A subject for self-examination.
_Verse 1._—I. _Comparison of the church to the tabernacle._ God’s
presence manifested, sacrifice offered, and vessels of grace preserved
in it; mean externally, glorious within. II. _Comparison of its double
position to that of the tabernacle._ Moving in the wilderness, and fixed
on the hill. III. Enquire into qualifications for admittance into church
and tabernacle. Parallel with the priests, etc.
_Verse 1._—The great question. Asked by idle curiosity, despair, godly
fear, earnest enquirer, soul troubled by falls of others, holy faith.
Give answer to each.
_Verse 1._—The citizen of Zion described.—_Thomas Boston’s Sermons._
_Verse 1._—Anxiety to know the true saints, how far lawful and
profitable.
_Verse 1._—God the only infallible discerner of true saints.
_Verse 2.—“He that walketh uprightly.”_ I. What he must be. He must be
upright in heart. A man himself bent double cannot walk uprightly. II.
How he must act. Neither from impulse, ambition, gain, fear, or
flattery. He must not be warped in any direction, but stand
perpendicularly. III. What he must expect. Snares, etc. to trip him. IV.
Where he must walk. Path of duty, the only one in which he can walk
uprightly. V. Where he must look. Up, right-up, and then he will be
upright.
_Verse 2.—“Speaketh the truth in his heart.”_ Subject:—Heart falsehood
and heart truth.
_Verse 2 (first clause)._—The citizen of Zion an upright walker.
_Verse 2 (middle clause)._—The citizen of Zion, a worker of
righteousness.
_Verse 2 (last clause)._—The citizen of Zion, a speaker of truth.—_Four
Sermons in Thomas Boston’s Works._
_Verse 3._—The evils of detraction. It affects three persons here
mentioned: the backbiter, the suffering neighbour, and the taker-up of
the reproach.
_Verse 3.—“Nor taketh up a reproach.”_ The sin of being too ready to
believe ill reports. Common, cruel, foolish, injurious, wicked.
_Verse 4._—The duty of practically honouring those who fear the Lord.
Commendation, deference, assistance, imitation, etc.
_Verse 4._—The sin of estimating persons other than by their practical
characters.
_Verse 4 (last clause)._—The Lord Jesus as our unchanging Surety, his
oath and his hurt.
_Verse 5._—The evidences and privileges of godly men.
_Verse 5 (last clause)._—The fixedness and safety of the godly.
PSALM XVI.
TITLE.—MICHTAM OF DAVID. _This is usually understood to mean_ THE GOLDEN
PSALM, _and such a title is most appropriate, for the matter is as the
most fine gold. Ainsworth calls it “David’s jewel, or notable song.” Dr.
Hawker, who is always alive to passages full of savour, devoutly cries,
“Some have rendered it_ precious, _others_ golden, _and others_,
precious jewel; _and as the Holy Ghost, by the apostles Peter and Paul,
hath shown us that it is all about the Lord Jesus Christ, what is here
said of him is precious, is golden, is a jewel indeed!” We have not met
with the term_ Michtam _before, but if spared to write upon Psalms_
lvi., lvii., lviii., lix. _and_ lx., _we shall see it again, and shall
observe that like the present these Psalms, although they begin with
prayer, and imply trouble, abound in holy confidence and close with
songs of assurance as to ultimate safety and joy. Dr. Alexander, whose
notes are peculiarly valuable, thinks that the word is most probably a
simple derivative of a word signifying to_ hide, _and signifies a secret
or mystery, and indicates the depth of doctrinal and spiritual import in
these sacred compositions. If this be the true interpretation it well
accords with the other, and when the two are put together, they make up
a name which every reader will remember, and which will bring the
precious subject at once to mind._ THE PSALM OF THE PRECIOUS SECRET.
