AUTHOR AND SUBJECT. In the book Ezr
3:10-11, we read that "when the builders laid the
foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in
their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph
with cymbals, to praise he Lord, after the ordinance of David
king of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and
giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy
endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with
a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the
foundation of the house of the Lord was laid." Now the
words mentioned in Ezra are the first and last sentences of this
Psalm, and we therefore conclude that the people chanted the
whole of this sublime song; and, moreover, that the use of this
composition on such occasions was ordained by David, whom we
conceive to be its author. The next step leads us to believe
that he is its subject, at least in some degree; for it is clear
that the writer is speaking concerning himself in the first
place, though he may not have strictly confined himself to all
the details of his our personal experience. That the Psalmist
had a prophetic view of our Lord Jesus is very manifest; the
frequent quotations from this song in the New Testament prove
this beyond all questions; but at the same time it could not
have been intended that every particular line and sentence
should be read in reference to the Messiah, for this requires
very great ingenuity, and ingenious interpretations are seldom
true. Certain devout expositors have managed to twist the
expression of Ps 118:17, "I shall not die, but live,
"so as to make it applicable to our Lord, who did actually
die, and whose glory it is that he died; but we cannot bring our
minds to do such violence to the words of holy writ.
The Psalm, seems to us to describe either David or some other
man of God who was appointed by the divine choice to a high and
honourable office in Israel. This elect champion found himself
rejected by his friends and fellow countrymen, and at the same
time violently opposed by his enemies. In faith in God he
battles for his appointed place, and in due time he obtains it
in such a way as greatly to display the power and goodness of
the Lord. He then goes up to the house of the Lord to offer
sacrifice, and to express his gratitude for the divine
interposition, all the people blessing him, and wishing him
abundant prosperity. This heroic personage, whom we cannot help
thinking to be David himself, broadly typified our Lord, but not
in such a manner that in all the minutiae of his struggles and
prayers we are to hunt for parallels. The suggestion of
Alexander that the speaker is a typical individual representing
the nation, is exceedingly well worthy of attention, but it is
not inconsistent with the idea that a personal leader may be
intended, since that which describes the leader will be in a
great measure true of his followers. The experience of the Head
is that of the members, and both may be spoken of in much the
same terms. Alexander thinks that the deliverance celebrated
cannot be identified with any one so exactly as with that from
the Babylonian exile; but we judge it best to refer it to no one
incident in particular, but to regard it as a national song,
adapted alike for the rise of a chosen here, and the building of
a temple. Whether a nation is founded again by a conquering
prince, or a temple founded by the laying of its cornerstone in
joyful state, the Psalm is equally applicable.
DIVISION. We propose to divide this
Psalm thus, from Ps 118:1-4 the faithful are called upon to
magnify the everlasting mercy of the Lord; from Ps 118:5-18 the
Psalmist gives forth a narrative of his experience, and an
expression of his faith; in Ps 118:19-21 he asks admittance into
the house of the Lord, and begins the acknowledgment of the
divine salvation. In Ps 118:22-27 the priests and people
recognize their ruler, magnify the Lord for him, declare him
blessed, and bid him approach the altar with his sacrifice. In
Ps 118:28-29 the grateful hero himself exalts God the ever
merciful.
EXPOSITION
Verse 1. O give thanks unto the LORD. The
grateful hero feels that he cannot himself alone sufficiently
express his thankfulness, and therefore he calls in the aid of
others. Grateful hearts are greedy of men's tongues, and would
monopolize them all for God's glory. The whole nation was
concerned in David's triumphant accession, and therefore it was
right that they should unite in his adoring song of praise. The
thanks were to be rendered unto Jehovah alone, and not to the
patience or valour of the hero himself. It is always well to
trace our mercies to him who bestows them, and if we cannot give
him anything else, let us at any rate give him our thanks. We
must not stop short at the second agent, but rise at once to the
first cause, and render all our praises unto the Lord
himself. Have we been of a forgetful or murmuring spirit? Let us
hear the lively language of the text, and allow it to speak to
our hearts: "Cease your complaining, cease from all self
glorification, and give thanks unto the Lord."
For he is good. This is reason enough for giving him
thanks; goodness is his essence and nature, and therefore he is
always to be praised whether we are receiving anything from him
or not. Those who only praise God because he does them
good should rise to a higher note and give thanks to him because
he is good. In the truest sense he alone is good,
"There is none good but one, that is God"; therefore
in all gratitude the Lord should have the royal portion. If
others seem to be good, he is good. If others are good in
a measure, he is good beyond measure. When others behave badly
to us, it should only stir us up the more heartily to give
thanks unto the Lord because he is good; and when we ourselves
are conscious that we are far from being good, we should only
the more reverently bless him that "he is good." We
must never tolerate an instant's unbelief as to the goodness of
the Lord; whatever else may be questionable, this is absolutely
certain, that Jehovah is good; his dispensations may vary, but
his nature is always the same, and always good. It is not only
that he was good, and will be good, but he is good; let
his providence be what it may. Therefore let us even at this
present moment, though the skies be dark with clouds, yet give
thanks unto his name.
Because his mercy endureth for ever. Mercy is a great
part of his goodness, and one which more concerns us than any
other, for we are sinners and have need of his mercy. Angels may
say that he is good, but they need not his mercy and cannot
therefore take an equal delight in it; inanimate creation
declares that he is good, but it cannot feel his mercy,
for it has never transgressed; but man, deeply guilty and
graciously forgiven, beholds mercy as the very focus and centre
of the goodness of the Lord. The endurance of the divine mercy
is a special subject for song: notwithstanding our sins, our
trials, our fears, his mercy endureth for ever. The best
of earthly joys pass away, and even the world itself grows old
and hastens to decay, but there is no change in the mercy of
God; he was faithful to our forefathers, he is merciful to us,
and will be gracious to our children and our children's
children. It is to be hoped that the philosophical interpreters
who endeavour to clip the word "for ever", into a mere
period of time will have the goodness to let this passage alone.
However, whether they do or not, we shall believe in endless
mercy—mercy to eternity. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is the
grand incarnation of the mercy of God, calls upon us at every
remembrance of him to give thanks unto the Lord, for "he is
good."
Verse 2. Let Israel now say, that his mercy
endureth for ever. God had made a covenant with their
forefathers, a covenant of mercy and love, and to that covenant
he was faithful evermore. Israel sinned in Egypt, provoked the
Lord in the wilderness, went astray again and again under the
judges, and transgressed at all times; and yet the Lord
continued to regard them as his people, to favour them with his
oracles, and to forgive their sins. He speedily ceased from the
chastisements which they so richly deserved, because he had a
favour towards them. He put his rod away the moment they
repented, because his heart was full of compassion. "His
mercy endureth for ever" was Israel's national hymn, which,
as a people, they had been called upon to sing upon many former
occasions; and now their leader, who had at last gained the
place for which Jehovah had destined him, calls upon the whole
nation to join with him in extolling, in this particular
instance of the divine goodness, the eternal mercy of the Lord.
David's success was mercy to Israel, as well as mercy to
himself. If Israel does not sing, who will? If Israel does not
sing of mercy, who can? If Israel does not sing when the Son of
David ascends the throne, the very stones will cry out.
Verse 3. Let the house of Aaron now say, that his
mercy endureth for ever. The sons of Aaron were specially
set apart to come nearest to God, and it was only because of his
mercy that they were enabled to live in the presence of the
thrice holy Jehovah, who is a consuming fire. Every time the
morning and evening lamb was sacrificed, the priests saw the
continual mercy of the Lord, and in all the holy vessels of the
sanctuary, and all its services from hour to hour, they had
renewed witness of the goodness of the Most High. When the high
priest went in unto the holy place and came forth accepted, he
might, above all men, sing of the eternal mercy. If this Psalm
refers to David, the priests had special reason for thankfulness
on his coming to the throne, for Saul had made a great slaughter
among them, and had at various times interfered with their
sacred office. A man had now come to the throne who for their
Master's sake would esteem them, give them their dues, and
preserve them safe from all harm. Our Lord Jesus, having made
all his people priests unto God, may well call upon them in that
capacity to magnify the everlasting mercy of the Most High. Can
any one of the royal priesthood be silent?
Verse 4. Let them now that fear the LORD say, that
his mercy endureth for ever. If there were any throughout
the world who did not belong to Israel after the flesh, but
nevertheless had a holy fear and lowly reverence of God, the
Psalmist calls upon them to unite with him in his thanksgiving,
and to do it especially on the occasion of his exaltation to the
throne; and this is no more than they would cheerfully agree to
do, since every good man in the world is benefited when a true
servant of God is placed in a position of honour and influence.
The prosperity of Israel through the reign of David was a
blessing to all who feared Jehovah. A truly God fearing man will
have his eye much upon God's mercy, because he is deeply
conscious of his need of it, and because that attribute excites
in him a deep feeling of reverential awe. "There is
forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared." In the
three exhortations, to Israel, to the house of Aaron, and to
them that fear the Lord, there is a repetition of the
exhortation to say, "that his mercy endureth for
ever." We are not only to believe, but to declare the
goodness of God; truth is not to be hushed up, but proclaimed.
God would have his people act as witnesses, and not stand silent
in the day when his honour is impugned. Specially is it our joy
to speak out to the honour and glory of God when we think up, in
the exaltation of his dear Son. We should shout "Hosannah,
"and sing loud "Hallelujahs" when we behold the
stone which the builders rejected lifted into its proper place.
In each of the three exhortations notice carefully the word "now."
There is no time like time present for telling out the praises
of God. The present exaltation of the Son of David now demands
from all who are the subjects of his kingdom continual songs of
thanksgiving to him who hath set him on high in the midst of
Zion. Now with us should mean always. When would it be
right to cease from praising God, whose mercy never ceases? The
fourfold testimonies to the everlasting mercy of God which are
now before us speak like four evangelists, each one declaring
the very pith and marrow of the gospel; and they stand like four
angels at the four corners of the earth holding the winds in
their hands, restraining the plagues of the latter days that the
mercy and long suffering of God may endure towards the sons of
men. Here are four cords to bind the sacrifice to the four horns
of the altar, and four trumpets with which to proclaim the year
of jubilee to every quarter of the world. Let not the reader
pass on to the consideration of the rest of the Psalm until he
has with all his might lifted up both heart and voice to praise
the Lord, "for his mercy endureth for ever."
"Let us with a gladsome mind
Praise the Lord, for he is kind;
For his mercies shall endure
Ever faithful, ever sure."
Verse 5. I called upon the LORD in distress,
or, "out of anguish I invoked Jah." Nothing was left
him but prayer, his agony was too great for aught beside; but
having the heart and the privilege to pray he possessed all
things. Prayers which come out of distress generally come out of
the heart, and therefore they go to the heart of God. It is
sweet to recollect our prayers, and often profitable to tell
others of them after they are heard. Prayer may be bitter in the
offering, but it will be sweet in the answering. The man of God
had called upon the Lord when he was not in distress, and
therefore he found it natural and easy to call upon him when he
was in distress. He worshipped he praised, he prayed: for all
this is included in calling upon God, even when he was in a
straitened condition. Some read the original "a narrow
gorge"; and therefore it was the more joy to him when he
could say "The Lord answered me, and set me in a large
place." He passed out of the defile of distress into the
well watered plain of delight. He says, "Jah heard me in a
wide place, "for God is never shut up, or straitened. In
God's case hearing means answering, hence the translators
rightly put, "The Lord answered me, "though the
original word is "heard." The answer was
appropriate to the prayer, for he brought him out of his narrow
and confined condition into a place of liberty where he could
walk at large, free from obstruction and oppression. Many of us
can join with the Psalmist in the declarations of this verse;
deep was our distress on account of sin, and we were shut up as
in a prison under the law, but in answer to the prayer of faith
we obtained the liberty of full justification wherewith Christ
makes men free, and we are free indeed. It was the Lord who did
it, and unto his name we ascribe all the glory; we had no
merits, no strength, no wisdom, all we could do was to call upon
him, and even that was his gift; but the mercy which is to
eternity came to our rescue, we were brought out of bondage, and
we were made to delight ourselves in the length and breadth of a
boundless inheritance. What a large place is that in which the
great God has placed us! All things are ours, all times are
ours, all places are ours, for God himself is ours; we have
earth to lodge in and heaven to dwell in,—what larger place
can be imagined? We need all Israel, the whole house of Aaron,
and all them that fear the Lord, to assist us in the expression
of our gratitude; and when they have aided us to the utmost, and
we ourselves have done our best, all will fall short of the
praises that are due to our gracious Lord.
Verse 6. The LORD is on my side, or, he is
"for me." Once his justice was against me, but now he
is my reconciled God, and engaged on my behalf. The Psalmist
naturally rejoiced in the divine help; all men turned against
him, but God was his defender and advocate, accomplishing the
divine purposes of his grace. The expression may also be
translated "to me, "that is to say, Jehovah belongs to
me, and is mine. What infinite wealth is here! If we do not
magnify the Lord we are of all men most brutish. I will not
fear. He does not say that he should not suffer, but that he
would not fear: the favour of God infinitely outweighed the
hatred of men, therefore setting the one against the other he
felt that he had no reason to be afraid. He was calm and
confident, though surrounded with enemies, and so let all
believers be, for thus they honour God. What can man do unto me?
He can do nothing more than God permits; at the very uttermost
he can only kill the body, but he hath no more that he can do.
