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Psalm Nine
Psalm 9
Chapter Contents
David praises God for protecting his people. (1-10) And
for cause to praise him. (11-20)
Commentary on Psalm 9:1-10
(Read Psalm 9:1-10)
If we would praise God acceptably
we must praise him in
sincerity
with our whole heart. When we give thanks for some one particular
mercy
we should remember former mercies. Our joy must not be in the gift
so
much as in the Giver. The triumphs of the Redeemer ought to be the triumphs of
the redeemed. The almighty power of God is that which the strongest and
stoutest of his enemies are no way able to stand before. We are sure that the
judgment of God is according to truth
and that with him there is no
unrighteousness. His people may
by faith
flee to him as their Refuge
and may
depend on his power and promise for their safety
so that no real hurt shall be
done to them. Those who know him to be a God of truth and faithfulness
will
rejoice in his word of promise
and rest upon that. Those who know him to be an
everlasting Father
will trust him with their souls as their main care
and
trust in him at all times
even to the end; and by constant care seek to
approve themselves to him in the whole course of their lives. Who is there that
would not seek him
who never hath forsaken those that seek Him?
Commentary on Psalm 9:11-20
(Read Psalm 9:11-20)
Those who believe that God is greatly to be praised
not
only desire to praise him better themselves
but desire that others may join
with them. There is a day coming
when it will appear that he has not forgotten
the cry of the humble; neither the cry of their blood
or the cry of their
prayers. We are never brought so low
so near to death
but God can raise us
up. If he has saved us from spiritual and eternal death
we may thence hope
that in all our distresses he will be a very present help to us. The overruling
providence of God frequently so orders it
that persecutors and oppressors are
brought to ruin by the projects they formed to destroy the people of God. Drunkards
kill themselves; prodigals beggar themselves; the contentious bring mischief
upon themselves: thus men's sins may be read in their punishment
and it
becomes plain to all
that the destruction of sinners is of themselves. All
wickedness came originally with the wicked one from hell; and those who
continue in sin
must go to that place of torment. The true state
both of
nations and of individuals
may be correctly estimated by this one rule
whether in their doings they remember or forget God. David encourages the
people of God to wait for his salvation
though it should be long deferred. God
will make it appear that he never did forget them: it is not possible he
should. Strange that man
dust in his and about him
should yet need some sharp
affliction
some severe visitation from God
to bring him to the knowledge of
himself
and make him feel who and what he is.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 9
Verse 3
[3] When
mine enemies are turned back
they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
Turned back —
Put to flight.
Verse 7
[7] But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for
judgment.
But —
Though cities and people may perish
yet the Lord abides for ever. Which is
sufficient for the terror of his enemies
and the comfort of his church.
Verse 10
[10] And
they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou
LORD
hast not
forsaken them that seek thee.
Thy name —
Thy infinite power and wisdom
and faithfulness and goodness. The name of God
is frequently put for God.
Put their trust —
The experience of thy faithfulness to thy people in all ages
is a just ground
for their confidence.
Verse 11
[11] Sing
praises to the LORD
which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his
doings.
Zion —
Whose special and gracious presence is there.
People — To
the heathen nations.
Verse 12
[12] When he maketh inquisition for blood
he remembereth them: he forgetteth
not the cry of the humble.
Blood —
The bloodshed of his innocent and holy ones: which though he may not seem to
regard for a season
yet he will certainly call the authors of it to a severe
account.
Them —
The humble
as it follows
or the oppressed
verse 9
that trust in him
and seek to him
verse 10
whom he seemed to have forgotten.
Verse 14
[14] That
I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will
rejoice in thy salvation.
Gates — In
the great assemblies. These gates he elegantly opposes to the former.
Of — Of the people who
live or meet together in Zion. For cities are as it were mothers to their
people
and the people are commonly called their daughters. So the names of the
daughters of Egypt
Jeremiah 46:11
and of Edom
Lamentations 4:21
22
and of Tyre
Psalms 45:12
are put for the people of those
places.
Verse 16
[16] The
LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the
work of his own hands. Higgaion. /*Selah*/.
Higgaion —
This is either a musical term
or a note of attention
intimating that the
matter deserves deep meditation
or consideration
as the word signifies.
Verse 17
[17] The
wicked shall be turned into hell
and all the nations that forget God.
Forget —
That do not regard God
nor his precepts
nor his threatenings and judgments.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Psalm 9
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village Preacher
TITLE. To the
Chief Musician upon Muth-labben
a Psalm of David. The meaning of this title
is very doubtful. It may refer to the tune to which the Psalm was to be sung
so Wilcocks and others think; or it may refer to a musical instrument now
unknown
but common in those days; or it may have a reference to Ben
who is
mentioned in 1 Chronicles 15:18
as one of the Levitical singers. If either of
these conjectures should be correct
the title of Muth-Labben has no teaching
for us
except it is meant to show us how careful David was that in the worship
of God
all things should be done according to due order. From a considerable
company of learned witnesses we gather that the title will bear a meaning far
more instructive
without being fancifully forced: it signifies a Psalm
concerning the death of the Son. The Chaldee has
"concerning the death of
the Champion who went out between the camps
" referring to Goliath of
Gath
or some other Philistine
on account of whose death many suppose this
Psalm to have been written in after years by David. Believing that out of a
thousand guesses this is at least as consistent with the sense of the Psalm as
any other
we prefer it; and the more especially so because it enables us to
refer it mystically to the victory of the Son of God over the champion of evil
even to enemy of souls (verse 6). We have here before us most evidently a triumphal
hymn; may it strengthen the faith of the militant believer and stimulate the
courage of the timid saint
as he sees here THE CONQUEROR
on whose
vesture and thigh is the name written
King of kings and Lord of lords.
ORDER.
Bonar remarks
"The position of the Psalms in their relation to each
other is often remarkable. It is questioned whether the present arrangement of
them was the order to which they were given forth to Israel
or whether some
later compiler
perhaps Ezra
was inspired to attend to this matter
as well as
to other points connected with the canon. Without attempting to decide this
point
it is enough to remark that we have proof that the order of the Psalms
is as ancient as the completing of the canon
and if so
it seems obvious that the
Holy Spirit wished this book to come down to us in its present order. We make
these remarks
in order to invite attention to the fact
that as the eighth
caught up the last line of the seventh
this ninth Psalm opens with an apparent
reference to the eighth:
"I will
praise thee
O Lord
with my whole heart;
I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in thee. (Compare Song 1:4; Revelation 19:7)
I will sing to THY NAME
O thou Most High." Verses 1
2.
As
if "The Name
" so highly praised in the former Psalm
were still ringing in the ear of the sweet singer of Israel. And in verse 10
he returns to it
celebrating their confidence who "know" that
"name" as if its fragrance still breathed in the atmosphere
around.
DIVISION.
