The Lord God is a sun and shield— A guard and shield. Houbigant and Bishop Hare. Others read, a fortress and a shield.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, We have here,
1. The Psalmist admiring the beauty of God's ordinances. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! Externally the tabernacle appeared without beauty, but within all was glorious; there dwelt the Shechinah; there the incense smoked upon the golden altar, and the ministers of God performed the sacred service. More amiable still the gospel church appears, where God incarnate dwells, where incense of prayer and praise is continually offered, and the glad tidings of salvation proclaimed.
2. The fervent longings of his soul burst forth after God: perhaps now he was at a distance from the sanctuary, but his heart was there. My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth, for the courts of the Lord; so intensely were his desires after them: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God; importunate to be restored to the sanctuary, but most importunate to meet God there, and maintain delightful communion with him, in the ordinances of his service. Note; (1.) A soul which has no delight in God's house, can have no lot in his kingdom. (2.) The thing which makes all the acts of worship so desirable, is the communion therein maintained with the living God, the life and joy of our souls; and without this they are dry, barren, and formal.
3. He looks upon the little birds, and envies them as it were their happiness. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest, &c. even thine altars: not that we can suppose they literally built their nests in these altars, but near them; either in the houses adjoining to the sanctuary, or perhaps within the sacred inclosure; and this was a situation so desirable to the Psalmist, that with them he longed to dwell. Or, The birds have their nests, and lodge securely; but I, a wanderer, can find no resting-place absent from thine altars, my king, and my God: As such by faith the Psalmist regarded him, and intimates the hope he had, that as a faithful subject, and true worshipper, the Lord would hear his prayer, and bring him to his blest abode. Note; (1.) The meanest abode with God's presence, is better than a palace without him. (2.) They who know the value of the ordinances of God, will seek a settlement where they may be most profitably enjoyed. (3.) When faith can say, My King, and my God, we are sure that all our prayers will succeed.
4. He counts them most blessed, who are continually employed in the service and praise of God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; the ministers of the sanctuary, who were in constant attendance: they will be still praising thee; and surely, if there be ought like heaven upon earth, it is this blessed work. Note; (1.) However despicable in the eyes of men the service of the ministry may appear, it is of all employments the most blessed and honourable. (2.) They who draw nearest to God, and serve him most faithfully, see most abundant cause to praise him continually. (3.) All our strength cometh from the Lord; without him we cannot take one step heaven-ward. (4.) When the heart is engaged, we shall walk with pleasure in God's ways. (5.) Our way to heaven lies through many a difficult pass, and they who would be soldiers of Christ, must be ready to endure hardship. But when our tribulations abound, our consolations abound also; and perhaps the sweetest hours of our lives were those in which we struggled with the greatest obstacles. (6.) The farther a soul goes in the ways of God, the stronger it grows: Instaurabit iter vires. (7.) They can never faint, who make God the strength of their heart. (8.) It will be the unutterable felicity of the faithful soul in the heavenly Zion, to behold the King in his beauty, and to enjoy the uninterrupted vision of the blessed God.
2nd, Having testified his earnest desire after the courts of God's house, the Psalmist,
1. Intreats a gracious acceptance of his prayer. O Lord God of hosts, able to save to the uttermost, and supply the desires of every longing soul, hear my prayer, and give an answer of peace: give ear, O God of Jacob, our covenant God. Behold my present situation, and the ardent breath-ings of my heart, O God our shield, my protector, and the sure hope of every believer; and look upon the face of thine anointed; either himself, God's anointed king, or the Messiah, for whose sake he hoped God would be gracious to him; and in whose intercession he trusted, more than in his own supplications. Note; (1.) God's praying children may confidently expect their Father's blessing, and be assured that they shall not seek his face in vain. (2.) When God is our shield, then shall we be safe from fear of evil. (3.) Our confidence toward God stands solely on the foundation of the Redeemer's all-prevailing advocacy: when we look to him with an eye of faith, God will look on us with an eye of favour.
2. He professes the high regard that he had for God's courts. For a day in thy courts, spent in the blessed work of prayer and praise, meditation and communion with God, is better than a thousand spent in every delight which earth can give. I had rather be a door-keeper, employed in the meanest offices, as the lower Levites in the temple, or stand at the threshold, as the poor beggar, Acts 3:1-2 in the house of my God, which endeared relation afforded him the most enlivened satisfaction, and made the house of God so desirable, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. Note; (1.) They who never found delight in God's house and worship, prove themselves utter strangers to his grace and truth. (2.) One hour's communion with God is as much superior to all the joys of pleasurable sin, as heaven is higher than the earth.
3. He shews the ground of this preference. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; a sun to enlighten our spiritual darkness, and cheer us with his bright beams of love; a shield, to protect us from every danger. The Lord will give, freely and abundantly, grace, according to all our necessities; preventing, justifying, sanctifying, comforting, grace; and glory eternal in the heavens, the free gift of God in Jesus Christ our Lord, to every faithful soul. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Indeed, what good can be conceived, which these two, grace and glory, do not include? Be it therefore our care to walk under the influence of such great and precious promises, and in simplicity and godly sincerity to approve our fidelity to God.
4. They who perseveringly trust God's promises are and shall be partakers of all this blessedness. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. Though he may be unable to appear before God in his courts, he shall have all the blessings of the ordinances of which he is deprived. God is his portion, and what can he wish for more?*
* We have in these Reflections considered the Psalm according to its common interpretation; and have, indeed, in our Reflections observed this rule in the general.