■ 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 University of California. 
 
 Mrs. SARAH P. WALSWORTH. 
 
 Received October, 1894. 
 Accessions No. SXj:>^ty^. Class No. 
 
 ^ 
 
^ 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/expositionofpsalOObridrich 
 
EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX: 
 
 AS ILLUSTRATIVE OP THE 
 
 CHARACTER AND EXERCISES 
 
 CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE 
 
 9 • ': •> (i 
 BT THE 
 
 REV. CHARLES MIDGES. M.A. 
 
 VICAR OF OLD NEWTON, SUFFOLK. 
 
 AUTHOR OF "exposition OF PROVERBS," "CHRISTIAN MINISTRY," "MEMOIR O 
 MARY JANE GRAHAM," ETC. 
 
 FROM THE SEVENTEENTH LONDON EDITION. 
 
 Of Xtta N^^ 
 
 JITBRSItT] 
 
 NE 
 
 ROBERT CARTER <fc BROTHERS, 
 
 No. 285 BROADWAY. 
 
 1850. 
 
-^7 
 
 Sli^^ 
 
 R. CBAionKA.u"ii Power PrMt 
 119 Fulton Streot. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 BS/4SO 
 
 .5 7 
 
 A CONSIDERABLE portion of the Sacred Volume (as the Books of Psalms 
 and Canticles in the Old Testament, and a large part of the several Epis- 
 tles in the New Testament) is occupied with the interesting subject of 
 Christian Experience ; and exhibits its character, under different dispen- 
 sations of religion, and diversified with an endless variety of circumstan- 
 ces, as ever essentially the same. As the same features of countenance 
 and elevation of stature have always marked the human species in the 
 midst of the creation of God ; so an identity of feature and " measure of 
 the stature of the fulness of Christ " has, in all ages, and under every 
 shade of outward difference, distinguished the family of God as " the 
 people that should dwell alone, and should not be reckoned among the 
 nations."^ This indeed was to have been expected. Human nature has 
 undergone no change since the fall. In its unrenewed state it is still 
 captivated in the same chains of sin ; and, when renewed, it is under the 
 influence of the same Spirit of grace. " That which is born of the flesh 
 is flesh ; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.'"" We might 
 therefore have conceived, that the modern believer, when employed in 
 tracing the records of Patriarchal or Mosaical experience, will mark in 
 the infirmities of the ancient people of God a picture of his own heart, 
 *' answering, as in water face answereth to face ;^ and in comparing their 
 external exercises with his own, will be ready to acknowledge, " All 
 these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man 
 severally as he will."* 
 
 In this view, it is the object of this work to exhibit an Old Testament 
 believer in a New Testament garb, as one " walking in the same spirit, 
 and in the same steps " with ourselves ; and, in bringing his features of 
 character to the Evangelical standard, it is presumed, that the correspon- 
 dence will be found to be complete. " Faith which worketh by love "' 
 — the fundamental distinction of the Gospel — pervades the whole man ; 
 with at least an implied reference to the one way of access to Grod," and 
 a distinct regard alike to the promises,^ and to the precepts,® of Divine 
 revelation. Nor are the workings of this principle delineated with less 
 accuracy. In all the variety of Christian feelings and holy conduct, we 
 observe its operations leading the soul into communion with God, and 
 moulding every part into a progressive conformity to his image. When 
 we view the " man after God's own heart " — taking God for his portion' 
 
 1 Numbers xxiii. 9. 2 John iii. 6. 3 Prov. xxvii. 19. 
 
 * 1 Cor. xii. 11. 5 Gal. v. 6. « Verses 41, 88, 132, 135. 
 
 7 Verses 25, 32, 49, 74, 169, 170. 8 Verses 66, 166. « Verse 57. 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 — associating with his people/ and feeding upon his word ;' when we 
 mark his zeal for his Master's glory :^ his devotedness* and self-denial^ 
 in his Master's work — when we see him ever ready to confess his 
 name,' to bear his reproach,' and caring only to answer it by a more 
 steady adherence to his service* — do we not in those lineaments of char- 
 acter recognize the picture of one, who in after times could turn to the 
 churches of Christ, and say, " Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers 
 of me ?'" Or can we recollect the Psalmist's insight into the extent and 
 spirituality of the law of God," and his continual conflict with indwelling 
 sin" — awakening in him the spirit of wrestling prayer,^' and confidence in 
 the God of his salvation'^ — and not be again forcibly reminded of him, 
 who has left upon record the corresponding history of his own experience 
 — " We know that the law is spiritual : but I am carnal, sold under sin : 
 I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, 
 sin revived, and I died ; O wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver 
 me from the body of this death ? I thank God, through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord !'"* In short, let his instancy in prayer" and praise'" be remembered 
 — his determined" and persevering'® cultivation of heart-religion" and 
 practical holiness," his hungering and thirsting after righteousness ;^' his 
 jealous fear^' and watchful tenderness''^ against sin, and regard for the 
 honor of his God f* his yearning compassion over his fellow-sinners ;^* 
 his spiritual taste ;" his accurate discernment ;'"' the " simplicity " of his 
 dependence,"* and the godly " sincerity " of his obedience,^^ his peace of 
 mind and stability of profession ;^° his sanctified improvement of the cross ;" 
 his victory over the world ;^^ his acknowledgment of the Lord's mercy :" 
 his trials of faith and patience ;'* his heavenly liberty in the ways of God," 
 his habitual living in his presence," and under the quickening," restrain- 
 ing," directing," and supporting" influence of his word — let these holy 
 exercises be considered— either separately, or as forming one admirable con- 
 centration of Christian excellence — and what do we desire more to com- 
 plete the portrait of a finished servant of God upon the Divine model ? Is 
 not this a visible demonstration of the power of the word, in " perfecting 
 the man of God and furnishing him thoroughly unto all good works ?"*' 
 
 Having explained the Evangelical character of this Psalm, we may 
 notice its peculiar adaptation to Christian experience. It may be con- 
 sidered as the journal of one, who was deeply taught in the things of 
 God — long practised in the life and walk of faith. It contains the anat- 
 omy of experimental religion — the interior lineaments of the family of 
 God. It is given for the use of believers in all ages, as an excellent 
 
 » \eneB 63, 79. 
 » Verse 139. 
 
 « Verses 45, 46, 115, 172. 
 8 Verses 51, 78, 157. 
 " Verses 113, 163. 
 " Rom. vii. 9, 14, 24, 25. 
 17 Versos 5, 36, 80. 
 » Verses 106, 167, 168. 
 » Verse 161. 
 » Verses 53, 136, 158. 
 87 Verses 98—100, 104, 129, 1 
 » Verses 104, 128. 
 w Verses 14, 36, 72, 127, 162, 
 M Verses 81—83, 107, 123. 
 t7 Verses 50 93. 
 «• Verses 92,' 143. « 2 Tim. iu. 16, 17, 
 
 
 2 Verses 47, 48, 97, 111. 
 
 4 Verse 38. 
 
 6 Verse 62. 
 
 
 7 Verses 23, 69, 87, 
 
 » 1 Cor. iv. 16. 
 
 w Verse 96. 
 
 " Verses 25, 28. 
 
 J3 Verses 114, 176. 
 
 »5 Verses 145—149. 
 
 »« Verse 164. 
 
 w Ver8e8 44, 102, 112. 
 
 »9 Verses 30—32, 59, & 
 
 
 21 Verses 20, 40, 131, 1/4. 
 
 23 Verses 11, 37, 133. 
 
 24 Verse 39. 
 
 
 2« Verses 103, 140. 
 
 130. 
 
 28 Verses 8, 10,86,116,117. 
 
 » Verse 165. 
 
 31 Verses 67, 71, 75. 
 
 
 33 Verses 64, 65, 68. 
 
 »5 Verses 32, 45. 
 
 3« Verse 168. 
 
 » Verse 101. 
 
 >• Verses 9, 24, 30, 105. 
 
PREFACE. y 
 
 touchstone of vital godliness — a touchstone which appears especially- 
 needful in this day of profession ; not — as warranting our confidence in 
 the Saviour, or as constituting in any measure pur ground of acceptance 
 with God : but as exciting us to " give diligence to make our calling 
 and election sure,"^ and quicken our sluggish steps in the path of self- 
 denying obedience. The Writer is free to confess, that his main design 
 in the study of this Psalm was to furnish a correct standard of Evangel- 
 ical sincerity for the habitual scrutiny of his own heart ; and if, in the 
 course of this Exposition, any suggestion should be thrown out, to call 
 the attention of his fellow-christians to this most important, but alas ! too 
 much neglected, duty, he will have reason to " rejoice in the day of 
 Christ, that he has not run in vain, neither labored in vain."" Never 
 let it be supposed, that a diligent, prayerful, probing examination of the 
 "chambers of imagery," " gendereth unto bondage." Invariably will it 
 be found to establish the enjoyment of Scriptural assurance. " Hereby^ 
 we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before 
 him."' As therefore the preceptive part of the gospel thus becomes 
 our guide in the happy path of filial obedience, our beloved rule of duty, 
 and the standard of our daily progress : we shall learn in the use of it to 
 depend more entirely upon the Saviour; fresh energy will be put into 
 Our prayers ; and the promises of pardon and grace will be doubly pre- 
 cious to our souls. 
 
 These views of the Divine life cannot be found unfriendly to the best 
 happiness of mankind. The Psalm opens with a most inviting picture 
 of blessedness, and describes throughout the feelings of one, encompassed 
 indeed with trials superadded to the common lot of men, but yet evidently 
 in possession of a satisfying portion — of a "joy, with which a stranger 
 does not intermeddle."* Of those, therefore, who would affix the stigma 
 of melancholy to evangelical religion, we are constrained to remark, that 
 they " understand neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm."* 
 The children of Edom have never tasted the " clusters of Canaan," and 
 cannot therefore form any just estimate of that goodly land. They that 
 have spied the land can bring a good report of it, and tell them, " Surely 
 it floweth with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it."® " The work 
 of righteousness is peace ; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and 
 assurance for ever."^ 
 
 The structure of this Psalm is peculiar — divided into twenty-two parts 
 — agreeing with the number of the letters of the Hebrew Alphabet — 
 each part, and its several verses, beginning with the corresponding letter 
 
 1 2 Peter i. 10. 
 
 2 ' I know of no other part of the Holy Scriptures' (remarks a profound divine) ' where 
 the nature and evidences of true and sincere godliness are so fully and largely insisted 
 on and delineated as in the 1 19th Psalm. The Psalmist declares his design in the first 
 verses of the Psalm, keeps his eye on it all along, and pursues it to the end. The excel- 
 lence of holiness is represented as the immediate object of a spiritual taste and delight. 
 God's law — that grand expression and emanation of the holiness of God's nature, and 
 prescription of holiness to the creature — is all along represented as the great object of 
 the love, the complacence, and the rejoicing of the gracious nature, which prizes God's 
 commandments " above gold, yea, the finest gold ; and to which they are " sweeter 
 than the honey and the honey-comb.' " — Edwards on Religious Affections^ part iii. sect, 
 iii. ' The ordinary and serious breathing of my soul' (observes a deeply spiritual 
 thinker,) ' is such as that of the Psalmist throughout the 119th Psalm.' — Halyburion^a 
 Life. 
 
 3 John iii. 9, with 18, 20, 21. * Proverbs xiv. 10. 5 i Timothy i, 7. 
 
 * Numbers xiii. 27. "^ Isaiah xxii. 17. 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 of the Alphabet.^ The whole Psalm is in the form of an ejaculatory ad- 
 dress, with the exception of the first three verses, which may almost be 
 considered as the preface to the whole, and one other verse in the course 
 of it, where the man of God rebukes the ungodly from his presence, as 
 if intruding into his " hiding-place," and interrupting his communion 
 with his God,' It is not always easy to trace the connection between 
 the several verses ; at least not beyond the several divisions of the Psalm. 
 Probably nothing more was intended, than the record of the exercises of 
 his own heart at different periods, and under different circumstances. 
 If, however, they are not links on the same chain, in continuous and un- 
 broken dependence — they may at least be considered as pearls upon one 
 string, of equal though independent value. The prominent character- 
 istic of the Psalm is a love for the word of God, which is brought before 
 us under no less than ten different names,* referring to some latent and 
 distinguishing properties of the divine word, whose manifold excellencies 
 and perfections are thus illustrated with much elegant variety of dic- 
 tion.* In many instances, however, the several terms appear to have 
 been varied, to adapt themselves to the metre ; while, perhaps, at other 
 times they may be promiscuously used for the whole revelation of God;* 
 that the view of its inexhaustible fulness might thus conciliate a more at- 
 tentive regard to its authority ; and might add fresh strength to the obli- 
 gation to read, believe, love, and live in it. 
 
 If the Writer may be permitted to suggest the method in which this 
 Exposition may be best studied to advantage, he would beg to refer to 
 the advice of the excellent Philip Henry to his children — that they 
 should ' take a verse of Psalm cxix. every morning to meditate upon, 
 and so go over the Psalm twice in a year :' ' and that ' — said he — ' will 
 bring you to be in love with all the rest of the Scripture. '• The writer 
 does not presume to suppose, that this superficial sketch will supply food 
 for meditation year after year. Yet he ventures to hope, that it may 
 have its use, in directing the attention from time to time to a most pre- 
 cious portion of Holy Writ ; which, however unfruitful it may have 
 proved to the undiscerning mind, will be found by the serious and intel- 
 
 ' Intt'lligiraus idco per literas Hebrseorum, Psalmum hunc esse digestum, ut homo 
 noflter, tanquam parvulus, et ab infantift, per literarum elementa formatus, quibus setas 
 pucrilis assucvit, usque ad maturitatem virtutis exerceat. — Ambrose. 
 
 2 Verse 115, with 113, 114. 
 
 ' Such as way, law, judgments, words, statutes, commandments, precepts, testimo- 
 nies, righteousness, truth. 
 
 * Rev. T. H. Home's Introduction to Scripture, vol. ii. 536. 
 
 ' As a proof of the promiscuous and extended appUcation of those terms, whose defi- 
 nite sense is restricted to particular parts of revelation — we may mark the use of the 
 won! •' law" applied by our Saviour to quotations from the book of Psalms. Compare 
 John IV. 25, with Psalm xxxv. 16: Ixix. 4; also John x. 34, with Psalm Ixxiii. 6. 
 • Under this word — "law" — Calvin observes — 'there is no doubt, but that David com- 
 prchrndod the sum of all the doctrine, which God gave to hb church," Sermons on 
 Psalm cxix. verse 153. Comjiare Psalm lix. 7, margin. 
 
 « P. Henry's Life, William's Edition, p. 247. In conformity with this rule, we find 
 his godly daughter writing thus in her diary: — 1687, 8, March 9, Friday morning. I 
 have been of late taking some pains to learn by heart Psalm cxix. and havp made some 
 pvogrcM therein.' p:xtracte<l from Mrs. Savage's MSS. in P. Henry's Life — Ditto. 
 Ai an iIlu.stration of the view given by this excellent man of the importance of this 
 Psalm, an Ind* i is added to this work of the several matters more or less touched upon ; 
 to which, as well as to the texts referred to throughout the work, the reader's attention 
 b invited. 
 
PREFACE. VIJ 
 
 ligent reader to be " profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 
 for instruction, in righteousness."! 
 
 The composition of this work has been diversified, with as much va- 
 riety as the nature of the subject would allow. The descriptive charac- 
 ter of the book will be found to be interspersed with matter of discussion, 
 personal address, hints for self-inquiry, and occasional supplication, with 
 the earnest endeavor to cast the mind into a meditative, self-scrutinizing, 
 devotional frame, in which the new creature is strengthened, and in- 
 creases, and goes on to perfection. Such, however, as the work is, the 
 Writer would commend it to the gracious consideration of the great Head 
 of the Church : imploring pardon for what in it may be his own, and a 
 blessing on what may be traced to a purer source : — and in giving both 
 the pardon and the blessing, may his holy name be abundantly glorified.* 
 
 1 2 Tim. iii. 16. Luther professed that he prized this Psalm so highly, that he would 
 not take the whole world in exchange for one leaf of it. Bishop Cowper sweetly calls it 
 — * a Holy Alphabet — so plain that children may understand it — so nch and instructive 
 that the wisest and most experienced may every day learn something from it.' Added 
 to this and other testimonies before given, we give the remarks of a deeply experimental 
 and solid divine: — ' I am now,' writes the Rev. H. Venn to one of his correspondents — 
 'upon the point of expounding the ll9th Psalm, which I never did go through; yet I 
 know not any part of Scripture much more profitable. In that Psalm, the whole inner 
 man is delineated, and the .several changing frames of our poor hearts, and the several 
 blessed motions and inspirations of the Holy Spirit are touched in a very affecting man- 
 ner. This is the Psalm I have often had recourse to, when I could find no spirit of 
 
 Erayer in my own heart, and at length the fire was kindled, and I could pray. What 
 as been your experience regarding this extraordinary Psalm 1 I know you do not read 
 the Scriptures idly, and without self-application. Have you not found it pleasant and 
 nourishing to your soul, and fastening upon your mind.' — (Life and Correspondence, p. 
 410.) Identical with this representation was the use and blessing which H. Martyn 
 found in this Psalm, — ' found some devotion in learning some of 119th Psalm. — In the 
 evening grew better by reading Psalm 119, which generally brings me into a spiritual 
 frame of mind. My mind was beginning to sink into discontent at my unprofitable- 
 ness ; but by reatling some of Psalm 119, and prayer, I recovered.' Again in a fretful 
 frame — ' It was not till I learnt some of Psalm 1 19 that I could return to a proper spirit. 
 Again— 'the 119th Psalm was very solemnizing.' — See his interesting Journals, just 
 published, vol. i. pp. 75, 114, 118, 175, 193, 194. 
 
 2 Domine Deus, qusecunque dixi de tuo, agnoscant et tui. Siqua de meo, et tu ig- 
 nosce et tui. — August. Lib. 15, de Trin. 
 
 Old Newton Vicarage, 
 July aOth, 1827. 
 
PREFACE TO THE SIXTEENTH EDITION. 
 
 The Writer gratefully acknowledges the kind indulgence, with which 
 his work has been received by the Church of Christ . Oh ! may his 
 God and Saviour have all the glory, while he is humbled in thankfulness 
 for the high privilege of leading his fellow-sinners into the "ways of 
 pleasantness and peace," and of ministering to the spiritual edification 
 of the family of God ! 
 
 He has once more carefully revised the work, and trusts that he has 
 been enabled to give increased perspicuity to the style, and a deeper 
 moulding of evangelical statement to the matter. He has desired, that 
 every page should be lighted up with the beam of the " Sun of Righteous- 
 ness," who is the glory of the Revelation of God — the Christian's " All in 
 all." He has endeavored to illustrate true religion, as the work of the 
 Divine Spirit, grounded on the knowledge of Christ, advancing in commun- 
 ion with Him, and completed in the enjoyment of Him, and of the Father 
 by him. He has also aimed to elevate the standard of Christian privi- 
 lege, as flowing immediately from Him : by giving such a Scriptural 
 statement of the doctrine of assurance, as may quicken the slothful to 
 greater diligence in their holy profession, and at the same time encour- 
 age the weak and fearful to a clearer apprehension of their present sal- 
 vation. 
 
 The work has been recently translated into German under the kind 
 patronage of her Majesty the Queen Dowager. The Writer requests 
 the prayers of his Readers, that this new channel of usefulness may be 
 abundantly blessed for the grand object of extending the influence of 
 vital religion throughout the churches. 
 
 Old Newton Vicarage, 
 October 12, 1842. 
 
AI EXPOSITIOI OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 1. Blessed are the undejiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. 
 
 This most interesting and instructive Psalm, like the Psalter it- 
 self, ' opens with a beatitude for our comfort and encouragement, 
 directing us immediately to that happiness, which all mankind in 
 different ways are seeking and inquiring after. All would secure 
 themselves from the incursions of misery ; but all do not consider 
 that misery is the offspring of sin, from which therefore it is neces- 
 sary to be delivered and preserved, in order to become happy or 
 ''blessed."'' 
 
 The undejiled character described in this verse marks, in an 
 evangelical sense, " an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile"^ — not 
 one who is without sin, but one w^ho in the sincerity of his heart 
 can say — " that which I do I allow not."^ As his way is, so is his 
 " waW — " in the law of the Lord.'''' He is " strengthened in the 
 Lord, and he walks up and down in his name"^ — his " ears hear- 
 ing a word behind him, saying — this is the way, walk ye in it — 
 when he is turning to the right hand or to the left/'^ And if the 
 pardon of sin, imputation of righteousness,* the communion of 
 saints, and a sense of acceptance with God ;^ — if protection in prov- 
 idence and grace,^ and, finally and for ever, the beatific vision,^ 
 are the sealed privileges of his upright people, then there can be no 
 doubt, that ''blessed are the undefiled in the way.'' And if tem- 
 poral prosperity,^" spiritual renovation and fruitfulness,^^ increasing 
 illumination, ^2 intercourse with the Saviour, ^^ peace within,^* and, 
 throughout eternity, a right to the tree of life, ^^ are privileges of in- 
 calculable value ; then surely " the walk in the law of the Lord!'' 
 is " the path of pleasantness and peace." " Truly" — indeed may 
 
 1 Bp. Home on Psalm i. 1. 2 John i, 47. Comp. Acts xxiv. 16. 
 
 3 Rom. vii. 15. ■* Zech. x. 12. 6 isa. xxx. 21. 
 
 6 Ps. ixxii. 1, 2, with Rom. iv. 6—8. ? 1 John i. 7. ^ 2 Chron. xvi. 9. Job i. 8, 10. 
 9 Matt. V. 8, 10 Joshua i. 7, 8. 1 Tim. iv. 8. 2 Chron. xvii. 4, 5. 
 
 " Ps. i. 2, 3. 12 John vii. 17. 13 lb. xiv. 23; xv. 14, 15. 
 
 " Ver. 163. Gal. vi. 16. Isa. xxxiL 17. is Rev. xxii. 14. 
 
10 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 we say — " God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean 
 heart." » 
 
 But let each of us ask — What is the " way" of my heart with 
 God? Is it always an ^^undefiled way 7^^ Is "iniquity" never 
 " regarded in the heart ?" Is all that God hates habitually lamented, 
 abhorred, forsaken ? " Search me, O God, and know my heart : 
 try me, and know my thoughts ; and see if there be any wicked 
 way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." ^ 
 
 Again — What is my " walk ?" Is it from the living principle 
 of union with Christ? This is the direct — the only source of 
 spiritual life. We are first quickened in him. Then we walk in 
 him and after him. Oh ! that this my walk may be steady, con- 
 sistent, advancing ! Oh ! that I may be ever listening to my Fa- 
 ther's voice — " I am the Almighty God ; walk before me, and be 
 thou perfect !"' 
 
 Is there not enough of defilement in the most " undefiled way^^ 
 and enough of inconsistency in the most consistent " waW to en- 
 dear to us the gracious declaration of the gospel — " If any man 
 sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Right- 
 eous?"* 
 
 2. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him ivith the whole 
 
 heart. 
 
 The "testimony" in the singular number, usually denotes the 
 whole canon of the inspired waitings — the revelation of the will of 
 God to mankind — the standard of their faith.^ " Testimonies^^ 
 appear chiefly, to mark the preceptive part of Scripture* — that part, 
 in which tliis man of God always found his spiritual delight and 
 perfect freedom. Mark his language : " / have rejoiced in the way 
 of thy testimonies^ as m,uch as in all riches. Thy testimonies 
 have I taken as an heritage for ever ; for they are the rejoicing 
 of my heart."'' Not however that this blessedness belongs to the 
 mere outward act of obedience ;« but rather to that practical habit 
 of mind, which seeks to know the will of God in order to ^^ keep" 
 it. This habit is under the influence of the promise of God — " I 
 will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my stat- 
 utes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them."^ And in 
 thus ^^ keeping the testimonies of God " the believer maintains the 
 character of one that " seeks him with the whole heart?^ 
 
 Oh ! how many seek, and seek in vain, for no other reason, than 
 because they do not ^^seek him with the whole heart T The 
 worldling's "heart is divided; now shall he be found faulty ."»'> 
 The professor " with his mouth shows much love ; but his heart 
 goeth after liis covetousness."" The backslider "/m/A not turned 
 unto me with his whole heart, but feignedly, saith the Lord."'' 
 
 > Psalm Ixxiii. 1. « Psalm cxxxix. 23, 24. 3 Gen. xvii. 1. 
 
 «lJohnii. 1. » Comp. Isa. viu. 20. e Verse 138. 
 
 ' VpTses 14, 1 1 1. • Treasure up his testimonies — Bp. Horsley. 
 
 » Ezek. xxxTi. 27. »• Hos. x. 2. " Eiek. xxxiii. 31. 
 
 »* Jer. iii. 10. 
 
VERSE 4. 11 
 
 The faithful, upright believer alone brings his heart, his whole 
 hearty to the Lord — "When thou saidst — Seek ye my face, my 
 heart said unto thee — Thy face. Lord, will I seek."* For he only 
 has found an object that attracts and fills his whole heart — and if 
 he had a thousand hearts, would attract and fill them all. He has 
 found his way to God by faith in Jesus. In that way he continues 
 to seek. His whole heart is engaged to know and love more and 
 more. Here alone the blessing is enjoyed, and the promise made 
 good — " Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for 
 me with all your heart.^^* 
 
 But let me not shrink from the question — Do I ^''keep his testi- 
 monies'^ from constraint or from love? Surely when I consider 
 my own natural aversion and enmity to the law of God, and the 
 danger of self-deception in the external service of the Lord, I have 
 much need to pray — " Incline my heart to thy testimonies. Give 
 m,e imder standing — save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies. ^^^ 
 And if they are blessed, who seek the Lord with their whole heart, 
 how am I seeking him } Alas ! with how much distraction ; with 
 how little heart-work ! Oh ! let me " seek his strength" in order 
 to " seek his face."* 
 
 Lord ! search — teach — incline — uphold me. Help me to plead 
 thy gracious promise — "I will give them an heart to know me, 
 that I am the Lord ; and they shall be my people, and I will be 
 their God : for they shall return unto me with their whole heart."^ 
 
 3. They also do no iniquity ; they walk in his ways. 
 
 This was not their character from their birth. Once they were 
 doing nothing but iniquity. It was without mixture, without 
 cessation — from the fountain-head.* Now it is written of them — 
 " they do no iniquity.''^ Once they walked, even as others,' in the 
 way of their own hearts — " enemies to God by wicked works." 
 Now " they walk in his waysP They are " new creatures in 
 Christ ; old things are passed away ; behold ! all things are be- 
 come new."^ This is their highly-privileged state — " Sin shall not 
 have dominion over them : for they are not under the law, but un- 
 der grace."^ They are " born of God, and they cannot commit 
 sin : for their seed remaineth in them, and they cannot sin, be- 
 cause they are born of God."*° Their hatred and resistance of sin 
 are therefore now as instinctive, as was their former enmity and 
 opposition to God. Not indeed that the people of God are as " the 
 saints made perfect," who " do no inquity.^^ This is a dream of 
 
 1 Psalm xxvii. 8, 2 Jer. xxix. 13. 3 Verses 36, 125, 145. 
 
 * Ps. cv. 4. 5 Jer. xxiv. 7. 
 
 * " Every imagination of the thoughts of the heart is evil — only evil — continually." 
 And this "God saw" — before whom "all things are naked and open" — who searcheth 
 the heart, and therefore cannot be mistaken. Gen. vi. 5. 
 
 But lest we should conceive this to be the picture of some generation of so peculiarly 
 aggravated a character, that the awful demonstration of his wrath could no longer be 
 restrained, this testimony is repeated by the same Omniscient Judge, immediately subse- 
 quent to the flood, (Gen. viii. 21,) and confirmed by him in many express declarations, 
 Jer. xvii. 9, 10. Matt. xv. 19. 
 
 7 Eph. ii. 2, 3. Col. i. 2L 8 2 Cor. v. 17. » Rom. vi. 14. w 1 John iii. 1. 
 
12 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 perfection — unscriptiual and self-deluding.^ The unceasing advo- 
 cacy of their Heavenly Friend evidently supposes the indwelling 
 power of sin, to the termination of our earthly pilgrimage. The 
 supplication also in the prayer of our Lord teaches them to ask for 
 daily pardon and deliverance from " temptation," as for " daily 
 bread."^ Yes — to our shame be it spoken — we are sinners still ; 
 yet — praised be God ! — not " walking after the course," not " ful- 
 filling the desires," of sin. The acting of sin is now like the mo- 
 tion of a stone upward, violent and unnatural. If it is not cast 
 out, it is dethroned. We are not, as before, " its willing people," 
 but its reluctant, struggling captives. It is not " the day of its 
 power." 
 
 And here lies the holy liberty of the Gospel — not, as some have 
 feigned, — a liberty to " continue in sin, that grace may abound ;"* 
 but a deliverance from the guilt and condemnation of abhorred, 
 resisted, yet still indwelling sin. When our better will hath cast 
 it off — when we can say in the sight of an heart-searching God, 
 " What we hate, that do we^' — the responsibility is not ours — " It 
 is not we that do it, but sin that dwelleth in us."^ Still let us in- 
 quire, is the promise of deliverance from sin " sweet to us?"« And 
 does our successful resistance in the spiritual conflict realize the 
 earnest of its complete fulfilment ? Blessed Jesus ! what do we 
 owe to thy cross for the present redemption from its guilt and 
 curse, and much more for the blissful prospect of the glorified state, 
 when this hated guest shall be an inmate no more!'' O let us 
 take the very print of thy death into our souls in the daily cruci- 
 fixion of sin.^ Let us know the " power of thy resurrection" in an 
 habitual " walk in newness of life."^ 
 
 4. Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. 
 
 We have seen the character of the Man of God. Let us mark 
 the authority of God, cominanding him to a diligeiit obedience. 
 The very sight of the coinmarid is enough for him. He obeys for 
 the cominand's sake, however contrary it may be to his own will. 
 But has he any reason to complain of the yoke ? Even under the 
 dispensation which " gendereth unto bondage" most encouraging 
 were the obligations to obedience — " that it might be well with 
 them, and with their children for ever."^ Much more, then, we, 
 under a dispensation of love, can never want a motive for obe- 
 dience ! Let the daily mercies of Providence stir up the question 
 -— " What shall 1 render unto the Lord?'"" Let the far richer mer- 
 cies of grace produce " a living sacrifice" to be " presented to the 
 Lord."*' Let " the love of Christ constrain us."'* Let the recollec- 
 tion of the " price with which we were bought," remind us of the 
 Lord's proj^rty in us, and of our obligations to "glorify him in our 
 
 » Comp. Eccl. vii. 20, with Job ix. 20. Phil. iii. 12. a Matt. vi. 11—13. 
 
 » Rom. VI. 1,2. i lb. vii. 15—20. 5 jb. vi. 14. 
 
 • Rev. XXI. 27. ^ Rom. vi. G. « Phil. iii. 10. Rom. vi. 4, 5. 
 
 » Drut. v. 29. Comp. Deut. vi. 17, 18; xxviii. 1, 2. Jer. vii. 23. 
 
 »» Psalm cxvi. 13. " Rom. xii. 1. w 2 Cor. v. 14. 
 
VERSE 5. 18 
 
 body, and in our spirit, which are his."* liCt us only "behold the 
 Lamb of God ;" let us hear his wrestHng supplications, his deserted 
 cry, his expiring agonies — the price of our redemption ; and then 
 let us ask ourselves, Can we want a motive ? 
 
 But what is the scriptural character of Evangehcal obedience? 
 It is the work of the Spirit, enabling us to " obey the truth."* It 
 is the end of the purpose of God, who " hath chosen us in Christ 
 before the foundation of the world, that we should he holy and 
 without blame before him in love."^ It is the only satisfactory 
 test of our profession.* 
 
 Then let me begin my morning with the inquiry — " Lord, what 
 wilt thou have me to do?" " Teach me thy way, O Lord : I will 
 walk in thy truth : unite my heart to fear thy name."^ Let me 
 trade with all my talents for thee : ever watchful, that I may be 
 employed in thy work ; setting a guard upon my thoughts, my 
 lips, my tempers, my pursuits, that nothing may hinder, but rather 
 every thing may help me, in keeping thy precepts diligently. 
 
 But why do I ever find the precepts to be "grievous" to me? Is 
 it not that some indolence is indulged ; or some " iniquity regarded 
 in my heart ;" or some principle of unfaithfulness divides my ser- 
 vice with two masters, when I ought to be " following the Lord 
 fully ?" Oh ! for the spirit of " simplicity and godly sincerity" 
 in the precepts of God. Oh ! for that warm and constant love, 
 which is the main-spring of devoted diligence in the service of God. 
 Oh ! for a larger supply of that " wisdom which is from above," 
 and which is " without partiality and without hypocrisy !"« 
 
 5. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! 
 
 The Lord has indeed '•' commanded us to keep his preceptsP 
 But, alas ! where is our power? Satan would make the sense of 
 our weakness an excuse for indolence. The Spirit of God con- 
 vinces us of it, as an incitement to prayer, and an exercise of faith. 
 If, reader, your heart is perfect with God, you "consent to the law 
 that it is good ;" you " delight in it after the inner man ;"^ you 
 would not have one jot or tittle altered, mitigated, or repealed, that 
 it might be more conformed to your own will, or allow you more 
 liberty and self-indulgence in the ways of sin. But do you not 
 sigh to think, that when you aim at the perfect standard of holi- 
 ness, you should, at your best moments, and in your highest at- 
 tainments, fall so far below it ; seeing indeed the way before you, 
 but feeling yourself without ability to walk in it ? Then let a 
 sense of your helplessness for the work of the Lord lead you to the 
 throne of grace, to pray, and watch, and wait, for the strengthen- 
 ing and refreshing influences of the Spirit of grace. Here let your 
 faith realize at one and the same view your utter insufficiency, and 
 your complete All-sufficiency.^ Here behold Him, who is ever pre- 
 
 1 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. 2 1 Peter i. 22. 3 Eph. i. 4, 
 
 < Matt. xii. 33. John xiv. 15, 21. 5 Acts ix. 6. Psa]m Ixxxvi. 11. 
 
 6 James iii. 17. 7 Rom. vii. 16, 22, 8 2 Cor. iiL 5. 
 
14 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 senting himself before God as our glorious Head, receiving in him- 
 self, according to the good pleasure of the Father,^ the full supply 
 for this and every successive moment of inexpressible need. Our 
 work is not therefore left upon our own hands, or wrought out at 
 our " own charges." So long as " He hath the residue of the 
 Spirit,"* " grace" will be found " sufficient" — Divine " strength will 
 be made perfect in weakness." ^ " Without him we can do noth- 
 ing."* — " Through Him all things."^ Even the " worm Jacob shall 
 thresh the mountains," when the Lord says — "Fear not, I will 
 help thee."» 
 
 In connecting this verse with the preceding, how accurately is 
 the middle path preserved, equally distant from the idea of self- 
 sufficiency to ^^ keep the Lord's statutes,^^ and self-justification in 
 neglecting them ! The first attempt to render spiritual obedience 
 will quickly convince us of our utter helplessness. We might as 
 soon create a world, as create in our hearts one pulse of spiritual 
 life. And yet our inabihty does not cancel our obligation. Shall 
 God lose his right, because sin has palsied our ability ? Is not a 
 drunken servant still under his master's law? and is not the sin 
 which prevents him from performing his duty, not his excuse, but 
 his aggravation? Thus our weakness is that of an heart, which 
 " cannot be subject to the law of God," only because it is " carnal, 
 enmity against God."^ The obligation therefore remains in full 
 force. Our inability is our sin, our guilt, and condemnation. 
 
 What then remains for us, but to return the mandate to heaven, 
 accompanied with an earnest prayer, that the Lord would write 
 upon our hearts those statutes, to which he requires obedience in 
 his word ? — " Thmi hast commanded us to keep thy statutes dili- 
 gently.^^ We acknowledge. Lord, our obligation ; but we feel our 
 impotency. Lord, help us : we look unto thee, " O that our ways 
 were directed to keep thy statutes !" " Give what thou com- 
 mandest ; and then command what thou wilt."' Now, as if to ex- 
 hibit the fulness and suitableness of the promises of the gospel, the 
 commands and prayers are returned back again from heaven with 
 promises of quickening and directing grace. Thus does the Lord 
 fully answer his end with us. He did not issue the commands, 
 expecting that we could turn our own hearts to them ; but that 
 the conviction of our entire helplessness might cast us upon him, 
 who loves to be sought, and never will be thus sought in vain. 
 And indeed this is a part of " the mystery of godliness," that in 
 proportion as we depend upon him, who is alike " the Lord our 
 righteousness" and our strength, our desires after holiness will in- 
 crease, and our prayers become more fervent. He who commands 
 
 »Col. i.l8, 19. 2Mal. ii. 15. 3 2 Cor. xu. 9. 
 
 « John XV. 5. 5 Phil. iv. 13. « Isa. xli. 14, 15. 
 
 t Rom. vii, 7. Compare Genesis xxxvii. 4. John viii. 43; v. 40. 2 Peter ii. 14, — 
 where the moral inabihty is clearly traccii to the love of sin, or the obstinate unbelief of 
 the heart, and therefore is inexcusable. The case of the heathen is traced to the same 
 wilful source, Rom. i. 2() — 2b. 
 
 8 " Da quod jubes, ct jube quod vis." — Augustine. 
 
VERSE 6. 15 
 
 our duty, perfectly knows our weakness. And he who feels his 
 own weakness is fully encouraged to depend upon the power of 
 his Saviour. Faith is then the principle of evangeUcal obedience, 
 and the promises of his grace enable us for duty, at the very time 
 that we are commanded to it.* In this view are brought together 
 the supreme authority of the Lawgiver, the total insufficiency of 
 the creature, the full provisions of the Saviour, and the all-suf- 
 ficiency of " the God of all grace." We pray for what we want ; 
 we are thankful for what we have ; we trust for what is promised. 
 Thus " all is of God." Christ " is the Alpha and the Omega, the 
 beginning and the end, the first and the last."* Thus " grace 
 reigns" triumphant. The foundation is laid in grace, and the 
 head-stone will be brought forth with shoutings, crying, " Grace, 
 grace unto it!"^ — The Saviour's work is finished, and Jesus is 
 crowned Lord of all for ever. 
 
 6. Then shall I not he ashamed^ when I have respect unto all thy. 
 commandments. 
 
 The Lord expects our obedience to be not only " diligenty'^ but 
 universal. Willingly to dispense with the least of the command- 
 ments, proves that we have yet to learn the spirit of acceptable 
 obedience.^ Grace is given and suited for all, no less than for one 
 of them, " that we might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleas- 
 ing.^^^ One lust " regarded in the heart" is sufficient to keep pos- 
 session for the tyrant, however others may be restrained. Even 
 Herod could " do many things ;" and yet his adulterous wife cher- 
 ished in his bosom, too plainly proved the sovereignty of sin to be 
 undisturbed.*' Saul slew all the Amalekites hiit one ; and that 
 single exception to universal obedience marked his unsoundness, 
 cost him the loss of his throne, and brought him under the awful 
 displeasure of his God.'' And thus the corrupt unmortified mem- 
 ber brings the whole body to hell.^ Reserves are ihe canker upon 
 godly sincerity. A secret indulgence — " the rolling of the sweet 
 morsel under the tongue" — " the part of the price kept back"* — 
 stamps our service as a robbery, not as an offering. We may be 
 free, sincere, and earnest in many parts of our prescribed duty ; 
 but this " root of bitterness" renders the whole an abomination. 
 
 Sincerity therefore must be the stamp of my Christian profes- 
 sion. Though utterly unable to render perfect obedience to the 
 least of the commandments, yet my desire and purpose will have 
 resj)ect unto them all. I shall no more venture to break the least 
 than the greatest of them ; much less shall I ever think of at- 
 tempting to atone for the breach of one by the performance of the 
 rest. They are indeed many commandments ; yet — like links in 
 a chain — they form but one law ; and 1 know who has said — 
 " Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, 
 he is guilty of all."*" However the professor may confine his re- 
 
 * " Quod lex imperat, fides impetrat." 2 Rev. xxii. 13. 3 Zech. iv. 7. 
 
 4 Matt. V. 19. 6 Col. 1. 10. 6 Mark vi. 18—20. t 1 Sam. xv. 32-21. 
 
 8 Mark ix. 43—48 9 Acts v. 1, 2. ^ James ii. 10, 11. 
 
16 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 gard to the second table (as if the first were ceremonial, or obso- 
 lete, or the regulation of the outward man was the utmost extent 
 of the requirement). I would fix my eye with equal regard to both ; 
 yet specially marking any command in either of them, that may 
 appear most directly opposed to my besetting corruptions. Thus 
 "walking in the fear of the Lord," I may hope to walk "in the 
 comfort of the Holy Ghost ;"^ and " hereby shall I know that I am 
 of the truth, and shall assure my heart before God."* 
 
 But where, in my strictest walk, is my hope of acceptance, but 
 in Him, whose obedience has " fulfilled all righteousness"^ in my 
 stead, and whose death " has redeemed me from the curse"^ of my 
 unrighteousness, when repentance, prayers, and tears, would have 
 been of no avail ? Yet it is only in the path of holiness that we 
 can realize our acceptance.* The heart occupied with this world's 
 pleasure, knows nothing of this heavenly joy. Its brightness is 
 dimmed — its freshness fades — its hfe withers — in the very breath 
 of an unholy world. A godly assurance of the present favor of 
 God must be weakened by self-indulgence, unwatchfulness, allow 
 ance of secret sins, or neglect of secret duties. " If thou return to 
 the Almighty" — said a wise man, — "thou shalt be built up, thon 
 shall put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then shalt 
 thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy fa^e 
 unto God."« 
 
 Let us then carefully examine the character of our assurance. 
 Does it rest simply and exclusively upon the testimony of the Gos- 
 pel ? Will it abide the test of the word of God ? Is it productive 
 of tenderness of conscience, watchfulness, and circumspection of 
 conduct ? Does it exercise our diligence in adding grace to grace, 
 that we may " make our calling and election sure," and that " an 
 entrance may be ministered to us abundantly into the everlasting 
 kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ?"^ How boldly 
 can we plead our Christian confidence in the path of godliness. — 
 "/ have stuck unto thy testimonies ; O Lord^ put me not to 
 shame. Let my heart he sound in thy statutes^ that I be not 
 ashamed y^ 
 
 7. / %oill praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy 
 righteous judgments. 
 
 The righteous judgments of God include the whole revelation 
 of his word' — so called — as the rule by which he judges our pres- 
 ent state, and will pronounce our final sentence.*" David's attain- 
 ments here seemed to be as nothing. So much remained un- 
 learned and unknown, that he could only anticipate the time, 
 when he should have learned them. " Thy com.mandmenf^ — he 
 exclaims — " is exceeding broadJ^^^ "When the Apostle, after twenty 
 years' acquaintance with the gospel, expressed it as tlie one desire 
 
 »AcUiix. 31. » 1 John iii. 19. » Matt. iii. 15. < Gal. iii. 13. 
 
 • 1 John i. 7, ii. 5, iii. 21, 24. « Job xxii, 23, 26. 7 2 Peter i. 5— 11. 
 
 • Verwa 31, 80. » John iu. 18, 19. w jb. xii. 48. " Verse 96. 
 
VERSE 8. 17 
 
 ot his heart — "That I may know Christ'" — evidently he enter- 
 tained the same humbling views of his high attainments, and the 
 same exalted apprehensions of the value of treasures yet unex- 
 plored, and progressively opening before him. Thus the wisest 
 saints are only students in the Divine School. Yet whatever their 
 learning be, it casts them into the mould and spirit of their doc- 
 irine.^ Conceit however of knowledge is the greatest enemy to 
 knowledge, and the strongest proof of ignorance ; so that, " if any 
 man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as 
 he ought to know." — " He deceiveth himself."^ 
 
 But what is the motive, that enlivens the believer in this holy 
 learning ? Is it that he may live upon the airy breath of human 
 applause? No, rather that he may ^^ praise his God with up- 
 rightness of heart.^^ When our mind is dark, our lips are sealed. 
 But when "he opens our understandings" to "/ea^^ his judg- 
 ments,^'' he will next " open our Hps, and our mouths shall show 
 forth his praise."^ And this indeed is the end, for which "his 
 people are formed ;"5 for which they " are called out of darkness 
 into marvellous light."^ This is the daily frame, in which our 
 God will be glorified.' Yet must we live as well as sing his praise. 
 " The praise of the upright heart will be shown in the holy walk 
 and conversation."^ 
 
 But let us watch, that our praise really flows "out of the abun- 
 dance" of what our hearts have " learned'^ of his " righteous judg- 
 ments.'^ For do we not sometimes speak of our Saviour with a 
 secret lurking after self-exaltation ? May we not really be seeking 
 and serving ourselves in the very act of seeming to serve and^ 
 honor him? Surely the very thought of the selfishness that de- 
 files our holiest earthly praise, may well quicken our longings after 
 that world of praise, where the flame burns active, bright, inces- 
 sant ; where we shall offer our sacrifices without defilement, with- 
 out intermission, without weariness, without end.^ 
 
 8. I will keep thy statutes : O forsake me not utterly . 
 
 The resolution to " keep the Lord^s statutes" is the naturakre- 
 sult of having " learned his righteous judgmentsP But how 
 happily does David combine " simplicity" of dependence with 
 '* godly sincerity" of obedience! Firm in his purpose, but distrust- 
 ful of his strength, instantly upon forming his resolution, he recol- 
 lects that the performance is beyond his power; and therefore the 
 next moment, and almost the same moment, he follows it up with 
 prayer — " / ivill keep thy statutes ; O forsake me not utterly ^ 
 Oh ! beware of self-confidence in the Christian course. We stum- 
 ble or advance, as we lean upon an arm of flesh, or upon an Al- 
 mighty Saviour. Temporary desertion may be the seasonable 
 
 I Phil. iii. 10—14. 2 Rom. vi. 17, 3 i Cor. viii. 2. Gal. vi. 3. 
 
 < Ps. li. 15; also ver. 27, 171. s Isa. xliii. 21. 6 ] Peter ii. 9. 
 
 "'' Psalm 1. 23. For an example of the uprightness of heart mihs semce oi praise hero 
 alluded to, see 1 Chron. xxix, 13 — 18. 
 8 Psalm civi. 12—14. « Rev. iv, 8. 
 
 2 *. 
 
18 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 chastisement of spiritual wantonness. When grace has been given 
 in answer to prayer, it was not duly prized, or diligently improved. 
 The " Beloved" — in answer to solicitation — '•' is come into his gar- 
 den ;" lie knocks at the door, but the spouse is "asleep." The 
 answer to prayer was not expected, not waited for, and therefore 
 not enjoyed ; and the sleeper awakes too late, and finds herself 
 forsaken by the object of her desire.* Again — when we have given 
 place to temptation ;^ when " our mountain stands strong ;"^ when 
 love for our Saviour " waxes cold," and our earnestness in seeking 
 him is fainting ;< we must not be surprised, if we are left for a 
 time to the trial of a deserted state. 
 
 Yet we sometimes speak of the hidings of God's countenance, as 
 if it were a sovereign act, calling for implicit submission ; when 
 the cause should at least be sought for, and will generally be found, 
 in some " secret thing" of indulgence, unwatch fulness, or self-de- 
 pendence.* It was while David " kept silence" from the language 
 of contrition, that he felt the pressure of the heavy hand of his 
 frowning God ;« and may not the darkness, which has sometimes 
 clouded our path, be the voice of our God — " Thine own wicked- 
 ness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee ; 
 know therefore and see, that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou 
 hast forsaken the Lord thy God."^ 
 
 But in the engagement of the Lord's everlasting covenant, how 
 clear is the warrant of faith ! — how ample the encouragement for 
 prayer — " Forsake me not utterly .'" David knew and wrote of 
 the Lord's unchangeable faithfulness to his people ; and, while he 
 dreaded even a temporary separation from his God more than any 
 worldly affliction, he could plead that gracious declaration — " Never- 
 theless, my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor 
 sufler my faithfulness to fail."^ We would not indeed make the 
 promises of grace an encouragement to carelessness : yet it is indis- 
 pensable to our spiritual establishment that we receive them in their 
 full, free, and sovereign declaration. How many fainting souls have 
 been refreshed by the assurances — " For a small moment have I for- 
 saken ihee ; but with great mercies will I gather thee — with everlast- 
 ing kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeem- 
 er !" " My sheep shall never perish : neither shall any pluck them 
 out of my hand."' In a lowly, self-abased and dependent spirit we 
 ^all best, however, learn to " make our boast in the Lord," " con- 
 fident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in 
 08, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."'" And even if 
 awhile destitute of sensible consolation, still our language will be 
 — " I will wait iipon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house 
 of Jacob; and I will look for him."'* 
 
 Great indeed is the danger and evil to the soul, if we apprehend 
 
 1 Cant. iv. 16, with V. 1—6. a 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. 8 Psalm xxx. 6, 7. 
 
 « Cant. iii. 1—4. « Job xv. 11. « Psalm xxxii. 3, 4. 
 
 "f JeT. ii. 19. 8 Psalm ixxxix. 33. • Isa. liv. 7, 8. John x. 28, 
 
 M P»alm xxxiv. 2. Phil. i. 6. " Isa. viii. 17. 
 
VERSE 9. 19 
 
 the Lord to have forsaken us, because we are in darkness ; or that 
 we are out of the way, because we are in perplexity. These are 
 the very hand-posts, that show us that we are in the way of his 
 own promised leading — painful exercise — faithful keeping — eternal 
 salvation ; — ''I will bring the bhnd by a way that they knew not; 
 I will lead tliem in paths that they have not known; I will make 
 darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These 
 things will 1 do unto them, and not forsake themr^ Oh ! the rest, 
 the satisfaction of placing a blind implicit confidence in a cove- 
 nant-keeping God ! 
 
 Forsaken we may be — but not utterly. David was forsaken^ 
 not like Saul* — Peter was forsaken — not like Judas' — utterly 
 and for ever. What foreboding have you of such desertion '/ Is 
 your heart willing to forsake him? Have you no mournings and 
 thirstings for his return? "If indeed you forsake him, he will 
 forsake you."^ But can you forsake him? Let him do as seemeth 
 him good, (is the language of your heart ;) I will wait for him, follow 
 after him, cleave to his word, cling to his cross. Mark his dealings 
 with you. Inquire into their reason. Submit to his dispensation. 
 If he forsakes^ beg his return: but trust your forsaking God. 
 " Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him."^ Though my com- 
 fort is clouded, my hope remains unchanging, unchangeable — such 
 as I would not resign for the glory of an earthly crown. What are 
 these earnest breathings — this abiding confidence, but his own work 
 in us? And can the Lord "forsake the work of his own hands?"* 
 Sooner should heaven and earth pass, than the faithful engagements 
 of the Gospel be thus broken.'^ 
 
 PART II. 
 
 9. Whereioiihal shall a young man cleanse his way ? hy taking heed thereto 
 a£cording to thy word. 
 
 Why is the young man so especially called to cleanse his way? 
 Because God justly claims the first and the best. And is it not a 
 most affecting proof of the alienation of the heart from God, that 
 the youth of man — the bloom and freshness of his mind — his " first 
 
 1 Isa. xlii. 16. 2 Psalm xxx. 7, with 1 Sam. xxviii. 6, 16. 
 
 3 Matt. xxvi. 75, with xxvii, 3—5. < 2 Chron. xv. 2. Comp. 1 Chron. xxviii. 9. 
 
 5 Job xiii. 15. Isa. xlv. 15; 1. 10. Heb. iii. 17, 18. « Psalm cxxxviii. 8. 
 
 7 Augustine's Paraphrase of this verse is beautifully descriptive of the believer's con- 
 flict in a state of temporary desertion. " O Lord, if— lest I should be proud, and should 
 say in my prosperity, I shall never be removed — it pleaseth thee to tempt me, yet forsake 
 me not over-long;" that is, if thou hast thus forsaken me, that I may know how weak I 
 am without thy help, yet ^'forsake me riot utterly," lest I perish. I know that of thy good 
 will thou hast given me strength ; and if thou turnest away thy face from me, I shall 
 forthwith be troubled. " O forsake me not, that I perish not." 
 
20 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 love" — should naturally be devoted to the service of sin? Ever 
 since fallen man " begat a son in his own likeness," " the imagina- 
 tion of man's heart has been evil from his youth."» For " who can 
 bring a clean thing out of an unclean ?''2 And never does the 
 heart utter the cry, "My Father ! thou art the guide of my youth,"' 
 until the misery of wandering without a guide has been painfully 
 felt. And even when Divine grace has awakened the desire to 
 return homewards, the habit of wandering from God, and the long- 
 cherished pollutions of sin, seem to form an almost invincible bar- 
 rier to progress. 
 
 The fearful power of " )^outhful lusts," and the madness with 
 which the heart is hurried into forbidden indulgences, give solemn 
 "wreight to the inquiry — " Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse 
 his way ?" And the answer is ready. Let him '-^take heed thereto 
 according to the word.^^ Thus did Joseph* and Daniel with his 
 young companions^ '^cleanse their way" in the defilement of an 
 heathen atmosphere. It was probably the recollection of this 
 purifying efficacy of the word, that induced the venerable Beza to 
 mention in his will, among his chief matters of thankfulness to 
 God, the mercy of having been called to the knowledge of the 
 truth at the age of sixteen ; thus, during a course of more than 
 seventy years' walk with God, " escaping the pollutions of thfi world 
 through lust." But the " way can only be cleansed''^ by the cleans- 
 ing of the heart; for how can a corrupt fountain "send forth" other 
 than "bitter waters?"* "Out of the heart are the issues of life." 
 Hence the urgent need to cry — " Create in me a clean heart, O God, 
 and renew a right spirit within me."^ 
 
 How precious, therefore, is the word of God, as the means of 
 this cleansing operation ! When our Saviour had been setting forth 
 himself as "the way, the truth, and the life," and exhibiting the 
 high privilege of union with himself — ^^ Now," he adds, "ye are 
 clean through the word tohich I have spoken unto you."^ This 
 is "the truth," which he pleaded with his Father as the means of 
 our sanciification.3 This sets out our purifying hope.*" Here are 
 the promises, by which we "cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of 
 flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."" Thus is 
 restored to man that golden "crown" — the stamp of his Maker's 
 holiness — which "fell from his head when he sinned."^** 
 
 But oh ! how does the recollection force itself upon us, — that our 
 way wants daily cleansing ! so defiled are our actions, our thoughts, 
 our motives, — nay more, our prayers and services. Let ns then 
 " take heed according to the word of God" — specially thankful for its 
 
 » Gen. V, 3; viii. 21. 2 Job xiv. 4. 8 Jer. iii. 4. < Gen. xxxix. 9. 
 
 8 Dan. i. 8— '20; iii. 12—18. « James iii. 11, 12. ' Prov. iv. 23. Psalm li. 10. 
 
 « John xiv.; xv. 1—3. » lb. xvii. 17. »» 1 John iii. 3. 
 
 *• 2 Cor. vii. 1. Comp. 2 Peter i. 4. Augustine's recorded account of his own con- 
 version furnlBhcs a striking illustration of^this t«ubj<x;t. (confessions, Books viii. ix. 
 The Buhstonre of it may be found in Milner's Church History, vol. ii. 353— 35G. See 
 Dr. Owen's valuable work on the Spirit for a most instructive use made of it, as throwing 
 light upon the doctrine of conversion. Book iii. chap. vi. 
 
 »2 Lara. V. IG, with Gen. L 27. Eph. iv. 24. 
 
VERSE 10. 21 
 
 heavenly light, which guides us to the " fountain that is opened for 
 sin and for uncleanness."* Let us also under the same Divine 
 light seek for the daily sanctifying influence of the Spirit of God. 
 *' Who can understand his errors ? Cleanse thou me from secret 
 faults."^ ' Cleanse the thoughts of my heart by the inspiration 
 of thy Holy iSpi7'it.^^ 
 
 10. With my whole heart have I sought thee; O let me not wander from tJiy 
 
 commandments. 
 
 Attention to the word, however important,'* can never be prac- 
 tically effective without earnest prayer. Indeed this is a character 
 of the Lord's people — "a generation of seeker s^'''^ and yet how 
 much do we lose of the comfort of our religion, and obscure the 
 glory of our profession, by neglecting to bring " our whole heart'" 
 to this work ! When sin is vigorous, and our spiritual affections 
 are dull, and various hindrances combine in prayer; at this crisis 
 strong faith is needed to overcome and to persevere. But here the 
 soul too commonly yields to the difficulty, and contents itself either 
 with heartless complainings, or with just sufficient exertion to quiet 
 the voice of conscience, and produce a delusive peace within. But 
 the Lord will not be found thus. His promise is not to such seekers 
 as these ; and if we are satisfied with this state, we must look for 
 a very scanty measure of spiritual success, accompanied with the 
 total absence of spiritual enjoyment. In a far different spirit David 
 could appeal — " With my whole heart have I sought theeP And 
 this assurance, instead of procuring self-confidence, will so far as it is 
 genuine, invariably show itself in a prayerful acknowledgment of 
 our weakness — " O let me not wander from, thy com,m.andm,entsP 
 Yet the feeblest desire and attempt to seek the Lord, is the Spirit's 
 rising beam in the heart, a "day of small things" not to be *'de- 
 s})ised."^ It is distinguished from every other principle by the sim- 
 plicity of its object — "This one thing I do." "One thing have I 
 desired of the Lord ; that will I seek after."^ My God ! my Saviour ! 
 J' with my xohole heart have I sought theeP The desire of my soul 
 is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul 
 have I desired thee in the night ; yea, with my spirit within me 
 will I seek thee early."^ 
 
 When the soul is thue conscious of "following the Lord fully," 
 there is a peculiar dread of wandering. In a careless or half- 
 hearted state, wanderings are not watched, so long as they do not 
 lead to any open declensions. Secret prayer will be hurried over, 
 worldly thoughts unresisted, waste of time in frivolous pursuits 
 indulged, without much concern. Not so, when the heart is fully 
 in pursuit of its object. There is a carefulness, lest wandering 
 thoughts should become habitual. There is a resistance of the 
 first step, that might lead into a devious path. The soul remembers 
 the " wormwood and the gall,"' " the roaring lion," and the devour- 
 
 1 Zech. xiii, 1. 2 Psalm xix. 12. 3 Prayer-Book. 
 
 4 Verse 9. s Psalm xxiv. 6. 6 Zech. iv. 10. 
 
 f Phil. iii. 13. Psalm xxvii. 4. ^ jga. xxvi. 8, 9. • Lam, iii. 19. 
 
22 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 ing wolf ; and in the recollection of the misery of its former wander- 
 ing, dreads any departure from the Shepherd's fold. This blessed 
 state of mind the flock of Christ should cherish with godly jealousy. 
 Yet let it be remembered, that daily progress in the heavenly walk 
 is not maintained by yesterday's grace. Humble and dependent 
 prayer must fetch in a fresh supply continually — " O let me not 
 wander from thy commandment sP 'Lord, I feel my heart so 
 prone to wander. My affections are often scattered to the etids of 
 the earth. "Unite my heart to fear thy name."^ Concentrate 
 every thought, every desire, in thyself, as the one object of attrac- 
 tion«' 
 
 11. Thy ward have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 
 
 What an aggregate of guilt and misery is comprehended in this 
 short word "sin" — the greatest curse that ever entered the universe 
 of God, and the parent of every other curse ! Its guilt is aggravated 
 beyond the conception of thought. Injury to a Superior — a Father 
 — a Sovereign ! Its power is misery, wherever it extends — in the 
 heart — in the family — in the world. In eternity its power is unre- 
 strained. Sometimes the death-bed scene casts a fearful gleam of 
 light upon " the worm that never dieth, and the fire that never 
 shall be quenched :"* but experience only can develop its full-grown 
 horrors. How supremely important therefore is the object of our 
 preservation from sin ! and how wisely adapted are the means to 
 the end ! That word — which the man of God had just befo/e 
 mentioned as the guide to the cleansing of the ivai/,^ — he hides 
 within his heart — not for concealment, but for security,* that it 
 may be ready for constant use.^ It is not therefore a mere ac- 
 quaintance with the word, that will avail us. There must be a 
 cordial assent — a sound digestion — a constant respect. It must be 
 to us the rule that we would not transgress — the treasure that we 
 are afraid to lose.* Often indeed Satan shuts out its entrance. He 
 "catches away that which was sown." Too often, again, it is 
 withered or choked in the soil. But " the honest and good heart" 
 " hides it, keeps it, and brings forth fruit with patience, unto per- 
 fection."^ Here it " dwells richly in all wisdom,"^ the storehouse, 
 as occasion requires ; a principle of holiness ; a covering from sin. 
 In this view it is recommended by one, wno had well acquainted 
 himself with its valuable uses — " My son, let them not" (the Divine 
 precepts) "depart from thine eyes; keep sound wisdom and discre- 
 tion. So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. 
 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not 
 stumble."* David also gives us the same experience — "By the 
 word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer."*" 
 And it was probably this recollection, combined with a sense of 
 
 >P«aImlxxxvi. 11. 2 Mark ix. 44. a Verse 9. 
 
 « Matt. XXV. 25. P«. xi. 10, with Ex. XXV. 21. Job xxii. 22. 6 Joshua i. 8. 
 
 « Matt. xiii. 44. ' Luke viii. 15, with the whole parable. » Col. iii. 16. 
 
 • Prov. iii. 21—24. Compare Prov. ii. 10—15. i® Ps. xvii. 4. 
 
VERSE 11. 23 
 
 continual danger, that suggested the prayer — " Order my steps in 
 thy word ; and let not any iniquity have dominion over me*"* 
 
 The value of the word is inestimable, as our means of walking 
 with God in the hurry, business, and temptation of the day. The 
 Psalms furnish precious materials for ejaculatory prayer ; the prom- 
 ises food for comfort;^ the rules such light in perplexity ;3 the 
 instruction such solid matter for godly conference* — all operating 
 for one end — a preservation from sin. Being from the v)ord — a 
 manifestation of the Saviour's love — what a keeping of the heart ! 
 what a quickening motive ! How seasonable in worldly temptation 
 is the warning of the word hid in the heart — " No man having 
 put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the king- 
 dom of God !'" So in the spiritual conflict, let this word — " Him 
 that Cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out" — be hid in the 
 heart — what a preservative is it against unbelief !^ Take the word 
 to the unbelieving believer, (if the expression may be allowed,) 
 alarmed by ridicule or persecution — "If the world hate you, ye 
 know that it hated me before it hated you."' — Fearing that he shall 
 never hold out unto the end ; " I will never leave thee nor forsake 
 thee."* — Trembling, lest his sins should rise up to his condem- 
 nation ; '• The blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God cleanseth from 
 all sin."" And then as to duties : Let his Saviour's word re- 
 buke his indolence and unwatchfulness, — "What! could ye not 
 watch with me one hour ? Watch, and pray, that ye enter not 
 into temptation ."••' Hide in the heart the sorrowful story of his 
 agony in the garden, and his death on the cross, that " sin may 
 appear yet more exceeding sinful." 
 
 But how is the word to gain entrance into hearts like ours? 
 How shall it be " Aic^" in so unkindly a soil ? No power of man 
 surely can plant it there. The Holy Spirit's almighty agency 
 must be diligently sought ; for in proportion as we are filled with 
 his gracious influences, shall we be armed, as was our Master, for 
 the effectual resistance of our spiritual temptations." 
 
 Lastly, connected with this subject, mark the Christianas char- 
 acter — " In whose heart is my law."*^ — His security — " None of 
 his steps shall slide." '^ — His happiness — " O how I love thy 
 law l"^'* — His victory — " The word of God abideth in him, and he 
 hath overcome the wicked one."^^ — All infallibly provided by the 
 covenant-promise — " I will put my law in their inward parts, and 
 write it in their hearts."^® O let us not then shrink from a close 
 contact with the word^ though the cost may be the cutting off* 
 a right hand for the saving of the life. There is no better test of 
 our security, than a willingness to come to the searching hght of 
 the word.^'' 
 
 1 Verse 133. 2 Verses 50, 92. a Verse 105. Prov. iii. 5, 6. 
 
 * Col. iii. 16. 5 Luke ix. 61, 62. e John vi. 37. 
 
 7 lb. XV. 18. 8 Heb. xiii. 5. 9 1 John i. 7. 
 
 w Matt. xxvi. 40, 41. " Corap. Luke iv. 1—12. 12 isaiah li. 7. 
 
 " Psalm xxxvii. 31. 1* Verse 97. ^ 1 John u. 14, with Eph. vL 17. 
 
 w Jer. xxxi. 33. i7 Comp. John iii. 20, 21. 
 
 z;^ V OF THR^ 
 
 fUiriVERSITT] 
 
24 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 12. Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes. 
 
 " Praise is comely for the upright.'" It is at once their duty and 
 their privilege. But what does its highest exercise amount to, 
 when placed on the ground of its own merit ? We clothe our ideas 
 with magnificence of language, and deck them out with all the 
 richness of imagery ; and perhaps we are pleased with our forms 
 of praise. But what are they in his sight l3eyond the offering of 
 a contemptible worm, spreading before its Maker its own mean and 
 low notions of Divine Majesty ? If a worm were to raise its head, 
 and cry — ' O sun ! thou art the source of light and heat to a 
 widely-extended universe' — it would, in fact, render a higher praise 
 to the sun, than we can ever give to our Maker. Between it and 
 us there is some proportion — between us and God none. Yet, un- 
 worthy as the offering confessedly is, he will not despise it. Nay, 
 more, — instead of spurning it from his presence, he has revealed 
 himself as " inhabiting the praises of Israel,"^ — intimating to us, 
 that the service of praise is "set forth in his sight as incense;" and 
 at the same time, that it should be the daily unceasing exercise of 
 one at his own home. 
 
 The true character of praise, however, depends entirely upon the 
 state of the heart. In the contemplative philosopher it is only 
 cheering barren admiration : in the believer it becomes a principle 
 of comfort and encouragement. For, can he forget " the revela- 
 tion" which his God has given of himself in the gospel of his dear 
 Son ; how it divests every attribute of its terrors, and shines before 
 us in all the glory of his faithfulness and love ? The ascription 
 of praise — '^Blessed art thou, O Lord'' — frames itself therefore 
 into the prophet's song — "Who is a God like unto thee, that par- 
 doneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant 
 of his heritage ! He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he 
 delighteth in mercy."^ 
 
 Truly then he is " blessed^'' in himself, and delights to commu- 
 nicate his blessedness to his people. Hence we are emboldened to 
 ask for continual '•Reaching in his statutes'^* — in the truths 
 which he has revealed, and the precepts which he has enjoined ! 
 that we may "be followers of him, as dear children," and "walk 
 with him in love."^ The practical influence, however, of Divine 
 light constitutes its peculiar privilege. Man's teaching puffeth up 
 — God's teaching humbleth. Man's teaching may lead us into 
 error as well as into truth — God's teaching is " the unction from 
 the Holy One, by which we know all things."*' Man's teaching 
 may make us more learned — God's teaching makes us more iioly. 
 It persuades, while it enlightens. It draws the heart, inclines the 
 will, and carries out the soul to Christ.^ The tried character of 
 God encourages us to look for his teaching — " Good and upright 
 is the Lord ; therefore will he teach sinners in the way."" Our 
 
 » Psalm xxxiii. 1, 2. a Psalm xxii. 3. 3 Micah vii. 18, 
 
 < The game acknowledgment and plea are made in verses 64, 68. ^ Kph. v. 1,2. 
 
 • 1 John ii. 20. 7 John vi. 44, 45. » Ps. xxv. a 
 
VERSE 13. 25 
 
 warrant is especially confirmed in approaching him as our covenant 
 God — " Lead me in thy truth, and teach me ; for thou art the 
 God of tny salvation. Teach me to do thy will ; for thou art 
 my God.^ 
 
 Reader! do you desire to praise your God? Then learn to fre- 
 quent the new and Uving way. " by which alone you can offer your 
 sacrifice acceptably."'* And while engaged in this hMy service, in- 
 quire, surrounded as you are with the means of instruction, what 
 progress you are making in his statutes. Seek to have a deeper 
 acquaintance wiih the character of God. Seek to be the vessels 
 of honor and glory, into which he is pouring more and more con- 
 tinually, " until they be filled with all the fulness of God."^ Value 
 the unspeakable blessing of Divine teaching, by which you learn 
 to live the life, and begin the blessedness of God. 
 
 13. With my lips have 1 declared all the judgments of thy mouth. 
 
 We have seen the v)ord hid in the heart ; now we see it poured 
 forth from the lips. The Lord has taught us his statutes ; now 
 we declare these judgments of his m^outh ; but who can declare 
 them with unction and power, save those who are taught of God 7 
 Now we are introduced to the high and honorable privilege of be- 
 coming a witness for our Saviour !* Our opportunities of service 
 are our talents, and we trade with a large increase ; for " to every 
 one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance."^ But — 
 " our lips are our own,"^ — is the proud language of the world. Bless- 
 ed be God ; " we know that we are not our own."' Mostgladly do 
 we acknowledge, that he, who fashioned our lips, has the best claim 
 to their service. And when he has added tc the claim of creation 
 the right of purchase,^ what further constraining can we need, to 
 induce the consecration of all that we are, and all that we have, to 
 his glory ! 
 
 This is a family obligation — To declare the judgments of God^s 
 mouth. Thus did Abraham obtain a blessing for his children.* 
 Heavenly blessings are the gracious reward of thus honoring our 
 God.^° This also is the material of our general intercourse — fruit- 
 ful in spiritual results. Thus did Andrew bring Peter,'* and the 
 woman of Samaria, her neighbors, ''^ to Jesus. What might we not 
 do for our fellow sinners, if our intercourse with them was the over- 
 flowing of a heart filled with love ; guided by a single desire to 
 glorify our Saviour, and to edify his church ! Fearful indeed io 
 the guilt of sinful silence ; and those, wha thus prove their unfaith- 
 fulness to God, may well tremble at his awful denunciations. And 
 yet it is possible to be bold in speech for God, when in the closet, 
 the family, or the world, our consciences justly convict us of in- 
 sincerity. — "Thou that teachest another, teachest thou not thy- 
 
 * Ps. cxliu. 10. 2 Heb. x. 20, xiii. 15. 1 Pet. ii. 5. 3 Eph. iii. 19. 
 
 < Phil. ii. 16. 5 Matt. xxv. 29. 6 Psalm xii. 4. 
 
 7 I Cor. vi. 19. 8 II). 20. » Gen. xviii. 19. 
 
 w Deut. xi. 18—21. » John i. 40—42. w lb. iv. 29, 30. 
 
26 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 self?"^ Let us seek therefore to have our hearts "filled with the 
 Spirit ;"2 else our " talk of the hps tendeth only to penury."^ 
 
 This subject illustrates the character of the Lord's people — 
 "The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue 
 talketh of judgment ;"* their resolution — " My mouth shall shew 
 forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day ; for I know 
 not the numbers thereof ;"« their prayer — "O Lord, open thou 
 my lips, and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise ;"^ their bless- 
 ing — " The lips of the righteous feed many. A wholesome 
 tongue is a tree of hfe."^ The example of the Saviour, here as 
 everywhere, is our perfect and encouraging pattern : " I have 
 preached righteousness in the great congregation ; lo ! I have not 
 refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knovvest.''^ In this spirit of their 
 Master, the Apos^tles awed their persecutors into forbearance — " We 
 cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. "^ 
 
 How sinful is it to employ our lips for any but the Lord ! Yet 
 not less sinful is our reluctance to employ them for him ! Surely 
 the day — when perhaps we have been fluent in worldly conversa- 
 tion, and yet have neglected our opportunities for speaking a word 
 for him, must be considered a lost day ! Is there not much cause 
 for watchfulness, prayer, and self-denial; lest our silence should 
 deny him, whom by every obligation we are bound to confess? If 
 our inability to bear a testimony for our Lord is not painful to us,^^ 
 must we not suspect, if not the sincerity, at least the strength of 
 our attachment to his precious name? and we can do no better 
 than retire into our closets with the prayer of contrition — "Enter 
 not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord."'^ 
 
 14. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies ^ as much as in all riches. 
 
 How natural is it to be speaking of that which is our delight ! 
 The man of God was always declaring' the Lord's judgments^ 
 because they were his rejoicing. There is indeed a real joy in 
 despising earthly joys. " How sweet," said Augustine, refering to the 
 period of his conversion, " was it in a moment to be free from those 
 delightful vanities, to lose w^hich had been my dread ; to part with 
 which was now my joy !"^* More satisfying is the believer's rejoic- 
 ing in the way of God, than that of the miser in his untold riches.*^ 
 Here he may safely say to his soul — " Soul, thou hast much goods 
 
 » Romans ii. 21. 2 Eph. v. 18, 19. » Prov. xiv. 23, with x. 19. 
 
 4 Ps. xxxvii. 30. 8 lb. Ixxi. 15. « lb. li. 15. 
 
 7 Prov. X. 21, XV. 4. « Ps. xl. 9, 10, with Luke iv. 16—22. » Acts iv. 20. 
 
 "» Compare Psalm xxxix. 1, 2. Jcr. xx. 9. J' Psalm, cxliii. 2. 
 
 •2 " Quas amittere mctus erat, jam dimittere gaudium fuit." — Aug. Confess. Book ix. 
 Never man in his unregenerate state, by his own confession, more strongly illujitrated 
 the truth of our Lord's declaration — " Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin." 
 (John viii. 34, with 2 Peter ii. 19.^ He describes himself actually as "wallowing in the 
 mire," with as much delight as if he were rolling himself in a bed of spices, or perfuming 
 himself with the most precious ointment. (" Volutare in csBno, tanquam cinnamonis et 
 unguentis pretiosis.") Yet when the word pierced his heart, and brought a new bias 
 and taste into his soul, how delightfully is his language changed in the recollection of 
 his past " excess of riot !" " Quam sauve est btis suavitatibus carere !" 
 
 « Verses 72, 127. 
 
VERSE 15. 27 
 
 laid up for many years ; take thine ease." And these are the only 
 riches within the reach of all. If we are poor in this world, it is the 
 Lord's providence. If we are poor in grace it is our own fault. It 
 is because we have despised our Lord's counsel to buy of him, 
 "gold tried in the fire, that we may be rich."^ And what is this 
 enriching portion? — " Things present and things to come:'"^ some- 
 thing enjoyed, and much more expected : the mercies of eternity 
 added to the blessings of time ; the riches of both worlds — all as- 
 sured to him by the covenant of grace " in the way of the Lord's 
 iestimoniesy Is it not then most strange, that with such treasure 
 in possession and in prospect, the child of God should be so careless 
 in increasing his store, and in confirming his own interest in it? 
 But the riches of Gods testimonies have this peculiar property, 
 that they cease to rejoice the heart, when they are not uppermost 
 there. Have there not been times, when we have actually rejoiced 
 in the accession of some worldly good, or the accomplishment of 
 some worldly desire, more than in this heavenly treasure? What 
 then do we count our riches 7 To thrive in grace, or in the world? 
 to be rich towards God, or for our own indulgence ? 
 
 But though we would rejoice in the testimonies^ and would not, 
 for all this world can afford, lose a verse or letter of our Bibles, yet 
 we cannot be satisfied with a general interest. Many texts — doctri- 
 nal, practical, or experimental — have been specially sealed by the 
 Divine Spirit upon our hearts.^ This or that promise — yea, all the 
 land of promise, as much as I can set my foot upon — is mine. Of 
 these precious testimonies^ shall we not increase our little stock, un- 
 til we have apprehended the full enjoyment of the whole ; if indeed 
 the fulness of that which is called " unsearchable"* can ever be, in 
 this life at least, completel}?^ enjoyed? 
 
 But it is not so much in the Lord's testimonies, as "m the way 
 of, themj'' that David rejoiced — the way to God, of which they tes- 
 tify^ — " the way of holiness,"" in which they lead — the narrow 
 way of the cross — so contrary to our natural desires and inclina- 
 tions, that none but the true sheep of Christ can ever enter, or con- 
 tinue in it. Who that walks in these ways will fail to find them, 
 in duties no less than in privileges, ^' paths of pleasantness and 
 peace?" Our happiness is not withered, but flourishing. "Thus 
 saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old 
 paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find 
 rest for your souls."^ 
 
 15. IvAll meditate in ^y 'precepts ^ and have respect unto thy ways. 
 
 Our rejoicing in the testimonies of God will naturally flow in 
 an habitual meditation in them.^ The thoughts follow the affec- 
 tions. They are no burden to the carnal man, so far as his heart 
 
 1 Rev. iii. 18. 2 1 Cor. iii. 22. 
 
 ' "This is my Scripture," Origen used to say of such texts. * Eph. iii. 18. 
 
 8 John xiv. 6, with v. 39. ' Isaiah ixxv. 8. "* Jet. vi. 16. 
 
 • Verse 97. Psalm i. 2. 
 
28 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 is in them. But having no spiritual taste, he has no ability for 
 spiritual 7neditatio7i. Indeed many sincere Christians, through re- 
 maining weakness and depravity, are too often rehictant to it. 
 They are content with indolent reading : and, with scarcely a 
 struggle or a trial, yield themselves up to the persuasion, that they 
 are unable sufficiently to abstract their minds for this blessed em- 
 ployment. But let the trial prove the work. Perseverance will 
 accomplish the victory over mental instability, and the spiritual 
 difficulty will give way to prayer — "Lord, help me." The fruit- 
 fulness of this employment will soon be manifest. Does it not " stir 
 up the gift of God that is in us,"^ and keep the energies of the heart 
 in a wakeful posture of conflict and resistance ? Besides this, it is 
 the digestive faculty of the soul, which converts the word into real 
 and proper nourishment : so that this revolving of a single verse in 
 our minds is often better than the mere reading of wiiole chapters. 
 " Thy words were found, and I did eat them ; and thy word was 
 unto me the joy and the rejoicing of my heart."^ Thus the mind 
 becomes the instrument of faith and love — of joy and strength. 
 
 But this meditation not only includes the stated times of thought, 
 but the train of holy thoughts, that passes through the mind during 
 the busy hours of the day. This maintains an habitual flow of 
 spiritual desires, and excites the flame of love within, till at length 
 the Psalmist's resolution becomes the inwrought habit of our minds 
 — " / will meditate in thy precepts.''^ 
 
 Can we want a subject for meditation, if indeed the salvation of 
 Jesus has been made known to our souls? While musing upon 
 this glorious theme, does not "the fire burn"^ within, as if our 
 hearts were touched with a live coal from the altar of God ? Chide 
 then, believer, thy dull and sluggish spirit, that suffers the precious 
 manna to lie ungathered upon the ground, that is slow to entertain 
 these heavenly thoughts, or rather that heavenly guest, whose 
 peculiar office it is to " help our infirmities,"'' and especially to " take 
 of Christ's, and show it unto us."» 
 
 The exercise, however, of this, as of every other duty, may prove 
 a barren form, that imparts neither pleasure nor profit. <' Let each 
 of us then ask — What distinct experimental benefit have I received 
 from the word? Do I endeavor to read it with prayerful medita- 
 tion, until I find my heart filled with it? 
 
 But this communing with the word is not for contemplation, but 
 for practice.' By meditating on God^s precepts^ we learn to have 
 
 » 2 Tim. i. 6. 
 8 Jer. XV. 16. " Meditation is that exercise of mind, whereby it recalls a known truth, 
 as some kinds of creatures do their food, to be ruminated upon, until the nutritious parts 
 are extractetl, and fitttnl for the purposes of life." — Bishop Home on this verse. 
 
 * Ps. xxxix. 3, and comp. Ps. xlv. 1. < Rom. viii. 20. 5 John xvi. 14, 15. 
 
 • " If a chapter be read with the eye merely, while the mind remains inattentive, and 
 the book be shut as soon as the chapter is finished, and thus, what has been read imme- 
 diately escapes the memory; what is there to surprise, if, after the whole Bible has been 
 several times reatl through, we discover in ourselves no increase of piety and devotion 1" 
 
 ■ Professor Franck. 
 1 Joshua i. 8. 
 
VERSE 16. 29 
 
 respect unto his ?/7ay5— carefully " pondering the path of our feet," 
 that we "turn not aside." ^ Thy loving kindness is before mine 
 eyes ; and I have walked in thy truthP'^ " My foot," saith Job, " hath 
 held his steps; his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither 
 have I gone back from the cominandaient of his lips ; " / have 
 esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary foodP^ 
 
 16. 1 will delight myself^ in thy statutes ; 1 will not forget thy word. 
 
 As delight quickens to meditation^ so does the practical habit of 
 meditation strengthen the principle of delight. In the enjoyment 
 of this delight the Christian (however small his attainments may 
 be) would rather live and die, than in the pursuit, and even in the 
 possession of tfie most satisfying pleasures of a vain and empty 
 world. But if it be a real " delight in the Lord^s statutes,^^ it will 
 be universal — when they probe the secret lurking-places within, 
 and draw out to the full light the hidden indulgences of a heart 
 that is yet " carnal ;"® when they call for the entire crucifixion of 
 every corrupt inclination, and the unreserved surrender of all to the 
 self-denying service of our God. This spirit is very different from 
 the delight of the hypocrite, which is rather " to know," than to do 
 the " ways of his God :"^ and therefore which is satisfied with out- 
 ward conformity, with little or no desire to " understand the errors of 
 his heart," that he might be "cleansed from secret faults."^ The 
 spring of our obedience will therefore prove its sincerity ; and the 
 reality of our love will be manifested by its fruitfulness and active 
 cheerfulness in our appointed sphere of duty. 
 
 We may also observe here an evidence of adoption, when obedi- 
 ence is not a burden, but a delight. The servant may perform 
 the statutes of God, but it is only the Son who ^^ delights in theni.^^ 
 But what — we may ask — is the spring of adoption I It is " the 
 Spirit of the Son sent into our hearts, whereby we cry 'Abba, 
 Father.' "' It is because we are at peace with God through .Tesus 
 Christ; because the statutes are the message of reconciliation 
 through him, that they become delightful to those who are partakers 
 of this great salvation. The spirit of adoption, therefore, as the 
 principle of delight, is the spring of acceptable obedience in the 
 Lord's service. 
 
 And surely those who are serving him in this happy filial walk 
 are not likely to ^''forget his wordP As the eye is continually 
 turned to the object of its affection, so the eye of the soul, that has 
 been fixed with delight on the ways of God, will be habitually 
 resting upon them. As one of the wise heathens observed — "I 
 never yet heard of a covetous old man, who had forgotten where 
 he had buried his treasure."'" The reason is abundantly evident. 
 
 1 Prov. iv. 26, 27. 2 Psalm xxvi. 3. 3 Job xxiii. 11, 12. 
 
 * " I will solace and recreate myself." — Ainsworth. A beautiful illustration of the 
 refreshment of the word, when the mind is tired out with the toilsome encumbering cares 
 of the world. 5 Verses 14, 15. ^ gee Rom. vii. 14. 1 Cor. iii. 1, 3. 
 
 7 Isaiah Iviii. 2. 8 Psalm xix. 12. i" Gal. iv. 6. 
 
 1* " Nee vero quenquam senum audivi oblitum, quo loco thesauriun obruisset."— Cicero 
 de Senectute. Compare Matt. vi. 21 
 
30 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 His heart is in it. And this explains the forgetfulness of the un- 
 godly or the formalist. They have no delight in the statutes. 
 And who is not glad to forget what is distasteful? But if we 
 "have tasted that the Lord is gracious" — if we have found a 
 treasure in the way of his testimonies — we c^nnoX. forget the sweet- 
 ness of the experience, or where to go to refresh ourselves with the 
 repetition of it. 
 
 Forgetfulness of the word is, however, to the Christian, a source 
 of continual complaint, and sometimes also of most distressing 
 temptation. Not that there is always a real charge of guilt upon 
 the conscience. For, as Boston somewhat quaintly observes — 
 "Grace makes a good heart-memory, even where there is no 
 good head-memory." But means must be used, and helps may be 
 suggested. Watchfulness against the influence of the world is of 
 the first importance. How much of the good seed is choked by the 
 springing thorns !^ If our hearts are ever refreshed with spiritual 
 delight, we should be as cautious of an uncalled-for advance into 
 the world, as of exposing an invalid's susceptible frame to a damp 
 or unhealthy atmosphere. Whatever warmth had been kindled in 
 spiritual duties, may be chilled by one moment's unwary rush into 
 an unkindly clime. We must also recommend increasing atten- 
 tion to the word, as the means of its preservation'^ — the exercise of 
 "faith," without which it will " not profit"^ the active habit of love, 
 bringing with it a more habitual interest in tne statutes^ — all accom- 
 panied with unceasing prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit, made 
 th eexpress subject of promise for this purpose.^ Under this heav- 
 enly teaching and recollections, what delight will be found in the 
 statutes ! what blessed remembrance of his word ! And what a 
 happy spirit is their delight and remembrance of the word — the 
 affections glowing — the memory pondering — the presence and man- 
 ifestation of truth keeping the heart in close communion with 
 God ! " O Lord God, keep this for ever in the imagination of the 
 thoughts of the hearts of thy people and prepare their hearts unto 
 thee."« 
 
 PART III. 
 
 17. Deal hountifuUy idth thy servant, that I may live, and ke p thy word. 
 
 Tins prayer appears to have been much upon David's heart, and 
 Id the substance and object of it is again repeated.'' Nor does he 
 
 » Matt. xiii. 22. « Heb. ii. 1. 3 lb. iv. 2. * Verse 15. 
 
 6 John xiv. 26. « 1 Chron. xxix. 18. ' Verse 77. 
 
VERSE 17. 31 
 
 fail to acknowledge the answer to iU The believer hke David, is 
 a man of large expectations. As regards himself — his own daily 
 provocations and backslid ings — he cannot stand upon his own 
 ground. But when he brings with him the name, tlie blood, the 
 intercession of Jesus, as soon could God deny his own beloved Son, 
 as resist the supplication of those who present this all-prevailing 
 plea.* Nay — is not this his own gift to his children, as the pledge of 
 every other gift?^ And what other pledge can they need, to en- 
 courage them to draw nigh with the largest desire, and the most 
 heavenly expectation? We may indeed be too bold in our manner 
 of approach to God ;* but we cannot be too bold in our expectations 
 from him. Standing as we do upon such high and sure ground, 
 it is equally dishonorable to him, and impoverishing to ourselves, 
 to ask only a little of him. Rather let us, according to his own 
 command, " open our mouths wide ; and he will fill them."* 
 Rather let us expect that he will deal — not only favorably — but 
 bountifully with his servants — that, as " our God, he will supply 
 all our need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."« 
 
 And, indeed, the most experienced believer cannot forget, that 
 he is in himself still the same poor, weak, empty, helpless creature 
 as at first. Nothing therefore short of a bountiful supply can an- 
 swer his emergency. Such a supply is always at hand. The 
 act of prayer increases the power to pray. The throne of grace is 
 a well, which no power or malice of the Philistines can stop up.' 
 
 We need not say, — " We have nothing to draw with, and the 
 well is deep."^ Faith will enable us " with joy to draw water out 
 of this well of salvation."^ Let us bring our empty vessels, until 
 " there is not a vessel more."^° Yes — behever — there is indeed a 
 bountiful supply of grace — of every kind — suited to every want — 
 grace to pardon — grace to quicken — grace to bless. Oh ! see, then, 
 that you come not empty away. Remember — who it is that pleads 
 before the throne. Remember — that the grace you need is in his 
 hand. From eternity he foreknew your case. He laid your por- 
 tion by. He has kept it for the time of need ; and now he only 
 waits for an empty vessel into which to pour his supply. He is 
 ready to show you, how infinitely his grace exceeds all thoughts — 
 all prayers — all desires — all praises. 
 
 And say — what has been the fruit of your pleading, waiting ex- 
 pectancy at " the throne of grace?" Have you not returned thence 
 with a fresh spring of devotedness in this service, with every selfish 
 thought forgotten in the desire, that you "way live and keep his 
 word." Nothing touched or moved your reluctant heart, but the ap- 
 prehension of bountiful redeeming love. This makes obedience easy 
 — delightful — natural — in a manner unavoidable. It " constrains'"^ 
 
 1 Verse 65. Comp. Ps. xiii. 6 ; cxvi. 7, 8. 2 John xvi. 23, 24. 3 Rom. viii. 32. 
 ^ * A beautiful example of reverential approach, and of the acceptance manifested, is 
 given in Abram's history, (Gen. xvii, 3,) and is in some degree illustrated by the private 
 records of Luther. — Note on verses 147, 148. 
 
 5 Psalm Ixxxi. 10. « Phil. iv. 19. ^ Com. Gen. ixvi. 15. 8 John iv. 11. 
 
 » Isaiah xii. 3. w Comp. 2 Kings iv. 3—6. u 2 Cor. v. 14. 
 
32 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX.. 
 
 to it. The man now lives — not the animal life of appetite — not 
 the sensual life of vanity and pleasure — but the only life that de- 
 serves the name. He lives singly, supremely " to him that died for 
 him, and rose again."^ He ^^ lives, and keeps his word." His 
 motto and character now is — " To me to live is Christ."^ He val- 
 ues life only by its opportunities of serving his God.^ The first arch- 
 angel knows not a higher object of existence. And how encour- 
 aging the reflection, that in this glorious object the meanest servant 
 in the household of God is an equal participant with the most 
 blessed inhabitant of heaven ! 
 
 18. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. 
 
 In order to keep God^s 2Vord, must we not pray to understand 
 it? What then is the prayer? Not — give me a plainer Bible-— 
 but open mine eyes to know my Bible. Not — show me some new 
 revelations beside the law — but make me behold the wonders of 
 the law. David had acquired in the Divine school " more under- 
 standing than all his teachers ;"* yet he ever comes to his God un- 
 der a deep sense of his blindness. Indeed, those who have been 
 best and longest taught are always the most ready to " sit at the 
 feet of Jesus,"'' as if they had everything to learn. It is an un- 
 speakable mercy to know a little, and at the same time to feel that 
 it is only a little. We shall then be longing to know more, and 
 yet anxious to know nothing, except as we are taught of God. 
 There are indeed in God's law things so wondrous, that " the an- 
 gels desire to look into them."* The exhibition of the scheme of 
 redemption is in itself a world of wonders. The display of justice 
 exercised in the way of mercy, and of mercy glorified in the exer- 
 cise of justice, is a wonder, that must fill the intelligent universe of 
 God with everlasting astonishment. And yet these ^'-wondrous 
 things'^ are hid from multitudes, who are most deeply interested 
 in the knowledge of them. They are " hid," not only from the 
 ignorant and unconcerned, but " from the wise and prudent ; and 
 revealed" only " to babes f — to those who practically acknowledge 
 that important truth, that a man "can receive nothing, except it 
 be given him from heaven."^ External knowledge is like the child 
 spelling the letters without any apprehension of the meaning. It 
 is like reading a large and clear print with a thick veil before our 
 eyes. Oh! how needful then is the prayer — 'UnveiP — '^ Open 
 t/ion mine eyes ;" let the veil be taken away from the law, that 1 
 may understand it; and from my heart, that I may receive it !' 
 
 But do not even Christians often find the word of God to be as 
 a sealed book? They go through their accustomed portion, with- 
 out gaining any increasing acquaintance with light, life and power, 
 and without any distinct application of its contents to their hearts. 
 And thus it must be, whenever reading has been unaccompanied 
 
 » 2 Cor. V. 15. 8 Phil. i. 21. Comp. Acts xiii. 36. 3 lb. 20. < Verses 99, 100. 
 8 Luke X. 39. • 1 Peter i. 12. ^ Matt. xi. 25. « John iii. 27. 
 
 • " Revela oculos meos. Velamcn detraha oculis meia." — Poll Synopsis. Margin, 
 Reveal. Compare 2 Cor. iii. 14 — 16. 
 
VERSE 19. 33 
 
 with prayer for Divine influence. For we not only need to have 
 our " eyes open to behold'^ fresh wonders, but also to give a more 
 spiritual and transforniing* perception of those wonders, which we 
 have already beheld. 
 
 But are we conscious of our blindness ? Then let us hear the 
 counsel of our Lord, that we " anoint our eyes with eye-salve, that 
 we may see.''' The recollection of the promises of Divine teaching 
 are fraught with encouragement. The Spirit is freely and abund- 
 antly promised in this very character, as " the Spirit of wisdom and 
 revelation in the knowledge of God."^ If therefore we desire a 
 clearer insight into these ^^ wondrous things" of revelation — if 
 we would behold the glorious beauty of our Immanuel — if we 
 would comprehend something more of the immeasurable extent 
 of that love, with which " God so loved the world, as to give his 
 only-begotten Son''* — and of that equally incomprehensible love, 
 which moved that Son so cheerfully to undertake our cause,'' we 
 must make daily, hourly use of this important petition — " Opefi 
 thou mine eyes.^^ 
 
 19. I am a stranger in the earth; hide not thy commandments from me. 
 
 Such is the condition of the child of God — a stranger in the 
 earth ! This confession, however, from a solitary wanderer would 
 have had little comparative meaning. But in the mouth of one, 
 who was probably surrounded with every source of worldly enjoy- 
 ment, it shows at once the vanity of "earth's best joys," and the 
 heavenly tendency of the religion of the Bible. This has been 
 ever the character, confession, and glory of the Lord's people.* 
 We " would not hve always,"^ and gladly do we hear the warning 
 voice that reminds us to " arise and depart, for this is not our rest."* 
 And was not this especially the character not of David only, but of 
 David's Lord? Born at an inn' — not "having where to lay his 
 head'"" — suft'ering hunger^' — subsisting upon alms'* — neglected by 
 his own'3 — " looking for some to take pity, but there was none, and 
 for his comforters but he found none"'* — might he not justly take 
 up the confession — ^* I am a stranger in the earth?" 
 
 This verse exhibits the Christian in many most interesting points 
 of view ; distant from his proper home'* — without a fixed residence'* 
 — with no particular interest in the world'^ — and submitting to all 
 the inconveniences of a stranger on his journey homewards.'^ Such 
 is his state ! And the word of God includes all that he wants — a 
 guide, a guard, a companion — to direct, secure, and cheer his way. 
 When thou goest, it shall lead thee ; when thou sleepest, it shall 
 keep thee ; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee."" Most 
 
 » 2 Cor. iii. 18. » Rev. iU. 18. » Eph. i. 17. 
 
 « John iii. 16. » Heb. i. 5—7. 
 
 « Abraham, Gen. xiiiL 4. Jacob, Gen. xlvii. 9. David, Psalm xxxix. 12. AH 
 
 Heb. li. 13. Tjobvii. 16. 
 
 8 Micah ii. 10. » Luke ii. 7. w Matt. viii. 20. 
 
 " lb. xxi. 18. • w Luke viii. 3. w John i. 11. 
 
 i« Psalm Ixix. 20. '5 Heb. li. 9. w 1 Chron. xxix. 15. 
 
 "Phil. iiL20. w Acts xiv. 23. Heb. x. 34. »» Prov. vi. 20— ai 
 
EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 suitable then is the stranger's prayer — ^^ Hide not thy comma?id- 
 merits from meP Acquaintance with the word of God suppUes the 
 place of friends and counsellors. It furnishes light, joy, strength, 
 food, armor, and whatever else he may need on his way homewards. 
 
 The pilgrim-spirit is the pulse of the soul. All of us are travel- 
 ling to eternity. The worldling is at home in the earth — a pilgrim 
 only by constraint. His heart would say — 'It is good for me to be 
 here. Let God dispose of heaven at his pleasure. I am content 
 to have my portion in this life.'^ The child of God is a stranger 
 in the earth. Heaven is the country of his birth.^ His kindred' 
 — his inheritance^ — his Saviour^ — his hope^ — his home^ — is there. 
 He is '-a citizen of no mean city," of the heavenly Jerusalem.* 
 There he is a pilgrim in affection no less than in character. How 
 cheering is the thought, that here we have no continuing city, if in 
 heart and soul we are "seeking one to come l"^ 
 
 We know indeed, that we cannot — we would not — call this 
 world our home, and that it is far better to be without it, than to 
 have our portion in it. But do we never feel at home in the earthy 
 thus forgetting our proper character and our eternal prospects? Do 
 we always hve. speak, and act as ^^ strangers in the earthH^ — in the 
 midst of earthly enjoyments sitting loose to them, as if our treasure 
 was in heaven? Does our conversation in the society of the world 
 gavor of the home whither we profess to be going? Is the world 
 gaining ascendency in our affections? Let the cross of Calvary 
 be the object of our daily contemplation — the ground of our con- 
 stant "glorying;" and the world will then be to us a "crucified" 
 object.'" And lastly, let U!i not forget, that we are looking forward, 
 and making progress towards a world, where none are strangers — 
 where all are cliildren of one family, dwelling in one eternal home. 
 '''' In my Fathef s house^^ — said our gracious Head — ^^ are many 
 mansions : I go to prepare a place for yoii."^^ 
 
 20. My sold breaketh fur Oie longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all 
 
 times. 
 
 This intense desire and affection is the Christian's answer to 
 his prayers — Open thou mine eyes — Hide not thy commandm^ents 
 from m,e. For who that is conversant with this blessed revelation 
 but longs to be filled with it? In contrasting this glow with the 
 church of Laodicea, under a brighter dispensation " neither cold nor 
 hot:"'*^ — which state, we may ask, most nearly resembles our own? 
 Observe also, not only the fervor, but the steady uniformity, of 
 this religion. It was not a rapture, but a hnbit; constant and uni- 
 form; "a^ all times.^^ With us, such enjoyments are too often 
 favored seasons, happy moments ; alas ! only moments — why not 
 days, and months, and years? The object of our desires is an in- 
 
 * Psalm xvii. 14. Compare Luke vi. 24; xii. 19, 20; xvi. 25. 
 
 « Gal. iv. 26. a pph. iii. 15. < lb. i. 3, ll,fi. Matt. ixv. 34. 
 
 » John xiv. 3. Col. iii. 1 « Phil. iii. 20. ' 2 Cor. v. 1—6. 
 
 « Heb. xii. 22. » lb. xiii. 14. w Gal. vi. 14. 
 
 »» John xiv. 2. is Rev. iii. 15. 
 
VERSE 20. 35 
 
 exhaustible spring. The longing of the soul, can never overreach 
 its object. The cherished desire therefore will become the estab- 
 lished habit — the element in which the child of God lives and thrives. 
 
 This uniformity is the most satisfactory test of our profession. 
 Often are the judgments prized in affliction, when all other re- 
 sources fail : or under a pang of conscience, when the terror of the 
 Lord "is frowning upon the sinner."^ But the affection wears off 
 the trouble, and the heart returns to its hardness. Often also the 
 impulse of novelty gives a strong but temporary impression.* 
 This is very different from the Christian, whose study is stretching 
 out its desires at all times ; finding the judgments a cordial or a 
 discipline — a support or a preservation — as his need may require. 
 
 Not less important is this habit as the test of the soul's prosperity. 
 We are not satisfied with occasional intercourse with a beloved 
 friend. His society is the life of our life. We seek him in his own 
 ways, where he is used to resort. We feel the blank of his absence. 
 We look out for his return with joyous anticipation. Now is this 
 the picture of our souls longing for communion with Jesus? We 
 may feel his loss, should the stated seasons of prayer fail in bring- 
 ing him near to us. But do we long for him at all times ? Do 
 we "wait for him in the way of his judgments,'^ where he is wont 
 to be found ?^ And when spiritual exercises are exchanged for 
 worldly occupations, do we seize the leisure moment to catch a 
 word — a glimpse — a look ? Is not the heart dumb with shame 
 in the recollection of the cold habit of external or occasional duty ? 
 
 But whence this low ebbing of spiritual desire? Do we live 
 near to the throne of grace? Have we not neglected prayer for 
 the influence of the Spirit? Have we not indulged a light, vain, 
 and worldly spirit, than which nothing more tends to wither the 
 growth of vital religion? Or have not the workings of unbelief 
 been too faintly resisted? This of itself will account for much of 
 our dulness; since the rule of the kingdom of grace is — "Accord- 
 ing to your faith be it unto you."* Grace is indeed an insatiable 
 principle. Enjoyment, instead of surfeiting, only serves to sharpen 
 the appetite. Yet if we are content to live at a low rate, there 
 will be no sensible interest in the consolation of the Gospel. We 
 know, desire, and are satisfied with little : and therefore we enjoy 
 but Uttle. We live as borderers on the land, instead of bearing 
 our testimony — " Surely it floweth with milk and honey ; and this 
 is the fruit of itP^ This is not the thriving, the cheerfulness, the 
 adoring of the Gospel. It is rather the obscuring of the glory of 
 our Christian profession, and of the happiness of its attendant 
 privileges. 
 
 Let not the fervor of desire here expressed be conceived to be 
 out of reach ; nor let it be expected in the way of some sudden 
 manifestation or excitement. Rather let us look for it in a pa- 
 tient, humble, and persevermg waiting upon the Lord. We may 
 
 » Isa. xxvi. 16. 2 John v. 35. 3 jga. xxvi. 8j Ixiv. 5. 
 
 < Matt. ix. 29. « Num. xiii. 27. 
 
30 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 have still to complain of coldness and wanderings. Yet strength 
 to wait will be imperceptibly given : faith will be sustained for the 
 conflict: and thus our souls will "make their boast in the Lord/' 
 even though an excited flow of enjoyment should be withheld. 
 One desire will, however, tread upon another, increasing in ful- 
 ness, as the grand object is nearer our grasp. 
 
 At all events, let us beware of resting satisfied with the confes- 
 sion of our lukewarmness to our fellow-creatures, without " pouring 
 out our heart before the Lord." There is a fulness of grace in our 
 glorious Head to "strengthen the things that remain, that are 
 ready to die," *as well as at the beginning to "quicken" us when 
 "dead in trespasses and sins." Abundant, also, are the" promises 
 and encouragements to poor, dry, barren souls — " 1 will heal their 
 backrflidings ; I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as 
 the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. "^ For what purpose 
 are promises such as these given, but that they may be "argu- 
 ments," wherewith to " fill our mouth," when in the contrition of 
 faith we again venture to " order our cause before God V And 
 "will he plead against us with his great power?" No — but "he 
 will put his strength in us /''^ and we shall yet again " run the 
 way of his commandments"'* with an enlarged heart. 
 
 21. Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy com- 
 mandments. 
 
 Let the histories of Cain,* Pharaoh,^ Haman,^ Nebuchadnezzar,' 
 and Herod,^ exhibit the proud under the rebuke and curse of 
 God. He abhors their persons^ and their offerings ;i° he "knows 
 them afar off:"'' " heresisteth them:"'* "he scattereth them in the 
 imai^inations of their hearts." '^ Especially hateful are they in his 
 sight, when, cloaking themselves under a spiritual garb — " they 
 say, Stand by thyself, come not near tb me ; for 1 am holier than 
 thou : these are a smoke in my nose, a fire that hurneth all the 
 day.^^^* Most of all is this sin an abomination in his own beloved 
 people. David"' and Hezekiah"* are instructive beacons in the 
 Church, that they, least of all, must expect to escape his rebuke — 
 " Thou wast a God that forgavest them ; thous^h thou tookest ve7t- 
 ^eance on their inventions. ^^^'' " Now they call the proud happy."" 
 But will they be counted so, when they shall be manifestly under 
 the curse of God ; when " the day of the Lord shall be upon them 
 to bring them low," yea to " burn them in the oven "of his heav- 
 enly wrath ?"'» 
 
 Pride probably influences all, that " do err from the Lord's com- 
 mandments f^ yet doubtless "the Righteous Judge" will make au 
 infinite difference between errors of infirmity and of obstinate wil- 
 
 » Hosea xiv. 4—6. 2 job xxiii. 4—0. ^ Verse 32. 
 
 « Gen. iv. 5, 13—16. 6 Kxod. xiv. 15—31. « Esther vii. 7—10. 
 
 7 Dan. iv. 29—33. » Acts xii. 21—23. » Prov. vi. 16, 17. 
 >° Luke xviii. 1 1, 12, 14. " Psalm cxxxviii. 6. " 1 Peter v. 5, with Prov. iii. 34 
 
 >3Lukci. 51. iMsa. Ixv. 5, with Luke xviii. 11. 's 2 Sam. xxiv. 1— 15. 
 
 w 2 King* XX. 12—18 ; 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. " Psalm xcix. 8. 
 
 M MaL iii. 15. '» Isaiah U. 12—17; Mai. iv. 1. 
 
VERSE 21. 37 
 
 fulness.* The confession of the man of God — " I have gone astray 
 like a lost sheep "^ — is widely different in character from the sub- 
 jects of this awful rebuke and curse. " Tkou hast trodden down 
 all them that err from thy statutes ; for their deceit is false- 
 hood.'^ 
 
 We wonder not at this expression of the mind of God concerning 
 pride. There is no sin more abhorrent to his character. It is as if 
 we were taking the crown from his head, and placing it upon our 
 own. It is man making a god of himself, — acting from himself, 
 and for himself Nor is this principle less destructive to our own 
 happiness. And yet it is not only rooted, but it often rears its 
 head and blossoms, and bears fruit, even in hearts which "hate and 
 abhor" its influence. It is most hke its father, the Devil, in serpen- 
 tine deceitfulness. It is always active — always ready impercep- 
 tibly to mix itself up with everything. When it is mortified in 
 one shape, it rises in another. When we have thought that it was 
 gone, in some unexpected moment we find it here still. It can 
 convert everything into nourishment, even God's choicest gifts — 
 yea, the graces of his Spirit. Let no saint therefore, however near 
 he may be living to God, however favored with the shinings of 
 his countenance — consider himself beyond the reach of this temp- 
 tation. Paul was most in danger, when he seemed to be most out 
 of it ; and nothing but an instant miracle of grace and power saved 
 him from the "snare of the Devil."* Indeed, the whole plan of 
 salvation is intended to humble the pride of man, by exhibiting 
 his restoration to the Divine favor, as a free gift through the aton- 
 ing blood of the cross. How hateful therefore is proud man's resist- 
 ance to this humbling doctrine of the cross, and the humbling re- 
 quisitions of the life of faith flowing from it ! This makes the sure 
 "foundation" of the believer's hope "a stone of stumbling" to the 
 unbehever's ruin.^ As regards also the means of salvation — how 
 can pride lift up its head in the view of the Son of God, " taking 
 upon him the form of a servant," that he might bear the curse of 
 man ?^ " Behold, the soul that is lifted up is not upright in him."^ 
 
 But can a sinner — can a saint — be proud ? — one that owes 
 everything to free and sovereign grace — one that has wasted so 
 much time — abused so much mercy — so grieved the Spirit of God 
 — that has a heart so full of atheism — unbelief — selfishness? Nay, 
 the very pride itself should be the matter of the deepest daily hu- 
 miliation. Thus the remembrance of it may, under Divine grace, 
 prove an effectual means of subduing it in our hearts. We shall 
 overcome corruption by its own workings, and meet our adversary 
 with his own weapons. And if this cursed principle be not wholly 
 destroyed, yet the very sight of its corruption, deepening our con- 
 trition, will be overruled for our spiritual advancement. 
 
 O blessed end ! intended by the Lord's dealings with us, to " hum- 
 ble and to prove us" — " to know," and to make us know" " what 
 
 1 Psalm xix. 12, with xcv. 10. 2 Verse 176. 3 Verse 118. < See 2 Cor. xii. 7 
 » Rom. ix. 32, 33. 1 Peter ii. 7, 8. 6 phil. ii. 5—8. i Hab. iL 4. 
 
38 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 was in our heart, that he might do us good at the latter end !^** 
 Let us not frustrate his gracious intentions, or build again the 
 things, which he would have destroyed. May we love to lie low — 
 lower than ever — infinitely low before him ! Lord ! teach us to 
 remember, that "that which is highly esteemed among men, is 
 abomination in thy sight."^ Teach us to bless thee for even thy 
 sharp and painful discipline, which tends to subjugate this hateful 
 pride of our hearts before our Saviour's cross ! 
 
 22. Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies. 
 
 The proud under the rebuke of God, are usually distinguished 
 by their enmity to his people. They delight to pour upon them 
 ^^ reproach a7id contempt " with no other provocation given, than 
 that their keeping" the testimonies of God condemns their own 
 neglect.3 This must, however, be counted as the cost of a decided 
 and separate, and consistent profession. Yet it is such a portion, 
 as Moses valued above all the treasures of the world :* it is that 
 reproach^ which our Master himself " despised," as " reckoning it 
 not worthy to be compared with" " the joy that was set before him."^ 
 For did he bear his cross only on the way to Calvary ? It was laid 
 for every step in his path: it met him in every form of suffering, of 
 " reproach and contempts Look then at him, as taking up his 
 daily cross in breathing the atmosphere of a world of sin, and 
 "enduring the contradiction of sinners against himself."^ Mark 
 him consummating his course of " reproach and contempt^'' by 
 suffering without the gate — and can we hesitate to " go forth unto 
 him without the camp, bearing his reproach 7"'^ 
 
 The trial, however, especially if cast upon us by those whom we 
 have loved and valued, or by those whom we wish to love and value 
 us, proves most severe : and the spreading our case, after David's 
 example, before the Lord, is the only preservation from faintness — 
 " Remove from me reproach and contempt.''^ 
 
 Perhaps ^^ contempt''' is more hard to bear than ^^reproach^ 
 Even our enemies think of us so much better than we deserve, 
 that it strikes with peculiar poignancy. Yet when the submissive 
 prayer of deprecation^ is sent up, doubtless some answer, and that 
 the right answer, will be given ; and whether the " reproach^"* be re- 
 moved^ or " grace" vouchsafed " sufficient" to endure it,® the issue will 
 prove alike for the glory of God, and the prosperity of our own souls. 
 
 But let us beware of that " way of escape" in returning to the 
 world, which the insincere are ever ready to pursue. They dare 
 not act to the full conviction of their consciences: they dare not 
 confront their friends with the avowal of their full determination to 
 form their conduct by the principles of the word of God. This is 
 hard — this is impossible. They know not the " victory that over- 
 conielh the world :"'° and therefore cannot bear this mark upon their 
 
 » Deut. viii. 2, 16. « Luke xvi. 15. » Heb. xi. 7. < lb. 24—26. 
 
 »Ib. xii. 2. eib-S. 7 lb. xiu. 12, 13. 8 See verse 134. 
 
 » 2 Cor. xii. 8. 9. w See 1 John v. 4, 5. 
 
VERSE 23. 39 
 
 foreheads — " These ar# they, which follow the Lamb whithersoever 
 he goeth."* Far better, however, will be the heaviest weight of 
 " reproach and contemptj^ than any such endeavor to remove it 
 from ourselves. The desire to escape the cross, convicts the heart 
 of unfaithfulness, and makes way for tenfold difficulties in our path. 
 Every worldly compliance against the voice of God is a step into 
 the by-path, which deviates wider and wider from the straight and 
 narrow way, brings discredit upon our profession, proves a stumbling- 
 block in the way of the weak, and will cause us, if not actually to 
 come short, at least to " seem to come short of the promised rest.'" 
 But is the weight of the cross really "above that we are able to 
 bear 7" He that bore it for us will surely enable us to endure it for 
 him : and upheld by him, we cannot sink. It is a sweet exchange, 
 by which the burden of sin is removed, and bound to his cross ; 
 and what remains to us is the lighter cross of " reproach and con- 
 temptj'' — the badge of our discipleship.^ If then we have the testi- 
 mony of our consciences, that in the midst of a persecuting world, 
 we " have kept his testimonieSj^^ — here is our evidence of adop- 
 tion, of our Father's special love, of the indwelling, comforting, 
 supporting Spirit.^ Here then is our warrant of hope, that the 
 overwhelming weight will be removed from us ; and that we shall 
 be able to testify to our Master's praise in the churches of God, that 
 "his yoke is easy, and his burden is light."" 
 
 23. Princes also did sit and speak against me ; hut thy servant did meditate 
 
 in thy statutes. 
 
 David might well give his testimony to " the words of the Lord," 
 that they were " tried words i'"^ for perhaps no one had ever tried 
 them more than himself; and certainly no one had more experi- 
 ence of their faithfulness, sweetness, and support. Saul and his 
 ^^ princes might indeed sit and speak against him ;" but he had 
 a resource, of which they could never deprive him — "Not as the 
 world giveth, give I unto you."^ As our blessed Master was em- 
 ployed in communion with his Father, and delighting in his work 
 at the time, when the '■^princes did sit and speak against him ;"• 
 so under similar circumstances of trial, this faithful servant of 
 God, by meditation in the Lord's statutes^ extracted spiritual food 
 for his support :i° and in this strength of his God he was enabled to 
 " suffer according to his will, and to commit the keeping of his soul 
 to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator."" 
 
 The children of Israel in Egypt \^^ Daniel in Babylon ]^^ and the 
 disciples of Christ in the early ages of the church,*^ have severely 
 found " this same affliction to be accomplished in themselves." 
 God is pleased to permit it, to show that " his kingdom is not of 
 this world," ^^ to wean his people from earthly dependencies — and to 
 
 » Rev. xiv. 4. £ Heb. iv. 1. 3 Matt. xvi. 24. 
 
 * Verses 61, 69, 87, 95, 110. 5 John xiv. 15—18, 21—23. 6 Matt, xi 30. 
 
 f Ps. xii, 7, Prayer-book Translation. ^ John xiv. 27. ^ lb. xi. 47, 54 — 57. 
 
 10 Comp. Psalm xciv, 19—22. " 1 Peter iv. 19. ^2 Exodus i. 10. 
 
 w Dan. vi. 4—6. i* Matt. x. 17, 18. Acts iv, 27—29. ^ John xviii, 36 
 
40 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 bring out before the world a more full testimony of his name.^ 
 One other reason is suggested by this verse — to make his word 
 more precious by the experience of its sustaining consolation in the 
 conflict with the power of the world. Often indeed, from a want 
 of a present application of the word, young Christians especially, 
 are in danger of being put to rebuke by tlie scorner's sneer. The 
 habit of Scriptural 7neditatio7i will realize to them a present God, 
 speaking " words of spirit and life" to their souls. The importance 
 therefore of an accurate and well-digested acquaintance with this 
 precious book cannot be too highly estimated. In the Christian's 
 conflict it is " the sword of the Spirit,"^ which, if it be kept bright 
 by constant use, will never be wielded without the victory of faith. 
 Such powerful support does it give against fainting under persecu- 
 tion, that the good soldier may ever be ready to " thank God, and 
 to take courage.''^ Christ has left it indeed as the portion of his 
 people — "In the world ye shall have tribulation ;" counterbalanced 
 however, most abundantly, by the portion which they enjoy in 
 him — "In me ye shall have peace.""* If therefore the one half of 
 this portion may seem hard, the legacy entire is such, as no servant 
 of Christ can refuse to accept, or indeed will receive without 
 thankfulness. 
 
 24. Thij testimonies also are my delight, and my counsellors. 
 
 What could w^e want more in a time of diflliculty than comfort 
 and direction? David had both these blessings. As the fruit of 
 his " ruedltation in the Lords statutes!^ in his distress they were 
 his " delight ;" in his perplexity they were his " counsellors.^^ He 
 would not have exchanged his delight for the best joys of earth.* 
 And so wisely did his counsellors direct his course, that, though 
 " princes sat and spake against hirn^^ they " could find none occa- 
 sion nor fault."" The testimonies of God were truly " the 7nen of 
 his counsel.^^'' He guided his own conduct by the rules laid before 
 him in the book of God, as if he were having recourse to the most 
 experienced counsellors, or rather as if the prophets of his God were 
 giving the word from his mouth.^ Thus the subjects as well as 
 the Sovereign, had his counsel. On one side was Saul and his 
 counsellors^ — on the other side, David and the testimonies of his 
 God. AVhich, think we, was better furnished with that "wisdom 
 which is profitable to direct?" Subsequently, as a king, David 
 was constrained to make " the testimonies of his God his counsel- 
 lors^^ ; and probably, to his constant regard to their voice he owed 
 much of his earthly prosperity." 
 
 In such a dark world as this, beset with temptation at every turn, 
 
 » Matt. X. 18. 2 Eph. vi. 17. 3 Acts xxviii. 15. 
 
 < John xvi. 33. See the beautiful illustration of this uhole. declaration — Acts xvi. 
 22—25. 6 Verses 14, 97, 103, 127, with Psahn iv. 7. 
 
 • 1 Sam, xviii. 14. Psalm ci. 2, with Dan. vi. 4, 5. ' Marftin. 
 
 8 Comp. 2 Sam. vii. 4, 5; also xvi. 23. » Verse 23. '" Deut xvii. 18—20. 
 
 " 2 Sam. viii. 6, 14, Compare also his dying and most encouraging advice to Solo- 
 mon on tnis subject, founded doubtless upon the recollection of ^s own experience, 
 1 Kitogs u. 3. 
 
VERSE 24. 41 
 
 we pre-eminently need sound and wise counsel. But all of us car- 
 ry an evil counsellor within us, and it is our folly to listen to the 
 voice.* God has given Us his word as a sure counsellor^ and " he 
 that hearkeneth to its counsel is wise."* 
 
 Now, do we value the privilege of this heavenly counsel ? Every 
 improvement must increase our delight in it ; a heartless interest 
 shuts out this blessing. But those who make the word their de- 
 light will always find it their counsellor. Yet a mere cursory 
 reading will never realize to us its holy delight or counsel. It must 
 be brought home to our own experience, and consulted on those 
 trivial occasions of every da}^, when, unconscious of our need of 
 divine direction, we are too often inclined to lean to our own coun- 
 sel. The Christian is a man of faith every step of his way. And 
 this habitual use and daily familiarity with the testimonies of God 
 will show him the pillar and the cloud^ in all the dark turns of his 
 heavenly road. The word will be to him as the " Urim and Thum- 
 mim :"* an infallible counsellor. 
 
