Suck every letter, and a honey gain,
Precious for any grief in any part;
To clear the breast, to mollify all pain."
Ver. 103. If we would taste the honey of God, we must have the palate of faith. A.R. Fausset.
Psalms 119:104*
Ver. 104. Through thy precepts I get understanding. God's direction is our instruction. Obedience to the divine will begets wisdom of mind and action. As God's way is always best, those who follow it are sure to be justified by the result. If the Lawgiver were foolish his law would be the same, and obedience to such a law would involve us in a thousand mistakes; but as the reverse is the case, we may count ourselves happy to have such a wise, prudent, and beneficial law to be the rule of our lives. We are wise if we obey and we grow wise by obeying!
Therefore I hate every false way. Because he had understanding, and because of the divine precepts, he detested sin and falsehood. Every sin is a falsehood; we commit sin because we believe a lie, and in the end the flattering evil turns a liar to us and we find ourselves betrayed. True hearts are not indifferent about falsehood, they grow warm in indignation: as they love the truth, so they hate the lie. Saints have a universal horror of all that is untrue, they tolerate no falsehood or folly, they set their faces against all error of doctrine or wickedness of life. He who is a lover of one sin is in league with the whole army of sins; we must have neither truce nor parley with even one of these Amalekites, for the Lord hath war with them from generation to generation, and so must we. It is well to be a good hater. And what is that? A hater of no living being, but a hater of "every false way." The way of self will, of self righteousness, of worldliness, of pride, of unbelief, of hypocrisy, these are all false ways, and therefore not only to be shunned, but to be abhorred.
This final verse of the strophe marks a great advance in character, and shows that the man of God is growing stronger, bolder, and happier than aforetime. He has been taught of the Lord, so that he discerns between the precious and the vile, and while he loves the truth fervently he hates falsehood intensely. May all of us reach this state of discrimination and determination, so that we may greatly glorify God.
Ver. 104. Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. In this sentence the prophet seems to invert the order set down in Psalms 119:101. He had said, "I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word, "where the avoiding of evil is made the means of profiting by the word; here his profiting by the word is made the cause of avoiding evil. In the one verse you have an account of his beginning with God; in the other, of his progress. Thomas Manton.
Ver. 104. I hate every false way. David saith, "I hate every false way"; I hate not only the way when I have been misled into it, but I hate to go in it; and he professes at the Psalms 119:163, "I hate and abhor lying, but thy law do I love." To abstain from and forbear lying is a sign of a gracious heart, much more to hate and abhor it. A godly man not only doth that which is good, but he delights to do it, his soul cleaves to it; he is in his clement when he is doing it, nothing comes more suitably to him than the business of his duty, he loveth to do it, yea, he loveth it when he cannot do it: Romans 7:22. Paul complained much that his corruptions clogged, hindered and shackled him; he was in lime twigs as to the doing of good, yet (saith he) "I delight in the law of God after the inward man"; that is, the inward man delightfully moves after the law of God, when I am basely moved by my corrupt heart, and stirred by temptation against it. Now, as a godly man not only chooseth to do the holy will of God, but delights and rejoiceth to do it, and hath sweet content in doing it; so likewise a godly man not only refuseth to do the will of the flesh, or to follow the course of the world, but hates to do it, and is never so discontented with himself as when through carelessness and neglect of his watch he hath been overtaken and hath fallen. A carnal man may forbear the doing of evil, and do what is materially good, but he never abhors what is evil, nor delights in what is good. Though he abstain from acting those things which God forbids, yet he doth not say, with Job, "God forbid, I should act them."...To delight in good is better than the doing of it, and to abhor evil is better than abstaining from it. And if we compare the nature of sin with the new nature of a godly man, we may see clear grounds why his abstinence from sin is joined with an abhorrence of it. Joseph Caryl.
Ver. 104. Through thy; precepts I get understanding. Spiritual understanding is connected with the taste of spiritual sweetness. (Compare Proverbs 2:10-11.) "The sweetness of the lips" as the wise man observes "increaseth learning. The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips." Proverbs 16:21, Proverbs 16:23. Thus having learned "the principles of the doctrine of Christ, "we are encouraged to "go on to perfection" "growing in grace and in the knowledge of Christ." For the connexion between "grace and knowledge" is clearly manifested. Charles Bridges.
Ver. 104. I hate every false way. Universality in this is a sure sign of sincerity. Herod spits out some sins, when he rolls others as sweet morsels in his mouth. A hypocrite ever leaves the devil some nest egg to sit upon, though he take many away. Some men will not buy some commodities, because they cannot have them at their own price, but they lay out the same money on others; so hypocrites forbear some sins, yea, are displeased at them; because they cannot have them without disgrace or disease, or some other disadvantage; but they lay out the same love upon other sins which will suit better with their designs. Some affirm that what the sea loseth in one place it gains in another; so what ground the corruption of the unconverted loseth one way, it gains another. There is in him some one lust especially which is his favourite; some king sin, like Agag, which must be spared when others are destroyed. "In this the Lord be merciful to thy servant, "saith Naaman. But now the regenerate laboureth to cleanse himself from all pollutions, both of flesh and spirit. 2 Corinthians 7:1. George Swinnock.
