Psalm 55:6

“O that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away, and be at rest!”

Trouble is the portion of all, without exception; of the rich, as well as of the poor; of the godly, as well as of the ungodly, “man is born to it, as the sparks fly upward.” The godly indeed have, in some respects, a larger measure of it than others; for, from within, they have grounds of trouble which are unknown to others; and, from without, they are beset on every side with enemies, who hate them purely for their righteousness’ sake. Among all the saints of whom we read in Scripture, David seems to have been peculiarly distinguished as “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” In the early part of his life, his persecutions from Saul kept him in continual jeopardy of his life; and during all his latter years, his own children furnished him with occasions of sorrow, which at times sunk him into the deepest distress, and rendered him weary even of life. The Psalm before us was written on one of these occasions; we suppose at the time of Absalom’s rebellion. And so greatly was he oppressed in spirit, that he would gladly have fled to the ends of the earth, with the loss of all his honors and dignities, if he could but have obtained rest from his accumulated and overwhelming afflictions; he said, “O that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.”

This being by no means an uncommon sentiment, I will show,

I. What are the occasions which usually give rise to this wish.

The wish itself necessarily presupposes a state of trouble; and it may arise in the bosom,

1. From temporal troubles.

Afflictions do not lose their nature when they visit the godly. Piety may soften their pungency; but it does not divest them of their proper qualities, “they are not joyous to any, but grievous;” as God has condescended to declare. How grievous David’s trial was, may be seen in all the preceding context, “Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not yourself from my supplication. Attend unto me, and hear me! I mourn in my distress and make a noise; my heart is sore pained within me; and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfullness and trembling are come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me.” Nor do we wonder at this language, when we consider that his own son had driven him from his throne; that many of his subjects were in rebellion against him; and that there was about to be a conflict between two portions of them, the one headed by himself, and the other led on by his son; and that, whichever might be victorious, it must be the blood of his subjects only that must flow. Well might he wish to withdraw from such a distressing scene, and well might he express himself in those mournful terms, “O that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. I would hasten my escape from the stormy wind and tempest.” And though such scenes are rare, it is by no means uncommon to find in families troubles of such an overwhelming nature, as to make life itself a burden to those who are afflicted by them. Husbands and wives, parents and children, who ought to be sources of the sublimest happiness to each other, are frequently occasions to each other of the deepest woe; a woe that embitters their whole lives, and makes them pant for death as a relief. And where there is no particular evil committed either by the head or members, there will often arise, from the dispensations of Providence, such afflictions as prove an insupportable burden to the mind. In Job, for instance, we see, from his accumulated trials, the same effect produced as from the afflictions of David. He wished that in his early infancy he had been consigned to the grave, “where the wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest.” “Why,” says he, “is light given to him who is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; who long for death, but it comes not; and dig for it more than for hidden treasures? There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master Job 3:17-21.” In truth, almost all the suicides of which we hear originate in worldly sorrow, either personal or domestic; nor is it always found that piety itself is sufficient to counterbalance the effects of temporal calamity; so as to elevate the spirits which have been broken by it, and restore the constitution that has been destroyed.

2. From spiritual troubles.

Of these, none can judge, but those who have endured them. In reference to these it may well be said, “The spirit of man may sustain his infirmities; but a wounded spirit who can bear Proverbs 18:14.” Truly, when a man is bowed down under a sense of sin, and trembling under apprehensions of God’s wrath, he may well be dejected, and wish for anything which may pacify his fears and terminate his sorrows. Great as Job’s other troubles were, this was heavier than them all. Hear his complaint under it, “O that my grief were thoroughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! for now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words are swallowed up. For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinks up my spirit; the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. O that I might have my request! that God would grant me the thing that I long for, even that it would please God to destroy me Job 6:2-4; Job 6:8-9, Terrible, beyond measure, are the hidings of God’s face under such circumstances; so at least David felt them to be, “You have laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps; your wrath lies hard upon me, and you have afflicted me with all your waves. Lord, why cast you off my soul? why hide you your face from me? I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up; while I suffer your terrors, I am distracted Psalm 88:7-8; Psalm 88:14-15.” So it is with some at this time; they go mourning all the day long; and by their anticipations of God’s wrath, feel almost the commencement of it in their souls. The Savior himself deprecated this bitter cup, and complained of the hidings of God’s face in his extremity; well, therefore, may frail men. who are crushed before the moth, implore “the staying of God’s rough wind in the day of his east wind. Isaiah 27:8.”

Seeing, then, that the wish of David is common in the world, let us inquire,

II. How far the godly are at liberty to indulge it.

Certainly we are at liberty to wish for death; for Paul “desired to depart, and to be with Christ,” which he deemed far better than the happiest state on earth; and we all are encouraged to be “looking for, and hastening unto, the coming of the day of Christ.” But the wish then becomes evil, when it is attended with impatience, or has respect to a mere deliverance from present troubles. This distinction is clearly marked by Paul, in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, “We that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality may be swallowed up of life 2 Corinthians 5:4.” It was not so much to get rid of the storms and tempests to which he was exposed in this present life, as to obtain the glory and felicity of the eternal world. And this was a highly commendable state of mind. But when we long merely to be released from the troubles of life, and the conflicts which we are here called to sustain, we do not well; for we should be content,

1. That God should glorify himself in his own way.

God sends trials to his people, in order that he may afford them such effectual support as shall advance his glory in the world. The trial of gold by fire is precious, because it purifies without consuming the gold; but “the trial of our faith is infinitely more precious,” because it purifies the souls of men; and it will, therefore, “be to the praise and honor and glory of our God, in the great day of his appearing 1 Peter 1:7.” On the part of those who occasion trials to his people he is dishonored, “but in the steadfastness of his people he is glorified 1 Peter 4:14.” Even in the sufferings of our blessed Lord this end was obtained; and therefore, though he deprecated sufferings as he was entitled to do, he submitted to bear his cross for the sake of reflecting glory on his heavenly Father, “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify your name John 12:27-28.” Thus, if only in the event God may be glorified in us, we should be willing to bear any sufferings, or sustain any conflicts, which God, in his wisdom, may see fit to lay upon us.

2. That he should complete his work in his own way.

He calls all his people to bear their cross, in imitation, of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Now “the Lord Jesus, though he was a Son, vet learned obedience by the things which he suffered;” and “he was made perfect through sufferings;” and in the same war does God still teach and perfect us. He makes tribulation the way to glory; purging us from our corruptions by means of it Isaiah 27:9. Hebrews 12:10, and causing it to “work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory 2 Corinthians 4:17.” Does it befit us, then, to be impatient under our troubles; or to wish for the removal of them, before they have accomplished the end for which they were sent? Surely we should be infinitely more anxious to have them sanctified, than to get them removed; and, however sorely they may press upon us, we should say, “Not my will, but your be done.” Be the furnace never so hot, we should welcome it, if only at last we may come out of it “vessels of honor, fit for the Master’s use.”

ADDRESS.

1. Those who have hitherto been exempt from heavy trials.

Doubtless, as far as the mere exemption from trouble goes, you have reason to be thankful; but yet. if for lack of it you are yet in a careless or lukewarm state, you have no great reason to congratulate yourselves; It would have been better that every bone in your body were broken, or that you should have the sword of the Almighty inflicting the deepest wounds in your souls, than that you should be left to go on wickedly in the way of your hearts, I do not say that you should pray for trials; for trials will do you no good, if they be not sanctified to your souls by the Spirit of God. But this I say, Let no rest satisfy you, except that which is to be found in the favor of a reconciled God, and in the hope of his glory.

2. Those who are sinking under the weight of them.

Perhaps some may be here, who, like David, are bowed down under the weight of domestic troubles, or under a dread of God’s heavy displeasure. And, if this be the case, let me tell you where you may find rest unto your souls, You need not the wings of a dove to fly away; you have your refuge close at hand, even Jesus, who says, “Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” If you will but run to Him, you shall find him “an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land Isaiah 32:2.” Yes, in truth, “He is a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall Isaiah 25:4.” Go to him then; take refuge in him; cast yourselves upon him; and let him give you rest, in his own time and way. Then will he walk with you in the furnace, as he did with the Hebrew youths; and in due season add you to the happy number of “those who have come out of great tribulation, and washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb Revelation 7:14.” Then will your rest be glorious indeed; for “then you will hunger no more, nor thirst any more; neither shall the sun rest on you, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed you, and shall lead you unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes Revelation 7:16-17.”

Charles Simeon

Psalm 51:16-17

“You do not desire sacrifice; else would I give it; you do not delight in burnt-offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise!”

“How shall I come before the Lord?” is the first inquiry that will be made by an awakened sinner. No sooner were the murderers of our Lord “pierced to the heart” with a conviction of their guilt, than they cried out, (the whole assembly of them together), “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

In answer to this, man proposes many costly offerings; and for the obtaining of peace with God, he would present unto Him anything that he should require, Micah 6:6-7. Had God required sacrifices to be offered for David’s sins, he would gladly have offered them, however numerous or costly they had been, “You do not desire sacrifice; else would I give it to you.” But there is only one thing required, and that universally, of all people under Heaven; and what that is, we are informed in the words before us, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise!”

Here are two points to be inquired into:

I. What is that sacrifice which God approves.

The term “sacrifice” is metaphorically applied to many things:

to praise and thanksgivings, Hebrews 13:15;

to alms-deeds, or charity, Hebrews 13:16;

to a surrender of the soul to God, Romans 12:1.

But in our text it does not so much refer to any offerings whereby a pardoned sinner may honor God, as to that disposition of mind whereby an unpardoned sinner may facilitate his acceptance with God.

As to any external services, David informs us that these would not answer the desired end; for though many offerings under the law were appointed and approved by God as typical of the great sacrifice—yet were they in themselves of no value, Psalm 50:8-14, especially when compared with obedience, 1 Samuel 15:22. Hosea 6:6; and, when substituted for obedience, they were hateful and abominable in the sight of God, Isaiah 1:11-15; Isaiah 66:3 and Amos 5:21-23.

For such sins as David’s willful adultery and murder, there was actually no sacrifice appointed; no penalty less than death could be awarded to the person that was found guilty either of adultery or murder, Numbers 35:31 Deuteronomy 22:22. But there is a sacrifice which will forward the acceptance even of such an atrocious sinner as David; it is called in our text, “A broken and contrite heart.” To ascertain what is meant by this, let us consider,

1. The term: “A broken and contrite heart.”

We all have some idea of what is meant by “a broken heart,” when applied to worldly sorrow. It signifies a person overwhelmed with sorrow to such a degree, that he is always bowed down under its weight, and incapable of receiving consolation from anything but the actual removal of his burdens. Thus far it may serve to illustrate the meaning of our text, and to show what is meant by a heart broken with a sense of sin.

But in other respects there is an exceeding great difference between the two; for a heart broken with worldly troubles, argues:

an ignorance of our own demerit,

a lack of resignation to God,

a lack of trust in him,

and a low esteem of those benefits which sanctified affliction is calculated to produce.

In these respects therefore, it forms a contrast, rather than a resemblance, to true contrition.

Let us then drop the term, and consider the thing.

