Page:An Exposition of the Old and New Testament (1828) vol 3.djvu/588

580 that as my happiness, and laid up my treasure in it; I have hoped for it as thine, as a happiness of thy preparing, thy promising, and which consists in being with thee. Hope of this has raised me above the world, and borne me up under all my burthens in it."

2. To keep our eye upon God's word as our rule, I have done thy commandments; I have made conscience of conforming myself to thy will in every thing. Observe here how God has joined these two together, and let no man put them asunder. We cannot, upon good grounds, hope for God's salvation, unless we set ourselves to do his commandments, Rev. xxii. 14. But those that sincerely endeavour to do his commandments, ought to keep up a good hope of the salvation; and that hope will both engage and enlarge the heart in doing the commandments. The more lively the hope is, the more lively the obedience will be.

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.

David's conscience here witnesses for him,

1. That his practices were good. (1.) He loved God's testimonies, he loved them exceedingly. Our love to the word of God must be a superlative love; we must love it better than the wealth and pleasure of this world: and it must be a victorious love, such as will subdue and mortify our lusts, and extirpate carnal affections. (2.) He kept them, his soul kept them; bodily exercise profits little in religion, we must make heart-work of it, or we make nothing of it. The soul must be sanctified and renewed, and delivered into the mould of the word; the soul must be employed in glorifying God, for he will be worshipped in the spirit. We must keep both the precepts and the testimonies, the commands of God by our obedience to them, and his promises by our reliance on them.

2. That he was governed herein by a good principle; "Therefore I have kept thy precepts, because by faith I have seen thine eye always upon me, all my ways are before thee; thou knowest every step I take, and strictly observest all I say and do. Thou dost see and accept all that I say and do well; thou dost see and art displeased with all I say and do amiss." Note, The consideration of this, that God's eye is upon us at all times, should make us very careful in every thing to keep his commandments, Gen. xvii. 1.

22. TAU. 169. Let my cry come near before thee, : give me understanding according to thy word. 170. Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word.

Here is, 1. A general petition for audience repeated; Let my cry come near before thee; and again, Let my supplication come before thee. He calls his prayer his cry, which denotes the fervency and vehemence of it; and his supplication, which denotes the humility of it; we must come to God as beggars come to our doors for an alms. He is concerned that his prayer might come before God, might come near before him, that he might have grace and strength by faith and fervency to lift up his prayers; that no guilt might interpose to shut out his prayers, and to separate between him and God, and that God would graciously receive his prayers and take notice of them. His prayer, that his supplication might come before God, implies a deep sense of his unworthiness, and a holy fear that his prayer should come short or miscarry, as not fit to come before God; nor would any of our prayers have had access to God, if Jesus Christ had not approached to him as an Advocate for us.

2. Two particular requests, which he is thus earnest to present. (1.) That God, by his grace, would give him wisdom to conduct himself well under his troubles; Give me understanding; he means that wisdom of the prudent, which is, to understand his way; "Give me to know thee and myself, and my duty to thee." (2.) That God, by his providence, would rescue him out of his troubles, Deliver me; with the temptation make a way to escape, 1 Cor. x. 13.

3. The same general plea to enforce these requests, according to thy word. This directs and limits his desires; "Lord, give me such an understanding as thou hast promised, and such a deliverance as thou hast promised, I ask for no other." It also encourages his faith and expectation; "Lord, that which I pray for is what thou hast promised, and wilt not thou be as good as thy word?"

171. My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.

Here is, 1. A great favour which David expects from God, that he will teach him his statutes. This he had often prayed for in this psalm, and urged his petition for it with various arguments; and, now that he is drawing toward the close of the psalm, he speaks of it as taken for granted. They that are humbly earnest with God for his grace, and resolve with Jacob that they will not let him go unless he bless them with spiritual blessings, may be humbly confident that they shall, at length, obtain what they are so importunate for. The God of Israel will grant them those things which they request of him.

2. The grateful sense he promises to have of that favour; My lips shall utter praise when thou hast taught me. (1.) Then he shall have cause to praise God. Those that are taught of God have a great deal of reason to be thankful, for this is the foundation of all these spiritual blessings, which are the best blessings, and the earnest of eternal blessings. (2.) Then he shall know how to praise God, and have a heart to it. All that are taught of God are taught this lesson; when God opens the understanding, opens the heart, and so opens the lips, it is that the mouth may show forth his praise. We have learned nothing to purpose, if we have not learned to praise God. (3.) Therefore he is thus importunate for divine instructions, that he might praise God. They that pray for God's grace, must aim at God's glory, Eph. i. 12.

172. My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.

Observe here, 1. The good knowledge David had of the word of God; he knew it so well, that he was ready to own, with the utmost satisfaction, that all God's commandments are not only righteous, but righteousness itself, the rule and standard of righteousness. 2. The good use he resolved to make of that knowledge; My tongue shall speak of thy word; not only utter praise for it to the glory of God, but discourse of it for the instruction and edification of others; as that which he was himself full of, (for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak,) and as that which he desired others also might be filled with. The more we see of the righteousness of God's commandments, the more industrious we should be to bring others acquainted with them, that they may be ruled by them. We should always make the word of God the governor of our discourse, so as never to transgress it by sinful speaking, or sinful silence; and we should often make it the subject-matter of our discourse, that it may feed many, and minister grace to the hearers.