Psalm 119:37

“Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken me in your way!”

The depths of the human heart are never more plainly disclosed, than when a man comes into the presence of his Maker. Then he opens all his needs, and supplicates relief for all his necessities.

The godly man at a throne of grace knows no deceit, no concealment, no false humility. What he speaks, (if he is in a right state) he feels. Let us then draw near, and listen to the breathings of holy David. He felt the ensnaring influence of worldly things, and the lamentable tendency of fallen man to relax his efforts in the service of his God; hence he poured out his soul in this humble supplication, “Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken me in your way!”

That we may all be stirred up to implore similar blessings at the hands of God, we propose to show,

I. The ensnaring power and danger of earthly vanities.

By the word “vanity,” we understand all those things which are apt to engross the affections of men. The Apostle classes them all under “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life;” and they all justly deserve the name assigned them in the text, because they are sure to disappoint the desires and expectations of all who look to them for any solid or permanent satisfaction.

These things altogether captivate and enslave the minds of the generality of men.

The natural man seeks nothing above them. His mind is not occupied with anything above them. He “is in the flesh;” he “walks according to the flesh,” “fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.” His “affections are altogether set upon things below, and not on things above.” His thoughts, his conversation, his labors from day to day, all arise from, and terminate in, the things of time and sense; and from these things alone spring all his hopes and fears, his joys and sorrows.

These things also have great power over those who profess godliness.

So our Lord has told us in the parable of the Sower. The thorny-ground hearers have made, in appearance at least, a great proficiency in religion. They have far surpassed the stony-ground hearers, who yet have heard the word with joy, and given many cheering and hopeful promises of a future harvest. They have been long established, and brought forth much which both they and others have deemed estimable fruit; but yet, “through the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things, the seed that has grown up in them is choked, and they bring forth no fruit to maturity.”

Even people truly and deeply pious are in great danger from worldly vanities; else why did our blessed Lord caution even his own immediate disciples in those memorable words, “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares! Luke 21:34.” There is yet an earthly and sensual spirit dwelling in the best of us, and working powerfully to counteract the better dictates of our new man, Galatians 5:17; and he knows little of his own heart, who does not see and bewail his own proneness to look back again after the flesh-pots of Egypt.

But while we point out thus the danger of earthly vanities, we would point out also,

II. The way to escape their deadly influence.

We should set a guard upon all our senses.

The senses are inlets to all manner of evil! Alas! alas! how often has the mind been contaminated by what it has either seen or heard! If it were no more than what we have read in books, or heard in conversation, that was calculated to encourage a worldly spirit, we should all feel abundant reason to lament, that we have not been sufficiently on our guard against the admission of bad impressions on the mind. But the vilest lusts have found an entrance into the heart by these avenues. Some have found to their cost, that one sinful idea, which they have either seen in a book or picture, or heard in conversation, has abode with them through life, when they have greatly desired to forget it; while hundreds of sermons which they would have been glad to have remembered, have passed from their minds like the morning cloud.

Behold David, the man after God’s own heart; what reason had he to curse the day that he ever looked upon Bathsheba! What reason too had Solomon’s fool to lament that ever he listened to the voice of the enchanting adulteress! Proverbs 7:6-23. It is not without reason that Solomon advises us not to look upon the wine when sparkling in the glass, Proverbs 23:31-32.

We must resist the very first entrance of sin into the soul; for it will operate like fire on a house of wood. Alas! “how great a matter does a little fire kindle! James 3:5.” Its progress is very rapid; and who shall stop the conflagration, when once it has begun? “When lust has conceived, it brings forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death! James 1:15.”

We exhort all then, like Solomon, to make a covenant with their eyes, and with their ears also, yes, and with the very imaginations of their heart—that neither their physical nor intellectual eyes become an entrance to sin, or traitors to their souls.

We should cry earnestly to God for his effectual grace.

God does and will preserve his people from evil, if they cry unto him. We should therefore call upon him both for his preventing and his quickening grace; we should pray, as David, “Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken me in your way!”

There are many ways in which God will turn away our eyes “from beholding vanity.” He will, if we are really seeking it at his hands, keep temptation from us. And how much we are all indebted to him for this, we shall never know, until we come to the bar of judgment, and have all his mercies unfolded to our view. Thousands of our fellow-creatures, who were once as respectable in every point of view as ourselves, have in an hour of temptation so fallen, as to destroy all their own honor and happiness through life. And why have not we done the same? Are we sure that we, if subjected to the same temptations as they, would not have done the same? Oh! if we are wise, we shall cry day and night, “Lead us not into temptation!”

But there are many other ways in which God can, and does, impart the same blessing. Perhaps he lays some affliction upon our bodies, and visits us with some personal or domestic calamity. We are apt on such occasions to complain of the affliction; whereas, if we saw from what evils the visitation was sent to deliver us, we should be adoring God for it as the richest of all mercies. Let our distress be either in body or mind, who will not bless God for it, if it is the means of weakening the influence of worldly objects on his soul, and of keeping his eyes from beholding vanity?

But, in addition to this, we should cry to him also for his quickening grace. However active we may be in the pursuit of earthly things, we all are too sluggish in our heavenly course. Nine times in this Psalm does David cry, “Quicken me!” and ninety-nine times do we need to renew the petition every day of our lives. Beg of God then to show you more and more clearly the excellency of “his way” (even of that salvation which Christ has wrought out for us.), and the blessedness of the end to which it leads.

This will quicken us more than anything else. Let us see the excellency of a life of faith; and that will make us despise the things of sense. Let us also get Pisgah views of the land of Canaan; and we shall value nothing that can be offered us in this dreary wilderness. Look at Christ as the way, and Christ as the end; and you will soon “cast away the besetting sins that impede you,” and “run with alacrity the race that is set before you! Hebrews 12:1-2.”

ADDRESS.

1. Young people.

Greatly do you need to offer the petition in our text.

O! bear in mind the true character of earthly things; they are altogether vanity!

Bear in mind your danger from them; they will ensnare you. And, if the snare is not broken, they will destroy your souls!

Bear in mind your need of divine grace to counteract their influence. It is God alone who can preserve you; and, if not preserved by him, you will fall and perish!

2. Those who make a profession of godliness.

Do not think that you are above temptation! Satan tempted even our blessed Lord himself, by “showing him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.” And he will tempt you in like manner.

Nor imagine that you may not fall; for Demas was as eminent as any of you, and yet fell at last, through love of this present world! 2 Timothy 4:10 with Colossians 4:14 and Philippians 24.

In every Church the sad effect of worldly and carnal lusts is seen. You yourselves see it in others. O, beware lest it is seen in you also. It is your duty and your happiness, to “be crucified unto the world, and to have the world crucified unto you! Galatians 6:14.” You may use this world, if God has given it to you; but you must “so use it, as not to abuse it! 1 Corinthians 7:29-31.” Flee from all occasions of evil, that you may be “found of God at last without spot, and blameless! 2 Peter 3:14.”

Charles Simeon

Psalm 119:34

“Give me understanding, and I shall keep your law; yes, I shall observe it with my whole heart!”

A spiritual knowledge essentially differs from the mere exercise of our intellectual powers. A man may have the richest stores of human knowledge, and the most discriminating faculty in various branches of science—and yet be under the dominion, the allowed dominion, of his own lusts and passions.

But spiritual knowledge is always accompanied with gracious dispositions; and for the sake of its practical effects alone is it to be desired. This appears from what Paul says respecting the intercessions which he continually offered before God in the behalf of his Colossian converts, “We do not cease,” says he, “to pray for you, and to desire that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, Colossians 1:9-10.”

In a foregoing part of this Psalm it might seem, as if knowledge alone had been the end for which David desired a spiritual illumination, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law!” But we see in our text, that he had far other ends in view; he longed for knowledge, only that he might have his soul the more enlarged by it to run the way of God’s commandments, “Give me understanding, and I shall keep your law; yes, I shall observe it with my whole heart.”

From these words we will take occasion to show,

I. How true wisdom will operate.

The provisional engagement which David entered into was no other than what must necessarily result from an answer to his petition. If God gives to any of us a spiritual understanding, we shall immediately begin:

1. To keep his law.

Whatever God has revealed in his Word will be a law unto us.

Has he bidden us to repent? We shall humble ourselves before him in dust and ashes.

Has he enjoined us to believe in his dear Son? We shall receive him into our hearts, and embrace him as all our salvation and all our desire.

