EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS (5)

Verse 7.—“Thou art my hiding-place.”—An allusion, probably, to the city of refuge.—Adam Clarke.

Verse 7.—“Hiding place.” Kirke White has a beautiful hymn upon this word, beginning, “Awake, sweet harp of Judah, wake.” We have no room to quote it, but it will be found in “Our Own Hymn Book,” No. 381.

Verse 7.—“Thou shalt preserve me from trouble.” If we content ourselves with that word which our translators have chosen here, “trouble,” we must rest in one of these two senses; either that God shall arm, and indue those that are his with such a constancy, as those things that trouble others shall not trouble them; but, “As the sufferings of Christ abound in them, so their consolation also aboundeth by Christ:” “As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things” (2 Cor. i. 5; vi. 9); for God uses both these ways in the behalf of his servants—sometimes to suspend the working of that that should work their torment, as he suspended the rage of the lions for Daniel, and the heat of the fire in the furnace for the others; sometimes by imprinting a holy stupefaction and insensibleness in the person that suffers; so St. Laurence was not only patient, but merry and facetious when he lay broiling upon the fire, and so we read of many other martyrs that have been less moved, less affected with their torments than their executioners or their persecutors have been. That which troubled others never troubled them; or else the phrase must have this sense, that though they be troubled with their troubles, though God submit them so far to the common condition of men, that they be sensible of them, yet he shall preserve them from that trouble so as that it shall never overthrow them, never sink them into a dejection of spirit, or diffidence in his mercy! they shall find storms, but a stout and strong ship under foot; they shall feel thunder and lightning, but garlands of triumphant bays shall preserve them; they shall be trodden into earth with scorns and contempts, but yet as seed is buried, to multiply to more. So far this word of our translators assists our devotion, “Thou shalt preserve me from trouble,” thou shalt make me insensible of it, or thou shalt make me victorious in it.—John Donne.

Verse 7.—“Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.” In these words the prophet David riseth up by a gradation, and goeth beyond that which he had formerly said concerning his confidence in God. First, he had said that God was his hiding-place; secondly, that he would preserve him in trouble; and now, thirdly, that the Lord would make him joyful, and to triumph over his troubles and enemies, by compassing him, instead of troubles, with mercies.... Learn to acknowledge God’s goodness to thyself with particular application, as David saith here, “Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.” Not only confess his goodness to others, as to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob; nor only his deliverance of Noah, Daniel, Lot; but also his mercies to and deliverance of thyself, as Paul did: “Christ gave himself for me, and died for me.” Gal. ii. 20. This will exceedingly whet up thankfulness; whereas only to acknowledge God good in himself, or to others, and not to thyself, will make thee murmur and repine.—Thomas Taylor.

Verse 7.—“Thou shalt compass me about.” This word importeth that as we are besieged on every side with troubles, so we are compassed with as many comforts and deliverances; as our crosses grow daily, so our consolations are augmented day by day. We are on every side offended and on every side defended; therefore we ought on every side to sound God’s praise, as David saith, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me.” Ps. ciii. 1.—Archibald Symson.

Verse 7.—“Songs of deliverance.” In that he will not be content only with thanks, but also will have them conjoined with “songs,” he letteth us see how high all the strings of his heart are bended that he cannot contain himself for the mercies of God to his church, and for his manifold deliverances for the same. Many sing praises to God with an half-open mouth; and, albeit, they can sing aloud any filthy ballad in their house, they make the mean, I warrant you, in the church, that scarce can they hear the sound of their own voice. I think they be ashamed to proclaim and show forth God’s praises, or they fear to deafen God by their loud singing; but David bended all his forces within and without to praise his God.—Archibald Symson.

Verse 8.—“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go.” No other than God himself can undertake so much as is promised in the text. For here is faith, a rectifying of the understanding, “I will instruct thee,” and in the original there is somewhat more than our translation reaches to; it is there, Intelligere faciam te, I will make thee understand. Man can instruct, God only can make us understand. And then it is Faciam te, I will make thee, thee, understand; the work is the Lord’s, the understanding is the man’s: for God does not work in man as the devil did in idols and in pythonissis, and in ventriloquis, in possessed persons, who had no voluntary concurrence with the action of the devil, but were merely passive; God works so in man as that he makes man work too, faciam te, I will make thee understand; that that shall be done shall be done by me, but in thee; the power that rectifies the act is God’s, the act is man’s; Faciam te, says God, I will make thee, thee, every particular person (for that arises out of this singular and distributive word, thee, which threatens no exception, no exclusion), I will make every person to whom I present instruction, capable of that instruction; and if he receive it not, it is only his, and not my fault. And so this first part is an instruction de credendis, of such things, as by God’s rectifying of our understanding we are bound to believe. And then, in a second part, there follows a more particular instructing, Docebo, “I will teach thee,” and that in via, “in the way;” it is not only de via, to teach thee which is the way, that thou mayst find it, but in via, how to keep the way when thou art in it; he will teach thee, not only ut gradiaris, that thou mayst walk in it and not sleep, but quomodo gradieris, that thou mayst walk in it and not stray; and so this second part is an institution de agendis, of those things which thine understanding being formerly rectified, and deduced into a belief, thou art bound to do. And then in the last words of the text, “I will guide thee with mine eye,” there is a third part, an establishment, a confirmation, by an incessant watchfulness in God; he will consider, consult upon us (for so much the original word imports) he will not leave us to contingencies, to fortune; no, nor to his own general providence, by which all creatures are universally in his protection and administration, but he will ponder us, consider us, study us; and that with his eye, which is the sharpest and most sensible organ and instrument, soonest feels if anything be amiss, and so inclines him quickly to rectify us; and so this third part is an instruction de sperandis, it hath evermore a relation to the future, to the constancy and perseverance of God’s goodness towards us; to the end, and in the end he will guide us with his eye: except the eye of God can be put out we cannot be put out of his sight and his care. So that, both our freight which we are to take in, that is, what we are to believe concerning God; and the voyage which we are to make, how we are to steer and govern our course, that is, our behaviour and conversation in the household of the faithful; and then the haven to which we must go, that is, our assurance of arriving at the heavenly Jerusalem, are expressed in this chart, in this map, in this instruction, in this text.—John Donne.

