Psalms 36:9

For with thee [is] the fountain of life,.... Or "lives" (f): God himself is the fountain of living waters; this is a reason proving the happiness of those that trust in the Lord, and that they shall

For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. For with thee is the fountain of life.

With thee, i.e. in thy power to give it, and in thy presence to be enjoyed. The fountain; which notes, 1. Causality. It is in God as in a fountain, and from him is derived to us. 2. Abundance. 3. Excellency. Water is sweetest in the fountain; and fountains were rare and highly prized in those hot countries. Of life; of that glorious, and blessed, and endless life, which alone is worthy of the name of life; this life being only a passage to death, and a theatre of great and manifold calamities. Although it be true, that God is the fountain both of natural and spiritual life. In thy light; in the light of thy countenance or glorious presence, which then shall be fully manifested unto us, when we shall see thee clearly, and face to face, and not through a glass, and darkly, as we now see, : compare . See, i.e. enjoy, as seeing frequently signifies; of which see on . Light; the light of life, as it is called, . Light in this branch being the same thing with life in the former, i.e. joy, and comfort, and happiness, which is oft signified by light, as the contrary is by darkness. See . There we shall have pure light without any mixture of darkness. The word light is elegantly repeated in another signification; in the former clause it is light discovering, in this, light discovered or enjoyed.

Psalms 36:9 For with thee [is] the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.Ver. 9. For with thee is the fountain of life] Vena vitae, verae vitae scaturigo, A fountain communicateth its water, and yet is not exhausted. Fontium perennitas, is one of the wonders in nature: what shall we say of this Divine fountain of life, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, overflowing and ever flowing? In thy light shall we see light] viz. Of knowledge and comfort. What is the air without light? or anything else without God? Absque Deo omnis copia est egestas, saith Bernard. In the former comparison, with thee is the fountain (or vein) of lives, the prophet alludeth either to waters, as is aforesaid, or to metals; to show that as the veins of gold, silver, and the like, do lie in bank in the bosom and bowels of the earth; so doth life in God. Or, to the veins of the body, which, as so many rivers or rivulets, derive their blood from that red sea, the liver. Certain it is, that man hath neither life nor light in himself till it be communicated unto him from God.

(9) In thy light.—Better, by thy light. This wonderful verse inspired Milton’s sublime invocation: “The author of all being, Fountain of light, thyself invisible Amidst the glorious brightness where thou sitt’st.” It contains the germ of that moral and spiritual teaching which had its highest development in the Epistles of St. John. But the original intention of the words seems to be that the favour and bounty of God commend themselves as divine in origin, especially to those in the covenant relation.

Verse 9. For with thee is the fountain of life] This, in Scripture phrase, may signify a spring of water; for such was called among the Jews living water, to distinguish it from ponds, tanks, and reservoirs, that were supplied by water either received from the clouds, or conducted into them by pipes and streams from other quarters. But there seems to be a higher allusion in the sacred text. כי עמך מקור חיים ki immecha mekor chaiyim, "For with thee is the vein of lives." Does not this allude to the great aorta, which, receiving the blood from the heart, distributes it by the arteries to every part of the human body, whence it is conducted back to the heart by means of the veins. As the heart, by means of the great aorta, distributes the blood to the remotest parts of the body; so, GOD, by Christ Jesus, conveys the life-giving streams of his providential goodness to all the worlds and beings he has created, and the influences of his grace and mercy to every soul that has sinned. All spiritual and temporal good comes from Him, the FATHER, through Him, the SON, to every part of the creation of God. In thy light shall we see light.] No man can illuminate his own soul; all understanding must come from above. Here the metaphor is changed, and God is compared to the sun in the firmament of heaven, that gives light to all the planets and their inhabitants. "God said, Let there be light; and there was light; "by that light the eye of man was enabled to behold the various works of God, and the beauties of creation: so, when God speaks light into the dark heart of man, he not only beholds his own deformity and need of the salvation of God, but he beholds the "light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ;" "God, in Christ, reconciling the world to himself." "In thy light shall we see light." This is literally true, both in a spiritual and philosophical sense.

9. The expectation of Psa 36:8 is no idle dream, for God is the source of life and light. From Him springs all that constitutes life (Psalms 34:12), physical and spiritual (cp. Jeremiah 2:13; Jeremiah 17:13): from Him proceeds all that makes up true happiness (cp. Psalms 4:6). Golden sayings like this anticipate the revelation of the Gospel. It is only in the light of the Incarnation that their depth of meaning begins to be understood. Cp. John 1:4; John 1:9.

For with thee is the fountain of life - The fountain or source from which all life flows.

9. With thee is the fountain of life—Here is the fundamental truth of all divine revelation. See Jeremiah 2:13; John 17:13. From this “fountain” flow all streams of the water “of life” to irrigate and beautify the Eden of God.