Davids Learning, Commentary 5 · Commentary 11
Shall not come neere him.]
WHat? did euer godly man auoide them? was Obiect.not Noah neere them, and they neere him? was not Dauid ouer head and eares in them? Psal. 69. 1, 2. was not Ionas in the midst of them? Chap. 3. 5. All thy waues and surges passed ouer me.
The meaning of the phrase is, that these floods shall Answ.not come neere the godly man to hurt him, or as euils, or till they be altered. It were not fit, that the godly should be priuiledged, and quite exempted from afflictions, but that the hurt and euill of them shal not come neere them; for they shall all turne to their good, yea to their best. Psal. 105. 15. Touch not my Prophets: The phrase is presently expounded, Doe them no harme, no, not the least harme. And Saint Iohn saith, He that is borne of God, the wicked one shall not touch him.
No? what say you to Iob and his children? of Marie Obiect.Magdalen possessed with seuen deuils? of many of Gods children bewitched and vexed with the deuill? why, Satan is most busie with the sonnes of God, neither spared Christ himselfe.
True, but he toucheth them, not to doe them harme, he Answ.cannot hauehave his will on them.
Surely.] Or certainely: an asseueration, added, first, to confirme their hearts that shall seeke God in prayer. Secondly, to shew that as the promise of God is large and excellent, so it is most sure and true. Thirdly, to reproue the distrust of men, and want of application. Dauid himselfe is not alwaies in case to apply the promises, Psal. 116. 11. I said in my haste, All men are lyars, that is, all the promises are vntrue.
This promise yeelds vsus this point of instruction, that
No iudgement in the world can hurt, or touch a godly man Doct.to doe him the least harme. Psal. 91. 6, 7. No plague shall The greatest iudgement cannot do the godly the least harme.come neere his tabernacle: A thousand shall fall at thy side, and 1000. at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee. When the reuenging Angell was to passe through all Egypt, and smite the first borne, his commission is limited, he must passe ouer the Israelites, where the blood was sprinkled on the doore-postes and lintels. Ezek. 9. 4, 5, 6. The man in white rayment, who was Gods executioner of a common iudgement, must first Marke those in the forehead, who mourne for their sinnes, and spare them. Reuel. 7. 3. The Angell must not hurt the earth, till all Gods Saints be marked.
First, the godly man stands on a rocke, the Lord is his Reas. 1.rocke, that looke as in the ouerflowing of many waters, houses are driuen downe, men are drowned, and cattel perish, but he that is vponupon a high rocke, is safe: so he that hath made the Lord his Rocke and defence, heauen and earth cannot stirre him. In the great deluge, the waters rose not vp to heauen, but onelyonly fifteene cubites aboue the highest Mountaines of the earth; and, if thy Rocke be in heauen, the floods of great waters shall not touch thee.
Secondly, Gods protection compasseth his people, as the hilles compassed Ierusalem. Moses being cast vponupon 2.the waters, but first put into a basket, was safe enough till he was drawne out. When the great deluge couered the face of the whole earth, the Lord prepared an Arke for Noah and his familie; therein they were safe, because God shut them in: Gods protection is this basket, this Arke to his children.
Thirdly, as, if a man be cast into the sea, and can keepe his head aloft, hee cannot bee drowned; so, as long as 3.Christ the head is aboue, hee will not lose the least and basest of his members; If Christ bee in the ship, all is safe.
Fourthly, Gods word and promise is to be with them; 4.at Christs word, Peter walkes safely on the water.
But sense and reason is against all these your sayings: Obiect.What? hauehave not the enemies with their violent inundations come neere, yea, and almost ouerturned the whole Church? What stirres, tumults, martyrdoms and butcheries hauehave been outragiously committed on the poore Saints? What horrible slaughters hauehave beene done on Protestants, in France, Flanders, Spaine? in our owne Countrie, the fires hauehave been kindled as hot as Nebuchadnezars furnace, to burne the bodies of Gods Saints, and some yet aliue hauehave seene those Marian daies, wherein the streetes ran with the blood of the Saints, as Ierusalems did in the time of Manasseh.
The Church is like the Arke of Noah, which, the more the waters rose, the more and higher it rose; or like the Answ.ship, wherein Christ lay asleepe, which may bee tossed with windes and waues, but not ouerturned: euen so, the more the waters of affliction bee increased, the more is the Arke of the Church exalted. The Church may bee beaten with waues, but it shall bee still lifted vp aboue them. The Disciples may faint, and see the streames readie to swallow thē, yea, in their sense may say, Master, we perish: but Christ is in the ship, he will awake in due season, and rebuke both the storme, and their little faith. Thus the Apostle saith, We are in all things more then conquerours.
Secondly, the Prophet yeelds, Psal. 34. 19. that, great are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord deliuers them out of all: but marke how:
First, sometimes they are exempted from the common Sundry wayes of Gods deliuering of his seruants.inundation, that it doth not come neere them, as those 7000. marked, who bowed not their knees to Baal, were saued from Iezabel, and the tenth and remnant reserued from common plagues, to propagate Gods grace and glory with the manner of his dealing, and their deliuerance.
Secondly, sometime they are wrapped in the common miserie, as suppose the plague, or fire, or sword, but herein finde the Lords compassion and mercy in speciall deliuerances. Ieremy was taken into Babylon with the captiues, but it was better with him there, then among his owne people. So Dauid saith, Thou hast afflicted me sore, but hast not deliuered me vntounto death.
Thirdly, sometimes the godly are left vntounto death, and led, as sheepe vntounto the slaughter, and sustaine all the cruelty and ignominy their enemies can deuise. And this the Lord doth permit: first, in respect of their enemies, that they may by their blasphemies and cruelty prepare and hasten their owne destruction. Secondly, of the truth, which is sealed and ratified with the blood of the Martyrs. Thirdly, of the growth of the Church, which is sowne and watered with the bloud of the Saints, as being the seede of the Church. Fourthly, in respect of the godly themselues, to sweeten them; for the fire is the fittest place for perfumes: But yet
First, the Lord is not carelesse, much lesse prodigall of the liues of his seruants, but by speciall counsell, thus ordereth and disposeth of them: for hee numbers their flittings, puts their teares into his bottle, and suffers not a haire, much lesse the head it selfe, to fall without his prouidence. Precious to the Lord is the death of his Saints, Psal. 116. 15.
Secondly, being thus left in the enemies hand, the promise of deliuerance is most true, seeing, first, the rod of Psal. 125. 3.the vngodly doth not rest vponupon them, but by being deliuered to them are deliuered from them. Secondly, in the midst of death they liue, conquer, and raigne: so saith the Apostle, We are slaine, but not ouer-come: the reason is, because Tyrants and Persecutors cannot ouercome their Faith, Hope, and Profession. Thirdly, they are deliuered from all the bands of sinne and death, and the imperfect man is wholly renewed. Fourthly, they rest in their beds, euen eueryevery one that walketh before the Lord, and are deliuered from seeing the euill to come.
But seeing the wicked are deliuered from troubles as Obiect.well as the godly, out of many iudgements, what priuiledge is this?
First, the wicked are often temporally deliuered as Answ. 1.well as the godly, but a sting is left behinde, so as deliuerance Difference between the deliuerances of the godly, and the wicked, in three things.is a blessing in it selfe, but not to them, whereas the godlies deliuerance is a true blessing both in it selfe, and vntounto them.
Secondly, God deliuers either as a Creator, or as a Father. As a Creator and preseruer of things created, hee 2preserues the wicked from some present euill, to reserue them to a greater mischiefe. Thus are the Deuils preserued by God, and reserued to finall iudgement; only the wicked hauehave offer of grace, which the Deuils hauehave not. But as a Father, he deliuers his children, who often deliuers his owne by correction, taking them away from euill which might corrupt them, so as if they be not temporally deliuered, they are deliuered eternally. The godly by being taken away by iudgement, are freed from iudgement, the wicked eueryevery way preserued, or rather reserued vntounto iudgement.
Thirdly, God deliuereth either by vertue of a promise, 3.made and applyed to the faithfull, claymed and obtayned by fasting, prayer, and obedience, as Mordecai, Ester 4. 16. and Iehoshaphat, 2. Chron. 20. 3. or else not by vertue of any promise, as the wicked, who hauehave no promise, no faith, and therefore no sound blessing. Thus we see the great difference betweene the deliuerance of the godly, and of the wicked, and as great comfort in the one, which the other wants.
This serues to comfort the godly; in that the Lord sits Vse 1.vponupon the floods, and that to this purpose, to performe this gracious promise. Isa. 42. 3. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the floods, that they shall not ouerflow thee. So Eliphas telleth Iob, chap. 5. 19 In sixe troubles he will deliuer thee, and in the seuenth, euill shall not come neere thee; as if hee had said, Though sixe and seuen troubles beset thee, yet the euill of them shall not come neere thee. This presence of God with his children, makes them glorie in their troubles, as in a crowne vponupon their heads: and the Apostle Paul gloried, that hee was more in affliction then al the false teachers, 2. Cor. 11 and Heb. 11. 35. the Saints were in most deadly tryalls, and would not bee deliuered (namely, vponupon vnlawfull cōditions) because they found God as good as his word.
Secondly, miserable men are they that withdraw their Vse 2.hearts from the Lord, and seeke him not in his promises, nor in their prayers, but trust to wind out themselues by other meanes: some make falshood their refuge, and some embrace the world and carnall meanes, and leane vponupon the arme of flesh. These fly from their defence, wait vponupon lying vanities, and forsake their owne mercy, Ion. 2. 8. 'tis as if Noah for feare of the inundation should hauehave left the Arke, and flyed to the Mountaynes, which had beene to hauehave throwne himselfe into the midst of the waters; and thus doe they, that to auoid troubles, feare, and fly their profession, and so Apostasie, and Idolatrie, and corruption drownes them. We must rather with the Church fly to the Rocke, Psal. 69. 2. Saue me, O God, the waters are vponupon me, yea, I am come to the deepe waters: and then, being deliuered, we must goe backe vntounto him, saying, Saluation is the Lords, and Psal. 124. 1. If the Lord had not beene with vsus, the waters must needes hauehave drowned vsus when they rored vponupon vsus.
Thirdly, this serues to perswade eueryevery man to become godly, seeing this priuiledge belongs only to such: there Vse 3.is no man but desires safetie in danger, and yet no man but the godly man can assure himselfe of safetie therein. If then thou wouldest hauehave assurance of this promise, thou must practise pietie, in these seueralls:
First, become an humble person, repent and turne to How to be safe in dangers.God, cry out of sinne, sue daily for pardon, as for life and death, and then let all the miseries in the world come haile-shot vponupon thee, thou shalt be safe. Only sinne is as poyson, cast into the Lords cup: God giues thee no poyson to drinke, but that is of thy owne tempering: pull the sting out of these Scorpions, and the sight onelyonly will be dreadfull, but the danger is past.
Secondly, as thou mournest for thy owne, so for other mens sinnes. 2. Pet. 2. 7. God deliuered iust Lot, vexed with the vncleane conuersation of the wicked.
Thirdly, get thy heart washed with the bloud of Christ, bee a true Israelite, a true beleeuer: for God is good to Israel, euen to the pure of heart, Psal. 73. 1. and Deliuer Israel, O Lord.
Fourthly, get innocency and vprightnesse into thy life, to be able to say with DAVID, Deliuer me according to Psal. 18. 24.mine vprightnesse.
Fifthly, draw daily neerer vntounto God, and if God bee with thee, or thou with him, thou needest not feare, though thou walkest in the shaddow of death, Psal. 2…. 4. and doe this three wayes: first, get neere him in thy affection, louelove him in his Word and Image. Psal. 91. 14. Because he hath loued me, I will deliuer him and exalt him, that is, set him out of the reach of trouble. Secondly, in obedience: I am thine, saith DAVID, O saue thy seruant. Thirdly, in thy confident prayer: so Psal. 91. 9. For hee said to the Lord, Thou art my refuge.