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Tear Bottle
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Posted by: JG
Psalm 56:8 You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book
Psalm 139.3 You scrutinize R4341 F1470 my path F1471 and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
PSA 139:3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted [with] all my ways. 139:4 For [there is] not a word in my tongue, [but], lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
PSA 39:12 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I [am] a stranger with thee, [and] a sojourner, as all my fathers [were]. 39:13 O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more
2KI 20:5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
MAL 3:16 ¶ Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard [it], and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
In the Bible lands and times people would save their righteous tears in a bottle to prove to God that they had wept many times for a Godly cause. Tears of anger and other "unrighteous" tears were not saved. Only tears cried for the glory of God were kept. Tear bottles were buried with a person when they died to show how many times they had cried for the glory of God. The woman in Luke 7 did not cry so much that she could wash Jesus' feet (although she was weeping). She brought her tear bottle and washed his feet with her tears to show her love. This was a great sacrifice as she would not have the tear bottle when she died.
For Those Tears I Died
You said you'd come and share all my sorrows
You said you'd be there for all my tomorrows
I came so close to sending you away
And just like you promised, you came there to stay
I just had to pray.
Chorus
And Jesus said, Come to the water, stand by my side,
I know you are thirsty, you won't be denied.
I felt every teardrop when in darkness you cried,
And I strove to remind you that for those tears I died.
Repeat Chorus
Your goodness so great I can't understand,
And, dear Lord, I know that this was all planned.
Saviour, you're here now, and always will be.
Your love is so great and always so free, Jesus and me.
Repeat Chorus
Jesus, I give you my heart and my soul.
I know, without God I'd never be whole,
Saviour, you opened up all the right doors,
And I thank you and praise you from earth's humble shores.
Take me, I'm yours.
Repeat Chorus
--Words & Music by: (c) Marsha Stevens
PSALM FIFTY SIX
GOD'S LACHRYMARIES.
A lachrymary was something which was peculiar to David's day and age. So
let us look at the verse of this psalm which gives us this title. "Thou
tellest my wanderings, put Thou my tears in Thy bottle; are they not in thy
Book?" The Greeks and Romans had a peculiar habit. They had little bottles
which they could seal up. When someone they loved much died, and they were
crying a lot, they would let their tears fall into these little bottles.
These tear bottles were called "Lachrymaries." These bottles, full of tears,
were sealed up and buried with the dead.
It does seem strange for David to ask God to put his tears in God's
bottle. But, he was in a situation where he thought he was as good as dead,
and he cries, "You can see my tears Lord, put them in your bottle, no-one
else is going to remember me when I am gone. You have already put them in
your Book." There lies the secret - God has no lachrymaries, He has a RECORD.
God had not forgotten David, He was in The Book. But this thought intensifies
the meaning of this psalm. Just as human beings copiously weep for those who
have departed, David says in effect, I am not going to weep for the departing
of good things; I want my tears to go into God's bottle, because my
remembrance is in His Book.
If we died and nobody remembered us, God would still have our record and
remember us. God is still in charge, and He remembers us while we are still
alive. I shudder to think of who will weep when I die. The reason for this
is, that I have been in so many funerals where I have seen people weeping
copiously, who did not seem to care two hoots for the departed when they were
alive. In David's time there were professional mourners who went along to
funerals - their qualifications were - they were good criers. David is here
singing about his own tears in God's bottle.
The occasion behind this psalm is recorded in 1 Samuel 21:10-15. David
fled to Gath, where Achish was king, for fear of Saul who was threatening his
death. But Achish's servant recalled the song that had been sung about David.
A song which said that Saul had slain his thousands, but David his tens of
thousands. That servant put into the mind of Achish, "Isn't he king of the
land?" and David, in fear of his life, had to pretend he was mad. That was
how he got away from Achish. If they of Gath had thought he was sane, they
would have slain him, because he had slain their giant, and he was the future
king. They knew there was a king on the throne, but they recognised that
David was "The king of the land."
