Davids Learning, Commentary 5 · Commentary 1
Then I acknowledged my sinne]
WHen I was in such perplexitie all day and all night, then, and not before. Hence wee may learne, that
The sense of miserie must goe before the sense of merciemercy. Doct.God first called Adam, and said, Adam, where art thou? Sense of miserie must goe before sense of mercy.in what estate? and then promised him a Sauiour, Psal. 126. 5. They that sow in teares, shall reape in ioy. Mat. 5. 4. Blessed are they that mourne: for they shall be comforted. Prou. 28. 13. He that confesseth and forsaketh his sinnes, shall finde mercy. Psal. 51. DAVID, before he could be restored to the ioy of his saluation, had a deepe sense of his sinne, a deepe sorrow and touch of conscience for it.
And good reason that this should be so: for
First, touch of conscience, though it be no grace, yet it Reas. 1.is a preparation to it, and makes way to it, as the needle to the thread: and the Diuines call it truly a beginning of grace, that is of preparation, not of composition. And indeed, till legall feare hath through serious sense of sinne made a man feare euen for punishment, and despaire in respect of himselfe, he is neuer in earnest stirred to consider of, and much lesse to desire, the promise of saluation, published and propounded in the Gospell. And hence the Lord, partly by his Word, doth driue men to their wits ends, as Acts 2. 37. at Peters Sermon, the conuerts said, Men and brethren, what shall we doe? and partly by his works vponupon them, as the Iaylor, Act. 16. 29, 30. and Manasseh, 2. Chron. 33. 12, 13. God binds him in chaines, and sends him to Babel, and in his captiuitie he humbled himselfe, and sought the Lord; when he was in affliction, saith the Text.
Secondly, the promise is made onelyonly to the hungrie, 2.that the Lord will fill them with good things, Lu. 1. 53. Now till a man come to see his miserie by sinne, hee can neuer get out of himselfe, he neuer sees in what neede he stands of Christ, he hungers not, nor thirsts after him and his merits, he prizeth not his blood, and therefore is without any part in him, because hee is not capable of him. If any man thirst, I will giuegive him to drinke of the water of life, saith our Sauiour, Iohn 7. 37, 38. see Isa. 55. 1. A begger, so long as he hath any thing at home, cares not greatly for stirring abroad; and so long as we finde any content in our selues, and see not our vtter beggery, and that how without Christ wee are readie to starue, wee are but weakely importunate with him.
Thirdly, the heart of eueryevery man by nature is like a fellow field, which must be ploughed vp, rent, and harrowed, 3before the seede of God come there; hee sowes not among thornes, nor will cast in his heauenly seed of grace or comfort, till our surrowes be ploughed, neither can all this renting and ploughing be without sense of paine. For this purpose hath the Lord set vp a ministrie in the Church, to charge men with their spirituall sicknesse, and speciall sinnes, as he sent Nathan to tell Dauid, Thou art the man; and as Christ himselfe said to the woman of Samaria, that she was a woman little better then a harlot: here was the Lords plough, that subdued their clods, and prepared their ground for the seede of grace: this is the Lords sacrificing knife, to make wounds in the conscience, to pare away the dead flesh, and so to make way to sound cure.
Fourthly, the conuerting of a sinner, is the curing of a sicke and wounded soule, and the Phisician is God himselfe, 4who, that his cure may bee sound, first searcheth and lanceth, and stirreth in the wound, which puts the patient to much paine, before he powre oyle into it, and binde it vp. Many are the gashes and mortall wounds of our soules, inflicted by Satan and our owne corruption, and we must, and shall feele the smart of them, before we be throughly healed.
To this purpose hath the Lord placed the conscience in a mans soule, to tell him what hee hath done amisse, and to follow him with hue and crie, yea, to apprehend him, and set vp a gibbet in his soule, to which it adiudgeth him, and all to bring him into himselfe, to seeke and sue for pardon.
Fifthly, and lastly, God will be honoured in the humble, 5confessing of that which is amisse, 1. Iohn 1. 9. If wee acknowledge our sinnes, hee is faithfull and iust to forgiue them. DAVID himselfe must confesse, that he had done very foolishly in numbring the people. Nay, hee will hauehave an healing of their error, an vndoing of that that is done, and a building vp of that which they hauehave destroied, as Saul, the more zealous persecutor, the more zealous preacher; Zacheus, the more heauie oppressor, the more heartie restorer.
First then, we see that God dealeth here, as in all the matter of our saluation, to set forth his mightie power Use 1.in bringing the ioy of his elect out of sorrow, as at first he did light out of darkenesse: as by Christs death hee works out our life, so he killeth vsus also to make vsus aliue: as once he set his Bow in the heauens, a signe of present raine, yet a perpetuall and generall signe, that the world shall neuer be drowned againe; euen so the Lord giues his children the couenant of life, but through death; a righteousnesse, but by a sense and groning vnderunder vnrighteousnesse; a present blessednesse, but through sense of miserie; an happy resurrection, but through dust and corruption. Thus he foundeth their soundest ioy in sorrow, their laughter in teares, their happines in vnhappinesse and miserie: all the former weight that lay vponupon Dauid, doth but make him seeke reliefe and preserue his peace when he hath regained it.
Secondly, heere is a ground of sound comfort for Gods children in sorrow, if it bee godly sorrow, that Use 2.they may say with IOB, After darknesse I shall see light, this sense of miserie shal leade me to the sense of mercy, this sorrow may last for a night, but ioy shall come in the morning; after two daies he will reuiue vsus, and in the third we shall liue in his sight, Hos. 6. 2. I know, this hand, which is so heauie vponupon me, is vnderunder my head, to bring me light out of this darknesse, and life out of that, which for the present is more bitter then death it selfe.
