The Treasury of David
[Illustration: C. H. SPURGEON IN HIS PULPIT. _Specially drawn for “The
Treasury of David” by E. H. Fitchew._]
THE TREASURY OF DAVID
CONTAINING
AN ORIGINAL EXPOSITION OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS;
A COLLECTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EXTRACTS
FROM THE WHOLE RANGE OF LITERATURE;
A SERIES OF HOMILETICAL HINTS UPON ALMOST EVERY VERSE;
AND LISTS OF WRITERS UPON EACH PSALM.
IN SIX VOLUMES
BY
C. H. SPURGEON.
VOL. I.
PSALM I. TO XXVI.
MARSHALL BROTHERS, LTD.
PUBLISHERS
LONDON, EDINBURGH, and NEW YORK.
PREFACE.
My Preface shall at least possess the virtue of brevity, as I find it
difficult to impart to it any other.
The delightful study of the Psalms has yielded me boundless profit and
ever-growing pleasure; common gratitude constrains me to communicate to
others a portion of the benefit, with the prayer that it may induce them
to search further for themselves. That I have nothing better of my own
to offer upon this peerless book is to me matter of deepest regret; that
I have anything whatever to present is subject for devout gratitude to
the Lord of grace. I have done my best, but, conscious of many defects,
I heartily wish I could have done far better.
The Exposition here given is my own. I consulted a few authors before
penning it, to aid me in interpretation and arouse my thoughts; but,
still I can claim originality for my comments, at least so I honestly
think. Whether they are better or worse for that, I know not; at least I
know I have sought heavenly guidance while writing them, and therefore I
look for a blessing on the printing of them.
The collection of quotations was an after-thought. In fact, matter grew
upon me which I thought too good to throw away. It seemed to me that it
might prove serviceable to others, if I reserved portions of my reading
upon the various Psalms; those reserves soon acquired considerable bulk,
so much so that even in this volume only specimens are given and not the
bulk.
One thing the reader will please clearly to understand, and I beg him to
bear it in mind: _I am far from endorsing all I have quoted_. I am
neither responsible for the scholarship or orthodoxy of the writers. The
names are given that each author may bear his own burden; and a variety
of writers have been quoted that the thoughts of many minds might be
before the reader. Still I trust nothing evil has been admitted; if it
be so it is an oversight.
The research expended on this volume would have occupied far too much of
my time, had not my friend and amanuensis, Mr. John L. Keys, most
diligently aided me in investigations at the British Museum, Dr.
Williams’s Library, and other treasuries of theological lore. With his
help I have ransacked books by the hundred, often without finding a
memorable line as a reward, but at other times with the most
satisfactory result. Readers little know how great labour the finding of
but one pertinent extract may involve; labour certainly I have not
spared: my earnest prayer is that some measure of good may come of it to
my brethren in the ministry and to the church at large.
The Hints to Preachers are very simple, and an apology is due to my
ministerial readers for inserting them, but I humbly hope they may
render assistance to those for whom alone they are designed, viz., lay
preachers whose time is much occupied, and whose attainments are
slender.
Should this first volume meet with the approbation of the judicious, I
shall hope by God’s grace to continue the work as rapidly as I can
consistently with the research demanded and my incessant pastoral
duties. Another volume will follow in all probability in twelve months’
time, if life be spared and strength be given.
It may be added, that although the comments were the work of my health,
the rest of the volume is the product of my sickness. When protracted
illness and weakness laid me aside from daily preaching, I resorted to
my pen as an available means of doing good. I would have preached had I
been able, but as my Master denied me the privilege of thus serving him,
I gladly availed myself of the other method of bearing testimony for his
name. O that he may give me fruit in this field also, and his shall be
all the praise.
C. H. Spurgeon
INDEX OF AUTHORS QUOTED OR REFERRED TO.
Abbot, George (1651), 386
Abbot, Robert (1646), 288
Abenezra, 45, 266, 357
Adam, Thomas (1701-1784), 5, 15, 20, 63, 76, 121, 122, 123, 146, 157,
168, 170, 191, 265, 289, 344, 346, 421
Adams, Thomas (1614), 52
Addison, Joseph (1671-1719), 169, 236
Ainsworth, Henry (-1622), 1, 8, 15, 25, 49, 74, 102, 106, 141, 160,
192, 256, 257, 284, 358, 363, 389
Airay, Henry (1560-1616), 320
Albertus, Magnus, 321
Alexander, Joseph Addison (1856), 13, 28, 161, 192, 321
Alexander, William Lindsay (1862), 265
Alleine, Richard (1611-1681), 137, 172
Ambrose (340-397), 32, 61
Ambrose, Isaac (1592-1674), 308, 320, 386
Amyraldus (1596-1664), 132
Anderson, John (1856), 264
Andrewes, Launcelot (1555-1626), 318, 339, 343, 363, 384
Annesley, Samuel (1620-1696), 400
Anselm, John (1034-1109), 157
Aristotle (B.C. 384), 170, 276
Arnot, William (1858), 310
Arvine, K. (1859), 403, 425
Ashwood, Bartholomew (1688), 6
Askew, Anne (1546), 120, 132
Augustine (353-429), 4, 6, 25, 30, 61, 72, 77, 93, 102, 108, 115, 157,
160, 168, 170, 180, 198, 223, 277, 286, 318, 319, 322, 357, 372,
409, 423
Austin, William (1637), 207-209
Ayguan, Michael (1416), 104, 146
Bacon, Francis (1560-1626), 253
Baker, Sir Richard (1568-1645), 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 362, 364
Bakius, 335
Baldwin, William Charles (1863), 226
Bale, John (1495-1563), 120
Bales, Peter (1547-1610), 221
Ball, John (1585-1640), 103, 157, 205
Barclay, John (1734-1798), 179
Bargrave, Isaac (1623), 423, 425
Barnes, Albert (1798-1870), 26, 29, 40, 73, 231, 420
Baro, Peter (1560), 183, 185
Barth, T. C. (1865), 290, 371
Basil (326-379), 181, 258
Bate, John (1865), 279
Bates, William (1625-1699), 18, 268
Baxter, Richard (1615-1691), 60, 105
Bede (672-735), 221
Beecher, Henry Ward (1862), 232, 357
Bellarmine, Robert (1542-1621), 337, 383
Bennet, Benjamin (1728), 182
Bernard (1091-1157), 383, 408
Berridge, John (1716-1793), 404
Beza, Theodore de (1519-1605), 83, 224
Bible, Critical and Explanatory Pocket [Psalms edited by B. M. Smith.]
