Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 69:30
I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
I will praise the name of God with a song – As the result of my deliverance, I will compose a song or a psalm especially adapted to the occasion, and suited to express and perpetuate my feelings. It was in such circumstances that a large part of the psalms were composed; and since others besides the psalmist are often in such circumstances, the Book of Psalms becomes permanently useful in the church. It is not always necessary now to compose a song or hymn to express our feelings in the circumstances in which we are placed in life – for we may commonly find such sacred songs ready at our hand; yet no one can doubt the propriety of adding to the number of such by those who can do it, or of increasing the compositions for praise in the church in view of the ever-varied experience of the children of God.
And will magnify him – Will exalt his name; will endeavor to make it seem greater; or, will spread it further abroad.
With thanksgiving – I will use expressions of thanks to make his name more widely known.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 69:30-36
I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
Moral states of mind worthy of cultivation
I. A noble resolution (Psa 69:30). There are many ways of praising God: in our writings, conversations, actions.
II. A sound doctrine (Psa 69:31). To obey is better than sacrifice; so is praise, which is the essence of obedience. Better–
1. Because it is good in itself. Sacrifice is not a virtue, praise is; it is essentially valuable, valuable in all worlds; sacrifice is not. Better–
2. Because it is more universal. Praise is everywhere. It is the music of the universe; sacrifice is not. There are no sacrifices amongst the angels; but praise throbs in every pulse of thought and emotion. Better–
3. Because it is more enduring. Praise will chime through the ages.
III. An encouraging assurance (Psa 69:32). The man who lives a joyous life of gratitude towards God cannot fail to exert a morally beneficent influence over those with whom he is brought into connection. The accents and actions of a devout life fall on the heart of society as sunbeams and showers. No man can be good without doing good. No man can be happy in the highest sense without brightening the lives of others. The spiritually joyous man wakes his social circle into music.
IV. An exultant devotion (Psa 69:34). He would have all join him in the great song of praise. True devotion destroys the isolation of the soul.
V. A patriotic hope (Psa 69:35). (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
30, 31. Spiritual are betterthan mere material offerings (Psa 40:6;Psa 50:8); hence a promise of theformer, and rather contemptuous terms are used of the latter.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I will praise the name of God with a song,…. The “name” of God is himself, his perfections and attributes; which are to be “praised” by all his creatures, and especially his saints; and here by the Messiah, who sung the praise of God with his disciples at the supper, a little before his death; and in the great congregation in heaven, upon his ascension thither, having finished the great work of man’s redemption. For as it was no lessening of his glory, as Mediator, to pray to God when on earth, it is no diminution of it to praise him in our nature in heaven; see Ps 22:22. This being said to be done with a song agrees with Heb 2:12; and is an instance of praising God this way, and which could not be prayer wise; as well as is a confirmation of the practice of New Testament churches, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, by the example of our Lord;
and will magnify him with thanksgiving: to “magnify” is to make great; but God cannot be greater than he is. He is great above all gods; he is greater than all. But he is magnified when his greatness is owned and declared, and that is ascribed unto him; and particularly when “thanks” are given to him for favours; for then is he acknowledged by men to be the Father of mercies, the author and giver of them; and that they are unworthy of them, and that all the glory belongs to him. Christ, as man, not only prayed, but gave thanks to his Father when on earth,
Mt 11:25; nor is it unsuitable to him, as such now in heaven, to give thanks and praise for being heard and helped in a day of salvation; or at the time when he wrought out the salvation of his people, and glorified all the divine perfections.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Comfort for the Persecuted; Thanksgiving and Praise. | |
30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. 31 This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. 32 The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. 33 For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. 34 Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein. 35 For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. 36 The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein.
The psalmist here, both as a type of Christ and as an example to Christians, concludes a psalm with holy joy and praise which he began with complaints and remonstrances of his griefs.
I. He resolves to praise God himself, not doubting but that therein he should be accepted of him (Psa 69:30; Psa 69:31): “I will praise the name of God, not only with my heart, but with my song, and magnify him with thanksgiving;” for he is pleased to reckon himself magnified by the thankful praises of his people. It is intimated that all Christians ought to glorify God with their praises, in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs. And this shall please the Lord, through Christ the Mediator of our praises as well as of our prayers, better than the most valuable of the legal sacrifices (v. 31), an ox or bullock. This is a plain intimation that in the days of the Messiah an end should be put, not only to the sacrifices of atonement, but to those of praise and acknowledgment which were instituted by the ceremonial law; and, instead of them, spiritual sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving are accepted–the calves of our lips, not the calves of the stall, Heb. xiii. 15. It is a great comfort to us that humble and thankful praises are more pleasing to God than the most costly pompous sacrifices are or ever were.
