\*Ver. 11. \\For thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine
iniquity\\, &c.] Which to do is one of the promises
and blessings of the covenant. The psalmist may have
reference to his sin with Bathsheba, as Kimchi observes;
since it was foretold to him, that, on account
of that sin, evil should arise to him out of his own
house, \\#2Sa 12:11\\; meaning that his son should
rise up in rebellion against him; which was now the
case, and which, no doubt, brought afresh this sin to
his mind; and the guilt of it lay heavy upon his conscience;
and therefore he prays for an application of
pardoning grace and mercy; or he may have respect
to original sin, the sin of his nature, which so easily
beset him; the loathsome disease his loins were filled
with; the law in his members warring against the law
of his mind; and which a view of every actual sin led
him to the consideration and acknowledgment of, as
did that now mentioned, \\#Ps 51:4,5\\; or, %iniquity% may
be put for %iniquities%, and the sense be, that he desired
a manifestation of the pardon of all his sins; for when
God forgives sin, he forgives all iniquities: and David
here prays for pardon in a way of mercy, and upon the
foot of satisfaction; for he prays that God would %mercifully
pardon% {a}, as the word signifies; or, according to
his tender mercies, blot out his transgressions, and
cleanse him from his sins; or that he would be %propitious% {b}
to him; or forgive him in a propitiatory way, or
through the propitiation of Christ, whom God had set
forth in his purposes and promises to be the propitiation
for the remission of sins; and therefore he entreats
this favour %for [his] name's sake%; not for his own
merits and good works, but for the Lord's sake, for his
mercy's sake, or for his son's sake; see \\#Isa 43:25\\;
compared with \\#Eph 5:32\\. The argument or reason he urges is,
\*\\for it [is] great\\; being committed against
the great God, against great light and knowledge, and
attended with very aggravating circumstances; or
%much% {c}, he being guilty of many sins; his sins were
great, both as to quality and quantity: this seems to be
rather a reason against than a reason for the pardon
of sin; it denotes the sense the psalmist had of his
iniquity, and his importunity for the pardon of it;
just as a person, sensible of the violence and malignity
of his disease, entreats the physician with the greater
eagerness and importunity to do his utmost for him;
see \\#Ps 41:4\\; or the words may be rendered, %though
it [is] great% {d}; so Aben Ezra understands them;
\*"though
"it is so very heinous and provoking, yet since forgiveness
"is with thee, and thou hast promised it in covenant,
"and hast proclaimed thy name, a God gracious
"and merciful, pardon it;"\*
\*unless the words are to be
connected, as they are by some Jewish {e} interpreters,
with the phrase %thy name's sake, for it [is] great%; that is,
thy name is great, and that it may appear to be so, as
it is proclaimed, forgive mine iniquity.

\*Ver. 12. \\What man [is] he that feareth the Lord\\?
That is, how happy a man is he! and one that fears
the Lord is one that has the fear of God put into his
heart, as a blessing of the covenant of grace before
spoken of; who fears the Lord, not on account of the
punishment of sin, but under the influence of the
pardon of it, and for his goodness's sake; who loves the
Lord, trusts in him, is careful not to offend him, hates
sin, and avoids it, and has a strict regard to the worship
of God in all its parts and branches, and performs
it in fear; or who serves the Lord with reverence and
godly fear. The description of this man's happiness
follows in this verse and \\#Ps 25:12\\:
\*\\him shall he teach
in the way [that] he shall choose\\; either which the man
that fears God shall choose, which is the way of truth
and duty, \\#Ps 119:30,173\\; or the way which God
prescribes to him, and is well-pleasing in his sight,
who teaches to profit, and leads in the way his people
should go; and a great happiness it is for a man to
have his steps ordered by the Lord and his goings
directed by him.