Ver. 104. I hate. The Scriptures place religion very much in the affection of love; love to God, and the Lord Jesus Christ; love to the people of God, and to mankind. The texts in which this is manifest, both in the Old Testament and the New, are innumerable. The contrary affection of hatred also, as having sin for its object, is spoken of in Scripture as no inconsiderable part of true religion. It is spoken of as that by which true religion may be known and distinguished. Proverbs 8:13. "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil." Accordingly, the saints are called upon to give evidence of their sincerity by this, Psalms 97:10. "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil." And the Psalmist often mentions it as an evidence of his sincerity: Psalms 101:2-3, "I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside." So Psalms 114:128, and the present place. Again, Psalms 139:21: "Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee?" Jonathan Edwards.
Ver. 104. I hate. Hatred is a stabbing, murdering affection, it purposes sin with a hot heart to death, as an avenger of blood, that is to say, of the blood of the soul which sin would spill, and of the blood of Christ which sin hath shed. Hate sin perfectly and perpetually and then you will not spare it but kill it presently. Till sin be hated it cannot be mortified; you will not cry against it, as the Jews did against Christ, Crucify it! Crucify it! but shew indulgence to it as David did to Absalom and say, Deal gently with the young man, with this or that lust, for my sake. Mercy to sin is cruelty to the soul. Edward Reyner, 1600-1670.
Ver. 104. False way. It is not said, "evil way, "but "false way": or, as it is in the original, every path of lying and falsehood. Falsehood is either in point of opinion or practice. If you take it in the first sense, for falsehood in opinion, or error in judgment, or false doctrine, or false worship, this sentence holds good. Those that get understanding by the word are established against error, and not only established against error, or against the embracing or possession of it, but they hate it. Thomas Manton.
Ver. 104. False way. All sin is a lie. By it we attempt to cheat God. By it we actually cheat our souls: Proverbs 14:12. There is no delusion like the folly of believing that a course of sin will conduce to our happiness. William S. Plumer.
HINTS TO PREACHERS.
Ver. 104. The influence of the precepts.
1. Upon the understanding.
2. Upon the affections.
3. Upon the life.
Ver. 104.
1. The intellectual effect of the Scriptures: "I get understanding."
2. Their moral effect: "I hate, "etc. G.R.
Ver. 104. The understanding derived from God's precepts begets holy hatred.
1. To the false ways of conventional morality.
2. To the false ways of a formal religiousness.
3. To the false ways of an erring theology.
4. To the false ways of hypocritical practice.
5. To the false ways of sinful suggestions.
6. To the false ways of one's own deceitful heart. J.F.
Psalms 119:105*
Ver. 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet. We are walkers through the city of this world, and we are often called to go out into its darkness; let us never venture there without the light giving word, lest we slip with our feet. Each man should use the word of God personally, practically, and habitually, that he may see his way and see what lies in it. When darkness settles down upon all around me, the word of the Lord, like a flaming torch, reveals my way. Having no fixed lamps in eastern towns, in old time each passenger carried a lantern with him that he might not fall into the open sewer, or stumble over the heaps of ordure which defiled the road. This is a true picture of our path through this dark world: we should not know the way, or how to walk in it, if Scripture, like a blazing flambeau, did not reveal it. One of the most practical benefits of Holy Writ is guidance in the acts of daily life: it is not sent to astound us with its brilliance, but to guide us by its instruction. It is true the head needs illumination, but even more the feet need direction, else head and feet may both fall into a ditch. Happy is the man who personally appropriates God's word, and practically uses it as his comfort and counsellor, a lamp to his own feet.
And a light unto my path. It is a lamp by night, a light by day, and a delight at all times. David guided his own steps by it, and also saw the difficulties of his road by its beams. He who walks in darkness is sure, sooner or later, to stumble; while he who walks by the light of day, or by the lamp of night, stumbleth not, but keeps his uprightness. Ignorance is painful upon practical subjects; it breeds indecision and suspense, and these are uncomfortable: the word of God, by imparting heavenly knowledge, leads to decision, and when that is followed by determined resolution, as in this case, it brings with it great restfulness of heart.
This verse converses with God in adoring and yet familiar tones. Have we not something of like tenor to address to our heavenly Father?
Note how like this verse is to the first verse of the first octave, and the first of the second and other octaves. The seconds also are often in unison.
Ver. 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light, etc. David was a man of very good wit and natural understanding; but he gives to God the glory of his wisdom, and owns that his best light was but darkness when he was not lightened and ruled by the word of God. Oh that we would consider this, that in all our ways wherein the word of God shines not unto us to direct us, we do but walk in darkness, and our ways without it can lead us to none other end but utter darkness. If we hearken not to the word of God, if we walk not by the rule thereof, how is it possible we can come to the face of God? William Cowper.
Ver. 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. The use of a lamp is by night, while the light of the sun shineth by day. Whether it be day or night with us, we clearly understand our duty by the Word of God. The night signifieth adversity, and the day prosperity. Hence we may learn how to behave ourselves in all conditions. The word "path" notes our general choice and course of life; the word "feet" our particular actions. Now whether the matter, wherein we would be informed, concerneth our choice of the way that leadeth to true happiness, or our dexterous prosecution of the way, still the word of God will direct a humble and well disposed mind. Thomas Manton.
Ver. 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, etc. Basil the Great, interpreting the "word" as God's will revealed in Holy Scripture, observes that the Old Testament, and in especial the Law, was only a lantern (lamp or candle) because an artificial light, imperfectly illumining the darkness, whereas the Gospel, given by the Lord Jesus himself, is a light of the Sun of Righteousness, giving brightness to all things. Ambrose, going yet deeper, tells us that Christ is himself both lamp and light. He, the Word of God, is a great light to some, to others he is a lamp. To me he is a lamp; to angels a light. He was a light to Peter, when the angel stood by him in the prison, and the light shined about him. He was a light to Paul when the light from heaven shined round about him, and he heard Christ saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" And Christ is truly a lamp to me when I speak of him with my mouth. He shineth in clay, he shineth in a potter's vessel: he is that treasure which we bear in earthen vessels. Neale and Littledale.