 Sometimes, however, perplexity arises from the conflict, not be- 
 tween conscience and sinful indulgence, (in which case Christian 
 sincerity would always determine the path.) but between duty and 
 duty. When, however, acknowledged obligations seem to interfere 
 with each other, the counsel of the word will mark their relative 
 importance, connection, and dependence : the present path in pro- 
 vidence : the guidance, which has been vouchsafed to the Lord's 
 people in similar emergencies ; and the light which the daily life 
 of our Great Examplar exhibits before us. The great concern, 
 however, is to cultivate the habit of mind, which falls in most nat- 
 urally with the counsel of the word. " Walking in the fear of the 
 Lord,"5 in a simple spirit of dependence," and torn away from the 
 idolatry of taking counsel from our own hearts, we cannot materi- 
 ally err ; because there is here a suitableness between the disposi^ 
 tion and the promise — a watchfulness against the impetuous bias 
 of the flesh: a paramount regard to the glory of God, and a meek 
 submission to his gracious appointment. If the counsel, however, 
 should not prove infallible, the fault is not in the word, but in the 
 indistinctness of our own perception. We want not a clearer rule, 
 or a surer guide, but a more single eye. And if, after all, it may 
 not mark every precise act of duty (for to do this, " even the world 
 itself could not contain the books that should be written,") yet it 
 determines the standard, to which the most minute acting of the 
 mind should be brought ;' and the disposition, which will reflect 
 the light of the will of God upon our path.^ 
 
 But let it be remembered, that any want of sincerity in the 
 heart^ — any allowance of self-dependence^° — will always close the 
 avenues of this Divine light and counsel. We are often unconsci- 
 
 1 Prov. xxviii. 26. * 2 jb, xii. 15. 3 Numbers ix. 15—23. 
 
 6 lb. xxvii. 21. 5 See Psalm xxv. 12, 14. 6 ib. xxv. 4, 5, 9j cxUii. & 
 
 7 \ Cor. X. 31. Col. iii. 17. 8 Matt. vi. 22, 23. 
 1 Sam. xxviii. 6. Ezek. xiv. 2—4. ^ Prov. iii. 5, 6. 
 
42 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 ously " walking in the light of our own fire, and in the sparks that 
 we have kindled."^ Perhaps we sought, as we conceived, tlie guid- 
 ance of the Lord's counsel, and suppose that we are walking in it. 
 But, in the act of seeking, and as the preparation for seeking, did we 
 subject our motives and inclinations to a strict, cautious, self-sus- 
 pecting scrutiny ? Was the heart schooled to the discipline of the 
 cross ? Was " every thought brought into captivity to the obedi- 
 ence of Christ 7"2 Or was not our heart possessed with the object, 
 before counsel was sought at the mouth of God?^ Oh ! how care- 
 ful should we be to walk warily in those uncertain marks of hea- 
 venly counsel, that fall in with the bias of our own inclination ! 
 How many false steps in the record of past experience may be traced 
 to the counsel of our own hearts, sought and followed to the neglect 
 of the counsel of God ;^ while no circumstance of perplexity can be- 
 fall us in the spirit of humility, simplicity, and sanctity, when the 
 counsel of the Lord will fail ! 
 
 An undue dependence upon human counsel,* whether of the liv- 
 ing or the dead, greatly hinders the full influence of the counsel of 
 the word. However valuable such counsel may be, and however 
 closely it may agree with the word, we must not forget, that it is 
 not the word — that it is fallible — and therefore must never be 
 resorted to in the first place, or followed with that full reliance, 
 which we are warranted to place on the revelation of God. On the 
 other hand, what is it to have God's word as our " Counsellor ?" 
 Is it not to have himself — " the only wise God ?" When our Bibles, 
 in seasons of difficulty, are searched in a humble, prayerful teach- 
 able spirit, we are as much depending upon the Lord himself for 
 counsel, as if we were listening to an immediate revelation from 
 heaven. We want not a new revelation, or a sensible voice from 
 above, for every fresh emergency. It is enough, that our Father 
 has given us this blessed "word as a light to our feet, and a lamp 
 to our path."*' 
 
 Let me then inquire what is the counsel of God, that speaks 
 directly (o myself? If I am an unawakened sinner, it warns me 
 to turn from sin^ — it invites me to the Saviour^ — it directs me to 
 wait upon God.^ If I am a profest^or, slumbering in the form of 
 godliness, it shows me my real condition'" — it instructs me in the 
 all-sufficiency of Christ,*' and cautions me of the danger of hypoc- 
 risy.*' If through grace I am made a child of God, still do I need 
 my Father's counsel to recover me from perpetual backsliding'^ — to 
 excite me to increased watchfulness,'^ and to strengthen my confi- 
 dence in the fulness of his grace, '^ and the faithfulness of his love.'* 
 FiVer shall I have reason for the grateful acknowledgment — " I will 
 bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel.''"' And every step of 
 
 * Ipaiah i. 11, 2 2. Cor. x. 5. ^ jer. xiji. 
 
 < Jobh. ix. 14. Isa. xxx. 1—3. s jga. ji. 22. « Verse 105. Comp. Prov. vi. 23. 
 
 f Prov. i. 24—31. Ezek. ixxiii. 11. » u&. Iv. 1. John vii. 37. 
 
 » Hosca xii. 6. lo Rev. iii. 17. " lb. 18. 
 
 '2 Luke xii. I. »3 jer. iii. 12, 13. " 1 Thess. v. 6. Rev. iii. 2. 
 
 ^ Isaiah xxvi. 4. " Heb. xii. 5, 6. " Psalm xvi. 7. 
 
VERSE 25. 43 
 
 my way would I advance, 'glorifying my God and Father by con- 
 fiding in his counsel unto the end — " Thou shalt guide me with 
 thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory."* 
 
 PART IV. 
 
 25. My soul cleaveth unto the dust ; quicken thou me according to thy word. 
 
 Sin is no trifle to a child of God. It is his heaviest sorrow. 
 Thus David — thus the great Apostle — found it.'* And where is 
 the believer, who has not full sympathy with their complaints ? 
 To have a soul cleaving to the dust^ and not to feel the trouble, is 
 the black mark of a sinner, dead in sins— dead to God.> To " know 
 the plague of our own heart,"^ to feel our misery, to believe and to 
 apply the remedy,* is the satisfactory evidence of a child of God. 
 Dust is the portion of the world : and they wish for no better. 
 But that the soul of the man of God should continually cleave to 
 the dustj is most strange and humbling. And yet such is the in- 
 fluence of his evil nature — such the power of self-will and self-in- 
 dulgence — such the regard to human praise, and cherishing of self- 
 admiration, that were it not that he " abhors himself" for the very 
 dust that cleaves to him, he would question the existence of a re- 
 newing change. He knows what he ought to be. He has tasted 
 the blessedness of "mounting upward on eagles' wings."^ But 
 every attempt to rise is hindered by the clogging weight that keeps 
 him down. It is however the cleaving of his soul that is so pain- 
 ful, — not occasional, but constant — not hke the bird of the morning 
 that descends for a moment, and then soars his upward flight ; but 
 it seems as if, like the " serpent — dust was to be his meat ;"^ 
 as if the spiritual, heaven-born soul was to sink and grovel below. 
 And then, as the dust of the summer-road blinds the eye, and ob- 
 scures the prospect ; how does this earthliness of soul darken the 
 view of the Saviour, dim the eye of faith, and hide the glorious 
 prospects, 'which, when beheld in the clear horizon, enUven the 
 weary pilgrim on his way ! 
 
 But this complaint is the language of conflict and humiliation — 
 not of despondency — Mark the behever carrying it to the Lord — 
 'Here I lie in the dust, without life or power. Oh ! thou Saviour, 
 who "camest that I might have life, and that I might have it more 
 abundantly"^ — Q,uicken me. Breathe upon me thine own life, 
 that I may rise from the dust^ and cleave to thee.' This cry for 
 
 1 Psalqi Ixxiii. 24. 2 ib. xxxxviii. 4. Rom. vii. 24. ^ 1 Kings viiL 38. 
 
 4 Rom. vii. 24. 25. 5 isa. xl. 31 . 6 ibid Ixv. 25. t Jolin x. 10. 
 
44 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 quickening grace is the exercise of faitli. We have a covenant to 
 plead. Faith is the hand, that takes hold of the promise — " accor- 
 ding to thy word." Can this word fail ? " Sooner shall heaven 
 and earth pass away, than one jot or one tittle pass" from the en- 
 gagements of a covenant-keeping God. "He is faithful that hath 
 promised."^ The man who takes hold of this plea, is " a prince 
 who has power with God, and prevails."^ 
 
 But how different is the character of the mere professor ! ready 
 probably to make the same confession, yet without humiliation, 
 without prayer, without faith. Nothing is more common than to 
 hear the complaint — ' " Mi/ soul cleaveth unto the dustJ' The 
 world has such power over us — we are so cold — so dead to spiritual 
 things;' while perhaps the complaint is never once brought with 
 wrestling supplication, but rather urged in indolent self-compla- 
 cency, as an evidence -of the good state of the heart before God. 
 Yet it is not the complaint of sickness, but an application to the 
 physician, that advances the recovery of the patient. We do not 
 usually expect to better our condition, by mourning over its badness, 
 or merely wishing for its improvement. Nor is it the confession 
 of sin, but the application to the Great Physician that marks genu- 
 ine contrition before God. That confession, which evaporates in 
 heartless complaints, belongs not to the tenderness of a renewed 
 heart. But the utterance of genuine prayer is the voice of God's 
 own " Spirit making intercession for us ;" and then indeed how 
 cheering the encouragement, that he "that searcheth the hearts, 
 knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh inter- 
 cession for the saints according to the will of God l"^ Some are 
 ready to give up or delay their duty, when they have been unable 
 to bring their heart to it. Thus does 'Satan get advantage of us' 
 by our 'ignorance of his devices.' Quickening grace is not the 
 ground or warrant for duty. Indisposition to duty is not our weak- 
 ness, but our sin — not therefore to be indulged, but resisted. We 
 must mourn over the dulness that hinders us, and diligently wait 
 for the ' help we every moment need.' God keeps the grace in his 
 own hands, and gives it at his pleasure, to exercise our daily 
 dependence upon him.* The acting of grace strengthens the 
 habit. Praying helps to pray. If the door is closed, " Knock, and 
 it shall be opened."^ Assuredly it will not long be shut to him, 
 who has faith and patience to wait until it be opened. 
 
 Now let me sift the character of my profession. Is it an habitual, 
 persevering, overcoming conflict with sin ? Do I not sometimes 
 indulge in fruitless bemoanings of my state, when I had far better 
 be exercising myself in vigorous actings of grace ? If I find '•'"my 
 soul cleaving to the dust," am I not sometimes " lying on my face,"* 
 when I ought to be "taking heaven by violence,"^ by importunate 
 petitions for quickening grace? Are my prayers invigorated by 
 confidence in the word of God ? Oh ! let me remember that " they 
 
 » Heb. X. 23, with Luke xxi. 33. « Gen. xxxiii. 28. » Rom viii. 26, 27. 
 
 < Phil. ii. 12, 13. s Matt. vii. 7, 8. « Josh. vii. 10. » Matt. xi. 12. 
 
VERSE 26. 45 
 
 that wait upon the Lord," shall shake off the dust to which they 
 have cleaved so long, and " shall mount with wings like eagles,"^ 
 to take possession of their heavenly home. 
 
 O Lord ! make me more deeply ashamed, that " my soul should 
 cleave to the dusty Breathe upon me fresh influence from thy 
 quickening Spirit. Help me to plead thy word of promise ; and 
 oh ! may every fresh view of my sinfulness, while it prostrates me 
 in self-abasement before thee, be overruled to make the Saviour 
 daily and hourly more precious to my soul. For, defiled as I am 
 in myself, in every service of my heart, what but the unceasing 
 application of his blood, and the uninterrupted prevalence of his 
 intercession, gives me a moment's confidence before thee, or prevents 
 the very sins that mingle with my prayers from sealing my con- 
 demnation ? Blessed Saviour ! it is nothing but thy everlasting 
 merit, covering my person, and honoring my sacrifice, that satisfies 
 the justice of an offended God, and restrains it from breaking forth 
 as a devouring fire, to consume me upon my very knees ! 
 
 26. I hate declared my ways, and thou heardesl. me ; teach me thy statutes. 
 
 A BEAUTIFUL description of the " simplicity and godly sincerity" 
 of the believer's " walk with God !" He spreads his whole case 
 before his God, '• declaring his ways''^ of sinfulness,^ of diificulty,^ 
 and of conduct.* And indeed it is our privilege to acquaint our 
 Father with all our care and need ; that we may be pitied by his 
 love, and guided by his counsel, and confirmed by his strength. 
 Who would not find relief by unbosoming himself to his Father ? 
 This showing of ourselves to God — declaring our ways of sin be- 
 fore him without guile — is the short and sure way of rest. '• Thoti 
 heardest 'meP " When I kept silence^ my bones waxed old 
 through my roaring all the day long."^ While the voice of ingen- 
 ous confession was suppressed, cries and lamentations were disre- 
 garded. It was not the voice of the penitent child ! and therefore 
 "where was the sounding of his father's bowels, and of his mercies 
 towards him V'^ But now, on the first utterance of confession from 
 his lips, or rather on the first purpose of contrition formed in his 
 heart ; " while he is yet speaking,"' the full and free pardon, which 
 had been signed in heaven, comes down with royal parental love to 
 his soul — " I said, I will confess my transgression unto the Lord ; 
 and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin."^ Oh ! what cannot he 
 testify of the more than parental tenderness, with which "his trans- 
 gression is forgiven, and his sin covered !"' And yet how necessary 
 to the free declaration of our ways is an acquaintance with the 
 way of forgiveness ! Had not our great " High Priest passed into 
 the heavens," how awful would have been the thought, that " all 
 things were naked and opened unto the eyes of him, with whom 
 
 1 Isaiah t\. 31. 2 Psalm li. 3. 3 ih. y. 8; xxvii. 11, 
 
 4 lb. cdMi. 8, 10; Ixix. 5. 5 ib. xxxii. 3. 6 Isaiah Ixiii. 15. 
 
 ■^ Dan. ix. 20. » Psalm xxxii. 5. 2 Sam. xii. 13. Comp. Jer. iii. 12, 13. 
 
 » Compare Psalm xxxii. 1. Luke xv. 18 — 22. Prov. rxviii. 13. 
 
 /7«r TV V Vi* 
 
 
46 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 we have to do !" We could only then have " covered our trans- 
 gressions as Adam, by hiding our iniquity in our bosom." ^ But 
 now, even though " our ways'^ are so defiled, so crooked, that we 
 cannot but " abhor ourselves," on account of them, we are yet en- 
 couraged "boldly" to '■^ declare^^ them all before God, with the 
 assurance of finding present acceptance, and seasonable grace.* 
 
 And now, having found the happy fruit of this sincere and child- 
 like spirit, then follows the obhgation of walking worthy of this 
 mercy.^ Hence our need of the prayer for continual teaching. 
 The same heavenly guidance, that brought us into the way of re- 
 turn, we need for every successive step to the end — " Teach me 
 thy way, O Lord : I will Avalk in thy truth."* " / have declared 
 my''' ignorance, my sinfulness, and my whole experience before 
 thee, looking for thy pardoning mercy, thy teaching Spirit, and 
 assisting grace — " Ajid thou hast heard meP O continue to me 
 what thou has been, and teach me more of thyself! 
 
 The hypocrite may pray after his manner. But he never thus 
 opens his heart, and declares his ways before his God. And are 
 we sincere in our dealings with him ? How often do we treat our 
 Almighty friend as if we were weary of dealing with him ! And 
 even when we do " declare our ways'' before him, are we not often 
 content to leave the result as a matter of uncertainty ? We do not 
 watch for the answer to our prayer. It will come in the diligent 
 exercise of faith, but not perhaps in our way. We may have asked 
 for temporal blessings, and we receive spiritual.^ We may have 
 " besought" deliverance from trial, and we receive " grace sufficient" 
 to bear it.^ But this is the Lord's wise and gracious answer — Thou 
 heardest me. And how sweet are those mercies, which come to us 
 manifestly marked with this inscription — " Received by prayer !" 
 They are such encouragement to pray again.'' It is not our inevi- 
 table weakness,^ nor our lamented duhiess,' nor our abhorred 
 wanderings,^° nor our opposed distractions," nor our mistaken unbe- 
 lief;'* it is not any — no — nor all these — that can shut out our 
 prayer. If "iniquity" is not "regarded in our heart," we may 
 always hear our Saviour's voice — " Verily, verily, I say unto you, 
 Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it 
 you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name. Ask, and ye 
 shall receive, that your joy may be fuU."" 
 
 » Job xxxi. 33. 2 Heb. iv. 13— 16. 3 Psalm Ixxxv. 8. 
 
 < lb. Ixxxvi. 11. 6Matt. ix. 2. « 2 Cor. xii. 8, 9. 
 
 T Psalm cxvi. 1,2, 8 Rom. vii. 21. » Mark xiv. 38, 40. 
 
 »o VertM; 113. " Psalm Ixxxvi. 11, last clause. »2 Mark ix. 22, 24. 
 
 '3 John xvi. 23, 24. Every way worthy of that great man, and a most instructive 
 illustration of ChrisUan sincerity, was the resolution of President Edwards: "Resolved 
 to exercise myself in this all my life long, viz., with the greatest openness to declare my 
 vays to God, «nd lay open my soul to him — all my sins, temptations, difficulties, sorrows, 
 fears, hop^B, desires, and everything, and every circumstance, according to Dr. Manton'a 
 twenty -seventh sermon on the cxix. Psalm. Resol. C5. Extracted from his Diary. 
 Works, vol. i. Iti. 
 
VERSE 27. 47 
 
 27. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts : so shall I talk of Uiy 
 
 wondrous works. 
 
 Mark the reiterated cries of the man of God for heavenly light — 
 Teach me thy statutes — make 7ne to understand the way of thy 
 precepts. The need and the encouragement for these cries is 
 equally manifest. Who has ever been known to understand the 
 way of himself? And to whom — walking in a well-ordered con- 
 versation — has the Lord ever failed to show it'^ A man, untaught 
 by the Spirit of God, may be able to criticise and even clearly to 
 expound much of the word of God. But such a prayer as this has 
 never ascended from his heart ; the necessity of it has never been 
 felt. And doubtless from this neglect of prayer have arisen those 
 floating fancies and false and unscriptural doctrines, which crude, 
 unexercised minds have too hastily embraced. Instead of humbly 
 and simply asking — " Make m,e to understands^ — men too often 
 " lean to their understanding," and are " vainly puffed up" by their 
 fleshly mind, ^'•not holding the Head.^^^ Such men may obtain 
 loose fragments of spiritual knowledge. But they will not be in 
 the faith " grounded and settled."' They never know when they 
 are upon safe ground ; and being " unlearned and unstable, they 
 wrest the Scriptures" — except i\\e sovereign grace of God inter- 
 pose — *' unto their own destruction."^ 
 
 Never must we forget, that teaching from above is indispensable 
 to a right knowledge of the most simple truths. Ignorance and 
 prejudice pervert the understanding. "Spiritual things can only 
 be spiritually discerned. "« Divine doctrines can only be apprehend- 
 ed by Divine light.® But under heavenly teaching, the deeper and 
 more mysterious truths (so far as they are needful to be understood) 
 are manifested with the same clearness, as the more elementary, 
 doctrines — " Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, nor have entered into 
 the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that 
 love him. But God hath revealed them to us by his Spirit. Now 
 we have received — not the spirit of the world, hut the Spirit which 
 is of God^ that we might know the things that are freely given 
 to us of God.'S'' Wondrous indeed is the spiritual revelation in the 
 knowledge of himself; including "the hope of his calling — the 
 riches of the glory of his inheritance in his saints — the exceeding 
 greatness of his power" manifested to, and wrought in, his people — 
 no other or less than that " which he wrought in Christ, when he 
 raised him from the dead."^ In the understanding of the way, we 
 would be progressing, until the new man " grows up unto the 
 measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."^ The smallest 
 attainment in this knowledge is (as the great day will fully declare) 
 of infinitely greater value than the highest intelligence in the field 
 of earthly science. 
 
 But how important is it to grow in this knowledge l^" Theoreti- 
 
 » See Psalm 1. 23. « Col. ii. 18, 19. 3 lb. i. 24. *2 Peter iiL 16. 
 
 5 1 Cor. ii. 14. « Psalm xxxvi. 9. t i Cor. ii. 9, 10, 12. 
 
 8 Eph. i. 17—20. 9 lb. iv. 13. w 2 Peter iii. 18. 
 
48 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 cal attainment is at a stand. Spiritual and practical knowledge is 
 always advancing. Little, indeed, comparatively, is necessary for 
 salvation^ But much for comfort and steadfastness — much also 
 for the clear discernment of that narrow way of the precepts so diffi- 
 cult to trace, and when traced so difficult to maintain. Not less 
 important is it to keep the object in constant view. Why do I de- 
 sire to understand that way 7 That I may commend it to others — 
 that I may talk of thy wondrous works. Abhorred be the thought 
 of indulging in a self-complacent view of my attainments ! But oh ! 
 let my God be more admired by me, and glorified in me.^ And may 
 I advance both myself and others in his obedience and praise ! 
 
 Often do we complain of restraint in religious conversation. But 
 the prayer — Make me to understand while I talk — will bring "a 
 live coal to our lips" from the altar of God — " Our mouths will then 
 speak out of the abundance of the heart,"^ and " minister grace to 
 the hearers. "3 Humihty, teachableness, simplicity, will bring light 
 into the understanding, influence the heart, " open the lips," and 
 unite our every member that we have in the service and praise of 
 God. 
 
 28. My soul meltethfor heaviness ; strengthen thou me according unto thy word. 
 
 Is this David "whose heart is as the heart of a lion, utterly 
 melting ?"- But the sorrows, as the joys of the spiritual hope — • 
 dealing immediately with the Infinite and Eternal God — are be- 
 yond conception.^ Ordinary courage may support under the trials 
 of this life ; but when " the arrows of the Almighty are within us, 
 the poison thereof drinketh up our spirit."^ How then can the 
 Christian's lot be so enviable — when their souls thus melt for hea- 
 viness 7 But this — be it remembered — is only " for a season.'* 
 •There is a " needs be" for it, while it remains : and in the end it 
 will " be found unto praise, and honor, and glory."^ Never per- 
 haps are their graces more lively, or the ground of their assurance 
 more clear, than in these seasons of sorrow. They complain, in- 
 deed, of the diversified power of indwelling sin. But their very 
 complaints are the evidence of the mighty working of indwelling 
 grace. For what is it but the principle of faith, that makes unbe- 
 lief their burden ? What but hope, that struggles with their tears ? 
 What but love, that makes their coldness a grief? What but hu- 
 mility, that causes them to loathe their pride? What but the 
 secret spring of thankfulness, that shows them their unthankful- 
 ness, and shames tliem for it? And therefore the very depth of 
 "that heaviness which melts their souW^ away, is the exhibition 
 of the strength of God's work within, upholding them in persever- 
 ance of conflict to the end. Would not the believer then, when 
 eyeing in his heaviest moments the most prosperous condition of 
 the ungodly, say — " Let me not eat of their dainties ?"■ Far better, 
 
 > Gal. i. 24. Matt. v. 16. « Matt. xii. 34. » Eph. iv. 29. 
 
 * 2 Sam. xvii. 10. Comp. Josh. vii. 5. Ps.cvii. 26. 6 See Job xxxiv, 29. 
 
 • Job vi. 4. Comp. Prov. xviii. 14. t i Peter i. 6, 7. Comp. Ps. xxx. 5. 
 
 8 Psalm cxli. 4. 
 
VERSE 28. 49 
 
 and, we may add, far happier, is godly sorrow than worldly joy. 
 In the midst of his misery, the Christian would not exchange his 
 hope in the Gospel — though often obscured by unbelief, and clouded 
 by fear — for " all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them." 
 *' If the heart knoweth his own bitterness, a stranger doth not inter- 
 meddle with his joy."' Yet the bitterness is keenly felt. Sin dis- 
 pleases a tender and gracious Father.* It has " pierced" the heart 
 that loves him,^ and shed the blood that saves him. It " grieves"* 
 the indwelling Comforter of his soul. God expects to see him a 
 mourner ; and he feels he has reason enough to mourn — " My soul 
 meltethfor heaviness.''^ 
 
 But this cry of distress is sometimes the child under his Father's 
 needful chastisement. The world is dethroned, but not extirpated 
 in the heart. Much dross is yet to be removed. The sources of 
 the too attractive earthly joy must be embittered : and now it is 
 that the discipline of the cross forces the cry — " my soul melteth for 
 heaviness.^'' Yet in the midst of heaviness, the child of God can- 
 not forget that he is loved — that he is saved ; and the recollection 
 of this sovereign mercy makes his tears of godly sorrow, tears of 
 
 But this melting heaviness has not wrought its work, until it 
 has bowed us before the throne of grace with the pleading cry of 
 faith — strengthen thou m,e. For do we stand by the strength of 
 our own resolutions or habits of grace? Unless the Lord renew his 
 supply from moment to moment, all is frail and withering. But 
 what burden or difficulty is too great for Almighty strength? 
 " Fear not, thou worm Jacob ; thou shalt thresh the mountains, 
 and beat them small."^ And especially in our success, when the 
 plea is drawn, as it is repeatedly in this Psalm" — according to thy 
 wordy For what does that word assure us? — "As thy days, so 
 shall thy strength be."^ " Will he plead against me" — said Job — 
 " with his great power ? No ; but he will put strength in me."^ 
 Thus David found it in his own case : " In the day when I cried, 
 thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my 
 soul."^ Thus also to the apostle was the promise given and fulfill- 
 ed : " My grace is sufficient for thee ; for my strength is made per- 
 fect in weakness."'** And is not " the God of Israel" still " he that 
 giveth strength and power unto his people ;"'' still the same " faith- 
 ful God, who will not suffer them to be tempted above that they 
 are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, 
 that they may be able to bear it ?"* 
 
 When we are most sensible of our utter helplessness, and most 
 simple in our reliance upon Divine strength, then it is, that the 
 
 1 Prov. xiv. 10, "A good man lying on his bed of sickness, and being asked — which 
 were the most comfortable days that he ever knew 1 cried out — O give me my mourning 
 days ; give me my mourning days again, for they were the joyfuUest days that ever I 
 had." — Brooke's Works. 
 
 2 Psalm H. 4. 3 Zech. xii. 10. < Eph. iv. 20. s jga. xU, 14, 15. 
 
 6 Verses 25, 41, 58, «&c. 1 Deut. xxxiii. 25. 8 job xxiil 6. » Ps. cxxxviii. 3. 
 
 io 2 Cor. xii. 9. " Ps. liviii. 35. « 1 Cor. x. 13. 
 
 4 
 
50 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 ^^soulj melting for heaviness^^^ is most especially upheld and 
 established. " Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop ; 
 but a good word maketh it glad."^ And how reviving is that 
 " good word" of the Gospel, which proclaims the Saviour, anointed 
 to " give the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,^^^ and 
 gifted with " the tongue of the learned, that he might know how to 
 speak a word in season unto him that is weary !"'^ And no less 
 encouraging is it to view Him " melting for heaviness''^* — " sore 
 amazed and very heavy" — under the accumulated weight of im- 
 puted guilt ; learning by this bitter discipline, " in that he himself 
 suffered being tempted, to succor them that are tempted."^ Yet 
 was he, like his faithful servant, strengthened according to his Fa- 
 therms word^ in the moment of his bitterest agony, by the agency of 
 his own creation.^ And this faithful support, vouchsafed to the 
 Head, is the seal and pledge of what every member in every trou- 
 ble will most assuredly enjoy. " As the sufferings of Christ abound 
 in his people, so their consolation also aboundeth by Christ."^ The 
 blessed word will supply all their need — life for their quickening, 
 light for their direction, comfort for their enjoyment, strength for 
 their support — " Strengthen thou me according unto thy wordP 
 
 Lord, may I ever be kept from despondency — regarding it as sin- 
 ful in itself, dishonorable to thy name, and weakening to my soul : 
 and though I must " needs be sometime in heaviness through 
 manifold temptations," yet let the power of faith be in constant 
 exercise, that I may be able to expostulate with my soul^" Why 
 art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted 
 within me ? hope thou in God : for 1 shall yet praise him, who is 
 the health of my countenance, and my God."» 
 
 29. Rerruwefrom me the way of lying ; and grant me thy law graciously. 
 
 Every deviation in principle and conduct from the strait and 
 narrow path, is a way of lying. Every traveller in tJie way, 
 " feedeth on the ashes" of his own delusion. Does it seem a mar- 
 vel that the man of God should deprecate so earnestly the influence 
 of gross sin?^ "The brand plucked out of the fire" retains a sus- 
 ceptibility of the fire. The oldest Christian in the family of God 
 might at any moment of unwatchfulness be captivated by the 
 chain of his former sins. Might not the recollection of past com- 
 pliances with this shameful sin^" naturally iiave suggested the prayer 
 — Remove from me the way of lying. But even in the profession 
 of the Gospel, should we " be reitoved from him that called us into 
 the grace of Christ unto another gospel;"'* should erroneous doc- 
 trines find a place in our system ; and — as the natural consequence 
 of doctrinal errors — should any inconsistency be marked in our 
 practice ; should there be any allowed principles of sinful indul- 
 gence, self-righteousness, conformity to the world, or shrinking from 
 
 » Prov. xii. 25. 2 Igaiah Ixi. 3. 3 lb. 1. 4. * Psalm xxii. 14. 
 
 6 Mark xiv. 33, with Heb. ii. 18. « Luke xxii. 43, with 2 Cor. xii. 8, 9. 
 
 f 2 Cor. i. 5. 8 Psalm xlii. 11. » Isaiah xliv. 20. 
 
 »• 1 Sam. xxi. 13; xxvii. 10. " Gal. i. 6. 
 
VERBIS 30. 51 
 
 the daily cross5, — then, indeed, will the prayer naturally flow from 
 our hearts — Remove from me the way of lying. 
 
 Most justly are ways such as these called '-'•ways of lyings 
 They promise what it is impossible, in the nature of things, that 
 they can ever perform : and prove to their deluded followers that 
 *'they that observe lying vanities, forsake their own mercy."' We 
 can be at no loss to trace these " ways'"' to their proper source ; — to 
 him, who, " when he speaketh a lie, speaketh of his own : for he is 
 a liar and the father of it."^ A lie was his first, alas ! too successful 
 instrument of temptation, by which he " beguiled Eve through his 
 subtlety,"^ and still does he lament, moreover, that he should still 
 pursue the same deadly work throughout the world lying under 
 his sway, beguiling the blinded " children of disobedience"^ into the 
 awful deception of mistaking their God, and into the blind choice 
 of preferring " broken cisterns" to " the fountain of living water."* 
 
 The gracious knowledge of the law is the only means of the 
 removal of this evil way. David — as a king — had it written by 
 him.« He wished it written on him. Not the book always before 
 him — but on the heart. The external knowledge is the common 
 benefit of all. The gracious knowledge is the covenant blessing 
 of tlie Lord's people'^ — the only effective principle of holiness. The 
 law is still what it was — an enemy to the ungodly — forcing a hate- 
 ful light upon their conscience — a delight to the servant of God — 
 framing lus will, and directing his conduct. Thus truth extirpates 
 lying. Christ reigns instead of Belial. 
 
 Thus also we are enabled to "keep our hearts"-^those leading 
 wanderers, that mislead the rest.** For wherever we see wandering 
 eyes, wandering feet, and a wandering tongue, all flow from a 
 heart, that has taken its own liberty in wandering from God. But 
 with the law as our rule, and the Spirit as our guide, we shall be 
 directed and kept in a safe and happy path. 
 
 Grant me thy law graciously. Grant me a clearer perception 
 of its holy character — a more sensitive sprinkling from transgress- 
 mg it — a more cordial approval of its spirit — a more entire conform- 
 ity to its directions. 
 
 30. I have chosen the way of truth : thy judgments have I laid before me. 
 
 Only two ways lie before us for our choice — " the way of lying^^ 
 and " the way of truth.^^ God by the light of his word guides us 
 into one — Satan by his temptations allures us into the other. The 
 way of lying is the natural choice of man. The choice of the v)ay 
 of truth is the Lord's work in the hearts of his people — the seal of 
 his special, eternal love. His teaching shows us the way ;' and 
 his grace enables us to ^^ choose" it.*° And who in his subsequent 
 course has ever found reason to alter his first determination ? Does 
 Mary regret her choice of the " good part ?"" One, whose solid and 
 
 » Jonah ii. 8. 2 John viii. 44. 3 Gen. iii. 1—6, with 2 Cor. xi. 3. 
 
 « Rev. xii. 9, with 2 Cor. iv. 4. Eph. ii. 2. s Jer. ii. 13. 
 
 « Deut. xvii. 18, 19. 7 Heb. viii. 10. » Prov. iv. 23. 
 
 9 Ps. XIV. 4 : xxxii. 8. Is. xlviii. 17. i" Ps. ex. 3, Is. xliv. 3—5. " Luke x. 42. 
 
62 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 reflecting judgment was not likely to make a rash or hasty choice, 
 tells us, of the outset of his course — " What things were gain to 
 me, those I counted loss for Christ." The experience of twenty 
 years — instead of bringing matter for repentance — only confirmed 
 him in his choice ; and he repeats his determination with increasing 
 energy of expression; "Yea doubtless and I count all things hut 
 loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord."^ 
 In the same spirit one of the ancient fathers expresses himself: ' If 
 I have any possessions, health, credit, learning — this is all the con- 
 tentment I have of them — that I may have something to despise 
 for Christy who comprises in his own person all and everything 
 that is most desirable.''^ 
 
 The connection of this verse with the preceding, well illustrates 
 the bias of the believer's heart. His experience of the deceitfulness 
 of sin, Satan, and his own heart, stirs up the prayer — " Remove 
 from me the vmy of lyings But his choice is expressed in this 
 verse — ^^ I have chosen the way of truthP The sincere desire to 
 have " the way of lying rem^oved from, us,^^ is a clear evidence, 
 that we have already ^^ chosen the way of truth f that "the spirit 
 of truth hath guided us to him,"^ who is indeed "^Ae way of truth'^ 
 — the true and only way to God !* And of all ways that could be 
 set before the Christian, this is the way he would '^ choose'^ — as 
 bringing most glory to his God, exalting the Saviour, honoring the 
 spirit of God, and securing the salvation of his own soul. What- 
 ever becomes of me — the Christian would feel — 'I would have no 
 other way than this. Yea, though I should perish I would abide 
 in it. So transcendent is the discovery of the glory of God — 
 scarcely less clear than the glory of heaven itself ! 
 
 The practical pathway, however, is ofien rugged — always nar- 
 row. We may have to encounter not only the reviling of an un- 
 godly world, but even the suspicions of our brethren, who may not 
 always understand our motives. Yet if our heart is upright with 
 God, "none of these things will move us." Our choice is made, 
 and we are prepared to abide the cost.^ 
 
 But that our choice may be daily established, let us not forget 
 the treasury of our life, light, and grace. Let us lay the ^^judg- 
 ments of God before us^ For we have always some new lesson 
 to learn^ — some new duty to perform — some new snare to avoid. 
 We must therefore walk by rule^ — as under the eye of a jealous 
 God, who enlightens and cheers our path — under the eye of the 
 ungodly, who "watch for our halting" — under the eye of weak 
 Christians, who might be stumbled by our unsteady walk — under 
 the eye of established Christians, who will be yet further established 
 by the testimony of our consistent profession. The Gospel affords 
 all the material for this strict and accurate walk. All is given that 
 is needed. The obedience that is enjoined is secured. "God 
 
 * Phil, iii, 7, 8. * ' Totus dcsirabilis et totum desirabile.' — Greg. Naz. Orat. i. 
 
 3 John xvi. 13, 14. < lb. xiv. 6. « Luke xiv. 28. Acts xx. 24. 
 
 « See Gal. vL 16. Phil. iii. 16. 
 
VERSE 31. 53 
 
 working in us,"^ enables us to work for him ; and while we are 
 humbly looking for further supphes, and dihgently improving what 
 has been already bestowed, he is pledged by promise to assist,'^ as 
 we are bound by duty to obey. 
 
 What then — let me inquire — is the choice which I have made ? 
 I would remember that it is for eternity. And if, through the grace 
 that has first chosen me, " / have chosen the way of triithj'' — is 
 the effect of this choice daily visible in a life and conversation well- 
 ordered according to the word of God ? If it is good to " hide that 
 word in my heart, "^ as a safe-guard against sin ; it is good also 
 " to lay it before''' my eyes, as the chart to guide my course — the 
 model to direct my work — the support to uphold my weakness.* 
 
 31. I have stuck unto thy testimonies : O Lord, put me not to shame. 
 
 We have just seen the choice of the man of God, and the rule 
 by which he acted upon it. Now we see his perseverance— ^rs^ 
 choosing the ivay — then sticking to it. While he complained of 
 his soul cleaving to the dust,^ he would yet say — / have stuck 
 iinto thy testimonies — illustrating the Apostle's delineation of the 
 Christian's two hearts (as a converted African expressed it) " I de- 
 light in the law of God after the inward man ; but I see another 
 law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and 
 bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my mem- 
 bers. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God ; but 
 with the flesh the law of sin."^ In the midst, however, of the most 
 painful conflicts, the child of God holds fast his confidence. He 
 feels that he hates the sin that he commits, and loves the Saviour, 
 whom, in spite of himself, he dishonors ; so that, with all his sins 
 and unwonhiness, he fears not to put in his claim among the 
 family of God. 
 
 But, reader, seriously ask yourself — How did you become a 
 Christian? Was it by birth and education, or by choice? If in- 
 deed by grace you have been enabled to " choose the way of truthj'' 
 then be sure you firmly stick to it^ or better, far better, that you 
 had not made it at all. "No man having put his hand to the 
 plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. If ye 
 continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. It had 
 been better for you not to have known the way of righteousness, 
 than, after you have known it, to turn from the holy command- 
 
 1 Phil. ii. 12, 13. Isaiah xxvi. 1 2. 2 isaiah xli. 10. Zech. x. 12. 
 
 3 Verse 11. 4 Joshua i. 8. 5 Verse 25. 
 
 6 Rom. vii. 22, 23, 25. Thus does Augustine graphically describe this conflict in his 
 own mind — " The new will which began to be in me, whereby I would love thee, O my 
 God ! the only certain sweetness, was not yet able to overcome my former will, confirmed 
 by long continuance. So my two wills, the one old, the other new ; the one carnal, the 
 other spiritual, conflicted between themselves, and rent my soul by their disagreement. 
 Then did I understand by my own experience what I had read, how the ' flesh lusteth 
 against the spirit, and the spirit lusteth against the flesh.' I was myself on both sides, 
 but more in that which I approved, than in that which I condemned, in myself, because 
 for the most part I suffered reluctantly what I did willingly." — Cori/ess. Book viii. eh. 5. 
 Compare Rom. vii. 15—20. 
 
54 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 ment delivered unto you."' Yet praised be God for the security of 
 perseverance ! He that enabled you to " put your hand to the 
 plough" will keep it there in the habit of faith, firm and steadfast. 
 "The Lord will perfect that which concerneth you."^ 
 
 Yet this cleaving to the Lord^ can only be maintained by un- 
 ceasing conflict. The length and weariness of the way/ and the 
 slowness of your progress, are sources of constant and harassing 
 trial. Revert then to the ground of your original choice. Was it 
 made under the Lord's light and direction? This reason may well 
 bind you to " stick td'^ it : are not the ways of God as pleasant — 
 Is not Christ as lovely — heaven as desirable — as at the beginning? 
 Nay — have you not even more reason to adhere to your choice. 
 than you had to make it ? It was formed before at least you could 
 fully know for yourself Now •' you have tasted"^ — you have the 
 seal of experience. Is not the crown more joyous in the nearer 
 prospect ? 
 
 Backslider ! " Has God been unto you a wilderness, and a land 
 of darkness,"^ that you virtually give your testimony after trial, — 
 SSatan is the better master, and I return to him?' — The world is 
 the happiest path : and I will walk in it. This is indeed choosing 
 a murderer in the stead of a Father — " forsaking the fountain" for 
 the "broken cistern."^ Oh! must there not be repentance in this 
 path ? May it be before it be too late ! Ponder who it was that 
 befriended you in the moment of awful extremity, and snatched 
 you as a brand from the burning. Ponder the endearing proofs of 
 his love — condescending to become a man — " a man of sorrows,"^ 
 and to die in the agony of the cross, bearing for you the eternal 
 curse of God.^ And does not gratitude remind you, what returns 
 of faithful service are due from a creature so infinitely indebted to 
 him ? Surely the steadfast perseverance with which his heart clave 
 to his costly work,'" may serve to put to shame your unsteadiness in 
 " sticking to his testimonies^ 
 
 Believer ! you are determined to abide by your choice — but not 
 in your own strength. Remember him, who one hour declared, 
 that he would sooner die with Christ than deny him ; and the next 
 hour denied him with oaths and curses.'' Learn then to follow up 
 your resolution with instant prayer — " O Lord, put me not to 
 shamed Leave me not to myself, lest I become a shame to myself 
 and an offence to thy church. "I will keep thy statutes; O for- 
 sake me not utterly."'" Dependence upon the I^ord, in a deep sense 
 of our weakness, is the principle of perseverance. Never will he 
 shut out the prayer of his faithful servant. He hath promised — 
 " My people shall never be ashamed ;"'3 and therefore, taking firm 
 hold of his promise, you may "go on your way rejoicing." 
 
 »Lukeix. 62. Johnviii. 31. 2 Peter ii. 21. a Ps. cxxviii. 8. » Acts xi. 23. 
 < Numb. xxi. 4. 6 1 Peter ii. 3. « Jer. ii. 31. ^ Jer. ii. 13. 
 
 8 Isaiah liii. 3. » Gal. iii. 13. 
 
 " Compare Matt. xvi. 23. Luke xii, 50. Heb. xii. 2, 3. 
 " Matt. xxvi. 55, 74. 12 Verse 8. " Joel iL 27. 
 
VERSE 32. 55 
 
 32. Twill run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart, 
 
 A GLOWING picture of the Christian's dehght in tlie ways of God ! 
 If we " have chosen the way of God^s commandment s^^^ and have 
 been able to " stick unto^'' this way, surely we shall wish to " run 
 in it^^ with constancy and cheerfulness. We shall want to mend 
 our pace. If we walk, we shall long to "rww." There is always 
 the same reason for progress, that there was for setting out. Ne- 
 cessity, advantage, enjoyment, spur us on to the end. Whatever 
 progress we have made, we shall desire to make more ; we shall go 
 on praying and walking, and praying that we may walk with a 
 swifter motion : we shall be dissatisfied, yet not discouraged — 
 *' faint, yet pu'suing."^ Now this is as it should be. This is after 
 the pattern of the holy apostle — " Brethren, I count not myself to 
 have apprehended ; but this one thing I do ; forgetting those things 
 which are behind, and reaching forth unto those which are before, 
 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in 
 Christ Jesus."^ But the secret as well as the pattern of Christian 
 progress is — looking beyond the Apostle, and the " so great cloud of 
 witnesses with which we are encompassed" — and "looking unto 
 Jesus."3 Faith is the principle of life, and supplies the daily motion 
 of life ; directing our eye to him as " the Author," until he " be- 
 comes the Finisher," of our faith. This is at once our duty, our priv- 
 ilege, our happiness, and our strength. This is the point at which we 
 begin to run. Hitherto, the shackles of sin, self-righteousness, and 
 unbelief, had hindered us ; now we " so run, that we may obtain."* 
 
 But in ^Hhe way of God^s commandments^^ how are we "sore 
 let and hindered" by a straitened heart ! And how often do we feel 
 the heart, as it were, " shut up, and it cannot get forth :"5 faith so 
 low — desires so faint — hopes so narrow, that it seems impossible to 
 make progress! Perhaps we "did run well," and have been "hin- 
 dered."^ Perhaps the soul has been asleep in carelessness or self- 
 indulgence ; or unbehef in some of its varied forms has prevailed ; 
 and thus, while we " are not straitened" in God, we " are straitened 
 in our own bowels."' If then the rich fool thought of enlarging his 
 barns, when his stores had increased upon him,^ much more should 
 we be sending up the petition — " O that thou wouldst bless me in- 
 deed, and enlarge my coast P'^ Whatever cause we have to cry 
 out — " My leanness, my leanness,"^" — still, let us in the exercise of 
 faith and prayer, be waiting for a more cheerful ability to love, 
 serve, and praise. Let us be restless, till the prison-doors are again 
 opened, and the command is issued to the prisoners — " Go forth ; 
 and to them that are in darkness — Show yourselves. They shall 
 feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places."'' 
 Who knoweth but the Lord will once more shine upon us, once 
 more unloose our fetters, and renew our strength ? 
 
 Yet must every motion begin with God.'^ / ^m j-hyi, — ^jj^t how? 
 
 1 Judges viii. 4. 2 phil. iii, 13, 14. 3 Heb. xii. 1, 2. « I Cor. ix. 24. 
 
 5 Psalm Ixxxviii. 8. 6 Gal. v. 7. ^ 2 Cor. vi. 12. 8 Luke xii. 16—19. 
 
 » 1 Chron. iv, 10. «> Isaiah xxiv. 16. " lb. xlix. 9. i'^ Prov. xvi. 1. 
 
56 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 not in mine own strength, but by "the good hand of my God upon 
 me,"^ delivering and etilarging my heart. He does not say— I 
 will make no efforts, unless thou work for me ; but if thou wilt en- 
 large — I will run. Weakness is not the plea for indolence, but for 
 quickening grace. "Draw me" — saith the Church — " we will run 
 after thee." " Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."^ 
 The secret of Christian energy and success is a heart enlarged in 
 the love of God. 
 
 Let me then begin betimes — make haste — keep straight on — fix 
 my eye on the mark — "endure unto the end." 1 may yet expect 
 in the joy of blessed surprise to exclaim — " Or ever I was aware, 
 my soul made me hke the chariots of Amminadib."^ Godly sor- 
 row had made me serious. Now let holy joy make me active. 
 "The joy of the Lord is my strength ;"^ and I am ready, under the 
 power of constraining love,^ to work and to toil — to run without 
 weariness, to " march onward" without fainting ;^ not measuring 
 my pace by my own strength, but looking to him who "strength- 
 eneth with all might by his Spirit in the inner man."^ 
 
 Happy fruit of wrestling prayer and diligent waiting on God ! 
 Joy in God, and strength to walk with him, with increasing knowl- 
 edge of him, increasing communion with him, and increasing con- 
 fidence in him. 
 
 PART V. 
 
 33. Teach, mt^ O Lordt the way of thy statutes ; and I shall keep it unto 
 
 the end. 
 
 We need no instruction in the way of sin. That has been our 
 way, ever since Adam " sought out his own invention."^ The un- 
 godly " desire no knowledge of the way of God's statutes.^^^ The 
 heart leads the judgment, and "their heart is enmity to the law of 
 God."'" But for a child of God, this is a prayer for daily use. For 
 the more he is taught, the more he feels his need of teaching, and 
 the more earnest are his cries for this invaluable blessing. We 
 know nothing spiritually, except as we are taught of God. The 
 blind man must be led the plainest and most direct, as well as in 
 the more difficult and rugged paths. And thus do we need tlie shi- 
 ning of light from above — not only in " the deep things of God" — 
 but for the reception of the most elementary truths. And yet we 
 want not this knowledge for its own sake — to feed pride or specu- 
 lation — but for its practical influence. For of what avail is the 
 
 » Ezra vii. 9. « Cant. i. 4. 2 Cor. iii. 17. » CanL vi. 12. < Nch. viii. 10. 
 
 « 2 Cor. V. 14. ' Isaiah xl. 31, " march onward." — Bishop Lowth's Version. 
 
 » Eph. iii. 16. » EccI. vii. 29. Isa. liii. 6. • Job iii. 14. w Rom. viii. 7. 
 
VERSE 34. 57 
 
 discovery even of important truth, if we be not moulded into its 
 likeness, and constrained " into the obedience of faith ?" The con- 
 nection of every thought with Christian practice, here directed to its 
 proper end, is a most striking proof of the Divine origin of the stat- 
 utes. The most clear instructions for the regulation of our conduct 
 flow from single sentences or expressions in these ^^ statutes T and 
 this clearly prov^es an infinite wisdom in their distribution, a refer- 
 ence in the eternal mind to every detail of practical duty, and a 
 Divine power and unction, applying the word to the several circum- 
 stances of daily conduct! For, indeed, what mind but the mind of 
 God could have comprehended in so small a compass such a vast 
 system of instruction ? In this view, therefore, the Lord's teaching 
 becomes the spring of obedience. For how can we ^'' keep" a way 
 which we do not understand ? And who was ever " taught the 
 loay of the Lord's statutes^'' who had not his heart constrained 
 and directed by their spiritual beauty and sweetness? In this path 
 we reahze union with the Saviour ;i " the love of God is perfected 
 in us ;"=^ and our confidence is established before God.^ 
 
 The object nearest to the believer's heart, and which causes him 
 many an anxious and too often — many an unbeheving thought — 
 is the grace of perseverance. Now the Lord's teaching is the 
 principle of perseverance. It is "/Ae light of life^'^ — enHghtening 
 the mind, and quickening the heart. Under this influence therefore 
 we live — we endure — we cannot fail of keeping the way unto the 
 end.^ Thus the end crowns the work. For with this blessing of 
 perseverance, is sealed to us the hope of victory over our spiritual 
 enemies, and the participation of our Saviour's glory.^ Confidence, 
 indeed, without prayer and dependence upon our glorious Head, is 
 most daring presumption ; but that " well-ordered and sure cov- 
 enant," which " is all our salvation, and all our desire," engages for 
 our continuance in " the way of the hordes statutes .'" 1 will put 
 iny fear in their hearts^ that they shall not depart from me. I 
 will put my law in their inward parts^ and write it in their 
 hearts : and I will be their God, and they shall he my people."'' 
 
 34. Give me understandings and I mil keep thy law ; yea^ I shall observe it 
 with my whole heart. 
 
 'He that is his own teacher' — says Bernard — and one greater 
 than Bernard,^ ' has a fool for his master.' Man cannot teach 
 what he does not know ; and of God, and of his law, he knows 
 nothing. Therefore the beginning of wisdom is a consciousness of 
 ignorance, a distrust of our own understanding, and the heart-felt 
 prayer — " Give me understanding." The spiritual understand- 
 ing is the gift of Jesus Christ.^ He directs us to himself, as its 
 fountain — " I am the light of the world ; he that followeth me 
 shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.'^° This 
 
 - 1 John iii. 24. 2 ib. 2. 5. 3 lb. iii. 22. < John i. 4; viii. 12. 
 
 5 I John ii. 27. « Rev. ii. 20— 28. 
 
 7 Jer. xxxii. 40 ; xxxi. 33; with 2 Sam, xxiii. 5. 8 Prov. xxviii. 26. 
 
 9 1 John ii. 20. : v. 20. lo John viii. 12 : also xii. 46. 
 
58 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 understanding differs from mere intellectual' discernment or spec- 
 ulative knowledge. It is ihe spring of spiritual activity in our 
 walk with God ;* so that our obedience is not outward and reluc- 
 tant, but filial delight and wholeness of heart: — we desire not only 
 to keep the law of God to the end^ but every day to the end — ^^with 
 our whole heart.'''' — Such are our obligations towards him, that we 
 ought to study very accurately the character of our walk with him; 
 always remembering that service w^ithout the heart — the whole 
 heart — is hateful in his sight, '^ and that what is now willfully with- 
 held, will gradually draw away the rest in apostasy from him. 
 Now are we seeking more " engagedness of heart" for him. Then 
 wall this prayer be a suitable expression of our need, dnd the ut- 
 terance of a humble, resolute petitioner. It is not, however, enough 
 that we have once received, unless we are constantly receiving. 
 We must ask, that we may receive ; but after we have received, 
 we must ask again. Yet is this prayer never offered up, until the 
 soul has in part received what it is here seeking for. The natural 
 man is "wise in his own conceit," and has therefore no idea of his 
 need of Divine teaching. 
 
 But we must not be satisfied with even a clear apprehension of 
 the doctrines of the Bible, and of the " truth as it is in Jesus." 
 *' Give me binder standing^^ — ' not only that I may believe these 
 doctrines, but that I may keep and observe them.' In every path 
 of duty, this cry is repeated, with an importunity that is never 
 wearisome to the ears of our gracious Father. And in how many 
 unnoticed instances has the answer been vouchsafed when some 
 clear and heavenly ray, darting unexpectedly into the mind, or 
 some providential concurrence of unforeseen circumstances, has 
 disentangled a path before intricate and involved, and marked it 
 before us with the light of a sunbeam ! How many whispers of 
 conscience ! how many seasonable suggestions in moments of dark- 
 ness and perplexity may the observant child of God record, as the 
 answer to this needful prayer — "Whoso is wise, and w'\\\ observe 
 these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the 
 Lord."^ Nor will our growth in spiritual understanding fail to 
 evidencre itself in the steady consistency of a well-ordered conversa- 
 tion — "Who is a wise man, and endued with knowledge among yuu? 
 Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness 
 of wisdom."* If then knowledge is valuable according to its useful- 
 ness, one ray of this practical knowledge — the result of prayer for 
 heavenly teaching, — is more to be prized than the highest attain- 
 ments of speculative religion — flowing from mere human instruction. 
 33. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments ; for therein do 1 delight. 
 
 We are equally ignorant of the path of God's commandments^ 
 and impotent to go in it. We need therefore double assistance. 
 Our mind must be enlightened; our hearts constrained; else our 
 
 » See Col. i. 9. 10. 2 isaiah i. 11—15. Hosea x. 2. Acta v. 1—10. 
 
 > Psalm cvii. 43. ^ James iii. 13. 
 
VERSE 35. 59 
 
 knowledge of this humbling path would make us shrink from 
 it. But under the complete influence, of Divine grace, when un- 
 derstanding has been given to discern the beauty of it, the soul's 
 warmest desire is fixed upon it — Conscious helplessness looks up- 
 ward — Make me to go ; and he who said to the paralytic, "Arise, 
 take up thy bed, and go unto thy house," speaks the same word of 
 quickening life and power to the soul, ^'•giving heedj' "expecting 
 to receive something of him."i It is delightful to acknowledge of 
 this work, that " All is of God" — that " it is he that worketh in us 
 both to will and to do of his good pleasure."*^ To him only can it 
 belong. For since the natural inclination " is not subject to the 
 law of God, neither indeed can be;"' Almighty power must intro- 
 duce a new and active bias — " Turn thou me, and I shall be 
 turned"* — " Make me to go in the path of thy command mentsP 
 
 But even when brought into this path^ still we want accelerated 
 motion to run with increasing alacrity. We want to take " the 
 Lord God for our strength ; and he shall make our feet like hind's 
 feet, and shall m^ake us to walk upon our high places."^ The path^ 
 indeed, is uninviting to the eye of sense. This distorted vision 
 brings all its difficulties into full view ; hiding all its counterbal- 
 ancing enjoyments. Let us, however, exercise that " faitb, which 
 is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not 
 seen."^ Let us exhibit our proper character, "walking by faith, 
 and not by sight,"^ and our discernment of unseen things will be 
 'more clear, and our enjoyment of them more permanent. The 
 prayer will then be with increasing earnestness — " Make me to go 
 in the path of thy cojnm>a?idmentsJ^ 
 
 But we must not be content with walking in this way ; we must 
 seek to " delight in it^ Delight is the marrow of religion, " God 
 loveth a cheerful giver,"^ and accepts obedience only when it is 
 given, not when it is forced. He loves the service of that man, 
 who considers it his highest privilege to render it, and whose heart 
 rejoices in the way, "as a giant to run his race."^ Fervent prayer 
 and cheerful obedience, mark the experience of the thriving Chris- 
 tian. As a true "child of Zion, he is joyful in his king ;"i° he loves 
 his service, and counts it "perfect freedom" — the rule of love, 
 mercy, and grace. 
 
 But is the self-condemned penitent distressed by this description 
 of a child of God? He cannot find the same marks in himself; 
 and he too hastily concludes, that he does not belong to the heaven- 
 ly family ; not considering, that his very grief is caused by his love 
 to, and " delight in^^ that way in which he is so hindered, and in 
 which he daily prays — " Make me to go.^^ It was probably the 
 same sense of weakness and inability, " to go in the path of God''s 
 commandments^^'' which urged David's prayer; and if it urges 
 yours, poor trembling penitent, — if it sends you to a throne of grace, 
 
 1 Matt. ix. 6, with Acts iii. 4, 5. 2 2 Cor. v. 18. Phil. ii. 13. 
 
 3 Rom. viii. 7. ■» Jer xxxi. 18. s Hab. iii. 19. 
 
 6 Heb. xi. 1. 7 2 Cor. v. 7. 8 2 Cor. ix. 7. 
 
 9 Psalm xix. 5; cxii. 1. " lb. cxlix. 2. 
 
6U EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 you will, ere long, receive an answer of peace, and " go on your 
 way rejoicing." 
 
 This delight in the path is not only following the " man after 
 God's own heart ;" but it is the image of David's Lord, and our 
 forerunner in this path. He could testify to his Father — " I de- 
 hght to do thy will, O my God :"^ and to his disciples, "1 have meat 
 to eat that ye know not of. My meat is to do the will of him that 
 sent me, and to finish his work :"2 and as a proof of the in tenseness 
 of his delight, he could to their great amazement, "go before them"^ 
 to Jerusalem, unappalled by the " baptism" of blood which awaited 
 him ; yea, even " straitened" with the unquenchable ardor of his 
 love, " until it was accomplished."'' 
 
 36. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies^ — and not to covetousness. 
 
 But what " makes us to go in the path of God^s command- 
 ments ?" The force of his Almighty love effectually inclines the 
 will, as with a Divine touch. " The day of his power, in which 
 he makes us willing," is a time of love. " I drew them" — saith 
 he — " with cords of a man, and with bands of love."^ Every man, 
 who is conscious of the counteracting bias within, will deeply feel 
 the need of this prayer — ^^ Incline m.y heart P The native prin- 
 ciple of man draws him to his own self — to his own indulgence — 
 pleasure — covetousness — assuming a thousand forms of gratifying 
 self, at the expense of love to God. Few but are ready to con- 
 demn this principle in others, while perhaps it may be their own 
 " easily besetting sin." When the mind is grasping after the world, 
 as if it were our portion, we have the greatest reason to •' take heed" 
 to our Lord's admonition, and "beware of covetousness."^ When 
 we invest earthly gratifications with any inherent excellency — vir- 
 tually putting them in the place of God — then will be a season for 
 special supplication — Licline m,y heart unto thy testimonies^ and 
 not to covetousness. 
 
 There is probably no principle so opposed to the Lord^s testimo- 
 nies. It casts out the principle of obedience, since the love of God 
 cannot co-exist with the love of the world ;^ and the very desire to 
 serve Mammon is a proof of unfaithfulness to God.^ We mark 
 the deadly influence in direct breaches of the law of God. Ba- 
 laam, in the indulgence of this propensity, set his will in mad con- 
 trad iction to God.5 Ahab was tempted to murder.'" David to nuir- 
 der and adultery.*' Achan to steal.**^ Judas — both to steal from his 
 fellows and to betray his master. '^ Gehazi and Ananias to lying.'* 
 And besides — what is the matter of common but painful ol)serva- 
 tion — how much of the good seed of the kingdom, that was spring- 
 ing up with the promise of a plentiful harvest, has this weed of 
 
 » Psalm xl. 8, with Heb. x. 7. 3 John iv. 32, 34. » Mark x. 32. 
 
 * Luke xii. 60. 5 Psalm ex. 3. Ezck. xvi, 8. Hosea xi. 4. 
 
 e Lukfi xii. 15. ^ i John ii. 15. ^ Matt. vi. 24. 
 
 » Numb. xxii. 15—21. 2 Peter ii. 14—16. »" 1 Kings 21. 1—13. 
 
 " 2 Sam. xi. 2— 17. W Joshua vii. 21. 
 
 *3 John xii. 6. Matt. xxvL 14—16. " 2 Kings v. 20—26. Acte v. 1—8. 
 
vi:rse 36. 61 
 
 rank luxuriance "choked, that it has hecome unfruitful!"^ Out 
 Lord's parables therefore** — his providence^ — his promises* — his 
 terms of discipleship^ — his counsels'' — his own example of poverty 
 and renunciation of this world's comforts^ — all are directed against 
 this destructive principle. The power of the love of Christ deliv- 
 ered Matthew*^ and Zaccheus^ from its influence, and " inclined 
 their hearts to the testimonies of GodP And has not faith still 
 the same power to turn the heart from the world, from sin, from 
 self to Christ? Learn then to rest upon the promises of his love,^» 
 and to delight in his testimonies. Earthly cares will be cast upon 
 him, and earthly prospects will lose their splendor.'^ This life of 
 faith — living in union with a heavenly Saviour, involves the 
 only effective principle of resistaiice. Those who are risen with 
 Christ will be temperate in earthly things, "setting their affections 
 on things above." Such — such alone — will "mortify the members 
 that are upon the earth — evil concupiscence, and covetousness^ 
 which is idolatry. ^^^^ 
 
 We desire to sit loose to our earthly comforts.*^ Are we ena- 
 bled to check our natural discontent with the Lord's dealings with 
 us, and to restrain our eagerness to " seek great things for our- 
 selves"!'' by the recollection of his word — "Seek them not?'"* 
 
 Let us not forget, that the inclination — even if it is not brought 
 into active and perceptible motion, is fatally destructive of the life 
 of religion. " They that will he rich^^ fall into temptation and a 
 snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men 
 in destruction and perdition." Awful warning to professors ! — "The 
 love of money is the root of all evil ; which while some have cov- 
 eted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves 
 through with many sorrows."^^ A most important exhortation to 
 the people of God ! — "But thou, O man of God, flee these things, 
 and follow after righteousness."^^ If the Lord loves you, he will not 
 indeed lose you ; but unless you " take heed, and beware of covet- 
 ousness," he will not spare you. In the midst therefore of tempta- 
 tion without, and a world of sin within, go onwards with the pil- 
 grim's'3 prayer indelibly fixed on your heart — " Inclirie my hear^ 
 unto thy testimonies^ and not to covetousness.^^ 
 
 1 Mark iv. 19, — Th4.,example of the rich young man, Matt. xix. 21, 22. Demas, 2 
 Tim. iv.lO. 
 
 2 LuV^xii. 16—21 ; xvi. 14, 19, &c. 3 Matt. vi. 25—31. 
 
 4 lb. v.'^3. • Psahn xxxiv. 9, 10. Isaiah xxxiii. 15, 16. 1 Peter v. 7. 
 
 5 Matt. xv» 24; xix. 27— 29. Luke xiv. 33. « 1 Cor. vii. 29— 31. Phil. iv. 5. 
 T Matt. viii. 20. 8 lb. IX. 9. 9 Luke xix. 1—10. 
 
 1° Heb. xiii. 5. ' " Compare Luke xii. 15, with parallel verses 16 — 21. 
 
 12 Col. iii. 1—5. 13 Gen. iu. 5, 6. h jer. vi. 13. 
 
 15 lb. xlv. 5. 
 
 16 Oi B)v\o,jfvot TtXovTctv. 1 Tim. vi. 9. — The very inclination to be rich is alienation 
 from him, who by just right claims the supreme undisputed whole — " My son, give me 
 thine heart." Prov. xxiii. 26. 
 
 17 1 Tim. vi. 10. w lb. 11. w i Peter il 11. 
 
62 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 37. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity ; and quicken thou me in 
 
 thy way. 
 
 So strongly does the man of God deprecate temptation to self- 
 indulgence, that he prays to be kept at the greatest possible dis- 
 tance from it. That his heart may not be inclined to it; he desires 
 that his eyes may he turned from beholding it. Keeping the eye 
 is a grand means of " keeping the heart."^ Satan has infused his 
 poison into all the objects around us, that all furnishes fuel for temp- 
 tation, and the heart — naturally inclined to evil and hankering after 
 vanity — is stolen away in a moment. Vanity includes " all that 
 is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the 
 pride of life." All is sin, because "it is not of the Father, but is 
 of the world."2 Of all that belongs lo earth — " the preacher, the 
 son of David" — standing on the vantage-ground, and having taken 
 within his view the widest horizon of this world's excellency, has 
 pronounced his judgment — " Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, 
 vanity of vanities ! all is vanity."^ We have just mentioned the 
 lusts of other things choking many a 'promising profession. Our 
 Lord's solemn caution to his own disciples implies their injury to a 
 sincere profession — " Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time 
 your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and 
 cares of this life ; and so that day come upon you unawares."* 
 Some indeed seem to walk, as if they were proof against tempta- 
 tion. They venture to the very edge of the precipice, under a vain 
 assurance that no danger is to be apprehended. But such a con- 
 fidence is upon the brink of a grievous fall.^ The tender-hearted 
 child of God, trusting in the promise, that " Sin shall not have do- 
 minion over him," knows that he can only enjoy the security of it, 
 while he is shrinking from every occasion of sin. He " hates even 
 the garment spotted by the flesh f and, remembering how often 
 his outward senses have ministered to the workings of his weak 
 and treacherous heart,^ he continues in prayer — " Turn away 
 mine eyes from beholding vanity. ^^ 
 
 Probably the recollection of the circumstance of his own sin,» 
 would to the end of his life remind David of his special need of 
 this prayer. Yet who that is conscious of his own weakness and 
 corruption, will find the prayer unsuitable to his circumstances of 
 daily temptation? But we must watch as well as pray. For as 
 watchfulness without prayer is presumption, so prayer without 
 watchfulness is self-delusion. To pray that "o?/r eyes" may be 
 *''' turned from vanity J'' without "making a covenant with our 
 eyes,'"" that they should not behold it, is like " taking fire in our 
 bosoms," and expecting "not to be burnt,"'* because we have prayed 
 that we might not be burnt. If we pray not to be " led into temp- 
 
 iNumb. XV. H9. Job. xxii. 1. a John ii. 16. 3 EccI. i. 2; also u. 1— li 
 
 < Luke xxi. 34. 6 Prov. xvi. 18. « Rom. vi. 14. 
 
 T Jude 23. 8 See Prov. xxiii. 33. Josh. vii. 21. , 
 
 • 2 Sam. xi. 2. • lo job xxx. 1. " Prov. vi. 27, 28. 
 
VERSE 37. 68 
 
 tation," we must "watch, that we enter not into it.'" The sincer- 
 ity of our prayer will be proved by the watchfully avoiding the cir- 
 cumstances and occasions of temptation. The fear of sin will 
 manifest itself by a fear of temptation to sin. " The knife will be 
 put to the throat, if we be given to appetite."* We shall be afraid 
 of the wine sparkhng in ^|ie glass. ^ 
 
 But where is the harm of beholding vanity^ if we do not follow 
 it? When Eve beheld the forbidden fruit, perhaps she did not 
 think of taking it : and when she took it, she did not think of eat- 
 ing it: but the beginning of sin "is as the letting out of water," 
 w^hose progress once opened, beats down all before it.^ And who, 
 after our " beguiled mother," has not found the eye an inlet to sin7« 
 When Bunyan's pilgrims were obliged to pass through Vanity Fair, 
 beset on every side with temptations and allurements, they stopped 
 their eyes and ears, and quickening their pace, cried — " Turn 
 away mine eyes from beholding vanity. ^^ A striking reproof to us, 
 who too often loiter and gaze, until we begin to covet those vanities, 
 to which, as Christians, we " are dead !"^ 
 
 Is it asked — What will most effectually "^Mr;i my eyes from 
 vanity .^" Not the seclusion of contemplative retirement — not the 
 relinquishment of our lawful connection with the world ; but the 
 transcendent beauty of Jesus unveiled to our eyes, and fixing our 
 hearts. This will ^Hurn our eyes from vanity'^'' in its most glitter- 
 ing forms ! The sight of the " pearl of great price"' dims the lus- 
 tre of the "goodliest pearls" of earth; at once deadens us to the 
 enticements of the world, and urges us forward in the pursuit of the 
 prize. And is not this bur object? It is not enough that through 
 special mercy I am preserved from temptations. I want to be 
 quickened to more life, energy, delight, and devotedness in the way 
 of my God. The secret of Christian progress is simplicit}^ and dil- 
 igence. " This one thing I do — forgetting the things that are 
 behind, and reaching forth to those things that are before ; I press 
 towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ 
 Jesus."^ The spirit leaves no wish of the heart for beholding van- 
 ity. The world, with all its flowery paths, is a dreary wilderness: 
 and Christ and heaven are the only objects of desire — " He that 
 shutteth his eyes from seeing evil, he shall dwell on high ; his 
 place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks ; bread shall be 
 given him, his water shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the King 
 in his beauty : they shall behold the land that is very far ojf.''^^ — 
 Precious promises to those that flee from temptation, and desire to 
 walk in the ways of God ! 
 
 ^ Compare Matt. vi. 13, with xxvi, 41, 2 Prov, xxiii. 2. 
 
 3 Verses 31, 32. * Gen. iii. 6, with Prov. xvii. 14. 
 
 5 Lot's wife; Gen. xix. 26. Shechem ; xxxiv. 2. Potiphar's wife; xxxix. 7. Joshua 
 vii. 21. Samson; Judges xvi. 1. Even the man after Grod's own heart; 2 Sam. xi. 2. 
 Comp. Prov. vi. 25. Matt. v. 28. 2 Peter ii. 14. 
 
 « See Col. iu. 2, 3. ^ Matt. xiii. 46. « Phil, ill 13, 14. 
 
 8 Isaiah xxxiii. 15 — 17. 
 
64 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 38. Stahlish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear. 
 
 Often — instead of being quickened in the way — I am fainting 
 under the pressure of unbelief. What then is my resource ? Only 
 the word of promise. Lord ! seal — stahlish thy word unto thy ser- 
 vant — devoted as I am — as I would be — to}hyfear. If " the fear of 
 the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"^ — a " treasure"^ — a " strong 
 confidence"^ — "a fountain of life"^— how wise — how rich — how 
 safe — how happy — is he that " is devoted to^^ it ! " Blessed" indeed 
 is he — with the favor of his God,^ the secret of his love,^ the teach- 
 ing of his grace,^ and the mercy of his covenant.^ The promises 
 of the Old Testament are generally connected Avith the fear of 
 God, as in the New Testament they are linked with faith. But in 
 truth, so identified are these two principles in their operation, that 
 the faith, by which we apprehend the forgiveness of God, and the 
 privileges of his kingdom, issues in a godly, reverential, filial /ear .^* 
 To be devoted to this fear ^ completes the character of a servant of 
 God — the highest honor in the universe — the substantial joy of 
 heaven itself.^" It is an obedience of choice, of reverence, and of 
 love. " Joining himself to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the 
 name of the Lord, — to be his servant."" -Yes, gracious Lord, I 
 had rather be bound than loosed. I only wished to be loosed from 
 the bonds of sin, that I might be bound to thee for ever. My heart 
 is treacherous ; lay thine own bonds upon me. '■' O Lord, truly I 
 am thy servant: thou hast loosed my bonds ;"^2 Jam ^''devoted to thy 
 fearP Is this my desire, my mind, my determination, my charac- 
 ter ? Then let me plead my title to an interest in the promises of 
 the word — rich and free, "exceeding great and precious"^^ — all 
 mine — "yea, and amen in Christ Jesus "^^ let me plead, that every 
 word may be " established^ in my victory over sin, advancing 
 knowledge of Christ, experience of his love, conformity to his im- 
 age, and finally, in my preservation in him unto eternal life. 
 
 But how far has the fear of God operated with me as a safe- 
 guard from sin,"^ and an habitual rule of conduct '^^^ David's con- 
 fidence in the promises of God, far from lessening his jealousy over 
 himself, only made him more '•'■ devoted to the feaf of God. And 
 if my assurance be well-grounded, it will be ever accompanied with 
 holy fear ; the influence will be known by " standing more in awe 
 of God's word ;"^' having a more steady abhorrence of sin, and a 
 dread of " grieving the Holy Spirit of God." Thus this filial fear pro- 
 duces a holy confidence ; while confidence serves to strengthen fear: 
 and their mutual influence quickens devotedness to the work of the 
 Lord. 
 
 It is interesting to remark, that the Christian privilege of assu- 
 
 » Psalm cxi. 10, 2 Isaiah xxxiii. 6. 3 Prov. xiv. 26. * lb, 27. 
 
 » Psalm xxxiii. 18. « lb. xxv. 14. ' lb. 12. « lb. ciii. 17. 
 
 » lb. cxxx. 4. Compare Jer. xxxiii. 8, 9, Hosea iii. 5; also Heb. xii. 28. 
 w Rev. vii, 15; ixii. 5, " Isaiah Ivi. 6. '2 Paalm cxvi. 16. 
 
 »3 2 Peter i. 4. " 2 Cor. i. 20. »« Gen. xxxix, ix. Neh. v. 15. Prov, xvi, 6. 
 
 w Prov. xxiii. 17. " Verse 161. 
 
VERSE 39. 65 
 
 ranee is not confined to the New Testament dispensation. David^s 
 pleading to have the ^^word of his God stablished unto him" ^ was 
 grounded upon the tried foundations of faith. And this direct act 
 of faith, as it regards God in Christ, his engagements, and his 
 promises, cannot be too confident. The promises are made to the 
 whole Church, that we might each look for our part and interest in 
 them. God loves to have his own seal and hand-writing brought 
 before him. " Put me in remembrance" — saith he : " let us plead 
 together," " He cannot deny himself."^ This is the exercise and 
 the power of faith. I bring my wants. 1 bring thy tvord of promise. 
 iStablish thy itwrd unto thy servant. Thou hast bought me with 
 a precious price: thou hast made me thine: thou hast subdued my 
 heart to thyself, so that it is now " devoted to thy fear." Whatso- 
 ever, therefore, thy covenant has provided for my sanctification, my 
 humiliation, my chastisement, my present and everlasting consola- 
 tion — " Stahlish this word ;" let it be fulfilled in me ; for I am " thy 
 servant^ devoted to thy fear." 
 
 39. Turn away my reproach which I fear ; for thy judgments are good. 
 
 There is a reproach, that we have no cause to /ear, but rather 
 to glory in. It is one of the chief privileges of the Gospel^ — the 
 honorable badge of our profession.^ But it was the ^^ reproach'^ 
 of bringing dishonor upon the name of his God, that Duvid feared,^ 
 and deprecated with most anxious importunate prayer. The fear 
 of this reproach is a practical principle of tender watchfulness and 
 circumspection, and of habitual dependence upon an Almighty up- 
 holding power. " Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe"^ — will be 
 the constant supplication of one that fears the Lord, and fears him- 
 self. We do not perhaps sufficiently consider the active malice of 
 the enemies of the Gospel " watching for our halting ;"^ else should 
 we be more careful to remove all occasions of " reproach" on ac- 
 count of inconsistency of temper or conversation. None therefore 
 that feel their own weakness, the continual apprehension of danger, 
 the tendency of their heart to backslide from God, and to disgrace 
 "that worthy name by which they are called,"^ will think this 
 prayer unseasonable or unnecessary — " Tu7'n away my reproach 
 which I fear." 
 
 Perhaps also the conflicting Christian may find this a suitable 
 prayer. Sometimes Satan has succeeded in beguiling him into 
 some worldly compliance, or weakened his confidence, by tempting 
 
 ^ Mark thi3 petition drawn out by David into a full pleading with his God, 2 Sam. 
 vii. 25, 28, 29. The expression also of the same confidence will afterwards be noticed. 
 Verse 49. 
 
 2 Isaiah xliii. 2fi. 2 Tim. ii. 13. 3 Matt. v. 10—12. Compare Phil. i. 29. 
 
 * Acts V. 41 ; xxiv. 5; xxviii. 22. Heb. xiii. 13. 1 Pet. iv. 12 — 16. 
 
 5 2 Sam. xii. 14. We find Saul strongly deprecating this reproach — "I have sinned; 
 yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel." (1 
 Sam. XV. 30.) But how different the principle in these two instances under a similar 
 trial ! The one tremblingly alive, that the name of God might not be reproached through 
 his shameful fall. The other earnest only to secure his own reputation. 
 
 6 Verse 1. 7 Jer. xx. 10. 8 James ii. 7. 
 
 5 
 
66 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 him to look to himself for some warrant of acceptance, (in all which 
 suggestions he is aided and abetted by his treacherous heart:) and 
 then will this "accuser of the brethren" turn back upon him, and 
 change himself into "an angel of light,'' presenting before him a 
 black catalogue of those very falls, into which he had successfully 
 led him. Bunyan does not fail to enumerate these ''• repi'oaches'^ 
 as amongst the most harassing assaults of ApoUyon. In his des- 
 perate conflict with Christian, he iaunts him with his fall into the 
 Slough of Despond, and every successive deviation from his path, 
 as blotting out his warrant of present favor with the king, and 
 blasting all hopes of reaching the celestial city. Christian does not 
 attempt to conceal or palliate the charge. He knows it is all true, 
 and much more besides; but he knows this is true also — "Where 
 sin abounded, grace hath much more abounded." " The blood of 
 Jesus Christ the Son of God cleanseth from all sin."* Believers ! 
 In the heat of your conflict remember the only effective covering. 
 " Above all. taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able 
 to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."^ Do you not hate the 
 sins, with which you have been overtaken ? Are you not earnestly 
 longing for dehverance from their power? Then even while the 
 recollections of their guilt and defilement humble you before the 
 Lord, take fresh hold of the Gospel, and you shall " overcome by 
 the blood of the Lamb."^ Victory must come from the cross. And 
 the soul that is directing its eye thither for pardon, strength, and 
 consolation, may sigh out the prayer with acceptance — " Turn 
 away my reproach which I fear. ''^ 
 
 But how deeply is the guilt of apostasy or backsliding aggrava- 
 ted by the acknowledgment which all are constrained to make — 
 " Thy judgments are goodP' How aflfecting is the Lord's ex- 
 postulation with us! — "What iniquity have your fathers found in 
 me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, 
 and are become vain? O my peopte, what have I done unto thee, 
 and wherein have I wearied thee ? testify against me. I have not 
 caused theo to serve with an oflfering, nor wearied thee with in- 
 cense."* No, surely we have nothing to complain of our Master, 
 of his work, or of his wages; but much, very much, to complain 
 of ourselves, of our watchfulness, neglect, backsliding, and to hum- 
 ble ourselves on account of the consequent reproach upon our pro- 
 fession. 
 
 Never, however, let us cease to cry, that all the reproach which 
 we fear on account of our allowed inconsistencies of profession, 
 may for the Church's sake, be ^'■turned away from ?/5." Mean- 
 while, "let us accept it as the punishment of our iniquity ;"^ and in 
 the recollection of the ^^ goodness of the Lord's jndgme-nts" still 
 venture to hope and look for the best things to come out of it, from 
 our gracious Lord. 
 
 »Rom.v.20. IJohni. 7. « Eph. vi. 16. a Rev. xji. 9— 11. 
 
 * Jer. ii. 5. Micah vi, 3. Isaiah xliii. 23. « Lev. xxvi. 41. 
 

 VERSE 40. 67 
 
 40. Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness. 
 
 Behold! An appeal to the heart-searching God — "Thou know- 
 est that I love"' thy precepts ! The heart-felt acknowledgnnent of 
 their goodness naturally leads to long after them.'^ The professor 
 longs after the promises, and too often builds a delusive — because 
 an unsanctifying hope upon them. Tlie believer feels it to be his 
 privilege and safety to have an equal regard to both — to obey the 
 precepts of God in dependence on his promises, and to expect the 
 accompHshment of the promises, in way of obedience to the pre- 
 cepts. The utmost extent of the professor's service is the heavy 
 yoke of outward conformity. He knows nothing of an inward 
 delight^ and " longing after themP Of many of them his heart 
 complains, '• This is a hard saying : who can hear it ?"3 t^q 
 Christian can give a good reason for his delight even in the most 
 difficult and painful "/?recep^5." The moments of deepest repent- 
 ance are his times of the sweetest "refreshing from the presence of 
 the Lord."* Whatever be the pleasure of indulgence in sin, far 
 greater is the ultimate enjoyment arising out of the mortification of 
 it.5 Most fruitful is our Saviour's precept^ which inculcates on his 
 followers self-denial and the daily cross.^ For by this wholesome 
 discipline we lose our own perverse will ; the power of sin is re- 
 strained, the pride of the heart humbled; and our real happiness 
 fixed upon a solid and permanent basis. So that, whatever dispen- 
 sation some might desire for breaking the precept without forfeit- 
 ing the promise, the Christian blesses God for the strictness that 
 binds him to a steady obedience to it. To him it is grievous, not to 
 keep it, but to break it. A " longing'''* therefore " after the pre- 
 cepts" marks the character of the child of God, and may be con- 
 sidered as the pulse of the soul. It forms our meetness and ripe- 
 ness for heaven. 
 
 There are indeed times, when tlie violence of temptation, or the 
 paralyzing effect of indolence, hide the movements of the " hidden 
 man of the heart." And yet even in these gloomy hours, when the 
 mouth is shut, and the heart dumb, before God — "so troubled that 
 it cannot speak,"^ — even then, acceptable incense is ascending be- 
 fore the throne of God. We have a pow^erful intercessor " helping 
 our infirmities" — interpreting our desires, and crying from within, 
 "with groanings that cannot be uttered ;"« yet such as being in- 
 dited by our advocate within, and presented by our Advocate above,' 
 are cheering earnests of their fulfilment. " He will fulfil the desire 
 
 ' Compare John xxi. 17. 
 
 2 Compare the same acknowledgment, Rom. vii. 12, connected with similar delight, 22. 
 
 3 John vi. 60. 
 
 < Acts iii. 19. Luther says the practice of repentance was ever sweeter to him, after 
 hearing the expression of an old divine — "That is kind repentance, which begins from 
 the love of God." 
 
 5 See David's lively expression of gratitude — first to his God — then to the instrument 
 employed by him— (Abigail) in restraining him from the gratification of most unjustifia- 
 ble revenge, — 1 Sam. xxv. 38, 33. 
 
 6 Luke ix. 23. 7 Psalm Ixxvii. 4. » Rom. viii. 26. 
 9 Heb. ix. 24. Rev. viii. 3, 4. 
 
68 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 of them that fear him : he also will hear their cry, and will save 
 them."i 
 
 These longings might seem to betoken a vigorous exercise of 
 grace. But shall I be satisfied, while the most fervent desires are 
 60 disproportioned to their grand object — so overborne by the cor- 
 ruption of the flesh^ — and while a heartless state is so hateful to 
 my Saviour ?3 Idle confessions and complaints are unseemly and 
 unfruitful. Let me rather besiege the mercy-seat with incessant 
 importunity* — '' Quicken me in thy righteousness^ " I plead thy 
 righteousness — thy righteous promise for the reviving of my spirit- 
 ual life. I long for more lively apprehensions of thy spotless right- 
 eousness. Oh ! let it invigorate my delight, my obedience, my secret 
 communion, my Christian walk and conversation." Such lo7ig- 
 ings, poured out before the Lord for a fresh supply of quickening 
 grace, are far different from "the desire of the slothful which kill- 
 eth him,"5 and will not be forgotten before God. " Delight thy- 
 self in the Lord ; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.'" 
 O for a more enlarged expectation, and a more abundant vouch- 
 safement of blessing ; that we may burst forth and break out, as 
 from a living fountain within,^ in more ardent longings for the 
 Lord's precepts ! 
 
 But it may be asked — What weariness in, and reluctancy to du- 
 ties, may consist with the principle and exercise of grace ? Where 
 it is only in the members, not in the mind — where it is only par- 
 tial, not prevalent — where it is only occasional, not habitual — where 
 it is lamented and resisted, and not allowed — and where, in spite 
 of its influence, the Christian still holds on the way of duty — 
 "grace reigns" in the midst of conflict, and will idtimately and glo- 
 riously triumph over all hindrance and opposition. But in the 
 midst of the humbling views of sin that present themselves on 
 every side, let me diligently inquire — Havel an habitual "hunger- 
 ing and tiiirsting after righteousness?" And since, at the best, I do 
 but get my longings increased, and not satisfied, let the full satis- 
 faction of heaven be much in my heart. ' As for me, I will behold 
 thy face in righteousness ; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with 
 thy likeness."s 
 
 And what an expectation is this to pretend to ! To think what 
 the infinitrly — eternally blessed God is — and what " man is at his 
 best estate"^ — then to conceive of man the worm of the dust — the 
 child of sin and wrath — transformed into the likeness of God — how 
 weighty is the sound of tliis hope ! What then must its substan- 
 tiation be? If the initial privilege be glorious.'" what will the ful- 
 ness be !•' Glory revealed to us! transfused through us! becoming 
 our very being? To have the soul filled — not with evanescent 
 shadows — but with massive, weighty, eternal glory !'* Worlds are 
 
 » Psalm cxiv. 19. « Rom. vii. 18—24. ' Rev. iii. 16. 
 
 « Matt. xi. 12. » Prov. xxi. 25. « Psalm xxxvii. 4 
 
 1 John iv. 14; vii. 38. • Psalm xvii. 15. ' lb. xxxix. 5. 
 
 "> 2 Cor. ui. 18. »i 1 John iii. 2. w 2 Cor. iv. 17. 
 
VERSE 41. 69 
 
 mere empty bubbles compared with this our sure, satisfying, un- 
 fading inheritance. 
 
 PART VI. 
 
 41. Lst thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord; even thy salvation, according 
 
 to thy word. 
 
 A PRAYER of deep anxiety — large desire — simple faith ! It is a 
 sinner — feeling his need of mercy — yea mercies — abundant mercy* 
 — mercies for every moment — looking for them only in the Lord's 
 salvation — to be dispensed according to his word. Out of Christ 
 we know only a God of justice and holiness. In Christ we behold 
 a just God, and yet a Saviour i^ and in "his salvation mercy and 
 truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each 
 other."3 Therefore general notions of mercy without a distinct 
 apprehension of ^^ salvation'^ — have their origin in presumption, not 
 in warranted faith. For can there be any communication of mercy 
 from an unknown God? Can there be any intercourse with an 
 angry God? "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace; 
 thereby good shall come unto thee"* — " The Lords mercies^ even 
 his salvation.^^ 
 
 This prayer, however, is peculiarly suitable to the believer, longing 
 to realize that which sometimes is clouded to his view — his person- 
 al interest in the Lords salvation ! It must come to me; or I shall 
 never come to it. I want not a general apprehension — I am not 
 satisfied with the descri[)tion of it. Let it come to me — let thy 
 m^ercies be applied, so that I can claim them and rejoice in them. 
 I see thy salvation come to others. Who needs it more than I? 
 Let it come also unto me. Look thou upon me, and he mercifid 
 unto we, as thou used to do to those that love thy name. " Re- 
 member me, O Lord, with the favor that thou hear est to thy peo- 
 ple ; O visit me with thy salvation ; that I may see the felicity of 
 thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that 
 I may glory with thine inheritance."^ 
 
 Now, are we seeking the assurance of this salvation! Are we 
 waiting to realize its present power, saving us from sin — Satan — 
 the world — our^^elves — and "blessing us with all spiritual blessings 
 in Christ Jesus?" Should a trial of faith and patience be ordained 
 for us, yet in the end we shall find an enriching store of experience 
 from His wise dispensations. That he has kept us from turning 
 
 » Psalm li. 1. 8 Isa. xlv. 21. 3 Psalm Ixxxv. 9, 10. Comp. Rom. iii. 26. 
 
 < Job xxii. 21 . 6 Verse 132. Psalm cvi, 4, 5. 
 
70 EXPOSITION OF PSALM Cxix. 
 
 our backs upon his ways, when we had no comfort in them ; that 
 he has upheld us with secret suppUes of strength — is not this the 
 work of his own Spirit within, and the pledge of the completion of 
 the work ? That he has enabled us, against all discouragementSj 
 to "continue instant in prayer," is surely an answer to that prayer, 
 which in our apprehensions of it had been cast out. That in wait- 
 ing upon him, we have fouiid no rest in worldly consolation, is an 
 assurance that the Lord himself will be our soul-satisfying and eter- 
 nal portion. And who is there now in the sensible enjoyment of 
 his love, who does not bless that Divine wisdom, which took the 
 same course with them that has been taken with us, to bring them 
 to these joys ? When did a weeping seed-time fail of bringing a 
 joyful harvest !^ 
 
 But let not the ground of faith be forgotten — ^^ According to thy 
 icord" — that it shall come fully — freely — eternally — to him that 
 waiteth for it.^ "Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh 
 righteousness ; those that remember thee in thy ways."^ Many in- 
 deed are satisfied with far too low a standard of spiritual enjoy- 
 ments. It is comfortless to live at a distance from our Father's 
 house, when we might be dwelling in the secret of his presence, 
 and rejoicing in the smiles of his love. But let us not charge this 
 dishonorable state upon the sovereignty of the Divine dispensa- 
 tions. Let us rather trace it to its true source — want of desire — 
 want of faith — want of prayer — want of diligence. What infinite 
 need have we of heavenly influence ! What gracious encourage- 
 ment to seek it ! The way was blocked up — mercy has cleared 
 the path, opened our access. — "The golden sceptre is always held 
 out."* Earnest prayer will bring a sure answer. The blessing 
 is unspeakable. Let thy mercies — thy salvation — conie unto me^ 
 O Lord. 
 
 42. So shall I have whereioith to answer him that rejproacheth me ; for I trust 
 
 in thy word. 
 
 What is the salvation which he had just been speaking of? 
 The whole gift of the mercy of God — redemption from sin, death, 
 and hell — pardon, peace, and acceptance with a reconciled God — 
 constant communication of spiritual blessings — all that God can 
 give or we can want ; all that we are able to receive here, or heaven 
 can perfect hereafter. Now, if this ^^com,es to vs'^ — comes to our 
 hearts — surely it will furnish us at all times with " an answer to 
 him that reproacheth us.^^ The world casts upon us the reproach 
 of the cross. "What profit is there to walk mournfully before the 
 Lord of Hosts?"'' What is there to counterbalance the relinquish- 
 ment of pleasure, esteem, and worldly comfort? The professor 
 can give no answer. He has heard of it, but it has never come 
 to him. The believer is ready with his answer^ I have found in 
 the Lord's salvation pardon and peace — " not as the world giveth" 
 
 » Psalm cxxvi. 5, 6. « Ih. xxxiii. 22. Compare v. 81. • Isaiah Ixiv. 5. 
 
 * Esther v. 2. « Malachi iii. 14. 
 
VERSE 42. 71 
 
 — and such as the world cannot take away. Here therefore do 
 I abide, findin^r it iny happiness not to live without the cross, and 
 testifying in the midst of abounding tribulation, that there are no 
 comforts like Christ's cpmforts. This was David's answer^ when 
 family trials were probably an occasion of reproach. " Although 
 my house he not so with God, yet he hath made with me an ever- 
 lasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure : for this is all 
 my salvation and all my desire.''^ ^ 
 
 But there is a far heavier reproach than that of the world — when 
 the grand accuser injects hard thoughts of God — when he throws 
 our guilt and unworthiness — our helplessness and difficulties in 
 our face. And how severe is this exercise in a season of spiritual 
 desertion ! Except the believer can stay his soul upon " a God 
 that hideth himself, as still the God of Israel, the Saviour,"^ he is 
 unprepared with an answer to hi^n that reproacheth him. Such 
 appears to have been Job's condition,^ and Heman's,^ not to speak 
 of many of the Lord's most favored people, at different stages of 
 their Christian life. Most important therefore is it for us to pray 
 for a realizing sense oithe Lord's mercies — even of his salvation — 
 not only as necessary for our peace and comfort — but to garrison 
 us against every assault, and to enable us to throw down the chal- 
 lenge, ^''Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy ; when I fall, I 
 shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light 
 U7ito we."^ Free grace has saved me — an unspotted righteousness 
 covers me — an Almighty arm sustains me — eternal glory awaits 
 me. Who shall condemn ? " Who shall separate us from the love 
 of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord ?"6 
 
 Now for this bold front to our enemies, nothing is wanted beyond 
 the reach of the weakest child of God. No extraoidinary holiness — 
 no Christian establishment in experience — nothing but simple, 
 humble faith, " For I trust in thy word.^^ Faith makes this sal- 
 vation ours, in all its fulness and almighty power ; and therefore 
 our confidence " in the word'^ will make us " ready always to give 
 an answer to every one that asketh us a reason of the hope that 
 is in us, with meekness and fear."^ " No weapon that is formed 
 against thee shall prosper ; and every tongue that riseth against 
 thee in judgment, thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the 
 servants of the Lord ; and their righteousness is of me, saith the 
 Lord.« 
 
 But how often is our Christian boldness paralyzed by our feeble 
 apprehensions of the salvation of God ! Clear and full evangelical 
 views are indispensable for the effective exercise of our weighty ob- 
 ligations. Any indistinctness here, from its necessary mixture of 
 self-righteousness and unbelief, obscures the warrant of our per- 
 sonal interest, and therefore hinders that firm grasp of Almighty 
 strength. Coldness and formality also deaden the power of Chris- 
 tian boldness. Much need therefore have we to pray for a reahzed 
 
 * 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. 2 Isaiah xlv. 15. 3 Job vi, vii. ix. * Ps. Ixxxviii. 
 
 « Micah vii. 8. « Rom. viii. 33—99. "> 1 Peter iii. 15. » Isftiah liv. 17. 
 
72 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. " 
 
 perception of the freeness, fulness, holiness, and privileges of the 
 Gospel. Much need have we to use our speedy diligence, without 
 delay; our painful diligence, without indulgence; our continual 
 diligence, without weariness ; that we be not satisfied with remain- 
 ing on the skirts of the kingdom ; that it be not a matter of doubt, 
 whether we belong to it or not; but that, grace being added to 
 grace, "so an entrance may be ministered to us abundantly into"* 
 all its rich consolations and everlasting joys. 
 
 43. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth : for I have hoped 
 
 in thy judgments. 
 
 For the sake of the Church and the world, not less than for our 
 own sakes, let us give diligence to clear up our interest in the Gos- 
 pel, that "the joy of the Lord may be our strength" in his service. 
 The want of personal assurance not only brings a loss to our soul's 
 own experience, but a hindrance to our own usefulness. Not only 
 is our answer feeble to " him that reproaches us f but our attempts 
 to "strengthen the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees"=^ of 
 our brethren are unavailing. The dread of the charge of hypoc- 
 risy — the absence of the only "constraining" principle — "the love 
 of Chnst,"^ or the indulgence of worldly habits and conversation — 
 stops the utterance of the word of truths and obscures our character 
 as a "saint of God,"* and a witness for his name.^ Justly indeed 
 might he punish our unfaithfulness by forbidding us to speak any 
 more in his name ; and therefore in deprecating this grievous judg- 
 ment, the child of God, conscious of guilt, casts himself at the foot- 
 stool of mercy — '' Take not the icord of truth utterly out of my 
 mouthy Not only take it not out of my heart ; but let it be ready 
 in my mouth for a confession of my master. 
 
 This is a valuable prayer to preserve us from denying Christ in 
 worldly intercourse. Let the whole weight of Christian obligation 
 be deeply felt — faith in the heart, and confession with the mouth^ — - 
 the active principle, and the practical exercise. Should we be con- 
 tent with the dormant principle, where would be the Church — the 
 ordinances — the witness for God in the world ? Shall we shrink 
 from the bold confession of him who " despised the shame of the 
 cross for us V Would not this imply a distrust of our ow^n testi- 
 mony — the word of truth ') 
 
 Wisdom is indeed required to know when, as well as what, to 
 speak. There is indeed " a time to keep silence," " and the pru- 
 dent shall keep silence in that time."^ But too often a judicious 
 caution is a self-deluding cover for the real cause of restraint — the 
 want of apprehension of the Lord's mercy to the soul. It will al- 
 ways therefore be made to examine, whether it is our cross to be 
 **dumb with silence" — whether, when we "hold our peace even from 
 good, our sorrow is stirred," and our "heart hot within us, and the 
 fire burning."' 
 
 » 2 Peter i. 5— 11. 2 jsaiah xxxv. 3. 8 2Cor. v. 14. 
 
 « Psalm cxiv. 10—13. . s See Isaiah xliii. 10. « Rom. x. 9, 10. 
 
 ' Heb. xii. 2. 8 EccI. iii. 7. Amos v. 13. » Psalm xxjtix. 2, 3. 
 
VERSE 44. 78 
 
 Sometimes the Lord may see it needful to straiten our spirits, for 
 the discovery of our weakness, for our deeper humiliation, and more 
 simple dependence on himself. But then will the cry — "Take 
 not the word %Uterly out of my mouth" — be heard and answered. 
 And a word spoken in weakness may be a word of Almighty power 
 to one of the Lord's "little ones." Many opportunities also in our 
 connections with the world will unexpectedly oflfer for the improve- 
 ment of the wakeful heart. The common topics of earthly con- 
 versation may furnish a channel for heavenly intercourse ; so that 
 our communications even with the world may be like Jacob's lad- 
 der, whose foot rested upon the earth, but the top reached unto the 
 heavens.^ And oh ! what a relief is it to the burdened conscience, 
 if but a few words can be stammered out for God, even though 
 there are no sensible refreshings of his presence upon the soul ! 
 
 But in order that the word of truth may come out of our mouth, 
 it must be well stored in the heart. " Let then the word of Christ 
 dwell in us richly in all wisdom ;" that it may be ready for every 
 opportunity of usefulness.*^ When the heart is full, the mouth will 
 flow. 3 When " the heart is inditing a good matter, speaking of 
 the things touching the king," "our tongue will be the pen of a 
 ready writer."* This prayer is the same confidence of faith that 
 was expressed in the preceding verse, " For I have hoped in thy 
 judgmeatsj^ an acceptable spirit of approach to God, and an earnest 
 of the revival of life and comfort in the Lord's best time and way. 
 
 44. So shall I keep thy law continually, for ever and ever. 
 
 The heaping up of so many words in this short verse, appears 
 to be the struggle of the soul to express the vehemency of its long- 
 ings to glorify its Saviour. And indeed the Lord's return to us, 
 unsealing the lips of the dumb, and putting his word again into 
 our moufh, brings with it a fresh sense of constraining obligation. 
 This fresh occupation in his praise and service is not only our pres- 
 ent privilege, but an antepast of our heavenly employment, when 
 the word will never more "6e taken out of our mouth,^^ but we 
 shall " talk of his wondrous works''^ '^for ever and ever." The 
 defects in the constancy and extent of our obedience (as far as our 
 hearts are alive to the honor of God,) must ever be our grief and 
 burden ; and the prospect of its completeness in a better world, is 
 that which renders the anticipation of heaven so delightful. There 
 we shall be blest with suitable feelings, and therefore be enabled to 
 render suitable obedience — even one unbroken consecration of all 
 our powers to his work. Then " shall we keep his law continually 
 
 ^ Gen. xxviii. 12. " Why do I make any of my visits to any of my neighbors, or coun- 
 tenance th.ir visits unto me 1 Lord, I <lesire to let fall somethintj, th;it may be for the 
 gooJ of tljo company; even, that more may be known of thee, and done for thee, from 
 what pisses in it. And when I propose to in^rratiate mysilf unto any people by the 
 civilitii-s of conversation, it shall be, that I may gain ther«'by the better advantages to 
 prosecute purposes upon them. In conversation, 1 would especially lay hold on all ad- 
 vantages to introduce as much as I can of a lovely Christ into the view of ail that I coma 
 near uiito/' — Cotton Mather, Student and Pastor, pp. 74, 75. 
 
 a Col. iii. IC. 3 Matt. xu. 34. Comp. Ps. cxvi. 10. * Ps. xlv. 1,2. 5 Verse 27. 
 
74 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 for ever and everP Once admitted to the throne of God, we " shall 
 serve him day and night in his temple,"' — without sin — without in- 
 constancy, — without weariness, — without end ! We speak of hea- 
 ven ; but oh ! to be there ! To be engaged throughout eternity in 
 the service of love to a God of love ! In one day's continuance in 
 the path of obedience even here, in the midst of the defilement 
 which stains our holiest services, how sweetly do the minutes roll 
 away ! But to be for ever employed for him, in that place, where 
 " there shall in no wise enter anything that defileth'"^ — this gives 
 an emphasis and a dignity to the heavenly joy, which may well 
 stamp it as "unspeakable and full of glory."* May we not then 
 encourage the hope, that the Lord is making us meet for heaven, 
 by the strength and constancy of our desires to '•^ keep the laws of 
 God y" And is it not evident that heaven itself can afford no real 
 delight to one, who feels the service of God on earth to be irksome? 
 He stands self-excluded by the constitution of his nature, by the 
 necessity of the case. He has no heart for heaven, no taste for 
 heaven, no capacity for the enjoyment of heaven — "He that is un- 
 just, let him be unjust still ; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy 
 still; and he that is rghteous, let him be righteous still; and he that 
 is holy, let him be holy still."* 
 
 Heavenly, gracious Father ! who and what are we, that our 
 hearts should be made the unworthy recipients of thy grace ? that 
 our wills should be subdued into " the obedience of faith ?" and that 
 we should be permitted to anticipate that blessed period, when we 
 shall " keep thy law continually for ever and ever .'" May this 
 prospect realize the happiness of our present obedience ! May he, 
 who has "bought us with a price" for his glory, reign in our hearts, 
 and live upon our lips ; that each of us may have his mark upon 
 our foreheads — the seal of his property in us, and of our obligation 
 to him — " Whose I am, and whom I serve !"» 
 
 45. And 1 will walk at liberty; for I seek thy precepts. 
 
 Not only perseverance but liberty, is the fruit of the Lord's 
 mercy to our souls— not the liberty of sin — to do what we please — 
 but of lioliness — to do what we ought ; the one, the iron bondage 
 of our own will ;^ the other, the easy yoke of a God of love. It was 
 a fine expression of a heathen, " to serve God is to reign."^ Cer- 
 tainly in tliis service David found the liberty of a king. The pre- 
 cepts of God were not forced upon him ; for he sought them. 
 " More to be desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold ; sweeter 
 also than honey, and the honey-comb."^ The way of the Lord, 
 
 » Rev. vii. 15. 2 ib. xxi. 27. 3 1 Peter i. 8. 
 
 < Rev. xxii. 11. 5 Acts xxvii. 23. 
 
 « *' I gave my will to mine enemy," said Augustine, " and he made a chain, and bound 
 me with it." — Confess, viii. 5. 
 
 ^ "In regno vivimus. Deo servare est regnare," — Seneca. When the female martyr 
 Agatlia was upbruidod, because, being descendtxl of an illustrious parentage, she stooped 
 to mean and humble offices—" Our nobility," she replied, " lit-s in thisj that we are the 
 servants of Christ." — Bishop Sumner's Evidences, pp. 359, 3G0. 
 
 8 Psalm xix. 10. 11. 
 
VERSE 45. 75 
 
 which to the ungodly is beset with thorns and briers, is the King's 
 highway of liberty. The child of God walks here in the gladness 
 of his heart and the rejoicing of his conscience. Even in " seeking 
 these precepts,^^ there is ^'' liberty^'' and enlargement of heart; a 
 natural motion, like that of the sun in his course, '-going forth as a 
 bridegroom, and rejoicing as a strong man to run a race."^ What 
 must it be theh, to walk in the full enjoyment of the precepts ! 
 " Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." " They shall 
 sing in the ways of the Lord" — " for how great is his goodness ! 
 how great is his beauty V^ 
 
 Are we then obeying the precepts as our duty, or ^^ seeking^^ 
 them as our privilege? Do we complain of the strictness of the 
 law or the corruption of the flesh ? Are the precepts or our own 
 hearts our burden? Is sin or hoUness our bondage? The only 
 way to make religion easy is to be always in it. The glow of spir- 
 itual activity, and the healthfulness of Christian liberty are only to 
 be found in a persevering and self-denying pursuit of every track 
 of the ways of God — " If ye continue in my word, then ye are my 
 disciples indeed : and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall 
 make you free. If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall 
 be free indeed."^ To have the whole stream of all our thoughts, 
 actions, motives, desires, affections, carried in one undivided current 
 towards God, is the complete and unrestrained influence of his love 
 upon our hearts. 
 
 The corrupt and rebellious inclinations will ••last"'* to the end. 
 But as long as indulgence is denied, conflict excited, and the con- 
 stant endeavor maintained to "bring every thought into captivity to 
 the obedience of Christ,"^ our liberty is established, even where it is 
 not always enjoyed. Every fresh chain, by which we bind our- 
 selves to the Lord, makes us feel more free.'' While, then, they 
 that " promise us liberty are themselves the servants of corruption,"^ 
 let us live as the children of God — the heirs of the kingdom — grate- 
 ful — free — blood-bought souls — remembering the infinite cost, at 
 which our liberty was purchased: and the moment of extreme 
 peril, when we were saved. When the flesh was weak, and the 
 "law weak through the flesh,"^ and no resolutions of ours could 
 break us from the yoke of sin — then it was that " Christ both died, 
 and rose, and revived, that he might be the Lord both of the dead 
 and living,"^ "delivering us from the hand of our enemies, that 
 we might serve him without fear."'° And then indeed do we " walk 
 at liberty,^^ when we " break the bands" of all other lords " asun- 
 der," and consecrate ourselves entirely to his precepts. " O Lord 
 our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us ; but 
 by thee only will we make mention of thy namc.^^^^ 
 
 1 Psalm xix. 5. 2 2 Cor. iii. 17. Psalm cxxxviii. 5. Zech. ix. 17. 
 
 3 John vui. 31 , 32, 36. < Gal. v. 17. s 2 Cor. x. 5. 
 
 « Juffum Christi non detent, sed honestat colla. — Bernard. 
 
 t 2 Peter ii. 19. Compare John viii. 34. 8 Rom. viii. 3. 
 
 9 lb. xiv. 9. 10 Luke i. 74. 
 
 " Isaiah xxvi. 13. An incident in the history of ancient Rome may furnish an illua- 
 
76 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 46. 1 ivill speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. 
 
 " Liberty in walking'^ in the Lord's ways will naturally produce 
 boldness in '■^ speaking''' oi them. Compare the conduct of the 
 three unshaken witnesses of the truth before the Babylonish mon- 
 arch.* Mark the difference of the spirit displayed by the Apostles, 
 and especially by Peter, before and after the day of Pentecost.* Look 
 at Stephen before the council,^ and Paul before Felix,^ Festus,^ and 
 Agrippa.^ " God had not given to them the spirit of fear ; but of 
 power, and of love, and of a sound mind.'"' Hear tlie great Apos- 
 tle testifying of himself — " I am ready to preach the Gospel to you 
 that are at Rome also," — at the metropolis of the world, in the face 
 of all opposition and conten)pt, and at the imminent hazard of 
 my life — " For,^^ says he, ^^ I am not ashamed of the Gospel of 
 ChristJ^^ In the same determination of soul, he exhorts his dear 
 son in the faith — " Be not thou ashamed of the testimony of the 
 Lord, nor of me his prisoner."^ To how many does " the fear of 
 man bring a snare 7"*° Many a good soldier has faced the cannon's 
 mouth with undaunted front, and yet shrunk away with a coward's 
 heart from the reproach of the cross, and been put to the blus^h even 
 by the mention of the Saviour's name. Far better — the son of man 
 "strengthening you" — to brave the fiery furnace or the den of lions 
 in his service, than like Jonah, by flinching from the cross, incur 
 the sting of conscience and the frown of God.** 
 
 Professing Christians ! Are we ready to bear our testimony for 
 Jesus, against the sneer and ridicule of the ungodly ? We are not 
 likely to "be brought before kings and rulers for the Son of Man's 
 sake."'* Yet no less do we need Divine help and strong faith in 
 withstanding the enmity of a prejudiced relative or scornful neigh- 
 bor. Young people ! you are perhaps in especial dangler of being 
 ashamed of your Bible, your religion, your Saviour. You may be 
 brought under the " snare" of the " fear of man," and be tempted to 
 compromise your religion, and to sacrifice your everlasting all from 
 a dread of " the reproach of Christ." But remember him, who for* 
 
 tration of that full liberty and entireness of heart which forms the act of acceptable sur- 
 render to the Lord. When the people of Collatia were ncgotiatinj; an unconditional 
 capitulation to the Romans, Ecjerius, on the part of the Romans, inquired of the ambas- 
 sadors — " Are the people of Collatia in their own power 7" When an affirmative answer 
 was given, it wa.s next inquired — " Do you deliver up yourselves — the people of Collatia 
 — your city, your fields, your waters, your l>oundaries, your temples, your utensils, all 
 your property, divine and human, into my power and the power of the Roman jx-ople T' 
 " We surrender all." "And so," said he, "I accept you." — Liry, Book i. Such may 
 my surrender be to the Lord! Disentangled from every other yoke, under no bonds 
 that ought to bind me, Lord, I offer myself, and all that belongs to me, without excep- 
 tion or reserve, at thy feet. " But who am I, that I should be able to offer so wiliingly 
 after this sort 1 For all tilings come of thee, and of thine own have I given thee. 
 1 Chron. xxix. 14. 
 
 1 Dan. iii. 16—18. 
 
 2 Contrast Matt. xxvi. 56, 69, 75, with Acts ii. iii. iv. v. We can scarcely hdieve that 
 the same persons are alluded to. But the explanation of the difficulty had been given 
 by anticipation. John vii. 39. 
 
 3 Acts vi. vii. * lb. xxiv. 5 lb. xxv. • lb. xxvi. 
 
 T 2 Tim. i. 7. •» Rom. i. 1 5, 1 6. » 2 Tim. i. 8. " Prov. xxix. 25. 
 
 " Dan. iii. 16—18; vi. 16—22, with Jonah i. 1—15. 
 WLukexxi. 12. Mark xiii. 9. 
 
VERSE 47. 77 
 
 your sake " before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession ;"* 
 and shall the dread of a name restrain you from sharing his re- 
 proach, and banish the obligations of love and gratiiude from your 
 hearts } Have you forgotten, that you once owned the service of 
 Satan? and will you not be as bold for Christ, as you were for him? 
 Were you once "glorying in your shame;" and will you now be 
 ashamed of your glory? Oh ! remember who hath said, " Whoso- 
 ever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous 
 and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of Man be asham- 
 ed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy 
 angels.'" Think much and often of this word. Think on this 
 day. Think on the station of " the fearful and unbelieving" on 
 the left hand on that day. Think on their eternal doom.^ What 
 is a prison to hell? What need to pray and tremble ! If you are 
 sincere in your determination, and simple in your dependerice, then 
 will the " love of Christ constrain you,"* not to a cold, calculating, 
 reluctant service ; but to a confession of your Saviour, bold, unfet- 
 tered, and " faithful even unto death.'^ Every deviation from the 
 straight path bears the character of being ashamed of Chri.st. How 
 much have you to speak in behalf of his testimonies, his ways, his 
 love ! When in danger of the influence of the fear of man, look to 
 him for strength. He will give to you — as he gave to Stephen — 
 *'a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries siiall not be able 
 to gainsay or resist."* Thus will you, like them, be strengthened 
 " to profess a goad profession before many witnesses.''^ 
 
 47. And I will delight myself in thy commandments^ which I have loved. 
 
 It is but poor comfort to the believer to be able to talk well to 
 others upon the ways of God, and even to "bear the reproach'* 
 of his people, when his own heart is cold, insensible, and dull. 
 But why does he not rouse himself to the active exercise of faith — 
 ''^ I will delight myself in thy commandments?" That which is 
 the burden of the carnal heart is the delight of the renewed soul. 
 The former "is enmity against God ; and therefore is nol, and can- 
 not be, subject to his law."^ The latter can delight in nothing else. 
 If the Gospel separates the heart from sinful delights, it is only to 
 make room for delights of a more elevated, satisfying, and eiidur- 
 ing nature.^ Satiin indeed generally baits his temptations with that 
 seductive witchery, which the world calls pleasure. But has he 
 engrossed all pleasure into his service? Are there no pleasures be- 
 sides "the pleasures of sin?" Do the ways of the Lord promise 
 nothing but ditiiculty and trial? What means then the experience 
 of him, who could "rejoice in them, as much as in all riches," and 
 who " loved them above gold, yea, above fine gold?"^° The "fatted 
 
 > 1 Tim. vi. 13. 2 Mark viii. 38. ' Rev. xxi. 8. < 2 Cor. v. 14. 
 
 6 Rev. ii. 10. 6 Luke xxi. 15, with Acts vi. 10. f I Tim. vi. 12. 8 Rom. viii. 7. 
 
 • " Delectationes non amittimus, sed mutamus," vfas the expression of one of the an- 
 cients. "I live a voluptuous life," said the excellent Joseph Alleine to his wife; "but 
 it is upon spiritual dainties, such as the world know not, nor taste not of." 
 
 w Verses 14, 127. 
 
78 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 calf" of our Father's house is surely a most gainful exchange for 
 "the husks" of the "far country."' The delights of hohness go 
 deeper than sensual pleasures.^ The joy of the saint is not that 
 false, polluted, deadly joy, which is all that the worldHng knows, 
 and all that he has to look for; but it flows spontaneously from the 
 fountain of living waters, through tlie pure channel of " ihe word of 
 God, which liveth and abideth for ever." Nay, so independent ia 
 it of any earthly spring, that it never flourishes more than in the 
 desolate wilderness or the sick-bed solitude ; so that, " although the 
 fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, yet we 
 will rejoice in the Lord, we will joy in the God of our salvation."' 
 The world see what religion takes away, but they see little of what 
 it gives ]* else they would reproach — not their own folly — but their 
 own blindness. " Thus saith the Lord God, Behold my servants 
 shall eat, but ye shall be hungry : behold, my servants shall drink, 
 but ye shall be thirsty : behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye 
 shall be ashamed : behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, 
 but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of 
 spirit."^ 
 
 The love and complacency of the soul first fixes on the command- 
 ments. Then how natural is the flow of delight in them! even 
 at the very time that we are "abhorring ourselves in dust and 
 ashes" for our neglect of them ; and God never has our hearts, un- 
 til something of this delight is felt and enjoyed. But do we com- 
 plain of the dulness of our hearts, that restrains this pleasure? Let 
 us seek for a deeper impression of redeeming love. This will be 
 the spring of grateful obedience and holy delight. Let us turn 
 our complaints into prayers, and the Lord will quickly turn them 
 into praises. Let us watch against everything, that would inter- 
 cept our communion with Jesus. Distance from him must be ac- 
 companied with poverty of spiritual enjoyment — " They shall be 
 abundantly satisfied with the fai7iess of thy house ; and thou 
 shalt make the'in dririk of the river of thy pleasures. For with 
 thee is the fountain of life ; and in thy light shall we see light."* 
 
 48. My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments^ which 1 have loved : 
 aud I wilt meditate in thy statutes. 
 
 Scarcely any expression seems to be equal to set forth the 
 fervency of David's love and delight in the ways and word of God. 
 Here we find him ^^ lifting up his hands^^ with the get^ture of one, 
 who is longing to embrace the object of his desire with both hands 
 and his whole heart.' Perhaps also in " lifting up his hands unto 
 ihe commandments^" he might mean to express his looking upward 
 for assistance to keep them, and to live in them.^ But how hum- 
 
 » Luke XV. 13—24. 2 pgalm iv. 7. ^ Hab. iii. 17, 18. 
 
 4 Cyprian, in one of his Epistles, (ad Dwnat.) mentions the great difficulty he found 
 in overcomincT the false view of tlje gloom of religion— little suspecting that the cause of 
 the gloom was in himself— not in the gospel. But this is explained, Matt, vi, iJ3. 
 
 6 La. Ixv. 13, 14. 6 Pb. xxxvi. 8, 9. ' See lb. Ixiii. 4j cxiiii. 6. 
 
 « See lb. xxviii. 2. 
 
VERSE 26. 79 
 
 bling this comparison witli ourselves! Alas! how often, from the 
 neglect of this influence of the Spirit of God, do our " liands hang 
 down," instead of being ''''lifted up^^ in these holy ways ! We are 
 too often content with a scanty measure of love : without any sen- 
 sible " hungering and thirsting after righteousness;" neither able to 
 pray with life and power, nor to hear with comfort and profit, nor 
 to "do good and to communicate" with cheerfulness, nor to medi- 
 tate with spiritual delight, nor to live for God with zeal and inter- 
 est, nor to anticipate the endurance of the cross with unflinching 
 resolution — the soul being equally disabled for heavenly commu- 
 nion, and active devotedness. Shall we look for ease under the 
 power of this deadening malady ? Let us rather struggle and cry 
 for deliverance from it. Let us subscribe ourselves before God as 
 wretched, and helpless, and guilty. He can look upon uSj and re- 
 vive us. Let us then "take hold upon his covenant," and plead, 
 that he will look upon us. Let us " put him in remembrance" of 
 the glory of his name, which is much more concerned in delivering 
 us out of this frame, by his quickening grace, than in leaving us, 
 stupid, corrupt, and carnal, in it. Professor ! awake : or beg of the 
 Lord to awaken you ! For if your cold sleeping heart is contented 
 with the prospect of a heaven hereafter, without seeking for a pres- 
 ent foretaste of its joy, it may be a very questionable matter whether 
 heaven will ever be yours. 
 
 Delight, however, will exercise itself in an habitual " medita- 
 tion in the statutesP^ The breathing of the heart will be, " O 
 how Hove thy law ! it is my meditation all the day.''^^ It is in 
 holy meditation on the word of God, that all the graces of the spirit 
 are manifested. What is the principle of faith, but the reliance of 
 the soul upon the promises of the word ? What is the sensation of 
 godly fear, but the soul trembhng before the threatenings of God?' 
 What is the object of hope, but the apprehended glory of God ? 
 What is the excitement of desire or love, but longing, endearing 
 contemplations of the Saviour, and of his unspeakable blessings? 
 Hence we can scarcely conceive of the influence of grace separated 
 from spiritual meditation on the word. It is this which, under Di- 
 vine teaching, draws out its hidden contents, and exhibits them to 
 the soul, as the objects upon which the principles and affections of 
 the Divine life are habitually exercised. Not that any beneflt can 
 be expected from meditation, even upon the word of God, as an ab- 
 stract duty. If not deeply imbued with prayer, it will degenerate 
 into dry speculative study. Without some distinct practical appli- 
 cation, it will be unedifying in itself, and unsatisfactory for its im- 
 portant ends — the discerning of the mind of God, and feeding upon 
 the rich provision of the Gospel. 
 