The strain so continually changes
that it is difficult to give an outline
of it methodically arranged: we give the best we can make. From verses 1 to 6
is a song of jubilant thanksgiving; from 7 to 12
there is a continued
declaration of faith as to the future. Prayer closes the first great division
of the Psalm in verses 13 and 14. The second portion of this triumphal ode
although much shorter
is parallel in all its parts to the first portion
and
is a sort of rehearsal of it. Observe the song for past judgments
verses 15
16; the declaration of trust in future justice
17
18; and the closing prayer
19
20. Let us celebrate the conquests of the Redeemer as we read this Psalm
and it cannot but be a delightful task if the Holy Ghost be with us.
EXPOSITION
Verse 1. With a
holy resolution the songster begins his hymn; I will praise thee
O Lord.
It sometimes needs all our determination to face the foe
and bless the Lord in
the teeth of his enemies; vowing that whoever else may be silent we will
bless his name; here
however
the overthrow of the foe is viewed as complete
and the song flows with sacred fulness of delight. It is our duty to praise the
Lord; let us perform it as a privilege. Observe that David's praise is all
given to the Lord. Praise is to be offered to God alone; we may be grateful to
the intermediate agent
but our thanks must have long wings and mount aloft to
heaven. With my whole heart. Half heart is no heart. I will show
forth. There is true praise to the thankful telling forth to others of our
heavenly Father's dealings with us; this is one of the themes upon which the
godly should speak often to one another
and it will not be casting pearls
before swine if we make even the ungodly hear of the loving-kindness of the
Lord to us. All thy marvellous works. Gratitude for one mercy refreshes
the memory as to thousands of others. One silver link in the chain draws up a
long series of tender remembrances. Here is eternal work for us
for there can
be no end to the showing forth of all his deeds of love. If we consider
our own sinfulness and nothingness
we must feel that every work of
preservation
forgiveness
conversion
deliverance
sanctification
etc.
which
the Lord has wrought for us
or in us is a marvellous work. Even in
heaven
divine loving-kindness will doubtless be as much a theme of surprise as
of rapture.
Verse
2. Gladness and joy are the appropriate spirit in which to praise the goodness
of the Lord. Birds extol the Creator in notes of overflowing joy
the cattle
low forth his praise with tumult of happiness
and the fish leap up in his
worship with excess of delight. Moloch may be worshipped with shrieks of pain
and Juggernaut may be honoured by dying groans and inhuman yells
but he whose
name is Love is best pleased with the holy mirth
and sanctified gladness of
his people. Daily rejoicing is an ornament to the Christian character
and a
suitable robe for God's choristers to wear. God loveth a cheerful giver
whether it be the gold of his purse or the gold of his mouth which he presents
upon his altar. I will sing praise to thy name
O thou most High. Songs
are the fitting expression of inward thankfulness
and it were well if we
indulge ourselves and honoured our Lord with more of them. Mr. B. P. Power has
well said
"The sailors give a cheery cry as they weigh anchor
the
ploughman whistles in the morning as he drives his team; the milkmaid sings her
rustic song as she sets about her early task; when soldiers are leaving friends
behind them
they do not march out to the tune of the 'Dead March in Saul
' but
to the quick notes of some lively air. A praising spirit would do for us all
that their songs and music do for them; and if only we could determine to
praise the Lord
we should surmount many a difficulty which our low spirits
never would have been equal to
and we should do double the work which can be
done if the heart be languid in its beating
if we be crushed and trodden down
in soul. As the evil spirit in Saul yielded in olden time to the influence of
the harp of the son of Jesse
so would the spirit of melancholy often take
flight from us
if only we would take up the song of praise.
Verse
3. God's presence is evermore sufficient to work the defeat of our most furious
foes
and their ruin is so complete when the Lord takes them in hand
that even
flight cannot save them
they fall to rise no more when he pursues them. We
must be careful
like David
to give all the glory to him whose presence gives
the victory. If we have here the exultings of our conquering Captain
let us
make the triumphs of the Redeemer the triumphs of the redeemed
and rejoice
with him at the total discomfiture of all his foes.
Verse
4. One of our nobility has for his motto
"I will maintain it;" but
the Christian has a better and more humble one
"Thou hast maintained
it." "God and my right
" are united by my faith: while God lives
my right shall never be taken from me. If we seek to maintain the cause and
honour of our Lord we may suffer reproach and misrepresentation
but it is a
rich comfort to remember that he who sits on the throne knows our hearts
and
will not leave us to the ignorant and ungenerous judgment of erring man.
Verse
5. God rebukes before he destroys
but when he once comes to blows with the
wicked he ceases not until he has dashed them in pieces so small that their
very name is forgotten
and like a noisome snuff their remembrance is put out
for ever and ever. How often the word "thou" occurs in this and the
former verse
to show us that the grateful strain mounts up directly to the
Lord as doth the smoke from the altar when the air is still. My soul send up
all the music of all thy powers to him who has been and is thy sure
deliverance.
Verse
6. Here the Psalmist exults over the fallen foe. He bends as it were
over his
prostrate form
and insults his once vaunted strength. He plucks the boaster's
song out of his mouth
and sings it for him in derision. After this fashion
doth our Glorious Redeemer ask of death
"Where is thy sting?" and of
the grave
"Where is thy victory?" The spoiler is spoiled
and he who
made captive is led into captivity himself. Let the daughters of Jerusalem go
forth to meet their King
and praise him with timbrel and harp.
In
the light of the past the future is not doubtful. Since the same Almighty God
fills the throne of power
we can with unhesitating confidence
exult in our
security for all time to come.
Verse
7. The enduring existence and unchanging dominion of our Jehovah
are the firm
foundations of our joy. The enemy and his destructions shall come to a
perpetual end
but God and his throne shall endure for ever. The
eternity of divine sovereignty yields unfailing consolation. By the throne
being prepared for judgment
are we not to understand the swiftness of
divine justice. In heaven's court suitors are not worn out with long delays.
Term-time lasts all the year round in the court of King's Bench above.
Thousands may come at once to the throne of the Judge of all the earth
but
neither plaintiff nor defendant shall have to complain that he is not prepared
to give their cause a fair hearing.
Verse
8. Whatever earthly courts may do
heaven's throne ministers judgment in
uprightness. Partiality and respect of persons are things unknown in the
dealings of the Holy One of Israel. How the prospect of appearing before the
impartial tribunal of the Great King should act as a check to us when tempted
to sin
and as a comfort when we are slandered or oppressed.
Verse
9. He who gives no quarter to the wicked in the day of judgment
is the defence
and refuge of his saints in the day of trouble. There are many forms of
oppression; both from man and from Satan oppression comes to us; and for all
its forms
a refuge is provided in the Lord Jehovah. There were cities of
refuge under the law
God is our refuge-city under the gospel. As the ships
when vexed with tempest make for harbour
so do the oppressed hasten to the
wings of a just and gracious God. He is a high tower so impregnable
that the
hosts of hell cannot carry it by storm
and from its lofty heights faith looks
down with scorn upon her enemies.