2. The thing itself: “A broken and contrite heart.”

“A broken and a contrite heart” consists in:

a deep sense of our sinfulness, guilt, and misery;

a self-loathing and abhorrence on account of the peculiar aggravations of our sin, as committed against such a gracious God and a merciful Redeemer;

a readiness to justify God in all His dealings with us, whatever they may be;

and such an insatiable desire after saving mercy, as swallows up every other sensation, whether of joy or sorrow.

View all these things distinctly and separately; compare them with the workings of David’s mind as set forth in this Psalm verses 3, 4, 7-9; view them as illustrated by other portions of Holy Writ, 2 Chronicles 34:27. Job 40:4; Job 42:6 with Zechariah 12:10. Luke 15:18-19. 2 Chronicles 33:12-13, or all together. 2 Corinthians 7:11. or as exemplified in other of David’s Psalms, Psalm 38:4-10; Psalm 40:12.

Perhaps it will be best to confine the illustrations to Psalms 51 and 38 for fear of swelling this part of the subject too much; and the more they are considered, the more will they reveal to us the precise nature of that sacrifice which is described in the text.

Let us now proceed to inquire,

II. Why God honors a broken and contrite heart with his peculiar favor.

That God does signally honor it, is certain.

When it is said that “a broken and contrite heart God will not despise,” more is meant than is expressed. It means that God will honor it with tokens of his peculiar approbation. Whoever he is that offers to him this sacrifice—God will notice him, even though he were the lowest and vilest of mankind. Not all the angels in Heaven should so occupy his attention as to prevent him from searching out that person, and keeping his eye continually fixed upon him for good! Isaiah 66:2.

Moreover, God will comfort him; he will not merely view him from Heaven, but will come down and dwell in his heart on purpose to comfort and revive him, Isaiah 57:15;

Nor is this all; for God will surely and eternally save him, Psalm 34:18. Job 33:27-28; and the more abased the man is in his own eyes—the higher will God exalt him on a throne of glory, Luke 18:14.

And the reasons of his so honoring it are plain.

A broken and a contrite heart is the work of his own Spirit on the soul of man. No created power can effect it; we may break and bruise the body, but we can never produce in anyone a broken and contrite spirit. This is God’s prerogative, Job 40:11. Ezekiel 11:19; and whoever has obtained this blessing must say, “Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose, 2 Corinthians 5:5.”

A broken and a contrite heart is the precise disposition that befits us. If the holy angels that never sinned veil their faces and their feet in the presence of their God, what prostration of mind must become such guilty creatures as we are! Surely we must “put our hands on our mouth, and our mouth in the dust, crying, Unclean! Unclean! Lamentations 3:29 with Leviticus 13:45.” Yes rather, we should “gird ourselves with sackcloth, and wallow in ashes, and make mourning as for an only son, even most bitter lamentation, Jeremiah 6:26 with James 4:9-10.”

Further, A broken and a contrite heart disposes us to acquiesce cordially in Gods’ appointed method of salvation. Until we are thoroughly broken-hearted with a sense of sin, we never estimate aright the unspeakable blessings of Redemption. “We may profess a regard for the Gospel; but we do not really “glory in the cross of Christ;” Christ does not truly become “all our salvation and all our desire.”

But to the truly contrite, O how precious is the name of Jesus, that adorable name, the foundation of all our hopes, the source of all our joys!

Lastly, A broken and a contrite heart invariably stimulates us to a cheerful unreserved obedience. No commandment is hard to a person, when once his heart is truly broken and contrite! Let us see that we were dead in sin, and that Christ died for us; and a sense of “his love will constrain us to live to him,” and to “glorify him with our body and our spirit, which are his.”

Say now, whether here is not reason sufficient for the distinguished favors which God grants to the contrite soul? We know that there is nothing meritorious in contrition; but there is in it a suitableness for the reception of the divine mercies, and for the reflecting back upon God the honor which he confers upon it.

This subject may well be improved,

1. For the conviction of the impenitent.

Worldly sorrow has more or less been the portion of us all; but how few have “sorrowed after a godly sort!” The generality have never laid to heart their sins at all; and they who have felt some compunction, have for the most part been satisfied with a little transient sorrow, and something of an outward reformation of life. But let this be remembered, that when it is said, “God will not despise the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart,” it is manifestly implied, that he will despise everything short of that.

Do not then deceive yourselves with an expectation that God will accept your feigned or partial humiliation; your penitence must be deep, and your change radical; your sorrow for sin must far exceed any worldly sorrow, and must bring you incessantly to the foot of the cross, as your only refuge and your only hope! Nor will any repentance short of this be “a repentance unto salvation, but only a repentance eternally to be repented of! 2 Corinthians 7:10.”

2. For consolation to the penitent.

When once you become truly penitent, men will begin to despise you; they will look upon you as a poor weak enthusiast, and will “cast out your name as evil.” But your comfort is, that God will not despise you. If the Psalmist had merely affirmed this, it would have been a rich ground of consolation; but he makes it a matter of appeal to God, “A broken and contrite spirit, O God, you will not despise.” What a glorious truth! When you are so vile and contemptible in your own eyes that you blush and are confounded before God, and “dare not even lift up your eyes unto Heaven,” God looks upon you with pleasure and delight, and acknowledges you as his dearly beloved child! Jeremiah 31:18-20.

Do you want evidence of this? See for whom God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, Isaiah 61:1-3; and read the account given of the very first sermon that Jesus ever preached, Luke 4:17-21; and hear to whom in particular he addressed his invitations in Matthew 11:28. Consider these, I say, and then reject the consolation if you can.

3. For instruction to the more advanced Christian.

Is a broken and contrite heart the sacrifice with which you must come to God? Know that it is that which you must continue also to offer him to the last hour of your lives. You are not to lose the remembrance of your shame and sorrow, but to “loath yourselves after God is pacified towards you,” Ezekiel 16:63, and because that God is pacified towards you.

The more abundant is his mercy towards you—the more should you abhor yourself for having ever sinned against so gracious a God!

You cannot but have seen in others, and probably felt within yourselves, a disposition to depart from this ground, and to indulge a spirit of self-sufficiency and pride. I entreat you to examine yourselves with respect to this. It is a common evil, and is very apt to lurk in us unperceived.

But if we see it not ourselves, we shall without fail reveal it to others; or, if they should not discover it, God will behold it, and that too with utter abhorrence! Proverbs 16:5 and 1 Peter 5:5. Watch over yourselves therefore, and pray that you may grow continually in lowliness of mind, in tenderness of conscience, in meekness of temper, and in purity of heart. The more you resemble little children—the higher will you be in the kingdom of God! Matthew 18:4

Charles Simeon

Psalm 51:14

“Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God—the God of my salvation! And my tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness!”

This Psalm is full of encouragement to a real penitent; but in particular the petition before us, “Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God!”

Consider the atrocious crime committed—”Blood-guiltiness!” Murder—the most atrocious murder that ever was committed.

Consider by whom it had been committed—”Deliver me!” The man after God’s own heart, who had experienced from God more signal interpositions than almost any other man that ever breathed.

Consider the long and inconceivable obduracy which he had indulged since the commission of it, even to the very hour when his guilt was charged upon him by the Prophet of the Lord.

Could such a sin as this be forgiven? Could such an offender dare to ask forgiveness, or entertain the remotest hope of obtaining it? Surely, if David could approach his God under such circumstances as these, with the smallest hope of acceptance, then may we see in this passage,

I. The privilege of a contrite soul.

There is not a sinner in the universe who may not go to God, as “a God of salvation!”

Were there only a hope that mercy might be a constituent of the divine character, and an attribute which might by some possibility be displayed—it would be a sufficient encouragement to the vilest sinner upon earth to call upon his God. But the title here assigned to the Most High, opens to us a most wonderful view of his character.
He is “a God of salvation;”
as having devised a way of salvation for a ruined world;
as having given us his only dear Son to effect salvation;
as having accepted the sacrifice of his Son in our behalf;
and, as applying that salvation to those whom “he has chosen in Christ Jesus before the world began.”

He is “a God of salvation,” as making the redemption of the world his great concern. Yes, as altogether occupied in it; so as, if I may so speak, to be swallowed up in it, and to be “a God of it.” We read of him as “a God of patience and consolation,” yes, “a God of all grace;” but the title given in my text meets most fully the necessities of sinful mankind, and opens a door of hope to every sinner under Heaven.

Nor is there a sin which, if truly repented of, shall not be forgiven.

We read, indeed, of the sin against the Holy Spirit, as excepted from the tremendous catalogue of pardonable sins. But it is not excepted because of its enormity, as though it were too great to be forgiven; but only because that sin implies a willful and deliberate rejection of the only means of salvation. It destroys, not because it exceeds the efficacy of the Redeemer’s blood, but because it tramples on that blood which alone can expiate even the smallest sin. A man who determinately rejects all food, needs not to do anything else to ensure his own destruction; he rejects the necessary means of life, and therefore must inevitably perish.

But we may say without exception, that “the blood of Jesus Christ both can and will cleanse from all sin,” if only we sprinkle it upon our conscience, and trust in it for salvation. It is worthy of observation that the Psalmist expresses no doubt as to the possibility of his acceptance with God. He does not say, “If such guilt can be forgiven—then deliver me;” but simply, “Deliver me.” Nay, in a preceding part of this Psalm he says, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow! verse 7.” Whatever guilt, therefore, may lie upon the conscience of the vilest sinner under Heaven, let him go to God, and cry with humble confidence, “Deliver me, O God of my salvation!”

From this example of David, we may further learn,

II. The duty of all who have obtained mercy from the Lord.

“And my tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness!”

The world is ready to complain, “Why do you not keep your religion to yourself?” But no pardoned sinner ought to do so; he is bound to render thanks for the mercies given unto him.

1. He owes it to God.

Surely God is to be honored, as a God of providence and a God of grace. Are we distinguished above the brute creation? We should bless God for the faculties bestowed upon us. Are we elevated above any of our fellows by the communication of spiritual blessings to our souls? We are bound to praise God for such “an unspeakable gift.” If we forbore to speak His praises, methinks “the very stones would cry out against us!”

2. He owes it to the world.

How is the world to be instructed in the knowledge of God, if those to whom that knowledge is imparted are silent respecting him? We owe a debt to them. “What our eyes have seen, our ears have heard, and our hands have handled of the Word of Life”—we are bound to declare to them. We are not at liberty to put our light under a bushel; but must “make it to shine before men, that they also may glorify our Father who is in Heaven.” “When we are converted,” we are bound in every possible way to “strengthen our brethren.”

3. He owes it to himself.

Suppose a man to “have been forgiven much, will he not love much?” And will not love vent itself in the praise of the object beloved? Especially if a man has been made a partaker of God’s righteousness; will he not sing aloud of that righteousness? No doubt he will; and, if the angelic hosts would account it a painful sacrifice if silence were imposed upon them, and they were forbidden to show forth the praises of their God—so would it be with the believing soul, in proportion to the measure of grace that had been conferred upon him.

