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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 V.</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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The psalm is a prayer, a solemn address to God, at a time when the
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psalmist was brought into distress by the malice of his enemies. Many
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such times passed over David, nay, there was scarcely any time of his
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life to which this psalm may not be accommodated, for in this he was a
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type of Christ, that he was continually beset with enemies, and his
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powerful and prevalent appeals to God, when he was so beset, pointed at
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Christ's dependence on his Father and triumphs over the powers of
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darkness in the midst of his sufferings. In this psalm,
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I. David settles a correspondence between his soul and God, promising
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to pray, and promising himself that God would certainly hear him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
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II. He gives to God the glory, and takes to himself the comfort, of
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God's holiness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:4-6">ver. 4-6</A>.
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III. He declares his resolution to keep close to the public worship of
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God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:7">ver. 7</A>.
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IV. He prayed,
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1. For himself, that God would guide him,,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:8">ver. 8</A>.
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2. Against his enemies, that God would destroy them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:9,10">ver. 9, 10</A>.
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3. For all the people of God, that God would give them joy, and keep
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them safe,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:11,12">ver. 11, 12</A>.
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And this is all of great use to direct us in prayer.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps5_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps5_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps5_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps5_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps5_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps5_6"> </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>Prayer for Guidance and Protection.</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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<CENTER>
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<P>To the chief musician upon Nehiloth. A psalm of David.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Give ear to my words, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, consider my meditation.
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2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for
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unto thee will I pray.
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3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; in the
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morning will I direct <I>my prayer</I> unto thee, and will look up.
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4 For thou <I>art</I> not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness:
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neither shall evil dwell with thee.
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5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all
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workers of iniquity.
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6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will
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abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The title of this psalm has nothing in it peculiar but that it is said
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to be upon <I>Nehiloth,</I> a word nowhere else used. It is conjectured
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(and it is but a conjecture) that is signifies <I>wind</I>--instruments,
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with which this psalm was sung, as <I>Neginoth</I> was supposed to
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signify the <I>stringed</I>--instruments. In
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:1-6">these verses</A>
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David had an eye to God,</P>
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<P>
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I. As a prayer-hearing God; such he has always been ever since men
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began to call upon the name of the Lord, and yet is still as ready to
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hear prayer as ever. Observe how David here styles him: <I>O Lord</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:1,3"><I>v.</I> 1, 3</A>),
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<I>Jehovah,</I> a self-existent, self-sufficient, Being, whom we are
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bound to adore, and, "<I>my King and my God</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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whom I have avouched for my God, to whom I have sworn allegiance, and
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under whose protection I have put myself as my King." We believe that
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the God we pray to is a King, and a God. King of kings and God of gods;
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but that is not enough: the most commanding encouraging principle of
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prayer, and the most powerful or prevailing plea in prayer, is to look
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upon him as <I>our</I> King and <I>our</I> God, to whom we lie under
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peculiar obligations and from whom we have peculiar expectations. Now
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observe,</P>
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<P>
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1. What David here prays for, which may encourage our faith and hopes
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in all our addresses to God. If we pray fervently, and in faith, we
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have reason to hope,
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(1.) That God will take cognizance of our case, the representation we
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make of it and the requests we make upon it; for so he prays here:
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<I>Give ear to my words, O Lord!</I> Though God is in heaven, he has an
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ear open to his people's prayers, and it is not heavy, that he cannot
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hear. Men perhaps will not or cannot hear us; our enemies are so
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haughty that they will not, our friends at such a distance that they
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cannot; but God, though high, though in heaven, can, and will.
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(2.) That he will take it into his wise and compassionate
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consideration, and will not slight it, or turn it off with a cursory
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answer; for so he prays: <I>Consider my meditation.</I> David's prayers
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were not his words only, but his meditations; as meditation is the best
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preparative for prayer, so prayer is the best issue of meditation.
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Meditation and prayer should go together,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:14">Ps. xix. 14</A>.
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It is when we thus consider our prayers, and then only, that we may
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expect that God will consider them, and take that to his heart which
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comes from ours.
