1. God had done great things for him, in a temporal point of view — making a king of a shepherd.

2. He here speaks, however, not as the King of Israel, but as a citizen of Zion. The soul, and not the body, the subject. Worldly riches and spiritual poverty are often combined.

3. What God did for the soul of David, He does for the soul of every believer.

(1)He decreed its salvation.

(2)He gave it to Christ.

(3)He sent it: His Spirit.

(4)He renews and sanctifies it by His grace.

(5)He has arranged in subserviency to it, the events of His providence.

(6)He has made present grace, the earnest of future glory, already prepared.

4. Has God done any of these things for you? If so, He has done them all.

II. THAT DAVID NOTICED AND RECORDED THE THINGS WHICH GOD DID FOR HIS SOUL.

1. Unless David had marked and treasured up God's dealings with him, he could not have told them.

2. The whole of his psalms show that this was his practice.

3. David's example is worthy of imitation — if we keep not a journal, let us at least recollect.

(1)Such is the only course, dictated by respect for God, in His procedure towards us.

(2)Such is the way in which we may be enabled intelligently to co-operate with God.

(3)Such is the only way in which the answer to prayer can be perceived.

(4)Such is the only way in which a song of thanksgiving can be learned.

4. Is the past a blank to you? Then you are not prepared to imitate David.

III. THAT HE FELT THE OBLIGATION OF DECLARING TO OTHERS THE DEALINGS OF GOD WITH HIS SOUL.

1. The general tendency and practice is to conceal God's dealings — though silence on the subject of experience is often necessary from ignorance.

2. The motives which influenced David might be various.

(1)He would have others to learn what he had been taught.

(2)He would have others to unite with him in praising the Lord for His mercies.

(3)He would, in a practical way, acknowledge the unity of the Church.

(4)He yielded to present and strong feeling: out of the abundance of his heart his mouth spake.

IV. THIS INVITATION IS ADDRESSED ONLY TO THOSE WHO "FEAR GOD."

1. Had he been preaching salvation to the lost, he would have addressed all.

2. But he is to speak of the experience of a living soul in its intercourse with God.

3. In such a case, believers only are addressed.

(1)Because they only will listen from actual interest in such a subject.

(2)Because they only can understand such a subject — these things must be felt to be known.

(3)Because they only will make a right use of such communications.

(4)Because David was seeking for Christian fellowship.

(J. Stewart.)

II. THOSE TO WHOSE SOULS GOD HAS BEEN GRACIOUS DESIRE TO TELL OF WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR THEM. Not for the sake of ostentation or pride, still less from hypocrisy, but from irrepressible gratitude to God. And with the view of honouring God, to whom they are so much indebted. Also that they may do good to those to whom they tell of what God has done. It does do them good, for practical and experimental statements are well suited to help others in the heavenward way. And the telling does good to his own soul likewise. He receives sympathy, awakens delight, so that he and they to whom he speaks are comforted, and rejoice together.

III. AND THOSE WHO THUS COMMUNICATE THEIR RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE HAVE MUCH TO TELL. Not merely of God's general goodness to sinful men, but of what God has done specially for them — calling them, pleading with, converting, accepting, sustaining, helping them in every way. Let us then take this conduct of the psalmist as a model. Let no shyness or timidity hinder. But with seriousness, and sincerity, and simplicity do this. It is not essential to salvation, but it is greatly helpful thereto, for yourselves and for others. But what of those who have no such experience to tell? Should not this lead to serious thought? If you cannot talk of God's saving mercy here, how can you hope to enjoy it hereafter?

(A. Thompson, D. D.)

II. EVERY DELIVERANCE FROM TEMPORAL, STILL MORE FROM SPIRITUAL TROUBLE AND DANGER, WILL SO AFFECT THE GOOD MAN'S MIND AS TO EXCITE HIS GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF IT.

III. WHILE THE DEVOUT MAN WAS ANXIOUS TO STIR UP THE WHOLE NATION TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE DELIVERANCE GOD HAD GIVEN TO IT, HE WAS MOST DESIROUS TO ADDRESS HIMSELF TO THOSE WHO POSSESSED THE FEAR OF GOD.

1. What has God done for our souls?-anything? Oh yes! he has given us a distinguished mode of being, and has often put us, as it were, into a new life, after dreadful sicknesses, dangers, etc. He has also given to some of us a better, even a divine, life, and has often renewed it to us. Surely gratitude should actuate us.

2. But in what manner have these expressions of God's goodness affected us? Have we acknowledged them openly, ingenuously, and piously? or have we in an ungrateful and cowardly manner kept silent for fear of man?

