not to be understood generally of all things for then they should know the secrets of other mens hearts which is proper to God onely and all Divine mysteries which S. Paul though eminently spirituall and holy knew but in part but of things necessary to be known unto salvation But if these men erre not in thus thinking themselves free from errour surely David who acknowledges here for himself and the faithfull of his time amongst whom were Nathan Gad c. that they had their errours who also speaks generally Psal 19.12 had not the same spirit which these men have Haply they will object the difference between the Old and New Testament Ans Then they preferre themselves before the best under the Old Testament And indeed in respect of the objects or things revealed by the Spirit the least in the Kingdome of heaven that is under the Gospell is greater then John the Baptist as he then those which went before him But seeing the old Prophets in those things which they delivered to the Church had an infallible assistance of the Holy Spirit as appeares by their prophesies and S. Peter testifies 2 ep 1.21 it is great arrogancy in this respect to preferre before them any under the New Testament except the Apostles But suppose these men excell the old Prophets what shall we think of the primitive Christians or faithfull under the New Testament It is certain that these also not the Apostles themselves excepted had their sinnes 1 Joh. 1.8 yea many Jam. 3.2 and therefore also their errours Seeing then the best of Gods servants whilest they lived had their errours let us so much the more take heed lest either by relying upon our own understanding or by too much admiring of others we fall into errour But if we doe fall into it let us not despair seeing it is the common condition but be carefull we doe not persist in errour but return into the way againe And if others erre let us not be too rigid towards them 2 We see that sinnes though of ignorance in their own nature deserve Gods anger Otherwise David had not had cause to praise Gods goodnesse and clemency in this respect viz. for not doing unto us according to our errours 3 See the goodnesse and clemency of God in not doing unto us according to our errours Rept This reproves 1 Such as make no account of their errours whereas yet if God should doe unto us but according to our errours it would goe ill with us If He should not forgive us our daily trespasses we could not hope He would give us as a blessing our daily bread 2 Such as strictly take notice of every small offense of their brethren though but an errour but a sinne of ignorance or infirmity and doe to them according to it if not beyond it But let us 1 imitate David here in giving thanks to God that He hath not done to us according to our errours Exhort from which especially considering the number of them He might justly have taken occasion to have shewn the effects of His anger upon us not onely in depriving us of His benefits but also in inflicting positive punishments upon us 2 Imitate God in not dealing with our brethren according to their errours Motiv Beside Gods example Consider 1 Thine own infirmity who hast offended or at least mayst offend others yea those very men who have offended thee and yet wouldst be loth that they should deale with thee accordingly 2 What measure thou measurest unto thy brethren the same will God also measure unto thee He shall have judgement without mercy c. Jam. 2.13 3 If thou dealest with thy brother according to his errours thou wilt shew thy self to be voyd of charity the chief of all vertues for that hath contrary effects 1 Cor. 13. Prov. 10.12 without which all that thou hast or doest is nothing worth 1 Cor. 13.1 2 3. thy prayers are vaine Matth. 6. thy preaching or hearing of the Word receiving of the Sacraments c. are all vaine 2 Doctrine He hath not dealt with us according to our iniquities 1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Of this word in the beginning of this verse and Vers 3. Doctr. 1. Expl. 2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Of this at large Vers 2. Doctr. 2. The summe of the Doctrine is That God notwithstanding not onely our errours as in the former part of the verse but even our iniquities or sinnes perversly committed against Him yet moderates His anger towards us and not onely mitigates His positive punishments but bestowes also His 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereof vers 2. His benefits upon us and continues them unto us Thus for the mitigating His punishments 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ezra 9.13 Lam. 3.22 yea even the wicked in this life are not punished according to their iniquities No nor yet in hell shall any man or devil suffer so much punishment but that God could and might justly if He pleased make him capable of more and inflict it upon him For the bestowing and continuing His benefits notwithstanding mens iniquities see Mat. 5.45 Luke 6.35 The Reason see vers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 11. c. Uses Observe here 1 That even good men sometimes though not as such have their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their iniquities or sinnes perversly committed Instr As vers 3. 