To all, then, I say,

1. Be particular in your applications to God for saving mercy.

Do not rest in mere general confessions or general petitions; but search out the hidden iniquities of your hearts, and spread them distinctly before God in prayer. We have not all committed the sins of David—but are we not all sinners? And if we would search the records of our conscience, might we not find some evils which call for more than ordinary humiliation? Or, if in acts we have been free from any remarkable transgression, have we not felt such motions of sin within us, as might, if God had given us up to temptation, have issued in the foulest transgressions? We need only recollect what our Lord tells us, that an impure and angry thought is heart adultery and murder; and we shall see little reason to cast a stone at others, and abundant reason for humiliation before God. I say, then, search out, every one of you—your besetting sins; and implore of God the forgiveness of them.

2. Have respect to God under his proper character.

View God not merely as your Creator, your Governor, and your Judge—but as your Covenant God and Savior. See how David addresses him, “O God—God of my salvation!” Thus it will be well for every sinner to do. See your own saving interest in him; see what provision he has made for you; what invitations he has given to you; what promises he has held forth to you. This will encourage penitence; this will strike the rock for penitential sorrows to flow out.

In a word, view God as he is in Christ Jesus—a God reconciling the world unto himself; and you will never indulge despair, nor ever doubt but He will show mercy to all who call upon him in spirit and in truth.

3. Determine, through grace, to improve for God the blessings you receive.

It was a suitable determination of David, that, if his requests should be granted, then “his tongue would sing aloud of God’s righteousness.” A similar resolution befits us. Are we savingly interested in a salvation which displays “the righteousness of God,” and makes every perfection of his to concur in the promotion of our welfare? Let us not be silent; let us not be ashamed to confess him before men; though the whole world should endeavor to silence us, let us not regard them for one instant; but let us say with David, “I will praise you with music on the harp, because you are faithful to your promises, O my God. I will sing praises to you with a lyre, O Holy One of Israel. I will shout for joy and sing your praises, for you have ransomed me! Psalm 71:22-24.”

Charles Simeon

Psalm 51:7

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow!”

Every part of God’s Word is profitable for our instruction in righteousness; but in the Psalms, true religion is exemplified, and, as it were, embodied.

The workings of genuine repentance are admirably delineated in the Psalm before us. David traces his iniquities to their proper source, his original corruption. He acknowledges the necessity of a thorough renovation of soul; and, in legal terms, but of evangelical import, he implores forgiveness.

The expressions in the text teach us,

I. The nature of sin.

The generality of the world imagine sin to be a light and trivial thing.

Some indeed have learned to dread sin as destructive of their eternal happiness.

Very few have any idea of sin as defiling and debasing the soul.

It is in this view, however, that we are now called to consider it.

Sin has defiled every member of our body, and every faculty of our soul. Hence Paul speaks of it as “filthiness both of the flesh and spirit 2 Corinthians 7:1.”

What uncircumcised ears, Acts 7:51,
what venomous tongues, James 3:6,
what adulterous eyes, 2 Peter 2:14,
have the greater part of mankind! See Romans 3:10-19.

How are all their members used as instruments of unrighteousness! Romans 6:13. What pride, and envy, what wrath, and malice, are harbored in the bosom! How gladly would we cast off all allegiance to God, and be a god unto ourselves, Psalm 12:4.

Thus, in fleshly lusts, we degrade ourselves almost to a level with the beasts! 2 Peter 2:22; and, in spiritual filthiness, we too much resemble the fallen angels, John 8:44. How different is this state from that in which we were first created! Genesis 1:27. Yet the change is effected solely by the agency of sin! Romans 5:12.

In this view, more especially, is sin represented in the text.

The Psalmist evidently refers to the state of a leper, or a leprous house. No disorder was more loathsome than leprosy, Leviticus 13:8. A person infected with it was driven from the society of his dearest relatives, and was necessitated to proclaim his impurity to all who approached him, Leviticus 13:44-46. Nor could his disorder ever be cured by the art of man. If he were ever healed, it was by God alone, without the intervention of human means. Hence David, knowing the filthiness and incurableness of sin, cries unto God.

Similar representations also abound in every part of the sacred writings.

Our natural depravity is declared in expressions of the like import, Job 15:14-16.

Our acquired corruptions are said to render us loathsome objects, Proverbs 13:5.

The very remains of sin in the holiest of men are also described in similar terms, Romans 7:24. The allusion seems to be to a dead body, which was sometimes fastened to criminals, until they died in consequence of the stench arising from it. In such a light did Paul view the remains of sin which he felt within him; yes, the most eminent saints, in bewailing their sinfulness, have used the very same figure as David in the text, Isaiah 6:5. Happy would it be for us, if we had these views of sin; we should soon put away our proud, self-exalting thoughts, and should adopt the confessions of holy Job, Job 9:20-21; Job 9:30-31.

But, vile as sin is, it may be both forgiven and subdued!

II. The means of deliverance from sin.

It has been already observed, that David alludes to the case of a leper. This is manifest from the terms wherein he implores deliverance. Under Jewish figures he sets forth the only means of salvation.

Certain means were prescribed by God for the purification of a leper, Leviticus 14:2-7. When God had healed him, “the priest was to take two clean birds, with cedar-wood, scarlet, and hyssop.” Having killed one of the birds, the priest was to “dip the hyssop and the live bird in the blood of the bird that had been slain;” he was then to “sprinkle the leper seven times, and to let loose the living bird.” This ordinance typified the death of Christ, with his resurrection, and subsequent ascension into Heaven with his own blood, Hebrews 9:12.

A similar ordinance is explained by the Apostle in this very manner, Hebrews 9:13-14, and the same effect is plainly ascribed to the things here typified, Romans 4:25.” It is therefore in reference to Christ that David says, “Purge me with hyssop.”

In the purification of a leprous house, water was used with the blood, Leviticus 14:48-53. This further typified the renewing influences of the Spirit of Christ, and David seems to allude to it, when he adds, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow!”

Nor is this by any means a forced or fanciful distinction. An inspired writer lays peculiar stress upon it, 1 John 5:6, and every enlightened person sees as much need of Christ’s Spirit to wash him from the defilement of sin, as of his blood to purge him from the guilt of sin.

The efficacy ascribed to these means is not at all exaggerated. There is no sin whatever which the blood of Christ cannot cleanse. We cannot conceive more enormous transgressions than those of David—yet even he could say with confidence, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean!” Purified in this way, his soul would become “whiter than snow.” This blessed truth is attested by the beloved Apostle, 1 John 1:7, and it is urged by God himself as an inducement to repentance, Isaiah 1:18. Our renewal indeed by the Holy Spirit is not perfect in this life, but it shall be continually progressive towards perfection, 2 Corinthians 4:16, and, when the leprous tabernacle shall be taken down, it shall be reared anew in consummate purity and beauty! 2 Corinthians 5:1. Philippians 3:21.

INFERENCES.

1. How mistaken are those who seek salvation by any righteousness of their own!

We can no more eradicate sin from our souls, than a leprosy from our bodies. No man ever more deeply bewailed his sin, or more thoroughly turned from it than David Psalm 6:6; Psalm 38:4-6—yet he did not say, “Purge me with my tears, my repentances, or my duties—but purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;” he would make mention of no righteousness but that of Christ Psalm 71:15-16; nor would Paul himself trust for a moment in any other, Philippians 3:9.

Shall we then boast as if we were more penitent than David, more zealous than Paul? Let us rather humble ourselves in the language of Job, Job 9:15 and 40:4, and determine to glory in nothing but the cross of Christ! Galatians 6:14.

2. What encouragement is here afforded to mourning penitents!

If David did not despair of mercy—then who else can have cause to do so? If the blood of Christ could so purge him—then why may it not cleanse us also? If it had such efficacy a thousand years before it was shed, surely it will not be less efficacious now that it has been poured forth.

But it is not the mere shedding of Christ’s blood that will profit us. We must, by faith, apply it to our own souls. Let us then go to the blood of sprinkling which speaks such good things to us, Hebrews 12:24; let us cry with earnest and repeated entreaties, “Purge me! Wash me!” thus shall our polluted souls be whiter than snow itself, and before long we shall join, in that general chorus, “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.” Revelation 1:5-6.

Charles Simeon

Psalm 51:6

“Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom.”

Mankind at large are chiefly concerned of their outward conduct; but the child of God cannot rest in mere externals; he is concerned about the internal habits of his soul; and desires to have them conformed to the mind and will of God.

The words before us strongly express this idea. We think that the words relate, not to his sins, but his repentance for them. The sense of them appears to be to this effect, “You require me to be truly sincere in my present humiliation; and, if I am, as I desire to be, thoroughly sincere, you will make this whole dispensation a source of the most important instruction to my soul.” In this view of the words, they are a humble address to God, declarative of,

I. The heart disposition which God requires.

“Truth,” is a conformity of our feelings and actions to our professions; and this God requires of us in the whole of our spirit and conduct.

1. God requires truth in our acknowledgments.

We acknowledge ourselves to be sinners before God. But such a confession is of no value in his sight, unless it is accompanied with suitable feelings. Think then:

What befits us, as sinners!

What deep sorrow and contrition we should feel for having offended Almighty God!

What self-loathing and self-abhorrence for our extreme vileness and baseness!

What ardent desires after mercy!

What readiness to justify God in all that he may be pleased to inflict upon us in this world, whatever means or instruments he may see fit to use; yes, and in the eternal world also, even if he casts us into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, and make us everlasting monuments of his wrathful indignation!

This should be the state and habit of our minds; we should have “our hands on our mouths, and our mouths in the dust,” “crying, Unclean, unclean!” In a word, we should adopt from our inmost souls the language of Job, “Behold, I am vile! Therefore I repent and abhor myself in dust and ashes!”

In proportion as we feel thus, we are upright, and have “truth in our inward parts;” but so far as we are lacking in these feelings, we are hypocrites in heart,” drawing near to God with our lips in a way belied by our hearts, Matthew 15:7-8.”

2. God requires truth in our purposes.

We profess, as people redeemed by the blood of our incarnate God, to give up ourselves to him, and to live unto Him who died for us; and, if we are sincere in this, then our determination is fixed, that, with God’s help, nothing shall ever keep us from executing this intention. We have deliberately counted the cost. We are aware, that “if we will live godly in Christ Jesus, we must suffer persecution;” but we are prepared to meet it, from whatever quarter it may come, yes, though “our greatest foes should be those of our own household.” We are ready to sacrifice our reputation, our interests, and our very lives also, rather than in any respect deny our God, or allow ourselves to be diverted from the path of duty. We are determined, through grace, to put away everything that may retard our progress heavenward, and to aspire after the highest possible attainments in righteousness and true holiness.

Now God requires, that we should be acting up to this profession, “setting our face as a flint against the whole world,” and standing in the posture of Daniel or the Hebrew youths, willing to have our bodies consigned to a den of lions, or a fiery furnace—rather than violate our duty by any sinful compliance. If we are halting or hesitating, we have not truth in our inward parts.

3. God requires truth in our endeavors.

Purposes must be judged of by the exertions that are put forth in order to carry them into effect. A diligent attendance therefore on all the means of grace must of necessity be required of us. In the public ordinances, and in our private chambers, whether we are hearing, or reading, or meditating, or praying, we must be like men in earnest, even like the man-slayer fleeing from the pursuer of blood, who scarcely stopped to look behind him, until he should reach the appointed sanctuary, the city of refuge.

