P
S A L M S
PSALM XXV.
This
psalm is full of devout affection to God, the out-goings of holy desires
towards his favour and grace and the lively actings of faith in his promises.
We may learn out of it, I. What it is to pray, ver. 1, 15. II. What we must
pray for, the pardon of sin (ver. 6, 7, 18), direction in the way of duty
(ver. 4, 5), the favour of God (ver. 16), deliverance out of our troubles
(ver. 17, 18), preservation from our enemies (ver. 20, 21), and the salvation
of the church of God, ver. 22. III. What we may plead in prayer, our
confidence in God (ver. 2, 3, 5, 20, 21), our distress and the malice of our
enemies (ver. 17, 19), our sincerity, ver. 21. IV. What precious promises we
have to encourage us in prayer, of guidance and instruction (ver. 8, 9, 12),
the benefit of the covenant (ver. 10), and the pleasure of communion with God,
ver. 13, 14. It is easy to apply the several passages of this psalm to
ourselves in the singing of it; for we have often troubles, and always sins,
to complain of at the throne of grace.
A psalm of David.
1 Unto thee, O LORD,
do I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be
ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. 3 Yea, let none
that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without
cause. 4 show me thy ways, O LORD;
teach me thy paths. 5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou
art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
6 Remember, O LORD,
thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of
old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions:
according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.
Here we have David's professions of desire towards God and dependence on him.
He often begins his psalms with such professions, not to move God, but to move
himself, and to engage himself to answer those professions.
I. He professes his desire towards God: Unto thee, O Lord! do I lift up my
soul, v. 1. In the foregoing psalm (v. 4) it was made the
character of a good man that he has not lifted up his soul to vanity;
and a call was given to the everlasting gates to lift up their heads for the King
of glory to come in, v. 1. To this character, to this call, David
here answers, "Lord, I lift up my soul, not to vanity, but to thee."
Note, In worshipping God we must lift up our souls to him. Prayer is the
ascent of the soul to God; God must be eyed and the soul employed. Sursum
corda--Up with you hearts, was anciently used as a call to devotion. With
a holy contempt of the world and the things of it, by a fixed thought and
active faith, we must set God before us, and let out our desires towards him
as the fountain of our happiness.
II. He professes his dependence upon God and begs for the benefit and comfort
of that dependence (v. 2): O my God! I trust in thee. His
conscience witnessed for him that he had no confidence in himself nor in any
creature, and that he had no diffidence of God or of his power or promise. He
pleases himself with this profession of faith in God. Having put his trust in
God, he is easy, is well satisfied, and quiet from the fear of evil; and he
pleads it with God whose honour it is to help those that honour him by
trusting in him. What men put a confidence in is either their joy or their
shame, according as it proves. Now David here, under the direction of faith,
prays earnestly, 1. That shame might not be his lot: "Let me not be
ashamed of my confidence in thee; let me not be shaken from it by any
prevailing fears, and let me not be, in the issue, disappointed of what I
depend upon thee for; but, Lord, keep what I have committed unto thee."
Note, If we make our confidence in God our stay, it shall not be our shame;
and, if we triumph in him, our enemies shall not triumph over us, as they
would if we should now sink under our fears, or should, in the issue, come
short of our hopes. 2. That it might not be the lot of any that trusted in
God. All the saints have obtained a like precious faith; and therefore,
doubtless, it will be alike successful in the issue. Thus the communion of
saints is kept up, even by their praying one for another. True saints will
make supplication for all saints. It is certain that none who, by a believing
attendance, wait on God, and, by a believing hope, wait for him, shall be made
ashamed of it. 3. That it might be the lot of the transgressors; Let those
be ashamed that transgress without cause, or vainly, as the word
is. (1.) Upon no provocation. They revolt from God and their duty, from David
and his government (so some), without any occasion given them, not being able
to pretend any iniquity they have found in God, or that in any thing he has
wearied them. The weaker the temptation is by which men are drawn to sin the
stronger the corruption is by which they are driven by it. Those are the worst
transgressors that sin for sinning-sake. (2.) To no purpose. They know their
attempts against God are fruitless; they imagine a vain thing, and therefore
they will soon be ashamed of it.
