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Psalm Eighty-eight
Psalm 88
Chapter Contents
The psalmist pours out his soul to God in lamentation.
(1-9) He wrestles by faith, in his prayer to God for comfort. (10-18)
Commentary on Psalm 88:1-9
(Read Psalm 88:1-9)
The first words of the psalmist are the only words of
comfort and support in this psalm. Thus greatly may good men be afflicted, and
such dismal thoughts may they have about their afflictions, and such dark
conclusion may they make about their end, through the power of melancholy and
the weakness of faith. He complained most of God's displeasure. Even the
children of God's love may sometimes think themselves children of wrath and no
outward trouble can be so hard upon them as that. Probably the psalmist
described his own case, yet he leads to Christ. Thus are we called to look unto
Jesus, wounded and bruised for our iniquities. But the wrath of God poured the
greatest bitterness into his cup. This weighed him down into darkness and the
deep.
Commentary on Psalm 88:10-18
(Read Psalm 88:10-18)
Departed souls may declare God's faithfulness, justice,
and lovingkindness; but deceased bodies can neither receive God's favours in
comfort, nor return them in praise. The psalmist resolved to continue in
prayer, and the more so, because deliverance did not come speedily. Though our
prayers are not soon answered, yet we must not give over praying. The greater
our troubles, the more earnest and serious we should be in prayer. Nothing
grieves a child of God so much as losing sight of him; nor is there any thing
he so much dreads as God's casting off his soul. If the sun be clouded, that
darkens the earth; but if the sun should leave the earth, what a dungeon would
it be! Even those designed for God's favours, may for a time suffer his
terrors. See how deep those terrors wounded the psalmist. If friends are put
far from us by providences, or death, we have reason to look upon it as
affliction. Such was the calamitous state of a good man. But the pleas here
used were peculiarly suited to Christ. And we are not to think that the holy
Jesus suffered for us only at Gethsemane and on Calvary. His whole life was
labour and sorrow; he was afflicted as never man was, from his youth up. He was
prepared for that death of which he tasted through life. No man could share in
the sufferings by which other men were to be redeemed. All forsook him, and
fled. Oftentimes, blessed Jesus, do we forsake thee; but do not forsake us, O
take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 88
Verse 4
[4] I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am
as a man that hath no strength:
Counted — l am given up by my friends for a lost man.
Verse 5
[5] Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the
grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.
Free — Well nigh discharged from the warfare of the present
life, and entered as a member into the society of the dead.
Whom — Thou seemest to neglect and bury in oblivion.
Verse 7
[7] Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me
with all thy waves. /*Selah*/.
Waves — With they judgments, breaking in furiously upon me
like the waves of the sea.
Verse 10
[10] Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise
and praise thee? /*Selah*/.
Wonders — In raising them to life.
To praise thee — In this world?
Verse 12
[12] Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy
righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
Forgetfulness — In the grave, where men are
forgotten by their nearest relations.
Verse 13
[13] But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning
shall my prayer prevent thee.
Prevent — Come to thee before the dawning of the day, or the
rising of the sun.
Verse 17
[17] They came round about me daily like water; they
compassed me about together.
Water — As the waters of the sea encompass him who is in the
midst of it.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and
Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village
Preacher
TITLE. A Song or
Psalm for the sons of Korah. This sad complaint reads very little like a Song,
nor can we conceive how it could be called by a name which denotes a song of
praise or triumph; yet perhaps it was intentionally so called to show how faith
"glories in tribulations also." Assuredly, if ever there was a song
of sorrow and a Psalm of sadness, this is one. The sons of Korah, who had often
united in chanting jubilant odes, are now bidden to take charge of this
mournful dirge like hymn. Servants and singers must not be choosers. To the
chief Musician. He must superintend the singers and see that they do their duty
well, for holy sorrow ought to be expressed with quite as much care as the most
joyful praise; nothing should be slovenly in the Lord's house. It is more
difficult to express sorrow fitly than it is to pour forth notes of gladness.
Upon Mahalath Leannoth. This is translated by Alexander, "concerning
afflictive sickness", and if this be correct, it indicates the mental
malady which occasioned this plaintive song. Maschil. This term has occurred
many times before, and the reader will remember that it indicates an
instructive or didactic Psalm:—the sorrows of one saint are lessons to others;
experimental teaching is exceedingly valuable. Of Heman the Ezrahite. This,
probably, informs us as to its authorship; it was written by Heman, but which
Heman it would not be easy to determine, though it will not be a very serious
mistake if we suppose it to be the man alluded to in 1Ki 4:31, as the brother
of Ethan, and one of the five sons of Zerah (1Ch 2:6), the son of Judah, and
hence called "the Ezrahite": if this be the man, he was famous for
his wisdom, and his being in Egypt during the time of Pharaoh's oppression may
help to account for the deep bass of his song, and for the antique form of many
of the expressions, which are more after the manner of Job than David. There
was, however, a Heman in David's day who was one of the grand trio of chief
musicians, "Heman, Asaph, and Ethan" (1Ch 15:19), and no one can
prove that this was not the composer. The point is of no consequence; whoever
wrote the Psalm most have been a man of deep experience, who had done business
on the great waters of soul trouble.
SUBJECT
AND DIVISION. This Psalm is fragmentary, and the only division of any service
to us would be that suggested by Albert Barnes, viz.—A description of the sick
man's sufferings (Ps 88:1-9), and a prayer for mercy and deliverance (Ps
88:10-18). We shall, however, consider each verse separately, and so exhibit
the better the incoherence of the author's grief. The reader had better first
peruse the Psalm as a whole.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. O Lord God of my salvation. This is a hopeful title by
which to address the Lord, and it has about it the only ray of comfortable
light which shines throughout the Psalm. The writer has salvation, he is sure
of that, and God is the sole author of it. While a man can see God as his
Saviour, it is not altogether midnight with him. While the living God can be
spoken of as the life of our salvation, our hope will not quite expire. It is
one of the characteristics of true faith that she turns to Jehovah, the saving
God, when all other confidences have proved liars unto her. I have cried day
and night before thee. His distress had not blown out the sparks of his prayer,
but thickened them into a greater ardency, till they burned perpetually like a
furnace at full blast. His prayer was personal—whoever had not prayed, he had
done so; it was intensely earnest, so that it was correctly described as a cry,
such as children utter to move the pity of their parents; and it was unceasing,
neither the business of the day nor the weariness of the night had silenced it:
surely such entreaties could not be in vain. Perhaps, if Heman's pain had not
been incessant his supplications might have been intermittent; it is a good thing
that sickness will not let us rest if we spend our restlessness in prayer. Day
and night are both suitable to prayer; it is no work of darkness, therefore let
us go with Daniel and pray when men can see us, yet, since supplication needs
no light, let us accompany Jacob and wrestle at Jabbok till the day breaketh.
Evil is transformed to good when it drives us to prayer. One expression of the
text is worthy of special note; "before thee" is a remarkable
intimation that the Psalmist's cries had an aim and a direction towards the
Lord, and were not the mere clamours of nature, but the groanings of a gracious
heart towards Jehovah, the God of salvation. Of what use are arrows shot into
the air? The archer's business is to look well at the mark he drives at. Prayers
must be directed to heaven with earnest care. So thought Heman—his cries were
all meant for the heart of his God. He had no eye to onlookers as Pharisees
have, but all his prayers were before his God.
Verse
2. Let my prayer come before thee. Admit it to an audience;
let it speak with thee. Though it be my prayer, and therefore very imperfect,
yet deny it not thy gracious consideration. Incline thine ear unto my cry. It
is not music save to the ear of mercy, yet be not vexed with its discord,
though it be but a cry, for it is the most natural expression of my soul's
anguish. When my heart speaks, let thine ear hear. There may be obstacles which
impede the upward flight of our prayers—let us entreat the Lord to remove them;
and as there may also be offences which prevent the Lord from giving favourable
regard to our requests—let us implore him to put these out of the way. He who
has prayed day and night cannot bear to lose all his labour. Only those who are
indifferent in prayer will be indifferent about the issue of prayer.
Verse
3. For my soul is full of troubles. I am satiated and
nauseated with them. Like a vessel full to the brim with vinegar, my heart is
filled up with adversity till it can hold no more. He had his house full and
his hands full of sorrow; but, worse than that, he had his heart full of it.
Trouble in the soul is the soul of trouble. A little soul trouble is pitiful;
what must it be to be sated with it? And how much worse still to have your
prayers return empty when your soul remains full of grief. And my life draweth
nigh unto the grave. He felt as if he must die, indeed he thought himself half
dead already. All his life was going, his spiritual life declined, his mental
life decayed, his bodily life flickered; he was nearer dead than alive. Some of
us can enter into this experience, for many a time have we traversed this
valley of death shade, aye and dwelt in it by the month together. Really to die
and be with Christ will be a gala day's enjoyment compared with our misery when
a worse than physical death has cast its dreadful shadow over us. Death would
be welcomed as a relief by those whose depressed spirits make their existence a
living death. Are good men ever permitted to suffer thus? Indeed they are; and
some of them are even all their life time subject to bondage. O Lord, Be
pleased to set free thy prisoners of hope! Let, none of thy mourners imagine
that a strange thing has happened unto him, but rather rejoice as he sees the
footprints of brethren who have trodden this desert before.
Verse
4. I am counted with them that go down into the pit. My
weakness is so great that both by myself and others I am considered as good as
dead. If those about me have not ordered my coffin they have at least conversed
about my sepulchre, discussed my estate, and reckoned their share of it. Many a
man has been buried before he was dead, and the only mourning over him has been
because he refused to fulfil the greedy expectations of his hypocritical
relatives by going down to the pit at once. It has come to this with some
afflicted believers, that their hungry heirs think they have lived too long. I
am as a mat, that hath no strength. I have but the name to live; my
constitution is broken up; I can scarce crawl about my sick room, my mind is
even weaker than my body, and my faith weakest of all. The sons and daughters
of sorrow will need but little explanation of these sentences, they are to such
tried ones as household words.
Verse
5. Free among the dead. Unbound from all that links a man
with life, familiar with death's door, a freeman of the city of the sepulchre,
I seem no more one of earth's drudges, but begin to anticipate the rest of the
tomb. It is a sad case when our only hope lies in the direction of death, our
only liberty of spirit amid the congenial horrors of corruption. Like the slain
that lie in the grave, whom you remember no more. He felt as if he were
as utterly forgotten as those whose carcasses are left to rot on the battle
field. As when a soldier, mortally wounded, bleeds unheeded amid the heaps of
slain, and remains to his last expiring groan unpitied and unsuccoured, so did
Heman sigh out his soul in loneliest sorrow, feeling as if even God himself had
quite forgotten him. How low the spirits of good and brave men will sometimes
sink. Under the influence of certain disorders everything will wear a sombre
aspect, and the heart will dive into the profoundest deeps of misery. It is all
very well for those who are in robust health and full of spirits to blame those
whose lives are sicklied over with the pale cast of melancholy, but the evil is
as real as a gaping wound, and all the more hard to bear because it lies so
much in the region of the soul that to the inexperienced it appears to be a
mere matter of fancy and diseased imagination. Reader, never ridicule the
nervous and hypochondriacal, their pain is real; though much of the evil lies
in the imagination, it is not imaginary. And they are cut off from thy hand.
