DAVID'S CONCLUSION; OR, THE SAINT'S RESOLUTION.
DAVID'S CONCLUSION; OR, THE SAINT'S RESOLUTION.
NOTE.
' David's Conclusion ' is one of the sermons of the ' Beams of Divine Light.' (4to, 1G39. Cf. Vol, V. p. 220.) Its separate title-page is given below.*
DAVIDS
CONCLVSION:
OR,
THE SAINTS
RESOLVTION.
In one Sermon.
By the late learned, and reverend Divine, Richard Sibbs, Doctor in Divinitie, Master of Katherine-Hall in Cambridge ; and sometimes Prea- cher at Grays-Inne.
leremy 30. 21. Who is this that ingageth his heart to approach un- to me, saith the Lord?
James 4. 8. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
London,
Printed by E. P. for Nicholas Bourne
and Bapha Harford.
16 39.
DAVID'S CONCLUSION; OR, THE SAINT'S RESOLUTION.
But it is good for me to draw near to God. — Ps. LXXTII. 28.
This psalm is a psalm of Asaph, or a psalm of David, and committed to Asaph the singer, for Asaph was both a seer and a singer. Those psalms that David made were committed to Asaph, so it is thought to be a psalm of David. , And if not of David, yet of Asaph, that likewise was a singer in the house of God (a).
The psalm represents to us a man in a spiritual conflict, by a discovery of the cause of it, and a recovery out of the conflict, with a triumphant conclusion afterwards.
1. lie hegins ahrvL^ilj, aa a. raaji newly come out of a conflict: ' Truly God is good to Israel ; ' as if he had gained this truth in conflicting with his corruptions and Satan, who joins with corruption in opposing. Say the flesh what it can, say Satan what he can, say carnal men what they can, ' yet God is good to Israel.'
2. After his conflict he sets down the discovery, first of his weakness, and then of his doubting of God's providence, and then the cause of it, the prosperity of the wicked, and God's contrary dealing with the godly. Then he discovers the danger he was come to, ver. 13, ' Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency,' &c.
3. And then the recovery, in ver. 17 : ' I went into the sanctuary, and there I understood the end of these men.' The recovery was by going into the sanctuary ; not by looking upon the present condition, but upon God's intention, what should become of such men ; and there he had satisfaction.
4. Then his victory and triumph over all: ver. 23, 'Nevertheless I am continually with thee.' It was a suggestion of the flesh that thou wast gone far from me, by reason of the condition of carnal men that flourish in the eye of the world. No : * Thou art continually with me, and thou boldest me by my right hand.' Thou upholdest me, I should fall else. But what, would God do so for the time to come ? ' He will guide me by his counsel,' while I live here and when I am dead. What will he do for me after ? ' He will receive me to glory.' Whereupon saith he, ' Who have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none in earth that I desire besides thee.' Therefore, though for the present * my flesh fail,' yea, and ' my heart fail,'
VOL. VII. F
82 David's conclusion ; or,
yet God is the ' strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.' We see iiere his victoiy set down, and he gives a lustre to it, by God's contrary deaUng with the wicked : ' For lo, they that are far from thee shall perish : thou hast destroyed all them that go a-whoring from thee.' Now, in the words of the text, you have his conclusion upon all this, ' Nevertheless it is good for me to draw near to God.'
This is the conclusion upon the former principles. This is, as it were, the judgment upon the former demurs. The sum of all comes to this : Let all things be weighed and laid together, I am sure this is true, * it is good for me to draw near to God.' So he ends where he began, ' God is good to Israel.' Therefore, because God is so good to Israel, * it is good to draw near to God.' So you see in what order the words come. They are the words of a man got out of a conflict, after he had entered into the sanctuary, and after he had considered the end of wicked men, at whose prosperity he was troubled and took scandal.
Before I come to the words, it is not amiss briefly to touch these points, to make M-ay to that I am to deliver.
First of all, that,
1. GolVs dcarvat children arc exercised ivith sharp spiritual conflicts.
God suflers their very faith in principles sometimes to be shaken. What is more clear than God's providence ? Not the noonday. Yet God sufiers sometimes his own children to be exercised with conflicts of this kind, to doubt of principles written in the book of God, as it were, with a sunbeam, that have a lustre in themselves. There is nothing more clear than that God hath a particular special providence over his ; yet God's ways are so unsearchable and deep, that he doth spiritually exercise his children ; he sufi'ers them to be exercised, as you see here he comes out of a conflict ; ' but it is good for me to draw near to God.' I will touch it. Therefore I will extend it only to God's people, that, if by reason of the remainders of corruption God sufler their rebellious hearts to cast mire and dirt, to cast in objections that are odious to the spiritual man, that part that is good, they may not be cast down too much and dejected. It is no otherwise with them than it hath been with God's dear children, as we see in Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and others. It is a clear truth. I only point at it that we might have it ready to comfort ourselves when such things rise in our souls. It is no otherwise with us than it hath been with other of God's dear children.