_Godliness hath the promises of this life, and of the life to
come.—The prosperity of the godly shall be an eyesore to the wicked._
Praise ye the LORD. Blessed _is_ the man _that_ feareth the LORD,
_that_ delighteth greatly in his commandments.
His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright
shall be blessed.
Wealth and riches _shall be_ in his house: and his righteousness
endureth for ever.
Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: _he is_
gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with
discretion.
Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in
everlasting remembrance.
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting
in the LORD.
His heart _is_ established, he shall not be afraid, until he see _his
desire_ upon his enemies.
He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness
endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.
The wicked shall see _it_, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his
teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.
This is a Psalm of consolation for those that fear God: in which those
that truly fear him are encouraged and praised in their Christian
conversation: “Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord,” saith the
Psalmist. As if he had said, The people of God appear to them to be of
all men the most miserable; and both their life and their doctrine are
condemned by the world, and by those tongues which the devil raises up
and uses for the work. All things in the saints make them appear to
the world, as if they were left and forsaken, and deserted of God, and
as if they, and their posterity, and all like them, must surely
perish. And then again, their lives and conversations, (though they
render most essential services, both to their nation and to the
church, and though they conduct themselves blamelessly before God and
man,) are, by the malice of the devil, represented as most abominable,
and they themselves are looked upon as the contempt and off-scouring
of the earth.
On the other hand, all hypocrites in the world are lauded as the
saints of God. “But,” as the wise man saith, “better is the little in
the house of the righteous, than the great revenues of the wicked.” In
the midst of all this false representation, however, the righteous,
standing fast in all these their afflictions, and steadily trusting in
God, are delivered and saved, and gain blessed consolation, while the
wicked perish on every side. “To the upright,” saith the Psalmist,
“there ariseth light in darkness.” Here, according to the general
language of the scriptures, he calleth consolation, light; and
temptation, darkness.
And, then, in the end of the Psalm, that noble and unsubdued
steadiness of faith is greatly praised: which, in such mighty
struggles, and in such agonizing conflicts, is yet unwearied and
unyielding, resting in the promise of God; and which, though
contending with such mighty waves, is yet enabled to sing with Paul,
“Thanks be unto God who always causeth us to triumph in Christ.” “He
shall not be afraid of evil tidings,” saith the Psalmist, “his heart
is fixed, trusting in the Lord: his heart is established, he shall not
be afraid until he see his desire upon his enemies.” verse 7, 8. For
unless there were in us divine strength communicated by Christ, it
would be impossible that we could stand against such numerous and
mighty assaults of temptation.