Has he commanded us to obey his precepts? We shall endeavor to search out his will, and to conform ourselves to it in all things.

Whatever temptations may assault us, we shall not allow them to turn us aside from the path of duty.

Whatever opposition we may have to encounter, we shall hold on our way, determined to keep God’s law; yes, to “keep it to the end! verse 112.” This alone is true wisdom, Job 28:28. Yes, this is the first beginning of wisdom in the soul, Psalm 111:10.

2. To observe his law with our whole hearts.

There are two things which a spiritual understanding will most assuredly teach us, namely:
the beauty and excellency of God’s law,
the folly of rendering to it a merely partial obedience.

To an unenlightened mind many of God’s commands appear absurd; and men are ready to say of them, “This is a hard saying; who can hear it?” But, in the view of one who is taught of God, “there is no commandment grievous;” the scope of everything which God has spoken, is to produce the present and eternal happiness of his creatures. The language of every injunction is, Be holy, be happy. To attempt to lower any command to the standard of man’s opinion, or of our own wishes, is seen to be the most horrible foolishness; for, if we can deceive man, we cannot deceive God, “to him all things are naked and open.” As God knows the extent of his own commands, so he knows the precise measure of obedience which we pay to them, “He weighs,” not our actions only, but “our spirits” also.

Hence a partial obedience is the same kind of folly as if a man should request permission to take a poisoned cup, because it was sweet; or as if he should shut his eyes, and say, that no man can see him. Convinced of this, he begs of God to “put truth in his inward parts,” and desires to be “an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit.”

As from a root which is acknowledged to be good, we may anticipate a corresponding fruit; so from fruit that is excellent, we may infer with certainty the goodness of the root. In proof of this we will proceed to show:

II. Wherein its operation will approve itself to every reflecting mind.

The observing of God’s law with our whole hearts necessarily evinces the existence of true wisdom in the soul; because,

1. Obedience to God’s law is consonant with right reason.

What is disobedience, but a preferring of:
the creature to God,
the body to the soul,
and time to eternity?

And will anyone say that this is reasonable, or that it has even a shadow of reason in it? Reason requires the very reverse of this; and the yielding up of our soul and body to God, as a living sacrifice, is expressly called “a reasonable service, Romans 12:1.” If we consider ourselves only as the work of God’s hands, this kind of service is reasonable. But, if we consider ourselves as redeemed by the blood of God’s only dear Son, it is infinitely more reasonable; for, “having been bought with a price, we are not our own, but are bound to glorify God with our bodies and our spirits, which are God’s.”

2. Obedience to God’s law is conducive to our best interests.

We will concede, for argument sake, all that the slaves of pleasure can say in its behalf; yes, we will concede ten times more than its most infatuated votary ever ventured to assert. Having done this, we will ask, What good will it all do you in a dying hour, and at the bar of judgment? “Godliness,” we are told, “is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” But of ungodliness no such thing can be asserted. Granting, that the ungodliness may be of the least offensive kind; yes, that it shall be so subtle, as to assume the appearance, and to gain from many the applause of piety; still we ask: What will it avail in the day that God shall judge the world?

But it is not true, that the pleasures of sin are so great or so satisfactory. On the contrary, there is no comparison between the peace that flows from piety, and the gratifications that result from any criminal indulgence. “The work of righteousness is peace;” but “the way of transgressors is hard.” And, as to the eternal world, there can be no doubt. Inasmuch then as piety is most consonant with right reason, and most conducive to our best interests, it approves itself, beyond a possibility of doubt, the genuine offspring of true wisdom.

ADDRESS.

1. Those who live in the allowed violation of any one commandment.

The world may count you wise; yes, “if you are doing well unto yourselves, (that is, are advancing your own temporal interests,) all men will speak well of you, Psalm 49:18.” But what does God say of you? “They have forsaken the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them? Jeremiah 8:9.” Ah! what indeed? To the rich man, whose heart was elated with his temporal prospects, God said, “You fool!” and no better character will he assign to you. Think only with what an eye the heart-searching God beholds you; or what the angels think of your conduct; or what you yourselves will think of it in a little time; and you will be at no loss to form a right estimate of it. If you would be truly wise in God’s estimation, your obedience to him must be uniform and unreserved, Matthew 7:24-27. Deuteronomy 4:6.

2. Those who profess to be endued with true wisdom.

If “God has given us understanding,” then we must evidence it by the purity of our hearts and lives. But many there are, who can talk very fluently about religion, who yet are very far from being wise in the sight of God. Hear the judgment of God himself on this subject, “Who is a wise man, and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conduct his works with meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts (and these are no uncommon inhabitants with the professors of religion), lie not against the truth.” (Let proud, conceited, and contentious professors hear this. They are “liars against the truth.”) This wisdom descends not from above; but is earthly, sensual, devilish. “But the wisdom that is from above, is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy, James 3:13-17.” Here is the test of true wisdom; here is the evidence of a sound understanding. The man that is destitute of these gracious tempers, is in darkness even until now; but the man who from love to Christ is enabled to live in the habitual exercise of them, has surely an understanding heart, and is made wise unto salvation.

Charles Simeon

Psalm 119:30-32

“I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.
I hold fast to your statutes, O LORD; do not let me be put to shame.
I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free!”

Everything which has an aspect of egotism is for the most part to be avoided; or, at all events, it should be entered upon with extreme care, and be relinquished as soon as the occasion for it has ceased. Yet, while this rule is proper for private Christians, we have reason to be thankful that the Inspired Writers were under no necessity of submitting to it; but that, on the contrary, they were constrained by the powerful motions of the Holy Spirit, to record the secret workings of their hearts, and to develop the principles by which they were actuated in the divine life.

What a treasure has in this view been committed to us in the Psalms of David! In him we see what is the experience of God’s saints in every age. In the very words which we have just read we may behold a Christian’s mind:

I. The Christian’s retrospective testimony.

We may take the words as declaring,

1. The Christian’s deliberate choice.

Whatever was his state in former life, he has now become a new creature; his former sins and errors he has utterly renounced; and has determinately embraced the truth of God, even that truth which God has revealed in the Gospel of his Son. He knows that, as a sinner, he is justly liable to God’s heavy displeasure; and that there is no hope for him, but in that Savior who died for him upon the cross. Hence, with the fullest conviction of his mind and the most deliberate purpose of his soul, has he “fled for refuge to Christ, and laid hold on him as his only hope!”

2. The means by which the Christian seeks to effect his end.

The written Word of God is regarded by him as the only ground of his beliefs, and the only rule of his practice. The promises contained in it he treasures up in his mind, for the encouragement of his soul; and the precepts, as a sure directory. The Sacred Volume is to him what the chart and compass are to the mariner; nor will he ever pass a day without consulting it, to ascertain the state of his soul, and the course that he shall pursue.

3. The exertions made by the Christian in the prosecution of his purpose.

No sooner did he turn to God in earnest, than he found allurements, on the one hand, to draw him from the Lord; and threats, on the other hand, to drive him from his God. But his conscience bears him witness, that “he has stuck unto God’s testimonies,” and “cleaved unto the Lord with full purpose of heart.” True, the conflict yet continues, yes, and requires the utmost exertions of his soul; but still he is “steadfast and immoveable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord; assured that, at last, his labor shall not be in vain in the Lord.”

Conformable with his past experience is also,

II. The Christian’s prospective determination.

He feels, indeed, that God alone can uphold him.

This is strongly expressed in that prayer, “O Lord, do not let me be put to shame!” In vain would be all his own efforts, if he were not aided from on high. Soon would he fall, and make shipwreck of his faith, and “be put utterly to shame,” if God should withdraw from him for one single moment! He feels himself like an infant in its mother’s arms, and cries to God continually, “Hold me up, and I shall be safe.” He laments that in his own heart he is narrow and contracted, and incapable of either devising or executing such plans as may advance his spiritual welfare in the way that he could wish. He seems to himself like a ship that is becalmed; and which, for lack of winds to carry him forward, is in danger of being diverted from his path by currents which he is unable to withstand. Hence he prays to God for such communications of his Holy Spirit as shall fill his sails, and bear him onward to his destined port.

In dependence on God, he determines to redouble his exertions until he has attained the great object of his desires.