III. He begs direction from God in the way of his duty, v. 4, 5. Once
and again he here prays to God to teach him. He was a knowing man himself, but
the most intelligent, the most observant, both need and desire to be taught of
God; from him we must be ever learning. Observe,
1. What he desired to learn: "Teach me, not fine words or fine
notions, but thy ways, thy paths, thy truth, the ways in which thou
walkest towards men, which are all mercy and truth (v. 10), and
the ways in which thou wouldst have me to walk towards thee." Those are
best taught who understand their duty, and know the good things they should
do, Eccl. ii. 3. God's paths and his truth are the same;
divine laws are all founded upon divine truths. The way of God's precepts is
the way of truth, Ps. cxix. 30. Christ is both the way and the truth, and
therefore we must learn Christ.
2. What he desired of God, in order to this. (1.) That he would enlighten his
understanding concerning his duty: "Show me thy way, and so teach
me." In doubtful cases we should pray earnestly that God would make
it plain to us what he would have us to do. (2.) That he would incline his
will to do it, and strengthen him in it: "Lead me, and so teach
me." Not only as we lead one that is dimsighted, to keep him from missing
his way, but as we lead one that is sick, and feeble, and faint, to help him
forward in the way and to keep him from fainting and falling. We go no further
in the way to heaven than God is pleased to lead us and to hold us up.
3. What he pleads, (1.) His great expectation from God: Thou art the God of
my salvation. Note, Those that choose salvation of God as their end, and
make him the God of their salvation, may come boldly to him for direction in
the way that leads to that end. If God save us, he will teach us and lead us.
He that gives salvation will give instruction. (2.) His constant attendance on
God: On thee do I wait all the day. Whence should a servant expect
direction what to do but from his own master, on whom he waits all the day? If
we sincerely desire to know our duty, with a resolution to do it, we need not
question but that God will direct us in it.
IV. He appeals to God's infinite mercy, and casts himself upon that, not
pretending to any merit of his own (v. 6): "Remember, O Lord!
thy tender mercies, and, for the sake of those mercies, lead me, and teach
me; for they have been ever of old." 1. "Thou always wast a
merciful God; it is thy name, it is thy nature and property, to show
mercy." 2. "Thy counsels and designs of mercy were from everlasting;
the vessels of mercy were, before all worlds, ordained to glory." 3.
"The instances of thy mercy to the church in general, and to me in
particular, were early and ancient, and constant hitherto; they began of old,
and never ceased. Thou hast taught me from my youth up, teach me now."
V. He is in a special manner earnest for the pardon of his sins (v. 7):
"O remember not the sins of my youth. Lord, remember thy mercies (v.
6), which speak for me, and not my sins, which speak against me." Here
is, 1. An implicit confession of sin; he specifies particularly the sins of
his youth. Note, Our youthful faults and follies should be matter of our
repentance and humiliation long after, because time does not wear out the
guilt of sin. Old people should mourn for the sinful mirth and be in pain for
the sinful pleasures of their youth. He aggravates his sins, calling them his transgressions;
and the more holy, just, and good the law is, which sin is the transgression
of, the more exceedingly sinful it ought to appear to us. 2. An express
petition for mercy, (1.) That he might be acquitted from guilt: "Remember
not the sins of my youth; that is, remember them not against me, lay them
not to my charge, enter not into judgment with me for them." When God
pardons sin he is said to remember it no more, which denotes a plenary
remission; he forgives and forgets. (2.) That he might be accepted in God's
sight: "Remember thou me; think on me for good, and come in seasonably
for my succour." We need desire no more to make us happy than for God to
remember us with favour. His plea is, "according to thy mercy, and for
thy goodness-sake." Note, It is God's goodness and not ours, his mercy
and not our own merit, that must be our plea for the pardon of sin and all the
good we stand in need of. This plea we must always rely upon, as those that
are sensible of our poverty and unworthiness and as those that are satisfied
of the riches of God's mercy and grace.
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Divine
Goodness and Mercy.
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8 Good and upright is the LORD:
therefore will he teach sinners in the way. 9 The meek will he
guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. 10 All the
paths of the LORD
are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his
testimonies. 11 For thy name's sake, O LORD,
pardon mine iniquity; for it is great. 12 What man is
he that feareth the LORD?
him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. 13 His
soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth. 14
The secret of the LORD
is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.
