Exposition of Psalm 25, Commentary 2 · Verse 1
Verſe 1. HaueHave merciemercy vponupon me, O God, according to thy louing kindneſſe: according to the multitude of thy compaſſions put away mine iniquities.
HAueHave merciemercy vponupon me, O God. The thing he craueth moſt of God is merciemercy: fo… God hath many qualities which are eſſentiall to him, but none of them could do v… any good without his merciemercy; his power would deſtroy vsus, his wiſedome confound vsus, his iuſtice condemne vsus, his maieſtie affright vsus, but all theſe by it turne to our good.
To beg for merciemercy is the firſt word of a ſupplicant. The firſt word of the forlorne ſonne to his father, was,Luk. 15.18. Father, I hauehave ſinned againſt heauen and againſt thee. This Chriſt in his prayer hath taught vsus to pray,Math. 6.1… Forgiue vsus our ſinnes. So in eueryevery prayer we ſhould begin at hauehave merciemercy vponupon me O God. We ſin daily, and vnleſſe we offer vp at the doore of the Sanctuarie a ſin-offering, we cannot offer an offering of thankſgiuing and the ſweete incenſe of praiſes. Thus prayed the woman of Canaan, ſaying,Mat. 19.22. HaueHave morcie vponupon me, comprehending vnderunder that the cure of her daughter: and the two blind men cried, O Sonne of Dauid hauehave mercis; Mat. 9.27.as alſo did many others.
The greateſt comfort that Chriſtians hauehave in their trouble, is, that they hauehave to do with a mercifull God, and not rigorous, nor one who wil chide with vsus continually,Pſal. 103.2. but one who is ſlow to anger, readie to forgiue, whoſe name is merciemercy, whoſe nature is mercifull, who hath promiſed to be mercifull, who is the Father of mercies. …. Cor. 1.3.The earth is full of hi… mercies, they are aboue the heauens and the clouds; his mercy is aboue all his works, extending to a thouſand generations,Exo. 20.6. Pſal. 100.5. Hoſ. 6.6. whoſe merciemercy endureth for euer. With the Lord is merciemercy and great redemption. I will hauehave merciemercy, and not ſacrifice. His mercies are often repeated in the Scriptures, as Pſal. 5.6. 12.16.17.20.22.23.24. thrice, 25.30. thriſe. 32. twiſe. 35. thriſe. 39. twiſe. 41. thriſe. 47.50.56.58. thriſe. 60.61.62.63.68. twice &c. Ioel 2.13. Mica 7.18. Math. 12.7. rich in merciemercy,1. Tim. 1.2. Eph. 2.4. &c. The Apoſtles ſalutation is Grace, merciemercy and peace. Since ſo i… is,As a gardē i… repleniſhed with flowers, ſo is the Scrip…res with …cie. that this herbe of merciemercy groweth in eueryevery corner of the garden of holy Scriptures▪ and all the Prophets and Euangeliſts by plucking thereof hauehave nouriſhed themſelues; let vsus alſo in our greateſt diſtreſſe run vntounto it, p…ding our ſelues that God will as ſoone denie himſelfe vntounto vsus, as h… will denie his merciemercy, if we come with p…nitent hearts, and beg it with ſuch humility as becometh ſupplicants, ſuch faith as beleeuers, ſuch hope and patience as becom…meth the elect; we need not doubt, he i… faithfull who hath promiſed.
The Papiſts, Bellarmine and Lorinus i… …heir tranſlations, following the Septuagints, and not Saint Ierome, as they confeſſe,Lorinu… Bellarm… adde to the Scriptures. do adde magnam, great, giuing greater credit to their owne tranſlation, then to S. Ierome, who was knowne to hauehave bin a godly and learned tranſlator, or to the Hebrew veritie. They confeſſe the Scriptures in the originall language to be the beſt, and yet do not ſpare to adde or pare therefrom as pleaſeth them; and therefore that curſe muſt fall vponupon them in the 22 of the Reuelation, …hat God will adde all the curſes of the law vponupon thoſe who adde to the Scripture and the words of this book and put their name out of the booke of life who diminiſh any point of them. What need hauehave they to put in magnam, great, as though the multitude which followeth, did not include the greatneſſe.