 Let it be a matter of daily inquiry. Does my reading of the word 
 of God furnish food for my soul, matter for prayer, direction for con- 
 duct? Scriptural study, when entered upon in a prayerful spirit, 
 wiU never, like many other studies, be unproductive. The mind 
 
 » See Psalm i. 2. a Verse 97. 3 Verse 120. 
 
80 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 that is engaged in it, is fitly set for bearing fruit; it will "bring 
 forth fruit in due season."^ Meditation kindles love, as it is the 
 effect of love, "While I was musing, the fire burned."'^ "Whoso 
 lookelh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, this 
 man is blessed in his deed."^ But let us take heed, that the root 
 of religion in the soul is not cankered by the indulgence of secret 
 sin. The largest supply of Christian ordinances will fail to refresh 
 us, except the heart be kept right with God in simplicity of faitli, 
 love, and diligence in the service of Christ. 
 
 Come then. Christian. let us set our hearts to a vigorous, delight- 
 ing devotedness to the statutes of our God. To regard some of 
 them, would be to obey our own will, not God's. Let us lift up 
 our hands to them all. How shadowy is the joy of speculative 
 contemplation, if it does not draw the heart to practical exercise ! 
 Let faith return our obligations in the full apprehension of the 
 Lord's mercy. And then will love constrain us to nothing less than 
 "a living sacrifice"^ to his service. If the professor sleeps in no- 
 tional godliness, let us employ our active m^editatioUj in searching 
 for the mine that lies not on the surface, but which never fails to 
 enrich diligent, patient, persevering labor.^ 
 
 PART VII. 
 
 49. Remember the vx>rd unto thy servanty upon which thou hast caused me to 
 
 hope. 
 
 What is faith ? It is hope upon God^s word. The warrant of 
 faith is therefore the word. The spring of faith is he that causeth 
 us to hope. He has not forgotten — he cannot forget his icord. But 
 he permits — nay, commands his servants to remind him of it,* in 
 order to exercise their faith, diligence, and patience. Often indeed 
 ^^ hope deferred maketh the heart sick.'"" But it is not needless de- 
 lay8 — not ignorance of the fittest time^ — not forgetfulness'" — not 
 changeableness" — not weakness.*^ Meanwhile, however, constantly 
 plead the promise — Remember the word unto thy servant. This 
 is the proper use of the promises,^as "arguments, wherewith to fill 
 our mouths, when we order our cause before God."'^ When thus 
 pleaded with the earnestness and humility of faith, they will be 
 found to be the blessed realities of unchanging love. 
 
 Now — have not circumstances of Providence, or the distinct ap- 
 
 » Psalm i. 2, 3. « lb. xxix. 3. 3 James l 25. * Rom. xi. xii. 1. » Prov. ii. 4, 5. 
 • Isa. Ixii. G, M. R. ^ prov. xiii. 13. » Hal., iii. 3. » Isa. xxx. 18. 
 
 10 Psalm cxU. 5. " Mai. UL 6. ^2 i Sam. xt. 29. » job xxiii. 4. 
 
VERSE 49. 81 
 
 plication of the Spirit, made some words of God especially precious 
 to your soul? Such words are thus made your own, to be laid up 
 against some future time of trial, when you may " put your God 
 in remembrance"* of them. Apply this exercise of faith to such a 
 word as this, " Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast 
 out."** Then plead your interest in it as a coming sinner, "Lord^ 
 I hope in this thy wordy " Thou hast caused me to hope^"* in iu 
 " Remember this ivord unto thy servant^ Thus is prayer ground- 
 ed upon the promise, which it forms into a prevailing argument, 
 and sends back to heaven ; nothing doubting, but that it will be 
 verified in God's best time and way.^ 
 
 Take another case. God has engaged himself to be the God of 
 the seed of believers. His sacramental ordinance is the seal of this 
 promise.* The believer brings his child to this ordinance, as the 
 exercise of his faith upon the faithfulness of God. Let him daily 
 put his finger upon this promise, Rememher the word unto thy ser- 
 vant^ upon which thou hast caused me to hope. This is, as Augus- 
 tine said of his mother, 'bringing before God his own handwriting.' 
 Will he not rememher his word 7 Faith may be tried, perhaps long 
 tried. " But he abideth faithful. He cannot deny himself "^ Faith 
 trusts — not what the eye sees, but what the word promises. 
 
 Again — Have we ever found God^s word hoped oti, a covering 
 and strength against besetting sin ? This will surely be an en- 
 couragement to cry under the same temptation, Remember thy 
 word, " He who hath delivered, doth deliver, and will even to the 
 end deliver."^ He "hath done great things for us." And is not 
 this an earnest of continued mercy ? " Because thou hast been 
 my help, therefore under the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice."^ 
 Thus may we confidently receive a promise as the distinct mes- 
 sage to our soul, where we are conscious of a readiness to receive 
 the whole word as the rule of our life. And does it not set an 
 edge upon prayer to eye a promising God, and to consider his 
 promises, not as hanging in the air, without any definite direction 
 or meaning, but as individually spoken and belonging to myself 
 as a child and servant of God 7 This is the experience and com- 
 fort of the life of faith. This unfolds the true secret of living to 
 God ; ending at last with the honorable death-bed testimony, "Be- 
 hold, this day I am going the way of all the earth ; and ye know 
 in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath 
 failed of all the good things, which the Lord your God spake con- 
 cerning you ; all are come to pass unto you ; and not one thing 
 hath failed thereof."^ 
 
 1 Isaiah xliii. 26. 2 John vi. 37. 
 
 3 We may observe Jacob making precisely this use of the word of promise to great ad- 
 vantage, at a time of personal extremity. Gen. xxxii. 9, 10, 12, with xxxi. 3, l3, xxviii. 
 13 — 15. Was not this in fact pleading — '^ Remember the word unto thy servant, upon 
 which thou Iiast caused me to hope ?" Compare also verse 38 of this Psalm. 
 
 4 Gen. ivii. 7, 10, with Acts U. 38, 39. s 2 Tim. ii. 13. « 2 Cor. i. 10. 
 7 Psalm Ixiii. 7. ^ Joshua xxiii. 14. 
 
82 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 50. This is my comfort in my affliction ; for thy word hath quickened me. 
 
 David was encouraged to plead the word of promise in prayer, 
 from the recollection of its '■^comfort in his affliction.''^ Never, in- 
 deed, are we left unsupported in such a time, or called to drink a 
 cup of unmingled tribulation. In the moments of our bitterest sor- 
 row, how are we compelled to stand amazed at the tenderness, 
 which is daily and hourly exercised toward us ! We have always 
 some word exactly suited to our affliction, and which we could not 
 have understood without it ; and "a word" thus ^^ spoken in due sea- 
 son, how good is it !" One word of God, sealed to the heart, infuses 
 more sensible relief, than ten thousand words of man. When 
 therefore the word assures us of the presence of God in affliction ;* 
 of his continued pity and sympathy in his most severe dispensa- 
 tions ;3 and of their certain issue to our everlasting good ;* must not 
 we say of it, " This is our comfort in our affliction V How does 
 the Saviour's love stream forth from this channel on every side; 
 imparting life, refreshment, and strength to those, who but for this 
 comfort would have "fainted,"^ and " perished in their affliction !"• 
 This indeed was the end, for which the Scriptures were written;' 
 and such power of consolation have they sometimes administered 
 to the afflicted saint, that tribulation has almost ceased to be a 
 trial, and the retrospect has been the source of thankful recollection. 
 
 But those only, who have felt the quickening power of the word^ 
 can realize its consolations. Be thankful, then, reader, if, when 
 dead in sins, it " quickened you ;"^ and, when sunk in trouble, 
 once and again it has revived you.^ Yet think not, that it is any 
 innate power of its own, that works so graciously for you. No. 
 The exhibition of the Saviour is the spring of life and consolation. 
 It is because it " testifies of him,"^" " the consolation of Israel,"" — 
 " afflicted in all our afflictions,"'^ — and never failing to uphold with 
 " grace sufficient for us."'^ It is not, however, the word without the 
 Spirit, nor the Spirit generally without the word ; but the Spirit by 
 the word — first putting life into the word,^* and then by the word 
 quickening the soul. The word then is only the instrument. The 
 Spirit is the Almighty agent. Thus the work is the Lord's ; and 
 nothing is left for us, but self-renunciation and praise. 
 
 * Prov. XV. 23. " I will show you a privilege that others want, and you have in this 
 case. Such as are in prosperity, and are filled with earthly joys, and increased with 
 children and friends; though the word of God is indeed written for their instruction, yet 
 to you who are in trouble, and from whom the Lord hath taken many children, and 
 whom he hath otherwise exercised, there are some chapters, some particular promises in 
 the word of God, made in an especial manner, which would never have been yours, so 
 as they now are, if you had had your portion in this world like others. It is no small 
 comfort that God hath written some scriptures to you, which he hath not to others. 
 Read these, and thmk God is like a friend, who sendeth a letter to a whole house and 
 family, but who speakcth in his letter to some by name, that are dearest to him in the 
 house." — Rutherford^ 8 Letters. 
 
 2 Isa. xliii. 1, 2. 3 Exod. iii. 7. * Rom. viii. 28. « Psalm xxvii. 13. 
 
 6 Verse 92. 7 Rom. xv. 4. « james i. 18. 1 Peter i. 23. 
 
 » Verses 81, 82. ^ John v. 39. " Luke ii. 25. 
 
 » Isa. Ixiii. 9. " 2 Cor. xu. 9. " John vi. 63. 
 
VERSE 51. 83 
 
 61. The proud have had me greatly in derision : yet I have not declined from 
 
 thy law. 
 
 The scorn of an ungodly world is one of the afflictions^ which 
 reaUze to us the comfort of the word. And this is a trial, from 
 which no exemption is to be expected — " All that will live godly 
 in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."^ Not even David — 
 though a king — a man of wisdom and prudence, and therefore not 
 likely to provoke unnecessary offence, and whose character and 
 rank might be expected to command respect — not even was he 
 shielded from ^^the derision of the proud^^ on account of the pro- 
 fession and service of his God.^ Thus it ever was, and ever will be. 
 Faith in the doctrine of Christ, and conformity to the strict com- 
 mandments of the Gospel, must expose us to the taunts of the un- 
 believer and the worlding. Yet, where the heart is right with God, 
 the " derision of the 'proud^'' instead of forcing us to '•^ decline from 
 the law of GodJ'' will strengthen our adherence to it. David an- 
 swered the bitter " derision of MichaP with a stronger resolution to 
 abide by his God — "I will yet be more vile than thus."^ He counted 
 it his glory, his duty, his joy. None, however, but a believer knows 
 what it is to bear this cross ; and none but a real believer can bear 
 it. It is one of the touchstones of sincerity, the application of 
 which has often been the means of " separating the precious from 
 the vile," and has unmasked the self-confident professor to his own 
 confusion. Oh ! how many make a fair profession, and appear 
 *' good soldiers of Jesus Christ," until the hour of danger proves 
 them deserters, and they reap only the fruits of their self-confi- 
 dence in their own confusion ! 
 
 It is, therefore, of great importance to those who are just setting 
 out in the warfare, to be well armed with the word of God. It 
 kept David steadfast amidst " the derision of the proud ;" and it 
 will keep young Christians from being frightened or overcome by 
 the sneer of an ungodly world. But that it may " dwell in us 
 richly in all wisdom,''^* and be suited to our own case, it will be 
 well, under circumstances of reproach, to acquaint ourselves with 
 the supporting promises and encouragements to suffer for righteous- 
 ness' sake.5 Above all, the contemplation of the great sufferer him- 
 self — meeting this poignant trial in meekness,^ compassion, and 
 prayer^ — will exhibit " a refuge from the storm, and a shadow from 
 the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as the storm against 
 the wall."3 The mere professor knows not this refuge ; he pos- 
 sesses not this armor ; so that " when affliction or persecution 
 ariseth for the word's sake, immediately he is offended."^ Blessed 
 
 1 2 Tim. iii. 12. Comp. 1 Cor. iv. 13. 2 Psalm xxxv. 15, 16; cxjm. 3, 4. 
 
 3 2 Sam. vi. 20—22. * Col. iii. IG. 
 
 5 Such is the benediction of the Sa\'iour, Luke vi. 22, 23, confirmed by the recorded 
 experience of the Lord's most favored servants, the apostles. Acts v. 41. Paul especially, 
 2 Cor. xii. 10; Col. i. 24,— the disciples of Thessalonica, 1 Thess. i. 6,— the Hebrew 
 Christians, Heb. x. 34. 
 
 « Psalm xxii. 6—8. Luke xxiii. 35. 1 Peter ii. 23. t Luke xxiii. 34. 
 
 8 Isaiah xxv. 4. 8 Mark iv. 17. 
 
84 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 be God ! the weapons of our warfare are drawn from the Divine 
 armory ; and therefore, depending on the grace, and following the 
 example, of Jesus, we suffer as the way to victory — the road to an 
 everlasting crown. 
 
 52. I remember thy judgments of .old, O Lord; nd have comforted myself 
 
 The Lord's dealings with his people were a frequent subject of 
 meditation to the Psalmist,^ and now were his present support un- 
 der " the scourge of the tongue."* Evidently they are put upon 
 record for the encouragement of future generations.^ We are ready 
 to imagine something peculiar in our own case, and to think it 
 strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try us, " as though 
 some strange thing happened unto" us ; but when we " remember 
 the Lord's jiidgments of old^'' with his people, we " comfort our- 
 selves'^ in the assurance, that " the same afflictions are accomplished 
 in our brethren, that have been in the world ;"* and that " as 
 the sufferings of Christ have abounded in them, so their consolation 
 also abounded by Christ."^ They also encountered the same " de- 
 rision of the 'proudj'' and always experienced the same support 
 from the faithfulness of their God. We do not sufficiently consider 
 the mercy and gracious wisdom of God, in occupying so much of 
 his written word with the records of his '-^judgments of old.''^ One 
 class will pay a prominent attention to the preceptive, another to 
 the doctrinal, parts of Revelation — each forgetting that the historical 
 records comprise a full and striking illustration of both, and have 
 always proved most supporting grounds of consolation to the Lord's 
 people. The important design in casting so large a portion of the 
 small volume of Revelation into a historical form, is every way 
 worthy of its Author. " Whatsoever things were written aforetime 
 were written for our learning ; that we through patience and com- 
 fort of the Scrij)tures might have /io;;e;"*and how admirably 
 aiJapted the means are to the end, the dihgent student in the Scrip- 
 ture-field will bear ample witness. Wilfully therefore to neglect 
 the historical portion of the sacred volume, from the idea of confin- 
 ing our attention to what we deem the more spiritual parts of 
 Scripture — would show a sad deficiency of spiritual apprehension, 
 and deprive ourselves of the most valuable instruction, and most 
 abundant comfort. This neglect would exclude us from one emi- 
 nent means of increasing " patience," in the example of those 
 " who througli faith and patience inherit the promises ;" of receiv- 
 ing "comfort," in the experience of the faithfulness of God mani- 
 fested in every age to his people ; and of enlivening our " hope," in 
 marking the happy issue of the " patience of the saints," and the 
 heavenly support administered unto them.*^ So far, therefore, are 
 we from being li4,tle interested in the scriptural records of past ages, 
 
 1 Psalm. Ixxvii. 5, 11, 12 ; cxliii. 5. 2 Job v. 21. 
 
 » Psalm xliv. 1—3; Ixxviii. 3— «; ct. 5, 6; cxlv. 4. Joel i. 3. 
 « 1 Peter iv. 12 ; ▼. 9. » 2 Cor. i. 5. « Rom. xv. 4. 
 
 t In this view, the recollection of the Lord's judgments of old "puts a new song into 
 the mouth" of the Church, of " thanksgiving unto her God." Isaian xxv. 1 — 4. 
 
VERSE 53. 85 
 
 that it is evident, that the sacred historians, as well as the prophets., 
 " ministered not unto themselves, but unto us, the things which are 
 now reported."* 
 
 Let us select one or two instances as illustrative of this subject. 
 Why were the records of the deluge, and of the overthrow of the 
 cities of the plain, preserved, but as exhibitions to the Church, that 
 " the Lord" — the Saviour of Noah, the eight persons, and the deli- 
 verer of just Lot — "knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temp- 
 tations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be 
 punished?"* What a source of comfort then to the tempted people 
 of God is the " remembrance of these judgments of old .'" And 
 thus the Church remembers the wonderful overthrow of the Egyp- 
 tians, and the consequent deliverance of ancient Israel, as a ground 
 of assurance and expectation of the same grand display of Divine 
 faithfulness and love under similar trials. And if we instance the 
 wonderful history of the overthrow of the Egyptians, and the con- 
 sequent deliverance of God's ancient people, we may continually 
 observe the Church recollecting this interposition as a ground of as- 
 surance, that under similar circumstances of trial, the same illustri- 
 ous displays of Divine faithfulness and love may be confidently 
 expected. She looks back upon what the " arm of the Lord hath 
 done in ancient days, and in the generation of old," as the pat- 
 tern of what he ever would be, and ever would do, for his purchased 
 people. 3 Thus also God himself recalls to our mind this overthrow 
 and deliverance as a ground of present encouragement and support, 
 " According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt 
 will I show unto him marvellous things"* — and the Church echoes 
 back this remembrance in the expression of her faith, gratitude, and 
 expectation for spiritual blessings : " He will subdue our iniquities ! 
 and thou loilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."^ Such 
 is the interesting use that may be made of the historical parts of 
 Scripture. Such is tbe '•^comforf to be derived from the '-^rememr 
 hrance of the Lord'' s judgments of old P'' And is not the recollec- 
 tion of his ^'judgments of oW^ with ourselves, productive of the 
 same support? Does not the retrospect of his dealings with our 
 own souls serve to convince us, that " all his paths are mercy and 
 truth ?"^ And that the assurance is therefore warranted alike by 
 experience and by Scripture, " We know that all things work toge- 
 ther for good to them that love God, to them who are the called ac- 
 cording to his purpose."'' 
 
 53. Horror hath taken hold upon me, because of the vncked that forsake thy law. 
 
 The remembrance of the Lord^s judgments of old, while it 
 brings comfort to his people as regards themselves, stirs up a poig- 
 nancy of compassionate feeling for the ungodly. And indeed to a 
 feeUng and reflecting mind, the condition of the world must excite 
 commiseration and concern ! A " whole world lying in wicked- 
 
 » 1 Peter i. 12. 2 2 Peter ii. 5—9. 3 Isaiah li. 9—11. * Micah vii. 15. 
 
 5 lb. vii. 19. 6 Psalm xxv. 10. ' Rom, viii. 28. 
 
86 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 ness !"^ lying therefore in ruins ! the image of God effaced ! the pres- 
 ence of God departed ! " Horror hath taken hold of me /" to see 
 the law of Him, who gave being to the world, so utievly for sake?i f 
 so much light and love shining from heaven in vain ! The earthly- 
 heart cannot endure that any restraint should be imposed ; much 
 less that any constraint, even of love, should be employed to change 
 its bias, and turn it back to its God. Are you then a believer? then 
 you will be most tender of the honor of the law of God. Every 
 stroke at his law you will feel as a stroke at your own heart. Are 
 you a believer 7 then will you consider every man as your brother ; 
 and weep to see so many of them around you, crowding the broad 
 road to destruction, and perishing as the miserable victims of their 
 own deceivings. The prospect on every side is, as if God were cast 
 down from his throne, and the creatures of his hand were mur- 
 dering their own souls. 
 
 But how invariably does a languor respecting our own eternal 
 interest affect the tenderness of our regard for the honor of our God ; 
 so that we can look at " the wicked that forsake God^s law'" with 
 comparative indifference ! Awful indeed is the thought, that it 
 ever can be wdth us a small matter, that multitudes are sinking ! 
 going down into perdition ! with the name of Christ — under the 
 seal of baptism — partakers of the means of Gospel grace — yet per- 
 ishing ! Not indeed that we are to yield to such a feeling of " hor- 
 ror''^ as would paralyze all exertion on their behalf For do we 
 owe them no duty — no prayer — no labor T^ Shall we look upon 
 souls hurrying on with such dreadful haste to unutterable, ever- 
 lasting torments ; and permit them to rush on blinded, unawakened, 
 unalarmed ! If there is a " horrof to see a brand apparently fitting 
 for the fire, w^ill there not be a wrestling endeavor to pluck that 
 brand out of the fire ? Have we quite forgotten in our own case the 
 fearful terrors of an unconverted state — the Almighty power of 
 wrath and justice armed against us — the thunder of that voice — 
 " Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the 
 Lord ?"3 Oh ! if the love of the Saviour and the love of souls were 
 reigning with more mighty influence in our hearts, how much 
 more devoted should we be in our little spheres of labor ! how much 
 more enlarged in our supplications, until all the kingdom of Satan 
 were subject to the obedience of the Son of God, and conquered by 
 the force of his omnipotent love ! 
 
 But if the spirit of David, renewed but in part, was thus filled 
 with horror in the contemplation of the wicked, what must have 
 been the aflliction — what the intensity of His sufferings, " who was 
 holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners"* — yea, " of purer 
 eyes than to behold iniquity"^ — during thirty-three years of con- 
 tinued contact with a world of sin? What shall we say of the 
 condescensiori^of his love, in wearing " the likeness of sinful flesh"* 
 
 » 1 John V. 19. 8 Acts xvii. 16—18. « Heb. x. 30, with Deut. xxxii. 35. 
 
 < Heb. vii. 26. 5 Hab. i. 13. Compare Psalm v. 5. « Rom. viii. 3. 
 
VERSE 54. 87 
 
 — dwelling among sinners — ^yea, "receiving sinners, and eating 
 with them !"i 
 
 Blessed Spirit! impart to us more of "the mind that was in 
 Christ Jesus !" that the law of God may be increasingly pre- 
 cious in our eyes, and that we may be " exceedingly jealous for the 
 Lord God of Hosts !" Help us by thy gracious influence, to plead 
 with sinners for God, and to plead for sinners with God ! 
 
 64. Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. 
 
 Come, Christian pilgrim, and beguile your wearisome journey 
 heavenward by " singing the Lord's song in this strange land."* 
 With " the statutes of God)'' in your hand and in your heart, you 
 are furnished with a song for every step of your way — " The Lord 
 is my shepherd ; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in 
 green pastures ; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth 
 my soul : he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's 
 sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of 
 death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy 
 staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the 
 presence of mine enemies : thou anointest my head with oil ; my 
 cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all 
 the days of my life ; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for- 
 ever."3 How delightfully does this song bring before you Him, who 
 having laid down his life for you, engages himself as your Provider, 
 your Keeper, your Guide, your faithful and unchangeable friend ! 
 Such a song therefore will smooth your path, and reconcile you to 
 the many inconveniences of the way ; while the recollection, that 
 this is only " the house of your 'pilgrimage'^ and not your home ; 
 and that " there remaineth a rest for the people of God,"^ will sup- 
 port the exercise of faith and patience to the end. How striking 
 the contrast between the wicked that forsake the law, and the 
 Christian pilgrim^ who makes it the subject of his daily song, and 
 the source of his daily comfort ! Yes, these same statutes, which 
 are the yoke and burden of the ungodly, lead the true servant of 
 the Lord from pleasure to pleasure ; and, cherished by their vigor- 
 ous influence, his way is made easy and prosperous. Evidently, 
 therefore, our knowledge and delight in the Lord's statutes will 
 furnish a decisive test of our real state before him. 
 
 But what reason have we every moment to guard against the 
 debasing, stupefying influence of the world, which makes us forget 
 the proper character of a pilgrim ! And what an habitual conflict 
 must be maintained with the sloth and aversion of a reluctant 
 heart to maintain our progress in the journey towards Zion ! 
 Reader ! have you entered upon a pilgrim's life ? Then what is 
 your solace and refreshment on the road ? It is dull, heavy, weari- 
 some, to be a pilgrim without a ^^songP And yet it is only the 
 blessed experience of the Lords statutes that will tune our " song.^^ 
 " If therefore you have tasted that the Lord is gracious,"* if " he 
 
 1 Luke XV. 2. 2 Ps. cxxxvii. 4. 3 Ps. xxiii. < Heb. iv. 9. 5 1 Pet it 3. 
 
88 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 has thus put a new song into your mouth,"^ oh ! do not suffer any 
 carelessness or neglect to rob you of this heavenly anticipation. 
 And, that your lips be not found mute, seek to keep your heart in 
 tune. Seek to maintain a lively contemplation of the place whither 
 you are going — of Him, who as your " forerunner is for you en- 
 tered"2 thither — and of the prospect, that, having " prepared a place 
 for you, he will come again, and take you to himself ; that where 
 he is, there you may be also."^ In this spirit, and with these hopes 
 before you, you may take up your song — " O God, my heart is 
 fixed : I will sing, and give praise. I will bless the Lord at all 
 times — his praise shall continually be in my mouth."^ Thus may 
 you go on your pilgrimage, " singing in the ways of the Lord,"** 
 and commencing a song below, which in the world of praise above, 
 shall never, never cease.* 
 
 65. / have remembered thy name, O Lord, in the night, and have kept thy law. 
 
 How did this man of God Hve in the statutes of God ! In the 
 day they were his pilgrim song — in the night his happy medita- 
 tion.' And truly if we can ever spend the waking moments of the 
 night with God, "the darkness is no darkness with us, but the 
 night shineth as the day." Many a tried believer has found this 
 cordial for the restlessness of a wakeful night more restorative to 
 the quiet and health of his earthly frame, than the most sovereign 
 specifics of the medical world. " So he giveth his beloved sleep."^ 
 And if in any " night'''' of affliction we feel the hand of the Lord 
 grievous to us, do we not find in " the remembrance of the LorcV^ 
 a never-failing support? What does our darkness arise from, but 
 from our forgetfulness of God, blotting out for awhile the lively im- 
 pressions of his tender care, his unchanging faithfulness, and his 
 mysterious methods of working his gracious will? And to bring 
 up as it were from the grave, the remembrance of God^s Jiame, as 
 manifested in his promises, and in the dispensation of his love; this 
 is indeed the " light that is sow^n for the righteous,"^ and which 
 " springeth up out of darkness."^" It is to eye the character of 
 the Lord as All-wise to appoint. Almighty to secure, All-compas- 
 sionate to sympathize and support. It is to recollect him as a 
 " father pitying his children ;">i as a " friend that loveth at all times,"!'* 
 and that "stickelh closer than a brother."'^ And even in those 
 seasons of depression, when unwatchfulness or indulgence of sin 
 have brought the darkness of night upon the soul, though " the 
 remembrance of the name of the Lord" may be grievous, yet it 
 opens the way to consolation. It tells us, that there is a way made 
 for our return ; that " the Lord waiteth, tliat he may be gracious ;"'* 
 and that in the first step of our return to our father, we shall find 
 him full of mercy to his backsliding children. '« Thus, though 
 " weeping may endure for a night, joy cometh in the morning."'^ 
 
 » Ps. xl. 3. 2 Heb. vi. 20, » John xiv. 2, 3. * Ps. cviii. 1 ; xxxiv. 1. 
 
 » lb. cxxxviii. 5. « Rev. iv. 8. i Ps. Ixiii. 5, 6. 8 jb. cxxvii. 2. 
 
 » lb. xcvii. 11. 10 lb. cxii. 4. II lb. ciii. 13. i2 Prov. xvii. 17. 
 
 13 lb. xviii. 2i. » Isa. XXX. 18. ^ See Luke xv. 20—24. w pg. xxx. 5. 
 
VERSE 56. 89 
 
 Stud}' the Lord's revelation of his own name, and what more 
 full perception can we conceive of its support in the darkest mid- 
 night of tribulations ? " And the Lord descended in the cloud, and 
 stood with him, (Moses,) and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 
 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed — The Lord, 
 the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant 
 in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving ini- 
 quity, transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the 
 guilty."^ Can we wonder that such a name as this should be ex- 
 hibited as a ground of trust ? " The name of the Lord is a strong 
 tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe." "They that 
 know thy name will put their trust in thee."* Even our suffering 
 Lord appears to have derived support from " the re'inenihrance of 
 the name of the Lord in the nighf^ of desertion — " O my God, I 
 cry in the day-time, and thou hearest not ; and in the night-season, 
 and am not silent. Bat thou art holy^ O thou that inhabitest the 
 praises of Israel."^ And from the experience of this source of con- 
 solation, we find the tempted Saviour directing his tempted people 
 to the same support — " Who is among you that feareth the Lord, 
 that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and 
 hath no light ? let him trust in the name of the Lord^ and stay 
 upon his God."^ 
 
 The main principles of the Gospel are involved in this rememr 
 hrance of the Lord^s name. Memory is the storehouse, in which 
 the substance of our knowledge is treasured up. Recollections 
 w'\i\\oui faith are shadowy notions. But we have confidence that* 
 our God in himself — and as engaged to us^s all that the Bible 
 declares him to be. How vast then are our obligations to his dear 
 Son — the only medium by which his name could be known or re- 
 m^emhered — " who hath" so " declared him !"^ And there is the 
 spring of practical religion. We shall '•^keep his lawj^ when we 
 " remember his nameP A sense of our obligations will impel us 
 forward in diligence, heavenly-mindedness, and self-devotedness in 
 our appointed sphere. Obedience will partake far more of the char- 
 acter of privilege than of duty, when an enlightened knowledge of 
 God is the principle of action. 
 
 56. This I had, because I kept thy precepts. 
 
 How is it, believer, that you are enabled to " sing of the Lord's 
 statutes'^ — and to '• remember his name .?" This you have, be- 
 cause you keep his precepts. Thus you are able to tell the world, 
 that "in keeping his commandments there is great reward"^ — that 
 the "work of righteousness is peace; and the effect of righteous- 
 ness, quietness, and assurance for ever."^ Christian ! let your tes- 
 timony be clear and decided — that ten thousand worlds cannot be- 
 stow the happiness of one day's devotedness to the service of your 
 
 1 Exod. xxxiv. 5—7. « Prov. xviii. 10. Ps. ix. 10. 3 Ps. xxii. 2, 3. 
 
 * Isaiah 1. 10. 5 John i. 18; also xiv. 6. Matt. xi. 27. 
 
 « Psalm xix. 11. f Isaiah xxxii. 17. 
 
90 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 Lord. For is it not in this path that you reahze fulness of joy in 
 '' fellowship with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ ?" " He 
 that hath ray commandments^ and keepeth them, he it is that lov- 
 eth me ; and he that loveth me shall be lov^ed of my Father ; and I 
 will love him, and will manifest myself to him — my Father will love 
 him; and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."^ 
 If you were walking more closely with God in " the obedience of 
 faith," the world would never dare to accuse religion as the source 
 of melancholy and despondency. No man has any right to the 
 hope of happiness in a world of tribulation, but he that seeks it 
 in the favor of his God. Nor can any enjoy this favor, except as 
 connected, in the exercise of faith, with conformity to the w^ill, and 
 delight in the law, of his God. Thus not only are " the stat- 
 utes of the Lord right," but they " rejoice the heart."* There is a 
 sweetness and satisfaction in the work, as well as a good flowing 
 out of it — a current as well as a consequent privilege — cheering the 
 soul in the act of exercise, just as the senses are regaled at the 
 very instant with the object of their gratification. 
 
 But let us remark how continually David was enriching his trea- 
 sury of spiritual experience with some fresh view of the dealings 
 of God with his soul ; some answer to prayer, or some increase of 
 consolation, which he records for his own encouragement, and for 
 the use of the Church of God. Let us seek to imitate him in this 
 respect ; and we shall often be enabled to say as he does, " This I 
 hak'' — this comfort I enjoyed — this support in trouble — this remark- 
 •able manifestation of liis love — this confidence I was enabled to 
 maintain — not this I hoped for — but " this 1 had''' — it was made 
 my own, " because I kept thy precepts.^^ And how important, in 
 the absence of spiritual enjoyment, to examine, "i* there not a 
 cause?" and what is the cause? Have not " strangers devoured 
 my strength ; and I knew it not?"^ Is the Lord "with me as in 
 months past?* — with me in my closet? — with me in my family? — 
 with me at my table? — with me in my daily employments and in- 
 tercourse with the world? When I hear the faithful people of God 
 telling of his love, and saying, " This I hadi'' must I not, if una- 
 ble to join their cheerful acknowledgment, trace it to my unfaith- 
 ful walk, and say, " This I had" not, because I have failed in 
 obedience to thy precepts ; because I have been careless and self- 
 indulgent; because I have slighted thy love; because I have 
 '•grieved thy Holy Spirit," and forgotten to ask for the "old paths, 
 that I might walk therein, and find rest to my soul 7"^ Oh let this 
 scrutiny and recollection of our ways realize the constant need of 
 the finished work of Jesus, as our ground of acceptance, and source 
 of strength. This will bring healing, restoration, increasing de- 
 votedness, tenderness of conscience, circumspection of walk, and a 
 determination not to rest, until we can make this grateful acknowl- 
 edgment our own. At the same time, instead of boasting that 
 
 » John xiv. 21, 23, with 1 John i. 3, 4 ; ui. 34. » Psalm xix. 8. 
 
 8 Hosea vii. 9. * Job xxix. 2. « Jer. vi. 16. 
 
VERSE 57. 91 
 
 our own arm, our own diligence, or holiness, "have gotten us" into 
 this favor, we shall cast all our attainments at the feet of Jesus, 
 and crown him Lord of all for ever. 
 
 PART VIII. 
 
 57, Thou art my portion, O Lord ; 1 have said that I would keep thy vx/rds. 
 
 Man, as a dependent being, must be possessed of some portion. 
 He cannot live upon himself. He must also have a large portion, 
 because the powers and capacities to be filled are large. If he has 
 not a satisfying portion, he is a wretched empty creature. But 
 where and how shall he find this portion ? " There be many that 
 say. Who will show us any good ? Lord, lift thou up the light of 
 thy countenance upon us!"^ Oh! the goodness of the Lord, in 
 having offered himself as the 'portion of an unworthy sinner, and 
 having engaged to employ his perfections for his happiness ! Oh ! 
 the folly, and madness, and guilt, of the sinner, in choosing his 
 " portion in this life ;"^ as if there were no God on the earth, no 
 way of access to him, or no happiness to be found in him ! That 
 such madness should be found in the heart of man, is a most af- 
 fecting illustration of his departure from God ; but that God^s own 
 people should commit these two evils — forsaking the fountain of 
 living waters, and hewing out broken cisterns for themselves — is 
 the fearful astonishment of heaven itself.^ 
 
 But we cannot know and enjoy God as our portion^ except as he 
 has manifested himself in his dear Son. And in the knowledge 
 and enjoyment of him, can we envy those, who " in their lifetime 
 receive their good things,"^ and therefore have nothing more to ex- 
 pect ? Never indeed does the poverty of the worldling's portion ap- 
 pear more striking than when contrasted with the enjoyment of a 
 child of Gods — "Soul," said the rich fool, "thou hast much goods 
 laid up for many years." But God said, " This night thy soul shall 
 be required of thee."^ Augustine's prayer was, " Lord, give me thy- 
 self!"' And thus the believer exults, " Whom have I in heaven but 
 thee ? and there is none upon earth that I desire but thee. Return 
 unto thy rest, O my soul. The Lord himself is the portion of mine 
 inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest my lot. The Unes 
 are fallen unto me in pleasant places, yea I have a goodly heritage. 
 I will bless the Lord who hath given me counsel."^ 
 
 1 Psalm iv. 6. 2 lb. xvii. 14. 3 jer. ii. 12, 13. 
 
 4 Luke xvi. 25; vi. 24. s Comp. Psalm xvii. 14, 15. « Luke lii. 19, 20. 
 
 1 Da mihi te, Domine. 8 psalm Ixxiii. 25 ; cxti. 7; xvL 5—7. 
 
92 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 Elsewhere the believer makes this confession to himself — "The 
 Lord is my portion — saith my soiiiy^ Here, as if to prove his sin- 
 cerity, he " lifts up his face unto God."^ — " Thou art my 'portion^ 
 O LordP And surely the whole world cannot weigh against the 
 comfort of this Christian confidence. For it is as impossible, that 
 his own people should ever be impoverished, as that his own per- 
 fections should moulder away. But a portion implies not a source 
 of ordinary pleasure, but of rest and satisfaction, such as leaves 
 nothing else tb be desired. Thus the Lord can never be enjoyed, 
 even by his own children — except as a portion — not only above 
 all, but in the place of all. Other objects indeed may be subordi- 
 nately loved ; but of none but himself must we say — " He is alto- 
 gether lovely y^ " In all things he must have the pre-eminenceji? — 
 one with the Father in our affections, as in his own subsistence.** 
 The moment that any rival is allowed to usurp the throne of the 
 heart, we open the door to disappointment and unsatisfied desires. 
 
 But if we take the Lord as our ^^ portion^ we must take him as 
 our king. " I have said — this is my dehberate resolution, — that I 
 would keep thy wordsP Here is the Christian complete — taking the 
 Lord as his ^^portion,^^ and his word as his rule. And what ener- 
 gy for holy devotedness flows from the enjoyment of this our heav- 
 enly portion ! Thus " delighting ourselves in the Lord, he gives 
 us our heart's desire;"^ and every desire identifies itself with his 
 service. All that we are and all that we have, are his ; cheerfully 
 surrendered as his right, and wiUingly employed in his work. Thus 
 do we evidence our interest in his salvation ; for " Christ became 
 the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey himJ^'' 
 
 Reader ! inquire — was my choice of this Divine portion con- 
 siderate, free, unreserved ? Am I resolved that it shall be steadfast 
 and abiding ? that death itself shall not separate me from the en- 
 joyment of it ? Am 1 ready to receive a Sovereign as well as a 
 Saviour V Oh ! let me have a whole Christ for my portion ! Oh ! 
 let him have a whole heart for his possession. Oh ! let me call 
 nothing mine but Him. 
 
 58. / entreated thy favor vdth my whole heart ; be merciful unto me according 
 
 to thy word. 
 
 Delight in the Lord as our ^^portion,^^ naturally leads us to 
 " entreat his favor'''' as "life,"^ and " better than life,"'" to our souls. 
 And if we have " said^ that we woidd keep his words,^^ we shall 
 still " entreat his favor'^ to strengthen and encourage us in his 
 way. We shall " entreat it with our whole hearts,^^ as though we 
 felt our infinite need of it, and were determined to wrestle for it in 
 Jacob's spirit^" I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.'"^ If 
 we have known what unspeakable happiness it is to be brought into 
 the favor of God, " by the blood of Christ ;'"* and if " by him also 
 
 » Lam. iii. 24. a John xxl 17. Job xxu. 26. 3 Cant, v 16. ■» Col. i. 18. 
 
 » John X. 30. » Psalm xxxvii. 4. ^ Heb. v. 9. 8 See Acts v. 31, 
 
 » Psalm XXX. 5. " lb. Ixiii. 3. " Gen. xxxii.26. 12 Eph. ii. 13. 
 
VERSE 59. 08 
 
 we have access unto that grace wherein we stand,"* how shall we 
 prize the sense of Divine favoi\ the light of our Father's counte- 
 nance ! We shall never be weary of this source of daily enjoyment. 
 It is to us as the light of the sun, which shineth every day with re- 
 newed and unabated pleasure. We "joy in God through our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement."* 
 Mercy, however, is the source of that ^^ favor which we e7itreat /* 
 and the word is the warrant of our expectation — "-Be merciful 
 unto us, according' to thy word.^^ As sinners, we need this 
 ^^ favor." As believers, we " entreaf^ it in the assurance that 
 praying breath, as the breath of faith, will not be spent in vain. 
 Any indulged indolence, or neglect, or unfaithfulness — relaxing our 
 diligence, and keeping back the ^^ whole heart'''' from God— will 
 indeed never fail to remove the sunshine from the soul. But the 
 blood of Christ still opens the way of return to the backslider, even 
 though he may have wandered, as it were, to the ends of the earth. 
 For ^''\i from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt 
 find him, if ihou seek him with all thine heart and all thy soulP^ 
 " A whole heartj'' in seeking the Lord, is the seal of the Lord's 
 heart in returning to us — " 1 will rejoice over them," saith he, " to 
 do them good : and I will plant them in this land assuredly, with 
 my whole heart and with my whole soulP^ 
 
 Reader ! if you are a child of God, the favor of God will be to 
 you the " one thing needful." In other things, you will not ven- 
 ture to choose for yourself; "for who knoweth what is good for 
 man in this life?"* But in this choice you will be decided. This 
 grand, incomparable desire will fill your heart. This will be to 
 you as the portion of ten thousand worlds. Nothing will satisfy 
 besides. 
 
 59. 1 thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. 
 
 The Psalmist's determination, lately mentioned, to keep God's 
 word, was not a hasty impulse, but a considerate resolve, the result 
 of much thinking on his former ways of sin and folly. How many, 
 on the other hand, seem to pass through the world into eternity 
 without a serious " thought on their loays .'" Multitudes Hve for 
 the world — forget God and die ! This is their history. What 
 their state is, is written as with a sunbeam in the word of truth — 
 " the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that for- 
 get GodP^ When "no man repent eth him of his wickedness, say- 
 ing. What have I done ?"' — this banishing of reflection is the char- 
 acter and ruin of an unthinking world. Perhaps one serious 
 thought might be^ the new birth of the soul to God — the first step 
 of the way to heaven. For when a man is arrested by the power 
 of grace, he is as one awaking out of sleep, lost in solemn and 
 serious thought, — * What am I ?^ where am I ? what have I been ? 
 
 1 Rom. V. 1, 2. 8 lb. V. 11. 3 Deut iv. 29. * Jer. xxxii. 41. 
 
 5 Eccl. vi. 12. 6 Psalm ix. 17. "^ Jer. viii. 6. 
 
 8 How utterly unmeaning was the celebrated aphorism of antiquity, " KInow thyself^'' 
 until explained and illustrated by the light of Revelation ! 
 
94 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 what have I been doing ? I have a soul, which is my everlasting 
 all — yet a soul without a Saviour — lost — undone. What is my 
 prospect for its happiness ? Behind me is a world of vanity, an 
 empty void. Before me a fearful unknown eternity. Within me 
 an awakened conscience, to remind me of an angry God, and a 
 devouring hell. If I stay here, I perish ; if I go forward, I perish ; 
 if I return home to my offended Father, I can but perish.'^ The 
 resolution is formed, ' " 1 will arise,"^ and fight my way through all 
 difficulties and discouragements to my Father's house.' Thus does 
 every prodigal child of God "come to himself;" and this his first step 
 of return to his God^ involves the whole work of repentance. The 
 wanderer thinks on his own ways^ and turns his feet unto the tes- 
 timonies of his God; witnessing, to his joyful surprise, every hin- 
 drance removed, the way marked with the blood of his Saviour, 
 and his Father's smiles in this way welcoming his return home- 
 ward. This tiirn is the practical exercise of a genuine faith; 
 and " because he considereth, and turneth avmy from all his trans- 
 gressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live — he shall not 
 die !"* 
 
 But this considerate exercise is needed not only upon the first in- 
 stance into the ways of God^ but in every successive step of our 
 path. It will form the habit of daily " communion with our own 
 heart ;"« without which, disorder and confusion will bewilder our 
 steps. Probably David did not know how far his feet had back- 
 slidden from the ways of his God, until this serious consideration 
 of his state brought conviction to his soul — so imperceptible is the 
 declining of the heart from God ! Nor is it a few transient thoughts 
 or resolutions, that will effect this turn of the heart to God. A man 
 may maintain a fruitless struggle to return to God for many 
 years in sincerity and earnestness; while the sirnple act of faith 
 in the power and love of Jesus will at once bring him back. Thus 
 while " thiiiking on his waysj"* let him walk in Christ as the way 
 of return — and he will walk in the way of God^s testimonies with 
 acceptance and delight. In this spirit of simplicity, he will be ready 
 to listen to the first whisper of the convincing voice of the Spirit, 
 which marks the early steps of secret declension from God.** He 
 will also thankfully accept the chastening rod, as the Lord's ap- 
 pointed instrument of restoring his wandering children to himself. 
 For so prone are they to turn their feet away from the Lord — so 
 continually are they "turning aside like a deceitful bow,"^ — and so 
 deaf are they from the constitution of their sinful nature, to the or- 
 dinary calls of God, that in love and tender faithfulness to their 
 souls, is he often constrained by the stroke of his heavy hand to 
 arrest them in their career of thoughtlessness, and turn them back 
 to himself. Most suitable then for such a state is the prayer of 
 Basil — " Give me any cross, that may bring me into subjection to 
 thy cross ; and save me in spite of myself !" 
 
 » Compare 2 Kings vil 4. 2 Luke xv. 18. 3 lb. 17. < Ezek. iviii. 2a 
 
 6 Psalm iv. 4. • See Isa. xxx. 21. ' Psalm Ixxviii. 57. 
 
VERSE 60. 95 
 
 60. I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments. 
 
 A SUPERFICIAL conviction brings with it a sense of duty with- 
 out constraining to it. Men stand reasoning and doubting, instead 
 of making haste. But a sound conviction sweeps away all excuses 
 and delays. No time will be lost between making and performing 
 resolutions. Indeed, in a matter of life and death — of eternal life 
 and eternal death* — the call is too clear for debate, and there is no 
 room for delay. Many a precious soul has been lost by waiting for 
 " a more convenient season'"^ — a period, which probably may never 
 arrive, and which the wilful neglect of present opportunity provokes 
 God to put far away. To-day is God's time. To-morrow ruins 
 thousands. To-morrow is another world. " To-day — while it is 
 called to-day; if you will hear his voice"^ — " make haste, and de^ 
 lay not." Resolutions, however sincere, and convictions, however 
 serious, "will pass away as the morning cloud and as the early 
 dew,"* unless they are carefully cherished, and instantly improved. 
 The bonds of iniquity will soon prove too strong for the bonds of 
 your own resolutions; and in the first hour of temptation, convic- 
 tions, left to chance to grow, will prove as powerless as the " seven 
 green withs" to bind the giant Samson.^ If ever delays are danger- 
 ous, much more are they in this concern of eternity. If, therefore, 
 convictions begin to work, instantly yield to their influence. If any 
 worldly or sinful desire is touched, let this be the moment for its 
 crucifixion. If any affection is kindled towards the Saviour, give 
 immediate expression to its voice. If any grace is reviving, let it 
 be called forth into instant duty. This is the best — the only — ex- 
 pedient to fix and detain the motion of the Spirit now striving in 
 the heart : and who knoweth but the improvement of the present 
 advantage may be the moment of victory over difficulties hitherto 
 found insuperable, and may open the path to heaven with less in- 
 terruption, and more steady progress ? 
 
 It is from the neglect of this ^^ haste" that convictions often 
 alternately ebb and flow so long, before they settle in a sound 
 conversion. Indeed the instant movement — " making haste and 
 delaying not" — marks the principle of the spiritual fife. Thus 
 was the prodigal's resolution no sooner formed than in action. He 
 said, " I will arise and go to my father — and he arose, and came 
 to his father."^ When Matthew heard the voice — " Follow me — he 
 left all, rose up and followed him."^ When Zaccheus was called 
 from the top of the sycamore-tree, " Make haste, and come down, 
 for to-day I must abide at thy house — he made haste, and came 
 down, and received him joyfully."^ 
 
 Ah ! as you prize a hope for eternity ; as you wish to " flee from 
 the wrath to come," and to " flee for refuge to the hope set before 
 you" — beware of smothering early convictions. They may prove 
 the first dawn of eternal day upon the soul — the first visit of the 
 
 1 See Deut. xxx. 18. 2 Acts xxiv. 25. 3 Heb. iv. 7. 4 Rosea vi. 4. 
 
 5 Judges xvi. 9. 6 Luke xv. 18—20. 7 lb. v. 27, 28. Comp. Matt. iv. 18—22. 
 
 8 Luke xix. 5, 6. Compare also the example of Paul, Gral. i. 15, 16. 
 
96 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 quickening spirit of the heart. Guard them with unceasing watch- 
 fulness. Nourish them with beheving prayer. " Exercise" them 
 ''unto" practical " godliness."^ "(Quench not the Spirit."^ Let not 
 the spark be extinguished by opposition of the world. Let it not 
 expire for want of the fuel of grace. Let it not lie dormant or in- 
 active. " Stir up the gift of God which is in thee."^ Every exer- 
 cise, every motion, adds grace to grace, and increases its vigor, 
 health, and fruitfulness. The more we do, the more we find we 
 can do. The withered hand, whenever stretched forth in obedience 
 to the Saviour's word, and in dependence on his grace, will never 
 fail of a supply of spiritual strength.* Every successive act strength- 
 ens the disposition, until a continued succession has formed a 
 ready and active habit of godliness. Thus the Lord works in set- 
 ting us to work. Therefore think — determine — turn — " make haste, 
 aiid delay not; and we wish you God speed ;" " we bless you in the 
 name of the Lord."^ 
 
 Professor ! did you realize eternity, would you hover as you do 
 between heaven and hell ? If you were truly ahve and awake, no 
 motion would be swift enough for your desire to " flee from the 
 wrath" — to " flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before you."^ 
 If ever God should touch your heart, to feel the heavenly sweetness 
 of communion with him, will there be no regret that the privilege 
 was not sooner sought and enjoyed ? Had I betaken myself earlier 
 to a hearty interest in the ways of God, how much more knowl- 
 edge, experience and comfort should I have attained ! how much 
 more honor should I have brought to God ! how much more profit 
 to my fellow-sinners! Remember — every day of carnal pleasure 
 or lukewarm formality is a day lost to God — to your own happi- 
 ness — to eternity. 
 
 A word to the believer — Have you any doubts to clear up, any 
 peace to regain in the ways of the Lord ? " Make haste^^ to set 
 your heart to the work. Make haste to the blood of atonement. 
 Be on the watch to " hear the shepherd's voice,"^ even if it be the 
 voice of reproof. Promptness is a most important exercise of the 
 habit of faith. Delay brings guilt to the conscience. The blessing 
 of conviction — the comfortable sense of acceptance — the freedom of 
 the Lord's service is sacrificed to sloth and procrastination. The 
 work that is hard to-day will be harder still to-morrow, by the re- 
 sistance of this day's convictions. A greater cost of self-denial, a 
 heavier burden of sorrow and increasing unfitness for the service of 
 God, will be the issue of delay. Be continually, therefore, looking 
 for some beam of light to descend, and some influence of grace to 
 flow in upon you from your exalted Head. A simple and vigorous 
 faith will quickly enliven you with that love, delight, rejoicing in 
 the Lord, readiness to work, and cheerfulness to sufler, which will 
 once again make the ways of God " pleasantness and peace" to 
 your soul. 
 
 » 1 Tim. iv. 7. « 1 Thess. v. 19. » 2 Tim. i. 6. -» Mark iu. 5. 
 
 » Psalm cxxix. 8. « Matt. iii. 7. Heb. vi. 18. "^ John i. 27. 
 
VERSE 61. 9*7 
 
 61. The bands of the wicked have robbed me ; but I have not forgotten thy law* 
 
 Are we not too apt to cull out the easy work of the Gospel, and 
 to call this love to God ? Whereas true love is supreme, and ready 
 to be at some loss, and to part with near and dear objects, knowing 
 that he "is able to give us much more than" our love for him.* 
 Our resolution to keep his comTnajidnients will soon be put to the 
 test. Some trial to the flesh will prove whether we flinch from the 
 cross, or study to prepare ourselves for it. Few of us, perhaps, have 
 literally known this trial of David.^ But the lesson to be learnt 
 from his frame of mind under it, is of great importance to all who 
 profess to have their " treasure in heaven." It teaches us, that only 
 exercised faith will sustain us in the time of trouble. This faith 
 will enable us instantly to recollect our heavenly portion, and to 
 assure our interest in it, in a remembrance of the law of our God. 
 Had David ^^ forgotten GocPs law,^^ no other resource of comfort 
 opened before him. But it was ready — substantiating to his mind 
 ^' the things that were not seei\ and eternal."^ Look again at the 
 Apostle's deliberate estimate of this very trial — not only bearing his 
 loss, but absolutely forgetting it in the enjoyment of his better por- 
 tion. " Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the ex- 
 cellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I 
 have suffered the loss of all things; a7id do count them but dung^ 
 that I may win Christy^ 
 
 The temper of mind under such trials as this serves indeed most 
 clearly to discover the real bent of the heart. If we are in posses- 
 sion of a spiritual and heavenly portion, we shall bear to be ^'■robbed 
 by the bands of the wicked^'' and yet, "hold fast our profession." 
 David, under this calamity, " encouraged himself in the Lord his 
 God."^ Job under the same visitation, " fell down upon the ground, 
 and worshipped."^ The blessings indeed we lose, are but as a 
 feather compared with the blessings which we retain. The Provi- 
 dence of God is abundant support for his children. Their pros- 
 pects (not to speak of their present privileges) eflfectually secure them 
 from ultimate loss, even in the spoiling of their worldly all.^ Thus 
 the early Christians suffered " the bands of the wicked to rob thern'^ 
 — nay — they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods ; knowing in 
 themselves, that they had in heaven a better and an enduring 
 snbstance^^ We have indeed little reason to be frightened from 
 religion by the anticipation of its trials. The exchange of the 
 world for God, and of the service of sin for the ways of heaven, 
 leaves no room for regret in life, in death, or in eternity. The 
 Christian's darkest hour is ten thousand times brighter than the 
 brightest day of the ungodly. The hope of the crown will enable 
 us to bear the cross, and to realize its sanctifying support as a mat- 
 ter for unbounded praise. 
 
 But how desolate are the poor votaries of the world in the hour 
 
 I 2 Chron. xxv. 9. Comp. Job xlii. 10—12. 2 See 1 Sam. xxx. 1—3. 
 
 3 2 Cor. iv. 18. Heb. xi. 1. 4 phil. iii. 8. s i Sam. xxx. 6. 
 
 » Job i. 13- 17, 20. 7 See Mark x. 29, 30. » Heb. x. 34. 
 
 7 
 
98 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 of trouble ! Ignorant of the all-sufficiency of the refuge of the Gos- 
 pel ; instead of being driven to it by the gracious visitations of God, 
 they would rather retreat into any hiding-place of their own, than 
 direct their steps backward to him. Their circumstances of distress 
 are most intensely aggravated by the sullen rebellion of the heart, 
 which refuses to listen to those breathings of the Saviour's love, that 
 would guide them to himself, as their sure, and peaceful, and eternal 
 rest !^ Would that we could persuade them to cast their souls in 
 penitence and faith before his blessed cross I^ The burden of sin, 
 as Bunyan's pilgrim found, would then drop from their backs. And 
 this burden once removed — other burdens before intolerable would 
 be found comparatively light ; nay — all burdens would be removed 
 in the enjoyment of the Christian privilege of casting all — sin — care 
 — and trouble — upon Jesus. Contrast the state of destitution with- 
 out him, with the abundant resources of the people of God. We 
 have a double heaven — a heaven on earth, and a heaven above — 
 one in present sunshine — the other in "the city, which hath no 
 need of the sun"^ — where our joys will be immediate — unclouded — 
 eternal. Thus our portion embraces both worlds. Our present "joy 
 no man taketh from us ;"^ and we have " laid up treasure in 
 heaven," where the bands of the wicked can " never break through, 
 nor steal."^ 
 
 CJiristian ! Does not your faith realize a subsistence of things 
 not seen? The only reality in the apprehensions of the world are 
 " the things that are seen, and are temporal." Your realities are 
 " the things that are not seen, and are eternal." Then remem- 
 ber — if you be robbed of your earthly all, your treasure is beyond 
 the reach of harm. You can still say — " I have all and abound."^ 
 You can Uve splendidly upon your God, though all is beggary 
 around you. You confess the remembrance of the law of your 
 God to be your unfailing stay — " Unless thy law had been my 
 delight, I should then have perished in my affliction.''^'' 
 
 62. At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee^ because of thy righteous 
 
 judgments. 
 
 Another exercise of sacred pleasure is the ways of the Lord ! 
 His portion was always satisfying to this holy man, and he was 
 daily feeding upon it with fresh delight. There was no occasion 
 for the painful restrictions and mortifications of a monastery to 
 oblige him to self-denying observances. Much less was there any 
 desire, by these extraordinary services, to work out a righteousness 
 of his own, to recommend him to the favor of God. His diligence 
 in this heavenly work was the spontaneous effusion of a heart 
 "filled with the Spirit."^ Presenting the morning and evening 
 service " seven times a day,"^ was not enough for him ; but he 
 must " rise at midnight,^'' to continue his song of praise. These 
 hours sometimes had been spent in overwhelming sorrow.^" Now 
 
 » See Matt. xi. 28. 2 i Peter v. 7. 8 Rev. xxi. 23. < John xvi. 22. 
 
 6 Matt. vi. 20. 6 Phil, iv, 18 ; also 2 Cor. vi. 10. 7 Veree 92. 
 
 8 Eph. V, 18. » See verses 147, 148, 164. " See Ps. IxxviL 3, 4. 
 
VERSE 63. 99 
 
 they were given to the privileged employment of praise.^ Indeed it 
 seems to have been his frequent custom to stir up his gratitude by 
 a midnight review of the Lord's daily manifestations of mercy.' 
 A most exciting example — especially for the child of sorrow, when 
 " wearisome nights are appointed to him," and he " is full of toss- 
 ings to and fro unto the dawning of the day !"' Thus " let the 
 saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud upon their beds."* 
 We observe this Christian enjoyment under circumstances of out- 
 ward trial. When " at midnight — their feet made fast in the 
 stocks — Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises to God;"^ they 
 gave thanks^ because of his righteous judgments. 
 
 We often complain of our want of spirituality in the Divine life 
 — how much our body hinders the ascent of the soul heavenwards 
 — how often drowsiness overcomes our evening communion with 
 our God ; the " weakness of the flesh" overpowering the " wiUing- 
 ness of the Spirit."^ But after making all due allowances for con- 
 stitutional infirmity, how far are we " instant in season and out of 
 season" in the " mortification of the flesh ?"' Do we earnestly seek 
 for a heart delighting in heavenly things ? The more the flesh is 
 denied for the service of God, the more we shall be elevated for the 
 enjoyment, and realize the privilege of the work ; and instead of 
 having so often to mourn that our " souls cleave unto the dust,"^ 
 we shall " mount upwards with eagles' wings,"^ and even now by 
 anticipation, take our place before " the throne of God and the 
 Lamb." Such is the active influence of self-denial in exercising 
 our graces and promoting our comfort ! Oh ! how much more fer- 
 vent would be our prayers — how much more fruitful in blessings — 
 were they enlivened with more abundant delight in the ' angelical 
 work of praise.'^^ The theme is always before us. The subject of 
 the heavenly song should constantly engage our songs on earth — 
 Jesus and his love — the worthiness of the Lamb that was slain — 
 his " power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and 
 glory, and blessing."^^ Midnight wakefulness would be far sweeter 
 than slumber ; yea, night itself would be turned into day, did " the 
 judgments of GodJ'' as manifested in the glory of the Saviour, 
 thus occupy our hearts.^^ Lord, tune my heart to thy praise, and 
 then no time will be unseasonable for this blessed employment. 
 Time thus redeemed from sleep will be an antepast of the unwea- 
 ried service of heaven.^^ 
 
 63. / am, a companion of all them, that fear thee, and of them that keep thy 
 
 precepts. 
 
 Those that love the Lord's service naturally associate with 
 kindred spirits — with those that /ear him, and keep his precepts.^* 
 These two features identify the same character ; as cheerful obedi- 
 ence is always the fruit of filial fear. These then are the Lord's 
 
 J Ps. xlii. 8. Comp. Job xxxv, 10. 2 lb. cxxxix. 17, 18. 3 Job. vii. 3, 4. 
 
 * Ps. cxlix. 5. 5 Acts xvi. 24, 25. ^ Matt. xxvi. 41. ' 1 Cor. ix. 27. 
 
 8 Verse 25. 9 Isaiah xl. 31. 1° Baxter. " Rev. v. 12. 
 
 w See lb, xv. 3, 4. 13 ib. iv. 8. " Compare Psalm ciii. 17, 18. 
 
100 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 people ; and union with him is in fact union with them. Some- 
 times the society of the refined and intelligent of this world may be 
 more congenial to our natural taste. But ought there not be a 
 restraint here? Ought not the Christian to say, " Surely the fear 
 of God is not in this place f^ and " should I love them that hate the 
 Lord ?"2 Let those of us, who hve in close, and to a certain degree 
 necessary, contact with the world, subject their hearts to an even- 
 ing scrutiny on this subject. ' Has the society of this day refreshed 
 my soul, or raised my heart to spiritual things ? Has it promoted 
 a watchful temper ? Or has it not rather " quenched the spirit" of 
 prayer and restrained my intercourse with God V To meet the 
 Christian in ordinary courtesy, not in unity of hearty is a sign of an 
 unspiritual walk with God. Fellowship with God is " walking in 
 the light." " Fellowship one with another" is the natural ilow. 
 " The communion of saints" is the fruit and effect of communion 
 with God. 3 
 
 The calls of duty, or the leadings of providence, may indeed un- 
 avoidably connect us with those, who " have no fear of God before 
 their eyes." Nor should we repel them from religiously affecting a 
 sullen or uncourteous* habit. But such men, whatever be their 
 attractions, will not be the companions of our choice. Fellowship 
 with them, is to " remove the ancient land-mark f^ to forget the 
 broad line of separation between us and them ; and to venture into 
 the most hazardous atmosphere. If indeed our hearts were ascend- 
 ing, Hke a flame of fire, with a natural motion heavenwards, and 
 carrying with them all in their way, the choice of the compariions 
 of our pilgrimage would be a matter of little importance. But so 
 deadening to our spirit is the conversation of the men of this world, 
 (however commanding their talents, or interesting their topics,) that 
 even if we have been just before enlivened by the high privilege of 
 communion with God, the free and self-indulgent interchange of 
 their society will benumb our spiritual powers, and quickly freeze 
 them again. To underrate therefore the privileged association 
 with ''Hhem that fear God,^^ is to incur — not only a most awful 
 responsibility in the sight of God ; but also a most serious hazard 
 to our own souls. 
 
 If then we are not ashamed to confess ourselves Christians, let 
 us not shrink from walking in fellowship with Christians. Even 
 if they should exhibit some repulsive features of character, they 
 bear the image of Him, whom we profess to love inexpressibly and 
 incomparably above all. They will be our co?npa7iiotis in an eter- 
 nal home : they ought therefore to be our brothers now. How 
 sweet, and holy, and heavenly is this near relation to them in our 
 common Lord ! Shall we not readily consent to his judgment, who 
 pronounced "the righteous to be more excellent than his neigh- 
 bor 7"6 u ii-Qn sharpeneth iron."^ If then " the iron be blunt," this 
 will be one of the best means of " whetting the edge."« The most 
 
 » Gksn. XX. 11. 8 2 Chron. xix. 2. « See 1 John i. 3—7. * See 1 Pet. iii. 6. 
 • Prov. ixU. 28. » lb. xu. 26. i lb. ixvu. 17. 8 See Eccl. x. 10. 
 
VERSE G4. 101 
 
 established servants of God gladly acknowledge the sensible refresh- 
 ment of this union of heart.^ It is marked in the word of God, as 
 the channel of the communication of heavenly wisdom^ — as a fea- 
 ture in the character of the citizens of Zion^ — and as that disposition, 
 which is distinguished with manifest tokens of the Saviour's pres- 
 ence ;^ and which the great day will crown with the special seal of 
 his remembrance. " They that feared the Lord spake often one 
 to another ; and the Lord hearkened and heard^^ it ; " and a book 
 of remembrance was written l)efore him for them that feared the 
 Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall he mine, 
 saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day, when I make up my jewels."^ 
 
 64. The earlhi O Lord, is full of thy mefcy ; teach me thy statutes. 
 
 What full provision is made for man's happiness ! The first 
 creation was full of mercy. God knew that he had created a 
 being full of want. Every faculty wanted some suitable object, as 
 the source of enjoym nt in the gratification — of suflfering in the 
 denial ; and now has he charged himself with making provision 
 for them all — so perfect, that no w^ant is left unprovided for. 
 
 But what a picture does the earth now present on every side — a 
 world of rebels ! yet a world "/i<// of the mercy of the Lord !" "O 
 Lord, how manifold are thy w^orks ! in wisdom has thou made 
 them all. The earth is full of thy riches. The eyes of all wait 
 upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou 
 openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing."' 
 And how does the contemplation of the Lord's '-^mercy''^ in provi- 
 dence encourage our faith, in the expectancy of spiritual privileges ! 
 " O Lord ! thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy 
 loving-kindness, O God ! therefore the children of men put their 
 trust under the shadow of thy wing. They shall be abundantly 
 satisfied with the fatness of thy house ; and thou shalt make them 
 drink of the river of thy pleasures."^ ' As thou dost largely bestow 
 thy blessings upon all creatures according to their nature and con- 
 dition, so I do desire the spiritual blessings of the lively light of thy 
 law and word, which are fitting and convenient for the being and 
 happiness of my soul.'^ As an ignorant sinner, " what I see not, 
 teach thou me."^ " Teach me thy statutes^'' that which thou hast 
 appointed, as the way of duty and the path to glory — that path 
 which I am utterly unable to discover, or when discovered, to walk 
 in, without the help of thy grace. And indeed the hearts of his 
 
 1 Comp, 1 Sam. xxiii. 16, Psalm xvi. 3. Acts xxviii, 15. Rom. i. 11, 12. 2 Cor. 
 vii. 6, 7. 2 Prov. xiii. 20. 
 
 3 Psalm XV. 1, 4. Comp. Psalm xvi. 3, and especially 1 John iii. 14. 
 
 4 Luke xxiv. 15, 32. 5 Mai. iii. 16, 17. " psalm civ, 24; cxlv. 15, 16. 
 
 7 lb. xxxvi. 6—8. 
 
 8 Diodati. "It is worthy of especial notice, how often, and in what varied conniic- 
 tions, David in this Psalm prays to be taught the statutes of God, though he seems to 
 have been more intimately acquainted with the sacred oracles, as then extant, than almost 
 any other man ; but he knew that Divine teaching alone could enable him rightly to 
 understand the Scriptures, and to apply general rules to all the variety of particular 
 cases, which occurred in the course of his life." — Scott. 
 
 9 Job xxxiv. 32. 
 
102 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 people are the vessels, into which the Lord is continually pouring" 
 more and more of himself, until they shall " be filled with all the 
 fulness of God."^ Every good, according to its character and de- 
 gree, is diffusive. And thus the goodness or mercy of God per- 
 vades his whole universe — natural — plentiful — free — communica- 
 tive.2 
 
 Yet none but a believer will understand how to use the plea 
 which is here employed. The mercy that he sees on every side, is 
 to him a pledge and earnest of that m>ercy^ which his soul needs 
 within. The world indeed in its present falling state, when 
 seen through the medium of pride and discontent, exhibits a pic- 
 ture of misery, not of mercy ; and only ministers occasion for com- 
 plaint against the Creator. But the believer — feeling the infinite 
 and eternal desert of sin — cannot but know that the lowest exer- 
 cise of goodness in God is an act of free undeserved mercy. No 
 wonder then that he sees mercy in everything — in every part of 
 the universe of God — a world ^^full of m^ercy.^^ The very food we 
 eat, our raiment, our habitations, the contrivances for our comfort, 
 are not mere displays of goodness, but manifestations of mercy. 
 Having forfeited all claim upon the smallest consideration of God, 
 there could have been no just ground of complaint, had all these 
 blessings been made occasions of suffering, instead of comfort and 
 indulgence. 
 
 Indeed is it not a marvel, that when man — full of mercy — is 
 lifting up his hand against his God — employing against him all 
 the faculties which his m,ercy gave and has preserved — that God 
 should be so seldom provoked to strike by their aggravated provo- 
 cations ? What multitude — what weight — what variety of mercy 
 doth he still shower upon us ! Even our hair — though seemingly 
 so unimportant — the seat of loathsome, defiling, and even mortal 
 disease, is the object of his special care.^ All the limbs of the body 
 — all the faculties of the mind — all the affections of the heart — all 
 the powers of the will : keeping us in health — capable of acting for 
 our own happiness — how does he restrain them from those exer- 
 cises or movements which might be fatal to our happiness! 
 
 And then the question naturally recurs — and to a spiritual mind 
 will never weary by its recurrence — Whence flows all this mercy ? 
 Oh ! it is delightful indeed to answer such an inquiry — delightful 
 to contemplate him, " in whom" we are not only " blessed with all 
 spiritual blessings ;"* but who is also the medium, through which 
 our temperal comforts are conveyed to us. How sweet to eye these 
 mercies, as bought with the most precious blood that ever was 
 known in the world, and to mark the print of the nails of our cru- 
 cified friend stamped upon the least of them ! We allow it to add 
 a relish to our enjoyments, that we can consider them as provided 
 by some beloved friend ; and should not our mercies be doubly 
 sweet in the remembrance of that munificent Friend, who pur- 
 
 » Eph. iiL 19. « Verse 68. • Matt x. 30. * Eph. i. 3. 
 
VERSE 65. 108 
 
 chased them for us so dearly ; who bestows them upon us so richly ; 
 yea, who gives himself with them all ? 
 
 Have we heard of this mercy of God 7 And do we feel the need 
 of it for ourselves — for every moment ? Then let us apply to the 
 throne of grace in the free and open way of acceptance and access. 
 Let us go to the King (as Benhadad's servants to the King of Is- 
 rael) in the spirit of self-condemnation and faith. Our acceptance 
 does not depend (as in the case referred to) upon a " peradventure ;" 
 but it rests upon the sure word of promise, " Him that cometh to 
 me, I will ill no wise cast outP'^ 
 
 PART IX. 
 
 65. Thou hast dealt well imth thy servant^ O Lord^ according unto thy word. 
 
 There is a time for all things in the believer's experience — for 
 confession, prayer, praise. This Psalm mostly expresses the pro- 
 fessions and prayers of the man of God — yet mingled with thank- 
 ful acknowledgment of mercy. He had prayed, " Deal bountifully 
 with thy servantP^ Perhaps here is the acknowledgment of the 
 answer to his prayer, " Thou hast dealt well with thy servant^ O 
 Lord^ according unto thy wordJ^ And who among us has not 
 daily reason to make the same acknowledgment 7 Even in those 
 trials, when we have indulged hard thoughts of God, a clearer 
 view of his judgments, and a more simple dependence upon his 
 faithfulness and loye, will rebuke our impatience and unbelief, and 
 encourage our trust.^ Subsequent experience altered Jacob's hasty 
 view of the Lord's dealings with him. In a moment of peevish- 
 ness, the recollection of the supposed death of a beloved son, and 
 the threatened bereavement of another, tempted him to say, " All 
 these things are against we."^ At a brighter period of his day, 
 when clouds were beginning to disperse, we hear that " the spirit 
 of Jacob revived. And Jacob said, It is enough; Joseph my son 
 is yet alive, I will go and see him before I die."" And when his 
 evening sun was going down almost without a cloud, in the believ- 
 ing act of "blessing the sons of" his beloved "Joseph,"' how 
 
 I Comp. 1 Kings xx. 31. ^ 2 John vi. 37. 3 Verse 17. 
 
 * " If all the sad losses, trials, sicknesses, infirmities, griefe, heaviness, and incon- 
 stancy of the creature be expounded to be, as I am sure they are, the rods of the jealousy 
 of a Father in heaven, contending with all your lovers on earth, though there were 
 millions of them, for your love, to fetch it home to heaven, single, unmixed, you will 
 forgive (if we may use that word) every rod of God, and ' let not the sun go down upon 
 your wrath ' against any messenger of your afflicting and correcting Father." — Ruther- 
 ford's Letters. 
 
 5 Gen. xlii. 36. « lb. xlv. 27, 28. 7 Heb. xi. 21. 
 
104 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 clearly does he retract the language of his former sinful impatience ! 
 ■ — "God before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, did walk — 
 the God which fed me all my life long unto this day — the Angel 
 which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads/'* This surely 
 was in the true spirit of the acknowledgment. Thou hast dedlt 
 well with thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word. 
 
 And how is it that any of us have ever harbored a suspicion of 
 unbelief? Has God in any one instance falsified his promise? 
 Has " the vision" failed to come at the end ? Has it ever " lied V^ 
 Has he not " confirmed his promise by an oath," " that we might 
 have two immutable things" as the ground of "5^ro?i^ consola- 
 tion ?"3 Any degree less than the full credit that he deserves, is 
 admitting the false principle, that God is a man that he should lie, 
 and the son of a man that he should repent. It weakens the whole 
 spiritual frame, shakes our grasp of the promise, destroys our pres- 
 ent comfort, and brings foreboding apprehensions of the future. 
 Whereas, if we have faith and patience to wait, — " in the mount 
 the Lord shall be seen."^ " All things" may seem to be " against 
 us," while at the very moment under the wonder-working hand of 
 God, they are "w^orking together for our good.''^ When therefore 
 we " are in heaviness through manifold temptations," and we dis- 
 cover a "needs be" for it all, and "the trial of faith is found unto 
 praise and honor and glory"^ — when we are thus reaping the fruit- 
 ful discipline of our Father's school,' must we not put a fresh seal 
 to our testimony, " Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O 
 Lord ?" But why should we delay our acknowledgment till we 
 come out of our trial? Ought we not to give it even in the midst 
 of our " heaviness V'^ Faith has enabled many, and would enable 
 us, to "glorify God in the fires ;"5 to "trust" him, evftn when 
 "walking in darkness, and having no light ;"i° and, even while 
 smarting under his chastening rod, to acknowledge, that he '•^ has 
 dealt well with us." 
 
 But if I doubt the reasonableness of this acknowledgment, then 
 let me, while suffering under trial, endeavor to take up different 
 language. 'Lord, thou hast dealt ill with thy servant; thou hast 
 not kept thy word.' If in a moment of unbelief my impatient 
 heart, like Jacob's, could harbor such a dishonorable suspicion, my 
 conscience would soon smile me with conviction — ' What ! shall I, 
 who am "called out of darkness into marvellous light" — shall I, 
 who am rescued from slavery and death, and brought into a glo- 
 rious state of liberty and life, complain ? Shall I, who have been 
 redeemed at so great a price, and who have a right to "all the 
 promises of God in Christ Jesus,"" and who am now an " heir of 
 God, and joint heir with Christ'"* — murmur at my Father's will ? 
 
 » Gen. xlviii. 15, 16. 2Hab. ii. 3. 3 Hcb. vi. 17, 18. 
 
 * Gen. xxii. 14, See Scott in loco. ^ Rom. viii, 28. 
 
 « 1 Peter i. 6, 7. 7 Heb. xu. 11. 
 
 8 Verses 71, 75. "In everything (therefore including affliction) by prayer and suppli- 
 cation, tdth thanksgiving" &c, Phil, iv, 6. Compare also 1 Thess. v. 18. 
 • Isaiah xxiv. 15. i" lb. 1. 10. " 2 Cor. i. 20. w Rom. viii. 17. 
 
VERSE 66. 105 
 
 Alas, that my heart should prove so foolish, so weak, so un^ateful! 
 Lord ! I would acknowledge with thankfulness, and yet with humil- 
 iation, " Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, according to thy 
 word.^"* But how sinfully do we neglect these honorable and cheer- 
 ing acknowledgments ! Were we habitually to mark them for fu- 
 ture remembrance, we should be surprised to see how their num- 
 bers would multiply. " If we should count them, they are more in 
 number than the sand."^ And truly such recollections — enhancing 
 every common, as well as every special mercy — would come up as a 
 sweet savor to God "by Christ Jesus."* '-Bless the Lord, O my 
 soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name ; and forget not 
 all his benefits."^ 
 
 66. Teach me good judgment and knowledge ; for I have believed thy com- 
 mandments. 
 
 If the perception of the Lord's merciful dealings with my soul 
 is obscure — Teach me good judgm,ent and knowledge. Give me 
 a clear and enlarged apprehension, that I may be ready with my 
 acknowledgment — All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth.'^ 
 Or even with an enlightened assurance of his wise and faithful 
 dispensations, still would I urge this petition before him, as needful 
 for every step of my path. Indeed this prayer illustrates the sim- 
 plicity and intelligence of Christian faith — always desiring, asking, 
 and expecting the most suitable blessings. For what blessings can 
 be more suitable to an ignorant sinner, than good judgm,ent and 
 knoioledge: ^^ knowledge" of ourselves, of our Saviour, of the way 
 of obedience — and ^'' good judg?nent,^^ to apply this knowledge to 
 some valuable end ? These two parts of our intellectual furniture 
 have a most important connection and dependence upon each other. 
 ^^ Knowledge'^ is the speculative perception of general truth. ^^Judg- 
 me?it'^ is the practical application of it to the heart and conduct. No 
 school, but the school of Christ, no teaching, but the teaching of the 
 Spirit — can ever give this ^^ good judgme?it and knowledge.''^ Sol- 
 omon asks it for himself^ — Paul for his people.^ Both direct us to 
 God as the sole fountain and author.^ 
 
 We cannot fail of observing a very common defect in Christians — 
 warm affections connected with a bUnd or loose judgment. Hence 
 too often a lightness in rehgion, equally unsteady in profession and 
 
 » Psalm cxxxix. 18. 2 Heb. xiii. 15. 3 Psalm ciii. 1, 2. 
 
 *■ 11). XXV. 10. 5 1 Kings iii. 9. « Phil. i. 9, 10. Col. i. 9. 
 
 7 Prov. ii. 6. 1 Cor. i. 5. 2 Tim. i. 7. It is recorded of one of the Reformers, that, 
 "when he had well acquitted himself in a public disputation, a friend begjTctl to see the 
 notes, which he had been observed to write, supposing that he had taken down the argu- 
 ments of his opponents, and sketched the substance of his own reply. Greatly was he 
 surprised to find that they consisted simply of these ejaculatory petitions — " More light, 
 Lord, — more Ught, -more Ught!" How fully was the true spirit of prayer compressed 
 in these short aspirations ! Could they fail of success 1 " If any of you lack wisdom, 
 let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it shall be 
 given him." James 1. 5. Greenham, being asked his judgment of some important mat- 
 ters, answered : " Sir, neither am I able to speak, nor you to hear ; for we have not 
 prayed. I may indeed talk, and you may answer, as natural men ; but we are not now 
 prepared to confer as children of God." Works, p. 19. 
 
106 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 in practice — easily satisfied with a narrow compass in the vast field 
 of Scripture, instead of grasping a full survey of those truths, which 
 are so intimately connected with our Christian establishment and 
 privilege. Much perplexing doubt, discouragement, and fear ; much 
 mistaken apprehension of important truth, much coldness and back- 
 sliding of heart and conduct, arises from the want of an accurate 
 and full apprehension of the scriptural system. 
 
 This prayer has a special application to the tender and sensitive 
 child of God. The disease of his constitution is too often a scrupu- 
 lous conscience — one of the most active and successful enemies to 
 his settled peace and quietness. ' The faculty of conscience par- 
 takes with every other power of man of the injury of the fall ; and 
 therefore, with all its intelligence, honesty, and power, is liable to 
 misconception. Like a defect of vision, it often displaces objects : 
 and, in apparently conflicting duties, that which touches the feel- 
 ing, or accords with the temper, is preferred to one, which though 
 more remotely viewed, really possessed a higher claim. Thus it 
 pronounces its verdict from the predominance of feeling, rather than 
 from the exercise of judgment — more from an indistinct perception 
 of the subject presented to the mind, than from a simple immediate 
 reference " to the law and testimony." Again — matters of trivial 
 moment are often insisted upon, to the neglect of important princi- 
 ples.2 External points of offence are more considered, than the ha- 
 bitual mortification of the inward principle. Conformity to the 
 world in dress and appearance is more strongly censured than the 
 general spirit of worldliness in the temper and conduct of outward 
 non-co7if or mists ; while the spirit of separation from the world 
 {which may exist in a somewhat ivider range of Christian liber- 
 ti/, than the narroio perception of som,e professors has conceived^^) 
 is totally disregarded. Thus are non-essentials confounded with 
 fundamentals — things indifferent with things unlawful, from a nar- 
 row misconception of what is directly forbidden and allowed.'' Con- 
 science, therefore, must not be trusted without the light of the word 
 of God ; and most important is the prayer, " Teach me good judg- 
 ment a?id knowledge^'' 
 
 The exercises of this state of feeling are both endless and cause- 
 less. In the well-intended endeavor to guard against a devious 
 track, the mind is constantly harassed with an over-anxious in- 
 quiry, whether the right path is accurately discovered ; and thus at 
 once the pleasure and the progress of the journey are materially 
 
 1 " Scruple," as Bishop Taylor justly observes, " is a little stone in the foot. If you 
 set it on the ground, it hurts you. If you hold it up, you cannot go forward. It is a 
 trouble, when trouble is over ; a doubt, when doubts are resolved ; a little party behind 
 the hedge when the main army is broken and cleared ; and when conscience is in- 
 structed in its way, and girt for action, a light trifling reason, or an absurd fear, hinders it 
 from beginning the journey, or proceeding in the way, or resting at the journey's end." 
 Duct. Dubitant. Book i. chap. vi. See Calvin's lively description of scrupulosity in 
 Scott's Analysis of his Institutes.— Continuation of Milner, iii. 563. 
 
 a Col. ii. 18. s See 1 Cor. viii. 4, 7. 
 
 * " Measuring actions by atoms is the way, not to govern, but to disorder, conscience.' 
 —Bishop Taylor, ut supra. 
 
r 
 
 VERSE 66. 107 
 
 hindered. The influence, therefore, of this morbid sensibility is 
 strenuously to be resisted. It renders the strait way more strait. 
 It retards the work of grace in the soul. It is usually connected 
 with self-righteousness. It savors of, and tends to produce, hard 
 thoughts of God. It damps our cheerfulness in his service, and un- 
 fits us for the duty of the present moment. What, however, is 
 more than all to be deprecated, is, that it multiplies sin ; or, to speak 
 more clearly, it superinduces another species of sin, besides the ac- 
 tual transgression of the law of God. For opposition to the dictates 
 of conscience in any particular is sin, even though the act itself 
 may be allowed by the law of God. We may, therefore, sin in the 
 act of doing good, or in obedience to the liberty and enjoyment of 
 the Gospel, as well as in the allowed transgression of the law. In- 
 deed, under the bondage of scrupulous conscience, we seem to be 
 entangled in the sad necessity of sinning. The dictates of con- 
 science, eveii when grounded upon misconception, are authorita- 
 tive} Listening to its suggestions may be sinning against the lib- 
 erty, wherewith Christ has made us " free," and in which we are 
 commanded to " stand fast.'"* No human authority can free from 
 its bonds. Resistance to its voice is disobedience to God's vice- 
 gerent, and therefore, in a qualified sense at least, disobedience to 
 God himself And thus it is sin, even when that which conscience 
 condemns may be innocent.^ 
 
 The evil of a scrupulous conscience may often be traced to a 
 diseased temperament of body, to a naturally weak or perverted un- 
 derstanding, to the unfavorable influence of early prejudice — to a 
 want of simple exercise of faith, or perception of the matters of 
 faith. In these cases faith may be sincere, though weak ; and the 
 sin, such as it is, is a sin of infirmity, calling for our pity, forbear- 
 ance, prayer, and help. In many instances, however, wilful igno- 
 rance, false shame that will not inquire, or a pertinacious adherence 
 to deep-rooted opinion is the source of the disease. Now such persons 
 must be roused, even at the hazard of wounding the conscience of 
 the more tenderly scrupulous. But as the one class decidedly sin, 
 and the other too frequently indulge their infirmity, the excitement 
 will probably be ultimately useful to both. Both need to have the 
 conscience enlightened; and to obtain "a right judgment in all 
 things" — by a more diligent " search in the Scriptures" — by " seek- 
 ing the law at the mouth of the priest''^ — and, above all, by earnest 
 prayer with the Psalmist — " Teach me good judgment and knowU 
 edgeP Thus they will discern between what is imperative, and 
 what is indifferent: what is lawful, and what is expedient. If 
 
 1 See Rom. xiv. 14. "To him that esteemeih anything to be unclean, (though clean by 
 the express appointment of God, Acts x. 9—15, 1 Tim. iv. 3—5, and only "unclean" 
 therefore by the misconception of conscience,) to him it is unclean," — i. e., he must not touch 
 it upon the ground of conscience, though the Gospel allowed the use of it, and it was an 
 infringement of Christian liberty to abstain from it. Thus did his ignorance make to 
 himself an occasion of sin. 
 
 2 Gal. V. 1, with iv. 9, 10. 3 Compare Rom. xiv. 20—23. 
 4 Mai. ii. 7. See the example of the primitive church, Acts xv, 1, 2. 
 
108 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 "whatsoever is not of faith is sin," then the only prospect of the 
 removal of the doubt will be increase of faith — that is, a more full 
 persuasion of the Divine warrant and instruction.^ " Howbeit there 
 is not in every one this knowledge ;"2 yet the exhortation speaks 
 alike to all — " Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ."^ Indeed the most favorable symptoms of 
 scrupulosity (except where the disease originates in external causes) 
 partake of the guilt of wilful ignorance ; because none can be said 
 sincerely to ask for ^'- good judgment and knmcledge^'' who do not 
 diligently improve all means of obtaining it. If, therefore, the scru- 
 pulous shrink from honestly seeking the resolution of their difficul- 
 ties in private conferences (where they are to be had) with ministers 
 or experienced Christians, so far they must be considered as wil- 
 fully ignorant. We would indeed " receive them," " bear with their 
 infirmities,"* and encourage them to expect relief from their hard 
 bondage in the way of increasing diligence, humility, and prayer. 
 While their minds are in doubt concerning the path of duty, their 
 actions must be imperfect and unsatisfactory. Let them, there- 
 fore, wait, inquire, and pray, until their way be made plain. This 
 done, let them act according to their conscience, allowing nothing 
 that it condemns, neglecting nothing which it requires. The re- 
 sponsibihty of error (should error be eventually detected) will not 
 be — the too implicit following of the guidance of conscience — but 
 the want of due care and diligence for its more clear illumination. 
 Generally, however, the rule will apply — "If thine eye be single, 
 thy whole body shall be full of light."^ 
 
 But, besides the scnipidous conscience, the imperfectly eidight- 
 ened conscience presents a case equally to be deprecated. Often 
 does it charge to a sinful source those incessant variations of feel- 
 ing, which originate in bodily indisposition, or accidental influence 
 of temptation. Sins of infirmity are confounded with sins of indul- 
 gence ; occasional with habitual transgressions of duty. Only a 
 part of the character is brought under cognizance ; and while short 
 comings or surprisals are justly condemned ; yet the exercise of 
 contrition, faith, love, and watchfulness, is passed by unnoticed. 
 Thus the Gospel becomes the very reverse of the appointment of 
 its gracious Author.^ It brings ashes for beauty, mourning for the 
 oil of joy, and the spirit of heaviness for the garment of praise. If 
 this evil is " not a sin unto death," it is " a sore evil under the sun," 
 which may often give occasion for the prayer — " Teach me good 
 judgment and knowledge f that, in the simplicity of fiiith, I may 
 be blessed with a tender conscience, and be delivered from the 
 bondage of a scrupulous, and from the perplexity of an unenliglit- 
 
 1 Rom. XIV. 5. « 1 Cor. viii, 7. ^ 2 Peter iii. 18. < Rom. xiv. 1 ; xv. 1. 
 
 * Matt. vi. 22, Compare Prov. xxiv. 5. For a similar view of this case, sec Baxter's 
 Christian Directory, Book. i. chap. iii. The sacrifices appointed for sins of ignorance 
 under the law, (Lev. iv.,) mark God's sense of this case; while the frequent breaches 
 of Christian unity and forbearance arising from it may well justify this extended consid- 
 eration of it. 
 
 6 Compare Isaiah Ixi. 3. 
 
VERSE 67. 189 
 
 ened conscience. Let my heart never condemn me where it ought 
 not. Let it never fail to condemn me where it ought. 
 
 But alas ! the perception of our need of tliis " good judgment 
 and knoioledge^^^ is far too indistinct and uninfluential. We need 
 to cry for these valuable blessings with deeper earnestness, and 
 more diligent and patient waiting upon God. Divine wisdom is a 
 treasury, that does not spend by giving ; and we may ask to be en- 
 riched to the utmost extent of our wants, "in full assurance of 
 faith." But this faith embraces the wliole revelation of God — the 
 commandments as well as the promises. And thus it becomes the 
 principle of Christian obedience. For can we believe these com- 
 mandments to be as they are represented — " holy, just, and good,^' 
 and not delight in them ?^ "In .those is continuance" — saith the 
 prophet — " and we shall be saved."*^ Convinced of their perfection, 
 acknowledging their obligations, loving them, and living in them, 
 we shall " come to full age" in the knowledge of the Gospel, and, 
 " by reason of use have our senses exercised to discern good and 
 evil"' 
 
 67. Before I was afflicted I went astray ; but now have I kept thy word. 
 
 The teaching of good judgment and knowledge will lead us to 
 deprecate, instead of desiring, a prosperous state. But should the 
 Christian, by the appointment of God, be thrown into this seductive 
 atmosphere, he will feel the prayer that is so often put into his lips, 
 most peculiarly expressive of his need — " In all time of our wealth 
 — Good Lord, ! deliver us /"^ A time of wealth is indeed a time 
 of special need. It is hard to restrain the flesh, when so many are 
 the baits for its indulgence. Such mighty power is here given to 
 the enemy, while our perception of his power is fearfully weakened ! 
 Many and affecting instances are recorded of the heart of the Lord's 
 people, in the deadening influence of a proud and worldly spirit.^ 
 But the unmitigated curse to the ungodly is written as with a sun- 
 beam for our warning — " When Jeshurun waxed fat, he kicked — I 
 spake unto thee in thy prosperity ; but thou saidst, I will not 
 hear."^ But how awful will be the period, when the question 
 shall speak to the conscience with all the poignancy of self-convic- 
 tion — " What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now 
 ashamed ?" What is the end of this flowery path ? " Death ?"^ 
 " Surely thou didst set them in slippery places : thou castest them 
 down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation as in 
 a moment ! They are utterly consumed with terrors l"^ " the pros- 
 perity of fools shall destroy them."^ 
 
 Our Saviour's allotment for his people — "In the world ye shall 
 have tribulation"'" — marks not less his wisdom than his love. This 
 is the gracious rod, by which he scourges back his prodigal children 
 
 1 Rom. vii. 12, with 22. 2 isa. Ixiv. 5. 3 Heb. v. 14. * Litany. 
 
 5 The histories of David, 1 Chron. xxi. 1 — 4; Solomon, 1 Kings xi. 1 — 8; Uzziah, 2 
 Chron. xxvi. 16; and Hezekiah, 2 Chron. xxxii. 25 — 32, will readily occur to the mind. 
 « Deut. xxxii. 15. Jer, xxii. 21. ? Rom. vi. 21. 8 psalm Ixxiii. 18, 19. 
 
 » Prov. i. 32. w John xvi. 33. Acts liv. 22. 1 Thess. ill 3. 
 
110 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 to himself. This is the wise discipline, by which he preserves them 
 from the poisoned sweetness of carnal allurements, and keeps their 
 hearts in a simple direction towards himself, as the well-spring of 
 their everlasting joy. With all of them this one method has been 
 pursued. All have been taught in one school. All have known 
 the power of affliction in some of its varied forms of inward conflict 
 or outward trouble. All have found a time of affliction a time of 
 love. All have given proof, that the pains bestowed upon them 
 have not been in vain. Thus did Manasseh in affliction beseech 
 " the Lord, and humble himself greatly before the Lord God of his 
 fathers."^ Thus also in afflictions the Lord "heard Ephraim be- 
 moaning himself ;"* and beheld Israel "seeking him early,"'' and 
 the forlorn wandering child casting a wishful, penitent look towards 
 his Father's house, as if the pleasures, that had enticed his heart 
 from home, were now embittered to the soul.* 
 
 And thus the Christian can give some account of the means by 
 which his Father is leading and preparing him for heaven. Per- 
 haps he did not at first see the reason.^ It was matter of faith, not 
 of consciousness. But in looking back, how clear the path, how 
 valuable the benefit — Before I was afflicted^ I went astray : but 
 nov) have I kept thy word. I never prized it before. I could, in- 
 deed, scarcely be said to know it. I never understood its comfort 
 until affliction expounded it to me. I never till now saw its suita- 
 bleness to my case. But what an heightened aggravation of guilt, 
 when these especial mercies fail of their gracious end — when van- 
 ity, worldliness, and sin still reign with uncontrolled sway ! Ah ! 
 when sinners are unhumbled "under the mighty hand of God" — 
 when they are afflicted, and not purged by affliction — when it is 
 said of them — " They received not correction"** — it seems the fore- 
 runner of that tremendous judgment — "Why should ye be stricken 
 any more."' 
 
 Heavenly Father! keep thy poor weak erring child from this 
 fearful doom. Let not that measure of prosperity, which thou 
 mayest be pleased to vouchsafe, prove my curse. But especially let 
 every cross, every affliction, which thou art pleased to mingle in my 
 cup, conform me more to my Saviour's image, restrain my heart 
 from its daily wanderings, and give thy holy ways and word to my 
 soul, and give me sweeter anticipations of that blessed home, where 
 I shall never wander more, but find my eternal happiness in " keep- 
 ing thy wordy 
 
 68. Thou art good, and doest good ; teach me thy statutes. 
 
 The blessed eflfects of chastisement, as a special instance of the 
 Lord's goodness, might naturally lead to a general acknowledg- 
 ment of the goodness of his character and dispensation. Judging 
 in unbelieving haste, of his providential and gracious dealings, fee- 
 
 1 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12. Compare Dan. iv. 36, 37. a Jer. xxxi. 18, 19. 
 
 3 Hopca V. 15 ; vi. 1,2. ♦ Luke xv. 16, 17. » See Heb. xii. 11. 
 
 s Zeph. iij. 2. f Isaiah i. 5. 
 
VERSE 68. Ill 
 
 ble sense imagines a frown, when the eye of faith discerns a smile, 
 upon his face ; and therefore in proportion as faith is exercised in 
 the review of the past, and the experience of the present, we shall 
 be prepared with the ascription of praise — '• Thou art goocl^ This 
 is indeed the expression^ — the confidence^ — the pleading^ — of faith. 
 It is the sweet taste of experience — checking the legality of the 
 conscience, the many hard and dishonorable thoughts of God, and 
 invigorating a lively enjoyment of him. Indeed ' this is the true 
 and genuine character of God. He is good^ — He is goodness. 
 Good in himself — good in his essence — good in the highest degree. 
 All the names of God are comprehended in this one of " GoodJ^'^ 
 All the acts of God are nothing else but the effluxes of his good- 
 ness, distinguished by several names according to the object it is 
 exercised about. When he confers happiness without merit, it is 
 grace. When he bestows happiness against merit, it is mercy. 
 When he bears with provoking rebels, it is long-sutfering. When 
 he performs his promise, it is truth. When he commiserates a dis- 
 tressed person, it is pity. When he supplies an indigent person, it 
 is bounty. When he succors an innocent person, it is righteous- 
 ness. And when he pardons a penitent person, it is mercy. All 
 summed up in this one name — Goodness. None so communica- 
 tively good as God. As the notion of God includes goodness, so the 
 notion of goodness includes diffusiveness. Without goodness he 
 would cease to be a Deity ; and without diffusiveness he would 
 cease to be good. The being good is necessary to the being God. 
 For goodness is nothing else in the notion of it but a strong incli- 
 nation to do good, either to find or to make an object, wherein to 
 exercise itself, according to the propension of its own nature. And 
 it is an inclination of communicating itself, not for its own interest, 
 but for the good of the object it pitcheth upon. Thus God is good 
 by nature ; and his nature is not without activity. He acts consist- 
 ently with his own nature ; — ' Thou art good, and doest good?''^^ 
 How easily is such an acknowledgment excited towards an earth- 
 ly friend ! Yet who has not daily cause to complain of the coldness 
 of his affections towards his God ? It would be a sweet morning's 
 reflection to recollect some of the innumerable instances, in which 
 the goodness of God has been most distinctly marked ; to trace them 
 in their peculiar application to our own need ; and above all to 
 mark, not only the source from which they come, but the channel 
 through which they flow. A view of covenant love does indeed 
 make the goodness of God to shine with inexpressible brightness 
 
 1 Heb. xi. 6. 2 Nahum i. 7. 8 Psalm xxv. 7 ; Ixxxvi. 5. 
 
 4 lb. xxxiv. 8, with Micah vii. 18. 
 
 5 The revealed " goodness" of God made to Moses in answer to his prayer — " I beseech 
 thee show me thy glory" — shows it to be not a single attribute, or a display of any par- 
 ticular feature of the Divine character, but rather the combined exercise of ail his perfec- 
 tions. Exodus xxxiii, 18, 19. with xxxiv. 5—7. 
 
 6 Charnock's Works, vol. i. 581, 585, 588. For another exquisite view (parallel, and 
 in some degree identical, with Charnock) of this " perfecting perfection, which crowns 
 and consumoaates all the rest," — see Howe's Works, 8vo, edit. 1822, viii. pp. 107 — 114. 
 
112 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 " in the face of Jesus Christ ;"* and often when the heart is con- 
 scious of backsliding, does the contemplation of this ^^ goodness'^ 
 under the influence of the Spirit, prove the Divinely-appointed 
 means of "leading us to repentance."^ Let us therefore wait on, 
 even when we see nothing. Soon we shall see, where we did not 
 look for it. Soon we shall find goodness unmingled — joy uncloud- 
 ed, unspeakable, eternal. 
 
 Meanwhile, though the diversified manifestations — the materials 
 of our happiness — in all around us — be countless as the drops of 
 sand and the particles of dew — yet without heavenly teaching they 
 only become occasions of our deeper misery and condemnation. It 
 is not enough that the Lord gives — he must teach us his statutes. 
 Divine truths can only be apprehended by Divine teaching. The 
 scholar, who has been longest taught, realizes most his need of this 
 teaching, and is most earnest in seeking it. Indeed " the earth is full 
 of the goodness of the Lord," yet we may be utterly ignorant of it. 
 The instances of goodness in the shape of a cross, we consider to 
 be the reflection on it. Nothing is goodness in our eyes that crosses 
 our own inclination. We can hardly bear to hear of the cross, 
 much more to take it up. We talk of goodness, but yield to discon- 
 tent. We do not profess to dislike trial — only the trial now pressing 
 upon us — any other cross than this — that is, my will and wisdom 
 rather than God's. Is there not therefore great need of this prayer 
 for Divine teaching, that we may discern singly the Lord's mercies 
 so closely crowded together, and make the due improvement of each? 
 Twice before had the Psalmist sent up this prayer and plea.^ Yet 
 he seems to make tho supplication ever new by the freshness and 
 vehemency of his desires. And let me ever make it new by the 
 remembrance of that one display of goodness, which casts every 
 other manifestation into the shade — " God so loved the world, that 
 he gave his only-begotten Son."^ 
 
 l^his constitutes of itself a complete mirror of infinite and ever- 
 lasting goodness — the only intelligent display of his goodness — the 
 only manifestation, that prevents from abusing it. What can I say 
 to this — but " Thou art good., and docst good f What may I not 
 then expect from thee ! ' " Teach me thy statutes^ Teach me the 
 Revelation of thyself — Teach me the knowledge of thy Son. For 
 " this is life eternal, that I might know thee, the only true God, and 
 Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." '* 
 
 69. The proud have forged a lie against me ; hut I will keep thy precepts with 
 
 my whole heart. 
 
 If the Lord does us good, we must expect Satan to do us evil. 
 Acting in his own character, as a " liar and a father of it,"* he read- 
 ily puts it into the hearts of his children to ^'^ forge lies agaifisf^ 
 the children of God ! But all is overruled by the ever-watchful 
 care and providence of God for the eventual good of his Church. 
 
 » 2 Cor. iv. 6. » Rom. ii. 4. ' Verses 12, 64. Comp. Pa. xxv. 8. 
 
 < John iii. 16. « lb. xvii. 3. • lb. viii. 44. 
 
VERSE 70. 113 
 
 The cross frightens the insincere, and removes them out of the way ; 
 while the steadfastness of his own people marvellously displays to 
 the world the power and triumph of faith. A most delightful source 
 of encouragement in this fiery trial is to take off the eye from the 
 objects of sense, and to fix it upon Jesus as our pattern, no less than 
 our life. For every trial, in which we are conformed to his suffer- 
 ing image, supplies to us equal direction and support. Do "^Ae 
 'proiid forge lies against us l"*^ So did they against him.* "The 
 disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above his Lord. It 
 is enough for the disciple that he be as his Master, and ithe servant 
 as his Lord. If they have called the Master of the house Beelze- 
 bub, how much more shall they call them of his household."^ " Con- 
 sider him therefore^ that endured such contradiction of sinners 
 against himself lest ye he wearied and faint in your minds^^ 
 
 But is it always " lies that are forged against us ?" Is there 
 no worldliness, or pride, or inconsistency in temper and walk, that 
 opens the mouths of the enemies of the Gospel, and causes " the 
 way of truth to be evil spoken of?"* Do they not sometimes say 
 all manner of evil against some of us, for Christ's sake ; yet alas ! not 
 altogether "falsely?"* " Woe unto the world, because of offences ! 
 for it must needs be that offences come ; but woe to that man by 
 whom the offence cometh !"<* If however the reproach of the world 
 be " the reproach of Christ," " let us hold fast the profession of our 
 faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised."' Insin- 
 cerity of heart can never support us to a consistent and persevering 
 endurance of the cross. A heart divided between God and the 
 world will ever be found faulty and backsliding.® Wholeness of 
 heart in the precepts of God adorns the Christian profession, awes 
 the ungodly world, realizes the full extent of the Divine promises, 
 and pours into the soul such a spring-tide of enjoyment, as more 
 than counterbalances all the reproach, contempt, and falsehood, which 
 the forge of the great enemy is employing against us with unceas- 
 ing activity, and relentless hatred. Yet forget not, believer, that 
 these proofs of the maUcious enmity of the proud must often be 
 received as the gentle stroke of your Father's chastisement. Let 
 the fruits of it then be daily visible in the work of mortification — 
 in the exercise of the suffering graces of the Gospel — in your grow- 
 ing conformity to his image — and in a progressive meetness for the 
 world of eternal uninterrupted love. 
 
 70. Their heart is as fat as grease : hut I delight in thy law. 
 
 An awful description of the hardened state of the proud forgers 
 of lies ! Yet not of their state only, but of every sinner who stands 
 out in wilful rebellion against God. The tremendous blow of Al- 
 mighty justice has benumbed his heart, so that the pressure of 
 mountains of sin and guilt is unfelt ! The heart is left of God, 
 
 1 Comp. Matt. ixvi. 59-61. 2 ib. x. -24, 25. 3 Heb. xU. 3. 
 
 ♦ 2 Peter ii. 2. 5 See Matt. v. 11. « lb. xviiL 7. 
 
 7 Heb, X. 23. » Comp. Hosea x. 2. Jer. iii. 10. 
 
 8 
 
114 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. < 
 
 " seared with a hot iron,"^ and therefore without tenderness ; " past 
 feehng ;"=^ unsoftened by the power of the word ; unhurnbled by the 
 rod of providential dispensations, given up to the heaviest of ail 
 spiritual judgments ! But it is of little avail to stifle the voice of 
 conscience, unless the same power or device could annihilate hell. 
 It will only " awake out of sleep, like a giant refreshed with wine,"' 
 and rage with tenfold interminable fury in the eternal world, from 
 the temporary restraint, which for a short moment had benumbed 
 its energy. Wilful resistance to the light of the Gospel, and the 
 strivings of the Spirit, constrained even from a God of love the mes- 
 sage of judicial abandonment — "Make the heart of this people fat, 
 and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes ; lest they see with 
 their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their 
 heart, and convert, and be healed."* Who then among us will not 
 cry. From hardness of heart, and contempt of thy word and com- 
 mandment, Good Lord ! deliver us P Tenderness is the first mark 
 of the touch of grace, when the heart becomes sensible of its own 
 insensibility, and contrite on account of its own hardness. ' Noth- 
 ing,' said Jerome, in a letter to a friend, ' makes my heart sadder, 
 than that nothing makes it sad.' But when " the plague of our 
 own heart" begins to be " known,"« and becomes matter of confes- 
 sion, humihation, and prayer ; the promise of "a new heart," is as 
 life from the dead."^ The subject of this promise delights in God's 
 laiv; and this, amidst the sometimes overwhelming power of nat- 
 ural corruption, gives a satisfactory witness of a change " from death 
 unto life." 
 
 Christian ! can you daily witness the wretched condition of the 
 ungodly, without the constraining recollection of humiliation and 
 love? What sovereign grace, that the Lord of glory should have 
 set his love upon one so vile !^ What mighty power to have raised 
 my insensible heart to that delight in his law, which conforms me 
 to the image of his dear Son !^ Deeply would I "abhor myself;" 
 and gladly would I acknowledge, that the service of ten thousand 
 hearts would be a poor return for such unmerited love. What, O 
 ''what shall I render to the Lord !"'° Prayer for them who are still 
 lying in death — praise for myself quickened from death. But what 
 can give the vital breath, pulse, feeling, and motion? " Come from 
 the four winds, O breath ; and breathe upon these slain, that they 
 may Hve.'"^ 
 
 Let us apply, for the purpose of daily self-examination, this de- 
 scription of the heart, either as given up to its natural insensibility, 
 or as cast into the new mould of " delight in the law of GodJ^ 
 Such an examination will prove to us, how much even renewed 
 souls need the transforming, softening influences of grace. " The 
 deceitfulness of sin hardens the heart""* to its original character, " as 
 fat as grease,^^ unfeeling, incapable of impression, without a divine 
 
 1 Tim. iv. 2. a Eph. iv. 18, 19. 3 Ps. Ixxviii. 66, P. T. < Isa. vi. 9, 10. 
 
 5 Litany. « 1 Kings viii. 38. "^ Ezek. xxxvi. 26. « Eph. ii. 4, 5. 
 
 » See Ps. xl. 8. " Ps. cxvu. 12. " Ezek. xxxvii. 9. ^2 Heb. iii. 13. 
 
VERSE 71. 115 
 
 touch. O Lord, let not my heart be unvisited for one day, one 
 hour, by that melting energy of love, which first made me feel, and 
 constrained me to love. 
 
 71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy 
 
 statutes. 
 
 If I mark in myself any difference from the ungodly — if I can 
 feel that my natural insensibihty is yielding to the influence of 
 grace — if 1 am enabled to " delight in God^s lawj'' which before I 
 had neglected as a " strange tiling,"^ if this softening transforma- 
 tion^ has been wrought in the school of affliction ; let me thankfully 
 acknowledge, " It is good for me that I have been affiictedP None 
 indeed but the Lord's scholars can know the benefit of this school, 
 and this teaching. The first lessons are usually learned under the 
 power of the words pricking and piercing the heart ; yet issuing in 
 joyous good.3 All special lessons afterward will probably be learned 
 here.^ ' I never.' said Luther, ' knew the meaning of God's word, 
 until I came into affliction. I have always found it one of my best 
 schoolmasters.'^ This teaching marks the sanctified from the un- 
 sanctified cross, explaining many a hard text, and sealing many a 
 precious promise — the rod expounding the word, and the Divine 
 Teacher effectually applying both. 
 
 Indeed, but for this discipline we should miss much of the mean- 
 ing and spiritual blessing of the word. For how can we have any 
 experimental acquaintance with the promises of God, under those 
 circumstances, for which the promises are made ? When, for ex- 
 ample, but in the day of trouble, could we understand the full 
 mercy of such a gracious word, " Call upon me in the day of trou- 
 ble : I will deliver thee^ and thou shall glorify meP^ And how 
 much more profitable is this experimental learning than mere 
 human instruction ! When therefore we pray for a clearer appre- 
 hension and interest in the blessed book, and for a deeper experi- 
 ence of its power upon our hearts ; we are in fact often uncon- 
 sciously supplicating for the chastening rod of our Father's love. 
 For it is the man " whom the Lord chasteneth, that he " teacheth 
 out of his law."^ Peter indeed, when on the mount of transfigura- 
 
 1 Hosea viii. 12. 2 Job xxiii. 16. 
 
 3 Acts ii. 37—47; xvi. 27—34. " See Job xxxvi. 8—10. 
 
 5 On another occasion, referring to some spiritual temptation on the morning of the 
 preceding day, he added to a friend (Justin Jonas,) " Doctor, I must mark the day ; I 
 was yesterday at school." Milner v. 484. In one of his works, he most accurately calls 
 affliction " the theology of Christians" — "theologium Christianorum." To the same pur- 
 port is the testimony of a learned French divine and tried saint of God — "I have learned 
 more divinity," said Dr. Rivet, confessing to God of his last days of affliction — " in these 
 ten days that thou art come to visit me, than I did in fifty years before. Thou hast 
 brought me to myself. ' Before I was afflicted I went astray,' and was in the world ; 
 but now I am conversant in the school of my God ; and he teacheth me after another 
 manner than all those doctors, in reading whom I spent so much time." — MiddUeton^s 
 Biog. Evan. iii. 238. 
 
 6 Psalm 1. 15. 
 
 T Psalm xciv. 12. The use of the word iraihia in the acceptation of chastening (LXX. 
 in this verse, and Heb. xii. 5.) is remarkable, as describing literally the instruction, by 
 "Which a child is trained to the acquisition of useful knowl^ge, which, however, not be- 
 
 /V^ OlriKB -"^\ 
 
116 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 tion, said, " It is gcod for us to be here. Let us build here three 
 tabernacles." Here let us abide in a state of comfort, indulgence, 
 and sunshine. But well was it added by the sacred historian, 
 " Not knowing what he said."^ The judgment of David was far 
 more correct, when he pronounced, that " it was good for hi7?i that 
 he had been afflicted.^'' For so often are we convicted of inattention 
 to the voice of the Lord — so often do we find ourselves looking back 
 upon forsaken Sodom, or lingering in the plains, instead of pressing 
 onward to Zoar,^ that the indulgence of our own liberty would 
 shortly hurry us along the pathway of destruction. Alas! often 
 do we feel the spirit of prayer to be quenched for a season by " a 
 heart overcharged with the cares of this life"^ — or by the over- 
 prizing of some lawful comfort — or by a temper inconsistent with 
 our Christian profession — or by an undue confidence in the flesh. 
 And at such season of backsliding, we must count among our 
 choicest mercies, the gracious discipline, by which the Lord schools 
 us with the cross, " that we may learn His statutes J^ 
 
 After all, however, this must be a paradox to the unenlightened 
 man. He can only " count it" all grief, not " alljoj/, when he falls 
 into divers temptations.'*'^ His testimony is — It is evil — not it is 
 good for me that I have been afflicted. And even God's children, as 
 we have before remarked, do not always take up this word while 
 smarting under the rod. The common picture of happiness is free- 
 dom from trouble, not, as Scripture describes it,^ the portion of trou- 
 ble. Yet how true is God's judgment, when it is the very end of 
 afiSiction to remove the source of all trouble,^ and consequently to 
 secure — not to destroy — solid happiness. Yet we must determine 
 the standard of real good by its opposition — not its accordance — to 
 our own fancy or indulgence. The promise of " every good thing" 
 may be fulfilled by a plentiful cup of affliction.^ Present evil may 
 be "working together for" ultimate " good."^ Let God take his 
 own way with us.^ Let us interpret his providences by his 
 covenant'" — his means by his end,^' and instead of fainting under 
 the sharpness of his rod, earnestly desire the improvement of it. 
 
 Are you, then, tried believer, disposed to regret the lessons you 
 have already learned in this school? Or have you purchased them 
 at too dear a cost ? Do you grieve over the bleedings of a contrite 
 heart, that have brought you under the care of the healing physi- 
 cian ? Or could you by any other way have obtained so rich a know- 
 ledge of his love, or have been trained to such implicit obedience to 
 his will? As Jesus, " though he were a Son, yet learned obedience 
 by the things that he suflered ;'"« so may we " rejoice, inasmuch as we 
 are partakers of his sufierings,"'^ and be thankful to learn the same 
 obedience, as the evidence and fruit of our conformity to him. 
 
 ing generally affected without chastening, accounts for the use of the word, to mark the 
 discipline which usually attends instruction. 
 
 >Lukeix. 33. a Compare Gen. xix. 17-23. < Luke xxi. 34. 
 
 « James i. 2. » Job v. 17. ' Isa. xxvii. 9. ^ Ps. xxxiv. 10, 19. 
 
 8 Rom. viii. 28. Comp. Jer. xxiv. 5. » lb. xxix. 11. John xvi. 6, 7. 
 
 » Gen. ixxii. 10—12. " James v, 11. 12 Heb. v. 8. " 1 Peter iv. 13. 
 
VERSE 72. 117 
 
 The Lord save us from the greatest of all afflictions, an affliction 
 lost !* " Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from 
 thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited."'* "He that 
 being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be de- 
 stroyed, and that without remedy."^ A caU to tremble and repent, 
 to watch and pray, and " turn to him that smiteth us !"* 
 
 Oh ! is there one of that countless throng surrounding the ever- 
 lasting throne, who has not sung, " It is good for me that I have 
 been afflicted ?" " And one of the elders answered, saying unto 
 me. What are these which are arrayed in white robes ? and whence 
 carne they ? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he 
 said unto me. These are they which came out of great tribulation^ 
 and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood 
 of the Lamb."« 
 
 72. The law of thy mouth is better unto me, than thousands of gold and silver. 
 
 Well might David acknowledge the benefit of affliction, since 
 he had thus ^^ lear?ied in God's statutes'^ something that was 
 " better to him, than thousands of gold and silver ^ This was 
 indeed an enlightened judgment for one to form, who had so small 
 a part of '• the law of Gods mouth^'' and so large a portion of this 
 world's treasure. And yet, if we study only his book of Psalms to 
 know the important uses and privileges of this law, and his son's 
 book of Ecclesiastes, to discover the real value of paltry gold and 
 silver,^ we shall, under Divine teaching, be led to make the same 
 estimate for ourselves. Yes, behever, with the same, or rather 
 with far higher delight than the miser calculates his " thousands 
 of gold and silver, ^^ do you tell out the precious contents of the 
 law of your God. After having endeavored in vain to count the 
 " thousands'^ in your treasure, one single name sums up their 
 value — " the unsearchable riches of Christ."^ Would not the 
 smallest spot of ground be estimated at " thousands of gold and 
 silver, ^^ were it known to conceal under its surface a mine of inex- 
 haustible treasure ? This it is that makes the word so inestimable. 
 It is the field of the " hidden treasure." " The pearl of great 
 price"^ is known to be concealed here. You would not therefore 
 part with one leaf of your Bible for all the " thousands of gold 
 and silver.''^ You know yourself to be in possession of the sub- 
 stance — you have found all besides to be a shadow. " 1 lead," 
 saith the Saviour, " in the way of righteousness, in the midst of 
 the paths of judgment; that I may cause them that love me to 
 inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.^^^ The grand 
 motive therefore in ''searching the Scriptures" is because "they 
 testify of Christ."'" A sinner has but one want — a Saviour. A be- 
 liever has but one desire — to " know and win Christ."'^ With a 
 " single eye," therefore, intent upon one point, he studies this blessed 
 
 1 Cornp. 1 Kings xiii. 33. 2 Chron. xxviii. 22. 2 Jer. vi. 8. 3 Prov. xix. 1. 
 
 4 Isaiah ix. 13. 5 Rev. vii. 13, 14. « Eccles. v. 9— 10 ; vi. 1, 2. 
 
 7 Eph. iii. 8. 8 Matt. xiii. 44—46. » Prov. viii. 20—21. 
 
 w John V. 39. " Phil. iii. 8—10. 
 
118 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 book. " With unveiled face he beholds in this glass the glory of 
 the Lord ;"' and no arithmetic can compute the price of that, which 
 is now unspeakably better to him than the treasures of the earth. 
 
 Christian ! bear your testimony to your supreme delight in the 
 book of God. You have here opened the surface of much intellec- 
 tual interest and sohd instruction. But it is the joy that you have 
 found in the revelation of the Saviour, in his commands, in his pro- 
 mises, in his ways, that leads you to exclaim, " More to be desired are 
 they than gold, yea, than much fine gold !"2 Yes, indeed — every 
 promise — every declaration — centering in him, is a pearl ; and the 
 word of God is full of these precious pearls. If then they be the 
 richest, who have the best and the largest treasure, those who have 
 most of the word in their hearts — not those who have most of the 
 world in their possession — are justly entitled to this pre-eminence. 
 *'Let then the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom."* 
 For those who are rich in this heavenly treasure are men of sub- 
 stance indeed. 
 
 True — this is a correct estimate of the worth of God's law — bet- 
 ter than this world's treasure. But is it better to me 7 Is this my 
 decided choice ? How many will inconsiderately acknowledge its 
 supreme value, while they yet hesitate to relinquish even a scanty 
 morsel of earth for an interest in it ! Do I then habitually prefer 
 '■Uhis law of God's moutK^ to every worldly advantage; am I 
 ready to forego every selfish consideration,^ if it may only be the 
 means of uniting my heart more closely to the Book of God? If 
 this be not my practical conviction, I fear I have not yet opened 
 the mine. But if I can assent to this declaration of the man of 
 God, I have made a far more glorious discovery than Archimides ; 
 and therefore may take up his expression of joyful surprise — ' I 
 have found it ! I have found it !' What? That which the world 
 could never have given me — that which the world can never de- 
 prive me of. 
 
