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Psalm Four
Psalm 4
Chapter Contents
The children of men proved, and the happiness of godly
people. (1-5) God's favour is happiness. (6-8)
Commentary on Psalm 4:1-5
(Read Psalm 4:1-5)
Hear me for thy mercy-sake, is our best plea. He who will
not ask such blessings as pardon, and justifying righteousness, and eternal
life, must perish for the want of them. Alas! that so many should make so
fearful a choice. The psalmist warns against sin. Keep up holy reverence of the
glory and majesty of God. You have a great deal to say to your hearts, they may
be spoken with, let it not be unsaid. Examine them by serious self-reflection;
let your thoughts fasten upon that which is good, and keep close to it.
Consider your ways, and before you turn to sleep at night, examine your
consciences with respect to what you have done in the day; particularly what
you have done amiss, that you may repent of it. when you awake in the night,
meditate upon God, and the things that belong to your peace. Upon a sick-bed,
particularly, we should consider our ways. Be still. when you have asked
conscience a question, be serious, be silent, wait for an answer. Open not the
mouth to excuse sin. All confidence must be pan answer. Open not the mouth to
excuse sin. All confidence only: therefore, after commanding the sacrifices of
righteousness, the psalmist says, Put your trust in the Lord.
Commentary on Psalm 4:6-8
(Read Psalm 4:6-8)
Wordly people inquire for good, not for the chief good;
all they want is outward good, present good, partial good, good meat, good
drink, a good trade, and a good estate; but what are all these worth? Any good
will serve the turn of most men, but a gracious soul will not be put off so.
Lord, let us have thy favour, and let us know that we have it, we desire no
more; let us be satisfied of thy loving-kindness, and will be satisfied with
it. Many inquire after happiness, but David had found it. When God puts grace
in the heart, he puts gladness in the heart. Thus comforted, he pitied, but
neither envied nor feared the most prosperous sinner. He commits all his
affairs to God, and is prepared to welcome his holy will. But salvation is in
Christ alone; where will those appear who despise him as their Mediator, and
revile him in his disciples? May they stand in awe, and no longer sin against
the only remedy.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 4
Verse 1
[1] Hear
me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in
distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
O God —
The witness and defender of my righteous cause.
Verse 2
[2] O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will
ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? /*Selah*/.
My glory — By
his glory probably he means that honour which God had conferred upon him.
Vanity —
Wickedness.
Lying —
Those calumnies which they raised against him, to make him odious to all the
people.
Verse 3
[3] But
know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will
hear when I call unto him.
Godly —
Me, whom, though you traduce as an hypocrite, God hath pronounced to he a man
after his own heart, 1 Samuel 13:14.
For himself — In
his stead, or to be his vicegerent, as all kings are, and especially the kings
of God's own people.
Verse 4
[4]
Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be
still. /*Selah*/.
In awe — Be
afraid, if not of me, yet of God, who hath engaged in my cause.
Sin not — By
prosecuting your rebellion against God's authority.
On your bed —
Calmly consider these things in the silent night, when you are at leisure from
distracting business.
Be still —
Compose your tumultuous minds.
Verse 5
[5] Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.
Offer —
Unto God, that he may be reconciled to you.
Righteousness —
Righteous sacrifices; which requires that the persons offering them be
righteous and do righteous things, and offer them with an honest mind, with
faith and true repentance. Without which, he intimates, that all their
sacrifices were of no esteem with God, and would be wholly unprofitable to
them.
Verse 6
[6]
There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light
of thy countenance upon us.
Many — Of
my followers, who are weary of waiting upon God.
Who —
Who will put an end to our troubles, and give us tranquility.
Lift up —
Upon me and my friends. Give us an assurance of thy love, and evidence it by
thy powerful assistance.
Verse 7
[7] Thou
hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their
wine increased.
Thou hast —
Whatsoever thou shalt do with me for the future, I have at present unspeakable
satisfaction in the testimonies of thy love to my soul; more than worldly
persons have in the time of a plentiful harvest.
Verse 8
[8] I
will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell
in safety.
In peace — In
tranquility of mind, resting securely upon God's promises.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Psalm 4
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village Preacher
Other Works
TITLE. This
Psalm is apparently intended to accompany the third, and make a pair with it. If
the last may be entitled THE MORNING PSALM, this from its matter is
equally deserving of the title of THE EVENING HYMN. May the choice words
of the 8th verse be our sweet song of rest as we retire to our repose!
"Thus with
my thoughts composed to peace,
I'll give mine eyes to sleep;
Thy hand in safety keeps my days,
And will my slumbers keep."
The
Inspired title runs thus: "To the chief Musician on Neginoth, a Psalm
of David." The chief musician was the master or director of the sacred
music of the sanctuary. Concerning this person carefully read 1 Chronicles
6:31, 32; 15:16-22; 25: 1, 7. In these passages will be found much that is
interesting to the lover of sacred song, and very much that will throw a light
upon the mode of praising God in the temple. Some of the titles of the Psalms
are, we doubt not, derived from the names of certain renowned singers, who
composed the music to which they were set.