God's promises are here mixed with David's prayers. Many petitions there were
in the former part of the psalm, and many we shall find in the latter; and
here, in the middle of the psalm, he meditates upon the promises, and by a
lively faith sucks and is satisfied from these breasts of consolation; for the
promises of God are not only the best foundation of prayer, telling us what to
pray for and encouraging our faith and hope in prayer, but they are a present
answer to prayer. Let the prayer be made according to the promise, and then
the promise may be read as a return to the prayer; and we are to believe the
prayer is heard because the promise will be performed. But, in the midst of
the promises, we find one petition which seems to come in somewhat abruptly,
and should have followed upon v. 7. It is that (v. 11), Pardon
my iniquity. But prayers for the pardon of sin are never impertinent; we
mingle sin with all our actions, and therefore should mingle such prayers with
all our devotions. He enforces this petition with a double plea. The former is
very natural: "For thy name's sake pardon my iniquity, because
thou hast proclaimed thy name gracious and merciful, pardoning iniquity, for
thy glory-sake, for thy promise-sake, for thy own sake," Isa. xliii. 25.
But the latter is very surprising: "Pardon my iniquity, for it is
great, and the greater it is the more will divine mercy be magnified in
the forgiveness of it." It is the glory of a great God to forgive great
sins, to forgive iniquity, transgression, and sin, Exod. xxxiv. 7. "It is
great, and therefore I an undone, for ever undone, if infinite mercy do not
interpose for the pardon of it. It is great; I see it to be so." The more
we see of the heinousness of our sins the better qualified we are to find
mercy with God. When we confess sin we must aggravate it.
Let us now take a view of the great and precious promises which we have in
these verses, and observe,
I. To whom these promises belong and who may expect the benefit of them. We
are all sinners; and can we hope for any advantage by them? Yes (v. 8),
He will teach sinners, though they be sinners; for Christ came into the world
to save sinners, and, in order to that, to teach sinners, to call sinners to
repentance. These promises are sure to those who though they have been
sinners, have gone astray, yet now keep God's word, 1. To such as keep his
covenant and his testimonies (v. 10), such as take his precepts for
their rule and his promises for their portion, such as, having taken God to be
to them a God, live upon that, and, having given up themselves to be him a
people, live up to that. Though, through the infirmity of the flesh, they
sometimes break the command, yet by a sincere repentance when at any time they
do amiss, and a constant adherence by faith to God as their God, they keep the
covenant and do not break that. 2. To such as fear him (v. 12 and again
v. 14), such as stand in awe of his majesty and worship him with
reverence, submit to his authority and obey him with cheerfulness, dread his
wrath and are afraid of offending him.
II. Upon what these promises are grounded, and what encouragement we have to
build upon them. Here are two things which ratify and confirm all the
promises:-- 1. The perfections of God's nature. We value the promise by the
character of him that makes its. We may therefore depend upon God's promises;
for good and upright is the Lord, and therefore he will be as good as
his word. He is so kind that he cannot deceive us, so true that he cannot
break his promise. Faithful is he who hath promised, who also will do
it. He was good in making the promise, and therefore will be upright in
performing it. 2. The agreeableness of all he says and does with the
perfections of his nature (v. 10): All the paths of the Lord
(that is, all his promises and all his providences) are mercy and truth;
they are, like himself, good and upright. All God's dealings with his people
are according to the mercy of his purposes and the truth of his promises; all
he does comes from love, covenant-love; and they may see in it his mercy
displayed and his word fulfilled. What a rich satisfaction may this be to good
people, that, whatever afflictions they are exercised with, All the paths
of the Lord are mercy and truth, and so it will appear when they come to
their journey's end.
III. What these promises are.
1. That God will instruct and direct them in the way of their duty. This is
most insisted upon, because it is an answer to David's prayers (v. 4,
5), Show me thy ways and lead me. We should fix our thoughts, and act
our faith, most on those promises which suit our present case. (1.) He will teach
sinners in the way, because they are sinners, and therefore need teaching.