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(3.) That he will, in due time, return a gracious answer of peace; for
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so he prays
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>Hearken to the voice of my cry.</I> His prayer was a <I>cry;</I> it
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was <I>the voice of his cry,</I> which denotes fervency of affection
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and importunity of expression; and such effectual fervent prayers of a
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righteous man avail much and do wonders.</P>
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<P>
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2. What David here promises, as the condition on his part to be
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performed, fulfilled, and kept, that he might obtain this gracious
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acceptance; this may guide and govern us in our addresses to God, that
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we may present them aright, for we ask, and have not, if we ask amiss.
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Four things David here promises, and so must we:--
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(1.) That he will pray, that he will make conscience of praying, and
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make a business of it: <I>Unto thee will I pray.</I> "Others live
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without prayer, but I will pray." Kings on their own thrones (so David
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was) must be beggars at God's throne. "Others pray to strange gods, and
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expect relief from them, but to thee, to thee only, will I pray." The
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assurances God has given us of his readiness to hear prayer should
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confirm our resolution to live and die praying.
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(2.) That he will pray <I>in the morning.</I> His praying voice shall
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be heard then, and then shall his prayer be directed; that shall be the
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date of his letters to heaven, not that only ("Morning, and evening,
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and at noon, will I pray, nay, seven times a day, will I praise thee"),
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but that certainly. Morning prayer is our duty; we are the fittest for
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prayer when we are in the most fresh, and lively, and composed frame,
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got clear of the slumbers of the night, revived by them, and not yet
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filled with the business of the day. We have then most need of prayer,
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considering the dangers and temptations of the day to which we are
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exposed, and against which we are concerned; by faith and prayer, to
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fetch in fresh supplies of grace.
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(3.) That he will have his eye single and his heart intent in the duty:
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<I>I will direct my prayer,</I> as a marksman directs his arrow to the
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white; with such a fixedness and steadiness of mind should we address
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ourselves to God. Or as we direct a letter to a friend at such a place
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so must we direct our prayers to God as our Father in heaven; and let
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us always send them by the Lord Jesus, the great Mediator, and then
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they will be sure not to miscarry. All our prayers must be directed to
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God; his honour and glory must be aimed at as our highest end in all
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our prayers. Let our first petition be, <I>Hallowed,</I> glorified,
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<I>by thy name,</I> and then we may be sure of the same gracious answer
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to it that was given to Christ himself: <I>I have glorified it, and I
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will glorify it yet again.</I>
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(4.) That he will patiently wait for an answer of peace: "I <I>will
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look up,</I> will look after my prayers, and <I>hear what God the Lord
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will speak</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+85:8,Hab+2:1">Ps. lxxxv. 8; Hab. ii. 1</A>),
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that, if he grant what I asked, I may be thankful--if he deny, I may be
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patient--if he defer, I may continue to pray and wait and may not
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faint." We must look <I>up,</I> or look <I>out,</I> as he that has shot
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an arrow looks to see how near it has come to the mark. We lose much of
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the comfort of our prayers for want of observing the returns of them.
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Thus praying, thus waiting, as the lame man looked stedfastly on Peter
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and John
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+3:4">Acts iii. 4</A>),
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we may expect that God will give ear to our words and consider them,
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and to him we may refer ourselves, as David here, who does not pray,
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"Lord, do this, or the other, for me;" but, "Hearken to me, consider my
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case, and do in it as seemeth good unto thee."</P>
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<P>
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II. As a sin-hating God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:4-6"><I>v.</I> 4-6</A>.
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David takes notice of this,
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1. As a warning to himself, and all other praying people, to remember
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that, as the God with whom we have to do is gracious and merciful, so
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he is pure and holy; though he is ready to hear prayer, yet, if we
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regard iniquity in our heart, he will not hear our prayers,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:18">Ps. lxvi. 18</A>.
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2. As an encouragement to his prayers against his enemies; they were
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wicked men, and therefore enemies to God, and such as he had not
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pleasure in. See here.