Verse
10. Ignorance is worst when it amounts to ignorance of God
and knowledge is
best when it exercises itself upon the name of God. This most excellent
knowledge leads to the most excellent grace of faith. O
to learn more of the
attributes and character of God. Unbelief
that hooting nightbird
cannot live
in the light of divine knowledge
it flies before the sun of God's great and
gracious name. If we read this verse literally
there is
no doubt
a glorious
fulness of assurance in the names of God. We have recounted them in the
"Hints for Preachers
" and would direct the reader's attention to
them. By knowing his name is also meant an experimental acquaintance with the
attributes of God
which are every one of them anchors to hold the soul from
drifting in seasons of peril. The Lord may hide his face for a season from his
people
but he never has utterly
finally
really
or angrily forsaken them
that seek him. Let the poor seekers draw comfort from this fact
and let
the finders rejoice yet more exceedingly
for what must be the Lord's
faithfulness to those who find if he is so gracious to those who seek.
"O hope of
every contrite heart
O joy of all the meek
To those who fall how kind thou art
How good to those who seek.
"But
what to those who find
ah
this
Nor tongue nor pen can show
The love of Jesus what it is
None but his loved ones know."
Verse
11. Being full of gratitude himself
our inspired author is eager to excite
others to join the strain
and praise God in the same manner as he himself
vowed to do in the first and second verses. The heavenly spirit of praise is
gloriously contagious
and he that hath it is never content unless he can
excite all who surround him to unite in his sweet employ. Singing and
preaching
as means of glorifying God
are here joined together
and it is
remarkable that
connected with all revivals of gospel ministry
there has been
a sudden outburst of the spirit of song. Luther's Psalms and Hymns were in all
men's mouths
and in the modern revival under Wesley and Whitefield
the
strains of Charles Wesley
Cennick
Berridge
Toplady
Hart
Newton
and many
others
were the outgrowth of restored piety. The singing of the birds of
praise fitly accompanies the return of the gracious spring of divine visitation
through the proclamation of the truth. Sing on brethren
and preach on
and
these shall both be a token that the Lord still dwelleth in Zion. It will be
well for us when coming up to Zion
to remember that the Lord dwells among his
saints
and is to be had in peculiar reverence of all those that are about him.
Verse
12. When an inquest is held concerning the blood of the oppressed
the martyred
saints will have the first remembrance; he will avenge his own elect. Those
saints who are living shall also be heard; they shall be exonerated from blame
and kept from destruction
even when the Lord's most terrible work is going on;
the man with the inkhorn by his side shall mark them all for safety
before the
slaughtermen are permitted to smite the Lord's enemies. The humble cry of the
poorest saints shall neither be drowned by the voice of the thundering justice
nor by the shrieks of the condemned.
Verse
13. Memories of the past and confidences concerning the future conducted the
man of God to the mercy seat to plead for the needs of the present. Between
praising and praying he divided all his time. How could he have spent it more
profitably? His first prayer is one suitable for all persons and occasions
it
breathes a humble spirit
indicates self-knowledge
appeals to the proper
attributes
and to the fitting person. Have mercy upon me
O Lord. Just
as Luther used to call some texts little bibles
so we may call this sentence a
little prayer-book; for it has in it the soul and marrow of prayer. It is
multum in parvo
and like the angelic sword turns every way. The ladder looks
to be short
but it reaches from earth to heaven.
What
a noble title is here given to the Most High. Thou that liftest me up from
the gates of death! What a glorious lift! In sickness
in sin
in despair
in temptation
we have been brought very low
and the gloomy portal has seemed
as if it would open to imprison us
but
underneath us were the everlasting
arms
and
therefore
we have been uplifted even to the gates of heaven. Trapp
quaintly says
"He commonly reserveth his hand for a dead lift
and
rescueth those who were even talking of their graves."
Verse
14. We must not overlook David's object in desiring mercy
it is God's glory: "that
I may show forth all thy praise." Saints are not so selfish as to look
only to self; they desire mercy's diamond that they may let others see it flash
and sparkle
and may admire Him who gives such priceless gems to his beloved.
The contrast between the gates of death and the gates of the New Jerusalem is
very striking; let our songs be excited to the highest and most rapturous pitch
by the double consideration of whence we are taken
and to what we have been
advanced
and let our prayers for mercy be made more energetic and agonizing by
a sense of the grace which such a salvation implies. When David speaks of his
showing forth all God's praise
he means that
in his deliverance grace
in all its heights and depths would be magnified. Just as our hymn puts it:—
"O the
length and breadth of love!
Jesus
Saviour
can it be?
All thy mercy's height I prove
All the depth is seen in me.
Here
ends the first part of this instructive Psalm
and in pausing awhile we feel
bound to confess that our exposition has only flitted over its surface and has
not digged into the depths. The verses are singularly full of teaching
and if
the Holy Spirit shall bless the reader
he may go over this Psalm
as the
writer has done scores of times
and see on each occasion fresh beauties.
Verse
15. In considering this terrible picture of the Lord's overwhelming judgments
of his enemies
we are called upon to ponder and meditate upon it with deep
seriousness by the two untranslated words
Higgaion
Selah. Meditate
pause.
Consider
and tune your instrument. Bethink yourselves and solemnly adjust your
hearts to the solemnity which is so well becoming the subject. Let us in a
humble spirit approach these verses
and notice
first
that the character of
God requires the punishment of sin.
Verse
16. Jehovah is known by the judgment which he executeth; his holiness
and abhorrence of sin is thus displayed. A ruler who winked at evil would soon
be known by all his subjects to be evil himself
and he
on the other hand
who
is severely just in judgment reveals his own nature thereby. So long as our God
is God
he will not
he cannot spare the guilty; except through that one
glorious way in which he is just
and yet the justifier of him that believeth
in Jesus. We must notice
secondly
that the manner of his judgment is
singularly wise
and indisputably just. He makes the wicked become their own
executioners. "The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made
"
etc. Like cunning hunters they prepared a pitfall for the godly and fell into
it themselves: the foot of the victim escaped their crafty snares
but the
toils surrounded themselves: the cruel snare was laboriously manufactured
and
it proved its efficacy by snaring its own maker. Persecutors and oppressors are
often ruined by their own malicious projects. "Drunkards kill themselves;
prodigals beggar themselves;" the contentious are involved in ruinous
costs; the vicious are devoured with fierce diseases; the envious eat their own
hearts; and blasphemers curse their own souls. Thus
men may read their sin in
their punishment. They sowed the seed of sin
and the ripe fruit of damnation
is the natural result.
