mh_parser/vol_split/19 - Psalms/Chapter 139.xml

<div2 id="Ps.cxl" n="cxl" next="Ps.cxli" prev="Ps.cxxxix" progress="69.14%" title="Chapter CXXXIX">
<h2 id="Ps.cxl-p0.1">P S A L M S</h2>
<h3 id="Ps.cxl-p0.2">PSALM CXXXIX.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ps.cxl-p1">Some of the Jewish doctors are of opinion that
this is the most excellent of all the psalms of David; and a very
pious devout meditation it is upon the doctrine of God's
omniscience, which we should therefore have our hearts fixed upon
and filled with in singing this psalm. I. This doctrine is here
asserted, and fully laid down, <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.1-Ps.139.6" parsed="|Ps|139|1|139|6" passage="Ps 139:1-6">ver.
1-6</scripRef>. II. It is confirmed by two arguments:—1. God is
every where present; therefore he knows all, <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.7-Ps.139.12" parsed="|Ps|139|7|139|12" passage="Ps 139:7-12">ver. 7-12</scripRef>. 2. He made us, therefore he
knows us, <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.13-Ps.139.16" parsed="|Ps|139|13|139|16" passage="Ps 139:13-16">ver. 13-16</scripRef>.
III. Some inferences are drawn from this doctrine. 1. It may fill
us with pleasing admiration of God, <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.17-Ps.139.18" parsed="|Ps|139|17|139|18" passage="Ps 139:17,18">ver. 17, 18</scripRef>. 2. With a holy dread and
detestation of sin and sinners, <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.19-Ps.139.22" parsed="|Ps|139|19|139|22" passage="Ps 139:19-22">ver. 19-22</scripRef>. 3. With a holy satisfaction
in our own integrity, concerning which we may appeal to God,
<scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.23-Ps.139.24" parsed="|Ps|139|23|139|24" passage="Ps 139:23,24">ver. 23, 24</scripRef>. This great
and self-evident truth, That God knows our hearts, and the hearts
of all the children of men, if we did but mix faith with it and
seriously consider it and apply it, would have a great influence
upon our holiness and upon our comfort.</p>
<scripCom id="Ps.cxl-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139" parsed="|Ps|139|0|0|0" passage="Ps 139" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ps.cxl-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.1-Ps.139.6" parsed="|Ps|139|1|139|6" passage="Ps 139:1-6" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.139.1-Ps.139.6">
<h4 id="Ps.cxl-p1.9">The Omniscience of God.</h4>
<div class="Center" id="Ps.cxl-p1.10">
<p id="Ps.cxl-p2">To the chief musician. A psalm of David.</p>
</div>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.cxl-p3">1 <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxl-p3.1">O Lord</span>, thou
hast searched me, and known <i>me.</i>   2 Thou knowest my
downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar
off.   3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art
acquainted <i>with</i> all my ways.   4 For <i>there is</i>
not a word in my tongue, <i>but,</i> lo, <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxl-p3.2">O
Lord</span>, thou knowest it altogether.   5 Thou hast beset
me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.   6
<i>Such</i> knowledge <i>is</i> too wonderful for me; it is high, I
cannot <i>attain</i> unto it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p4">David here lays down this great doctrine,
That the God with whom we have to do has a perfect knowledge of us,
and that all the motions and actions both of our inward and of our
outward man are naked and open before him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p5">I. He lays down this doctrine in the way of
an address to God; he says it to him, acknowledging it to him, and
giving him the glory of it. Divine truths look fully as well when
they are prayed over as when they are preached over, and much
better than when they are disputed over. When we speak of God to
him himself we shall find ourselves concerned to speak with the
utmost degree both of sincerity and reverence, which will be likely
to make the impressions the deeper.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p6">II. He lays it down in a way of application
to himself, not, "Thou hast known <i>all,</i>" but, "Thou hast
known <i>me;</i> that is it which I am most concerned to believe
and which it will be most profitable for me to consider."
<i>Then</i> we know these things for our good when we know them
<i>for ourselves,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.27" parsed="|Job|5|27|0|0" passage="Job 5:27">Job v.