When they see themselves sinners, and desire teaching, then he will teach them
the way of reconciliation to God, the way to a well-grounded peace of
conscience, and the way to eternal life. He does, by his gospel, make this way
known to all, and, by his Spirit, open the understanding and guide penitent
sinners that enquire after it. The devil leads men blindfold to hell, but God
enlightens men's eyes, sets things before them in a true light, and so leads
them to heaven. (2.) The meek will he guide, the meek will he teach,
that is, those that are humble and low in their own eyes, that are distrustful
of themselves, desirous to be taught, and honestly resolved to follow the
divine guidance. Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears. These he will
guide in judgment, that is, by the rule of the written word; he will
guide them in that which is practical, which relates to sin and duty, so that
they may keep conscience void of offence; and he will do it judiciously (so
some), that is, he will suit his conduct to their case; he will teach sinners
with wisdom, tenderness, and compassion, and as they are able to bear. He will
teach them his way. All good people make God's way their way, and desire to be
taught that; and those that do so shall be taught and led in that way. (3.) Him
that feareth the Lord he will teach in the way that he shall choose,
either in the way that God shall choose or that the good man shall choose. It
comes all to one, for he that fears the Lord chooses the things that please
him. If we choose the right way, he that directed our choice will direct our
steps, and will lead us in it. If we choose wisely, God will give us grace to
walk wisely.
2. That God will make them easy (v. 13): His soul shall dwell at
ease, shall lodge in goodness, marg. Those that devote themselves to the
fear of God, and give themselves to be taught of God, will be easy, if it be
not their own fault. The soul that is sanctified by the grace of God, and,
much more, that is comforted by the peace of God, dwells at ease. Even when
the body is sick and lies in pain, yet the soul may dwell at ease in God, may
return to him, and repose in him as its rest. Many things occur to make us
uneasy, but there is enough in the covenant of grace to counterbalance them
all and to make us easy.
3. That he will give to them and theirs as much of this world as is good for
them: His seed shall inherit the earth. Next to our care concerning our
souls is our care concerning our seed, and God has a blessing in store for the
generation of the upright. Those that fear God shall inherit the earth, shall
have a competency in it and the comfort of it, and their children shall fare
the better for their prayers when they are gone.
4. That God will admit them into the secret of communion with himself (v.
14): The secret of the Lord is with those that fear him. They
understand his word; for, if any man do his will, he shall know of the
doctrine whether it be of God, John vii. 17. Those that receive the truth
in the love of it, and experience the power of it, best understand the mystery
of it. They know the meaning of his providence, and what God is doing with
them, better than others. Shall I hide from Abraham the things that I do?
Gen. xviii. 17. He called them not servants, but friends, as he
called Abraham. They know by experience the blessings of the covenant and the
pleasure of that fellowship which gracious souls have with the Father and with
his Son Jesus Christ. This honour have all his saints.
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Precious Promises; Petitions.
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15 Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD;
for he shall pluck my feet out of the net. 16 Turn thee unto me,
and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted. 17
The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my
distresses. 18 Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive
all my sins. 19 Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they
hate me with cruel hatred. 20 O keep my soul, and deliver me: let
me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee. 21 Let integrity
and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee. 22 Redeem Israel,
O God, out of all his troubles.
David, encouraged by the promises he had been meditating upon, here renews his
addresses to God, and concludes the psalm, as he began, with professions of
dependence upon God and desire towards him.
I. He lays open before God the calamitous condition he was in. His feet were
in the net, held fast and entangled, so that he could not extricate himself
out of his difficulties, v. 15. He was desolate and afflicted, v.
16. It is common for those that are afflicted to be desolate; their friends
desert them then, and they are themselves disposed to sit alone and keep
silence, Lam. iii. 28. David calls himself desolate and solitary
because he depended not upon his servants and soldiers, but relied as entirely
upon God as if he had no prospect at all of help and succour from any
creature. Being in distress, in many distresses, the troubles of his heart
were enlarged (v. 17), he grew more and more melancholy and
troubled in mind. Sense of sin afflicted him more than any thing else: this it
was that broke and wounded his spirit, and made his outward troubles lie
heavily upon him. He was in affliction and pain, v. 18. His
enemies that persecuted him were many and malicious (they hated him), and very
barbarous; it was with a cruel hatred that they hated him, v.