 Yet how affecting is it to see men poor in the midst of great 
 riches ! Often in the world we see the possessor of a large treasure 
 — without a heart to enjoy it — virtually therefore a pauper. Oftener 
 still in the Church do we see professors (may it not be so with some 
 of us?) with their Bibles in their hands — yet poor even with the 
 external interest in its " unsearchable riches." Often also do we 
 observe a want of value for tJie whole law or revelation of God's 
 mouth. Some parts are highly honored to the depreciation of the 
 rest. But let it be remembered, that the whole of Scripture is 
 "Scripture given by inspiration of God, and therefore profitable" 
 for its appointed end.^ Oh ! beware of resting satisfied with a 
 scanty stock. How rich should we be, should we ponder only one 
 
 » 2 Cor. iii. 18. s Psalm xix. 10. . . . ' Co^- »•• 16- 
 
 * A Jewish Rabbi, when indaced by the prospect of a lucrative situation to fix his set- 
 tlement in a place where there was no synagogue, is said to have resisted the temptation 
 by the recollection of this verse. Poli Synopsis — in loco, A reproof to Christians, who, 
 in " choosing the bounds of their habitation," have not always eyed their Master's rule. 
 Matt. vi. 33. « 2 Tim. iii. 16. 
 
VERSE 73. 119 
 
 word of the law each day with prayerful meditation ! As you value 
 your progress and peace in the ways of God — as you have an eye 
 to your Christian perfection — put away that ruinous thought — true 
 as an encouragement to the weak,^ but false as an excuse to 
 the slothful^ — that a little knowledge is sufficient to carry us to 
 heaven. 
 
 And — Lord — help me to prize the law as coming from ^Hhy 
 mouthy^ Let it be for ever written upon my heart. Let me be 
 daily exploring my hidden treasures. Let me be enriching myself 
 and all around me with a present possession and interest in these 
 heavenly blessings. 
 
 PART X. 
 
 73. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me : give me understandings that 
 1 may learn thy commandments. 
 
 In the vast universe of wonder, man is the greatest wonder — 
 the noblest work of God. A council of the Sacred Trinity was 
 held respecting his creation — " God said, Let us make man in our 
 image, after our likeness."* Every part of creation bears the im- 
 press of God. Man — man alone — bears his image, his likeness. 
 Everywhere we see his track — his footsteps. Here we behold his 
 face. What an amazing thought, that the three Eternal subsist- 
 ents in the glorious Godhead, should have united in gracious de- 
 sign and operation towards the dust of the earth ! But thus man 
 was formed — thus was he raised out of his parent dust, from this 
 low original, to be the living temple and habitation of Divine glory 
 — a being full of God. The first moment that he opened his eyes 
 to behold the light and beauty of the new-made world, the Lord 
 separated him for his own service, to receive the continual supply 
 of his own life. His body was fitted as a tabernacle for his soul. 
 " curiously wrought" by the hand of God ; and all its parts and 
 " members written in his book, which in continuance were fash- 
 ioned, when as yet there was none of them." Most naturally 
 therefore does the contemplation of this " perfection of beauty" raise 
 the adoring mind upward — " I will praise thee ; for I am fearfully 
 and wonderfully made ; marvellous are thy works ; and that my 
 soul knoweth right well."^ " Thj/ hands have made me and 
 fashioned meP 
 
 Could we suppose that man was framed to eat, to sleep, and to 
 die — that, after taking a few turns upon the grand walk of life, he 
 
 1 Zech. iv. 10. " 2 prov. xiii. 4. 3 i Thess. il 13. 
 
 * Gen. i, 26. 5 Psalm cxxxk. 14—16. 
 
120 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX, 
 
 was to descend into the world of eternal silence, we might well ask 
 the question of God — " Wherefore hast thou made all men in 
 vain ?"^ But the first awakening of man from his death-hke sleep 
 enlightens him in the right knowledge of the end of his creation. 
 If I am conscious of being the workmanship of God, I shall feel 
 my relationship to him, and the responsibility of acting according 
 to it. I would plead then this relation before him in asking for 
 hght, life, and love. I cannot serve thee as a creature, except I 
 be made a new creature. Give me a spiritual being, without which 
 my natural being cannot glorify thee. Thou hast indeed " curi- 
 ously wrought" my frame ; but sin has marred all. Make me thy 
 spiritual " workmanship, created in Christ Jesus."^ " Give me un^ 
 derstanding^'' — spiritual knowledge, " that I may learn thy coin- 
 m^indments^'' — " Renew a right spirit within me."^ 
 
 But the natural man feels no need of this prayer. No, he is 
 puffed up in his own wisdom. He cannot receive the divine testi- 
 mony, which levels him, while he " understandeth not," with " the 
 beasts that perish,"* and tells him, that he must " become a fool, 
 that he may be wise."^ But should he ever know his new state of 
 existence, he will offer up this prayer eagerly and frequently ; and 
 every step of his way heavenward he will feel increasing need of 
 Divine " wisdom and spiritual understanding." 
 
 How does the song of heaven remind us of this end of our crea- 
 tion ! — " Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, 
 and power ; for thou hast created all things ; and for thy pleasure 
 they are and were created. '■• In harmony with this song we must 
 acknowledge, that the "Lord hath made all things for himself "^ — 
 that he " created all things for his glory."^ And the recollection 
 that he " created us by Jesus Christ,"^ brings before us the grand 
 work of redemption, and the work of the new creation consequent 
 upon it. He who created us in his own image, when that image 
 was lost, that he might not lose his property in us, put a fresh seal 
 upon his natural right, and " purchased us with his own blood." 
 Oh ! let us not be insensible to this constraining motive to " learii 
 his c(ymmandmentsP "Ye are not your own, for ye are bought 
 with a price ; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, 
 which are God's."^" 
 
 74, They that fear thee vnll be glad when they see me ; because I have hoped 
 
 in thy word. 
 
 How cheering is the sight of a man of God ! How refreshing 
 his converse ! How satisfactory and enlivening is the exhibition 
 of his faith ! The goodness of God to one becomes thus the joy 
 and comfort of all. What an excitement is this to close commu- 
 nion with our God, that the light which we thus receive will shine 
 on those around us ! What a comfort will it be, even in our own 
 
 » Ps. Ixxxix. 47. 2 Eph. ii. 10. 3 Pa. U. 10. * lb. xlix. 30. 
 
 » 1 Cor. iii. 18. • Rev. iv, 11. "" Prov. xvi. 4. 8 isa. xliii. 7. 
 
 • Eph. iii. 9. Col. i. 16. John i. 1—3. " 1 Cor. vL 19, 20. 
 
VERSE 74. 121 
 
 hour of temptation, that the hope which we may then be enabled 
 to maintain in the word of God, shall prove the stay, not only of 
 our own souls, but of the Lord's people ! Many a desponding 
 Christian, oppressed with such fears as this — "I shall one day 
 perish by the hand of Saul,"* — when he hears of one and another 
 exercised in the same trials, and who have " hoped in GocPs word,^^ 
 and have not been disappointed, " loill be glad when he sees themP 
 Thus David recorded his conflicts, that we may not despair of our 
 own; and his triumphs, that "in the name of our God we might 
 set up our banners"^ — " I had fainted, unless I had believed to see 
 the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the 
 Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart : wait, 
 I say, upon the Lord."^ Thus also, under affliction, he was com- 
 forted with the thought of comforting others with the history of his 
 own experience — " iWy soul shall make her boast in the Lord: 
 the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. O praise the Lord 
 with 7?ie, and let us magnify his natne together. He hath put a 
 new song into my mouth, even praise unto our God. Many shall 
 see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Bring my soul out of 
 prison, that I may praise thy name ; the righteous shall compass 
 me about, for thou shalt deal bountifully with me."* 
 
 In this view, the believer, who has been "sifted in the sieve" of 
 temptation, without the least "grain" of faith or hope "faUing 
 upon the earth,"^ stands forth as a monument of the Lord's faith- 
 fulness, to "strengthen the weak hands, and confirm the feeble 
 knees, and to say to them that are of a feeble heart, Be strong, fear 
 not."« Those that are "fearful, and of little faith," '■^ are glad 
 when they see him.^^ They " thank God" for him, and " take 
 courage"^ for themselves. What a motive is this to keep us from 
 despondency ; that instead of destroying, by our unbelief, those who 
 are already " cast down," we may enjoy the privilege of upholding 
 their confidence, and ministering to their comfort! And how 
 should the weak and distressed seek for and prize the society of 
 those, who have been instructed by the discipUne of the Lord's 
 school ! 
 
 Believer ! what have you to tell to your discouraged brethren of 
 the faithfulness of your God 1 Cannot you put courage into their 
 hearts, by declaring that you have never been " ashamed of your 
 hope?" Cannot you tell them from your own experience, that 
 Jesus "is for a foundation-stone, a tried stone, a sure foundation 7"^ 
 Caimot you sbow them, that, because he has borne the burden of 
 their sins, he is able to " bear their griefs, and to carry their sor- 
 rows'/"^ that you have tried him, and that you have found him so? 
 Oh! be animated to know more of Christ yourself; let your hope 
 in him be strengthened, that you may cause gladness in the hearts 
 of those that see you ; so that " whether you be afflicted, or 
 
 > 1 Sam. xxni. 1. 2 Psalm xx. 5. 3 lb. xxvii. 13, 14. 
 
 * lb. xxxiv. 2, 3 ; xl. 3 ; cxlii. 7. Compare also Ixix. 30—32. ^ Amos ix. 9. 
 
 6 Isa. XXXV. 3, 4. 7 Acts xxviii, 15. 8 isa. xxvi. 16. » lb. liii. 4. 
 
122 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 whether you be comforted, it may be for their consolation and 
 salvation."^ 
 
 But O my God ! how much cause have I for shame, that I im- 
 part so httle of thy glorious hght to those around me. Perhaps 
 some poor trembling sinner " has been glad when he saw me," 
 hoping to hear something of the Saviour from my lips, and has 
 found me straitened, and cold, and dumb. Oh ! that I may be so 
 " filled with the Spirit," so experienced in thy heavenly ways, that 
 I may invite " all that fear thee to come to me," that I may " tell 
 them what thou hast done for my soul;"^ so that, "when men are 
 cast down, they may say, There is lifting up."' 
 
 75. Ikncnv, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness 
 
 hast afflicted me. 
 
 This is the Christian's acknowledgment — fully satisfied with 
 the dispensations of God. This is his confidence — so invigorating 
 to his own soul — so cheering to the Church. The Lord's dealings 
 are called his judgments — not as having judicial curses, but as 
 the acts of his justice in the chastening of sin."* Perhaps also — as 
 the administration of his wise judgment in their measure and ap- 
 plication.^ But here is not only the confession of the Lord's gene- 
 ral judgment, but of his espedal f ait hf illness to himself. And this 
 he knew^noi from the dictates of the flesh, (which would have 
 given a contrary verdict,) but from the testimony of the word/ and 
 the witness of his own experience.'^ It could not be doubted — 
 much less denied — ^ I know, O Lord, that thy rules of proceeding 
 are agreeable to thy perfect justice and wisdom ; and I am equally 
 satisfied, that the afflictions that thou hast laid upon me from time 
 to time, are only to fulfil thy gracious and faithful promise of 
 making me eternally happy in thyself.' Blessed fruit of aflfliction ! 
 when we can thus " see the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very 
 pitiful, and of tender mercy" — that his " thoughts towards us are 
 thoughts of peace, and not of evil !"^ " The patience and faith of 
 the saints" teach this difficult but most consoling lesson in decipher- 
 ing the mysterious lines in God's providence. 
 
 The child of God, under the severest chastisement, must ac- 
 knowledge justice. Our gracious reward is always more — our 
 " punishment always less, than our iniquities deserve."^ "Where- 
 fore should a living man complain ?"'° In trouble, indeed — but not 
 in hell. If he complain, let it be of none but himself, and his own 
 wayward choice. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right 
 — and who can doubt the wisdom ? Who would charge the ope- 
 rator with cruelty, in cutting out the proud flesh that was bringing 
 death upon the man? Who would not acknowledge the right 
 judgment of his piercing work ? Thus, when the Lord's painful 
 work separates us from our sins, weans us from the world, and 
 
 » 2 Cor. i. 6. 2 Psalm Ixvi. 16. 3 Job xxu. 29. < 1 Peter iv. 17. 
 
 8 Jer. X. 24. Comp. Isa. xxvii. 8. « Deut. xxxii. 4. "> Verse 137; cxlv. 17. 
 
 8 James v. 11. Jer. xxix. 11. » Ezra ix. 18. Comp. Job xi. 6. ^° Lam. iii. 39. 
 
VERSE 75. 123 
 
 brings us nearer to himself, what remains for us, but thankfully to 
 acknowledge his righteousness and truth ? Unbelief is put to re- 
 buke ; and we, of any suspicion " that God has forgotten to be 
 gracious," must confess, "This is our infirmity."^ 
 
 This assurance of the Lord's perfect justice, wisdom, and intimate 
 knowledge of our respective cases, leads us to yield to his appoint- 
 ments in dutiful silence. Thus Aaron, under his most afflictive 
 domestic calamity, " held his peace."* Job under a similar dispen- 
 sation was enabled to say, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath 
 taken away : blessed be the name of the Lord !"^ Eli's language 
 in the same trial was, " It is the Lord ; let him do what seemeth 
 him good."* David hushed his impatient spirit, " I was dumb ; I 
 opened not my mouth, because thou didst it." And when Shimei 
 cursed him, he said, " Let him alone ; let him curse ; for the Lord 
 hath bidden him."^ The Shunammite, in the meek resignation of 
 faith, acknowledged, " It is well."" Hezekiah kissed the rod, while 
 it was smiting him to the dust, " Good is the word of the Lord 
 which thou hast spoken."^ Thus uniform is the language of the 
 Lord's people under chastisement, I know , O Lord^ that thy judg- 
 ments are right. 
 
 But the confession of justice may be mere natural conviction.^ 
 Faith goes further, and speaks of faithfidness. David not only 
 acknowledges God's right to deal with him as he saw fit, and even 
 his wisdom in dealing with him as he actually had done, but his 
 faithfulnes in afflicting — not his faithfulness, though he afflicted 
 — but in afflicting him; not as if it were consistent with his love, 
 but as the fruit of his love. It is not enough, to justify God. 
 What abundant cause is there to praise him ! It is not enough to 
 forbear to murmur. How exciting is the display of his faithfid- 
 ness and love ! Yes — the trials appointed for us are none else 
 than the faithful performance of his everlasting engagements. And 
 to this cause we may always trace (and it is our privilege to believe 
 it, where we cannot visibly trace it) the reason of much that is 
 painful to the flesh. ^ Let us only mark its gracious effects in our 
 restoration^" — instruction" — healing of our backslidings,^* ^^d the 
 continual purging of sins^^ — and then say, ' Is not the faithfulness 
 of God gloriously displayed V The Philistines could not under 
 stand Samson's riddle — how " Meat could come out of the eater, 
 and sweetness out of the strong."** As little can the world compre 
 hend the fruitfulness of the Christian's trials ; how his gracious 
 Lord sweetens to him the bitter waters of Marah,*° and makes the 
 cross not so much the puishment, as the remedy of sin. He finds 
 therefore no inclination, and he feels that he has no interest in 
 
 J Psalm Ixxvii. 7—10. 2 Lev. x. 1—3. 3 job i. 21. Comp. ii. 10. 
 
 < 1 Sam. iii. 18. 5 Psalm xxxix. 9. 2 Sam. xvi. 11, 12. « 2 Kings iv. 26. 
 
 f Isa. xxxix. 8. 8 Exod. ix. 27. Judges i, 7. 2 Chron. xii. 6. 
 
 9 Psalm Ixxxix;. 30—32. Deut. viii. 16. Comp. Psalm cvii. 43. 
 ^° Verse 67, and texts referred to on that verse. " Verse 71, and texts. 
 
 12 Rosea ii. 6, 7, 14. ^^ isa. xxvii. 9 ; xlviii, 10. Zech. xiii. 9. John xv. 2. 
 
 M Judges xiv. 14. is See Exodus xv. 23—25. 
 
124 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 having any change made in the Lord's appointments, painful as 
 they may be to the flesh. He readily acknowledges that his mer- 
 ciful designs could not have been accomplished in any other way ; 
 while under trials many sweet tokens of love are vouchsafed, which, 
 under circumstances of outward prosperity, could not have been 
 received with the same gratitude and delight. 
 
 You that are living at ease in the indulgence of what this poor 
 world can afford, how little does the Christian envy your portion ! 
 How surely in some future day will you be taught by experience 
 to envy his ! The world's riches are daily becoming poorer, and 
 its pleasures more tasteless. And what will they be, and how will 
 they appear, when eternity is at hand ! Whereas affliction is the 
 special token of our Father's love,' conformity to the image of Jesus, 
 and preparation for his service and kingdom. It is the only bless- 
 ing that the Lord gives, without requiring us to ask for it.^ We 
 receive it therefore as promised, not as threatened ; and when " the 
 peaceable fruits of righteousness,"* which it worketh in God's time 
 and way, spring up in our hearts, humbly and gratefully will we 
 acknowledge the righteousness of his ''' judgments j^"* and the '■^faith- 
 fubiess" of his corrections. 
 
 76. Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness he for my comfort, according to thy 
 word unto thy servant. 
 
 What ! does the Psalmist then seek his comfort from the very 
 hand that strikes him? This is genuine faith, "Though he slay 
 me, yet will I trust in him."* The very arm that seems to be up- 
 lifted for my destruction, shall be to me the arm of salvation. 
 
 Several of the preceding verses have spoken of affliction.^ The 
 Psalmist now prays for alleviation under it. But of what kind? 
 He does not " beseech the I^ord, that it might depart from him."« 
 No. His repeated acknowledgments of the supports vouchsafed 
 under it, and the benefits he had derived from it, had reconciled him 
 to commit its measure^ and continuance to the Lord. All that he 
 needs, and all that he asks for, is, a sense of his ^^??ierciful kind- 
 ness'^ upon his soul. Thus he submits to his justice in accumulated 
 trials, and expects consolation under them solely upon the ground 
 of his free favor. Indeed it is hard to hold on under protracted af- 
 fliction without this precious support. Patience may restrain mur- 
 muring — but a sense of love alone keeps from fainting. Holiness 
 is our service — affliction is our exercise — comfort is our gracious 
 reward. All the candles in the world, in the absence of the sun, 
 can never make the day. The whole earth in its brightest visions 
 of fancy, destitute of the Lord's love, can never cheer nor revive the 
 
 1 Heb. xii. 6. Rev. iii. 19. 
 
 2 Phil. i. 29. Lord Bacon somewhere remarks, " that, however temporal prosperity 
 may have been promised to the Church under the Old Testament; affliction, and suffer- 
 ing, and trial, are the promises made to the Church under the Gospel dispensation. 
 
 3 Such as patience, experience, hope — the work of tribulation. Heb. xii. 11, with 
 Rom. V. 3—5. 
 
 4 Job xiii. 15. » Verses 67, 71 , 75. « 2 Cor. xii. 8. 7 Jer. x. 24. 
 
VERSE 76. 125 
 
 soul. Indeed it matters little where we are, or what we have. In 
 the fulness of refreshing ordinances, unless the Lord meets us, and 
 blesses us with his ^^ merciful kindness for our comfort J^ it is "a 
 thirsty land, where no water is." Absalom might as well have 
 been at Geshur as at Jerusalem, so long as he "saw not the king's 
 face."* Notliing that the Lord " gives us richly to enjoy," will sat- 
 isfy, if this source of refreshment be withheld. The worldling's in- 
 quiry is — '• who will show us any good V The Christian forms his 
 answer into a prayer — "Lord ! lift thou up the light of thy coun- 
 tenance upon me."2 " Let thy ^nerciful kindness be for my com- 
 forty This gives the enjoyment of every real good, and supplies 
 the place of every fancied good. It is a blessing that never cloys, 
 and will never end : and every fresh taste quenches the thirst for 
 earthly pleasures. " Whosoever drinketh of this water" — said our 
 Divine Saviour — " shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the 
 water that I shall give him shall never thirst l"^ " Delight thyself 
 in the Lord ; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."* 
 
 But, reader, do you wish to realize this comfort ? Then seek to 
 approach your God by the only way of access. Learn to contem- 
 plate him in the only glass in which a God of love is seen — " in 
 the face of Jesus Christ."^ Guard against looking for comfort from 
 any other source. Beware especially of that satisfaction in creature 
 cisterns, which draws you away from " the fountain of living waters."* 
 Learn also to prize this comfort supremely, and not to be content 
 without some enjoyment, or even with a scanty measure of enjoy- 
 ment ; but rather let every day's refreshment be made a step for 
 desiring and attaining renewed and sweeter refreshment for to- 
 morrow. Some, however, appear to look at David's experience, as 
 if at present they could hardly expect to reach its happiness : and 
 so they go on in a low, depressed, and almost sullen state, refusing 
 the privileges, which are as freely offered to them as to others. But 
 such a state of mind is highly dishonorable to God. Let them 
 earnestly plead their interest in the word of promise, ^^ According to 
 thy word unto thy servant^ Let them lay their fingers upon one 
 or all of the promises of. their God. Let them spread before the 
 Lord his own hand-writing and seals ; and their Saviour hath said, 
 "According to your faith be it unto you."' "The king is held in 
 
 1 Compare 2 Sara. xiv. 23, 24. 2 Psalm iv. 6. 3 John iv. 13, 14. 
 
 4 Psalm XXX vii. 4. 5 2 Cor. iv. 6. Compare John xiv. 6. « Jer. ii. 13. 
 
 "> Matt. ix. 29. The vt^riter cannot forbear indulging himself with a transcript of the 
 prayers of Monica, Augustine's mother, as a beautiful example of this earnestness and 
 simplicity of faith in pleading the promises of the word — "Lord, these promises were 
 made to be made good to some, and, why not to me*? I hunger; I need; I thirst; I 
 wait. Here is thy hand- writing in thy word; and in the last sacrament, I had thy seal 
 affixed to it. I am resolved to be as importunate till I have obtained, and as thankful 
 afterwards, as by thy grace I shall be enabled; being convinced that I am utterly lost 
 and undone, if thou hearest not the desires of the humble ; and if thou dost hear and 
 grant, I am so well acquainted with myself and with my own heart, that I have nothing 
 to glory in ; but I shall wholly glory in the Lord ; and I do resolve and believe, that I 
 shall to all eternity celebrate and magnify the riches of thy grace. Thy promises are the 
 discoveries of thy purposes, and vouchsafed as materials for our prayers ; and in my sup- 
 plications I am resolved every day to present and tender them back to thee ; and if thou 
 
126 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 the galleries;"* and, if he should "make as though he would -go 
 farther," he is willing that we should " constrain him, saying, Abide 
 with us."2 No veil now but the veil of unbelief need hinder us 
 from seeing an unclouded, everlasting smile of " Tnerciful kijidness^ 
 upon our heavenly Father's reconciled face. Only let us see to it, 
 that he is the first, the habitual object of our contemplation, the 
 satisfying well-spring of our delight — that he is the one desire, to 
 which ever other is subordinate, and in which every other is ab- 
 sorbed. 
 
 Lord Jesus ! I would seek for a renewed enjoyment in " thy mer- 
 ciful ki?idnessJ' I would not forget that it was this that brought 
 thee down from heaven — that led thee to endure the death of the 
 cross — that has washed me in thy precious blood — that visits me 
 with many endearing tokens of thy love. O let all my days be 
 spent in the sense of this ^^ merciful kindness for my cornfort^^'' and 
 in rendering to thee the unworthy returns of grateful, filial service. 
 
 77. Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live j for thy law is my 
 
 delight. 
 
 Sin is no light trouble to the man of God. Mercy, therefore, is 
 to him no common blessing. Never can he have — never can he 
 ask enough. Hence his repeated cries. Mercy brought him out 
 of sin and misery. Mercy keeps — holds him on — assures him to 
 the end.^ Every blessing comes in the way of mercy.'' The most 
 careful " walker according to the Gospel rule,"« needs mercy. The 
 elect are " vessels of mercy"" — filled up to the brim with mercy. 
 The crown of glory at last is received at the hands of mercy.' 
 
 The distinguishing character of God is, that his mercies are ten- 
 der mercies^ — a father's pitying^ — yearn ing*" — mercies. When his 
 returning prodigal expected probably upbraiding looks, if not a 
 frown of banishment, how did these tender mercies bring, not only 
 his sins, but also his very confessions in the depths of the sea, and 
 welcome him without a cloud to his forsaken home !" The same 
 tender consideration puts away from his children all anxiety re- 
 specting " what they shall eat, or what they shall drink, or where- 
 withal they shall be clothed."*^ As a Father, he also " chasteneth"'^ 
 them — " he sufiereth their manners"** — he " spareth them, as a man 
 spareth his own son that serveth him ;"'5 — and finally, he determin- 
 
 wilt have regard to them, and appear to be a 'God of truth' to my soul ; a poor creature, 
 that hath long feared to burn in hell for hypocrisy, will be secured and made happy for 
 ever. I am resolved to wait upon thee, and to cast down my soul upon thee in thia 
 way ; and thou hast assured me, thou art a ' God of judgment.' Thou didst promise in 
 judgment. Thou knewest what thou didst in making such promises; and thou wilt be 
 a 'God of judgment;' thou knowest when and where to make t'hem good; and thou 
 hast pronounced—' Blessed arc all they that wait for thee.' On thee I will wait, and for 
 this blessing I will hope and look." 
 
 1 Can. vii. 5; also vi. 5. 
 
 2 Compare Luke xxiv. 28, 29, with Gen. xxxii. 26—29. Compare the invitation given, 
 Can. iv. 16, instantly accepted, v. I. 
 
 3 Psalm cxxxviu. 8. < lb. cxxxvi. 23—25. 6 Gal. vi. 16. 
 
 6 Rom. ix. 23. 7 Matthew xxv. 34. ^ pgalm li. 1 ; Ixxix. 8. 
 
 • lb. ciii. 13. 10 Hosea xi. 8. Jer. xixi. 20. " Compare Luke xv. 20—24. 
 
 » Matt. vi. 25—34. " Deut. viU. 5. " Acts liu. 18. ^ Mai. ill 17. 
 
VERSE 78. 127 
 
 eth respecting each of them by an act of sovereign power — " Thou 
 shalt call me, My Father, and shalt not depart from me."^ In a 
 yet more endearing character he speaks — "As one whom his 
 mother comforteih^ so will I comfort you. They may forget ; yet 
 will 1 not forget thee.*'* 
 
 Yet have we no just apprehension of these tender mercies, unless 
 they come unto us. In the midst of the wide distribution, let me 
 claim my interest. Let them come unto m^e.^ Praised be God ! 
 the way is open to me. The mere report is unfruitful. I cannot 
 speak of them with glow and unction. The application of them 
 is life — not the mere breathing of spiritual existence, but the life 
 of my life — the living principle of devotedness and enjoyment — 
 living to and for God in every form and sphere, in every hour and 
 action of the day; my feebleness becoming strength in the Lord ; 
 " walking up and down in his name."^ This truly is " reigning 
 in life ;"« rising to more of its honor and dignity, and reaching forth 
 to more of its excellence and happiness. 
 
 But let us not lose sight of the abundant overflowing spring, 
 from which our life is maintained. In Christ was life ;« and he 
 " came that we might have life, and that we might have it more 
 abundantly."' There cetn be, therefore, no exercises of life without 
 a vital union to Christ — the source of life. Shall we then give up 
 the hope of believing in Christ, till we feel the influence of this spir- 
 itual principle ? This would be indeed like refusing to abide in 
 the vine, till we could bring forth fruit ; whereas the branch, while 
 separated from the vine, must ever be fruitless and withered.^ We 
 must receive life fro?n Christ, 7iot bring it to him. Faith im- 
 plants us in him ; and " Christ dwelling in the heart by faith" 
 becomes the life of the soul, animating it in the ways of God.^ 
 
 This life, therefore, will manifest itself in delight in God^s law. 
 We shall not be satisfied to Uve upon the mere surface of the Gos- 
 pel (which is barren and unproductive, as any other surface, in spir- 
 itual usefulness,) but we shall search into its hidden treasures, and 
 draw forth its real life and consolation. This ^^ delighf^ will 
 furnish a plea for our use at the throne of grace. ' If this is the 
 fruit and acting of the life of thine own implanting. Lord ! cherish 
 it. Let me live by the influence of " thy tender mercies.^^ I ven- 
 ture to plead my delight in thy law, as an evidence of my adoption 
 into thy family. And, therefore, I would renew my plea and my 
 petition — " Let thy tender m,ercies come unto me, that" my life 
 may be not only existence, but enjoyment — the beginning, the 
 earnest of the everlasting life and bliss of heaven.' 
 
 78. Let the proud he ashamed ; for they dealt perversely loith me without a 
 cav^e : hut I will meditate in thy precepts. 
 
 The prophecy with which God himself condescended to open the 
 
 1 Jer. iii. 19. 2 isa. Ixvi, 13 ; xlix. 15. 3 Verse 41. < Zech. x. 12. 
 
 5 Rom. V. 17. 6 John i. 4. 7 lb. x. 10. 8 lb. xv. 4r— 6. 
 
 9 Compare Gal. ii. 20, with Ezek, ixxvL 27. 
 
128 EXPOSITION OF PSALM K3XIX. 
 
 history of the Church, has ever since been in the course of accom- 
 phshment.i " Enmity between the seed of the serpent and the 
 seed of the woman," has been the prevaiUng character and course 
 of the world. " An unjust man is an abomination to the just ; and 
 he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked."'^ 
 David, however, prayed for the confusion of his enemies — not in a 
 vindictive spirit, as if thirsting for their destruction ; but as opening 
 the way for his own more free service of God.^ and as a chastening, 
 that might eventually turn to their salvation — " Fill their faces 
 with shame, that they may seek thy name^ O Lord.^'^ That his 
 prayer was the expression of his tender compassion, rather than of 
 resentful feeling, is sufficiently evident from his affectionate weep- 
 ing concern for their immortal interests.^ Prayers of the same de- 
 precating character dropped from the lips of the gentle and com- 
 passionate Saviour :^ while the objects of his awful deprecations 
 were interested in the most yearning sympathies of his heartJ A 
 regard also for the honor of God dictated this prayer. David knew 
 that the malice of his enemies against him was only the working 
 of their enmity against God ; that it was not so much him that 
 they hated and persecuted, as God in him. And therefore as a 
 servant of God he could appeal — " Do not I hate them, O Lord, 
 that hate thee ? and am not 1 grieved at those that rise up against 
 thee? / hate them with perfect hatred ; I count them Qniiie 
 enemies.'^^ The followers of a despised Saviour must indeed expect 
 to be sorely distressed with the perverseness of the proud. But 
 when, like their Master, they can testify that it is ^^ without a 
 cause^^^ how cheering are their Master's words ! " Blessed are ye, 
 when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all 
 manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice, and be 
 exceeding glad ; for great is your reward in heaven."^" 
 
 And have you, reader, been exercised with trials from an ungodly 
 world ? Has the derision of the proud, or the slight or ill-treatment 
 of the ungodly, never excited revengeful feelings within ? Have 
 you always been enabled to set your Saviour's example before you, 
 and, "in patience possessing your soul," to refer your cause to.- your 
 Almighty Friend ? " O Lord, I am oppressed, undertake for me."*^ 
 Remember he has engaged to take up your cause — " Shall not God 
 avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though 
 he bear long with them ! / tell you that he will avenge them 
 speedily. ''''^'^ 
 
 But learn in the hour of trial where to go, and what to do. Go 
 to the word of God for direction and support. " Meditate in his 
 precepts.''' There is often a hurry of mind in times of difficulty, 
 which unhinges the soul from the simple exercise of faith. But 
 habit brings practice, and steadiness, and simplicity, enabling us 
 
 1 Gen. iii. 15. Compare Rev. xii. 17. * Pro v. xxix. 27. 
 
 3 Verse 134. < Psalm Ixxxiii. 16. « Verses 53, 136, 158. 
 
 • Psalm Ixix. 21— 28. t Comp. Matt, xxiii. 37. » Psalmcxxxix.21,22. 
 
 8 lb. XXXV. 19 ; Ixix. 4, with John xv. 25. " Matthew v. 11 , 12. 
 
 " Iswah xxiviii. 14. Compare Psalm cxl. 12, 13. *« Luke xviji. 7, 8. 
 
VERSE 79. 129 
 
 most sweetly to fix our hearts upon the word of God, and to apply 
 its directions and encouragements to the present exigency. Our 
 enemies fight against us with an arm of flesh. We resist them 
 with the armor of the word of God. And how inestimably precious 
 is the armor, refuge, strength, and consolation, here provided for us, 
 against every effort to disturb our peace, "or separate our hearts 
 from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord !" 
 
 79. Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have Tcnown thy tes- 
 timonies. 
 
 As the believer finds trouble from the world, he prays that he 
 may find help from the Lord's people. The very sight of our Fa- 
 ther's family is cheering. It brings not only fellowship but help. 
 For the wise distribution of gifts in the body — each having his own 
 gift — were ordained for the mutual help and sympathy of the 
 several members.^ It is painful therefore to see Christians often 
 walking aloof from each other, and suffering coldness, distance, 
 and mutual differences and distrust to divide them from their bre- 
 thren. Who then will not pray that he who has the hearts of all 
 his people in his hand, would " turn the hearts of those that fear 
 him. and know his testimonies,^^ unto their brethren ? It was the 
 honor of Mordecia, that he was " accepted of the multitude of his 
 brethren."* In the primitive Church, "Demetrius had good report 
 of all men, and of the truth itself ;"3 and the members of the Church 
 generally "did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of 
 heart ; praising God, and having favor with all the peopleJ'^* 
 * Then,' as Chrysostom exultingly exclaims, ' the Church was a 
 little heaven.' Then they could say to each other, — " Behold, how 
 good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity !"» 
 and even their heathen neighbors were awed and constrained into 
 the confession, " See how these Christians love one another." 
 
 Alas ! that our Jerusalem should no longer exhibit the picture 
 of a " city compact together"^ — that so many " walls of partition" 
 should separate brother from brother, so that our Zion has very 
 rarely been exhibited in her " perfection of beauty," when " the 
 multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one 
 soul."^ Prejudice and misconception divided Job from his friends.^ 
 Want of forbearance cankered the union of the members of the 
 Church of Rome,^ and even prevailed to separate chief friends — 
 Paul and Barnabas-^" Diversity of sentiment injured the influence 
 of brotherly love at Corinth. ^^ And thus it has been in every suc- 
 
 1 1 Cor. xii. 7. Eph. iv. 15, 16. 2 Esther i. 3. 
 
 3 John 12. < Acts u. 46, 47. 
 
 5 Psalm cxxxiii. I. Most truly catholic was the rule of the excellent Philip Henry, 
 and most consistently exemplified in his Christian conduct, determining '"'in those things, 
 in which all the people of God are agreed, to spend my zeal ; and as for other things 
 about which they differ, to walk according to the light God hath given me, and charita- 
 bly to believe others to do so too." — Life, Williams's Edition, p. 127. 
 
 6 Psalm cxxu. 3. 7 ib. 1. 2, with Acts iv, 32. 8 job. vi. 29. 
 
 » Rom. xiv. XV. 1—7. 1° Acts xv. 37. n 1 Cor. i. 10—12. 
 
 9 
 
130 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 cessive age of the Church ; so that the full answer to the Re- 
 deemer's prayer, and the grand display to the world of the Divine 
 original of the Gospel, is yet to be manifested.^ But as " the com- 
 munion of saints" was the pecuhar feature of primitive Christianity, 
 and ever since has formed an article of her faith ; in proportion 
 as we return to the primitive standard, we shall hold closer fellow- 
 ship with each other — as "members of one body"* — "considering 
 one another, to provoke unto love and to good works"^ — " bearing 
 one another's burdens* — and receiving one another, as Christ also 
 received us, to the glory of God."^ 
 
 Want of Christian self-denial presents the main hindrance to 
 this " keeping the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." But 
 — admitting that some of the brethren are "weak in the faith" in 
 comparison with ourselves — are we then to be 'roUing endlessly 
 the returning stone,'^ obtruding always the same stumbling offence 
 upon them V We are " not to please ourselves" in compelling 
 them to adopt our views ; but rather to " receive them, and bear 
 their infirmities."^ Accursed be that charity, that is preserved by 
 " the shipwreck of faith !" But though Scriptural truth must 
 never be denied, there are times when it may be forborne. The 
 Apostle "knew and was persuaded of the Lord Jesus, that there 
 was nothing unclean of itself;"^ yet he would rather allow even 
 the misconception of conscience, until clearer light should be given, 
 than endanger the unity of the Church. Liberty must give place 
 to love : and for himself, he would rather restrain himself from law- 
 ful indulgence, than hazard the safety of a weaker brother, or turn 
 from one that loved his Saviour.'" Wherever, therefore, in the judg- 
 ment of Christian charity we discover those " that love our Lord 
 Jesus Christ in sincerity,'"' we must be ready to give them our 
 very hearts, to view them as brethren, as one with ourselves, and 
 to welcome them in brotherly love, as those whom, with all their 
 infirmities, Jesus " is not ashamed to call his brethren."'* We 
 must be ready to ^^ turn to therrij^ as those '■'■ that fear God^ and 
 have kjiown his testimonies.''^ 
 
 And does not the believer's anxiety for the company and assist- 
 ance of the Lord's people rebuke Christian professors, who are far 
 too closely linked to the society of the world? Surely, if the lovely 
 attraction of many of its most avowed votaries can compensate for 
 the absence of their Saviour's image, they can have but little relish 
 for that heavenly enjoyment, which unites the children of God 
 together in close and liallowed communion with God. And do we 
 not see a proof of the deteriorating influence of this worldly spirit, 
 in their readiness to feel disgust at the infirmities of the real breth- 
 ren of the Lord, and to neglect the image of Christ in them, from 
 the unsightliness of the garb, which may sometimes cover it ? 
 
 » John xvii. 21, « 1 Cor. xii. 12—27. 3 Heb. x. 24. 
 
 < Gal. vi. 2 ; v. 13. 5 Rom. xv. 7. « Morning Exercises, Oct. 1682L 
 
 ' Rom. xiv. 1. 8 lb. XV. 1. » lb. xiv. 14. 
 
 10 lb. xiv. 13, 15. 1 Cor. viii. 13. Compare Phil. iii. 15, 16, 
 " Eph. vi. 34. Comp. 1 John iii. 14. " Heb. u, 11, 12. 
 
VERSE 80. 131 
 
 But let us mark the completeness of the Christian — combining 
 the fear with the knowledge of God. Knowledge without fear 
 would be self-confidence. Fear without knowledge would be bond- 
 age. But the knowledge of his testimonies connected with an 
 acquaintance with his ways, moulds the character of men of God 
 into the spirit of love ; and qualifies them, " as fathers"^ in the Gos- 
 pel, to counsel the weak and inexperienced. Should we, however, 
 be excluded from the privilege of their intercourse ; or should they 
 be prevented from " turning unto us ;" may it not be the appointed 
 means of leading us to a more simple dependence on Divine teach- 
 ing and grace, and to a more blessed anticipation of our Father's 
 house in heaven, where all will be harmony, peace and love ? ' We 
 shall carry truth and the knowledge of God to heaven with us ; we 
 shall carry purity thither, devotedness of soul to God and our Re- 
 deemer, divine love and joy, if we have their beginnings here, with 
 whatsoever else of permanent excellence, that hath a settled, fixed 
 seat and place in our souls now ; and shall there have them in 
 perfection. But do you think we shall carry strife to heaven? 
 Shall we carry anger to heaven ? Envyings, heart-burnings, ani- 
 mosities ; shall we carry these to heaven with us ? Let us labor 
 to divest ourselves, and strike off from our spirits everything that 
 shall not go with us to heaVen, or is equally unsuitable to our end 
 and way, that there may be nothing to oJjstruct and hinder our 
 abundant entrance at length into the everlasting kingdom.'* 
 
 80. Let my heart he sound in thy statutes, that I be not ashamed. 
 
 The perverseness of the proud will be sure to put them to 
 shame.^ As the preservative from this shame, David prays there- 
 fore for a sound heart — filled with solid principle — delivered into 
 the mould of the word'' — like the sacrifices of the law — entire for 
 God.5 Often had he prayed for Divine teaching^ — now he begs for 
 soundness in the Lord^s statutes. How many " have made ship- 
 wreck of faith and of a good conscience,"^ from an unsound heart ! 
 Ignorant of the spirituahty of God's requirements, and resting in 
 an outward obedience, they falsely conceive themselves to be " alive 
 without the law,"^ and, "touching the righteousness that is of the 
 law, blameless."^ Others go a little beyond the surface ; while the 
 want of " simphcity and godly sincerity," of brokenness of heart, 
 love to tlie Saviour, and dependence upon his grace, sooner or later 
 discovers to their eternal confusion, that " the root of the matter is" 
 not " in them." " Their root shall be as rottenness, and their blos- 
 som shall go up as dust." " Their goodness is as a morning cloud, 
 and as the early dew it goeth away."^° An unsound professor, like 
 
 1 John ii. 13, 14. 
 
 2 Howe's Works, vol. iv. 126, 127 — "It will be one of the felicities of heaven" (as 
 Milner sweetly remarks upon the prejudices subsisting between Bernard and the sup- 
 posed heretics of his day,) " that saints shall no longer misunderstand eacli other." — 
 Milner's History of the Church, iii. 384. 
 
 3 Verse 78. 4 Rom. vi. 17. ^ Lev. xxii. 22, 23. Corap. Mai. i. 8. 
 6 Verses 12, 33, 64, 68. ^ I Tim. i. 19. 8 Rom. vii. 9. 
 
 9 Phil. iii. 6. w Isa. v. 24. Hoa. vi. 4. Comp. Matt. xiii. 20, 21. 
 
132 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 beautiful fruit, may attract the careless eye ; but a more narrow 
 inspection will show a worm at the core, which has spoiled nearly 
 to the surface.^ Such religion is only a shrivelled mass of inactive 
 formality — a dead image of a living thing. 
 
 Alas ! how common is it to profess to take Christ for a Saviour, 
 while the heart is evidently worshipping Mammon as its God ! — 
 constrained — not inclined — to the Lord's statutes ! How possible 
 is it to be " carnally-minded" in the daily routine of spiritual exer- 
 cises ! How important is the recollection, that no change of place, 
 of company, or of circumstances, can of itself effect a change of 
 heart ! " Saul among the prophets" was Saul still ; with " another 
 heart"2 indeed, but not a new heart. Sin was restrained, but not 
 crucified. He "went out," therefore, as one of his progenitors, 
 "from the presence of the Lord,"^ and perished, a miserable apos- 
 tate from the stahites of his God. Will profession — knowledge — 
 gifts — feehngs — privileges — avail for a sound heart 7 Need we 
 speak of Judas — a follower — nay, even, an apostle of Jesus Chirist 
 — living in a familiar intercourse with his Lord — yet with all his 
 privileges — all his profession, " gone to his own place"^ — the mel- 
 ancholy victim of his own self-deceitfulness ? Need we allude to 
 Balaam — " the man whose eyes were open — which heard the words 
 of God — which saw the vision of the Almighty" — who could in the 
 ken of his eye mark the goodliness of the Lord's inheritance, and 
 even in the distant horizon catch a glimpse of " Jacob's star and 
 sceptre," and yet " loved the wages of unrighteousness ?"5 Need 
 we bring to the mind's eye Ananias and Sapphira^ — Alexander^ 
 and Demas^^-and others of like stamp — all of whom once shone as 
 stars^ in the firmament of the Church — need we speak of the end 
 of these men, to give energy to the prayer, " Let my heart be 
 sound in thy statutes ?" 
 
 How fearful the thought of being " a branch in the true vine" 
 only by profession ! to be " taken away" at length — " cast forth as 
 a branch — withered — gathered — cast into the fire— burned !"^° It 
 is in the inner man that hypocrisy sets up its throne ; whence it 
 commands the outward acts in whatever shape or form may be 
 best suited to effect its purpose. The upright Christian will there- 
 fore begin with calling in the help and light of God to ascertain 
 the ^^ soundness of his heart.^* "Search me, O God, and know 
 my heart ; try me, and know my thoughts ; and see if there be 
 any wicked way in me."'^ Can there be a true and solid work, 
 where there is a professed change of heart, and no manifested 
 change of temper and conduct? Can that " heart^'' which is found 
 upon inquiry to be earthly — unprofitable under the power of the 
 
 * " Q,uffi splendent in conspectu hominis, sordent in conspectu judicis." Compare 
 Luke xvi. 15. 1 Sam. xvi. 7. 
 « 1 Sam. X. 9—12. 8 Gen. iv. 6. * Acta i. 25. 
 
 » Num. xxiv. 2—5, 17. 2 Peter ii. 15. « Acts v. 1—10. 
 
 7 lb. xix. 33, 34, with 1 Tim. i. 20. 2 Tim. iv. 14. 
 
 8 Col. iv. 14. PhUem. 24, with 2 Tim. iv. 10. » Rev. xii. 4. 
 
 w John XV. 2, 6. " Psalm cxxxix. 23, 24. 
 
VERSE 80. 133 
 
 word* — regarding "secret iniquity"'* — seeking by-ends of praise,* 
 reputation,* or gain« — and for the attainment of these ends shrink- 
 ing from the appointed cross — can that " heart be sound in the 
 Lord's statutes V^ Impossible. 
 
 But on the other hand, do you find that your trust in God is 
 sincere, your desire towards him supreme, your obedience to him 
 entire? Prize these evidences of '■^soundness of hearth Thank 
 God for them. They are the workings of his mighty Spirit in your 
 heart — perhaps the answer to the prayer which that same Spirit 
 had indited, " Let my heart he sound in thy statutes.''^ Dihgently 
 improve all the means of grace for keeping your heart in a vigor- 
 ous state. Be daily — yea continually — abiding in the vine, and 
 receiving life and health from its fulness.*" Be much conversant 
 with the word of God — loving it for itself — its holiness — its practi- 
 cal influences. Be chiefly afraid of inward decays — of a barren, 
 sapless notion of experimental truth ; remembering, that except 
 your profession be constantly watered at the root, " the things that 
 remain in you will be ready to die."^ Specially " commune with 
 your own heart." Watch it jealously, because of its proneness to 
 live upon itself — its own graces or fancied goodness (a sure symp- 
 tom of unsoundness) — instead of "hving by the faith of the Son of 
 God." Examine your settled judgment, your deUberate choice, 
 your outgoing affections, your habitual allowed practice ; applying 
 to every detection of unsoundness the blood of Christ, as the sove- 
 reign remedy for the diseases of a " deceitful and desperately wicked 
 heart." 
 
 But it may be said — will not these exercises of godly jealousy 
 hinder our Christian assurance? Far from it. They will form 
 an efficient preservative from carnal security. They will induce 
 increasing tenderness, activity, and circumspection, in our daily 
 walk ; and thus, instead of retarding the enjoyment of our heavenly 
 privilege, they will settle the foundation of a peaceful temperament.' 
 It is a light and careless frame, that is the real hindrance to con- 
 fidence. An unsound professor knows nothing of the true spirit of 
 adoption — nothing of that holy famiharity, with which a child of 
 God unbosoms himself to his heavenly Father ; and if he preserves 
 an empty name in the Church, he will be put to shame before the 
 universe of God.^ But the ^^ sound hearf^ is connected with "a 
 hope that maketh not ashamed" — the full blessing of scriptural 
 confidence. For the heart is made ^^ sound'''' by the sprinkHng of 
 the blood of Christ ;" and when thus "sprinkled from an evil conr 
 science," we " have boldness" to " draw near" — yea, even to " enter 
 into the holiest," " in full assurance of faith."*" Blessed privilege 
 of access and communion with our reconciled God ! Every moment 
 endears the Saviour to our souls, and enlivens the hope of his glo- 
 
 ' Heb. vii. 8. 2 Psalm Ixvi. 18. 3 Kings ix. 16. < John xii. 43. 
 
 6 lb. vi. 26. 1 Tim. vi. 5. « lb. xv. 4, 5. 7 Rev. iii. 2. 
 
 8 Verse 6. 1 John iii. 20, 21. 9 Compare Dan. xii. 2. Luke xil 1, 2. 
 
 10 See Heb. x. 19—22. 
 
134 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 rious coming, as the joyful consummation of all the prospects of 
 faitn — " Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have bold- 
 ness in the day of judgment P^ 
 
 PART XI. 
 
 81. My sovl fainteth for thy salvation ; but 1 hope in thy word. 
 
 The salvation of the Gospel was the constant object of faith and 
 desire to the Lord's people under the old dispensation. Long had 
 the Church triumphed in the glowing anticipation, as if in the full 
 possession of the promised blessing — " It shall be said in that day, 
 Lo, this is our God ; we have waited for him, and he will save 
 us ; this is the Lord ; we have waited for him, we will be glad and 
 rejoice in his salvation. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord ; my soul 
 shall be joyful in my God ; for he hath clothed me with the gar- 
 ments of salvation ; he hath covered me with the robe of righteous- 
 ness ; as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a 
 bride adorneth herself with her jewels."* And as it was the joy of 
 their living moments, so was it the support and consolation of their 
 dying hours. " I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord,"^ — was 
 the expression of the dying patriarch's faith. And how cheering 
 were the last words of this " sweet Psalmist of Israel," whose " so7il 
 was noiv fainting- for God's salvation" even in his dark and fore- 
 boding family prospect ! — "Although my house be not so with God, 
 yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all 
 things and sure ; for this is all my salvation^ and all my desire, 
 although he make it aot to grow."* Good old Simeon, in the break 
 of the gospel-day, was ready to " depart in peace, for his eyes had 
 seen God's salvation."^ And shall not we, under this heavenly in-, 
 fluence, naturally appropriate these feelings of ancient believers to 
 ourselves ? What interpreter but experience will be needed to ex- 
 plain them ? The uneasiness felt in any interruption of our enjoy- 
 ment, will show the soul to be ^^fahiting for this salvation.^^ 
 Nothing will satisfy but the Saviour. The tempting offer of " all 
 the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them," will fail in at- 
 traction. Still the cry will be, " Say unto my soul, I am thy sal- 
 vation."* " Let thy viercies come also unto we, O Lord ; even 
 thy salvation^ according to thy word"'' 
 
 As the lowest expectant of this salvation, am not I richer than 
 the sole possessor of this world's portion? And therefore if the 
 
 » John iv. 17. » Isaiah xxv. 9 ; Ixi. 10. 3 Gen. xlix. 18. 
 
 < 2 Sam. xiiii. 5. 6 Luke ii. 28—30, also 25. » Psalm iixv. 3. ' Verse 41 . 
 
VERSE 81. 135 
 
 Lord hides his face, I would look to no other quarter ; I would stay 
 by him, and "wait on him," though days and months and years 
 may pass away, " until he have mercy upon me."^ " My soul 
 fainteth for his salvation f and — pressing to my Hps the fullest 
 cup of earth's best joy — my heart would burst with despair of sat- 
 isfaction, " but" that " / hope in his word^^ " By this hope I am 
 saved."^ In " the patience of hope"* I am resolved to wait until 
 the last moment, lying at the footstool of my Saviour. I am look- 
 ing for the " assurance of this hope"^ — when, in the joyous antici- 
 pation of eternity, and with " the earnest of" the heavenly " inher- 
 itance" in my soul, I shall echo the voice of my coming Saviour — 
 " Even so come. Lord Jesus."* 
 
 Oh, how precious and important a part of our armor is Hope ! 
 As a " helmet,"^ it has "covered our head in the day of battle" from 
 many a " fiery dart of the wicked." In times of darkness — when 
 the restless foe hides the prospect from the eye of faith, and the 
 child of God can scarcely, if at all, mount up and sing — even then 
 hope remains, and hghts a taper in moments dark as the chamber 
 of the grave — " Yet the Lord will command his loving kindness in 
 the day-time ; and in the night-season his song shall be with me, 
 and my prayer unto the God of my life."^ And when the afflicted, 
 tempest-tost soul is trembUng at the prospect of impending danger — 
 at this moment of infinite peril, Hope holds out the " anchor sure 
 and steadfast ;"^ so that in the awful crisis, when " deep calleth unto 
 deep, and all the waves and billows are going over us," most un- 
 expectedly " an entrance is ministered unto us abundantly ^^^^^ in the 
 Lord's best time, into our desired haven. ^^ And it is this hope alone 
 that sustains us. Were we to conceive of God according to the no- 
 tions of our own hearts, we should give way to most unbelieving 
 impatience. But the Divine character^ — ^as it shines forth in the 
 word, with such love and wisdom, such tenderness and grace — in- 
 vigorates our hope. The strength of the strongest of God's people 
 proves but small, when afflictions press heavy, and expected help 
 is delayed. But though the " soul fainteth,^^ it cannot fail. We 
 depend not on what we see or feel, but on what the word promises. 
 If God has engaged, it must be fulfilled, be the difficulties — nay, im- 
 possibilities — what they may. Fixed, therefore, upon this sure 
 foundation, with our father Abraham, against hope from what we 
 see, " we believe in hope from what God has promised."'^ Thus the 
 word is faith's sure venture for eternity — stamped with such a mar- 
 vellous, mysterious impression of Divine glory and faithfulness, and 
 communicating such Divine power and refreshment, that the be- 
 liever cannot but produce his experience of its efficacy for the sup- 
 port of his tempted brethren — " I had fainted, unless I had believed 
 to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the Hving. Wait 
 
 1 Psalm cxxiii. 1, 2. Compare Isaiah viii. 17. Micah vii. 9. 
 
 2 Psalm cxxx. 5. 3 Rom. viii. 24. * i Thess. i. 3. 
 5Heb. vi. 11. 6 Rev. xxii. 20. ? Eph. vi. 17. 1 Thess. v. 8. 
 » Psalm xlu. 8. 9 Heb. vi. 19. " Psalm xlii. 7. 
 
 " 2 Peter L 11. Psalm cvii. 30. 12 Rom. iv. 18. 
 
136 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 on the Lord : be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine 
 heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."^ 
 
 82. Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying. When wilt thou comfort me ? 
 
 Though the believer may be enabled, in the habitual working 
 of faith, to sustain his " hope in the wordj'' yet " hope deferred 
 maketh the heart sick."^ Still, Christian, as you value the prom- 
 ise, trust the assurance. Do not be discouraged by present appear- 
 ances. The sunshine is behind the storm. " The vision is for an 
 appointed time ; though it tarry, wait for it."^ " The Lord is not 
 slack concerning his promise," but w^e are hasty in looking for it.< 
 The failing of our eyes is the impatience of the will, "limiting 
 God"^ to our own time, ways, and means. Faith may be exercised 
 in not seeing his reasons — not being able to harmonize his prom- 
 ises with his providences, or his outward dispensations with his Di- 
 vine perfections." But let us leave this to him, and "be still, and 
 know that he is God."' We shall find in the end, that persever- 
 ance in waiting has turned to double advantage ; and that even 
 when the present answer to prayer, and also sensible comfort and 
 acceptance have been withheld ; yet that important blessings have 
 been accomplished, and the merciful purposes vouchsafed in bring- 
 ing the wayward will into more entire subjection to himself Yea, 
 the blessing will be so much the sweeter, from being vouchsafed in 
 the Lord's best time. Waiting time — whatever weariness may at- 
 tend it — is precious time, and not a moment of it will be lost. The 
 Lord secretly upholds faith and patience, so that every step of feeble 
 perseverance in the way brings with it unspeakable delight. Even 
 while our eyes fail for the fulfilment of the tvord, peace is found in 
 submission and joyful expectation ; and instead of a time of hard- 
 ness, indolence, or carelessness, the Lord's return is anticipated the 
 more intensely, as his absence had been felt to be the most painful 
 trial. For as well might the stars supply the place of the sun, as 
 outward comforts, or even the external duties of religion, supply to 
 the waiting soul the place of an absent God. 
 
 Never, however, let us forget, that the real cause of separation be- 
 tween God and a sinner is removed. The way of access is opened 
 by the blood of Jesus ]^ and in this way we must be found wait- 
 ing, until he look upon us. Here will our cry — " When wilt thou 
 comfort me ?" be abundantly answered ; and though the sovereign- 
 ty of God will be exhibited in the time and measure of his consola- 
 tions, yet the general rule will be — "According to your faith be it 
 unto you."" 
 
 But if unbelief clouds our comfort, turn the eye more simply to 
 the "?/;orc^" as testifying of Jesus. Here alone is the ground of 
 comfort ; and the more confidently we expect, the more patiently 
 we will look. Nor shall we ever look in vain. Sin will be rebuked.'" 
 
 » Psalm xxvii. 13, 14. 2 Prov. xiii. 12. 3 Hab. ii. 3. 
 
 * Comp. 2 Pet. iil 9, with Isa, v. 19; xxviii. 16. 6 pg, ixxviii. 41. 
 
 « Jer. xii. 1. 1 Psalm xlvi. 10. » Hebrews x. 19, 20. 
 
 » Matthew ix. 29. " Psalm lixxii. 30—32. 
 
VERSE 83. 137 
 
 But restoration and acceptance are assured. We shall obtain — not 
 the spurious comfort of delusion — but those wholesome comforts, 
 founded upon the word of promise, and connected with contrition, 
 peace, love, joy, and triumph. The Gospel shows hell deserved, 
 and heaven purchased — thus combining conviction and faith. In- 
 deed, conviction without faith would be legal sorrow ; as assurance 
 without conviction would be Gospel presumption. Paul's experience 
 happily united both. Never was man at the same moment more 
 exercised with conflict, and yet more established in assurance.' 
 Thus may we maintain our assurance as really in wrestling trouble 
 as in exulting joy ; honoring the Lord by a humble, patient spirit — 
 in Bernard's resolution — ' 1 will never come away from thee with- 
 out thee' — in the true spirit of the wrestling patriarch — " I will not 
 let thee go except thou bless me."^ 
 
 But we sometimes seem to go " mourning without the sun"^ — 
 "shut up, and we cannot come forth"* — straitened in our desires and 
 expectations — doing little for the Lord — with little enjoyment in our 
 own souls, and little apparent usefulness to the Church. At such 
 seasons it is our clear duty and privilege to " wait upon the Lord, 
 that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and to look for him.^^^ 
 "He waiteth that he may be gracious. He is a God of judgment: 
 and blessed are all they that wait for him."^ He waits — not be- 
 cause he is reluctant to give, but (hat we may be fitted to receive. 
 
 83. For I am become like a bottle in the smoke, yet do I not forget thy statutes. 
 
 What an affecting picture of misery ! Not only were his pa- 
 tience and hope — but his very body — " dried up" by long-continued 
 afliiction."^ This is he, who in the prime of youth was " ruddy and 
 of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to"^ — now shrivelled 
 up like a bottle of skin® hung up in the smoke ! " Such is the mark 
 that the rod of " chastening" leaves on the body of humiliation."" 
 The soul is strengthened — the body withers — under the stroke. 
 
 What might naturally have been expected to have been the re- 
 sult of this lengthened exercise ? Saul, under protracted trial, re- 
 sorted to the devil for relief." An infidel nation took occasion from 
 thence to throw off the yoke.''* Even a good man, under a few 
 hours' trial, murmurs against God- — nay, even defends his murmur- 
 ing. How did this man of God behave 7'^ When his soul was 
 
 1 Comp. Rom. vii. 14—25; viii. 33—39. 2 Gen. xxxii. 26. 
 
 3 Job XXX. 28. * Psalm Ixxxviii. 8. s Isaiah viii. 17. 
 
 * lb. XXX. 18. "Thou mayest seek after honors, and not obtain them; thou mayest 
 labor for riches, and yet remain poor ; thou mayest dote on pleasures, and have many 
 sorrows. But our God, of his supreme goodness, says — Who ever sought me, and found 
 me nof? Who ever desired me, and obtained me not 1 Who ever loved me, and missed 
 of mel I am with him, that seeks for me. He hath me already, that wisheth for me; 
 and he that loveth me is sure of my love. The way to come to me is neither long nor 
 difficult." — Augustine. 
 
 7 Prov. xvii. 22. « 1 Sam. xvi. 12. 9 Josh. ix. 4. Matt. ix. 17. 
 
 10 Ps. xxxix. 11. Comp. xxxi. 12; cii. 3. The history of Job: ixx. 30. The woful 
 misery of the church: Lam. iv. 8: v. 10. The sufferings of the Saviour; Psalm xxii. 
 15. Isaiah lii. 14. 
 
 " 1 Sam. xxviu. 6, 7. « Mai. iii. 13, 14, with u. 17. " Jonah vi. 7—9. 
 
 18 
 
138 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 fainting, his hope in the word kept him from sinking.^ Under the 
 further continuance of the trial, the same recollection gives him 
 support — yet I do not forget thy statutes."^ 
 
 Now — Christian — do not expect a new way to heaven to be made 
 for you. Prepare for the cross. It may be — as with David — a 
 heavy, long-continued burden ; and, should it come — look on it as 
 your appointed trial of faith, and your training discipline for more 
 enduring conflicts. And remember that your determined resolu- 
 tion rather to pine away in affliction, than " make a way of escape" 
 by sin — is the proof of the reality of his own grace in you, and of 
 his faithful love towards you. Think how honorably he manifests 
 your relation to Christ, by causing "his sufferings to abound in 
 you," and making you " bear in your body the marks of the Lord 
 Jesus."3 And do you not thus realize, as you could not otherwise 
 do, the sympathy of our High Priest, who was himself "a root out 
 of a dry ground, having no form nor comeliness, and no beauty that 
 he should be desired — despised and rejected of men"^ to the end ? 
 Oh, what a supporting cordial to his afflicted people is the sympa- 
 thy of this suffering, tempted Saviour 1^ 
 
 But to look at David, under his long-continued trials, preserving 
 his recollection of the Lord's statutes — what a striking evidence 
 of the presence of his God, and the sustaining power of his word ! 
 If we then — blessed with much larger Scriptures than he — fail in 
 deriving from them the same support, it can only be, that we do 
 not search them in a dependent, prayerful, and humble spirit — that 
 we do not simply look for the revelation of Christ ; to mark his 
 glory, and to increase in the knowledge of Him."*^ In this spirit we 
 should have more to say of the comfort of remembering *''the Lord's 
 statutes f and of their upholding influence, when all other stays 
 were found as " the trust in the shadow of Egypt — shame and con- 
 fusion."^ 
 
 Job's history strikingly illustrates both the trial and its sanctified 
 results. When "scraping himself with a potsherd, and sitting down 
 among the ashes," — the temporary victim of Satanic power- — he 
 might well have taken up the complaint, "/am become like a bot- 
 tle in the smoke.^^ But when in this hour of temptation he was 
 enabled to resist the tempter in the person of his own wife, and com- 
 mit himself with implicit resignation into the hands of his faithful 
 God, " What ! shciU we receive good at the hand of God ; and shall 
 we not receive evil ?"^ — was not this the confidence, — yet do I not 
 forget thy statiites 7 
 
 This confidence is indeed an encouraging seal of the Lord's love 
 on our souls. For we never should have remembered " his stat- 
 utes,^^ had he not written his covenant promises upon our hearts.' 
 And how much more honorable to our God is it than the despond- 
 
 » Verse 81 . » Compare Verses 51, 61, 109, 141 ; xliv. 17—19. 
 
 » 2 Cor. i. 5. Gal. vi. 17. 1 Pet. iv. 13. * Isaiah liii. 2, 3. 
 
 » Heb. iv. 15 ; ii. 18. « John v. 39. ' isa. xxi. 1-3. 
 
 • Job ii. 7—10. » Jer. ixxi. 31—34. 
 
VERSES 84, 85. 139 
 
 ing complaint, " The Lord hath forsaken me, and my God hath for- 
 gotten me !"' Let us watch then against a proud sullenness under 
 every Uttle trial — such as the coldness of friends, the unkind ness of 
 enemies, or our Father's providential dispensations. How sinful to 
 allow hard thoughts of him, whose name and character, " without 
 variableness or shadow of turning," is " Love !" A steady trust in 
 the long and wearisome seasons of tribulation, is indeed to " glorify 
 God in the fires."^ Nothing honors him so much as this enduring, 
 overcoming faith, persevering in despite of opposition, in destitution 
 of all outward prospects of reUef It is when " against hope we 
 believe in hope, not staggering at the promise of God through un- 
 beUef," that we are " strong in faith, giving glory to God."^ 
 
 84. How many are the days of thy servant ? When luilt thou execute judg- 
 ement on them that persecute me .^—85. The proud have digged pits for mc, 
 which are not after thy law. 
 
 Though a steady confidence in severe and protracted exercise 
 may enable us •' not to forget the statutes f^ yet we shall hasten to 
 carry our complaint before him, " How many are the days of thy 
 servant V — my days of affliction under the " fury of the oppressor." 
 To complain of God is dishonorable unbelief* To complain to 
 God is the mark of his " elect, which cry day and night unto him, 
 though he bears long with them."^ Christian ! study this instruc- 
 tive pattern ; and, when exposed to the lawless devices of " the 
 'proudj'' forget not your hiding-place. God in Christ is your strong 
 hold, " where unto you may continually resort." He " hath given 
 coniTnandment to save youP^ Your trial has done its appointed 
 work, when it has brought you to him ; and inclined you, after 
 your blessed Master's example, instead of taking the vengeance 
 into your own hands, to commit yourself and your cause " to him 
 that judgeth righteously."^ 'And this,' as Archbishop Leighton 
 excellently observes, ' is the true method of Christian patience — 
 that which quiets the mind, and keeps it from the boiling tumul- 
 tuous thoughts of revenge ; to turn the whole matter into God's 
 hands ; to resign it over to him, to prosecute when and as He 
 thinks good. Not as the most, who had rather, if they had power, 
 do for themselves, and be their own avengers ; and, because they 
 have not power, do offer up such bitter curses and prayers for 
 revenge unto God, as are most hateful to him. and are far from this 
 calm and holy way of committing matters to his judgment. The 
 common way of referring things to God is indeed impious and dis- 
 honorable to him, being really no other than calling him to be a 
 servant and executioner of our passion. We ordinarily mistake 
 his justice, and judge of it according to our own precipitate and dis- 
 tempered minds. If wicked men be not crossed in their designs, 
 and their wickedness evidently crushed, just when we would have 
 
 1 Isaiah xlix. 14. 2 ib. xxiv, 15. 3 Romans iv. 18, 20. 
 
 * Jonah iv. ]— 3. 5 Luke xviii. 7, with Ps. vi. 3; xiii. 1, 2. « Psalm IxiL 3. 
 
 7 1 Peter ii. 23, and Archbishop Leighton on the passage. 
 
140 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 itj we are ready to ^ve up the matter as desperate ; or at least to 
 abate of those confident and reverent thoughts of Divine justice 
 which we owe Him. However things go, this ought to be fixed in 
 our hearts, that He that sits in heaven judgeth righteously, and 
 executes that his righteous judgment in the fittest season.' 
 
 Usually the Psalmist is expressing his love for the law. Here 
 he is complaining against his enemies ; yet still implying the same 
 spirit, that the pits, which the proud dug for him.^ were not after 
 God's law. The martyrs' cry under the altar shows the accept- 
 ance of this complaint ;2 " seeing it is a righteous thing with God 
 to recompense tribulation to them that trouble" his people, '• and to 
 them that are troubled rest."^ Some of us indeed have known but 
 little of " cruel mockings"^ and bitter persecutions. Let such be 
 thankful for the merciful exemption from this " hardness i"^ but let 
 us gird on their armor for the conflict. Let none of us, in the 
 determination to "live godly in Christ Jesus," expect to escape 
 " persecution."^ Let us " count the cost'" of suffering for Christ, 
 whether we shall be able to abide it. For the mere spiritless 
 notions, or for the unenlivened forms of religion, of which we have 
 never felt the power, nor tasted the sweetness, it would be httle 
 worth our while to expose ourselves to inconvenience. But if we 
 understand the grand substantials of the Gospel — if we are clearly 
 assured of their reality, practically acknowledge their influence, 
 and experimentally realize their enjoyment, we shall dare the per- 
 secuting malice of " ^/le prowrf" in defence of a treasure dearer to 
 us than life itself. Should we, however, be too rich to part with 
 all for Christ, or too high in the estimation of the world to confess 
 his despised followers, it will be no marvel, or rather a marvel of 
 mercy, if he should sweep away our riches, and suffer " the proud 
 to dig pits for usJ^ To make this world " a wilderness or a land 
 of darkness" to us, may be his wisely-ordained means to turn us 
 back to himself as our portion, to his word as our support, to his 
 people as our choice companions, and to heaven as our eternal rest. 
 
 86. All thy commandments are faithful : they persecute me wrongfully : help 
 
 thou me. 
 
 In the lengthened duration of trials, the ^^eyeSfail with looking 
 upward,^^ the voice of prayer grows faint, and in a moment of 
 weakness, the faithfulness of God is almost questioned, as if we 
 should go mourning to the very end of our days. It is at such a 
 season that he, who delights to " comfort them that are cast down,"« 
 realizes to the view of faith the unchangeable faithfulness of his 
 commandments with respect to his people. In this recollection we 
 can " look up and lift up our heads," and " go on our way," if not 
 " rejoicing," yet at least with luiml)le acquiescence ; assured, that 
 in the perseverance of faith and hope, we shall ultimately be 
 " more than conquerors through him that loved us."» 
 
 » Pflalm XXXV. 7. » See Rev. vi. 9— 11. 3 2 Thess. i. 6, 7. < Hebrews xi. 36. 
 » 2 Tim. il 3. « lb. iii. 12. 7 Luke xiv. 28. » 2 Cor. vii. 6. » Rom. viiL 37. 
 
VERSE 87. 141 
 
 Many Old Testament Histories beautifully illustrate the reward 
 of this shnplicity of faith in temporal emergencies.* When Asa's 
 " hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of 
 JacohJ^ " his how abode in strength.''''^ When, at a subsequent 
 period, he " trusted in man^ and made flesh his arm^ and his 
 heart departed from the hordj'^ he became^ like Sampson, " weak^ 
 and as another manS^ So true is it, that no past communications 
 of Divine strength can stand in the stead of the daily habit of de- 
 pendence upon the Lord, without which we are utterly helpless, 
 and are overthrown in every conflict. Our best prosperity there- 
 fore is to leave our cause in his hands, looking upward in the sim- 
 plicity of wretchedness for his help, ^ All thy commandments are 
 faithful : they persecute me wrongfuRy : help thou me. Wretched 
 and forlorn I am ; but thy truth is my shield.' 
 
 Believer ! this is your only posture of resistance. Should you 
 enter the field of conflict without this " shield of faith," some crevice 
 will be found in your panoply, through which a " fiery dart" will 
 inflict a poisonous wound.^ But how can faith be exercised with- 
 out a distinct acquaintance with the object of faith ? We cannot 
 repose trust or expect help, in an unknown God — in an ofTended 
 God, whom every day's transgression has made our enemy. There 
 must, then, be reconciliation, before there can be help. Those, 
 therefore, who are unreconciled by the death of Christ, cry for help 
 to a God, who does not hear, accept, or answer, them. But when 
 Christ is known as " the peace." and the way of access to God, 
 what instance can there be of trial or difficulty, when our reliance 
 upon the Lord will fail ? Not indeed that we shall always return 
 from the throne of grace with the wished-for relief. For too often 
 we bring our burden before the Lord, and yet throuo^h distrust 
 neglect to leave it with him. Oh ! let us remember when we go 
 to Jesus, that we go to a tried, long-proved, and faithful friend. 
 Dependence upon him is victory. The "g«od fight" is the fight 
 " of faith."' We are best able to resist our enemy upon our knees ; 
 and even such a short prayer as this, " Help thou 7?ie," will bring 
 down the strength of Omnipotence on our side. But we might as 
 well expect to crush a giant with a straw, as to enter the spiritual 
 conflict with weapons of carnal warfare. Every trial realizes expe- 
 rimentally the help of a faithful Saviour. He does indeed deliver 
 gloriously ; and leaves us nothing to do but stand still, wonder, 
 and praise — " Fear ye not ; stand still and see the salvation of the 
 Lord, which he will show to you to-day ; for the Egyptians, whom 
 ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever."^ 
 
 87. They had almost consumed me upon earth ; hut Ifonook not thy precepts. 
 And why did they not quite consume him 7 Because " the eyes 
 
 1 The examples of Asa, 2 Chron. xiv. 10—12, and Jehosaphat, 2 Chron. xx. 1—30. 
 niay be referred to. 
 
 2 Gen. xlix. 24. 3 Comp. Jer. xvii. 5—8. 
 
 4 Judges xvi. 7, with 2 Chron. xvi. 7. 5 Eph. vi. 16. 
 
 « 1 Tim. vi. 12. t Exodus xiv. 13. 
 
142 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show 
 himself strong in behalf of them, whose heart is perfect toward 
 him."^ "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remain- 
 der of wrath shalt thou restrain."^ And why have not our spir- 
 itual enemies " co7isumed tcs upon earth ?" " Satan hath desired 
 to have us, that he may sift us as wheat." " But,^^ saith the Sa- 
 viour, " / have prayed for you, that your faith fail not.^^^ " My 
 sheep shall never perish ; neither shall any pluck them out of my 
 hand."'' Steadfastness of profession is the evidence of the life of 
 faith : grounded upon this security, the more we are shaken, the 
 more we shall hold fast. Neither long-continued distress,5 nor de- 
 termined opposition,^ will turn us from the ways of God. We 
 would rather ^^ forsake'^ all that our heart held dear upon earth, 
 than " the precepts^^ of our God. With whatever intensity of 
 affection we love father and mother, (and the influence of the Gos- 
 pel has increased the sensibilities of relative affections,) we remem- 
 ber who hath said, " He that loveth father and mother more than 
 me, is not worthy of me."'^ Unlike the deluded professor,^ we have 
 counted the cost of the tribulation and persecution of the Gospel ; 
 and the result has only served to confirm our love and adherence 
 to our heavenly Master. Shall not we find in heaven — nay, do 
 not we find in the Gospel — a far better portion that we lose V 
 
 When, therefore, we are tempted to neglect the precepts; or 
 when we fail to live in them and to delight in them, let us each bring 
 our hearts to this test. 'What would I take in exchange for them? 
 Will the good will and approbation of the world compensate for 
 the loss of the favor of God ? Could I be content to forego my 
 greatest comforts, to "suffer the loss of all things,"'" yea, of hfe 
 itself,^' rather than forsake one of the ways of God? When I meet 
 with such precepts as link me to the daily cross, can I throw myself 
 with simple dependence upon that Saviour, who has engaged to sup- 
 ply strength for what#ie has commanded?' How often in times of 
 spiritual temptation, if not of temporal danger, " they had almost 
 consumed us upon earth .'" but " in the mount" of difficulty " the 
 Lord has been seen."'^ Oh ! let each of us mark our road to Zion 
 with multiplied Ebenezers, inscribed Jehovah-jirch — Jehovah-nissi^^ 
 — "By this I know that thou favorest me, because mine enemy 
 doth not triumph over me. And as for me, thou upholdest me in 
 mine integrity, and settest me before thy face forever."'* 
 
 What a fine testimony of the upholding grace of God ! How 
 could a helpless believer stand against such an appalling array ? 
 Yet it is a great, but a true word, suitable for a babe in Christ as 
 well as for an Apostle — " 1 can do all things through Christ that 
 strengtheneth me."'« Yes, I can " wrestle even against principali- 
 
 I 2 Chron. xvi. 9. « Ps. Ixxvi. 10. 3 Luke xxii. 31, 32. 
 
 4 John X. 28. s Verse 83. « Verses 84—86. ^ Matt. x. 37. 
 
 8 lb. xiii. 21. » lb. xix. 29. i" Phil. iii. 8. " Acts xx. 24. 
 
 »2 « In the Mount the Lord shall be seen, or shall appear, Jehovah-jireh." (Gen. xxiL 
 14.) — Scott, in loco. 
 13 Exod. xvu. 15. " Psalm xli. 11, 12. w PhU. iv. 13. 
 
VERSE 88. 143 
 
 ties and powers" of darkness, if I be " strong in the Lord, and in 
 the power of his might."^ 
 
 88. Quicken me after thy laving-kindncss : so shall I keep the testimony of thy 
 
 mouth. 
 
 We need continual quickening to maintain our steadfastness in 
 the precepts. " God, wno is rich in mercy, for his great love, where- 
 with he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened 
 us together with Christ."^ But without daily ^^ qnickenijig after^^ 
 the same " loving kindness,^^ " the things which remain will be 
 ready to die." For every breath of prayer. Divine influence must 
 flow — " Quicke7i us, and we shall call upon thy name.^^^ For the 
 work of praise, without the same influence we are dumb. — " O let 
 Tny soul live, and it shall praise thee.^^* For the exercise of every 
 spiritual grace there must be the commanding voice of our Divine 
 Head — " Awake, O north wind ; and come, thou south : blow upon 
 my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out.'^^ Thus is the 
 creature laid in the dust, and all the glory is given to God. " Not 
 that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; 
 but our sufficiency is of God.''^ 
 
 Why is it, then, that at one time we spring to duty as the joy of 
 our life ; while at other times the soul is so chained down under 
 the power of corruption, that it scarcely can put forth the feeblest 
 exercise of hfe ? The source of our life is the same — " hid with 
 Christ in God."' But the power of the flesh hinders its every mo- 
 tion.^ Such a spiritual sloth has benumbed us — such backward- 
 ness to prayer, and disrelish for heavenly things — sins deeply hum- 
 bling in themselves, and aggravated by the neglect of the plentiful 
 provision laid up in Christ, not only for the life, but for the peace, 
 joy, and strength of the soul. Nothing but indolence or unbelief 
 straitens our supplies. Oh ! stir up the prayer for quickening in- 
 fluence, and we shall be rich and fruitful. Sometimes also self- 
 confidence paralyzes our spiritual energy. We expect our recovery 
 from a lifeless state by more determined resolutions, or increased 
 improvement of the various means of grace. Let these means in- 
 deed be used with all diligence, but with the fullest conviction, that 
 all means, all instruments, all helps of every kind, without the in- 
 fluence of the Spirit of grace, are dead. " It is the Spirit that quick- 
 eneth ; the flesh profiteth nothing."^ 
 
 These records of David's prayers strikingly mark the intensity 
 of his desire to live to God. Every decay of strength and activity 
 was, as it were, death to him, and awakened his reiterated cries. 
 Do we desire to keep the testimony of his m,outh ? Do we mourn 
 over our short-comings in service ? Oh ! then, for our own sake, 
 for the Lord's sake, and for the Church's and the world's sake, let 
 our petitions be incessant, each one for himself — ' " quicken wie"-^ 
 
 1 Eph. vi. 10, 12. 2 Eph. ii. 4, 5. 3 Psalm Ixxx. 18. * Verse 175. 
 
 5 Cant. iv. 16. 6 2 Cor. ui. 5. ^ Col iii. 3. 
 
 8 See Gal. v. 17. » John vi. 63. 
 
144 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 Quicken this slothful heart of mine. Enkindle afresh the sacred 
 spark within, and let me be all alive for thee.' Let faith be kept 
 ahve and active at. the throne of grace, and all will be alive; our 
 obligation will be deeply felt, and practically acknowledged. 
 
 The title here given to the directory of our duty — " the testimony 
 of God's moutK'' — adds strength to our obligations. Thus let ev- 
 ery word we read or hear be regarded, as coming directly from the 
 " mouth of God^^ What reverence, what implicit submission does 
 it demand ! May it ever find us in the posture of attention, hu- 
 mility, and faith, each one of us ready to say — " Speak, Lord, for 
 thy servant heareth I"^ 
 
 PART XII. 
 
 89. For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. 90. Thy faithfulness is 
 unto all generations J thou hast established the earth, and it abideth, 91. 
 They continue this day according to thine ordinances, for all are thy servants. 
 
 The Christian extends his survey far beyond the hmits of his in- 
 dividual sphere. His view of the operations of God in creation en- 
 larges his apprehensions of the Divine attributes, and especially 
 that of unchanging faithful7iess. Indeed, the very fact of a crea- 
 tion in ruins — a world in rebellion against its Maker, failing of the 
 grand end of existence, and yet still continued in existence — mani- 
 fests "Ai5 faithfulness unto all generations.''^^ How different is 
 the contemplation of the Christian from the philosopher ! His is 
 not a mere cold, speculative admiration, but the establishment of 
 his faith upon a clear discovery of the faithfulness of God. Thus 
 he stays his soul upon the assured unchangeableness of the Divine 
 word — " Concerning thy testimonies^ I have known of old that 
 thou hast founded them for ever. Thy word is true from the he- 
 ginning: and every one of thy righteous judgme?its endureth for 
 evcr.^'* How striking is the contrast between the transient glory 
 of man's goodliness, and the solid foundation of all the promises, 
 hopes, and prospects of the children of God ! — " The grass with- 
 ereth, and the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand 
 for ever."5 "Unbehef" is the character of our " evil hearts."* Man 
 chooses his own measure and objects of faith ; he believes no more 
 than he pleases. But it is a fearful prospect, that the threatenings 
 of God rest upon the same solid foundation with his promises. 
 " Heaven and earth shall pass away : but my words shall not pass 
 away."' 
 
 1 Compare Judges iii. 20. « 1 Sam. iii. 9, 10. 3 Gen. viii. 28. 
 
 * Verses 152, 160. 6 Isaiah xl. 6—8. Compare 1 Peter i. 24, 25. 
 
 • Hebrews iii. 12. f Compare Luke xxi. 28 — 33. 
 
VERSE 89 — 91. 145 
 
 Need we any further proof of his fait lif illness 7 Look at the earth 
 established by his word of power. ^ See how " he hangeth it upon 
 nothing,"'^ as if it might fall at any moment ; and yet it is immo- 
 vably lixed^ — it abideth^ — and with all its furniture continueth ac- 
 cording to his ordinances. This — though the scoff of the infidel* 
 — is the encouragement to Christian faith ; it is at once a token of 
 his covenant with nature, that " while the earth remaineth, seed 
 time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and 
 day and night shall not cease ;"^ and an emblem of his covenant 
 with the seed of David, that he " will not cast them off for all that 
 they have done.'"' Thus every view of the heavens — yea — every 
 time we set our foot on the earth^ — shows the unchangeableness of 
 his everlasting covenant, and the security of the salvation of his 
 own people. 
 
 In this vast universe, " all are his servantsJ^ " The stars in their 
 courses" — " fire and hail, snow and vapors, stormy winds — fulfil his 
 word. He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth : his word 
 runneth very swiftly."^ Man — the child of his Maker^" — "created 
 in his image"" — destined for his glory^^ — jg i)^q Q^ly rebel and re- 
 volter. Most affecting is the appeal, that his own Father and God 
 is constrained to make concerning him, "Hear, O heavens, and 
 give ear, O earth ; for the Lord hath spoken. I have nourished 
 and brought up children ,^ and they have rebelled against me I"^^ 
 
 Is not then the universe of nature a parable of grace — setting 
 out on every side — in every view — a cheering display of the faith- 
 fulness of God'7^^ If his providence fails not, will the promise of 
 his covenant disappoint us? Why should he change? Does he 
 see or know anything now, that he has not foreseen and foreknown 
 from eternity? What more sure ground of salvation than the 
 unchangeableness of God?^^ if x can prove a word to have been 
 spoken by God, I must no more question it than his own being. 
 It may seem to fail on earth ; but it is for ever settled in heaven. 
 The decrees of the kings of the earth, " settled" on earth, are ex- 
 posed to all the variations and weakness of a changing world. 
 They may be revoked by themselves or their successors, or they 
 may die away. The empty sound of the "law of the Medes and 
 Persians that altereth not,"^^ has long since been swept away into 
 oblivion. But while " the word settled" on earth has " waxed old 
 like a garment, and perished :" the word settled in heaven — is 
 raised above all the revolutions of the universe, and remaineth as 
 the throne of God — unshaken and eternal ; exhibiting the founda- 
 tion of the believer's hope and of the unbeliever's terror, to be ahke 
 unalterably fixed. 
 
 1 Psalm xxxiii. 9. Heb. i. 3. 2 Job xxvi, 7. 
 
 3 Psalm xxiv, 2; civ. 5; cxlviiL 6. * Eccles. i. 4. s 2 Peter iii. 4. 
 
 s Genesis viii. 22. "^ Jer. xxxi. 35, 36 ; xxxui, 20, 21, 25, 26. 
 
 8 Isaiah liv. 9, 10. 
 
 9 Judges V. 20. Ps. cxlviii. 8; cxlvii. 15. Compare Job xxxvii. 12. Isaiah xlviii. 13. 
 »" Deut. xxxii. 6. " Genesis i. 27; v. 1. 12 Isaiah xliii. 7. 13 Isaiah i. 2. 
 " Ps. Ixxxix. 2. 15 Mai. iii. 6. Heb. vi. 17, 18 : vii. 21—25. w Daniel vi. 8. 
 
146 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 But we also remark the foreknowledge as well as the faithful- 
 ness of God. From the eternity that is past, as well as for the 
 eternity that is to come, •' thy word is settled in heaven.^' Before 
 this fair creation was marred, yea, before it was called into exist- 
 ence, its ruin was foreseen, and a remedy provided. " The Lamb 
 was slaia from the foundation of the world,"^ and foreordained 
 before'^ that era. Coeval with this period, a people were " chosen 
 in him,"3 and "/or ever the word was settled heavenP — " All that 
 the Father giveth me shall come to me^^ For the establishment 
 of the Redeemer's kingdom upon earth, " the decree is declared ;" 
 however earth and hell may combine against it — " Yet have I set 
 my king upon my holy hill of Sion."^ And what a blessed encour- 
 agement in the grand work of bringing back " the lost sheep of the 
 house of Israel,"' and those " other sheep" with them, which are 
 not of this fold"^ is it, that we do not depend upon the earnestness 
 of our prayers, the wisdom of our plans, and the diligence of our 
 endeavors; but upon "the word," which ^Hs for ever settled in 
 heaven !" — " The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them 
 that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for me, 
 this is my covenant with them saith the Lord — My Spirit that is 
 upon thee, and my words, which 1 have put in thy mouth, shall not 
 depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out 
 of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from hmiceforth 
 and for ever." " I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of 
 my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, — That unto me 
 every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear."^ 
 
 92. Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine 
 
 affliction. 
 
 The support of the word is as sure as its basis — and that in the 
 time when other supports sink — in ajliction. David — like his great 
 prototype — was a man of affliction^ — sometimes ready to perish — 
 always kept up by the law of his God. How many a false profes- 
 sor has been tried and cast by this hour of " ajliction .'" But he 
 who has been sifted by temptation — who has " endured the hard- 
 ness" of persecution, as a "good soldier of Jesus Christ'"" — and who 
 is ready rather to be ^^ consumed upon earth,^^^^ than to shrink from 
 his profession — this is he whom his Master " will lift up, and not 
 make his foes to rejoice over him."'* It is the established rule of 
 the kingdom — "Them that honor me I will honor. "^ "Because 
 thou hast kept the word of my patience 1 also will keep thee from 
 the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try 
 them that dwell upon the earth."** 
 
 The law of God opens to us a clear interest in every perfection 
 of his Godhead — every engagement of his covenant. What won- 
 
 » Rev. xiii. 8. 2 1 Peter i. 20. 3 Eph. i. 4. < John vi. 37. 
 
 5 Psalm ii. 6—8. « Matt. iv. 24. ^ John x. 16. « Isa. lix. 20, 21 ; xlv. 23. 
 • Psalm cxxxii. 1 . w 2 Tim. ii. 3. " Verse 87. 
 
 »« Paalm xxi. 1. " i Sam. u. 30. " Rev. iu. 10. 
 
VERSE 92. 147 
 
 der then, that it brings delights which the world can never conceive 
 when bowed down with accumulated affliction 7 However the be- 
 liever's real character may be hidden from the world, the hour of 
 trial abundantly proves, both what the law can do for him, and 
 what a lost creature he would have been without it. In affliction, 
 friends mean well ; but of themselves they can do nothing. They 
 can only look on, feel, and pray. They cannot "speak to the 
 heart." This is God's prerogative :^ and his law is his voice. 
 
 But for this support, Jonah probably would have ^^ perished in his 
 affliction.''^ In the belly of the fish, as " in the belly of hell," he 
 appears to have recollected the experience of David under deep and 
 awful desertion ; and in taking his language out of his mouth, as 
 descriptive of his own dark and terrific condition, a ray of light and 
 hope darted upon his dungeon walls.^ Indeed it is a mystery, how 
 a sinner, destitute of the support and comfort of the word of God, 
 can ever uphold himself in his trials. We marvel not, that often, 
 " his soul should choose strangling, and death, rather than his life."' 
 
 But in order to derive support from the law, it must be " our de- 
 lights^'^ — yea — that it may be our delights it must be the matter 
 of our faith. For what solid delight can we have in what we do 
 not beheve ?^ Must it not also be our joy in prosperity, if we would 
 realize its support in affliction '} For this how ineffectual is the 
 mere formal service ! Who ever tasted its tried consolations in the 
 bare performance of the outward duty ? It must be read as a re- 
 ality ; it will then be taken as a cordial. Let it be simply received, 
 diligently searched, and ea nestly prayed over ; and it will guide 
 the heavy-laden to Him, who is their present and eternal rest.« The 
 tempest-tossed soul will cast anchor upon it — " Remember the word 
 unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.^^^ One 
 promise applied by the Spirit of God is worth ten thousand worlds. 
 And each promise is a staff — if we have but faith to lean upon it — 
 able to bear our whole weight of sin, care, and trial. 
 
 Is then affliction our appointed lot ? If " man is born" — and the 
 child of God twice born — " to trouble, as the sparks fly upward"^ — 
 
 ^ Isaiah xl. 2. Hosea ii. 14. Margin. 
 
 2 Jonah ii. 3, with Psalm xlii, 7. The phraseology in the LXX. is identical, as if it 
 were a clear and distinct recollection of the Psalmist s expressions, when describing his 
 own state of desertion. 
 
 3 Job vii. ] 5. Compare 2. Cor. vii. 10. 
 
 ^ " Delights" — instar omnium — instead of all manner of delights. 
 
 5 Psalm xxvii. 13. 
 
 6 Matt. xi. 28. It was the speech of a holy man — after God had made this precious 
 text the messenger to open his dungeon of spiritual distress, and bring him into the light 
 of inward joy — that he had better be without meat, drink, light, air, earth, life, and all, 
 than without this one comfortable Scripture. " If one single promise" — as Gurnal 
 sweetly remarks in giving this story — " like an ear of corn rubbed in the hand of faith, 
 and applied by the Spirit of Christ— can afford such a full satisfying meal of joy to the 
 hunger-bitten, pining soul; oh what price can we set upon the whole field of Scripture, 
 which stands so thick with promises every way as cordial as this !" — Gurnal on Ephe- 
 sians vi. 17. Well might Luther say — " I have covenanted with my Lord, that he should 
 not send me visions, or dreams, or even angels. I am content with this one gift of the 
 Scriptures, which abundantly teaches and supplies all that is necessary both for this life 
 and that which is to come." 7 Verse 49. 8 job v. 7. 
 
148 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 how important is it to lay in a store of supply from this inexhaust- 
 ible treasury against the time when all human support will fail ! 
 Supplied hence with heavenly strength, we shall be borne up above 
 the weakness and weariness of the tiesh. And as the riches of this 
 store-house are " the riches of Christ,"^ let those parts be most fa- 
 miliar to us,2 which mark his person,^ his character/ offices,^ life,« 
 sufferings,'^ and death,^ resurrection and gloryj^ together with the 
 promises, encouragements, and prospects directly flowing from this 
 blessed subject — and oh ! what a treasure-house shall we find 
 richly furnished with every source of delight, and every ground of 
 support ! 
 
 93. 7 tdll never forget thy precepts ; for loith them thou hast quickened me. 
 
 An admirable resolution ! the blessed fruit of the quickening 
 power of the word in his deep affliction. He had before acknowl- 
 edged this supernatural efficacy — " Thy word hath quickened 
 77ie."^° Now he more distinctly mentions it, as the instrumental 
 only — not the efficient cause — " With them thou hast quickened 
 me.'* Had the power been in the word, the same effect would have 
 immediately and invariably followed. Nor should we have been 
 constrained to lament the limited extent of its influence. How 
 many, Christian, shared with you in the outward privileges ; but 
 perhaps unto none was the life-giving blessing vouchsafed, save 
 unto yourself — the most unlikely — the most unworthy of all !" 
 Thus does " God work in us both to will and do" — not according to 
 any prescribed law, but " of his own good pleasure. ^^^'^ The grace 
 therefore is not from, but through, the means. Almighty God is 
 the source of the hfe. The word is the instrument — yet so " quick,"*' 
 so melting,*^ so attractive,'^ that we might ask, out of what rock was 
 that heart hewn, that is proof against its power ? Yet while the 
 precepts work nothing without the agent,'*^ they are the ordinary 
 course, by which the Lord quickeneth whom he will.*^ 
 
 And do not we find them still lively channels of refreshment ? 
 Surely, then, we will hold to our purpose of not forgetting the 
 precepts. The leaves of the word of God are the leaves of the tree 
 of life, as well as of the tree of knowledge. They not only en- 
 hghten the path, but they supply life for daily walk and progress. 
 
 "The words that 1 speak unto you" — said Jesus — ^^they are 
 spirit, and they are life f^^^ so that the times when we have been 
 most diligent in our meditation and obedience to the precepts, have 
 been uniformly the seasons of our most holy consolation. 
 
 Men of the world, however, with accurate recollections of all 
 
 » Eph. iii. 8. John v. 39. 
 
 9 Such as Isaiah liii. which, in the compass of a single chapter sketches out his whole 
 history. See below. 
 
 3 Isaiah liii. 1,2. * lb. ver. 9. Mb. vpr. 4, 5, 12. « lb. ver. 3. 
 
 f lb. ver. 7, 8. 8 jb. ver. 9. " lb. ver. 10—12. i" Verse 50. 
 
 »i Comp. Luke iv. 25, 26. 12 Phil. ii. 13. i3 Heb. iv. 12. 
 
 " Jer. xxiii. 29. ^ Matt. li. 28. »« I Cor. iii. 7. 
 
 »» John T. 21. Rom. x. 17. w John vi. 63. 
 
VERSE 94. 149 
 
 matters connected with their temporal advantage, are remarkbly 
 slow in retaining the truths of God. They plead their short mem- 
 ories, although conscious that this infirmity does not extend to their 
 important secular engagements. But what wonder that they for- 
 get the precepts, when they have never been quickened with them 
 — never received any benefit from them ? The word of God is not 
 precious to them : they acknowledge no obligation to it : they have 
 no acquaintance with it. It has no place in their aflfections, and 
 therefore but little abode in their remembrance. 
 
 But this resolution is the language of sincerity, not of perfection. 
 The child of God is humbled in the conscious '•'' forgetfulness of 
 the Lord's precepts.'^ And this consciousness keeps his eye fixed 
 upon Jesus for pardon and acceptance : while eveiy fresh sense of 
 acceptance strengthens his more habitual remembrance. Then as 
 for his natural inability to preserve an accurate recollection of Di- 
 vine things — let him not estimate the benefit of the word by the 
 results in the memory, so much as by the impressions upon the 
 heart. The word may have darted through the mind, as a flash 
 of lightning, that strikes and is gone ; and yet the heart may have 
 been melted, and the passing flash may have shed a heavenly ray 
 upon a dubious path. If the heart retains the quickening power — 
 " The precepts are not forgottetij^ even though the memory should 
 have failed to preserve them. 
 
 But whatever word of conviction, direction, or encouragement, 
 may have come to us, aflix this seal to it — ' / will never forget 
 thy precepts.^ It may be of signal use in some hour of temptation. 
 Tlie same Spirit that breathed before upon it, may breathe again ; 
 if not with the same present sensible power, yet with a seasonable 
 and refreshing recollection of past support. 
 
 94. I am thine ; save me ; for I have sought thy precepts. 
 
 What a high and honorable character is stamped upon the 
 meanest believer ! He is the Saviour's unahenable property,^ his 
 portion,'^ the " wormanship"^ of his hand, the purchase of his blood,* 
 the triumph of his conquering love.^ He is given to him by his 
 Father" — " preserved in him, and called."^ The evidence of his 
 character is found in " seeking the Lord's precepts J^ " Whom we 
 serve" will prove " whose we are."^ " His servants ye are, to 
 whom ye obey."^ " Know that the Lord hath set apart him that 
 is godly for himself."^" " The carnal mind is not subject to the 
 law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the 
 flesh" cannot seek the Lords precept s.^^ A new and spiritual bias, 
 therefore, is the visible stamp and seal of the Lord's interest in us. 
 
 True it is, that our Divine Saviour can never be robbed of his pro- 
 perty — that his people are saved in him, beyond the reach of earth 
 
 1 1 Cor. iii. 23. 2 Deut, xxxii. 9. 3 Eph. ii. 10. 
 
 4 Psalm Ixxiv. 2. Acts xx. 28. 1 Cor. vi, 19, 20. 
 
 8 Isaiah liii. 10—12. Luke xi. 21, 22. 6 John vi. 37; x. 29; xvii. 6, 11. 
 
 ^ Jude i. 8 Acts xivii. 23. » Rom. vi. 16. 
 
 w Psalm iv. 3. " Rom. viii. 7, 8. 
 
lOO EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 and hell to touch them. Yet are they dependent still — always sin- 
 ners — every day's provocation making them more sinners than be- 
 fore ; needing, therefore, from day to day, fresh power, fresh keeping", 
 and above all, fresh cleansing and acceptance. But what a pow- 
 erful plea for mercy may we draw from the Lord's interest in us ! 
 Will not a man be careful of his children, his treasure, his jewels ? 
 Such am I.^ Thy sovereign love hath bought me — made me 
 thine^ — I am thine ; save me. Thou hast saved me ; '• thou hast 
 delivered my soul from death ; wilt thou not deliver my feet from 
 falling ?"2 Save me from the love of sin, from the daily guilt and 
 power of sin ; from the treachery of my own foolish heart ; from 
 all this, and all besides, which thou seest ensnaring to my soul. 
 If I am not thine, whence this desire, this endeavor to " seek thy 
 precepts T What mean my privileged moments of communion 
 with thee ? What mean the yet unsatisfied desires after a confor- 
 mity to thine image ? Lord, I would humbly plead thine own 
 act, thy free and sovereign act, that made me thine. Save me, 
 because thou hast brought thy salvation near to me, and sealed 
 me thine. I need mercy to begin with me ; mercy to accompany 
 me ; mercy to abide with me for ever. " / am, thine^ save meP 
 
 And what irresistible energy does it give to our pleading, that 
 this was the sole purpose, that brought down the Son of God from 
 heaven ! "I came down" — said he — " from heaven, not to do 
 mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the 
 Father'' s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given 
 me I should lose nothing^* Of this purpose he was enabled to 
 testify at the conclusion of his work — " Those that thou gavest 
 me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdi- 
 tionP^ 
 
 But some cry for salvation, who neglect duty, and thus make 
 void their plea. Can we make our interest good, by seeking his 
 precepts 7 Is it the way in which we love to walk ? Then let 
 us not desist from our plea before God, until our heart listens to the 
 voice of love, centering every blessing of creation, redemption, and 
 heavenly calling, in the privilege of adoption — " Thus saith the 
 Lord, that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O 
 Israel : Fear not, for I have redeemed thee : I have called thee by 
 thy name ; thou art m,ine. Thou art my servant; O Israel, thou 
 shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, 
 thy transgressions ; and as a cloud, thy sins."« 1 have regarded this 
 thy plea. I have heard this thy prayer — " / am thine, save meP'' 
 
 95. The wicked have waited for me to destroy me ; but I will consider thy tes- 
 
 tvnonies. 
 
 Am I, as a believer, safe as the Lord's property, and in the Lord's 
 
 1 Heb. ii. 13. Exodus xix. 5. Mai. iii. 17. 2 Isaiah xliii. 3, 4. 
 
 3 Psalm Ivi. 13. < John vi. 38, 39. » lb. xvu. 12 ; xvui. 9. 
 
 6 Isaiah xliii. 1; xliv. 21, 22. 
 
 7 The same plea b urged in prayer, Psalm cxliii. 12; Ixxxvi. 2. Margin. Compare 
 also verse 125. 
 
VERSE 95. 151 
 
 keeping ? Yet must I expect that the wicked, the ungodly, as the 
 instruments of Satan, will not cease to distress me. The Psalmist 
 had before alluded to this trial, as driving him to his refuge.^ And, 
 indeed, this is the constant character of the believer's walk — endur- 
 ing the enmity of the ungodly, and seeking his refuge in the word 
 of God — in that hiding-place of safety to which the word directs 
 him. How striking is the proof of the irreconcilable variance be- 
 tween God and the world — the world encouraging all that is con- 
 trary to God, and persecuting his image in his people ! Yet the 
 word opens to us a sure defence. If our " soul is among lions,"* 
 cannot we testify to the astonishment of the world — " My God 
 hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they 
 have not hurt me ?"3 We hear indeed the roaring of the winds 
 and waves ; but we hear also the voice hushing the storm to rest — 
 *' Peace, be still."* 
 
 The experience of this trial and support beautifully illustrates the 
 promise — " He that believeth shall not make haste."* He whose 
 hope is firmly fixed on that " tried corner-stone," which God him- 
 self hath " laid in Zion as a sure foundation" — " shall not be 
 greatly moved ;" nay, he " shall not moved"^ at all, by *' the wicked 
 waiting for him to destroy him^ In the hour of difficulty, 
 instead of perplexing himself with successive expedients for his 
 safety (sought more from human contrivance, than from asking 
 counsel at the mouth of God,) he " possesses his soul in patience," 
 and calmly commits all events to the Lord. Such a man "shall 
 not be afraid of evil tidings ! his heart is fixed, trusting in the 
 Lord."^ ' This trust is grounded on the word of God, revealing 
 his power and all-sufficiency, and withal his goodness, his offer of 
 himself to be the stay of the soul, commanding us to rest upon him. 
 People wait on I know not what persuasions and assurances ; but 
 I know no other to build faith on, but the word of promise. The 
 truth and faithfulness of God opened up his wisdom and power and 
 goodness, as the stay of all those that, renouncing all other props, 
 will venture on it, and lay all upon him. "He that believes, sets 
 to his seal that God is true :" and so he is sealed for God ; his por- 
 tion and interest secured. " If you will not believe, surely ye shall 
 not be established." '^ 
 
 But it is the " considering of the Lord's testimonies," that draws 
 out their staying support. The soul must be fixed upon them, as 
 "tried words, purified seven times in the fire."' And in this frame 
 " Iwill,^^ under all distresses, all circumstances of trial, or even of 
 dismay, " consider thy testimonies^ " I will consider''^ the faith- 
 fulness of those blessed declarations — " There shall not an hair of 
 your head perish. Touch not mine anointed."^" " He that toucheth 
 
 1 Verses 78, 87. Comp. ver. 114, 115. 2 Psalm Ivii. 4. 3 Daniel vi. 22. 
 
 * Mark iv. 39. ' Isaiah xxviii. 16. 
 
 5 Psalm Ixii. 2, 6. His confidence increased in tiie recollection of his support — " I 
 shall not be greatly moved — I shall not he moved." 
 
 f Psalm cxii. 7. 8 Leighton's Works, iii. 256, 257. 
 
 9 Psalm lii. 7, P. B. Trans. i° Luke xxi. 18. Psalm cv. 15. 
 
152 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 you, toucheth the apple of mine eye."^ With this armor of defence 
 I shall not be afraid, even should I hear the " evil tidings," that 
 " the wicked have waited for me to destroy meP Or even should 
 I be destroyed, I know that thy testimonies cannot fail — that m.y 
 rock is perfect — " that there is no unrighteousness in him ;"» and 
 therefore, "though a host should encamp against me, my heart 
 shall not fear ; though war should rise against me, in this will I be 
 confident."^ Whether, then, I am delivered from the wicked, and 
 '• live — I live unto the Lord ;" or whether I fall into their snare, 
 and •' die — 1 die unto the Lord ;"^ for " / ivill consider thy testimo- 
 niesj'^ assured that all thy purposes shall be accomplished concern- 
 ing me, as thou hast said — " I will never leave thee, nor forsake 
 thee."^ " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is 
 stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee."^ 
 
 97. 1 have seen an end of all perfection ; but thy commandment is exceeding 
 
 broad. 
 
 A DEEPER insight in the Lord's " testimo7iies'^ is the sure result 
 of ^^ considering^^ them. Weigh them in the balances against 
 this world's excellency ; the world and the word — each with all its 
 fulness. Of the one perfection we see an end — of the other — none. 
 This world is a matter of experience and observation. We have 
 seen it — an end — not of some — but of all its perfection. It wants 
 sufficiency. It stands us in no stead in the great emergencies of 
 affliction — death — judgment — eternity. It wants solidity in its 
 best substance. "In its wisdom is grief !"^ All its delicacies and 
 indulgences — after having, like the King of Jerusalem, " not with- 
 held the heart from any joy" — all ends in the verdict of disap- 
 pointment — " Behold ! all was vanity and vexation of spirit I"^ Its 
 continuance is biit for a moment. The soul is born for eternity. 
 Therefore it must have a portion to last as long as itself But the 
 world, with its lusts and fashion, passeth away.^ All that it can 
 offer is a bubble — a shadow. In its best riches, honors, and pleas- 
 ures — in (he utmost that its perfection can yield — in its height nd 
 prime of enjoyment — what is it in itself — what is it able to do for 
 us? "All is vanity." 1° And yet such is the alienation of the heart 
 from God, that it is first tried to the very uttermost, before any 
 desire to return homeward is felt or expressed. And even then, 
 nothing but the Almighty power of God can bring the sin- 
 ner back. He would rather perish in his misery, than " return 
 to his rest." 
 
 Now contrast with the emptiness of the world the fulness of " the 
 comm^andment of God.''^ Our whole duty to our God, our neighbor, 
 and ourselves, is here laid open before us — commanding without 
 abatement, and forbidding without allowance — making no excuse 
 for ignorance — frailty — or forgetfulness — reaching not only to every 
 
 » Zech. ii. 8. 2 pgalm xcii. 15. a lb. xxyW. 3. 
 
 * Rom. xiv, 8. 5 Heb. xiii. 5. ^ Isaiah xxvi. 3. 
 
 1 Eccl. i. 18. 8 lb, U. 10, 11. » lb. i. 2. 
 
 " 1 John u. 17. 1 Cor. vii. 31. 
 
 ce, "I 
 
VERSE 96. 153 
 
 species of crime, but to everything tending to it. This is "per- 
 fectio7i,^^ of which we never "see an en3." Every fresh view 
 opens — not the extent — but the immensity of the field ; and com- 
 pels us at length to shut up our inquiries with the adoring acknowl- 
 edgment — Thi/ commaiidment is exceeding broad. Its various 
 parts form one seamless piece ; so that no particle can be separated 
 without injur}'' to the whole. As all the curtains of the tabernacle, 
 connected by taches and loops, made but one covering for the ark, 
 and the loosening or disjunction of the smallest point disannulled 
 the fitness of the whole ; so it belongs to the perfection of the com- 
 7nandment^ that " whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet of- 
 fend in one point, he is guilty of all."^ The spirituahty of its re- 
 quirements equally illustrates its Divine '•^ 'perfection^ An angry 
 look is murder ;* an unchaste desire is adultery f the " stumbling- 
 block of iniquity"^ — '• covetousness"^ in the heart is idolatry ; the 
 thought" as well as the act — the first conception of sin, as well as 
 the after commission — brings in the verdict — Guilty — Death. 
 
 Can we then endure the sight of its " exceeding breadth ?" 
 Yes — for the commaridment of the GospeP is equally broad^ and 
 covers all.^ We know who hath stood in our place — who hath sat- 
 isfied Sinai's unalterable requirements, and borne its awful curse.^ 
 Broad as it may be, the love which hath fulfilled it is immeasurable. 
 As a covenant, therefore, it has now lost its terrors. As a rule, we love 
 it for its extent, and for its purity ; for the comprehensiveness of its 
 obligations, and for the narrowness of its liberty for indulgence ; nor 
 would we wish to be subject to a less severe scrutiny, or a more 
 lenient administration. 
 
 Reader ! If you have learnt " the exceeding breadtK'' and spirit- 
 uality of the law (the first lesson that is taught and learnt in the 
 school of Christ,) your views of yourself and your state before God 
 will be totally changed. Before, you were " thanking God" in your 
 heart, " that you were not as other men are." Now you will be " smi- 
 ting upon your breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner !"^* 
 Before, perhaps you might have thought yourself, " touching the 
 righteousness which is of the law, blameless." Now you will glory 
 in your new and more enlightened choice — "What things were gain 
 to me, those I counted loss for Christ."^^ Once you considered your- 
 self " alive," when you were really dead. Now that " the com- 
 mandment is come" in its heart-searching spirituality and convic- 
 tion to your soul, you " die"^^ t^a^ you may live. Blessed change 
 from the law to the Gospel — " from death to life !" " I through 
 the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God."^^ 
 
 Such is the effect of the transition from a legal to an evangelical 
 ground. Before, we were reckless of sin, and therefore reckless of 
 
 1 James ii. 10, 11. 2 Matt. v. 21, 22. Comp. 1 John iii. 15. 
 
 3 Matt. V. 27. * Ezek. xiv. 7. s Ephes. v. 5. 
 
 6 Prov. xxiv. 9. Compare xxiii. 7. "^ John vi. 28, 29. 1 John iii. 23. 
 
 8 Rom. iii. 22. 9 Gal. iv. 4, 5 ; iii. 13. 1° Luke xviii. 9—13. 
 
 " PhU. iii. 6, 7. 12 Romans vii. 9. 13 Gal. il 19. 
 
154 ' EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 the Gospel. As the one fell lightly upon our conscience, the other 
 held a light estimation in our judgment. While we had no dis- 
 turbance from the law, we had no delight in the Gospel. But now' 
 that we see through the true mirror, we are at once alarmed and 
 enlightened. Praised be God ! — we now take the true estimate — , 
 we degrade to the uttermost righteousness by works — we exalt to 
 the uttermost righteousness by faith. In the one we see pollution — 
 in the other perfection. 
 
 PART XIII. 1 
 
 97. Oh ! how love I thy law ! it is my meditation all the day. 
 
 Mark the man of God giving utterance to his feelings of heav- 
 enly dehght — expressing most, by intimating, that he cannot ade- 
 quately express what he desires. He seems unable to restrain his 
 acknowledgments of Divine influence springing up in his heart — 
 ^^Oh! how love I thy law!''' This experience is most distinctive 
 of a spiritual character. The professor may read, and understand, 
 and even externally obey the law ; but the believer only loves it ; 
 and he hves in it, as if he could not live without it. To the pro- 
 fessor it is a task imposed to satisfy conscience. " The veil upon 
 the heart"^ darkens all his spiritual apprehension, and consequently 
 excludes spiritual delight. To the child of God it is food and med- 
 icine, light and comfort — yea, " life from the dead." The law of 
 precept in the world is a "law of liberty"^ — a law of love — in his 
 heart. His former obedience was the bondage of fear. But how 
 different is the eflfect of constraining love ! He now delights to 
 view it in every Hneament. He dwells upon every feature with in- 
 tense enjoyment. Before, it was his confinement — his chain. Now, 
 it is his liberty — his ornament. He is not what he was, " Old things 
 are passed away : behold, all things are become new."^ 
 
 Think what good reason there is to love the law. It is the epis- 
 tle of our most beloved friend — not to be slighted, but to be placed 
 in our bosom — nearest our hearts. It sets out that relief, without 
 which the conscience would have been tortured with the never- 
 dying worm." There is more of glory — more of God — in this, than 
 in any other manifestation of his name." It has ever been the mir- 
 ror, that has reflected Christ to his Church. The spiritual eye dis- 
 cerns him in every part.' Now — reader — do you search for him in 
 
 1 "I enjoyed a solemn seriousnesu in learning Mem in the n9th Psalm." — Martyn's 
 Journals, vol. i. p. 191 . 
 
 2 2 Cor. iu. 15. 3 jamcs i. 25. < 2 Cor. v. 17. 
 
 « 2 Cor. V. 19. 6 Psalm cxxxviii. 2. Eph. iii. 10. 2 Tim. i. 10. 
 
 7 John v. 39. "Were I to enjoy Hezekiah's grant, ancl to have fifleea years added 
 
VERSE 97. 155 
 
 his law ? Do you " love his law" because it " testifies of him ?" 
 Do you pray for his Spirit, that his law may guide you to him? 
 This is the evidence, tliat you have " turned unto the Lord, when 
 the veil is taken away," and you " with unveiled face behold in 
 this glass the glory of the Lord."^ Then if you do love his law, 
 you will love the whole of it — its obligations as well as its priv- 
 ileges. You will love it at all times,^ even when it is thwarting 
 your own will and way. The whole law is light and love — wis- 
 dom and faithfulness. 
 
 But love of the law fastens the soul to the beloved object, " It is 
 my meditation all the dayP^ When you cannot have it in your 
 hand, it will be found, if indeed your soul is in a prosperous state, 
 " hid in your heart." There it is kept as your most precious treas- 
 ure ; while you live upon it with unwearied appetite as your daily 
 bread, and exercise yourself in it as your daily rule. Oh, how 
 worthy is it of all the love of the warmest heart ! The deepest stu- 
 dents are most humbled for their want of suitable enlargement. 
 
 But this heavenly spirit can only be grounded upon a sense of 
 reconciliation. Can an unreconciled sinner be interested in the law, 
 in every page of which he reads his own condemnation ? This ex- 
 plains the enmity of the ungodly.^ But the cultivation of this 
 spirit u^on the grcund of the Gospel is a most important principle 
 of Christian steadfastness, the want of which has been the source of 
 fearful delusion \^ and in the exercise of which we shall realize a 
 deeper insight, and more spiritual discernment of Scriptural Truth. 
 Warm affections will be far more influential than talent, or mere 
 external knowledge. 
 
 This habit of love and holy meditation will spread its influence 
 over our whole character. It will fill our hearts with heavenly 
 matter for prayer, diffuse a sweet savor over our earthly employ- 
 ments, sanctify the common bounties of Providence,^ realize the 
 presence of God throughout the day, command prosperity upon our 
 lawful undertakings/ and enlarge our usefulness in the Church. ^ 
 Thus the man of God is formed in his completeness, symmetry, and 
 attraction — such as the world is often constrained secretly to admire, 
 even where the heart is unready to follow. 
 
 Lord ! implant in my heart a supreme " love to thy law." Write 
 it upon my heart — even that new law, " the law of the Spirit of 
 
 to my life, I would be much more frequent in my applications to the throne of grace. 
 Were I to renew my studies, I would take my leave of those accomplished triflers — the 
 historians, the orators, the poets of antiquity — and devote my attention to the Scriptures 
 of truth. I would sit with much greater assiduity at my Divine Master's feet, and de- 
 sire to know nothing but 'Jesus Christ and him crucified.' This wisdom, whose fruits 
 are peace in life, consolation in death, and everlasting salvation after death — this I would 
 trace — this I would seek — this I would explore through the spacious and delightful fields 
 of the Old and New Testament." Such was the testimony of one, who had cultivated 
 the classic fields with no inconsiderable success, and who above most men had enriched 
 his soul with the glorious treasures of the word of God — whose praise is in all the 
 churches as the Author of "Theron and Aspasio." 
 
 1 2 Cor. iii. 15—18. 2 Verse 20. 3 Psalm i. 2. 
 
 4 Compare 1 Kings xxii. 8. 5 See 2 Thess. ii. 10, 11. 
 
 « 1 Tim. iv. 4, 5. t Ps. i. 3. Comp. Jos. i. 7, 8. 8 1 Tim. iv. 15. 
 
156 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 life in Christ Jesus.''^ May I love it so that I may be always med- 
 itating upon it, and by continual meditation yet more enlarging my 
 love and delight in it ! So let it prove an ever-springing source 
 of heavenly enjoyment and holy conversation ! 
 
 98. Thou, through thy commandments, hast made me wiser than mine enemies ; 
 for they are ever toiOi me. 99. / huve more understanding than all my 
 teachers : for thy testimonies are my meditation. 100. / understand more 
 than the ancients, because 1 keep thy precepts. 
 
 What a fruitful harvest did David reap from his glowing love, 
 and " daily meditation on the law of God /" He became " wiser 
 than his enemies'^ in "subtlety,"^ — "-than all his teachers''^ in doc- 
 trine, " than the ancients'^ in experience. Yet he is not speaking 
 of his extraordinary gift as a prophet, but of his knowledge gained 
 by ordinary means. Nor is he here boasting of his own attain- 
 ments ; but commending the grace of God in and towards him — 
 " Thou^ through thy commandments hast m^ade me wiser. ''^^ How 
 much more wisdom does the persecuted behever draw from the word 
 of God, than his persecutors have ever acquired from the learning 
 of this world ! Those, however, who have been effectually taught 
 of God, need to be daily .taught of him. While they rest upon 
 their God, and seek counsel at his word, they are wise indeed ; yet 
 when they trust to their own wisdom, and turn to their own coun- 
 sel, they become a by-word and occasion of offence by their own 
 folly. Was David " wiser than his enemies or his teachers^''' when 
 he dissembled himself to fight against his own people* — or when 
 he yielded to the indulgence of lust^ — or when in the pride of his 
 heart he numbered the people ?« Alas ! how often do even God's 
 children befool themselves in the ways of sin ! 
 
 But how did David attain this Divine wisdom ? Not by habits 
 of extensive reading — not by natural intelligence — but by a diligent 
 meditation in the testimonies.'' In order to avail ourselves how- 
 ever of this means — a simple reception of the Divine testiinony is 
 of absolute importance. We can never obtain that assurance of 
 the certainty of our faith, which is indispensable to our peace, or re- 
 sist the influence of unenhghtened *'' teachers''' — or the long-estab- 
 lished worldly maxims of ^'the ancients,^^ except by entire sifhrnis- 
 sion to the supreme authority of Scripture. Many sincere Chris- 
 tians — especially at the outset of their course — are much hindered — 
 either by the scepticism of others, or of their own minds ; or from 
 their previous habit of studying the Bible in the light of carnal wis- 
 dom, or in dependence upon human teaching. Such need special 
 prayer for humility of mind and simplicity of faith. Under this 
 gracious influence they will discern that path to glory, which in in- 
 finite condescension is made so plain, that " the wayfaring men, 
 though fools, shall not err therein," and the unlearned believer, who 
 
 * Rom. viil. 2. 2 Prov. i. 1, 4. » lb. ii. 6. James i. 17. 
 
