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1 The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and mercifull men are taken away none considering that the righteous is taken away from the euill to come.
2 Hee shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his vprightnesse.
3 ¶ But draw neere hither, yee sonnes of the sorceresse, the seed of the adulterer, and the whore.
4 Against whom doe ye sport your selues? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seede of falsehood?
5 Inflaming your selues with idoles vnder euery greene tree, slaying the children in the valleys vnder the cliftes of the rockes?
6 Among the smooth stones of the streame is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: euen to them hast thou powred a drinke offering, thou hast offered a meate offering. Should I receiue comfort in these?
7 Upon a loftie and high mountaine hast thou set thy bed: euen thither wentest thou vp to offer sacrifice.
8 Behinde the doores also and the posts hast thou set vp thy remembrance: for thou hast discouered thy selfe to an other then mee, and art gone vp: thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made a couenant with them: thou louedst their bed where thou sawest it.
9 And thou wentest to the king with oyntment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers farre off, and didst debase thy selfe euen vnto hell.
10 Thou art wearied in the greatnesse of thy way; yet saydst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieued.
11 And of whom hast thou bene afraid or feared, that thou hast lyed, and hast not remembred me, nor layed it to thy heart? haue not I held my peace euen of old, and thou fearest me not?
12 I will declare thy righteousnes; and thy workes, for they shall not profit thee.
13 ¶ When thou criest, let thy companies deliuer thee: but the winde shall cary them all away; Uanitie shall take them: but hee that putteth his trust in me, shall possesse the land, and shall inherit my holy mountaine.
14 And shall say, Cast yee vp, cast yee vp; prepare the way, take vp the stumbling blocke out of the way of my people.
15 For thus saith the High and loftie One that inhabiteth eternitie, whose Name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place: with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to reuiue the spirit of the humble, and to reuiue the heart of the contrite ones.
16 For I will not contend for euer, neither will I be alwayes wroth: for the spirit should faile before me, and the soules which I haue made.
17 For the iniquitie of his couetousnesse was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and hee went on frowardly in the way of his heart.
18 I haue seene his wayes, and will heale him: I will leade him also, and restore comforts vnto him, and to his mourners.
19 I create the fruite of the lippes; peace, peace to him that is farre off, and to him that is neere, sayth the Lord, and I will heale him.
20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast vp myre and dirt.
21 There is no peace, sayth my God, to the wicked.
The blessed death of the righteous. (1,2) The abominable idolatries of the Jewish nation. (3-12) Promises to the humble and contrite. (13-21)1,2 The righteous are delivered from the sting of death, not from the stroke of it. The careless world disregards this. Few lament it as a public loss, and very few notice it as a public warning. They are taken away in compassion, that they may not see the evil, nor share in it, nor be tempted by it. The righteous man, when he dies, enters into peace and rest.
3-12 The Lord here calls apostates and hypocrites to appear before him. When reproved for their sins, and threatened with judgments, they ridiculed the word of God. The Jews were guilty of idolatry before the captivity; but not after that affliction. Their zeal in the worship of false gods, may shame our indifference in the worship of the true God. The service of sin is disgraceful slavery; those who thus debase themselves to hell, will justly have their portion there. Men incline to a religion that inflames their unholy passions. They are led to do any evil, however great or vile, if they think it will atone for crimes, or purchase indulgence for some favourite lust. This explains idolatry, whether pagan, Jewish, or antichristian. But those who set up anything instead of God, for their hope and confidence, never will come to a right end. Those who forsake the only right way, wander in a thousand by-paths. The pleasures of sin soon tire, but never satisfy. Those who care not for the word of God and his providences, show they have no fear of God. Sin profits not; it ruins and destroys.
13-21 The idols and their worshippers shall come to nothing; but those who trust in God's grace, shall be brought to the joys of heaven. With the Lord there is neither beginning of days, nor end of life, nor change of time. His name is holy, and all must know him as a holy God. He will have tender regard to those who bring their mind to their condition, and dread his wrath. He will make his abode with those whose hearts he has thus humbled, in order to revive and comfort them. When troubles last long, even good men are tempted to entertain hard thoughts of God. Therefore He will not contend for ever, for he will not forsake the work of his own hands, nor defeat the purchase of his Son's blood. Covetousness is a sin that particularly lays men under the Divine displeasure. See the sinfulness of sin. See also that troubles cannot reform men unless God's grace work in them. Peace shall be published, perfect peace. It is the fruit of preaching lips, and praying lips. Christ came and preached peace to Gentiles, as well as to the Jews; to after-ages, who were afar off in time, as well as to those of that age. But the wicked would not be healed by God's grace, therefore would not be healed by his comforts. Their ungoverned lusts and passions made them like the troubled sea. Also the terrors of conscience disturbed their enjoyments. God hath said it, and all the world cannot unsay it, That there is no peace to those who allow themselves in any sin. If we are recovered from such an awful state, it is only by the grace of God. And the influences of the Holy Spirit, and that new heart, from whence comes grateful praise, the fruit of our lips, are his gift. Salvation, with all its fruits, hopes, and comforts, is his work, and to him belongs all the glory. There is no peace for the wicked man; but let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, and he will abundantly pardon.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.