt
|
|
quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of
|
|
the earth.
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21 Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every
|
|
side.
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|
22 I will also praise thee with the psaltery, <I>even</I> thy truth,
|
|
O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of
|
|
Israel.
|
|
23 My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my
|
|
soul, which thou hast redeemed.
|
|
24 My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day
|
|
long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame,
|
|
that seek my hurt.
|
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</FONT></P>
|
|
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<P>
|
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|
|
David is here in a holy transport of joy and praise, arising from his
|
|
faith and hope in God; we have both together
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>,
|
|
|
|
where there is a sudden and remarkable change of his voice; his fears
|
|
are all silenced, his hopes raised, and his prayers turned into
|
|
thanksgivings. "Let my enemies say what they will, to drive me to
|
|
despair, <I>I will hope continually,</I> hope in all conditions, in the
|
|
most cloudy and dark day; I will live upon hope and will hope to the
|
|
end." Since we hope in one that will never fail us, let not our hope in
|
|
him fail us, and then we shall praise him yet more and more. "The more
|
|
they reproach me the more closely will I cleave to thee; I <I>will
|
|
praise thee more</I> and better than ever I have done yet." The longer
|
|
we live the more expert we should grow in praising God and the more we
|
|
should abound in it. <I>I will add over and above all thy praise,</I>
|
|
all the praise I have hitherto offered, for it is all too little. When
|
|
we have said all we can, to the glory of God's grace, there is still
|
|
more to be said; it is a subject that can never be exhausted, and
|
|
therefore we should never grow weary of it. Now observe, in these
|
|
verses,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. How his heart is established in faith and hope; and it is a good
|
|
thing that the heart be so established. Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. What he hopes in,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) In the power of God: "<I>I will go in the strength of the Lord
|
|
God,</I> not sit down in despair, but stir up myself to and exert
|
|
myself in my work and warfare, will go forth and go on, not in any
|
|
strength of my own, but in God's strength--disclaiming my own
|
|
sufficiency and depending on him only as all-sufficient--in the
|
|
strength of his providence and in the strength of his grace." We must
|
|
always go about God's work in his strength, having our eyes up unto him
|
|
to work in us both to will and to do.
|
|
|
|
(2.) In the promise of God: "<I>I will make mention of thy
|
|
righteousness,</I> that is, thy faithfulness to every word which thou
|
|
hast spoken, the equity of thy disposals, and thy kindness to thy
|
|
people that trust in thee. This I will make mention of as my plea in
|
|
prayer for thy mercy." We may very fitly apply it to the righteousness
|
|
of Christ, which is called the <I>righteousness of God by faith,</I>
|
|
and which is <I>witnessed by the law and the prophets;</I> we must
|
|
depend upon God's strength for assistance and upon Christ's
|
|
righteousness for acceptance. <I>In the Lord have I righteousness and
|
|
strength,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+45:24">Isa. xlv. 24</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. What he hopes for.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) He hopes that God will not leave him in his old age, but will be
|
|
the same to him to the end that he had been all along,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:17,18"><I>v.</I> 17, 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe here,
|
|
|
|
[1.] What God had done for him when he was young: <I>Thou hast taught
|
|
me from my youth.</I> The good education and good instructions which
|
|
his parents gave him when he was young he owns himself obliged to give
|
|
God thanks for as a great favour. It is a blessed thing to be taught of
|
|
God from our youth, from our childhood to know the holy scriptures, and
|
|
it is what we have reason to bless God for.
|
|
|
|
[2.] What he had done for God when he was middle-aged: He had
|
|
<I>declared all God's wondrous works.</I> Those that have not good when
|
|
they are young must be doing good when they are grown up, and must
|
|
continue to communicate what they have received. We must own that all
|
|
the works of God's goodness to us are wondrous works, admiring he
|
|
should do so much for us who are so undeserving, and we must make it
|
|
our business to declare them, to the glory of God and the good of
|
|
others.