Verse
17. The justice which has punished the wicked
and preserved the righteous
remains the same
and therefore in days to come
retribution will surely be
meted out. How solemn is the seventeenth verse
especially in its warning to
forgetters of God. The moral who are not devout
the honest who are not
prayerful
the benevolent who are not believing
the amiable who are not
converted
these must all have their own portion with the openly wicked in the
hell which is prepared for the devil and his angels. There are whole nations of
such; the forgetters of God are far more numerous than the profane or
profligate
and according to the very forceful expression of the Hebrew
the
nethermost hell will be the place into which all of them shall be hurled
headlong. Forgetfulness seems a small sin
but it brings eternal wrath upon the
man who lives and dies in it.
Verse
18. Mercy is as ready to her work as ever justice can be. Needy souls fear that
they are forgotten; well
if it be so
let them rejoice that they shall not
alway be so. Satan tells poor tremblers that their hope shall perish
but
they have here the divine assurance that their expectation shall not perish
for ever. "The Lord's people are a humbled people
afflicted
emptied
sensible of need
driven to a daily attendance on God
daily begging of him
and living upon the hope of what is promised;" such persons may have to
wait
but they shall find that they do not wait in vain.
Verse
19. Prayers are the believer's weapons of war. When the battle is too hard for
us
we call in our great ally
who
as it were
lies in ambush until faith
gives the signal by crying out
"Arise
O Lord." Although our cause
be all but lost
it shall be soon won again
if the Almighty doth but bestir
himself. He will not suffer man to prevail over God
but with swift judgments
will confound their gloryings. In the very sight of God the wicked will be
punished
and he who is now all tenderness will have no bowels of compassion
for them
since they had no tears of repentance while their day of grace
endured.
Verse
20. One would think that men would not grow so vain as to deny themselves to be
but men
but it appears to be a lesson which only a divine schoolmaster can
teach to some proud spirits. Crowns leave their wearers but men
degrees
of eminent learning make their owners not more than men
valour and
conquest cannot elevate beyond the dead level of "but men;"
and all the wealth of Croesus
the wisdom of Solon
the power of Alexander
the
eloquence of Demosthenes
if added together
would leave the possessor but a
man. May we ever remember this lest like those in the text
we should be put
in fear.
Before
leaving this Psalm
it will be very profitable if the student will peruse it
again as the triumphal hymn of the Redeemer
as he devoutly brings the glory of
his victories and lays it down at his Father's feet. Let us joy in his joy
and
our joy shall be full.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole Psalm. We are to
consider this song of praise
as I conceive
to be the language of our great
Advocate and Mediator
"in the midst of the church giving thanks unto
God
" and teaching us to anticipate by faith his great and final victory
over all the adversaries of our peace temporal and spiritual
with especial
reference to his assertion of his royal dignity on Zion
his holy mountain. The
victory over the enemy
we find by the fourth verse
is again ascribed to the
decision of divine justice
and the award of a righteous judge
who has at
length resumed his tribunal. This renders it certain
that the claim preferred
to the throne of the Almighty
could proceed from the lips of none but our
MELCHIZEDEC. John Fry
B.A.
1842.
Verse 1. "I
will praise thee
O Lord
with my whole heart." As a vessel by the
scent thereof tells what liqour is in it
so should our mouths smell
continually of that mercy wherewith our hearts have been refreshed: for we are
called vessels of mercy. William Cowper
1612.
Verse 1. "I
will praise the Lord with my whole heart
I will shew forth all thy marvellous
works." The words "With my whole heart
" serve at
once to show the greatness of the deliverance wrought for the psalmist
and to
distinguish him from the hypocrites—the coarser
who praise the Lord for his
goodness merely with the lips; and the more refined
who praise him with just
half their heart
while they secretly ascribe the deliverance more to
themselves than to him. "All thy wonders
" the marvellous
tokens of thy grace. The psalmist shows by this term
he recognized them in all
their greatness. Where this is done
there the Lord is also praised with the
whole heart. Half-heartedness
and the depreciation of divine grace
go
hand in hand. The (Heb.) is the (Heb.) instrum. The heart is the
instrument of praise
the mouth only its organ. E. W. Hengstenberg.
Verse 1 (second
clause). When we have received any special good thing from the Lord
it is
well
according as we have opportunities
to tell others of it. When the woman
who had lost one of her ten pieces of silver
found the missing portion of her
money
she gathered her neighbours and her friends together
saying
"Rejoice with me
for I have found the piece which I had lost." We
may do the same; we may tell friends and relations that we have received
such-and-such a blessing
and that we trace it directly to the hand of God. Why
have we not already done this? Is there a lurking unbelief as to whether it
really came from God; or are we ashamed to own it before those who are perhaps
accustomed to laugh at such things? Who knows so much of the marvellous works
of God as his own people; if they be silent
how can we expect the world to see
what he has done? Let us not be ashamed to glorify God
by telling what we know
and feel he has done; let us watch our opportunity to bring out distinctly the
fact of his acting; let us feel delighted at having an opportunity
from our
own experience
of telling what must turn to his praise; and them that honour
God
God will honour in turn; if we be willing to talk of his deeds
he will
give us enough to talk about. P. B. Power
in 'I Wills' of the Psalms.
Verses 1
2. "I
will confess unto thee
O Lord
with my whole heart
" etc. Behold with
what a flood of the most sweet affections he says that he "will
confess
" "show forth
" "rejoice
" "be glad
"
and "sing
" being filled with ecstasy! He does not simply say
"I will confess
" but
"with my heart
" and "with
my whole heart." Nor does he propose to speak simply of "works
"
but of the "marvellous works" of God
and of "all"
those "works." Thus his spirit (like John in the womb) exults
and rejoices in God his Saviour
who has done great things for him
and those
marvellous things which follow. In which words are opened the subject of this
Psalm: that is
that he therein sings the marvellous works of God. And these
works are wonderful
because he converts
by those who are nothing
those who
have all things
and
by the ALMUTH who live in hidden faith
and are dead to
the world
he humbles those who flourish in glory
and are looked upon in the world.
Thus accomplishing such mighty things without force
without arms
without
labour
by the cross only and blood. But how will his saying
that he will show
forth "all" his marvellous works
agree with that of Job 9:10
"which doeth great things past finding out; yea
and wonders without
number"? For
who can show forth all the marvellous works of God? We may
say
therefore
that these things are spoken in that excess of feeling in which
he said
(Psalm 6:6)
"I will water my couch with my tears." That is
he hath such an ardent desire to speak of the wonderful works of God
that
as
far as his wishes are concerned
he would set the "all"
forth
though he could not do it
for love has neither bounds nor end:
and
as Paul saith (1 Corinthians 13:7)
"Love beareth all things
believeth all things
hopeth all things;" hence it can do all things
and
does do all things
for God looketh at the heart and spirit. Martin Luther.