On
Neginoth, that is, on stringed instruments, or hand instruments,
which were played on with the hand alone, as harps and cymbals. The joy of the
Jewish church was so great that they needed music to set forth the delightful
feelings of their souls. Our holy mirth is none the less overflowing because we
prefer to express it in a more spiritual manner, as becometh a more spiritual
dispensation. In allusion to these instruments to be played on with the hand,
Nazianzen says, "Lord, I am an instrument for thee to touch." Let us
lay ourselves open to the Spirit's touch, so shall we make melody. May we be
full of faith and love, and we shall be living instruments of music.
Hawker
says: "The Septuagint read the word which we have rendered in our
translation chief musician Lamenetz, instead of Lamenetzoth, the
meaning of which is unto the end. From whence the Greek and Latin
fathers imagined, that all psalms which bear this inscription refer to the
Messiah, the great end. If so, this Psalm is addressed to Christ; and
well it may, for it is all of Christ, and spoken by Christ, and hath respect
only to his people as being one with Christ. The Lord the Spirit give the
reader to see this, and he will find it most blessed.
DIVISION.
In the first verse David pleads with God for help. In the second he
expostulates with his enemies, and continues to address them to the end of
verse 5. Then from verse 6 to the close he delightfully contrasts his own
satisfaction and safety with the disquietude of the ungodly in their best
estate. The Psalm was most probably written upon the same occasion as the
preceeding, and is another choice flower from the garden of affliction. Happy
is it for us that David was tried, or probably we should never have heard these
sweet sonnets of faith.
EXPOSITION
Verse 1. This
is another instance of David's common habit of pleading past mercies as a
ground for present favour. Here he reviews his Ebenezers and takes comfort from
them. It is not to be imagined that he who has helped us in six troubles will
leave us in the seventh. God does nothing by halves, and he will never cease to
help us until we cease to need. The manna shall fall every morning until we
cross the Jordan.
Observe,
that David speaks first to God and then to men. Surely we should all speak the
more boldly to men if we had more constant converse with God. He who dares to
face his Maker will not tremble before the sons of men.
The
name by which the Lord is here addressed, "God of my
righteousness," deserves notice, since it is not used in any other
part of Scripture. It means, Thou art the author, the witness, the maintainer,
the judge, and the rewarder of my righteousness; to thee I appeal from the
calumnies and harsh judgments of men. Herein is wisdom, let us imitate it and
always take our suit, not to the petty courts of human opinion, but into the
superior court, the King's Bench of heaven.
"Thou
hast enlarged me when I was in distress." A figure taken from an army
enclosed in a defile, and hardly pressed by the surrounding enemy. God hath
dashed down the rocks and given me room; he hath broken the barriers and set me
in a large place. Or, we may understand it thus:— "God hath enlarged my
heart with joy and comfort, when I was like a man imprisoned by grief and
sorrow." God is a never-failing comforter.]
"Have
mercy upon me." Though thou mayest justly permit my enemies to destroy
me, on account of my many and great sins, yet I flee to thy mercy, and I
beseech thee hear my prayer, and bring thy servant out of his troubles.
The best of men need mercy as truly as the worst of men. All the deliverances
of saints, as well as the pardons of sinners, are the free gifts of heavenly
grace.
Verse
2. In this second division of the Psalm, we are led from the closet of prayer
into the field of conflict. Remark the undaunted courage of the man of God. He
allows that his enemies are great men (for such is the import of the Hebrew
words translated—sons of men), but still he believes them to be foolish
men, and therefore chides them, as though they were but children. He tells them
that they love vanity, and seek after leasing, that is, lying, empty
fancies, vain conceits, wicked fabrications. He asks them how long they
mean to make his honour a jest, and his fame a mockery? A little of such mirth
is too much, why need they continue to indulge in it? Had they not been long
enough upon the watch for his halting? Had not repeated disappointments
convinced them that the Lord's anointed was not to be overcome by all their
calumnies? Did they mean to jest their souls into hell, and go on with their
laughter until swift vengeance should turn their merriment into howling? In the
contemplation of their perverse continuance in their vain and lying pursuits,
the Psalmist solemnly pauses and inserts a Selah. Surely we too may stop
awhile, and meditate upon the deep-seated folly of the wicked, their
continuance in evil, and their sure destruction; and we may learn to admire
that grace which has made us to differ, and taught us to love truth, and
seek after righteousness.
Verse
3. "But know." Fools will not learn, and therefore they must
again and again be told the same thing, especially when it is such a bitter
truth which is to be taught them, viz.:—the fact that the godly are the chosen
of God, and are, by distinguishing grace, set apart and separated from among
men. Election is a doctrine which unrenewed men cannot endure, but
nevertheless, it is a glorious and well-attested truth, and one which should
comfort the tempted believer. Election is the guarantee of complete salvation,
and an argument for success at the throne of grace. He who chose us for himself
will surely hear our prayer. The Lord's elect shall not be condemned, nor shall
their cry be unheard. David was king by divine decree, and we are the Lord's
people in the same manner: let us tell our enemies to their faces, that they
fight against God and destiny, when they strive to overthrow our souls. O
beloved, when you are on your knees, the fact of your being set apart as
God's own peculiar treasure, should give you courage and inspire you with
fervency and faith. "Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and
night unto him?" Since he chose to love us he cannot but choose to hear
us.
