Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 96:13
Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
13. Jehovah comes to establish His righteous rule on earth. The predominant aspect of judgement here is not punishment but government, although no doubt government must include punishment (Isa 11:3-4). The verse recurs in Psa 98:9; and it is an echo of Psa 9:8.
and the people with his truth ] Rather, and the peoples in his faithfulness. Cp. Psa 92:2.
The last two lines are omitted in Chron.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Before the Lord – This is altered from 1 Chr. 16. The language there is simply, Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge the earth. The meaning here is, that all these things have occasion to praise the Lord whenever he appears; to rejoice in the presence of Him who has made them what they are.
For he cometh – That is, he will come. He will manifest himself as a righteous judge. He will come to reign over the world, and there will be in his reign universal occasion for joy. The allusion would seem to be to some future time when God would come to reign among people; to dispense justice; to vindicate his people, and to establish truth. The language is such as would properly refer to the anticipated reign of the Messiah, as a reign of righteousness, and is such language as is frequently employed in the Old Testament to denote the character of his reign. There is no reason to doubt that this psalm may be designed to describe the reign of the Messiah, and that the psalmist in this language may have looked forward to that future kingdom of righteousness and peace.
For he cometh to judge the earth … – See this language explained in the notes at Psa 72:2-4; and the notes at Isa 11:2-5. What is here stated occurs now, wherever the gospel reigns in the hearts of people; it will be fully accomplished when the Lord Jesus shall come again and judge the world.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 96:13
Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord.
A summer homily on the trees
I. The lessons from the characteristics common to all trees.
1. This is the first thing we learn from the trees of the wood: life, growth, effort after perfection, suggesting to us what we are here for.
2. Productiveness, fruitfulness, manifestation and justification of the profession of life by fruit; that great characteristic of all trees whereby they produce the bud, the blossom, the fruit, without which they have not accomplished the end for which they exist; without which, at the right time, all professions of life are vain.
3. Beauty, gracefulness, symmetry of parts, proportion. There are Christian men and women not a few whose lives can only best be characterized when we call them lovely; so full of harmony they are, so free in obedience to highest law. We are drawn to them by an instinct we cannot resist; in them and upon them we see the beauty of the Lord. These are the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord by which He is glorified.
II. The lessons from the characteristics peculiar to some trees.
1. This one to begin with, for example, that every tree has its own peculiar quality, in virtue of which it differs from every other: that every individual Christian, every man, has his own peculiar quality in virtue of which he differs, is meant to differ, from every other. If we have been endowed with special gifts and graces it is that these may come out in special work; if we have what nobody else has, it is that we may do what nobody else can. Generally true as it is that trees in the mass are of great use in the economy of nature; in the modification of climate, for example, or in their effect upon animal existence: it is also specially true that individual trees have their own peculiar ways of producing these results. A very special quality of the pine tree is to send its roots not downwards as others that require depth of earth, but obliquely, where if it but get a hold it will live. But in this special quality there is the special work: to be a covert, a protection to the rich harvests that are to be reaped behind their friendly shade. And so in the forest of God there is special work for special gifts. Some are more fitted for the maintenance and defence of moral purity and sound doctrine, others for the more private comforting and building up of weak or wavering seekers after God, and others still for the promotion of true piety among the young. Each has his gift; each his work.
3. The lesson of true worship,–the homage of the creature to the great Creator of all. To the Hebrew the stars rayed forth the glory of the Lord, and the everlasting hills bowed themselves down before the God of the whole earth; the voice of the Lord was upon the waters, His way in the deep, and His path in the mighty waters; the trees of the field rejoiced before Him! And why all this, and for what spiritual end in the upward progress of man? Surely to attune his heart and mind to that spirit of worship, that reverential homage, that glad rejoicing before the Lord for which he, of all the creatures He has made, is most fitted. (Peter Rutherford.)
