Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Psalms
Book: Psalms
Chapter: 90
Overview:
The eternity of
God, the frailty of
Man.
(1-6) Submission to
Divine chastisements.
(7-11) Prayer for
Mercy and
Grace.
(12-17)
1-6 It is supposed that this psalm refers to the sentence
passed
On Israel in the
Wilderness, Nu 14. The favour and
protection of
God are the only sure
Rest and comfort of the soul
in this evil world.
Christ Jesus is the
Refuge and
dwelling-place to which we may repair. We are dying creatures,
all our comforts in the world are dying comforts, but
God is an
ever-living
God, and believers find him
So. When
God,
By
sickness, or other
Afflictions, turns men to
Destruction, he
thereby calls men to return unto him to repent of their sins,
and live a new
Life. A thousand years are nothing to
God's
eternity: between a minute and a million of years there is some
proportion; between time and eternity there is none. All the
events of a thousand years, whether past or to come, are more
present to the Eternal Mind, than what was done in the last
Hour
is to us. And in the resurrection, the body and soul shall both
return and be united again. Time passes unobserved
By us, as
with men asleep; and when it is past, it is as nothing. It is a
short and quickly-passing
Life, as the waters of a
Flood.
Man
does but flourish as the
Grass, which, when the winter of old
Age comes, will wither; but he may be mown down
By disease or
disaster.
7-11 The
Afflictions of the saints often come from
God's
Love;
but the rebukes of sinners, and of believers for their sins,
must be seen coming from the displeasure of
God. Secret sins are
known to
God, and shall be reckoned for. See the folly of those
who go about to cover their sins, for they cannot do
So. Our
years, when gone, can
No more be recalled than the words that we
have spoken. Our whole
Life is toilsome and troublesome; and
perhaps, in the midst of the years we count upon, it is cut off.
We are taught
By all this to stand in awe. The angels that
sinned know the power of
God's
Anger; sinners in
Hell know it;
but which of us can fully describe it? Few seriously consider it
as they ought. Those who make a mock at
Sin, and make
Light of
Christ, surely do not know the power of
God's
Anger. Who among
us can
Dwell with that devouring
Fire?
12-17 Those who would learn true
Wisdom, must pray for Divine
instruction, must
Beg to be taught
By the Holy
Spirit; and for
comfort and joy in the returns of
God's favour. They pray for
the
Mercy of
God, for they pretend not to plead any merit of
their own. His favour would be a full
Fountain of future joys.
It would be a sufficient
Balance to former griefs. Let the
Grace
of
God in us produce the
Light of good
Works. And let Divine
consolations
Put gladness into our hearts, and a lustre upon our
countenances. The work of our hands, establish thou it; and, in
order to that, establish us in it. Instead of wasting our
precious, fleeting days in pursuing fancies, which leave the
possessors for ever
Poor, let us seek the forgiveness of sins,
and an inheritance in
Heaven. Let us pray that the work of the
Holy
Spirit may appear in converting our hearts, and that the
beauty of
Holiness may be seen in our conduct.