Verse
4. "Tremble and sin not." How many reverse this counsel and
sin but tremble not. O that men would take the advice of this verse and commune
with their own hearts. Surely a want of thought must be one reason why men
are so mad as to despite Christ and hate their own mercies. O that for once
their passions would be quiet and let them be still, that so in solemn
silence they might review the past, and meditate upon their inevitable doom.
Surely a thinking man might have enough sense to discover the vanity of sin and
the worthlessness of the world. Stay, rash sinner, stay, ere thou take the last
leap. Go to thy bed and think upon thy ways. Ask counsel of thy pillow,
and let the quietude of night instruct thee! Throw not away thy soul for
nought! Let reason speak! Let the clamorous world be still awhile, and let thy
poor soul plead with thee to bethink thyself before thou seal its fate, and
ruin it for ever! Selah. O sinner! pause while I question thee awhile in
the words of a sacred poet,—
"Sinner,
is thy heart at rest?
Is thy bosom void of fear?
Art thou not by guilt oppress'd?
Speaks not conscience in thine ear?
Can
this world afford thee bliss?
Can it chase away thy gloom?
Flattering, false, and vain it is;
Tremble at the worldling's doom!
Think,
O sinner, on thy end,
See the judgment-day appear,
Thither must thy spirit wend,
There thy righteous sentence hear.
Wretched,
ruin'd, helpless soul,
To a Saviour's blood apply;
He alone can make thee whole,
Fly to Jesus, sinner, fly!"
Verse
5. Provided that the rebels had obeyed the voice of the last verse, they would
now be crying,—"What shall we do to be saved?" And in the present
verse, they are pointed to the sacrifice, and exhorted to trust in
the Lord. When the Jew offered sacrifice righteously, that is, in a
spiritual manner, he thereby set forth the Redeemer, the great sin-atoning
Lamb; there is, therefore, the full gospel in this exhortation of the Psalmist.
O sinners, flee ye to the sacrifice of Calvary, and there put your whole
confidence and trust, for he who died for men is the LORD JEHOVAH.
Verse
6. We have now entered upon the third division of the Psalm, in which the faith
of the afflicted one finds utterance in sweet expressions of contentment and
peace.
There
were many, even among David's own followers, who wanted to see rather
than to believe. Alas! this is the tendency of us all! Even the regenerate
sometimes groan after the sense and sight of prosperity, and are sad when
darkness covers all good from view. As for worldlings, this is their unceasing
cry. "Who will shew us any good?" Never satisfied, their
gaping mouths are turned in every direction, their empty hearts are ready to
drink in any fine delusion which impostors may invent; and when these fail,
they soon yield to despair, and declare that there is no good thing in either
heaven or earth. The true believer is a man of a very different mould. His face
is not downward like the beasts', but upward like the angels'. He drinks not from
the muddy pools of Mammon, but from the fountain of life above. The light of
God's countenance is enough for him. This is his riches, his honour, his
health, his ambition, his ease. Give him this, and he will ask no more. This is
joy unspeakable, and full of glory. Oh, for more of the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit, that our fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ may
be constant and abiding!
Verse
7. "It is better," said one, "to feel God's favour one hour in
our repenting souls, that to sit whole ages under the warmest sunshine that
this world affordeth." Christ in the heart is better than corn in the
barn, or wine in the vat. Corn and wine are but fruits of the world, but the
light of God's countenance is the ripe fruit of heaven. "Thou art with
me," is a far more blessed cry than "Harvest home." Let my
granary be empty, I am yet full of blessings if Jesus Christ smiles upon me;
but if I have all the world, I am poor without him.
We
should not fail to remark that this verse is the saying of the righteous
man, in opposition to the saying of the many. How quickly doth the tongue
betray the character! "Speak, that I may see thee!" said
Socrates to a fair boy. The metal of a bell is best known by its sound. Birds
reveal their nature by their song. Owls cannot sing the carol of the lark, nor
can the nightingale hoot like the owl. Let us, then, weigh and watch our words,
lest our speech should prove us to be foreigners, and aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel.
Verse
8. Sweet Evening Hymn! I shall not sit up to watch through fear, but I will lie
down; and then I will not lie awake listening to every rustling sound, but
I will lie down in peace and sleep, for I have nought to fear. He that
hath the wings of God above him needs no other curtain. Better than bolts or
bars is the protection of the Lord. Armed men kept the bed of Solomon, but we
do not believe that he slept more soundly than his father, whose bed was the
hard ground, and who was haunted by blood-thirsty foes. Note the word "only",
which means that God alone was his keeper, and that though alone, without man's
help, he was even then in good keeping, for he was "alone with God."
A quiet conscience is a good bedfellow. How many of our sleepless hours might
be traced to our untrusting and disordered minds. They slumber sweetly whom
faith rocks to sleep. No pillow so soft as a promise; no coverlet so warm as an
assured interest in Christ.
O
Lord, give us this calm repose on thee, that like David we may lie down in
peace, and sleep each night while we live; and joyfully may we lie down in the
appointed season, to sleep in death, to rest in God!
Dr.
Hawker's reflection upon this Psalm is worthy to be prayed over and fed upon
with sacred delight. We cannot help transcribing it.
