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David's
Complaints and Prayers Turned into Praises.
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To the chief musician. A psalm of David.
1
How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD?
for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? 2 How long
shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how
long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and
hear me, O LORD
my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that
trouble me rejoice when I am moved. 5 But I have trusted in thy
mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. 6 I will sing
unto the LORD,
because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
David, in affliction, is
here pouring out his soul before God; his address is short, but the method
is very observable, and of use for direction and encouragement.
I. His troubles extort
complaints (v. 1, 2); and the afflicted have liberty to pour out
their complaint before the Lord, Ps. cii. title. It is some ease
to a troubled spirit to give vent to its griefs, especially to give vent to
them at the throne of grace, where we are sure to find one who is afflicted
in the afflictions of his people and is troubled with the feeling of their
infirmities; thither we have boldness of access by faith, and there we have parrhsia--freedom
of speech. Observe here,
1. What David complains
of. (1.) God's unkindness; so he construed it, and it was his infirmity. He
thought God had forgotten him, had forgotten his promises to him, his
covenant with him, his former lovingkindness which he had shown him and
which he took to be an earnest of further mercy, had forgotten that there
was such a man in the world, who needed and expected relief and succour from
him. Thus Zion said, My God has forgotten me (Isa. xlix. 14), Israel
said, My way is hidden from the Lord, Isa. xl. 27. Not that any good
man can doubt the omniscience, goodness, and faithfulness of God; but it is
a peevish expression of prevailing fear, which yet, when it arises from a
high esteem and earnest desire of God's favour, though it be indecent and
culpable, shall be passed by and pardoned, for the second thought will
retract it and repent of it. God hid his face from him, so that he wanted
that inward comfort in God which he used to have, and herein was a type of
Christ upon the cross, crying out, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?
God sometimes hides his face from his own children, and leaves them in the
dark concerning their interest in him; and this they lay to heart more than
any outward trouble whatsoever. (2.) His own uneasiness. [1.] He was racked
with care, which filled his head: I take counsel in my soul; "I
am at a loss, and am inops consilii--without a friend to advise with
that I can put any confidence in, and therefore am myself continually
projecting what to do to help myself; but none of my projects are likely to
take effect, so that I am at my wits' end, and in a continual
agitation." Anxious cares are heavy burdens with which good people
often load themselves more than they need. [2.] He was overwhelmed with
sorrow, which filled his heart: I have sorrow in my heart daily. He
had a constant disposition to sorrow and it preyed upon his spirits, not
only in the night, when he was silent and solitary, but by day too, when
lighter griefs are diverted and dissipated by conversation and business;
nay, every day brought with it fresh occasions of grief; the clouds
returned after the rain. The bread of sorrow is sometimes the saint's
daily bread. Our Master himself was a man of sorrows. (3.) His enemies'
insolence, which added to his grief. Saul his great enemy, and others under
him, were exalted over him, triumphed in his distress, pleased themselves
with his grief, and promised themselves a complete victory over him. This he
complained of as reflecting dishonour upon God, and his power and promise.
2. How he expostulates
with God hereupon: "How long shall it be thus?" And,
"Shall it be thus for ever?" Long afflictions try our
patience and often tire it. It is a common temptation, when trouble lasts
long, to think it will last always; despondency then turns into despair, and
those that have long been without joy begin, at last, to be without hope.
"Lord, tell me how long thou wilt hide thy face, and assure me that it
shall not be for ever, but that thou wilt return at length in mercy to me,
and then I shall the more easily bear my present troubles."
II. His complaints stir up
his prayers, v. 3, 4. We should never allow ourselves to make any
complaints but what are fit to be offered up to God and what drive us to our
knees. Observe here,
1. What his petitions are:
Consider my case, hear my complaints, and enlighten my
eyes, that is, (1.) "Strengthen my faith;" for faith is the
eye of the soul, with which it sees above, and sees through, the things of
sense. "Lord, enable me to look beyond my present troubles and to
foresee a happy issue of them." (2.) "Guide my way; enable me to
look about me, that I may avoid the snares which are laid for me." (3.)
"Refresh my soul with the joy of thy salvation." That which
revives the drooping spirits is said to enlighten the eyes, 1 Sam.
xiv. 27; Ezra ix. 8. "Lord, scatter the cloud of melancholy which
darkens my eyes, and let my countenance be made pleasant."
2. What his pleas are. He
mentions his relation to God and interest in him (O Lord my God!) and
insists upon the greatness of the peril, which called for speedy relief and
succour. If his eyes were not enlightened quickly, (1.) He concludes that he
must perish: "I shall sleep the sleep of death; I cannot live
under the weight of all this care and grief." Nothing is more killing
to a soul then the want of God's favour, nothing more reviving than the
return of it. (2.) That then his enemies would triumph: "Lest my
enemy say, So would I have it; lest Saul, lest Satan, be gratified in my
fall." It would gratify the pride of his enemy: He will say, "I
have prevailed, I have gotten the day, and been too hard for him and his
God." It would gratify the malice of his enemies: They will rejoice
when I am moved. And will it be for God's honour to suffer them thus to
trample upon all that is sacred both in heaven and earth?
III. His prayers are soon
turned into praises (v. 5, 6): But my heart shall rejoice and I
will sing to the Lord. What a surprising change is here in a few lines!
In the beginning of the psalm we have him drooping, trembling, and ready to
sink into melancholy and despair; but, in the close of it, rejoicing in God,
and elevated and enlarged in his praises. See the power of faith, the power
of prayer, and how good it is to draw near to God. If we bring our cares and
griefs to the throne of grace, and leave them there, we may go away like
Hannah, and our countenance will be no more sad, 1 Sam. i. 18. And
here observe the method of his comfort. 1. God's mercy is the support of his
faith. "My case is bad enough, and I am ready to think it deplorable,
till I consider the infinite goodness of God; but, finding I have that to
trust to, I am comforted, though I have no merit of my own. In former
distresses I have trusted in the mercy of God, and I never found that
it failed me; his mercy has in due time relieved me and my confidence in it
has in the mean time supported me. Even in the depth of this distress, when
God hid his face from me, when without were fightings and within were fears,
yet I trusted in the mercy of God and that was as an anchor in a
storm, by the help of which, though I was tossed, I was not overset."
And still I do trust in thy mercy; so some read it. "I refer
myself to that, with an assurance that it will do well for me at last."
This he pleads with God, knowing what pleasure he takes in those that
hope in his mercy, Ps. cxlvii. 11. 2. His faith in God's mercy filled
his heart with joy in his salvation; for joy and peace come by
believing, Rom. xv. 13. Believing, you rejoice, 1 Pet. i. 8.
Having put his trust in the mercy of God, he is fully assured of salvation,
and that his heart, which was now daily grieving, should rejoice in that
salvation. Though weeping endure long, joy will return. 3. His joy in
God's salvation would fill his mouth with songs of praise (v. 6):
"I will sing unto the Lord, sing in remembrance of what he has
done formerly; though I should never recover the peace I have had, I will
die blessing God that ever I had it. He has dealt bountifully with me
formerly, and he shall have the glory of that, however he is pleased to deal
with me now. I will sing in hope of what he will do for me at last, being
confident that all will end well, will end everlastingly well." But he
speaks of it as a thing past (He has dealt bountifully with me),
because by faith he had received the earnest of the salvation and he was as
confident of it as if it had been done already.
In singing this psalm and
praying it over, if we have not the same complaints to make that David had,
we must thank God that we have not, dread and deprecate his withdrawings,
sympathize with those that are troubled in mind, and encourage ourselves in
our most holy faith and joy.
