Those who grind poor tradesmen, needy widows, and such like, by
charging them interest at intolerable rates, will find that their
gold, and their silver are cankered. The man who shall ascend into
the hill of the Lord must shake off this sin as Paul shook the viper
into the fire. "Nor taketh reward against the innocent."
Bribery is a sin both in the giver and the receiver. It was
frequently practised in Eastern courts of justice; that form of it is
now under our excellent judges almost an unheard-of thing; yet the
sin survives in various forms, which the reader needs not that we
should mention; and under every shape it is loathsome to the true man
of God. He remembers that Jesus instead of taking reward against the
innocent died for the guilty.
Verse 5. "He that doeth these things shall never be moved." No
storm shall tear him from his foundations, drag him from his
anchorage, or uproot him from his place. Like the Lord Jesus, whose
dominion is everlasting, the true Christian shall never lose his
crown. He shall not only be on Zion, but like Zion,
fixed and firm. He shall dwell in the tabernacle of the Most High,
and neither death nor judgment shall remove him from his place of
privilege and blessedness.
Let us betake ourselves to prayer and
self-examination, for this Psalm is as fire for the gold, and as a
furnace for silver. Can we endure its testing power?
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Verse 1. "Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?" In
that the church of Christ upon earth is a "tabernacle," we may
note, that neither the church itself, nor the members of it, have any
fixed or firm seat of habitation in this world: "Arise, depart, for
this is not your rest." Micah 2:10. "Here have we no continuing city,
but we seek one to come." Hebrews 13:14. God's tabernacle, being a
movable temple, wandered up and down, sometimes in the desert,
sometimes in Shiloh, sometimes among the Philistines, sometimes in
Kerjathjearim, and never found any settled place till it was
translated into the mountain of God: even so the church of God
wandereth as a straggler and a stranger in the wilderness of this
world, being destitute, tormented, and afflicted on every side,
persecuted from this city to that, and never enjoying any constant
habitation of sound and sure rest until it be translated unto
"God's holy hill." The verb (Heb.) gur (as the learned
in Hebrew note) signifying to dwell as a stranger, or a sojourner,
imports that a citizen of heaven is a pilgrim on earth. . . . . In
that the church is a tabernacle, we may see that it is not a
fort, compassed about with any strong walls, armed with any human
forces; and yet such as keep within her are defended from heat of
sun, and hurt of storms. Her strength is not here, but from above,
for Christ her Head is in all her troubles a present help, a refuge
against the tempest, a shadow against the heat. Isaiah 35:4. The
church on earth is indeed a tabernacle, but it is God's
tabernacle, wherein he dwelleth as in his house; "Lord, who shall
abide in thy tabernacle?" for to this end the Lord commanded
the tabernacle to be made, that he might dwell among them, the
blessed apostle construeth it of his dwelling among them. 2
Corinthians 6:16. "You are," saith he, "the temple of the living God,
as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them." To the
same purpose, God is said elsewhere to dwell in Sion, and to walk in
the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, that is, in the midst of
the seven churches, in the midst of his city (Psalms 46:5), in the
midst of his people. Isaiah 12:6. John Boys, D.D., Dean of
Canterbury, 1571-1625.
Verse 1. "Lord, who shall abide," etc. If David, a man
endued with an excellent and divine spirit, one in whom singular
wisdom, rare knowledge, and deep understanding of hidden secrets
appeared, who being taught of God in heavenly things, far surpassed
and exceeded in wisdom all his teachers and counsellors, did
notwithstanding desire to know the sheep from the goats, the good
from the bad, the saints from the hypocrites, the true worshippers of
God from dissemblers, the true inhabitants of the holy tabernacle
from the intruders of the wicked, lest therein he should be deceived;
how great cause have we, in whom neither the like spirit, neither
such wisdom, nor equal knowledge, nor comparable understanding, by
many degrees appeareth, to fear our own weakness, to doubt of our own
judgments, to confess our own infirmity, and to suspect the subtle
sleights and coloured pretenses of men: and for further knowledge in
hidden, deep, and secret things, with David to demand and ask this
question, "Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell
in thy holy hill?". . . . . . . . . Where David saith, "Who shall
abide in thy holy hill?" he giveth us to understand that there is no
true and sound rest but in the holy hill of the Lord, which is
the church. Then the wicked and ungodly which are not of God's house,
of his holy hill, of the church, have no quiet, rest, nor
sound peace; but they are in continual perplexity, continual torment,
continual disquietness of their minds. Richard Turnbull,
1606.
Verse 1. "Abide in the tabernacle," etc. The
worshippers in the outer court only will get their eternal abode
without among the dogs, sorcerers, etc; but they that shall be
inhabitants of heaven, come further in, even unto the tabernacle
itself: their souls are fed at his table, they find the smell of his
garments as of myrrh, aloes, and cassia; and if they miss it at any
time, it is the grief of their souls, and they are never at rest till
they recover it again. Thomas Boston.
