Many
psalms that begin with complaint and prayer end with joy and praise, but
this begins with joy and praise and ends with sad complaints and petitions;
for the psalmist first recounts God's former favours, and then with the
consideration of them aggravates the present grievances. It is uncertain
when it was penned; only, in general, that it was at a time when the house
of David was woefully eclipsed; some think it was at the time of the
captivity of Babylon, when king Zedekiah was insulted over, and abused, by
Nebuchadnezzar, and then they make the title to signify no more than that
the psalm was set to the tune of a song of Ethan the son of Zerah, called
Maschil; others suppose it to be penned by Ethan, who is mentioned in the
story of Solomon, who, outliving that glorious prince, thus lamented the
great disgrace done to the house of David in the next reign by the revolt of
the ten tribes. I. The psalmist, in the joyful pleasant part of the psalm,
gives glory to God, and takes comfort to himself and his friends. This he
does more briefly, mentioning God's mercy and truth (ver. 1) and his
covenant (ver. 2-4), but more largely in the following verses, wherein, 1.
He adores the glory and perfection of God, ver. 5-14. 2. He pleases himself
in the happiness of those that are admitted into communion with him, ver.
15-18. 3. He builds all his hope upon God's covenant with David, as a type
of Christ, ver. 19-37. II. In the melancholy part of the psalm he laments
the present calamitous state of the prince and royal family (ver. 38-45),
expostulates with God upon it (ver. 46-49), and then concludes with prayer
for redress, ver. 50, 51. In singing this psalm we must have high thoughts
of God, a lively faith in his covenant with the Redeemer, and a sympathy
with the afflicted parts of the church.
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The
Divine Mercy and Faithfulness.
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Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD
for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all
generations. 2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for
ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.
3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my
servant, 4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy
throne to all generations. Selah.
The psalmist has a very sad complaint to make of the deplorable condition of
the family of David at this time, and yet he begins the psalm with songs of
praise; for we must, in every thing, in every state, give thanks; thus we
must glorify the Lord in the fire. We think, when we are in trouble, that we
get ease by complaining; but we do more--we get joy, by praising. Let our
complaints therefore be turned into thanksgivings; and in these verses we
find that which will be matter of praise and thanksgiving for us in the
worst of times, whether upon a personal or a public account, 1. However it
be, the everlasting God is good and true, v. 1. Though we may find it
hard to reconcile present dark providences with the goodness and truth of
God, yet we must abide by this principle, That God's mercies are
inexhaustible and his truth is inviolable; and these must be the matter of
our joy and praise: "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for
ever, sing a praising song to God's honour, a pleasant song for my own
solace, and Maschil, an instructive song, for the edification of
others." We may be for ever singing God's mercies, and yet the subject
will not be drawn dry. We must sing of God's mercies as long as we live,
train up others to sing of them when we are gone, and hope to be singing
them in heaven world without end; and this is singing of the mercies of
the Lord for ever. With my mouth, and with my pen (for by that also do
we speak), will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations,
assuring posterity, from my own observation and experience, that God is true
to every word that he has spoken, that they may learn to put their trust
in God, Ps. lxxviii. 6. 2. However it be, the everlasting covenant is
firm and sure, v. 2-4. Here we have, (1.) The psalmist's faith and
hope: "Things now look black, and threaten the utter extirpation of the
house of David; but I have said, and I have warrant from the word of
God to say it, that mercy shall be built up for ever." As the
goodness of God's nature is to be the matter of our song (v. 1), so
much more the mercy that is built for us in the covenant; it is still
increasing, like a house in the building up, and shall still continue our
rest for ever, like a house built up. It shall be built up for ever; for the
everlasting habitations we hope for in the new Jerusalem are of this
building. If mercy shall be built for ever, then the tabernacle of David,
which has fallen down, shall be raised out of its ruins, and built
up as in the days of old, Amos ix. 11. Therefore mercy shall be
built up for ever, because thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the
very heavens. Though our expectations are in some particular instances
disappointed, yet God's promises are not disannulled; they are established
in the very heavens (that is, in his eternal counsels); they are above
the changes of this lower region and out of the reach of the opposition of
hell and earth. The stability of the material heavens is an emblem of the
truth of God's word; the heavens may be clouded by vapours arising out of
the earth, but they cannot be touched, they cannot be changed. (2.) An
abstract of the covenant upon which this faith and hope are built: I have
said it, says the psalmist, for God hath sworn it, that the heirs
of promise might be entirely satisfied of the immutability of his counsel.
He brings in God speaking (v. 3), owning, to the comfort of his
people, "I have made a covenant, and therefore will make it
good." The covenant is made with David; the covenant of royalty is made
with him, as the father of his family, and with his seed through him and for
his sake, representing the covenant of grace made with Christ as head of the
church and with all believers as his spiritual seed. David is here called God's
chosen and his servant; and, as God is not changeable to recede
from his own choice, so he is not unrighteous to cast off one that served
him. Two things encourage the psalmist to build his faith on this
covenant:-- [1.] The ratification of it; it was confirmed with an oath: The
Lord has sworn, and he will not repent. [2.] The perpetuity of it; the
blessings of the covenant were not only secured to David himself, but were
entailed on his family; it was promised that his family should continue--Thy
seed will I establish for ever, so that David shall not want a son to
reign (Jer. xxxiii. 20, 21); and that it should continue a royal
family--I will build up thy throne to all generations, to all the
generations of time. This has its accomplishment only in Christ, of the seed
of David, who lives for ever, to whom God has given the throne of his father
David, and of the increase of whose government and peace there shall be no
end. Of this covenant the psalmist will return to speak more largely, v.
