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Psalm Ninety-seven
Psalm 97
Chapter Contents
The Lord Jesus reigns in power that cannot be resisted.
(1-7) His care of his people, and his provision for them. (8-12)
Commentary on Psalm 97:1-7
(Read Psalm 97:1-7)
Though many have been made happy in Christ, still there
is room. And all have reason to rejoice in Christ's government. There is a
depth in his counsels, which we must not pretend to fathom; but still
righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. Christ's
government, though it might be matter of joy to all, will yet be matter of
terror to some; but it is their own fault that it is so. The most resolute and
daring opposition will be baffled at the presence of the Lord. And the Lord
Jesus will ere long come, and put an end to idol worship of every kind.
Commentary on Psalm 97:8-12
(Read Psalm 97:8-12)
The faithful servants of God may well rejoice and be
glad, because he is glorified; and whatever tends to his honour, is his
people's pleasure. Care is taken for their safety. But something more is meant
than their lives. The Lord will preserve the souls of his saints from sin, from
apostacy, and despair, under their greatest trials. He will deliver them out of
the hands of the wicked one, and preserve them safe to his heavenly kingdom.
And those that rejoice in Christ Jesus, and in his exaltation, have fountains
of joy prepared for them. Those that sow in tears, shall reap in joy. Gladness
is sure to the upright in heart; the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment.
Sinners tremble, but saints rejoice at God's holiness. As he hates sin, yet
freely loves the person of the repentant sinner who believes in Christ, he will
make a final separation between the person he loves and the sin he hates, and
sanctify his people wholly, body, soul, and spirit.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 97
Verse 1
[1] The
LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad
thereof.
Isles —
The Gentile nations, as this word, used Isaiah 42:4, is expounded, Matthew 12:21.
Verse 2
[2] Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are
the habitation of his throne.
Darkness — A
dark cloud doth encompass him.
Verse 6
[6] The
heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.
Heavens —
The angels, yea God himself from heaven.
Verse 7
[7]
Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of
idols: worship him, all ye gods.
Confounded —
Let them be ashamed of their folly.
Gods —
All you whom the Gentiles have made the objects of their worship.
Verse 8
[8] Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of
thy judgments, O LORD.
Zion —
Thy people dwelling in Zion or Jerusalem, to whom Christ came.
Heard —
The fame of thy judgments, and the setting up the kingdom of the Messiah.
Verse 11
[11]
Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
Light —
Joy and happiness.
Sown — Is
laid up for them.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and
Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village
Preacher
SUBJECT. As the fast
Psalm sung the praises of the Lord in connection with the proclamation of the
gospel among the Gentiles, so this appears to foreshadow the mighty working of
the Holy Ghost in subduing the colossal systems of error, and casting down the
idol gods. Across the sea to maritime regions a voice cries for rejoicing at
the reign of Jesus (Ps 97:1), the sacred fire descends (Ps 97:3), like
lightning the gospel flames forth (Ps 97:4), difficulties vanish (Ps 97:5), and
all the nations see the glory of God (Ps 97:6). The idols are confounded (Ps
97:7), the church rejoices (Ps 98:8), the Lord is exalted (Ps 98:9). The Psalm
closes with an exhortation to holy steadfastness under the persecution which
would follow, and bids the saints rejoice that their path is bright, and their
reward glorious and certain. Modern critics, always intent upon ascribing the
psalms to anybody rather than to David, count themselves successful in dating
this song further on than the captivity, because it contains passages similar
to those which occur in the later prophets; but we venture to assert theft it
is quite as probable that the prophets adopted the language of David as that
some unknown writer borrowed from them. One psalm in this series is said to be
"in David", and we believe that the rest are in the same place, and
by the same author. The matter is not important, and we only mention it because
it seems to be the pride of certain critics to set up new theories; and there
are readers who imagine this to be a sure proof of prodigious learning. We do
not believe that their theories are worth the paper they are written upon.
DIVISION. The psalm
divides itself into four portions, each containing three verses. The coming of
the Lord is described (Ps 97:1-3); its effect upon the earth is declared (Ps
97:4-6); and then its influence upon the heathen and the people of God (Ps
97:7-9). The last part contains both exhortation and encouragement, urging to
holiness and inculcating happiness (Ps 97:10-12).
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. The Lord reigneth. This is the watchword of the
psalm—Jehovah reigns. It is also the essence of the gospel proclamation, and
the foundation of the gospel kingdom. Jesus has come, and all power is given
unto him in heaven and in earth, therefore men are bidden to yield him their
obedient faith. Saints draw comfort from these words, and only rebels cavil at
them. Let the earth rejoice, for there is cause for joy. Other reigns have
produced injustice, oppression, bloodshed, terror; the reign of the infinitely
gracious Jehovah is the hope of mankind, and when they all yield to it the race
will have its paradise restored. The very globe itself may well be glad that
its Maker and liege Lord has come to his own, and the whole race of man may
also be glad, since to every willing subject Jesus brings untold blessings. Let
the multitude of isles be glad thereof. To the ancient Israelites all places
beyond the seas were isles, and the phrase is equivalent to all lands which are
reached by ships. It is remarkable, however, that upon actual islands some of
the greatest victories of the Cross have been achieved. Our own favoured land
is a case in point, and not less so the islands of Polynesia and the kingdom of
Madagascar. Islands are very numerous; may they all become Holy Islands, and
Isles of Saints, then will they all be Fortunate Islands, and true Formosas. Many
a land owes its peace to the sea; if it had not been isolated it would have
been desolated, and therefore the inhabitants should praise the Lord who has
moated them about, and given them a defence more available than bars of brass.
Jesus deserves to be Lord of the Isles, and to have his praises sounded along
every sea beaten shore. Amen, so let it be.
Verse
2. Clouds and darkness are round about him. So the Lord
revealed himself at Sinai, so must he ever surround his essential Deity when he
shows himself to the sons of men, or his excessive glory would destroy them.
Every revelation of God must also be an obvelation; there must be a veiling of
his infinite splendour if anything is to be seen by finite beings. It is often
thus with the Lord in providence; when working out designs of unmingled love he
conceals the purpose of his grace that it may be the more clearly discovered at
the end. "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing." Around the
history of his church dark clouds of persecution hover, and an awful gloom at
times settles down, still the Lord is there; and though men for a while see not
the bright light in the clouds, it bursts forth in due season to the confusion
of the adversaries of the gospel. This passage should teach us the impertinence
of attempting to pry into the essence of the Godhead, the vanity of all
endeavours to understand the mystery of the Trinity in Unity, the arrogance of
arraigning the Most High before the bar of human reason, the folly of dictating
to the Eternal One the manner in which he should proceed. Wisdom veils her face
and adores the mercy which conceals the divine purpose; folly rushes in and
perishes, blinded first, and by and by consumed by the blaze of glory.
Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. There he abides,
he never departs from strict justice and right: his throne is fixed upon the
rock of eternal holiness. Righteousness is His immutable attribute, and
judgment marks his every act. What though we cannot see or understand what he
doeth, yet we are sure that he will do no wrong to us or any of his creatures.
Is not this enough to make us rejoice in him and adore him? Divine sovereignty
is never tyrannical. Jehovah is an autocrat, but not a despot. Absolute power
is safe in the hands of him who cannot err, or act unrighteously. When the roll
of the decrees, and the books of the divine providence shall be opened, no eye
shall there discern one word that should be blotted out, one syllable of error,
one line of injustice, one letter of unholiness. Of none but the Lord of all
can this be said.
