and groweth in hope saying. 4 Our fathers trusted in thee, they trusted, and thou ••••dd••st ae∣luer them. 5. They called vpon thee, and were deliuered, they trusted in thee, and were not confound∣ded. As if he should haue said: Lord thou art w••nt to deale otherwise in time of olde with our forefathers, that feared thy name: wherefore seeing thou art now the same God, I will not be out of hope, because I trust thou wilt deale mercifully also with me.
We haue often shewed, how iudgement in this Psalme is taken either for the accom∣plishment of Gods promises vnto his children, or the executing of his wrath on his ene∣mies; so that there is a iudgement of mercy, and there is a iudgement of seueritie; the first whereof is vnderstood in this place, as we may gather by the wordes going before, Heare my voyce, O Lord, according to thy louing kindnes: of which couenant of mercy hee also ma∣keth mention in the next portion vers. 7. Consider, O Lord, how I loue thy precepts, quicken me according to thy louing kindnes. This is that couenant of grace wherein the Lord hath pro∣mised to pardon our sinnes, and to heare our prayers; wherefore though in respect of Gods wrath and our sinnes, we dare not appeare before his Maiestie, yet in comparing our cause, which is the Lords cause, with the cause of our aduersaries, who are also the aduersaries of God, and in respect of his mercy in defending his owne cause, and in preseruing them that maintaine a good cause, we may come with boldnes vnto him, and with an assured hope that our prayers shall be heard. Thus wee may call to minde how God is accustomed to deale with his people, fearing before him in respect of our selues, but recouering our selues through hope in his sweete promises, whereon wee must ••o stay our selues, as the remem∣brance of them may support vs: and to doe this the better, we must obserue the accom∣plishment of them both in our selues, and in others. Thus we may see what a great stay it is in trouble, to know that no other trouble ouertaketh vs, none other temptation hath inua∣ded vs, than such as haue ouertaken and inuaded other of Gods children, & wherein they haue found deliuerance.
Further, wee may herein desire the Lord to affoord sentence with vs, when our cause is good though we be not so vpright in defending it, as wee ought to be, or when our good cause is well handled; and that not for our selues, but in respect of our aduersaries ill cause, he would deliuer vs. Wherefore when we will obtaine our requests, we must endeuour as much as in vs lieth, to offer a good cause vnto the Lord, and well handled.