19, &c.
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The
Divine Power and Justice; The Glory of God Celebrated.
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5 And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O
LORD: thy faithfulness also in
the congregation of the saints. 6 For who in the heaven can be
compared unto the LORD?
who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD?
7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had
in reverence of all them that are about him. 8 O LORD
God of hosts, who is a strong LORD
like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee? 9 Thou
rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest
them. 10 Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain;
thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm. 11 The
heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the
world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. 12 The
north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice
in thy name. 13 Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and
high is thy right hand. 14 Justice and judgment are the
habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
These verses are full of the praises of God. Observe,
I. Where, and by whom, God is to be praised. 1. God is praised by the angels
above: The heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord! v. 5;
that is, "the glorious inhabitants of the upper world continually
celebrate thy praises." Bless the Lord, you his angels, Ps. ciii.
20. The works of God are wonders even to those that are best acquainted and
most intimately conversant with them; the more God's works are known the
more they are admired and praised. This should make us love heaven, and long
to be there, that there we shall have nothing else to do but to praise God
and his wonders. 2. God is praised by the assemblies of his saints on earth
(praise waits for him in Zion); and, though their praises fall so far
short of the praises of angels, yet God is pleased to take notice of them,
and accept of them, and reckon himself honoured by them. "Thy
faithfulness and the truth of thy promise, that rock on which the church is
built, shall be praised in the congregation of the saints, who owe their all
to that faithfulness, and whose constant comfort it is that there is a
promise, and that he is faithful who has promised." It is expected from
God's saints on earth that they praise him; who should, if they do not? Let
every saint praise him, but especially the congregation of saints; when they
come together, let them join in praising God. The more the better; it is the
more like heaven. Of the honour done to God by the assembly of the saints he
speaks again (v. 7): God is greatly to be feared in the assembly
of the saints. Saints should assemble for religious worship, that they
may publicly own their relation to God and may stir up one another to give
honour to him, and, in keeping up communion with God, may likewise maintain
the communion of saints. In religious assemblies God has promised the
presence of his grace, but we must also, in them, have an eye to his
glorious presence, that the familiarity we are admitted to may not breed the
least contempt; for he is terrible in his holy places, and therefore greatly
to be feared. A holy awe of God must fall upon us, and fill us, in all our
approaches to God, even in secret, to which something may very well be added
by the solemnity of public assemblies. God must be had in reverence of
all that are about him, that attend him continually as his servants or
approach him upon any particular errand. See Lev. x. 3. Those only serve God
acceptably who serve him with reverence and godly fear, Heb. xii. 28.
II. What it is to praise God; it is to acknowledge him to be a being of
unparalleled perfection, such a one that there is none like him, nor any to
be compared with him, v. 6. If there be any beings that can pretend
to vie with God, surely they must be found among the angels; but they are
all infinitely short of him: Who in the heaven can be compared with the
Lord, so as to challenge any share of the reverence and adoration which
are due to him only, or to set up in rivalship with him for the homage of
the children of men? They are sons of the mighty, but which of them can be
likened unto the Lord? Nobles are princes' peers; some parity there is
between them. But there is none between God and the angels; they are not his
peers. To whom will you liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy
One, Isa. xl. 25. This is insisted on again (v. 8): Who is a
strong Lord like unto thee? No angel, no earthly potentate, whatsoever,
is comparable to God, or has an arm like him, or can thunder with
a voice like him. Thy faithfulness is round about thee; that is,
"thy angels who are round about thee, attending thee with their praises
and ready to go on thy errands, are all faithful." Or, rather, "In
every thing thou doest, on all sides, thou approvest thyself faithful to thy
word, above whatever prince or potentate was." Among men it is too
often found that those who are most able to break their word are least
careful to keep it; but God is both strong and faithful; he can do every
thing, and yet will never do an unjust thing.
III. What we ought, in our praises, to give God the glory of. Several things
are here mentioned. 1. The command God has of the most ungovernable
creatures (v. 9): Thou rulest the raging of the sea, than
which nothing is more frightful or threatening, nor more out of the power of
man to give check to; it can swell no higher, roll no further, beat no
harder, continue no longer, nor do any more hurt, than God suffers it.
"When the waves thereof arise thou canst immediately hush them
asleep, still them, and make them quiet, and turn the storm into a
calm." This coming in here as an act of omnipotence, what manner of man
then was the Lord Jesus, whom the winds and seas obeyed? 2. The
victories God has obtained over the enemies of his church. His ruling the
raging of the sea and quelling its billows was an emblem of this (v.
10): Thou hast broken Rahab, many a proud enemy (so it
signifies), Egypt in particular, which is sometimes called Rahab,
broken it in pieces, as one that is slain and utterly unable to make head
again. "The head being broken, thou hast scattered the remainder with
the arm of thy strength." God has more ways than one to deal with his
and his church's enemies. We think he should slay them immediately, but
sometimes he scatters them, that he may send them abroad to be monuments of
his justice, Ps. lix. 11. The remembrance of the breaking of Egypt in pieces
is a comfort to the church, in reference to the present power of Babylon;
for God is still the same. 3. The incontestable property he has in all the
creatures of the upper and lower world (v. 11, 12): "Men are
honoured for their large possessions; but the heavens are thine, O Lord!