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(1.) The holiness of God's nature. When he says, <I>Thou art not a God
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that has pleasure in wickedness,</I> he means, "Thou art a God that
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hates it, as directly contrary to thy infinite purity and rectitude,
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and holy will." Though the workers of iniquity prosper, let none thence
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infer that God has pleasure in wickedness, no, not in that by which men
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pretend to honour him, as those do that hate their brethren, and cast
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them out, and say, <I>Let the Lord be glorified.</I> God has no
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pleasure in wickedness, though covered with a cloak of religion. Let
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those therefore who delight in sin know that God has no delight in
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them; nor let any say, when he is tempted, <I>I am tempted of God,</I>
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for God is not the author of sin, neither <I>shall evil dwell with
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him,</I> that is, it shall not always be countenanced and suffered to
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prosper. Dr. Hammond thinks this refers to that law of Moses which
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would not permit strangers, who persisted in their idolatry, to dwell
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in the land of Israel.
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(2.) The justice of his government. The foolish <I>shall not stand in
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his sight,</I> that is, shall not be smiled upon by him, nor admitted
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to attend upon him, nor shall they be acquitted in the judgment of the
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great day. The workers of iniquity are very foolish. Sin is folly, and
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sinners are the greatest of all fools; not fools of God's making (those
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are to be pitied), for he hates nothing that he has made, but fools of
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their own making, and those he hates. Wicked people hate God; justly
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therefore are they hated of him, and it will be their endless misery
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and ruin. "Those whom thou hatest thou shalt destroy;" particularly
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two sorts of sinners, who are here marked for destruction:--
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[1.] Those that are fools, that speak leasing or lying, and that are
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deceitful. There is a particular emphasis laid on these sinners
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+21:8">Rev. xxi. 8</A>),
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<I>All liars,</I> and
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+22:15">Ps. xxii. 15</A>),
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<I>Whosoever loves and makes a lie;</I> nothing is more contrary than
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this, and therefore nothing more hateful to the God of truth.
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[2.] Those that are cruel: <I>Thou wilt abhor the bloody man;</I> for
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inhumanity is no less contrary, no less hateful, to the God of mercy,
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whom mercy pleases. Liars and murderers are in a particular manner said
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to resemble the devil and to be his children, and therefore it may well
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be expected that God should abhor them. These were the characters of
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David's enemies; and such as these are still the enemies of Christ and
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his church, men perfectly lost to all virtue and honour; and the worse
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they are the surer we may be of their ruin in due time.</P>
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<P>
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In singing
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:1-6">these verses</A>,
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and praying them over, we must engage and stir up ourselves to the duty
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of prayer, and encourage ourselves in it, because we shall not seek the
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Lord in vain; and must express our detestation of sin, and our awful
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expectation of that day of Christ's appearing which will be the day of
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the perdition of ungodly men.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps5_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps5_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps5_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps5_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps5_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps5_12"> </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>Delight in Public Worship; Happiness of the Righteous.</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>7 But as for me, I will come <I>into</I> thy house in the multitude
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of thy mercy: <I>and</I> in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy
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temple.
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8 Lead me, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, in thy righteousness because of mine
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enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
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9 For <I>there is</I> no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward
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part <I>is</I> very wickedness; their throat <I>is</I> an open sepulchre;
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they flatter with their tongue.
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10 Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own
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counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions;
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for they have rebelled against thee.
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11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let
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them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them
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also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
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12 For thou, L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt
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thou compass him as <I>with</I> a shield.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+7-12">these verses</A>
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David gives three characters--of himself, of his enemies, and of all
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the people of God, and subjoins a prayer to each of them.</P>
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<P>
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I. He gives an account of himself and prays for himself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.</P>
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<P>
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1. He is stedfastly resolved to keep closely to God and to his worship.
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Sinners go away from God, and so make themselves odious to his holiness
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and obnoxious to his justice: "<I>But, as for me,</I> that shall not
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keep me from thee." God's holiness and justice are so far from being a
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terror to the upright in heart, to drive them from God, that they are
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rather by them invited to cleave to him. David resolves,
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(1.) To worship God, to pay his homage to him, and give unto God the
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glory due unto his name.
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(2.) To worship him publicly: "<I>I will come into thy house,</I> the
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courts of thy house, to worship there with other faithful worshippers."
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David was much in secret worship, prayed often alone
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>),
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and yet was very constant and devout in his attendance on the
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sanctuary. The duties of the closet are designed to prepare us for, not
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to excuse us from, public ordinances.
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(3.) To worship him reverently and with a due sense of the infinite
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distance there is between God and man: "<I>In thy fear will I
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worship,</I> with a holy awe of God upon my spirit,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:28">Heb. xii. 28</A>.