Verse
3. A fire goeth before him. Like an advance guard clearing
the way. So was it at Sinai, so must it be: the very Being of God is power,
consuming all opposition; omnipotence is a devouring flame which burneth up his
enemies round about. God is longsuffering, but when he comes forth to judgment
he will make short work with the unrighteous, they will be as chaff before the
flame. Reading this verse in reference to the coming of Jesus, and the descent
of the Spirit, we are reminded of the tongues of fire, and of the power which
attended the gospel, so that all opposition was speedily overcome. Even now
where the gospel is preached in faith, and in the power of the Spirit, it burns
its own way, irresistibly destroying falsehood, superstition, unbelief, sin,
indifference, and hardness of heart. In it the Lord reigneth, and because of it
let the earth rejoice.
Verse
4. His lightnings enlightened the world. In times of tempest
the whole of nature is lighted up with a lurid glare, even the light of the sun
itself seems dim compared with the blaze of lightning. If such are the common
lights of nature what must be the glories of the Godhead itself? When God draws
aside the curtain for a moment how astonished are the nations, the light
compels them to cover their eyes and bow their heads in solemn awe. Jesus in
the gospel lights up the earth with such a blaze of truth and grace as was
never seen or even imagined before. In apostolic times the word flashed from one
end of the heavens to the other, no part of the civilised globe was left
unilluminated. The earth saw, and trembled. In God's presence the solid earth
quakes, astonished by his glory it is convulsed with fear. To the advent of our
Lord and the setting up of his kingdom among men these words are also most
applicable; nothing ever caused such a shaking and commotion as the
proclamation of the gospel, nothing was more majestic than its course, it
turned the world upside down, levelled the mountains, and filled up the
valleys. Jesus came, he saw, he conquered. When the Holy Ghost rested upon his
servants their course was like that of a mighty storm, the truth flashed with
the force and speed of a thunderbolt, and philosophers and priests, princes and
people were utterly confounded, and altogether powerless to withstand it. It
shall be so again. Faith even now sets the world on fire and rocks the nations
to and fro.
Verse
5. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD.
Inanimate nature knows its Creator, and worships him in its own fashion. States
and kingdoms which stand out upon the world like mountains are utterly
dissolved when he decrees their end. Systems as ancient and firmly rooted as
the hills pass away when he does but look upon them. In the Pentecostal era,
and its subsequent age, this was seen on all hands, heathenism yielded at the
glance of Jehovah Jesus, and the tyrannies based upon it dissolved like melted
wax. At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. His dominion is universal,
and his power is everywhere felt. Men cannot move the hills, with difficulty do
they climb them, with incredible toil do they pierce their way through their
fastnesses, but it is not so with the Lord, his presence makes a clear pathway,
obstacles disappear, a highway is made, and that not by his hand as though it
cost him pains, but by his mere presence, for power goes forth from him with a
word or a glance. O for the presence of the Lord after this sort with his
church at this hour! It is our one and only need. With it the mountains of
difficulty would flee away, and all obstacles would disappear. O that thou
wouldest rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might flow down at
thy presence, O Lord. In the little world of our nature the presence of Jesus
in reigning power is as a fire to consume our lusts and melt our souls to
obedience. Sometimes we doubt the presence of the Lord within, for he is
concealed with clouds, but we are again assured that he is within us when his
light shines in and fills us with holy fear, while at the same time the warmth
of grace softens us to penitence, resignation and obedience, even as wax
becomes soft in the presence of fire.
Verse
6. The heavens declare his righteousness. It is as
conspicuous as if written across the skies, both the celestial and the
terrestrial globes shine in its light. It is the manner of the inspired poets
to picture the whole creation as in sympathy with the glory of God, and indeed
it is not mere poetry, for a great truth underlies it, the whole
creation has been made to groan through man's sin, and it is yet to share in
the joy of his restoration. And all the people see his glory. The glorious
gospel became so well known and widely promulgated, that it seemed to be
proclaimed by every star, and published by the very skies themselves, therefore
all races of men became acquainted with it, and were made to see the exceeding
glory of the grace of God which is resplendent therein. May it come to pass ere
long that, by a revival of the old missionary ardour, the glad tidings may yet
be carried to every tribe of Adam's race, and once again all flesh may see the
glory of Jehovah. It must be so, therefore let us rejoice before the Lord.
Verse
7. Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast
themselves of idols. They shall be so; shame shall cover their faces, they
shall blush to think of their former besotted boastings. When a man gravely
worships what has been engraved by a man's hand, and puts his trust in a mere
nothing and nonentity, he is indeed brutish, and when he is converted from such
absurdity, he may well be ashamed. A man who worships an image is but the image
of a man, his senses must have left him. He who boasts of an idol makes an idle
boast. Worship him, all ye gods. Bow down yourselves, ye fancied gods. Let Jove
do homage to Jehovah, let Thor lay down his hammer at the foot of the cross,
and Juggernaut remove his blood stained car out of the road of Immanuel. If the
false gods are thus bidden to worship the coming Lord, how much more shall they
adore him who are godlike creatures in heaven, even the angelic spirits? Paul
quotes this passage as the voice of God to angels when he sent his Son into the
world. All powers are bound to recognise the chief power; since they derive their
only rightful authority from the Lord, they should be careful to acknowledge
his superiority at all times by the most reverent adoration.
Verse
8. Zion heard, and was glad. While the heathen are confounded
the people of God are made to triumph, for they love to see their God exalted.
The day shall come when the literal Zion, so long forsaken, shall joy in the
common salvation. It did so at the first when the apostles dwelt at Jerusalem,
and the good days will come back again. And the daughters of Judah rejoiced.
Each individual believer is glad when he sees false systems broken up and idol
gods broken down; the judgments of the Lord afford unalloyed delight to those
who worship the true God in spirit and in truth. In the first ages of
Christianity the believing Israel rejoiced to see Christ's kingdom victorious
among the heathen, and even yet, though for a while turning aside, the
daughters of Judah will sympathise in the wide spread reign of Jehovah their
God, through the gospel of his dear Son. As the women of Judah went forth to
meet David in the dance, singing his victory over the Philistine, so shall they
chant the triumphs of David's son and Lord.
Verse
9. For thou, Lord, art high above all the earth. And
therefore do we rejoice to see the idols abolished and to see all mankind
bending at thy throne. There is but one God, there cannot be another, and he is
and ever must be over all. Thou art exalted far above all gods. As much as ALL
is exalted above nothing, and perfection above folly. Jehovah is not alone high
over Judea, but over all the earth, nor is he exalted over men only, but over
everything that can be called god: the days are on their way when all men shall
discern this truth, and shall render unto the Lord the glory which is due alone
to him.
Verse
10. Ye that love the Lord, hate evil. For He hates it, his
fire consumes it, his lightnings blast it, his presence shakes it out of its
place, and his glory confounds all the lovers of it. We cannot love God without
hating that which he hates. We are not only to avoid evil, and to refuse to
countenance it, but we must be in arms against it, and bear towards it a hearty
indignation. He preserveth the souls of his saints. Therefore they need not be
afraid of proclaiming war with the party which favours sin. The saints are the
safe ones: they have been saved and shall be saved. God keeps those who keep
his law. Those who love the Lord shall see his love manifested to them in their
preservation from their enemies, and as they keep far from evil so shall evil
be kept far from them. He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. It is
not consistent with the glory of his name to give over to the power of his foes
those whom his grace has made his friends. He may leave the bodies of his
persecuted saints in the hand of the wicked, but not their souls, these are
very dear to him, and he preserves them safe in his bosom. This foretells for
the church a season of battling with the powers of darkness, but the Lord will
preserve it and bring it forth to the light.