For He cometh to judge the earth.—
The advent of the Lord
No insinuation is more unfair than this–which is not seldom thrown against the Jews of old–that their conception of Jehovah was that of a local God, who concerned Himself with the affairs of Palestine, but was indifferent to those of the world at large. On the contrary, the marvel is that a people dwelling like the Jews in an obscure corner of the globe, and planted in a district about as large as three or four English counties, should have had such magnificent conceptions of their destiny, and so deep-rooted a conviction of the destined universality of their faith. Not only, however, was it given to Israel of old to see in the truest spirit of prophecy that the earth should be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, the God of Israel, as the waters cover the sea, but with a foresight no less marvellous, and a wisdom very far in advance of the age, it was given to that nation, and to that alone, to perceive that there was an aspect of the Divine judgment in which it would become the object of exulting and triumphant joy. Minos and Rhadamanthus and their attendant horrors were the dream of heathen Greece. The glory of the Divine light which fell upon the hills of Palestine had revealed a more joyous prospect: it was that of all nature singing aloud and clapping her hands for joy at the advent of the Lord of hosts as the recognized judge of all the earth. What a glorious thought it is! Whose heart does not leap up within him when he sees the fields rejoicing in their waving crops as they sway to and fro in the summer breeze? What prospect is more glorious than that of the distant wood, gay with the delicate foliage of returning spring, and glimmering in the sunlight, or dashed with a thousand hues that may vie in brilliancy with those of the garden in her splendour, and which have no counterpart in the autumn tints of England, golden and glorious as they are? These are all sights and sounds more or less familiar to all of us, and the associations they awaken are in the highest degree pleasurable; but whoever associates these images, as the Hebrew poet did, with the thought of the Lord of the whole earth coming to judge the world which He made so fair? And yet why not? Are these sights and sounds of nature out of harmony with God or produced in obedience to His will? If we are strictly in harmony with nature, shall we be in harmony with God, or the reverse? We want the triumph of justice, and truth, and right: nothing less will give free scope to the repressed and stifled voices of praise which this sin-burdened, but otherwise beautiful and glorious earth, longs to raise. We want the abolition of crime and poverty, oppression and ignorance. We want the extinction of selfishness, and of selfish, thoughtless, sinful, God-forgetting luxury. This, and much more than this, is what we want, but we cannot gain or recover it for ourselves. It is not in the power of society at large to give to itself what every separate member of society in his degree feels the want of. There is something wrong here, and that which is wrong here cannot be rectified by the combined efforts of others, not one of whom is free from the same radical defect. What is wanted is for the Lord to come to judgment. When the truth of Christ has free course and is glorified in the heart of man, it is the advent of Christ to judgment. He casts down the proud and lofty, He lifts up the low and humble, He makes the crooked straight, and the rough places plain; He casts out what is base and trivial, and brings in what is pure, and true, and noble. There can be no joy like that which arises in the heart, when for the first time and in truth every thought has been brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, when He, and He alone, is recognized as the Judge and Lord of all. That is, indeed, the foretaste and the earnest of a greater advent to come, an advent which cannot be delayed, and which can alone be hastened by each individual heart being subdued to Christ. But whatever may be the apparent prospects of this future advent–of the coming of this mighty One, whose advent shall be the signal for the bursting forth of the manifold chorus of universal nature–there can be no question as to its ultimate destiny (Isa 40:5). Be it ours, then, to set forward and promote the advent of this great and glorious time, each in his sphere, vocation, and duty. That is the mission of the Christian, to exhibit in himself the operation of a law which is destined to universal recognition, which is even now recognized in a greater or less degree wherever truth, justice, and equity are accepted as the guiding principles of life, and the recognition of which, when it is commensurate with human society and the limits of the human race, will be the mark of the accomplishment of the Divine purposes in the regeneration of the world. (Stanley Leathes, D.D.)
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Psa 97:1-12
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 13. For he coms, he coms. He coms, fyrste to be man. – Sythen he comes to deme the erth.