2 3 as in the former Doctrine mutatis mutandis 4 That God doth not punish of necessity He is indeed necessarily just and hence affected to punish sinners but He is also necessarily mercifull and hence affected to spare where He might punish If He should deale strictly according to Justice all sinners should perish and if altogether according to Mercy all should be saved Wherefore His Wisdome dictates and His Free will determines how and how farre both these Attributes are to be exercised Amongst men justice requires that we doe injury to no man either by deteining from him the good due or by inflicting upon him the evil not due but it requires not that we should not doe him more good or inflict upon him lesse evil then is due He that withholds either totally or in part the good that is due is unjust but he that gives over and above what is due is not unjust but bountifull He that punisheth an innocent man at all or a nocent man beyond his merit is unjust but he that either punisheth below the desert or totally remits an offense committed against himself is not unjust but clement and mercifull And if this be so amongst men much lesse may this liberty be denyed to God the supreme Lord of all His justice requires that He should not give lesse then He hath promised for having promised He becomes a debtour though not to the creature yet to Himself Heb. 6.10 but it is His bounty not injustice to give more then He hath promised Again His justice suffers Him not to punish them that are innocent nor
necessity upon us and this Attribute abundantly encourages us 2 See the fountain of all good whence both what we have is received and what we want is to be sought 3 If God be so plenteous in loving kindnesse even towards all how much more towards His children 4 If any man do not abound with good things let him know that the cause is not in God Who is plenteous in loving kindnesse but in himself This reproves 1 Such as seek the good things they desire Repr from any other then from God These are like unto them Jer. 2.13 they commit two evils c. For whereas every transgression of the law is sinne they transgresse two waies at once Which their transgression as all sinnes are not equall see 1 how impious it is 2 how unprofitable and foolish 1 For the impiety the degree of it which for the substance is to be estimated by the Commandement which is violated is very great because it is against a commandement of the first Table which immediately respects God Himself and so the violation of it caeteris paribus is worse then the violation of any of the commandements of the 2d Table which respect our neighbour And whereas the first Commandement of the first Table concerns the having of the true God as the rest the true manner of worshipping Him therefore the breach of that is most hainous See the story of the Samaritanes 2 King 17. God sent lions against them that did not at all acknowledge Him ver 25. but with-held them from those that worshipped Him though after Jeroboams manner Now whereas the first commandement enjoines the having of the Lord for our God and forbids other gods these men violate both parts of it the affirmative by forsaking the Lord the negative by digging themselves other cisternes For Trust is an act eminently due onely to God and not to be placed in any thing else but with subordination unto Him And therefore in what thing soever a man principally trusts that he makes his god 2 How unprofitable and foolish this is appeares by the description of God and these cisternes God is the fountain of living waters The cisternes which they dig as being but cisternes not fountaines they have no water of themselves so being but broken cisternes they can not hold the water that is put into them to supply those that dig them For all creatures as they are from God so they depend upon Him for their operation yea and for the continuance of their being and therefore unlesse they be preserved by God and enabled by Him it is impossible they should help us Now He will be so farre from blessing the creatures wherein men idolatrously trust that He curses those that trust in them Isa 31.1 Jer. 17.5 and many times takes away and destroyes the creatures themselves Isa 31.3 2 Such as are unlike to God 1 Privatively such as either through their own fault have not spirituall or temporall good things wherewith to profit others or who having them are not ready to communicate them 2 Positively such as are plenteous in mischievousnesse who are so much worse then the former by how much commission of ill is worse then omission of good which it includes in it self and superadds to it On the other side this serves to comfort 1 Sinners if truly penitent Consol Benhadad having lost the day and being in great feare of losing not onely his kingdome but his life his servants