Verse
11. Light is sown for the righteous. All along their pathway
it is strewn. Their night is almost over, their day is coming, the morning
already advancing with rosy steps is sowing the earth with orient pearls. The
full harvest of delight is not yet ours, but it is sown for us; it is
springing, it will yet appear in fulness. This is only for those who are light
before the Lord in his own righteousness, for all others the blackness of
darkness is reserved. And gladness for the upright in heart. Gladness is not
only for one righteous man in the singular, but for the whole company of the
upright, even as the apostle, after speaking of the crown of life laid up for
himself, immediately amended his speech by adding, "and not for me only,
but also for all them that love his appearing." The upright ought to be
glad, they have cause to be glad, yea and they shall be glad. Those who are
right hearted shall also be glad hearted. Right leads to light. In the furrows
of integrity lie the seeds of happiness, which shall develop into a harvest of
bliss. God has lightning for sinners and light for saints. The gospel of Jesus,
wherever it goes, sows the whole earth with joy for believers, for these are
the men who are righteous before the Lord.
Verse
12. Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous. The psalmist had bidden
the earth rejoice, and here he turns to the excellent of the earth and bids
them lead the song. If all others fail to praise the Lord, the godly must not.
To them God is peculiarly revealed, by them he should be specially adored. And
give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness—which is the harmony of all his
attributes, the superlative wholeness of his character. This is a terror to the
wicked, and a cause of thankfulness to the gracious. To remember that Jehovah
is holy is becoming in those who dwell in his courts, to give thanks in
consequence of that remembrance is the sure index of their fitness to abide in
his presence. In reference to the triumphs of the gospel, this text teaches us
to rejoice greatly in its purifying effect; it is the death of sin and the life
of virtue. An unholy gospel is no gospel. The holiness of the religion of Jesus
is its glory, it is that which makes it glad tidings, since while man is left
in his sins no bliss can be his portion. Salvation from sin is the priceless
gift of our thrice holy God, therefore let us magnify him for ever and ever. He
will fill the world with holiness, and so with happiness, therefore let us
glory in his holy name, world without end. Amen.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole
Psalm. The two preceding psalms are songs of joy and thanksgiving, in
which the gladness of Christ's people is poured forth as they go to meet their
triumphant Lord at his second advent, and to bring him back in glory to assume
his kingdom. The present psalm, in language sufficiently explicit, describes
the completion of this great event, "the Lord reigneth"; Messiah is
on his throne, and now the words of Ps 2:6, are fulfilled, "I have set my
king upon my holy hill of Sion." Messiah's first act of sovereignty is
judgment. Scriptures bearing upon that event are 2Th 1:7 Jude 1:14 Isa 66:15.
The character of these judgments is given in the psalm: clouds and darkness
encircling his throne, where, however, righteousness and mercy dwell; a fire
which burns up his enemies round about; lightnings flashing upon the world, the
earth trembling, and the hills melting like wax at the presence of the Lord, at
the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. Peter, in his second Epistle, and
third chapter, evidently refers to these events as yet future in his day.—R.H.
Ryland.
Verse
1. The LORD reigneth. Here's good news, glad tidings: "The
Lord reigneth." It cannot be published without praise, without rejoicing,
without singing, without blessing. We should dishonour this truth
if we did not publish it; if we should with silence suppress it; if we should
not speak well of it. It is so sweet and comfortable, that it fills the whole
world with joy; and calls on every ear, and every tongue, and every heart, to
be glad, to rejoice, and to praise God. Let the earth rejoice; let the
multitude of isles be glad. As though he should say, Let nothing fear but hell:
let nothing be disquieted but devils. Let the lowest, the poorest
of the people of God, though but earth, yet let them rejoice in this, "The
LORD reigneth"...
Here
are two things of very sweet consideration, 1. The reign of the Lord;
and, 2. The reign of the Lord in the saints.
First,
This kingdom that God is now setting up is his everlasting kingdom. It
will not be administered by the weakness of man, but by the power of God; not
by the folly of man, but by the judgment of God. God will, in this kingdom,
nakedly manifest his own righteousness, his own compassion and pity; his own
love, his own peace: he will do all things immediately by his own self. And
therefore all the pride and ambition, all the oppression and tyranny, and
miscarriages that have been in the government of men, shall be wholly taken
away. Pure righteousness and judgment and equity shall be infallibly dispensed;
and infinite power, strength, holiness, goodness, and authority shall shine
forth nakedly in the face of God; and that shall be the judge of all men. We
shall no longer be abused and oppressed by the will of men, by the lusts of
men. The poor people shall no longer groan under the burden of men's lusts, nor
sweat for the pleasure and contents of men; nor their faces any longer be
ground by the hardness of the spirit of men; but they shall be under the
protection of God. The great cry now of the people is, "Let's have a
King!" Ye shall have one, one that will "reign in
righteousness", the LORD himself.
Secondly,
And this reign of the LORD shall be in his saints; according to
that in Da 7:27. "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the
kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of
the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall
serve and obey him." As this kingdom shall be administered in the glory of
God; so also in the sweetness and gentleness of man, by brethren, by friends,
by the saints of the Most High. God lifting up himself in the saints will
administer this reign; and as he will do it by the saints, so he will do it by
the softness and tenderness of the saints; "The kingdom and dominion under
the whole earth shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most
High." It's now doing; that ye shall obey none but the Lord; ye shall know
no other laws but the law of God; ye shall know no other master but Jehovah. He
hath made us priests and kings, and we shall reign with him on the earth. This
nature of ours, this body of ours, shall reign with Christ, with God, and that
upon earth.
The
Lord reigns. The Lord hath served, hath been hitherto much, yea, mostly,
"in the form of a servant." It hath been, as it were, the business of
the Lord, whilst this world stood, to give supplies to men; to serve men; to
give men strength, and wisdom, and riches, and authority, and power; that men
might be great and happy, with the goodness of God: and (in this) God hath been
King too, but in an under way; as saith the Lord, "I have served
with your sins" and lusts: now he will no longer serve, but reign;
God will take all the power and authority into his own hands. He will not be
any longer under men, but above all men. It's time He should be so; it's reason
He should be so; it's just He should be so. Everything now must bow, stoop, and
submit to the law, and rule, and will of God. No man shall any longer say, it
shall be so, because it is my will to have it so: there shall not be found an
heart, or tongue, that shall move against the dominion of the Lord.
Satan
hath been a prince; he hath made laws of your captivity and misery; he hath
kept you to his task, to do him service. He hath said, Be angry, and
then you have been full of rage. He hath said, Be covetous, and then you
have been full of covetousness. He hath said, Be dark, and then you have
been full of blindness. He hath said, Be proud, and then ye have been
full of haughtiness. And so he hath, as a monstrous tyrant, tormented the
world. The sting of Satan's whips is in your consciences, I know. Your errors
and mistakes have been through the kingdom of darkness in you, that you do not
know God, or his holy hill. You would come into the enjoyment of God; Satan
will not let you: you would know God; he will not suffer you: you would be wise
unto salvation; he will not permit you. He hath fettered you with his chains of
darkness; he hath captivated your judgments; he hath made you to grind at his
mill and to drudge in his service; and hath made you to cry out, "O when
will the Lord come!" But now his wicked reign is at an end: what ye had,
ye shall want, and what ye want, ye shall have; what hath been shall not be;
that which shall be, must be, and cannot choose but be: ye shall have love,
because the law of God is love; and ye shall have peace, because the kingdom of
God is peace; and ye shall have light, because the inheritance is marvellous
light; ye shall have righteousness, because this state is true holiness; ye
shall have liberty, settledness, stability, and every good thing in this
kingdom of God. It's always ill with us while Satan reigns. It's always well
with us while God reigns; when our Husband is King we shall have preferment,
and honour, and riches, and greatness, and power, and authority, because our
God reigns. "The Lord reigns", for us; the Lord takes his
kingdom, and it is for us: the Lord hath reigned in himself all this while; now
he reigns by us: the Lord counts himself not to have a kingdom, till we have it
with him: the Lord thinks himself mean and despised, till we are exalted. He is
poor without us. He is weak, while absent from us. He is not himself unless he
enjoys us. "Thou art my excellency, my firstborn." The power of God
is in weakness, till we become mighty. The kingdom of God is in darkness, till
we shine forth. The treasures of God were of no worth to him, if we were not
his richest jewels.