God having purposed to set his servant upon the throne, the
whole race of mankind could do nothing to thwart the divine
decree: the settled purpose of Jehovah's heart could not be
turned aside, nor its accomplishment delayed, much less
prevented, by the most rancorous hostility of the most powerful
of men. Saul sought to slay David, but David outlived Saul, and
sat upon his throne. Scribe and Pharisee, priest and Herodian,
united in opposing the Christ of God, but he is exalted on high
none the less because of their enmity. The mightiest man is a
puny thing when he stands in opposition to God, yea, he shrinks
into utter nothingness. It were a pity to be afraid of such a
pitiful, miserable, despicable object as a man opposed to the
almighty God. The Psalmist here speaks like a champion throwing
down the gauntlet to all comers, defying the universe in arms; a
true Bayard, without fear and without reproach, he enjoys God's
favour, and he defies every foe.
Verse 7. The LORD taketh my part with them that
help me. Jehovah condescended to be in alliance with the
good man and his comrades; his God was not content to look on,
but he took part in the struggle. What a consolatory fact it is
that the Lord takes our part, and that when he raises up friends
for us he does not leave them to fight for us alone, but he
himself as our chief defender deigns to come into the battle and
wage war on our behalf. David mentioned those that helped him,
he was not unmindful of his followers; there is a long record of
David's mighty men in the book of Chronicles, and this teaches
us that we are not to disdain or think little of the generous
friends who rally around us; but still our great dependence and
our grand confidence must be fixed upon the Lord alone. Without
him the strong helpers fail; indeed, apart from him in the sons
of men there is no help; but when our gracious Jehovah is
pleased to support and strengthen those who aid us, they become
substantial helpers to us. Therefore shall I see my desire upon
them that hate me. The words, "my desire, "are added
by the translators; the Psalmist said, "I shall look upon
my haters: I shall look upon them in the face, I shall make them
cease from their contempt, I shall myself look down upon them
instead of their looking down upon me. I shall see their defeat,
I shall see the end of them." Our Lord Jesus does at this
moment look down upon his adversaries, his enemies are his
footstool; he shall look upon them at his second coming, and at
the glance of his eyes they shall flee before him, not being
able to endure that look with which he shall read them through
and through.
Verse 8. It is better to trust in the LORD than to
put confidence in man. It is better in all ways, for first
of all it is wiser: God is infinitely more able to help, and
more likely to help, than man, and therefore prudence suggests
that we put our confidence in him above all others. It is also
morally better to do so, for it is the duty of the creature to
trust in the Creator. God has a claim upon his creatures' faith,
he deserves to be trusted; and to place our reliance upon
another rather than upon himself, is a direct insult to his
faithfulness. It is better in the sense of safer, since we can
never be sure of our ground if we rely upon mortal man, but we
are always secure in the hands of our God. It is better in its
effect upon ourselves: to trust in man tends to make us mean,
crouching, dependent; but confidence in God elevates, produces a
sacred quiet of spirit, and sanctifies the soul. It is,
moreover, much better to trust in God, as far as the result is
concerned; for in many cases the human object of our trust fails
from want of ability, from want of generosity, from want of
affection, or from want of memory; but the Lord, so far from
falling, does for us exceeding abundantly above all that we ask
or even think. This verse is written out of the experience of
many who have first of all found the broken reeds of the
creature break under them, and have afterwards joyfully found
the Lord to be a solid pillar sustaining all their weight.
Verse 9. It is better to trust in the LORD than to
put confidence in princes. These should be the noblest of
men, chivalrous in character, and true to the core. The royal
word should be unquestionable. They are noblest in rank and
mightiest in power, and yet as a rule princes are not one whit
more reliable than the rest of mankind. A gilded vane turns with
the wind as readily as a meaner weathercock. Princes are but
men, and the best of men are poor creatures. In many troubles
they cannot help us in the least degree: for instance, in
sickness, bereavement, or death; neither can they assist us one
jot in reference to our eternal state. In eternity a prince's
smile goes for nothing; heaven and hell pay no homage to royal
authority. The favour of princes is proverbially fickle, the
testimonies of worldlings to this effect are abundant. All of us
remember the words put by the world's great poet into the lips
of the dying Wolsey; their power lies in their truth:
"O how wretched
Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favours!
There is betwixt that smile we would aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More pangs and fears than wars or women have;
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again."
Yet a prince's smile has a strange witchery to many hearts,
few are proof against that tuft hunting which is the index of a
weak mind. Principle has been forgotten and character has been
sacrificed to maintain position at court; yea, the manliness
which the meanest slave retains has been basely bartered for the
stars and garters of a profligate monarch. He who puts his
confidence in God, the great King, is thereby made mentally and
spiritually stronger, and rises to the highest dignity of
manhood; in fact, the more he trusts the more is he free, but
the fawning sycophant of greatness is meaner than the dirt he
treads upon. For this reason and a thousand others it is
infinitely better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in
princes.
Verse 10. All nations compassed me about. The
hero of the Psalm, while he had no earthly friend upon whom he
could thoroughly rely, was surrounded by innumerable enemies,
who heartily hated him. He was hemmed in by his adversaries, and
scarce could find a loophole of escape from the bands which made
a ring around him. As if by common consent all sorts of people
set themselves against him, and yet he was more than a match for
them all, because he was trusting in the name of the Lord.
Therefore does he joyfully accept the battle, and grasp the
victory, crying, but in the name of the LORD will I destroy
them, or "cut them in pieces." They thought to destroy
him, but he was sure of destroying them;they meant
to blot out his name, but he expected to render not only his own
name but the name of the Lord his God more illustrious in the
hearts of men. It takes grand faith to be calm in the day of
actual battle, and especially when that battle waxes hot; but
our hero was as calm as if no fight was raging. Napoleon said
that God was always on the side of the biggest battalions, but
the Psalmist warrior found that the Lord of hosts was with the
solitary champion, and that in his name the battalions were cut
to pieces. There is a grand touch of the ego in the last
sentence, but it is so overshadowed with the name of the Lord
that there is none too much of it. He recognized his own
individuality, and asserted it: he did not sit still supinely
and leave the work to be done by God by some mysterious means;
but he resolved with his own trusty sword to set about the
enterprise, and so become in God's hand the instrument of his
own deliverance. He did all in the name of the Lord, but he did
not ignore his own responsibility, nor screen himself from
personal conflict, for he cried, "I will destroy
them." Observe that he does not speak of merely escaping
from them like a bird out of the snare of the fowler, but he
vows that he will carry the war into his enemies' ranks, and
overthrow them so thoroughly that there should be no fear of
their rising up a second time.
Verse 11. They compassed me about; yea, they
compassed me about. He had such a vivid recollection of his
danger that his enemies seem to live again in his verses. We see
their fierce array, and their cruel combination of forces. They
made a double ring, they surrounded him in a circle of many
ranks, they not only talked of doing so, but they actually shut
him up and enclosed him as within a wall. His heart had vividly
realized his position of peril at the time, and now he delights
to call it again to mind in order that he may the more ardently
adore the mercy which made him strong in the hour of conflict,
so that he broke through a troop, yea, swept a host to
destruction. But in the name of the LORD will I destroy them. I
will subdue them, get them under my feet, and break their power
in pieces. He is as certain about the destruction of his enemies
as he was assured of their having compassed him about. They made
the circle three and four times deep, but for all that he felt
confident of victory. It is grand to hear a man speak in this
fashion when it is not boasting, but the calm declaration of his
heartfelt trust in God.
Verse 12. They compassed me about like bees.
They seemed to be everywhere, like a swarm of bees, attacking
him at every point; nimbly flying from place to place, stinging
him meanwhile, and inflicting grievous pain. They threatened at
first to baffle him: what weapon could he use against them? They
were so numerous, so inveterate; so contemptible, yet so
audacious; so insignificant and yet so capable of inflicting
agony, that to the eye of reason there appeared no possibility
of doing anything with them. Like the swarm of flies Egypt,
there was no standing against them; they threatened to sting a
man to death with their incessant malice, their base
insinuations, their dastardly falsehoods. He was in an evil
case, but even there faith availed. All powerful faith adapts
itself to all circumstances, it can cast out devils, and it can
drive out bees. Surely, if it outlives the sting of death, it
will not die from the sting of a bee. They are quenched as the
fire of thorns. Their fierce attacks soon came to an end, the
bees lost their stings and the buzz of the swarm subsided; like
thorns which blaze with fierce crackling and abundant flame, but
die out in a handful of ashes very speedily, so did the nations
which surrounded our hero soon cease their clamour and come to
an inglorious end. They were soon hot and soon cold, their
attack was as short as it was sharp. He had no need to crush the
bees, for like crackling thorns they died out of themselves. For
a third time he adds, for in the name of the Lord will I destroy
them, or "cut them down, "as men cut down thorns with
a scythe or reaping hook. What wonders have been wrought in the
name of the Lord! It is the battle cry of faith, before which
its adversaries fly apace. "The sword of the Lord and of
Gideon" brings instant terror into the midst of the foe.
The name of the Lord is the one weapon which never fails in the
day of battle: he who knows how to use it may chase a thousand
with his single arm. Alas! we too often go to work and to
conflict in our own name, and the enemy knows it not, but
scornfully asks, "Who are ye?" Let us take care never
to venture into the presence of the foe without first of all
arming ourselves with this impenetrable mail. If we knew this
name better, and trusted it more, our life would be more
fruitful and sublime.
"Jesus, the name high over all,
In hell, or earth, or sky,
Angels and men before it fall,
And devils fear and fly."
Verse 13. Thou hast thrust sore at me,
"Thrusting, thou hast thrust at me." It is a vigorous
apostrophe, in which the enemy is described as concentrating all
his thrusting power into the thrusts which he gave to the man of
God. He thrust again and again with the keenest point, even as
bees thrust their stings into their victim. The foe had
exhibited intense exasperation, and fearful determination, nor
had he been without a measure of success; wounds had been given
and received, and these smarted much, and were exceeding sore.
Now, this is true of many a tried child of God who has been
wounded by Satan, by the world, by temptation, by affliction;
the sword has entered into his bones, and left its mark. That I
might fall. This was the object of the thrusting: to throw him
down, to wound him in such a way that he would no longer be able
to keep his place, to make him depart from his integrity, and
lose his confidence in God. If our adversaries can do this they
will have succeeded to their heart's content: if we fall into
grievous sin they will be better pleased than even if they had
sent the bullet of the assassin into our heart, for a moral
death is worse than a physical one. If they can dishonour us,
and God in us, their victory will be complete. "Better
death than false of faith" is the motto of one of our noble
houses, and it may well be ours. It is to compass our fall that
they compass us; they fill us with their venom that they may
fill us with their sin. But the Lord helped me; a blessed
"but." This is the saving clause. Other helpers were
unable to chase away the angry nations, much less to destroy all
the noxious swarms; but when the Lord came to the rescue the
hero's single arm was strong enough to vanquish all his
adversaries. How sweetly can many of us repeat in the retrospect
of our past tribulations this delightful sentence, "But the
Lord helped me." I was assailed by innumerable
doubts and fears, but the Lord helped me; my natural unbelief
was terribly inflamed by the insinuations of Satan, but the Lord
helped me; multiplied trial were rendered more intense by the
cruel assaults of men, and I knew not what to do, but the Lord
helped me. Doubtless, when we land on the hither shore of
Jordan, this will be one of our songs, "Flesh and heart
were failing me, and the adversaries of my soul surrounded me in
the swellings of Jordan, but the Lord helped me. Glory be unto
his name."
Verse 14. The LORD my strength and song, my
strength while I was in the conflict, my song now that it is
ended; my strength against the strong, and my song over their
defeat. He is far from boasting of his own valour; he ascribes
his victory to its real source, he has no song concerning his
own exploits, but all his peans are unto Jehovah Victor,
the Lord whose right hand and holy arm had given him the
victory. And is become my salvation. The poet warrior knew that
he was saved, and he not only ascribed that salvation unto God,
but he declared God himself to be his salvation. It is an all
comprehending expression, signifying that from beginning to end,
in the whole and in the details of it, he owed his deliverance
entirely to the Lord. Thus can all the Lord's redeemed say,
"Salvation is of the Lord." We cannot endure any
doctrine which puts the drown upon the wrong head and defrauds
the glorious King of his revenue of praise. Jehovah has done it
all; yea; in Christ Jesus he is all, and therefore in our
praises let him alone be extolled. It is a happy circumstance
for us when we can praise God as alike our strength, song, and
salvation; for God sometimes gives a secret strength to his
people, and yet they question their own salvation, and cannot,
therefore, sing of it. Many are, no doubt, truly saved, but at
times they have so little strength, that they are ready to
faint, and therefore they cannot sing: when strength is imparted
and salvation is realised then the song is clear and full.
Verse 15. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is
in the tabernacles of the righteous. They sympathised in the
delight of their leader and they abode in their tents in peace,
rejoicing that one had been raised up who, in the name of the
Lord, would protect them from their adversaries. The families of
believers are happy, and they should take pains to give their
happiness a voice by their family devotion. The dwelling place
of saved men should be the temple of praise; it is but righteous
that the righteous should praise the righteous God, who is their
righteousness. The struggling hero knew that the voice of woe
and lamentation was heard in the tents of his adversaries, for
they had suffered severe defeat at his hands; but he was
delighted by the remembrance that the nation for whom he had
struggled would rejoice from one end of the land to the other at
the deliverance which God had wrought by his means. That hero of
heroes, the conquering Saviour, gives to all the families of his
people abundant reasons for incessant song now that he has led
captivity captive and ascended up on high. Let none of us be
silent in our households: if we have salvation let us have joy,
and if we have joy let us give it a tongue wherewith it may
magnify the Lord. If we hearken carefully to the music which
comes from Israel's tents, we shall catch a stanza to this
effect, the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly: Jehovah has
manifested his strength, given victory to his chosen champion,
and overthrown all the armies of the foe. "The Lord is a
man of war, the Lord is his name." When he comes to blows,
woe to his mightiest opponent.
