Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/4_400.lzh/4_441.TXT

Text File | 1994-09-15 | 6KB | 117 lines

Ver. 1. The preparations of the heart in man, &c.]
The sense. of these words, according to our version,
depends upon the next clause, and the meaning of the
whole is, that a man can neither think nor speak
without God: the orderings or marshallings of the
heart{a},. as it may be rendered; that is, of the thoughts
of the heart, which are generally h'regular and con-
fused; the ranging them in order, as an army in bat-
tle-array, or as things regularly placed ou a well-
furnished table; the fixing them on any particular
subject, though about things civil and uatttrai, so as
closely to attend to tliem, and proceed in a regular
manner in tHe consideration of thetn, are not without
the concurrence of divine Providence: and whereas
the thoughts of men's hearts are evil, and that con-
tinually, and nothing but evil thoughts naturally
proceed from thence; the ordering and marshalling
of them, and fixing them to the attention and consi-
deration of divine and spiritual things, are not with-
out the supernatural grace of God; for we cannot
think a good thought of ourselves, nor indeed any
thing of ourselves in asp. iritual manner, c2 Cot'. iii. b.
all preparations for religious service and duty, whe-
ther it be to pray unto God, or to preach in his name,
are from the Lord; it is he that works in men both
to will and to do; that gives them the willing mind,
or a suitable frame for service, as well as ability to
perform it; that pours ont the spirit of grace and sup-
plication on them, and disposes and directs their
minds to proper petitions, and furnishes his mini-
stering servants in their studies with agreeable matter
for their ministrations, Psai. x, 17. c2 Cot. iii. 5, 6.
And the answer of the tongue is from the Lord; who
made man's mouth, and teaches him what to say,
both before God and man; what he shall say in prayer
to him, or in preaching to others; for the door of ut-
terance in either service is from him, as well as the
preparation for it: most versions and interpreters
make these clauses distinct, the one as belonging to
men, the other to God; thus, to men belong the pre-
parations of the heart, but from the Lord is the answer
or speech of the tongue; the former is said by way
of concession, and according to the opinion of men;
and the sense may be, be it so, that man has the
marshalling and ordering of his own thoughts, and
that he can lay things together in his mind, and think
pertinently and properly on a subject, and is capable
of preparing matter for a discourse; yet it is as easy
to observe, that men can better form ideas of things
in their minds, the they can express their sense and
meaning; and though they may be ever so well pre-
pared to speak, yet they are not able to do it, unless
the Lord gives them utterance, and assists their me-
mories; they lose what they had prepared, or de-
liver it in a disorderly and confused manner, and
sometimes think to say one thing, and say another;
their tongues are overruled by the Lord to say what
they never intended, as in the cases of Balaam and
Caiaphas. The Targum is," fi'om man is the counsel
"of the heart, and from the Lord is the speech of the
"tongue."
Ver. 2. All the ways of a man are clean in his own
eyes, &c.] All right and well, not only some, but all,
having a high opinion of himself; for this is to be un-
derstood of a self-righteous man, who is pure in his
own eyes, though not cleansed from his filthiness, and
so fancies every way he walks in, and every tiring he
does, is pure; this is owing to want of knowledge of
the impurity of Iris nature; was he sensible of this, he.
would see that his best righteousness is as tilthy rags
and to his ignorance of the spirituality of-the law,
which, was he acquainted with, he would find, on
comparing himself with it, that he and all he did was
polluted and unclean: some read the words, all the
ways of a pure man are before his eyes: the eyes of the
Lord, he sees them, and approves of them; so Ab.en
Ezra; and to this agrees the Septuagint version, aH
the works of an humble man are manifest with God; and
the Arabic version, all the works of an humble man are
clean before God; but the former reading and sense
seem best. But the Lord weigheth the spirits;
searches aud tries the hearts; he sees, knows, and ob-.
serves the principles of all actions, and can as exactly
adjust the nature and quality of them, as a man, with
a pair of scales in his hands, can tell precisely the
weight of any thing put into them; the Lord weighs
the spirits, or hearts, from whence all actions flow, by
his omniscience, and accordingly judges of them by
that, and not by the outward appearance; and he
weighs all actions by his law, in the balance of the
sanctuary, where they are found wanting, and come
greatly short of that purity and perfection pharisaical
persons imagine there is in them.
Ver. 3. Commit thy works unto the Lord, &c.] Na-
tural, civil, or religious; seek to him for strength and
assistance in all, and leave the success of all with him:
or roll thy works on or unto the Lord {b};- devolve all
upon him, cast all care upon him and his providence
for supply, support, and sustenance in life; and com-
mit the business of the salvation of thy soul, and the
important affairs of it, wholly to him, who is able,
willing, and faithful, to keep what is committed to
him; and, hav.ing so done, may sit down easy and
tisfied, as one that is rid of a burden by casting it on
another, better able to bear it, or more equal to the
work committed to him: the Targum is, reveal thy
works to God; and so the Syriac and Vuigate Latin
versions, reveal thy works to the Lord; thy case, con-

{a} \^bl ykrem\^ dispositiones sive ordinationes, Montanus, Munster
Vatablus, Piscator, Cocceius, Michaelis; instructiones adversae aciei
in corde, Schultens.
{b} \^Kyvem hwhy la lg\^ devolve in Jehovam facta tua, Junius &
Tremellius; negotia tua, Piscator; volve in Dominum quae tibi faci-
euda sunt, Michaelis; volve ad Jehovam opera tua, Pagninus, Mon-
tanus, Cocceius; so Mercerus, Gejerus, Schultens, Tigurine version.