Remissness in such a cause argues a lack of real integrity; if truth is indeed in our inward parts, we shall run as in a race, which leaves us no time to loiter; and wrestle with all our might, lest we be foiled in the contest. We mus fight as those who know that there is no alternative but to overcome or perish. In all the interior workings of our minds we shall resemble the Corinthians, who were “clear in this matter, 2 Corinthians 7:11.”

That we may not be discouraged by the strictness of God’s requirements, let us consider:

II. The benefits which God will confer.

There is a wisdom that is to be gained only by experience; what has its seat in the head, may be learned by the head; what dwells in the heart, must be learned by the heart; and of the heart there is but one teacher, even God; according as it is said, “Who teaches like God! Job 36:22.”

Among the treasures of wisdom which God will impart to the truly upright, and the hidden things which he will cause them to know, are:

1. The deceits of the heart.

These are very deep, and absolutely unsearchable, Jeremiah 17:9; yet in a measure will God reveal them to those who have truth in their inward parts. The world at large know nothing of them, “they are calling evil good, and good evil; they put darkness for light, and light for darkness; and bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter, Isaiah 5:20;” “they feed also on ashes; a deceived heart has turned them aside, so that they cannot deliver their souls, or say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? Isaiah 44:20.” They contrive to satisfy their minds that all is well with them, or at least to lull their consciences asleep with the hope that all will be well with them before they die. They have a thousand pleas and excuses which they urge in their own defense, and which they vainly hope will be accepted by their Judge. If we attempt to open their eyes, they reply, with indignation, “Are we blind also? John 9:40.” Thus are they both blinded and “hardened” through the deceitfulness of sin.

But those who are really “Israelites indeed, and without deceit,” have their eyes opened to see what delusions they have cherished; and being thus “brought out of darkness into marvelous light.” “Their eye being made single, their whole body is full of light.”

2. The devices of Satan.

The men of this world, though “taken in his snares, and led captive by him at his will,” have no idea of his agency. But he is a subtle adversary; and his “wiles” are innumerable. He can even “transform himself into an angel of light, 2 Corinthians 11:13-14;” and, when aiming a deadly blow at our souls, assume the garb of “a minister of righteousness.”

His first device is to persuade men that they are in no danger of the judgments they fear.

If he fails in that, he will instill into their minds the notion that they have gone too far, and that there is no hope for them.

If that snare does not succeed, he will draw them aside, after some points of less importance, or “matters of doubtful disputation.”

He has multitudes of false teachers at his command, who will gladly aid him in this accursed work, 2 Corinthians 11:13, and concur with him in his endeavors to “corrupt their minds from the simplicity that is in Christ, 2 Corinthians 11:3.” But, if we are following the Lord fully, he will not leave us “ignorant of Satan’s devices, or allow him to get his wished-for advantage over us, 2 Corinthians 2:11.” He will arm us against that adversary, and enable us to withstand him, Ephesians 6:11. He will give us “the shield of faith, whereby we shall ward off and quench all his fiery darts, Ephesians 6:16,” and be able so to “resist him, that he shall flee from us, James 4:7.”

3. The mysteries of grace.

“Great is the mystery of godliness,” and great is the mystery of grace, whether we consider the work wrought for us by Jesus Christ, or the work wrought in us by his Holy Spirit. These constitute that “wisdom, which is foolishness with man,” and which “the natural man cannot receive, because it is spiritually discerned, 1 Corinthians 2:7-9; 1 Corinthians 2:14.” To know this, we must be taught of God, “We must receive, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, before we can know the things that are freely given to us by God, 1 Corinthians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 2:12.” And O! how wonderful a work does this appear, when “God shines into our hearts to reveal it to us, 2 Corinthians 4:6.”

How worthy of God!

How suitable to man!

How surpassing comprehension, whether of men or angels!

Truly, the man whose eyes are thus opened, seems to be brought into a new world! “Old things are passed away, and all things are become new.” The ignorant world are amazed at the new line of conduct he pursues, just as Elisha’s servant was at his master’s confidence in the midst of danger. But, if their eyes were opened to see, as the believer does, the invisible God, 2 Kings 6:15-17. Hebrews 11:27, above him and within him, they would wonder rather, that there were any bounds to his transports, or any limit to his exertions.

4. The beauties of holiness.

All who are warped by their prejudices, or blinded by their lusts, are incapable of estimating aright the beauty and blessedness of true piety; it appears to them little short of madness. And even those who make a profession of godliness, but possess not truth in their inward parts, have very erroneous conceptions of true holiness.

Some place true holiness in a confident espousal of certain principles, or a zealous attachment to a particular party.

Others, inclining more to practical religion, make all duty to center in some one point—such as the mortification of the flesh, or almsgiving, or penances of man’s invention. Even those who are more enlightened, are apt to regard only one particular set of graces that are more congenial with their own feelings, and to neglect those which are of an opposite aspect; one despising everything in comparison with zeal and confidence; another leaning altogether to the side of prudence and timidity.

But the man into whose hidden part God has put true wisdom—views holiness, not with prismatic partiality, separating one grace from another, but all embodied, as light in the sun; every grace tempering its opposite, and all combining to the production of perfect beauty. He discards neither the vivid nor the darker ray; but, having all in united exercise, sorrow with joy, and fear with confidence, “the beauty of the Lord his God is upon him, Psalm 90:17,” and he shines in the Divine image in righteousness and true holiness! 2 Corinthians 3:18.

From this subject we may learn,

1. Why is it that men get so little insight into the Gospel.

Many hear the Gospel during their whole lives, and never attain any just knowledge of it. How shall we account for this? We suppose the Gospel to be preached with all possible fidelity, and yet it seems never to convey any light to their minds. The reason is, that they never take any pains to apply it to their own souls, or to get any one truth realized in their own experience. They assent to everything they hear; but they are content with being hearers, without ever once attempting to become doers of the Word they hear. They “see perhaps their face, as in a looking-glass, for the moment; but they go away, and forget what manner of men they are, James 1:22-25.” But our blessed Lord has told us, that we must aim at doing his will, in order to get any just insight into what he has revealed, John 7:17; and, as this desire is altogether lacking in the people we are speaking of, they never derive any solid benefit from the Gospel.

O brethren! you must “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own souls!” You must apply the Word to your own hearts; when you hear your sins pointed out, you must endeavor to humble yourselves for them in dust and ashes; when you hear of Christ as the one and only Savior of a ruined world, you must endeavor to flee to him for refuge; when the Holy Spirit is set forth as the one great source of all spiritual life and motion, you must cry to God the Father for his dear Son’s sake to send the Holy Spirit into your hearts, that the whole work of grace may be wrought within you. It is your neglect of thus harrowing the gospel seed into your hearts by meditation, and of watering it with tears, that has given Satan an opportunity of taking it out of your hearts as soon as ever it has been sown there! Matthew 13:4; Matthew 13:19.

Get the “honest and the good heart,” which truly desires to make a just improvement of the word, and God will yet cause the seed to spring up in your hearts, and to bring forth fruit to the salvation of your souls.

2. Why is it that so many who profess the Gospel, live so unworthy of it.

It is a melancholy fact, that many who profess godliness walk very unworthy of their high calling. Like Ezekiel’s hearers, they are gratified with the preaching of the Gospel, as people are with “one who plays well upon an instrument; but their heart still goes after their covetousness, Ezekiel 33:31-32,” or some other besetting sin. But this is owing to their not having “truth in their inward parts;” if they had, they would not be satisfied with merely professing the Gospel and talking about it, and looking with pity (or perhaps with contempt) on those who do not understand it. No!

They would look to their heart, that it should be meek and humble;
they would look to their conduct also, that it should be blameless and without deceit;
they would “give no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.”

Ah, brethren! think what God requires of all, and of those who make a profession of religion more especially; and beg of God to endue your souls with truth and wisdom, “that you may be sincere and without offence until the day of Christ.”

You may imagine that you “know all the depths of Satan, Revelation 2:24;” but if your professed “hope in Christ does not purify your souls as Christ is pure, 1 John 3:3,” then you are yet blinded by him, and utterly deceiving your own souls, James 1:26.

3. How to get the Word of God wrought in our souls.

Come to the Gospel with hearts tender and contrite, that they may be to it as wax to the seal. Then you shall have in your own souls “the witness” of all its most important truths, 1 John 5:10; and shall be able to answer from your own experience that question which God puts so triumphantly to all the world, “Does not my Word do good to him who walks uprightly?” You are not straitened in God; be not straitened in your own souls. Desire much; ask much; expect much—and God will supply your every need “according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus!”

Charles Simeon

Psalm 51:5

“Behold, I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me!”

One of the most essential marks of real penitence is a disposition to see our sins as God sees them; not mitigating their guilt by vain and frivolous excuses, but marking every circumstance that tends to aggravate their enormity.

During their impenitence, our first parents cast the blame of their transgression upon others; the man cast the blame on his wife; and the woman cast the blame on the serpent that had beguiled her. But when true repentance was given them, they no doubt beheld their conduct in a very different view, and took to themselves all the shame which it so justly merited!

The sin of David in the matter of Uriah was great, beyond all the powers of language to express. Yet there were points of view in which none but a real penitent would notice it, and in which its enormity was aggravated a hundred-fold.

This is the light in which the Royal Penitent speaks of it, in the Psalm before us. Having spoken of it as an offence, not merely against man, but primarily, and almost solely, against Jehovah himself—he proceeds to notice it, not as an insulated act or course of action, but as the proper fruit of his inherent, his natural, corruption. We are not to suppose, that he intended by this to cast any reflection on his mother, of whom he elsewhere speaks in most respectful terms; nor are we to imagine, that he adduces the nature which he had derived from her, as an excuse for the wickedness he had committed. His intention is to humble himself before God and man as a creature altogether corrupt, and to represent his wickedness as no other than a sample of that iniquity or which his heart was full, an evil stream issuing from the overflowing fountain of his corrupt heart. This, we doubt not, is the genuine import of the words which we have now proposed to consider, “Behold, I was shaped in iniquity, and in sin has my mother conceived me.”

In prosecuting this important subject, we shall endeavor to establish,

I. The truth asserted.

The doctrine of Original Sin is here distinctly affirmed. It is indeed by many denied under the idea that it would be inconsistent with the goodness and mercy of God, to send immortal beings into the world in any other state than one of perfect purity. But it is in vain for us to teach God what he ought to do; the question for us to consider is, What has God done? and what account has he himself given us of our state? And here, if the Scriptures are true, there is no room for doubt: We are all the corrupt off-spring of degenerate parents; from whom we derive a polluted nature, which alone, since their fall, they could possibly transmit.

1. We see the original sinfulness of every person, from concurring Scriptural testimonies.

Moses, in his account of the first man that was born into the world, expressly notices, that Adam begat him not in the likeness of God, in which he himself had been originally created, but “in his own likeness,” as a fallen and corrupt creature! Genesis 5:3. How different the one from the other, may be conjectured from the conduct of this first-born, who imbrued his hands in his brother’s blood. In his account too, as well of the post-diluvian, as of the ante-diluvian world, he tells us, that “every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually! Genesis 6:5; Genesis 8:21.”

