The Treasury of David
[Illustration: THE BIRTHPLACE OF C. H. SPURGEON, AT KELVEDON. _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. II.
PSALM XXVII. TO LVII.
MARSHALL BROTHERS, LTD.
PUBLISHERS
LONDON, EDINBURGH, and NEW YORK.
PREFACE.
Greatly encouraged by the generous reception awarded to my first volume,
I have laboured on with diligence, and am now able to present the reader
with the second instalment of my work. Whether life and health shall be
given me to complete my task, which will probably extend to six volumes,
remains with the gracious Preserver of men; but with his aid and
allowance, my face is set towards that design, and I pray that my
purpose may be achieved, if it be for the divine glory, and for the good
of his church.
In this volume, which contains thirty-one sacred odes, we have several
of the more memorable and precious of Zion’s songs. In commenting upon
some of them, I have been overwhelmed with awe, and said with Jacob,
“How dreadful is this place, it is none other than the house of God.”
Especially was this case with the fifty-first; I postponed expounding it
week after week, feeling more and more my inability for the work. Often
I sat down to it, and rose up again without having penned a line. It is
a bush burning with fire yet not consumed, and out of it a voice seemed
to cry to me, “Draw not nigh hither, put off thy shoes from off thy
feet.” The Psalm is very human, its cries and sobs are of one born of
woman; but it is freighted with an inspiration all divine, as if the
Great Father were putting words into his child’s mouth. Such a Psalm may
be wept over, absorbed into the soul, and exhaled again in devotion;
but, commented on—ah! where is he who having attempted it can do other
than blush at his defeat?
I have followed the same plan as in the former volume, not only because
I am committed to it by the law of uniformity, but also because it is on
the whole advantageous. Some have suggested alterations, but many more
have commended the very features which would have been improved away,
and therefore I have continued in the selfsame method.
Greater use has, in this volume, been made of the Latin writers.
Extracts have been made not only from those which are condensed in
Pool’s Synopsis; but from many others. These works are a mine of
exposition far too little known. If the index shall serve to introduce
fresh expositions to my ministerial readers, I shall not have laboured
in vain.
The acknowledgments of obligation made in Volume I. might very justly be
repeated as concerning Volume II.; the reader will consider them as
again recorded. It may also be needful to repeat the statement that as I
give the name of each Author quoted, each authority is personally
responsible for his own sentiments; and I do not wish it to be supposed
that I endorse all that is inserted. It is often useful to us to know
what has been said by authors whose views we could by no means accept.
More and more is the conviction forced upon my heart that every man must
traverse the territory of the Psalms himself if he would know what a
goodly land they are. They flow with milk and honey, but not to
strangers; they are only fertile to lovers of their hills and vales.
None but the Holy Spirit can give a man the key to the Treasury of
David; and even he gives it rather to experience than to study. Happy he
who for himself knows the secret of the Psalms.
If permitted by the Great Master whom I serve, I shall now proceed with
another portion of this TREASURY OF DAVID; but the labour and research
are exceedingly great, and my other occupations are very pressing, and
therefore I must crave the patience of the Christian public.
C. H. Spurgeon
INDEX OF AUTHORS QUOTED OR REFERRED TO.
Adams, Thomas (1614), 11, 99, 116, 134, 136, 147, 148, 154, 167, 191,
195, 206, 229, 332, 382, 396, 397, 398
Adkins, Richard, 100
Æschylus, 286
Ainsworth, Henry (—1622), 18, 147, 152, 153, 181, 212, 242, 247, 323,
366, 452, 453, 459
Airay, Henry (1560-1610), 101
Alexander, Joseph Addison (1850), 100, 111, 115, 284, 367, 392, 394,
395, 408, 436, 437, 452
Alexander, Thomas (1861), 411, 414, 420, 423
Alexander, William Lindsay (1862), 219
Alford, Henry (1810-1871), 328
Alleine, Richard (1611-1681), 76, 87, 130
Ambrose, (340-397), 155, 307, 345
Ambrose, Isaac (1592-1674), 27, 357
Anderson, James (1846), 147, 185, 423, 482
Andrewes, Lancelot (1555-1626), 358
Angier, John (1647), 483
Aquinas, Thomas (1224-1274), 345
Aristotle, 189
Arndt, John (1555-1621), 75
Arnot, William (1858), 166
Arrowsmith, John (1600-1660), 470
Arvieux, Laurent d’ (1635-1702), 130
Arvine, K. (1859), 24, 378
Ash, Simeon (1642), 78
Athanasius, 329, 330
Augustine (353-429), 111, 112, 115, 116, 117, 150, 156, 333, 336, 358,
392, 428
Avrillon, Jean Baptiste Elias (1652-1729), 6, 8, 210
Ayguan, Michael (1416), 346, 457
Bacon, Francis (1560-1626), 438, 471
Bacon, William Thompson 113