(1867), 202
Bible, Kitto’s Pictorial (1855), 77, 249, 264 , 340
Bible, Religious Tract Society’s Commentary upon the, 226
Bion (B.C. 280), 146
Blair, Hugh (1718-1800), 9
Bochart, Samuel (1599-1667), 265
Bogan, Zachary (1625-1659), 321, 361
Bonar, Andrew A. (1859), 38, 54, 71, 74, 126, 132, 198, 291, 303, 384,
398, 413
Bonaventure (1221-1274), 210, 347
Book of Symbols, The (1844), 146
Boothroyd, Benjamin (-1836), 102
Boston, Thomas (1676-1732), 74, 179, 181, 182, 426
Bouchier, Barton (1855), 106, 146, 174, 204, 305, 413, 420
Bowes, G. S. (1860), 287
Bownd, Nicholas (1604), 304, 306
Boys, John (1571-1625), 179, 180, 181, 210, 276, 280, 283, 286, 380,
381, 385, 389
Bradbury, Charles (1785), 186, 201, 254, 258, 310, 323, 347
Bradford, John (1510-1555), 288
Bridge, William (1600-1670), 318
Bridges, Charles (1850), 144
Brooks, Thomas (1608-1680), 39, 41, 51, 72, 104, 122, 138, 147, 148,
168, 204, 212, 287
Brown, John (1853), 249, 252, 253, 255, 259, 263, 264, 265, 266
Bruce, James (1730-1794), 252
Bunyan, John (1628-1688), 159
Burder Samuel (1812), 286, 308, 371
Burgess, Anthony (1656), 279, 292, 294, 420
Burnet, Gilbert (1643-1714-5), 50
Burroughs, Jeremiah (1599-1646), 72, 76, 222, 224, 225, 228, 231
Bush, George (1796-), 188
Butler, Samuel (1600-1680), 427
Byfield, Nicholas (1579-1622), 206
Calmet, Augustine (1672-1757), 324
Calvin, John (1509-1564), 60, 73, 88, 108, 188, 264, 380, 384, 402,
404, 409, 411, 424
Capel, Richard (1586-1656), 108, 202, 293, 337
Carlyle, Thomas, 87
Cartwright, Christopher (1602-1658), 184, 186
Caryl, Joseph (1602-1673), 6, 14, 20, 40, 50, 52, 64, 72, 89, 90, 93,
105, 106, 120, 123, 125, 136, 138, 205, 207, 223, 226, 227, 230,
251, 258, 263, 280, 283, 297, 321, 350, 367, 399, 419
Cassiodorus (470-560), 132, 139, 335
Castalio, Sebastian (1515-1563), 286
Cowdray, Robert (1609), 168, 183, 204, 224, 251, 252, 262, 280, 420,
422
Chalmers, Thomas (1780-1847), 82, 87
Chandler, Samuel (1693-1766), 255, 256, 257, 258
Charnock, Stephen (1628-1680), 16, 17, 29, 87, 108, 115, 118, 119, 123,
125, 137, 139, 166, 200, 209, 221, 223, 404
Chevallier, Temple (1827), 278
Chillingworth, William (1602-1643), 167
Chrysostom (347-407), 104, 147, 276
Cicero, 279
Clarke, Adam (1760-1832), 4, 7, 41, 84, 199, 405
Clarke, Samuel (1599-1682), 159
Clarkson, David (1621-1686), 52, 146, 166, 202, 306
Clerke, Richard (1634), 171
Cobbet, Thomas (1608-1686), 408
Cobbin, Ingram (1846), 381, 419
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor (1772-1834), 169
Coles, Elisha (1688), 402
Colvill, William (1655), 212, 213, 231
Corbet, Richard (1632), 206
Cox, F. A. (1852), 381
Cotta, Giovanni, 169
Coverdale, Miles (1487-1568), 74
Cowper, William (1566-1619), 28, 53, 101
Cowper, William (1731-1800), 131, 265
Cragge, John (1657), 212, 281, 322
Craik, Henry (1680), 279
Cromwell, Oliver (1599-1658), 267
Cruden, Alexander (1701-1770), 187, 296
Cruso, Timothy (1657-1697), 153, 203, 206, 254, 420
Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature (Kitto’s), 27, 265
Cyclopædia of Illustrations (1865), 279
Cyprian, 170, 222
Dale, Thomas (1847), 364
Daly, Robert (1861), 361
Davies, Benjamin (1866), 27
Day, Martin (1660), 367
Delany, Patrick (1686-1768), 380
Delitzsch, Franz (1868), 335
De Wette, Wilhelm (1850), 27
Dick, Thomas (1850), 81
Dickson, David (1583-1662), 37, 39, 61, 147, 234, 252, 307, 310, 322,
339, 410, 426
Diodati, John (1576-1649), 116, 118, 119, 225, 264, 323, 382, 384
Dionysius (1471), 264, 307, 308, 336, 340
Dod, John (1547-1645), 173, 174
Donne, John (1573-1631), 19, 61, 62, 64, 65
Dove, Henry (1690), 260, 261
Downame, George (-1634), 180, 184, 190
Du Bartas, Guillaume de Saluste (1544-1590), 276
Duncan, Mary B. (1866), 350
Dunsterville, Edward (1642), 144
Dunwell, F. H. (1855), 61, 306
Durant, John (1620), 358
Durham, James (1622-1658), 319
Dyer, William (1696), 16, 77
Dyke, Jeremiah (-1620), 252, 408
Edwards, J. (1856), 226
Edwards, Jonathan (1703-1758), 281, 407
Eusebius, (267-338), 335
Evans, Christmas (1766-1838), 334, 387
Ewald, Henrich, 27, 71
Fawcett, John (1823), 235
Fenner, William (1600-1640), 372, 398, 399, 401, 411
Flavel, John (1627-1691), 43, 250, 254, 336
Fletcher, Giles (1588-1623), 175
Foxe, John (1517-1587), 81
Frame, James (1858), 198
Frank, Mark (1613-1664), 308, 382
Franké, Augustus Hermann (1668-1727), 309
Fra Thomé de Jesu (See Thomé)
French, W., and Skinner, G. (1842), 139
Frost, John (1657), 229, 230
Fry, John (1842), 4, 101, 149
Fuller, Andrew (1754-1815), 155, 156, 348, 388
Fuller, Thomas (1608-1661), 54, 76, 86, 123, 132, 134, 136, 202, 398,
400, 402, 403
Gadsby, John (1862), 121, 281, 365, 367, 384
Gataker, Thomas (1574-1654), 154
Geddes, Alexander (1737-1802), 223, 265
Gerhohus (1093-1169), 307, 339, 344, 409
Gesenius, Friedrich H. W. (1786-1842), 27
Gilfillan, George (1852), 250
Gill, John (1697-1771), 65, 73, 185, 207, 225, 304, 307, 319, 339, 412
Gilpin, Richard (1677), 59, 119, 120
Godwyn, Thomas (1587-1643), 425
Good, John Mason (1764-1827), 25, 149, 275
Goodhart, C. J. (1848), 349
Goodwin, Thomas (1600-1679), 39, 53, 83, 84, 85, 126, 148, 173, 201,
203, 211, 233, 258, 261, 262, 287, 296, 404, 405, 410
Gotthold (See Scriver).