Ver. 105. Thy word is a lamp...and a light. Except the "lamp" be lighted except the teaching of the Spirit accompany the word all is "darkness, gross darkness" still. Did we more habitually malt to receive, and watch to improve, the light of the word, we should not so often complain of the perplexity of our path. Charles Bridges.
Ver. 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, etc. What we all want, is not to see wonders that daze us, and to be rapt in ecstatic visions and splendours, but a little light on the dark and troubled path we have to tread, a lamp that will burn steadfastly and helpfully over the work we have to do. The stars are infinitely more sublime, meteors infinitely more superb and dazzling; but the lamp shining in a dark place is infinitely closer to our practical needs. From "The Expositor", 1864.
Ver. 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet. Going two miles into a neighbourhood where very few could read, to spend an evening in reading to a company who were assembled to listen, and about to return by a narrow path through the woods, where paths diverged, I was provided with a torch of light wood, or "pitch pine." I objected; it was too small, weighing not over half a pound. "It will light you home", answered my host. I said, "The wind may blow it out." He said, "It will light you home." "But if it should rain?" I again objected. "It will light you home, "he insisted.
Contrary to my fears, it gave abundant light to my path all the way home, furnishing an apt illustration, I often think, of the way in which doubting hearts would be led safely along the "narrow way." If they would take the Bible as their guide, it would be a lamp to their feet, leading to the heavenly home. One man had five objections to the Bible. If he would take it as a lamp to his feet, it would "light him home." Another told me he had two faults to find with the Bible. I answered him in the words of my good friend who furnished the torch, "It will light you home." From "The American Messenger, "1881.
Ver. 105. A lamp unto my feet, etc. All depends on our way of using the lamp. A man tells that when a boy he was proud to carry the lantern for his Sabbath school teacher. The way to their school led through unlit, muddy streets. The boy held the lantern far too high, and both sank in the deep mud. "Ah! you must hold the lamp lower, "the teacher exclaimed, as they gained a firm footing on the farther side of the slough. The teacher then beautifully explained our text, and the man declares that he never forgot the lesson of that night. You may easily hold the lamp too high; but you can hardly hold it too low. James Wells, in "Bible Images, "1882.
Ver. 105. Light.
Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom
Lead thou me on.
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead thou me on.
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me. John Henry Newman (1801).
Ver. 105-106. A light unto my path. I have sworn, and I will perform it, etc. I have looked upon thy word as a lamp to my own feet, as a thing nearly concerning myself, and then I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments. It is a mighty means to stir up a man's spirit, and quicken him to obedience, to look upon the word as written to himself, as a lamp and a light for him. When you come to hear out of God's Word, and God directs the minister so that you apprehend the truth as spoken to you, it will stir and awaken you, and you will say, "Oh me thought this day every word the minister spoke was directed to me; I must take heed thereto." And so every word in the Scripture that concerns thee God writes to thee; and if thou wilt take it so, it will be a mighty means to stir thee up to obedience. Jeremiah Burroughs, 1599-1646.
HINTS TO PREACHERS.
Outlines Upon Keywords of the Psalm, By Pastor C. A. Davis.
Verses 105-112. The word a lamp. For guidance (Psalms 119:105-106). For life in affliction (Psalms 119:107). For preservation in peril of enemies (Psalms 119:109-110). For joy of heart (Psalms 119:111-112).
HINTS TO PREACHERS.
Ver. 105-108.
1. Illumination (Psalms 119:105).
2. Decision (Psalms 119:106).
3. Testing: "I am afflicted" (Psalms 119:107).
4. Consecration (Psalms 119:108).
5. Education: "teach me, "etc. (Psalms 119:108).
Ver. 105. The practical, personal, everyday use of the word of God.
Ver. 105. Lamp light.
1. The believer's dangerous night journey through the world.
2. The lamp that illumines his path.
3. The eternal day towards which he travels (when the lamp will be laid aside: Revelation 22:5). C.A.D.
Psalms 119:106*
Ver. 106. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments. Under the influence of the clear light of knowledge he had firmly made up his mind, and solemnly declared his resolve in the sight of God. Perhaps mistrusting his own fickle mind, he had pledged himself in sacred form to abide faithful to the determinations and decisions of his God. Whatever path might open before him, he was sworn to follow that only upon which the lamp of the word was shining. The Scriptures are God's judgments, or verdicts, upon great moral questions; these are all righteous, and hence righteous men should be resolved to keep them at all hazards, since it must always be right to do right. Experience shows that the less of covenanting and swearing men formally enter upon the better, and the genius of our Saviour's teaching is against all supererogatory pledging and swearing; and yet under the gospel we ought to feel ourselves as much bound to obey the word of the Lord as if we had taken an oath so to do. The bonds of love are not less sacred than the fetters of law. When a man has vowed he must be careful to "perform it", and when a man has not vowed in so many words to keep the Lord's judgments, yet is he equally bound to do so by obligations which exist apart from any promise on our part, obligations founded in the eternal fitness of things, and confirmed by the abounding goodness of the Lord our God. Will not every believer own that he is under bonds to the redeeming Lord to follow his example, and keep his words? Yes, the vows of the Lord are upon us, especially upon such as have made profession of discipleship, have been baptized into the thrice holy name, have eaten of the consecrated memorials, and have spoken in the name of the Lord Jesus: We are enlisted, and sworn ill, and are bound to be loyal soldiers all through the war. Thus having taken the word into our hearts by a firm resolve to obey it, we have a lamp within our souls as well as in the Book, and our course will be light unto the end.