Poor Heman felt as if God himself had put him away, smitten him and laid him
among the corpses of those executed by divine justice. He mourned that the hand
of the Lord had gone out against him, and that lie was divided from the great
author of his life. This is the essence of wormwood. Man's blows are trifles,
but God's smitings are terrible to a gracious heart. To feel utterly forsaken
of the Lord and cast away as though hopelessly corrupt is the very climax of
heart desolation.
Verse
6. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the
deeps. What a collection of forcible metaphors, each one expressive of the
utmost grief. Heman compared his forlorn condition to an imprisonment in a
subterranean dungeon, to confinement in the realms of the dead, and to a plunge
into the abyss. None of the similes are strained. The mind can descend far
lower than the body, for it there are bottomless pits. The flesh can bear only
a certain number of wounds and no more, but the soul can bleed in ten thousand
ways, and die over and over again each hour. It is grievous to the good man to
see the Lord whom he loves laying him in the sepulchre of despondency; piling
nightshade upon him, putting out all his candles, and heaping over him solid
masses of sorrow; evil from so good a hand seems evil indeed, and yet if faith
could but be allowed to speak she would remind the depressed spirit that it is
better to fall into the hand of the Lord than into the hands of man, and
moreover she would tell the despondent heart that God never placed a Joseph in
a pit without drawing him up again to fill a throne; that he never caused a
horror of great darkness to fall upon an Abraham without revealing his covenant
to him; and never cast even a Jonah into the deeps without preparing the means
to land him safely on dry land. Alas, when under deep depression the mind
forgets all this, and is only conscious of its unutterable misery; the man sees
the lion but not the honey in its carcass, he feels the thorns but he cannot
smell the roses which adorn them. He who now feebly expounds these words knows
within himself more than he would care or dare to tell of the abysses of inward
anguish. He has sailed round the Cape of Storms, and has drifted along by the
dreary headlands of despair. He has groaned out with one of old—"My bones
are pierced in me in the night season; and my sinews take no rest. I go morning
without the sun. Terrors are turned upon me, they pursue my soul as the
wind." Those who know this bitterness by experience will sympathise, but
from others it would be idle to expect pity, nor would their pity be worth the
having if it could be obtained. It is an unspeakable consolation that our Lord
Jesus knows this experience, right well, having, with the exception of the sin
of it, felt it all and more than all in Gethsemane when he was exceeding
sorrowful even unto death.
Verse
7. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me. Dreadful plight this, the
worst in which a man can be found. Wrath is heavy in itself; God's wrath is
crushing beyond conception, and when that presses hard the soul is oppressed
indeed. The wrath of God is the very hell of hell, and when it weighs upon the
conscience a man feels a torment such as only that of damned spirits can
exceed. Joy or peace, or even numbness of indifference, there can be none to
one who is loaded with this most tremendous of burdens. And thou hast afflicted
me with all thy waves, or all thy breakers. He pictures God's wrath as
breaking over him like those waves of the sea which swell, and rage, and dash
with fury upon the shore. How could his frail barque hope to survive those cruel
breakers, white like the hungry teeth of death. Seas of affliction seemed to
rush in upon him with all the force of omnipotence; he felt himself to be
oppressed and afflicted like Israel in Egypt, when they cried by reason of
their afflictions. It appeared impossible for him to suffer more, he had
exhausted the methods of adversity and endured all its waves. So have we
imagined, and yet it is not really quite so bad. The worst case might be worse,
there are alleviations to every woe; God has other and more terrible waves
which, if he chose to let them forth, would sweep us into the infernal abyss,
whence hope has long since been banished. Selah. There was need to rest. Above
the breakers the swimmer lifts his head and looks around him, breathing for a moment,
until the next wave comes. Even lamentation must have its pauses. Nights are
broken up into watches, and even so mourning has its intervals. Such sorrowful
music is a great strain both on voices and instruments, and it is well to give
the singers the relief of silence for a while.
Verse
8. Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me. If ever
we need friends it is in the dreary hour of despondency and the weary time of
bodily sickness; therefore does the sufferer complain because divine providence
had removed his friends. Perhaps his disease was infectious or defiling, so
that he was legally separated from his fellow men, perhaps their fears kept
them away from his plague stricken house, or else his good name had become so
injured that they naturally avoided him. Lost friends require but small excuse
for turning their backs on the afflicted. The swallows offer no apology for
leaving us to winter by ourselves. Yet it is a piercing pain which arises from
the desertion of dear associates; it is a wound which festers and refuses to be
healed. Thou hast made me an abomination unto them. They turned from him as
though he had become loathsome and contaminating, and this because of something
which the Lord had done to him; therefore, he brings his complaint to the prime
mover in his trouble. He who is still flattered by the companions of his
pleasure can little guess the wretchedness which will be his portion should he
become poor, or slanderously accused, for then one by one the parasites of his
prosperity will go their way and leave him to his fate, not without cutting
remarks on their part to increase his misery. Men have not so much power to
bless by friendship as to curse by treachery. Earth's poisons are more deadly
than her medicines are healing. The mass of men who gather around a man and
flatter him are like tame leopards; when they lick his hand it is well for him
to remember that with equal gusto they would drink his blood. "Cursed is
he that trusteth in man." I am shut up, and I cannot come forth. He was a
prisoner in his room, and felt like a leper in the lazaretto, or a condemned
criminal in his cell. His mind, too, was bound as with fetters of iron; he felt
no liberty of hope, he could take no flights of joy. When God shuts friends
out, and shuts us in to pine away alone, it is no wonder if we water our couch
with tears.
Verse
9. Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction. He wept his
eyes out. He exhausted the lachrymal glands, he wore away the sight itself.
Tears in showers are a blessing, and work our good; but in floods they become
destructive and injurious. Lord, I have called daily upon thee. His tears
wetted his prayers, but did not damp then fervour. He prayed still, though no
answer came to dry his eyes. Nothing can make a true believer cease praying; it
is a part of his nature, and pray he must. I have stretched out my hands unto
thee. He used the appropriate posture of a supplicant, of his own accord; men
need no posture maker, or master of the ceremonies, when they are eagerly
pleading for mercy, nature suggests to them attitudes both natural and correct.
As a little child stretches out its hands to its mother while it cries, so did
this afflicted child of God. He prayed all over, his eyes wept, his voice
cried, his hands were outstretched, and his heart broke. This was prayer
indeed.
Verse
10. Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? Wherefore then suffer
me to die? While I live thou canst in me display the glories of thy grace, but
when I have passed into the unknown land, how canst thou illustrate in me thy
love? If I perish thou wilt lose a worshipper who both reverenced, and in his
own experience illustrated, the wonders of thy character and acts. This is good
pleading, and therefore he repeats it. Shall the dead arise and praise thee? He
is thinking only of the present, and not of the last great day, and he urges
that the Lord would have one the less to praise him among the sons of men.
Shades take no part in the quires of the Sabbath, ghosts sing no joyous Psalms,
sepulchres and vaults send forth no notes of thanksgiving. True the souls of
departed saints render glory to God, but the dejected Psalmist's thoughts do
not mount to heaven but survey the gloomy grave: he stays on this side of
eternity, where in the grave he sees no wonders and hears no songs. Selah. At
the mouth of the tomb he sits down to meditate, and then returns to his theme.
Verse
11. Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Thy
tender goodness—who shall testify concerning it in that cold abode where the
worm and corruption hold their riot? The living may indite "meditations
among the Tombs", but the dead know nothing, and therefore can declare
nothing. Or thy faithfulness in destruction? If the Lord suffered his servant
to die before the divine promise was fulfilled, it would be quite impossible
for his faithfulness to be proclaimed. The poet is dealing with this life only,
and looking at the matter from the point of view afforded by time and the
present race of men; if a believer were deserted and permitted to die in
despair, there could come no voice from his grave to inform mankind that the
Lord had rectified his wrongs and relieved him of his trials, no songs would
leap up from the cold sod to hymn the truth and goodness of the Lord; but as
far as men are concerned, a voice which loved to magnify the grace of God would
be silenced, and a loving witness for the Lord removed from the sphere of
testimony.
Verse
12. Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? If not here
permitted to prove their goodness of Jehovah, how could the singer do so in the
land of darkness and death shade? Could his tongue, when turned into a clod,
alarm the dull cold ear of death? Is not a living dog better than a dead lion,
and a living believer of more value to the cause of God on earth than all the
departed put together? And thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? What
shall be told concerning thee in the regions of oblivion? Where memory and love
are lost, and men are alike unknowing and unknown, forgetful and forgotten,
what witness to the divine holiness can be borne? The whole argument amounts to
this—if the believer dies unblessed, how will God's honour be preserved? Who
will bear witness to his truth and righteousness?
Verse
13. But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; I have continued to
pray for help to thee, O Jehovah, the living God, even though thou hast so long
delayed to answer. A true born child of God may be known by his continuing to
cry; a hypocrite is great at a spurt, but the genuine believer holds on till he
wins his suit. And in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. He meant to
plead on yet, and to increase his earnestness. He intended to be up betimes, to
anticipate the day light, and begin to pray before the sun was up. If the Lord
is pleased to delay, he has a right to do as he wills, but we must not
therefore become tardy in supplication. If we count the Lord slack concerning
his promise we must only be the more eager to outrun him, lest sinful sloth on
our part should hinder the blessing.
"Let
prayer and holy hymn
Perfume the morning air;Before the world with smoke is dim
Bestir thy soul to prayer."
"While flowers are wet with dew
Lament thy sins with tears,
And ere the sun shines forth anew
Tell to thy Lord thy fears."
Verse
14. LORD, why castest thou oft my soul? Hast thou not
aforetime chosen me, wilt thou now reject me? Shall thine elect ones become thy
reprobates? Dost thou, like changeable men, give a writing of divorcement to
those whom thy love has espoused? Can thy beloveds become thy cast offs? Why hidest
thou thy face from me? Wilt thou not so much as look upon me? Canst thou not
afford me a solitary smile? Why this severity to one who has in brighter days
basked in the light of thy favour? We may put these questions to the Lord, nay,
we ought to do so. It is not undue familiarity, but holy boldness. It may help
us to remove the evil which provokes the Lord to jealousy, if we seriously beg
him to shew us wherefore he contends with us. He cannot act towards us in other
than a right and gracious manner, therefore for every stroke of his rod there
is a sufficient reason in the judgment of his loving heart; let us try to learn
that reason and profit by it.