27</scripRef>. When we acknowledge, "Lord, all souls are thine," we
must add, "My soul is thine; thou that hatest all sin hatest my
sin; thou that art good to all, good to Israel, art good to me." So
here, "<i>Thou hast searched me, and known me;</i> known me as
thoroughly as we know that which we have most diligently and
exactly searched into." David was a king, and <i>the hearts of
kings are unsearchable</i> to their subjects (<scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.25.3" parsed="|Prov|25|3|0|0" passage="Pr 25:3">Prov. xxv. 3</scripRef>), but they are not so to their
Sovereign.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p7">III. He descends to particulars: "Thou
knowest me wherever I am and whatever I am doing, me and all that
belongs to me." 1. "<i>Thou knowest</i> me and all my motions,
<i>my down-sitting</i> to rest, <i>my up-rising</i> to work, with
what temper of mind I compose myself when I sit down and stir up
myself when I rise up, what my soul reposes itself in as its stay
and support, what it aims at and reaches towards as its felicity
and end. Thou knowest me when I come home, how I walk before my
house, and when I go abroad, on what errands I go." 2. "Thou
knowest all my imaginations. Nothing is more close and quick than
thought; it is always unknown to others; it is often unobserved by
ourselves, and yet <i>thou understandest my thought afar off.</i>
Though my thoughts be ever so foreign and distant from one another,
thou understandest the chain of them, and canst make out their
connexion, when so many of them slip my notice that I myself
cannot." Or, "<i>Thou understandest them afar off,</i> even before
I think them, and long after I have thought them and have myself
forgotten them." Or, "<i>Thou understandest them from afar;</i>
from the height of heaven thou seest into the depths of the heart,"
<scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.33.14" parsed="|Ps|33|14|0|0" passage="Ps 33:14">Ps. xxxiii. 14</scripRef>. 3. "Thou
knowest me and all my designs and undertakings; <i>thou
compassest</i> every particular <i>path; thou siftest</i> (or
<i>winnowest</i>) <i>my path</i>" (so some), "so as thoroughly to
distinguish between the good and evil of what I do," as by sifting
we separate between the corn and the chaff. All our actions are
ventilated by the judgment of God, <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.17.3" parsed="|Ps|17|3|0|0" passage="Ps 17:3">Ps.
xvii. 3</scripRef>. God takes notice of every step we take, every
right step and every by-step. He is <i>acquainted with all</i> our
<i>ways,</i> intimately acquainted with them; he knows what rule we
walk by, what end we walk towards, what company we walk with. 4.
"<i>Thou knowest</i> me in all my retirements; thou knowest <i>my
lying down;</i> when I am withdrawn from all company, and am
reflecting upon what has passed all day and composing myself to
rest, thou knowest what I have in my heart and with what thought I
go to bed." 5. "Thou knowest me, and all I say (<scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.4" parsed="|Ps|139|4|0|0" passage="Ps 139:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): <i>There is not a word in my
tongue,</i> not a vain word, nor a good word, <i>but thou knowest
it altogether,</i> knowest what it meant, from what thought it
came, and with what design it was uttered. There is not a word at
my tongue's end, ready to be spoken, yet checked and kept in, but
thou knowest it." <i>When there is not a word in my tongue, O Lord!