Then David cries to the Lord that He will remember him. He says, "Lord you
tell my wanderings. When is it going to stop? I am wandering around
everywhere, being chased by Saul continually." After this occasion he went to
the cave of Adullam. There, God gave him a peculiar army - all the misfits in
the land. God turned that rabble into an army. They were the people who in
the end stood firm by David. David must have cried copiously. Some people say
that if you weep, you are not trusting God. How wrong they are. There are
times when crying clears your vision. Crying waters your eyes, clears your
vision, and it takes all the 'self-reliance' out of you, fixing your heart
upon the One who controls all things. In God we Trust. He is our safety. He
is our deliverance.
The title of the Psalm has a enigmatic quality.
"Upon Jonath-Elem-Rechokim." "The dove of silence in far off places."
Calvin puts it:- "The silent Dove in Distant Places."
Was DAVID THE SILENT DOVE AT GATH ?.
Note the Daily Fighting in verse one. "He fighting daily oppresseth me."
It seems that all the world was against David. "Mine enemies would daily
swallow me up." He was on the move, on the go, on the run, day after day,
there was no let up in his situation. Even today there is no let up in the
business of serving God. No-one can take a holiday from being a Christian - a
child of God. David knew that God's mark was upon him. "Every day they wrest
my words," he says in verse five. "All their thoughts are against me. They
twist my words." So, to escape the pressure, he pretended he was mad. The
daily conflict is still on. The god of this world is determined to destroy
God's people, but we are kept by the power of God.
This is the time to trust the Lord. Notice what he sings in verse three -
"What time I am afraid - I will trust in Thee."
There are times when it seems that everything you have planned, and
everything God has promised has gone out of the window. All collapses around
you. David knew he was the anointed king, and here he was - one wrong word
and Achish would have slain him. Today there is no need to pretend we are mad
as God's children, the world will tell you that you are mad. But, In God we
trust. David says, "In God I will praise His word." I will boast in His Word.
I will boast in the promise of God. God has made me the king of the land. "I
have put my trust in Him." That is the preterite tense = have put my trust in
Him and keep on putting my trust in Him. It is the habit of a lifetime. It is
very good to make a habit of trusting God. When things go utterly wrong say,
"I still trust God!" When the promise seems to be impossible of fulfilment -
I trust God. God has a wonderful way of turning everything topsy turvey in a
couple of days and you find yourself right in the fulfilment of His Pr!
omises. David did sit on the throne - in God's time. In verses ten and
eleven there is reference to how he walked in the light of the promises of
God's Word. "In God will I praise HIS WORD" "In God have I put my trust: I
will not be afraid of what man can do unto me." God is going to keep His
word. No matter what is happening now, I shall see the fulfilment of what He
has promised.
Again and again I have said to myself that God has never broken any
promise He has made to any person living on earth. Therefore He is not going
to start with me. He will keep His promise to me.
"Thou tellest my wanderings". What a phrase that is. David is telling God
that he knows He has taken account of his wanderings. HE had taken account of
what David had been through. There are times when we all feel the necessity
of telling somebody who would listen. But so often when you are in the middle
of pouring out your heart, you can see the eyes of the person listening
glazing over, and you know you've lost their interest. God never loses
interest. When we talk to Him, He has sympathy with us. David was constantly
fleeing from Saul, and he knew that God knew, and it kept him going. It is
wonderful to come to the place in all your predicaments, that you know that
God knows. THIS is your anchor - I know that God knows.
Then David says, "Put my tears in your bottle." Remember my tears. You
know how grievous this is for me, I might as well be dead Lord! Its almost
like saying, "Don't cry for me when I'm gone - cry for me now!" What a pity
we cannot show more sympathy now, than keeping it for the day of burial. This
is the time to show others love and sympathy - while they are still alive. At
the funeral, everybody turns up, people the deceased has never seen for
years. AS far as God is concerned, He will never bury me.
David emphasises the point that God keeps a record. "Are they not in Thy
Book." This is important. There are three things which the people of God
should ever keep in mind. 1/ The Angels 2/ The Watchers 3/ The Book. The
Angels are those who are sent to minister unto the heirs of salvation. Even
if you are only one in a situation, you are not alone. There is an angel
allotted to you to minister to you. In the Book of Daniel it is revealed that
there are Watchers. They are angelic beings with a particular ministry. Not
just to minister to the heirs of salvation, but to watch, to see that the
Will of God is carried out. They determine that the Will of God is carried
out in every situation. Here was David, on the verge of extinction, when God
had determined that he should be put on the throne. The Watchers were there
to see that God's Will was carried out.