"Reader!
let us never lose sight of the Lord Jesus while reading this Psalm. He is the
Lord our righteousness; and therefore, in all our approaches to the mercy seat,
let us go there in a language corresponding to this which calls Jesus the Lord
our righteousness. While men of the world, from the world are seeking their
chief good, let us desire his favour which infinitely transcends corn and wine,
and all the good things which perish in the using. Yes, Lord, thy favour is
better than life itself. Thou causest them that love thee to inherit
substance, and fillest all their treasure.
"Oh!
thou gracious God and Father, hast thou in such a wonderful manner set apart
one in our nature for thyself? Hast thou indeed chosen one out of the people?
Hast thou beheld him in the purity of his nature,—as one in every point Godly?
Hast thou given him as the covenant of the people? And hast thou declared
thyself well pleased in him? Oh! then, well may my soul be well pleased in him
also. Now do I know that my God and Father will hear me when I call upon him in
Jesus' name, and when I look up to him for acceptance for Jesus' sake! Yes, my
heart is fixed, O Lord, my heart is fixed; Jesus is my hope and righteousness;
the Lord will hear me when I call. And henceforth will I both lay me down in
peace and sleep securely in Jesus, accepted in the Beloved; for this is the
rest wherewith the Lord causeth the weary to rest, and this is the
refreshing."
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Verse 1. "Hear
me when I call," etc. Faith is a good orator and a noble disputer in a
strait; it can reason from God's readiness to hear: "Hear me when I call,
O God." And from the everlasting righteousness given to the man in the
justification of his person: "O God of my righteousness." And
from God's constant justice in defending the righteousness of his servant's
cause: "O God of my righteousness." And from both present
distresses and those that are by-past, wherein he hath been, and from by-gone
mercies received: "Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress."
And from God's grace, which is able to answer all objections from the man's
unworthiness or ill-deserving: "Have mercy upon me, and hear my
prayer." David Dickson, 1653.
Verse 1. "Hear
me." The great Author of nature and of all things does nothing in
vain. He instituted not this law, and, if I may so express it, art of praying,
as a vain and insufficient thing, but endows it with wonderful efficacy for
producing the greatest and happiest consequences. He would have it to be the
key by which all the treasures of heaven should be opened. He has constructed
it as a powerful machine, by which we may, with easy and pleasant labour,
remove from us the most dire and unhappy machinations of our enemy, and may
with equal ease draw to ourselves what is most propitious and advantageous.
Heaven and earth, and all the elements, obey and minister to the hands which
are often lifted up to heaven in earnest prayer. Yea, all works, and, which is
yet more and greater, all the words of God obey it. Well known in the sacred
Scriptures are the examples of Moses and Joshua, and that which James (5:17)
particularly mentions of Elijah, whom he expressly calls æotoäns, a man
subject to like infirmities with ourselves, that he might illustrate the
admirable force of prayer, by the common and human weakness of the person by
whom it was offered. And that Christian legion under Antonius is well known and
justly celebrated, which for the singular ardour and efficacy of its prayers,
obtained the name of keraunoboloz, the thundering legion. Robert
Leighton, D.D., Archbishop of Glasgow, 1611 - 1684.
Verse 2. "O
ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye
love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah." Prayer soars above the
violence and impiety of men, and with a swift wing commits itself to heaven,
with happy omen, if I may allude to what the learned tell us of the augury of
the ancients, which I shall not minutely discuss. Fervent prayers stretch forth
a strong, wide-extended wing, and while the birds of night hover beneath, they
mount aloft, and point out, as it were, the proper seats to which we should aspire.
For certainly there is nothing that cuts the air so swiftly, nothing that takes
so sublime, so happy, so auspicious a flight as prayer, which bears the soul on
its pinions, and leaves far behind all the dangers, and even the delights of
this low world of ours. Behold this holy man, who just before was crying to God
in the midst of distress, and with urgent importunity entreating that he might
be heard, now, as if he were already possessed of all he had asked, taking upon
him boldly to rebuke his enemies, how highly soever they were exalted, and how
potent soever they might be even in the royal palace. Robert Leighton, D.D.
Verse 2. "O
ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame?" etc. We
might imagine every syllable of this precious Psalm used by our Master some
evening, when about to leave the temple for the day, and retiring to his wonted
rest at Bethany (v. 8), after another fruitless expostulation with the men of
Israel. And we may read it still as the very utterance of his heart, longing
over man, and delighting in God. But, further, not only is this the utterance
of the Head, it is also the language of one of his members in full sympathy
with him in holy feeling. This is a Psalm with which the righteous may make
their dwellings resound, morning and evening, as they cast a sad look over a
world that rejects God's grace. They may sing it while they cling more and more
every day to Jehovah, as their all-sufficient heritage, now and in the age to
come. They may sing it, too, in the happy confidence of faith and hope, when
the evening of the world's day is coming, and may then fall asleep in the
certainty of what shall greet their eyes on the resurrection morning—
"Sleeping
embosomed in his grace,
Till morning-shadows flee.
Andrew
A. Bonar, 1859
Verse 2. "Love
vanity." They that love sin, love vanity; they chase a bubble,
they lean upon a reed, their hope is as a spider's web.
"Leasing."
This is an old Saxon word signifying falsehood.