thou knowest all</i> (so some read it); for thoughts are words to
God. 6. "Thou knowest me in every part of me: <i>Thou hast beset me
behind and before,</i> so that, go which way I will, I am under thy
eye and cannot possibly escape it. Thou hast <i>laid thy hand upon
me,</i> and I can not run away from thee." Wherever we are we are
under the eye and hand of God. perhaps it is an allusion to the
physician's laying his hand upon his patient to feel how his pulse
beats or what temper he is in. God knows us as we know not only
what we see, but what we feel and have our hands upon. <i>All his
saints are in his hand.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p8">IV. He speaks of it with admiration
(<scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.6" parsed="|Ps|139|6|0|0" passage="Ps 139:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>): <i>It is too
wonderful for me; it is high.</i> 1. "Thou hast such a knowledge of
me as I have not of myself, nor can have. I cannot take notice of
all my own thoughts, nor make such a judgment of myself as thou
makest of me." 2. "It is such a knowledge as I cannot comprehend,
much less describe. That thou knowest all things I am sure, but how
I cannot tell." We cannot by searching find out how God searches
and finds out us; nor do we know how we are known.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ps.cxl-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.7-Ps.139.16" parsed="|Ps|139|7|139|16" passage="Ps 139:7-16" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.139.7-Ps.139.16">
<h4 id="Ps.cxl-p8.3">The Omniscience of God.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.cxl-p9">7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither
shall I flee from thy presence?   8 If I ascend up into
heaven, thou <i>art</i> there: if I make my bed in hell, behold,
thou <i>art there.</i>   9 <i>If</i> I take the wings of the
morning, <i>and</i> dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;  
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold
me.   11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even
the night shall be light about me.   12 Yea, the darkness
hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the
darkness and the light <i>are</i> both alike <i>to thee.</i>  
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my
mother's womb.   14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully
<i>and</i> wonderfully made: marvellous <i>are</i> thy works; and
<i>that</i> my soul knoweth right well.   15 My substance was
not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, <i>and</i> curiously
wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.   16 Thine eyes did
see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all <i>my
members</i> were written, <i>which</i> in continuance were
fashioned, when <i>as yet there was</i> none of them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p10">It is of great use to us to know the
certainty of the things wherein we have been instructed, that we
may not only believe them, but be able to tell why we believe them,
and to give a reason of the hope that is in us. David is sure that
God perfectly knows him and all his ways,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p11">I. Because he is always under his eye. If
God is omnipresent, he must needs be omniscient; but he is
omnipresent; this supposes the infinite and immensity of his being,
from which follows the ubiquity of his presence; heaven and earth
include the whole creation, and the Creator fills both (<scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.23.24" parsed="|Jer|23|24|0|0" passage="Jer 23:24">Jer. xxiii. 24</scripRef>); he not only knows
both, and governs both, but he fills both. Every part of the
creation is under God's intuition and influence. David here
acknowledges this also with application and sees himself thus open
before God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p12">1. No flight can remove us out of God's
presence: "<i>Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, from thy
presence,</i> that is, from thy spiritual presence, from thyself,
who art a Spirit?" <i>God is a Spirit,</i> and therefore it is
folly to think that because we cannot see him he cannot see us:
<i>Whither shall I flee from thy presence?</i> Not that he desired
to go away from God; no, he desired nothing more than to be near
him; but he only puts the case, "Suppose I should be so foolish as
to think of getting out of thy sight, that I might shake off the
awe of thee, suppose I should think of revolting from my obedience
to thee, or of disowning a dependence on thee and of shifting for
myself, alas! whither can I go?" A heathen could say, <i>Quocunque
te flexeris, ibi Deum videbis occurrentem tibi—Whithersoever thou
turnest thyself, thou wilt see God meeting thee.</i> Seneca. He
specifies the most remote and distant places, and counts upon
meeting God in them. (1.) In heaven: "<i>If I ascend</i> thither,
as I hope to do shortly, <i>thou art there,</i> and it will be my
eternal bliss to be with thee there." Heaven is a vast large place,
replenished with an innumerable company, and yet there is no
escaping God's eye there, in any corner, or in any crowd. The
inhabitants of that world have as necessary a dependence upon God,
and lie as open to his strict scrutiny, as the inhabitants of this.
(2.) <i>In hell</i>—in <i>Sheol,</i> which may be understood of
the depth of the earth, the very centre of it. Should we dig as
deep as we can under ground, and think to hide ourselves there, we
should be mistaken; God knows that path which the vulture's eye
never saw, and to him the earth is all surface. Or it may be
understood of the state of the dead. When we are removed out of the
sight of all living, yet not out of the sight of the living God;
from his eye we cannot hide ourselves in the grave. Or it maybe
understood of the place of the damned: <i>If I make my bed in
hell</i> (an uncomfortable place to make a bed in, where there is
no rest day or night, yet thousands will make their bed for ever in
those flames), <i>behold, thou art there,</i> in thy power and
justice. God's wrath is the fire which will there burn
everlastingly, <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.14.10" parsed="|Rev|14|10|0|0" passage="Re 14:10">Rev. xiv.