Verse
15. I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up. His
affliction had now lasted so long that he could hardly remember when it
commenced; it seemed to him as if he had been at death's door ever since he was
a child. This was no doubt an exaggeration of a depressed spirit, and yet
perhaps Heman may have been born under the cypress, and have been all his days
afflicted with some chronic disease or bodily infirmity; there are holy men and
women whose lives are a long apprenticeship to patience, and these deserve both
our sympathy and our reverence,—our reverence we have ventured to say, for
since the Saviour became the acquaintance of grief, sorrow has become
honourable in believers' eyes. A life long sickness may by divine grace prove
to be a life long blessing. Better suffer from childhood to old age than to be
let alone to find pleasure in sin. While I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
Long use had not blunted the edge of sorrow, God's terrors had not lost their
terror; rather had they become more overwhelming and had driven the man to
despair. He was unable to collect his thoughts, he was so tossed about that he
could not judge and weigh his own condition in a calm and rational manner.
Sickness alone will thus distract the mind; and when a sense of divine anger is
added thereto, it is not to be wondered at if reason finds it hard to hold the
reins. How near akin to madness soul depression sometimes may be, it is not our
province to decide; but we speak what we do know when we say that a feather
weight might be sufficient to turn the scale at times. Thank God O ye tempted
ones who yet retain your reason! Thank him that the devil himself cannot add
that feather while the Lord stands by to adjust all things. Even though we have
grazed upon the rock of utter distraction, we bless the infinitely gracious
Steersman that the vessel is seaworthy yet, and answers to her helm: tempest
tossed from the hour of her launch even to this hour, yet she mounts the waves
and defies the hurricane.
Verse
16. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me. What an expression,
"fierce wrath", and it is a man of God who feels it! Do we seek an
explanation? It seemed so to him, but "tidings are not what they
seem." No punitive anger ever falls upon the saved one, for Jesus shields
him from it all; but a father's anger may fall upon his dearest child, none the
less but all the more, because he loves it. Since Jesus bore my guilt as my
substitute, my Judge cannot punish me, but my Father can and will correct me.
In this sense the Father may even manifest "fierce wrath" to his
erring child, and under a sense of it that dear broken down one may be laid in
the dust and covered with wretchedness, and yet for all that he may be accepted
and beloved of the Lord all the while. Heman represents God's wrath as breaking
over him as waves over a wreck. Thy terrors have cut me off. They have made me
a marked man, they have made me feel like a leper separated from the
congregation of thy people, and they have caused others to look upon me as no
better than dead. Blessed be God this is the sufferer's idea and not the very
truth, for the Lord will neither cast off nor cut off his people, but will
visit his mourners with choice refreshments.
Verse
17. They came round about me daily like water. My troubles,
and thy chastisement poured in upon me, penetrating everywhere, and drowning
all. Such is the permeating and pervading power of spiritual distress, there is
no shutting it out; it soaks into the soul like the dew into Gideon's fleece;
it sucks the spirit down as the quicksand swallows the ship; it overwhelms it
as the deluge submerged the green earth. They compassed me about together.
Griefs hemmed him in. He was like the deer in the hunt, when the dogs are all
around and at his throat. Poor soul! and yet he was a man greatly beloved of
heaven!
Verse
18. Lover and friend: hast thou put far from me. Even when they
are near me bodily, they are so unable to swim with me in such deep waters,
that they stand like men far away on the shore while I am buffeted with the
billows; but, alas, they shun me, the dearest lover of all is afraid of such a
distracted one, and those who took counsel with me avoid me now! The Lord Jesus
knew the meaning of this in all its wormwood and gall when in his passion. In
dreadful loneliness he trod the wine press, and all his garments were distained
with the red blood of those sour grapes. Lonely sorrow falls to the lot of not
a few; let them not repine, but enter herein into close communion with that
dearest lover and friend who is never far from his tried ones. And mine
acquaintance into darkness, or better still, my acquaintance is darkness.
I am familiar only with sadness, all else has vanished. I am a child crying
alone in the dark. Will the heavenly Father leave his child there? Here he
breaks off, and anything more from us would only spoil the abruptness of the
unexpected FINIS.
(We
have not attempted to interpret this Psalm concerning our Lord, but we fully
believe that where the members are, the Head is to be seen preeminently. To
have given a double exposition under each verse would have been difficult and
confusing; we have therefore left the Messianic references to be pointed out in
the Notes, where, if God the Holy Ghost be pleased to illustrate the page, we
have gathered up more than enough to lead each devout reader to behold Jesus,
the man of sorrows and the acquaintance of grief.)
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
TITLE. Mahalath
Leannoth I lean to the idea, that the words Mahalath Leannoth, are
intended to denote some musical instrument of the plaintive order, and in this
opinion Kimchi and other Jewish writers perfectly agree. They assert
that it was a wind instrument, answering very much to the flute, and employed
mainly in giving utterance to sentiments of grief, upon occasions of great
sorrow and lamentation. With this view of the title, I should look for no new translation,
but should just read it substantially as our translators here: "A Song or
Psalm for the sons of Korah", to the giver of victory, upon Mahalath
Leannoth, an instruction for Heman, the Ezrahite.—John Morison.
Title. Leannoth
is variously rendered, according as it is derived from hne, anah, to suffer,
be afflicted, or from hne anah, to chant, sing. Gesenius, De Wette,
Dr. Davies, and others take the latter view; while Mudge, Hengtenberg,
Alexander, and others take the former. Mudge translates, to create
dejection; Alexander renders, mahalath leannoth, concerning afflictive
sickness; Hengstenberg reads, upon the distress of oppression. The
Septuagint (apokriyhnai) and the Vulgate (respondendum) indicate a responsive
song, and Houbigant translates the words in question, for the choirs, that
they may answer. Many etymologists consider the primary idea of hne, anah,
to sing, that of answering. The tone of the Psalm in question,
however, being decidedly that of sadness and dejection, it appears more
probable that leannoth denotes the strictly elegiac character of the
performance, and the whole title may read therefore, "A Song or Psalm, for
the sons of Korah, to the chief musician, upon the flutes (or the hollow
instruments,)to afflict (or cause dejection,)a didactic Psalm of Heman, the
Ezrahite."—F.G. Hibbard, in "The Psalms chronologically arranged,
with Historical Introductions." New York, 1856.
Title. The
explanation:—to be performed mournfully with subdued voice, agrees with the
mournful contents, whose tone is even more gloomy than that of Ps 77:1-20.—From
"The Psalms, by C.B. Moll." (Lange's Series of Commentaries.)
Title.—Heman.
1.
David was not the only man acquainted with sad exercise and affliction of
spirit, for here is another, to wit, Heman the Ezrahite, as deep in
trouble of spirit as he or any other beside.
2.
They are not all men of weak minds and shallow wit who are acquainted with
trouble of spirit, and borne down with the sense of God's wrath; for here is Heman,
one amongst the wisest of all Israel, (and inferior to none for wisdom, except
to Solomon alone), under the heaviest exercise we can imagine possible for a
saint.
3.
When it pleaseth God to exercise a man of parts, of great gifts and graces, he
can make his burden proportionable to his strength, and give him as much to do
with the difficulties he puts him to, as a weaker man shall find in his
exercise, as appeareth in the experience of Heman.
4.
Wise men in their trouble must take the same course with the simpler sort of
men; that is, they must run to God as others do, and seek relief only in his
grace, who as he distributeth the measures of trouble, can also give comfort,
ease, and deliverance from them, as the practice of Heman doth teach us.
5.
What trouble of wounded spirit some of God's children have felt in former
times, others dear to God may find the like in after ages, and all men ought to
prepare for the like, and should not think the exercise strange when it cometh,
but must comfort themselves in this, that other saints whose refines are
recorded in Scripture, have been under like affliction; for the Psalm is
appointed "to give instruction"; it is Maschil of Heman.
6.
What is at one time matter of mourning to one of God's children, may become
matter of joy and singing afterward, both to himself and to others, as this sad
anguish of spirit in Heman is made a song of joy unto God's glory, and
the comfort of all afflicted souls, labouring under the sense of sin and felt
wrath of God, unto the world's end; it is A Song, a Psalm for the sons of
Korah.
7.
Such as are most heartily afflicted in spirit, and do flee to God for
reconciliation and consolation through Christ, have no reason to suspect
themselves, that they are not esteemed of and loved as dear children, because
they feel so much of God's wrath: for here is a saint who hath drunken of that
cup (as deep as any who shall read this Psalm,)here is one so much loved and
honoured of God, as to be a penman of Holy Scripture, and a pattern of faith
and patience unto others; even Heman the Ezrahite. —David Dickson.
Whole
Psalm. "We have in this Psalm the voice of our suffering
Redeemer", says Horne; and the contents may be thus briefly stated—
1. The
plaintive wailing of the suffering one, Ps 88:1-2. It strongly resembles Ps
22:1-2.
2. His
soul exceeding sorrowful even unto death, Ps 88:3-5. The word "free"
in our version, is vpx, properly denoting separation from others, and here
rendered by Junius and Tremellius, "set aside from intercourse and
communication with men, having nothing in common with them, like those who are
afflicted with leprosy, and are sent away to separate dwellings." They
quote 2Ch 26:21.
3. His
feelings of hell, Ps 88:6-7. For he feels God's prison, and the gloom of
God's darkest wrath. And Selah gives time to ponder.
4. His
feelings of shame and helplessness, Ps 88:8. "His own receive him
not."
5. The
effects of soul agony upon his body, Ps 88:9.
6. His
submission to the Lord, Ps 88:9. It is the very tone of Gethsemane,
"Nevertheless, not my will!"
7. The
sustaining hope of resurrection, Ps 88:10 (with a solemn pause, "Selah"),
Ps 88:11-12. The "land of forgetfulness", and "the
dark", express the unseen world, which, to those on this side of the
vail, is so unknown, and where those who enter it are to us as if they had
forever been forgotten by those they left behind. God's wonders shall be made
known there. There shall be victory gained over death and the grave: God's "lovingkindness"
to man, and his "faithfulness", pledge him to do this new
thing in the universe. Messiah must return from the abodes of the invisible
state; and in due time, Heman, as well as all other members of the Messiah's
body, must return also. Yes, God's wonders shall be known at the grave's
mouth. God's righteousness, in giving what satisfied justice in behalf
of Messiah's members, has been manifested gloriously, so that resurrection must
follow, and the land of forgetfulness must give up its dead. O morning of
surpassing bliss, hasten on! Messiah has risen; when shall all that are his
arise? Till that day dawn, they must take up their Head's plaintive
expostulations, and remind their God in Heman's strains of what he has yet to
accomplish. "Wilt thou show wonders to the dead", etc.
