But it is good for me to come close to God. I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
Parallel Translations
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But it is good for me to come close to God. I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
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But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.
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But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all Thy works.
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Psalms 73:28 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- Psalms 40:5 Many, Yahweh, my God, are the wonderful works which you have done, and your thoughts which are toward us. They can’t be declared back to you. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be counted.
- Hebrews 10:19-22 Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, and having a great priest over God’s house, let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed with pure water,
- Lamentations 3:25-26 Yahweh is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Yahweh.
- Psalms 65:4 Blessed is the one whom you choose and cause to come near, that he may live in your courts. We will be filled with the goodness of your house, your holy temple.
- 1 Peter 3:18 Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit,
- Psalms 71:24 My tongue will also talk about your righteousness all day long, for they are disappointed, and they are confounded, who want to harm me.
- Psalms 84:10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
- Psalms 118:17 I will not die, but live, and declare Yah’s works.
- Luke 15:17-20 But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I’m dying with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.” ’ “He arose, and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
- Psalms 14:6 You frustrate the plan of the poor, because Yahweh is his refuge.
- Psalms 66:16 Come and hear, all you who fear God. I will declare what he has done for my soul.
- Psalms 71:17 God, you have taught me from my youth. Until now, I have declared your wondrous works.
- Psalms 107:22 Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his deeds with singing.
- Psalms 116:7 Return to your rest, my soul, for Yahweh has dealt bountifully with you.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 28. As for me, it is good for me…
28. As for me, it is good for me to draw near to God. Literally the reading is, And I, etc. David speaking expressly of himself, affirms that although he should see all mankind in a state of estrangement from God, and wandering after the ever-changing errors and superstitions of the world, he would nevertheless study to continue always in a state of nearness to God. Let others perish, says he, if their headstrong passions cannot be restrained, and they themselves prevented from running after the deceits of the world; but as for me, I will continue steadfast in the resolution of maintaining a sacred communion with God. In the subsequent clause he informs us that we draw near to God in a right manner when our confidence continues firmly fixed in him. God will not hold us by his right hand unless we are fully persuaded of the impossibility of our continuing steadfast and safe in any other way than by his grace alone. This passage is worthy of notice, that we may not be carried away by evil examples, to join ourselves to the wicked, and to act as they do, although even the whole world should fall into unbelief; but that we may learn to gather in our affections from other objects, and to confine them exclusively to God. In the close, the Psalmist intimates that after he shall have devoted himself to God alone, he shall never want matter for praising him, since God never disappoints the hope which his people repose in him. From this it follows, that none curse God or murmur against him, but those who wilfully shut their eyes and involve themselves in darkness, lest knowing and observing his providence, they should be induced to give themselves up to his faithfulness and protection.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Though all the world shrink from God, yet he…
Though all the world shrink from God, yet he promiseth to trust in him and to magnify his works.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 73:28 But [it is] good for me to…
Psa 73:28 But [it is] good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.
Ver. 28. But it is good for me to draw nigh to God] To hang ever upon thee (in this general defection of others) by the faith of the gospel, Heb 7:19, by putting my trust in thee, that I may declare all thy works, and relate my experiments. A circle is the most perfect figure, because it beginneth and endeth; the last point meeteth in the first, from whence it came. We shall never come to perfection or satisfaction till we draw nigh to God, till God make the circle meet, &c.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain But whatsoever they do, I am abundantly satisfied that…
But whatsoever they do, I am abundantly satisfied that it is, as my duty, so my interest and happiness, to cleave unto thee, by faith, and love, and obedience, and diligent attendance upon all thine ordinances.
I have put my trust in the Lord God; I depend upon him alone for all my comfort and felicity.
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That I may declare all thy works; from which I know I shall have this benefit, that I shall have many and great occasions to declare God’s acts of mercy and kindness to me.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain But it is good for me to draw near…
But it is good for me to draw near to God,.... In prayer, and other acts of religious worship; to attend the word and ordinances in the sanctuary, where the psalmist had lately been delivered out of a sore temptation, and so had a recent experience, which was fresh in his mind, of the advantages of such exercises; for it is both an honourable good, what is becoming and commendable, and a pleasant good, what yields delight and satisfaction, and a profitable good, to draw nigh to God by Christ, the new and living way, assisted by the Holy Spirit; which, when done aright, is with faith, sincerity, reverence, and a holy boldness:
I have put my trust in the Lord God; as the rock of his refuge and salvation, as his portion and inheritance:
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that I may declare all thy works; of providence and grace, by proclaiming the wisdom, power, goodness, and faithfulness of God in them; by giving him the glory of them, and by expressing thankfulness for them, both by words and deeds.
Next: Psalms Chapter 74
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 28. It is good for me to draw…
Verse 28. It is good for me to draw near] We have already seen that those who are far off shall perish; therefore, it is ill for them. Those who draw near-who come in the true spirit of sacrifice, and with the only available offering, the Lord Jesus, shall be finally saved; therefore, it is good for them.
I have put my trust in the Lord God] I confide in Jehovah, my Prop and Stay. I have taken him for my portion.
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That I may declare all thy works.] That I may testify to all how good it is to draw nigh to God; and what a sufficient portion he is to the soul of man.
The Vulgate, Septuagint, AEthiopic, and Arabic, add, in the gates of the daughter of Sion. These words appear to make a better finish; but they are not acknowledged by any Hebrew MS.
ANALYSIS OF THE SEVENTY-THIRD PSALM
The prophet shows the grief that many good men feel at the prosperity of the wicked, and the distresses of the godly; but at last, consulting the will of God, he finds that the felicity of the wicked ends in wretchedness, and the crosses of the godly are the way to happiness; and, with this consideration, he gains quiet to his troubled mind. Let the question be, Who is the happy man? The godly or ungodly? And then the parts of the Psalm will be as follows: -
I. The arguments produced for the happiness of the wicked, Ps 73:1-9.
II. The impression these arguments make in carnal minds, Ps 73:2-3; Ps 73:10-14.
III. The rejection of these doubts and impressions, Ps 73:15-17.
IV. The refutation of the former arguments, Ps 73:18-20.
V. The psalmist's censure of himself for his precipitate judgment, Ps 73:21-22.
VI. His full resolution of the doubt, after the full examination of the reasons on both sides. That true happiness consists in union with God; and therefore the wicked, who are far from him, however they flourish, are unhappy, Ps 73:23-28.
But, more particularly, the Psalm is divisible into the following parts: -
I. There is, first, an assertion: "Certainly, God is good to Israel, to such as are of a clean heart," Ps 73:1. But can this comport with their present afflicted state? With this he was greatly harassed, Ps 73:2. He saw the wicked in prosperity, which he states in several particulars.
