is but the glory of God; even the sun shines in light borrowed from the
Great Father of Lights.
"Thou sun, of this great world both eye and soul,
Acknowledge Him thy greater; sound his praise
Both when thou climb'st, and when high noon hast gained,
And when thou fall'st."
Verse 6. "His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit
unto the ends of it." He bears his light to the boundaries of the solar
heavens, traversing the zodiac with steady motion, denying his light to none
who dwell within his range. "And there is nothing hid from the heat
thereof." Above, beneath, around, the heat of the sun exercises an
influence. The bowels of the earth are stored with the ancient produce of
the solar rays, and even yet earth's inmost caverns feel their power. Where
light is shut out, yet heat and other more subtle influences find their way.
There is no doubt a parallel intended to be drawn between the heaven of
grace and the heaven of nature. God's way of grace is sublime and broad,
and full of his glory; in all its displays it is to be admired and studied
with diligence; both its lights and its shades are instructive; it has been
proclaimed, in a measure, to every people, and in due time shall be yet more
completely published to the ends of the earth. Jesus, like a sun, dwells in
the midst of revelation, tabernacling among men in all his brightness;
rejoicing, as the Bridegroom of his church, to reveal himself to men; and,
like a champion, to win unto himself renown. He makes a circuit of mercy,
blessing the remotest corners of the earth; and there are no seeking souls,
however degraded and depraved, who shall be denied the comfortable warmth
and benediction of his love—even death shall feel the power of his
presence, and resign the bodies of the saints, and this fallen earth shall
be restored to its pristine glory.
In the three following verses (7, 8, 9) we have a brief but instructive
hexapla containing six descriptive titles of the word, six characteristic
qualities mentioned and six divine effects declared. Names, nature, and
effect are well set forth.
Verse 7. "The law of the Lord is perfect;" by which he means not merely
the law of Moses but the doctrine of God, the whole run and rule of sacred
Writ. The doctrine revealed by God he declares to be perfect, and yet David
had but a very small part of the Scriptures, and if a fragment, and that the
darkest and most historical portion, be perfect, what must the entire volume
be? How more than perfect is the book which contains the clearest possible
display of divine love, and gives us an open vision of redeeming grace. The
gospel is a complete scheme or law of gracious salvation, presenting to the
needy sinner everything that his terrible necessities can possibly demand.
There are no redundancies and no omissions in the Word of God, and in the
plan of grace; why then do men try to paint this lily and gild this refined
gold? The gospel is perfect in all its parts, and perfect as a whole: it is
a crime to add to it, treason to alter it, and felony to take from it.
"Converting the soul." Making the man to be returned or restored to
the place from which sin had cast him. The practical effect of the Word of
God is to turn the man to himself, to his God, and to holiness; and the turn
or conversion is not outward alone, "the soul" is moved and renewed. The
great means of the conversion of sinners is the Word of God, and the more
closely we keep to it in our ministry the more likely we are to be
successful. It is God's Word rather than man's comment on God's Word which
is made mighty with souls. When the law drives and the gospel draws, the
action is different but the end is one, for by God's Spirit the soul is made
to yield, and cries, "Turn me, and I shall be turned." Try men's depraved
nature with philosophy and reasoning, and it laughs your efforts to scorn,
but the Word of God soon works a transformation.
"The testimony of the Lord is sure." God bears his testimony against
sin, and on behalf of righteousness; he testifies of our fall and of our
restoration; this testimony is plain, decided, and infallible, and is to be
accepted as sure. God's witness in his Word is so sure that we may draw
solid comfort from it both for time and eternity, and so sure that no
attacks made upon it however fierce or subtle can ever weaken its force.
What a blessing that in a world of uncertainties we have something sure to
rest upon! We hasten from the quicksands of human speculations to the
terra firma of Divine Revelation.
"Making wise the simple." Humble, candid, teachable minds receive the
word, and are made wise unto salvation. Things hidden from the wise and
prudent are revealed unto babes. The persuadable grow wise, but the
cavillers continue fools. As a law or plan the Word of God converts, and
then as a testimony it instructs; it is not enough for us to be converts, we
must continue to be disciples; and if we have felt the power of truth, we
must go on to prove its certainty by experience. The perfection of the
gospel converts, but its sureness edifies; if we would be edified it becomes
us not to stagger at the promise through unbelief, for a doubted gospel
cannot make us wise, but truth of which we are assured will be our
establishment.
Verse 8. "The statutes of the Lord are right." His precepts and decrees
are founded in righteousness, and are such as are right or fitted to the
right reason of man. As a physician gives the right medicine, and a
counsellor the right advice, so does the Book of God. "Rejoicing the
heart." Mark the progress; he who was converted was next made wise and is
now made happy; that truth which makes the heart right then gives joy to the
right heart. Free-grace brings heart-joy. Earthborn mirth dwells on the
lip, and flushes the bodily powers; but heavenly delights satisfy the inner
nature, and fill the mental faculties to the brim. There is no cordial of
comfort like that which is poured from the bottle of Scripture.
"Retire and read thy Bible to be gay."