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God is greatly to be feared by all his worshippers.
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(4.) To take his encouragement, in worship, from God himself only.
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[1.] From his infinite mercy. It is in the multitude of God's mercy
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(the inexhaustible treasures of mercy that are in God and the
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innumerable proofs and instances of it which we receive from him) that
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David confides, and not in any merit or righteousness of his own, in
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his approaches to God. The mercy of God should ever be both the
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foundation of our hopes and the fountain of our joy in every thing
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wherein we have to do with him.
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[2.] From the instituted medium of worship, which was then the temple,
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here called <I>the temple of his holiness,</I> as a type of Christ, the
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great and only Mediator, who sanctifies the service as the temple
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sanctified the gold, and to whom we must have an eye in all our
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devotions as the worshippers then had to the temple.</P>
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<P>
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2. He earnestly prays that God, by his grace, would guide and preserve
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him always in the way of his duty
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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<I>Lead me in thy righteousness, because of my enemies</I>--Heb.
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"<I>Because of those who observe me,</I> who watch for my halting and
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seek occasion against me." See here,
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(1.) The good use which David made of the malice of his enemies against
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him. The more curious they were in spying faults in him, that they
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might have whereof to accuse him, the more cautious he was to avoid sin
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and all appearances of it, and the more solicitous to be always found
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in the good way of God and duty. Thus, by wisdom and grace, good may
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come out of evil.
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(2.) The right course which David took for the baffling of those who
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sought occasion against him. He committed himself to a divine guidance,
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begged of God both by his providence and by his grace to direct him in
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the right way, and keep him from turning aside out of it, at any time,
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in any instance whatsoever, that the most critical and captious of his
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enemies, like Daniel's, might find no occasion against him. The way of
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our duty is here called <I>God's way,</I> and <I>his righteousness,</I>
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because he prescribes to us by his just and holy laws, which if we
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sincerely set before us as our rule, we may in faith beg of God to
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direct us in all particular cases. How this prayer of David's was
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answered to him see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+18:14,15">1 Sam. xviii. 14, 15</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. He gives an account of his enemies, and prays against them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.
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1. If his account of them is true, as no doubt it is, they have a very
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bad character; and, if they had not been bad men indeed, they could not
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have been enemies to a man after God's own heart. He had spoken
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>)
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of God's hating the bloody and deceitful man. "Now, Lord," says he,
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"that is the character of my enemies: they are deceitful; there is no
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trusting them, for there is no faithfulness in their mouth." They
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thought it was no sin to tell a deliberate lie if it might but blemish
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David, and render him odious. "<I>Lord, lead me,</I>" says he
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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"for such as these are the men I have to do with, against whose
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slanders innocency itself is no security. Do they speak fair? Do they
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talk of peace and friendship? <I>They flatter with their tongues;</I>
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it is designed to cover their malice, and to gain their point the more
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securely. Whatever they pretend of religion or friendship, two sacred
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things, they are true to neither: <I>Their inward part is
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wickedness</I> itself; it is <I>very wickedness.</I> They are likewise
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bloody; for <I>their throat is an open sepulchre,</I> cruel as the
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grave, gaping to devour and to swallow up, insatiable as the grave,
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which never says, <I>It is enough,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+30:15,16">Prov. xxx. 15, 16</A>.
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This is quoted
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+3:13">Rom. iii. 13</A>)
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to show the general corruption of mankind; for they are all naturally
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prone to malice,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Tit+3:3">Tit. iii. 3</A>.
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The grave is opened for them all, and yet they are as open graves to
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one another.
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2. If his prayer against them is heard, as no doubt it is, they are in
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a bad condition. As men are, and do, so they must expect to fare. He
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prays to God to destroy them (according to what he had said
|
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>,
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"Thou shalt destroy men of this character," so <I>let them fall;</I>
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and sinners would soon throw themselves into ruin if they were let
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alone), to <I>cast them out</I> of his protection and favour, out of
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the heritage of the Lord, out of the land of the living; and woe to
|
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those whom God casts out. "They have by their sins deserved
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destruction; there is enough to justify God in their utter rejection:
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<I>Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions,</I> by which
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they have filled up the measure of their iniquity and have become ripe
|
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for ruin." Persecuting God's servants fills the measure as soon as any
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thing,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Th+2:15">1 Thess. ii. 15, 16</A>.