II. What carnal minds think of them.
1. They have no conflicts in their death, Ps 73:4.
2. They are not troubled like other men, Ps 73:5.
3. They are proud and haughty, Ps 73:6, and yet are not punished.
4. They are oppressive tyrants: "Violence covereth them."
5. They feed luxuriously, Ps 73:7.
6. They speak evil against the poor, Ps 73:8.
7. They even speak against God, and all the dispensations of his providence: "Their tongue walketh through the earth," Ps 73:9.
8. They assert that he takes no cognizance of their ways, Ps 73:10-11.
III. The evil conclusion formed from these premises refuted.
1. It is the ungodly that prosper in the earth, Ps 73:12.
2. If so, then of what avail are my religious observances and sufferings, c.? Ps 73:13-14.
He resolves the question, -
1. From the testimony of ALL the godly, Ps 73:15.
2. He tried to solve it by reason, but did not succeed, Ps 73:16.
3. He consults with God, and the whole is made plain, Ps 73:17.
From him he learns, -
1. That the happiness of the wicked is unstable, Ps 73:18.
2. They stand on a precipice, and are cast down, Ps 73:19.
3. Their desolation comes suddenly and unexpectedly, Ps 73:19.
4. Their ruin is fearful: "They are consumed with terrors."
5. Thus it is demonstrated that their happiness was vain, empty, as unsubstantial as a dream, Ps 73:20.
IV. He now acknowledges that he had formed an erroneous judgment. 1. That he gave way to animosity. 2. That he acted rather like a beast than a man, in looking only to the present life, Ps 73:21-22. He now receives instruction and encouragement.
1. The godly are not neglected: "They are continually with God," Ps 73:23.
2. They are tenderly led as by the hand of a loving father, Ps 73:23.
3. They are directed by the word and Spirit of God, Ps 73:24.
4. They are often crowned with signal marks of God's esteem, even in this life, Ps 73:24.
V. His resolution to live to God, as he sees that such alone are happy.
1. He expects nothing in heaven but God: "Whom have I in heaven," &c.
2. He will seek no other portion on earth: "There is none on earth," Ps 73:25.
3. I will cleave to him in life and death: "When my flesh and my heart fail."
4. My confidence in him shall be unshaken, Ps 73:26.
VI. He draws two conclusions from what he had learned: -
1. They that are far from God perish.
2. They that draw nigh to him are saved, Ps 73:27.
Therefore, I will so trust in God that I shall be able to declare his works, Ps 73:28.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 73:28. But it is good for me to…
Psa 73:28. But it is good for me to draw near to God — But whatsoever they do, I am abundantly satisfied that it is, as my duty, so my interest and happiness, to cleave unto thee by faith, love, and obedience, and diligent attendance upon all thy ordinances. I have put my trust in the Lord God — I depend on him alone, for all my comfort and felicity; That I may declare all thy works — From which dependance, I know, I shall have this benefit, that I shall have many and great occasions to declare God’s acts of mercy and kindness to me.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain But it is good for me to draw near…
But it is good for me to draw near to God - That is, It is pleasant; it is profitable; it is the chief good. For myself, happiness is to be found in that alone; there I find what my nature pants for and desires. Others find, or attempt to find, happiness in other things; my happiness is found in God alone. This is the result to which the psalmist came after all his perplexity. With all his doubts and difficulties, his real desire was to be near to God; his supreme happiness was found there.
I have put my trust in the Lord God - I have truly confided in him; he is my portion and the sole ground of my reliance. The doubts which he had had were not, after all, real doubts about the claim of God to confidence. There was an underlying trust in God in the midst of all this. He had not desired to cherish such doubts; he did, on the most calm reflection, still trust in God.
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That I may declare all thy works - That I might make known thy doings toward the children of men. I have desired rightly to understand thee and thy government, that I might vindicate thy name, and assert thy claim to the love and confidenee of mankind. His doubts and perplexities had not really been because he was an enemy of God, or because he desired to cherish doubts in regard to him, but because, when appearances were against the equity of the divine government, he wished to see how the things which occurred could be explained consistently with a proper belief in the goodness and justice of God, in order that he might go and explain the matter to his fellow-men. Such perplexities and doubts, therefore, are not really inconsistent with true love for God and genuine confidence in him; and it is well when such doubts are made the means of enabling us more clearly to explain the divine dealings - it is well when, under all such doubts and difficulties, we can still find evidence that we truly love God.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 28. Good for me to draw near to God—Literally,…
28. Good for me to draw near to God—Literally, and I, nearness to God to me is good: that is, the ultimate good, the sum of all conceivable good, the summum bonum of the ancients—a clear declaration of the unselfish and absolute morality of Bible religion. Not a religion of external rewards and honours, and of selfish aspirations and longings for paradisiacal bliss, but of communion and fellowship with God, whether it be on earth or in heaven. It stands opposed here to the distance and alienation from God of Psa_73:27. The first and closing verses of the psalm are thus beautifully coincident.
That I may declare all thy works—The Septuagint and Vulgate add, “in the gates of the daughter of Zion;” the highest function of a redeemed Church, and God’s living protest against all atheism in form or spirit throughout the ages, and all faithlessness and doubt in his tempted saints.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 28. But as for me, to draw near to…
28. But as for me, to draw near to God is good for me:
In the Lord Jehovah have I made my refuge;
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That I may speak of all thy works.
Emphatically he contrasts himself with those who ‘go far from God.’ Once he had been tempted to ask what profit there was in serving God, and openly to speak (Psa_73:15) of his doubts: but now he can find an endless theme for praise in the dealings of God with the righteous and the wicked. The LXX reads, “that I may declare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion,” as in Psa_9:14; and this may preserve the original reading, for the present Heb. text sounds incomplete. The P.B.V. “to speak of all thy works in the gates of the daughter of Sion” combines the LXX with the Heb.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (28) Works.—Not God’s doings, but works prescribed to the…
(28) Works.—Not God’s doings, but works prescribed to the psalmist, messages entrusted to him; no doubt here the conclusions he had come to, or the truths that had been revealed to him, in contrast with the false opinions from which he had been freed.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain But it is good for me to draw near…
But it is good for me to draw near to God; or, "but as for me, nearness to God is my good" (Kay). Compare the well known hymn "Nearer, my God, to thee, Nearer to thee; Even though it be a cross That raiseth me; Still all my song shall be, Nearer, my God, to thee, Nearer to thee.