|
|
|
|
[3.] What he desired of God now that he was old: <I>Now that I am old
|
|
and gray-headed,</I> dying to this world and hastening to another, <I>O
|
|
God! forsake me not.</I> This is what he earnestly desires and
|
|
confidently hopes for. Those that have been taught of God from their
|
|
youth, and have made it the business of their lives to honour him, may
|
|
be sure that he will not leave them when they are old and gray-headed,
|
|
will not leave them helpless and comfortless, but will make the evil
|
|
days of old age their best days, and such as they shall have occasion
|
|
to say they have pleasure in.
|
|
|
|
[4.] What he designed to do for God in his old age: "I will not only
|
|
<I>show thy strength,</I> by my own experience of it, <I>to this
|
|
generation,</I> but I will leave my observations upon record for the
|
|
benefit of posterity, and so who it <I>to every one that is to
|
|
come.</I>" As long as we live we should be endeavouring to glorify God
|
|
and edify one another; and those that have had the largest and longest
|
|
experience of the goodness of God to them should improve their
|
|
experiences for the good of their friends. It is a debt which the old
|
|
disciples of Christ owe to the succeeding generations to leave behind
|
|
them a solemn testimony to the power, pleasure, and advantage of
|
|
religion, and the truth of God's promises.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) He hopes that God would revive him and raise him up out of his
|
|
present low and disconsolate condition
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Thou who hast made me to see and feel great and sore troubles,</I>
|
|
above most men, <I>shalt quicken me again.</I> Note,
|
|
|
|
[1.] The best of God's saints and servants are sometimes exercised with
|
|
great and sore troubles in this world.
|
|
|
|
[2.] God's hand is to be eyed in all the troubles of the saints, and
|
|
that will help to extenuate them and make them seem light. He does not
|
|
say, "Thou hast burdened me with those troubles," but "shown them to
|
|
me," as the tender father shows the child the rod to keep him in awe.
|
|
|
|
[3.] Though God's people be brought ever so low he can revive them and
|
|
raise them up. Are they dead? he can quicken them again. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+1:9">2 Cor. i. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
Are they buried, as dead men out of mind? he can bring <I>them up again
|
|
from the depths of the earth,</I> can cheer the most drooping spirit
|
|
and raise the most sinking interest.
|
|
|
|
[4.] If we have a due regard to the hand of God in our troubles, we may
|
|
promise ourselves, in due time, a deliverance out of them. Our present
|
|
troubles, though great and sore, shall be no hindrance to our joyful
|
|
resurrection from the depths of the earth, witness our great Master, to
|
|
whom this may have some reference; his Father showed him great and sore
|
|
troubles, but quickened him and brought him up from the grave.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) He hopes that God would not only deliver him out of his troubles,
|
|
but would advance his honour and joy more than ever
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>):
|
|
|
|
"Thou shalt not only restore me to <I>my greatness</I> again, but shalt
|
|
<I>increase</I> it, and give me a better interest, after this shock,
|
|
than before; thou shalt not only comfort me, but <I>comfort me on every
|
|
side,</I> so that I shall see nothing black or threatening on any
|
|
side." Note, Sometimes God makes his people's troubles contribute to
|
|
the increase of their greatness, and their sun shines the brighter for
|
|
having been under a cloud. If he make them contribute to the increase
|
|
of their goodness, that will prove in the end the increase of their
|
|
greatness, their glory; and if he comfort them on every side, according
|
|
to the time and degree wherein he has afflicted them on every side,
|
|
they will have no reason to complain. When our Lord Jesus was quickened
|
|
again, and brought back from the depths of the earth, his greatness was
|
|
increased, and he entered on the joy set before him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(4.) He hopes that all his enemies would be put to confusion,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
He speaks of it with the greatest assurance as a thing done, and
|
|
triumphs in it accordingly: <I>They are confounded, they are brought to
|
|
shame, that seek my hurt.</I> His honour would be their disgrace and
|
|
his comfort their vexation.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Let us now see how his heart is enlarged in joy and praises, how he
|
|
rejoices in hope, and sings in hope for we are saved by hope.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He will speak of God's righteousness and his salvation, as great
|
|
things, things which he was well acquainted with, and much affected
|
|
with, which he desired God might have the glory of and others might
|
|
have the comfortable knowledge of