Ver. 106. I have sworn, etc. Patrick's paraphrase is, "I have solemnly resolved and bound myself by the most sacred ties, which I will never break, but do now confirm."
Ver. 106. I have sworn. I would now urge you to make a solemn surrender of yourself unto the service of God. Do not only form such a purpose in your heart, but expressly declare it in the Divine presence. Such solemnity in the manner of doing it is certainly very reasonable in the nature of things; and sure it is highly expedient, for binding to the Lord such a treacherous heart, as we know our own to be. It will be pleasant to reflect upon it as done at such and such a time, with such and such circumstances of place and method, which may serve to strike the memory and the conscience. The sense of the vows of God which are upon you will strengthen you in an hour of temptation; and the recollection may encourage your humble boldness and freedom in applying to him under the character and relation of your covenant God and Father, as future exigencies may require.
Do it therefore, but do it deliberately. Consider what it is that you are to do: and consider how reasonable it is that it should be done, and done cordially and cheerfully, "not by constraint, but willingly"; for in this sense, and every other, "God loveth a cheerful giver."...
Let me remind you that this surrender must be perpetual. You must give yourself up to God in such a manner, as never more to pretend to be your own; for the rights of God are like his nature, eternal and immutable; and with regard to his rational creatures, are the same yesterday, today, and for ever.
I would further advise and urge, that this dedication may bc made with all possible solemnity. Do it in express words. And perhaps it may be in many cases most expedient, as many pious divines have recommended, to do it in writing. Set your hand and seal to it, "that on such a day of such a month and year, and at such a place, on full consideration and serious reflection, you came to this happy resolution, that whatever others might do, you would serve the Lord." Philip Doddridge (1702-1751) in "The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul."
Ver. 106. Frequently renew settled and holy resolutions. A soldier un- resolved to fight may easily be defeated. True and sharpened courage treads down those difficulties which would triumph over a cold and wavering spirit. Resolution in a weak man will perform more than strength in a coward. The weakness of our graces, the strength of our temptations, and the diligence of our spiritual enemies, require strong resolutions. We must be "steadfast and unmoveable, "and this will make us "abound in the work of the Lord": 1 Corinthians 15:58. Abundant exercise in God's work will strengthen the habit of grace, increase our skill in the contest, and make the victory more easy and pleasant to us. Let us frame believing, humble resolutions in the strength of God's grace, with a fear of ourselves, but a confidence in God. David bound himself to God with a hearty vow, depending upon his strength: "I have sworn, and i will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments." This was not in his own strength, for, Psalms 119:107, he desires God to quicken him, and to "accept the freewill offerings of his mouth, "Psalms 119:108, namely, the oath which proceeded from a free and resolved will. God will not slight, but strengthen the affectionate resolutions of his creature. We cannot keep ourselves from falling unless we first keep our resolutions from flagging. Stephen Charnock.
Ver. 106. I have sworn, and I will perform it. Theodoricus, Archbishop of Cologne, when the: Emperor Sigismund demanded of him the most direct and most compendious way how to attain true happiness, made answer in brief, thus: "Perform when thou art well what thou promisedst when thou wast sick." David did so; he made vows in war, and paid them in peace; and thus should all good men do; not like the cunning devil, of whom the epigrammatist writeth: "The devil was sick, the devil a monk would be;
The devil was well, the devil a monk was he."
Nor like unto many now a days, that, if God's hand do but he somewhat heavy upon them, oh, what promises, what engagements are there for amendment of life! How like unto marble against rain do they seem to sweat and melt but still retain their hardness! Let but the rod be taken of their backs, or health restored, then, as their bodies live, their vows die; all is forgotten: nay, many times it so falleth out, that they are far worse than ever they were before. From John Spencer's "Things New and Old", 1658.
Ver. 106. Thy righteous judgments. So David styles the word of God, because it judgeth most righteously between right and wrong, truth and falsehood. And, secondly, because according to the judgment given therein, God will act towards men. Let us take heed unto it; for the word contains God's judgment of men and hath a catalogue of such as shall not inherit the kingdom of God, and another of such as shall dwell in God's tabernacle; let us read and see in which of the two catalogues our two selves are; for according to that word will the judgment go. William Cowper.
HINTS TO PREACHERS.
Ver. 106. Decision for God, and fit modes of expressing it.
Ver. 106.
1. Veneration for the word.
2. Consecration to the word.
3. Fidelity to the word. G.R.
Ver. 106. Swearing and performing.
1. The usefulness of religious vows. To quicken perception; to rouse conscience; (seen in Jewish nation: Exodus 24:37 2 Chronicles 15:12-15 Nehemiah 5:28, Nehemiah 5:29; in Scottish nation Solemn League and Covenant).
2. The danger of religious vows. A vow unfulfilled, or receded from, is a moral injury: Ecclesiastes 5:4-7.
3. The safeguard of religious vows: dependence on the Spirit of God: Ezekiel 11:19-20 2 Corinthians 4:5. C.A.D.
Psalms 119:107*
Ver. 107. I am afflicted very much. According to the last verse he had been sworn in as a soldier of the Lord, and in this next verse he is called to suffer hardness in that capacity. Our service of the Lord does not screen us from trial, but rather secures it for us. The Psalmist was a consecrated man, and yet a chastened man; nor were his chastisements light; for it seemed as if the more he was obedient the more he was afflicted. He evidently felt the rod to be cutting deep, and this he pleads before the Lord. He speaks not by way of murmuring, but by way of pleading; from the very much affliction he argues for very much quickening.