comforted him with the fame that they had heard that the Kings of Israel were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mercifull Kings 1 King 20.31 but we know most certainly that the God of Israel is a mercifull God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 plenteous in mercy or loving kindnesse as here 2 Much more the godly For if God be so plenteous in loving kindnesse to men whilest they are yet His enemies how much more when they are reconciled to Him and become His friends and His children whom He tenders as the apple of His eye more then a mother her sucking child Can we think that Jacob feared the famine after he knew there was come enough in Egypt and the disposall thereof in the power of his son Joseph Yet among men love descends so that the love of a sonne toward his father is not equall to that of a father toward his children and the love of any earthly father whatsoever is nothing to the love of our heavenly Father whether we consider the tendernesse or the constancy or the efficacy of it Of how little faith therefore are we if so great kindnesse of so loving a Father can not comfort us against any grief or feare whatsoever Let this also exhort us 1 For the good things we yet have not Exhort to expect and seek them of Gods loving kindnesse 2 For those we have already received to be thankfull to Him 3 To imitate God in this Attribute also as in the former Motiv 1 The dignity of man consists in being like unto God Some courtiers have imitated even the imperfections of their princes And shall not we much more imitate our God every way most perfect And particularly in His bounty or loving kindnesse seeing as it is more honourable in the eies of men so it is a more blessed thing before God to give then to receive Act. 20.35 to be a help rather then a burden to others 2 The good things we have whether spirituall or temporall are not our own but are onely to be dispensed by us according to Gods prescription And He hath prescribed us this duty Gal. 6.10 3 We are all brethren in our first parents of the same flesh and blood Isa 58.7 Act. 17.26 partakers of the same naturall capable of the same gracious and glorious image of God 4 Hereby God shall be glorified His doctrine adorned we shall give good example to the good winne them who are yet enemies or else stop their mouths we shall get and keep the peace of conscience other men will be moved to help us when we shall need or if men be ingratefull and inhumane God will most amply recompense us here and minister unto us abundantly an entrance into His heavenly kingdome hereafter Vers 9. He will not alwaies chide neither will He keep His anger for ever In the precedent verse we had the foundation of all Gods benefits which He bestowes upon them that feare Him in those foure Attributes of His. The benefit upon which the Psalmist principally insists is the moderation of His anger Which moderation is illustrated from the proëgumenall or internall moving cause vers 11 12 13. and from the procatarcticall or externall cause or occasion vers 14. to the 19. In which illustration other notable benefits of God are also mentioned This moderation of Gods anger is either in respect of the duration of it vers 9. measure of it whilest it endures vers 10. Of this 9th verse both the parts are almost coincident but the
2 6 7 8. This reproves 1 Them that so carry themselves Repr that it is no wonder if they either do not at all or do but hypocritically praise God for the exaltation of His throne Such are they who know themselves to be odious to God by reason of their sinnes When Adonijah and his guests heard of Solomons being set upon the throne of the kingdome Davids servants blessing him and David blessing God c. they were so farre from joining with them in the same affections and acts that they were stricken with feare and fled every one severall waies 1 Kings 1.46 c. How much greater terrour must it needs be to many to heare or think that God against Whom they have so often rebelled and as it were sought to put Him by His kingdome hath His throne established in the heavens and His kingdome ruling over all is furnished with absolute and irresistible power to destroy them at any time in a moment and cast them into hell Certainly when the glory of Gods kingdome shall most shine out such men shall have litle mind to praise Him for it Revel 6.15 16 17. 