"The commandment of the Lord is pure." No mixture of error defiles
it, no stain of sin pollutes it; it is the unadulterated milk, the undiluted
wine. "Enlightening the eyes," purging away by its own purity the earthly
grossness which mars the intellectual discernment: whether the eye be dim
with sorrow or with sin, the Scripture is a skilful occulist, and makes the
eye clear and bright. Look at the sun and it puts out your eyes, look at
the more than sunlight of Revelation and it enlightens them; the purity of
snow causes snow-blindness to the Alpine traveller, but the purity of God's
truth has the contrary effect, and cures the natural blindness of the soul.
It is well again to observe the gradation; the convert becomes a disciple
and next a rejoicing soul, he now obtains a discerning eye and as a
spiritual man discerneth all things, though he himself is discerned of no
man.
Verse 9. "The fear of the Lord is clean." The doctrine of truth is here
described by its spiritual effect, viz., inward piety, or the fear of the
Lord; this is clean in itself, and cleanses out the love of sin, sanctifying
the heart in which it reigns. Mr. Godly-fear is never satisfied till every
street, lane, and alley, yea, and every house and every corner of the town
of Mansoul is clean rid of the Diablolonians who lurk therein. "Enduring
for ever." Filth brings decay, but cleanness is the great foe of
corruption. The grace of God in the heart being a pure principle, is also
an abiding and incorruptible principle, which may be crushed for a time, but
cannot be utterly destroyed. Both in the Word and in the heart, when the
Lord writes, he says with Pilate, "What I have written, I have written;" he
will make no erasures himself, much less suffer others to do so. The
revealed will of God is never changed; even Jesus came not to destroy but to
fulfil, and even the ceremonial law was only changed as to its shadow, the
substance intended by it is eternal. When the governments of nations are
shaken with revolution, and ancient constitutions are being repealed, it is
comforting to know that the throne of God is unshaken, and his law
unaltered.
"The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether;" —jointly and severally the words of the Lord are true; that which is good in
detail is excellent in the mass; no exception may be taken to a single
clause separately, or to the book as a whole. God's judgments, all of them
together, or each of them apart, are manifestly just, and need no laborious
excuses to justify them. The judicial decisions of Jehovah, as revealed in
the law, or illustrated in the history of his providence, are truth itself,
and commend themselves to every truthful mind; not only is their power
invincible, but their justice is unimpeachable.
Verse 10. "More to be desired are they than fine gold, yea, than much fine
gold." Bible truth is enriching to the soul in the highest degree; the
metaphor is one which gathers force as it is brought out;—gold—fine
gold—much fine gold; it is good, better, best, and therefore it is not
only to be desired with a miser's avidity, but with more than that. As
spiritual treasure is more noble than mere material wealth, so should it be
desired and sought after with greater eagerness. Men speak of solid gold,
but what is so solid as solid truth? For love of gold pleasure is forsworn,
ease renounced, and life endangered; shall we not be ready to do as much for
love of truth? "Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb." Trapp says,
"Old people are all for profit, the young for pleasure; here's gold for the
one, yea, the finest gold in great quantity; here's honey for the other,
yea, live honey dropping from the comb." The pleasures arising from a right
understanding of the divine testimonies are of the most delightful order;
earthly enjoyments are utterly contemptible, if compared with them. The
sweetest joys, yea, the sweetest of the sweetest falls to his portion who
has God's truth to be his heritage.
Verse 11. "Moreover by them is thy servant warned." We are warned by the
Word both of our duty, our danger, and our remedy. On the sea of life there
would be many more wrecks, if it were not for the divine storm-signals,
which give to the watchful a timely warning. The Bible should be our
Mentor, our Monitor, our Memento Mori, our Remembrancer, and the Keeper of
our Conscience. Alas, that so few men will take the warning so graciously
given; none but servants of God will do so, for they alone regard their
Master's will. Servants of God not only find his service delightful in
itself, but they receive good recompense; "In keeping of them there is
great reward." There is a wage, and a great one; though we earn no wages
of debt, we win great wages of grace. Saints may be losers for a time, but
they shall be glorious gainers in the long run, and even now a quiet
conscience is in itself no slender reward for obedience. He who wears the
herb called heart's-ease in his bosom is truly blessed. However, the main
reward is yet to come, and the word here used hints as much, for it
signifies the heel, as if the reward would come to us at the end of life
when the work was done;—not while the labour was in hand, but when it
was gone and we could see the heel of it. Oh the glory yet to be revealed!
It is enough to make a man faint for joy at the prospect of it. Our light
affliction, which is but for a moment, is not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us. Then shall we know the value of the
Scriptures when we swim in that sea of unutterable delight to which their
streams will bear us, if we commit ourselves to them.
Verse 12. "Who can understand his errors?" A question which is its own
answer. It rather requires a note of exclamation than of interrogation. By
the law is the knowledge of sin, and in the presence of divine truth, the
psalmist marvels at the number and heinousness of his sins. He best knows
himself who best knows the Word, but even such an one will be in a maze of
wonder as to what he does not know, rather than on the mount of
congratulation as to what he does know. We have heard of a comedy of
errors, but to a good man this is more like a tragedy. Many books have a
few lines of errata at the end, but our errata might well be as large as the
volume if we could but have sense enough to see them. Augustine wrote in
his older days a series of Retractations; ours might make a library if we
had enough grace to be convinced of our mistakes and to confess them.