Quicken me, O Lord, according unto thy word. This is the best remedy for tribulation; the soul is raised above the thought of present distress, and is filled with that holy joy which attends all vigorous spiritual life, and so the affliction grows light. Jehovah alone can quicken: he has life in himself, and therefore can communicate it readily; he can give us life at any moment, yea, at this present instant; for it is of the nature of quickening to be quick in its operation. The Lord has promised, prepared, and provided this blessing of renewed life for all his waiting servants: it is a covenant blessing, and it is as obtainable as it is needful. Frequently the affliction is made the means of the quickening, even as the stirring of a fire promotes the heat of the flame. In their affliction some desire death, let us pray for life. Our foreboding under trial are often very gloomy, let us entreat the Lord to deal with us, not according to our fears, but according to his own word. David had but few promises to quote, and probably these were in his own psalms, yet he pleads the word of the Lord; how much more should we do so, since to us so many holy men have spoken by the Spirit of the Lord in that wonderful library which is now our Bible. Seeing we have more promises, let us offer more prayers.
Ver. 107. I am afflicted very much, etc. Whence learn,
1. It is no strange thing for the most holy men to be acquainted with the saddest sort of affliction, bodily and spiritual: "I am afflicted very much."
2. From whence soever affliction doth come, faith goeth to God only for comfort, as here: "Quicken me, O Lord."
3. When God is pleased to make the word of promise lively, or to perform what the promise alloweth us to expect, such a consolation is a sufficient antidote to the heaviest affliction: "Quicken me, O Lord, according unto thy word." David Dickson.
Ver. 107. I am a afflicted very much. We can recommend so persuasively the cheerful drinking of the cup of sorrow when in the hand of others, but what wry faces we make when it is put into our own. Alfred John Morris, 1814-1869.
Ver. 107. I am afflicted... quicken me. The Christian lives in the midst of crosses, as the fish lives in the sea. Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney, 1786-1859.
Ver. 107. Quicken me, O Lord. How doth God quicken us? By reviving our suffering graces, such as our hope, patience, and faith. Thus he puts life into us again, that we may go on cheerfully in our service, by infusion of new comforts. He revives the heart of his contrite ones, so the prophet saith (Isaiah 57:15). This is very necessary, for the Psalmist saith elsewhere, "Quicken us, and we will call upon thy name" (Psalms 80:18). Discomfort and discouragement weaken our hands in calling upon God. Until the Lord cheers us again we have no life in prayer. By two things especially doth God quicken us in affliction, by reviving our sense of his love, and by reviving our hope of glory. Thomas Manton.
Ver. 107. According unto thy word. David goes often over with that phrase, which imports that David lay under the sense of some promise which God had made for the quickening of his heart when it was out of frame, and accordingly he recounts the gracious influences of God's Spirit, and professes that he will never forget his precepts, because by them he had quickened him: Psalms 119:93.
Thus, lay your dead hearts at Christ's feet, and plead in this manner: Lord, my heart is exceedingly dull and distracted; I feel not those enlarging, melting influences which thy saints have felt; but are they not chief material mercies of the covenant? dost thou not promise a spirit of illumination, conviction, and humiliation? is not holiness of heart and life a main branch of it? dost thou not promise therein to write thy law in my heart? to give me oneness of heart, to put thy fear within me, to subdue my corruptions, to help my infirmities in prayer? Now, Lord, these are the mercies my soul wants and waits for, fill my soul with these animating influences, revive thy work of grace in my soul, draw out my heart towards thee, increase my affection for thee, repair thine image, call forth grace into lively exercise. Doth not that gracious word intend such a mercy when thou sayest thou wilt not only give a new heart, but "put a new spirit within me" (Ezekiel 36:26), to make my soul lively, active, and spiritual in duties and exercises? Dear Lord, am not I in covenant with thee? and are not these covenant mercies? why, then, my God, is my heart thus hardened from thy fear? why dost thou leave me in all this deadness and distraction? Remember thy word unto thy servant in which thou hast caused me to hope, and which thou hast helped me to plead; O quicken my dull heart according to thy word. Oliver Heywood.
Ver. 107. According unto thy word. David, when he begs for quickening, he is encouraged so to do by a promise. The question is, where this promise should be? Some think it was that general promise of the law, if thou do these things, thou shalt live in them (Leviticus 18:5), and that from thence David drew this particular conclusion, that God would give life to his people. But rather, it was some other promise, some word of God he had, to bear him out in this request. The Lord has made many promises to us of sanctifying our affliction. The fruit of all shall be the taking away of sin (Isaiah 27:9); of bettering and improving us by it (Hebrews 4:10), of moderating our affliction, that he will stay his rough wind in the day of the east wind (Isaiah 27:8); that he will lay no more upon us than he will enable us to bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). He hath promised he will moderate our affliction, so that we shall not be tempted above our strength. He hath promised he will deliver us from it, that the rod of the wicked shall not always rest on the lot of the righteous (Psalms 125:3); that he will be with us in it, and never fail us (Hebrews 13:5). Now, I argue thus: if the people of God could stay their hearts upon God's word, when they had but such obscure hints to work upon that we do not know where the promise lies, ah! how should our hearts be stayed upon God, when we have so many promises! When the Scriptures are enlarged for the comfort and enlarging of our faith, surely we should say now as Paul, when he got a word, "I believed God" (Acts 27:25); I may expect God will do thus for me, when his word speaks it everywhere. Thomas Manton.
