Jehovah a Sure Defense against Apostasy.

A song of degrees, setting forth the manner in which God honors the trust of His people, both by protecting them and by leaving the hypocrites to the doom of the wicked.

v. 1. They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, established as firmly as the mount of God’s holy Church, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever, the gates of hell being unable to prevail against it, Mat 16:18.

v. 2. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, the entire chain of mountains upon several of whose summits the capital was located, so the Lord is round about His people from henceforth even forever, a wall of defense against all enemies. The figure of the psalmist emphasizes the impregnable nature of the Church’s protection both against attack and against temptation.

v. 3. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous, that is, the scepter of wickedness, as an emblem of superior power, would not abide upon the inheritance of Israel, upon the Holy Land, and therefore also not upon the Church, lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity, namely, under the pressure brought to bear upon them by the tyrants, causing the believers finally to join the oppressors, in order to find relief, a situation which has been found all too often in the history of the Church.

v. 4. Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good and to them that are upright in their hearts, who are not given to hypocrisy and have not turned aside under the stress of temptation.

v. 5. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, leaving the right road and striking out in false paths and devious byways of their own choosing, the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity, with whom their hypocritical and wicked behavior causes them to be classed; but peace shall be upon Israel, the full prosperity of spiritual blessings will rest upon those who are truly members of the Church of God, the true Israel, Gal 6:16. Everlasting punishment is the end of the hypocrites and the oppressors; everlasting peace is the reward of those who place their trust in the Lord with unwavering confidence.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION

This a psalm, mainly, of comfort; but with comfort, prayer (Psa 125:4) and threatening (Psa 125:5) are blended. God’s people are always under God’s protection. He will always “be good” to them. But the double-minded he will infallibly cast out.

Psa 125:1

They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion; rather, are as Mount Zion; i.e. are as firmly fixed and established as “the mount of God,” which cannot be removed, but abideth forever (comp. Isa 28:16).

Psa 125:2

As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people. This is the true cause of his people’s stability, which is like that of his holy mountain. The ubiquitous God stands round about his people, and protects them on every side. The mountains that am “round about Jerusalem” are, on the east, the Mount of Olives; on the south, the Hill of Evil Counsel; on the west, the ridge beyond the valley of Jehoshaphat; and on the north, the high ground about Scopas. All these are higher than the platform upon which the city is built. From henceforth even forever. Always round about his true people, though he may have to forsake those who have first forsaken him.

Psa 125:3

For the rod of the wicked; literally, the scepter of wickedness. Shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous. The possession, or inheritance, of the righteous, i.e. the land in which they dwell. This may fall for a time under the dominion of the wicked, but shall not “rest”i.e. continueunder such dominion. Lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity; i.e. lest their patience be worn out, and they fall from grace. God will not try men beyond that they are able (1Co 10:13).

Psa 125:4

Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good. Give them their deservings. For their “goodness” repay them with “goodness.” And to them that are upright in their hearts. Exegetical of the preceding clause. Only the “upright in heart“ are really “good.”

Psa 125:5

As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways. The word translated “crooked ways” occurs only here and in Jdg 5:6. It means properly “by-paths,” deviations from the straight path of right. The Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity. God shall give them no better portion than he assigns to the open evildoers, since their heart is not really whole with him. But peace shall be upon Israel; rather, but peace be upon Israel. The psalmist winds up with a prayer, not a prophecy.

HOMILETICS

Psa 125:1-5

Divine providence.

Does righteousness answer? Is piety rewarded? Is the good man much the better for his goodness? That is the question, both old and new, suggested by the psalm. The reply is in the affirmative; but the fourth verse indicates that the writer’s mind is not altogether untroubled by what he has seen. Nor is ours. There is much that, at first sight, perplexes us. We may see the usurper break his oath, cut down his countrymen with the sword, seize the reins of office, and reign for many years upheld by military power; we may see the statesman climbing by unscrupulousness and stratagem to the highest post in the kingdom, and maintaining himself there by the same devices; we may see the fraudulent merchant or director, the charlatan, the unprincipled adventurer, making himself rich at the expense of his dupes. Iniquity, impiety, roguery, triumphs. On the other hand, we sometimes see the good man brought down from the place of honor and of influence, the devout man struggling hard with financial difficulties or domestic trials, the whole company of afflictions gathering at the door and saddening the heart of the holy. And we sayDoes not the red which belongs to the wicked rest on the lot of the righteous? Does God do good to those that are good? The answer is found in such truths as these. We find when we look on and in, that

I. SIN, WRONGDOING, IS REWARDED AS IT DESERVES TO BE. It is not only that:

1. High-handed wrong is usually punished in the end; that the guilty empire goes out in defeat and disaster; that the unscrupulous statesman falls from power and is dishonored; that the fraudulent merchant and scheming adventurer come to exposure and ruin. That is very frequently, perhaps ordinarily, the case; for “the sword of Heaven is not in haste to smite, nor yet doth linger.” But it is true that:

2. Sin is always tending downward. Vice, sloth, cruelty, fraud, falsity,these lead down, step by step, to poverty and want, to sickness and suffering, to dishonor and disgrace, to early death. And:

3. Sin means misery. Unhappiness, arising not only from reduced circumstances, but from the condemnation and abandonment of the good, and from the stings and smarts of conscience. Moreoverand this is too often overlooked:

4. Sin means inward and spiritual ruin. Even if the human judge passes no sentence, and the guilty man enters no prison-door, is there no penalty paid? There isin moral and spiritual degradation; in the sinking of the soul into a condition in which all is lost that makes manhood a noble thing, in which the spirit bears nothing of the image of its Maker, in which nothing is left of a character but what is mean and base and ugly in the sight of heaven. The rod that belongs to the wicked rests on the wicked. Guilt bears its penalty; the soul that sinneth dies.

II. GOODNESS, WORTH, IS REWARDED AS IT DESERVES TO BE. It is true that the good man is not always fortunate or successful, has not always abundance of gold and silver. Should we wish that he had? Should we wish that piety and purity, that unselfishness and nobility of spirit, that mercy and patience, were always paid in cash, or even in human honor or in high position? Should we like holiness to have its price in the market? No. Our God is too wise and kind to place it at that level. To do that would be to dishonor it and to injure us. What he does for his own is, nevertheless, very much and very great. Consider:

1. The evils from which he saves them. The good man looks back and thanks God with fervent spirit for saving him from the worst evils into which he might have fallen; not only from suffering and sorrow, but from remorse and shame, from darkness and degradation, from the wreck and ruin into which he has seen many of his fellows fall. He has trusted in the Lord, and he has been as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed; he has been preserved in his integrity. God’s upholding power has been beneath him, his Divine protection has been around him, even as the mountains are round about Jerusalem.

2. The positive good which he does them.

(1) He ensures the necessaries of human life. He promises that his people shall “not want any good thing” (Psa 34:9, Psa 34:10). Jesus Christ assures us that to those who seek first the kingdom of God “all these [needful] things shall be added” (Mat 6:33).

(2) He gives us great spiritual blessings. Peace is upon the Israel of God (Psa 125:5); joy is the inheritance of the holy (Rom 5:11; Php 4:4); hope is in their hearts, an uplifting power that sustains under every burden, and sends the pilgrim on his way with cheerful heart and elastic step.

(3) He give us himself. The Lord himself is round about his people; his presence is with us everywhere. God is with us, guiding, guarding, befriending, enlarging, enriching us. We are glad in him. He is to us, as to Abraham, our “exceeding great Reward.” It is well with the righteous now: what will it be when the glories of the future are revealed?

HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY

Psa 125:1-5

Such as cannot be moved.

There can be little doubt, so it seems to me, that these psalms, from one of which our text is taken, were all of them songs of the exiles returning from their captivity in Babylon. Their very name”Songs of Degrees”denotes that they were sung as the people went up towards their land, their city, and the sanctuary of the Lord. But the frequent allusions to the Exile, to its degradation and sorrow, to the almost complete destruction which had there all but overtaken them, and then to their preservation and restoration, all show that in these fifteen psalms we have the devout utterances of those whom God had once suffered to be in exile, but whom he had not only graciously preserved therein, but now had wonderfully restored. So that we may picture the long line of the returning captives as they journeyed on over the weary waste of rock and sand which stretched between the place of their exile and their beloved home. We listen to them refreshing and cheering their hearts from time to time by singing one or other of these holy psalms. Alter their return, these psalms appear to have been collected together, and to have formed part of their national liturgy, and were sung, as they well deserved to be, when their city and temple were again built and dedicated to the Lord. There is a beautiful progression in theman advance in thought and expression, harmonizing with the commencement, progress, and completion of the return from Babylon to the city of God. The first tells how, in their distress, the exiles cried unto the Lord, and utters their lament over their long sojourn in the strange land. The nextthe hundred and twenty-firstis one which, it is probable, formed the evening psalm, as the tents were pitched, and the whole encampment lay down to rest. Then did they lift up their eyes to the Lordthe Lord that kept Israel and who neither slumbered nor slept. The next is a song of gladness in view of their once more standing in the house of the Lordthe gladness of those who had long been hindered in the enjoyment of any such privilege. The next recalls their prayertheir earnest, pleading prayer, which they offered up because of the contempt of the proud and the scorning of their luxurious stranger-lords. And the next celebrates with joyous rapture the great deliverance which God gave them: “Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth.” Such is the spirit of the whole. And then comes the devout conclusion from all their experiencethe blessedness of trusting in the Lord. Perhaps it was sung as the exiles drew near to Jerusalem and Mount Zion, and saw the mountains round about her, and the Mount Zion which abideth for ever. As those beloved heights, on which their fathers had gazed with delight, reared themselves on high, unchanged amid all the storm and tumult which had surged around and upon them, they seemed to the devout Israelites a type, not only of the Divine guard over Israel, encompassing his people even as these mountains “were round about Jerusalem,” but a type also of the stability, the permanence, the immovability, of all those who trust in the Lord. “They who trust in the Lord shall be,” etc. No object was more familiar to the devout Jew than Mount Zion and the mountains round about Jerusalem. As often as they went up to the house of the Lord, and day by day, all those who dwelt in or near Jerusalem, as did most of those who came back from the Exile, Zion and the surrounding heights were conspicuous before them. And good was the use they made of them. They beheld in them a symbol of their God, and a promise of what they themselves should be if they put their trust in him. Thus did this familiar everyday scene speak to them. Happy are they who, from the common surroundings of their everyday life, the many gifts of God’s love which daily they enjoy, hear and listen to a voice which speaketh to them such holy truths as these! As one has well said, “Believing Englishmen, you may specially bless God that your country gives you an admirable picture of your own security, by dwelling alone, separated by the floods from all other nations. This is the security of our beloved isle.”