He is not contented to “walk” in the ways of God. No! he would “run;” he would “run, and not be weary; he would march onward, and not faint.” He considers himself as engaged in a race; and he sees his course clearly marked in the commandments of his God. Hence he determines, that “when God shall enlarge his heart, he will run with all his might, and never stop until the prize shall be accorded to him. Whatever advance he may have made, “he forgets what is behind, and reaches forward to that which is ahead, and presses on for the prize of his high calling” with increased zeal. He determines that nothing shall abate his ardor, or for a moment divert him from his path. Thus he runs the race that is set before him; and determines, through grace, “so to run it, that he may obtain the prize.”

Let me now add a few words,

1. Of commendation, to those who can adopt this language.

I do hope that some among you are like-minded with David in these particulars; and that, if you have not attained his eminence in the divine life, you are yet truly and habitually following his steps. Shall I not, then, say to you, as Moses did to Israel of old, “Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like unto you, O people saved by the Lord! Deuteronomy 33:29.”

Truly, in comparison with you, the greatest, wisest, noblest of mankind are in a poor and base condition. In you, the end of your creation has been answered; yes, and the end of your redemption too. In you God delights; yes, he regards you as his peculiar treasure! On you the very angels before the throne account it an honor to wait, as your ministering servants; and for you are prepared crowns and kingdoms that shall never fade away!

Was Mary commended by our Lord for having chosen the best part? And was she assured that it should never be taken away from her? The same commendation is yours, and the same assurance is yours also. I do, then, from my soul commend you, however pitiable in other respects your condition may be; and, in the name of my Divine Master, I say for your encouragement, “Do not be weary in well-doing; for in due season you shall reap, if you fault not.”

2. Of reproof, to those who are yet strangers to this heavenly experience.

What have you been doing all your days, that you have never yet made this choice? Are the ways of the world equal in any respect to the way of truth? Are they as reasonable in themselves? Are they as conducive to the best interests of man? Or will they prove so happy in their outcome?

Compare the things which tempt you from the testimonies of the Lord, with the loss which they will occasion, and the evils which they will entail upon you. You may now, perhaps, justify the preference which you give to sin; but say whether you will not one day be ashamed of it? Say whether, in that hour when you shall be bidden to depart from your Savior’s presence, and to take your portion forever in a lake of fire—you will not be ashamed of the choice which you have now so unwisely made, and of the hopes which you now so presumptuously cherish?

Perhaps you now laugh at the idea of an enlargement of heart, and deride the course to which it leads; but will you do so in that day? Will you not rather lament that you followed the course of this world, instead of prosecuting the ways which lead to Heaven? I would say then to you, “Seek now the Lord while he may be found, and call upon him while he is near.” There is no repentance in the grave, nor any reversing of the sentence that shall soon be passed upon you. Begin, then, the course which David ran, and prosecute it with the ardor that filled his soul. So shall you possess with him, the joy that is set before you, and inherit to all eternity the rest that remains for the people of God!

Charles Simeon

Psalm 119:20

“My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times!”

In general, there is no other connection between the different verses of this Psalm, than the accidental one of their beginning with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet; yet possibly the collocation of them may occasionally have been determined by their bearing upon some particular point. The whole Psalm is an eulogy upon the Word of God, and a declaration of the love which David bore towards it.

And, while we apprehend that every distinct sentence was put down as it occurred to the Psalmist’s mind, without any particular dependence on its context, we suppose that, in the arrangement of some parts, there may have been a design in placing some observations so as to confirm or enforce others which had preceded them. In the 18th verse, David had said, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your Law;” and in the two following verses, as they stand, he may be considered as enforcing that petition; first, by the consideration of the shortness of his continuance here; and, then, by the exceeding greatness of his wish to obtain the desired blessing, “I am a stranger in the earth; hide not your commandments from me. My soul breaks for the longing that it has unto your judgments at all times.” Now, this expression being so exceeding strong, I will take occasion from it to point out:

I. David’s intensity of desire after the Word of God.

Often does he say that he has “longed” for God’s Word verse 40, 131, 174; but here he says, “My soul breaks for the longing that it has.” To enter into the force of this expression, let us compare his desire after God’s Word with the desire felt by others in cases of extreme emergency.

1. Let us compare it with the desire of a hunted deer.

Let us conceive of a deer that has for many hours been fleeing from its pursuers, until its strength is altogether exhausted, and it is ready to faint with fatigue. Let us suppose that its fears are raised to the uttermost, by the rapid advance of its enemies, ready to seize and tear it in pieces. How intense must be its thirst! How gladly would it pause a few moments at a water-brook, to revive its parched frame, and to renovate its strength for further flight! Of this we may form some conception; and it may serve in a measure to convey to us an idea of David’s thirst after the judgments of his God.

“O God,” says he, “you are my God; early will I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land, where there is no water! Psalm 63:1.”

“My soul longs, yes, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God! Psalm 84:2.”

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” Psalm 42:1-3″?

2. Let us compare it with the desire of an endangered mariner.

Mariners for the most part are men of great courage; but when ready to be overwhelmed in the tempestuous ocean, they sink like other men. “For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits’ end! Psalm 107:25-27.” Such is the description given of them by God himself.

But let us take an instance upon record. When Paul was “sailing by Crete, there arose a tempestuous wind,” and the ship becoming unmanageable, “they let her drive;” and “fearing they should fall into the quicksands, they struck sail, and so were driven.” “Being exceedingly tossed with the tempest, they lightened the ship, casting out with their own hands the very tackling” which they had stowed up for the management of the ship. In this perilous condition they continued a whole two weeks, not having taken during all that time so much as one regular meal. Paul, in the immediate prospect of having the ship dashed to pieces, and no hope remaining to any of them of safety unless on broken pieces of the ship, said to them, “This is the fourteenth day that you have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing; I beg you to take some food; for this is for your health;” he administered to them some bread, and then “cast into the sea the very wheat” with which the ship was provisioned; and soon “the ship ran aground, and was broken in pieces by the violence of the waves! Acts 27:14-41.”

How must all this crew have longed for safety! How must their “soul have broken for the longing which they had” to escape from their peril! Yet not even this exceeded the desire which David had for the Word of God.

3. Let us compare it with the desire of a deserted soul.

This will come nearer to the point. The feelings of a hunted deer or an endangered mariner are merely natural; but those of a deserted soul are spiritual, and therefore more suited to illustrate those which David speaks of in our text.

See the state of a deserted soul in Job, “If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas—no wonder my words have been impetuous. The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God’s terrors are marshaled against me! Job 6:2-4.”

Or take the case recorded in the 88th Psalm, “You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. Your wrath lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. Selah You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief. I call to you, O LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you! Psalm 88:6-7; Psalm 88:9; Psalm 88:14-16.”

Here we see what is meant by the soul breaking for the longing that it has after God. And there is in this Psalm another verse, which, to one who has ever felt what it is to have an overwhelming desire after God, will convey the true import of my text, “I opened my mouth and panted; for I longed for your commandments! verse 131. The sigh of one overwhelmed with a desire after God, expresses the very thing.”

Nor was this a sudden emotion on some extraordinary occasion; no; it was the constant habit of David’s mind; it was what he felt “at all times!” “My soul breaks for the longing that it has unto your judgments at all times.”

I am aware that this may appear extravagant. But we must remember that this expression was not a poetic fiction, but an argument solemnly addressed to the heart-searching God. And that it was not stronger than the occasion called for, will appear while I show you,

II. The reason of David’s so longing for God’s blessed Word.

The reasons that might be assigned are numberless. But I will confine myself to three:

1. David so longed for God’s Word, because in it he found God himself.

In the works of creation, something of God may be discerned; but it is in his Word alone that all his perfections are displayed, and all his eternal counsels are made known. In this respect, “God has magnified his Word above all his name,” and all the means whereby he has made himself known to men, Psalm 138:2.

There he met Jehovah, as Adam met him, amidst the trees of the garden in Paradise. There “he walked with God, and conversed with him as a friend.” There he had such “fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ,” and such “communion with the Holy Spirit,” as he could never find in any other field, nor ever attain but by meditation on the Word of God.

Can we, then, wonder that he so longed for that word, and that his very soul broke for the longing that he had for it? The wonder rather is, that there should be a person upon earth who could have access to that sacred volume, and not so value it.

2. David so longed for God’s Word, because from it he obtained all that his necessities required.

Did he desire the forgiveness of all his sins? There he found “a fountain opened for sin and for impurity,” a fountain capable of washing him from all the guilt he had contracted in the matter of Bathsheba and Uriah! In reference to those very transactions, and to the efficacy of the sin-atoning blood of Christ, he cries, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow! Psalm 51:7.”