the earth also is thine; therefore we praise thee, therefore we trust in
thee, therefore we will not fear what man can do against us. The world
and the fulness thereof, all the riches contained in it, all the
inhabitants of it, both the tenements and the tenants, are all thine; for thou
hast founded them," and the founder may justly claim to be the
owner. He specifies, (1.) The remotest parts of the world, the north and
south, the countries that lie under the two poles, which are uninhabited and
little known: "Thou hast created them, and therefore knowest
them, takest care of them, and hast tributes of praise from them." The
north is said to be hung over the empty place; yet what fulness there
is there God is the owner of it. (2.) The highest parts of the world. He
mentions the two highest hills in Canaan--"Tabor and Hermon"
(one lying to the west, the other to the east); "these shall rejoice in
thy name, for they are under the care of thy providence, and they produce
offerings for thy altar." The little hills are said to rejoice in their
own fruitfulness, Ps. lxv. 12. Tabor is commonly supposed to be that high
mountain in Galilee on the top of which Christ was transfigured; and then
indeed it might be said to rejoice in that voice which was there heard, This
is my beloved Son. 4. The power and justice, the mercy and truth, with
which he governs the world and rules in the affairs of the children of men, v.
13, 14. (1.) God is able to do every thing; for his is the Lord God
Almighty. His arm, his hand, is mighty and strong, both to save his people
and to destroy his and their enemies; none can either resist the force or
bear the weight of his mighty hand. High is his right hand, to reach
the highest, even those that set their nests among the stars (Amos
ix. 2, 3; Obad. 4); his right hand is exalted in what he has done,
for in thousands of instances he has signalized his power, Ps. cxviii. 16.
(2.) He never did, nor ever will do, any thing that is either unjust or
unwise; for righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
None of all his dictates or decrees ever varied from the rules of equity and
wisdom, nor could ever any charge God with unrighteousness or folly. Justice
and judgment are the preparing of his throne (so some), the establishment
of it, so others. The preparations for his government in his counsels from
eternity, and the establishment of it in its consequences to eternity, are
all justice and judgment. (3.) He always does that which is kind to his
people and consonant to the word which he has spoken: "Mercy and
truth shall go before thy face, to prepare thy way, as harbingers to
make room for thee--mercy in promising, truth in performing--truth in being
as good as thy word, mercy in being better." How praiseworthy are these
in great men, much more in the great God, in whom they are in perfection!
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The
Blessedness of Israel Declared.
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15 Blessed is the people that know the
joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD,
in the light of thy countenance. 16 In thy name shall they
rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.
17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our
horn shall be exalted. 18 For the LORD
is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.
The psalmist, having largely shown the blessedness of the God of Israel,
here shows the blessedness of the Israel of God. As there is none like
unto the God of Jeshurun, so, happy art thou, O Israel! there is none like
unto thee, O people! especially as a type of the gospel-Israel,
consisting of all true believers, whose happiness is here described.
I. Glorious discoveries are made to them, and glad tidings of good brought
to them; they hear, they know, the joyful sound, v. 15. This
may allude, 1. To the shout of a victorious army, the shout of a king, Num.
xxiii. 21. Israel have the tokens of God's presence with them in their wars;
the sound of the going in the top of the mulberry-trees was indeed a joyful
sound (2 Sam. v. 24); and they often returned making the earth ring with
their songs of triumph; these were joyful sounds. Or, 2. To the sound that
was made over the sacrifices and on the solemn feast-day, Ps. lxxxi. 1-3.
This was the happiness of Israel, that they had among them the free and open
profession of God's holy religion, and abundance of joy in their sacrifices.
Or, 3. To the sound of the jubilee-trumpet; a joyful sound it was to
servants and debtors, to whom it proclaimed release. The gospel is indeed a
joyful sound, a sound of victory, of liberty, of communion with God, and the
sound of abundance of rain; blessed are the people that hear it, and
know it, and bid it welcome.
II. Special tokens of God's favour are granted them: "They shall
walk, O Lord! in the light of thy countenance; they shall govern
themselves by thy directions, shall be guided by the eye; and they shall
delight themselves in thy consolations. They shall have the favour of God;
they shall know that they have it, and it shall be continual matter of joy
and rejoicing to them. They shall go through all the exercises of a holy
life under the powerful influences of God's lovingkindness, which shall make
their duty pleasant to them and make them sincere in it, aiming at this, as
their end, to be accepted of the Lord." We then walk in the light of
the Lord when we fetch all our comforts from God's favour and are very
careful to keep ourselves in his love.
III. They never want matter for joy: Blessed are God's people, for in his
name, in all that whereby he has made himself known, if it be not their own
fault, they shall rejoice all the day. Those that rejoice in Christ
Jesus, and make God their exceeding joy, have enough to counterbalance their
grievances and silence their griefs; and therefore their joy is full (1 John
i. 4) and constant; it is their duty to rejoice evermore.
IV. Their relation to God is their honour and dignity. They are happy, for
they are high. Surely in the Lord, in the Lord Christ, they have
righteousness and strength, and so are recommended by him to the divine
acceptance; and therefore in him shall all the seed of Israel glory,
Isa. xlv. 24, 25. So it is here, v. 16, 17. 1. "In thy
righteousness shall they be exalted, and not in any righteousness of
their own." We are exalted out of danger, and into honour, purely by
the righteousness of Christ, which is a clothing both for dignity and for
defence. 2. "Thou art the glory of their strength," that
is, "thou art their strength, and it is their glory that thou art so,
and what they glory in." Thanks be to God who always causes us to
triumph. 3. "In thy favour, which through Christ we hope for, our
horn shall be exalted." The horn denotes beauty, plenty, and power;
these those have who are made accepted in the beloved. What greater
preferment are men capable of in this world than to be God's favourites?
