Psalms 90:14

Psa 90:14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Ver. 14. O satisfy us early] As thou didst our fathers with manna.

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.

Psa_90:14

O satisfy us early with Thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

An early interest in Gods mercy essential to a happy life

1. That a man may live happily, that he may rejoice and be glad all his days, it is necessary that he should be early freed from all fears of death. Will it be said, he may refuse to think of death? I answer, he cannot always banish this subject from his thoughts in a world like this, where so many things occur which are suited to remind him of it. But from this cause of unhappiness, the man who early obtains satisfactory evidence that he is a subject of Gods pardoning mercy, is entirely free.

2. That a man may rejoice and be glad all his days, it is necessary that he should be freed in early life from a guilty conscience, and from apprehensions of Gods displeasure. But from these causes of unhappiness the man who is early satisfied with Gods pardoning mercy is free. He enjoys peace of conscience and peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. To render a man happy during the whole progress of life, it is necessary that he should be early freed from care nd anxiety, and especially from apprehensions of losing what he most loves. But it is impossible that an unpardoned sinner should feel perfectly safe, or that he should be free from care, anxiety, and apprehension.

4. That a man may rejoice and be glad all his days, he must early learn, in whatsoever state he is, therewith to be content. A discontented man is, of course, an unhappy man. But it is impossible that an unconverted sinner should be otherwise than discontented. While the soul is empty it cannot but feel uneasy, dissatisfied, discontented. But far different is the situation of one who is satisfied early with Gods mercy. What the sinner seeks in vain he has found. The light which sheds its radiance on his ath is furnished, not by lamps, but by the sun, a sun which never sets. The water which quenches his spirit flows, not from broken cisterns, but from the inexhaustible fountain of living waters.

5. That a man may rejoice and be glad all his days, it is absolutely necessary that he should early obtain the mastery of his appetites and passions, and be secured against the evils into which they would lead him. And no young man can have any security that he shall not be left to form such habits, unless he obtains that security which is afforded by Gods sanetifying grace and pardoning mercy. Presume not then, young man, upon thine own strength. Where so many others have fallen, thou mayest fall. Against such a fall thou canst have no security until thou obtainest the protection of God. Let Him hold thee up, and then, and then only, wilt thou be safe. This safety is enjoyed by all who are satisfied early with His mercy. (E. Payson, D.D.)

Abiding satisfaction

The text sets before us--

I. That which alone can satisfy the soul.

II. When that satisfaction ought to be sought. Oh, to seek it early! how much easier it is, how much more reasonable and according to the order of things, than to neglect it. Let not the frivolities, and the fooishnesses, and the delusions, and the day-dreams of life, cheat you of the one great thing.

III. The blessed results of that satisfaction, if sought and found. The very design of the Gospel is to restore the human race to happiness, and glory, and immortality. (H. Stowell, M.A.)

The prayer and the plea

I. The prayer.

1. The kind of blessing sought. Thy mercy.

2. The measure of it. Satisfy us. I never knew a scholar who had so much learning that he did not wish any more; or a rich man who was so rich, that he wanted no more wealth; or a man of the world who had had so many pleasures, that he had no desire for more; or one who was so well off, that he was in every respect thoroughly content. There is always a craving for something that we have not. We never can say, It is enough! There is just one thing that will fill any heart, and that is, Gods mercy. When a man has got that, he can say, with Paul, I have all, and abound.

3. The time of it. Early--in the morning. This is the very prayer for young people. They may be said to be in the morning of life. You can never ask or get the blessing too early--too soon.

II. The plea. That we may rejoice and be glad all our days. The reason given in support of the prayer is, that it would make those who offer it happy and glad, then and ever after. That would be no plea with a stranger, but it would be with a father. We have here the secret of true happiness. Many would put it differently--That we may be good and holy all our days; or, That we may do what is right, and please Thee all our days. That is all very good, and one may pray that too, but mark this--the plea is, that we may rejoice and be glad, as if joy and gladness could not be got in any other way. The sooner you experience the mercy of God, the sooner will you be truly happy and glad.