Baker, Sir Richard (1568-1645), 6, 8, 14, 15, 18, 49, 54, 55, 111, 128,
129, 134, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 210, 211, 410, 412, 413, 415,
416, 420, 422
Ball, John (1585-1640), 118, 138, 414
Barclay, John (1734-1798), 35
Barlow, John (1618), 232, 283
Barnes, Albert (1798-1870), 12, 27, 38, 99, 100, 150, 209, 311, 366,
377, 453, 459, 469, 484
Barth, T. C. (1865), 192, 345
Basil (326-379), 36, 40, 128
Bate, Julius (1711-1771), 365
Baylie, Robert (1643), 183
Baxter, Richard (1615-1691), 71
Beddome, B. (1717-1795), 46, 146
Beecher, Henry Ward (1870), 481
Bellarmine, Robert (1542-1621), 16, 364
Benmohel, N. L. (1847), 244
Bernard (1091-1157), 345, 468
Bible, Berleb., 186
Bible, Pocket Commentary, 191
Biblical, Treasury, 119
Biddulph, Thomas Tregenna (1763-1838), 410, 415
Bingham, Charles H. (1836), 92
Binney, Thomas (1869), 131
Binnie, William (1870), 86, 115, 128, 150, 323, 346, 367, 485
Blackerby, Samuel (1673), 264, 461
Bogan, Zachary (1625-1659), 51, 130, 276, 287, 459
Bolton, Robert (1572-1631), 195
Bonar, Andrew A. (1859), 137, 146, 343, 355, 367, 391, 436, 481
Bonar, Horatius (1847), 228
Boothroyd, Benjamin (—1836), 395, 439
Bouchier, Barton (1855), 180, 263, 391, 395, 468
Bowes, G. S. (1860), 26, 55
Boys, John (1560-1643), 326, 332, 356, 357, 358, 421, 422, 479, 480,
482
Bradbury, Charles (1785), 6, 73
Bradford, John (1510-1555), 128
Bromiardus, Johannes de (1485), 264
Brooks, Thomas (1608-1680), 34, 51, 53, 150, 153, 156, 166, 188, 246,
248, 280, 288, 310
Browning, Robert (1849), 73
Bruce, Robert (1559-1631), 242
Buffon, Comte de (1707-1788), 116
Bunyan, John (1628-1688), 183, 209, 285, 382, 461, 469
Burder, George (1838), 114, 366
Burder, Samuel (1839), 165, 227, 365
Burgess, Daniel (1645-1712), 396
Burke, Edmund (1730-1797), 227
Burns, James D. (1823-1864), 185
Burroughs, Jeremiah (1599-1646), 332, 470, 481
Burroughs, Thomas (1657), 220
Burton, William (1602), 266
Bush, George (1796—), 115
Buxtorf, John (1564—), 153
Byfield, Nicholas (1579—), 180
Bythner, Victorinus (—1670), 244, 323, 374
Calamy, Edmund (1600-1666), 120, 473
Calmet, Augustine (1672-1757), 322
Calvin, John (1509-1564), 12, 17, 25, 36, 39, 48, 65, 71, 72, 74, 116,
119, 150, 153, 185, 186, 210, 211, 243, 245, 261, 264, 265, 267,
308, 359, 380, 419, 421, 422, 443, 444, 468, 480
Cameron, Richard (1680), 349
Capel, Richard (1586-1656), 263
Carbone, Ludovic de, 181
Carlyle, Thomas (18—), 70
Carmichael, Alexander (1677), 91
Carter, Charles (1869), 100, 220
Cartwright, Christopher (1602), 68
Caryl, Joseph (1602-1673), 34, 37, 39, 40, 118, 153, 162, 164, 190,
205, 310, 333, 348, 359, 374, 375, 377, 378, 380, 383, 394, 397,
398, 399, 430, 459, 462, 471, 479
Caswell, Edward (1861), 336
Cawdray, Robert (1609), 36, 71, 100
Chalmers, Thomas (1780-1847), 262, 408
Chandler, Samuel (1693-1766), 48, 49, 52, 128, 137, 409, 410, 414, 415,
417, 423, 429, 443, 481
Charnock, Stephen (1628-1680), 76, 89, 250, 395, 398, 469, 472, 473
Cheynell, Francis (1645), 382
Christian Treasury, The (1848), 100, 132
Christophers, S. W. (1866), 344
Chrysostom (347-407), 70
Clarke, Adam (1760-1832), 12, 17, 48, 65, 66, 88, 113, 118, 133, 136,
190, 245, 260, 263, 308, 344, 355, 357, 409, 414, 418, 429, 438,
454, 457, 458, 472
Clarke, Samuel (1599-1682), 35, 128
Clarke, Samuel (1675-1729), 283
Clarkson, David (1621-1686), 17, 114, 132, 165, 187, 192, 249, 250,
308, 383
Cobbett, Thomas (1608-1686), 14, 54, 230
Coetlogon, Charles de (1775), 409, 411
Cole, Thomas (1627-1697), 212
Coleman, John Noble (1863), 452
Collinge, John (1623-1690), 282, 346
Colvill, William (1655), 167
Conybeare, W. J. (1856), 95
Coombs, Jesse (1867), 211
Coore, Richard (1687), 324, 331, 348
Cowper, William (1566-1619), 416, 417, 419, 421
Cox, Francis Elizabeth (1864), 184
Crabbe, George (1754-1832), 262
Crates, 379
Craven, Isaac (1630), 92, 146
Cresswell, Daniel (1776-1844), 74, 147, 153, 168, 189, 243, 245, 265,
309, 365, 395, 438
Crichett, George (1870), 70
Cruso, Timothy (1657-1697), 13, 163, 167
Culverwell, Nathaniel (—1650), 277
D., J. (1608), 376
“Daily Telegraph” (1869), 131
Damiano, Peter (988-1072), 137
Davenant, John (1562-1641), 357
Davidson, David (1836), 191
Davidson, Samuel (1852), 444
Davies, Sir John (1569-1626), 131, 155, 164, 228, 457
Davey, Dr., 326
Day, John (1609), 9
De Burgh, William (1860), 116, 183, 307
Defoe, Daniel (1663-1731), 251
Delitzsch, Franz (1869), 212, 249, 485
De Wette, Wilhelm (1850), 310
Dickson, David (1583-1662), 26, 65, 69, 73, 76, 131, 162, 163, 168,
183, 187, 249, 251, 263, 264, 308, 309, 311, 312, 327, 332, 336,
442, 444, 452, 453, 459, 468, 470, 472, 484
Dimock, Henry (1791), 420
Diodati, John (1576-1649), 37, 47, 70, 112, 180, 250, 329, 397
Dolben, J. (1665), 443
Donne, John (1573-1631), 97, 98, 99, 100, 205, 206, 460
Doolittle, Samuel (1693), 119
Doolittle, Thomas (1630), 119
Duncan, Mary B. (1825-1865), 51, 189, 208