V. Their relation to God is their protection and safety (v. 18):
"For our shield is of the Lord" (so the margin) "and our
king is from the Holy One of Israel. If God be our ruler, he will be our
defender; and who is he then that can harm us?" It was the happiness of
Israel that God himself had the erecting of their bulwarks and the
nominating of their king (so some take it); or, rather, that he was himself
a wall of fire round about them, and, as a Holy One, the author and
centre of their holy religion; he was their King, and so their glory in the
midst of them. Christ is the Holy One of Israel, that holy thing; and in
nothing was that peculiar people more blessed than in this, that he
was born King of the Jews. Now this account of the blessedness of God's
Israel comes in here as that to which it was hard to reconcile their present
calamitous state.
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God's
Covenant with David.
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19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy
one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have
exalted one chosen out of the people. 20 I have found
David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: 21 With
whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict
him. 23 And I will beat down his foes before his face, and
plague them that hate him. 24 But my faithfulness and my mercy shall
be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted. 25 I
will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.
26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of
my salvation. 27 Also I will make him my firstborn,
higher than the kings of the earth. 28 My mercy will I keep for
him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. 29
His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the
days of heaven. 30 If his children forsake my law, and walk not
in my judgments; 31 If they break my statutes, and keep not my
commandments; 32 Then will I visit their transgression with the
rod, and their iniquity with stripes. 33 Nevertheless my
lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness
to fail. 34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing
that is gone out of my lips. 35 Once have I sworn by my holiness
that I will not lie unto David. 36 His seed shall endure for
ever, and his throne as the sun before me. 37 It shall be
established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in
heaven. Selah.
The covenant God made with David and his seed was mentioned before (v.
3, 4); but in these verses it is enlarged upon, and pleaded with God, for
favour to the royal family, now almost sunk and ruined; yet certainly it
looks at Christ, and has its accomplishment in him much more than in David;
nay, some passages here are scarcely applicable at all to David, but must be
understood of Christ only (who is therefore called David our king,
Hos. iii. 5), and very great and precious promises they are which are here
made to the Redeemer, which are strong foundations for the faith and hope of
the redeemed to build upon. The comforts of our redemption flow from the
covenant of redemption; all our springs are in that, Isa. lv. 3. I will
make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David,
Acts xiii. 34. Now here we have an account of those sure mercies. Observe,
I. What assurance we have of the truth of the promise, which may encourage
us to build upon it. We are here told, 1. How it was spoken (v. 19): Thou
didst speak in vision to thy Holy One. God's promise to David, which is
especially referred to here, was spoken in vision to Nathan the prophet, 2
Sam. vii. 12-17. Then, when the Holy One of Israel was their king
(v. 18), he appointed David to be his viceroy. But to all the
prophets, those holy ones, he spoke in vision concerning Christ, and
to him himself especially, who had lain in his bosom from eternity, and was
made perfectly acquainted with the whole design of redemption, Matt. xi. 27.
2. How it was sworn to and ratified (v. 35): Once have I sworn by
my holiness, that darling attribute. In swearing by his holiness, he
swore by himself; for he will as soon cease to be as be otherwise than holy.
His swearing once is enough; he needs not swear again, as David did (1 Sam.
xx. 17); for his word and oath are two immutable things. As Christ was made
a priest, so he was made a king, by an oath (Heb. vii. 21); for his
kingdom and priesthood are both unchangeable.
II. The choice made of the person to whom the promise is given, v.
19, 20. David was a king of God's own choosing, so is Christ, and therefore
both are called God's kings, Ps. ii. 6. David was mighty, a man of
courage and fit for business; he was chosen out of the people, not out of
the princes, but the shepherds. God found him out, exalted him, laid help
upon him, and ordered Samuel to anoint him. But this is especially to be
applied to Christ. 1. He is one that is mighty, every way qualified for the
great work he was to undertake, able to save to the uttermost--mighty
in strength, for he is the Son of God--mighty in love, for he is able
experimentally to compassionate those that are tempted. He is the mighty
God, Isa. ix. 6. 2. He is chosen out of the people, one of us,
bone of our bone, that takes part with us of flesh and blood. Being ordained
for men, he is taken from among men, that his terror might not make us
afraid. 3. God has found him. He is a Saviour of God's own providing; for
the salvation, from first to last, is purely the Lord's doing. He has
found the ransom, Job xxxiii. 24. We could never have found a person fit
to undertake this great work, Rev. v. 3, 4. 4. God has laid help upon
him, not only helped him, but treasured up help in him for us, laid it
as a charge upon him to help fallen man up again, to help the chosen remnant
to heaven. In me is thy help, Hos. xiii. 9. 5. He has exalted him, by
constituting him the prophet, priest, and king of his church, clothing him
with power, raising him from the dead, and setting him at his own right
hand. Whom God chooses and uses he will exalt. 6. He has anointed him, has
qualified him for his office, and so confirmed him in it, by giving him the
Spirit, not by measure, but without measure, infinitely above his fellows.
He is called Messiah, or Christ, the Anointed. 7. In
all this he designed him to be his own servant, for the accomplishing of his
eternal purpose and the advancement of the interests of his kingdom among
men.
III. The promises made to this chosen one, to David in the type and the Son
of David in the antitype, in which not only gracious, but glorious things
are spoken of him.
