Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 18:20

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 18:20. The Lord rewarded me — David proceeds to give the reasons why God had so marvellously interposed in his behalf.

According to my righteousness — Instead of being an enemy to Saul, I was his friend. I dealt righteously with him while he dealt unrighteously with me.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 18:0 David’s song of victory

The outpouring of praise recorded in Psalms 18:0 is applicable to many of David’s experiences. It was probably put into its present form after David reached the height of his power as king. He had conquered all his enemies and now controlled all the country from Egypt to the Euphrates (2 Samuel 8:1-18). The psalm is also recorded in 2 Samuel 22:0.

David opens by declaring his love for God (1) and thanking God for hearing his prayers and saving him from death at the hands of his enemies (2-6). God revealed himself in dramatic exhibitions of his mighty power, using earthquakes and storms (7-9), wind and rain (10-11), lightning and thunder (12-15) to deliver his servant (16-19).
The reason God answered David’s prayers was that David walked in God’s ways and kept himself pure and humble (20-24). God’s attitude to people, whether he helped them or opposed them, depended on whether they were devoted to him or rebelled against him (25-27). That is why David was always confident of God’s help (28-30).
God had blessed David with good health, physical strength, natural ability, and the desire to train and practise till he was skilled in the abilities God had given him (31-34). Above all, God gave David his saving power (35-36). As a result David was able to go on to certain victory, conquering his foes (37-42), expanding his kingdom (43-45) and bringing glory to God (46-48). As he looks back on what God did for him in the past, he offers further praise for God’s unfailing kindness (49-50).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"They came upon me in the day of my calamity; But Jehovah was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place; He delivered me, because he delighted in me. Jehovah hath rewarded me according to my righteousness. According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his ordinances were before me, And I put not away his statutes from me. I was also perfect with him, And kept myself from mine iniquity. Therefore hath Jehovah recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight."

The explicit fact of God's delivering David from his enemies is stressed in these lines. We do not believe that David, in any sense whatever, was here claiming to be absolutely perfect and sinless in the sight of God, but that he had been forgiven of all sins he had committed and that, at the moment of his deliverance, he was "clean" in "God's eyesight" (Psalms 18:24). Of course, all forgiveness during the dispensation of the Mosaic Covenant was dependent, in the final analysis, upon the ultimate sacrifice of the Christ upon Calvary. However, in the practical sense, "God passed over the sins done aforetime" (Romans 3:25), and that was the practical equivalent of divine forgiveness.

The explanation we have offered here is the only way we are able to think of David as "clean," "perfect," "righteous," and the keeper of" all God's ordinances." Of course, if the words are understood as descriptive of the "Son of David," even the Christ, then there is no problem.

Addis, rejecting the Davidic authorship of this psalm, did so, partially, upon the grounds that David could not possibly have described himself as one "Who kept the ways of Jehovah,"W. E. Addis, op. cit., p. 367. However, we believe that Addis misunderstood what that verse really means. Rawlinson has the following very enlightening comment on that passage:

"I have kept the ways of the Lord." The parallel line here is, "And have not wickedly departed from my God." "Departed wickedly" implies willful and persistent wickedness, an entire alienation from God. Not even in the humblest of the penitential psalms, in which David bewails his offenses against God, does he use such terms as `departed wickedly' concerning himself.G. Rawlinson, op. cit., p. 117.

This means that in all the protestations of David here to the effect that he is clean in the sight of God, there is not a claim of never having done anything sinful, but a claim, which was true, that he had never "wickedly departed from his God," nor renounced his allegiance to the Lord. This is a very important distinction.

In the lives of two of Jesus' apostles, we find the distinction exemplified. (1) Judas "wickedly departed" from Christ, being terminally alienated from Him. (2) Peter, who shamefully and profanely denied the Lord, nevertheless, did not forsake Him, did not "wickedly depart" from Him; and, consequently was permitted to continue, after his repentance, as a faithful apostle.