Dunlop, William (1692-1720), 76, 128, 244, 296, 381
Duns, John (1868), 115, 193, 209, 415
Duppa, Brian (1588-1662), 281
Dyke, Jeremiah (1620), 472, 480
Eadie, John (1868), 92
Edwards, John (1637-1716), 375
Edwards, Jonathan (1703-1758), 163, 349, 375
Elwin, Fountain (1842), 96
Ephraem Syrus (—379), 133
Erasmus, Desiderus (1467-1536), 68
Erskine, Ralph (1685-1752), 18, 247, 345, 346
Estley, George (1603), 418
Estwick, Nicholas (1644), 229
Eusebius, (267-338), 309
Evans, James Harrington (1785-1849), 90
Ewald, Henrich, 219
Farindon, Anthony (1596-1658), 186
Faussett, A. R. (1866), 457, 459, 469, 480
Fenner, William (1600-1640), 397
Firmin, Giles (1617-1697), 209
Flavel, John (1627-1691), 53, 75, 248, 310, 311, 329, 336, 478, 479,
481
Fletcher, Giles (1588-1623), 357
Forbes, A. P. (1857), 408
“Four Friends” (1867), 345, 458
Fowler, Christopher (1610-1678), 26, 101
Frame, James (1869), 243, 244, 248, 249, 250, 251
Francis, Philip (1765), 36
Frank, Mark (1613-1664), 246, 325
French, W. and Skinner G. (1842), 398, 418, 457
Fry, John (1842), 188, 277
Fuller, Andrews (1754-1815), 167
Fuller, Thomas (1608-1661), 100, 137, 263, 399, 411
Gadsby, John (1862), 154, 229, 243, 278, 471
Gataker, Thomas (1574-1654), 117, 133, 382
Geir, Martin (1614-1681), 66, 112, 249, 251, 265, 356, 391, 397, 452,
471
Genebrard, Gilbert (1537-1597), 163
Gerhard, Paul (1606-1676), 184
Gibbens, Nicholas (1602—), 439
Gill, John (1697-1771), 120, 127, 130, 134, 150, 152, 185, 261, 310,
345, 391, 396, 397, 453, 457, 469
Gilpin, Richard (1677), 52, 483
Ginsberg, Christian D. (1863), 166
Gipps, George (1645), 396
Glascock, John (1659), 188, 189
Good, John Mason (1764-1827), 379
Goodwin, John (1593-1665), 135, 247
Goodwin, Thomas (1600-1679), 14, 245, 251, 264, 333, 413, 414, 438, 481
Gore, J. (1633), 193
Gotthold (see Scriver)
Gouge, Wm. (1575-1653), 26, 65, 206, 336
Gray, Andrew (1805-1861), 11
Greenhill, William (1591-1677), 95, 165, 168, 190
Gregory, 92
Grenada, Lewis de (1504-1588), 153
Griffith, Matthew (1633), 191
Grosvenor, Benjamin (1675-1758), 484
Grotius, Hugo (1583-1645), 115
Grove, John (1802), 454
Gurnall, William (1617-1679), 12, 41, 74, 76, 90, 91, 93, 129, 154,
222, 228, 231, 282, 283, 289, 307, 349, 376, 394, 398, 420, 430,
453, 458, 469, 470, 483
Guyon, Jeanne Bouvier de la Mothe (1648-1717), 335
Hall, Joseph (1574-1656), 348
Halyburton, Thomas (1674-1711), 151
Hamilton, James (1814-1867), 33
Hammond, Henry (1605-1660), 25, 68, 137, 245, 265, 343, 366, 458, 460,
462
Hapstone, Dalman (1867), 166, 331
Hardy, Nathanael (1618-1670), 75, 92, 93, 94, 133, 134, 180, 183, 194,
212, 224, 411
Hare, Francis (1740), 165
Harmer, Thomas (1715-1788), 92, 311
Harpur, George (1862), 323, 324, 325, 327, 328, 331
Hart, Joseph (1762), 240 (Poetry)
Hawker, Robert (1753-1827), 131, 324, 336, 443, 471
Hengstenberg, E. W. (1845), 51, 112, 114, 131, 242, 308, 309, 313, 365,
459
Henry, Matthew (1662-1714), 27, 54, 73, 76, 133, 134, 181, 193, 250,
266, 324, 355, 365, 437, 458
Herbert, George (1593-1632), 228, 280
Hervey, James (1713-14—1758), 184
Heywood Oliver (1629), 154, 278
Hieron, Samuel (1572-1617), 413
Hiller, Prescott, 473
Holdsworth, Richard (1590-1649), 118
Holy David and his Old English Translators Cleared [Anon] (1706), 324
Homes, Nath. (—1678), 295, 297
Hood, E. Paxton (1865), 73, 263, 297
Hopkins, Ezekiel (1633-1690), 155, 382
Horace, 36
Horne, George (1730-1792), 26, 36, 38, 54, 136, 187, 192, 230, 242,
261, 265, 356, 365, 430, 460, 468
Horsley, Samuel (1733-1806), 15, 40, 100, 109, 346, 397, 398
Horton, Thomas (—1673), 13, 14, 277, 278, 282, 285, 288, 413
Howe, John (1630-1705), 40, 182, 287, 366
Howson, J. S. (1856), 95
Hughes, Joseph (1822), 232
Hugo, Cardinal, 307
Huntington, William (1744-1813), 285
Hurst, Henry (1661), 473
Huss, John (1376-1415), 66
Hyde, Edward (1658), 325
Jackson, Arthur (1593-1666), 185, 187, 191, 208, 220, 243, 264, 265,
309, 322, 328, 334, 415, 429
Jamieson, John (1758-1838), 162
Janeway, James (1636-1674), 75, 135, 189
Jay, William (1769-1853), 94, 118, 120, 252
Jebb, John (1846), 161, 203, 323, 428
Jermin, Michael (—1659), 190
Jerome, (331-422), 185
Jewell, John (1522-1571), 73
Justin, Martyr, 111
Keble, John (1792-1866), 380
Ken, Thomas (1637-1710), 18
Kennedy, Benjamin Hall (1860), 375
Kennicott, Ben. (1718-1783), 294, 365, 375
Kimchi, David (—1240), 150
King, John (1559-1621), 54, 223, 439
Kinwellmersh, 101
Kitchen, John (1660), 116, 195
Kitto, John (1804-1854), 92, 229, 309, 479
Kollock, Henry (1822), 289
La Combe, Father, 334
Lake, Arthur (—1626), 94
Lange, J. P. (1864), 68, 266, 280, 284, 297, 312
Lapide, Cornelius à (—1637), 357
Larrabee, W. C. (1851), 350
Lavington, Samuel (1726-1807), 297
Lawrence, Matthew (1657), 283, 417
Layfielde, Edmund (1630), 181, 222, 223, 224, 227
Lee, S. (1625-1691), 210, 244, 251, 334, 483
Lee, Samuel (1783-1852), 25
Leifchild, John (1860), 24, 379
Leighton, Robert (1611-1684), 86, 90, 94, 219, 222, 223, 227, 230