Did he need:
direction in difficulty,
support in trouble, and
strength for an unreserved obedience?

There he found it all, and from thence derived it in the very hour of need, to the full extent of his necessities. Such were the refreshments which David found in the Word, that corn and wine and oil, and all the delicacies of the universe, could but faintly shadow forth; and thence he derived such treasures as were absolutely unsearchable.

Can we wonder, then, that the Word of God was, in David’s estimation, sweeter than honey and the honey-comb, and infinitely more precious than the finest gold! Psalm 19:10.

3. David so longed for God’s Word, because by it he gained a foretaste of Heaven itself.

The word was to him as Jacob’s ladder, by which he held fellowship with Heaven itself. By it he ascended to Mount Pisgah, and surveyed the Promised Land in all its length and breadth. In it he beheld his Savior, as it were, transfigured before his eyes, yes, and seated on his throne of glory, surrounded by myriads of saints and angels; yes, and beheld the very throne reserved for himself, and the crown of glory prepared for him, and the golden harp already tuned for him to bear his part among the heavenly choir.

I forbear to speak more on this subject; because, if what I have already spoken does not justify the language of my text, then nothing that I can add can be of any weight. Only let any person read this Psalm, in which no less than one hundred and seventy-six times the excellency of the sacred volume is set forth in every variety of expression that David could invent; and he will see, that the language of my text was no other than what every man should both feel and utter.

But from all this, who does not see:

01. That religion is not a mere form, but a reality!

Religion, if it is genuine, occupies, not the head, but the heart and soul, every faculty of which it controls and regulates. O that we all felt it so! But indeed, brethren, so it is; and so it must be, if ever we would enjoy the benefits it is intended to convey.

2. That we all have very abundant occasion for shame in a review both of our past and present state!

We are not, like the unhappy papists, debarred from God’s blessed Word. The very least and lowest among us has free access to it, and may read it for himself; yes, and derive still greater advantage from it than ever David himself reaped; by reason of the rich additions which have been made to it since his day, and the fuller discovery it gives us of God’s mind and will.

Yet how many of us read it not at all, or only in a formal cursory manner, without any such feeling as that which is expressed in my text! My dear brethren, we suffer loss, exceeding great loss—by our negligence in this respect. Did we but read the Word, and meditate on it day and night, and pray over it, and converse with God by it—what blessings might we not obtain and not enjoy?

Well, I leave it, with “commending you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified! Acts 20:32.” I am certain that “it is profitable for all that your souls can desire;” and that if you improve it aright, it shall render you perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works, 2 Timothy 3:17,” and shall “make you wise unto salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus, 2 Timothy 3:15.”

Charles Simeon

Psalm 119:18

“Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law!”

The necessity of Divine teaching, in order to a spiritual acquaintance with the truth of God, is by many denied; and all expectation of the Holy Spirit’s influence for that end is derided as wild enthusiasm. But, however the profane ungodly world may scoff at the idea, it is “by the Spirit of God alone that we can know the things which are freely given to us by God, 1 Corinthians 2:12;” and the wisest of men, as much as the most ignorant, has reason to adopt the petition in our text, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law!”

From these words we shall take occasion to show,

I. What wondrous things are contained in God’s law.

If we understand the law here spoken of, as importing the Law of Moses, it certainly is full of wonders; the moral law, being a perfect transcript of the mind of God; and the ceremonial law, being a shadow of all those good things which are revealed to us in the Gospel.

But we apprehend that David is speaking rather of the Gospel, even of that “law which is come forth from Zion, and that word which has proceeded from Jerusalem.” No one of the prophets, scarcely excepting even Isaiah himself, had clearer or richer views of Christ than David; and as he speaks of Christ in almost all his Psalms, we may justly suppose, that in this place he refers to the wonders that are contained in the Gospel of Christ.

Consider the Gospel generally.

In it is revealed salvation, salvation purchased by the blood and righteousness of God’s only-begotten Son. What a mystery is this! The God of Heaven and earth assuming our nature, that in that nature he may expiate the guilt of a ruined world! We are accustomed to hear of this, and therefore listen to it without emotion; but what would we think of it, if it now reached our ears for the first time? Truly “great is this mystery of godliness!” We, through unbelief and indifference, think little of it; but “the angels,” though infinitely less interested in it than we, “desire day and night to look into it,” and to comprehend, if it were possible, the heights and depths of love that are contained in it! 1 Peter 1:12.

Consider it more particularly.

Mark well the character of this salvation:
its freeness,
its fullness,
its suitableness!

It is as free as the light we see, or the air we breathe! It has come to us unsolicited and unsought; and it is given to us “without money and without price, Isaiah 55:1.” The whole world are invited to come to Christ as to an overflowing fountain, and to “take of the water of life freely, Revelation 22:17.” So full is it, that it neither wants, nor is capable of, any addition. Nothing is left to be supplied by man; he gives nothing, but receives all. “All is treasured up for us in Christ! Colossians 1:19,” “who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and complete redemption, 1 Corinthians 1:30.” If only we are content to receive out of his fullness, we shall never lack anything that is necessary either for our present or eternal happiness John 1:16. Galatians 2:20. And this is exactly such a salvation as is suitable to fallen man. If we were required to add anything to what Christ has done and suffered for us, in order to render it sufficient for our salvation, what could we add? What have we of our own, but sin? The more anyone knows of himself, the more he would despair, if anything were required of him, as a price whereby to purchase a saving interest in Christ. Doubtless we must repent, and believe, and obey the Gospel, before we can be saved; but repentance, faith, and obedience, though necessary as means to an end, merit nothing at the hands of God; nor have we of ourselves any sufficiency for those things; even those graces are wrought in us by the Spirit of God, who “gives us both to will and to do of his own good pleasure.” Salvation, from first to last, is altogether of grace; and therefore it is equally suitable to all; to the thief when dying on the cross, as to Nicodemus, or Nathanael, whose whole life and conduct had been so exemplary, and who lived to adorn the doctrine they professed.

Contemplate these things, and say whether they contain not “wonders” that surpass the comprehension, both of men and angels?

From the text however we may learn,

II. How we are to attain the knowledge of them.

Doubtless we must “search the Scriptures,” and that with all diligence, John 5:39. But, if we search them in dependence on our own wisdom, we shall never succeed. We must look up to God for the teachings of his Spirit, even as David did, and pray, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”

This is the way prescribed by God.

God regards all men as blind, Revelation 3:17, and incapable of comprehending spiritual things—until he himself has opened their eyes, and given them a spiritual discernment, 1 Corinthians 2:14. Ephesians 4:18. Hence he counsels all to come to the Lord Jesus Christ “for eye-salve, that they may see, Revelation 3:18;” and to look to him as the only Author of true wisdom, James 1:5. He represents it as the Holy Spirit’s office to take of the things that are Christ’s, and to show them unto us, John 16:8; John 16:11; John 16:13-14;” and to bring home to the minds of men a clear perception of those various truths which are most of all interesting to their souls. He considers all men as equally under the necessity of submitting to the teachings of his Spirit, John 6:45.

God derides the efforts of those who lean to their own understanding, 1 Corinthians 1:19-20, and will communicate to “babes the things which he conceals from the wise and prudent! Matthew 11:25.” True it is, that God uses both the written and preached word as the means of conveying instruction; but the due reception of that instruction he ascribes to the operation of his own almighty power, 1 Corinthians 3:5-7. Even the disciples whom Jesus himself had instructed for three or four years, were not able rightly to apprehend his Word, until “he opened their understandings to understand the Scriptures, Luke 24:45;” and, when Peter confessed his Lord to be the Christ, he was expressly told, that “flesh and blood had not revealed it” to him, but God himself! Matthew 16:17.

Be it known then to all, that every man, whether learned or unlearned, must “hear and learn of the Father,” who is “the Father of lights, and from whom comes every good and perfect gift, James 1:17.”

This is the way pursued by the saints in all ages.

Who more instructed than David? yet he was not ashamed to seek from God a spiritual illumination. The saints at Ephesus were inferior to no Church whatever, in a comprehension of divine truth; yet did Paul pray for them, that they might yet further “be enlightened by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, through whose gracious influences alone they could grow either in knowledge or in grace, Ephesians 1:17-18.

