Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/spurgeon/ps18.25

Text File | 1993-04-19 | 6KB | 109 lines

                           EXPOSITION.

        The dealings of the Lord in his own case, cause the
grateful singer to remember the usual rule of God's moral
government; he is just in his dealings with the sons of men, and
metes out to each man according to his measure. "With the
merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man
thou wilt shew thyself upright." Every man shall have his meat
weighed in his own scales, his corn meted in his own bushel, and
his land measured with his own rod. No rule can be more fair, to
ungodly men more terrible, or to the generous more honourable.
How would men throw away their light weights, and break their
short yards, if they could but believe that they themselves are
sure to be in the end the losers by their knavish tricks? Note
that even the merciful need mercy; no amount of generosity to the
poor, or forgiveness to enemies, can set us beyond the need of
mercy. Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner.

              EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS.

        Verse 25.--"_With the merciful thou wilt show thyself
merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright_."
"_An upright_"--the same word is oft translated "_perfect_," he
is good throughout, though not thoroughly; not one that
personates religion, but that is a religious person. He is
perfect, because he would be so. So Noah is termed (#Ge 6:9|);
"Noah was a just man and perfect (i.e., upright) in his
generation:" he was a good man in a bad age. He was like a
glowing spark of fire in a sea of water, which is perfect
goodness; and therefore the Holy Ghost doth so hang upon his
name, as if he could not give over--it is an excellent preacher's
observation--verse #Ge 6:8|, "But Noah was a just man and perfect
in his generation, and Noah walked with God. And Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah: Noah
begat three sons." Noah, Noah, Noah, I love the sound of thy
name; and so are all your names precious to God, though hated by
men, if the name of God be dear and sweet to you. 'Tis also
sometimes translated "plain." #Ge 25:27|. Jacob was _tâm ïysh_
<08535> <0376>, "a plain," that is, an upright man, "dwelling in
tents." Esau was "a cunning hunter," but Jacob was a plain man
without welt or gard; you might well know his heart by his
tongue, save once when Rebekah put a cunning trick into his head,
otherwise he was a most "upright," downright man. And the plain
meaning of it is, a simple, cordial, unfeigned, and exact man:
this is the man we are looking for.

        "_Man_." This substantive the Hebrews use to drown in the
adjective, but here the Holy Ghost exhibits a word, and a choice
one too, signifying _a strong, valiant man_; the same word (#Ps
45:3|), "O mighty man!" that's meant of our Lord Christ, who was
a most strong and valiant man, that could meet the wrath of God,
the malice of the devil, and the sin of man, in the face and come
off with triumph. And so the Dutch translate this clause in #2Sa
22|: "With the right valiant person, thou behavest thyself
upright." In short, if the words were literally translated, they
run thus:--_a man of uprightness_: that is every way you behold
him, an upright man: like an even die, cast him which way you
will he will be found square and right; a stiff and strong man to
tread down both lusts within and temptations without; an
_Athanasius contra mundum_, a _Luther contra Romam_; this is a
man of an excellent spirit, and such is our upright man. "_Thou
wilt show thyself upright_," or, "wilt be upright with him;" for
one word in the Hebrew makes all these six, "Thou wilt _upright_
it with him." If men will deal plainly with God, he will deal
plainly with them. He that is upright in performing his duty
shall find God upright in performing his promises. It is God's
way to carry to men as they carry to him. If thou hast a design
to please him, he will have a design to please thee; if thou wilt
echo to him when he calls, he'll echo to thee when thou callest.
On the other side; if a man will wrestle with God, he will
wrestle with him; if thou wilt be fast and loose with him, and
walk frowardly towards him, thou shalt have as good as thou
bringest; if thou wilt provoke him with never-ending sins, he
will pursue thee with never-ending torments; if thou wilt sin in
_tuo eferno_, thou must suffer in _suo eterno_, and every man
shall find like for like ... An upright heart is _single without
division_. Unto an hypocrite there be "gods many and lords many,"
and he must have an heart for each; but to the upright there is
but one God the Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ, and one heart
will serve them both. He that fixes his heart upon the creatures,
for every creature he must have an heart, and the dividing of his
heart destroys him. #Hos 10:2|. Worldly profits knock at the
door, he must have an heart for them; carnal pleasures present
themselves, he must have an heart for them also; sinful
preferments appear, they must have an heart too--_Necessariorum
numerus parvus, opinionum nullus_; of necessary objects the
number is few, of needless vanities the number is endless. The
_upright_ man hath made choice of God and hath enough.--^Richard
Steele.

        Verse 25.--"_With the merciful_," etc. In Jupiter's
hall-floor there are set two barrels of gifts, the one of good
gifts or blessings, the other of evil gifts or plagues. Thus
spake Homer falsely of Jupiter; it may be truly spoken of the
true God, Jehovah; that he hath in his hand two cups, the one of
comforts, the other of crosses, which he poureth out
indifferently for the good and for the bad; "_with the kind (or
merciful) he will shew himself kind, and with the froward,
froward_." Now this is not to make God the author of evil, but of
justice, which is good; _quorum deus non est author eorum est
justus ultor_, saith Augustine; "God is not the author of sin,
but he punisheth the sinner justly."--^Miles Smith (Bishop),
1632.

                       HINTS TO PREACHERS.

        Verse 25.--Equity of the divine procedure.--^C. Simeon.