Gouge, Thomas (1605-1681), 72, 222
Gouge, William (1575-1653), 225, 251, 335, 341, 347
Gower, J. A. (1831). (See “Plain explanation” etc.) [Anon].
Gray, Andrew (1616), 127
Greenham, Richard (1531-1591), 198, 199, 200, 201, 205
Greenhill, William (1591-1677), 51, 52, 104, 106, 118, 171, 403
Griffith, Matthew (1634), 253
Grosse, Alexander (1632), 40
Gurnall, William (1617-1679), 17, 26, 27, 51, 52, 53, 55, 75, 94, 108,
124, 137, 138, 155, 201, 204, 206, 224, 226, 234, 338, 348, 370,
383, 410, 427
Guthrie, Thomas, 85
Haak, Theodore (1618-1657), 132
Hacket, H. B. (1852), 207
Haldane, Robert (1764-1842), 53
Hall, Joseph (1574-1656), 88, 148, 155, 387
Halle, Dr., 286
Hammond, Henry (1605-1660), 62, 102, 257, 264, 424
Hapstone, Dalman (1867), 321
Hardy, Nathanael (1618-1670), 286, 292, 363, 371, 406
Hare, Charles Julius (1841), 284
Hawker, Robert (1753-1827), 108, 148
Hengstenberg, E. W. (1845), 75, 101, 189, 335, 420
Henry, Matthew (1662-1714), 4, 15, 26, 157, 225, 308, 322, 401, 411
Heraud, J. A., 107
Herbert, George (1593-1632), 91
Herder, J. G. Von (1744-1803), 27
Hervey, James (1713-1758), 278, 365, 383
Hervey, Mrs., 370
Heywood, Oliver (1629-1702), 267
Hilary, 19
Hitchcock, Edward (1867), 278
Homer, 265
Homilies, The Book of, (1547), 365
Hood, Thomas (1789-1845), 291
Hooker, Richard (1554-1600), 116
Hooper, John (1495-1555), 369
Hopkins, Ezekiel (1633-1690), 138, 139, 229, 292
Horne, George (1730-1792), 43, 65, 94, 107, 146, 157, 318, 323, 342,
344, 411
Horsley, Samuel (1733-1806), 71, 132
Horton, Thomas (-1673), 39, 341
Howard, Theodosia A. Viscountess Powerscourt (1861), 361, 367
Howe, John (1630-1705), 107, 147, 167, 225, 226, 230, 231, 234
Hughes, George (1642), 206, 207
Hull, John (1615), 358
Humboldt, F. H. Alexander Von (1769-1859), 86
Hurrion, John (1675-1731), 309, 320
Hutcheson, George (1657), 154, 345
Illustrated Commentary, 340
Irons, Joseph (1786-1852), 144, 305
Irving, Edward (1792-1834), 116, 117
Jackson, Arthur (1593-1666), 15, 400
Jacomb, Thomas (1622-1687), 305
Jamieson, John (1789), 166
Jamieson, Robert (1843), 384
Janeway, James (1636-1674), 88, 89, 203, 257, 366, 370, 386
Jarchi (1040-), 251
Jermin, Michael (-1659), 409
Jewell, John (1522-1571), 72
Josephus, Flavius (37-93), 255
Juvenal, 171
Kay, W. (1871), 251
Keble, John (1792-1866), 144, 388
Kempis, Thomas à (1380-1471), 6
Kennicott, Benjamin (1718-1783), 294
Kimchi, David (-1240), 300, 364
King, John (1559), 29, 127, 128, 135, 227
Kitto, John (1804-1854), 76, 264, 266, 379
(See also Cyclopædia).
