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Psalm Thirty-three
Psalm 33
Chapter Contents
God to be praised. (1-11) His people encouraged by his
power. (12-22)
Commentary on Psalm 33:1-11
(Read Psalm 33:1-11)
Holy joy is the heart and soul of praise
and that is
here pressed upon the righteous. Thankful praise is the breath and language of
holy joy. Religious songs are proper expressions of thankful praise. Every
endowment we possess
should be employed with all our skill and earnestness in
God's service. His promises are all wise and good. His word is right
and
therefore we are only in the right when we agree with it. His works are all
done in truth. He is the righteous Lord
therefore loveth righteousness. What a
pity it is that this earth
which is so full of the proofs and instances of
God's goodness
should be so empty of his praises; and that of the multitudes
who live upon his bounty
there are so few who live to his glory! What the Lord
does
he does to purpose; it stands fast. He overrules all the counsels of men
and makes them serve his counsels; even that is fulfilled
which to us is most
surprising
the eternal counsel of God
nor can any thing prevent its coming to
pass.
Commentary on Psalm 33:12-22
(Read Psalm 33:12-22)
All the motions and operations of the souls of men
which
no mortals know but themselves
God knows better than they do. Their hearts
as
well as their times
are all in his hand; he formed the spirit of each man
within him. All the powers of the creature depend upon him
and are of no
account
of no avail at all
without him. If we make God's favour sure towards
us
then we need not fear whatever is against us. We are to give to him the
glory of his special grace. All human devices for the salvation of our souls
are vain; but the Lord's watchful eye is over those whose conscientious fear of
his name proceeds from a believing hope in his mercy. In difficulties they
shall be helped; in dangers they shall not receive any real damage. Those that
fear God and his wrath
must hope in God and his mercy; for there is no flying
from him
but by flying to him. Let thy mercy
O Lord
be upon us; let us
always have the comfort and benefit
not according to our merits
but according
to the promise which thou hast in thy word given to us
and according to the faith
thou hast by thy Spirit and grace wrought in us.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 33
Verse 2
[2] Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the
psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
Harp
… — These instruments were used in the publick worship of
God in the tabernacle.
Verse 3
[3] Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud
noise.
A new song — Renewed or continued from day to
day.
Verse 4
[4] For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are
done in truth.
The word — All God's counsels and commands are wise
and just
and good.
His works — All his works of providence agree
with his word
and are the accomplishment of his promises or threatenings.
Verse 5
[5] He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full
of the goodness of the LORD.
Goodness — He not only doth no man wrong
but he is kind and
merciful to all men.
Verse 6
[6] By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all
the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
The word — God made this admirable structure of the heavens
and
all its glorious stars; not with great pains and time
but with one single
word.
Host — The angels: or the stars.
Verse 7
[7] He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap:
he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
Store-houses — Either in the clouds
or in the
bowels of the earth.
Verse 10
[10] The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought:
he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
The Lord — Thus he passes from the work of creation
to the works
of providence
and from the instances of his power
in senseless and irrational
creatures
to his power in over-ruling the thoughts and wills
and actions of
men
whether single or united.
Verse 11
[11] The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever
the thoughts
of his heart to all generations.
The Counsel — All his purposes and designs are
always successful.
Verse 13
[13] The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons
of men.
All men — Although he hath a relation to Israel
yet he hath a
general care over all mankind
all whose hearts and ways he observes.
Verse 15
[15] He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all
their works.
Fashioneth — Having said that God sees and
observes all men
he now adds
that he rules and governs them; yea
even the
hearts which are most unmanageable
he disposes and inclines according to the
counsel of his will.
Alike — Or
equally
one as well as another: whether they be
Jews or Gentiles
princes or peasants; all are alike subject to his
jurisdiction.
Their works — Both outward and inward
all the
workings of their minds and actions
and all their endeavours and actions.
Verse 16
[16] There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a
mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
No king — He instances in these
as the most uncontrollable
persons in the world
and most confident of themselves. By which he strongly
proves his general proposition
of God's powerful providence over all men.
By an host — But only by God's providence
who
disposes of victory and success
as he pleases
and that frequently to the
weakest side.
Verse 17
[17] An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he
deliver any by his great strength.
An horse — Though he be strong and fit for battle
or for flight
if need requires. And so this is put for all warlike provisions.
Vain things — Heb. a lie; because it promises
that help and safety which it cannot give.
Verse 18
[18] Behold
the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him
upon them that hope in his mercy;
The eye — Whosoever therefore would have safety
must expect it
only from the watchful eye
and almighty hand of God.
That fear — These are the chief objects of
his care and favour.
Hope — That place their hope and trust
and happiness
not in
any creature
but only in God
and in his mercy and blessings.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and
Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village
Preacher
Other Works
TITLE. This song of
praise bears no title or indication of authorship; to teach us
says Dickson
"to look upon Holy Scripture as altogether inspired of God
and not put
price upon it for the writers thereof."
SUBJECT
AND DIVISION. The praise of Jehovah is the subject of this sacred song. The
righteous are exhorted to praise him
Ps 33:1-3; because of the excellency of
his character
Ps 33:4-5; and his majesty in creation
Ps 33:6-7. Men are
bidden to fear before Jehovah because his purposes are accomplished in
providence
Ps 33:8-11. His people are proclaimed blessed
Ps 33:12. The
omniscience and omnipotence of God
and his care for his people are celebrated
in opposition to the weakness of an arm of flesh
Ps 33:13-19; and the Psalm
concludes with a fervent expression of confidence
Ps 33:20-21
and an earnest
prayer
Ps 33:22.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. Rejoice in the Lord. Joy is the soul of praise. To delight
ourselves in God is most truly to extol him
even if we let no notes of song
proceed from our lips. That God is
and that he is such a God
and our God
ours
for ever and ever
should wake within us an unceasing and overflowing joy. To
rejoice in temporal comforts is dangerous
to rejoice in self is foolish
to
rejoice in sin is fatal
but to rejoice in God is heavenly. He who would have a
double heaven must begin below to rejoice like those above. O ye righteous.
This is peculiarly your duty
your obligations are greater
and your spiritual
nature more adapted to the work
be ye then first in the glad service. Even the
righteous are not always glad
and have need to be stirred up to enjoy their
privileges. For praise is comely for the upright. God has an eye to
things which are becoming. When saints wear their choral robes
they look fair
in the Lord's sight. A harp suits a blood washed hand. No jewel more ornamental
to a holy face than sacred praise. Praise is not comely from unpardoned
professional singers; it is like a jewel of gold in a swine's snout. Crooked
hearts make crooked music
but the upright are the Lord's delight. Praise is
the dress of saints in heaven
it is meet that they should fit it on below.
Verse
2. Praise the Lord with harp. Men need all the help they can
get to stir them up to praise. This is the lesson to be gathered from the use
of musical instruments under the old dispensation. Israel was at school
and
used childish things to help her to learn; but in these days
when Jesus gives
us spiritual manhood
we can make melody without strings and pipes. We who do
not believe these things to be expedient in worship
lest they should mar its
simplicity
do not affirm them to be unlawful
and if any George Herbert or
Martin Luther can worship God better by the aid of well tunes instruments
who
shall gainsay their right? We do not need them
they would hinder than
help our praise
but if others are otherwise minded
are they not living in
gospel liberty? Sing unto him. This is the sweetest and best of music.
No instrument like the human voice. As a help to singing the instrument is
alone to be tolerated
for keys and strings do not praise the Lord. With the
psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. The Lord must have a full
octave
for all notes are his
and all music belongs to him. Where several
pieces of music are mentioned
we are taught to praise God with all the powers
which we possess.
Verse
3. Sing unto him a new song. All songs of praise should be unto
him. Singing for singing's sake is nothing worth; we must carry our tribute
to the King
and not cast it to the winds. Do most worshippers mind this? Our
faculties should be exercised when we are magnifying the Lord
so as not to run
in an old groove without thought; we ought to make every hymn of praise a new
song. To keep up the freshness of worship is a great thing
and in private it
is indispensable. Let us not present old worn out praise
but put life
and
soul
and heart
into every song
since we have new mercies every day
and see
new beauties in the work and word of our Lord. Play skilfully. It is
wretched to hear God praised in a slovenly manner. He deserves the best that we
have. Every Christian should endeavour to sing according to the rules of the
art
so that he may keep time and tune with the congregation. The sweetest
tunes and the sweetest voices
with the sweetest words
are all too little for
the Lord our God; let us not offer him limping rhymes
set to harsh tunes
and
growled out by discordant voices. With a loud noise. Heartiness should
be conspicuous in divine worship. Well bred whispers are disreputable here. It
is not that the Lord cannot hear us
but that it is natural for great
exultation to express itself in the loudest manner. Men shout at the sight of
their kings: shall we offer no loud hosannahs to the Son of David?