Verse 3. "When
mine enemies are turned back
" etc. Were turned back
repulsed
and put to flight. To render this in the present time
as our translators did
is certainly improper; it destroys the coherence
and introduces obscurity.
Ainsworth saw this
and rendered in the past
"When mine enemies turned
backward." "At thy presence." That is
by thine anger.
For as God's presence or face denotes his favour to such as fear and serve him
so it denotes his anger towards the wicked. "The face of Jehovah is
against them that do evil." B. Boothroyd
1824.
Verse 3. "They
shall fall and perish." It refers to those that either faint in a
march
or are wounded in a battle
or especially that in flight meet with
galling haps in their way
and so are galled and lamed
rendered unable to go
forward
and so fall
and become liable to all the chances of pursuits
and as
here
are overtaken and perish in the fall. Henry Hammond
D.D.
Verse 5. "Thou
hast rebuked the heathen
" etc.— Augustine applieth all this
mystically
as is intimated (verse 1) that it should be applied
for
"I
will speak
" saith he
"of all thy wonderful works;" and what so
wonderful as the turning of the spiritual enemy backward
whether the devil
as
when he said
"Get thee behind me
Satan;" or the old man
which is
turned backward when he is put off
and the new man put on? John Mayer.
Verse 8. "He
shall judge the world in righteousness." In this judgment tears will
not prevail
prayers will not be heard
promises will not be admitted
repentance will be too late; and as for riches
honourable titles
sceptres
and diadems
these will profit much less; and the inquisition shall be so
curious and diligent
that not one light thought nor one idle word (not
repented of in the life past)
shall be forgotten. For truth itself hath said
not in jest
but in earnest
"Of every idle word which men have spoken
they shall give an account in the day of judgment." Oh
how many which now
sin with great delight
yea
even with greediness (as if we served a god of
wood or of stone
which seeth nothing
or can do nothing)
will be then astonished
ashamed
and silent! Then shall the days of thy mirth be ended
and thou shalt
be overwhelmed with everlasting darkness; and instead of thy pleasures
thou
shalt have everlasting torments. Thomas Tymme.
Verse 8. "He
shall judge the world in righteousness." Even Paul
in his great
address on Mars' Hill
a thousand years after
could find no better words in
which to teach the Athenians the doctrine of the judgment-day than the
Septuagint rendering of this clause. William S. Plumer.
Verse 8. The guilty
conscience cannot abide this day. The silly sheep
when she is taken
will not
bleat
but you may carry her and do what you will with her
and she will be
subject; but the swine
if she be once taken
she will roar and cry
and thinks
she is never taken but to be slain. So of all things the guilty conscience
cannot abide to hear of this day
for they know that when they hear of it
they
hear of their own condemnation. I think if there were a general collection made
through the whole world that there might be no judgment-day
then God would be
so rich that the world would go a-begging and be a waste wilderness. Then the
covetous judge would bring forth his bribes; then the crafty lawyer would fetch
out his bags; the usurer would give his gain
and a double thereof. But all the
money in the world will not serve for our sin
but the judge must answer his
bribes
he that hath money must answer how he came by it
and just condemnation
must come upon every soul of them; then shall the sinner be ever dying and
never dead
like the salamander
that is ever in the fire and never consumed. Henry
Smith.
Verse 9. It is
reported of the Egyptians that
living in the fens
and being vexed with gnats
they used to sleep in high towers
whereby
those creatures not being able to
soar so high
they are delivered from the biting of them: so would it be with
us when bitten with cares and fear
did we but run to God for refuge
and rest
confident of his help. John Trapp.
Verse 10. "They
that know thy name will put their trust in thee." Faith is an
intelligent grace; though there can be knowledge without faith
yet there can
be no faith without knowledge. One calls it quicksighted faith. Knowledge must
carry the torch before faith. 2 Timothy 1:12. "For I know whom I have
believed." As in Paul's conversion a light from heaven "Shined round
about him" (Acts 9:3)
so before faith be wrought
God shines in with a
light upon the understanding. A blind faith is as bad as a dead faith: that eye
may as well be said to be a good eye which is without sight
as that faith is
good without knowledge. Devout ignorance damns; which condemns the church of
Rome
that thinks it a piece of their religion to be kept in ignorance; these
set up an altar to an unknown God. They say ignorance is the mother of devotion;
but sure where the sun is set in the understanding
it must needs be night in
the affections. So necessary is knowledge to the being of faith
that the
Scriptures do sometimes baptise faith with the name of knowledge. Isaiah 53:11.
"By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many." Knowledge
is put there for faith. Thomas Watson.
Verse 10. "They
that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for
thou
Lord
hast not
forsaken them that seek thee." The mother of unbelief is ignorance of
God
his faithfulness
mercy
and power. They that know thee
will trust in
thee. This confirmed Paul
Abraham
Sarah
in the faith. "I know whom
I have believed
and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have
committed unto him against that day." 2 Timothy 1:12. "He is faithful
that promised
" and "able also to perform." Hebrews 10:23
and
11:11; Romans 4:21. The free promises of the Lord are all certain
his
commandments right and good
the recompense of reward inestimably to be valued
above thousands of gold and silver; trust therefore in the Lord
O my soul
and
follow hard after him. Thou hast his free promise
who never failed
who hath
promised more than possibly thou couldst ask or think
who hath done more for
thee than ever he promised
who is good and bountiful to the wicked and
ungodly; thou doest his work
who is able and assuredly will bear thee out.
There is a crown of glory proposed to thee above all conceit of merit; stick
fast unto his word
and suffer nothing to divide thee from it. Rest upon his
promises though he seem to kill thee; cleave unto his statutes though the flesh
lust
the world allure
the devil tempt
by flatteries or threatenings to the
contrary. John Ball
1632.
Verse 10. "They
that know thy name will put their trust in thee." They can do no
otherwise who savingly know God's sweet attributes
and noble acts for his
people. We never trust a man till we know him
and bad men are better known
than trusted. Not so the Lord; for where his name is ointment poured forth
the
virgins love him
fear him
rejoice in him
and repose upon him. John Trapp.
Verse 12. "When
he maketh inquisition for blood
he remembereth them." There is a time
when God will make inquisition for innocent blood. The Hebrew word doresh
from darash
that is here rendered inquisition
signifies not
barely to seek
to search
but to seek
search
and enquire with all diligence
and care imaginable. Oh
there is a time a-coming when the Lord will make a
very diligent and careful search and enquiry after all the innocent blood of
his afflicted and persecuted people
which persecutors and tyrants have spilt
as water upon the ground; and woe to persecutors when God shall make a more
strict
critical
and careful enquiry after the blood of his people than ever was
made in the inquisition of Spain
where all things are carried with the
greatest diligence
subtlety
secrecy
and severity. O persecutors
there is a
time a-coming
when God will make a strict enquiry after the blood of Hooper
Bradford
Latimer
Taylor
Ridley
etc. There is a time a-coming
wherein God
will enquire who silenced and suspended such-and-such ministers
and who
stopped the mouths of such-and-such
and who imprisoned
confined
and banished
such-and-such
who were once burning and shining lights
and who were willing
to spend and be spent that sinners might be saved
and that Christ might be
glorified. There is a time when the Lord will make a very narrow enquiry into
all the actions and practices of ecclesiastical courts
high commissions
committees
assizes
etc.
and deal with persecutors as they have dealt with
his people. Thomas Brooks.