Lake, Arthur (-1626), 298
Lange, J. P. (1864), 345
Latimer, Hugh (1480-1555), 127, 190, 427
Lavington, Samuel (1726-1807), 199, 366
Layard, Austin H. (1853), 364
Leighton, Robert (1611-1684), 37, 49, 86, 127, 254
Littleton, Adam (1627-1694), 190, 288, 294
Lockyer, Nicholas (1612-1684-5), 259
Lorinus, John (1569-1634), 266, 383
Love, Christopher (1618-1651), 403
Lowth, Robert (1710-1787), 253
Ludolph (1350), 335, 389
Luther, Martin (1483), 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 15, 17, 18, 30, 49, 53, 102, 115,
182, 221, 307, 335, 336, 341, 345, 347, 351, 383
Macduff, J. R. (1866), 358, 363
Maclaren, Alexander (1863), 372
Maimonides, Moses (1135-1200), 187
Mant, Richard (1776-1849), 75, 230, 252, 264, 310, 321, 322
Manton, Thomas (1620-1677), 53, 73, 84, 85, 149, 224, 284, 293
Marbury, Edward (1649), 104, 125, 251, 264, 307, 422
Martin, Samuel (1860), 317, 319
Mason, William (1719-1791), 297
Massillon, Jean Baptiste (1663-1742), 371
Mather, Samuel (1626-1671), 235
Mayer, John (1653), 76, 84, 93, 102, 106, 349
M’Cartree, Mrs., 43
M’Cosh, James (1850), 270
Melvill, Henry (1798-1871), 91-93, 310
Merrick, James (1720-1769), 265
Michaelis, John Henry (1668-1738), 249
Milton, John (1608-1674), 107, 226, 256, 279, 322
Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat Baron de (1689-1755), 149
Moore, Hannah (1745-1833), 253
Morison, John (1829), 74, 120, 121, 122, 230, 254, 256, 286, 304, 322,
337, 339, 343, 345, 349, 410
Mossom, Robert (1657), 399, 400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 408, 409, 412, 413
Moulin, Peter du (1600-1684), 153
Mudge, Zachary (1744), 204
Muffet, Peter (1594), 116
Muis, Simon de (1587-1644), 404
Musculus, Wolfgang (1497-1563), 174, 279
Neale, John Mason (1860), 170, 342, 422
Needham, John (1768), 40
Ness, Christopher (1621-1705), 330
Newton, John (1725-1807), 20, 340
Nicholson, William (-1671), 139
Nouet, James (1847), 321, 386
Noyes, George R. (1846), 202
Origen, 172
Owen, John (1616-1683), 164-166, 174, 371
Page, Samuel (1646), 138
Palmer, Anthony (1678), 408
Parkhurst, John (1728-1797), 74, 203
Pascal, Blaise (1623-1662), 89, 145
Patrick, Symon (1626-1707), 104
Paulinus, 180
Paxton, George (1762-1837), 346
Payson, Edward (1783-1827), 117-118
Pendlebury, Henry (1626-1695), 386
Perkins, William (1558-1602), 185, 372
Perowne, J. J. Stewart (1864), 221, 317, 336, 339, 381, 420
Phillips, G. (1846), 398, 419
Philpot, John (-1555), 423
Pitcairn, David (1851), 14, 15, 17
Plain Explanation of the difficult Passages in the Psalms (1831)
[Anon], 371
Plato, 217
Playfere, Thomas (1604), 63, 181, 223, 224, 267, 281, 338
Plumer, William S. (1867), 16, 71, 103, 105, 252, 256, 257, 264, 304,
309, 319, 358, 412, 421
Plutarch, 276
Pool, Matthew (1624-1679), 74, 183, 202, 257, 265, 307, 310, 342, 364,
365, 371, 409, 411, 413, 425
Pope, Alexander (1688-1744), 265
Porter, Ebenezer (1834), 383
Porter, J. L. (1867), 360
Posidonius, 186
Power, Philip Bennet (1862), 28, 42, 102, 368
Powerscourt, Viscountess (1861), 361, 367
Practical Illustrations of the Book of Psalms [Anon] (1826), 347
Prime, John (1588), 369
Quarles, Francis (1592-1644), 74, 105, 106, 145, 223
Ranew, Nathaniel (1672), 6
Rayment, J. (1630), 40
Religious Tract Society’s Commentary (see Bible), 226
Remigius (900), 266
Reyner, Edward (1600-1670), 50
Reynolds, Edward (1599-1676), 127
Ribera, 83
Richardson, John (-1654), 19, 280
Richardson, William (1825), 400
Roberts, Joseph (1835), 225, 308, 340, 346, 371
Robinson, Ralph (1614-1655), 174, 363
Rogers, Daniel (1573-1652), 85
Rogers, Mrs. (1856), 362, 421
Rogers, Timothy (1660-1729), 54, 63, 154, 155, 156, 205, 337
Rollock, Robert (1555-1598), 199
Row, John (1677), 335, 337, 338
Russel, Robert (1705), 296
Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), 154, 321
Ryland, H. R. (1853), 303, 317, 338, 380
Sacy, Louis Isaac le Maistre de (1613-1684), 266
Selter, H. G. (1840), 296
Sanderson, Robert (1587-1662-3), 296
Sandys, George (1577-1643), 256
Saurin, James (1677-1730), 120
Schimmelpennick, Mary Anne (1825), 380
Scot, James (1774), 389, 426
Scott, Thomas (1747), 342
Scottish Version (1649), 256
Scriver, Christian (1629-1693), 425
Scudder, H. (1633), 41
Secker, William (1660), 41, 73, 76, 123, 181, 200, 201, 361, 372, 408
Sedgwick, Obadiah (1600), 277, 289, 290, 291, 294, 360, 368, 371
Selden, John (1584-1654), 185
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616), 186
Sheffield, John (1654), 147
Sherlock, Thomas (1676-1761), 297
Sibbs, Richard (1577-1635), 27, 76, 105, 171, 384, 412
Sidney, Edwin (1866), 284
Simeon, Charles (1759-1836), 129, 268
Skinner, G. (see French).
Smith, B. M. (In the Critical and Explanatory Pocket Bible).
Smith, Henry (1560-1591), 14, 41, 103, 117, 124, 138, 189
Smith, James (1802-1862), 33
Smith, Miles (1624), 228, 263
Smith, Samuel (1588-), 358, 359
Socrates, 225
South, Robert (1633-1716), 106
Spencer, John (-1654), 51, 64, 94, 381
Spring, Gardiner, 149
Spurstowe, William (-1666), 232, 233
Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn (1864), 7, 255
Steele, Richard (-1692), 250
Sternhold, Thomas (-1549), 240
Sterry, Peter (1649), 266
Stevenson, John (1842), 338, 339, 340, 341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346,
347, 348, 350, 351, 361, 362, 366
Stock, Richard (-1626), 60, 118, 200, 287, 288, 407
Stoughton, John (-1639), 285
Stoughton, John (1860), 357
Stowell, Hugh, 366
Streat, William (1654), 281, 335
Street, Stephen (1790), 265
Strong, William (-1654), 258, 259, 260, 261, 348
Struther, William (1633), 369, 412
Stuckley, Lewis (-1687), 64, 75, 117, 172, 422, 423
Sturm, Christopher Christian (1750-1786), 86
Swinnock, George (1627-1673), 40, 50, 51, 156, 383, 421, 422, 423
Symonds, Joseph (1639), 200, 224, 338
Symson, Archibald (1638), 59, 60, 61, 62, 398
Taylor, Jeremy (1613-1667), 169, 184, 322
Tertullian, 386
Theodoret (393-457), 25
Tholuck, Augustus F. (1856), 255, 256, 279, 320
Thomé de Jesu, Fra (-1582), 340, 343
Thomson, James (1700-1748), 157, 280
Thomson, W. M. (1859), 121, 360, 362, 363, 368
Thornton, J. (1826), 364