Job, not only affirms the same awful truth, but shows us that it is impossible in the nature of things to be otherwise; since from a thing that is radically and essentially impure—nothing but what is impure can proceed! Job 14:4; Job 15:14-16; Job 25:4.

The testimony of Isaiah and Jeremiah is altogether to the same effect, Isaiah 6:5. Jeremiah 17:9; as is that also of Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 9:3.

And in the New Testament, our Lord himself teaches us to regard the heart as the proper womb where every species of iniquity is generated, and from whence it proceeds! Mark 7:21.

And Paul declares of himself, as well as all the rest of the human race, that they “are by nature children of wrath! Ephesians 2:3.”

But how can we be in such a state by nature, if we are not corrupt? Can God regard as objects of his wrath creatures that possess his perfect image? No; it is as fallen in Adam that he views us, and as inheriting a depraved nature that he abhors us!

The subject does not lead us to notice Adam as a federal head; and therefore we confine ourselves to what lies immediately before us.

2. We see the original sinfulness of every person from collateral evidence.

Whence was it that God appointed the painful and bloody rite of circumcision to be administered to infants of eight days old, but to show that they brought into the world with them a corrupt nature, which it was the bounden duty of all who were in covenant with him to mortify and subdue? While, on the one hand, it sealed to them the blessings of the covenant; it intimated to them, on the other hand, that they needed to have “their hearts circumcised, to love the Lord their God.”

Why is it that every child, from the first moment that he begins to act at all, manifests corrupt tempers and dispositions? If only some, and those the children of wicked men, evinced such depravity, we might be led to account for it in some other way; but when, with the exception of one or two who were sanctified from the womb, this has been the state of every child that has been born into the world, we are constrained to acknowledge, that our very nature is corrupt, and that, as David tells us, “we are estranged from the womb, and go astray as soon as we are born Psalm 58:3.”

Further, how can we account for the sufferings and death of infants, but on the supposition that they are partakers of Adam’s guilt and corruption? Sufferings and death are the penalty of sin; and we cannot conceive that God would inflict that penalty on millions of infants, if they were not in some way or other liable to his wrath. Paul notices this, as a compelling proof that all of Adam’s posterity fell in him, and through him are partakers of guilt and misery! Romans 5:12.

Once more, Why is it that all need a Savior? If children are not, in the eye of God, transgressors of his law, they cannot need to be redeemed from its curse. But Christ is as much the Savior of infants as of adults. We find no intimation in the Scriptures that any are saved without Christ; on the contrary, it is said, that, “as in Adam all died, so in Christ shall all be made alive.” In the temple shown to Ezekiel, there was one door for the prince; it was the door by which the Lord God had entered; and was to be forever closed to all except the prince, Ezekiel 44:2-3.

So Christ alone enters into Heaven by his own merits; to all besides him that door is closed. Just so, Christ alone is the door by which we must all enter in Heaven; he is the only way to the Father; nor, as long as the world shall stand, shall any come unto the Father but by him! John 10:9; John 14:6.

These things then, especially, as taken in connection with the many express declarations before quoted, are decisive proofs, that David’s account of himself was true, and that it is equally true of all the human race.

This truth being established, we proceed to mark,

II. The importance of adverting to original sin in estimating our state before God.

Unless we bear in mind the total corruption of our nature, we can never estimate aright:

1. Our individual actions.

Even in common courts of judicature, the great object of inquiry is, not so much the act that has been done, as the mind of the agent; and, according as that appears to have been depraved or blameless, the sentence of condemnation or acquittal is passed upon him.

Precisely thus must we judge ourselves in our conduct towards God. To elucidate this part of our subject, we will suppose two people to have been guilty of the same act of treason towards an earthly sovereign, but to have differed widely from each other in respect of the mind with which they acted.

One entered upon it unwittingly, and without any consciousness that he was doing wrong; the other knowingly, and aware that he was rebelling against his lawful sovereign.

One did it reluctantly, through the influence of one whom he could not easily withstand; but the did it other willingly, as a volunteer in the service, and as following the impulse of his own mind.

One went without premeditation, being taken hastily and off his guard; the other with a fixed purpose, after much plotting and deliberation.

In one it was a solitary act, altogether contrary to the whole of his former life; in the other it was frequent, as often as the temptation arose, or the occasion offered.

The one proceeded with moderation, not having his heart at all engaged in it; the other with a fiery zeal, abhorring in his soul the authority he opposed.

The one had his mind open to conviction, and might easily be prevailed upon to renounce his error; the other was filled with self-approbation and self-applause, thinking nothing of his risks and dangers, if he might but help forward the utter subversion of the government.

Take these two people, and say whether, notwithstanding their acts were in appearance the same, there would not be an immense difference between the measure of their criminality in the estimation of an upright judge? There can be no doubt on this subject.

Take then any other sin whatever, (for all sin is treason against the King of kings;) and examine how far it has been voluntary, deliberate, habitual; how far it has been against light and knowledge; and how far it has proceeded from a heart radically averse to God and holiness.

Let sins of omission be examined in this way, as well as sins of commission; and then the things which now are accounted light and trivial, will appear hateful in the extreme, not merely as blighted “grapes of a degenerate vine,” but as “grapes of Sodom, and clusters of Gomorrah;” their enormity will be felt, in proportion to the strength and fixedness of the principle from which they spring.

2. Our general character.

If our actions have not been openly sinful, we are ready to bless ourselves as having but little ground for shame and remorse. But if we consider “the enmity of the carnal mind against God,” and view our utter lack of all holy affections, and exceeding proneness to some besetting sins—we shall see but little reason to glory over the vilest of mankind.

We shall see abundant cause indeed for thankfulness to God, who by his preventing grace has restrained us from many evils into which others have run; but we shall take no credit to ourselves as better than others.

If we behold heinous sins in others, we must realize that there is the root of all sin in ourselves.

If we see in others the streams of wickedness, we shall bear in mind, that the fountain-head of it all is in ourselves also.

Thus, however free we may be from any flagrant enormity, we shall be ready to acknowledge with Paul, that “in us, that is, in our flesh, dwells no good thing!” And with Job to say, “Behold, I am vile! I repent, and abhor myself in dust and ashes.”

So far from indulging self-delight and self-esteem, we shall find no names more suited to us than those by which Paul designated his own character, “Less than the least of all saints!” and “The very chief of sinners! Ephesians 3:8. 1 Timothy 1:15.”

From this view of our natural corruption, we may learn,

1. How greatly we need the renewing influence of God’s Spirit.

Outward amendment might suffice for outward sins; but where the heart itself is so corrupt, we must have “a new heart given to us,” and “be renewed in the spirit of our minds.” With such corrupt hearts as ours, it would be impossible for us to enter into the kingdom of Heaven, or to enjoy it even if we were there; we could not bear the sight of so holy a God; nor endure to spend our lives in such holy employments! Know then, that “old things must pass away; and all things must become new.” “That which is born of the flesh, is flesh;” the stream can rise no higher than the fountain-head. If you would enjoy the things of the Spirit, you must be “born of the Spirit,” who alone can impart the faculties necessary for that end. Let your prayer then be like that of David, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me! verse 10.”

2. How carefully we should watch against temptation.

If we carried with us a load of gun-powder which a single spark would cause to explode—then we would be extremely careful to avoid whatever might subject us to danger. Should we not then, with hearts so corrupt, and with temptations so thick around us—look well to our ways, and pray unto our God to keep us from the evils of an ensnaring world? Well did our blessed Lord say, “Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation;” “The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Who that reflects on David’s state previous to his fall, does not fear for himself, and cry mightily unto God, “Hold me up, and I shall be safe!” “Uphold me with your free Spirit, and take not your Holy Spirit from me!” To all then we say, “Do not be high-minded, but fear;” “Let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall!”

Charles Simeon

Psalm 51:4

“Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight; that you might be justified when you speak, and be clear when you judge!”

The occasion of this Psalm is well known; it refers to one of the most melancholy transactions that ever took place in the world. In point of enormity, the deed is almost without a parallel; because it was performed by a man who until that time had made the highest professions of religion, and had been characterized even by God himself as “the man after God’s own heart.”

But it is not the crime which David committed, but only the repentance which followed it which is the subject of our present consideration. For a long time his heart was hardened; but after that Nathan had come from God to accuse and condemn him, he yielded to the conviction, and humbled himself before God in dust and ashes. In this Psalm is recorded the prayer which David offered unto God on that occasion; and it was given by David to the Church, that it might be a pattern, and an encouragement, to penitents in all future ages.

The particular declaration in our text is introduced as an aggravation of his guilt. We are not however to interpret it so strictly, as if the crime which David had committed were really no offence against man; for in that view it was as heinous as can possibly be conceived; it was a sin against Bathsheba, whom he had defiled; against Uriah, whom he had murdered; against Joab, whom he had made an instrument to effect the murder; against all the soldiers, who were murdered at the same time; against the friends and relatives of all who were slain; against his own army, who were hereby weakened and discouraged; against the whole nation, whose interests were hereby endangered; against the Church of God, who were hereby scandalized; and against the ungodly world, who were hereby hardened in their iniquities. It was “a sin also against his whole body, 1 Corinthians 6:18.”

We must therefore understand the expression rather as comparative; as if it had been said, “Against you, you chiefly, have I sinned.” Nevertheless, as an offence against God, the enormity of the crime is so great, as almost to swallow up and annihilate every other consideration of it, as the meridian sun reduces to non-existence, as it were, the twinkling of a star. It is from this consideration of it that every sin derives its chief enormity. Dropping therefore any further reference to David’s crime, we shall endeavor to show in general,

I. The malignity of sin as primarily an offence against God.

Men in general think little of sin, except as it affects the welfare of society. But sin as an offence against God, it is scarcely ever deemed worthy of notice! But every sin, of whatever kind, necessarily strikes at God himself.

1. Every sin implies an atheistic forgetfulness of God’s presence.

God is omnipresent; nor is anything hidden from his all-seeing eye. But when we commit sin, we lose all recollection that God’s eye is upon us; we say in our hearts, “The Lord shall not see; neither shall the God of Jacob regard it! Psalm 94:7;” “How shall God know? Is there knowledge with the Most High? Psalm 73:11.” “Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he cannot see, Job 22:13-14.” This is no deduction of ours, but the declaration of God himself; and the truth of it is evident; for, if even the presence of a fellow-creature is sufficient to deter men, so that they cannot perpetrate crimes to which they are most strongly tempted; so much more would the presence of Almighty God restrain us, if we were conscious that he was inspecting and witnessing all the secrets of our hearts.

2. Every sin is a contempt of God’s authority.

God, as the great Lawgiver, requires obedience to his laws, every one of which bears the impress of divine authority upon it. But in violating his commands, we trample on his authority, and say in effect, “I am at my own disposal; who is Lord over me? Psalm 12:4.” “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice? I know not the Lord; neither will I obey his voice! Exodus 5:2;” “I will not have this man to reign over me, Luke 19:14.”

We have a striking exemplification of this in the conduct of the Jews, who, contrary to God’s command, would go down into Egypt, “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, (said they to Jeremiah,) we will not hearken unto you; but we will certainly do whatever thing goes forth out of our own mouth! Jeremiah 44:16-17.” Thus, as God himself says, “We not only forget him, but cast him behind our back! Ezekiel 23:35.”