10</scripRef>. (3.) In the remotest corners of this world: "<i>If I
take the wings of the morning,</i> the rays of the morning-light
(called the wings of the sun, <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Mal.4.2" parsed="|Mal|4|2|0|0" passage="Mal 4:2">Mal. iv.
2</scripRef>), than which nothing more swift, and flee upon them to
<i>the uttermost parts of the sea,</i> or of the earth (<scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.38.12-Job.38.13" parsed="|Job|38|12|38|13" passage="Job 38:12,13">Job xxxviii. 12, 13</scripRef>), should I
flee to the most distant and obscure islands (the <i>ultima
Thule,</i> the <i>Terra incognita</i>), I should find thee there;
<i>there shall thy hand lead me,</i> as far as I go, <i>and thy
right hand hold me,</i> that I can go no further, that I cannot go
out of thy reach." God soon arrested Jonah when <i>he fled to
Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p13">2. No veil can hide us from God's eye, no,
not that of the thickest darkness, <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.11-Ps.139.12" parsed="|Ps|139|11|139|12" passage="Ps 139:11,12"><i>v.</i> 11, 12</scripRef>. "<i>If I say,</i> Yet
<i>the darkness shall cover me,</i> when nothing else will, alas! I
find myself deceived; the curtains of the evening will stand me in
no more stead than the wings of the morning; <i>even the night
shall be light about me.</i> That which often favours the escape of
a pursued criminal, and the retreat of a beaten army, will do me no
kindness in fleeing from them." When God divided between the light
and darkness it was with a reservation of this prerogative, that to
himself <i>the darkness and the light</i> should still be <i>both
alike. "The darkness</i> darkeneth <i>not from thee,</i> for there
is no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity
may hide themselves." No hypocritical mask or disguise, how
specious soever, can save any person or action from appearing in a
true light before God. Secret haunts of sin are as open before God
as the most open and barefaced villanies.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p14">II. Because he is the work of his hands. He
that framed the engine knows all the motions of it. God made us,
and therefore no doubt he knows us; he saw us when we were in the
forming, and can we be hidden from him now that we are formed? This
argument he insists upon (<scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.13-Ps.139.16" parsed="|Ps|139|13|139|16" passage="Ps 139:13-16"><i>v.</i> 13-16</scripRef>): "<i>Thou hast possessed
my reins;</i> thou art Master of my most secret thoughts and
intentions, and the innermost recesses of my soul; thou not only
knowest, but governest, them, as we do that which we have
possession of; and the possession thou hast of my reins is a
rightful possession, <i>for thou coveredst me in my mother's
womb,</i> that is, thou madest me (<scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.10.11" parsed="|Job|10|11|0|0" passage="Job 10:11">Job x. 11</scripRef>), thou madest me in secret. The
soul is concealed from all about us. <i>Who knows the things of a
man, save the spirit of a man?</i>" <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.2.11" parsed="|1Cor|2|11|0|0" passage="1Co 2:11">1
Cor. ii. 11</scripRef>. Hence we read of <i>the hidden man of the
heart.</i> But it was God himself that thus covered us, and
therefore he can, when he pleases, discover us; when he hid us from
all the world he did not intend to hide us from himself. Concerning
the formation of man, of each of us,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p15">1. The glory of it is here given to God,
entirely to him; <i>for it is he that has made us and not we
ourselves. "I will praise thee,</i> the author of my being; my
parents were only the instruments of it." It was done, (1.) Under
the divine inspection: <i>My substance,</i> when hid in the womb,
nay, when it was yet but <i>in fieri—in the forming,</i> an
unshapen embryo, <i>was not hidden from thee; thy eyes did see my
substance.</i> (2.) By the divine operation. As the eye of God saw
us then, so his hand wrought us; we were his work. (3.) According
to the divine model: <i>In thy book all my members were
written.</i> Eternal wisdom formed the plan, and by that almighty
power raised the noble structure.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p16">2. Glorious things are here said concerning
it. The generation of man is to be considered with the same pious
veneration as his creation at first. Consider it, (1.) As a great
marvel, a great miracle we might call it, but that it is done in
the ordinary course of nature. We are <i>fearfully and wonderfully
made;</i> we may justly be astonished at the admirable contrivance
of these living temples, the composition of every part, and the
harmony of all together. (2.) As a great mystery, a mystery of
nature: <i>My soul knows right well</i> that it is marvellous, but
how to describe it for any one else I know not; for <i>I was made
