Fourilily, The subject capable, ' thy servant.' Here we may ask the eunuch's question, ' Of whom speaketh the prophet this, of himself or of some other man ? ' Of himself questionless, under the denomina- tion of God's servant. But then the question returneth, Is it a word of promise made to himself in particular, or God's servants in the general? Some say the former, 2 Sam. xii. 13, the promises brought to him by Nathan. I incline to the latter, and it teacheth us these three truths : — (1.) That God's servants are only capable of the sweet efiects of his mercy and the comfort of his promises. Who are God's servants ? (1st.) Such as own his right, and are sensible of his interest in them : Acts xxiii. 23, ' The God whose I am and whom I serve.' (2d.) Such as give up themselves to him, renouncing all other masters. Pienounce we must, for we were once under another master, Eom. vi. 17 ; Mat. vi. 24 ; Kom. vi. 13 ; 1 and Chron. xxx. 8. (3d.) Accordingly frame themselves to do his work sincerely : Eom. i. 9, 'Serve with my spirit ;' and Kom. vii. 6, 'In newness of spirit/ so as will become those who are renewed by the Spirit : diligently, Acts xxvi. 7, and universally, Luke i. 74, and wait upon him for grace to do so, Heb. xi. 28. These are capable of comfort. The book of God speaketh no comfort to persons that live in sin, but to God's servants, such as do not live as if they were at their own dis- pose, but at God's beck : if he say. Go, they go. They give up themselves to be and do what God will have them to be and do. (2.) If we would have the benefit of the promise, we must thrust in ourselves, under one title or other, among those to whom the promise is made, if not as God's children, yet as God's servants. Then it is as sure as if our name were in the promise. (3.) All God's servants
VeR. 77.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 309
have common grounds of comfort : every one of God's servants may plead with God as David doth. The comforts of the word are the common portion of God's people ; they that bring a larger measure of faith, carry away a larger measure of comfort.
Oh, then, let us lift up our eyes and hearts to God this day, and, in as broken-hearted a manner, seek this comfort as possibly we can I
SERMON LXXXV.
Let tliy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live : for thy law is my delight. — Ver. 77.
The man of God had begged mercy before, now he beggeth mercy again. The doubling the request showeth that he had no light feeling of sin in the troubles that were upon him ; and besides, the people of God think they can never have enough of mercy, nor beg enough of mercy ; they again and again reinforce their suits, and still cry for mercy. After he had said, ' Let thy merciful loving-kindness be for my comfort,' he presently addeth, ' Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live.' In the words we have two things : —
1. His request, let tliy tendei^ mercies come unto me.
2. A reason to back it, that I may live.
First, The request consists of three branches : —
1. The cause and fountain, let thy tender mercies.
2. The influence and outgoing of that cause, or the personal application of it to David, let them co^ne unto me.
3. The end, that I may live.
1. The cause and fountain is the Lord's tender mercies : it is remarkable that in this and the former verse he doth not mention mercy without some additament ; there it was merciful kindness, here tender mercy. Mercy in men implieth a commotion of the bowels at the sight of another's misery ; so in God there is such a readiness to pity, as if he had the same working of bowels : Jer. xxxi. 20, ' My bowels are troubled for him,' or sound for him. Now some are more apt to feel this than others, according to the goodness of their nature, or their special interest in the party miserable. We expect from parents that their bowels should yearn more towards their own children than to strangers ; so God hath the bowels of a father : Ps. ciii. 13, 'Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.' There needeth not much ado to bring a father to pity his children in misery, if he hath anything fatherly in him.
2. The outgoing of this mercy is begged, ' Let it come unto me ;' where, by a fiction of persons, mercy is said to come or find out its way to him.
3. The effect, * That I may live.' Life is sometimes taken literally, and, in its first sense, for life natural, spiritual, or eternal, by a me- tonymy for joy, peace, comfort: now which of these senses shall we apply to this place ? Some take it for life natural, that he might
310 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. LXXXV.