Psalm 19 reveals how David reflects on God's glory through the wonders of nature and scripture. He perceives the beauty and order of the heavens as a continuous testament to God's greatness, emphasizing that both creation and the word of God provide a clear witness to His existence. The psalm concludes by recognizing that science and theology complement each other, affirming the ultimate unity in understanding God's glory through both the natural world and divine revelation.

1. PSALM 19 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
I TRODUCTIO
The story of Psalm 19
We do not know when David wrote Psalm 19. Perhaps it was one morning when he had
been out all night with his sheep. He saw the sunrise over Moab. What David saw spoke
to him about God. David remembered the stars that he saw at night. God made the
stars. In the morning David saw the sun. God made the sun. All that David saw told him
about God. He heard no words, there was no language. But David knew that everything
was telling him about God.
Then David remembered something else. He remembered the word of God. We call it
the Bible. That told him about God as well. David did not have the whole Bible. He only
had the start of the Old Testament. But it told him about God. And it made David very
happy. But it also made David think. It made him say to himself, "Am I a good or bad
man?" He prayed that God would forgive him. David was, perhaps, sitting on the top of a
great rock. That spoke to him about God as well! God was like a rock to David. So David
called God "My Rock". He also called God his Redeemer. A Redeemer is someone that
pays the price to make a slave free.
SPURGEON
It would be idle to enquire into the particular period when this delightful poem was
composed, for their is nothing in its title or subject to assist us in the enquiry. The
heading, "To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of David," informs us that David wrote it,
and that it was committed to the Master of the service of song in the sanctuary for
the use of the assembled worshippers. In his earliest days the psalmist, while
keeping his father's flock, had devoted himself to the study of God's two great
books—nature and Scripture; and he had so thoroughly entered into the spirit of
these two only volumes in his library that he was able with a devout criticism to
compare and contrast them, magnifying the excellency of the Author as seen in
both. How foolish and wicked are those who instead of accepting the two sacred
tomes, and delighting to behold the same divine hand in each, spend all their wits
in endeavouring to find discrepancies and contradictions. We may rest assured
that the true "Vestiges of Creation" will never contradict Genesis, nor will a
correct "Cosmos" be found at variance with the narrative of Moses. He is wisest
who reads both the world-book, and the Word-book as two volumes of the same
work, and feels concerning them, "My Father wrote them both."
For the director of music. A psalm of David.

2. 1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
This Psalm begins with an example of parallelism where the first phrase is followed
by a second which says the same thing in different words. Hebrew poetry does not
rhyme like we tend to do with poetry, but has ideas ideas duplicated rather than
sound. We like the similar sounds of rhyming, but they like the similar thoughts that
parallel each other, but with a different vocabulary. The thoughts rhyme rather
than the sounds of the words. This means the heavens declare, and the skies
proclaim are synonymous, and mean the same thing. Also, the glory of God and the
work of his hands mean the same thing. God's work is his glory, and it is his
awesome work in the heavens that makes us glorify him in praise for being such an
amazing Creator of the wonders of the skies. The more man studies the heavens the
more they stand in awe at such artistry and glory.
As awesome as the heavens are with the sun, moon and stars plus millions upon
millions of other galaxies greater than our own, it is all the work of just the fingers
of God. Psalm 8:3 says, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers...”
This vast and mighty universe that has no end that man can see with the most
amazing telescopes, is just like a finger painting to God. He used his fingers to map
out the universe. What must heaven be like when God uses both arms and both
hands to create a new heaven and earth? o mind can begin to comprehend such a
work of glory. This universe glorifies God beyond what any voice or music can
convey, and so it will take endless praise to thank the Lord for what he had planned
for us in his even greater work of creation. Job said, "Can you fathom the mysteries
of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the
heavens-what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave-what can
you know?” (Job 11:7-8)
We give honor and glory to people who do works of wonder. The great artist, the
great author, the great musician, the great general, the great actor, the great sport
hero, the great in every profession, and every endeavor are all glorified because of
their works and achievements. How much more ought we to glorify the Creator who
had done what we see in the heavens. It is almost impossible for an astronomer to be
an unbeliever, for they see the beauty and order that only an unbelievable mind
could bring about. They could not dream of it all being a mere accident of mindless
matter.
Carl Boberg, a Swedish minister, was celebrating these benefits in the 1880's when
he penned some lines which have become one of the best-loved hymns in the
Christian world. Inspired by the greatness of God as revealed in creation, Boberg
wrote:
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

3. Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Erwin Lutzer writes: “In creation, God went public.” It is as if David sees the
heavens as a preacher standing behind a pulpit announcing the glory, or
weightiness, of God. The Hebrew word for God in these verses is the basic title for
God – the Creator God. From the telescope to the microscope nature shouts the
virtues of a magnificent God.”
ohn Piper, “The glory of God is the beauty and excellence of His manifold
perfections. It is an attempt to put into words what God is like in His magnificence
and purity. It refers to His infinite and overflowing fulness of all that is good. The
term might focus on His different attributes from time to time - like His power, and
wisdom and mercy and justice - because each one is indeed awesome and beautiful
in its magnitude and quality. But in general God's glory is the perfect harmony of
all His attributes into one infinitely beautiful and personal being.”
The Word of God and the works of God are a twofold witness for the glory of God
that leaves man without excuse when they deny, defy, or just pass by the reality of
God's existence, and the beauty of his mind revealed in his creation. Science is the
study of the creation, and theology is the study of the creator who made it. These
two sciences are often thought to be enemies, but the fact is, they are the best of
friends, for all that science discovers in the works of God confirms what God reveals
in his Word. Paul said it in Romans 1:20: For since the creation of the world, His
invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”
BAR ES,”The heavens declare the glory of God - They announce, proclaim, make
known his glory. The word heavens here refers to the material heavens as they appear to
the eye - the region of the sun, moon, and stars. The Hebrew word is used in the
Scriptures uniformly in the plural number, though in our common translation the
singular number is often used. Gen_1:1, Gen_1:8-9, Gen_1:14, Gen_1:17, Gen_1:20;
Gen_6:17; Gen_7:11, Gen_7:19, Gen_7:23; et soepe. The plural, however, is often
retained, but without any special reason why it should be retained in one place rather
than in another. Gen_2:1, Gen_2:4; Deu_10:14; Ezr_9:6; Psa_2:4; Psa_8:1, Psa_8:3;
Psa_18:13. The original idea may have been that there was one heaven above another -
one in which the sun was placed, another in which the moon was placed, then the
planets, the fixed stars, etc. Above all was supposed to be the place where God dwells.
The word glory here means that which constitutes the glory or honor of God - his
wisdom, power, skill, faithfulness, benevolence, as seen in the starry worlds above us, the

4. silent, but solemn movements by day and by night. The idea is, that these convey to the
mind a true impression of the greatness and majesty of God. The reference here is to
these heavens as they appear to the naked eye, and as they are observed by all men. It
may be added that the impression is far more solemn and grand when we take into the
estimate the disclosures of the modern astronomy, and when we look at the heavens, not
merely by the naked eye, but through the revelations of the telescope.
And the firmament - See the note at Dan_12:3. The word rendered firmament - ‫רקיע‬
râqıya‛, means properly “an expanse” - that which is spread out - and is applied to the
heavens as they appear to be spread out or expanded above us. The word occurs
elsewhere in the following places, and is always rendered “firmament” in our common
version, Gen_1:6, Gen_1:7 (twice), Gen_1:8, Gen_1:14, Gen_1:15, Gen_1:17, Gen_1:20;
Psa_150:1; Eze_1:22-23, Eze_1:25-26; Eze_10:1; Dan_12:3. The word “firmament” - that
which is firm or fixed - is taken from the word used by the translators of the Septuagint,
στερέωµα stereōma, from the idea that the heavens above us are a solid concave. In the
Scriptures the stars are represented as placed in that expanse, so that if it should be
rolled together as a tent is rolled up, they would fall down to the earth. See the note at
Isa_34:4. The reference in the passage before us is to the heavens as they appear to be
spread out over our heads, and in which the stars are fixed.
Showeth his handywork - The heavens make known the work of his hands. The
idea is that God had made those heavens by his own hands, and that the firmament, thus
adorned with sun, and moon, and stars, showed the wisdom and skill with which it was
done. Compare Psa_8:3.
CLARKE, “The heavens declare the glory of God - Literally, The heavens number
out the glory of the strong God. A first view of the starry heavens strikes every beholder
with astonishment at the power by which they were made, and by which they are
supported. To find out the wisdom and skill displayed in their contrivance requires a
measure of science: but when the vast magnitude of the celestial bodies is considered, we
feel increasing astonishment at these works of the strong God.
The firmament - The whole visible expanse; not only containing the celestial bodies
above referred to, but also the atr, light, rains, dews, etc., etc. And when the composition
of these principles is examined, and their great utility to the earth and its inhabitants
properly understood, they afford matter of astonishment to the wisest mind, and of
adoration and gratitude even to the most unfeeling heart.
GILL, “The heavens declare the glory of God,.... By which we are to understand
not the heavens literally taken, though these with the firmament are the handiworks of
God, and do declare the glory of his perfections, especially his wisdom and power; these
show that there is a God, and that he is a glorious one: but either Gospel churches, often
signified by the kingdom of heaven, in the New Testament; the members of them being
heaven-born souls, and the doctrines and ordinances ministered among them being from
heaven; and there being a very great resemblance between them and heaven, in the
company and communion enjoyed in them; and who declare the glory of the divine
perfections, which is very great in the handiwork of their redemption; and who ascribe
the glory of their whole salvation to God: or rather the apostles and first preachers of the
word, as appears from Rom_10:18; who were set in the highest place in the church; had

5. their commission, doctrine, and success from heaven; and who may be called by this
name, because of the purity and solidity of their ministry, and their constancy and
steadfastness in it, and because of their heavenly lives and conversations: these declared
the glory of the divine perfections; such as those particularly of grace, goodness, and
mercy, which are not discoverable by the light of nature or law of Moses, as, they are
displayed in the salvation of men by Christ, in the forgiveness of their sins, the
justification of their persons, and the gift of eternal life unto them: they taught men to
ascribe the glory of salvation to God alone, Father, Son, and Spirit; they set forth in their
ministry the glory of Christ, of his person, and of his offices and grace; and they showed
that redemption was his handiwork, as follows:
and the firmament showeth his handiwork; for the same persons may be called
the firmament, since they that are wise are said to shine as the brightness of it,
Dan_12:3. These were like to stars in it, and were the light of the world, and declared
that redemption is the work which Christ undertook, and came into this world to
perform, and which he has finished; his hands have wrought it, and his own arm has
brought salvation to him. The Targum interprets the heavens and the firmament, of such
persons as contemplate the heavens, and look upon the firmament or air; and so do some
other Jewish writers (w).
HE RY, “God's glory, (that is, his goodness to man) appears much in the
works of creation, but much more in and by divine revelation. The holy
scripture, as it is a rule both of our duty to God and of our expectation from
him, is of much greater use and benefit to us than day or night, than the air
we breathe in, or the light of the sun. The discoveries made of God by his
works might have served if man had retained his integrity; but, to recover
him out of his fallen state, another course must be taken; that must be done
by the word of God.
EBC, “Is this originally one psalm or bits of two, pieced together to suggest a
comparison between the two sources of knowledge of God, which the
authors did not dream of? The affirmative is strongly maintained, but, we
may venture to say, not so strongly sustained. The two parts are said to
differ in style, rhythm, and subject. Certainly they do, but the difference in
style accounts for the difference in structure. It is not an unheard of
phenomenon that cadence should change with theme; and if the very
purpose of the song is to set forth the difference of the two witnesses to God,
nothing can be more likely than such a change in measure. The two halves
are said to be put together abruptly without anything to smooth the
transition. So they are, and so is Psa_19:4 put by the side of Psa_19:3; and so
does the last turn of thought (Psa_19:12-14) follow the second. Cyclopean
architecture without mortar has a certain impressiveness. The abruptness is
rather an argument for than against the original unity, for a compiler would
have been likely to try to make some sort of glue to hold his two fragments
together, while a poet, in the rush of his afflatus, would welcome the very
abruptness which the manufacturer would avoid. Surely the thought that
binds the whole into a unity-that Jehovah is El, and that nature and law
witness to the same Divine Person, though with varying clearness-is not so
strange as that we should have to find its author in some late editor
unknown.
Psa_19:1-6 hymn the silent declaration by the heavens. The details of exposition must

6. first be dealt with. "Declare" and "makes known" are participles, and thus express the
continuity of the acts. The substance of the witness is set forth with distinct reference to
its limitations, for "glory" has here no moral element, but simply means what Paul calls
"eternal power and Godhead," while the Divine name of God ("El") is used in intended
contrast to "Jehovah" in the second half, a nuance which must be obliterated if this is a
conglomerate psalm. "His handiwork," in like manner, limits the revelation. The heavens
by day are so marvellously unlike the heavens by night that the psalmist’s imagination
conjures up two long processions, each member of which passes on the word entrusted
to him to his successor-the blazing days with heaven naked but for one great light, and
the still nights with all their stars. Psa_19:3 has given commentators much trouble in
attempting to smooth its paradox. Tastes are curiously different, for some critics think
that the familiar interpretation gives a flat, prosaic meaning, while Cheyne takes the
verse to be a gloss for dull readers, and exclaims, "How much the brilliant psalm
fragment gains by its omission!" De gustibus, etc. Some of us may still feel that the
psalmist’s contrast of the awful silence in the depths of the sky and of the voice that
speaks to opened ears thrills us with something very like the electric touch of poetry.
MEYER, “ THE WORKS AND THE WORD OF GOD
Psa_19:1-14
This is the “Psalm of the Two Books”-Nature and Scripture. If Psa_8:1-9 were written at
night, Psa_19:1-14 was surely written by day. In Psa_19:1, God is called El, “strong;” in
Psa_19:7-9; Psa_19:14, the Hebrew Jehovah is translated “Lord,” as if His glory as
Creator is the stepping-stone to loftier conceptions of the Redeemer.
Nature’s silence! No speech nor language! Psa_19:3. What a picture of the sacred
stillness of dawn! Yet the witness-bearing is universal. Line, Psa_19:4, is “compass” or
“territory,” but some translate it “chord.” Nature’s harp is strung to the glory of God.
Jesus is our Sun, Mal_4:2.
Six synonyms for Scripture, and twelve qualities ascribed to it, Psa_19:7-9. How truly
might our Lord have appropriated Psa_19:10! Let us end with confession and prayer.
Errors, Psa_19:12; see Lev_4:2, R.V., margin, Psa_19:13. Dominion, Psa_19:13;
Rom_6:14. For the seventh time Jehovah, Psa_19:14, with two loving epithets! Can we
all say my, claiming all of God?
CALVI , “1.The heavens declare the glory of God. (444) I have already said, that this psalm
consists of two parts, in the first of which David celebrates the glory of God as manifested in his
works; and, in the other, exalts and magnifies the knowledge of God which shines forth more clearly
in his word. He only makes mention of the heavens; but, under this part of creation, which is the
noblest, and the excellency of which is more conspicuous, he doubtless includes by synecdoche the
whole fabric of the world. There is certainly nothing so obscure or contemptible, even in the smallest
corners of the earth, in which some marks of the power and wisdom of God may not be seen; but as
a more distinct image of him is engraven on the heavens, David has particularly selected them for
contemplation, that their splendor might lead us to contemplate all parts of the world. When a man,
from beholding and contemplating the heavens, has been brought to acknowledge God, he will
learn also to reflect upon and to admire his wisdom and power as displayed on the face of the earth,
not only in general, but even in the minutest plants. In the first verse, the Psalmist repeats one thing

7. twice, ACCORDING to his usual manner. He introduces the heavens as witnesses and
preachers of the glory of God, attributing to the dumb creature a quality which, strictly speaking,
does not belong to it, in order the more severely to upbraid men for their ingratitude, if they should
pass over so clear a testimony with unheeding ears. This manner of speaking more powerfully
moves and affects us than if he had said, The heavens show or manifest the glory of God. It is
indeed a great thing, that in the splendor of the heavens there is presented to our view a lively
image of God; but, as the living voice has a greater effect in exciting our attention, or at least
teaches us more surely and with greater profit than simple beholding, to which no oral instruction is
added, we ought to mark the force of the figure which the Psalmist uses when he says, that the
heavens by their preaching declare the glory of God.
The repetition which he makes in the second clause is merely an explanation of the first. David
shows how it is that the heavens proclaim to us the glory of God, namely, by openly bearing
testimony that they have not been put together by chance, but were wonderfully created by the
supreme Architect. When we behold the heavens, we cannot but be elevated, by the contemplation
of them, to Him who is their great Creator; and the beautiful arrangement and wonderful variety
which distinguish the courses and station of the heavenly bodies, together with the beauty and
splendor which are manifest in them, cannot but furnish us with an evident proof of his providence.
Scripture, indeed, makes known to us the time and manner of the creation; but the heavens
themselves, although God should say nothing on the subject, proclaim loudly and distinctly enough
that they have been fashioned by his hands: and this of itself abundantly suffices to bear testimony
to men of his glory. As soon as we acknowledge God to be the supreme Architect, who has erected
the beauteous fabric of the universe, our minds must necessarily be ravished with wonder at his
infinite goodness, wisdom, and power.
(444) Dr Geddes has remarked, in reference to this psalm, that “ poem ever contained a finer
argument against Atheism, nor one better expressed.”
E-SWORD, ““The heavens declare the glory of God.” The book of nature has three leaves,
heaven, earth, and sea, of which heaven is the first and the most glorious, and by its aid
we are able to see the beauties of the other two. Any book without its first page would be
sadly imperfect, and especially the great Natural Bible, since its first pages, the sun,
moon, and stars, supply light to the rest of the volume, and are thus the keys, without
which the writing which follows would be dark and undiscerned. Man walking erect was
evidently made to scan the skies, and he who begins to read creation by studying the
stars begins the book at the right place.
The heavens are plural for their variety, comprising the watery heavens with their
clouds of countless forms, the aerial heavens with their calms and tempests, the solar
heavens with all the glories of the day, and the starry heavens with all the marvels of the
night; what the Heaven of heavens must be hath not entered into the heart of man, but
there in chief all things are telling the glory of God. Any part of creation has more
instruction in it than human mind will ever exhaust, but the celestial realm is peculiarly
rich in spiritual lore. The heavens declare, or are declaring, for the continuance of their
testimony is intended by the participles employed; every moment God's existence,
power, wisdom, and goodness, are being sounded abroad by the heavenly heralds which
shine upon us from above. He who would guess at divine sublimity should gaze upward
into the starry vault; he who would imagine infinity must peer into the boundless
expanse; he who desires to see divine wisdom should consider the balancing of the orbs;
he who would know divine fidelity must mark the regularity of the planetary motions;
and he who would attain some conceptions of divine power, greatness, and majesty,
must estimate the forces of attraction, the magnitude of the fixed stars, and the
brightness of the whole celestial train. It is not merely glory that the heavens declare, but
the “glory of God,” for they deliver to us such unanswerable arguments for a conscious,

8. intelligent, planning, controlling, and presiding Creator, that no unprejudiced person
can remain unconvinced by them. The testimony given by the heavens is no mere hint,
but a plain, unmistakeable declaration; and it is a declaration of the most constant and
abiding kind. Yet for all this, to what avail is the loudest declaration to a deaf man, or the
clearest showing to one spiritually blind? God the Holy Ghost must illuminate us, or all
the suns in the milky way never will.
“The firmament sheweth his handy-work;” not handy, in the vulgar use of that term,
but hand-work. The expanse is full of the works of the Lord's skilful, creating hands;
hands being attributed to the great creating Spirit to set forth his care and workmanlike
action, and to meet the poor comprehension of mortals. It is humbling to find that even
when the most devout and elevated minds are desirous to express their loftiest thoughts
of God, they must use words and metaphors drawn from the earth. We are children, and
must each confess, “I think as a child, I speak as a child.” In the expanse above us God
flies, as it were, his starry flag to show that the King is at home, and hangs out his
escutcheon that atheists may see how he despises their denunciations of him. He who
looks up to the firmament and then writes himself down an atheist, brands himself at the
same moment as an idiot or a liar. Strange is it that some who love God are yet afraid to
study the God-declaring book of nature; the mock-spirituality of some believers, who are
too heavenly to consider the heavens, has given colour to the vaunts of infidels that
nature contradicts revelation. The wisest of men are those who with pious eagerness
trace the goings forth of Jehovah as well in creation as in grace; only the foolish have any
fears lest the honest study of the one should injure our faith in the other. Dr. M'Cosh has
well said, “We have often mourned over the attempts made to set the works of God
against the Word of God, and thereby excite, propagate, and perpetuate jealousies fitted
to separate parties that ought to live in closest union. In particular, we have always
regretted that endeavours should have been made to depreciate nature with a view of
exalting revelation; it has always appeared to us to be nothing else than the degrading of
one part of God's works in the hope thereby of exalting and recommending another. Let
not science and religion be reckoned as opposing citadels, frowning defiance upon each
other, and their troops brandishing their armour in hostile attitude. They have too many
common foes, if they would but think of it, in ignorance and prejudice, in passion and
vice, under all their forms, to admit of their lawfully wasting their strength in a useless
warfare with each other. Science has a foundation, and so has religion; let them unite
their foundations, and the basis will be broader, and they will be two compartments of
one great fabric reared to the glory of God. Let the one be the outer and the other the
inner court. In the one, let all look, and admire and adore; and in the other, let those who
have faith kneel, and pray, and praise. Let the one be the sanctuary where human
learning may present its richest incense as an offering to God, and the other the holiest
of all, separated from it by a veil now rent in twain, and in which, on a blood-sprinkled
mercy-seat, we pour out the love of a reconciled heart, and hear the oracles of the living
God.”
SPURGEO , “Ver. 1. The heavens declare the glory of God. The book of nature has three
leaves, heaven, earth, and sea, of which heaven is the first and the most glorious, and by its aid we
are able to see the beauties of the other two. Any book without its first page would be sadly
imperfect, and especially the great Natural Bible, since its first pages, the sun, moon, and stars,
he who begins to read creation by studying the stars begins the book at the right place.
The heavens are plural for their variety, comprising the watery heavens with their CLOUDS of

9. countless forms, the aerial heavens with their calms and tempests, the solar heavens with all the
glories of the day, and the starry heavens with all the marvels of the night; what the Heaven of
heavens must be hath not entered into the heart of man, but there in chief all things are telling the
glory of God. Any part of creation has more instruction in it than human mind will ever exhaust, but
the celestial realm is peculiarly rich in spiritual lore. The heavens declare, or are declaring, for the
continuance of their testimony is intended by the participles employed; every moment God's
existence, power, wisdom and goodness, are being sounded abroad by the heavenly heralds which
shine upon us from above. He who would guess at divine sublimity should gaze upward into the
fidelity must mark the regularity of the planetary motions; and he who would attain some
conceptions of divine power, greatness, and majesty, must estimate the forces of attraction, the
magnitude of the fixed stars, and the brightness of the whole celestial train. It is not merely glory
that the heavens declare, but the "glory of God, "for they deliver to us such unanswerable
arguments for a conscious, intelligent, planning, controlling, and presiding Creator, that no
unprejudiced person can remain unconvinced by them. The testimony given by the heavens is no
mere hint, but a plain, unmistakable declaration; and it is a declaration of the most constant and
abiding kind. Yet for all this, to what avail is the loudest declaration to a deaf man, or the clearest
showing to one spiritually blind? God the Holy Ghost must illuminate us, or all the suns in the milky
way never will.
The firmament sheweth his handywork; not handy in the vulgar use of that term, but hand work.
The expanse is full of the works of the Lord's skilful, creating hands; hands being attributed to the
great creating Spirit to set forth his care and workmanlike action, and to meet the poor
comprehension of mortals. It is humbling to find that even when the most devout and elevated
minds are desirous to express their loftiest thoughts of God, they must use words and metaphors
drawn from the earth. We are children, and must each confess, "I think as a child, I speak as a
child." In the expanse above us God flies, as it were, his starry flag to show that the King is at home,
and hangs out his escutcheon that atheists may see how he despises their denunciations of him. He
who looks up to the firmament and then writes himself down an atheist, brands himself at the same
moment as an idiot or a liar. Strange is it that some who love God are yet afraid to study the God
declaring book of nature; the mock spirituality of some believers, who are too heavenly to consider
the heavens, has given colour to the vaunts of infidels that nature contradicts revelation. The wisest
of men are those who with pious eagerness trace the goings forth of Jehovah as well in creation as
in grace; only the foolish have any fears lest the honest study of the one should injure our faith in
the other. Dr. Macosh has well said, "We have often mourned over the attempts made to set the
works of God against the Word of God, and thereby excite, propagate, and perpetuate jealousies
fitted to separate parties that ought to live in closest union. In particular, we have always regretted
that endeavours should have been made to depreciate nature with a view of exalting revelation; it
has always appeared to us to be nothing else than the degrading of one part of God's work in the
hope thereby of exalting and recommending another. Let not science and religion be reckoned as
opposing citadels, frowning defiance upon each other, and their troops brandishing their armour in
hostile attitude. They have too many common foes, if they would but think of it, in ignorance and
prejudice, in passion and vice, under all their forms, to admit of their lawfully wasting their strength
in a useless warfare with each other. Science has a foundation, and so has religion; let them unite
their foundations, and the basis will be broader, and they will be two compartments of one great
fabric reared to the glory of God. Let one be the outer and the other the inner court. In the one, let
all look, and admire and adore; and in the other, let those who have faith kneel, and pray, and
praise. Let the one be the sanctuary where human learning may present its richest incense as an
offering to God, and the other the holiest of all, separated from it by a veil now rent in twain, and in
which, on a blood sprinkled mercyseat, we pour out the love of a reconciled heart, and hear the
oracles of the living God."
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole Psalm. The magnificent scenery to which the poem alludes is derived entirely from a
contemplation of nature, in a state of pastoral seclusion; and a contemplation indulged in, at
noontide or in the morning, when the sun was travelling over the horizon, and eclipsing all the other
heavenly bodies by his glory. On which ACCOUNT it forms a perfect contrast with the eighth

10. Psalm, evidently composed in the evening, and should be read in connection with it, as it was
probably written nearly at the same time; and as both are songs of praise derived from natural
phenomena, and therefore peculiarly appropriate to rural or pastoral life. John Mason Good.
Whole Psalm. The world resembles a divinity school, saith Plutarch, and Christ, as the Scripture
telleth, is our doctor, instructing us by his works, and by his words. For as Aristotle had two sorts of
writings, one called exoterical, for his common auditors, another acromatical, for his private scholars
and familiar acquaintance: so God hath two sorts of books, as David intimates in this Psalm;
namely, the book of his creatures, as a common place book for all men in the world: The heavens
declare the glory of God,Psalms 19:1-6; the book of his Scriptures as a statute book for his
domestic auditory, the church: The law of the Lord is an undefiled law, Psalms 19:7-8. The great
book of the creatures in folio, may be termed aptly the shepherd's kalendar, and
the ploughman's alphabet, in which even the most ignorant may run (as the prophet speaks) and
read. It is a letter patent, or open epistle for all, as David, in our text,Their sound is gone out into all
lands, and their words unto the ends of the world; there is neither speech nor language but have
heard of their preaching. For albeit, heaven, and the sun in heaven, and the light in the sun are
mute, yet their voices are well understood, catechising plainly the first elements of religion, as,
namely, that there is a God, and that this God is but one God, and that this one God excelleth all
other things infinitely both in might and majesty. Universus mundus (as one pithily) nihil aliud est
quam Deus explicatus: the whole world is nothing else but God expressed. So St. Paul, Romans
1:20 : God'sinvisible things, as his eternal power and Godhead, "are clearly seen" by the creation of
the world, "being understood by the things that are made." The heavens declare this, and the
firmament shows this, and the day tells this, and the night certifies this, the sound of the thunder
proclaims, as it were, this in all lands, and the words of the whistling wind unto the ends of the
world. More principally the sun, which as a bridegroom cometh out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as
a giant to run his course. The body thereof (as mathematicians have confidently delivered) is one
hundred and sixty-six times bigger than the whole earth, and yet it is every day carried by the finger
of God so great a journey, so long a course, that if it were to be taken on the land, it should run
every several hour of the day two hundred and twenty-five German miles. It is true that God is
incapable to sense, yet he makes himself, as it were, visible in his works; as the divine poet (Du
Bartas) sweetly: �
"Therein our fingers feel, our nostrils smell, Our palates taste his virtues that excel,
He shows him to our eyes, talks to our ears, In the ordered motions of the spangled spheres."
So the heavens declare, that is, they make men declare the glory of God, by their admirable
structure, motions, and influence. Now the preaching of the heavens is wonderful in three respects.
1. As preaching all the night and all the day without intermission: verse 2. One day tells another,
and one night certifies another. 2. As preaching in every kind of language: Psalms 19:3. There is
neither speech, nor language, but their voices are heard among them. 3. As preaching in every part
of the world, and in every parish of every part, and in every place of every parish: Psalms
19:4, Their sound is gone into all lands, and their words unto the ends of the world. They be diligent
pastors, as preaching at all times; and learned pastors, as preaching in all tongues; and catholic
pastors, as preaching in all towns. Let us not then in this UNIVERSITY (where the voices of so
many great doctors are heard), be like to truants in other schools, who gaze so much upon the
babies, (the pictures or illustrations of a book), and gilded cover, and painted margent of their book,
that they neglect the text and lesson itself. This is God's primer, as it were, for all sorts of people;
but he hath another book proper only for his domestic auditory the church: "He sheweth his word
unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation, neither
body of the Holy Scriptures, is a most absolute canon of all doctrines appertaining either to faith or
good manners; it is aperfect law, converting the soul, giving wisdom to the simple, sure, pure,
righteous, and rejoicing the heart,etc. John Boys.
Whole Psalm. Saint Chrysostom conjectures that the main intention of the greatest part of this
Psalm consists in the discovery of divine providence, which manifests itself in the motions and
courses of the heavenly bodies, concerning which the psalmist speaketh much, from Psalms 19:1-7.
Saint Austin upon the place, is of a quite different opinion, who conjectures that Christ is the whole

11. subject of this Psalm; whose person is compared to the sun for excellency and beauty, and the
course of whose doctrine was dispersed round about the world by his apostles to which Saint Paul
alludes (Romans 10:18); "Have they not heard? Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, "etc.,
and the efficacy of whose gospel is like the heat of the sun, which pierceth into the very heart of the
earth, so that into the secrets of the soul. I confess this allegorical exposition is not altogether
impertinent, neither is that literal exposition of Saint Chrysostom to be blamed, for it hath its weight.
But to omit all variety of conjecture, this Psalm contains in it:
1. A double kind of the knowledge of God, of which one is by the book of the creature; and this
divines call a natural knowledge: there is not any one creature but it is a leaf written all over with the
description of God; his eternal power and Godhead may be understood by the things that are seen,
saith the apostle. Romans 1:20. And, as every creature, so especially the heavens do lead us to the
knowledge of a God; so Psalms 19:1 : The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament
sheweth his handywork; they are the theatres, as it were, of his wisdom, and power, and glory.
Another is by the book of Scripture; and this knowledge is far more distinct and explicit: with the
other even the heathen do grope after a deity, but with this Christians do behold God, as it were,
with open face. The characters here are now fresh, spiritual, complete, and lively. The word of God
is the singular means to know God aright. Look, as the light which comes from the sun, so that word
of God, which is light, is the clearest way to know God who is light itself. Hence it is that the psalmist
stands much upon this from Psalms 19:7-12, where he sets open the word in its several encomiums
and operations; namely, in its perfection, its certainties, and firmness; its righteousness, and purity,
and truth; and then in its efficacy�that it is a converting word, an enlightening word, an instructing
word, a rejoicing word, a desirable word, a warning word, and a rewarding word.
2. A singular and experimental knowledge of himself. �So it seemeth, that that word which David
did so much commend, he did commend it from an experimental efficacy; he had found it to be a
righteous, and holy, and pure, and discovering word, laying open, not only visible and gross
transgressions, but also, like the light of the sun, those otherwise unobserved and secret atoms of
senses flying within the house; I mean in the secret chambers of the soul. Obadiah Sedgwick, 1660,
Ver. 1. The heavens declare the glory of God, etc. �The eminent saints of ancient times were
watchful observers of the objects and operations of nature. In every event they saw the agency of
God; and, therefore, they took delight in its examination. For they could not but receive pleasure
from witnessing the manifestations of his wisdom and beneficence, whom they adored and loved.
They had not learned, as we have in modern times, to interpose unbending laws between the
Creator and his works; and then, by giving inherent power to these laws, virtually to remove God
away from his creation into an ethereal extramundane sphere of repose and happiness. I do not say
that this is the universal feeling of the present day. But it prevails extensively in the church, and still
more in the world. The ablest philosophers of modern times do, indeed, maintain that a natural law
is nothing more than the uniform mode in which God acts; and that, after all, it is not the efficiency of
the law, but God's own energy, that keeps all nature in motion; that he operates immediately and
directly, not remotely and indirectly, in bringing about every event, and that every natural change is
as really the work of God as if the eye of sense could see his hand turning round the wheels of
nature. But, although the ablest philosophy of modern times has reached this conclusion, the great
mass of the community, and even of Christians, are still groping in the darkness of that mechanical
system which ascribes the operation of this natural world to nature's laws instead of nature's God.
By a sort of figure, indeed, it is proper, as the advocates of this system admit, to speak of God as
the author of its natural events, because he originally ordained the laws of nature. But they have no
idea that he exerts any direct and immediate agency in bringing them about; and, therefore, when
they look upon these events they feel no impression of the presence and active agency of Jehovah.
But how different, as already remarked, were the feeling of ancient saints. The psalmist could not
look up to heaven without exclaiming, The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament
sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth
knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. When he cast his
eyes abroad upon the earth, his full heart cried out, "O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom
hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy riches." In his eye everything was full of God. It was
God who "sent springs into the valleys, which run among the hills." When the thunderstorm passed
before him, it was "God's voice in the heavens, and his lightnings that lighted the world." When he

12. heard the bellowings, and saw the smoke of the volcano, it was "God who looketh on the earth, and
it trembleth; he toucheth the hills, and they smoke." Edward Hitchcock, D.D., L.L.D., 1867.
Ver. 1. The heavens declare, etc. Man has been endued by his Creator with mental powers
capable of cultivation. He has employed them in the study of the wonderful works of God which the
universe displays. His own habitation has provided a base which has served him to measure the
heavens. He compares his own stature with the magnitude of the earth on which he dwells; the
earth, with the system in which it is placed; the extent of the system, with the distance of the nearest
fixed stars; and that distance again serves as a unit of measurement for other distances which
observation points out. Still no approach is made to any limit. How extended these wonderful works
of the Almighty may be no man can presume to say. The sphere of creation appears to extend
around us indefinitely on all sides; "to have its centre everywhere, its circumference nowhere."
These are considerations which from their extent almost bewilder our minds. But how should they
raise our ideas toward their great Creator, when we consider that all these were created from
nothing, by a word, by a mere volition of the Deity. "Let them be, "said God, and they were. "By the
word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." "For
he spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast." Psalms 33:6; Psalms 33:9. What
must be that power, which so formed worlds on worlds; worlds in comparison of which this earth
which we inhabit sinks into utter nothingness! Surely when we thus lift up our thoughts to the
heavens, the moon and the stars which he hath ordained, we must feel, if we can ever feel, how
stupendous and incomprehensible is that Being who formed them all; that "the heavens" do
indeed "declare the glory of God; "and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Temple
Chevallier, in "The Hulsean Lectures for 1827."
Ver. 1. I have often been charmed and awed at the sight of the nocturnal heavens, even before I
throughout with the purest azure, and decorated with innumerable starry lamps. I have felt, I know
not what, powerful and aggrandising impulse, which seemed to snatch me from the low
entanglements of vanity, and prompted an ardent sigh for more sublime objects. I thought I heard,
even from the silent spheres, a commanding call to spurn the abject earth, and pant after unseen
delights. Henceforth I hope to imbibe more copiously this moral emanation of the skies, when, in
some such manner as the preceding, they are rationally seen, and the sight is duly improved. The
stars, I trust, will teach as well as shine, and help to dispel both nature's gloom and my intellectual
darkness. To some people they discharge no better a service than that of holding a flambeau to
their feet, and softening the horrors of their night. To me and my friends may they act as ministers of
a superior order, as counsellors of wisdom, and guides to happiness! Nor will they fail to execute
this nobler office, if they gently light our way into the knowledge of their adored Maker�if they
point out with their silver rays our path to his beatific presence. James Hervey, A.M., 1713-1758.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
JEFFERSO WILLIAMS There is no pause in their song. Day after day,
night after night the heavens pour fourth speech. The Hebrew word for pour
forth is “bubbling up” and pictures a natural spring that continually gives a
fresh water supply. There is neither pause nor break in their concert of
beauty, vastness, and steadfast order. The sun, the great circuit riding
preacher of the sky, proclaims God’s power, presence, and provision.

13. BAR ES,”Day unto day - One day to another; or, each successive day. The day that is
passing away proclaims the lesson which it had to convey from the movements of the
heavens, about God; and thus the knowledge of God is accumulating as the time moves
on. Each day has its own lesson in regard to the wisdom, the power, and the goodness of
God, and that lesson is conveyed from one day to another. There is a perpetual testimony
thus given to the wisdom and power of the Great Creator.
Uttereth speech - The word here rendered uttereth means properly to pour forth; to
pour forth copiously as a fountain. Compare Pro_18:4; Pro_1:23; Pro_15:2, Pro_15:28.
Hence, the word means to utter; to declare. The word “speech” means properly “a word;”
and then, “a lesson;” or “that which speech conveys.” The idea is, that the successive days
thus impart instruction, or convey lessons about God. The day does this by the returning
light, and by the steady and sublime movement of the sun in the heavens, and by all the
disclosures which are made by the light of the sun in his journeyings.
And night unto night showeth knowledge - Knowledge respecting God. Each
successive night does this. It is done by the stars in their courses; in their order; their
numbers; their ranks; their changes of position; their rising and their setting. There are
as many lessons conveyed to man about the greatness and majesty of God by the silent
movements of each night as there are by the light of the successive days - just as there
may be as many lessons conveyed to the soul about God in the dark night of affliction
and adversity, as there are when the sun of prosperity shines upon us.
CLARKE, “Day unto day uttereth speech - Each day is represented as teaching
another relative to some new excellence discovered in these manifold works of God. The
nights also, by the same figure, are represented as giving information to each other of the
increase of knowledge already gained.
“The labors of these our instructers know no intermission; but they continue
incessantly to lecture us in the science of Divine wisdom. There is one glory of the sun,
which shines forth by day; and there are other glories of the moon and of the stars, which
become visible by night. And because day and night interchangeably divide the world
between them, they are therefore represented as transmitting, in succession, each to
other, the task enjoined them, like the two parts of a choir, chanting forth alternately the
praises ot God.” - Bisbop Horne.
GILL, “Day untoday uttereth speech,.... This, with the following clause,
and night untonight showeth knowledge, some understand of the constant and
continued succession of day and night; which declares the glory of God, and shows him
to be possessed of infinite knowledge and wisdom; and which brings a new accession of
knowledge to men; others, of the continual declaration of the glory of God, and of the
knowledge of him made by the heavens and the firmament, the ordinances of which
always continue; the sun for a light by day, and the moon and stars for a light by night;
and so night and day constantly and successively proclaim the glory and wisdom of God:
but rather this is to be understood of the constancy of the Gospel ministry, and the
continuance of the evangelic revelation. The apostles of Christ persevered in their work,

14. and laboured in the word and doctrine night and day: they were in it at all seasons; yea,
were instant in season and out of season; and though they are dead, the Gospel
continues, and will do as long as day and night remain: and these, like overflowing
fountains, sent forth in great abundance, as the word (x) rendered "uttereth" signifies,
the streams of divine light and knowledge; they were full of matter, and their tongues
were as the pen of a ready writer; they diffused the savour of the knowledge of Christ, in
great plenty, in every place where they came. These words express the continuance of the
Gospel revelation, as the next do the extent of it.
HE RY, “From the things that are seen every day by all the world the
psalmist, in these verses, leads us to the consideration of the invisible things
of God, whose being appears incontestably evident and whose glory shines
transcendently bright in the visible heavens, the structure and beauty of
them, and the order and influence of the heavenly bodies. This instance of
the divine power serves not only to show the folly of atheists, who see there
is a heaven and yet say, “There is no God,” who see the effect and yet say,
“There is no cause,” but to show the folly of idolaters also, and the vanity of
their imagination, who, though the heavens declare the glory of God, yet
gave that glory to the lights of heaven which those very lights directed them
to give to God only, the Father of lights. Now observe here,
1. What that is which the creatures notify to us. They are in many ways useful and
serviceable to us, but in nothing so much as in this, that they declare the glory of God, by
showing his handy-works, Psa_19:1. They plainly speak themselves to be God's handy-
works; for they could not exist from eternity; all succession and motion must have had a
beginning; they could not make themselves, that is a contradiction; they could not be
produced by a casual hit of atoms, that is an absurdity, fit rather to be bantered than
reasoned with: therefore they must have a Creator, who can be no other than an eternal
mind, infinitely wise, powerful, and good. Thus it appears they are God's works, the
works of his fingers (Psa_8:3), and therefore they declare his glory. From the excellency
of the work we may easily infer the infinite perfection of its great author. From the
brightness of the heavens we may collect that the Creator is light; their vastness of extent
bespeaks his immensity;, their height his transcendency and sovereignty, their influence
upon this earth his dominion, and providence, and universal beneficence: and all declare
his almighty power, by which they were at first made, and continue to this day according
to the ordinances that were then settled.
JAMISO , “uttereth — pours forth as a stream; a perpetual testimony.
E-SWORD, ““Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.”
As it one day took up the story where the other left it, and each night passed over the
wondrous tale to the next. The original has in it the thought of pouring out, or welling
over, with speech; as though days and nights were but as a fountain flowing evermore
with Jehovah's praise. Oh to drink often at the celestial well, and learn to utter the glory
of God! The witnesses above cannot be slain or silenced; from their elevated seats they
constantly preach the knowledge of God, unawed and unbiassed by the judgments of
men. Even the changes of alternating night and day are mutely eloquent, and light and
shade equally reveal the Invisible One; let the vicissitudes of our circumstances do the
same, and while we bless the God of our days of joy, let us also extol him who giveth
“songs in the night.”
The lesson of day and night is one which it were well if all men learned. It should be

15. among our day-thoughts and night-thoughts to remember the flight of time, the
changeful character of earthly things, the brevity both of joy and sorrow, the
preciousness of life, our utter powerlessness to recall the hours once flown, and the
irresistible approach of eternity. Day bids us labour, night reminds us to prepare for our
last home; day bids us work for God, and night invites us to rest in him; day bids us look
for endless day, and night warns us to escape from everlasting night.
CALVI , “2.Day unto day uttereth speech. Philosophers, who have more penetration into those
matters than others, understand how the stars are arranged in such beautiful order, that
notwithstanding their immense number there is no confusion; but to the ignorant and unlettered,
the CONTINUAL succession of days is a more undoubted proof of the providence of God. David,
therefore, having spoken of the heavens, does not here descend from them to other parts of the
world; but, from an effect more sensible and nearer our apprehension, he confirms what he has just
now said, namely, that the glory of God not only shines, but also resounds in the heavens. The
words may be variously expounded, but the different expositions which have been given of them
make little difference as to the sense. Some explain them thus, that no day passes in which God
does not show some signal evidence of his power. Others are of opinion that they denote the
augmentations of instruction and knowledge, - that every succeeding day contributes something
new in proof of the existence and perfections of God. Others view them as meaning that the days
and nights talk together, and reason concerning the glory of their Creator’ but this is a somewhat
forced interpretation. David, I have no doubt, here teaches, from the established alternations of
days and nights, that the course and revolutions of the sun, and moon, and stars, are regulated by
the marvellous wisdom of God. Whether we translate the words Day after day, or one day to
another day, is of little consequence; for all that David means is the beautiful arrangement of time
which the succession of days and nights effects. If, indeed, we were as attentive as we ought to be,
even one day would suffice to bear testimony to us of the glory of God, and even one night would
be sufficient to perform to us the same office. But when we see the sun and the moon performing
their daily revolutions, — the sun by day appearing over our heads, and the moon succeeding in its
turns — the sun ascending by degrees, while at the same time he approaches nearer us, — and
afterwards bending his course so as to depart from us by little and little; — and when we see that by
this means the length of the days and nights is regulated, and that the variation of their length is
arranged ACCORDING to a law so uniform, as invariably to recur at the same points of time in
every successive year, we have in this a much brighter testimony to the glory of God. David,
therefore, with the highest reason, declares, that although God should not speak a single word to
men, yet the orderly and useful succession of days and nights eloquently proclaims the glory of
God, and that there is now left to men no pretext for ignorance; for since the days and nights
perform towards us so well and so carefully the office of teachers, we may acquire, if we are duly
attentive, a sufficient amount of knowledge under their tuition.
SPURGEO , “Ver. 2. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth
knowledge. As if one day took up the story where the other left it, and each night passed
over the wondrous tale to the next. The original has in it the thought of pouring out or
welling over, with speech; as though days and nights were but as a fountain flowing
evermore with Jehovah's praise. Oh to drink often at the celestial well, and learn to utter the
glory of God! The witnesses above cannot be slain or silenced; from their elevated seats
they constantly preach the knowledge of God, unawed and unbiased by the judgment of
men. Even the changes of alternating night and day are mutely eloquent, and light and shade
equally reveal the Invisible One; let the vicissitudes of our circumstances do the same, and
while we bless the God of our days of joy, let us also extol him who giveth "songs in the
night."
things, the brevity both of joy and sorrow, the preciousness of life, our utter powerlessness to recall
the hours once flown, and the irresistible approach of eternity. Day bids us labour, night reminds us

16. to prepare for our last time; day bids us work for God, and night invites us to rest in him; day bids us
look for endless day, and night warns us to escape from everlasting night.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Ver. 1-2. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-4. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-4. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his
handiwork. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-4. Like as the sun with his light beneficially comforteth all the world, so Christ, the Son of
God, reacheth his benefits unto all men, so that they will receive them thankfully, and not refuse
them disobediently. Robert Cawdray.
Ver. 2. Day unto day, etc. But what is the meaning of the next word�One day tells another, and
one night certifies another? Literally, dies diem dicit, is nothing else but dies diem docet. One day
tells another, is one day teaches another. The day past is instructed by the day present: every new
day doth afford new doctrine. The day is a most apt time to learn by reading and conference; the
night a most fit time for invention and meditation. Now that which thou canst not understand this day
thou mayest haply learn the next, and that which is not found out in one night may be gotten in
another. Mystically (saith Hierem), Christ is this "day, "who saith of himself, "I am the light of the
world, "and his twelve apostles are the twelve hours of the day; for Christ's Spirit revealed by the
mouths of his apostles the mysteries of our salvation, in other ages not so fully known unto the sons
of men. One day tells another, that is, the spiritual utter this unto the spiritual; and one night certifies
another, that is, Judas insinuates as much unto the Jews in the night of ignorance, saying,
"Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he, lay hold on him."Matthew 26:28. Or, the Old Testament only
shadowing Christ is the night, and the New Testament plainly showing Christ is the day. John Boys.
Ver. 2. Day unto day, or day after day; the vicissitude or CONTINUAL succession of day and
night speaketh much divine knowledge. The assiduity and constancy without any intermission by
the heavens preaching is hereby expressed. John Richardson.
Ver. 2. Uttereth, poureth forth abundantly; sheweth demonstrates clearly and effectively, without
ambiguity. Job 36:2. Many in the full light of gospel day, hear not that speech, who yet in the night of
affliction and trouble, or in the conviction of their natural darkness, have that knowledge
communicated to them which enables them to realise the joy that cometh in the morning. W.
Wilson.
Ver. 2. Sheweth knowledge. We may illustrate the differing measures in which natural objects
convey knowledge to men of differing mental and spiritual capacity by the story of our great English
artist. He is said to have been engaged upon one of his immortal works, and a lady of rank looking
on remarked, "But Mr. Turner, I do not see in nature all that you describe there." "Ah, Madam,
"answered the painter, "do you not wish you could?" C.H.S.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Ver. 1-5. Parallel between the heavens and the revelation of Scripture, dwelling upon Christ as the
central Sun of Scripture.
Ver. 2. Voices of the day and of the night. Day and night thoughts.
Psalms 19:3*
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, “Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto
night sheweth knowledge.
Instruction to be derived from the revolution of day and night
I. The almighty power of the Creator and Preserver of the universe. The very act of
creation, or the producing of any being out of nothing, gives us the most enlarged idea of
Omnipotence. The Almighty not only at first created, but continually upholds, the work

17. of His hands. His mighty energy is continually displayed in the preservation of all the
creatures He hath made.
II. The goodness of God. Attend particularly to man, the noblest work of God. Every
faculty of our nature and every circumstance of our condition afford abundant evidence
of the goodness of God. Through the faculty of reason we are blessed with moral
perception: we know what is right and what is wrong. The exercise of our mental powers
is accompanied with pleasure. In the scheme of redeeming grace unfolded in the Gospel
we have the most illustrious display of the Divine benignity which men or angels have
ever witnessed. And if we consider ourselves as creatures in a state of trial we find
ourselves furnished with all the direction, assistance, and encouragement that such a
state requires.
III. The wisdom of God. Wisdom, whenever it is employed, must have happiness for its
object; and when that is promoted by fit means, wisdom shows itself to the utmost
advantage. Every object that contributes to our happiness is admirably contrived for that
end; and every evidence of Divine goodness brings with it a concomitant proof of Divine
wisdom, The body and the mind want the rest of night, and partake of this refreshment,
The faculties of the soul cannot long bear intense application. Attend now to the religious
and moral instructions which this subject suggests.
1. Let every revolution of day and night raise our thoughts to God. Let us attend to
the daily revolution, not with the coldness of a philosophic inquirer, but with the
ardent piety of devout worshippers of the God of nature and grace. But it is in the
scheme of redemption, unfolded in the Gospel, that we behold the Divine perfections
shining with the most resplendent lustre. The light of the sun of righteousness throws
new beauty upon the creation of God.
2. Consider the experience we have had of the power, goodness, wisdom, and mercy
of God in the by-past of our life. It were endless to enumerate the instances of the
Divine goodness and mercy in which we have shared.
3. Every revolving year, every revolving day, tells us that the period of our probation
is hastening to an end. Then watch against a worldly temper and disposition of mind.
Watch against building our hopes on general truths and promises, without any
evidence of our interest in them. (James Ross, D. D.)
Silent sounds
It sounds rather curious, does it not, to hear about one day speaking to another? Though
you have listened ever so hard, yet you have not been able to hear a day speaking. That is
true; and David, who wrote this Psalm, knew that also, for he says in the very next verse,
“No speech, no language, their voice is not heard”—and yet, “day unto day uttereth
speech”! How can theft be? Because there are more ways of speaking than one. There is
the way the deaf and dumb speak—on their fingers. Their voice is not heard, yet they
speak. Then a book speaks. The moment it is open, and you see the words, you
understand what they mean—they speak to you. There is a tribe of savage people tar
away, and what do you think is the name they give to a book? They call it “the
whisperer.” But it does not whisper; it has no voice nor sound, and yet it speaks. Now,
how do you come to understand what people say—when they speak on their fingers? or
how do you ever come to know what a book says? Isn’t it by first learning how to
understand? And you carry the way to understand inside yourself. So is it that we
understand thousands of things round about us, and that tells us of God, The way, then,

18. to understand what the days speak is to get much of God’s spirit into our hearts. The
days say—
I. There’s nothing new! Today is just like yesterday. Yesterday came up beautiful,
became brighter, had clouds and sunshine, and then faded away. So it will be with today.
Yesterday carried away on its white wings the spirits of thousands of men and women,
and wee, wee children too; and the night came, and covered their bodies, and they were
seen no more. So it will be today. There’s nothing new. But as you listen again you hear
the days say—
II. Everything is new! There is nothing new about the day, but everything is new about
you. The temptations you will have today won’t be the same that you had yesterday; the
night has come like a black wall between you and yesterday, and today you get a fair start
again; and today you may do better than yesterday, or today you may do worse, but you
can’t blame yesterday. It is gone; this is a new day, but, take care! you will be tempted
today in another way. So, you can t afford to forget Jesus: a new day means a new way,
and only Jesus can guide you rightly upon it. But this also the days say—
III. Time tells of eternity! As the days pass away, we pass away with them—passing
away, out into eternity. When you are in a train or a tramcar you notice that all the
people do not go to the journey’s end. Some go only a little way, others go farther, new
ones come in; perhaps you yourself get out before the whole journey is done. Anyway,
they are very few who go all the way. It is just the same with our lives. Some only go a
short distance through the days—God calls them away when they are young. Some go a
little farther, others a little farther still; but they are very few indeed who come to be very
old. Shouldn’t every day, then, make us think of what is to be the end of all? (J. Reid
Howett.)
Night unto night sheweth knowledge.
The teaching of the night
God divided the sovereignty of time between day and night.
I. Night teaches the individuality of our being. For more than the day, it shows us what it
is to be alone with ourselves and God. It drives all the faculties and sensibilities of the
soul inward upon itself. The hours of darkness are fearful to those who are afraid to be
with themselves and God. Jesus used to retire to desert places, that He might, during the
night time be alone with the Father. I have myself spent the hours of night alone upon
high mountains. A solemn experience.
II. The retirement of the soul, in which God’s presence is most felt, need not take us
away from the crowded paths of life. Where we see most of man, there we can see most of
God. A spiritually minded man once said that he felt God’s presence with him in walking
the crowded and noisy streets of New York as really as he did in the sanctuary or in the
solemn hour of devotion.
III. The night of the natural world is the symbol of the deeper night of sorrow and
disappointment that settles down upon the soul. God surrounds us with both, that we
may feel for His hand in the darkness, and find ourselves safe with His protection. We
learn from the night of affliction and trouble many lessons which we could never master
in the light of broad day. In the awful night hour of death we need not find ourselves
alone. He has been all the way through the valley of the shadow of death, and He will not
leave us to grope in vain for His hand. (D. Marsh, D. D.)

19. HAWKER, “In like manner, the regular succession of day and night prove no
less his order and government. He maketh the outgoings of the morning and
evening to praise him. Psa_65:8. And so universal are those teachings, that
there is no nation under the sun but hath this book of God in creation
opened to their view.
Reader, remark by the way the perpetuity of this order and regularity, as a confirmation
of God’s covenant with Noah. After the deluge the Lord promised, that while the earth
remained seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night,
should not cease. And, although this promise was made more than four thousand years
since, yet God is as true to his promise as though it was made but yesterday. Mark this,
Reader, as a further proof of divine faithfulness, and remember what God commanded
by Moses, Know, therefore, that the Lord thy God he is God, the faithful God. Gen_8:22;
Deu_7:9.
SBC 1-6, “Part First.
The praise of the Divine glory in the natural world of creation is first general (vers. 1-4)
and then particular (vers. 4-6).
I. The whole visible expanse of sky is the theme or occasion of praise. Its teaching or
testimony is (1) constant and continuous, (2) independent of language, and (3) universal.
II. The commission given generally to the heavens to declare God’s glory and to the
firmament to show His handiwork is centred in the particular ascendency and
sovereignty of the orb of day. (1) He has a position which implies supremacy. (2) The
bright and radiant bravery of the sun is illustrated by significant comparisons. (3) The
two leading features of his supremacy are clearly indicated: the wide sweep of his
command and the penetrating, all-searching potency of his beams.
Part Second.
The transition from the natural world to the spiritual is made with startling abruptness.
As in the stroke of a magic wand, the sun is gone. Another sun breaks forth from a higher
heaven—the law of the Lord.
I. This sudden substitution implies similarity or analogy. (1) The law of the Lord has a
fixed position; (2) a resplendent beauty and authoritative power; (3) a sweep and range
to take in the uttermost bounds of human consciousness and experience, as well as a
piercing, fiery energy to ransack every nook and cranny in the thoughts and intents of
the human heart.
II. In this great analogy a difference is to be noted. The heavens are the result in time of
what God, as the Almighty, is pleased from all eternity to determine fully to do; the law is
the image from everlasting to everlasting of what God, as Jehovah, from everlasting to
everlasting necessarily is. And as what God in His essential nature is transcends
incalculably in glory what God, in the exercise of His discretionary choice, may think fit
to do, so the law of Jehovah transcends the heavens which declare His glory, and in
which He has set a tabernacle for the sun.
R. S. Candlish, The Gospel of Forgiveness, p. 113.