Verse 8.—This threefold repetition, “I will instruct thee,” “I will teach thee,” “I will guide thee,” teaches us three properties of a good teacher. First, to make the people understand the way of salvation; secondly, to go before them; thirdly, to watch over them and their ways.—Archibald Symson.

Verse 8.—“The way.” If we compare this way with all other ways, it will whet our care to enter into and continue in it; for, first, this is the King’s highway, in which we have promise of protection. Ps. xci. 11. Secondly, God’s ways are the cleanest of all. 2 Sam. xxii. 31. Thirdly, God’s ways are the rightest ways; and, being rightest, they be also the shortest ways. Hosea xiv. 9. Fourthly, God’s ways are most lightsome and cheerful. Prov. iii. 17. Therefore, God’s ways being the safest, cleanest, rightest, shortest, and lightsomest ways, we must be careful to walk in them.—Condensed from Thomas Taylor.

Verse 8.—“I will guide thee with mine eye.” We read in natural story[10] of some creatures, Qui solo oculorum aspectu fovent ova,[11] which hatch their eggs only by looking upon them. What cannot the eye of God produce and hatch in us? Plus est quod probatur aspectu, quam quod sermone.[12] A man may seem to commend in words, and yet his countenance shall dispraise. His word infuses good purposes into us; but if God continue his eye upon us it is a further approbation, for he is a God of pure eyes, and will not look upon the wicked. “This land doth the Lord thy God care for, and the eyes of the Lord are always upon it from the beginning of the year, even to the end thereof.” Deut. xi. 12. What a cheerful spring, what a fruitful autumn hath that soul, that hath the eye of the Lord always upon her! The eye of the Lord upon me makes midnight noon; it makes Capricorn Cancer, and the winter’s the summer’s solstice; the eye of the Lord sanctifies, nay, more than sanctifies, glorifies all the eclipses of dishonour, makes melancholy cheerfulness, diffidence assurance, and turns the jealousy of the sad soul into infallibility.... This guiding us with his eye manifests itself in these two great effects; conversion to him, and union with him. First, his eye works upon ours; his eye turns ours to look upon him. Still it is so expressed with an Ecce; “Behold the eye of the Lord is upon all them that fear him; his eye calls ours to behold that; and then our eye calls upon his, to observe our cheerful readiness.... When, as a well made picture doth always look upon him that looks upon it, this image of God in our soul is turned to him, by his turning to it, it is impossible we should do any foul, any uncomely thing in his presence.... The other great effect of his guiding us with his eye, is, that it unites us to himself; when he fixes his eye upon us, and accepts the return of ours to him, then he ‘keeps’ us as the ‘apple’ of his eye.” Zech. ii. 8.... These are the two great effects of his guiding us by his eye, that first, his eye turns us to himself, and then turns us into himself; first, his eye turns ours to him, and then, that makes us all one with himself, so as that our afflictions shall be put upon his patience, and our dishonours shall be injurious to him; we cannot be safer than by being his; but thus we are not only his, but he—to every persecutor, in every one of our behalf, he shall say, Cur me? Why persecutest thou me? And as he is all power, and can defend us, so here he makes himself all eye, which is the most tender part, and most sensible of our pressures.—Condensed from John Donne.

Verse 8.—“I will guide thee with mine eye.” Marg., I will counsel thee, mine eye shall be upon thee. The margin expresses the sense of the Hebrew. The literal meaning is, “I will counsel thee; mine eye shall be upon thee.” De Wette: “my eye shall be directed towards thee.” The idea is that of one who is telling another what way he is to take in order that he may reach a certain place; and he says he will watch him, or will keep an eye upon him; he will not let him go wrong.—Albert Barnes.

Verse 8.—“Mine eye.” We may consider mercies as the beamings of the Almighty’s eye when the light of his countenance is lifted up upon us; and that man as guided by the eye, whom mercies attract and attach to his Maker. But oh! let us refuse to be guided by the eye, and it will become needful that we be curbed with the hand. If we abuse our mercies, if we forget their Author, and yield him not gratefully the homage of our affections, we do but oblige him, by his love for our souls, to apportion us disaster and trouble. Complain not, then, that there is so much of sorrow in your lot; but consider rather how much of it you may have wilfully brought upon yourselves. Listen to the voice of God. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye”—mine eye, whose glance gilds all that is beautiful, whose light disperses all darkness prevents all danger, diffuses all happiness. And why, then, is it that ye are sorely disquieted? why is it that “fear and the pit” are so often upon you; that one blessing after another disappears from your circle; and that God seems to deal with you as with the wayward and unruly, on whom any thing of gentleness would be altogether lost? Ah! if you would account for many mercies that have departed, if you would insure permanence to those that are yet left, examine how deficient you may hitherto have been, and strive to be more diligent for the future, in obeying an admonition which implies that we should be guided by the soft lustres of the eye, if our obduracy did not render indispensible the harsh constraints of the rein.—Henry Melvill.