Verse
4. For the word of the Lord is right. His ordinances both
natural
moral
and spiritual
are right
and especially his incarnate Word
who is the Lord our righteousness. Whatever God has ordained must be good
and
just
and excellent. There are no anomalies in God's universe
except what sin
has made; his word of command made all things good. When we look at his word of
promise
and remember its faithfulness
what reasons have we for joy and
thankfulness! And all his works are done in truth. His work is the
outflow of his word
and it is true to it. He neither doth nor saith anything
ill; in deed and speech he agrees with himself and the purest truth. There is
no lie in God's word
and no sham in his works; in creation
providence
and
revelation
unalloyed truth abounds. To act truth as well as to utter it is
divine. Let not children of God ever yield their principles in practice any
more than in heart. What a God we serve! The more we know of him
the more our
better natures approve his surpassing excellence; even his afflicting works are
according to his truthful word.
"Why
should I complain of want of distress
Afflictions or pain? he told me no less;
The heirs of salvation
I know from his word
Through much tribulation must follow their Lord."
God
writes with a pen that never blots
speaks with a tongue that never slips
acts
with a hand which never fails. Bless his name.
Verse
5. He loveth righteousness and judgment. The theory and
practice of right he intensely loves. He doth not only approve the true and the
just
but his inmost soul delights therein. The character of God is a sea
every drop of which should become a wellhead of praise for his people. The
righteousness of Jesus is peculiarly dear to the Father
and for its sake he
takes pleasure in those to whom it is imputed. Sin
on the other hand
is
infinitely abhorrent to the Lord
and woe unto those who die in it; if he sees
no righteousness in them
he will deal righteously with them
and judgment
stern and final will be the result. The earth is full of the goodness of the
Lord. Come hither
astronomers
geologists
naturalists
botanists
chemists
miners
yea
all of you who study the works of God
for all your
truthful stories confirm this declaration. From the midge in the sunbeam to
leviathan in the ocean all creatures own the bounty of the Creator. Even the
pathless desert blazes with some undiscovered mercy
and the caverns of ocean
conceal the treasures of love. Earth might have been as full of terror as of
grace
but instead thereof it teems and overflows with kindness. He who cannot
see it
and yet lives in it as the fish lives in the water
deserves to die. If
earth be full of mercy
what must heaven be where goodness concentrates its
beams?
Verse
6. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made. The angelic
heavens
the sidereal heavens
and the firmament or terrestrial heavens
were
all made to start into existence by a word; what if we say by the Word
"For without him was not anything made that is made." It is
interesting to note the mention of the Spirit in the next clause
and all
the host of them by the breath of his mouth; the breath is the same
as is elsewhere rendered Spirit. Thus the three persons of the Godhead unite in
creating all things. How easy for the Lord to make the most ponderous orbs
and
the most glorious angels! A word
a breath could do it. It is as easy for God
to create the universe as for a man to breathe
nay
far easier
for man
breathes not independently
but borrows the breath in his nostrils from his
Maker. It may be gathered from this verse that the constitution of all things
is from the infinite wisdom
for his word may mean his appointment and
determination. A wise and merciful Word has arranged
and a living Spirit
sustains all the creation of Jehovah.
Verse
7. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap.
The waters were once scattered like corn strewn upon a threshing floor: they
are now collected in one spot as an heap. Who else could have gathered them
into one channel but their great Lord
at whose bidding the waters fled away?
The miracle of the Red Sea is repeated in nature day by day
for the sea which
now invades the shore under the impulse of sun and moon
would soon devour the
land if bounds were not maintained by the divine decree. He layeth up the
depth in storehouses. The depths of the main are God's great cellars and storerooms
for the tempestuous element. Vast reservoirs of water are secreted in the
bowels of the earth
from which issue our springs and wells of water. What a
merciful provision for a pressing need? May not the text also refer to the
clouds
and the magazines of hail
and snow
and rain
those treasures of
merciful wealth for the fields of earth? These aqueous masses are not piled
away as in lumber rooms
but in storehouses for future beneficial use. Abundant
tenderness is seen in the foresight of our heavenly Joseph
whose granaries are
already filled against earth's time of need. These stores might have been
as
once they were
the ammunition of vengeance
they are now a part of the
commissariat of mercy.
Verse
8. Let all the earth fear the Lord. Not only Jews
but
Gentiles. The psalmist was not a man blinded by national prejudice
he did not
desire to restrict the worship of Jehovah to the seed of Abraham. He looks for
homage even to far off nations. If they are not well enough instructed to be
able to praise
at least let them fear. There is an inferior kind of worship in
the trembling which involuntarily admits the boundless power of the thundering
God. A defiant blasphemer is out of place in a world covered with tokens of the
divine power and Godhead: the whole earth cannot afford a spot congenial for
the erection of a synagogue of Atheism
nor a man in whom it is becoming to
profane the name of God. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe
of him. Let them forsake their idols
and reverently regard the only living
God. What is here placed as a wish may also be read as a prophecy: the
adoration of God will yet be universal.
Verse
9. For he spake
and it was done. Creation was the fruit of a
word. Jehovah said
"Light be
"and light was. The Lord's acts are
sublime in their ease and instantaneousness. "What a word is this?"
This was the wondering enquiry of old
and it may be ours to this day. He
commanded
and it stood fast. Out of nothing creation stood forth
and was
confirmed in existence. The same power which first uplifted
now makes the
universe to abide; although we may not observe it
there is as great a display
of sublime power in confirming as in creating. Happy is the man who has learned
to lean his all upon the sure word of him who built the skies!
Verse
10. The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought.
While his own will is done
he takes care to anticipate the wilfulness of his
enemies. Before they come to action he vanquishes them in the council chamber;
and when
well armed with craft
they march to the assault
he frustrates their
knaveries
and makes their promising plots to end in nothing. Not only the
folly of the heathen
but their wisdom too
shall yield to the power of the
cross of Jesus: what a comfort is this to those who have to labour where
sophistry
and philosophy
falsely so called
are set in opposition to the
truth as it is in Jesus. He maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
Their persecutions
slanders
falsehoods
are like puff balls flung against a
granite wall—they produce no result at all; for the Lord overrules the evil
and brings good out of it. The cause of God is never in danger: infernal craft
is outwitted by infinite wisdom
and Satanic malice held in check by boundless
power.
Verse
11. The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever. He changes not
his purpose
his decree is not frustrated
his designs are accomplished. God
has a predestination according to the counsel of his will
and none of the
devices of his foes can thwart his decree for a moment. Men's purposes are
blown to and from like the thread of the gossamer or the down of the thistle
but the eternal purposes are firmer than the earth. The thoughts of his
heart to all generations. Men come and go
sons follow their sires to the
grave
but the undisturbed mind of God moves on in unbroken serenity
producing
ordained results with unerring certainty. No man can expect his will or plan to
be carried out from age to age; the wisdom of one period is the folly of
another
but the Lord's wisdom is always wise
and his designs run on from
century to century. His power to fulfil his purposes is by no means diminished
by the lapse of years. He who was absolute over Pharaoh in Egypt is not one
whit the less today the King of kings and Lord of lords; still do his chariot
wheels roll onward in imperial grandeur
none being for a moment able to resist
his eternal will.
Verse
12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Israel was
happy in the worship of the only true God. It was the blessedness of the chosen
nation to have received a revelation from Jehovah. While others grovelled
before their idols
the chosen people were elevated by a spiritual religion
which introduced them to the invisible God
and led them to trust in him. All
who confide in the Lord are blessed in the largest and deepest sense
and none
can reverse the blessing. And the people whom he hath chosen for his own
inheritance. Election is at the bottom of it all. The divine choice rules
the day; none take Jehovah to be their God till he takes them to be his people.
What an ennobling choice this is! We are selected to no mean estate
and for no
ignoble purpose: we are made the peculiar domain and delight of the Lord our
God. Being so blessed
let us rejoice in our portion
and show the world by our
lives that we serve a glorious Master.
Verse
13. The Lord looketh from heaven. The Lord is represented as
dwelling above and looking down below; seeing all things
but peculiarly
observing and caring for those who trust in him. It is one of our choicest
privileges to be always under our Father's eye
to be never out of sight of our
best Friend. He beholdeth all the sons of men. All Adam's sons are as
well watched as was Adam himself
their lone progenitor in the garden. Ranging
from the frozen pole to the scorching equator
dwelling in hills and valleys
in huts and palaces
alike doth the divine eye regard all the members of the
family of man.
Verse
14. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the
inhabitants of the earth. Here the sentiment is repeated: it is worth
repeating
and it needs repeating
for man is most prone to forget it. As great
men sit at their windows and watch the crowd below
so doth the Lord; he gazes
intently upon his responsible creatures
and forgets nothing of what he sees.
Verse
15. He fashioneth their hearts alike. By which is meant that
all hearts are equally fashioned by the Lord
kings' hearts as well as the
hearts of beggars. The text does not mean that all hearts are created
originally alike by God
such a statement would scarcely be true
since there
is the utmost variety in the constitutions and dispositions of men. All men
equally owe the possession of life to the Creator
and have therefore no reason
to boast themselves. What reason has the vessel to glorify itself in presence
of the potter? He considereth all their words. Not in vain doth God see
men's acts: he ponders and judges them. He reads the secret design in the
outward behaviour
and resolves the apparent good into its real elements. This
consideration foretokens a judgment when the results of the divine thoughts
will be meted out in measures of happiness or woe. Consider thy ways
O man
for God considereth them!
Verse
16. There is no king saved by the multitude of an host. Mortal
power is a fiction
and those who trust in it are dupes. Serried ranks of armed
men have failed to maintain an empire
or even to save their monarch's life
when a decree from the court of heaven has gone forth for the empire's
overthrow. The all seeing God preserves the poorest of his people when they are
alone and friendless
but ten thousand armed men cannot ensure safety to him
whom God leaves to destruction. A mighty man is not delivered by much
strength. So far from guarding others
the valiant veteran is not able to
deliver himself. When his time comes to die
neither the force of his arms nor
the speed of his legs can save him. The weakest believer dwells safely under
the shadow of Jehovah's throne
while the most mighty sinner is in peril every
hour. Why do we talk so much of our armies and our heroes? the Lord alone has
strength
and let him alone have praise.
Verse
17. An horse is a vain thing for safety. Military strength
among the Orientals lay much in horses and scythed chariots
but the psalmist
calls them a lie
a deceitful confidence. Surely the knight upon his gallant
steed may be safe
either by valour or by flight? Not so
his horse shall bear
him into danger or crush him with its fall. Neither shall he deliver any by
his great strength. Thus the strongest defences are less than nothing when
most needed. God only is to be trusted and adored. Sennacherib with all his
calvary is not a match for one angel of the Lord
Pharaoh's horses and chariots
found it vain to pursue the Lord's anointed
and so shall all the leaguered
might of earth and hell find themselves utterly defeated when they rise against
the Lord and his chosen.
Verse
18. Behold. For this is a greater wonder than hosts and
horses
a surer confidence than chariots or shields. The eye of the Lord is
upon them that fear him. That eye of peculiar care is their glory and
defence. None can take them at unawares
for the celestial watcher foresees the
designs of their enemies
and provides against them. They who fear God need not
fear anything else; let them fix their eye of faith on him
and his eye of love
will always rest upon them. Upon them that hope in his mercy. This one
would think to be a small evidence of grace
and yet it is a valid one. Humble
hope shall have its share as well as courageous faith. Say
my soul
is not
this an encouragement to thee? Dost thou not hope in the mercy of God in Christ
Jesus? Then the Father's eye is as much upon thee as upon the elder born of the
family. These gentle words
like soft bread
are meant for babes in grace
who
need infant's food.
Verse
19. To deliver their soul from death. The Lord's hand goes
with his eye; he sovereignly preserves those whom he graciously observes.
Rescues and restorations hedge about the lives of the saints; death cannot
touch them till the King signs his warrant and gives him leave
and even then
his touch is not so much mortal as immortal; he doth not so much kill us as
kill our mortality. And to keep them alive in famine. Gaunt famine knows
its master. God has meal and oil for his Elijahs somewhere. "Verily thou
shalt be fed" is a divine provision for the man of faith. The Preserver of
men will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish. Power in human hands
is outmatched by famine
but God is good at a pinch
and proves his bounty
under the most straitened circumstances. Believer
wait upon thy God in
temporals. His eye is upon thee
and his hand will not long delay.
Verse
20. Our soul waits for the Lord. Here the godly avow their
reliance upon him whom the Psalm extols. To wait is a great lesson. To be quiet
in expectation
patient in hope
single in confidence
is one of the bright
attainments of a Christian. Our soul
our life
must hang upon God; we are not
to trust him with a few gewgaws
but with all we have and are. He is our
help and our shield. Our help in labour
our shield in danger. The Lord
answereth all things to his people. He is their all in all. Note the three "ours"
in the text. These holdfast words are precious. Personal possession makes the
Christian man; all else is mere talk.
Verse
21. For our hearts shall rejoice in him. The duty commended
and commanded in the first verse is here presented to the Lord. We
who trust
cannot but be of a glad heart
our inmost nature must triumph in our faithful
God. Because we have trusted in his holy name. The root of faith in due
time bears the flower of rejoicing. Doubts breed sorrow
confidence creates
joy.
Verse
22. Here is a large and comprehensive prayer to close with. It is an
appeal for mercy
which even joyful believers need; and it is sought for
in a proportion which the Lord has sanctioned. "According to your faith be
it unto you
"is the Master's word
and he will not fall short of the
scale which he has himself selected. Yet
Master
do more than this when hope
is faint
and bless us far above what we ask or even think.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole
Psalm. A thanksgiving of the church triumphant in the latter ages
for
her final deliverance
by the overthrow of Antichrist and his armies. Samuel
Horsley.
Whole
Psalm. Let us follow the holy man a moment in his meditation. His Psalm
is not composed in scholastic form
in which the author confines himself to
fixed rules; and
scrupulously following a philosophic method
lays down principals
and infers consequences. However
he establishes principles
the most proper to
give us sublime ideas of the Creator; and he speaks with more precision of the
works and attributes of God than the greatest philosophers have spoken of them.
How
absurdly have the philosophers treated of the origin of the world! How
few of them have reasoned conclusively on this important subject! Our prophet
solves the important question by one single principle; and
what is more
remarkable
this principle
which is nobly expressed
carries the clearest
evidence with it. The principle is this: "By the word of the Lord were the
heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth
"Ps
33:6. This is the most rational account that was ever given of the creation of
the world. The world is the work of a self efficient will
and it is this
principle alone that can account for its creation. The most simple appearances
in nature are sufficient to lead us to this principle. Either my will is self
efficient
or there is some other being whose will is self efficient. What I
say of myself
I say of my parents; and what I affirm of my parents
I affirm
of my more remote ancestors
and of all the finite creatures from whom they
derive their existence. Most certainly either finite beings have a self
efficient will
which it is impossible to suppose
for a finite creature with a
self efficient will is a contradiction: either
I say
a finite creature has a
self efficient will
or there is a First Cause who has a self efficient will;
and that there is such a Being is the principle of the psalmist; "By the
word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath
of his mouth."
If
philosophers have reasoned inconclusively on the origin of the world
they have
spoken of its government with equal uncertainty. The psalmist determines
this question with a great facility
by a single principle
which results from
the former
and which
like the former
carries its evidence with it. "The
Lord looketh from heaven; he considereth all the works of all the inhabitants
of the earth
" Ps 33:13-14. This is the doctrine of providence. And on
what is the doctrine of providence founded? On this principle: God
"fashioneth their hearts alike
"Ps 33:15. Attend a moment to the
evidence of this reasoning
my brethren. The doctrine of providence expressed
in these words
"God considereth the works of the inhabitants of the
earth
"is a necessary consequence of his principle
"God fashioneth
their hearts alike; "and this principle is a necessary consequence of that
which the psalmist had before laid down to account for the origin of the world.
Yes
from that doctrine of God the Creator of men
follows that of God the
inspector
the director
rewarder
and the punisher of their actions. One of
the most specious objections that has ever been opposed to the doctrine of
providence
is a contrast between the grandeur of God and the meanness of men.
How can such an insignificant creature as man be the object of the care and
attention of such a magnificent being as God? No objection can be more
specious
or
in appearance
more invincible. The distance between the meanest
insect and the mightiest monarch
who treads and crushes reptiles to death
without the least regard to them
is a very imperfect image of the distance
between God and man. That which proves that it would be beneath the dignity of
a monarch to observe the motions of ants
or worms
to interest himself in
their actions
to punish
or to reward them
seems to demonstrate that God
would degrade himself were he to observe
to direct
to punish
to reward
mankind
who are infinitely inferior to him. But one fact is sufficient to
answer this specious objection: that is
God has created mankind. Does God
degrade himself more by governing than by creating mankind? Who can persuade
himself that a wise Being has given to intelligent creatures faculties capable
of obtaining knowledge and virtue
without willing that they should endeavour
to acquire knowledge and virtue? Or who can imagine
that a wise Being
who
wills that his intelligent creatures should acquire knowledge and virtue
will
not punish them if they neglect those acquisitions; and will not show by the
distribution of his benefits that he approves their endeavours to obtain them?
Unenlightened
philosophers have treated of the attributes of God with as much
abstruseness as they have written of his works. The moral attributes of God
as
they are called in the schools
were mysteries which they could not unfold.
These may be reduced to two classes; attributes of goodness
and
attributes of justice. Philosophers
who had admitted these
have
usually taken that for granted which they ought to have proved. They collected
together in their minds all perfections; they reduced them all to one object
which they denominated a perfect being: and supposing
without proving
that a perfect being existed
they attributed to him
without proof
everything
that they considered as a perfection. The psalmist shows by a surer way that
there is a God supremely just and supremely good. It is necessary
in order to
convince a rational being of the justice and goodness of God
to follow such a
method as that which we follow to prove his existence. When we would prove the
existence of God
we say
there are creatures
therefore there is a Creator. In
like manner
when we would prove that a creature is a just and a good being
we
say
there are qualities of goodness and justice in creatures
therefore he
from whom these creatures derive their existence
is a being just and good.
Now
this is the reasoning of the psalmist in this Psalm: "The Lord loveth
righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord"
Ps 33:5; that is to say
it is impossible to consider the work of the Creator
without
receiving evidence of his goodness. And the works of nature which demonstrate
the goodness of God
prove his justice also; for God has created us with such
dispositions
that we cannot enjoy the gifts of his goodness without obeying
the laws of his righteousness. The happiness of an individual who procures a
pleasure by disobeying the laws of equity
is a violent happiness
which cannot
be of long duration; and the prosperity of public bodies
when it is founded in
iniquity
is an edifice which
with its basis
will be presently sunk and gone.
But
what we would particularly remark is
that the excellent principle of the
psalmist concerning God are not mere speculations; but truths from which he
derives practical inferences; and he aims to extend their influence beyond
private persons
even to legislators and conquerors. One would think
considering the conduct of mankind
that the consequences
which are drawn from
the doctrines of which we have been speaking
belong to none but to the dregs
of the people; that lawgivers and conquerors have a plan of morality peculiar
to themselves
and are above the rules to which other men must submit. Our
prophet had other notions. What are his maxims of policy? They are all included
in these words: "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the
people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance
"Ps 33:12. What are
his military maxims? They are all included in these words: "There is no
king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much
strength. An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by
his great strength
"Ps 33:16-17. Who proposes these maxims? A hermit
who
never appeared on the theatre of the world? or a man destitute of the talents
necessary to shine there? No: one of the wisest of kings; one of the most bold
and able generals: a man whom God has self elected to govern his chosen people
and to command those armies which fought the most obstinate battles
and gained
the most complete victories. Were I to proceed in explaining the system of the
psalmist
I might prove
that as he had a right to infer the doctrine of
providence from the works of nature
and that of the moral attributes of God
from the works of creation; so from the doctrines of the moral attributes of
God
of providence
and of the works of creation
he had a right to conclude
that no conquerors or lawgivers could be truly happy but those who acted
agreeably to the laws of the just and good Supreme. James Saurin.
Verse
1. Rejoice in the Lord
O ye righteous. Exult
ye righteous
in
Jehovah! The Hebrew verb
according to the etymologists
originally means
to dance for joy
and is therefore a very strong expression for the liveliest
exultation. J. A. Alexander.
Verse
1. Rejoice
O ye righteous: not in yourselves
for that is
not safe
but in the Lord. Augustine.
Verse
1. Praise is comely for the upright. Praise is not comely for
any but the godly. A profane man stuck with God's praise is like a dunghill
stuck with flowers. Praise in the mouth of a sinner is like an oracle in the
mouth of a fool: how uncomely is it for him to praise God
whose whole life is
a dishonouring of God? It is as indecent for a wicked man to praise God
who
goes on in sinful practices
as it is for an usurer to talk of living by faith
or for the devil to quote Scripture. The godly are only fit to be choristers in
God's praise; it is called
"the garment of praise." Isa 61:3. This
garment sits handsome only on a saint's back. Thomas Watson.
Verse
1. This Psalm is coupled with the foregoing one by the catchword
with which it opens
which is a repetition of the exhortation with which the
preceding ends
Rejoice in the Lord
ye righteous; "Shout for joy
all ye upright." Christopher Wordsworth.
Verse
1. He pleaseth God whom God pleaseth. Augustine.
Verse
2. Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and
an instrument of ten strings. Here we have the first mention of musical
instruments in the Psalms. It is to be observed that the early fathers almost
with one accord protest against their use in churches; as they are forbidden in
the Eastern church to this day
where yet
by the consent of all
the singing
is infinitely superior to anything that can be heard in the West. J. M.
Neale.
Verse
2. Harp; Psaltery
etc. Our church does not use musical
instruments
as harps and psalteries
to praise God withal
that she may not
seem to Judaise. Thomas Aquinas. It was only permitted to the Jews
as
sacrifice was
for the heaviness and grossness of their souls. God condescended
to their weakness
because they were lately drawn off from idols; but now
instead of organs
we may use our own bodies to praise him withal. Chrysostom.
The use of singing with instrumental music was not received in the Christian
churches as it was among the Jews in their infant state
but only the use of
plain song. Justin Martyr.
Verse
2. (last clause). It is said that David praised God upon an
instrument of ten strings; and he would never have told how many strings
there were
but that without doubt he made use of them all. God hath given all
of us bodies
as it were
instruments of many strings; and can we think it
music good enough to strike but one string
to call upon him with our tongues
only? No
no; when the still sound of the heart by holy thoughts
and the
shrill sound of the tongue by holy words
and the loud sound of the hands by
pious works
do all join together
that is God's concert
and the only music
wherewith he is affected. Sir Richard Baker.
Verse
3. Sing unto him. I. Singing is the music of nature.
The Scriptures tell us the mountains sing Isa 55:12; the valleys sing Ps 65:13;
the trees of the wood sing 1Ch 16:33; nay
the air is the birds' music room
they chant their musical notes. II. Singing is the music of ordinances.
Augustine reports of himself
that when he came to Milan and heard the people
sing
he wept for joy in the church to hear that pleasing melody. And Beza
confesses that at his first entrance into the congregation
and hearing them
sing the ninety-first Psalm
he felt himself exceedingly comforted
and did
retain the sound of it afterwards upon his heart. The Rabbins tell us that the
Jews
after the feast of the Passover was celebrated
sang the hundred and
eleventh and five following Psalms; and our Saviour and his apostles sang a
hymn immediately after the blessed Supper. Mt 26:30. III. Singing is the music
of saints. (1.) They have performed this duty in their greatest numbers.
Ps 149:1-2. (2.) In their greatest straits. Isa 26:19. (3.) In their
greatest flight. Isa 42:10-11. (4.) In their greatest deliverances.
(5.) In their greatest plenties. Isa 65:14. In all these changes singing
hath been their stated duty and delight. And indeed it is meet that the saints
and servants of God should sing forth their joys and praises to the Lord
Almighty: every attribute of him can set both their song and their tune. IV.
Singing is the music of angels. Job tells us "the morning stars
sang together
"Job 38:7. Now these "morning stars
"as Pineda
tells us
are the angels; to which the Chaldee paraphrase accords
naming these
morning stars
aciem angelorum
an host of angels. Nay
when this
heavenly host was sent to proclaim the birth of our dearest Jesus
they deliver
their message in this raised way of duty. Lu 2:13. They were (ainountev)
delivering their messages in a laudatory singing
the whole company of angels
making a musical quire. Nay
in heaven there is the angels' joyous music; they
there sing hallelujahs to the Most High
and to the Lamb who sits upon the throne
Re 5:11. V. Singing is the music of heaven; the glorious saints and
angels accent their praises this way
and make one harmony in their state of
blessedness; and this is the music of the Bride chamber. The saints who were
tuning here their Psalms
are now singing their hallelujahs in a louder strain
and articulating their joys
which here they could not express to their perfect
satisfaction; here they laboured with drowsy hearts
and faltering tongues; but
in glory these impediments are removed
and nothing is left to jar their joyful
celebration. John Wells
in "Morning Exercises."
Verse
3. A new song. That is to say
a new and recent
composition on account of recent benefits; or constantly new songs
song
succeeding song as daily new material for divine praise offers itself to the
attentive student of the works of God. Or new
that is
always fresh and
full of life
and renewed as new occasions offer themselves: as Job says
"My glory was fresh in me
and my bow was renewed in my hand." Or new
i.e.
not common but rare and exquisite; as the new name in Re 2:17; the
new commandment; Joh 13:34. Or this respects the gospel state
wherein is a new
covenant Heb 8:8
a new Jerusalem Re 21:2
a new man Eph 2:15
and all things
new
2Co 5:17. New
on account of its matter being unknown of men: as in
Re 14:3
"They sung a new song
"and no man could learn that song but
the hundred and forty and four thousand
which were redeemed from the earth. New
may be used in opposition to old. The song of Moses is old
and of the Lamb is
new. Martin Geir (1614-1681)
in "Poli Synopsis
Criticorum."
Verse
3. Sing unto him a new song. Put off oldness: ye know the new
song. A new man
a New Testament
a new song. A new song belongeth not to men
that are old; none learn that but new men
renewed through grace from oldness
and belonging now to the New Testament
which is the kingdom of heaven. Augustine.
Verse
3. A new song; namely
sung with such fervency of affections
as novelties usually bring with them; or
always new
seeing God's graces never
wax old; or
sung by the motion of this new spirit of grace
which doth not so
much look after the old benefits of the creation as after the new benefit of
the redemption in Christ
which renews all things. Ps 40:3 96:1 Re 5:9 14:3. John
Diodati.
Verse
3. Sing unto him a new song. It is a melancholy proof of the
decline of the church
when the exhortation to sing a new song is no longer
attended to: in such a case
there is need of the greatest care to prevent the
old ones falling into oblivion. E. W. Hengstenberg.
Verse
3. Play skilfully. It is not an easy matter to praise God
aright; it must be done corde
ore
spere
with the very best of the
best. John Trapp.
Verse
4. The word of the Lord is right. His word of promise given
to the church. The divine revelation to all setting forth what is to be
believed
hoped for
and done. The decrees of God and his penal judgments. The
whole counsel and determination of God in the creation and government of the
world. Is right
without defect or error. The word right is
opposed to tortuous; it means true or certain. John de Pineda
(1577-1637); D.H. Mollerus (1639)
and others
in Synopsis.
Verse
4. All his works are done in truth.
Truth
is in each flower
As well as in the most solemn things of God:
Truth is the voice of nature and of time—
Truth is the startling monitor within us—
Nought is without it
it comes from the stars
The golden sun
and every breeze that blows—
Truth
it is God! and God is everywhere!
—William Thomas Bacon.
Verse
5. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. If we
reflect on the prodigious number of human beings who constantly receive their
food
raiment
and every pleasure they enjoy
from their mother earth
we shall
be convinced of the great liberality with which nature dispenses her gifts; and
not only human beings
but an innumerable quantity of living creatures
besides—inhabitants of the air
the waters
and the earth—are daily indebted to
nature for their support. Those animals which are under our care are still
indebted to the earth for their subsistence; for the grass
which nature
spontaneously produces
is their chief food. The whole race of fishes
except
those which men feed for their amusement
subsist without any of their aid. The
species of birds which is perhaps the most despised and most numerous
is the
sparrow. What they require for their support is incredible
but nature takes
care to feed them; they are however but the smallest part of her children. So
great is the quantity of insects
that ages may pass before even their species
and classes can be known. How many and how diversified the sorts of flies that
play in the air! The blood taken from us by the gnat is very accidental food
for them; and we may suppose that where there is one gnat that lives upon it
there are millions that have never tasted human blood
or that of any other
animal. On what can all these creatures subsist? Perhaps every handful of earth
contains living insects; they are discovered in every drop of water; their
multiplying and means of support are incomprehensible. While nature is thus
prolific in children
she is also fruitful in means for their subsistence; or
rather
it is the God of nature who has poured into her bosom this
inexhaustible store of riches. He provides each creature with its food and
dwelling. For them he causes the grass and other herbs to grow
leaving each to
select its proper food. And
however mean many creatures may appear to us
he
feeds and assists them all. O Almighty God
how manifest is thy greatness! Thou
dost what the united efforts of all mankind would fail to accomplish. Thou hast
given life
and breath
and being to all creatures that live in the air
the
waters
or the earth. Surely thou wilt do for thy believing people what thou
dost for animals and insects! When we are filled with doubts and fears
let us
consider the ravens whom the Lord feeds when they cry. Let them and all
creatures beside
which man takes no care of
teach us the art of contentment.
The great Author of nature knows all our wants. Let us cast our every care on
him
for he careth for us; and may we come boldly to the throne of grace in
faith and sincerity
that we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help us in
every time of need. Christopher Christian Sturm.
Verse
5. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. To hear its
worthless inhabitants complain
one would think that God dispensed evil
not good. To examine the operation of his hand
everything is marked
with mercy
and there is no place where his goodness does not appear. The overflowing
kindness of God fills the earth. Even the iniquities of men are rarely a
bar to his goodness: he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good
and
sends his rain upon the just and the unjust. Adam Clarke.
Verse
5. The goodness of the Lord. In discoursing on the glorious
perfections of God
his goodness must by no means be omitted; for though
all his perfections are his glory
yet this is particularly so called
for when
Moses
the man of God
earnestly desired to behold a grand display of the glory
of Jehovah
the Lord said in answer to his petition
"I will make all my goodness
pass before thee; "thus intimating that he himself accounted his goodness
to be his glory Ex 33:19 34:7; and it includes that mercy
grace
longsuffering
and truth
which are afterwards mentioned. When it relieves the miserable
it
is mercy; when it bestows favours on the worthless
it is grace;
when it bears with provoking rebels
it is long suffering; when it
confers promised blessings
it is truth; when it supplies indigent
beings
it is bounty. The goodness of God is a very comprehensive term;
it includes all the forms of his kindness shown to men; whether considered as
creatures
as sinners
or as believers. George Burder
1838
Verse
5. The goodness of the Lord. He might
if he had pleased
have made everything we tasted bitter
everything we saw loathsome
everything
we touched a sting
every smell a stench
every sound a discord. William
Paley
D.D.
1743-1805.
Verse
6. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the
host of them by the breath of his mouth. That the (hwd) is not spirit
but breath
is evident from the words of his mouth (compare Isa
11:4)
and from the parallelism with word. Simple word is simple breath;
both together
they stand in contrast to that exercise of strength
that
labour
that use of means and instruments without which feeble man can bring
nothing to perfection. Then there are the parallel passages
"All the
while my breath is in me
and the Spirit of God is in my nostrils." Job
27:3. "The Spirit of God hath made me
and the breath of the Almighty hath
given me life." Job 33:4. "Thou takest away their breath
they die
and return to their dust
thou sendest forth thy breath
they are
created." Ps 104:29
30. On the other hand
however
the exposition which
would interpret (wyp xwr)
without reference to the Spirit of God
cannot be a correct one. In the history of the creation
to which the verse
before us
as well as verses seven and nine
generally refer
the creation is
described as the work of the SPIRIT of God
and his WORD. First
the Spirit
of God moved upon the face of the waters
then God said. We may also
suppose that the Spirit and the power of God are here represented by the figure
of breath
because that in man is the first sign of life. E. W.
Hengstenberg.
Verse
6. By the word of the Lord. May be understood of the
hypostatic Word
as John teaches us. Joh 1:1. (John Cocceius)
1603-1669. This is an illustration of the old saying
that while Grotius finds
Christ nowhere
Cocceius finds Christ everywhere. C. H. S.
Verse
6. Let any make a world
and he shall be a God
saith Augustine;
hence is it that the church maketh it the very first article of her Creed to
believe in God the Father Almighty
maker of heaven and earth. John Weemse.
