Verse 3.
1. What was man as he came from the hands of his Creator?
a) Rational.
b) Responsible.
c) Immortal.
d) Holy and happy.
2. What is man in his present condition?
a) Fallen.
b) Guilty.
c) Sinful.
d) Miserable, and helpless in his misery.
3. What is man when he has believed in Christ?
a) Restored to a right relation to God.
b) Restored to a right disposition toward God.
c) He enjoys the influences of the Holy Spirit.
d) He is in process of preparation for the heavenly world.
4. What shall man be when he is admitted into heaven?
a) Free from sin and sorrow.
b) Advanced to the perfection of his nature.
c) Associated with angels.
d) Near to his Saviour and his God.
— George Brooks, in "The Homiletic Commentary," 1879.
Verse 3. Worthless man much regarded by the mighty God. Sermon by Ebenezer Erskine. Works 3, pp. 141-162.
Verse 3. It is a wonder above all wonders, that ever the great God should make such account of such a thing as man.
1. It will appear if you consider what a great God the Lord is.
2. What a poor thing man is.
3. What a great account the great God hath of this poor thing, man.
— Joseph Alleine.
Verse 4. He is nothing, he pretends to be something, he is soon gone, he ends in nothing as to this life; yet there is a light somewhere.
Verse 4. The Shadow World.
1. Our lives are like shadows.
2. But God's light casts these shadows. Our being is of God. The brevity and mystery of life are a part of providence.
3. The destiny of the shadows; eternal night; or eternal light.— W.B.H.
Verse 4. The brevity of our earthly life.
1. A profitable subject for meditation.
2. A rebuke to those who provide for this life alone.
3. A trumpet call to prepare for eternity.
4. An incentive to the Christian to make the best of this life for the glory of God.— J.F.
Verse 5. Condescension, visitation, contact, and conflagration.
Verses 7-8, 11. Repetitions, not vain. Repetitions in prayer are vain when they result from form, thoughtlessness, or superstition; but not, e.g.,
1. When they are the utterance of genuine fervour.
2. When the danger prayed against is imminent.
3. When the fear which prompts the prayer is urgent.
4. When the repetition is prompted by a new motive, Ps 144:7-8; by God's condescension, Ps 144:3,11; by God's former deliverance, Ps 144:10; and by the results which will flow from the answer, Ps 144:12-14.— C.A.D.
Verse 8. What is "a right hand of falsehood"? Ask the hypocrite, the schemer, the man of false doctrine, the boaster, the slanderer, the man who forgets his promise, the apostate.
Verse 9. For God's Ear.
1. The Singer. A grateful heart.
2. The Song. Full of Praise. New.
3. The Accompaniment: "Psaltery." Helps to devotion. Give God the best.
4. The Auditor and Object of the eulogium: "Thee, O God."— W.B.H.
Verse 11. Persons from whom it is a mercy to escape: those alien to God, vain in conversation, false in deed.
Verses 11-12. The Nature and Necessity of early Piety. A Sermon preached to a Society of Young People, at Willingham, Cambridgeshire, on the First Day of the Year 1772.— Robert Robinson.
Verse 12. Youth attended with development, stability, usefulness, and spiritual health.
Verse 12. ( first clause ). To Young Men. Consider,
1. What is desired on your behalf: "Sons may be as plants", etc.
(a) That you may be respected and valued.
(b) That you may have settled principles and virtues. Plants are not blown hither and thither.
(c) That you may be vigorous and strong in moral power.
2. What is requisite on your part to the accomplishment of this desire.
(a) A good rooting in Christ.
(b) Constant nourishment from the word of God.
(c) The dews of divine grace obtained by prayer.
(d) A resolute tendency within to answer the God appointed purpose of your existence.— J.F.
Verse 12. ( second clause ). To Young Women. Consider,
1. The important position you may occupy in the social fabric: "As cornerstones."
(a) The moral and religious tone of society is determined more by your character and influence than by those of men.
(b) The complexion of home life will be a reflex of your conduct and character, either as daughters, sisters, or wives.
(c) The moulding of the character of the next generation, remember, begins with the mother's influence.
(d) Let these facts weigh with you as a motive in seeking the grace of God, without which you can never fulfil your mission worthily.
2. The beauty which ought to belong to you in your position. "Polished after", etc. The beauty of,
(a) Heart purity: "The King's daughter is all glorious within."
(b) A noble and modest conduct: "wrought gold", no imitation; real gold.
(c) Gracious and gentle demeanour.
3. How both the right position and right beauty are obtained.
(a) By yielding yourselves to God.
(b) By Christ dwelling in your heart.
(c) By becoming living stones and polished stones under the workmanship of the Holy Spirit.— J.F.
Verse 14. A prayer for our ministers, and for the security, unity, and happiness of the church.
Verse 14. The prosperous Church. There—
1. Labour is cheerfully performed.
2. The enemy is kept without the gate.
3. There are few or no departures.
4. Faith and content silence complaint.
5. Pray that such may be our case as a church.— W.B.H.
Verse 15. The peculiar happiness of those whose God is the Lord.