in secret, and curiously wrought</i> in the womb as <i>in the
lowest parts of the earth,</i> so privately, and so far out of
sight. (3.) As a great mercy, that all our members <i>in
continuance were fashioned,</i> according as they were written in
the book of God's wise counsel, <i>when as yet there was none of
them;</i> or, as some read it, <i>and none of them was left
out.</i> If any of our members had been wanting in God's book, they
would have been wanting in our bodies, but, through his goodness,
we have all our limbs and sense, the want of any of which might
have made us burdens to ourselves. See what reason we have then to
praise God for our creation, and to conclude that he who saw our
substance when it was unfashioned sees it now that it is
fashioned.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ps.cxl-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.17-Ps.139.24" parsed="|Ps|139|17|139|24" passage="Ps 139:17-24" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.139.17-Ps.139.24">
<h4 id="Ps.cxl-p16.2">The Omniscience of God.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.cxl-p17">17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O
God! how great is the sum of them!   18 <i>If</i> I should
count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I
am still with thee.   19 Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O
God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.   20 For they
speak against thee wickedly, <i>and</i> thine enemies take <i>thy
name</i> in vain.   21 Do not I hate them, <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxl-p17.1">O Lord</span>, that hate thee? and am not I grieved
with those that rise up against thee?   22 I hate them with
perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.   23 Search me, O
God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:   24 And
see if <i>there be any</i> wicked way in me, and lead me in the way
everlasting.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p18">Here the psalmist makes application of the
doctrine of God's omniscience, divers ways.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p19">I. He acknowledges, with wonder and
thankfulness, the care God had taken of him all his days, <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.17-Ps.139.18" parsed="|Ps|139|17|139|18" passage="Ps 139:17,18"><i>v.</i> 17, 18</scripRef>. God, who knew
him, thought of him, and his thoughts towards him were thoughts of
love, <i>thoughts of good, and not of evil,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.29.11" parsed="|Jer|29|11|0|0" passage="Jer 29:11">Jer. xxix. 11</scripRef>. God's omniscience, which
might justly have watched over us to do us hurt, has been employed
for us, and has watched over us to do us good, <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.31.28" parsed="|Jer|31|28|0|0" passage="Jer 31:28">Jer. xxxi. 28</scripRef>. God's counsels concerning us
and our welfare have been, 1. Precious to admiration: <i>How
precious</i> are they! They are deep in themselves, such as cannot
possibly be fathomed and comprehended. Providence has had a vast
reach in its dispensations concerning us, and has brought things
about for our good quite beyond our contrivance and foresight. They
are dear to us; we must think of them with a great deal of
reverence, and yet with pleasure and thankfulness. Our thoughts
concerning God must be delightful to us, above any other thoughts.
2. Numerous to admiration: <i>How great is the sum of them!</i> We
cannot conceive how many God's kind counsels have been concerning
us, how many good turns he has done us, and what variety of mercies
we have received from him. <i>If</i> we would <i>count them,</i>
the heads of them, much more the particulars of them, <i>they are
more in number than the sand,</i> and yet every one great and very
considerable, <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p19.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.40.5" parsed="|Ps|40|5|0|0" passage="Ps 40:5">Ps. xl. 5</scripRef>. We
cannot conceive the multitude of God's compassions, which are all
new every morning. 3. Constant at all times: "<i>When I awake,</i>
every morning, <i>I am still with thee,</i> under thy eye and care,
safe and easy under thy protection." This bespeaks also the
continual devout sense David had of the eye of God upon him:
<i>When I awake I am with thee,</i> in my thoughts; and it would
help to keep us in the fear of the Lord all the day long if, when
we awake in the morning, our first thoughts were of him and we did
then set him before us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p20">II. He concludes from this doctrine that
ruin will certainly be the end of sinners. God knows all the
wickedness of the wicked, and therefore he will reckon for it:
"<i>Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God!</i> for all their
wickedness is open before thee, however it may be artfully
disguised and coloured over, to hide it from the eye of the world.