The great consolation for Christians in these observations is that "Not even gross sins can prevent their ultimate and final salvation," provided only that they do not "wickedly depart" from the Lord, but repent of their lapses and forsake him not.

"I was also perfect with him" (Psalms 18:23). Leupold called attention to the fact that this should have been translated, "And so I was blameless (or perfect), etc."H. C. Leupold, op. cit., p. 175. Also, in the very next verse, the text should read, "And so the Lord requited me."Ibid. This has the effect of indicating that, therefore, David was blameless; therefore, the Lord recompensed him as perfectly clean and righteous. In other words, it was because David had never in any sense whatever "wickedly departed from God," but had clung to him even in the face of shameful sins and mistakes, God requited him on the basis of his fundamental love of God, and not upon the basis of human sins and mistakes of which he was most certainly guilty.

"I kept myself from mine iniquity." "It appears here that David had an inclination to some particular form of sin, against which he was continually on guard. We have no way of determining just what that sin was."G. Rawlinson, op. cit., p. 118.

A fact not often stressed is that any Christian still in fellowship with the Lord may say anything that the psalmist here has said of himself. How so? "That I may present every man PERFECT in Christ" (Colossians 1:28). How wonderful, how glorious, how absolutely precious above everything else is the privilege of being "perfect" in Christ Jesus, as David claimed in these passages! Perhaps we should be a little more eager in our stress of this magnificent truth. But, don't Christians make mistakes, and sin? Indeed yes; but, "If we walk in the Light as he is in the Light, then we have fellowship one with another; and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). The present participle "cleanseth" is an indication that the cleansing is constant, continual, and never-failing, thus keeping the child of God in a state of holy perfection.

The way in which all of this is deployed upon the sacred page is a providential arrangement designed to constitute also a prophetic indication of the absolute and genuine perfection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness - That is, he saw that I did not deserve the treatment which I received from my enemies, and therefore he interposed to save me. Compare the note at Psalms 17:3.

According to the cleanness of my hands - So far as my fellow-men are concerned. I have done them no wrong.

Hath he recompensed me - By rescuing me from the power of my enemies. It is not inconsistent with proper views of piety - with true humility before God - to feel and to say, that so far as our fellow-men are concerned, we have not deserved ill-treatment at their hands; and, when we are delivered from their power, it is not improper to say and to feel that the interposition in the case has been according to justice and to truth.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

20.Jehovah rewarded me. David might seem at first sight to contradict himself; for, while a little before he declared that all the blessings which he possessed were to be traced to the good pleasure of God, he now boasts that God rendered to him a just recompense. But if we remember for what purpose he connects these commendations of his own integrity with the good pleasure of God, it will be easy to reconcile these apparently conflicting statements. He has before declared that God was the sole author and originator of the hope of coming to the kingdom which he entertained, and that he had not been elevated to it by the suffrages of men, nor had he rushed forward to it through the mere impulse of his own mind, but accepted it because such was the will of God. Now he adds, in the second place, that he had yielded faithful obedience to God, and had never turned aside from his will. Both these things were necessary; first, that God should previously show his favor freely towards David, in choosing him to be king; and next, that David, on the other hand, should, with an obedient spirit, and a pure conscience, receive the kingdom which God thus freely gave him; and farther, that whatever the wicked might attempt, with the view of overthrowing or shaking his faith, he should nevertheless continue to adhere to the direct course of his calling. Thus, then, we see that these two statements, so far from disagreeing with each other, admirably harmonise. David here represents God as if the president ⁽⁴¹¹⁾ of a combat, under whose authority and conduct he had been brought forth to engage in the combats. Now that depended upon election, in other words, upon this, that God having embraced him with his favor, had created him king. He adds in the verses which immediately follow, that he had faithfully performed the duties of the charge and office committed to him even to the uttermost. It is not, therefore, wonderful if God maintained and protected David, and even showed, by manifest miracles, that he was the defender of his own champion, ⁽⁴¹²⁾ whom he had, of his own free choice, admitted to the combat, and who he saw had performed his duty with all fidelity. We ought not, however, to think that David, for the sake of obtaining praise among men, has here purposely indulged in the language of vain boasting; we ought rather to view the Holy Spirit as intending by the mouth of David to teach us the profitable doctrine, that the aid of God will never fail us, provided we follow our calling, keep ourselves within the limits which it prescribes, and undertake nothing without the command or warrant of God. At the same time, let this truth be deeply fixed in our minds, that we can only begin an upright course of life when God of his good pleasure adopts us into his family, and in effectually calling, anticipates us by his grace, without which neither we nor any creature would give him an opportunity of bestowing this blessing upon us. ⁽⁴¹³⁾