Trapp, John (1611-1669), 4, 8, 14, 15, 53, 54, 64, 65, 87, 103, 106,
120, 144, 149, 157, 159, 166, 172, 174, 179, 186, 191, 204, 206,
263, 266, 287, 304, 306, 307, 318, 320, 338, 342, 343, 344, 357,
364, 372, 383, 384, 400, 403, 404, 405, 409, 411, 413
Tremellius, 50
Turnbull, Richard (1606), 179, 184, 185, 186, 189, 191
Turner, Joseph M. W. (1775-1851), 281
Turner, Samuel (1759-1802), 308
Turner, William (1697), 77
Tymme, Thomas (1634), 26, 103, 229, 370
Valdis, Juan de (-1540), 201
Vance, W. Ford (1827), 43
Vaughan, Henry (1621-1695), 50
Venning, Ralph (1620-1673), 203, 228, 287
Verschoyle, Hamilton (1843), 305, 310, 317
Victorinus, Hugo (1130), 409
Vieyra, Antonio de (1608-1697), 405
Vincent, Nathaniel (-1697), 293
Virgil, 145
Voltaire, F. M. A. B., 16
Walford, William (1837), 285, 427
Ward, Samuel (1577-1639), 158
Wardlaw, Ralph (1779-1853), 319
Washbourne, Thomas (1654), 90
Watson, Thomas (1660), 4, 6, 19, 27, 28, 29, 39, 41, 64, 72, 86, 103,
104, 123, 126, 127, 171, 173, 211, 212, 224, 234, 260, 286, 339,
411, 421
Watts, Isaac (1674-1748), 194
Wedderburn, Alexander (1701), 336
Weemse, John (-1636), 189
Weiss, Benjamin (1856), 235, 382
Westminster Assembly’s Annotations (1651), 251
Whitchurche, E. (1547), 341
Whitfield, George (1714-1770), 419
Wilcocks, Thomas (1586), 8, 64, 128, 308
Wilcox, Daniel (1676), 227
Willan, Edward (1645), 211
Willett, Andrew (1562-1621), 172
Williams, Griffith (1636), 124, 145
Williams, Isaac (1864), 84, 310, 317, 343, 383, 384
Willison, John (1680-1750), 158
Wilson, Thomas (1653), 54, 171
Wilson, W. (1860), 83, 132, 149, 156, 265, 280, 287, 307, 308, 420
Wishart, George (-1546), 81
Wolcombe, R. (1612), 144-5
Wood, J. G. (1869), 335, 346
Wordsworth, Christopher (1868), 198, 251, 380, 399, 419, 426
Wordsworth, William (1770-1850), 279
Xenophon, 265
Young, Edward (1681-1765), 87, 91, 388
Zigabenus (1125), 257
PSALM I.
TITLE.—_This Psalm may be regarded as_ THE PREFACE PSALM, _having in it
a notification of the contents of the entire Book. It is the psalmist’s
desire to teach us the way to blessedness, and to warn us of the sure
destruction of sinners. This then, is the matter of the first Psalm,
which may be looked upon, in some respects, as the text upon which the
whole of the Psalms make up a divine sermon._
DIVISION.—_This Psalm consists of two parts: in the first (from verse 1
to the end of the 3rd) David sets out wherein the felicity and
blessedness of a godly man consisteth, what his exercises are, and what
blessings he shall receive from the Lord. In the second part (from verse
4 to the end) he contrasts the state and character of the ungodly,
reveals the future, and describes, in telling language, his ultimate
doom._
EXPOSITION.
Blessed _is_ the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the
scornful.
2 But his delight _is_ in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth
he meditate day and night.
“_BLESSED_”—see how this Book of Psalms opens with a benediction, even
as did the famous Sermon of our Lord upon the Mount! The word translated
“blessed” is a very expressive one. The original word is plural, and it
is a controverted matter whether it is an adjective or a substantive.
Hence we may learn the multiplicity of the blessings which shall rest
upon the man whom God hath justified, and the perfection and greatness
of the blessedness he shall enjoy. We might read it, “Oh, the
blessednesses!” and we may well regard it (as Ainsworth does) as a
joyful acclamation of the gracious man’s felicity. May the like
benediction rest on us!
Here the gracious man is described both negatively (verse 1) and
positively (verse 2). He is a man _who does not walk in the counsel of
the ungodly_. He takes wiser counsel, and walks in the commandments of
the Lord his God. To him the ways of piety are paths of peace and
pleasantness. His footsteps are ordered by the Word of God, and not by
the cunning and wicked devices of carnal men. It is a rich sign of
inward grace when the outward walk is changed, and when ungodliness is
put far from our actions. Note next, _he standeth not in the way of
sinners_. His company is of a choicer sort than it was. Although a
sinner himself, he is now a blood-washed sinner, quickened by the Holy
Spirit, and renewed in heart. Standing by the rich grace of God in the
congregation of the righteous, he dares not herd with the multitude that
do evil. Again it is said, “_nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful_.”
He finds no rest in the atheist’s scoffings. Let others make a mock of
sin, of eternity, of hell and heaven, and of the Eternal God; this man
has learned better philosophy than that of the infidel, and has too much
sense of God’s presence to endure to hear his name blasphemed. The seat
of the scorner may be very lofty, but it is very near to the gate of
hell; let us flee from it, for it shall soon be empty, and destruction
shall swallow up the man who sits therein. Mark the gradation in the
first verse:
He walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.
Nor _standeth_ in the _way_ of _sinners_.
Nor SITTETH in the SEAT of SCORNFUL.
When men are living in sin they go from bad to worse. At first they
merely _walk_ in the counsel of the careless and _ungodly_, who forget
God—the evil is rather practical than habitual—but after that, they
become habituated to evil, and they _stand_ in the way of open _sinners_
who wilfully violate God’s commandments; and if let alone, they go one
step further, and become themselves pestilent teachers and tempters of
others, and thus they _sit in the seat of the scornful_. They have taken
their degree in vice, and as true Doctors of Damnation they are
installed, and are looked up to by others as Masters in Belial. But the
blessed man, the man to whom all the blessings of God belong, can hold
no communion with such characters as these. He keeps himself pure from
these lepers; he puts away evil things from him as garments spotted by
the flesh; he comes out from among the wicked, and goes without the
camp, bearing the reproach of Christ. O for grace to be thus separate
from sinners.