Verse 12. "When
he maketh inquisition for blood
he remembereth them." There is vox
sanguinis
a voice of blood; and "he that planted the ear
shall he
not hear?" It covered the old world with waters. The earth is filled with
cruelty; it was vox sanguinis that cried
and the heavens heard the
earth
and the windows of heaven opened to let fall judgment and vengeance upon
it. Edward Marbury
1649.
Verse 12. "When
he maketh inquisition for blood
" etc. Though God may seem to wink for
a time at the cruelty of violent men
yet will call them at last to a strict
account for all the innocent blood they have shed
and for their unjust and
unmerciful usage of meek and humble persons; whose cry he never forgets (though
he doth not presently answer it)
but takes a fit time to be avenged of their
oppressors. Symon Patrick
D.D.
1626-1707.
Verse 12. "He
maketh inquisition for blood." He is so stirred at this sin
that he
will up
search out the authors
contrivers
and commissioners of this scarlet
sin
he will avenge for blood. William Greenhill.
Verse 12. "He
forgetteth not the cry of the humble." Prayer is a haven to the
shipwrecked man
an anchor to them that are sinking in the waves
a staff to
the limbs that totter
a mine of jewels to the poor
a healer of diseases
and
a guardian of health. Prayer at once secures the continuance of our blessings
and dissipates the clouds of our calamities. O blessed prayer! thou art the
unwearied conqueror of human woes
the firm foundation of human happiness
the
source of ever-enduring joy
the mother of philosophy. The man who can pray
truly
though languishing in extremest indigence
is richer than all beside
whilst the wretch who never bowed the knee
though proudly sitting as monarch
of all nations
is of all men most destitute. Chrysostom.
Verse 14. "That
I may show forth all thy praise
" etc. To show forth all God's
praise is to enter largely into the work. An occasional "God
I thank
thee
" is no fit return for a perpetual stream of rich benefits. William
S. Plumer.
Verse 15. "The
heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made
" etc. Whilst they are
digging pits for others
there is a pit a-digging and a grave a-making for
themselves. They have a measure to make up
and a treasure to fill
which at
length will be broken open
which
methinks
should take off them which are set
upon mischief from pleasing themselves in their plots. Alas! they are but
plotting their own ruin
and building a Babel which will fall upon their own
heads. If there were any commendation in plotting
then that great plotter of
plotters
that great engineer
Satan
would go beyond us all
and take all the
credit from us. But let us not envy Satan and his in their glory. They had need
of something to comfort them. Let them please themselves with their trade. The
day is coming wherein the daughter of Sion shall laugh them to scorn. There
will be a time wherein it shall be said
"Arise
Sion
and thresh."
Micah 4:13. And usually the delivery of God's children is joined with the
destruction of his enemies; Saul's death
and David's deliverance; the
Israelites' deliverance
and the Egyptians drowning. The church and her
opposites are like the scales of a balance; when one goes up
the other goes
down. Richard Sibbs.
Verses 15-17. It will
much increase the torment of the damned
in that their torments will be as
large and strong as their understandings and affections
which will cause those
violent passions to be still working. Were their loss never so great
and their
sense of it never so passionate
yet if they could but lose the use of their
memory
those passions would die
and that loss being forgotten
would little
trouble them. But as they cannot lay by their life and being
though then they
would account annihilation a singular mercy
so neither can they lay aside any
part of their being. Understanding
conscience
affections
memory
must all
live to torment them
which should have helped to their happiness. And as by
these they should have fed upon the love of God
and drawn forth perpetually
the joys of his presence
so by these must they now feed upon the wrath of God
and draw forth continually the dolours of his absence. Therefore
never think
that when I say the hardness of their hearts
and their blindness
dulness
and
forgetfulness shall be removed
that therefore they are more holy and happy
than before: no
but morally more vile
and hereby far more miserable. Oh
how
many times did God by his messengers here call upon them
"Sinners
consider whither you are going. Do but make a stand awhile
and think where
your way will end
what is the offered glory that you so carelessly reject:
will not this be bitterness in the end?" And yet
these men would never be
brought to consider. But in the latter days
saith the Lord
they shall
perfectly consider it
when they are ensnared in the work of their own
hands
when God hath arrested them
and judgment is passed upon them
and
vengeance is poured out upon them to the full
then they cannot choose but
consider it
whether they will or no. Now they have no leisure to consider
nor
any room in their memories for the things of another life. Ah! but then they
shall have leisure enough
they shall be where they shall have nothing else to
do but consider it: their memories shall have no other employment to hinder
them; it shall even be engraven upon the tables of their hearts. God would have
the doctrine of their eternal state to have been written on the posts of their
doors
on their houses
on their hands
and on their hearts: he would have had
them mind it and mention it
as they rise and lie down
and as they walk
abroad
that so it might have gone well with them at their latter end. And
seeing they rejected this counsel of the Lord
therefore shall it be written
always before them in the place of their thraldom
that which way soever they
look they may still behold it. Richard Baxter.
Verse 16. "The
Lord is known by the judgments which he executeth." Now if the Lord be
known by the judgment which he executeth; then
the judgment which he executeth
must be known; it must be an open judgment; and such are very many of the
judgments of God
they are acted as upon a stage. And I may give you an account
in three particulars why the Lord will sometimes do justice in the place of
beholders
or in the open sight of others. First
that there may be witnesses
enough of what he doth
and so a record of it be kept
at least in the minds
and memories of faithful men for the generations to come. Secondly
the Lord
doth it not only that he may have witnesses of his justice
but also that his
justice and the proceedings of it
may have an effect and a fruit upon those
who did not feel it
nor fall under it. This was the reason why the Lord
threatened to punish Jerusalem in the sight of the nations. Ezekiel 5:6
7
8
14
15. . . . . . God would execute judgment in Jerusalem
a city placed in the
midst of the nations
that as the nations had taken notice of the extraordinary
favours
benefits
deliverances
and salvations which God wrought for
Jerusalem
so they might also take notice of his judgments and sore displeasure
against them. Jerusalem was not seated in some nook
corner
or by-place of the
world
but in the midst of the nations
that both the goodness and severity of
God toward them might be conspicuous. . . . . . . God lets some sinners suffer
or punisheth them openly
both because he would have all others take notice
that he dislikes what they have done
as also because he would not have others
do the like
lest they be made like them
both in the matter and manner of
their sufferings. 'Tis a favour as well as our duty
to be taught by other
men's harms
and to be instructed by their strokes
to prevent our own . . . .