1. With reference to himself, as king and God's servant: and what makes for
him makes for all his loving subjects. It is here promised, (1.) That God
would stand by him and strengthen him in his undertaking (v. 21): With
him my hand not only shall be, but shall be established, by
promise, shall be so established that he shall by it be established and
confirmed in all his offices, so that none of them shall be undermined and
overthrown, though by the man of sin they shall all be usurped and fought
against. Christ had a great deal of hard work to do and hard usage to go
through; but he that gave him commission gave him forces sufficient for the
execution of his commission: "My arm also shall strengthen him
to break through and bear up under all his difficulties." No good work
can miscarry in the hand of those whom God himself undertakes to strengthen.
(2.) That he should be victorious over his enemies, that they should not
encroach upon him (v. 22): The son of wickedness shall not exact
upon him, nor afflict him. He that at first broke the peace would set
himself against him that undertook to make peace, and do what he could to
blast his design: but he could only reach to bruise his heel; further he
could not exact upon him nor afflict him. Christ became a surety for our
debt, and thereby Satan and death thought to gain advantage against him; but
he satisfied the demands of God's justice, and then they could not exact
upon him. The prince of this world cometh, but he has nothing in me,
John xiv. 30. Nay, they not only shall not prevail against him, but they
shall fall before him (v. 23): I will bend down his foes before
his face; the prince of this world shall be cast out, principalities and
powers spoiled, and he shall be the death of death itself, and the
destruction of the grave, Hos. xiii. 14. Some apply this to the ruin which
God brought upon the Jewish nation, that persecuted Christ and put him to
death. But all Christ's enemies, who hate him and will not have him to reign
over them, shall be brought forth and slain before him, Luke xix. 27. (3.)
That he should be the great trustee of the covenant between God and men,
that God would be gracious and true to us (v. 24): My faithfulness
and my mercy shall be with him. They were with David; God continued
merciful to him, and so approved himself faithful. They were with Christ;
God made good all his promises to him. But that is not all; God's mercy to
us, and his faithfulness to us, are with Christ; he is not only pleased with
him, but with us in him; and it is in him that all the promises of God are
yea and amen. So that if any poor sinners hope for benefit by the
faithfulness and mercy of God, let them know it is with Christ; it is lodged
in his hand, and to him they must apply for it (v. 28): My mercy
will I keep for him, to be disposed of by him, for evermore; in
the channel of Christ's mediation all the streams of divine goodness will
for ever run. Therefore it is the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
which we look for unto eternal life, Jude 21; John xvii. 2. And, as
the mercy of God flows to us through him, so the promise of God is, through
him, firm to us: My covenant shall stand fast with him, both the
covenant of redemption made with him and the covenant of grace made with us
in him. The new covenant is therefore always new, and firmly
established, because it is lodged in the hands of a Mediator, Heb. viii. 6.
The covenant stands fast, because it stands upon this basis. And this
redounds to the everlasting honour of the Lord Jesus, that to him the great
cause between God and man is entirely referred and the Father has committed
all judgment to him, that all men might honour him (John v. 22, 23);
therefore it is here said, In my name shall his horn be exalted; this
shall be his glory, that God's name is in him (Exod. xxiii. 21), and
that he acts in God's name. As the Father gave me commandment, so I do.
(4.) That his kingdom should be greatly enlarged (v. 25): I will
set his hand in the sea (he shall have the dominion of the seas, and the
isles of the sea), and his right hand in the rivers, the inland
countries that are watered with rivers. David's kingdom extended itself to
the Great Sea, and the Red Sea, to the river of Egypt and the river
Euphrates. But it is in the kingdom of the Messiah that this has its full
accomplishment, and shall have more and more, when the kingdoms of this
world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ (Rev. xi.
15), and the isles shall wait for his law. (5.) That he should own
God as his Father, and God would own him as his Son, his firstborn, v.
26, 27. This is a comment upon these words in Nathan's message concerning
Solomon (for he also was a type of Christ as well as David), I will be
his Father and he shall be my Son (2 Sam. vii. 14), and the relation
shall be owned on both sides. [1.] He shall cry unto me, Thou art my
Father. It is probable that Solomon did so; but we are sure Christ did
so, in the days of his flesh, when he offered up strong cries to God, and
called him holy Father, righteous Father, and taught us to address
ourselves to him as our Father in heaven. Christ, in his agony, cried
unto God, Thou art my Father (Matt. xxvi. 39, 42, O my Father),
and, upon the cross, Father, forgive them; Father, into thy hands I
commend my spirit. He looked upon him likewise as his God, and therefore
he perfectly obeyed him, and submitted to his will in his whole undertaking
(he ismy God and your God, John xx. 17), and as the rock of his
salvation, who would bear him up and bear him out in his undertaking, and
make him more than a conqueror, even a complete Saviour; and therefore with
an undaunted resolution he endured the cross, despising the shame,
for he knew he should be both justified and glorified. [2.] I will make
him my firstborn. I see not how this can be applied to David; it is
Christ's prerogative to be the firstborn of every creature, and, as
such, the heir of all things, Col. i. 15; Heb. i. 2, 6. When all
power was given to Christ both in heaven and in earth, and all things were
delivered unto him by the Father, then god made him his firstborn, and
far higher, more great and honourable, than the kings of the earth; for he
is the King of kings, angels, authorities, and powers, being made subject
to him, 1 Pet. iii. 22.
2. With reference to his seed. God's covenants always took in the seed of
the covenanters; this does so (v. 29, 36): His seed shall endure
for ever, and with it his throne. Now this will be differently
understood according as we apply it to Christ or David.