SUBJECT.—_We are not left to human interpreters for the key to this
golden mystery, for, speaking by the Holy Ghost, Peter tells us, “David
speaketh concerning_ HIM.” (Acts ii. 25). _Further on in his memorable
sermon he said, “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the
patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is
with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God
had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according
to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he seeing
this before_ spake of the resurrection of Christ, _that his soul was not
left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption_.” (Acts ii. 29-31.)
_Nor is this our only guide, for the apostle Paul, led by the same
infallible inspiration, quotes from this Psalm, and testifies that David
wrote of the man through whom is preached unto us the forgiveness of
sins._ (Acts xiii. 35-8.) _It has been the usual plan of commentators to
apply the Psalm both to David, to the saints, and to the Lord Jesus, but
we will venture to believe that in it_ “Christ is all;” _since in the
ninth and tenth verses, like the apostles on the mount, we can see “no
man but Jesus only.”_
DIVISION.—_The whole is so compact that it is difficult to draw sharp
lines of division. It may suffice to note our Lord’s prayer of faith,
verse 1, avowal of faith in Jehovah alone, 2, 3, 4, 5, the contentment
of his faith in the present, 6, 7, and the joyous confidence of his
faith for the future (8, 11.)_
EXPOSITION.
Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.
“_Preserve me_,” _keep, or save me_, or as Horsley thinks, “_guard me_,”
even as body-guards surround their monarch, or as shepherds protect
their flocks. Tempted in all points like as we are, the manhood of Jesus
needed to be preserved from the power of evil; and though in itself
pure, the Lord Jesus did not confide in that purity of nature, but as an
example to his followers, looked to the Lord, his God, for preservation.
One of the great names of God is “the Preserver of men,” (Job vii. 20),
and this gracious office the Father exercised towards our Mediator and
Representative. It had been promised to the Lord Jesus in express words,
that he should be preserved, Isa. xlix. 7, 8. “Thus saith the Lord, the
Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him
whom the nation abhorreth, I will preserve thee, and give thee for a
covenant of the people.” This promise was to the letter fulfilled, both
by providential deliverance and sustaining power, in the case of our
Lord. Being preserved himself, he is able to restore the preserved of
Israel, for we are “preserved in Christ Jesus and called.” As one with
him, the elect were preserved in his preservation, and we may view this
mediatorial supplication as the petition of the Great High Priest for
all those who are in him. The intercession recorded in John xvii. is but
an amplification of this cry, “Holy Father, keep through thine own name
those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we _are_.” When
he says “preserve me,” he means his members, his mystical body, himself,
and all in him. But while we rejoice in the fact that the Lord Jesus
used this prayer for his members, we must not forget that he employed it
most surely for himself; he had so emptied himself, and so truly taken
upon him the form of a servant, that as man he needed divine keeping
even as we do, and often cried unto the strong for strength. Frequently
on the mountain-top he breathed forth this desire, and on one occasion
in almost the same words, he publicly prayed, “Father, save me from this
hour,” (John xii. 27.) If Jesus looked out of himself for protection,
how much more must we, his erring followers, do so!
“_O God._” The word for God here used in EL אֵל, by which name the Lord
Jesus, when under a sense of great weakness, as for instance when upon
the cross, was wont to address the Mighty God, the Omnipotent Helper of
his people. We, too, may turn to _El_, the Omnipotent One, in all hours
of peril, with the confidence that he who heard the strong cryings and
tears of our faithful High Priest, is both able and willing to bless us
in him. It is well to study the name and character of God, so that in
our straits we may know how and by what title to address our Father who
is in heaven.
“_For in thee do I put my trust_,” or, _I have taken shelter in thee_.
As chickens run beneath the hen, so do I betake myself to thee. Thou art
my great overshadowing Protector, and I have taken refuge beneath thy
strength. This is a potent argument in pleading, and our Lord knew not
only how to _use_ it with God, but how to yield to its power when
wielded by others upon himself. “According to thy faith be it done unto
thee,” is a great rule of heaven in dispensing favour, and when we can
sincerely declare that we exercise faith in the Mighty God with regard
to the mercy which we seek, we may rest assured that our plea will
prevail. Faith, like the sword of Saul, never returns empty; it
overcomes heaven when held in the hand of prayer. As the Saviour prayed,
so let us pray, and as he became more than a conqueror, so shall we also
through him; let us when buffeted by storms right bravely cry to the
Lord as he did, “in thee do I put my trust.”