8. His
perseverance in vehement prayer, Ps 88:13-14.
9. His
long continued and manifold woes, Ps 88:15-17.
10.
His loneliness of soul, Ps 88:18.
Hengstenberg
renders the last clause of this verse more literally—"The dark kingdom of
the dead is instead of all my companions." What unutterable gloom! completed
by this last dark shade—all sympathy from every quarter totally withdrawn!
Forlorn, indeed! Sinking from gloom to gloom, from one deep to another, and
every billow sweeping over him, and wrath, like a tremendous mountain, "leaning"
or resting its weight on the crushed worm. Not even Ps 22:1-31 is more awfully
solemnising, there being in this deeply melancholy Psalm only one cheering
glimpse through the intense gloom, namely, that of resurrection hoped for, but
still at a distance. At such a price was salvation purchased by him who is the
resurrection and the life. He himself wrestled for life and resurrection in our
name—and that price so paid is the reason why to us salvation is free. And so
we hear in solemn joy the harp of Judah struck by Heman, to overawe our souls
not with his own sorrows, but with what Horsley calls "The lamentation of
Messiah", or yet more fully, The sorrowful days and nights of the Man
of Sorrows.—Andrew A. Bonar.
Whole
Psalm. This Psalm stands alone in all the Psalter for the unrelieved
gloom, the hopeless sorrow of its tone. Even the very saddest of the others,
and the Lamentations themselves, admit some variations of key, some strains of
hopefulness; here only all is darkness to the close.—Neale and Littledale.
Whole
Psalm. The prophecy in the foregoing Psalm of the conversion of all
nations is followed by this Passion Psalm, in order that it may never be
forgotten that God has purchased to himself an universal church, by the
precious blood of his dear Son.—Christopher Wordsworth.
Whole
Psalm. All the misery and sorrow which are described in this Psalm, says
Brentius, have been the lot of Christ's people. We may therefore take the
Psalm, he adds, to be common to Christ and his church.—W. Wilson.
Verse
1. My That little word "my" opens for a moment a
space between the clouds through which the Sun of righteousness casts one
solitary beam. Generally speaking, you will find that when the Psalm begins
with lamentation, it ends with praise; like the sun, which, rising in clouds
and mist, sets brightly, and darts forth its parting rays just before it goes
down. But here the first gleam shoots across the sky just as the sun rises, and
no sooner has the ray appeared, than thick clouds and darkness gather over it;
the sun continues its course throughout the whole day enveloped in clouds; and
sets at last in a thicker bank of them than it ever had around it during the
day. "Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance
into darkness." In what a dark cloud does the sun of Heman set!—J.C.
Philpot.
Verse
1. Before thee. He had not recklessly poured forth his
complaints, or cast them to the winds, as many are wont to do, who have no hope
in their calamities; but he had always mingled with his complaining prayers for
obtaining deliverance, and had directed them to God, where faith assured him
his prayers would be seen again. This must be attentively noted, since herein
is seen of what kind the complaints of the saints are.—Mollerus.
Verse
1. Before thee. Other men seek some hiding place where they
may murmur against God, but the Psalmist comes into the Lord's presence and
states his grievances. When a man dares to pour out his complaint before the
Lord's own face, his woes are real, and not the result of petulence or a rebellious
spirit.—C.H.S.
Verses
1-2. Before thee. Not seeking to be seen by human eye, but by God
alone, therefore, let my prayer come before thee, that is, let it be
acceptable before thee, after the similitude of ambassadors who are admitted to
audience; and when my prayer has entered incline thine tar unto my cry,
because thou hearest the desire of the afflicted.—Richardus Hampolus.
Verse
2. Incline thine ear, etc. It is necessary that God should
incline his ear unto our prayer, else it would be in vain to come before Him.
The prodigal did not venture to present his prayer before the father ran and
fell upon his neck and kissed him. For then he said, Lu 15:21, "Father, I
have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight", etc...and so he obtained
mercy. Esther did not present her prayer to Ahasuerus before he descended from
his throne and inclined himself to her. Es 5:2, etc.—Le Blanc.
Verse
3. My soul is full of troubles. The Lord Jesus emptied
himself of glory, that he might be full of trouble. His soul, which was free
from human sin, was full of human troubles, that we who are full of sin might
be free from trouble; his life drew nigh to the terrors of the unseen world,
that we might not be its spoil and prey.—"Plain Commentary."
Verse
3. My soul is full of troubles. Hear into what a depth of
spiritual distress three worthy servants of God in these later times were
plunged and pressed down under the sense of God's anger for sin. Blessed Mistress
Brettergh upon her last bed was horribly hemmed in with the sorrows of
death; the very grief of hell laid hold upon her soul; a roaring wilderness of
woe was within her, as she confessed of herself. She said, her sin had made her
a prey to Satan; and wished that she had never been born, or that she had been
made any other creature rather than a woman. She cried out many times, woe,
woe, woe, etc.; a weak, a woeful, a wretched, a forsaken woman; with tears
continually trickling from her eyes. Master Peacock, that man of God, in
that his dreadful visitation and desertion, recounting some smaller sins, burst
out in these words: "And for these", saith he, "I feel now a
hell in my conscience." Upon other occasions he cried out, groaning most
pitifully, "Oh me, wretch! Oh mine heart is miserable! Oh, oh, miserable
and woeful! The burden of my sin lieth so heavy upon me, I doubt it will break
my heart. Oh how woeful and miserable is my state that I am hunted by hell
hounds!" When bystanders asked if he would pray, he answered, "I
cannot". Suffer us, say they, to pray for you. "Take not",
replied he, "the name of God in vain, by praying for a reprobate."
What
grievous pangs, what sorrowful torments, what boiling heats of the fire of hell
that blessed saint of God, John Glover, felt inwardly in his spirit,
saith Foxe, no speech outwardly is able to express. Being young, saith he, I
remember I was once or twice with him, whom partly by his talk I perceived, and
partly by mine own eyes saw to be so worn and consumed by the space of five
years, that neither almost any brooking of meat, quietness of sleep, pleasure
of life, yea, and almost no kind of senses was left in him. Upon apprehension
of some backsliding, he was so perplexed, that if he had been in the deepest
pit of hell, he could almost have despaired no more of his salvation; in which
intolerable griefs of mind, saith he, although he neither had, nor could have
any joy of his meat, yet was he compelled to eat against his appetite, to the
end to defer the time of his damnation so long as he might; thinking with
himself, but that he must needs be thrown into hell, the breath being once out
of his body. I dare not pass out of this point, lest some child of God should
be here discouraged, before I tell you that every one of these three was at
length blessedly recovered, and did rise most gloriously out of their several
depths of most extreme spiritual misery, before their end.
Hear,
therefore, Mistress Brettergh's triumphant songs and ravishments of
spirit, after the return of her well beloved: "O Lord Jesus, dost thou
pray for me? O blessed and sweet Saviour, how wonderful! How wonderful are thy
mercies! Oh thy love is unspeakable, thou hast dealt so graciously with me! O
my Lord and my God, blessed be thy name for evermore, which hast showed me the
path of life. Thou didst, O Lord, hide thy face from me for a little season,
but with everlasting mercy thou hast had compassion on me. And now, blessed
Lord, thy comfortable presence is come; yea, Lord, thou hast had respect unto
thine handmaid, and art come with fulness of joy, and abundance of consolation.
O blessed be thy name, my Lord and my God. O the joys that I feel in my soul!
They be wonderful. O Father, how merciful and marvellously gracious art thou
unto me! yea, Lord, I feel thy mercy and I am assured of thy love; and so certain
am I thereof, as Thou art the God of truth, even so sure do I know myself to be
thine, O Lord my God, and this my soul knoweth right well. Blessed be the Lord
that hath thus comforted me, and hath brought me now to a place more sweet unto
me than the garden of Eden. Oh the joy, the delightsome joy that I feel! O
praise the Lord for his mercies, and for this joy which my soul feels full
well; praise his name forever more."
Hear
with what heavenly calmness and sweet comforts Master Peacock's heart was refreshed
and ravished when the storm was over: "Truly, my heart and soul",
saith he, (when the tempest was something allayed) "have been far led and
deeply troubled with temptations, and stings of conscience, but I thank God
they are eased in good measure. Wherefore I desire that I be not branded with
the note of a castaway or reprobate. Such questions, oppositions, and all
tending thereto, I renounce. Concerning mine inconsiderate speeches in my
temptation, I humbly and heartily ask mercy of God for them all."
Afterward by little, and little, more light did arise in his heart, and he
brake out into such speeches as these: "I do, God be praised, feel such
comfort from that, what shall I call it?" "Agony", said one that
stood by. "Nay", quoth he, "that is too little; that had I five
hundred worlds, I could not make satisfaction for such an issue. Oh, the sea is
not more full of water, nor the sun of light, than the Lord of mercy; yea, his
mercies are ten thousand times more. What great cause have I to magnify the
great goodness of God, that hath humbled such a wretched miscreant, and of so
base condition, to an estate so glorious and stately. The Lord hath honoured me
with his goodness! I am sure he hath provided a glorious kingdom for me. The
joy that I feel in mine heart is incredible." For the third, (namely, John
Glover) hear Mr. Foxe: "Though this good servant of God suffered many
years so sharp temptations, and strong buffeting of Satan; yet the Lord, who
graciously preserved him all the while, not only at last did rid him out of all
discomfort, but also framed him thereby to such mortification of life, as the
like lightly hath not been seen; in such sort, as he being like one placed in
heaven already, and dead in this world both in word and meditation, led a life
altogether celestial, abhorring in his mind all profane doings."—Robert
Bolton (1572-1631), in, "Instructions for a right Comforting afflicted
Consciences."
Verse
3. My life. The Hebrew word rendered life is in the
plural number, as in Ge 2:7 3:14,17 6:17 7:15 et al. Why the plural was
used as applicable to life cannot now be known with certainty. It may
have been to accord with the fact, that man has two kinds of life;—the
animal life,—or life in common with the inferior creation; and intellectual, or
higher life,—the life of the soul. The meaning here is, that he was
about to die; or that his life or lives approached that state
when the grave closes over us; the extinction of the mere animal life; and the
separation of the soul—the immortal part—from the body.—Albert Barnes.