20. 3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
BAR ES,”There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard -
Margin, Without these their voice is heard. Hebrew, “without their voice heard.” The
idea in the margin, which is adopted by Prof. Alexander, is, that when the heavens give
expression to the majesty and glory of God, it is not by words - by the use of language
such as is employed among men. That is, there is a silent but real testimony to the power
and glory of their great Author. The same idea is adopted substantially by DeWette. So
Rosenmuller renders it, “There is no speech to them, and no words, neither is their voice
heard.” High as these authorities are, yet it seems to me that the idea conveyed by our
common version is probably the correct one. This is the idea in the Septuagint and the
Latin Vulgate. According to this interpretation the meaning is, “There is no nation, there
are no men, whatever may be their language, to whom the heavens do not speak,
declaring the greatness and glory of God. The language which they speak is universal;
and however various the languages spoken by men, however impossible it may be for
them to understand each other, yet all can understand the language of the heavens,
proclaiming the perfections of the Great Creator. That is a universal language which does
not need to be expressed in the forms of human speech, but which conveys great truths
alike to all mankind.”
That the passage cannot mean that there is no speech, that there are no words, or that
there is no language in the lessons conveyed by the heavens, seems to me to be clear
from the fact that alike in the previous verse Psa_19:2, and in the following verse
Psa_19:4, the psalmist says that they do use speech or language, “Day unto day uttereth
speech;” “their words unto the end of the world.” The phrase “their voice” refers to the
heavens Psa_19:1. They utter a clear and distinct voice to mankind; that is, they convey
to people true and just notions of the greatness of the Creator. The meaning, then, it
seems to me, is that the same great lessons about God are conveyed by the heavens, in
their glory and their revolutions, to all nations; that these lessons are conveyed to them
day by day, and night by night; that however great may be the diversities of Speech
among men, these convey lessons in a universal language understood by all mankind;
and that thus God is making himself constantly known to all the dwellers on the earth.
All people can understand the language of the heavens, though they may not be able to
understand the language of each other. Of the truth of this no one can doubt; and its
beauty is equal to its truth.
CLARKE, “There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard -
Leave out the expletives here, which pervert the sense; and what remains is a tolerable
translation of the original: -
‫קולם‬ ‫נשמע‬ ‫בלי‬ ‫דברים‬ ‫ואין‬ ‫אמר‬ ‫אין‬
Ein omer veein debarim, beli nishma kolam.
“No speech, and no words; their voice without hearing.”
‫מליהם‬ ‫תבל‬ ‫ובקצה‬ ‫קום‬ ‫יצא‬ ‫הארץ‬ ‫בכל‬

21. Bechol haarets yatsa kavvam: Ubiktsey thebel milleyhem.
“Into all the earth hath gone out their sound; and to the extremity of the
habitable world, their eloquence.”
The word ‫קו‬ kau, which we translate line, is rendered sonus, by the Vulgate, and
φθαγγος, sound, by the Septuagint; and St. Paul, Rom_10:18, uses the same term.
Perhaps the idea here is taken from a stretched cord, that emits a sound on being struck;
and hence both ideas may be included in the same word; and ‫קום‬ kavvam may be either
their line, or cord, or their sound. But I rather think that the Hebrew word originally
meant sound or noise; for in Arabic the verb kavaha signifies he called out, cried,
clamavit. The sense of the whole is this, as Bishop Horne has well expressed it: -
“Although the heavens are thus appointed to teach, yet it is not by articulate sounds
that they do it. They are not endowed, like man, with the faculty of speech; but they
address themselves to the mind of the intelligent beholder in another way, and that,
when understood, a no less forcible way, the way of picture or representation. The
instruction which the heavens spread abroad is as universal as their substance, which
extends itself in lines, or rays. By this means their words, or rather their significant
actions or operations, ‫,מליהם‬ are everywhere present; and thereby they preach to all the nations
the power and wisdom, the mercy and lovingkindness, of the Lord.”
St. Paul applies this as a prophecy relative to the universal spread of the Gospel of Christ,
Rom_10:18; for God designed that the light of the Gospel should be diffused wheresoever the
light of the celestial luminaries shone; and be as useful and beneficent, in a moral point of view,
as that is in a natural. All the inhabitants of the earth shall benefit by the Gospel of Christ, as they
all benefit by the solar, lunar, and stellar light. And, indeed, all have thus benefited, even where
the words are not yet come. “Jesus is the true Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the
world.” His light, and the voice of his Spirit, have already gone through the earth; and his words,
and the words of his apostles, are by means of the Bible and missionaries going out to all the
extremities of the habitable globe.
On these words I shall conclude with the translation of my old Psalter: -
Rom_10:1Rom_10:1Rom_10:1Rom_10:1 Hevens telles the joy of God; and the werkes of his handes schwis the firmament.
Rom_10:2Rom_10:2Rom_10:2Rom_10:2 Day til day riftes word; and nyght til nyght schewes conying.
Rom_10:3Rom_10:3Rom_10:3Rom_10:3 Na speches er, ne na wordes, of the qwilk the voyces of thaim be noght herd.
Rom_10:4Rom_10:4Rom_10:4Rom_10:4 In al the land yede the soune of tham; and in endes of the wereld thair wordes.
Rom_10:5Rom_10:5Rom_10:5Rom_10:5 In the Soun he sett his tabernacle; and he as a spouse comand forth of his
chaumber: he joyed als geaunt at ryn the way.
Rom_10:6Rom_10:6Rom_10:6Rom_10:6 Fra heest heven the gangyng of hym: and his gayne rase til the heest of hym: nane es

22. that hym may hyde fra his hete.
All the versions, except the Chaldee, render the last clause of the fourth verse thus: “In the sun
he hath placed his tabernacle;” as the old Psalter likewise does. They supposed that if the
Supreme Being had a local dwelling, this must be it; as it was to all human appearances the fittest
place. But the Hebrew is, “Among them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun.” He is the center of
the universe; all the other heavenly bodies appear to serve him. He is like a general in his
pavilion, surrounded by his troops, to whom he gives his orders, and by whom he is obeyed. So,
the solar influence gives motion, activity, light, and heat to all the planets. To none of the other
heavenly bodies does the psalmist assign a tabernacle, none is said to have a fixed dwelling, but
the sun.
GILL, “There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard,.... Not
the voice of the day and night; as if the sense was, that there is no people, of any speech
or language under the sun, but there is something said every day and night of the
weather, what it is, or will be, as the face of the heavens appears morning and evening:
but of the heavens and firmament; the meaning of which some take to be this; either that
though they have no proper speech nor language, yet there is a voice in them which is
heard, declaring the glory of God and his handiworks; and the words may very well be
rendered, "they have no speech nor words, without these their voice is heard"; or that
there is no people, nation, or language under the heavens; see Dan_3:4; though they are
ever so different one from another, so as not to be able to understand each other; yet the
voice of the heavens, uttering and proclaiming the glory of their Maker, is heard and
understood by them all: but rather this is to be interpreted of the extent of the Gospel
ministry by the apostles; who, according to their commission, went everywhere
preaching the word, to men of all nations, of every speech and language; for which they
were qualified, by having the gift of various tongues bestowed upon them; so that there
were no nations, of ever so barbarous a speech and language, but they were capable of
speaking to and of being understood by them; and though they could not understand one
another, they all heard the apostles speak in their own tongues the wonderful works of
God, Act_2:4. Their voice, in the ministration of the Gospel, was heard in every nation
externally, and by many internally: faith came by hearing; and they received the word
with gladness and readiness. This gives the Gospel revelation a superiority to the legal
one; that was only made to one nation, to the nation of the Jews; the voice of that was
not heard elsewhere; but the voice of the Gospel is heard in all nations; this revelation is
published throughout the world: and this shows that these words belong to the times of
the apostles, after they had received a commission from Christ, to go into, all the world,
and preach the Gospel to every creature; which was done before the destruction of
Jerusalem, Mat_24:14; and which is further confirmed by what follows.
HE RY, “ To whom this declaration is made of the glory of God. It is made
to all parts of the world (Psa_19:3, Psa_19:4): There is no speech nor
language (no nation, for the nations were divided after their tongues,
Gen_10:31, Gen_10:32) where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone

23. through all the earth (the equinoctial line, suppose) and with it their words
to the end of the world, proclaiming the eternal power of God of nature,
Psa_19:4. The apostle uses this as a reason why the Jews should not be
angry with him and others for preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, because
God had already made himself known to the Gentile world by the works of
creation, and left not himself without witness among them (Rom_10:18), so
that they were without excuse if they were idolaters, Rom_1:20, Rom_1:21.
And those were without blame, who, by preaching the gospel to them,
endeavoured to turn them from their idolatry. If God used these means to
prevent their apostasy, and they proved ineffectual, the apostles did well to
use other means to recover them from it. They have no speech or language
(so some read it) and yet their voice is heard. All people may hear these
natural immortal preachers speak to them in their own tongue the
wonderful works of God.
In singing these verses we must give God the glory of all the comfort and benefit we
have by the lights of the heaven, still looking above and beyond them to the Sun of
righteousness.
JAMISO , “Though there is no articulate speech or words, yet without these
their voice is heard (compare Margin).
PIPER The second observation of David's I want us to see is in verse 3,
"There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard." In other
words, the knowledge which pours forth from days and nights is visual not
verbal. We know from verses 7 and following that David loved the verbal
revelation of God, so he is not belittling that. But he also delights in the
visual revelation of God and puts it first probably because it is completed by
the verbal but also because it comes first not only in the order of creation
(God made things for man before He spoke to man) but also in the order of
every life (a child learns by seeing the world before he can understand
languages).
PIPER The second observation of David's I want us to see is in verse 3,
"There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard." In other
words, the knowledge which pours forth from days and nights is visual not
verbal. We know from verses 7 and following that David loved the verbal
revelation of God, so he is not belittling that. But he also delights in the
visual revelation of God and puts it first probably because it is completed by
the verbal but also because it comes first not only in the order of creation
(God made things for man before He spoke to man) but also in the order of
every life (a child learns by seeing the world before he can understand
languages).
E-SWORD, ““There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not
heard.” Every man may hear the voices of the stars. Many are the languages
of terrestrials, to celestials there is but one, and that one may be understood
by every willing mind. The lowest heathen are without excuse, if they do not

24. discover the invisible things of God in the works which he has made. Sun,
moon, and stars are God's travelling preachers; they are apostles upon their
journey confirming those who regard the Lord, and judges on circuit
condemning those who worship idols.
The margin gives us another rendering, which is more literal, and involves less
repetition; “no speech, no words, their voice is not heard;” that is to say, their teaching
is not addressed to the ear, and is not uttered in articulate sounds; it is pictorial, and
directed to the eye and heart; it touches not the sense by which faith comes, for faith
cometh by hearing. Jesus Christ is called the Word, for he is a far more distinct display of
Godhead than all the heavens can afford; they are, after all, but dumb instructors;
neither star nor sun can arrive at a word, but Jesus is the express image of Jehovah's
person, and his name is the Word of God.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, “No speech nor language; their voice cannot be heard.
Silent voices
The Psalmist, like a true poet, had a keen eye and ear. He saw in the firmament the glory
of God, and he heard, around him and beneath, a chorus of praise to the Most High. Two
interpretations have been put upon this verse. The first, that there is no country or clime,
“no speech or language,” where the voice of the firmament, etc., is not heard, seeing their
“line” or instruction “is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the
world.” The other is, that there is no audible voice, no sound that falls upon the ear.
Addison writes, “What though in solemn silence,” etc.
I. Silent voices have often a most powerful influence.
1. They may move a man more than uttered words. The voices of nature, the music of
the spheres, as it is called, is silence. Lectures have their place, but audible voices are
not so soul-stirring as voices inaudible.
2. The spring, and every season of the year, brings many lessons, and yet “there is no
speech or language, its voice is not heard.” No man ever heard, with his bodily ear,
the language of either day or night, yet every day speaks of God’s infinite resources—
of His goodness, of His power and glory—more articulate than any man could speak.
3. Solitude speaks to the soul. The mountain top, the dense forest, the restless sea;
but their “voice is not heard.” The expression of human feeling is often more
powerful when inarticulate.
II. In order to apprehend silent voices we must ourselves be silent. Put away distracting
thoughts, and humbly listen only to God as He speaks to the soul and conscience. Men
cannot even hear music unless they are still, silent, and undistracted. With the soul men
hear God, and not with the physical ear, unless they are still and undistracted. It is very
desirable that men should commune with God in their work, and be still before Him with
their souls, and not with their intellects only. The active intellect is more often used
against God than for Him. But God cannot be reached by intellectual processes any more
than love, or than the beauties of a landscape can be explained by argument, or than
music can be brought home to the soul by logical syllogism. (James S. Swan.)
The silent testimony
Language is always a difficulty, a snare, a temptation, an inconvenient convenience. It
brings us into all our troubles; it is when we speak that we create heterodoxies; could we

25. but be silently dumbly good—could we look our prayers, and cause our face to shine with
our benevolence, and our hand do a quiet work of beneficence, how happy would the
world be! Words do not mean the same thing to any two men; they may be accepted for
momentary uses and for commercial purposes, but when it becomes a matter of life and
death, time and eternity, truth and error, words are base counterfeits, that should be
nailed to the counter of creation, as things by which a false commerce has been kept up
amongst earnest and ardent men. Blessed be God for the silent testimony, for the radiant
character, for the eloquent service. All history is silent; it is only the immediate day that
chatters and talks and fusses about its little affairs. Yet the dead centuries are eloquent:
the characters are all gone; the warriors are dead and buried, the orators have
culminated their eloquence in the silence of death, the great solemn past is like a
banquet hall deserted, but it is eloquent, instructive, silently monitorial. Silent history—
great, sad, melancholy, impartial history—the spirit of the past should govern the unrest
and the tumult of the present. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
CALVI , “3.There is no language nor speech [where] their voice is not heard. This verse
receives two almost contrary interpretations, each of which, however, has the appearance of
probability. As the words, when rendered literally, read thus — No language, and no words, their
voice is not heard — some connect the third and fourth verses together, as if this sentence were
incomplete without the clause which follows in the beginning of the fourth verse, Their writing has
gone forth through all the earth, etc. According to them, the meaning is this:— The heavens, it is
true, are mute and are not endued with the faculty of speech; but still they proclaim the glory of God
with a voice sufficiently loud and distinct. But if this was David’ meaning, what need was there to
repeat three times that they have not articulate speech? It would certainly be spiritless and
superfluous to insist so much upon a thing so universally known. The other exposition, therefore, as
it is more generally received, seems also to be more suitable. In the Hebrew tongue, which is
concise, it is often necessary to supply some word; and it is particularly a common thing in that
language for the relatives to be omitted, that is to say, the words which, in which, etc., as
here, There is no language, there is no speech, [where (445) ]their voice is not
heard. (446) Besides, the third negation, ‫,בלי‬ beli, (447) rather denotes an exception to what is
stated in the preceding members of the sentence, as if it had been said, The difference and variety
of languages does not prevent the preaching of the heavens and their language from being heard
and understood in every quarter of the world. The difference of languages is a barrier which
prevents different nations from maintaining mutual intercourse, and it makes him who in his own
country is distinguished for his eloquence, when he comes into a foreign country either dumb or, if
he attempt to speak, barbarous. And even although a man could speak all languages, he could not
speak to a Grecian and a Roman at the same time; for as soon as he began to direct his discourse
to the one, the other would cease to understand him. David, therefore, by making a tacit
comparison, enhances the efficacy of the testimony which the heavens bear to their Creator. The
import of his language is, Different nations differ from each other as to language; but the heavens
have a common language to teach all men without distinction, nor is there any thing but their own
carelessness to hinder even those who are most strange to each other, and who live in the most
distant parts of the world, from profiting, as it were, at the mouth of the same teacher.
4.Their writing has gone forth, etc. Here the inspired writer declares how the heavens preach to all
nations indiscriminately, namely, because men, in all countries and in all parts of the earth, may
understand that the heavens are set before their eyes as witnesses to bear testimony to the glory of
God. As the Hebrew word ‫,קו‬ kav signifies sometimes a line, and sometimes a building, some
deduce from it this meaning, that the fabric of the heavens being framed in a regular manner, and
as it were by line, proclaims the glory of God in all parts of the world. But as David here
metaphorically introduces the splendor and magnificence of the heavenly bodies, as preaching the

26. glory of God like a teacher in a seminary of learning, it would be a meagre and unsuitable manner of
speaking to say, that the line of the heavens goes forth to the uttermost ends of the earth. Besides,
he immediately adds, in the following clause, that their words are every where heard; but what
relation is there between words and the beauty of a building? If, however, we render ‫,קו‬ kav,
writing, these two things will very well agree, first, that the glory of God is written and imprinted in
the heavens, as in an open volume which all men may read; and, secondly, that, at the same time,
they give forth a loud and distinct voice, which reaches the ears of all men, and causes itself to be
heard in all places. (448) Thus we are taught, that the language of which mention has been made
before is, as I may term it, a visible language, in other words, language which addresses itself to the
sight; for it is to the eyes of men that the heavens speak, not to their ears; and thus David justly
compares the beautiful order and arrangement, by which the heavenly bodies are distinguished, to
a writing. That the Hebrew word ‫,קו‬ kav, signifies a line in writing, (449) is sufficiently evident
from Isa_28:10, where God, comparing the Jews to children who are not yet of sufficient age to
make great proficiency, speaks thus:
“ precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little,
and there a little.”
In my judgment, therefore, the meaning is, that the glory of God is not written in small obscure
letters, but richly engraven in large and bright characters, which all men may read, and read with the
greatest ease. Hitherto I have explained the true and proper meaning of the inspired writer. Some
have wrested this part of the psalm by putting upon it an allegorical interpretation; but my readers
will easily perceive that this has been done without reason. I have shown in the commencement,
and it is also evident from the scope of the whole discourse, that David, before coming to the law,
sets before us the fabric of the world, that in it we might behold the glory of God. Now, if we
understand the heavens as meaning the apostles, and the sun Christ, there will be no longer place
for the division of which we have spoken; and, besides, it would be an improper arrangement to
place the gospel first and then the law. It is very evident that the inspired poet here treats of the
knowledge of God, which is naturally presented to all men in this world as in a mirror; and,
therefore, I forbear discoursing longer on that point. As, however, these allegorical interpreters
have SUPPORTED their views from the words of Paul, this difficulty must be removed. Paul, in
discoursing upon the calling of the Gentiles, lays down this as an established principle, that, “ shall
call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved;” and then he adds, that it is impossible for any to
call upon him until they know him by the teaching of the gospel. But as it seemed to the Jews to be
a kind of sacrilege that Paul published the promise of salvation to the Gentiles, he asks whether the
Gentiles themselves had not heard? And he answers, by QUOTING this passage, that there was
a school open and accessible to them, in which they might learn to fear God, and serve him,
inasmuch as “ writing (450) of the heavens has gone forth through all the earth, and their words
unto the ends of the world,” (Rom_10:18.) But Paul could not at that time have said with truth, that
the voice of the gospel had been heard through the whole world from the mouth of the apostles,
since it had scarcely as yet reached even a few countries. The preaching of the other apostles
certainly had not then extended to far distant parts of the world, but was confined within the
boundaries of Judea. The design of the apostle it is not difficult to comprehend. He intended to say
that God, from ancient times, had manifested his glory to the Gentiles, and that this was a prelude
to the more ample instruction which was one day to be published to them. And although God’
chosen people for a time had been in a condition distinct and separate from that of the Gentiles, it
ought not to be thought strange that God at length made himself known indiscriminately to both,
seeing he had hitherto united them to himself by certain means which addressed themselves in
common to both; as Paul says in another passage, that when God,
“ times past, suffered all nations to walk in their own ways, he nevertheless left not himself without
a witness,”
(Act_14:16.)

27. Whence we conclude, that those who have imagined that Paul departed from the genuine and
proper sense of David’ words are grossly mistaken. The reader will understand this still more clearly
by reading my commentaries on the above passage of St. Paul.
He hath set in them a tabernacle [or pavilion] for the sun. As David, out of the whole fabric of the
world, has especially chosen the heavens, in which he might exhibit to our view an image of God,
because there it is more distinctly to be seen, even as a man is better seen when set on an elevated
stage; so now he shows us the sun as placed in the highest rank, because in his wonderful
brightness the majesty of God displays itself more magnificently than in all the rest. The other
planets, it is true, have also their motions, and as it were the appointed places within which they run
their race, (451) and the firmament, by its own revolution, draws with it all the fixed stars, but it
would have been lost time for David to have attempted to teach the secrets of astronomy to the rude
and unlearned; and therefore he reckoned it sufficient to speak in a homely style, that he might
reprove the whole world of ingratitude, if, in beholding the sun, they are not taught the fear and the
knowledge of God. This, then, is the reason why he says that a tent or pavilion has been erected for
the sun, and also why he says, that he goes forth from one end of the heaven, and quickly passes
to the other and opposite end. He does not here discourse scientifically (as he might have done,
had he spoken among philosophers) concerning the entire revolution which the sun performs, but,
accommodating himself to the rudest and dullest, he confines himself to the ordinary appearances
presented to the eye, and, for this reason, he does not speak of the other half of the sun’ course,
which does not appear in our hemisphere. He proposes to us three things to be considered in the
sun, — the splendor and excellency of his forms — the swiftness with which he runs his course, —
and the astonishing power of his heat. The more forcibly to express and magnify his surpassing
beauty and, as it were, magnificent attire, he employs the similitude of a bridegroom. He then adds
another similitude, that of a valiant man who enters the lists as a racer to carry off the prize of the
course. The swiftness of those who in ancient times contended in the stadium, whether on chariots
or on foot, was wonderful; and although it was nothing when compared with the velocity with which
the sun moves in his orbit, yet David, among all that he saw coming under the ordinary notice of
men, could find nothing which approached nearer to it. Some think that the third clause, where he
speaks of the heat of the sun, is to be understood of his vegetative heat, as it is called; in other
words, that by which the vegetating bodies which are in the earth have their vigor, SUPPORT ,
and growth.(452) But I do not think that this sense suits the passage. It is, indeed, a wonderful work
of God, and a signal evidence of his goodness, that the powerful influence of the sun penetrating
the earth renders it fruitful. But as the Psalmist says, that no man or nothing is hidden from his
heat, I am rather inclined to understand it of the violent heat which scorches men and other living
creatures as well as plants and trees. With respect to the enlivening heat of the sun, by which we
feel ourselves to be invigorated, no man desires to avoid it.
(445) Both Calvin and the translators of our English version appear to have followed the Septuagint
and Vulgate versions in inserting the word where, which is not in the Hebrew text.
(446) “C’ as avoir ces mots, Lequel, Laquelle, etc., comme yci Il n’ a langage, il n’ a paroles
esquelles la voix de ceux ne soit ouye.” — Fr.
(447) ‫,בלי‬ beli, commonly signifies not; but it is also often used for all sort of exclusive
particles, without, besides, unless. Hence Grotius renders it here without. As, ‫בל‬ bal, means in
Arabicbut, and as the Arabic is just a dialect of the Hebrew, Hammond concludes that this may have
been its meaning among the Jews; and therefore proposes to render the verse thus:— “ speech,
nor words, but, or notwithstanding, [ ‫,בלי‬ beli, ] their voice is, or has been heard.”
(448) “Et se fait ouir en totals endroits.” — Fr.
(449) The reading in the English Geneva Bible is, “ line is gone forth through all the earth, and their
words unto the ends of the world.” The marginal note in explanation of this is, “ heavens are as a

28. line of great capital letters to show unto us God’ glory.”
(450) Paul reads, “ sound,” quoting from the Septuagint, the version of the Old Testament then
chiefly used, and it employs here the word φθόγγος
(451) “Quasi stadia.” — Lat. “Comme des lieues ordonnees dedans les quelles elles font leurs
courses.” — Fr.
(452) “Aucuns l’ de sa chaleur vegetative, qu’ appelle, c’ dire par laquelle ces choses basses ont
vigueur, sont maintenues, et prenent accrossement.” — Fr.
SPURGEO , “Ver. 3. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is
not heard. Every man may hear the voices of the stars. Many are the languages of
terrestrials, to celestials there is but one, and that one may be understood by every willing
mind. The lowest heathen are without excuse, if they do not discover the invisible things of
God in the works which he has made. Sun, moon, and stars are God's travelling preachers;
they are apostles upon their journey confirming those who regard the Lord, and judges on
circuit condemning those who worship idols. The margin gives us another rendering, which
is more literal, and involves less repetition; "no speech, no words, their voice is not heard;
"that is to say, their teaching is not addressed to the ear, and is not uttered in articulate
sounds; it is pictorial, and directed to the eye and heart; it touches not the sense by which
faith comes, for faith cometh by hearing. Jesus Christ is called the Word, for he is a far more
distinct display of Godhead than all the heavens can afford; they are, after all, but dumb
instructors; neither star nor sun can arrive at a word, but Jesus is the express image of
Jehovah's person, and his name is the Word of God.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Ver. 1-4. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-4. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his
handiwork. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-4. Like as the sun with his light beneficially comforteth all the world, so Christ, the Son of
God, reacheth his benefits unto all men, so that they will receive them thankfully, and not refuse
them disobediently. Robert Cawdray.
Ver. 3. There is no speech, etc. The sunset was one of the most glorious I ever beheld, and the
whole earth seemed so still that the voice of neither God nor man was heard. There was not a ripple
upon the waters, not the leaf of a tree, nor even of a blade of grass moving, and the rocks upon the
opposite shore reflected the sun's "after glow, "and were again themselves reflected from or in the
river during the brief twilight, in a way I do not remember ever to have beheld before. No! I will not
say the voice of God was not heard; it spoke in the very stillness as loud as in roaring thunder, in
the placid scene as in rocks and cliffs impassable, and louder still in the heavens and in the
firmament, and in the magnificent prospect around me. His wondrous works declared him to be
near, and I felt as if the very ground upon which I was treading was holy. John Gadsby.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Ver. 1-5. Parallel between the heavens and the revelation of Scripture, dwelling upon Christ as the
central Sun of Scripture.
Ver. 3. The marginal reading, coupled with verse four, suggests the eloquence of an unobtrusive
life�silent, yet heard.

29. 4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
BAR ES,”Their line - That is, of the heavens. The word used here - ‫קו‬ qav - means
properly a cord, or line:
(a) a measuring line, Eze_47:3; Job_38:5; Isa_44:13; and then
(b) a cord or string as of a lyre or other instrument of music; and hence, a sound.
So it is rendered here by the Septuagint, φθόγγος phthongos. By Symmachus, ᅬχος
ēchos. By the Vulgate, sonus. DeWette renders it Klang, sound. Prof. Alexander
dogmatically says that this is “entirely at variance with the Hebrew usage.” That this
sense, however, is demanded in the passage seems to be plain, not only from the sense
given to it by the ancient versions, but by the parallelism, where the term “words”
corresponds to it:
“Their line is gone out through all the earth;
Their words to the end of the world.”
Besides, what could be the sense of saying that their line, in the sense of a measuring
line, or cord, had gone through all the earth? The plain meaning is, that sounds
conveying instruction, and here connected with the idea of sweet or musical sounds, had
gone out from the heavens to all parts of the world, conveying the knowledge of God.
There is no allusion to the notion of the “music of the spheres,” for this conception was
not known to the Hebrews; but the idea is that of sweet or musical sounds, not harsh or
grating, as proceeding from the movements of the heavens, and conveying these lessons
to man.
And their words - The lessons or truths which they convey.
To the end of the world - To the uttermost parts of the earth. The language here is
derived from the idea that the earth was a plane, and had limits. But even with our
correct knowledge of the figure of the earth, we use similar language when we speak of
the “uttermost parts of the earth.”
In them - That is, in the heavens, Psa_19:1. The meaning is, that the sun has his
abode or dwelling-place, as it were, in the heavens. The sun is particularly mentioned,
doubtless, as being the most prominent object among the heavenly bodies, as illustrating
in an eminent manner the glory of God. The sense of the whole passage is, that the
heavens in general proclaim the glory of God, and that this is shown in a particular and
special manner by the light, the splendor, and the journeyings of the sun.
Hath he set a tabernacle for the sun - A tent; that is, a dwelling-place. He has
made a dwelling-place there for the sun. Compare Hab_3:11, “The sun and moon stood
still in their habitation.”

30. GILL, “Their line is gone out through all the earth,.... Not the line or writings in
the book of the creatures, the heavens, and the earth, which lie open, and are legible, and
to be seen and read of all men; nor the line and writings in the book of the Scriptures,
called line upon line, and precept upon precept, Isa_28:13, which, though first given to
the Jews, were written for the instruction of others, and have been communicated to
them; but the line of the apostles: everyone had his line or measure; or the course he was
to steer was measured out and directed to him; the line of one, where he was to go and
preach the Gospel, reached so far one way, and the line of another reached so far another
way; and what with one and another, their line reached throughout all the earth; see
2Co_10:13; the apostle citing these words in Rom_10:18; renders them, "their sound
went", &c. the sound of the Gospel, as published by them; which agrees with the next
clause;
and their words to the end of the world; to the isles afar off, even to these northern
and distant ones of England, Scotland, and Ireland, which were reached and visited with
the Gospel, either by the apostles, or at least by some of the first ministers of the word;
in them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun; that is, in the heavens and
firmament, where the natural sun is placed; and its habitation is fitly called a tabernacle,
because it is always in motion and never stops: or this may have some respect to its
setting, when, according to the common appearance, and to common understandings, it
seems to be hid as in a tent or tabernacle; to be as it were gone to bed, and at rest; when
in the morning it rises gay and cheerful, and comes forth like a bridegroom out of his
chamber, as is said in Psa_19:5, but this is all to be understood, spiritually and
mystically, of Christ the sun of righteousness, who has his tabernacle among his people,
his churches; and particularly has a place, and the chief place, in the ministry of the
Gospel, being the sum and substance of it; and this is of God's putting there, who
committed to his apostles the word of reconciliation, the sum of which is Christ; and this
is what makes the Gospel so glorious a light, so clear a revelation as it is: the nature,
continuance, and extent of this revelation, are described in the foregoing verses; the
perspicuity and clearness of it is set forth in this clause, and in what follows.
HE RY, “To whom this declaration is made of the glory of God. It is made to
all parts of the world (Psa_19:3, Psa_19:4): There is no speech nor language
(no nation, for the nations were divided after their tongues, Gen_10:31,
Gen_10:32) where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone through all
the earth (the equinoctial line, suppose) and with it their words to the end
of the world, proclaiming the eternal power of God of nature, Psa_19:4. The
apostle uses this as a reason why the Jews should not be angry with him and
others for preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, because God had already
made himself known to the Gentile world by the works of creation, and left
not himself without witness among them (Rom_10:18), so that they were
without excuse if they were idolaters, Rom_1:20, Rom_1:21. And those were
without blame, who, by preaching the gospel to them, endeavoured to turn
them from their idolatry. If God used these means to prevent their apostasy,
and they proved ineffectual, the apostles did well to use other means to
recover them from it. They have no speech or language (so some read it)
and yet their voice is heard. All people may hear these natural immortal
preachers speak to them in their own tongue the wonderful works of God.
In singing these verses we must give God the glory of all the comfort and benefit we
have by the lights of the heaven, still looking above and beyond them to the Sun of

31. righteousness.
JAMISO , “Their line — or, “instruction” - the influence exerted by their tacit display
of God’s perfections. Paul (Rom_10:8), quoting from the Septuagint, uses “sound,”
which gives the same sense.
PIPER The third observation I want us to see is in verse 4, "Yet their voice (or
line) goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." In
other words, the voiceless knowledge poured forth by days and nights is
available to everyone on the globe who is not physically blind. This is not a
private or secret knowledge. The moon you see tonight is the same moon that
shines down on Shanghai and Moscow and London. And not only that, it is the
same moon that Shakespeare looked at when he wrote some of his sonnets.
Nature is a transgeographical and trans-temporal language. The result of this is
that all men can be held accountable for acknowledging the truth of what nature
communicates.
E-SWORD, ““Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to
the end of the world.” Although the heavenly bodies move in solemn silence,
yet in reason's ear they utter precious teachings. They give forth no literal
words, but yet their instruction is clear enough to be so described. Horne
says that the phrase employed indicates a language of signs, and thus we are
told that the heavens speak by their significant actions and operations.
Nature's words are like those of the deaf and dumb, but grace tells us plainly
of the Father. By their line is probably meant the measure of their domain
which, together with their testimony, has gone out to the utmost end of the
habitable earth. No man living beneath the copes of heaven dwells beyond
the bounds of the diocese of God's Court-preachers; it is easy to escape from
the light of ministers, who are as stars in the right hand of the Son of Man;
but even then men, with a conscience yet unseared, will find a Nathan to
accuse them, a Jonah to warn them, and an Elijah to threaten them in the
silent stars of night. To gracious souls the voices of the heavens are more
influential far, they feel the sweet influences of the Pleiades, and are drawn
towards their Father God by the bright bands of Orion.
“In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun.” In the midst of the heavens the sun
encamps, and marches like a mighty monarch on his glorious way. He has no fixed
abode, but as a traveller pitches and removes his tent, a tent which will soon be taken
down and rolled together as a scroll. As the royal pavilion stood in the centre of the host,
so the sun in his place appears like a king in the midst of attendant stars.
SPURGEO , “Ver. 4. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the
end of the world.Although the heavenly bodies move in solemn silence, yet in reason's ear they
utter precious teachings. They give forth no literal words, but yet their instruction is clear enough to
be so described. Horne says that the phrase employed indicates a language of signs, and thus we
are told that the heavens speak by their significant actions and operations. Nature's words are like
those of the deaf and dumb, but grace tells us plainly of the Father. By their line is probably meant
the measure of their domain which, together with their testimony, has gone out to the utmost end of
the habitable earth. No man living beneath the copes of heaven dwells beyond the bounds of the

32. find a Nathan to accuse them, a Jonah to warn them, and an Elijah to threaten them in the silent
stars of night. To gracious souls the voices of the heavens are more influential far, they feel the
sweet influences of the Pleiades, and are drawn towards their Father God by the bright bands of
Orion.
In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun. In the heavens the sun encamps, and marches like
a mighty monarch on his glorious way. He has no fixed abode, but as a traveller pitches and
removes his tent, a tent which will soon be taken down and rolled together as a scroll. As the royal
pavilion stood in the centre of the host, so the sun in his place appears like a king in the midst of
attendant stars.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Ver. 1-4. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-4. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his
handiwork. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-4. Like as the sun with his light beneficially comforteth all the world, so Christ, the Son of
God, reacheth his benefits unto all men, so that they will receive them thankfully, and not refuse
them disobediently. Robert Cawdray.
Ver. 4. Their line is gone out, etc. "Their sound went, "etc. Romans 10:18. The relations which the
gospel of Christ Jesus hath to the Psalms of David I find to be more than to all the Bible besides,
that seldom anything is written in the New Testament, but we are sent to fetch our proofs from
these. The margin here sends me to the Psalm, and the Psalm sends me back to this again;
showing that they both speak one thing. How comes it then that it is not one,
for line and "sound" are not one thing? Is there not some mistake here? Answer �To fetch a proof
from a place is one thing, an allusion is another. Sometimes the evangelists are enforced to bring
their proofs for what they write out of the Old Testament, else we should never believe them, and
then they must be very sure of the terms, when they say, "This was done that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken, "etc. But the apostle was not now upon that ACCOUNT ; only showing to the
Romans the marvellous spreading of the gospel, alluding to this passage of David discoursing
of "the heavens, "to which the prophet compared the publication of the word; the sun and moon and
stars not only shining through, but round all the earth. The same subject Paul was now upon, and
for his purpose makes use of a term fitter to express the preaching of the gospel, by the word
"sound, "than that other word expressing the limitations of the law, by the word "line:" both of these
agreeing that there is no fitter comparison to be fetched from anything in nature than from "the
heavens, "their motions, revolutions, influences upon sublunary bodies; also in their eclipses, when
one text seems to darken another, as if it were put out altogether by crossing and opposing, which
is but seemingly so to the ignorant, they agree sweetly enough in themselves; no bridegroom can
agree better with his bride, nor rejoice more to run his course. So they both conclude in this, that the
sun never saw that nation yet where the word of truth, in one degree or other (all the world, you
must think, cannot be right under the meridian) hath not shined. William Streat, in "The Dividing of
the Hoof, "1654.
Ver. 4. Unto the end of the world. Venantius Fortunatus eleven hundred years ago witnesses to
the peregrinations of Paul the apostle.
He passed the ocean's curled wave, As far as islands harbours have; As far as Britain yields a bay,
Or Iceland's frozen shore a stay.
John Cragge, 1557.
Ver. 4. Their line is gone out through all the earth, etc. The molten sea did stand upon twelve
oxen, that is, as Paul doth interpret it, upon twelve apostles (1 Corinthians 9:10); which in that they
looked four ways, east, west, north, and south, they did teach all nations. And in that they looked
three and three together, they did represent the blessed Trinity. Not only teaching all nations, but
also in that sea of water, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost. Wherefore, though the two kine which carried the ark wherein were the tables of the law,
went straight and kept one path, turning neither to the right hand nor to the left; yet these twelve
oxen which carried the molten sea, signifying the doctrine of the gospel, went not straight, neither
kept one path, but turned into the way of the Gentiles; yea, they looked all manner of ways, east,

33. west, north, and south. And these two kine stood still and lowed no more when they came to the
field of Joshua, dwelling in Bethshemesh, that is, the house of the sun. To note, that all the kine,
and calves, and sacrifices, and ceremonies of the old law were to cease and stand still when they
came to Jesus, who is the true Joshua, dwelling in heaven, which is the true Bethshemesh. But
these twelve oxen were so far from leaving off, either to go, or to low, when they came to Christ,
that even then they went much faster and lowed much louder; so that now "their sound is gone out
into all lands, and their words to the end of the world; "and in them hath God set Bethshemesh,
that is, a house or tabernacle for the sun. Therefore, as the material sun, through the twelve signs
of the Zodiac, goeth forth from the uttermost parts of the heaven, and runneth about to the end of it
again: in like sort, the spiritual Sun of Righteousness, by the twelve apostles, as by twelve signs,
hath been borne round about the world, that he might be not only "the glory of his people Israel, "but
also "a light to lighten the Gentiles; "and that all, "all the ends of the earth might see the salvation of
our God." Thomas Playfere.
Ver. 4-6. It appears to me very likely that the Holy Ghost in these expressions which he most
immediately uses about the rising of the sun, has an eye to the rising of the Sun of Righteousness
from the grave, and that the expressions that the Holy Ghost here uses are conformed to such a
view. The times of the Old Testament are times of night in comparison of the gospel day, and are so
represented in Scripture, and therefore the approach of the day of the New Testament dispensation
in the birth of Christ, is called the day spring from on high visiting the earth (Lu 1:78), "Through the
tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us; "and the commencing
of the gospel dispensation as it was introduced by Christ, is called the Sun of Righteousness
rising. Malachi 4:2. But this gospel dispensation commences with the resurrection of Christ. Therein
the Sun of Righteousness rises from under the earth, as the sun appears to do in the morning, and
comes forth as a bridegroom. He rose as the joyful, glorious bridegroom of his church; for Christ,
especially as risen again, is the proper bridegroom, or husband, of his church, as the apostle
teaches (Romans 7:4), "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of
Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we
should bring forth fruit unto God." He that was covered with contempt, and overwhelmed in a deluge
of sorrow, has purchased and won his spouse, for he loved the church, and gave himself for it, that
he might present it to himself; now he comes forth as a bridegroom to bring home his purchased
spouse to him in spiritual marriage, as he soon after did in the conversion of such multitudes,
making his people willing in the day of his power, and hath also done many times since, and will do
in a yet more glorious degree. And as the sun when it rises comes forth like a bridegroom gloriously
adorned, so Christ in his resurrection entered on his state of glory. After his state of sufferings, he
rose to shine forth in ineffable glory as the King of heaven and earth, that he might be a glorious
bridegroom, in whom his church might be unspeakably happy. Here the psalmist says that God has
placed a tabernacle for the sun in the heavens: so God the Father had prepared an abode in
heaven for Jesus Christ; he had set a throne for him there, to which he ascended after he rose. The
sun after it is risen ascends up to the midst of heaven, and then at that end of its race descends
again to the earth; so Christ when he rose from the grave ascended up to the height of heaven, and
far above all heavens, but at the end of the gospel day will descend again to the earth. It is here
said that the risen sun "rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race." So Christ, when he rose, rose as a
man of war, as the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle; he rose to conquer his
enemies, and to show forth his glorious power in subduing all things to himself, during that race
which he had to run, which is from his resurrection to the end of the world, when he will return to the
earth again... That the Holy Ghost here has a mystical meaning, and has respect to the light of the
Sun of Righteousness, and not merely the light of the natural sun, is confirmed by the verses that
follow, in which the psalmist himself seems to apply them to the word of God, which is the light of
that Sun, even of Jesus Christ, who himself revealed the word of God: see the very next words,
"The law of the Lord is perfect, "etc. Jonathan Edwards, 1703-1758.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Ver. 1-5. Parallel between the heavens and the revelation of Scripture, dwelling upon Christ as the
central Sun of Scripture.
Ver. 4. In what sense God is revealed to all men.
Ver. 4-6. The Sun of Righteousness.

34. 1. His tabernacle.
2. His appearance as a Bridegroom.
3. His joy as a champion.
4. His circuit and his influence.
BIBLICAL ILLUSDTRATOR, “Their line is gone out through all the earth.
The Christian brotherhood the support of Christian missions
All tradition has interpreted this Psalm of the goings forth of the Spirit in the everlasting
Gospel. Nor could a nobler image of the diffusion, the all-pervading and all-penetrating
progress of the Gospel of peace be conceived than what the visible heavens present. In
antiquity there was no more favourite emblem of the all-pervading presence of Christ
than the sun, which, set in heaven, is yet, in its infinite and ceaseless communications of
life, present on earth also. Nor does any emblem more frequently occur in Holy Scripture
of the bright and peaceful outgoings of the teachers of the faith than the stars; nor any of
the streaming in of Divine grace upon the souls of men, in their onward course, than that
of light. The Psalmist expresses the view of the Catholic Church, not as man has marred
it, but as existing in the eternal mind. And, indeed, the first promise of its fulfilment
seemed to foreshow such an end. Who would not have expected from the Acts of the
Apostles a very different conclusion from what we now see? Even after the apostolic age
there seemed no check in the wondrous progress of the unearthly faith. If the united
voice of the Church Catholic, with one undeviating witness for her Lord, had sounded out
unceasingly during the fifteen centuries that have since passed, would not the full scope
of the prophetic vision have been fulfilled? But a change soon came over the Church’s
course. What is our prospect now? To us—the English portion of the Catholic
communion—a wider field has been opened and ampler powers given for our extension,
than ever since the days when the Apostles dispersed themselves from Jerusalem, have
fallen to the lot of any single people We are comparatively powerless when we work
alone. We are bound together on the principle that mutual intercessions are the strength
of the Church’s work. But all efforts fail unless Christ be within us as our life and power.
How can we move onward unless He go forth with us? (T. T. Carter, M. A.)
The being of God proved from universal consent
David does in this place affirm the universality of religion. He supposes the heavens to
speak, an universal language, heard, and understood, by all. Hence we argue the
existence of God. The argument is, according to Lactantius, that universal and
unanimous testimony of people and nations, through all courses of time, who, otherwise
differing in language, customs, and conceits, only have agreed in this one matter of
opinion. Opinion of Aristotle as to degrees of probability: that which arises from this
source approaches near to demonstrable truth, Testimonies of ancient philosophers to
this agreement, as well as to its force and efficacy. That men should thus conspire in
opinion must needs arise either—
1. From a natural light implanted in man’s nature; or,
2. From a common inclination in his soul; or,
3. From some prevalent reason, obvious to all men; or,

35. 4. From some common fountain of instruction or primitive tradition.
And from any one of these ways being allowed our argument will gain weight and force.
If we acknowledge either of the two first we do in effect yield the question: if nature
forcibly drives men into this persuasion, how extravagant will it be to oppose her! And if
we grant that plain reason, apparent to the generality of men, hath moved them to this
consent, do we not, by dissenting from it, renounce common sense? But if we say that it
arose in the last manner, from a common instruction or primitive tradition, we shall be
thereby driven to inquire who that common master or author of the tradition was: of any
such we have no name recorded; we find no time designated when it began to arise. Who,
then, were the teachers, but the first parents of mankind? Thus does this consideration
lead to another very advantageous to our purpose: first, as proving the generations of
men had a beginning; secondly, as affording us their most weighty authority for the
doctrine we assert. For—
1. Supposing mankind had a beginning on this earth, whence could it proceed but
from such a Being as we describe?
2. Supposing this notion derived from the first men, who instilled it into them? Why
should they conceive themselves to come from God if He that made them did not
discover Himself to them? Thus do these two notions, that of general tradition
concerning God, and that concerning man’s origin on earth from one stock, mutually
support each other. As to His eternity: if God made all things, He could not receive
being from another; and what reason is there to suppose that He should? But as
nothing can receive a being from itself, or from mere nothing spring up into being,
therefore the Maker of the world must be eternal. Something of necessity must be
eternal, otherwise nothing could have been at all; other things show themselves to
have proceeded from the wisdom, power, and goodness of One: whence that One is
eternal; and so all nations have consented that God is. That He is immortal and
immutable doth also follow plainly: for He, not depending for His being, or anything
thereto belonging, or any other thing, neither can He depend for His continuance or
conservation; having power superior to all things, as having conferred on them
whatever of power they have, nothing can oppose Him, or make any prevalent
impression on Him, so as to destroy or alter anything in Him. Also, from His making,
His upholding, His governing all things, is consequent, that He was ever and is
everywhere: where His power is, there His hand is; for every action with effect
requires a conjunction of the agent and patient; nothing can act on what is distant.
That with His presence and power He doth penetrate all things, operating insensibly
and imperceptibly, doth argue the spirituality of His being; and that He doth consist
of such matter (so extended, so divisible) as those things do, which we by sense
perceive. His overreaching wisdom implies Him incapable of being deceived; and His
overbearing power signifies that He doth not need to deceive; and His transcendent
goodness proves Him unwilling to deceive: the like we may say of doing wrong;
whence are consequent His perfect veracity and justice. Lastly, the excellency of His
nature, the eminency of His wisdom and power, the abundance of His goodness; as
also, His having given being, then preserving it to all things, do infer His rightful title
to supreme dominion; and accordingly, that all love, all obedience, all praise and
veneration are due to Him; according to the devout acknowledgment of those blessed
elders: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive the glory and honour and power (or
authority), because Thou hast made all things; and for Thy will they are and were
created.” (I. Barrow, D. D.)

36. In them hath He set a tabernacle for the stem.—
The gifts of nature
There was once a time, in the history of the world, when it was the strongest possible
temptation to mankind to worship the great objects of nature, but especially those in
heaven, and of these especially the sun. In those countries more particularly where the
sun is so bright, so powerful, so omnipresent throughout the year the temptation was
stronger than anywhere else. Wherever in the Old Testament we hear of the worship of
Baal, it is the worship of the sun; and of all the temples so dedicated, this is the most
splendid, and the ancient city was called from this worship “Baalbec,” or “the City of the
Sun.” We know from the Bible, we know also from the history of this very temple, that
this worship was corrupted into the most shameful sensuality; so that, to the Israelites
first, and to Christians afterwards, it became a duty to put it down altogether. And this
corruption is in itself instructive, as teaching us that the highest love of art and the
keenest appreciation of what is beautiful, if left to itself without some purer and higher
principles, may and will degenerate into mere brutal self-indulgence and cruelty. But it is
always better, if we can, to see what was the good element which lies at the bottom of any
character or institution—what there was in the thoughts that raised these solid
foundations and these towering columns, which we may also imitate for ourselves.
Without falling into those dark errors and sins with which they were once connected.
Therefore we could have chosen no more fitting text than the one read to you. Its words
tell you of the genial life-giving power of the great light of day, of the glory of his rising,
of the strength of his rays, of the regularity of his course, of the penetrating power of his
heat, and they spring from a feeling common to the Hebrew Psalmist and to those who
raised this heathen temple. What, then, are the good points in that ancient belief which
the true religion has adopted for its own and sifted from the surrounding evil? This
temple itself is connected with the history and traditions both of the wisest and greatest
thoughts of ancient times, and with the basest and most foolish. Its earliest foundations
are said to go back to the days of Solomon, the wisest of men. In its latest times it had for
its High Priest the most infamous and effeminate of all the Roman emperors—the
miserable Heliogabalus. Between the two there was at first sight but little in common.
Little, indeed, there is; but it is that little which is so useful to consider.
I. The sense of deep thankfulness for the gifts of nature. Those who lived in old time
expressed, as we see, their gratitude and reverence for the gifts of nature by this
magnificent temple. Let us express our gratitude and reverence in the offering of pure
hearts and good lives to Him who has thus graciously guided us so nearly to the close of
our pilgrimage.
II. And this brings me to the second truth which the contemplation of the natural world
—of the sun in his strength—suggested to the Psalmist: the order, the regularity, the law
of their operations. And this law immediately recalled his mind to the highest example of
all law—the unchangeable moral law of God. He tells us how the law of God (the revealed
law of goodness, the natural law of conscience) is not only what we are bound to follow
as our duty, but is the surest source both of our wisdom and our happiness. See how he
expatiates on this theme in the remainder of the Psalm. (Dean Stanley.)
The sun of righteousness
There is no doubt that this verse describes the nativity of our Lord. The sun, that we see
in the eastern heavens, is made to us an image of our incarnate Lord and Saviour, issuing

37. from the Virgin’s womb to be the light and life of the Church. It is not a new or strange
thing for Holy Scripture to give such a turn as this to the works of nature, the things
which we see daily. Compare the figure in Malachi. “Unto you that fear My name shall
the Sun of Righteousness arise, with healing in His wings.” And the figure used by
Zacharias, “The Day spring from on high hath visited us.”
1. Everyone may understand that as the sun is beyond comparison the brightest
object in these outward and visible heavens, so the great privilege of the kingdom of
heaven, the kingdom and Church of God’s saints, is to have the Sun of Righteousness,
God-made man, especially present, abiding and reigning in it. The same is true of
every soul which is inwardly and spiritually conformed to God’s holy Church. It is lull
of Christ, of Jesus Christ Himself, silently and mysteriously coming in and dwelling
there.
2. As Christ is a sun to his Church by His glorious abiding in it, so the manner in
which He came to be so is likened to “a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,” a
figure for Christ’s marrying the nature of God to the nature of man, by taking on Him
our flesh. Our Saviour, God made man for us, born for us, crucified and risen again,
fills the whole Church and the whole world. Christ is whole in His whole Church, and
in every part and member of it, as the sun in the firmament shines impartially on the
whole world beneath him, and in his circuit visits each part in turn with his warming
and life-giving beams. But Christ’s faithful people are more particularly made aware
of His presence by the outward means of grace and the visible ordinances of His holy
Catholic Church. (Plain Sermons by Contributors to “Tracts for the Times. ”)
The tabernacle of the sun
It was not till the fourth day that God gathered the light together into the sun, and set the
sun in heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule the day. Like to this was the course
which the same wisdom of God took in manifesting the light of truth, without which
there can be no spiritual life or peace or joy. Such is the waywardness of man, that he can
turn God’s choicest blessings into curses. The darkness was fighting against the light, his
sin went well-nigh to choking it. But, in the fulness of time, God gathered the light
together, as with the natural sun at the creation, and in His Son, to the end that all might
see and know from whence and from whom the true spiritual light came If there was
music in heaven when the Eternal Son left His throne, and departed to clothe himself in
the weakness of humanity, what joy there must have been when He returned as
conqueror. It was in the heavens that God set a tabernacle for the sun; and so in the
heaven of heavens He set a tabernacle for His only-begotten Son. The Gospel, which till
His ascension had been like a young half-fledged bird, which never ventured but a few
paces from its nest, now suddenly put forth its wings, and flew to and fro over the earth,
and ever and anon returned to its ark with an olive leaf in its mouth, telling that the
waters of sin were abating. And as the sun gives not only light but heat, so does Christ
soften, melt, and warm the heart by His grace There are eclipses of the sun; the shadow
of the moon comes between the earth and the sun, and cuts off its light. This is like the
reason of man. It was intended to give us light, but, like the moon, it can only give light
as it reflects light from the sun, Christ. There are many things by which the light of Christ
may be eclipsed from us. If we pray to Him diligently and heartily be assured He will not
leave us in darkness. (J. C. Hare.)