He sal deme in evenes the erth: – and folk in his sothfastnes. Nothing is evener, or sothfaster, than that he geder with hym perfyte men; to deme and to deperte to the rig hande (thaim) that did mercy: – pase to the lefte hande (thaim) that did it nogt.
The psalmist here in the true spirit of poetry, gives life and intelligence to universal nature, producing them all as exulting in the reign of the Messiah, and the happiness which should take place in the earth when the Gospel should be universally preached. These predictions seem to be on the eve of complete fulfilment. Lord, hasten the time! For a fuller explanation see the following analysis.
ANALYSIS OF THE NINETY-SIXTH PSALM
Although this Psalm was composed by David at the bringing back of the ark, yet most ancient and modern Christian expositors acknowledge it a prophecy of Christ’s kingdom, to be enlarged by the accession of all the Gentiles, and finally, his coming to judgment.
There are two parts in this Psalm: –
I. A general exhortation to both Jews and Gentiles to praise God, Ps 96:1-3.
II. A prophecy of Christ’s kingdom, described by its greatness, Ps 96:4-5; the honours and glory, Ps 96:6; of the majesty of the King, Ps 96:7-8.
1. The amplitude of this kingdom, Ps 96:10.
2. His judicature in it, Ps 96:11-13.
I. 1. The invitation to praise God for the benefits conferred on the whole earth by Christ. Ps 96:1-3. 1. That the praise be full, he thrice repeats, “O sing, sing, sing;” to the honour of the Trinity, says Bellarmine, obscurely intimated in the Old, but plainly to be preached in the New, Testament. 2. “Show forth.” Give praise by thanks and singing. 3. “Declare.” Carry good news – the Gospel of glad tidings.
2. The song to be sung must be new: “Sing unto the Lord a new song.” New, for a new benefit; new, to be sung by new people; new, as being on a most excellent subject.
3. It was to be sung “by the whole earth.” By new men, and all the world over; for God was not now to be known in Judea only, but by all nations.
4. It must be continually sung, from day to day, without cessation; for as one day succeeds another, so should there be a continual succession in his praise.
Afterwards he expresses the benefits for which the whole earth is to praise him, which is for the redemption of the world by his Son.
1. He shows forth his salvation, which he has conferred on mankind by Christ.
2. “Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.” Salvation was a glorious work, full of wonders. And this was to be evangelized, as before to the Jews by the prophets, so now to all people by the apostles.
II. And that this exhortation might appear more reasonable, he presents God as a king, and sets down the greatness, amplitude, and equity of his kingdom.
1. “Sing to the Lord all the earth, for he is Lord of the whole earth.” 1. “The Lord is great.” Great in power, wisdom, goodness, mercy, dominion, riches; great in every way of greatness. 2. “He is greatly to be praised,” or worthy of all praise, for his innumerable benefits. He bestows them, spiritually and temporally, in his creation, redemption, and preservation of the world. What is praiseworthy in any king may be found superlatively in him.
2. “He is to be feared above all gods;” for he can cast body and soul into hell. They though called gods, can do neither good nor hurt; the devils, who set them up, believe that he is above them, and they tremble. Sing to him then, for the supremacy is his; he is above all gods. If there be other gods, show their works; produce the heavens they have made, or the earth they have framed. It is our God alone who “made the heavens, and all things that are in them;” fear him, and not them.
The prophet elegantly derides the heathenish gods, and the heathen for fearing them.
1. For the multitude of them, for they were many; which is contrary to the nature of God, who must be but one, for there can be but one Supreme.
2. For their division: one of the Ammonites; another of the Moabites; one of the Philistines; many of the Assyrians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans: their gods were according to the number of their cities; three hundred Jupiters, thirty thousand deities.
3. They were elilim, Dii minores. Moloch had the rule of the sun; Astarte, of the moon; Ceres, of corn; Pluto, of hell; Neptune, of the sea, c. Their power was not universal, as the power of God ought to be.