Verse
3. The grave. The word which is rendered "hell" in
the Prayer Book translation, and "the grave" in the Bible
version, and which is usually translated either as hell or the grave,
is in the Hebrew lav and in the Greek "Hades." "Hades"
signifies "the unseen world." The word "Sheol" is
literally "the Devouring, or the Insatiable." (Compare Hab 2:5)
"who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be
satisfied"; and also (Pr 3:15-16.) "Sheol" seems to have
presented itself to the thoughts of the ancient Hebrews as a gloomy, silent,
inevitable, and mysterious abode, situated within the earth, whither the souls
of the departed were compelled to repair and to dwell, upon their being
separated from the body. (Isa 14:9-20). They believed that the spirits of all
human kind were contained there in a state of waiting, and there especially
dwelt the souls of the giants before the flood (1Pe 3:19-20), and of the great
ones of old, the Rephaim, whom they pictured to themselves as fearful
and gigantic spectres (Compare Pr 2:18). These ideas became modified and
developed with the increasing clearness of divine teaching; and they divided
the abode of the dead into different states of hope and comfort, which they
called Abraham's bosom and paradise (Lu 16:22-23 23:43); and of misery and
suffering, (Pr 3:1). Life and immortality were brought to light by the Saviour,
and also judgment and Hell—the Gehenna of everlasting punishment, as
distinguished from the Unseen World. (Compare Re 20:13-14). From these
speculations of Jewish Rabbis respecting Sheol the church of Rome
appears to have developed the doctrine of Purgatory. It should be added that it
was a received opinion among the followers of Rabbinical teaching, that all of
the seed of Abraham, though they would be dwellers in Sheol before the
general resurrection, would finally escape the Gehenna of everlasting
fire. The rich man (Lu 16:23) is in Hades in torments when he calls to Abraham
his father.—"Plain Commentary."
Verse
4. I am counted with them that go down into the pit. Not only
myself, says he, but others also now despair of my life, and number me with
those whose corpses are borne forth to burial. For now all my powers have
failed and my vital spirits become quenched. He uses the word rbg which
indicates fortitude rather than Mda or wya in order to show how great the
severity of these evils was, and the vehemence of his griefs, which had broken
even a most robust man.—Mollerus.
Verse
4. I am counted with them that go down into the pit. Next to
the troubles of Christ's soul, are mentioned the disgrace and ignominy to which
he submitted: He who was the fountain of immortality, from whom no one could
take his life, who could in a moment have commanded twelve legions of angels to
his aid, or have caused heaven and earth, at a word speaking, to fly away
before him, he was counted among them that go down into the pit; he
died, to all appearance, like the rest of mankind, nay, he was forcibly put to
death, as a malefactor; and seemed, in the hands of his executioners, as a
man that had no strength, no power, or might, to help and save himself. His
strength went from him; he became weak, and like another man. The people shook
their heads at him, saying, "He saved others, himself he cannot
save."—Samuel Burder.
Verse
4. There is in the original an antithesis, which cannot be conveyed
by mere translation, arising from the fact that the first word for man is one
implying strength.—J.A. Alexander.
Verse
5. Free among the dead. In the former verse he had said that
he had approached very near to death, now he is plainly dead: there he was
about to be buried, here he is laid in the sepulchre: thus had his sufferings
increased. Free is to be understood of the affairs of this life, as when
it is said, Job 3:19, "And the servant is free from his master."—Martin
Bucer, 1491-1551.
Verse
5. Free among the dead. yvpx Mytmg bammethim chophshi,
I rather think, means stripped among the dead. Both the fourth
and fifth verses seem to allude to a field of battle: the slain
and the wounded are found scattered over the plain; the spoilers
come among them, and strip, not only the dead, but those also who appear to be
mortally wounded and cannot recover, and are so feeble as not to be able to
resist. Hence the Psalmist says, "I am as a man that hath no
strength", Ps 88:4.—Adam Clarke.
Verse
5. Free. There is no immunity so long as we are in the flesh,
there is no truce, but constant unrest distracts us. Liberty, therefore, is
given to us after death, because we rest from our labourers.—Franciscus
Vatablus.
Verse
5. Cut off from the hand. Beware how you ever look upon
yourself as cut off from life and from enjoyment; you are not cut off,
only taken apart, laid aside, it may be but for a season, or it may be for
life; but still you are part of the body of which Christ is the Head. Some must
suffer and some must serve, but each one is necessary to the other, "the
whole body is fitly framed together by that which every joint supplieth",
"the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the
head to the feet, I have no need of you:" Eph 4:16 1Co 12:21. Your feet
may be set fast; they may have run with great activity, and you sorrow now,
because they can run no more. But do not sorrow thus, do not envy those who are
running; you have a work to do; it may be the work of the head, or of the eye,
it surely is whatever work God gives to you. It may be the work of lying still,
of not stirring hand or foot, of scarcely speaking, scarcely showing life. Fear
not: if He your heavenly Master has given it to you to do, it is His
work, and He will bless it. Do not repine. Do not say, This is work,
and, this is not; how do you know? What work, think you, was Daniel
doing in the lion's den? Or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery
furnace? Their work was glorious, "laudable, and honourable", they
were glorifying God in suffering.—From "Sickness, its Trials and
Blessings." (Anon.) 1868.
Verse
6. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, etc. He expands his
meaning by another similitude. For he compares himself to a captive who has
been cast into a deep, foul, dark, and slimy pit, where he is shut up and
plunged in filth and darkness, having not a remnant of hope and life; after the
manner of Jeremiah's sufferings. Jer 37:1-21. By this simile he means that he
was in the greatest anxieties and sorrows of mind, destitute of every hope and
sense of consolation, and that the terrors of death continually increased and
augmented.—Mollerus.
Verse
6. When a saint is under terrible impressions of Jehovah's infinite
wrath, he cannot but be under great horror of conscience, and in perplexing
depths of mental trouble. The sense which he hath of avenging wrath, occasions
a conflict in his spirit, inexpressibly agonizing and terrible. When his
troubled conscience is inflamed, by a sense of the fiery indignation of God
Almighty, the more be thinks of him as his infinite enemy, the more he is
dismayed: every thought of Him, brings doleful tidings, and pours oil
upon the raging flame. Trouble of conscience for sin, is indeed very
disquieting; but, a sense of the vindictive wrath of God, kindled in the
conscience, is still more dreadful. No words can express the direful anguish,
which the disconsolate soul then feels. The Christian cannot at that time think
so much as one quiting, one cheering thought. What he first thinks of is
tormenting to his wounded spirit: he changes that thought for another, and that
is still more tormenting. He finds himself entangled, as in the midst of a thicket
of thorns so that, which way soever he turns himself, he is pierced and grieved
afresh. This dismal thought often arises in his troubled mind,—That if death
were, in his present condition, to surprise and cut him off, he should sink
forever and ever, under the intolerable wrath of the infinite Jehovah. The most
exquisite torment of body is almost nothing, in comparison of the anguish of
his spirit at such times. Oh! how inconceivable is the anguish, the agony,
especially of a holy soul, when it is conflicting with the tremendous wrath of
the eternal God! The bodily torture even of crucifixion, could not extort from
the holy Jesus the smallest sigh or complaint; but the sense of his Father's
wrath in his soul, wrung from him that doleful outcry, "My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me!"—John Colquhoun, in "A Treatise on
Spiritual Comfort." 1814.
Verse
7. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me. Others read, sustains
itself, or bears up itself upon me, which is as if a giant should
with his whole weight stay himself upon a child.—Thomas Goodwin.
Verse
7. There are some that feel the wrath of God on their souls and
consciences, and yet are not under wrath, but are true saints of God. Examples
ye have in Paul, that chosen vessel of God to bear the name of Jesus among the
Gentiles, he had fightings without and terrors within. Heman the Ezrahite said,
`The waves of the Lord's indignation are gone over my head, so that they are
like to drown me; I suffer terrors and doubtings from my very youth, so that I
can never be quit of them.' And both these were the dear children of God. Now,
if you feel nothing but wrath, and thou dost ask how thou shalt judge of thy
state when thou art bearing such a wrath, that put all the sand of the sea in
balance with it, it would overweigh it; and when thou hast such a fire in thy
conscience, that, put iron and brass in that fire, it would melt them, for they
were not able to abide it: how then shalt thou know, in this case, that thou
art loved of God, and that he hath chosen thee to eternal life? I tell thee, if
thou art the chosen child of God, and a vessel of mercy, under a sense of
wrath, in this estate this will be thy disposition. First, Thou wilt hate and
detest thy sin, which is the cause of thy misery, and hath brought thee to this
pain. Secondly, Thou wilt have some dolour and sorrow for thy sin, and thou
wilt lament because thou hast provoked God to anger against thee. Thirdly, Thou
wilt have a desire to be reconciled to God; and thou wouldst gladly be at peace
with him, that thy sins may be taken away out of his sight. Fourthly, There
will be hunger and thirst for the blood of Christ to quench that wrath, and for
his righteousness to cover thy soul. Fifthly, There will be a patient waiting
upon the Lord's deliverance, and when thou canst not get to this persuasion,
then there will be a hope above hope, and thou wilt say with Job, (Job 13:15),
`Lord, I will trust in thee, though thou shouldest slay me.'—John Welch.
Verse
8. There are times when an unspeakable sadness steals upon me, an
immense loneliness takes possession of my soul, a longing perchance for some
vanished hand and voice to comfort me as of old, a desolation without form and
void, that wraps me in its folds, and darkens my inmost being. It was not thus
in the first days of my illness. Then all was so new and strange, that a
strange spiritual strength filled my soul, and seemed to bear me up as with
angel hands. The love and kindness that my sickness called forth, came to me
with a sweet surprise; tender solicitude made my very pain into an occasion of
joy to me; and hope was strong and recovery was near, only a few brief weeks
between me and returning health, with nothing of sickness remaining, but the
memory of all that love and sympathy, like a line of light my Saviour's feet
had left, as he walked with me on the troubled sea. But now that hope is
deferred, and returning health seems to loiter by the way, and recovery is
delayed, and the trial lengthens out like an ever lengthening chain, my soul
begins to faint and tire, and the burden to grow heavier. Even to those who
love me most, my pain and helplessness is now an accustomed thing, while to me
it keeps its keen edge of suffering, but little dulled by use. My ills to them
are a tedious oft told tale which comes with something of a dull reiterance. It
has become almost a matter of course that in the pleasant plan I should be left
out, that in the pleasant walk I should be left behind; a matter of course that
the pleasures of life should pass me by with folded hand and averted face; and
sickness, and monotonous days, and grey shadows should be my portion...