The
Lord doth reign. This is not to be passed by; it's in the present tense. This
is the song that we hear and see angels sing. The elders and saints in heaven
sing it perpetually; we daily hear it. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, the Lord
reigneth! There is administered into our hearts and ears an hallelujah; the
Lord reigneth; indeed every creature speaks it, all in heaven and earth.
"THE LORD doth reign", and saith, "I am upon my throne. I
am great; none is great but myself. I am King; I have the sceptre in my hand. I
am powerful; none is powerful but I." All the power of men is broken. All
the thrones of men are shattered into dust. All the wisdom of men is turned
into folly. All the strength of men s melted into weakness and water. The
melting and mouldering away of the powers and dignities of the world, speak it
aloud, The LORD reigns.—William Sedgwick, in "Some
Flashes of Lightnings of the Son of Man," 1648.
Verse
1. The LORD reigneth. He who stood before the judge, he who
received the blows, he who was scourged, he who was spit upon, he who was crowned
with thorns, he who was struck with fists, he who hung upon the cross, he who
as he hung upon the wood was mocked, he who died upon the cross, he who was
pierced with the spear, he who was buried, himself arose from the dead. "The
Lord reigneth." Let kingdoms rage as much as they can; what can they
do to the King of kingdoms, the Lord of all kings, the Creator of all worlds?—Augustine.
Verse
1. The LORD reigneth. I am glad that Christ is Lord of all,
for otherwise I should utterly have been out of hope, saith Miconius in
an epistle to Calvin, upon a view of the church's enemies.—John
Trapp.
Verse
1. The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice. Consider the
divine government in various views, as legislative, providential, mediatorial,
and judicial, and in each of these views the divine government is matter of
universal joy.
1. The
Lord reigneth upon a throne of legislation, "let the earth
rejoice." He is the one supreme law giver and is perfectly qualified for
that important trust. Nothing tends more to the advantage of civil society than
to have good laws established, according to which mankind are to conduct
themselves, and according to which their rulers will deal with them. Now the
supreme and universal King has enacted and published the best laws for the
government of the moral world, and of the human race in particular. Let the
earth then rejoice that God has clearly revealed his will to us and not left us
in inextricable perplexities about our duty to him and mankind... Again,
"Let the earth rejoice" that these laws are suitably enforced with
proper sanctions. The sanctions are such as become a God of infinite wisdom,
almighty power, inexorable justice, untainted holiness, and unbounded goodness
and grace, and such as are agreeable to the nature of reasonable creatures
formed for an immortal duration. Let the earth rejoice that the divine laws
reach the inner man, and have power upon the hearts and consciences of men.
Human laws can only smooth our external conduct at best, but the heart in the
mean time may be disloyal and wicked. Now this defect is supplied by the laws
of the King of Heaven, which are spiritual. They require a complete uniformity
and self consistency in us that heart and life may agree, and therefore they
are wisely framed to make us entirely good.
2. The
Lord reigneth by his providence, "let the earth rejoice." The
providence of God is well described in our shorter catechism, "It is his
most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures and
all their actions." "The Lord reigneth" over the kingdoms of the
earth, and manages all their affairs according to his sovereign and wise
pleasure, and he doth the same for his church. He can reduce confusion into
order, make the wrath of man to praise him, and restrain the remainder of it.
3.
"The Lord reigneth" upon a throne of grace! "let the
earth rejoice." It is the mediatorial government of the Messiah which the
Psalmist had more immediately in view, and this is the principal cause of joy
to the earth and its guilty inhabitants.
4.
And, lastly, the Lord will reign ere long upon a throne of universal
judgment conspicuous to the assembled universe, "let the earth
therefore rejoice, and the multitude of the isles be glad."—Condensed
from a Sermon by Samuel Davies, 1724-1761.
Verse
1. Let the earth rejoice. The earth is called upon to rejoice
because the Lord reigneth; and well it may, on the day of its enlargement and
final emancipation from evil, which seems to be here set forth—a day of
judgment, and so also a day of terror and destruction to the enemies of God and
goodness—a day when at his presence "the elements shall melt with fervent
heat"; but his own righteousness and glory shall be manifested in the
sight of all people. Then will the worldly, who serve idols in loving the
creature more than the Creator, be confounded and overthrown; but then, too,
will the righteous lift up their heads and rejoice because of God's judgments.—Thomas
Chalmers.
Verse
1. The multitude of the isles. In Poole's Synopsis we find
from the various interpretations of different authors that the word may mean
maritime regions, places beyond sea usually reached in ships, and all countries
bordering on the ocean.—C.H.S.
Verse
1. The isles. Figuratively the isles may be taken for all the
churches. Why isles? because the waves of all temptations roar around them. But
as an isle may be beaten by the waves which on every side dash around it, yet
cannot be broken, and rather itself doth break the advancing waves, than by
them is broken: so also the churches of God, springing up throughout the world,
have suffered the persecutions of the ungodly, who roar around them on every
side; and behold the isles stand fixed, and at last the sea is calmed.—Augustine.
Verse
1. When Bulstrode Whitelock was embarked as Cromwell's envoy to
Sweden, in 1653, he was much disturbed in mind, as he rested at Harwich the
preceding night, which was very stormy, as he thought upon the distracted state
of the nation. It happened that a confidential servant slept in an adjacent bed,
who, finding that his master could not sleep, at length said:
"Pray,
sir, will you give me leave to ask you a question?"
"Certainly."
"Pray,
sir, do you think God governed the world very well before you came into
it?"
"Undoubtedly."
"And
pray, sir, do you think that He will govern it quite as well when you are gone
out of it?"
"Certainly."
"Then
pray, sir, excuse me, but do not you think you may trust him to govern it quite
as well as long as you live?"
To
this question Whitelock had nothing to reply; but turning about, soon fell fast
asleep, till he was summoned to embark.—G.S. Bowes, in "Illustrative
Gatherings." 1862.
Verse
2. Clouds and darkness are round about him. The figurative
language in the poetical parts of the Old Testament is frequently taken from
the historical books, and refers to the facts therein recorded: thus the
appearances of God to the saints and patriarchs in old times is the origin of
the figure in our text. If you look at the history of these appearances, you
will find they were all accompanied with clouds and darkness. The cloud of the
Lord went before the children of Israel when they departed from the land of
bondage. This cloud had a dark and bright side, and was a symbol of the divine
presence. Thus it preceded the people in all their marches, as a pillar of fire
by night, and of a cloud by day. When Solomon dedicated the temple, the glory
of the Lord filled the house, and the priest could not enter into the house of
the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the house. When God descended
upon Mount Sinai, "there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud
upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud. And Mount Sinai
was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the
smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked
greatly. And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, upon the top of the
mount" (Ex 19:16,18,20). When our Saviour was transfigured before three of
his disciples, "a bright cloud overshadowed them", from which
proceeded the voice of the Father, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." And Peter, who was present there,
afterwards referring to the fact, says that the voice proceeded "from the
excellent glory." Thus, in all the symbols of the divine presence, there
was a mixture of splendour with darkness and obscurity. So it is in the
operations of Providence: in a moral and figurative sense, we may say that
clouds and darkness surround all the operations of divine power and wisdom.