2 Such as are so farre from praising God for His kingdome ruling over all that they doe not acknowledge it at least from their heart Such among others are they who abuse His creatures to the dishonouring of Him If they doe acknowledge it they shall be judged out of their own mouth 3 Such as murmure against Gods lawes and judgements and speak against those that obey Him But let us be exhorted Exhort truely and heartily to praise God for the exaltation of His throne Motives See the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Meanes That we may rightly praise God let us see that we so carry our selves towards Him as in the former Doctrines is intimated He requires that we feare Him keep His covenant think upon His commandements to doe them Otherwise hypocriticall praises will but stink in the nostrills of God and words with them who see our deeds contrary thereunto will be of no weight to winne them unto God See what God desires should be joined with praising Him viz. the ordering our conversation aright Psalm 50.23 Vers 20 21. Blesse the LORD ye His Angels that excell in strength that doe His commandement hearkening to the voice of His word Blesse the LORD all ye His hosts ye ministers of His that doe His pleasure We have heard how David excited himself to blesse God 1 By way of thanksgiving for benefits bestowed upon himself to the 6th verse upon others also to the 19th verse 2 By way of praise vers 19. Now by an Apostrophe he turnes his speech to the Angels vers 20 21 and to all Gods works vers 22. which he closes with an iterated excitation of himself This figure Apostrophe converting the speech in shew to persons absent or to things without reason or life when indeed it is directed to men that are present is frequent in other authours and not unfrequent in Scripture Moses Deut. 31.19 was commanded to teach the song which followes chap. 32. to the children of Israel and so the thing therein intended was their instruction yet in the beginning of it he converts his speech by an Apostrophe to the heavens and the earth See also Isa 1.2 Job 16.18 1 Kings 13.2 Psalm 114.5 c. 148.3 c. 1 Cor. 15.55 And so here that there is an Apostrophe vers 22. where he speaks to all the works of God it is manifest seeing very many yea innumerable of Gods works have neither voice wherewith to blesse God nor yet eares or at least not understanding to be capable of the Psalmists exhortation And that the same figure is used in his speech to the Angels in these two verses may plainly enough be gathered 1 Because beside that no man can ordinarily know what Angels are present or where or when no man hath any warrant to exhort the Angels the constant tenour of the Scripture being Exhort one another teaching and admonishing one another c. 2 Because the holy Angels need not mans exhortation to blesse God or to performe any part of their duty This latter reason Calvin upon this place urges Certè saith he Angeli magìs voluntarii sunt ad hoc officium alacres quà m ut indigeant nostris stimulis And to this sense he expounds the place saying Sed quamvìs celeriter pracurrant Angeli nos vix lentè sequamur David tamen nostrâ causâ canendas Dei laudes illis commendat ut eorum exemplo expergefaciat nostrum torporem Although therefore David converts his speech to the Angels yet his intent is to declare unto us what they doe that we may imitate them So when he speaks to the sea to Jordan to the mountaines and hills Psalm 114. he doth not propound questions as if he were ignorant of what he inquires much lesse as if he expected an answer from things without life But the proper sense of the words the figurative speech being explained is this O men see how it behoves you to obey God and to feare before Him taking example even from the sea and Jordan which went back at His command from the mountaines and hills which so trembled at His presence especially at the promulgation of the Law that they seemed to skip like rammes and lambes In like manner here he speaking by Apostrophe to the Angels the sense is O men know ye that the holy Angels blesse God and therefore ye also ought to imitate them Vers 20. To beginne with Verse 20. the words whereof are to be considered 1 in themselves 2 in relation to the scope Being considered in themselves 1 They contein a Description of the Angels 2 They shew what they doe agreeable to the present businesse They are described 1 from their relation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 His Angels 2 From their adjunct strength together with the greatnesse of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mighty or excelling in strength 3 From a double effect 1 principall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doing His word or commandements 2 subordinate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hearkening unto the voice of His word The effect which the Angels so described produce pertinent to the present scope of the Psalmist is their blessing the LORD In the Description for of the other effect of blessing God and the applying it to the scope of the Psalmist see the next Verse are 4 Axiomes or Doctrines 1 Doctrine The Angels are Gods Angels 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 His Angels Explic. It is a name of office in relation to God His messengers For their essence they are spirits created according to Gods image whence they are called the sonnes of God Job 1.6 2.1 38.7 and gods Psalm 97.7 That there are divers orders among the good Angels it appeares in that the Scripture speakes of Archangels 1 Thes 4.16 So Jude vers 9. Michael the Archangel who is called Dan. 12.1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