“He bade the ocean round thee flow;
Not bars of brass could guard thee so.”

They that trust in the Lord shall be as these happy islands, which shall not know the rod of the oppressor, for the Lord has guarded them with a better defense than walls or bulwarks. Hebrew comparisons were most fit for Hebrew believers, but those nearer home should serve us as theirs served them. But now to turn to this blessed truth itself which our text declaresthe ever-abiding, the immovable stability of them that trust in the Lord.

I. CONSIDER THE BLESSING HERE PROMISED. To “be as Mount Zion, which cannot,” etc. From the days of Melchizedek, in the early patriarchal ages, right on and down to our own, Jerusalem has been an historic place. It has never been moved. Other great cities, like that of Nineveh, Babylon, and the cities of Asia, we can now but taintly trace where they stood. But Jerusalem has not only preceded, but has long survived them all. But in what sense can God’s people be said to be as Mount Zion!

1. Of the Church of God it is historically true. If by violent persecution or other calamity she has been driven from one regionas from all North Africait has only been to settle more immovably in other and wider lands. There is no more reassuring argument to the mind anxious for the welfare of the Church of God than her history in the past. This psalm is truer of her than it was of Israel.

2. Of the individual believer it is also true; for he cannot be moved. His feelings may be. He may, as did the psalmists oftentimes, imagine that “the Lord has cast him off for ever, and hath in anger shut up his tender mercies.” But it is not so really. Read the triumphant challenge of St. Paul at the close of Rom 8:1-39. That tells the real truth, as doth this psalm here. For the city of Divine grace lieth foursquare, like the city of God told of in the Apocalypse, and is defended with all those within itas God’s people areby the mighty walls of God’s omnipotence, righteousness, love, and graceeven the grace of the Holy Spirit working within us. Therefore is this psalm true.

II. THOSE FOR WHOM THIS BLESSING IS DESIGNED. “They that trust in the Lord.” Now, this trust is:

1. A very simple thing. Anybody can trustold and young, rich and poor. It requires no long study, no store of learning.

2. And it may be a very imperfect thing. Not mature, not strong and mighty at all; but yet it is trust, like him who cried, “Lord I believe: help thou mine unbelief.”

3. It does not matter how or where we may have been brought to it. Blessed be God!

III. THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THIS TRUST AND SO GREAT BLESSING.

1. Because God so delights in our trust.

2. It is the transforming grace.

3. It identifies us with Christ in his life.

4. It devitalizes our connection with the first Adam, and grafts us into Christ.S.C.

Psa 125:3-5

The lot of the righteous.

The previous verses have told how secure it is; these add other facts concerning it.

I. THE ROD OF THE WICKED SHALL NOT REST UPON IT.

1. It may come upon the righteous. Often had done so; but it should not continue. It has been thought that reference is made here to the troubles of the righteous Nehemiah, by reason of the opposition and treachery he had to meet with (see Neh 2:16; Neh 6:10-14, Neh 6:17). It may be so; but the truth is ever applicable.

2. If it continue outwardly, it will not inwardly. With the wicked, when suffering comes, there is no alleviation, no blessed peace of God, no communion with him, no bright hope, no sustaining Holy Spirit. But these are all in the lot of the righteous. God’s saints have ever enjoyed them. Hence it matters but little, if the inward grace be given, whether the outward rod be removed or no.

3. But it generally is removed both outwardly and inwardly. It is not suffered to be permanent. The troubles of the righteous are but as going through a tunnel; it may be very long and very dark and very drear, but it is only a tunnel, and ere long the light is reached again.

II. GOD WILL NOT SUFFER THEM TO BE TEMPTED ABOVE THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO BEAR. This is the reason given why “the rod of the wicked shall not rest,” etc.

1. There are other reasons. God’s love for his people. He has no pleasure in their pain. No, but in their affliction he is afflicted. Hence “he will not always chide,” etc. (Psa 103:1-22.). Then, because they are in Christ (cf. Rom 8:1).

2. But there is this reason also. It would defeat the very end God has in view. He desires his people to be perfected in righteousness. But if the “rest of the wicked” always “rested,” etc.that unmitigated, unalleviated rodit would be more than our poor frail humanity could bear. The righteous would be discouraged, and this would be fatal to them, as it ever is. The condition of fidelity is to be strong and of a good courage.

III. THEIR LOT WILL BECOME BRIGHTER AND BRIGHTER. (Verse 4.) The prayer simply states what is God’s perpetual way. He is good to them that are good, adding ever to his grace (Pro 4:18).

IV. BUT MUST NEVER BE DEPARTED FROM. To turn aside from it is certain misery (verse 5). The most wretched souls on the face of the earth are those that have turned aside from God to wicked ways, such as are all the ways of sin.S.C.

HOMILIES BY R. TUCK

Psa 125:1

Stability out of trust.

The key-note of this psalm is a fear lest the restored Israel should again prove faithless and backsliding, as in the older time. “The pious psalmist trembles lest the blasts of foreign tyranny, which have swept upon the sacred nation with such protracted severity, should uproot it from its basis of true religion. The long domination of a heathen power during the recent Exile, and the present molestations of the semi-idolatrous Samaritans, must doubtless have had their effects on the weak-hearted among the psalmist’s countrymen. In the Dresent poem, therefore, words of consolation and of threatening are naturally blended. The faithful, says the psalmist, need not be terrified, for calamity shall not endure; they have a firm foundation, which cannot totter, and Jehovah is to them a bulwark, deterring the oppressive foe who would pervert them from their holy faith.” Mount Zion should not be confused with Mount Moriah. It represents the people as a whole, the nation as a nation, not exclusively regarded in its religious obligations and relations. The poetical conception of a mountain is firmness, because resting on broad and deep foundations. The earthquake is thought of as the most awful of forces, because it can even shake the mountains. The rootage of the mountains at the very center of the earth is a figure of the rootage a nation or a soul has by its trust in God. Or as the cedar on the hillside, it is free to wave in the storm-winds, because it clasps and twines about the rock of God.

I. STABILITY CANNOT COME OUT OF CIRCUMSTANCES. They do but shake us to and fro, and make us stagger up and down. Illustrate from the various experiences of the Israelite nation. No kind of restfulness can possibly be gained while we wait on circumstances.

II. STABILITY CANNOT COME OUT OF KNOWLEDGE. “For knowledge is of things we see,” and these all lie in the range of the circumstantial. It is curious that men should have such confidence in the certainty of knowledge, when there is nothing in the world so fluctuating. What men stoutly affirm they know today they relegate to the list of exploded theories to-morrow. Being a creature, man’s secret of rest must be the dependence of faith, and not the certitude of knowledge. A very striking illustration of the instability of the results of even advanced learning is given by Mr. L. Hastings. The following is a list of the discordant hypotheses of the so-called “Higher Criticism,” published since 1850, on the origin and authorship of the Old and New Testament books: “For Genesis there have been 16 theories, Exo 13:1-22, Lev 22:1-33, Num 8:1-26, Deu 17:1-20; total for Pentateuch, 76 theories. For Jos 10:1-43, Jdg 7:1-25, Rth 4:1-22, Samuel 20, Kings 24, Chronicles 17, Esdras 14, Neh 11:1-36, Est 6:1-14; total for historical books, 113. For Job 26:1-14, Psa 19:1-14, Pro 24:1-34, Ecclesiastes 21, Canticles 18; total for poetical books, 108. For Isa 27:1-13, Jer 24:1-10, Lamentations 10, Eze 15:1-8, Daniel 22; total for great prophets, 98. For all the minor prophets, 144. Total for the Old Testament, 539. For Mat 10:1-42, Luk 9:1-62, Mar 7:1-37, Joh 15:1-27; total for Gospels, 41. Act 12:1-25, Paul’s Epistles 111, other Epistles 44; total for New Testament, 208. Grand total of theories for the entire Bible, 747. Of these 603 have already gone into oblivion, and there is no reason to fear that many of the remaining 144 may not soon follow them to the shelves of the libraries, to be dusted no more.” Or illustration may be taken from scientific knowledge. So incomplete and uncertain is even such knowledge, that a scientific book more than ten years old is now regarded as out of date and untrustworthy. We can never find security in our own particular knowledge, seeing that we are ever growing out of our own past of imperfection.

III. STABILITY CAN ONLY COME OUT OF TRUST. It may seem strange to say, but the most reliable thing is the human heart. “Many waters cannot quench love.” Let it once get its grip, it holds tight, and will die rather than loosen that grip. But when we speak of trust, two things are in mind:

(1) the stability which comes out of trust as an exercise of the whole force of a man’s being; and

(2) the stability which comes by the trustworthiness of him on whom we rely. The grip may be strong, but that which is gripped may be uncertain and shakable. Our stability is guaranteed only when he in whom we trust is absolutely reliable, and the trust that we repose in him is wholly undivided and entire. “Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.”R.T.

Psa 125:2

The encircling of Divine defense.