4. Lastly, in the opposition, which plainly shows the difference between God and idols. They are but the work of men’s hands. Our God is a creator he made the heavens, and all that is contained in and under them. He then is terrible, and to be feared; not those diminutive, vain, unprofitable gods of the nations.
And so, having removed out of his way all the gods of the nations, he returns to our God and King. Having said “he was great, greatly to be feared, and praised above all gods,” he now sets forth his majesty to the eye of the subject and stranger: Honour, majesty, strength, beauty; so says our prophet: “Honour and majesty are before him, strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.” God is invisible; but his honour and majesty, strength and beauty, may be easily observed in his ordering, governing, and preserving the whole world and his Church; both which may be justly called his sanctuary, and the last his holy place.
He has proved God to be a universal King, and now he endeavours to persuade his subjects, all kindreds of people, to return to their king his tribute, his honour and worship, which he comprehends in these words: Give – bring an offering – worship – fear – proclaim him to be King.
1. “Give unto the Lord;” and again, “Give unto the Lord glory and strength.” Give freely to him, and alone attribute to him the glory of your being and well-being, that he made and redeemed you, and that by the strength of his right hand he has plucked you out of the hands of your enemies. This was the glorious work of his mercy and power.
2. “Give unto the Lord the honour due to his name.” It is a debt; and a debt, in equity, must be paid. The honour due to his name is to acknowledge him to be holy, just, true, powerful: “The Lord, the faithful God,” – “good, merciful, long-suffering,” c. Defraud not his name of the least honour.
3. “Bring an offering, and come into his courts.” Appear not before the Lord empty, as the Jews were commanded to which the prophet alludes. “They had their sacrifices, and we also have our spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ,” to bring; 1Pe 2:5. These are the sacrifices of a contrite heart. Bring these when you enter into his courts, and into his house of prayer.
4. “O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” They who enter into the presence of a king presently fall on their knees in token of submission and homage; in the presence of your King do the same. Adore, and remember to do it in the beauty of holiness; referred to the material temple, it is by relation a holy place, and should not be profaned; a beautiful place, and should not be defaced, but kept beautiful. If referred to the spiritual temple, the temple of the Holy Ghost is to be beautiful with holiness; a holy life, holy virtues, beautiful garments, righteousness and true holiness.
5. “Fear before him, all the earth.” Join fear to your worship, for a man may be bold in the presence of his king. “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with reverence.” There is a fear which arises out, of an apprehension of greatness and excellency in the person, together with our dependence on and our submission to him, which in body and mind makes us step back, and keep at a distance. This kind of fear produces reverence and adoration, and this the prophet here means.
6. “Say among the heathen, the Lord reigns;” or, as some say: “The Lord reigns among the heathen.” Be heralds; and proclaim, with the sound of the trumpet, God reigns, God is King.
The prophet begins to set forth the amplitude of Christ’s kingdom: –
1. Before, it was confined to Judea, but is now enlarged: “All nations are become his subjects; he reigns among the heathen.”
2. Its stability: “The world shall be established, that it shall not be moved.” The laws of this kingdom are not to be altered, as were the laws of Moses, but fixed and established for ever. The Gospel is an eternal Gospel, a standing law.
3. The equity to be observed in it: “He shall judge the people righteously,” for he shall give to those who observe his laws, rewards; to those who despise them, break them, and say, “We will not have this man to reign over us,” condign punishment.
4. The prophet, having described the King, and the state of his kingdom, exults in spirit, as if he had seen him coming to sit upon the throne. He calls, not the Gentiles only, whom it did very nearly concern, but all creatures, to rejoice in him; heaven, earth, sea, trees, fields, c. Although there are who by heaven understand angels by the earth, men; by the sea, troublesome spirits; by trees and fields, the Gentiles who were to believe; yet this need not be thought strange, because such prosopopoeias are frequent in Scripture. The meaning is, that as the salvation was universal, so he would have the joy to be universal: “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord.”
He incites all creatures to rejoice for Christ’s coming, both for the first and for the second: for the first, in which he consecrated all things; for the second, in which he will free all things from corruption, Ro 8:19-22.
