| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Psalm Seventy-five
Psalm 75
Chapter Contents
The psalmist declares his resolution of executing
judgment. (1-5) He rebukes the wicked, and concludes with resolutions to praise
God. (6-10)
Commentary on Psalm 75:1-5
(Read Psalm 75:1-5)
We often pray for mercy, when in pursuit of it; and shall
we only once or twice give thanks, when we obtain it? God shows that he is nigh
to us in what we call upon him for. Public trusts are to be managed uprightly.
This may well be applied to Christ and his government. Man's sin threatened to
destroy the whole creation; but Christ saved the world from utter ruin. He who
is made of God to us wisdom, bids us be wise. To the proud, daring sinners he
says, Boast not of your power, persist not in contempt. All the present hopes
and future happiness of the human race spring from the Son of God.
Commentary on Psalm 75:6-10.
(Read Psalm 75:6-10.)
No second causes will raise men to preferment without the
First Cause. It comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the
south. He mentions not the north; the same word that signifies the north,
signifies the secret place; and from the secret of God's counsel it does come.
From God alone all must receive their doom. There are mixtures of mercy and grace
in the cup of affliction, when it is put into the hands of God's people;
mixtures of the curse, when it is put into the hands of the wicked. God's
people have their share in common calamities, but the dregs of the cup are for
the wicked. The exaltation of the Son of David will be the subject of the
saints' everlasting praises. Then let sinners submit to the King of
righteousness, and let believers rejoice in and obey him.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 75
Verse 1
[1] Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we
give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.
Thy name — Thy self; art present with us, and ready to help.
Verse 2
[2] When I shall receive the congregation I will judge
uprightly.
Receive — The whole congregation, all the tribes.
Verse 3
[3] The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved:
I bear up the pillars of it. /*Selah*/.
Dissolved — Or, destroyed; by intestine
divisions and wars.
I hear — I support it, by maintaining religion and justice, by
setting up good magistrates, and encouraging good ministers, and good men, who
are indeed the pillars of a nation.
Verse 4
[4] I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the
wicked, Lift not up the horn:
I said — I charged them.
Deal not — Desist from your practices.
Lift not up — Do not carry yourselves
scornfully and maliciously.
Verse 5
[5] Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff
neck.
Lift not — A metaphor from untamed oxen, which will not bow their
heads to receive the yoke.
Stiff neck — With pride and contempt.
Verse 8
[8] For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine
is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs
thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.
For — God is here compared to the master of a feast, who
then used to distribute portions of meat and drink to the several guests.
A cup — Of vengeance.
Red — Such as the best wine of Judea was.
Mixture — The wine is mingled not with water, but with
strengthening and intoxicating ingredients.
Dregs — The worst and most dreadful part of those
tribulations.
Shall wring — This dreadful draught was brought
upon them by their own choice and wickedness.
Verse 9
[9] But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the
God of Jacob.
Declare — The praises of God.
Verse 10
[10] All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the
horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
Horns — Their honour and power, which they made an instrument
of mischief.
Will — When I shall be advanced to the throne.
But — Good men shall be encouraged and promoted.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and
Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village
Preacher
TITLE. To the
Chief Musician. Here is noble work for him, for the cry of the last Psalm
is about to be heard, and the challenge of the foes of Israel taken up by God
himself. Here the virgin daughter of Zion despises her foe, and laughs him to
scorn. The destruction of Sennacherib's army is a notable illustration of this
sacred song. Al-taschith. Here is another of the "destroy not"
Psalms, and the title may be intended as a check upon the natural fierceness of
the oppressed, or a taunt for the savage foe, who is here bitterly bidden to
destroy not, because the nation is well aware that he cannot. Here, in holy
faith, the sucking child plays at the hole of the asp, and the weaned child
puts his hand on the cockatrice den. A Psalm or Song of Asaph.
For reading or singing. A hymn to God and a song for his saints. Happy were the
people who having found a Milton in David had an almost equal songster in
Asaph: happiest of all, because these poets were not inspired by earth's
Castalian fount, but drank of "the fount of every blessing."