“The Lord is round about his people.” Robinson says, “The sacred city lies upon the broad and high mountain range which is shut in by the two valleys Jehoshaphat and Hinnom. All the surrounding hills are higher. On the east, the Mount of Olives; on the south, the so-called Hill of Evil Counsel, which ascends from the Valley of Hinnom; on the west the ground rises gently to the border of the great wady; while on the north the bend of a ridge which adjoins the Mount of Olives limits the view to the distance of about a mile and a half” (comp. Zec 2:4, Zec 2:5, “wall of fire round about her”). Delitzsch says, “The holy city has a natural circumvallation of mountains, and the holy nation that dwells and worships therein has a still infinitely higher defense in Jahve, who encompasses it round.” Thomson says that “none of the surrounding hills, not even Olivet, has any relative elevation above the north-western comer of the city itself. But Jerusalem is situated in the center of a mountainous region, whose valleys have drawn around it in all directions a perfect network of deep ravines, the perpendicular walls of which constitute a very efficient system of defense.”

I. DEFENSE “ROUND ABOUT” PUTS LIMITS TO ATTACK. Illustrate by the fear of Elisha’s servant of the Syrian attack upon them. When he saw the encircling host of God, he knew that their power to attack was in actual Divine restraint. That defense frustrates plans. Or illustration may be taken from the raising of a siege by an army which covers the retreat of the invaders. All their schemes of attack fail, and it is as much as they can do to attend to their own security. So the good man may always have this confidence. He can never be subjected to an unawares attack. Its enemies must always take count of the defense that is round about him. They must deal with our God, not only with us; and our God will surely say, “Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further.”

II. DEFENSE “ROUND ABOUT” GIVES COMPLETENESS TO OUR SAFETY. What Elisha’s servant saw was an absolute unbroken circle. The distinction between human and Divine protections lies in just this completeness. The best circle human love draws round us is incomplete somewhere; so it never can be wholly trustworthy. There is always some undefended place which makes us vulnerable. God’s circle is drawn completely round. The foe cannot come in, and we cannot go out. Illustrate by encircling walls of ancient cities.R.T.

Psa 125:3

Delivered in order to be righteous.

“The power of the oppressors, the enemies of God’s people, shall not abide upon the land. The trial is to prove faith, not to endanger it by a too sharp pressure; lest, overcome by this, even the faithful put forth a hand (as in Gen 3:22) to forbidden pleasure, or (as in Exo 22:8) to contamination; through force of custom gradually persuading to sinful compliance, or through despair of good, as the psalmist (Psa 73:13, Psa 73:14; see, too, Psa 37:1-40.; Num 13:30) describes some in his day who witnessed the prosperity of wicked men.” Observe what is the supreme anxiety of the psalmist: “That the righteous put not forth their hands unto iniquity.” Israel had been redeemed from the Captivity, that it might be a “righteous nation,” and its supreme anxiety ought to be keeping righteous.

I. THE PURPOSE OF DIVINE REDEMPTION IS NOT REMOVAL OF PERIL. Not entirely. This is not the main purpose. It is incidental. It is necessary as preparation. The great redemption has been much misapprehended, because its relation to the removal of penalty has been exaggerated. Save for its moral influence upon him, to lie under a penalty is not one of the worst things that can happen to a man.

II. THE PURPOSE OF DIVINE REDEMPTION IS NOT SAFETY. It involves and secures safety, but this again is only incidental. It is not only a mistake, but an enfeebling mistake, to be resting in an assurance that we “are saved, and safe.” That, after all, is no more than a comfortable circumstance, which only too readily nourishes self-confidence and pride.

III. THE PURPOSE OF DIVINE REDEMPTION IS RIGHTEOUSNESS. That is the absolute purpose, within which all others are embraced. Israel was redeemed from Egypt, to be a people holy unto the Lord. Israel was restored from Babylon, to be a righteous nation. God’s thought, in undertaking a redemptive work in any man, is the witness that man will make by his righteousness. No profession, and no works, can ever take the place of this one thing. If called, we are called to be “saints.”

IV. WHAT GOD‘S REDEMPTION MAKES US WE OUGHT TO KEEP. It is the fear of Israel’s falling from its high ideal that distresses the psalmist. He dreads “the righteous putting forth his hand unto iniquity.” “He that is righteous must be righteous still.”R.T.

Psa 125:4

The claim of the upright.

“Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts.” The upright man has a right to plead on the ground of his uprightness. But observe that the right to plead is quite different from the right to demand; and that the claim of the upright is based on the Divine mercy, consideration, and promise. The man is what God would have him be. The man may claim God’s promises of blessing to those who are what he would have them be.

I. THE CLAIM OF THE UPRIGHT IS BASED ON HIS RECEPTIVITY. The man wants God’s blessing, is ready for it, and is open to receive it. But this is something new for self-satisfied, self-serving man. It indicates another spirit. This man will be prepared to make the best of God’s blessings when they come. The hindrances of self-will, divided interests, and insincerity are taken out of the way. It is as if the photographic plate were now made sensitive to the Divine blessing. The real reason for the holding off of Divine blessing is usually our unfitness to receive. Therefore is the culture of our inward moods of such first and supreme importance. God is to us as we are.

II. THE CLAIM OF THE UPRIGHT IS BASED ON THE NATURE OF THINGS. Like ever comes to like. Like is kin with like. Just as friends and true lovers come together by a kind of natural affinity, so do things. Clean things come to clean. Intelligent things come to intelligent persons. Sincere things come to sincere persons. Truth comes to men of truth. God’s goodness comes to men of goodness. This is embodied in familiar sayings, such as this, “Virtue is its own reward.” True, here are disturbances which break into the natural order; but we do well to keep in mind that the working of the natural order continues, nevertheless. “Righteousness tendeth unto life.”

III. THE CLAIM OF THE UPRIGHT IS BASED ON THE DIVINE PROMISES. Here we may think of the special, but conditional, promises given to the restored Israelite nation. But the special thought, running in the line of the previous suggestions, is

(1) that the Divine promises assure to us the continued working of the natural order; and

(2) that the Divine promises assure the intervention of Divine wisdom and love in those things which disturb, and tend to break up, the natural order. “To the upright thou wilt show thyself upright.”R.T.

Psa 125:5

God is against the willful.

The Targum reads,” And those that turn after their depravity, he shall bring them into Gehenna as their portion, with the workers of falsehood.” Literally, the first sentence of the verse reads, “bend their crooked paths,” i.e. so turn their paths aside as to make them crooked (Jdg 5:6). “The expression does not necessarily denote a going over to heathenism; it would describe the conduct of those who, in the time of Jeremiah, made common cause with the enemies of Israel.” “The emphasis is on truth of heart and steadfastness, as against the turning back to the old wickedness of idolatry, which had drawn down God’s righteous anger. The backslider has desired to cast in his lot with the ungodly; that desire shall be fulfilled to his ruin.” “The lukewarm and sly, false, and equivocal ones, are in no way inferior to the open, manifest sinner, as a source of danger to the Church.” Carefully notice that it is incipient, not pronounced, willfulness which is here in consideration. The fixedly willful are called the “workers of iniquity.” The persons here are those who are willful, but do not realize that they are. The figure is of persons who bend about, from this side to that, of the right road, though they do not step over into by-paths. They do not walk straight on, and steadily. “The wavering, unsteadfast, half-hearted disciple shall be as the hypocrite and rebellious.” Illustrate from the warnings of the Epistle to the Hebrews.

I. THE SPIRIT OF WILLFULNESS NEEDS DEALING WITH IN ITS BEGINNINGS. Illustrate by the kindly warnings sent to King Saul, when the spirit of self-will began to be encouraged, and by the reproofs of the living Christ to the seven Churches of Asia. Dealing with it is difficult, because

(1) its first germs in the character are not easily detected;

(2) its process of growth is secret and insidious. And yet it is in pulling up the first blades of the weeds that the hope of the garden lies.

II. THE DIVINE AID IS READY FOR JUST THAT STAGE OF OUR WORK. It comes:

1. As the discovery of the beginnings of the evil in our hearts. Saul would have gone on sell-deluded, but for the Divine arrest and revelation.

2. As the warning of the real character of the evil. At first the blades of the tare are very like the blades of the wheat. We need a Divine discrimination.

3. As the offer of help for immediately dealing with the evil. When the cancer has threaded the tissue with its fibers the case is hopeless.R.T.

HOMILIES BY C. SHORT

Psa 125:1-5

The safety of those who trust in God: a lesson from experience.

“They that trust in the Lord are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abideth for ever,” etc. (Psa 125:1).

I. THEY REST ON AN IMMOVABLE FOUNDATION. “Cannot be moved, but abideth forever.”

II. ARE SURROUNDED AND PROTECTED AS BY A WALL OF MOUNTAINS. The distant mountains of Moab most probably alluded to, as Jerusalem was surrounded by no great mountains. God’s protecting presence interposes immense insurmountable difficulties between us and our dangers. And this will be for ever so. “I will be unto her as a wall of fire round about.”

III. GOD PROTECTS THEM AGAINST THE EVIL CONSEQUENCE OF PROLONGED SUFFERINGS AT THE HANDS OF OTHERS. (Psa 125:3.) From despair of God’s succor, and being drawn away from a steadfast following of righteous courses.

IV. THE SENSE OF GOD‘S PROTECTING STRENGTH AND GOODNESS CREATES THE PRAYER FOR STILL GREATER GOOD. “Do good to them that are good to the upright in heart.” The Christian will omit the fifth verse from his prayers. Prayer for good we can all feel warranted in using, but prayer for evil we dare not utter before God.S.

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

Psalms 125.

The safety of such as trust in God. A prayer for the godly, and against the wicked.

A Song of Degrees.

