PSAL. 26. 2.
DAvid in the first verse of this Psalm, Prayeth for Gods preservation and defence of him in the midst of all his adversaries, which he presseth from a two-fold consideration,
- First, His Integrity and Sincerity, which is not to be limited unto the righteousness of his cause onely, but the innoceny also of his whole life, as the Psalm evidenceth.
- Secondly, His confidence and trust in God; for this is an ingaging argument with God, as it is with men.
Now as verse 3. He makes Gods Loving kindness the ground of his trust, so he manifesteth his sincerity,
- First, By appealing unto God in my text. Examine me, and try me. And
- Secondly, By the several effects of it, verse 4, 5, 6.
I shall consider that sign of his sincerity, wherein he desireth God would Try him, and search him: So that if there were any Hypocrisie, any false way, any unsound or imperfect principles he walked in, it was his hearty desire to have all discovered. And certainly there cannot be a greater argument of the truth of Grace, then a willingness to come to the light, and a readiness to be weighed in the balance; as on the other side you have not a surer character of an hypocrite, and an unsound Christian, then fear of the light, and unwillingness to be ransaked and searched into the very bowles by the word of God: But Davids hearty willingness in this particular appeareth, 1. In the several words he heaps up together in his Petition, Examine me; as Artificers doe, whether their gold be weight or no: try me by discovering whether I am inwardly sound or no: Prove me, (as the word signifieth) as when the Artificer melteth his silver in the fire, that separateth the dross. 2. This doth appear in the object matter which he would have thus proved, and that is, His heart, his reins, which are the most inward and secret motions of his soul, he would have a deeper searching into, and winnowing of him then the world can do. Certainly David in this Petition doth discover great honesty, and faithfulness of Spirit. Now, here may be two doubts. 1. How God can be said to tempt, or try any man, seeing James 1. 13. God is said to tempt no man; and the divel is called […], as if it were his work only.1 The Answer is obvious, That there is a double Temptation: one evil, which is defective either in the principle, or means, or end of the Temptation. And thus the Divel and our own flesh Tempt. The other is a good Temptation, arising from a good principle, in a lawful way, to a good end; and thus God doth Tempt, that is, doth make a discovery what is in man; not as if he were ignorant of it, but that hereby the person trusted may be better known to himself, and to others.
In the second place, we may doubt how David could lawfully pray to be Tempted, seeing our Saviours rule is to pray, That God would not lead us (or cast us, for ne infer as, doth better Answer […] then ne inducas) into temptation; But that is to be understood of the evil of temptation: so as God should withdraw his grace either, internal, subduing our corruptions, or external, repressing Satan and all outward power against us.
These things thus explained, observe, That it is a sure and comfortable sign of grace, when a man is willing to have his soul and all within searched by God. That which here David prayeth for, Psal. 17. 3. he there acknowledgeth what God had done, Thou hast proved my heart, thou hast tryed me, and hast found nothing; which is not to be understood as if David had no Dross in him, (for those words are taken from the Artificers that melt their gold and silver) seeing Psal. 19. He cryeth out, Who can understand his errors: cleanse me from secret sins. But of total and universal hypocrisie; neither doth David speak this arrogantly, as presuming of himself, but takes comfort from this in his grievous troubles, as a testimony that he belongs to God.
Job also in his cala mities hath his face and heart answering Davids, Job 23. 10. When he hath tryed me, I shall come out like Gold; so that from hence we may see, that a love and willingness to have our hearts searched by God, is such a testimony of the truth of Grace, that it is a great bulwark in times of sad afflictions: It is therefore worth the enquiry into the nature of this sign; for if the wiseman said even of these petty outward things, False weights are an abomination unto the Lord, how much more abominable must those false ballances be wherein men through blindness and self flatterry weigh themselves.