There, however, still remains one question. If God rendered to David a just recompense, it may be said, does it not seem, when he shows himself liberal towards his people, that he is so in proportion as each of them has deserved? I answer, When the Scripture uses the word reward or recompense, it is not to show that God owes us any thing, and it is therefore a groundless and false conclusion to infer from this that there is any merit or worth in works. God, as a just judge, rewards every man according to his works, but he does it in such a manner, as to show that all men are indebted to him, while he himself is under obligation to no one. The reason is not only that which St Augustine has assigned, namely, that God finds no righteousness in us to recompense, except what he himself has freely given us, but also because, forgiving the blemishes and imperfections which cleave to our works, he imputes to us for righteousness that which he might justly reject. If, therefore, none of our works please God, unless the sin which mingles with them is pardoned, it follows, that the recompense which he bestows on account of them proceeds not from our merit, but from his free and undeserved grace. We ought, however, to attend to the special reason why David here speaks of God rewarding him according to his righteousness. He does not presumptuously thrust himself into the presence of God, trusting to or depending upon his own obedience to the law as the ground of his justification; but knowing that God approved the affection of his heart, and wishing to defend and acquit himself from the false and wicked calumnies of his enemies, he makes God himself the judge of his cause. We know how unjustly and shamefully he had been loaded with false accusations, and yet these calumnies did not so much bear against the honor and name of David as against the welfare and estate of the whole Church in common. It was indeed mere private spite which stirred up Saul, and drove him into fury against David, and it was to please the king that all other men were so rancorous against an innocent individual, and broke forth so outrageously against him; but Satan, there is no doubt, had a prime agency in exciting these formidable assaults upon the kingdom of David, and by them he endeavored to accomplish his ruin, because in the person of this one man God had placed, and, as it were, shut up the hope of the salvation of the whole people. This is the reason why David labors so carefully and so earnestly to show and to maintain the righteousness of his cause. When he presents and defends himself before the judgment-seat of God against his enemies, the question is not concerning the whole course of his life, but only respecting one certain cause, or a particular point. We ought, therefore, to attend to the precise subject of his discourse, and what he here debates. The state of the matter is this: His adversaries charged him with many crimes; first, of rebellion and treason, accusing him of having revolted from the king his father-in-law; in the second place, of plunder and robbery, as if, like a robber, he had taken possession of the kingdom; thirdly, of sedition, as if he had thrown the kingdom into confusion when it enjoyed tranquillity; and, lastly, of cruelty and many flagitious actions, as if he had been the cause of murders, and had prosecuted his conspiracy by many dangerous means and unlawful artifices. David, in opposition to these accusations, with the view of maintaining his innocence before God, protests and affirms that he had acted uprightly and sincerely in this matter, inasmuch as he attempted nothing without the command or warrant of God; and whatever hostile attempts his enemies made against him, he nevertheless always kept himself within the bounds prescribed by the Divine Law. It would be absurd to draw from this the inference that God is merciful to men according as he judges them to be worthy of his favor. Here the object in view is only to show the goodness of a particular cause, and to maintain it in opposition to wicked calumniators; and not to bring into examination the whole life of a man, that he may obtain favor, and be pronounced righteous before God. In short, David concludes from the effect and the issue, that his cause was approved of by God, not that one victory is always and necessarily the sign of a good cause, but because God, by evident tokens of his assistance, showed that he was on the side of David.