Title. Shiir hammangaloth.] The title of this psalm does not tell us its author. Bishop Patrick supposes it to have been a pious exhortation to the people, to trust in God, when Sennacherib’s army threatened them with destruction; and perhaps, says he, these were some of the comfortable words which, as we read, Hezekiah spoke to them, 2Ch 32:6-8 when God chastised them by that rod of his anger, as he calls Sennacherib, Isa 10:5 which the Psalmist here foretold should not long afflict them. But Dr. Delaney supposes it to have been made by David just before the attack of the strongholds of Sion; and in this light he would consider the Psalmist as answering the objections which we may imagine to have been made in a council of war held upon this occasion, from the great strength of the place; and religiously reminding them, that under the good providence of God they might be confident of surmounting all difficulties. Life of David, book 2: chap. 6.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Psalms 125

A Song of Degrees

They that trust in the Lord

Shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.

2As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,

So the Lord is round about his people

From henceforth even for ever.

3For the rod of the wicked shall not rest

Upon the lot of the righteous;
Lest the righteous put forth
Their hands unto iniquity.

4Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good,

And to them that are upright in their hearts.

5As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways,

The Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity:

But peace shall be upon Israel.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Contents and Composition.The confession of the immovableness of the trust of those that believe in Jehovah is grounded upon His everlasting protection of His people (Psa 125:1-2). The same consideration confirms the believing expectation, that the prolonged continuance of an unrighteous dominion in the Holy Land, which would serve to tempt the righteous themselves, would be impossible (Psa 125:3). A prayer is then uttered for Gods intervention, according to the law of retribution, along with a wish for the blessings of peace and prosperity upon Israel (Psa 125:4-5).

The nature of the contents favors the supposition that the people were not in Exile but in the Holy Land; whether, at the time, under a heathen government, or under their own rulers who were unrighteous and faithless, is not definitely indicated. Nor can we discover how far the temptation in the situation described leads to actual consequences. Many word-forms point to a late period.

[Hengstenberg, Alexander, Perowne, and others, see, especially in Psa 125:3, allusion to the circumstances of the nation after the return from captivity. The last named refers, more definitely, to Neh 2:16; Neh 6:17, and to other passages where the influences of the neighboring tribes, hostile or otherwise, had wrought evil among the Israelites. On other hand Delitzsch and Hupfeld are undecided as to the proximate occasion of the Psalm. The conclusion of Dr. Moll, above, coinciding with theirs, is probably the only safe one.J. F. M.]

Psa 125:1-2. Abideth forever; literally: will sit, not: will be inhabited. Even though Mt. Zion should be laid waste (Mic 3:12) it does not lose thereby its continued existence or its destiny (Mic 4:1). The interpretation which understands the heavenly Zion (many older expositors) transfers the stand-point, and mistakes the fundamental conception, which is that of the firmness, immovableness, indestructibleness of mountains generally, and of Mt. Zion in particular. [Hengstenberg: The figure is destroyed by those ancient and modern expositors who understand by Mt. Zion itself something spiritual, the Church. The Church is rather indicated by those who trust in the Lord, and their firmness is likened to that of the eternal Zion. The beauty of the form of verse 2 in the original is considerably lessened by the rendering in E. V. The translation is:

Jerusalemmountains are round about her,
And the Lord is round about His people
Henceforth and to eternity.J. F. M.]
From this image, which makes prominent the idea of a firm foundation, the course of thought passes over immediately to a related and yet different one, which describes figuratively the protection which God vouchsafes to His people. As in Isa 33:21, this is done by the figure of a broad stream, and in Zec 2:9 by that of a fiery wall, so here the figure is that of the protecting mountains which surround Jerusalem. The sacred city lies upon the broad and high mountain range, which is shut in by the two valleys, Jehoshaphat and Hinnom. All the surrounding hills are higher: in the east, the Mount of Olives; on the south, the so-called Hill of Evil Counsel, which ascends from the Valley of Hinnom; on the west, the ground rises gently to the border of the great Wady, as described above; while in the north the bend of a ridge, which adjoins the Mount of Olives, limits the view to the distance of about a mile and a half (Robinson).

Psa 125:3 ff. The lot is the Holy Land, allotted as an inheritance to the righteous by God (Psa 16:5).Many expositors, by the sceptre of unrighteousness, iniquity, the crooked paths, the evildoers, understand specially heathen disorders and participation in them, as a consequence of departure from the precepts laid down in the Mosaic law, and a deviation from the ways of God therein enjoined. But the words themselves do not require any such special reference.Delitzsch cites a talmudical riddle on Psa 125:4 mentioned by the Midrash: There came a good person (Moses, Exo 2:2), and received something good (the Law, Pro 4:2) from the Good (God, Psa 145:9), for the good (Israel, Psa 125:4).

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Those who lay their foundations upon God are not moved; those who commit their defence to Him do not fall; those who cleave to His ways do not perish.Even the righteous are not kept absolutely from falling; but God gives the temptation such an issue that we can bear it.Former faithfulness does not secure against the punishment of later infidelity; we must wait until the end.

Luther: It is much easier to teach than to believe, that we, who have the divine word and believe in it, are surrounded by divine aid. If we were surrounded by walls of steel or fire, we would feel secure and bid defiance to the devil. But it is the character of faith not to boast of what the eye beholds, but of what the word reveals. Our only drawback is, therefore, that we have no spiritual eyes, but follow only those of the flesh.Whether the conflict be inward in the spirit or outward in the flesh, the victory shall, through Christ, be ours at last. But this promise is hard to be believed, both by us who suffer and by our persecutors. But beware of appointing to God a time for our deliverance.God allows us to be tempted even to the uttermost. When it has come to the last extremity, and we have nothing before us but despair, then He delivers us, and in death gives us life, and in the curse a blessing.

Starke: Because God is eternal, so is he also, after his nature, who is in God and is united to Him by faith.If God has placed thee in a lofty position, remember that the sceptre which thou dost wield is not a sceptre of wickedness, but that thou art to wield it to His glory, for the good of the Church, and for the protection of the righteous.Let none avenge themselves, or seek by violence or disturbance to free themselves from godless power. No! The Lord will do it at His own time. We are to commit our cause to Him.True religion is based upon uprightness of heart. But how rare it is! How easily do we let the single eye become deceitful again through false views!Sin is the ruin of the people, and yet they cling firmly to it and despise the true way of life.Let us live as we wish to die, and before our end comes, let us learn to rest only in God.Those who are companions in wickedness need not think it strange if they are companions in punishment.

Frisch: It is a great offence to the understanding to see such misfortune attend the pious and sincere heart in the world.Oetinger: Those who do not conform to Gods commands do not imagine that they are so wicked as those who transgress them. But they are equally sinful. They only seek more to palliate their offence and to excuse it by dishonest devices.Guenther: None should do evil that good may come. God alone will turn the evil to good; and, at the right time, He will cause the sceptre of the ungodly to be broken.Taube: The powerful influence of Gods grace: how within it makes firm the hearts of believers, and without it surrounds them with its protection.

[Matt. Henry: All that deal with God must deal upon trust, and He will give comfort to those only who give credit to Him, and make it appear they do so by quitting other confidences and venturing to the utmost for God. The closer our expectations are confined to God, the higher our expectations may be raised from Him.Scott: The malice and enmity of the wicked shall prove only a correcting rod, and not a destroying sword.Bp. Horne: Let not our trust in God be a presumptuous, ungrounded assurance; but let it be a confidence springing from faith unfeigned, out of a pure heart, a good conscience, and fervent charity.Let us never forget that the promises to us, like those to Israel, are conditional. Because of unbelief, they were broken off, and we stand by faith.J. F. M.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

DISCOURSE: 717
TRUST IN THE LORD

Psa 125:1-2. They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people, from henceforth even for ever.

IN forming our estimate of men, we are apt to look at their actions only; and even our own characters, also, we try by that standard. But it is the habit of the mind that chiefly marks the man; and by that we shall be estimated at the tribunal of our God. Doubtless actions are important, as indicative of principles from whence they flow; and by them, we, who can only see the external fruits, are constrained to judge of the quality of the root from whence they proceed. But the heart-searching God looks at the root itself; and approves or disapproves of men according to the real quality and habit of their minds.

In reading the words before us, we might estimate at a low rate the character here designated, did we not analyze the terms by which that character is described. But, if we take sufficient pains to explore the import of the words, and the true nature of the grace which they delineate, we shall see that the person who trusts in the Lord is a very exalted character, and that the blessedness here accorded to him is precisely such as becomes a holy God to confer upon him.
Let us consider,

I.

The character here described

Trust in the Lord does not import a mere general acknowledgment of God as the Governor of the universe: it implies incomparably more, even a deep conviction of his special providence, and of his incessant attention to every the minutest concern of his own peculiar people. It implies, I say, this conviction,

1.

In our views

[Let it be considered what trust is. It of necessity imports some engagement on the part of him in whom that trust is reposed. Consequently, a general notion of Gods ordering all things according to the counsel of his own will, however deep that conviction be, will not amount to the grace that is here described. The devils possess that conviction, in its utmost possible extent; but they cannot trust in God, because they have no promise given them, nor any ground whatever to hope that he will ever interpose in their favour. The person who trusts in the Lord must see him as a Covenant-God in Christ Jesus, engaged to accomplish for his chosen people all that their necessities can require ]

2.

In our habits

[With such views of the Deity must be united a total renunciation of every other hope, and a committing of all our concerns to him, for body and for soul, for time and for eternity. There must be a going forth of the soul to him in prayer; a spreading of our wants before him; and a declared affiance in his great and precious promises. Viewing him as both a God of providence and of grace, we must fully expect his attention to our every request, to order every thing for our good, and to save us in Christ Jesus with an everlasting salvation. Our expectations must be co-extensive with his engagements: and, as he has engaged to be a God unto us, we must expect from him all that unerring wisdom, unbounded power, unsearchable love, and unchanging faithfulness, can effect This is, in fact, what the Apostle elsewhere calls the life of faith in the Son of God; and nothing short of this will answer the character in my text. But, wherever this is, there shall also be,]

II.

The privileges connected with it

There shall be,

1.