And
O my God, my spirit sometimes faints beneath a nameless dread that this
loneliness will grow deeper and deeper, if it be thy will that my sickness
should continue, or recovery be long delayed. I can no longer be the companion
of those I love; shall I be as dear to them as if I could have kept by their
side, and been bound up with all their active interests and pleasures? I have
to see others take my place, and do my work for them; shall I not suffer loss
in their eyes, and others enter into the heritage of love which might have been
mine? Will they not grow weary of me, weary of the same old ills, oft repeated,
but ever new, and turn with an unconscious feeling of relief, to brighter
hearts, and more joyous lives? My God, my God, to whom can I turn for comfort
but unto thee, thou who didst drink the bitter cup of human loneliness to the
dregs that thou mightest make thyself a brother to the lonely, a merciful and
faithful High Priest to the desolate soul; thou who alone canst pass within,
the doors being shut to all human aid, into that secret place of
thunder, where the tempest tossed soul suffers and struggles alone; thou who
alone canst command the winds and tempests, and say unto the sea "Be
still!" and unto the wind, "Blow not!" and there shall be a
great calm. As a child alone in the dark, my heart cries out for thee, cries
for thine embracing arms, for thy voice of comfort, for thy pierced heart on
which to rest my aching head, and feel that Love is near.—From "Christ
the Consoler. A Book of Comfort for the Sick." Anon. 1872.
Verse
8. Thou hast put away mine acquaintance. This tempest of
afflictions is all the heavier, because, First, all my acquaintance departed far
from me, like swallows in winter time: Pr 14:20. The poor is hated even of
his own neighbour, but, but the rich hath many friends. Seneca wisely
admonishes: Flies follow honey, wolves corpses, ants food, the mob follows
the pay, not the man. Job said, (Job 19:13), He hath put my brethren far
from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me. My kinsfolk have
failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me. Secondly, not only do they
often depart from the afflicted, but they themselves add to his trouble, and
precipitate his falling fortune. A rich man beginning to fall is held up by his
friends; but a poor man being down, is thrust away by those who once pretended
to love him.—Le Blanc.
Verse
8. Thou hast made me an abomination unto them: lit,
"abominations", as if I were one great mass of abominations. (Ge
46:34 43:32). As Israel was an abomination to the Egyptians, so Messiah, the
antitypical Israel, was to the world.—A.R. Fausset.
Verse
8. An abomination. As one who is unclean,—excluded from
social intercourse; Ge 46:34. Compare Job 9:31 19:19 30:10. "I cannot
come forth." The man suspected of leprosy was "shut up seven
days"; Le 13:4.—William Kay.
Verse
9. Mine eye mourneth, ...I have called. Weeping must
not hinder praying; we must sow in tears: "Mine eye mourns", but
"I cry unto thee daily." Let prayers and tears go together, and they
shall be accepted together: "I have heard thy prayers, I have seen thy
tears."—Matthew Henry.
Verse
9. The first clause seems literally to mean the soreness and dimness
of sight caused by excessive weeping, and is so taken by many of the
commentators, and Lorinus aptly quotes a Latin poet, Catullus, in
illustration:—
Moesta
neque assiduo tabescere lumina fletu Cessarent.
Nor my sad eyes to pine with constant tears Could cease.
—Neale's Commentary.
Verse
10. He assures himself God would not fail to comfort him before he
died; and again, that the Lord would rather miraculously raise him from the
dead, than not glorify himself in his deliverance: and in this also he taketh a
safe course, for he seeks for what he might expect, rather in an ordinary way,
than by looking for miracles.—David Dickson.
Verse
10. Shall the dead arise and praise thee? So far from this
being an argument against the resurrection, it is Messiah's own most powerful
plea for it—that otherwise man would be deprived of salvation, and God of the
praise which the redeemed shall give for it to all eternity. Thou canst not
show wonders to the dead as such; for "God is not the God of the dead, but
of the living." (Mt 22:32.) Or even if thou wert to show thy wonders, it
is only by their rising to life again that they can duly praise thee for them.—A.R.
Fausset.
Verse
10. The dead. The word comes from a root which expresses what
is weak and languid, and at the same time stretched out and long extended, and
which can accordingly be employed to describe the shadowy forms of the under
world as well as the giants and heroes of the olden time.—Carl Bernhard
Moll, in Lange's Commentary.
Verse
10. The dead. An attentive consideration seems to leave little
room for doubt that the dead were called Rephaim (as Gesenius also hints) from
some notion of Scheol being the residence of the fallen spirits or buried
giants.—F.W. Farrar, in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible.
Verses
10-11. Can my soul ever come to think I shall live in thy favour, in thy
free grace and lovingkindness, to be justified by it, to apprehend myself a
living man, and all my sins forgiven? To do this, saith he, is as great a
wonder as to raise a man up from death to life; therefore he useth that
expression, Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? He calleth it a wonder;
for of all works else, you shall find in Scripture the resurrection from the
dead counted the greatest wonder. The phrase in Ps 88:10, as the Septuagint
translates it, is exceeding emphatic. Saith he, "Wilt thou shew wonders to
the dead? Shall the physicians arise and praise thee?" So they read it,
and so some good Hebrecians read it also; that is, Go send for all the college
of physicians, all the angels out of heaven, all the skilful ministers and
prophets that were then upon the earth, Gad and David, for he lived in David's
time; send for them all. All these physicians may come with their cordials and
balms; they will never cure me, never heal my soul, never raise me up to life
again, except thou raise me; for I am "free among the dead", saith
he. Now then, to work faith in such a one; for this poor soul, being thus dead,
to go out of himself, and by naked and sheer faith to go to Jesus Christ alone,
whom God raised from the dead, and to believe on him alone; this is now as
great a power as indeed to raise a man up from death to life.—Thomas
Goodwin.
Verses
10-12. In these verses we find mention made of four things on the part
of God: "wonders", "lovingkindness",
"faithfulness", and "righteousness". These were four
attributes of the blessed Jehovah which the eyes of Heman had been opened to
see, and which the heart of Heman had been wrought upon to feel. But he comes,
by divine teaching, into a spot where these attributes seem to be completely
lost to him; and yet, (so mysterious are the ways of God!) that spot was made
the very place where those attributes were more powerfully displayed, and made
more deeply and experimentally known to his soul. The Lord led the blind by a
way that he knew not into these spots of experience, that in them he might more
fully open up to him those attributes of which he had already gained a glimpse;
but the Lord brought him in such a mysterious way, that all his former
knowledge was baffled. He therefore puts up this inquiry to the Lord, how it
was possible that in those spots where he now was, these attributes could be
displayed or made known? He begins—Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead?
He is speaking here of his own experience; he is that "dead"
person to whom those "wonders" are to be shown. And being in that
state of experience, he considered that every act of mercy shown to him where
he then was, must be a "wonder". Shall the dead arise and praise
thee? What! the dark, stupid, cold, barren, helpless soul, that cannot lift
up one little finger, that cannot utter one spiritual word, that cannot put
forth one gracious desire, that cannot lift up itself a hair's breadth out of
the mass that presses it down—"Shall it arise?" and more than
that, "praise thee?" What! can lamentation ever be turned into
praise. Can complaint ever be changed into thanksgiving? Can the mourner ever
shout and sing? Oh, it is a wonder of wonders, if "the dead" are to
"arise", if "the dead" are to "praise thee"; if
the dead are to stand upon their feet, and shout victory through thy blood!—J.C.
Philpot.
Verse
11. In the grave. Here is a striking figure of what a living
soul feels under the manifestations of the deep corruptions of his heart. All
his good words, once so esteemed; and all his good works, once so prized; and
all his prayers, and all his faith, and hope, and love, and all the
imaginations of his heart, are not merely paralysed and dead, not merely
reduced to a state of utter helplessness, but also in soul feeling turned into
rottenness and corruption. When we feel this we are spiritually brought where
Heman was, when he said, "Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in
the grave?" What! wilt thou manifest thy love to a stinking corpse? What!
is thy love to be shed abroad in a heart full of pollution and putrefaction? Is
thy lovingkindness to come forth from thy glorious sanctuary, where thou
sittest enthroned in majesty, and holiness, and purity,—is it to leave that
eternal abode of ineffable light and glory, and enter into the dark, polluted,
and loathsome "grave"? What! is thy lovingkindness to come out of the
sanctuary into the charnel house? Shall it be "declared" there—revealed
there—spoken there—manifested there—made known there? For nothing else but the declaration
of it there will do. He does not say, "Shall thy lovingkindness be
declared in the Scriptures?" "Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in
Christ?" ..."Shall thy lovingkindness be declared by the mouth of
ministers?" "Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in holy and pure
hearts?"—but he says, "Shall thy lovingkindness be declared",
uttered, spoken, revealed, manifested, "in the grave?" where
everything is contrary to it, where everything is unworthy of it,—the last of
all places fit for the lovingkindness of an all pure God to enter.—J.C.
Philpot.
Verse
11. Thy faithfulness in destruction. You will see God's
faithfulness to have been manifested most,—in destruction. You will see God's
faithfulness to his covenant most clearly evidenced in destroying your false
religion, in order to set up his own kingdom in your soul; in destroying
everything which alienated and drew away your affections from him, that he
alone might be enshrined in your hearts; and you will say, when the Lord leads
you to look at the path he has led you, in after years, "Of all God's
mercies his greatest have been those that seemed at the time to be the greatest
miseries; the richest blessings which he has given us, are those which came wrapped
up in the outside covering of curses; and his faithfulness has been as much or
more manifested in destruction, than in restoration."—J.C. Philpot.
Verse
11.—It is not by leaving man in the "destruction" which sin
and death produce, that God will declare his "faithfulness" to his
promises which have flowed out of his "lovingkindness"; for instance,
his promise that the woman's seed should bruise the serpent's head (Ge 13:15
and Ho 13:14).—A.R. Faussett.
Verse
12. Wilt thou show thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
where I have forgotten thee, where I turned aside from thee, where I have let
slip out of my memory all thy previous dealings with me—and shall thy
righteousness be manifested even there? Wilt thou prove thine equity in showing
forth mercy, because for me a sacrifice has been offered, thy righteousness
running parallel with the atoning stream of Christ's blood? When I have
forgotten thee and forsaken thee, and turned my back upon thee, can thy
righteousness be there manifested? What! righteousness running side by side
with mercy! and righteousness still preserving all its unbending strictness,
because this very backsliding of heart, this very forgetfulness of soul, this
very alienation of affection, this very turning my back upon thee, have all
been atoned for; and righteousness can be still shown "in the land of
forgetfulness", because all my sins committed in the land of forgetfulness
have been atoned for by redeeming blood!—J.C. Philpot.
Verse
13. But, etc. That "but" seems to come in as an
expression of his resolution hitherto, that though these were his apprehensions
of his condition, yet he had sought the Lord, and would go on to do the same.
