Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/online/mhcc21/v22200

Text File | 1994-03-01 | 8KB | 140 lines

22200
 * Concerning the kingdom of Christ, and the subjects of that
 kingdom. (1-6) Concerning the King of that kingdom. (7-10)

 #1-6 We ourselves are not our own; our bodies, our souls, are
 not. Even those of the children of men are God's, who know him
 not, nor own their relation to him. A soul that knows and
 considers its own nature, and that it must live for ever, when
 it has viewed the earth and the fulness thereof, will sit down
 unsatisfied. It will think of ascending toward God, and will
 ask, What shall I do, that I may abide in that happy, holy
 place, where he makes his people holy and happy? We make nothing
 of religion, if we do not make heart-work of it. We can only be
 cleansed from our sins, and renewed unto holiness, by the blood
 of Christ and the washing of the Holy Ghost. Thus we become his
 people; thus we receive blessing from the Lord, and
 righteousness from the God of our salvation. God's peculiar
 people shall be made truly and for ever happy. Where God gives
 righteousness, he designs salvation. Those that are made meet
 for heaven, shall be brought safe to heaven, and will find what
 they have been seeking.

22206
 #7-10 The splendid entry here described, refers to the solemn
 bringing in of the ark into the tent David pitched for it, or
 the temple Solomon built for it. We may also apply it to the
 ascension of Christ into heaven, and the welcome given to him
 there. Our Redeemer found the gates of heaven shut, but having
 by his blood made atonement for sin, as one having authority, he
 demanded entrance. The angels were to worship him, #Heb 1:6|:
 they ask with wonder, Who is he? It is answered, that he is
 strong and mighty; mighty in battle to save his people, and to
 subdue his and their enemies. We may apply it to Christ's
 entrance into the souls of men by his word and Spirit, that they
 may be his temples. Behold, he stands at the door, and knocks,
 #Rev 3:20|. The gates and doors of the heart are to be opened to
 him, as possession is delivered to the rightful owner. We may
 apply it to his second coming with glorious power. Lord, open
 the everlasting door of our souls by thy grace, that we may now
 receive thee, and be wholly thine; and that, at length, we may
 be numbered with thy saints in glory.
22210
 * Confidence in prayer. (1-7) Prayer for remission of sins.
 (8-14) For help in affliction. (15-22)

 #1-7 In worshipping God, we must lift up our souls to him. It is
 certain that none who, by a believing attendance, wait on God,
 and, by a believing hope, wait for him, shall be ashamed of it.
 The most advanced believer both needs and desires to be taught
 of God. If we sincerely desire to know our duty, with resolution
 to do it, we may be sure that God will direct us in it. The
 psalmist is earnest for the pardon of his sins. When God pardons
 sin, he is said to remember it no more, which denotes full
 remission. It is God's goodness, and not ours, his mercy, and
 not our merit, that must be our plea for the pardon of sin, and
 all the good we need. This plea we must rely upon, feeling our
 own unworthiness, and satisfied of the riches of God's mercy and
 grace. How boundless is that mercy which covers for ever the
 sins and follies of a youth spent without God and without hope!
 Blessed be the Lord, the blood of the great Sacrifice can wash
 away every stain.

22217
 #8-14 We are all sinners; and Christ came into the world to save
 sinners, to teach sinners, to call sinners to repentance. We
 value a promise by the character of him that makes it; we
 therefore depend upon God's promises. All the paths of the Lord,
 that is, all his promises and all his providences, are mercy and
 truth. In all God's dealings his people may see his mercy
 displayed, and his word fulfilled, whatever afflictions they are
 now exercised with. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and
 truth; and so it will appear when they come to their journey's
 end. Those that are humble, that distrust themselves, and desire
 to be taught and to follow Divine guidance, these he will guide
 in judgment, that is, by the rule of the written word, to find
 rest for their souls in the Saviour. Even when the body is sick,
 and in pain, the soul may be at ease in God.

22224
 #15-22 The psalmist concludes, as he began, with expressing
 dependence upon God, and desire toward him. It is good thus to
 hope, and quietly to wait for the salvation of the Lord. And if
 God turns to us, no matter who turns from us. He pleads his own
 integrity. Though guilty before God, yet, as to his enemies, he
 had the testimony of conscience that he had done them no wrong.
 God would, at length, give Israel rest from all their enemies
 round about. In heaven, God's Israel will be perfectly redeemed
 from all troubles. Blessed Saviour, thou hast graciously taught
 us that without thee we can do nothing. Do thou teach us how to
 pray, how to appear before thee in the way which thou shalt
 choose, and how to lift up our whole hearts and desires after
 thee, for thou art the Lord our righteousness.
22232
 * David, in this psalm, appeals to God touching his integrity.

 - David here, by the Spirit of prophecy, speaks of himself as a
 type of Christ, of whom what he here says of his spotless
 innocence was fully and eminently true, and of Christ only, and
 to Him we may apply it. We are complete in him. The man that
 walks in his integrity, yet trusting wholly in the grace of God,
 is in a state of acceptance, according to the covenant of which
 Jesus was the Mediator, in virtue of his spotless obedience even
 unto death. This man desires to have his inmost soul searched
 and proved by the Lord. He is aware of the deceitfulness of his
 own heart; he desires to detect and mortify every sin; and he
 longs to be satisfied of his being a true believer, and to
 practise the holy commands of God. Great care to avoid bad
 company, is both a good evidence of our integrity, and a good
 means to keep us in it. Hypocrites and dissemblers may be found
 attending on God's ordinances; but it is a good sign of
 sincerity, if we attend upon them, as the psalmist here tells us
 he did, in the exercise of repentance and conscientious
 obedience. He feels his ground firm under him; and, as he
 delights in blessing the Lord with his congregations on earth,
 he trusts that shortly he shall join the great assembly in
 heaven, in singing praises to God and to the Lamb for evermore.
22244
 * The psalmist's faith. (1-6) His desire toward God, and
 expectation from him. (7-14)

 #1-6 The Lord, who is the believer's light, is the strength of
 his life; not only by whom, but in whom he lives and moves. In
 God let us strengthen ourselves. The gracious presence of God,
 his power, his promise, his readiness to hear prayer, the
 witness of his Spirit in the hearts of his people; these are the
 secret of his tabernacle, and in these the saints find cause for
 that holy security and peace of mind in which they dwell at
 ease. The psalmist prays for constant communion with God in holy
 ordinances. All God's children desire to dwell in their Father's
 house. Not to sojourn there as a wayfaring man, to tarry but for
 a night; or to dwell there for a time only, as the servant that
 abides not in the house for ever; but to dwell there all the
 days of their life, as children with a father. Do we hope that
 the praising of God will be the blessedness of our eternity?
 Surely then we ought to make it the business of our time. This
 he had at heart more than any thing. Whatever the Christian is
 as to this life, he considers the favour and service of God as
 the one thing needful. This he desires, prays for and seeks
 after, and in it he rejoices.