it a foolish thing to trust their enemy. 3. They know not the way of
God's assistance and help. And—4. They seek for such help, such
assistance, such supplies, as God will not give; to be delivered, to
serve their lusts; to be preserved, to execute their rage,
filthiness, and folly. They have no other design or end of these
things; and God will give none of them. And it is a foolish thing in
any man to trust God to be preserved in sin. It is true, their folly
is their wisdom, considering their state and condition. It is a folly
to trust in God to live in sin, and despise the counsel of the poor.
John Owen.
Verse 6. "Ye have made a mock of the counsel of the
poor:" and why? "because the Lord is his trust." This is
the very true cause, whatsoever other pretenses there be. Whence
observe this doctrine; that true godliness is that which breeds the
quarrel between God's children and the wicked. Ungodly men may say
what they list, as, namely, that they hate and dislike them for that
they are proud and saucy in meddling with their betters; for that
they are so scornful and disdainful towards their neighbours; for
that they are malcontent, and turbulent, and I know not what; but the
true reason is yielded by the Lord in this place, to wit, because
they make him their stay and their confidence, and will not depend
upon lying vanities as the men of the world do. John Dod.
Verse 6. "The Lord is his refuge." Be persuaded
actually to hide yourselves with Jesus Christ. To have a hiding-place
and not to use it, is as bad as to want one; fly to Christ; run into
the holes of this Rock. Ralph Robinson, 1656.
Verse 7. "O that salvation," etc. Like as when we be in
quiet, we do pray either nothing at all, or very coldly unto God; so
in adversity and trouble, our spirit is stirred up and enkindled to
prayer, whereof we do find examples everywhere in the Psalms of
David; so that affliction is as it were the sauce of prayer, as
hunger is unto meat. Truly their prayer is usually unsavoury who are
without afflictions, and many of them do not pray truly, but do
rather counterfeit a prayer, or pray for custom. Wolfgang
Musculus, 1497-1563.
Verse 7. "Out of Zion." Zion, the church is no Saviour,
neither dare we trust in her ministers or ordinances, and yet
salvation comes to men through her. The hungry multitudes are fed by
the hands of the disciples, who delight to act as the servitors of
the gospel feast. Zion becomes the site of the fountain of healing
waters which shall flow east and west till all nations drink thereat.
What a reason for maintaining in the utmost purity and energy all the
works of the church of the living God! C. H. S.
Verse 7. "When the Lord turneth the captivity of his
people: then shall Jacob rejoice, and Israel shall be glad."
Notice that by Israel we are to understand those other sheep which
the Lord has that are not of this fold, but which he must also bring,
that they may hear his voice. For it is Israel, not Judah; Sion, not
Jerusalem. "When the Lord turneth the captivity of his
people." "Then," as it is in the parallel passage,
"were we like unto them that dream." A glorious dream indeed,
in which, fancy what we may, the half of the beauty, the half of the
splendour, will not be reached by our imagination. "The
captivity" of our souls to the law of concupiscence, of our
bodies to the law of death; the captivity of our senses to fear; the
captivity, the conclusion of which is so beautifully expressed by one
of our greatest poets: namely, Giles Fletcher (1588-1623), in
his "Christ's Triumph over Death."
"No sorrow now hangs clouding on their brow;
No bloodless malady impales their face;
No age drops on their hairs his silver snow;
No nakedness their bodies doth embase;
No poverty themselves and theirs disgrace;
No fear of death the joy of life devours;
No unchaste sleep their precious time deflower;
No loss, no grief, no change, wait on their winged hours."
John Mason Neale, in loc.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse 1 ( first clause ). The folly of atheism.
Verse 1. Atheism of the heart. Jamieson's Sermons on the
Heart.
Verse 1 ( whole verse ). Describe:
I. The creed of the fool.
II. The fool who holds the creed: or
thus, Atheism.
I. Its source: "the heart."
II. Its creed: "no God."
III. Its fruits: "corrupt,"
etc.
Verse 1.
I. The great source of sin—alienation
from God.
II. Its place of dominion—the
heart.
III. Its effect upon the intellect—
makes man a fool.
IV. Its manifestations in the life—acts
of commission and omission.
Verse 1 ( last clause ). The lantern of Diogenes. Hold it
up upon all classes, and denounce their sins.
Verse 2.
I. Condescending search.
II. Favoured subjects.
III. Generous intentions.
Verse 2. What God looks for, and what we should look for. Men
usually are quick to see things congruous to their own character.
Verses 2, 3. God's search for a naturally good man; the
result; lessons to be learned therefrom.
Verse 3. Total depravity of the race.
Verse 4. "Have all the workers of iniquity no
knowledge?" If men rightly knew God, his law, the evil of sin,
the torment of hell, and other great truths, would they sin as they
do? Or if they know these and yet continue in their iniquities, how
guilty and foolish they are! Answer the question both positively and
negatively, and it supplies material for a searching discourse.
Verse 4 ( first clause ). The crying sin of transgressing
against light and knowledge.
Verse 4 ( last clause ). Absence of prayer, a sure mark
of a graceless state.
Verse 5. The foolish fears of those who have no fear of
God.
Verse 5. The Lord's nearness to the righteous, its
consequences to the persecutor, and its encouragement to saints.
Verse 6. The wisdom of making the Lord our refuge. John
Owen.
Verse 6. Describe,
I. The poor man here intended.
II. His counsel.
III. His reproach.
IV. His refuge.
Verse 6. Trust in God, a theme for mockery to fools only. Show
its wisdom.
Verse 7. Longings for the advent.
Verse 7. "Out of Zion." The church, the channel of
blessings to men.
Verse 7. Discourse to promote revival.
I. Frequent condition of the church,
"captivity."
II. Means of revival—the Lord's coming
in grace.
III. Consequences, "rejoice," "be
glad."
Verse 7. Captivity of soul. What it is. How provided for. How
accomplished. With what results.