1. “For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth.” – Which first part of the verse the fathers refer to his first coming, when he was incarnate, and came to redeem the world by his death: and was to the end to judge, that is to rule and govern, the world by his word, ordinances, and Spirit.
2. And again: “He shall come to judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth:” which coming, though terrible to the wicked, will be joyful and comfortable to the righteous. For, says our Lord, “Lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth near;’ and to comfort them, and terrify the wicked, he tells them he will judge with equity, that is, in justice and in truth, according to his word and promise. He will accept no man’s person, but render to every man according to his works.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Before the Lord; at the presence and approach of their Lord and Maker.
To judge the earth; to take to himself that power and authority which belongs to him, to set up his throne and dominion among all the nations of the earth.
With his truth; or, in his faithfulness, i.e. so as he hath promised to do. He will certainly and abundantly fulfil all Gods promises made to his people.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Before the Lord,…. At the face of him, in his presence; meeting him as he comes, and rejoicing at his coming: this clause is to be joined to everyone in the two preceding verses:
for he cometh, for he cometh; which is repeated to show the certainty of Christ’s coming, and the importance of it, and the just reason there was for the above joy and gladness on account of it; and it may be also, as Jerom and others have observed, to point out both the first and second coming of Christ, which are both matter of joy to the saints: his first coming, which was from heaven into this world, in a very mean and abject manner, to save the chief of sinners, to procure peace, pardon, righteousness, and eternal life for them, and therefore must be matter of joy: his second coming, which will be also from heaven, but in an extremely glorious manner, without sin, or the likeness of it, unto the salvation of is people: it will be as follows,
to judge the earth; the inhabitants of it, small and great, high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, quick and dead, righteous and wicked; when all works, words, and thoughts, good and bad, will be brought to account; and every man will be judged, as those shall be, with or without the grace of God:
he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth; according to the rules of justice and equity; he will truly discern and rightly judge; his judgment will be according to his truth; he will approve himself to be the righteous Judge, and his judgment will appear to be a righteous judgment; for which he is abundantly qualified, as being the Lord God omniscient and omnipotent, holy, just, and true; see Ac 17:31.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(13) For he cometh, for he cometh.Notice the striking repetition, the natural expression of gladness.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. He shall judge the world with righteousness This description of the happy state of the earth accords with that of John, (Rev 20:4🙂 “I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.” Comp. Dan 7:22; Dan 7:27.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
All the redeemed of God are uniformly represented as looking unto, and longing for, the second coming of Christ. How the Church longed for Christ’s first coming, is often represented in scripture. And Jesus comforted his disciples with the blessed prospect, when from signs and tokens they were to lift up their heads, when their redemption drew nigh; Luk 21:28 . Hence, when Jesus, at the close of the canon of scripture, saith, Behold, I come quickly, the Church with one voice is represented as crying out, Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Rev 22:20 .
REFLECTIONS
READER! we have been attending to this gospel Psalm, this new song of the church, in honour of her Redeemer: but can we truly and heartily join in it? Is it not the same new song, or to the same effect, as John heard the redeemed in heaven sing? Indeed, how should it be otherwise; for it is wholly of salvation? And if the church above sing it, ought not the church below? And if every individual of that church, at the fountain-head of bliss, sing it, ought not every individual of the church, though in a wilderness-state below, to sing the same? Reader! have we learned it? Can we sing it? Do we live in it, and delight in it? Yes! yes! if Jesus be precious, surely we shall at least lisp out the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light; and the song of Moses and the Lamb will be our daily song in this house of our pilgrimage.