Verse 2. "How
long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing?" "Vanity of
vanities, and all is vanity." This our first parents found, and therefore
named their second son Abel, or vanity. Solomon, that had tried these things,
and could best tell the vanity of them, he preacheth this sermon over again and
again. "Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity." It is sad to think
how many thousands there be that can say with the preacher, "Vanity of
vanities, all is vanity;" nay, swear it, and yet follow after these things
as if there were no other glory, nor felicity, but what is to be found in these
things they call vanity. Such men will sell Christ, heaven, and their souls,
for a trifle, that call these things vanity, but do not cordially believe them
to be vanity, but set their hearts upon them as if they were their crown, the
top of all their royalty and glory. Oh! let your souls dwell upon the vanity of
all things here below, till your hearts so thoroughly convinced and persuaded of
the vanity of them, as to trample upon them, and make them a footstool for
Christ to get up, and ride in a holy triumph in your hearts.
Gilemex,
king of Vandals, led in triumph by Belisarius, cried out, "Vanity of
vanities, all is vanity." The fancy of Lucian, who placeth Charon on the
top of a high hill, viewing all the affairs of men living, and looking on their
greatest cities as little bird's nests, is very pleasant. Oh, the imperfection,
the ingratitude, the levity, the inconstancy, the perfidiousness of those
creatures we most servilely affect! Ah, did we but weigh man's pain with his
payment, his crosses with his mercies, his miseries with his pleasures, we
should then see that there is nothing got by the bargain, and conclude,
"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Chrysostom said once, "That
if he were the fittest in the world to preach a sermon to the whole world,
gathered together in one congregation, and had some high mountain for his
pulpit, from whence he might have a prospect of all the world in his view, and
were furnished with a voice of brass, a voice as loud as the trumpets of the
archangel, that all the world might hear him, he would choose to preach upon no
other text than that in the Psalms, O mortal men, 'How long will ye love
vanity, and follow after leasing?'" Thomas Brooks, 1608-1680.
Verse 2. "Love
vanity." Men's affections are according to their principles; and every
one loves that most without him which is most suitable to somewhat within
him: liking is founded in likeness, and has therefore that word put
upon it. It is so in whatsoever we can imagine; whether in temporals or
spirituals, as to the things of this life, or of a better. Men's love is according
to some working and impression upon their own spirits. And so it is here in the
point of vanity; those which are vain persons, they delight in vain things; as
children, they love such matters as are most agreeable to their childish
dispositions, and as do suit them in that particular. Out of the heart comes
all kind of evil. Thomas Horton, 1675.
Verse 3. "The
Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself." When God chooseth
a man, he chooseth him for himself; for himself to converse with, to communicate
himself unto him as a friend, a companion, and his delight. Now, it is holiness
that makes us fit to live with the holy God for ever, since without it we
cannot see him (Hebrews 12:14), which is God's main aim, and more than our
being his children; as one must be supposed a man, one of mankind, having a
soul reasonable, ere we can suppose him capable of adoption, or to be another
man's heir. As therefore it was the main first design in God's eye, before the
consideration of our happiness, let it be so in ours. Thomas Goodwin,
1600-1679.
Verse 3. What rare
persons the godly are: "The righteous is more excellent than his
neighbour." Proverbs 12:26. As the flower of the sun, as the wine of
Lebanon, as the sparkling upon Aaron's breastplate, such is the orient
splendour of a person embellished with godliness. . . . . . . The godly are
precious, therefore they are set apart for God, "Know that the Lord
hath set apart him that is godly for himself." We set apart things
that are precious; the godly are set apart as God's peculiar treasure (Psalm
135:4); as his garden of delight (Canticles 4:12); as his royal diadem (Isaiah
43:3); the godly are the excellent of the earth (Psalm 16:3); comparable to
fine gold (Lamentations 4:2); double refined (Zechariah 13:9). They are the
glory of the creation. (Isaiah 46:13). Origen compares the saints to sapphires
and crystals: God calls them jewels (Malachi 3:17). Thomas Watson.
Verse 3. "The
Lord will hear when I call unto him." Let us remember that the
experience of one of the saints concerning the verity of God's promises, and of
the certainty of the written privileges of the Lord's people, is a sufficient
proof of the right which all his children have to the same mercies, and a
ground of hope that they also shall partake of them in their times of need. David
Dickson, 1653.
Verse 4. "Stand
in awe and sin not." Jehovah is a name of great power and efficacy, a
name that hath in it five vowels, without which no language can be expressed; a
name that hath in it also three syllables, to signify the Trinity of persons,
the eternity of God, One in Three and Three in One; a name of such dread and
reverence amongst the Jews, that they tremble to name it, and therefore they
use the name Adonai (Lord) in all their devotions. And thus ought every
one to "stand in awe, and sin not," by taking the name of God
in vain; but to sing praise, and honour, to remember, to declare, to exalt, to
praise and bless it; for holy and reverend, only worthy and excellent is his
name. Rayment, 1630.
Verse 4. "Commune
with your own heart." The language is similar to that which we use
when we say, "Consult your better judgment," or "Take counsel of
your own good sense." Albert Barnes, in loc.
Verse 4. If thou
wouldst exercise thyself to godliness in solitude, accustom thyself to
soliloquies, I mean to conference with thyself. He needs never be idle that
hath so much business to do with his own soul. It was a famous answer which
Antisthenes gave when he was asked what fruit he reaped by all his studies. By
them, saith he, I have learned both to live and talk with myself. Soliloquies
are the best disputes; every good man is best company for himself of all the
creatures. Holy David enjoineth this to others, "Commune with your own
hearts upon your bed, and be still." "Commune with your own
hearts;" when ye have none to speak with, talk to yourselves. Ask
yourselves for what end ye were made, what lives ye have led, what times ye
have lost, what love ye have abused, what wrath ye have deserved. Call
yourselves to a reckoning, how ye have improved your talents, how true or false
ye have been to your trust, what provision ye have laid in for an hour of
death, what preparation ye have made for a great day of account. "Upon
your beds." Secrecy is the best opportunity for this duty. The silent
night is a good time for this speech. When we have no outward objects to
disturb us, and to call our eyes, as the fools' eyes are always, to the ends of
the earth; then our eyes, as the eyes of the wise, may be in our heads; and
then our minds, like the windows in Solomon's temple, may be broad inwards. The
most successful searches have been made in the night season; the soul is then
wholly shut up in the earthly house of the body, and hath no visits from
strangers to disquiet its thoughts. Physicians have judged dreams a probable
sign whereby they might find out the distempers of the body. Surely, then, the
bed is no bad place to examine and search into the state of the soul. "And
be still." Self-communion will much help to curb your headstrong,
ungodly passions. Serious consideration, like the casting up of earth amongst
bees, will allay inordinate affections when they are full of fury, and make
such a hideous noise. Though sensual appetites and unruly desires are, as the
people of Ephesus, in an uproar, pleading for their former privilege, and
expecting their wonted provisions, as in the days of their predominancy, if
conscience use its authority, commanding them in God's name, whose officer it
is, to keep the king's peace, and argue it with them, as the town-clerk of
Ephesus, "We are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar,
there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this day's
concourse;" all is frequently by this means hushed, and the tumult
appeased without any further mischief. George Swinnock, 1627 - 1673.
Verse 4. "Commune
with your own heart upon your bed, and be still." When we are most
retired from the world, then we are most fit to have, and usually have, most
communion with God. If a man would but abridge himself of sleep, and wake with
holy thoughts, when deep sleep falleth upon sorrowful labouring men, he might
be entertained with visions from God, though not such visions as Eliphaz and
others of the saints have had, yet visions he might have. Every time God
communicates himself to the soul, there is a vision of love, or mercy, or
power, somewhat of God in his nature, or in his will, is showed unto us. David
shows us divine work when we go to rest. The bed is not all for sleep: "Commune
with your own heart upon your bed, and be still." Be still or quiet,
and then commune with your hearts; and if you will commune with your hearts,
God will come and commune with your hearts, too, his Spirit will give you a
loving visit and visions of his love. Joseph Caryl.
Verse 4. "Stand
in awe."
With sacred awe
pronounce his name,
Whom words nor thoughts can reach.
John
Needham, 1768.
Verse 6. Where
Christ reveals himself there is satisfaction in the slenderest portion, and
without Christ there is emptiness in the greatest fullness. Alexander
Grosse, on enjoying Christ, 1632.
Verse 6. "Many,"
said David. "ask who will shew us any good?" meaning riches,
and honour, and pleasure, which are not good. But when he came to godliness
itself, he leaves out "many," and prayeth in his own person, "Lord,
lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us;" as if none would
join with him. Henry Smith.
Verse 6. "Who
will shew us any good?" This is not a fair translation. The word any
is not in the text, nor anything equivalent to it; and not a few have quoted it,
and preached upon the text, placing the principal emphasis upon this
illegitimate. The place is sufficiently emphatic. There are multitudes who
say, Who will shew us good? Man wants good; he hates evil as
evil, because he has pain, suffering, and death through it; and
he wishes to find that supreme good which will content his heart, and
save him from evil. But men mistake this good. They look for a good that is to
gratify their passions; they have no notion of any happiness that does
not come to them through the medium of their senses. Therefore they
reject spiritual good, and they reject the Supreme God, by whom alone
all the powers of the soul of man can be gratified. Adam Clarke.
Verse 6. "Lift
thou up," etc. This was the blessing of the high priest and is the
heritage of all the saints. It includes reconciliation, assurance, communion,
benediction, in a word, the fulness of God. Oh, to be filled therewith! C.
H. S.
Verses 6, 7. Lest
riches should be accounted evil in themselves, God sometimes gives them to the
righteous; and lest they should be considered as the chief good, he
frequently bestows them on the wicked. But they are more generally the portion
of his enemies than his friends. Alas! what is it to receive and not be
received? to have none other dews of blessing than such as shall be followed by
showers of brimstone? We may compass ourselves with sparks of security, and
afterwards be secrures in eternal misery. This world is a floating island, and
so sure as we cast anchor upon it, we shall be carried away by
it. God, and all that he has made, is not more than God without anything that
he has made. He can never want treasure who has such a golden mine. He
is enough without the creature, but the creature is not anything without
him. It is, therefore, better to enjoy him without anything else, than to enjoy
everything else without him. It is better to be a wooden vessel filled with
wine, than a golden one filled with water. William Secker's Nonsuch Professor,
1660.
Verse 7. What
madness and folly is it that the favourites of heaven should envy the men of
the world, who at best do but feed upon the scraps that come from God's table!