 * 1 Sam, xxvii. 5 2 Sam. xi. • lb, xxiv. 
 7 This was bound upon him as a king. Deut xyii. 18, 19. 
 
VERSE 101. 157 
 
 has the word before his eyes, in his heart, and in his life, shall be- 
 come "perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."^ 
 
 In our Christian progress, David's habit of scriptural meditation 
 will prove of essential service. For while those who "confer with 
 flesh and blood" cannot have their counsellors always at hand ; we, 
 seeking our wisdom from the word of God, have the best Counsel- 
 lor " ever with us,^^ teaching us what to do, and what to expect. 
 Obedience also, as well as meditation, directs our way. David 
 found understandings because he kept the precepts. And David's 
 Lord has pointed out the same path of light : " If any man will 
 do God's wills he shall know of the docti'iney^ " Thou mectest 
 him that rejoiceth, and worketh righteousness — those that remem- 
 ber thee in thy waysP^ Thy ways truly are ways of light, joy and 
 love! 
 
 Now let us turn in, and inquire — What is our daily use of the 
 word of God ? Are we satisfied with a slight looking, or seeking 
 an intimate acquaintance with it ? Is its influence ever present — 
 ever practical ? Do we prize it as a welcome gdest ? Is it our de- 
 lightful companion and guide ? Oh ! meditate in this blessed book. 
 " Eat the word," when you have " found it ; and it will be unto 
 you the joy and rejoicing of your heart."^ The name of Jesus — its 
 great subject — will be more precious — your love will be inflamed^ — 
 your perseverance established^ — and your heart enlivened in the 
 spirit of praise.'' Thus bringing your mind into close and continual 
 contact with "<Ae testimonies of God^^ and pressing out the sweet- 
 ness from the precious volume, it will drop, as from the honeycomb, 
 daily comfort and refreshment upon your heart.^ 
 
 101. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that 1 might keep thy word. 
 
 David's wisdom was of a practical — not of a mere intellectual 
 or speculative character. It taught him to ^^ keep the Lord's pre- 
 cepts ;^^ and in order to do this, to " refrain his feet from every evil 
 way.''^ And will not advancing wisdom show itself by increasing 
 tenderness of conscience and carefulness of conduct ? The professor 
 is afraid of hell — the child of God, of sin. The one refrains from 
 the outward act — the other seeks to be crucified to the love of sin. 
 Observe not only the practice but the motive — that he might keep 
 the word. Shall we not " abhor that which is evil," that we might 
 "cleave to that which is good"^ — abstaining from " all appearance of 
 
 1 Isaiah xxxv. 8. 2 Tim. iii. 17. 2 John vii. 17. 
 
 3 Isaiah Ixiv. 5. Comp. John xiv. 21 — 23. 4 jer. xv. 16, 
 
 5 Psalm xxxix. 3. « Verses 23, 95. t Psalm Ixiii. 5, 6. 
 
 8 Thus Luther recommends us to " pause at any verse of Scripture we choose, and to 
 shake, as it were, every bough of it; that, if possible, some fruit at least may drop down 
 to us. Should this mode" — he remarks — " appear somewhat difficult at first, and no 
 thought suggest itself immediately to the mind capable of affording matter for a short 
 ejaculation ; yet persevere, and try another and another bough. If your soul really hun- 
 gers, the Spirit of God will not send you away empty. You shall at length find in one, 
 and that perhaps a short verse in Scripture, such an abundance of delicious fruit, that 
 you will gladly seat yourself under its shade, and abide there, as under a tree laden 
 with fruit?' ^ 9 Rom. xii. 9. 
 
158 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 evil,"^ lest unconsciously we should be drawn into the atmosphere 
 of sin — " hating even the garment spotted by the flesh"^ — fearing- 
 the infection of sin worse than death ? But how fearful the danger 
 of self-deception ! What need to entreat the Lord to " see if there 
 be any wicked way in us I"^ Oh ! for the large supply of grace and 
 unction, to maintain an upright walk before a heart-searching God ; 
 to " keep ourselves from our iniquity ;"'* and in dependence upon the 
 promises, and in the strength of the Gospel, to " perfect hohness in 
 the fear of God !"« 
 
 But how awful to hear men talk of keeping the word in a loose 
 and careless profession ! For how can it be kept, if the heart has 
 not felt its holiness ? For this is its beautiful peculiarity ; that, in 
 order to keep it, there must be a separation from sin. The two 
 things are incompatible with each other. The two services are 
 at variance at every point ; so that the love of sin must be cast 
 out where the love of God is ingrafted in the heart. Yet so 
 strongly are we disposed to every evil way^ that only the Al- 
 mighty power of grace can enable us to " refrain frorrC* one or 
 another crooked path. Often is the pilgrim (yea, has it not too 
 often happened to ourselves?) held back by a temporary ascen- 
 dency of the flesh — by a little license given to sin — or by a relaxed 
 circumspection of walk. At such seasons the blessed privilege of 
 ^''keeping the wordP'' is lost. We are sensible of a declining delight 
 in those spiritual duties, which before were " our chiefest joy." And 
 " is there not a cause ?" Have we not provoked our gracious God 
 by harboring his enemy in our bosom — nay, more — by pleading for 
 its indulgence ? Has not " the Holy Spirit been grieved" by neg- 
 lect, or by some worldly compliance : so that his light has been ob- 
 scured, and his comforting influence quenched ? No consolations, 
 consistent with the love and power of sin, can ever come from the 
 Lord. For the holiness of the word of God cannot be either spirit- 
 ually understood, or experimentally enjoyed, but in a consistent 
 Christian walk. And yet such is the true blessedness of the word, 
 that the very expectation of keeping it may operate as a principle 
 of restraint '''-from every evil way.^^ 
 
 Is there any bondage in this restraint from sin ? Oh, no ! Sin 
 is slavery ; and therefore deliverance from it is " perfect freedom." 
 There is indeed a legal restraint much to be deprecated, when the 
 conscience is goaded by sins of omission or of wilfulness ; and the 
 man, ignorant of, or imperfectly acquainted with, the only way of 
 deliverance, hopes to get rid of his burden by a more circumspect 
 walk. But not till he casts it at the foot of the cross, and learns to 
 look wholly to Jesus his deliverer, can he form his resolution 
 upon safe and effectual grounds. Oh, may I therefore seek to 
 abide within a constant view of Calvary ! Sin will live every- 
 where, but under the cross of Jesus. Here it withers and dies. 
 Here rises the spring of that holiness, contrition and love, which 
 
 » 1 Thess. V. 22. 2 Jude 23. » Psalm cxixix. 24. 
 
 < lb. xviii. 23. 6 2 Cor. vii. 1. 
 
VERSE 102. 159 
 
 refreshes and quickens the soul. Here then let me live ; here let 
 me die.* 
 
 Blessed Lord ! Thou knowest that I desire to " keep thy wordP 
 Prepare my heart to receive and to retain it. May I so " abide in 
 Christ," that I may receive the sanctifying help of his Spirit for 
 every moment's need ! And while I rejoice in him as my Saviour, 
 may 1 become daily more sensible of every deviation from the 
 straight path ! May my eye guide my feet ! " Looking to Jesus," 
 may I have light and grace ! And may daily grace be given to 
 " refrain my feet from every evil way^ that I may keep thy 
 word /" 
 
 102. I have not departed from thy judgments ; for thou hast taught me. 
 
 If " / have refrained my feet frorri)'* sin — if " / have not de- 
 parted from Gods judgments'^ — to him be all the glory. O my 
 soul ! art thou not a wonder to thyself? So prone to depart — to 
 be carried away by uncertain notions — by the opposition of Satan 
 — by the example or influence of the world — how is it, that thou 
 art able to hold on thy way ? Because the covenant of the Lord 
 engages thy perseverance,^" I will put my fear in their hearts, 
 that they shall not depart from me.'"^ While conscious of my own 
 corrupt bias to depart, let me humbly and thankfully own the 
 work of Divine teaching. Man's teaching is powerless in advancing 
 the soul one step in Christian progress. The teaching from above 
 is '-' the light of life."^ It gives not only the light, but the principle 
 to improve it. It not only points the lesson, and makes it plain ; but 
 iniparts the disposition to learn, and the grace to obey. So that now 
 I see the beauty, the pleasantness, the peace, and the holiness 
 of " the Lord^s judgments^^^ and am naturally constrained to walk 
 in them. Oh how much more frequent would be our acknowl- 
 edgment of the work of God, did we keep nearer to the Fountain- 
 head of life and light !* How may we trace every declension in 
 doctrine and practice — all our continual estrangement from the 
 Lord's judgments — to following our own wisdom, or depending 
 upon human teaching ! " Trusting in man" is the departing of 
 the heart from the Lord.'' I never shall depart from sin by the in- 
 fluence of human persuasion. I never shall depart from the Lord, 
 so long as I have the witness in my heart — Thou teachest me. 
 
 Reader ! what has been your habit and progress " in the judg- 
 ments of God!'''' Have you been careful to avoid by-patbs? 
 Has your walk been consistent, steady, advancing " in the fear of 
 the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost V^ If there has 
 
 1 " When I am assaulted by some wicked thought, I then betake me to the wounds of 
 Christ. When my flesh casteth me down, by the remembrance of my Saviour's wounds, 
 I rise up again. Am I inflamed with lust'? I quench that fire with the meditation of 
 Christ's passion. Christ died for us. There is nothing so deadly, that is not cured by 
 the death of ChnsV'— Augustine. 
 
 * Jer. xxxii. 40. Compare xxxi. 33. 1 John ii. 27. 
 
 3 John viii. 12. Comp. Eph. v. 14. * Psalm xxxvi. 9. 
 
 « Jer. xvii. 5. 6 Acte ix. 31. 
 
160 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 been no allowed departure from the ways of God, it has been the 
 blessed fruit of " ceasing from your own wisdom,"' and simple de- 
 pendence upon the promise " written in the prophets — And they 
 shall be all taught of God." And how delightfully does this heav- 
 enly teaching draw your heart with a deeper sense of need and 
 comfort to the Saviour ! For, as he himself speaks, " every man 
 therefore that hath heard^ and hath learned of the Father^ cometh 
 unto meP'^ Remember — it was no superior virtue or discernment, 
 that has restrained your departure from God, but — " Thou hast 
 taught Twe" the way to come to God ; the way to abide in him — 
 Christ the way — Christ the end. And his teaching will abide with 
 you.^ It will win you by light and by love, and by a conquering 
 power allure your heart with that delight in his judgments, and 
 fear of offending against them, that shall prove an effectual safe- 
 guard in the hour of temptation. Watch the first step of departure 
 — the neglect of secret prayer — the want of appetite for the sincere 
 word — the laxing of diligence — the loss of the savor of godliness. 
 Be careful therefore that the teaching of the Lord be not lost upon 
 you. Inquire into your proficiency in his instructive lessons. And 
 do not forget to prize his teaching rod — that loving correction, of 
 which David had felt the blessing,'' and which he so often uses, to 
 keep his children from " departing from his judgTuents.''^ 
 
 Lord ! do thou lead me by the hand, that I may make daily pro- 
 gress in " thy judgments.^'' Restrain my feet from " perpetual 
 backsliding.'* All human instruction will be ineffectual to keep 
 me from '' departing from thy judgments j'' except " thou teachest 
 meP Neither grace received, nor experience attained, nor engage- 
 ments regarded, will secure me for one moment without continual 
 teaching from thyself. 
 
 103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste ! yea, sweeter than honey to my 
 
 mouth. 
 
 None but a child of God could take up this expression ; because 
 none besides has a spiritual taste. The exercises of David in this 
 sacred word were delightfully varied. Its majesty commanded his 
 reverence.* Its riches calleth forth his love." Its sweetness excited 
 his joy. Its holy light, keeping his heart close with God,'' naturally 
 endeared it to his soul.^ How barren is a mere external knowledge 
 of the Gospel ! The natural man may talk or even dispute about 
 its precious truths. But he has never tasted them — at least not so 
 as to relish and feed on them. The highest commendation can- 
 not explain the sweetness of honey^ to one who has never tasted it. 
 Thus nothing but experience can give a spiritual intelligence. 
 But what we have really tasted, we can warmly commend — "Oh! 
 
 * Prov. xxiii. 4. 2 igaiah liv. 13, with John vi. 45. 
 
 8 1 John ii. 24, 27. < Verse 67. s Verses 129, 161. 
 
 • 6 Verses 72, 127. Ps. xix. 10. 7 Verse 102. 
 
 8 Verse 140. Thrice in one short Psalm does he stir up his habit of praise of the word, 
 and of the God that gave it. See Psahn Ivi. 4, 10. 
 
 » Prov. xxiv. 13. 14. 
 
VERSE 103. 161 
 
 taste and see that the Lord is good."^ Having once tasted of his 
 Divine goodness, the sweetest joys of earth will be insipid, distaste- 
 ful, and even bitter. 
 
 Do we ask — what is it that gives this unutterable sweetness to 
 the word?'* Is it not that name, which "is as ointment poured 
 forth ?"^ Is it not "the savor of the knowledge in Christ,'-* that 
 revives the soul in every page with the breath of heaven ? For 
 can the awakened sinner hear, that " God so loved the world, that 
 he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him 
 should not perish, but have everlasting life"^ — and not be ready to 
 say, " How sweet are thy words urito my taste^ yea, sweeter than 
 honey unto my mouth V Can the weary soul listen to the invita- 
 tion to " all that labor and are heavy laden ;"« and not feel the " sweet- 
 ness^'' of those breathings of love ? Who can tell the sweetness of 
 those precious words to the conflicting, tempted soul — displaying 
 the Divine sovereignty in choosing him — and the unchanging faith- 
 fulness in keeping him, and the almighty power of the Divine will, 
 in the gift of eternal life V And how can the believer hear his Sa- 
 viour " knock at the door" of his heart, calling him to fresh com- 
 munion with himself;^ and not to turn to him with the ardent 
 excitement of his love, — "All thy garments smell of myrrh, and 
 aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have 
 made thee glad ?"3 
 
 But are there not times when we gather no sweetness from the 
 word ? It is with the spiritual as with the natural food — a want 
 of appetite gives disgust, instead of sweetness and refreshment. 
 An indolent reading of the word without faith — without desire — 
 without application — or with a taste vitiated by contact with the 
 things of sense — deadens the palate — " The full soul loatheth the 
 honey-comb ; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.''^" 
 
 But how melancholy is the thought of the multitudes, that hear, 
 read, understand the word, and yet have never tasted its sweetness ! 
 Like Barzillai, they have no sense to " discern between good and 
 evil."^i Full of the word, or of their own conceits — feeding on the 
 delusive enjoyments of creature-comforts — nourishing some bane- 
 ful corruption in their bosoms*^ — qj. cankered with the spirit of for- 
 mality — they have no palate for the things of God ; they are 
 " dead in trespasses and sins." But how sweet is the word to the 
 hungering and thirsting taste ! We eat, and are not satisfied. 
 We drink, and long to drink again. " If so be we have tasted that 
 the Lord is gracious, as new-born babes" we shall " desire the sin- 
 cere milk of the word, that we may grow thereby." ^^ We shall 
 take heed of any indulgence of the flesh, which may hinder the 
 spiritual enjoyment, and cause us to " loathe" even " angels' food" 
 as " light bread."'* Instead of resting in our present experience of 
 
 1 Ps. xxxiv. 8. 2 lb. xix. 10. Job xxiii. 12. 3 Canticles i. 3. 
 
 * 2 Cor. ii. 14. s John iii. 16. « Matt. xi. 28. Comp. Prov. xvi. 24. 
 
 7 John X. 28. 8 Rev. iii. 20. 9 Psalm xiv. 8. 
 
 10 Prov. xxvii. 7. » 2 Samuel xix. 35. 
 
 12 See 1 Peter u. 1, 3. i3 ib. 2, 3. " Psalm Ixxviii. 25. Numb. xxi. 5. 
 
 11 
 
162 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 its sweeiness, we shall be daily aspiring after higher relish for the 
 heavenly blessing.' And will not this experience be a " witness in 
 ourselves" of the heavenly origin of the word? For what argu- 
 ments could ever persuade us that honey is bitter, at the moment 
 when we are tasting its sweetness ? Or who could convince us, 
 that this is the word of man, or the imposture of deceit, when its 
 blessed influence has imparted peace, holiness, joy, support, and 
 rest, infinitely beyond the power of man to bestow ? But let this 
 enjoyment — as the spiritual barometer — the pulse of the soul — accu- 
 rately mark our progress or decline in the Divine life. With our 
 advancement in spiritual health, the word will be increasingly 
 " sweet to our taste ;" while our declension will be marked by a 
 corresponding abatement in our desires, love, and perception of its 
 delights. 
 
 104. Through thy precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate exery false 
 
 way. 
 
 The Psalmist having spoken of the pleasure, now speaks of the 
 profit — of the word — the teaching connected with its sweetness.* 
 Before, he had mentioned the avoiding of sin in order to profit^ — 
 now, as the fruit of profit. So closely are they linked together. 
 Man's teaching conveys no understanding — God's teaching not 
 only opens the Scriptures, but "opens the understanding to under- 
 stand them," and the heart to feel their heavenly warmth of life.* 
 Thus having learned " the principles of the doctrine of Christ," we 
 shall " go on to perfection" — " growing in grace, and in the knowl- 
 edge of Christ."^ Many inconsistencies belong to the young and 
 half-instructed Christian. But when through the precepts he gets 
 under sta7idi7ig, he learns to walk more uniformly and steadily, 
 abiding in the light. In this spirit and atmosphere springs up a 
 constant and irreconcilable ^'hatred of every false ivay^^ — as con- 
 trary to the God he loves. These ways will include a thousand 
 devious paths — all meeting in one fearful end — often discovered too 
 late." In doctrine can we too much turn away from the thought 
 of putting anything — the Church, ordinances, repentance, prayers, 
 in the place of Jesus — another foundation in the stead of that which 
 God himself laid in Zion? Oh for spiritual understanding to hate 
 this false way with a deadly hatred ! What think we of the ways of 
 the sinful world — so long trusted to for happiness — yet so delusive? 
 The sinner thinks that he has found a treasure, but it proves to be 
 glittering trash — burdensome instead of enriching — only leaving him 
 to the pain of disappointed hope. Rightly are such ways called 
 false ways ; and of those that tread in them, it is well said, " This 
 their way is their folly."^ Strewed they may be with the flowery 
 " pleasures of sin." But they are " hard"* in their walk, and ruin- 
 
 * Castm deliccR meae sunt Scripturte tuse. — Augttstine. 
 
 2 Prov. ii. 10, 11 ; xvi. 21. 3 Verge 101. 
 
 4 Comp. Luke xxiv. 45, 32. s Heb. vi. 1. 2 Peter iii. 18. 
 
 •Prov. V. 11. Matt. XXV. 11. 12. 7 Paalm xUx. 13. 8 Prov. xiillS. 
 
VERSE 104. 168 
 
 ous in their end.^ Inquire of those, whose past wanderings justly 
 give weight to their verdict, ' What is your retrospective view of 
 these ways V Unprofitableness. ' What is your present view of 
 them?' Shame. ' What prospect for eternity would the continu- 
 ance in them assure to you?' " Death."* Let them then be not only 
 avoided and forsaken, but abhorred ; and let every deviation into 
 them from the straight path, however pleasing, be "resisted" even 
 " unto blood."' 
 
 But let me ask myself, have I detected the "false ways^'' of my 
 own heart? Little is done in spiritual religion, until my besetting 
 sins are searched out. And let me not be satisfied with forbear- 
 ance from the outward act. Sin may be restrained, yet not morti- 
 fied ; nor is it enough, that I leave it for the present, but I must re- 
 nounce it for ever. Let me not part with it as with a beloved friend, 
 with the hope and purpose of renewing my familiarity with it at 
 a " more convenient season :"* but let me shake it from me, as Paul 
 shook oflf the viper into the fire,^ with determination and abhor- 
 rence ? What ! can I wish to hold it ? If " through the precepts 
 of God I have got understanding ^^^ must not I listen to that sol- 
 emn, pleading voice, " Oh ! do not this abominable thing that I 
 hate ?"« No, Lord : let me " pluck it out" of my heart, " and cast 
 it from me."^ Oh, for the high blessing of a tender conscience ! 
 such as shrinks from the approach, and " abstains from all appear- 
 ance of evil ;"^ not venturing to tamper with any self-pleasing way; 
 but " hating''"' it as "false,^' defiling, destructive ! I have marked 
 the apple of my eye — that tenderest particle of my frame — that it 
 is not only offended by a blow or a wound ; but that, if so much as 
 an atom of dust find an entrance, it would smart, until it had wept 
 it out. Now such may my conscience be — sensitive of the slightest 
 touch of sin — not only fearful of resisting, rebelling, or " quenching 
 the Spirit," but grieving for every thought of sin, that grieves that 
 blessed Comforter — that tender Friend ! To " hate every false 
 wayj"* so as to flee from it, is the highest proof of Christian courage. 
 For never am I better prepared to " endure hardness as a good sol- 
 dier of .Jesus Christ,"^ than when my conscience is thus set against 
 sin. Would not I then submit to the greatest suffering, rather 
 than be convicted of unfaithfulness to my God ? 
 
 Lord ! turn my eyes, my heart, my feet, my ways, more and more 
 to thy blessed self Shed abroad thy love in my heart, that sin 
 may be the daily matter of my watchfulness, grief, resistance, and 
 crucifixion. 
 
 1 Matt. viii. 12. Phil. ill. 19. 2Rom. vi. 21. ' Heb. xii. 4. 
 
 * Acts xxiv. 25. 5 lb. xxviii. 5. 6 Jer. xliv. 4. 
 
 ' Matt. V. 29. 8 1 Thess. v. 22. 9 2 Tim. ii. 3. 
 
164 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 PART XIV. 
 
 n 
 
 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. 
 
 The nightly journeys of Israel were guided by a pillar of fire* — 
 not only directing their course, but every step and movement.'* 
 Thus is our passage in a dark and perilous way irradiated by the 
 lamp and light of the word. But except the lamp be lighted — 
 except the teaching of the Spirit accompany the word, all is dark- 
 ness — thick darkness. Let us not then be content to read the word 
 without obtaining some light from it in our understanding — in our 
 experience — in our Providential path. Did we more habitually 
 wait to receive, and watch to improve the light, we should not so 
 often complain of the perplexity of our path. It would generally 
 determine our steps under infallible guidance ; while in the pre- 
 sumptuous neglect of it — like Israel of old^ — we are sure to come into 
 trouble. 
 
 Yet it may sometimes be difficult to trace our hght to this heav- 
 enly source. A prom,ise may seem to be applied to my mind, as 
 I conceive, suitable to my present need. But how may I determine, 
 whether it is "/Ae lamp of the word f^ or some delusive light from 
 him, who can at any time, for the accomplishment of his own pur- 
 pose, transform himself "into an angel of light?" Or if a threat- 
 ening bo impressed upon my conscience, how can I accurately dis- 
 tinguish between the voice of '' the accuser of the brethren," and the 
 warning of my heavenly guide ? Let me mark the state of my own 
 mind. If I am living in the indulgence of any known sin, or in 
 the neglect of any known duty — if my spirit is careless, or my walk 
 unsteady ; a consoling promise, being unsuitable to my case, even 
 though it awakened some excitement of joy, would be of doubtful 
 application. " The lamp " of God, under the circumstances sup- 
 posed, would rather reflect the light of conviction than of consola- 
 tion. For, though God as a Sovereign may speak comfort when 
 and where he pleases ; yet we can only expect him to deal with us 
 according to the prescribed rules of his own covenant, chastening, 
 not comforting, his backsliding people.* In a spirit of contrition, 
 however, I should not hesitate to receive a word of encouragement, 
 as the lamp of God to direct and cheer my progress ; being con- 
 scious of that state of feeling, in which the Lord has expressly prom- 
 ised to restore and guide his people.^ Let me also inquire into the 
 terms and character of the promise. When he " that dwelleth in 
 the high and holy place," engages to dwell "with him also that is 
 of a contrite and humble spirit;"" any symptoms of tenderness and 
 humility would naturally lead me to consider this word of promise, 
 
 » Exod. xiii. 21 , 22. 3 Numb. ix. 15—23. 3 lb. xiv. 44, 45. 
 
 * Comp. Psalm Ixxxix. 30—32. » Comp. Isaiah Ivii. 18. « lb. 15. 
 
VERSES 105. 165 
 
 as sent by my kind and watchful Father, to be " a lamp unto my 
 feet^ and a light unto my path.''* 
 
 Again — a distinct and experimental view of the Saviour in his 
 promises, endearing him to me, and encouraging my trust on his 
 faithfulness and love — this is manifestly hght from above.* Or if 
 the purpose of the promise answers any proper end — to excite or 
 to encourage to any present duty connected with the promise ; I 
 cannot doubt, but the lamp of the Lord is directing my path. 
 
 For example — when the promise was given to Joshua, " I will 
 not fail thee, nor forsake thee i'"^ he could not misconstrue " a word" 
 so " fitly spoken" " in a time of need." And when the same prom- 
 ise was subsequently given to the Church, the apphcation was 
 equally clear, as a dissuasive from inordinate attachment to the 
 things of time and sense, and an encouragement to entire depend- 
 ence upon the Lord.^ 
 
 Further — The practical influence of the word will also enable 
 me clearly to distinguish the light of heaven from any illusion of 
 fancy or presumption. The effect of an u7iconditional prom^ise of 
 deliverance given to the Apostle in a moment of extremity, was 
 exhibited in a diligent use of all the appointed means of safety.'* 
 An absolute promise of prolonged life given to Hezekiah when 
 lying at the point of death, produced the same practical result, in a 
 scrupulous attention to the means for his recovery.^ Upon the 
 warrant of a general promise of Divine protection. Ezra and the 
 Jews " fasted, and besought their God for this."^ Now in these 
 and other instances, the power of the word, working diligence, sim- 
 plicity, and prayer, evidently proved its sacred origin. An assur- 
 ance of safety proceeding from another source, would have produced 
 sloth, carelessness, and presumption ; and therefore may 1 not pre- 
 sume the quickening word in darkness and perplexity, to be the 
 Lord's " lamp unto my feet^ and light unto my pathj'' " to guide 
 my feet into the way of peace T 
 
 Let me apply the same test to the threatenings of the word. Its 
 influence, meeting me in a watchful and humble walk with God, I 
 should at once consider as the suggestion of the great enemy of 
 the soul, ever ready to whisper distrust and despondency to the 
 child of God. But in a self-confident, self-indulgent state, I should 
 have as little hesitation in marking an alarming word to be the 
 light of the word of God. It would be well for me at such a time 
 to be exercised with fear ;^ not as arguing any insecurity in my 
 state ; but as leading me to "great searchings of heart, to increas- 
 ing watchfulness, humiliation and prayer." " The commandment 
 is a lamp, and the law is a light ; and reproofs of instruction are 
 the way of life."^ Oh that I may be enabled to make use of this 
 Za/zip, to direct every step of my heavenly way ! 
 
 Whence then — it may be asked — the various tracks even of the 
 
 ^ Comp. 2 Cor. i. 20. 2 Joshua i. 5. 3 Hebrews xiii. 5. 
 
 4 Acts xxvii. 24, 31. 5 jsaiah xxxviii. 5, 21. « Ezra viii. 21—23. 
 
 T Compare 1 Cor. ix. 27, » Prov. vi. 23. 
 
166 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 sincere servants of God 7 Though there is clear light in the word, 
 yet there is remaining darkness in the most enlightened heart. 
 There is no eye without a speck — no eye with perfect singleness 
 of vision — consequently without some liability to error. There is 
 light for the teachable — not for the curious ; — light to satisfy faith 
 — not cavilling. Add to this the office of the ministry — the Lord's 
 gracious ordinance for Christian instruction^ and estabhshment^ — 
 not to enslavcj^ but to direct* the judgment in the light of the word. 
 To honor this ordinance is therefore the path of Hght. To neglect 
 it, is the exposure to all the evils of a wayward will and undisci- 
 plined judgment.^ 
 
 Lord ! as every action of the day is a step to heaven or hell — , 
 Oh ! save me from ever turning my face away from the path, into 
 which thy word would guide me. Enable me to avail myself of 
 its light, in the constant exercise of faith, prudence, and simplicity. 
 
 106. I have sworn^ and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judg- 
 ments. 
 
 The blessing of the guidance of the Lord's word naturally 
 strengthens our resolution to walk in its path. And as if a simple 
 resolution would prove too weak, the Psalmist strengthens it with 
 an oath. Nay more, as if an oath was hardly sufficient security, 
 he seconds it again with a firm resolution, " / have sworn, and I 
 will perforin itJ^ ' There shall be but one will between me and 
 my God ; and that will shall be his, not mine.' Some timid Chris- 
 tians, under a morbid sense of their weakness, would shrink from 
 this solemn engagement. And some, perhaps, may have burdened 
 their consciences with unadvised or self-dependent obligations.^ 
 Still, however, when it is a free-will offering, it is a delightful ser- 
 vice, well-pleasing to God. Such it was in the days of Asa, when 
 " all Judah rejoiced at the oath : for they had sworn with all 
 their heart, and sought him with their whole desire ; arid he was 
 found of them?^'^ Vows under the law were both binding and 
 acceptable.' Nor are they less so — in their spirit at least — under 
 
 I Mai. ii. 7. 2 Eph. iv. 10—14. 3 2 Cor. i. 24. 1 Peter v. 3. 
 
 4 2 Cor. xiii. 10. Eph iv. 13. 1 Thess. iii. 10. s 2 Tim. iv. 3, 4. 
 
 6 It is related of Mr. Pearce, by liis excellent biographer, that at the period of the first 
 awakening of his mind — " having read Doddridge^ Rise and Process of Religion, he 
 determined formally to dedicate himself to the Lord in the manner recommended in the 
 seventeenth chapter of that work. The form of a covenant there drawn up he also 
 adopted as his own ; and that he might bind himself in the most solemn and affecting 
 manner, signed it with his blood. But afterwards, failing in his engagements, he was 
 plunged into great distress, and almost into despair. On a review of his covenant, he 
 aeems to have accused himself of pharisaical reliance upon the strength of his resolutions, 
 and therefore taking the paper to the top of his father's house, he tore it into small pieces, 
 and threw it from him to be scattered by the wind. He did not, however, consider his 
 obligation to be the Lord's as thereby nullified; but feeling more suspicion of himself, he 
 depended solely upon the blood of the cross." — Fuller's Life of Pearce, pp. 3, 4, This 
 instance must be considered, not as an example of the entangling nature of covenant 
 engagements, but as an illustration, by way of contrast, of the enlightened deliberation 
 and simplicity with which they should ever be undertaken. See some admirable re- 
 marks on this subject from Mr. Newton's pen. — Life of Grimshawe, pp. 16 — 18. 
 
 7 2 Chron. xv. 12—15. 8 Num. xxx. 1, 2. Deut. xxiu. 21—23. 
 
VERSE 106. 167 
 
 *' the perfect law of liberty." A holy promise, originating in serious 
 consideration, and established by a more solemn obligation, so far 
 from being repugnant to the liberty of the Gospel, appears to have 
 been enjoined by God himself;^ nay, his people are described as 
 animating each other to it, as to a most joyous privilege ;2 as a re- 
 newed act of faith and daily dedication. 
 
 Yet we would warn the inconsiderate Christian not to entangle 
 his conscience by multiplied vows (as if they were — like prayer — 
 a component part of our daily religion ;) nor 6y perpetual obligation 
 — whether of restraint or of extraordinary exercises ; nor 6y con- 
 necti?ig them with trifles — thus weakening the deep solemnity of 
 the purpose. Christian simplicity must be their principle. Our 
 engagements to God must be grounded on his engagements to us. 
 His faithfulness — not ours^ — must be our confidence. There is no 
 innate power in these obligations ; and except they be made in self- 
 renouncing dedication, they will only issue in despondency and 
 deeper captivity in sin. 
 
 But the inconsiderateness of the unwary is no legitimate argu- 
 ment against their importance. If Jephthah was entangled in a 
 rash and heedless vow,^ David manifestly enjoyed the " perfect free- 
 dom" of the "service" of his God, when "binding his soul with a 
 bond" equally fixed, but more advised, in its obligation.* And have 
 we, with '' the vows of God upon us,"^ baptismal vows — perhaps 
 also confirmation or sacramental vows — found our souls brought 
 into bondage by these solemn engagements? Does not a humb- 
 ling sense of forgetfulness suggest sometimes the need of a more 
 solemn engagement? And may we not thus secure our duty 
 without being ensnared by it? Have not covenanting seasons 
 often restrained our feet from devious paths, and quickened our 
 souls in his service? Daily indeed do we need "the blood of 
 sprinkling" to pardon our innumerable failures, and the Spirit of 
 grace to strengthen us for a more devoted obligation.'^ But yet in 
 dependence upon the work and Spirit of Christ, often have these 
 holy transactions realized to us a peace and joy, that leads us to look 
 back upon such times as season| of favored enjoyment. "If" 
 therefore " we sin" in a " perpetual backsliding"^ from these en- 
 gagements, it is still our privilege without presumption to believe, 
 that "we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the 
 righteous ; and he is the propitiation for our sins."' And as for 
 necessary grace, there is One, who hath said, " My grace is suffi- 
 cient for thee ;"^° and that One has given no less a proof of his inter- 
 est in us than by dying for us. May we not therefore trust, that 
 he will " perfect that which concerneth us ;"'i that he will " work 
 all our works in us"^^ — " to will and to do of his good pleasure ?"i3 
 
 1 Isaiah xix. 21. Comp. also Isaiah xliv, 5, and Scott on this verse. 
 
 2 Jer. 1. 4, 5. 3 Contrast Matt. xxvi. 35. * Judges xi. 35. 
 5 Ps. cxvi. 12—14. « Ps. Ivi. 12. 
 
 ^ Gen. xxxv. 1, with xxviii. 20- 22. Compare 2 Peter i. 9. 
 8 Jer. viii. 5. » 1 John ii. 1,2. i" 2 Cor. xii. 9. 
 
 » Psalm cxxxviii. 8. ^2 Isaiah xxvL 12. is phil. ii. 13. 
 
168 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 Perhaps however "a messenger of Satan" may "buffet us." 
 ' Thou hast broken thy bond ; now it will be worse with thee than 
 before.' But did not Jesus die for sins of infirmity, and even of pre- 
 sumption ? Does every faihng annul the marriage covenant? So 
 neither does every infirmity or backsHding dissolve our covenant 
 with God. Was our faithfulness the basis of this covenant ? Ra- 
 ther, does not " the blood of this covenant"^ make constant provi- 
 sion for our foreseen unfaithfulness? And does not our gracious 
 God overrule even our backsliding to establish a more simple reli- 
 ance upon himself, and a more circumspect and tender walk before 
 him? 
 
 But let us take a case of conscience. A Christian has been 
 drawn away from a set season of extraordinary devotion by some 
 unforeseen present duty, or some unlooked-for opportunity of ac- 
 tively glorifying God. Has he then broken his obligation? Cer- 
 tainly not. It was, or ought to have heen^ formed with an implied 
 subserviency to paramount duty. It cannot therefore be impaired 
 by any such providential interference. Yet let it not be a light 
 matter to remove a free-will offering from the altar. Let godly 
 care be exercised to discover the subtle indulgence of the flesh in 
 the service of God. Let double diligence redeem the lost privilege 
 of more immediate and solemn self-dedication. In guarding against 
 legal bondage, let us not mistake the liberty of the flesh for the 
 liberty of the Gospel. Let us be simple, and ready for self-denying 
 service ; and the Lord our God will not fail to vouchsafe " some 
 token for good." 
 
 " Come" then, my fellow Christian, " and let us join ourselves to 
 the Lord in a perpetual covenant, never to be forgotten"^ by God ; 
 never to be forsaken by us. Let each of us renew our surrender, 
 " O Lord, truly I am thy servant ;" I offer myself to thee. " Thou 
 hast loosed my bonds."^ Oh ! bind me to thyself with fresh bonds 
 of love, that may never be loosed. Glad am I, that I am anything 
 — though the meanest of all ; that I have anything — poor and vile 
 as it is — capable of being employed in thy service. I yield myself 
 to Thee with my full bent of heart and will, entirely and for ever j 
 asking only, that I may be " a vessel meet for the Master's use."* 
 
 107. / am afflicted very much ; quicken me, O Lord, according unto thy word. 
 
 It would seem, that this holy saint's covenanting season was a 
 time of deep affliction ; while his determined resolution to '■^kecp'^ 
 God's word of obedience, gave boldness to his pleading, that God 
 would perform his word of promise, " Quicken me, O Lord, accor- 
 ding to thy word.^^ And this is our high privilege, that we are 
 permitted to pour our troubles into the ear of One, who is able per- 
 fectly to enter into, and to sympathize with us in thein ; " who 
 knoweth our frame,"« who hath himself laid the aflliction upon us :» 
 yea, more than all, who in "all our affliction is" himself " afflicted ;'"' 
 
 1 Heb. xiii. 20. « Jer. 1. 5. 3 Psalm cxvi. 16. * 2 Tim. ii. 21. 
 
 » Pewdm ciii. 14. « lb. xxxix. 9. f Isaiah Ixxiii. 9. 
 
VERSE 107. 169 
 
 and who " suffered being tempted, that he might be able to succor 
 them tiiat are tempted."^ There are none — not even those most 
 dear to us — to whom we can unbosom ourselves, as we do to our 
 heavenly Friend. Our wants, griefs, burdens of every kind — we 
 roll them all upon him, with special relief in the hour of affliction. 
 An affecting contrast to tliose, who are indeed " afflicted very 
 much ;" whose souls, " drawing nigh unto death," and knowing no 
 refuge, are ready to burst with their own sorrows, " the sorrows of 
 the world" — unmitigated — unrelieved — " working death l"^ 
 
 There is a " need be"^ for the afflictions of the Lord's people. 
 The stones of the spiritual temple cannot be polished or fitted to 
 their place without the strokes of the hammer. The gold cannot 
 be purified without the furnace. The vine must be pruned for 
 greater fruitfulness."^ The measure of discipline varies indefinitely. 
 But such is the inveteracy of fleshly lusts, that very much affliction 
 may often be the needful regimen.^ Yet will it be tempered by 
 one, who knows the precise measure,^ who can make no mistake^ 
 in our constitutions, and whose fatherly pity will chasten " not for 
 his pleasure, but for our profit."^ And need we speak of the alle- 
 viations of our trials, that they are infinitely disproportioned to our 
 deserts^ — that they are " light, and but for a moment," compared 
 with eternity^ — that greater comfort is vouchsafed in the endurance 
 of them, than we even venture to anticipate from their removal'" — 
 that the fruit at the end more than balances the trials themselves ?'* 
 Need we say — how richly they ought to be prized, as conforming 
 us to the image gf our suffering Lord ; how clearly we shall one 
 day read in them our Father's commission, as messengers of love; 
 and how certainly " the end of the Lord" will be " that the Lord is 
 very pitiful, and of tender mercy ?"^^ 
 
 Perhaps affliction — at least very much affliction — may not be 
 our present lot. Yet it is our duty and wisdom, as the good soldier 
 in the time of truce, to burnish our armor for the fight. " Let not 
 him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it 
 off. Because the wicked have no changes, therefore they fear not 
 God."'3 The continual changes in Christian experience may well 
 remind us of the necessity of " walking humbly with God," that 
 we may not, by an unprepared spirit, lose the blessing of the sanc- 
 tified cross. How many of the Lord's dear children may bear Eph- 
 raim's name, " For God hath caused me to he fruitful in the land 
 of my affliction /"''* Sometimes they are so conscious of the present 
 good, that they dread affliction leaving them, more, probably, than 
 the inexperienced professor dreads its coming. 
 
 But great affliction is as hard to bear as great prosperity. Some 
 whose Christian profession had drawn out the esteem of others — 
 perhaps also their own complacency — have shown by " faintness in 
 
 I Heb. u. 18. 2 2 Cor. vii. 10. 3 Peter i. 6, 7. < John xv. 2. 
 
 5 2 Cor. xii. 7. « Job xxxiv. 23. ' Psalm ciii. 13, 14. Heb. xii. 10. 
 
 8 Ezra ix. 13. » 2 Cor. iv. 17. ^° lb. Xii. 8—10. 
 
 " Deut. viii. 15, 16, Jer. xxix. 11, 12 James v. 11, with Job xlii. 10—12. 
 
 13 1 Kings XX. 11. Psalm Iv. 19. " Gen. xii. 52. 
 
170 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 the day of extremity their strength to be small,"^ and themselves 
 to be almost untaught in this school of disciphne — shaken, confused, 
 broken. Special need indeed have we under the smart of the rod, 
 oi qidckeiiing grace, to preserve us from stout-hearted ness or dejec- 
 tion. We think we could bear the stroke, did we know it to be pa- 
 ternal, not judicial. Have we, then "forgotten the exhortation, 
 which speakef.h unto us as unto children?" Do we despise the 
 chastening of the Lord? ' " Quicken me, O Lordj^^ that I may 
 be preserved in a humble, wakeful, listening posture, to hear and 
 improve the message of thy blessing of the sanctified cross.' Do 
 we " faint, when we are rebuked of him ?"* " Quicken me, O 
 LordJ^ that I sink not under the " blow of thy hand."^ Thus will 
 this Divine influence save us from the horrible sin of being offended 
 with God in our fretting spirit. We shall receive his chastisement 
 with humility without despondency, and with reverence without dis- 
 trust ; hearkening to the voice that speaks, while we tremble under 
 the rod that strikes : yet so minghng fear with confidence, that we 
 may at the same moment adore the hand which we feel, and rest 
 in the mercy that is promised. "* Our best support, in the depths of 
 affliction, is for " quickefiing, according to thy word r And which 
 of the exercised children of God has ever found " one jot or one 
 tittle of it to fail ?" " Patience working experience, and experience 
 hope, and hope making not ashamed," in the sense of " the love 
 of God shed abroad upon the heart by the Holy Ghost which is 
 given unto us" — all this is the abundant answer to. our prayer, 
 "Thou which hast showed me great and sore troubles, shalt 
 quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths 
 of the earth. Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me 
 on every side."^ Nothing will bear looking back to with comfort, 
 like those trials, which though painful to the flesh, have tended to 
 break our spirit, mould our will, and strengthen the simplicity of 
 our walk with God. 
 
 108. Acoept^ I beseech thee, the free-will offerings of my mouth, O Lord : and 
 teach me thy judgments. 
 
 As the first fruits of his entire self-devotion to the Lord ;^ as the 
 only service he could render in his affliction ; and as an acknowl- 
 edgment of his answered prayer for quickening grace,' behold this 
 faithful servant of God presenting " the free-ivill offerings of his 
 mouth for acceptance.''^ Such he knew to be an acceptable ser- 
 vice. For the sacrifices of the Old Testament were not only typi- 
 cal of the One sacrifice for sin, but of the spiritual worship of the 
 people of God.^ To those who are interested in the atonement of 
 Jesus, there needeth " no more sacrifice for sin." That which is 
 now required of us, and in which we would delight, is to " take 
 
 1 Prov. xxiv. 10. Comp. Jonah iv. 5 — 9. * Heb. xii. 5. 
 
 8 Psalm xxxix. 10; xxxviii. 1—3. < Mic. vii. 8, 9. 
 
 6 Rom. V. 3—5, with Psalm Ixxi. 20, 21. « Verse 106. 7 Verse 107. 
 
 8 Compare Psalm li. 16, 17. Mai. iii. 3, with PhU. iv. 18. Heb. liii. 15, 16. 1 Pe- 
 ter ii. 5. 
 
VERSE 108. 171 
 
 with us words, and turn to him, and say unto him — Take away- 
 all iniquity, and receive us graciously ; so will we render the calves 
 of our lipsP^ 
 
 No olfering but a ^^ free-will offering^^ is accepted. Such was 
 the service under the law:** such must it be under the Gospel.^ Yet 
 neither can this offering be accepted until the offerer has found ac- 
 ceptance with his God. " The Lord had respect," first to the person 
 of "Abel," then "to his offering."* But if our persons are covered 
 with the robe of acceptance — if the " offering up of the body of Je- 
 sus Christ once for all" has " perfected" us before God \^ however 
 defiled our services may be, however mixed with infirmity, and in 
 every way most unworthy ; even a God of ineffable holiness " be- 
 holds no iniquity"^ in them. No offering is so pure as to obtain 
 acceptance in any other way ; no offering so sinful as to fail of ac- 
 ceptance in this way. Most abundant indeed and satisfactory is 
 the provision made in heaven for the continual and everlasting ac- 
 ceptance of our polluted and distracted services — " Another angel 
 came, and stood at the altar, having a golden censer ; and there 
 was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it, with the 
 prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the 
 throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the 
 prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's 
 hand."' With such a High Priest and Intercessor, not only is un- 
 worthiness dismissed, but boldness and assurance of faith is en- 
 couraged.3 
 
 But, as we remarked, it was " a free-will offering^'' that was here 
 presented — the overflowings of a heart filled with love. No con- 
 straint was necessary. Prayer was delightful. He was not forced 
 upon his knees. Let me seek fellowship with him in presenting 
 my free-offering before my God. Does not he love it?^ Does not 
 his free love to me deserve it?^" Did not my beloved Saviour give 
 a free-will offering of dehght — nay even of joy ?^^ And shall not 
 his free-flowing love be my pattern and my principle 7^^ Shall his 
 offering be free for me, and mine be reluctant for him ? Shall he 
 be ready with his blood for me, and I be backward with my mouth 
 for him? "Oh my God, work thine own Almighty work — make 
 me not only living, but willing \n the day of thy power."^' Let the 
 stream flow in the full tide of affectionate devoted ness. Blessed 
 Jesus ! I would be thine, and none other's. I would tell the world, 
 that I am captivated by thy love, and consecrated to thy service. 
 Oh let me " rejoice^ for that I offered willingly.^'' Great grace is 
 it, that he is willing to accept my service. For what have I to offer, 
 that is not already "his own?"** But let me not forget to suppli- 
 
 1 Hosea xiv. 2. Comp. Ps. liv. 6. 
 
 * Num. xxix. 39. Deut. xvi. 10. 2 Chron. xxii. 14. Amos iv. 4. 
 
 3 Rom. xii. 1. 2 Cor. v. 14, 15; viii. 5. * Gen. iv. 4, 5. 
 
 s Heb. X. 10. . 6 Num. xxiii. 21. t Rev. viii. 3, 4. 
 
 8 Heb. iv. 14—16; x. 21, 22. » 2 Cor. ix 7. ^o Eph. ii. 4, 5. 
 
 » Ps. xl. 8. Heb. xii. 2. ^2 Cor. v. 14, 15. " Ps. ex. 3. 
 
 " 1 Chron. xxix. 9, 14, 17. 
 
iiT^ 
 
 172 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 cate for further instruction — ' " Teach me thy judgmentsj^ 
 may be directed to present a purer offering ; that by more distinct 
 and accurate knowledge of thy ways, my love may be enlarged, 
 and my obedience more entire, until I " stand perfect and complete 
 in all the will of God."'^ 
 
 109. My soul is continually in my hand, yet do I not forget thy laio. 110. The 
 wicked have laid a snare for me : yet I erred not from thy precepts. 
 
 Precarious health, or familiarity with the dangers of war, may 
 give peculiar emphasis to the phrase (of not unfrequent use in the 
 word of God*) — " My sold is continually in my hand.^^ David, in 
 his early public life, was in constant apprehension from the open 
 violence^ and the secret machinations^ of his bitter enemy. Hunted 
 down " as a partridge in the mountains,"^ and often scarcely es- 
 caping the " snare^ which the wicked laid for himj''^ at one time 
 he could but acknowledge — " there is but a step between me and 
 death ;"7 at another time he was tempted to say, "I shall now per- 
 ish one day by the hand of Saul."^ Subsequently the hand of his 
 own son v^^as aimed at his throne and his life.^ Yet could no peril 
 shake his undaunted adherence to the law and precepts of God^° 
 
 What was the life of Jesus upon earth ? Through the enmity 
 of foes — various, opposite, yet combined^^ — his " soul was contin- 
 ually in his handP Yet how wonderful was his calmness and se- 
 renity of mind, when surrounded by them all, like " lions" in power, 
 "dogs" in cruelty, wolves in malice ?'2 A measure of this spirit be- 
 longs to every faithful disciple — not natural courage, but " the spirit 
 of power," as the gift of God,*^ enabling him in the path of the pre- 
 cepts " to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."" 
 
 Let us again mark this confidence, illustrated in the open trials 
 of the servants of God. Mark the Apostle, when ''the Holy Ghost 
 witnessed to him in every city, that bonds and imprisonment await- 
 ed him." " None of these things" — said he — " move me. I am 
 ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the 
 name of the Lord Jesus."'* He could look " tribulation, or persecu- 
 tion, or peril, or sword," in the face ; and while he " carried his 
 soul continually in his handj'' in true Christian heroism, in the 
 most exalted triumph of faith, he could say in the name of himself 
 and his companions in tribulation, "Nay, in all these things we are 
 more than conquerors." Nothing could make him flinch. Noth- 
 ing could turn him back. Nothing could wring the love of the 
 service of his God out of his heart. His principle was found invin- 
 cible in the hour of trial — not, however, as a native energy of his 
 heart, but " through him that loved himP^^ Did he not speak and 
 
 » Col. iv. 12. 2 Comp. Judges xii. 3. 1 Sara. xix. 5; xxviii. 21. .Tob xiii. 14- 
 
 8 1 Sam. xviii. 10, 11 ; xix. 9, 10. < lb. xviii. 17; xix. 11—17. s lb. xxvi. 20. 
 
 6 The men of Keilah, lb. xxiii. 11, 12. The Ziphites, lb. xxiii. 9. xxvi. 1. 
 
 1 lb. XX. 3. 8 lb. xxvii, 1. " 2 Sahi. xv. 13, 14; xvii. 1—3. 
 
 " Verse 87. " Luke xxiii. 12. '« Ps. xxii. 16, 20, 21, with Isaiah liii. 7. 
 
 13 2 Tim. i. 7. " Eph. vi. 13. ^ Acte xj 23, 24; xxi. 13. 
 
 w Rom. viii. 37. 
 
VERSES 109, 110. 173 
 
 live tlie spirit of this fearless confidence, " Yet do I not forget thy 
 law ?" Daniel's history again shows the utter impotency of secret 
 devices to produce apostasy in the children of God. When the 
 wicked^ after many an ineffectual attempt to " find occasion or fault" 
 were driven to lay a snare for him in "the law of his God,"' this 
 noble confessor of the faith continued to " kneel upon his knees 
 three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as 
 he did aforetime.^^^ The den of lions was far less fearful in his 
 eyes, than one devious step from the straight and narrow path.^ 
 Sin was dreaded as worse than a thousand deaths. He surely then 
 could have said, " Yet I erred not from thy precepts.''^ 
 
 But how striking must it have been to David, in his imminent 
 peril, to have seen the "counsel of Ahithophel" — regarded as oracu- 
 lar, when employed in the cause of God — now, when directed against 
 the Church, " turned to foolishness !"^ — an instance, "only one of a 
 thousand," of the ever-watchful keeping of the Great Head and 
 Guardian of his Church."^ Thus does he overrule the devices of the 
 enemy for the establishment of his people's dependence upon him- 
 self. " The wrath of man praiseth him,"^ and he "taketh the wise 
 in his own craftiness."'' 
 
 But the day of difficulty is a " perilous time" in the Church. 
 *'Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried."^ Have we 
 been able to sustain the shock in a steady adherence to the law and 
 precepts of God ?^ This is indeed the time, when genuine faith 
 will be found of inestimable value. In such a time, David expe- 
 rienced the present blessing of having chosen the Lord for his God. 
 When clouds began to gather blackness, and surrounding circum- 
 stances to the eye of sense engendered despondency — faith real- 
 ized All-sufficient support; and "David encouraged himself in the 
 Lord his God."'" And is not David's God "our God, the health of 
 our countenance,"^' the guide of our path,'^ the God of our salva- 
 tion 7'^ Oh ! let us not rest, till his confidence becomes ours, " What 
 time I am afraid, I will trust in thee."'* 
 
 But the cross, that proves and establishes the Christian, sifts the 
 unsound professor as chaff. Nothing but this solid principle of 
 faith can resist either the persecution'^ or the snare.^^ Many desire 
 conformity to Christ and his people in everything but in their cross. 
 They would attain their honor without the steps that led them to 
 it. Dread this flinching spirit. Reject it — as did our Lord — with 
 indignation. It " savoreth not of God." It is the voice of Satan, ^'' 
 who would promise a pillow of carnal ease under our heads — a path 
 of roses under our feet — but a path of slumber, of delusion, and of 
 ruin. 
 
 The time of special need is at hand with us all, when we shall 
 
 1 Dan. vi. 5. 2 ib, 6 — 10. 3 Compare Luke xii. 4, 5. 
 
 * Compare 2 Samuel xvi. 23, with xv. 31 ; xvii. 14. s Isaiah xxvii. 3. 
 
 « Psalm Ixxvi. 10. ? Job v. 13, with 1 Cor. iii. 19. » Dan. xii. 10. 
 
 9 Verses 51, 69. Rev. ii. 10. '° 1 Sam. xxx. 6. " Psalm xlii, 11. 
 
 '2 lb. xlviii. 14. 13 lb. Ixviii. 20. M Pfl. Ivi. 3. 
 
 15 Matt. xiii. 30, 21. i« 1 Kings xiii. 11—19. " Matt. xvi. 22, 33. 
 
174 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 need substance and reality for our support — the true confidence of 
 a living faith. Those who have never felt the nearness of eternity, 
 can have but a faint idea of what, we shall need in the hour, when 
 "flesh and heart fail,"^ to fix a sure unshaken foot upon " the Rock 
 of Ages." " Watch therefore ;" for you know not*^ how soon you 
 may be ready to say, " My soul is in tny hand^l'' quivering on the 
 eve of departure to the Judge. " Let your loins be girded about, 
 and your lights burning ! and ye yourselves Hke unto men that 
 wait for the Lord, when be will return from the wedding ; that 
 when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him imme- 
 diately. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord, when he com- 
 eth, shall find watching ; verily I say unto you, that he shall gird 
 himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth 
 and serve them."^ 
 
 111. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever, for they are the re- 
 joicing of my heart. 
 
 'OPrecious Bible ! what a treasure !' The testimonies of God 
 — the declaration of his will in doctrine — obligation — and privilege ! 
 David had felt their value, as the stay of his soul in shaking and 
 sifting trial.* But how did he claim his interest in them ? Not by 
 purchase, or by merit, it was his heritage. As a child of Abraham, 
 he was an " heir according to promise.''^ They — all that is con- 
 tained in them, " the Lord himself," the sum and substance of all, 
 " was the portion of his inheritance.^'^ Man looks at his heritage. 
 *This land — this estate — or this kingdom is mine.' The child of 
 God looks round on the universe — on both worlds — on God him- 
 self with his infinite perfections — and says, " All things are mine.'"' 
 My title is more sure than to any earthly heritage. Every promise 
 is sprinkled with "the blood of the everlasting covenant," as the 
 seal of its blessings, and the pledge of their performance. 
 
 But not only are they my heritage : — But by my own intelligent 
 choice / have taken them so. A blessing is it to have them. But the 
 blessing of blessings is to have them made good — applied — sealed 
 — made my own ; so that, like the minor come to age, I take posses- 
 sion of my heritage^ I live on it, I live in it, it is my treasure, my 
 portion. If a man is known by his heritage, let me be known by 
 mine. Let it be " known and read of all men," that I count not 
 the world my happiness, but that I take my Bible, ' Here is my 
 heritage. Here I can live royally — richer upon bare promises than 
 all the treasures of earth could make me. My resources never 
 fail, when all besides fail.^ When all earthly heritage shall have 
 passed away, mine endureth for ever.^^ 
 
 Let me not then entertain a low estimate of this precious heri- 
 tage. "Heirs of promise" are entitled to "strong consolation."'' 
 What belongs to a joint-heir with Christ, interested in the un- 
 
 1 Psalm Ixxiii. 26. 2 Mark xiii. 35, 36. 3 Luke xii. 35—37. 
 
 4 Verses 109, 110. 6 Gal iii. 29. » Pa. ivi. 5. ' 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22. 
 
 « Hab. iii. 17, 18. Ps. lixiu. 26. » 1 Peter i. 24, 25. w Heb. vi. 17, 18. 
 
t 
 
 VERSE 111. 175 
 
 changing love of Jehovah from eternity, but the language of 
 triumphant exultation ?^ The first view, as it passed before my 
 eyes, was the rejoicing of my heart ; and never could I be satis- 
 fied, tilJ I had takeji it as my soul-satisfying and eternal portion. 
 
 Need we then entreat you, behever, to exhibit to the world, that 
 the promises of your heritage are not an empty sound — that they 
 impart a Divine reality of support and enjoyment — and that an 
 interest in them habitually reahzed is a blessed, a heavenly por- 
 tion? Should your heart, however, at any time be captivated by 
 the transient prospect before your eyes : should you be led to 
 imagine some substantial value in this world's treasures — you will 
 have forgotten the peculiar pre-eminence of your heritage — its en- 
 during character. But what are the gaudy follies — the glittering 
 emptiness of this passing scene, in comparison with your heavenly 
 prospects, or even of your present sources of enjoyment ? 
 
 We can readily account for the affecting indifference, with which 
 " the men of the world" barter away these treasures, as Esau did 
 his birthright, for very trifles.'^ They have no present interest in 
 them. " They have their portion in this life. They have received 
 their consolation."^ But oh ! how soon, having spent their all, will 
 they " begin to be in" infinite eternal " want !"* Yet, having no inter- 
 est in this heavenly heritage^ they can have no pleasure in survey- 
 ing it. If, therefore, conscience imposes upon them the drudgery of 
 casting their careless eye over it, what wonder if they should find 
 nothing to enliven their hopes, or to attract their hearts ? What 
 communion can worldly hearts hold with this heavenly treasure ? 
 What spiritual light, as the source of heavenly comfort, can pene- 
 trate this dark recess? As well might the inhabitant of the sub- 
 terraneous cavern expect the cheerful light of the sun ; as the man, 
 whose eyes and heart are in the centre of the earth, enjoy the spir- 
 itual perception of an interest in ^Hhe heritage J'' of the people of 
 God. If. however, the darkness and difl[iculties of the word are 
 pleaded in excuse for ignorance ; let those indolent triflers confess, 
 how small a portion of that persevering devotedness, which has 
 been employed in gathering together the perishing stores of this 
 world, has been given to search into this hidden mine of unsearch- 
 able riches ! 
 
 Oh, my soul, if I can lay claim to this blessed " heritage^'' I envy 
 not the miser his gold ! Rather would I adore that grace, which 
 has " made me to differ" from him ; and given me a far happier and 
 far richer heritage. But let me be daily enriching myself from 
 this imperishable store ; so that, poor as I am in myself, and seem- 
 ing to " have nothing," I may in reality be " possessing all things."^ 
 Let the recollection of the rich heritage of light, comfort, peace and 
 strength, furnished in the word, be my abundant joy ; and bind my 
 heart to a closer adherence to its obligations, and to a more habitual 
 apprehension of its privileges. 
 
 1 Rom. viii. 17—34. 2 Heb. xii. 16. Gen. ixv. 29—34. 
 
 3 Ps. xvU. 14. Luke vi. 24. * Luke xv. 14. 6 2 Cor. vi. 10. 
 
176 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 112. 1 have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway^ even unto the end. 
 
 The Psalmist had just been rejoicing in his privileges. He now 
 binds himself to his obligations — and that not for a day — but even 
 to the end. Observe where he begins his work — not with the eye 
 — the ear — the tongue — but with the heart, " for out of the heart 
 are the issues of life."^ And yet this inclining of the heart to the 
 Lord's statutes is as much the work of God as to create a world ; 
 and as soon could " the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard 
 his spots," as we could " do good, who are accustomed to do evil."^ 
 And David was very far from meaning that any act of his own 
 power could turn the channel of his affections out of their natural 
 course. But prayer, such as he had often poured out,^ sets every 
 principle of the soul in action, and in dependence upon the Holy 
 Spirit, he inclines his heart. Thus we do what we do ; but God 
 enables us, " preventing us, that we may have a good will, and 
 working with us, when we have that good will"^ — not working 
 without or against us, but in us — through us — with us — by us. 
 His preventing grace makes the first impression, and his assisting 
 grace enables us to follow.^ Weak indeed are our purposes, and 
 fading our resolutions, unsupported by Divine grace. Yet renew- 
 ing strength " is given to the waiting" Christian, even to " mount 
 upon eagles' wings, to run without weariness, and to walk without 
 fainting."^ Conscious as we are, that " without Christ we can do 
 nothing," it is no less true, that we " can do all things through 
 Christ, which strengtheneth us.'"" Let us exercise then the grace 
 already given, in dependence upon a continued supply ; and turn- 
 ing to him with freedom and delight, we shall incline our hearts 
 with full purpose to perforin his statutes alway, even unto the 
 end. This is God's way of quickening the dead soul to life and 
 motion, alluring it by an inexpressible sweetness, and at the same 
 moment, by an invincible power, drawing it to himself. 
 
 Every step indeed to the end will be a conflict with indwelling 
 sin, in the form of remaining enmity, sloth, or unbelief. But how 
 encouraging it is to trace every tender prayer, every contrite groan, 
 every spiritual desire, to the assisting, upholding influence of the 
 " free Spirit of God !"» The continual drawing of the Spirit will be 
 the principle to perseverance. The same hand that gave the new 
 bias for a heavenward motion will be put forth to quicken that mo- 
 tion, even unto the end. ' I can hardly hold on,' the believer might 
 say, * from one step to another. How can I then dare to hope, that 
 I shall hold on a constant course — a daily conflict, " unto the end ?'" 
 But was It not Almighty power, that supported the first step in your 
 course ? And is not the same Divine help pledged to every succes- 
 sive step of difficulty? Doubt not then that "He is faithful that 
 hath promised :"» dare to be confident of this very thing, that he 
 
 > Prov. IV. 23. 2 Jer. xiii. 23. 3 Verses 36, 37. < Art. x. 
 
 « Jer. xxxi. 18. « Isaiah xl. 31. ' John xv. 5, with PhU. iv. 13. 
 
 8 See Rom. vui. 26. Psalm U. 12. » Heb. x. 23. 
 
 % 
 
VERSE 113. 177 
 
 which hath " begun a good work in you, will perform it until the 
 day of Jesus Christ."^ And in this confidence go on to "work out 
 your salvation with fear and trembUng; for it is God which worketh 
 in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."* 
 
 PART XV. 
 
 113. I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I love. 
 
 The fall of man has misplaced his affections. Love was origi- 
 nally made for God and his law — hatred for sin. Now man loves 
 what he ought to hate,' and hates what he ought to love.* The 
 work of Divine grace is to restore the disordered affections to their 
 proper centre, and to bestow them on their right object — hating 
 vain thoughts, and loving the law of God. Few think of the 
 responsibility of their thoughts ; as if they were too trifling to be 
 connected with any solemn account. The enlightened soul how- 
 ever learns to make a conscience of his thoughts. Here is the 
 seminal principle of sin.^ How must a radical remedy be applied. 
 
 Vain thoughts are the natural produce of the unrenewed heart, 
 and of the yet unrenewed part of the believer's heart. Who that 
 " knows the plague of his own heart," and the spirituality of the 
 Christian walk with God, does not constantly complain of their 
 baneful influence ! The child of God longs that his " every thought 
 may be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.''^ But he 
 " sees another law in his members, warring against the law of his 
 mind ;" so that when he would " do good, evil is present with 
 him.'"' When he would " attend upon the Lord without distrac- 
 tion ;"8 many times, even in a single exercise, does he forget his 
 sacred employment. Sin seems to enter into every pore of his soul; 
 and a cloud of vain thoughts darkens every avenue to communion 
 with God. He would gladly say, "My heart is fixed, my heart is 
 fixed ;"^ but he finds his affections wandering, as " the eyes of the 
 fool, in the ends of the earth,"'" as if there were no object of Divine 
 attraction to his soul. We do not hear the worldling, or indeed 
 the servant of God in his worldly employments, complaining of this 
 burden. He can bring to deep, important, and anxious concerns 
 of this world, all that intensity and fixedness of attention which 
 the emergency may demand. Indeed the wily adversary would 
 rather assist than hinder this concentration of mind, as diverting 
 
 ' Phil. i. 6. 2 Phil. ij. 12, 13. 3 John ill. 19. Rom. i. 32; vi. 13. 
 
 < Job xxi. 14. Ps. xiv. 1. Rom. viii. 7. 
 
 5 Gen. vi. 5. Prov. xxiii. 7; xxiv. 9. « 2 Cor. x. 5. "^ Rom. vii. 21, 23, 
 
 « 1 Cor. vii. 35. 9 Ps. Ivii. 7. "> Prov. xvii. 24. 
 
 12 
 
 $i 
 
 
178 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 the soul from the far more momentous and interesting subjects of 
 eternity. But never do the " sons of God come to present them- 
 selves before the Lord." except "Satan comes also among them."^ 
 
 " Vai?i thoughts'^ are his ceaseless hinderances to our spiritual 
 communion with God. Are we aware of the subtilty, and there- 
 fore the peculiar danger of this temptation ? We should instinct- 
 ively start from an enticement to open transgression. The incur- 
 sion of detihng or blasphemous thoughts would be such a burden, 
 that we should "have no rest in our spirit," while they remain 
 undisturbed within us. But perhaps neither of these temptations 
 are so formidable as the crowd of thoughts of every kind, inces- 
 santly running to and fro in the mind ; the indulgence of which, 
 though not actually sinful in itself, yet as effectually restrains the 
 soul from intercourse with God, as the most hateful injections. 
 These are " the little foxes, that spoil the tender grapes."^ Nay — 
 the ^^ thoughts'^ may be even spiritual in their nature, and yet 
 ^^vahi'^ in their tendency; because unsuitable to the present frame, 
 and calculated, and indeed intended by the great enemy, to divert 
 the mind from some positive duty. Who has not felt a serious 
 thought upon an unseasonable subject, and at an unseasonable 
 time, to be in its consequences a " vain thoughV^ — the secret im- 
 pulse of the false " angel of light,"^ dividing the attention between 
 two things, so that neither of them may be wholly done, done to 
 any purpose, done at all?"* If at any time " iniquity lias been re- 
 garded in the heart ;" if the world in any of its thousand forms has 
 regained a temporary ascendency : or if lusting imaginations are 
 not constantly " held in" as " with bit and bridle ;" these " vain 
 thotights,^^ ever ready to force their entrance, will at such seasons, 
 ''get an advantage of us." Restless in their workings, they keep 
 no Sabbaths : and can only be successfully met by a watchful and 
 unceasing warfare. 
 
 It may inded be sometimes difficult, in the midst of this contin- 
 ed trial, to maintain a clear sense of adoption. But this is the dis- 
 tinctive mark of Christian sincerity. Do we cordially "/m/e" them, 
 as exceeding sinful in the sight of God,^ hurtful to our own souls,« 
 and contrary to our new nature V If we cannot altogether prevent 
 
 1 Job i. 6. 2 Cant. ii. 15. 8 2 Cor. xi. 14. 
 
 4 Greenham (one of the most valuable of the Puritan writers upon experimental sub- 
 jects) used to bring his distractions of mind to this test— If they brought any past sin to 
 mind for his humiliation, or any comfort to excite his thankfulness, or any instruction 
 suitable to the present moment — he took them to be of God. But if they drcic of his 
 mind from present duty to rove after other objects, he suspected their source, and girded 
 him.self to prayer for increasing steadiness of application to the matter in hand. See his 
 works, folio, p. 2:i. Being asked to account, for distractions in holy meditations, he said 
 — It was either want of preparation and sanctifying the heart by prayer before wc set 
 upon so holy an exercise, and therefore a rebuke from the Lord for our " ])resumption in 
 being bold to work upon holy matters in our own strength" — or else a dependence upon 
 a general purpose of thinking good, or restraining evil, without fastening our minds upon 
 some particular object, but rather 'ranging up and down,' leaving some part of our mind 
 and meditation void for other matters, without wholly and seriously setting on a thing 
 propounded. When any complained to him of blasphemous thoughts, he would say — 
 " Do not fear them, but abhor them." 
 
 » Prov. xxiv. 9. • Cant. ii. 15, aiul Scott, in loco. ^ Rom. vii. 22. 
 
VERSE 113. 179 
 
 their entrance, or eject them from their settlement, are we careful 
 not to invite them, not to entertain them, not to suffer them to 
 " lodge witfM^^ us ? This active hatred is a satisfactory proof 
 that they are not so much the natural suggestion of the heart, as 
 the injections of the enemy of our peace. They are at least so di- 
 rectly opposed to our better will and dominant bias, that we may 
 say, " If 1 do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin, 
 that dwelleth in me."* Our affliction and conflict with them prove 
 that they dwell with us — not as welcome guests, or as the family 
 of the house — but as "thieves and robbers." Their indulgence 
 constitutes our sin. Their indweUing may be considered onlt/ as 
 our temptation. They supply indeed continued matter for w^atch- 
 fulness, humiliation, and resistance ; yet so far as they are abhorred 
 and resisted, they are rather our infirmities than our iniquities, and 
 leave no stain of actual guilt upon the conscience. An increasing 
 sense of the sinfulness of sin, and of the extent of duty, will indeed 
 show their deeper aggravations and more persevering opposition. 
 Still, however, even while we groan under their defiling, distracting 
 influence in our best services, we may assure our confidence in him, 
 who " spareth us, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him,"^ 
 and who will ever gather up the broken parts of our prayers with 
 merciful acceptance. 
 
 But the subjugation of this evil — even though we be secured 
 from its condemnation — is a matter of the deepest concern. For- 
 get not — oh, may the impression be indelible ! — that it was for these 
 vain thoughts that the Saviour was nailed to the cross. Here 
 lies the ground of self-loathing — the quickening principle of con- 
 flict and exertion. Let the heart — the seat of this evil disease — 
 be daily washed in the cleansing blood of Calvary ; for until the 
 corrupt fountain be cleansed, it must ever "send forth bitter waters."* 
 Let it be diligently " kept,"^ and carefully filled, so that it may be a 
 " good treasure bringing forth good things."^ Let there be the con- 
 tinued exercise of that " watchfulness" " which is unto prayer,"' 
 combined with an unflinching adherence to plain and obvious duty. 
 Let the temptation to desist awhile from services so polluted, that 
 they appear rather to mock God than to worship him, be met on 
 the onset with the most determined opposition. Once admit this 
 suggestion, and our active enemy will pour in successive incursions 
 of vain thoughts into our perplexed and yielding minds, to turn 
 us back step by step in our attempts to approach to God. If, there- 
 fore, we cannot advance as we could wish, let us advance as we 
 can. If a connected train of thought or expression fails us, let us 
 only change — not surrender — our posture of resistance ; substitut- 
 ing sighs, desires, tears, and groaning for words, and casting our- 
 selves upon our God in the simple confidence of faith, "Lord, all 
 my desire is before thee, and my groaning is not hid from thee. 
 
 * Compare Jer. iv, 14. 2 Rom. vii. 20. 3 Malachi iii. 1 7. 
 
 * Compare 2 Kings ii. 19—22. Jer. iv. 14. 5 Proverbs iv. 23, 
 « Matthew lii. 35. "^ lb. xxvi. 41. 
 
180 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 Thou tellest my wanderings : put thou my tears into thy bottle : are 
 they not in thy book?"' It is far better to wander in duty than 
 from it. For if any duty be neglected on account of the defile- 
 ment that is mingled with it, for the same reason w^e must neglect 
 every other duty : and, as the final consequence, the worship of God 
 would be abolished from the earth. 
 
 Much of our successful warfare, however, depends upon an accu- 
 rate and well-digested acquaintance with our own hearts — upon a 
 discovery of the bias of the mind in our unoccupied moments, and 
 of the peculiar seasons and circumstances that give most power to 
 temptation. This once known, set a double watch against those 
 doors, by which the enemy has been accustomed to find his most 
 convenient and unobstructed entrance. 
 
 But we must not forget the eflfective means suggested by David's 
 experience — the love of God's law. Here rises the native enmity 
 against God — not as the Creator, but the Lawgiver — and therefore 
 against his law as the dictate of his will.^ Here then is the power 
 of grace subduing this enmity. Not only 1 fear, and therefore 
 through fear I keep, but I love, thy laio. And 'He that loves a 
 holy law,' remarks an excellent old writer, ' cannot but hate a vain 
 though t.'3 For if the law be the transcript of the image of God, 
 the thoughts affectionately drawn out towards him must naturally 
 fix the image of the beloved friend upon the mind, and by a sweet 
 constraint fasten down the thoughts to Divine contemplation. Are 
 we then ever winged with an elevating love to the Saviour? And 
 do not we find our hearts start out from their worldly employments 
 with frequent glances and flights towards the object of our desire? 
 And will not this communion of love gradually mould the soil into 
 a fixed delight, exciting our hatred, and strengthening our resist- 
 ance of every sinful afi'ection ? Thus, as love to the law stirs up 
 the powers of the renewed man, " spiritual wickedness" will be ab- 
 horred, conflicted with, and overcome. 
 
 Yet these defilements will remain to die with the last breathings 
 of the old man ; which though crucified indeed, and expiring, will 
 struggle with fearful strength and unabated enmity to the end. And 
 let them remain as humbling mementos of our unclean nature, 
 "shapen in iniquity, and conceived in sin ;"* and as enlivening our 
 anticipations of that blessed place, where " shall in no wise enter 
 anything that defileth ;"« where " vai7i thoug-hts" and whatever 
 besides might "separate between us and our God," will be unknown 
 for ever. Meanwhile let them endear to us the free justification of 
 the Gospel ; let them lead us daily and hourly to " the fountain 
 opened for sin and for uncleanness ;"« and enhance in our view that 
 heavenly intercession, which provides for the perfect cleansing and 
 acceptance of services even such as ours. 
 
 Blessed contemplation ! Jesus prays not for us as we do for our- 
 ee ves. His intercession is without distraction — without interrup- 
 
 1 Ps. xxxviii. 9; Ivi. 8. 2 Rom. viii. 7. ^ Steele's Antidote against Distractions. 
 * Psalm, li. 5. 6 Rev, xxi. 27. « Zech. liii. 1. 
 
VERSE 114. 181 
 
 tion. If we are then so dead, that we cannot, and so guilty that 
 we dare not, pray, and so wandering in our " vain thoughts" that 
 our prayers appear to be scattered to the winds, rather tiian to as- 
 cend to heaven — if on these accounts combined, we "are so trou- 
 bled that we cannot speak ;"• yet always is there one to speak for 
 us, of whom " a voice from heaven" testified for our encouragement, 
 saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.*'* 
 With such hopes, motives, and encouragements, let us " continue 
 instant in prayer,"^ until ice pray^ and that we may pray. Let 
 us supplicate our Lord with restless importunity, that his omnipo- 
 tent love would take hold of these hearts, which every moment sin 
 and Satan seem ready to seize. At the same time, conscious of 
 our hatred of every interruption to his service, and of the simplicity 
 of our affection to his holy law, let us hold fast that confidence be- 
 fore him, which will issue in perfect peace and established consola- 
 tion. 
 
 114. Thx)u art my hiding-place^ and my shield ; I hope in thy word. 
 
 We have seen the unremitting vigilance of the enemy pur- 
 suing the man of God in his secret retirement with painful distrac- 
 tion. See how he runs to his hiding-place. Here is our main 
 principle of safety — not our strivings, or our watchfulness, but our 
 faith. Flee instantly to Jesus.* He is the sinner's hiding-place, 
 " the man," that wondrous man, "in whom dwelt all the fulness of 
 the Godhead bodily.'' ^ Yes, Jesus exposed himself to the fury of 
 "the tempest," that he might provide "a hiding-place^^ for us. 
 The broken law pursued with its relentless curse — 'The sinner 
 ought to die' — But ^^thoit art my hiding-place," who hast "re- 
 deemed me from the curse of the law, being made a curse for me."^ 
 " The fiery darts" pour in on every side ; but the recollection of 
 past security awakens my song of acknowledgment, " Thou hast 
 been a strength to the poor, to the needy in his distress, a refuge 
 from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the ter- 
 rible ones is as a storm against the wall."^ Our hiding-place 
 covers us from the power of the world. " In me," saith our Sa- 
 viour, " ye shall have peace. Be of good cheer ; I have overcome 
 the world."^ Helpless to resist the great enemy, our Lord brings 
 us to his wounded side, and hides us there. We " overcome him 
 by the blood of the Lamb."^ To all accusations from every quar- 
 ter, our challenge is ready, " Who shall lay anything to the charge 
 of God's elect ?"^» From the fear of death, our hiding-place still 
 covers us. "Jesus through death hath destroyed him that had 
 the power of death."" Against the sting of this last enemy, a song 
 of thanksgiving is put into our mouth, " O death ! where is thy 
 sting ? O grave ! where is thy victory ? Thanks be to God, 
 
 » Ps. Ixxvii. 4. 2 Matt. iii. 17. 3 Rom. xii. 12. 
 
 4 Ps. cxlii. 9. Prov. xviii. 10. s Isaiah xxxii. 2. Col. ii. 9. 
 
 6 Gal. iii. 10, 13, 7 Isaiah xxv. 4. 8 John xvi. 33. 
 
 9 Rev. xii. 11. lo Rom. viii. 33, 34. " Heb. u. 14, 15. 
 
182 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."* 
 Thus is " the smoking flax," which the maHce of Satan strives to 
 extinguish, not " quenched ;" nor is " the bruised reed," which 
 seems beyond the hope of restoration " broken." 
 
 But the completeness of our security is graphically portrayed^ 
 Thou art my hidbig-place^ to cover from danger — my shield,'^ also 
 to protect me in it. Either I shall be kept from trouble, that it 
 shall not come ; or m trouble, that it shall not hurt me. The hid- 
 iiig-place alone would be imperfect security, as being limited to 
 one place. But my shield is movable, wherever be the point of 
 danger or assault. I can " quench the dart" that is aimed at my 
 soul. 
 
 But a hiding-place implies also secrecy.^ And truly the be- 
 liever's is a " hidden life,"^ beyond the comprehension of the w^orld. 
 He mixes with them in the common intercourse of life. But while 
 seen of man, he is dwelling " in the secret of the Lord's taberna- 
 cle,"* safe in the midst of surrounding danger, guarded by invinci- 
 ble strength.^ Often, indeed, must the world be surprised at his 
 constancy, amidst all their varied efforts to shake his steadfastness. 
 They know not " the secret of the Lord, which is with them that 
 fear him."' And never could he have had a just conception of the 
 all-sufficiency of his God, until he finds it above him, around him, 
 underneath him, in all the fulness of everlasting love — his hiding- 
 place^ and his shield. Thus in the heart of the enemy's country 
 '*he dwelleth on high, and his place of defence is the munitions of 
 rocks."8 
 
 But are we acquainted with this hiding-place 7 How have we 
 discovered it? Are we found in it, and careful to abide in it? 
 Within its walls " that wicked one toucheth us not."^ Yet never 
 shall we venture outside the walls unprotected, but his assault will 
 give us some painful remembrance of our unwatchfulness. And 
 then do we prize our shield^ and run behind it for constant security. 
 Remember, every other hiding-place " the waters will overflow." •» 
 Every other shield is a powerless defence. Surely then the ivord, 
 which has discovered this security to us, is a firm warrant for our 
 ^'hope.^^ And therefore every sinner, enclosed in the covert of love, 
 will be ready to declare, " / hope in thy word.'''' 
 
 116. Depart from me, ye evil-doers : for I will keep the commandments of my 
 
 God. 
 
 Safe and quiet in his ^'•hiding-place, and behind his shield,*^ 
 David deprecates all attempts to disturb his peace, *' Depart from 
 me, ye evil doersP He had found them to be opposed to his best 
 interests ; and he dreaded their influence in shaking his resolution 
 for his God. Indeed such society must always hinder alike the en- 
 joyment and the service of God. " Can two walk together, except 
 
 ' 1 Cor. XV. 55, 57. « Gen. xv. 1. Ps. iii. 3 ; v. 12. Comp. Eph. vi. 17. 
 
 8 Psalm xxxi. 20. < Col. iii. 3. 6 Pb. xxvii. 5. 
 
 « Isaiah xxvi, I. i Psalm xxv. 14. 8 igaiah xxxiiL 16. 
 
 » 1 John V. 18. w Isaiah xxviii. 16, 17. 
 
\ 
 
 ERSE 115. 183 
 
 they be agreed ?"^ And can we be " agreed," and walk in fellow- 
 ship with God, except we be at variance with the principles, the 
 standard, and conduct of a world that is enmity against hiin ?"« 
 Not more needful was the exhortation to the first Christians than 
 to ourselves, " Save yourselves from this untoward generation."' 
 True fellowship with God implies therefore a resolute separation 
 from the ungodly. Secure in the '•^ hiding -jylace,^^ and covered 
 with the " shield^^ of our covenant God, let us meet their malice, 
 and resist their enticements, with the undaunted front of " a good 
 soldier of Jesus Christ."* 
 
 Not that we would indulge morose or ascetic seclusion. We are 
 expressly enjoined to courtesy and kindness ]^ to that wise and con- 
 siderate "walk towards them that are without,"* which "adorns 
 the doctrine of God our Saviour,"^ and indeed in some instances 
 has been more powerful even than the word itself,^ to " win souls to 
 Christ." But when they would tempt us to a devious or backslid- 
 ing step — when our connection with them entices us to a single act 
 of conformity to their standard, dishonorable to God, and inconsist- 
 ent with our profession — then must we take a bold and unflinch- 
 ing stand, " Depart from Twe, ye evil doers : for I will keep the 
 commandments of m,y GodP 
 
 This resolution gives no countenance to the self-delusive notion 
 of maintaining an intimate connection with professed " evil doers^"* 
 for the kind purpose of recommending our religion to their accept- 
 ance — a scheme, which requires a rare degree of caution and sim- 
 plicity to attempt without entangling the conscience ; and which, 
 for the most part at least, it is to be feared, is only a specious cover- 
 ing for the indulgence of a worldly spirit. If the men of the world 
 are to be met, and their society invited, for the accomplishment of 
 this benevolent intention, let it be upon the principle of the Lord's 
 command to his prophet, " Let them, return unto thee ; hut return 
 not thou to themP'^ The amiable desire to " please our neighbor" 
 is limited to the single end, that it should be "/or his good to edi- 
 fication}^ ^^ And whenever this end and restriction has been over- 
 looked, it is sufficiently evident that self-gratification has been the 
 moving principle ; and that the distinctive mark of the Christian 
 character — hearing the cross, and confessing the name of our 
 Divine Master — has been ohscured. 
 
 Sometimes, however, in the struggle of conscience, an apprehen- 
 sion of danger is not altogether forgotten ; and the question is 
 asked, with some trembling of spirit, " How far may I conform to 
 the world, without endangering the loss of my religion ?" But, 
 not to speak of the insincerity and self-deception of such a question, 
 it would be better answered by substituting another in its place. 
 ^^ Hoio far may I he separate from the world, and yet he destitute 
 of the vital principle ?" Scrutinize, in every advancing step to- 
 
 1 Amos iii. 3. 2 Comp, Matt. vi. 24. James iv. 4. 8 Acts ii. 40. 
 
 4 2 Tim. ii. 3. 5 1 Peter iii. 8. « Col. ii. 5. 7 Titus ii. 10. 
 
 8 Comp. 1 Peter iii. 1. » Jer. xv. 19. i° Comp. Rom. iv. 4. 
 
184 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 ward the world, the workings of your own heart. Suspect its rea- 
 sonings. Listen to the first awakened conviction of conscience. 
 Though it be only a whisper, or a hint, it is probably the indication 
 of the Divine will. And never forget, that this experiment of 
 worldly conformity, often as it has been tried, has never answered 
 the desired end. However this compromise may have recommended 
 ourselves^ no progress has been made in recommending our Mas- 
 ter ; since his name — whether from unwatchfulness or cowardice 
 on our part, or from the overpowering flow of the world on the other 
 side — has probably in such society scarcely passed over our lips 
 with any refreshment or attentiveness. Indeed, so far from com- 
 mending our rehgion by this accommodation, we have succeeded 
 in ingratiating ourselves in their favor, only so far as we have been 
 content to keep it out of sight ; while at the same time, our yield- 
 ing conformity to their taste, and habits, and conversation, has vir- 
 tually sanctioned their erroneous standard of conduct ; and tended 
 to deceive them with the self-complacent conviction, that it ap- 
 proaches as near to the Scriptural elevation, as is absolutely 
 required. The final result, therefore, of this attempt to conciliate 
 the Gospel to those who " have no heart to it," is — that now our 
 own consciences have been ensnared, while they retain all their 
 principles unaltered. * 
 
 It must surely be obvious, that such a course is plainly opposed 
 to the revealed declarations of Scripture, and bears, the decisive 
 character of unfaithfulness to our Great Master. We might also 
 ask, whether our love to the Lord can be in fervent exercise, while 
 we "love them that hate him?"* — whether our hatred of sin can 
 be active and powerful, while we can find pleasure in the society 
 of those, whose life, " without God in the world,"^ is an habitual 
 wilful course of rebellion against him V^^ — whether we can have 
 any deep and experimental sense of our own weakness, when thus 
 venturing into temptation? — whether by unnecessary contact with 
 the world, we can expect to " go upon hot coals," and our " feet not 
 be burned ?"< — or, in fact, whether we are not forgetting the dic- 
 tates of common prudence in forsaking the path of safety for a slip- 
 pery, but more congenial, path? Is no harm to be anticipated from 
 a wilful, self-pleasing association ? Is it likely to be less dangerous 
 to us than it was to an Apostle ?« or because we conceive ourselves 
 to have more strength, shall we use less watchfulness, and show 
 more presumption? 
 
 But, supposing Scripture not to determine the path of duty with 
 infallible certainty ; let this line of conduct be subjected to the 
 impartial scrutiny of our own hearts, and of the effects, whether 
 neutral or positively detrimental, which have resulted from it to 
 ourselves, or to the Church. Have we not felt this fellowship with 
 " evU doers'^ to be an hindrance in " keeping the commandments 
 
 i 2 Chron. xii. 2. « Eph. ii. 12. 
 
 « Who are the wicked, but those that forget God 1 Pb. ix. 17 ; x. 4. 
 « Prov. vi. 28. 
 
 I 
 
VERSE 116. 185 
 
 of our God?^^ If it has not always ended in open conformity to 
 their maxims ; or, if contrary to our apprehensions, it does not ap- 
 pear to sanction their principles, yet have we realized no deadening 
 unfavorable influence? Has the spirit of prayer sustained no in- 
 jury in this atmosphere ? Have we never felt the danger of im- 
 bibing tlieir taste, the spirit of their conversation and general con- 
 duct ; which, without fixing any blot upon our external profession, 
 must insensibly estrange our best affections from God ? And have 
 we never considered the injury of this worldly association to the 
 Gospel in weakening by an apparent want of decision " on the 
 Lord's side,"^ the sacred cause which we are pledged to support ; 
 and obscuring the Scriptural character of the people of God as a 
 distinct and separate people 7^ In a providential connection with 
 evil doers, we go safely in the spirit of humihty, watchfulness, and 
 prayer ; and this connection, felt to be a cross, is not likely to prove 
 a snare."^ But does not union of spirit with them, to whom David 
 says, with holy determination, " depart from me," — and to whom 
 David's Lord will one day say, " depart"* — prove a want of fellow- 
 ship with his spirit, and an essential unfitness for communion with 
 the society of heaven ? The children of this world can have no 
 more real communion with the children of light, than darkness has 
 with hght.5 As great is the difference between the Christian and 
 the world, as between heaven and hell — as between the sounds, 
 " Come, ye blessed," and, " Depart, ye cursed. "« The difference, 
 which at that solemn day will be made for eternity, must therefore 
 be visibly made now. They must depart from us, or we from God. 
 We cannot walk with them both. ' Defilement,' as Mr. Cecil re- 
 marks, ' is inseparable from the world.'^ We cannot hold commu- 
 nion with God, in the spirit of the world ; and, therefore, separa- 
 tion from the world, or separation from God, is the alternative. 
 Which way — which company — is most congenial to our taste? 
 Fellowship will be a component part of our heavenly happiness.^ 
 Shall we not then walk on earth with those with whom we hope 
 to spend our eternity, that our removal hence may be a change of 
 place only, not of company? May we have grace to listen to our 
 Father's voice of love, "Wherefore, come out from among them, 
 and be ye separate, saith the Lord ; and touch not the unclean 
 thing : and I will receive you, and will be a Father to you, and 
 ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty l"^ 
 
 116. Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let ine not be 
 ashamed of my hope. 
 
 Lest the Psalmist should seem to have been self-confident in 
 his rejection of the society of the ungodly, and determination to 
 adhere to to his God ; here, as on former occasions,^" mindful of hia 
 
 1 Compare Exodus xxxii. 26. Judges v. 23. Matt. xii. 30. 
 
 2 Compare Numb, xxiii. 9. John xvii. 16. 3 Ps. cxx. 5, 6. 
 < Matt. XXV. 41. 5 2Cor. vi. 14. e Matt, xx v. 34, 41. 
 7 CecU's Remains. » Heb. xii. 22—24. 
 ^° Verses 8, 31. The same frame is marked — Psalm iviL 4, 5. 
 
186 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 own weakness, he commits himself to the upholding grace of God. 
 He does not content himself with commanding the evil doer to de- 
 part. He pleads for his God to come to him. He wants not only 
 the hindrances to be removed, but the vouchsafement of present sup- 
 porting grace. Such is our urgent continual view ! Every circum- 
 stance has its temptation. Every change of condition is specially 
 trying — and what is he in himself? unstable as water ! Indeed the 
 highest archangel before the throne stands only as he is upheld by 
 the Lord, and may unite with the weakest child in the Lord's fam- 
 ily in the acknowledgment, " By the grace of God I am what I 
 am."' Much more, therefore, must I, pressed on every side with 
 daily conflict and temptation, and conscious of my own weakness 
 and liability to fall, " come to the throne of grace" for " grace to 
 help in time of need."=* My plea is the word of promise, " accord- 
 ing to thy word}'' — " as thy days, so shall thy strength be.*'^ " Fear 
 thou not," is the language of my upholding God — " for I am with 
 thee ; be not dismayed, for I am thy God : I will strengthen thee : 
 yea, I will help thee: yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand 
 of my righteousness."* Blessed be the goodness that made the 
 promise, and that guides the hand of my faith, as it were, to fasten 
 upon it ! 
 
 But why do I need the promise? why do I plead it? but ^'■that 
 I may live^^ — that I may know that life which is found and en- 
 joyed -'in the favor" of God?» Nothing seems worth a serious 
 thought beside ; nothing else deserves the name. And therefore 
 new life — " life more abundantly"' — let it be the burden of every 
 prayer — the cry of every moment. Thus upheld by the Lord's 
 grace, and living in his presence, I hope to feel the increasing sup- 
 port of my Christian hope. Though I have just before expressed 
 it in God's word^ — though I have " made my boast in the Lord,'* 
 as " my hiding-place and my shield"'' yet conscious helplessness 
 leads me earnestly to pray, " Let me not be asham^ed of my hope" 
 
 Yes — Jesus is the sinner's hope — " the hope set before" his peo- 
 ple, to which they " flee for the refuge" of their souls. And well 
 may our "hope" in him be called "an anchor of the soul, sure and 
 steadfast."^ How does the distressed Church plead with The hope 
 of Israel, and put her God in remembrance of this his own name,' 
 that she might not be ashamed of her hope ! And how does she — 
 with every member of her body — eventually learn by this pleading, 
 to say in the confidence of faith, ^^ I know whom I have believed T^'^ 
 And is there not a solid ground for this confidence ? Is not the 
 " stone that is laid in Zion for a foundation," a " tried stone ?" Has 
 
 * 1 Cor. XV. 10. Compare 2 Peter ii. 4. 
 
 * Man's wisdom is to seek 
 
 His strength in God alone ; 
 And e'en an angel would be weak, 
 
 Who trusted in his own.' — Cowper. 
 
 * Heb. iv. 16. 3 Deut. xxxiii. 25. < Isaiah xli. 10. 
 » Psalm XXX. 5. « John x. 10. 7 Verse 114. 
 
 « Heb. vi, 18, 19. » Jer. xiv. 6. " 2 Tim. i. la. 
 
 \ 
 
VERSE 117. 187 
 
 it not been tried by thousands and millions of sinners — nay, more, 
 tried by God himself, and found to be " a sure foundation "^ Yet 
 still, that I may " hold fast the beginning of my confidence," and 
 " the rejoicing of my hope, firm unto the end,"'* I must persevere in 
 prayer, " Upliold me according unto thy wordJ^ 
 
 David, wiien left to his own weakness, was ^^ ashamed of his 
 hope'^ — "I said in my haste, 1 am cut off from before thine eyes."^ 
 At another time, when upheld in a season of accumulated trial, " he 
 encouraged himself in the Lord his God."* Thus I see "wherein 
 my great strength lieth," and how impotent I am when left to my- 
 self What a mercy, that my salvation will never for a single mo- 
 ment be in my own keeping ! what need have 1 to pray to be saved 
 from myself! How delightful is the exercise of faith in going to 
 the Strong for strength ! The issue of my spiritual conflicts is cer- 
 tain. He who is the author will ever be the upholder, of the " hid- 
 den life" in his people. It is a part of his own life, and therefore 
 can never perish. The tempter himself will flee, when he marks 
 the poor, feeble, fainting soul, " upheld according to the word of 
 his God,^^ and placed in safety beyond the reach of his malice.^ Not. 
 however, that, as I once supposed, my weakness will ever be made 
 strong ; but that I shall daily grow more sensible of it, shall stay 
 myself more simply upon infinite everlasting strength ; and " most 
 gladly shall I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may 
 rest upon me."« 
 
 117. Hold thou me up^ and I shall be safe : and I will have respect unto thy stat- 
 utes continually. 
 
 Such is my sense of need and peril, that my only refuge lies in 
 " continuing instant in prayer."^ I must send up one cry after an- 
 other into my Father's ear for the support of his upholding grace. 
 For not only the consciousness of my weakness, but the danger of 
 the slippery path before me, reminds me that the safety of every 
 moment depends upon my upholding faithful God. The ways of 
 temptation are so many and imperceptible — the influence of it so 
 appalling — the entrance into it so deceitful, so specious, so insensi- 
 ble — my own weakness and unwatchfulness so unspeakable — that 
 I can do nothing but go on my way, praying at every step, ^^ Held 
 thou me up and I shall he safeP Often indeed can I remember, 
 when " my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped :^ 
 that I have been enabled to record, " Thy mercy, O Lord, held 
 me up."9 
 
 How beautiful is the picture given of the Church of old, " Who 
 is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her Be- 
 loved .?"'" This state of dependence was familiar to the Psalmist, 
 and aptly delineates his affectionate, though conflicting confidence. 
 " My soul foUoweth hard after thee : thy right hand upholdeth me."" 
 
 1 Isa. xxviu. 16. 2 Heb, iii. 6, 14. 3 Psalm xxi. 22. < 1 Sam. xxx. 6. 
 
 5 See 1 Peter i. 5. 6 2 Cor. xii. 9. ^ Rom. xii. 12. 8 pg. IyyjH, 2. 
 
 9 lb. xciv. 18. 10 Cant. viii. 5. " Psalm Ixiii. 8. 
 
188 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 The recollection of the care of his God, from his earliest life, sup- 
 plied encouragement for his present faith, and matter for unceas- 
 ing praise, ^^ By thee have I been holden up from the womb ; thou 
 art he that took me out of my mother's bowels : my praise shall be 
 continually of thee."^ We cannot wonder, then, that this confi- 
 dence should sustain his soul in the contemplation of the remain- 
 ing steps of his pilgrimage, and his prospects for eternity. " Nev- 
 ertheless," saith he, " I am continually with thee : thou hast holden 
 me by thy right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, 
 and afterwards receive me to glory ."^ And indeed the more lively 
 my spiritual apprehensions are, the more I shall realize the Lord 
 by the operations of his grace as well as of his providence, " com- 
 passing my path and my lying down ;"^ " lest any hurt me, keeping 
 me night and day."* 
 
 It is inquired — how the Lord ^'^ holds up'^ his people in this slip- 
 pery path ? " Of the fulness of Jesus they all receive, and grace for 
 grace f^ so that " the life which they now live in the flesh, they 
 live by the faith of the Son of God."« And therefore if I am up- 
 held, it is by the indwelling of the Spirit, who supphes from his 
 infinite fountain of life all the strength and support I need through- 
 out my dangerous way. By his Divine influence the dispensations 
 of providence also become the appointed means of drawing and 
 keeping me near to my God. If, therefore, prosperity is endanger- 
 ing my soul, and strengthening my worldly bonds, may I not trust 
 to the ever-watchful kindness of the Lord, to keep me low, and not 
 to suflfer me to be at ease in my forgetfulness ? If the pleasures of 
 sense, if the esteem of the world, or the good report of the church, 
 are bringing a bewitching snare upon my soul, my God will lead me 
 into the pathway of the cross — in the 'valley of humiliation.' 
 
 Here, then, is the secret of an unsteady walk — the neglect of 
 leaning upon an Almighty arm ! How fearfully is the danger of 
 self-confidence unveiled ! Standing by my own strength, very soon 
 shall I be made to feel, that I cannot stand at all. No " mountain" 
 seemed to "stand stronger" than Solomon's : yet when he became 
 the very " fool" that he describes — " trusting in his own heart" — 
 how quickly was it moved !'' 
 
 Peter thought in the foolishness of his heart, that he could have 
 walked upon the water imsu[)ported by the arm of his Lord : but a 
 moment's sense of weakness and danger brought him to his right 
 mind : "and, begining to sirik, he cried, saying — Lord, save me."^ 
 Well would it have been for him, if his deliverance at that moment 
 of peril had effectually rebuked his presumption. We should not 
 then have heard from the same lips that language of most unwar- 
 ranted self-confidence : — " Although all shall be offended, yet will 
 not I : — If I should die wiih thee, I will not deny thee in any wise."' 
 Poor deluded disciple ! thou art on the brink of a grievous fall !" 
 
 iPs.lxxi.G. 2Ib.lxxiii.23,24. 3 ib.cxxxix.3. < Isa.xxvii.S. sjohni.ia 
 « Gal. h. 20. 7 Comp. Psalm xxx. 6, 7. 1 Kings xi, 1—10. Prov. xxviii. 26. 
 » Matt xiv. 2&— 30. » Mark xiv. 29, 31. w Prov. ivL 18. 
 
VERSE 118, 119. 189 
 
 Yet was he ^^held up*^ from utterly sinking. ^^ I have prayed for 
 theej^ said the gracious Saviour, '-'-that thy faith fail notP^ And 
 thus " held up" by the same faithful intercession of my powerful 
 friend (whose prayers are not weak as mine, " nor will he fail or be 
 discouraged "2 by my continual backsHdings,) "/" too — though in 
 the atmosphere of danger, in the sHppery path of temptation, " shall 
 he safe^'' — safe from an ensnaring world — safe from a treacherous 
 heart — safe in Hfe — safe in death — safe in eternity. Thus does an 
 interest in the covenant encourage — not presumption — but faitli, in 
 all its exercises of humility, watchfulness, diligence, and prayer ; 
 and in this appointed way does the Lord securely " keep the feet of 
 his saints." 
 
 Let me not, then, forget, either my continual hability to fall if left 
 to myself, or the faithful engagements of my covenant God, to 
 " keep me from faUing." While I recollect for my comfort, that I 
 " stand by faith," still is the exhortation most needful, " Be not 
 high-minded, but fear."^ « By faith I stand," as it concerns God ; 
 by fear, as regards myself. As light is composed of neither brill- 
 iant nor sombre rays, but of the combination of both in simultane- 
 ous action, so is every Christian grace combined with its opposite, 
 *' that it may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing." Hope, there- 
 fore, combined with fear, issues in that genuine, evangelical confi- 
 dence, in which alone I can walk safely and closely with God. 
 Let, then, the self-confident learn to distrust themselves, and the 
 fearful be encouraged to trust their Saviour ; and in each let the 
 recollection of grace and help vouchsafed " in time of need," lead to 
 the steadfast resolution, " I will have respect unto thy statutes con- 
 tinually P However self denying they may be in their require- 
 ments : however opposed in their tendency to " the desires of the 
 flesh and of the mind," I take my God as the surety of my perform- 
 ance of them ; and I desire to love them as the rule of my daily 
 conduct, and as the very element of heavenly happiness to my soul. 
 
 118. Thou hast trodden doiim all them that err from thy statutes : for their deceit 
 is falsehood. 119. Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: 
 therefore I love thy testimonies. 
 
 The Psalmist's determination to keep the statutes of God was 
 strengthened by marking his judgment on those that erred from 
 them. And thus the Lord expects us to learn at their cost.-* The 
 cheerful, grateful respect to his statutes marks also a difference of 
 character indicative of a difference of state. •' His saints are in his 
 hand, or sitting down at his feet ;5 his enemies are trodden down 
 under his feet" in full conquest,*' and disgraceful punishment.'' 
 His own people he has exalted to be " heirs of God, and joint heirs 
 with Christ."^ Even now " he hath made them to sit together in 
 heavenly places in Christ Jesus ;" and shortly will they " be a crown 
 
 ' Lukexxii. 31, 32. 2 isaiah xlii. 4. 3 Rom. xi. 20. 
 
 < Ps. Iviii. 10. Isa. xxvi. 9. Zeph. iii. 6, 7. 5 Deut. xxxiii. 3. 
 
 sps. ex. 1. Comp. Josh. X. 24. ' 2 Kings ix. 33. Mic. vii. 10. Mai. iv. 3. 
 8 Rom. viii. 17. 
 
190 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand 
 of their God ;* while the ungodly " are put away like dross^^ frorr 
 the precious gold. " Reprobate silver shall men call them, because 
 the Lord hath rejected them."'^ The same difference he makes 
 even in chastening — upholding his own children under the scourg- 
 ing rod, lest they faint ; but " breaking the wicked with a rod of 
 iron, and dashing them in pieces."^ 
 
 This separation has been from the beginning ; in his conduct to 
 the two first children of men ;* and in his selection of Enoch,^ 
 Noah,^ and Abraham^ from the world of the ungodly, " as vessels 
 of honor meet for the Master's use."^ In after ages, he made 
 Egypt " know, that he put a difference between the Egyptians and 
 Israel."^ They were his own people, that should dwell alone, and 
 not " be reckoned among the nations "^° — a people, whom he had 
 '• formed for himself, that they should show forth his praise."^^ And 
 the same difference he has made ever since, between his people and 
 thew^orld — in their character^^ — their way ^^ — their exercises of mind^"* 
 — their services'^ — their privileges '^ — and their prospects. ^^ At the 
 day of judgment the separation will be complete — final — everlasting. 
 " When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all his holy 
 angels, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory ; and before j 
 him shall be gathered all nations ; and he shall separate them one m 
 from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. » 
 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the 
 left; and these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the 
 righteous into life eternal."'^ 
 
 But mark the character — They ^^ err from God^s statutes-'' — not 
 in their minds, through ignorance; but "in their hearts'"^ through 
 obstinacy. They do not say, ' Lord, we know 7iot,^ but " we desire 
 not the knowledge of thy ways.^^^" It is not frailty, but unbelief; 
 not want of knowledge, but love of sin — wilful, damnable. Justly, 
 therefore, are they stamped as the '^wicked of the earth,^^ and 
 marked out as objects of the Lord's eternal frown — expectants of 
 "the vengeance of eternal fire." 
 
 And is not this a solemn warning to those " that forget God" — 
 that " they shall be turned into heU"^'— to " the proud"— that in 
 "^the day that shall burn as an oven, they shall be as stubble"^^ — 
 to the worldly — that in some " night" of forgetful ness, their " souls 
 will be required of them"23 — to the " hypocrites in heart" — that they 
 "are heaping up wrath ?"2* Thus does the eye of faith discern 
 through the apparent disorder of a world in ruins, the just, holy, 
 and wise, government of God. " Clouds and darkness are round 
 
 » Eph. ii. 6. Isa. Ixii. 3. Comp. Matt. xiii. 43. « Jer, vi 30. 
 
 8 lea. Ivii. 16—18, with Psalm ii. 9. < Gen. iv. 4, 5. Heb. xi. 4. 
 
 6 Gen. V. S'i— 24. Heb. xi. 5. « lb. vii. 1. t ib. xii. 1—3. 
 
 8 2 Tim. ii. 21. " Exod. xi. 7. *° Numb, xxiii. 9. " Isa. xUii. 21. 
 
 *3 1 John V. 19. »3Prov. XV. 9. »< Rom. vii. 5. « Prov. xv. 8. 
 16 lb. iii. 32, 33. " Dan. xii. 2. 
 
 18 Matt. XXV. 31—33, 46. Comp. iii. 12; xiii. 30. Mai. iii. 16—18. 
 
 i» Ps. xcv. 10. Com. verse 21. 20 job xxi. 14. 21 Ps. ix. 17. 
 
 M Mai. iv. 1. 9» Luke xu. 19. 20. Dan. v. 30. ' ^ Job xixvi. 13. 
 
VERSE 120. 101 
 
 about him; righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his 
 throne."' If the wicked seem to triumph, and the righteous to be 
 trodden down under their feet, it shall not be always so. " The 
 end"* and " wages of sin is death."^ " The ungodly shall not stand 
 in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous."* 
 
 How awful, then, and almost desperate their condition ! " Tlieir 
 deceit is falsehood ;" "deceiving and being deceived"^ — perhaps 
 giving up to believe their own lie — perhaps one or another " bless- 
 ing themselves in their own heart," saying " ' I shall have peace, 
 though I walk in the imagination of my own heart, to add drunk- 
 enness to thirst.' "<* What then is our duty ? Carnal selfishness 
 says, ' Be quiet — ^let them alone' — that is, " Destroy them by our" 
 indolence and unfaithfulness, " for whom Christ died."^ But what 
 does Scripture, conscience, nay more — what does common human- 
 ity say? "Cry aloud, spare not."^ Awake the sleepers — sound 
 the alarm, " Now is the accepted time — the day of salvation,"^ tlie 
 moment to lift up the prayer and stretch forth the hand for pluck- 
 ing the brands out of the fire."'° " To-morrow the door may be 
 shut, never to be opened more."'' 
 
 How awful the judgment of being ^^put away like dross .'" Look 
 at Saul,'* when ^^put awaif — going out, to harden himself in the 
 sullen pride of despondency. Hear the fearful doom of Israel, " Son 
 of man, the house of Irael is to me become dross; all they are brass, 
 and tin, and iron, and lead, in^/Ae midst of the furnace ; they are 
 even the dross of silver. Therefore saith the Lord God — Because 
 ye are all become dross^ behold, therefore I will gather you into the 
 midst of Jerusalem, as they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and 
 lead, and tin into the midst of the furnaces to blow the fire upon it, 
 to melt it ; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury ; 
 and I will leave you there, and melt you."'^ But how should this 
 justice of the Lord's proceedings endear his statutes to us ! It is 
 such a sensible demonstration of their truth, bringing with it such 
 a close conviction of sovereign mercy to ourselves — not less guilty 
 than they ! Add to this — If he were less observant of sin — less 
 strict in its punishment as a transgression of his word — we should 
 lose that awful display of the holiness of the word, which commends 
 it supremely to our love, "Thy word is very pure ; therefore thy 
 servant loveth t^."'* 
 
 120. Myfiesh tremUeth for fear of thee ; and I am afraid of thy judgments. 
 
 The justice of God is a tremendously awful subject of contem- 
 plation, even to those who are safely shielded from its terrors. The 
 believer, in the act of witnessing its righteous stroke upon " the 
 wicked of the earth^"* cannot forbear to cry out, " My flesh trem- 
 
 1 Psalm xcvil 2. 2 Rom. vi. 21. 3 lb, 23. 
 
 4 Psalm i. 5. 6 2 Tim. iii. 13. « Deut. xxii. 19. 
 
 7 Corap. Rom. xiv. 15. » Isa. Iviii. 1. 9 2 Cor. vi. 2. 
 
 w Zech. iii. 2. Jude 23. " Matt. xxv. 10. 12 1 Sam. xxviii. 5—25. 
 
 13 Ezek. xiu. 18—20. " Verse 140. 
 
192 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 hleth for fear of thee."^ Thus did the holy men of old tremble 
 even with a frame approaching horror in the presence of the Divine 
 judgments — David trembled at the stroke of Uzzah — a3 if it came 
 very near to himself,* " Destruction frotn God^' saith holy Job, 
 " was a terror to me : and hy reason of his highness I could not 
 endure."^ Such also was the Prophet's strong sensation, " When 
 I heard, my helly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rot- 
 tenness entered into my bones "^ And thus, when God comes to 
 " tread down and put away^^ his enemies for the display of the ho- 
 liness of his character, and to excite the " love" of his people — those 
 that stand by, secure under the covert of their hiding-place^ — can- 
 not but "take up their parable and say — Alas ! who shall live, when 
 God doeth this !"^ The children of God reverence their Father's 
 anger. They cannot see it (such is his " terrible Majesty !"^) with- 
 out an awful fear ; and this trembling at his judgments upon the 
 ungodly covers them from the heavy stroke. Those that refuse to 
 tremble shall be made to feel, while those that are " afraid of his 
 judgments^^ shall be secure, " Only with thine eyes shalt thou be- 
 hold, and see the reward of the wicked. "^ " I trembled in myself,'" 
 said the Prophet, ^^that I Tnight rest in the day of trouble.^'^ Even 
 the manifestations of his coming " for the salvation of his people" 
 are attended with all the marks of the most fearful terror — as if 
 his voice would shake the earth to its very foundation, " Thou didst 
 cause judgment to be heard from heaven — the earth feared, and 
 was still ; when God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of 
 the earth/'^° 
 
 To mark this trembling as the character of the child of God, we 
 need only contrast it with the ungodly scoffing, " Where is the God 
 of judgment? Where is the promise of his coming ? The Lord 
 will not do good, neither will he do evil."'^ Thus do men dare to 
 " run upon the thick bosses of his buckler,"^* instead of " trembling 
 for fear of him .'" This " stoutness against (he Lord,'"^ excites the 
 astonishment of the hosts of heaven ; so discordant is it to their 
 notes of humble praise, " Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glo- 
 rify thy name ; for thy judgments are made manifest !"i< Such is 
 the special acceptance of tliis trembling spirit, that some shadow of 
 it obtained a respite even for wicked Ahab,'^ and a pardon for the pen- 
 itent Niiievites ;'« while its genuine "tenderness of heart" screened 
 Josiah from the doom of his people,'' and will ever be regarded with 
 the tokens of the favor of this terrible God. " To this man," saith 
 
 I ' A thrilling horror curdles my skin.' The thing cannot be poetically expressed 
 without periphrasis. — Bishop HorsUy. 
 
 a 2 Sam. vi. 6—9. ^ Job xxxi. 23. 
 
 < Hab. iii. 16. Comp. Jer. iv. 19. Dan. iv. 19. » Verse 1 14. 
 
 « Numb, xxiv, 23. ' Job xxxvii. 2>2. 8 pgalm xci. 8. » Hab. iii. 16, 
 
 "> Psalm Ixxvi. 7—9. See the effect of a manifestation of the glory of the Saviour to 
 the Evangelist for the purpose of special consolation and support. Rev. i. 17, 18. Com- 
 t)are also Daniel x 8—17. 
 
 "Mai. ii. 17. 2 Peter iii. 4. Zeph. i. 12. " Job xv. 26. " Mai. iii. 13. 
 
 u Rev. XV. 4. w 1 Kings xxi. 27—29. " Jonah iii. 5—10, 
 
 17 2 Chron. xxxiv. 27. 
 
 
VERSE 120. 193 
 
 he, " I will look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, 
 and that tremhleth at my wordP^ 
 
 Believers in Christ ! Rejoice in your deliverance from that " fear 
 which hath torment."* Yet cherish that holy reverential fear of 
 the character and judgments of God, which will form your most 
 effectual safeguard " from presumptuous sins."^ The very suppo- 
 sition, that, if God had not engaged himself to you by an unchange- 
 able covenant, his eternal judgments would have been your eter- 
 nal portion, is of itself sufficient to mingle the wholesome ingredient 
 of fear into the most established assurance. What ! Can you look 
 down into the burning bottomless gulf beneath your feet, without 
 the recollection — If I were not immovably fastened to " the Rock 
 of Ages " by the strong chain of everlasting love, there must have 
 been my abode through the countless ages of eternity. If I had 
 not been thus upheld by the grace, as well as by the providence, of 
 God, I might have dropped out of his hand, as one and another not 
 more rebellious than I have fallen, into this intolerable perdition ? 
 O God ! " my flesh tremhleth for fear of thee^ and I am afraid of 
 thy judgmentsy^- 
 
 Thus the dread of the judgments of God is not necessarily of a 
 slavish and tormenting character. " His saints are called to fear 
 him ;"5 and their fear, so far from " gendering unto bondage," is 
 consistent with the strongest assurance ;^ nay even, is its fruit and 
 effect.'' It is at once the principle of present obedience,^ and of 
 final perseverance.^ It is the confession of weakness, unworthi- 
 ness, and sinfulness, laying us low before our God. It is our most 
 valuable discipline. It is the " bit and bridle " that curbs the frow- 
 ardness of the flesh, and enables us to " serve God acceptably," in 
 the remembrance, that, though in love he is a reconciled Father, 
 yet in hofiness he is " a consuming fire.''^" 
 
 Now, if we are under the influence of this reverential awe and 
 seriousness of spirit, we shall learn to attach a supreme authority 
 and consideration to the least of his commands. We shall dread 
 the thought of wilfully offending him. The fear of grieving him 
 will be far more operative now, than was the fear of hell in our 
 unconverted state. Those who presume upon their Gospel liberty, 
 will not, probably, understand this language. But the humble be- 
 liever well knows how intimately " the fear of the Lord" is connect- 
 ed with " the comfort of the Holy Ghost,"^^ and with his own steady 
 progress in hohness, and preparation for heaven. 
 
 1 Isaiah Ixvi. 2, 5. 2 i John iv. 18. 3 Psalm xix. 13. 
 
 < How striking was H. Martin's experimental apprehensions of this subject ! ' In 
 prayer in the evening I had such near and terrific views of God^s judgments upon sin- 
 ners in hell, that my flesh trembled for fear of them. The passages of God's holy word, 
 that proved the certainty of hell torments, were brought to me in such a way as I never 
 before felt. I flew trembling to Jesus Christ, as if the flame were taking hold of me ! 
 Oh! Christ will indeed save me, or else I perish.'— Gemmate, vol. i. 382. 
 
 5 Psalm xxxiv. 9. « Comp. Hab. iiL 16, with 17, 18. 7 Heb. xii. 28. 
 
 8 lb. xi. 7. 9 lb. iv. 1. w lb. xu. 29, with 28. 
 
 " Acts ix. 31. Compare Matt, xxviii. 8. 
 
 13 
 
194 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 PART XVI. 
 
 121. Ihav^done judgment and justice; leave me not to mine oppressors. 122. Be 
 surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me. 
 
 There is something very solemn in the reflection, that God has 
 set up a Vicegerent in the heart — ^an internal Judge, who takes 
 cognizance of every thought, every emotion, every act — determining 
 its character, and pronouncing its sentence. This tribunal tries 
 every cause without respect to persons, time, place, or any circum- 
 stances, that might seem to separate it from other cases under the 
 same jurisdiction. No criminal can escape detection from defect 
 of evidence. No earthly power can hinder the immediate execution 
 of the sentence. The sentence then, of this awful Judge, whether 
 " accusing or excusing,"' is of infinite moment. The ignorant ex- 
 pression, ' Thank God, I have a clear conscience !' is used alike by 
 the self-righteous and the careless. The awakened sinner, how- 
 ever, pleads guilty to its accusations, and knows not how to answer 
 them. Blessed be God for the revelation of his Gospel, which pro- 
 claims the blood of Jesus — sprinkling the conscience — silencing its 
 charges — and setting before the sinner the way of peace ! And 
 now through Jesus, " the new and living way'^ of access to God, 
 conscience, sitting on the throne — speaks peace and acceptance ; 
 and though sins of infirmity will remain, defihng every thought, 
 desire and act, yet, hke the motes on the face of the sun in the 
 clearest day, they have little or no influence to obstruct the shining 
 of the cheerful hght upon the heart.^ 
 
 The clearing of conscience is however connected with Christian 
 integrity. " If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence 
 toward God^^ This "testimony of conscience" has often been 
 " the rejoicing"^ of the Lord's people, when suffering under unmer- 
 ited reproach or ''"proud oppressionP They have been enabled 
 to plead it without offence in the presence of their holy heart- 
 searching God^ — nay, even when in the near prospect of the great 
 and final account, they might have been supposed to shrink from 
 the strict and unerring scrutiny of their Omniscient Judge.' 
 
 But observe the influence of this testimony upon our spiritual 
 comfort. David was at this time under persecution — no new trial 
 to a child of God,' and one that will never cease, so long as Satan 
 has instruments at his command. But see the blessings which 
 conscious uprightness gave to his prayers, '■^ I have dorie judgment 
 and justice ; leave me not to mine oppressors.''^ Can my heart 
 and conscience respond to this appeal? Then may I plead my 
 
 »Rom. ii. 15. 3 See Heb. x. 19— 22. »lJohniii. 21. < 2 Cor. i. 12. 
 
 • Samuel— 1 Sam. xii. 3—5, Nehemiah— xiii. 14, 22. Job— x. 7. David— Psalm 
 vu. 3—7; xviii. 20— 24; xxvi. 1—6. Paul— Rom. ix. 1; and the Apostles— 1 Thesa- 
 u. 10. « Isa. xxxviii. 1—3. "^ 1 Peter iv. 12. 2 Tim. iii. 12. 
 