Lightfoot, John (1602-1675), 49
Littleton, Adam (1627-1694), 410
Lockyer, Nicholas (1612-1684-5), 210
Lorinus, John (1569-1634), 87, 96
Love, Christopher (1618-1651), 93, 203, 223, 281, 284
Lowth, Robert (1710-1787), 203, 375
Luther, Martin (1483-1546), 86, 190, 196, 333, 344, 412
M., D. (1678), 12
Macgregor, Duncan (1869), 335
McCheyne, Robert Murray (1813-1843), 33, 36, 38, 39, 420, 437, 470
Malan, Cæsar, 251
Manning, Henry Edward (1850), 454
Mant, Richard (1776-1849), 117, 130, 209, 331, 416, 431, 460
Manton, Thomas (1620-1677), 87, 88, 192, 230, 231, 313, 377
Marbury, Edward (1649), 50, 137
March, Henry (1823), 279, 280, 282, 284, 285, 286, 287, 290, 296, 298
Martyr, Peter (1500-1562), 438
Massillon, Jean Baptiste (1663-1742), 25, 26, 35, 36, 39
Mayer, John (1653), 11, 66, 307
Mede, Joseph (1586-1638), 246
Melancthon, Philip (1497-1560), 195
Melvill, Henry (1837), 99
Merrick, James (1720-1769), 15, 245
Metastasio, Pietro (1698-1782), 150
Michaelis, John Henry (1668-1738), 375
Milton, John (1608-1674), 365
Moll, Carl Bernard (1869), 250
Mollerus, D. H. (1639), 131, 166
Monastier, Antoine, (1859), 73
Montague, M. (1844), 86
Montgomery, James (1771-1854), 35
Morier, J. P. (1801), 326
Morison, John (1829), 150, 222, 285, 296, 344, 375, 414, 416, 438, 482
Mosschus, (B.C. 250), 461
Mossom, Robert (1657), 9, 461, 53, 181
Mudge, Zachary (1744), 162
Muis, Simon de (1587-1644), 168, 357, 391, 452, 480
Munster, Sebastian (1489-1552), 164
Murcot, John (1657), 415
Nalton, James (1664), 136
Neale, John Mason (1860), 53, 111, 128, 130, 133, 163, 228, 260, 264,
276, 355, 374, 396, 410, 461
Ness, Christoper (1621-1705), 277, 414
Newton, Adelaide (1824-1854), 54
Nicholls, Benjamin Elliott (1858), 155
Nicholson, W. (-1671), 161, 364, 365, 471
Noyes, George R. (1846), 265
Offor, George (1862), 382
Offord, John (1868), 296
Origen, 228, 366
Orton, Job (1717-1783), 327
Owen, John (1616-1683), 249, 366
Page, Samuel (1646), 91, 220, 410, 411, 412, 417, 421, 422
Paley, William (1743-1805), 114
Parkhurst, John (1728-1797), 181
Parr, Elnathan (1651), 298
Parre, Richard (1617-1691), 195
Parsons, Benjamin (1797-1855), 263
Patrick, Symon (1626-1707), 184, 472
Paxton, George (1762-1837), 40, 229, 327, 344, 348
Payson, Edward (1783-1827), 327, 328
Pearce, Edward (1673), 324
Peden, Alexander (1682), 132, 310
Pennington, John (1656), 182, 186
Perkins, William (1558-1602), 87
Perowne, J. J. Stewart (1864), 66, 117, 149, 164, 166, 209, 246, 249,
263, 267, 276, 284, 296, 308, 312, 381, 392, 423, 430, 458, 460
Peters, Hugh (1645), 77
Phillips, George (1846), 294
Philpot, J. C. (1802-1869), 209
Pierson, Thomas (1570-1633), 11, 15
Pinchbeck, Edmund (1652), 168
Pineda, John de (1577-1637), 113
Pinke, William (1631), 117
Piscator, John (1546-1626), 166
Pitcairn, David (1846), 330
Pitman, J. R. (1846), 135
Pitts, Joseph (1704), 311
Plain Commentary, A (1859), 365
Playfere, Thomas (1604), 51, 95, 96, 130
Pledger, Elias (1677), 52, 469
Plumer, William S. (1867), 6, 7, 66, 162, 185, 209, 227, 264, 275, 297,
308, 331, 355, 365, 408, 429, 438, 458, 468, 483
Plumptre, E. H. (1870), 267
Pollock, Robert (1799-1827), 163
Polycarp, 66
Pool, Matthew (1624-1679), 12, 137, 222, 228, 230, 266, 309, 326, 356,
392, 394, 397, 410, 479, 480
Pope, Alexander (1688-1744), 9
Porter, Ebenezer (1834), 230
Porter, J. L. (1867), 364
Power, Philip Bennet (1862), 23, 24
Preston, John (1587-1628), 51, 336
Pridham, Arthur (1869), 243, 408
Propertius, 382
Pusey, E. B. (1853), 228, 418
Quarles, F. (1592-1644), 65, 69, 70, 376
Ranew, Nathaniel (-1672), 74, 221
Rawlinson, John (1618), 456
Raworth, Francis (1656), 262
Rees, John, 24
Reeve, J. W. (1860), 91
Reyner, Edward (1600-1670), 220
Reynolds, Edward (1599-1676), 72, 358
Reynolds, William (1657), 224
Richardson, John (-1654), 364, 469
Rivet, Andrew (1572-1651), 211
Robertson, F. W. (1816-1853), 288, 409
Rogers, Mrs. (1856), 229
Rogers, Samuel (1763-1855), 262
Rogers, Timothy (1660-1729), 50, 55, 75, 280
Row, John (1677), 326
Russell, Michael, (1781-1848), 92
Rutherford, Samuel (1600-1661), 70, 129, 229, 325
Ryland, R. H., 436, 458, 461
“Sacramental Meditations on Psalm xxvii.” (1843), 6
Salter, H. G. (1840), 6, 289
Sanderson, Robert (1587-1662-3), 16
Sandys, George (1577-1643), 71
Saurin, James (1677-1730), 111
Scot, James (-1773), 358, 393
Scott, Thomas (1747-1821), 181, 188
Scriver, Christian [Gotthold] (1629-1693), 69, 74, 221
Secker, Thomas (1693-1768), 181
Secker, William (1660), 8, 17, 53, 75, 131, 227, 310, 356, 456
Sedgwick, Obadiah (1600), 15
Sedgwick, William (1609), 164
Segerson, Jeroninus (1551), 165
Seneca, 134
Shakspeare, W. (1564-1616), 71, 193, 227
Sharp, Thomas (1630-1693), 454, 457
Sheffield, John (1664), 8, 334
Sibbes, Richard (1577-1635), 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 116, 279, 288, 297, 378
Sibree, J. (1830), 394
Skinner, G. (see French)
Skinner, Robert (-1670), 17
Smiles, Samuel, 289