(1.) If we apply it to David, by his seed we are to understand his
successors, Solomon and the following kings of Judah, who descended from the
loins of David. It is supposed that they might degenerate, and not walk in
the spirit and steps of their father David; in such a case they must expect
to come under divine rebukes, such as the house of David was at this time
under, v. 38. But let this encourage them, that, though they were
corrected, they should not be abandoned or disinherited. This refers to that
part of Nathan's message (2 Sam. vii. 14, 15), If he commit iniquity, I
will chasten him, but my mercy shall not depart from him. Thus
far David's seed and throne did endure for ever, that, notwithstanding the
wickedness of many of his posterity, who were the scandals of his house, yet
his family continued, and continued in the imperial dignity, a very long
time,--that, as long as Judah continued a kingdom, David's posterity were
kings of it, and the royalty of that kingdom was never in any other family,
as that of the ten tribes was, in Jeroboam's first, then in Baasha's,
&c.,--and that the family of David continued a family of distinction
till that Son of David came whose throne should endure for ever; see Luke i.
27, 32; ii. 4, 11. If David's posterity, in after-times, should forsake God
and their duty and revolt to the ways of sin, God would bring desolating
judgments upon them and ruin the family; and yet he would not take away his
lovingkindness from David, nor break his covenant with him; for, in the
Messiah, who should come out of his loins, all these promises shall have
their accomplishment to the full. Thus, when the Jews were rejected, the
apostle shows that God's covenant with Abraham was not broken, because it
was fulfilled in his spiritual seed, the heirs of the righteousness of
faith, Rom. xi. 7.
(2.) If we apply it to Christ, by his seed we are to understand his
subjects, all believers, his spiritual seed, the children which God has
given him, Heb. ii. 13. This is that seed which shall be made to endure for
ever, and his throne in the midst of them, in the church in the heart, as
the days of heaven. To the end Christ shall have a people in the world
to serve and honour him. He shall see his seed; he shall prolong his
days. This holy seed shall endure for ever in a glorified state, when
time and days shall be no more; and thus Christ's throne and kingdom shall
be perpetuated: the kingdom of his grace shall continue through all the ages
of time and the kingdom of his glory to the endless ages of eternity.
[1.] The continuance of Christ's kingdom is here made doubtful by the sins
and afflictions of his subjects; their iniquities and calamities threaten
the ruin of it. This case is here put, that we may not be offended when it
comes to be a case in fact, but that we may reconcile it with the stability
of the covenant and be assured of that notwithstanding. First, It is
here supposed that there will be much amiss in the subjects of Christ's
kingdom. His children may forsake God's law (v. 30) by
omissions, and break his statutes (v. 31) by commissions.
There are spots which are the spots of God's children, Deut. xxxii. 5. Many
corruptions there are in the bowels of the church, as well as in the hearts
of those who are the members of it, and these corruptions break out. Secondly,
They are here told that they must smart for it (v. 32): I will
visit their transgression with a rod, their transgression sooner than
that of others. You only have I known, and therefore I will punish you,
Amos iii. 2. Their being related to Christ shall not excuse them from being
called to an account. But observe what affliction is to God's people. 1. It
is but a rod, not an axe, not a sword; it is for correction, not for
destruction. This denotes gentleness in the affliction; it is the rod of
men, such a rod as men use in correcting their children; and it denotes a
design of good in and by the affliction, such a rod as yields the peaceable
fruit of righteousness. 2. It is a rod on the hand of God (I will visit
them), he who is wise, and knows what he does, gracious, and will do
what is best. 3. It is a rod which they shall never feel the smart of but
when there is great need: If they break my law, then I will visit their
transgression with the rod, but not else. Then it is requisite that
God's honour be vindicated, and that they be humbled and reduced.
[2.] The continuance of Christ's kingdom is made certain by the inviolable
promise and oath of God, notwithstanding all this (v. 33): Nevertheless,
my kindness will I not totally and finally take from him. First,
"Notwithstanding their provocations, yet my covenant shall not be
broken." Note, Afflictions are not only consistent with covenant-love,
but to the people of God they flow from it. Though David's seed be
chastened, it does not follow that they are disinherited; they may be cast
down, but they are not cast off. God's favour is continued to his people, 1.
For Christ's sake; in him the mercy is laid up for us, and God says, I
will not take it from him (v. 33), I will not lie unto David,
v. 35. We are unworthy, but he is worthy. 2. For the covenant's sake:
My faithfulness shall not fail, my covenant will I not break. It was
supposed that they had broken God's statutes, profaned and polluted
them (so the word signifies); "But," says God, "I will not
break, I will not profane and pollute, my covenant;" it is the same
word. That which is said and sworn is that God will have a church in the
world as long as sun and moon endure, v. 36, 37. The sun and moon are
faithful witnesses in heaven of the wisdom, power, and goodness of the
Creator, and shall continue while time lasts, which they are the measurers
of; but the seed of Christ shall be established for ever, as lights
of the world while the world stands, to shine in it, and, when it is at
an end, they shall be established lights shining in the firmament of the
Father.
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Complaints
and Expostulations; David's Expostulation with God.
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38 But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou
hast been wroth with thine anointed. 39 Thou hast made void the
covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it
to the ground. 40 Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou
hast brought his strong holds to ruin. 41 All that pass by the
way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours. 42 Thou hast
set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to
rejoice. 43 Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and
hast not made him to stand in the battle. 44 Thou hast made his
glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground. 45 The
days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame.
Selah. 46 How long, LORD?
wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in
vain? 48 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see
death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.