DIVISION. The people's
song of gratitude and adoration begins the hymn in Ps 75:1. In the next four Ps
75:2-5, the Lord reveals himself as ruling the world in righteousness. Then
follows a warning voice from the church to her enemies, Ps 75:6-8, and a
closing song anticipatory of the glory due to God and the utter defeat of the
foe.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks. Not to ourselves, for
we were helpless, but to Elohim who heard our cry, and replied to the taunt of
our foes. Never let us neglect thanksgiving, or we may fear that another time
our prayers will remain unanswered. As the smiling flowers gratefully reflect
in their lovely colours the various constituents of the solar ray, so should
gratitude spring up in our hearts after the smiles of God's providence. Unto
thee do we give thanks. We should praise God again and again. Stinted gratitude
is ingratitude. For infinite goodness there should be measureless thanks. Faith
promises redoubled praise for greatly needed and signal deliverances. For that
thy name is near thy wondrous works declare. God is at hand to answer and do
wonders—adore we then the present Deity. We sing not of a hidden God, who
sleeps and leaves the church to her fate, but of one who ever in our darkest
days is most near, a very present help in trouble. "Near is his
name." Baal is on a journey, but Jehovah dwells in his church. Glory be
unto the Lord, whose perpetual deeds of grace and majesty are the sure tokens
of his being with us always, even unto the ends of the world.
Verse
2. When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly.
This is generally believed to be the voice of God, who will, when he accepts
his people, mount his judgment seat and avenge their cause in righteousness. It
is rendered by some, "I will take a set time; "and by others, "I
will seize the moment."
"God
never is before his time,
He is never too late."
He
determines the period of interposition, and when that arrives swift are his
blows and sure are his deliverances. God sends no delegated judge, but sits
himself upon the throne. O Lord, let thy set time come for grace. Tarry no
longer, but for the truth and the throne of Jesus be thou speedily at work. Let
the appointed assize come, O Jesus, and sit thou on thy throne to judge the
world in equity.
Verse
3. The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved.
When anarchy is abroad, and tyrants are in power, everything is unloosed,
dissolution threatens all things, the solid mountains of government melt as
wax; but even then the Lord upholds and sustains the right. I bear up the
pillars of it. Hence, there is no real cause for fear. While the pillars stand,
and stand they must for God upholds them, the house will brave out the storm.
In the day of the Lord's appearing a general melting will take place, but in
that day our covenant God will be the sure support of our confidence.
"How
can I sink with such a prop
As my eternal God,
Who bears the earth's huge pillars up,
And spreads the heavens abroad."
Selah.
Here may the music pause while the sublime vision passes before our view; a
world dissolved and an immutable God uplifting all his people above the
terrible commotion.
Verse
4. I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly. The Lord bids
the boasters boast not, and commands the mad oppressors to stay their folly.
How calm is he, how quiet are his words, yet how divine the rebuke. If the
wicked were not insane, they would even now hear in their consciences the still
small voice bidding them cease from evil, and forbear their pride. And to the
wicked, Lift not up the horn. He bids the ungodly stay their haughtiness. The
horn was the emblem of boastful power; only the foolish, like wild and savage
beasts, will lift it high; but they assail heaven itself with it, as if they
would gore the Almighty himself. In dignified majesty he rebukes the inane
glories of the wicked, who beyond measure exalt themselves in the day of their fancied
power.
Verse
5. Lift not up your horn on high. For their abounding pride
there is a double rebuke. A word from God soon abases the lofty. Would to God
that all proud men would obey the word here given them; for, if they do not, he
will take effectual means to secure obedience, and then woe will come upon
them, such as shall break their horns and roll their glory in the mire for
ever. Speak not with a stiff neck. Impudence before God is madness. The
outstretched neck of insolent pride is sure to provoke his axe. Those who carry
their heads high shall find that they will be lifted yet higher, as Haman was
upon the gallows which he had prepared for the righteous man. Silence, thou
silly boaster! Silence! or God will answer thee. Who art thou, thou worm, that
thou shouldest arrogantly object against thy Maker's laws and cavil at his
truth? Be hushed, thou vainglorious prater, or vengeance shall silence thee to
thine eternal confusion.