I have put my trust in the Lord God; literally, in the Lord Jehovah (Adonai Jehovah) an unusual combination. That I may declare all thy works. With the intention of ever hereafter declaring and magnifying all thy works.
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Drawing near to God, a good thing.
The psalmist is very emphatic about it. His words imply that he is quite sure of it. Let us ask, then Why is it so good to draw near to God? Many are the answers.
I IT IS SO BY WAY OF CONTRAST WITH WHAT HE HAD BEEN DOING wearying himself to understand the hidden ways of God, the labyrinth of his providence. No good had come of that, but only evil. Gotthold, in his "Emblems," tells us of the freaks of his child. The father was one day sitting in his study, and when he lifted his eyes from his book, he saw, standing upon the window ledge, his little son. He was terribly frightened, for the child stood there in utmost peril of falling to the ground and being dashed to pieces. The little lad had been anxious to know what his father was doing so many hours in the day in his study, and he had at last, by a ladder, managed, with boyish daring, to climb up, till there he stood outside the window, gazing at his father with all his eyes. "So," said the father, as he took the child into his chamber, and rebuked him for his folly have I often tried to climb into the council chamber of God, to see why and wherefore he did this and that; and thus have I exposed myself to peril of falling to my own destruction.
II BECAUSE OF WHAT IT IMPLIES.
1. That he was at peace with God. A soul unreconciled cannot draw near.
2. That he knew the way. He had learned the blessed but difficult art of drawing near; for drawing near is of the heart, not of the lips merely; and Satan will always try, and too often he succeeds, to hinder that.
3. He had found how good it was by his own experience.
III BECAUSE THE LIGHT IS SO MUCH BETTER in the region near God. What a fog and mist he was in until he "went into the sanctuary of God," and drew near to him! We see things truly there as we cannot elsewhere.
IV THE TEMPESTS OF THE SOUL DIE DOWN THERE. It is the region of blessed calm.
V THE AIR IS SO INVIGORATING. God is "the Health of my countenance," "the Strength of my heart.
VI IS NOT GOD OUR GOD, OUR OWN GOD, OUR SOUL"S HOME? Where, then, can we be better than at home? S.C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 28. But it is good for me to…
Ver. 28. But it is good for me to draw near to God. Had he done so at first he would not have been immersed in such affliction; when he did so he escaped from his dilemma, and if he continued to do so he would not fall into the same evil again. The greater our nearness to God, the less we are affected by the attractions and distractions of earth. Access into the most holy place is a great privilege, and a cure for a multitude of ills. It is good for all saints, it is good for me in particular; it is always good, and always will be good for me to approach the greatest good, the source of all good, even God himself.
I have put my trust in the Lord God. He dwells upon the glorious name of the Lord Jehovah, and avows it as the basis of his faith. Faith is wisdom; it is the key of enigmas, the clue of mazes, and the pole star of pathless seas. Trust and you will know.
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That I may declare all thy works. He who believes shall understand, and so be able to teach. Asaph hesitated to utter his evil surmisings, but he has no diffidence in publishing abroad a good matter. God's ways are the more admired the more they are known. He who is ready to believe the goodness of God shall always see fresh goodness to believe in, and he who is willing to declare the works of God shall never be silent for lack of wonders to declare.
Ver. 28. It is good for me to draw near to God. When he saith, it is good, his meaning is it is best. This positive is superlative. It is more than good for us to draw nigh to God at all times, it is best for us to do so, and it is at our utmost peril not to do so; For, lo, saith the psalmist (Ps 73:27), they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. It is dangerous to be far from God, but it is more dangerous to go far from him. Every man is far off by nature, and wicked men go further off: the former shall perish, the latter shall be destroyed. He that fares best in his withdrawing from God, fares bad enough; therefore, it is best for us to draw nigh unto God. He is the best friend at all times, and the only friend at sometimes. And may we not say that God suffers and orders evil times, and the withdrawing of the creature, for that very end, that we might draw nearer unto him? Doth he not give up the world to a spirit of reviling and mocking that he may stir up in his people a spirit of prayer? Joseph Caryl.
Ver. 28. It is good; that is, it puts in us a blessed quality and disposition. It makes a man to be like God himself; and, secondly, it is good, that is, it is comfortable; for it is the happiness of the creature to be near the Creator; it is beneficial and helpful. To draw near. How can a man but be near to God, seeing he filleth heaven and earth: "Whither shall I go from thy presence?" Ps 139:7. He is present always in power and providence in all places, but graciously present with some by his Spirit, supporting, comforting, strengthening the heart of a good man. As the soul is said to be tota in toto, in several parts by several faculties, so God, is present to all, but in a diverse manner. Now we are said to be near to God in diverse degrees: first, when our understanding is enlightened; intellectus est veritatis sponsa; and so the young man speaking discreetly in things concerning God, is said not to be far from the kingdom of God, Mr 12:34. Secondly, in minding: when God is present to our minds, so that the soul is said to be present to that which it minds; contrarily it is said of the wicked, that "God is not in all their thoughts, "Ps 10:4. Thirdly, when the will upon the discovery of the understanding comes to choose the better part, and is drawn from that choice to cleave to him, as it was said of Jonathan's heart, "it was knit to David, " 1Sa 18:1. Fourthly, when our whole affections are carried to God, loving him as the chief good. Love is the firstborn affection. That breeds desire of communion with God. Thence comes joy in him, so that the soul pants after God, "as the hart after the water springs, "Ps 41:1. Fifthly, and especially, when the soul is touched with the Spirit of God working faith, stirring up dependence, confidence, and trust on God. Hence ariseth sweet communion. The soul is never at rest till it rests on him. Then it is afraid to break with him or to displease him; but it groweth zealous and resolute, and hot in love, stiff in good cases; resolute against his enemies. And yet this is not all, for God will have also the outward man, so as the whole man must present itself before God in word, in sacraments; speak of him and to him with reverence, and yet with strength of affection mounting up in prayer, as in a fiery chariot; hear him speak to us; consulting with his oracles; fetching comforts against distresses, directions against maladies. Sixthly, and especially, we draw near to him when we praise him; for this is the work of the souls departed, and of the angels in heaven, that are continually near unto him. The prophet here saith, It is good for me. How came he to know this? Why, he had found it by experience, and by it he was thoroughly convinced. Richard Sibbes.
Ver. 28. To draw near to God. It is not one isolated act. It is nor merely turning to God, and saying, "I have come to him." The expression is draw. It is not a single act; it is the drawing, the coming, the habitual walk, going on, and on, and on, so long as we are on earth. It is, therefore, an habitual religion which must be pressed and enforced upon us. Montagu Villiers. 1855.