3. So far as any of us have walked unworthy of the divine goodness of God, in not having published it to others; and so far as we have trampled on this goodness, in neither having sought nor suffered ourselves to be put in possession of the divine life: so far ought we to be ashamed and abased before God, to pray to Him, etc.

4. It is our mercy that a due improvement of the present opportunity may yet lead to the most glorious results, as Jehovah will not turn away the prayer of the penitent, nor yet hide His mercy from him.

(Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)

II. WHY DOES THE CHRISTIAN WISH TO DECLARE WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR HIS SOUL?

1. If we have seen or met with anything wonderful, we naturally wish to speak of it. That God should do such things for a sinful soul is beyond measure wonderful. It is by far the most wonderful of all His works. He Himself represents it as such. Well, then, may every one for whom He has done such wonders of grace and mercy, wish to declare it.

2. Regard for God's glory prompts the Christian to speak.

3. Further, he wishes to declare what God has done for his soul, in order that others may assist him in praising the bountiful Benefactor.

III. WHY DOES HE WISH TO MAKE THIS DECLARATION TO THOSE ONLY WHO FEAR GOD?

1. Because they alone can understand such a declaration.

2. Because they alone will really believe him.

3. Because they only will listen with interest, or join with him in praising his Benefactor.

IV. IMPROVEMENT. Permit me to ask you, in view of this subject —

1. Whether the returns which God requires of you in the Gospel are not most reasonable?

2. Learn from this subject how inexcusable is your ingratitude, how much reason you have for sorrow, shame, and self-abasement.

(E. Payson, D. D.)

1. First of all, then, we declare with thankfulness what God hath done for our souls in the act of redeeming us. God sent His Son to bless us in turning every one of us from his iniquities. But salvation is not a mere momentary act, ending in itself. God's plan is so to lay hold of our mind and heart that there may be continual growth and improvement. His desire is that we should advance in all spiritual knowledge, "understanding what the will of the Lord is," and comprehending more and more with all saints what is the length, and breadth, and depth, and height of His love.

2. To this end He has given us the Holy Scriptures for our perpetual possession. Let us consider how great a blessing it is to have revealed knowledge laid up in store for us in a book. This gift to our souls is not a mere transient message, the impression of which may gradually fade away anal in time be totally forgotten, or the tradition of which may be corrupted and distorted without any power of correction; but God has so made His communication to us that we can keep it always fresh, can have it always ready at hand, can refer to it, can consult it again and again, can commit large portions of Divine truth to memory, can renew our impressions as they fade, can compare the different parts of the record together with care and deliberation, can study it more and more closely, and make it more and more our own every day that we live. But it is not merely as separate persons one by one that God has furnished us with blessings made ready to our souls.

3. We are members of a great society. The Holy Catholic Church is a part of the system of our religion. Not only does Christianity contain doctrines but likewise institutions. We are abundantly sup. plied with what may be called social ordinances in the Church. We have sacraments, and common prayer, and public instruction, and mutual help.

4. If, now, we are to single out a fourth thing which God hath done for our souls, I think it ought to be the blessing of providential care. How our life has been sheltered at dangerous times! What good directions have been given us by the word and example of others — what invitations to make ourselves well acquainted with Christ and His service, and with the peace which His faithful servants are permitted to possess! Whatever the result may have been, surely no thoughtful mind can hesitate to regard with thankfulness such providential care as one of the highest benefits which God bath conferred upon the soul. And especially let the mind dwell upon this providential care as intended for the discipline and training of the character for some real usefulness in life — as something intended to make us more thoughtful, more watchful, less frivolous, less selfish — something to give us the rare blessing of a right and well-balanced mind, so that we may be helpful to our friends, and that they may learn from us the lesson which we ourselves have been taught. But now we must advance one step further, and here we enter the inner circle of all. At this point especially the words of the psalm are addressed to those who fear God, and it is only they who can thoroughly enter into their meaning. "O come hither and hearken, all ye that fear God; and I will tell you what He hath done for my soul." This desire to help others is a certain mark of a true conversion. If, indeed, there has been experience like that which I have just described, its practical result will take this form. Gratitude to God will find its natural development in generosity to man.

(Dean Howson.)

1. He has done that which no one else could have done. From first to last the work is of His own right hand, and infinitely beyond the power of any other. No angel, nor any number of angels, could have done for me what He has done. They may, indeed, "excel in strength," but the work required as far exceeded their strength as their might exceeds a gnat's. Angels have done great things — see Egypt and Sennacherib — but they could not do this. He has done that which no minister, nor any number of them could do; and what I could never have done fox myself.