Clouds are emblems of obscurity; darkness, of distress. The works of God's
providence are often obscure and productive of distress to mankind, though
righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.—Robert Hall.
Verse
2. Clouds and darkness are round about him. God doth govern
the world mysteriously. As there are mysteries in the word, so in the works of
God; dusnohta, "things hard to be understood", (2Pe 3:16), many
riddles which nonplus and puzzle men of the largest and most piercing
intellectuals: "Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward,
but I cannot perceive him: on the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot
behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: but he
knoweth the way that I take." Job 23:8-10. God knoweth our ways, and
counteth our steps; but the wisest of men do not know all God's ways. His way
is frequently in the sea, and his chariots in the clouds; so that he is
invisible, not only in his essence, but also in the design and tendence of his
operations. Those that behold him with an eye of faith, do not yet see him with
an eye of understanding, so as to discern his way, and whither he is going.
Paul assures us, "His judgments are unsearchable, and his ways past
finding out." Ro 11:33. Some of them, indeed, are obvious, plain, and
easy; we may upon the first view give a satisfactory account of them; we may
read righteousness, equity, mercy, goodness, love, in them, because written in
capital letters, and with such beams of light as he that runs may read them.
But others of God's ways are dark and obscure, so that they are out of our
reach and above our sight. He that goes about in them to trace God, may quickly
lose himself. They are like that hand writing upon the wall, which none of
Belshazzar's wise men could read or give the interpretation of (Da 5:8). There
are arcana imperii, "secrets of state and government", which
are not fit to be made common. But this may be our comfort:—though God doth not
now give any account of his matters, nor is he obliged thereunto, yet he can
give a very good and satisfactory account; and one day his people shall be led
into the mystery; and, though many things which God doeth they know not now,
yet they shall know them afterward; and when they know, they shall approve and
admire both the things, and the reason, and the end. They shall then be
perfectly reconciled to all providence, and see that all were worthy of God,
and that in all he acted yeoprepwv, "as did highly become himself."—Samuel
Slater (1704) in "The Morning Exercises."
Verse
2. How despicable soever Christ's kingdom may seem to the world, yet
it is full of heavenly majesty: clouds and darkness are round about him.
The glory of Christ's kingdom is unsearchable, and hid from the eyes of the
world, who cannot take up the things of God, except he reveal himself to them,
and do open the eyes of the understanding: "clouds and darkness are
round about him."—David Dickson.
Verse
2. Darkness. This and the four following verses have a
striking resemblance to the awful pomp of the march of God, as described Ps
18:8-9 Ps 68:8. All the dread phenomena and meteoric array of nature are in
attendance; thunder and lightning, and earthquakes and volcanoes, with streams
of melting lava, like streams of melting wax. Yet all is justice and equity,
joy, exultation, and glory; and the wicked alone—the adversaries of
Jehovah—feel his judgments—the host of idols and their brutish worshippers.—John
Mason Good.
Verse
2. Righteousness and judgment. Righteousness is the essential
perfection of the Divine Being. It is his nature: if there had been no
creatures for him to govern, he would have had an unchangeable and invincible
love of rectitude. Judgment is the application of the principle of
righteousness in his government of his creatures and their actions; it is a
development of his rectitude in the management of the affairs of his great
empire; it is that super intendance over all, whereby the operations of all
things are directed, to some vast and important end. Judgment implies measure
and equity, in opposition to what is done without rule and consideration. All
the divine conduct is equitable, regulated by rectitude, and everything is
directed by a judgment that cannot err.—Robert Hall.
Verse
2. Righteousness and judgment, etc. When the mercy and grace
of our heavenly King are to be described, he is likened to the sun shining in a
clear firmament, and gladdening universal nature with his beneficent ray. But
when we are to conceive an idea of him, as going forth, in justice and
judgment, to discomfit and punish his adversaries, the imagery is then borrowed
from a troubled sky; he is pictured as surrounded by clouds and darkness; from
whence issue lightnings and thunders, storms and tempests, fear and confounding
the wicked and the impenitent.—Samuel Burder.
Verse
2. The Lord manages his kingdom and government with perfect equity. Righteousness
and judgment are the habitation of his throne. Righteousness, whereby he
preserves, saves, and rewards the good; judgment, whereby he punishes,
confounds, and destroys the wicked: these are the habitation of his throne,
his tribunal, his seat of judicature. These are the basis or foundation, which
give unto his throne rectitudinem et stabilitatem, "rectitude and
establishment." His throne is established in righteousness, and "the
sceptre of his kingdom is a right sceptre:" though there be clouds, yet no
blemishes; though darkness, yet no deformities: Ps 92:15. Ever since the
creation, all things have been done with that unreproveable exactness, that if
the world were to begin again, and the affairs of it to be acted over again,
there should not be an alteration in a tittle. All hath been so well, that
nothing can be mended. Those dark and obscure passages of Providence, at which
good men are startled, and by which all men are posed, are most excellent and
curious strokes, and as so many well placed shades, which commend the work and
admirably set off the beauty of Providence.—Samuel Slater.
Verse
2.
Jove's
firm decree, tho' wrapped in night,
Beams midst the gloom a constant light;
Man's fate obscure in darkness lies,
Not to be pierced by mortal eyes:
The just resolves of his high mind
A glorious consummation find;
Though in majestic state enthroned
Thick clouds and dark enclose him round,
As from the tower of heaven his eye
Surveys man's bold impiety;
Till his ripe wrath on vengeance bent,
He arms each god for punishment,
And from his high and holy throne
Sends all his awful judgments down.
—Aeschylus (R. Potter's translation, 1808.)
Verse
3. A fire goeth before him. Like a marshall or advance guard
before a royal presence, or as the javelin men who precede a judge. Fire is the
sign both of grace and wrath (Ex 3:2 Ps 18:9.) Majesty marches forth in both
displays of Deity.—C.H.S. from Poli Synopsis.
Verse
3. A fire goeth before him. That fire which Christ came to
send upon the earth, the kindling blaze of the Holy Ghost, which came down in
tongues of fire at Pentecost, to burn freely throughout the world, for the
destruction of obstinate unbelievers, and the purifying of those who gladly
received the Word. And of this the prophet spake, saying, "I will send a
fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly its the isles: and they
shall know that I am the LORD." (Eze 39:6.) This divine flame goes still
before the face of the Lord in his coming to every faithful soul, as it kindles
with longing for him, and burns up all its sins therewith, as he heaps his
coals of fire upon its head, to soften and purify it. "It must needs
be", teaches a great saint, (S. Bernard.) "that the fervour of holy
desire must go before his face to every soul to which he means to come, a flame
which will burn up all the mildew of sin, and make ready a place for the Lord.
And then the soul knows that the Lord is at hand, when it feels itself kindled
with that fire, and it saith with the prophet, `My heart was hot within me;
then spake I with my tongue.'"(Ps 39:3).—Augustine, and others, quoted
by Neale and Littledale.
Verse
3. A fire goeth before him. There is no less, but rather more
wrath attending the despisers of the Gospel, than did attend the giving out of
the law. Heb 12:29.—David Dickson.
Verse
4. His lightnings enlightened the world. This passage is
applied by Munster to the rapid increase of the kingdom of Christ: for the
sound of the Gospel sped through all the world like lightning. There is a
prediction almost to this effect in Zec 9:14: "His arrow shall go forth as
the lightning, and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet."—Martin Geier.
Verse
4. The earth saw and trembled. The bare sight of thee caused
the earth to tremble (Ps 77:16).—A.R. Faussett.