However thou suffer them to prosper for a while, <i>surely thou
wilt slay</i> them at last." Now observe, 1. The reason why God
will punish them, because they daringly affront him and set him at
defiance (<scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.20" parsed="|Ps|139|20|0|0" passage="Ps 139:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>):
<i>They speak against thee wickedly;</i> they <i>set their mouth
against the heavens</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.73.9" parsed="|Ps|73|9|0|0" passage="Ps 73:9">Ps. lxxiii.
9</scripRef>), and shall be called to account for the hard speeches
they have <i>spoken against him,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Jude.1.15" parsed="|Jude|1|15|0|0" passage="Jude 1:15">Jude 15</scripRef>. They are his <i>enemies,</i> and
declare their enmity by <i>taking his name in vain,</i> as we show
our contempt of a man if we make a by-word of his name, and never
mention him but in a way of jest and banter. Those that profane the
sacred forms of swearing or praying by using them in an impertinent
irreverent manner take God's name in vain, and thereby show
themselves enemies to him. Some make it to be a description of
hypocrites: "They speak of thee for mischief; they talk of God,
pretending to piety, but it is with some ill design, for a cloak of
maliciousness; and, being enemies to God, while they pretend
friendship, they <i>take</i> his <i>name in vain;</i> they swear
falsely." 2. The use David makes of this prospect which he has of
the ruin of the wicked. (1.) He defies them: "<i>Depart from me,
you bloody men;</i> you shall not debauch me, for I will not admit
your friendship nor have fellowship with you; and you cannot
destroy me, for, being under God's protection, he shall force you
to depart from me." (2.) He detests them (<scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.21-Ps.139.22" parsed="|Ps|139|21|139|22" passage="Ps 139:21,22"><i>v.</i> 21, 22</scripRef>): "Lord, thou knowest
the heart, and canst witness for me; <i>do not I hate those that
hate thee,</i> and for that reason, because they hate thee? I hate
them because I love thee, and hate to see such affronts and
indignities put upon thy blessed name. <i>Am not I grieved with
those that rise up against thee,</i> grieved to see their rebellion
and to foresee their ruin, which it will certainly end in?" Note,
Sin is hated, and sinners are lamented, by all that fear God. "<i>I
hate them</i>" (that is, "<i>I hate the work of them that turn
aside,</i>" as he explains himself, <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p20.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.101.3" parsed="|Ps|101|3|0|0" passage="Ps 101:3">Ps. ci. 3</scripRef>) "<i>with a</i> sincere and
<i>perfect hatred; I count those</i> that are enemies to God as
enemies to me, and will not have any intimacy with them," <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p20.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.69.8" parsed="|Ps|69|8|0|0" passage="Ps 69:8">Ps. lxix. 8</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxl-p21">III. He appeals to God concerning his
sincerity, <scripRef id="Ps.cxl-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.23-Ps.139.24" parsed="|Ps|139|23|139|24" passage="Ps 139:23,24"><i>v.</i> 23,
24</scripRef>. 1. He desires that as far as he was in the wrong God
would discover it to him. Those that are upright can take comfort
in God's omniscience as a witness of their uprightness, and can
with a humble confidence beg of him to search and try them, to
discover them to themselves (for a good man desires to know the
worst of himself) and to discover them to others. He that means
honestly could wish he had a window in his breast that any man may
look into his heart: "Lord, I hope I am not in a wicked way, but
<i>see if there be any wicked way in me,</i> any corrupt
inclination remaining; let me see it; and root it out of me, for I
do not allow it." 2. He desires that, as far as he was in the
right, he might be forwarded in it, which he that knows the heart
knows how to do effectually: <i>Lead me in the way everlasting.</i>
Note, (1.) The way of godliness is an everlasting way; it is
everlastingly true and good, pleasing to God and profitable to us,
and will end in everlasting life. <i>It is the way of antiquity</i>
(so some), <i>the good old way.</i> (2.) All the saints desire to
be kept and led in this way, that they may not miss it, turn out of
it, nor tire in it.</p>
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