And now mark his positive character. “_His delight is in the law of the
Lord._” He is not _under_ the law as a curse and condemnation, but he is
_in_ it, and he delights to be in it as his rule of life; he delights,
moreover, to _meditate_ in it, to read it _by day_, and think upon it
_by night_. He takes a text and carries it with him all day long; and in
the night-watches, when sleep forsakes his eyelids, he museth upon the
Word of God. In the _day_ of his prosperity he sings _psalms_ out of the
Word of God, and in the _night_ of his affliction he comforts himself
with _promises_ out of the same book. “The law of the Lord” is the daily
bread of the true believer. And yet, in David’s day, how small was the
volume of inspiration, for they had scarcely anything save the first
five books of Moses! How much more, then, should we prize the whole
written Word which it is our privilege to have in all our houses! But,
alas, what ill-treatment is given to this angel from heaven! We are not
all Berean searchers of the Scriptures. How few among us can lay claim
to the benediction of the text! Perhaps some of you can claim a sort of
negative purity, because you do not walk in the way of the ungodly; but
let me ask you—Is your delight in the law of God? Do you study God’s
Word? Do you make it the man of your right hand—your best companion and
hourly guide? If not, this blessing belongeth not to you.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that
bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not
wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
“_And he shall be like a tree planted_;” not a wild tree, but “a tree
_planted_,” chosen, considered as property, cultivated and secured from
the last terrible uprooting, for “every plant, which my heavenly Father
hath not planted, shall be rooted up:” Matthew xv. 13. “_By the rivers
of water_;” so that even if one river should fail, he hath another. The
rivers of pardon and the rivers of grace, the rivers of the promise and
the rivers of the communion with Christ, are never-failing sources of
supply. He is “like a tree planted by the rivers of water, _that
bringeth forth his fruit in his season_;” not unseasonable graces, like
untimely figs, which are never full-flavoured. But the man who delights
in God’s Word, being taught by it, bringeth forth patience in the time
of suffering, faith in the day of trial, and holy joy in the hour of
prosperity. Fruitfulness is an essential quality of a gracious man, and
that fruitfulness should be seasonable. “_His leaf also shall not
wither_;” his faintest word shall be everlasting; his little deeds of
love shall be had in remembrance. Not simply shall his fruit be
preserved, but _his leaf_ also. He shall neither lose his beauty nor his
fruitfulness. “_And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper._” Blessed is the
man who hath such a promise as this. But we must not always estimate the
fulfilment of a promise by our own eye-sight. How often, my brethren, if
we judge by feeble sense, may we come to the mournful conclusion of
Jacob, “All these things are against me!” For though we know our
interest in the promise, yet are we so tried and troubled, that sight
sees the very reverse of what that promise foretells. But to the eye of
faith this word is sure, and by it we perceive that our works are
prospered, even when everything seems to go against us. It is not
outward prosperity which the Christian most desires and values; it is
soul prosperity which he longs for. We often, like Jehoshaphat, make
ships to go to Tarshish for gold, but they are broken at Ezion-geber;
but even here there is a true prospering, for it is often for the soul’s
health that we should be poor, bereaved, and persecuted. Our worst
things are often our best things. As there is a curse wrapped up in the
wicked man’s mercies, so there is a blessing concealed in the righteous
man’s crosses, losses, and sorrows. The trials of the saint are a divine
husbandry, by which he grows and brings forth abundant fruit.
4 The ungodly _are_ not so: but _are_ like the chaff which the wind
driveth away.
We have now come to the second head of the Psalm. In this verse the
contrast of the ill estate of the wicked is employed to heighten the
colouring of that fair and pleasant picture which precedes it. The more
forcible translation of the Vulgate and of the Septuagint version
is—“_Not so the ungodly, not so._” And we are hereby to understand that
whatever good thing is said of the righteous is not true in the case of
the ungodly. Oh! how terrible is it to have a double negative put upon
the promises! and yet this is just the condition of the ungodly. Mark
the use of the term “_ungodly_,” for, as we have seen in the opening of
the Psalm, these are the beginners in evil, and are the least offensive
of sinners. Oh! if such is the sad state of those who quietly continue
in their morality, and neglect their God, what must be the condition of
open sinners and shameless infidels? The first sentence is a negative
description of the ungodly, and the second is the positive picture. Here
is their _character_—“_they are like chaff_,” intrinsically worthless,
dead, unserviceable, without substance, and easily carried away. Here,
also, mark their _doom_—“_the wind driveth away_;” death shall hurry
them with its terrible blast into the fire in which they shall be
utterly consumed.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners
in the congregation of the righteous.
They shall stand there to be judged, but not to be acquitted. Fear shall
lay hold upon them there; they shall not stand their ground; they shall
flee away; they shall not stand in their own defence; for they shall
blush and be covered with eternal contempt.
Well may the saints long for heaven, for no evil men shall dwell there,
“_nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous_.” All our
congregations upon earth are mixed. Every Church has one devil in it.
The tares grow in the same furrows as the wheat. There is no floor which
is as yet thoroughly purged from chaff. Sinners mix with saints, as
dross mingles with gold. God’s precious diamonds still lie in the same
field with pebbles. Righteous Lots are this side heaven continually
vexed by the men of Sodom. Let us rejoice then, that in “the general
assembly and church of the firstborn” above, there shall by no means be
admitted a single unrenewed soul. Sinners cannot live in heaven. They
would be out of their element. Sooner could a fish live upon a tree than
the wicked in Paradise. Heaven would be an intolerable hell to an
impenitent man, even if he could be allowed to enter; but such a
privilege shall never be granted to the man who perseveres in his
iniquities. May God grant that we may have a name and a place in his
courts above!
6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the
ungodly shall perish.
Or, as the Hebrew hath it yet more fully, “The Lord is _knowing_ the way
of the righteous.” He is constantly looking on their way, and though it
may be often in mist and darkness, yet the Lord knoweth it. If it be in
the clouds and tempest of affliction, he understandeth it. He numbereth
the hairs of our head; he will not suffer any evil to befall us. “He
knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth
as gold.” (Job xxiii. 10.) “_But the way of the ungodly shall perish._”
Not only shall _they_ perish themselves, but _their way_ shall perish
too. The righteous carves his name upon the rock, but the wicked writes
his remembrance in the sand. The righteous man ploughs the furrows of
earth, and sows a harvest here, which shall never be fully reaped till
he enters the enjoyments of eternity; but as for the wicked, he ploughs
the sea, and though there may seem to be a shining trail behind his
keel, yet the waves shall pass over it, and the place that knew him
shall know him no more for ever. The very “way” of the ungodly shall
perish. If it exist in remembrance, it shall be in the remembrance of
the bad; for the Lord will cause the name of the wicked to rot, to
become a stench in the nostrils of the good, and to be only known to the
wicked themselves by its putridity.