Verse 16. The right hand of the LORD is exalted,
lifted up to smite the enemy, or extolled and magnified in the
eyes of his people. It is the Lord's right hand, the hand of his
skill, the hand of his greatest power, the hand which is
accustomed to defend his saints. When that is lifted up, it
lifts up all who trust in him, and it casts down all who resist
him. The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. The Psalmist
speaks in triplets, for he is praising the triune God, his heart
is warm and he loves to dwell upon the note; he is not content
with the praise he has rendered, he endeavours to utter it each
time more fervently and more jubilantly than before. He had
dwelt upon the sentence, "they compassed me about,
"for his peril from encircling armies was fully realised;
and now he dwells upon the valour of Jehovah's right hand, for
he has as vivid a sense of the presence and majesty of the Lord.
How seldom is this the case: the Lord's mercy is forgotten and
only the trial is remembered.
Verse 17. I shall not die, but live. His
enemies hoped that he would die, and perhaps he himself feared
he should perish at their hand: the news of his death may have
been spread among his people, tor the tongue of rumour is ever
ready with ill news, the false intelligence would naturally
cause great sorrow and despondency, but he proclaims himself as
yet alive and as confident that he shall not fall by the hand of
the destroyer. He is cheerfully assured that no arrow could
carry death between the joints of his harness, and no weapon of
any sort could end his career. His time had not yet come, he
felt immortality beating within his bosom. Perhaps he had been
sick, and brought to death's door, but he had a presentiment
that the sickness was not unto death, but to the glory of God.
At any rate, he knew that he should not so die as to give
victory to the enemies of God; for the honour of God and the
good of his people were both wrapped up in his continued
success. Feeling that he would live he devoted himself to the
noblest of purposes: he resolved to bear witness to the divine
faithfulness, and declare the works of the LORD. He determined
to recount the works of Jah; and he does so in this Psalm,
wherein he dwells with love and admiration upon the splendour of
Jehovah's prowess in the midst of the fight. While there is a
testimony for God to be borne by us to any one, it is certain
that we shall not be hurried from the land of the living. The
Lord's prophets shall live on in the midst of famine, and war,
and plague, and persecution, till they have uttered all the
words of their prophecy; his priests shall stand at the altar
unharmed till their last sacrifice has been presented before
him. No bullet will find its billet in our hearts till we have
finished our allotted period of activity,
"Plagues and deaths around me fly,
Till he please I cannot die:
Not a single shaft can hit,
Till the God of love sees fit."
Verse 18. The LORD hath chastened me sore. This
is faith's version of the former passage, "Thou hast thrust
sore at me; "for the attacks of the enemy are chastisements
from the hand of God. The devil tormented Job for his own
purposes, but in reality the sorrows of the patriarch were
chastisements from the Lord. "Chastening, Jah hath
chastened me, "says our poet: as much as to say that the
Lord had smitten him very severely, and made him sorrowfully to
know the full weight of his rod. The Lord frequently appears to
save his heaviest blows for his best beloved ones; if any one
affliction be more painful than another it falls to, the lot of
those whom he most distinguishes in his service. The gardener
prunes his best roses with most care. Chastisement is sent to
keep successful saints humble, to make them tender towards
others, and to enable them to bear the high honours which their
heavenly Friend puts upon them. But he hath not given me over
unto death. This verse, like the thirteenth, concludes with a
blessed "but, "which constitutes a saving clause. The
Psalmist felt as if he had been beaten within an inch of his
life, but yet death did not actually ensue. There is always a
merciful limit to the scourging of the sons of God. Forty
stripes save one were all that an Israelite might receive, and
the Lord will never allow that one, that killing stroke, to fall
upon his children. They are "chastened, but not
killed"; their pains are for their instruction, not for
their destruction. By these things the ungodly die, but gracious
Hezekiah could say, "By these things men live, and in all
these things is the life of my spirit." No, blessed be the
name of God, he may chastise us, but he will not condemn us; we
must feel the smarting rod, but we shall not feel the killing
sword. He does not give us over unto death at any time, and we
may be quite sure that he has not done so while he condescends
to chasten us, for if he intended our final rejection he would
not take the pains to place us under his fatherly discipline. It
may seem hard to be under the afflicting rod, but it would be a
far more dreadful thing if the Lord were to say, "He is
given unto idols, let him alone." Even from our griefs we
may distil consolation, and gather sweet flowers from the garden
in which the Lord has planted salutary rue and wormwood. It is a
cheering fact that if we endure chastening God dealeth with us
as with sons, and we may well be satisfied with the common lot
of his beloved family. The hero, restored to health, and rescued
from the dangers of battle, now lifts up his own song unto the
Lord, and asks all Israel, led on by the goodly fellowship of
the priests, to assist him in chanting a joyful Te Deum.
Verse 20. This gate of the LORD, into which the
righteous shall enter. Psalmist loves the house of God so
well that he admires the very gate thereof, and pauses beneath
its arch to express his affection for it. He loved it because it
was the gate of the Lord, he loved it because it was the gate of
righteousness, because so many godly people had already entered
it, and because in all future ages such persons will continue to
pass through its portals. If the gate of the Lord's house on
earth is so pleasant to us, how greatly shall we rejoice when we
pass that gate of pearl, to which none but the righteous shall
ever approach, but through which all the just shall in due time
enter to eternal felicity. The Lord Jesus has passed that way,
and not only set the gate wide open, but secured an entrance for
all those who are made righteous in his righteousness: all the
righteous must and shall enter there, whoever may oppose them.
Under another aspect our Lord is himself that gate, and through
him, as the new and living Way, all the righteous delight to
approach unto the Lord. Whenever we draw near to praise the Lord
we must come by this gate; acceptable praise never climbs over
the wall, or enters by any other way, but comes to God in Christ
Jesus; as it is written, "no man cometh unto the Father but
by me." Blessed, for ever blessed, be this wondrous gate of
the person of our Lord.
Verse 21. Having entered, the champion exclaims, I
will praise thee, not "I will praise the Lord,
"for now he vividly realizes the divine presence, and
addresses himself directly to Jehovah, whom his faith sensibly
discerns. How well it is in all our songs of praise to let the
heart have direct and distinct communion with God himself! The
Psalmist's song was personal praise too:—"I will
praise thee"; resolute praise, for he firmly resolved to
offer it; spontaneous praise, for he voluntarily and cheerfully
rendered it, and continuous praise, for he did not intend soon
to have done with it. It was a life long vow to which there
would never come a close, "I will praise thee." For
thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. He praises God
by mentioning his favours, weaving his song out of the divine
goodness which he had experienced. In these words he gives the
reason for his praise,—his answered prayer, and the
deliverance which he had received in consequence. How fondly he
dwells upon the personal interposition of God! "Thou
hast heard me." How heartily he ascribes the whole of his
victory over his enemies to God; nay, he sees God himself to be
the whole of it: "Thou art become my
salvation." It is well to go directly to God himself, and
not to stay even in his mercy, or in the acts of his grace.
Answered prayers bring God very near to us; realised salvation
enables us to realise the immediate presence of God. Considering
the extreme distress through which the worshipper had passed, it
is not at all wonderful that he should feel his heart full of
gratitude at the great salvation which God had wrought for him,
and should at his first entrance into the temple lift up his
voice in thankful praise for personal favours so great, so
needful, so perfect. This passage (Ps 118:22-27) will appear to
be a mixture of the expressions of the people and of the hero
himself.
Verse 22. The stone which the builders refused is
become the head stone of the corner. Here the people magnify
God for bringing his chosen servant into the honourable office,
which had been allotted to him by divine decree. A wise king and
valiant leader is a stone by which the national fabric is built
up. David had been rejected by those in authority, but God had
placed him in a position of the highest honour and the greatest
usefulness, making him the chief cornerstone of the state. In
the case of many others whose early life has been spent in
conflict, the Lord has been pleased to accomplish his divine
purposes in like manner; but to none is this text so applicable
as to the Lord Jesus himself: he is the living stone, the tried
stone, elect, precious, which God himself appointed from of old.
The Jewish builders, scribe, priest, Pharisee, and Herodian,
rejected him with disdain. They could see no excellence in him
that they should build upon him; he could not be made to fit in
with their ideal of a national church, he was a stone of another
quarry from themselves, and not after their mind nor according
to their taste; therefore they cast him away and poured contempt
upon him, even as Peter said, "This is the stone which was
set at nought of you builders"; they reckoned him to be as
nothing, though he is Lord of all. In raising him from the dead
the Lord God exalted him to be the head of his church, the very
pinnacle of her glory and beauty. Since then he has become the
confidence of the Gentiles, even of them that are afar off upon
the sea, and thus he has joined the two walls of Jew and Gentile
into one stately temple, and is seen to be the binding
cornerstone, making both one. This is a delightful subject for
contemplation. Jesus in all things hath the preeminence, he is
the principal stone of the whole house of God. We are accustomed
to lay some one stone of a public building with solemn ceremony,
and to deposit in it any precious things which may have been
selected as a memorial of the occasion: henceforth that
cornerstone is looked upon as peculiarly honourable, and joyful
memories are associated with it. All this is in a very emphatic
sense true of our blessed Lord, "The Shepherd, the Stone of
Israel." God himself laid him where he is, and hid within
him all the precious things of the eternal covenant; and there
he shall for ever remain, the foundation of all our hopes, the
glory of all our joys, the united bond of all our fellowship. He
is "the head over all things to the church, "and by
him the church is fitly framed together, and groweth unto a holy
temple in the Lord. Still do the builders refuse him: even to
this day the professional teachers of the gospel are far too apt
to fly to any and every new philosophy sooner than maintain the
simple gospel, which is the essence of Christ: nevertheless, he
holds his true position amongst his people, and the foolish
builders shall see to their utter confusion that his truth shall
be exalted over all. Those who reject the chosen stone will
stumble against him to their own hurt, and ere long will come
his second advent, when he will fall upon them from the heights
of heaven, and grind them to powder.
Verse 23. This is the LORD'S doing. The exalted
position of Christ in his church is not the work of man, and
does not depend for its continuation upon any builders or
ministers; God himself has wrought the exaltation of our Lord
Jesus. Considering the opposition which comes from the wisdom,
the power, and the authority of this world, it is manifest that
if the kingdom of Christ be indeed set up and maintained in the
world it must be by supernatural power. Indeed, it is so even in
the smallest detail. Every grain of true faith in this world is
a divine creation, and every hour in which the true church
subsists is a prolonged miracle. It is not the goodness of human
nature, nor the force of reasoning, which exalts Christ, and
builds up the church, but a power from above. This staggers the
adversary, for he cannot understand what it is which baffles
him: of the Holy Ghost He knows nothing. It is marvellous in our
eyes. We actually see it; it is not in our thoughts and hopes
and prayers alone, but the astonishing work is actually before
our eyes. Jesus reigns, his power is felt, and we perceive that
it is so. Faith sees our great Master, far above all
principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name
that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is
to come; she sees and marvels. It never ceases to astonish us,
as we see, even here below, God by means of weakness defeating
power, by the simplicity of his word baffling the craft of men,
and by the invisible influence of his Spirit exalting his Son in
human hearts in the teeth of open and determined opposition. It
is indeed "marvellous in our eyes, "as all God's works
must be if men care to study them. In the Hebrew the passage
reads, "It is wonderfully done": not only is
the exaltation of Jesus of Nazareth itself wonderful, but the
way in which it is brought about is marvellous: it is
wonderfully done. The more we study the history of Christ and
his church the more fully shall we agree with this declaration.
Verse 24. This is the day which the LORD hath made.
A new era has commenced. The day of David's enthronement was the
beginning of better times for Israel; and in a far higher sense
the day of our Lord's resurrection is a new day of God's own
making, for it is the dawn of a blessed dispensation. No doubt
the Israelitish nation celebrated the victory of its champion
with a day of feasting, music and song; and surely it is but
meet that we should reverently keep the feast of the triumph of
the Son of David. We observe the Lord's day as henceforth our
true Sabbath, a day made and ordained of God, for the perpetual
remembrance of the achievements of our Redeemer. Whenever the
soft Sabbath light of the first day of the week breaks upon the
earth, let us sing,
"This is the day the Lord hath made,
He calls the hours his own;
Let heaven rejoice, let earth be glad,
And praise surround the throne."
We by no means wish to confine the reference of the passage
to the Sabbath, for the whole gospel day is the day of God's
making, and its blessings come to us through our Lord's being
placed as the head of the corner. We will rejoice and be glad in
it. What else can we do? Having obtained so great a deliverance
through our illustrious leader, and having seen the eternal
mercy of God so brilliantly displayed, it would ill become us to
mourn and murmur. Rather will we exhibit a double joy, rejoice
in heart and be glad in face, rejoice in secret and be glad in
public, for we have more than a double reason for being glad in
the Lord. We ought to be specially joyous on the Sabbath: it is
the queen of days, and its hours should be clad in royal apparel
of delight. George Herbert says of it:
"Thou art a day of mirth,
And where the weekdays trail on ground,
Thy flight is higher as thy birth."
Entering into the midst of the church of God, and beholding
the Lord Jesus as all in all in the assemblies of his people, we
are bound to overflow with joy. Is it not written, "then
were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord"? When the
King makes the house of prayer to be a banqueting house, and we
have grace to enjoy fellowship with him, both in his sufferings
and in his triumphs, we feel an intense delight, and we are glad
to express it with the rest of his people.