Ver. 28. To draw near to God. To draw near to God,
1. A man should make his peace with God, in and through the Mediator Jesus Christ; for, until once that be done, a man must be said to be far from God, and there is a partition wall standing betwixt God and him. It is the same with that advice given by Eliphaz to Job: "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee, " Job 22:21. Be friends with God, and all shall be well with you.
2. It is to seek more after communion and fellowship with God, and to pursue after intimacy and familiarity with him; and to have more of his blessed company with us in our ordinary walk and conversation; according to that word, "Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance, "Ps 89:15.
3. As it stands here in the text, it is the expression of one who hath made up his peace already, and is on good terms with God; and doth differ a little from what the words absolutely imply; and so we may take it thus,
(a) It implies the confirming or making sure our
interest in God, and so it supposes the man's
peace to be made with God; for, whoever be the
author of this Psalm, it supposes he has made
his peace; and, therefore, in the following words
it is subjoined, I have put my trust in the
Lord, etc.; that is, I have trusted my soul
unto God, and made my peace with him through a
mediator. It is good, whatever comes, it
is always good to be near to God,
that way, and to be made sure in him.
(b) It implies to be more conformed unto the image of
God, and, therefore, this nearness to him is
opposed to that of being far from God. It is
good, says he to draw near to God in our duty;
when so many are far from him.
(c) It implies, to lay by all things in the world,
and to seek fellowship and communion with God,
and to be more set apart for his blessed company,
and to walk with him in a dependence upon him as
the great burden bearer, as he who is to be all
in all unto us.
In a word, to draw near unto God, is to make our peace with him, and to secure and confirm that peace with him, and to study a conformity unto him, and to be near unto him in our walk and conversation; in our fellowship, and whole carriage, and deportment, to be always near unto him. William Guthrie.
Ver. 28. The Epicurean, says Augustine, is wont to say, It is good for me to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh: the Stoic is wont to say, For me it is good to enjoy the pleasures of the mind: The Apostle used to say (not in words but in sense), It is good for me to cleave to God. Lorinus.
Ver. 28. The Lord God. The names The Lord Jehovah are a combination expressive of God's sovereignty, self existence, and covenant relation to his people. Joseph Addison Alexander.
Ver. 28. To draw near to God is our wisdom, our honour, our safety, our peace, our riches. Thomas Watson's Sermon, "The Happiness of Drawing near to God." 1669. See also, "The Saint's Happiness, "R. Sibbes's Sermons.
Ver. 28. David's conclusion; or, the saint's resolution. R. Sibbes.
Ver. 28.
1. The language of prayer: It is good, etc.
2. Of faith: I have put, etc.
3. Of praise: That I may declare. G. R.
Ver. 28. See "Spurgeon's Sermons, "Nos. 287-8, "Let us pray." No. 879, "An assuredly good thing."
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain It is good for me to draw near to…
Psa_73:28
It is good for me to draw near to God.
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An assuredly good thing
When a man is sick everybody knows what is good for him. They recommend specifics by the score. Amid such a babel, it is well for a man if he knows what is good for himself. And so in our spiritual troubles. Every friend commends some different course. But the psalmist puts them all aside, and declares, It is good for me to draw near unto God. Thus--
I. He tacitly condemns other courses of action. From the connection of the text it is plain that he repents of certain kinds of thought to which he had given way. The text tells of his recoil from them.
1. From trying to fathom the mysteries of Providence. What have we to do with measuring its great depths? And yet we are ever trying to. Gotthold in his Emblems tells us of the freaks of his child. The father was one day sitting in his study, and, when he lifted his eye from his book, he saw standing upon the window ledge his little son. He was troubled and affrighted to the last degree, for the child stood there in utmost peril of failing to the ground and being dashed to pieces. The little one had been anxious to know what his father was doing so many hours in the day in his study, and he had at last, by a ladder, managed to climb up, with boyish daring, till there he stood, outside the window, gazing at his father with all his eyes. So, said the father, as he took the child into his chamber, and rebuked him for his folly, so have I often tried to climb into the council chamber of God, to see why and wherefore He did this and that; and thus have I exposed myself to peril of falling to my destruction. My God, it is not good for me to pry into Thy secrets with curiosity, but it is good for me to draw near unto Thee in sincerity. And--
2. We learn also it is not good for us, under any circumstances, to go to a distance from God. The preceding verse reads, They that are far from Thee shall perish. Now, the tendency of repeated affliction is, in the carnal mind, to drive us away from God. A dog may follow you if you otter it a bone but strike it and see if it will follow you then. But it can never be good for us to go away from God.
II. Observe what is plainly commended--to draw near unto God.
1. This implies that we are reconciled to Him. To attempt to draw near while He is angry would be insanity. As well might the moth draw near to the candle. We must first be accepted in Christ.
2. To draw near the soul must realize that God is near to it, and must have a clear sense of who and what God is.
3. It is prayer, but it is more than prayer. There may be no words, but it is the laying open of the chamber of your soul that the Lord may enter and inspect the whole; it is the complete yielding up of yourself to God to be dealt with as He pleases.
4. It may assume the form of praise. As with David when he satin the Lords presence, wondering Whence is this to me? What am I and my fathers house, that Thou hast brought me hitherto?
5. It is looking at the matter in the Divine light. If we judge God from our standpoint we shall misjudge; but see how that which troubles you looks in the light of God. Bereavement, poverty, when seen as Gods way of saving your soul, look very different then.
6. It is the being pleased with anything and everything that pleases God. We are often willing to give up our own way to please those we love; should we not be so in order to please God?
III. The grounds for the unqualified commendation of this drawing near to God.
1. It is good in itself. How can it be otherwise? The courtier delights to bask in the presence of his sovereign.
2. It is good if we consider our relations to God. Are we not His children? But is it not a good thing for the child to come near to its parents?
3. And because of our pitiable condition and character. We are the weakest of the weak.
4. It removes many evils to which you are constantly exposed. Man of business, absorbed in your work, day by day, what can so keep you from worldliness and fret and anxiety, as drawing near to God?