3. Every sin implies the disbelief of God’s truth.

God has spoken frequently respecting his determination to punish sin; he has said, that “he will by no means clear the guilty;” and that, “though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not pass unpunished.” Now, if we truly believed his Word, we could not rush into sin; the apprehension of such tremendous consequences would deter us from it. But we are hardened by unbelief. Unbelief was the source of all the Israelites’ rebellions in the wilderness, Psalm 106:24. Hebrews 3:19; and it is the fruitful spring of all our disobedience, “You shall not surely die,” is at the root of every evil we commit, Genesis 3:4. But “God is not a man, that he should lie, or the son of man, that he should repent; has he said, and shall he not do it? Has he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Numbers 23:19.” Let us bear this in mind, that in the commission of sin, and the expectation of impunity, we “make God himself a liar. 1 John 5:10.”

4. Every sin is a denial of God’s justice.

God has represented himself as “a God of judgment, by whom actions are weighed, 1 Samuel 2:3;” and has declared his purpose to “call every work into judgment,” and to “judge every man according to his works.”

But, in violating his laws, “we say, in fact, God will not require it! Psalm 10:13;” “The Lord is altogether such a one as ourselves! Psalm 50:21;” “The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad! Zephaniah 1:12.”

What an indignity is this to offer to the Governor of the Universe, the Judge of the living and the dead! He has spoken of the last day as “the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God;” but, if the outcome of it were such as we expect, and Heaven were awarded to willful and impenitent transgressors, it would rather be a day wherein God’s lack of justice and of holiness shall be displayed before the whole assembled universe.

5. Sin is a defiance of God’s power.

Men who commit iniquity are represented as “stretching out their hands against God, and strengthening themselves against the Almighty; yes, as running upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his buckler, Job 15:25-26;” and to what a fearful extent this is done, we may see by the testimony of God himself, “Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes, to those who say, “Let God hurry, let him hasten his work so we may see it. Let it approach, let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come, so we may know it. Isaiah 5:18-19.” Does this appear an exaggerated account of men’s impiety? See then how they are described by the Psalmist, “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God; God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous; your judgments are far above, out of his sight; as for all his enemies, he puffs at them! Psalm 10:4-5.”

What an astonishing height of impiety is this; to puff at God’s threatenings, as if we defied him to his face! Yet do we see that this is the very conduct of men, whenever we warn them to flee from the wrath to come; we seem to threat them with judgments which they have no cause to fear, and to set in array against them an enemy whom they are at liberty to despise.

When once we view sin as an offence against God, we shall be prepared to acknowledge,

II. The equity of his judgments which God has denounced against sin.

That God has denounced the heaviest judgments against sin, is certain.

Against sin in general he has denounced eternal misery, “The wicked shall be turned into Hell, and all the people that forget God, Psalm 9:17. Romans 1:18.” Against every individual that commits it, he has also denounced his judgments, “The soul that sins, it shall die! Ezekiel 18:20. 1 Peter 1:17.” Against every particular sin, whatever be men’s excuses for retaining it, the same awful sentence is proclaimed, Mark 9:42-48. Death, everlasting death, is the wages due to sin! Romans 6:23, and the wages that shall be paid to every sinner at the last day, Matthew 25:46.

In executing these judgments, God will be completely justified.

We are ready to account such denunciations of wrath severe, and to question the equity of them. But the penal evil of damnation will not appear in the least to exceed the moral evil of sin, if we duly consider against whom sin is committed.

Consider God’s greatness. “Great is the Lord,” says the Psalmist, “yes, his greatness is unsearchable.” If we could conceive the lowest reptile, or the smallest insect, endued with such a measure of intelligence as to be able in some degree to appreciate the dignity of a mighty monarch; and then to exalt itself against him, and to pour all manner of contempt upon him—the atrocity of such presumption would justly excite our keenest indignation.

But the whole universe together is not as the smallest insect in comparison with God; and yet we—we atom insects of an atom world, dare to set ourselves against his divine majesty, yes, to defy him to his face! Will God then be unjust if he executes his judgments on such impious worms? Are we at liberty to insult him—and is he not at liberty to avenge himself on us?

But consider also God’s goodness towards us rebellious worms of the dust!

O how unbounded has this been!

How has he borne with us in all our rebellion!

How has he sent his only-begotten Son, to expiate our sin, and to open a way for our reconciliation with him!

How has he sought to glorify in our salvation, those very perfections which we have so impiously despised, and which he might well glorify in our everlasting condemnation!

How has he sent his Holy Spirit, to instruct, renew, and comfort us!

How has he sent his Word and ministers, to invite, entreat, expostulate; yes, and, as it were, to “compel us” to accept of mercy!

This he has done from our youth up; this he is doing yet daily and hourly; and, as if all his own happiness were bound up in ours, he says, “How shall I give you up?” “Will you not be made clean? Oh! when shall it once be?” This is the God against whom we are sinning. This is the God whom we wish extinct! Psalm 14:1. Omitting the words in Italics; and respecting whom we say, “Make the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.” This is he, “whose blessed Son we trample under foot, and to whose eternal Spirit we despise! Hebrews 10:29.” Yes, that very “goodness and patience and forbearance which should lead us to repentance,” are made by us an occasion of multiplying our offences against him!

Say now whether he will “be unrighteous in taking vengeance?” Were a fellow-creature to make such returns to us, and to render nothing but evil to us for all the good we did to him—then would we account ourselves unjust, if we did not acknowledge him as one of our dearest friends, and place him on a footing with our own beloved children, and make him an heir of all that we possessed? Should we not feel ourselves amply justified in rejecting such an absurd and groundless claim as this?

Know then, that we have no claim on God; and, when he shall exclude us from the inheritance of his saints, “he will be justified” in the judgment that he shall denounce against us. Indeed, in assigning us this portion, he will only give effect to our own wishes, and answer us in the desire of our own hearts! We said to him, “Depart from us; we desire not the knowledge of you! Job 21:14;” and he will say to us, “Depart from me; depart accursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels Matthew 25:41.”

The whole creation will unite in vindicating these judgments as just and good.

Doubtless, if it were possible, sinners would urge at the bar of judgment the objections which here they presume to bring against the justice of their God. But sin will then appear in all its deformity! It will then be seen what a God we sinned against, and what mercies we despised. Even in this world, when once people are brought to view themselves aright, they justify God in all that he sees fit to inflict upon them.

It is worthy of observation, that God’s goodness to David is mentioned as the greatest aggravation of his offence, 2 Samuel 12:7-9.

Aaron, in Leviticus 10:3.

Eli, in 1 Samuel 3:18.

Hezekiah, in Isaiah 39:8.

David, in Psalm, in 39:9.

These all confessed, that God had a right to deal with them in the way that he had done. Much more in the day of judgment, when everything will be seen in its true light, will the whole universe approve the sentence which God shall pass on the world of the ungodly; they will make the very punishment of the wicked a subject of their songs, “saying, Hallelujah! salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God; for true and righteous are his judgments! Revelation 15:3; Revelation 19:1-2.”

Indeed the miserable objects themselves, though they cannot join in the song, will be unable to condemn the sentence. The man who was excluded from the marriage-feast for not having on a wedding garment, might have urged, that he was brought in before he had time to procure one; but his plea would have been false and unavailing; and therefore “he was speechless! Matthew 22:12.” This is a striking monument of conscious guilt, and a solemn specimen of a condemned soul, Romans 3:19.

1. In this acknowledgment then of David, we may see the grand constituents of repentance.

Many may be sorry that they have subjected themselves to punishment, just as a criminal may be sorry that he has forfeited his life to the laws of his country; but no man can truly repent, until he sees that his whole life has been one continued state of rebellion against God; and that “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord” is his just desert. Until a man has this scriptural view of himself:
he will never be thoroughly broken and contrite;
he will never loath and abhor himself for his iniquities;
he will never have that “repentance which is unto life, that repentance which is not to be repented of.”

We entreat you all then to judge of your repentance by these marks. Do not be satisfied with being humbled on account of sin; but inquire particularly, whether you are more humbled from a view of it as against man, or a view of it as against God. These ought to bear no proportion in your estimate of your own character. Your own nothingness and vileness can only be estimated aright when viewed in contrast with God’s majesty which you have offended, and God’s mercy which you have despised; and until you see that everlasting misery in Hell is your deserved portion, you can never lie so low as you ought to lie!

2. In this acknowledgment then of David, we may see the true preparative for pardon.

We must bring something with us to the Savior; but what is that which we ought to bring? Must we get a certain portion of good works with which to purchase his salvation? No! this is a price which he will utterly despise. That which we are to bring is precisely what a patient brings to a physician, a sense of his extreme need of the physician’s aid.

Christ came to save sinners. We then must feel ourselves sinners.

He came to seek and save those who are lost. We then must feel ourselves lost. A just sense of our guilt and misery is all that he requires. If we come wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked—then he will give us that gold that has been tried in the fire, the clothing that shall cover our nakedness, and the eye-salve that shall restore our eyes to sight.

If we come to him full—then we shall be sent empty away. But if we come hungry and empty—then we shall “be filled out of his inexhaustible fullness,” we shall “be filled with all the fullness of our God.”

3. In this acknowledgment then of David, we may see the best preservative from sin.

When Joseph was tempted by Potiphar’s wife, he answered her, “How shall I do this great wickedness, and sin against God! Genesis 39:9.” Thus we would recommend all, when tempted to commit iniquity, to consider, first, what God will think of it; and next, what they themselves will think of it in the last day? Now sin may appear light and trivial, especially if it is not such a heinous sin as adultery or murder; but when it comes to be seen in its true light, as against an infinitely good and gracious God; and when the judgments which he has denounced against it come to be felt—what shall we think of it then? Oh! ask yourselves, ‘What will be my view of this matter in the last day?’ Then even the sins that now seem of no account, will appear most heinous; and the price paid for a momentary indulgence, will appear most profligate.

Esau’s selling of his birthright for a bowl of stew is but a very faint emblem of the folly of those, who for their sinful lusts, are induced to barter the salvation of their souls! View things now, as you will view them at the last day; and you will rather die a thousand deaths than sin against your God.

Charles Simeon

Psalm 51:1-3

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving-kindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me!”

Sin is, for the most part, thought to be a light and trivial evil, especially among the higher ranks of society; as though the restraints of religion were designed only for the poor; and the rich had a dispensation granted them to live according to their own will. But sin, by whoever committed, will, sooner or later, be as the gall of asps within us; nor can all the charms of royalty silence the convictions of a guilty conscience.