38. 5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his
chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
BAR ES,”Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber - That is, when
he rises in the morning. He rises from the darkness of the night, and comes forth as the
bridegroom comes out of the chamber where he has slept. The allusion is to the bright,
and joyful, and cheerful aspect of the rising sun. The image of the bridegroom is
employed because we associate with a bridegroom the idea of hilarity, cheerfulness, joy.
The essential image is that the sun seems to rise from a night of repose, as man does in
the morning, and that after such a night of repose he goes forth with cheerfulness and
alacrity to the employments of the day. The figure is an obvious but a very beautiful one,
though there is a transition from the image employed in the previous verse, where the
sun is represented as dwelling in a tent or tabernacle fitted up for it in the heavens. In
the next member of the sentence the figure is again changed, by his being represented as
a man prepared to run a race.
And rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race - As a man who is vigorous and
powerful, when he enters on a race. He is girded for it; he summons all his strength; he
seems to exult in the idea of putting his strength to the test, and starting off on his
career. Compare the note at 1Co_9:24-27. The same comparison which is employed here
occurs in the Zendavesta, ii. 106. DeWette. The idea is that the sun seems to have a long
journey before him, and puts forth all his vigour, exulting in the opportunity of
manifesting that vigour, and confident of triumphing in the race.
CLARKE, “Which is as a bridegroom, etc. - This is a reference to the rising of the
sun, as the following verse is to the setting. He makes his appearance above the horizon
with splendor and majesty; every creature seems to rejoice at his approach; and during
the whole of his course, through his whole circuit, his apparent revolution from east to
west, and from one tropic to the same again, no part of the earth is deprived of its proper
proportion of light and heat. The sun is compared to a bridegroom in his ornaments,
because of the glory and splendour of his rays; and to a giant or strong man running a
race, because of the power of his light and heat. The apparent motion of the sun, in his
diurnal and annual progress, are here both referred to. Yet both of these have been
demonstrated to be mere appearances. The sun’s diurnal motion arises from the earth’s
rotation on its axis from west to east in twenty-three hours, fifty-six minutes, and four
seconds, the mean or equal time which elapses between the two consecutive meridian-
transits of the same fixed star. But on account of the sun’s apparent ecliptic motion in the
same direction, the earth must make about the three hundred and sixty-fifth part of a

39. second revolution on its axis before any given point of the earth’s surface can be again
brought into the same direction with the sun as before: so that the length of a natural day
is twenty-four hours at a mean rate. The apparent revolution of the sun through the
twelve constellations of the zodiac in a sidereal year, is caused by the earth’s making one
complete revolution in its orbit in the same time. And as the earth’s axis makes an angle
with the axis of the ecliptic of about twenty-three degrees and twenty eight minutes, and
always maintains its parallelism, i.e., is always directed to the same point of the starry
firmament; from these circumstances are produced the regular change of the seasons,
and continually differing lengths of the days and nights in all parts of the terraqueous
globe, except at the poles and on the equator. When we say that the earth’s axis is always
directed to the same point of the heavens, we mean to be understood only in a general
sense; for, owing to a very slow deviation of the terrestrial axis from its parallelism,
named the precession of the equinoctial points, which becomes sensible in the lapse of
some years, and which did not escape the observation of the ancient astronomers, who
clearly perceived that it was occasioned by a slow revolution of the celestial poles around
the poles of the ecliptic, the complete revolution of the earth in its orbit is longer than the
natural year, or the earth’s tropical revolution, by a little more than twenty minutes; so
that in twenty-five thousand seven hundred and sixtythree entire terrestrial revolutions
round the sun, the seasons will be renewed twenty-five thousand seven hundred and
sixty-four times. And in half this period of twelve thousand eight hundred and eighty-
two natural years, the points which are now the north and south poles of the heavens,
around which the whole starry firmament appears to revolve, will describe circles about
the then north and south poles of the heavens, the semi-diameters of which will be
upwards of forty-seven degrees.
Coming out of his chamber - ‫מחפתו‬ mechuppatho, from under his veil. It was a sort
of canopy erected on four poles, which four Jews held over the bridegroom’s head.
GILL, “Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,.... His nuptial
chamber, on which Elias writes (y),
"we call the garment (or canopy) spread over the head of the bridegroom and bride,
supported by four pillars, in the time of their espousals, ‫''.חפה‬
who looks lovely and beautiful in his nuptial robes, cheerful and pleasant in his countenance,
creating pleasure and delight in all his friends that see him and hear his voice: and this simile is
expressive of the brightness and glory of the sun when it rises; and of the joy and pleasure which it
produces in the minds of men when they behold it: all which sets forth the loveliness and beauty
of Christ, as he is held forth in the ministration of the Gospel, and the joy unspeakable and full of
glory which his presence yields, after a short departure from his people; see Isa_61:10;
andandandand rejoiceth as a strong man to run a racerejoiceth as a strong man to run a racerejoiceth as a strong man to run a racerejoiceth as a strong man to run a race; in which he shows his readiness, velocity, and
strength; and this denotes the swiftness of the sun in running its course, and its indefatigableness
in its constant motion; though it has been employed therein for so many thousands of years, yet

40. every morning rises with the same cheerfulness, pursues its course, and is never weary: all which
may point at the readiness of Gospel ministers, their swiftness to run to and fro, and their
strength to fulfil the course of their ministry, in which Christ, the sun of righteousness, is held
forth in so glorious a manner.
(y) Elias, in his Tishbi, p. 119. The same word is used Isa. iv. 5. and translated "a defence".
JAMISO , “The sun, as the most glorious heavenly body, is specially used to
illustrate the sentiment; and his vigorous, cheerful, daily, and extensive
course, and his reviving heat (including light), well display the wondrous
wisdom of his Maker.
E-SWORD, ““Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber.” A
bridegroom comes forth sumptuously apparelled, his face beaming with a
joy which he imparts to all around; such, but with a mighty emphasis, is the
rising Sun. “And rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.” As a champion
girt for running cheerfully addresses himself to the race, so does the sun
speed onward with matchless regularity and unwearying swiftness in his
appointed orbit. It is but mere play to him; there are no signs of effort,
flagging or exhaustion. No other creature yields such joy to the earth as her
bridegroom the sun; and none, whether they be horse or eagle, can for an
instant compare in swiftness with that heavenly champion. But all his glory
is but the glory of God; even the sun shines in light borrowed from the Great
Father of Lights.
“Thou sun, of this great world both eye and soul,
Acknowledge Him thy greater; sound His praise
Both when thou climb'st, and when high noon hast gained,
And when thou fall'st.”
HAWKER 4-6, “These verses contain a most delightful account of the heavens and the
heavenly bodies, in their light and beneficial influence; and particularly with reference to
the glorious luminary of the day, which is placed in the centre. Under the striking
similitude of a bridegroom, or of a strong man, the sun is represented, as unceasingly
issuing forth with renewed vigour from day to day, to enlighten, fertilize, and warm all
the varieties of the earth. But much higher views had the inspired writer before him,
when thus contemplating the glory, and splendor, and usefulness of this planet; it is of
Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness, he speaks, and whose glories he celebrates. This is the
tabernacle of our nature, here referred to, which God the Father provided, when a body
he prepared for him, and in which God the Son tabernacled, when he became God
manifest in the flesh. From whence, as the light and life of the world, he graciously
communicates all the blessed rays of spiritual and eternal life. Here Jesus indeed
rejoiceth in giving out of his fulness, shining in upon the dark minds of his people, and
causing them to rejoice in his light, and to find happiness in his grace here, and glory

41. hereafter. He is, my soul, that Sun of righteousness, which the prophet predicted should
arise with healing in his wings. And he is that glorious sun, which another prophet
predicted should arise no more to go down. Precious Jesus! be thou my everlasting light,
and my God and my glory. Mal_4:2; Isa_60:19-20.
SPURGEO , “Ver. 5. Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. A bridegroom
comes forth sumptuously apparelled, his face beaming with a joy which he imparts to all
around; such, but with a mighty emphasis, is the rising Sun.
And rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. As a champion girt for running cheerfully addresses
himself to the race, so does the sun speed onward with matchless regularity and unwearying
swiftness in his appointed orbit. It is but mere play to him; there are no signs of effort, flagging, or
exhaustion. No other creature yields such joy to the earth as her bridegroom the sun; and none,
whether they be horse or eagle, can for an instant compare in swiftness with that heavenly
champion. But all his glory is but the glory of God; even the sun shines in light borrowed from the
Great Father of Lights.
"Thou sun, of this great world both eye and soul, Acknowledge Him thy greater; sound his praise
Both when you climb, and when HIGH NOON hast gained, And when you fall."
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Ver. 4-6. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:4" for further information.
Ver. 5. Which is as a bridegroom, etc. The sun is described like a bridegroom coming out of his
chamber, dressed and prepared, and as a giant rejoicing to run his race; but though the sun be thus
prepared, and dressed, and ready, yet if the Lord send a writ and a prohibition to the sun to keep
within his chamber, he cannot come forth, his journey is stopped. Thus also he stops man in his
nearest preparation for any action. If the Lord will work, who shall let it? Isaiah 43:13. That is, there
is no power in heaven or earth which can hinder him. But if the Lord will let, who shall work? Neither
sun, nor stars, nor men, nor devils, can work, if he forbids them. The point is full of comfort. Joseph
Caryl.
Ver. 5. Which is as a bridegroom, etc. The Sun of Righteousness appeared in three signs
especially;Leo, Virgo, Libra. 1. In Leo, roaring as a lion, in the law; so that the people could not
aptly�venit ad homines, venit in homines, venit contra homines: in the time past he
came unto men as upon this day (The Nineteenth Psalm is one "appointed to be read"
on Christmas Day); in the time present, he comes by his spirit intomen every day; in the time future,
he shall come against men at the last day. The coming here mentioned is his coming in the
flesh�for so the fathers usually gloss the text�he came forth of the virgin's womb,as a
bridegroom out of his chamber. As a bridegroom, for the King of heaven at this holy time made a
great wedding for his Son. Matthew 22:1. Christ is the bridegroom, man's nature the bride, the
conjunction and blessed union of both in one person is his marriage. The best way to reconcile two
disagreeing families is to make some marriage between them: even so, the Word became flesh,
and dwelt among us in the world that he might hereby make our peace, reconciling God to man and
man to God. By this happy match the Son of God is become the Son of Man, even flesh of our
flesh, and bone of our bones; and the sons of men are made the sons of God, "of his flesh and of
his bones, "as Paul saith, Ephesians 5:30. So that now the church being Christ's own spouse, saith,
"I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine." Song of Solomon 6:3. My sin is his sin, and his
righteousness is my righteousness. He who knew no sin, for my sake was made sin; and I,
contrariwise, having no good thing, am made the righteousness of God in him: I which am brown by
persecution, and black by nature (Song of Solomon 1:5), so foul as the sow that wallows in the mire,
through his favour am comely, without spot or wrinkle, so white as the snow, like a lily among
thorns, even the fairest among women. Song of Solomon 2:2. This happy marriage is not
amarriage, but it make's a merry age, being "the consolation of Israel, "and comfort of Jerusalem's

42. heart. Indeed, Christ our husband doth absent himself from us in his body for a time; but when he
did ascend into heaven he took with him our pawn, namely his flesh; and he gave us his pawn,
namely, his Spirit, assuring us that we shall one day, when the world is ended, enter with him into
the wedding chamber, and there feast with him, and enjoy his blessed company for evermore. John
Boys.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Ver. 1-5. Parallel between the heavens and the revelation of Scripture, dwelling upon Christ as the
central Sun of Scripture.
Ver. 4-6. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:4" for further information.
Ver. 5. Rejoiceth as a strong man, etc. The joy of strength, the joy of holy labour, the joy of the
anticipated reward.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
BAR ES,”His going forth - The psalmist now describes that race which he has to
run, as borne over the entire circuit of the heavens, from one end of it to another -
sweeping the whole space across the firmament.
Is from the end of the heaven - From one end of the heaven; that is, from the East,
where he starts.
And his circuit - The word used here - ‫תקופה‬ te
qûphâh - means properly a coming
about, or a return, as of the seasons, or of the year. It is found only in Exo_34:22, “At the
year’s end;” 1Sa_1:20, “When the time was come about” (Margin, in revolution of days);
2Ch_24:23, “At the end of the year” (Margin, in the revolution of the year). The word
here does not refer to the fact that the sun comes round to the starting-point on the
following day, but to the sweep or circuit which he makes in the heavens from one end of
it to the other - traveling over the entire heavens.
Unto the ends of it - That is, to the other side of the heavens. The plural term is used
here perhaps from the idea of completeness, or to denote that there was nothing beyond.
The complete journey was made.
And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof - The rays of the sun penetrate
everywhere. Nothing escapes it. It is not a mere march for show and splendor; it is not an
idle and useless journey in the heavens; but all things - vegetables, birds, beasts, men -
all that lives - feel the effect of his vital warmth, and are animated by his quickening
influence. Thus the sun in his goings illustrates the glory of God. The psalmist was fully
alive to the splendor, the glory, and the value of this daily march over the heavens, and
shows that while, as in the remainder of the psalm, he dwells on the law of the Lord as
having another sphere, and in its place more fully illustrating the divine glory, he is not
by any means insensible to the grandeur and beauty of the works of God as showing forth
the divine perfections.

43. GILL, “His going forth is from the end of the heaven,.... From the east, where it
rises:
and his circuit to the ends of it; to the west, where it sets; which is expressive of the
large compass the Gospel administration took in the times of the apostles; whereby the
grace of God appeared to all men, shone out in a very illustrious manner, and Christ
became, what the sun is to the earth, the light of the world;
and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof; though things may be hid from
the light of it, yet not from its heat, so forcible and penetrating it is Christ, in the
administration of the Gospel to all to whom it comes with power, not only enlightens
their minds, but quickens their souls, warms their hearts, causes them to burn within
them, arises with healing in his wings upon them, and makes his Gospel the savour of life
unto life unto them. The psalmist goes on to say more and excellent things of the Gospel,
its nature and usefulness.
E-SWORD, ““His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit
unto the ends of it.” He bears his light to the boundaries of the solar
heavens, traversing the zodiac with steady motion, denying his light to none
who dwell within his range. “And there is nothing hid from the heat
thereof.” Above, beneath, around, the heat of the sun exercises an influence.
The bowels of the earth are stored with their power. Where light is shut out,
yet heat and other more subtle influences find their way.
There is no doubt a parallel intended to be drawn between the heaven of grace and
the heaven of nature. God's way of grace is sublime and broad, and full of his glory; in all
its displays it is to be admired and studied with diligence; both its lights and its shades
are instructive; it has been proclaimed, in a measure, to every people, and in due time
shall be yet more completely published to the ends of the earth. Jesus, like a sun, dwells
in the midst of revelation, tabernacling among men in all his brightness; rejoicing, as the
Bridegroom of his church, to reveal himself to men; and, like a champion, to win unto
himself renown. He makes a circuit of mercy, blessing the remotest corners of the earth;
and there are no seeking souls, however degraded and depraved, who shall be denied the
comfortable warmth and benediction of his love - even death shall feel the power of his
presence, and resign the bodies of the saints, and this fallen earth shall be restored to its
pristine glory.
SPURGEO , “Ver. 6. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the
ends of it. He bears his light to the boundaries of the solar heavens, traversing the zodiac
with steady motion, denying his light to none who dwell within his range.
And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. Above, beneath, around, the heat of the sun
exercises an influence. The bowels of the earth are stored with the ancient produce of the solar
rays, and even yet earth's inmost caverns feel their power. Where light is shut out, yet heat and
other more subtle influences find their way.
There is no doubt a parallel intended to be drawn between the heaven of grace and the heaven of
nature. God's way of grace is sublime and broad, and full of his glory; in all its displays it is to be
admired and studied with diligence; both its lights and its shades are instructive; it has been
proclaimed, in a measure, to every people, and in due time shall be yet more completely published
to the ends of the earth. Jesus, like a sun, dwells in the midst of revelation, tabernacling among men

44. in all his brightness; rejoicing, as the Bridegroom of his church, to reveal himself to men; and, like a
champion, to win unto himself renown. Hemakes a circuit of mercy, blessing the remotest corners of
the earth; and there are no seeking souls, however degraded and depraved, who shall be denied
the comfortable warmth and benediction of his love�even death shall feel the power of his
presence, and resign the bodies of the saints, and this fallen earth shall be restored to its pristine
glory.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Ver. 4-6. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:4" for further information.
Ver. 6. There is nothing hid from the heat thereof. This is literally the case. The earth receives its
heat from the sun, and by conduction, a part of it enters the crust of our globe. By convection,
the colour, chemical composition, and mechanical structure of parts of the earth's surface. At the
same time the ordinary state of the air, consisting of gases and vapour, modifies the heat rays and
prevents scorching. Thus, the solar heat is equalised by the air. Nothing on earth or in air is hid from
the heat of the sun... Even the colour of some bodies is changed by heat... Heat also is in bodies in
a state which is not sensible, and is therefore called latent heat, or heat of fluidity, because it is
regarded as the cause of fluidity in ponderable substances. It can fuse every substance it does not
decompose below the melting point, as in the case of wood. Every gas may be regarded as
consisting of heat, and some basis of ponderable matter, whose cohesion it overcomes, imparting a
tendency to great expansion, when no external obstacle prevents, and this expansive tendency is
their elasticity or tension. Certain gases have been liquified under great pressure, and extreme cold.
Heat, also, at certain temperatures, causes the elasticity of vapours to overcome the atmospheric
pressure which can no longer restrain them. An example of this is the boiling point of water; and,
indeed, in every case the true instance is the boiling point. Philosophers are agreed that the affinity
of heat for any ponderable substance is superior to all other forces acting upon it. No ponderable
matters can combine without disengagement of heat... And the same occurs from every mechanical
pressure and condensation of a body. In all these cases, and many more, there are like evidences
of the presence and influence of heat; but the facts now advanced are sufficient to show us the
force of the expression, that in terrestrial things nothing is hid from, or can by any possibility escape
the agency of heat. Edwin Sidney, A.M., in "Conversations on the Bible and Science, "
1866.
Ver. 6. (last clause). There is nothing hid from the heat, nothing from the light of Christ. It is not
solely on the mountain top that he shines, as in the day before he was fully risen, when his rays,
although unseen by the rest of the world, formed a glory round the heads of his prophets, who saw
him while to the chief part of mankind he was still lying below the horizon. Now, however, that he is
risen, he pours his light through the valley, as well as over the mountain; nor is there any one, at
least in these countries, who does not catch some gleams of that light, except those who burrow
and hide themselves in the dark caverns of sin. But it is not light alone that Christ sheds from his
heavenly tabernacle. As nothing is hid from his light, neither is anything hid from his heat. He not
only enlightens the understanding, so that it shall see and know the truth; he also softens and melts,
and warms the heart, so that it shall love the truth, and calls forth fruit from it, and ripens the fruit he
has called forth; and that too on the lowliest plant which creeps along the ground, as well as the
loftiest tree...
Though while he was on earth, he had fullest power of bestowing every earthly gift, yet, in order that
he should be able to bestow heavenly gifts with the same all healing power, it was necessary that
he should go up into heaven. When he had done so, when he had ascended into his tabernacle in
the heavens, then, he promises his disciples, he would send down the Holy Spirit of God, who
should bring them heavenly gifts, yea, who should enter into their hearts, and make them bring forth
all the fruits of the Spirit in abundance; should make them abound in love, in peace, in longsuffering,
in gentleness, in goodness, in faith, in meekness, in temperance. These are the bright heavenly
rays, which, as it were, make up the pure light of Christ; and from this heat nothing is hid. Even the
hardest heart may be melted by it; even the foulest may be purified. Julias Charles Hare,
M.A., 1841.

45. HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Ver. 4-6. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:4" for further information.
Ver. 6. The permeating power of the gospel.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
BAR ES,”The law of the Lord - Margin, doctrine. The word used here - ‫תורה‬ tôrâh -
is that which is commonly employed in the Old Testament with reference to the law of
God, and is usually rendered “law.” The word properly means “instruction,” “precept,”
from a verb signifying “to teach.” It is then used with reference to instruction or teaching
in regard to conduct, and is thus applied to all that God has communicated to guide
mankind. It does not here, nor does it commonly, refer exclusively to the commands of
God, but it includes all that God has revealed to teach and guide us. It refers here to
revealed truth as contradistinguished from the truth made known by the works of
creation. Compare the note at Psa_1:2. There are six epithets used in these verses
Psa_19:7-9 to describe the revealed truth of God, all referring to the same truths, but
with reference to some distinct view of the truths themselves, or of their effect on the
soul: to wit, law, testimony, statutes, commandment, fear, and judgments. Of the
revealed truth of God, thus characterized by distinct epithets, a particular statement is
first made in each case in regard to the truth itself as viewed in that special aspect, and
then the effects of that revealed truth on the soul are described corresponding with that
truth as so viewed. Thus, of the “law of the Lord” it is said:
(a) that it is perfect,
(b) that it converts the soul;
Of the “testimony of the Lord”:
(a) that it is sure,
(b) that it makes the simple wise;
Of the “statutes of the Lord”:
(a) that they are right,
(b) that they rejoice the heart;
Of the “commandment of the Lord”:
(a) that it is pure,
(b) that it enlightens the eyes;
Of the “fear of the Lord”:

46. (a) that it is clean,
(b) that it endures forever;
Of the “judgments of the Lord”:
(a) that they are true and righteous,
(b) that they are more to be desired than gold, and that they are sweeter than
honey and the honeycomb; that people are warned by them, and that in keeping
them there is great reward.
Is perfect - On the meaning of the word used here, see the note at Job_1:1. The
meaning is that it lacks nothing in order to its completeness; nothing in order that it
might be what it should be. It is complete as a revelation of divine truth; it is complete as
a rule of conduct. As explained above, this refers not only to the law of God as the word is
commonly employed now, but to the whole of divine truth as revealed. It is absolutely
true; it is adapted with consummate wisdom to the wants of man; it is an unerring guide
of conduct. There is nothing there which would lead men into error or sin; there is
nothing essential for man to know which may not be found there.
Converting the soul - The particular illustration of the perfection of the law is seen
in the fact that it “converts the soul;” that is, that it turns it from the ways of sin to
holiness. The glory of the works of God - the heavens, the firmament, the sun, as
described in the previous verses - is, that they convey the knowledge of God around the
world, and that the world is filled with light and life under the genial warmth of the sun;
the glory of the law, or the revealed truth of God, is, that it bears directly on the soul of
man, turning him from the error of his ways. and leading him to pursue a life of holiness.
It is not said of the “law” of God that it does this by its own power, nor can there be any
design here to exclude the doctrine of the divine agency on the soul; but the statement is,
that when the “law” of God is applied to the heart, or when the truth of God is made to
bear on that heart, the legitimate effect is seen in turning the sinner from the error of his
ways. This effect of truth is seen everywhere, where it is brought into contact with the
heart of man. By placing this first, also, the psalmist may perhaps have intended to
intimate that this is the primary design of the revelation which God has given to
mankind; that while great and important effects are produced by the knowledge which
goes forth from the works of God, converting power goes forth only from the “law” of
God, or from revealed truth. It is observable that none of the effects here Psa_19:7-12
ascribed to the revealed truth of God, under the various forms in which it is
contemplated, are ascribed to the knowledge which goes forth from the contemplation of
his works, Psa_19:1-6. It is not scientific truth which converts men, but revealed truth.
The testimony of the Lord - The word used here - ‫עדות‬ ‛êdûth - means properly that
which is borne witness to, and is applied to revealed truth as that which God bears
witness to. In reference to the truth of what is stated he is the witness or the voucher; it is
that which he declares to be true. Hence, the term is applicable to all that is revealed as
being that which he affirms to be true, and the word may be applied to historical truths;
or to precepts or laws; or to statements respecting himself, respecting man, respecting
the way of salvation, respecting the fallen world. On all these subjects he has borne
witness in his word, pledging his veracity as to the correctness of the statements which
are thus made. The word, therefore, refers to the whole of what is revealed in his word,
considered as that to the truth of which he bears witness. The word is often used in this
sense: Psa_81:5; Psa_119:14, Psa_119:31, Psa_119:36, Psa_119:88,
Psa_119:99,Psa_119:111, Psa_119:129, Psa_119:144, Psa_119:157; Jer_44:23. It is often
also applied to the two tables of the law laid up in the ark, which is hence called “the ark
of the testimony:” Exo_16:34; Exo_25:16, Exo_25:21-22; Exo_26:33; Exo_30:26, et

47. saepe.
Is sure - Established, firm. That “testimony,” or that revealed truth, is not unsettled,
vacillating, uncertain. It is so certain that it may be relied on; so well established, that it
cannot be shaken.
Making wise the simple - The word rendered simple - ‫פתי‬ pe
thıy - means simplicity,
folly, Pro_1:22; and then, simple in the sense of being open to persuasion, easily
seduced: Pro_7:7; Pro_22:3; Pro_27:12; Psa_116:6. Then it means credulous, Pro_14:15;
and inexperienced, Psa_19:7. Gesenius, Lexicon. The meaning here is evidently
inexperienced in the sense of being ignorant or untaught. It refers to those who need
spiritual guidance and direction, and is applicable to men as they are by nature, as
untaught, or needing instruction, but with the idea that their minds are susceptible to
impressions, or are open to conviction. Those who are naturally destitute of wisdom, it
makes wise. The statement is, that that testimony, or revealed truth, makes them wise in
the knowledge of God, or imparts to them real instruction.
CLARKE, “The law of the Lord - And here are two books of Divine Revelation:
1. The visible Heavens, and the works of creation in general.
2. The Bible, or Divinely inspired writings contained in the Old and New Testaments.
These may all be called the Law of the Lord; ‫תורה‬ torah, from ‫ירה‬ yarah, to instruct,
direct, put straight, guide. It is God’s system of instruction, by which men are taught the
knowledge of God and themselves, directed how to walk so as to please God, redeemed
from crooked paths, and guided in the way everlasting. Some think that ‫תורה‬ torah means
the preceptive part of Revelation. Some of the primitive fathers have mentioned three
Laws given by God to man:
1. The law of nature, which teaches the knowledge of God, as to his eternal power and
Deity, by the visible creation.
2. The law given to Moses and the prophets, which teaches more perfectly the
knowledge of God, his nature, his will and our duty.
3. The law of grace given by Christ Jesus, which shows the doctrine of the atonement,
of purification, and of the resurrection of the body.
The first is written in hieroglyphics in the heavens and the earth. The second was
written on tables of stone, and in many rites and ceremonies. The third is to be written
on the heart by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Is perfect - ‫תמימה‬ temimah, it is perfection, it is perfect in itself as a law, and requires
perfection in the hearts and lives of men. This is Its character.
Converting the soul - Turning it back to God. Restoring it to right reason, or to a
sound mind; teaching it its own interest in reference to both worlds. This is Its use.
The testimony of the Lord - ‫עדות‬ eduth, from ‫עד‬ ad, beyond, forward. The various
types and appointments of the law, which refer to something beyond themselves, and
point forward to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Some understand,
the doctrinal parts of the law.

48. Is sure - ‫נאמנה‬ neemanah, are faithful; they point out the things beyond them fairly,
truly, and fully, and make no vain or false report. They all bear testimony to the great
atonement. This is Their character.
Making wise the simple - The simple is he who has but one end in view: who is
concerned about his soul, and earnestly inquires, “What shall I do to be saved?” These
testimonies point to the atonement, and thus the simple-hearted is made wise unto
salvation. This is Their use.
GILL, “The law of the Lord is perfect,.... By which is meant, not the law of Moses,
or the ten commandments, but the "doctrine" of the Lord; as the word ‫,תורה‬ "torah",
signifies, even the whole word of God, as in Isa_8:20. All the Scriptures of truth, which are
profitable for doctrine; for setting doctrine in a clear light, and for the vindication and
establishment of it, and are the rule of doctrine both to preachers and hearers; and which are
"perfect", contain the whole mind and will of God, both with respect to faith and practice;
whereby the man of God is made perfect, and thoroughly furnished to all good works, 2Ti_3:16;
and especially the Gospel part of the word of God may be designed, which both in the Old and
New Testament is called "a law" or "doctrine", being eminently so; the doctrine of the Messiah,
and of justification by faith in his righteousness, Isa_2:3, Rom_3:27. The Gospel is a perfect plan
and scheme of spiritual and saving truths: it gives an account of perfect things; as of the perfect
righteousness of Christ, and complete justification by it; of the full as well as free pardon of sins
by the blood of Christ; and of redemption and salvation from all sin and evils by him: and it also
shows where true perfection is; namely, in Christ, in whom the saints are complete, be being
made to them wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption; see Jam_1:25. This
character, therefore, suits better with the Gospel than with the moral law; though that, as it is to
be gathered out of the whole word of God, contains the good and perfect will of God, with
respect to what is to be done or avoided; nor is anything to be added to it; nor did our Lord come
to add unto it, or to make it more perfect, but to fulfil it, which men could not do; nor could the
law make any man or anything perfect, either perfectly sanctify, or justify, or save; whereas the
bringing in of the better hope in the Gospel does, Heb_9:7. The effect, under a divine influence
and blessing ascribed to it, is,
converting the soulconverting the soulconverting the soulconverting the soul; which is a further proof that the law of Moses is not intended: for though by
it is the knowledge of sin, or conviction of sin, which often falls short of conversion; yet the Spirit
of God, as a spirit of regeneration, conversion, and sanctification, is not received through the
doctrine or preaching of the law, but through the ministration of the Gospel; which is designed to

49. turn men from darkness to light, and from the powers of Satan to God; and which use it has when
it is attended with the demonstration of the Spirit and of power; see Rom_3:20, though the words
may be rendered "relieving", that is, refreshing and comforting the "soul" (z) as in Lam_1:11;
Through want of bodily food, which is the case in the passage retorted to, the spirits faint and
sink, the soul is almost gone, when, by the ministration of proper food, it is as it were brought
back again, as the word (a) here used signifies, and the animal spirits are cheered and revived:
and of like use is the Gospel; it is the food of the soul, by which it is refreshed and exhilarated,
when ready to sink and faint away; hereby it is restored and revived, comforted and nourished;
the testimony of the Lordthe testimony of the Lordthe testimony of the Lordthe testimony of the Lord isisisis suresuresuresure; this is another name for the word of God, or the Holy
Scriptures; so called because they testify of Christ, of his person, office, and grace; of what he is,
was to do, and suffer, and perform for his people, and of his glory that should follow thereon,
Joh_5:39; and particularly the doctrine of the Gospel is the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ,
both which he himself testified, and which is a testimony concerning him, 2Ti_1:8. And this is
"sure", or "to be believed" (b); the whole of Scripture is true, coming from the God of truth;
having for its principal subject Christ, who is truth itself, and being dictated by the Spirit of truth;
and particularly the Gospel part of it, and all the truths therein contained, especially the doctrine
of salvation by Christ, which is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation: the Gospel is a
testimony of record which God himself has bore concerning his Son, and eternal life by him, and
therefore sure and to be depended upon; for if the witness of men is received, the witness of God
is greater, 1Jo_5:9. The effect ascribed to the word of God, Or to the Gospel under this character,
is,
making wise the simplemaking wise the simplemaking wise the simplemaking wise the simple. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions,
render it "babes" or "children"; and so Apollinarius; and the word ‫,פתי‬ here used in the Arabic
language, is said to (c) signify such; and here it intends babes and children not in years, but in
understanding, to whom God is pleased to reveal the truths of his Gospel, when he hides them
from the wise and prudent: these simple ones are such who are sensible of their simplicity and
folly, and of their want of understanding; who, with Agur, think themselves more foolish than any
man, and have not the understanding of a man; and these, by the word of God, are made wise to
know themselves, their folly, sinfulness, imperfections, and impotence; and are made wise unto
salvation, to know the right way of salvation by Christ; see 2Ti_3:15; where the same phrase is
used as here, and seems to be borrowed from hence, and is used of the Scriptures; which also
make men wise in the knowledge of Gospel doctrines, the wisdom of God in a mystery, which to

50. know is the greatest wisdom and understanding, and much more so than to be acquainted with
the law only, Deu_4:6.
HE RY, “God's glory, (that is, his goodness to man) appears much in the
works of creation, but much more in and by divine revelation. The holy
scripture, as it is a rule both of our duty to God and of our expectation from
him, is of much greater use and benefit to us than day or night, than the air
we breathe in, or the light of the sun. The discoveries made of God by his
works might have served if man had retained his integrity; but, to recover
him out of his fallen state, another course must be taken; that must be done
by the word of God. And here,
1. The psalmist gives an account of the excellent properties and uses of the word of
God, in six sentences (Psa_19:7-9), in each of which the name Jehovah is repeated, and
no vain repetition, for the law has its authority and all its excellency from the law-maker.
Here are six several titles of the word of God, to take in the whole of divine revelation,
precepts and promises, and especially the gospel. Here are several good properties of it,
which proves its divine original, which recommend it to our affection, and which extol it
above all other laws whatsoever. Here are several good effects of the law upon the minds
of men, which show what it is designed for, what use we are to make of it, and how
wonderful the efficacy of divine grace is, going along with it, and working by it. 1. The
law of the Lord is perfect. It is perfectly free from all corruption, perfectly filled with all
good, and perfectly fitted for the end for which it is designed; and it will make the man of
God perfect, 2Ti_3:17. Nothing is to be added to it nor taken from it. It is of use to
convert the soul, to bring us back to ourselves, to our God, to our duty; for it shows us
our sinfulness and misery in our departures from God and the indispensable necessity of
our return to him. 2. The testimony of the Lord (which witnesses for him to us) is sure,
incontestably and inviolably sure, what we may give credit to, may rely upon, and may be
confident it will not deceive us. It is a sure discovery of the divine truth, a sure direction
in the way of duty. It is a sure foundation of living comforts and a sure foundation of
lasting hopes. It is of use to make us wise, wise to salvation, 2Ti_3:15. It will give us an
insight into things divine and a foresight of things to come. It will employ us in the best
work and secure to us our true interests. It will make even the simple (poor contrivers as
they may be for the present world) wise for their souls and eternity. Those that are
humbly simple, sensible of their own folly and willing to be taught, shall be made wise by
the word of God, Psa_25:9. 3. The statutes of the Lord (enacted by his authority, and
binding on all wherever they come) are right, exactly agreeing with the eternal rules and
principles of good and evil, that is, with the right reason of man and the right counsels of
God. All God's precepts, concerning all things, are right (Psa_119:128), just as they
should be; and they will set us to rights if we receive them and submit to them; and,
because they are right, they rejoice the heart. The law, as we see it in the hands of Christ,
gives cause for joy; and, when it is written in our hearts, it lays a foundation for
everlasting joy, by restoring us to our right mind. 4. The commandment of the Lord is
pure; it is clear, without darkness; it is clean, without dross and defilement. It is itself
purified from all alloy, and is purifying to those that receive and embrace it. It is the
ordinary means which the Spirit uses in enlightening the eyes; it brings us to a sight and
sense of our sin and misery, and directs us in the way of duty.
JAMISO , “The law is described by six names, epithets, and effects. It is a
rule, God’s testimony for the truth, His special and general prescription of

51. duty, fear (as its cause) and judicial decision. It is distinct and certain,
reliable, right, pure, holy, and true. Hence it revives those depressed by
doubts, makes wise the unskilled (2Ti_3:15), rejoices the lover of truth,
strengthens the desponding (Psa_13:4; Psa_34:6), provides permanent
principles of conduct, and by God’s grace brings a rich reward.
E-SWORD, ““The law of the Lord is perfect;” by which he means not merely
the law of Moses but the doctrine of God, the whole run and rule of sacred
Writ. The doctrine revealed by God he declares to be perfect, and yet David
had but a very small part of the Scriptures, and if a fragment, and that the
darkest and most historical portion, be perfect, what must the entire volume
be? How more than perfect is the book which contains the clearest possible
display of divine love, and gives us an open vision of redeeming grace. The
gospel is a complete scheme or law of gracious salvation, presenting to the
needy sinner everything that his terrible necessities can possibly demand.
There are no redundancies and no omissions in the Word of God, and in the
plan of grace; why then do men try to paint this lily and gild this refined
gold? The gospel is perfect in all its parts, and perfect as a whole: it is a
crime to add to it, treason to alter it, and felony to take from it.
“Converting the soul.” - Making the man to be returned or restored to the place from
which sin had cast him. The practical effect of the Word of God is to turn the man to
himself, to his God, and to holiness; and the turn or conversion is not outward alone,
“the soul” is moved and renewed. The great means of the conversion of sinners is the
Word of God, and the more closely we keep to it in our ministry the more likely are we to
be successful. It is God's Word rather than man's comment on God's Word which is
made mighty with souls. When the law drives and the gospel draws, the action is
different but the end is one, for by God's Spirit the soul is made to yield, and cries, “Turn
me, and I shall be turned.” Try men's depraved nature with philosophy and reasoning,
and it laughs your efforts to scorn, but the Word of God soon works a transformation.
“The testimony of the Lord is sure.” God bears his testimony against sin, and on
behalf of righteousness; he testifies of our fall and of our restoration; this testimony is
plain, decided, and infallible, and is to be accepted as sure. God's witness in his Word is
so sure that we may draw solid comfort from it both for time and eternity, and so sure
that no attacks made upon it, however fierce or subtle, can ever weaken its force. What a
blessing that in a world of uncertainties we have something sure to rest upon! We hasten
from the quicksands of human speculation to the terra firma of Divine Revelation.
“Making wise the simple.” Humble, candid, teachable minds receive the word, and
are made wise unto salvation. Things hidden from the wise and prudent are revealed
unto babes. The persuadable grow wise, but the cavillers continue fools. As a law or plan
the Word of God converts, and then as a testimony it instructs; it is not enough for us to
be converts, we must continue to be disciples; and if we have felt the power of truth, we
must go on to prove its certainty by experience. The perfection of the gospel converts, but
its sureness edifies; if we would be edified it becomes us not to stagger at the promise
through unbelief, for a doubted gospel cannot make us wise, but truth of which we are
assured will be our establishment.
CALVI , “7.The law of the Lord. Here the second part of the psalm commences. After having
shown that the creatures, although they do not speak, nevertheless serve as instructors to all

52. mankind, and teach all men so clearly that there is a God, as to render them inexcusable, the
Psalmist now turns towards the Jews, to whom God had communicated a fuller knowledge of
himself by means of his word. While the heavens bear witness concerning God, their testimony
does not lead men so far as that thereby they learn truly to fear him, and acquire a well-grounded
knowledge of him; it serves only to render them inexcusable. It is doubtless true, that if we were not
very dull and stupid, the signatures and proofs of Deity which are to be found on the theater of the
world, are abundant enough to incite us to acknowledge and reverence God; but as, although
surrounded with so clear a light, we are nevertheless blind, this splendid representation of the glory
of God, without the aid of the word, would profit us nothing, although it should be to us as a loud
and distinct proclamation sounding in our ears. ACCORDINGLY , God vouchsafes to those whom
he has determined to call to salvation special grace, just as in ancient times, while he gave to all
men without exception evidences of his existence in his works, he communicated to the children of
Abraham alone his Law, thereby to furnish them with a more certain and intimate knowledge of his
majesty. Whence it follows, that the Jews are bound by a double tie to serve God. As the Gentiles,
to whom God has spoken only by the dumb creatures, have no excuse for their ignorance, how
much less is their stupidity to be endured who neglect to hear the voice which proceeds from his
own sacred mouth? The end, therefore, which David here has in view, is to excite the Jews, whom
God had bound to himself by a more sacred bond, to yield obedience to him with a more prompt
and cheerful affection. Farther, under the term law, he not only means the rule of living righteously,
or the Ten Commandments, but he also comprehends the covenant by which God had
distinguished that people from the rest of the world, and the whole doctrine of Moses, the parts of
which he afterwards enumerates under the terms testimonies, statutes, and other names. These
titles and commendations by which he exalts the dignity and excellence of the Law would not agree
with the Ten Commandments alone, unless there were, at the same time, joined to them a free
adoption and the promises which depend upon it; and, in short, the whole body of doctrine of which
true religion and godliness consists. As to the Hebrew words which are here used, I will not spend
much time in endeavoring very exactly to give the particular signification of each of them, because it
is easy to gather from other passages, that they are sometimes confounded or used
indifferently. ‫,עדות‬ eduth, which we render testimony, is generally taken for the covenant, in which
God, on the one hand, promised to the children of Abraham that he would be their God, and on the
other required faith and obedience on their part. It, therefore, denotes the mutual covenant entered
into between God and his ancient people. The word ‫,פקודים‬ pikkudim, which I have followed others
in translating statutes, is restricted by some to ceremonies, but improperly in my judgment: for I find
that it is every where taken generally for ordinances and edicts. The word ‫,מצוה‬ mitsvah, which
follows immediately after, and which we translate commandment, has almost the same signification.
As to the other words, we shall consider them in their respective places.
The first commendation of the law of God is, that it is perfect. By this word David means, that if a
man is duly instructed in the law of God, he wants nothing which is requisite to perfect wisdom. In
the writings of heathen authors there are no doubt to be found true and useful sentences scattered
here and there; and it is also true, that God has put into the minds of men some knowledge of
justice and uprightness; but in consequence of the CORRUPTION of our nature, the true light of
truth is not to be found among men where revelation is not enjoyed, but only certain mutilated
principles which are involved in much obscurity and doubt. David, therefore, justly claims this praise
for the law of God, that it contains in it perfect and absolute wisdom. Asthe conversion of the soul, of
which he speaks immediately after, is doubtless to be understood of its restoration, I have felt no
difficulty in so rendering it. There are some who reason with too much subtilty on this expression, by
explaining it as referring to the repentance and regeneration of man. I admit that the soul cannot be
restored by the law of God, without being at the same time renewed unto righteousness; but we
must consider what is David’ proper meaning, which is this, that as the soul gives vigor and strength
to the body, so the law in like manner is the life of the soul. In saying that the soul is restored, he
has an allusion to the miserable state in which we are all born. There, no doubt, still survive in us
some small remains of the first creation; but as no part of our constitution is free from defilement
and impurity, the condition of the soul thus CORRUPTED and depraved differs little from death,
and tends altogether to death. It is, therefore, necessary that God should employ the law as a
remedy for restoring us to purity; not that the letter of the law can do this of itself, as shall be
afterwards shown more at length, but because God employs his word as an instrument for restoring

53. our souls.
When the Psalmist declares, The testimony of Jehovah is faithful, it is a repetition of the preceding
sentence, so that the integrity or perfection of the law and the faithfulness or truth of his
testimony, signify the same thing; namely, that when we give ourselves up to be guided and
governed by the word of God, we are in no danger of going astray, since this is the path by which
he SECURELY guides his own people to salvation. Instruction in wisdom seems here to be
added as the commencement of the restoration of the soul. Understanding is the most excellent
endowment of the soul; and David teaches us that it is to be derived from the law, for we are
naturally destitute of it. By the word babes, he is not to be understood as meaning any particular
class of persons, as if others were sufficiently wise of themselves; but by it he teaches us, in the first
place, that none are endued with right understanding until they have made progress in the study of
the law. In the second place, he shows by it what kind of scholars God requires, namely, those who
are fools in their own estimation, (1Co_3:18,) and who come down to the rank of children, that the
loftiness of their own understanding may not prevent them from giving themselves up, with a spirit of
entire docility, to the teaching of the word of God.
SPURGEO , “In the three following Psalms 19:7-9 we have a brief but instructive hexapla
containing six descriptive titles of the word, six characteristic qualities mentioned and six divine
effects declared. Names, nature, and effect are well set forth.
Ver. 7. The law of the Lord is perfect; by which he means not merely the law of Moses but the
that the darkest and most historical portion, be perfect, what must the entire volume be? How more
than perfect is the book which contains the clearest possible display of divine love, and gives us an
open vision of redeeming grace. The gospel is a complete scheme or law of gracious salvation,
presenting to the needy sinner everything that his terrible necessities can possibly demand. There
are no redundancies and no omissions in the Word of God, and in the plan of grace; why then do
men try to paint this lily and gild this refined gold? The gospel is perfect in all its parts, and perfect
as a whole: it is a crime to add to it, treason to alter it, and felony to take from it.
Converting the soul. Making the man to be returned or restored to the place from which sin had
cast him. The practical effect of the Word of God is to turn the man to himself, to his God, and to
holiness; and the turn or conversion is not outward alone, "the soul" is moved and renewed. The
great means of the conversion of sinners is the Word of God, and the more closely we keep to it in
our ministry the more likely we are to be successful. It is God's Word rather than man's comment on
God's Word which is made mighty with souls. When the law drives and the gospel draws, the action
is different but the end is one, for by God's Spirit the soul is made to yield, and cries, "Turn me, and
I shall be turned." Try men's depraved nature with philosophy and reasoning, and it laughs your
efforts to scorn, but the Word of God soon works a transformation.
The testimony of the Lord is sure. God bears his testimony against sin, and on behalf of
righteousness; he testifies of our fall and of our restoration; this testimony is plain, decided, and
infallible, and is to be accepted as sure. God's witness in his Word is so sure that we may draw solid
comfort from it both for time and eternity, and so sure that no attacks made upon it however fierce
or subtle can ever weaken its force. What a blessing that in a world of uncertainties we have
something sure to rest upon! We hasten from the quicksands of human speculations to the terra
firma of Divine Revelation.
Making wise the simple. Humble, candid, teachable minds receive the word, and are made wise
then as a testimony it instructs; it is not enough for us to be converts, we must continue to be
disciples; and if we have felt the power of truth, we must go on to prove its certainty by experience.
The perfection of the gospel converts, but its sureness edifies; if we would be edified it becomes us
not to stagger at the promise through unbelief, for a doubted gospel cannot make us wise, but truth
of which we are assured will be our establishment.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

54. Ver. 7. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. To man fallen, the law only
convinceth of sin, and bindeth over to death, it is nothing but a killing letter; but the gospel,
accompanied by the power of the Spirit, bringeth life. Again, it is said, "The law of the Lord is
perfect, converting the soul; "therefore it seems the law may also be a word of salvation to the
creature. I answer; by the law there, is not meant only that part of the word which we call the
covenant of works, but there it is put for the whole word, for the whole doctrine of the covenant of
life and salvation; as Psalms 1:2 : "His delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he
meditate day and night." And if you take it in that stricter sense, then it converteth the soul but by
accident, as it is joined with the gospel, which is the misery of life and righteousness, but in itself it is
the law of sin and death. Look, as a thing taken simply, would be poison and deadly in itself, yet
mixed with other wholesome medicines, it is of great use, is an excellent physical ingredient; so the
law is of great use as joined with the gospel, to awaken and startle the sinner, to show him his duty,
to convince him of sin and judgment; but it is the gospel properly that pulls in the heart. Thomas
Manton.
Ver. 7. The law, or doctrine, an orderly manner of instruction, an institution or disposition, called in
Hebrew torah, which implies both doctrine and an orderly disposition of the same. Therefore where
one prophet, relating David's words, saith the law of man (2 Samuel 7:19), another saith, the orderly
estate, orcourse of man. 1 Chronicles 17:17. The Holy Ghost, in Greek, calls it Nomos, a law
(Hebrews 8:10), fromJeremiah 31:33. This name is most commonly ascribed to the precepts given
by Moses at Mount Sinai (De 32:4; Malachi 4:4 Joh 1:17 7:19); it is also largely used for all his
writings. For the history of Genesis is called law (Galatians 4:21), from Genesis 16:1-16. And
though sometimes the law be distinguished from the Psalms and Prophets (Lu 16:16, and Lu
24:24), yet the other prophets' books are called law (1 Corinthians 14:21), from Isaiah 28:11; the
Psalms are also thus named (John 10:24 and John 15:25), fromPs 82:6 35:19. Yea, one Psalm is
called a law (Psalms 78:1); and the many branches of Moses' doctrine as the law of the sin offering,
etc. Leviticus 6:25. And generally it is used for any doctrine, as the law of works, the law of faith,
etc. Romans 3:27. Henry Ainsworth.
feelings and affections of good men. The Hebrew terms properly mean, "bringing back the spirit,
"when it is depressed by adversity, by refreshing and consoling it; like food, it restores the faint, and
communicates "vigour to the disconsolate." William Walford, 1837.
Ver. 7. Converting the soul. The heart of man is the most free and hard of anything to work upon,
and to make an impression and stamp upon this hard heart, this heart that is so stony, adamantine,
"harder than the nether millstones, "as the Scripture teacheth. To compel this free will, this Domina
sui actus, the queen in the soul, the empress, it cannot be without a divine power, without a hand
that is omnipotent; but the ministers do this by the Word�they mollify, and wound, and break this
heart, they incline, and bow, and draw this free will whither the spirit listeth. And Clemens
Alexandrinus is not afraid to say, that if the fables of Orpheus and Amphion were true�that they
drew birds, beasts, and stones, with their ravishing melody�yet the harmony of the Word is
greater, which translates men from Hellicon to Zion, which softens the hard heart of man obdurate
metamorphoses men that are beast like, wild birds for their lightness and vanity, serpents for their
craft and subtlety, lions for their wrath and cruelty, swine for voluptuousness and luxury, etc.; and
to the building of a living temple to the everlasting God. This must needs be a truly persuasive
charm, as he speaks. John Stoughton's "Choice Sermons, "1640.
Ver. 7. Making wise the simple. The apostle Paul, in Ephesians 1:8, expresses conversion, and
the whole work inherently wrought in us, by the making of a man wise. It is usual in the Scriptures,
and you may ofttimes meet with it; converting the soul, "making wise the simple." The beginning of
conversion, and so all along, the increase of all grace to the end, is expressed by wisdom entering
into a man's heart, "If wisdom enter into thy heart, "and so goes on to do more and more; not unto
thy head only�a man may have all that, and be a fool in the end, but when it entereth into the
heart, and draws all the affections after it, and along with it, "when knowledge is pleasant to thy

55. soul, "then a man is converted; when God breaks open a man's heart, and makes wisdom fall in,
enter in, and make a man wise. Thomas Goodwin.
Ver. 7. This verse, and the two next following, which treat of God's law, are in Hebrew, written each
of them with ten words, according to the number of the ten commandments, which are called the ten
words.Exodus 34:28. Henry Ainsworth.
revealing the object,
Ver. 7-11. All of us are by nature the children of wrath; our souls are like the porches of Bethesda
(John 5:2), in which are lodged a great many "sick folk, blind, halt, withered; "and the Scriptures are
like the poolof Bethesda, into which whoever entereth, after God's Holy Spirit hath a little stirred the
water, is "made whole of whatsoever disease he hath." He that hath anger's frenzy, being as furious
as a lion, by stepping into this pool shall in good time become as gentle as a lamb; he that hath the
blindness of intemperance, by washing in this pool shall easily see his folly; he that hath envy's rust,
avarice's leprosy, luxury's palsy, shall have means and medicines here for the curing of his
maladies. The word of God is like the drugcatholicon, that is instead of all purges; and like the
herb panaces, that is good for all diseases. Is any man heavy? the statutes of the Lord rejoice the
heart: is any man in want? the judgments of the Lord are more to be desired than gold, yea, than
much fine gold, and by keeping of them there is great reward: is any man ignorant? the testimonies
of the Lord give wisdom to the simple, that is, to little ones, both in standing and understanding. In
standing, as unto little Daniel, little John the evangelist, little Timothy: to little ones in understanding;
for the great philosophers who were the wizards of the world, because they were not acquainted
with God's law became fools while they professed themselves wise. Romans 1:22. But our prophet
God's law converteth us, and maketh us to speak with new tongues, and to sing new songs unto the
Lord, and to become new men and new creatures in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17. J. Boys.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Ver. 7. (first clause). Holy Scripture.
1. What it is�law.
2. Whose it is�of the Lord.
3. What is its character�perfect.
4. What its result�converting the soul.
Ver. 7. (second clause).
1. Scholars.
2. Class book.
3. Teacher.
4. Progress.
Ver. 7-9. The Hexapla. See notes.
Ver. 7. (last clause). The wisdom of a simple faith.
HAWKER 7-11, “Here the sacred writer makes a beautiful transition from
the works of nature to contemplate the works of grace. Having celebrated
the praises of Jehovah in his outward courts, he now enters the inner
temple to adore him. And if the former preached Christ, still in much higher
strains doth the latter. I would have the Reader remark with me, how much
the sacred penman dwells upon the glorious and incommunicable name of

56. Jehovah. No less than six times in three verses is that high and lofty name
mentioned. And, in like manner, he maketh use of six different terms to
denote Christ and his sacred word by. For, I take it for granted, the Reader
is apprized that Jesus is all along referred to by what is here said. He is
indeed the substance of the law, and the testimony, and the statutes. He
converts the soul. He rejoiceth the heart. He is the Alpha and Omega of all
God’s gracious dealings with men. And, therefore, is more precious than
gold, yea, than the golden wedge of Ophir. He causeth them, as he saith
himself, that love him to possess substance, yea durable riches and
righteousness, Pro_8:18-21.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
BAR ES,”The statutes of the Lord - The word here rendered statutes properly
means mandates, precepts - rules given to anyone to guide him, Psa_103:18; Psa_111:7.
It refers to the laws of God considered as appointed, or as the result of divine authority.
The verb from which this word is derived (Hiphil) means to set over, to give the
oversight, to appoint. Hence, the idea of laws, or statutes, as the result of such an
appointment, or such an authority.
Are right - Are equal, just, proper. They are such as are founded in wisdom and
equity; not such as are the mere result of arbitrary appointment. The idea is that they are
not merely appointed, or made binding by authority, but that they are in themselves
equitable and just.
Rejoicing the heart - Making the heart glad by the fact that they are equitable and
just - and glad as the result of obedience. It is always a source of true happiness when we
can feel that we are under just and equal laws; laws in themselves right, and laws
administered in righteousness and truth.
The commandment of the Lord - An appellation of the law of God from the idea of
setting up, appointing, constituting; hence, of charging, or commanding. The idea here is
not so much that the thing is right in itself as that it is appointed or ordered by God; that
it is what he requires. The term is one that is often applied to the laws of God, Deu_6:1;
Deu_7:11; Lev_4:13; Gen_26:5; Exo_15:26; Exo_16:28; Psa_78:7; Psa_89:31;
Psa_119:6, Psa_119:10, Psa_119:19, Psa_119:21, Psa_119:32, Psa_119:35, Psa_119:47-48,
Psa_119:60, Psa_119:66, Psa_119:73, Psa_119:86, Psa_119:96, Psa_119:98,Psa_119:115,
Psa_119:127, Psa_119:131, Psa_119:143 then I Chapter I then I me me then I out a then I
out me day.
Is pure - Free from all stain; from all imperfection; from any corrupt tendency.