1. It will give present joy and happiness. John Bunyan was so overjoyed when he first found mercy that he could hardly contain himself, and tells us that as he went along the road, he could have told the very crows on the ploughed land what God had done for him, and how glad and happy he was, now that he was a pardoned man.

2. It will give future joy and happiness. All our days. When a child has got a new toy, at first it is everything to him; he is overjoyed about it, but soon he tires of it, and lets it fall out of sight, and seeks something else. But Gods mercy makes a man glad all his days. The gladdest hour of his life may be when he first finds it, but his peace is like a river, and flows on from day to day. And then, when the end comes, it is best of all: all our days,--not only here, but hereafter,--and that is the great thing. (J. H. Wilson, D.D.)

Satisfaction

I. The deepest yearning of man is for satisfaction. O satisfy us. That is everywhere and evermore the cry of humanity. And what a strange cry it is, when you think of it. Man is the offspring of God; the bearer of His image; he stands at the head of the terrestrial creation; he possesses wondrous capacities of thought, and feeling, and action. The world, and all that is in it, has been formed in a complete and beautiful adaptation to his being. Nature seems to be ever calling to him with a thousand voices, to be glad and rejoice; and yet he is unsatisfied.

II. Satisfaction can only be found in the realization of Divine mercy.

1. Divine mercy is that which meets mans greatest need--the need of pardon for sin.

2. Divine mercy brings all other blessings in its train. Pardon with Him is meant just to put us into a condition, legally, in which He can lavish upon us all the wealth of blessing that He possesses. It is one link only in a chain of benefits, reaching from the moment when it is bestowed right on through the ceaseless cycles of an eternity to come. He gives him a new heart; He sends His Holy Spirit to dwell in him; He sanctifies, and gradually makes him meet for heaven.

3. Divine mercy is a permanent good--it endures. The blessings which it involves are eternal in their nature. You cannot affirm this of any other gifts.

III. Divine mercy is to be sought by prayer. How easy, suitable, gracious is this method! (C. M. Merry.)

The young mans prayer

I. We will make our text the groundwork of a solemn pleading with young men and women to give their hearts to Christ this day.

1. The voice of wisdom reminds you in this our text that you are not pure in Gods sight, but need His mercy. Remember, then, that if you be saved in the morning of life, you will be wonderful instances of preventing mercy.

2. Salvation, if it comes to you, must not only be mercy, but it must be mercy through the Cross. Nothing else can satisfy a sinner.

3. I would press this matter of a youthful faith upon you, because you have a dissatisfaction even now. Well, then, I would have you come to Jesus, for depend upon it there is that in Him which can thoroughly satisfy you. What can you want more to satisfy your heart than love to Him? You say that not only does your heart want something, but your head. My witness is that there is in the Gospel of Christ the richest food for the brain. You get Christ as the central sun, and then every science and fact begins to revolve round about Him just as the planets travel in their perpetual circle around the central orb.

4. Our text says, O satisfy as early with Thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. We never rejoice in the true sense of the term; we never possess solid gladness, till we are satisfied with Gods mercy. It is all a mockery and a pretence; the reality never comes to us till Gods mercy visits our heart; but after that what joy we know!

II. Take the text as your address to God. Every word here is significant.

1. O. This teaches us that the prayer is to be earnest. Dull, dead prayers, ask God to deny them. We must pray out of our very souls. The soul of our prayer must be the prayer of our soul. O satisfy us.

2. Makes it a generous prayer when you are at it. O satisfy us early! Pray for your brothers and sisters. I am sure we are verily guilty in this thing. Those that sprang from the same loins as ourselves, would to God that they were all saved with the same salvation.

3. See to it, next, that your prayer be thoroughly evangelical. O satisfy us early with Thy mercy. The prayer of the publican is the model for us all.