Notes of that sense of miserie, which shall hauehave sense Markes of that sense of misery which shall finde mercy.of mercy, are these:
First, it workes a displeasure against a mans selfe for displeasing God, as 2. Cor. 7. 11. What indignation hath this wrought in you? that is, an holy blaming of our selues, and iudging our selues worthy any punishment; and this not in generall onelyonly, but euen in particular sinnes, and in all the sinnes, that we can know by our selues, as a Surgeon in curing tumors, brings the matter to a head.
Secondly, a constant purpose not to sinne for a world, but to cleaue vntounto God with full purpose of heart, Acts 11. 23.
Thirdly, a change of the whole man in affection and action: what a change was wrought in the Iaylour vponupon his conuersion? Acts 16.
Fourthly, a trembling at the Word, Isa. 66. 2. This was in Eli: and good Iosiahs heart did melt at the reading of the Law; the Conuerts hearing the words of Peter, were pricked in their hearts.Acts 2. 37.
Fifthly, it feeles and watcheth the worke, and stirrings of corruption, it auoides occasion of offence, and seekes occasions of God, it grieues as oft as it falls or offends euen in smaller things. Ioseph fled from his Mistresse, and Dauids heart smote him, in cutting off the lap of Sauls garment.
Sixthly, it lookes not to outward things more then needs must, it is not comforted but by Christ, and waites patiently for Christ, being no whit hasty to vse vnlawfull meanes, but depends vponupon God. Dauid comforts not himselfe in corne, wine, or oile, but in Gods countenance, Psal. 4. It is instant with God in prayer, as the Canaanite, Luk. 7.
Finde these notes in thy selfe, and thou mayest support thy selfe in the deepest distresse that is: for if thy soule thus truly mourne for sinne, thou art in the highway to blessednesse.
Thirdly, this rebukes the common error of men, who Vse 3.account conuersion, and the attaining of happinesse, a matter of nothing; men thinke that heauen stands by their beds-sides, it is but a light Lord hauehave merciemercy; whereas neuer hee went to heauen, that sailed not by hell: it is a burdened soule, that seekes and gets ease; a weary soule, which Christ refresheth; a soule pressed with an heauie hand, that sues for mercy. No man can taste of the sweete fruite of mercy, that hath not tasted the bitter fruite of sinne, and of a wounded and distressed conscience. And whosoeuer hath not felt the griefe and smart of his sinnes, may iustly feare hee neuer truly repented; and thou that saiest, thy sinnes neuer troubled thee, thou thankest God, shalt find, that there is more trouble behind.
Fourthly, labour to feele thy spirituall miserie and Vse. 4.wants, that with Lazarus thou maiest get thee to Diues Motiues to get a sent of our spirituall miserie.his gate, and examine thy selfe if thou hast felt it. How loth are men to feele the smart of sinne, to heare the law come vponupon their conscience, for feare they bee set into dumpes and melancholy, to feele the crosse, whereby God breakes the stubbornnesse of nature, and subdues it?
Alas, poore soules, that nip true repentance in the blossome, and blast it in the beginning, that thinke they are very neere heauen, when they are loth to point their foot into the first step, which is to mourne, and to be cast downe to hell in their owne sense, and in the feeling of their owne sinnes: till which time thou hast not mooued one foote or finger toward eternall life; therefore know,
First, that thy case is dangerous, and thou art still in thy sinnes, who wilt not let the word come home to thy heart, and wilt not suffer Gods Spirit to meete thee in the Ministerie, and canst not indure the power of the Word to wound either thy soule or thy sinne, but it hath been in vaine to thee; a certaine signe of a man as yet out of the state of grace, as it is Rom. 1. 28. Such as regarded not to know God, he gaue them vp to the lusts of their hearts.
Secondly, know that an accusing conscience for sinne is better then a dead conscience; a sleepie, benummed, or seared conscience, is the most grieuous plague that God can strike a man withall in this life; his wrath followes drowsie consciences, to giuegive them vp to a spirit of slumber, and at length to a reprobate sense. Psal. 81. 11. My people would not heare my voice, Israel would none of me; so I gaue them vp to the hardnesse of their hearts, and they walked in their owne counsels.
Thirdly, let vsus bee mooued to make search into our miserie, considering, first, that if we shead not teares on earth, God can neuer wipe them away in heauen: and if we do here shead teares for sinne, God carries an handkerchiefe to wipe them all away; such Aprill showres bring the May-flowres of grace and comfort.
Secondly, that our soules in their swaruing from God, are like bones out of ioynt; the longer they goe vnrespected, the more painefull they prooue.
Thirdly, for the health of the body, men will purge and sweat, and make shift to swallow, and get downe bitter pills and potions: so the vomit of the soule is the griefe of repentance, take it betime, and the danger is lesse. Were the medicine of repentance grieuous to take, yet in regard of the euerlasting health, to which it restoreth vsus, wee should like wise men, take the sweete with the sowre, and chuse this rather, then to feede on such sweete meates as please the palate, while they bee tasted, but cause at length vomits more bitter then death.
Fourthly, how highly doth God esteeme of a man or woman of a broken heart? 2. King. 22. 19. Good Iosiahs heart melted, and God had a care to take him to himselfe from the euill to come. Isa. 57. 15. I walke with him that is of a contrite spirit, to reuiue the spirit of the humble, and giuegive life to the contrite heart. Now followes the ground of Dauids confession, which is first in order.