57. “Enlightening the eyes.” That is, giving us light and knowledge. The eyes are mentioned,
as it is by them that we see where to go. The reference here is undoubtedly to the mind or
soul as being enlightened by the truth of God. We are made by these commandments to
see what is right and proper; to understand what we should do.
CLARKE, “The statutes of the Lord - ‫פקודים‬ pikkudim, from ‫פקד‬ pakad, he visited,
cared, took notice of, appointed to a charge. The appointments, or charge delivered by
God to man for his regard and observance.
Are right - ‫ישרים‬ yesharim, from ‫ישר‬ yashar, to make straight, smooth, right, upright,
opposed to crookedness in mind or conduct; showing what the man should be, both
within and without. This is Their character.
Rejoicing the heart - As they show a man what he is to observe and keep in charge,
and how he is to please God, and the Divine help he is to receive from the visitations of
God, they contribute greatly to the happiness of the upright - they rejoice the heart. This
is Their use.
The commandment - ‫מצוה‬ mitsvah, from ‫צוה‬ tsavah, to command, give orders,
ordain. What God has ordered man to do, or not to do. What he has commanded, and
what he has prohibited.
Is pure - From ‫ברה‬ barah, to clear, cleanse, purify. All God’s commandments lead to
purity, enjoin purity, and point out that sacrificial offering by which cleansing and
purification are acquired. This is Its character.
Enlightening the eyes - Showing men what they should do. and what they should
avoid. It is by God’s commandments that we see the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and the
necessity of redemption, so that we may love the Lord with all our heart, and our
neighbor as ourselves. For this is the end of the commandment, and thus to enlighten the
eyes is Its use.
GILL, “The statutes of the Lord are right,.... The word of God may be called
"statutes", or "visitations" (d) because that God will visit, in a way of resentment, such
persons as despise its authority, do not act according to it, or add unto it, or detract from
it; or the word may be rendered "commissions" (e), things committed to trust, as the
Scriptures were to the Jews, Rom_3:1; and as the Gospel is committed to the trust of the
ministers of it, who faithfully dispense it, 2Co_5:19. Now these may be said to be right,
as the word of the Lord is, Psa_33:4; since they set men right in their principles, and
direct them to right practices; they are the means of making them upright in heart, and
in conversation: the doctrines of the word of God have nothing crooked, froward, and
perverse in them; are without sophism, and the hidden things of dishonesty; they are all
in righteousness, and plain and easy in everything respecting salvation, to those who
have a spiritual knowledge and understanding of them, Pro_8:8; they lead into right and
straight paths of truth and holiness, in which wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err;
and particularly the Gospel directs to the right way of salvation and eternal life by Jesus
Christ; the effect of which is
rejoicing the heart. This cannot be understood of the law, which is a voice of terror,
pronounces guilty, curses and condemns, is the killing letter, and works wrath; but of the

58. Gospel part of the word, which is a joyful sound; publishes good tidings of good things;
and, when applied by the Spirit of God, is found to have this effect, see Jer_15:16;
the commandment of the Lord is pure; not only the Scriptures in general may bear
this name, because they deliver out the commands of God to men, as those of a moral
and ceremonial kind to the Jews under the former dispensation; so the ordinances of
Christ, which are his commands under the Gospel dispensation; yea, the Gospel itself
may be so called, though, strictly speaking, it has no command in it; because, according
to the commandment of the everlasting God, it is made known to all nations for the
obedience of faith, Rom_16:25; besides, the commandment is no other than the word or
doctrine, see 1Jo_2:7; and as every commandment of the Lord, of what kind soever it is,
is pure and holy, so is every word of God, Pro_30:5; being without any mixture of men's
inventions, or the dross of corrupt doctrine, sincere, unadulterated, clear of all chaff and
impurity, consistent, uniform, and all of a piece, and which tends to promote purity of
heart, life, and conversation;
enlightening the eyes: that is, of the understanding, so as for a man to see his lost
state and condition by nature; to see the glory, fulness, and grace of Christ; to behold
wondrous things in the doctrine of the Gospel, and to observe the way of duty in which
he should walk: this is the eyesalve in Rev_3:18; and so the Jewish doctors (f) explaining
this text call the law, using the same word as there.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the
heart.
Joy in God’s statutes
Not content with celebrating the eternal fitness and rectitude of the Divine statutes, the
Psalmist recommends them by an argument of a less abstract nature, more closely
adapted to our feelings and interests, by adding that in consequence of their inherent
rectitude they tend to rejoice the heart. The word “statutes” includes the whole system of
Divine precepts contained in the Scriptures. Such is the goodness and condescension of
God, that with our duty He has strictly connected not only our happiness in general, but
even our present pleasure. Two things are necessary ill order to produce true and
rational joy in the human mind, namely, objects suited to its faculties, and faculties in
proper disposition to receive impressions from them. In each of these views the Holy
Scriptures, as they contain the Divine laws, are calculated to produce this happy temper.
What has here been asserted of all the discoveries and demands of God’s revealed will is
particularly applicable to its perceptive part, which has a tendency to rejoice the heart of
the sincerely pious, in theory, in practice, and on reflection. What further evinces the
excellence of the Divine statutes is, that the joy they inspire is pure and unmixed. The
religious joy which arises immediately from reflection on a virtuous practice increases
the sublime pleasure which springs up in the mind of a good man when he contemplates
his relation to his God and Saviour. (P. C. Sowden.)
The Bible right.
Old books go out of date. Whatever they were about, men no longer care for them. Books
are human; they have a time to be born, they grow in strength, they have a middle life of
usefulness, then comes old age, they totter and they die. Many of the national libraries
are merely the cemeteries of dead books. Some were virtuous, and accomplished a
glorious mission. Some went into the ashes through inquisitorial fires. Not so with one

59. old book. It started in the world’s infancy. It grew under theocracy and monarchy. It
withstood the storms of fire. It grew under the prophet’s mantle and under the
fisherman’s coat of the apostles. In Rome, and Ephesus, and Jerusalem, and Patmos
tyranny issued edicts against it, and infidelity put out the tongue, and the papacy from its
monasteries, and Mohammedanism from its mosques, hurled their anathemas; but the
old Bible lived. It came across the British Channel and was greeted by Wycliff and James
I. It came across the Atlantic and struck Plymouth Rock, until, like that of Horeb, it
gushed with blessedness. Churches and asylums have gathered all along its way, ringing
their bells, and stretching out their hands of blessing. But it will not have accomplished
its mission until it has climbed the icy mountains of Greenland, until it has gone over the
granite cliffs of China, until it has thrown its glow amid the Australian mines, until it has
scattered its gems among the diamond districts of Brazil, and all thrones shall be
gathered into one throne, and all crowns by the fires of revolution shall be melted into
one crown, and this Book shall at the very gate of heaven have waved in the ransomed
empires—not until then will that glorious Bible have accomplished its mission. (T. De
Witt Talmage.)
The Bible right
I. The Bible is right in its authentication. I say, if the Bible had been an imposition; if it
had not been written by the men who said they wrote it; if it had been a mere collection
of falsehoods, it would have been scouted by everybody. If that book has come down
through the centuries without a scar, it is because there is nothing in it disturbable.
When men began their opposition to it there were two or three thousand copies; now
there are two hundred millions, so far as I can calculate. Would that have been so had it
been an imposture? Further, suppose there was a great pestilence, and hundreds of
thousands of men were dying of that pestilence, and someone should find a medicine
that in one day cured ten thousand people, would not all men say that was a good
medicine? But just so it has been with the Bible. It has cured men of the worst leprosy,
the leprosy of sin. Modern discoveries in Petra, Nineveh, Palestine have all gone to prove
its truth.
II. The Bible is right in style. I know there are a great many people who think it is merely
a collection of genealogical tables and dry facts. That is because they do not know how to
read the Book. You take up the most interesting novel that was ever written, and if you
commence at the four hundredth page today, and tomorrow at the three hundredth, and
She next day at the first page, how much sense or interest would you gather from it? Yet
that is the very process to which the Bible is subjected every day. An angel from heaven
reading the Bible in that way could not understand it. The Bible, like all other palaces,
has a door by which to enter and a door by which to go out. Genesis is the door to go in,
and Revelation the door to go out. These Epistles of Paul the Apostle are merely letters
written, folded up, and sent by postmen to the different Churches. Do you read other
letters the way you read Paul’s letters? Suppose you get a business letter, and you know
that in it there are important financial propositions, do you read the last page first and
then one line of the third page, and another of the second, and another of the first?
Besides that, people read the Bible when they cannot do anything else. It is a dark day
and they do not feel well, and they do not go to business, and after lounging about awhile
they pick up the Bible—their mind refuses to enjoy the truth. Or they come home weary
from the store or shop, and they feel, if they do not say, it is a dull book. While the Bible
is to be read on stormy days, and while your head aches, it is also to be read in the

60. sunshine and when your nerves, like harp strings, thrum the song of health. While your
vision is clear, walk in this paradise of truth; and while your mental appetite is good,
pluck these clusters of grace. Note its conciseness. Every word is packed full of truth.
Nine-tenths of all the good literature of this age is merely the Bible diluted. See also its
variety; not contradiction or collision, but variety. Just as in the song, you have the basso
and alto, and soprano and tenor—they are not in collision with each other, but come in to
make up the harmony—so it is in this book, there are different parts of this great song of
redemption. The prophet comes and takes one part, and the patriarch another, and the
evangelist another, and the apostles another, and yet they all come into the grand
harmony—the song of “Moses and the Lamb.” God prepared it for all zones—arctic and
tropics, as well as the temperate zone. The Arabian would read it on his dromedary, and
the Laplander seated on the swift sledge, and the herdsman of Holland, guarding the
cattle in the grass, and the Swiss girl, reclining amid Alpine crags. Thus suited to all is it,
and hence I cannot help saying, The statutes of the Lord are right.
III. And the Bible is right in its doctrines. Man, a sinner; Christ, a Saviour—the two
doctrines. All the mountains of the Bible bow down to Calvary.
IV. And in its effects. I do not care where you put the Bible, it just suits the place.
Whether in the hands of a man seeking salvation, or one discouraged, or one in trouble,
or one bereaved—it is the grand catholicon for them all. Father and mother, take down
that long-neglected Bible. Where is it now? Is it in the trunk, or on the upper shelf, or is
it in the room in the house where you seldom go save when you have company, and then
not to read the Bible? In the name of the God who will judge the quick and the dead, and
by the interests of your immortal soul and the souls of your children, I charge you today
to take up that old Bible, open it, read for your own life, and read for the life of your
children. How can you go out on the dark mountains of death, and take your children
along with you, when you have such a glorious lamp to guide you? Put that Bible on
every rail train, until all the dark places of our land are illuminated by it. Put it on every
ship that crosses the sea, until the dark homes of heathenism get the light. While I speak,
there comes to us the horrid yell of heathen worship, and in the face of this day’s sun
gushed the blood of human sacrifice. Give them the Bible. Tell them, “God so loved the
world that He gave,” etc. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
The Word of God rejoicing the heart
I. The statutes of God are the first principles of religious duty, or the means of grace.
They are rules of life and action relating, first, to our communion with God, our religious
service; and then, to our intercourse with one another. And they are “right” in many
different senses—counteracting the tendency of man’s sinful heart, supplying a stimulant
to duty; right, too, in their operation and in their consequences, both as to this world and
the next. What they engage to do they accomplish. Infidelity can make no such boast.
II. They rejoice the heart.
1. What is rejoicing, the joy of the heart? We should base it upon natural affection,
mutual harmony and confidence, rendering and receiving to and from all what is due.
It operates in the home, and amongst our neighbours, and throughout society. Such
are a happy people.
2. And the statutes of the Lord do effect this; hence God’s statutes have been our
songs in the house of our pilgrimage. (Thomas Dale, M. A.)

61. The Bible always right
If my compass always points to the north I know how to use it; but if it veers to other
points of the compass, and I am to judge out of my own mind whether it is right or not, I
may as well be without the thing as with it. If my Bible is right always, it will lead me
right; and as I believe it is, so I shall follow it and find the truth.
A wrong and a right standard
It is stated that when the United States Government’s dock at Brooklyn was finished, on
inspecting it, it was found to be two feet too short to take in the vessels which needed
repairs. This involved a reconstruction of the work at great expense. How it occurred was
a mystery, but it appeared on investigation that the contractor, in making his
measurements, used a tape line which was a fraction of an inch too short. Either it had
shrunk, or it was imperfectly made at first; in some way the tape was too short, and so
the dock was too short also. The importance of a correct standard can hardly be
exaggerated. Whether it be a standard of weights, measures, values, or moral qualities, a
slight variation from that which is right and true produces disastrous results.
The Bible right, the reader may be wrong
As a mirage is mistaken for a reality, because of the effect of the sun’s rays upon the
organs of vision; so with those that are detecting flaws in the Bible. It is because the eye
is diseased, and sees double where the object is single. The fault is in the eye, not in the
Bible.
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The spiritual nature and enlightening efficacy of the moral law
The purity of the law, if there were no other evidence, is sufficient to establish the fact,
that it is the commandment of the Lord. We wish to set before you the moral law in its
essential and Divine purity. During the patriarchal ages there was no written document
bearing the sanction of a Divine moral law. Tradition, so long as man is eider fallible or
fallacious, cannot possibly, for any length of time, from a channel for truth. By and by it
pleased God to inscribe with His own finger upon tablets of stone the substance of those
floating intimations which He had made from time to time to His servants of old. The
law was ordained for something beyond the mere curbing of transgressions; its further
object was to detect, expose, and condemn the transgressing principle; in other words, by
the purity which it developed and enforced to enlighten man’s eyes upon the character of
God, the extent of his own moral ruin, and the absolute necessity of the restoration of the
moral principle. The human soul never was suffered to lose an intuitive sense of the
simple fact that there is a God; but having assented to this simple fact, the human mind,
by its own light, made no further progress towards the discovery of the Divine character.
We attribute this failure to moral rather than physical causes. The intellect was not so
much in fault as the heart. Man’s favourite sins were thought by him not only to
experience the Divine toleration, but even to form no insignificant elements in the Divine
character, so that he had nothing to do but to turn over the records of the pagan
theology, whensoever he wished to place some act of crime under the protection and the
patronage of the god of lust, or fraud, or violence. It was in order to afford some remedy
for this dreadful evil—in order to vindicate His own character as well as to elevate that of
His creatures, that God published His moral law. The tenor of the law proclaimed at once
the high strain of moral perfection belonging by right of nature to the God with whom we
have to do. But does man like these ordinances? Do these definitions of duty suit his

62. feelings? If he confess the truth he will confess that he hates such instruction. Many,
however, even with the law of God in their hands, are never brought to this confession.
They have not been led to see the mighty moral difference between the mind that
originated and the minds that received the law. This comes of carelessness and prejudice.
Upon the careless generalising of human with Divine systems of law the whole mistake
hinges about Christian morals. But human laws only touch actions. Divine laws touch
morals, that is, touch motive and action in conjunction. Therefore I am a transgressor of
Divine laws if motive as well as action do not tender homage and obedience. Bring
human perfection, of whatever nature, side by side with the perfection of the moral law,
and of the first the end appears at once. The law shows us our moral ruin, our spiritual
death But “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” (T.
E. Hankinson M. A.)
E-SWORD, ““The law of the Lord is perfect;” by which he means not merely
the law of Moses but the doctrine of God, the whole run and rule of sacred
Writ. The doctrine revealed by God he declares to be perfect, and yet David
had but a very small part of the Scriptures, and if a fragment, and that the
darkest and most historical portion, be perfect, what must the entire volume
be? How more than perfect is the book which contains the clearest possible
display of divine love, and gives us an open vision of redeeming grace. The
gospel is a complete scheme or law of gracious salvation, presenting to the
needy sinner everything that his terrible necessities can possibly demand.
There are no redundancies and no omissions in the Word of God, and in the
plan of grace; why then do men try to paint this lily and gild this refined
gold? The gospel is perfect in all its parts, and perfect as a whole: it is a
crime to add to it, treason to alter it, and felony to take from it.
“Converting the soul.” - Making the man to be returned or restored to the place from
which sin had cast him. The practical effect of the Word of God is to turn the man to
himself, to his God, and to holiness; and the turn or conversion is not outward alone,
“the soul” is moved and renewed. The great means of the conversion of sinners is the
Word of God, and the more closely we keep to it in our ministry the more likely are we to
be successful. It is God's Word rather than man's comment on God's Word which is
made mighty with souls. When the law drives and the gospel draws, the action is
different but the end is one, for by God's Spirit the soul is made to yield, and cries, “Turn
me, and I shall be turned.” Try men's depraved nature with philosophy and reasoning,
and it laughs your efforts to scorn, but the Word of God soon works a transformation.
“The testimony of the Lord is sure.” God bears his testimony against sin, and on
behalf of righteousness; he testifies of our fall and of our restoration; this testimony is
plain, decided, and infallible, and is to be accepted as sure. God's witness in his Word is
so sure that we may draw solid comfort from it both for time and eternity, and so sure
that no attacks made upon it, however fierce or subtle, can ever weaken its force. What a
blessing that in a world of uncertainties we have something sure to rest upon! We hasten
from the quicksands of human speculation to the terra firma of Divine Revelation.
“Making wise the simple.” Humble, candid, teachable minds receive the word, and
are made wise unto salvation. Things hidden from the wise and prudent are revealed
unto babes. The persuadable grow wise, but the cavillers continue fools. As a law or plan
the Word of God converts, and then as a testimony it instructs; it is not enough for us to
be converts, we must continue to be disciples; and if we have felt the power of truth, we

63. must go on to prove its certainty by experience. The perfection of the gospel converts, but
its sureness edifies; if we would be edified it becomes us not to stagger at the promise
through unbelief, for a doubted gospel cannot make us wise, but truth of which we are
assured will be our establishment.
CALVI , “8.The statutes of Jehovah are right. The Psalmist at first view may seem to utter a
mere common-place sentiment when he calls the statutes of the Lord right. If we, however, more
attentively consider the contrast which he no doubt makes between the rectitude of the law and the
crooked ways in which men entangle themselves when they follow their own understandings, we
will be convinced that this commendation implies more than may at first sight appear. We know how
much every man is wedded to himself, and how difficult it is to eradicate from our minds the vain
confidence of our own wisdom. It is therefore of great importance to be well convinced of this truth,
that a man’ life cannot be ordered aright unless it is framed ACCORDING to the law of God, and
that without this he can only wander in labyrinths and crooked bypaths. David adds, in the second
place, that God’ statutes rejoice the heart. This implies that there is no other joy true and solid but
that which proceeds from a good conscience; and of this we become partakers when we are
certainly persuaded that our life is pleasing and acceptable to God. No doubt, the source from which
true peace of conscience proceeds is faith, which freely reconciles us to God. But to the saints who
serve God with true affection of heart there arises unspeakable joy also, from the knowledge that
they do not labor in his service in vain, or without hope of recompense, since they have God as the
judge and approver of their life. In short, this joy is put in opposition to all the CORRUPT
enticements and pleasures of the world, which are a deadly bait, luring wretched souls to their
everlasting destruction. The import of the Psalmist’ language is, Those who take delight in
committing sin procure for themselves abundant matter of sorrow; but the observance of the law of
God, on the contrary, brings to man true joy. In the end of the verse, the Psalmist teaches that the
commandment of God is pure, enlightening the eyes By this he gives us tacitly to understand that it
is only in the commandments of God that we find the difference between good and evil laid down,
and that it is in vain to seek it elsewhere, since whatever men devise of themselves is mere filth and
refuse, CORRUPTING the purity of the life. He farther intimates that men, with all their
acuteness, are blind, and always wander in darkness, until they turn their eyes to the light of
heavenly doctrine. Whence it follows, that none are truly wise but those who take God for their
conductor and guide, following the path which he points out to them, and who are diligently seeking
after the peace which he offers and presents by his word.
But here a question of no small difficulty arises; for Paul seems entirely to overthrow these
commendations of the law which David here recites. How can these things agree together: that the
law restores the souls of men, while yet it is a dead and deadly letter? that it rejoices men’ hearts,
and yet, by bringing in the spirit of bondage, strikes them with terror? that it enlightens the eyes, and
yet, by casting a veil before our minds, excludes the light which ought to penetrate within? But, in
the first place, we must remember what I have shown you at the commencement, that David does
not speak simply of the precepts of the Moral Law, but comprehends the whole covenant by which
God had adopted the descendants of Abraham to be his peculiar people; and, therefore, to the
Moral Law, the rule of living well — he joins the free promises of salvation, or rather Christ himself,
in whom and upon whom this adoption was founded. But Paul, who had to deal with persons who
perverted and abused the law, and separated it from the grace and the Spirit of Christ, refers to the
ministry of Moses viewed merely by itself, and according to the letter. It is certain, that if the Spirit of
Christ does not quicken the law, the law is not only unprofitable, but also deadly to its disciples.
Without Christ there is in the law nothing but inexorable rigour, which adjudges all mankind to the
wrath and curse of God. And farther, without Christ, there remains within us a rebelliousness of the
flesh, which kindles in our hearts a hatred of God and of his law, and from this proceed the
distressing bondage and awful terror of which the Apostle speaks. These different ways in which the
law may be viewed, easily show us the manner of reconciling these passages of Paul and David,
which seem at first view to be at variance. The design of Paul is to show what the law can do for us,
taken by itself; that is to say, what it can do for us when, without the promise of grace, it strictly and
rigorously exacts from us the duty which we owe to God; but David, in praising it as he here does,

64. speaks of the whole doctrine of the law, which includes also the gospel, and, therefore, under the
law he comprehends Christ.
SPURGEO , “Ver. 8. The statutes of the Lord are right. His precepts and decrees are
founded in righteousness, and are such as are right or fitted to the right reason of man. As a
physician gives the right medicine, and a counsellor the right advice, so does the Book of
God.
Rejoicing the heart. Mark the progress; he who was converted was next made wise and is now
made happy; that truth which makes the heart right then gives joy to the right heart. Free grace
brings heart joy. Earthborn mirth dwells on the lip, and flushes the bodily powers; but heavenly
delights satisfy the inner nature, and fill the mental faculties to the brim. There is no cordial of
comfort like that which is poured from the bottle of Scripture.
"Retire and read thy Bible to be gay."
The commandment of the Lord is pure. No mixture of error defiles it, no stain of sin pollutes it; it
is the unadulterated milk, the undiluted wine.
Enlightening the eyes, purging away by its own purity the earthly grossness which mars the
intellectual discernment: whether the eye be dim with sorrow or with sin, the Scripture is a skilful
oculist, and makes the eye clear and bright. Look at the sun and it puts out your eyes, look at the
more than sunlight of Revelation and it enlightens them; the purity of snow causes snow blindness
to the Alpine traveller, but the purity of God's truth has the contrary effect, and cures the natural
blindness of the soul. It is well again to observe the gradation; the convert becomes a disciple and
next a rejoicing soul, he now obtains a discerning eye and as a spiritual man discerneth all things,
though he himself is discerned of no man.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Ver. 7-8. The testimony of the Lord is sure, enlightening the eyes, revealing the object,
ennobling the organ. Richard Stock.
Ver. 7-11. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:7" for further information.
Ver. 8. The statutes. Many divines and critics, and Castalio in particular, have endeavoured to
attach a distinct shade of meaning to the words, law, testimony, the statutes, commandments, fear,
judgments,occurring in this context. (hrwt), the law, has been considered to denote the perceptive
part of revelation. (twbe), the testimony, has been restricted to the doctrinal part. (Mydwqp), the
statutes, has been regarded as relating to such things as have been given in charge. (hwum), the
commandment, has been taken to express the general body of the divine law and doctrine.
(hary), religious fear. (Myjkvm), the judgments,the civil statutes of the Mosaic law, more particularly
the penal sanctions. John Morison.
Ver. 8. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. How odious is the profaneness of
those Christians who neglect the Holy Scriptures, and give themselves to reading other books! How
many precious hours do many spend, and that not only on work days, but holy days, in foolish
romances, fabulous histories, lascivious poems! And why this, but that they may be cheered and
delighted, when as full joy is only to be had in these holy books. Alas! the joy you find in those
writings is perhaps pernicious, such as tickles your lust, and promotes contemplative wickedness.
At the best it is but vain, such as only pleaseth the fancy and affecteth the wit; whereas those holy
writings (to use David's expression), are"right, rejoicing the heart." Again, are there not many who
more set by Plutarch's morals, Seneca's epistles, and such like books, than they do by the Holy
Scriptures? It is true, beloved, there are excellent truths in those moral writings of the heathen, but
yet they are far short of these sacred books. Those may comfort against outward trouble, but not
against inward fears; they may rejoice the mind, but cannot quiet the conscience; they may kindle
some flashy sparkles of joy, but they cannot warm the soul with a lasting fire of solid consolations.
And truly, brethren, if ever God give you a spiritual ear to judge of things aright, you will then
acknowledge there are no bells like to those of Aaron's, no harp like to that of David's, no trumpet
like to that of Isaiah's, no pipes like to those of the apostle's; and, you will confess with Petrus
Damianus, that those writings of heathen orators, philosophers, poets, which formerly were so
pleasing, are now dull and harsh in comparison of the comfort of the Scriptures. Nathanael Hardy,

65. D.D., 1618-1670.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Ver. 7-9. The Hexapla. See notes.
Ver. 8. (first clause). The heart cheering power of the Word.
1. Founded in its righteousness.
2. Real in its quality.
3. Constant in its operation.
Ver. 8. (second clause). Golden ointment for the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
BAR ES,”The fear of the Lord - The word rendered fear in this place - ‫יראה‬ yir'âh -
means properly fear, terror, Jon_1:10; then, reverence, or holy fear, Psa_2:11; Psa_5:7;
and hence, reverence toward God, piety, religion - in which sense it is often used.
Compare Pro_1:7; Job_28:28; Isa_11:2. Hence, by metonymy, it means the precepts of
piety or religion. It is used evidently in this sense here, as referring to revelation, or to
revealed truth, in the sense that it promotes proper reverence for God, or secures a
proper regard for his name and worship.
Is clean - The word used here - ‫טהור‬ ᑛâhôr - means properly clear, pure, in a physical
sense, as opposed to filthy, soiled; then, in a ceremonial sense, as opposed to that which
is profane or common Lev_13:17, and then, in a moral sense, as a clean heart, etc.,
Psa_12:6; Psa_51:10. It is also applied to pure gold, Exo_25:11. The sense here is, that
there is nothing in it that tends to corrupt the morals, or defile the soul. Everything
connected with it is of a pure or holy tendency, adapted to cleanse the soul and to make it
holy.
Enduring for ever - Standing to all eternity. Not temporary; not decaying; not
destined to pass away. It stands firm now, and it will stand firm for ever. That is, the law
of God, considered as adapted to make the heart holy and pure, is eternal. What it is now
it will always be. What its teaching is now it will continue to be forever.
The judgments of the Lord - The word here rendered judgments refers also to the
revealed truth of God, with the idea that that has been judged or determined by him to be
right and to be best. It is the result of the divine adjudication as to what is true, and what
is best for man. The word is often used in this sense. Compare Exo_21:1; Lev_18:5;
Lev_26:43; compare Psa_9:7, Psa_9:16; Psa_10:5.
Are true - Margin, truth. So the Hebrew. That is, they accord entirely with the truth,

66. or are a correct representation of the reality of things. They are not arbitrary, but are in
accordance with what is right. This supposes that there is such a thing as truth in itself,
and the divine law conforms to that; not that God determines a thing by mere will, and
that it is, therefore, right. God is infinitely perfect, and what he does will be always right,
for that is in, accordance with his nature; but still his judgments are right, not because he
makes that to be right which is determined by his will, but because his will is always in
accordance with what is right.
And righteous altogether - That is, they are, without exception, just; or, they are
altogether or wholly righteous. There is no one of them which is not just and proper. All
that God determines, whether in giving or in executing his laws - all in his requirements,
and all in the administration of his government - is always and wholly righteous. It is
precisely what it should be in the case, and is, therefore, worthy of universal confidence.
CLARKE, “The fear of the Lord - ‫יראה‬ yirah, from ‫ירא‬ yara, to fear, to venerate; often
put for the whole of Divine worship. The reverence we owe to the Supreme Being.
Is clean - ‫טהורה‬ tehorah, from ‫טהר‬ tahar, to be pure, clean; not differing much from
‫ברה‬ barah, (see above), to be clean and bright as the heavens; as purified Silver. Its object
is to purge away all defilement, to make a spotless character.
Enduring for ever - ‫לעד‬ ‫עומדת‬ omedeth laad, standing up to Perpetuity. The fear that
prevents us from offending God, that causes us to reverence him, and is the beginning as
it is the safeguard of wisdom, must be carried all through life. No soul is safe for a
moment without it. It prevents departure from God, and keeps that clean which God has
purified. This is Its use.
The judgments of the Lord - ‫משפטים‬ mishpatim, from ‫שפת‬ shaphat, he judged,
regulated, disposed, All God’s regulations, all his decisions; what he has pronounced to
be right and proper.
Are true - ‫אמת‬ emeth, truth, from ‫אם‬ am, to support, confirm, make stable, and certain.
This is the character of God’s judgments. They shall all stand. All dispensations in providence
and grace confirm them; they are certain, and have a fixed character.
And righteous altogether -And righteous altogether -And righteous altogether -And righteous altogether - They are not only according to truth; but they are righteous, ‫צדקו‬
tsadeku, they give to all their due. They show what belongs to God, to man, and to
ourselves. And hence the word altogether, ‫יחדו‬ yachdav, equally, is added; or truth and
righteousness united.
GILL, “The fear of the Lord is clean,.... Still the word of God is intended, which
teaches men to fear the Lord; gives a full account of the worship of God, which is often
meant by the fear of God; it instructs in the matter and manner of worship; and nothing
more powerfully engages to serve the Lord with reverence and godly fear than the Gospel
does: and this is "clean"; and the doctrines of it direct to the blood of Christ, which
cleanses from all sin, and to the righteousness of Christ, the fine linen, clean and white;
the promises of it put the saints on cleansing themselves from all filthiness of flesh and

67. spirit; and the whole of it is the word of truth, by which God and Christ sanctify the
church and the members of it, Joh_15:2. And this word is
enduring for ever; the law is done away; the ceremonial law entirely, and the moral
law, as a covenant of works, and as to the ministration of it by Moses; but the Gospel
continues; it is an everlasting one; it endures for ever, notwithstanding all the opposition
made to it by open persecution, or false teachers;
the judgments of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether; "the judgments
of the Lord" are the same with "the word of God", as appears from Psa_119:25; and these
seem to design that part of the word, which contains rules of God's judging and
governing his people; or the laws, orders, and ordinances of Christ in his house, which
his people should observe, and yield a cheerful obedience to, he being their King, Judge,
and Lawgiver: and these are "true", or "truth" (g) itself; being wisely made, according to
the truth of things, and agreeable to the holiness and righteousness of God, and so
righteous; not at all
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.
The Word of God enduring forever
We are to consider the abiding and habitual effect of the Word of God upon believing
hearts. And this effect is expressed in this phrase, “the fear of the Lord.” Note what is
said of it.
I. It is clean—its purity. It is so, because it is the only true and sound basis of a due social
regard to man, and the only valid bond of union, whether domestic, private, or public.
Every believer ought to bear witness to the cleansing, purifying power of the fear of the
Lord.
II. Its perpetuity—“enduring forever.” This tells of the effect of the principle rather than
of the principle itself, though this latter is not to be omitted. But in its effects it is
consistent, unswerving, abiding, all-powerful. It enters into the man, and goes with him
wherever he goes. He cannot and would not shake it off. And its effects are eternal, they
can never pass away. And all may possess it, through Christ. It shall be for your peace
here and happiness hereafter. (Thomas Dale, M. A.)
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
The Word of God altogether true and righteous
I. Consider these judgments as matters of fact. Take—
1. The expulsion of our first parents from Eden. None can understand why God
created man capable of falling, and foreknowing that he would fall. But this does not
say that God made him on purpose that he should fall. This would be to assume that
we know all God’s purpose in creating man, which we do not. We cannot reconcile
the supremacy of God and the free agency of man. It is of no use to attempt to be
“wise above what is written,” but our duty is to take man as he is—capable of
understanding and obeying God’s command, which Adam unquestionably was. There
was in him no moral difficulty as in us, since the imagination of his heart was not, as
ours, “evil continually.” We must deplore the instability of the man, bat we cannot on
that account take exception to the judgments of the Lord. And the transmission to
offspring of the properties of the parent—this law had been ordained before this fatal

68. event, and what right have we to think that He who made all things “very good”
should remodel or reverse His laws in consequence of that event? Hence, although
“in Adam all die,” was it unrighteous in God to act in accordance with His own
previously established law? Adam himself caused, of his own choice, that it should
work ill to him and his. But are we to blame God for that?
2. The judgment upon Cain. Surely this was far less than he deserved. And the gate of
mercy and of grace was not closed upon him.
3. The deluge, the overthrow of Jerusalem, and many others. In reference to each of
these we might prove it to be “altogether righteous.” For by righteous we understand
perfect consistency with previous revelations given by God—with the laws enacted
and bearing on each case, and with the penalties threatened by God and consciously
incurred by man. And when men object to these judgments they do not attempt to
justify the conduct of the sinner, but only to condemn the law under which, and the
Judge by whom, he was condemned. They affirm that God is without compassion for
human frailty, and without consideration for human folly.
II. As matters of faith—they are altogether true. Necessarily, many of the judgments of
God are matters of faith. For the interpositions of God, though sometimes seen in the
crisis and agony of nations, are, in the case of individuals, scarcely, if at all, discernible.
III. In their bearing upon ourselves. As we cannot impeach God’s righteousness in His
judgments in the past, can we, in what we expect in the future, doubt His truth?
Meantime “the victory that overcometh the world is this, even our faith.” (Thomas Dale,
M. A.)
E-SWORD, ““The fear of the Lord is clean.” The doctrine of truth is here
described by its spiritual effect, viz., inward piety, or the fear of the Lord;
this is clean in itself, and cleanses out the love of sin, sanctifying the heart in
which it reigns, Mr. Godly-fear is never satisfied till every street, lane, and
alley, yea, and every house and every corner of the town of Mansoul is clean
rid of the Diabolonians who lurk therein. “Enduring for ever.” Filth brings
decay, but cleanness is the great foe of corruption. The grace of God in the
heart being a pure principle is also an abiding and incorruptible principle,
which may be crushed for a time, but cannot be utterly destroyed. Both in
the Word and in the heart, when the Lord writes, he says with Pilate, “What
I have written, I have written;” he will make no erasures himself, much less
suffer others to do so. The revealed will of God is never changed; even Jesus
came not to destroy but to fulfil, and even the ceremonial law was only
changed as to its shadow, the substance intended by it is eternal. When the
governments of nations are shaken with revolution, and ancient
constitutions are being repealed, it is comforting to know that the throne of
God is unshaken, and his law unaltered.
“The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether;” - jointly and
severally the words of the Lord are true; that which is good in detail is excellent in the
mass; no exception may be taken to a single clause separately, or to the book as a whole.
God's judgments, all of them together, or each of them apart, are manifestly just, and
need no laborious excuses to justify them. The judicial decisions of Jehovah, as revealed
in the law, or illustrated in the history of his providence, are truth itself, and commend
themselves to every truthful mind; not only is their power invincible, but their justice is

69. unimpeachable.
CALVI , “9.The fear of Jehovah is clean. By the fear of God we are here to understand the way
in which God is to be served; and therefore it is taken in an active sense for the doctrine which
prescribes to us the manner in which we ought to fear God. The way in which men generally
manifest their fear of God, is by inventing false religions and a vitiated worship; in doing which they
only so much the more provoke his wrath. David, therefore, here indirectly condemns
these CORRUPT inventions, about which men torment themselves in vain, (456) and which
often sanction impurity; and in opposition to them he justly affirms, that in the keeping of the law
there is an exemption from every thing which defiles. He adds, that it endures for ever; as if he had
said, This is the treasure of everlasting happiness. We see how mankind, without well thinking what
they are doing, pursue, with impetuous and ardent affections, the transitory things of this world; but,
in thus catching at the empty shadow of a happy life, they lose true happiness itself. In the second
clause, by calling the commandments of God truth, David shows that whatever men undertake to do
at the mere suggestion of their own minds, without having a regard to the law of God as a rule, is
error and falsehood. And, indeed, he could not have more effectually stirred us up to love, and
zealously to live ACCORDING to the law, than by giving us this warning, that all those who order
their life, without having any respect to the law of God, deceive themselves, and follow after mere
delusions. Those who explain the word judgments, as referring only to the commandments of the
second table, are, in my opinion, mistaken: for David’ purpose was to commend, under a variety of
expressions, the advantages which the faithful receive from the law of God. When he says, They
are justified together, the meaning is, They are all righteous from the greatest to the least, without a
single exception. By this commendation he distinguishes the law of God from all the doctrines of
men, for no blemish or fault can be found in it, but it is in all points absolutely perfect.
(456) “Apres lesquelles LES HOMMES se tourmentent en vain.” — Fr.
SPURGEO , “Ver. 9. The fear of the Lord is clean. The doctrine of truth is here described
grace of God in the heart being a pure principle, is also an abiding and incorruptible principle, which
may be crushed for a time, but cannot be utterly destroyed. Both in the Word and in the heart, when
the Lord writes, he says with Pilate, "What I have written, I have written; "he will make no erasures
himself, much less suffer others to do so. The revealed will of God is never changed; even Jesus
came not to destroy but to fulfil, and even the ceremonial law was only changed as to its shadow,
the substance intended by it is eternal. When the governments of nations are shaken with
revolution, and ancient constitutions are being repealed, it is comforting to know that the throne of
God is unshaken, and his law unaltered.
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether; � jointly and severally the
words of the Lord are true; that which is good in detail is excellent in the mass; no exception may be
taken to a single clause separately, or to the book as a whole. God's judgments, all of them
together, or each of them apart, are manifestly just, and need no laborious excuses to justify them.
The judicial decisions of Jehovah, as revealed in the law, or illustrated in the history of his
providence, are truth itself, and commend themselves to every truthful mind; not only is their power
invincible, but their justice is unimpeachable.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Ver. 7-11. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:7" for further information.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Ver. 7-9. The Hexapla. See notes.

70. Ver. 9. The purity and permanence of true religion, and the truth and justice of the principles upon
which it is founded.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
BAR ES,”More to be desired are they than gold - That is, his law; or, as in the
preceding verse, his judgments. They are more valuable than gold; they are of such a
nature that the soul should more desire to be in possession of them than to be in
possession of gold, and should value them more. The psalmist here and in the following
verses describes his estimate of the worth of revealed truth as he perceived it. In the
previous verses he had shown its value in the abstract; he here speaks of his own feelings
in regard to it, and shows that he esteems it more than he did the objects most prized
and valued among men.
Yea, than much fine gold - The word used here - ‫פז‬ pâz - means properly that
which is purified or pure, and thus becomes an epithet of gold, particularly of gold that is
purified. It is rendered fine gold here, as in Psa_119:127; Pro_8:19; Son_5:11, Son_5:15;
Isa_13:12; Lam_4:2; and pure gold in Psa_21:3. The word does not occur elsewhere.
Gold is an article of principal value among men; and the object here is to show that to a
pious mind the revealed truth of God is esteemed to be the most valuable of all things - a
treasure above all which men can accumulate, and all which men can prize. Every truly
pious heart will respond to the sentiment expressed here.
Sweeter also than honey - Honey, the sweetest of all substances, and regarded as
an article of luxury, or as most grateful to the taste. It entered largely into the food of the
inhabitants of Palestine, as it does now in Switzerland and in some parts of Africa. The
idea is that the truth of God, as revealed, is more grateful to the heart, or affords more
pleasure to the soul, than that which is esteemed as the highest luxury to the palate. The
meaning is, that it is loved; it is pleasant; it is agreeable; it is not regarded merely as
necessary, and admitted to the soul because it is needful, as medicine is, but it is received
into the soul because it is delighted in, or is more agreeable and pleasant than the most
luscious article of food is to the taste. To this, also, the heart of every one who “has tasted
the good word of God” will respond.
And the honeycomb - Margin, dropping of honeycombs. So the Hebrew. The
allusion is to honey that drops from the combs, and therefore the most pure honey. That
which is pressed from the combs will have almost inevitably a mixture of bee-bread and
of the combs themselves. That which naturally flows from the comb will be pure.

71. CLARKE, “More to be desired are they than gold - This is strictly true; but who
believes it? By most men gold is preferred both to God and his judgments; and they will
barter every heavenly portion for gold and silver!
Sweeter also than honey - To those whose mental taste is rectified, who have a
spiritual discernment.
Honey-comb - Honey is sweet; but honey just out of the comb has a sweetness,
richness and flavour, far beyond what it has after it becomes exposed to the air. Only
those who have eaten of honey from the comb can feel the force of the psalmist’s
comparison: it is better than gold, yea, than fine gold in the greatest quantity; it is
sweeter than honey, yea, than honey from the comb.
GILL, “More to be desired are they than gold,.... This refers to all the truths in the
word of God; to all the doctrines of the Gospel; which, by good men, are more desirable,
and by them more prized and valued, than all worldly riches and treasure;
yea, than much fine gold: more than gold, and the best of gold, and a great deal of it,
than thousands of gold and silver; see Psa_119:72, Pro_8:10;
sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb; or "the dropping of the
honeycombs" (h), which is the purest and sweetest of the honey; and what honey is to the
natural taste of men, that is the Gospel, and the truths of it, to the spiritual taste of
believers, Psa_119:103; and when the presence of Christ is enjoyed, his love is shed
abroad, and the blessings of his grace are partook of, the ordinances of the Gospel are
very delightful, Son_2:3; eloquence, and eloquent orators, are sometimes described by
mellifluous words; or by their expressions being like honey, and sweeter than that (i).
HE RY, “ He expresses the great value he had for the word of God, and the
great advantage he had, and hoped to have, from it, Psa_19:10, Psa_19:11.
1. See how highly he prized the commandments of God. It is the character of all good
people that they prefer their religion and the word of God, (1.) Far before all the wealth
of the world. It is more desirable than gold, than fine gold, than much fine gold. Gold is
of the earth, earthly; but grace is the image of the heavenly. Gold is only for the body and
the concerns of time; but grace is for the soul and the concerns of eternity. (2.) Far before
all pleasures and delights of sense. The word of God, received by faith, is sweet to the
soul, sweeter than honey and the honey comb. The pleasures of sense are the delight of
brutes, and therefore debase the great soul of man; the pleasures of religion are the
delight of angels, and exalt the soul. The pleasures of sense are deceitful, will soon
surfeit, and yet never satisfy; but those of religion are substantial and satisfying, and
there is no danger of exceeding in them.
2. See what use he made of the precepts of God's word: By them is thy servant
warned. The word of God is a word of warning to the children of men; it warns us of the
duty we are to do, the dangers we are to avoid, and the deluge we are to prepare for,
Eze_3:17; Eze_33:7. It warns the wicked not to go on in his wicked way, and warns the
righteous not to turn from his good way. All that are indeed God's servants take this
warning.

72. E-SWORD, ““More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold.” Bible
truth is enriching to the soul in the highest degree; the metaphor is one which gathers
force as it is brought out; - gold - fine gold - much fine gold; it is good, better, best, and
therefore it is not only to be desired with a miser's avidity, but with more than that. As
spiritual treasure is more noble than mere material wealth, so should it be desired and
sought after with greater eagerness. Men speak of solid gold, but what is so solid as solid
truth? For love of gold pleasure is forsworn, ease renounced, and life endangered; shall
we not be ready to do as much for love of truth? “Sweeter also than honey and the
honeycomb.” Trapp says, “Old people are all for profit, the young for pleasure; here's
gold for the one, yea, the finest gold in great quantity; here's honey for the other, yea, live
honey dropping from the comb.” The pleasures arising from a right understanding of the
divine testimonies are of the most delightful order; earthly enjoyments are utterly
contemptible, if compared with them. The sweetest joys, yea, the sweetest of the sweetest
falls to his portion who has God's truth to be his heritage.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, “More to be desired are they than gold.
The Holy Scriptures
I. The excellence of the holy scriptures. None are ignorant of the value of money. Money
gives access to every other possession. Point out the vanity of riches. They cannot benefit
the possessor beyond this life. They are unsatisfying in their nature. The attainment of
them is only within the reach of a few in every community. And they bring temptations to
sin. Then, is not the Word of God more to be desired than gold?
II. The way to know the value of Scripture, and to taste its sweetness. Many are but
formal readers. To read aright, you must be renewed in the spirit of your minds. There
must be a Divine illumination. Pray more for the Spirit’s influence. If we would
understand the value of the Scriptures, we shall find it useful to reflect upon their
designs and our circumstances. And we must read them with patient perseverance.
(Carus Wilson.)
The Bible valued above all else
On yon stormy shore, where, amid the wreck the night had wrought, and the waves, still
thundering as they sullenly retire, had left on the beach, lies the naked form of a
drowned sailor boy. He had stripped for one last, brave fight for life, and wears nought
but a handkerchief bound round his cold breast. Insensible to pity, and unawed by the
presence of death, those who sought the wreck, as vultures swoop down on their prey,
rushed on the body, and tore away the handkerchief—tore it open, certain that it held
within its folds gold, his little fortune, something very valuable for a man in such an hour
to say, I’ll sink or swim with it. They were right. But it was not gold. It was the poor lad’s
Bible—also a parting gift, and the more precious that it was a mother’s.
The priceless worth of the Bible
A Christian soldier told us of a comrade who called the Bible “his Klondyke,” and, as
samples of what he called “good lumps of gold,” gave us Psa_91:15. “I will answer him. I
will be with him . . . I will deliver him . . . satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” Let us
put in for a claim in this Klondyke, and dig for its hid treasures.
The excellence of the Scriptures

73. I. The important discoveries which the Scriptures contain. They make known to us the
glory of the invisible God, as a pure and perfect Spirit, infinite, eternal, and
unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. An
explicit revelation of His will to man, and of the manner in which He requires to be
worshipped and served. Here is discovered to us our once innocent and exalted, but now
guilty and fallen, state. Here is made known to us the way of salvation, by which we may
be restored to the favour, the image, and the enjoyment of God.
II. The effects which they produce upon the condition of mankind. Even in respect of
outward civilisation much advantage has arisen to the world from the introduction of the
Scriptures. Even where they are not attended with saving efficacy they are often seen to
produce a considerable influence upon the external manners, and sometimes too upon
the inward dispositions of men. But the transcendent excellence of the Scriptures is
peculiarly manifested in their efficacy, when accompanied with the influence of Divine
grace. The Scriptures are the means of spiritual illumination, of conversion and
regeneration, of sanctification and a meetness for eternal life.
III. The admirable adaption of the scriptures to the various circumstances of men. Here
is something suited to every rank and every age. The Scriptures set forth a perfect rule of
duty, with which no system of heathen morality is once to be compared, and they exhibit
incitements and encouragements, as well as examples of holiness, which are nowhere
else to be found. Their excellency is especially seen in their tendency and efficacy to
afford consolation in time of trouble and in the prospect of death. Lessons—
1. Admire the distinguishing goodness of God toward us.
2. Diligently use God’s gift.
3. Recognise the obligation to circulate the Scriptures among our fellow men. (D.
Dickson.)
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
The Bible sweeter than honey
Among the insects which subsist on the sweet sap of flowers there are two very different
classes. One is remarkable for its imposing plumage, which shows in the sunbeams like
the dust of gems; and as you watch its jaunty gyrations over the fields, and its minuet
dance from flower to flower, you cannot help admiring its graceful activity. In the same
field there is another worker, whose brown vest and straightforward flight may not have
arrested your eye. His fluttering neighbour darts down here and there, and sips elegantly
wherever he can find a drop of ready nectar; but this dingy plodder makes a point of
alighting everywhere, and wherever he alights he either finds honey or makes it. What is
the end? The one died last October along with the flower; the other is warm in his hive
tonight, amidst the fragrant stores which he gathered beneath the bright beams of
summer. Honey is the sweetest of all substances, and the ancients, who were
unacquainted with sugar, attached even more importance to it than we do. “A land
flowing with milk and honey” presented the very strongest attractions to the Oriental
taste. The idea conveyed by the text is this: that the truth of God, as revealed to us in the
Bible, affords more real pleasure to the soul than that which epicures consider the most
desirable luxury does to the palate. In that remarkable book, The Eclipse of Faith, there
is a chapter entitled “The Blank Bible,” in which the author describes a dream, wherein
he fancied that on taking up his Greek Testament one morning, to read his accustomed

74. chapter, the old familiar volume seemed to be a total blank. Supposing that some book
like it had, by accident, got into its place, he did not stop to hunt it up, but took down a
large copy of the Bible, and this, to his amazement, proved also to be a blank from
beginning to end. While musing on this unaccountable phenomenon, his servant came in
and said that thieves must have been in the house during the night, since her Bible had
been carried off, and another volume of the same size, but containing but blank paper,
had been left in its place. The dreamer then went forth into the street, and heard a
similar report from all whom he met. It was curious to observe the different effect of this
calamity on the various characters whom he encountered. An interest, almost universal,
was now felt for a book which had hitherto been sadly undervalued. Some to whom their
Bible had been a “blank” book for twenty years, and who would never have known
whether it was full or empty but for the lamentations of their neighbours, were among
the loudest in their expressions of sorrow. In marked contrast with these was the sincere
regret of an aged woman, long kept a prisoner in her narrow chamber by sickness, and to
whom the Bible had been, as to so many thousands more, her faithful companion ill
solitude. I found her gazing intently on the blank Bible (says our author), which had been
so recently bright to her with the lustre of immortal hopes. She burst into tears as she
saw me. “And has your faith left you too, nay gentle friend?” said
I. “No,” she answered; “and I trust it never will. He who has taken away the Bible has not
taken away my memory, and I now recall all that is most precious in that book which has
so long been my meditation. I think I can say that I loved it more than any possession on
earth.” Even the warnings of the Bible are wholesome for us, for by them we are made to
know our own evil. Merle d’Aubigne, during a visit to England, related an incident which
happened in 1855, in connection with the circulation of the Bible among soldiers. A
colporteur reached Toulon just as the French troops were embarking for the Crimea. He
offered a Testament to a soldier, who asked what book it was. “The Word of God,” was
the answer. “Let me have it, then,” said the man; and when he had received it he added
most irreverently, “it will do very well to light my pipe.” The colporteur felt sorry that a
book which might have been of service to somebody had been thus thrown away; but
there was no help for it, and he went his way. About a year later he happened to be in the
interior of France, and took lodging at an inn, where he found the family in great
distress, from the recent death of a son. The poor mother explained that the young man
had been wounded in the Crimean War, and had only been able to reach home to die. “I
have much consolation,” she added; “he was so peaceful and happy, and he brought
comfort to his father and to me.” “How was this?” asked the colporteur. “Oh,” she said,
“he found all his comfort in one little book, which he had always with him.” So saying,
she showed him a soiled copy of the New Testament (the very one which he himself had
given to the reckless young soldier), and read on the inside of the cover, “Received at
Toulon (with the date), despised, neglected, read, believed, and found salvation.”
“Sweeter than honey” are these Divine oracles of God, and “in keeping of them there is
great reward.” (Anon.)
CALVI , “10.More to be desired are they than gold. The Psalmist now exalts the law of God
both on ACCOUNT of its price and sweetness. This commendation depends on the
commendations given in the preceding verses; for the many and great advantages which he has
just now enumerated, ought justly to make us account heavenly truth the highest and most excellent
treasure, and to despise, when compared with it, all the gold and silver of the world. Instead of the
word fine gold, which the Latins have called Aurum obryzum, (458) some render the Hebrew
word a jewel, orprecious stones, (459) but the other translation is more generally received,

75. namely, fine gold, that is, gold which is pure and well refined in the furnace; and there are many
passages of Scripture by which this rendering is confirmed. (460) The Hebrew word ‫,פז‬ paz, is
derived from ‫,פזה‬ pazah, which signifies to strengthen; (461) from which we may conjecture that the
Psalmist does not mean the gold of any particular country, as if one should say the gold of Ophir,
but gold completely refined and purified by art. So far is ‫,פז‬ paz, from being derived from the name
of a country, that, on the contrary, it appears from Jer_10:9, that the land of Uphaz took its name
from this Hebrew word, because it had in it mines of the finest gold. As to the origin of the
wordobrizum, which the Latins have used, we cannot say any thing with certainty, except
that, ACCORDING to the conjecture of Jerome, it signifies brought from the land of Ophir, as if it
had been said, aurum Ophrizum. In short, the sense is, that we do not esteem the law as it
deserves, if we do not prefer it to all the riches of the world. If we are once brought thus highly to
prize the law, it will serve effectually to deliver our hearts from an immoderate desire of gold and
silver. To this esteem of the law there must be added love to it, and delight in it, so that it may not
only subdue us to obedience by constraint, but also allure us by its sweetness; a thing which is
impossible, unless, at the same time, we have mortified in us the love of carnal pleasures, with
which it is not wonderful to see us enticed and ensnared, so long as we reject, through a vitiated
taste, the righteousness of God. From this we may again deduce another evidence, that David’
discourse is not to be understood simply of the commandments, and of the dead letter, but that he
comprehends, at the same time, the promises by which the grace of God is offered to us. If the law
did nothing else but command us, how could it be loved, since in commanding it terrifies us,
because we all fail in keeping it? (462) Certainly, if we separate the law from the hope of pardon,
and from the Spirit of Christ, so far from tasting it to be sweet as honey, we will rather find in it a
bitterness which kills our wretched souls.
(458) “Lequel les Latins ont nomm, Aurum obryzum ” —Fr.
(459) The rendering of the Septuagint is, λιθον τιµιον, precious stone; and in Psa_119:127, they
translate the same Hebrew word, τοπαζιον, a topaz, which is a precious stone. This last Greek
word, according to Hesychius, is derived from the Hebrew word ‫,פז‬ paz.
(460) The word is evidently used for fine gold in Psa_21:3, and Job_28:17.
(461) Or to consolidate: and hence ‫,פז‬ paz, means solid gold, or gold “ purified” for the more it is
purified, it is the more solid, and consequently of greater weight and value.
(462) “Veu qu’ commandant elle nous espouante, a cause que nous deraillons tous en l’ d’ ?” — Fr.
E-SWORD, ““More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine
gold.” Bible truth is enriching to the soul in the highest degree; the
metaphor is one which gathers force as it is brought out; - gold - fine gold -
much fine gold; it is good, better, best, and therefore it is not only to be
desired with a miser's avidity, but with more than that. As spiritual treasure
is more noble than mere material wealth, so should it be desired and sought
after with greater eagerness. Men speak of solid gold, but what is so solid as
solid truth? For love of gold pleasure is forsworn, ease renounced, and life
endangered; shall we not be ready to do as much for love of truth? “Sweeter
also than honey and the honeycomb.” Trapp says, “Old people are all for
profit, the young for pleasure; here's gold for the one, yea, the finest gold in
great quantity; here's honey for the other, yea, live honey dropping from the
comb.” The pleasures arising from a right understanding of the divine

76. testimonies are of the most delightful order; earthly enjoyments are utterly
contemptible, if compared with them. The sweetest joys, yea, the sweetest of
the sweetest falls to his portion who has God's truth to be his heritage.
SBC, “I. The value of the law, as compared with gold, may be measured by
the good it does; its honey sweetness by its manner of doing it.
II. The twofold commendation of the law in ver. 10 may be taken in connection with what
follows as well as with what goes before (ver. 11). (1) "By them is Thy servant warned."
This makes them in my esteem more to be desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold. If
I am the servant of Jehovah, I desire to be continually warned, admonished at every step,
reminded of duty, cautioned against danger. (2) "And in keeping of them there is great
reward." This explains their being sweeter than honey. The service is the reward begun;
the reward is the service perfected. In serving now, amid whatever sufferings, I have a
taste of heaven’s joy.
R. S. Candlish, The Gospel of Forgiveness, p. 153.
SPURGEO , “Ver. 10. More to be desired are they than fine gold, yea, than much fine
gold. Bible truth is enriching to the soul in the highest degree; the metaphor is one which
gathers force as it is brought out; �gold�fine gold�much fine gold; it is good, better,
best, and therefore it is not only to be desired with a miser's avidity, but with more than that.
As spiritual treasure is more noble than mere material wealth, so should it be desired and
sought after with greater eagerness. Men speak of solid gold, but what is so solid as solid
truth? For love of gold pleasure is forsworn, ease renounced, and life endangered; shall we
not be ready to do as much for love of truth?
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Trapp says, "Old people are all for profit, the
young for pleasure; here's gold for the one, yea, the finest gold in great quantity; here's honey for
the other, yea, live honey dropping from the comb." The pleasures arising from a right
understanding of the divine testimonies are of the most delightful order; earthly enjoyments are
utterly contemptible, if compared with them. The sweetest joys, yea, the sweetest of the sweetest
falls to his portion who has God's truth to be his heritage.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Ver. 7-11. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:7" for further information.
Ver. 10. Sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Love the word written. Psalms 119:97. "Oh,
how love I thy law!" "Lord, "said Augustine, "let the holy Scriptures be my chaste delight."
Chrysostom compares the Scripture to a garden, every truth is a fragrant flower, which we should
wear, not on our bosom, but in our heart. David counted the word "sweeter than honey and the
honeycomb." There is that in Scripture which may breed delight. It shows us the way to riches: De
28:5, Proverbs 3:10; to long life:Psalms 34:12; to a kingdom: Hebrews 12:28. Well, then, may we
count those the sweetest hours which are spent in reading the holy Scriptures; well may we say with
the prophet (Jeremiah 15:16), "Thy words were found and I did eat them; and they were the joy and
rejoicing of my heart." Thomas Watson.
Ver. 10. Sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. There is no difference made amongst us
between the delicacy of honey in the comb and that which is separated from it. From the information
of Dr. Halle, concerning the diet of the Moors of Barbary, we learn that they esteem honey a very
wholesome breakfast, "and the most delicious that which is in the comb with the young bees in it,
before they come out of their cases, whilst they still look milk white." (Miscellanea Curiosa vol. 3. pg
382.) The distinction made by the psalmist is then perfectly just and conformable to custom and
practice, at least of more modern, and probably, equally so of ancient times. Samuel Burder, A.M.,
in "Oriental Customs, "1812.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER

77. Ver. 10. Two arguments for loving God's statutes�Profit and Pleasure.
Ver. 10. The inexpressible delights of meditation on Scripture.
11 By them YOUR servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great REWARD.
BAR ES,”Moreover by them is thy servant warned - The word used here - ‫זהר‬
zâhar - means, properly, to be bright, to shine; then, to cause to shine, to make light; and
then, to admonish, to instruct, to warn. The essential idea here is, to throw light on a
subject, so as to show it clearly; that is, to make the duty plain, and the consequences
plain. Compare Lev_15:31; Eze_3:18; Eze_33:7. The word is rendered admonished in
Ecc_4:13; Ecc_12:12; warn, and warned, in Psa_19:11; 2Ki_6:10; 2Ch_19:10; Eze_3:17-
21; Eze_33:3-9; teach, in Exo_18:20; and shine, in Dan_12:3. It does not occur
elsewhere.
And in keeping of them there is great reward - Either as the result of keeping
them, or in the act of keeping them. In the former sense it would mean that a careful
observance of the laws of God will be followed by rewards hereafter; in the other sense,
that the act of keeping them will be attended with so much peace and happiness as to
constitute of itself an ample reward. In both these senses is the assertion here made a
correct one. Both will be found to be true. It is not easy to determine which is the true
sense. Perhaps the language implies both. The phrase “thy servant” refers to the author
of the psalm, and shows that in this part of the psalm, in speaking of the “sweetness” of
the law of God, and of its value as perceived by the soul, and of the effect of keeping that
law, he is referring to his own experience.
CLARKE, “By them is thy servant warned - ‫נזהר‬ nizhar, from ‫זהר‬ zahar, to be clear,
pellucid. By these laws, testimonies, etc., thy servant is fully instructed; he sees all
clearly; and he discerns that in keeping of them there is great reward: every man is wise,
holy, and happy, who observes them. All Christian experience confirms this truth.
Reader, what says thine?
GILL, “Moreover, by them is thy servant warned,.... By whom the psalmist
means himself, who was the servant of the Lord, not only in common with other saints,
but as he was a king and prophet, and as such he received advantage from the word of
God; all his instructions as a prophet, and all his rules of government as a king; and the
whole of that wisdom, prudence, and knowledge, with which the conducted in both
offices, were from the Lord by his word: and it may be applied to any servant of the Lord,
and especially in an ecclesiastical office, as an apostle of Christ, and minister of the word;
who serve God in the Gospel of his Son, and, by means of the Scriptures, are furnished

78. for every good work; and also to believers in Christ in common; who, of whatsoever rank
and quality, in whatsoever state and condition of life, whether high or low, rich or poor,
bond or free, are Christ's servants; and whatsoever is written is for their instruction, and
by the word of God they are "warned"; the Scriptures are a way mark to them, to direct
them in a right way, and to caution them against turning to the right or left; either to
immoral practices, or the errors and heresies of wicked men: it is a lamp to their feet,
and a light to their path, and teaches them to walk circumspectly, and warns them of
rocks, gins, and snares in the way; or, as the words may be rendered, "by them is thy
servant made clear", or "bright" (k); so the word is used in Dan_12:3; that is, in his
understanding: the psalmist confirms, by his own experience, what he had said before of
the word, Psa_19:8; that it enlightened the eyes: the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ
shining into the heart gives the light of the glory of God in the person of Christ; it
illuminates and irradiates the mind, and gives clear ideas of the glory and perfections of
God, of his counsels and covenant, of his works of nature and of grace; and makes a
bright discovery of the person, offices, and grace of Christ; and of the blessed Spirit, and
his operations; and of the blessings of grace, and of eternal glory and happiness;
and in keeping of them there is great reward; which is to be understood, not of
keeping the law of Moses, and the precepts of that, which, if a man did keep perfectly and
constantly, he should live in them; but of observing the word of God, and by diligent
searching into it, reading and learning it, and meditating on it, to get and obtain
knowledge of divine things; which carries its own reward with it, and is better than
thousands of gold and silver; and of laying up the word of God, and the truths of the
Gospel, and keeping them in mind and memory, which is very profitable and serviceable,
to promote spiritual peace and comfort, and to preserve from sin, doctrinal and
practical; and also of yielding a cheerful obedience to the Gospel, by cordially embracing
and professing the doctrines, and submitting to the ordinances of it; from all which arise
great profit, and much reward: such come at the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which is
preferable to everything else, and is more precious than rubies; and all desirable things;
such enjoy the presence of Christ, have much peace and comfort in their souls; they are
made wise unto salvation, and are fitted for every good word and work.
HE RY, “See what use he made of the precepts of God's word: By them is
thy servant warned. The word of God is a word of warning to the children of
men; it warns us of the duty we are to do, the dangers we are to avoid, and
the deluge we are to prepare for, Eze_3:17; Eze_33:7. It warns the wicked
not to go on in his wicked way, and warns the righteous not to turn from his
good way. All that are indeed God's servants take this warning.
3. See what advantage he promised himself by his obedience to God's precepts: In
keeping them there is great reward. Those who make conscience of their duty will not
only be no losers by it, but unspeakable gainers. There is a reward, not only after
keeping, but in keeping, God's commandments, a present great reward of obedience.
Religion is health and honour; it is peace and pleasure; it will make our comforts sweet
and our crosses easy, life truly valuable and death itself truly desirable.
SBC, “St. Paul says, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all
men most miserable." Where then is the reward, the great present reward,
in keeping God’s commandments? If an uninspired writer had affirmed that
the most miserable being in creation would be a Christian supposing him
without hopes for the future, there would have been uttered on all hands a

79. vehement contradiction; the disciples of Christ would have pressed eagerly
forward, attesting the possession of such a measure of gladness and peace
that if deceived for hereafter, the advantage was on the side of the
deception.
I. It were nothing to prove to the lukewarm professor that there should be no
resurrection; he has never known the ecstasies of piety, and therefore he feels not the
appalling declaration. But it is different with a man whose whole soul is in his religion,
who upholds himself in every trial by the consolation which he draws from the future,
and who finds a refuge from every grief and a deep fountain to cleanse in the conviction
that Christ has abolished death and opened an eternal kingdom to His followers. It must
be the extreme point of misery at which a righteous man would be placed who, having
taken up Christianity as a charter of the future, should find it altogether limited to the
present, and we can contend for it therefore as a literal truth that by bringing home to
the true Christian a proof that there is no resurrection you would instantly make him "of
all men most miserable." But since you can find no such proof, there is nothing in the
saying of St. Paul to invalidate this saying of the Psalmist in our text. U. Whilst we
maintain that there are present enjoyments in religion which vastly more than
counterpoise the disquietude it may cause, we are certain that if Christian hope were
suddenly bounded by the horizon of time, then all this present enjoyment would be
virtually destroyed. Each present enjoyment in religion anticipates the future. What
would you leave the believer if you intercepted those flashings from the far-off country
which struggle through the mist and cloud of this region of eclipse, and shed lustre round
the path by which he toils on to glory? Who then shall rival the Christian in misery if,
after setting out in the expectation of a blessed immortality, he discovers that only in this
life is there hope in Christ? He loses the enjoyments of religion, he cannot relish the
enjoyments of irreligion, stripped of the acquired, unfitted for the natural, knowing that
he is doomed to be an outcast hereafter, and unable to cheat himself with forgetfulness
here. It is nothing against the truth of our text that St. Paul applies the epithet "most
miserable" to Christians if Christ had not opened to them eternity. Christ has opened to
them eternity; and therefore we can confidently say, with the Psalmist, of the
commandments of God, "Moreover by them is Thy servant warned, and in keeping of
them there is great reward."
H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 2625.
CALVI , “11.Moreover, by them is thy servant made circumspect. These words may be
extended generally to all the people of God; but they are properly to be understood of David himself,
and by them he testifies that he knew well, from his own experience, all that he had stated in the
preceding verses respecting the law. No man will ever speak truly and in good earnest of heavenly
truth, but he who has it deeply fixed in his own heart. David therefore acknowledges, that whatever
prudence he had for regulating and framing his life aright, he was indebted for it to the law of God.
Although, however, it is properly of himself that he speaks, yet by his own example he sets forth a
general rule, namely, that if persons wish to have a proper method for governing the life well, the
law of God alone is perfectly sufficient for this purpose; but that, on the contrary, as soon as
persons depart from it, they are liable to fall into numerous errors and sins. It is to be observed that
David, by all at once turning his discourse to God, appeals to him as a witness of what he had said,
the more effectually to convince men that he speaks sincerely and from the bottom of his heart. As
the Hebrew word ‫,זהר‬ zahar, which I have translated made circumspect, signifies to teach, as well
as to be on one’ guard, some translate it in this place, Thy servant is taught, orwarned, by the
commandments of the law. But the sentence implies much more, when it is viewed as meaning that
he who yields himself to God to be governed by him is made circumspect and cautious, and,

80. therefore, this translation seems to me to be preferable. In the second clause the Psalmist declares,
that whoever yield themselves to God to observe the rule of righteousness which he prescribes, do
not lose their labor, seeing he has in reserve for them a great and rich reward: In keeping of them
there is great reward. It is no mean commendation of the law when it is said, that in it God enters
into covenant with us, and, so to speak, brings himself under obligation to recompense our
obedience. In requiring from us whatever is contained in the law, he demands nothing but what he
has a right to; yet such is his free and undeserved liberality, that he promises to his servants a
reward, which, in point of justice, he does not owe them. The promises of the law, it is true, are
made of no effect; but it is through our fault: for even he who is most perfect amongst us comes far
short of full and complete righteousness; and men cannot expect any reward for their works until
they have perfectly and to the full satisfied the requirements of the law. Thus these two doctrines
completely harmonize: first, that eternal life shall be given as the reward of works to him who fulfils
the law in all points; and, secondly, that the law notwithstanding denounces a curse against all men,
because the whole human family are destitute of the righteousness of works. This will presently
appear from the following verse. David, after having celebrated this benefit of the law - that it offers
an abundant reward to those who serve God — immediately changes his discourse, and cries
out, Who can understand his errors? by which he pronounces all men liable to eternal death, and
thus utterly overthrows all the confidence which men may be disposed to place in the merit of their
works. It may be objected, that this commendation, In the keeping of thy commandments there is
great reward, is in vain ascribed to the law, seeing it is without effect. The answer is easy, namely,
that as in the covenant of adoption there is included the free pardon of sins, upon which depends
the imputation of righteousness, God bestows a recompense upon the works of his people,
although, in point of justice, it is not due to them. What God promises in the law to those who
perfectly obey it, true believers obtain by his gracious liberality and fatherly goodness, inasmuch as
he accepts for perfect righteousness their holy desires and earnest endeavors to obey.
E-SWORD, ““Moreover by them is thy servant warned.” We are warned by
the Word both of our duty, our danger, and our remedy. On the sea of life
there would be many more wrecks, if it were not for the divine storm-signals
which give to the watchful a timely warning. The Bible should be our
Mentor, our Monitor, our Memento Mori, our Remembrancer, and the
Keeper of our Conscience. Alas, that so few men will take the warning so
graciously given; none but servants of God will do so, for they alone regard
their Master's will. Servants of God not only find his service delightful in
itself, but they receive good recompense; “In keeping of them there is great
reward.” There is a wage, and a great one; though we earn no wages of debt,
we win great wages of grace. Saints may be losers for a time, but they shall
be glorious gainers in the long run, and even now a quiet conscience is in
itself no slender reward for obedience. He who wears the herb called
heart's-ease in his bosom is truly blessed. However, the main reward is yet
to come, and the word here used hints as much, for it signifies the heel, as if
the reward would come to us at the rend of life when the work was done; -
not while the labour was in the hand, but when it was gone and wet could
see the heel of it. Oh, the glory yet to be revealed! It is enough to make a man
faint for joy at the prospect of it. Our light affliction, which is but for a
moment, is not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us. Then shall we know the value of the Scriptures when we
swim in that sea of unutterable delight to which their streams will bear us, if
we commit ourselves to them.
SBC, “St. Paul says, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all

81. men most miserable." Where then is the reward, the great present reward,
in keeping God’s commandments? If an uninspired writer had affirmed that
the most miserable being in creation would be a Christian supposing him
without hopes for the future, there would have been uttered on all hands a
vehement contradiction; the disciples of Christ would have pressed eagerly
forward, attesting the possession of such a measure of gladness and peace
that if deceived for hereafter, the advantage was on the side of the
deception.
I. It were nothing to prove to the lukewarm professor that there should be no
resurrection; he has never known the ecstasies of piety, and therefore he feels not the
appalling declaration. But it is different with a man whose whole soul is in his religion,
who upholds himself in every trial by the consolation which he draws from the future,
and who finds a refuge from every grief and a deep fountain to cleanse in the conviction
that Christ has abolished death and opened an eternal kingdom to His followers. It must
be the extreme point of misery at which a righteous man would be placed who, having
taken up Christianity as a charter of the future, should find it altogether limited to the
present, and we can contend for it therefore as a literal truth that by bringing home to
the true Christian a proof that there is no resurrection you would instantly make him "of
all men most miserable." But since you can find no such proof, there is nothing in the
saying of St. Paul to invalidate this saying of the Psalmist in our text. U. Whilst we
maintain that there are present enjoyments in religion which vastly more than
counterpoise the disquietude it may cause, we are certain that if Christian hope were
suddenly bounded by the horizon of time, then all this present enjoyment would be
virtually destroyed. Each present enjoyment in religion anticipates the future. What
would you leave the believer if you intercepted those flashings from the far-off country
which struggle through the mist and cloud of this region of eclipse, and shed lustre round
the path by which he toils on to glory? Who then shall rival the Christian in misery if,
after setting out in the expectation of a blessed immortality, he discovers that only in this
life is there hope in Christ? He loses the enjoyments of religion, he cannot relish the
enjoyments of irreligion, stripped of the acquired, unfitted for the natural, knowing that
he is doomed to be an outcast hereafter, and unable to cheat himself with forgetfulness
here. It is nothing against the truth of our text that St. Paul applies the epithet "most
miserable" to Christians if Christ had not opened to them eternity. Christ has opened to
them eternity; and therefore we can confidently say, with the Psalmist, of the
commandments of God, "Moreover by them is Thy servant warned, and in keeping of
them there is great reward."
H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 2625.
SPURGEO , “Ver. 11. Moreover by them is thy servant warned. We are warned by the
Word both of our duty, our danger, and our remedy. On the sea of life there would be many
more wrecks, if it were not for the divine storm signals, which give to the watchful a timely
warning. The Bible should be our Mentor, our Monitor, our Memento Mori, our Reminder, and
the Keeper of our Conscience. Alas, that so few men will take the warning so graciously
given; none but servants of God will do so, for they alone regard their Master's will. Servants
of God not only find his service delightful in itself, but they receive good recompense;
In keeping of them there is great reward. There is a wage, and a great one; though we earn no
wages of debt, we win great wages of grace. Saints may be losers for a time, but they shall be
glorious gainers in the long run, and even now a quiet conscience is in itself no slender reward for
obedience. He who wears the herb called heart's ease in his bosom is truly blessed. However, the
main reward is yet to come, and the word here used hints as much, for it signifies the heel, as if the

82. reward would come to us at the end of life when the work was done; �not while the labour was in
hand, but when it was gone and we could see the heel of it. Oh the glory yet to be revealed! It is
enough to make a man faint for joy at the prospect of it. Our light affliction, which is but for a
moment, is not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Then shall we
know the value of the Scriptures when we swim in that sea of unutterable delight to which their
streams will bear us, if we commit ourselves to them.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Ver. 7-11. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:7" for further information.
Ver. 11. Moreover by them is thy servant warned. A certain Jew had formed a design to poison
Luther, but was disappointed by a faithful friend, who sent Luther a portrait of the man, with a
warning against him. By this, Luther knew the murderer and escaped his hands. Thus the word of
God, O Christian, shows thee the face of those lusts which Satan employs to destroy thy comforts
and poison thy soul. G. S. Bowes, B.A., in "Illustrative Gatherings for Preachers and Teachers."
Verse 11. In keeping of them there is great reward. This "keeping of them" implies great carefulness
to know, to remember, and to observe; and the "reward" (literally "the end"), i.e., the recompense, is
far beyond anticipation. W. Wilson.
Verse 11. In keeping of them there is great reward. Not only for keeping, but in keeping of them,
eyes, that they would not exchange them for ten thousand worlds. Oh! if the vails, (Gratuities,
presents), be thus sweet and glorious before pay day comes, what will be that glory that Christ will
crown his saints with for cleaving to his service in the face of all difficulties, when he shall say to his
Father, "Lo, here am I, and the children which thou hast given me." Isaiah 8:18. If there be so much
to be had in the wilderness, what then shall be had in paradise! Thomas Brooks.
Verse 11. In keeping of them there is great reward. Not only for keeping but in keeping of them. As
every flower hath its sweet smell, so every good action hath its sweet reflection upon the soul: and
till the last cast, till we come home to heaven. The word here rendered "reward", signifieth the heel,
and by a metaphor, the end of a work, and the reward of it, which is not till the end. John Trapp.
Verse 11. Reward. Though we should not serve God for a reward, yet we shall have a reward for
our service. The time is coming when ungodliness shall be as much prosecuted by justice, as in
times past godliness had been persecuted by injustice. Though our reward be not for our good
works, yet we shall have our good works rewarded, and have a good reward for our works. Though
the best of men (they being at the best but unprofitable servants) deserve nothing at the hands of
God, yet they may deserve much at the hands of men; and if they have not the recompense they
deserve, yet it is a kind of recompense to have deserved. As he said, and nobly, "I had rather it
should be said, Why doth not Cato's image stand here? than it should be said, Why doth it stand
here?" Ralph Venning. 1620-1673.
HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS
Verse 11. (first clause). --
1. What? Warned.
2. How? By them.
3. Who? Thy servant.
4. When? Is -- present.
Verse 11. (second clause). Evangelical rewards -- In, not for keeping.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, “By them is Thy servant warned.
Scripture warnings

83. We are not to confuse the imperfections of religious professors with the unchangeable
sovereignty of the Divine laws.
I. Call attention to some of them thus connected with our own history, and the warnings
they give.
1. Those which relate to the heart of man. We are told its deceitful character.
2. Examples in human character. They, as well as the words of Scripture, warn us
against sin.
3. Those that come from the truth of eternity and of judgment to come.
II. The reward of obedience.
1. It is present in the conscience; and
2. Prospective, in heaven.
3. And it is great in comparison with our deserts.
4. And in obedience itself there is great reward. (W. D. Horwood.)
Bible warnings
At Tramore, near Waterford, a place where the Atlantic breakers dash with sublime fury
against the rocks, there are on the headlands three towers, and on the middle one stands
what is called “The Metal Man.” This is a figure made of metal, and painted to resemble a
sailor. With his finger he points to some very dangerous rocks that are to be shunned.
There are rocks in life’s troublesome sea that are ready to shipwreck the bodies and souls
of the young.
In keeping of them there is great reward.
The reward of keeping God’s commandments
In this Psalm David speaks of the two great books by which God administers instruction.
The volume of nature. The volume of inspiration. Having enlarged on the excellent
properties and glorious effects of the Divine Word, he illustrates its value by a
comparison with the things of this world, by the results of his experience, and the infinite
advantage connected with the observance of it. David possessed, in the Scriptures then
extant, an abstract of all those glorious truths revealed to ourselves, and an abstract of
sufficient clearness to guide him to God, to peace, to holiness, to heaven. The possession
of the Scriptures, however, is not sufficient to bring the soul to God. These statutes must
be kept as well as possessed, for it is in keeping them that there is great reward. The book
not only supplies ideas, it also raises the character of the humble student. The Scripture
is a book of privileges. There is not a Christian but is entitled to all the clustering
promises which grow on this tree of life. Practice is necessary to complete our duty to the
Scriptures. All religion hinges upon this point. The Psalmist says, “In keeping of them
there is great reward.” Reward is that which is earned by an equivalent, or that which is a
suitable recompense for the action performed. But the reward of observing the Word of
God is not merely a consequence, neither is it earned by what can be claimed as an
equivalent. They are rewards of grace, both in this life and in the future life. (T. Kennion,
M. A.)

84. The advantages of religion to particular persons
I. Religion conduceth to the happiness of this life.
1. As to the mind; to be pious and religious brings a double advantage to the mind of
man. It tends to the improvement of our understandings. It raises and enlarges the
minds of men, and makes them more capable of true knowledge. It improves the
understandings of men by subduing their lusts and moderating their passions.
Intemperance, sensuality, and fleshly lusts debase men’s minds. Religion purifies and
refines our spirits. Freedom from irregular passions doth not only signify that a man
is wise, but really contributes to the making of him such. Religion also tends to the
ease and pleasure, the peace and tranquillity, of our minds. This is the natural fruit of
a religious and virtuous course of life. Religion contributes to our peace, by allaying
those passions which are apt to ruffle and discompose our spirits; and by freeing us
from the anxieties of guilt and the fears of Divine wrath and displeasure.
2. Religion also tends to the happiness of the outward man. The blessings of this
kind respect our health, or estate, or reputation, or relations.
II. Religion conduceth to the eternal happiness and salvation of men in the other world.
The consideration of future happiness is our most powerful motive. How religion
conduces to happiness in the new life is seen from—
1. The promises of God; and
2. From the nature of the thing. It is a necessary disposition and preparation of us for
that future life. When all is done there is no man can serve his own interest better
than by serving God. (J. Tillotson, D. D.)
On the pleasures of religion
“What is the chief good?” was the great inquiry of the ancient schools; and the different
answers to this question formed the principal distinctions amongst the various sects of
philosophy. Happiness is the end of all the pursuits of men; it is the object of all their
sighs. Yet are they almost always disappointed in the means which are taken to obtain it.
They follow the dictates of their passions. And it is not till after they have sought it in
vain through every form of false pleasure that they come at length to find it, where alone
reason and religion have concurred to place it, in obedience to God and a life of virtue.
Here the anxious mind finds a calm and settled peace which it had not known, and which
it could not know amid the agitations of the world. I purpose, in this discourse, to
confine my view to the internal comforts that flow from religion. It offers the highest
satisfactions to the mind; it yields the purest pleasures to the heart; it introduces serenity
and peace into the breast; and finally, it affords a source of happiness which is always
within our power, which is secure from the vicissitudes of life, and which shall be eternal.
(S. S. Smith, D. D.)
The advantages of a religious life
Compare this text with the saying of Paul, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ we
are of all men most miserable.” Where, then, is the present reward of keeping God’s
commandments? There might be a reward hereafter; how could there be one now? What
are we to say to this apparent contradiction? St. Paul was supposing a case; we must

85. ascertain what his supposition was not, and what it was. Take a man whose whole soul
was in his religion, who upheld himself in every trial by the consolations of the blessed
hope. He has staked everything on the truth, and having surmounted a thousand
obstacles and made his way through a thousand foes, and offered his body on the altar of
the living God, he is pressing on with rejoicing and elevated spirit. Tell him that there is
no resurrection, and no hope in Christ for an after state of being, and what then? That
man would be most miserable if he took into his heart your message. You may say that in
shutting out the future we still leave the present; but the present is the foretaste of the
future. In cutting off the streams you destroy the fountain. If such a man were told that
after fighting through life he would be vanquished in death, what would be left him of
gladness? Who, then, shall rival the Christian in misery if, after setting out in the
expectation of a blessed immortality, he discovers that only in this life is there hope in
Christ? Our object has been to show that there is nothing in the quoted words of St. Paul
which militates against the fact alleged in our text, and in other parts of Scripture, that,
in respect of present happiness—happiness during this life—the godly have the
advantage over the ungodly. (Henry Melvill, B. D.)
Immediate reward of obedience
You will observe the Psalmist does not say after, but in the keeping of the
commandments there is great reward. That reward is the pleasure which lies in God’s
service now, not in the payment which is judicially made for it afterwards; just as the eye
is regaled in the instant by sights of beauty, or the ear by the melody which falls upon it.
I. What are the ingredients of the present reward?
1. There is the happiness that flows direct from the sense of doing or having done
what is right. The testimony of a good conscience. There is a felt and present solace in
the taste of that hidden manna which it administers.
2. The affections of the heart which prompt to obedience. For love, whether it be
towards God or towards men, is blessed. In its play and exercise there is
instantaneous joy; there is delight in the original conceptions of benevolence, and
delight also in its outgoings, whilst malignity, envy, and anger do but rankle the
bosom. And we can confidently appeal, even to ungodly men, for the truth that in the
grovelling pursuits, whether of sense or avarice, they never experienced so true a
delight as in those moments when their spirit was touched into sympathy with other
spirits than their own. And not only of love, but of all the other virtues, the same can
be said. They one and all of them yield an immediate satisfaction to the wearer. The
moralities of the human character are what make up the happiness and harmony of
the soul. They are the very streams of that well which, struck out in the bosom of
regenerated man, spring up there into life everlasting.
II. The advantage of the reward being in, and not after, the keeping of the
commandments. Suppose it had been after, and quite distinct from that enjoyment of
which we have spoken, and which lies directly and essentially in the obedience itself.
This can easily be imagined—a heaven of gratification to the senses as a reward for
holiness. Virtue then would be so much work for so much wages; heaven would not be
looked for as a place of holiness, but as the price that is given for it. The candidates of
immortality would be so many labourers for hire. And it would be no evidence at all of
the love which you have for a work, that you have a love for its wages. It makes all the
difference whether or no we love our work. Sordidness and sacredness are not wirier

86. apart. This is so in common and ordinary work. How much more when it is the service of
God that is in question!
III. How the Gospel of Jesus christ affects this question.
1. It releases you altogether from the law as a covenant. It tells you that you are not to
work for heaven, because that heaven is secured to you in another way. Eternal life is
the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. We could never pay for it, and
therefore God gives it to us. And how blessed this is even for our characters as the
subject of God’s will. The old economy of “do this and live” makes up the very spirit
of bondage, and of low mercenary bargaining. With the fears of legality, the
sordidness of legality is sure to make entrance again into the heart. Hence the only
access to a sinner’s heart for the love of holiness in itself is by making him the free
offer of heaven as an unconditional gift, and at the same time making him
understand that it is, in truth, holiness and nothing else which forms the very essence
of heaven’s blessedness. These are the things which constitute the difference between
the real and the formal Christian. The inferior creatures may be dealt with by terror
or by joy as well as he; his very obedience may proceed from the earthliness of his
disposition. Much of the Christian may be put on; but the question is, if you delight
in the law of God after the inner man, or whether you obey it because of
consequences? Whether you are allured to holiness by the beauty of its graces, or by
the bribery of its gains? Surely there is nothing noble in him who labours for the
reward that comes after keeping the commandments, and thinks not of the “great
reward” that comes “in keeping the commandments.” (T. Chalmers, D. D.)
12 But who can discern their own ERRORS?
Forgive my hidden faults.
BAR ES,”Who can understand his errors? - The word rendered errors is derived
from a verb which means to wander, to go astray; then, to do wrong, to transgress. It
refers here to wanderings, or departures from the law of God, and the question seems to
have been asked in view of the purity, the strictness, and the extent of the law of God. In
view of a law so pure, so holy, so strict in its demands, and so extended in its
requirements - asserting jurisdiction over the thoughts, the words, and the whole life -
who can recall the number of times that he has departed from such a law? A sentiment
somewhat similar is found in Psa_119:96, “I have seen an end of all perfection; thy
commandment is exceeding broad.” The language is such as every man who has any just
sense of the nature and the requirements of the law, and a just view of his own life, must
use in reference to himself. The reason why any man is elated with a conviction of his
own goodness is that he has no just sense of the requirements of the law of God; and the
more anyone studies that law, the more will he be convinced of the extent of his own
depravity.

87. Hence, the importance of preaching the law, that sinners may be brought to conviction
of sin; hence the importance of presenting it constantly before the mind of even the
believer, that he may be kept from pride, and may walk humbly before God. And who is
there that can understand his own errors? Who can number up the sins of a life? Who
can make an estimate of the number of impure and unholy thoughts which, in the course
of many years, have flitted through, or found a lodgment in the mind? Who can number
up the words which have been spoken and should not have been spoken? Who can recall
the forgotten sins and follies of a life - the sins of childhood, of youth, of riper years?
There is but one Being in the universe that can do this. To Him all this is known. Nothing
has escaped His observation; nothing has faded from His memory. Nothing can prevent
His making a full disclosure of this if He shall choose to do so. It is in His power at any
moment to overwhelm the soul with the recollection of all this guilt; it is in His power to
cover us with confusion and shame at the revelation of the judgment-day. Our only hope
- our only security - that He will not do this, is in His mercy; and that He may not do it,
we should without delay seek His mercy, and pray that our sins may be so blotted out
that they shall not be disclosed to us and to assembled worlds when we appear before
Him.
Cleanse thou me from secret faults - The word here rendered secret means that
which is hidden, covered, concealed. The reference is to those errors and faults which
had been hidden from the eye of him who had committed them, as well as from the eye
of the world. The sense is, that the law of God is so spiritual, and so pure, and so
extended in its claims, that the author of the psalm felt that it must embrace many things
which had been hidden even from his own view - errors and faults lying deep in the soul,
and which had never been developed or expressed. From these, as well as from those sins
which had been manifest to himself and to the world, he prayed that he might be
cleansed. These are the things that pollute the soul; from these the soul must be
cleansed, or it can never find permanent peace. A man who does not desire to be
cleansed from all these “secret faults” cannot be a child of God; he who is a child of God
will pray without ceasing that from these pollutions of the soul he may be made pure.
CLARKE, “Who can understand his errors? - It is not possible, without much of
the Divine light, to understand all our deviations from, not only the letter, but the
spirituality, of the Divine law. Frequent self-examination, and walking in the light, are
essentially necessary to the requisite degree of spiritual perfection.
Cleanse thou me from secret faults - From those which I have committed, and
have forgotten; from those for which I have not repented; from those which have been
committed in my heart, but have not been brought to act in my life; from those which I
have committed without knowing that they were sins, sins of ignorance; and from those
which I have committed in private, for which I should blush and be confounded were
they to be made public.
GILL, “Who can understand his errors?.... Sin is an error, a wandering out of the
way of God, swerving from the rule of his word; and many mistakes are made by the
people of God themselves; even so many that they cannot number them; they are more
than the hairs of their head; they cannot understand, find out and express, neither their
number, nor their evil nature, nor the many aggravating circumstances which attend
them: this the psalmist said, upon a view of the large extent, glory, and excellency of the
word of God; and upon comparing himself with it, in which, as in a glass, he saw how far

88. short he came of it, and what a disagreement and want of conformity there was in him
unto it; see Psa_119:97; and he suggests, that though the word he had been describing
was perfect, pure, and clean, he was not; nor could he expect any reward of debt, but
merely of grace, for his observance of it; and that it was best, under a sense of sin, to have
recourse, not to works of righteousness done by men; but to the grace and mercy of God
in Christ, as follows:
cleanse thou me from secret faults; by which are meant not such sins as are done
in secret, and are unknown to men; such as David's sin with Bathsheba, 2Sa_12:12; nor
the inward motions of sin in the heart, to which none are privy but God, and a man's own
soul; not but that each of these may be properly enough included in such a petition; but
sins, which are unknown to a man himself are meant: there are some actions, which,
though known when committed, are not known to be sinful ones; and there are some
sins which are committed unadvisedly, and through carelessness, and pass unobserved;
not only many vain and sinful thoughts pass to and fro uncontrolled, without being taken
notice of; but many foolish and idle words are spoken, and many evil actions, through
infirmity and inadvertency, are done, which, when a good man, at the close of a day,
comes to reflect upon the things that have passed in it, are quite hidden from him, are
unknown to him, being unobserved by him; wherefore such a petition is highly proper to
be inserted in his address at the throne of grace: and which also supposes the person
sensible of the defiling nature of sin, and of his own impotency to cleanse himself from it;
and that God only can do it, who does it by the application of the blood of his Son, which
cleanses from all sin; for this respects not regenerating and sanctifying grace, but
pardoning grace; a manifestation of it, a view of acquittance from sin by Christ, and of
freedom from obligation to punishment for it.
HE RY, “He draws some good inferences from this pious meditation upon
the excellency of the word of God. Such thoughts as these should excite in us
devout affections, and they are to good purpose.
1. He takes occasion hence to make a penitent reflection upon his sins; for by the law
is the knowledge of sin. “Is the commandment thus holy, just, and good? Then who can
understand his errors? I cannot, whoever can.” From the rectitude of the divine law he
learns to call his sins his errors. If the commandment be true and righteous, every
transgressions of the commandment is an error, as grounded upon a mistake; every
wicked practice takes rise from some corrupt principle; it is a deviation from the rule we
are to work by, the way we are to walk in. From the extent, the strictness, and spiritual
nature, of the divine law he learns that his sins are so many that he cannot understand
the number of them, and so exceedingly sinful that he cannot understand the
heinousness and malignity of them. We are guilty of many sins which, through our
carelessness and partiality to ourselves, we are not aware of; many we have been guilty of
which we have forgotten; so that, when we have been ever so particular in the confession
of sin, we must conclude with an et cetera - and such like; for God knows a great deal
more evil of us than we do of ourselves. In many things we all offend, and who can tell
how often he offends? It is well that we are under grace, and not under the law, else we
were undone.
JAMISO , “The clearer our view of the law, the more manifest are our sins.
Still for its full effect we need divine grace to show us our faults, acquit us,
restrain us from the practice, and free us from the power, of sin. Thus only
can our conduct be blameless, and our words and thoughts acceptable to
God.

89. E-SWORD, ““Who can understand his errors?” A question which is its own
answer. It rather requires a note of exclamation than of interrogation. By
the law is the knowledge of sin, and in the presence of divine truth, the
Psalmist marvels at the number and heinousness of his sins. He best knows
himself who best knows the Word, but even such an one will be in a maze of
wonder as to what he does not know, rather than on the mount of
congratulation as to what he does know. We have heard of a comedy of
errors, but to a good man this is more like a tragedy. Many books have a few
lines of errata at the end, but our errata might well be as large as the volume
if we could but have sense enough to see them. Augustine wrote in his older
days a series of Retractations; ours might make a library if we had enough
grace to be convinced of our mistakes and to confess them. “Cleanse thou
me from secret faults.” Thou canst mark in me faults entirely hidden from
myself. It were hopeless to expect to see all my spots; therefore, O Lord,
wash away in the atoning blood even those sins which my conscience has
been unable to detect. Secret sins, like private conspirators, must be hunted
out or they may do deadly mischief; it is well to be much in prayer
concerning them. In the Lateran Council of the Church of Rome, a decree
was passed that every true believer must confess his sins, all of them, once
in a year to the priest, and they affixed to it this declaration, that there is no
hope of pardon but in complying with that decree. What can equal the
absurdity of such a decree as that? Do they suppose that they can tell their
sins as easily as they can count their fingers? Why, if we could receive
pardon for all our sins by telling every sin we have committed in one hour,
there is not one of us who would be able to enter heaven, since, besides the
sins that are known to us and that we may be able to confess, there are a vast
mass of sins, which are as truly sins as those which we lament, but which are
secret, and like the farmer's small samples which he brings to market, when
he has left his granary full at home. We have but a very few sins which we
can observe and detect, compared with those which are hidden from
ourselves and unseen by our fellow-creatures.
CALVI , “12.Who can understand his errors? This exclamation shows us what use we should
make of the promises of the law, which have a condition annexed to them. It is this: As soon as they
come forth, every man should examine his own life, and compare not only his actions, but also his
thoughts, with that perfect rule of righteousness which is laid down in the law. Thus it will come to
pass, that all, from the least to the greatest, seeing themselves cut off from all hope of reward from
the law, will be constrained to flee for refuge to the mercy of God. It is not enough to consider what
the doctrine of the law contains; we must also look into ourselves, that we may see how far short we
have come in our obedience to the law. Whenever the Papists hear this promise,
“ who doeth these things shall live in them,”
(Lev_18:5,)
they do not hesitate at once to connect eternal life with the merit of their works, as if it were in their
own power to fulfill the law, of which we are all transgressors, not only in one point, but in all its
parts. David, therefore, being involved as it were in a labyrinth on all sides, acknowledges with
astonishment that he is overwhelmed under a sense of the multitude of his sins. We ought then to

90. remember, in the first place, that as we are personally destitute of the righteousness which the law
requires, we are on that ACCOUNT excluded from the hope of the reward which the law has
promised; and, in the next place, that we are guilty before God, not of one fault or of two, but of sins
innumerable, so that we ought, with the bitterest sorrow, to bewail our depravity, which not only
deprives us of the blessing of God, but also turns to us life into death. This David did. There is no
doubt that when, after having said that God liberally offers a reward to all who observe his law, he
cried out, Who can understand his errors? it was from the terror with which he was stricken in
thinking upon his sins. By the Hebrew word ‫,שגיאות‬ shegioth, which we have translated errors, some
think David intends lesser faults; but in my judgment he meant simply to say, that Satan has so
many devices by which he deludes and blinds our minds, that there is not a man who knows the
hundredth part of his own sins. The saints, it is true, often offend in lesser matters, through
ignorance and inadvertence; but it happens also that, being entangled in the snares of Satan, they
do not perceive even the grosser faults which they have committed. Accordingly, all the sins to the
commission of which men give themselves loose reins, not being duly sensible of the evil which is in
them, and being deceived by the allurements of the flesh, are justly included under the Hebrew
word here used by David, which signifiesfaults or ignorances. (466) In summoning himself and
others before the judgment-seat of God, he warns himself and them, that although their
consciences do not condemn them, they are not on that account absolved; for God sees far more
clearly than men’ consciences, since even those who look most attentively into themselves, do not
perceive a great part of the sins with which they are chargeable.
After making this confession, David adds a prayer for pardon, Cleanse thou me from my secret
sins. The word cleanse is to be referred not to the blessing of regeneration, but to free forgiveness;
for the Hebrew verb ‫,נקה‬ nakah, here used, comes from a word which signifies to be innocent. The
Psalmist explains more clearly what he intended by the word errors, in now calling them secret
sins; that is to say, those with respect to which men deceive themselves, by thinking that they are
no sins, and who thus deceive themselves not only purposely and by expressly aiming at doing so,
but because they do not enter into the due consideration of the majesty of the judgment of God. It is
in vain to attempt to justify ourselves under the pretext and excuse of ignorance. Nor does it avail
any thing to be blind as to our faults, since no man is a competent judge in his own cause. We must,
therefore, never account ourselves to be pure and innocent until we are pronounced such by God’
sentence of absolution or acquittal. The faults which we do not perceive must necessarily come
under the review of God’ judgment, and entail upon us condemnation, unless he blot them out and
pardon them; and if so, how shall he escape and remain unpunished who, besides these, is
chargeable with sins of which he knows himself to be guilty, and on account of which his own
conscience compels him to judge and condemn himself? Farther, we should remember that we are
not guilty of one offense only, but are overwhelmed with an immense mass of impurities. The more
diligently any one examines himself, the more readily will he acknowledge with David, that if God
should discover our secret faults, there would be found in us an abyss of sins so great as to have
neither bottom nor shore, as we say; (467) for no man can comprehend in how many ways he is
guilty before God. From this also it appears, that the Papists are bewitched, and chargeable with the
grossest hypocrisy, when they pretend that they can easily and speedily gather all their sins once a
year into a bundle. The decree of the Lateran Council commands every one to confess all his sins
once every year, and at the same time declares that there is no hope of pardon but in complying
with that decree. Accordingly, the blinded Papist, by going to the confessional, to mutter his sins into
the ear of the priest, thinks he has done all that is required, as if he could count upon his fingers all
the sins which he has committed during the course of the whole year; whereas, even the saints, by
strictly examining themselves, can scarcely come to the knowledge of the hundredth part of their
sins, and, therefore, with one voice unite with David in saying, Who can understand his errors? Nor
will it do to allege that it is enough if each performs the duty of reckoning up his sins to the utmost of
his ability. This does not diminish, in any degree, the absurdity of this famous decree. (468) As it is
impossible for us to do what the law requires, all whose hearts are really and deeply imbued with
the principle of the fear of God must necessarily be overwhelmed with despair, so long as they think
themselves bound to enumerate all their sins, in order to their being pardoned; and those who
imagine they can disburden themselves of their sins in this way must be persons altogether stupid. I
know that some explain these words in a different sense, viewing them as a prayer, in which David

91. beseeches God, by the guidance of his Holy Spirit, to recover him from all his errors. But, in my
opinion, they are to be viewed rather as a prayer for forgiveness, and what follows in the next verse
is a prayer for the aid of the Holy Spirit, and for success to overcome temptations.
SPURGEO , “Verse 12. Who can understand his errors? A question which is its own
answer. It rather requires a note of exclamation than of interrogation. By the law is the
knowledge of sin, and in the presence of divine truth, the psalmist marvels at the number
and heinousness of his sins. He best knows himself who best knows the Word, but even
such an one will be in a maze of wonder as to what he does not know, rather than on the
mount of congratulation as to what he does know. We have heard of a comedy of errors, but
to a good man this is more like a tragedy. Many books have a few lines of errata at the end,
but our errata might well be as large as the volume if we could but have sense enough to see
them. Augustine wrote in his older days a series of Retractations; ours might make a library
if we had enough grace to be convinced of our mistakes and to confess them.
Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Thou canst mark in me faults entirely hidden from myself. It
were hopeless to expect to see all my spots; therefore, O Lord, wash away in the atoning blood
even those sins which my conscience has been unable to detect. Secret sins, like private
conspirators, must be hunted out, or they may do deadly mischief; it is well to be much in prayer
concerning them. In the Lateran Council of the Church of Rome, a decree was passed that every
true believer must confess his sins, all of them, once a year to the priest, and they affixed to it this
declaration, that there is no hope of pardon but in complying with that decree. What can equal the
absurdity of such a decree as that? Do they suppose that they can tell their sins as easily as they
can count their fingers? Why, if we could receive pardon for all our sins by telling every sin we have
committed in one hour, there is not one of us who would be able to enter heaven, since, besides the
sins that are known to us and that we may be able to confess, there are a vast mass of sins, which
are as truly sins as those which we lament, but which are secret, and come not beneath our eye. If
we had eyes like those of God, we should think very differently of ourselves. The transgressions
which we see and confess are but like the farmer's small samples which he brings to market, when
he has left his granary full at home. We have but a very few sins which we can observe and detect,
compared with those which are hidden from ourselves and unseen by our fellow creatures.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Verse 12. Who can understand his errors? After this survey of the works and word of God, he
comes at last to peruse the third book, his conscience; a book which though wicked men may keep
shut up, and naturally do not love to look into it, yet will one day be laid open before the great
tribunal in the view of the whole world, to the justifying of God when he judges, and to impenitent
sinners' eternal confusion. And what finds he here? A foul, blurred copy that he is puzzled how to
read; "who," says he, "can understand his errors?" Those notions which God had with his own hand
imprinted upon conscience in legible characters, are partly defaced and slurred with scribble, and
interlinings of "secret faults;" partly obliterated and quite razed out with capital crimes,
"presumptuous sins." And yet this manuscript cannot be so abused, but it will still give in evidence
for God; there being no argument in the world that can with more force extort an acknowledgment of
God from any man's conscience than the conviction of guilt itself labours under. For the sinner
cannot but know he has transgressed a law, and he finds within him, if he is not past all sense, such
apprehensions that though at present he "walk in the ways of his heart and in the sight of his eyes"
(as the wise man ironically advises the young man to do, Ecclesiastes 11:9), yet he knows (as the
same wise man there from his own experience tells him) that "for all these things God will bring him
into judgment." The conscience being thus convicted of sin, where there is any sense of true piety
the soul will, with David, here address itself to God for pardon, that it may be "cleansed from secret
faults;" and for grace, that by its restraints, and preventions, and assistances, it may be "kept back
from presumptuous sins," and if unhappily engaged, that it may be freed at least from the
"dominion" of them -- Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have
dominion over me, etc. Adam Littleton.
Verse 12. The prophet saith, Who can understand his own faults? No man can, but God can;

92. therefore reason after this manner, as Saint Bernard saith: I know and am known; I know but in part,
but God knows me and knows me wholly; but what I know I know but in part. So the apostle
reasons; "I know nothing of myself, yet am I not hereby justified." Admit that thou keepest thyself so
free, and renewest thy repentance so daily that thou knowest nothing by thyself, yet mark what the
apostle adds further; "Notwithstanding, I do not judge myself; I am not hereby justified, but he that
judges me is the Lord." This is the condition of all men; he that is infinite knows them; therefore they
should not dare to judge themselves, but with the prophet David, in Psalms 19:1-14, entreat the
Lord that he would cleanse them from their secret sins. Richard Stock.
Verse 12. Who can understand his own errors? None can to the depth and bottom. In this question
there are two considerables:
1. A concession;
2. A confession. He makes a grant that our life is full of errors; and the Scriptures say the same,
while they affirm that "All we like sheep have gone astray" (Isaiah 53:6); "I have gone astray like a
lost sheep" Psalms 119:176; that the "house of Israel" hath "lost sheep," Matthew 10:6. I need not
reckon up the particulars, as the errors of our senses, understandings, consciences, judgments,
wills, affections, desires, actions, and occurrences. The whole man in nature is like a tree nipped at
root, which brings forth worm eaten fruits. The whole man in life is like an instrument out of tune,
which jars at every stroke. If we cannot understand them, certainly they are very many. Robert
Abbot,
Verse 12. Who can understand his errors? If a man repent not until he have made confession of all
his sins in the ear of his ghostly father, if a man cannot have absolution of his sins until his sins be
told by tale and number in the priest's ear; in that, as David saith, none can understand, much less,
then, utter all his sins: Delicta quis intelligat? "Who can understand his sins?" In that David of
himself complains elsewhere how that his "sins are overflowed his head, and as a heavy burden do
depress him" (Psalms 38:4); alas! shall not a man by this doctrine be utterly driven from
repentance? Though they have gone about something to make plasters for their sores, of
confession or attrition to assuage their pain, bidding a man to hope well of his contrition, though it
be not so full as required, and of his confession, though he have not numbered all his sins, if so be
that he do so much as in him lieth: dearly beloved, in that there is none but that herein he is guilty
(for who doth as much as he may?) trow ye that this plaster is not like salt for sore eyes? Yes,
undoubtedly, when they have done all they can for the appeasing of consciences in these points,
this is the sum, that we yet should hope well, but yet so hope that we must stand in a mammering
(Hesitating) and doubting whether our sins be forgiven. For to believe remissionem peccatorum,
that is to be certain of "forgiveness of sins," as our creed teacheth us, they count it a presumption.
Oh, abomination! and that not only herein, but in all their penance as they paint it. John Bradford
(Martyr), 1510-1555.
Verse 12. Who can understand his errors? By "errors" he means his unwitting and inconsiderate
mistakes. There are sins, some of which are committed when the sun shines -- i.e., with light and
knowledge; and then, as it is with colours when the sun shines, you may see them; so these, a man
can see, and know, and confess them particularly to be transgressions. There are other sins which
are committed either in the times of ignorance, or else (if there be knowledge), yet with
inobservance. Either of these may be so heaped up in the particular number of them, that as a man
did when he did commit them, take no notice of them; so now, after the commission, if he should
take the brightest candle to search all the records of his soul, yet many of them would escape his
notice. And, indeed, this is a great part of our misery, that we cannot understand all our debts. We
can easily see too many, yet many more lie, as it were, dead and out of sight. To sin is one great
misery, and then to forget our sins is a misery too. If in repentance we could set the battle in array,
point to every individual sin in the true and particular times of acting and reacting, oh, how would our
hearts be more broken with shame and sorrow, and how would we adore the richness of the
treasure of mercy which must have a multitude in it to pardon the multitude of our infinite errors and
sins. But this is the comfort; though we cannot understand every particular sin, or time of sinning,
yet if we be not idle to search and cast over the books, and if we be heartily grieved for these sins
which we have found out, and can by true repentance turn from them unto God, and by faith unto
the blood of Jesus Christ, I say that God, who knows our sins better than we can know them, and
who understands the true intentions and dispositions of the heart -- that if it did see the unknown

93. sins it would be answerably carried against them -- he will for his own mercy sake forgive them, and
he, too, will not remember them. Nevertheless, though David saith, "Who can understand his
errors?" as the prophet Jeremiah spake also, "The heart of man is desperately wicked, who can
know it?" yet must we bestir ourselves at heaven to get more and more heavenly light, to find out
more and more of our sinning. So the Lord can search the heart; and, though we shall never be able
to find out all our sins which we have committed, yet it is proper and beneficial for us to find out yet
more sins than yet we do know. And you shall find these in your own experience; that as soon as
ever grace entered your hearts, you saw sin in another way than you ever saw it before; yea, and
the more grace hath traversed and increased in the soul, the more full discoveries hath it made of
sins. It hath shown new sins as it were; new sins, not for their being, not as if they were not in the
heart and life before, but for their evidence and our apprehension. We do now see such wages and
such inclinations to be sinful which we did not think to be so before. As physic brings those humours
which had their residence before now more to the sense of the patient, or as the sun makes open
man's head may be told, the stars appear in multitudes, yet some have undertaken to reckon them;
but no arithmetic can number our sins. Before we can recount a thousand we shall commit ten
thousand more; and so rather multiply by addition than divide by subtraction; there is no possibility
of numeration. Like Hydra's head, while we are cutting off twenty by repentance, we find a hundred
more grown up. It is just, then, that infinite sorrows shall follow infinite sins. Thomas Adams.
Verse 12. Cleanse thou me from secret faults. It is the desire of a holy person to be cleansed, not
only from public, but also from private and secret sins. Romans 7:24. "O wretched man (saith Paul),
who shall deliver me?" Why, O blessed apostle! what is it that holds thee? What is it that molests
thee? Thy life, thou sayest, was unblamable before thy conversion, and since thy
conversion. Philippians 3:1-21. Thou hast exercised thyself to have always a conscience void of
offence toward God and toward men. Acts 24:16. And yet you cry out, "O wretched man," and yet
you complain, "Who shall deliver me?" Verily, brethren, it was not sin abroad, but at home: it was
not sin without, but at this time sin within; it was not Paul's sinning with man, but Paul's sinning
within Paul: oh! that "law of his members warring (secretly within him) against the law of his mind;"
this, this made that holy man so to cry out, so to complain. As Rebekah was weary of her life, not as
we read for any foreign disquietments, but because of domestic troubles: "The daughters of Heth"
within the house made her "weary of her life;" so the private and secret birth of corruption within
Paul -- the workings of that -- that was the cause of his trouble, that was the ground of his
exclamation and desires, "Who shall deliver me?" I remember that the same Paul advises the
Ephesians as "to put off the former conversation" so "to put on the renewed spirit of the mind"
(Ephesians 4:22-23); intimating that there are sins lurking within as well as sins walking without; and
that true Christians must not only sweep the door, but wash the chamber; my meaning is, not only
come off from the sins which lie open in the conversation, but also labour to be cleansed from sin
and sinning which remain secret and hidden in the spirit and inward disposition. Obadiah Sedgwick.
Verse 12. Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Learn to see thy spots. Many have unknown sins, as
a man may have a mole on his back and himself never know it. Lord, cleanse me from my secret
faults. But have we not spots whereof we are not ignorant? In diseases sometimes nature is strong
enough to put forth spots, and there she cries to us by these outward declarations that we are sick.
Sometimes she cannot do it but by the force of cordials. Sometimes conscience of herself shows us
our sins; sometimes she cannot but by medicines, arguments that convince us out of the holy word.
Some can see, and will not, as Balaam; some would see, and cannot, as the eunuch; some neither
will nor can, as Pharaoh; some both can and will, as David... We have many spots which God does
not hear from us, because we see them not in ourselves. Who will acknowledge that error, whereof
he does not know himself guilty? The sight of sins is a great happiness, for it causeth an ingenuous
confession. Thomas Adams.
Verse 12. Cleanse thou me from secret faults. The law of the Lord is so holy that forgiveness must
be prayed for, even for hidden sins. (Note -- This was a principal text of the Reformers against the
auricular confession of the Roman Catholics.) T.C. Barth's "Bible Manual." 1865.
Verse 12. Secret faults. Sins may be termed "secret" either,

94. 1. When they are coloured and disguised -- though they do fly abroad, yet not under that name, but
apparelled with some semblance of virtues. Cyprian complains of such tricks in his second epistle,
which is to Donatus.
2. When they are kept off from the stage of the world; they are like fire in the chimney; though you
do not see it, yet it burns. So many a person, like those in Ezekiel, "commit abominations in secret"
-- that is, so as the public eye is not upon them. He is sinful, and acts it with the greatest vileness;
all the difference betwixt another sinner and him is this -- that he is, and the other saith he is, a
sinner. Just as a book shut and a book opened; that which is shut hath the same lines and words,
but the other being opened every man may see and read them.
3. When they are kept, not only from the public eye, but from any mortal eye; that is, the carnal eye
of him who commits the sins sees them not; he doth, indeed, see them with the eye of conscience,
but not with the eye of natural sense. Even those persons with whom he doth have converse, and
who highly commend the frame of his ways, cannot yet see the secret discoursings and actings of
sin in his mind and heart. For, brethren, all the actings of sin are not without, they are not visible; but
there are some, yes, the most dangerous actings within the soul, where corruption lies as a fountain
and root. The heart of man is a scheme of wickedness; nay, a man saith that in his heart which he
dares not speak with his tongue, and his thought will do that which his hands dare not to execute.
Well, then, sin may be called "secret" when it is sin, and acted as sin, even there, where none but
God and conscience can see. I think sin is like a candle in a lantern, where the shining is first within
and then bursting out at the windows; or like evils and ulcerous humours, which are scabs and
scurvy stuff, first within the skin, and afterwards they break out to the view on the outside. So it is
with sin; it is a malignant humour and a fretting leprosy, diffusing itself into several secret acts and
workings within the mind, and then it breaks abroad and dares adventure the practice of itself to the
eye of the world; and be it that it may never see the light, that it may be like a child born and buried
in the womb, yet as that child is a man, a true man there closeted in that hidden frame of nature, so
sin is truly sin, though it never gets out beyond the womb which did conceive and enliven it.
Obadiah Sedgwick.
Verse 12. Secret faults. "Secret sins" are more dangerous to the person in some respects than
open sins. For a man doth, by his art of sinning, deprive himself of the help of his sinfulness. Like
him who will carry his wound covered, or who bleeds inwardly, help comes not in because the
danger is not descried or known. If a man's sin breaks out there is a minister at hand, a friend near,
and others to reprove, to warn, to direct; but when he is the artificer of his lusts, he bars himself of
all public remedy, and takes great order and care to damn his soul, by covering his "secret sins"
with some plausible varnish which may beget a good opinion in others of his ways. A man does by
his secrecy give the reins unto corruption: the mind is fed all the day long either with sinful
contemplations or projectings, so that the very strength of the soul is wasted and corrupted. Nay,
secret actings do but heat and inflame natural corruption. As in shouldering in a crowd, when one
hath got out of the door, two or three are ready to fall out after; so when a man hath given his heart
leave to act a secret sin, this begets a present, and quick, and strong flame in corruption to repeat
and multiply and throng out the acts. Sinful acts are not only fruits of sin, but helps and strengths, all
sinning being more sinful by more sinning, not only in the effects but in the cause: the spring and
cause of sin will grow mad and insolent hereby, and more corrupt; this being a truth, that if the heart
gives way for one sin, it will be ready for the next; if it will yield to bring forth once at the devil's
pleasure, it will bring forth twice by its own motion. A man by "secret sins" doth but polish and
square the hypocrisy of his heart: he doth strive to be an exact hypocrite; and the more cunning he
is in the palliating of his sinning, the more perfect he is in his hypocrisy. Obadiah Sedgwick.
Verse 12. Secret faults. Beware of committing acts which it will be necessary to conceal. There is a
singular poem by Hood, called "The Dream of Eugene Aram" -- a most remarkable piece it is
indeed, illustrating the point on which we are now dwelling. Aram had murdered a man, and cast his
body into the river -- "a sluggish water, black as ink, the depth was so extreme." The next morning
he visited the scene of his guilt --
"And sought the black accursed pool,
With a wild misgiving eye; And he saw the dead in the river bed, For the faithless stream was
dry."