Then David remembered something - God has a Book. In our diaries, we write
things after they have happened, or things we hope will happen. BUT God has a
Book in which He writes the things which are GOING TO HAPPEN. God's diary is
written in advance - we call this prophecy. The story of my life is written
in God's Book. I can trust Him to bring it to pass. So when David told the
Lord that his wanderings were written in His Book, he did not mean to say
that God had made a diary of what had passed, but he did mean that God knew
when those wanderings would end, and he, David, would sit on the throne. Our
God knows the end from the beginning. In Him I trust.
Perhaps one of the most strangest requests recorded in the Bible, at least to our western minds, is for God to put our tears in His bottle. In the King James version, Psalm 56:8 reads: Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? Think about it--our tears in God's bottle. What does this mean? I'm sure that all of God's children, from the beginning of time when sin first entered into the world till the present time, have cried oceans and rivers of tears of grief and sorrow as well as tears of happiness and joy. Is Heaven, then, full of bottled tears?
It is a known fact that in Bible lands and other middle eastern countries there was a tradition that when someone died, tears of those present were collected and placed in a bottle. This bottle was considered sacred for it represented all the sorrow of the family and was buried with the deceased. Many of these bottles have been found in ancient tombs. In ancient Rome, mourners filled small glass vials or cups with tears and placed them in burial tombs as symbols of love and respect. Sometimes people were even paid to cry into cups, as they walked along the mourning procession. Those crying the loudest and producing the most tears received the most compensation. The more anguish and tears produced, the more important and valued the deceased person was perceived to be. In some war stories, women were said to have cried into tear bottles and saved them until their husbands returned. Their collected tears would show the men how much they were loved and missed.
So, the psalmist David was not a stranger to the 'Tears in a Bottle' phraseology. I think, that for the most part it is for our benefit that he uses such a strange expression--yet at the same time beautiful, endearing, and even poetic--to let us know that God cares and takes notice of us not only when we cry tears of sorrow, pain, anguish, repentance, confession, and joy but in everything we do and say. God notices all our wanderings in this short earthly pilgrimage of ours. He loves us so much and is ever touched by our burdens, our anguish of heart, and feelings of infirmities.
The New International Bible renders Psalm 56:8 more in keeping with modern-day thought and expression. Here's what it says: Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll--are they not in your record? This document describes the things that are written in the Book of Remembrance, God's exhaustive database, so that we can prepare now to have a part in it.
"A book of remembrance" is written before God, in which are recorded the good deeds of "them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name." Mal. 3:16. Their words of faith, their acts of love, are registered in Heaven. Nehemiah refers to this when he says, "Remember me, O my God, . . . and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God." Neh. 13:14. In the book of God's remembrance every deed of righteousness is immortalized. There every temptation resisted, every evil overcome, every word of tender pity expressed, is faithfully chronicled. And every act of sacrifice, every suffering and sorrow endured for Christ's sake, is recorded. --The Great Controversy, Page 481.
The relation between God and each soul is distinct. His care to you is as minute as though there were no other soul to claim his attention. The psalmist says, "Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. There is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me," "Thou tellest my wanderings; put Thou my tears in thy bottle; are they not in thy book?" In the words of the psalmist is expressed the intimacy and tenderness with which God cares for his creatures. "For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." --The Bible Echo, February 1, 1893.
There is an individual work for each one to do. The relation between God and each person is unique and special. The text in Psalm 56:8 is a representation of the unsearchable greatness of God. We can not help but be impressed with his intimate knowledge of all our ways and with the great tenderness expressed for us--the objects of his creation.
Oh, how different are the standards by which God and men measure character. God sees many temptations resisted of which the world and even near friends never know--temptations in the home, in the heart. He sees the soul's humility in view of its own weakness; the sincere repentance over even a thought that is evil. He sees the wholehearted devotion to His service. He has noted the hours of hard battle with self--battle that won the victory. All this God and angels know. A book of remembrance is written before Him for them that fear the Lord and that think upon His name. --Christ's Object Lessons, Pages 403-404.