HINTS TO PREACHERS.
Ver. 107.
1. A good man greatly afflicted.
2. A sure cute for the ills of affliction: "Quicken me."
3. A safe rule to pray by when afflicted: "according unto thy word."
Ver. 107.
1. The "very much" afflicted.
(a) The world has such widows, orphans, etc., etc.
(b) Most take their turn.
2. But there is "very much" grace.
(a) God's word promises the needed quickening.
(b) Himself very much greater than all our needs.
(c) Christ died "in all points" has all help.
3. Therefore bring "very much" faith, as the Psalmist here.
(a) Keen eyed for promises.
(b) Fervent in pleading them.
(c) Strong in expectation. W.B.H.
Psalms 119:108*
Ver. 108. Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord. The living praise the living God, and therefore the quickened one presents his sacrifice. He offers prayer, praise, confession, and testimony these, presented with his voice in the presence of an audience, were the tribute of his mouth unto Jehovah. He trembles lest these should be so ill uttered as to displease the Lord, and therefore he implores acceptance. He pleads that the homage of his mouth was cheerfully and spontaneously rendered; all his utterances were freewill offerings. There can be no value in extorted confessions: God's revenues are not derived from forced taxation, but from freewill donation. There can be no acceptance where there is no willingness; there is no work of free grace where there is no fruit of free will. Acceptance is a favour to be sought from the Lord with all earnestness, for without it our offerings are worse than useless. What a wonder of grace that the Lord will accept anything of such unworthy ones as we are!
And teach me thy judgments. When we render unto the Lord our best, we become all the more concerned to do better. If, indeed, the Lord shall accept us, we then desire to be further instructed, that we may be still more acceptable, After quickening we need teaching: life without light, or zeal without knowledge, would be but half a blessing. These repeated cries for teaching show the humility of the man of God, and also discover to us our own need of similar instruction. Our judgment needs educating till it knows, agrees with, and acts upon, the judgments of the Lord. Those judgments are not always so clear as to be seen at once; we need to be taught in them till we admire their wisdom and adore their goodness as soon as ever we perceive them.
Ver. 108. The freewill offerings of the mouth, may be the offerings which the mouth had promised and vowed. And who can lay claim to these as the Lord? His are all things. John Stephen.
Ver. 108. The freewill offerings of my mouth. This place makes known that species of sacrifices, which neither tribulations nor poverty of means can hinder, and which does not require an external temple, but in desert places and among heathen may be offered by a godly man. And these sacrifices of the mouth God himself makes more of than if all the flocks of the whole earth had been offered to him, and all the treasures of gold, and of silver, and of precious stones. Wolfgang Musculus.
Ver. 108. Freewill offerings. This expression is often used in the law (Leviticus 22:18 Numbers 29:39 1Ch 31:14 Amos 1:4-5). What are these freewill offerings? They are distinguished from God's stated worship, and distinguished from that service which fell under a vow. Besides the stated peace offerings, there were certain sacrifices performed upon certain occasions, to testify God's general goodness, and upon receipt of some special mercy; and you will find these sacrifices to be expressly distinguished from such services as men bound themselves to by vow (Leviticus 7:16)... These serve to teach us two things.
First. They are to teach us how ready we should be to take all occasions of thankfulness and spiritual worship; for, besides their vowed services and instituted sacrifices, they had their freewill offerings, offered to God in thankfulness for some special blessing received, or for deliverance from danger.
Secondly. It shows with what voluntariness and cheerfulness we should go about God's worship in the Gospel, and what a free disposition of heart there should be, and edge upon our affections, in all things that we offer to God; in this latter sense our offerings to God prayer and praise should be freewill offerings, come from us not like water out of a still forced by the fire, but like water out of a fountain with native freeness, readily and freely. Thomas Manton.
Ver. 108. Offerings. All God's people are made priests unto God; for every offering supposes a priest: so it is said, that Christ Jesus hath made us kings and priests (Revelation 1:6). All Christians have a communion with Christ in all his offices, whatever Christ was, that certainly they are in some measure and degree. Thomas Manton.
Ver. 108. Accept...the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord. It is a great grace that the Lord should accept anything from us, if we consider these three things: First, who the Lord is; next, what we are; thirdly, what it is we have to give unto him.
As for the Lord, he is all sufficient, and stands in need of nothing we can give him. Our goodness extends not to the Lord
As for us, we are poor creatures, living by his liberality; yea, begging from all the rest of his creatures; from the sun and moon; from the air, the water, and the earth; from fowls and fishes; yea, from the worms: some give us light, some meat, some clothes; and are such beggars as we meet to give to a king?
And, thirdly, if we well consider, What is it that we give? Have we anything to give but that which we have received from him? and whereof we may say with David, "O Lord, all things are of thee, and of thine own have we given thee again" (1 Chronicles 29:14). Let this humble us, and restrain us from that vain conceit of meriting at God's hand.
David at this time, in his great necessity, having no other sacrifice to offer unto the Lord, offers him the calves of his lips; but no doubt, when he might, he offered more.