Verse
5. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD. For
a parallel passage see Mic 1:4. There the words are applied to the judgment of
God about to fall on the people of the covenant: here they are applied to the
judgment on the God opposing world. The fact that judgment has begun at the
house of God is a token that judgments of a far more destructive kind will
overtake the (openly) ungodly and sinners (1Pe 4:7). "The hills"
symbolize the heights or man's self exalting pride of intellect, wealth, and
power.—A.R. Faussett.
Verse
5. The Lord of the whole earth. In this title lies concealed
the reason for the liquefaction of the hills, for the God who here manifests
himself is he who created the earth, and is able therefore to reduce it to
nothing.—Martin Geier.
Verse
6. The heavens declare, etc. He does not say, the heavens
exercise, but they declare his righteousness. To the eyes of the wicked the
righteousness of God is hidden, until it is made manifest by an astonishing
miracle.
"The
heavens." This phrase is not, God declares, but the heavens
declare his righteousness. The creature is the servant and revealer of the
righteousness of God.
"His
righteousness." He says not, the heavens declare our righteousness,
but his righteousness. They testify that God is the righteous judge,
rather than that the saints themselves are righteous.
"All
the people." Not only do the wicked, those oppressive monsters, see, but
"all the people." God so reveals his glory that not only the wicked
who are punished may see it, but also other mortals to their edification.
"And
shall see." They shall not simply hear or know, but they shall see. This
at last is a powerful and convincing demonstration of the righteousness of God,
which is put before their eyes.
"His
glory." Not merely the destruction of the wicked and vengeance on the
enemies of God, but his glory; for in the destruction of the wicked, and the
deliverance of the innocent, the glory of God is declared. Thus the prophet
rejoices not so much concerning the destruction of the wicked as concerning the
glory of God.—Musculus.
Verse
7. Confounded be all they that serve graven images. etc. Albeit
such as are lovers of imagery not only do serve images, but also will defend
the use of images in the exercise of religion, and glory in them; yet shall
they at length be ashamed of their boasting.—David Dickson.
Verse
7. Worship him, all ye gods, or Let all the angels of God
worship him. The matter of the psalm itself makes it manifest that the Holy
Ghost treats in it about God's bringing in the firstborn into the world, and
the setting up of his kingdom in him. A kingdom is described wherein God would
reign, which should destroy idolatry and false worship; a kingdom wherein the
isles of the Gentiles should rejoice, being called to an interest therein; a
kingdom that was to be preached, proclaimed, declared, unto the increase of
light and holiness in the world, with the manifestation of the glory of God
unto the ends of all the earth: every part whereof declareth the kingdom of
Christ to be intended in the psalm, and consequently that it is a prophecy of
the bringing in of the first begotten into the world. Our inquiry is, whether
the angels be intended in these words. They are Myhla-lk omnes dii; and
are so rendered by Jerome, Adorate eum, omnes dii; and by our authorised
version, "Worship him, all ye gods." The preceding words are, "Confounded
be all they that serve graven images", Mylylab Myllhtmh, that boast
themselves in or of "idols", "vanities, nothings",
as the word signifies, wherein ensues this apostrophe, "Worship him,
Myhla-lb, all ye gods." And who they are is our present inquiry.
Some, as all the modern Jews, say that it is the gods of the Gentiles, those
whom they worship, that are intended; so making Myhla and owlyla, "gods",
and "vain idols", to be the same in this place. But
1.
It cannot be that the psalmist should exhort the idols of the heathen,
some whereof were devils, some dead men, some inanimate parts
of the creations, unto a reverential worshipping of God reigning over all.
Hence the Targumist, seeing the vanity of that interpretation, perverts the
words, and renders them, "Worship before Him, all ye nations which serve
idols."
2.
Myhla, "Elohim", is so far in this place from being exegetical of
Mylyla "gods", or "vain idols"; that it is
put in direct opposition to it, as is evident from the words themselves.
3.
The word Elohim, which most frequently denotes the true God, doth never alone,
and absolutely taken, signify false gods or idols, but only when it is
joined with some other word discovering its application, as his god, or their
gods, or the gods of this or that people, in which case it is
rendered by the LXX., (Septuagint) sometimes eidwlon an "idol";
sometimes ceiropoihton, an "idol made with hands"; sometimes bdelugma
an "abomination." But here it hath no such limitation or restriction.
Whereas,
therefore, there are some creatures who, by reason of some peculiar excellency
and likeness unto God, or subordination unto him in their work, are called
gods, it must be those, or some of them, that are intended in the expression.
Now these are either magistrates or angels.
1. Magistrates
are somewhere called elohim, because of the representation they make of God in
his power, and their peculiar subordination unto him in their working. The
Jews, indeed, contend that no other magistrates but those only of the great
Sanhedrim are anywhere called gods; but that concerns not our present inquiry.
Some magistrates are so called, but none of them are intended by the psalmist,
there being no occasion administered unto him of any such apostrophe unto them.
2.
Angels are called elohim: Degomenoi yeoi, 1Co 8:5. They have the name of God
attributed unto them, and these are they whom the psalmist speaks unto. Having
called on the whole creation to rejoice in the bringing forth of the kingdom of
God, and pressed his exhortation upon things on the earth, he turns unto the
ministering angels, and calls on them to the discharge of their duty unto the
King of that kingdom. Hence the Targamist, in the beginning of Ps 96:1-13
expressly mentioned "his high angels", joining in his praise and
worship, using the Greek word aggelov, for distinction's sake, as on the same
account it often occurs in the Targum.
We
have thus evinced that the psalm treats about the bringing in of the firstborn
into the world; as also that they are the ministering angels who are here
commanded to worship him.—John Owen.
Verse
8. Zion heard, etc. But why, it may be asked, does he speak
of those things being heard, rather than seen? Two reasons may be
given for this. First, he would have God's believing people anticipate the blessing
by hope, ere the consummation of it arrived; and, again, the language
intimates, that the glory of the Gospel would be spread to such distant
quarters, that the Jews would rather hear of it by report, than witness it with
their own eyes.—John Calvin.
Verse
8. The daughters of Judah rejoiced. David alludes to a custom
familiar in Judea, of forming choral bands of maidens after a victory or some
happy circumstance. Thus after the passage of the Red Sea, when the Egyptians
were drowned and the people of God brought in safety to the farthest shore,
Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, and all
the women followed her with timbrels and dancing, saying, Let us sing unto the
Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown
into the sea. When Goliath was slain by David, it is said 1Sa 18:6-7,
"When David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, the women came
out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets,
with joy, and with instruments of music. And the women sang as they played, and
said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands."—Le
Blanc.
Verse
10. Ye that love the LORD, hate evil. It is evident that our
conversion is sound when we loathe and hate sin from the heart: a man may know
his hatred of evil to be true, first, if it be universal: he that hates sin
truly, hates all sin. Secondly, true hatred is fixed; there is no appeasing it
but by abolishing the thing hated. Thirdly, hatred is a more rooted affection
than anger: anger may be appeased, but hatred remains and sets itself against
the whole kind. Fourthly, if our hatred be true, we hate all evil, in ourselves
first, and then in others; he that hates a toad, would hate it most in his own
bosom. Many, like Judah, are severe in censuring others (Ge 38:24), but partial
to themselves. Fifthly, he that hates sin truly, hates the greatest sin in the
greatest measure; he hates all evil in a just proportion. Sixthly, our hatred
is right if we can endure admonition and reproof for sin, and not be enraged;
therefore, those that swell against reproof do not appear to hate sin.—Richard
Sibbes.
Verse
10. Hate evil. Sin seemeth to have its name of sana,
anv (the word here used) because it is most of all to be hated, as the greatest
evil; as that which setteth us furthest from God the greatest good.—John
Trapp.
Verse
10. Get mortifying graces, especially love to God, for those that
love the Lord, will hate evil. And the more they love him, the more they
will hate it.—David Clarkson.