95. Next he covered the corpse with heaps of leaves, but a mighty wind swept through the wood and
left the secret bare before the sun --
"Then down I cast me on my face,
And first began to weep, For I knew my secret then was one That earth refused to keep: On land
or sea though it should be Ten thousand fathoms deep."
In plaintive notes he prophesies his own discovery. He buried his victim in a cave, and trod him
down with stones, but when years had run their weary round, the foul deed was discovered and the
murderer put to death.
Guilt is a "grim chamberlain," even when his fingers are not bloody red. Secret sins bring fevered
eyes and sleepless nights, until men burn out their consciences, and become in very deed ripe for
the pit. Hypocrisy is a hard game to play at, for it is one deceiver against many observers; and for
find you out;" and bethink you, it may find you out ere long. Sin, like murder, will come out; men will
even tell tales about themselves in their dreams. God has made men to be so wretched in their
consciences that they have been obliged to stand forth and confess the truth. Secret sinner! if you
want the foretaste of damnation upon earth, continue in thy secret sins; for no man is more
miserable than he who sinneth secretly, and yet trieth to preserve a character. Yon stag, followed by
the hungry hounds, with open mouths, is far more happy than the man who is pursued by his sins.
Yon bird, taken in the fowler's net, and labouring to escape, is far more happy than he who hath
weaved around himself a web of deception, and labours to escape from it, day by day making the
toils more thick and the web more strong. Oh the misery of secret sins! One may well pray,
"Cleanse thou me from secret faults." Spurgeon's Sermons (No. 116), on "Secret Sins."
Verse 12. The sin through ignorance (Heb.) is the same that David prays against in Psalms 19:12,
"Who can understand his errors (Heb.)? cleanse thou me from secret things!" These are not sins of
omission, but acts committed by a person, when at the time, he did not suppose that what he did
was sin. Although he did the thing deliberately, yet he did not perceive the sin of it. So deceitful is
sin, we may be committing that abominable thing which casts angels into an immediate and an
eternal hell, and yet at the moment be totally unaware! Want of knowledge of the truth, and too little
tenderness of conscience hide it from us. Hardness of heart and a CORRUPT nature cause us to
sin unperceived. But here again the form of the Son of Man appears! Jehovah, God of Israel,
institutes sacrifice for sins of ignorance, and thereby discovers the same compassionate and
considerate heart that appears in our High Priest, "who can have compassion on the
ignorant!" Hebrews 5:2. Amidst the types of this tabernacle, we recognize the presence of Jesus -- it
is his voice that shakes the curtains, and speaks in the ear of Moses, "If a soul shall sin through
ignorance!" The same yesterday, today, and for ever! Andrew A. Bonar, in "Commentary on
Leviticus," Psalms 4:2.
Verse 12. (last clause). This is a singular difference between pharisaical and real sanctity: that is
curious to look abroad, but seeth nothing at home: so that Pharisee condemned the Publican, and
saw nothing in himself worthy of blame; but this careful to look at home, and searcheth into the
secret corners, the very spirit of the mind. So did good David when he prayed, Cleanse thou me
from secret faults. Nathanael Hardy
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse Thou
me from secret faults..
The tenacity and sophistry of sin
The vulgar vices reappear subtly disguised in cultured circles. The grossness of the vices
has been purged, but the viciousness is not extinct. Is there not something like this in the
saintly life as compared with the old life? All the vices to which the soul is heir strive to
reassert themselves in the Christian believer, and too often succeed in disturbing his
peace and injuring his character. They are not now gross, offensive, violent; they are
smooth and subtle, filmy and tenuous; they may even fail to provoke the notice and

96. criticism of those who know us best. Yet we recognise in them, through their profoundest
disguises, the deadly vices which, seen in their nakedness, all men loathe. All the bad
passions insinuate themselves into our life unless we steadily detect and reject them.
Anger, covetousness, indulgence, pride, self-will, vanity, all these motions and outgoings
of unrighteousness are ever striving to assert themselves in the Christian soul and life.
The tenacity of sin is marvellous, so is its sophistry. These evil thoughts and
imaginations of the saintly heart may appear faint and inoffensive sins when compared
with the crimson transgressions of the actual world; but the true disciple will not think
so, nor will he treat them tenderly. The desires, weaknesses, and sins of the natural life
are greatly diminished in the spiritual life; they have altogether lost their alarming
aspect; their capacious jaws seem no longer fringed with teeth; but they are none the less
of the breed of monsters, and we must show them no mercy. (W. L. Watkinson.)
Self-ignorance
There is no kind of knowledge which it is so important for a man to possess as knowledge
of himself. No man can be blind to himself without sooner or later having to pay serious
penalty for such blindness. The best of the ancients regarded self-knowledge as the very
beginning of wisdom, just as they regarded self-mastery as the very beginning of
practical virtue. It is said that Socrates, on one occasion, excused himself from giving
attention to some important questions, on the ground that he could not possibly come to
know such things, as he had not yet been able to know himself. There, the grand old
heathen felt, was the true starting place of all true knowledge. Wisdom, like charity,
began at home. There are few things, judging at first sight, of which a man might be
supposed to have fuller and more accurate knowledge, than he has of his own mind and
character. The subject of study is always within his reach. To avoid self-thought is
impossible. To the great majority of men the subject is one of perennial and engrossing
interest. Nature has so ordained it that, in many important respects, the object of
greatest concern to every one of us is himself. History may be a blank to a man, science a
name, literature and art dark and mysterious as the grave; but himself!—here surely the
man is at home, or he is at home nowhere. The Psalmist, however, is of a widely different
opinion. Of course, a certain amount of self-knowledge is thrust upon us all. Much
ignorance of self, too, is corrected by our contact with men and things. Many a false and
foolish notion is thus ruthlessly swept away as the years pass on. Life and God are great
teachers; and, unless a man be a hopeless fool, they compel him to learn something of
himself. Still, the exclamation of the Psalmist hits off an universal fact. “Who can
understand his errors?” There is a touch of pensive surprise in the words, as if he had
just had an unwonted revelation of himself, as if he had just made discovery of faults and
sins hitherto hidden from him. He had no idea that there was so much lingering mischief
within. He is not quite sure that he has seen the worst yet. By “secret faults” the Psalmist
does not mean guilty things, that is, things of actual wickedness done in secret. Open
transgression is the path of death. Secret transgression is more deadly still. By “secret
faults’ he means faults hidden away, not from others, but from ourselves. And it is more
than probable that such “faults” exist in all of us. It is no uncommon thing to see a man
blind as a bat to some infirmity of temper, some coarseness of manner, some infatuation
or rooted prejudice, conspicuous as the sun at noonday to his friends, and not quite so
pleasant! Another evidence of this lack of self-knowledge is to be found in the grave
discoveries we sometimes make of our actual character and condition. The matter is
sometimes brought home to us by the faithfulness of a friend. It may come through the
home thrust of an enemy. Our hope is in God. The head need not have turned grey before

97. we discover that, in a world like this, “it is not in man to order his steps aright.” Happy
he who once and forever abandons the fruitless task, finds his way to a Saviour’s side,
shelters beneath the Rock that is higher than he. (J. Thew.)
The difficulty of understanding our errors
At this point the Psalmist pauses. He has been looking at his life in the light of the holy
law, and, realising how full of imperfection it was, he resumes again in a penitential
strain, “Who can understand his errors?” There is not only the acknowledgment that life
is full of error; there is corruption at the very spring of life. He also acknowledges the
difficulty of understanding our errors. Sin destroys the power by which we detect it. It
creates a false standard, by which we judge ourselves. There is a personal touch in this
acknowledgment. “Who can understand his own errors?” The sinner is sometimes sharp
in discerning the errors of other people, although blind to his own. Thus it was with
David himself. We are all too ready to acknowledge sin in a general way, without trying
to note the particular sins we are most guilty of. There follows the prayer, “Cleanse Thou
me from secret faults.” These include—
1. Faults unknown to ourselves. If we are trying to follow Christ, and live a straight
and honest and pure life, we find difficulties at every turn. Temptations are strewn
thickly around on every path. Unknown sins are the most dangerous to the soul. Sins
noted and marked upon our memories are less likely to be ruinous to the soul than
those secret sins which elude the observation.
2. Faults known to ourselves, but known only to ourselves. Each lives three lives: the
life by which we are known to the world, the life by which we are known to our
household, and the life known only to ourselves. All sins are, to a certain extent,
presumptuous. Sins of presumption, properly speaking, are sins of will, knowingly
and wilfully committed. It is a sin of presumption to act as if we needed no mercy. (T.
Somerville, M. A.)
The deceitfulness of sin
The sense of sin, the joy of pardon, and the yearning for goodness are essential features
in the religion of Christ. If the sense of sin gives the deepest pain, the joy of pardon is the
sweetest joy. The thought of the Psalmist in this passage is the difficulty for each man of
understanding his sins. Error means straying, wandering from the path. There are sins of
ignorance and of infirmity, unconsciously, unintentionally done through lack of self-
knowledge, or of zealous vigilance against the deceits of the world and the snares of
Satan. There are also sins of presumption, done with deliberateness and hardened pride
and a sort of insolence against God. There are also sins which do not usually come
earliest in the moral history, but which are the inevitable result and penalty of sins of
carelessness and infirmity; and which imply, nay, sooner or later create, that awful
insensibility which is the sure symptom of spiritual death, and for which no forgiveness,
because no repentance, is possible. The sinfulness of sin consists in its being done
against the majesty and holiness, and authority and love, of God. The more we know of
God the more shall we feel the depravity, the wickedness of sin. The incessancy of it is a
very painful and humbling, but incontestable truth. Our sins of omission, which perhaps
come most home to us in the riper years of the Christian life; the sins of commission, in
which we actually violate the law of God—were they to be brought up against us at the

98. end of a single day, might turn our hair white with shame and sorrow. Its deceitfulness is
one of its most malignant and dangerous features. To call good evil is not to make it evil,
and to call evil good is not to make it good. Yet we love to have it so, and God answers us
according to the multitude of our idols. Nevertheless, when the moral sense is darkened
it is on the way to be extinguished. How then shall we keep alive in our hearts the
instinct of righteousness, and the sorrowful consciousness of having come short of it?
This Psalm shows us that the key of the secret, and the instrument for each of us to use,
is the Word of God.
1. Would we feel about sin as God would have us feel, let us pray earnestly and
constantly for the Holy Spirit.
2. Let us be on our guard against an artificial, hysterical, self-inspecting,
pusillanimous remorse. Let penitence come rather through the habitual
contemplation of God in Christ, than by swelling the swamps of our own corrupt
nature.
3. The sense of sin, if we would avoid unreality and a sort of complacency in our
humbleness, should ever be accompanied with a continuous and strenuous effort to
overcome it.
4. St. Paul never forgot his past. We need not forget that we have sinned, if only we
have cause to believe that we are forgiven. We may be perfectly clean, though
imperfectly holy. (Bishop Thorold.)
A man’s errors
1. Man’s ignorance of himself is the result of man’s ignorance of God; and the
knowledge of God comprehends the knowledge of man. If a man would “understand
his errors,” he must first know Him who can forgive, correct, and prevent them. A
capacity of spiritual discernment is essential to man knowledge of himself.
2. Man’s knowledge of his ignorance is the first stage in his educational progress
towards the possession of wisdom, and the first expression of that knowledge is
prayer.
3. A tendency to err in thought, in word, and in action, combined with the inherent
deceitfulness of sin, is the secret of the unfathomable mystery of human error,—
unfathomable, that is, by any sounding line of mere human intellect or human
conscience. A tendency to err produces error. A biassed ball cannot run straight. The
deceitfulness of sin, however, rather than this tendency, is the preponderating
element in the unknowableness of one’s own errors. Sin usually wears a disguise, and
often a man does not know his own sin. The sinful heart is a cunning logician.
4. To “understand one’s errors,” one must know the fact of the universal defilement
of sin consequent upon the fall.
5. The “errors” of a man include “secret faults” and “presumptuous sins.” To sin
knowingly is to sin presumptuously. A secret fault is one unknown to others or
ourselves—to either or to both. It is a mockery for a man who has not searched
himself to ask God to search him.
6. All true wisdom, possessed or attainable by any one of the human race on earth,
involves constant self-scrutiny and constant prayer. Men must be advised to look
both within and without. It is because we look within that we also look without.

99. 7. All true wisdom is increasing wisdom, for it involves increasing sanctification, and
included in sanctification ,is the joy of a heavenly fellowship. (T. Easton.)
The searching power of God’s law
Notice David’s holy perplexity.
1. The occasion of it. David was now looking into the law of God, and a beam of that
light had darted into his conscience. The Word of God has a secret, unavoidable
power upon the soul to convince it of sin. In the Scripture is presented a
transcendent rule of holiness, the infinite purity and sanctity which is in God
Himself. The soul, seeing this, is at once convinced of infinite impurity. In Scripture
there is an exact rule of holiness prescribed. The law forbids all sin, and enjoins all
holiness. It is a spiritual rule, not resting only in an outward conformity. It keeps
secret thoughts under awe. The law of God is operative, not as a dead letter: it has an
active power to work upon the heart. The Spirit of God goes along with it, and makes
it quick, and powerful, and sharp, and mighty in operation. As to the—
2. Nature and purpose of David’s perplexity; it may be resolved into these three
expressions.
(1) It is the speech of a man who confesses his ignorance; he knows not his
errors.
(2) It is the speech of him who sees many errors in himself, and suspects more,
and is astonished at the consideration of them.
(3) He utters his thoughts with a sighing accent, and groans within himself at the
sense of them. As to the matter of this question, take it thus—Who understands
the nature of all his actions, whether they be erroneous or not? Or thus—Who
ever yet kept such a careful account in his conscience as to register the just
number of his sins? Or thus—Who understands the many aggravations that may
make a seemingly small sin out of measure sinful? What is the ground whence
arises this difficulty of discerning errors? Chiefly from these three. The Divine
excellency of the law of God. The marvellous subtlety and closeness of man’s
spirit. The falsehood of Satan, his depths of deceitfulness. Use the subject for
conviction, and for consolation. (Bishop Browning.)
Knowledge of one’s sins
I. To acquire a knowledge of our sinfulness is exceedingly difficult. This may be inferred
from the fact that very few acquire this knowledge, and that none acquire it perfectly. We
learn, both from observation and from the Scriptures, that of those sins of the heart, in
which men’s errors or sinfulness principally consist in the sight of God, they are all by
nature entirely ignorant. Men will not come to the Saviour because they do not feel their
need of Him. It is difficult to get a knowledge of our sin, for the influences of the Divine
Spirit are represented as necessary to communicate this knowledge. But it would be
needless to convince men of sin if they were not ignorant of their sins. Mankind are so
blind to their own sinfulness, so ignorant of their true characters, that the Spirit of God
alone can remove this blindness.
II. Show why it is so.

100. 1. Because men are ignorant of the Divine law. By the law is the knowledge of sin. St.
John says, sin is a deviation from the law. But mankind are naturally ignorant of the
Divine law. They are alive without the law. He who would understand his errors must
understand the Divine law.
2. Another cause is the nature of the human mind. It is like the eye which, while it
perceives other objects, cannot see itself (save in a mirror). Men find it difficult to
examine themselves.
3. Another cause is the prevalence of self-love. Every man is extremely partial ill
judging himself, and exceedingly unwilling to discover his own faults.
4. The deceitfulness of sin is another cause.
5. Another is the effects which sin produces upon men’s understandings and
consciences. These faculties are the eyes of the soul, without which he can discern
nothing. Just so far as sin prevails in the heart and life, so far it puts out or darkens
these eyes of the mind with respect to all spiritual objects; so that the more sinful a
man really is, so much the less sinful does he appear to himself to be. (E. Payson, D.
D.)
Self-ignorance
It is no supposition, but an unquestionable fact, that to not a few of us, from the first
moment of existence, there has been present, not beneath the roof but within the breast,
a mysterious resident, an inseparable companion, nearer to us than friend or brother, yet
of whom, after all, we know little or nothing. Many are the reasons why we should be
acquainted with our moral nature. Other portions of self-knowledge we may with
comparative harmlessness neglect, but to neglect this is full of peril. And we can never
depute the work to another. Unnoticed error in the heart, unlike intellectual deficiencies,
not merely affects our temporal condition or our social reputation, but may issue in our
eternal ruin. Yet a man’s moral defects are most likely to elude his own scrutiny. There is
a peculiar secrecy, an inherent inscrutability, about our sins. It is the peculiar
characteristic of moral disease, that it does its deadly work in secret. Sin is a malady
which affects the very organ by which itself is detected. One reason why the sinful man
does not understand his errors is—
I. That sin can be truly measured only when it is resisted. So long as evil reigns
unopposed within it will reign m a great degree unobserved. Resistance m the best
measure of force. Sin’s power is revealed only in the act of resistance. When the softening
principle of Divine love and grace begins to thaw the icy coldness of a godless heart, then
it is that the soul becomes aware of the deadly strength of sin. Then comes the feeling of
an hitherto unrealised burden.
II. Sin often makes a man afraid to know himself. A man often has a latent misgiving
that all is not right with his soul, yet, fearing to know the whole truth, he will inquire no
further. Most men prefer the delicious tranquillity of ignorance to the wholesome pains
of a self-revelation. Easily alarmed in other cases, men become strangely incurious here.
With many, life is but a continuous endeavour to forget and keep out of sight their true
selves.
III. The slow and gradual way in which, in most cases, sinful habits and dispositions are
acquired. There is something in the mere fact of the gradual and insidious way in which
changes of character generally take place, that tends to blind men to their own defects.

101. Everyone knows how unconscious we often are of changes that occur by minute and slow
degrees, as in the case of the seasons. How imperceptibly life’s advancing stages steal up
on us! Analogous changes equally unnoted, because equally slow and gradual, may be
occurring in our moral nature, in the state of our souls before God. Character is a thine of
slow formation. Each day helps to mould it. In a thousand insignificant sacrifices of
principle to passion, of duty to inclination, a man’s moral being has been fashioned into
the shape it wears.
IV. As character gradually deteriorates, there is a parallel deterioration of the standard
by which we judge it. As sin grows, conscience declines in vigour, and partakes of the
general injury which sin inflicts on the soul. Sin, in many of its forms, has an ugly look at
first, but its repulsiveness rapidly wears off by familiarity. The danger of self-ignorance is
not less than its guilt. Of all evils a secret evil is most to be deprecated,—of all enemies a
concealed enemy is the worst. However alarming, however distressing self-knowledge
may be, better that than the tremendous evils of self-ignorance. (Principal Caird, D. D.)
Sin unmeasurable
What we know is as nothing compared with what we do not know. This is true of our
errors.
I. Explain the question. We all own that we have errors, but who of us can understand
them? They mingle with our good, and we cannot detect them so as to separate them.
And this not only in our feelings, but in our actions. And their number, guilt, aggravation
—who can understand this? Let each one think of his own errors and their peculiar
wickedness.
II. Impress it on the heart. In order to a man’s understanding his errors he must
understand the mystery of—
1. The fall. Here is a piece of iron laid upon the anvil. The hammers are plied upon it
lustily. A thousand sparks are scattered on every side. Suppose it possible to count
each spark as it falls from the anvil; yet who could guess the number of the unborn
sparks that still lie latent and hidden in the mass of iron? Now your sinful nature may
be compared to that heated bar of iron. Temptations are the hammers; your sins the
sparks. If you could count them (which you cannot do), yet who could tell the
multitude of unborn iniquities—eggs of sin that lie slumbering in your souls. And so
we are not to think merely of the sins that grow on the surface, but if we could turn
our heart up to its core and centre we should find it as fully permeated with sin as
every piece of putridity is with worms and rottenness. The fact is, that man is a
reeking mass of corruption. His whole soul is by nature so debased and so depraved
that no description which can be given of him even by inspired tongues can fully tell
how base and vile a thing he is.
2. God’s law especially in its spiritual application. It is exceeding broad.
3. The perfection of God.
4. Hell.
5. The Cross. George Herbert saith very sweetly—“He that would know sin, let him
repair to Olivet, and he shall see a Man so wrung with pain that all His head, His
hair, His garments bloody be. Sin was that press and vice which forced pain to hunt
its cruel food through every vein.” You must see Christ sweating, as it were, great

102. drops of blood. You must drink of the cup to its last dregs, and like Jesus cry—“It is
finished,” or else we cannot know the guilt of our sin.
III. The practical application.
1. The folly of hoping for salvation by our own righteousness.
2. Or by our feelings.
3. What grace is this which pardons sin! Blessed be God, the spotless flood of Jesus’
merit is deeper than the height of mine iniquities. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The soul’s error
“Error,” what a word, what a thing! It is the foundation stone of Satan’s kingdom in the
world; ay, and by it be builds up and sustains his empire in the world. Two things are
suggested here concerning the soul’s errors—
I. They are mysterious. “Who Call understand his errors?”
1. They are mysterious in their origin. Wire can explain the genesis of error?
2. They are mysterious in their number. Who can count them? They baffle all human
arithmetic.
3. They are mysterious in their working. How Wondrously they work!
4. They are mysterious in their influence. Who shall tell the influence of one error, on
one individual, on society, on the universe?
II. They are polluting. “Cleanse Thou me.” Errors stain the conscience and the heart,
they are moral filth.
1. The cleansing of the soul from error is a work of supreme urgency. “Cleanse Thou
me.” Without this cleansing there can be no true liberty, dignity, or happiness, no
fellowship with God, no heaven.
2. The cleansing of the soul from error is the work of God. “Cleanse Thou me.” We
cannot cleanse ourselves, though our agency in the matter is indispensable. “Create
ill me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Homilist.)
The difficulty of attaining to a knowledge of our sin
We have here a question put and a prayer offered. But the implied answer to the question
must be taken with some limitations; for—
I. Some knowledge of one’s errors is essential to salvation. Such as—
1. Will awaken the soul of man.
2. Drive him out of all the refuges of lies to which he will betake himself for salvation.
3. Convince him that he is utterly helpless and deserves to perish.
4. Make him come to Christ and accept the Gospel. But when men are brought to all
this, then they ask—
II. Who can understand his errors? For—

103. 1. He cannot understand the errors that he knows—their nature, their variety, their
number, their aggravation, their demerit.
2. Of many of his errors he has no knowledge at all. See how long men remain in sin
and are not disturbed by it. Conclusion: How humbled should we be. How forbearing
is God. How precious Christ’s redemption. How mighty the work of the Holy Spirit.
How thorough in its working true faith is. But how little of it there is. (J. R.
Anderson.)
Self-knowledge
The foundation of all spiritual wisdom must be ]aid in self-knowledge. Yet men neither
desire nor seek such knowledge. There is nothing that they desire less. Yet without there
can be no true religion. The form may be maintained but the power will be unknown. But
the good man will seek this knowledge, though he will not fully attain it.
I. The humiliating confession implied in the Psalmist’s question. It is implied that no
man can understand his errors. And reasons for this are—
1. The infinite purity of God’s law, surpassing our comprehension.
2. Self-love, which makes him tender and partial in estimating his own faults.
3. The impossibility of recollecting every instance, even of undoubted transgression.
They are so many, so varied, so secret.
II. The humble petition which follows this confession. David knew that none of his sins
were hidden from God, though they might be from himself. And he knew that they
defiled and polluted his soul. Hence his prayer. It is the blood of Jesus Christ which
alone can cleanse us. Turn, therefore, in confession and penitence to Him. (J. Jowett, M.
A.)
Difficulty of knowing our faults
A small portion of light, it is said, only serves to render darkness more visible; so, when
the light of truth begins to penetrate the mind, it shows that there is within us a dark
abyss; and every additional ray discovers more of the intricate windings of the human
heart. For there is not only dense darkness, but many false and deceitful appearances
which turn out upon investigation very different from what they seemed to be. David felt
this, and hence our text.
I. Inquire why it is so difficult to know our own faults. We may know an act to be a sin,
and yet not know all the moral evil that is in it. But—
1. One reason why we know so little of ourselves is, that so few reflect.
2. Another is, our thoughts are so fugitive.
3. Our feelings are so mixed as to their character.
4. Pride and self-love.
5. Our dislike of that which excites, as our sins do—painful feelings. Remorse is an
intolerable pain. And so is the “looking for of judgment.”
6. We judge ourselves by the flatteries of others;

104. 7. And by the ordinary conduct of men.
8. Failure to apply to ourselves the true standard of rectitude. “I was alive without
the law once.” How, then, ought we to watch our hearts and continually seek the
grace of God.
II. The import of this prayer. It is for deliverance not only from known, but from hidden
sins also. And there is a two-fold cleansing—
1. That of expiation.
2. That of sanctification. Not only do we need pardon, but the continual purification
of our souls.
Conclusion—
1. The best evidence of the existence of a holy nature is the sincere and prevailing
desire of perfect holiness. A gracious state is not proved by the persuasion that we
have attained it, but by the ardent, habitual desire after it.
3. When on account of sin the conscience is again burdened, we must turn again to
the blood of Christ.
4. Remember many of our sins are hidden, but they lead on to presumptuous sins.
(A. Alexander, D. D.)
Thy heart’s ignorance of itself
I. The question. “Who can understand his errors?” “Error” is one of the mildest words we
use to describe wrong-doing. Sin, guilt, wickedness, iniquity, seem to be terms that carry
heavy blame along with them; but when we say of a man merely that he is “in error,” we
consider we are speaking leniently. And yet “error” really conveys, perhaps, a clearer idea
of what sin in its essence is than any of the other words. For what is error but the
straying out of a path, the wandering from a way? There is no better definition of sin. The
soul has a way, a path, designed for it, just as a planet has an orbit. The difference
between the star and the soul is, that the one keeps to its appointed course while the
other wanders; but when we ask why this is so, when we try to find out the cause of such
unlikeness of behaviour, we touch one of the deepest senses in which it is possible to ask
the question, Who can understand his errors?
1. Who can understand error as such? Why should that be true of the human soul
which is true of nothing else that is or lives, so far as we know, namely, that it is able
to break the law?
2. Who can understand his errors, in the sense of understanding the way in which
the principle of sin works in the heart, and manifests itself in the life?
(1) How often men, in the bitterness of their souls, cry, What can have possessed
me that I should have said or done thus or so? They cannot imagine their true
selves having said or done the thing, and so they fall back upon the fancy that
some other being came in and took unrightful possession of the conscience,
usurped it, thus making possible that which would have been impossible had the
lawful sovereign continued on the throne. But this only shows how little we know
ourselves, how hard it is for us to understand our errors.
(2) When we take into account hereditary tendencies and dispositions, when we
consider how much easier it is for one person to resist the temptation to

105. intemperance, or violence of speech, than for another, the problem becomes still
more complicated.
(3) Letting go the past altogether, when we try to distinguish between the various
sources from which, and channels through which, our temptations approach us,
how embarrassed we find ourselves. We are conscious that some of our
temptations come directly through the channels of sense; we see that others, such
as the allurements of ambition and the attractions of praise, touch us from the
side of “the world,” so-called, or society; while of still others we can only say that
they either originate in our own spirits or else are communicated by contact with
other spirits, of whose nearness at this time or that we are ignorant. Yet when we
have conceded the justice of this analysis, it remains exceedingly difficult to
decide, in any given instance, from Which one of the three possible sources the
temptation which happens for the moment to be pressing us with its vehement
appeals has come. It is a point in favour of a beleaguered army if the general in
command only knows on which side to anticipate the next attack, but where there
is uncertainty about this, or what is worse, where there is the fear that the assault
may come from all quarters at once, there must be corresponding loss of heart.
II. The prayer. “Cleanse Thou me,” etc. Here is the help, just here. Invite the Saviour of
the soul to enter in through the gateway of the soul, and to take up His dwelling there.
There is no one who comprehends a piece of mechanism so well as the inventor and the
maker of it. You may call this a rough figure of speech, and yet, up to a certain point, it is
a just one. The soul is, indeed, something much better than a watch; but still the watch
and the soul have this much at least in common: each has had a maker, and it is only
reasonable to say that no one can possibly understand the thing made so thoroughly as
the one who made it. But note carefully the precise point where the soul has the
advantage of the watch. It is here; the watchmaker touches the wheels and springs from
without. He handles them with most marvellous dexterity, to be sure, but still, after all, it
is only handling. The Maker of the soul can do more than handle His workmanship. He
has the added power of entering in and dwelling within it, yes, actually within it, as
intimately as the life power dwells within the very juices of the plant, making it lily or
carnation, anemone or violet, each after its kind. Those cures are the most effectual that
heal the man from within. Surface remedies are proverbially disappointing. Defects of
constitution, deeply concealed flaws of nature, yield only to healing forces that, like an
atmosphere breathed in, penetrate to the very inmost sources of life. It is so with the
secret faults, the hidden flecks, the unnoticed weaknesses which mar the wholeness and
sap the strength of the spiritual man. We need to breathe in more of God if we would
breathe out more of goodness. We need to have within our veins and bounding in our
pulses more of the blood of Christ if we would have the blood of Christ save us indeed,
for it is not by an outward washing that God is making ready a people for Himself, but by
that inward cleansing which begins at the heart. (W. R. Huntington, D. D.)
Errors
By errors he means his unwitting and inconsiderate mistakes. There are sins, some
which are committed when the sun shines, i.e. with light and knowledge, and then, as it
is with colours when the sun shines, you may see them, so these a man can see and know,
and confess them particularly to be transgressions; there are other sins, which are
committed either in the times of ignorance or else (if there be knowledge) yet with
inobservance: either of these may be so heaped up in the particular number of them that,

106. as a man did (when he did commit them), take no notice of them, so now after the
commission, if he should take the brightest candle to search all the records of his soul,
yet many of them would escape his notice. And, indeed, this is a great part of our misery,
that we cannot understand all our debts: we can easily see too many, yet many more, he
as it were dead, and out of sight; to sin is one great misery, and then to forget our sills is
a misery too: if in repentance we could set the battle in array, point to every individual
sin, in the true and particular times of acting and re-acting, oh how would our hearts be
more broken with shame and sorrow, and how would we adore the richness of the
treasure of mercy which must have a multitude in it, to pardon the multitude of our
infinite errors and sins. (O. Sedgwick, B. D.)
Errors discovered to the heart
Nevertheless, though David saith, Who can understand his errors? as the prophet
Jeremiah spake also, The heart of man is desperately wicked, who can know it? yet must
we bestir ourselves at heaven to get more and more heavenly light to find out more and
more of our sinnings: so the Lord can search the heart; and though we shall never be able
to find out all our sins which we have committed, yet it is possible, and beneficial, for us
to find out yet more sins than yet we do know: and you shall find these in your own
experience, that as soon as ever grace entered your hearts you saw sin in another way
than ever you saw it before, yea, and the more grace hath traversed and increased in the
soul, the more full discoveries hath it made of sins: it hath shown new sins as it were,
new sins, not for their being, not as if they were not in the heart and life before, but for
their evidence, and our apprehension and feeling: we do now see such ways and such
inclinations to be sinful which we did not think to be so before: as physic brings those
burnouts, which had their residence before, now more to the sense of the patient: or as
the sun makes open the motes of dust which were in the room before, so doth the light of
the Word discover more corruption. (O. Sedgwick, B. D.)
Cleanse Thou me from secret faults.—
Secret faults
Temptation comes to all men everywhere, and St. Bernard roundly says, “All life is a
temptation,” which means that it is a history of attacks and resistances, victories and
defeats, in spiritual things. How could we ever expect to hear the praise, “Well done,
good and faithful servant,” if we had gained no victories over self? And how shall we gain
them without effort? Temptation has various sources—our own weakness, Satan’s plots,
and God’s purposes. Examination shows that temptation is allowed for in God’s plan.
Still, we are not to think God is Himself the author of temptation. The fact is, temptation
has different meanings and objects, according to the different sources from which it
comes. It was from mere malignity Satan tempted Job. It was from party spirit and self-
sufficiency the lawyers questioned Christ, tempting Him. It is from coveting that those
who would be rich fall into temptations; but when God allows us to be tempted, His trials
are for our good, to disclose our weakness, to increase our strength, to rebuke our
waywardness, or bring back our wandering steps. Even in their fails God’s love pursues
and overtakes His children. The first thing for us to do is to discover what is our
temptation and our tempter. There are inveterate habits of thought, speech, and conduct
which are chronic temptations one has hardly a knowledge of, and no will to resist. And
here, in these, are the great battlefields for us; and the discovery of these to us is a special

107. occasion of God’s grace to us. When you have found out your special sin, the next thing is
to enter the lists against it in a solemn way, a solemn and prepared way. We want the
Holy Spirit’s help to know what cannot otherwise be known, the sin which doth most
easily beset us. This is to be prayed for, and waited for, and worked for, and part of the
prayer must be the attitude of the praying life, a watching soul, a secretly self-
questioning soul, a retirement into a sort of inner oratory in one’s own self, there
expecting and asking that God may show us ourselves, and enable us to discover, judge,
and disapprove ourselves. (T. F. Crosse, D. C. L.)
Secret sins
In the Lateran council of the Church of Rome a decree was passed that every true
believer must confess his sins, all of them, once a year to the priest, and they affixed to it
this declaration, that there is no hope, else, of pardon being obtained. How absurd. Can a
man tell his sins as easily as he can count his fingers? If we had eyes like those of God we
should think very differently of ourselves. The sins that we see and confess are but like
the farmer’s small samples which he brings to market when he has left his granary full at
home. Let all know that sin is sin, whether we see it or not: though secret to us, it is as
truly sin as if we had known it to be so, though not so great as a presumptuous sin. But
we want to speak to those whose sins are not unknown to themselves, but still are secret
from their fellow men. Every now and then we turn up a fair stone which lies upon the
green mound of the professing Church, surrounded with the verdure of apparent
goodness, and we are astonished to find beneath it all kinds of filthy insects and
loathsome reptiles. But that would not be just. Let me speak to you who break God’s
covenant in the dark and wear a mask of goodness in the light, who shut the doors and
sin in secret.
I. What folly you are guilty of. It is not secret, it is known. God knows it. This world is
like the glass hives wherein bees sometimes work: we look down upon them, and we see
all the operations of the little creatures. So God looketh down and seeth all.
II. The misery of secret sins. They who commit them are in constant fear of discovery. If
I must be a wicked man, give me the life of a roystering sinner, who sins before the face
of day: let me not act as a hypocrite and a coward. A mere profession is but painted
pageantry, to go to hell in, the funeral array of dead souls; guilt is a “grim chamberlain,”
even when his fingers are not bloody red. Secret sins bring fevered eyes and sleepless
nights. Hypocrisy is a hard game to play at.
III. Its solemn guilt. You do not think there is any evil in a thing unless somebody sees it,
do you? If somebody did see, then there would be evil. But to play a trick and never be
discovered, as we do in trade, that is all fair. I do not believe that. A railway servant puts
up a wrong signal, there is an accident, the man is tried and punished. He did the same
thing the day before, but there was no accident, and so no one accused him. But it was
just the same; the accident did not make the guilt, but the deed. It was his business to
have taken care. Secret sin is the worst of sin, because in his heart the man is an atheist.
IV. The danger of secret sin. It will grow into a public one. You cannot preserve
moderation in sin. The melting of the lower glacier in the Alps is always followed by that
of the higher. When you begin to sin you go on. Christians, you dare not spare these
secret sins; you must destroy them.
V. I beseech you give them up. You who are almost persuaded to be a Christian. Will you
have your sin and go to hell, or leave your sin and go to heaven? Some say, “You are too

108. precise.” Will you say that to God at the last? Secret sinner, in the great day of judgment
what will become of thee? (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The cry from the chasm
The Tay Bridge fell because of “secret faults,”—a few little blisters on a girder or two.
David fell through “secret faults.” Three lives we live, concentric circles they are, within
one another, connected yet separate.
1. The outside life, in society, among our fellow men. This outside life, comparing
with the other inner lives, is lived with a dangerous facility. Society life is lived very
easily. And yet it may be one seething mass of rottenness and hypocrisy. Yes, this
outside life is easily lived, profession easily made, and easily and spotlessly acted up
to, and because of that we find this prayer of the Psalmist does not refer in particular
to this outmost circle, although, of course, to this outmost circle all the eddying
movements for fouler or cleaner must in time extend.
2. An inner life we live when the door flings to its hinges on the world, the life in our
home group, in our family circle. Here we manage to raise a little the society mask;
we can almost lift it up and lay it down, and let our eyes look on our real selves. Our
surroundings at home are more favourable to the revealing of our true character. The
inspection of our home privacy is prejudiced in our favour. But here again there is a
Pinchbeck imitation. A saint abroad, they say, may be a devil at home; true, but a
devil abroad may be a saint at home. And a saint abroad and a saint at home too may
be a devil at heart. The whole role of the saint we can easily act to minutest detail as a
member or office bearer of the Church, and the “pious fraud” can be carried through
without a hitch in our home circle. The imitation may defy detection from the search
of the strongest household microscopes.
3. The inmost life, the region of David’s prayer for cleansing, is heart life. Into this
privacy not another being is admitted. Here is solitude unbroken. If unbosom we
would, we could not. God has walled round the spirit world with the walls
unclimbable and unwingable. Nobody knows but Jesus—the battles of the soul, the
halting, the stumbling, the fainting, the falling, the fleeing, the thoughts hard, the
thoughts bad, the thoughts harsh and hateful, the temptings, the struggles, the sins,
the uncleanness—the black poisoned streams pouring from the old death jets of the
fountain day by day. Why does David pray for cleansing? What is prayer? It is the
appeal to power from powerlessness, the strong cry from helplessness to help. Here
in this inmost life faults are truly “secret”—secret from the man himself. That is the
bidden plague-spot, and well may we wince when we touch the place. We cannot play
the hypocrite here. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” No mask here. Entirely
helpless; if we seek cleansing, we must get it outside ourselves. For it we must pray to
God. Why, O burdened psalmist heart, needest thou pray for cleansing of secret
faults? In most folk’s vocabulary “secret” is comfortable, quieting, secure, and safe.
Well dost thou know that faults secret to others, and secret to thee, are not secret to
God. The prayer is from David’s helplessness before the secret faults of his own soul;
but the agonising timbre of the petition is from the overpowering sense of this inward
depravity and corruption, secret and unknown to him, yet spread out in a terrible roll
before Him who cannot look upon the shadow of sin. This staggering thought is one
reason for the earnestness of this prayer. (J. Robertson.)

109. Secret faults
The Psalmist is thinking of the errors that we don’t understand, and of which we are not
conscious.
1. There are faults which are secret, because they are bound up with our dispositions
and characters. We see every day how blind men become to their own habitual faults.
2. There are secret faults which are due to the influence of our surroundings. There is
a law known to naturalists as the law of protective colouring, according to which
animals grow into the likeness of their environment. There is such a law in society.
Human beings tend to assimilate themselves to the customs and opinions of the
world around them. In the business world men do, without hesitation, what they
could not do if they applied the law of Christ to the regulation of their daily calling.
The society in which we live affects us. It tends to bring us down to its level, and
imbues us with its opinions.
3. There are secret faults which consist of undeveloped germs and possibilities of evil
that lie lurking in our hearts.
How are we to be delivered from these secret faults?
1. Set about the work of self-examination. Careful and judicious self-examination lies
at the bottom of all progressive Christianity. It may be done in a morbid,
introspective way, but it need not be.
2. We must apply ourselves to the study of the Word of God.
3. We should bring ourselves into the holy presence of Jesus Christ.
4. We must learn to pray the Psalmist’s prayer. We cannot cleanse ourselves, we
need to be cleansed. Christ must live in us by His Holy Spirit if we are to be cleansed
from our secret faults, and to become pure even as He is pure. (J. C. Lambert.)
Secret faults
Unless we have some just idea of our hearts and of sin we can have no right idea of a
Moral Governor, a Saviour, or a Sanctifier. Self-knowledge is at the root of all real
religious knowledge. Self-knowledge admits of degrees. No one, perhaps, is entirely
ignorant of himself Most men are contented with a slight acquaintance with their hearts,
and therefore a superficial faith. Men are satisfied to have numberless secret faults. They
do not think about them either as sins or as obstacles to strength of faith, and live on as if
they had nothing to learn.
1. A ready method of convincing ourselves of the existence in us of faults unknown to
ourselves is to consider how plainly we see the secret faults of others.
2. Now reflect on the actual disclosures of our hidden weakness, which accidents
occasion. Integrity on one side of our character is no voucher for integrity on
another. We cannot tell how we should act if brought under temptations different
from those which we have hitherto experienced.
3. This much we cannot but allow; that we do not know ourselves in those respects in
which we have not been tried. But further than this: What if we do not know
ourselves even where we have been tried, and found faithful? The recorded errors of
Scripture saints occulted in those parts of their duty in which they showed obedience
most perfect.

110. 4. Think of this too: No one begins to examine himself, and to pray to know himself,
but he finds within him an abundance of faults which before were either entirely, or
almost entirely, unknown to him. That this is so we learn from the written lives of
good men, and our own experience of others. And hence it is that our best men are
ever the most humble.
5. But let a man persevere in prayer and watchfulness to the day of his death, yet he
will never get to the bottom of his heart. Though he know more and more of himself
as he becomes more conscientious and earnest, still the full manifestation of the
secrets there lodged is reserved for another world.
Call to mind the impediments that are in the way of your knowing yourselves or feeling
your ignorance.
1. Self-knowledge does not come as a matter of course; it implies an effort and a
work. The very effort of steadily reflecting is painful to some men, not to speak of the
difficulty of reflecting correctly.
2. Then comes in our self-love. We hope the best; this saves us the trouble of
examining. Self-love answers for our safety.
3. This favourable judgment of ourselves will especially prevail if we have the
misfortune to have uninterrupted health and high sprats and domestic comfort.
4. Next consider the force of habit. Conscience at first warns us against sin; but if we
disregard it, it soon ceases to upbraid us; and thus sins, once known, in time become
secret sins.
5. To the force of habit must be added that of custom. Every age has its own wrong
ways.
6. What is our chief guide amid the evil and seducing customs of the world?
Obviously the Bible. These remarks may serve to impress upon us the difficulty of
knowing ourselves aright, and the consequent danger to which we are exposed of
speaking peace to our souls when there is no peace. Without self-knowledge you have
no root in yourselves personally; you may endure for a time, but under affliction or
persecution your faith will not last. (J. H. Newman, B. D.)
Concealing faults
Various causes contribute to conceal from a man his faults.
I. A defect of knowledge. Many sin against God without being conscious of it. Where
ignorance is unavoidable there sin may be excusable; but a man who would avail himself
of this plea must make it appear that his ignorance was not owing to any want of care on
his part to find out the law. One principal cause that our sins are so much concealed from
our view is, that we form our standard of what is right, not from the pure and holy law of
God, but from the general opinion of our fellow sinners. The custom of the world is our
guide.
II. The want of a right disposition of mind. While we were flattering our pride with the
hope of having done everything right, we may have deceived ourselves in the very idea of
right. The want of right dispositions is a subject little considered. We are often under the
influence of desires and tempers positively evil, without knowing it, through the
deceitfulness of sin and of our own hearts. Consider this subject as the means of

111. rendering us humble. And let it make us watchful. (Christian Observer.)
Secret faults
Look at this two-fold deliverance asked for—grace to cleanse from secret or
presumptuous faults. All sins come under the category of secret sins, or those of
presumption. The conscience of David was becoming more sensitive; secret sins could be
secret no longer. We may perhaps compare that development of moral sensitiveness
which the law is always promoting within every right-minded man with those advances
of physical science by which unknown worlds above and beneath us have been brought
into view, and disease detected in stages in which its presence was unsuspected by our
forefathers. A century ago man’s observations had not got very far beyond the range of
his unassisted senses. Our astronomers have scarcely completed the sum of the stars
brought into view by the newest telescopes. The biologist has discovered just as many
new worlds as the student of the heavens. He finds sphere of marvellous life within
sphere, and yet other spheres more deeply bidden within these, like ball within ivory ball
in Oriental carving. An Italian doctor brings his microscope to bear, and, floating within
a foot of the soil of the Campagna, finds the malignant bacillus which is at the root of the
malarial fever of Rome. Our forefathers knew only the superficial facts of disease,
corruption, decay. The biologist brings his concentrated lenses and his polarised light to
bear, and he watches every movement of the tiny armies of iconoclasts as they
undermine and break up the structure of the body at points where the ordinary observer
did not suspect their presence. He projects an electric beam through tubes filled with
stifled air, and the air is found to teem with spores that are undeveloped epidemics, with
potentialities of worldwide disaster in them. Within recent times we have heard of the
elaboration of instruments that may reveal new worlds of sound to us, as marvellous as
the worlds of form revealed by the microscope. It is said that no man ever knows what
his own voice is like till he hears it in Mr. Edison’s phonograph. We are told of another
instrument by which the breathings of insects are made audible. The medical expert may
yet be able to detect the faintest murmur of abnormal sound in the system that indicates
the approach of disease. And in the same way there must be the growth within us of a
fine moral science, that will bring home to our apprehension the most obscure of our
secret faults. But of all the sciences it is the most primitive and the most neglected. All
that we should know is known to the Searcher of our heart long before we become
conscious of it. He not only detects the flagrant faults, but the hidden blight that poisons
the vitality of religion. But how can there be responsibility for sins of which we are
ignorant? And how can there be guilt without responsibility? If ignorance is fated and
inevitable, there can be no responsibility. But ignorance is often self-caused. Many of our
sins are secret because we insist upon judging ourselves by human rather than Divine
standards of life and righteousness. Our sins assume popular forms and ramifications.
No more striking illustration of what the naturalists call the “law of protective colouring”
can be found than that which presents itself in the realm of ethics. You know what that
law is. The arctic fox, it is said, assumes a white fur in the winter months, so that it may
pass undetected over the snows. When the spring comes and the brown earth reappears,
it sheds those white hairs and assumes a fur the colour of the earth over which it moves.
Many fishes have markings that resemble the sand or gravel above which they make their
haunts. You may watch for hours, and till they move you are unable to recognise their
presence. The bird that broods on an exposed nest is never gaily coloured. However
bright the plumage of its mate, it is always attired in feathers that match its
surroundings, if it has to fulfil these dangerous domestic duties. Large numbers of

112. insects are so tinted as to be scarcely distinguishable from the leaves and flowers amidst
which they live. One insect has the power of assuming the appearance of a dried twig.
And is there not something very much like this in the sphere of human conduct? Our sins
blend with the idiosyncrasies of the age and disguise themselves. Of course, we do not sin
in loud, flashing colours, if we make any pretension to piety at least. Our sins always
perfectly compose with the background of our surroundings. As a rule, they are sins into
which we fall in common with men we esteem, men who have established a hold upon
our affections, men whose sagacity we trust, and who by their excellence in some things
lead us to think very lightly of the moral errors they illustrate in other things. Oh, the
blinding tendency of this judgment by popular standards to which we are so prone! All
this was sure to be illustrated in the history of the Psalmist. In the rough and tumble of
his wandering life and coarse associations he would be prone to forget the inner and
more delicate meanings and obligations of the law. The moral atmosphere pervading the
Cave of Adullam was not more wholesome than that pervading our unreformed
bankruptcy courts. The cave was not the best possible place in which to school a man in
the finer shades of right and wrong. Most of David’s sins in after life seem to have been
lurid reflections of the brutality, the unthinking ruthlessness, the impetuous animalisms
of his former companions in arms. He evidently felt the danger he was in of falling to the
level of his surroundings and of forgetting by how much he had fallen. Let us beware of
gliding into an unconfessed habit of testing ourselves by human standards, when God
has given to us higher and holier standards by which to measure ourselves. It is said that
all organic germs cease a few miles out at sea. Air taken from the streets or the
warehouses of the city yields large numbers of these germs. The air circulating through
the ship in dock is charged with them. After the shore has been left behind the air taken
from the deck is pure, but they are still found in air taken from the hold. After a few days
at sea the air on deck and in the hold alike yields no traces of these microscopic spores
that are closely connected with disease. Let us be ever breathing the spirit of God’s love.
Let us get away from the din and dust and turmoil of life, out upon that infinite sea of
love that is without length or breadth or depth, and our secret faults will vanish away and
we shall by and by stand without offence in the presence of God’s glory. Passion,
prejudice, ambition often blind men to their faults. When great passionate forces hurry
us on we are not more apt to see the shortcomings and specks of corruption in the
motives and actions of the passing moment, than the traveller by a racing express to see
the little ring of decay in the lily of the wayside garden past which he is flying. During the
Franco-Prussian War a regiment of Prussian soldiers was deploying from the shelter of a
wood, in full face of French fire. The appearance of the regiment as seen from a distance,
said one of the war correspondents, was like that of some dark serpent creeping out from
beneath the wood. The far-stretching figure seemed to leave a dark trail in its path. The
correspondent looked carefully through his glass, and this trail resolved itself under close
inspection into patches of soldiers who had fallen under French fire. Some of them were
seen to get on to their feet, stagger on a few paces, and fall again. The passion of battle
was upon them, and they were scarcely conscious of their wounds. And is it not thus with
us? We are intoxicated by the passion of life’s battle, the battle for bread and place and
power and conquest of every kind; and we stagger on, unconscious of the fact that we are
pierced with many a hidden wound. The excitements that are in the air whirl us along,
and we are all but insensible to the moral disaster He sees who watches the battle from
afar. Our slowness to recognise the hurt that has overtaken us may be the sign that the
pulse of vitality is fluttering itself out. “Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous
sins.” It is restraint, not purification, from presumptuous sin that the Psalmist asks in
the second portion of his prayer. Presumptuous sin has no place in a true child of God.
“He that is born of God doth not commit sin.” Cleansed by the forgiving grace of God, we

113. ought to need only deliverance from errors of inadvertence and infirmity. “He that is
bathed needeth not save to wash his feet.” No hallowing process, however complete, can
remove susceptibility to the temptation even to presumptuous sins. The work of
cleansing from secret fault sometimes creates a new peril. We need to be kept back from
it, as the restive horse needs the curb. David felt this, and therefore prayed this prayer.
(Thomas G. Selby.)
On the duty of examining into our secret faults
The faculties of the human mind are never acknowledged to be more imperfect, or at
least more inadequate, to the object proposed, perhaps, than when applied to estimate
the real merit, or demerit, of men’s actions; for, in order to form an opinion on this
subject that might have the sanction of strict justice, we must know the motives and
intentions of the heart. The generality of men divide their service between two masters,
and hence are neither wholly good nor wholly bad. And as we cannot fully understand or
appreciate the real character of others, so neither can we our own. Hence the petition
before us. Yet we can do something towards the understanding many of our errors and
secret faults; and this is our duty. Therefore I would—
I. Recommend the important duty of examining into our latent imperfections. And this
because the growth of character is so gradual. Not all at once do we become vicious, and
certainly not all at once do we attain the summits of virtue. We are in a great measure the
children of discipline, and therefore the sooner this begins the better. Our great perils are
not from the temptations of the open day, but those which are from within. These are the
parents, of almost every evil deed. How important, then, to attend to these “secret faults.
II. Specify some of those secret faults to which we are apt to be inattentive. They assume
all manner of disguises, and the mind will throw false glosses over its own deformity. The
mean rapacious wretch will call his conduct prudence, temperance, and provident
wisdom. The gloomy bigot will despise the warm, steady devotion of the rational
Christian. Pride will call itself independence of spirit; and meekness and gentleness will
be branded as meanness and pusillanimity. But above all things, we should attend to the
nature and the grounds of our satisfactions and pleasures, our griefs and vexations, in
the intercourse we carry on with the world.
III. Point out secret faults which, though conscious of them ourselves, we industriously
keep from the eyes of the world. There is hypocrisy in these, and hence they are worse
than others. As, for instance, courtesy in order to deceive, a wicked affectation of
Christian gentleness. These are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Such are religious from mere
worldly motives. They are hypocrites. Yet those who take no care to cleanse themselves
from errors of this sort must live and act under a state of the most wretched bondage to
the world. All is sacrificed to appearance. The passions, indeed, may be often mortified
and suppressed, though not from a sense of religious duty (for then it would be virtue),
but from “respect of persons,” or the fear of losing some advantage. Men who are thus
wedded, as it were, to sin are often as cruel and oppressive as they are selfish and
hypocritical. Though they cringe to power, and flatter to deceive; yet they will frequently
retire from the insults and vexations of the world within the circle of their respective
authority, and there vent their angry and malignant passions with redoubled vehemence
and malice.
IV. The correction of these evils. Live as in the sight of God, before whom the secrets of
all hearts shall be disclosed. We may deceive men, but we cannot deceive Him. A time

114. will shortly come when we shall be convinced that there is but “one thing needful,” which
is the mercy and protection of God, through the merits and atonement of Christ our
Lord. The fashion and the appearance of this world will then be so strangely reversed
that, among many good and faithful servants who are worthy to enter into the joy of their
Lord, we shall see some whose merits we thought highly of shrink from the awful trial of
the last day, and vanish like smoke before the wind; while the meek and humble virtues
of those whom we might have overlooked and neglected, or perhaps despised, shall shine
forth like the sun in His kingdom. (J. Hewlett, B. D.)
Secret faults
I. What are they?—They stand opposed to open and presumptuous sins. They relate
particularly—
1. To the secret bias of the heart to evil. There is what may be called latent guilt; a
propensity of the soul never yet developed, but which new circumstances may call
forth.
2. To unholy thoughts which we intend no other person shall know.
3. To those sinful emotions and affections which rise up in the best hearts almost
involuntarily, and against which the pure mind struggles. Old habits of evil will
torture for a long while the renewed soul.
4. To these plans of evil which are not prosecuted to their completion. Providence
hinders them, or else they would be carried out.
5. Those crimes which are perpetrated in darkness or under disguise.
II. Some of the ways in which sin is concealed.
1. Men design to conceal them. And we have the power to conceal our purposes.
Society could not exist if we had not such power. The body becomes the shield of the
soul, to guard our plans from the observation of all other minds but that of God. But
this power of concealment may be abused for purposes of evil, and often is so. But
such concealment of guilt is difficult. God has placed in the human frame by nature
certain indications of secret guilt; and He meant that where that guilt existed it
should betray itself for the well-being of society. He designed not only that the
conscience should check the offender, but He implanted in the frame itself certain
indications of guilt which He intended also to be a safeguard of virtue. Now, one
great art in this world is to obliterate the natural marks of guilt from the human
frame, and to counterfeit the indications of innocence. The object is so to train the
eye that it will not reveal the secret conviction of crime; so to discipline the cheek that
it will not betray the guilty by a sudden rush of blood there; so to fortify the hand and
the frame that they will not by trembling disclose the purposes of the soul. But he
drills and disciplines himself, and his eye is calm, and his countenance is taught to be
composed, and he speaks and acts as if he were an innocent man, and buries the
consciousness of the crime deep in the recesses of the soul. Soon the brow is like
brass, and the frame is schooled not to betray, and the living indexes of guilt which
God had affixed to the body are obliterated, and the conscience is seared, and the
whole man has departed from the beautiful form which God made, and has become
an artificial and a guilty thing. Again. The arts of polished and refined life, to a
melancholy extent, have the same object. They are so arranged as to conceal rancour,
and envy, and hatred, and the desire of revenge. They aim not to eradicate them, but

115. to conceal them.
2. Many secret sins are concealed because there is no opportunity of carrying the
purpose into execution.
3. Others, because the man has never yet been placed in circumstances which would
develop his character. Were they so placed it would be seen at once what they were.
III. Some reasons why we should adopt this prayer.
1. Because we specially need the grace of God to overcome them. If only by the grace
of God we can be kept in the paths of external morality, what protection is there in
the human heart against secret sins?
2. Such secret faults are peculiarly offensive to God, and we should therefore pray to
be cleansed from them. The guilt of the wicked plan is not annihilated or diminished
in the view of the Searcher of hearts, because He chooses to arrest it by His own
Providence or because He never allows the sinner the opportunity of accomplishing
it.
3. And I add, finally, that we should pray for this, because if secret faults are
indulged they will sooner or later break out like smothered fires, and the true
character of the heart will be developed. Fires uncap a mountain, because they have
been long accumulating, and can be confined no longer. A judge on the bench, like
Bacon, shocks the world by the undisputed fact that he has been bribed. The
community is horror-stricken, and we feel for the moment like distrusting every man,
and doubting all virtue and all piety, and we are almost led to conclude that all our
estimates of human character on which we have heretofore acted are false, and we
begin to distrust everybody. But such painful disclosures are not departures from the
great principles of human nature. There is a maxim that no one suddenly became
eminently vile. These lapses into sin are but the exponents of the real character of the
man, the regular results of a long course of guilt. And so our cherished faults will one
day manifest themselves, unless they are checked and removed by the grace of God
and the blood of atonement.
IV. In conclusion.
1. Distrust yourself, for “Who can understand his errors?”
2. Be humble. Others have fallen, so may you.
3. We have much to dread at the revelations of the day of judgment. With no
consciousness of sinfulness but such as I believe common to man, with the
recollection of the general aim of my life to do right, with great occasion for
thanksgiving that I have been preserved from the open vices that have ruined so
many who began the career of life with me, yet I confess to you that if there is
anything that I should more than all other things dread, it would be that the record of
all my thoughts and feelings should be exhibited to the assembled universe in the last
day. That the universe would acquiesce in my condemnation on such a revelation I
have no manner of doubt, And if there is any one thing for which I desire to give
unfeigned thanks more than others, it is that through the blood of Christ those sins
may be blotted out; and that through the infinite mercy of God the secret sins of
which I am conscious may never—no never—be disclosed to assembled worlds. (A.
Barnes, D. D.)