Stability

[Mount Zion was a place of so much strength, that, from the days of Joshua to the time of David, the Israelites could never take it. They occupied Jerusalem: but Mount Zion was too strong for them; insomuch that the Jebusites who inhabited it laughed them to scorn, vaunting, that if there were none left but blind and lame to defend the fortress, the Jews should never be able to prevail against it [Note: 2Sa 5:6-8.]. But far more impregnable is the fortress in which they dwell who trust in the Lord: The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth to it, and is safe [Note: Pro 18:10.]. They may be assaulted both by men and devils; but they are assured, that God will keep them by his own power, through faith, unto everlasting salvation [Note: 1Pe 1:5.]. They are in the Saviours hands; and he has pledged himself that none shall ever pluck them out of his hands [Note: Joh 10:28-29.]. In themselves they remain weak as ever, as both David and Peter have clearly shewn; but in Christ they are strong: and in the Covenant which is made with them in Christ, and which is ordered in all things and sure, it is engaged, on the part of God, that they shall never be moved, and that the gates of hell shall never prevail against them [Note: Mat 16:18.].]

2.

Protection

[The hills that were round about Jerusalem protected it on every side; so that the Romans, it was confessed, would not have been able to subdue it, if the garrison themselves had not madly assisted them by their mutual contentions. But far more effectually does the Lord protect his people, being to them a wall of fire round about them [Note: Zec 2:5.]; a wall which will not only ward off the assaults of their enemies, but will itself destroy their assailants. In fact, he keeps them even as the apple of his eye [Note: Deu 32:10.]: and sooner shall the ordinances of heaven and earth pass away, and the foundations of the world be searched out, than any one of them shall be left to perish [Note: Jer 31:35-37 and Isa 54:9-10.]. To assure them of this, he has confirmed his covenant with an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, they might have strong consolation [Note: Heb 6:17-18,], and live assured that nothing shall ever separate them from his love [Note: Rom 8:34-39.].]

To all of you, then, I say,
1.

Get just views of your God and Saviour

[Be not satisfied with a general acknowledgment of him; but study his nature as revealed in the inspired volume, and acquaint yourselves with his dispensations as exhibited in the sacred records. See him delivering his people Israel out of Egypt, and supporting them in the wilderness, and establishing them in the land of Canaan; and then rest assured, that he is the same God, alike powerful, alike gracious, and alike faithful to all his engagements ]

2.

Let your expectations from him be to the utmost extent of your necessities

[There should be no limit to them, provided only they do not contravene the Lords will, and tend to the subversion of his glory. However wide you open your mouth, he will fill it; and however large your desires be, he will fulfil them [Note: Psa 145:19.]. Listen not, under any circumstances, to flesh and blood, like Asa, who in his sickness sought to the physicians: but even though sense should stand in direct opposition to faith, as in Abrahams call to sacrifice his son Isaac, be strong in faith, giving glory to your God [Note: Rom 4:20.]. Your divine Master, who has engaged himself for you, would have you to be without carefulness. His command is, Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known unto God; and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus [Note: Php 4:6-7.]. Only cast your care thus on him, and you will soon know, by sweet experience, the force of that appeal which David made to the all-seeing God; O Lord God of Hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee [Note: Psa 84:12.]!]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

CONTENTS

This Psalm is a very proper supplement to the former, for it celebrates the divine goodness in defending his people, and securing them from their enemies.

A Song of Degrees.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

The sacred writers all delight in using strong images and figures, by which to represent divine things: as in this instance, God’s covenant engagements in Christ are compared to strong mountains, the mountains of Jerusalem, fixed and immoveable. His promises indeed are all of this kind: yea and amen, 2Co 1:20 . So sometimes the Lord represents his faithfulness and presence as a wall of fire round about, Zec 2:5 . Such is Jesus, to encircle his people, so that they can never be approached for their hurt. The Lord sheaved this to the prophet’s servant, when the invisible host of heaven, which is always taking its stand about the Lord’s people, were made visible to his eyes, at the request of the prophet, 2Ki 6:15-17 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Bible Mountains

Psa 125:2

Are there many mountains mentioned in the Bible? Are they lumped under one generalization? They are not so massed, they are spoken of in detail, as if each were almost a living thing or a living church or pillars of some vaster edifice. May we not bring them usefully into the whole action of our daily life and service and suffering? Some mountains are red with blood, some soft with dew, but both the hills were set up by Him Who buildeth all things.

I. Who can forget Mount Moriah? who could pronounce that sweet word frivolously? All the hillside is alive with thoughts, and the thoughts are almost winged things, fluttering and flying and shaking from their wings great suggestions and pensive yet triumphant memory. Yours has been a poor landscape if there is no Moriah.

II. Is there not somewhere a hill of fellowship, a kind of council-chamber amid the rocks, a high place where certain men that seemed to be the very pillars of society are closeted? Yes, there is a hill of that kind. What is its name? Tabor. You love the name. Are not names as birds that sing their own songs? Do you not realize even in Tabor solemnity, possibility, suggestion? Who was on Tabor? Moses and Elias and Jesus. There must be hills that are as council-chambers in the Church and in the individual heart, Tabors on the top of which the most eloquent must be silent, and therefore the more eloquent.

III. Are there any other severe mountains in the Old Testament? Yes, there is one severest of all; surely this mountain is nought but rocks; you could not plant the simplest flower in those crannies so high and solemn. I refer to the Mount Sinai, the mount of law, the mount where the eternal righteousness was, so to say, born in this bitter, gruesome Bethlehem. He is either a great man or a small one who is independent of the Commandments. We may in some way plant beautiful flowers on the grim hill; that is surely not forbidden; or we may by the providence of God so enlarge the plain into garden land as to include the mountain; let it stand, but give it a new and blessed environment.

IV. We must have the rock, and its companion law, and in our yearnings after something quieter we may find our holy prayer lovingly and sufficiently answered by taking a glimpse at another mountain. What mountain is that? It is Mount Hermon. ‘As the dew upon Hermon.’ Dew is often to us more acceptable than lightning and snow and crushing tempest, though all these may be sanctified and ennobled by the great voice of law and claim of righteousness.

V. Can there be more mountains in this mountainous land of the Bible? Yes, a hundred more; we can touch but two of them. There is a mountain I should like to see; it is the mount of vision from one of whose peaks men catch glimpses of the land they long to go to. It is Mount Nebo. I would not care to see the specific and nameless grave amid the solitudes of Nebo, it would be enough for me to know that one sorely tried life climbed the steeps of Nebo that he might catch sight of another land, while Jordan rolled between his poor old heart and that green Canaan. There are such mountainous times in the history of our souls.

VI. It was so on Mount Olivet. Jesus climbed that Olivet hill that He might leave it for ever behind Him as a mere letter or a term in geography. The ending-place was the beginning-place in the history of Christ; He did not end on Olivet; Olivet was to the dear Saviour a beginning, the point at which He started, a point therefore never to be forgotten. Blessed are they who climb Olivet, for they shall not die. The most beautiful sentence in the whole history of burial is to be found in connexion with this same Olivet, as also in connexion with old Nebo. Moses we know nothing about as to his death or his burial-place, and Jesus did not die on Olivet, but ascended; herein is the poem complete, the poem of Moses and the Lamb. Nebo and Olivet shoulder each other in the memory of a common and most blessed and significant history.

Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. III. p. 108.

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson

PSALMS

XI

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS

According to my usual custom, when taking up the study of a book of the Bible I give at the beginning a list of books as helps to the study of that book. The following books I heartily commend on the Psalms:

1. Sampey’s Syllabus for Old Testament Study . This is especially good on the grouping and outlining of some selected psalms. There are also some valuable suggestions on other features of the book.

2. Kirkpatrick’g commentary, in “Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges,” is an excellent aid in the study of the Psalter.

3. Perowne’s Book of Psalms is a good, scholarly treatise on the Psalms. A special feature of this commentary is the author’s “New Translation” and his notes are very helpful.

4. Spurgeon’s Treasury of David. This is just what the title implies. It is a voluminous, devotional interpretation of the Psalms and helpful to those who have the time for such extensive study of the Psalter.

5. Hengstenburg on the Psalms. This is a fine, scholarly work by one of the greatest of the conservative German scholars.

6. Maclaren on the Psalms, in “The Expositor’s Bible,” is the work of the world’s safest, sanest, and best of all works that have ever been written on the Psalms.

7. Thirtle on the Titles of the Psalms. This is the best on the subject and well worth a careful study.

At this point some definitions are in order. The Hebrew word for psalm means praise. The word in English comes from psalmos , a song of lyrical character, or a song to be sung and accompanied with a lyre. The Psalter is a collection of sacred and inspired songs, composed at different times and by different authors.

The range of time in composition was more than 1,000 years, or from the time of Moses to the time of Ezra. The collection in its present form was arranged probably by Ezra in the fifth century, B.C.

The Jewish classification of Old Testament books was The Law, the Prophets, and the Holy Writings. The Psalms was given the first place in the last group.

They had several names, or titles, of the Psalms. In Hebrew they are called “The Book of Prayers,” or “The Book of Praises.” The Hebrew word thus used means praises. The title of the first two books is found in Psa 72:20 : “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” The title of the whole collection of Psalms in the Septuagint is Biblos Psalman which means the “Book of Psalms.” The title in the Alexandrian Codex is Psalterion which is the name of a stringed instrument, and means “The Psalter.”

The derivation of our English words, “psalms,” “psalter,” and “psaltery,” respectively, is as follows:

1. “Psalms” comes from the Greek word, psalmoi, which is also from psallein , which means to play upon a stringed instrument. Therefore the Psalms are songs played upon stringed instruments, and the word here is used to apply to the whole collection.

2. “Psalter” is of the same origin and means the Book of Psalms and refers also to the whole collection.

3. “Psaltery” is from the word psalterion, which means “a harp,” an instrument, supposed to be in the shape of a triangle or like the delta of the Greek alphabet. See Psa 33:2 ; Psa 71:22 ; Psa 81:2 ; Psa 144:9 .