. . Thirdly
God strikes some wicked men in open view
or in the place of
beholders for the comfort of his own people
and for their encouragement. Psalm
58:10
11. "The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance;"
not that he shall be glad of the vengeance
purely as it is a hurt or a
suffering to the creature; but the righteous shall be glad when he seeth the
vengeance of God as it is a fulfilling of the threatening of God against the
sin of man
and an evidence of his own holiness. . . . . . . It is said (Exodus
14:30
31)
that God having overwhelmed the Egyptians in the Red Sea
the
Israelites saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore: God did not suffer the
carcases of the Egyptians to sink to the bottom of the sea
but caused them to
lie upon the shore
that the Israelites might see them; and when Israel saw
that dreadful stroke of the Lord upon the Egyptians
it is said
"The
people feared the Lord
and believed the Lord
and his servant Moses."
Thus they were confirmed in their faith by God's open judgments upon the
Egyptians. They were smitten in the place of the beholders
or in the open
sight of others. Condensed from Joseph Caryl.
Verse 16. "The
Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth;" when he lays his
hand upon sinners
saints tremble
consider his power
majesty
greatness
the
nature of his judgments
and so judge themselves
and remove out of the way
whatever may provoke. . . . . . . As fire begets a splendour round about where
it is
so do the judgments of God set out to the world his glory
justice
holiness. William Greenhill.
Verse 16. "Snared
in the work of his own hands." The wages that sin bargains with the
sinner are life
pleasure
and profit; but the wages it pays him with are
death
torment
and destruction. He that would understand the falsehood and
deceit of sin
must compare its promises and its payment together. Robert
South
D.D.
1633-1716.
Verse 16. "Higgaion
Selah
" that is
as Ainsworth renders it
"Meditation
Selah:" showing this ought to be seriously considered of. The word "Higgaion"
is again had (Psalm 92:3); being mentioned among other musical instruments
whereby we may gather it to be one of them; for there is psaltery
nable
higgaion
and harp
John Mayer.
Verse 16. "The
wicked is snared in the work of his own hands." Not only do we read it
in the word of God
but all history
all experience
records the same righteous
justice of God
in snaring the wicked in the work of their own hands. Perhaps
the most striking instance on record
next to Haman on his own gallows
is one
connected with the horrors of the French Revolution
in which we are told that
"within nine months of the death of the queen Marie Antoinette by the
guillotine
every one implicated in her untimely end
her accusers
the judges
the jury
the prosecutors
the witnesses
all
every one at least whose fate is
known
perished by the same instrument as their innocent victim." "In
the net which they had laid for her was their own foot taken—into the pit which
they digged for her did they themselves fall. Barton Bouchier
1855.
Verse 17. The
ungodly at death must undergo God's fury and indignation. "The wicked
shall be turned into hell." I have read of a lodestone in Ethiopia
which hath two corners
with one it draws the iron to it
with the other it
puts the iron from it: so God hath two hands
of mercy and justice; with the
one he will draw the godly to heaven
with the other he will thrust the sinner
to hell; and oh
how dreadful is that place! It is called a fiery lake
(Revelation 20:15); a lake
to denote the plenty of torments in hell; a fiery
lake
to show the fierceness of them: fire is the most torturing element.
Strabo in his geography mentions a lake in Galilee of such a pestiferous nature
that it scaldeth off the skin of whatsoever is cast into it; but
alas! that
lake is cool compared with this fiery lake into which the damned are thrown. To
demonstrate this fire terrible
there are two most pernicious qualities in it.
1. It is sulphurous
it is mixed with brimstone (Revelation 21:8)
which is
unsavoury and suffocating. 2. It is inextinguishable; though the wicked shall
be choked in the flames
yet not consumed (Revelation 20:10); "And the
devil was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone
where the beast and the
false prophet are
and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever."
Behold the deplorable condition of all ungodly ones in the other world
they
shall have a life that always dies
and a death that always lives: may not this
affright men out of their sins
and make them become godly? unless they are
resolved to try how hot the hell-fire is. Thomas Watson.
Verse 17. "The
wicked shall be turned into hell
" etc. By "the wicked"
here we must understand unregenerate persons
whoever they are that are in a
state of unregeneracy. . . . . . That person is here spoken of as a "wicked"
man that "forgets God
" who does not think of him frequently
and with affection
with fear and delight
and those affections that are
suitable to serious thoughts of God. . . . . To forget God and to be a wicked
person is all one. And these two things will abundantly evince the truth of
this assertion: namely
that this forgetfulness of God excludes the prime and
main essentials of religion
and also includes in it the highest and most
heinous pieces of wickedness
and therefore must needs denominate the subject
a wicked person. . . . . . Forgetfulness of God excludes the principal and
essential parts of religion. It implies that a man doth neither esteem nor
value the all-sufficiency and holiness of God
as his happiness and portion
as
his strength and support; nor doth he fear him
nor live in subjection to his
laws and commands
as his rule; nor doth he aim at the glory of God as his end:
therefore every one who thus forgets God
must certainly be a wicked person. .
. . . . . To exclude God out of our thoughts and not to let him have a place
there
not to mind
nor think upon God
is the greatest wickedness of the
thoughts that can be. And
therefore
though you cannot say of such a one
he
will be drunk
or he will swear
cozen
or oppress; yet if you can say he will
forget God
or that he lives all his days never minding nor thinking upon God
you say enough to speak him under wrath
and to turn him into hell without remedy.
John Howe
1630 - 1705.
Verse 17. "The
wicked shall be turned into hell." (Heb.); Lisholah—headlong into
hell
down into hell. The original is very emphatic. Adam Clarke.
Verse 17. All
wickedness came originally with the wicked one from hell; thither it will again
be remitted
and they who hold on its side must accompany it on its return to
that place of torment
there to be shut up for ever. The true state of
"nations
" and the individuals of which they are composed
is to be
estimated from one single circumstance; namely
whether in their doings they
remember
or "forget God." Remembrance of him is the well-spring of
virtue; forgetfulness of him
the fountain of vice. George Horne
D.D.
Verse 17.
Hell
their fit
habitation
fraught with fire
Unquenchable
the house of woe and pain.
John Milton
1608-1674.
Verse 17.
Will without
power
the element of hell
Abortive all its acts returning still
Upon itself;. . . . Oh
anguish terrible!
Meet guerdon of self-love
its proper ill!