2 _O my soul_, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou _art_ my Lord: my
goodness _extendeth_ not to thee:
3 _But_ to the saints that _are_ in the earth, and _to_ the
excellent, in whom _is_ all my delight.
4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied _that_ hasten _after_ another
_god_: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up
their names into my lips.
5 The LORD _is_ the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou
maintainest my lot.
“_O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord._” In his
inmost heart the Lord Jesus bowed himself to do service to his Heavenly
Father, and before the throne of Jehovah his soul vowed allegiance to
the Lord for our sakes. We are like him when our soul, truly and
constantly in the presence of the heart-searching God, declares her full
consent to the rule and government of the Infinite Jehovah, saying,
“Thou art my Lord.” To avow this with the lip is little, but for _the
soul_ to say it, especially in times of trial, is a gracious evidence of
spiritual health; to profess it before men is a small matter, but to
declare it before Jehovah himself is of far more consequence. This
sentence may also be viewed as the utterance of appropriating faith,
laying hold upon the Lord by personal covenant and enjoyment; in this
sense may it be our daily song in the house of our pilgrimage.
“_My goodness extendeth not to thee._” The work of our Lord Jesus was
not needful on account of any necessity in the Divine Being. Jehovah
would have been inconceivably glorious had the human race perished, and
had no atonement been offered. Although the life-work and death-agony of
the Son did reflect unparalleled lustre upon every attribute of God, yet
the Most Blessed and Infinitely Happy God stood in no need of the
obedience and death of his Son; it was for our sakes that the work of
redemption was undertaken, and not because of any lack or want on the
part of the Most High. How modestly does the Saviour here estimate his
own goodness! What overwhelming reasons have we for imitating his
humility! “If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth
he of thine hand?” (Job xxxv. 7.)
“_But to the saints that are in the earth._” These sanctified ones,
although still upon the earth, partake of the results of Jesus’
mediatorial work, and by his goodness are made what they are. The
peculiar people, zealous for good works, and hallowed to sacred service,
are arrayed in the Saviour’s righteousness and washed in his blood, and
so receive of the goodness treasured up in him; these are the persons
who are profited by the work of the man Christ Jesus; but that work
added nothing to the nature, virtue, or happiness of God, who is blessed
for evermore. How much more forcibly is this true of us, poor unworthy
servants, not fit to be mentioned in comparison with the faithful Son of
God! Our hope must ever be that haply some poor child of God may be
served by us, for the Great Father can never need our aid. Well may we
sing the verses of Dr. Watts:
“Oft have my heart and tongue confess’d
How empty and how poor I am;
My praise can never make thee blest,
Nor add new glories to thy name.
Yet, Lord, thy saints on earth may reap
Some profit by the good we do;
These are the company I keep,
These are the choicest friends I know.”
Poor believers are God’s receivers, and have a warrant from the Crown to
receive the revenue of our offerings in the King’s name. Saints departed
we cannot bless; even prayer for them is of no service; but while they
are here we should practically prove our love to them, even as our
Master did, for they are _the excellent of the earth_. Despite their
infirmities, their Lord thinks highly of them, and reckons them to be as
nobles among men. The title of “His Excellency” more properly belongs to
the meanest saint than to the greatest governor. The true aristocracy
are believers in Jesus. They are the only Right Honourables. Stars and
garters are poor distinctions compared with the graces of the Spirit. He
who knows them best says of them, “_in whom is all my delight_.” They
are his Hephzibah and his land Beulah, and before all worlds his
delights were with these chosen sons of men. Their own opinion of
themselves is far other than their Beloved’s opinion of them; they count
themselves to be less that nothing, yet he makes much of them, and sets
his heart towards them. What wonders the eyes of Divine Love can see
where the hands of Infinite Power have been graciously at work. It was
this quicksighted affection which led Jesus to see in us a recompense
for all his agony, and sustained him under all his sufferings by the joy
of redeeming us from going down into the pit.