If we look to those of later times, we find this truth acknowledged by all, excepting those infidels who “deny the Lord that bought them.” The Reformers of our Church have most unequivocally sanctioned the use of these means, and encouraged us to look up to God for “the inspiration of his Spirit,” “that we may both perceive and know what things we ought to do, and also have grace and power faithfully to fulfill the same.” Let us not be contented with any efforts of our own, or any instructions from man; but let us “cry after knowledge, and lift up our voice for understanding, knowing that it is the Lord alone who gives wisdom, and that out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding, Proverbs 2:1-6.”

ADDRESS.

1. To those who are studying the Holy Scriptures.

It is surprising what pains many take to acquire an academic knowledge of the Bible, while yet they remain contentedly ignorant of those deep things which none but God can teach. But let me entreat you to seek above all things to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, even that glory which He only who commanded light to shine out of darkness can make known unto you 2 Corinthians 4:6.

2. To those who, though incapable of entering academically into the letter of the Scriptures, have yet, through grace, a knowledge of the spiritual truths contained in them.

Blessed be God, there are some among us, of whom, though unskilled in human knowledge, it may be said, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven.” “They were once blind; but now they see;” “They were once darkness; but are now light in the Lord.” Be thankful to him who has so highly favored and distinguished you! 1 Corinthians 1:27-28; and endeavor to walk worthy of him who has given unto you this invaluable blessing, 1 Peter 2:9. If you be “light in the Lord, then walk as children of the light” and of the day, Ephesians 5:8.

Charles Simeon

Psalm 119:9

“How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your Word!”

There is much despondency in the human mind, especially in reference to the great work of sanctification.

There are many who wish to become holy, but they know not how.

They would mortify sin, but they cannot.

They would serve God in newness of life, but to attempt it, appears to them a hopeless task.

The people of the world, if exhorted to give themselves up to God, do not hesitate to affirm that, in the existing state of things, it is impossible; and many who have begun to do this in their own strength, and found its insufficiency for so great a work, have given up in despair, and returned to their former state of carelessness and indifference. But, while we acknowledge the impossibility of serving God aright by any strength of our own, we must deny that it is altogether impractical to fulfill his will. On the contrary, if any man ask, “How can a young man keep his way pure?” we are prepared to answer, that it may be done, “By living according to your Word!”

We have here,

I. A difficulty proposed.

“How can a young man keep his way pure?”

If this question were asked in reference only to outward defilements, it would not be without its difficulties.

Consider to what temptations a young man is exposed. Those which arise from within, are exceeding great. And they are continually strengthened by those occurring from without. Everything he sees around him has a tendency to foster and to gratify some bad passion; while the examples on every side countenance and encourage the indulgence of it. To render evil the less formidable, everyone agrees to strip it of its proper names, and to affix to it some gentle appellation that shall conceal its odiousness, and cast a veil over its deformity. Nay, as if it were not sufficient to cloak its malignity, many become its panders and its advocates, and endeavor to laugh out of the world all that squeamishness that betrays a fear of evil, and an aversion to the commission of it.

Is it any wonder if young men, so circumstanced, fall into sin? Or is it easy for them to keep their garments clean in such an ensnaring and polluting world as this?

But if the question be asked in reference to the sanctity which God requires, the difficulty will appear great indeed.

It is not a Pharisaic righteousness—a cleansing of the outside of the cup and platter, that God requires; but real holiness, both of heart and life. We must seek to be “cleansed from secret faults,” as well as from those which are more open; and never account our end fully accomplished, until we are as “pure as the Lord Jesus Christ is pure,” and as “perfect as our Father who is in Heaven is perfect.”

But how shall a young man so keep his way pure? How shall he “mortify the whole body of sin,” keeping in subjection so many unruly appetites, correcting so many unhallowed dispositions, and putting forth into constant exercise so many heavenly graces as are comprehended in real piety? Indeed, we may ask, How shall young people of either gender so walk before God? In respect of outward decorum, females, from the restraints of education, have a great advantage; perhaps, in reference to vital godliness also: they may be considered as more favored than the other gender, because they have more opportunity for serious reflection.

But genuine piety is uncongenial with our fallen nature; and to attain it is no easy task to any, of either gender, or of whatever age or quality or condition. The very names by which the divine life is described in Scripture is sufficiently show that it is neither attained nor exercised without great difficulty. A “race,” a “wrestling for the mastery,” a “warring of a good warfare”—all require much exertion; and not for a moment only, but until the victory is accomplished.

It must be confessed, therefore, that a young man’s course is very difficult; that “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,” in which he has to walk; and that if ever he gains “the kingdom of Heaven, he must take it by violence.”

Happy is it for us, however, that we have, on divine authority,

II. The difficulty solved.

To the question asked, “How can a young man keep his way pure?”

The answer is given, “By living according to your Word!”

1. The Holy Scriptures afford a sure directory.

There may surely be particular cases, even to our dying hour, in which it may be difficult to discover the precise line of duty. But, for the most part, the way of righteousness is clearly defined; and it is our own blindness alone that makes it appear intricate or doubtful. There is no corruption of the heart which is not there condemned, nor any holy affection which is not there delineated. There everything is described in its proper colors; piety is exalted as the perfection of our nature; and sin is declared to be “an abomination in the sight of God.”

The example of our blessed Lord also is there portrayed with the utmost exactness; so that, whatever doubt might obscure a precept, the true light is reflected on it, and a perfect standard is exhibited before us. It cannot be through ignorance, therefore, that any shall err, if only they will make use of the light afforded them in God’s blessed Word.

2. The Holy Scriptures afford sufficient encouragement.

There is not a precept in the whole inspired volume which is not made also the subject of a promise. God has engaged to “give us a new heart, and to renew within us a right spirit, and to cleanse us from our filthiness and from all our idols;” so that, however inveterate any lust may be, here is provision against it; and however arduous any duty may be, here is sufficient strength promised for the performance of it.

How effectual the Word is, when duly improved, may be seen in the general description given of it by the Psalmist, “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward! Psalm 19:7-11.”

Here, whether in respect of direction or efficacy, its sufficiency for our necessities is fully declared. But yet more satisfactory is the declaration of Peter, when he affirms, that by “the exceeding great and precious promises of Scripture, we may be made partakers of the divine nature, and be enabled to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust! 2 Peter 1:4.” By the word, therefore, we may cleanse our way; not externally only, but really, truly, spiritually, and to the full extent of our necessities; so that the difficulty in our text is completely solved; and to the inquiry there made, we are prepared to answer, “Having these promises, dearly Beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God! 2 Corinthians 7:1.”

ADDRESS.

1. Study the Scriptures of Truth.

Do not form your standard by the opinions of men, or labor to cleanse your way by superstitious observances that have been devised by man; but look to the Word of God as the proper rule of your conduct, and seek for holiness in the way that is there prescribed. Be careless in your way, and your ruin will ensue! Ecclesiastes 11:9; But let the word of Christ dwell in you richly “in all wisdom;” and you shall find it the power of God to the salvation of your souls!

2. Devote yourself to piety in early youth.

“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,” says Solomon. You must not stay until you are advanced in life before you “cleanse your way,” but engage in that work while yet you are “young.” In the appointment of the sacrifices which were offered under the Law, the lambs were to be but a year old; and in the first-fruits presented unto God for a meat-offering, special care was to be taken that “green ears” should be offered, “beaten out indeed of full ears,” but still green, and needing to be “dried with fire” before they could be ground to flour, Leviticus 2:14-16.

Does not this show what use is to be made of our early youth? Methinks, it speaks powerfully; and I pray God that this day the greenest ears among you may be consecrated to the Lord, and receive from him some blessed tokens of his favorable acceptance. Let the youngest, who are as new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word; and they shall grow thereby, 1 Peter 2:2;” and let the “young men have the Word of God abiding in them; and they shall overcome the wicked one, 1 John 2:14.”

3. Live in the daily habit of self-examination.

Inward and unperceived impurity will come upon you, if you are not always on your guard. A mariner may be drawn from his course by currents, as well as driven by winds; and therefore from day to day, he consults his compass and his chart, to see whether there have been any deviation from his destined path. The same precautions must be used by you. You must not only “examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith,” but what progress you are making in the faith. Do this, beloved, daily, and with all diligence; so shall you “be blameless und harmless, the sons of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, shining among them as lights in the world, and holding forth in your walk and conversation the word of life! Philippians 2:15-16;” and be assured, that in so ordering your conversation aright, “you shall at last behold the salvation of God.”

Charles Simeon

Psalm 119:4-6

“You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.”