Verse 1. "Who shall dwell," etc.
"Now who is he? Say, if ye can,
Who so shall gain the firm abode?
Pilate shall say, 'Behold the Man!'
And John, 'Behold the Lamb of God!'"
John Barclay, quoted by A. A. Bonar, in loc.
Verse 1. "Holy hill." Heaven is aptly compared to a
hill, hell to a hole. Now who shall ascend unto this holy mount? None
but those whom this mount comes down unto, that have sweet communion
with God in this life present, whose conversation is in heaven,
though their commoration be for awhile upon earth, who do here eat,
and drink, and sleep, eternal life. John Trapp.
Verses 1, 2. The disguising and counterfeiting of hypocrites
in all ages, occasioned haply this query: for, as Paul speaks, "all
are not Israel that are of Israel," a great many living in the church
are not of the church, according to that of the doctors upon this
place, multi sunt corpore qui non sunt fide, multi nomine qui non
sunt nomine. Wherefore, David, here perceiving that sundry people
were shuffled into God's tabernacle like goats among the sheep, and
tares among the corn, being Jews outwardly, but not inwardly,
deceiving others often, and, sometimes, themselves also, with a bare
profession of religion, and false opinion of true piety, cometh unto
God (as to the searcher and trier of the hearts of men, acquainted
with all secrets, and best understanding who are his own), saying
unto him, O Lord, forsomuch as there is so much unsoundness and
hypocrisy reigning among those that dwell in thy tabernacle,
professing thy word, and frequenting the places of thy worship; I
beseech thee most humbly, to declare to thy people some tokens and
cognizances by which a true subject of thy kingdom may be discerned
from the children of this world. Here then, observe, that an external
profession of faith, and outward communion with the church of God, is
not sufficient unto salvation, unless we lead an incorrupt life
correspondent to the same, doing the thing which is right, and
speaking the truth in our heart. And, therefore, the silly Papist is
exceedingly deceived in relying so much upon the church's outside, to
wit, upon the succession of Roman bishops, upon the multitude of
Roman Catholics, upon the power and pomp of the Roman synagogue,
crying as the Jews in old time, "The temple of the Lord, the temple
of the Lord," our church is the temple of the Lord. The carnal and
careless gospeller is deceived also, placing all his religion in the
formal observation of outward service, for a mere verbal Christian is
a real atheist, according to that of Paul (Titus 1:16), "In word they
profess that they know God, but in their works they deny him;" and so
many who seem to sojourn in God's tabernacle for a time, shall never
rest upon his "holy hill;" and this assertion is expressly
confirmed by Christ himself: "Not every one (saith he) that saith
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he
that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to
me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and
in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful
works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart
from me, ye that work iniquity." Matthew 7:21-23. Consider this, all
ye which are Christians in lip only but not in life, making a mask of
religion, or rather a very vizard, with eyes, and mouth, and nose,
fairly painted and proportioned to all pretenses and purposes. O
think on this, all ye that forget God, he that dwelleth on high, and
beholds the things here below, suffers none to rest upon the
mountain of his holiness but such as walk uprightly, doing
that which is just, and speaking that which is true. John
Boys.
Verse 2. "He that walketh uprightly," etc. If neither
the golden reason of excellency can move us, nor the silver reason of
profit allure us, then must the iron reason of necessity enforce us
to integrity and uprightness of heart. For first, such
is the necessity thereof, that without integrity the best graces we
seem to have are counterfeit, and, therefore, but glorious sins; the
best worship we can perform is but hypocrisy, and therefore
abominable in God's sight. For uprightness is the soundness of all
grace and virtues, as also of all religion and worship of God,
without which they are unsound and nothing worth. And first, as
touching graces, if they be not joined with uprightness of heart,
they are sins under the masks or vizards of virtue, yea, as it may
seem, double sins: for as Augustine saith, Simulata aequitas est
duplex iniquitas, quia et inquitas est, et similatio: Feigned
equity is double iniquity, both because it is iniquity, and because
it is feigning. George Downame, D.D., 1604.
Verse 2. "He that walketh uprightly." Here two
questions are moved; First. Why David describes a sound member of the
church, and inheritor of heaven, by works rather than by faith,
seeing the kingdom of heaven is promised unto faith, and the
profession thereof also maketh one a member of the visible church?
Secondly. Why, among all the fruits of faith, almost innumerable, he
makes choice of those duties especially which concern our neighbours?
To the first, answer may be, that in this, and in all other places in
Holy Scripture, where good works are commanded or commended in any,
faith is ever presupposed, according to that apostolical maxim,
"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin;" "Without me," saith our blessed
Saviour, "ye can do nothing" (John 15:5); and without faith in him it
is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6); fides est operum