4. Let the prayer be put up now at once. The text says, O satisfy us early. Why not to-day? Oh that it had been done years ago! But there was time enough, you thought. There is time enough, but there is none to spare. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Early religion escapes the sequel of a lost life

There is a very interesting story told in a book of Dr. Barretts of an aged peer, a benevolent and distinguished lawyer and judge in his day. In his old age he was converted to a saving knowledge of Christ. But the story is that in his old age it was almost pitiable to see him at times. When his friends spoke brightly and cheerfully to him, he would say, I am saved, but my life is lost. He could not bring back the past, and that past stood out before him in such dark, ghastly vividness that he could not rise above the depression--he had lost his opportunity. Young men, young women, beware lest your lives are lost. True, you may come to Christ and be saved in after years; but the precious hours that are wasted now, without any serious purpose, are wasted for ever.

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. (Psa 90:14) Satisfy us, in the morning, with thy mercy, and (then) we shall rejoice and be glad through all our days. God's grace is here presented as the food required for the sustenance of his people. Satisfy or sate us, i.e. fill us, abundantly supply us. In the morning, early, speedily, perhaps with an allusion to the night as a common figure for affliction. See above, on Psa 5:3; Psa 46:5; Psa 49:14; Psa 59:16; Psa 88:13. The oblique construction of the last clause, that we may rejoice, etc., is really involved in the direct one, which is much more pointed and emphatic. In or through all our days, i.e. throughout the remainder of our lives. The English idiom allows the suppression of the particle, as in the common version.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 14. O satisfy us early] Let us have thy mercy soon, (literally, in the morning.) Let it now shine upon us, and it shall seem as the morning of our days, and we shall exult in thee all the days of our life.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(14) Early—i.e., in the morning of new hope and courage after the night of affliction is spent. (See Psa_46:5.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. O satisfy us in the morning with thy lovingkindness] Israel is still in the night of trouble. O may the dawn soon come! Cp. Psa_30:5; Psa_49:14; Psa_143:8.

that we may rejoice] Or, shout for joy, as Psa_5:11, and often.

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.

O satisfy us early with thy mercy,.... Or "grace" (g); the means of grace, the God of all grace, and communion with him, Christ and his grace; things without which, souls hungry and thirsty, in a spiritual sense, cannot be satisfied; these will satisfy them, and nothing else; namely, the discoveries of the love of God, his pardoning grace and mercy, Christ and his righteousness, and the fulness of grace in him; see Psa 63:3, this grace and mercy they desire to be satisfied and filled with betimes, early, seasonably, as soon as could be, or it was fitting it should: it may be rendered "in the morning" (h), which some understand literally of the beginning of the day, and so lay a foundation for joy the whole day following: some interpret it of the morning of the resurrection; with which compare Psa 49:14 and Psa 17:15 others of the day of redemption and salvation, as Kimchi and Jarchi: it may well enough be applied to the morning of the Gospel dispensation; and Christ himself, who is "the mercy promised" unto the fathers, may be meant; "whose coming was prepared as the morning"; and satisfied such as were hungry and thirsty, weary and faint, with looking for it, Hos 6:3 The Targum is,

"satisfy us with thy goodness in the world, which is like to the morning;''

and Arama interprets it of the time of the resurrection of the dead.

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days; the love, grace, and mercy of God, his presence, and communion with him, the coming of Christ, and the blessings of grace by him, lay a solid foundation for lasting joy in the Lord's people, who have reason always to rejoice in him; and their joy is such that no man can take from them, Phi 4:4.

(g) "gratia tua", Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis. (h) "matutino Montanus", Cocceius; so Ainsworth.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

O satisfy us early with thy mercy - literally, “In the morning;” as soon as the day dawns. Perhaps there is an allusion here to their affliction, represented as night; and the prayer is, that the morning - the morning of mercy and joy - might again dawn upon them.

That we may rejoice and be glad all our days - All the remainder of our lives. That the memory of thy gracious interposition may go with us to the grave.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Early; speedily or seasonably, before we be utterly consumed.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 14. O satisfy us early with thy mercy. Since they must die, and die so soon, the psalmist pleads for speedy mercy upon himself and his brethren. Good men know how to turn the darkest trials into arguments at the throne of grace. He who has but the heart to pray need never be without pleas in prayer. The only satisfying food for the Lord's people is the favour of God; this Moses earnestly seeks for, and as the manna fell in the morning he beseeches the Lord to send at once his satisfying favour, that all through the little day of life they might be filled therewith. Are we so soon to die? Then, Lord, do not starve us while we live. Satisfy us at once, we pray thee. Our day is short and the night hastens on, O give us in the early morning of our days to be satisfied with thy favour, that all through our little day we may be happy.