49 Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou
swarest unto David in thy truth? 50 Remember, Lord, the reproach
of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all
the mighty people; 51 Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O
LORD;
wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.
52 Blessed be the LORD
for evermore. Amen, and Amen.
In these verses we have,
I. A very melancholy complaint of the present deplorable state of David's
family, which the psalmist thinks hard to be reconciled to the covenant God
made with David. "Thou saidst thou wouldst not take away thy
lovingkindness, but thou hast cast off." Sometimes, it is no easy
thing to reconcile God's providences with his promises, and yet we are sure
they are reconcilable; for God's works fulfil his word and never contradict
it. 1. David's house seemed to have lost its interest in God, which was the
greatest strength and beauty of it. God had been pleased with his anointed,
but now he was wroth with him (v. 38), had entered into
covenant with the family, but now, for aught he could perceive, he had made
void the covenant, not broken some of the articles of it, but cancelled it, v.
39. We misconstrue the rebukes of Providence if we think they make void the
covenant. When the great anointed one, Christ himself, was upon the cross,
God seemed to have cast him off, and was wroth with him, and yet did not
make void his covenant with him, for that was established for ever. 2. The
honour of the house of David was lost and laid in the dust: Thou hast
profaned his crown (which was always looked upon as sacred) by casting
it to the ground, to be trampled on, v. 39. Thou hast made his
glory to cease (so uncertain is all earthly glory, and so soon does it
wither) and thou hast cast his throne down to the ground, not only
dethroned the king, but put a period to the kingdom, v. 44. If it was
penned in Rehoboam's time, it was true as to the greatest part of the
kingdom, five parts of six; if in Zedekiah's time, it was more remarkably
true of the poor remainder. Note, Thrones and crowns are tottering things,
and are often laid in the dust; but there is a crown of glory reserved for
Christ's spiritual seed which fadeth not away. 3. It was exposed and made a
prey to all the neighbours, who insulted over that ancient and honourable
family (v. 40): Thou hast broken down all his hedges (all
those things that were a defence to them, and particularly that hedge of
protection which they thought God's covenant and promise had made about
them) and thou hast made even his strong-holds a ruin, so that they
were rather a reproach to them than any shelter; and then, All that pass
by the way spoil him (v. 41) and make an easy prey of him; see
Ps. lxxx. 12, 13. The enemies talk insolently: He is a reproach to his
neighbours, who triumph in his fall from so great a degree of honour.
Nay, every one helps forward the calamity (v. 42): "Thou hast
set up the right hand of his adversaries, not only given them power, but
inclined them to turn their power this way." If the enemies of the
church lift up their hand against it, we must see God setting up their hand;
for they could have no power unless it were given them from above.
But, when God does permit them to do mischief to his church, it pleases
them: "Thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice; and this is
for thy glory, that those who hate thee should have the pleasure to see the
tears and troubles of those that love thee." 4. It was disabled to help
itself (v. 43): "Thou hast turned the edge of his sword,
and made it blunt, that it cannot do execution as it has done; and (which is
worse) thou hast turned the edge of his spirit, and taken off his courage, and
hast not made him to stand as he used to do in the battle."
The spirit of men is what the Father and former of spirits makes them; nor
can we stand with any strength or resolution further than God is pleased to
uphold us. If men's hearts fail them, it is God that dispirits them; but it
is sad with the church when those cannot stand who should stand up for it.
5. It was upon the brink of an inglorious exit (v. 45): The days
of his youth hast thou shortened; it is ready to be cut off, like a
young man in the flower of his age. This seems to intimate that the psalm
was penned in Rehoboam's time, when the house of David was but in the days
of its youth, and yet waxed old and began to decay already. Thus it was
covered with shame, and it was turned very much to its reproach that a
family which, in the first and second reign, looked so great, and made such
a figure, should, in the third, dwindle and look so little as the house of
David did in Rehoboam's time. But it may be applied to the captivity in
Babylon, which, in comparison with what was expected, was but the day of the
youth of that kingdom. However, the kings then had remarkably the days of
their youth shortened, for it was in the days of their youth, when they
were about thirty years old, that Jehoiachin and Zedekiah were carried
captives to Babylon.
From all this complaint let us learn, 1. What work sin makes with families,
noble royal families, with families in which religion has been uppermost;
when posterity degenerates, it falls into disgrace, and iniquity stains
their glory. 2. How apt we are to place the promised honour and happiness of
the church in something external, and to think the promise fails, and the
covenant is made void, if we be disappointed of that, a mistake which we now
are inexcusable if we fall into, since our Master has so expressly told us
that his kingdom is not of this world.
II. A very pathetic expostulation with God upon this. Four things they plead
with God for mercy:--
1. The long continuance of the trouble (v. 46): How long, O Lord!
wilt thou hide thyself? For ever? That which grieved them most was that
God himself, as one displeased, did not appear to them by his prophets to
comfort them, did not appear for them by his providences to deliver them,
and that he had kept them long in the dark; it seemed an eternal night, when
God had withdrawn: Thou hidest thyself for ever. Nay, God not only
hid himself from them, but seemed to set himself against them: "Shall
thy wrath burn like fire? How long shall it burn? Shall it never be put
out? What is hell, but the wrath of God, burning for ever? And is that the
lot of thy anointed?"
2. The shortness of life, and the certainty of death: "Lord, let thy
anger cease, and return thou, in mercy to us, remembering how short my time
is and how sure the period of my time. Lord, since my life is so transitory,
and will, ere long, be at an end, let it not be always so miserable that I
should rather choose no being at all than such a being." Job pleads
thus, ch. x. 20, 21. And probably the psalmist here urges it in the
name of the house of David, and the present prince of that house, the days
of whose youth were shortened, v. 45.