(411) Agonotheta. Calvin alludes to the ancient games and combats of Greece, the presidents of which were called Agonothetee.

(412) ArMeta. Those who exercised themselves with the view of contending for the prizes in the Grecian games and combats were called AtMetce.

(413) “Sans que nous ne creature quelconque luy en donnions” occasion. — Fr.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 18:1-50

The eighteenth psalm has a long title to it. It is to chief musician. It is a psalm of David, the servant of Jehovah, who spake unto Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah delivered him from the hand of all of his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,

I will love thee, O LORD, my strength ( Psalms 18:1 ).

So that is all an introduction to the psalm, which is written in the Hebrew, just the introduction to the psalm. This evidently is the time when he was pursued and he escaped the hand of Saul and went down to Achish, because he speaks about dwelling, in the latter part, of dwelling among the heathen and all, and no doubt it was as he had fled from Saul to the Philistines so that Saul would not pursue him any more. And so now safe from the pursuit of Saul, having been delivered by the hand of God from Saul.

"I will love thee, O Lord my strength."

The LORD is my rock, and my fortress ( Psalms 18:2 ),

He had been actually been running in that rocky wilderness area around the Dead Sea, Engedi, and those rocky cliffs, hiding in those caves and using the rocks as a place of defense and as a fortress. "The Lord is my rock and my fortress,"

and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; he is my buckler, the horn of my salvation, and my high tower ( Psalms 18:2 ).

All of these are defensive weapons of war. God is all of it. He is my defender. He keeps me. He is my high tower. He is my buckler. He is my strength.

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: and so shall I be saved from my enemies. For the sorrows of death encircled me, the floods of ungodly men ( Psalms 18:3-4 )

All of the troops of Saul, he came out with several thousand men pursuing David. And David looked over there and saw all these guys and he knew they were after my hide. And they had encircled David. He was trapped. "The sorrows of death encircled me."

The sorrows of hell encircled me about: the snares of death prevented to me. And in my distress I called upon the LORD, I cried unto my God: and he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even unto his ears ( Psalms 18:5-6 ).

Now, out of His temple. The temple was not yet built in Jerusalem, but he is talking about God's temple in heaven.

Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also the hills moved and were shaken, because of his anger. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: and coals were kindled by it. And he bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub [one of those angelic beings], and did fly: and he did fly upon the wings of the wind ( Psalms 18:7-10 ).

And all of this is very beautiful poetic and picturesque speech. Of course, this was a song written in Hebrew type of poetry. Very descriptive and very beautiful indeed.

In verse Psalms 18:16 he said,

He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has recompensed me ( Psalms 18:16-20 ).

Verse Psalms 18:25 ,

With the merciful you will show yourself merciful; with the upright man, you will show yourself upright; with the pure you will show yourself pure; with the forward you will show yourself forward. For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but will bring down the high looks. For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all of those that trust in him. For who is God save Jehovah? And who is a rock save our God? It is God that girded me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places. He teaches my hands to war, so that the bow of steel is broken by my arms. Thou hast also given me the shield of my salvation: and thy right hand hath held me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great ( Psalms 18:25-35 ).

Interesting phrase, "Thy gentleness hath made me great." And he goes on and tells how the Lord had subdued his enemies that were rising up against him. And then he, in verse Psalms 18:43 ,

Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; you have made me the head of the heathen ( Psalms 18:43 ):

He had actually gone been down in Ziklag, in the area of the Philistines, and he was the head of the city of Ziklag,

and of people whom I have not known shall serve me ( Psalms 18:43 ).

Now this, of course, David was speaking of himself, but it became prophetic of Jesus and the gospel going unto the Gentiles.

