Let me speak of the first petition. Where I might observe —
1. The matter of the petition, make thy face to shine.
2. The person, upon me.
3. The character by which he describeth himself, thy servant.
1. As to the matter, 'Make thy face to shine.' It is a metaphor taken from the sun. When the sun shines, and sheds abroad his light and heat and influence, then the creatures are cheered and re- vived ; but when that is obscured, they droop and languish. What the sun is to the outward world, that is God to the saints. Or else here is a metaphor taken from men, that look pleasantly upon those in whom they delight ; and so the Lord gives a smile of his gracious countenance upon his people: indeed it alludeth to both; for the
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allusion to the light and influence of the sun is clear in the word ' shine ;' and the allusion to the pleasant countenance of a man upon his child is included in the word ' face/ The phrase may be under- stood by what is said, Prov. xvi. 15, ' In the light of the king's coun- tenance is life, and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.' That place will illustrate this we have in hand. Look, what the smiling and pleasing aspect of the king is to those that value and stand in need of his favour, that is the favour of God to the saints. The same form of speech is used in other places ; as in the form of the priest's bless- ing : Num. vi. 25, ' The Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee ; ' and in that prayer, Ps. Ixvii. 1, ' God be mer- ciful unto us, and bless us, and cause his face to shine upon us, Selah.' Well, then, the thing begged is a sense of God's love.
2. For whom doth David beg this ? For himself, ' Cause thy face to shine upon me ; ' David, a man after God's own heart. But did he need to put up such a request to God ? (1.) Possibly God might seem to neglect him, or to look upon him with an angry countenance, because of sin ; and therefore he begs some demonstration of his favour and good-will. David had his times of darkness and discomfort as well as others, therefore earnestly beggeth for one smile of God's face. (2.) If 5'ou look not upon him as under desertion at this time^ the words then must be thus interpreted: he begs the continuance and increase of his comfort and sense of God's love. God's manifesta- tions of himself to his people in this world are given out in a different degree, and with great diversity. Our assurance or sense of his love consists not in puncto, an indivisible point ; it hath a latitude, it may be more and it may be less, and God's children think they can never have enough of it ; therefore David saith, ' Lord, cause thy face to shine.' If it did shine already, the petition intimates the continuance and increase of it.
3. He characteriseth himself by the notion of God's servant ; as Ps, xxxi. 16, ' Make thy face to shine upon thy servant ; save me, for thy mercies' sake.' We must study to approve ourselves to be the Lord's servants by our obedience. If we would have his face shine upon us, we must be careful to yield obedience unto him.
The points are four : —
1. The sense of God's favour may be withdrawn for a time from his choicest servants.
2. The children of God, that are sensible of this, cannot be satis- fied with this estate, but they will be praying for some beams of love to be darted out upon their souls.
3. They that are sensible of the want or loss of God's favour have liberty with hope and encouragement to sue out this blessing, as David did : ' Lord, make thy face to shine upon thy servant.'
4. God's children, when they beg comfort, they also beg grace to serve him acceptably.
First, The sense of God's favour may be withdrawn for a time from his choicest servants. David puts up this petition in point of comfort. There is a twofold desertion — in appearance and in reality.
1. In appearance only, through the misgivings of our own hearts. We may think God is gone, and hides his face, when there is no such
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matter, as through inadvertency we may seek what we have in our hands. Thus a chikl of God thinks he is cast out of the presence of God when all the while he hath a full right and place in his heart. Thus David, Ps. xxxi. 22. We think God hath forgotten us, neglects us, casts us off, liath no respect for us, when in the meantime the Lord is framing an answer of grace for us. One chief cause is mis- interpreting God's providence, and our manifold afflictions. The Lord sometimes frowns upon his children, as Joseph upon his brethren, when his affections were very strong ; so the Lord covers himself with frowns and anger, the visible appearance of it speaks no otherwise.