View the Psalmist—he had been elevated from the low condition of a shepherd’s boy, to a throne; yet, when he had offended God in the matter of Uriah, there was not found in his whole dominions a more miserable wretch than he! Before his repentance became deep and genuine, “his bones waxed old through his roaring all the day long; for day and night God’s hand was heavy upon him; and his moisture was turned into the drought of summer, Psalm 32:3-4; Psalm 38:2-8.” Even in his penitence, we may see how heavy a load was laid upon his mind. This Psalm was written on that occasion; and the words before us, while they declare the workings of his mind, will serve to show us, in a general view:

I. The true penitent in his approaches to the throne of grace.

“Mercy” is the one object of his desire and pursuit. Observe,

1. The true penitent’s petitions.

“Have mercy upon me, O God; blot out my transgressions! Wash me throughly from my iniquities; and so cleanse me from my sin”—that no stain of it may remain upon my soul! Here he views his sins both individually and collectively; and, spreading them before the Lord with conscious guilt—he implores the forgiveness of them; dreading lest so much as one should be retained in the book of God’s remembrance, as a ground of procedure against him in the last day.

Thus will every true penitent come to God; and plunge, as it were, into the fountain of the Redeemer’s blood, “the fountain opened for sin and for impurity”.

2. The true penitent’s pleas.

Though David had, until the time of his grievous fall, served God with a more than ordinary degree of zeal and piety, he makes no mention of any past merits, nor does he found his hope on any future purposes. He relies only on the free and sovereign grace of God, as displayed towards sinners in the gift of his only dear Son; and to that he looks, as the ground and measure of the blessings he implores.

This is the view which every true penitent must have. He should see that God is of his own nature inclined to mercy, Exodus 34:6-7; and that all which Christ has done for us is the fruit of the Father’s love, John 3:16. Ephesians 2:4-5. Titus 3:4-5. Such are the pleas which God approves; and such will surely prevail in the court of Heaven.

II. The true penitent in the daily habit of his mind.

Repentance is not a mere occasional expression of the mind, but a state or habit that is fixed and abiding in the soul.

1. The true penitent carries with him a sense of guilt.

“His sin is ever before him;” indeed, he wishes it to be so; he desires to be humbled under a sense of it; and though he longs to have his transgressions blotted out of God’s book, he would never have them effaced from his memory; or cease, if he could help it, to have as deep an impression of their odiousness and malignity, as if they had been but recently committed. To his last hour he would “walk softly” before God, in the remembrance of them.

2. The true penitent carries with him a sense of shame.

He is ashamed when he reflects on his conduct throughout the whole of his life. Yes, “he blushes and is confounded before God, Ezra 9:6,” and even loathes and abhors himself in dust and ashes, Job 42:6.” Nor does a sense of God’s pardoning love produce any difference; except, indeed, as enhancing the loathsomeness of his character in his own eyes! Ezekiel 36:31; Ezekiel 16:63.” The name which, in sincerity of heart, he acknowledges as most appropriate to him, is that which the Apostle Paul assumed, “The chief of sinners!”

ADDRESS.

1. To those who are not conscious of having committed any flagrant transgression.

Many, doubtless, are of this character. But have they, on that account, any reason to boast?

Who is it that has kept them from heinous sins?

Who is it that has made them to differ from heinous sinners?

Will they deny that the seeds of all evil are in their hearts?

Will they deny that if they had been subjected to the same temptations as others, that they might have grievously sinned as they?

Are they better than David previous to his fall?

Let them, then, confess their obligations to God; and remember, that if in outward act they have less reason for humiliation than others, they have the same depravity in their hearts, and are in reality as destitute of vital piety as others; and, consequently, have the same need of humiliation and contrition as they.

2. Those who are deeply sensible of their guilt before God.

What a consolation must it be to you, to see that there was mercy even for such a transgressor as David. Greater enormity than his can scarcely be conceived; yet not even his prayers were poured forth in vain. Two things, then, I would say to you:

The first is: Do not attempt to mitigate your own guilt, as though you would thereby bring yourselves more within the reach of God’s mercy.

The other is: Do not presume to limit God’s mercy, as though it could not extend to such a sinner as you.

You never need to be afraid of beholding your wickedness in all its extent, if only you will bear in mind that God’s mercy in Christ Jesus is fully commensurate with your utmost necessities or desires. “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin;” and the more you feel your need of it, the more shall you experience its unbounded efficacy! Only humble yourselves as David did; and, like him, you shall experience all the riches of redeeming grace.

3. Those who have obtained saving mercy from the Lord.

Happy, beyond expression, are you! as David says, “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sin is covered.” Be joyful, then, in God your Savior. But still remember, that you have need at all times to watch and pray. If David, after all his high attainments, fell—then who is secure? “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” And learn from him to guard against the very first approaches of evil. It was by a look that his corruptions were inflamed; and from the progress of evil in his heart, you may learn to make a covenant with your eyes, yes, and with your hearts too. You see in him “how great a matter a little fire kindles.” Walk humbly, then, before God; and cry to him day and night, “Hold up my goings in your paths, that my footsteps do not slip!” “Hold me up, and I shall be safe!” Psalm 119:117.

Charles Simeon

Psalm 50:7-15

“Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God. I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

In the Psalm before us we have one of those sublime addresses which Jehovah occasionally makes to the whole creation, to hear and judge between him and his offending people, Isaiah 1:2-3. Micah 6:2. The images are taken from his appearance on Mount Sinai, which was with solemn majesty, insomuch that “Moses himself said, I exceedingly fear and quake! Exodus 19:16-18 with Hebrews 12:18-21.”

The scene is “Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty,” even that Zion from whence the Gospel has proceeded, and from whence Jehovah speaks to us as our Covenant-God; and this circumstance adds ten-fold weight to his accusations against us. The people whom he arraigns before his tribunal are of two descriptions:

1. Those who rested in mere ceremonial observances for the obtaining of God’s favor—formalists.

2. Those who, pretending to higher principles, dishonored by their conduct their high and holy profession—hypocrites.

It is the formalists whom God reproves in our text; and the testimony which he bears against them sets forth in very striking terms:

I. The worthlessness of mere formal religion.

Men are apt to imagine that by their observance of external religious duties, they lay God under obligation to them.

God had appointed many rites and ceremonies; and he required the observance of them on the pain of death, Numbers 15:30; but he enjoined them for the people’s good, and not for any benefit that could accrue to himself. What pleasure could he take in the blood of bulls and goats? Or, if he did, what need had he to be indebted to his people for such offerings, when the whole world was his, and all the cattle on a thousand hills were at his command! It was absurd therefore, and impious, in his people to think that they conferred any obligation upon God by their offerings and oblations.

But the very same error prevails among us at this day. If we comply with the external commands of God in an observance of the Sabbath, an attendance on ordinances, and a performance of certain duties in the family and the closet—we think that we have a just claim on God, and that he must of necessity feel as much delight in us, as we do in ourselves. We adduce these services as a clear evidence of the goodness of our hearts, and as an indisputable title to the divine favor.

But external religious services are of no value in the sight of God, any farther than they are accompanied by vital piety.

On many occasions God declared his contempt for outward observances, in comparison with spiritual obedience, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice; and to hearken, than the fat of rams.” By the Prophet Isaiah, God replies to those who boasted of “the multitude of their sacrifices;” and tells them, that the whole course of their services, unaccompanied as they were by real piety, were an utter abomination in his sight! Isaiah 1:11-15. Even while bringing his people through the wilderness, he had explicitly declared to them, by Balaam, that it was “not by offering thousands of rams, or rivers of oil, or by giving their first-born for their transgression, the fruit of their body for the sin of their soul, that they were to please him—but by doing justly, and loving mercy, and walking humbly with their God. Micah 6:6-8.” In like manner we are told by our blessed Lord, that it is “to no purpose that we pay tithes of mint and anise and cummin, if we neglect the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and truth, Matthew 23:23;” and that to draw near to God with our lips, while our heart is far from him, is nothing but vile hypocrisy! Matthew 15:8.

Indeed a moment’s consideration may convince us, that outward religious services, of whatever kind, cannot be of any value in the sight of God, except as expressions or vehicles of inward piety; for they may be performed without any good principle in the soul. Yes, they may proceed from extremely vile and corrupt principles, such as pride, and ostentation, and self-righteousness; and they may most abound, not only where all manner of iniquity is harbored, but as a cloak and cover to that iniquity! Matthew 23:14. In a word, “a form of godliness, where the power of it is denied,” is the consummation of all ungodliness! 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

This is an offensive truth indeed, but it is indispensably necessary to be received.

How offensive a truth this is, may be seen, by the way in which the hearers of the first martyr, Stephen, resented it, even before it was actually declared, and when they discovered it only as the ultimate scope of his argument. Stephen had given a summary view of God’s dealings with his people from the very beginning; and the scope of his argument was that as God had a people before the Mosaic dispensation commenced, so he would after its termination; as had been intimated by the Prophet Isaiah, who represents God, as pouring contempt even upon the temple itself, in comparison with a broken and contrite heart!

This passage having been cited by Stephen, the whole audience were filled with indignation, which was visibly manifested in all their countenances, and which gave occasion to that exceedingly abrupt change in Stephen’s address to them, “You stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you! Compare Isaiah 66:1-2 with Acts 7:47-51.”

Similar offence is given at this day, when we declare the worthlessness of all external religious duties as detached from the feelings of the heart! But the very circumstance of God calling Heaven and earth to hear his testimony against his people, sufficiently shows that his accusations, against whoever brought, involve in them the deepest criminality, and subject the accused to the heaviest condemnation.

Contrasted with mere ritual observances, we behold in our text:

II. The religion which alone is pleasing and acceptable to God.

True religion consists not so much in actions, as in the habit of the mind towards God. Holy actions of every kind spring from it; but they are only as the fruit, which originates in, and bears testimony to, the vital energy of the root. Wherever true religion exists in the soul, it will have respect to God in all things, and will induce in us a habit towards him:

1. Of genuine gratitude.

He is our Creator, our Benefactor, our Redeemer; and the very first motions of true religion will lead us to view him under these relations, and with feelings suited to the obligations he has conferred upon us.

Can we reflect on the faculties with which he has endowed us, so far superior to all the brute creation, and not adore and magnify his name?

Can we contemplate the innumerable blessings with which we are loaded by him from day to day, and not feel how greatly we are indebted to him?

Above all, can we survey the wonders of redeeming love, and not have our whole souls penetrated with an overwhelming sense of gratitude? So infinitely does this love surpass all human comprehension or conception, that if our minds were filled with it as they ought to be, we should scarcely be able to think or speak of anything else!

Such, we are sure, is the religion of Heaven; for there “they rest not day nor night” in ascribing all possible praises to their redeeming God, Revelation 4:8-11; Revelation 5:11-13; and such, according to the measure of grace given to us, will be the dispositions and habits of all who are truly alive to God, “We shall offer him the sacrifice of praise continually, Hebrews 13:15,” and “render to him the calves of our lips, Hosea 14:2.”

2. Of willing service.

All true Christians are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, 1 Peter 2:9.” As the holy angels are “doing God’s will, hearkening to the voice of his Word,” so we shall be studying to know his will, and be standing ready to execute it to the utmost of our power.

It is astonishing what an alteration which saving grace makes in the soul in a person! The natural man lives only to himself. The spiritual man lives, or at least endeavors to live, wholly to the Lord—to have no will, no way, no desire, no thought, but what will be pleasing and acceptable in God’s sight. That which was the first expression of piety in Paul, is the first of every converted soul, “Lord, what will you have me to do?” A view of God as our Master and our Father will ensure this, Malachi 1:6; and in proportion as religion increases in the soul, will be our endeavor to “glorify God with our bodies and our spirits, which are his, Romans 12:1. 1 Corinthians 6:20.”