There is nothing so small, but if it come from a good heart, God will accept it: the widow's mite, a cup of cold water; yea, and the praise of our lips, although it has no other external oblation joined with it: but where men may do more, and will not, it is an argument that their heart is not sincerely affected toward him, and their praises are not welcome to him. William Cowper.
Ver. 108. Accept...the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord, and teach me thy judgments. Two things we are here taught to pray for in reference to our religious performances.
1. Acceptance of them: this we must aim at in all we do in religion, that whether present or absent we may be accepted of the Lord. That which David here earnestly prays for the acceptance of is "the freewill offerings, "not of his purse, but of his "mouth, "his prayers and praises; "the calves of our lips" (Hosea 14:2); "the fruit of our lips" (Hebrews 13:15); these are the spiritual offerings which all Christians, as spiritual priests, must offer to God; and they must be "freewill offerings; "for we must offer them abundantly and cheerfully; and it is this willing mind that is accepted. The more there is of freeness and willingness in the service of God, the more pleasing it is to him.
2. Assistance in them: "Teach me thy judgments." We cannot offer any thing to God which we have reason to think he will accept of, but what he is pleased to instruct us in the doing of; and we must be as earnest for the grace of God in us as for the favour of God toward us. Matthew Henry.
Ver. 108. Teach me thy judgments. As if the man of God should say, This is one thing whereunto I will give over myself, even to see how thou dost punish the wicked, and conduct thy children. So that we must learn, that as it is necessary to understand the law and the gospel, so is it requisite to discern God's judgments. For as we cannot learn the one without observing God's mercy; so we cannot attain to the other without marking his vengeance. We must see always by the peculiar teaching of God's Spirit, how the Lord punishes in justice, and yet in mercy; in wrath, and yet in love; in rigour and hatred of our sin, humbling us with one hand; in pity and compassion to our salvation, comforting us with the other hand. We see then how the prophet prayeth, both to see them and to mark them: we need teach this often, because we dream so much of fatal necessity, and of the connections of natural causes, or else because we call not discern between the crosses of the godly and the ungodly. This is then a singular gift of God, to discern how by the self same means the Lord both humbleth the good and overthroweth the wicked. Richard Greenham.
HINTS TO PREACHERS.
Ver. 108. Consider,
1. The instructive title given to prayer and praise: "The free will offerings of my mouth."
(a) It shows the believer to be a priest: "offerings."
(b) It shows the peculiarity of his service: "free will."
(c) It implies wholehearted consecration.
2. The humility portrayed in the prayer: "Accept, I beseech thee."
(a) Here is no pharisaic boasting.
(b) Even the free will offering is felt to need an "I beseech thee."
3. The longing desire for further instruction in order to a more perfect obedience: "Teach me thy judgments." J.P.
Ver. 108. Free will seeking free grace. W.D.
Ver. 108. Work for "Free willers".
1. Offerings of Prayer for each of the blessings of salvation.
2. Offerings of Repudiation of all claim to unassisted good.
3. Offerings of Praise for sovereign grace. W.B.H.
Psalms 119:109*
Ver. 109. My soul is continually in my hand. He lived in the midst of danger. He had to be always fighting for existence hiding in caves, or contending in battles. This is a very uncomfortable and trying state of affairs, and men are apt to think any expedient justifiable by which they can end such a condition: but David did not turn aside to find safety in am, for he says,
Yet do I not forget thy law. They say that all things are fair in love and war; but the holy man thought not so: while he carried his life in his hand, he also carried the law in his heart. No danger of body should make us endanger our souls by forgetting that which is right. Trouble makes many a man forget his duty, and it would have had the same effect upon the Psalmist if he had not obtained quickening (Psalms 119:107) and teaching (Psalms 119:108). In his memory of the Lord's law lay his safety; he was certain not to be forgotten of God, for God was not forgotten of him. It is a special proof of grace when nothing can drive truth out of our thoughts, or holiness out of our lives. If we remember the law even when death stares us in the face, we may be well assured that the Lord is remembering us.
Ver. 109. My soul is continually in my hand. He had his soul in his hand, ready to give whenever God should take it. And this is to be observed, that there is no trouble so ready to take away the life of God's children, as they are ready to give it. As Elijah came out to the mouth of his cave to meet with the Lord; and Abraham in the door of his tent to speak to the angel; so the soul of the godly stands ready in the door of the tabernacle of this body to remove when the Lord shall command it; whereas the soul of the wicked lies back, hiding itself, as Adam among the bushes, and is taken out of the body perforce; as was the soul of that worldling; "This night thy soul shall be required of thee; "but they never sacrifice their souls willingly to the Lord. William Cowper.
Ver. 109. My soul is continually it, my hand. If any one carry in the hand a fragile vessel, made of glass or any other similar material, filled with a precious liquor, especially if the hand be weak, or if from other causes dangers be threatening, he will scarcely be able to avoid the breaking of the vessel and the running out of the liquor. Such is the condition of my life, which I, set upon by various enemies, carry as it were in my hand; which, therefore, is exposed to such great danger, as that I always have death present before my sight, my life hanging on the slenderest thread. Andreas Rivetus, 1572-1651.
Ver. 109. My soul is continually in my hand. The believer is always in the very jaws of death. He lives with wings outstretched to fly away. Paul testified, "I die daily." In the extremity of persecution, the fervent desire was to know what God would have him to do. Henry Law.
Ver. 109. My soul is continually in my hand. I make no more of life than a child doth of his bird which he carrieth in the palm of his hand held open. John Trapp.