In every religious movement there are some who, while they cannot deny that the cause is God's, still hold themselves aloof, refusing to make any effort to help. It were well for such ones to remember the record kept on high, --that book in which there are no omissions, no mistakes, and out of which they will be judged. There every neglected opportunity to do service for God is recorded; and there, too, every deed of faith and love is held in everlasting remembrance. --Prophets and Kings, page 639.
God reads the covetous thought in every heart that purposes to withhold from Him. Those who are selfishly neglectful in paying their tithes, and bringing their gifts and offerings to the treasury, God sees. The Lord Jehovah understands it all. As a book of remembrance is written before Him of them that fear the Lord, and that think upon His name, so there is a record kept of all who are appropriating to themselves the gifts which God entrusted to them to use for the salvation of souls.--Counsel on Stewardship, Page 88, 87.
A book of remembrance is written of those who do not forsake the assembling of themselves together, but speak often one to another. The remnant are to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Some expect to overcome alone by the blood of the Lamb, without making any special effort of their own. I saw that God has been merciful in giving us the power of speech. He has given us a tongue, and we are accountable to Him for its use. We should glorify God with our mouth, speaking in honor of the truth and of His unbounded mercy, and overcome by the word of our testimony through the blood of the Lamb.
As the books of record are opened in the judgment, the lives of all who have believed on Jesus come in review before God. Beginning with those who first lived upon the earth, our Advocate presents the cases of each successive generation, and closes with the living. Every name is mentioned, every case closely investigated. Names are accepted, names rejected. When any have sins remaining upon the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven, their names will be blotted out of the book of life, and the record of their good deeds will be erased from the book of God's remembrance. . .--The Faith I Live By, Page 212.
God declares that even a mother may forget her child, "yet will I not forget thee. . . I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands. . ." God thinks of His children with the tenderest solicitude and keeps a book of remembrance before Him, that He may never forget the children of His care.
Every human tie may perish,
Friend to friend unfaithful prove,
Mothers cease their own to cherish,
Heaven and earth at last remove;
But no changes
Can attend Jehovah's love.
--The Faith I Live By, Page 280
The Majesty of heaven identifies His interests with those of the believers, however humble may be their circumstances. And whenever they are privileged to meet together, it is appropriate that they speak often one to another, giving utterance to the gratitude and love that is a result of thinking upon the name of the Lord. Thus shall God be glorified as He hearkens and hears, and the testimony meeting will be considered the most precious of all meetings; for the words spoken are recorded in the book of remembrance. . . --God's Amazing Grace, Page 184.
If Christians would associate together, speaking to each other of the love of God, and of the precious truths of redemption, their own hearts would be refreshed, and they would refresh one another. We may be daily learning more of our heavenly Father, gaining a fresh experience of His grace; then we shall desire to speak of His love; and as we do this, our own hearts will be warmed and encouraged. If we thought and talked more of Jesus and less of self, we should have far more of His presence. --In Heavenly Places, Page 92.
The words to which God and the angels listen with delight are words of appreciation for the great gift that has been made to the world in the only-begotten Son of God. Every word of praise for the blessing of the light of truth . . . is written in the heavenly records. Every word that acknowledges the merciful kindness of our heavenly Father in giving Jesus to take away our sins, and to impute to us His righteousness, is recorded in the book of His remembrance. Testimonies of this kind "shew forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9. --Our High Calling, Page 168.
"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord, of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." Isaiah not only beheld the glory of Christ, but he also spake of Him. While David mused, the fire burned; then spake he with his tongue. While he mused upon the wondrous love of God, he could not but speak of that which he saw and felt. Who can by faith behold the wonderful plan of redemption, the glory of the only begotten Son of God, and not speak of it? Who can contemplate that unfathomable love expressed in dying upon the cross of Calvary, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, and have no words to utter to extol the Saviour's glory? Who can become partakers of His love, and not admire and reverence and adore? --The Present Truth, January 12, 1893.