2. He has done that which requires many words to describe. Saved! Ah, that is a grand word worthy of being written in letters of gold. A saved soul includes many things. A saved soul is a God-pardoned soul; a God-reconciled soul; a sin-delivered soul; a heaven-entitled soul.

3. He has done that which can never be more completely done.

4. And which can never be undone.

5. He has done that for my soul which brings more glory to His name than all His other works. See Paul.

6. He hath done that for my soul which I am able to know is done. If a man does not know what God has done for his soul, there is some reason to believe that nothing has yet been done. Is conversion so minute a matter, so small a change that it can only be detected by the most delicate tests, and then never to a certainty? Nonsense. That is a poor kind of conversion that only remains a trembling hope and never develops into a conscious fact.

7. He has done for my soul that which will bear the test of eternity.

II. A FEW REASONS THAT WARRANT TELLING THE TALE.

1. Saints in all ages have done the same. See Paul. Throughout all his epistles the same thing shines. He never forgets his own salvation. Glistening like little gems in a setting of gold are those personal allusions. "I obtained mercy." "Of whom I am chief." "By the grace of God I am what I am." Too often we forget that we have been purged from our old sins; the day of our conversion grows dim in the distance, and our heart's love loses its fervour and intensity. The fire becomes caked over and gives out but little heat. Tell the tale, and in telling it, old memories spring into fresh life. The fire is stirred, its hardening crust is broken, and the flames leap out as bright as ever. Oh, it is a grand thing for one's own soul to live over again the day of conversion. Tell it, it is the best argument with sinners. The world can understand a fact far better than a theory.

(Archibald O. Brown.)

1. What He has done for their souls in the gift of Christ (John 3:16),

2. In enabling them to appropriate to themselves by faith the blessings of that salvation.

3. In the privilege which He gives to them, of drawing near to Him in prayer through Christ, and in the communications from Himself which are imparted to them frequently in the exercise of that privilege.

4. In their preservation from falling into open sin to the dishonour of His name and their own everlasting ruin (1 Peter 1:5).

II. IT IS GOD'S WILL CONCERNING HIS PEOPLE THAT THEY SHOULD LIVE IN THE LIVELY APPREHENSION OF THESE BENEFITS WHICH HAVE BEEN THUS CONFERRED UPON THEM. There are many who think lightly of Christian experience — who are ready to treat as enthusiastic, everything connected with it, and exclaim against it either as hypocrisy or delusion; but the operations of God's Spirit do not consist in mere notions, but in his lively actings within the soul; where there is no experience of what God has done for the soul, there can be no real work of God's Holy Spirit. Let none of us then be satisfied with mere notional religion, but see that we be able to rejoice in what our God, in His mercy and grace, has done for our souls.

III. WE HAVE HERE REPRESENTED TO US ONE OF THOSE EFFECTS WHICH WILL EVER BE PRODUCED BY THAT TRUE CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE WHICH IS THE RESULT OF THE OPERATION OF GOD'S HOLY SPIRIT IN THE SOUL.It is, that it will produce the humble acknowledgment of the mercies which have been received — and that from the simple and sincere desire to glorify God and to benefit the souls of others.

1. To win the unconverted people of the world to the consideration of those subjects from which their hearts are alienated and with which they only associate ideas of gloom and melancholy.

2. For the consolation and encouragement and edification of the people of God.

(Denis Browne, M. A.)

"In peace let me resign my breath,

And Thy salvation see;

My sins deserve eternal death,

But Jesus died for me."Valpy is dead and gone; but he gave those lines to dear old Dr. Marsh, the Rector of Beckenham, who put them over his study mantel-shelf. The Earl of Roden came in and read them. "Will you give me a copy of those lines?" said the good earl. "I shall be glad," said Dr. Marsh, and copied them. Lord Roden took them home and put them over his mantel-shelf. General Taylor, a Waterloo hero, came into the room and noticed them. He read them over and over again, while staying with Earl Roden, till his lordship remarked, "I say, friend Taylor, I should think you know those lines by heart." He answered, "I do know them by heart; indeed, my very heart has grasped their meaning." He was brought to Christ by the humble rhyme. General Taylor handed those lines to an officer in the army, who was going out to the Crimean War. He came home to die; and when Dr. Marsh went to see him, the poor soul, in his weakness, said: "Good sir, do you know this verse that General Taylor gave to me? It brought me to my Saviour, and I die in peace" To Dr. Marsh's surprise, he repeated the lines: —In peace let me resign my breath, etc.Only think of the good which four simple lines may do! Oh, tell the good news! Never mind how simple the language. Tell it out.