Ver. 109. My soul is continually in my hand, etc. Why doth David say, "My soul is in mine hand"; had he called it out of the hand of God, and taken the care of it upon himself? Nothing less. His meaning is only this, I walk in the midst of dangers and among a thousand deaths continually; I am in deaths often, my life is exposed to perils every day, yet do I not forget thy law: I keep close to thee, and will keep close to thee whatsoever comes of it. Augustine upon that place doth ingeniously confess that he understood not what David meant, by having his soul in his hands; but Jerome, another of the ancients, teacheth us, that it is an Hebraism, signifying a state of most extreme peril. The Greeks also have drawn it into a proverb speaking the same thing.
But why doth the holding or putting the life in the hand signify the exposing of the life to peril? There is a twofold reason of it.
First. Because those things which are carried openly in the hand are apt to fall out of the hand, and being carried in sight, they are apt to be snatched or wrested out of the hand. And, therefore, though to be in the hand of God signifies safety, because his hand is armed with irresistible power to protect us; yet for a man to carry a thing in his own hand is to carry it in danger, because his hand is weak, and there are safer ways of carrying or conveying a thing than openly in the hand. If a man be to ride a long journey with any treasure about him, he doth not carry it in his hand, but puts it in some secret and close place where it may be hidden, and so be more secure. The Chaldee paraphrast, to express the elegancy of that place forecited out of the Psalm, gives it thus, "My life is in as much danger as if it stood upon the very superficies or outside of my hand, "as if he had no hold of it, but it stood barely upon his hand; for that which is set upon the palm of the hand, and not grasped, is in greater danger. Things safe kept are hidden or held fast.
Secondly. There is another reason of that speech, because when a man is about to deliver a thing or to give it up, he takes it in his hand. They that put themselves upon great perils and dangers for God and his people, deliver up their lives and their all to God. Hence that counsel of the Apostle (1 Peter 4:19): "Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator." So here, the life of men in danger is said to be put in the hand, because such are, as it were, ready to deliver and commit their lives unto God, that he would take care of their lives to preserve them from the danger, or to take them to himself if they lose them in his service. Joseph Caryl.
HINTS TO PREACHERS.
Ver. 109. The soul's life in jeopardy. The life of the soul secured.
Ver. 109-110. Here is,
1. David in danger of losing his life. There is but a step between him and death; for "the wicked have laid a snare" for him. Wherever he was he found some design or other laid against him; which made him say, "My soul is continually in my hand." It was not so only as a man it is true of us all that we are exposed to the strokes of death but as a man of war, and especially as "a man after God's own heart."
2. David in no danger of losing his religion through this peril; for,
(a) He "doth not forget the law, "and therefore is likely to persevere.
(b) He hath not yet erred from God's precepts, and therefore it is to be hoped he will not. M. Henry.
Psalms 119:110*
Ver. 110. The wicked have laid a snare for me. Spiritual life is the scene of constant danger: the believer lives with his life in his hand, and meanwhile all seem plotting to take it from him, by cunning if they cannot by violence. We shall not find it an easy thing to live the life of the faithful. Wicked spirits and wicked men will leave no stone unturned for our destruction. If all other devices fail, and even hidden pits do not succeed, the wicked still persevere in their treacherous endeavours, and, becoming craftier still, they set snares for the victim of their hate. The smaller species of game are usually taken by this method, by gin, or trap, or net, or noose. Wicked men are quite indifferent as to the manner in which they can destroy the good man they think no more of him than if he were a rabbit or a rat: cunning and treachery are always the allies of malice, and everything like a generous or chivalrous feeling is unknown among the graceless, who treat the godly as if they were vermin to be exterminated. When a man knows that he is thus assailed, he is too apt to become timorous, and rush upon some hasty device for deliverance, not without sin in the endeavour; but David calmly kept his way, and was able to write,
Yet I erred not from thy precepts. He was not snared, for he kept his eyes open, and kept near his God. He was not entrapped and robbed, for he followed the King's highway of holiness, where God secures safety to every traveller. He did not err from the right, and he was not deterred from following it, because he referred to the Lord for guidance, and obtained it. If we err from the precepts, we part with the promises; if we get away from God's presence, we wander into the wilds where the fowlers freely spread their nets. From this verse let us learn to be on our guard, for we, too, have enemies both crafty and wicked. Hunters set their traps in the animals usual runs, and our worst snares are laid in our own ways. By keeping to the ways of the Lord we shall escape the snares of our adversaries, for his ways are safe and free from treachery.
Ver. 110. The wicked. He calls them wicked men; which imports three things. First, they work wickedness. Secondly, they love it. Thirdly, they persevere in it. William Cowper.
Ver. 110. A snare. One manner of catching wild animals, such as lions, bears, jackals, foxes, hart, roebuck, and fallow deer, was by a trap (paeh), which is the word used in this place; this was set under ground (Job 18:10), in the run of the animal (Proverbs 22:5), and caught it by the leg (Job 18:9). William Latham Bevan, in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible,
1863.
Ver. 110. The wicked have laid a snare for me. In eating, he sets before us gluttony; in love he impels to lust; in labour, sluggishness; in conversing, envy; in governing, covetousness; in correcting, anger; in honour, pride; in the heart, he sets evil thoughts; in the mouth evil words; in actions, evil works; when awake, he moves us to evil actions; when asleep, to filthy dreams. Girolamo Savonarola, 1452-1498.
Ver. 110. Laid a snare for me: yet I erred not, etc. It is not the laying the bait hurts the fish, if the fish do not bite. Thomas Watson.
HINTS TO PREACHERS.