"They that feared the Lord," writes the prophet Malachi, "spake often one to another; and the Lord harkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name." Were the words spoken, words of complaint, of faultfinding, of self-sympathy?--No; in contrast to those who speak against God, those who fear him speak words of courage, of thankfulness, and of praise. They do not cover the altar of God with tears and lamentations; they come with faces lighted up with the beams of the Sun of Righteousness, and praise God for his goodness.
Such words make all heaven rejoice. Those who utter them may be poor in worldly possessions, but by faithfully giving to God the portion he claims, they acknowledge their indebtedness to him. Self-serving does not make up the chapters of their life-history. In love and gratitude, with songs of joy upon their lips, they bring their offerings to God, saying as did David, Of thine own we freely give thee. . . Let there be silence while you think whether you are among the number that fear the Lord, and that think upon his name. --The Review and Herald, January 5, 1897.
The Saviour devoted more time and labor to healing the afflicted of their maladies than to preaching. His last injunction to his apostles, his representatives on the earth, was that they lay hands on the sick that they might recover. When the Master shall come again, he will commend those who have visited the sick and relieved the necessities of the afflicted. "I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat," he will say to those at his right hand. "I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. . . . Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
Not only will God's people be involved in acts of mercy and their good deeds immortalized in Heaven, but they will be misrepresented in character and persecuted for righteousness' sake here below. Matthew 5:10-12 read: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
The persecution that God's people will face at the end of time would be the worse ever to be experienced in the history of mankind. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. The oceans of tears of sorrow and anguish of God's people from the beginning of time to the end of time are 'stored' in God's bottle and recorded in His Book for an everlasting remembrance.
Posted by: ANOINTED WARRIOR
amen JG this is so cool how God stores are tears in bottles in heaven everytime we cry becasue thats how precious we are to him, God Bless
I love this teaching
Posted by: StarChilde
thank you for this teaching~ I would add some out of some commentaries on it, , if you do not mind~ I use many different commentaries and reference books to help me study the Scriptures
from Albert Barne's notes on the Bible:
Psa 56:8 -
Thou tellest my wanderings - Thou dost “number” or “recount” them; that is, in thy own mind. Thou dost keep an account of them; thou dost notice me as I am driven from one place to another to find safety. “My wanderings,” to Gath, 1Sa_21:10; to the cave of Adullam, 1Sa_22:1; to Mizpeh, in Moab, 1Sa_22:3; to the forest of Hareth, 1Sa_22:5; to Keilah, 1Sa_23:5; to the wilderness of Ziph, 1Sa_23:14; to the wilderness of Maon, 1Sa_23:25; to En-gedi, 1Sa_24:1-2.
Put thou my tears into thy bottle - The tears which I shed in my wanderings. Let them not fall to the ground and be forgotten. Let them be remembered by thee as if they were gathered up and placed in a bottle - “a lachrymatory” - that they may be brought to remembrance hereafter. The word here rendered “bottle” means properly a bottle made of skin, such as was used in the East; but it may be employed to denote a bottle of any kind. It is possible, and, indeed, it seems probable, that there is an allusion here to the custom of collecting tears shed in a time of calamity and sorrow, and preserving them in a small bottle or “lachrymatory,” as a memorial of the grief. The Romans had a custom, that in a time of mourning - on a funeral occasion - a friend went to one in sorrow, and wiped away the tears from the eyes with a piece of cloth, and squeezed the tears into a small bottle of glass or earth, which was carefully preserved as a memorial of friendship and sorrow.
