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.