II. He encourages other good people to rejoice in God and continue seeking him (Psa 69:32; Psa 69:33): The humble shall see this and be glad. They shall observe, to their comfort, 1. The experiences of the saints. They shall see how ready God is to hear the poor when they cry to him, and to give them that which they call upon him for, how far he is from despising his prisoners; though men despise them, he favours them with his gracious visits and will find a time to enlarge them. The humble shall see this and be glad, not only because when one member is honoured all the members rejoice with it, but because it is an encouragement to them in their straits and difficulties to trust in God. It shall revive the hearts of those who seek God to see more seals and subscriptions to this truth, that Jacob’s God never said to Jacob’s seed, Seek you me in vain. 2. The exaltation of the Saviour, for of him the psalmist had been speaking, and of himself as a type of him. When his sorrows are over, and he enters into the joy that was set before him, when he is heard and discharged from his imprisonment in the grave, the humble shall look upon it and be glad, and those that seek God through Christ shall live and be comforted, concluding that, if they suffer with him, they shall also reign with him.
III. He calls upon all the creatures to praise God, the heaven, and earth, and sea, and the inhabitants of each, v. 34. Heaven and earth, and the hosts of both, were made by him, and therefore let heaven and earth praise him. Angels in heaven, and saints on earth, may each of them in their respective habitations furnish themselves with matter enough for constant praise. Let the fishes of the sea, though mute to a proverb, praise the Lord, for the sea is his, and he made it. The praises of the world must be offered for God’s favours to his church, Psa 69:35; Psa 69:36. For God will save Zion, the holy mountain, where his service was kept up. He will save all that are sanctified and set apart to him, all that employ themselves in his worship, and all those over whom Christ reigns; for he was King upon the holy hill of Zion. He has mercy in store for the cities of Judah, of which tribe Christ was. God will do great things for the gospel church, in which let all that wish well to it rejoice. For, 1. It shall be peopled and inhabited. There shall be added to it such as shall be saved. The cities of Judah shall be built, particular churches shall be formed and incorporated according to the gospel model, that there may be a remnant to dwell there and to have it in possession, to enjoy the privileges conferred upon it and to pay the tributes and services required from it. Those that love his name, that have a kindness for religion in general, shall embrace the Christian religion, and take their place in the Christian church; they shall dwell therein, as citizens, and of the household of God 2. It shall be perpetuated and inherited. Christianity was not to be res unius tatis–a transitory thin. No: The seed of his servants shall inherit it. God will secure and raise up for himself a seed to serve him, and they shall inherit the privileges of their fathers; for the promise is to you and your children, as it was of old. I will be a God to thee, and thy seed after thee. The land of promise shall never be lost for want of heirs, for God can out of stones raise up children unto Abraham and will do so rather than the entail shall be cut off. David shall never want a man to stand before him. The Redeemer shall see his seed, and prolong his days in them, till the mystery of God shall be finished and the mystical body completed. And since the holy seed is the substance of the world, and if that were all gathered in the world would be at an end quickly, it is just that for this assurance of the preservation of it heaven and earth should praise him.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
30. I will celebrate the name of God in a song. The Psalmist now elevated with joy, and sustained by the confident hope of deliverance, sings the triumphant strains of victory. This psalm, there is every reason to believe, was composed after he had been delivered from all apprehension of dangers; but there can be no doubt that the very topics with which it concludes were the matter of his meditation, when trembling with anxiety in the midst of his troubles; for he laid hold upon the grace of God by assured faith, although that grace was then hidden from him, and only the matter of his hope. God is here said to be magnified by our praises; not because any addition can be made to his dignity and glory, which are infinite, but because by our praises his name is exalted among men.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
30, 31. I will praise the name of God The just distinction between the righteous and the wicked, and their treatment according to character, prayed for Psa 69:22-28, shall vindicate the pure in heart, and call forth their praise and thanksgiving, which shall be more pleasing to God than the offering of an ox or bullock.
That hath horns and hoofs This description simply distinguishes the animal as full grown and possessing the “legal qualifications for being sacrificed.” Of the same class of clean animals they might also take for food, signifying that “man, offering the support of his own life, appeared to offer that life itself.” Witsius. Leviticus 11, and Deuteronomy 14.