Smith, David (1792-1867), 129
Smith, Henry (1560-1591), 136, 265, 280, 282, 418
Smith, J. Denham (1860), 289
Smith, Samuel (1588-), 410
Smyth, Zephaniah (1647), 152
Socrates, 219
Sophocles, 227
Spalding, John (1703), 136
“Spectator, The,” 115
Spencer, John (-1654), 50, 72, 120, 181
Spring, Gardiner, 195
Spurstowe, William (-1666), 102
Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn (1864), 415
Steele, Richard (-1692), 11, 192, 323
Stoughton, John (-1639), 8, 72
Streat, William (1654), 312
Strickland, John (1601-1670), 347
Strigelius, Victorinus (1524-1569), 408
Strong, William (1656), 482
Struther, William (1633), 9, 52, 164, 212, 220, 350, 399
Stuart, Moses (1780-1852), 247
Stuckley, Lewis (-1687), 332
Sturm, Christopher (1750-1786), 113
Sutton, Christopher (-1692), 221
Swinnock, George (1627-1673), 135, 166, 187, 280, 366, 379, 395, 414
Sylvester, Matthew (1636-1708), 290
Symonds, Joseph (1639), 116, 210, 228
Symson, Archibald (1638), 86, 88, 91, 97, 98, 101, 409, 410, 414, 416
Targum, 188, 285
Taylor, Jeremy (1613-1667), 8, 264
Taylor, Thomas (1576-1632), 88, 91, 97, 98
Teat, Faithful (1656), 222, 378
Theodoret, (393-457), 366
Thevenot, Melchisedek (1621-1692), 130
Tholuck, Augustus F. (1856), 34, 131, 307, 336, 415, 438, 478, 485
Thomé de Jesu, Fra (-1582), 67, 419, 457
Thomson, Andrew (1826), 295
Thomson, W. M. (1859), 276, 286, 364, 416, 456, 482
Trapp, John (1611-1669), 15, 16, 25, 27, 34, 36, 40, 66, 95, 113, 116,
117, 134, 135, 136, 148, 151, 155, 163, 181, 182, 186, 191, 192,
195, 229, 246, 307, 308, 323, 325, 347, 350, 364, 391, 392, 394,
408, 417, 429, 443, 453, 468, 471
Troughton, William (1656), 329, 334, 335, 336
Tucker, W. H. (1840), 442, 443, 444
Tuckney, Anthony (1599), 70, 458
Tymme, Thomas (1634), 181, 185, 377, 380
Udall, Ephraim (1642), 41
Underhill, E. B. (1850), 312
Vatablus, Francis (1545), 154
Venema, Hermann (1697-1787), 151, 265, 391, 396, 397, 428, 429, 430,
431, 443, 444, 457, 462, 473, 479, 482
Verschoyle, Hamilton (1843), 70
Victorinus, Hugo, 357
Vinet, Alexander Rodolph (1797-1847), 55
Virgil, 348
Volney, Constantine F. C. Comte de (1755-1820), 38
Votier, (1652), 379
Wagner, George (1862), 9
Walford, William (1837), 152, 191, 208, 399
Walton, Isaac (1593-1683), 186
Waterland, Daniel (1683), 135
Watson, Thomas (1660), 7, 15, 25, 54, 88, 92, 94, 111, 134, 192, 206,
222, 263, 311, 379, 399
Watts, Isaac (1674-1748), 278, 391
Weemse, John (-1636), 114
Weiss, Benjamin (1856), 155, 204, 308, 443
Welch, John (1576-1622), 412
Wells, John (-1676), 112, 357, 483
Wesley, Charles (1708-1788), 344
Wesley, John (1703-1791), 350
Westfield, Thomas (1644), 194
Westminister Assembly’s Annotations, 331, 460
White, Henry Kirke (1785-1806), 96
Whitecross, John, 101
Whitlock, John (1658), 195
Whitty, Dr., 92
Wilcocks, Thomas (1586), 181, 190, 308, 356
Wilcox, Daniel (1676-1733), 12, 67
Williams, Griffith (1636), 462
Willison, John (1680-1750), 18
Wilson, John (1847), 34
Wilson, W. (1860), 27, 186, 188, 192, 193, 247, 263, 264, 267, 313,
377, 417, 418, 419, 422, 471, 473
Witsius, Hermann (1636-1708), 207, 334
Wood, J. G. (1869), 349
Wordsworth, Christopher (1868), 36, 38, 40, 48, 68, 111, 137, 165, 180,
251, 307, 308, 322, 323, 328, 357, 380, 418, 437, 480
Wouter of Stoelwyk (1541), 189
Wright, Abraham (1661), 472
Wright, L. (1616), 461
Young, Edward (1681-1755), 2
Young, Richard (1655), 115, 132
Zinzendorf, Count Nicholas Louis (1684-1760), 325
PSALM XXVII.
TITLE AND SUBJECT.—_Nothing whatever can be drawn from the title as to
the time when this Psalm was written, for the heading_, “A Psalm of
David,” _is common to so many of the Psalms; but if one may judge from
the matter of the song, the writer was pursued by enemies, verses 2 and
3, was shut out from the house of the Lord, verse 4, was just parting
from father and mother, verse 10, and was subject to slander, verse 12;
do not all these meet in the time when Doeg, the Edomite, spake against
him to Saul? It is a song of cheerful hope, well fitted for those in
trial who have learned to lean upon the Almighty arm. The Psalm may with
profit be read in a threefold way, as the language of David, of the
Church, and of the Lord Jesus. The plenitude of Scripture will thus
appear the more wonderful._
DIVISION.—_The poet first sounds forth his sure confidence in his God,
1-3, and his love of communion with him, 4-6. He then betakes himself to
prayer, 7-12, and concludes with an acknowledgment of the sustaining
power of faith in his own case, and an exhortation to others to follow
his example._
EXPOSITION.
The LORD _is_ my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD
_is_ the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked, _even_ mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to
eat up my flesh they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear:
though war should rise against me, in this _will_ I _be_ confident.