Verse 25. Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD.
Hosanna! God save our king! Let David reign! Or as we who live
in these latter days interpret it,—Let the Son of David live
for ever, let his saving help go forth throughout all nations.
This was the peculiar shout of the feast of tabernacles; and so
long as we dwell here below in these tabernacles of clay we
cannot do better than use the same cry. Perpetually let us pray
that our glorious King may work salvation in the midst of the
earth. We plead also for ourselves that the Lord would save us,
deliver us, and continue to sanctify us. This we ask with great
earnestness, beseeching it of Jehovah. Prayer should always be
an entreating and beseeching. O LORD, I beseech thee, send now
prosperity. Let the church be built up: through the salvation of
sinners may the number of the saints be increased; through the
preservation of saints may the church be strengthened,
continued, beautified, perfected. Our Lord Jesus himself pleads
for the salvation and the prosperity of his chosen; as our
Intercessor before the throne he asks that the heavenly Father
would save and keep those who were of old committed to his
charge, and cause them to be one through the indwelling Spirit.
Salvation had been given, and therefore it is asked for. Strange
though it may seem, he who cries for salvation is already in a
measure saved. None can so truly cry, "Save, I beseech
thee, "as those who have already participated in salvation;
and the most prosperous church is that which most imploringly
seeks prosperity. It may seem strange that, returning from
victory, flushed with triumph, the hero should still ask for
salvation; but so it is, and it could not be otherwise. When all
our Saviour's work and warfare were ended, his intercession
became even more prominently a feature of his life; after he had
conquered all his foes he made intercession for the
transgressors. What is true of him is true of his church also,
for whenever she obtains the largest measure of spiritual
blessing she is then most inclined to plead for more. She never
pants so eagerly for prosperity as when she sees the Lord's
doings in her midst, and marvels at them. Then, encouraged by
the gracious visitation, she sets apart her solemn days of
prayer, and cries with passionate desire, "Save now,
"and "Send now prosperity." She would fain take
the tide at the flood, and make the most of the day of which the
Lord has already made so much.
Verse 26. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the
LORD. The champion had done everything "in the name of the
Lord": in that name he had routed all his adversaries, and
had risen to the throne, and in that name he had now entered the
temple to pay his vows. We know who it is that cometh in the
name of the Lord beyond all others. In the Psalmist's days he
was The Coming One, and he is still The Coming One, though he
hath already come. We are ready with our hosannas both for his
first and second advent; our inmost souls thankfully adore and
bless him and upon his head unspeakable joys. "Prayer also
shall be made for him continually: and daily shall he be
praised." For his sake everybody is blessed to us who comes
in the name of the Lord, we welcome all such to our hearts and
our homes; but chiefly, and beyond all others, we welcome himself
when he deigns to enter in and sup with us and we with him. O
sacred bliss, fit antepast of heaven! Perhaps this sentence is
intended to be the benediction of the priests upon the valiant
servant of the Lord, and if so, it is appropriately added, We
have blessed you out of the house of the LORD. The priests whose
business it was to bless the people, in a sevenfold degree
blessed the people's deliverer, the one chosen out of the people
whom the Lord had exalted. All those whose high privilege it is
to dwell in the house of the Lord for ever, because they are
made priests unto God in Christ Jesus, can truly say that they
bless the Christ who has made them what they are, and placed
them where they are. Whenever we feel ourselves at home with
God, and feel the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, "Abba
Father, "the first thought of our hearts should be to bless
the elder Brother, through whom the privilege of sonship has
descended to such unworthy ones. In looking back upon our past
lives we can remember many delightful occasions in which with
joy unutterable we have in the fulness of our heart blessed our
Saviour and our King; and all these memorable seasons are so
many foretastes and pledges of the time when in the house of our
great Father above we shall for ever sing, "Worthy is the
Lamb that was slain, "and with rapture bless the Redeemer's
name.
Verse 27. God is the LORD, which hath shewed us
light, or "God is Jehovah, "the only living and
true God. There is none other God but he. The words may also be
rendered, "Mighty is Jehovah." Only the power of God
could have brought us such light and joy as spring from the work
of our Champion and King. We have received light, by which we
have known the rejected stone to be the head of the corner, and
this light has led us to enlist beneath the banner of the once
despised Nazarene, who is now the Prince of the kings of the
earth. With the light of knowledge has come the light of joy;
for we are delivered from the powers of darkness and translated
into the kingdom of God's dear Son. Our knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ came not by the light of
nature, nor by reason, nor did it arise from the sparks which we
ourselves had kindled, nor did we receive it of men; but the
mighty God alone hath showed it to us. He made a day on purpose
that he might shine upon us like the sun, and he made our faces
to shine in the light of that day, according to the declaration
of the twenty-fourth verse. Therefore, unto him be all the
honour of our enlightenment. Let us do our best to magnify the
great Father of lights from whom our present blessedness has
descended. "Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the
horns of the altar. Some think that by this we are taught that
the king offered so many sacrifices that the whole area of the
court was filled, and the sacrifices were bound even up to the
altar; but we are inclined to keep to our own version, and to
believe that sometimes restive bullocks were bound to the altar
before they were slain, in which case Mant's verse is
correct":
"He, Jehovah, is our Lord:
He, our God, on us hath shined:
Bind the sacrifice with cord,
To the horned altar bind."
The word rendered "cords" carries with it the idea
of wreaths and boughs, so that it was not a cord of hard, rough
rope, but a decorated band; even as in our case, though we are
bound to the altar of God, it is with the cords of love and the
bands of a man, and not by a compulsion which destroys the
freedom of the will. The sacrifice which we would present in
honour of the victories of our Lord Jesus Christ is the living
sacrifice of our spirit, soul, and body. We bring ourselves to
his altar, and desire to offer him all that we have and are.
There remains a tendency in our nature to start aside from this;
it is not fond of the sacrificial knife. In the warmth of our
love we come willingly to the altar, but we need constraining
power to keep us there in the entirety of our being throughout
the whole of life. Happily there is a cord which, twisted around
the atonement, or, better still, around the person of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who is our only Altar, can hold us, and does hold
us: "For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we
thus judge, that if one died for all, then all died; and that he
died for all, that they that live should not henceforth live
unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose
again." We are bound to the doctrine of atonement; we are
bound to Christ himself, who is both altar and sacrifice; we
desire to be more bound to him than ever, our soul finds her
liberty in being tethered fast to the altar of the Lord. The
American Board of Missions has for its seal an ox, with an altar
on one side and a plough on the other, and the motto "Ready
for either, "—ready to live and labour, or ready to
suffer and die. We would gladly spend ourselves for the Lord
actively, or be spent by him passively, whichever may be his
will; but since we know the rebellion of our corrupt nature we
earnestly pray that we may be kept in this consecrated mind, and
that we may never, under discouragements, or through the
temptations of the world, be permitted to leave the altar, to
which it is our intense desire to be for ever fastened. Such
consecration as this, and such desires for its perpetuity, well
beseem that day of gladness which the Lord hath made so bright
by the glorious triumph of his Son, our covenant head, our well
beloved. Now comes the closing song of the champion, and of each
one of his admirers.
Verse 28. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee,
my mighty God who hath done this mighty and marvellous thing.
Thou shalt be mine, and all the praise my soul is capable of
shall be poured forth at thy feet. Thou art my God, I will exalt
thee. Thou hast exalted me, and as far as my praises can do it,
I will exalt thy name. Jesus is magnified, and he magnifies the
Father according to his prayer, "Father, the hour is come;
glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee." God
hath given us grace and promised us glory, and we are
constrained to ascribe all grace to him, and all the glory of it
also. The repetition indicates a double determination, and sets
forth the firmness of the resolution, the heartiness of the
affection, the intensity of the gratitude. Our Lord Jesus
himself saith, "I will praise thee"; and well may each
one of us, humbly and with confidence in divine grace, add, on
his own account, the same declaration, "I will
praise thee." However others may blaspheme thee, I will
exalt thee; however dull and cold I may sometimes feel myself,
yet will I rouse up my nature, and determine that as long as I
have any being that being shall be spent to thy praise. For ever
thou art my God, and for ever I will give thee thanks.
Verse 29. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is
good: for his mercy endureth for ever. The Psalm concludes
as it began, making a complete circle of joyful adoration. We
can well suppose that the notes at the close of the loud
hallelujah were more swift, more sweet, more loud than at the
beginning. To the sound of trumpet and harp, Israel, the house
of Aaron, and all that feared the Lord, forgetting their
distinctions, joined in one common hymn, testifying again to
their deep gratitude to the Lord's goodness, and to the mercy
which is unto eternity. What better close could there be to this
right royal song? The Psalmist would have risen to something
higher, so as to end with a climax, but nothing loftier
remained. He had reached the height of his grandest argument,
and there he paused. The music ceased, the song was suspended,
the great hallel was all chanted, and the people went every one
to his own home, quietly and happily musing upon the goodness of
the Lord, whose mercy fills eternity.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole Psalm. This is the last of those Psalms which
form the great Hallel, which the Jews sang at the end of
the passover. Adam Clarke.
Whole Psalm. The whole Psalm has a peculiar formation.
It resembles the Maschal Psalms, for each verse has of
itself its completed sense, its own scent and hue; one thought
is joined to another as branch to branch and flower to flower. Franz
Delitzsch.
Whole Psalm. Nothing can surpass the force and
majesty, as well as the richly varied beauty, of this Psalm. Its
general burden is quite manifest. It is the prophetic
expression, by the Spirit of Christ, of that exultant strain of
anticipative triumph, wherein the virgin daughter of Zion will
laugh to scorn, in the immediate prospect of her Deliverer's
advent, the congregated armies of the Man of Sin (Ps 118:10-13).
Arthur Pridham.
Whole Psalm. The two Psalms, 117th and 118th, are
placed together because, though each is a distinct portion in
itself, the 117th is an exordium to that which follows it, an
address and an invitation to the Gentile and heathen world to
acknowledge and praise Jehovah.
We are now arrived at the concluding portion of the hymn,
which Christ and his disciples sung preparatory to their going
forth to the Mount of Olives. Nothing could be more appropriate
or better fitted to comfort and encourage, at that awful period,
than a prophecy which, overleaping the suffering to be endured,
showed forth the glory that was afterwards to follow, and a song
of triumph, then only recited, but in due time to be literally
acted, when the cross was to be succeeded by a crown. This Psalm
is not only frequently quoted in the New Testament, but it was
also partially applied at one period of our Saviour's sojourn on
earth, and thus we are afforded decisive testimony to the
purpose for which it is originally and prophetically destined.
It was partially used at the time when Messiah, in the days of
his humiliation, was received with triumph and acclamation into
Jerusalem; and we may conclude it will be fully enacted, when
our glorified and triumphant Lord, coming with ten thousand of
his saints, will again stand upon the earth and receive the
promised salutation, "Blessed be the King that cometh in
the name of Jehovah." This dramatic representation of
Messiah coming in glory, to take his great power and reign among
us, is apportioned to the chief character, "the King of
kings and Lord of lords, "to his saints following him in
procession, and to priests and Levites, representing the Jewish
nation.
The Conqueror and his attendants sing the 117th Psalm, an
introductory hymn, inviting all, Jews and Gentiles, to share in
the merciful kindness of God, and to sing his praises. It is a
gathering together of all the Lord's people, to be witnesses and
partakers of his glory. Ps 118:1-3 are sung by single voices. As
the procession moves along, the theme of rejoicing is announced.
The first voice repeats, O give thanks unto the LORD; for he
is good: because his mercy endureth for ever. Another single
voice calls on Israel to acknowledge this great truth; and a
third invites the house of Aaron, the priesthood, to acknowledge
their share in Jehovah's love. Ps 118:4 is a chorus; the whole
procession, the living: and the dead who are raised to meet
Christ (1Th 4:16), shout aloud the burden of the song, Ps 118:1.
Arrived at the temple gate, or rather, the gate of Jerusalem,
the Conqueror alone sings, Ps 118:5-7. He begins by recounting
the circumstances of his distress. Next, he tells of his refuge:
I betook me to God, I told him my sorrows, and he heard me. The
procession, in chorus, sings Ps 118:8-9, taking up the substance
of Messiah's chaunt, and fully echoing the sentiment, It is
better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
The Conqueror alone again sings Ps 118:10-14. He enlarges on the
magnitude of his dangers, and the hopelessness of his situation.
It was not a common difficulty, or a single enemy, whole nations
compassed him about. The procession in chorus, Ps 118:15-16,
attributes their Lord's gloat deliverance to his righteous
person, and to his righteous cause. Justice and equity and
truth, all demanded that Messiah should not be trodden down.
"Was it not thine arm, O Jehovah, which has gotten thee the
victory?" Messiah now takes up the language of a conqueror,
Ps 118:17-19. My sufferings were sore, but they were only for a
season. I laid down my life, and I now take it up again: and
then, with a loud voice, as when he roused Lazarus out of the
grave, he cries to those within the walls, Open to me the
gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise
the LORD. The priests and Levites within instantly obey his
command, and while they throw open the gates, they sing, This
is the gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.