In our collection there are 150 psalms. In the Septuagint there is one extra. It is regarded as being outside the sacred collection and not inspired. The subject of this extra psalm is “David’s victory over Goliath.” The following is a copy of it: I was small among my brethren, And youngest in my father’s house, I used to feed my father’s sheep. My hands made a harp, My fingers fashioned a Psaltery. And who will declare unto my Lord? He is Lord, he it is who heareth. He it was who sent his angel And took me from my father’s sheep, And anointed me with the oil of his anointing. My brethren were goodly and tall, But the Lord took no pleasure in them. I went forth to meet the Philistine. And he cursed me by his idols But I drew the sword from beside him; I beheaded him and removed reproach from the children of Israel.

It will be noted that this psalm does not have the earmarks of an inspired production. There is not found in it the modesty so characteristic of David, but there is here an evident spirit of boasting and self-praise which is foreign to the Spirit of inspiration.

There is a difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint. Omitting the extra one in the Septuagint, there is no difference as to the total number. Both have 150 and the same subject matter, but they are not divided alike.

The following scheme shows the division according to our version and also the Septuagint: Psalms 1-8 in the Hebrew equal 1-8 in the Septuagint; 9-10 in the Hebrew combine into 9 in the Septuagint; 11-113 in the Hebrew equal 10-112 in the Septuagint; 114-115 in the Hebrew combine into 113 in the Septuagint; 116 in the Hebrew divides into 114-115 in the Septuagint; 117-146 in the Hebrew equal 116-145 in the Septuagint; 147 in the Hebrew divides into 146-147 in the Septuagint; 148-150 in the Hebrew equal 148-150 in the Septuagint.

The arrangement in the Vulgate is the same as the Septuagint. Also some of the older English versions have this arangement. Another difficulty in numbering perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another, viz: In the Hebrew often the title is verse I, and sometimes the title embraces verses 1-2.

The book divisions of the Psalter are five books, as follows:

Book I, Psalms 1-41 (41 chapters)

Book II, Psalms 42-72 (31 chapters)

Book III, Psalms 73-89 (17 chapters)

Book IV, Psalms 90-106 (17 chapters)

Book V, Psalms 107-150 (44 chapters)

They are marked by an introduction and a doxology. Psalm I forms an introduction to the whole book; Psa 150 is the doxology for the whole book. The introduction and doxology of each book are the first and last psalms of each division, respectively.

There were smaller collections before the final one, as follows:

Books I and II were by David; Book III, by Hezekiah, and Books IV and V, by Ezra.

Certain principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection:

1. David is honored with first place, Book I and II, including Psalms 1-72.

2. They are grouped according to the use of the name of God:

(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovah psalms;

(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohim-psalms;

(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovah psalms.

3. Book IV is introduced by the psalm of Moses, which is the first psalm written.

4. Some are arranged as companion psalms, for instance, sometimes two, sometimes three, and sometimes more. Examples: Psa 2 and 3; 22, 23, and 24; 113-118.

5. They were arranged for liturgical purposes, which furnished the psalms for special occasions, such as feasts, etc. We may be sure this arrangement was not accidental. An intelligent study of each case is convincing that it was determined upon rational grounds.

All the psalms have titles but thirty-three, as follows:

In Book I, Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 33 , (4 are without titles).

In Book II, Psa 43 ; Psa 71 , (2 are without titles).

In Book IV, Psa 91 ; Psa 93 ; Psa 94 ; Psa 95 ; Psa 96 ; Psa 97 ; Psa 104 ; Psa 105 ; Psa 106 , (9 are without titles).

In Book V, Psa 107 ; III; 112; 113; 114; 115; 116; 117; 118; 119; 135; 136; 137; 146; 147; 148; 149; 150, (18 are without titles).

The Talmud calls these psalms that have no title, “Orphan Psalms.” The later Jews supply these titles by taking the nearest preceding author. The lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; and 10 may be accounted for as follows: Psa 1 is a general introduction to the whole collection and Psa 2 was, perhaps, a part of Psa 1 . Psalms 9-10 were formerly combined into one, therefore Psa 10 has the same title as Psa 9 .

QUESTIONS

1. What books are commended on the Psalms?

2. What is a psalm?

3. What is the Psalter?

4. What is the range of time in composition?

5. When and by whom was the collection in its present form arranged?

6. What the Jewish classification of Old Testament books, and what the position of the Psalter in this classification?

7. What is the Hebrew title of the Psalms?

8. Find the title of the first two books from the books themselves.

9. What is the title of the whole collection of psalms in the Septuagint?

10. What is the title in the Alexandrian Codex?

11. What is the derivation of our English word, “Psalms”, “Psalter”, and “Psaltery,” respectively?

12. How many psalms in our collection?

13. How many psalms in the Septuagint?

14. What about the extra one in the Septuagint?

15. What is the subject of this extra psalm?

16. How does it compare with the Canonical Psalms?

17. What is the difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint?

18. What is the arrangement in the Vulgate?

19. What other difficulty in numbering which perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another?

20. What are the book divisions of the Psalter and how are these divisions marked?

21. Were there smaller collections before the final one? If so, what were they?

22. What principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection?

23. In what conclusion may we rest concerning this arrangement?

24. How many of the psalms have no titles?

25. What does the Talmud call these psalms that have no titles?

26. How do later Jews supply these titles?

27. How do you account for the lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ?

XII

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS (CONTINUED)

The following is a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms:

1. The author: “A Psalm of David” (Psa 37 ).

2. The occasion: “When he fled from Absalom, his son” (Psa 3 ).

3. The nature, or character, of the poem:

(1) Maschil, meaning “instruction,” a didactic poem (Psa 42 ).

(2) Michtam, meaning “gold,” “A Golden Psalm”; this means excellence or mystery (Psa 16 ; 56-60).

4. The occasion of its use: “A Psalm of David for the dedication of the house” (Psa 30 ).

5. Its purpose: “A Psalm of David to bring remembrance” (Psa 38 ; Psa 70 ).

6. Direction for its use: “A Psalm of David for the chief musician” (Psa 4 ).

7. The kind of musical instrument:

(1) Neginoth, meaning to strike a chord, as on stringed instruments (Psa 4 ; Psa 61 ).

(2) Nehiloth, meaning to perforate, as a pipe or flute (Psa 5 ).

(3) Shoshannim, Lilies, which refers probably to cymbals (Psa 45 ; Psa 69 ).

8. A special choir:

(1) Sheminith, the “eighth,” or octave below, as a male choir (Psa 6 ; Psa 12 ).

(2) Alamoth, female choir (Psa 46 ).

(3) Muth-labben, music with virgin voice, to be sung by a choir of boys in the treble (Psa 9 ).

9. The keynote, or tune:

(1) Aijeleth-sharar, “Hind of the morning,” a song to the melody of which this is sung (Psa 22 ).

(2) Al-tashheth, “Destroy thou not,” the beginning of a song the tune of which is sung (Psa 57 ; Psa 58 ; Psa 59 ; Psa 75 ).

(3) Gittith, set to the tune of Gath, perhaps a tune which David brought from Gath (Psa 8 ; Psa 81 ; Psa 84 ).

(4) Jonath-elim-rehokim, “The dove of the distant terebinths,” the commencement of an ode to the air of which this song was to be sung (Psa 56 ).

(5) Leannoth, the name of a tune (Psa 88 ).

(6) Mahalath, an instrument (Psa 53 ); Leonnoth-Mahaloth, to chant to a tune called Mahaloth.

(7) Shiggaion, a song or a hymn.

(8) Shushan-Eduth, “Lily of testimony,” a tune (Psa 60 ). Note some examples: (1) “America,” “Shiloh,” “Auld Lang Syne.” These are the names of songs such as we are familiar with; (2) “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” are examples of sacred hymns.

10. The liturgical use, those noted for the feasts, e.g., the Hallels and Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 146-150).

11. The destination, as “Song of Ascents” (Psalms 120-134)

12. The direction for the music, such as Selah, which means “Singers, pause”; Higgaion-Selah, to strike a symphony with selah, which means an instrumental interlude (Psa 9:16 ).

The longest and fullest title to any of the psalms is the title to Psa 60 . The items of information from this title are as follows: (1) the author; (2) the chief musician; (3) the historical occasion; (4) the use, or design; (5) the style of poetry; (6) the instrument or style of music.

The parts of these superscriptions which most concern us now are those indicating author, occasion, and date. As to the historic value or trustworthiness of these titles most modern scholars deny that they are a part of the Hebrew text, but the oldest Hebrew text of which we know anything had all of them. This is the text from which the Septuagint was translated. It is much more probable that the author affixed them than later writers. There is no internal evidence in any of the psalms that disproves the correctness of them, but much to confirm. The critics disagree among themselves altogether as to these titles. Hence their testimony cannot consistently be received. Nor can it ever be received until they have at least agreed upon a common ground of opposition.

David is the author of more than half the entire collection, the arrangement of which is as follows:

1. Seventy-three are ascribed to him in the superscriptions.

2. Some of these are but continuations of the preceding ones of a pair, trio, or larger group.

3. Some of the Korahite Psalms are manifestly Davidic.

4. Some not ascribed to him in the titles are attributed to him expressly by New Testament writers.

5. It is not possible to account for some parts of the Psalter without David. The history of his early life as found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1and 2 Chronicles, not only shows his remarkable genius for patriotic and sacred songs and music, but also shows his cultivation of that gift in the schools of the prophets. Some of these psalms of the history appear in the Psalter itself. It is plain to all who read these that they are founded on experience, and the experience of no other Hebrew fits the case. These experiences are found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles.

As to the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition, I have this to say:

1. This theory has no historical support whatever, and therefore is not to be accepted at all.

2. It has no support in tradition, which weakens the contention of the critics greatly.

3. It has no support from finding any one with the necessary experience for their basis.

4. They can give no reasonable account as to how the titles ever got there.

5. It is psychologically impossible for anyone to have written these 150 psalms in the Maccabean times.

6. Their position is expressly contrary to the testimony of Christ and the apostles. Some of the psalms which they ascribe to the Maccabean Age are attributed to David by Christ himself, who said that David wrote them in the Spirit.

The obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result if it be Just, is a positive denial of the inspiration of both Testaments.

Other authors are named in the titles, as follows: (1) Asaph, to whom twelve psalms have been assigned: (2) Mosee, Psa 90 ; (3) Solomon, Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ; (4) Heman, Psa 80 ; (5) Ethem, Psa 89 ; (6) A number of the psalms are ascribed to the sons of Korah.

Not all the psalms ascribed to Asaph were composed by one person. History indicates that Asaph’s family presided over the song service for several generations. Some of them were composed by his descendants by the game name. The five general outlines of the whole collection are as follows:

I. By books

1. Psalms 1-41 (41)

2. Psalms 42-72 (31)

3. Psalms 73-89 (17)

4. Psalms 90-106 (17)

5. Psalms 107-150 (44)

II. According to date and authorship

1. The psalm of Moses (Psa 90 )

2. Psalms of David:

(1) The shepherd boy (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 ).

(2) David when persecuted by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ).

(3) David the King (Psa 101 ; Psa 18 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 110 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 21 ; Psa 60 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 41 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 3:4 ; Psa 64 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 ).

3. The Asaph Psalms (Psa 50 ; Psa 73 ; Psa 83 ).

4. The Korahite Psalms (Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 84 ).

5. The psalms of Solomon (Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ).

6. The psalms of the era of Hezekiah and Isaiah (Psa 46 ; Psa 47 ; Psa 48 )

7. The psalms of the Exile (Psa 74 ; Psa 79 ; Psa 137 ; Psa 102 )

8. The psalms of the Restoration (Psa 85 ; Psa 126 ; Psa 118 ; 146-150)

III. By groups

1. The Jehovistic and Elohistic Psalms:

(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovistic;

(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohistic Psalms;

(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovistic.

2. The Penitential Psalms (Psa 6 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 130 ; Psa 143 )

3. The Pilgrim Psalms (Psalms 120-134)

4. The Alphabetical Psalms (Psa 9 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 25 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 37 ; 111:112; Psa 119 ; Psa 145 )

5. The Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 11-113; 115-117; 146-150; to which may be added Psa 135 ) Psalms 113-118 are called “the Egyptian Hallel”

IV. Doctrines of the Psalms

1. The throne of grace and how to approach it by sacrifice, prayer, and praise.

2. The covenant, the basis of worship.

3. The paradoxical assertions of both innocence & guilt.

4. The pardon of sin and justification.

5. The Messiah.

6. The future life, pro and con.

7. The imprecations.

8. Other doctrines.

V. The New Testament use of the Psalms

1. Direct references and quotations in the New Testament.

2. The allusions to the psalms in the New Testament. Certain experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart, such as: (1) his peaceful early life; (2) his persecution by Saul; (3) his being crowned king of the people; (4) the bringing up of the ark; (5) his first great sin; (6) Absalom’s rebellion; (7) his second great sin; (8) the great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 ; (9) the feelings of his old age.

We may classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time, thus:

1. His peaceful early life (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 )

2. His persecution by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 7 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 120 ; Psa 140 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ; Psa 17 ; Psa 18 )

3. Making David King (Psa 27 ; Psa 133 ; Psa 101 )

4. Bringing up the ark (Psa 68 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 132 ; Psa 15 ; Psa 78 ; Psa 96 )

5. His first great sin (Psa 51 ; Psa 32 )

6. Absalom’s rebellion (Psa 41 ; Psa 6 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 109 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 39 ; Psa 3 ; Psa 4 ; Psa 63 ; Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 5 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 )

7. His second great sin (Psa 69 ; Psa 71 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 103 )

8. The great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 (Psa 2 )

9. Feelings of old age (Psa 37 )

The great doctrines of the psalms may be noted as follows: (1) the being and attributes of God; (3) sin, both original and individual; (3) both covenants; (4) the doctrine of justification; (5) concerning the Messiah.

There is a striking analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms. The Pentateuch contains five books of law; the Psalms contain five books of heart responses to the law.

It is interesting to note the historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms. These were controversies about singing uninspired songs, in the Middle Ages. The church would not allow anything to be used but psalms.

The history in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah is very valuable toward a proper interpretation of the psalms. These books furnish the historical setting for a great many of the psalms which is very indispensable to their proper interpretation.

Professor James Robertson, in the Poetry and Religion of the Psalms constructs a broad and strong argument in favor of the Davidic Psalms, as follows:

1. The age of David furnished promising soil for the growth of poetry.

2. David’s qualifications for composing the psalms make it highly probable that David is the author of the psalms ascribed to him.

3. The arguments against the possibility of ascribing to David any of the hymns in the Hebrew Psalter rests upon assumptions that are thoroughly antibiblical.

The New Testament makes large use of the psalms and we learn much as to their importance in teaching. There are seventy direct quotations in the New Testament from this book, from which we learn that the Scriptures were used extensively in accord with 2Ti 3:16-17 . There are also eleven references to the psalms in the New Testament from which we learn that the New Testament writers were thoroughly imbued with the spirit and teaching of the psalms. Then there are eight allusions ‘to this book in the New Testament from which we gather that the Psalms was one of the divisions of the Old Testament and that they were used in the early church.

QUESTIONS

1. Give a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms.

2. What is the longest title to any of the psalms and what the items of this title?

3. What parts of these superscriptions most concern us now?

4. What is the historic value, or trustworthiness of these titles?

5. State the argument showing David’s relation to the psalms.

6. What have you to say of the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition?

7. What the obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result, if it be just?

8. What other authors are named in the titles?

9. Were all the psalms ascribed to Asaph composed by one person?

10. Give the five general outlines of the whole collection, as follows: I. The outline by books II. The outline according to date and authorship III. The outline by groups IV. The outline of doctrines V. The outline by New Testament quotations or allusions.

11. What experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart?

12. Classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time.

13. What the great doctrines of the psalms?

14. What analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms?

15. What historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms?

16. Of what value is the history in Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah toward a proper interpretation of the psalms?

17. Give Professor James Robertson’s argument in favor of the Davidic authorship of the psalms.

18. What can you say of the New Testament use of the psalms and what do we learn as to their importance in teaching?

19. What can you say of the New Testament references to the psalms, and from the New Testament references what the impression on the New Testament writers?

20. What can you say of the allusions to the psalms in the New Testament?

XVII

THE MESSIAH IN THE PSALMS

A fine text for this chapter is as follows: “All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Psalms concerning me,” Luk 24:44 . I know of no better way to close my brief treatise on the Psalms than to discuss the subject of the Messiah as revealed in this book.

Attention has been called to the threefold division of the Old Testament cited by our Lord, namely, the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luk 24:44 ), in all of which were the prophecies relating to himself that “must be fulfilled.” It has been shown just what Old Testament books belong to each of these several divisions. The division called the Psalms included many books, styled Holy Writings, and because the Psalms proper was the first book of the division it gave the name to the whole division.

The object of this discussion is to sketch the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah, or rather, to show how nearly a complete picture of our Lord is foredrawn in this one book. Let us understand however with Paul, that all prophecy is but in part (1Co 13:9 ), and that when we fill in on one canvas all the prophecies concerning the Messiah of all the Old Testament divisions, we are far from having a perfect portrait of our Lord. The present purpose is limited to three things:

1. What the book of the Psalms teaches concerning the Messiah.

2. That the New Testament shall authoritatively specify and expound this teaching.

3. That the many messianic predictions scattered over the book and the specifications thereof over the New Testament may be grouped into an orderly analysis, so that by the adjustment of the scattered parts we may have before us a picture of our Lord as foreseen by the psalmists.

In allowing the New Testament to authoritatively specify and expound the predictive features of the book, I am not unmindful of what the so-called “higher critics” urge against the New Testament quotations from the Old Testament and the use made of them. In this discussion, however, these objections are not considered, for sufficient reasons. There is not space for it. Even at the risk of being misjudged I must just now summarily pass all these objections, dismissing them with a single statement upon which the reader may place his own estimate of value. That statement is that in the days of my own infidelity, before this old method of criticism had its new name, I was quite familiar with the most and certainly the strongest of the objections now classified as higher criticism, and have since patiently re-examined them in their widely conflicting restatements under their modern name, and find my faith in the New Testament method of dealing with the Old Testament in no way shattered, but in every way confirmed. God is his own interpreter. The Old Testament as we now have it was in the hands of our Lord. I understand his apostle to declare, substantially, that “every one of these sacred scriptures is God-inspired and is profitable for teaching us what is right to believe and to do, for convincing us what is wrong in faith or practice, for rectifying the wrong when done, that we may be ready at every point, furnished completely, to do every good work, at the right time, in the right manner, and from the proper motive” (2Ti 3:16-17 ).

This New Testament declares that David was a prophet (Act 2:30 ), that he spake by the Holy Spirit (Act 1:16 ), that when the book speaks the Holy Spirit speaks (Heb 3:7 ), and that all its predictive utterances, as sacred Scripture, “must be fulfilled” (Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:16 ). It is not claimed that David wrote all the psalms, but that all are inspired, and that as he was the chief author, the book goes by his name.

It would be a fine thing to make out two lists, as follows:

1. All of the 150 psalms in order from which the New Testament quotes with messianic application.

2. The New Testament quotations, book by book, i.e., Matthew so many, and then the other books in their order.

We would find in neither of these any order as to time, that is, Psa 1 which forecasts an incident in the coming Messiah’s life does not forecast the first incident of his life. And even the New Testament citations are not in exact order as to time and incident of his life. To get the messianic picture before us, therefore, we must put the scattered parts together in their due relation and order, and so construct our own analysis. That is the prime object of this discussion. It is not claimed that the analysis now presented is perfect. It is too much the result of hasty, offhand work by an exceedingly busy man. It will serve, however, as a temporary working model, which any one may subsequently improve. We come at once to the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah.