That we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Being filled with divine love, their brief life on earth would become a joyful festival, and would continue so as long as it lasted. When the Lord refreshes us with his presence, our joy is such that no man can take it from us. Apprehensions of speedy death are not able to distress those who enjoy the present favour of God; though they know that the night cometh they see nothing to fear in it, but continue to live while they live, triumphing in the present favour of God and leaving the future in his loving hands. Since the whole generation which came out of Egypt had been doomed to die in the wilderness, they would naturally feel despondent, and therefore their great leader seeks for them that blessing which, beyond all others, consoles the heart, namely, the presence and favour of the Lord.

Ver. 14. O satisfy us with thy mercy. A poor hungry soul lying under sense of wrath, will promise to itself happiness for ever, if it can but once again find what it hath sometime felt; that is, one sweet fill of God's sensible mercy towards it. —David Dickson.

Ver. 14. O satisfy us. That is everywhere and evermore the cry of humanity. And what a strange cry it is, when you think of it, brethren! Man is the offspring of God; the bearer of his image; he stands at the head of the terrestrial creation; on earth he is peerless; he possesses wondrous capacities of thought, and feeling, and action. The world, and all that is in it, has been formed in a complete and beautiful adaptation to his being. Nature seems to be ever calling to him with a thousand voices, to be glad and rejoice; and yet he is unsatisfied, discontented, miserable! This is a most strange thing—strange, that is, on any theory respecting man's character and condition, but that which is supplied by the Bible; and it is not only a testimony to the ruin of his nature, but also to the insufficiency of everything earthly to meet his cravings. —Charles M. Merry, 1864.

Ver. 14. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. We pass now to this particular prayer, and those limbs that make up the body of it. They are many; as many as words in it: satisfy, and satisfy us, and do that early, and do that with that which is thine, and let that be mercy. So that first it is a prayer for fulness and satisfaction, —satisfy: and then it is a prayer not only of appropriation to ourselves, satisfy me, but of a charitable dilation and extension to others, satisfy us, all us, all thy servants, all thy church; and then thirdly it is a prayer of despatch and expedition, "Satisfy us early; "and after that, it is a prayer of evidence and manifestation, satisfy us with that which is, and which we may discern to be thine; and then lastly it is a prayer of limitation even upon God himself, that God will take no other way herein but the way of "mercy." "Satisfy us early with thy mercy."...There is a spiritual fulness in this life of which St. Hierome speaks, Ebrietas felix, satietas salutaris, A happy excess and a wholesome surfeit; quoe quanto copiosius sumitur, majorem donat sobrietatem, In which the more we eat, the more temperate we are, and the more we drink, the more sober. In which (as St. Bernard also expresses it in his mellifluence) Mutua interminabili inexplicabili generatione, desiderium generat satietatem, et satietas parit desiderium, By a mutual and reciprocal, by an undeterminable and inexpressible generation of one another, the desire of spiritual graces begets a satiety, and then this satiety begets a farther desire. This is a holy ambition, a sacred covetousness. Naphtali's blessing, "O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the Lord", De 33:23; St. Stephen's blessing, "Full of faith and of the Holy Ghost", Ac 6:5; the blessed Virgin's blessing, "Full of grace"; Dorcas' blessing, "Full of good works and of alms deeds", Ac 9:36; the blessing of him who is blessed above all, and who blesseth all, even Christ Jesus, "Full of wisdom, full of the Holy Ghost, full of grace and truth". Lu 2:40 4:1 Joh 1:14. ..."Satisfy us early with" that which is thine, "thy mercy; "for there are mercies (in a fair extent and accommodation of the word, that is refreshing, eases, deliverances), that are not his mercies, nor his satisfactions...It is not his mercy, except we go by good ways to good ends; except our safety be established by alliance with his friends, except our peace may be had with the perfect continuance of our religion, there is no safety, there is no peace. But let me feel the effect of this prayer, as it is a prayer of manifestation, let me discern that that which is done upon me is done by the hand of God, and I care not what it be, I had rather have God's vinegar, than man's oil, God's wormwood, than man's manna, God's justice, than any man's mercy; for therefore did Gregory Nyssen call St. Basil in a holy sense, Ambidextrum, because he took everything that came by the right handle, and with the right hand, because he saw it come from God. Even afflictions are welcome when we see them to be his: though the way that he would choose, and the way that this prayer entreats, be only mercy, "Satisfy us early with thy mercy." —John Donne.