As he enters, the Conqueror alone repeats Ps 118:21. His sorrows
are ended, his victory is complete. The objects for which he
lived and died, and for which his prayers were offered, are now
fulfilled, and thus, in a few short words, he expresses his joy
and gratitude to God. The priests and Levites sing in chorus Ps
118:22-24. Depositaries and expounders of the prophecies as they
had long been, they now, for the first time, quote and apply
one, Isa 28:16, which held a conspicuous place, but never before
was intelligible to Jewish ears. "The man of sorrows,
"the stone which the builders refused, is become the
headstone of the corner. The Conqueror is now within the gates,
and proceeds to accomplish his good purpose, Lu 1:68. Hosannah,
save thy people, O LORD, and send them now prosperity, Ps
118:25. The priests and Levites are led by the Spirit to use the
words foretold by our Lord, Mt 28:39. Now at length the veil is
removed, and his people say, Blessed be he that cometh in the
name of the Lord, Ps 118:26. The Conqueror and his train (Ps
118:27) now praise God, who has given light and deliverance and
salvation, and they offer to him the sacrifice of thanksgiving
for all that they enjoy. The Conqueror alone (Ps 118:28) next
makes a solemn acknowledgment of gratitude and praise to
Jehovah, and then, all being within the gates, the united body,
triumphant procession, priests and Levites, end, as they
commenced, O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for
his mercy endureth for ever. R. H. Ryland, in "The Psalms
restored to Messiah, "1853.
Whole Psalm. It was Luther's favourite Psalm, his
beauteous Confitemini, which "had helped him out of
what neither emperor nor king, nor any other man on earth, could
have helped him." With the exposition of this his noblest
jewel, his defence and his treasure, he occupied himself in the
solitude of his Patmos (Coburg). Franz Delitzsch.
Whole Psalm. This is my Psalm, my chosen Psalm. I love
them all; I love all holy Scripture, which is my consolation and
my life. But this Psalm is nearest my heart, and I have a
peculiar right to call it mine. It has saved me from many a
pressing danger, from which nor emperor, nor kings, nor sages,
nor saints, could have saved me. It is my friend; dearer to me
than all the honours and power of the earth... But it may be
objected, that this Psalm is common to all; no one has a right
to call it his own. Yes; but Christ is also common to all, and
yet Christ is mine. I am not jealous of my property; I would
divide it with the whole world... And would to God that all men
would claim the Psalm as especially theirs! It would be the most
touching quarrel, the most agreeable to God—a quarrel of union
and perfect charity. Luther. From his Dedication of his
Translation of Psalm 118 to the Abbot Frederick of Nuremberg.
Verse 1. For he is good. The praise of God
could not be expressed in fewer words than these, "For
he is good." I see not what can be more solemn than
this brevity, since goodness is so peculiarly the quality of
God, that the Son of God himself when addressed by some one as
"Good Master, "by one, namely, who beholding his
flesh, and comprehending not the fulness of his divine nature,
considered him as man only, replied, "Why callest thou me
good? There is none good but one, that is God." And what is
this but to say, If you wish to call me good, recognize me as
God? Augustine.
Verse 1. His mercy endureth for ever. What the
close of Psalm 117 says of God's truth, viz., that it endureth
for ever, Ps 118:1-4 says of its sister, his mercy or
lovingkindness. Franz Delitzsch.
Verses 1-4. As the salvation of the elect is one, and
the love of God to them one, so should their song be one, as
here four several times it is said, His mercy endureth for
ever. David Dickson.
Verses 1-4. Because we hear the sentence so frequently
repeated here, that "the mercy of the Lord endureth for
ever, "we are not to think that the Holy Spirit has
employed empty tautology, but our great necessity demands it:
for in temptations and dangers the flesh begins to doubt of the
mercy of God; therefore nothing should be so frequently
impressed on the mind as this, that the mercy of God does not
fail, that the Eternal Father wearies not in remitting our sins.
Solomon Gesner.
Verse 2. Let Israel now say. Albeit all the
elect have interest in God's praise for mercies purchased by
Christ unto them, yet the elect of Israel have the first room in
the song; for Christ is first promised to them, and came of them
according to the flesh, and will be most marvellous about them. David
Dickson.
Verse 2. Let Israel now say, that his mercy
endureth for ever. Let such who have had an experience of
it, acknowledge and declare it to others; not only believe it
with their hearts, and privately give thanks for it, but with
the mouth make confession of it to the glory of divine grace. John
Gill.
Verse 2-4. Now. Beware of delaying. Delays be
dangerous, our hearts will cool, and our affections will fall
down. It is good then to be doing while it is called today,
while it is called now. Now, now, now, saith
David; there be three nows, and all to teach us that for aught
we know, it is now or never, today or not at all; we must
praise God while the heart is hot, else our iron will cool.
Satan hath little hope to prevail unless he can persuade us to
omit our duties when the clock strikes, and therefore his skill
is to urge us to put it off till another time as fitter or
better. Do it anon, next hour, next day, next week (saith he);
and why not next year? Hereafter (saith he) it will be as well
as now. This he saith indeed, but his meaning (by hereafter) is
never: and he that is not fit today, hath no promise but he
shall be more unapt tomorrow. We have neither God nor our own
hearts at command; and when we have lost the opportunity, God to
correct us perhaps will not give us affections. The cock within
shall not crow to awaken us, the sun shall not shine, and then
we are in danger to give over quite; and if we come once to a
total omission of one duty, why not of another, and of another,
and so of all? and then farewell to us. Richard Capel
(1586-1656) in "Tentations, their Nature, Danger,
Cure."
Verse 4. Them that fear the LORD. Who were
neither of "the house of Aaron, "that is, of the
priests or Levites; nor of "the house of Israel, "that
is, native Jews; yet might be of the Jewish religion, and "fear
the LORD." These were called proselytes, and are
here invited to praise the Lord. Joseph Caryl.
Verse 4. God's mercy endureth for ever. That
is, his covenant mercy, that precious church privilege: this is
perpetual to his people, and should perpetually remain as a
memorial in our hearts. And therefore it is that this is the
foot or burden of these first four verses. Neither is there any
idle repetition, but a notable expression of the saints'
insatiableness of praising God for his never failing mercy.
These heavenly birds having got a note, sing it over and over.
In the last Psalm there are but six verses, yet twelve
Hallelujahs. Abraham Wright.
Verse 5. Perhaps Ps 118:5, which says, I called
upon the LORD in distress (literally, out of the narrow
gorge), and the LORD answered me on the open plain—which
describes the deliverance of Israel from their captivity,—may
have been sung as they defiled from a narrow ravine into the
plain; and when they arrived at the gate of the temple, then
they broke forth in full chorus into the words, "Open to me
the gates of righteousness" (Ps 118:19). Christopher
Wordsworth.
Verse 5. It is said, I called upon the LORD.
Thou must learn to call, and not to sit there by thyself, and
lie on the bench, hang and shake thy head, and bite and devour
thyself with thy thoughts; but come on, thou indolent knave,
down upon thy knees, up with thy hands and eyes to heaven, take
a Psalm or a prayer, and set forth thy distress with tears
before God. Martin Luther.
Verse 5. The LORD answered me, and set me in a
large place. It may be rendered, The LORD answered me
largely;as he did Solomon, when he gave him more than he
asked for; and as he does his people, when he gives them a
sufficiency and an abundance of his grace; not only above their
deserts, but above their thoughts and expectations. See Eph
3:20. John Gill.
Verse 6. The LORD is on my side. The reason
which the Psalmist gives here for his trusting, or for his not
fearing, is the great fact, that the Lord is on his side; and
the prominent idea which this brings before us is Alliance;
the making common cause, which the great God undoubtedly
does, with imperfect, yet with earnest, trusting man. We know
very well the great anxiety shown by men, in all their worldly
conflicts, to secure the aid of a powerful ally; in their
lawsuits, to retain the services of a powerful advocate; or, in
their attempts at worldly advancement, to win the friendship and
interest of those who can further the aims they have in view.
When Herod was highly displeased with the armies of Tyre and
Sidon, they did not venture to approach him until they had made
Blastus, the king's chamberlain, their friend. If such and such
a person be on their side, men think that all must go well. Who
so well off as he who is able to say, The LORD is on my side?
Philip Bennet Power, in "The I Will's of the
Psalms," 1861.
Verse 6. God is with those he calls and employs in
public service. Joshua was exhorted to be strong and of good
courage, "For the Lord thy God is with thee" (Jos
1:9). So also was Jeremiah, "Be not afraid of their faces;
for I am with thee to deliver thee" (Jer 1:8). God's
presence should put life into us. When inferior natures are
backed with a superior, they are full of courage: when the
master is by, the dog will venture upon creatures greater than
himself and fear not; at another time he will not do it when his
master is absent. When God is with us, who is the supreme, it
should make us fearless. It did David; The LORD is on my
side; I will not fear what man can do unto me. Let him do
his worst, frown, threat, plot, arm, strike; the Lord is on my
side, he hath a special care for me, he is a shield unto me, I
will not fear, but hope; as it is in the next verse. "I
shall see my desire on them that hate me, "I shall see them
changed or ruined. Our help is in the name of the Lord, but our
fears are in the name of man. William Green hill.
Verse 6. I will not fear. David, (or God's
people, if you will,) being taught by experience, exults in
great confidence, but does not say, the Lord is my helper, and I
shall suffer no more, knowing that while he is a pilgrim here
below he will have much to suffer from his daily enemies; but he
says, The LORD is my helper, I will not fear what man can do
unto me. Robert Bellarmine.
Verse 6. Man does not here mean a man, but
mankind, or man as opposed to God. Joseph Addison, Alexander.
Verse 8. It may perhaps be considered beneath the
dignity and solemnity of our subject to remark, that this 8th
verse of this Psalm is the middle verse of the Bible. There are,
I believe, 31,174 verses in all, and this is the 15,587th. I do
not wish, nor would I advise you to occupy your time in counting
for yourselves, nor should I indeed have noticed the subject at
all, but that I wish to suggest one remark upon it, and that is,
that though we may generally look upon such calculations as only
laborious idleness,—and they certainly have been carried to
the most minute dissection of every part of Scripture, such as
to how many times the word "Lord, "the word "GOD,
" and even the word "and, "occurs,—yet I
believe that the integrity of the holy volume owes a vast deal
to this scruple weighing of these calculators. I do not say, nor
do I think, that they had such motives in their minds; but
whatever their reasons were, I cannot but think that there was
an overruling Providence in thus converting these trifling and
apparently useless investigations into additional guards and
fences around the sacred text. Barton Bouchier.
Verse 8. It is better to trust in the LORD,
etc. Luther on this text calleth it, artem artium, et
mirificam, ac suam artem, non fidere hominibus, that is, the
art of arts, and that which he had well studied, not to put
confidence in man: as for trust in God, he calleth it sacrificium
omnium gratissimum et suavissimum, et cultum omnium pulcherrimum,
the most pleasant and sweetest of all sacrifices, the best of
all services we perform to God. John Trapp.
Verse 8. It is better to trust in the LORD. All
make this acknowledgment, and yet there is scarcely one among a
hundred who is fully persuaded that God alone can afford him
sufficient help. That man has attained a high rank among the
faithful, who resting satisfied in God, never ceases to
entertain a lively hope, even when he finds no help upon earth. John
Calvin.
Verse 8. It is a great cause oftentimes why God
blesseth not means, because we are so apt to trust in them, and
rob God of his glory, not waiting for a blessing at his hands.
This causeth the Lord to cross us, and to curse his own
benefits, because we seek not him, but sacrifice to our own
nets, putting confidence in outward means. Therefore when we
hope for help from them, God bloweth upon them, and turneth them
to our hurt and destruction. Abraham Wright.
Verse 8. When my enemies have been brought to
contempt, let not my friend present himself unto me as a good
man, and bid me repose my hope in himself; for still must I
trust in the Lord alone. Augustine.
Verses 8-9. Nothing is more profitable than dwelling
on familiar truths. Was there ever a good man who did not
believe that it was better to trust in Jehovah than rely on any
created arm? Yet David here repeats this truth, that if possible
it may sink deep into every mind. William S. Plumer.
Verse 9. It is better to trust in the LORD than to
put confidence in princes. David knew that by experience,
for he confided in Saul his king, at another time in Achish, the
Philistine, at another time in Ahithophel his own most prudent
minister, besides some others; and they all failed him; but he
never confided in God without feeling the benefit of it. Robert
Bellarmine.
Verse 9. It is better, etc. Literally,
"Good is it to trust in Jehovah more than to confide in
man." This is the Hebrew form of comparison, and is
equivalent to what is stated in our version. "It is better,
"etc. It is better, (1) because man is weak,—but God is
Almighty; (2) because man is selfish,—but God is benevolent;
(3) because man is often faithless and deceitful,—God never;
(4) because there are emergencies, as death, in which man cannot
aid us, however faithful, kind, and friendly he may be,—but
there are no circumstances in this life, and none in death,
where God cannot assist us; and (5) because the ability of man
to help us pertains at best only to the present life,—the
power of God will be commensurate with eternity. Albert
Barnes.
Verse 9. Than to put confidence in princes.
Great men's words, saith one, are like dead men's shoes; he may
go barefoot that waiteth for them. John Trapp.
Verse 9. They who constantly attend upon God, and
depend upon him, have a much sweeter life, than those that wait
upon princes with great observance and expectation. A servant of
the Lord is better provided for than the greatest favourites and
minions of princes. Thomas Manton.
Verse 11. Whether Tertullus persecute the church with
his tongue, or Elymas with his hand, God hath the command of
both. Indeed the wicked are the mediate causes of our troubles:
the righteous are as the centre, the other the circumference;
which way soever they turn, they find themselves environed; yet
still the centre is fixed and immovable, being founded upon
Christ. It is good for some men to have adversaries; for often
they more fear to sin, lest they should despise them, than
dislike it for conscience, lest God should condemn them. They
speak evil of us: if true, let us amend it; if false, contemn
it; whether false or true, observe it. Thus we shall learn good
out of their evil; make them our tutors, and give them our
pupillage. In all things let us match them, in nothing fear
them: "which is to them an evident token of perdition, but
to us of salvation, "Php 1:28. The church is that tower of
David; if there be a thousand weapons to wound us, there are a
thousand shields to guard us, So 4:4. Thomas Adams.
