Choice and Practical Expositions on Four Select Psalms, Sermons on Psalm 42 · Sermon 5
SERMON V.
PSALM XLII. 5.
Why art thou cast down, O my soul; and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
The Troubles of a Christian are multiplied one upon another: what betwixt Sin and Affliction, he hath hardly ever any perfect rest, or quiet day remaining to himself whiles he lives here in this world: And these two, they have their mutual changes and vicissitudes to him; sometimes he is troubled with one, and sometimes with t'other. And thus it was with David here in this present Scripture. He was first troubled with persecution by the Malice of his Enemies, with remoteness from the House of God, and Ordinances, with the Blasphemies and Reproaches of evil men; and now he is troubled with the inordinacy and excessiveness of this Trouble. He is troubled because he is troubled; and troubled more than it became him to be. For which cause he does here now reason and argue the cause with himself, in these words which I have now read unto you, Why art thou cast down, O my soul; and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
IN this present Verse before us, we have two General Parts observable of us: An Expostulation, and an Exhortation or Excitement. The Expostulation, that we have in these words, Why art thou cast down, O my soul; and why art thou disquieted within me. The Excitement in these, Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
We begin with the first, viz. The Expostulation, Why art thou, &c. and of this only at this time. Wherein again we have three particulars more.
First, Davids present Distemper.
Secondly, His Reflection upon it.
Thirdly, His Discussion of it.
His Distemper is exprest in two Branches, of Dejection and and Tumultuation or Impatience. Dejection, Why cast down? Impatience, Why disquieted? His Reflection upon it, in that he takes notice of it. His Discussion of it, in calling himself to account for it.
First, here is his present Distemper, in both the Branches of it: And first of dejection; He was cast down at this time, and all a-mort. This is that which the best of Gods Servants now and then are subject unto; even to be discouraged, and out of heart, and to have their Souls sinking in them. This was Davids case in this place; and so likewise upon many other occasions, as we may observe, if we look into his story. It hath been so with divers others, as Elijah, and Nehemiah, and Job, and Jeremiah, &c. They have been all of them occasionally much dejected.
This hath divers grounds and considerations for it: As first, A too much setting of their hearts upon these outward things. Mens discouragements are much proportion'd according to their hopes and expectations. Those which look for much, and are disappointed, when they are so, this discourages them. Hope deferred, and especially frustrated, it makes the heart sick, Prov. 13.12. Now thus it is sometimes with the people of God, they are full of hopes and expectations from the Creature, and when this fails them, they are then discouraged, and cast down in themselves; and by how much they were raised before, by so much they are now proportionably dejected: When they put too much trust in riches, or pleasure, or credit, and these forsake them, they are then full of despondency, and trouble of spirit, as David here. There was a kind of softness and mollities upon him; he could not very well bear reproach, and therefore when he suffer'd it, he was dejected; it was a wounding and killing to him, as a Sword in his bones.
Secondly, As the Servants of God do sometimes live too much by natural sense, as an occasion of this dejection to them, so by spiritual sense likewise; that is, they do sometimes too much lay their comfort in the enjoyment of spiritual means, which they do restrain and confine God unto: As David again here in this place, because he enjoyed not the publick Ordinances as he had done in some time past, he was now therefore dejected in himself. It is a good thing to desire the Ordinances, and it is a comfortable thing to enjoy them, and to be made partakers of them; but yet we must not so tye the Lord unto them, as that when in his Providence he thinks fitting to deprive us of them, we should altogether despair, and be out of heart; because God is able in such cases to supply it, and make it up to us some other way.
And so as for the Ordinances, so likewise, which we may add hereunto, the present and actual sense of Gods Favour, and Communion with him. This is that which the Children of God do very much desire (and we cannot blame them for it) to have the light of Gods gracious Countenance shining upon them, and to have the sweet influences of comfort to them: This is exceeding delightful to a gracious Soul, and the want of it is very grievous, from whence they are apt to be discouraged; but yet by right it should not be so, as we shall hear more afterwards; For we walk by faith, and not by sight, as the Apostle speaks, 2 Cor. 5.7. A state of temporary desertion, it should not be a state of dejection, though it is hard to keep it from being so. We should consider, That God is still the same in his own Nature, and also to us, though he doth not always alike express himself to us; and therefore not be cast down, and disquieted in our selves hereat.
Thirdly, Gods Servants are sometimes apt to be dejected from the delusions of Satan, joining with their own weak fancies and imaginations, especially under bodily Distempers; Melancholy persons, they make Mountains of Mole-hills, they enlarge evils to themselves, and commonly make them worse than indeed they are; and this causes dejection, especially when the Devil shall improve it, as he is ready to do, who delights for the most part to fish in such troubled waters. It is in this case with the eye of the Soul, as with the eye of the Body. Those that look through painted Glass, every thing appears unto them of the colour of the Glass which they look through: Even so is it also in the speculations of the Mind; Those who look through a sad and dark phansie, every thing appears very sad and dark unto them, and they have uncomfortable apprehensions about it.
Fourthly, This dejection is caused from want of living in the Power of the Promises and Attributes of God. We may see the ground of the Disease by the nature of the Cure which is prescribed; for the remedy of it, as we shall see more in the words that follow, Trust in God, &c. Whiles he calls upon himself to trust in God, as a recovery from his dejection, he hereby shews, That the want of this Trust was the cause of this dejection in him. And so indeed it was, more or less; and is so likewise in any other of Gods Servants. The less Faith, still the more discouragement: Thus we see the rise of discouragement in the people of God, from whence it proceeds. And so the first Branch of David's distemper, to wit, Dejection, he was cast down in himself.
The second is Impatience, or turbulency of Spirit, Why art thou disquieted? The word in the Hebrew Text signifies such a kind of Disquiet as is with tumult, and clamour, and roaring, and making of a noise, which argues a very great distraction and discomposedness of mind. This is also very incident to Gods Servants, in some conditions, to have their Spirits very much out of frame in this respect; not only to be sad and lumpish, but also tumultuous and full of fury and rage. Thus David of himself in another place, Psal. 38.8. I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. Hezekiah Isa. 38.14. Like as a Crane or a Swallow so did I chatter; I did mourn as a Dove. And Jonah, how disturb'd was he when he complains, That he is in the belly of Hell; and says to God himself, That he does well to be angry even to the death? Jon. 2.2. & 4.9. And so of the rest, &c.
Now there are divers grounds of this as well as of the other; as namely, first, Tenderness and carnal ease: Those that too much favour and indulge their own pleasure and contentment, when any thing falls cross unto them they are exceedingly out of Patience, as being less able to endure it than others are, because they are unacquainted with sorrow, and do apply themselves wholly to that which is most opposite to it; whereas those which are of a more mortified temper are otherwise affected.
Secondly, Security and carnal confidence and expectation of continued prosperity: This when it is any thing interrupted by some adverse and contrary Providence, it breeds trouble and disquiet; as we see again in David himself, Psal. 30.6, 7. In my prosperity, I said, I shall never be moved, because by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong. And what now follows hereupon? Lord, thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. David had so much the more trouble in his Affliction as he had Security in his prosperous condition, and so will any one else have beside. Those that absolutely promise themselves rest and quiet, and put away far from them the evil day, when it comes they have the greater trouble and vexation occasionally from it.
Thirdly, Pride and height of spirit. An humble mind it meets an Affliction half-way, and by yielding to it is inabled to bear it so much the better; whereas Pride when at any time it is crost it turns into rage, and breaks forth into a great deal of fury and violence as consequent to it. These and the like are the occasions, as of Dejection, so likewise of Disquietness even in the Servants of God themselves. And that's the first thing here observable, to wit, Davids Distemper it self, cast down and impatient.
The second is his Reflexion upon it, and taking notice of it in himself. David as he was dejected and disquieted, so he saw himself to be so; he perceived it, and was sensible of it, as appears by this reasoning of the case with himself about it. And so we have another Observation which we may gather from the words, That Gods Children as they have now and then Distempers in them, so they are sensible and take notice of those Distempers; they mind them, and reflect upon them as David here does.
This it proceeds in them from these Considerations as grounds of it. First, the work of Regeneration and Spiritual life, and the New Creature in them. The Children of God they are not flesh only but spirit, and they have not Corruption only but Grace mingled with it. Now as the one disposes them to distemper, so the other disposes them to a sensibleness of that distemper. Wicked and carnal Men which have nothing in them but flesh and corruption, they cannot be so properly said to have Distempers in them, because indeed they are nothing but Distemper. They are all disease and no Health, they are dead, and have no Life at all in them as the Scripture represents them. And therefore when they are at any time overtaken with inordinate Passions, they are wholly possest of them, and they have little or no reflections upon themselves in such conditions. But the Children of God having a Principle of Life and Grace in them, they have that which makes them apprehensive of their infirmities, and extravagancies of spirit; as tender flesh it is easily sensible whiles dead flesh hath no sense at all in it. Gods Servants they take notice of what is at any time amiss in them from the work of saving and sanctifying Grace which is in their hearts, that others want.
Secondly, The Children of God are also watchful and mindful of themselves. Look as it is in the Body, those which are of a fine and delicate temper, they will soon discern any ayling in themselves from the frame of their natural Constitution. But if they be such as do mind and observe themselves more than ordinary, as there are some Men that do, then they will see it, and discern it more especially: Even so is it also here in the Soul, a good Christian as he has a good temper, and spiritual constitution; so he has likewise a special regard of himself, he walks circumspectly and exactly, he takes notice how it fares with himself in matter of Grace; when he has a good day, and when he has an ill, and by this means if he have any exorbitancy or distemper he is soon sensible of it.
Thirdly, There's the Spirit of God in his Children, which is a special and continual Monitor and Awakener to them. He does not ordinarily suffer them to lie long under any distemper, but does advertise them and admonish them of it; he is a faithful friend to this purpose, where he is hearken'd and listen'd unto, to give notice of what is amiss in the hearts of his Servants. This is passion and excess, and inordinacy, and such as should not be in you; this he does in the Ministry of the Word, in the Counsel of Friends, and sometimes in his own more immediate Applications and Suggestions to the mind, so that Gods Servants cannot but be sensible.
This is now a great difference betwixt the Servants of God, and other Men, who are much failing both in such kind of helps, and in such kind of thoughts as these are as consequent to them; they are dejected and disquieted, and do not perceive it at least to be a Sin, which Gods Servants as we have shewn are wont to do. And that's the second Particular, Davids Reflection, &c.
The third and last is his Discussion of it in the Question it self which he puts, Why art thou cast down, O my Soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Where before we come to the main and principal Points which are considerable in the words, we may observe somewhat in general from them. And here two things especially; First, the Party dealt withal. And secondly, the Nature of the things for which David deals with him.
The Party dealt withal is himself, My Soul. David he turns into himself: It is the advantage of a Reasonable Creature, that it is able to do so which the bruit Creatures cannot do. And David accordingly here improves the advantage of his Reasonable Nature, which he does also very seasonably from the occasions which were now upon him; David he was now full of trouble and grief, and disquiet in himself. And he does not only pore upon the evil, but searches into the very ground and root of it, and considers whether there were not somewhat in himself or no which might be the occasion of it. This is the manner of Gods Servants when they are ill handled and used by others, as David now was at this time, to consider if all be right with themselves, as knowing that that is commonly the rise of all evil to us.
This is that which we should do likewise upon the like occasions; we are apt when any thing afflicts and troubles us to look unto Instruments, and to have our eyes fasten'd upon them; it may be some Men charge God himself, &c. but we should consider our own selves, whether there be not somewhat amiss in us which may provoke God to suffer them to do thus and thus unto us. As David here when his Enemies reproach'd him, he did not stay only upon them, and express himself discontented with them, but he retires into his own breast, and into his own heart to see if all were right there or not. Thus he did also in the case of Shimei, 2 Sam. 16.11. when Shimei curst him, and Abishai would have presently kill'd him, Let him alone (says he) and let him curse, for the Lord hath bidden him. God himself hath a controversie with me, and so punishes me by his Tongue. This was that which David did there, and also here. He deals with himself about himself, and turns from others to himself, by enquiring and considering of what was otherwise than should be in him. And then as with himself, so with his Soul, his better part, he labours to settle and quiet this, Why art thou cast down, O my Soul? There must begin the cure of all that's out of frame in us. Indeed sometimes, as I in part hinted before, there is an occasion of sadness from the Body, as in Melancholy and such-like Distempers, but even that as all other Diseases has its ground from the Soul. Sin it provokes God to send such Griefs as these are, and Sin it is properly in the Soul, as the subject of it. And therefore, Why, O my Soul, &c.
Besides, The distempers of the Soul are the chiefest Distempers, not only as consider'd in a Natural sense, but also and more especially in a Spiritual. Corruption of mind is more than vexation of mind, and so to be esteemed by us; therefore David he turns from one to the other. He considers what guilt of Soul he has with trouble of Soul in himself.
Again, There is further cause, why David should so mind his Soul, because it is that which will have a special influence upon all the rest; if the Soul be right, all the rest will be more or less in time right in us too. The spirit of a man (says Solomon) will sustain his infirmities, Prov. 18.14. And it is the Spirit not so much in a Natural sense, as the Spirit sanctified and fortified with Grace, and put into good order; this will sustain a man under many Infirmities; so that there is cause especially to look after that, as David here does, O my Soul; he returns into himself, and into his mind; and it is the principal part, Nedirathi jechidathy, &c.
But secondly, let us consider what it is that he deals with himself for. It is not only for outward miscarriages, but likewise for inward distempers, Why art thou disquieted within me? David if he had kept his own counsel, perhaps there was no body could have found fault with him; but he is not satisfied with that, he corrects himself for secret extravagancies and deflexions of spirit which no body knew but his own heart. Here's another Disposition of a gracious Soul. As for Men of the world they'l be ready for to blame themselves for some notorious crimes and enormities which all the World almost takes notice of; but for the secret deviations of Soul, these are nothing with them; yea, but a godly man he does correct and rebuke himself for these; he is not satisfied when his heart is out of frame, let his outward man be never so conformable; want of liveliness in Duty, want of patience in Affliction, want of cheerfulness under the various Providences and Dispensations of God towards him, these are grievous to a gracious person.
And the Reason of it is this, Because first, a Christian looks upon his Soul as his chiefest part, and that which makes himself, and so accordingly takes greatest care of it; that which is the best of us it should be the best in us, and that is our Souls.
And secondly, a Christian considers that God is a Spirit, and so minds the frame of his Spirit; and therefore he desires and labours especially to approve himself to him in his Spirit. He desires to be best within, as that which is most acceptable to God. Thou desirest truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part thou hast made me to know wisdom, as David speaks in another place, Psal. 51.6. And these Observations may be raised from the words in the General.
Now to come a little closer to them, and so we may consider them as having a double force or Emphasis in them. First, an Emphasis of Inquiry, or Examination; David calls himself to an account for his present passion and trouble of mind. Secondly, an Emphasis of Reproof or Objurgation; David chides and rebukes himself for his present distemper. Why art thou thus? is as much, as thou dost not do well to be so. The words have each of these Emphases in them.
First, They have an Emphasis of Inquiry and Examination in them. He calls himself to a reckoning and account, Why art thou, &c? From whence we learn thus much, That a Christian is accountable to himself for himself; he is to set up a Judicature and Tribunal in his own Conscience, at which he is to arraign himself for whatever is amiss in him, What hast thou done? and why hast thou done it? And what dost thou say to thy self for it? It is a question which every one is to put to his own heart. This is that which David does here, and which others of the Servants of God have frequently done.
The Reason of it is this, Because God hath for this purpose placed this faculty of Conscience in us; it's his Deputy to supply his place to us, and accordingly we are to this end to improve it, and that impartially; we are both to hearken to Conscience in its motions, and to put Conscience it self upon its Inquiries and Examinations of us.
Therefore this does justly condemn the contrary neglect in many People. There are divers Persons who are guilty of that which the Prophet Jeremy complains of in his time, That they repented not of their wickedness, saying, What have I done? and what followed hereupon? Every one turn'd to his course as the Horse rusheth into the battel, Jer. 8.8. Inquiry it hath some restraint with it, examination of a Mans ways, it will much keep him from extravagancies in them; but neglect hereof makes him more licentious, as it did there in that People, they run every one to their course. Therefore says David elsewhere on the other side, I consider'd my ways, and turned my feet unto thy Testimonies, Psal. 119.59. Self-consideration is a great help to Self-reformation.
But then more particularly, as we are accountable to our selves for our selves, so we are accountable especially for our Passions, and distemper'd Affections. Why art thou disquieted? why art thou cast down? A Christian has not a liberty in these things to be as he list; but he must be regulated, and bounded by right reason, and especially by Religion; he must be able to say, Why and wherefore it is thus with him, as God to Jonah, in Jon. 4.4. Dost thou well to be angry? So for any other Affection besides which is out of order in us, Fear or Hatred, or Grief, is there any reason for it? let us consider that with our selves, and examine our selves about it.
For God has made us Reasonable Creatures, and so every thing should be subject and subordinate to Reason in us, especially sanctified Reason, which is the Reason of the New Creature, and of God himself; to this all our Affections should be brought in frame.
Therefore we see here what to think of those who trespass in this Particular, who can give no reasonable account of the Passions and Affections which are in them; if they ask themselves, Why? they are able here to say nothing at all: Such as these they do unman themselves, and lay aside the very principle of their nature and being it self, which carries a great obliquity and enormity with it.
And further, we learn here how to bring our Affections in order again, and that is by following the practice and example of this holy Man David in the Text, which is in examining them, and calling them to an account, and urging the unreasonableness of them. Consider the foolishness and silliness, and weakness that is in such and such extravagancies, there's nothing so unreasonable as Lust and Passion, and distemper'd Affection; if it be brought to the touchstone of true Reason it will presently vanish. This we find it to have done in the practice and experience of the Heathen Philosophers, many amongst them they did very much curb their Affections from the Principles of Reason; but a Christian has a further advantage, who has Religion joyn'd hereunto, to make it more effectual; and accordingly it is to be done by him. And that's the first Emphasis in the words; an Emphasis of Inquiry, or Examination; David calls himself to account for his present passion and trouble of mind.
Secondly, It hath the Emphasis of a Reproof or Objurgation. David censures and chides himself for it, Why art thou? that is, Thou dost not well to be so. Where again there are (for the better opening of this passage to us) two things considerable of us. First, What he does not blame and condemn himself for. And Secondly, What he does. Each of them are here observable.
First, For what he does not. And here he does not blame himself simply for being grieved, and sensible of his condition, for that he had cause to be. The Lord does allow us, and we may allow our selves affections of moderate mourning in mournful conditions. David had very great cause at this time to be sad, for he was now driven from the House of God, he was deprived of the publick Ordinances; he was upbraided and reproach'd by his Enemies, as ye have heard heretofore; therefore there was very great occasion of sadness to him, and he had offended if he had not in some measure been sensible of it. It concerns us in a special manner to lay to heart Spiritual Afflictions of all others whatsoever; therefore observe, that he does not condemn himself for this, to wit, for the simple affection of grief and sorrow which was in him.
No, but (which we may take notice of next) for the exorbitancy and immoderateness of it; not that he was grieved, but that he was dejected; not that he was affected, but that he was disquieted; that there was no hold or measure with him, but quite out of patience. This was that which upon a better view he accuses and charges himself with, Why art thou cast down, O my Soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? We may observe here first thus much, That where we are call'd to mourn lawfully, we are apt to mourn sinfully; we are subject to offend in the extremity of lawful and tolerable affections. Thus David here. It was permitted to him to grieve; yea, it had been a sin for him not to have done so. But he grieves more than was fitting, or than indeed became him to do; this is that (I say) which the Children of God are subject unto. Thus it was with David in the case of Absalom in another place, 2 Sam. 18.33. it is said, he was much moved, and he expresses it in the words that fall from him, which were words of great commotion and perturbation. He had cause to be moved, but he was moved in an inordinate manner; As Rachel mourning for her children and refusing to be comforted. Mourn for her Children she might, for the loss of them, Quis vetat infantis plorare in funere matrem? but so to mourn as to refuse to be comforted, this was more than was fitting, it was excessive in her: yet this is that which the Servants of God now and then are prone unto, yea very often, not only to be guilty of Jonah's grief, which was sadness and pettishness for a trifle, and so to offend, as to the ground and matter of grief; but also where the occasion is just to transgress in the measure and manner, as David did here in this place.
This proceeds first, from the reliques of Corruption which is in them. Corrupt Nature corrupts every thing to us, and makes us exorbitant in our Affections; in Joy to joy too much, in Love to be inordinate in it, in Grief to grieve more than we should.
Secondly, From the Temptations of Satan and his improvements of natural Corruption in us. He endeavours still to drive us to extreams, and to carry us from one to another; where we should grieve, to make us sensless and stupid, not to regard or take notice at all; where we do grieve, and it is lawful for us, there to grieve more than is fitting or seasonable to us. This is discernible in nothing more than in Spiritual sorrow and grief for sin; this is such as we have very great cause for of any thing else. If we mourn for any thing, we have cause to mourn for offending of God, and for grieving of his holy Spirit in us. But now even herein, there may be an excess and miscarriage, and Satan sometimes endeavours to do so with us, and to cause this in us, though commonly he works rather the contrary way; yet even this now and then he does, as we may see in the Incestuous Corinthian: The Apostle was afraid of him, lest he should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow; and he was afraid of it in reference to Satan, 2 Cor. 2.7, 9. Lest Satan should get an advantage against us, for we are not ignorant of his devices. This is one of the devices of Satan towards some of Gods Servants, in grief and sorrow for sin to tempt them and provoke them to excess and inordinacy of Affection.
This should therefore make us so much the more watchful and careful of our selves in such matters as these are. We should be jealous of our own hearts, and jealous of our spiritual enemy, as to the stirring of Affections in us; we should not only look to the matter and ground, but as well to the manner and measure. So the Disciples of Christ themselves; They had very great cause of mourning, when their Master was taken away from them, and they had offended, if they had not been moved and affected; but yet to be so excessively, was on the otherside a weakness in them, and Christ himself takes them off from it, in Joh. 14.2. Let not your hearts be troubled; and again in v. 27. Let not your heart be troub…d, neither let it be afraid. They might be grieved, but they might not be troubled; yet this was that which they were guilty of, for which reason Christ gives them this counsel. Therefore we see, That the Servants of God are subject to it, as David here in the Text.
But further, As David was guilty in this particular, so he reproves and checks himself for it, Why art thou cast down, &c. From hence we may note this, That dejection and disquietness of mind, it is a distemper and miscarriage in us. Why art thou, is as much as thou shouldst not be so. It is a fault and defect in thee, which thou art to amend and reform out of hand. This is that which we may here take notice of in Davids expression to his own Soul. This is so, and will appear to be so upon a twofold consideration:
First, Of the Grounds of it, from whence it proceeds.
And secondly, Of the Effects of it, which it works and causes in us.
First, For the Grounds of this disquietness, whence it proceeds, I have partly mentioned them before; and they all such as have an ill tang with them, which do disparage this disquietness it self; especially as it proceeds from distrust, and want of living in the Power of Religion; This argues and shews it to be naught, and otherwise than it should be.
But secondly, It is also evil in the Effects and Concomitants of it. This dejection and perturbation in Christians, it has very sad and evil Consequents in those who are the Subjects of it: As,
First, It unfits them for those Duties which God requires to be performed by them. We may say of trouble of Spirit, what Solomon says of vain confidence, in Prov. 25.19. It is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint; it is both painful and likewise useless. Take a Limb which is out of joint, as it hath a great deal of pain in it, so it is unfit for doing any thing with it; ye cannot stir nor move it as ye should do. Even so is it also with a Soul which is out of joint likewise, it cannot do that which it becomes it to do, at least in a comely manner, but very unevenly, and with much disorder.
This is that especially which makes it so tedious to a gracious heart. Another man may be troubled with grief, as it has pain and vexation with it; but a good Christian is troubled with it, as it hath uselesness and unfitness for employment, in that he is hindred thereby from serving God with that exactness as he desires to do, which he is from such Distempers. He cannot pray, he cannot hear, he cannot meditate, he cannot do any thing as he should do. This disquietness, it is an interruption to him; its unfit for Communion with God.
Secondly, It unfits also for Communion with men; it makes a man useless in his Generation; not only indisposed to those Duties which are to pass betwixt God and his own Soul, but also in the Communion of Saints one with another, as to the doing or receiving of good. A lumpish person is unserviceable; and though he may have inwardly some worth and good in him lying hid, yet being under the power of such a Distemper, he is thereby disenabled for the imparting and communicating of it to the good of others.
What do we speak of doing good? This Distemper, it doth (thirdly) much hurt, and there's a great deal of evil which comes from it. It's scandalous, and brings an ill report upon the ways of Godliness, making the World believe, that there is nothing but sadness in Religion; when-as indeed, it is the sweetest and most comfortable condition in the world.
And then it is infectious too; for sadness, it begets sadness in those that converse with it. As he that companies with a furious person, he shall contract his furious disposition, as Solomon tells us, Prov. 22.24, 25; so he that companies with a dejected person, he will also learn much of his dejection, and thereby get a Snare likewise to his Soul.
Lastly, It frustrates Gods Mercies, and Favours, and Blessings to us. An uncomfortable person is, for the most part an unthankful person; because he is so much taken up in the meditation on his present grief, as that he never regards Gods Providence in the dispensation of good unto him, neither has his heart enlarged to him for it. These and the like are the evil Effects which do proceed from this dejection and disquietness of Spirit; for which David had so much cause and reason to blame himself for it.
Therefore we should all labour and endeavour for a contrary frame and temper of Spirit; and whatever we do besides, above all to keep up our Spirits, which will keep up all in us, and whereby we shall become both a great deal more serviceable to God and one another. Whatever he cast down in us, let us take care our selves be not cast down, as David here does. As for the outward man, that's very prone to casting down; The Body to be cast down by Sickness; The Estate to be cast down by Poverty; The Good Name to be cast down by Reproach: Oh but let the Soul in the mean time still hold up!
This is the Priviledg which is vouchsafed to a Christian, That he is enabled thus to be, when none else are so besides, as Job 22.29. When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, there is lifting up: He shall save the humble person; that is, When there is casting down in regard of the Condition, yet there is lifting up in regard of his Spirit and Affections in it, which, as it were, swims and floats about it. A Christian, whatever sinks in him, yet his heart should swim above water; and God has bestowed that Blessing upon him, if he were always careful to partake of it. He hath that in him, which does entitle him hereunto; And because he hath, it doth therefore concern him, to improve it and make use of it.
And this is again the difference betwixt a Christian and another man: As for wicked and worldly men, which are yet remaining in their natural condition, and under the thraldom of sin and Satan domineering and ruling in them; these they have very great cause to be dejected and disquieted in themselves, as whose estate, so abiding, is very bad and lamentable to them; and they may rather invert and change this expression of David, and say, Why art thou not disquieted, O my soul? and why art thou not dejected within me? as having the greatest ground and occasion of dejection and disquietness of any other besides. But the servants of God, who by his grace are brought out of this their natural estate, they have the foundation of this trouble and perplexity removed and taken away from them; and so may very well expostulate with themselves as David here doth.
There are some other Collateral Points which we may well gather from these words, and (if we had time) might insist upon them; as briefly these following.
First, We see here the employment of a gracious heart in its privacy and retiredness; and that is in an holy manner to discourse and converse with it self for its spiritual good. David he was now in the Wilderness, or some-where where he was deprived of the benefit of Christian converse; and now he supplies it by Christian Meditation, and the exercise of his own Christian thoughts whiles he is alone by himself. Thus a good man will never be idle, but still finding some work or other for the promoting of his way to Heaven. Thus not only David, but many other of the Saints.
This condemns the contrary practice of many other men, who spend their thoughts in vanity and sin; and as they corrupt others when they are in company, so they neglect themselves and their own hearts then, when they are alone.
Nay moreover, there are some who in solitariness feed their lusts, and encrease them by sinful meditations: such as these are very far from the practice of this holy man David, who in his privacy sets his soul right, &c.
Secondly, We may observe also this, That Gods Servants do not lye over long-under their distempers. As I shewed before, they discern them, so they do likewise presently shake them off from them.
The reason of it is, Because they know the evil which is in them, and they are in some measure enabled by God to the resistance of them, and at last through his grace to overcome them.
Therefore let us examine our selves, how it is with us in this particular.
Thirdly, A godly man, he hath some government and command of himself, which by wisdom and watchfulness he does gain and recover to himself: He does not allow himself in evil.
This he is from the Principles of Grace. We are all by Nature lost to our selves; but Grace redeems and restores us to our selves again.
Therefore we should be careful to exercise, and use, and put this power which we have, into act, as we have occasion for it.
So much for that.
And so I have done with the First General part of the Verse, which is the Expostulation, in these words, Why art thou cast down, O my soul, &c.
The Second is, the Excitement, in these, Hope thou in God, &c. But of this, &c.