1. “_The Lord is my light and my salvation._”—Here is personal interest,
“_my light_,” “_my salvation_;” the soul is assured of it, and
therefore, declaring it boldly. “_My light_”—into the soul at the new
birth divine light is poured as the precursor of salvation; where there
is not enough light to see our own darkness and to long for the Lord
Jesus, there is no evidence of salvation. Salvation finds us in the
dark, but it does not leave us there; it gives light to those who sit in
the valley of the shadow of death. After conversion our God is our joy,
comfort, guide, teacher, and in every sense our light; he is light
within, light around, light reflected from us, and light to be revealed
to us. Note, it is not said merely that the Lord gives light, but that
he “_is_” light; nor that he gives salvation, but that he is salvation;
he, then, who by faith has laid hold upon God has all covenant blessings
in his possession. Every light is not the sun, but the sun is the father
of all lights. This being made sure as a fact, the argument drawn from
it is put in the form of a question, “_Whom shall I fear?_” A question
which is its own answer. The powers of darkness are not to be feared,
for the Lord, our light, destroys them; and the damnation of hell is not
to be dreaded by us, for the Lord is our salvation. This is a very
different challenge from that of boastful Goliath, for it is based upon
a very different foundation; it rests not upon the conceited vigour of
an arm of flesh, but upon the real power of the omnipotent I AM. “_The
Lord is the strength of my life._” Here is a third glowing epithet, to
show that the writer’s hope was fastened with a threefold cord which
could not be broken. We may well accumulate terms of praise where the
Lord lavishes deeds of grace. Our life derives all its strength from him
who is the author of it; and if he deigns to make us strong we cannot be
weakened by all the machinations of the adversary. “_Of whom shall I be
afraid?_” The bold question looks into the future as well as the
present. “If God be for us,” who can be against us, either now or in
time to come?
2. This verse records a past deliverance, and is an instance of the way
in which experience should be employed to reassure our faith in times of
trial. Each word is instructive. “_When the wicked._” It is a hopeful
sign for us when the wicked hate us; if our foes were godly men it would
be a sore sorrow, but as for the wicked their hatred is better than
their love. “_Even mine enemies and my foes._” There were many of them,
they were of different sorts, but they were unanimous in mischief and
hearty in hatred. “_Came upon me_”—advanced to the attack, leaping upon
the victim like a lion upon its prey. “_To eat up my flesh_,” like
cannibals they would make a full end of the man, tear him limb from
limb, and make a feast for their malice. The enemies of our souls are
not deficient in ferocity, they yield no quarter, and ought to have none
in return. See in what danger David was; in the grip and grasp of
numerous, powerful, and cruel enemies, and yet observe his perfect
safety and their utter discomfiture! “_They stumbled and fell._” God’s
breath blew them off their legs. There were stones in the way which they
never reckoned upon, and over these they made an ignominious tumble.
This was literally true in the case of our Lord in Gethsemane, when
those who came to take him went backward and fell to the ground; and
herein he was a prophetic representative of all wrestling believers who,
rising from their knees shall, by the power of faith, throw their foes
upon their faces.
3. “_Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear._”
Before the actual conflict, while as yet the battle is untried, the
warrior’s heart, being held in suspense, is very liable to become
fluttered. The encamping host often inspires greater dread than the same
host in actual affray. Young tells us of some—
“Who feel a thousand deaths in fearing one.”
Doubtless the shadow of anticipated trouble is, to timorous minds, a
more prolific source of sorrow than the trouble itself, but faith puts a
strengthening plaister to the back of courage, and throws out of the
window the dregs of the cup of trembling. “_Though war should rise
against me, in this will I be confident._” When it actually comes to
push of pike, faith’s shield will ward off the blow; and if the first
brush should be but the beginning of a war, yet faith’s banners will
wave in spite of the foe. Though battle should succeed battle, and one
campaign should be followed by another, the believer will not be
dismayed at the length of the conflict. Reader, this third verse is the
comfortable and logical inference from the second, confidence is the
child of experience. Have you been delivered out of great perils? Then
set up your ensign, wait at your watch-fire, and let the enemy do his
worst.
4 One _thing_ have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after;
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life to
behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in
the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up
upon a rock.
6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round
about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of
joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.
4. “_One thing._” Divided aims tend to distraction, weakness,
disappointment. The man of one book is eminent, the man of one pursuit
is successful. Let all our affection be bound up in one affection, and
that affection set upon heavenly things. “_Have I desired_”—what we
cannot at once attain, it is well to desire. God judges us very much by
the desire of our hearts. He who rides a lame horse is not blamed by his
master for want of speed, if he makes all the haste he can, and would
make more if he could; God takes the will for the deed with his
children. “_Of the Lord._” This is the right target for desires, this is
the well into which to dip our buckets, this is the door to knock at,
the bank to draw upon; desire of men, and lie on the dunghill with
Lazarus: desire of the Lord, and be carried of angels into Abraham’s
bosom. Our desires of the Lord should be sanctified, humble, constant,
submissive, fervent, and it is well if, as with the Psalmist, they are
all molten into one mass. Under David’s painful circumstances we might
have expected him to desire repose, safety, and a thousand other good
things, but no, he has set his heart on the pearl, and leaves the rest.
“_That will I seek after._” Holy desires must lead to resolute action.
The old proverb says, “Wishers and woulders are never good
housekeepers,” and “wishing never fills a sack.” Desires are seeds which
must be sown in the good soil of activity for they will yield no
harvest. We shall find our desires to be like clouds without rain,
unless followed up by practical endeavours. “_That I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life._” For the sake of communion
with the King, David longed to dwell always in the palace; so far from
being wearied with the services of the Tabernacle, he longed to be
constantly engaged in them, as his lifelong pleasure. He desired above
all things to be one of the household of God, a home-born child, living
at home with his Father. This is our dearest wish, only we extend it to
those days of our immortal life which have not yet dawned. We pine for
our Father’s house above, the home of our souls; if we may but dwell
there for ever, we care but little for the goods or ills of this poor
life. “Jerusalem the golden” is the one and only goal of our heart’s
longings. “_To behold the beauty of the Lord._” An exercise both for
earthly and heavenly worshippers. We must not enter the assemblies of
the saints in order to see and be seen, or merely to hear the minister;
we must repair to the gatherings of the righteous, intent upon the
gracious object of learning more of the loving Father, more of the
glorified Jesus, more of the mysterious Spirit, in order that we may the
more lovingly admire, and the more reverently adore our glorious God.
What a word is that, “_the beauty of the Lord!_” Think of it, dear
reader! Better far—behold it by faith! What a sight will that be when
every faithful follower of Jesus shall behold “the King in his beauty!”