It is impossible to read the Psalm before us and not see that true religion is altogether of a practical nature. Doubtless, in the first instance, the Inspired Volume reveals to us a way of reconciliation with our offended God, through the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ; but its ultimate object is, to bring our hearts into a conformity to the mind and will of God. In the words before us we see all that is most interesting to the child of God:

I. The believer’s indispensable duties.

God commands us, not only to return to him in a way of penitence, but to walk before him in a way of holy obedience.

This he requires throughout the Holy Scriptures.

He requires it by Moses, Deuteronomy, 5:29;
and the prophets, Jeremiah 7:22-23;
by Christ also, Matthew 28:20;
and his holy Apostles, 1 Peter 1:15-16.

Indeed, to bring us to holiness of heart and life was the very end for which he gave his only-begotten Son, 1 John 3:8, and for which Christ himself died, Titus 2:4. And every command is enforced with an authority which it is at our peril to disregard, James 2:10-12.

He requires, too, that in this duty we exert ourselves with “diligence”.

This is again and again insisted on, Deuteronomy 11:13; Deuteronomy 11:18; Deuteronomy 11:22, both in relation to the keeping of the heart, Proverbs 4:23, and to the whole of our deportment through life, 2 Peter 1:10; 2 Peter 3:14. We are particularly called to “set our heart” to this work, Deuteronomy 32:46, that we may understand it in all its parts, and perform it in its utmost extent. In a word, “This is the will of God, even our sanctification, 1 Thessalonians 4:3.”

How the true saint stands affected towards his duties, may here be seen in:

II. The believer’s impassioned desire.

The genuiness of a Christian is seen far more in his desires than in his actual attainments.

He feels and mourns over his manifold defects.

It might be supposed, that the more holy any man were, the more self-sufficient he would be; but the very reverse of this is the truth; for, the more holy any man is, the clearer and more enlarged are his views of God’s holy law; and, consequently, the deeper his sense of his short-comings and defects, Romans 7:9. Hence he complains with Paul, “O what a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Romans 7:24.”

He desires the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, to remedy these defects.

He knows, by sad experience how liable he is to be deceived, even while he is endeavoring to do the will of God. “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked! Jeremiah 17:9,” and easily betrayed into error, by its prejudices, its passions, its interests.

And sin itself also is deceitful, putting on, in ten thousand instances, the garb of holiness, and the semblance of duty, Hebrews 3:13.

And Satan is a subtle adversary, that has at command ten thousand wiles and devices, whereby to ensnare him! 2 Corinthians 11:3.

What then, shall the Christian do? He can look only to God, for his Holy Spirit to guide him aright and to direct his steps, Proverbs 3:6. Hence, from his inmost soul, he prays, “Uphold my steps in Your paths, that my footsteps may not slip! Psalm 17:5.” Yes, “May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ! 2 Thessalonians 3:5.”

But, in the midst of all his troubles, we may behold:

III. The believer’s assured encouragement.

Were he left to himself, he well knows that he must perish. But “his hope is in the Lord his God.”

That which is required of him, is, to be upright before God.

God “requires truth in the inward parts, Psalm 51:6.” However defective we are in our attainments, there must be no insincerity in our desires. We must “account all God’s commandments concerning all things to be right, and must hate every false way, verse 128.” In our regard to them, there must be “no partiality, no hypocrisy, James 3:17;” the smallest commandment must not be considered as light, Matthew 5:19, nor the greatest commandment be deemed “grievous, 1 John 5:3.” “Lord, what will you have me to do, Acts 9:6” must be his daily prayer; and to fulfill every command of God, the constant habit of his mind.

With this one acquisition, he has nothing to fear.

“God will uphold the upright man, Psalm 37:17.” Satan may tempt him; his own indwelling corruptions may assault him; and he may at times be so harassed, as to be almost at his wit’s end! Psalm 77:7-9;” but “God will keep him, by his own power, through faith, unto everlasting salvation, 1 Peter 1:5.” The weaker the Christian feels himself, the more “will God perfect his own strength in his weakness, 2 Corinthians 12:9.” Nor shall “the hope that has been formed in him ever make him ashamed, Romans 5:5.” No, “he shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation; and shall not be ashamed or confounded, world without end, Isaiah 45:17.”

Be then, brethren, Christians indeed.

Get just views of your duty, both towards God and man; And be like-minded with God in relation to it, desiring nothing but to be, and do, all that God himself requires; And know where all your help and hope is; not in yourselves, but in the Lord your God, who alone can “guide you by his counsel, so as ultimately to bring you to his glory! Psalm 73:24.”

“May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21.”

Charles Simeon

Psalm 118:27-28

“The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you!”

However plainly this Psalm refers to David, we are sure that a greater than David is here. The words as applied to David, convey an exceedingly grand and important meaning. He had met with many obstacles in his advancement to the throne of Israel. Oftentimes had his life been sought by Saul; and since the death of Saul there were many formidable conspiracies against him. No sooner was he made king over Israel, than the Philistines sought, and that repeatedly, to destroy him, 2 Samuel 5:17-18; 2 Samuel 5:22; and it was only through the special intervention of God himself that he was able to prevail against them. It appears that many other of the surrounding nations also conspired against him verse 10-12. Four times does he repeat, and, in the last, with a very expressive simile, “They compassed me about.” but through the same Almighty power he was enabled to subdue them. At last, after more than seven years opposition from all the tribes of Israel, 2 Samuel 5:4-5, he was firmly fixed upon the throne, and “the stone which had been so long rejected by the builders, was made the head cornerstone, verse 22.”

This event reflected great “light” upon all God’s purposes respecting him. Darkness had hung over him for a long period; but it was now dispelled; and he saw clearly these two important truths:

That God’s counsel, by whoever opposed, shall stand.

That those who trust in the Lord, however tried they may be, shall never be confounded.

But, as we said, a greater than David is here. It was generally acknowledged among the Jews themselves that David was a type of the Messiah, and that this Psalm had an especial reference to Him who was in due time to sit upon the throne of David. Hence the acclamations which were used by the people on the occasion of David’s installation, were used by the Jews in reference to Christ, Matthew 21:9; and he vindicated their conduct in this particular Matthew 21:16; and afterwards appealed to this very Psalm in confirmation of his predictions respecting his rejection by them, and his subsequent elevation to the throne of David, Matthew 21:42.

In like manner, after the death and resurrection of Christ, Peter, “when he was filled with the Holy Spirit,” expressly applied to Christ this very passage, and affirmed in the presence of all the Rulers and Elders of Israel that it was accomplished in the exaltation of that Jesus whom they had crucified, Acts 4:8; Acts 4:11.

Now in this event, the exaltation of Christ to the throne of glory, God has indeed “showed us light;” and it will be a profitable subject for our meditation at this time, if we consider:

I. The light which God has shown us.

Previous to the resurrection of Christ, all was darkness; the disciples themselves doubted whether they had not been deceived in their expectations respecting him. But from that event, and his consequent ascension to the right hand of God, we learn infallibly,

1. The efficacy of Christ’s atonement.

Had he not risen, we might have conceived of him as a great Prophet indeed, but as nothing more than a prophet, who, like multitudes who had preceded him, sealed his doctrines with his own blood. But he had spoken of his death as a ransom to be paid for the souls of men; and how could we have known that that ransom was accepted, if his resurrection, which he himself taught his disciples to look forward to as the proof and evidence of his acceptance, had not been effected?

But when we see that he did rise from the dead, and ascended to Heaven in the presence of his disciples, and sent the Holy Spirit according to his Word to bear testimony concerning him—then there is no room left for doubt; we are perfectly sure that his offering was accepted by the Father, and that by his obedience unto death he has wrought out eternal redemption for us! Romans 1:4; Romans 8:34.

2. The sufficiency of Christ’s grace.

Even when our blessed Lord was on earth, the whole creation, animate and inanimate, terrestrial and infernal, were obedient to his will; how much more therefore, now that he is exalted to the right hand of the Majesty on high, and has all fullness treasured up in him for the benefit of his people, must he be able to “do all things which we call upon him for!” If he says, as he did to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you”—then we may safely adopt Paul’s language, and say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” If all enemies are put under his feet, they shall assuredly be put under ours also; even “Satan himself shall be bruised under our feet shortly.”

3. The excellency of Christ’s salvation.

Behold what has taken place with respect to him! He is exalted to the throne of God, and possessed of all the glory which he had with the Father before the worlds were made. The same glory is reserved for us also, Luke 22:29, and a participation of that very throne which his Father has given to him, Revelation 3:21.