Precious Author of all our joy, Jesus, by that endearing name would my soul look up to thee, and sing of thee, and of thy praise, all the day long! As the thirsty earth receives the falling shower; as the darkened land rejoiceth in the opening day; so let my soul wait and long for thee, and welcome thee and thy coming, every day, and all the day, in songs of the most sublime adoration, love, and praise. And while enjoying thee and thy presence in my own soul, I would declare thy glory among the heathen. I would tell of the wonders of thy love among all people. And though full well I know, blessed Jesus, that all praise must fall infinitely short of thine excellent greatness, yet would I put forth all my strength, and call upon all the heathen to rejoice, at the blessed thought that Christ reigneth. And, Lord, while singing thy praises, this should swell my joyful song, that Jesus cometh, and is coming, and will come, to judge the earth, to take to himself his great name, and live, and love, and rule forever. Oh, Lord! may it form a sweet and harmonious note in my song, that Jesus, who cometh as the judge of all the earth, cometh also as the Lord and Saviour of his people. He is coming to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe. Come then, Lord Jesus! come, and be glorified in my soul, and be glorified in my salvation! For surely I know, and believe, that every knee shall bow before thee, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 96:13 Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
Ver. 13. Before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh] Certainly, suddenly, happily, &c., for this is the sum of all the good news in the world, that Christ cometh and cometh; that is, saith Basil, once, to show the world how they shall be saved; and a second time, to judge the world for neglecting so great salvation, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Before. See note on “presence” (Psa 95:2.
He cometh . . . He cometh. Figure of speech. Epteeuxis (App-6), for emphasis.
the world = the habitable world. Hebrew. tebel. No rest or righteous rule for the world and its inhabitants until He comes. The next Psalm is ” the New Song”, celebrating this by anticipation.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
he cometh: Psa 98:9, Isa 25:8, Isa 25:9, Mal 3:1, Mal 3:2, 1Th 4:16-18, 2Th 1:10, 2Ti 4:8, Tit 2:13, 2Pe 3:12-14, Rev 11:18, Rev 22:10
judge: Psa 96:10, Psa 67:4, Rev 19:11
Reciprocal: Deu 32:36 – For the 1Sa 2:10 – judge 1Ch 16:33 – the trees Psa 7:8 – The Lord Psa 9:4 – right Psa 9:8 – General Psa 33:4 – all his Psa 50:4 – judge Psa 58:11 – verily he Psa 82:8 – Arise Psa 135:14 – the Lord Ecc 12:14 – General Isa 2:4 – And he Isa 16:5 – judging Isa 42:3 – he shall Isa 51:5 – mine Eze 31:9 – all the trees Joe 3:12 – for Mic 4:3 – he shall judge Zec 14:5 – the Lord Mal 3:5 – I will come Mat 25:6 – Behold Mat 25:32 – before Joh 5:22 – General Joh 5:30 – I judge Rom 2:2 – judgment Rom 2:16 – God Rom 3:6 – for then 1Th 3:9 – before 2Ti 4:1 – who Heb 10:30 – The Lord shall Heb 12:23 – God 1Pe 2:23 – judgeth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 96:13. Before the Lord At the presence and approach of their Lord and Maker. For he cometh to judge the earth To take to himself that power and authority which belong to him, and to set up his throne and dominion above all the nations of the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness He shall reform the earth, and govern mankind by righteous and merciful laws; and the people with his truth Or, in his faithfulness; that is, so as he has promised to do. He will certainly and abundantly fulfil all his promises made to his people, and faithfully keep his word with all those that observe his commandments. The coming of Christ, says the last-mentioned author, is two-fold; first, he came to sanctify the creature, and he will come again to glorify it. Either of his kingdoms, that of grace or that of glory, may be signified by his judging the world in righteousness and truth. If creation be represented as rejoicing at the establishment of the former, how much greater will be the joy at the approach of the latter, seeing that notwithstanding Christ be long since come in the flesh, though he be ascended into heaven, and have sent the Spirit from thence, yet the whole creation, as the apostle speaks, Rom 8:22, groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, expecting to be delivered from the bondage of corruption, &c., yea, we ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves, waiting for the redemption of the body; when, at the renovation of all things, man, new made, shall return to the days of his youth, to begin an immortal spring, and be for ever young.