Oh, for that infinitely blessed vision! “_And to enquire in his
temple._” We should make our visits to the Lord’s house enquirers’
meetings. Not seeking sinners alone, but assured saints should be
enquirers. We must enquire as to the will of God and how we may do it;
as to our interest in the heavenly city, and how we may be more assured
of it. We shall not need to make enquiries in heaven, for there we shall
know even as we are known; but meanwhile we should sit at Jesus’ feet,
and awaken all our faculties to learn of him.
5. This verse gives an excellent reason for the Psalmist’s desire after
communion with God, namely, that he was thus secured in the hour of
peril. “_For in the time of trouble_,” that needy time, that time when
others forsake me, “_he shall hide me in his pavilion_:” he shall give
me the best of shelter in the worst of danger. The royal pavilion was
erected in the centre of the army, and around it all the mighty men kept
guard at all hours; thus in that divine sovereignty which almighty power
is sworn to maintain, the believer peacefully is hidden, hidden not by
himself furtively, but by the king, who hospitably entertains him. “_In
the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me._” Sacrifice aids
sovereignty in screening the elect from harm. No one of old dared to
enter the most holy place on pain of death; and if the Lord has hidden
his people there, what foe shall venture to molest them? “_He shall set
me up upon a rock._” Immutability, eternity, and infinite power here
come to the aid of sovereignty and sacrifice. How blessed is the
standing of the man whom God himself sets on high above his foes, upon
an impregnable rock which never can be stormed! Well may we desire to
dwell with the Lord who so effectually protects his people.
6. “_And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about
me._”—He is quite sure of it. Godly men of old prayed in faith, nothing
wavering, and spoke of the answer to their prayers as a certainty. David
was by faith so sure of a glorious victory over all those who beset him,
that he arranged in his own heart what he would do when his foes lay all
prostrate before him; that arrangement was such as gratitude suggested.
“_Therefore will I offer in his tabernacles sacrifices of joy._” That
place for which he longed in his conflict, should see his thankful joy
in his triumphant return. He does not speak of jubilations to be offered
in his palace, and feastings in his banqueting halls, but holy mirth he
selects as most fitting for so divine a deliverance. “_I will sing._”
This is the most natural mode of expressing thankfulness. “_Yea, I will
sing praises unto the Lord._” The vow is confirmed by repetition, and
explained by addition, which addition vows all the praise unto Jehovah.
Let who will be silent, the believer when his prayer is heard, must and
will make his praise to be heard also; and let who will sing unto the
vanities of the world, the believer reserves his music for the Lord
alone.
7 Hear, O LORD, _when_ I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me,
and answer me.
8 _When thou saidst_, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy
face, LORD, will I seek.
9 Hide not thy face _far_ from me; put not thy servant away in
anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O
God of my salvation.
10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take
me up.
11 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of
mine enemies.
12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false
witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.
7. “_Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice._”—The pendulum of
spirituality swings from prayer to praise. The voice which in the last
verse was turned to music is here turned to crying. As a good soldier,
David knew how to handle his weapons, and found himself much at home
with the weapon of “all prayer.” Note his anxiety to be heard. Pharisees
care not a fig for the Lord’s hearing them, so long as they are heard of
men, or charm their own pride with their sounding devotions; but with a
genuine man, the Lord’s ear is everything. The voice may be profitably
used even in private prayer; for though it is unnecessary, it is often
helpful, and aids in preventing distractions. “_Have mercy also upon
me._” Mercy is the hope of sinners and the refuge of saints. All
acceptable petitioners dwell much upon this attribute. “_And answer
me._” We may expect answers to prayer, and should not be easy without
them any more than we should be if we had written a letter to a friend
upon important business, and had received no reply.
8. In this verse we are taught that if we would have the Lord hear our
voice, we must be careful to respond to _his_ voice. The true heart
should echo the will of God as the rocks among the Alps repeat in
sweetest music the notes of the peasant’s horn. Observe, that the
command was in the plural, to all the saints, “_Seek ye_;” but the man
of God turned it into the singular by a personal application, “_Thy
face, Lord, will I seek._” The voice of the LORD is very effectual where
all other voices fail, “_When thou saidst_,” then my “_heart_,” my
inmost nature was moved to an obedient reply. Note the promptness of the
response—no sooner said than done; as soon as God said “_seek_,” the
heart said, “_I will seek._” Oh, for more of this holy readiness! Would
to God that we were more plastic to the divine hand, more sensitive of
the touch of God’s Spirit.
9. “_Hide not thy face far from me._” The word “_far_” is not in the
original, and is a very superfluous addition of the translators, since
even the least hiding of the Lord’s face is a great affliction to a
believer. The command to seek the Lord’s face would be a painful one if
the Lord, by withdrawing himself, rendered it impossible for the seeker
to meet with him. A smile from the Lord is the greatest of comforts, his
frown the worst of ills. “_Put not thy servant away in anger._” Other
servants had been put away when they proved unfaithful, as for instance,
his predecessor Saul; and this made David, while conscious of many
faults, most anxious that divine long-suffering should continue him in
favour. This is a most appropriate prayer for us under a similar sense
of unworthiness. “_Thou hast been my help._” How truly can we join in
this declaration; for many years, in circumstances of varied trial, we
have been upheld by our God, and must and will confess our obligation.
“Ingratitude,” it is said, “is natural to fallen man,” but to spiritual
men it is unnatural and detestable. “_Leave me not, neither forsake
me._” A prayer for the future, and an inference from the past. If the
Lord had meant to leave us, why did he begin with us? Past help is but a
waste of effort if the soul now be deserted. The first petition, “_leave
me not_,” may refer to temporary desertions, and the second word to the
final withdrawal of grace, both are to be prayed against; and concerning
the second, we have immutable promises to urge. “_O God of my
salvation._” A sweet title worthy of much meditation.
10. “_When my father and my mother forsake me._” These dear relations
will be the last to desert me, but if the milk of human kindness should
dry up even from their breasts, there is a Father who never forgets.
Some of the greatest of the saints have been cast out by their families,
and persecuted for righteousness’ sake. “_Then the Lord will take me
up._” Will espouse my cause, will uplift me from my woes, will carry me
in his arms, will elevate me above my enemies, will at last receive me
to his eternal dwelling place.