19. Such were Christ's enemies and the persecutors of his church.
II. He expresses the dependence he had upon God in these distresses (v.
15): My eyes are ever towards the Lord. Idolaters were for gods that
they could see with their bodily eyes, and they had their eyes ever towards
their idols, Isa. xvii. 7, 8. But it is an eye of faith that we must have
towards God, who is a Spirit, Zech. ix. 1. Our meditation of him must be
sweet, and we must always set him before us: in all our ways we must
acknowledge him and do all to his glory. Thus we must live a life of communion
with God, not only in ordinances, but in providences, not only in acts of
devotion, but in the whole course of our conversation. David had the comfort
of this in his affliction; for, because his eyes were ever towards the Lord,
he doubted not but he would pluck his feet out of the net, that he would
deliver him from the corruptions of his own heart (so some), from the designs
of his enemies against him, so others. Those that have their eye ever towards
God shall not have their feet long in the net. He repeats his profession of
dependence upon God (v. 20) --Let me not be ashamed, for I put my
trust in thee; and of expectation from him--I wait on thee, v.
21. It is good thus to hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
III. He prays earnestly to God for relief and succour,
1. For himself.
(1.) See how he begs, [1.] For the remission of sin (v. 18): Forgive
all my sins. Those were his heaviest burdens, and which brought upon him
all other burdens. He had begged (v. 7) for the pardon of the sins of
his youth, and (v. 11) for the pardon of some one particular iniquity
that was remarkably great, which some think, was his sin in the matter of
Uriah. But here he prays, Lord, forgive all, take away all iniquity. It
is observable that, as to his affliction, he asks for no more than God's
regard to it: "Look upon my affliction and my pain, and do with it
as thou pleasest." But, as to his sin, he asks for no less than a full
pardon: Forgive all my sins. When at any time we are in trouble we
should be more concerned about our sins, to get them pardoned, than about our
afflictions, to get them removed. Yet he prays, [2.] For the redress of his
grievances. His mind was troubled for God's withdrawings from him and under
the sense he had of his displeasure against him for his sins; and therefore he
prays (v. 16), Turn thou unto me. And, if God turn to us, no
matter who turns from us. His condition was troubled, and, in reference to
that, he prays, "O bring thou me out of my distresses. I see no
way of deliverance open; but thou canst either find one or make one." His
enemies were spiteful; and in reference to that, he prays, "O keep my
soul from falling into their hands, or else deliver me out of their
hands."
(2.) Four things he mentions by way of plea to enforce these petitions, and
refers himself and them to God's consideration:-- [1.] He pleads God's mercy: Have
mercy upon me. Men of the greatest merits would be undone if they had not
to do with a God of infinite mercies. [2.] He pleads his own misery, the
distress he was in, his affliction and pain, especially the troubles of his
heart, all which made him the proper object of divine mercy. [3.] He pleads
the iniquity of his enemies: "Lord, consider them, how cruel they are,
and deliver me out of their hands." [4.] He pleads his own integrity, v.
12. Though he had owned himself guilty before God, and had confessed his sins
against him, yet, as to his enemies, he had the testimony of his conscience
that he had done them no wrong, which was his comfort when they hated him with
cruel hatred; and he prays that this might preserve him, This intimates
that he did not expect to be safe any longer than he continued in his integrity
and uprightness, and that, while he did continue in it, he did not doubt
of being safe. Sincerity will be our best security in the worst of times.
Integrity and uprightness will be a man's preservation more than the wealth
and honour of the world can be. These will preserve us to the heavenly
kingdom. We should therefore pray to God to preserve us in our integrity and
then be assured that that will preserve us.
2. For the church of God (v. 22): Redeem Israel, O God! out of all
his troubles. David was now in trouble himself, but he thinks it not
strange, since trouble is the lot of all God's Israel. Why should any one
member fare better than the whole body? David's troubles were enlarged, and
very earnest he was with God to deliver him, yet he forgets not the distresses
of God's church; for, when we have ever so much business of our own at the
throne of grace, we must still remember to pray for the public. Good men have
little comfort in their own safety while the church is in distress and danger.
This prayer is a prophecy that God would, at length, give David rest, and
therewith give Israel rest from all their enemies round about. It is a
prophecy of the sending of the Messiah in due time to redeem Israel from
his iniquities (Ps. cxxx. 8) and so to redeem them from their troubles. It
refers also to the happiness of the future state. In heaven, and in heaven
only, will God's Israel be perfectly redeemed from all troubles.
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