Believer, contemplate all the glory and felicity of your exalted Head; and then see what is prepared for all his members, “your body shall be like unto his glorious body;” your soul shall be transformed into his perfect image; and all the glory which his Father has given him, shall be your inalienable and everlasting inheritance! John 17:22. 1 Peter 1:4.

What a glorious light is this! Let it lead us to contemplate:

II. The returns which it calls for at our hands.

Surely such discoveries as are here made to us should call forth our devoutest affections; they should lead us,

1. To surrender ourselves entirely to God.

The sacrifices which David and Solomon offered unto God were almost without number, 1 Chronicles 29:21. 1 Kings 8:62-63; but the sacrifice of a broken and contrite spirit, or of a devout and grateful heart, outweighs them all! Psalm 50:13-14; Psalm 51:16-17. Whether the sacrifices were ever “bound to the horns of the altar,” we are not informed. But sure enough our hearts need to be bound; for they are ever ready to “start aside as a broken bow,” and “to backslide from God as a wandering heifer, “and we should labor incessantly to say with David, “O God, my heart is fixed, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise.”

The example of Abraham may assist us in this particular. The offering of his son was a dark dispensation; but, when God arrested the arm of Abraham, and forbad him to inflict the fatal wound, a light beamed in upon his soul; he saw a risen Savior presented to him under the image of his restored son; and instantly “he took the ram which was caught in the thicket, and offered him up for burnt-offering in the stead of his son, Genesis 22:13.”

Let the sight of a risen Savior operate in like manner upon us; let us take the offering which all of us have at hand, and which we know will be pleasing to the Lord, even “the offering of a willing heart,” and let us present it a living sacrifice to God, as our reasonable and most delightful service, Romans 12:1 with Hebrews 13:15.

2. To rejoice and glory in God as our portion forever.

Like Paul, we may say of Christ, “He has loved me, and given himself for me.” Indeed, without this appropriation of God and his blessings to our own souls, we can never attain to a joyful and thankful spirit; but it is the privilege of every believer to say of Christ, “He is my friend, He is my beloved!” God approves of this language, by whoever used, provided only it is used in sincerity and truth, “You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, I will exalt you.” If under the Old Testament, believers could say, “My beloved is mine, and I am his!” then much more may we regard him as “the strength of our heart, and our portion forever.”

ADDRESS.

1. To those who are yet in darkness.

Long was the night with which David was enclosed, insomuch that he sometimes feared he should “one day perish by the hands of Saul;” yet at last the day dawned upon him, and “God showed him light.”

In the same way, dark were the dispensations towards our blessed Lord, until in his resurrection and ascension the true light was made to shine.

Do not let any of us then indulge desponding fears; let us know assuredly, that “the counsel of God shall stand,” and that “those who trust in him shall never be confounded.” Indeed even “in our darkness, the Lord will be a light unto us;” and soon “our light shall rise in obscurity, and our darkness be as the noon-day.”

2. To those who have been “brought out of darkness into God’s marvelous light”.

Happy, happy you, who behold a risen Savior, and see the fullness which you have in him! You may be sweetly assured, that, as he is able, so also he is engaged to “save your souls to the uttermost, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for you.”

But let this light have its proper influence upon your minds. “Walk as children of the light” and of the day; yes, “walk in the light, as he is in the light.” If you do indeed “behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,” “it is God the Lord who has shown it to you;” and “you, as his peculiar people, are called to show forth his praises! 1 Peter 2:9.” Do this then in the way before prescribed; give up yourselves wholly unto him; and take him as your only, your everlasting, portion!

Charles Simeon

Psalm 117

“Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!”

This is the shortest of all the Psalms; but it is by no means the least interesting; the energy with which it is expressed abundantly marks the importance of the truths contained in it, and the feelings with which it should be read by us. The same opinions are surely contained in many other Psalms; but to a mind that is rightly disposed, they are ever new; they need no embellishment to adorn them, no eloquence to set them forth. If any man can hear or reflect upon them without emotion, the fault is in himself alone.

I. Let us consider the Psalm in a general view.

Here is a call to the whole world to praise and adore their God. Those perfections which they are more especially called to celebrate are:

1. The greatness of his mercy.

Reflect on his sparing mercy. Consider the state of the whole world, which has so cast off their allegiance to God, that “he is not in all their thoughts!” Consider the inconceivable mass of iniquity that has been accumulating now nearly six thousand years; and yet we are spared! Once indeed God destroyed the world; but only once. On some few occasions God has marked his indignation against sin; but on very few. An Achan, an Uzzah, an Ananias, have been set up as witnesses for God, that he hates iniquity; but these only serve the more strikingly to illustrate the astonishing forbearance of our God! Let every Christian look back upon his own personal transgressions, and then say whether he himself is not an astonishing monument of God’s forbearance.

But if we so admire the sparing mercy of our God, what shall we say of his redeeming mercy? What words can we ever find sufficient to express the wonders of God’s love, in substituting his own Son, his co-equal, co-eternal Son, in our place, and laying the iniquities of a ruined world on him? Here we are altogether lost in wonder. The idea of redemption is so vast, that we cannot grasp it. We assent to it; we believe it; we trust in it; but it so far exceeds all our comprehension, that it appears rather like “a cunningly-devised fable,” than a reality.

We see a little of the suitableness and sufficiency of this salvation; but only “as in a looking-glass darkly;” it is still a wonder that we view it at all; spelling it out, as it were, from a few scattered hints, and guessing at what we cannot comprehend. The freeness with which it is offered also, no less surpasses knowledge.

By the way in which God himself follows us with offers, and entreaties, it should seem almost as if his happiness, rather than ours, depended on our acceptance of it. The continuance of these offers, made as they are from year to year to people who only pour contempt upon them, and trample on that adorable Savior who shed his blood for them. O! what an emphasis does this give to that expression in our text, “His merciful kindness is great towards us!”

Should not the whole universe adore our God for this?

2. The inviolability of his truth.

Were his truth considered in reference to his threatenings, it would be a solemn subject indeed; but we are called to notice it at present only in connection with his promises. All the mercy which God was pleased to grant to man, he has made over to us by an everlasting covenant, which was confirmed with an oath, and ratified with the blood of his only dear Son. There is not anything which fallen man can want, for body or for soul, for time or for eternity, which has not been made the subject of a distinct promise. And who ever heard of one single promise failing him who trusted in it? Who ever heard of one sinner rejected, who came to God in the way prescribed?

To the Jewish nation many specific promises were made; Did anyone of them fail? Did not Joshua, after the final settlement of the Jews in Canaan, bear testimony for God in this respect, in the presence of the whole assembled nation, and appeal to them for the truth of his assertions? Joshua 23:14. And have not all of you, who have ever rested in, and pleaded, God’s gracious promises, been constrained to bear a similar testimony in his behalf?

Let the whole world then adore and magnify the Lord on this ground; and never be weary of acknowledging, that “his mercy endures forever. See Psalm 136, where it is repeated twenty-six times in as many verses.”

Let us now proceed to consider the Psalm,

II. Let us consider the Psalm with a more immediate reference to the Gentile world.

The Psalm is in reality a prophecy; and so important a prophecy, that Paul expressly quotes one part of it, Romans 15:11, and gives, as it were, an explanation of the remainder, Romans 15:8-9, where God’s truth and mercy are both specified, as illustrated and confirmed by Christ.

It declares the calling of the Gentiles.

In this sense it has been interpreted, even by some of the Jews themselves; and we are sure that this is its true import, because an inspired Apostle has put this construction upon it. And are not we ourselves evidences of its truth? Are not we Gentiles? Has not God’s mercy reached unto us? Are not his promises also fulfilled to us? The promise to Abraham was, that “in him, and in his seed, should all the nations of the earth be blessed;” and this promise was made to him while he was yet uncircumcised, in order that the interest which we uncircumcised Gentiles had in it might be more fully manifest, Romans 4:11.

Behold then, we are living witnesses both of God’s mercy and truth! His promises are fulfilled to us, yes, and are yet daily fulfilling before our eyes. The blessings of salvation are poured down upon us in rich abundance. The Church is daily enlarging on every side of us. Both at home and abroad the Gospel is running and glorified, to an extent that has never been seen since the Apostolic age. And the time for its universal diffusion through the whole earth is manifestly drawing near. We have seen enough with our eyes to assure us, that the fuller accomplishment of God’s promises may be expected in due season; and that, at the appointed hour, “all the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdom of our God, and of his Christ.”