Verse
6. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west,
nor from the south. There is a God, and a providence, and things happen not
by chance. Though deliverance be hopeless from all points of the compass, yet
God can work it for his people; and though judgment come neither from the
rising or the setting of the sun, nor from the wilderness of mountains, yet
come it will, for the Lord reigneth. Men forget that all things are ordained in
heaven; they see but the human force, and the carnal passion, but the unseen
Lord is more real far than these. He is at work behind and within the cloud.
The foolish dream that he is not, but he is near even now, and on the way to
bring in his hand that cup of spiced wine of vengeance, one draught of which
shall stagger all his foes.
Verse
7. But God is the judge. Even now he is actually judging. His
seat is not vacant; his authority is not abdicated; the Lord reigneth evermore.
He putteth down one, and setteth up another. Empires rise and fall at his
bidding. A dungeon here, and there a throne, his will assigns. Assyria yields to
Babylon, and Babylon to the Medes. Kings are but puppets in his hand; they
serve his purpose when they rise and when they fall. A certain author has
issued a work called "Historic Ninepins, "(Timbs), a fit name of
scorn for all the great ones of the earth. God only is; all power belongs to
him; all else is shadow, coming and going, unsubstantial, misty, dream like.
Verse
8. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup. The punishment
of the wicked is prepared, God himself holds it in readiness; he has collected
and concocted woes most dread, and in the chalice of his wrath he holds it.
They scoffed his feast of love; they shall be dragged to his table of justice,
and made to drink their due deserts. And the wine is red. The retribution is
terrible, it is blood for blood, foaming vengeance for foaming malice. The very
colour of divine wrath is terrible; what must the taste be? It is full of
mixture. Spices of anger, justice, and incensed mercy are there. Their
misdeeds, their blasphemies, their persecutions have strengthened the liquor as
with potent drugs;
"Mingled,
strong, and mantling high;
Behold the wrath divine."
Ten
thousand woes are burning in the depths of that fiery cup, which to the brim is
filled with indignation. And he poureth out of the same. The full cup must be
quaffed, the wicked cannot refuse the terrible draught, for God himself pours
it out for them and into them. Vain are their cries and entreaties. They could
once defy him, but that hour is over, and the time to requite them if fully come.
But the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and
drink them. Even to the bitter end must wrath proceed. They must drink on
and on for ever, even to the bottom where lie the lees of deep damnation; these
they must suck up, and still must they drain the cup. Oh the anguish and the
heart break of the day of wrath! Mark well, it is for all the wicked; all hell
for all the ungodly; the dregs for the dregs; bitters for the bitter; wrath for
the heirs of wrath. Righteousness is conspicuous, but over all terror spreads a
tenfold night, cheerless, without a star. Oh happy they who drink the cup of
godly sorrow, and the cup of salvation: these, though now despised, will then
be envied by the very men who trod them under foot.
Verse
9. But I will declare for ever. Thus will the saints occupy
themselves with rehearsing Jehovah's praises, while their foes are drunken with
the wine of wrath. They shall chant while the others roar in anguish, and
justly so, for the former Psalm informed us that such had been the case on
earth,—"thine enemies roar in the sanctuary, "—the place where the
chosen praised the Lord. I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. The covenant
God, who delivered Jacob from a thousand afflictions, our soul shall magnify. He
has kept his covenant which he made with the patriarch, and has redeemed his
seed, therefore will we spread abroad his fame world without end.
Verse
10. All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off. Power and
liberty being restored to Israel, she begins again to execute justice, by
abasing the godless who had gloried in the reign of oppression. Their power and
pomp are to be smitten down. Men wore horns in those days as a part of their
state, and these, both literally and figuratively, were to be lopped off; fir
since God abhors the proud, his church will not tolerate them any longer. But
the horns of the righteous shall be exalted. In a rightly ordered society, good
men are counted great men, virtue confers true rank, and grace is more esteemed
than gold. Being saved from unrighteous domination, the chief among the chosen
people here promises to rectify the errors which had crept into the
commonwealth, and after the example of the Lord himself, to abase the haughty
and elevate the humble. This memorable ode may be sung in times of great
depression, when prayer has performed her errand at the mercyseat, and when
faith is watching for speedy deliverance. It is a song of the second advent,
CONCERNING THE NEARNESS OF THE JUDGE WITH THE CUP OF WRATH.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
TITLE. Al-taschith.