11. “_Teach me thy way, O Lord._” He does not pray to be indulged with
his own way, but to be informed as to the path in which the righteous
Jehovah would have him walk. This prayer evinces an humble sense of
personal ignorance, great teachableness of spirit, and cheerful
obedience of heart. “_Lead me in a plain path._” Help is here sought as
well as direction; we not only need a map of the way, but a guide to
assist us in the journey. A path is here desired which shall be open,
honest, straightforward, in opposition to the way of cunning, which is
intricate, tortuous, dangerous. Good men seldom succeed in fine
speculations and doubtful courses; plain simplicity is the best spirit
for an heir of heaven: let us leave shifty tricks and political
expediences to the citizens of the world—the New Jerusalem owns plain
men for its citizens. Esau was a cunning hunter, Jacob was a plain man,
dwelling in tents. “_Because of mine enemies._” These will catch us if
they can, but the way of manifest, simple honesty is safe from their
rage. It is wonderful to observe how honest simplicity baffles and
outwits the craftiness of wickedness. Truth is wisdom. “Honesty is the
best policy.”
12. “_Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies_;” or I should
be like a victim cast to the lions, to be rent to pieces and utterly
devoured. God be thanked that our foes cannot have their way with us, or
Smithfield would soon be on a blaze again. “_For false witnesses are
risen up against me._” Slander is an old-fashioned weapon out of the
armoury of hell, and is still in plentiful use; and no matter how holy a
man may be, there will be some who will defame him. “Give a dog an ill
name, and hang him;” but glory be to God, the Lord’s people are not
dogs, and their ill names do not injure them. “_And such as breathe out
cruelty._” It is their vital breath to hate the good; they cannot speak
without cursing them; such was Paul before conversion. They who breathe
out cruelty may well expect to be sent to breathe their native air in
hell; let persecutors beware!
13 _I had fainted_, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the
LORD in the land of the living.
13. Faintness of heart is a common infirmity; even he who slew Goliath
was subject to its attacks. Faith puts its bottle of cordial to the lip
of the soul, and so prevents fainting. Hope is heaven’s balm for present
sorrow. In this land of the dying, it is our blessedness to be looking
and longing for our fair portion in the land of the living, whence the
goodness of God has banished the wickedness of man, and where holy
spirits charm with their society those persecuted saints who were
vilified and despised among men. We must believe to see, not see to
believe; we must wait the appointed time, and stay our soul’s hunger
with foretastes of the Lord’s eternal goodness which shall soon be our
feast and our song.
14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen
thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
14. “_Wait on the Lord._” Wait at his door with prayer; wait at his foot
with humility; wait at his table with service; wait at his window with
expectancy. Suitors often win nothing but the cold shoulder from earthly
patrons after long and obsequious waiting; he speeds best whose patron
is in the skies. “_Be of good courage._” A soldier’s motto. Be it mine.
Courage we shall need, and for the exercise of it we have as much reason
as necessity, if we are soldiers of King Jesus. “_And he shall
strengthen thine heart._” He can lay the plaister right upon the weak
place. Let the heart be strengthened, and the whole machine of humanity
is filled with power; a strong heart makes a strong arm. What strength
is this which God himself gives to the heart? Read the “Book of
Martyrs,” and see its glorious deeds of prowess; go to God rather, and
get such power thyself. “_Wait, I say, on the Lord._” David, in the
words “_I say_,” sets his own private seal to the word which, as an
inspired man, he had been moved to write. It is _his_ testimony as well
as the command of God, and indeed he who writes these scanty notes has
himself found it so sweet, so reviving, so profitable to draw near to
God, that on his own account he also feels bound to write, “_Wait_, I
SAY, _on the Lord_.”
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS.
_Verse 1.—“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”_
Alice Driver, martyr, at her examination, put all the doctors to
silence, so that they had not a word to say, but one looked upon
another; then she said, “Have you no more to say? God be honoured, you
be not able to resist the Spirit of God, in me, a poor woman. I was an
honest poor man’s daughter, never brought up at the University as you
have been; but I have driven the plough many a time before my father, I
thank God; yet, notwithstanding, in the defence of God’s truth, and in
the cause of my Master, Christ, by his grace I will set my foot against
the foot of any of you all, in the maintenance and defence of the same;
and if I had a thousand lives they should go for payment thereof.” So
the Chancellor condemned her, and she returned to the prison
joyful.—_Charles Bradbury._
_Verse 1.—“The Lord is my light,”_ etc. St. John tells us, that “in
Christ was life; and the life was the light of men;” but he adds that
“the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
John i. 4, 5. There is a great difference between the _light_ and the
eye that sees it. A blind man may know a great deal about the shining of
the sun, but it does not shine for him—it gives him no light. So, to
know that “God is light,” is one thing (1 John i. 5), and to be able to
say, “The Lord is _my_ light,” is quite another thing. The Lord must be
the light by which the way of life is made plain to us—the light by
which we may see to walk in that way—the light that exposes the darkness
of sin—the light by which we can discover the hidden sins of our own
hearts. When he is thus _our light_, then he is _our salvation_ also. He
is pledged to guide us right; not only to show us sin, but to save us
from it. Not only to make us see God’s hatred of sin, and his curse upon
it, but also to draw us unto God’s love, and to take away the curse.
With the Lord lighting us along the road of salvation, who, or what need
we fear? Our life is hid with Christ in God. Col. iii. 3. We are weak,
very weak, but his “strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Cor. xii.
9. With the Lord himself pledged to be the strength of our life, of whom
need we be afraid?—_From Sacramental Meditations on the Twenty-seventh
Psalm_, 1843.
_Verse 1.—“The Lord is my light.”_ “_Light_” which makes all things
visible, was the first made of all visible things; and whether God did
it for our example, or no, I know not; but ever since, in imitation of
this manner of God’s proceeding, the first thing we do when we intend to
do anything, is to get us “_light_.”—_Sir Richard Baker._
_Verse 1.—“The Lord is my light.”_ Adorable Sun, cried St. Bernard, I
cannot walk without thee: enlighten my steps, and furnish this barren
and ignorant mind with thoughts worthy of thee. Adorable fulness of
light and heat, be thou the true noonday of my soul; exterminate its
darkness, disperse its clouds; burn, dry up, and consume all its filth
and impurities. Divine Sun, rise upon my mind, and never set.—_Jean
Baptiste Elias Avrillon_, 1652-1729.
_Verse 1.—“Whom shall I fear?”_ Neither spiritual nor military heroes do
exploits through cowardice. Courage is a necessary virtue. In Jehovah is
the best possible foundation for unflinching intrepidity.—_William S.
Plumer._