Verse
10. God is a Spirit, and he looks to our very spirits; and what we
are in our spirits, in our hearts and affections, that we are to him.
Therefore, what ill we shun, let us do it from the heart, by hating it first. A
man may avoid an evil action from fear, or out of other respects, but that is
not sincerity. Therefore look to thy heart, see that thou hate evil, and let it
come from sincere looking to God. Ye that love the LORD, hate evil,
saith David: not only avoid it, but hate it; and not only hate it, but hate it
out of love to God.—Richard Sibbes.
Verse
10. Hate evil.
LUCIAN.
I am the declared enemy of all false pretence, all quackery, all lies, and all
puffing. I am a lover of truth, of beauty, of undisguised nature; in short, of
everything that is lovely.
PHILOSOPHY.
To love and to hate, they say, spring from one and the same source.
LUCIAN.
That, O philosophy, must be best known to you. My business is to hate the bad,
and to love and commend the good; and that I stick to.—Lucian. Piscat.
c, 8.
Verse
10. He preserveth the souls of his saints. Let us observe that
there are two parts of divine protection—preservation and deliverance.
Preservation is keeping lest we should be imperilled: deliverance has reference
to those already involved in perils. The shepherd keeps his sheep lest they
should fall among wolves; but if perchance they should fall into the clutches
of the wolf he pursues and delivers. Both parts the Prophet exhibits,
persuading us that it is the Lord who keeps the souls of his saints lest they
fall into the hands of the wicked; and if they should fall, He will deliver
them.—Musculus.
Verse
11. Light is sown. erz does not here signify sown strewn into
the earth, but strewn along his life's way, so that he, the righteous one,
advances step by step in the light. Hitzig rightly compares kidnatai skidnatai,
used of the dawn and of the sun. Of the former Virgil also says, Et jam
prima novo spargebat lumine terras.—Franz Delitzsch.
Verse
11. Light is sown.
And
now Aurora, from the saffron bed
Of her Tithonus rising, sowed the earth
With dewy light.
—C.R. Kennedy's Translation of Virgil.
Verse
11. Light is sown.
Now
Morn, her rosy steps in the eastern clime
Advancing, sowed the earth with orient pearl.
—John Milton.
Verse
11. Light is sown for the righteous. Most thoughtful men
increase in faith and spiritual discernment by often doubting, and by having
their doubts cleared up. Religious thought in this way grows into a personal
feeling; and the solid rock of truer conviction and deeper trust as a firm
foundation for the soul to build upon for eternity, remains behind after all
the abrasion of loose and more perishable materials through speculation. A
different if not a truer revelation of heavenly realities is given to us
through the dark distressing process of doubting, than through the bright
joyful exercise of unhesitating faith; just as our knowledge of the chemistry
of the sun and stars, of the physical constitution of distant worlds, is
derived not from the bright bands of their spectrum, which reveal only their
size and shape, but from Fraunhofer's wonderful lines—those black blank spaces
breaking up the spectrum bands—which tell us of rays arrested in their path and
prevented from bearing their message to us by particular metallic vapours. Unto
the upright, just because of the purity and singleness of their motives and the
earnestness of their quest after truth, there ariseth light in the darkness. We
must remember that "light is sown for the righteous"; that its
more or less rapid germination and development depend upon the nature of the
soil on which it falls and the circumstances that influence it; that, like
seed, it at first lies concealed in the dark furrow, under the cheerless clod,
in the cold ungenial winter; but that even then, while shining in the darkness,
while struggling with doubts and difficulties of the mind and heart, it is
nevertheless the source of much comfort, and in its slow, quickening, and
hidden growth the cause of lively hope, and of bright anticipation of that time
when it shall blossom and ripen in the summer time of heaven—shine more and
more unto the perfect day.—Hugh Macmillan, in "The Ministry of
Nature", 1871.
Verse
11. Light is sows for the righteous: sown in these two fields,
1. Of
God's eternal decree, in his power, promise, grace and love. These are the
"upper springs."
2.
In the field of their graces, and holy duties; these are the
"nether springs"; both which fall into one river, and "make glad
the city of God"; both these fields yield a plentiful harvest of comfort
to the godly.—John Sheffield, in "The Rising Sun," 1654.
Verse
11. Sown. The righteous man's harvest is secret and hidden. It
lieth, like the corn covered in the ground; "their life is hid"; and
"it is not manifest what they shall be"; "no eye hath seen, or
ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what the Lord hath
laid up for them that love him" (Col 3:3 1Jo 3:2 1Co 2:9). Name what you
can, and it will be a mystery, a secret thing, that belongs to the upright in
heart. First, is not the decree of God a hidden thing? a depth unsearchable?
and able to make a man astonished? Did not Paul cry out, "O the depth of
the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his
judgments, and his ways past finding out!" (Ro 12:33). And is not the
incarnation of Christ a secret too? what more to be admired than that God
should become man, and be manifested in the flesh? The very angels desired to
peep into this mystery. 1Ti 3:16 1Pe 1:12 Isa 7:14. Again, the conversion and
regeneration of a sinner is admirable; it's a noble, yet a secret work:
Nicodemus a great doctor could not see it. And if natural births be so strange,
what shall we judge of this? Moreover, peace of conscience and joy in the Holy
Ghost is no open matter; none knoweth it, but he that hath it. So is the
earnest of the Spirit, and true seal of salvation; the power, life and
sweetness of the word; the remission and pardon of sin, with certainty of
salvation. And in the fifth place, the harvest is secret, if we consider where
it is growing. One close is, the secret purpose of God; and who can
understand it? A second is, his word; and how hardly is that to be
searched into? A third is, a man's own heart; and is not that both
secret and deceitful? And last of all, the very principal part of the harvest
is hid with Christ in heaven; and when he appears, it will appear what
it shall be.—John Barlow.
Verses
11-12., are both most savoury and precious notanda.—Give me to
experience, O Lord, those revelations which follow in the train of obedience;
and O that I felt the charm and enjoyment of holiness, so as to give thanks, in
the reflection that with a holy God holiness is an indispensable requisite for
our appearing in his presence. We should further be grateful because of this
essential attribute in the Godhead; for it is in virtue of his holiness that
evil cannot dwell with him, and that the world will at length be delivered, and
this conclusively, from the wickedness and malice and vile sensualities by
which it is now so disquieted and deformed. Hasten this consummation, O Lord.—Thomas
Chalmers.
Verse
12. Rejoice in the LORD. We must "rejoice evermore";
for even holy mourning hath the seed of joy in it, which the soul finds by that
time it is over, if not in it.—William Cooper, in the "Morning
Exercises."
Verse
12. Rejoice in the Lord.
1.
Our rejoicing in the Lord denotes our taking a very sincere and cordial
pleasure in whatever relates to the ever blessed God, particularly his
existence, perfections, and providence; the discoveries of his will to us,
especially in his word; the interest we have in him, and the relations wherein
we stand to him; his continual protection, guidance and influence; his gracious
intercourse with us in the duties of religious worship; and, finally, the hope
he has given us of fulness of joy, in his beatific and most glorious presence
above.
2.
Rejoicing in the Lord signifies that our joy in God is superior to all our
other joys, otherwise it is a joy unworthy of him, and no way, or not savingly,
profitable to us.
3.