The LORD liveth; blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted ( Psalms 18:46 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 18

As the title indicates, David wrote this psalm after he had subdued his political enemies and had established the kingdom of Israel firmly under his control. In this poem, David expressed his delight in the Lord and thanked Him for giving him the victories he enjoyed. This royal thanksgiving psalm also appears in 2 Samuel 22. The slight variations may be due to changes that Israel’s leaders made, under divine inspiration, when they adapted this poem for use in Israel’s public worship. Other individual psalms of thanksgiving are 30-32, 40, 66, 92, 116, 118, and 120.

"The two components essential to the [individual thanksgiving] genre are: (1) the psalmist’s report about his crisis, and (2) the statement or declaration that the crisis has passed and his deliverance is an accomplished fact. The latter element is that which distinguishes these psalms from the lament." [Note: Bullock, p. 152.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. God’s deliverance 18:4-29

In this extended section, David reviewed how God had saved him in times of danger. In Psalms 18:4-19 he described God’s supernatural deliverance, and in Psalms 18:20-29 he explained it as he saw it through the lens of his faith in God.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

As God had promised to bless those of His people who walked in obedience to His will (Deuteronomy 28), so he blessed David who followed the Lord faithfully. By recounting his own righteousness David was not implying that he merited God’s favor simply because of his good works. He was showing God’s faithfulness to His covenant promises to Israel. These verses would have encouraged the Israelites to follow David’s example of righteous behavior so they, too, would experience God’s favor (cf. 2 Timothy 4:6-8).

". . . David could quite properly use this language within a limited frame of reference, [but] the Messiah could use it absolutely; and the psalm is ultimately Messianic . . ." [Note: Kidner, p. 93.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness,.... Which, if applied to David, cannot be understood of his own personal righteousness, or of works of righteousness done by him, for these merit nothing at the hand of God; no reward, in strict justice, is due to them, or given to them: a man's own righteousness is imperfect, and by the law of God is not accounted a righteousness; and it is unprofitable to God, is no gain to him, and so not rewardable by him; and were it perfect, it is but man's duty, and what God has a prior right to, and so is not recompensed by him; though it is so far from being pure and perfect, that it is attended with much sin, and is no other than rags, and filthy ones, which can never recommend a person to God; it is what will not bear the sight of God, and can never be called cleanness in his eyesight: by it no man is justified before him; and though God does, indeed, reward the works of his people, which are fruits of his grace, yet the reward is not of debt, but of grace. This, therefore, must be understood of the righteousness of David's cause, and of his innocence with respect to the things he was charged with by his enemies; of his righteousness towards Saul; and of "the cleanness of [his] hands", in not defiling them with his blood, when it was in his power to take away his life; therefore God rewarded him by delivering him out of his hands, and setting him upon the throne, and causing his kingdom to flourish and prosper; for this respects temporal blessings, and not eternal glory and happiness; and is something that had been and was then enjoyed, and not anything future, or in another world: though it is best of all to apply it to Christ, and understand it of his righteousness, which he, as Mediator, has wrought out for his people; this is perfect, pure, and spotless, and entirely agreeable to the law of God; what will bear the sight of God, is satisfying to his justice, is well pleasing to him, and is what he accepts of, and imputes to them that believe in Christ, and by which they are justified from all things. Now, according to this righteousness, Christ in strict justice has been rewarded in his own person; as he had the work of man's redemption assigned him, and he agreed to do it, he had a reward promised him, and which he claimed, when he had glorified his Father and finished his work; and which he received when he was set down at the right hand of God, crowned with glory and honour, in consequence of his obedience, sufferings, and death; see Philippians 2:7; and he is rewarded in his members according to his righteousness, they being justified by it, and made heirs of eternal life on account of it, and are or will be glorified with him for evermore;

according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me; which signifies the same thing.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      20 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.   21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.   22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.   23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.   24 Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.   25 With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright;   26 With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt show thyself froward.   27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.   28 For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