Suppose thou findest no relish in the ordinances, yet use them; thou art
desperately sick, yet eat still take all that is brought thee, some strength
will come of it. Say, Be I damned or saved, hypocrite or no hypocrite, I
resolve to go on.—Thomas Goodwin.
Verse
13. In the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. The morning
prayer is the best...In the morning God gave various gifts. First, the manna,
Ex 16:13, And in the morning the dew lay round about the host: He who is
in the camp of God, and bravely fights, receives from God dew and consolation,
if in the morning, that is, in the beginning of temptation, he prays. In the
evening flesh was given, whence death overtook them, but in another case in the
morning the manna was given, whereby life was sustained, until they came into
the land of promise. Secondly, the law was given in the morning, Ex 19:16, And
it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and
lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet
exceeding loud. In morning devotion the thunders of God, that is, his
judgments, are more distinctly heard; his lightnings, that is, his divine
enlightenments, are best seen; the thick cloud upon the mount, that is, the
divine overshadowing of the soul, is perceived; and the voice of the trumpet is
best heard, that is, inspiration then with greater force moves the mind.
Thirdly, in the morning, very early, the children of Israel went forth from
Egypt; for in the middle of the night God smote all the first born in the land
of Egypt, Ex 12:29 ...In the morning pray, and you shall conquer your daily and
nightly foes; and the Red Sea itself, that is the place of temptation, shall be
to thee a field of glory, of victory and exultation and all things shall go
well with thee.—Le Blanc.
Verse
13. Unto thee have I cried, O Lord. There is something
comitant with the Christian's present darkness of spirit that distinguishes it
from the hypocrite's horror; and that is the lively working of grace, which
then commonly is very visible, when his peace and former comfort are most
questioned by him; the less joy he hath from any present sense of the love of
God, the more abounding you shall find him in sorrow for his sin that clouded
his joy; the further Christ is gone out of his sight, the more he clings in his
love to Christ, and vehemently cries after him in prayer, as we see in Heman
here. O the fervent prayers that then are shot from his troubled spirit to
heaven, the pangs of affection which are springing after God, and his face and
favour! Never did a banished child more desire admittance into his angry
father's presence, than he to have the light of God's countenance shine on him,
which is now veiled from him.—William Gurnall.
Verse
14. Why hidest thou thy face from me? Numerous are the
complaints of good men under this dark cloud; and to a child of light it is indeed
a darkness that may be felt; it beclouds and bewilders the mind; the brightest
evidences are in a great measure hid; the Bible itself is sealed, and fast
closed; we see not our signs, nor our tokens for good; every good thing is at a
distance from us, behind the cloud, and we cannot get at it; there is a dismal
gloom upon our path; we know not where we are, where to step, nor which way to
steer; which way God is gone we know not, but he knoweth the way that we take;
and such a prayer as this suits us well,—Seek thy servants, for we are lost.
Christ is hid, and there is a frowning cloud upon the sweet countenance of God,
in which he hides his blessed face; or, as he did to the disciples, holds our
eyes, that we should not see him. But, though this is often the case with
believers, and they cannot see one beam of light before them; though all
evidences are hid, and the light of the Lord's countenance is withdrawn; though
no signs nor love tokens appear; and though the life giving commandment is hid
from them, and he shows them no wonders out of his law; yet, these Israelites
have light in their dwellings—they have light to see the corruptions of their
own hearts; to see the Workings of unbelief, legal pride, enmity, rebellion,
the double diligence of Satan, and the wretched advantages he takes of them in
these dark seasons.—William Huntington.
Verse
15. I am afflicted. (Vulg. Pauper sum ego.) God more
readily hears the poor, and gives himself wholly to them. First, his eyes, to
behold them, Ps 11:5, "His eyes behold the poor." Secondly,
his ears, to hear them, Ps 10:17, "Thou wilt prepare their hearts, thou
wilt cause thine ears to hear." Thirdly, his hand, to help, Ps 107:41,
"Yet setteth he the poor on high from his affliction."
Fourthly, his breast and his arms, to receive the fugitives and those in peril,
Ps 60:9, "The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed."
Fifthly, memory to recollect for them, Ps 9:18, "The needy shall not
alway be forgotten." Sixthly, intellect, to care for them, and watch
over their comfort, Ps 40:17, "But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord
thinketh upon me." Seventhly, goodwill, to love their prayers, Ps
22:24, "For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the
afflicted, neither hath he hid his face from him." Eighthly and
lastly, he gives himself wholly to them, to preserve them, Ps 72:13, "He
shall save the souls of the needy."—Le Blanc.
Verse
15. I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up. How much
some suffer! I have seen a child, who at the age of twenty months had probably
suffered more bodily pain than the whole congregation of a thousand souls,
where its parents worshipped. Asaph seems to have been of a sad heart. Jeremiah
lived and died lamenting. Heman seems to have been of the same lot and of the same
turn of mind.—William S. Plumer.
Verse
15. (First clause). We found the heat more oppressive this day
than we had yet experienced it. The hillocks of sand between which we were
slowly moving at the usual camel's pace, reflected the sun's rays upon us, till
our faces were glowing as if we had been by the side of a furnace... Perhaps it
was through this part of the desert of Shur that Hagar wandered, intending to
go back to her native country; and it may have been by this way that Joseph
carried the young child Jesus when they fled into the land of Egypt. Even in
tender infancy the sufferings of the Redeemer began, and he complains, "I
am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up." Perhaps these
scorching beams beat upon his infant brow, and this sand laden breeze dried up
his infant lips, while the heat of the curse of God began to melt his heart
within. Even in the desert we see the suretyship of Jesus.—R.M. Macheyne's
"Narrative of a Mission of Inquiry to the Jews."
Verse
15. From my youth up. That is, for a long time;—so long, that
the remembrance of it seems to go back to my very childhood. My whole life has
been a life of trouble and sorrow, and I have not strength to bear it longer.
It may have been literally true that the author of the Psalm had been a man
always afflicted; or, this may be the language of strong emotion, meaning that
his sufferings had been of so long continuance that they seemed to him to have
begun in his very boyhood.—Albert Barnes.
Verse
15. While I suffer thy terrors I am distracted. The word doth
not signify properly the distraction of a man that is mad, but the distraction
of a man that is in doubt. It is the distraction of a man who knows not what to
do, not of a man who knows not what he doth, and yet that distraction doth often
lead to a degree of this; for a man who is much troubled to know what to do,
and cannot know it, grows at last to do he knows not what.—Joseph Caryl.
Verse
15. While I suffer thy terrors I am distracted. The Psalm hath
this striking peculiarity in it, namely, that it not only hath reference to the
Lord Jesus Christ, and him alone; but that he himself is the sole speaker from
the beginning to the end. And although the whole of the Psalms are of him, and
concerning him, more or less, and he is the great object and subject of all;
yet, secondarily and subordinately we meet with many parts in the Psalms where
his church is also noticed, and becomes concerned, from union with him, in what
is said. But in this Psalm there is allusion to no other. (We differ from Dr.
Hawker in his exclusion of the saints from this Psalm. Where the Head is the
members are never far away.—ED.) All is of him and his incommunicable work. All
is of the Son of God in our nature. It contains an account of the cries of the
Lord Jesus "when in the days of his flesh he offered up prayers and
supplications, with strong crying and tears." The soul agonies of Christ
even from the moment of his incarnation to his death, may be contemplated, or
read, from the sacred records of Scripture, but cannot come within the province
of any created power to conceive, much less unfold. It is remarkable that
whatever the Lord meant to convey by the phrase, "I am distracted",
this is the only place in the whole Bible where the word "distracted"
is used. Indeed the inspired writers have varied their terms of expression;
when speaking of Christ's sufferings, as if unable to convey any full idea.
Matthew renders it that the Lord Jesus said: "My soul is exceeding
sorrowful, even unto death!" (Mt 26:38.) Mark describes him as
"being sore amazed, and very heavy!" (Mr 14:33.) And Luke: his
"being in an agony!" (Lu 22:44.) But here we must rest, in point of
apprehension, for we can proceed no further.—Robert Hawker.
Verse
15. O Lord, the monotony of my changeless days oppresses me, the
constant weariness of my body weighs me down. I am weary of gazing on the same
dull objects: I am tired of going through the same dull round day after day;
the very inanimate things about my room, and the patterns on the walls, seem quickened
with the waste of my life, and, through the power of association, my own
thoughts and my own pain come back upon me from them with a dull reverberation.
My heart is too tired to hope; I dare not look forward to the future; I expect
nothing from the days to come, and yet my heart sinks at the thought of the
grey waste of years before me; and I wonder how I shall endure, whether I shall
faint by the way, before I reach my far off home.—From "Christ the
Consoler."
Verse
16. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me. Like a sea of liquid fire;
(Ps 42:7)—Heb. "Thy hot wraths." LXX (Septuagint) ai orgai sou
—William Kay
Verse
16. Thy terrors have cut me off. In the Hebrew verb the last
syllable is repeated for the purpose of putting vehemence into the expression. The
word tme signifies, to shut up and press into some narrow place, in order that;
one may not breathe or escape...In this sense Gregory Nazianzen in his first
oration concerning peace, calls grief (the prison of the heart).—Mollerus.
Verse
17. Like water; not merely because it drowns, but because it
searches every crevice, goes to the very bottom, and makes its way on all sides
when once it obtains an entrance, thus fitly denoting the penetrating force of
temptation and trouble.—Hugo Cardinalis.
Verse
18. Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, etc. Next to
the joys of religion, those of friendship are most rational, sublime, and
satisfactory. But they, like all other earthly joys, have their mixtures and
alloys, and are very precarious. We are often called to weep with our friends,
and sometimes to weep over them. Grief and tears for their death are the sad
tribute we pay for loving and being beloved, and living long in this world.
This seems to have been the case with the author of this melancholy Psalm,
where our text is. He was exercised with great afflictions of body, and deep
distress of mind. "His soul was full of troubles, and his life drew nigh
to the grave. He was shut up and confined by weakness and pain, and could not
go forth", to his business or pleasure, to the social or solemn assembly,
Ps 88:3-8. He adds, that "he had been afflicted and read to die from his
youth" in Ps 88:15; which seems to intimate that he was now an old man.
Some of his acquaintance and friends had deserted him, and he was "become
an abomination to them", Ps 88:8. They would not assist him, nor afford
him the comfort of a friendly visit, and the cheap kindness of a soft,
compassionate word. Others of them, who would have been faithful and kind to
him in his distress, were taken out of the world; and this at a time when,
through age and infirmities, he peculiarly needed their company and assistance.
To this he refers in the text; and with this he concludes the Psalm, as the
heaviest stroke of all, "Lover and friend hast thou put far from me,
and mine acquaintance late darkness." This is a common case; and
frequently the case of the aged. It is no unusual thing for old people to
outlive their nearest relations; the companions of their lives; their children,
and sometimes their grandchildren too; and they are, as the Psalmist expresses
it, "like a sparrow alone upon the house top." . . .
