Davids Harp Strung and Tuned, Book 2 · Psalm 51
PSAL. LI. One, and a chief of the Penitentials.
THE occaſion of this Pſalm, was the meſſage that David received from God by Nathan the Prophet, for the murder of Ʋriah, and his Adultery in defiling Bathſheba; this put him into the ſtate of a Penitent, and to petition to God for mercy, for pardon, for grace, for peace of conſcience, for renovation of his heart.
It in general contains Davids prayer.
1. For himſelf, ver. 1. to 13.
2. And three vows or promiſes, ver. 13. to 18.
3. For the Church, from ver. 18. to the end.
David being in a perplexed eſtate, conceived he could have no comfort, The firſt part.but in Gods mercy, and therefore he firſt in general prayes for that, Have mercy on me, Ver. 1 O Lord; not on David the King, thine Anointed, but on me, The general Petition for mercy.that am not worthy to be called thy ſervant, thy ſon; and the motive he uſeth to gain that, is not any plea or merit of his own; but,
1. The kindneſs of God, Have mercy on me, according to thy loving-kindneſs.
2. The compaſſion of God, According to the multitude of thy compaſſions.
The general Petition for mercy being offered, next he tenders three particular Petitions.
1. His firſt particular Petition, is, for forgiveneſs of his ſins; the fact was paſt, The firſt Petition, for forgiveneſs.but the guilt remained, he therefore earneſtly petitions, Put away mine iniquities; and upon this he inſiſts, and in other terms comes over it; for a ſoul that is truly ſenſible of ſin, is never at reſt, and ſatisfied with one deprecation; for ſin is a ſpot, a deep ſtain: Therefore waſh me, throughly waſh me from mine iniquities, Ver. 2 and cleanſe me from my ſin; Amplius lava, as if one waſhing were too little for a double ſin, for two ſuch ſins.
To this Petition for mercy, he ſubjoins a confeſſion of his ſin, knowing well, To this he ſubjoins a confeſſion.that this was the readieſt way to obtain it; for he that confeſſeth, and forſakes his ſin, ſhall find mercy; in which we may learn many excellent conditions requiſite in a true Confeſſioniſt.
1. He enters into a ſerious conſideration of the nature of ſin, he feels the weight, the burden of it; feels the anguiſh, and abhors it: I excuſe it not.
1. I know my iniquity; I know it now to abhor, to reform it. Ver. 3
2. It is ever before me; not to pleaſe me, but to trouble and grieve me.
3. He aggravates it with divers names, iniquity, ſin, tranſgreſſion; it is Paſteanos, rebellion; it is Greavah, crooked dealing; Chatta, errour and wandring.
2. And ſo he falls upon an open and plain confeſſion, Peccavi, I have ſinned; Ver. 4 and this he firſt aggravates by two circumſtances.He aggravates his ſins, 1. From the perſon.
1. Of the perſon; It is against thee, against thee I ſay, a good gracious God, that from a Shepherd haſt made me a King; a great and terrible God, that art able, and haſt threatned to puniſh; there was neither grace, nor fear in me, that I durſt ſin againſt thee, againſt thee; the Epizeuxis is emphatical; yea, againſt thee only have I ſinned: In maxima fortuna minima licentia: So highly thou haſt advanced me, that I need to fear none but thee; but this hath not kept me from this ſin, in this was unthankfulneſs. Ʋriah was my Souldier, I need not fear him; the People my Subjects, they cannot judge me; it is to thee I am to anſwer for breach of thy Law; I eſteem therefore my ſin to be againſt thee only, for I had not known this ſin to be a ſin, hadſt not thou forbidden it; nor need not fear any, wouldſt not thou puniſh it.
2. Of the manner; it was an impudent ſin, done in thy ſight, 2The manner.before thy eyes, thou being by, and looking on, and ſo done without any reverence of thy Majeſty, as it were in contempt: I have done this evil in thy ſight.
So that I confeſs that in reproving and threatning me by Nathan, thou art a juſt God, and to be juſtified in thy ſayings, and clear in the judgment of any, who with an impartial eye ſhall examine my offence, and thy proceeding; for I have deſerved whatſoever thou haſt threatned, and given thee juſt cauſe to ſpeak and judge as thou haſt done: Ʋt is not here cauſal, but conſequential; for it is not his meaning that he ſinned for that end, that God ſhould be juſtified; but that this would follow upon it, whenſoever he was brought to confeſs his ſin, then God would be juſtified in his proceeding againſt him. Ver. 5
3. He proceeds in the Amplification and Exaggeration of his ſin, He yet aggravates his ſin. 1. That it proceeded from original ſin in him.and declares from what root this his actual ſin ſprang, even from his original: Behold I was born in iniquity, and in ſin hath my mother conceived me. This very ſin that I have committed, gives me occaſion to enquire into my ſtate, and I find, and confeſs upon a diligent inquiſition, that I am univerſally corrupted even from my mothers womb, and that I carry about me the ſeeds of all ſin.
4. Ver. 6 Another aggravation of his ſin, is, that in himſelf he found not that which God loves; 2From an inſincere heart.Thou requireſt truth in the inward parts. The Lord is holy, his eye is pure, he delights in holineſs, truth, and ſincerity of the heart; but I am unclean, fallacious, and therefore miſerable, becauſe my diſpoſition and affections are contrary to his.
5. 3Committed againſt conſcience.And that which yet more aggravates his ſin, committed it was againſt his conſcience, againſt that light of knowledge and wiſdom with which God had endued him; for God, in the hidden part, by a ſecret and unknown way, by the motions of his holy Spirit, had taught him wiſdom; but he like a Beaſt, had ſuffered that light of knowledge to be ſuffocated by the fury of his own affections.
Hitherto hath David confeſſed and aggravated his ſin, Ver. 14 as every penitent ought; but as if a general confeſſion were not enough, 4And laſtly, names his ſin.at the 14th. verſe, he names in particular the ſin for which he asks pardon, Blood-guiltineſs; Deliver me from Bloodguiltineſs, O Lord.
His ſin being confeſſed, He renews his firſt Petition for remiſſion.and that not coldly, or for faſhion, but aggravated with all the circumſtances, he renews his firſt Petition for remiſſion, which he doth under a Type then in uſe, and a Metaphor; the Type is Hyſſop, and the Metaphor, Waſh me. Ver. 7
1. 1To be juſtified.Purge me with Hyſſop, and I ſhall be clean; with a bunch of Hyſſop dipped in the blood of the Paſchal Lamb, the Iſraelites ſprinkled their doors. This was again uſed in beſprinkling and cleanſing the Leper, and in the ſacrifice for ſin; this bunch was, and the blood alterius in enigma, a Type of Chriſts blood; with that it was that David deſired to be ſprinkled, for then he knew he ſhould be clean; for the blood of Christ purgeth from all ſin: Juſtified then he would be; for it is the blood of Christ that alone juſtifieth.
2. 2Sanctified.And ſanctified alſo he would be, and therefore he adds, Waſh me, waſh me with thy holy Spirit, who is compared to water, and I ſhall be whiter than ſnow, have a ſnow-white ſoul; not as if he ſhould be without ſin, while he remained in this life, but that his ſin, being by the power of Gods Spirit weakned, mortified and ſubdued, that it reigned not in him, it ſhould never be imputed; and a ſin not imputed, is, as if it never had been committed.
2. The ſecond Petition, That the effects of ſin be removed. 1. Remorſe of conſcience.David having ended his firſt Petition for forgiveneſs, now proceeds, and craves another; viz. That the ill effects which ſin had brought upon him may be removed; the firſt of which, is grief to the ſoul, terrour and diſquiet that ariſeth out of the accuſation of an evil conſcience, David lay under this; the ſenſe of his ſin had taken from him his inward joy, and his wonted peace, of this he deſires a reſtitution: Ver. 8 Make me to hear of joy and peace, and gladneſs.
2. 2An ill ſtate of body.A ſecond effect it had even upon his body, he was in a pining condition, his bones were, as it were, broken, through the extremity of the anguiſh of his ſpirit; the moyſture of his body was like the drought in Summer, vide Pſal. 32. ver. 3. & 4. To be reſtored again to Gods favour, he deſires, That even the bones which thou haſt broken, may rejoyce.
3. Ver. 9 A third ill effect he found upon his ſin, was, that Gods face, his favour was turned from him; 3Gods anger and diſpleaſurehe that ſhewed him a favourable countenance, now beheld him with an angry brow; and ſo he knew it would be, till his ſin was remitted and pardoned; and therefore he begs:
1. Hide thy face from my ſins; for if they appear before thy eyes, I know they will provoke thine anger, and then I am but in an ill caſe; for who can abide thine anger? He that turns away his face, conſiders not, remembers not, and he that conſiders not, will not puniſh.
2. And blot out all mine iniquities: I know there is a long Catalogue of ſins in thy Book writ againſt me, good God, Dele, blot, raze out this handwriting that it may not be read; he that turns away his face from a writing, may yet call for it again, and read it; but if blotted, it cannot be read: David therefore deſires both.
3. Now follows Davids third Petition, The third Petition, for grace and ſanctification.in which he craves the grace of Sanctification; he firſt ſought for remiſſion, then for reconciliation, and now for renovation, which he asks of God in the three following verſes.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right ſpirit within me. Ver. 10
Caſt me not away from thy preſence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me.
Reſtore unto me the joy of thy ſalvation, and uphold me with thy free Spirit.
In which we are to conſider,
1. The ſubject upon which the work is to be done, the heart, the ſpirit; Of the heart.for as the heart is that part that firſt lives in nature, ſo it firſt lives in grace; within this work muſt begin, or elſe outward renovation is to no purpoſe.
2. The work it ſelf, which is:
1. A Creation: By a new Creation.Sin had brought Davids heart in reſpect of a heavenly being, as it were to nothing, and from nothing to make it ſomething, muſt be an act of power, O Lord create; when thou wenteſt away, my life went away, Lord come again and create.
2. It is a Renovation: David was fallen, as I may ſo ſay, And renovation of a new ſpirit.in ſenium peccari, into the old age of ſin; therefore he deſires that God would, as it were, begin with him again, and make him to renew his youth, as an Eagle: O Lord, renew a right spirit within me.
3. Reconciliation and Reſtitution: And a reſtitution of a ſpiritual life.Therefore he craves that God would no caſt him aſide, as a dead man, and take from him his Spirit by which he lived: Cast me not away, take not away, reſtore to me the joy of thy ſalvation.
4. A confirmation in what was good; Ʋphold, confirm, establiſh me.
3. Who was to do this work; not himſelf, no humane power, but God alone, And a confirmation in goodneſs: Which work God alone could do: By changing the qualities of the heart.but his power, his Spirit: O God create, O Lord reſtore, uphold me by thy Spirit. Renovation is a work that hath its beginning, its progreſs, its continuance and perſeverance from God and his Spirit.
4. The Quality of this, a cleanſing, ſo in the general; for it was not the ſubſtance of the heart which was to be renewed and changed, but the qualities and diſpoſition only; now what he means by this pure and clean heart, he declares in the following words, when he begs of God to give him a right Spirit, a holy Spirit, a free Spirit.
1. A right spirit; for he eaſily perceived that by his indulgence to this ſin, In giving him, 1. A right ſpirit.there was a crooked and perverſe ſpirit that had prevailed over him; he judged not as he did before of Gods Law, but perverſly oppoſed it; he deſires that God would give him a ſpirit to judge rightly, as he did before, and firmly to reſolve to keep to that was the right and ſtrait way to happineſs: Renew, O Lord, in me a right Spirit.
2. A holy Spirit: The profane, carnal ſpirit, is oppoſed to this, 2A boly ſpiritand to that he hearkned; by this holy Spirit he was wont to be carried, which oppoſed all carnality; but ſuch good and ſweet motions he perceived to be departed, and therefore he deſires of God a reſtitution of this holy Spirit, this ſanctifying and renewing Spirit, that might again kindle in him the love of God, holy motions agreeable to Gods Law, and an obedience to the ſame: Take not thy holy Spirit from me.
3. A free Spirit: He found that ever ſince he fell into his ſin, he did his duty, 3A free ſpirit.and ſerved his God with an ill will, with much reluctancy, he took no delight in the doing of it, as he did before; this therefore he begs, that God would again give, and reſtore to him a free Spirit, that freely, chearfully, willingly he might run the way of Gods Commandments, and that he would ſo uphold him with his Spirit, that he might conſtantly continue in the ſame to his lives end: Uphold me, O Lord, with thy free Spirit.
2. Hitherto the Prophet hath preſented his three Petitions, The ſecond part of the Pſalm, in which he vows three things.and upon the confidence of theſe, he makes his vows, firſt to teach others; ſecondly, to praiſe God; thirdly, to offer him the beſt ſacrifice, a ſacrifice which ſhould be inſtead of all ſacrifices, which he knew would accept a contrite heart.
1. Then, that is, after my pardon obtained, and my reconciliation unto thee, I ſhall teach; Ver. 13 for a man under guiltineſs himſelf, is not meet to ſpeak and declare a pardon to others.His firſt vow, to teach others.
2. I will teach thy wayes to ſinners; not my wayes of ſinning, but thy methods of pardoning; viz. That to the ſtubborn thou wilt ſhew thy ſelf froward and ſtubborn; but to the penitent, ſuch as I am, thou wilt ſhew mercy.
3. And the effect will be, That ſinners ſhall be converted unto thee: They who were perverted before, and averted from thee, being encouraged by the mercy I have found, ſhall be converted.
2. His ſecond vow to praiſe God.His ſecond vow and promiſe is to praiſe God: My tongue ſhall ſing aloud of thy righteouſneſs, Ver. 14 my mouth ſhall ſhew forth thy praiſe: But to this he was unapt, ſo long as he remained in his ſin; Ver. 15 for praiſe is not comely in the mouth of a ſinner: And alſo unable to do without Gods ſpecial aſſiſtance, But becauſe not fit to do this, he prayes.and therefore he prayes for a capacity to do both.
1. 1For remiſſion.Deliver me from blood-guiltineſs, O God, and then my tongue ſhall ſing.
2. 2For aſſiſtance.O Lord open my lips, and then my mouth ſhall ſhew forth thy praiſe.
3. His third vow is about a ſacrifice, which ſhould be better than any then in uſe; not the ſacrifice of a beaſt, but the ſacrifice of a heart, a heart well-conditioned, His Preface to his third vow. Negatively. That God delights not in ſacrifices.ſeaſoned with contrition and ſorrow, ſuch he knew God would accept, and ſuch he ſhould have.
1. Thou deſireſt no ſacrifice: That is, the outward in compariſon of the inward; would the outward pleaſe, I would not be behind for that alſo; I would give it thee, but I know, Thou delightest not in burnt-offerings without the heart.
2. Nor in the heart, till contrite.No nor with the heart neither, till it be broken and contrite; broken for ſin, and contrite for meer love, that it hath offended ſo good a Father; I vowe therefore to bring thee this ſacrifice, this is inſtead of all other, inſtead of many ſacrifices; this thou wilt not deſpiſe, and this I will tender: The ſacrifices of God are a broken spirit; His third vow, a contrite heart The third part, in which he prayes for the Church.a broken and a contrite heart, Thou, O God, wilt not deſpiſe.
3. David having finiſhed his prayers and vows for himſelf, forgets not to petition for Jeruſalem, for Gods Church; and the reaſon might be, a religious fear in him, leſt for his ſin Jeruſalem might ſuffer; ſuch a thing might happen, for ſo it did when he numbred the people: Peccant Reges plectuntur Achivi; His method was to be commended, and his charity.
1. His method; firſt to be reconciled to God himſelf, before he prayes for others; for the prayers of a righteous man prevails much, and the Apoſtle ſpeaks of interceſſion.
2. His charity; for we are alwayes bound to remember the afflictions of Joſeph, and to pray for the peace of Jeruſalem. He prayes then for her.
1. Ver. 18 That God, who out of his good pleaſure did chooſe a Church, would out of his meer good will and love preſerve it: 1That God protect his Church.Do good in thy good pleaſure to Zion.
2. That he would have a ſpecial favour even to the material buildings: Build thou the walls of Jeruſalem, 2Even the walls.for theſe fall not alone; Religion, and the Service of God fall, when the Temple and Houſes of God fall to ruine: Probatum est.
3. Then Religion would flouriſh.For the conſequence of Jeruſalems proſperity would be this, That Religion would flouriſh with it: Then there would be ſacrifices, burnt-offerings, and Holocauſts; Ver. 19 then they ſhall offer Bullocks upon thine Altar: And which is yet more, we ſhall offer, And God pleaſed with it.and thou ſhalt accept: Then thou ſhalt be pleaſed with the ſacrifices of righteouſneſs. We being reconciled unto thee, juſtified, ſanctified, righteous upon thy account, and in favour, all our ſacrifices ſhall find a gracious acceptance.
The Prayer collected out of the fifty firſt Pſalm.
O Almighty Lord, and moſt merciful God, thou haſt ſhewed compaſſion to many penitent ſinners ſince the very beginning of the World, thou never rejectedſt any that ſought to thée with a penſtent ſoul; and therefore Lord, ſince thou art the ſame, and no ſhadow of change in thée, I beféech thée, cloze not that door of mercy on me that hath béen opened to receive ſo many before me, and let not thoſe Rivers of compaſſion be dried up to me, that have flowed ſo plentifully to others. Have mercy on me, O Lord; on me, Ver. 1 that have ſinned againſt Heaven, and againſt thee, and am not worthy to be called thy ſon; but according to thy goodneſs, and multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my iniquities. I know Lord, thou haſt thy debt-book, wherein thou writeſt the tranſgreſſions of them with a pen of Iron, and point of a Diamond, with whom thou mindeſt to enter into judgment; let not me, O Lord, be of that number, let not my debt ſtand regiſtred in that Book, but of thy mercy, and not my merit; put it away, and blot it out; for if my ſin ſtand upon thy account, I am but a dead man; Lord, quicken me; Lord, forgive me my treſpaſs, and put away the hand-writing of thy Ordinance that is againſt me.
O Lord, if thou waſh me not, I ſhall have no part with thée; ſpots I have, Ver. 2 that are not the ſpots of a ſon; pollutions, that are of a ſcarlet dye; waſh me then by thy vower from iniquity, and cleanſe me by thy Spirit from my ſin, or elſe as an Aethiop, I ſhall never change my ſpots. O Lord, leſt my uncleanneſs baniſh me from my fellowſhip with thée, waſh I beſéech thée, not my féet only, but my hands and my head alſo: Waſh my féet, that is, my unclean affections; waſh my hands, that is, my unclean actions; and waſh my head, that is, my unclean imaginations; cleanſe me in all, that the pollution of any do not caſt me from thy preſence.
O Lord, I do not hide and conceal the iniquity of my boſom; Ver. 3 I ſéek not to cover it, as hitherto I have done; but behold, now I know it, I acknowledge it, I confeſs it to thée againſt my ſelf; therefore ſhew Lord ſome pity and compaſſion upon a miſerable ſinner, and forgive it; my ſin is ever before me, do thou therefore caſt it behind thy back.
My ſin is ſo ſecret to the eye of the World, that no eye beholds it, Ver. 4 to them I ſéem to be what I am not, from them I find no trouble; but thou, O Lord, art he, to whom all creatures muſt render an account; againſt thee then, againſt thee I confeſs, that I have grievouſly offended, and done evil in thy ſight; and therefore it is not, O Lord, without cauſe, that I ſuffer theſe heavy things from thy hands, I have deſerved them all, and given thée juſt Reaſon to procéed againſt me as thou haſt done; and now I here acknowledge it before the world, that thou mayeſt be juſtified, and have the praiſe of righteouſneſs even in thoſe things which by the hands of men, thou haſt brought upon me: Righteous art thou, O Lord, and juſt in thy judgments.
I know, that in me, that is, in my fleſh, there dwells no good thing, it is not one Fact only in which I am culpable: Behold I was born in iniquity, and in ſin hath my mother conceived me. A Tranſgreſſor I have béen from the womb; for that bitter root of ſin ingraffed in my nature hath gathered ſtrength, and ſhot forth new branches; my underſtanding is darkned, my will perverted, and my affections bent to evil, ſo that I am truly abominable in thy ſight, and aſhamed of my ſelf, eſpecially being conſcious to thoſe foul and enormous actual ſins that grow from this polluted féed.
Behold, Thou loveſt Truth in the inward affections; but wo is me, I am a man of a double heart; Thou haſt often inſtructed my conſcience by many ſecret motions of thy holy Spirit, and taught me the way of wiſdom; but I fooliſhly have given a check to thoſe inſpirations, and ſtrayed, like a loſt ſhéep, in the wayes of folly; the light of my conſcience I have put out, and againſt my own knowledge I have tranſgreſſed: Miſerable man that I am, who ſhall deliver me from this body of ſin?
I thank God through Ieſus Chriſt my Lord, he hath ſhed his blood for me, he alone is my Ieſus: Purge me then O Lord, not with hyſſop, but with his blood; nor Sope, nor Niter, nor Fullers Sope can make me clean, but that ſtream which iſſued out of his wounds and ſide: Purge me then with this blood, and I ſhall be clean; waſh me, and I ſhall be whiter than ſnow; though my ſins were as ſcarlet, yet I ſhall be whiter than wool; though they be red like crimſon, yet … ſhall be white as the driven ſnow.
O Lord, I hear within me the accuſing voyce of a diſquiet conſcience, which purſues, accuſeth, and terrifies me; O Lord, let me hear the voyce of joy and gladneſs; ſend down from above the Comforter, who alone can ſpeak peace to my ſoul; and then my body, which pineth away under this anguiſh, and my bones, which ſéem to be broken through my diſconſolate condition, ſhall again recover their wonted ſtrength, and my fleſh upon me ſhall rejoyce.
If then, Lord, mark what is amiſs, who can abide it? even thy dear Son, when he endured the looks of thy angry face, fell into agony; his ſoul was heavy, his fleſh in ſuch pain, that he ſweat thick clotts of blood; how miſerable then am I, ſo long as thou ſhalt look upon me with an angry brow? Hide, O hide thy face from my ſins, and blot out all my miſdeeds: Turn thy angry look from me, and look upon the face of thy Anointed, that ſo thy anger, when it reacheth me, may as the Sun-beams, paſſing through ſome thick cloud, be refracted and mitigated,
O Lord, by my ſin I have grieved thy holy Spirit, and forced thée, who art properly my heart, and life of my heart, to forſake me; come again, Lord, and reſtore life unto me; without thée, I am dead in treſpaſſes and ſins; I have loſt my life, Ver. 10 and like a man wanting his quickning ſpirit; when thou wenteſt away, my life went away: Return, O Lord, and come again, and create a new heart within me: Of my ſelf I have fallen, by thy aſſiſtance I muſt riſe, lend me then the helping hand of thy grace that may lift me up. And being fallen, my heart is foul, Ver. 11 polluted, and unclean; and who is able to bring a clean thing out of an unclean? This is a work much like the producing the firſt World out of the Tohu and Bohu; ſet, O Lord Almighty, thy power to work again, and create in me a clean heart.
Fallen I am into the old age of ſin, begin with me again, and make me young and luſty as an Eagle: Ver. 12 Caſt me not away, and forſake me not in my old age of iniquity, as a dead man out of mind; but let thy preſence yet be with me, and reſtore me to the joy of thy ſalvation: O take not from me the graces and aſſiſtances of thy Spirit, thy right Spirit, thy holy Spirit, thy frée Spirit. A perverſe ſpirit I find in my ſelf, thy Spirit will rectifie it, and teach me to go the right way; an unclean ſpirit I am poſſeſſed with, thy Spirit will ſanctifie it, and purge it from pollution; 'tis the ſpirit of bondage to which I am ſubject, thy Spirit can ſet it at liberty, and make it frée; impart therefore ſome, nay, a liberal portion of this thy Spirit, that may teach me the right way, that may ſet me in a holy courſe, that may kéep, preſerve, uphold, and confirm me in it, that I never more fall from thée, but with a frée, willing, loving, and an ingenuous ſoul, I may conſtantly kéep the ſtrait paths of thy Commandments all the dayes of my life; this, this will be an aſſurance unto me, That I am reſtored to the joy of thy ſalvation.
And being reſtored my ſelf, I ſhall firſt labour to confirm my Brethren, and then alſo I ſhall praiſe thée: I will teach ſinners in the way; as my example hath ſeduced them, ſo ſhall my exemplary Repentance again reduce them, I will ſhew them my tears by which I have recovered thy grace, my ſorrow, my confeſſion, by which I have pacified thy wrath; what they are to do, if they will recover thy favour, and how ready thou art to forgive, and be reconciled, if they do it, by which many a poor ſinner ſhall be converted to thee.
And then they with me, and I with them, ſhall ſing aloud of thy righteouſneſs, That thou art a righteous God, that puniſheſt the wicked and impenitent; a righteous God, that haſt promiſed, and performeſt thy Word in pardoning the believing penitent: O Gd of my ſalvation, open my lips, which my ſin hath ſhut up and cloſed, and my tongue ſhall ſing of thy mercies all the day long; which being offered upon the Altar of a broken, tender, melting, and contrite heart, thou haſt promiſed to accept.
Wouldſt thou be pleaſed with the firſt-born of my body for the ſin of my ſoul, I would not detain it? Hadſt thou any delight in the fat of Rams, or ſed Beaſts, I would bind theſe ſacrifices with cords even to the horns of the Altar; but thou delighteſt not in burnt-offerings; but he that offereth thée thanks and praiſe, he honoureth thée; but he that brings a heart broken for his ſin, he pleaſeth thée; and to him that preſents a ſoul truly contrite, that he hath offended ſo kind a Father, thou wilt look this broken heart I bring to thée, this contrite ſpirit I bere ſacrifice before thée, O Lord, accept of this offering of me thy thankful, but weak and miſerable (except thou be merciful) ſervant.
And in the laſt place, being perſwaded that I am reconciled unto thée, Ver. 18 I pray not for my ſelf alone, but for thy whole Church: Do good in thy good pleaſure to Zion, and build thou the walls of Jeruſalem: When thy ſervants think upon her ſtones, it pitieth them to ſée her in the duſt; my ſins, as well as others, have brought upon her this ruine; but Lord, turn from thy fierce wrath, and once more repair her breaches; let this City flouriſh once again, let peace be within her Walls, and plenteouſneſs within her Palaces, but eſpecially a happy progreſs in true Religion, and fear of thy Name.
Then ſhalt thou be pleaſed; not with burnt-offerings and oblations, Ver. 19 but with the calves of our lips, and Hymns and Pſalms, which they who confeſs thy Name, ſhall ſing melodiouſly in their hearts to thée: O my God, I will ſing of thy Name, and exalt thy power and mercy for ever. Amen.