In this view, all the Gentile world are called upon to bless and praise their God.

You, who are here assembled, arise and praise your God. Consider what mercy has been shown to you; consider what truth has been displayed towards you. Arise, I say; yes, again and again would I repeat it: Arise and praise your God!

And, you remotest nations of the earth, O that our voice could reach to you! O that you knew your obligations to your God, and the blessings that are in reserve for you! The Savior was called, “The Desire of all nations;” and such indeed he ought to be. Well! if you know him not, and consequently rejoice not in him, we will rejoice for you; for he is coming to you; the messengers of the Lord Almighty are going forth into every quarter of the globe; and the word that reveals him to you is translating, in purpose and intention at least, into all the languages of the earth; and we anticipate with joy the time, when all the heathen shall serve him, and “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

ADDRESS.

1. Are there any among you who have no disposition to praise the Lord?

Alas! there are too many, who have no delight in this blessed work, and have never spent one hour in it in all their lives! Ah! wretched ingrate! What do you think of yourselves?

Are you not blind, when you cannot see the perfections of your God?

Are you not base, when you can receive such mercies at God’s hands, and never acknowledge them?

Are you not brutish, yes, worse than brutish? for “the ox and donkey know their owner; but you know not,” nor acknowledge, your Creator, your Benefactor, your Redeemer.

See how far you are from being a holy Christian! Tell me not of your moral qualities; you are base ungrateful creatures; and, if a fellow-creature were to treat you as you treat your God, you would abhor him utterly. O repent, and embrace the mercy that is yet offered to you! Or else you will find that He, who is true to his promises, will be true to his threatenings also.

2. Are there among you some who desire to praise the Lord?

We believe it; we rejoice in it; we pray to God to increase their number a hundredfold. But do you not find that your thanks and praises are infinitely short of what the occasion for them demands? Yes, methinks there is nothing so humbling to a Christian as the services which he attempts to render to his God. However, still go on to serve him as you can, when you cannot serve him as you would.

To quicken your zeal, contemplate much and deeply the greatness of God’s mercy to you, and the inviolability of his truth. God has designed that such contemplations should be a rich source of comfort to yourselves, as they will be also of love and gratitude to him. And, while your own souls are filled with these divine affections, endeavor to diffuse the sacred flame, that all around you, and, if possible, all the nations of the world, may be stirred up to render unto God the praises due unto his name.

Charles Simeon

Psalm 116:15

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints!”

The meaning of these words will be best marked from the occasion on which we suppose them to have been uttered. The Psalm appears to have been written after Absalom’s rebellion. Most imminent were the dangers from which David had been delivered. For this mercy he renders thanks; and acknowledges, to the praise of his heavenly Protector, that, while his own son had sought his life, and instigated multitudes to seek his destruction, God had interposed for his deliverance, and had inflicted merited judgments on his enemies. So precious had God accounted his death, that he would make those to pay dearly who had labored to effect it; or, as it is said in another Psalm, “He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious to him! Psalm 72:14.”

From the words which I have read, I shall take occasion to show,

I. In what light God regards the death of the saints.

We are not to understand that the death of his saints is pleasing to God, but rather, that he places a high value on them, and that he will allow none to accomplish their death with impunity.

1. So precious is their death, that God watches over them to prevent it.

Incessant is his care over his Church; as he has said, “I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment; lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day, Isaiah 27:4.” He assures us that “no weapon that is formed against his people shall prosper, Isaiah 54:17.” So that, as has been often said, “God’s people are immortal, until their work is done.” Not that they are at liberty to tempt the Lord by rushing needlessly into danger; but, if called by God to perform any duty, they have nothing to fear. David’s deliverances were numberless, as were those also of the Apostle Paul. Our Lord himself, too, was encompassed for years by those who sought his life; but none could prevail against him, until “his hour was come.” As weak as his people are, even “as lambs in the midst of wolves,” none can effect their ruin, “none can ever pluck them out of his hands.” “There is an appointed time” for every one of them to die; and, as they must wait, so must their enemies also wait, until that time is come.

2. So precious is their death, that God will come forth to avenge it.

God does allow his people to be assaulted, and to be put to death; but he will call their enemies to a severe account for all that they do against the lowest of his saints. It is said, “He who touches you, touches the apple of his eye! Zechariah 2:8.” We well know the force of this figure, if but a mote gets into our eye; and we may therefore understand from thence how God feels when any of his people are assaulted. He has told us, that “It would have been better for any man that a millstone were hanged round his neck, and that he were cast into the depths of the sea, than that he should offend one of God’s little ones!”

We see, in the history of David, how Ahithophel suffered for his treachery, and Absalom for his rebellion; and sooner or later shall every man who, either in a way of direct assault or of silent contempt, harms the people of the Lord, surely “give account thereof in the day of judgment 1 Peter 4:4-5.”

3. So precious is their death, that God will never allow it, until he has accomplished his good work within them.

To every one of his people has God assigned his proper work; to some, as to the dying thief, little more is given than an opportunity of confessing Christ; to others, as to Paul and John, are long and arduous labors allotted; but the times of all are in God’s hands; and he will enable every one of them to say, “Father, I have glorified you on earth; I have finished the work which you gave me to do, John 17:4.”

To his blood-thirsty enemies our Savior said, “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again!” And even to the most potent among them we may say, “You could have no power at all against me, except it were given you from above.” Men may think they have accomplished their purposes; as when Peter was kept in prison until the very night preceding his intended execution; or as when Paul had been stoned, and left for dead. But “there is no counsel or might against the Lord.” He will make “the wrath of man to praise him; and the remainder of it,” which would counteract his purposes, “he will restrain.”

Such being God’s estimate of his people’s death, we may see,

II. In what light we also should regard the death of the godly.

However we may encourage souls on their removal to the eternal world, we cannot but regard their death:

1. As an event to be deplored.

The world little thinks how much they are indebted to the saints. It is for their sakes that the world itself is kept in existence. If their number were complete, and their graces arrived at the measure ordained for them, we have reason to think that an end would be put to the present state of things, as we know there will be at the day of judgment. The usefulness of some who are in very conspicuous stations is seen and acknowledged; but it is hard to conceive how much good may be done by the lowest saint, through the prayers which he offers up from time to time.

The prayer of Moses repeatedly saved the whole Jewish nation, when for their iniquities God had determined to sweep them all away.

Abraham prevailed, to the full extent of his petitions, in behalf of Sodom and all the cities of the plain.

And who can tell what blessings the prayers of God’s people have brought on our guilty land, or what blessings may be obtained through the most humble individual among them? As a public loss, therefore, I think the removal of any saint may be deplored. As it respects him personally, we may indeed, from a variety of circumstances, be led to rejoice in it; because he rests from his labors, and may therefore be accounted blessed; but as far as the work of God on earth and the benefit of mankind are concerned, his death may be regarded as a ground of general regret.

2. As a dispensation to be carefully improved.

In the death of a saint, God himself calls upon us to inquire, whether we, if we had been taken, should have been found ready. He bids us to “work while it is day, since the night is coming when no man can work.” He leads us to consider the blessedness of dying in the Lord; and bids us to “be followers of those who, through faith and patience, now inherit the promises.”

ADDRESS.

1. Those who make light of death.

It is surprising how little effect the death of any saint produces on the minds of survivors; and how speedily any impression wears away. The conversation of mourners assembled to attend a funeral gives us a melancholy picture of the human mind, and of the extreme indifference with which the concerns of eternity are regarded by us. But, brethren, will death appear so light a matter when we shall have entered into the eternal world? Is there one of us who will not wish that he had labored far move to prepare for his great account? I beg you, trifle not with your souls; but know assuredly, that one soul is of more value than the whole world.

2. Those who estimate death according to its real importance.

You well know the true value of life. Its great use is, to prepare for death. Let every hour be pressed into the service of your God. Let everything be valued according to its bearing on eternity. Above all, let the Savior be dear to you. It is He who has taken away the sting of death, and authorised you to number it among your richest treasures. Through his sin-atoning blood you may look forward to death and judgment with far other eyes than they can be viewed by the ungodly world. You may regard death as the commencement of eternal life, and the very gate of Heaven. Only take care, therefore, that in your experience it be “Christ to live,” and then you shall assuredly and that it will “be gain to die!”

Charles Simeon