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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Psalms CXXVIII].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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<h3><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank">Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page</a>
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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 CXXVIII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This, as the former, is a psalm for families. In that we were taught
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that the prosperity of our families depends upon the blessing of God;
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in this we are taught that the only way to obtain that blessing which
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will make our families comfortable is to live in the fear of God and in
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obedience to him. Those that do so, in general, shall be blessed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+128:1,2,4">ver. 1, 2, 4</A>),
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In particular,
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I. They shall be prosperous and successful in their employments,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+128:2">ver. 2</A>.
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II. Their relations shall be agreeable,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+128:3">ver. 3</A>.
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III. They shall live to see their families brought up,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+128:6">ver. 6</A>.
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IV. They shall have the satisfaction of seeing the church of God in a
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flourishing condition,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+128:5,6">ver. 5, 6</A>.
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We must sing this psalm in the firm belief of this truth, That religion
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and piety are the best friends to outward prosperity, giving God the
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praise that it is so and that we have found it so, and encouraging
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ourselves and others with it.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps128_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps128_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps128_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps128_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps128_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps128_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>Blessedness of the Godly.</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>A song of degrees.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Blessed <I>is</I> every one that feareth
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; that walketh in his ways.
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2 For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy <I>shalt</I>
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thou <I>be,</I> and <I>it shall be</I> well with thee.
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3 Thy wife <I>shall be</I> as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine
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house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
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4 Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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5 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the
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good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
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6 Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, <I>and</I> peace upon
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Israel.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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It is here shown that godliness has the promise of the life that now is
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and of that which is to come.</P>
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<P>
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I. It is here again and again laid down as an undoubted truth that
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<I>those who are truly holy are truly happy.</I> Those whose blessed
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state we are here assured of are such as <I>fear the Lord</I> and
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<I>walk in his ways,</I> such as have a deep reverence of God upon
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their spirits and evidence it by a regular and constant conformity to
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his will. Where the fear of God is a commanding principle in the heart
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the tenour of the conversation will be accordingly; and in vain do we
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pretend to be of those that fear God if we do not make conscience both
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of keeping to his ways and not trifling in them or drawing back. Such
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are blessed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+128:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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and shall be blessed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+128:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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God blesses them, and his pronouncing them blessed makes them so. They
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are blessed now, they shall be blessed still, and for ever. This
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blessedness, arising from this blessing, is here secured,
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1. To all the saints universally: <I>Blessed is everyone that fears the
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Lord,</I> whoever he be; in every nation he that fears God and works
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righteousness is accepted of him, and therefore is blessed whether he
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be high or low, rich or poor, in the world; if religion rule him, it
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will protect and enrich him.
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2. To such a saint in particular: <I>Thus shall the man be blessed,</I>
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not only the nation, the church in its public capacity, but the
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particular person in his private interests.
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3. We are encouraged to apply it to ourselves
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+128:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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"<I>Happy shalt thou be;</I> thou mayest take the comfort of the
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promise, and expect the benefit of it, as if it were directed to thee
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by name, if thou <I>fear God and walk in his ways. Happy shalt thou
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be,</I> that is, <I>It shall be well with thee;</I> whatever befals
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thee, good shall be brought out of it; it shall be well with thee while
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thou livest, better when thou diest, and best of all to eternity." It
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is asserted
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+128:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>)
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with a note commanding attention: <I>Behold, thus shall the man be
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blessed;</I> behold it by faith in the promise; behold it by
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observation in the performance of the promise; behold it with assurance
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that it shall be so, for God is faithful, and with admiration that it
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should be so, for we merit no favour, no blessing, from him.</P>
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<P>
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II. Particular promises are here made to godly people, which they may
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depend upon, as far as is for God's glory and their good; and that is
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enough.</P>
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<P>
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1. That, by the blessing of God, they shall get an honest livelihood
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and live comfortably upon it. It is not promised that they shall live
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at ease, without care or pains, but, <I>Thou shalt eat the labour of
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thy hands.</I> Here is a double promise,
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(1.) That they shall have something to do (for an idle life is a
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miserable uncomfortable life) and shall have health, and strength, and
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capacity of mind to do it, and shall not be forced to be beholden to
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others for necessary food, and to live, as the disabled poor do, upon
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the labours of other people. It is as much a mercy as it is a duty
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<I>with quietness</I> to <I>work and eat our own bread,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Th+3:12">
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2 Thess. 3:12</A>.