 
VERSES 121, 122. 195 
 
 cause before God, " Leave me not to my oppressors. Let not the 
 proud oppress me." Plead my cause with them. Let my right- 
 eousness be made known. Let it be seen, that thou " wilt not leave 
 me in their hand, nor condemn me when I am judged. Let integ- 
 rity and uprightness preserve me : for I wait on thee."^ But if 
 any deviation from the exact rule of righteousness between man 
 and man^ has been allowed — if the world charge me as ungodly, 
 because they have proved me unrighteous — then let me not wonder, 
 that " the consolations of God shall be small with me f^ nor let me 
 expect a return of the Lord's cheering manifestations, until the 
 Achan has been removed from the camp,* and by confession to 
 God,« and reparation to man,^ I have " given glory to the Lord God 
 of Israel.'* 
 
 But let not this appeal be thought to savor of Pharisaical pride. 
 He pleads not merit. He only asserts his innocence — the right- 
 eousness of his cause — not of his person. Though upright before 
 man, he ever felt himself a sinner before God. The highest tone 
 of conscious integrity is therefore consistent with the deepest pros- 
 tration of evangelical humility. The difference is infinite between 
 the proud Pharisee and the upright believer. The Pharisee makes 
 the appeal with undisturbed self-complacency and self-righteous 
 pleading. The believer would ever accompany it with the Publican's 
 prayer for mercy.*^ Instantly — in a deep conviction of need — he 
 appends the supplication, " J5e surety for thy servant for good.^^^ 
 The keen eye of the world may possibly not be able to affix any 
 blot upon my outward profession ; but, " if thou, Lord, shouldst 
 mark iniquities ; O Lord, who shall stand ?"3 The debt is contin- 
 ually accumulating, and the prospect of payment as distant as ever. 
 I might well expect to be " left to m,y oppressors,^^ until I should 
 pay all that was due'° unto my Lord. But behold ! " Where is the 
 fury of the oppressor?"" The surety is found — the debt is paid — 
 the ransom is accepted — the sinner is free. There was a voice heard 
 in heaven, " Deliver him from going down to the pit : I have found 
 a ransom."^'^ Yes, the Son of God himself became " surety for a 
 stranger," and " smarted for it.*'^^ At an infinite cost — the cost of 
 his own precious blood — he dehvered me from " mine oppressors'^ — 
 sin — Satan — the world — death — hell. "It was exacted; and he 
 answered."^* As Judah in the place of Benjamin, he was ready to 
 stand in my stead before his Father. " I will be surety for him : 
 of mine hand shalt thou require him.'"* As Paul in the stead of 
 Onesimus, he was ready to plead, before the same tribunal, " If he 
 hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account; 
 I will repay it."^" 
 
 » Ps. xxxvii. 33; xxv. 21. 2 Matt. vii. 12. 3 Job xv. 11. Comp. Ps. Ixvi. 18. 
 * Josh. vii. 10—15. 5 lb. 19. 6 Luke xix. 8. ^ lb. xviii. 9—13. 
 
 8 Corap. Psalm xxvi. 11. Neh. xiii. 22, with 14 — a bold testimony of integrity pre- 
 sented in the character of a sinner. 
 
 9 Psalm cxxx. 3. i" Matt, xviii. 34. " Isaiah li. 13. 
 
 12 Job. xxxiii. 24. i3 Prov. xi. 15. W Isa. liii. 7. Bishop Lowth. 
 
 w Gen. xliu. 9. « Philemon 18, 19. 
 
196 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 Let this subject be ever present to my mind. Well indeed was 
 it for me, that Jesus did not " hate suretyship."^ Had he refused 
 the vast undertaking, how could I have answered before the bar of 
 God ? Or had he undertaken only for those that loved him, again 
 should I have been left without a plea. But when as my surety 
 he has brought me under his yoke, and made me his " servant^'^ I 
 can plead with acceptance before his throne, " Be surety for thy 
 servant for good^'^ — for the good which thou knowest me to need — 
 my present and eternal deliverance from my proud oppressors. And 
 do not I need such a surety every moment? And need I be told 
 how fully he has performed the Surety's part ? " So that I may 
 boldly say," " Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died. 
 It is Christ that lives. There is therefore now no condemnation to 
 them that are in Christ Jesus."^ 
 
 123. Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of iTiy righteousness. 
 
 And do thine " eyesj'^ tried believer, begin to '^fail .?" So did thy 
 Redeemer's before Thee. He, whom thou hast been recollecting as 
 thy tSurety, when he stood in thy place burdened with the intoler- 
 able load of thy sin — bearing the weighty strokes of Infinite justice 
 upon his soul — he too was constrained to cry out, " Mine eyes fail, 
 while I wait for my God."^ Listen, then, to thy deserted Saviour 
 counseUing his deserted people; "gifted with the tongue of the 
 learned, that he should know how to speak a word in season to 
 you that are weary" — Who is among you that feareth the Lord, 
 that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and 
 hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay 
 upon his God."'' 
 
 That our Surety will plead for our good, doubt not. Yet "the 
 vision is for an appointed time."^ But shall not God avenge his 
 own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long 
 with them ?"' Salvation — a gift of such comprehensive and en 
 during blessing — is it not worth the waiting trial? Wonderful is 
 that arrangement by which the word of grace is made the word 
 of righteousness ! God hatli bound himself to us by his promises 
 of grace which are not — yea and nay, but "yea and amen''^ — under 
 his own hand and seal. Who that has tried them, but will "set to 
 his seal that God is true ?"3 Cheering indeed is the thought, that, 
 amidst the incessant changes in Christian experience, our hope is 
 unchangeably fixed. We may not indeed always enjoy it ; but our 
 salvation does not depend upon our present enjoyment of its conso- 
 lation. Is not the blessing as certain — yea — is not our assurance 
 
 1 See Prov. xi. 15, last clause. 
 
 2 Compare Isaiah xxxviii. 14, where the same word is used in the original. " Be 
 surety." " Undertake for me." The same plea is urged. " Let riot the proud oppress 
 me" " O Lord, I am oppressed ; undertake. The same frame of conflict is marked, 
 ** Mine eyes fail for thy salvation," verse 123. " Mine eyes fail with looking upward." 
 
 3 Rom. viii. 33, 34, 1. * Psalm Ixix. 3. Comp. xxii. 1—3. 
 
 » Isaiah 1. 4, 10. « Hab. ii. 3. ^ Luke xviii. 7, 8. 
 
 » 2 Cor. i. 20. » Josh, xxiii. 12. Psalm cxi. 12, with John iii. 33. 
 
 fl 
 
VERSE 123. 197 
 
 of mi interest in it as clear ^ when we are brought to the dust under 
 a sense of sin, as if we were "caught up into the third heaven" in 
 a vision of glory? 
 
 In a season of desertion, therefore, while we maintain a godly 
 jealousy over our own hearts, let us beware of a mistrustful jealousy 
 of God. Distrust will not cure our wound, or quicken us to prayer, 
 or recommend us to the favor of God, or prepare us for the mercy 
 of the Gospel. Complaining is not humility. Prayer without wait- 
 ing is not faith. The path is plain as noonday. Continue to 
 believe as you can. Wait on the Lord. This is the act of faith, 
 depending on him — the act of hope, looking for him — the act of 
 patience, waiting his time — the act of submission, resigned, even 
 if he should not come. Like thy Saviour, in his ''agony" of deser- 
 tion, '-pray more earnestly."^ Condemn thyself for the sins of 
 which thou art asking forgiveness. Bless him for his past mercy, 
 even if thou shouldest never taste it again. Can he frown thee 
 from his presence ? Can he belie his promise to his waiting people V 
 Impossible ! Nay ! while he has taken away the sensible appre- 
 hensions of his love, and in its room kindled longing desires for the 
 lost blessing ; is not this to show himself— if he be " verily a God 
 that hideth himself'^ — yet still ^Uhe God of Israel^ the Saviour 7''''^ 
 Though he delays his promise, and holds us as it were in suspense; 
 yet he would have us know, that he has not forgotten " the word 
 of his righteousness^ But this is his wise and effectual mode of 
 trying his own gift of faith. And it is this " trial of faitK"* — and 
 not faith untried — that will be "found to praise, and honor, and 
 glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ."* 
 
 The full consolation of the Gospel is therefore the fruit of patient, 
 bumble waiting for the Lord, and of earnest desire, conflicting with 
 impatience and unbelief, and at length issuing in a state of child- 
 like submission and dependence. The man who was here express- 
 ing his longing expectation for God's salvation, was evidently, 
 though unconsciously, in possession of the promise. Nor would he 
 at this moment have exchanged his hope, clouded as it was to his 
 own view, for all "the pleasures of sin," or the riches of the world. 
 Although at this moment he appeared to be under the partial 
 hidings of his Father's countenance, yet it is important to observe,^ 
 that he was not satisfied, as an indolent professor, to "lie upon his 
 face"5 in this sad condition. His " eyes failed with looking uj)- 
 ward!^ — stretched up with earnest expectation to catch the first 
 rising rays of the beaming Sun of Righteousness. He knew, what 
 all Christians know, who walk closely with God, that his persever- 
 ance in waiting upon God would issue in the eventual fulfilment 
 of every desire of his heart. ' 
 
 1 Luke xxii. 44. 2 Isaiah xxx. 18; xlix. 33. 3 Isaiah xlv. 15, 
 
 4 1 Peter i. 7. 5 Joshua vii. 10. 
 
 6 Fox tells us of Mr. Robert Glover, martyr at Coventry, two or three days before his 
 death, overwhelmed with the prospect of martyrdom, and mentioning to a friend his 
 earnest supplication for the light of God's countenance, yet without any sense of comfort. 
 His darkness continued up to the period of his arriving within sight of the stake, when 
 
198 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 But can we assuredly plead " the word of his righteousness'^ for 
 the anticipation of the object of our desire ? Have we always an 
 express promise answering to our expectations, " putting God in 
 remembrance"^ of his word? Possibly we may have been asking 
 not " according to his will,"^ and therefore may have " charged God 
 foolishly,"^ as if he had been unfaithful to his word, when no en- 
 gagement had been pledged : when we had no warrant to build 
 upon from "^Ae word of his righteousness.^^ If, however, our pe- 
 tition should be found to be agreeable to his word of promise, and 
 faith and patience hold on in submission to his will, we must not, 
 we cannot, suppose, that one tittle that we have asked will fail. 
 Whether the Lord dehver us or not, prayer and waiting will not 
 be lost. It is a blessed posture for him to find us in, such as will 
 not fail to insure his acceptance, even though our request should 
 be denied. An enlivening view of the Saviour is in reserve for us ; 
 and " the word of righteousness''' will yet speak, " This is the rest, 
 wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest ; and this is the refresh- 
 ing."* To every passing doubt and rising fear, oppose ihi^ word 
 of his righteousness. 
 
 But let me bring my own heart to the test. Am I longing for 
 the manifestation of God ? Surely if I am content with what I 
 already know, I know very little of the unsearchable depths of the 
 love of Christ ; and I have abundant need to pray for more en- 
 larged desires, and a more tender enjoyment of his Divine presence. 
 If faith is not dead, yet it may have lost its conquering and quick- 
 ening vigor. Let me then exercise my soul in diligent, careful, 
 patient waiting upon God, equally removed from sloth and froward- 
 ness — and I shall yet find the truth of that consoling " word of his 
 righteousness" " Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for 
 the upright in heart."'' 
 
 124. Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy ^ and teach me thy statutes. 
 125. lam thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies. 
 
 A SENSE of mercy^ and the privilege of divine teachings were 
 the earnest of the Lord's " salvation^' for which " the eyes of his 
 servant were failitig,''^ and for which he was waiting in dependence 
 upon the sure " word of his rigJiteousness.^^ And indeed these 
 two wants daily press upon every " servanf of God as matter for 
 earnest supplication. Both are intimately connected. A deeper 
 sense oi mercy will bind us more strongly to his statutes ;^ while a 
 more spiritual teaching in the statutes will humble us in a sense 
 of sin, and consequent need of mercy.'' As it respects the first — if 
 
 suddenly his whole soul was so filled with consolation that he could not forbear clapping 
 his hands and crying out, ' He is come — he is come.' He appeared to go up to heaven 
 in a chariot of fire, exhibiting little or no sensibility of his cruel death. Was not this 
 the ''word of his right eousntss " io one whose '' eyes failed m looking for it?" — rox*$ 
 Acts and Monuments, 1555. 
 
 1 Isaiah xliii. 26. 2 i John v. 14. James iv. 3. 3 Job i. 22. 
 
 * Isaiah xxviii. 12; also xxx. 15. 
 
 * Psalm xcvii. 11, The same plea under similar circumstances of conflict is urged, 
 Psalm cxliii. 1. « lb. cxvi. 12—14. 7 jer. xxxi. 19. 
 
VERSBS 124, 125. 199 
 
 ther6 is a sinner upon the earth, who needs the special mercy of 
 God, it is his own " servant" For as the Lord sees abundantly 
 more excellence in his feeblest desire, than in the professor's most 
 splendid external duties ; so he sees far more sinfulness and prov- 
 ocation in the workings of his sin, than in the palpably defective 
 services of professors, or in the open transgression of " the wicked 
 of the earth." Let him scrutinize his motives, thoughts, and affec- 
 tions, even in his moments of nearest and happiest approach unto 
 his God ; and he will find such defilement cleaving to every offer- 
 ing, with all the aggravations of mercy, light and knowledge, 
 vouchsafed, that the confession of his soul, when comparing him- 
 self with his fellow-sinners, will be "Of whom I am chief."^ And 
 therefore, as a " servant of God," I can only come before him upon 
 the ground of ^^ mercy." For my best performances I need an 
 immeasurable world of mercy — pardoning — saving — everlasting 
 mercy ; and yet by the blood of Jesus I dare to plead, ^^ Deal with 
 thy servant according unto thy mercy." 
 
 But then I am ignorant as well as guilty ; and yet I dare not 
 pray for teaching — much and hourly as I need it — until I have 
 afresh obtained mercy. These two blessings lead me at once to 
 the foundations of the Gospel — in the work of Christ, and the work 
 of the Spirit — mercy flowing from the blood of the Son'^ — teaching 
 from the office of the Spirit.^ " Mercy" is the first blessing, not 
 only in point of importance, but in point of order. I must know the 
 Lord as a Saviour, before I can go to him with any confidence to 
 be my teacher. But when once I have found acceptance for my 
 petition, " Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy" — my 
 way will be opened to enlarge my petition — yea, once and again 
 to repeat it, " Teach me thy statutes. Give me understanding, 
 that I m,ay know thy testimonies" — that I may know with intel- 
 ligent conviction, walk, yea, " run in the way of thy command- 
 ments"* with an enlarged heart. For let me never forget, that I 
 am " redeemed from the curse" only — not from the " service of the 
 law" — yea, redeemed from its curse, that I may be bound to its ser- 
 vice.5 And does not iny especial relation to my God as his servant, 
 furnish me with a plea for his acceptance?* For when this " earth 
 is full of his mercy" — much more may I, as belonging to his house, 
 plead for the special mercy of his teaching'' — his own covenant 
 promise^ — so needful for his servant, who desires to know, that he 
 may do, his will."' 
 
 But if I am the Lord^s servant, how did I become so ? Time 
 was (let me be ashamed and confounded at the remembrance of 
 it) when I was engaged for another master, and another service.'" 
 But his sovereign grace called me from the dominion of sin — from 
 the chains of Satan — from the bondage of the world, and drew me 
 
 » 1 Tim. i. 15. 2 Eph. i. 7. » John xiv. 26; xvi. 13. 
 
 4 Verse 32. 6 Gal. ii. 19. Luke i. 74, 75. « Verse 94. Ps. clxiii. 12. 
 
 7 Verse 64. » Heb. vui. 10. » Verses 33, 34 ; IxxxvL 11 ; cxliu. 8, 10, 
 
 » Rom. vi. 16, 20. Titus iii 3. 
 
206 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 to himself. "His I am — and him I serve."^ His service is my 
 highest privilege : his reward of grace is my glorious hope. " If 
 any man serve we," saith my Master, "/e^ him follow me: and 
 where I am.^ there shall also my servant be. If any man serve 
 me^ him will my Father honor. ^^^ As his servant^ therefore, I cast 
 myself with confidence upon his mercy ^ and expect to be '^ dealt 
 with according to that mercy P Nay — I shall be denied nothing 
 that I " ask according to his will." For he has condescended to 
 call me — not " his servant^^ but " his friend"^ — yea more, to call 
 himself " my brother."* 
 
 Lord ! thou hast shown me this great favor and grace to make 
 me " thy servant P I would be thine forever. I love thy service 
 too well to wish to change it ; yet must I mourn over my dulness, 
 my backwardness in doing thy will, and walking in thy way. Oh ! 
 " teach m.e thy statutes''' more clearly, more experimentally ! ^^Give 
 me U7idersta7iding'" to discern their heavenly sweetness and their 
 holy liberty, that I may live in a more simple and devoted obe- 
 dience to them, until I come to see thy face, and to be " thy servanf^ 
 in thy heavenly temple, " no more to go out.''^ 
 
 126. It is time for thee^ Lord, to work ; for they Jiave made void thy law. 
 If I desire a more spiritual understanding of the revelation of 
 God, how can I but mourn to witness its awful neglect and con- 
 tempt? It seems as if the ungodly not only sin against it, but 
 would drive it out of the world. ^ They make it void — denying its 
 power to rule, to annul its power to punish. Oh ! let us cherish 
 that distinguishing feature of the Lord's people, " sighing and cry- 
 ing for all the abominations of the land,"^ — that we cannot hear or 
 see the name of God dishonored, without feeling as for our Father's 
 wounded reputation.^ Can we suffer the world quietly to go on 
 
 » Acts xxvii. 23. 2 John xii. 26. 3 lb. xv. 15. 4 ib. xx. 17. Heb. ii. 11, 12. 
 
 6 Rev. vii. 15; iii. 12. The Annals of the Reformation furnish a beautiful record of 
 George of Anhalt — a godly young prince, of twelve years old. ' He put up constant 
 and fervent prayer to God, beseeching him to bring his heart under the power of the 
 truth; and often, in the privacy of his cabinet, he exclaimed, with tears — Deal with thy 
 servant according to thy mercy^ and teach me thy statutes. His prayers were answered. 
 Under strong conviction, and constrained to action upon it, he fearlessly ranged himself 
 on the side of the Gospel.' — D'Aiibigne's History of the Reformation, Book v. ch. vi, 
 
 6 Exodus V. 2. Psalm xii. 4. 7 Ezekiel ix. 4. 
 
 8 What a Christian ought to feel under these circumstances, let us learn from the fol- 
 lowing extract of the diary of the saintly Martyn. Upon hearing at Shiraz, in the course 
 of his disputations, some reproach of his Saviour's name, he writes thus : — ' I was cut 
 to the soul by this blasphemy. In prayer I could think of nothing else but that great 
 day, when the Son of God should come in the clouds of heaven, "taking vengeance on 
 them that know not God," and convince men of all their hard speeches which they have 
 spoken against him.' ("We might almost think that this verse was upon his mind at this 
 moment.) ' Mirza Seiu Ali perceived that I was considerably disordered, and was sorry 
 for having repeated the verse, but asked what it was that was so otfensive. I told him, 
 that I could not endure existence if Jesus were not glorified ; that it would be hell to me 
 if he were to be always thus dishonored. He was astonished, and again asked the rea- 
 son why. ' If any one pluck out your eyes,' I replied, ' there is no sayina why you feel 
 pain. It is feeling. It is because I am one with Christ, that I am thus dreadfully 
 wounded.' On his again apologizing, I told him, 'that I rejoiced at what had happened, 
 inasmuch as it made me feel nearer the Lord than ever.' It is when the head or heart ia 
 struck, that every member feeU its m^mbership.^ — Martyn^a lAfe, p. 420, 8vo edition. 
 
VERSE 126. 201 
 
 their course ? Must we not throw in our weight of influence, what- 
 ever it may be, to stem the flowing torrent : and when (as, alas ! is 
 too often the case) all eflforts are unavailing, carry the cause to the 
 Lord, "It is time/or thee^ Lord, to work?" This deprecation does 
 not contradict the law of love which requires us to love, pray for, 
 and to bless our enemies;' for the Lord's people are not angry for 
 their own cause, but for His. David had no regard to his own 
 honor, but to God's law. He had not injured his enemies. He had 
 labored to "overcome their evil with good."'^ He had often wept 
 for their sins,' and prayed for their conversion.* But all was in 
 vain. 'Now, Lord, take the rod into thine own hand, "It is time 
 for thee^ Lord, to work." ' This was true zeal — zeal of the Spirit, 
 not of the flesh. How gracious is our God in permitting his ser- 
 vants thus to plead with him, and, as it were, to give him no rest, 
 until* " he shall arise," and work^ and sit upon the throne of the 
 kingdoms of the earth ! 
 
 But why does he not break out with some overpowering mani- 
 festation of his power? They are "his sword and rod" for the 
 chastening of his people." to disclipine their watchfulness into con- 
 stant exercise.' They are the trial of their faith — believing the 
 Lord's justice against apparent inconsistency,^ and of their patience 
 " waiting the set time of deliverance.^ Thus they become a profit- 
 able ministry for the Church — and this valuable end accomplished, 
 God works his own work upon them,'" and "will avenge his own 
 elect speedily."" 
 
 Meanwhile — waiting for this " little while," let us " hve by faith."'^ 
 Let us be found on the Lord's side — laboring for sinners — pleading 
 with their hardness and rebellion in our Master's name, and for 
 our Master's sake. Let all the weight of personal exertion and 
 influence, consistent example, and wrestling supplication, be con- 
 centrated in " coming to the help of the Lord against the mighty."'^ 
 Let us see to it, that, if we cannot do what we would, we do what 
 we can." And if at last overborne by the torrent of ungodliness, 
 we shall find our refuge and rest in pleading with our Lord for the 
 honor of his name — '■^Remember tkis^ that the enemy hath re- 
 proached^ O Lord, and that the foolish people have blasphemed 
 thy name."^^ "My Spirit shall not always strive with man."'<' 
 Often, when He has seen " it time for him to work," have his 
 judgments made the earth to tremble. " Sodom and Gomorrah" 
 have " known the power of his anger, and are " set forth for an ex- 
 ample, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."'' And when his 
 " time to work''^ is fully come, what is all the resistance of earth and 
 hell, but as "setting the briers and thorns against him in battle?" 
 ^^ I would'" saith he, "^o through them. I would burn them to- 
 
 1 Matt. V. 44. 2 Ps. XXXV. 11—14. 3 Verses 136, 158. 
 
 * Ps. Ixxxiii. 16. 5 Isaiah Ixii. 7. e ps. xvii. 13, 14. Isa. x. 5, 6. 
 
 t Ps. lix. 11. 8 lb. ixxiii. 16—18. 9 Rev. xiii. 10. 
 
 w Isaiah x. 12. " Luke xviii. 8. ^2 Heb. x. 37, 38. 
 
 13 Judges V. 23. 14 Mark xiv. 8. is Ps. Ixxiv. 78 ; also 10, 11, 22. 
 
 16 Gen. vi. 3. " Jude 7. 
 
202 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 gethery^ A word — a frown — a look — is destruction. " He is wise in 
 heart, and mighty in strength. Who hath hardened himself against 
 him, and hath prospered?"* Or "who hath resisted his will?"^ 
 
 But what shall we say of that stupendous work of his hand, by 
 which — when men '•^had made void his law''^ — when no restrictions 
 could bind, no forbearance win them — Avhen he " saw that there 
 was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor, therefore 
 his arm brought salvation unto him, and his righteousness, it 
 sustained him ?"* Surely, if we could conceive the hosts of heaven 
 to have taken up this expression of ardent concern for the glory of 
 God, ^^ It is time for thee, Lord, to worW'' — they could little have 
 thought of such a work as this — they could never have conceived 
 to themselves such an unlooked-for, combined display of power, 
 justice, and mercy. To set at nought then this work — is it not to 
 refuse all hope — all remedy ? To persist in " making void the law'^ 
 after so magnificent an exhibition of Almighty working — must it 
 not expose the transgressors to reap the fruit of their own obstinacy, 
 and to prepare to meet him as their Judge, whom they refuse to 
 receive as their Saviour? Nor must they wonder, if the Lord's 
 people, with a holy indignation against sin, and fervent zeal for his 
 glory, should appeal to his faithfulness for the fulfilment of his 
 judgments," It is tim^efor thee, Lord, to work : for they have made 
 void thy law.^^ 
 
 127. Therefore Hove thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. 
 
 Therefore I love thy commandments. Yes — shall they not have 
 double valuation in mine eyes, for the scorn and reproach which 
 the world cast upon them ? They count them dross — / love them 
 above gold — yea, above fine gold. This hope, confidence, and idol 
 of the worldling,' the love of which has been the ruin of thousands,^ 
 — is not the corninandment of God more to be desired than it V 
 " The merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, 
 and the gain thereof than fine gold. It is more precious than rubies : 
 and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto 
 it."8 Here has the Lord unlocked to us his golden treasure, and 
 enriched our souls with " the unsearchable riches of Christ." 
 
 This image brings the miser before us. His heart and treasure 
 are in his gold. With what delight he counts it ! with what watch- 
 fulness he keeps it ! hiding it in safe custody, lest he should be 
 despoiled of that which is dearer to him than life. Such should 
 Christians be : spiritual misers : counting their treasure, which is 
 ^^ above fine gold f^ and "hiding it in their heart,'" in safe keeping, 
 
 » Isaiah xxvii. 4. 2 job ix. 4. 3 Rom. ix. 19. * Isa. lix. 16. 
 
 s Job xxxi. 24. « 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10. f Psalm xix. 10. » Prov. iii. 14, 15. 
 
 'Verse 11. Augustine tells us of himself, that while a Manichee, he slighted the 
 Scripture for the plainness of its style, which appeared to him (from a false standard of 
 criticism) not to be compared with the dignity of Ciceronian eloquence. (Visa mihi est 
 indigna scriptura quam TuUiana; dignitati compararem. Confess, lib. iii. cap. 5.) But 
 after his blessed acquaintance with Christ, though Tully was still read with pleasure, 
 yet this thin^ alone, said he, abated his former interest — thai the name of Christ was not 
 there. Lib. iii. 4. 
 
VERSE 128. 203 
 
 where the great despoiler shall not be able to reach it. Oh, Chris- 
 tians! how much more is your portion to you than the miser's 
 treasure ! Hide it ; watch it ; retain it. You need not be afraid of 
 covetousness in spiritual things : rather " covet earnestly"^ to in- 
 crease your store : and by living upon it, and living in it, it will 
 grow richer in extent, and more precious in value. 
 
 But have 1 through Divine grace been enabled to withdraw my 
 love from the unworthy objects, which once possessed it; and to fix 
 it on that which alone offers satisfaction ? Let me attempt to give 
 a reason to myself of the high estimation in which I hold it as in- 
 finitely transcending those things which the world ventures their 
 all — even their temporal happiness — to obtain. " Therefore I love 
 the commandinents of God above gold : yea, above fine gold'^ — 
 because, while the world, and my own heart have only combined to 
 flatter me, thei/ have discovered to me my real state, as a self- 
 deceived,'^ guilty,^ defiled^ sinner before God : because they have 
 been as a " schoolmaster to bring me to Christ"^ — the only remedy 
 for sin, the only rest for my soul. "/ love them f^ because they 
 have often supplied wholesome reproofs in my wanderings ; and 
 plain directions in my perplexity. ^^ I love them:'''' because they 
 restrict me from that which would prove my certain ruin ; and be- 
 cause in the way of obedience to them, the Lord has " accepted me 
 with ray sweet savor."' Should I not '-^love them V Can '■'- gold^ 
 yea^fine gold^'' offer to me blessings such as these? Can it heal 
 my broken heart ? Can it give relief to my wounded spirit ? Has 
 it any peace or prospect of comfort for me on my death-bed ? And 
 what cannot — what has not — what will not — the precious word of 
 God do at that awful season of trial? O my God, I would be 
 deeply ashamed, that " / love thy commandments''' so coldly — that 
 they are so little influential upon my conduct — that they so often 
 give place to objects of comparative nothingness in thy sight. O 
 that my heart might be wholly and habitually exercised in them, 
 that I may find the " work of righteousness, quietness, and assurance 
 forever?"^ 
 
 128. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to he right; and 1 
 hate every false way. 
 
 The general contempt of religion acts upon the Christian's judg- 
 ment no less than upon his affections. Is wickedness breaking 
 loose, to make void the law 7 Therefore he esteems it to be riffht. 
 His judgment — instead of being shaken — is more determined. How 
 beautiful is it to see the leaven of grace pervading the whole man ! 
 In the fervor of his heart he " loves the commandments even above 
 fine gold;" but yet his "love will abound yet more and more in 
 knowledge and in all judgment."^ His is an intelligent and 
 universal regard to them — " esteeming all the precepts concerning 
 all things to be rights This constitutes his separate and exclu- 
 
 1 1 Cor. xii. 31. 2 Rom. vii. 9. 3 James ii, 10. < Rom. vii. 14. 
 
 6 Gal. iii. 24. « Ezek. xi. 41. Comp. Isa. liiv. 5. ^ Isa. xxiii. 17. 
 
 8 PhU. i. 9. 
 
204 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 sive character. He is readily known from the thoughtless worldling. 
 But his difference from the professor, though really as marked in the 
 sight of God, is far less perceptible to general observation. Con- 
 sisting more in the state of heart, than in any external mark 
 of distinction, it is often only within the ken of that eye, whose sov- 
 ereign prerogative it is to " search the heart,"^ and to " weigh the 
 spirits."* 
 
 Many profess to " esteem the precepts to he right J'' so far as they 
 inculcate the practice of those moral virtues, of which they may 
 present some faint exhibition, and demand the abandonment of 
 those sins, from the external influence of which they may have 
 been delivered. But when they begin to observe the " exceeding 
 breadth of the commandment"' — how it takes cognizance of the 
 heart, and enforces the renunciation of the world, the crucifixion of 
 sin, and the entire surrender of the heart unto God ; this searching 
 touchstone separates them from the Church, and exposes to open 
 day the brand of hypocrisy upon their foreheads. •' Herod did many 
 things?''^ And so the enemy still will allow a partial subjection to 
 the precepts. But — as he well knows — one sin holds us his captive 
 as well as a thousand. The wilful contempt of one precept is the 
 virtual rejection of all. All^ therefore — not many — is the Chris- 
 tian's word. He fails in some — yea, in all — but all are the objects 
 of his supreme regard — every duty, and every circumstance and 
 obligation of duty* — the evangelical as well as the moral precepts — 
 teaching him to renounce himself in every part (his sins as a source 
 of pleasure, and his duties as a ground of dependence): and to be- 
 lieve in the Son of God as the only ground of hope.^ He never 
 complains of the strictness of the precepts; but he is continually 
 humbled in the recollection of his nonconformity to them. " Every 
 way J'' however pleasing to the flesh, that is opposed to the revealed 
 will of God, is " hated J'' as ^'■false^^ in itself, and ^^false^' to his God. 
 This " godly sincerity" will apply to every part of the Christian 
 Directory. So that any plea for the indulgence of sin (as if it ad- 
 mitted of palliation, or was compensated by some surplus duty, or 
 allowed only for some temporary purpose) or any wilful shrinking 
 from the universality of obedience — blots out all pretensions to 
 uprightness of heart. If holiness be really loved, it will be loved 
 for its own sake; and equally loved and folloiced in every part.'' 
 By this entire " approval of things that are excellent," we shall " be 
 sincere and without offence unto the day of Christ."^ 
 
 O my soul, canst thou abide this close test ? Hast thou as much 
 regard to the precepts, as to the privileges of the Gospel ? Is no 
 precept evaded, from repugnance to the cross that is entailed to it? 
 Is no secret lust retained? Art thou content to let all go? If my 
 hatred of sin is sincere, I shall hate it more in my own house than 
 abroad ; I shall hate it most of all in my own heart. Here lies the 
 
 » Jer. xvii. 10. 2 Prov. xvi. 2. a Verse 96. 
 
 « Mark vi. 20. s Luke i. 6. « 1 John iii. 23. John vi. 29. 
 
 1 2 Cor. vii. 1. 8 Phil, i. 10. 
 
VERSE 129. 205 
 
 grand seat of hypocrisy. And therefore may the great Searcher 
 of hearts enable me to search into its depths ! May I take the 
 lamp of the Lord to penetrate into its dark interior hiding-places of 
 evil ! May I often put the question to my conscience, ' What does 
 the Omniscient "Observer of men" know of my heart?' Perhaps 
 at the time that the Church hold my name in esteem, the voice of 
 conscience, as the voice of God, may whisper to me, " That which 
 is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of 
 God."' Some false way, yet undetected within, may keep me lifeless 
 and unfruitful in the midst of the quickening means of grace. Let 
 me look into my house — my calling — my family — my soul ; and in 
 the course of this search how much matter will be found for prayer, 
 contrition, renewed determination of heart, and dependence upon 
 my God ! " O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes ! 
 I will keep thy statutes; O forsake me not utterly. ''^^ And oh! 
 let my spirit be wounded by every fresh discovery of sin. Let my 
 soul bleed under it. But specially a7id instantly let me apply 
 to the "fountain opened for sin and uncleanness." Here let me 
 wash my soul from the guilt of sin, and regain my peace with God. 
 And to him, who opened this fountain, let me also repair for a large 
 supply of spiritual strength. May his power and grace sharpen 
 my weapons for the spiritual conflict, until every secret iniquity is 
 overcome, and forever dispossessed from my heart ! 
 
 Aud just as sin — besides its guilt — brings its own misery; so 
 does this whole-hearted purity carry with it its own happiness. 
 Can I forget the time when, under Divine grace and teaching, I 
 made a full presentment of myself^ — when I began to estimate 
 myself as a hallowed, devoted thing — sacred — set apart for God ? 
 Was not this the first sunshine of my happiness 1 Nor was this 
 offering made with momentary excitement, notional intelligence, 
 forced acquiescence, or heartless assent. My judgment accorded 
 with the choice of my heart. All was right in his precepts. All 
 that was contrary to them was abominable. And will not this form 
 the essence of the happiness of heaven, where every aspiration — 
 every motion — every pulse of the glorified soul — in the eternity of 
 Ufe — will bear testimony to the holiness of the service of God ?< 
 
 PART XVII. 
 
 129. Thy testimonies are wonderful; therefore doth my soul keep them. 
 
 Can the professor make this acknowledgment ? He knows only 
 the letter — the shell, which excites no interest. Yet hidden from 
 his eye is an unsearchable depth, which will make the believer a 
 
 I Luke ivi. 15. 2 Verses 5, 8. » See Rom. xii. 1. * Rev. xv» 3. 
 
206 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 learner to the end of his Hfe. Even he, who " was caught up inito 
 paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for 
 a man to utter," ^ was brought to this adoring contemplation. " O 
 the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of 
 God !"* Every way indeed is this revelation worthy of him, the 
 first letter of whose name is " Wonderful/'^ It lays open to the 
 heaven-taught soul, what '•' eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
 neither hath entered into the heart of man."* Think of the 
 Creator of the world becoming a creature — yea, " a curse for"* 
 man. Think of man — guilty and condemned — made just with 
 God by a righteousness not his own.^ Think of God bringing out 
 of the ruinous fall more glory to himself, and more happiness to 
 man, than from his former innocence — in the display of his mercy 
 — the glory of his justice, and the investment of sinners — not, as 
 before, with a creature's righteousness, security, and reward, but 
 with his own righteousness,"^ guardianship,^ and glory.^ Think 
 how " the way into the holiest of all is" thus " made manifest."^" 
 Think how abounding grace is the death as well as the pardon of 
 sin" — the present as well as the everlasting life of the soul.^** 
 These are among the stupendous discoveries of the sacred book, 
 that bow the humble and reflecting mind to the confession, " Thy 
 testimonies are wonderful T Let us therefore join with the 
 Apostle, in " bowing our knees to the God and Father of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ" — that we " might be able to comprehend with all 
 saints!'' (for, blessed be God ! the privilege is common to all his 
 people) " what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height : 
 and to know the" unsearchable " love of Christ,"^^ " in whom are 
 hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."^* 
 
 And how delightful is the recollection of these "testimonies" 
 being our " heritage forever !"^^ For they are not less " iconder- 
 fuV' in their practical fulness, than in their deep unfathomable 
 mysteries of love. Such is the infinite enlargement of this " her- 
 itage," that he, who foreknew every thought that would find an 
 entrance into the minds of his people, has here secretly laid up 
 seasonable direction and encouragement for every, even the most 
 minute, occasion and circumstance of need. Here again is wrap- 
 ped up, in words fitted by wisdom to receive the revelation, all that 
 intercourse between God and man, throughout ^11 ages of the 
 Church, which is treasured up in the vast unsearchable depository 
 of the Divine mind and purpose. Can we then forbear repeating 
 the exclamation, " Thy testimonies are loonderful P 
 
 But it is not enough to ' adore the fulness of Scripture :''« We 
 must seek to imbibe and exhibit its practical influence. Holy 
 
 1 2 Cor xii. 4. 2 Rom. xi. 33. 3 Isa. ix. 6. < 1 Cor. ii. 9. 
 
 6 John i. 1—3, 14, with Gal. iii. 13. Phil. ii. 6—8. « Rom. iii. 19—22. 
 
 t Jer. xxiii. 6. 1 Cor. i. 30. 8 John vi. 39 ; x. 28. Col. iii. 3, 4. 
 
 • John xvii. 21—24. Rev. iii. 21. >" Heb. ix. 8, with x. 19, 20. 
 
 " Rom. V. 20, with vi. 1—6. »2 John iv. 14 ; vi. 57 ; xiv. 6, 19. 
 
 »3 Eph. iii. 14, 18, 19. i< Col. ii. 3. is Verse 111. 
 
 w ' Adoro plenitudinem Scripturarum,' was the exclamation of TertuUian — ' in which 
 
VERSE 129. 207 
 
 admiration of the " testimonies^ will kindle spiritual devotedness 
 to them, " Therefore doth Tny soul keep themP The stamp of 
 Divine authority upon them, while it deepens our reverence, com- 
 mands our steady and cheerful obedience. To keep them is our 
 privilege, no less than our obligation ; and in this path we shall 
 delight to persevere to the end. 
 
 But how affecting is the thought of the mass, who look at these 
 wonders with a careless or unmeaning eye, unconscious of their 
 interesting import ! They pass by the door of the treasury, hardly 
 condescending to look aside into it : or only taking a transient 
 glance, which comprehends nothing of its inexhaustible stores. 
 " / have written to themj'' saith the Lord, " the great things of 
 my laiD : but they are coimted as a strange thingP^ But far 
 more wonderful is it, that we, enlightened, in answer to prayer,* 
 with " the Spirit of wisdom and revelation"^ — should often be so 
 indifferent to the mysteries of redeeming love here unfolded before 
 us, and should experience so little of their practical influence ! Oh ! 
 let the recollection of our indolence, and want of conformity to 
 them, never cease to humble us. Let us not enter Into the tes- 
 timonies as a dry task, or an ordinary study ; but let us con-, 
 centrate our minds, our faith, humility, and prayer, in a more 
 devoted contemplation of them. Every such exercise will extend 
 our view of those parts, with which we had conceived ourselves to 
 have been competently acquainted : opening a new field of won- 
 ders on every side, far beyond our present contracted apprehen- 
 sions.* 
 
 And can any joy be imagined so subhme as the adoring contem- 
 plation of this revelation 7 It reflects even to angels a new and 
 
 posture of holy admiration,' said the deeply learned and pious Dr. Owen, * I desire my 
 mind may be found while I am in this world.' 
 
 * What do I not owe to the Lord for permitting me to take a part in the translation of 
 his word '\ Never did I see such wonders, and wisdom, and love, in the blessed book, 
 as since I have been obliged to study every expression ; and it is a delightful reflection, 
 that death cannot deprive us of the pleasure of studying its mysteries.' — Marty n's Life, 
 p. 27L The same testimony was given by a kindred spirit employed in the same work. 
 Shortly before his death. Dr. Buchanan, giving to a friend some details of his laborious 
 revisions of his Syriac Testament, suddenly stopped and burst into tears. On recovering 
 himself, he said, ' I am not ill, but I was completely overcome with the recollection of the 
 delight which I had enjoyed in this exercise. At first I was dispo.sed to shrink from the 
 task as irksome, and apprehended that I should find even the Scriptures fail by the fre- 
 quency of this critical examination. But so far from it, every fresh perusal seemed to 
 throw fresh light on the word of God, and to convey additional joy and consolation to 
 my mind.' ' How delightful,' observes his biographer, ' is the contemplation of a servant 
 of Christ thus devoutly engaged in his heavenly Master's work, almost to the very mo- 
 ment of his transition to the Divine source of light and truth itself!' 
 
 1 Hosea viii. 12. 2 See verse 18. 3 Eph. i. 17, 18. 
 
 * Augustine found this so experimentally true, that he tells us, ' that though he should 
 with better capacity and greater diligence study all his life-time, from the beginning of 
 his childhood to decrepit age, nothing else but the Holy Scriptures ; yet they are so com- 
 pacted and thickly set with truths, that he might daily learn something which before he 
 knew not.' — Aug. Epis. To this truth the late venerable Antistes Hess set his seal at 
 the age of eighty-six, when he informed a young missionary to the Jews, that ' for sev- 
 enty years the word of God had been the daily object of his unremitting researches ; and 
 that still he discovered in it new traces of the mysterious love and wisdom of God.' — 
 Jewish Expositor, Nov. 1825. 
 
208 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 glorious manifestation of their God.^ It engages their every faculty 
 with intense admiration and delight.^ And while they behold and 
 worship with self-abasement, their obedience is lively. " With 
 twain he" (the seraphim before the throne) " covered his face, and 
 with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he didjly.^^^ Thus 
 may we study the same lessons, and with the same spirit ! May 
 our contemplation humble us in the dust, and animate us in the 
 service of our God ! " Thy testimonies are wonderful ; therefore 
 doth my soul keep themP 
 
 130. The entrained of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding to the 
 
 simple. 
 
 ' So " Wonderful are thy testimonies,^^ gracious God, that even 
 by touching as it were only their threshold, *' the entrance of thy 
 words giveth light and U7iderstanding untd'^ my heart. The 
 study commenced in simplicity and prayer, opens an " entrance^' 
 to the first dawning " lighf^ of the word into the soul ; often only 
 sufficient to make darkness visible, but still " shining more and 
 more unto the perfect day."« Indeed all the spiritual light known 
 in this dark world has flowed from the word, forcing its " etitrance" ;| 
 like the beams of the sun, upon the opening eyes of " a man that I 
 
 was born blind." It is a most striking instance of Divine con- 
 descension, that this word — so " wonderfuV in its high and heav- 
 enly mysteries — should yet open a path so plain, that the most 
 unlearned may find and walk in it.« Indeed the entrance of the 
 word into unintellectual and uncultivated minds, often gives an 
 enlargement and elevation of thought which is the earnest of the 
 restoration of man to his original glory, when doubtless every 
 mental as well as spiritual faculty was " filled with all the fulness 
 of God."' So astonishing is the power of this heavenly light, that 
 from any one page of this holy book, a child or even an idiot, under 
 heavenly teaching, may draw more instruction than the most acute 
 philosopher could ever obtain from any other fountain of light ! 
 Nay — he may acquire a more intelligent perception of its contents, * 
 than the student, untaught by the Spirit of God, who may have 
 devoted to its study the persevering industry of many-«uccessive ■ 
 
 years. For very possible is it to be possessed of all the treasures 
 of literature, and yet to remain in total ignorance of everything 
 that is most important for a sinner to know.* The Apostle's par- 
 adox unfolds the secret, " If any man among you seemeth to be 
 
 »Eph. iii. 10. 2 See 1 Pet. i. 12. 3 Isa. vi. 2. <" Opening."— ilirwtcor/^. J 
 
 6 Prov. iv. 18. 6 Isaiah xxxv. 8. ' Eph. iii. 19. Comp. Col. lii. 10. 1 
 
 8 ' A very extraordinary thing,' said one, 'if I, who have read the Bible over and over ? 
 
 in the original languages, have studied it day and night, and have written criticism and 
 comments on it — a very extraordinary thing that I should not be able to understand that 
 moaning in the Scriptures, which is said to be so plain, that a " wayfaring man, though 
 a fool, shall not err in the discovering of it.' And so it is extraordinary, until we oi)en 
 the Bible ; and there we see the fact explained. The man who approaches the word of 
 God in his own wisdom, shall not find what the "fool" will discover under the teaching 
 of Divine wisdom. " For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will 
 bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent;" and " God hath chosen the foolish 
 things of the world to confound the wise." — Cecil's Remains. 
 
VERSE 130. 209 
 
 wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise."* 
 We do not mean to disparage human wisdom ; but it is the pride 
 of icisdom, so opposed to the simplicity of the Gospel, which pre- 
 vents us from " sitting at the feet of Jesus, and hearing his word." 
 It makes the teacher instruct in " the words of man's wisdom," 
 rather than in the knowledge of " Christ and him crucified ;"* and 
 hinders the learner from receiving Christ in the light and love of 
 the truth. 
 
 It is painful to remember how much light may be shining around 
 us on every side, without finding an " entrance^'' into the heart. 
 " The Hght shineth in darkness ; and the darkness comprehended 
 it not"3 Not only the pride of human reason, but the love of sin, 
 shuts out the light, " Men love darkness rather than lights because 
 their deeds are eviV^^ And thus because " the eye is evil, the 
 whole body is full of darkness ;" and " if the light that is in them 
 is darkness, how great is that darkness !"" Most awful is the view 
 given us of the conflict between the contending powers of light and 
 darkness — " The god of this world blinding the eyes of them that 
 believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christy who is 
 the image of God^ should shine unto thewiJ'' — the Almighty God 
 resisting his hateful influence, and shining into the hearts " of his 
 people, ' to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God 
 in the face of Jesus Christy^ How necessary is it to watch 
 vigilantly against the pride that " rebels against the hght,"' and 
 the indifference that neglects to cherish it !' How much more 
 " entrance^'' would have been given to the word, and consequently 
 how much clearer would have been the diffusion of light in the 
 soul, were we as earnest and diligent in secret prayer for heavenly 
 teaching, as we are accustomed to be in the public hearing of the 
 word ! 
 
 But the enthusiast is not satisfied with the light of the word. 
 The delusion of his own heart dreams of a light within — an im- 
 mediate revelation of the Spirit, independent of the word. It can- 
 not however be safe to separate the light of the Spirit from the 
 light of the word. The word indeed moves in subserviency to the 
 Spirit ; but the light of the Spirit is nowhere promised separate 
 from the word. If it does not always guide directly by the word ; 
 yet it is only manifested in the direction of the word. The word 
 is in the matter, if not in the mode ; and, though the Spirit may 
 by immediate light direct us to any path of duty, yet it is invariably 
 to that path, which had been previously marked by the light of the 
 word. Thus the Spirit and the word conjointly become our guide 
 — the Spirit enlightening and quickening the word — and the word 
 evidencing the light of the Spirit. Nor will their combined in- 
 fluence ever leave the church of God, until she has joyfully and 
 completely entered into Immanuel's land, where she shall need no 
 
 1 1 Cor. iii. 18. 2 Compare lb, ii. 1—4. 
 
 8 John i. 5, "apprehended it not." — Scott. " Admitted it not." — Campbell. 
 * John iii. 19, 20. 5 Matt. vi. 33. e Comp. 2 Cor. 4— 6. ? Job xiiv. 13. 
 
 14 
 
210 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 Other light, than that of the glory of God, and of the Lamb, which 
 shall shine in her forever.^ 
 
 But — Reader — rest not satisfied with whatever measure of light 
 may have been hitherto vouchsafed. Seek that the word may 
 have " an entrance ministered unto you abundantly." The most 
 advanced beUever is most ready to acknowledge, how much of the 
 word yet remains unexplored before him.^ Cultivate the disposi- 
 tion of simplicity — the spirit of a " little child"^ — willing to receive, 
 embrace, submit to, whatever the revelation of God may produce 
 before you. There will be many things that we do not under- 
 stand ; but there is nothing that we shall not believe. " Thus 
 saith the Lord — " is sufficient to satisfy reverential faith. To this 
 spirit the promise of heavenly light is exclusively made, " The 
 testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The 
 meek will he guide in judgment ; the meek will he teach his 
 way."* It is beautiful to see a man, hke Solomon, endued with 
 enlarged powers of mind^ — acknowledging himself to be a little 
 child ;« afraid of trusting in his own light ; and seeking instruc- 
 tion from above. But never will a proud unhumbled mind know 
 the benefit of this Divine instruction. To such a student, the 
 Bible must ever be a dark book ; since it is its very design to de- 
 stroy that disposition which he brings to the inquiry. That knowl- 
 edge, therefore, which is unable to direct our way to heaven — nay, 
 which by closing the avenues of spiritual light, obstructs our en- 
 trance thither, is far more a curse than a blessing. Far more 
 glorious is the simplicity of the word than the wisdom of the 
 world. 
 
 "//I that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit^ and said ; I thank thee, 
 O Father^ Lord of heaven and earthy because thou hast hid these 
 things from the wise and prudent^ and hast revealed them unto 
 babes : even so, Father j for so it seem^ed good i?i thy sight. ^^^ 
 
 131. I opened my mouthy and panted; for I longed for thy commandments. 
 
 When the ^''wonderfuF character of Grod's ''^ testimonies^^ is 
 apprehended ; and when their " entrance has given light to the 
 soul ;" something far beyond ordinary afiection and desire is ex- 
 cited. A thirsty man — burning with inward heat on a sultry day, 
 and " opening his mouth, and panting^^ for some alleviation of his 
 thirst — is a fine image of the child of God intensely longing for 
 the attainment of his object. Or, if we suppose before us the man 
 nearly exhausted by the heat of his race, and " opening his mouth, 
 and panting^'' to take in fresh breath to renew his course ; so 
 would the believer " rejoice," like the sun, to " run his heavenward 
 race."8 He cannot satisfy himself in his desires. The motions of 
 his soul to his God are his life and his joy. It is a spring of per- 
 petual motion beating within — perpetual because natural — not a 
 
 * See Rev. xxi. 23. * Sec the testimonies cited in the notes on the preceding verse. 
 
 > Matt, xviii. 3. < Ps. xix. 7 ; xxv. 9. 5 \ Kings iv. 29—34. « lb. iii. 7. 
 
 ^ Luke X. 21. 8 Ps. xix. 5. For another illustration, see Job xxix. 23. 
 
VERSE 131. 211 
 
 rapture, but a habit — a principle, having indeed its faintings, and 
 its sickness, but still returning to its original spring of life and 
 vigor. It seems as if the soul could never draw in enough of the 
 influences of the spiritual life. Its longings are insatiable — as 
 if the heart would " break with"* the overpowering strength of its 
 own desires, until at length wearied with the conflict, the behever 
 " opens his mouthy and pants" to fetch in a fresh supply of in- 
 vigorating grace. He enjoys "a little reviving"^ in his Lord's 
 commandments ; enjoying the Lord himself as his well-spring of 
 refreshment.^ 
 
 Hear the man of God elsewhere giving, or rather attempting to 
 give, expression to his " pantings.''^ " As the heart panteth after 
 the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul 
 thirsteth for thee ; my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty 
 land where no w^ater is. I stretch forth my hands unto thee ; my 
 soul thirsteth after thee as a thirsty land."'' Thus did Job " open 
 his mouthy and pant^ " O that I knew where I might find him ! 
 that I might come even unto his seat !"^ And the church — pour- 
 ing out her heart before the Lord, " With my soul have I desired 
 thee in the night ; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee 
 early ."^ St. Paul also describes the same intenseness of his own de- 
 sire, " Not as though I had already attained, either were already 
 perfect ; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which 
 also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not 
 myself to have apprehended ; but this one thing I do ; forgetting 
 those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things 
 which are before, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high 
 calling of God in Christ Jesus."^ But amidst all these examples, 
 and injinitely beyond them all — behold the ardor of our blessed 
 Master in his work. Such was the ^^ panting'^ of his heavenly 
 desire, that, when " wearied with his journey," and " sitting at 
 Jacob's well," he forgot even his natural want for his thirsty frame, 
 in the joyous conversion of a lost sinner to himself.^ 
 
 And thus must our affections be fully engaged.^ The soul must 
 be kept open to heavenly influence ; so that, when the Lord touches 
 us with conviction, inchnes our hearts to himself, and constrains 
 us to his service, we may be ready to " exercise ourselves unto 
 godliness,"*" in receiving, cherishing, and improving the heavenly 
 " longing after his commandments •'^ and may ^^ open our mouths^ 
 and panf^ for more advanced progress in them. We look not so 
 much to the quantity, as to the activity of faith ; always at work, 
 stirring up a holy fire within, for the utmost stretch of human at- 
 tainment ; like men of large projects and high determinations, still 
 
 1 Verse 20. 2 Ezra ix. 8. 3 See on verse 20. 
 
 * Ps. xlii. 1 ; Ixiii. 1 ; cxliii. 6. ^ job xxiii. 3. 6 Isaiah xxvi, 9. 
 
 7 Phil. iii. 12—14. 8 John iv. 6, 31—34. 
 
 9 ' Be always displeased with what thou art, if thou desirest to attain to what thou art 
 not ; for where thou hast pleased thyself, there thou abidest. But if thou sayest, ' I have 
 enough,' thou perishest. Always add — always walk — always proceed. Neither stand 
 still, nor go back, nor deviate.' — Augustine. >° 1 Tim. iv. 7. 
 
212 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 aspiring to know more of God, both in the enjoyment of his love, 
 and in conformity to his will. And shall we be ashamed of these 
 feelings ? Shall we not rather be deeply humbled, that we know 
 so little of them — encouraged, if we have any springing of them 
 — alarmed, if we be utterly destitute of their influence? Shall 
 we not be " opening our mouthy and panting,^^ when any new 
 path of service is opened before us ? For if we are content to be 
 strangers to this " longing"*^ after God — this readiness for duty ; 
 what else can be expected, but " sliding back from the Lord by a 
 perpetual backshding?"' Growing in sin, dechning in love, and 
 gradually relinquishing the habit of prayer, we shall shortly find 
 little attaching to us but the empty name — Christianity without 
 Christ. The world will despise these exercises as enthusiasm, the 
 distemper of a misguided imagination. But is it — can it be — 
 otherwise than a "reasonable service,"^ as well as a bounden obli- 
 gation, to give up our whole desires to him, who is alone worthy 
 of them ? There can be no evidence of their sincerity, unless they 
 are supreme. 
 
 But let union with Christ, and the life flowing from him, be the 
 constant spring of this holy ardor. Thus shall I enjoy a more 
 habitual influence of his love — that all-constraining principle, which 
 overcomes all my complaints of coolness and deadness of heart, 
 and fills me with panting and longing in his service. But am I 
 ready to shrink from this elevated standard ? If my heart is draw- 
 ing back, let me force it on. Let me lay my command, or rather 
 God's command upon it. Let conscience do its office, until my 
 heart is brought into actual and close contact with this touchstone 
 of my spiritual prosperity. What then — let me ask myself — is the 
 pulse of my desires after spiritual things 1 What exercises of grace 
 do I find in them? What improvement of grace do I derive from 
 them? Dolpant^ thirst, long, after the enjoyment of heavenly 
 pleasure ? Do I mourn over, and conflict with that indolence and 
 indifference, which so often hinders my race ? Oh ! let me be 
 found a frequent suppliant at the throne of grace ; bewailing my 
 dulness, yet " stirring up" my faith " to lay hold on"^ my God ; 
 seeking for larger views of the Gospel, a warmer experience of its 
 promises, a more intense appetite for its enjoyments, and a more 
 devoted attachment to its service. Surely such desires will issue 
 in the confidence of faith. " My soul shall he satisfied as with 
 marrow and fatness. ^^^ 
 
 132. Lock thou upon me, and he merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those 
 that love thy name. 
 
 The highest ardency of holy desire is no ground of satisfaction 
 before God. Nor does the believer in his most elevated moments 
 forget his proper character — always a sinner — needing mercy every 
 moment — in every duty. His prayer for mercy therefore suitably 
 follows his exalted expression of love, " Look thou upon me, and 
 
 * Jer, viii. 5. 2 Rom. xii. 1. ^ Isaiah Ixiv. 7. * Psalni Ixiii. 5. 
 
VERSE 132. 213 
 
 be merciful unto we." Mercy is indeed secured to him beyond 
 the powers of earth and hell to despoil him of it ; but the comfort- 
 able sense of this mercy is vouchsafed only according to the ear- 
 nestness of his desires, and the simplicity of his faith. And this is 
 indeed a blessing, with which no earthly source of satisfaction can 
 compare. I What are all the riches of the world without it, but 
 splendid poverty, as httle able to supply the place of Jesus in the 
 soul, as the magnificent array of the starry firmament is to com- 
 pensate for the absence of the sun ? It is night with the child of 
 God — Egyptian night — " darkness which may be felt,"^ until his 
 Sun appear to chase away his gloom — until his Lord hear his cry, 
 " Look thou upon me, and he merciful unto meP 
 
 To have this portion of " those that love the nam^^ of God, is, 
 then, the grand object. To have our offering, as Abel's was,^ ac- 
 cepted with God — to walk as Enoch walked,^ with God — to com- 
 mune with him as Abraham^ and Moses^ were privileged to do — 
 to be conformed with the holy Apostle^' to the death of Christ — in, 
 a word, to be interested in all the purchase of a Saviour's blood — 
 " this is ihe heritage of the Lord's servants," this is the " one thing 
 that we have desired of the Lord, and are seeking after,"^ — " this," 
 with the dying Psalmist, " is all our salvation, and all our desire."' 
 " Remember me then, O Lord, with the favor that thou bearest 
 unto thy people ; O visit me with thy salvation ; that I may see 
 the good of thy chosen ; that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy 
 nation ; that I may glory with thine inheritance."^" 
 
 And yet, alas ! how often has the power and deceitfulness of sin 
 cast us into so lifeless a state, that we are not only living without 
 the enjoyment of this portion, but at rest without it ; scarcely 
 knowing or caring whether the Lord look on us or not ! Can we 
 wonder, that our holy, jealous God, should " hide himself,'"' and 
 "go, and return to his place ?"'2 jjjg ^ext manifestation will prob- 
 ably be in the way of sharp conviction, making us to feel our dis- 
 tance, our coldness, our barrenness ; awakening us to search into 
 the cause ; and, in the contrast of our sad condition with those 
 who are walking in his favor, again bringing forth the cry, " Look 
 thou unto me, and he merciful unto me, as thou wisest to do unto 
 those that love thy nameP The prayer of humility, earnestness 
 and perseverance, though it may be tried awhile, will surely never 
 be forgotten.^3 If therefore we cannot yet " sing in the ways of 
 the Lord,'"'* yet let us not cease to mourn after him, till he look 
 upon us, and " satisfy us with his mercy." '^ And oh ! let us re- 
 member, that there is but one way, through which one gracious 
 look, or one expression of tender mercy, can visit our souls. Let 
 our eyes and heart then be ever fixed on Jesus. It is only in this 
 his " beloved" Son that the Lord can look tipon us, so as not to 
 
 1 Psalm iv. 6, 7. 2 Exod. x. 21. 3 Gen. iv. 4. ■* lb. v. 24. 
 
 5 lb. xviii. 17—33. « Exod. xxxiii. 11. Deut. xxxiv. 10. 
 
 7 Phil. iii. 10. Gal. ii. 20. » Psalm xxvii. 4. » 2 Sam. xxiii. 5, 
 
 w Psalm cvi. 4, 5. " Isaiah Ivii. 17. ^ Hosea v. 15. 
 
 »3 Comp. Isa. XXX, 18. Hab. ii, 3. ^* Ps. cxxiviii. 5. ^ jb. xc. 14. 
 
214 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 " behold iniquity in us." But we " are complete in Him."^ Here 
 then let us wait ; and when this our prayer has received its answer 
 in the Lord's best time — whether it be in " the goings of our God 
 in the sanctuary /'^ or in the more secret manifestations^ of his love 
 — now then, Christians, "arise, and shine."* Let it be known, 
 that you have been on the mount with God, by the lustre of your 
 face, the adorning of your profession, before the world. 
 
 Lord ! since our looks to thee are often so slight, so cold, so dis- 
 tant, that no impression is made upon our hearts ; do thou con- 
 descend continually to look upon us with mercy and with power. 
 Vouchsafe us such a look, as may touch us with tenderness and 
 contrition, in the remembrance of that sin, unbehef, and disobe- 
 dience, which pierced the hands, the feet, the heart of our dearest 
 Lord and Saviour.^ Oh ! for that contrite spirit, in which we shall 
 enjoy the look of thy special favor \^ Oh ! for a glimpse of thy 
 love, that will put our spiritual enemies to shame !^ Oh ! for that 
 sunshine of thy countenance, which brings present salvation to our 
 souls 1^ 
 
 133. Order^ my steps in thy word ; and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. 
 
 To expect the favor of the Lord without an habitual desire of 
 conformity to his image, is one among the many delusions of a 
 self-deceiving heart. It is the peculiar character of the Christian, 
 that his desires are as earnest for deliverance from the power as 
 from the guilt of sin. Having therefore prayed for acceptance, he 
 now cries for holiness. For even could we conceive the Lord " to 
 look upon him^^ with a sense of his favor, he would still feel him- 
 self a miserable creature, until he had received an answer to his 
 prayer, " Let not any iniquity have dominion over me." 
 
 But it is often difficult to distinguish the power of temptation 
 from the prevalence of sin, and thus precisely to ascertain, when 
 " iniquity^' may be said to " have dominion over us^ Is it not, 
 however, the influence of temptation — not acting upon the mind, 
 but admitted with consent into the heart ? It is this actual consent 
 of the will, obtained by the deceitfulness and solicitations of sin, 
 that marks its real " dominion!''' Light, knowledge, and con- 
 science, may open the path of holiness ; but while the will — the 
 sovereign power in the soul — dissents, the reigning power of sin 
 continues undisputed. Much care, however, much singleness, and 
 a most jealous scrutiny of the springs of action, are required, 
 accurately to determine the bias of the will, and consequently the 
 *^ dominion of i?iiquity.^ The perplexed conflicting soul may 
 mistake the rebellion for the " dominion of iniquity''' — its con- 
 tinued impression upon the heart for its ruling sway. On the other 
 hand, a constrained opposition of conviction may present some 
 hopeful symptoms of deliverance, while the dominant principle is 
 
 ^ Comp. Numb, xxiii. 21. Eph. i. 6. Col. ii. 10. a Psalm Ixviii. 24. 
 
 3 Matt. vi. 6. John xiv. 21—23. < Isaiah Ix. 1. 6 Comp. Luke xxiii. 61. 
 
 6 Isaifth livi. 2. 7 Psalm Ixxxvi. 17. 8 ib. ixix. 19. 
 
 • * Set straight my steps.' — LXX. ' Firmly direct.' — Ainsworth. 
 
VERSE 133. iil5 
 
 still unshaken. The present resolution to any particular act of sin 
 may be weakened, while the love and habit of it remains un- 
 affected. Sin is not always hated, when it is condemned, or even 
 forsaken : nor are duties always loved in the act of their perform- 
 ance. The opposition to sin, which the awakened superficial 
 professor considers as his evidence of uprightness of heart, is often 
 only the unavailing resistance of a natural enlightened conscience 
 to the ruling principle of the heart. The hght and power of con- 
 science may do much in condemning every known sin, and in 
 restraining from many ; in illustrating every known duty, and 
 insisting upon the external performance of many ; while yet the 
 full " dominion of iniquity^^ is undisturbed. Were not Ahab and 
 Judas as completely under this " dominion^'' after their repentance 
 as they were before V Did not Balaam, with all his knowledge — 
 and the young ruler, with all his natural loveliness and semblance 
 of sincerity — " lack that one thing" — a heart delivered from the 
 " domhiion of its own iniquity ^"'^ Yet it is not occasional sur- 
 prisals, resisted workings, abhorred lusts, nor immediate injections 
 of evil and blasphemous thoughts ; hut only the ascendency of sin 
 in the affections that proves its reigning power. The throne can 
 admit but of one ruler ; and therefore, though grace and iniquity 
 may and do co-exist within, they cannot be co-partners in one 
 sovereignty. Yet forget not that every sinful indulgence is for the 
 moment putting the sceptre into the hands of our worst enemies. 
 The setting up of an usurper is the virtual dethronement of the 
 rightful sovereign. The subjection to sin is therefore the rejection 
 of Christ. 
 
 How inestimably precious is the thought, that deliverance from 
 this cursed dominion is inseparably connected with a state of ac- 
 ceptance with God ! The man who enjoys the unspeakable bless- 
 ing of pardoned iniquity, is he " in whose spirit there is no guile."* 
 He has a work done within him, as well as for him. His Saviour 
 is a whole Christ — " made of God unto him Sanctification and" 
 complete '•' Redemption," as well as " Righteousness."^ He comes 
 to the cleansing fountain,^ as the double cure of his iniquity — 
 equally effectual to wash from its power as from its guilt. 
 
 But let us duly estimate the value of David's preservation. He 
 had been used to " hide the word in his heart," as his safeguard 
 against sin,* and from his own experience of its power he had rec- 
 ommended it to the especial attention of the young.*^ Yet the 
 recollection of his continual forgetfulness and conscious weakness, 
 leads him to turn his rule into a matter of prayer — Order my steps 
 in thy word — implying, that if his steps were not ordered^ from 
 want of their keeping, iniquity would regain its dominion. And 
 who of us have not daily need of this ruling discipline? Without 
 it, all is disorder. Our scattered affections need to be " united" in 
 
 1 1 Kings xxi. 27; xxii. Matt, xxvii. 3—5. 2 2 Peter ii. 15. Mark x. 21, 22. 
 
 3 Psalm xxxii. 1, 2. M Cor. i. 30. 6 Zech. liii. 1. 
 
 • 1 Cor. XV. 56. t Verse 9. 
 
216 
 
 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 one central principle/ under the direction of the word. The uni- 
 versal influence of this rule also is so important. The word not 
 only cheers our path, but orders our steps.^ — Every act — every 
 duty — are as steps in the heavenward path — guarding us from the 
 devious paths on either side, beset with imperceptible danger, and 
 spread with the fowler's snare. And what a blessed path would 
 this be for us, if we had singleness and simplicity always to " look 
 right on, and straight before us l"^ But alas ! we are often only half 
 roused from our security. The word is forgotten ; or there is an 
 unreadiness to receive its Divine impressions. Our own wisdom is 
 consulted : and, " or ever we are aware," "mi^'wi^y" regains a tem- 
 porary " dominion over usJ^ 
 
 Now I would ask myself — What do I know of this godly, care- 
 ful walk? Am I frequently during the day looking upward to my 
 heavenly guide ; and then looking into his word as my direction 
 in the way ; and lastly, considering my heart and conduct, whether 
 it is " ordered in the word ?" The man, who has " the law of 
 God in his heart," alone possesses the security, that " none of his 
 steps shall slide."* When I take therefore a step into the world, let 
 me ask — Is it " ordered in God's word,^^ which exhibits Christ as 
 my perfect example ; so that, walking after him, and following in 
 his steps, I may be able to frame my temper and habits according 
 to this unsullied pattern? 
 
 But let us mark, how fully is this prayer warranted by the special 
 promise of the Gospel, " >S'm shall not have dominion over you ; 
 for ye are not under the laiv, but under grace.""^ The law stirred 
 up sin, and gave it increased power ; while it left us to our un- 
 assisted exertions to subdue it. We watch, pray, and strive against 
 it : yet, alas ! it mocks our efforts — rages, yea. tyrannizes more than 
 ever.*' But it is the cross of Calvary, that gave the child of God 
 his first right view of sin, that first made him loathe it, that first 
 enabled him to contemplate a holy God without fear, and even with 
 confidence. — This — this alone subdues his pride, rebellion, enmity, 
 selfishness. In him that hung there, we trust as an Almighty con- 
 queror ; and we are made ourselves " more than conquerors through 
 him that loved us."' His very name of Jesus^ marks his office, 
 his crown, his glory. Here therefore — not in doubts and fears— 
 not in indolent mourning for sin — heve lies the appointed means of 
 present relief — the only hope of final victory. " Iniquity^^ even 
 when subdued, will struggle to the last for ^^ dominion ;" but look- 
 ing to and living on Jesus, we have the victory still. The more 
 clear our view of Jesus the more complete is our victory. Supplies 
 of continual strength will ever be vouchsafed to restrain the " do- 
 minion of iniquity, ^^ and even to " keep under" its daily risings ; 
 except as they may be needful for the exercise of our graces, and 
 be eventually overruled for the glory and praise of our faithful God. 
 
 > Psalm Ixxivi. 11. 
 
 3 Prov. iv. 25. 
 
 • lb. vu. 8. 1 Cor. XI. 16. 
 
 a Verse 105; xvii. 4; xix. 11. Prov. vi. 23. 
 < Psalm xxxvii. 31. 6 Rom. vi 14, with 12. 
 
 7 Rom. viii. 37. 8 Matt. L 21. 
 
VERSE 134. 217 
 
 134. Deliver me from tM oppression of man : so will I keep thy precepts. 
 
 " Many are the afflictions of the righteous,"^ from external as 
 well as from internal enemies — not only from their own " iniquity ^^"^ 
 but '•''from the oppression of inan.''^ Yet " man is only the Lord's 
 hand and sword,"^ and he can only move under the overruling 
 guidance of our Father's wisdom and love. Not indeed that the 
 believer would (except in submission to the will of God)^ desire his 
 " deliverance'^ from this trouble on account of personal pain and 
 distress ; but he sometimes finds peculiar circumstances of trial an 
 unavoidable hindrance in the service of his God. And his con- 
 viction sends him to the throne of grace : and there he never makes 
 interest in vain. " JHe cries unto the Lord because of the oppress- 
 ors : and he sends a iSavioiir, and a great one : and he delivers 
 him:"' 
 
 The power of faith is indeed Omnipotent. Mountains are re- 
 moved from their place, or they become " plains before"^ it ; " or 
 the worm" is enabled to " thresh them, and beat them small, and 
 make them as chaflf."^ Often is the Christian strengthened to 
 overcome the most formidable opposition, and to " profess a good 
 profession before many witnesses,"^ who are "watching for his 
 halting."^ The grace of Christ will make the hardest duty easy ! 
 and the love of Christ will make the sharpest trials sweet : yet, 
 where in the continued exercise of faith the obstacles to conscien- 
 tious service remain unmoved, (as, for instance, a child of God re- 
 strained in the fetters of a worldly family from a free and avowed 
 obedience,) we may lawfully pray, that the providence of God 
 would deliver from the oppression of man, that we might keep 
 his precepts. 
 
 A time of deliverance, as well as a time of persecution, has 
 proved a season of extraordinary prosperity in the church of God. 
 When " the Churches had rest throughout all Judea and Galilee 
 and Samaria,'' they " were edified ; and walking in the fear of the 
 Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, tvere multiplied:''^ 
 And thus in individual experience, whatever be the benefit of per- 
 secution, yet the weariness of a long protracted conflict is often 
 more than flesh and blood can bear ; and which he who " knoweth 
 our frame,"'" will not refuse to look upon, and remove, in answer to 
 the prayers of his afflicted people." At the same time, our prone- 
 ness to self-indulgence, and our natural inchnation to shrink from 
 discipline — as needful as our food — require this prayer to be pre- 
 sented with exceeding caution and self-jealousy. There is great 
 danger, lest, in our eagerness to escape from the difficulties of our 
 path, we should lose the important benefit intended by them. We 
 must therefore accompany the petition for deliverance with a sin- 
 cere purpose to " keep God's preceptsJ^^^ For how many have ex- 
 
 1 Psalm xxxiv. 19. 2 lb. xvii. 13, 14. 
 
 3 See the example of David, 2 Sam. xv. 25, 26; and of David's Lord, Luke xxii. 42. 
 
 4 Isaiah xix. 20. 5 Matt. xxi. 21, 22. Zech. iv. 7. « Isaiah xli. 14, 15. 
 7 1 Tim. vi. 12. » Jer xx. 10. 9 Acts ix. 31. ^ Psalm ciii. 14. 
 
 " Psalm cxxxY. 3. 1 Cor. i. 13. W Luke i. 74. 
 
218 
 
 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 posed the unsoundness of their own hearts, when the supplication 
 has been heard, the deliverance granted, and the promise of obedi- 
 ence been forgotten ! 
 
 Fellow-Christian ! have your circumstances of trial ever dictated 
 this prayer ? How then have you improved your liberty, when the 
 answer has been vouchsafed ? Has the " way of escape made" for 
 you been kept in grateful remembrance ?^ Has the effect of your 
 " deliver ayice''' been visible in an increasing love and devotedness 
 to the Lord's service ? Oh ! let a special Ebenezer be set up to 
 mark this special achievement of prayer.^ Let the mercy be con- 
 nected with the sympathy of our *' faithful and merciful High- 
 Priest, who being himself touched with the feeling of your infirmi- 
 ties" has pleaded for your succor and release.^ And be encouraged 
 henceforth to tread the ways of God with more firmness and sensi- 
 ble stay, " having your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel 
 of peace."* But remember — the blessing of the cross is lost, if it 
 does not issue in a song of praise — if we have not taken it up as a 
 token of fatherly love. At all times the safest and shortest way to 
 peace, is to let God use his own methods with us ; to live the pres- 
 ent moment to him in the situation in which he h£Ls placed us ; 
 not dreaming of other circumstances more favorable to our spiritual 
 prosperity ; but leaving ourselves, our difficulties, our discourage- 
 ments, in his hands, who makes no mistakes in any of his dispen- 
 sations — but who orders them all, that they may " turn to our sal- 
 vation, through our prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus 
 Christ."^ 
 
 135. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes. 
 
 If the Lord " deliver 21s from the oppression of man^'' and 
 " make even our enemies to be at peace with us ;"" still, if we are 
 in spiritual health, we shall be restless and uneasy, until he " m^ake 
 his face to shine upon usJ^ And in the Scripture revelation of 
 God, "dwelling between the cherubims,"^ and therefore on the 
 mercy-seat^ — with the " rainbow,'' the emblem of " the covenant 
 of peace," " round about the ihrone,'^^ as if to invite the access of 
 sinners, from every quarter — have we not full warrant to plead, 
 " Thotc that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth ; stir up 
 thy strength, and come and save us ? Turn us again, O God ; 
 and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved."'" Others we 
 see eagerly asking, " Who will show us any good ?" Alas ! they 
 will discover in the end, that they have " spent their money for 
 that which is not bread, and their labor for that which satisfiefh 
 not."" The believer's incessant cry is— Let me see "the King's 
 face."'* This is a blessing worth praying for. It is his heart's de- 
 
 1 Comp. 2 Chron. xxxii. 23—25, with Psalm ix. 13, 14. 
 » Heb. iv. 15: ii. 18. < Eph. vi. 15. 
 
 « 1 Sam. vii. 12. 
 Eph. vi. 15. 6 Phil. i. 19. 
 
 • Prov. xvi. 7. '2 Kings xix. 15. Psalm xcix. 1. Ezek. x. 1—5. 
 
 8 Exod. XXV. 17—22, with Rom. ui. 25. » Rev. iv. 3. 'o Ps. Ixxx. 1—3. 
 
 " Isaiah Iv. 2, with Psabn iv. 6. ^ Comp. Prov. xvi. 15. 
 
VERSE 135. 219 
 
 sire, his present privilege, and — what is infinitely better — his sure 
 and everlasting joy. " They shall see his face ^''^ 
 
 It is both important and interesting to mark the repetitions — 
 always new — in this beautiful Psalm. David had just before 
 prayed, " Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto we."* Per- 
 haps another passing cloud had passed his sky. Again he darts up 
 the same prayer, " Make thy face to shine upon thy servant.^^ 
 Such cries in the mouth of this holy servant of God, must have 
 been most hopeless petitions — nay, the expression of the most 
 daring presumption, — had he not been acquainted with the only 
 true way of access to God, joyfully led to renounce every other way, 
 and enabled dihgently to improve this acceptable approach to his 
 God. Indeed whatever obscurity may hang over the question re- 
 lating to the faith of the Old Testament believers, their confidence 
 at the throne of grace shows them to have attained a far more 
 distinct perception of Christian privilege, through the shadowy 
 representations of their law, than is commonly imagined. Else 
 how could they have been so wrestling and persevering in their 
 petitions ; overcoming the spirit of bondage, and breathing out the 
 spirit of adoption in the expression of their wants and desires be- 
 fore the Lord ? The prayers of the Old Testament church are not 
 more distinguished for their simpHcity, spirituality, and earnestness, 
 than for their unfettered, evangelical confidence. When they ap- 
 proached the footstool of the Divine Majesty, with the supplications, 
 '• Make thy face to shine upon thy servanf^ — " Thou that dwell- 
 est between the cherubims, shine forth'^ — it was as if they had 
 pleaded, ' Reconciled Father, thou that sittest upon a throne of 
 grace — look upon us ! — Abba. Father, be gracious to us P 
 
 Many, however, seem to despise this child-like confidence. They 
 go on in heartless complaining and uncertain apprehensions of their 
 state ; as if doubting was their life, and as if they might rest upon 
 the presumption, that the " shining of God^s face upon them>^^ is 
 not indispensable to their salvation. But will they then be content 
 to " be saved, yet so as by fire," instead of having " an entrance 
 ministered unto them abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of 
 our Lord and Saviour ?"^ Is it enough for them to be just alive, 
 when " the things that remain," from want of being duly cherished, 
 " are ready to die ?" If they can be safe without a conscious in- 
 terest in the favor of God, can they be so without the desire for it ? 
 Is not this assurance attainable ? Is it not commanded V Is it 
 not most desirable? This cold contentment clouds the integrity 
 of their profession. For God's real people are living habitually 
 either in spiritual enjoyment, or in restless dissatisfaction. Their 
 dark seasons are times of wrestling supplication^ — seasons of deep 
 humiIiation,nenderness of spirit,' and constant waiting upon God,* 
 until he " makes his face to shine upon his servajitsP They can 
 
 » Rev. xxu. 4. 2 Verse 132. 3 Comp. 1 Cor. iii. 15. 2 Peter i. 11. 
 
 4 See 2 Cor. xiii. 5. Heb. vi. 11. 2 Peter i. 10. s pg. Ixxxviii. 1—3 ; cxxx. 1, 2. 
 6 Lam. iii. 20—22. Micah vii. 9. "^ Lam. iii. 31—40. 
 
 8 Psalm xl. 1—3; cxxx. 5, 6. Isaiah viii. 17; 1. 10. 
 
220 
 
 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 dispense with ordinary comforts. But it is death to be without 
 him. " All their springs are in him." They estimate their hap- 
 piness by the shining — and their misery by the clouding — of his 
 face. This is the true principle of assurance, even if this most 
 important blessing be not sensibly enjoyed. 
 
 How then stands the case between us and God ? From our- 
 selves originates the mist, which darkens the shining.^ His sov- 
 ereign free grace blots the cloud away.^ We raise the mountains 
 of separation.3 The Almighty power of our great Zerubbabel 
 removes them.'* To ourselves then be all the shame. To him be 
 all the praise ! 
 
 But how may we realize more constant sunshine ? Apart from 
 the hindrances just alluded to, others are mainly to be found in 
 mistaken or contracted views oif the Gospel. Hence, therefore, the 
 value of enlarged apprehensions of the Gospel of the grace of God 
 — of its fulness, satisfying every claim, and supplying every want — 
 of its freeness, unincumbered with conditions, and holding forth 
 encouragement to the most unworthy — of its holiness, restraining 
 the hindrances to enjoyment — and of its security, affording per- 
 manent rest in the foundations of the covenant of grace. The 
 life of faith will thus be maintained in more full contemplation of 
 Jesus, and renewed reliance upon him ; and walking in closer 
 communion with him, our hope will be enlivened with the constant 
 sense of reconciliation and love. 
 
 We need not wonder at the Psalmist's persevering determination 
 to seek " the shining of the LorcVs face''' This high privilege is 
 connected no less with the Christian's public usefulness than with 
 his personal enjoyment. For who is most likely to win others to 
 the love of the Saviour, and to the service of God — to enliven the 
 drooping soul, or to recover the backslider? Is it not he, who 
 lives most in the sunshine of the Gospel, and who therefore has 
 most to tell of its heavenly joy 1 But you say, ' My heart, alas ! 
 is so cold and barren, my affections so languid, my desires so faint, 
 my sky so often clouded. I do not forget that I am a child ; hut 
 a child in disgrace is too often my dishonorable character and 
 wretched condition.' Then exercise your faith in going where 
 David was wont to go. As a penitent child, " arise, and go to 
 
 your Father" "only acknowledge your iniquity"^ — tell your 
 
 complaint before him — resort much and often to him ; be importu- 
 nate ; be patient ; plead the name^ and merits of Jesus ; and you 
 will not, you cannot, plead in vain ; you will once more walk hap- 
 pily, holily, as well as confidently, in the light of your Father's 
 countenance. And in marking more carefully his gracious dealings 
 with your soul, you will be kept from formality, hardness, and des- 
 pondency. 
 
 But we cannot expect this shining, save in the paths of God ;^ 
 and he who looks for comfort, while careless of duty, is only the 
 
 * Isaiah Ivii. 17. 
 6 Jer. iii. 13. 
 
 2 lb. iliv. 22, 
 « John xiv. 13, 14. 
 
 8 lb. lix, 2. * Zech. iv. 7. 
 
 1 lb. 21—23. laa. liiv. 5. Gal. vi. 16. 
 
VERSE 136. 221 
 
 victim of his own delusions. Well, therefore, does the child of 
 God — longing for higher enjoyment, and learning more of his own 
 ignorance, add his petition, " Teach me thy statutes^ And he 
 that taught us this petition, will himself, according to his promise, 
 be our teacher in the way of holiness.^ And if, under his teach- 
 ing, in the pathway to glory — our God " makes his face to shine 
 upon us,^^ what more want we to beguile the toil and weariness of 
 the way ? And if one beam of his countenance, though but dimly 
 seen through this sinful medium, exceeds the glories of ten thousand 
 worlds — what will it be to live under the perpetual cloudless " shin- 
 ing- of his face /" 
 
 Believer ! does not this prospect invigorate every step of your 
 journey ? Your Lord is at hand. Soon will he appear to gladden 
 with his inexpressible smile every soul that is in readiness for him. 
 Oh ! seek to realize his approach, and with holy aspirations and 
 joyful expectancy respond to his welcome voice, " He which tes- 
 tifieth these things saithj Surely I come quickly : Amen, Even 
 soj CQm£, Lord JesusJ^^ 
 
 136. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes^ because they keep not thy law. 
 
 If the Lord teaches us the privileges of his statutes ^ he will 
 teach us compassion for those who keep them not. This was the 
 mind of Jesus. His hfe exhibited one, whose ' heart was made of 
 tenderness.' But there were some occasions, when the display of 
 his compassion was peculiarly striking. Near the close of his life, 
 it is recorded, that, " when he was come near, and beheld the city'' 
 — " beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth"^ — but now 
 given up to its own ways, and " wrath coming upon it to the utter- 
 most," he "wept over it."^ It was then a moment of triumph. 
 The air was rent with hosannahs. The road was strewed with 
 branches from the trees, and all was joy and praise.^ Amid all 
 this exultation, the Saviour alone seemed to have no voice for the 
 triumph — no heart for joy. His omniscient mind embraced all the 
 spiritual desolation of this sad case ; and he could only weep in the 
 midst of a solemn triumph. " Rivers of waters ran down his 
 eyes., because they kept not his law." 
 
 Now a Christian in this as in every other feature will be con- 
 formed to the image of his Lord. His heart will therefore be 
 touched with a tender concern for the honor of his God, and a 
 pitying concern for those wretched sinners, that " keep not his law" 
 and are perishing in their own transgressions. Thus was ^^just 
 Lot" in Sodom, ^^ vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked."'' 
 Thus did Moses " fall down before the Lord, as at the first, forty 
 days and forty nights ; he did neither eat bread nor drink water, 
 because of all their sins which they had sinned^ in doing wickedly 
 in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger. "^ Thus also 
 
 1 Ezek xxxvi. 27. 2 Rev. xxii. 20. 3 Corap. Jer. ix. 1 ; liv. 17. Lam. ii. 18. 
 4 Psalm xlviii. 2. 5 Luke xix. 41 . Comp. Matt, xxiii. 37, also Mark iii. 5. 
 
 6 Comp. Luke xix. 36—40. 7 2 Peter ii, 7, 8. » Deut. ix. 18, 19. 
 
222 
 
 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 Samuel, in the anticipation of the Lord's judgments upon Saul,. 
 ^^ grieved himself^ and cried unto the Lord all night.^^^ Ezra, 
 on a similar occasion in the deepest prostration of sorrow, " rent 
 his garment and his mafitle, and plucked off the hair of his 
 head and of his beard, and sat down astonied until the evening 
 sacrificey^ And if David was now suffering from the oppression 
 of man,^ yet his own injuries never drew from him such expres- 
 sions of overwhelming sorrow, as did the sight of the despised law 
 of his God. 
 
 Need we advert to this tender spirit, as a special characteristic 
 of " the minister of the Lord ?" Can they fail in this day of abound- 
 ing wickedness — even within the bounds of their own sphere — to 
 hear the call to " weep between the porch and the altar ?"* How 
 instructive is the posture of the ancient prophet — first pleading 
 openly with the rebellion of the people — then " his soul weeping in 
 secret places for their pride ?"« Not less instructive is the great 
 apostle — his " conscience bearing witness in the Holy Ghost to his 
 great heaviness and continual sorrow in his heart for his brethren, 
 his kinsmen according to the flesh.^'^ In reproving transgressors, 
 he could only write to them " out of much affliction and anguish 
 of heart with many tears ;"^ and in speaking of them to others, 
 with the same tenderness of spirit, he adds, " Of whom I tell you 
 even weeping.^'^ Tears were these, of Christian eloquence no less 
 than of Christian compassion. 
 
 Thus uniformly is the character of God's people represented — 
 not merely as those that are free from, but as " those that sigh 
 and that cry for all the abominations, that be done in the m,idst 
 of the landP They — they alone — are marked out for mercy in 
 the midst of impending, universal ruin.^ The want of this spirit 
 is ever a feature of hardness and pride — a painful blot upon the 
 profession of the Gospel.'" How wide the sphere presenting itself 
 on every side for the unrestrained exercise of this yearning com- 
 passion ! The appalling spectacle of a world apostatized from God, 
 of multitudes sporting with everlasting destruction — as if the God 
 of heaven were '' a man that he should lie,"" is surely enough to 
 force " rivers of waters''' from the hearts of those who are con- 
 cerned for his honor. What a mass of sin ascends as a cloud be- 
 fore the Lord, from a single heart ! Add the aggregate of a village 
 — a town — a country — a world ! every day — every hour — every 
 moment — well might the " rivers of waters^^ rise to an overflowing 
 tide, ready to burst its barriers. We speak not of outward sensi- 
 bility (in which some may be constitutionally deficient, and the ex- 
 uberance of which may be no sign of real spiritual affection) but we 
 ask — Do we lay to heart the perishing condition of our fellow-sin- 
 ners ? Could we witness a house on fire, without speedy and prao 
 
 U Sam. IV. 11, 35. 2 Ezra ix. 3, 4. 3 Verse 134. * Joel ii. 17. 
 
 « Jer. xiii. 17. « Rom. ix. 1—3. "^ 2 Cor. ii. 4. 
 
 « Phil. iii. 18. Comp. Acts xx. 19. • Ezek. ix. 4. " 1 Cor. y. % 
 
 " Numb, xxiii. 16. 
 
VERSE 136. 223 
 
 tical evidence of our compassion for the inhabitants? And yet, 
 alas ! how often do we witness souls on the brink of destruction — 
 unconscious of danger, or bidding defiance to it — with comparative 
 indifference ! How are we Christians, if we believe not the Scrip- 
 ture warnings of their danger ? or if, believing them, we do not be- 
 stir ourselves to their help ? What hypocrisy is it to pray for their 
 conversion, while we are making no effort to promote it ? Oh ! let 
 it be our daily supplication, that this indifference concerning their 
 everlasting state may give place to a spirit of weeping tenderness ; 
 that we may not be living, as if this world were really, what it ap- 
 pears to be, 'a world without souls;' that we may never see the 
 Sabbaths of God profaned, his laws trampled under foot, the ungodly 
 " breaking their bands asunder, and casting away their cords from 
 them,"i without a more determined resolution ourselves to keep 
 these laws of our God, and to plead for their honor with these ob- 
 stinate transgressors. Have we no near and dear relatives, yet " ly- 
 ing in wickedness — dead in trespasses and sins ?" To what blessed 
 family, reader, do you belong, where there are no such objects of 
 pity ? But be it so — it is well. Yet are you silent ? Have you 
 no ungodly, ignorant neighbors around you ? And are they un- 
 warned as well as unconverted ? Do you visit them in the way of 
 courtesy or kindness, yet give them no word of affectionate entreaty 
 on the concerns of eternity ? Let our famihes indeed possess, as 
 they ought to possess, the first claim to our compassionate regard. 
 Then let our parishes, our neighborhood, our country, the world, 
 find a place in our affectionate, prayerful, and earnest consideration. 
 Nor let it be supposed, that the doctrine of sovereign and effec- 
 tual grace has any tendency to paralyze exertion. So far from it, 
 the most powerful supports to perseverance are derived from this 
 source. Left to himself — with only the invitations of the Gospel — 
 not a sinner could ever have been saved. Added to these — there 
 must be the Almighty energy of God — the seal of his secret 
 purpose — working upon the sinner's will, and winning the heart to 
 God. Not that this sovereign work prevents any from being saved. 
 But it prevents the salvation from being in vain to all, by securing 
 its appplication to some. The invitations manifest the pardoning 
 love of God ; but they change not the rebel heart of man. They 
 show his enmity ; but they slay it not. They leave him without 
 excuse — yet at the same time — they be applied — without salvation. 
 The moment of life in the history of the saved sinner is, when he is 
 " made wiUing in the day of the Lord's power,"^ — when he comes 
 — he looks — he lives. It is this dispensation alone gives the Chris- 
 tian laborer the spring of energy and hope. The palpable and 
 awful proofs on every side, of the " enmity of the carnal mind against 
 God," rejecting alike both his law and his Gospel, threaten to sink 
 him in despondency. And nothing sustains his tender and com- 
 passionate interest, but the assurance of the power of God to remove 
 the resisting medium, and of his purpose to accomplish the subjuga- 
 iPsalmii. 3. a lb. ex. 3. 
 
224 
 
 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 tion of natural corruption in a countless multitude of his redeemed 
 people. 
 
 The same yearning sympathy forms the life, the pulse, and the 
 strength of Missionary exertion, and has ever distinguished those 
 honored servants of Godj who have devoted their time, their health, 
 their talents, their all, to the blessed work of " saving souls from 
 death, and covering a multitude of sins."^ Can we conceive of a 
 Missionary living in the spirit of his work — surrounded with thou- 
 sands of mad idolaters, hearing their shouts, and w^itnessing their 
 abominations, without a weeping spirit? Indignant grief for the 
 dishonor done to God — amazement at this affecting spectacle of 
 human blindness — detestation of human impiety — compassionate 
 yearnings over human wretchedness and ruin — all combine to force 
 tears of the deepest sorrow from a heart enlightened and constrained 
 by the influence of a Saviour's love.^ This, as we have seen, was 
 our Master's spirit. And let none presume themselves to be Chris- 
 tians, if they are destitute of " this mind that was in Christ Jesus ;"3 
 if they know nothing of His melting compassion for a lost world, or 
 of his burning zeal for his heavenly Father's glory. 
 
 Oh ! for that deep realizing sense of the preciousness of immor- 
 tal souls, that would make us look at every sinner we meet as a 
 soul to be " pulled out of the fire," and to be drawn to Christ ; — 
 which would render us willing to endure suffering, reproach, and 
 the loss of all, so that w^e might win one soul to God, and raise one 
 monument to His everlasting praise ! Happy mourner in Zion ! 
 whose tears over the guilt and wretchedness of a perishing world 
 are the outward indications of thy secret pleadings with God, and 
 the effusipn of a heart solemnly dedicated to the salvation of thy 
 fellow-sinners ! 
 
 1 James v. 20. 
 2 ' My God! I feel the mournful scene; " 
 My bowels yearn o'er dying men ; 
 And fain my pity would reclaim, 
 And snatch the fire-brands from the flame. 
 
 But feeble my compassion proves, 
 And can but weep where most it loves ; 
 Thine own all-saving arm employ, 
 And turn these drops of grief to joy.' 
 3 See Phil. u. 4—7. 
 
VERSES 137, 138. 225 
 
 PART XVIII. 
 
 137. Righteous art thou, O Lord, and upright are thy judgments. — 138. Thy 
 testimonies that thou hast commanded, are righteous, and very faithful. 
 
 The advancing Christian learns to adore the awful perfections 
 of his God, and to acknowledge his righteous character and gov- 
 ernment, even when " his ways are in the sea, and his paths in the 
 great waters."^ " Clouds and darkness are round about him ; 
 righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne."* 
 We have already brought out the unvarying testimony of his peo- 
 ple to the righteous character of his afflictive dispensations.' Even 
 from haughty Pharaoh was a similar acknowledgment extorted.* 
 Adonibezek also, under the blow of his hand, cried out, " As I have 
 done, so God hath requited me."^ 
 
 Yet in this path " we walk by faith, not by sight."^ Often in 
 Providence " his footsteps are not known.'"' We cannot trace the 
 reasons of the Divine mind. We must wait, and " see the end of 
 the Lord," when the disjointed pieces shall be compacted into one 
 complete texture and frame-work. " At evening time it shall be 
 light."* Much more in the dispensations of grace do we hear the 
 voice, — " Be still, and know that I am God."' Doubtless he could 
 give his grace to all as well as to some. Yet none have a claim 
 upon him. Is it not his to do what he will with his own'/ " Nay 
 but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God ?" " shall not 
 the Judge of all the earth do right ?"^° Thus much is plain — enough 
 to silence cavil, and justify God — grace is freely offered to all. Man's 
 own will rejects it, and leaves him without excuse.^' Effectual 
 grace is withheld from none, but those who deserve that it should 
 be so. None are forced to sin. None are condemned without 
 guilt.^2 Therefore when we stand upon the ocean's brink, and cry 
 — " Oh ! the depth !" are we not constrained to the adoring acknowl- 
 edgment, Righteous art thou^ O Lord^ and upright are thy judg- 
 ments. And if this be our praise, even while " we see but as through 
 a glass darkly, and know but in part," how much more, in the 
 world of unclouded day, when we shall see " face to face, and know 
 even as we are known"^^ — shall we sing with reverential joy " the 
 song of the Lamb — Great and marvellous are thy works. Lord God 
 Almighty ! just and true are thy ways., thou King of saints !"'< 
 
 The young Christian, however, less able to grasp those deeper 
 apprehensions, exercises himself chiefly in His more engaging per- 
 fections of long-suffering, goodness, and love. It is therefore a sat- 
 
 1 Psalm Ixvii. 19. 2 lb, xcvii, 2. Comp. Deut. xxxiL 4. » Verse. 75. 
 
 < Exod. ix. 27. s Judges i. 7. Comp. 2 Chron. xii. 6. « 2 Cor. v. 7. 
 
 7 Psalm Ixxvii. 19. 8 Zech. xiv, 7. » Psalm xlvi. 10. 
 
 10 Matt. XX. 15. Rom. ix. 19. Gen. xviii. 25. » Matt, xxiii. 37. John v. 40. 
 
 »2 Rom. xi. 33. w i Cor. xui. 12. " Rev. iv. 3. 
 
 15 
 
226 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 isfactory evidence of growth in grace, when our habitual contem- 
 plation of God fixes upon our minds the more full and awful displays 
 of his character ; and we gather from thence an increase of light, 
 peace, humility, and consolation. But the cross of Calvary har- 
 monizes to our view at once the most appalling and the most en- 
 couraging attributes. Though his own declaration — that " he will 
 by no means clear the guilty'" — seemed to present an insurmount- 
 able barrier to the purpose of mercy ; yet, rather than the glory of 
 a God of love should be obscured, or his righteous law should be 
 mitigated, " he spared not his own Son"^ — he " made him, who 
 knew no sin, to be sin for us."^ 
 
 And do not we naturally argue from his nature to his testimo- 
 nies 7 If he be righteouSj nothing unrighteous can come from him. 
 His testimonies therefore are his lively image — like himself — right- 
 eous and very faithful — requiring nothing impossible — nothing 
 unsuitable — perfect love to God and man* — "our reasonable ser- 
 vice,"^ no less our privilege than our duty to render. None that are 
 blessed with a spiritual apprehension of their nature, and are con- 
 formed and framed to them, will hesitate in setting their seal to the 
 inscription, " The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous 
 altogether. The law is holy, and the commandment holy^ and 
 just^ and good P^^ 
 
 But let us take care to exhibit the practical influence of our con- 
 templations of the character and government of God. The uncon- 
 verted — far from understanding or subscribing to our acknowledg- 
 ment — complain, " IVie ways of the Lord are not equaV '■^ My 
 punishrjient is greater than I can bear.^^'' And so opposed are 
 the ^^ righteous judg7ne7its of God'^ to the perverseness of corrupt 
 nature, that even with the child of God there is much murmuring 
 within, that needs to be stilled — much repining to be hushed — much 
 impatience to be repressed — many hard thoughts to be lamented, 
 resisted, and banished. Did we believe more simply, how much 
 more joy would there be in our faith, and readiness in our submis- 
 sion ! How clearly would our experience show, that the Lord is 
 upright ; he is our rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him !"^ 
 In returning, then, " and rest shall we be saved ; in quietness and 
 confidence shall be our strength."^ In the submissive acknowledg- 
 ment of the Lord's dispensations, " our peace" will flow " as a 
 river;"*" more deep and extensive as it approaches the ocean, and 
 fertilizing our souls with an abundant harvest of spiritual peace 
 and enjoyment. 
 
 139. My zeal hath consumed me ; because mine enemies have forgotten thy words. 
 
 Such was David's high estimation oi the testimonies of his Godj 
 that his spirits were consumed with vehement grief in witnessing 
 their neglect. He could bear that " his enemies'^ should forget him ; 
 
 1 Exod. xxxiv. 7. « Rom. viii. 32. 3 2 Cor. v. 21. * Matt. xxH. 37—39. 
 5Rom. xii. 1. ^PB.xix.9. Rom. vii. 12. 7 Ezek. xviii. 25. Gen. i v. 13. 
 
 B Psalm xcii. 15. » Isaiah zxx. 15. ^c lb. zlviii. 18. 
 
VERSE 139. 227 
 
 but his " zeaV^ could not endure that they should ^^ forget the words 
 of his Gody Zeal is a passion, whose real character must be de- 
 termined by the objects on which it is employed, and the principle 
 by which it is directed. There is a true and a false zeal, differing 
 as widely from each other, as an heavenly flame from the infernal 
 fire. The one is fervent disinterested affection, expanding the 
 heart, and delighting to unite with the whole empire of God in the 
 pursuit of a good, which all may enjoy without envious rivalry. 
 The other is a selfish, interested principle, contracting the heart, 
 and ready to sacrifice the good of mankind, and even the glory of 
 God, to its own individual advantage.^ Were its power proportioned 
 to its native tendency, or were it to operate extensively in an asso- 
 ciated body ; it would end in detaching its several members each 
 from their centre ; in disuniting them from each other ; and, as far 
 as its influence could reach, crumbling the moral system into dis- 
 cordant atoms. Too often does this baneful principle exemplify it- 
 self in the church — either in an obstinate opposition to the truth of 
 the Gospel,^ or in a self-willed contention for its own party.^ " This 
 wisdom descendeth not from above ; but is earthly, sensual, devil- 
 ish."* How much also of that misguided heat, that spends itself 
 upon the externals of religion,* or would " call fire down from hea- 
 ven" in defence of fundamental truths, may be found among us, 
 exposing its blind devotees to our Master's tender rebuke, " Ye know- 
 not what manner of spirit ye are of !"" 
 
 Often also do we see a distempered counterfeit zeal, dispropor- 
 tioned in its exercise, wasting its strength upon the subordinate 
 parts of the system and comparatively feeble in its maintenance of 
 the vital doctrines of Christ."^ Thus it disunites the Church by ad- 
 herence to points of difference, instead of compacting the Church 
 together by strengthening the more important points of agreement. 
 Often again, by the same process in practical religion, are the " mint, 
 anise, and cummin" vehemently contended for ; " while the weightier 
 matters of the law"^ are little regarded. 
 
 Widely different from this fervor of selfishness, is that genuine 
 zeal, which marks the true disciple of our Lord. Enlightened by 
 the word of God, and quickened into operation by the love of Christ, 
 it both shines and warms at the same moment. It is indeed the 
 kindled fire of heavenly love, exciting the most tender desires and 
 constant efforts for the best interests of every child of man, so far as 
 its sphere can reach ; and bounded only by a consistent regard to 
 the general welfare of the whole. Thus earnest and compassion- 
 ate in its influence, awakened to a sense of the preciousness of im- 
 mortal souls, and the overwhelming importance of eternity, it is 
 never at a loss to discover an extended sphere for its most vehe- 
 ment and constraining exercises. While it hates the sins that 
 
 I Matt, xxiii. 15. Gal. vi. 12, 13. 
 2 John xvi. 2. Rom. x. 2, 3. Gal. i. 13, 14. Phil. Hi. 6. » Gal. iv. 17. 
 
 « .Tames iii. 15. 5 Matt. xv. 1, 2; xxiii. 25. 6 Luke ix. 54, 55. 
 
 f Rom. xiv. 1—6. 8 Matt, xxiii. 23. 
 
228 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 pass on every side before ils view, it is all gentleness to the sinner ; 
 and would gladly weep tears of blood over those who are deaf to 
 the voice of persuasion, could such tears avail to turn them from 
 their iniquity. But, knowing all human unassisted efforts to be in- 
 sufficient, it gives to the world its protest against the abominations 
 which it is too feeble to prevent ; and then hastens to the secret 
 chamber to pour out its wrestling desires in the tenderness of our 
 Master's intercession, " Father, forgive them, for they know not 
 what they do.''^ 
 
 Such was the zeal of the ancient Lawgiver, whose spirit (though, 
 as it regarded his own cause, ^'"meek above all the men which were 
 upon the face of the earthj^'^) " waxed hot'^^ on witnessing the 
 grievous dishonor done to his God during his absence on the mount. 
 At the same time, (as if more clearly to distinguish the holy burning 
 from the heat of his own spirit,) how fervently did he plead his peo- 
 ple's cause in secret before his God, as he had manifested his con- 
 cern for the honor of his God before the congregation 1^ Surely he 
 could have taken up this language, " Mt/ zeal hath consumed me, 
 because mine enemies have forgotten thy wordsJ'^ Burning with 
 the same holy flame, the great Old Testament Reformer bore his 
 testimony against the universal prevalence of idolatry; making 
 use of the arm of temporal power,^ and of the yet greater power of 
 secret complaint,* to stem the torrent of iniquity. The same im- 
 pulse in later times marked the conduct of the Apostles ; when, 
 " rending their clothes, and running in among" a frantic multitude 
 of idolaters, by all the power of their entreaties " they were scarcely 
 able to restrain the people^ that they had not done sacrifice unto 
 themP'' On another occasion the great Apostle, forgetting " the 
 goodly stones and buildings'' that met his eyes at Athens — found 
 " his spirit stirred up in him, when he saw the city wholly given 
 to idolatry. ^^^ In another city " was he pressed in spirit"^ by the 
 intensity of his interest for the souls of his fellow-sinners, and his 
 Master's work. 
 
 Yet this is not a heat that wastes itself without a proportionate 
 object. The truth of God is the grand object. Not one atom of its 
 dust shall be lost. For its fundamentals — all consequences must 
 be hazarded'" — yea, life itself — if need be — sacrificed.'^ Nor does 
 this fervor expend in strong impulses that wear out without fruit. 
 It is a constant aiTection in " a good thing.'"'^ Nor is it an undisci- 
 plined burst of warm feeling, but a sober controlled exercise of Chris- 
 tian judgment. The Apostle — with his inexpressible abhorrence of 
 idolatry, yet remained in the midst of it for two, perhaps three, years 
 — faithfully employed in his Master's work; yet waiting for the 
 fittest time of open protest against Diana's worship. '^ So admirably 
 
 1 Luke xxiii. 34. a Numb. xii. 3, 13. 3 Exod. xxxii. 19. 
 
 < lb. xxxii. 30—32. s 1 Kings xviii. 17—40. e ib. xix. 10. 
 
 7 Acta xiv. 13—18. 8 ib. xvii. 16. 9 Ib. xviii. 5. 
 
 "Gal. ii. 5. " Acts xx. 24. Phil. u. 17. Rev. xil 11. " Gal. iv. 18. 
 
 "Acts xix. 10; xx. 20,21. 
 
 I 
 
VERSE 139. 229 
 
 is " the spirit of power and love" disciplined by " the spirit of a sound 
 mind."' 
 
 But, " compassed about, as we are, with so great a cloud of wit- 
 nesses"'* let us yet turn aside to look unto One greater than all — 
 to One, whose example in every temper of Christian conduct affords 
 equal direction and encouragement. Jesus could testify to his Fa- 
 ther, " The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up^^ He was ever 
 ready to put aside even lawful engagements and obligations, when 
 they interfered with this paramount demand.^ Yet was his zeal 
 tempered with a careful restraint from needless offence. Rather 
 would he work a miracle,* and retreat from publicity,^ than seem 
 to give occasion to those that might desire it. And if we bear the 
 stamp of his disciples, without rushing into offence in the wayward- 
 ness of our own spirits, while rejoicing to have our own "names 
 cast out as evil,"^ we shall at the same time be tender of any re- 
 flection on the name of our God, as of our dearest friend and bene- 
 factor. We shall feel any slight of his honor as sensitively as a 
 wound to our own reputation ; nor shall we hesitate to thrust our- 
 selves between, to receive on ourselves any strokes that may be 
 aimed at his cause.^ This combined spirit of self-denial and self- 
 devotedness, kindles the flame, which " many waters cannot quench, 
 neither can the floods drown."' ^ / could heor^ said holy Brainerd, 
 ' any desertion or spiritual conflict^ if I could but have my heart 
 helming all the while within me with love to God, and desires 
 for his glory. ^^^ It is indeed a delightful exercise, to "spend and 
 be spent" in the service of Him, who for our sakes was even con- 
 sumed by the fire of his own zeal.'' 
 
 However, the surest evidence of Christian zeal is — when it begins 
 at home — in a narrow scrutiny, and " vehement revenge" against 
 the sins of our own hearts.'* Do we mourn over our own forget- 
 fulness of God^s words 1 Are we zealous to redeem the loss to 
 our Saviour's cause from this sinful neglect ? And do we plainly 
 show, that our opposition to sin in the ungodly is the opposition of 
 love ? And is this love manifested to the persons and souls of those 
 whose doctrines and practice we are constrained to resist, and in a 
 careful restraint from the use of unhallowed " carnal weapons" in 
 this spiritual "warfare?"'^ 
 
 Perhaps the weak, timid child of God may be saying, ' I can do 
 nothing for my God. I suffer his words to he forgotten, with little 
 or no success in my efforts to prevent it.' Are you then making an 
 effort? Every work done in faith bears fruit to God and to his 
 church. You may not see it. But let your secret chamber witness 
 to your zeal ; and the Lord " will not be unrighteous to forget your 
 work and labor of love."'* He will even strengthen you for your 
 dreaded conflict — the open confession of his cause — " For he hath 
 
 iSTiin. i. 7. 2 Heb. xii. 1. 3 Ps. Ixix. 9, with John ii. 17. Isa. lix. 17. 
 
 4 Luke ii. 49. 5 Matt. xvii. S4— 27. « John vi. 15. 
 
 t Luke vi. 22. Acts v. 4L » Ps. Ixix. 9. Rom. xv. 3. Comp. Ps. Ixxxix. 50, 51. 
 9 Cant. viii. 7 w Brainerd's Diary. Edwards' Works, iii. 107. " Luke xii. 50. 
 
 »2 Comp, 2 Cor. vii. 11. Rev. iii. 19. '3 See 2 Cor, x, 4. James i. 20. " Heb, vi, 10. 
 
230 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that 
 are mighty P^ Or, should peculiar trials restrain the boldness of 
 your profession, you may be found in tlie end to have made as ef- 
 fectual resistance to the progress of sin by your intercession before 
 God, as those who have shown a more open front in the face of the 
 world. 
 
 140. Tfiy word is very pure; therefore thy servant loveth it. 
 
 The Psalmist's love for the law of his God may account for the 
 ^^zeaF he felt on account of its general neglect. All other systems 
 of religion (or rather of " philosophy falsely so called") allure their 
 disciples by the indulgence of carnal lust or self-complacent pride. 
 The word of God outweighs them all in its chief excellence — pecul- 
 iar to itself — its purity. " Every word is very pure'^ — tried to the 
 uttermost" in the furnace, and found to be absolutely without dross.' 
 Its promises are without a shadow of change or unfaithfulness. Its 
 precepts reflect the holy image of their Divine Author. In a word 
 it contains ' truth without any mixture of error for its matter''* — 
 " Therefore thy servant loveth it.^^ 
 
 ' No one but a true servant of God can therefore love it, because 
 it is pure ; since he who loves it must desire to be like it, to feel its 
 efficacy, to be reformed by it.'^ The unlettered believer cannot well 
 discern its sublimity ; but he loves it for its holiness. The mere 
 scholar, on the other hand, admires its sublimity — but the secrets 
 which it reveals (such as the pride of the natural heart struggles to 
 conceal) forbid him to love it.^ Its purity, which is the matter of 
 love to the one, excites enmity in the other. From " the glass" 
 which shows him " his natural face" — his neglected obligations — 
 his fearfully self-deluded state — and his appaUing prospects — he 
 turns away in disgust. The indulgence of sin effectually precludes 
 the benefit of the most industrious search into the word of God. The 
 heart must undergo an entire renewal — it must be sanctified and 
 cleansed, yea, be " baptized with the Holy Ghost,"^ before it can 
 discern, or — when it has discerned — can love, the purity of the 
 word of God. 
 
 Witness the breathings* of Brainerd's soul in this holy atmosphere, 
 ' Oh that m,y soul were holy, as he is holy ! Oh that it were pure 
 even as Christ is pure ; and perfect, as my Father in heaven is 
 perfect ! These I feel are the sweetest commaiids in God's hook^ 
 comprising all othersJ^ ' Oh how refreshiiig' — exclaims the be- 
 loved Martyn — ' and supporting to m,y soul wa^ the holiness of 
 the word of God ! Sweeter than the sweetest promise at this 
 time, was the constant and manifest tendency of the word, to lead 
 men to holiness ajid the deepest seriousness.''^ 
 
 The valuable end for which we " desire this word" is, " that we 
 
 » 1 Cor. i. 27. 2 Prov. xxx. 5. Ps. xii. 8. 
 
 5 Prayer Book translation. Comp. Ps. xii. 6. < Locke. s gp. Home in loco. 
 • See John iii. 20. ' Matt. iii. 11. » Edwards^ Works, iii. 171. 
 
 » Martyn's Life, pp. 20G, 207. 
 
VERSE 141. 231 
 
 may grow thereby,"' — grow in purity of heart and conduct ; learn- 
 ing to shrink from the touch of sin ; " cleansing ourselves from all 
 filthiness of flesh and spirit, and perfecting holiness in the fear of 
 God."* Our "esteem" for it — ^^more than our necessary food^^^ — 
 will be in proportion to our growth in grace, an evidence of this 
 growth, and a constant spring of holy enjoyment. 
 
 An additional excitement to love its purity is the exhibition of 
 that purity imbodied in our perfect pattern in Him, " who was 
 holy^ harmless^ undejiled^ and separate from sinner s.^^^ For the 
 habit of beholding the Saviour with the eye of faith in the glass of 
 the word, conforms us to his image.* But be it ever remembered, 
 that its holiness can have no fellowship, and communicate no hfe, 
 except in its own atmosphere. Oh ! for a larger influence of the 
 Spirit of God upon our souls, that we may enjoy the purifying de- 
 lights of the word of God ; that we may live in it, live by it, to the 
 glory of our dear Redeemer, and to the edification of his Church ! 
 
 141. lam small arid despised; yet do not I forget thy precepts. 
 
 Evidently David did not love the word for selfish gain. " Small 
 and despised'^ weis his condition, when the Lord first looked on 
 him.* It was also the reproach, which in the height of his glory he 
 endured for the name of his God.^ " Yet — stripped and destitute 
 as he might be — did he not forget his preceptsP The remem- 
 brance of his God was a cheering encouragement to his faith in his 
 lowly condition ;^ and no less his support in the far greater trials 
 of his prosperity. Thus habitually did he realize the unspeakable 
 privilege of an ever-present God ! 
 
 The objects of the Lord's sovereign choice,^ whom he has stamped 
 as a " peculiar treasure unto him above all people,'' and whom at 
 the day of his approaching he will bring forth as the "jewels"^" of 
 his crown — are most frequently in their worldly condition^^ — always 
 in the eyes of the world,'* and in their own estimation, '^ — c^ small 
 and despised.^'' And yet pride and hypocrisy in the natural heart 
 will sometimes assume this character for selfish ends. This lan- 
 guage of humility is not un frequently in the mouth of the profes- 
 sor, to enable him to maintain " a name to hve" in the church of 
 God. But are those, who call themselves " small and despised,^* 
 willing to be taken at their word ? Are they content to be despised 
 by those, whose esteem this " voluntary" spurious " humility" was 
 meant to secure ? Do they really believe themselves to be what 
 they profess — false, vile, mean, deceitful creatures? Have they 
 any experimental knowledge of the depth of inner wickedness — that 
 God could open door after door in " the chamber of imagery" to con- 
 found them with the sight of greater, and yet '' greater abomina- 
 tions ?"^* When, therefore, they " take the lowest place," do they 
 
 I 1 Peter ii. 2, 2 2 Cor. vii. 1. 3 Job xxiii. 12. * Heb. vii. 26. 
 
 5 Com.2 Cor.iii. 18. e 1 Sam. xvi. 11. i 2 Sam. vi. 20. « 1 Sam. xvu. 34—36. 
 
 9 Exod. xix. 5. 10 Mai. iii. 17. " 1 Cor. i. 27—29. James ii. 5. 
 
 w 1 Cor. iv. 9—13. ^ Ps. xl. 17. 1 Cor. iv. 9. Eph. iii. 8. " Ezek. viii. 5—15 
 
232 
 
 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 feel it to be their own place 7 Or does not the language of self- 
 abasement mean in the eyes of God — ' Come see how humble I 
 amT' 
 
 Christian! think not these self-inquiries unnecessary for the 
 cautious scrutiny of thine own heart. A self-annihilating spirit be- 
 fore men^ as well as before God ; — to feel " small and despised^^ 
 when we have a reputable name in the Church — is a rare attain- 
 ment — a glorious triumph of victorious grace — usually the fruit of 
 a sharp affliction. This was the spirit of Brainerd — that meek and 
 lowly disciple of his Master, who would express his astonishment, 
 that any one above the rank of " the beasts that perish" could con- 
 descend to notice him.^ But if we are small and despised in the 
 estimation of men, let us think of " Him, whom man despiseth — 
 Him whom the nation abhorreth."^ Never was such an instance of 
 magnanimity displayed, as when Pilate brought out the blessed 
 Jesus, arrayed in the mockery of royalty, and with the blood stream- 
 ing from his temples ; and said, " Behold the man !"^ Then was 
 there a human being, sustaining himself in the simple exclusive 
 consciousness of the favor of God, against the universal scorn of 
 every face. This was independence — this was greatness indeed. 
 With such a pattern before our eyes, and such a motive touching 
 our hearts, we may well account it " a very small things that we 
 should be judged of man's judgment.''^ What upheld "the man 
 Christ Jesus," will uphold his servants also. 'He committed him- 
 self to him that judgeth righteously."^ Must we not desire to 
 " know the fellowship of his sufferings" — yea, to rejoice in the par- 
 ticipation of them V 
 
 Christian ! dost thou love to be low, and still desire to be lower 
 than ever? ^^ tSmall and despised'^ as thou art in thine own eyes, 
 and in the eyes of the world, '* thou art precious in the eyes of him*' 
 who gave a price " for thy ransom" — infinitely more precious than 
 " Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba,"^ and who will suffer '' none to pluck 
 
 ^ ' Many hypocrites make great pretences to humility as well as other graces. But 
 they cannot find out what a humble speech and hfchavior is, or how to speak and act, so 
 that there may be indeed a savor of Christian humility in what they say or do. That 
 sweet humble air and mien is beyond their art, being not " led by the Spirit," or naturally 
 guided to a behavior becoming holy humility by the vigor of a lowly spirit within them. 
 And therefore they have no other way, but to be much in declaring that they are humble, 
 and telling how they were humbled to the dust at such and such times, and abounding 
 in very bad expressions about themselves, — such as — 'I have a dreadful wicked heart,' — 
 'Oh! this cursed heart of mine,' &c. Such expressions are very often used — not with 
 a heart broken— not with the tears of her that " washed Jesus's feet with her tears" — 
 not as "remembering and being confounded, and never opening their mouth Invause of 
 their shame when God is pacilied," (Ezek. xvi. (53,) but with a light air, or with Phari- 
 saical affectation.' — Edxrards on Affections, part iii. sect. vi. 
 
 2 ' God feeds me with crumbs. Blessed be his name for anything ! I felt a great desire 
 that all God's people should know how moan, and little, and vile I am, that they might 
 see I am nothmg, that so they might pray for me aright, and not havt; the least depend- 
 ence upon me. I could not bear to thmk of Christians showing me any respect. I saw 
 myself ebcceetlingly vile and unworthy; so that I was ashamed that any one should be- 
 Btow any favor upon me, or show me any respect.' — BrainercPs Diary. 
 