(1.) He pleads the shortness and vanity of life (v. 47): Remember
how short my time is, how transitory I am (say some), therefore unable
to bear the power of thy wrath, and therefore a proper object of thy pity. Wherefore
hast thou made all men in vain? or, Unto what vanity hast thou
created all the sons of Adam! Now, this may be understood either, [1.]
As declaring a great truth. If the ancient lovingkindnesses spoken of (v.
49) be forgotten (those relating to another life), man is indeed made in
vain. Considering man as mortal, if there were not a future state on the
other side of death, we might be ready to think that man was made in vain,
and was in vain endued with the noble powers and faculties of reason and
filled with such vast designs and desires; but God would not make man in
vain; therefore, Lord, remember those lovingkindnesses. Or, [2.] As
implying a strong temptation that the psalmist was in. It is certain God
has not made all men, nor any man, in vain, Isa. xlv. 18. For, First,
If we think that God has made men in vain because so many have short lives,
and long afflictions, in this world, it is true that God has made them so,
but it is not true that therefore they are made in vain. For those
whose days are few and full of trouble may yet glorify God and do some good,
may keep their communion with God and get to heaven, and then they are not
made in vain. Secondly, If we think that God has made men in vain
because the most of men neither serve him nor enjoy him, it is true that, as
to themselves, they were made in vain, better for them had they not been
born than not to be born again; but it was not owing to God that they were
made in vain; it was owing to themselves; nor are they made in vain as to
him, for he has made all things for himself, even the wicked for the day
of evil, and those whom he is not glorified by he will be glorified
upon.
(2.) He pleads the universality and unavoidableness of death (v. 48):
"What man" (what strong man, so the word is) "is
he that liveth and shall not see death? The king himself, of the house
of David, is not exempted from the sentence, from the stroke. Lord, since he
is under a fatal necessity of dying, let not his whole life be made thus
miserable. Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? No,
he shall not when his time has come. Let him not therefore be delivered into
the hand of the grave by the miseries of a dying life, till his time shall
come." We must learn here that death is the end of all men; our eyes
must shortly be closed to see death; there is no discharge from that war,
nor will any bail be taken to save us from the prison of the grave. It
concerns us therefore to make sure a happiness on the other side of death
and the grave, that, when we fail, we may be received into everlasting
habitations.
3. The next plea is taken from the kindness God had for and the covenant he
made with his servant David (v. 49): "Lord, where are thy
former lovingkindnesses, which thou showedst, nay, which thou
swaredst, to David in thy truth? Wilt thou fail of doing what thou hast
promised? Wilt thou undo what thou hast done? Art not thou still the same?
Why then may not we have the benefit of the former sure mercies of
David?" God's unchangeableness and faithfulness assure us that God will
not cast off those whom he has chosen and covenanted with.
4. The last plea is taken from the insolence of the enemies and the
indignity done to God's anointed (v. 50, 51): "Remember,
Lord, the reproach, and let it be rolled away from us and returned upon
our enemies." (1.) They were God's servants that were reproached, and
the abuses done to them reflected upon their master, especially since it was
for serving him that they were reproached. (2.) The reproach cast upon God's
servants was a very grievous burden to all that were concerned for the
honour of God: "I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty
people, and am even overwhelmed with it; it is what I lay much to heart
and can scarcely keep up my spirits under the weight of." (3.)
"They are thy enemies who do thus reproach us; and wilt thou not appear
against them as such?" (4.) They have reproached the footsteps of
thy anointed. They reflected upon all the steps which the king had taken
in the course of his administration, tracked him in all his motions, that
they might make invidious remarks upon every thing he had said and done. Or,
if we may apply it to Christ, the Lord's Messiah, they reproached the Jews
with his footsteps, the slowness of his coming. They have reproached the
delays of the Messiah; so Dr. Hammond. They called him, He that should
come; but, because he had not yet come, because he did not now come to
deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, when they had none to
deliver them, they told them he would never come, they must give over
looking for him. The scoffers of the latter days do, in like manner,
reproach the footsteps of the Messiah when they ask, Where is the promise
of his coming? 2 Pet. iii. 3, 4. The reproaching of the footsteps of the
anointed some refer to the serpent's bruising the heel of the seed of the
woman, or to the sufferings of Christ's followers, who tread in his
footsteps, and are reproached for his name's sake.
III. The psalm concludes with praise, even after this sad complaint (v.
52): Blessed be the Lord for evermore, Amen, and amen. Thus he
confronts the reproaches of his enemies. The more others blaspheme God the
more we should bless him. Thus he corrects his own complaints, chiding
himself for quarrelling with God's providences and questioning his promises;
let both these sinful passions be silenced with the praises of God. However
it be, yet God is good, and we will never think hardly of him; God is true,
and we will never distrust him. Though the glory of David's house be stained
and sullied, this shall be our comfort, that God is blessed for ever, and
his glory cannot be eclipsed. If we would have the comfort of the stability
of God's promise, we must give him the praise of it; in blessing God, we
encourage ourselves. Here is a double Amen, according to the double
signification. Amen--so it is, God is blessed for ever. Amen--be
it so, let God be blessed for ever. He began the psalm with
thanksgiving, before he made his complaint (v. 1); and now he
concludes it with a doxology. Those who give God thanks for what he has done
may give him thanks also for what he will do; God will follow those with his
mercies who, in a right manner, follow him with their praises.
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