3. Of humble dependence.

True religion leads us to realize in our minds the thought of God’s superintending care and effectual agency in our behalf. It does not bring us only to a sense of our obligations to him—but, if we may so speak, to a sense of his obligations to us. For, if “we are his people, he also is our God;” and he, by virtue of his covenant and oath, is as much bound to employ all his glorious perfections for us, as we are to improve all our faculties and powers for him.

What a blessed thought is this! In what an exalted view does it place true religion, which, if it calls us to duties, invests us also with the most glorious privileges! It teaches us to “call upon him in every time of trouble,” persuaded that “he will hear us,” and give us ever increasing occasion to “glorify his name.” This realizing sense of his presence, this assurance of his effectual interposition in every time of need, is the crown and summit of the gospel; it most of all glorifies God, and ensures beyond a doubt the richest testimonies of his approbation!

Let us learn then from hence,

1. How to rightly estimate our own character.

It is not by negative virtues, no, nor by positive virtues of an external kind, that we are to judge of ourselves, but by the disposition of our minds towards God. We may be able to say with the Pharisee, “I am no extortioner, not unjust, no adulterer;” and may be able to add with him, “I fast twice in the week, and give tithes of all that I possess”—and yet be odious in the sight of God! If we would not deceive ourselves, we must inquire into the sense we have of our obligations to him, the determination we feel to approve ourselves faithful to him in the whole extent of our duty, and the confidence with which we are enabled to cast our care on him for body and for soul, for time and for eternity. Without this, whatever else we may possess, we are only “as sounding brass, and as tinkling cymbals;” and “if a man thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. We must therefore prove our own selves, so that we may have rejoicing in ourselves and not another, Galatians 6:3-4.”

2. How to secure a favorable testimony from God.

Man may easily be deceived; but God will assuredly judge according to truth. He “weighs,” not the actions only, but “the hearts” of men. And when he shall come at the last day, as he certainly will, in majesty and glory infinitely more solemn than that displayed at Sinai, he will testify of us before the assembled universe; and it will be a small matter that he has not to lay to our charge a neglect of outward services—if he has to accuse us of a lack of those holy dispositions which we should have entertained and exercised towards him.

We entreat you then, brethren, to look well to the state and habit of your minds; see to it, that you “delight yourselves in God;” that your whole life be a life of faith in him, of love towards him, and of zeal for the glory of his name; and, while you are presenting to him your own bodies and souls as a living sacrifice, present to him that great Sacrifice which was once offered on Mount Calvary for the sins of men, and which alone can avail for your final acceptance with him.

As much as he despises the blood of bulls and goats, he will not despise the blood of his only dear Son; but will, for the sake of it, pardon all your sins, and accept, yes and reward too, with everlasting happiness and glory, all your imperfect services!

Charles Simeon

Psalm 49:13

“This is the folly of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings.”

It is generally supposed that wisdom pertains chiefly, if not exclusively, to those who are proficient in education. But learning and wisdom are by no means necessarily connected with each other; they may exist separately, each in a high degree; and, in fact, there is nothing more common than to behold unsaved people of the most extensive erudition acting the part of fools in God’s sight, while saved people destitute of human learning are “walking wisely before him in a perfect way.”

Wisdom, properly viewed, is a conformity of the mind and will to the mind and will of God; and it exists precisely in proportion as this conformity exists.

Hence we see why David, at the commencement of this Psalm, calls in so solemn a manner, people of every age and quality to attend to his instructions; and professes to teach them lessons of the profoundest wisdom, when there is not anything recondite, or anything uncommon, in the whole Psalm. The truths contained in this divine ode are level with every capacity, and therefore might seem to be improperly ushered in with so pompous an introduction; but they are at the root of all practical religion; and they draw a broad line of distinction between those who are wise, and those who are unwise, in the estimation of their God.

The whole subject of the Psalm will come properly before us, while we consider,

I. The way of worldly men.

It may naturally be expected, that “those who are of the world, should speak of the world,” and seek it as their most desired portion; and they are described as doing so in the Psalm before us.

They are altogether engrossed with earthly things.

Worldly distinction is the one object of their ambition. For this end chiefly both wealth and honor are pursued, verse 18. Having attained these things in a considerable degree, they bless themselves, as possessing something wherein they may trust, verse 6—something that will make them happy for a long time to come, and something that shall transmit their names to posterity as worthy of admiration, verse 11.

But this way is their folly!

Wealth and honor are far from affording the satisfaction that is expected from them; they will not ward off sickness and death, either from ourselves or others, verse 7-10; nor can they follow us into the eternal world, verse 17. The moment we die, as very speedily we all must, verses 12, 14, nothing of wealth and honor remains to us but the fearful responsibility attached to the possession of them. Instead of “profiting us in the day of wrath,” they will rather augment our final condemnation, if they have not been improved for God as talents committed to us.

In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus we behold the bitter consequences of living only to the flesh; the man who has his good things in this life, will lack in the eternal world a drop of water to cool his tongue! “He will never see light,” but be consigned over to the everlasting regions of darkness and despair! verse 19. We do not wonder therefore, that the man, who, because he had gotten much, thought of nothing but his temporal enjoyments, “Soul, take your ease,” is by God himself derided as a fool, “You fool, this night shall your soul be required of you!”

Yet, such is the influence of example, that, notwithstanding the folly of such conduct is visible to all, the same is pursued by every succeeding generation!

No one who considers for a moment the outcome of such conduct to those who have gone before them, can doubt the folly of it; for, whatever rank or station men have held in this life, or whatever may be said of them now that they are gone—what remains to them of their wealth or honor, or what enjoyment have they of their posthumous fame? If we extol them ever so highly, they feel no satisfaction; and if we condemn them ever so harshly, they are unconscious of either shame or pain. They are interested in nothing but in the quality of their actions as approved or condemned by their Judge.

This we all know; yet no sooner have we a prospect of wealth and honor ourselves, than:
our desires are as ardent,
our expectations are as optimistic,
and our hopes are as unqualified,
as that of any rich fool who has gone before us!

The conviction of their folly only floats in our imagination, but never descends as a principle into our hearts. We see and blame their folly; yet approve in practice what in theory we condemn!

As contrasted with this, let us consider,

II. The way which true wisdom prescribes.

In verse 15, the Psalmist gives us that precise view of the subject which he had before characterized as replete with wisdom, “God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave; for he shall receive me.” That is, while worldly men have no prospects beyond the grave, I look forward to a blessed eternity, which shall be the portion of all who truly love and serve God. Hence we see what way true wisdom prescribes; it teaches us,

1. True wisdom teaches us to regard this present world in its connection with eternity.

View this present world as the whole state of man’s existence, and they speak well who say, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

But this poor world is a mere passage to a better and eternal world. This world is an inn, at which we sojourn for a night, on our way to a better country. A person tarrying only for a few hours is not greatly elated, if his accommodations are good; nor greatly depressed, if they are bad. He considers, in either case:
that this poor world is not his home;
that his comfort or discomfort here is very transient;
and that it will be time enough to look for unmixed enjoyments, when he shall have reached his Father’s house.

Moreover, this world must be considered as a state of preparation for a better world: everything that is done here being an occasion of increased happiness or augmented misery to all eternity. In this view of the world, every pain and every pleasure acquires a new aspect. The things that are so highly prized by ungodly men lose their value; and everything is esteemed good or bad, according as it quickens or retards us in our Christian course.

Hence true wisdom says, “Do not love the world, John 2:15-16,” “neither be of it, John 17:14; John 17:16;” but “be crucified to it, and let it be as one crucified to you Galatians 6:14.”

2. True wisdom teaches us to follow the footsteps of the saints of old.

There are those who have gone before us, whose ways were not folly, though they might be esteemed foolish by those who were themselves blinded by Satan.

“Abraham went out from his kindred and his country, not knowing where he went, Hebrews 11:8.”

Moses refused all the wealth and honor that Egypt could afford, that he might participate in the lot of God’s persecuted and despised people, Hebrews 11:24-26.

Many New Testament saints “took joyfully the confiscation of their goods, knowing that they had in Heaven a better and an enduring substance! Hebrews 10:34.”

Matthew left his lucrative employment to follow Christ, Matthew 9:9.

Paul suffered the loss of all things for Christ, Philippians 3:8; and after having engaged in the Christian course, attended to nothing but his progress in it, straining every nerve to win and secure the eternal prize! Philippians 3:13-14.

All of these would be thought by the ungodly to carry religion to a very blameworthy excess. But they acted with consummate wisdom, each in the part he took; they all “chose the good part, which could not be taken away from them.”

Let anyone who reflects on the present state of these eminent saints, say whether “their way was folly?” If it was not; if, on the contrary, it accorded with the dictates of true wisdom—then let all not only “approve their sayings,” but imitate their doings also, and “be followers of them, as they were of Christ!”

Advice.

1. Guard against the influence of bad example.

There is nothing urged with greater confidence to deter young people from a religious course, or to draw them back again to the world, than example. They are told from time to time what such and such people do; and can this be wrong? But whoever they are who are proposed to us for examples, we have only to ask: Did they regulate their conduct according to the revealed will of God? Was it the one labor of their lives to walk as Christ walked?

If this was not the case, it signifies not who they were, or what they did, “their way was their folly;” and instead of taking them as examples to follow, we should rather regard them as monuments to warn us against impending ruin!

If the number and respectability of unbelievers are urged, let us remember that to “walk according to the course of this world, is to walk according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience.” “Christ died to deliver us from this present evil world!” We must therefore leave the broad road that leads to destruction, and walk in “the narrow way that leads unto life!” It is true that if we focus on advancing our own temporal interests, that ungodly men will speak good of us, verse 18;” but it is of little consequence what ungodly men speak or think; nothing will be of any lasting benefit to us, but the approbation of our God! 1 Corinthians 4:3-4.

2. Cleave to Christ who alone is able to redeem our souls.

If man cannot redeem his brother from temporal death, much less can he redeem the soul from spiritual and eternal death; the price required for that is more than all the creatures in earth or Heaven are able to pay! verses 7-9. But Christ has paid the mighty ransom with his own “precious blood!” He has redeemed us from sin and Satan, from death and Hell!

Seek him, and you are richer than ten thousand worlds could make you.

In him you have “enduring riches and righteousness.”

Go to him, and he will give you “gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich.”

Your desires after Christ cannot be too ardent!

Your expectations from Christ cannot be too enlarged!

Your dependence on Christ cannot be too entire and confident!

On that side you need not fear excess. And if the world derides your way as folly, do not regard it—as they will soon alter their opinions! The moment they enter into the eternal world, they will infallibly know who were wise and who were fools! And when they meet you at the last judgment, they will say, “We fools once counted you as mad!” Their reproaches then will be turned upon themselves, and their one subject of lamentation will be, that they “approved the sayings” of a blind ungodly world, instead of the infallible sayings of God! This is the way to “walk not as fools, but as wise;” and, so walking, you shall surely before long have the plaudit of your Judge, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Lord!”

Charles Simeon