Whatever else we rejoice in, we are to rejoice in such a manner, that we may be
properly said to rejoice in the Lord, even when other things are the immediate
occasions of our joy. The God we serve is not an envious and a malevolent
Being, but exceeding liberal and kind; he has created us with an
inextinguishable desire after happiness, as a secret intimation that he intends
to make us happy, if we do not make ourselves miserable; and while our
principal happiness is lodged in himself, and to be found nowhere else, (in
which he has shown the singular regard he has to our nature), he feeds our
hearts with a thousand little rivulets of joy and satisfaction from created
objects: our bodies are endowed with a variety of senses and appetites, and our
souls with powers and faculties of their own; nor was any one sense or faculty
made in vain, or to lie always idle and useless; but every sense, and much more
every mental faculty, has not one, but a great number of things provided to
entertain it. But then the soul is not to lose itself in this maze and
labyrinth of delight; it is not by this variety to be diverted from that one
infinite good, who eminently contains in himself all the various kinds and
degrees of true joy.—Henry Grove, 1683-1737/8.
Verse
12. Rejoice...and give thanks. Two things are to be observed:
One, that he unites joy in the Lord and praise of God. Rightly: for it is not
possible for a man to praise the Lord truly and from the soul, unless he
rejoices in Him. Another, that he connects the praise of God with the
remembrance of his holiness. And with good reason: for it is the chief use of
divine praise, that by the exercise thereof, we should keep fresh in our souls
the remembrance of God and of all the blessings received from Him. Thus this
verse contains the root and fruit of divine praise. The root is joy in God; the
fruit is the remembrance of God and his goodness.—Musculus.
Verse
12. Ye righteous...all ye that are upright in heart. Some may
say the just or the righteous man may thus rejoice; but where are
any such? "Who can say", saith Solomon, "I have made my heart
clean, I am pure from my sin?" No; "There is not a just man upon
earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." A vain thing may as seem then to
exhort men to rejoice, when the condition annexed is such as excludes all from
rejoicing To what end is it to incite the just to rejoice when there are
none such that may rejoice? The answer is ready at hand in the latter part of
the verse. By just are meant all such as are "upright in
heart", which clause is added partly to exclude the hypocrite, and
partly to temper and qualify the rigour of the term before used, if it were
strictly and exactly taken. So that it is a note as well of extent, as
of restraint.
1.
Of restraint, to exclude from this joy, and all right therein, all
dissemblers, all counterfeit Christians, all hollow hearted hypocrites, that
repent in the face but not in the heart; that make a sour face that they may
seem to fast, saith our Saviour, that justify themselves in the sight of men,
but God seeth their hearts what they are, and seeth them to be far other than
either they should be, or they pretend themselves to be.
2.
Of extent, to extend and enlarge this joy, the ground of it and the
right to it, to all that are single and sincere hearted; and so to give and
afford a share and a portion in it as well to those that are sincerely
righteous on earth, as to those that are perfectly righteous in heaven. It is
as a key to let in the one. It is as a bolt to bar out the
other.—Thomas Gataker.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse
1. The sovereignty of God a theme for joy in many respects and to
many persons, especially when exhibited in a reign of grace.
Verses
3-6. The accompaniments of Christ's gospel advent.
1.
The fire of his Spirit.
2. The light of the word.
3. The commotion in the world.
4. The removal of obstacles.
5. The display of the divine glory.
Verses
4-5.
1.
The terrors which accompanied the giving of the law: "his
lightnings", etc.
2.
The reasons for those terrors. (a) To show the guilt of man. (b) His inability
to keep the law. (c) To show his need of a law fulfiller on his behalf.—G.R.
Verses
4-6. A description of the giving of the law.
1.
The lawgiver's heralds, or, conviction, Ps 97:4.
2.
The effect of his presence, or, contrition, Ps 97:5.
3.
The proclamation of the law, or, instruction (as by a voice from heaven,
Ps 97:6).
4.
The effect of the lawgiving, or, divine manifestation (Ps 97:6, latter
clause).—C.D.
Verse
5. The presence of God in the church her invincible power.
Verse
6. The confusion of heart which will ensue from idolatrous worship,
even if it be only spiritual. Breaking of the idol, disappointment in it,
injury by it, removal from it, etc.
Verse
8.
1.
The world is terrified at the divine judgments.
2. The church rejoices in them, "Zion heard", etc.;
or,
1.
When the world is glad the church is sad.
2. When the world is sad the church is glad.—G.R.
Verse
10.
1.
What you do now: "Love the Lord." Reciprocally, personally,
supremely, habitually, progressively.
2.
What you must do: "Hate evil." Evil working, evil writing, evil
speaking, evil thinking; renounce evil, master it, supplant it.—W.J.
Verse
10.
1.
The distinguishing peculiarity of the people of God: "Ye that love the
Lord."
2.
Its manifestation: "Hate evil."
3.
Its reward: "The Lord preserveth", etc.; "He delivereth",
etc.—G.R.
Verses
10-11. David notes in God three characteristics of a true friend: First
with fidelity and good will He keepeth the souls of the pious. Secondly, with
his power and majesty He delivereth them from their enemies. Thirdly, with his
wisdom and holiness He enlightens and refreshes them.—Le Blanc.
Verse
11.
1. Where
is it sown? The answer to this will come under the following heads, viz. In
the purpose of God, In the purchase of Christ, In the office of the Spirit, In
the promises of the Word, In the work of Grace wrought in the heart, and, In
the preparations made above in glory.
2. When
is the season of reaping? And to this, the answer is, The season of reaping
the first fruits, of reaping in part, is at certain times in the present life;
the season of reaping more fully is at death; and of reaping most fully and
perfectly commences at the day of judgment and is continued throughout
eternity.
(a)
The season of reaping in part falls out at some times within the course of this
present life. Particularly
(1)
Times of affliction have been to the upright, seasons of reaping the joy sown.
By this they have been prepared for sufferings, supported under them, and made
afterwards to forget their sorrows, by reason of the gladness breaking in from
the affecting discovery of what God has done for them, and wrought in them.
Thus God causeth light to arise in darkness, and in a rainy day refresheth them
with a beam from heaven, brightening the drops that fall; brings his people
into the wilderness, and there speaks comfortably unto them.
(2)
Seasons of suffering for the sake of Christ and the gospel, have been seasons
wherein the upright have begun to reap the joy sown. When called to resist unto
blood, striving against sin, they have need of more than ordinary comfort, to
enable them to meet, and hold firm through the fiery trial: and they have found
that then encouragement hath been yielded them in a degree they never before
experienced (Joh 16:33).
(3)
Seasons wherein God has called the righteous to great and difficult service,
have been seasons of reaping the beginnings of joys sown. When their heavenly
Father has lifted up the light of his countenance upon them, and shed abroad
the sense of his love within them, they are prepared to go whither he sends
them, and to do whatever he bids them.
(4)
After sore conflicts with Satan, the upright have been revived by the springing
of the joy sown. After Christ was tempted came an angel to comfort him. And for
the encouragement of his followers he declares, Re 2:17, "To him that
overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white
stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that
receiveth it."
(5)
In waiting upon God in the sanctuary the upright have met with him, and so have
had the beginnings of joy sown.
(b)
A fuller reaping time will be at death; with some as the soul is going; but
with all immediately after its release from the body.
(c)
The season in which the righteous shall reap their joy sown, to the full, and
in perfection, shall be at the last day. Then Christ shall come to be glorified
in his saints, and admired in all them that believe, and lead them all in a
body, and all of them perfected, into that presence of God, where there is
fulness of joy, and where there are pleasures for evermore.—Daniel Wilcox.
Verse
12. Give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. Be
thankful for—
1.
Its unsullied perfection.
2. Its wondrous forbearance.
3. Its place in our salvation.
4. Its approachableness through Christ.
5. Its predicted triumphs.—W.J.
Verse
12.
1.
A remembrance at which the world does not give thanks.
2.
Reasons which make it a matter of thanksgiving with the righteous. Its bearing
on the way of salvation; on the doctrines of the gospel; on the law of the
Christian life.—C.D.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》