Destroy not. This seems to have been used by David as a maxim during the
violent persecutions of Saul, as if to remind himself to forebear revenge,
though it was often in his power to inflict it, upon his unnatural enemy. F.
G. Hubbard, in "The Psalms Chronologically arranged, with Historical
Introductions". New York. 1856.
Whole
Psalm. As these words are really a prayer, while at the same time the
Psalm is thrown into the form, not of petitions, but of a thanksgiving, it
ought to be considered as a thank prayer, uttered beforehand, and containing
petitions within it. Berleb. Bible.
Verse
1. Thy name is near. The name of God is said to be near,
because it had come into public notice, and was in every mind and every
tongue—opposed to what is unknown and obscure, which is said to
be far remote. Compare De 30:11. Hermann Venema.
Verse
1. The psalmist doubles this duty in the practice of the saints; Unto
thee, O God, do we give thanks, we give thanks, we do it; as if none else
did it but they, or as if they had done noting else. Joseph Caryl, in
"A Sermon before the House of Commons, "entitled, "The Saints'
Thankful Acclamation."
Verse
3. I bear up the pillars of it. I prevent it from falling to
pieces, as a house, supported by columns too weak to bear its weight, would do.
Daniel Cresswell.
Verse
3. I bear up the pillars of it. Learn to whom the glory of
bearing up the world is due. God's providence is the true Atlas which supports
the world, and doth shoulder up the world, whilst it treads on sin and sinners.
Upon a serious view taken of providence on this wise displayed, we may say as
they said of old, "The Lord, he is the God; the Lord he is the God,
"1Ki 18:39. Thomas Crane.
Verse
3. We can imagine a monarch, and especially an eastern monarch, in
the plenitude of his power, and the arrogance of his pride, as he casts his
haughty glance over the ensign of his might, saying to himself, "I bear up
the pillars of the earth." But one could never imagine such a thought
arising in the heart, or proceeding from the lips of David or Hezekiah. I know
not who of the sons of Adam, frail and feeble at their best estate, could have
ever said, The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear
up the pillars of it. I know of none but him who said, "All power is
given unto me in heaven and in earth, "and who, as he said these words,
ascended up into heaven to exercise that sovereignty, and repair that mighty
ruin which had been wrought on earth when Satan triumphed in Paradise. Barton
Bouchier.
Verse
4. Fools. The ungodly are spiritual fools. If one had a child
very beautiful, yet if he were a fool, the parent would have little joy in him.
The Scripture hath dressed the sinner in a fool's coat: and let me tell you,
better be a fool void of reason, than a fool void of grace: this is the devil's
fool. Pr 14:9. Is not he a fool who refuseth a rich portion? God offers Christ
and salvation, but the sinner refuseth this portion: "Israel would none of
me." Ps 81:11. Is not he a fool who prefers an annuity before an
inheritance? Is not he a fool who tends his mortal part, and neglects his
angelical part? As if one should paint the wall of his house, and let the
timber rot. Is not he a fool who will feed the devil with his soul? As that
emperor who fed his lion with a pheasant. Is not he a fool who lays a snare for
himself? Pr 1:18. Who consults his own shame? Hab 2:10. Who loves death? Pr
8:36. Thomas Watson.
Verse
5. Horn. The word horn was used in the Hebrew metaphorically
to express either honour, as Ps 112:9 132:18, etc.; or strength,
Mic 4:13, "I will make thine horn iron." De 33:17, etc. To humble and
cast down was often represented by the figure of breaking or cutting off the
horn, as here (Ps 75:10). La 2:3, "Cut off all the horn of Israel."
To exalt the horn of any one was to bestow honour and dignity upon him; so
also, to make it bud. Ps 132:17 89:18 Eze 29:21. Here, to lift up the horn
betokens presumption. It was also somewhat later a symbol for kingdom, Zec 1:18,
and Daniel. "Four Friends."
Verse
5. Speak not with a stiff neck. Mr. Bruce has observed that
the Abyssinian kings have a horn on their diadem; and that the
keeping it erect, or in a projecting form, makes them appear as if they had a stiff
neck; and refers to this passage for the antiquity of the usage, and the appearance
also. Adam Clarke.
Verse
6. For promotion cometh neither from the east, etc. The word promotion
here is used in a very expressive way; it means the desire of self
advancement, Myrh (harim), and would teach us that all our inward
schemes, and outward plans, cannot gain for us advancement, unless based upon
the fear and love of God; we look forward to improve our circumstances, like to
the ascending of a mountain, and nerve ourselves to the effort of ascent,
fondly thinking that no eye watches our efforts; but as "shame is the
promotion of fools, "so disappointment is often the return of rashness...
From the east promotion doth not come; the word east here is very
expressive, auwmm (mimmotza), the rising of the sun, the outgoing of
light, the dawning of the day, and the manifesting or revealing of God. We look
around; and in the early dawning of youth, with high hopes, mental energies,
and perhaps superior talents, anticipate victory over our compeers, and a
course of worldly success and prosperity; but alas! how often are all these
hopes blighted and a succession of reverses humbles our spirits. Promotion
cometh not from the west. The original is bremmw (umimmagnarab)
and it means duskiness, darkness, and the setting sun,—hence the west. When the
clouds of years press upon us, and darkened shadows overtake us in various
ways, such as loss of dear and early friends, the buoyancy of youth gone by,
hopes softened down to personal ease, and the power of the constitution
reduced; then God often wills that promotion shall not come. We now approach to
the last point from whence promotion cometh not, that is from the south,
rbrm (mid bar) a waste place, the Arabian desert; hence the south. In dry
and solitary places like the sandy desert little advancement can be looked for;
like the human intellect, unless cultivated and improved by care and education
it is barren as the desert to all holy feelings and improvement, the natural
passions like sand choke up every patch susceptible of cultivation, and
close up all the avenues to thought and devotion. A godless man is like the
Arabian desert, of no profit to himself or his neighbours; like ever shifting
sands being tossed to and fro by his own wayward passions; heated with the suns
of turbulence, self will, and recklessness, he is a desert, a waste where God
will not vouchsafe the light of his countenance for promotion. Like the
disobedient Jews of old, Ps 78:49, we may speak of this man saying, "How oft
did he provoke him in the wilderness and grieve him in the desert!" Let us
then cultivate the higher part of our being, and then we may produce fruit unto
holiness; let us not wreck so noble a ship as the soul by careless steering and
neglect, but trim its sails with early good instruction, and then may we arrive
at the haven where we would be. Having now illustrated the three points
mentioned in our text, let us turn to the one (the north) where
promotion or advancement may be looked for. Coldness is emblematical of purity,
and coldness is an attribute of the north. The pure in heart shall see God. God
is the northern light that gleams over the stillness of life's night. "He
giveth snow like wool; he scattereth the hoar frost like ashes; he casteth
forth his ice like morsels." Be it ours to be humbly dependent upon God;
for whatever station he may choose to keep us in, godliness alone will prove
our promotion and true riches. If our anxieties are directed toward pleasing
him, then shall we prosper, and he will shew us "a pure river of water of
life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God, and the
Lamb." (Re 22:1.) Condensed from a Sermon by Gregory Bateman, preached
March 16th, 1862, on his entering upon the Vicarage of Ulrome.
Verse
6. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west,
nor from the south. Here are three of the four winds specified, and it is
said, "promotion" comes from neither of them. But why is it not also
said that promotion comes not from the north? that's the question. I
answer;—it were answer enough to say, that we ought not to put questions
curiously about such things; it should satisfy us that the Spirit of God is
pleased to say it is so, and no more. Yet some tell us, the reason why it is
not said promotion cometh not from the north, is because indeed it
cometh out of the north, which, say they, is intimated in the Hebrew word for
the north, which signifies hidden or secret. Promotion
comes not from the east, nor west, nor south, but from the north. It comes
from the north in a figure or mystery, that is, it comes from some hidden
providence, or secret hand, which many take no more notice of than we do of the
furthest part of the north. God promotes many in this world to power,
and sends them great prosperity, we see not how or which way: the causes and
contrivances of it are hidden close, and in the breast of God. This also is a
truth; in that sense we may say, "Fair weather cometh from the north."
Promotion is visible, but the manner of it is a secret; we see not the causes
for which, nor the ways in which it cometh. It is enough to touch these
niceties, and to touch them can do no hurt, while the matter arising from them
hath the clear consent of, and is harmonious with other plain places of
Scripture. Joseph Caryl.
Verse
6. Promotion; or, lifting up. The word is evidently an
emphatic word in the Psalm; it is the same which occurs in verses four and
five, and again in verse seven and verse ten. I have, therefore, given the same
rendering of it throughout. The rendering of the authorized version promotion,
besides losing sight of the manifestly designed repetition of the same word, is
peculiarly unfortunate in conveying a wrong idea. Lifting up, in its
Hebrew sense, does not mean promotion, as we commonly understand it, but
deliverance from trouble, safety, victory. The image, in particular, of lifting
up the head or the horn (the last borrowed from wild beasts, such as buffaloes,
etc., in whom the horn is the symbol of strength), denotes courage, strength,
and victory over enemies. J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Verse
6. Nor from the south. "From the wilderness, "the
great wilderness lying in that direction. Three quarters are mentioned, the
north only being omitted. This may be accounted for, supposing the Psalm to
refer to Sennacherib, by the fact that the Assyrian army approached from the
north; and therefore it would be natural to look in all directions but that for
assistance to repel the invader. J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Verses
6-7. "I thought to promote thee to great honour, "said the
king of Moab to Balaam; and yet that promotion ended in a dishonoured and a
bloody death. I have often thought of many of the Lord's servants on earth, so
superciliously passed by and passed over in man's catalogue of worthies, with
what glad and grateful surprise they will at length receive that promotion
denied on earth, when their own Master shall say to them, "Friend, come up
higher; "and then, as they sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in
the kingdom of heaven, shall they have honour of them that sit at meat with
them. Barton Bouchier.
Verses
6-10. The rise and fall of nations and empires are in this Psalm
ascribed to God. He exalts one and puts down another at his pleasure. In this
he generally uses instrumentality, but that instrumentality is always rendered
effectual by his own agency. When nations or individuals are prosperous, and
glorious, and powerful, they usually ascribe all to themselves or to fortune.
But it is God who has raised them to eminence. When they boast he can humble
them. In these verses God is considered as the governor of the world, punishing
the wicked, and pouring out judgment on his enemies. The calamities of war,
pestilence, and famine, are all ministers of providence to execute wrath. Alexander
Carson.
Verse
7.
"Here
he exalts neglected worms
To sceptres and a crown;
Anon the following page he turns,
And treads the monarch down." —Isaac Watts.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse
1. The unceasing thanksgiving of the church, her grand cause for
adoration: the nearness of her God, and the evident proof thereof in the
displays of his power.
Verse
1.
1.
Do we give thanks?
2. We do give thanks.
3. What thanks do we give.?
4. When do we give thanks?
5. Let us give thanks again.
Good
resolutions commendable, how they should be made, strengthened, and performed.
Verse
3. The Lord the stay of his people under the worst circumstances.
Verse
3. Teacheth us that no disorder or confusion should hinder us from
doing that which God requireth of us; nay, rather, the more things are out of
order the more readily should we labour to redress them. Thomas Wilcocks.
Verse
4.
1.
Who spoke to them? I.
2.
Who were they? Fools, wicked.
3.
What did you say?
4.
What was the good of it? Or, Rebuke of sin, a duty.
Verse
4. The unhallowed trio:—wickedness, folly, pride.
Verse
5. Arguments against pride in heart, appearance, and speech.
Verses
6-7. The changes of providence not the tricks of fortune.
Verse
7. God acts as a judge and not arbitrarily in his providential
arrangements.
Verse
8. In the hand of the Lord there is a cup, etc.
1.
As to matter of preparation, consider it so, and thus it is in the
hand of the Lord.
2.
By way of qualification: it is he that tempers it; it was full of
mixture.
3.
By way of distribution, as giving to every one his share and portion in
it. Thomas Horton.
Verse
8. The cup of wrath. Where it is, what it is, how full it is, who
brings it, who must drink it.
Verse
8. Full of mixture. Wrath of God, remorse, memory of lost
joy, fear of future, recriminations, despair, shame, etc., all these are
ingredients of the mingled cup.
Verse
8. (last clause).
1.
"The dregs" of the cup: the wrath of wrath, the gall of bitterness.
2.
The dregs of the people: "all wicked."
Verse
9. Our life work: to declare and to sing.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》