The neck is, in Solomon’s writings, the organ and symbol of obedience. To bind God’s law about the neck is not only to do it, but to rejoice in doing it; to put it on and exult in it as the fairest ornament.—Wordsworth.
I. The matter to be recorded—mercy and truth. These two, meeting and kissing in the Mediator, constitute the revealed character of God Himself; and He desires to see, as it were, a miniature of His own likeness impressed upon His children. II. The tablet for receiving it—the human heart. The reference is obviously to the tables of stone. The tables were intended to be not a book only, but a type. An impress should be taken on our own hearts, that we may always have the will of God hidden within us.—Arnot.
Let these graces be, as with God, in combination. The want of one buries the commendation of the other. “Such a one is merciful to the poor, but there is no truth in him.” “Such a one is very just in his dealings, but he is as hard as a flint.” Nor must these virtues be in occasional and temporary exercise. “Let them not forsake thee.”—Bridges.
Intimating—I. Their forsaking us is more than our forsaking them. Our forsaking them may come of our weakness, but their forsaking us comes of our wilfulness and hardness of heart in not entertaining them. II. It sets out the easiness of the loss of them through our corruption. III. It sets forth our great need of them. IV. It intimates our great care and pains needful for the retaining of them. They are easily lost, but hardly kept. A hawk must be well tamed before he is let fly, else he will return no more. These graces must be as carefully kept as providently gotten, like riches. And they must both be kept together, else mercy may lie to do good, and truth may reveal without cause what may do hurt. Therefore join both as God does (Ps. lxxxv. 10).—Francis Taylor.
Mercy and truth are dear sisters, blessed companions in God, sweet companions in man. Mercy loveth truth, truth loveth mercy, God loveth both; and if man love himself, he will do so likewise.—Jermin.
These words correspond to the two tables of the law. Benevolence is at the bottom of the command, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour,” and what is right is that great glory which we are to love in God.—Miller.
Verse 4. In other words, “Thou shalt be favoured and truly prospered, God and man both bearing witness to thy well-directed efforts.”—Stuart.
He that shows mercy to men shall find mercy with God . . . and men love to be dealt truly and mercifully with themselves, even though they deal not so with others; especially they that get good by our merciful and just dealing will favour us.—Francis Taylor.
This favour of God and man, i.e., not of all indiscriminately, but first and pre-eminently of the wise and devout, such as agree with God’s judgment, is evidently in the view of the poet the highest and most precious of the multiform blessings of wisdom which he enumerates. What, however, is this favour of God and man but the being a true child of God, the belonging to the fellowship of God and His people, the co-citizenship in the kingdom of truth and blessedness? We stand here manifestly at the point at which the Old Testament doctrine of retributions predominantly earthly begin to be transformed into the supersensual or spiritual realistic doctrine of the New Testament (Matt. v. 10–12; xix. 28–30).—Lange’s Commentary.
The promise is all one with that of the Apostle Paul, when, speaking of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, he saith, “that he which in these things serveth Christ, pleaseth God and is acceptable to men” (Rom. xiv. 18).