The same loving heart which opens towards the chosen people is fast
closed against those who continue in their rebellion against God. Jesus
hates all wickedness, and especially the high crime of idolatry. The
text while it shows our Lord’s abhorrence of sin, shows also the
sinner’s greediness after it. Professed believers are often slow towards
the true Lord, but sinners “_hasten after another god_.” They run like
madmen where we creep like snails. Let their zeal rebuke our tardiness.
Yet theirs is a case in which the more they haste the worse they speed,
for _their sorrows are multiplied_ by their diligence in multiplying
their sins. Matthew Henry pithily says, “They that multiply gods
multiply griefs to themselves; for whosoever thinks one god too little,
will find two too many, and yet hundreds not enough.” The cruelties and
hardships which men endure for their false gods is wonderful to
contemplate; our missionary reports are a noteworthy comment on this
passage; but perhaps our own experience is an equally vivid exposition;
for when we have given our heart to idols, sooner or later we have had
to smart for it. Near the roots of our self-love all our sorrows lie,
and when that idol is overthrown, the sting is gone from grief. Moses
broke the golden calf and ground it to powder, and cast it into the
water of which he made Israel to drink, and so shall our cherished idols
become bitter portions for us, unless we at once forsake them. Our Lord
had no selfishness; he served but one Lord, and served him only. As for
those who turn aside from Jehovah, he was separate from them, bearing
their reproach without the camp. Sin and the Saviour had no communion.
He came to destroy, not to patronize or be allied with the works of the
devil. Hence he refused the testimony of unclean spirits as to his
divinity, for in nothing would he have fellowship with darkness. We
should be careful above measure not to connect ourselves in the remotest
degree with falsehood in religion; even the most solemn of Popish rites
we must abhor. “_Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer._” The
old proverb says, “It is not safe to eat at the devil’s mess, though the
spoon be never so long.” The mere mentioning of ill names it were well
to avoid,—“_nor take up their names into my lips_.” If we allow poison
upon the lip, it may ere long penetrate to the inwards, and it is well
to keep out of the mouth that which we would shut out from the heart. If
the Church would enjoy union with Christ, she must break all the bonds
of impiety, and keep herself pure from all the pollutions of carnal
will-worship, which now pollute the service of God. Some professors are
guilty of great sin in remaining in the communion of Popish churches,
where God is as much dishonoured as in Rome herself, only in a more
crafty manner.
“_The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup._” With what
confidence and bounding joy does Jesus turn to Jehovah, whom his soul
possessed and delighted in! Content beyond measure with his portion in
the Lord his God, he had not a single desire with which to hunt after
other gods; his cup was full, and his heart was full too; even in his
sorest sorrows he still laid hold with both his hands upon his Father,
crying, “My God, my God;” he had not so much as a thought of falling
down to worship the prince of this world, although tempted with an “all
these will I give thee.” We, too, can make our boast in the Lord; he is
the meat and the drink of our souls. He is our portion, supplying all
our necessities, and our cup yielding royal luxuries; our cup in this
life, and our inheritance in the life to come. As children of the Father
who is in heaven, we inherit, by virtue of our joint heirship with
Jesus, all the riches of the covenant of grace; and the portion which
falls to us sets upon our table the bread of heaven and the new wine of
the kingdom. Who would not be satisfied with such dainty diet? Our
shallow cup of sorrow we may well drain with resignation, since the deep
cup of love stands side by side with it, and will never be empty. “_Thou
maintainest my lot._” Some tenants have a covenant in their leases that
they themselves shall maintain and uphold, but in our case Jehovah
himself maintains our lot. Our Lord Jesus delighted in this truth, that
the Father was on his side, and would maintain his right against all the
wrongs of men. He knew that his elect would be reserved for him, and
that almighty power would preserve them as his lot and reward for ever.