May the Lord cleanse our hearts and our ways, that we may escape the
doom of the ungodly, and enjoy the blessedness of the righteous!
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS.
_Whole Psalm._—As the book of the Canticles is called the Song of Songs
by a Hebraism, it being the most excellent, so this Psalm may not
unfitly be entitled, the Psalm of Psalms, for it contains in it the very
pith and quintessence of Christianity. What Jerome saith on St. Paul’s
epistles, the same may I say of this Psalm; it is short as to the
composure, but full of length and strength as to the matter. This Psalm
carries blessedness in the frontispiece; it begins where we all hope to
end: it may well be called a Christian’s Guide, for it discovers the
quicksands where the wicked sink down in perdition, and the firm ground
on which the saints tread to glory.—_Thomas Watson’s Saints’ Spiritual
Delight, 1660._
This whole Psalm offers itself to be drawn into these two opposite
propositions: a godly man is blessed, a wicked man is miserable; which
seem to stand as two challenges, made by the prophet: one, that he will
maintain a godly man against all comers, to be the only Jason for
winning the golden fleece of blessedness; the other, that albeit the
ungodly make a show in the world of being happy, yet they of all men are
most miserable.—_Sir Richard Baker, 1640._
I have been induced to embrace the opinion of some among the ancient
interpreters (Augustine, Jerome, etc.), who conceive that the first
Psalm is intended to be descriptive of the character and reward of the
JUST ONE, _i.e._ the Lord Jesus.—_John Fry, B.A., 1842._
_Verse 1._—The psalmist saith more to the point about true happiness in
this short Psalm than any one of the philosophers, or all of them put
together; they did but beat the bush, God hath here put the bird into
our hand.—_John Trapp, 1660._
_Verse 1._—Where the word blessed is hung out as a sign, we may be sure
that we shall find a godly man within.—_Sir Richard Baker._
_Verse 1._—The seat of the drunkard is the seat of the
scornful.—_Matthew Henry, 1662-1714._
_Verse 1.—“Walketh_ NOT ... NOR _standeth_ ... NOR _sitteth,”_ etc.
Negative precepts are in some cases more absolute and peremptory than
affirmatives; for to say, “that hath walked in the counsel of the
godly,” might not be sufficient; for, he might walk in the counsel of
the godly, and yet walk in the counsel of the ungodly too; not both
indeed at once, but both at several times; where now, this negative
clears him at all times.—_Sir Richard Baker._
_Verse 1._—The word הָאִישׁ _haish_is emphatic, _that man_; that one
among a _thousand_ who lives for the accomplishment of the end for which
God created him.—_Adam Clarke, 1844._
_Verse 1.—“That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.”_ Mark
certain circumstances of their differing characters and conduct. I. The
_ungodly man_ has his _counsel_. II. The _sinner_ has his _way_; and
III. The _scorner_ has his _seat_. The _ungodly man_ is unconcerned
about religion; he is neither zealous for his own salvation nor for that
of others; and he _counsels_ and _advises_ those with whom he converses
to adopt his plan, and not trouble themselves about praying, reading,
repentance, etc., etc.; “there is no need for such things; live an
honest life, make no fuss about religion, and you will fare well enough
at last.” Now, “blessed is the man who walks not in this man’s counsel,”
who does not come into his measures, nor act according to his plan.
The _sinner_ has his particular _way_ of transgressing; one is a
_drunkard_, another _dishonest_, another _unclean_. Few are given to
every species of vice. There are many _covetous_ men who abhor
_drunkenness_, many _drunkards_ who abhor _covetousness_, and so of
others. _Each has his easily besetting sin_; therefore, says the
prophet, “_Let the wicked_ forsake HIS WAY.” Now, _blessed is he who
stands not in such a man’s_ WAY.
The _scorner_ has brought, in reference to himself, all religion and
moral feeling to an end. He has _sat down_—is utterly confirmed in
impiety, and makes a mock at sin. His conscience is seared, and he is a
believer in all unbelief. Now, _blessed is the man who sits not down in
his_ SEAT.—_Adam Clarke._
_Verse 1._—In the Hebrew, the word “_blessed_” is a plural noun,
_ashrey_ (_blessednesses_), that is, all blessednesses are the portion
of that man who has not gone away, etc.; as though it were said, “All
things are well with that man who,” etc. Why do you hold any dispute?
