Psalm 51:15 O Lord, open you my lips; and my mouth shall show forth your praise. There is naturally a kind of pollutedness in the lips of man, whereof Esau complained, a certain uncircumcisedness which, until it is reformed and taken away, no such thing can come through them by which God may be glorified. "We are not sufficient of ourselves, to think anything as of ourselves," saith the apostle; and, "Without Me ye can do nothing," saith our Saviour. The apprehension of this native unableness made David to commend unto God this request; and then there was another, a more particular reason, which moved David to say thus; and that was the effect which he felt in himself of his great sin. We have had often occasion in this psalm to note the havoc of the graces of God in him made by this noisome trespass. He felt himself much disabled by it every way. Never, indeed, can a man praise God aright until he hath matter for it ministered to him out of his own experience; when his soul is satisfied with marrow and fatness, which proceedeth from the love of God shed abroad into the heart; then shall his mouth sound out praise with joyful lips. It is but a cold, barren and superficial service, whatsoever a man doth herein, if he be not furnished with matter for it, out of the store-house of his own heart. If one have not within that joy which David terms joy of heart, and Paul joy in the Holy Ghost, he can never show forth the praise of God to any purpose. It is the inward feeling which must give life and being to this business. Thus there is a double reason by which this point is proved, that no man can be an utterer of God's praise unless God enable him; the first reason is drawn from the consideration of the general insufficiency which is naturally in man for good performances; the second, from the nature of this act of praising God; which is such as can never be well discharged, unless a man's spirit within do rejoice in God, and have sweet peace sealed up unto it in the assurance of God's favour. Now, this is natural to no man, it is God's only free and gracious gift, and until the Lord be pleased to afford comfort to a man's soul, by some good testimony to him that his sins are pardoned, all his attempts and undertakings to be a praiser of God are utterly in vain. (S. Hieron.) Parallel Verses KJV: O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.WEB: Lord, open my lips. My mouth shall declare your praise. |
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