Ver. 14. (first clause). See "Spurgeon's Sermons", No. 513: "The Young Man's Prayer."

Ver. 14.

1. The deepest yearning of man is for satisfaction.

2. Satisfaction can only be found in the realization of Divine Mercy.

—C.M. Merry, 1864.

Ver. 14. O satisfy us early with thy mercy, etc. Learn,

1. That our souls can have no solid satisfaction in earthly things.

2. That the mercy of God alone can satisfy our souls.

3. That nothing but satisfaction in God can fill our days with joy and gladness.

—John Cawood, 1842.

Ver. 14.

1. The most cheerful days of earth are made more cheerful by thoughts of Divine mercy.

2. The most sorrowful days of earth are made glad by the consciousness of Divine love.

—G.R.

Psalms 90:15*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. Early—Literally, In the morning; but the word here takes the unusual sense of early, soon, as in Psa_46:5; Psa_49:14; Psa_101:8

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Oh satisfy us early with thy mercy; literally, satisfy us in the morning with thy mercy; i.e. "after a night of trouble, give us a bright morning of peace and rest." That we may rejoice and be glad all our days; rather, and we will rejoice and be glad, etc.

The secret of satisfaction.

I MAN CRAVES FOR SATISFACTION. He may have many advantages and gifts, much wealth, friends, health, and much beside; and these may divert, interest, and absorb him; but they cannot really satisfy. His soul will hunger still.

II GOD"S MERCY ALONE CAN MEET THAT CRAVING. For:

1. It puts out of the way all that hinders our satisfaction. The sense of guilt; the tyranny of sin; the burden of care; the fear of death.

2. It brings along with it the true elements of the souls satisfaction. Sense of acceptance with God; uniform victory over sin; perfect peace; the will and power to bless others; communion with God; abiding hope.

III BUT IT MUST BE SOUGHT EARLY. "In the morning" is the literal rendering.

1. Each day should be begun with the seeking with all intensity this blessed mercy of God.

2. But especially should each life be so begun. The parents for their child at its birth; the child itself as soon as it is able to understand. What ills will be escaped, what good ensured, if this be done!

IV THE RESULT SHALL BE THE BLESSED LIFE heaven before you get there. 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.

Early - Speedily.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Satisfy us in the morning

"Satisfy us every morning"

with your covenant faithfulness

The abstract noun "faithfulness" can be stated as an adjective. AT: "by being faithful because of your covenant with us" (See: Abstract Nouns)

in proportion to the days you afflicted us and to the years we have experienced trouble

Both of these phrases mean the same thing. The writer is asking Yahweh to make them happy for the same amount of time he punished them. AT: "for the same amount of time that you afflicted us and caused us to suffer" (See: Parallelism)

Let your servants

Here "your servants" refer to the people of Israel. AT: "Let us, your servants" or "Let us" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

let our children

Here "children" means children and descendants.

see your majesty

The abstract noun "majesty" can be stated as "great things." AT: "see the great things you do" (See: Abstract Nouns)

translationWords

covenant faithfulness

joy

afflicted

trouble

works

children

majesty

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Satiate us in the morning On the day of the redemption and the salvation, which is the morning of the night of the trouble, the sighing, and the darkness.

and let us sing praises and rejoice with all our days i.e., with all the troubles that passed over us in these days of ours.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.