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Nay, they may be easily made to <I>fall by their own counsels;</I> that
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|
which they do to secure themselves, and do mischief to others, by the
|
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over-ruling providence of God may be made a means of their destruction,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+7:15,9:15">Ps. vii. 15; ix. 15</A>.
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He pleads, "<I>They have rebelled against thee.</I> Had they been only
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my enemies, I could safely have forgiven them; but they are rebels
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|
against God, his crown and dignity; they oppose his government, and
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|
will not repent, to give him glory, and therefore I plainly foresee
|
|
their ruin." His prayer for their destruction comes not from a spirit
|
|
of revenge, but from a spirit of prophecy, by which he foretold that
|
|
all who rebel against God will certainly be destroyed by their own
|
|
counsels. If it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation
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|
to those that trouble his people, as we are told it is
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Th+1:6">2 Thess. i. 6</A>),
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we pray that it may be done whenever we pray, <I>Father, thy will be
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done.</I></P>
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<P>
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III. He gives an account of the people of God, and prays for them,
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|
concluding with an assurance of their bliss, which he doubted not of
|
|
his own interest in. Observe,
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|
1. The description he gives of God's people. They are the righteous
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>);
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for they <I>put their trust in God,</I> are well assured of his power
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and all-sufficiency, venture their all upon his promise, and are
|
|
confident of his protection in the way of their duty; and they <I>love
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|
his name,</I> are well pleased with all that by which God has made
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|
himself known, and take delight in their acquaintance with him. This is
|
|
true and pure religion, to live a life of complacency in God and
|
|
dependence on him.
|
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|
|
2. His prayer for them: "<I>Let them rejoice;</I> let them have cause
|
|
to rejoice and hearts to rejoice; fill them with joy, with great joy
|
|
and unspeakable; let them shout for joy, with constant joy and
|
|
perpetual; <I>let them ever shout for joy,</I> with holy joy, and that
|
|
which terminates in God; <I>let them be joyful in thee,</I> in thy
|
|
favour, in thy salvation, not in any creature. Let them rejoice
|
|
<I>because thou defendest them,</I> coverest them, or overshadowest
|
|
them, dwellest among them." Perhaps here is an allusion to the pillar
|
|
of cloud and fire, which was to Israel a visible token of God's special
|
|
presence with them and the special protection they were under. Let us
|
|
learn of David to pray, not for ourselves only, but for others, for all
|
|
good people, for all that trust in God and love his name, though not in
|
|
every thing of our mind nor in our interest. Let all that are entitled
|
|
to God's promises have a share in our prayers; grace be with all that
|
|
love Christ in sincerity. This is to concur with God.
|
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|
3. His comfort concerning them,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
He takes them into his prayers because they are God's peculiar people;
|
|
therefore he doubts not but his prayers shall be heard, and they shall
|
|
always rejoice; for,
|
|
|
|
(1.) They are happy in the assurance of God's blessing: "<I>Thou, Lord,
|
|
wilt bless the righteous,</I> wilt command a blessing upon them. Thou
|
|
hast in thy word pronounced them blessed, and therefore wilt make them
|
|
truly so. <I>Those whom thou blessest are blessed indeed.</I>"
|
|
|
|
(2.) "They are safe under the protection of thy favour; with that thou
|
|
wilt <I>crown</I> him" (so some read it); "it is his honour, will be to
|
|
him a diadem of beauty, and make him truly great: with that thou
|
|
<I>wilt compass him,</I> wilt surround him, on every side, <I>as with a
|
|
shield.</I>" A shield, in war, guards only one side, but the favour of
|
|
God is to the saints a defence on every side; like the hedge about Job,
|
|
round about, so that, while they keep themselves under the divine
|
|
protection, they are entirely safe and ought to be entirely
|
|
satisfied.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
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|
In singing
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:7-12">these verses</A>,
|
|
|
|
and praying them over, we must by faith put
|
|
ourselves under God's guidance and care, and then please ourselves with
|
|
his mercy and grace and with the prospect of God's triumphs at last
|
|
over all his enemies and his people's triumphs in him and in his
|
|
salvation.</P>
|
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