5. And there are many good things which it will confer. There is no blessing which prayer cannot obtain, which close approaches to God will not ensure. If then it be so good, let us do it at once. You who have been living afar off; you who are happy; and especially you who are penitent sinners. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
A devotional spirit
I. Explain what is meant by such devotional spirit. Note then--
1. Its means--prayer, etc.
2. Its refuge--God.
3. Its exercises.
II. Its importance and advantages.
1. Such spirit furthers holiness.
2. Helps the understanding of Divine truth.
3. Becomes a habit full of help to the soul. Is--
4. One of the strongest safeguards against temptation.
5. Cultivates all the Christian graces.
6. Fixes his heart.
7. Is humble, tender, childlike.
8. Gives increase in holiness, which but for it would yield no help (Psa_104:1-35.).
9. Hangs round the very essentials of religion--Christ, God, the promises, etc. (I. S. Spencer, D. D.)
Drawing near to God
I. The conduct referred to.
1. It implies that there has been separation.
2. It is the religion of the heart.
3. It demands enlightenment of mind, and--
4. The realization of Gods presence.
II. The benefit of this drawing near to God. It is good for, etc. This must depend upon the character of the God to whom we draw near. If He be only my judge, how could I say, It is good, etc. But He is our Father, and hence it cannot but be good to draw near to Him. Now, the blessings of this are--
1. Deliverance from care and fear. See David; the three Hebrew youths; Paul and Silas, etc.
2. It is the only real preservative from sin.
3. It is the assurance to us of safety new and for ever.
4. It is a very foretaste of heaven. Remember it is not a mere isolated act, but our habit. How terrible to come to a death-bed without ever having drawn near to God. (Montagu Villiers, M. A.)
The excellence of drawing near to God
I. As to its nature, it comprehends much. It implies, first, that man is morally distant from God. This sacred exercise implies that a medium or a means of access is appointed. We have this blessed truth set forth by Christ Himself; No man cometh unto the Father but by Me. He is the Daysman; He heals the wide and awful breach. In further illustration of this exalted exercise, I would remark, that prayer is appointed as the act of our approach to Him. There is a sense in which we cannot be nearer to God in one view than another. I cannot go where He is not. But in the act of prayer I enter as it were into His presence. Prayer is the appointed means of communication betwixt God and man. Let me further observe, in illustration of this holy exercise, that God requires it should be accompanied with a suitable disposition. Would you draw near to God acceptably? you must come with humility. Would you draw near to God with acceptance? you must draw near with fervour--contemplating the magnitude of the blessings which you ask. To draw near to God acceptably, you must draw near in perseverance. The blessing which you ask may be for a season withheld; or the success you implore may for a time be suspended.
II. The advantages of this exalted exercise. For David says, It is good to draw near to God. And why so? Because God has commanded it; and this circumstance alone ought sufficiently to convince us of its value and necessity. It is good, because, apart from the authority of that command, it is reasonable. There is no truth more obvious, and eternal. And there is yet another great advantage; it tends to help us to cherish the calmness of mind, so essential to our advancement, and our spiritual prosperity and peace. It is, further, good, as instrumental in obtaining all spiritual blessings. The truth of the text is exemplified in all the events of life; but in the awful hour of death you shall find, with additional energy of conviction, that it is good for you to draw near to God. He will be the strength of your heart, and your portion for ever. (John Bowers.)
Let us pray
There are many ways by which we draw near to God, but prayer is the best used means. So then take our text--
I. As A touchstone. Try your prayers by it. Is there any drawing near to God in them? No matter how beautiful, venerable, scriptural the form, if the petitions be never presented. Suppose I should desire a favour of some friend. I shut myself up alone, and I commence delivering an oration, pleading earnestly for the boon I need. I repeat this at night, and so on month after month. At last I meet my friend, and I tell him that I have been asking a favour of him, and that he has never heard my prayer. Nay, saith he, I have never seen you; you never spoke to me. Ah, but you should have heard what I said; if you had but heard, it surely would have moved your heart. Ah, saith he, but then you did not address it to me. You wrote a letter, you tell me, but did you post the letter? No, no, you say; I kept the letter after I had written it; I never sent it to you. Now, mark, it is thus with many prayers. There has been no drawing near to God. This drawing near is at first with holy fear, then with holy reverence, then with joy as a child to a father. Next--
II. On the text as a whetstone. Pray, for prayer explains mysteries; brings deliverances; obtains promises. If thou hast a burden on thy back, remember prayer, for thou shalt carry it well if thou canst pray. Once on a time Christian had to carry it. He crept along on his hands and knees. There appeared to him a fair and comely damsel, holding in her hands a wand, and she touched the burden. It was there, it was not removed; but, strange to say, the burden lost its weight. That which had crushed him to the earth had become now so light that he could leap and carry it. And prayer ensures success in our work for God. Two labourers in Gods harvest met each other once upon a time, and they sat down to compare notes. One was sorrowful, and complained that though he diligently sowed, no harvest came. The other said, I steep my seed in prayer, and I have much success.
III. As a tombstone. For the prayerless soul is a Christless soul. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The saints happiness
It is good; that is, it puts in us a blessed quality and disposition. It makes a man to be like God; and, secondly, it is good, that is, it is comfortable; for it is the happiness of the creature to be near the Creator; it is beneficial and helpful. To draw near: How can a man but be near to God, seeing He filleth heaven and earth: Whither shall I go from Thy presence? (Psa_139:7). He is present always in power and providence in all places, but graciously present with some by His Spirit, supporting, comforting, strengthening the heart of a good man. As the soul is said to be in several parts by several faculties, so God present He is to all, but in a diverse manner. Now, we are said to be near to God in divers degrees.
1. When our understanding is enlightened; and so the young man speaking discreetly in things concerning God, is said not to be far from the kingdom of God (Mar_12:34).
2. In minding; when God is present to our minds, so as the soul is said to be present to that which it mindeth; contrarily it is said of the wicked, that God is not in all their thoughts (Psa_10:4).
3. When the will upon the discovery of the understanding comes to choose the better part, and is drawn from that choice to cleave to Him, as it was said of Jonathans heart, it was knit to David (1Sa_18:1).
4. When our whole affections are carried to God, loving Him as the chief good. Love is the first-born affection. That breeds desire of communion with God. Thence comes joy in Him, so as the soul pants after God, as the hart after the water-springs (Psa_42:1).
5. When the soul is touched with the Spirit of God working faith, stirring up dependence, confidence, and trust on God. Hence ariseth sweet communion. The soul is never at rest till it rests on Him. Then it is afraid to break with Him or to displease Him. But it groweth zealous and resolute, and hot in love, stiff in good cases; resolute against his enemies. And yet this is not all, for God will have also the outward man, so as the whole man must present itself before God in word, in sacraments; speak of Him and to Him with reverence, and yet with strength of affection mounting up in prayer, as in a fiery chariot; hear Him speak to us; consulting with His oracles; fetching comforts against distresses, directions against maladies.
