Hawker's Poor man's commentary
Psalms 101:8
REFLECTIONS
Jesus! my song shall be of thee; and to God my Father will I sing. I will sing of thy person, sing of thy love, sing of thy grace, of thy mercy, nay, sing of thy judgments; for I know, Lord, that all thy judgments are right, and that in my deepest exercises, it is because of thy faithfulness that I am troubled. There can be nothing amiss in that which Jesus appoints. Nothing, therefore, shall Put my soul out of tune, while Jesus is my song. And that which is the work of heaven, shall, through thy grace, be my employment on earth. Jesus is, and hath been, and shall be, the one all-sufficient note of joy, and love, and praise, both now and forever.
And, holy Father, most gracious almighty God, to thee, will I sing of Jesus. It is thou that hast proclaimed Jesus from heaven as thy dear and ever blessed, and beloved Son, in whom thou art well pleased. And humbly, Lord, would I send up the feeble notes of my song of praise, to say how happy my poor soul is with such a Saviour! Lord, I will sing to thee of thy mercy in giving Christ; in the birth of Christ; in the death of Christ; in the resurrection of Christ; in the redemption by the blood and righteousness of Christ; in the ascension, exaltation, and triumphs of Christ; in the everlasting priesthood of Christ; in the gifts of the Spirit by Christ; and of all the blessings folded up and contained in this one unequalled gift of thy dear Son, Christ Jesus. This, Lord, shall be my song, my daily, hourly song, in this house of my pilgrimage, until thou shalt be pleased to take me home, to sing the high praises of Jehovah, in heaven, forever. And oh! thou blessed Spirit, wilt thou not tune my heart, and tune my harp, to this melody of soul, that I may sing with the spirit, and sing with the understanding also? Wilt thou not cause me to sing of Jesus, to sing of Him, who is the sweet singer in Israel, and the chief musician of all harmony? The first song of praise ever raised for man to sing, was of Jesus, which angels sung? Glory to God in the highest. And the everlasting song of heaven, to be sung by all the redeemed, is, To Him who was slain, and hath redeemed us by his blood. - Begin then, my soul, and never end thy song; but let Jesus live in thine heart, dwell upon thy tongue, drop like the honeycomb in unceasingly blessing God in Christ; and, until thou join the hallelujahs of heaven, sing of Jesus both in mercy and judgment; and to Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, let thy voice be raised. Amen.