 8 Isa. xlix. 7. Comp. Psalm xxii. 6. * John xix. 5. ^ \ Cor. iv. 3. 
 
 8 1 Peter ii. 23. t Phil. iii. 10. 1 Peter iv. 13. 
 
 8 Comp. Isa. xliii. 3, 4, with Acts xx. 28. 
 
VERSE 142. 233 
 
 thee out of his hantls."^ Many may rebuke thee ; many may 
 scorn thee : even thy brethren may treat thee with contempt ; yet 
 thy God, thy Redeemer, will not depart from thee, will not suffer 
 thee to depart from him ; but will put his Spirit within thee, and 
 bring forth his precepts to thy remembrance, that thou mayest keep 
 them, and many a sweet supporting promise for thy consolation. 
 Therefore, " fear not, thou toorm Jacob : I will help thee, saith the 
 Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel."* 
 
 142. Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth. 
 
 The Psalmist, in the midst of his trials, could not ^^ forget the 
 precepts,^^ while he maintained so just a perception of their exalted 
 character. His mind at this time seems to have been filled with 
 the contemplation of the righteous government of God. He there- 
 fore repeats his adoration,^ not as applied to any particular instance 
 — but as distinguishing the general character of His administration 
 from " everlasting J^ 
 
 But on whom is this government appointed to rest? Think of 
 our Immanuel — the human brow encircled with Divine glory — the 
 crucified hands wielding the sceptre of the universe — Him, whom 
 they mocked as the king of the Jews, seated on his own exalted 
 throne — " King of kings, and Lord of lords !" " The governmejit 
 is upon his shoulder : and of the increase of his government and 
 peace there shall be no ejid?^^ How delightful to join Jehovah him- 
 self in the ascription of praise — " Thy throne^ O God, is forever 
 and ever ; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy king- 
 dom /''« How glorious also to praise that everlasti7ig righteous- 
 ness — the ground on which the administration of his Church is 
 framed — which Jesus "brought in," and "which is unto all them 
 that belive ;"s which, when once clothed with it, is our infinite glory 
 and reward ! 
 
 " Every ordinance of man" is connected only with time. The 
 Divine government has a constant reference to eternity, past and to 
 come, "^/i^ / Aearc?," said the enraptured disciple, '•^ the angel 
 af the iDaters say ; Thou art righteous, which art, and wast, and 
 shall be ; because thou hast judged thusP"^ Every instance, there- 
 fore, of his righteous administration, is that display of the Divine 
 character, which constrains the adoration of heaven. " One cried 
 to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts : the 
 whole earth is fill of his glory. ^^ His ^^law^^ — the manifestation 
 of his " righteousness,^^ — " is the truth.^^ " Thy word is true from 
 the beginning ! and every one of thy righteous judgments en- 
 dureih forever. ^^^ 
 
 This truth is the law of righteousness, which Jesus bound him- 
 self to " fulfil"^" — to which he " came to bear witness"" — and to 
 which he commended his people to his Father as the means of their 
 
 I John X. 28, 2 Isaiah xli. 14. ^ Comp. verse 137. * Isaiah ix. 6, 7. 
 
 5 Psalm xlv. 6. Heb. i. 8. « Dan. ix. 2^i. Rom. iii. 22. ' Rev. xvi. 5. 
 
 8 Isaiah vi. 3. 9 Verse 160. '<» Matt. iii. 15. " John iviii. 37. 
 
234 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 sactification,^ for what else is holiness, but the influences of truths 
 digested and practically imbodied in the life and conduct? There 
 may be fragments of truth elsewhere found — the scattered rem- 
 nants of the fall. There may be systems imbued with large por- 
 tions of truth deduced from this law. But here alone is it found 
 perfect — unsullied. How carefully, therefore, should we test, by 
 this standard every doctrine — every revelation ;2 receiving with im- 
 plicit subjection all that is conformed to it ;3 rejecting with uncom- 
 promising decision whatever will not abide the fiery trial.* Most 
 careful also should we be to preserve its unadulterated simplicity.* 
 Even the most seemingly trifling infusion of fundamental error is 
 the grain of poison cast into the food, and making it " a savor of 
 death unto death." Such was the error of the Galatian Church — 
 " another Gospel, yet not another"* — not deserving the name — not 
 putti?ig ordinaiices in the stead of Christ : an error too gross to 
 beguile a Christian profession — but what is far more subtle, and 
 equally destructive, mixing them with Christ ; thus impairing the 
 integrity of the foundation, paralyzing the springs, poisoning the 
 sources of life, yea, converting life itself into death.^ Let this church 
 stand out as a beacon to our own — as a much-needed warning to 
 each of her members. 
 
 But in a more general view, let us adore the Divine revelation, 
 as bearing so full an impress of a " God that cannot lie" — of a " cov- 
 enant ordered in all things" beyond human contrivance, " and sure" 
 beyond the possibility of a change.^ How many dying testimonies 
 have sealed the truth of the precious promises ! Joshua,^ Simeon,'" 
 and a " cloud of witnesses with which we are compassed about,"" 
 have " set to their seals that God is true'""^ — that " all the promises 
 of God are in Christ Jesus yea and amen,"'^ — that " all are come 
 to pass unto them, and not one thing has failed thereof" Equally 
 manifest is the truth of his threatenings. Hell is truth seen too 
 late. Those on the right hand and those on the left, at the great 
 day of God, will combine their testimony to the declaration of the 
 "Faithful and True Witness,"'^ — "Heaven and earth shall pass 
 away, but my words shall not pass away."'« 
 
 143. Tremble and anguish have taken hold on me ; yet thy commandments are my 
 
 delights. 
 
 Christian ! expect not unmixed sorrow or uninterrupted joy 
 as your present portion. Heaven will be joy witbout sorrow. Hell 
 will be sorrow without joy. Earth presents to you every joy min- 
 gled with grief — every grief tempered with joy. To be accounted 
 " small and despised'^ does not comprise the whole of your trials. 
 Like the great apostle, you must expect not only " trouble'^ without, 
 but "a?i^7^i5^" within. '« Others may not have it." But your Sav- 
 
 1 John xvii. 17. a 1 Thess. v, 21. IJohniv. 1. 3 Acts xvii. 11, 12. 
 
 * Isaiah viu. 20. Gal. i. 8, 9. 6 2 Cor. ii. 17 ; iv. 2. e Gal. i. 6, 7. 
 
 f lb. iv. 9—1 1 ; V. 1—4. ^ Titus i. 2. 2 Sam. xiiii. 5. 9 Josh, xxiii. 14. 
 
 »» Luke ii. 25—29. " Heb. xii. 1. 12 John iii. 33. 
 
 13 2 Cor. i. 20. »< Rev. iii. 14. ^ Matt. xxiv. 35. 
 
 " 2 Cor. vii. 5; i. 8. " Psalm Iv. 19} Ixxiii. 3—5. 
 
 \ 
 
VERSE 143. 235 
 
 iour engages, " You shalV'^ To all his people he has not meted 
 out the same measure. Some have rebuke. Some have a scourge. 
 But all have the cross — and this a daily cross'* — not a single or an 
 occasional trial — but a life of trial — constant contradiction to the 
 will — constant mortification of the flesh. And this takes hold of 
 us. We cannot escape* from it. Should we wish to escape it? 
 This discipline, as Luther observes in his own way (and who was 
 a better calculator in this school ?) is more necessary for us than all 
 the riches and dignities of the whole world. And the exercise of 
 faith and patience in the endurance will bring more honor to God 
 and profit to ourselves than a life of ease and indulgence. The in- 
 struction of the rod delivers us from its curse, and brings a sub- 
 stantial and enriching blessing.^ 
 
 But how precious is the sympathy of Jesus — " in all things made 
 like unto his brethren" — enduring trouble a7id anguish inconceiv- 
 able to human apprehension, '• that he might be a merciful and 
 faithful High Priest to succor his tempted people !"* How does it 
 lift up our head amid the billows, when in communion with our 
 Lord we can call to mind, that his sorrow was for the sake of his 
 dear purchased people ; that they might drink their fighter cup be- 
 reft of its bitter ingredients ! 
 
 The Psalmist did not find that the Lord afl[licted him to leave 
 him in misery, but rather to increase his happiness. The precepts 
 which he had not forgotten^^ were now his delights. The scrip- 
 tural records of the trials of the Lord's people bear similar abundant 
 testimony to the inexhaustible resources of support in the Book of 
 God ; and they " are written for our learning, that we through pa- 
 tience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."« The child 
 of God, whose thoughts are habitually occupied in the word, will 
 always find it to be his food and light, his joy and strength ; wit- 
 nessing within, the presence and power of God, even where its sen- 
 sible comfort may not be enjoyed. 
 
 But specially is 'affliction the time that unfolds the delights of 
 the word'', such as more than counterbalance the painful trouble 
 and anguish of the flesh. Such cheering prospects of hope and 
 deliverance does it set forth ! Such mighty supports in the endur- 
 ance of trial does it realize ! Truly the experimental power of the 
 word in keeping the soul alive — much more than this — cheerful — 
 sustained — established' — is there any blessing like this — the fruit 
 of the cross ? Can we mourn over that cross, that brings so gainful 
 a harvest? The bitterness of the cross then best realizes the de- 
 lights of the commandments. But never does the believer more 
 " rejoice in tribulation," than when the " trouble and a?ignish 
 which take hold of him^^ is for the love he bears to the name of his 
 dear Lord.' Persecution for his sake, far from appalling him, only 
 endears his service to his heart. It is in his eyes — not a ji^nalty 
 
 1 John xvi. 33. Comp. Acts xiv. 22. 1 Thess. iii. 3. 2 Tim. iii, 12. Rev. vii. 14. 
 
 2 Luke ix. 23. 3 Psalm xciv. 12. * Heb. u. 17, 18. 5 Verse 141. 
 6 Rom. XV. 4. 7 Verse 92. « Deut. viii. 3. Matt. iv. 4. » AcU v. 41. 
 
236 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 endured^ hut a privilege conferred^ " to suffer for his name^s 
 sake:'' 
 
 But contrast the condition of the child of God and the follower of 
 the .world in the hour of affliction. The one in the midst of his 
 troubles drinks of the fountain of all-sufficiency : and such is his 
 peace and security, that, " in the floods (5f great waters they shall 
 not come nigh unto him."^ The other, "in the fulness of his suf- 
 ficiency is in straits "^ David could look upward, and find the way 
 of escape in the midst of his trouble : but for Saul, when " trouble 
 and anguish took hold ofhim,''^ no source of comfort opened to his 
 view. " God was departed from him, and was become his enemy."^ 
 It was therefore " trouble" without support ; " anguish^' without 
 relief, — " trouble and anguish ;" such as will at length " take hold 
 of" them that forget God, when nothing will be left, but the una- 
 vailing " cry to the mountains and the hills to fall upon them, and 
 cover them."5 Thanks be to God for deliverance from this fearful 
 prospect ! Thanks for the hope of unfading " delights,'^ when 
 earthly pleasures shall have passed away ! The first sheaf of the 
 heavenly harvest will blot out the painful remembrance of the 
 weeping seed-time which preceded it.« The first moment of hea- 
 ven will compensate for all the " troubles and anguish'^ of earth : 
 and these moments will last throughout eternity. " Sai/ ye to the 
 righteous^ it shall be well with hhn"'' eternally well. 
 
 144. The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting ; give me understandings ■ 
 
 and I shall live.^ ■ 
 
 What deep — weighty — impressive thoughts were exercising the 
 Psahnist's mind ! He had just marked the happy influence of the 
 testimonies upon the believer's heart. Now he again recurs to their 
 righteousness — as the Divine administration — not subject to the in- 
 cessant variations of the human standard — but everlasting — of 
 unalterable obligation — binding us unchangeably to God, and God 
 to us. His creatures can virtually make them void by their rebel- 
 lion ;• but they cannot change their character, or shake their foun- 
 dation. Nay — themselves shall be the instruments of their fulfil- 
 ment. Every word shall be established either by them as his obe- 
 dient servants, or in and upon them as rebel transgressors. What 
 solemn weight therefore is due to this Divine standard ! It seems 
 now to be trampled under foot ; but its ^^righteousness" — inflexible 
 in its demands, and unalterable in its obligations — will ere long 
 assert its sovereignty over the world, when every other standard 
 
 1 Phil, i. 29, One of the witncssps for the truth, when imprisoned for conscience' 
 sake in Queen Mary's persecution of the Church, is said to have thus written to a friend : 
 — * A prisoner for Christ ! What is this for a poor worm 1 "Such honor have" not 
 "all his saints." Both the degrees which I took in the University have not set me so 
 hiffh as the honor of becoming a prisoner of the Lord.' Phil[K)l, again, could say of his 
 prison — * In the judgment of the world we are in hell ; but I find in it the sweet conso- 
 ktions of heaven,' So also holy Bradford — " My prison is sweeter to me than any 
 parlor, than any pleasure I have had in all my life.' 
 
 « Ps. xxxii. 6. 3 Job xx. 22. < I Sam. xxviii. 15, 16, « Rev. vi. 16. 
 
 • Ps. cxivi, 5, 6. ' Isa. iii. 10. » Comp. verses 137, 138. » Verse 126. 
 
VERSE 144. 237 
 
 shall liave passed away. It will bo tlie rule of the Divine proce- 
 dure at the ^reat day of dcciHioii. VViicri the "i^reat whil<; ihrono'* 
 is set up — when " llic dead, small and great, stand Uefonr (iod, and 
 the books are opened, and anotber book is opened, wbicfi is ilio 
 book of life; and the dead are judged out of those tbinrrs which 
 were written in the books, (xccMrdinff to thair i/;r;r/»:.v"' — the ac- 
 knowledgment will be made throughout the universe of God, " Ttts 
 rif^hteousness of thy testimonies is everlastin^.^^ How glorious is 
 the confidence of being dealt with in that great day upon an ever- 
 lastin/f foundation of righteousness P 
 
 But this view of the Divine " righteousjiessj^ and " everlastin/^^ 
 obligation of the testimonies^ naturally suggests the prayer for a 
 more spiritual, enlightened, and experimental aapjaintancc with 
 them. Often before had the petition been sent up.' But who can 
 cry too often or too earnestly 1 One ray of this " under standinf^ 
 is of far higher value than all the intellectual or speculative knowl- 
 edge in the world.^ If its first dawn exhibits the infinite difftirence 
 between light and darkness — if prayer for it implies a measure al- 
 ready received, still — (Jive me understanding — will be tfie cry — 
 not of the " little cbild" whone spiritual perception is just opening 
 — but of the " fatber, who has known hirn that is from the begin- 
 ning.*'* ' Let me know the holiness of thy " testimonies"— iUeir 
 extent — their perfection — their intimate connection with every part 
 of my daily walk — with the restraint of my inclination, the regu- 
 lation of my temper, the direction of every st<;p of my path. And 
 indeed the more devoutly we study them, the more shall we feel 
 our need of supplication for Divine teaching, to give us more ador- 
 ing and thankful views of the government of cW, and to subjugate 
 our cavilling disposition to the humbling influence of faith.' 
 
 The principle of spiritual and eternal life flows from the enlight- 
 ened perception of the testimonies of GoiJ. " Give me undfirstand- 
 ing, and I shall live** For " this is life eterntxl, that v)e might 
 know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whtrm thou hast 
 sentP* His testimonies are tbe revelation of hims^df If tlien we 
 " have an unction from the Holy One, and know all things,"^ our 
 knowledge of them will become more spiritual in it« cbara/:Ujr, more 
 experimental in its comforts, and more practical in its fruits. And 
 thus, " the life oA God in the soul" will invigorate us for higher at- 
 tainments in evangelical knowledge, and more steady advancement 
 in Christian holiness. But how infinitely do we live below the full 
 privilege of knowing God in his testimonies I Christians of a 
 Scriptural standard are '^ forgetting those things which are behind^ 
 and reaching forth unto those things which are before. Let us, 
 therefore, as many as be f>erfect, be thus minded/'* 
 
 And then — what will it be at the great cofUFummatioii ; when 
 our God of love will have put his last hand to bis glorious work ; 
 when the mark of all our aims — the term of all our hopes and de- 
 
 > Rer. XX. II, 12. 3ActoxnL31. > Tenai 33, 34, 73. 4 Jer. tz. 23, 34. 
 
 • 1 /ohn n. 13, 14. •}<Aax^Z. 7iJohoii.20. • PliiL iiL 13, 15^ 
 
238 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 sires — all that we have so long labored for — so earnestly panted af- 
 ter — so restlessly pursued — when all shall be attained ? Then in- 
 deed we shall live a hfe worthy of the name — not as now under the 
 shadowed glimmerings — but under the immediate full-eyed glory 
 of his light and love ; having escaped forever the deadliest of all 
 dangers — sin — the very deadliness of death itself. 
 
 PART XIX. 
 
 146. / cried with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord: I will keep thy statutes. 
 146. / cried unto thee : save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies. 
 
 This is indeed the "pouring out of the soul before the Lord"' — 
 " a beautiful and encouraging picture of a soul wrestling with God 
 in a few short sentences, with as much power and success as in the 
 most continued length of suppHcation. Brief as are the petitions, 
 the whole compass of language could not make them more com- 
 prehensive. " Hear meP The whole heart is engaged in the " cry^^ 
 " Save mej'' includes a sinner's whole need — pardon, acceptance, 
 access, holiness, strength, comfort, heaven, all in one word — Christ. 
 Save me — from self, from Satan, from the world, from the curse of 
 sin, from the wrath of God. This is the need of every moment to 
 the end. " / cried unto thee^'' — What a mercy to know where to 
 go ! The way of access must have been implied — though not men- 
 tioned — in these short ejaculations. " Hear me" — must have been 
 in the name of the all-prevailing Advocate. '• Save me!'' — through 
 him, whose name is, Jesus the Saviour. A moment's interruption 
 of our view of Jesus casts,/or the time, an impenetrable cloud over 
 our way to God, and paralyzes the spirit of prayer. Prayer is not 
 only the sense of guilt, and the cry for mercy, but the exercise of 
 faith. When 1 come to God, I would always bring with me the 
 blood of Christ — my price — my plea in my hand. He cannot cast 
 it out. Thus am I " a prmce, that haih power with God and pre- 
 vail."2 Here is the warrant to believe, that my God does, and will 
 hear me. Here is my encouragement to " look up"' —to be " wa tch- 
 ing at his gate"^ — hke the cripple at the "beautiful gate of the 
 temple — expecting to receive somewhat of him."' Not a word of 
 such prayer is lost. It is as seed — not cast into the earth, exposed 
 to hazard and loss" — but cast into the bosom of God — and here — 
 as in the natural harvest, " he that smaeih bountifully shall reap 
 also bountifully.'" The most frequent comers are the largest re- 
 
 » 1 Sam. i. 15. » Gen. xxxii. 28. » Psalm v. 3. * Prov, viii. 34. 
 
 » Acts ui. 5. • Matt. xiii. 3—7. "> 2 Cor. ix. 6. 
 
 1 
 
VERSES 145, 146. 239 
 
 ceivers — always wanting — always asking — living upon what they 
 have, but still hungering for more. 
 
 With many, however, the ceremony of prayer is everything, 
 without any thought, desire, anxiety, or waiting for an answer. 
 These slight dealings prove low thoughts of God, and deep and 
 guilty insensibility ; — that the sense of pressing need is not sharp 
 enough to put an edge upon the affections. But are none of God's 
 dear children, too, who in days past never missed the presence of 
 God, but they " sought it carefully with tears" — now too easily sat- 
 isfied with the act of prayer, without this " great object of it — the 
 enjoyment of Godl^^^ Perhaps you lament your deficiencies, your 
 weakness in the hour of temptation, your indulgence of ease, your 
 unfaithfulness of heart. But is your " cry''' continually ascending 
 " with your whole heart ?" Your soul would not be so empty of 
 comfort, if your mouth were not so empty of prayer. The Lord 
 never charges presumptio?i upon the frequency or extent of your 
 supplications ; but he is often ready to " upbraid you vnth your 
 unbelief j^^ that you are so reluctant in your approach, and so strait- 
 ened in your desires — that you are so unready to receive what he 
 is so ready to give — that your vessels are too narrow to take in his 
 full blessing — that you are content with drops, when he has prom- 
 ised " floods," — yea " rivers of living water,"^ — and above all, that 
 you are so negligent in praising him for what you have already re- 
 ceived. 
 
 We must not lightly give up our suit. We must not be content 
 with keeping up duty, without keeping up " continued instancy in 
 prayer"* in our duty. This alone preserves in temptation. Satan 
 strikes at all of God in the soul. Unbelief readily yields to his sug- 
 gestions. This is the element in which we live — the warfare of 
 every moment. Will then the customary devotion of morning and 
 evening [even supposiiig it to be sincere) suffice for such an emer- 
 gency? No. The Christian must ^^put on the whole armor of 
 God ;" and buckle on his panoply with unceasing " prayer and 
 watchfulness in the Spirit."^ If his heart be dead and cold, let him 
 rather cry and wait, (as Luther was used to do,) till it was warm 
 and enhvened. The hypocrite, indeed, would be satisfied with the 
 barren performance of the duty. But the child of God, while he 
 mourns in the dust, " Behold I am vile !"^ — still holds on, though 
 
 1 * The great object of prayer should constantly be the enjoyment of God ; and however 
 inadequate the believer's conceptions may be, yet he has a distinct idea of his object ; 
 so distinct that you can never impose upon a real saint by offering him something else 
 in the room of it. He knows what he wants ; and he knows that this or that is not the 
 thing which he wants.' — Augustine, Epistle 121. 
 
 In the same Epistle he very judiciously recommends the use of short and quick ejacu- 
 lations, (like these under consideration,) rather than lon^ protracted supplications, unless 
 the mind be in a fervent frame; in which case the petitions, as he justly observes, may 
 be indefinitely prolonged, without incurring the censure implied in Matthew vi. 7. 
 
 2 Mark xvi. 14. 3 Isaiah xliv. 3. John vii, 38. * Rom. xii. 12. 
 
 5 Eph. vi. 13 — 18. * The violence of temptation stupefies me,' said Luther on one 
 occasion, speaking of his own experience, ' that I cannot open ray mouth. As soon aa 
 ever it pleases God that I can. lift up my heart in prayer, and make use of Scriptural ex- 
 fyressions, it ceases to prevail.' — Milner, vol. v. p. 484. « Job xl. 4 ; also xlii. 5, 6. 
 
 tliriVBESiTYji 
 
240 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 sometimes with a cry^ that probably finds no utterance with his 
 hps;* that vents itself only with tears, or "groanings that cannot 
 be uttered. "3 And shall such a cry fail to " enter into the ears of 
 the Lord of Sabaoth V " The Lord hath heard the voice of my 
 weeping. Lord, all my desire is before thee ; and my groaning 
 is not hid from thee^^ 
 
 But why is the believer so earnest for an audience ? — why so 
 restless in his cries for salvation ? Is it not, that he loves " the 
 statutes^'' of his God ; that he is grieved on account of his inability 
 to keep them ; and that he longs for mercy, as the spring of his 
 obedience ? " Hear me ; I will keep thy statutes. /Save me ; and 
 I shall keep thy testimonies'''' — a most satisfactory evidence of an 
 upright heart. Sin can have no fellowship with the statutes. As 
 saved sinners, they are our delight. 
 
 Lord ! thou knowest how our hearts draw back from the spiritual 
 work of prayer ; and how we nourish our unbelief by our distance 
 from thee. Oh pour upon us this " Spirit of grace and supplica- 
 tion." " Teach us to pray"* — even our hearts — " our whole hearts''^ 
 — to " cry unto theeP Give us the privilege of real communion 
 with thee — the only satisfying joy of earth or heaven. Then shall 
 we " run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge 
 our hearts."* 
 
 147. Ijtrecented the daitmiiig of the mornings and cried: I hoped in thy word. 
 148. Mine eyes prevent the night-watches, ffiat I might meditate in thy word. 
 
 The Psalmist here brings before us not only the fervency, but 
 the seasons, of his supplication. Like Daniel he had set times of 
 prayer — " three times a day.''^ Yet did not this frequent exercise 
 satisfy him, without an habitual "waiting all the day upon his 
 God."^ Prayer was indeed his meat, and drink, and breath. " 1 
 give myself tinio prayer P^ His sketch of the " blessed man, de- 
 lighting in the law of his God, and" — as an evidence of this delight 
 — " meditating therein day and night" ^ — unconsciously furnished 
 an accurate picture of himself. For early and late was he found 
 in the work of God ; '■^preventing the dawning of the morning^^ 
 for prayer, and again, " the night-watches, that he might meditate 
 in the word.^^ But to look above the example of David to David's 
 Lord ; surely " it was written" most peculiarly " for our learning," 
 that Jesus — after a laborious Sabbath — every moment of which ap- 
 pears to have been spent for the benefit of sinners; and when his 
 body, subject to the same infirmities, and therefore needing the 
 same refreshment with our own, seemed to requirerepose— " i?i/Ae 
 mornings rising up a great while before day^ went out, and de- 
 parted into a solitary place and there prayed. ^'^'^ On another oc- 
 
 » Exodus xiv. 15. 1 Sam. i. 13. Neh. ii. 4. 2 Rom. viii. 3G. 
 
 3 Psalm vi. 8; xxxviii. 9. < Luke xi, 1. 6 Verse 32. 
 
 • Psalm Iv. 17, with Daniel vi. 10, 7 Psalm xxv. 5. 
 
 ' lb. cix. 4. ' But I prayer,' Heb.— all over prayer — always ready for prayer — at all 
 
 seasons, besides the frequency of set times of communion — one whose life is a continual 
 prayer — " prayer without ceasing." 1 Thess. v. 17, 
 
 » lb. i. 2. w Mark i. 21—35. 
 
VERSES 147, 148. 241 
 
 casion, when intensely engaged in the service of his Church, and 
 about to lay her foundation in the choice of her first ministers, did 
 his eyes prevent the night-watches. " He contiiiued all night in 
 prayer to God.^^^ 
 
 So long as the duty only of prayer is known, we shall be content 
 with our set seasons. But when the privilege is felt, we shall be 
 early at work, following it closely morning and night.* While, 
 however, family and social exercises are refreshing — while the tab- 
 ernacles of the Lord are amiable in our view, and we dehght to 
 " wait at the posts of his doors,"^ yet it is the lonely, confidential in- 
 tercourse with our God — "the door shut" — the Church as well as 
 the world excluded — that makes our closest walk with God.< tSe- 
 cret prayer is most likely to be true prayer. There is no true 
 prayer without it. It was the "garden" prayer — separate even 
 from his own disciples — that brought special support to the fainting 
 humanity of Jesus.* And if he needed this perfect retirement, 
 whose affections were always fixed upon their centre, what must 
 be our own need, whose desires are so unstable and languishing ! 
 And how cheering is his succoring sympathy, knowing as he does 
 experimentally the heart of a secret, earnest pleader ! Such doubt- 
 less were David's cries — penetrating no ear, but his Father's — yet 
 delightful incense there.^' 
 
 But to see the King of Israel, with all his urgent responsibilities, 
 " sanctifying" such frequent daily seasons " with the word of God 
 and prayer" — how does it expose the insincerity of the worldling's 
 excuse, that the pressing avocations of the day afford no time for 
 the service of God ! It is not, that such men are busy, and have 
 no time for prayer ; but that they are worldly, and have no heart 
 to pray. The consecrated heart will always find time for secret 
 duties, and will rather, as David, redeem it from sleep, than lose it 
 from prayer.'^ 
 
 And does not the uniform experience of the Lord's people war- 
 rant the remark — how much our vital spirituaUty depends upon the 
 daily consecration of the first fruits of our time to the Lord ? How 
 often are opportunities for heavenly communion during the day un- 
 avoidably straitened ! But " the night watches'^ and " the dawning 
 of the morning^' afford seasons free from interruption, when our 
 God expects to hear from us, and when " the joy" of " fellowship 
 with him" will be " our strength"^ for active service, and our keep- 
 
 1 Luke vi. 12—16. 2 Psalm v. 3; Ixxxviii. 13. Isaiah xxvi. 9. 
 
 3 Psalm Ixxxiv. 1. Prov. viii. 34. ^ Matt. vi. 6. s Luke xxii. 41 — 43. 
 
 6 Psalm Ivi. 8 ; cxli. 2. Prov. xv. 8. Cant. ii. 14. 
 
 ' Most instructive is the example of Mr. Cadogan, as recorded by his admirable biog- 
 rapher. ' Feeling strongly that he must walk with God in secret at any ratej when he 
 had company, he would often retire from them into his study, rather than omit his ac- 
 customed waiting upon his God. Often has he been found there, when most of the 
 family were gone to rest, surprised on his knees by the domestic who usually took care 
 of the house. — CecWs Life of Cadogan. 
 
 Perhaps in an observation once made to an excellent minister, the importance of the 
 truth may furnish an apology for the quaintness of the dress : — * If you did not plough 
 in the closet, you would not reap in the pulpit,' 
 
 8 Neh. viU. 10. 
 
 16 
 
242 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 ing from many a worldly snare. What a standard of enjoyment 
 would it be, with our last thoughts in the night watches^ to leave 
 as it were our hearts with him, and to find them with him in the 
 morning, awaking as with our hearts in heaven ! Surely the re- 
 freshments of our visits to him, and his abidance with us, will often 
 constrain us to acknowledge — " Truly our fellowship is with the 
 Father, and with his Son Jesiis Christ^^ The thoughts of God 
 were clearly the first visitors to David's waking mind ;2 and to this 
 may be ascribed his habitual success in realizing his presence 
 throughout the day. Our lukewarmness and our want of spiritual 
 enjoyment may often be traced to that morning indolence (which 
 the zeal of the ungodly^ might put to shame) which not only throws 
 the business of the day into confusion, but also consumes the time 
 in self-indulgence or trifling, which should have been given to sa- 
 cred intercourse. For — not to speak of the seasonableness of the 
 early hours for devotion — the very exertion made to overcome " this 
 lust of the flesh," and to steal a march upon the demands of the 
 world, is an exercise of self-denial, honorable to God, " that shall in 
 no wise lose its reward." No remembrance of the past will be so 
 refreshing at a dying hour, as the time redeemed for communion 
 with God. 
 
 And, even should there be no actual enjoyment, at least let us 
 honor God by expectancy. ^^ I hoped in thy word .'"< There can 
 be no exercise of faith in the neglect of prayer ; but the ground of 
 faith, and that which gives to it life, hope, and joy, is the view of 
 God in his word 05 a promising God. Therefore when his Prov- 
 idence opens no present encouragement, let us seek it in his cove- 
 nant. To '• hope in his word is to build up ourselves upon our 
 most holy faith,"* and to lay all our desires, all our cares, all our 
 weights, and burdens, upon a solid unsinking foundation. 
 
 Well, therefore, were David's " night-watches''^ employed in 
 " meditation in the wordJ^ For, in order to stay ourselves upon it 
 in time of need, it must occupy our whole study, thought, and love.* 
 
 1 1 John i. 3. 2 See Ps. cxxxix. 17, 18. 3 Exod. xxxii. 6. Isa. v. 11. Mic. ii. 1. 
 
 < One of Melancthon's correspondents describes Luther thus : — ' I cannot enough ad- 
 mire the extraordinary cheerfulness, constancy, faith, and hope of the man in these trying 
 and vexatious times. He constantly feeds these gracious affections by a very diligent 
 study of the word of God. Then not a day passes in which he elves not employ in prayer 
 at least three of his very best hours. Once I happened to hear him at prayer. Gracious 
 Got! ! what spirit and what faith is there in his expressions ! He petitions God with as 
 much reverence, as if he was in the divine presence ; and yet with as firm a hope and 
 confidence, as he would address a father or a friend. ' I know,' said he, ' thou art our 
 Father and our God ; and therefore I am sure thou wilt bring to nought the persecutors 
 of thy children. For shouldest thou fail to do this, thine own CAUse being connected 
 with ours, would be endangered. It is entirely thine own concern. We, by thy provi- 
 dence, have been compelled to take a part. Thou therefore wilt be our defence.' Whilst 
 I was listening to Luther praying in this manner, at a distance, my soul seemed on fire 
 within me, to hear the man address God so like a friend, and yet with so much gravity 
 and reverence; and also to hear him, in the course of his prayer, insisting upon the prom- 
 ises contained in the Psalms, as if he were sure his petitions would be granted.' — MUner'a 
 History, vol. v. p. 565. Again referred to in Scott's Continuation, vol. i. p. 77. Wa» 
 not this an illustration of David's confidence — / hoped in thy uord? 
 
 5 Jude 20. 
 
VERSE 149. 243 
 
 Instability of faith arises from a want of fixed recollection of the 
 promises of God. This superficial habit may suffice for times of 
 quietness ; but amid the billows of temptation we can only cast 
 *' anchor sure and steadfast" in an habitual and intelligent confi- 
 dence upon the full, free, firm promise of the word. Let it there- 
 fore be the food of our meditation, and 'the ground of our support, 
 when our suit seems to hang at the throne of grace without any 
 tokens of present acceptance. Often will it lift up our fainting 
 hands, and supply strength for fresh conflict, and the earnest of 
 blessed victory. The ground is always sure for faith. May the 
 Lord ever furnish us with faith enough for our daily work, conflict, 
 consolation, and establishment ! 
 
 149. Hear my voice according unto thy loving-kindness; O Lord, quicken me 
 according to thy judgment. 
 
 In the eyes of the world, David appeared " in all his glory," 
 when seated on his throne, and surrounded with the magnificence 
 of his kingdom. But never did he appear so glorious in the sight 
 of God, as when presenting himself as a suppliant before the mercy- 
 seat, seeking an audience of the King of kings, only to send up re- 
 iterated cries for quickening grace. And do not I need the same 
 grace every moment, in every duty? Does not "the gift of God 
 within me" need to be daily " stirred up ?"^ Are not " the things 
 that remain" often " ready to die ?"* Then " Hear my voice^ O 
 Lord; quickenmeP 
 
 But to urge my suit successfully, I must " order my cause before 
 God ;" I must " fill my mouth with arguments."^ And if I can draw 
 a favorable plea from the character of my judge — if I can prove 
 that promises have been made in my behalf, these will be most 
 encouraging earnests of a successful issue. Now David had been 
 so used to plead in cases of extremity, that arguments suited to his 
 present distress were always ready at hand. He now pleads with 
 God for quickening grace, on the ground of his own loving-kind- 
 ness and judgment. Can he "deny himself?" 
 
 And with what " full assurance of faith,"* may I ask to be heard 
 on account of that transcendent proof of " loving -kindness*^ mani- 
 fested in the gift of God's dear Son« — not only as his chiefest mercy, 
 but as the pledge of every other mercy^ — and manifested too at the 
 fittest time^ — ^'' according to his judgm^nf^ — after the inefficiency 
 of the power of reason^ and the sanctions of the law^ to influence 
 the heart, had been most clearly displayed ! And what a plea is it 
 to ask for quickenitig influences, that this is the very end for which 
 this gift of loving-kindness was vouchsafed,^" and that the gift itself 
 is the channel, through which the quickening life of the Godhead is 
 imparted!'^ Could I ask for this grace on any other ground than 
 loving-kindness 7 All ground of fitness or merit is swept away.^* 
 
 1 2 Tim. i. 6. 2 Rev. iii. 2. 3 Job xxiii. 4. * Heb. x. 22. 
 
 5 John iii. 16. 6 See Rom. viii 32, ^ See Gal. iv. 4. 8 Comp. 1 Cor. i. 21. 
 
 » Comp. Jer. xxxi. 31— 33. lojohnx. 10. 1 John iv. 9. " 1 John v. 11. 
 w Ezek. xxxvi. 32. 
 
244 
 
 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 On the footing of mercy alone can I stand before him.* And how- 
 is my faith enlivened in retracing the records of my soul from the 
 beginning — how he " betrothed"=^ — how he " drew me with loving- 
 kindness !^ May I not then cry, "Oh ! continue thy loving-kind- 
 ness 7^^^ And not less full is my conviction of his judgment j in 
 deahng wisely and tenderly 'with me, according to his infallible per- 
 ception of my need. Left to my own judgment — often should I 
 have prayed myself into evil, and asked what it would have been 
 my curse to have received.* But I have learned, that the child must 
 not be guided by his own will, but by his father's better mind — nor 
 the patient by his own humor, but by the physician's skill. Truly, 
 even the Lord's corrections have been in judgment !^ And in the 
 thankful remembrance of them my confidence for the time to come 
 is established ! Gladly will I " set to my seal," that '• the Lord is 
 a God of judgment f^ and that " blessed are they that wait for 
 him.''^'' He knows not only what grace is needed, but at what 
 time. Not a moment sooner will it come ; not a moment later will 
 it be delayed. ' As thou wilt, what thou wilt, when thou wilt.'^ — 
 is the expression of faith and resignation, with which all must be 
 committed to the Lord, waiting for the end, in humility, desire, ex- 
 pectation. And if in pleading my suit for an hearing " according 
 to his loving-kindness^^ my poor, polluted, lifeless petitions should 
 find no liberty of approach ; may 1 be but enabled to direct one be- 
 lieving look to " the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne !"^ and 
 I will not doubt that my feeblest offering shall come up as a me- 
 morial before God. 
 
 160. They draw nigh that folloio after mischief; they are far from thy law. 
 161. Thou art near, O Lord; and all thy commandments are truth. 
 
 The imminent danger in which David was living'" quickened his 
 cries to his God. Often does the Lord permit this pressing trial. 
 Seldom — but in extremity — are our graces brought to their full ex- 
 ercise. Confidence is then shaken from man, and established in 
 God.'^ For now it is that we enjoy our God as " a very present help 
 in trouble,"'* and our dependence on his " commandments''^ is a 
 " ^rwe" and solid foundation of comfort to our soul. An awful 
 character indeed is it of the ungodly. " They are far from God^s 
 laid'^ — and that not from ignorance, but from wilful enmity. This 
 is God's witness against them ;'3 and they are not ashamed to con- 
 sent, that " this witness is true." No wonder, therefore, that those 
 that " are far from God's laio'^ should " draw nigh to follow after 
 mischief y^* But if " they draic nigh,^^ the Lord is nearer still. " 1 
 
 1 Eph. ii. 7. Titus iii. 4. 2 Hosea ii. 19. 3 Jer. xxxl 3. * Psalm xxxvi. 10. 
 
 B lo. cvi. 15. « Jer. x. '24. ' Isaiah xxx. 18. 
 
 8 Tlioinas a Kcmpis. » Rev. v. 6. »<> Psalm Ivii. 4. " 2 Cor. i. 9. 
 
 12 Psalm xlvi. 1. 13 lb. 1. 17. Comp. Prov. i. 22, 25, 29. 
 
 '* ' He cannot brook the child that liateth the father ; he cannot mind the servant that 
 carcth not for the master. If ye were of the world, the world would love you; ye should 
 dwell quietly. There would be no grief, no molestation, if the devil dwelt in you, (which 
 God forbid.") He would not stir up his knights to besiege your house .... but because 
 Christ dweUeth in you, (as he does by faith,) therefore stirreth he up his first-begotten 
 
VERSES 150, 151. 245 
 
 am thy shieW^ — saith he to his distressed child — who echoes back 
 the promise in the cheerfulness of faith, " Thoit art my hiding- 
 place, and my shield : and I hope in thy wordj^^ Ehsha knew 
 the power of this shield, when he quelled the alarm of his terrified 
 servant. He beheld them " dinio nigh that follow after m^ischief" 
 but the eye of faith assured his heart ; and when " the Lord opened 
 the eyes of the young man," he too was enabled to testify, " Thou 
 art 7iear,' O Lord /"^ 
 
 But near as the LiOrd is to his people as their outward shield, is 
 he not yet nearer still, as dwelling in their hearts 1 Here is " his 
 temple,"* his desired habitation — like Zion of old, of which he said, 
 — " This is my rest forever ; here will I dwell, for I have desired 
 it."« This is the dwelling, which, once possessed of its Divine In- 
 habitant, will never be left desolate. 
 
 Our spiritual enemies, like David's persecutors, are ever present 
 and active. The devouring " lion,"« or the insinuating " serpent,"^ 
 is '•'"nigh to follow after mischief f^ and so much the more danger- 
 ous, as his approaches are invisible. Nigh also is a tempting, en- 
 snaring world ; and nearer still a lurking world within, separating 
 us from communion with our God. But in turning haJDitually and 
 immediately to our strong hold, we can enjoy the confidence, " Thou 
 art near, O Lord:'' Though '• the High and Lofty One, whose 
 name is holy ;"^ though the just and terrible God, yet art thou made 
 nigh to thy people,^ and they to thee,'" '• by the blood of the Cross." 
 And thou dost manifest thy presence to them in " the Son of thy 
 love." 
 
 Indeed to the Son himself, the nearness of his Father's presence 
 was a source of consolation and support, when " they drew nigh, 
 that followed after mischief ^ ^'- lie is riear,'^ said he — ^^ which 
 justifeth me: tvho will contend loith me 7 let us stand together. 
 Who is m,ine adversary 7 let him, come near to me. Behold the 
 Lord God will help me ; ivho is he that shall condemn m>e 7 aSo 
 they all shall wax old as doth a garment : the moth shall eat them 
 «p."'' " Behold,^'' said he to his affrighted disciples, as his hour 
 drew near, " the hour cometh, yea is now come, that ye shall he 
 scattered every one to his own, and shall leave me alone : and 
 yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me."'* And thus 
 his people in earthly desolation flee to the promises of their God; 
 and in the recollection of his faithful, ever-present help, " set to 
 
 son, the world, to seek how to disquiet you, to rob you, to despoil you, to destroy; and 
 perchance your dear Father, to try to make known to you and to the world, that ye are 
 destinate to another dwelling than here on earth, to another city than man's eyes have 
 seen at any time, hath given, or will give power to Satan or to the world to take from 
 you the things which he hath lent you ; and by taking away, to try your fidelity, obedi- 
 ence, and love towards him, (for ye may not love them above him,) as by giving that ye 
 have, and keeping it, he hath declared his love towards you,' — Bradford's Epistles- 
 Fathers of the English CKurch, vol. vi. pp. 58, 59. 
 
 1 Gen". XV. 1. 2 Verse 114. 3 Comp, 2 Kings vi. 14—17. « 2 Cor. vi. 16. 
 
 5 Psalm cxxxii. 13, 14, with Eph, ii. 22. « 1 Peter v. 8, ^ Rev. xii. 9. 
 
 8 Isaiah Ivu. 15. 9 Col. i. 20. i" Eph. ii. 13. n Isaiah 1. 8, 9. 
 
 12 John xvL 32. 
 
246 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 their seal," that " all his commandments are truthP The mischief 
 intended for them only proves, that " Thou, Lord, wilt bless the 
 righteous ; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield."^ 
 
 But may the Lord not only be brought near in our interest in 
 him, but may we be kept near in communion with him ! Let our 
 hearts be sacred to him. Let us be most careful to watch against 
 any strangeness with this beloved Friend, and to cultivate a draw- 
 ing cordiality and closeness in our walk with him. If our charac- 
 ter is formed by the society in which we live, what " treasures of 
 wisdom and knowledge" should we find, what a spirit of unbounded 
 love should we imbibe — by a nearer and more constant intercourse 
 with him ; willing as he is to impart himself freely, inexhaustibly 
 unto us ! In a backsliding state, we must expect to lose this hea- 
 venly nearness.^ In a state of darkness, it is the exercise of faith, 
 to believe that unseen he is near ; and the practical influence of 
 faith will lead us to speak, and pray, and think, and praise, as " see- 
 ing him who is invisible." ^ In a state of enjoyment, let us antici- 
 pate the time, when he will be ever near to us. 
 
 " And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold the 
 tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and 
 they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and 
 be their God."* 
 
 152. Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them 
 
 for ever. 
 
 The truth of the commandments, which the Psalmist had just 
 asserted, was an everlasting foundation. He stated it not upon 
 slight conviction. But he kneio it — and that not recently — but as 
 the result of early consideration — he had known it of old. It is 
 most important to have a full certainty of the grounds of our faith. 
 How else can we have that "good thing — a heart established with 
 grace ?"^ — how " continue in the faith grounded and settled ?" — how 
 " kept from being moved away from the hopes of the Gospel ?"^ 
 Praised be God ! We feel our ground to be firm. As God is the 
 same, so must his testimonies be.'' We cannot conceive of his 
 promising without performance, or threatening without effect.^ 
 They are therefore expressly revealed as a firm foundation, in ex- 
 press contrast with this world's fairest promise.' 
 
 But let us mark this eternal basis of " the testimonies.''^ The 
 whole plan of redemption was emphatically ^'' founded for ever. ^^ 
 The Saviour " was foreordained before the foundation of the 
 world.*^^" , The people of God are " chosen in Christ before the 
 world began r^^ The great Author '•^declares the end from the 
 beginning, ^''^'^ and thus clears his dispensations from any charge of 
 mutability or contingency. Every event in the Church is fixed, 
 permitted, and provided for — not in thepassingmomentof time, but 
 
 1 Psalm V. 12. 2 Cant. v. 2—6. 3 Heb. xi. 27. < Rev. xxi. 3. 
 
 » Heb. xiu, 9. 6 Col. i. 23. ? Ps. Ixxxix. 34 ; cii. 7—9. 
 
 « Numb, xxiii. 19. » Isaiah xl. 1—8. " 1 Peter i. 20. Comp. Rev. xiii. 8. 
 
 " Eph. i. 4. 2 Tim. i. 9. " Isaiah xlvi. 9, 10. 
 
VERSE 152. 247 
 
 in the counsels of eternity. All God's faithful engagements with 
 his people of old are ^'- founded forever''' upon the oath and promise 
 of God — the two " immutable things, in which it is impossible for 
 God to lie."^ May we not then " have strong consolation" in ven- 
 turing every hope for eternity upon this rock? nor need we be dis- 
 mayed to see all our earthly stays, '' the world, and the lust, and 
 the fashion of it — passing away" before us.^ Yet we are most of 
 us strangely attached to this fleeting scene, even when experience 
 and divine teaching have instructed us in its vanity : and it is not 
 until repeated proofs of this truth have touched us very closely, in 
 the destruction of our dearest consolations, that we take the full 
 comfort of the enduring foundation of God's " testimonies^'' and of 
 the imperishable character of their treasure. 
 
 Now let me realize the special support of this view in a dying 
 hour, * I am on the borders of an unknown world ;' ' but " my hope 
 that maketh not ashamed,"' at this moment of peril is as " an an- 
 chor of the soul, sure and steadfast ;" and in the strength of it I do 
 not fear to plunge into eternity. " I know whom I have believed, 
 and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have com- 
 mitted to him against that day."* I know — not his sufficiency 
 merely, but his All-sufficiency. I know his conquering power over 
 the great enemies of my soul. I know that he has " spoiled the 
 principaUties and powers"* of hell, of the strength to triumph over 
 his ransomed people. I know also, that he is " the Lord ; he changeth 
 not ;"^ his word changes not : his testimonies abide the same : " I have 
 known of old, that he has founded them for ever ^ ' Thus we look 
 for the removing of those " things which are shaken, as of things 
 that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may re- 
 main."" The scoffer may say, — '• If the foundations be destroyed, 
 what can the righteous do !"^ Let God himself give the answer — 
 " Lift up your eyes to the heavens^ and look upon the earth be- 
 neath : for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the 
 earth shall wax old like a garment^ and they that dwell therein 
 shall die in like manner ; but my salvation shall be forever^ and 
 my righteousness shall not be abolished."^ 
 
 1 Heb. vi. 16—18. 2 i John ii. 17. 1 Cor. vii. 31. ^ Rom. v. 5. 
 
 « 2 Tim. i. 12. s Col. ii. 15. « Mai. iii. 6. 
 
 7 Heb. xii. 27. » Psalm xi. 3. » Isaiah IL 6. 
 
248 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 PART XX. 
 
 153. Consider mine affliction, and deliver me : for I do not forget thy law. 
 
 Another note of the child of sorrow ! Hated by the world ' — 
 vexed by his restless enemy^ — chastened by his God^ — burdened 
 with his " body of death,"^ — what else can he do but cry, Consider 
 my affliction ? How manifestly is this world not our rest, but our 
 exercise for rest ! Well is it that our " days are few," when they 
 are so " evil."^ But how could we hold on as we do — had we not 
 our Saviour's pitying heart and Almighty help ? The want of this 
 sympathy was the overwhelming sorrow, that well nigh ''broke 
 his'' sorrowing " heart" — ^^ I looked for some to take pity, but there 
 was no?ie ; and for comforters, hut I found no7ie"^ This depth 
 of trial combined with every other part of his unkno^\^l sufferings 
 to make him " such an High Priest as became us,^'"' " touched 
 with the feeliiig of our infirmities /'^ " considering our affiic- 
 tions ;" and " in that he hirns elf hath suffered being tempted, he 
 is able to succor them that are tempted"^ With what sympathy 
 did he " consider the affliction''' of his people in Egypt ! " / have 
 surely seen the affliction of m.y people which are in Egypt, and 1 
 ktiow their sorroy)sP^^ At a subsequent period, ^^ his soul tva^ 
 grieved for the 7nisery of IsraeF^^ — a cheering example of that 
 compassionate interest, with which, '■^ in all his people's afflictions 
 he is afflicted.''' ^^ Well may his people take encouragement to pray, 
 '• Consider mine affliction.''^ " Now, therefore, let not all the trou- 
 ble seem, little before thee, that hath come upon us.''^^^ 
 
 Yet is he not only sympathizing to consider, but mighty to de- 
 liver. " Who is this glorious" conqueror with his "dyed garments" 
 of victory — "travailing in the greatness of his strength? I that 
 speak in righteousness — jnighfy to 5ave."'* Such did the noble 
 confessors in Babylon^^ — such did Daniel in the den of Uons^" — find 
 him, fully justifying their unwavering confidence in his love and 
 power. And what age of the Church has been wanting in testi- 
 mony, that " the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of 
 temptations,"'^ and that " he that hath delivered, doth deliver, and 
 will even to the end deliver ?"'^ The consciousness that " ice do not 
 forget his law,'^ is our plea, that he would " consider our affliction 
 and deliver'''' us ;'" and is of itself an evidence, that the affliction has 
 performed its appointed work. Let me then expect in mine afllic- 
 tion the fulfilment of his gracious promise, "Because he hath set 
 
 » John XV. 19, 2 Job i. 7. Luke xxii. 31 . 1 Peter v. 8. 
 
 8 1 Cor. xi. 32. Heb. xii. 10, 11. < Rom. vii. 24; viii. 23. 
 
 B Gen. xlvii. 9. « Psalm Ixix. 20. Comp. xxii. 11. 7 Heb. vii. 26. 
 
 8 lb. iv. 15. 9 lb. ii. 18. »" Exod. iii. 7 ; also ii. 25. » Judges x. 16. 
 
 " Isaiah Ixiii. 9. ^3 Neh. ix. 32. Comp. Psalm cxxxii. I. i< Isaiah Ixiii. 1. 
 
 15 Dan. iii. 17, 25—28. »« lb. vi. 23, 27. »' 2 Peter ii. 9. 's 2 Cor. i. 10. 
 i» The same plea is often urged in this Psalm, verses 94, 173, 176. 
 
VERSE 154. 249 
 
 his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him ; I will set him on 
 high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, 
 and I will deliver him : I will be with him in trouble ; 1 will de- 
 liver him and honor him^^ In the midst of my trials I would pre- 
 pare my hymn of praise for his kind consideration and faithful de- 
 liverance — " I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy : for thou hast 
 considered m>y trouble ; thou hast known my soul in adversities, 
 and hast not shut me up in the hand of the enemy ; thou hast set 
 my feet in a large room !"2 Let me then remember my affliction^ 
 only as it may be the means of increasing my acquaintance with 
 my tender and Almighty Friend. Poor and afflicted as I may be, 
 let me be more poor and afflicted still, if I may but have fresh evi- 
 dence that he " thinketh upon me"^ — that he " considers my afflic- 
 tion^^ and in his own gracious time and way will " deliver me." 
 
 164. Plead my cause, and deliver me; quicken me according to thy word. 
 
 Oppressed as the Psalmist appeared to be by the weight of his 
 affliction, he is at no loss where to apply for help. He carries his 
 righteous cause to him, who " stilleth the enemy and the avenger"* 
 — " Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me : fight 
 against them that fight against me. Take hold of shield and buck- 
 ler, and stand up for my help. Draw out also the spear, and stop 
 the way against them that persecute me ; say unto my soul, I am 
 thy salvation."^ Thus must we throughout our warfare maintain 
 " the patience of hope,"^ waiting for the Lord, " until he plead our 
 cause, and execute judgment for us.'" If there is an accuser to re- 
 sist,^ '• toe have an Advocate" to plead,^ who could testify of his pre- 
 vailing acceptance in the court of heaven, " Father, I thank thee, 
 that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me 
 alway."^" Our Redeemer does indeed ^^ plead our cause^^ success- 
 fully for our " deliverance ;" when but for his powerful advocacy 
 we must have stood speechless in the judgment — helpless, without 
 any prospect of acceptance. Awful indeed was the cause which he 
 had to manage. Our adversary had the law on his side. We could 
 not deny the charge, or oflfer satisfaction. We could neither " stand 
 in the judgment," nor flee from the impending wrath. But at that 
 moment of infinite peril, our cause was pleaded by a "Counsellor"** 
 who never was nonsuited in court, who brought irresistible pleas, 
 and produced satisfaction that could not be denied. The voice of 
 deliverance was heard in heaven — " Deliver them frmn going 
 down to the pit ; I have found a ransomJ'^^ This ransom is no 
 less than the price of his own " precious blood," " shed for many for 
 the remission of sins"*^ — a ransom, which has merited and obtained 
 eternal '^ deliverance^^^* for his people, and which still pleads for the 
 
 1 Psalm xci. 14, 15. 2 Psalm xxxi. 7, 8. 3 ib. xl. 17. * lb. viii. 2. 
 
 5 lb. XXXV. 1—3. 6 1 Thess. i. 3. 7 Micah vii. 9. 
 
 8 Zech. iii. 1. Rev. lii. 10. 9 I John ii. 2, »» John ix. 41, 42. 
 
 " Isaiah ix. 5. w Job ixxiii. 24. « i Peter i. 19. Matt. xxvi. 28. 
 
 w Heb. ix. 12. 
 
250 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 expiation of the guilt, which attaches to their holiest services, and 
 defiles their happiest approaches to their God. When, therefore, 
 Satan accuses me : yea, when my own heart condemns me, I may 
 look upward to my heavenly Advocate — " Plead my cause and de- 
 liver meP^ " O Lord, I am oppressed ; undertake for me. Thou 
 wilt answer, O Lord, my God."=^ 
 
 Poor trembling sinner ! take courage. " Your Redeemer is 
 mighty — he will thoroughly plead your cause,"^ and leave no charge 
 unanswered. But you say, ' How know I that he speaks for me V 
 Yet if not for you, for whom does he speak ? Who needs an ad- 
 vocate more than you ? He pleads indeed nothing favorable of 
 you ; but much, very much, /or you. For he pleads the merit of 
 his own blood, "that taketh away the sin of the world"* — even that 
 great sin of " unbelief," of which his Spirit is now " convincing"^ 
 you ; and which you are now made to feel, lament, and resist, as 
 the bitterest foe to your peace. And does he not " ever live to make 
 intercession for you ?" Why then hesitate to apply the certain and 
 consoling inference, that " he is able to save to the uttermost ?'" 
 Why discouraged by the sight of sin, temptation, backshding, diffi- 
 culty, and feaf, arising before you on every side ; when, after you 
 have taken the most extended view of the prospect of sorrow, this 
 one word " tittermosf^ goes beyond it ? If you feel it hard to be- 
 lieve, send up your cry — " Help thou mine unbelief'"' Only do 
 not dishonor him by wilful despondency ; and do not add the sin 
 of disobedience, in delaying this moment to come to him. 
 
 After all, however, even while exercising faith in our heavenly 
 Advocate, we must mourn our sluggishness in his service. Well, 
 therefore, do we accompany our pleading for deliverance with the 
 supplication — " Quicken we." Every moment's perseverance de- 
 pends upon this Divine supply. Blessed be God for the sure war- 
 rant of expectation — '•^According to thy word P^ Here we shall 
 receive not only the living principle, but its lively operation ; not 
 only the fire to kindle the lamp, but the oil to feed the flame. For 
 he that is our Advocate to ^^ plead^^ for us, and our Saviour to "c?e- 
 livef us, is also our quickening Head, filled with " the residue of 
 the Spirit" to " revive his work." Thou " hast ascended on highj 
 and hast received gifts for men : yea, for the rebellious also, that 
 the Lord God might dwell among them^'^ Do we therefore want 
 a heart to pray, to praise, to believe, to love ? Let us only look to 
 an ascended Saviour, sending down the life-giving influence from 
 
 * 'The word translated " dtliver 7n«," is taken from the office of a redeemer or next 
 of kin amongst the Israelities, to whom it belonged to redeem the inheritance, or ransom 
 the person, of his impoverished or enslaved relative ; and also to be his patron and do- 
 fender against injustice and oppression, and the avenger of his blood, if he was slain.' — 
 Scott. The use therefore of this word in the original, in this verse, naturally points the 
 believer's attention to him, who is indeed near of kin to him, and has combined all the 
 offices of the ancient redeemer in his one beloved person ; and therefore at once illus- 
 trates and warrants the view that is here given of the passage. 
 
 2 Isaiah xxxviii. 14. Psalm xxiviii. 15. Margin and P. T. 3 Jer. 1. 34. 
 
 * John i. 29. « lb. xvi. 8, 9. " Hebrews vii. 25. » Mark ix. 24. 
 » Psalm Ixvui. 18. 
 
VERSE 155. 251 
 
 above, as the purchase of his blood, the fruit of his intercession ; 
 and our hope will be enlivened, our faith established, and the graces 
 of the Spirit will abound to the glory of our God. 
 
 165. Salvation is far from the wicked; for they seek not thy statutes. 
 
 How striking the contrast ! — how awfully destitute the condition ! 
 They have no one to consider their affliction — no one to deliver 
 them — no one to plead their cause. Indeed, all the misery that an 
 immortal soul is capable of enduring throughout eternity is in- 
 cluded in this sentence — " Salvation is far from the wicked" 
 The full picture of it is drawn by our Lord himself, " The rich man 
 died and was buried ; and iti hell he lifted up his eyes^ being in 
 torments., and seeth Abraham afar off^ and Lazarus iii his bo- 
 som.^^^ The present enjoyment of ^^ salvation'^ is ^^ far from the 
 wicked.^'' " There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."* 
 Their common employments are " sin."' Their " sacrifice is an 
 abomination."* Their life is " without Christ, having no hope, and 
 without God in the world."" But who can tell the curse of eternity, 
 with this ^^ salvation far from them 7^^ To be eternally shut out 
 from God — from heaven ! To be eternally shut in with the ene- 
 mies of God, and the heirs of hell ! Fellow-christians — look from 
 what ye have escaped — what ye were, when " ye were sometimes 
 afar oflf" — what ye would have been now and forever, had ye not 
 " in Christ .Tesus been made nigh by the blood of Christ :"^ and then 
 " if you hold your peace, the stones will immediately cry out" 
 against you.'^ 
 
 But whence this inexpressibly awful condition of " the wicked ?" 
 Is not " salvation^* offered to them? Are they shut out from hope, 
 and sternly refused an interest in the covenant ? Oh ! no ; it is 
 their own doing, or rather their own undoing. Would they but 
 seek the ways of God, they might plead for deliverance ; yea, they 
 might have a prevailing Advocate to plead their cause, and deliver 
 them. But now salvation is far from them, because " they are far 
 from God's law.^^^ It does not fly from them — but they fly from it. 
 Every act is a stride of mind, more or less vigorous in departure 
 from God. Nay — such is their pride, that " they will not even seek 
 his statutes.^^^ They " desire not the knowledge of his ways. 
 They say to God — " Depart from us ;"'" God therefore will say to 
 them, " Depart from me."^^ They say to Christ, " We will not have 
 this man to reign over us ;" He will say of them, " Those mine en- 
 emies, that would not I should reign over them, bring hither, and 
 slay them before me."'^ \i jg not then so much God that punishes 
 them, as they that punish themselves. Their own sin — the neces- 
 sity of the case — punishes them. They " will not come to Christ, 
 
 1 Luke xvi. 22, 23, 26. 2 isaiah Ivii. 21. 3 Prov. ixi. 4. < lb. xv. 8. 
 
 5 Eph. ii. 12. « Eph. ii. 13. ' Luke xix. 40. 8 pgalm Ixxiii. 27. 
 
 9 lb. X. 4. 10 Job xxL 14. " Matt. vu. 23 ; xxv. 41 
 
 w Luke xix. 18, 27. 
 
252 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 that they might have hfe :"* "so that they are without excuse" 
 — die they must.^ 
 
 But who are " the wicked ?" Alas ! this is a melancholy ques- 
 tion, as involving within its sphere so much that passes for amiable, 
 virtuous, and lovely, in the estimation of the world. Not to speak 
 of those, whose name is broadly written upen their foreheads ; it 
 includes " all that forget God,"^ however blameless their moral char- 
 acter, or their external Christian profession. It is determined upon 
 immutable authority — it is the decree of our eternal Judge — " If 
 any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his f^ and if 
 none of his, then it follows in unavoidable consequence, that " sal- 
 vation is far from him.^^ 
 
 Oh ! could we but persuade such of their awful state. Oh ! 
 could we awake them from their death-like — deadly sleep — slum- 
 bering on the brink of ruin ! on the borders of hell ! But they are 
 impaled in their own self-esteem, or in the favorable comparison 
 drawn between themselves and many around them ; forgetting that 
 the rule, by which they will be judged, is not the world's standard 
 of moral rectitude, but the statutes of a holy, heart-searching God ; 
 forgetting too, that all may be decency without, while all is cor- 
 ruption within. Let them test their hearts by an honest and prayer- 
 ful scrutiny of the statutes ; and while they must confess them- 
 selves guilty before God, a sense of danger would awaken the hearty 
 cry for salvation^ which would not then " he far from thetn^* For 
 " the Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call 
 upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him ; 
 he will also hear their cry, and will save ^Aem.'"' 
 
 thou Almighty Spirit, whose power is alone able to " turn the 
 hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,"« "raise up thy 
 power, and come among us ;" " rend the heavens, and come down ;"'> 
 rend the hearts of sinners, of the ungodly, the moral, the naturally 
 amiable, the self-righteous. " Fill their faces with shame, that they 
 may seek thy name, O Lord."*° 
 
 156. Great are thy tender mercies, O Lord ; quicken me according to thy 
 judgments. 
 
 It is most cheering to pass from judgment to mercy — from the 
 awful state of the rcicked, to adore the mercies of God to his own 
 people. We were naturally no better than they. The most emi- 
 nent saved sinner looks on himself wilh wonder — "Is not this a 
 brand plucked out of the fire ?"*^ Never will he lose the remem- 
 brance — "Who maketh thee to differ ?"*2 To mercy — rich mercy 
 alone — we trace the distinction between those that are " quickefted," 
 and those that remain "dead in trespasses and sins."'' 
 
 But let us mark the features of this mercy. How great in ex- 
 
 1 John V. 40. « Matt, xxiii. 37, 38. 3 pgalm ix. 17. * Romans viil 9. 
 » Acts xvi. 30. « See Psalm lixxv. 9. ' Psalm cxlv. 18, 19. 
 
 8 Luke i. 17. » Isaiah Ixiv. 1. »o Psalm Ixxxiii. 16. 
 
 » Zech. iii. 2. « i Cor. iv. 7. " Eph. ii. 1, 4, 5. 
 
VERSE 156. 253 
 
 tent ! Estimate its greatness by the infinite debt which it blots 
 out* — the eternal ruin from which it saves" — the heavenly crown to 
 which it raises.^ Trace it to the tnind of God — that first eternal 
 purpose of mercy ^ which sets us apart for his glory.* Mark it in 
 that " time of love," when his mercy rescued us from Satan, sin, 
 death, and hell, and drew us to himself.^ As soon might we span 
 the arch of heaven, as fully grasp the greatness of his mercy .^ 
 And then how tender is it in its exercise ! Such was the first beam 
 of mercy that "visited us."^ Such has been the continued display. 
 So natural as from a Father.^ So yearning, " as one whom his 
 mother comforteth !"^ Such a multitude of those tender mercies ! 
 The overflowing stream follows us through every step of our wilder- 
 ness journey. The blessing compasses us about, abounds towards 
 us, keeps us steadfast, or restores us when wandering, and will pre- 
 serve us to the end. Happy are we — not in the general perception 
 — not in the hearsay report^" — but in the experimental enjoyment 
 of it. " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless 
 his holy name."^* But what poor returns have we made for this in- 
 finite love ? Surely the petition for quickening grace suits us well. 
 This was the constant burden of David's prayer. For he was not 
 like many professors, who can maintain their assurance in a lower 
 and careless walk. No ; he was a believer of a very high stand- 
 ard ; desirous, not only of proving his title to the blessing, but of 
 Hving in its habitual and active enjoyment. 
 
 Often as this petition has been brought before us, in the course 
 of this psalm, it is too important ever to be passed over. Let us at 
 this time use it for the purpose of individual self-inquiry. In what 
 respects do 1 need quickening grace ? Are my views of sin, and 
 especially of the sin of my own heart, slight and superficial ? Do 
 they fail in producing humility, abasement, tenderness of conscience, 
 circumspection of conduct ? If it be so, " Quicken me^ O my God .'" 
 Does my apprehension of a Saviour's love serve to imbitter sin to 
 me ? to crucify sin in me, to warm and enliven my heart with love 
 to him, and zeal in his service? If I am convicted of coldness to 
 such a Saviour, and sluggishness in such a service, I need not pray 
 — " O Lord, quicken me .'" And how do I find it with regard to 
 prayer itself? Are not my prayers general — unfrequent — wan- 
 dering ? Is not service too often constrained, a forced duty, rather 
 than a privilege and delight ? " O Lord, quicken m.e /" 
 
 Yet many Christians, through a mistaken perception, know not 
 when they have received the blessing. They have looked for it in 
 strong and sensible excitement ; and in defect of this they sink into 
 despondency. Whereas the solid influence is independent of sen- 
 sations, and consists in a tender sensibility of sin — spiritual appe- 
 tite for the Gospel — active energy in Christian duties, and continual 
 
 1 Isaiah xliii. 22—25 ; i. 18. * Psalm Ixixvi. 13. 3 Rev. i. 5, 6. 
 
 * Eph. i. 4—6. 8 Ezekiel xvi. 6—8. e Psalm ciii. 11. Isaiah Iv. 8, 9. 
 
 7 Luke i. 78. » 2 Cor. i. 3. Psalm ciii. 13. » Isaiah Ixvi. 13. 
 
 w John iv. 42. » Psahn ciii. 1—3. 
 
254 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX 
 
 progress in heavenly exercises. But under no circumstances must 
 the evil of a dead and drooping state be lightly thought of; ob- 
 scuring as it does the difference between the believer and the world- 
 ling, or at least between the believer and the formalist. O believer, 
 you have great need to carry your complaint again and again unto 
 the Lord : " Quicken me — quicken me — according to thy judg- 
 ments^^ — according to those gracious promises, which are the method 
 of thy proceedings, and the rule of thy dispensations of grace. You 
 cannot be too earnest to welcome the breathings of the Spirit, or 
 too cautious that your indolence resists not his Divine impression. 
 When he quickens you with his influence, do you quicken him 
 with your supplications — " Awake, O north wind ; and come, thou 
 south : blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow 
 out.^''^ Persuade — entreat — constrain his stay. Enlivened by his 
 energy, how happy, and in your own sphere how useful, a member 
 of the Church of Christ you may be found ! Your soul will be in- 
 vigorated — your graces strengthened — and your affections elevated 
 — in humble, cheerful, steady dependence upon the Saviour, and in 
 daily renewed devotedness to his service. The more the spiritual 
 life is thus " exercised unto godUness," the more delightfully will 
 you reahze the active service and everlasting praise, which will 
 constitute the perfection of heavenly enjoyment; — " His servants 
 shall serve him : and they shall see his faceP'^ 
 
 167. Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy 
 
 testimonies. 
 
 David's experience is common to us all. "Many indeed are 
 our persecutors and enemies." This is a solemn cost. Lei those 
 who are setting out in the Christian course count it well. From 
 neglect of our Lord's rule of scriptural calculation,' many seem to 
 begin well ; but they have been " hindered"^ — they turn back ; 
 they are zealous, but inconsiderate ; warm-hearted, but ignorant of 
 themselves, their work, and their resources. They were allured at 
 first, perhaps by an interest in the Gospel — some delusive excite- 
 ment of love to the Saviour— the picture of the " paths of pleasant- 
 ness and peace,"* or the joys of heaven. But the cross was out of 
 sight and out of mind. But this promise of ease and happiness was 
 no less foolish and unwarrantable than that of a soldier, utterly for- 
 getful of his profession, and who should promise himself peace at 
 the very time that he was called out to the wars. Surely, if like 
 God's ancient people, we begin our road in sunshine, it is well to be 
 provided against the storms, which will soon overtake us.« We 
 would say therefore to all — specially to sanguine beginners — Let 
 your course be commenced with serious consideration, and jealous 
 self-scrutiny. Beware of hasty determinations. See to it that your 
 resources are drawn, not from your own resolutions, or from the 
 sincerity and ardor of your love ; but from the fulness that is treas- 
 
 » Cant. iv. 16. 2 Rev. xxii. 3, 4. » Luke xiv. 28—33. 
 
 * Gal. V. 7 ; ill 3. » Prov. iii. 17. • Exodus xv. 1 ; xvi. 1—3. 
 
VERSE 157. 255 
 
 ured up in Jesus for your present distress. Feel every step of your 
 way by the light of the sacred word. If you expect Christian con- 
 sistency to command the esteem of an ungodly world, you have for- 
 gotten both your Master's word and example/ and you will soon 
 be ready to exclaim — " Many are my persecutors and mine ene- 
 miesy For if their hostility is not always active, the enmity " is 
 not dead, but sleepeth." If, however, their unexpected surprisals 
 and inveteracy should daunt you in the conflict, you are again for- 
 getting the word of cheering support in the most awful crisis — " My 
 grace is stifficientfor thee ; for my strength is m,ade perfect i/i 
 weakness.^^^ Thus the word of God will be " the armor of right- 
 eousness on the right hand and on the left."^ Presumption is cast 
 down, self-confidence is humbled, and the trembling simplicity of 
 dependence upon an Almighty arm is upheld and honored. 
 
 Count then upon the difficulties, that beset the heavenly path. 
 You will never pluck the Rose of Sharon, if you are afraid of being 
 pricked with the thorns which surround it. You will never reach 
 the crown, if you flinch from the cross in the way to it. Oh ! think 
 of the honor of bearing this cross. It is conformity to the Son of 
 God. Let the mind be deeply imbued with the remembrance of 
 his daily cross of suffering and reproach ; and we shall gladly '■''go 
 forth without the camp, bearing his reproach" yea — even " re- 
 joicing, if we are counted worthy to suffer shame"^ with him and 
 for him. Indeed what is our love, if we will not take up the cross 
 for him ? How can we be his followers without his cross ?s How 
 can we be Christians, if we are not confessors of Christ before a 
 world that despises his Gospel ? 
 
 But a steady consistent profession is no matter of course. The 
 crown is not easily won. " Many are our persecutors and our 
 enemies." Persecution to the false professor is an occasion of apos- 
 tasy ;^ to the faithful servant of Christ, it is the trial of his faith,' 
 the source of his richest consolations,^ the guard of his profession,^ 
 and the strength of his perseverance. '<' It drives him to his God. 
 He casts himself upon his Saviour for immediate refuge and sup- 
 port ; and the quickening influence which he had just been seek- 
 ing, enables him to say — " Yet do I not decline from thy testi- 
 monies." Thus did the great Apostle, at the time when his '''■per- 
 secutors were many,^' and human help even from his friends had 
 failed him, maintain an unshaken confidence in the service of his 
 God. " At my first answer" — he tells us — " no man stood with me, 
 but all men forsook me. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with 
 me, and strengthened me'"^ David himself often acknowledged 
 the same principle of perseverance under similar trial — " Lord, how 
 are they increased that trouble me ? Many are they that rise up 
 against me. Many there be, which say of my soul, There is no 
 
 1 John XV. 20. 2 2 Cor. lii. 9. 3 lb. vi. 7. < Heb. xiii. 13. Acts v. 41. 
 
 s See Matt. xvi. 24. « lb. xiii. 20, 21. 7 i Peter i. 6, 7. 
 
 » Matthew v. 10—12, Acts xiii. 50—52. 1 Peter iv. 12, 16. 
 • Matt x. 16. PhU. u. 14—16. w Acts xx. 22-24. " 2 Tim. iv. 16, 17. 
 
256 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 help for him in God. But Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me ; 
 my glory and the lifter up of my head. O God the Lord, the 
 strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day 
 of battle:'' 
 
 But have we never taken a devious path in " declining from 
 the Lord's testimonies,'' to escape the appointed cross ? Do we 
 never shrink from " the voice of him that reproacheth and blas> 
 phemeth, by reason of the enemy and the avenger ?" Can we 
 always in the integrity of our heart appeal to an Omniscient God 
 — " All this is come upon us ; yet have we 7iot forgotten thee, 
 neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant ; our heart is not 
 turned hack, neither have our steps declined from, thy way ; thmigh 
 thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us 
 with the shadow of death T'^ This profession is not the foolish 
 confidence of boasting ; but the fulfilment of the covenant promise 
 — " I will put my fear in their hearts, and they shall not depart 
 from me."3 So beautifully does the promise of perseverance con- 
 nect itself with the diity of persevering ! And so clearly in this, 
 as in every other way, does the " wrath of man" (" howbeit he 
 meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so") praise God !* 
 How glorious is the display of the power of his grace in the con- 
 stancy of his people ! like the rocks in the ocean, immovable 
 amidst the fury of the waves ; like the trees of the forest, " rooted 
 and established" by every shaking of the tempest ! Must not the 
 world, in witnessing the total defeat of their enmity against the 
 Lord's people (or rather its eventual results in their increased pros- 
 perity,) be constrained to confess to the honor of God, " Surely 
 there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divi- 
 nation against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of 
 Jacob and of Israel — What hath God wrought 7"* 
 
 158. / beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy 
 
 word. 
 
 We shall not tire in listening to this repeated expression" of the 
 Psalmist's tenderness for the honor of God. No trouble from his 
 " many persecutors and enemies" came so near to his heart as the 
 sight of the dishonor and contempt of God's word. The glory of 
 God was dearer to him than life. Oh ! that every recollection of 
 this tried servant of God might deepen this special mark of accep- 
 tance upon our too cold and indifi'erent hearts V Our joys and 
 sorrows are the pulse of the soul. A fellowship with the joys of 
 angels over repenting sinners^ will be accompanied with bitterness 
 of godly sorrow over the hardness and impenitency of those, who 
 " keep not the word of God." 
 
 But even here we need much and earnest prayer in order to ob- 
 tain a clear perception of our real principles. Sin is so subtle in 
 
 » Psalm iii. 1—3; cil. 7. » lb. xliv. 16—19. 3 Jer. xxxii. 40. 
 
 < Comp. Isaiah x. 7, with Psalm Ixxvi. 10. 5 Numbers xxiii. 23. 
 
 • Compare verses 53, 136. ' See Ezekiel ix. 4 — 6. 8 Luke xv. 10. 
 
VERSE 158. 257 
 
 its nature and workings, that it insinuates itself into our holiest 
 desires, and often so far interweaves itself into the graces of the 
 Spirit, as greatly to mar their beauty, and obstruct their operations. 
 How often is zeal for the honor of Grod mingled with the unhal- 
 lowed fire of our own spirit?^ True zeal is indeed a precious fruit 
 of the Spirit, whose other name is love — active, self-denying, com- 
 passionate love for sinners. ' Let me never fancy I have zeal, 
 said a Christian of a very high order, ' till my heart overflows with 
 love to every man living J'^- If then we are really under its holy in- 
 fluence, we shall lose no opportunity of active exertions on behalf 
 of wretched " transgressors ;" and the limits of our zeal will be 
 only the limits of a fallen world. Especially within our own 
 sphere shall we employ all our labors and pains to stem the tide 
 of unrighteousness, " saying unto the fools — Deal not foohshly — 
 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity 7 Turn ye, turn 
 ye, why will ye die 7"^ 
 
 But the fervency of zeal will express itself in something more 
 difficult than personal service. We can often warn and plead with 
 transgressors, when we are sinfully backward in sending up sighs 
 and cries on their behalf; and in presenting these poor lepers by 
 faith to that great and good Physician, whose " power present to 
 heal"'* has been so abundantly manifested. This is indeed zeal of 
 rare attainment through our own unbelief; but it brings its own 
 rich blessing to the soul; because it is the zeal of the compassionate 
 Jesus ; who, though he looked round on sinners with anger, " being 
 grieved for the hardness of their hearts,*'^ did not forget to plead on 
 their behalf, " Father, forgive them ; for they know 7iot what they 
 ,doJ^* It was the zeal and love of him who identified his Father's 
 interest with his own, that he endured the reproaches cast upon 
 him in his bosom.*^ And should not the members feel, when the 
 Head is wounded ? Should not we consider every dishonor done 
 to Jesus as a shaft piercing our own breast ? Can we bear to '• be- 
 hold^^ all around us united in a conspiracy against the honor and 
 — if it were possible — against the life, of our dearest friend and 
 benefactor, and not be painfully " grieved ?" Yet genuine ^^ grief ' 
 must begin with our own hearts — " all of us mourning, every one 
 for his iniquity."^ The wickedness of others will stir up the con- 
 viction within our own consciences, " I do remember my faults this 
 day."^° And when once we begin the enumeration, where shall 
 we end ? " Who can understand his errors 7 Cleanse thou me 
 
 I See Luke ix. 54, 55. 2 Martyn's Life, p. 192. 
 
 3 Psalm Ixiv. 4. Proverbs i. 22. Ezekiel xxxiii. 11. < Luke v. 17. 
 
 5 Mark iii. 5. « Luke xxiii. 34. ^ Psalm Ixix. 9, 20, with Rom. xv. 3. 
 
 8 Celerinus, in Cyprian's Epistles acquaints a friend with his ^reat grief for the apos- 
 tasy of a woman through fear of persecution, which afflicted him so much, that at the 
 feast of Easter (the queen of feasts in the primitive church) he wept night and day, and 
 resolved never to know a moment's delight, till, throngh the mercy of God, she should 
 be recovered. 
 
 9 Ezekiel vii. 16. " Genesis xli. 9. 
 
 17 
 
258 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 from secret faults /" " Enter not into judgment with thy ser- 
 vant^ O LordJ^^ 
 
 169. Consider how I love thy precepts : quicken me, O Lord, according to thy 
 
 loving-kindness. 
 
 ^^ Loiyefor the precepts ^^^ such as this Psalm describes, is a dis- 
 tinguishing characteristic of a child of God. " The transgressors*^ 
 neither " love the precepts,''^ nor desire " quickening''^ grace to keep 
 them. For though not '-^ grievous'^^ in themselves, they are too 
 strict, too humbling for the unrenewed, proud worldly heart.^ Love 
 therefore to them — not being the growth of the natural man — must 
 be "a plant which our heavenly Father hath planted" — a witness 
 of the Spirit of adoption, and the principle of Christian devotedness. 
 And how encouraging is the recollection of the Lord's readiness to 
 *^ consider how we love his precepts T " / knoiv Abraham, that 
 he will command his children and his household after him, and they 
 shall keep the way of the Lord, that the Lord may bring upon 
 Abraham that which he hath spoken of him."* Thus also did he 
 challenge " the accuser of the brethren, to consider his servant Job, 
 that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, 
 one that feareth God, and escheweth evil."^ 
 
 But while love of the precepts realizes the full confidence of the 
 Lord's consideration, the consciousness of its imperfection and 
 scanty measure will always prevent us from urging it as the ground 
 of acceptance. Christian ! you know not — or at least you allow 
 not — the proud boast — " God, I thank thee, that I am not as other 
 men are."* No, rather — your constant cry to the end is " Quicken 
 meP Your plea is not merit — but mercy. Not that you deserve 
 to be helped, because you " love the precepts .•" but you desire and 
 trust to be helped — " according to thy loving-kindness P And 
 what must be tJie loving-kindness of a God of infinite love ! Only 
 do not sit still, and wait for the breezes of his love. Rather call to 
 the " north wind to awake, and to the south wind to blow,"' to fill 
 your sails, and urge you on. God — his word, his works, his per- 
 fections, his holiness ; Jesus — his pity, his love, his grace — is your 
 delight, your chief delight ; yet how infinitely is it below the scrip- 
 tural standard of privilege, attainment, and expectation ! 
 
 Under the painful influence of straitened desires and heartless af- 
 fections, how refreshing is it to mark the springs of life flowing from 
 " the loving-kindness of the Lord .'" Yes, indeed — he is the over- 
 flowing spring of his Church. Every mercy is his grace. Every 
 holy suggestion is his influence. The least thought of our Chris- 
 tian progress, proceeding from our own resources, opens the door of 
 fearful departure from God. And yet such is the self-deceitfulness 
 of the heart — that, in the very act of professing to " rejoice in Christ 
 Jesus," the Omniscient eye traces a " confidence in the flesh.''^ The 
 
 » Psalm xix. 12 ; cxliii. 2. « 1 John v. 3. » Compare Jer. vi. 10. 
 
 « Genesis xviii. 19. 5 Job i. 8. « Luke xviii. 11. ' Cant. iv. 76. 
 
 8 Pliil. iii. 3. 
 
VERSE 160. 259 
 
 real dependence is on the " mountain that stands strong," not on 
 " the favor that makes" it so.^ Even our first father, in his original 
 unimpaired strength, could " not quicken his own soul."* Can we 
 wonder that the fallen nature, even though partially upheld by Di- 
 vine power, is changeable and unstable? The most advanced 
 Christian needs the supply to the end, as much as he did in his 
 first stage of infantine weakness. And will he not continue to need 
 it throughout eternity, in every exercise of adoring service, as well 
 as for his active existence ? 
 
 But when we ask for this quickenmgj are we expecting, as we 
 ought to be, a large answer to our prayer 7^ Or are we " limiting 
 our God" by the scanty apprehensions of our poor faith ? Remem- 
 ber, he is glorified — not in possessing, but in dispensing his gifts.* 
 If we really expect his blessing, can we be satisfied without it ? It 
 is not our unworthiness but our unbelief, that stops the current.* 
 Would that we gave him full credit for his exuberant flow of free, 
 rich, ceaseless mercy ! 
 
 Blessed Jesus ! we plead thy promise to be filled.^ We have life 
 from thee ; but give it us " more ahundantly^^'^ — as much as these 
 houses of clay — as much as these earthen vessels-^can contain. 
 Our taste of thy love, and our knowledge of its unbounded fulness 
 — encourage our plea to ask thee still for more — " Q,uicken us ac^ 
 cording- to thy loving-kindness.''^ Often as the Psalmist had re- 
 peated his prayer for quickening grace,^ it was not a " vain repeti- 
 tionP^ Each time was it enlivened with faith, feeling of necessity, 
 and ardent aflfection ; and should we, in the consciousness of our 
 weakness and coldness, offer it a hundred times a day, it would 
 never fail of acceptance. 
 
 160. Thy word is true from the beginning; and everyone of thy righteous 
 judgments endureth forever. 
 
 The "loving-kindness and the truth of God''' were two heav- 
 enly notes, on which " the sweet Psalmist of Israel" loved to dwell*" 
 — his " loving-kindness^'' — in giving, and his " trutK'' in fulfilling-^ 
 his gracious promises. Indeed the displays of his truth — whether 
 to his Church collectively, or to his people individually — have always 
 been every way worthy of himself Often has his word seemed on 
 the eve of being falsified, clearly with the design of a brighter and 
 more striking display of its faithfulness. The very night previous 
 to the close of the four hundred and thirty years, Israel was, to all 
 human appearances, as far from deliverance as at any former pe- 
 
 1 Psalm XXX. 7. 2 lb. xxii. 29. 3 lb. Ixxxi. 10. < John xiv. 13. 
 
 5 Matt. xiii. 58. Mark vi. 5. « Matt. v. 6. ' John x. 10. 
 
 8 Nine times is this petition urged, verses 25, 37, 40, 88, 107, 149, 154, 156, 159. 
 
 9 Compare Matt. vi. 7. 
 
 10 See his character described — " Good and upright is the Lord," Psalm xxvi. 8 — and 
 mark these perfections pleaded in their combined connection with his purposes of grace 
 — " Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham " — " mercy " in the 
 original grant — truth in the subsequent ratification and performance. Micah vii. 20. 
 Compare Luke i. 72, 73. 
 
260 
 
 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 riod. But '' the vision was for an appointed time :"^ nothing could 
 hasten, nothing could delay it ; for " it came to pass at the eiid of 
 four hundred and thirty yeors^ even the self same day it came to 
 pass, that all the hosts of the Lord Avent out from the land of 
 Egypt."2 At a subsequent period, the family of David appeared 
 upon the point of extinction, and as if the promise of God would fall 
 to the ground : but to exhibit ^'' the word of God^ as true from the 
 be^imiing,^^ a providential, and almost a miraculous, interference 
 was manifested. When Athalia destroyed all the seed-royal of the 
 house of Judah, Joash was stolen away, put under a nurse, hid in 
 the house of the Lord six years, and in God's appointed time brought 
 forth to the people, as the fulfilment of the express promise of 
 God — " Behold the king^s son shall reign, as the Lord hath said 
 of the sons of DavidJ^^ " Whoso is wise, and will observe these 
 things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the 
 Lord."5 
 
 And thus have many of his own people been tempted in seasons 
 of despondency to " charge God foolishly.''^ But who of them has 
 not afterwards, in some unexpected deliverance, " set to his seal" 
 — " Thy word is true from the beginning ?"^ " The Lord shall 
 judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, whe7i he seeth 
 that their power is gone, and there is none shnt up or leftJ^^ And 
 how do these recollections put to shame the suggestions of unbelief, 
 and strengthen our confidence in the prospect, or even in the present 
 endurance, of " manifold temptations !" 
 
 The full acknowledgment of the truths of God's word is the 
 ground of all our peace and comfort. The believing reception of 
 the testimony opens to us a free access to God.^ We stand before 
 him self-condemned, and yet believe that " there is no condemna- 
 tion."'" " The Spirit beareth witness" to and " with our spirits," that 
 " this God is our God, forever and ever" — unto death,'^ in death,'^ 
 and through eternity. '^ In this simphcity of rest upon the testimony, 
 we go to our God, like Abraham, in sensible hopelessness, but in 
 assured confidence, "strong in faith, giving glory to God."^* 
 
 Many, however, have been so used to indulge the pride of their 
 own reasonings, that they scarcely know how to read the book of 
 God without cavilling. If they believe while it is in their hands, 
 they are not prepared to give a reason of their faith. They have 
 ventured into conflict with the enemy with unproved armor, and 
 so have been shaken and troubled. Or perhaps their faith does 
 not reach to the whole testimony, and therefore being partial only, 
 is not genuine. For if we do not give full credence to all, we do 
 not give true credence to any. We do not receive it on the author- 
 ity of God, but only so far as our reasoning can explain it, or our 
 will may approve it. What need then have we to pray for a teach- 
 
 » Hab. ii. 3. a Exodus xii. 41. ' Compare 2 Sam. vii. 16. 
 
 « 2 Chron. xxii. 10—12 ; xxiii. 3. 6 Psalm cvii. 43. « Job i. 22. 
 
 f Gen. xlii. 36, with xlviii. 15, 16. » Deut. xxxii. 36. Comp. 2 Kings xiv. 26, 27. 
 • Eph. iii. 12. w Rom. iii. 19; viii. 1. " lb. viii. 16. Psalm xlviii. 14. 
 
 » Psalm Ixxiii. 2C. " Rev. xxL 3. " Rom. iv. 19, 20. 
 
VERSE 160. 361 
 
 able simplicity of faith — not asking — ' What thinkest thou V but 
 " How readest thou ?" In this spirit we shall hold our anchor on 
 solid ground ; and should we again be " tossed with the tempest,*' 
 we shall look to him, who stilleth the storm, and there shall be " a 
 great calmy^ Confidence simply built upon the word of God will 
 endure the storm of earth and hell. 
 
 Yet we may loosely believe all, while we practically believe none. 
 The generalities of truth have no influence without an individual 
 application. The summary look of acquiescence will miss all the 
 solid blessing of a reverential and experimental faith. But to find 
 — as the woman of Samaria found — that ' it is all true' — because it 
 answers to our convictions, our wants, and our feelings'^ — to know 
 that the promises are true, because they have been fulfilled in us 
 — 'this is tasting, feeling, handling — this is indeed blessedness — this 
 makes the word unspeakably precious to us — " a treasure to be de- 
 sired."3 To have the witness in ourselves, that "we have not fol- 
 lowed cunningly-devised fables," but that it is " a faithful saying, 
 and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the 
 world to save sinners''^ — this indeed is " life from the dead." Oh ! 
 how should we seek thus to receive the word " with much assur- 
 ance !"^ The Israehtes were not satisfied with inquiring respecting 
 the manna — " What is this?"^ — or with discovering that it had de- 
 scended from heaven ; but they gathered it each for himself, and 
 fed upon it as their daily bread. Nor will it be of any avail to us 
 to prove beyond contradiction, and to acknowledge with the fullest 
 assurance the truth of God's word, unless we thus embrace it, and 
 live upon it as our heavenly portion. Faith alone can give this 
 spiritual apprehension, " He that believeth hath the witness in him- 
 self.''^''' But if the w^ord be the truth of God '-'-from the beginning J'' 
 it must be eternal truth in its character and its results ; like its 
 Great Author in every particular, ''^ enduring forever ^^ " Forever, O 
 Lord, thy word is settled in heaven ; Thy faithfulness is unto all 
 generations."^^ Here is the rock of my confidence. How could I 
 rest my hope on any salvation, that did not proceed from the pri- 
 mary, unchangeable, eternal mind? What assurance could Ihave 
 elsewhere, that the grand plan might not be defeated by some un- 
 expected combination? Whereas every heart of reliance in his 
 faithfulness establishes more firmly his title to my confidence, and 
 strengthens the soul into a habit of intelligent vigorous faith. 
 
 Lord ! give unto us that " precious faith," which makes the ac- 
 knowledgment of the " truth of thy word from the beginning,^^ 
 and its ^'' endurance forever ^^ the spring of continual Hfe and con- 
 solation to our souls. 
 
 1 Mark iv. 39. 2 John iv. 29. 3 Prov. xxi. 30. ^ 1 Tim. i. 15. 
 
 5 1 Thess. i. 5. « Exod. xvi. 15, margin. 7 i John v. 10. 8 Verses 89, 90. 
 
262 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 PART XXI. 
 
 161. Princes have 'persecuted me vnihout a cause; hut my heart standeth in awe 
 
 of iky word. 
 
 So contrary are the principles of God and the world ! God chas- 
 tens his people for their sin. ^ The world persecutes them for their 
 godliness.* So it has been from the beginning,' and will continue 
 to the end.* David had before mentioned his persecutors as many.^ 
 Now he tells us, that they were like those of David's Lord, the 
 frinces of the earth. ^ In both cases, however, was it confessedly 
 without causeJ Had it been with cause, it would have been his 
 shame.^ Now it was his glory.^ In the former case it would have 
 been his own — here it was his Master's — cross. 
 
 His awe of God^s word was the gracious restraint to his own 
 spirit.^*' And this godly fear has always marked the people of God. 
 Witness Joseph.^i Moses,'* Nehemiah,'^ and the Jews,'* and the 
 three Babylonish captives. '^ Josiah also obtained a special mark 
 of acceptance.'" For the man " that trembleth at God's word,^^ 
 whether he be found on the throne or on the dunghill, is the man 
 " to whom the Lord will look.'"' And certainly where — as with 
 David — the wrath of jjrinces and the wrath of God are weighed 
 against each other — who can doubt, but that it is better to incur 
 the persecution of men by a decided adherence to the word of God, 
 than the wrath of God, by declining from it ? 
 
 Our Saviour, " knowing what was in man," had clearly fore- 
 warned and fore-armed his disciples against these difficulties.'^ 
 The trial at the first onset proved too hard for them ; Peter's 
 ^^ heart stood in awe''' of the '•^persecuting princes,''^ and in a mo- 
 ment of temptation he disowned his Master:'^ but when "the 
 Spirit of power"*" was poured from on high, such was the " holy 
 awe,'' in which himself and his brethren ^^ stood of Gods word,^' 
 that they declared, in the face of the whole council — " Whether it 
 be right in the sight of God to' hearken unto you more than unto 
 God, judge ye. We ought to obey God rather than men."*' ' I 
 fear God,' Colonel Gardiner used to say, ' and I have nothing else 
 to fear.' 
 
 Indeed the spirit of adoption — the Christian's distinguishing 
 character and privilege — produces an awe of God, a dread of sin- 
 
 ' Isa. xxvii. 9. 2 John xv. 19. 3 Gal. iv. 29. * 2 Tim. iii. 12. 
 
 6 Verse 157. « Verse 23. 1 Sam. iviii. 8, 28, 29, with Ps. ii. 2. 1 Cor. ii. S. 
 
 1 1 Sam. xxiv. 17 ; xxvi. 21. John xv. 25. Matt. xxvi. 59, 60. Comp. Dan. vi. 4, 5l 
 
 8 Verse 39. 1 Peter ii. 20 ; iii. 17 ; iv. 15. 
 
 » Verse 46. 2 Sam. vi. 22. Matt. v. 10—12. 1 Peter iv, 14. 
 w 1 Sam. xxiv. 6. » Gen. xxxix. 9. »« Heb. xi. 27. '3 Neb. v. 15. 
 
 '* Ezra ix. 4; x. 3. »5 Dan. iii. 16—18. '« 2 Chron. xxxiv. 26, 27. 
 
 " Isa. Ixvi. 2. '8 Luke xii. 11, 12. w Matt. xxvi. 69—75. 
 
 » 2 Timothy, i. 7. «' Acte iv. 19, 29 ; v. 29. 
 
VERSE 162. 263 
 
 ning against the tenderest Father, of grieving the dearest Friend. 
 And this aiae of God will naturally extend to his word : so that 
 we shall be more tenderly afraid of disregarding its dictates, than 
 tlie most faithful subject of breaking the law of his beloved Sov- 
 ereign. There is nothing slavish or legal in this fear. It is the 
 freedom and the holiness of the Gospel ; the very soul of religion ; 
 the best preservative of our joys and privileges ; and the best evi- 
 dence of their scriptural character. We shall find, with David, 
 this principle a valuable safeguard against the richest allurements, 
 or the most powerful reproach of men, to "go beyond the word of 
 the Lord to do less or more."^ 
 
 But what must be the state of that heart, where the word of the 
 great God — the Creator and Judge of the earth — commands no 
 reverence ! Could the sinner hear a voice from heaven, addressed 
 distinctly to himself, would he dare to reject it ? Yet " we have a 
 more sure word, whereunto we do well that we take heed ;'*2 that 
 we receive it with silent awe^ bow before it with the most unlimited 
 subjection, and yield ourselves entirely to its holy influence. But 
 if it does not stand infinitely higher in our estimation than all — 
 even the best — books of man, we have no just perception of its 
 value, nor can we except any communication of its treasures to our 
 hearts. The holiness of God is stamped upon its every sentence.^ 
 Let us then cherish an awe of this word — " receiving it" — not as a 
 common book, " not as the word of man ; but as it is in truth, 
 the word of God,"* in the true spirit of Cornelius and his com- 
 pany — " Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear 
 all things that are commanded thee of God."^ 
 
 162. / rejoice at thy word, as one that Jindeth great spoil. 
 
 The "awe'^ in which we should ^^ stand of God^s word^'' so far 
 from hindering our dehght in it, is, as we have just hinted, the 
 most suitable preparation for its most happy enjoyment.^ In re- 
 ceiving every word of it as the condescending message from him, 
 before whom angels veil their faces, we shall " rejoice at it^ as 
 those that find great spoil.^'' Often had David found '•''great 
 spoiF in his many wars -j"^ but never had his greatest victories 
 
 1 Numb. xxii. 18. 2 2 Peter i. 19. 
 
 3 The Jews' frontispiece to their great Bible is Jacob's expression of fear and astonish- 
 ment upon his vision of God at Bethel — " How dreadful is this place ! This is none 
 other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven I" ' So ought we,' as Dr. 
 Owen remarks upon this, 'to look upon the word with a holy awe and reverence of the 
 presence of God in it.' 
 
 * I would advise you all, that come to the reading or hearing of this book, which is the 
 word of God, the most precious jewel, and most holy relic that remaineth upon earth, 
 that ye bring with you the fear of God, and that ye do it with all due reverence, and use 
 your knowledge thereof, not to vain glory of frivolous disputation, but to the honor of 
 God, increase of virtue, and edification both of yourselves and others.' — Cranmer's Judg- 
 ment of Scripture, p. 20. •♦ 1 Thess. ii. 13. 
 
 5 Acts X. 33. On this particular a hint from a heathen may not be unworthy of our 
 remark. " Ehud said to Eglon, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose 
 out of his seat." Judges iii. 20. ® Ps. cxii. 1. Acts ix. 31. 
 
 7 At Ziklag — 1 Samuel xxx. 19, 26—41 From the children of Ammon — 2 Samuel 
 xiL20. 
 
264 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 brought him such rich spoils as he had now discovered in the word 
 of God. The joy in this treasure (like that of the church at the 
 advent of Christ,^ described by this figure) evidently impUed no 
 common deUght. If then the saints of old could so largely enrich 
 their souls from their scanty portion of the word ; must not we, who 
 are fayored with the entire revelation of God, acknowledge, " the 
 lines are fallen unto us in pleasant places ; yea, we have a goodly 
 heritage ?"« 
 
 This expressive image may remind us, that the spoils of this 
 precious vwrd are not to be gained without conflict : Here " the 
 kingdom of heaven suffereth violence." Our natural taste and 
 temper revolt from the word. Our indolence indisposes for the ne- 
 cessary habitual effort of prayer, self-denial, and faith. But still 
 " the violent do take the kingdom by force."^ No pains are lost — 
 no struggle ineffectual. What great spoil is divided as the fruit 
 of the conflict ! What abundant recompense is in reserve for the 
 '' good soldier of Jesus Christ, who is determined, in Divine 
 strength, to " endure hardness,"^ until he overcomes the reluctance 
 of his heart for the spiritual duty ! It is not a sudden flash, or im- 
 pression upon the imagination ; but the conqueror's joy in spoiling 
 the field of conflict — solid and enriching. Sometimes indeed (as 
 in the Syrian camp^) we find the spoil unexpectedly. Sometimes 
 we see the treasure long before we can make it our own. And 
 when we gird ourselves to the conflict, paralyzed by the weakness 
 of our spiritual perceptions and the power of unbelief; many a 
 prayer, and many a sigh is sent up for Divine aid, before we are 
 crowned with victory, and as the fruit of our conquest, joyfully ap- 
 propriate the word to our present distress. 
 
 But from a cursory, superficial reading of the word of God, no 
 such fruit can be anticipated. When therefore the flesh or the 
 world have deadened our delight, and taken from us this ^^ great 
 spoil,^^ should we not arm ourselves for a repossession of it ? Should 
 we be unaffected by our loss ? Oh, then, since there are such treas- 
 ures found and enjoyed in this field of conflict, let us not lose our 
 interest in them by the indulgence of presumption, heartlessness, or 
 despondency. Before we attempt to read, cry to the Lord, under 
 the sense of utter helplessness to perform one spiritual act, for his 
 powerful help and Almighty teaching. Then we shall persevere 
 with unconquerable and unwearied vigor, and not fail to share in 
 the blessed spoil of victory, views of a Saviour's dying love — an in- 
 terest in the precious blessings of the cross — ^^ great spoiV^ — "un- 
 searchable riches."" 
 
 163. Ihite and abhor lying; biU thy law do Hove. 
 
 We can neither ** stand in aiae of God's rcord" nor " rejoice at 
 itj'^ unless we abhor all contrary ways. And here lies the spiritual 
 conflict. For so opposed are our natural affections to the character 
 
 1 Isaiah ix. 3. 2 Psalm xri. 6. » Matt. xi. 12. 
 
 * 2 Tim. ii. 3. 6 2 Kings vil 8. • Eph. iii. 8. 
 
VERSE 163. 265 
 
 and will of God, that we love what God hates, and we hate what 
 God loves. Our new principle and bias, however, as directly falls 
 in with the dictates of God's law, as before we had revolted from it. 
 " Lying'^ is now ''^ hated and abhorred'^ as contrary to "a God of 
 truth ;" and the " law^^ is now " loved'''' as the reflection of his im- 
 age, and the manifestation of his will. David had before prayed 
 to have " lying ways removed front JiM^ and a love for the law 
 of God imparted.^ His utter detestation shows, that ihesQ ways 
 had been re^noved, and a renewed inclination to the law granted 
 to him. 
 
 To have avoided " lying, ^^ and to have practised the law, might 
 have been sufficient for the regulation of his outward conduct. But 
 his was the religion of the heart — not meant only to control his 
 actions ; but to renew his habits, motions, tempers, and taste. He 
 would not therefore only refrain from lying, or manifest a dishi- 
 clination to it — he must " hate and abhor''^^ it as hell itself Nor 
 was external conformity, or approval of the law, his standard ; he 
 must " /oue" it. If sin was counted common, fashionable, venial, 
 profitable, or pleasant ; if contempt was cast upon the law of God — 
 this stopped him not. Every sin — though only a hairbreath de- 
 viation from the rule — was in his eyes hateful, defiling, damning. 
 He would •' resist unto blood, striving against it."^ Every act, de- 
 sire, and habit of conformity, with whatever shame it might be at- 
 tended, was his delight. Such — Christian— should be our standard. 
 Lord ! humble us in the daily sense of deviation and defect. Vouch- 
 safe to us larger desires, growing conformity to thy perfect rule. 
 
 Well had it been for Eve and for her children, had she turned 
 from the tempter's lie with this strong determination.* But — " Ye 
 shall not surely die^'' — has from that fatal moment been a most ef- 
 fectual instrument in captivating unwary souls. So plausible is it 
 in itself, so agreeable to our natural inchnations, that it is readily 
 cherished, even where the first contact with temptation assures the 
 wretched victims, that its " deceit is falsehood.^'* But they do not 
 " hate and abhor it ;" they do not flee from it, as a concern for the 
 honor of God and their own safety would lead them ; and there- 
 fore justly are they " given up to believe it,"^ as the fruit of their 
 delusion, and the punishment of their unfaithfulness. Oh ! if we 
 are ever tempted by the flattery and allurements of the world, let 
 us only mark the opposition of their standard, taste, maxims, and 
 pursuits to the truth of God, and we shall turn away with hatred 
 and abhorrence. 
 
 The " overseers of the purchased flock"' of Christ — yea, all " who 
 earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the 
 
 1 See verse 29. 
 
 2 Under this " haled and abhorred lying" he intended to include, not only those more 
 or less direct deviations from truth, of which he had himself been guilty, (with Abime* 
 lech, I Sam. xxi. 2 — twice with Achish, I Sam. xxi. 13 ; xxvii. 10,) but, as we before 
 remarked, whatever in any shape, or form, or degree, is inconsistent with the truth of 
 God. Compare on verse 22. 
 
 3Heb. xii. 4. * Gen. iii. 4— 6. 5 2 Thess. ii. 11. • Acts xx. 28. 
 
266 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 saints'" — will anxiously watch any deterioration of doctrine or prin- 
 ciple — any deviation from the simplicity of the Gospel, and brand it 
 as a he. " I have not written unto you," said the venerable Apos- 
 tle, " because ye know not the truths hut because ye knoxo it, and 
 that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar, but he that denieth that 
 Jesus is the Christ V^ How does the great Apostle teach us to 
 look at the adulteration of the doctrine of grace before referred to^ 
 — a system not of faith, but of fear — not of joy, but of slavish awe 
 — not of confidence, but of doubt — palsying the springs of life ; 
 withering — bhghting — chilling — the glow of love; "entangling 
 again the free-born children of God in a yoke of bondage !"^ The 
 champion of the faith would not tolerate it for a moment.^ And 
 he bids his people hate and abhor it — even though from an angel's 
 mouth — as the beguihng lie of the great " corrupter" of the Church."» 
 Equally would he have us abhor the licentious abuse of the Gos- 
 pel — flowing from the same source — " Shall we continue in sin^ 
 that grace may abound 7 God forbid /'"' 
 
 After all however — this verse must include an abhorrence of the 
 literal sin of lying in all its forms. A He is so gross a sin, that we 
 might be disposed to spiritualize this expression, rather than to an- 
 alyze some of the plausible shapes, in which the sin may be de- 
 tected in our own profession. Exaggeration — a false gloss — a slight 
 deviation (hardly perceptible) from the straight line — excuses for 
 faults made to one another, which we dared not make to God — > 
 want of accuracy in relating what we hear — all these are forms of 
 lying to be shunned, hated and abhorred by the man, who is really 
 " walking in the light, and having fellowship with God,"^ as much 
 as the more palpable falsehoods, with which the world abounds, 
 which it excuses, and even boasts of 
 
 Believer! would you have your hatred and abhorrence of every 
 kind of lying yet further deepened ? Would you summon every 
 passion of the soul — " indignation, vehement desire, zeal, revenge"^ 
 — against it? Then learn to " ahhor''"' it, not only as your enemy, 
 but as God's.'" Pray that the arrow of conviction may be dipped in 
 the blood of Christ ; and then, however deep and painful be the 
 wound, it cannot be mortal. Mortal indeed it will be to the sin, 
 but healing to the soul. Pray that your hatred of sin may flow 
 from a sense of reconciliation ; for never will it be so perfect, as 
 when you feel yourself sheltered from its everlasting curse.' ' To lie 
 before your Saviour as his redeemed sinner, and to wash his feet 
 with your tears of contrition, will be your highest and happiest priv- 
 ilege on this side heaven. In this spirit and daily posture you will 
 most clearly manifest the inseparable connection of a hatred of ly- 
 ing ways with a love for the law of God. 
 
 » Jude 3. 2 1 John ii. 21 , 22. 3 Page 398. < Gal. iv. 31 ; t. 1. 
 
 s lb. ii. 4, 5. « lb. i. 8, 9, with 2 Cor. xi. 2—4. "^ Rom. vi. 1, 2. 
 
 8 1 John i. 5—7. » 2 Cor. vii. 11. w Comp. Psalm cxxxix. 21, 22. 
 
 " Comp. Ezekiel xvi. 63; xxvi. 31 ; xx. 43 
 
VERSE 164. 267 
 
 164. Seven times a day do I praise thee, because of thy righteous judgments. 
 
 David had just spoken of his fear ^ joy ^ hatred and love. He 
 now expresses his love in praise. And indeed it is the mixture of 
 praise with prayer, that makes this Psalm so complete an exhibi- 
 tion of Christian experience. Early and late, and habitually 
 throughout the day, have we seen this man of God " give himself 
 to prayer. ^^^ But his -'spirit of supplication," in strict conformity 
 with the Apostolical rule, was ever mingled ^^ with thanksgiving.^^* 
 Indeed, self-love — the sense of want — may prompt us to pray. But 
 love to God is the spirit of praise. The neglect therefore of this 
 service is robbing God, no less than ourselves. Not that he needs 
 it, but that he deserves and desires it. Not that it brings any merit 
 to us, but that it strengthens our dependence, and elevates our love. 
 If then we feel it to be " good,^ comely,* and pleasant,"^ it will be 
 as needless to define its frequency, as to prescribe the hmit of our 
 service to a beloved friend, to whom our obligations were daily in- 
 creasing. The casuistry of love would answer all the entangling 
 scruples of a bondage system. We should aim at living in praise,* 
 as the element of our souls, the atmosphere of our enjoyment, our 
 reward more than our duty — that which identifies our interest with 
 heaven, and forms our meetness for it. 
 
 Young Christians indeed sometimes unwarily bring themselves 
 into "bondage," in forcing their consciences to a frequency of set 
 times for duty, intrenching either upon outward circumstances or 
 the weakness of the flesh. Our rule of service, though not meas- 
 ured by our indolence, yet should be accommodated to those legiti- 
 mate daily engagements, which, when "rfowe as to the Lord,^^"^ 
 form as real and necessary a part of our rehgion, as the more spir- 
 itual sacrifices of prayer and praise. To observe any particular 
 time (beyond the Sabbath, and " the morning and evening sacri- 
 fice,") because it is the time — however wearied our spirits may be, 
 or however immediate obligations may interfere^ is to forget the 
 weighty instruction of one well quahfied to speak, ^^ Bodily exercise 
 profteth little ;"^ and we must " go and learn what that meaneth, 
 " / will have mercy, and not sacrifice.^^^ Growth in grace will how- 
 ever gradually mould our profession into habitual intercourse with 
 God. As our views become more solid and settled, each duty of 
 the day will find its proper place, our services will become more 
 free, and our obedience more evangelical. 
 
 But the formalist considers '•^ seveji tim^es a day'''' — to be an in- 
 fringement of the sacred canon — "5e not righteous overmuch^''^^ 
 He pays his customary service twice a-day ; he says his prayers, 
 and his praises too ; and his conscience slumbers again. And alas ! 
 there are times of slumber, when we little diflfer from him. Oh ! 
 
 1 See on verses 147, 148. 2 phil. iv. 6. Stvm times. Comp. Prov. xxiv. 16. 
 
 3 Psalm xcii. 1. < lb. xxxiii. 1. 5 jb. cxxxv. 3. 
 
 « lb. xxxiv. 1 ; Ixxi. 8, 14. Luke xxiv. 53. 
 
 7 Col. iii. 23. Eph. vi. 7 ; v. 20. Heb. xiu. 15. 8 1 Tim. ix. 8. 
 
 » Hosea vi. 6, with Matt. ix. 13 ; xii. 7. " Eccles. vii. 16. 
 
268 
 
 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 let US be alarmed at every symptom of such a state, and " find no 
 rest to our spirit," until we have regained some measure of this 
 frame of hearty and overflowing praise. If there be a heavenly na- 
 ture, there must be a heavenly work. Tongue and heart should 
 be set on fire by love. Thus we will go to our work — whatever it 
 may be — and sing at it. 
 
 But the Christian sometimes feels, that he has no heart, and — he 
 almost fears — no right to praise. Having no sensible token of love 
 to call him forth, his harp " hangs upon the willows ;" nor does he 
 care to take it down, even to "sing one of the Lord's songs in this 
 strange land."* But how many have found with Bunyan — ' When 
 I believe and sing^ my doubting ceases !' " Meat cometh out of the 
 eater" — cheering rays out of the darkest cloud. Endeavor, there- 
 fore, to bring to mind some spiritual, or even temporal, mercies. 
 Or, if recollection fails you, open your Bible ; turn to some subject 
 of praise, such as the song of the Angels at the birth of our Sav- 
 iour,2 or the song of the Redeemed to the honor of the Lamb.^ 
 Have you no part or interest in it ? Do you not need the Saviour ? 
 Can you be happy without him 'I Then inquire, and feel, and try, 
 whether you cannot give " thanks unto God for his unspeakable 
 gift."* Peradventure your notes may rise into praise, and in the 
 excitement of praise, prayer will again mingle itself with its wonted 
 enjoyment. It is your sinful folly to yield to that continual de- 
 pression, which unfits you for the exercise of your duties and your 
 privileges. How fully do our Liturgical services elevate and sus- 
 tain the elevation of the soul heavenwards ! Language better 
 adapted for strengthening its feeble aspiration will not readily be 
 found ; consecrated as it is in the remembrance of its acceptable 
 use by a throng of the Lord's favored people during successive 
 generations, now united to the general assembly above, and wor- 
 shipping with everlasting acceptance "before the throne of God and 
 the Lamb." 
 
 The Lord's righteous judgments in his word are a constant 
 matter for praise. Such light, food, and comfort ! Such a strong 
 hold of God ! Such a firm hope to anchor on ! Such a clear rule 
 to walk by ! Truly the distinguishing favor of this gracious gift 
 Btirs up the song — " Praise ye the Lord^'^ Add to which — the 
 righteous judgments — his decrees and declarations respecting his 
 Church— occupied the Psalmist's " midnight,"^ as well as his daily, 
 song — " O Lord, thou art my God'^ — said the enraptured prophet 
 in the name of the Church — " I will exalt thee, I will praise thy 
 name ; for thou hast do7ie wonderful things : thy counsels of old 
 are faithfulness and truth. Inscrutable indeed they may some- 
 times appear : and opposed to our best prospects of happiness ; yet 
 the language of faith in the darkest hour will be — " We know that 
 all things work together for good to them that love God, to them 
 who are called according to his purpose."^ But neither '■''seven 
 
 1 Ps. cxxxvii. 2, 4. « Luke. ii. 13, 14. « Rev. v. 12. < 2 Cor. ix. 15. 
 
 » Ps. cxlvii. 19, 20; Ivi. 10. • Veree 62. 1 1sa. xxv. 1. 8 Rom. viii. 28. 
 
VERSE 165. 269 
 
 times a-day^^ nor " seventy times seven," will satisfy us in heaven. 
 Then our song — even " the song of Moses and the Lamb — will still 
 be the "Lord's righteous judgments f'^ and for this ever "new 
 song" the harps of God will never be unstrung, and never out of 
 tune, throughout an eternity of praise.^ But a moment, and we 
 shall be engaged in this heavenly employ — no reluctancy of the 
 spirit — no weariness of the flesh. Every moment is hastening on 
 this near — this cheering — this overwhelming glorious — prospect. 
 Blessed be God ! 
 
 165. Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. 
 
 Here is the happiness of a child of God summed up in one word 
 — peace. Looked at with an eye of sense, slighted by the world, 
 and often chastened with " the rod of affliction," he is an object 
 of pity. But look at him with the eye of faith — he loves the law 
 of his Godj and his heritage is peace. Every feature of the cove- 
 nant bears some resemblance to its nature : full of grace, peace, and 
 love. Two of the agents are fitly represented by the lamb and the 
 dove — emblems of peace. The tendency of its principles " is first 
 pure, then peaceable.^^^ Its present enjoyment — privilege — peace 
 — ''''great peace^^ Its end will be universal — eternal^ peace. 
 
 Christian ! Have you not discovered the connection of peace 
 with love for the law — the whole revealed will of God 7^ Looking 
 at it as the law of truth — was not its disturbance of your peace of 
 self-satisfaction and self-delusion the first step to the attainment of 
 sohd peace 1 You learned to see yourself as God sees you. Every 
 fresh view humbled you more deeply. Your dissatisfaction exer- 
 cised you in an anxious and diligent search for true peace. And 
 then, looking at it again as " the law of faitK'' — here is your ground 
 of peace laid open. Your way to God is clear — your acceptance 
 free — your confidence assured — your communion heavenly. " Being 
 justified by faith, you have peace with God through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ ;" yea — you are " filled with peace, all peace in believing. ^''^ 
 And have you not equal reason to " love this law^^ as a law of obe- 
 dience? Here is your question answered — " Lord ! what wilt thou 
 have me to do ?"^ Let " this word dwell in you richly in all wis- 
 dom ;" and it will be your daily directory of life and conduct. You 
 will " delight in it after the inner man."^ Walking in the light of 
 it. you will go on to the full enjoyment oi peace. "Taking" cheer- 
 fully your Saviour's " yoke upon you, and learning of him, you will" 
 ever " find rest unto your soul." " All his paths are peace."'" 
 
 Professor ! what do you lose by your indulged indifference to 
 the law of God 7 Conscience tells you, that you are a stranger to 
 this peace — this ^^ great peace.^^ A secret root of idolatry cankers 
 the principles of peace. Notions will not bring it. Nothing but 
 
 1 Rev. XV. 3, 4 ; ivi. 7, ^ lb. iv. 8. 3 James iii. 17. * Isa. xi. 6 — 9. Comp. ii. 4. 
 6 Pa. xxxvii. 36. Rom. ii. 10. « Isa. xliii. 4. f Rom. v. 1, 10, 11 ; xv. 13. 
 
 8 Acts ix. 6. 9 Rom. vii. 22. w Matt. li. 29. Prov. iii. 17. 
 
270 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 vital godliness — the '* love for GocPs law^^ — "the truth received in 
 the love of it" — will realize the blessing. 
 
 Young Christian ! be not disheartened, though your " love to 
 the laxd'^ be so weak, interrupted, clouded, that sometimes you fear, 
 that you have no love at all. Do you not mourn over its coldness '\ 
 Do you not desire to love ? Seek to know more of the constraining 
 influence of the love of Christ. If your chariot wheels now, like 
 those of the Egyptians, drive heavily ; you will then move like the 
 chariots in the prophet's vision, "upon wheels and upon wings."^ 
 At least you are on the way to peace. Stir up the habit of diligent 
 faith ; be active — be more earnest in dependence on the Lord. 
 Soon will he visit you with his cheering sunshine,^ and bless you 
 with his heavenly 'peace. " The Lord is your shepherd ;" and 
 dwelling near the shepherd's tent, " you shall not want."^ Nothing 
 comes to you without his appointment; and whatever he takes 
 away was only what he had first given, and leaves you nothing but 
 to say — " Blessed be the name of the Lord !"'» Whatever he lays 
 upon you is infinitely less than you deserve, and with the fatherly 
 design " to do you good at the latter end."® Whatever he gives you 
 is peace, ^'' great peace'"' — '•^ perfect peace f^^ and though at best, as 
 to its actual erijoyment, it is only a checkered gift, linked with 
 "this world's tribulation,'"' yet as the earnest of that "peace, into 
 which the righteous shall enter, when taken away from the evil to 
 come"« — it is an incalculable blessing. 
 