6. When we praise Him; for this is the work of the souls departed, and of the angels in heaven, that are continually near unto Him. And thus much for the opening of the words. The prophet here saith, It is good for me. How came he to know this? Why, he had found it by experience, and by it he was thoroughly convinced of it. (R. Sibbes.)
Good to draw near
Who does not wish for good? But too many fail to understand what real good is, and choose that which is evil by mistake.
I. The action--drawing near. We may do so by prayer, by study, by preparation. But we must do so chiefly by being conformed to the likeness of the Holy Spirit and by being united through Jesus.
II. The reward. It is good--good in every way: good for our happiness; good for our holiness; good for our eternal interests; good for our usefulness; good for our Masters glory. (Homilist.)
The nature and benefits of communion with God
I. What it is to draw near to God. It is to have clear and realizing views of His character, and especially as that character is made known in and by Christ--to exercise towards Him suitable acts of faith, dependence, love, gratitude and worship.
II. Why it is good thus to draw nigh to God.
1. Because it is then the soul realizes in an especial manner Gods love, and finds its own love powerfully called into exercise.
2. Because it has a peculiarly sanctifying influence upon the mind.
3. Because it is a means of strengthening the soul to run the race that is set before it, and to persevere without wavering in the ways of the Lord. (R. Oakman, B. A.)
Advantages of communion with God
I. What is included.
1. A Scriptural knowledge of God.
2. Faith in God.
3. An explicit apprehension of the only medium of drawing nigh to God and of access, whether it be by prayer, meditation, or communion with Him.
4. Humble, yet confident dependence on the aids of the Divine grace.
II. The advantages.
1. It tends to the intellectual elevation of the soul.
2. It is essentially adapted to mans spiritual improvement.
3. It is the source of mans highest blessedness.
4. It is good as connected with our absolute safety.
5. It is an essential preparation for the glory of heaven. (J. Burns, D. D.)
On devotion
I shall endeavour to recommend the duties of devotion, by considering their influence on the virtue and the happiness of human life.
I. They are admirably calculated to promote your improvement in virtue. The duties of devotion, leading to the contemplation of infinite excellence, and improving the best affections of the heart, plant in our breasts the seeds of virtue. The exercises in which these duties engage us are favourable also to its growth; for we come into the presence of God, not merely to adore the perfection of His nature, and to celebrate the goodness to which we owe all our bliss--we come to lay open before Him the secrets of our souls--to bewail the transgressions by which we have offended Him--and to form our resolutions of future obedience. These exercises lead to a serious review, and produce a knowledge of our own characters extremely favourable to improvement.
II. The influence of devotion on the happiness of life.
1. Devotion is, itself, a source of the sublimest enjoyment. The human mind delights in exercise; and the duties of piety are the noblest exercise in which its powers can be employed.
2. Devotion exalts and purifies every earthly pleasure. It adds to the enjoyment of our present comforts the delightful emotion of gratitude to our Maker.
3. But adversity is the scene in which devotion triumphs; for, however in our prosperity we may forget our Maker, affliction reminds us of our dependence on Him. (W. Moodie, D. D.)
The benefits of drawing near to God
I. He is the author of our salvation, and the fountain from which we draw our spiritual supply. The waters of a stream become purer and better as we approach the fountain head.
II. Drawing near to God enables us the better to know God. To know our fellow-men we must draw near to them. We may know something of God from tradition--from nature--from a cold and critical study of the Bible; but to know Him more perfectly we must draw near to Him, and thus know Him in our own Christian experiences.
III. It involves a drawing away from the world. Our arms are too short for us to walk hand in hand with God and the world. The great, clutchy arms of the world are about us, and the loving arms of God are extended towards us, inviting us to come nearer to Him.
IV. It puts us in our proper attitude toward the world.
1. It enables the world to put a proper estimate on us. When we are far away from God, the world is in doubt whether or not to count on us.
2. It enables us to form a proper estimate of the world. We owe the world a great deal, and we never know how much until we draw near to God.
3. This is the secret of success in the Christian life. Are we to accomplish anything together for the Master? This will depend upon the distance between us and God. (John Hall, D. D.)
On drawing near to God
I. By the practice of holiness and virtue throughout the general tenor of our life. He who lives in the exercise of good affections, and in the regular discharge of the offices of virtue and piety, maintains, as far as his infirmity allows, conformity with the nature of that perfect Being, whose benevolence, whose purity and rectitude, are conspicuous, both in His works and His ways.
II. By acts of immediate devotion. There are two ways by which these contribute to bring us near to God.
1. The first is, by their strengthening in the soul that power of vital godliness and virtue in which consists our chief resemblance to God: for it is never to be forgotten, that all our devotional exercises are subservient to this great end. Herein consist their whole virtue and efficacy, that they purify and improve the soul, raise it above low passions, and thereby promote the elevation of the human nature towards the Divine.
2. When our acts of devotion are of this nature, they form tim other sense in which the words of the text are to be understood. We therein draw near to God, as we enter into the most immediate intercourse with Him, which the nature of our state admits; approaching Him through a great Mediator and Intercessor; sending up those prayers to which we are encouraged to believe that the Almighty is lending a gracious ear; resigning ourselves to His conduct, and offering up our souls to Him; exercising, in short, all those acts of faith, love and trust which become dependent creatures towards their Sovereign and Father. (Hugh Blair, D. D.)
The benefit of drawing near to God
I. It will establish your confidence in godliness as a reality. Nearness to God is nearness to all that is good; for with Him is the fountain of life. Nearness to God is nearness to the object to which all religious institutions are designed to bring you: it is this that explains their meaning, and in this they gain their end. Nearness to God is nearness to religious truth, which is the animating soul of all these institutions; nearness to that truth, not in intellectual perception merely, but in an experimental, sense of its sweetness and efficacy.
II. It will rectify your estimate of terrestrial things. It is in the mount of communion with God that you are drawn away from the sordid and the grovelling, and made to soar to the spiritual and the heavenly. There your range of view is exceedingly widened; your souls are elevated, enlarged, and filled; things unseen and eternal are realized in their transcendent greatness and importance, and things seen and temporal sink into insignificance; the sublime of heaven expands before you, and reveals earth in its littleness, and you say (Psa_17:14-15).
III. It will fortify your minds in the hour of temptation. What is the design of every temptation? To seduce from God. In nearness to Him, therefore, you are keeping your ground; you are resisting and overcoming. You are verifying what is said of the child of God (1Jn_5:18).