      Here, I. David reflects with comfort upon his own integrity, and rejoices in the testimony of his conscience that he had had his conversation in godly sincerity and not with fleshly wisdom, 2 Corinthians 1:12. His deliverances were an evidence of this, and this was the great comfort of his deliverances. His enemies had misrepresented him, and perhaps, when his troubles continued long, he began to suspect himself; but, when God visibly took his part, he had both the credit and the comfort of his righteousness. 1. His deliverances cleared his innocency before men, and acquitted him from those crimes which he was falsely accused of. This he calls rewarding him according to his righteousness (Psalms 18:20; Psalms 18:24), that is, determining the controversy between him and his enemies, according to the justice of his cause and the cleanness of his hands, from that sedition, treason, and rebellion, with which he was charged. He had often appealed to God concerning his innocency; and now God had given judgment upon the appeal (as he always will) according to equity. 2. They confirmed the testimony of his own conscience for him, which he here reviews with a great deal of pleasure, Psalms 18:21-23; Psalms 18:21-23. His own heart knows, and is ready to attest it, (1.) That he had kept firmly to his duty, and had not departed, not wickedly, not wilfully departed, from his God. Those that forsake the ways of the Lord do, in effect, depart from their God, and it is a wicked thing to do so. But though we are conscious to ourselves of many a stumble, and many a false step taken, yet if we recover ourselves by repentance, and go on in the way of our duty, it shall not be construed into a departure, for it is not a wicked departure, from our God. (2.) That he had kept his eye upon the rule of God's commands (Psalms 18:22; Psalms 18:22): "All his judgments were before me; and I had a respect to them all, despised none as little, disliked none as hard, but made it my care and business to conform to them all. His statutes I did not put away from me, out of my sight, out of my mind, but kept my eye always upon them, and did not as those who, because they would quit the ways of the Lord, desire not the knowledge of those ways." (3.) That he had kept himself from his iniquity, and thereby had approved himself upright before God. Constant care to abstain from that sin, whatever it be, which most easily besets us, and to mortify the habit of it, will be a good evidence for us that we are upright before God. As David's deliverances cleared his integrity, so did the exaltation of Christ clear his, and for ever roll away the reproach that was cast upon him; and therefore he is said to be justified in the Spirit,1 Timothy 3:16.

      II. He takes occasion thence to lay down the rules of God's government and judgment, that we may know not only what God expects from us, but what we may expect from him, Psalms 18:25; Psalms 18:26. 1. Those that show mercy to others (even they need mercy, and cannot depend upon the merit, no, not of their works of mercy) shall find mercy with God, Matthew 5:7. 2. Those that are faithful to their covenants with God, and the relations wherein they stand to him, shall find him all that to them which he has promised to be. Wherever God finds an upright man, he will be found an upright God. 3. Those that serve God with a pure conscience shall find that the words of the Lord are pure words, very sure to be depended on and very sweet to be delight in. 4. Those that resist God, and walk contrary to him, shall find that he will resist them, and walk contrary to them, Leviticus 26:21; Leviticus 26:24.

      III. Hence he speaks comfort to the humble ("Thou wilt save the afflicted people, that are wronged and bear it patiently"), terror to the proud ("Thou wilt bring down high looks, that aim high, and look with scorn and disdain upon the poor and pious"), and encouragement to himself--"Thou wilt light my candle, that is, thou wilt revive and comfort my sorrowful spirit, and not leave me melancholy; thou wilt recover me out of my troubles and restore me to peace and prosperity; thou wilt make my honour bright, which is now eclipsed; thou wilt guide my way, and make it plain before me, that I may avoid the snares laid for me; thou wilt light my candle to work by, and give me an opportunity of serving thee and the interests of thy kingdom among men."

      Let those that walk in darkness, and labour under many discouragements in singing these verses, encourage themselves that God himself will be a light to them.