The Pulpit Commentary — Psalms — Volume 2 — Section 139

"Vers. 6, 7.-Praying against our enemies. The gravest difficulties in treatinO' the Book of Psalms concern the entire psalms, and the passages in the psalms, which seem to be invocations of wrath on personal enemies. This is reasonably felt to be wholly contrary to the spirit of Christianity. It is not, however, usually noticed, that it is a hopeful sign for a man to speak his bad feelings out to God. He will do mischief if he speaks them out to his fellow-men. He will do no mischief if he speaks them out to God. Before him the man will soon grow calm, and begin to thiak more kindly. Illustrate by the relief it is, when we feel very strongly about a matter, to speak out quite freely to some one who, we are sure, will not make mischief of it. We feel better when we have got it out. The psalmists were wise in this-that when they felt disagreeably towards their fellows, they told God, and not their fellows. It is also pointed out that most, if not all, the imprecatory psalmM represent official rather than personal feelings; and a king or governor may pray against the national enemies, as Hezekiah might properly pray against the Assyrians. From a person acting officially, we presume that the element of temper is excluded. The mischief done by the invaders was distinctly national-the desecration of the temple, the reduction of the city to a heap of ruins, the exposure of the dead, the captivity of multitudes. Prayer for the turning of God's judgments on the nation's enemies could not be regarded as improper, seeing that exactly this God had done over and over again, notably in the case of Sennacherib. What God would do it could not be wrong to pray him to do. And seeing God says, "Avenge not yourselves;" "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord;" it may even be regarded as an act of virtue and piety to restram our vengeance, and commit our vindications unto the Lord. He who prays against his enemies will not take upon himself his own vindications. The following thoughts may be opened and illustrated., L We had better pray against our enemies than fight against them. II. When we pray we commit all the times and ways of judgment on them to the infinitely wise and gracious Lord. In even this prayer we should say, "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." III. If we pray about persons, we soon begin to change our feelings towards them. IV. But it is the height to which Christian principle raises us, when we pray for our enemies rather than against them. The older religion pmyed for vengeance on them, the newer religion prays for mercy towards them. "If thine enemy hunger, feed him: if he thirst, give him drink."-R. T. Ver. 8.-The trouble of our old sins. Prayer-book Version, "Oh remember not our old sins." Because a man cannot forget his old sins, he is very disposed to think that God cannot forget them either. And this he will do in face of the repeated assurances of God's Word, that hisforgiving includes hieforgetting. Three very striking figures are used to assure us that God will not keep the memory of the sine which he has forgiven and blotted out. 1. It is as if they were thrown "behind hie back." 2. It is as if they were "cast into the depths of the sea." 3. It is as if they were removed from us "far as the east is from the west." We can never really think that God will bring up against us what he has forgiven. The fear that he will only tells of the state of our own hearts. We may, therefore, consider- L THE REASONABLE USE WE MAY MAKE OF TJlE MEMOBY OF PAST SINS, This 1'8, LXXIX, 1-13,] THE BOOK OF PS.A.Ll\18. 153 ------------------------------ -~- - - llll\Y be applied to both national and family sina. Iarael was required to keep in memory the sins of its forefathers, and prophets made it part of their work to remind Israel of those bygone iniquities. So we may be sure that some moral value lies in such memories. 'l'his much we can see: they keep us (1) impressed with the sovereignty of Divine grace; e.nd they bring us (2) the safeguard of e. proper fear of ourselve.a. In view of the sins of the past, we are plainly the monuments of Divine grace; all boasting is excluded, We can bave no claim before God. He must mercifully have passed by transgression and sin in order to "clear the guilty." He loved us because he loved us, and no more can be said. Divine grace triumphed in bringin-; salvation to such ns we were. See St. Paul's plea: "Such ware some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the Name of the Lord J asus, and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor. vi. 11). And the thought of our pad~ sin3 brings a worthy humbling, and a holy fear. What we have been we might fall back upon again; and we can only be kept steadfast by the sustainings of Divine grace (comp. Ps. lxxviii. 8). Nothing checks self-confidence, the self-trusting that destroys dependence, like recalling our wilful pa.st. \Ve ha.ve fallen-the thought makes us fear lest we should fall ~gain; a.nd forces from us the cry, "Hold thou me up, a.nu I shall be safe." II. TnE UNREASONABLE USE WE MAY MAKE OF THE MEMORY OF PAST SINS. Dwell chiefly on one point. We a.re always wrong, and we always act unworthily, when we think of our past 'sins without thinking also that they are forgiven, blotted out, put a.way; so far as God is concerned, done with, irrecoverable. It honours God for us to use the memory of our pa.st sins in order to make us more watchful and humble; but it never honour8 God for us to worry over sins tba.t he bas foqi;iven, and put wholly a.way from him. We ought to enter into the full joy of his forgiveness.-R. T. Ver. 9.-Purging away sins. "Deliver us, and purge away our sins; " "Cover our sins." The figure is evidently one familiar to those brought up under the old covenant system. In it the atonement idea. wa.s prominent, as a." covering over" of transgression. 'l'he two words a.re distinct, but closely related; and they suggested the two things which man needs to have done to his sin. It must (1) be covered over; (2) it must be purged away. I. OuR SIN MUST BE "COVERED OVER." The Mosaic idea of the word "atonement" is very clearly defined. It a.lwa.ys means "to cover." An "atonement" is exactly this," a. sin-cover." It is something that covers sin over; puts it out of sight; hides it from view; removes it from consideration; puts something before God in its place. To "make atonement" is really to "make a. sin-cover;" and that is but a quaint Hebrew figure for "to make reconciliation," or to provide a. basis or persuasion for reconciliation; " the conception being that sin is thereby covered up, hidden from sight and memory. Exactly the same thing is meant when, using a different figure, i\ is said to be purged, cleansed, taken a.way. When the transgressor is said to be atoned or reconciled, the being covered is ta.ken subjectively in the same way ; a.s if something had come upon him to change his unclean state and make him ceremonially or, it ma.y be, spiritually pure. But the subject thus a.toned is not only covered or cleansed in himself, he is figured as put in a new relation with God, and God with him; a.nd it is as if God were somehow changed towards him-newly inclined, propitiateu, or made propitious" (H. Bushnell). As a. New Testament illustration of this term, we may be reminded of the words of St. James," Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth,and one convert him, let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." St. Ja.mes was an apostle of the most Judaic type, a.nd he evidently had in mind the Old Te11tament idea. of covering sin by some conspicuous act of goodness, a.nd so making atonement for it. .As a.n Old 'l'estament illustration, the striking words of Ezekiel may be taken. He says, in the name of Jehovah, "If the wicked will turn from e.11 his sins that he bath committed, a.nd keep a.11 my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done, he shall live." That is, his full, hearty return to God shall be graciously regarded as a sin-cover, it shall hide from God those former sins which, if God saw, would demand his judgments. 'l'here a.re three very striking historical incidents w.  154 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [PB, LllIX, 1-13,