Verse 12. They compassed me about like bees.
Christ's enemies are so spiteful, that in fighting against his
kingdom, they regard not what become of themselves, so they may
hurt his people; but as the bee undoes herself in stinging, and
loses her life or her power with her sting, so do they. All that
the enemies of Christ's church can do against his people is but
to trouble them externally; their wounds are like the sting of a
bee, that is, unto pain and swelling, and a short trouble only,
but are not deadly. David Dickson.
Verse 12. They compassed me about like bees.
Now, as the north east wind of course was adverse to any north
east progress, it was necessary that the boat should be towed by
the crew. As the rope was being drawn along through the grass on
the banks it happened that it disturbed a swarm of bees. In a
moment, like a great cloud, they burst upon the men who were
dragging; everyone of them threw himself headlong into the water
and hurried to regain the boat. The swarm followed at their
heels, and in a few seconds filled every nook and cranny of the
deck. What a scene of confusion ensued may readily be imagined.
Without any foreboding of ill, I was arranging my plants in my
cabin, when I heard all around me a scampering which I took at
first to be merely the frolics of my people, as that was the
order of the day. I called out to enquire the meaning of the
noise, but only got excited gestures and reproachful looks in
answer. The cry of "Bees! bees!" soon broke upon my
ear, and I proceeded to light a pipe. My attempt was entirely in
vain; in an instant bees in thousands are about me, and I am
mercilessly stung all over my face and hands. To no purpose do I
try to protect my face with a handkerchief, and the more
violently I fling my hands about, so much the more violent
becomes the impetuosity of the irritated insects. The maddening
pain is now on my cheek, now in my eye, now in my hair. The dogs
from under my bed burst out frantically, overturning everything
in their way. Losing well nigh all control over myself, I fling
myself into the river; I dive down, but all in vain, for the
stings rain down still upon my head. Not heeding the warning of
my people, I creep through the reedy grass to the swampy bank.
The grass lacerates my hands, and I try to gain the mainland,
hoping to find shelter in the woods. All at once four powerful
arms seize me and drag me back with such force that I think I
must be choked in the mud. I am compelled to go back on board,
and flight is not to be thought of... I felt ready, in the
evening, for an encounter with half a score of buffaloes or a
brace of lions rather than have anything more to do with bees;
and this was a sentiment in which all the ship's company
heartily concurred. George Schweinfurth, in "The Heart
of Africa, "1873.
Verse 12. David said of his enemies, that they came
about him like bees; he doth not say like wasps. For
though they used their stings, yet he found honey in them too. Peter
Smith, 1644.
Verse 12. They compassed me about like bees.
As wasps, provoked by children in their play,
Pour from their mansions by the broad highway,
In swarms the guiltless traveller engage,
Whet all their stings, and call forth all their rage,
All rise in arms, and with a general cry,
Assert their waxen domes, and buzzing progeny;
Thus from the tents the fervent legion swarms,
So loud their clamours, and so keen their arms. Homer.
Verse 12. They are quenched as the fire of thorns.
The illustration from the "fire of thorns" is
derived from the fact that they quickly kindle into a blaze, and
then the flame soon dies away. In Eastern countries it was
common to burn over their fields in the dry time of the year,
and thus to clear them of thorns and briers and weeds. Of
course, at such a time they would kindle quickly, and burn
rapidly, and would soon be consumed. So the Psalmist says it was
with his enemies. He came upon them, numerous as they were, as
the fire runs over a field in a dry time, burning everything
before it. Albert Barnes.
Verse 12. In the name of the LORD. This has
been understood as the tessera, the sentence of attack,
or signal to engage, like those of Cyrus—Jupiter is our leader
and ally—Jupiter our captain and preserver. Cyropaed. 1. 3 and
7; and Gideon, Jud 7:18. This interpretation being only founded
on the repetition, may it not more probably be designed as
suited to the musical performance? Samuel Burder.
Verse 13. Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might
fall. The apostrophe is strong, and probably directed to
some particular person in the battle, who had put David in great
danger. Samuel Burder.
Verse 13. Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might
fall. Thou hast indeed. Thou hast done thy part, O Satan,
and it has been well done. Thou hast known all my weakest parts,
thou hast seen where my armour was not buckled on tightly, and
thou hast attacked me at the right time and in the right way.
The great Spanish poet, Calderon, tells of one who wore a heavy
suit of armour for a whole year, and laid it by for one hour,
and in that hour the enemy came, and the man paid for his
negligence with his life. "Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation; for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of
life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." John
Mason Neale.
Verse 14. The LORD is my strength and song, and as
become my salvation. "My strength, "that I am able
to resist my enemies; "my salvation, "that I am
delivered from my enemies; "my song, "that I
may joyfully praise him and sing of him after I am delivered. William
Nicholson, 1662.
Verse 14. Good songs, good promises, good proverbs,
good doctrines are none the worse for age. What was sung just
after the passage of the Red Sea, is here sung by the prophet,
and shall be sung to the end of the world by the saints of the
Most High. William S. Plumer.
Verse 14. And is become my salvation. Not that
he hath become anything which he was not before, but because his
people, when they believed on him, became what they were not
before, and then he began to be salvation unto them when turned
towards him, which he was not to them when turned away from
himself. Augustine.
Verse 15. Thy voice of rejoicing and salvation is
in the tabernacles of the righteous. Every one should be
careful that his dwelling is one of the tabernacles of the
righteous, and that he himself together with his household
should walk in righteousness (Lu 1:75). And he should be so
diligent in hymns and sacred songs, that his rooms should
resound with them. Martin Geier.
Verse 16. The right hand of the LORD doeth
valiantly. Thrice he celebrates God's right hand, to set
forth his earnest desire to say the utmost; or, in reference to
the Sacred Trinity, as some will have it. John Trapp.
Verse 17. I shall not die, but live. As Christ
is risen, "we shall not die, but live"; we shall not
die eternally, but we shall live in this world, the life of
grace, and in the world to come, the life of glory; that we may
in both declare the "works" and chant the praises of
God our Saviour. We are "chastened" for our sins, but
"not given over to death" and destruction everlasting;
nay, our being "chastened" is now a proof that we are
not so given over; "for what son is he whom the father
chasteneth not?" Heb 12:7. George Horne.
Verse 17. I shall not die, but live. To live,
signifies, not barely to live, but to live comfortably, to have
content with our life; to live is to prosper. Thus the word is
often used in Scripture. "I shall not die, but
live." David did not look upon himself as immortal, or
that he should never die; he knew he was subject to the statute
of death: but the meaning is, I shall not die now, I shall not
die by the hands of these men, I shall not die the death which
they have designed me to; or when he saith, "I shall not
die, but live, "his meaning is, I shall live
comfortably and prosperously, I shall live as a king. That which
we translate (1Sa 10:24) "God save the king, "is,
"Let the king live, "that is, let him prosper,
and have good days; let him have peace with all, or victory over
his enemies. Joseph Caryl.
Verse 17. I shall not die, etc. The following
incident is worth recording: "Wycliffe was now getting old,
but the Reformer was worn out rather by the harassing attacks of
his foes, and his incessant and ever growing labours, than with
the weight of years, for he was not yet sixty. He fell sick.
With unbounded joy the friars heard that their great enemy was
dying. Of course he was overwhelmed with horror and remorse for
the evil he had done them, and they would hasten to his bedside
and receive the expression of his penitence and sorrow. In a
trice a little crowd of shaven crowns assembled round the couch
of the sick man—delegates from the four orders of friars.
`They began fair, 'wishing him `health and restoration from his
distemper'; but speedily changing their tone, they exhorted him,
as one on the brink of the grave, to make full confession, and
express his unfeigned grief for the injuries he had inflicted on
their order. Wycliffe lay silent till they should have made an
end, then, making his servant raise him a little on his pillow,
and fixing his keen eyes upon them, he said with a loud voice,
`I shall not die, but live, and declare the evil deeds of the
friars.' The monks rushed in astonishment and confusion from the
chamber." J. A. Wylie, in "The History of
Protestantism."
Verse 17. I shall not die, not absolutely, for
see Ps 89:48; Heb 9:27; but not in the midst of my days, Ps
103:24; nor according to the will of mine enemies, who "thrust
at me that I might fall, "Ps 118:13. But, on the
contrary, I shall live, not simply as he had hitherto lived, in
the greatest distress, which would be a wretched life, a living
death: but lively, joyous, happy. Of this, he says he is secure;
this the word asserts. On what foundation does he rest? Ps
118:14-15, "Because God had become his salvation, "and
"the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly." Jacob
Alting.
Verse 17. And declare the works of the LORD.
Matter of praise abounds in all the divine works, both of the
general creation and preservation and of the redemption of our
souls: chiefly, that God, besides the life of nature, has given
to us the life of grace, without which we could not properly
praise God and declare his works. Rivetus.
Verse 17. And declare the works of the LORD. In
the second member of the verse, he points out the proper use of
life. God does not prolong the lives of his people, that they
may pamper themselves with meat and drink, sleep as much as they
please, and enjoy every temporal blessing; but to magnify hint
for his benefits which he is daily heaping upon them. John
Calvin.
Verse 17. According to Matthesius, Luther had this
verse written against his study wall.
Verse 18. The LORD hath chastened me sore.
Strong humours require strong physic to purge them out. Where
corruption is deeply rooted in the heart, a light or small
matter will not serve the turn to work it out. No; but a great
deal of stir and ado must be made with it. Thomas Horton.
Verse 18. But he hath not given me over unto death.
It might have been worse, may the afflicted saint say, and it
will yet be better; it is in mercy and in measure that God
chastiseth his children. It is his care that "the spirit
fail not before him, nor the souls which he hath made, "Isa
57:16. If his child swoons in the whipping, God lets fall the
rod, and falls a kissing it, to fetch life into it again. John
Trapp.
Verse 19. Open to me the gates of righteousness.
The gates won by his righteousness, to whom we daily say,
"Thou only art holy"; the gates which needed the
"Via Dolorossa and the cross, before they could roll back
on their hinges. On a certain stormy afternoon, after the sun
had been for three hours darkened, the world again heard of that
Eden from which, four thousand years before, Adam had been
banished. "Verily I say unto thee, this day shalt thou be
with me in paradise." O blessed malefactor, who thus
entered into the heavenly gardens! O happy thief, that thus
stole the kingdom of heaven! And see how valiantly he now enters
it. "Open to me the gates of righteousness. Not
"God be merciful to me a sinner"; not "Lord, if
thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." But this is what is
called the suppliant; omnipotence of prayer. "Blessed are
they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the
tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the
city." John Mason Neale.
Verse 21. I will praise thee: for thou hast heard
me. There is a point which we would especially notice, and
that is, praise for hearing prayer. In this point, almost
above all others, God is frequently robbed of his praise. Men
pray; they receive an answer to their prayers; and then forget
to praise. This happens especially in small things; we should
ever remember that whatever is worth praying for, is worth
praising for also. The fact is, we do not recognize God in these
small things as much as we should; if we do praise, it is for
the receipt of the blessing, with which we are pleased, leaving
out of account the One from whom the blessing has come. This is
not acceptable to God; we must see him in the blessing, if we
would really praise. The Psalmist says, "I will praise
thee: for thou hast heard me"; he praised not only
because he had received, but also because he had been heard—because
the living God, as a hearing God, was manifested in his mercies.
And when we know that God has heard us, let us not delay our
praise; if we put off our thanksgiving until perhaps only the
evening, we may forget to praise at all; and if we do praise, it
will in all probability be with only half the warmth which would
animate our song at first. God loves a quick return for his
blessings; one sentence of heartfelt thanksgiving is worth all
the formalism of a more laboured service. There is a freshness
about immediate praise which is like the bloom upon the fruit;
its being spontaneous adds ineffably to its price. Trace, then,
dear reader, a connection between your God and your blessing.
Recognize his hearing ear as well as his bounteous hand, and be
yours the Psalmist's words, I will praise thee: for thou hast
heard me. Philip Bennet Power.
Verse 22. The stone. The head stone of the corner.
Christ Jesus is a stone: no firmness, but in him. A fundamental
stone: no building, but on him. A corner stone: no piecing nor
reconciliation, but in him. James Ford, 1856.
Verse 22. The stone which the builders rejected,
etc. To apply it to Christ, "The Stone" is the
ground of all. Two things befall it; two things as contrary as
may be,—1. Refused, cast away; then, called for again,
and made head of the building. So, two parts there are to
the eye. 1. The refusing;2. The raising;which are
his two estates, his humiliation, and his exaltation.
In either of these you may observe two degrees, a quibus,
and quosque, by whom and how far. By whom refused?
We weigh the word, aeificantes:not by men unskilful, but
by workmen, professed builders;it is so much the worse. How
far? We weigh the word,—reprobaverunt; usque ad
reprobari, even to a reprobation. It is not improbaverunt,
disliked, as not fit for some eminent place; but reprobaverunt,
utterly reprobate, for any place at all. Again, exalted,
by whom? The next words are a Domino, by God, as
good a builder, nay, better than the best of them; which
makes amends for the former. And How far? Placed by him,
not in any part of the building;but in the part most in
the eye (the corner), and in the highest place of it, the
very head. So, rejected, and that by the builders,
and to the lowest estate: and from the lowest estate
exalted in caput anguli, to the chiefest place of all; and
that by God himself. Lancelot Andrewes.
Verse 22. The stone which the builders refused,
etc. We need not wonder, that not only the powers of the world
are usually enemies to Christ, and that the contrivers of
policies, those builders, leave out Christ in their building,
but that the pretended builders of the church of God, though
they use the name of Christ, and serve their turn with that, yet
reject himself, and oppose the power of his spiritual kingdom.
There may be wit and learning, and much knowledge of the
Scriptures, amongst those that are haters of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and of the power of godliness, and corrupters of the
worship of God. It is the spirit of humility and obedience, and
saving faith, that teach men to esteem Christ, and build upon
him. The vanity and folly of these builders' opinion appears in
this, that they are overpowered by the great Architect of the
church: his purpose stands. Notwithstanding their rejection of
Christ, he is still made the head corner stone. They cast him
away by their reproaches, and by giving him up to be crucified
and then cast into the grave, causing a stone to be rolled upon
this stone which they had so rejected, that it might
appear no more, and so thought themselves sure. But even from
thence did he arise, and became the head of the corner.
Robert Leighton.
Verse 22. The stone which the builders refused,
etc. That is to say, God sent a living, precious, chosen stone
on earth; but the Jews, who then had the building of the church,
rejected that stone, and said of it, "This man, who
observeth not the Sabbath, is not of God and, "We have no
king but Caesar, "and, That seducer said, I will rise after
three days"; and many similar things beside. But this
stone, so rejected by the builders as unfit for raising the
spiritual edifice, is become the head of the corner; has
been made by God, the principal architect, the bond to connect
the two walls and keep them together; that is to say, has been
made the head of the whole church, composed of Jews and
Gentiles; and such a head, that whoever is not under him cannot
be saved; and whoever is built under him, the living stone, will
certainly be saved. Now all this is the Lord's doing,
done by his election and design, without any intervention on the
part of man, and therefore, it is wonderful in our eyes.
For who is there that must not look upon it as a wonderful
thing, to find a man crucified, dead and buried, rising, after
three days, from the dead, immortal, with unbounded power, and
declared Prince of men and angels, and a way opened through him
for mortal man, to the kingdom of heaven, to the society of the
angels, to a happy immortality? Robert Bellarmine.
Verse 22. The stone which the builders refused.
Here we behold with how strong and impregnable a shield the Holy
Ghost furnishes us against the empty vaunting of the Papal
clergy. Be it so, that they possess the name, "chief
builders"; but if they disown Christ, does it necessarily
follow that we must disown him also? Let us rather contemn and
trample under our feet all their decrees, and let us reverence
this precious stone upon which our salvation rests. By the
expression, is become the head of the corner, we are to
understand the real foundation of the church, which sustains the
whole weight of the edifice; it being requisite that the corners
should form the main strength of buildings. John Calvin.
Verse 22. The stone, etc. That is, I, whom the
great men and rulers of the people rejected (1Sa 26:19), as the
builders of a house reject a stone unfit to be employed in it,
am now become king over Israel and Judah; and a type of that
glorious King who shall hereafter be in like manner refused (Lu
19:14 Lu 20:17), and then be by God exalted to be Lord of all
the world, and the foundation of all men's happiness. Thomas
Fellton.
Verse 22. The stone. The author of Historia
Scholastica mentions it as a tradition that at the building of
the second temple there was a particular stone of which
that was literally true, which is here parabolically rehearsed,
viz., that it had the hap to be often taken up by the builders,
and as oft rejected, and at last was found to be perfectly fit
for the most honourable place, that of the chief cornerstone,
which coupled the sides of the walls together, the
extraordinariness whereof occasioned the speech here following: This
is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. Henry
Hammond.
Verse 22. The head stone of the corner. How of
the "corner"? The corner is the place
where two walls meet: and there be many twos in this building:the
two walls of nations. Jews and Gentiles;the two of
conditions, bond and free;the two of sex, male
and female:the great two (which this Easter day we
celebrate) of the quick and the dead;above all,
the greatest two of all, heaven and earth. Lancelot
Andrewes.
Verse 22. Is become the head stone of the corner.
Higher yet and ever higher, passeth he those ranks above,
Where the seraphs are enkindled with the flame of endless love;
Passeth them, for not even seraphs ever loved so well as he
Who hath borne for his beloved, stripes, and thorns, and
shameful tree;
Ever further, ever onward, where no angel's foot may tread,
Where the twenty-four elders prostrate fall in mystic dread:
Where the four strange living creatures sing their hymn before
the throne,
The Despised One and rejected passeth, in his might alone;
Passeth through the dazzling rainbow, till upon the father's
right
He is seated, his Co-Equal, God of God, anti Light of Light.
—R. F. Littledale.
Verse 22. Head stone of the corner. It is now
clear to all by divine grace whom Holy Scripture calls the
cornerstone. Him in truth who, taking unto himself from one side
the Jewish, and from the other the Gentile people, unites, as it
were, two walls in the one fabric of the Church; them of whom it
is written, "He hath made both one"; who exhibited
himself as the Cornerstone, not only in things below, but in
things above, because he united on earth the nations of the
Gentiles to the people of Israel, and both together to angels.
For at his birth the angels exclaimed, "On earth peace,
good will toward men." Gregory, quoted by Henry Newland,
1860.
Verse 22. The corner. By Bede it is rendered as
a reason why the Jewish builders refused our Saviour Christ for
the head place, Quia in uno pariete, stare amabant.
They could endure no corner;they must stand alone upon
their own single wall; be of themselves, not join with Gentiles
or Samaritans. And Christ they endured not, because they thought
if he had been heard he would have inclined that way. Alias
oves oportet me adducere (Joh 10:16). Alias they
could not abide. But sure, a purpose there must be, alias
oves adducendi, of bringing in others, of joining a corner,
or else we do not facere secundum exemplar, build not
according to Christ's pattern; our fashion of fabric is not like
his. Lancelot Andrewes.
Verse 22-27. By the consent of all expositors, in this
Psalm is typed the coming of Christ, and his kingdom of the
gospel. This is manifested by an exaltation, by an exultation,
by a petition, by a benediction. The exaltation:Ps
118:22, The stone which the builders refused is become the
head stone of the corner. The Jews refused this stone, but
God hath built his church upon it.
The exultation: Ps 118:24, This is the day which
the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. A
more blessed day than that day was wherein he made man, when he
had done making the world; "Rejoice we, and be glad in
it."
The petition: Ps 118:25, Save now, I beseech thee,
O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Thy
justice would not suffer thee to save without the Messiah; he is
come, "Save now, O LORD, I beseech thee." Our
Saviour is come, let mercy and salvation come along with him.
The benediction makes all clear: Ps 118:26, Blessed
be he that cometh in the name of the LORD. For what David
here prophesied, the people after accomplished: Mt 21:9,
"Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."
The corollary or sum is in my text: Ps 118:27, God is the
LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords,
even unto the horns of the altar. Thomas Adams.
Verse 24. This is the day which the LORD hath made.
1. Here is the doctrine of the Christian sabbath: "it is
the day which the Lord hath made, "has made remarkable,
made holy, has distinguished it from other days; he has made it
for man: it is therefore called the Lord's day, for it bears his
image and superscription. 2. The duty of the Sabbath, "we
will rejoice and be glad in it"; not only in the
institution of the day, that there is such a day appointed, but
in the occasion of it, Christ's becoming "the head of
the corner." This we ought to rejoice in, both as his
honour and our advantage. Sabbath days must be rejoicing days,
and then they are to us as the days of heaven. See what a good
Master we serve, who having instituted a day for his service,
appoints it to be spent in holy joy. Matthew Henry.
Verse 24. This is the day, etc. The "queen
of days, "as the Jews call the Sabbath. Arnobius interprets
this text of the Christian Sabbath; others, of the day of
salvation by Christ exalted to be the head cornerstone; in
opposition to that dismal day of man's fall. John Trapp.
Verse 24. Because believers have ever cause for
comfort, therefore they are commanded always to rejoice, Php 3:1
4:4. Whether their sins or sufferings come into their hearts,
they must not sorrow as they that have no hope. In their saddest
conditions, they have the Spirit of consolation. There is seed
of joy sown within them when it is turned under the clods, and
appears not above ground. But there are special times when God
calls for this grain to spring up. They have some red letters,
some holy days in the calendar of their lives, wherein this joy,
as wine at a wedding, is most seasonable; but among all those
days it never relishes so well, it never tasteth so pleasantly,
as on a Lord's day. Joy suits no person so much as a saint, and
it becomes no season so well as a Sabbath. Joy in God on other
days is like the birds chirping in winter, which is pleasing;
but joy on the Lord's day is like their warbling times and
pretty notes in spring, when all other things look with a
suitable delightful aspect. This is the day which the LORD
hath made, (he that made all days, so especially this day,
but what follows?) we will rejoice and be glad in it. In
which words we have the church's solace, or joy, and the season,
or day of it. Her solace was great: "We will rejoice and
be glad." Those expressions are not needless
repetitions, but shew the exuberance or high degree of their
joy. The season of it: "This is the day which the LORD
hath made." Compare this place with Mt 11:22-23, and Ac
4:11, and you will find that the precedent verses are a
prophetical prediction of Christ's resurrection, and so this
verse foretells the church's joy upon that memorable and
glorious day. And, indeed, if "a feast be made for
laughter, "Ec 10:19, then that day wherein Christ feasts
his saints with the choicest mercies may well command their
greatest spiritual mirth. A thanksgiving day hath a double
precedence of a fast day. On a fast day we eye God's anger; on a
thanksgiving day we look to God's favour. In the former we
specially mind our corruptions; in the latter, God's
compassions;—therefore a fast day calls for sorrow, a
thanksgiving day for joy. But the Lord's day is the highest
thanksgiving day, and deserveth much more than the Jewish Purim,
to be a day of feasting and gladness, and a good day. George
Spinnock.
Verse 24. Day which the LORD hath made. As the
sun in heaven makes the natural day by his light, so does Christ
the Sun of Righteousness make ours a spiritual day. Starke.
Verse 24. Day which the LORD hath made. Adam
introduced a day of sadness, but another day is made by Christ:
Abraham saw his day from afar, and was glad; we will walk even
now in his light. Johann David Friesch, 1731.
Verse 25. Save. With the Hebrews salvation is a
wide word, comprising all the favours of God that may lead to
preservation; and therefore the Psalmist elsewhere extends this
act both to man and beast, and, as if he would comment upon
himself, expounds swson save, by euodwson? It is so dear
a title of God, that the prophet cannot have enough of it. Joseph
Hall.
Verse 25. Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD. Let
him have the acclamations of the people as is usual at the
inauguration of a prince; let every one of his loyal subjects
shout for joy, "Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD."
This is like vivat rex, and speaks both a hearty joy for
his accession to the crown, an entire satisfaction in his
government, and a zealous affection to the interests and honour
of it. Hosanna signifies, "Save now, I beseech
thee." Lord, save me, I beseech thee; let this Saviour
be my Saviour; and in order to that my Ruler: let me be taken
under his protection, and owned as one of his willing subjects.
His enemies are my enemies; Lord, I beseech thee, save me from
them. Send me an interest in that prosperity which his kingdom
brings with it to all those that entertain it. Let my soul
prosper and be in health, in that peace and righteousness which
his government brings. Ps 72:3. Let me have victory over those
lusts that war against my soul, and let divine grace go on in my
heart, conquering and to conquer. Matthew Henry.
Verse 25. Save now, or, hosanna. Our
thanksgivings on earth must always be accompanied with prayers
for further mercies, and the continuance of our prosperity; Our
hallelujahs with hosannas. Ingram Cobbin.
Verse 25. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord,
etc. Hosanna. The cry of the multitudes as they thronged in our
Lord's triumphal procession into Jerusalem (Mt 21:9,18 Mr
11:9,15 Joh 12:13) was taken from this Psalm, from which they
were accustomed to recite Ps 118:25-26 at the Feast of
Tabernacles. On that occasion the great Hallel, consisting of
Psalms 113-118 was chanted by one of the priests, and at certain
intervals the multitudes joined in the responses, waving their
branches of willow and palm, and shouting as they waved them,
Hallelujah, or Hosannah, or, "O LORD, I beseech
thee, send now prosperity." This was done at the
recitation of Ps 118:1,29; but according to the school of Hillel,
at the words "Save now, we beseech thee." The
school of Shammai, on the contrary, say it was at the words, "Send
now prosperity." Rabban Gamaliel and R. Joshua were
observed by R. Akiba to wave their branches only at the words, "Save
now, we beseech thee" (Mishna, Succah, 3. 9). On
each of the seven days during which the feast lasted the people
thronged the court of the temple, and went in procession about
the altar, setting their boughs bending towards it; the trumpets
sounding as they shouted Hosannah. But on the seventh day
they marched seven times round the altar, shouting meanwhile the
great Hosannah to the sound of the trumpets of the Levites
(Lightfoot, Temple Service, 16. 2). The very children who
could wave the palm branches were expected to take part in the
solemnity (Mishna, Succah, 3. 15; Mt 21:15). From the
custom of waving the boughs of myrtle and willow during the
service the name Hosannah was ultimately transferred to the
boughs themselves, so that according to Elias Levita (Thisbi.
sv), "the bundles of the willows of the brook which they
carry at the Feast of Tabernacles are called Hosannahs." William
Aldis Wright, in "Smith's Dictionary of the Bible,"
1863.
Verse 25. Send now prosperity, .God will send
it, but his people must pray for it. "I came for thy
prayers, "Da 10:12. John Trapp.
Verse 26. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of
the LORD. The difference between Christ and Antichrist is to
be noticed, because Christ did not come in his own name, but in
the name of the Father; of which he himself testified, Joh 5:43,
"I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not;
if another shall come in his own name, him ye will
receive." Thus all faithful ministers of the Church
must not come in their own name, or the name of Baal, or of
Mammon and their own belly, but in the name of God, with a
lawful call; concerning which see Heb 5:1-14 Re 10:1-11 15:1-8. Solomon
Gesner.
Verse 27. God is the LORD, which hath shewed us
light. The Psalmist was clearly possessed of light, for he
says, "God is the Lord, which hath shewed us
light." He was evidently, then, possessed of light; and
this light was in him as "the light of life." This
light had shone into his heart; the rays and beams of divine
truth had penetrated into his conscience. He carried about with
him a light which had come from God; in this light he saw light,
and in this light he discerned everything which the light
manifested. Thus by this internal light he knew what was good
and what was evil, what was Sweet and what was bitter, what was
true and what was false, what was spiritual and what was
natural. He did not say, This light came from creature exertion,
this light was the produce of my own wisdom, this light was
nature transmuted some action of my own will, and thus gradually
rose into existence from long time and assiduous cultivation.
But he ascribes the whole of that light which he possessed unto
God the Lord, as the sole author and the only giver of it. Now,
if God the Lord has ever showed you and me the same light which
he showed his servant of old, we carry about with us more or
less of a solemn conviction that we have received this light
from him. There will, indeed, be many clouds of darkness to
cover it; there will often be doubts and fears, hovering like
mists and fogs over our souls, whether the light which we have
received be from God or not. But in solemn moments when the Lord
is pleased a little to revive his work; at times and seasons
when he condescends to draw forth the affections of our hearts
unto himself, to bring us into his presence, to hide us in some
measure in the hollow of his hand, and give us access unto
himself, at such moments and seasons we carry about with us, in
spite of all our unbelief, in spite of all the suggestions of
the enemy, in spite of all doubts and fears and suspicions that
rise from the depths of the carnal mind, in spite of all these
counter workings and undermining, we carry about with us at
these times a solemn conviction that we have light, and that
this light we have received from God. And why so? Because we can
look back to a time when we walked in no such light, when we
felt no such light, when everything spiritual and heavenly was
dark to us, and we were dark to them.
Those things which the Spirit of God enables a man to do, are
in Scripture sometimes called sacrifices. "That we
may offer, "we read, "spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God, by Jesus Christ." The apostle speaks of
"receiving of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from
the brethren at Philippi; an odour of a sweet smell; a sacrifice
acceptable and well pleasing to God." Php 4:18. So he says
to the Hebrew church: "But to do good and to communicate
(that is, to the wants of God's people), forget not; for with
such sacrifices God is well pleased." Heb 13:16.
Well, then, these spiritual sacrifices which a man offers unto
God are bound also to the horns of the altar. They are
not well pleasing in the sight of God, except they are bound to
the horns of the altar, so as to derive all their acceptance
from the altar. Our prayers are only acceptable to God as they
are offered through the cross of Jesus. Our praises and
thanksgivings are only acceptable to God as they are connected
with the cross of Christ, and ascend to the Father through the
propitiation of his dear Son. The ordinances of God's house are
only acceptable to God as spiritual sacrifices, when they are
bound to the horns of the altar. Both the ordinances of the New
Testament—baptism and the Lord's supper—have been bound by
the hands of God himself to the horns of the altar; and no one
either rightly went through the one, or rightly received the
other, who had not been first spiritually bound by the same hand
to the horns of the altar. Every act of liberality, every cup of
cold water given in the name of a disciple, every feeling of
sympathy and affection, every kind word, every compassionate
action, shown to a brother; all and each are only acceptable to
God as they ascend to him through the mediation of his dear Son.
And, therefore, every sacrifice of our own comfort, or of our
own advantage, of our own time, or of our own money, for the
profit of God's children, is only a spiritual and acceptable
sacrifice so far as it is bound to the horns of the altar,
linked on to the cross of Jesus, and deriving all its fragrance
and odour from its connection with the incense there offered by
the Lord of life and glory. J. C. Philpot.
Verse 27. How comfortable is the light! It is so
comfortable that light and comfort are often put for the same
thing: God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light, that
is, the light of counsel what to do, and the light of comfort in
what we do, or after all our sufferings. Light is not only a
candle held to us, to do our work by, but it comforts and
cheereth us in our work. Ec 11:7. Joseph Caryl.
Verse 27. Shewed us light: bind the sacrifice.
Here is somewhat received; somewhat to be returned. God hath
blessed us, and we must bless God. His grace, and our gratitude,
are the two lines my discourse must run upon. They are met in my
text; let them as happily meet in your hearts, and they shall
not leave you till they bring you to heaven. Thomas Adams.
Verse 27. Bind the sacrifice with cords, etc.
The sacrifice we are to offer to God, in gratitude for redeeming
love, is ourselves, not to be slain upon the altar, but
"living sacrifices" (Ro 12:1) to be bound to the
altar; spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise, in which our
hearts must be fixed and engaged, as the sacrifice was bound
"with cords to the horns of the altar." Matthew
Henry.
Verse 27. Bind the sacrifice, etc. It is a
saying among the Hebrews, that the beasts that were offered in
sacrifice, they were the most struggling beasts of all the rest;
such is the nature of us unthankful beasts, when we should love
God again, we are readier to run away from him; we must be tied
to the altar with cords, to draw from us love or fear. Abraham
Wright.
Verse 27. With cords. This word is sometimes
used for thick twisted cords, Jud 15:13; sometimes for thick
branches of trees, used at some feasts, Eze 19:11 Le 23:40.
Hereupon this sentence may two ways be read; bind the feast
with thick branches, or, bind the sacrifice with cords;both
mean one thing, that men should keep the festivity with joy and
thanks to God, as Israel did at their solemnities. Henry
Ainsworth.
Verse 27. Even unto the horns of the altar.
Before these words must be understood, lead it: for the
victims were bound to rings fixed in the floor. "The
horns" were architectural ornaments, a kind of
capitals, made of iron or of brass, somewhat in the form of the
curved horns of an animal, projecting from the four angles of
the altar. The officiating priest, when he prayed, placed his
hands on them, and sometimes sprinkled them with the blood of
the sacrifice: compare Ex 30:3 Le 4:7,18. At the end of this
verse the word saying must be supplied. Daniel
Cresswell.
Verse 27. Unto the horns. That is, all the
court over, until you come even to the horns of the altar,
intending hereby many sacrifices or boughs. Henry Ainsworth.
Verse 28. God. The original for "God"
gives force to this passage: Them art my "El"—The
Mighty One; therefore will I praise thee: my "Eloah"—a
varied form with substantially the same sense, "and I will
extol thee"—lift thee high in glory and honour. Henry
Cowles.
Verse 28. This "extolling the Lord" will
accomplish one of the great ends of praise, viz., his
exaltation. It is true that God both can and will exalt himself,
but it is at once the duty and the privilege of his people to
exalt him. His name should be borne up and magnified by them;
the glory of that name is now, as it were, committed to them:
what use are we making of the opportunity and the privilege? Philip
Bennet Power.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Verses 1-4.
1. The subject of songs "O give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good."
2. The chorus—"His mercy endureth for ever."
3. The choir—"Let Israel now say, "etc.;
"Let the house of Aaron, "etc.; "Let them that
fear the Lord, "etc.
4. The rehearsal—"Let them now say, "that
they may be better prepared for universal praise hereafter.
Verse 5.
1. The season for prayer—"in distress."
2. The answer in season—"The Lord answered me."
3. The answer beyond the request—"And set me, "etc.
Verse 6.
1. When may a man know that God is on his side?
2. What confidence may that man enjoy who is assured of divine
aid?
Verse 7.
1. The value of true friends.
2. The greater value of help from above.
Verses 8-9. Better. It is wiser, surer, morally more
right, more ennobling, more happy in result.
Verse 10. Take a wide range and consider what has been
done, should be done, and may be done "in the name of the
Lord."
Verse 12.
1. Faith's innumerable annoyances.
2. Their speedy end.
3. Faith's complete victory.
Verse 13.
1. Our great antagonist.
2. His fierce attacks.
3. His evident object: "that I might fall."
4. His failure: "but the Lord helped me."
Verse 14.
1. Strength under affliction.
2. Song in hope of deliverance.
3. Salvation, or actual escape out of trial.
Verse 15. The joy of Christian households. It is joy
in salvation: it is expressed,—"The voice": it
abides: "the voice is":it is joy in the
protection and honour given by the Lord's right hand.
Verse 15-16.
1. True joy is peculiar to the righteous.
2. In their tabernacles: in their pilgrimage state.
3. For salvation: rejoicing and salvation go together.
4. From God: "the right hand, "etc.: three
right hands; both the salvation and the joy are from the hand of
the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost; the right hand of
each doeth valiantly. G. R.
Verse 17.
1. Good men are often in special danger: Joseph in the pit;
Moses in the ark of bulrushes; Job on the dunghill; David's
narrow escapes from the hand of Saul; Paul let down in a basket;
what a fruit basket was that! How much was suspended upon that
cord! The salvation of how many!
2. Good men have often a presentiment of their recovery from
special danger: "I shall not die, but live."
3. Good men have a special desire for the preservation of
their lives: "live and declare the works of the Lord."
G. R.
Verses 17, 19, 22. The victory of the risen Saviour
and its far reaching consequences:
(1) Death is vanquished;
(2) the gates of righteousness are opened;
(3) the cornerstone of the church is laid.
—Deichert, in Lange's Commentary.
Verse 18.
1. The afflictions of the people of God are chastisements:
"The Lord hath chastened me."
2. Those chastisements are often severe: hath chastened me sore.
3. The severity is limited: "it is not unto death."
G. R.
Verse 19.
1. Access to God desired.
2. Humbly requested: "Open to me."
3. Boldly accepted: "I will go into them."
4. Gratefully enjoyed: "And praise the Lord."
Verse 22. In these words we may notice the following
particulars.
1. The metaphorical view in which the church is here
represented, namely, that of a house or building.
2. The character that our Immanuel bears with respect to this
building; he is the stone in a way of eminence, without
whom there can be no building, no house for God to dwell in
among the children of men.
3. The character of the workmen employed in this spiritual
structure; they are called builders.
4. A fatal error they are charged with in building the house
of God; they refuse the stone of God's choosing; they do
not allow him a place in his own house.
5. Notice the place that Christ should and shall have in this
building, let the builders do their worst: he is made the
head stone of the corner. The words immediately following
declare how this is effected, and how the saints are affected
with the news of his exaltation, notwithstanding the malice of
hell and earth: "This is the Lord's doing, and it is
wonderful in our eyes." Ebenezer Erskine.
Verses 22-23.
1. The mystery stated. (a) That which is least esteemed by
men as a means of salvation is most esteemed by God. (b) That
which is most esteemed by God when made known is least esteemed
by man.
2. The mystery explained. The way of salvation is the Lord's
doing, therefore marvellous in our eyes.—G.R.
Verses 22-25.
1. Christ rejected.
2. Christ exalted.
3. His exaltation is due to God alone.
4. His exaltation commences a new era.
5. His exaltation suggests a new prayer.
—See Spurgeon's Sermon, no. 1,420.
Verse 24.
1. What is spoken of.
(a) The gospel day.
(b) The sabbath day.
2. What is said of it.
(a) It is given by God.
(b) To be joyfully received by man.—G.R.
Verse 25. What is church prosperity? Whence must it
come? How can we obtain it?
Verse 25.
1. The object of the prayer.
(a) Salvation from sin.
(b) Prosperity in righteousness.
2. The earnestness of the prayer: "I beseech thee, I
beseech thee".
3. The urgency of the prayer, "now—now"—now
that the gates of righteousness are open, now that the
foundation stone is laid, now that the gospel day has
come—now, Lord! now!—G.R.
Verse 27. Bind the sacrifice, etc. Devotion is
the mother, and she hath four daughters.
1. Constancy: "Bind the sacrifice."
2. Fervency: Bind it "with cords."
3. Wisdom: Bind it "to the altar."
4. Confidence: Even to the "horns" of the altar.
—Thomas Adams.
Verse 27. Bind the sacrifice with cords, etc.
1. What is the sacrifice? Our whole selves, every talent, all
our time, property, position, mind, heart, temper, life to the
last.
2. Why does it need binding? It is naturally restive. Long
delay, temptations, wealth, rank, discouragement, scepticism,
all tend to drive it from the altar.
3. To what is it bound? To the doctrine of atonement. To
Jesus and his work. To Jesus and out work.
4. What are the cords? Our own vows. The need of souls. Our
joy in the work. The great reward. The love of Christ working
upon us by the Holy Spirit.
Verse 28.
1. The gladdest fact in all the world: "Thou art my
God."
2. The fittest spirit in which to enjoy it: "Praise
thee"
Verse 28.
1. The effect of Christ being sacrificed for us: "Thou
art my God."
2. The effect of our being offered as an acceptable sacrifice
to him: "I will praise thee, I will exalt thee." Or,
(a) The covenant blessing: "Thou art my God."
(b) The covenant obligation: "I will praise thee."—G.R.
Verse 29.
1. The beginning and the end of salvation is mercy.
2. The beginning and end of its requirements is
thanksgiving.—G.R.
WORK UPON THE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH PSALM
In "The Works of John Boys," 1626,
folio, pp. 861-870, there is an exposition of this psalm.