116. Secret faults
Jesus Christ when on earth was sneered at by persons who considered themselves highly
respectable, and on the whole very good sort of people. It is so now. As long as we are
careless and well pleased with ourselves, so long must His message of loving forgiveness
appear “foolishness” unto us. We cannot greatly desire to have the burden of sin taken
from us if we never have felt it at all. The first thing to be done in order to appreciate the
message of forgiveness of sin is to try and understand our errors. And do not be content
with mere general confessions. It is easy to say vaguely, “I am a miserable sinner”; it is
not quite so easy to say, “Last Monday I told that lie, on Tuesday I was guilty of that
mean action, and neglected my duty on this or that occasion,” and so on. Those who feel
most free from secret faults are just those who have most of them. The best men are the
most humble. It is no easy matter to understand our errors, and to know ourselves even
as other men know us, much less as God does. How clearly we can see failings in others
which they do not see. Be sure that others see faults in us which we do not see. Ah, if
some power would give us the gift of seeing ourselves as others see us. Help herein is to
be found by keeping a steady eye on the suspicious part of our character. Ask yourself,
“What in me would my enemy first fix on if he wished to abuse me, and what fault would
my neighbours be most ready to believe that I had? One cannot but be touched by that
story which some wise sanitary observer made known to the public. He noticed how a
young woman who had come up to London from the country, and was living in some
miserable court or alley, made for a time great efforts to keep that court or alley clean.
But gradually, day by day, the efforts of the poor woman were less and less vigorous,
until in a few weeks she became accustomed to, and contented with, the state of filth
which surrounded her, and made no further efforts to remove it. The atmosphere she
lived in was too strong for her. The same difficulty is felt in resisting our errors and
secret faults; but not to resist is fatal. A man is tempted to lie, to steal, to wrong his
neighbour, to indulge some bad passion, and resolves to do it only once, and thinks that
“just once” cannot matter. Oh, pause! That one sin is the trickling rill which becomes the
bounding torrent, the broad river, the waste, troubled, discoloured sea. Frequently
during Lent we should ask ourselves what are the bad habits that are beginning to be
formed in us? We should take the different spheres of life, and examine our conduct as
regards each of them. Let us judge ourselves, that we be not judged of the Lord in
reference to our business, our home, our pleasures. Our duty to God and our neighbour
is so and so, how have we done it? Above all, do we think of Christ as our King and
personal Saviour, or is all we really know of Him the sound of His name and the words
about Him in the Creeds? But some will ask, Why should I be troubled about my errors,
why should I seek to be cleansed from my secret faults? Such thoughts do come to men.
Help against them will be found in these facts—First, you have not to fight the battle
alone. Christ is your very present help. Then next, struggle after self-improvement,
because “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Our future destiny, our
eternal life, depends on what we do now. (E. J. Hardy, M. A.)
Kinds of sin
The terms used in the Word of God to describe the life of the Christian believer show that
it is not a path of ease, nor one of self-indulgence. Gurnall says, “The Christian’s work is
too delicate and too curious to be done well between sleeping and waking, and too
important to be done ill and clambered over, no matter how. He had need to be awake
that walks upon the brink of a deep river, or that treads on the brow of a steep hill. The
Christian’s path is so narrow, and the danger is so great, that it calls both for a nimble

117. eye to discern and a steady eye to direct; but a sleepy eye can do neither.”
I. Confession of sin. There are—
1. Secret faults. The heart is deceitful above all things: who can know it? Amazed at
the inward corruptions you discover, again and again in wonder you well may ask,
“Who can understand his errors?—who can count the number of the one-fourth part
of his secret faults?” Some persons think there is no harm in what they in their
ignorance call “errors,” or “little sins.” But “little sins, suppose them to be so, are very
dangerous. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. A little staff may kill a giant. A
little leak will sink a man-of-war. A little flaw in a good cause mars it. So a little sin, if
unforgiven, will bar up the doors of heaven, and set wide open the gates of hell.
Though the scorpion be little, it will sting to death a lion; and so the least sin will
destroy you forever, if not pardoned by the blood of Christ.” Watching, therefore,
your heart, you will resist every kind of sin, and bring it into subjection to the
obedience of Christ. But secret faults, if indulged, will break forth ere long into open
sins. These are what David here confesses as—
2. Presumptuous sins. David knew what he said when he thus spake. He knew that
lust, when it is conceived, bringeth forth sin, and that sin, when it is finished,
bringeth forth death. David had not forgotten the deceit, the lying, the murder, the
adultery, most awful sins of presumption, of which he himself had been guilty in the
matter of the wife of Uriah the Hittite.
II. Supplication of pardon. He prays to be delivered—
1. From the guilt of sin.
2. The power of sin. “Keep back from presumptuous sins.” David knew that, were it
not for the restraining grace of God, there was no sin which he might not be tempted
to commit. 0h, what a scene of sin and misery this fallen world of ours would become
were it not for this preventing power of God! See the ease of Abimelech in regard to
Sarah. Laban in regard to Jacob. And yet more does He hold back His people; David
from destroying Nabal.
III. Devotedness of life. He singles out two things.
1. Edifying discourse. “Let the words of my mouth,” etc.
2. Devout reflection.
3. He recognises the mainspring of all true religion. “O Lord, my strength and my
Redeemer.” We all need a Redeemer. (C. Clayton, M. A.)
On insensibility to offences
These words express a rational and affecting prayer without entering into any
interpretation of them. For who has not need to pray against his sins?
I. “Secret faults,” what are they? Not those which are concealed from mankind, but those
which are secret from the offender himself. That these are meant is evident from the
opening of the verse, “Who can tell how oft he offendeth?” There would be no reason in
the question if the sins were only those which other people did not know of. He must
mean those which he himself knew not off Looking back upon the sins of his past life,
David finds himself, as many of us must do, lost and bewildered in their number and
frequency. And besides these, there were many which were unnoticed, unreckoned, and

118. unobserved. Against these he prays.
II. But can there be any such secret sins? Yes, because habit makes us so familiar with
them by repetition, that we think nothing at all of them. These are not notorious crimes
but ordinary sins, both of omission and of commission. We may neglect any duty till we
forget that it is one. And so with sins of commission. Serious minds are shocked with
observing with what complete indifference and unconcern many forbidden things are
practised.
III. But are they not, therefore, sins? If there be no sense and perception of them, are
they yet sins? If it be denied that they are, then it is only the timorous beginner who can
be brought to account. It is not that the reasons against the sin have lessened or altered,
but only that they, by frequent commission of the sin, have become insensible of it. If the
sense be the measure of the guilt of sin, then the hardened sinner is well off indeed.
These secret sins, then, are sins. Then—
1. Let us join in this prayer, “Oh, cleanse,” etc.; and
2. See the exceeding great danger of evil habits of all kinds. (Archdeacon Paley, D.
D.)
Secret faults
We read in books about the West Indies of a huge bat which goes under the ugly name of
the vampire bat. It has obtained this name, sucking as it does the blood of sleepers, even
as the vampire is fabled to do. So far, indeed, there can be no doubt; but it is further
reported, whether truly or not I will not undertake to say, to fan them with its mighty
wings, that so they may not wake from their slumbers, but may be hushed into deeper
sleep while it is thus draining away the blood from their veins. Sin has often presented
itself to me as such a vampire bat, possessing, as it does, the same fearful power to lull its
victims into an ever deeper slumber, to deceive those whom it is also destroying. It was,
no doubt, out of a sense of this its deceiving power that the royal Psalmist uttered those
memorable words, “Who can understand his errors?”
I. How is it that sin is able to exercise this cheating, deluding power upon us? Oftentimes
great faults seem small faults, not sins but peccadilloes, and small faults seem no faults
at all to us; or, worse than this, that men walk altogether in a vain show, totally and
fatally misapprehending their whole spiritual condition, trusting in themselves that they
are righteous, with a lie in their right hand, awaking only when it is too late to the
discovery that they have fallen short altogether of the righteousness of God.
1. Sin derives its power altogether from ourselves. It has a friend and partisan in us
all. Hence we are only too ready to spare it and to come to terms with it, and not to
extirpate it root and branch as we should. Our love of ease leads to this. Obedience is
often hard and painful. But compliance with sin is almost always easy. Then, again,
there is our love of pleasure. The Gospel of the grace of God says, Mortify your
corrupt affections; do not follow nor be led by them. They war against the soul; and
you must kill them or they will kill you. Hard lesson to learn! unwelcome truth to
accept! And then, there is our pride. Every natural man has a certain ideal self which
he has set up, whether he knows it or not, in the profaned temple of his heart, for
worship there—something which he believes himself to be, or very nearly to approach
to being. And this ideal self, as I have called it, is something which he can regard with
complacency, with self-satisfaction, and, on the whole, with admiration. Will a man

119. willingly give this up, and abhor himself in dust and ashes?
II. How shall we deliver ourselves from these sorceries of sin, these delusions about
ourselves?
1. And as a necessary preliminary to any such endeavour, I would say, Grasp with a
full and firm faith the blessed truth of the one sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction
made for your sins. You will never dare to look your own sins full in the face till you
have looked up to the Cross of Calvary, and seen a Saviour crucified there for those
sins of yours. Till then you will be always seeking cloaks, palliations, excuses for sin,
playing false with your conscience, and putting darkness for light. You will be open to
the thousand suggestions that it is not that horrible thing which indeed in God’s sight
it is.
2. Then remember, that He who made the atonement for your sins, the same is also
the giver of the Spirit which convinces of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.
Throw open the doors and windows of the house of your soul. Let the light of God,
the light of the Holy Ghost, search every nook, penetrate every recess, find its way
into every chamber. Ask of God, ask earnestly and continually, for this convincing
Spirit. There is nothing else which will ever show us to ourselves as we really are.
Those Pharisees of old whom He who reads the secrets of all hearts denounced as
whited sepulchres, do you suppose they knew themselves to be hypocrites, actors of a
part, wearers of a mask, wholly different in the sight of God from that which they
were in one another’s sight and in the sight of an admiring world? Ab, no! he is but a
poor hypocrite who only deceives others; the true hypocrite has managed also, and
first, to deceive himself. So it was, no doubt, with those whom I speak of. Probably
nothing seemed more unjust to them than this charge of hypocrisy which the Lord
persisted in bringing against them; so deceitful and desperately wicked are these
hearts of ours. (R. Chenevix Trench, D. D.)
Secret sins
Self-examination is most necessary to the knowledge of our sins, but it of ten happens
that with all our search some sins may escape our notice. As in temporal concerns, men
often know that by a long course of prodigality, and many expensive vanities, they have
contracted a great debt upon their estates, and have brought themselves to the very brink
of poverty and distress, and yet, when they try to consider of their condition, find
themselves utterly unable to state their accounts, or to set forth the particulars of the
debt they labour under; but the more they endeavour to recollect, the more they are
convinced that they are mere strangers at home, and ignorant of their own affairs. So in
spiritual concerns likewise. Such was David’s feeling as expressed in the text. Whenever
men doubt their own sincerity and due performance of religious acts it is extremely
difficult to reason with their fears and scruples, and to dispossess them of the
misapprehensions they have of their own state and condition. Such suggestions as bring
ease and comfort to their minds come suspected, as proceeding from their own or their
friends’ partiality; and they are afraid to hope, lest even to hope in their deplorable
condition, should prove to be presumption, and assuming to themselves more than in
reason or justice belongs to them. But when we can show them men of approved virtue
and holiness, whose praise is in the Book of Life, who have struggled with the same fears
and waded through even the worst of their apprehensions to the peaceful fruits of
righteousness, it helps to quicken both their spirits and their understanding, and at once
to administer knowledge and consolation. And for this reason we can never sufficiently

120. admire the wisdom of God, in setting before us the examples of good men in their lowest
and most imperfect state. Had they been shown to us only in the brightest part of their
character, despair of attaining to their perfection might incline us to give over the
pursuit, by throwing a damp upon our best resolutions. But when we see how God raised
them up from their low estate, then heavenly joy and peace often spring from the lowest
depth of sorrow and woe. Now let us observe—
I. That the security and efficacy of repentance do not depend upon a particular
recollection of all our errors. What are secret sins? They are—
1. Negligences. These often surprise us in our devotions, for we find our fervour and
attention gone. We are not conscious of it at the time; the fault is secret to us.
2. Ignorances also. There is no conscious intent, as in sins of presumption.
3. But our sins may partake of the malice of the will, and yet escape the notice of the
understanding. For habit, custom, long usage in sin will so deaden conscience that
we lose the very sense and feeling of sin.
4. Being partakers in other men’s sins, which we are when by our ill example they
have been led to sin. Then we share with them in the guilt of their iniquity. How far
our influence spreads, to what instances and what degrees of vice, how many we
seduced by our example, or hardened by our encouragement, is more than we can
tell, and yet not more than we shall answer for. Those who are thus entered in our
service, and sin under our conduct, are but our factors. They trade for us, as well as
for themselves; and whatever their earnings are, we shall receive our due proportion
out of the wages of their sin. This is a guilt which steals upon us without being
perceived; it grows whilst we sleep, and is loading our account even when our bodies
are in the possession of the grave. The higher our station and the greater our
authority the more reason have we to fear being involved in this kind of guilt;
because in proportion to our authority will the infection of our example spread; and
as our power is great, our encouragement will be the more effectual. But then, on the
other side, the good men have done shall live after them, and be placed to their
account. It shall be part of their joy to see how others have been blessed through their
means.
II. The guilt we contract by them. There is guilt, else David had not prayed, “Cleanse
Thou me from secret faults.” They are sometimes the most heinous of all. The guilt of sin
does not arise from the power of our memory, nor is it extinguished by the weakness of
it. The consequence from the whole is this. That since many of our sins are secret to us,
they can only be repented of in general; and since many of our secret sins are very
heinous, they must seriously and solemnly be repented of. (T. Sherlock, D. D.)
Secret faults
Undiscovered sins. The Psalmist is thinking that, beyond the range of conscience and
consciousness, there are evils in us all.
I. In every man are sins of which the doer is unaware. Few of us are familiar with our
own appearance. Our portraits surprise us. The bulk of good men do not know
themselves. Evil has the strange power of deceiving us, and hiding from us our acts’ real
character. Conscience is loudest where it is least needed, and most silent where most
required. Conscience wants educating. We bribe our consciences as well as neglect them.
Down below every life there lies a great dim region of habits and impulses and fleeting

121. emotions, into which it is the rarest thing for a man to go with a candle in his hand, to
see what it is like. Ignorance diminishes criminality, but ignorance does not alter the
nature of a deed.
II. The special perilousness of hidden faults. As with a blight upon a rose tree, the little
green creatures lurk on the under side of the leaves, and in all the folds of the buds, and,
because unseen, they increase with alarming rapidity. The very fact that we have faults in
our characters, which everybody sees but ourselves, makes it certain that they will grow
unchecked, and so will prove terribly perilous. Those secret faults are like a fungus that
has grown in a wine cask; whose presence nobody suspected. It sucks up all the generous
liquor to feed its own filthiness, and when the staves are broken there is no wine left,
nothing but the foul growth. Many a Christian man and woman has the whole Christian
life arrested, and all but annihilated, by the unsuspected influence of a secret sin.
III. The discipline, or practical issues, to which such considerations should lead.
1. They ought to take down our self-complacency, if we have any. It should give us a
low estimate of ourselves.
2. It should lead us to practise rigid self-inspection.
3. We should diminish as much as possible the merely mechanical and instinctive
part of our lives. The less we live by impulse the better. A man’s best means of
knowing what he is is to take stock of what he does. If yon will put your conduct
through the sieve you will come to a pretty good understanding of your own
character.
4. One of the surest ways of making conscience more sensitive is always to consult it,
and always to obey it. If you neglect it, and let it prophesy to the wind, it will stop
speaking before long.
5. Compare yourselves constantly with your model. Do as the art students do in a
gallery—take your poor daub right into the presence of the masterpiece, and go over
it, line by line and tint by tint. Get near Jesus Christ, that you may learn duty from
Him, and you will find out many of the secret sins.
6. Ask God to cleanse us. Revised Version has, “Clear Thou me from secret faults.”
And there is present in the word, if not exclusively, yet at least predominantly, the
idea of a judicial acquittal. So we may be sure that, though our eye does not go down
there into the dark depths, God’s eye goes; and that where He looks He looks to
pardon, if we come to Him through Jesus Christ our Lord. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The anatomy of secret sins
I. In what respect are sins called secret? For the resolution of thin know that sins hath a
double reference. Either to God, and so really no sin nor manner of sinning is secret. Can
any hide himself in secret places, that I shall not see him? saith the Lord; do not I fill
heaven and earth? saith the Lord (Jer_23:24); it is true, that wicked men with an
atheistical folly imagine to hide themselves and their sinful ways from God, they seek
deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say,
Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? (Isa_29:15) But really it is not so, though the cloud
may somewhat eclipse the light of the sun, and though the dark night may shut it forth
altogether, yet there stands no cloud, nor curtain, nor moment of darkness or secrecy
twixt the eyes of God and the ways of man. The ways of a man are before the eyes of the

122. Lord, and He pondereth all his goings (Pro_5:21). Or to man, and thus indeed comes in
the division of sin into—
1. Open; and
2. Secret. Now, in this reset sin may be termed secret diversely—
1. In respect of the person sinning: when his very sinning is (formally considered)
hidden from himself; he doth a thing which is really sinful, but to him it is not
apprehensively so. What outrages did Paul breathe out against the Church in times of
his ignorance which he did not know to be acts of sin.
2. In respect of the manner of sinning, and thus sins may be termed secret.
(1) When they are coloured and disguised, though they do fly abroad, yet not
under that name, but apparelled with some semblances of virtues.
(2) When they are kept off from the stage of the world they are like fire in the
chimney; though you do not see it, yet it burns; just as ‘twixt a book shut and a
book opened, that which is shut hath the same lines and words, but the other
being opened, every man may see and read them.
(3) When they are kept, not only from a public eye, but from any mortal eye. But
what were those secret sins from which David desired to be cleansed? Nay, that is
a secret; he doth not instance in anyone, because his desire is to be freed from
everyone; he speaks indefinitely.
II. But what is that to be cleansed? There be two expositions of it.
1. One is that he desires to be justified, to be pardoned those sins. And indeed, the
blood of Christ which justifies is a cleansing thing, it wipes off the guilt.
2. Another is that he desires more to be sanctified, and that inward actings or
motions might be subdued. And observe, he doth desire to be cleansed, he doth not
desire to be dipped only into the water, or sprinkled; he doth not desire only to be a
little rinsed.
Where observe by the way three things.
1. First, he who hath received true grace needs more grace: our lives need to be still
reformed, and our hearts still to be cleansed.
2. Again, the progress and perfection of cleansing the soul appertains to God as well
as the beginning. The physician must go through with his cure, or else the patient will
relapse.
3. Lastly, persons truly holy and sensible desire yet further measures of holiness.
III. But why should we desire to be cleansed from secret sins?
1. Because secret sins will become public sins if they be not cleansed. It is with the
soul as it is with the body, wherein diseases are first bred and then manifested; and if
you suppress them not in their root, you shall shortly see them to break out in the
fruit: or as it is with fire catching the inside of the house first, and there if you do not
surprise it, it will make way for itself to get to the outside. Lust, when it hath
conceived, bringeth forth sin (Jas_1:15). But when they come to public and visible
actings, then they are a copy, they are exemplary sins; and like the plague infecting
Other persons, others are capable to imitate them, and so more souls are tainted; and
God now receives a common dishonour.

123. 2. Secret sins are apt to deceive us most, and therefore cleanse these.
(1) Because we have not that strict and spiritual judgment of the inwards of sin,
as of the outwards; many times we conceive of them as no sins at all.
(2) And because most men decline sin upon outward respects, which do not
reach the actings of secret sins; shame and fear, and observance are great, and
the only restraints to many. They do not live in and visibly commit such sins,
because they like not shame and are afraid of punishment.
(3) The strength of sin is inward, therefore labour to be cleansed from secret
sins.
The strength of a sin—
1. Lies in its nearness to the fountain, from whence it can take a quick, immediate,
and continual supply; and so do our secret sins, they are as near to original sin as the
first droppings are to the springhead.
2. It lies in the acceptance of the affections: love and liking set sin upon its throne.
3. It lies in the confidence of commission: now a man doth take more heart and
boldness to commit secret sins than open.
4. It lies in the iteration and frequency of acting, for sin often repeated and acted is
like a cable double in strength by the manifold twistings.
5. The principal object of God’s eye is the inward and secret frame of the soul,
therefore labour to be cleansed from secret sins (Psa_66:16). If I regard iniquity in
my heart the Lord will not hear me (Psa_51:6). Behold, Thou desirest truth in the
inward parts. (O. Sedgwick, B. D.)
True holiness hath a contrariety to all sin
1. That true holiness hath a repugnancy and a contrariety to all sins. It is not contrary
to sin, because it is open and manifest; nor to sin, because it is private and secret, but
to sin as sin, whether public or whether private, because both the one and the other is
contrary to God’s will and glory, as it is with true light, though it be but a beam, yet it
is universally opposite to all darkness: or as it is with heat, though there be but one
degree of it, yet it is opposite to all cold; so if the holiness be true and real, it cannot
comply with any known sin; you can never reconcile them in the affection; they may
have an unwilling consistence in the person, but you can never make then, to agree in
the affection.
2. That sanctification is not perfect in this life; he who hath most grace hath yet some
sin. Grace, though it may be sound and saving, yet is it not absolute and perfect.
3. Here you may understand the grounds and reasons of the many troubles and
heavy complaints of Christians. The main battle of a Christian is not in the open field;
his quarrels are most within, and his enemies are in his own breast. When he hath
reformed an ill life, yet it shall cost him infinitely much more to reform an ill heart;
he may receive so much power from grace at the beginning as in a short time to draw
off from most of the former gross acts of sinnings, but it will be a work of all his days
to get a thorough conquest of secret corruptions.
4. Then all the work of a Christian is not abroad, if there be secret sins to be
cleansed. There are two sorts of duties. Some are direct, which are working duties;

124. they are the colours of grace in the countenance and view of the conversation, setting
it forth with all holy evenness and fruitfulness and unblameableness. Some are
reflexive, which are searching duties; they appertain to the inward rooms, to the
beautifying of them, and reforming of them; for not only the life, but the heart also is
the subject of our care and study. I am not only to labour that I do no evil, but also
that I be not evil, not only that sin do not distain my paths, but also that it doth not
defile my intentions: not only that my clothes be handsome, but also that my skin be
white, my inboard parts be as acceptable to God as my outward frame is plausible
with man. (O. Sedgwick, B. D.)
Sin destroyed in the cause
Now, as a man may deal with a tree, so he may deal with his sins; the axe may be
employed only to lop off the branches, which yet all live in the root, and he may apply his
axe to the very root, to the cutting of it up, and so he brings an universal death to the
tree: so it is possible for a man to bestow all his pains to lop off sin only in the visible
branches in the outward limbs of it, and it is also possible for a man to be crucifying the
secret lust, the very corrupt nature and root of sinfulness. Now, this! say, he who bestows
his study, his prayers, his tears, his cares, his watchings, his strength to mortify
corruption in the root, in the nature, in the cause, how unquestionable is it that he doth
desire to be cleansed from secret sins. (O. Sedgwick, B. D.)
Beware of secret sins
I. Motives to enforce our care. There be many arguments which may justly stir us up to
take heed of and to cleanse from secret sins.
1. The Lord knoweth our secret sinnings as exactly as our visible sinnings
(Psa_44:21).
2. The Lord will make manifest every secret thing (Mar_4:22). There is a two-fold
breaking out of a secret sin or manifestation of it. One is natural: the soul cannot long
be in secret actings, but some one part of the body or other will be a messenger
thereof. Another is judicial; as when the judge arraigns, and tries, and screws out the
close murder, and the dark thefts: so God will bring to light the most hidden works of
darkness.
3. Thy secrets shall not only be manifested, but shall also be judged by God
(Rom_2:16).
4. Secret sins are more dangerous to the person in some respects than open sins.
For—
1. A man doth by his art of sinning deprive himself of the help of his sinfulness: like
him who will carry his wound covered, or who bleeds inwardly; help comes not in
because the danger is not descried nor known.
2. If a man’s sin breaks out, there is a minister at hand, a friend near, and others to
reprove, to warn, to direct.
II. The aggravations of secret sins.
1. The more foul the sin naturally is, the worse is the secret acting of it.

125. 2. The more relations are broken by secret sinning, the worse they are, and more to
be wared.
3. The more profession a man makes, the worse are his secret sinnings; forasmuch as
he carrieth not only a badge, but also a judge on his shoulders.
4. The more light a man hath meeting him in the dark, and secret actings of sin, the
more abominable is the sin.
5. The more frequent a man is in secret sinnings, the deeper is his guilt; when he can
drive a trade of sin within doors: when it is not a slip, but a course.
III. The means which help against secret sins.
1. If thou hast been guilty of secret sins, be humbled and repent.
2. Take heed of secret occasions and provocations.
3. Crush the temptations which come from the roots.
4. Get an hatred of sin, which will oppose sin in all kinds, and all times, and in all
places.
5. Get the fear of God planted in thy heart. There are three sorts of sins which this
fear will preserve a man against. First, pleasant sins, which take the sense with
delight. Secondly, profitable sins, which take the heart with gain, but what shall it
profit me to win the whole world and to lose my soul. Thirdly, secret sins of either
sort.
6. Believe God’s omniscience and omnipresence.
7. Get thy heart to be upright. (O. Sedgwick, B. D.)
The peril of secret sins
In some waters a man may drive strong piles, and build his warehouses upon them, sure
that the waters are not powerful enough to undermine his foundations; but there is an
innumerable army of minute creatures at work beneath the water, feeding themselves
upon those strong piles. They gnaw, they bore, they cut, they dig into the poled wood,
and at last a child might overthrow those foundations, for they are cut through and eaten
to a honeycomb. Thus by avarice, jealousy, and selfishness men’s dispositions are often
cut through, and they don’t know it. (H. W. Beecher.)
EBC, “The contemplation of the law cannot but lead to self-examination, and
that to petition. So the psalmist passes into prayer. His shortcomings appal,
for "by the law is the knowledge of sin," and he feels that beyond the sin
which he knows, there is a dark region in him where foul things nestle and
breed fast. "Secret faults" are those hidden, not from men, but from himself.
He discovers that he has hitherto undiscovered sins. Lurking evils are most
dangerous because, like aphides on the underside of a rose leaf, they
multiply so quickly unobserved; small deeds make up life, and small,
unnoticed sins darken the soul. Mud in water, at the rate of a grain to a
glassful, will make a lake opaque. "Happy is he that condemneth not himself
in that thing which he alloweth." Conscience needs educating; and we have
to compare ourselves with the ideal of perfect life in Jesus, if we would know

126. our faults, as young artists go over their copies in front of the masterpiece.
But the psalmist knows that, servant of God though he is, he is in danger
from another class of sins, and so prays to be held back from
"presumptuous sins," i.e. wilful conscious transgressions. Such deliberate
contraventions of law tend to become habitual and despotic; so the prayer
follows that they may not "have dominion." But even that is not the lowest
depth. Deliberate sin, which has gained the upper hand. is but too apt to end
in apostacy: "Great transgression" is probably a designation for casting off
the very pretence of worshipping Jehovah. That is the story of many a fall.
First, some unsuspected evil habit gnaws away the substance of the life, as
white ants do wood, leaving the shell apparently intact; then come sins open
and palpable, and these enslave the will, becoming habits, and then follows
entire abandonment of the profession of religion. It is a slippery, dark
stairway, and the only safety is in not setting foot on the top step. God, and
God only, can "keep us back." He will, if we cling to Him, knowing our
weakness. Thus clinging, we may unblamed cherish the daring hope that we
shall be "upright and innocent," since nothing less than entire deliverance
from sin in all its forms and issues can correspond to the will of God
concerning us and the power of God in us, nor satisfy our deepest desires.
The closing aspiration is that Jehovah would accept the song and prayer. There is an
allusion to the acceptance of a sacrifice, for the phrase "be acceptable" is frequent in
connection with the sacrificial ritual. When the words of the mouth coincide with the
meditation of the heart, we may hope that prayers for cleansing from, and defence
against, sin, offered to Him whom our faith recognises as our "strength" and our
"Redeemer," will be as a sacrifice of a sweet smell, well-pleasing to God. He best loves the
law of Jehovah who lets it teach him his sin, and send him to his knees; he best
appreciates the glories of the silent heavens who knows that their witness to God is but
the prelude of the deeper music of the Scriptures’ declaration of the heart and will of
Jehovah and who grasps Him as his "strength and his Redeemer" from all evil, whether
evil of sin or evil of sorrow.
HAWKER, “This forms a most beautiful break and interruption to the
Psalmist’s devout contemplation. It comes in with a striking demand upon
the heart, as if under a consciousness that having such discoveries made of
Jesus and his preciousness, how inexcusable it must be in any soul to
overlook and forget him. And hence he cries out, Who can tell, in the
multiplied instances of his own transgressions, these particulars? Reader!
recollect, how secret soever or unknown in numberless occasions to
ourselves, yet our sins are all open and naked to the eyes of him with whom
we have to do. Oh! what a relief to the soul is that scripture, the blood of
Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth from all sin. 1Jn_1:7.
MACLAREN, “SECRET FAULTS
The contemplation of the ‘perfect law, enlightening the eyes,’ sends the Psalmist to his
knees. He is appalled by his own shortcomings, and feels that, beside all those of which
he is aware, there is a region, as yet unilluminated by that law, where evil things nestle
and breed.
The Jewish ritual drew a broad distinction between inadvertent-whether involuntary or
ignorant-and deliberate sins; providing atonement for the former, not for the latter. The

127. word in my text rendered ‘errors’ is closely connected with that which in the Levitical
system designates the former class of transgressions; and the connection between the
two clauses of the text, as well as that with the subsequent verse, distinctly shows that
the ‘secret faults’ of the one clause are substantially synonymous with the ‘errors’ of the
other.
They are, then, not sins hidden from men, whether because they have been done quietly
in a corner, and remain undetected, or because they have only been in thought, never
passing into act. Both of these pages are dark in every man’s memory. Who is there that
could reveal himself to men? who is there that could bear the sight of a naked soul? But
the Psalmist is thinking of a still more solemn fact, that, beyond the range of conscience
and consciousness, there are evils in us all. It may do us good to ponder his discovery
that he had undiscovered sins, and to take for ours his prayer, ‘Cleanse Thou me from
secret faults.’
I. So I ask you to look with me, briefly, first, at the solemn fact here, that
there are in every man sins of which the doer is unaware.
It is with our characters as with our faces. Few of us are familiar with our own
appearance, and most of us, if we have looked at our portraits, have felt a little shock of
surprise, and been ready to say to ourselves, ‘Well! I did not know that I looked like that!’
And the bulk even of good men are almost as much strangers to their inward
physiognomy as to their outward. They see themselves in their looking-glasses every
morning, although they ‘go away and forget what manner of men’ they were. But they do
not see their true selves in the same fashion in any other mirror. It is the very
characteristic of all evil that it has a strange power of deceiving a man as to its real
character; like the cuttle-fish, that squirts out a cloud of ink and so escapes in the
darkness and the dirt. The more a man goes wrong the less he knows it. Conscience is
loudest when it is least needed, and most silent when most required.
Then, besides that, there is a great part of every one’s life which is mechanical,
instinctive, and all but involuntary. Habits and emotions and passing impulses very
seldom come into men’s consciousness, and an enormously large proportion of
everybody’s life is done with the minimum of attention, and is as little remembered as it
is observed.
Then, besides that, conscience wants educating. You see that on a large scale, for
instance, in the history of the slow progress which Christian principle has made in
leavening the world’s thinkings. It took eighteen centuries to teach the Church that
slavery was unchristian. The Church has not yet learned that war is unchristian, and it is
only beginning to surmise that possibly Christian principle may have something to say in
social questions, and in the determination, for example, of the relations of capital and
labour, and of wealth and poverty. The very same slowness of apprehension and gradual
growth in the education of conscience, and in the perception of the application of
Christian principles to duty, applies to the individual as to the Church.
Then, besides that, we are all biassed in our own favour, and what, when another man
says it, is ‘flat blasphemy,’ we think, when we say it, is only ‘a choleric word.’ We have
fine names for our own vices, and ugly ones for the very same vices in other people.
David will flare up into generous and sincere indignation about the man that stole the
poor man’s ewe lamb, but he has not the ghost of a notion that he has been doing the
very same thing himself. And so we bribe our consciences as well as neglect them, and
they need to be educated.
Thus, down below every life there lies a great dim region of habits and impulses and

128. fleeting emotions, into which it is the rarest thing for a man to go with a candle in his
hand to see what it is like.
But I can imagine a man saying, ‘Well, if I do not know that I am doing wrong, how can it
be a sin?’ In answer to that, I would say that, thank God! ignorance diminishes
criminality, but ignorance does not alter the nature of the deed. Take a simple
illustration. Here is a man who, all unconsciously to himself, is allowing worldly
prosperity to sap his Christian character. He does not know that the great current of his
life has been turned aside, as it were, by that sluice, and is taken to drive the wheels of
his mill, and that there is only a miserable little trickle coming down the river bed. Is he
any less guilty because he does not know? Is he not the more so, because he might and
would have known if he had thought and felt right? Or, here is another man who has the
habit of letting his temper get the better of him. He calls it ‘stern adherence to principle,’
or ‘righteous indignation’; and he thinks himself very badly used when other people
‘drive him’ so often into a temper. Other people know, and he might know, if he would be
honest with himself, that, for all his fine names, it is nothing else than passion. Is he any
the less guilty because of his ignorance? It is plain enough that, whilst ignorance, if it is
absolute and inevitable, does diminish criminality to the vanishing point, the ignorance
of our own faults which most of us display is neither absolute nor inevitable; and
therefore, though it may, thank God! diminish, it does not destroy our guilt. ‘She wipeth
her mouth and saith, I have done no harm’: was she, therefore, chaste and pure? In all
our hearts there are many vermin lurking beneath the stones, and they are none the less
poisonous because they live and multiply in the dark. ‘I know nothing against myself, yet
am I not hereby justified. But he that judgeth me is the Lord.’
II. Now, secondly, let me ask you to look at the special perilousness of these
hidden faults.
As with a blight upon a rose-tree, the little green creatures lurk on the underside of the
leaves, and in all the folds of the buds, and because unseen, they increase with alarming
rapidity. The very fact that we have faults in our characters, which everybody sees but
ourselves, makes it certain that they will grow unchecked, and so will prove terribly
perilous. The small things of life are the great things of life. For a man’s character is
made up of them, and of their results, striking inwards upon himself. A wine-glassful of
water with one drop of mud in it may not be much obscured, but if you come to multiply
it into a lakeful, you will have muddy waves that reflect no heavens, and show no
gleaming stars.
These secret faults are like a fungus that has grown in a wine-cask, whose presence
nobody suspected. It sucks up all the generous liquor to feed its own filthiness, and when
the staves are broken, there is no wine left, nothing but the foul growth. Many a
Christian man and woman has the whole Christian life arrested, and all but annihilated,
by the unsuspected influence of a secret sin. I do not believe it would be exaggeration to
say that, for one man who has made shipwreck of his faith and lost his peace by reason of
some gross transgression, there are twenty who have fallen into the same condition by
reason of the multitude of small ones. ‘He that despiseth little things shall fall by little
and little’; and whilst the deeds which the Ten Commandments rebuke are damning to a
Christian character, still more perilous, because unseen, and permitted to grow without
check or restraint, are these unconscious sins. ‘Happy is he that condemneth not himself
in that thing which he alloweth.’
III. Notice the discipline, or practical issues, to which such considerations
should lead.

129. To begin with, they ought to take down our self-complacency, if we have any, and to
make us feel that, after all, our characters are very poor things. If men praise us, let us try
to remember what it will be good for us to remember, too, when we are tempted to praise
ourselves-the underworld of darkness which each of us carries about within us.
Further, let me press upon you two practical points. This whole set of contemplations
should make us practise a very rigid and close self-inspection. There will always be much
that will escape our observation-we shall gradually grow to know more and more of it-
but there can be no excuse for that which I fear is a terribly common characteristic of the
professing Christianity of this day-the all but entire absence of close inspection of one’s
own character and conduct. I know very well that it is not a wholesome thing for a man
to be always poking in his own feelings and emotions. I know also that, in a former
generation, there was far too much introspection, instead of looking to Jesus Christ and
forgetting self. I do not believe that self-examination, directed to the discovery of reasons
for trusting the sincerity of my own faith, is a good thing. But I do believe that, without
the practice of careful weighing of ourselves, there will be very little growth in anything
that is noble and good.
The old Greeks used to preach, ‘Know thyself.’ It was a high behest, and very often a very
vain-glorious one. A man’s best means of knowing what he is, is to take stock of what he
does. If you will put your conduct through the sieve, you will come to a pretty good
understanding of your character. ‘He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city
broken down, without walls,’ into which all enemies can leap unhindered, and out from
which all things that will may pass. Do you set guards at the gates and watch yourselves
with all carefulness.
Then, again, I would say we must try to diminish as much as possible the mere
instinctive and habitual and mechanical part of our lives, and to bring, as far as we can,
every action under the conscious dominion of principle. The less we live by impulse, and
the more we live by intelligent reflection, the better it will be for us. The more we can get
habit on the side of goodness, the better; but the more we break up our habits, and make
each individual action the result of a special volition of the spirit guided by reason and
conscience, the better for us all.
Then, again, I would say, set yourselves to educate your consciences. They need that. One
of the surest ways of making conscience more sensitive is always to consult it and always
to obey it. If you neglect it, and let it prophesy to the wind, it will stop speaking before
long. Herod could not get a word out of Christ when he ‘asked Him many questions’
because for years he had not cared to hear His voice. And conscience, like the Lord of
conscience, will hold its peace after men have neglected its speech. You can pull the
clapper out of the bell upon the rock, and then, though the waves may dash, there will
not be a sound, and the vessel will drive straight on to the black teeth that are waiting for
it. Educate your conscience by obeying it, and by getting into the habit of bringing
everything to its bar.
And, still further, compare yourselves constantly with your model. Do as the art students
do in a gallery, take your poor daub right into the presence of the masterpiece, and go
over it line by line and tint by tint. Get near Jesus Christ that you may learn your duty
from Him, and you will find out many of the secret sins.
And, lastly, let us ask God to cleanse us.
My text, as translated in the Revised Version, says, ‘Clear Thou me from secret faults.’
And there is present in that word, if not exclusively, at least predominantly, the idea of a
judicial acquittal, so that the thought of the first clause of this verse seems rather to be

130. that of pronouncing guiltless, or forgiving, than that of delivering from the power of. But
both, no doubt, are included in the idea, as both, in fact, come from the same source and
in response to the same cry.
And so we may be sure that, though our eye does not go down into the dark depths,
God’s eye goes, and that where He looks He looks to pardon, if we come to Him through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
He will deliver us from the power of these secret faults, giving to us that divine Spirit
which is ‘the candle of the Lord,’ to search us, and to convince of our sins, and to drag
our evil into the light; and giving us the help without which we can never overcome. The
only way for us to be delivered from the dominion of our unconscious faults is to increase
the depth and closeness and constancy of our communion with Jesus Christ; and then
they will drop away from us. Mosquitoes and malaria, the one unseen in their
minuteness, and the other, ‘the pestilence that walketh in darkness,’ haunt the swamps.
Go up on the hilltop, and neither of them are found. So if we live more and more on the
high levels, in communion with our Master, there will be fewer and fewer of these
unconscious sins buzzing and stinging and poisoning our lives, and more and more will
His grace conquer and cleanse.
They will all be manifested some day. The time comes when He shall bring to light the
hidden things and darkness and the counsels of men’s hearts. There will be surprises on
both hands of the Judge. Some on the right, astonished, will say, ‘Lord, when saw we
Thee?’ and some on the left, smitten to confusion and surprise, will say, ‘Lord, Lord, have
we not prophesied in Thy name?’ Let us go to Him with the prayer, ‘Search me, O God!
and try me; and see if there be any wicked way in me; and lead me in the way
everlasting.’
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
BAR ES,”Keep back thy servant also - Restrain thy servant; or, do not suffer him
to commit those sins.
From presumptuous sins - The word used here is manifestly designed to stand in
some respects in contrast with the secret faults mentioned in the previous verse. The
word - ‫זד‬ zêd - means properly that which is boiling, swelling, inflated; then proud,
arrogant; with the accessory notion of shameless wickedness or impiety. Gesenius,

131. Lexicon. The word is rendered proud in Psa_86:14; Psa_119:21, Psa_119:51, Psa_119:69,
Psa_119:78, Psa_119:85,Psa_119:122; Pro_21:24; Isa_13:11; Jer_43:2; Mal_3:15;
Mal_4:1. It does not occur elsewhere. The prevailing thought is that of pride, and the
reference is particularly to sins which proceed from self-confidence; from reliance on
one’s own strength. The word does not mean open sins, or flagrant sins, so much as
those which spring from self-reliance or pride. The prayer is substantially that he might
have a proper distrust of himself, and might not be left by an improper reliance on his
own power to the commission of sin. This also is said in view of the extent and
spirituality of the law of God - expressing the earnest desire of the author of the psalm
that he might not be left to violate a law so pure and holy.
Let them not have dominion over me - Let them not reign over me; that is, let
them not get the mastery or the ascendancy over me. Let me not become the slave of sin;
so subject to it that it shall domineer over me. Sin often secures that kind of triumph or
mastery over the mind, making a slave of him who yields to it. The pious man alone is a
true freeman. He is emancipated from the dominion of sin, and walks in true liberty: see
Joh_8:32, Joh_8:36; Gal_5:1.
Then shall I be upright - Hebrew: I shall be perfect. On the meaning of the word
used here, see the note at Psa_19:7. It means here that he would be truly a servant of
God; or, that he would have this evidence that he was a friend of God, that he was kept
from the indulgence of secret faults, and from open transgressions - that is, his piety
would have completeness of parts; or, it would be shown to be true and genuine. It
cannot be demonstrated from the use of the word that he supposed that he would be
absolutely perfect or free from all sin. See the note at Job_1:1.
And I shall be innocent - This does not mean that he would be absolutely innocent,
or free from all sin; but it means here, as it is explained in the following phrase, that he
would be innocent of the great transgression, or would be free from that.
From the great transgression - Margin, as in Hebrew, much. It does not, refer to
any one specific offence, but it means that he would be free from the transgression which
would exist if he were not cleansed from secret faults, and if he were not kept back from
presumptuous sins. He would be saved from the great guilt which would ensue if he
should give unchecked indulgence to secret faults, and if he should be allowed to commit
the open sins which were the result of pride and over-weening self-confidence.
CLARKE, “From presumptuous sins - Sins committed not through frailty or
surprise, but those which are the offspring of thought, purpose, and deliberation. Sins
against judgment, light, and conscience. The words might be translated, Preserve thy
servant also from the proud; from tyrannical governors, i.e., from evil spirits - Bishop
Horsley. So most of the versions understand the place.
Let them not have dominion over me - Let me never be brought into a habit of
sinning. He who sins presumptuously will soon be hardened through the deceitfulness of
sin.
Then shall I be upright - Let me be preserved from all the evil that the craft and
malice of the devil or man work against me, then shall I continue to walk uprightly, and
shall be innocent from the great transgression - from habitual sinning, from apostasy,
from my easily-besetting sin. He who would be innocent from the great transgression,
must take care that he indulge not himself in any. See Bishop Horne. Most men have
committed some particular sin which they ought to deplore as long as they breathe, and
on account of the enormity of which they should for ever be humbled.

132. GILL, “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins,.... Some
understand these words of persons: the Septuagint, and the versions that follow that,
render it "from strangers": such who are strangers to God and godliness; that is, keep
from all conversation with them in things sinful, or from others' sins; from having a
fellowship with them, being a partaker of them, lest their plagues and punishments
should be shared in: others, as the Targum, "from proud men", who are haughty,
insolent, and conceited of themselves; lest he should be so corrupted and drawn aside by
them: but rather the words are to be understood of sins wilfully, contumaciously, and
presumptuously committed; and the petition supposes, that these may be committed by
good men, if left to themselves; and that there is a proneness in them to them; and that
they would rush into them, were they not kept back and restrained by the powerful and
efficacious grace of God: and it also supposes that the saints cannot keep themselves;
that God only can keep them from evil; and therefore they pray to him that he would,
who does keep them by his power, at least from a final and total falling away
let them not have dominion over me: neither presumptuous sins, nor any other,
Psa_119:133; as they shall not, Rom_6:14; as sin has over wicked men; and they yield a
ready obedience to the laws and lusts of it; it reigns over them as a king and tyrant, even
unto death: it is something very powerful in good men; it prevails over them, and carries
them captive; wherefore they pray it may not have a continued dominion, as it shall not;
because they are in another kingdom, and under grace as a governing principle, which
reigns through righteousness unto eternal life;
then shall I be upright; in heart, and walk uprightly in conversation; being cleansed
from secret faults, and kept from notorious crimes, and gross enormities; and shall
exercise a conscience void of offence, both to God and man; and be "perfect", as the word
is sometimes rendered, at least comparatively; and absolutely so, as washed in Christ's
blood, and justified by his righteousness;
and I shall be innocent from the great transgression; which some understand of
pride, others of apostasy; perhaps the sin against the Holy Ghost may be intended;
though the words may be rendered, "from much transgression" (k); and the sense is, that
he should be cleared and acquitted of a multitude of transgressions he had been guilty of;
or be preserved from much sin, which otherwise he should have fallen into.
HE RY, “He takes occasion hence to pray against sin. All the discoveries of
sin made to us by the law should drive us to the throne of grace, there to
pray, as David does here, (1.) For mercy to pardon. Finding himself unable
to specify all the particulars of his transgressions, he cries out, Lord,
cleanse me from my secret faults; not secret to God, so none are, nor only
such as were secret to the world, but such as were hidden from his own
observation of himself. The best of men have reason to suspect themselves
guilty of many secret faults, and to pray to God to cleanse them from that
guilt and not to lay it to their charge; for even our sins of infirmity and
inadvertency, and our secret sins, would be our ruin if God should deal with
us according to the desert of them. Even secret faults are defiling, and
render us unfit for communion with God; but, when they are pardoned, we
are cleansed from them, 1Jo_1:7. (2.) For grace to help in time of need.
Having prayed that his sins of infirmity might be pardoned, he prays that

133. presumptuous sins might be prevented, Psa_19:13. All that truly repent of
their sins, and have them pardoned, are in care not to relapse into sin, nor
to return again to folly, as appears by their prayers, which concur with
David's here, where observe, [1.] His petition: “Keep me from ever being
guilty of a wilful presumptuous sin.” We ought to pray that we may be kept
from sins of infirmity, but especially from presumptuous sins, which most
offend God and wound conscience, which wither our comforts and shock
our hopes. “However, let none such have dominion over me, let me not be at
the command of any such sin, nor be enslaved by it.” [2.] His plea: “So shall
I be upright; I shall appear upright; I shall preserve the evidence and
comfort of my uprightness; and I shall be innocent from the great
transgression;” so he calls a presumptuous sin, because no sacrifice was
accepted for it, Num_15:28-30. Note, First, Presumptuous sins are very
heinous and dangerous. those that sin against the habitual convictions and
actual admonitions of their consciences, in contempt and defiance of the law
and its sanctions, that sin with a high hand, sin presumptuously, and it is a
great transgression. Secondly, Even good men ought to be jealous of
themselves, and afraid of sinning presumptuously, yea, though through the
grace of God they have hitherto been kept from them. Let none be high-
minded, but fear. Thirdly, Being so much exposed, we have great need to
pray to God, when we are pushing forward towards a presumptuous sin, to
keep us back from it, either by his providence preventing the temptation or
by his grace giving us victory over it.
E-SWORD, ““Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them
not have dominion over me.” - This earnest and humble prayer teaches us
that saints may fall into the worst of sins unless restrained by grace, and
that therefore they must watch and pray lest they enter into temptation.
There is a natural proneness to sin in the best of men, and they must be held
back as a horse is held back by the bit or they will run into it. Presumptuous
sins are peculiarly dangerous. All sins are great sins, but yet some sins are
greater than others. Every sin has in it the very venom of rebellion, and is
full of the essential marrow of traitorous rejection of God; but there be some
sins which have in them a greater development of the essential mischief of
rebellion, and which wear upon their faces more of the brazen pride which
defies the Most High. It is wrong to suppose that because all sins will
condemn us, that therefore one sin is not greater than another. The fact is,
that while all transgression is a greatly grievous and sinful thing, yet there
are some transgressions which have a deeper shade of blackness, and a
more double scarlet-dyed hue of criminality than others. The presumptuous
sins of our text are the chief and worst of all sins; they rank head and
foremost in the list of iniquities. It is remarkable that though an atonement
was provided under the Jewish law for every kind of sin, there was this one
exception: “But the soul that sinneth presumptuously shall have no
atonement; it shall be cut off from the midst of my people.” And now under
the Christian dispensation, although in the sacrifice of our blessed Lord
there is a great and precious atonement for presumptuous sins, whereby
sinners who have erred in this manner are made clean, yet without doubt,
presumptuous sinners, dying without pardon, must expect to receive a
double portion of the wrath of God, and a more terrible portion of eternal
punishment in the pit that is digged for the wicked. For this reason is David

134. so anxious that he may never come under the reigning power of these giant
evils. “Then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great
transgression.” He shudders at the thought of the unpardonable sin. Secret
sin is a stepping stone to presumptuous sin, and that is the vestibule of “the
sin which is unto death.” He who is not wilful in his sin, will be in a fair way
to be innocent so far as poor sinful man can be; but he who tempts the devil
to tempt him is in a path which will lead him from bad to worse, and from
the worse to the worst.
CALVI , “13.Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins. By presumptuous sins he
means known and evident transgressions, (469) accompanied with proud contempt and obstinacy.
By the word keep back, he intimates, that such is the natural propensity of the flesh to sin, that even
the saints themselves would immediately break forth or rush headlong into it, did not God, by his
own guardianship and protection, keep them back. It is to be observed, that while he calls
himself the servant of God, he nevertheless acknowledges that he had need of the bridle, lest he
should arrogantly and rebelliously break forth in transgressing the law of God. Being regenerated by
the Spirit of God, he groaned, it is true, under the burden of his sins; but he knew, on the other
hand, how great is the rebellion of the flesh, and how much we are inclined to forgetfulness of God,
from which proceed contempt of his majesty and all impiety. Now, if David, who had made so much
progress in the fear of God, was not beyond the danger of transgressing, how shall the carnal and
unrenewed man, in whom innumerable lusts exercise dominion, be able to restrain and govern
himself by his own FREE WILL ? Let us learn, then, even although the unruliness of our wayward
flesh has been already subdued by the denial of ourselves, to walk in fear and trembling; for unless
God restrain us, our hearts will violently boil with a proud and insolent contempt of God. This sense
is confirmed by the reason added immediately after, that they may not have dominion over me. By
these words he expressly declares, that unless God assist him, he will not only be unable to resist,
but will be wholly brought under the dominion of the worst vices. This passage, therefore, teaches
us not only that all mankind are naturally enslaved to sin, but that the faithful themselves would
become the bond-slaves of sin also, if God did not unceasingly watch over them to guide them in
the path of holiness, and to strengthen them for persevering in it. There is also another useful
lesson which we have here to attend to, namely, that we ought never to pray for pardon, without, at
the same time, asking to be strengthened and fortified by the power of God for the time to come,
that temptations, in future, may not gain advantage over us. And although we may feel in our hearts
the incitements of concupiscence goading and distressing us, we ought not, on that account, to
become discouraged. The remedy to which we should have recourse is to pray to God to restrain
us. No doubt, David could have wished to feel in his heart no stirrings of corruption; but knowing
that he would never be wholly free from the remains of sin, until at death he had put off
this CORRUPT nature, he prays to be armed with the grace of the Holy Spirit for the combat, that
iniquity might not reign victorious over him. In the end of the verse there are two things to be
observed. David, in affirming that he shall then be upright and clean from much
wickedness, attributes, in the first place, the honor of preserving him innocent to the spiritual
assistance of God; and depending upon it, he confidently assures himself of victory over all the
armies of Satan. In the second place, he acknowledges, that unless he is assisted by God, he will
be overwhelmed with an immense load, and plunged as it were into a boundless abyss of
wickedness: for he says, that aided by God, he will be clear not of one fault or of two, but of many.
From this it follows, that as soon as we are abandoned by the grace of God, there is no kind of sin
in which Satan may not entangle us. Let this confession of David then quicken us to earnestness in
prayer; for in the midst of so many and various snares, it does not become us to fall asleep or to be
indolent. Again, let the other part of the Psalmist’ exercise predominate in our hearts — let us boast
with him, that although Satan may assault us by many and strong armies, we will nevertheless be
invincible, provided we have the aid of God, and will CONTINUE , in despite of every hostile
attempt, to hold fast our integrity.
(469) That is, known and evident to the person committing them. He sins against knowledge.