What
chiefly afflicted the Psalmist, and will afflict every generous heart, was,
that his friends and lovers were removed into "darkness"; that
is, to the grave, which is called in Scripture, "the land of darkness and
the shadow of death, without any order or succession; and where the light is as
darkness." Job 10:21-22. They were put so far from him, that he could see
them no more; were dead and buried out of his sight; neither would one of their
friends on earth any more behold them. Thus are our friends put into darkness.
The eyes that used to sparkle with pleasure, when we met after a long absence,
are closed in death. The voice that used to delight and edify us is sealed up
in everlasting silence. There is no conversing with them personally nor by
letters. Not lands and seas divide us from them, but regions of vast, unknown
space, which we cannot yet pass over; and which they cannot and indeed would
not tread back, as much as they loved us. We have no way of conveying
intelligence to them or receiving it from them. Perhaps they were put far away
from us in their youth, or in the midst of their days and usefulness; when we
promised ourselves many years of pleasure in their friendship and converse, and
expected many years of service from them, for their families, for the church,
and the world. Alas! one awful, fatal stroke hath broken down all the pleasing
fabric of love and happiness.
But
these are reflections which must not be dwelt upon. When they begin to grow
very painful, as they soon will, it is time to turn our thoughts to that which
is the second thing observable in the text; namely, the Psalmist's devout
acknowledgment of the hand of God in this affliction. "Thou hast put
them far from me." This good man, through the whole Psalm, ascribes
all his afflictions, and particularly the death of his friends, to the hand of
God. He takes no notice of their diseases; he neither blames them for
imprudence and delay, nor those who attended them for neglect or
misapplication; but looks beyond all second causes to the great Lord of all;
owns him as the supreme sovereign of every life, and disposer of every event.
And we shall do well to make this idea of the blessed God familiar to our
minds, as it is at once most instructive and most comfortable. The holy
Scriptures confirm the dictates of reason upon this subject; assuring us that
God "maketh peace and createth evil"; that "out of the mouth of
the Lord proceedeth evil and good"; that the most casual events are under
his direction, so that "not a sparrow falleth to", nor lighteth on,
"the ground without him; "much less do his rational creatures and
children die without his notice and appointment. By whatever disease or
casualties they die, it is God who "taketh away their breath, changeth
their countenance, and sendeth them into darkness." With awful majesty God
claims this as his prerogative; "I wound, and I heal: neither is there any
that can deliver out of my hand." (De 32:39.) He removeth our friends who
hath a right to do it. They were our friends, but they are his creatures; and
may he not do what he will with his own? He gave them life of his free
goodness, and he hath a right to demand it when he pleaseth. Dear as they were
to us, we must acknowledge they were sinners; and, as such, had forfeited their
lives to the justice of God: and shall not he determine when to take them away?
They were our friends; but do we not hope and believe that, by repentance,
faith in Christ, and sanctifying grace, they were become his friends too; dear
to him by many indissoluble ties? Hath he not then a superior claim to them,
and a greater interest in them? Is it not fit that he should be served first?
May he not call home his friends when he pleaseth? Shall he wait for, or ask,
our consent first? He doth it, whom we cannot, dare not, gainsay. "Behold,
he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, what doest
thou?" (Job 9:12.) He doth it, who is infinitely good and wise; and doth
everything in the best time and manner. His knowledge is perfect and unerring;
his goodness boundless and never failing. Though his judgments are a great
deep, and his schemes utterly unsearchable by us; yet we may reasonably believe
that he consulteth the happiness of his servants in what is most mysterious and
most grievous; and his word giveth us the strongest assurance of it. So that
whether we exercise the faith of Christians, or the reason of men, we must
acknowledge the hand of God, yea, his wisdom and goodness, in removing our
acquaintance into darkness.—Job Orton, 1717-1783.
Verse
18. Mine acquaintance late darkness. Rather, my
acquaintanceship is darkness, that is, darkness is all I have to converse
with; my circle of acquaintance is comprised in blank darkness.—Ernest
Hawkins.
Verse
18. To be discountenanced or coldly treated by Christian friends, is
often a consequence of a believer's having forfeited his spiritual comfort.
When the Lord is angry with his rebellious child, and is chastening him, he not
only giveth Satan leave to trouble him, but permits some of the saints who are
acquainted with him, to discountenance him, and by their cold treatment of him,
to add to his grief. When the father of a family resolves the more effectually
to correct his obstinate child, he will say to the rest of the household,
"Do not be familiar with him; shew him no countenance; put him to
shame." In like manner, when the Lord is smiting, especially with
spiritual trouble, his disobedient child, he, as it were, saith to others of
his children, "Have for a season no familiarity with him; treat him with
coldness and neglect; in order that he may be ashamed, and humbled for his
iniquity." Job, under his grievous affliction, complained thus, "He
hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged
from me", & c. (Job 19:13-19). And likewise Heman, "Thou hast
laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness" When the favour of God to the soul
is clouded, the comfort of Christian society is also obscured. When He frowns
on one, his children commonly appear to frown likewise; and when he makes
himself strange to one, so for the most part do they. If a holy man, then,
under trouble of spirit, begins to be treated with disregard, and even with
contempt, by some of his Christian brethren, he ought not to be surprised;
neither should he take occasion to be angry, or to quarrel with them; but he
should look above them, and take the afflictive dispensation, only out of the
hand of the Lord, as a necessary part of the chastisement intended for him. He
ought to say with respect to them, as David concerning Shimei, "The Lord
hath bidden them; "or, as Heman did, "THOU hast put away my
acquaintance far from me."—John Colquhoun.
Verse
18. The very rhythm of the last line shows that the piece is not
complete. The ear remains in suspense; until the majestic Ps 89:1-52 shall
burst upon it like a bright Resurrection morning.—William Kay.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse
1.
1.
Confidence in prayer,—"God of my salvation."
2.
Earnestness in prayer,—"I have cried."
3.
Perseverance in prayer,—"Day and night."—G.R.
Verse
2.—Prayer as an ambassador.
1.
An audience sought, or the benefit of access.
2.
Attention entreated, or the blessing of success.
3.
The Process explained, or prayer comes and God inclines.
Verse
3.
1.
A good man is exposed to inward troubles.
(a)
To soul troubles.
(b) To the soul full of troubles.
2.
To outward troubles. "My life", etc.
(a)
From outward persecutions.
(b) From inward griefs.
3.
To both inward and outward troubles at the same time. "Soul full",
etc., "and my life", etc.—G.R.
Verse
4. (last clause).—Conscious weakness, painfully felt, at
certain times, in various duties. Intended to keep us humble, to drive us to
our knees, and to bring greater glory to God.
Verses
4-5.
1.
The resemblance of the righteous man to the wicked.
(a)
In natural death.
(b) In bodily infirmities.
2.
His difference from them. He is "counted with them" but is not of
them.
(a)
He experiences natural death only.
(b) His strength is perfected in weakness.
(c) For him to die is gain.—G.R.
Verses
6-7.
1.
What the afflictions of the people of God appear to be to themselves.
(a)
Extreme,—"laid me in the lowest pit."
(b) Inexplicable,—"in darkness."
(c) Humiliating,—"in the deeps."
(d) Severe,—"thy wrath lieth hard."
(e) Exhaustive,—"afflicted with all thy waves."
2.
What they are in reality.
(a)
Not extreme but light.
(b)
Not inexplicable, but according to the will of God.
(c)
Not humiliating, but elevating. "Humble yourselves under", etc.
(d)
Not severe but gentle. Not in anger but in love.
(e)
Not exhaustive but partial. Not all thy waves, but a few ripples only. The
slight motion in the harbour when there is a boisterous ocean beyond.—G.R.
Verse
8. (last clause).—This may describe us when despondency is
chronic, when trouble is overwhelming, when sickness detains us at home, when
we feel restrained in Christian labour, or hampered in prayer.
Verse
9.
1.
Sorrow before God,—"Mine eye", etc.
2.
Prayer to God,—"have called", etc.
3.
Waiting for God,—"called daily".
4.
Dependence on God,—"I have stretched", etc. These hands can do
nothing without thee.—G.R.
Verses
10-12.
1.
The supposition.
(a)
That a child of God should be wholly dead.
(b) That he should remain forever in the grave.
(c) That he should be destroyed.
(d) That he should always remain in darkness.
(e) That he should be entirely forgotten, as though he had never existed.
2.
The consequences involved in this supposition.
(a)
God's wonders to them would cease.
(b) His praise from them would be lost.
(c) His lovingkindness to them would be unknown.
(d) His faithfulness destroyed.
(e) His wonders to them would be lost to others.
(f) His former righteousness to them would be forgotten.
3.
The plea founded upon these consequences,—"Wilt thou", etc. It cannot
be that thy praise for grace shown to thy people can be lost, and none can
render it but themselves. "Then what wilt thou do unto thy great
name?"—G.R.
Verse
13.
1.
Blessings delayed to prayer,—"Unto thee", etc.
2.
Blessings anticipated by prayer,—"in the morning", etc. Daily mercies
anticipated by morning prayers.—G.R.
Verse
13. (last clause).—The advantages of early morning prayer
meetings.
Verse
14.
1.
Afflictions are mysterious though just.
2. Just though mysterious.—G.R.
Verse
14. Solemn enquiries, to be followed by searching examinations, by
sorrowful confessions, stern self denials, and sweet restorations.
Verse
15.
1.
The afflictions of the righteous may be long continued though severe. "I
am afflicted, etc., from my youth up."
2.
Severe though long continued.
(a)
Painful,—"afflicted."
(b) Threatening,—"ready to die."
(c) Terrific,—"suffer thy terrors."
(d) Distracting,—"I am", etc.—G.R.
Verse
15. The personal sufferings of Christ for the salvation of his
people.—Sermon by Robert Hawker. Works, Vol. 4. pg 91.
Verse
16.
1.
Good men are often tried men.
2.
Tried men frequently misjudge the Lord's dealings.
3.
The Lord does not take them at their word, he is better than their fears.—G.R.
Verse
18. The loss of friends intended to remind us of our own mortality,
to wean us from earth, to lead us to more complete trust in the Lord, to
chasten us for sin, and to draw us away to the great meeting place.
Verse
18. The words of our text will lead us to remark that,
1.
The happiness of life greatly depends on intimate friendships.
2.
The trial of parting with intimate friends is exceedingly painful.
3.
In this, as indeed in every affliction, the best consolation is drawn from a
belief in, and meditation upon, God's governing providence.—Joseph Lathrop,
1845.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》