Many of these lachrymatories have been found in the ancient Roman tombs. I myself saw a large quantity of them in the “Columbaria” at Rome, and in the Capitol, among the relics and curiosities of the place. The above engraving will illustrate the form of these lachrymatories. The annexed remarks of Dr. Thomson (“land and the Book,” vol. i. p. 147), will show that the same custom prevailed in the East, and will describe the forms of the “tear-bottles” that were used there. “These lachrymatories are still found in great numbers on opening ancient tombs. A sepulchre lately discovered in one of the gardens of our city had scores of them in it. They are made of thin glass, or more generally of simple pottery, often not even baked or glazed, with a slender body, a broad bottom, and a funnel-shaped top. They have nothing in them but “dust” at present. If the friends were expected to contribute their share of tears for these bottles, they would very much need cunning women to cause their eyelids to gush out with water. These forms of ostentatious sorrow have ever been offensive to sensible people. Thus Tacitus says, ‘At my funeral let no tokens of sorrow be seen, no pompous mockery of woe. Crown me with chaplets, strew flowers on my grave, and let my friends erect no vain memorial to tell where my remains are lodged. ‘“
Are they not in thy book? - In thy book of remembrance; are they not numbered and recorded so that they will not be forgotten? This expresses strong confidence that his tears “would” be remembered; that they would not be forgotten. All the tears that we shed “are” remembered by God. If “properly” shed - shed in sorrow, without murmuring or complaining, they will be remembered for our good; if “improperly shed” - if with the spirit of complaining, and with a want of submission to the divine will, they will be remembered against us. But it is not wrong to weep. David wept; the Saviour wept; nature prompts us to weep; and it cannot be wrong to weep if “our” eye “poureth out” its tears “unto God” Job_16:20; that is, if in our sorrow we look to God with submission and with earnest supplication.
and from John Gill's Exposition of the entire Bible:
Psa 56:8 - Thou tellest my wanderings,.... Not his sins; though these are aberrations or wanderings from the ways of God's commandments; yet these are not told by the Lord: he takes no account of them; the number of them is not kept by him; they are blotted out, cast behind his back, and into the depths of the sea; though sometimes his people think they are told and numbered by him, Job_14:16; but David's moves and flights from place to place are meant, through Saul's pursuit of him, as a partridge on the mountains. Some writers reckon twelve of these moves. The Targum renders it,
"thou numberest the days of my wandering;''
that is, the days of his pilgrimage and sojourning in this world: the number of our days, and months and years, in which we wander about in this uncertain state of things, is with the Lord, Job_14:5;
put thou my tears into thy bottle; the allusion is to "lachrymatories", or tear bottles, in which surviving relatives dropped their tears for their deceased friends, and buried them with their ashes, or in their urns; some of which tear bottles are still to be seen in the cabinets of the curious. A description of which is given by Gejerus (c), from Olaus Wormius; and who also from Cotovicus relates, that the grave of M. Tullius Cicero was dug up in the island of Zacynthus, A. D. 1544, in which were found two glass urns; the larger had ashes in it, the lesser water: the one was supposed to contain his ashes, the other the tears of his friends: and as this was a custom with the Romans, something like this might obtain among the Jews; and it is a saying with them (d),
"whoever sheds tears for a good man (deceased) the holy blessed God numbers them, and puts them into his treasures, according to Psa_56:8;''
which shows, that they thought that reference is here had to funeral tears. The meaning of the text is, that God would take notice of David's afflictions and troubles, which had caused so many tears, and remember them, and deliver him out of them: these being desired to be put into a bottle was, that they might be kept and reserved; not to make atonement for sin; for as a thousand rivers of oil cannot expiate one sin, could they be come at; so neither as many rivers of brinish tears, could they possibly be shed: nor to obtain heaven and happiness; for there is no comparison nor proportion between the sufferings of the saints and the glory that shall be revealed in them; though there is a connection of grace through the promise of God between them: but rather, that they might be brought forth another day and shown, to the aggravation of the condemnation of wicked men, who by their hard speeches, and ungodly actions, have caused them;
are they not in thy book? verily they are; that is, the tears and afflictions of his people. They are in his book of purposes; they are all appointed by him, their kind and nature, their measure and duration, their quality and quantity; what they shall be, and how long they shall last; and their end and use: and they are in his book of providence, and are all overruled and caused to work for their good; and they are in the book of his remembrance; they are taken notice of and numbered by him, and shall be finished; they shall not exceed their bounds. These tears will be turned into joy, and God will wipe them all away from the eyes of his people.
(c) De Ebr. Luctu, c. 12. s. 5. (d) T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 105. 2.
Posted by: Margo Gordon
Jerry, again God Bless You ! Such a great teaching. Never heard it before. Thanks again.