Why draw vain conclusions? If a man has found that pearl of great price,
to love the law of God and to be separate from the ungodly, all
blessednesses belong to that man; but, if he does not find this jewel,
he will seek for all blessednesses but will never find one! For as all
things are pure unto the pure, so all things are lovely unto the loving,
all things good unto the good; and, universally, such as thou art
thyself, such is God himself unto thee, though he is not a creature. He
is perverse unto the perverse, and holy unto the holy. Hence nothing can
be good or saving unto him who is evil; nothing sweet unto him unto whom
the law of God is not sweet. The word _“counsel”_ is without doubt here
to be received as signifying decrees and doctrines, seeing that no
society of men exists without being formed and preserved by decrees and
laws. David, however, by this term strikes at the pride and reprobate
temerity of the ungodly. First, because they will not humble themselves
so far as to walk in the law of the Lord, but rule themselves by their
own counsel. And then he calls it their “counsel,” because it is their
prudence, and the way that seems to them to be without error. For this
is the destruction of the ungodly—their being prudent in their own eyes
and in their own esteem, and clothing their errors in the garb of
prudence and of the right way. For if they came to men in the open garb
of error, it would not be so distinguishing a mark of blessedness not to
walk with them. But David does not here say, “in the folly of the
ungodly,” or “in the error of the ungodly;” and therefore he admonishes
us to guard with all diligence against the appearance of what is right,
that the devil transformed into an angel of light do not seduce us by
his craftiness. And he contrasts the counsel of the wicked with the law
of the Lord, that we may learn to beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing,
who are always ready to give counsel to all, to teach all, and to offer
assistance unto all, when they are of all men the least qualified to do
so. The term _“stood”_ descriptively represents their obstinacy, and
stiff-neckedness, wherein they harden themselves and make their excuses
in words of malice, having become incorrigible in their ungodliness. For
“to stand,” in the figurative manner of Scripture expression, signifies
to be firm and fixed: as in Rom. xiv. 4, “To his own master he standeth
or falleth: yea, he shall be holden up, for God is able to make him
stand.” Hence the word “column” is by the Hebrew derived from their verb
“to stand,” as is the word statue among the Latins. For this is the very
self-excuse and self-hardening of the ungodly—their appearing to
themselves to live rightly, and to shine in the eternal show of works
above all others. With respect to the term _“seat,”_ to sit in the seat,
is to teach, to act the instructor and teacher; as in Matt. xxiii. 2,
“The scribes sit in Moses’ chair.” _They_ sit in the seat of pestilence,
who fill the church with the opinions of philosophers, with the
traditions of men, and with the counsels of their own brain, and oppress
miserable consciences, setting aside, all the while, the word of God, by
which alone the soul is fed, lives, and is preserved.—_Martin Luther,
1536-1546._
_Verse 1.—“The scornful.”_ _Peccator cum in profundum venerit
contemnet_—when a wicked man comes to the depth and worst of sin, he
despiseth. Then the Hebrew will despise Moses (Exodus ii. 14), “Who made
thee a prince and a judge over us?” Then Ahab will quarrel with Micaiah
(1 Kings xxii. 18), because he doth not prophesy good unto him. Every
child in Bethel will mock Elisha (2 Kings ii. 23), and be bold to call
him “bald pate.” Here is an original drop of venom swollen to a main
ocean of poison: as one drop of some serpents’ poison, lighting on the
hand, gets into the veins, and so spreads itself over all the body till
it hath stifled the vital spirits. God shall “laugh you to scorn,”
(Psalm ii. 4), for laughing him to scorn; and at last despise you that
have despised him in us. That which a man spits against heaven, shall
fall back on his own face. Your indignities done to your spiritual
physicians shall sleep in the dust with your ashes, but stand up against
your souls in judgment.—_Thomas Adams, 1614._
_Verse 2.—“But his will is in the law of the Lord.”_ The “will,” which
is here signified, is that delight of heart, and that certain pleasure,
in the law, which does not look at what the law promises, nor at what it
threatens, but at this only; that “the law is holy, and just, and good.”
Hence it is not only a love of the law, but that loving delight in the
law which no prosperity, nor adversity, nor the world, nor the prince of
it, can either take away or destroy; for it victoriously bursts its way
through poverty, evil report, the cross, death, and hell, and in the
midst of adversities, shines the brightest.—_Martin Luther._
_Verse 2.—“His delight is in the law of the Lord.”_—This _delight_ which
the prophet here speaks of is the only delight that neither blushes nor
looks pale; the only delight that gives a repast without an after
reckoning; the only delight that stands in construction with all tenses;
and like Æneas Anchyses, carries his parents upon his back.—_Sir Richard
Baker._
_Verse 2.—“In his law doth he meditate.”_ In the plainest text there is
a world of holiness and spirituality; and if we in prayer and dependence
upon God did sit down and study it, we should behold much more than
appears to us. It may be, at once reading or looking, we see little or
nothing; as Elijah’s servant went once, and saw nothing; therefore he
was commanded to look seven times. What now? says the prophet, “I see a
cloud rising, like a man’s hand;” and by-and-by, the whole surface of
the heavens was covered with clouds. So you may look lightly upon a
Scripture and see nothing; “_meditate often upon it_, and there you
shall see a light, like the light of the sun.”—_Joseph Caryl, 1647._
_Verse 2.—“In his law doth he meditate day and night.”_—The good man
doth _meditate on the law of God day and night_. The pontificians beat
off the common people from this common treasury, by objecting this
supposed difficulty. Oh, the Scriptures are hard to be understood, do
not you trouble your heads about them; we will tell you the meaning of
them. They might as well say, heaven is a blessed place, but it is a
hard way to it; do not trouble yourselves, we will go thither for you.
Thus in the great day of trial, when they should be saved by their book,
alas! they have no book to save them. Instead of the Scriptures they can
present images; these are the laymen’s books; as if they were to be
tried by a jury of carvers and painters, and not by the twelve apostles.
Be not you so cheated; but study the gospel as you look for comfort by
the gospel. He that hopes for the inheritance, will make much of the
conveyance.—_Thomas Adams._
_Verse 2._—To “_meditate_,” as it is generally understood, signifies to
discuss, to dispute; and its meaning is always confined to a being
employed in words, as in Psalm xxxii. 30, “The mouth of the righteous
shall meditate wisdom.” Hence Augustine has, in his translation,
“chatter”; and a beautiful metaphor it is—as chattering is the
employment of birds, so a continual conversing in the law of the Lord
(for talking is peculiar to man), ought to be the employment of man. But
I cannot worthily and fully set forth the gracious meaning and force of
this word; for this “meditating” consists first in an intent observing
of the words of the law, and then in a comparing of the different
Scriptures; which is a certain delightful hunting, nay, rather a playing
with stags in a forest, where the Lord furnishes us with the stags, and
opens to us their secret coverts. And from this kind of employment,
there comes forth at length a man well instructed in the law of the Lord
to speak unto the people.—_Martin Luther._
_Verse 2.—“In his law doth he meditate day and night.”_ The godly man
will read the Word by _day_, that men, seeing his good works, may
glorify his Father who is in heaven; he will do it in the _night_, that
he may not be seen of men: by _day_, to show that he is not one of those
who dread the light; by _night_, to show that he is one who can shine in
the shade: by _day_, for that is the time for working—work whilst it is
day; by _night_, lest his Master should come as a thief, and find him
idle.—_Sir Richard Baker._
_Verse 2._—I have no rest, but in a nook, with _the book_.—_Thomas à
Kempis, 1380-1471._
_Verse 2.—“Meditate.”_ Meditation doth discriminate and characterise a
man; by this he may take a measure of his heart, whether it be good or
bad; let me allude to that; “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
Prov. xxiii. 7. As the meditation is, such is the man. Meditation is the
touchstone of a Christian; it shows what metal he is made of. It is a
spiritual index; the index shows what is in the book, so meditation
shows what is in the heart.—_Thomas Watson’s Saints’ Spiritual Delight._
Meditation chews the cud, and gets the sweetness and nutritive virtue of
the Word into the heart and life: this is the way the godly bring forth
much fruit.—_Bartholomew Ashwood’s Heavenly Trade, 1688._