     5193   tongue

Psalm 66:16-20

     8352   thankfulness

But, after that He had Made Mention of These Evils...
30. But, after that he had made mention of these evils, he added and said, "On account of which cometh the wrath of God on the sons of unbelief." [1923] Surely it was a wholesome alarm that believers might not think that they could be saved on account of their faith alone, even although they should live in these evils: the Apostle James with most clear speech crying out against that notion, and saying, "If any say that he have faith, and have not works, shall his faith be able to save him?" [1924] …
St. Augustine—On Continence

The History of the Psalter
[Sidenote: Nature of the Psalter] Corresponding to the book of Proverbs, itself a select library containing Israel's best gnomic literature, is the Psalter, the compendium of the nation's lyrical songs and hymns and prayers. It is the record of the soul experiences of the race. Its language is that of the heart, and its thoughts of common interest to worshipful humanity. It reflects almost every phase of religious feeling: penitence, doubt, remorse, confession, fear, faith, hope, adoration, and …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

The Heart's Desire Given to Help Mission Work in China.
"Sept. 30 [1869].--From Yorkshire L50.--Received also One Thousand Pounds to-day for the Lord's work in China. About this donation it is especially to be noticed, that for months it had been my earnest desire to do more than ever for Mission Work in China, and I had already taken steps to carry out this desire, when this donation of One Thousand Pounds came to hand. This precious answer to prayer for means should be a particular encouragement to all who are engaged in the Lord's work, and who may …
George Müller—Answers to Prayer

In Death and after Death
A sadder picture could scarcely be drawn than that of the dying Rabbi Jochanan ben Saccai, that "light of Israel" immediately before and after the destruction of the Temple, and for two years the president of the Sanhedrim. We read in the Talmud (Ber. 28 b) that, when his disciples came to see him on his death-bed, he burst into tears. To their astonished inquiry why he, "the light of Israel, the right pillar of the Temple, and its mighty hammer," betrayed such signs of fear, he replied: "If I were …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Shewing Wherein all Saving Grace Does Summarily Consist"
The next thing that arises for consideration is, What is the nature of this Divine principle in the soul that is so entirely diverse from all that is naturally in the soul? Here I would observe,-- 1. That that saving grace that is in the hearts if the saints, that within them [which is] above nature, and entirely distinguishes 'em from all unconverted men, is radically but one -- i.e., however various its exercises are, yet it is but one in its root; 'tis one individual principle in the heart. 'Tis …
Jonathan Edwards—Treatise on Grace

I Will Pray with the Spirit and with the Understanding Also-
OR, A DISCOURSE TOUCHING PRAYER; WHEREIN IS BRIEFLY DISCOVERED, 1. WHAT PRAYER IS. 2. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT. 3. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT AND WITH THE UNDERSTANDING ALSO. WRITTEN IN PRISON, 1662. PUBLISHED, 1663. "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought:--the Spirit--helpeth our infirmities" (Rom 8:26). ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. There is no subject of more solemn importance to human happiness than prayer. It is the only medium of intercourse with heaven. "It is …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath Day and Defends his Act.
(at Feast-Time at Jerusalem, Probably the Passover.) ^D John V. 1-47. ^d 1 After these things there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. [Though every feast in the Jewish calendar has found some one to advocate its claim to be this unnamed feast, yet the vast majority of commentators choose either the feast of Purim, which came in March, or the Passover, which came in April. Older commentators pretty unanimously regarded it as the Passover, while the later school favor the feast …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Why all Things Work for Good
1. The grand reason why all things work for good, is the near and dear interest which God has in His people. The Lord has made a covenant with them. "They shall be my people, and I will be their God" (Jer. xxxii. 38). By virtue of this compact, all things do, and must work, for good to them. "I am God, even thy God" (Psalm l. 7). This word, Thy God,' is the sweetest word in the Bible, it implies the best relations; and it is impossible there should be these relations between God and His people, and …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Question Lxxxiii of Prayer
I. Is Prayer an Act of the Appetitive Powers? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer based on Friendship II. Is it Fitting to Pray? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer as a True Cause S. Augustine, On the Sermon on the Mount, II. iii. 14 " On the Gift of Perseverance, vii. 15 III. Is Prayer an Act of the Virtue of Religion? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Humility of Prayer S. Augustine, On Psalm cii. 10 " Of the Gift of Perseverance, xvi. 39 IV. Ought We to Pray to God Alone? S. Augustine, Sermon, cxxvii. 2 V. …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament