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Psalm One
Hundred Forty-eight
Psalm 148
Chapter Contents
The creatures placed in the upper world called on to
praise the Lord. (1-6) Also the creatures of this lower world
especially his
own people. (7-14)
Commentary on Psalm 148:1-6
(Read Psalm 148:1-6)
We
in this dark and sinful world
know little of the
heavenly world of light. But we know that there is above us a world of blessed
angels. They are always praising God
therefore the psalmist shows his desire
that God may be praised in the best manner; also we show that we have communion
with spirits above
who are still praising him. The heavens
with all contained
in them
declare the glory of God. They call on us
that both by word and deed
we glorify with them the Creator and Redeemer of the universe.
Commentary on Psalm 148:7-14
(Read Psalm 148:7-14)
Even in this world
dark and bad as it is
God is
praised. The powers of nature
be they ever so strong
so stormy
do what God
appoints them
and no more. Those that rebel against God's word
show
themselves to be more violent than even the stormy winds
yet they fulfil it.
View the surface of the earth
mountains and all hills; from the barren tops of
some
and the fruitful tops of others
we may fetch matter for praise. And
assuredly creatures which have the powers of reason
ought to employ themselves
in praising God. Let all manner of persons praise God. Those of every rank
high and low. Let us show that we are his saints by praising his name
continually. He is not only our Creator
but our Redeemer; who made us a people
near unto him. We may by "the Horn of his people" understand Christ
whom God has exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour
who is indeed the defence
and the praise of all his saints
and will be so for ever. In redemption
that
unspeakable glory is displayed
which forms the source of all our hopes and
joys. May the Lord pardon us
and teach our hearts to love him more and praise
him better.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 148
Verse 4
[4] Praise him
ye heavens of heavens
and ye waters that be
above the heavens.
Heavens of heavens — Ye highest heavens
the place of God's throne.
Waters — Ye clouds which are above a part of the heavens.
Verse 6
[6] He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath
made a decree which shall not pass.
Established — He hath made them constant and
incorruptible
not changeable
as the things of the lower world.
A decree — Concerning their continuance.
Verse 7
[7] Praise the LORD from the earth
ye dragons
and all
deeps:
Dragons — Either serpents
which hide in the deep caverns of the
earth; or whales
and other sea-monsters
which dwell in the depths of the sea.
Verse 8
[8] Fire
and hail; snow
and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling
his word:
Fire — Lightnings and other fireworks of the air.
Vapour — Or
fumes: hot exhalations.
Fulfilling his word — Executing his
commands
either for the comfort or punishment of the inhabitants of the earth.
Verse 13
[13] Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone
is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.
Above — Above all the glories which are in earth and in
heaven.
Verse 14
[14] He also exalteth the horn of his people
the praise of
all his saints; even of the children of Israel
a people near unto him. Praise
ye the LORD.
The horn — In scripture commonly denotes strength
victory
glory
and felicity.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and
Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village
Preacher
The song is one
and indivisible. It seems almost impossible to expound it in detail
for a
living poem is not to be dissected verse by verse. It is a song of nature and of
grace. As a flash of lightning flames through space
and enwraps both heaven
and earth in one vestment of glory
so doth the adoration of the Lord in this
Psalm light up all the universe
and cause it to glow with a radiance of
praise. The song begins in the heavens
sweeps downward to dragons and all
deeps
and then ascends again
till the people near unto Jehovah take up the
strain. For its exposition the chief requisite is a heart on fire with reverent
love to the Lord over all
who is to be blessed for ever.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. Praise ye the LORD. Whoever ye may be that hear this word
ye are invited
entreated
commanded
to magnify Jehovah. Assuredly he has made
you
and
if for nothing else
ye are bound
upon the ground of creatureship
to adore your Maker. This exhortation can never be out of place
speak it where
we may; and never out of time
speak it when we may. Praise ye the LORD from
the heavens. Since ye are nearest to the High and Lofty One
be ye sure to lead
the song. Ye angels
ye cherubim and seraphim
and all others who dwell in the
precincts of his courts
praise ye Jehovah. Do this as from a starting point
from which the praise is to pass on to other realms. Keep not your worship to
yourselves
but let it fall like a golden shower from the heavens on men
beneath. Praise him in the heights. This is no vain repetition; but after the
manner of attractive poesy the truth is emphasized by reiteration in other
words. Moreover
God is not only to be praised from the heights
but in
them: the adoration is to be perfected in the heavens from which it takes its
rise. No place is too high for the praises of the most High. On the summit of
creation the glory of the Lord is to be revealed
even as the tops of the
highest Alps are tipped with the golden light of the same sun which glads the
valleys. Heavens and heights become the higher and the more heavenly as they
are made to resound with the praises of Jehovah. See how the Psalmist trumpets
out the word "PRAISE." It sounds forth some nine times in the first
five verses of this song. Like minute-guns
exultant exhortations are sounded
forth in tremendous force—Praise! Praise! Praise! The drum of the great
King beats round the world with this one note—Praise! Praise! Praise!
"Again they said
Hallelujah." All this praise is distinctly and
personally for Jehovah. Praise not his servants nor his works; but praise HIM.
Is he not worthy of all possible praise? Pour it forth before HIM in full
volume; pour it only there!
Verse
2. Praise ye him
all his angels. Living intelligences
perfect in character and in bliss
lift up your loudest music to your Lord
each one
of you. Not one bright spirit is exempted from this consecrated
service. However many ye be
O angels
ye are all his angels
and
therefore ye are bound
all of you
to render service to your Lord. Ye have all
seen enough of him to be able to praise him
and ye have all abundant reasons
for so doing. Whether ye be named Gabriel
or Michael
or by whatever other
titles ye are known
praise ye the Lord. Whether ye bow before him
or fly on
his errands
or desire to look into his covenant
or behold his Son
cease not
ye messengers of Jehovah
to sound forth his praise while ye move at his
bidding. Praise ye him
all his hosts. This includes angelic armies
but groups
with them all the heavenly bodies. Though they be inanimate
the stars
the
clouds
the lightnings
have their ways of praising Jehovah. Let each one of
the countless legions of the Lord of hosts show forth his glory; for the countless
armies are all his
his by creation
and preservation
and consequent
obligation. Both these sentences claim unanimity of praise from those in the
upper regions who are called upon to commence the strain—"all his
angels
all his hosts." That same hearty oneness must pervade the
whole orchestra of praising ones; hence
further on
we read of all stars of
light
all deeps
all hills
all cedars
and all people. How well the concert
begins when all angels
and all the heavenly host
strike the first joyful
notes! In that concert our souls would at once take their part.
Verse
3. Praise ye him
sun and moon: praise him
all ye stars of
light. The Psalmist enters into detail as to the heavenly hosts. As all
so
each
must praise the God of each and all. The sun and moon
as joint rulers of
day and night
are paired in praise: the one is the complement of the other
and so they are closely associated in the summons to worship. The sun has his
peculiar mode of glorifying the Great Father of lights
and the moon has her
own special method of reflecting his brightness. There is a perpetual adoration
of the Lord in the skies: it varies with night and day
but it ever continues
while sun and moon endure. There is ever a lamp burning before the high altar
of the Lord. Nor are the greater luminaries allowed to drown with their floods
of light the glory of the lesser brilliants
for all the stars are bidden to
the banquet of praise. Stars are many
so many that no one can count the host
included under the words
"all ye stars"; yet no one of them refuses
to praise its Maker. From their extreme brilliance they are fitly named
"stars of light"; and this light is praise in a visible form
twinkling to true music. Light is song glittering before the eye instead of
resounding in the ear. Stars without light would render no praise
and
Christians without light rob the Lord of his glory. However small our beam
we
must not hide it: if we cannot be sun or moon we must aim to be one of the
"stars of light"
and our every twinkling must be to the honour of
our Lord.
Verse
4. Praise him
ye heavens of heavens. By these are meant
those regions which are heavens to those who dwell in our heavens; or those
most heavenly of abodes where the most choice of spirits dwell. As the highest
of the highest
so the best of the best are to praise the Lord. If we could
climb as much above the heavens as the heavens are above the earth
we could
still cry out to all around us
"Praise ye the Lord." There can be
none so great and high as to be above praising Jehovah. And ye waters that be
above the heavens. Let the clouds roll up volumes of adoration. Let the sea
above roar
and the fulness thereof
at the presence of Jehovah
the God of
Israel. There is something of mystery about these supposed reservoirs of water;
but let them be what they may
and as they may
they shall give glory to the
Lord our God. Let the most unknown and perplexing phenomena take up their parts
in the universal praise.
Verse
5. Let them praise the name of the LORD; for he commanded
and
they were created. Here is good argument: The Maker should have honour from
his works
they should tell forth his praise: and thus they should
praise his name—by which his character is intended. The name of JEHOVAH
is written legibly upon his works
so that his power
wisdom
goodness
and
other attributes are therein made manifest to thoughtful men
and thus his name
is praised. The highest praise of God is to declare what he is. We can invent
nothing which would magnify the Lord: we can never extol him better than by
repeating his name
or describing his character. The Lord is to be extolled as
creating all things that exist
and as doing so by the simple agency of his
word. He created by a command; what a power is this! Well may he expect those
to praise him who owe their being to him. Evolution may be atheistic; but the
doctrine of creation logically demands worship; and hence
as the tree is known
by its fruit
it proves itself to be true. Those who were created by command
are under command to adore their Creator. The voice which said "Let them
be"
now saith "Let them praise."
Verse
6. He hath also stablished them for ever and ever. The
continued existence of celestial beings is due to the supporting might of
Jehovah
and to that alone. They do not fail because the Lord does not fail
them. Without his will these things cannot alter; he has impressed upon them
laws which only he himself can change. Eternally his ordinances are binding
upon them. Therefore ought the Lord to be praised because he is Preserver as
well as Creator
Ruler as well as Maker. He hath made a decree which shall not
pass. The heavenly bodies are ruled by Jehovah's decree: they cannot pass his
limit
or trespass against his law. His rule and ordination can never be
changed except by himself
and in this sense his decree "shall not
pass": moreover
the highest and most wonderful of creatures are perfectly
obedient to the statutes of the Great King
and thus his decree is not passed
over. This submission to law is praise. Obedience is homage; order is harmony.
In this respect the praise rendered to Jehovah from the "bodies
celestial" is absolutely perfect. His almighty power upholds all things in
their spheres
securing the march of stars and the flight of seraphs; and thus
the music of the upper regions is never marred by discord
nor interrupted by
destruction. The eternal hymn is for ever chanted; even the solemn silence of
the spheres is a perpetual Psalm.
Verse
7. Praise the LORD from the earth. The song descends to our
abode
and so comes nearer home to us. We who are "bodies
terrestrial"
are to pour out our portion of praise from the golden globe
of this favoured planet. Jehovah is to be praised not only in the earth
but from the earth
as if the adoration ran over from this planet into
the general accumulation of worship. In Ps 148:1 the song was "from the
heavens"; here it is "from the earth": songs coming down from
heaven are to blend with those going up from earth. The "earth" here
meant is our entire globe of land and water: it is to be made vocal everywhere
with praise. Ye dragons
and all deeps. It would be idle to inquire what
special sea monsters are here meant; but we believe all of them are intended
and the places where they abide are indicated by "all deeps." Terrible
beasts or fishes
whether they roam the earth or swim the seas
are bidden to
the feast of praise. Whether they float amid the teeming waves of the tropics
or wend their way among the floes and bergs of polar waters
they are commanded
by our sacred poet to yield their tribute to the creating Jehovah. They pay no
service to man; let them the more heartily confess their allegiance to the
Lord. About "dragons" and "deeps" there is somewhat of
dread
but this may the more fitly become the bass of the music of the Psalm.
If there be aught grim in mythology
or fantastic in heraldry
let it praise
the incomprehensible Lord.
Verse
8. Fire and hail. Lightning and hailstones go together. In
the plagues of Egypt they cooperated in making Jehovah known in all the terrors
of his power. Fire and ice morsels are a contrast in nature
but they are
combined in magnifying the Lord. Snow and vapours. Offsprings of cold
or
creations of heat
be ye equally consecrated to his praise. Congealed or
expanded vapours
falling flakes or rising clouds
should
rising or falling
still reveal the praises of the Lord. Stormy winds fulfilling his word. Though
rushing with incalculable fury
the storm wind is still under law
and moves in
order due
to carry out the designs of God. It is a grand orchestra which
contains such wind instruments as these! He is a great leader who can keep all
these musicians in concert
and direct both time and tune.
Verse
9. Mountains
and all hills. Towering steeps and swelling
knolls alike declare their Creator. "All hills" are to be
consecrated; we have no longer Ebal and Gerizim
the hill of the curse and the
hill of the blessing
but all our Ebals are turned to Gerizims. Tabor and
Hermon
Lebanon and Carmel
rejoice in the name of the Lord. The greater and
the lesser mounts are one in their adoration. Not only the Alps and the
mountains of the Jura thunder out his praise; but our own Cotswolds and
Grampians are vocal with songs in his honour. Fruitful trees
and all cedars.
Fruit trees and forest trees
trees deciduous or evergreen
are equally full of
benevolent design
and alike subserve some purpose of love; therefore for all
and by all let the great Designer be praised. There are many species of cedar
but they all reveal the wisdom of their Maker. When kings fell them
that they
may make beams for their palaces
they do but confess their obligation to the
King of trees
and to the King of kings
whose trees they are. Varieties in the
landscape are produced by the rising and falling of the soil
and by the many
kinds of trees which adorn the land: let all
and all alike
glorify their one
Lord. When the trees clap their hands in the wind
or their leaves rustle in
the gentle breath of Zephyr
they do to their best ability sing out unto the Lord.
Verse
10. Beasts
and all cattle. Animals fierce or tame; wild
beasts and domestic cattle; let all these show forth the praises of Jehovah.
Those are worse than beasts who do not praise our God. More than brutish are
those who are wilfully dumb concerning their Maker. Creeping things
and flying
fowl. The multitudes that throng the earth and the air; insects of every form
and birds of every wing are called upon to join the universal worship. No one
can become familiar with insect and bird life without feeling that they
constitute a wonderful chapter in the history of divine wisdom. The minute
insect marvellously proclaims the Lord's handiwork: when placed under the
microscope it tells a wondrous tale. So
too
the bird which soars aloft
displays in its adaptation for an aerial life an amount of skill which our
balloonists have in vain attempted to emulate. True devotion not only hears the
praises of God in the sweet song of feathered minstrels
but even discovers it
in the croaking from the marsh
or in the buzz of "the blue fly which
singeth in the window pane." More base than reptiles
more insignificant
than insects
are songless men.
Verse
11. Kings of the earth
and all people: princes
and all judges of
the earth. Now the poet has reached our own race
and very justly he would
have rulers and subjects
chieftains and magistrates
unite in worshipping the
sovereign Lord of all. Monarchs must not disdain to sing
nor must their people
refrain from uniting with them. Those who lead in battle and those who decide
in courts must neither of them allow their vocations to keep them from
reverently adoring the Chief and Judge of all. All people
and all judges
must
praise the Lord of all. What a happy day it will be when it is universally
acknowledged that through our Lord Jesus
the incarnate Wisdom
"kings
reign and princes decree justice"! Alas
it is not so as yet! kings have
been patrons of vice
and princes ringleaders in folly. Let us pray that the
song of the Psalmist may be realized in fact.
Verse
12. Both young men
and maidens; old men
and children. Both
sexes and all ages are summoned to the blessed service of song. Those who
usually make merry together are to be devoutly joyful together: those who make
up the ends of families
that is to say
the elders and the juveniles
should
make the Lord their one and only end. Old men should by their experience teach
children to praise; and children by their cheerfulness should excite old men to
song. There is room for every voice at this concert: fruitful trees and
maidens
cedars and young men
angels and children
old men and judges—all may
unite in this oratorio. None
indeed
can be dispensed with: for perfect
Psalmody we must have the whole universe aroused to worship
and all parts of
creation must take their parts in devotion.
Verse
13. Let them praise the name of the LORD. All that is
contained in the name or character of Jehovah is worthy of praise
and all the
objects of his creating care will be too few to set it forth in its
completeness. For his name alone is excellent. It alone deserves to be exalted
in praise
for alone it is exalted in worth. There is none like unto the Lord
none that for a moment can be compared unto him. His unique name should have a
monopoly of praise. His glory is above the earth and heaven: it is therefore
alone because it surpasses all others. His royal splendour exceeds all that
earth and heaven can express. He is himself the crown of all things
the
excellency of the creation. There is more glory in him personally than in all
his works united. It is not possible for us to exceed and become extravagant in
the Lord's praise: his own natural glory is infinitely greater than any glory
which we can render to him.
Verse
14. He also exalteth the horn of his people. He hath made them
strong
famous
and victorious. His goodness to all his creatures does not
prevent his having a special favour to his chosen nation: he is good to all
but he is God to his people. He lifts up the down trodden
but he in a peculiar
manner lifts up his people. When they are brought low he raises up a horn for
them by sending them a deliverer; when they are in conflict he gives them
courage and strength
so that they lift up their horn amid the fray; and when
all is peaceful around them
he fills their horn with plenty
and they lift it
up with delight. The praise of all his saints. He is their glory: to him they
render praise; and he by his mercy to them evermore gives them further reasons
for praise
and higher motives for adoration. He lifts up their horn
and they
lift up his praise. He exalts them
and they exalt him. The Holy One is praised
by holy ones. He is their God
and they are his saints; he makes them blessed
and they bless him in return.
Even
of the children of Israel. The Lord knoweth them that are his. He knows the
name of him with whom he made a covenant
and how he came by that name
and who
his children are
and where they are. All nations are bidden in Ps 148:11 to
praise the Lord; but here the call is specially addressed to his elect people
who know him beyond all others. Those who are children of privilege should be
children of praise. A people near unto him
near by kin
and near by care; near
as to manifestation and near as to affection. This is a highly honourable
description of the beloved race; and it is true even more emphatically of the
spiritual Israel
the believing seed. This nearness should prompt us to
perpetual adoration. The Lord's elect are the children of his love
the
courtiers of his palace
the priests of his temple
and therefore they are
bound beyond all others to be filled with reverence for him
and delight in
him. Praise ye the Lord
or
Hallelujah. This should be the Alpha and
Omega of a good man's life. Let us praise God to the end
world without end.
The field of praise which lies before us in this Psalm is bounded at beginning
and end by landmarks in the form of Hallelujahs
and all that lieth between
them is every word of it to the Lord's honour. Amen.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Psalms
148:1 to 150:6. The last three Psalms are a triad of wondrous praise
ascending from praise to higher raise until it becomes "joy unspeakable
and full of glory"—exultation which knows no bounds. The joy overflows the
soul
and spreads throughout the universe; every creature is magnetized by it
and drawn into the chorus. Heaven is full of praise
the earth is full of
praise
praises rise from under the earth
"everything that hath
breath" joins in the rapture. God is encompassed by a loving
praising creation.
Man
the last in creation
but the first in song
knows not how to contain
himself. He dances
he sings
he commands all the heavens
with all their
angels
to help him
"beasts and all cattle
creeping things and flying
fowl" must do likewise
even "dragons" must not be silent
and
"all deeps" must yield contributions. He presses even dead things
into his service
timbrels
trumpets
harps
organs
cymbals
high sounding
cymbals
if by any means
and by all means
he may give utterance to his love
and joy.—John Pulsford.
Whole
Psalm. In this splendid anthem the Psalmist calls upon the whole
creation
in its two great divisions (according to the Hebrew conception) of
heaven and earth
to praise Jehovah: things with and things without life
beings rational and irrational
are summoned to join the mighty chorus. This
Psalm is the expression of the loftiest devotion
and it embraces at the same
time the most comprehensive view of the relation of the creature to the
Creator. Whether it is exclusively the utterance of a heart filled to the full
with the thought of the infinite majesty of God
or whether it is also an
anticipation
a prophetic forecast
of the final glory of creation
when at the
manifestation of the sons of God
the creation itself also shall be redeemed
from the bondage of corruption (Ro 8:18-23)
and the homage of praise shall
indeed be rendered by all things that are in heaven and earth and under the
earth
is a question into which we need not enter.—J.J. Stewart Perowne.
Whole
Psalm. Milton
in his Paradise Lost (Book 5
line 153
& c.)
has
elegantly imitated this Psalm
and put it into the mouth of Adam and Eve as
their morning hymn in a state of innocency.—James Anderson.
Whole
Psalm. Is this universal praise never to be realized? is it only the
longing
intense desire of the Psalmist's heart
which will never be heard on
earth
and can only be perfected in heaven? Is there to be no jubilee in which
the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing
and all the trees
of the field shall clap their hands? If there is to be no such day
then is the
word of God of none effect; if no such universal anthem is to swell the chorus
of heaven and to be reechoed by all that is on earth
then is God's promise
void. It is true
in this Psalm our translation presents it to us as a call or
summons for every thing that hath or hath not breath to praise the Lord—or as a
petition that they may praise; but it is in reality a prediction that they shall
praise. This Psalm is neither more nor less than a glorious prophecy of that
coming day
when not only shall the knowledge of the Lord be spread over the
whole earth
as the waters cover the sea
but from every created object in
heaven and in earth
animate and inanimate
from the highest archangel through every
grade and phase of being
down to the tiniest atom—young men and maidens
old
men and children
and all kings and princes
and judges of the earth shall
unite in this millennial
anthem to the Redeemer's praise.—Barton Bouchier.
Verse
1. Praise ye the Lord
etc. All things praise
and yet he
says
"Praise ye." Wherefore doth he say
"Praise
ye"
when they are praising? Because he delighteth in their praising
and therefore it pleaseth him to add
as it were
his own encouragement. Just
as
when you come to men who are doing any good work with pleasure in their
vineyard or in their harvest field
or in some other matter of husbandry
you
are pleased at what they are doing
and say
"Work on"
"Go
on"; not that they may begin to work
when you say this
but
because you
are pleased at finding them working
you add your approbation and
encouragement. For by saying
"Work on"
and encouraging those who
are working
you
so to speak
work with them in wish. In this sort of
encouragement
then
the Psalmist
filled with the Holy Ghost
saith this.—Augustine.
Verse
1. The thrice repeated exhortation
"Praise...Praise
...Praise"
in this first verse is not merely imperative
nor only
hortative
but it is an exultant hallelujah.—Martin Geier.
Verse
1. From the heavens: praise him in the heights. Or
high
places. As God in framing the world begun above
and wrought downward
so doth
the Psalmist proceed in this his exhortation to all creatures to praise the
Lord.—John Trapp.
Verse
1. Praise him in the heights. The principle applied in this
verse is this
that those who have been exalted to the highest honours of the
created universe
should proportionately excel in their tribute of honour to
him who has exalted them.—Hermann Venema.
Verse
1. Bernard
in his sermon on the death of his brother Gerard
relates that in the middle of his last night on earth his brother
to the
astonishment of all present
with a voice and countenance of exultation
broke
forth in the words of the Psalmist Praise the Lord of heaven
praise him in
the heights!
Verse
2. Praise ye him
all his angels. Angels are first invoked
because they can praise God with humility
reverence
and purity. The highest
are the humblest
the leaders of all created hosts are the most ready
themselves to obey.—Thomas Le Blanc.
Verse
2. Praise ye him
all his angels. The angels of God were his
first creatures; it has even been thought that they existed prior to the
inanimate universe. They were already praising their Maker before the light of
day
and they have never ceased their holy song. Angels praise God best in
their holy service. They praised Christ as God when they sang their Gloria
in Excelsis at the Incarnation
and they praised him as man when they
ministered to him after his temptation and before his crucifixion. So also now
angels praise the Lord by their alacrity in ministering to his saints.—John
Lorinus.
Verse
2. Praise ye him
all his hosts. That is
his creatures
(those above especially which are as his cavalry) called his
"hosts"
for
1.
Their number;
2
their order;
3. their obedience.—John Trapp.
Verse
3. Praise ye him
sun and moon
etc. How does the sun
specially praise Jehovah?
1.
By its beauty. Jesus son of Sirach calls it the "globe of beauty."
2. By its fulness. Dion calls it "the image of the Divine capacity."
3. By its exaltation. Pliny calls it caeli rector
"the ruler of
heaven."
4. By its perfect brightness. Pliny adds that it is "the mind and soul of
the whole universe."
5. By its velocity and constancy of motion. Martian calls it "the Guide of
Nature."
God
the Supreme was depicted by the ancients holding in his hand a wreath of stars
to show the double conception
that they both obey and adorn him.—Thomas Le
Blanc.
Verses
3-4. Let the sun
the fount of light
and warmth
and gladness
the
greater light which rules the day
the visible emblem of the Uncreated Wisdom
the Light which lighteth every man
the centre round whom all our hopes and
fears
our wants and prayers
our faith and love
are ever moving
—let the
moon
the lesser light which rules the night
the type of the Church
which
giveth to the world the light she gains from the Sun of Righteousness
—let the
stars
so vast in their number
so lovely in their arrangement and their
brightness
which God hath appointed in the heavens
even as he hath appointed
his elect to shine for ever and ever
—let all the heavens with all their
wonders and their worlds
the depths of space above
and the waters which are
above the firmament
the images of God's Holy Scripture and of the glories and
the mysteries contained therein
—let these ever praise him who made and blessed
them in the beginning of the creation.—J.W. Burgon.
Verses
3-4.
Praise
him
thou golden tressed sun;
Praise him thou fair and silver moon
And ye bright orbs of streaming light;
Ye floods that float above the skies
Ye heav'ns
that vault o'er vault arise
Praise him
who sits above all height.
—Richard Mant.
Verse
4. Paise him
ye heavens of heavens
etc. From the heavenly
inhabitants the poetic strain passes in transition to the heavens
themselves. There are orders of heavens
ranks and heights supreme
and stages
and degrees of lower altitude. This verse sublimely traverses the immensities
which are the home of the most exalted dignities who wait on Deity
and then it
descends to the firmament where the meteors flash forth
and where the heavens
stoop to lift the clouds that aspire from earth. And the idea sustained is that
all these vast realms
higher and lower
are one temple of unceasing praise.—Herman
Venema.
Verse
4. The ancients thought there was an ethereal and lofty ocean in
which the worlds floated like ships in a sea.—Thomas Le Blanc.
Verses
5-6. This is the account of creation in a word—He spake; it was done.
When Jesus came
he went everywhere showing his Divinity by this evidence
that
his word was omnipotent. These verses declare two miracles of God's Will and
Word
viz.
the creation and consolidation of the earth. Jehovah first produced
matter
then he ordered and established it.—John Lorinus.
Verse
6. He hath also stablished there for ever and ever
etc. Here
two things are set before us
the permanence and the cosmic order of creation.
Each created thing is not only formed to endure
in the type or the
development
if not in the individual
but has its place in the universe fixed
by God's decree
that it may fulfil its appointed share of working out his
will. They raise a question as to the words "for ever and ever"
how they can be reconciled with the prophecy
Isa 65:17: "Behold
I create
new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered
nor come
into mind"; a prophecy confirmed by the Lord himself
saying
"Heaven
and earth shall pass away"
and seen fulfilled in vision by the beloved
disciple. Mt 5:18 Re 21:1. And they answer that just as man dies and rises
again to incorruption
having the same personality in a glorified body
so will
it be with heaven and earth. Their qualities will be changed
not their
identity
in that new birth of all things.—Neale and Littledale.
Verse
6. For ever and ever.
My
heart is awed within me
when I think
Of the great miracle which still goes on
In silence
round me—the perpetual work
Of thy creation
finished
yet renewed
For ever.—William Cullen Bryant
1794-1878.
Verse
6. He hath made a decree
etc. Rather
He hath made an
ordinance
and will not transgress it. This is more obvious and natural
than to supply a new subject to the second verb
"and none of them
transgress it." This anticipates
but only in form
the modern scientific
doctrine of the inviolability of natural order. It is the imperishable
faithfulness of God that renders the law invariable.—A.S. Aglen.
Verse
7. Dragons. The word tanninim
rendered "dragons"
is a word which may denote whales
sharks
serpents
or sea monsters of any
kind (Job 7:1 Eze 29:3).—John Morison.
Verse
7. Sea monsters
in Revised Version. Fishes constrain our
admiration
as a created wonder
by the perfection of their form
their
magnitude
their adaptation to the element they inhabit
and their multitude.
Thus their very nature praises the Creator.—Thomas Le Blanc.
Verses
7-8. He calls to the deeps
dire
hail
snow
mountains
and hills
to bear a part in this work of praise. Not that they are able to do it
actively
but to show that man is to call in the whole creation to assist him
passively
and should have so much charity to all creatures as to receive what
they offer
and so much affection to God as to present to him what he receives
from him. Snow and hail cannot bless and praise God
but man
ought to bless God for those things
wherein there is a mixture of trouble and
inconvenience
something to molest our sense
as well as something that
improves the earth for fruit.—Stephen Charnock.
Verses
7-10. Here be many things easy to be understood
they are clear to
every eye; as when David doth exhort "kings" and "princes"
"old men" and "babes" to praise God; that is easy to be
done
and we know the meaning as soon as we look on it; but here are some things
again that are hard to be understood
dark and obscure
and they are two:
First
in that David doth exhort dumb
unreasonable
and senseless creatures to
praise God
such as cannot hear
at least cannot understand. Doth the Holy
Ghost in the gospel bid us avoid impertinent speeches
and vain repetitions
and shall we think he will use them himself? No
no. But
Secondly
not only doth he call upon these creatures
but also he calls upon the deeps
and the seas to praise God; these two things are hard to be conceived.
But to give you some reasons.
The
first reason may be this
why David calls upon the unreasonable creatures to
perform this duty
—He doth his duty like a faithful preacher
whether
they will hear or no that he preaches to
yet he will discharge his soul: a
true preacher
he speaks forth the truth
and calls upon them to hear
though
his auditors sleep
are careless
and regard it not. So likewise doth David
in
this sense
with these creatures; he doth his duty
and calls upon them to do
it
though they understand not
though they comprehend it not. And likewise he
doth it to show his vehement desire for all creatures to praise God.
The
second reason may be this: he doth it craftily
by way of policy
to
incite others to perform this duty
that if such creatures as they ought to do
this
then those that are above them in degree have more cause
and may be
ashamed to neglect it; as an ill governed master
though he stay himself at
home
yet he will send his servants to church: so David
being conscious of his
own neglect
yet he calls upon others not to be slack and negligent: though he
came infinitely short of that he should do
yet he shows his own desire for all
creatures to perform this duty.
But
if these reasons will not satisfy you
though they have done many others
a
third reason may be this: to set forth the sweet harmony that is among all
God's creatures; to show how that all the creatures being God's family
do
with one consent speak and preach aloud God's praise; and therefore he calls
upon some above him
some below him
on both sides
everywhere
to speak God's
praise; for every one in their place
degree
and calling
show forth
though
it be in a dumb sense and way
their Creator's praise.
Or
fourthly and lastly
which I think to be a good reason: zeal makes men speak
and utter things impossible; the fire of zeal will so transport him that it
will make him speak things unreasonable
impossible
as Moses in his zeal
desired God
for the safety of Israel
"to blot his name out of his
book"; and Paul wished himself "anathema"
accursed or separate
from Christ
for his brethren's salvation
which was a thing impossible
it
could not be.—John Everard
in "Some Gospel Treasures
" 1653.
Verses
7-10. The ox and the ass acknowledge their master. The winds and the
sea obey him. It should seem that as there is a religion above man
the
religion of angels
so there may be a religion beneath man
the religion of
dumb creatures. For wheresoever there is a service of God
in effect it is a
religion. Thus according to the several degrees and difference of states—the
state of nature
grace
and glory—religion may likewise admit of degrees.—G.G.
in a sermon entitled "The Creatures Praysing God
" 1662.
Verse
8. This verse arrays in striking order three elements that are ever
full of movement and power—ignea
aquea
aërea; fire (or caloric)
water
(or vapour)
and air (or wind). The first includes meteors
lightnings and
thunders; the second
snow
hoar frost
dew
mist and rain; the third
breezes
tempests and hurricanes.—Hermann Venema.
Verse
8. Fire and hail. These are contrasted with one another. Snow
and mist. The mist is the vapour raised by the heat of the sun
and
therefore suitably contrasted with the snow
which is the effect of cold. "Stormy
wind" (Ps 107:25)
which accompanies the changes of temperature in the
air.—James G. Murphy.
Verse
8. Snow. As sure as every falling flake of winter's snow has
a part in the great economy of nature
so surely has every Word of God which
falls within the sanctuary its end to accomplish in the moral sphere. I have
stood on a winter day and seen the tiny flakes in little clouds lose themselves
one by one in the rushing river. They seemed to die to no purpose—to be
swallowed up by an enemy which ignored both their power and their existence. And
so have I seen the Word of God fall upon human hearts. Sent of God
from day to
day and from year to year
I have seen it dropping apparently all lack of
results into the fierce current of unbelief—into the fiercer gulf stream of
worldliness which was sweeping through the minds and the lives of the hearers.
But as I stood upon the river's bank and looked upon what seemed to be the
death of the little fluttering crystal
a second thought assured me that it was
but death into life
and that every tiny flake which wept its live away in the
rushing waters
became incorporate with the river's being. So when I have seen
the Word of God fall apparently fruitless upon the restless
seething
rushing
current of human life
a recovered faith in the immutable declaration of God
has assured me that what I looked upon was not a chance or idle death
but
rather the falling of the soldier
after that he had wrought his life force
into the destiny of a nation and into the history of a world. And so it must
ever be. The Word of God ever reaches unto its end.—S.S. Mitchell
in a
Sermon entitled "The Coming of the Snow and the Coming of the Word
"
1884.
Verse
8. The stormy wind is the swift messenger of God
Ps 147:15.
The hurricane fulfils the divine command. See Mt 8:27. "Even the winds and
the sea obey him." The "wind" is the minister of
judgment. See Eze 13:13. The words of this verse have special use; for men are
exceedingly apt to ascribe the violence of tempests to blind chance.—Martin
Geier.
Verse
8. The half learned man is apt to laugh at the simple faith of the
clown or savage
who tells us that rain comes from God. The former
it seems
has discovered that it is the product of certain laws of air
water
and
electricity. But truly the peasant is the more enlightened of the two
for he
has discovered the main cause
and the real Actor
while the other has found
only the second cause
and the mere instrument. It is as if a friend were to
send us a gift of ingenious and beautiful workmanship
and just as our
gratitude was beginning to rise to the donor
some bystanders were to endeavour
to damp it all
by telling us that the gift is the product of certain machinery
he had seen.—James MacCosh
1811.
Verse
9. Mountains and all hills
etc. The diversifying of the face
of the earth with higher and lower parts
with mountains
hills
and valleys
and the adorning of the face thereof with trees of varied sorts
contributes
much to the praise of God.—David Dickson.
Verse
9. Mountains and all hills. What voices have the hills! How
solemn the sounds of the mountains from their sublime solitudes! The mountains
thunder
and the hills reecho; but they speak peace and send down plenty to the
vales in running rivulets.—Thomas Le Blanc.
Verse
9. Fruitful trees and all cedars. The praise of God is in the
rustling voices of the trees. They fulfil his purpose in giving fruit to
refresh
and shelter and shadow for a covert
and their murmur is the soft
cadence that chants mercy and grace. In India
the ancients reported that the
trees were worshipped as divine
and death was a penalty awarded to those who
cut them down. In classic mythology the groves were the homes of gods. Jehovah
decreed that an ark of safety for man
and also a temple for himself
should be
constructed of wood. Thus more than any other created things
the trees of the
wood have redounded to his glory.—Le Blanc.
Verse
9. Fruitful trees. Rather fruit trees; the fruit
bearing tree being representative of one division of the vegetable world
planted and reared by man; the "cedars" of the other
which are (Ps
104:16) of God's own plantation. So in Ps 148:10 we have wild animals
and domesticated animals.—A.S. Aglen.
Verse
9. Trees.
All
creatures of the eternal God but man
In several sorts do glorify his name;
Each tree doth seem ten thousand tongues to have
With them to laud the Lord omnipotent;
Each leaf that with wind's gentle breath doth wave
Seems as a tongue to speak to that intent
In language admirably excellent.
The
sundry sorts of fragrant flowers do seem
Sundry discourses God to glorify
And sweetest volumes may we them esteem;
For all these creatures in their several sort
Praise God
and man unto the same exhort.
—Peter Pett
1599.
Verse
9. All cedars. Beautiful indeed is the pine forest in all
seasons: in the freshness of spring
when the gnarled boughs are penetrated and
mollified by the soft wind and the warm sun
and
thrilled with new life
burst
out into fringes and tassels of the richest green
and cones of the most tender
purple; beautiful in the sultry summer
when among its cool
dim shadows the
heated hours all day sing vespers
while the open landscape is palpitating in
the scorching heat; beautiful in the sadness of autumn
when its unfading
verdure stands out in striking relief amid changing scenes
that have no
sympathy with anything earthly save sorrow and decay
and directs the thoughts
to the imperishableness of the heavenly Paradise; beautiful exceedingly in the
depth of winter
when the tiers of branches are covered with pure
unsullied
wreaths of snow
sculptured by the wind into curves of exquisite grace. It is
beautiful in calm
when the tree tops scarce whisper to each other
and the
twitter of the golden wren sounds loud in the expectant hush; it is more than
beautiful in storm
when the wild fingers of the wind play the most mournful
music on its great harp strings
and its full diapason is sublime as the roar
of the ocean on a rock bound shore. I do not wonder that the northern
imagination in heathen times should have invested it with awe and fear as the
favourite haunt of Odin and Thor; or that
in after times
its long rows of
trunks
vanishing in the dim perspective
should have furnished designs for the
aisles of Christian temples
and the sunset
burning among its fretted
branches
should have suggested the gorgeous painted window of the cathedral.
It looks like a place made for worship
all its sentiments and associations
seem of a sacred and solemn character. Nature
with folded hands
as Longfellow
says
seems kneeling there in prayer. It certainly reminds us in various ways
of the power
wisdom
and goodness of him who thus spake by the mouth of his
prophet: "I will plant in the wilderness the cedar
the fir tree
and the
pine
and the box tree together: that they may see
and know
and consider
and
understand together
that the hand of the Lord hath done this
and the Holy One
of Israel hath created it."—Hugh Macmillan
in "Bible Teachings in
Nature
" 1867.
Verse
10. Creeping things. In public worship all should join. The
little strings go to make up a concert
as well as the great.—Thomas
Goodwin.
Verse
10. Flying fowl. Thus the air is vocal. It has a hallelujah of
its own. The "flying fowl" praise him; whether it be "the
stork that knoweth her appointed time" (Jer 8:7)
or "the sparrow
alone upon the housetop" (Ps 102:7)
or "the raven of the
valley" (Pr 30:17)
or the eagle "stirring up her nest
and
fluttering over her young" (De 32:11)
or the turtle making its voice to
be heard in the land (So 2:12)
or the dove winging its way to the wilderness
(Ps 105:6). This is creation's harp (truer and sweeter than Memnon's) which
each sunrise awakens
"turning all the air to music."—Horatius
Bonar
in "Earth's Morning; or
Thoughts on Genesis
" 1875.
Verse
11. Kings of the earth
and all people; princes. As kings and
princes are blinded by the dazzling influence of their station
so as to think
the world was made for them
and to despise God in the pride of their hearts
he particularly calls them to this duty; and
by mentioning them first
he
reproves their ingratitude in withholding their tribute of praise when they are
under greater obligations than others. As all men originally stand upon a level
as to condition
the higher persons have risen
and the nearer they have been
brought to God
the more sacredly are they bound to proclaim his goodness. The
more intolerable is the wickedness of kings and princes who claim exemption
from the common rule
when they ought rather to inculcate it upon others
and
lead the way. He could have addressed his exhortation at once summarily to all
men
as indeed he mentions people in general terms; but by thrice
specifying princes he suggests that they are slow to discharge the duty
and need to be urged to it.—John Calvin.
Verse
11. "Kings of the earth"; "judges of the
earth"; these are not proud but humiliating titles; for earthly
kings and earthly judges will not be kings and judges long.
Verse
12. Both young men
and maidens; old men
and children. The
parties are mentioned by couples
being tied two and two together. "Young
men and maidens; old men and children." And here is a double caveat;
first
against presumption; and secondly
against despair. First
that the
younger sort might desire to praise God
they are exhorted to address
themselves to the service of God
to remember their Creator in the days of
their youth. Secondly
for aged men
that they might not doubt of the
acceptation of their service
our Prophet exhorts them also. For the first
you
know
David calls upon the sun and the moon to praise God. Should the sun
reply
I will not do it in the morning
or at noon time
but when I am about to
set? or the moon reply
I will not in the full
but in the wane? or the tree
not in the spring time
or in the summer
but at the fall of the leaf? So
likewise
thou young man
defer not the time of praising God: take the swing of
thy youth
and do not defer to apply thyself to the service of God till thy old
age; but remember that for all these things thou shalt come to judgment. He
that styles himself by the title I AM
cares not for I will be
or I
have been
but he that is at this present: take heed
therefore
thou strong
and lusty young man: the Devil that holds thee now will every day tie a new
cord about thee. Consider this
you that are yet young
whom the morning sun of
light adorns with his glorious rays: everyone doth not live to be old. Let us
not procrastinate in God's service; for the longer we defer to serve God
the
farther God's grace is distant from us
and the dominion of Satan is more
strengthened in our hearts; the more we delay
the more is our debt
the
greater our sin
and the less our grace. I will commend this lesson unto all.
He that doth not repent today hath a day more to repent of
and a day less to
repent in. I shall conclude with a hearty exhortation for us all
of what sex
age
and degree soever; I could wish that all our lives might end like this
book of Psalms
in blessing and praising Almighty God.—Thomas Cheshire
in
"A Sermon preached
in Saint Paule's Church
" 1641.
Verse
12. Old men. Think not
ye who are now near the end of life
that your tongues
may without blame be silent in the praises of the Lord
because you are come to
those years in which men say
they "have no pleasure in them." Were
you not frequently praising God when you were children and young men? Have you
less
or have you not greater
reason now to praise God than in those early
days of life? Old men ought to be better qualified than young persons to show
forth the glory both of the perfections and works of God
because they have
enjoyed more time
and more abundant opportunities than their juniors
for
attaining the knowledge of God
and of those glorious perfections and works
which furnish us with endless materials for praise. "Days should speak
and
the multitude of years should teach wisdom." The heavens are constantly
declaring "the glory of God
and the firmament showeth forth his handy
work. Day unto day uttereth speech
and night unto night showeth
knowledge." Have you
then
lived twenty thousand days and twenty thousand
nights? What deep impressions ought to be made upon your spirits
of those
wonders which have been preached in your ears or eyes
ever since you could use
your bodily senses as ministers to your intellectual powers! All the works of
God praise him
by showing forth how wonderful in power
and goodness
and
wisdom
the Creator is. Your tongues are indeed inexcusable
if they are silent
in the praises of him whose glory is proclaimed by every object above or around
them
and even by every member of their own bodies
and every faculty of their
souls. But old men are doubly inexcusable
if they are inattentive to those
precious instructions which are given them by all the works of God which they
have seen
or of which they have been informed
every day since the powers of
their rational natures began to operate.
But
old men in this highly favoured land have been blessed with more excellent
instructions than those which are given them by the mountains and fruitful
valleys
by the dragons of the desert or the deep
or by the fowls of heaven
and the beasts of the earth
or by the sun and stars of heaven. For many more
years than young men or maidens you have been learners
or you are very
blamable if you have not been at the school of Christ. You were early taught to
read the Word of God. In the course of fifty or sixty years
you have probably
heard six thousand religious discourses from the ministers of Christ
not to
mention other excellent means you have enjoyed for increasing in the knowledge
of God. "For the time"
says Paul to the Hebrew Christians
"ye
might have been teachers." May I not say the same to all aged Christians
who have had the Bible in their possession
and have enjoyed opportunities of
frequenting the holy assemblies from their earliest days? May it not be
expected that your hearts and your mouths will be filled with the praises of
God
not only as your Maker
but as your Redeemer? But there are many things
more especially relating to themselves
which should induce the aged to abound
in this duty of praise to God. Consider how long you have lived. Is not every
day of life
and even every hour
and every moment
an undeserved mercy? You
might have been cut off from the breast and the womb
for you were conceived in
iniquity and born in sin. How many of your race have been cut off before they
could distinguish between their right hand and their left
before they could do
good or evil! Since you were moral agents
not a day has passed in which you
were not chargeable with many sins. What riches of long suffering is manifested
in a life of sixty or seventy years! If you have lived in a state of sin all
that time
have you not reason to be astonished
that you are not already in a
condition which would for ever render it impossible for you to utter the voice
of praise? Give glory
therefore
to that God who has still preserved you
alive.
Consider
with what mercies your days have been filled up. God's mercies have been new to
you every morning
although every day you have sinned against him. Reflections
on your own conduct through life will suggest to you many reasons for praise
and thanksgiving. But on this part of the subject it is proper to put you in
mind of the two great classes into which men are divided: saints and sinners.
If you belong to the former class
who is it that has made you to differ from
others? Give thanks to him who delivered you from the power of darkness and
translated you into the kingdom of his dear Son. Have you been enabled to do
some good works in the course of your lives? For every one of them bless God
who wrought "in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
Have any of your endeavours been successful to bring about the reformation of
any of your fellow men
or to promote their spiritual welfare? What sufficient
thanks can you render to God for making you the humble ministers of his grace?
But there are too many of the old who have no reason to think that they have
yet passed from death to life. These
certainly
are very unfit to praise God
and will not be able to praise him with their hearts
unless that change pass
upon them
without which no man shall ever enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Yet
surely
they have great reason to praise the Lord; and they may see good
reason for it
although they cannot carry their knowledge into practice. You
have
indeed
greater reason to praise God that you are in the land of the
living
than those who are in a better state; because
if you were deprived of
your present life
nothing is left for you but the terrors of eternal death.
Bless God
ye who have lived fifty or sixty years in sin
and have been all
along spared in a world so full of mercy. You are still called by the gospel to
receive that salvation which you have long treated with contempt.—Condensed
from a Sermon by George Lawson (1749-1820)
entitled
"The Duty of
the Old to praise God."
Verse
12. Old men and children. It is interesting always to see a
friendship between the old and the young. It is striking to see the aged one
retaining so much of freshness and simplicity as not to repel the sympathies of
boyhood. It is surprising to see the younger one so advanced and thoughtful
as
not to find dull the society of one who has outlived excitability and passion.—Frederick
William Robertson.
Verses
12-13. The Psalms are church songs
and all who belong to the church are
to sing them. Both young men
and maidens; old men
and children; let them
praise the name of the LORD. The ripe believer who can triumph in the
steadfast hope of God's glory
is to lend his voice to swell the song of the
church when she cries to God out of the depths; and the penitent
who is still
sitting in darkness
is not to refrain his voice when the church pours out in
song her sense of God's love. The whole church has fellowship in the Psalms.—William
Binnie
in "The Psalms
their History
Teachings
and Use
" 1870.
Verses
12-13. Old men...Let them praise the name of the LORD. It is a
favourite speculation of mine that if spared to sixty we then enter on the
seventh decade of human life
and that this
if possible
should be turned into
the Sabbath of our earthly pilgrimage and spent sabbatically
as if on the
shores of an eternal world
or in the outer courts
as it were
of the temple
that is above
the tabernacle in heaven.—Thomas Chalmers.
Verse
13. Let them praise. Exactly as at the close of the first
great division of the anthem (Ps 148:5)
and
in the same way as there
the
reason for the exhortation follows in the next clause. But it is a different
reason. It is no longer because he has given them a decree
bound them as
passive
unconscious creatures by a law which they cannot transgress. (It is
the fearful mystery of the reasonable will that it can transgress the law.) It
is because his name is exalted
so that the eyes of men can see
and the hearts
and tongues of men confess it; it is because he has graciously revealed himself
to
and mightily succoured
the people whom he loves
the nation who are near
to him. If it be said that what was designed to be a Universal Anthem is thus
narrowed at its close
it must be remembered that
however largely the glory of
God was written on the visible creation
it was only to the Jew that any direct
revelation of his character had been made.—J.J. Stewart Perowne.
Verse
13. The name of Jehovah. Jehovah is a name of great power and
efficacy
a name that hath in it five vowels
without which no language can be
expressed; a name that hath in it also three syllables
to signify the Trinity
of Persons
the eternity of God
One in Three
and Three in One; a name of such
dread and reverence amongst the Jews
that they tremble to name it
and
therefore they use the name Adonai (Lord) in all their devotions. And
thus ought every one to stand in awe
and sin not by taking the name of God in
vain; but to sing praises
to honour
to remember
to declare
to exalt
and
bless it; for holy and reverend
only worthy and excellent is his name.—Rayment
1630.
Verse
14. His people
the praise of all his saints. But among all
one class in particular is called on to praise him
for they have an additional
motive for so doing
namely
"his people"
and "his
saints." As man above all the creatures
so among men his elect or
chosen
who are the objects of his special grace
and
above all
of his
redeeming love. He also exalteth the horn of his people—exalts them
one
and all
from the death of sin to the life of righteousness
and consequent on
this
from the dust of earth to the glory of heaven. "The praise of all
his saints"; and
yet again
among them
of one people in particular—"even
of the children of Israel
a people near unto him." "Near to
him" of old
and yet again to be—yea
nearest of all the peoples of
the earth—when he recalls them from their dispersion
and again places his name
and his throne among them. HALLELUJAH—PRAISE YE THE LORD.—William De Burgh.
Verse
14. A people near unto him. Jesus took our nature
and became
one with us; thus he is "near" unto us; he gives us his Holy
Spirit
brings us into union with himself
and thus we are near to him. This is
our highest honour
an unfailing source of happiness and peace. We are near to
him in point of relation
being his children; near to him in point of affection
being loved with an everlasting love; we are near to him in point of union
being members of his body
of his flesh
and of his bones; we are near to him
in point of fellowship
walking with him as a man walketh with his
friend; we are near to him in point of attention
being the objects of
his daily
hourly
tender care; we shall soon be near to him in point of locality
when our mansion is prepared
for we shall depart to be with Christ
which is
far better. We are near to him when poor
and when deeply tried; and if ever
nearer at one time than another
we shall be nearest to him in death. If we are
near unto him
he will sympathize with us in all our sorrows
assist us in all
our trials
protect us in all our dangers
hold intercourse with us in all our
lonely hours
provide for us in all seasons of necessity
and honourably
introduce us to glory. Let us realize this fact daily—we are near and dear to
our God.—James Smith.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Whole
Psalm.
1.
What is implied in the invitation to the natural creation to praise God.
a)
That praise is due to God on its account.
b)
That it is due from those for whose benefit it was created.
c)
That it is a reproof to those who do not praise God who are actually capable of
it. "If these should hold their peace
the stones would immediately cry
out."
2.
What is implied in the invitation to innocent beings to praise God.
"Praise ye the Lord from the heavens. Praise ye him all his angels
praise
ye him all his hosts": Ps 148:1-2.
a)
That they owe their creation in innocence to God.
b) That they owe their preservation in innocence to him.
c) That they owe the reward of their innocence to him.
3.
What is implied in the invitation to fallen beings to praise God: "Kings
of the earth and all people"
etc.: Ps 148:11-13.
a)
That God is merciful and ready to forgive. "Not willing that any should
perish"
etc. They would not be called upon to praise God if they were
irrecoverably lost. Our Lord would not when on earth accept praise from an evil
spirit.
b)
That means of restoration from the fall are provided by God for men. Without
this they would have no hope
and could offer no praise.
4.
What is implied in the invitation to the redeemed to praise God: Ps 148:14.
a)
That God is their God.
b)
That all his perfections are engaged for their present and eternal welfare.—G.R.
Verse
1. Praise ye the Lord.
1.
The Voice—of Scripture
of nature
of grace
of duty.
2.
The Ear on which it rightly falls—of saints and sinners
old and young
healthy
and sick. It falls on our ear.
3.
The Time when it is heard. Now
ever
yet also at special times.
4.
The Response which we will give. Let us now praise with heart
life
lip.
Verse
1. (second and third clauses).
1.
The character of the praises of heaven.
2. How far they influence us who are here below.
3. The hope which we have of uniting in them.
Verse
2.
1.
The angels as praiseful servants.
2.
The other hosts of God
and how they praise him.
3.
The rule without exception: "all—all." Imagine one heavenly
being living without praising the Lord!
Verse
3.
1.
God's praise continual both day and night.
2. Light the leading fountain of this praise.
3. Life behind all
calling for the praise.
Verses
5-6. Creation and conservation
two chief reasons for praise.
Verse
7. God's praise from dark
deep
and mysterious things.
Verse
8. Canon Liddon preached in St. Paul's on Sunday afternoon
December
23
1883
and took for his text Ps 148:8
Wind and storm fulfilling his
word. He spoke of the divine use of destructive forces.
1.
In the physical world we see wind and storm fulfilling God's word.
a)
The Bible occasionally lifts the veil
and shows us how destructive forces of
Nature have been the servants of God.
b)
Modern history illustrates this vividly.
2.
In the human
spiritual
and moral world
we find new and rich application of
the words of the text.
a)
In the State we see the storm of invasion and the storm of revolution
fulfilling God's word.
b)
In the Church we see the storm of persecution and the storm of controversy
fulfilling God's word.
c)
In the experience of individual life we see outward troubles
and inward storms
of religious doubts fulfilling God's word.—The Contemporary Pulpit
1884.
Verse
9. Trees. The glory of God as seen in trees.
Verse
10. The wildest
the quietest
the most depressed
and the most
aspiring should each have its song.
Verses
11-18.
1.
The universal King. Alone in excelling. Supreme in glory.
2.
The universal summons. Of all nations
ranks
classes and ages. Foreshadowing
the Judgment.
3.
The universal duty: praise
—constant
emphatic
growing.—W.B.H.
Verse
12. God to be served by strength and beauty
experience and
expectation.
Verse
12. And children. A Children's Address.
1.
Where the children are found (Ps 148:11-12). In royal and distinguished
society: yet not lost or overlooked.
2.
What they are called to. "Praise the Lord." Even they have abundant
reason.
3.
What are the lessons of the subject?
a)
Children should come up with their parents on the Sabbath.
b) Children should unite in heart and voice in God's praises.
c) Children should seek fitness for this praise by believing in Christ.—W.B.H.
Verse
14. The Favoured People and their God.
1.
What he does for them.
2. What he makes them: "Saints."
3. Who they are: "Children of Israel."
4. Where they are: "Near unto him."
5. What they do for him: "Praise ye the Lord."
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》