Malice would scowl upon the foe he fears;
And he with lip of scorn would seek to kill;
But neither sees the other
neither hears—
For darkness each in his own dungeon bars
Lust pines for dearth
and grief drinks its own tears—
Each in its solitude apart. Hate wars
Against himself
and feeds upon his chain
Whose iron penetrates the soul it scars
A dreadful solitude each mind insane
Each its own place
its prison all alone
And finds no sympathy to soften pain.
J. A. Heraud.
Verse 18. "For
the needy shall not alway be forgotten
" etc. This is a sweet promise
for a thousand occasions
and when pleaded before the throne in his name who
comprehends in himself every promise
and is indeed himself the great promise
of the Bible
it would be found like all others
yea and amen. Robert
Hawker
D.D.
1820.
Verse 18. "The
expectation of the poor shall not perish." A heathen could say
when a
bird
scared by a hawk
flew into his bosom
I will not betray thee unto thy
enemy
seeing thou comest for sanctuary unto me. How much less will God yield
up a soul unto its enemy
when it takes sanctuary in his name
saying
Lord
I
am hunted with such a temptation
dogged with such a lust; either thou must
pardon it
or I am damned; mortify it
or I shall be a slave to it; take me
into the bosom of thy love for Christ's sake; castle me in the arms of thy
everlasting strength; it is in thy power to save me from
or give me up into
the hands of my enemy; I have no confidence in myself or any other: into thy
hands I commit my cause myself
and rely on thee. This dependence of a soul
undoubtedly will awaken the almighty power of God for such a one's defence. He
hath sworn the greatest oath that can come out of his blessed lips
even by
himself
that such as thus fly for refuge to hope in him
shall have strong
consolation. Hebrews 6:17. This indeed may give the saint the greater boldness
of faith to expect kind entertainment when he repairs to God for refuge
because he cannot come before he is looked for; God having set up his name and
promises as a strong tower
both calls his people into these chambers and
expects they should betake themselves thither. William Gurnall.
Verse 18. As
sometimes God is said to hear us in not hearing us
so we may say he should
sometimes deny us if he did not delay us
It is (saith Chrysostom) like money
which lying long in the bank
comes home at last with a duck in its mouth
with
use upon use; when money is out a great time
it makes a great return: we can
stay thus upon men
and cannot we
shall not we
stay upon the Lord
and for
the Lord
for a large return? God causeth us by delay to make the more prayers;
and the more we pray
the longer we stay
the more comfort we shall have
and
the more sure we are that we shall have it in the latter end. Distinguish
between denying and delaying. . . . In God our Father are all dimensions
of love
and that in an infinite degree; infinitely infinite: what if he defer
us? so do we our children
albeit we mean no other but to give them their own
asking
yet we love to see them wait
that so they may have from us the best
things
when they are at the best
in the best time
and in the best manner: if
a mother should forget her only boy
yet God hath an infinite memory
he nor
can
nor will forget us; the expectation of the waiter shall not fail for
ever
that is
never. Richard Capel.
Verse 19. "Arise
O Lord
" etc. What does this mean? Are we to consider the psalmist as
praying for the destruction of his enemies
as pronouncing a malediction
a
curse upon them? No; these are not the words of one who is wishing that
mischief may happen to his enemies; they are the words of a prophet
of one who
is foretelling
in Scripture language
the evil that must befall them on
account of their sins. Augustine.
Verse 20. "Put
them in fear
O Lord
" etc. We should otherwise think ourselves gods.
We are so inclined to sin that we need strong restraints
and so swelled with a
natural pride against God
that we need thorns in the flesh to let out the
corrupt matter. The constant hanging the rod over us makes us lick the dust
and acknowledge ourselves to be altogether at the Lord's mercy. Though God hath
pardoned us
he will make us wear the halter about our necks to humble us. Stephen
Charnock.
Verse 20. "That
the nations may know themselves to be but men." The original word is
(Heb.)
enosh; and therefore it is a prayer that they may know
themselves to be but miserable
frail
and dying men. The word is in the
singular number
but it is used collectively. John Calvin.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
I.
The only object of our praise—"thee
O Lord."
II.
The abundant themes of praise—"all thy marvellous works."
III.
The proper nature of praise—"with my whole heart." B. Davies.
Verse 1. "I
will show forth." Endless employment and enjoyment.
Verse 1. "Thy
marvellous works." Creation
Providence
Redemption
are all
marvellous
as exhibiting the attributes of God in such a degree as to excite
the wonder of all God's universe. A very suggestive topic.
Verse 2. Sacred
song: its connection with holy gladness.
Verse 4.
(1)
The rights of the righteous are sure to be assailed
(2)
but equally sure to be defended.
Verse 6.
I.
The great enemy.
II.
The destruction he has caused.
III.
The means of his overthrow.
IV.
The rest which shall ensue.
Verse 7 (first
clause). The eternity of God—the comfort of saints
the terror of sinners.
Verse 8. The justice
of God's moral government
especially in relation to the last great day.
Verse 9. Needy
people
needy times
all-sufficient provision.
Verse 10.
I.
All-important knowledge—"know thy name."
II.
Blessed result—"will put their trust in thee."
III.
Sufficient reason—"for thou
Lord
hast not forsaken them that seek
thee." T. W. Medhurst.
Knowledge
Faith
Experience
the connection of the three.
Verse 10. The names
of God inspire trust. JEHOVAH Jireh
Tsidkenu
Rophi
Shammah
Nissi
ELOHIM
SHADDAI
ADONAI
etc.
Verse 11.
I.
Zion
what is it?
II.
Her glorious inhabitant
what doth he?
III.
The twofold occupation of her sons—"sing praises
" "declare
among the people his doings."
IV.
Arguments from the first part of the subject to encourage us in the double
duty.
Verse 12.
I.
God on awful business.
II.
Remembers his people; to spare
honour
bless
and avenge them.
III.
Fulfils their cries
in their own salvation
and overthrow of enemies. A
consolatory sermon for times of war or pestilence.
Verse 13. "Have
mercy upon me
O Lord." The publican's prayer expounded
commended
presented
and fulfilled.
Verse 13. "Thou
that liftest me up from the gates of death." Deep distresses
Great
deliverances. Glorious exaltations.
Verse 14. "I
will rejoice in thy salvation." Especially because it is thine
O God
and therefore honours thee. In its freeness
fulness
suitability
certainty
everlastingness. Who can rejoice in this? Reasons why they should always do so.
Verse 15. Lex
talionis. Memorable instances.
Verse 16. Awful
knowledge; a tremendous alternative as compared with verse 10.
Verse 17. A warning
to forgetters of God.
Verse
18. Delays in deliverance.
I.
Unbelief's estimate of the— "forgotten
" "perish."
II.
God's promise—"not always."
III.
Faith's duty—wait.
Verse 19. "Let
not man prevail." A powerful plea. Cases when employed in Scripture.
The reason of its power. Times for its use.
Verse 20. A needful
lesson
and how it is taught.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》