 The steadfastness of our profession is a most important fruit of 
 this blessing — " Nothing shall offend them.''^^ The daily cross,"* 
 the humbling doctrine,'^ the fiery trial'* — which, by offending the 
 professor^ detect the unsoundness of his heart — these are the prin- 
 ciples of strength and consolation to the faithful lover of God^s law. 
 Those " had no root in themselves," who were stumbled by " trib- 
 ulation or persecution."'^ Hence there was no love in their hearts ; 
 consequently no peace in their experience, and no stability in their 
 course. The frequency of such cases in a day of profession is a most 
 painful subject of observation. A course of religion, commenced 
 under the impulse of momentary excitement, is like " a reed shaken 
 by the wind." The first breath of the storm beats down all reso- 
 lutions, that were not formed upon the conviction of utter helpless- 
 ness, and in entire dependence upon Divine grace.'* Light without 
 love ends in fearful ruin.'* Genuine love to the law alone keeps 
 the soul — a love of no common character — a devoted, persevering 
 attachment. The claim of the law is above every other. Every- 
 thing — even life itself — if need be — must be sacrificed for it.'* And 
 when it has been thus embraced on a fair calculation of its cost, 
 from a deep sense of its value, and with a spiritual perception of its 
 
 ' Comp. ExckI. xiv. 25, with Ezek. i. 15, 23. 2 Mai. ir. 2. 
 
 3 Psalm xxix. 11 ; Ixxxv. 8; xxiii. 1. * Job i. 21. « Deut. viii. 16. 
 
 e Isaiah xxvi. 3. t John xvi. 33. » Isa. Ivii. 1, 2. 
 
 » ' To them is no stumhVmg-hlock.'—AtwncorUi. »o Mark x. 21, 22. 
 
 " John vi. 60, 65, 6. la Matt. xiii. 21. " Mark iv. 17. 
 
 »* Comp. John XV. 5. 2 Cor. lii. 9. w 2 Thaw. u. 10— 12. w Rev. xu. 11. 
 
 I 
 
VERSE 166. 271 
 
 character and application to our necessities — there will he no stum- 
 bling block. 
 
 Indeed genuine love will prove our safeguard against all grounds 
 of offence. The doctrine of the total depravity of man is objected 
 to ; but " love to the law of God^^ — moulding our minds into its 
 heavenly impression — will remove all ground of offence. The pride 
 of man's wisdom revolts from the doctrine of the cross, and the 
 freeness of the grace of God. But we love it as a part of the " law 
 of faith." It suits our case. It answers our need — and therefore 
 here also " nothing offends ns." Thus whatever be the hinder- 
 ance — whether from Satan or himself — whether from the enmity 
 of the world or the inconsistencies of the Church — the believer, 
 while he mourns over these things, is 7iot offended at them, or 
 at the Gospel through them. He has learned a more Scriptural 
 standard, and to exercise a more discriminating judgment. " Love 
 to the law of God'' enables him — instead of being " tossed to and 
 fro" in douBtful perplexity — to "make straight paths for his feet."* 
 If his cross be grievous, he seeks from the Lord a quiet spirit ; and 
 thus, " in patience possessing his soul," he finds " the yoke easy, and 
 the burden light."'^ His difficulties exercise and strengthen his 
 faith, and add fresh testimony to tlie faithfulness of the promise. 
 Whether therefore his way be dark or light, his soul is at peace. 
 In the enjoyment of his Saviour's love, he has the witness in his 
 own heart, that "the work of righteousness" — of ^Hove to the law 
 of his God'^ — "shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, 
 quietness, and assurance forever."^ 
 
 166. Lord, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments. " 
 
 The ^^ great peace^^ connected with ^Hhe love of Gods law, ^^ is 
 at once the fruit of faith, and the motive of obedience. And the 
 enjoyment of it leads the man of God to give renewed expression 
 to his faith and devotedness. " Faith, which worketh by love,"^ is 
 no less the characteristic of the Old, than of the New Testament 
 Church. For mark here the principle and the object of faith — 
 " / have hoped for thy salvation'^ — and the practical influence 
 of faith — I have " done thy commandments.^'' " Walked not be- 
 lievers always in the same spirit ? Walked they not in the same 
 steps ?" 
 
 Faith is the exercise of the soul in a sense of need, in desire, and 
 in trust. Faith goes to God on the ground of the promise — hope in 
 the expectation of the thing promised. Thus hope implies the op- 
 eration of faith. It appropriates to itself the object of faith. The 
 power to take hold of the promises of faith, and to stay our souls 
 upon their " everlasting consolation," is the energy of " a good hope 
 through grace" — such as " maketh not ashamed."^ Conscious un- 
 
 1 Hebrews xii. 13, with Proverbs iv. 25—27. 2 Luke xxi. 19. Matt. xi. 30. 
 3 Isaiah xxxii. 17. * Galatians v. 6. 
 
 s 2 Thess. ii. 16. Rom. v, 5. 
 
272 EXPOSITION OF rSALM CXIX. 
 
 worthiness may give a trembling feebleness to the hand of faith, 
 but the feeblest apprehension of one of the least of the promises of 
 the Gospel assures us of our interest in them all. Why may we 
 not set all the fulness of the covenant before the weakest as well 
 as before the strongest believer, and proclaim to both with equal 
 freedom the triumphant challenge — " Who shall lay anything to 
 the charge of God's elect 1 Who is he that condemneth ?"* 
 Every believer is alike interested in the Gospel of grace. "There 
 is no difference" in the righteous7iess of the Gospel, which is " the 
 righteousness of God" — nor in the imputation of it, which is " unto 
 all and upon air — nor in the subjects, — which is them that be- 
 lieve — nor in the m>eans of its application, which in all cases is 
 " by faith of Jesus Chrisf^ — nor in the need of the blessing — " All 
 have sinned'^ without difference. All therefore are justified without 
 difference.2 The only difference regards the strength or weakness 
 of the faith, by which the righteousness is more or less distinctly 
 appropriated, and its consequent blessings enjoyed. No soul how- 
 ever can sink into perdition, that grasps the promise of Christ with 
 the hand of faith, be that hand ever so weak and trembling ; though, 
 if the promise did not hold us more firmly by its unchangeableness, 
 than we hold it by our faith, who could ever attain the blessing ? 
 
 Not indeed that our interest in the Gospel is transient or uncer- 
 tain. For though the perception of it may be often interrupted, yet 
 is it not still in the Bible — in the covenant of God — in the heart of 
 God ? And is it not constantly renewed in the exercise of faith ? 
 The repetition of the same act of faith is therefore equally necessary 
 every moment, as at the first moment of our spiritual life. What- 
 ever be our standing in the Gospel, faith will always realize to the 
 end the same hope for God^s salvation. Indeed, the neglect of 
 the cultivation of its habitual exercise materially weakens its op- 
 eration in great emergencies. Let it then be regarded as the 
 breathing of the soul. Let it be constantly exercised in the suc- 
 cessive occasions of need ; and we shall enjoy its clear light and 
 active influence upon occasions, where its special energy is required. 
 
 Now is not this sometimes your experience 1 You are distressed 
 by an unsuccessful struggle with wandering, defiling imaginations. 
 You know the promise, and the remedy. But " the shield of faith" 
 has been laid by. You have therefore to seek it, when you want 
 it at hand for the present moment ; and thus you lie powerless, at 
 a distance from the cure, instead of being able to bring your sin at 
 once to Jesus — "Lord, this is my trouble; this is the 'plague of 
 my heart;' 'but speak the word only, and thy servant shall be 
 healed.'"' Thus the indolent neglect of the quickening principle 
 greatly impairs its powerful energy, and the "confidence and re- 
 joicing of hope"* flowing from it. " If the life in the flesh is" not 
 "a life of faith on the Son of God," no solid rest or acceptance can 
 be known. 
 
 1 Rom. viii. 33, 34. « Rom, iii. 22, 23. 
 
 » Matt. viii. 8. * Heb. iii. 6. 14. 
 
VERSE 166. 273 
 
 But on what ground is this ^^hope for the Lord's salvation}^ 
 built? On his faithfulness, not on our sincerity ; on iiis promises — 
 not on our frames ; on his unchangeableness, not on our constancy.* 
 It is built — not on the work of grace in us, but on the work of 
 Christ for us — a work, which has satisfied every claim, provided 
 every security, and pledged all the Divine perfections on our behalf 
 — a work so finished and complete, that all the difficulties of sal- 
 vation on the part of God are removed ; and the sinner, finding no 
 hinderance in the way but himself^ is warranted, though covered 
 with guilt and defilement, to apply for full, immediate, and uncon- 
 ditional forgiveness. What then hinders the instant reception of 
 the privilege, but disbelief of the record ? It is this which dares to 
 " make God a liar f^ which therefore must not, as is too often the 
 case, be lamented as an infirmity (except, indeed, in cases of con- 
 stitutional weakness ;) but watched, prayed against, and resisted, as 
 a deep and aggravated sin. The present enjoyment of the bless- 
 ing is indeed often marred by looking at the fruits of faith (con- 
 trition, love, diligence, <fec.) as prerequisites for believing, instead of 
 looking to the object of faith^ to put away our sin, and to produce 
 these fruits in us. This not only binds our sin upon us, but robs 
 God of his honor ; and, whilst it restrains his blessing on our souls, 
 reflects upon His wisdom and grace, who has laid the foundation 
 of a sinner's hope on his own dear Son,^ irrespective of any warrant 
 of faith in himself. We want to be enlivened with sensible com- 
 fort, as a ground for our beliemng in, Christ ; or, if we look for it 
 from faith, it is from faith, as an act (in which respect it is no more 
 a proper ground for comfort than any other grace,) instead of look- 
 ing for li from the object of faith. Thus we not only lose the 
 peace and joy we are seeking, but we lose it by our mistaken way 
 of seeking it. 
 
 The fulness of Christ, and the promises of God in him, are the 
 only basis of a full assurance of salvation : and this basis is equally 
 firm at all times, and under all circumstances. " Ye are complete 
 in him.^^* Your title is as perfect — your interest as secure, as ever 
 it will be at the day of " the redemption of the purchased posses- 
 sionJ^^ Awakened sinner ! let not then a sense of unworthiness 
 paralyze your faith. As a guilty sinner, you are invited. As a 
 wiUing sinner, you are welcome. As a believing sinner, you are 
 assured. Why hesitate then to "lay hold on eternal life?" Is it 
 presumption in the drowning man to attempt to swim to the rock 
 of safety ? Why then should not the sinking soul cast itself upon 
 the " Rock of Ages ?" " Lord, I have hoped for thy salvation.^^ 
 
 Believer ! " Behold !" saith the Lord, " I come quickly ; hold 
 that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." " Hold 
 fast your confidence and the rejoicing of your hope."" This is of 
 no trifling importance. An established confidence ought to result 
 
 » Heb. vi. 17, 18. « 1 John v. 10. ' jsaiah ixviii. 16. 
 
 * Col. ii. 10. 9 Eph. i. 14. « Rev. ui. 11. Heb. ih. 6. 
 
 18 
 
274 EXPOSITION OP PSALM CXIX. 
 
 from, and to witness to, your interest in the Lord's salvation.* For 
 without it, you have no relief from the spirit of bondage ; no en- 
 largement in duties ; no enjoyment of privileges : no " growth in 
 grace, and in the knowledge of the Saviour ;" no honored useful- 
 ness in the Church of God : the " things which remain will be ready 
 to die."2 Rest not, then, satisfied with an occasional gleam of light 
 and joy, while your horizon is overcast with doubts and fears. 
 Waste not time in heartless complaints, that would be far better 
 employed in a vigorous habit of faith. Live above frames and feel- 
 ings upon this glorious truth — " Christ has undertaken for meP 
 He lives, and reigns, and pleads for every sinner that trusts in him. 
 Exercise your dependence upon him in importunate and persevering 
 supplication. " Give all diligence^'' — at all times — in all ways, 
 private and public — " instant in season and out of season." Thus, 
 " an entrance into" the joy, peace, and glory of " the everlasting 
 kingdom of our Lord and Saviour will be richly ministered unto 
 you."^ You shall be released from the prison-house of despondency, 
 and shall breathe the free atmosphere of adoption and heavenly love. 
 But remember, that this " assurance of hope," even in its weakest 
 and lowest influence, is a practical principle — " / have done thy 
 commandments P " Every man that hath this hope in him puri- 
 fieth himself, even as he is pure."* All obedience that springs not 
 from this source is of a low and legal character ; the fruit of self- 
 will, self-righteousness, self-sufficiency. Evangelical obedience can 
 only flow from Evangelical faith and hope. Love to Christ catches 
 fire from the perception of his love to us. Without this perception, 
 all is weariness, toil, and travail of soul in his service ; duty, not 
 privilege ; constraint, not delight ; conscience, not love. Hence 
 the most assured behevers Avill be the most devoted servants of their 
 Master. " The joy of the Lord" — " the joy of faith," of acceptance, 
 of communion — "is their strength."^ They live by faith; and as 
 they believe, they love ; they deny themselves ; they lay themselves 
 out for their Master's work ; they conquer all that oppose their 
 progress. 
 
 We cannot, therefore, "e/o his commandments^'' without "a ho'pe 
 for his salvation.''^ For only in proportion as we have assured our 
 title to the promises of the Gospel, can we take hold of them, plead 
 them, or experience their support. When, therefore, our hope is 
 indistinct, we are almost left to our own unassisted resources ; and 
 our course will probably end in "perpetual backsliding." Active 
 devotedness flows from, assured acceptance.^ Where there is no 
 certainty, there can be little love, little delight, little diligence. Let 
 us walk in sunshine, and we shall work cheerfully and honorably 
 for God.T 
 
 Keep then the eye fixed on Christ as the ground^ and on obe- 
 dience as the evide7icej of our hope. Thus will our own confidence 
 
 » See Heb, iii. 6. Whose houae are vre—iftce, &c. ib. 14. * Rev. iii. 2. 
 
 » 2 Peter i. 5—11. * 1 John iii. 3, » Neh. viii. 10, 
 
 • See 1 Cor. iv. 68. f Comp. Isa. vi. 6— a 
 
VERSE 166. 275 
 
 be more established ; and others, beholding in us the power of our 
 Christian hope, will be led to say — " We will go with you, for we 
 have heard that God is with you.''^ 
 
 1 Zech. viii. 23. We conclude with giving a full and Scriptural view of the principles 
 and character of Christian assurance. Tlial a full sense of acceptance with God grounded 
 upon the Divine testimonies is attainable — there can be no doubt. The "covenant ordered 
 in all things and sure — (2 Sam. xxiii. 5.) offers ample warrant for the most assured con- 
 fidence. The promises of this covenant are full, free, multiplied ; adapted to all possible 
 diversity of cases — attested by the oath and seal of God for this declared end — " the ftiU 
 assurance of hope, ' and the " strong consolation" of his people. (Heb. vi. 11-18.) The 
 instructions of our Lord and his Apostles had the same blessed purpose in view. (John 
 XV. 11 ; xvi. 33 ; 1 John v. 13.) The design and efficacy of his atonement — as contrasted 
 with the weakness of the legal services — was, to make his people " perfect as pertaining 
 to the conscience^' (Heb. ix. 9, with x. 14.) Under both dispensations has this sense of 
 appropriation and conscious security been maintained. (Job xix. 25. Psalm xviii. 1. 
 Cant. ii. 16; vii. 10. 2 Tim. i. 12. 1 John iv. 16; v. 19, 20.) Its basis is ground com- 
 mon to all. (Rom. viii. 35, 38, 39, with 31-34.) The want of it is evidently reproved. 
 (2 Cor. xiii. 5.) Exhortations are given to press forward to it. (Heb. vi. 11. 2 Peter 
 i. 10.) Faith, (Eph.i. 13. Heb. vi. 17,18.) Obedience, (Isaiah xxxii. 17; xlviii. 17, 
 18 ; Ixiv. 5 ; John xiv. 21-23. 1 John ii. 3-5 ; iii. 24.) The fear of God, (Psalm xxv. 
 14.) Love, (1 John iii. 14, 18-21; iv. 12.) Diligence, (Heb. vi. 11. 2 Peter i. 5-11.) 
 Perseverance, (Hos. vi. 3.) on our part; Affliction, (Zech. xiii. 9.) The gift of the 
 Spirit, (Rom. viii. 16. 1 John iii. 24; iv. 13.) on God's part — are the means of its attain- 
 ment Active devotedness. (Isaiah vi. 6-8.) Support in temptation, (Job xix. 21-25.) in 
 suffering, 2 Tim. i. 12.) and in the prospect of eternity, (2 Cor. v. 1. 2 Tim. iv. 6-8.) are 
 its blessed results. 
 
 It is evidently, therefore, our Father's will, that his children's complete acceptance 
 should not be with them a matter of present uncertainty. He intends — not only that 
 they should reach heaven at last, but that heaven should commence on earth in a state 
 of conscious security and peace — not only that they should have eternal life, but that they 
 should know that they have it. (I John v. 13.) The Gospel — instead of forbidding this 
 privilege — warrants, produces, and establishes it ; for the conviction of the professor, the 
 excitement of the slumbering, and the encouragement of the weak. 
 
 Yet we must not so identify assurance with faith, as to conclude all that are destitute 
 of it to be unbelievers. It springs indeed from faith, and can grow upon no other root. 
 All the practical principles connected with it are the fruits of faith. " The promise of the 
 Spirit," by whom the privilege is applied, "is received by faith." (Gal. iii. 14.) The 
 want of assurance also is, in fact, a want of faith. It is the soul seeking "confidence in 
 the flesh," instead of " rejoicing in Christ Jesus." The revolting view of its own sin, wn- 
 connected with the covering of the atonement, produces despondency instead of assurance. 
 Whereas, on the other hand, a clear apprehension of the doctrines of the Gospel is always 
 a ground for the exercise of faith, and a means of establishing Christian conndence. 
 
 And yet, unless we separate between the principle, eind the conscious interest in the objects 
 of faith, we shall, in a spirit ofevanselical self-righteousness, rest our salvation— not upon 
 faith as a means of laying hold of Gnrist, but upon some feeling or sensation of our own 
 mind. Besides the Old Testament saints occasionally lost their consciousness of the Di- 
 vine favor— that is, their assurance (Job xiii. 24; xix. 11. Psalm xiii. 1; xxxi. 22; 
 Ixxvii. 7-9; Ixxxviii. 7, 14-16); while "the root of the matter" — the root of faith — was 
 still " in them." With the disciples — while they were ingrafted by faith, as living branches 
 of the true vine— the privilege of assurance was prospective. (John xv, 1-5, with xiv. 20.) 
 Faith, as a means of salvation does not seem necessarily to imply an appropriating interest 
 in the Gospel. (John i. 49, 50. Acts viii. 37. Rom. x.9. 1 John v. I.) The Apostles 
 exhort to assurance those " who Iiad obtained like precious faith with them." (2 Peter i. 
 1-10.) They write to sincere believers, that they might be assured believers — plainly dis- 
 tinguishing between believing unto life, and "knowing that we have life," and defining as- 
 surance to be rather the strengthened exercise, than the essential principle of faith. (1 John 
 V. 13.) They separate again between /at//i as the result of hearing, and the sealing of the 
 Spirit, i. e. assurance — as the consequence of faith (Eph. i. 13); as also between "the things 
 that are freely given to vs of God," and our knowledge or perception of them by the Spirit 
 of God. (1 Cor. ii. 12.) And is our knowledge of these free gifts always distinct? 
 Have we no part in them, till we have fully cleared up our interest in them 1 And does 
 the right of the heir depend upon his consciousness of the validity of his title 1 — The 
 "command" instantly to " believe on the name of Jesus Christ," is indeed as binding upon 
 
276 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 167. My soul hath kept thy testimonies ; and I love them exceedingly. 168. I have 
 kept thy precepts and thy testimonies : for all my ways are before thee. 
 
 Those only, who have hoped in the Lord^s salvation, can ex- 
 press this joyful delight in his precepts. The Christian does not 
 
 us all, as any part of the Decalogue. (John vi.28, 29. 1 John iii. 23.) But as faith is 
 the means of obtaining forgiveness (Acts x. 43; xiii. 38, 39; xxvi. 18.) — if it be supposed 
 to imply a persuasion of forgiveness, it would involve the absurdity of believing that ice 
 are accepted, that we may be accepted. Thus forgiveness would be made to precede faith, 
 instead of being the result of it. Again — as faith is the instrument, by which we are 
 ingrafted into Christ, (John xv. 4.) and brought into this state of acceptance, we must 
 hdive faith, before we can be in this state — consequently before we can have assurance that 
 we are in it. Faith therefore must be supposed separable from, and antecedent to, assur- 
 ance. Thus also — if assurance be correctly defined — ^^ knowing whom we have believed,^' 
 (2 Tim. i. 12.) — consciousness supposes the previous exercise of faith on its object — that 
 is — faith preceding assurance. 
 
 Now do many of the exercises of faith recorded in the Gospels exhibit distinct marks 
 of assurance. Sense of need, desire, use of the appointed means, and a spirit of depen- 
 dence mainly characterized the applicants for the Saviour's mercy — Doubts of his willing- 
 ness (Matt. viii. 2, 3.) or his ability (Mark ix. 22.) often mingled themselves with the 
 gincere workings of faith. Our Lord himself seemed to consider the centurion's case as 
 an exception. (Matt, viii. 8-10.) Seldom did dependence amount to certainty; and ap- 
 propriation was generally rather the result than the principle of the application. 
 
 " The assurance of faith" — as it properly respects a dependence upon the record — is in- 
 deed the essential principle of Christian life. But " the assurance of hope" — a conscious 
 interest in the record — the real privilege of assurance — seems to be a distinct and separable 
 idea. The truth of the record — " Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out" — 
 may be implicitly received ; yet a consciousness of coming, or of having come, may be much 
 obscured by negligence, self-righteousness, indistinct perception of the acts of faith, or the 
 power of unbelief in some of its various forms. Consequently, there will be doubt of an 
 interest in the record — a want of assurance. For the Bible is not "the Lamb's Book of 
 Life" — the register of the elect of God. No man can, therefore, bring from thence a di- 
 rect testimony of his personal salvation. His character — not his name — is in the record. 
 The declaration is — " He that believeth" — not any particular individiud vientioned by 
 name — " shall be saved." No man is commanded in the first instance to believe that 
 Christ died /or him individually — but for such as he is — for the unworthy, the guilty, the 
 condemned, the perishing. This is the warrant of his own application, the event of 
 which will — ultimately, if not immediately — be appropriation and assurance. 
 
 We are deeply convinced, that a lowered exhibition of this precious doctrine and ines- 
 timable privilege has greatly deteriorated the standard of Evangelical religion. The ob- 
 jections against it are founded in ignorance or misconception. Instead of savoring of 
 presumption, it is the very principle of humility. It is the reception of the divine testi- 
 mony without reasoning or disputation. Whereas doubting may be justly considered (to 
 use an anomalous term) proud humility. For does not the doubt on account of our un- 
 worthiness, imply a secret dependence on worthiness as a ground of acceptance 7 Nor again, 
 does assurance militate against the influence of godly fear — which was never meant to im- 
 pair the certainty of our faith, but to guard us against carnal security and self-confidence. 
 We work out our salvation " with fear and trembling, '^upon the ground of assurance — that 
 is upon the appropriating confidence of God " working all our works in us." (Phil. ii. 
 12, 13. Isaiah xxvi. 12.) The assured hope of the Gospel is the principle— not the 
 hindrance — of godly fear. (Heb. xii. 28.) Indeed we must consider this doctrine, scrip- 
 tural ly stated, to be the life of present privilege, and the spring of practical devottHlness. 
 Where, therefore, it is defectively set forth — or scarcely set forth at all — or guarded with 
 an over-anxious care against abuse — the privilege is but little known, and the springs of 
 active love arc weak and uncertain. And thus believers too often, in a languid and highly 
 sinful state of unbelief, acquiesce in a feeble exercise of this vital principle, indolently 
 yielding up all effort for a vigorous and healthy habit of faith. They go about their du- 
 ties, like an expiring person about his work ; agitated about the business of the moment: 
 while the desirableness of health and strength, the Physician and the remedy, are given 
 up in despondency. Their case is perfectly recoverable by due attention to the appointed 
 means, and to the real nature and symptoms of their disease. Yet they sit down in the 
 miserable and degrading conclusion, that their powers are paralyzed ; and though they 
 may preserve the notion of spiritual life, and the hope of salvation at last ; yet they think 
 they must be content to be feeble, comfortless, and unprofitable. 
 
VERSES 1G7, 1G8. . 277 
 
 acknowledge the popular separation of duty and privilege, according 
 as it may be constraint or indulgence to his inclination. Every part 
 
 Much injury has also arisen from restricting the privilege of assurance to the maturity 
 of Christian experience. Does not the Apostle place it at the very threshold of the Gos- 
 pel, when he wrote to " Utile children — because their sins wereforgiven them for Christ's 
 name' sake 7" (1 John ii. 2.) And ought we not, after the inspired pattern, to " desire 
 every one to give diligence," in pressing towards this markl (Heb. vi. 11.) Diligence — 
 as the habit of faith — is the appointed mean : sloth — as the fruit of unbelief— the main 
 hindrance to its attainment, (Heb. vi. 11, 12.^ It is undoubtetlly the equal and com- 
 mon privilege of the youngest as well as the oldest member of the family of God ; and 
 (though unbelief, sloth, or backsliding may for a while preclude the enjoyment of it) it is 
 linked to the first, as well as to any successive exercise of faith — to its most trembling, 
 as well as its most collected, act. (Acts xiii. 38, 39.) Indeed the first genuine act of 
 faith is at least as strenuous as any subsequent act; and perseverance in this act, 
 where the hand is trembling, is often the characteristic of the greatest decision, courage, 
 and maturity. All, therefore, should be exhorted to assurance ; nor should the youngest 
 be satisfied without the attainment of it. Many realize it at a very early stage of expe- 
 rience. And where they fall short of it, it is not from defect in the object, or m the war- 
 rant — but in the mean. The exhibition of the work of Christ is not appropriated with 
 that simplicity, which brings with it " joy and peace in believing." See Acts viii.5, 8, 
 39; xvi. 34. 1 Thess. i. 6. 
 
 We cannot, however, absolutely identify faith and assurance. Adoption into the family 
 of God "6y/ai//i" (Gal. iii.26.) does not, as we conceive, depend upon, nor is it in all 
 cases connected witli, consciousness of this relation. A child may be fully assured of his 
 interest in the family, and title to the patrimony. But while an infant — icfun his relation 
 and interest were as complete as at any subsequent period — he had no such consciousness. 
 And thus many of the dear children of God have no consciousness thai they are so; yet 
 they cry, they long, they walk— or they try to walk — as children; and so they erincc that 
 they are children. Or (to use another illustration) we may have light sufllicient to dis- 
 tinguish objects, and to guide us on our way ; while yet we do not see clearly, and there- 
 fore cannot possibly be conscious tliat we see clearly. What judgment, we may also ask, 
 must we form of those distressing cases of constitutional infirmity, the characteristic of 
 which is not so much positive unbelief, (though the symptoms may present a mixture of 
 this principle) as a want of mental power (often sudden and unaccountable,) to apprehend 
 the objects of faith in any distinct Gospel relation'? They cannot be seen in their true 
 light and bearing. The spiritual optics, though not destroyed, are greatly obscured; so 
 that the eye of sense and natural conscience fills the retina of contemplation with its own 
 false views. This is a very different case from spiritual indolence, or want of laboriously 
 distinct statement — that is — where the view of the elementary materials is clear, and wants 
 only the exercise of industry in the arrangement of them. This is the state of a person 
 in a swoon — not of a corpse. The principle of life is not extinct, though the consciousness 
 of it is wholly wanting, and may continue so for some time. 
 
 If, again, assurance be the essential principle of faith, then faith can never be conceived 
 in an imperfect state, or connected with any variation of growth or declension, or of spir- 
 itual intelligence. All that are destitute of it, must also be in a state of unbelief We 
 have therefore to account for the strange anomaly of unbelievers, " knowing the plague 
 of their own hearts," hating sin, separate from the world, and renewed in heart, temper, 
 life, and conduct. For such unquestionably are many, who — though kept in bonclage 
 by their doubts and fears, and far from having attained a conscious interest in Christ — 
 are yet (upon this supposition) bringing forth thp fruits offaiih upon tfie root qfuJibelief) 
 Is not this a stumbling to the unconverted 1 Is it not rather " despising" than cherish- 
 ing " the day of small things V Is it not " breaking" rather than binding up " the bruised 
 reedl" Let us pray for faith to receive and to exhibit "the fulness of the blessing" — 
 "the high calling" and consequent responsibilities; but let us not shut the " little ones" 
 out of the camp. Like Jacob of old — and after the pattern of a more wise and tender 
 shepherd than he — we must "gently lead tliase thai, are wWi young." (Gen. xxxiii. 13, 
 14. Isaiah xi. U.) 
 
 The Scripture seems therefore fully to warrant the distinction prevalent among the 
 Puritan divines — that assurance is "neces.iary to the Christian— far his well-being, not for 
 his being;" for his consolation and establishment, not for his salvation. For our own 
 part — though we would not scruple to say, " He that believeth not shall be damned," 
 (Mark xvi. 16.) — we dare not say, ' He that is not assured shall be damned.' There can 
 be no peace without some conscious liberty to call God our own. And to be satisfied 
 
278 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 of his walk identifies these terms of distinction. If it is his duty^ 
 it is no less his privilege^ to love the precepts. Nothing holds him 
 to them — nothing enables him thoroughly to keep them, but love. 
 All resolutions, vows, cevenants, would be as ineffectual to bind 
 him, as the green withs to fasten the giant.^ David had not " done 
 the commandments'^ from constraint; but "Ai5 soul kept them f^ 
 yea, he " loved them exceedingly.'^^ Indeed, the bias of the new 
 nature to ^^ keep the precepts^'' is as prevalent as that of the old 
 nature to break them. Once the believer would have wished the 
 law of God blotted out of the universe, or at least exchanged for a 
 more indulgent dispensation. But now that it is written in his 
 heart, even its restraint is delightful to him ; and as he gains a 
 clearer intimacy with it, and a closer discernment of its spirituality, 
 he ^^ loves it exceedingly r Not one indeed of the ^^ precepts or 
 testimonies''^ does he " Areep" as he ought, and as he desires ; but 
 there is not one of them, that he does not delight in, and most 
 anxiously desire to fulfil. Thus every feature of the Divine image 
 is inwrought in the soul — beautiful in its place and proportion ; and 
 all other graces grow in connection with love to the testim,onies. 
 
 Nor let our consciousness of daily failures restrain this strong ex- 
 pression of confidence. The most humble believer need not hesi- 
 tate to adopt it ' as an evidence of grace — not as a claim of merit.'^ 
 This frequent repetition* marks the godly jealousy of the man of 
 God — mindful of his own self-deceitfulness and manifold infirmities 
 — " giving" careful " diligence" to " make his calling and election 
 sure."^ David knew himself to be a poor sinner ; but he was con- 
 scious of spirituality of obedience, " exceeding love^'' to the word, 
 and an habitual walk under the eye of his God — the evidences of 
 a heart (often mentioned in the Old Testament®) " perfect with 
 him." ' Christ alone kept the old law, and he enables us to ob- 
 serve the new.'^ 
 
 This active love to the word should be cultivated on the principle 
 of our public walk before God. We must not study the Scripture 
 merely for our present gratification, or to furnish materials for our 
 Christian intercourse. We ought rather, from every step in the 
 history of Christ, as well as from the more finished course of in- 
 struction in the Epistles, to be gathering some help to " set the 
 
 without the exercise of freedom, is to rob God and ourselves. Yet let not the trembling 
 soul conclude too hastily against itself, from the want of this assurance. Let him search 
 into the grounds of his confidence. Let him appropriate the testimony in simplicity. 
 Let him yield to it the obedience of faith ; and lot him not doubt, but that in the Lord's 
 best time and way ; he will be able to record his profession of trust — I know whom J have 
 believed. (2 Tim. i. 12.) 
 
 1 Jud^. xvi. 7—9. a Verses 48, 97, 127. ^ Bishop Homo. 
 
 * Thrice in these three successive verses. ^ 2 Peter i. 5^10. 
 
 6 Compare ver. 1, Margin ; 2 Chron. iv. 17; xvi. 9 ; 2 Kings xx. 3. The import of 
 the term is limited and explained by the word " upright" united with it, Job i. 8; Psalm 
 xxxvii. 37. The Scripture u.se of the word perhaps refers rather to our desires than our 
 attainments. (Compare Phil. iii. 12 — 15) ; and in general seems to mark Christian ma- 
 turity, as constrasted with the weakness of the babe, and the inexperience of the young 
 man in Christ. Compare the use of the same word uXttos in 1 Cor. ii. 6 ; xiv. 20. Heb. 
 ▼. 14. T Bishop Home. 
 
VERSES 167, 168. 279 
 
 Lord always before us,'"— ^realizing the interest that he takes in us, 
 and his presence with us as our Father, Governor, Teacher, Com- 
 forter, Friend. 
 
 Now, let us ask — Do our " souls'^ thus " keep the LorcPs testimo- 
 nies^^ habitually, perseveringly ? Does conscience testify, that, 
 with all our defects and sinful mixture, they are uppermost in our 
 minds ; that our love rises above the worldly rules of expediency, 
 prudence, or the example of those around us — (the too common 
 measurement of scanty obedience) — as if it could never burn with 
 sufficient fervor in his service, " who loved us, and gave himself for 
 us ?"* Why, then, should we shrink from this acknowledgment 
 of " simplicity and godly sincerity ?" If we are ready to own, that 
 "without Christ we can do nothing ;" that his Spirit " has wrought 
 all our works in us ;' that by the grace of God we are what we 
 are ;* that our hope of acceptance is grounded only upon tbe fin- 
 ished work on the cross — why should we refuse to confess the grace 
 of God in us? Yet we must not forget, that allowed unfaithful- 
 ness, neglect of secret prayer, impurity of motive, or any " iniquity 
 regarded in the heart" — though they will not loosen the ground of 
 our hope — will obscure the comfort of our Christian confidence. 
 How beautiful is that princely spirit, which will not serve the Lord 
 " of that which doth cost us nothing ;"5 that not only longs for 
 holiness as the way to heaven ; but loves heaven the better for the 
 holy way that leads to it, and for the perfect holiness that reigns 
 there eternally ! 
 
 But never let us lose sight of the recollection, that " all our ways 
 are before God /" that every act, every thought, every desire, every 
 word, is registered by conscience as his vicegerent, and laid up in 
 his book of remembrance ! Well would it be for us, if we walked 
 less before men, and more " before God ;" if in secret, in business, 
 at home and abroad, we heard the solemn voice — " / am the Al- 
 mighty God : walk before me, a7id be thou perfect J^^ We may 
 be unreprovable in the sight of men, while it is a mere artificial 
 walk, grounded upon base external principles — a " walking after 
 the flesh" — not before God. Even the engagements of active duty 
 may be the subtle snare of the great enemy to divert us from in- 
 tense personal religion ; to spoil the hidden walk of communion 
 with God, by concentrating the mind upon a more public, and, ap- 
 parently, a more useful walk. Thus too often the vital principle 
 of religion sinks into a stated formal habit. " Walking with God'"" 
 is the secret spring of the Christian. Walking before God is the 
 manifestation and the exercise of the hidden principle. For in all 
 things, private as well as public, the most trivial as well as the 
 most weighty, to have our eye fixed in dutiful reverence upon the 
 Omniscient, Omnipresent eye of Jehovah — what solemnity would 
 it give to our whole behavior ! what influence would it have upon 
 our public professions, our general conversation, our secret duties ! 
 
 iPsalmxvi. 8. 2 (Jal. ii. 20. 3 isaiahxxvi, 12, with John xv. 5. * 1 Cor. xv. 10. 
 6 2 Sam xxiv. 24. « Gen. xviL I. 7 Gen. v. 24 ; vi. 9. 
 
280 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 We should be energetic in " serving our ^wn generation by the will 
 of God ;^" and yet while walking before men, should be truly 
 " walking before God" — all our ways before him — " done in his 
 sight as to hiin"2 — and accepted in his favor. 
 
 When, therefore, I am about to venture upon any Hne of conduct, 
 let me consider the watchful eye, that pierces into the deepest re- 
 cesses of my thoughts, and brings, as it were, to daylight my prin- 
 ciples, my motives, and my ends. Above all, let me ever recollect, 
 that he, " before whom are all my ways^'' is He that hung upon 
 the cross for my sins. Let me then walk, as if he were standing 
 before me in all the endearing obligations of his love. Oh ! do not 
 I owe him sacrifice for sacrifice, heart for heart, life for life ? Then 
 surely I cannot be dead, insensible, sluggish in keeping his pre- 
 cepts. I cannot forbear to show this practical proof of my love to 
 him.^ Let not, then, the fear of legality make me neglect this 
 privilege of " keeping the commandments" of my beloved Master 
 and Lord. Let me live under the solemn recollection — "Thou, 
 God, seest me ;"* and in the joyful assurance — " Thou, God, lovest 
 me ;"* and his ways will be to me holiness, happiness, heaven. 
 
 PART XXIL 
 
 169. Lei my cry come near before thee, O Lord: give me understanding, accord- 
 ing to thy word. 1 70. Let my supplication come before thee ; deliver me ac- 
 cording to thy word. 
 
 We mark David here, where he always loved to be, — a suppli- 
 cant at the throne of grace. Many had been his " cries and sup- 
 plications.^^ His petition now is — that they may " come near be- 
 fore his Lord.^^ Oh ! that our wants of every moment were felt 
 with the same pressure, and carried to the Lord with the same 
 faith, earnestness, humility, and perseverance ! Richness of expres- 
 sion, and fluency of utterance, are the mere shell and shadow of 
 prayer. The life of prayer is the " cry^^ of the heart to God. The 
 eloquence of prayer is its earnestness. The power of prayer is that 
 which Cometh, not from education, or from the natural desire of the 
 man ; but that " which is from above" — " the spirit of supplication" 
 — " the spirit of adoption." The urgency of present need calls for 
 instant prayer. The soul is at stake ; the enemy is within the 
 walls — perhaps within the citadel. Oh, what a privilege to know 
 that we have " a strong habitation, whereunto we may continually 
 
 » Acts liii. 36. 2 Eph. vi. 7. 8 John xiv. 15. 
 
 « Gen. xvi. 13, with John i. 48. 6 jer. xxii. 3, with John xiii. 1. 
 
VERSES 169, 170. 281 
 
 resort" — to be able to remind the Lord — " Thou hast ^iven coin- 
 inafidment to save me ; for thou art my rock and m>y fortress /"^ 
 
 But then we must see, that our " cry comes before — comes fiear 
 before the Lord f^ that nothing blocks up the way, or interrupts 
 the communication. If we are believers, the way is open; '< the 
 middle wall of partition is broken down.'' Oh, let us be excited to 
 greater nearness of communion ! " Having boldness to enter into 
 the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which 
 he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his 
 flesh,""^ why should we be backward to come ? Had we not seen 
 the way marked by this blood of sprinkling, we should (if we have 
 had any sight into our own hearts) no more have dared to take 
 one step into the awful presence of God, than to rush into the de- 
 vouring flame. If, in a moment of extremity, we had felt, that we 
 must pray or perish, we should have had no boldness to open our 
 mouths before God, — much less expect that our ^''supplication 
 would come near before him^' had we not been " made nigh by 
 the blood of Christ."' But what an amount of privilege is it, that 
 this way to God is always open — that, as members of Christ, we 
 stand in the sight of God as pure as Christ is pure — that we have 
 not only " access" but " access with confidence^'^ — yea, with the 
 same confidence as the Son of God himself! For the Father is 
 never weary of delighting in his dear Son, or in those who are one 
 with him. If he, therefore, takes our names into the holy place — 
 if he offer sacrifice and incense for us, and sprinkle us with his 
 blood — " in him we are complete,"' — " in him," therefore, let us 
 "glory."« " Having an high-priest over the house of God: let us 
 draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith."^ 
 
 But where we feel as if we did not, could not, reach the throne 
 of grace, " is there not a cause ?" Our distance from God must be 
 traced to a deeper origin than the dulness and insensibility of our 
 hearts. The real difficulty of prayer, and indeed the actual ina- 
 bility to pray, arises in many, and probably in most, cases, from an 
 indistinct perception of the way of access. We must admit this, 
 not only in those who are totally ignorant of Christ, but also in the 
 cases of weak, unestablished, or negligent Christians. Through 
 ignorance of the fulness and freeness of the Gospel in the one, and 
 indulgence of sin or secret unwatchfulness in the other, the way of 
 access (only perceptible by the eye of faith) becomes obscured, the 
 desire faint, the spiritual strength weakened. And instead of the 
 acknowledgment — " The Lord hath heard the voice of my suppli- 
 cations,"^ we have the mournful complaints — *' My soul cleaveth to 
 the dust — oh that I were as in months past !"" It must be so ; for 
 prayer without faith is a heartless ceremony in the spirit of bond- 
 age. That which gives to it life and acceptance is the believing 
 
 1 Psalm Ixxi. 3. 2 Heb. i. 19, 20. 3 Eph. ii. 13. 
 
 < lb. iii. 12. Esther had " access" to the King — ^but not ^^ with, confidence" — iv. 16b 
 
 s Col. ii. 10. 6 Isaiah xlv. 25. ^ Heb, x. 21, 22. 
 
 8 Psalm vi. 9. » Verse 25. Job. xxix. 2. 
 
282 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 apprehension of Christ.^ The ignorant and self-righteous may find 
 it a matter of course (as easy as it is fruitless) to bow their knee in 
 the form of prayer. But the light, that darts in upon the awak- 
 ened conscience, reveals something hitherto unknown of God and 
 of themselves, and shows the ground of confidence for a self-con- 
 demned sinner, to be a matter of the deepest mystery, and most 
 amazing difficulty. Such a confidence, however, God has laid open 
 to us. We cannot honor him more than by making use of it. All 
 that come in the name of Jesus are welcome; why, then, penitent 
 sinner, should not you be welcome ? The throne of grace was 
 raised for sinners such as you. You cannot want larger promises, 
 or a better plea. You come, not because you are worthy, but be- 
 cause you are bid, to come. Take the command, and lay it upon 
 your conscience. Christ is your only way to God. Faith is the 
 act and exercise of coming to Christ. Faith, therefore, will bring 
 you to God, if you have not hitherto come ; or restore you to God, 
 if you have wandered from him. 
 
 But there may be a secret departure from God even in the en- 
 gagement of active service, or in the exercises of social religion. 
 For if these duties are substituted for secret communion with God, 
 " the things that remain in us will be ready to die ;"* ordinances 
 will fail to enrich ; Christian fellowship will bring no refreshment ; 
 and the soul, while blessed with the abundance of means of grace, 
 " in the fulness of its sufficiency will be in straits."^ Indeed, if our 
 affections and feelings are moved in social exercises, and are cold 
 and insensible when we are alone with God, it is a bad symptom 
 of our state. What then do we know of the comforts of the closet? 
 Do we pray, because we love to pray, or only because our conscien- 
 ces constrain us to the duty? Does the Lord mark those secret 
 transactions with himself, that manifest our hearts to be really 
 drawn to him ? Is it any pressing business of our soul's salvation, 
 that brings us to God ? Are our services enlivened with spiritual 
 manifestations of Christ ? It is possible long to continue in the 
 outward course of duty : and yet not one of our prayers to " come 
 near before the LordP We have not come in the appointed way ; 
 and therefore we have not really come at all. Or if the name of 
 Christ has been affixed to our prayers, it has been as a component 
 part of a formal system, not as an exercise of dependence in seeking 
 acceptance with God. 
 
 But it may be, that we have backslidden from God, in a habit of 
 indulged coldness or wilful iniquity. Now if we would expect " the 
 candle of the Lord again to shine upon our heads, and his secret to 
 be upon our tabernacles,"* we must rest satisfied with nothing short 
 of the full restoration of our privileges. We must return to the Lord 
 with deepened contrition in his appointed way, and wait for him to 
 look upon us, and once more to " let our supplication come 7iear 
 before him" He had " gone, and returned to his place, till we ac- 
 
 1 Heb. iv. 14—16; x. 19—22. « Rev. Ui. 2. 3 job ix. 22. 
 
 « Job xxix. 3, 4. 
 
VERSES 169, 170. 283 
 
 knowledged our offence, and sought his face ;"» and he is now sitting 
 on a " throne of grace," waiting " that he may be gracious."* Again 
 and again, therefore, let us fall down at his feet, and never cease 
 to pray, until we feel that our ^^ cry and supplication come riear 
 before him,^^ and spiritual ^^ ^mderstanding of our case, and deliv- 
 erance^^ from our danger, are vouchsafed. As a God of wisdom and 
 yearning mercy, we may trust him to " perform all things for us."' 
 Let him then judge for the time and means of our deliverance. 
 Only let it be according to his own word of faithfulness, and we 
 ^* shall yet praise him."* 
 
 It is beautiful to observe the oil of the Psalmist's faith feeding 
 ihe flame of his supplication. Every petition is urged upon the 
 warrant of a promise — " according to thy word." The promises 
 were the very breath of his supplication ; exciting his expectation 
 for a favorable answer, and exercising his patience, until the an- 
 swer should come. Though in possession of so comparatively small 
 a portion of the blessed book, he seemed always to find a word for 
 the present occasion ; always able to show to his God his own hand 
 and seal. Alas ! sometimes with the whole word of God before us, 
 we are at a loss to appropriate one of its innumerable promises to 
 the present emergency. Yet with all our contracted views of the 
 covenant, still our interest in it is not denied. Such is the conde- 
 scension of our tender Father that he accepts even the stammering 
 language of faith in his children ! The cry, " Abba Father" — 
 " though" (as Luther sweetly expresses it) " it is but a cry, yet it 
 doth so pierce the clouds, that there is nothing else heard in heaven 
 of God and his angels."^ And how delightful is the thought, that 
 God's elect — as they will shortly be gathered a countless multitude 
 around the heavenly throne^ — so do they now hold spiritual com- 
 munion with each other, while " they cry day and night"'' before 
 their Father's throne of grace ! True it is — we understand not one 
 another's tongues. Yet does our loving Father understand us all. 
 Nor do our different dialects cause any confusion in heaven ; but 
 rather unite and form one cloud of incense, ascending with con- 
 tinual acceptance and delight in his presence. Ineffable is the de- 
 light, with which our Beloved enjoys that communion with his people, 
 which he purchased with his own blood — "O my dove, that art in 
 the clefts of the rocks, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see 
 thy countenance, let me hear thy voice ; for sweet is thy voice, and 
 thy countena7ice is comely."^ 
 
 1 Hosea v. 15. * Isaiah xxx. 18. 
 
 3 Psalmlvii. 2. * lb. xlii. 11. 
 
 5 Luther on Gal. iv. 6. And again — " This little word, Father, conceived effectually 
 in the heart, passeth all the eloquence of Demosthenes, Cicero, and of the most eloquent 
 rhetoricians that ever were in the world. This matter is not expressed with words, but 
 with groanings ; which groanings cannot be uttered wita any words of eloquence, for 
 no tongue can express them." 
 
 6 Rev. vii. 9. i Luke xviii. 7. « Can. ii. 14, also iv. 11. 
 
284 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 171. My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes. 
 
 How happy is it to bring to God a heart as large in praise as in 
 prayer ! The answer of the supphcation for spiritual under- 
 standing and deliverance naturally issues in the sacrifice of praise. 
 Guilt had sealed David's lips, while living in sin, and restrained 
 alike the utterance of praise and prayer. But when awakened to 
 a sense of his sin. how earnest were his cries ! — " Restore unto me 
 the joy of thy salvation. O Lord, open thou my lips ; and my 
 mouth shall show forth thy praise."^ And if guilt or unbelief has 
 made us dumb, his petitions will tune our hearts to the "songs of 
 Zion." When the Lord ha^ taught us in his statutes the revela- 
 tion of himself — as having given his dear Son for us and to us, '• the 
 tongue of the dumb is made to sing,"* — " Thanks be to God for his 
 unspeakable gift .'"^ 
 
 And do I not remember " the time of love," when I was " a brand 
 plucked out of the fire" — a redeemed sinner — a pardoned rebel — 
 destined for a seat on the throne of God — indulged with a taste, and 
 assured of the completion of heavenly bliss ? This was a work 
 worthy of God — a work, which none but God could have wrought. 
 What mercy is this ! Everlasting ! Unchangeable ! Let me 
 cast myself daily upon it ; yea, let me bury myself in it ! What 
 gratitude is demanded ! " My lips shall utter praise^ now that he 
 has taught me his statutes J^ " O Lord, I will praise thee ; though 
 thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou 
 comfortest me."* 
 
 Again — I seemed to have sunk beyond all help. No means, no 
 ministers, no providences, could reach my extremity. All were 
 '' physicians of no value ;"* tried and tried again, but tried in vain. 
 But " in weakness" thoroughly felt " strength was made perfect."* 
 The threatening clouds were dispersed ; the breaches were healed ; 
 the veil of unbelief was rent. " The right hand of the Lord had 
 brought mighty things to pass"^ — " He hath spoken unto me, and 
 himself hath done it ;"^ and it is " marvellous in our eyes."' Let 
 my stammering "Zfjo5 utter praise.''^ What a display of power f 
 It is the spark preserved in the ocean unquenched, the drop in the 
 flames unconsumed — the feather in the storm unshaken. " Who 
 is a God like unto thee !" " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but 
 unto thy name give glory."*" 
 
 And again — I was perplexed in a dark and bewildered path. 
 Every dispensation appeared to frown upon me. One dark hour 
 had blotted out all the recollections of my former comforts ; and it 
 was as if I never could, never should, rejoice again. But little did 
 I think how the Lord was " abounding towards me in all wisdom 
 and prudence"'' — how his arrows were sharpened with love — how 
 he was " humbling me, and proving me, to know what was in my 
 
 » Psalm li. 12, 15. « Isaiah xxxv. 6. » 2 Cor. ix. 15. 
 
 * Isaiah xii. 1. 6 Job xiii. 4. '2 Cor. xii. 9. 
 
 ' Psalm cxviii. 16, prayer-book version. ^ Isaiah xxxviii. 15. 
 
 • Psalm cxviii. 23. " Micah vii. la Psalm cxv. 1. " Eph. i. 8. 
 
VERSE 172. 285 
 
 heart,"^ and in ihe moment of chastening was speaking to me — I 
 know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord : 
 thoughts of peace, and not of evil, " to give you an expected endJ** 
 What a display of " loisdoni /" " My lips shall utter praise ;" 
 for if I " should hold my peace, the stones would immediately cry 
 out."3 
 
 The thought what I was before my conversion — what I have 
 been since — what I am now — overwhelms me with shame and 
 with praise. " Lord, how is it that thou shouldst have manifested 
 to me, as thou hast not unto the world ?" " Who am I, O Lord 
 God, that thou hast brought me hitherto !" And how much more 
 " that thou hast spoken of thy servant for a great while to come 1"* 
 For thou hast prepared for me a happy eternity in thy unclouded 
 presence. Should not then my praise be bubbling up as from a 
 fountain^ — pouring forth as from a rich treasure house 1'^ Should 
 not my instrument — if not always employed — be always kept in 
 tune V Yes — when I am most deploring my sins, never let me 
 fail to thank the Lord, that he has not taken away his truth utterly 
 — that he has left me clinging to some twig of hope, instead of 
 leaving me to find — what many who look very calm have found — 
 the depth of this precipice of despair. And has not the time been 
 with you — believer — when you have been almost ready to give up 
 all for lost, and to say, " Evil be thou my good," and when the 
 thought flashed light and comfort, 'While I am struggling between 
 despondency and rebellion, and too hard — too cold — too discour- 
 aged to look up, my blessed Saviour is pitying and succoring me in 
 my struggle. Then let me put off despair at least till to-morrow' 
 — and before to-morrow's dawn the cloud was swept away. 
 
 Ought not we then to glorify our Saviour — a privilege as high as 
 to enjoy him — nay — the very means of increasing our enjoyment 
 of him, in the active excitement of my love, and every grace for his 
 sake. Let not the enemy rob me, as too often he has done, of my 
 high privilege. Let me prize secret prayer. Let me be separated 
 from an ensnaring world. Let me dread separation from my God 
 — and if ever estranged from him, let me never rest, until by " re- 
 ceiving the atonement," always presented and accepted on my be- 
 half, I once more walk in the light of his countenance. Let me 
 then fix the eye of my faith, weak and dim as it may be, constant- 
 ly upon Jesus. He must do all for me, in me, by me. He must 
 " teachU'' me more and more of " the statutes'^ of my God, that my 
 heart may be delightfully engaged with "my lips in uttering his 
 praised 
 
 172. My tongue shall speak of thy word ; for all thy commandments are 
 righteousness. 
 
 To speak of God and for him, will be the desire and delight of 
 him, whose heart and lips have been taught to " fitter praise." 
 
 1 Deuteronomy viii, 2. * Jer. xxix. 11. 3 Lnke xix. 40. 
 
 4 2 Sam. vii. 18. 19. « Psalm ilvi. M. R. « Matt. xii. 34. 
 
 T Psalm Ivii. 7 : cviii. 1. 
 
286 EXPOSITION OP rSALM CXIX. 
 
 Yet alas ! how seldom is " our conversation seasoned with grace !"* 
 So much of this poor world's nothing ! So httle of Jesus ! If only 
 five minutes can be redeemed for prayer — for Scripture — or for 
 thought — let it be seized as an inestimable jewel. If we can pass 
 five minutes less in foolish or ensnaring company, secure the ad- 
 vantage. If vain words are flowing up from the bottom, look on 
 the restraint that represses them from our hps as a triumphant 
 mercy. This active energy of Christian discipline will communi- 
 cate a fragrance to our conversation, most acceptable to our Beloved 
 Lord ;2 and will make our " lips" enriching,^ feeding,* and instruc- 
 tive* to his church. And truly when we see how hardly men judge 
 of him — how they count his "commandments grievous," and his 
 ways " unequal,"^ it will be delightful to bear our testimony, that 
 *^ all his commandments are righteousness^^ — restraining the power 
 of sin, and conforming the soul to his image. 
 
 " Lord, open thou my lips, that my tongue may speak of thy 
 word.^^ Honor me, O my God, by helping me to show, that " all 
 thy commandments are righteousness.^^ In our own atmosphere, 
 and our own spirit, how often do we pour out our words without 
 waiting on the Lord for unction and power — speaking of the things 
 of God without his presence and blessing ! Were we living fully in 
 the atmosphere and breathing of prayer — enriched with habitual 
 meditation in the word — how much more fluent would our tongue 
 be to speak of his word "to the use of edifying !"^ It would be 
 made really our own — known experimentally — and then how 
 cheering, how enlivening the conversation of the man of God ! 
 His " light so shines before men, that" they are constrained to " glo- 
 rify his Father which is in heaven."^ 
 
 Perhaps, believer, supposed inability, natural bash fulness, or 
 want of seasonable opportunity may restrain your lips. But under 
 most unfavorable circumstances something may generally be said or 
 done in the service of God. And whilst it is well carefully to watch 
 against the " talk of the lips, which tendeth only to penury ;"^ be- 
 ware, lest, through the scrupulous tenderness of conscience. "Satan 
 get advantage" to shut the mouth of the faithful witnesses of God, 
 and thus to weaken that cause, which it is your first desire to sup- 
 port.'" Guard against the influence of unbelief Bring your weak- 
 ness and inability daily to the Lord. Let any dreaded inconsist- 
 ency of profession be searched out, examined, and lamented before 
 him, and opposed in dependence on his grace ; but never let it be 
 made a covering for indolence, or supply fuel for despondency. 
 Consider how your interest in a Divine Saviour makes your way 
 open to bring all your wants to him. Be encouraged therefore to 
 ask for the Spirit of God to guide your lips : that a poor weak sin- 
 
 » Col. iv. 6. 2 Can. iv. 11. 8 Pror. x. 20. * lb. v. 21. 
 
 6 Prov. XV. 7. « Ezek. xviii. 25. "^ Eph. iv. 29, with Col. iii. 16. 
 
 8 Matt. V. 16. » Prov. xiv. 23. 
 
 »o It vf&s an excellent saying of Archbishop Usher, when in the society of his friends— 
 ' A word of Christ before we part.* 
 
VERSE 173. 287 
 
 ner may be permitted to " show forth the praises of Him," who is 
 surrounded with all the Hosts of Heaven. 
 
 When however our silence has arisen from the too feeble assist- 
 ance of our natural carelessness and indolence, the recollection of 
 many important opportunities of glorifying our Saviour, lost be- 
 yond recall, may well excite the prayer — " Deliver me from blood- 
 guiltiness, O God ; and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy right- 
 eousness."* Oh ! to have the preciousness of souls deeply impressed 
 upon our hearts ! Oh ! for that compassionate love, that would 
 never suffer us to meet a fellow-sinner, without lifting up our hearts 
 to God on his behalf: making an effort to win his soul to Christ: 
 and manifesting an earnest desire for his salvation ! What loss is 
 there to our own souls in these neglected opportunities of blessing 
 the souls of others ! For never do we receive richer fruit to our- 
 selves, than in the act or endeavor to communicate to others. The 
 heart becomes enlarged by every practical exercise of Christian love. 
 Yet much simplicity — much unction from above — much tenderness 
 of heart — much wisdom combined with boldness — is needed in our 
 daily conversation, that we may " make manifest the savor of the 
 knowledge of Christ in every place ;"=* and specially — that our very 
 desires to bring sinners to the Gospel may proceed — not from a 
 goading conscience, mucli less from pride and vain glory — but 
 from the pure source of love to Christ and to our fellow-sinners. 
 For even if we are as " full of mattei"' as Elihu^ was, nothing will 
 be said for God — nothing, that will " minister grace to the hearers," 
 unless the influence of the Divine Spirit fills our hearts,* as " a well 
 of water, springing up unto everlasting life,"^ — a blessing to all 
 around us. 
 
 173, Let thy hand help me : for I have chosen thy precepts. 
 
 David, having engaged himself to a bold profession of his God, 
 now comes to seek his needful supply of " help J'' — " Let thine hand 
 help meP And if we may " come to the throne of grace," that we 
 may find " grace to help in time of need^''^ when should we not 
 come? For is not every moment a "time of need," such as may 
 quicken us to flee to the " strong tower," whither " the righteous 
 runneth, and is safe?"'' Besieged without; betrayed within: 
 " wrestUng against flesh and blood," and yet not against flesh and 
 blood only \^ disputing every inch of ground, yet often discouraged 
 by the little ground we seem to gain ; surely we need all the help 
 of Omnipotence to sustain us in the tremendous conflict. We may 
 plead our " choice of his preceptsj^ in looking for his '' help?^^ 
 David had before " taken the testimonies of God as his heritage"'" 
 — including all the precious promises of the Gospel, extending 
 to every necessity of time, and to every prospect for eternity. He 
 
 1 Psalm li. U. 2 2 Cor. ii. 14. 3 Compare Job. xxxii. 18—90. 
 
 4 Comp. Eph. V. 18, 19. 5 John iv. 14. « Heb. iv. 16. 
 
 7 Prov. xviiL 10. a Eph. vi. 12. » Verse 94. w Verse 111. 
 
288 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXTX. 
 
 now confesses his obligation — ^'- m choosing the precepts'^ — a happy- 
 choice — the influence of the Spirit upon his heart.' 
 
 This choice is the distinctive mark of the Lord's people'-' — the ex- 
 ercise of a well-instructed and deliberate judgment — prompt obe- 
 dience in the simplicity of faith. It is the choice of all the precepts 
 — no other than the voluntary acknowledgment of our baptismal 
 obligations. Many carnal suggestions offer themselves, the mO' 
 ment that the purpose is forming into the choice. " The things 
 that were gain to us," and which now must be " counted loss for 
 Christ,"^ (should we allow their weight in the balance at this crisis) 
 will bring much hesitation and perplexity. Conferences " with 
 flesh and blood" are most subtle hindrances to Christian determina- 
 tion.'* ' What will the world say 1 If I go too far, I shall give 
 offence ; I shall lose all my influence — and blast all my prospects 
 of eventual benefit to those around me. The apprehension also of 
 losing the affection, and of incurring the displeasure, of those whom 
 my heart holds dear, is most fearful. And then, this sacrifice is too 
 costly to make ; that pleasure too hard to resign.' Such thoughts 
 — the. injections of the tempter — are ever at the door; and even 
 when effectual resistance is offered, the struggle is often most se- 
 vere. But it is such a mighty help in this conflict, when one desire 
 has taken sole possession of the heart — '•' Lord, what wilt thou have 
 me to do ;"^ when we are so crucified to worldly influence, whether 
 of pleasure, profit, fear, or esteem, as to be ready to act upon the 
 resolution — " Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the 
 flesh."« Now the heavenly beauty of the religion of the Gospel 
 breaks in upon us. 
 
 Experience of our own weakness, and of the great power of the 
 world, is gradually preparing us for victory over it. "We shall then 
 most specially find our happiness in losing our own will ; and our 
 Master's cross will be a delightful burden — Uke wings to a bird, 
 or sails to a ship — assisting, instead of retarding, our course. 
 The more we trust to his help and guidance in everything, the 
 more we shall be able to do, and the more delightful will his service 
 be to us. 
 
 The want of a determined choice is the secret of the halting pro- 
 fession that prevails among us. A compromise is attempted with 
 the world. '* The offence of the cross" begins to " cease." A mid- 
 dle path of serious religion is marked out, divested of what is called 
 needless offensiveness — forgetting, that the religion that pleases the 
 \vorld will never be acceptable with God ; nor can the religion that 
 pleases God be ever accommodated to the inclination of the world. 
 Oh ! we shall do well to consider, whether the way of " the LorcTs 
 precepts'^ may not be found too hard, too strait, too unfrequented 
 — whether we are prepared to brave the pointed finger and whis- 
 pered scoff of the ungodly — and, perhaps, the mistaken opposition 
 
 1 See Ezek. xi. 19, 20. 2 Isaiah Ivi. 4. 3 Phil. iii. 7. 
 
 * Compare Gal. i. 16. » AcU ii. 6. 6 2 Cor. v. 16. 
 
VERSE 174. 289 
 
 of beloved friends.^ Often has the profession of Christ been hastily 
 taken up and relinquished. ^ He that wishes to abide by it, must 
 daily learn this lesson — " Without me ye can do nothing .-"^ and, 
 in conscious helplessness, he will often breathe the cry — " Let thine 
 hand help me." 
 
 Nor is this petition needful only in the first determination of this 
 choice. In the growing and more decided conviction of its superior 
 happiness, and in the daily endeavor to live in it, we shall find in- 
 creasing need for the same acknowledgment of helplessness, and 
 the same cry for support. Dependence is a principle of deep hu- 
 mility and mighty energy. The thought that we are entering into 
 the work in tiie Lord's strength is a great stay. Blessed indeed is 
 that helplessness, that makes us lie in the bosom of our Saviour, 
 supported and cherished. Blessed be God for the " help laid" for 
 us " upon one that is mighty ;"* so that our insufficiency and all- 
 sufficiency are visible at one glance ; and " when we are" most 
 " weak, then are we" most " strong !"« '' They that war against 
 thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the Lord 
 thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, ' Fear notj I 
 will help thee.^^^ 
 
 174. I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord; and thy law is my delight. 
 
 Before we close this Psalm, let us dwell once more upon this 
 word — salvation. Common as is its use, to the believer it has a 
 constant freshness and an infinite meaning. Do we wonder at his 
 longing for it 7 Look at its fulness — including all the mercy of 
 the everlasting covenant. Look at its ground — that work of Cal- 
 vary's cross once " finished,'"' and leaving nothing to be filled up 
 or improved ; standing out in all its glorious completeness ; constrain- 
 ing the admiration, and encouraging the confidence, of the chief of 
 sinners ; but wholly disclaiming all assistance from the most emi- 
 nent saint. Look at its simplicity — not keeping the sinner aloof 
 from the Saviour — not hedging up or bewildering the open freeness of 
 his path, but bringing him immediate peace and joy in resting upon 
 the great atonement of the Gospel.^ Mark its v.nchajigcahleness 
 — independent of and above all frames and feelings, so that, while 
 "walking in darkness" we can "stay upon our God,"^ expecting 
 salvation even from the hand that seems ready for our destruction^" 
 — leaving it to our heavenly Father to frown or to smile — to change 
 as he pleaseth from the one to the other — and looking at every as- 
 pect of his countenance, as only a different arrangement of the same 
 features of ineffable paternity ; and the different, suitable, and seas- 
 onable expression of unchangeable covenant love. 
 
 Is not this an object for the longing of the soul, that feels its 
 
 1 Compare Luke xiv. 26. 2 Comp. Matt. viii. 19, 20. 
 
 3 John XV. 5. 4 Psalm lixxix. 19. s 2 Cor. xii. 10. 
 
 6 Isaiah xli. 12, 13. Compare the whole passage, verses 10 — 16. t John xix. 30. 
 8 See Acts ii. 37—47; viii. 5—8, 39 ; xvi. 31—34. 1 Thess. L 6. 
 « Isaiah 1. 10. ^ Job xiii. 15. 
 
 19 
 
290 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 own pressing wants, and sees in this salvation an instant and 
 full supply? This longing marks the character of evangeHcal 
 rehgion — not Qnerely duty^ hut delight. The mind wearies in the 
 continued exertion for duty ; but it readily falls in with delight. 
 Duties become privileges, when Christ is their source and Hfe. 
 Thus every step of progress is progress in happiness. The world's 
 all to the believer is really nothing. It presents nothing to feed the 
 appetite, or quench the thirst of an immortal soul. Indeed the 
 creatures were commissioned to withhold consolation, until every 
 desire was concentrated in the single object, " Thou, O God, art 
 the thing that I long for"^ — until the sinner has found rest in the 
 answer to his prayer — " Say unto my soid, I am thy salvationJ^^ 
 And now he enjoys his earthly comforts, " as not abusing them,"^ 
 because he loves them as God would have them loved, and longs 
 for his salvation above them all. This is true religion — when the 
 Lord of all occupies that place in the heart, which he fills in the 
 universe — There he is "All in all.'' Here the believer cries — 
 " Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon 
 earth that I desire beside thee ?"* O what a privilege is it to have 
 him in heart, in thought, and in view ; to be rejoicing in his 
 presence; and to be longing for a more full conformity to his 
 image, and for a more lively enjoyment of his love ! If this be but 
 earth, what must heaven be ! This longing is a satisfactory evi- 
 dence of the work of God.^ It exercises the soul in habitual con- 
 templation of the Saviour, in nearer communion with him, and 
 supreme " delight in his lawJ^ Such desires will be unutterably 
 increased, and infinitely satisfied 'in the fruition of his glorious 
 Godhead.'^ 
 
 But the Lord often brings this charge against his professing 
 people — " Thou hast left thy first love^ The principle is not 
 dead, but the energy is decayed. Human nature is prone to apos- 
 tasy. Slumber unconsciously steals upon the soul. Faith is not 
 in habitual exercise. The attraction of the Saviour is not set 
 forth. His love is not meditated upon. The soul is satisfied with 
 former affections to him. There is little heart to labor for him. 
 The means of communion with him are slighted ; the heart 
 naturally becomes cold in spiritual desires, and warm in worldly 
 pursuits ; and too often without any smitings of conscience for 
 divided love. 
 
 Some professors, indeed, consider this declension of aflfections to 
 be a matter of course. The young convert is supposed to abouiid 
 most in love, and, as he advances, his fervor gradually subsides into 
 matured judgment. Those indeed, who " have no root in them- 
 selves," lose their lively affections, and their religion with them.^ 
 But surely the real principle of love cannot decay ; that is, our 
 esteem of God cannot be lowered : our " longing for his salvo- 
 
 1 Psalm Ixxi. 4. P. T. « lb. xxxv. 3. 3 1 Cor. vii. 31. 
 
 * Psalm Ixxiii. 25. 8 See Neh. i. 11. « Collect for Epiphany. 
 
 ^ Revelations ii. 4. » See Matt. xxiL 20, 21. 
 
VERSE 174. 291 
 
 ;io?i" cannot languish ; our delight in its enjoyment cannot dimin- 
 ish, without guilt and loss to our souls. He claims our love,' and 
 it is most unreasonable to deny him his own. He is the same, as 
 when we first loved him. Then we thought him worthy of our 
 highest love. Do we now repent of having loved him so much ? 
 Have we found him less than our expectations ? Can we bestow 
 our heart elsewhere with stricter justice, or to better advantage? 
 Do not all the grounds of our love to him continue in full force ? 
 Have they not rather increased every day and hour? What would 
 an indulgent husband think of incessant and increasing attentions 
 repaid with diminished affection? Oh ! let us be ashamed of our 
 indolence, and " remember" the times, when our longings for his 
 salvation were more intense ; when our communion with him was 
 more heavenly : when we were ready to labor and suffer for him, 
 and even to die to go home to his presence. Let us "repent" 
 with deeper contrition, and " do our first works ;'*« never resting till 
 we can take up afresh the language of delight — " / have longed 
 for thy salvation^ O Lord.^^ 
 
 Some, however, of the Lord's dear children are distressed in the 
 conscious coldness of their spiritual affections. But if it be a mark 
 of the decay of grace to " lose our first love," it is at least a mark 
 of the truth of grace to mourn over this loss. There is always a 
 blessing for those " that hunger and thirst after righteousness.*" 
 These restless desires are the beating pulse of the hidden life : and 
 if there be not always a sensible growth of desire and enjoyment, 
 there may be (as with the trees in winter) growth at the root, in a 
 more fixed habit of grace and love, in a deeper spirit of humihty, 
 and in a more established self-knowledge and simplicity. Yet the 
 shortest way of peace will be to look off from our " longing for 
 this salvation,^^ to the ^^ salvation" itself.* For nothing is more 
 desecrating to this great work — nothing is more paralyzing to its 
 saving power, than the incorporating with it the admixture of our 
 own experience as the ground of hope. The most Christian feel- 
 ings must find no place at the foundation. Indeed their continual 
 variation renders them, especially in the hour of temptation, very 
 uncertain. Yet amid all this fluctuation, Christ may always be 
 safely trusted. While, therefore, our coldness humbles us before 
 him, let not brooding despondency cover his precious cross from 
 view. Let not our eyes be so filled with tears of contrition, as to 
 obscure the sight of his free and full salvation. " Looking" singly 
 " unto Jesus" as our peace and our life, is at once our duty, our 
 safety, and the secret principle of our daily progress heavenward. 
 We shall but realize the perception of our own emptiness in the 
 contemplation of his unbounded fulness. 
 
 But the connection between " longing for salvation,^^ and 
 " delight in the law,''' is at least an incidental evidence, that right 
 apprehensions of " salvation,'' must be grounded upon the word or 
 
 1 See Prov. xxiii. 26. 2 See Rev. ii. 5. 3 Matt, t.6. 
 
 4 See Hebrews xii. 2. 
 
292 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 " law of God ;" and that a religion of feeling is a religion of delu- 
 sion. Our delight is not only in his love, but in his law. And so 
 practical is Christian privilege, that longing for salvation will 
 always expand itself in habitual delight in the law : which in its 
 turn will enlarge the desire for the full enjoyment of salvation. 
 All spiritual desire therefore, that is not practical in its exercise, is 
 impulse — excitement — not — as in this man of God — the religion of 
 the heart — holiness, ^^ delight. ^^ 
 
 Would that this beautiful Psalm might quicken us to be followers 
 of him, who evidently knew so much of the heavenly joys of 
 religion ! Why should we not, why do we not, determine to know 
 as much of God as we can ? Why are our " longings for his 
 salvation'^ so transient and so few ? The religion of thousands 
 who bear the name is of a very different stamp — empty instead of 
 solid — withering instead of profitable — insipid instead of delightful. 
 If there be any exercise, it is only " the door turning upon hinges"* 
 — movement without progress — their heads stored with knowledge, 
 but no unction in the heart — "ever learning, and never able to 
 come to the knowledge of the truth."^ 
 
 But the soul that really longs shall " not be ashamed of its hope." 
 Even to taste the present fruits — though it be but a taste — in a 
 sense of reconciliation, liberty of access, a beam of the love of Jesus 
 in the heart, is unutterable enjoyment. It strengthens the soul for 
 endurance of trials, and for a devoted, self-denying, obedient ser- 
 vice. But there are heights and depths of Divine love yet unex- 
 plored.3 He who has vouchsafed large apprehensions of them to 
 others, " is rich in mercy to all that call upon hhn.^''^ The foun- 
 tain of everlasting love is ever flowing, ever full ; and he who 
 commands us to " open our mouths wide," has promised, " I will 
 fill ihem."^ After all, however, the grand consummation is the 
 object to which these longings for salvation stretch with full 
 expansion. The fulness^ and likeness of God^ — the complete and 
 everlasting deliverance from sin^ — the glorious " manifestation of 
 the sons of God"" — the coming of the Lord.'" Then — not till 
 then — will they be fully and eternally satisfied. Praised be God ! 
 " Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."'* 
 
 Lord of all power and might ! create in our souls a more intense 
 " longing for thy salvation,^'' and a more fervent " delight in thy 
 law.^^ And as our ''^longings for thy salvation^^ increase, oh! 
 nail us to the doorposts of thy house, that we may be thy happy 
 servants forever ! 
 
 1 Prov. xxvi. 14. » Tim. iii. 7. » Eph. iii. 18, 19. 
 
 < Rom. X. 12. 5 Paalm Ixxxi. 10. « Eph. iii 19. 
 
 1 Psa. xvii. 15. PhU. iU. 20, 21. » Rom. viii. 23. 2 Cor. v. 1—8. 
 
 » Rom. viii. 19—21. >» Rev. xxii. 23. 
 
 " Rom. xiii, 11. 'This salvation has been the objects of the hopes, the desires, and 
 longing expectation of the faithful, from Adam to this hour; and will continue so to be, 
 until he, who hath already visited us in great humility, shall come again in glorious 
 majesty, to complete our redemption, and take us to himself.' — Bishop Home. Compare 
 also Scott in low. 
 
VERSE 175. 293 
 
 176. Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee : and let thy judgments help me. 
 
 There must be life in order to praise ; for how can the dead 
 speak 7 Yet is it as natural for the living' soul to praise, as for 
 the living man to speak. And is not the life that the Psalmist is 
 now praying for, the salvation for which he was longing 7 The 
 taste that he has received makes him hunger for a higher and con- 
 tinued enjoyment; not for any selfish gratification, but that he 
 might employ himself in the praise of his God. Indeed, the 
 close of this Psalm exhibits that pervading character of praise, 
 which has been generally remarked in the concluding Psalms of 
 this sacred book."^ Yet he alone is fitted for this heavenly exer- 
 cise, of whom it has been said — " This my son was dead, and is 
 alive again."2 And how will he, who has " looked to the hole of 
 the pit whence he was digged,"^ who has been awakened to a sight 
 of that tremendous gulf, from which he is but " scarcely saved,"* 
 long to give utterance to the effusions of a praising heart ! How 
 will he cry for the quickening influence of " the Lord and Giver of 
 life," to stir him up to this delightful privilege ! Praise springs 
 from prayer — " Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee^'' When 
 the breathing of "Zi/e into our soiils^^ enlivens our services, we 
 become, in the noblest sense, "living souls. "^ 
 
 Too often, how^ever, the consciousness of inconsistency, careless- 
 ness, and unspirituality, damps our song. But let every recollec- 
 tion of our sin be accompanied with an humble yet assured confi- 
 dence in the Lord's pardoning grace. The abominations of a 
 desperately wicked and unsearchably deceitful heart may w^ell lead 
 us to " abhor ourselves in dust and ashes. "^ Yet in the lowest 
 depths of abasement, the Saviour's blood, applied to the conscience, 
 *' cleanseth from all sin."^ He who once " passed by us, and saw 
 us polluted in our blood, and said unto us, when we were in our 
 blood, Live ;"^ still " holdeth our souls in life"" — covering our daily 
 infirmities, and maintaining our everlasting acceptance before God. 
 But while the song of praise dwells on our lips for life thus freely 
 given, let us guard against all hinderance to its growth and influ- 
 ence. For if the life within waxes low, praise will be dull and 
 heartless; but when the assured behever cries with acceptance — 
 " Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee''' — see how his spirit 
 kindles with holy fire — " Blessed be the God and Father of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath 
 begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus 
 Christ from the dead !"^° The work of praise is now his nature, his 
 
 1 Verses 164, 171, 172, The last six Psalms are for the most part throughout the 
 breathings of praise. They were probably written at the close of life, and may be con- 
 sidered as striking indications of a soul ripening for glory. As the perfumes of Arabia 
 Felix are said to exhale their odors in the neighboring provinces ; so it is no marvel if, as 
 " the sweet Psalmist of Israel" drew near to the happy country, he should have inhaled 
 its atmosphere of praise. 
 
 2 Luke XV. 24. 3 jgaiah li. 1. < 1 Peter iv. 18. s Gen. ii. 7. e Job xUi. 6. 
 V 1 John i. 7. » Ezck. xvi. 6. » Psalm lxvi.9. 
 
 10 1 Peter i. 3. ' It is sufficient for me' — said Luther — triumphing in the very heat of 
 
294 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 element, his delight. No wonder, then, that he continues his cry 
 for the daily renewal of his spiritual life, that he may return to this 
 sweet antepast of heaven — " Let my soul liveJ^ And, indeed, this 
 life — the more it is known, the more will it form the constant mat- 
 ter for prayer. For what besides makes existence tolerable to a 
 child of God? The mere actings of a sickly pulsation can never 
 satisfy him. Considering how much nearer he might live to God 
 than he has yet known, he longs for more vigorous influence of the 
 Divine principle. In his most active enjoyments, his insufficiency 
 for this sacred work presses upon him, and stirs up petition for help 
 — " Let thy judgments help meP Give me such an enlightened 
 apprehension of thy word — of thy character — of thy perfections as 
 the God of my salvation, as may furnish abundant matter for un- 
 ceasing praise ; so that my daily exercise may be, " Giving thanks 
 always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ."^ 
 
 176. / hive gone astray like a lost sheep : seek thy servant ; for I do not forget thy 
 
 commandmenls. 
 
 The native disposition to wander from the fold is constant ground 
 for prayer for the help of the Lordf s judgments — to give us clearer 
 light and preserving principles. Yet our need of this safeguard 
 opens to us a most humbling truth. Who can gainsay the testi- 
 mony from the mouth of God — that " all we like sheep have gone 
 astray V^ But how afflicting is the thought, that this should not 
 only be the description of a world living without God, but the con- 
 fession even of God's own people ! And yet where is the child of 
 God, that does not set his own seal with shame to the confession — 
 I have gone astray like a lost sheep 7 " Who can understand his 
 errors ?" If he be not found — like Peter — in the open path of wan- 
 dering — ^yet has he not need to cry, " Cleanse thou me from secret 
 faults 7"3 Is he never led away by sense, fancy, or appetite? If 
 the will be sincere, how far is it from being perfect ! And only a 
 little yielding — bending to the flesh — giving way to evil — who 
 knoweth what may be the end of this crooked path? Who know- 
 eth what pride — waywardness — earthliness may be working within, 
 even while the gracious Lord is strengthening, guiding, comforting 
 his poor straying sheep 7 That they should ever wander from 
 privileges so great — from a God so good — from a Shepherd so kind ! 
 What can induce them to turn their backs upon their best Friend, 
 and sin against the most precious love that was ever known, but 
 something, that must, upon reflection, fill them with shame ! The 
 blame is readily cast upon the temptation of Satan, the seductive 
 witcheries of the world, or some untoward circumstances. But 
 whoever deals honestly with himself must trace the backsliding to 
 
 conflict—' that I have a precious Redeemer— a powerfol High Priest— my Lord Jesus 
 Christ. I will praise him as long as I have breath. If another will not join me in prais- 
 ing with me, what is that torael — D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation, Bookiv.ch. L 
 » Ephesians v. 20. a Isa. liii. 6. 3 pga. xix. 12. 
 
VERSE 176. 295 
 
 his own heart — " This is my infirmity."^ And have we replaced 
 what we have wilfully yielded up, with anything of equal or supe- 
 rior value? May it not be asked of us — " What fruit have ye then 
 in those things whereof ye are now ashamed ; for the end of those 
 things is death ?"* 
 
 But there is no enjoyment, while distant from the beloved fold. 
 It is as impossible for the child of God to be happy, when separated 
 from his God, as if he were in the regions of eternal despair. He 
 has not lost — he cannot wholly lose — his recollection of the forsaken 
 blessing. In struggling weeping faith, he cries — " Seek thy ser- 
 va?itJ^ 'I cannot find my way back ;^ the good Shepherd must 
 seek me. Once I knew the path ; but now that I have wandered 
 into bye-paths, I am no more able to return, than I was to come at 
 first. I have no guide but the Shepherd whom I have left.' How 
 cheering then in his office character ! — " Behold I, even I, will both 
 search my sheep, and seek them out : as a shepherd seeketh out 
 his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered ; 
 so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places 
 where they have been scattered in the dark and cloudy day."* 
 Cannot I set my seal to his faithful discharge of his office — " He 
 restoreth my soul ?"* 
 
 If I want further encouragement to guide my steps homeward, 
 let me think of his own description of his tender faithfulness, and 
 compassionate yearnings over his lost sheep ; not showing it the 
 way back to the fold, and leaving it to come after him ; but " lay- 
 ing it upon his own shoulders, and bringing it home :" all upbraid- 
 ings forgotten ; all recollections of his own pains swallowed up in 
 the joy, that he hath " found the sheep which was lost."^ Let me 
 remember the express commission, that brought the Shepherd from 
 heaven to earth — from the throne of God to the manger, and thence 
 to the garden and cross, " to seek and to save that which was lost."^ 
 Let me see upon him the special mark of " the good shepherd giv- 
 ing his hfe for the sheep."« Let me observe this sacrifice as cover- 
 ing the guilt of my wanderings, and opening my way to return — 
 yea drawing me in the way' — surely I may add to my contrite con- 
 fession the prayer of confidence — seek thy servant. 1 cannot for- 
 bear to plead, that though a rebellious prodigal, I am still " thy 
 servmit^^'' thy child : I still bear the child's mark of an interest in 
 thy covenant. Though a wanderer from the fold, '■^ I do iiot for- 
 get thy commandments?'^ Nothing can erase thy law, which was 
 " written in my mind and inward parts"'° by the finger and Spirit 
 of God, as an earnest of my adoption — as the pledge of my restora- 
 tion. What man writes is easily blotted out : what God writes is 
 indehble. Let me then lie humbled and self-abased. But let me 
 
 1 Psa. Ixxvii. 10. ^ Rom, vi. 21. 
 
 3 ' Domini, errare potui ; redire non potui' — was Augustine's true and humbling con- 
 fession. 
 
 4 Ezek. xxxiv. 11, 12. s Psalm xxiii. 3. « Luke xv. 4—6. ' lb. xix. 10. 
 8 John X. 11. » Isaiah liii. 5, 6. i° Jer. xxii. 33. 
 
296 EXPOSITION OF PSALM CXIX. 
 
 not forget my claim — what has been done for me. Thus again I 
 hope to be received as a "dear" and " pleasant child ;"^ again to be 
 clothed with " the best robe," to be welcomed with fresh tokens of 
 my Father's everlasting love,'^ and to be assured with the precious 
 promise — " My sheep shall never perish, and none shall pluck them 
 out of my hand."^ 
 
 Such, Christian reader, would be the application we should make 
 of this verse to ourselves ; and such a penitent confession of our 
 backslidings, united with a believing dependence on the long-tried 
 grace and faithfulness of our God, would form a suitable conclusion 
 to our meditations on this most interesting Psalm. We would unite 
 the publican's prayer with the great Apostle's confidence ; and while 
 in holy brokenness of heart we would wish to live and die, smiting 
 upon our breast, and saying, " God be merciful to me a sinner :"* 
 the remembrance of our adoption warrants the expression of assur- 
 ance, " I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is 
 able to keep that which I have committed to him against that 
 day."^ Yet, as it regards the experience of David, is there not 
 something striking, and we had almost said, unexpected, in the 
 conclusion of this Psalm? To hear one — who has throughout 
 been expressing such holy and joyful aspirations for the salvation 
 of his God, su^h fervent praises of. his love, that we seem to shrink 
 back from the comparison with him, as if considering him almost 
 on the verge of heaven — to hear this " man after God's own heart," 
 sinking himself to the lowest dust, under the sense of the evil of his 
 heart, and his perpetual tendency to wander from his God, is indeed 
 a most instructive lesson. It marks the believer's conflict sustained 
 to the end — the humility, and yet the strength of his confidence — 
 the highest notes of praise combining with the deepest expressions 
 of abasement — forming that harmony of acceptable service, which 
 ascends "like pillars of smoke"^ before God. And thus will our 
 Christian progress be checkered, until we reach the regions of un- 
 mixed praise, where we shall no more mourn over our wanderings, 
 no longer feel any inclination to err from our Shepherd's presence, 
 no more experience the wretchedness of distance from him, or the 
 difficulty of returning to him — where we shall be eternally safe in 
 the heavenly fold, to " go no more out."^ For " he that sitteth 
 
 ON THE throne SHALL DWELL AMONG THEM; THEY SHALL 
 
 hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither 
 shall the sun light on them, nor any heat; for the 
 Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed 
 them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of 
 waters ; and god shall wipe away all tears from their 
 
 EYES."8 
 
 » Jer. V. 20. 2 1 Peter 24, 25. Luke xv. 22, 23, 3 John i. 28. 
 
 * Luke xviii. 13. « 2 Tim. i 12. « Cant. iii. 6. "^ Rev. iii. 12. 
 
 • Rev. vii. 15—17. 
 
INDEX TO PSALM CXIX. 
 
 Abba, Father, 283 
 
 Acceptance, 170, 171, 212—214 
 
 Access, way of, 25, 133, 136, 192, 194, 281 
 
 importance of knowing, 281, 282 
 
 known to Old Testament believers, 
 
 Pref iii. 218, 219 
 
 Acknowledgment of God's faithfulness, 103 
 
 —105, 122—124 
 righteousness, 225, 
 
 226,233,234 
 Actings of faith habitual, 272 
 Activity, spiritual, 55. 56 
 Adoption, spirit of, 29, 235, 262, 284, 296 
 Advantage of religious vows. See Vows. 
 Advocacy of Christ. See Jesus Christ. 
 Auctions, blessings of, 109, 110, 115, 116, 
 
 122,123 
 
 comfort in, 82, 83, 89, 90, 97, 98 
 confidence in, 137, 139, 168, 169, 
 
 234—236 
 
 See Word 
 
 lost, 1 17 
 protracted, 138 
 submission under, 123 
 support of the word, under. 
 
 teaching of, 115, 117 
 gracious uses of, 123 
 
 worldly, 97, 98, 147, 168, 236 
 
 Agatha, martyr, 74 n. 
 
 Ahithophel, 173 
 
 Ainsworth referred to, 29 n. 208 n. 214 n. 
 270 n. 
 
 AUeine, Joseph, quoted, 77 n. 
 
 Ambrose quoted, Pref vi. n. 
 
 Anhalt, Prince George of, 200 n. 
 
 Answers to prayer, 46, 105 n. 
 
 Apostasy, guilt of, 66 
 
 Apostles, conduct of, 76, 225, 226 
 
 Application of the word to our case, 27, 65, 
 80 
 
 Arguments in prayer, 65, 125, 126, n. 150, 
 152, 243, 244, 246 
 
 Ashamed of Christ, 46, 47 
 
 Assurance, 16, 19—71, 133, 219, 220, 273— 
 277 
 
 known to Old Testament be- 
 lievers, 64, 219, 220 
 
 loss of, sad effects, 71, 72, 274 
 
 how maintained, 16, 220, 275 n. 
 
 Attainments, humble view of, 17 
 Augustine, his conflicts, 53 n. 74 n. 
 
 conversion, 20 n. 26 n. 
 
 prayers, 14 n. 94, 295 n. 
 
 view of prayer, 239 n. 
 
 • — quotations from, Pref vii. n. 19 
 
 n. 81, 137 n. 159 n. 162 n. 202 n. 211 n. 
 Scripture fulness, view of, 207 n. 
 
 Authority of the word. See Word 
 Awful state of wicked. See Wicked 
 world. See World. 
 
 B 
 
 Backsliding, 213, 277 
 
 guilt of, 54, 66 
 
 loss from, 90 
 
 return from, 214 
 
 Bacon, Lord, quoted, 124 n. 
 
 Balaam, referred to, 132 
 
 Baptism, infant, an exercise of faith, 81 
 
 Basil's prayer, 94 
 
 Baxter, quoted, 99 
 
 Baxter's Christian Directory, referred to, 
 
 108 n. 
 Believers cautioned, 54 
 
 despised by the world, 231—233 
 
 Believer's character, 64, 149 
 • comfort in affliction. 
 
 See Afflic- 
 
 tion. 
 
 72, 
 
 — condition, 189, 190 
 
 confession of Christ, 25, 26, 70 — 
 
 76, 77, 285—287 
 
 confidence, 54, 120—122, 151, 
 
 152, 185—189, 194—196, 295, 296 
 
 conflicts, 43—45, 48, 50, 53, 177, 
 
 —181, 295, 296 
 
 cross, 38, 83, 84, 113, 254—256 
 
 deliffht in the word, 26, 27, 147, 
 
 202, 203, 230, 231, 235, 264 
 encouragement. See Encourage- 
 ment. 
 
 liberty in the ways of (3od, 55, 
 
 56,74-75 
 
 love of the brethren, 98, 99, 129 
 
 -131 
 
 need of mercy, 198, 199 
 
 persecutions, 38, 83, 112, 127, 
 
 140, 254, 255, 262 
 
 — ^ — plea for mercy, 148, 199 
 
 portion, 91, 92, 174, 175 
 
298 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Believer's praises. See Praise. 
 
 prayers. See Prayer. 
 
 preciousness in sight of God, 232 
 
 — — prospects, 98 
 
 ■ resolutions, 16G — 168 
 
 security, 142, 150—152 
 
 steadfastness, 54, 138, 255, 256, 
 
 270, 271 
 
 trials of faith, 134—136, 196—198 
 
 walk, 297—299 
 
 Bernard quoted, 57, 75 n. 137 
 Beza referred to, 20 
 Bondage, spirit of, 267 
 Boston quoted, 30 
 Bradford's Letters, 244 n. 
 
 referred to. 236 n. 
 
 Brainerd's Life. 229, 230—232 
 Brooke's Works, 49 n. 
 Buchanan, Rev. Dr., referred to, 207 n. 
 Bunyan quoted, 63, G6, 98, 268 
 
 Cadogan, Life of, 241 n. 
 
 Calvin on Psalm cxix. quoted, Pref. vi. n. 
 
 Calvin's Institutes referred to, 106 n. 
 
 Cecil quoted, 185, 208 n. 
 
 Character of God. See God. 
 
 his judgments. See Judg-- 
 
 ments. 
 
 his testimonies. See Testi- 
 
 monies. 
 
 Characteristics of Psalm cxix. Pref. v. 
 
 Charnock quoted. 111 
 
 Choice of the Gospel, 51—53, 287—289 
 
 cost counted, 254, 255 
 
 help in making, 288 
 
 ■ of Mary, 51 
 
 of Paul, 51,97 
 
 Christians. See Believers. 
 
 love of early, 129 
 
 their trials, 98 
 
 Cicero quoted, 29 
 
 Circumstances of temptation. See Tempta- 
 tion. 
 
 Cleansing power of the word. See Word. 
 
 Cleaving to God, 53—55, 142, 143, 255, 256 
 
 CoUatia, people of, 76 n. 
 
 Comfort of Word, 82, 83 
 
 Coming of Christ, believer looking for, 133, 
 134, 136, 221, 269, 292 
 
 Compassion to sinners, 85—87, 221 — ^224, 
 252—254, 256—258 
 
 Condition of the believer. Sec Believer. 
 
 Confession of Christ. See Believer. 
 
 comfort of, 73 
 
 young persons encouraged to, 
 
 76,77 
 
 Confidence, Christian. See Believer. 
 
 distinguished from pharisaical. 
 
 195 
 
 dying hours, 134, 172—174, 
 
 — ^ ayir 
 
 234, 244, 247 
 
 excitement to, 120 — 122 
 
 Conflict, spiritual. See Believer. 
 
 Conformity to the world, 182 — 185 
 
 danger of, 99, 100, 183, 184 
 
 deceitfulness of, 183 
 
 Confusion of enemies, prayer for, 127 — 129, 
 
 139, 140, 200—202 
 Conscience, 194 
 
 good, 194—196 
 
 scrupulous, 105—109, 167, 282 
 
 seared, 113—115 
 
 tender, 163 
 
 unenlightened, 109 
 
 Consideration, 93 — 95 
 
 God's, of his people, 258 
 
 Contrition, sweetness of, 49, 67 
 Conversation, daily, 73 
 
 religious, 48, 72, 73 
 
 Conversion of Jews, 146 
 world, ibid. 
 
 Convictions, immediate attention to, 95, 96 
 Corruption of nature, 11, 18 
 
 from youth, 18 
 
 Counsel of Christ. See Jesus Christ, 
 word, 40—43 
 
 Covenant of grace, emblem of, 145 
 Covetousness, 60, 61 
 
 danger of, 60, 61 
 
 mortification of. ibid. 
 
 Cowper, Bp. quoted, Pref vii. n. 
 
 W, quoted, 186 n._ 
 
 Cranmer quoted, 263 n. 
 Creation of man, 119 
 
 end of, 119,120 
 
 new, on heart, 11, 12, 120 
 
 works of, 144 — 146 
 
 Cross, taken up. See Believer. 
 
 of Christ. See Jesus Christ. 
 
 power of, 158 
 
 Curse of sin, 22 
 
 Cyprian's Epistles quoted, 78 n. 257 n 
 
 Danger, temporal, 172, 173 
 
 of pride, 36—38 
 
 of prosperity, 109, 110 
 
 of self-confidence, 188, 189 
 
 of walking in our own light, 42 
 
 of worldly conformity. See Con- 
 
 formity. 
 Daniel in Babylon, 19, 39, 240 
 
 snare laid for, 172 
 
 steadfastness, ibid. 
 
 D'Aubignc, Hist, of Reformation, 200 n. 
 
 294 n. 
 David, character of, Pref iii— iv. 
 
 awe of God's word, 262 
 
 concern for his honor, 05 
 
 dying advice to Solomon, 40 n. 
 
 dying consolations, 134 
 
 fear of temptation, 62 
 
 ■ life endangered, 172 
 
 persecutions, 39, 262 
 
 praises, times of, 98, 99, 267 
 
 prayer, habit of, '^40, 242 
 
 promise secured, 259, 260 
 
INDEX. 
 
 299 
 
 David, submission of, 123 
 
 wisdom, 156, 157 
 
 Deadness in prayer, 143 
 
 Deceitfulncss of worldly conformity. See 
 
 Conformity. 
 Defilement, encouragement under, 10 
 Delight, spiritual, 59, 60, 289—292 
 
 in the ways of God, 29, 30, 67, 77, 
 
 78, 87, 88 
 
 in the Word of God. 
 
 See Believer. 
 
 Deliverance from trial, 217, 218 
 
 from vain thoughts, 179, 180 
 
 of children of Israel, 85, 2o0 
 
 deluge, record of, 85 
 
 Desertion, state of, 17—19 
 
 causes of, 18 
 
 encouragements under, 18, 19, 
 
 196,197 » ' . 
 
 Jesus Christ in state of. See 
 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 Desire, spiritual, 34, 35, 67—69, 210—212 
 
 hindrances to, 35 
 
 — object of, 134—136 
 
 Difference between God's people and the 
 world, 185—191 
 
 Diodati quoted, 101 
 
 Divine teaching, 25, 32, 33, 46, 47, 48, 53, 
 101, 112 
 
 ■ by affliction, 115, 116 
 
 blessing of, 159, 160 
 
 Dominion of sin, 214 — 216 
 
 Dying hour, confidence in. See Confi- 
 dence. 
 
 preparation for, 172 
 
 E 
 
 Early Christians. See Christians. 
 
 rising, 240, 242 
 Edwards' (President), resolution, 46 n. 
 
 view of false humility, 232 n. 
 
 view of Psalm cxix, Pref. v. n, 
 
 Ejaculatory prayer, 105 n. 239 n. 
 Elijah's zeal, 228 
 
 Elisha's faith, 245 
 
 Emblem of the covenant of grace, 145 
 Emptiness of the world, 152 
 Encouragement of the believer, 151 
 
 to confession of Christ, 
 
 76,77 
 
 149 
 
 -181 
 
 under the cross, 38 
 deadness of prayer, 44 
 defilement of sin, 10 
 desertion. See Desertion, 
 desire spiritual, 67, 68 
 love of the brethren, 101 
 under failure of memory, 
 
 to perseverance, 57, 176 
 under power of sin, 49, 50 
 to praise, 268, 269 
 to return to God, 294, 296 
 under vain thoughts, 178 
 
 End of creation. See Creation. 
 
 Enemies, prayer for confusion of. See 
 
 Confusion. 
 Enmity- to the people of God, 128, 151, 244 
 overruled for good, 112, 113, 255, 
 
 256 
 Enthusiasm, 209, 210 
 Error of heart, 36, 190 
 Eternity, nearness of, 173 
 Evangelical religion, happiness of, Pref v. 
 
 77, 78 
 Example of Jesus Christ. See Jesus. 
 Excitement to Christian confidence. See 
 
 Confidence. 
 Expectations of faith, 30, 31, 55 
 Experience of Old Testament believers, 
 
 Pref iii. iv. 64, 219 
 identical with New Testament, 
 
 Pref iii. iv. 271 
 
 of Jacob. See Jacob. 
 
 of Job. See Job. 
 
 of Jonah. See Jonah. 
 
 of Paul. See Paul. 
 
 witness of the truth of Scrip- 
 ture, 260, 261 
 Extension of the kingdom of Christ, 146 
 
 Faith, actings of, 80, 270, 277 
 
 ground of, 146 
 
 practical principle, 270, 274 
 
 trembling, 271, 272 
 
 trials of See Trials. 
 
 in the commandments, 109 
 
 promise, 103—105, 125 n. 
 
 of Old Testament believers, Pref. 
 
 iii. 219 
 
 Faithfulness of God. See God. 
 False humility. See Humility. 
 
 ways, 162, 163, 203—205. See Lying. 
 
 zeal. See Zeal. 
 
 Favor, sense of, 92, 93, 124, 127,212—214. 
 
 See Assurance. 
 
 benefit of, 220 
 
 means of obtaining, 221 
 
 Fear of God, 64 
 
 of God consistent with assurance, 64. 
 
 263 n. 
 
 fruit of assurance, 134, 276 n. 
 
 of the judgments of God, 191—193. 
 
 Fellowship, Christian, 99—10), 129—131 
 
 worldly. See Conformity. 
 
 First love, loss of, 290, 291 
 Forbearance, Christian, 129—131 
 Foreknowledge of God. See God. 
 Forgiveness of God. See God. 
 Foundation of the word of Grod. See 
 
 Word. 
 Franck, Professor, quoted, 28 n. 
 Free-will offerings, 170 — 172 
 Fulness of Scripture. See Word. 
 
 Galatian churches, error of, 162, 234, 266 
 Gardiner, Col., referred to, 262 
 
300 
 
 rNDEX. 
 
 Glover, Martyr, referred to, 198 n. 
 God, his character, 225 
 
 faithfulness, 103—105, 121, 144, 
 
 145 
 
 foreknowledge, 145, 246 
 
 forgiveness, 45 
 
 goodness, 110 — 112 
 
 mercy, 101, 103 
 
 righteousness, 225, 226 
 
 unchangeableness, 21, 145 
 
 ways, 121, 122, 225, 226 
 
 the portion of his people, 91, 92 
 
 Good conscience. See Conscience. 
 Grace, power of, 13 — 15 
 
 quickening. See Quickening. 
 
 seasonable, 243, 244 
 
 Gracious uses of affliction. See Affliction. 
 Greenham, referred to, 105 n. 178 n. 
 Gregory Nazienzen, referred to, 52 n. 
 Grimshawe's Life, referred to, 166 n. 
 Gurnal, quoted, 147 n. 
 
 H 
 
 Habitual actings of faith, 272 
 
 Halyburton's Life, Pref v. n. 
 
 Happiness of religion, Pref iii. 77, 78 
 
 Harmony of Scripture, 14, 15 
 
 Hatred of sin, 162, 163, 204, 205, 264—266 
 
 Heart, tender, 114 
 
 Heaven, service of, 74, 254, 269 
 
 Helps to Memory, 30 
 
 Henry, P. catholic rule of, 129 n. 
 
 views of Psalm cxix. Pref vi, 
 
 Hervey quoted, 155 n. 
 Hess, Antistes, referred to, 207 n. 
 Hiding of word in the heart. See Word. 
 Hiding-place, Jesus Christ. See Jesus 
 
 Christ. 
 Hindrances to the light of the Gospel, 207, 
 
 — love of the brethren, 129 
 
 prayer, 281 
 
 progress, 55, 106 
 
 History of the Bible, importance of, 83, 84 
 Holiness of the word. See Word. 
 Hope, Christian, 135, 136 
 
 fruit of faith, 271 
 
 practical principle, 274, 275 
 
 in God's salvation, 271 — 275 
 
 in God's word, 80, 81, 135, 136, 
 
 182, 242, 2-13 
 
 Jesus Christ the Christian's, 186 
 
 Home, Bishop, quoted, 9, 28 n. 230, 278 
 Home, Hartwell, quoted, Pref vi. 
 Horsley, Bishop, quoted, 10 n. 192 n. 
 Howe, quoted, HI n. 131 
 Humility, 17 
 
 false, 232 
 
 Hypocrisy, 15, 16, 131—134, 204, 205 
 
 I 
 
 Identity of experience of Old and New 
 Testamenta. See Experience. 
 
 Illumination, Divine. See Teaching. 
 Inabihty, moral, 14 
 
 Indifference to the wonders of the Bible, 207 
 IndweUing sin. See Believer's Conflicts, 
 encouragement under. See 
 
 Encouragement. 
 Infidelity, preservation against, 156, 260 
 Integrity, Christian, 132—134 
 Intercession of the Spirit, 67 
 Interest, personal, in Christ, 69, 70 
 
 - in the promise. See Promises. 
 
 Isaiah liii. 148 n. 
 
 Israel, Children of, their exodus, 85, 260 
 
 manna, 261 
 
 Jacob's dying hour, 134 
 
 experience, 103, 104 
 
 faith in the promises, 81 
 
 Jephthah's vow, 166 
 Jerome quoted, 114 
 Jesus Christ, advocacy of, 171, 179, 180, 
 188, 238, 244, 249—251, 281 
 
 government of, 233 
 
 Jesus's compassion for sinners, 165, 257 
 
 conflicts, 50, 196 
 
 counsel, 196 
 
 delight in his work, 60, 211 
 
 example, 26, 60, 76, 84, 113, 128, 
 
 172, 216, 229, 231, 232, 240, 245 
 
 perseverance, 54 
 
 prayers, 127, 128, 240, 241, 257 
 
 preaching, 26 
 
 reproach, 39, 83, 232 
 
 sufferings, 38, 39, 87, 138, 248 
 
 support, 50, 89, 245 
 
 sympathy, 138, 168, 235, ^48, 249 
 
 zeal, 229, 257 
 
 Jesus Christ, the Christian's hiding-place, 
 181, 182 
 
 hope, 186 
 
 portion, 91, 92 
 
 shepherd, 295 
 
 surety, 195, 196 
 
 Jewish Expositor quoted, 207 n. 
 Rabbi, 118 n. 
 
 Jews, conversion of, 146 
 
 reverence for the word of Qod, 259 n. 
 
 Joash, his history, 260 
 Job's affliction, 97, 137, 138 
 
 conflicts, 211 
 
 resignation, 123, 137 
 
 steadfastness, 138 
 
 Jonah's experience, 146 
 
 Joseph referred to, 19, 447 
 
 Josiah referred to, 447 
 
 Judas referred to, 132 
 
 Judgment, good, the gift of God, 105 
 
 ! of God, 244 
 
 executed upon the ungodly, 189, 
 
 —191,201,202 
 subjecU of praise, 85, 99, 100, 
 
 268, 269 
 
INDEX. 
 
 301 
 
 K 
 
 Keeping the testimonies, 10, 11, 12 — 15, 
 
 207, 208, 240, 276, 280 
 Kingdom of Christ, extension of, 146 
 Knowledge, spiritual, 105 — 109. See Un- 
 derstanding. 
 
 L 
 
 Law of God, love to, 154, 155, 258, 269— 
 
 271, 276—280 
 Law of God, spirituality of, 152, 153, 203, 
 
 204 
 Leighton quoted, 139, 140, 151 
 Liberty of the ways of God, 74, 75 
 Lies against the people of God, 112, 113 
 Life spiritual, 127, 237, 293, 294 
 Light of the Spirit, 209, 210 
 Word, 164—166, 208— 
 
 210 
 
 danger of walking in our own, 42 
 
 hindrances to, 208, 209 
 
 Liturgy referred to, 268 
 
 Livy quoted, 76 n. 
 
 Locke quoted, 230 
 
 Love of the brethren. See Believer. 
 
 law. See Law. 
 
 constraining, 32, 270 
 
 Luther quoted, Pref. vii. n. 67 n. 147 n. 157 
 
 n. 283 n. 293 n. 
 
 resistance of temptation, 239 n. 
 
 at school, 115 
 
 supplication, spirit of, 239 n. 242 n. 
 
 L)nng ways, 50, 51, 264—266 
 
 • — origin of, 51 
 
 resistance of, 266 
 
 M 
 Man, creation of. See Creation. 
 
 redemption of. See Redemption. 
 
 Manton, Dr. referred to, 46 n. 
 
 Martyn, H. quoted, Pref vii. n. (2,) 154 n. 
 
 193 n. 200 n. 207 n. 230, 257 
 Martyrs referred to, 236 n. 
 Mary's choice, 51 
 Mather, Cotton, quoted, 73 n. 
 Matthew, ch. xi. ver 28, 147 n. 
 Meditation, 79, 80, 127, 128, 155—157, 242 
 Memory, encouragement luder weakness 
 
 of, 26, 149 
 
 helps to, 30 
 
 Mercy of God. See God. 
 
 believer's need of, 198, 199 
 
 great, 252, 253 
 
 ^— tender, 126, 127, 249 
 Midnight employment and support, 99 
 Milner quoted, 131 n. 239 n. 242 n. 
 Minister, Christian, character of, 222 
 Misery of sin, 22 
 Missionary encouragements, 146 
 
 feelings, 223, 224 
 
 Monica quoted, 125 n. 
 Moral Inability. See Inability. 
 Morning Exercises referred to, 130 
 Mortification of the flesh, 99 
 Moses's zeal, 188 
 
 N 
 
 Name of God, revealed, 89 
 
 support to Jesus from. See Jesus 
 
 Christ. 
 support to the people of God from. 
 
 88,89 
 Nature, corruption of, 11, 19 
 renewal of, 11, 12 
 
 Nearness of eternity, 174 
 
 of God to his people, 245, 246 
 
 support to Jesus from. See Jesus 
 
 Christ 
 Night-season, comfort for, 88 — 89 
 
 Obedience, christian, 12, 13 
 
 happiness of, 90, 91 
 
 obligations to, 12 
 
 Offering, free-will. See Free-will Offer- 
 ings. 
 Origen quoted, 27 n. 
 Owen, (Dr.), quoted, 20 n. 207 n. 263 n. 
 
 Paul, his boldness for Christ, 76 
 
 choice of the gospel, 52, 97 
 
 Christian experience, Pref. iii. iv. 
 
 fervency of spirit, 55, 211 
 
 pride, temptation to, 37 
 
 steadfastness, 172, 255 
 
 tenderness of spirit, 222, 223 
 
 zeal, 228 
 
 Peace of the gospel, 269—271 
 Pearce, life of, 166 n. 
 People of God. See Believer. 
 Perfection, christian, 277 n. 
 Persecution. See Believer. 
 
 comfort under, 140, 234—236 
 
 how to abide, 83, 84 
 
 Perseverance desired, 57 
 
 - encouragement to, 55, 169, 
 
 175 
 
 importance of, 53, 64 
 secured, 68, 175, 256 
 test of, 172—174 
 
 Personal interest in the gospel. See In- 
 terest. 
 
 Peter's denial of Christ, 258 
 
 determination to confess Christ. 
 
 ibid. 
 
 self-confidence, 188 
 
 Philpot referred to, 236 n. 
 
 Pilgrim's Song, 87, 8S 
 
 spirit, importance of, 33, 34 
 
 Pleasures of sin contrasted, 77, 78 
 
 Poor, religion of, 208, 209 
 
 Portion of the people of God, 91, 92 
 
 Praise, 24^ 25, 267—269, 2^4, 285 
 
 acceptableness of, 24 
 
 encouragement to, 267 — 269 
 
 poverty of, 24 
 
 subjects of, 267, 268 
 
 world of, 269 
 
302 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Prayer, 238—2^40, 282, 283 
 
 answers to, 46, 105 n. 
 
 dullness, reason of, 239, 253 
 
 ejaculation, 105 n. 239 n. 
 
 object of, 239 n, 
 
 seasons of, 240 — 243 
 
 secret, 282 
 
 example of Jesus in. See Jesus 
 
 Christ. 
 
 temptation resisted by, 239 n. 
 
 Preciousness of the believer. See Believer. 
 Pride, hateful to God, 36, 37 
 
 spiritual, temptation to, 37 n. 
 
 Princes, persecution of, 39, 262 
 Progress, Christian, 55, 56 
 Promise of Spirit. See Spirit. 
 
 tender heart. See Heart. 
 
 Promises, interest in, how distinguished, 
 
 164—167 
 pleading in prayer. 80, 81, 125, 
 
 283,284 S i' ^ ' ' ' ' 
 
 Prospects of believer. See Believer. 
 Prosperity, danger of. 109, 110 
 Psalm xxii. quoted, 87 
 cxix. view of, Pref, v. vi. 
 
 Quickening grace, 14, 44, 68, 69, 143, 144, 
 
 243, 250, 254, 253, 254, 259 
 power of the word, 83, 148, 149 
 
 Rabbi, Jewish, 118 n. 
 
 Record of trials of God's people, 235 
 
 Redemption, work of, 120, 202, 205, 206— 
 
 247 
 Religion, evangelical happiness of, Pref. v. 
 
 77, 78 
 
 of poor. See Poor. 
 
 Religious conversation. See Conversation. 
 Reproach. See Jesus Christ. 
 
 of the Cross, 38, 39 
 
 of sin, 65, 66 
 
 Resistance of temptation. See Temptation. 
 Respect to the Word of God. See Word. 
 Reverence to the Word. See Word. 
 Righteous character of God. See God. 
 
 testimonies of God, 226, 236, 237 
 
 of the ways of God, 122, 123 
 
 Rising early, 240, 241 
 Rivet, Dr. referred to, 115 n. 
 Rutherford's Letters quoted, 82 n. 103 n. 
 
 Sabbath spirit, happiness of, 30 
 Salvation, what it is, 70, 71, 289, 290 
 
 object of desire, 69 
 
 personal interest in, 69, 70 
 
 — work of See Redemption. 
 
 Saul referred to, 132, 236 
 Savage, Mrs. Preface vi. n. 
 Scott referred to, 101 n. 106 n. 178 n. 242 
 n. 250 n. 
 
 Scriptures, Holy. See Word of God. 
 
 Scrupulous Conscience. See Conscience. 
 
 Season of Prayer. See Prayer. 
 
 Seasonableness of Grace. See Grace. 
 
 Security of the people of God. See Be- 
 liever. 
 
 Self-deception, 17, 29 
 
 dedication, 166—168, 171, 172 
 
 denial, 98, 99 
 
 examination, Pref. iv. v. 
 
 Seneca quoted, 74 n. 
 
 Sense of favor. See Favor. 
 
 Servant of God, character of, 64 
 
 privilege of, 201, 202 
 
 Service of heaven. See Heaven. 
 
 Shadrach referred to, 19, 262 
 
 Simplicity, Christian, 17 
 
 Sin, aggravation of, 22 
 
 conflict with. See Believer. 
 
 curse of, 22 
 
 dominion of, 214 — 216 
 
 misery of, 22 
 
 pleasures of, 77, 78 
 
 hateful to the people of God, 204, 205, 
 
 264—266 ' ' > 
 
 Sincerity, godly, 15, 16, 203—205 
 
 Sorrow, godly, 48 — 50 
 
 ; — worldly. See Affliction. 
 
 Spirit, intercession of, 68 
 
 light of See Light. 
 
 promise of, 10, 11, 47, 48 
 
 Spiritual activity. See Activity. 
 
 bondage, 267 
 
 life. See Life. 
 
 light. See Light. 
 
 pride. See Pride. 
 
 understanding. See Understand- 
 ing. 
 
 Spirituality of the law. See Law. 
 
 State of the wicked. See Wicked. 
 
 world. See World. 
 
 Steadfastness of the believer. See Be- 
 liever. 
 
 Steel's Antidote to distractions quoted, 180 
 
 Stranger, character of Christ as. See Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Christians, 39 n. 
 
 Structure of Psalm cxix. Pref v. 
 
 Submission to the word of God, 157, 237, 
 260, 261 
 
 Sufferings of Jesus Christ. Sec Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Sumner's (Bp.) Evidences quoted, 74 n. 
 
 Support vouchsafed to Jesus Christ under 
 sufferings. See Jesus Christ. 
 
 to people of God under trouble, 168 
 
 170 
 
 from the word of God. See Word. 
 
 Surrender of all, 76 n. 168, 171 
 Suretyship of Jesus Christ. See Jesus 
 
 Christ. 
 Sweetness of the word. 
 
 See Word. 
 
 Taylor (Bp.) quoted, 106 n. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 303 
 
 Teaching of God. See Divine Teaching. 
 prayers for, 24, 32, 45, 56, 58, 
 
 101, 105, 111, 198 
 Temptation, circumstances of, 62, 63 
 resistance of, 62, 63, 139, 141, 
 
 178 n. 239 n. 
 
 watchfulness in, 63 
 
 Tender Conscience. See Conscience. 
 
 heart, promise of See Heart. 
 
 mercies of God, See Mercy. 
 
 Tertullian quoted, 206 n. 
 Testimonies of God, what, 10 
 
 obedience required to, 10, 1 1, 
 
 276—280 
 
 175 
 
 preciousness of, 26, 27, 174, 
 
 Thomas a Kempis quoted, 244 
 Thoughts, vain. See Vain. 
 Threatenings of the word, how to hear, 165 
 Trials of faith, 136, 137, 138, 196—198 
 
 ofthe world, 98 
 
 deliverance from, 217, 218 
 
 Truth of God's word. See Word, 
 Gospel, 233, 234 
 
 U 
 
 Unbelief rebuked, 103—105 
 
 Unchangeableness of God, See God. 
 
 Undefiled way, 9 
 
 privileges of, 10 
 
 Understanding, spiritual, 118, 157, 160, 162, 
 237, 238 
 
 Unenlightened Conscience. See Consci- 
 ence. 
 
 Ungodly, duty to, 257 
 
 Upholding grace, 186—189 
 
 Usher (Archbishop) quoted, 286 n. 
 
 Vain thoughts, 176 
 
 distress of, 177 
 
 thoughts, encouragement under, 178 
 
 —181 
 Vanity ofthe world, 62 
 
 resistance to, 63 
 
 Venn, Rev. H. quoted, Pref vii. 
 Vows, Religious, 166, 168 
 advantages of, 167 
 
 evangelical character of, 167 
 
 W 
 
 Waiting faith. See Trials of Faith. 
 Walking before God. See Believer, 
 Watchfulness, importance of, 62 
 Ways of God, Liberty of. See Liberty. 
 
 Ways of God, pleasures of, 77, 78 
 
 lyin^. See False Ways and Lying. 
 
 Weariness in duties consistent with grace, 
 
 68 
 Wholeness of heart, 10, 21, 92, 93, ll3. 
 
 See Integrity. 
 Wicked, character of, 244, 251, 252 
 compassion due to. See Compas- 
 
 condition of, 189—191, 251, 
 
 Wisdom, spiritual. See Spiritual Under- 
 standing. 
 
 Word of God, its application to our need, 
 27, 82 n, 
 
 authority of, 155—157, 259, 
 
 262, 263 
 
 cleansing power of, 18, 19, 
 230, 231 
 Word, delight of Believer. See Believer. 
 
 foundation of, 144—146, 246, 247 
 
 fulness of, 47, 57, 351 
 
 harmony of, 14, 15 
 
 hid in the heart, 22, 23 
 
 holiness of, 157, 159, 230, 231 
 
 hope of believer. See Hope. 
 
 light of See Light. 
 
 names of, Pref, v. vi, 
 
 quickening power of. See Quick* 
 
 eiung 
 
 236 
 
 267 
 
 reverence of, 144, 262 
 
 riches of, 179, 180, 202 
 
 support of, 80—82, 146, 147, 234— 
 
 sweetness of, 156 — 162 
 
 truth of, 246, 247, 256—258, 259— 
 
 wonders of, 32, 33, 205—207 n. 
 Works of Creation. See Creation. 
 
 new creation, 11, 12, 119 
 
 Redemption. See Redemption, 
 
 World, awful state of, 86, 87, 222, 223 
 compassion due to, 190, 191, 222 
 
 emptiness of, 152 
 
 Worldly Conformity, Sec Conformity. 
 sorrow. See Affliction. 
 
 Young Christian encouraged, 270, 271 
 warned, 254, 255 
 
 persons addressed, 76, 77 
 
 Youth — corruption of heart from. 
 Corruption, 
 
 See 
 
 Zeal, Christian, 200— 202,' 22&— 230, 257 
 false, 2^227 
 
 DBI7BSSXi'l 
 

 
 BA.1B 
 
 
 
I V^ t W 1 twC-V^ 
 
 Sh^l^3 
 
 y 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY