Davids Harp Strung and Tuned, Book 4 [i.e. 5] · Psalm 119 · Stanza 22
22. TAU.
IN this laſt Section David prayes, gives thanks, confeſſeth his errours, The Contents.and craves mercy, and promiſeth obedience to Gods Commandments.
1. He firſt prayes in the two firſt verſes; in which,David prayes,
1. He prayes for his prayers, deſiring God to accept them, 1For his prayers.which is a very neceſſary duty.
1. Let my cry come near before thee, O Lord. Ver. 1
2. Let my ſupplication come before thee. The ingemination ſhews his earneſtneſs, fervency, importunity, or perſeverance, Luke 11.
2. That which he prayes for, is underſtanding: 2. And deliverance.
1. Give me underſtanding; which he limits, according to thy Word, 2Underſtanding.thy promiſe, Pſal. 32.8. That I may know, fulfil, and by my obedience, obtain life eternal.
2. Deliver me according to thy Word. The end of underſtanding, 3Deliverance.is to be delivered from ſin: John 8.36. If the Son ſhall make you free, you ſhall be free indeed.
2. He gives thanks; he proceeds to the other part of prayer, 2He gives thanks.Thankſgiving.
1. My lips ſhall utter praiſe: His thanks ſhould not be ſmother'd, Ver. 3 nor mutter'd over, but utter'd with a diſtinct and loud voyce; not only his heart, but his lips alſo ſhould bear a part in it.
2. And his lips ſhould proclaim the equity of Gods commands; but yet ſo, that he were firſt taught and helped by grace: My lips ſhall ſpeak praiſe, when thou haſt taught me thy ſtatutes. Ver. 4
3. And yet again: My tongue ſhall ſpeak, or intreat of thy Word, to the edification of others; and the Reaſon, why he would ſpeak in their hearing, was, Becauſe all thy Commandments are righteouſneſs, and ſo moſt forcible to reform all unrighteouſneſs; there is corruption in Religion, and confuſion in manners, when Gods Word is not heard.
3. And now he ſets to prayer again; for having made promiſes of thankfulneſs, 3He prayes again for help.he ſeeks help of God to perform them: Our ſufficiency is not of our ſelves, to will and to do are of him; he therefore prayes: Ver. 5
1. Let thy hand help me, thy power, thy wiſdom.
2. For I have choſen thy precepts: Optima ratio; without which, His Reaſons.no help from God to be looked for. Ver. 6
3. And yet he adds two more, both his deſire and delight.
1. I have longed for thy ſalvation, O Lord: 1Obedience.Gods children are not ſatisfied with the beginnings of mercy, ſtill they wait and ſeek, and long, 2His earneſt deſire.and ſigh, and thirſt, and hunger, and long for more; ſalvation they have but in promiſe, they long for the accompliſhment.
2. 3His delight in Gods Law.And thy Law is my delight; which well followes on his longing; for theſe two are well conjoined, ſalvation and Gods Law: For all the hope we can have of ſalvation, is the promiſe we find in Gods Word, and the delight we take in performance of it. I have choſen thy precepts, longed for thy ſalvation, delighted in thy Law, therefore let thy hand help me.
4. 4He prayes again for prolongation of life.And yet farther he proceeds in his Petition for prolongation of this life, ſay ſome; for eternal life, ſay other; both may very well ſtand together.
1. Ver. 7 Let my ſoul live; not only a natural, but a ſpiritual life; which is properly the life of the ſoul, and the way to that life which is eternal.
2. And it ſhall praiſe thee; which ſhould be the eſpecial work of the ſoul here, and ſhall be the great employment in Heaven.
3. And let thy judgments help me: Let thy judgments which I have kept, be a comfort unto me, and help me, when I appear before thy Tribunal; For I know thou wilt judge every man according to his works.
4. He relies not on his obedience.And yet David relies not on theſe; he knew his works were not perfect, and therefore in the laſt verſe:
1. He confeſſeth his Errours.
2. Deſires mercy.
3. And proteſts his obedience.
1. 1For he confeſſeth his errours.I have gone astray, like a ſheep that is loſt: Erravi, I learned it from Adam, his corrupt nature adheres to me, hath and doth ſeduce me, and I yet to my grief follow it; ſo much I confeſs againſt my ſelf, notwithſtanding all my ſincerity, all my diligence, my ſeeking, purpoſe, reſolution to keep thy Law. Erroris medicina eſt confeſſio.
1. But yet my errour hath been out of infirmity and ſimplicity, I have erred as a ſheep; not as the Devil, maliciouſly; nor as a roaring Lyon, malapertly and preſumptuouſly, proudly.
2. But yet my errours have carried far from the Fold, I am that loſt ſheep, Luke 15.
2. 2Asks mercy.And upon it I petition for mercy: O ſeek thy ſervant. Thou which art the great Paſtour, that lefteſt the ninty nine feeding in the Wilderneſs, to ſeek that ſheep that wander'd from thee; come thou Lord, and by thy grace bring me home again; ſeek me, for by thy grace I ſeek thee.
3. 3Yet proteſts his ſervice.I ſeek thee, where by thy grace I hope to find thee, in a ſincere obedidience to thy Will: Seek me, who am thy ſervant; for I forget not thy Commandments. Though I have fallen, yet there remains ſome grace in me; tranſgreſſed I confeſs I have, yet I have not fallen into a full oblivion of thy Will; as David was quickned by the Word, ſo by it he is conſerved; when he fell, the Word wakened him; when wounded, the Word cured him; if at any time he reſiſted, the Word armed him; it went then well with him, ſo long as he did not forget the Word.
The Prayer.
IT is thy Command, O Lord, that we ask, ſéek, and knock; and thy promiſe is to give and open to ſuch, Ver. 1 in obedience to which thy Command, I have ſo often ſollicited thée, and with ſervour of ſpirit, and importunity of ſoul, approached unto thy Throne of grace. Let my cry, O Lord, come near before thee, and my ſupplication be admitted in thy ſight; Ver. 2 and as I often have importuned thée, make me wiſe; not according to the methods of worldly wiſdom, but according to the rule of thy Word, deliver me from the power of ſin, and malice of Satan; I have choſen thy precepts, and made thy Law my delight, as well knowing, that without the obſervation thereof, I cannot hope for ſalvation. This, Lord, I long for, let thine hand then help me, that I may fulfil thy Commandments, and by my obedience come to everlaſting life.
O ſpare me a little before I go hence, and be no more ſeen; but throughout that little remainder of my life, let my ſoul live the life of grace, then I ſhall praiſe thée, then ſhall my lips utter and proclaim the equity of thy commands, then ſhall my tongue intreat of thy Word, even to the edification of others, and make it known, That thy Commandments are righteouſneſs, and of force to thoſe who will take héed to them to reform all iniquity. When I ſhall appear before thy Tribunal, let thy judgments help me; and when every man ſhall be judged according to his works, let it be a comfort unto me, that I have had a regard to thy Word in all my wayes.
This, Lord, I plead, but not for my juſtification; for many are my aberrations from thy Law, I have gone aſtray like a loſt ſheep, my corrupt nature hath ſeduced me, and I have followed it. O miſerable man that I am, who ſhall deliver me from this body of death? Thou which art the great Shepherd, that lefteſt the ninty nine in the Wilderneſs, to ſéek that ſhéep which wander'd from thy Fold; come Lord, and by thy grace bring me home again; ſéek me, for by thy Spirit I ſéek unto thée; and however, in ſimplicity and … I ſhall ſtill erre, yet by thy aſſiſtance, maliciouſly and preſumptiouſly I will no… offend. O Lord, kéep me in the right way, and write thy Law ſo … in … memory and heart, that I may bear a great affection to, and … Commandments. Reclaim me from ſin, and make me obedient to thy Word, for thy mercy-ſake, which thou haſt fréely made known, and fréely given to the World in thy Son Ieſus Chriſt our Lord. Amen.