135. SPURGEO , “Verse 13. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not
have dominion over me. This earnest and humble prayer teaches us that saints may fall into
the worst of sins unless restrained by grace, and that therefore they must watch and pray
lest they enter into temptation. There is a natural proneness to sin in the best of men, and
they must be held back as a horse is held back by the bit or they will run into it.
Presumptuous sins are peculiarly dangerous. All sins are great sins, but yet some sins are
greater than others. Every sin has in it the very venom of rebellion, and is full of the essential
marrow of traitorous rejection of God; but there be some sins which have in them a greater
development of the essential mischief of rebellion, and which wear upon their faces more of
the brazen pride which defies the Most High. It is wrong to suppose that because all sins will
condemn us, that therefore one sin is not greater than another. The fact is, that while all
transgression is a greatly grievous and sinful thing, yet there are some transgressions which
have a deeper shade of blackness, and a more double scarlet dyed hue of criminality than
others. The presumptuous sins of our text are the chief and worst of all sins; they rank head
and foremost in the list of iniquities. It is remarkable that though an atonement was provided
under the Jewish law for every kind of sin, there was this one exception: "But the soul that
sinneth presumptuously shall have no atonement; it shall be cut off from the midst of the
people." And now under the Christian dispensation, although in the sacrifice of our blessed
Lord there is a great and precious atonement for presumptuous sins, whereby sinners who
have erred in this manner are made clean, yet without doubt, presumptuous sinners, dying
without pardon, must expect to receive a double portion of the wrath of God, and a more
terrible portion of eternal punishment in the pit that is digged for the wicked. For this reason
is David so anxious that he may never come under the reigning power of these giant evils.
Then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. He shudders at the
thought of the unpardonable sin. Secret sin is a stepping stone to presumptuous sin, and that is the
vestibule of "the sin which is unto death." He who is not wilful in his sin, will be in a fair way to be
innocent so far as poor sinful man can be; but he who tempts the devil to tempt him is in a path
which will lead him from bad to worse, and from the worse to the worst.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Verse 12-13. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:12" for further information.
Verse 13. Keep back thy servant also from all presumptuous sins. He doth desire absolutely to be
kept from "presumptuous sins;" but then, he adds by way of supposition and reserve, that if he could
not by reason of his naughty heart be kept from them, yet that they might not have full power and
dominion over him. Thomas Manton.
Verse 13. Keep back thy servant. It is an evil man's cross to be restrained, and a good man's joy to
be kept back from sin. When sin puts forth itself, the evil man is putting forth his hand to the sin; but
when sin puts forth itself, the good man is putting forth his hand to heaven; if he finds his heart
yielding, out he cries, O keep back thy servant. An evil man is kept back from sin, as a friend from a
friend, as a lover from his lover, with knit affections and projects of meeting; but a good man is kept
back from sin, as a man from his deadly enemy, whose presence he hates, and with desires of his
ruin and destruction. It is the good man's misery that he hath yet a heart to be more tamed and
mastered; it is an evil man's vexation and discontent, that still, or at any time, he is held in by cord or
bridle. And thus you see what David aims at in desiring to be kept back from presumptuous sins,
namely, not a mere suspension, but a mortification, not a not acting only, but a subduing of the
inclination; not for a time, but for ever. Obadiah Sedgwick.
Verse 13. Keep back thy servant, etc. Even all the people of God, were they not kept by God's
grace and power, they would every moment be undone both in soul and body. It is not our grace,
our prayer, our watchfulness keeps us, but it is in the power of God, his right arm, SUPPORTS
us; we may see David praying to God that he would "keep" him in both these respects from
temporal dangers (Psalms 18:8-9; "keep me",) etc.; where he doth not only pray to be kept, but he
God's "servant" yet he will, like a wild horse, run violently, and that into "presumptuous sins," if God
"keep" him not "back," yea, he prayeth that God would "keep" the particular parts of his body that

136. they sin not: "keep the door of my lips" (Psalms 141:3); he entreateth God to "keep" his lips and to
set a watch about his mouth, as if he were not able to set guard sure enough: thus much more are
we to pray that God would "keep" our hearts, our minds, our wills, our affections, for they are more
masterful. Anthony Burgess.
Verse 13. Keep back thy servant. God keeps back his servants from sin,
1. By preventing grace, which is, by infusing such a nature as is like a bias into a bowl, drawing it
aside another way;
2. By assisting grace, which is a further strength superadded to that first implanted nature of
holiness; like a hand upon a child holding him in;
3. By quickening grace, which is, when God doth enliven our graces to manifest themselves in
actual opposition; so that the soul shall not yield, but keep off from entertaining the sin;
4. By directing grace, which is, when God confers that effectual wisdom to the mind, tenderness to
the conscience, watchfulness to the heart, that his servants become greatly solicitous of his honour,
scrupulously jealous of their own strength, and justly regardful of the honour of their holy profession;
5. By doing grace, which is, when God effectually inclines the hearts of his servants to the places
and ways of their refuge, safeties, and preservations from sin, by enlarging the spirit of supplication,
and framing the heart to the reverent and affectionate use of his ordinances. Condensed from
Obadiah Sedgwick.
Verse 13. Thy servant: as if he had said, "O God, thou art my Lord, I have chosen thee, to whom I
will give obedience; thou art he whom I will follow; I bestow all that I am on thee. Now a lord will help
his servant against an enemy, who for the lord's service is the servant's enemy. O my Lord, help
me! I am not able by my own strength to uphold myself, but thou art All sufficiency" -- "Keep back
thy servant from presumptuous sins." ... Beloved, it is a great thing to stand in near relations to God;
and then it is a good thing to plead by them with God, forsomuch as nearer relations have strongest
force with all. The servant can do more than a stranger, and the child than a servant, and the wife
than a child... There be many reasons against sinning... Now this also may come in, namely, the
specialty of our relation to God, that we are his children, and he is our Father; we are his servants,
and he is our Lord: though the common obligations are many and sufficient, yet the special relations
are also a further tie: the more near a person comes to God, the more careful he should be not to
sin against God. Obadiah Sedgwick.
Verse 13. Presumptuous sins. The Rabbins distinguish all sins unto those committed (ggwfb)
ignorantly, and (dyzm) presumptuously. Benjamin Kennicott, D.D., 1718-1783.
Verse 13. Presumptuous sins. When sin grows up from act to delight, from delight to new acts, from
repetition of sinful acts to vicious indulgence, to habit and custom and a second nature, so that
anything that toucheth upon it is grievous, and strikes to the man's heart; when it is got into God's
place, and requires to be loved with the whole strength, makes grace strike sail, and other vices do
it homage, demands all his concerns to be sacrificed to it and to be served with his reputation, his
fortunes, his parts, his body, and soul, to the irreparable loss of his time and eternity both -- this is
the height of its dominion -- then sin becomes "exceedingly sinful," and must needs make strange
and sad alterations in the state of saints themselves, and be great hindrances to them in their way
to Heaven, having brought them so near to Hell. Adam Littleton.
Verse 13. Presumptuous sins. The distribution of sins into sins of ignorance, of infirmity, and of
presumption, is very usual and very useful, and complete enough without the addition (which some
make) of a fourth sort, to wit, sins of negligence or inadvertency, all such sins being easily reducible
to some of the former three. The ground of the distinction is laid in the soul of man, where there are
three distinct prime faculties, from which all our actions flow -- the understanding, the will, and the
sensual appetite or affections... The enquiry must be, when a sin is done, where the fault lay most;
and thence it must have the right denomination.
1. If the understanding be most in fault, not apprehending that good it should, or not aright, the sin
so done, though possibly it may have in it somewhat both of infirmity and presumption withal, is yet
properly a sin of ignorance.

137. 2. If the main fault be in the affections, through some sudden passion or perturbation of mind,
blinding, or corrupting, or but outrunning the judgment -- as of fear, anger, desire, joy, or any of the
rest -- the sin thence arising, though perhaps joined with some ignorance or presumption withal, is
yet properly a sin of infirmity. But if the understanding be completely informed with knowledge, and
not much blinded or transported with the incursion of any sudden, or violence of any vehement
perturbation, so as the greatest blame must remain upon the untowardness of the will, resolvedly
bent upon the evil, the sin arising from such wilfulness, though probably not free from all mixture of
ignorance and infirmity withal, is yet properly a wilful presumption, such a presumptuous sin as we
are now in treaty of. Rules are soonest learned and best remembered when illustrated with fit
examples; and of such the rich storehouse of the Scripture affords us in each kind variety and
choice enough, whence it shall suffice us to propose but one eminent of each sort. The men, all of
them for their holiness, of singular and worthy renown: David, St. Peter, and St. Paul. The sins, all
of them for their matter, of the greatest magnitude: murdering of the innocent, abnegation of Christ,
persecution of the church: Paul's persecution a grievous sin, yet a sin of ignorance; Peter's denial a
grievous sin, yet a sin of infirmity; David's murder, a far more grievous sin than either of both,
because a sin of presumption. St. Paul, before his conversion, whilst he was Saul, persecuted and
wasted the church of God to the utmost of his power, making havoc of the professors of Christ,
entering into their very houses, and haling thence to prison, both men and women; and posting
abroad with letters into remote quarters, to do all the mischief he could, everywhere with great fury,
as if he had been mad, breathing out, wherever he came, nothing but threatenings and slaughter
against the disciples of the Lord. His affections were not set against them through any personal
provocations, but merely out of zeal to the law; and surely his zeal had been good had it not been
blind. Nor did his will run cross to his judgment, but was led by it, for he "verily thought in himself
that he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus;" and verily his will had been good
had it not been misled. But the error was in his understanding, his judgment being not yet actually
convinced of the truth of the Christian religion. He was yet fully persuaded that Jesus was an
impostor, and Christianity a pestilent sect, raised by Satan, to the disgrace and prejudice of Moses
and the law. If these things had indeed been so, as he apprehended them, his affections and will, in
seeking to root out such a sect, had been not only blameless but commendable. It was his
erroneous judgment that poisoned all, and made that which otherwise had been zeal, to become
persecution. But, however, the first discernable obliquity therein being in the understanding, that
persecution of his was therefore a sin of ignorance, so called, and under that name condemned by
himself. 1 Timothy 1:13. But such was not Peter's denial of his Master. He knew well enough who
he was having conversed so long with him, and having, long before, so amply confessed him. And
he knew also that he ought not, for anything in the world, to have denied him. That made him so
confident before that he would not do it, because he was abundantly satisfied that he should not do
it. Evident it is, then, that Peter wanted no knowledge, either of the Master's person, or of his own
duty; and so no plea left him of ignorance, either facti or juris. Nor was the fault so much in his will
as to make it a sin properly of presumption. For albeit de facto he did deny him when he was put to
it, and that with fearful oaths and imprecations, yet was it not done with any prepensed apostasy, or
out of design, yea, he came rather with a contrary resolution, and he still honoured his Master in his
heart, even then when he denied him with his tongue; and as soon as ever the watchword was
given him by the second cock, to prefer to his consideration what he had done, it grieved him sore
that he had so done, and he wept bitterly for it. We find no circumstance, in the whole relation, that
argues any deep obstinacy in his will. But in his affections, then! Alas! there was the fail! A sudden
qualm of fear surprising his soul when he saw his Master so despitefully used before his face (which
made him apprehensive of what hard usage himself might fall under if he should there and then
have owned him) took from him for that time the benefit and use of his reason, and so drew all his
thoughts to this one point -- how to decline the present danger -- that he had never a thought at so
much liberty as to consult his judgment, whether it were a sin or no. And this, proceeding from such
a sudden distemper of passion, Peter's denial was a sin properly of infirmity. But David's sin, in
contriving the death of Uriah, was of a yet higher pitch, and of a deeper dye than either of these. He
was no such stranger in the law of God as not to know that the wilful murder of an innocent party,
such as he also knew Uriah to be, was a most loud crying sin; and therefore nothing surer than that
it was not merely a sin of ignorance. Neither yet was it a sin properly of infirmity, and so capable of
that extenuating circumstance of being done in the heat of anger, as his uncleanness with
Bathsheba was in the heat of lust, although that extenuation will not be allowed to pass there,

138. unless in tanto only, and as it standeth in comparison with this fouler crime. But having time and
leisure enough to bethink himself what he was about, he doth it in cool blood, and with much
advised deliberation, plotting and contriving this way and that way to perfect his design. He was
resolved, whatsoever should become of it, to have it done; in regard of which settled resolution of
his will, this sin of David was therefore a high presumptuous sin. Robert Sanderson (Bishop of
Lincoln), 1587-1662-3.
Verse 13. Presumptuous sins. David prays that God would keep him back from "presumptuous
sins," from known and evident sins, such as proceed from the choice of the perverse will against the
enlightened mind, which are committed with deliberation, with design, resolution, and eagerness,
against the checks of conscience, and the motions of God's spirit: such sins are direct rebellion
against God, a despising of his command, and they provoke his pure eyes. Alexander Cruden.
Verse 13. Then shall I be innocent from the great transgression. It is in the motions of a tempted
soul to sin, as in the motions of a stone falling from the brow of a hill; it is easily stopped at first, but
heed of those sins that come near to the sin against the Holy Ghost; and these are, hypocrisy,
taking only the outward profession of religion, and so dissembling and mocking of God; sinning
wilfully against conviction of conscience, and against great light and knowledge, sinning
presumptuously, with a high hand. These sins, though none of them are the direct sin against the
Holy Ghost, yet they will come very near to it: therefore take special heed of them, lest they, in time,
should bring you to the committing of that unpardonable sin. Robert Russel, 1705.
Verse 13. Let them not have dominion over me. Any small sin may get the upper hand of the sinner
and bring him under in time, and after that is once habituated by long custom so as he cannot easily
shake off the yoke, neither redeem himself from under the tyranny thereof. We see the experiment
of it but too often, and too evidently in our common swearers and drunkards. Yet do such kind of
sins, for the most part, grow on by little and little, steal into the throne insensibly, and do not
exercise dominion over the enslaved soul till they have got strength by many and multiplied acts.
But a presumptuous sin worketh a great alteration in the state of the soul at once, and by one single
act advances marvellously, weakening the spirit, and giving a mighty advantage to the flesh, even to
the hazard of a complete conquest. Robert Sanderson.
Verse 13. To sin presumptuously is the highest step. So in David's ACCOUNT ; for first he prays,
Lord, keep me from secret sins, which he maketh sins of ignorance, and then next he prays against
presumptuous sins, which, as the opposition shows, are sins against knowledge; for says he, "if
they get dominion over me, I shall not be free from that great offence," that is, that unpardonable sin
which shall never be forgiven: so as these are nearest it of any other, yet not so as that every one
that falls into such a sin commits it, but he is nigh to it, at the next step to it. For to commit that sin,
but two things are required -- light in the mind, and malice in the heart; not malice alone, unless
there be light, for then that apostle had sinned it, so as knowledge is the parent of it, it is "after
receiving the knowledge of the truth."Hebrews 10:27-28. Thomas Goodwin.
Verse 13. Happy souls, who, under a sense of peace through the blood of Jesus, are daily praying
to be kept by the grace of the Spirit. Such truly know themselves, see their danger of falling, will not,
dare not palliate or lessen the odious nature, and hateful deformity of their sin. They will not give a
softer name to sin than it deserves, lest they depreciate the infinite value of that precious blood
which Jesus shed to atone its guilt. Far will they be from flattering themselves into a deceitful notion
that they are perfect, and have no sin in them. The spirit of truth delivers them from such errors; he
teacheth them as poor sinners to look to the Saviour, and to beseech him to keep back the
headstrong passions, the unruly lusts and evil concupiscences which dwell in their sinful natures.
Alas! the most exalted saint, the most established believer, if left to himself, how soon might the
blackest crimes, the most presumptuous sins, get the dominion over him! David had woeful
dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace." Romans 6:14. William Mason,
1719-1791, in "A Spiritual Treasury for the Children of God."

139. MACLARE , “OPEN SINS
Another psalmist promises to the man who dwells ‘in the secret place of the Most High’
that’ he shall not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day, nor
for the pestilence that walketh at noonday,’ but shall ‘tread upon the lion and adder.’
These promises divide the dangers that beset us into the same two classes as our
Psalmist does-the one secret; the other palpable and open. The former, which, as I
explained in my last sermon, are sins hidden, not from others, but from the doer, may
fairly be likened to the pestilence that stalks slaying in the dark, or to the stealthy, gliding
serpent, which strikes and poisons before the naked foot is aware. The other resembles
the ‘destruction that wasteth at noonday,’ or the lion with its roar and its spring, as,
disclosed from its covert, it leaps upon the prey.
Our present text deals with the latter of these two classes. ‘Presumptuous sins’ does not,
perhaps, convey to an ordinary reader the whole significance of the phrase, for it may be
taken to define a single class of sins-namely, those of pride or insolence. What is really
meant is just the opposite of ‘secret sins’-all sorts of evil which, whatever may be their
motives and other qualities, have this in common, that the doer, when he does them,
knows them to be wrong.
The Psalmist gets this further glimpse into the terrible possibilities which attach even to
a servant of God, and we have in our text these three things-a danger discerned, a help
sought, and a daring hope cherished.
I. Note, then, the first of these, the dreaded and discerned
danger-’presumptuous sins,’ which may ‘have dominion over’ us, and lead
us at last to a ‘great transgression.’
Now the word which is translated ‘presumptuous’ literally means that which boils or
bubbles; and it sets very picturesquely before us the movement of hot desires-the
agitation of excited impulses or inclinations which hurry men into sin in spite of their
consciences. It is also to be noticed that the prayer of my text, with singular pathos and
lowly self-consciousness, is the prayer of ‘Thy servant,’ who knows himself to be a
servant, and who therefore knows that these glaring transgressions, done in the teeth of
conscience and consciousness, are all inconsistent with his standing and his profession,
but yet are perfectly possible for him.
An old mediaeval mystic once said, ‘There is nothing weaker than the devil stripped
naked.’ Would it were true! For there is one thing that is weaker than a discovered devil,
and that is my own heart. For we all know that sometimes, with our eyes open, and the
most unmistakable consciousness that what we are doing was wrong, we have set our
teeth and done it, Christian men though we may profess to be, and may really be. All
such conduct is inconsistent with Christianity; but we are not to say, therefore, that it is
incompatible with Christianity. Thank God! that is a very different matter. But as long as
you and I have two things-viz. strong and hot desires, and weak and flabby wills-so long
shall we, in this world full of combustibles, not be beyond the possibility of a dreadful
conflagration being kindled by some devil-blown sparks. There are plenty of dry sticks
lying about to put under the caldron of our hearts, to make them boil and bubble over!
And we have, alas! but weak wills, which do not always keep the reins in their hands as
they ought to do, nor coerce these lower parts of our nature into their proper
subordination. Fire is a good servant, but a bad master; and we are all of us too apt to let
it become master, and then the whole ‘course of nature’ is ‘set on fire of hell.’ The servant
of God may yet, with open eyes and obstinate disregard of his better self and of all its
remonstrances, go straight into ‘presumptuous sin.’

140. Another step is here taken by the Psalmist. He looks shrinkingly and shudderingly into a
possible depth, and he sees, going down into the abyss, a ladder with three rungs on it.
The topmost one is wilful, self-conscious transgression. But that is not the lowest stage;
there is another step. Presumptuous sin tends to become despotic sin. ‘Let them not
have dominion over me.’ A man may do a very bad thing once, and get so wholesomely
frightened, and so keenly conscious of the disastrous issues, that he will never go near it
again. The prodigal would not be in a hurry, you may depend upon it, to try the swine
trough and the far country, and the rags, and the fever, and the famine any more. David
got a lesson that he never forgot in that matter of Bathsheba. The bitter fruit of his sin
kept growing up all his life, and he had to eat it, and that kept him right. They tell us that
broken bones are stronger at the point of fracture than they were before. And it is
possible for a man’s sin-if I might use a paradox which you will not misunderstand-to
become the instrument of his salvation.
But there is another possibility quite as probable, and very often recurring, and that is
that the disease, like some other morbid states of the human frame, shall leave a
tendency to recurrence. A pin-point hole in a dyke will be widened into a gap as big as a
church-door in ten minutes, by the pressure of the flood behind it. And so every act
which we do in contradiction of our standing as professing Christians, and in the face of
the protests, all unavailing, of that conscience which is only a voice, and has no power to
enforce its behests, will tend to recurrence once and again. The single acts become
habits, with awful rapidity. Just as the separate gas jets from a multitude of minute
apertures coalesce into a continuous ring of light, so deeds become habits, and get
dominion over us. ‘He sold himself to do evil.’ He made himself a bond-slave of iniquity.
It is an awful and a miserable thing to think that professing Christians do often come
into that position of being, by their inflamed passions and enfeebled wills, servants of the
evil that they do. Alas! how many of us, if we were honest with ourselves, would have to
say. ‘I am carnal, sold unto sin.’
That is not the lowest rung of the slippery ladder. Despotic sin ends in utter departure.
The word translated here, quite correctly, ‘transgression,’ and intensified by that strong
adjective attached, ‘a great transgression,’ literally means rebellion, revolt, or some such
idea; and expresses, as the ultimate issue of conscious transgression prolonged and
perpetuated into habit, an entire casting off of allegiance to God. ‘No man can serve two
masters.’ ‘His servants ye are whom ye obey,’ whomsoever ye may call your master. The
Psalmist feels that the end of indulged evil is going over altogether to the other camp. I
suppose all of us have known instances of that sort. Men in my position, with a long life
of ministry behind them, can naturally remember many such instances. And this is the
outline history of the suicide of a Christian. First secret sin, unsuspected, because the
conscience is torpid; then open sin, known to be such, but done nevertheless; then
dominant sin, with an enfeebled will and power of resistance; then the abandonment of
all pretence or profession of religion. The ladder goes down into the pit, but not to the
bottom of the pit. And the man that is going down it has a descending impulse after he
has reached the bottom step and he falls-Where? The first step down is tampering with
conscience. It is neither safe nor wise to do anything, howsoever small, against that
voice. All the rest will come afterward, unless God restrains-’first the blade, then the ear,
then the full corn in the ear,’ and then the bitter harvest of the poisonous grain.
II. So, secondly, note the help sought.
The Psalmist is like a man standing on the edge of some precipice, and peeping over the
brink to the profound beneath, and feeling his head beginning to swim. He clutches at
the strong, steady hand of his guide, knowing that unless he is restrained, over he will go.

141. ‘Keep Thou back Thy servant from presumptuous sins.’
So, then, the first lesson we have to take is, to cherish a lowly consciousness of our own
tendency to light-headedness and giddiness. ‘Blessed is the man that feareth always.’
That fear has nothing cowardly about it. It will not abate in the least the buoyancy and
bravery of our work. It will not tend to make us shirk duty because there is temptation in
it, but it will make us go into all circumstances realising that without that divine help we
cannot stand, and that with it we cannot fall. ‘Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe.’ The
same Peter that said, ‘Though all should forsake Thee, yet will not I,’ was wiser and
braver when he said, in later days, being taught by former presumption, ‘Pass the time of
your sojourning here in fear.’
Let me remind you, too, that the temper which we ought to cherish is that of a confident
belief in the reality of a divine support. The prayer of my text has no meaning at all,
unless the actual supernatural communication by God’s own Holy Spirit breathed into
men’s hearts be a simple truth. ‘Hold Thou me up,’ ‘Keep Thou me back,’ means, if it
means anything, ‘Give me in my heart a mightier strength than mine own, which shall
curb all this evil nature of mine, and bring it into conformity with Thy holy will.’
How is that restraining influence to be exercised? There are many ways by which God, in
His providence, can fulfil the prayer. But the way above all others is by the actual
operation upon heart and will and desires of a divine Spirit, who uses for His weapon the
Word of God, revealed by Jesus Christ, and in the Scriptures. ‘The sword of the Spirit is
the Word of God,’ and God’s answer to the prayer of my text is the gift to every man who
seeks it of that indwelling Power to sustain and to restrain.
That will keep our passions down. The bubbling water is lowered in its temperature, and
ceases to bubble, when cold is added to it. When God’s Spirit comes into a man’s heart,
that will deaden his desires after earth and forbidden ways. He will bring blessed higher
objects for all his affections. He who has been fed on ‘the hidden manna’ will not be likely
to hanker after the leeks and onions, however strong their smell and pungent their taste,
that grew in the Nile mud in Egypt. He who has tasted the higher sweetnesses of God will
have his heart’s desires after lower delights strangely deadened and cooled. Get near
God, and open your hearts for the entrance of that divine Spirit, and then it will not seem
foolish to empty your hands of the trash that they carry in order to grasp the precious
things that He gives. A bit of scrap-iron magnetised turns to the pole. My heart, touched
by the Spirit of God dwelling in me, will turn to Him, and I shall find little sweetness in
the else tempting delicacies that earth can supply. ‘Keep Thy servant back from,’ by
depriving him of the taste for, ‘presumptuous sins.’
That Spirit will strengthen our wills. For when God comes into a heart, He restores the
due subordination which has been broken into discord and anarchy by sin. He dismounts
the servant riding on horseback, and carrying the horse to the devil, according to the
proverb, and gives the reins into the right hands. Now, if the gift of God’s Spirit, working
through the Word of God, and the principles and the motives therein unfolded, and
therefrom deducible, be the great means by which we are to be kept from open and
conscious transgression, it follows very plainly that our task is twofold. One part of it is
to see that we cultivate that spirit of lowly dependence, of self-conscious weakness, of
triumphant confidence, which will issue in the perpetual prayer for God’s restraint.
When we enter upon tasks which may be dangerous, and into regions of temptation
which cannot but be so, though they be duty, we should ever have the desire in our hearts
and upon our lips that God would keep us from, and in, the evil.
The other part of our duty is to make it a matter of conscience and careful cultivation, to

142. use honestly and faithfully the power which, in response to our desires, has been granted
to us. All of you, Christian men and women, have access to an absolute security against
every transgression; and the cause lies wholly at your own doors in each case of failure,
deficiency, or transgression, for at every moment it was open to you to clasp the Hand
that holds you up, and at every moment, if you failed, it was because your careless fingers
had relaxed their grasp.
III. Lastly, observe the daring hope here cherished.
‘Then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.’ That is the
upshot of the divine answer to both the petitions which have been occupying us in these
two successive sermons. It is connected with the former of them by the recurrence of the
same word, which in the first petition was rendered ‘cleanse’-or, more accurately, ‘clear’-
and in this final clause is to be rendered accurately, ‘I shall be clear from the great
transgression.’ And it obviously connects in sense with both these petitions, because, in
order to be upright and clear, there must, first of all, be divine cleansing, and then divine
restraint.
So, then, nothing short of absolute deliverance from the power of sin in all its forms
should content the servant of God. Nothing short of it contents the Master for the
servant. Nothing short of it corresponds to the power which Christ puts in operation in
every heart that believes in Him. And nothing else should be our aim in our daily conflict
with evil and growth in grace. Ah! I fear me that, for an immense number of professing
Christians in this generation, the hope of-and, still more, the aim towards-anything
approximating to entire deliverance from sin, have faded from their consciences and
their lives. Aim at the stars, brother! and if you do not hit them, your arrow will go higher
than if it were shot along the lower levels.
Note that an indefinite approximation to this condition is possible. I am not going to
discuss, at this stage of my discourse, controversial questions which may be involved
here. It will be time enough to discuss with you whether you can be absolutely free from
sin in this world when you are a great deal freer from it than you are at present. At all
events, you can get far nearer to the ideal, and the ideal must always be perfect. And I lay
it on your hearts, dear friends! that you have in your possession, if you are Christian
people, possibilities in the way of conformity to the Master’s will, and entire
emancipation from all corruption, that you have not yet dreamed of, not to say applied to
your lives. ‘I pray God that He would sanctify you wholly, and that your whole body, soul,
and spirit be preserved blameless unto the coming.’
That daring hope will be fulfilled one day; for nothing short of it will exhaust the
possibilities of Christ’s work or satisfy the desires of Christ’s heart.
The Gospel knows nothing of irreclaimable outcasts. To it there is but one unpardonable
sin, and that is the sin of refusing the cleansing of Christ’s blood and the sanctifying of
Christ’s Spirit. Whoever you are, whatever you are, go to God with this prayer of our text,
and realise that it is answered in Jesus Christ, and you will not ask in vain. If you will put
yourself into His hands, and let Him cleanse and restrain, He will give you new powers to
detect the serpents in the flowers, and new resolution to shake off the vipers into the fire.
For there is nothing that God wants half so much as that we, His wandering children,
should come back to Him, and He will cleanse us from the filth of the swine trough and
the rags of our exile, and clothe us in ‘fine linen clean and white.’ We may each be sinless
and guiltless. We can be so in one way only. If we look to Jesus Christ, and live near Him,
He ‘will be made of God unto us wisdom,’ by which we shall detect our secret sins;
‘righteousness,’ whereby we shall be cleansed from guilt; ‘sanctification,’ which shall

143. restrain us from open transgression; ‘and redemption,’ by which we shall be wholly
delivered from evil and ‘presented faultless before the presence of His glory with
exceeding joy.’
14 May these words of my mouth and this
meditation of my heart
be PLEASI G in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
BAR ES,”Let the words of my mouth - The words that I speak; all the words that I
speak.
And the meditation of my heart - The thoughts of my heart.
Be acceptable in thy sight - Be such as thou wilt approve; or, be such as will be
pleasing to thee; such as will give thee delight or satisfaction; such as will be agreeable to
thee. Compare Pro_14:35; Isa_56:7; Isa_60:7; Jer_6:20; Exo_28:38; Lev_22:20-21;
Lev_19:5. This supposes:
(a) that God has such control over our thoughts and words, that he can cause us to
order them aright;
(b) that it is proper to pray to him to exert such an influence on our minds that our
words and thoughts may be right and pure;
(c) that it is one of the sincere desires and wishes of true piety that the thoughts and
words may be acceptable or pleasing to God.
The great purpose of the truly pious is, not to please themselves, or to please their
fellow-men, (compare Gal_1:10), but to please God. The great object is to secure
acceptance with him; to have such thoughts, and to utter such words, that He can look
upon them with approbation.
O Lord my strength - Margin, as in Hebrew, rock. Compare the note at Psa_18:2.
And my redeemer - On the word used here, see the note at Job_19:25; compare
Isa_41:14; Isa_43:14; Isa_44:6, Isa_44:24; Isa_47:4; Isa_63:16. The two things which
the psalmist here refers to in regard to God, as the appellations dear to his heart, are
(a) that God is his Rock, or strength; that is, that he was his defense and refuge; and
(b) that he had rescued or redeemed him from sin; or that he looked to him as alone
able to redeem him from sin and death.
It is not necessary to inquire here how far the psalmist was acquainted with the plan of
salvation as it would be ultimately disclosed through the great Redeemer of mankind; it
is sufficient to know that he had an idea of redemption, and that he looked to God as his
Redeemer, and believed that he could rescue him from sin. The psalm, therefore, which
begins with a contemplation of God in his works, appropriately closes with a

144. contemplation of God in redemption; or brings before us the great thought that it is not
by the knowledge of God as we can gain it from his works of creation that we are to be
saved, but that the most endearing character in which he can be manifested to us is in
the work of redemption, and that wherever we begin in our contemplation of God, it
becomes us to end in the contemplation of his character as our Redeemer.
CLARKE, “Let the words of my mouth - He has prayed against practical sin, the
sins of the body; now, against the sins of the mouth and of the heart. Let my mouth
speak nothing but what is true, kind, and profitable; and my heart meditate nothing but
what is holy, pure, and chaste.
Acceptable in thy sight - Like a sacrifice without spot or blemish, offered up with a
perfect heart to God.
O Lord, my strength - ‫צורי‬ tsuri, “my fountain, my origin.”
My redeemer - ‫גאלי‬ goali, my kinsman, he whose right it is to redeem the forfeited
inheritance; for so was the word used under the old law. This prayer is properly
concluded! he was weak, he felt the need of God’s strength. He had sinned and lost all
title to the heavenly inheritance, and therefore needed the interference of the Divine
kinsman; of Him who, because the children were partakers of flesh and blood, also
partook of the same. No prayer can be acceptable before God which is not offered up in
his strength; through Him who took our nature upon him, that he might redeem us unto
God, and restore the long-lost inheritance. Lord my helpar and my byer. - Old Psalter.
He who is my only help, and he that bought me with his blood. This prayer is often, with
great propriety, uttered by pious people when they enter a place of worship.
GILL, “Let the words of my mouth,.... Meaning either his speech in common
conversation, which should not be filthy and foolish, rotten and corrupt; but such as
ministers grace to the hearer: or else his address to God, both in prayer and
thanksgiving;
and the meditation of my heart; his inward thoughts continually revolving in his
mind; or his meditation on the word of God and divine things; or mental prayer, which is
not expressed, only conceived in the mind;
be acceptable in thy sight; as words and thoughts are, when they are according to the
word of God; and as the sacrifices of prayer, whether vocal or mental, and of praise, are
through Jesus Christ our Lord. The psalmist, in order to strengthen his faith in God, that
he should be heard and answered in the petitions he put up, makes use of the following
epithets:
O Lord, my strength, or "rock" (l),
and my Redeemer; who had been the strength of his life and of his salvation, the rock
on which he was built and established, and the Redeemer who had redeemed his life
from destruction, and out of the hands of all his enemies, and from all his iniquities.
HE RY, “ He takes occasion humbly to beg the divine acceptance of those

145. his pious thoughts and affections, Psa_19:14. Observe the connexion of this
with what goes before. He prays to God to keep him from sin, and then begs
he would accept his performances; for, if we favour our sins, we cannot
expect God should favour us or our services, Psa_66:18. Observe, (1.) What
his services were - the words of his mouth and the meditations of his heart,
his holy affections offered up to God. The pious meditations of the heart
must not be smothered, but expressed in the words of our mouth, for God's
glory and the edification of others; and the words of our mouth in prayer
and praise must not be formal, but arising from the meditation of the heart,
Psa_45:1. (2.) What was his care concerning these services - that they might
be acceptable with God; for, if our services be not acceptable to God, what do
they avail us? Gracious souls must have all they aim at if they be accepted of
God, for that is their bliss. (3.) What encouragement he had to hope for this,
because God was his strength and his redeemer. If we seek assistance from
God as our strength in our religious duties, we may hope to find acceptance
with God in the discharge of our duties; for by his strength we have power
with him.
In singing this we should get our hearts much affected with the excellency of the word
of God and delivered into it, we should be much affected with the evil of sin, the danger
we are in of it and the danger we are in by it, and we should fetch in help from heaven
against it.
E-SWORD, ““Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable
in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer.” A sweet prayer, and so spiritual
that it is almost as commonly used in Christian worship as the apostolic benediction.
Words of the mouth are mockery if the heart does not meditate; the shell is nothing
without the kernel; but both together are useless unless accepted; and even if accepted
by man, it is all vanity if not acceptable in the sight of God. We must in prayer view
Jehovah as our strength enabling, and our Redeemer saving, or we shall not pray aright,
and it is well to feel our personal interest so as to use the word my, or our prayers will be
hindered. Our near Kinsman's name, our Goel or Redeemer, makes a blessed ending to
the Psalm; it began with the heavens, but it ends with him whose glory fills heaven and
earth. Blessed Kinsman, give us now to meditate acceptably upon thy most sweet love
and tenderness.
E-SWORD, ““Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer.” A
sweet prayer, and so spiritual that it is almost as commonly used in
Christian worship as the apostolic benediction. Words of the mouth are
mockery if the heart does not meditate; the shell is nothing without the
kernel; but both together are useless unless accepted; and even if accepted
by man, it is all vanity if not acceptable in the sight of God. We must in
prayer view Jehovah as our strength enabling, and our Redeemer saving, or
we shall not pray aright, and it is well to feel our personal interest so as to
use the word my, or our prayers will be hindered. Our near Kinsman's
name, our Goel or Redeemer, makes a blessed ending to the Psalm; it began
with the heavens, but it ends with him whose glory fills heaven and earth.

146. Blessed Kinsman, give us now to meditate acceptably upon thy most sweet
love and tenderness.
CALVI , “14.Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart. David asks still more
expressly to be fortified by the grace of God, and thus enabled to live an upright and holy life. The
substance of the verse is this: I beseech thee, O God, not only to keep me from breaking forth into
the external acts of transgression, but also to frame my tongue and my heart to the obedience of thy
law. We know how difficult it is, even for the most perfect, so to bridle their words and thoughts, as
that nothing may pass through their heart or mouth which is contrary to the will of God; and yet this
inward purity is what the law chiefly requires of us. Now, the rarer this virtue — the rarer this strict
control of the heart and of the tongue is, let us learn so much the more the necessity of our being
governed by the Holy Spirit, in order to regulate our life uprightly and honestly. By the
word acceptable, the Psalmist shows that the only rule of living well is for men to endeavor to
please God, and to be approved of him. The concluding words, in which he calls God his strength
and his redeemer, he employs to confirm himself in the assured confidence of obtaining his
requests.
SPURGEO , “Verse 14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be
acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer. A sweet prayer, and so
spiritual that it is almost as commonly used in Christian worship as the apostolic
benediction.
Words of the mouth are mockery if the heart does not meditate; the shell is nothing without the
kernel; but both together are useless unless accepted; and even if accepted by man, it is all vanity if
not acceptable in the sight of God. We must in prayer view Jehovah as our strength enabling, and
our Redeemer saving, or we shall not pray aright, and it is well to feel our personal interest so as to
use the word my, or our prayers will be hindered. Our near Kinsman's name, our Goel or Redeemer,
makes a blessed ending to the Psalm; it began with the heavens, but it ends with him whose glory
fills heaven and earth. Blessed Kinsman, give us now to meditate acceptably upon thy most sweet
love and tenderness.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Verse 14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O
Lord, was David's prayer. David could not bear it, that a word, or a thought of his should miss
acceptance with God. It did not satisfy him that his actions were well witnessed unto men on earth,
unless his very thoughts were witnessed to by the Lord in heaven. Joseph Caryl.
Verse 14. Let the words of my mouth, etc. The best of men have their failing, and an honest
Christian may be a weak one; but weak as he may be, the goodness and sincerity of his heart will
entitle him to put the petition of this verse, which no hypocrite or cunning deceiver can ever make
use of, Thomas Sherlock (Bishop), 1676-1761.
Verse 14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O
Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Fast and pray; Lord, I do fast, and I would pray; for to what
end do I withhold sustenance from my body if it be not the more to cheer up my soul? my hungry,
my thirsty soul? But the bread, the water of life, both which I find nowhere but in thy word, I partake
not but by exercising my soul therein. This I begin to do, and fain would do it well, but in vain shall I
attempt except thou do bless: bless me then, O Lord; bless either part of me, both are thine, and I
would withhold neither part from thee. Not my body; I would set my tongue on work to speak of
thee; not my soul, I would exercise my heart in thinking on thee; I would join them in devotion which
thou hast joined in creation. Yea, Lord, as they have conspired to sin against thee, so do they nor
consort to do their duty to thee; my tongue is ready, my heart is ready; I would think, I would speak;
think upon thee, speak to thee. But, Lord, what are my words? what are my thoughts? Thou
knowest the thoughts of men, that they are altogether vanity, and our words are but the blast of
such thoughts; both are vile. It were well it were no more; both are wicked, my heart a corrupt

147. fountain, and my tongue an unclean stream; and shall I bring such a sacrifice to God? The halt, the
lame, the blind, though otherwise the beasts be clean, yet are they sacrifices abominable to God:
how much more if we offer those beasts which are unclean? And yet, Lord, my sacrifice is no better,
faltering words, wandering thoughts, are neither of them presentable to thee; how much less evil
thoughts and idle words? Yet such are the best of mine. What remedy? If any, it is in thee, O Lord,
that I must find it, and for it now do I seek unto thee. Thou only, O Lord, canst hallow my tongue,
and hallow my heart that my tongue may speak, and my heart think that which may "be acceptable
unto thee," yea, that which may be thy delight. Do not I lavish? Were it not enough that God should
bear with, that he should not publish, the defects of my words, of my thoughts? May I presume that
God shall accept of me? nay, delight in me? Forget I who the Lord is? Of what majesty? Of what
felicity? Can it stand with his Majesty to vouchsafe acceptance? with his felicity to take content in
the words of a worm? in the thoughts of a wretch? And, Lord, I am too proud that vilify myself so
little, and magnify thee no more. But see whither the desire of thy servant doth carry him; how,
willing to please, I consider not how hard it is for dust and ashes to please God, to do that wherein
God should take content. But Lord, here is my comfort that I may set God to give content unto God;
God is mine, and I cannot want access unto God, if God may approach himself. Let me be weak,
yet God is strong; O Lord, thou art "my strength." Let me be a slave to sin, God is a Saviour; O Lord,
thou art my Saviour; thou hast redeemed me from all that woeful state whereunto Adam cast me,
yea, thou hast built me upon a rock, strong and sure, that the gates of hell might never prevail
against me. These two things hast thou done for me, O Lord, and what may not he presume of for
whom thou hast done these things! I fear not to come before thee. I presume my devotion shall
content thee; be thine eyes never such all seeing eyes, I will be bold to present my inward, my
doubt not but to prove a true Israelite, and to prevail with God. For all my woe, for all my sin, I will
not shrink, nay, I will approach, approach to thee, for thou art "My Redeemer." The nearer I come to
thee, the freer shall I be both from sin and woe. Oh, blessed state of man who is so weak, so
strong; so wretched, and so happy; weak in himself, strong in God; most happy in God, though in
himself a sinful wretch. And now, my soul, thou wouldst be devout; thou mayest be what thou
wouldst: sacrifice to God thy words, sacrifice to God thy thoughts, make thyself a holocaust, doubt
not but thou shalt be accepted, thou shalt content even the most glorious, the most holy eyes of
God. Only presume not of thyself, presume on him; build thy words, build thy thoughts upon thy
Rock, they shall not be shaken; free thy words, free thy thoughts (thoughts and words enthralled to
sin), by thy Saviour, and thy sacrifice shall be accepted. So let me build on thee, so let me be
enlarged by thee, in soul, in body, that "The words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be
acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer." Arthur Lake (Bishop), in "Divine
Meditations," 1629.
HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS
Verse 14. A prayer concerning our holy things.
Verse 14. All wish to please. Some please themselves. Some please men. Some seek to please
God. Such was David.
1. The prayer shows his humility.
2. The prayer show his affection.
3. The prayer shows a consciousness of duty.
4. The prayer shows a regard to self interest.
William Jay.
Verse 14. The harmony of heart and lips needful for acceptance.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR,”The words of my mouth, and the meditation of
my heart.
Words and thoughts

148. The prayer speaks for itself, as the prayer of a truly righteous man. One might almost call
that man a perfect man whose whole life was lived in perfect accord with it. For the
majority of us, it is far easier to control one’s actions than one’s words. What mischief is
done by the exaggerated denunciations of violent language, and by the false position of
guilt in which strong epithets and expletives are usually placed. All expressions of bad
feeling are wrong, not because they are expressions, but because they spring from the
bad feeling, and that is the thing of which we ought to be ashamed and afraid. The use of
expletives has been put on a false footing altogether, and the way in which they have
been condemned has done more to increase it than to stop it. Yet how very far better it
would be for us never to use rash or violent or misplaced words. All habits of this kind
are bad. What a safeguard the prayer of the text is against all corrupting influences of the
tongue, and against lying. By the words of our mouth, how vast is the influence we may
exercise for good or evil! Of all the common forms of sinning with the tongue, the most
common, and perhaps the worst, is the sin of lying. There is an amazing amount of
careless falsehood spoken. What gives religion its preeminence as a moral power, is its
recognition of a holy God who looketh on the heart, and m whose sight the pious soul
longs to be wholly and alway acceptable. The earnest desire to be right in the sight of God
would give an immense impulse to the instinctive love of truth which belongs to our
nature. The most vital part of religion is, intense desire to be made righteous, and entire
trust in the strength and grace of God. (Charles Voysey.)
Acceptable words
Meditations into which a man puts his heart will surely prove the spring of action. The
depths of this prayer are reached in the petition concerning the meditations of the heart.
Meditation is only unuttered speech. We think in words. Yet the words we utter have a
separate existence, and most powerfully affect the thoughts of our mind. Language has a
reflex influence upon our thoughts. Thought is revealed in speech, but speech reacts
upon thought. The Bible is fully alive to the importance of right words. Consider some of
the essentials of acceptable words,
1. They must be truthful words. Our words must be in harmony with our thought.
Our speech should be photographic of our thought. There are thoughts which seem to
reach beyond the capacity of language. Speech is the clothing of thought, and, like
clothing, should fit. Right thoughts would exclude—
(1) All exaggerated words. This is a special failing of our own day.
(2) All unreal words.
(3) All flattering words.
2. They must he charitable words. There are men who have an instinct for searching
out evil, just as hounds have for scenting out their prey. Evil ought so to sorrow our
hearts as to make it impossible for us to blazon it abroad. Truth and goodness ought
to be so attractive to us as to lead us to dwell thereon with delight and joy. Oh, that
we had greater tenderness for sinful, wandering souls!
3. They must be godly words. Earthly speech may be seasoned with godly thoughts.
Earthly things may be seen m a heavenly light. The spirit of a Christian may be seen
in common ways, in ordinary work, in earthly speech. (W. Garrett Horder.)

149. The acceptableness of the words of the mouth and the meditation of the
heart in God’s sight
It is a strong evidence of the love of God towards sinful man, that any thing such a frail
and erring being can do or say can be acceptable to Him. There are few sins which can be
less excused, or which are committed with less temptation, than the habit of uttering
improper or indecent language. It is our duty to resist such temptations, and this duty is
to be performed by making the meditations of our hearts acceptable to God. To this end
we must begin with striving to acquire, and with earnestly praying for, purity of mind.
Our minds become tainted before we are aware of the importance and the value of
cleanliness of thought. The voluntary meditation of our hearts now form an image, an
anticipated representation of the state in which “we shall be.” Whatever gives us most
delight and heartfelt pleasure in this world is that which will give us strength in the next.
(John Nance, D. D.)
Consecration of word and thought
I. The utterance of the text as an act of sacrifice. A dedication to God such as any devout
man may make both of words and thoughts.
1. There is nothing so much in our power as are our words. We cannot change our
heart, but we can our speech. Perhaps some man exclaims that his temper has
overmastered him; that he is possessed by the devil; that he cannot govern his own
thoughts; that volleys of wicked words issue from his lips, and that his words cannot
be acceptable to God. I reply, as far as “words” are concerned, you have simply and
solely yourself to blame, However hot your passion, you are not forced to speak; for
God has given you power to hold your tongue. It is pure absurdity to put down those
curses or those noisy slanderous words of yours to your own depravity, or to Adam,
or to the devil. You have only your present self to blame, and neither Adam nor the
devil will bear a particle of the responsibility. There are certain devilish words that
even you would not utter ill the hearing of a child; there are others that you would
repress if a holy man were standing by your side; there are many which your
instinctive reverence for the sanctuary would have the power to hush. These simple
facts may do much to convince you that dominion over the tongue is given you, and
that it is within your power to present to God even words that may be acceptable to
Him. The Scriptures contain many words which it were acceptable for the most vile
to speak unto God.
2. The meditations of our hearts. These may seem to be less fitting for sacrifice; but
they, too, can largely be brought into the control of our will; and then we may offer
them to God on the altar of spiritual sacrifice.
II. How comprehensive the prayer. “All the words of my mouth.” These include—
1. All my soliloquies, my unuttered thinkings.
2. All my conversation, all my speakings whatsoever.
3. All I say unto God, in praise and prayer, in cries and ejaculations of gratitude and
entreaty.
4. The meditations of the heart include even a larger share of human existence than
the words of the mouth. These meditations reveal the habitual objects of reverence or
distrust; the whole empire of fear, hope, and suspicion; of faith, prayerfulness, and

150. love. Now, if this text is a prayer that all these things may be acceptable in the sight of
God, it sweeps up into itself a large portion of our whole being. The prayer itself is a
holy prayer, for “this is the will of God, even our sanctification.” (Henry Reynolds, D.
D.)
The meditation of my heart.—
Mental prayer
There are four kinds of prayer, distinguished by the purposes for which the soul
approaches God: namely, to praise Him, to thank Him, to propitiate Him, or to invoke
His help. But we note now another division of prayer. That which we have referred to
depends upon the motive of the soul, this upon the maimer of the act of prayer itself. The
Psalmist, having prayed that he might be cleansed from sin, and “innocent from the great
transgression,” proceeds further to desire that he may become pleasing to God—“Let the
words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight.” In these
words he provides us with the main division of prayer, based on the organ or faculty
which is employed in it: by “the words of my mouth,” vocal prayer is suggested; by “the
meditation of my heart,” mental prayer is described. Mental prayer is transacted entirely
within the soul; vocal prayer employs the ministry of the tongue, or in some other way
finds expression. The order of the Psalmist is that of acquirement and attainment. We
learn in childhood first to say prayers, afterwards to think them: we govern our words
first, and then bring under subjection our thoughts. All prayer is either mental or vocal.
Mental prayer includes meditation and contemplation. Vocal is such as is used in the
services of the Church.
I. First, we will deal with the practice of meditation, and consider—
1. Its authority, which is derived from the Scriptures. We have instances of it in the
Old Testament, Enoch, Noah, Isaac, of whom it is first expressly spoken
(Gen_24:63). In the New Testament it is twice told of Mary how she “pondered in
her heart” the things that were told her. Christ Himself gives examples of this kind of
prayer (Joh_18:2; Mat_14:23; Luk_6:12). Mary of Bethany. The apostles also
(Act_1:14; 1Ti_4:15; Gal_1:17-18). And so in the writings of the saints we have
constant reference to the practice of meditation. St. Ambrose bids us “exercise
ourselves in meditation before conflict, that we may be prepared for it,” and in a
striking passage describes the nutritive effects of meditation; he says, “we ought for a
long while to bruise and refine the utterances of the heavenly Scriptures, exerting our
whole mind and heart upon them, that the sap of that spiritual food may diffuse itself
into all the veins of our soul,” etc. St. Augustine enumerates the steps which lead up
to “prayer,”—“meditation begets knowledge, knowledge compunction, compunction
devotion, and devotion perfects prayer.” St. Basil enjoins mental prayer as a means of
exercising the faculties of the soul. St. Gregory mentions the morning as a fitting time
for meditation; he says, “as the morning is the first part of the day, each of the
faithful ought at that moment to lay aside all thoughts of this present life, in order to
reflect upon the means of rekindling the fire of charity.” St. Bernard represents
meditation and prayer as the two feet of the soul, by which it ascends. St. Ignatius, in
his Spiritual Exercise, systematised it. St. Theresa declares it “essential to the
Christian life.”
2. Its dignity. It involves a continuing in communion with God in tender and
affectionate intercourse, growing into a holy familiarity and friendship. St. Augustine

151. in his confessions records the joy which he experienced when his soul found its
resting place in God—“Sometimes thou bringest me to certain feelings of tenderness,
and to an extraordinary sweetness, which, should it still increase, I know not what
would happen.” Such communion is surely a preparation for heaven and a foretaste
of beatitude. It is said of St. Francis de Sales, that one day when he was in retreat,
and holding continuous and close communion with God, he became so overwhelmed
with joy that at last he exclaimed, “Withdraw Thyself, O Lord, for I am unable any
longer to bear Thy great sweetness.”
3. Its importance. This is because of its rich productiveness in the fruits of prayer; we
have found that, whether it be regarded as a good work which stores up favour with
God, or as an act of compensation for past neglect, or as a means of adding force to
our petitions, or as to its subjective effect on our life—it outstrips other kinds of
prayer in the number and quality of its effects.
4. Its nature and exercise. There are preliminary acts, such as—
(1) Adoration.
(2) Preparatory prayer that we may have the aid of the Holy Ghost.
(3) The endeavour to picture to yourself the event upon which you are to
meditate.
Then there will be called into exercise: memory, that you may have the subject of
meditation before the mind; understanding, that you may reflect upon it and investigate
its meaning; the will, for we have to stir ourselves up to this exercise. The will acts On the
body, by causing the muscles to contract; on the mind, by determining what trains of
thought it shall pursue; on the spirit, by holy resolve: this its most wonderful power.
Such resolve must be definite, and its execution not delayed. And the meditation will end
with appropriate devotions and inquiries. But mental prayer includes also—
II. Contemplation. It is a gift which is very rarely possessed. It is said that, besides a
peculiar elevation of soul towards God and Divine things, on the natural side
contemplation requires certain qualities of mind and character, and is seldom attained
except after a process of spiritual trial and purification; so that, in passing from the
consideration of meditation to that of contemplation, we feel that we are going off the
thoroughfare into the byways of religion. Some of its special features.
(1) There is no labour in it, as in meditation, but the soul beholds truth
intuitively, and remains gazing upon God. The amazement of delight fills the soul
as it beholds the things of God. So that it is
(2) a foretaste of eternal bliss, like to that which St. Peter enjoyed on the Mount
of Transfiguration.
(3) Another feature is repose. It is restful calm, and closes the senses to the
external world. It is ever associated with the idea of rest. Mary sat at Jesus feet
and heard His word.
(4) The union of the soul with God is another mark, and is the first object of
contemplative prayer.
III. A difficulty in the use of this mental prayer. It is dryness of spirit.
1. Its causes are—
(1) The condition of conscience,—some sin, perhaps hidden, may have come
between the soul and God; or

152. (2) bodily health; or
(3) the providence of God. He sends it as a spiritual trial, and this form of it is the
most severe. (Job_29:2-4; Psa_22:1-31:l, 42:5, 143:7.) If we find no sin in the
conscience, after diligent search, it is best to leave the matter in the hand of God.
Only, never let dryness of spirit cause us to give up mental prayer. Let us not
think that because we have not happy feeling therefore our prayer cannot be
acceptable to God. God may delight in that which gives us no delight. As when the
moon is in crescent, there are a few bright points still visible upon its unillumined
part; and those bright points art supposed to be peaks of mountains so lofty as to
be able to catch the sunlight; so in the darkness of the soul, the withdrawal of
grace is not total, but there are still, as it were, certain eminences, which the Sun
of Righteousness now and then touches with His glory. But whatever the dryness
or the darkness be, if we persevere, the light will return at last. (W. H. Hutchings,
M. A.)
David’s desire
All wish to please—
1. Some to please themselves. Whoever is offended, they must be indulged.
2. Some to please men. And this is not in all cases improper. “Let every one of us
please his neighbour,” but it must be “for his good to edification.”
3. Some endeavour to please God. Such were Paul and his companions. “We labour . .
. to be accepted of Him.” And such was David. He would dedicate all his powers to
God. A natural man cares for his conduct as men see it. But he makes no conscience
of his speech, or of his thoughts.
I. David’s prayer shows his humility, he asks only that his works may be acceptable.
II. His affection. He desires only to please Him.
III. Consciousness of duty. He knew that he was bound to seek God’s favour.
IV. Regard to self-interest. It could not but be well for him if he pleased God.
Innumerable are the benefits of pleasing God. (William Jay.)
Pious desire
In these words we are taught—
I. The interesting light in which to contemplate the character of God.
1. God is His people’s strength. Of their bodies and of their souls.
2. Their Redeemer. He is so from the curse of the law; from sin; from the power of
death and the grave. And at what cost of suffering was all this effected!
3. And we have individual interest in God. “My” strength: “My Redeemer.
II. The pious desire of those that fear the Lord.
1. It is an habitual desire, but felt more strongly at certain seasons, as in meditation.
2. What David was persuaded of, that to the Lord everything was perfectly known.

153. 3. About what he was concerned, that his words and thoughts might “be acceptable
in Thy sight.” God delights in such meditation of His people. (Anon.)
HAWKER, “READER, as oft as you and I look up and behold the heavenly
bodies all ministering in their appointed order, and contemplate God’s
covenant love, existing and confirmed at this hour as much as when first
God promised that seed-time and harvest, summer and winter, day and
night should remain; oh! let the view bring home additional proofs of God’s
faithfulness. I would say to my heart, as Moses the man of God, said to
Israel, Know thou, that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which
keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his
commandments, to a thousand generations.
And, Reader, let this confirmation of God’s faithfulness in the works of creation, become
a blessed testimony to strengthen both our souls, of the faithfulness of Jehovah in the
kingdom of his grace. Yes! blessed Jesus! thou art he whom God our Father hath given,
as the light and life of thy people. In our nature, at the call of Jehovah, thou hast
tabernacled. Thou hast with unceasing brightness, from day to day, been illuminating thy
gospel church. Oh Lord! let the law of thy mouth, and thy statutes; thy testimonies, thy
judgments, thy commandment, and thy fear, be inwrought by thy grace in our souls. And
give us to esteem thee and thy word more than our necessary food. Cause us, under the
enjoyment of it, to cry out with thy church of old, thy lips drop as the honeycomb, honey
and milk are under thy tongue. Thy love is better than wine. Precious Lord! what shame
and confusion of face ought we to feel, in the recollection of our numerous offences,
numerous neglects, and forgetfulness of thee. Lord! revive thy work! awaken meditation!
Oh thou, who art the hope of Israel and the Saviour thereof! be thou my constant joy, my
unceasing delight; and let my meditation of thee be sweet, and all my springs be in thee!
Footnotes:
Psalm 19:1 In Hebrew texts 19:1-14 is NUMBERED 19:2-15.
Psalm 19:4 Septuagint, Jerome and Syriac; Hebrew measuring LINE
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica,
Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.