IV. It will quicken your spiritual desires. This is a thing of great importance. Just as your spiritual desires are, so is your spiritual health: when they are languid, it is infirm; when they are lively, it is vigorous. Again, just as your spiritual desires are, so is your affection to the things of earth: when they are keen, it is dull; when they are weak, it is strong. Moreover, just as your spiritual desires are, so is your spiritual prosperity as a whole; so is your growth in grace, and so is your spiritual enjoyment. It is of the nature of grace in the heart, that the more it enjoys, it craves the more; and the more it has of the best of earth, it longs the more for the bliss of heaven.
V. It will augment your christian usefulness. The fit agent for rousing consciences, and moving hearts, and winning souls, is the man that comes forth from the presence-chamber of the King, with the atmosphere of the Holiest about him, and his own face shining with the lustre of the glory of God upon it. To conclude: see from this subject--
1. One thing about godliness which we should keep prominently before our minds. The good that is in it, and that flows from it.
2. One reason why we so much underrate the future world. It is because we so much overrate the present.
3. Who the safest and happiest man among us is. The man who is nearest to his God.
4. The mistake of those who make communion with God to consist chiefly in pleasing feeling. They will have the way to heaven to be heaven itself.
5. What to look for after those days of high privilege we have been seeing. The full harvest of those blessed fruits or effects of drawing near to God, of some of which we have now been speaking, is yet to be reaped. Let us take good heed to ourselves that we reap this harvest in all its fulness and preciousness. (D. Young, D. D.)
Nearness to God the key to lifes puzzles
I. Nearness to God is the one good. Union with God is life, in all senses of the word, according as the creature is capable of union with Him. Why; there is no life in a plant except Gods power is vitalizing it. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow--because God makes them grow. There is no bodily life in a man unless He continually breathes into the nostrils the breath of life. If you stop the flow of the fountain then all the pools are dry. There is no life intellectual in a man unless by the inspiration of the Almighty in union with God, from whom all just thoughts do proceed. And high above all these forms of life, the only real life of a spirit is the life that it draws from its union with God Himself, whereby He pours Himself into it, and in the deepest sense of the words it is true--Because I live ye shall live also. I need scarcely go on pointing out other respects of this supreme--or more truly, this solitary--good. For instance, nothing is really good to me unless I have it within me, so as that it never can be wrenched away from me. The blessings that we cannot incorporate with the very substance of our being are only partial blessings after all; and all these things round us that do minister to our necessities, tastes, affections, and sometimes to our weaknesses, these good things fail just in this, that they stand outside us, and there is no real union between us and them. So changes come, and we have to unclasp hands, and the footsteps that used to be planted by the side of ours cease, and our track across the sands is lonely; and losses come, and death comes, and all the glory and the good that were only externally possessed by us we leave behind us. It is good for me, amidst the morasses and quicksands and bogs of lifes uncertain and shifting ill and good, to set my feet upon the rock, and to say, Here I stand, and my footing will never give way. Do you, brother, possess a changeless, imperishable, inwrought good like that? You may if you like. But remember, too, that in regard to this Christian good, it is not only the possession of it, but the aspiration after it, that is blessed. It is good to draw near; and the seeking after God is as far above the possession of all other good as the heaven is above the earth.
II. The way to nearness to God is twofold. On the one hand the true path is Jesus Christ, on the other hand the means by which we walk upon that path is our faith. The apostle puts it all in a nutshell when he says his prayer is that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, and then, by a linked chain, leads up to the final issues of that faith in that indwelling Christ--that ye may be filled with all the fulness of God. So to draw near and to possess that good, that only good which is God, all that is needed is--and it is needed--that we should turn with the surrender of our hearts, with the submission of our wills, with the outgoing of our affections, and with the conformity of our practical life, to Jesus. Seeing Him, we see the Father, and having Him near us, we feel the touch of the Divine hand, and being joined to the Lord, we are separated from the vanities of life, and united to the supreme good. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The delights of prayer
Alleine once wrote--Though I am apt to be unsettled and quickly set off the hinges, yet, methinks, I am like a bird out of the nest, I am never quiet till I am in my old way of communion with God; like the needle in the compass, that is restless till it be turned towards the pole. I can say through grace, with the Church, With my soul have I desired Thee in the night, and with my spirit within me have I sought Thee early. My heart is early and late with God; tis the business and delight of my life to seek Him. (Life of Alleine.)
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Psa_74:1-23
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain
Psalms
NEARNESS TO GOD THE KEY TO LIFE’S PUZZLE
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Psa 73:28.
The old perplexity as to how it comes, if God is good and wise and strong, that bad men should prosper and good men should suffer, has been making the Psalmist’s faith reel. He does not answer the question exactly as the New Testament would have done, but he does find a solution sufficient for himself in two thoughts, the transiency of that outward prosperity, and the eternal sufficiency of God. ‘It was too painful for me until I went into the Sanctuary, then understood I their end’; and on the other hand: ‘Thou art the Strength of my life, and my Portion for ever.’ So he climbs at last to the calm height where he learns that, whatever be a man’s outward prosperity, if he is separated from God he ceases to be. As the context says: ‘They that are far from Thee shall perish.’ ‘Thou hast destroyed’-already, before they die-’all them that go a-whoring from Thee.’ And on the other hand, whatever be the outward condition, God is enough. ‘It is good for me,’ rich or poor harassed or at rest, afflicted or prosperous, in health or sickness, solitary or compassed about with loving friends, ‘it is good for me to draw near to God’; and nothing else is good. Thus the river that has had to fight its way through rocks, and has been chafed in the conflict, and has twisted its path through many a deep, dark, sunless gorge, comes out at last into the open, and flows with a broad sunlit breast, peaceable and full, into the great ocean-’It is good for me to draw near to God.’
But that is not all. The Psalmist goes on to tell how we are to draw near to God: ‘I have put my trust in Him.’ And that is not all, for he further goes on to tell how, drawing near to God through faith, all these puzzles and mysteries about men’s condition cease to perplex, and a beam of light falls upon the whole of them. ‘I have put my trust in God, that I may declare all Thy works.’ There are no knots in the thread now.
