Psalms 4:7

More than in the time that their corn, &c.— i.e. "My gladness, my joy is as great as the joy of men in a plentiful harvest." The meaning of this verse seems, in the plainest and most obvious sense of it, to be nearly parallel to Isaiah 9:3. Grotius connects it with the preceding verse in this manner: "If thou wilt lift the light of thy countenance upon us, O Lord, thou wilt put a greater gladness in my heart, than is generally expressed at a plentiful harvest of corn, or a great increase of wine."

REFLECTIONS.—1st. David opens this Psalm,

1. With earnest prayer to God. Hear me when I call. We have no demands on God for attention, nor can make him our debtor by waiting upon him: it is a mercy, an unspeakable mercy, if he condescend to hear our prayers. O God of my righteousness: My righteous God, who will do me right respecting my enemies; or, the vindicator of my righteousness, which men traduce and malign; or the God on whom I depend for righteousness, renouncing all trust in myself. Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; many a time have I experienced thy kind interposition, therefore I am still encouraged to hope for the repetition of the same mercy. And every true believer may adopt his words, acknowledging how often God has enlarged his heart, when straitened with temptations and beset with trials, and set his feet at liberty. Note; (1.) In every distress God is a sure refuge; let us fly to him. (2.) Past experience should engage present confidence.

2. He expostulates with his enemies, in order to their conviction and conversion: O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame; as the chiefs of Israel, who joined his rebellious son, sought to do; and as the high-priest and people of the Jews did, when they reviled, insulted, and mocked the Lamb of God, and ridiculed the glory that he assumed as king of Israel, degrading him to the condition of a malefactor, and making him die the death of a slave. In like manner do wicked men seek to reproach the faithful, brand them as hypocrites and deceivers, and ridicule their holy peculiarities.

3. He produces the reason why their attempts must be abortive. Know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: which respects David himself, whose conduct God approved, and whose kingdom he would establish in spite of all his foes. Equally applicable is it to the Messiah, that elect in whom God's soul delighteth.

4. He warns them of their danger, and the way of escaping it. Stand in awe of the judgments of God, threatened against transgressors; and sin not, to provoke it against you. Many versions read, Be angry, and sin not, according to the apostle, Ephesians 4:26. There is an anger not sinful, when it is directed against the evils that we see in ourselves and others, and leads us to zeal for their good, and God's glory. Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Consider your ways, seriously examine them by the rule of God's laws; search out your manifold offences; bring forth the awful sentences which is the appointed wages of sin, and suffer no avocation to divert your thoughts from this important subject: retire to your closet often; and let conscience faithfully do her office; that, self-condemned, and humbled under the sense of sin, your hearts may be laid in the dust, to seek mercy with an offended God. Then offer unto God the sacrifices of righteousness: the sacrifice of God's appointment, which pointed to the atoning blood of the great Redeemer; and put your trust in the Lord, renouncing yourself as a vile sinner, and looking for the mercy of God in Jesus Christ, as your only soul-supporting hope: and this will produce sacrifices of praise to God for redeeming grace, with which he has declared himself to be well-pleased. Thus may all the evil that the sinner fears be averted, and the felicity of God's faithful people become his happy portion. O that men were wise, that they understood these things!

2nd, Having exhorted men to seek the favour of a gracious God, David proceeds to shew the excellency of his regard beyond every earthly acquisition.

1. There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? foolish worldlings, who place their chief happiness in the perishing enjoyments of present vanities; seeking their portion on earth, and grasping at this shadow, instead of God, the only author of true and abiding joy. Note; (1.) Sense governs the majority of mankind, and their pursuits after happiness scarcely rise to objects higher than those which the beasts enjoy in common with them. (2.) They who, with a rational and immortal soul, seek their rest in sublunary enjoyments, must ever, like the prodigal son, find them as husks, incapable of satisfying their hunger. (3.) They who take up with their portion in time, can have none in eternity.

2. The Psalmist, and all whose hearts, like his, divine grace has wrought upon, seek a nobler and more satisfying possession. Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us; give us a sense of thy favour, the comforts of thy Spirit, and the experience of thy love shed abroad in our hearts: this is the only satisfying portion that an immortal soul can enjoy; and all the wealth of the world, compared with this, is dung and loss. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. A worldly man exults to see his barns full, and his vats overflow with wine: but how much greater the joy, to experience the riches of Divine grace, and to be filled with all the fulness of God! Note; They are wofully mistaken, who count God's servants unhappy, and the ways of godliness melancholy: out of them there is no true joy, and the end of all other mirth is heaviness.

3. With this gladness of heart, which a sense of the Divine favour ministered, he forgot his troubles, and rested in peace and comfort. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: no fears shall disturb, or disappointment break my rest; if thou art with me, I have all that heart can wish: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety. Though other refuge I have none, the shadow of thy wings is sufficient security; my soul rests in thy love, my body under thy care, and both are perfectly safe. Note; Every true believer may with delight adopt these expressions of dependance upon God: he can sleep with peace on his bed, for God is there; he can lay with confidence his body in the dust, and sleep the sleep of death; for even in the grave he is safe: and, having committed his all into the hands of a faithful guardian, he is assured, that, whether for time or eternity, all is well.