Temporals are the bones; spirituals are the marrow. Is it below a man to envy
the dogs, because of the bones? And is it not much more below a Christian to
envy others for temporals, when himself enjoys spirituals? Thomas Brooks.
Verse 7. "Thou
hast put gladness in my heart." The comforts which God reserves for
his mourners are filling comforts (Romans 15:13); "The God of hope fill
you with joy" (John 16:24); "Ask that your joy may be full."
When God pours in the joys of heaven they fill the heart, and make it run over
(2 Corinthians 7:4); "I am exceeding joyful;" the Greek is, I overflow
with joy, as a cup that is filled with wine till it runs over. Outward comforts
can no more fill the heart than a triangle can fill a circle. Spiritual joys
are satisfying (Psalm 63:5); "My heart shall be satisfied as with marrow
and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips;" "Thou
hast put gladness in my heart." Worldly joys do put gladness into the
face, but the spirit of God puts gladness into the heart; divine joys are heart
joys (Zechariah 10:7; John 16:22); "Your heart shall rejoice" (Luke
1:47); "My spirit rejoiced in God." And to show how filling these
comforts are, which are of a heavenly extraction, the psalmist says they create
greater joy than when "corn and wine increase." Wine and oil
may delight but not satisfy; they have their vacuity and indigence. We may say,
as Zechariah 10:2, "They comfort in vain;" outward comforts do sooner
cloy than cheer, and sooner weary that fill. Xerxes offered great rewards to
him that could find out a new pleasure; but the comforts of the Spirit are
satisfactory, they recruit the heart (Psalm 94:19), "Thy comforts delight
my soul." There is as much difference between heavenly comforts and
earthly, as between a banquet that is eaten, and one that is painted on the
wall. Thomas Watson.
Verse 8. It is said
of the husbandman, that having cast his seed into the ground, he sleeps and
riseth day and night, and the seed springs and grows he knoweth not how. Mark
4:26,27. So a good man having by faith and prayer cast his care upon God, he
resteth night and day, and is very easy, leaving it to his God to perform all
things for him according to his holy will. Matthew Henry.
Verse 8. When you
have walked with God from morning until night, it remaineth that you conclude
the day well, when you would give yourself to rest at night. Wherefore, first,
look back and take a strict view of your whole carriage that day past.
Reform what you find amiss; and rejoice, or be grieved, as you find you have
done well or ill, as you have advanced or declined in grace that day. Secondly,
since you cannot sleep in safety if God, who is your keeper (Psalm
121:4, 5), do not wake and watch for you (Psalm 127:1); and though you
have God to watch when you sleep, you cannot be safe, if he that
watcheth be your enemy. Wherefore it is very convenient that at night
you renew and confirm your peace with God by faith and prayer, commending and
committing yourself to God's tuition by prayer (Psalm 3:4, 5); Psalm 92:2),
with thanksgiving before you go to bed. Then shall you lie down in safety.
Psalm 4:8. All this being done, yet while you are putting off your
apparel, when you are lying down, and when you are in bed, before
you sleep, it is good that you commune with your own heart. Psalm
4:4. If possibly you can fall asleep with some heavenly meditation, then
will your sleep be more sweet (Proverbs 3:21, 24, 25); and more
secure (Proverbs 6:21, 22); your dreams fewer, or more comfortable;
your head will be fuller of good thoughts (Proverbs 6:22), and your heart will
be in a better frame when you awake, whether in the night or in
the morning. Condensed from Henry Scudder's Daily Walk, 1633.
Verse 8. "I
will both," etc. We have now to retire for a moment from the strife of
tongues and the open hostility of foes, into the stillness and privacy of the
chamber of sleep. Here, also, we find the "I will" of trust. "I
will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell
in safety." God is here revealed to us as exercising personal care
in the still chamber. And there is something here which should be
inexpressibly sweet to the believer, for this shows the minuteness of God's
care, the individuality of his love; how it condescends and stoops, and acts,
not only in great, but also in little spheres; not only where glory might be
procured from great results, but where nought is to be had save the gratitude
and love of a poor feeble creature, whose life has been protected and
preserved, in a period of helplessness and sleep. How blessed would it be if we
made larger recognition of God in the still chamber; if we thought of him as
being there in all hours of illness, of weariness, and pain; if we believed
that his interest and care are as much concentrated upon the feeble believer
there as upon his people when in the wider battle field of the strife of
tongues. There is something inexpressibly touching in this "lying
down" of the Psalmist. In thus lying down he voluntarily gave up any
guardianship of himself; he resigned himself into the hands of another; he did
so completely, for in the absence of all care he slept; there was here a
perfect trust. Many a believer lies down, but it is not to sleep. Perhaps he
feels safe enough so far as his body is concerned, but cares and anxieties
invade the privacy of his chamber; they come to try his faith and trust; they
threaten, they frighten, and alas! prove too strong for trust. Many a poor
believer might say, "I will lay me down, but not to sleep." The
author met with a touching instance of this, in the case of an aged minister
whom he visited in severe illness. This worthy man's circumstances were narrow,
and his family trials were great; he said, "The doctor wants me to sleep,
but how can I sleep with care sitting on my pillow?" It is the experience
of some of the Lord's people, that although equal to an emergency or a
continued pressure, a re-action sets in afterwards; and when they come to be
alone their spirits sink, and they do not realise that strength from God, or
feel that confidence in him which they felt while the pressure was exerting its
force. . . . . . There is a trial in stillness; and oftentimes the still
chamber makes a larger demand upon loving trust than the battle field. O that
we could trust God more and more with personal things! O that he were the God
of our chamber, as well as of our temples and houses! O that we could bring him
more and more into the minutiae of daily life! If we did thus, we should
experience a measure of rest to which we are, perhaps, strangers now; we should
have less dread of the sick chamber; we should have that unharassed mind which
conduces most to repose, in body and soul; we should be able to say, "I
will lie down and sleep, and leave to-morrow with God!" Ridley's
brother offered to remain with him during the night preceeding his martyrdom, but
the bishop declined, saying, that "he meant to go to bed, and sleep as
quietly as ever he did in his life." Philip Bennett Power's 'I Wills'
of the Psalms.
Verse 8. Due
observation of Providence will both beget and secure inward tranquillity in
your minds amidst the vicissitudes and revolutions of things in this unstable
vain world. "I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for the Lord
only maketh me dwell in safety." He resolves that sinful fears of
events shall not rob him of his inward quiet, nor torture his thoughts with
anxious presages; he will commit all his concerns into that faithful fatherly
hand that had hitherto wrought all things for him; and he means not to lose the
comfort of one night's rest, nor bring the evil of to-morrow upon the day; but
knowing in whose hand he was, wisely enjoys the sweet felicity of a resigned
will. Now this tranquillity of our minds is as much begotten and preserved by a
due consideration of providence as by anything whatsoever. John Flavel,
1627 - 1691.
Verse 8. Happy is
the Christian, who having nightly with this verse, committed himself to his bed
as to his grave, shall at last, with the same words, resign himself to his
grave as to his bed, from which he expects in due time to arise, and sing a
morning hymn with the children of the resurrection. George Horne, D.D.,
1776.
Verse 8. "Sleep,"
"How
blessed was that sleep
The sinless Saviour knew!
In vain the storm-sinds blew,
Till he awoke to others woes,
And hushed the billows to repose.
How
beautiful is sleep—
The sleep that Christians know!
Ye mourners! cease your woe,
While soft upon his Saviour's breast,
The righteous sinks to endless rest."
Mrs. M'Cartree.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse 1. Is full of
matter for a sermon upon, past mercies a plea for present help. The
first sentence shows that believers desire, expect, and believe in a God that
heareth prayer. The title— God of my righteousness, may furnish a text
(see exposition), and the last sentence may suggest a sermon upon, "The
best of saints must still appeal to God's mercy and sovereign grace."
Verse 2. Depravity
of man as evinced
(1)
by continuance in despising Christ,
(2)
by loving vanity in his heart, and
(3)
seeking lies in his daily life.
Verse 2. The length
of the sinner's sin. "How long?" May be bounded by repentance, shall
be by death, and yet shall continue in eternity.
Verse 3. Election.
Its aspects toward God, our enemies, and ourselves.
Verse 3. "The
Lord will hear when I call unto him." Answers to prayer certain to
special persons. Mark out those who can claim the favour.
Verse 3. The
gracious Separatist. Who is he? Who separated him? With what end? How to
make men know it?
Verse 4. The sinner
directed to review himself, that he may be convinced of sin. Andrew Fuller,
1754-1815.
Verse 4. "Be
still." Advice—good, practical, but hard to follow. Times when
seasonable. Graces needed to enable one to be still. Results of quietness.
Persons who most need the advice. Instances of its practice. here is much
material for a sermon.
Verse 5. The nature
of those sacrifices of righteousness which the Lord's people are expected to
offer. William Ford Vance, 1827.
Verse 6. The cry of
the world and the church contrasted. Vox populi not always Vox Dei.
Verse 6. The
cravings of the soul all satisfied in God.
Verses 6, 7. An
assurance of the Saviour's love, the source of unrivalled joy.
Verse 7. The
believer's joys.
(1)
Their source, "Thou;"
(2)
Their season—even now—"Thou hast;"
(3)
Their position, "in my heart;"
(4)
Their excellence, "more than in the time that their corn and their wine
increased."
Another
excellent theme suggests itself— "The superiority of the joys of grace to
the joys of earth;" or, "Two sorts of prosperity—which is to be the
more desired?"
Verse 8. The peace
and safety of the good man. Joseph Lathrop, D.D., 1805.
Verse 8. A
bedchamber for believers, a vesper song to sing in it, and a guard to keep the
door.
Verse 8. The
Christian's good night.
Verses 2 to 8.
The means which a believer should use to win the ungodly to Christ.
(1)
Expostulation, verse 2.
(2)
Instruction, verse 3.
(3)
Exhortation, verses 4, 5.
(4)
Testimony to the blessedness of true religion as in verses 6, 7.
(5)
Exemplification of that testimony by the peace of faith, verse 8.
WORKS UPON THE
FOURTH PSALM
Choice and
Practical Expositions on four select Psalms: namely, the Fourth Psalm,
in eight Sermons, etc. By THOMAS HORTON, D.D. 1675
Meditations,
Critical and Practical, on Psalm IV., in Archbishop Leighton's
Works.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》