I. So here we have, first the truth of experience that nearness to God is the one good.
Of course, it is so in the Psalmist’s view, since he believes, as we profess to believe, that, to quote the words of another Psalmist, ‘With Thee is the fountain of life’; and therefore that to ‘draw near to Thee’ is to carry our little empty pitchers to that great spring that is always flowing with waters ever sweet and clear. Union with God is life, in all senses of the word, according as the creature is capable of union with Him. Why! there is no life in a plant except God’s power is vitalising it. ‘Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow’ because God makes them grow. There is no bodily life in a man, unless He continually breathes into the nostrils the breath of life. If you stop the flow of the fountain, then all the pools are dry. There is no life intellectual in a man, except by the ‘inspiration of the Almighty,’ from whom ‘all just thoughts do proceed.’ Above all these forms of life the real life of a spirit is the life derived from the union with God Himself, whereby He pours Himself into it, and in the deepest sense of the words it is true: ‘Because I live ye shall live also.’ ‘It is good for me to draw near to God,’ because, unless I do, and if I am separated from Him, my true self is dead, even whilst I seem to live. All that are parted from Him perish; all that are joined to Him, and only they, do live what is worth calling life. Cut off the sunbeam from the sun, and what becomes of it? It vanishes. Separate a soul from God, and it is dead. What is all the good of the world to you if your true self is dead? And what an absurdity it is to deck a corpse with riches and pomp of various kinds! That is what the men of the world are doing, who have chained themselves to earth, and cut themselves off from God. ‘For me it is good to draw near to God.’ Do you draw near? Because if you do not, no matter what prosperity you have, you do not know anything about the true life and real good for heart and spirit.
I suppose I need scarcely go on pointing out other aspects of this supreme-or more truly, this solitary-good. For instance, nothing is really good to me unless I have it within me, so as that it can never be wrenched away from me. The blessings that we cannot incorporate with the very substance of our being are only partial blessings after all; and all these things round us that do minister to our necessities, tastes, affections, and sometimes to our weaknesses, these good things fail just in this, that they stand outside us, and there is no real union between us and them. So, changes come, and we have to unclasp hands, and the footsteps that used to be planted by the side of ours cease, and our track across the sands is lonely; and losses come, and death comes, and all the glory and the good that were only externally possessed by us we leave behind us. As this psalm says: ‘I considered their end . . . how they are brought into desolation, as in a moment!’ What is the good of a good that is not incorporated into any being? What is the good of a good about which I cannot say, with a smile of confidence, ‘I know that where-ever I may go, and whatever may befall me, that can never pass from me’? There is but one good of that sort. ‘I am persuaded that . . . neither life nor death . . . nor any other creature, shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ ‘It is good for me,’ amidst the morasses and quicksands and bogs of life’s uncertain and shifting ill and good, to set my feet upon the rock, and to say: ‘Here I stand, and my footing will never give way.’ Do you, brother! possess a changeless, imperishable, inwrought good like that? You may if you like.
But remember, too, that in regard to this Christian good, it is not only the possession of it, but the aspiration after it, that is blessed. The Psalmist does not only say, ‘It is good for me to be near to God,’ but he says, ‘It is good for me to draw near.’ There is one kind of life in which the seeking is all but as blessed as the finding. There is one kind of life in which to desire is all but as full of peace, and power, and joy as to possess. Therefore, another psalm, which begins by celebrating the blessedness of the men that dwell in God’s house, and are ‘still praising Thee,’ goes on to speak of the blessedness, not less blessed, of the men ‘in whose heart are the ways.’ They who have reached the Temple are at rest, and blessed in their repose. They who are journeying towards it are in action, and blessed in their activity. ‘It is good to draw near’; and the seeking after God is as far above the possession of all other good as heaven is above earth.
But then, notice further, how our Psalmist comes down to very plain, practical teaching. He seems to feel that he must explain what he means by drawing near to God. And here is his explanation. ‘I have put my trust in the Lord.’
II. The way to nearness to God is twofold.
On the one hand the true path is Jesus Christ, on the other hand the means by which we walk upon that path is our faith. The Apostle puts it all in a nutshell when he says that his prayer for the Ephesian Church is that ‘Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith,’ and then, by a linked chain which we have not now to consider, leads up to the final issues of that faith in that indwelling Christ-’that ye may be filled with all the fulness of God.’ So to draw near and to possess that good, that only good which is God, all that is needed is-and it is needed-that we should turn with the surrender of our hearts, with the submission of our wills, with the outgoing of our affections, and with the conformity of our practical life, to Jesus. Seeing Him, we see the Father, and having Him near us, we feel the touch of the divine hand, and being joined to the Lord, we are separated from the vanities of life, and united to the Supreme Good.
Dear brethren! this Psalmist shows us how hard it is for us to keep up that continual attitude of faith, how many difficulties there are in daily life, in the way of our continually being true to our deepest convictions, and seeking after Him amidst all the distracting whirl and perplexities of our daily lives. But he shows us, too, how possible it is, even for men constituted as we are, moment by moment, day by day, task by task, to keep vivid the consciousness of our dependence upon Him, and the blessed consciousness of our being beside Him, and how, if we do, strength will come to us for everything. The secret of a joyous walk lies in this, ‘I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.’ We draw near to God when we clutch Christ in faith. Our faith manifests itself, not merely by a lazy reliance upon what He once did, long ago, on the Cross for us; but by daily, effortful revivifying of our consciousness of His presence, of our consciousness of our dependence upon Him, and by the continual reference of thoughts, desires, plans, and actions to Himself.
Keep God beside you so, and then there will follow what this Psalmist reached at last, a peaceful insight into what else are full of perplexity and difficulty, the ways of God in the world.
To myself, to my dear ones, to the nation, to the Church, to the world, there come many perplexing riddles as to God’s dealings, that cannot be solved except by getting close to Him. Just as a little child nestling on its mother’s bosom, with its mother’s arm around it, looks out with peaceful eye and a bright smile, upon everything beyond the safe nest, so they who are near to God can bear to look at difficulties and perplexities, and the mysteries of their own sorrows and of the world’s miseries, and say, ‘All things work together for good’; ‘I have put my trust in the Lord, that I may declare all Thy works.’ Stand in the sun, and all the planets move around it manifestly in order. Take your place anywhere else, and there is confusion. Get beside God, and look out on the world, and you will see it as He saw it when, ‘Behold! it was very good.’
Now, dear friends! my text in its first part may become the description of our death. One man holds on to the world as it is slipping away from him. I remember a story about a coast-guardsman that was flung over the cliffs once, and when they picked up his dead body, all under the nails was full of chalk that he had scraped off the cliffs in his desperate attempts to clutch at something to hold by. That is like one kind of death. But another kind may be: ‘It is good for me to draw near to God.’ And when we reach His side, and see all the past from the centre, and in the light of the Eternal Present, to which it has led, we shall be able to declare all His works, and to give thanks ‘for all the way by which the Lord our God hath led us’ and the world ‘these many years in the wilderness.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain (See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
trust
(See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.