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(2.) That they shall succeed in their employments, and they and theirs
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shall enjoy what they get; others shall not come and eat the bread out
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of their mouths, nor shall it be taken from them either by oppressive
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rulers or invading enemies. God will not blast it and blow upon it (as
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he did,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hag+1:9">
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Hag. 1:9</A>),
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and his blessing will make a little go a great way. It is very
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pleasant to enjoy the fruits of our own industry; as the sleep, so the
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food, of a labouring man is sweet.</P>
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<P>
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2. That they shall have abundance of comfort in their family-relations.
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As a wife and children are very much a man's care, so, if by the grace
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of God they are such as they should be, they are very much a man's
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delight, as much as any creature-comfort.
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(1.) The <I>wife</I> shall be <I>as a vine by the sides of the
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house,</I> not only as a spreading vine which serves for an ornament,
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but as a fruitful vine which is for profit, and with the fruit whereof
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both God and man are honoured,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+9:13">Judg. ix. 13</A>.
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The vine is a weak and tender plant, and needs to be supported and
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cherished, but it is a very valuable plant, and some think (because all
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the products of it were prohibited to the Nazarites) it was the <I>tree
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of knowledge</I> itself. The wife's place is the husband's house; there
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her business lies, and that is her castle. <I>Where is Sarah thy wife?
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Behold, in the tent;</I> where should she be else? Her place is <I>by
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the sides of the house,</I> not under-foot to be trampled on, nor yet
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upon the house-top to domineer (if she be so, she is but <I>as the
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grass upon the house-top,</I> in the next psalm), but on the side of
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the house, being a rib out of the side of the man. She shall be a
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loving wife, as the vine, which cleaves to the house-side, an obedient
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wife, as the vine, which is pliable, and grows as it is directed. She
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shall be fruitful as the vine, not only in children, but in the fruits
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of wisdom, and righteousness, and good management, the <I>branches</I>
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of which <I>run over the wall</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+49:22,Ps+80:11">Gen. xlix. 22; Ps. lxxx. 11</A>),
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<I>like a fruitful vine,</I> not cumbering the ground, nor bringing
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forth sour grapes, or grapes of Sodom, but good fruit.
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(2.) The <I>children</I> shall be <I>as olive plants,</I> likely in
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time to be olive-trees, and, though <I>wild by nature,</I> yet grafted
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into the good olive, and partaking of its <I>root and fatness,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+11:17">Rom. xi. 17</A>.
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It is pleasant to parents who have a table spread, though but with
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ordinary fare, to see their children round about it, to have many
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children, enough to surround it, and those with them, and not
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scattered, or the parents forced from them. Job makes it one of the
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first instances of his former prosperity that <I>his children were
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about him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+29:5">Job xxix. 5</A>.
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Parents love to have their children at table, to keep up the
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pleasantness of the table-talk, to have them in health, craving food
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and not physic, to have them like <I>olive-plants,</I> straight and
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green, sucking in the sap of their good education, and likely in due
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time to be serviceable.</P>
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<P>
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3. That they shall have those things which God has promised and which
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they pray for: <I>The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion,</I> where the
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ark of the covenant was, and where the pious Israelites attended with
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their devotions. <I>Blessings out of Zion</I> are the best-blessings,
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which flow, not from common providence, but from special grace,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+20:2">Ps. xx. 2</A>.</P>
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<P>
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4. That they shall live long, to enjoy the comforts of the rising
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generations: "Thou shalt <I>see thy children's children,</I> as Joseph,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:23">Gen. l. 23</A>.
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Thy family shall be built up and continued, and thou shalt have the
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pleasure of seeing it." <I>Children's children,</I> if they be good
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children, <I>are the crown of old men</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+17:6">Prov. xvii. 6</A>),
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who are apt to be fond of their grandchildren.</P>
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<P>
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5. That they shall see the welfare of God's church, and the land of
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their nativity, which every man who fears God is no less concerned for
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than for the prosperity of his own family. "Thou shalt be blessed in
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Zion's blessing, and wilt think thyself so. Thou shalt <I>see the good
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of Jerusalem</I> as long as thou shalt live, though thou shouldest live
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long, and shalt not have thy private comforts allayed and embittered by
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public troubles." A good man can have little comfort in seeing his
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children's children, unless withal he see peace upon Israel, and have
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hopes of transmitting the entail of religion pure and entire to those
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that shall come after him, for that is the best inheritance.</P>
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<TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP">
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC19127.HTM">Previous</A>]
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[<A HREF="MHC19129.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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