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy salvation;</I>
|
|
and again
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>My tongue shall talk of thy righteousness,</I> and this <I>all the
|
|
day.</I> God's righteousness, which David seems here to be in a
|
|
particular manner affected with, includes a great deal: the rectitude
|
|
of his nature, the equity of his providential disposals, the righteous
|
|
laws he has given us to be ruled by, the righteous promises he has
|
|
given us to depend upon, and the everlasting righteousness which his
|
|
Son has brought in for our justification. God's righteousness and his
|
|
salvation are here joined together; let no man think to put them
|
|
asunder, nor expect salvation without righteousness,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+50:23">Ps. l. 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
If these two are made the objects of our desire, let them be made the
|
|
subjects of our discourse all the day, for they are subjects that can
|
|
never be exhausted.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. He will speak of them with wonder and admiration, as one astonished
|
|
at the dimensions of divine love and grace, the height and depth, the
|
|
length and breadth, of it: "<I>I know not the numbers thereof,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
Though I cannot give a particular account of thy favours to me, they
|
|
are so many, so great (if <I>I would count them, they are more in
|
|
number than the sand,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+40:5">Ps. xl. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
yet, knowing them to be numberless, I will be still speaking of them,
|
|
for in them I shall find new matter,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
The righteousness that is in God is very high; that which is done by
|
|
him for his people is very great: put both together, and we shall say,
|
|
<I>O God! who is like unto thee?</I> This is praising God,
|
|
acknowledging his perfections and performances to be,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Above our conception; they are very high and great, so high that
|
|
we cannot apprehend them, so great that we cannot comprehend them.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Without any parallel; no being like him, no works like his: <I>O
|
|
God! who is like unto thee?</I> None in heaven, none on earth, no
|
|
angel, no king. God is a non-such; we do not rightly praise him if we
|
|
do not own him to be so.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. He will speak of them with all the expressions of joy and
|
|
exultation,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:22,23"><I>v.</I> 22, 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) How he would eye God in praising him.
|
|
|
|
[1.] As a faithful God: <I>I will praise thee, even thy truth.</I> God
|
|
is made known by his word; if we praise that, and the truth of that, we
|
|
praise him. By faith we set to our seal that God is true; and so we
|
|
praise his truth.
|
|
|
|
[2.] As a God in covenant with him: "<I>O my God!</I> whom I have
|
|
consented to and avouched for mine." As in our prayers, so in our
|
|
praises, we must look up to God as our God, and give him the glory of
|
|
our interest in him and relation to him.
|
|
|
|
[3.] As the <I>Holy One of Israel,</I> Israel's God in a peculiar
|
|
manner, glorious in his holiness among that people and faithful to his
|
|
covenant with them. It is God's honour that he is a Holy One; it is his
|
|
people's honour that he is the Holy One of Israel.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) How he will express his joy and exultation.
|
|
|
|
[1.] With his hand, in sacred music--<I>with the psaltery, with the
|
|
harp;</I> at these David excelled, and the best of his skill shall be
|
|
employed in setting forth God's praises to such advantage as might
|
|
affect others.
|
|
|
|
[2.] With his lips, in sacred songs: "<I>Unto thee will I sing,</I> to
|
|
thy honour, and with a desire to be accepted of thee. <I>My lips shall
|
|
greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee,</I> knowing they cannot be
|
|
better employed."
|
|
|
|
[3.] In both with his heart: "<I>My soul</I> shall rejoice <I>which
|
|
thou hast redeemed.</I>" Note, <I>First,</I> Holy joy is the very heart
|
|
and life of thankful praise. <I>Secondly,</I> We do not make melody to
|
|
the Lord, in singing his praises, if we do not do it with our hearts.
|
|
My lips shall rejoice, but that is nothing; lip-labour, though ever so
|
|
well laboured, if that be all, is but lost labour in serving God; the
|
|
soul must be at work, and with all that is within us we must bless his
|
|
holy name, else all about us is worth little. <I>Thirdly,</I> Redeemed
|
|
souls ought to be joyful thankful souls. The work of redemption ought,
|
|
above all God's works, to be celebrated by us in our praises. The Lamb
|
|
that was slain, and has redeemed us to God, must therefore be counted
|
|
worthy of all blessing and praise.</P>
|
|
|
|
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