Verses
6
9. It is all one with God to do as to say
to perform as to promise;
it is as easy
he is as willing
as able
to do the one as the other. There is
no such distance betwixt God's saying and doing
as amongst men. His saying is
doing: He spake
and it was done; he commanded
and it stood fast. By the
word of the Lord were the heavens made. "The worlds were framed by the
word of God." Heb 11:3. There is omnipotence in his word
both of command
and promise; therefore called
"The word of his power." Heb 1:3. One
word of his can do more in an instant than the united powers of heaven and
earth can do in eternity. This consideration removes at once the chief
discouragements that hinder the lively actings of faith; for what is it that
weakens our confidence of the promises' performance
but because we look upon
the accomplishment as uncertain or difficult
or future and afar off! Now from
hence faith may conclude the performance is certain
easy
and present. David
Clarkson.
Verse
7. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap
etc.
"God called the gathering together of the waters
seas." Ge 1:10.
This unstable element must
like all other elements
be put under law
and
confined within bounds
that there might be a habitable earth for man and all
the creatures around him. Thus the psalmist sings
He gathereth the waters
of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. The
boundary was such as to cause his servants to wonder. They looked from the
shore
as we do
and under the influence of a well known law
the billows in
their heaving swells
seemed as if they would
as if they did
touch the sky
itself; and as if they were so much higher than the shore
that they were in
danger of leaving their basin and stretching over the land. Just such an
impression
we with all our science
popularly hold. The prophets thus looked
as we do
and under the same kind of feeling. How wonderful
they thought
is
all this! A low barrier of sand is made Jehovah's agent for bounding the deep.
"The Lord hath placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual
decree
that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves
yet they not prevail; though they roar
yet can they not pass over it." Jer
5:22. John Duns
D.D.
in "Science and Christian Thought
"1868.
Verse
7. The waters of the sea. Of all objects that I have ever
seen
there is none which affect my imagination so much as the sea or ocean. I
cannot see the heavings of this prodigious bulk of waters
even in a calm
without a very pleasing astonishment; but when it is worked up in a tempest
so
that the horizon on every side is nothing but foaming billows and floating
mountains
it is impossible to describe the agreeable horror that rises from
such a prospect. A troubled ocean
to a man who sails upon it
is
I think
the
biggest object that he can see in motion
and consequently gives his
imagination one of the highest kinds of pleasure that can arise from greatness.
I must confess it is impossible for me to survey this world of fluid matter
without thinking on the hand that first poured it out
and made a proper
channel for its reception. Such an object naturally raises in my thoughts the
idea of an Almighty Being
and convinces me of his existence as much as a
metaphysical demonstration. The imagination prompts the understanding
and by
the greatness of the sensible object
produces in it the idea of a Being who is
neither circumscribed by time nor space. Spectator.
Verse
7. As a heap. Dealing with fluids as if they were solids
with an obvious allusion to Ex 15:8. Depths
masses of water. The main
point of the description is God's handling these vast liquid masses
as men
handle solid substances of moderate dimensions
heaping the waves up
and
storing them away
as men might do with stones or wheat. J. A. Alexander.
Verse
7. The vast masses of waters which had hitherto covered the entire
surface of the globe
was on the third day of creation brought within narrower
compass
and large tracts of the submerged earth reclaimed and rendered
habitable ground...The waters were
for the most part
congregated
together in one vast body
instead of being universally diffused over the face
of the earth. This is the state of things which we now contemplate; the various
great seas and oceans constituting in fact but one body of water called in
different regions by different names
as the Atlantic
Pacific
Indian
Southern
etc.
oceans. George Bush
on Ge 1:9.
Verse
8. Let all the earth. For who can doubt that God can do as he
wills upon earth
since he so tamed the unconquerable nature of the sea? Hugo
Grotius
1583-1645.
Verse
8. Let all the earth fear the Lord
etc. Let them not fear
another instead of him. Doth a wild beast rage? Fear God. Doth a serpent lie in
wait? Fear God. Doth man hate thee? Fear God. Doth the devil fight against
thee? Fear God. For the whole creation is under him whom thou art commanded to
fear. Augustine.
Verse
9. He spake
and it was done. As we say in Latin
Dictum
factum
SAID DONE
no delay having interposed. Hugo Grotius.
Verse
9. He spake
and it was done; so that the creatures were not
emanations from the divine nature
but effects of the divine will
the fruits
of intelligence
and design
and counsel. William Binnie
D.D.
Verse
10. The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought
etc. The more the Pharisees of old
and their successors the prelates of late
opposed the truth
the more it prevailed. The Reformation in Germany was much
furthered by the Papists' opposition; yea
when two kings (amongst many
others)
wrote against Luther
namely
Henry 8th of England
and Ludovicus of
Hungary
this kingly title being entered into the controversy (making men more
curious to examine the matter)
stirred up a general inclination towards
Luther's opinions. Richard Younge's Christian Library
1655.
Verse
11. The counsel of the Lord. Note the contrast between the
counsel of the heathen in the last verse
and the counsel of the Lord in this. C.
H. S.
Verse
11. The thoughts. The same word as devices in the
preceding verse. William de Burgh
D.D.
in loc.
Verse
11. The wheels in a watch or a clock move contrary one to another
some one way
some another
yet all serve the intent of the workman
to show
the time
or to make the clock strike. So in the world
the providence of God
may seem to run cross to his promises; one man takes this way
another runs
that way; good men go one way
wicked men another
yet all in conclusion
accomplish the will
and centre in the purpose of God the great Creator of all
things. Richard Sibbes.
Verse
11. (last clause). Think not
brethren
because he said
The
thoughts of his heart
that God as it were sitteth down and thinketh what
he should do
and taketh counsel to do anything
or not to do anything. To
thee
O man
belongs such tardiness. Augustine.
Verse
12. Blessed—whom he hath chosen. A man may have his name set
down in the chronicles
yet lost; wrought in durable marble
yet perish; set
upon a monument equal to a Colossus
yet be ignominious; inscribed on the
hospital gates
yet go to hell; written in the front of his own house
yet
another come to possess it; all these are but writings in the dust
or upon the
waters
where the characters perish so soon as they are made; they no more
prove a man happy than the fool could prove Pontius Pilate because his name was
written in the Creed. But the true comfort is this
when a man by assurance can
conclude with his own soul that his name is written in those eternal leaves of
heaven
in the book of God's election
which shall never be wrapped up in the
cloudy sheets of darkness but remain legible to all eternity. Thomas Adams.
Verse
12. The people whom he hath chosen. Some read it
The people
which hath chosen him for their inheritance. It cometh all to one. See De
26:17-19. John Trapp.
Verse
12. It's an happiness to have an interest in one greater than
ourselves; an interest in a beggar is of no worth
because he is of no power;
but interest in a prince all men seek
therefore it is said
Blessed are the
people whose God is the Lord. Joseph Symonds.
Verse
12. Lest it should be thought that men obtain so great a good by
their own efforts and industry
David teaches us expressly that it proceeds
from the fountain of God's gracious electing love that we are accounted the
people of God. John Calvin.
Verse
12. I have sometimes compared the great men of the world
and
the good men of the world to the consonants and vowels in
the alphabet. The consonants are the most and the biggest letters; they
take up most room
and carry the greatest bulk; but
believe it
the vowels
though they are the fewest and least of all the letters
yet they are most
useful; they give the greatest sound of all; there is no pronunciation without
vowels. O beloved
though the great men of the world take up room
and
make a show above others
yet they are but consonants
a company of mute
and dumb consonants for the most part; the good men they are the vowels
that are of the greatest use and most concernment at every turn: a good man
to help with his prayers; a good man to advise with his counsels; a
good man to interpose with his authority; this is the loss we lament
we
have lost a good man; death has blotted out a vowel; and I fear
me there will be much silence where he is lacking; silence in the bed
and
silence in the house
and silence in the shop
and silence in the church
and
silence in the parish
for he was everywhere a vowel
a good man in
every respect. John Kitchin
M.A.
in a Funeral Sermon
1660.
Verse
15. He fashioneth their hearts alike. As an illustration of
the passage as it stands in our version
we append the following:—"Every
circumstance concurs in proving that mankind are not composed of species
essentially different from each other; that
on the contrary
there was
originally but one species
which
after multiplying and spreading over the
whole surface of the earth
has undergone various changes
from the influence
of climate
food
mode of living
diseases
and mixture of dissimilar
individuals; that at first these changes were not so conspicuous
and produced
only individual varieties; that these varieties became afterward more specific
because they were rendered more general
more strongly marked
and more
permanent
by the continual action of the same causes; and that they are
transmitted from generation to generation." G. L. Leclerc
Comte de
Buffon
1707-1788.
Verse
15. The Creator of all things fashioneth their hearts alike;
the word (dxy)
which signifies together at once
intimating that the hearts of
all men though separated from one another by never so vast a gulf of time or
place
are as exactly alike in respect of their original inclinations
as if
they had been all moulded at the same time. The worship of a God and then some
kind of religion
is necessary to us
we cannot shift it off. William Pinke
1631.
Verse
15. (last clause). Two men give to the poor
one seeketh his
reward in heaven
the other the praise of men. Thou in two seest one thing
God
understandeth two. For he understandeth what is within
and knoweth what is
within; their ends he seeth
their base intentions he seeth. He
understandeth all their works. Augustine.
Verse
16. There is no king saved by the multitude of an host. At the
battle of Arbela
the Persian hosts numbered between five hundred thousand and
a million men
but they were utterly put to the rout by Alexander's band of
fifty thousand; and the once mighty Darius was soon vanquished. Napoleon led
more than half a million of men into Russia:
"Not
such the numbers
nor the host so dread
By northern Bren
or Scythian Timour led."
But
the terrible winter left the army a mere wreck
and their leader was soon a
prisoner on the lone rock of St. Helena. All along the line of history this
verse has been verified. The strongest battalions melt like snowflakes when God
is against them. C. H. S.
Verse
16. A mighty man; or a giant; Goliath for instance. As
the most skilful swimmers are often drowned
so here. John Trapp.
Verses
16-17.
Not
the chief his serried lances
Not his strength secures the brave;
All in vain the warhorse prances
Weak his force his lord to save.
—Richard Mant.
Verses
16-17. The weakness and insufficiency of all human power
however
great
as before of all human intellect. J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Verses
16-17. As a passenger in a storm
that for shelter against the weather
steps out of the way
betakes him to a fair spread oak
stands under the
boughs
with his back close to the body of it
and finds good relief thereby
for the space of some time; till at length comes a sudden gust of wind
that
tears down a main arm of it
which falling upon the poor passenger
either
maims or mischieves him that resorted to it for succour. Thus falleth it out
with not a few
meeting in the world with many troubles
and with manifold
vexations
they step aside out of their own way
and too
too often out of
God's
to get under the wing of some great one
and gain
it may be
some aid
and shelter thereby for a season; but after awhile
that great one himself coming
down headlong
and falling from his former height of favour
or honour
they
are also called in question and to fall together with him
that might otherwise
have stood long enough on their own legs
if they had not trusted to such an
arm of flesh
such a broken staff that deceived them. Thomas Gataker.
Verse
17. An horse. If the strength of horses be of God
or be his
gift Job 39:19
then trust not in the strength of horses: use the strength of
horses
but do not trust the strength of horses. If you trust the strength
which God hath given to horses
you make them your god. How often doth God
forbid trusting in the strength of horses
as knowing that we are apt to trust
in anything that is strong
though but a beast. An horse is a vain thing for
safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. As if God had
said
you think a horse can save you
but know he is a vain thing. And when the
psalmist saith
"A horse is a vain thing
"he doth not mean it of a
weak horse
but of a horse of the greatest strength imaginable; such a horse is
a vain thing to save a man
neither can he deliver any by his strength; and
therefore the Lord
when he promised great deliverances to his people
lest
they should expect it by the strength of horses
saith Ho 1:7
"I will
save them by the Lord their God
and will not save them by bow
nor by sword
nor by battle
by horses
nor by horsemen; "as if he had told them
do not
look after creature strength to be saved by; a horse will be a vain thing to
save you
and I can save you effectually without horses
and I will. Joseph
Caryl.
Verses
17-20. Man is sensible of his want of earthly blessings
and will never
cease
with excessive care
diligence
and vexation
to hunt after them
till
he come to know that God will provide for him. When one hath great friends
which they are known to lean upon
we say of them
such need take no care
they
know such and such will see to them. On the contrary
come to one who knows no
end of toiling and caring
ask him
Why will you thus tire yourself out? He
will answer
I must needs do it
I have none but myself to trust to. So Christ
followeth his disciples' carefulness to this door
their unbelief
which did
not let them consider our heavenly Father cared for them. No present estate
though never so great
can free the heart from distraction
because it is
subject to decay and vanishing; we shall never cast the burden of care off our
own shoulders
till we learn by faith to cast it upon the Lord
whose eye is
over us for good. He will never renounce carnal supports who make not God the
stay of his soul for outward things. He will trust in the abundance of his
riches
wisdom
friends
or strength
that makes not God his strength. The
heart of man
being aware of his inability to sustain himself if he be not
underset
will seek out some prop
true or false
sound or rotten
to lean
unto. They will go down to Egypt for help
and stay on horses
and trust in
chariots
because they are many
and in horsemen because they are very strong
who look not to the Holy One of Israel
and seek not the Lord. John Ball.
Verse
18. Behold
etc. Hitherto he had given a proof of God's
providence towards all men
but now he descends to a particular proof of
it
by his care over his church
which he wonderfully guides
defends
and protects in all dangers and assaults; and that notice may be taken of it
he begins with
"Behold!" Adam Clarke.
Verse
18. The eye of the Lord is upon. Look upon the sun
how it
casts light and heat upon the whole world in its general course
how it shineth
upon the good and the bad with an equal influence; but let its beams be but
concentrated in a burning glass
then it sets fire on the object only
and
passeth by all others: and thus God in the creation looketh upon all his works
with a general love
erant omnia valde bona
they pleased him very well.
Oh! but when he is pleased to cast the beams of his love
and cause them to
shine upon his elect through Christ
then it is that their hearts burn within
them
then it is that their affections are inflamed; whereas others are but as
it were a little warmed
have a little shine of common graces cast upon them. Richard
Holdsworth
1651.
Verse
18. Behold
the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him
upon
them that hope in his mercy. This is a very encouraging character. They who
cannot claim the higher distinctions of religion
may surely know that they
"fear God
and hope in his mercy." Some may wonder at the
combination; and suppose that the qualities are incompatible with each other.
But the first Christians "walked in the fear of the Lord
and in the
comforts of the Holy Ghost." They may think that the fear will injure the
hope
or the hope the fear. But these are even mutually helpful; and they are
not only never so beautiful
but never so influential as when they are blended.
The fear promotes hope by the evidence it affords; and by keeping us from loose
and careless walking
which must always affect our peace and pleasure. And hope
no less befriends this fear. For never is God seen so glorious
so worthy of
all our devotedness to him as when we hope in his mercy; and even the more
assured we are of his regard
the more we shall enquire
Lord
what wilt thou
have ne to do? The more we shall tremble at the thought of offending and grieving
him
the more we shall continue upon our knees praying
"Let the words of
my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in thy sight
O Lord
my
Strength and my Redeemer." It is called "a lively hope:"
and Christians know
by experience
that upon all their principles and duties
it has the same influence as Spring has upon the fields and the gardens. William
Jay.
Verse
18. Who hope in his mercy. When thou canst not get assurance
make as much improvement of the grounds upon which thou mayest build hopes
of salvation. The probable grounds thou hast
thou wouldst not part with for
all the world. If thy heart is not full of joy through sense of God's love
yet
thine eyes are full of tears
and thy soul full of sorrow
through the sense of
thy sin: wouldst thou change thy condition with any hypocrite whatsoever
with
the richest man that hath no grace? I would not have thee rest satisfied with a
probability
but yet bless God for a probability of salvation. Is it nothing
that one that hath deserved hell most certainly
should have a probability that
he should escape it? Would not this be a little ease to the torments of the
damned
if they had but a strong probability that they should be saved? but no
hope makes it heavy. When thou art sick
thou enquirest of the physician
Sir
what do you think of me? Shall I live
or shall I die? If he reply it is
not certain
but there is good hopes
it is probable you will live and
do well; this is some support unto thee in thy sickness. Thomas Doolittle
M.A. (1630-1707)
in "Morning Exercises."
Verse
18. The weakest believer
the least of saints
hath ground to hope.
The gospel is so ordered
the covenant so methodised
God hath made such ample
provision
that every one may "have good hope through grace" 1Th 2:16;
and all that bear this character are allowed
encouraged
nay
commanded to
hope: their hoping is as mighty a pleasure to God
as it is a comfort to
themselves. Samuel Doolittle's "Righteous Man's Hope in Death
"1693.
Verses
18-19. During the siege of Rochelle
which was endured with unexampled
bravery for nearly fifteenth months
the inhabitants were reduced by famine to
the misery of being obliged to have recourse to the flesh of horses
asses
mules
dogs
cats
rats
and mice; and a single peck of corn is said to have
been sold for a sum equivalent to about twenty-five pounds sterling of our
money in the present day. There were numerous examples of great and liberal
generosity among the inhabitants. Some dispensed their charity so secretly that
their names were never discovered. Among the rest
the following example is
narrated:—"The Sieur de la Goute
an honorary king's advocate
had a
sister
the widow of a merchant named Prosni
who
being a very religious and
benevolent woman
at the time when the famine became more severe than it had
been
freely assisted the poor with her present surplus. Her sister-in-law
the
wife of her brother
De la Goute
being differently inclined
reproved her for
her conduct
asking her in anger
`What she would do when all should be
expended?' Her reply was
`My sister
the Lord will provide for me.' The
siege was continued
and the famine increased its fearful ravages; and poor
widow Prosni
who had four children
found herself in a great strait—all her
store of provisions being exhausted. She applied to her sister for relief
who
in the stead of comforting
reproached her for her improvidence; tauntingly
adding that
as she had done mighty well to be so reduced under all her great
faith and fine words
that `the Lord will provide for her.'so in good
time he might provide for her. Wounded to the heart by these words
poor widow
Prosni returned to her house in sad distress; resolving nevertheless to meet
death patiently. On reaching her home
her children met her with gladdened
hearts and joyous faces
and told her that a man
to them an entire stranger
had knocked at the door
it being late; and
on its being opened
he threw in a
sack of about two bushels of wheat; and then
without saying a word
suddenly
departed. The widow Prosni
scarcely able to believe her own eyes
with an
overflowing
grateful heart towards her gracious benefactor
immediately ran to
her sister-in-law as quickly as her famished condition would allow; and upon
seeing her
exclaimed aloud
`My sister
the Lord HATH provided for me; 'and
saying no more
returned home again. By means of this unexpected relief
conveyed to her so opportunely
she was enabled to support herself and family
until the end of the siege
and she never knew to whom she was instrumentally
indebted for this timely and merciful assistance." The Biblical
Treasury
Vol. 4
Verse
20. Our soul waiteth for the Lord. There is an emphasis on the
word soul which should be attended to; for although this is a common
mode of speech among the Hebrews
yet it expresses earnest affection; as if
believers should say
We sincerely rely upon God with our whole heart
accounting him our shield and help. John Calvin.
Verse
20. Our soul. Not our souls
but our soul
as if they
all had only one. And what is the language of God by the prophet? "I will
give them one heart and one way." And thus the two disciples going to
Emmaus exclaimed
upon their discovery and surprise
"Did not our heart
burn within us?" And thus in the beginning of the gospel it was said
"The multitude of them that believed were of one heart
and of one
soul." We have seen several drops of water on the table
by being brought
to touch
running into one. If Christians were better acquainted with each
other
they would easily unite. William Jay.
Verse
20. He is our help. Antigonus
king of Syria
being ready to
give battle near the Isle of Andreos
sent out a squadron to watch the motions
of his enemies
and to descry their strength: return was made that they had
more ships
and better manned than he was. "How?" says Antigonus
"that cannot be; quam multis meipsum opponis (for how many dost
thou reckon me?)" intimating that the dignity of a general weighed down
many others
especially when poised with valour and experience. And where is
valour
where is experience to be found
if not in God? He is the Lord of
hosts; with him alone is strength and power to deliver Israel our of all her
troubles. He may do it
he can do it
he will do it; he is wise in heart and
mighty in strength; besides him there is no Saviour
no deliverer; he is a
shield to the righteous
strength to the weak
a refuge to the oppressed. He is
instar omnium (all in all)
and who is like unto him in all the world? John
Spencer.
Verse
20. There is an excellent story of a young man
that was at sea in a
mighty raging tempest; and when all the passengers were at their wits' end for
fear
he only was merry; and when he was asked the reason of his mirth
he
answered
"That the pilot of the ship was his father
and he knew his
father would have a care of him." The great and wise God
who is our
Father
hath from all eternity decreed what shall be the issue of all wars
what the event of all troubles; he is our pilot
he sits at the stern; and
though the ship of the church or state be in a sinking condition
yet be of
good comfort
our Pilot will have a care of us. There is nothing done in the
lower house of Parliament on earth
but what is first decreed in the higher
house in heaven. All the lesser wheels are ordered and overruled by the upper.
Are not five sparrows
saith Christ
sold for a farthing? One sparrow is not
worth half a farthing. And there's no man shall have half a farthing's worth of
harm more than God hath decreed from all eternity. Edmund Calamy.
Verse
22. According as we hope in thee; not according to any merits
of theirs
but according to the measure of grace
of the grace of hope which
God had bestowed on them
and encouraged them to exercise on him
in
expectation of finding grace and mercy with him. John Gill.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Whole
Psalm. This Psalm is eucharistic: the contents are:
1. An
exhortation to praise God Ps 33:1-3.
2.
The arguments to enforce the duty Ps 33:4-19.
3.
The confidence of God's people in his name
their happiness
and
petition Ps 33:20-22.
—Adam
Clarke.
Verse
1. Rejoicing—the soul of praise; the Lord—a wellspring of joy.
Character—indispensable to true enjoyment.
Verse
1. (last clause). Praise comely. What? Vocal
meditative
habitual praise. Why? It is comely as wings to an angel
we
mount with it; as flowers to a tree
it is our fruit; as a robe to a priest
it
is our office; as long hair to a woman
it is our beauty; as a crown to a king
it is our highest honour. When? Evermore
but chiefly amid blasphemy
persecution
sickness
poverty
death. Whom? Not from the ungodly
hypocritical
or
thoughtless. To be without praise is to miss our comeliest adornment.
Verse
2. Instrumental music. Is it lawful? Is it expedient? If so
its
uses
limits
and laws. A sermon to improve congregational music.
Verse
3. (first clause). The duty of maintaining the freshness of
our devotions. Freshness
skill
and heartiness
to be combined in our
congregational psalmody.
Verse
4. God's word and works
their rightness
and agreement
and our
view of both.
Verse
4. (first clause). The word doctrinal
preceptive
historical
prophetic
promissory
and experimental
always right
i.e.
free from error or evil.
Verse
4. (second clause). God's work of creation
providence
and
grace
always in conformity with truth. His hatred of everything like a sham.
Verses
4-5. A fourfold argument for praise
from the truth
the faithfulness
the justice
and goodness of God:
1. For
the word of the Lord is right.
2. All his works are done in truth.
3. He loveth righteousness and judgment.
4. The earth is full of his goodness.
—Adam Clarke.
Verse
5. Justice and goodness equally conspicuous in the divine action.
Verse
5. (last clause). A matchless theme for an observant eye and
an eloquent tongue.
Verse
6. The power of the Word and the Spirit in the old and new
creations.
Verse
7. God's control of destructive and reconstructive agencies.
Verse
7. The storehouses of the Great Husbandman.
Verse
8. Reasons for universal worship
obstacles to it
future prospects
of it
our duty in relation to it.
Verse
8. (last clause). Awe—the soul of worship.
Verse
9. The irresistible word of Jehovah in creation
in calling
his people
in their comfort and deliverance
in their entrance to glory.
Verse
10. Educated and philosophical heathen within the reach of missions.
Verses
10-11. The opposing counsels.
Verse
11. The eternity
immutability
efficiency
and wisdom of the divine
decrees. God's purposes
"the thoughts of his heart
" hence their
wisdom
and yet more their love.
Verse
12. Two elections made by a blessed people and a gracious God
and
their happy result. The happiness of the church of God. God's delight in his
people
and their delight in him.
Verse
13. Omniscience and its lessons.
Verses
13-15. The doctrine of providence.
Verse
15. God's acquaintance with men hearts
and his estimate of their
actions. The similarity of human nature.
Verses
16-18. The fallacy of human trust
and the security of faith in God.
Verse
18. Hoping in the mercy of God—false and true forms distinguished.
Verse
18.
1.
The eyes of God's knowledge are upon them.
2. The eyes of his affection are upon them.
3. The eyes of his providence are upon them.
—William Jay.
Verse
19. Life in famine
natural and spiritual
especially a famine of
inward hope and legal satisfaction.
Verse
20. Waiting for the Lord
includes:
1.
Conviction—a persuasion that the Lord is the supreme good.
2. Desire—it is expressed by hungering and thirsting after righteousness.
3. Hope.
4. Patience—God is never slack concerning his promise.
—William Jay.
Verse
20. (first clause). The believer's hourly position.
Verse
21. Joy
the outflow of faith.
Verse
22. A prayer for believers only.
Verse
22. Measure for measure
or mercy proportioned to faith.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》