Let us also be glad, because the Judge of all the earth will vindicate
our righteous cause.
6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant _places_; yea, I have a
goodly heritage.
7 I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also
instruct me in the night seasons.
Jesus found the way of obedience to lead into “_pleasant places_.”
Notwithstanding all the sorrows which marred his countenance, he
exclaimed, “Lo, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me, I
delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” It
may seem strange, but while no other man was ever so thoroughly
acquainted with grief, it is our belief that no other man ever
experienced so much joy and delight in service, for no other served so
faithfully and with such great results in view as his recompense of
reward. The joy which was set before him must have sent some of its
beams of splendour a-down the rugged places where he endured the cross,
despising the shame, and must have made them in some respects pleasant
places to the generous heart of the Redeemer. At any rate, we know that
Jesus was well content with the blood-bought portion which the lines of
electing love marked off as his spoil with the strong and his portion
with the great. Therein he solaced himself on earth, and delights
himself in heaven; and he asks no more “GOODLY HERITAGE” than that his
own beloved may be with him where he is and behold his glory. All the
saints can use the language of this verse, and the more thoroughly they
can enter into its contented, grateful, joyful spirit the better for
themselves, and the more glorious to their God. Our Lord was poorer than
we are, for he had not where to lay his head, and yet when he mentioned
his poverty he never used a word of murmuring; discontented spirits are
as unlike Jesus as the croaking raven is unlike the cooing dove. Martyrs
have been happy in dungeons. “From the delectable orchard of the Leonine
prison the Italian martyr dated his letter, and the presence of God made
the gridiron of Laurence pleasant to him.” Mr. Greenham was bold enough
to say, “They never felt God’s love, or tasted forgiveness of sins, who
are discontented.” Some divines think that discontent was the first sin,
the rock which wrecked our race in paradise; certainly there can be no
paradise where this evil spirit has power, its slime will poison all the
flowers of the garden.
“_I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel._” Praise as well as
prayer was presented to the Father by our Lord Jesus, and we are not
truly his followers unless our resolve be, “I will bless the Lord.”
Jesus is called Wonderful, Counsellor, but as man he spake not of
himself, but as his Father had taught him. Read in confirmation of this,
John vii. 16; viii. 28; and xii. 49, 50; and the prophecy concerning him
in Isaiah xi. 2, 3. It was our Redeemer’s wont to repair to his Father
for direction, and having received it, he blessed him for giving him
counsel. It would be well for us if we would follow his example of
lowliness, cease from trusting in our own understanding, and seek to be
guided by the Spirit of God. “_My reins also instruct me in the night
seasons._” By the reins understand the inner man, the affections and
feelings. The communion of the soul with God brings to it an inner
spiritual wisdom which in still seasons is revealed to itself. Our
Redeemer spent many nights alone upon the mountain, and we may readily
conceive that together with his fellowship with heaven, he carried on a
profitable commerce with himself; reviewing his experience, forecasting
his work, and considering his position. Great generals fight their
battles in their own mind long before the trumpet sounds, and so did our
Lord win our battle on his knees before he gained it on the cross. It is
a gracious habit after taking counsel from above to take counsel within.
Wise men see more with their eyes shut by night than fools can see by
day with their eyes open. He who learns from God and so gets the seed,
will soon find wisdom within himself growing in the garden of his soul;
“Thine ears shall hear a voice behind thee, saying, This is the way,
walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand and when ye turn to the
left.” The night season which the sinner chooses for his sins is the
hallowed hour of quiet when believers hear the soft still voices of
heaven, and of the heavenly life within themselves.
8 I have set the LORD always before me: because _he is_ at my right
hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also
shall rest in hope.
10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer
thine Holy One to see corruption.
11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence _is_ fulness
of joy; at thy right hand _there are_ pleasures for evermore.