O God. The perſon to whom he prayeth,Obiect. Againſt inuocation of Saints. is God. But in regard of his baſeneſſe and vn worthineſſe, why doth he not make ſuite to Abraham, Moſes, Samuel, Iob, or ſome other holy men, onelyonly contenting himſelfe with God. For I thinke the ſinners of old time had as much need of the ſuppliment of the old Patriarkes and Fathers of the Church, as we hauehave now of the helpe of our Apoſtles and Saints. If they had not mind of ſuch Mediators, but fled onelyonly to God, I thinke we ſhould follow their footſteps. When God is deficient, then let vsus go to them: and when the Sunne of righteouſnes doth not ſhine, it is time to light our halfe… pennie candles. Paul ſaith, O fooliſh Galatians, who hath bewitched you? Gal. 4.3.1.and I ſay, O fooliſh Papiſts, when will you leaue off your folly? If Chriſts interceſſion, being God, who knoweth all our neceſſities, and pitieth them, were not perfect, then we might claime ſome ſubſidies; but it is vaine to ſeeke others, when he hath all; for that doth greatly derogate to his glorie, as I hauehave ſpoken in another place.
He vſeth the word Elohim, repreſenting the holy Trinitie;He inuocateth the. whole Trinitie. of which ſome of the ancients hauehave this coniecture: becauſe he failed againſt he Fathers omnipotencie, when he abuſed his regal power in ſlaying Vriah; againſt the Sonne, being the wiſedome of the Father, vſing deceitfulneſſe and fraud in this murder; againſt the Spirit, when he by his filthineſſe abuſed his holineſſe who is the Spirit of ſanctification. Therefore (ſay they) he now prayeth to Elohim. Iudge of this nomination as ye pleaſe. Elchim repreſenteth the Trinitie, as Iehouah the vnitie; of both which Saint Auguſtine in his Confeſſions admoniſheth vsus: We ſhould (ſaith he) neuer remember the vnitie of the eſſence, but we ſhould as ſoone remember and diſſolue our mind vponupon the trinitie of the perſons; and not ſo ſoone thinke vponupon the trinitie of the perſons, but to gather in our minds the vnitie of the nature, which albeit they be vnſpeakable and incomprehenſible to vsus, it is enough that we ſpeake with the Scriptures, beleeue with the Scriptures, and pray at the direction of the Scriptures, whoſe direction if we follow we cannot erre; in whoſe paths (as being the vndoubted writs of God) if we walke, we cannot fall.
According to thy louing kindneſſe. The thing which he repoſeth and reſteth vponupon,Againſt merits. is not his owne deſerts, but Gods good wil. Iudge ye if this ouerthroweth merit or no. For if any man might hauehave pretēded goodworks, it was he. I giuegive (ſaith he) my goodneſſe to the Saints. Pſal. 16.I am companion to all them that feare thee. I waſh my hands in innocencie, and compaſſe thine altar. Looke the 101. Pſalme concerning the gouernment of his family and his owne perſon. Of his vpright life he ſaith, Iudge me according to my righteouſnes. While he hath to do with men, there was no man more pure in life and religion: but when he hath to do with God, he renounceth all, and taketh him to Gods kindnes and fauour. While we looke downe to the earth,Simil. our ſight is ſharp enough, and we may ſee far and cleerly; but when we looke to the Sunne, then our ſight is dazled and blinded: ſo before men we may brag of our vprightneſſe and honeſtie, but when we looke vp to God, we are aſhamed of our ſelues, yea of the leaſt thought of our harts. The Lord of his merciemercy keep vsus from preſumption, that we preſume not in any good thing we do, ſeeing that it is Gods worke in vsus: let him take the honour of his owne worke, and let vsus ſay with Dauid, Shame belongeth to vsus, but glorie to thee. Our beſt actions are contaminate with ſuch imperfections and ſpots, that we hauehave cauſe to ſtop our mouthes, and bluſh, and be aſhamed of them, we are conſcious of the manifold faults and defects which are in them.
According to the multitude of thy compaſſions put away mine iniquities. He exagge…ateth the weight of his ſin, in that it hath need of many mercies; whereby he teſtifieth, that his ſinnes were many, paſſing the number of the heires of his head, and like waters that had gone ouer his head. So,Gods mercies are more then mans miſeries. many ſinnes require many mercies. Men are greatly terrified at the multitude of their ſinnes; but here is a comfort, our God hath multitude of mercies. If our ſinnes be in number as the heires of our head, Gods mercies are as the ſtarres of heauen: and as he is an infinite God, ſo his mercies are infinite; yea ſo far are his mercies aboue our ſinnes, as he himſelfe is aboue vsus poore ſinners.
By this that he ſeeketh for multitude of mercies,The godly account one ſin to be many. he would ſhew how deeply he was wounded with his manifold ſinnes, that one ſeemed a hundred: where by the contrary, ſo long as we are vnderunder Satans guiding, a thouſand ſeeme but one; but if we betake our ſelues to Gods ſeruice, one will ſeeme a thouſand.
Againe, we may admire the wonderfull largeneſſe of the mercies of God, the bredth whereof extends ouer all the world, the height to place vsus in heauen, the depth to draw vsus from the lower hell, the length betwixt hell and heauen. O the bredth, length, deepneſſe and height of the mercies of our God,Admire the mercies of God. the multitude of whoſe compaſſions neither man nor Angell is able to comprehend. Why then doeſt thou deſpaire thereof O man? though thy ſins were neuer ſo many, his mercies exceed them; and although thou ſinneſt ſeuentie ſeuen times a day,Mat. 7. he can pardon and forgiue thee.
Thy compaſſions: the word in the original ſignifieth an ardent and earneſt affection of the heart, compaſſionating that which it pitieth, as it were the commotion of the bowels (as I noted before,) that his very bowels are moued toward his children, as Paul writeth to Philemon. Philem. 12 Luk. 15.20 2. Sa. 18.33 Pſal. 103.This compaſſion was demonſtrate in the father of the prodigall ſonne, and in Dauid to Abſolom, much more in God toward his deare children. Looke what pitie parents hauehave to their children, greater hath God towards vsus. Are not parents touched at the very heart, when they behold the miſeries of their children? yea, would they not hazard their liues and eſtates, as many times they doe to deliuer them? and will not God be moued towards vsus, if we conſidering his compaſſion and meekneſſe, would but pitie our ſelues by confeſſing our iniquities vntounto him?
Put away. He borroweth a ſimilitude from Merchants, who hauehave their debts written in their account-booke, and at the paiment thereof they ſcore out that which before they hauehave written. Therefore ſince our ſinnes are written with a pen of iron and a point of a diamond, we muſt pray to God to blot them out, & that the hand-writ may be nailed to the croſſe. It is God that putteth away iniquities, he can remoue them as a cloud. Daniel propheſying of the Meſſiah, ſaith,Dan. 9 24. Seuentie weekes are determinate vponupon thy people and vponupon thy holy Citie, to finiſh the wickedneſſes, and to ſeale vp the ſinnes, and to reconcile the iniquitie. All our ſinnes ſhall be waſhed away by the ſtreames of his blood, ſo that they ſhall neuer be read, or brought to an account, either in this world or the world to come.
Mine iniquities. He committed iniquitie againſt Vriah, whom he killed, for which he is ſo charged in his conſcience, being ſummoned before the bar of Gods iuſtice, that he can get no reſt, vntill he get pardon; and none could giuegive him pardon and reſt in his mind, but God whom he principally offended, in killing and deſtroying one formed to Gods owne image. So, when we do wrong to men,In wronging our neighbour we do moſt iniurie to God. let vsus not thinke it enough if we be reconciled to the partie wronged, but by repentance and an humble confeſſion of our ſinnes, let vsus ſeeke to be at one with God, who is the partie whom we do moſt wrong to.