\*Ver. 13. \\His soul shall dwell at ease\\, &c.] Or in
%goodness% {f}, enjoying an affluence of good things, of
spiritual blessings in Christ, in whom he dwells by faith;
and where he has peace and safety, amidst all the troubles,
afflictions, and exercises, he meets with; and
where with godliness he has contentment, which is
great gain indeed; for, though he may seem to have
nothing, he possesses all things; and has all things
given him richly to enjoy, even all things pertaining to
life and godliness; and at death, when his soul is separated
from his body, it shall enter into rest, and be in
perfect peace; it shall lie in Abraham's bosom, and
in the arms of Jesus, during the night of the grave,
until the resurrection morn, when the body will be
raised and united to it, and both will dwell in perfect
happiness to all eternity;
\*\\and his seed shall inherit the
earth\\; that is, those who tread in the same steps, and
fear the Lord as he does; these shall possess the good
things of this world, which is theirs, in a comfortable
way, as their father's gift, as covenant mercies, and in
love; though it may be but a small portion that they
have of them; or rather they shall inherit the new heavens
and earth, wherein will dwell only righteous persons,
meek ones, and such as fear the Lord, \\#Mt 5:5
2Pe 3:13\\; and this they shall inherit for a thousand
years, and afterwards the land afar off, the better country,
the ultimate glory to all eternity.

\*Ver. 14. \\The secret of the Lord [is] with them that fear
him\\, &c.] The secret of his purposes with them; as
his purpose according to election; his resolution to redeem
his chosen ones by his Son; his design to call
them by his grace; his predestination of them to the
adoption of children, and eternal life; which are the
deep things of God the Spirit of God reveals; and all
which are made manifest to them in effectual vocation;
and the secret of his providences is with them; some
are made known to them that fear the Lord before
they come to pass; as the destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah to Abraham, with many other instances in
the Old Testament; see \\#Am 3:7\\; and what is the
book of the Revelation but a revelation of the secrets
of Providence, from the time of Christ and his apostles,
to the end of the world? some they observe and take
notice of whilst they are performing, and see the gracious
designs of God in them, for their good and his
glory; and though some of his ways of Providence are
past finding out, and his footsteps are not known as
yet; hereafter his judgments will be made manifest,
and the whole scene will be opened to the saints, and
be clear to their view: the secret of his love, free grace,
and favour, is with them, which was in his heart from
everlasting, and lay hid in his thoughts, which are as
much higher than ours as the heavens are higher than
the earth; and which is made manifest in regeneration,
and then shed abroad in the hearts of his people: secret
communion with God is enjoyed by those that
fear him, which is what the world knows nothing of,
and the joy that results from it is what a stranger intermeddles
not with; the Lord has his chambers and
secret places, into which he brings them, and where
they dwell. The secret of his Gospel is with them;
and the mysteries of it, which were kept secret since
the world began; as the mystery of a trinity of Persons
in the Godhead; the union of the two natures in
Christ; the regeneration of the Spirit; the union of
the saints to Christ, and their communion with him;
the calling of the Gentiles; the resurrection of the
dead; and the change of living saints;
\*\\and he will
show them his covenant\\: the covenant of grace, which
was made with Christ for them from eternity, is made
known to them in time, when they are called by the
grace of God, and made partakers of the grace of the
covenant, then the Lord reveals himself as their covenant
God and Father; shows them that his Son is
their surety, Mediator, Redeemer, and Saviour; puts his
Spirit into them to implant covenant grace in them,
to seal up the blessings of it to them, and bear witness
to their interest in them, as pardon, justification, and
adoption; and to apply the exceeding great and precious
promises of it to them.

{a} \^txlo\^ %mercifully pardon%; so Ainsworth.
{b} \~ilash\~ Sept. %propitiaberis%, V. L. %propitius esto%, Musculus.
{c} \~br\^ %multum%, V. L. %multa%, Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version.
{d} \^yk\^ %quamvis%, Gejerus, Schmidt,
{e} Vide Abendanae Not. in Miclol Yophi in loc.
{f} \^bwjb\^ %in bono%, Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, Junius &
Tremellius, &c. so Ainsworth.