The humble shall see and be glad It is this class who are interested in the regular process of justice in government. These, taking God’s side of law and holiness, pray that both may be upheld, which can only be, in the case of obstinate offenders, by the enforcement of penalty. Psa 69:30-34 magnify the praises of Jehovah for his righteous government and the redemption of his people.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Christ had an eye to the glory that should be revealed, in all his sufferings. So saith the Holy Ghost; by the apostle, when he calls upon his people to be looking unto him, Heb 12:2 . And hence the two great leading points of prophecy concerning Christ, as our glorious Head, were of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory which should follow; 1Pe 1:11 . Reader! it is blessed when a believing soul can take up the words of his adorable Head, and hath a well-formed and well-grounded assurance that he is of the seed of Christ, which shall inherit his holy mountain forever. See Isa 65:9-10 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
Ver. 30. I will praise the name of God ] i.e. Agnitmn Deum. I will thankfully agnize and recognize God’s great goodness to me in this deliverance, with mine uttermost zeal and skill.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
praise. The sufferings never mentioned without praise. Compare Psalm 22. Isa. 53, &c.
name : i. e. God Himself. Compare Psa 20:1.
of. Genitive of Apposition. App-17.
with a song. Hebrew. beshir. Figure of speech Paronomasia with mishshor, an ox, in Psa 69:31.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 69:30-33
Psa 69:30-33
ASSURANCE OF BEING ANSWERED
“I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify him with thanksgiving.
And it will please Jehovah better than an ox,
Or a bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
The meek have seen it, and are glad:
Ye that seek after God, let your heart live.
For Jehovah heareth the needy,
And despiseth not his prisoners.”
“A song … thanksgiving … will please Jehovah better than an ox” (Psa 69:30-31). As Matthew Henry noted, “This is a plain intimation that in the days of Messiah an end should be put to animal sacrifices. There is no disparagement here of the sacrifices which God commanded under the Law of Moses, but a declaration of David’s inability to offer any kind of the prescribed sacrifices, due to his being denied access to the tabernacle; he would nevertheless honor God with song and thanksgiving instead of the sacrifices which he was not able to offer.
The most bizarre, unreasonable and fantastic interpretation of this passage which we have encountered is that of Taylor who offered the following:
“Here the psalmist rated an offering of song and thanksgiving higher than one of animal flesh; and perhaps it was such a point of view which had incited so many of his fellows against him … He did not mean to abolish the temple; he just wanted to put first things first, subordinating traditional rites to the exercise of spiritual worship.
The imagination of Hans Christian Andersen was not any better than that! The fantasy indulged by many critics that the more perceptive prophets disapproved of animal sacrifices is totally incorrect. All of the passages that are cited as alleged proof of such a notion, namely, Amo 5:21-24; Jer 7:21-23; Psa 40:6; Psa 50:8-14; Psa 51:16-17, are absolutely devoid of any such teaching. See our comments upon all of these passages en loco. What was always disapproved in those passages was animal sacrifice offered without the true devotion, praise and thanksgiving which were intended to accompany them.
“It will please Jehovah better than … a bullock that hath horns and hoofs” (Psa 69:31). The pagans who offered such animals to their gods, frequently decorated them by polishing or gilding their horns and hoofs and by placing garlands of flowers upon their necks as they were led to the slaughter. Adam Clarke believed that the mention of “horns and hoofs here” actually referred to such gilding. The meaning of these words would then be, “A song and thanksgiving would please Jehovah better than a bull all decorated for a sacrifice.” Clarke noted that, “The horns, etc., of consecrated animals are thus ornamented in the east till the present time.
“The meek have seen it and are glad… Jehovah heareth the needy” (Psa 69:32-33). “Here the psalmist feels that the most amazing fact of experience is not distress, frustration, conflict, misunderstanding, retribution, or even death itself; it is that, the Lord hears the needy.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 69:30. Songs and other poetical compositions were a prominent manner with David in expressing his sentiments. Magnify him meant to recognize the greatness of God.
Psa 69:31. Animal sacrifices were required by the law and were pleasing to God. However, they were material things and in comparison did not equal spiritual praise.
Psa 69:32. The humble would include those too poor to present a costly sacrifice like a bullock. But when they saw that God was pleased with such services as sincere praise, which was something that the poorest could offer, then they were made glad. Heart shall live means they would have the heart to seek God when they saw that what they had to offer was pleasing to him.
Psa 69:33. Despiseth means to belittle or think lightly of another. If the poor are in the prison or other distress the Lord will consider their case nevertheless.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
I will: Psa 28:7, Psa 40:1-3, Psa 118:21, Psa 118:28, Psa 118:29
magnify: Psa 34:3
Reciprocal: Lev 4:31 – a sweet Psa 35:18 – give Psa 50:14 – Offer Psa 108:2 – Awake Psa 138:4 – when they hear Hos 14:2 – the calves Mal 3:3 – an Act 4:24 – they Rom 12:1 – a living Phi 2:9 – God Heb 13:15 – the sacrifice 1Pe 1:11 – the glory