this psalm it might seem, as if knowledge alone had been the end for which David desired a spiritual illu- mination : " Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." But we see in our text, that he had far other ends in view : he longed for knowledge, only that he might have his soul the more enlarged by it to run the way of God's com- mandments : " Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart." From these words we will take occasion to shew,
I. How true wisdom will operate —
The provisional engagement which David entered into was no other than what must necessarily result from an answer to his petition. If God give to any of us a spiritual understanding, we shall immediately begin,
1. To keep his law — [Whatever God has revealed will be a law unto us. Has he bidden us repent ? We shall humble ourselves before him
in dust and ashes Has he enjoined us to believe in his
dear Son? We shall receive him into our hearts, and embrace him as all our salvation and all our desire Has he com- manded us to obey his precepts ? We shall endeavour to search
out his will, and to conform ourselves to it in all things
Whatever temptations may assault us, we shall not suffer them to turn us aside from the path of duty. Whatever opposition we may have to encounter, we shall hold on our way, deter- mined to keep God's law, yea, to " keep it to the endb." This alone is true wisdom0; yea, this is the first beginning of wis- dom in the soul d.]
2. To observe it with our whole hearts — [There are two things which a spiritual understanding will most assuredly teach us, namely, the beauty and excellency of God's law, and the folly of rendering to it a merely partial obedience.
To an unenlightened mind many of God's commands appear absurd : and men are ready to say of them, " This is a hard saying; who can hear it?" But, in the view of one who is taught of God, " there is no commandment grievous : " the scope of every thing which God has spoken, is, to produce the present and eternal happiness of his creatures : the language of
every injunction is, Be holy, be happy To attempt to
lower any command to the standard of man's opinion, or of our
b ver. 112. c Job xxviii. 28. d Ps. cxi. 10.