1. The necessity for a Saviour. This foreseen necessity is a background of the psalmists’ portrait of the Messiah. The necessity consists in (1) man’s sinfulness; (2) his sin; (3) his inability of wisdom and power to recover himself; (4) the insufficiency of legal, typical sacrifices in securing atonement.

The predicate of Paul’s great argument on justification by faith is the universal depravity and guilt of man. He is everywhere corrupt in nature; everywhere an actual transgressor; everywhere under condemnation. But the scriptural proofs of this depravity and sin the apostle draws mainly from the book of the Psalms. In one paragraph of the letter to the Romans (Rom 3:4-18 ), he cites and groups six passages from six divisions of the Psalms (Psa 5:9 ; Psa 10:7 ; Psa 14:1-3 ; Psa 36:1 ; Psa 51:4-6 ; Psa 140:3 ). These passages abundantly prove man’s sinfulness, or natural depravity, and his universal practice of sin.

The predicate also of the same apostle’s great argument for revelation and salvation by a Redeemer is man’s inability of wisdom and power to re-establish communion with God. In one of his letters to the Corinthians he thus commences his argument: “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? -For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preach-ing to save them that believe.” He closes this discussion with the broad proposition: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God,” and proves it by a citation from Psa 94:11 : “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”

In like manner our Lord himself pours scorn on human wisdom and strength by twice citing Psa 8 : “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight” (Mat 11:25-26 ). “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, and said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” (Mat 21:15-16 ).

But the necessity for a Saviour as foreseen by the psalmist did not stop at man’s depravity, sin, and helplessness. The Jews were trusting in the sacrifices of their law offered on the smoking altar. The inherent weakness of these offerings, their lack of intrinsic merit, their ultimate abolition, their complete fulfilment and supercession by a glorious antitype were foreseen and foreshown in this wonderful prophetic book: I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; And thy burnt offerings are continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, Nor he-goat out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all of the birds of the mountains; And the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? Psa 50:8-13 .

Yet again it speaks in that more striking passage cited in the letter to the Hebrews: “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers, once purged should have no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, But a body didst thou prepare for me; In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure: Then said I, Lo, I am come (In the roll of the book it is written of me) To do thy will, O God. Saying above, Sacrifice and offering and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldst not, neither hadst pleasure therein, (the which are offered according to the law), then hath he said, Lo, I am come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second” (Heb 10:1-9 ).

This keen foresight of the temporary character and intrinsic worthlessness of animal sacrifices anticipated similar utterances by the later prophets (Isa 1:10-17 ; Jer 6:20 ; Jer 7:21-23 ; Hos 6:6 ; Amo 5:21 ; Mic 6:6-8 ). Indeed, I may as well state in passing that when the apostle declares, “It is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins,” he lays down a broad principle, just as applicable to baptism and the Lord’s Supper. With reverence I state the principle: Not even God himself by mere appointment can vest in any ordinance, itself lacking intrinsic merit, the power to take away sin. There can be, therefore, in the nature of the case, no sacramental salvation. This would destroy the justice of God in order to exalt his mercy. Clearly the psalmist foresaw that “truth and mercy must meet together” before “righteousness and peace could kiss each other” (Psa 85:10 ). Thus we find as the dark background of the psalmists’ luminous portrait of the Messiah, the necessity for a Saviour.

2. The nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah. In no other prophetic book are the nature, fullness, and blessedness of salvation so clearly seen and so vividly portrayed. Besides others not now enumerated, certainly the psalmists clearly forecast four great elements of salvation:

(1) An atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit offered once for all (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:4-10 ).

(2) Regeneration itself consisting of cleansing, renewal, and justification. We hear his impassioned statement of the necessity of regeneration: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts,” followed by his earnest prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me,” and his equally fervent petition: “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psa 51 ). And we hear him again as Paul describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin Psa 32:1 ; Rom 4:6-8 .

(3) Introduction into the heavenly rest (Psa 95:7-11 ; Heb 3:7-19 ; Heb 4:1-11 ). Here is the antitypical Joshua leading spiritual Israel across the Jordan of death into the heavenly Canaan, the eternal rest that remaineth for the people of God. Here we find creation’s original sabbath eclipsed by redemption’s greater sabbath when the Redeemer “entered his rest, ceasing from his own works as God did from his.”

(4) The recovery of all the universal dominion lost by the first Adam and the securement of all possible dominion which the first Adam never attained (Psa 8:5-6 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 ; 1Co 15:24-28 ).

What vast extent then and what blessedness in the salvation foreseen by the psalmists, and to be wrought by the Messiah. Atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit; regeneration by the Holy Spirit; heavenly rest as an eternal inheritance; and universal dominion shared with Christ!

3. The wondrous person of the Messiah in his dual nature, divine and human.

(1) His divinity,

(a) as God: “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Psa 45:6 and Heb 1:8 ) ;

(b) as creator of the heavens and earth, immutable and eternal: Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth; And the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end Psa 102:25-27 quoted with slight changes in Heb 1:10-12 .

(c) As owner of the earth: The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein, Psa 24:1 quoted in 1Co 10:26 .

(d) As the Son of God: “Thou art my Son; This day have I begotten thee” Psa 2:7 ; Heb 1:5 .

(e) As David’s Lord: The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool, Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:41-46 .

(f) As the object of angelic worship: “And let all the angels of God worship him” Psa 97:7 ; Heb 1:6 .

(g) As the Bread of life: And he rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them food from heaven Psa 78:24 ; interpreted in Joh 6:31-58 . These are but samples which ascribe deity to the Messiah of the psalmists.

(2) His humanity, (a) As the Son of man, or Son of Adam: Psa 8:4-6 , cited in 1Co 15:24-28 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Compare Luke’s genealogy, Luk 3:23-38 . This is the ideal man, or Second Adam, who regains Paradise Lost, who recovers race dominion, in whose image all his spiritual lineage is begotten. 1Co 15:45-49 . (b) As the Son of David: Psa 18:50 ; Psa 89:4 ; Psa 89:29 ; Psa 89:36 ; Psa 132:11 , cited in Luk 1:32 ; Act 13:22-23 ; Rom 1:3 ; 2Ti 2:8 . Perhaps a better statement of the psalmists’ vision of the wonderful person of the Messiah would be: He saw the uncreated Son, the second person of the trinity, in counsel and compact with the Father, arranging in eternity for the salvation of men: Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 . Then he saw this Holy One stoop to be the Son of man: Psa 8:4-6 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Then he was the son of David, and then he saw him rise again to be the Son of God: Psa 2:7 ; Rom 1:3-4 .

4. His offices.

(1) As the one atoning sacrifice (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 ).

(2) As the great Prophet, or Preacher (Psa 40:9-10 ; Psa 22:22 ; Heb 2:12 ). Even the method of his teaching by parable was foreseen (Psa 78:2 ; Mat 13:35 ). Equally also the grace, wisdom, and power of his teaching. When the psalmist declares that “Grace is poured into thy lips” (Psa 45:2 ), we need not be startled when we read that all the doctors in the Temple who heard him when only a boy “were astonished at his understanding and answers” (Luk 2:47 ); nor that his home people at Nazareth “all bear him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth” (Luk 4:22 ); nor that those of his own country were astonished, and said, “Whence hath this man this wisdom?” (Mat 13:54 ); nor that the Jews in the Temple marveled, saying, “How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” (Joh 7:15 ) ; nor that the stern officers of the law found their justification in failure to arrest him in the declaration, “Never man spake like this man” (Joh 7:46 ).

(3) As the king (Psa 2:6 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 45:1-17 ; Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:42-46 ; Act 2:33-36 ; 1Co 15:25 ; Eph 1:20 ; Heb 1:13 ).

(4) As the priest (Psa 110:4 ; Heb 5:5-10 ; Heb 7:1-21 ; Heb 10:12-14 ).

(5) As the final judge. The very sentence of expulsion pronounced upon the finally impenitent by the great judge (Mat 25:41 ) is borrowed from the psalmist’s prophetic words (Psa 6:8 ).

5. Incidents of life. The psalmists not only foresaw the necessity for a Saviour; the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation; the wonderful human-divine person of the Saviour; the offices to be filled by him in the work of salvation, but also many thrilling details of his work in life, death, resurrection, and exaltation. It is not assumed to cite all these details, but some of the most important are enumerated in order, thus:

(1) The visit, adoration, and gifts of the Magi recorded in Mat 2 are but partial fulfilment of Psa 72:9-10 .

(2) The scripture employed by Satan in the temptation of our Lord (Luk 4:10-11 ) was cited from Psa 91:11-12 and its pertinency not denied.

(3) In accounting for his intense earnestness and the apparently extreme measures adopted by our Lord in his first purification of the Temple (Joh 2:17 ), he cites the messianic zeal predicted in Psa 69:9 .

(4) Alienation from his own family was one of the saddest trials of our Lord’s earthly life. They are slow to understand his mission and to enter into sympathy with him. His self-abnegation and exhaustive toil were regarded by them as evidences of mental aberration, and it seems at one time they were ready to resort to forcible restraint of his freedom) virtually what in our time would be called arrest under a writ of lunacy. While at the last his half-brothers became distinguished preachers of his gospel, for a long while they do not believe on him. And the evidence forces us to the conclusion that his own mother shared with her other sons, in kind though not in degree, the misunderstanding of the supremacy of his mission over family relations. The New Testament record speaks for itself:

Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them. How is it that ye sought me? Knew ye not that I must be in my Father’s house? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them Luk 2:48-51 (R.V.).

And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. Joh 2:3-5 (R.V.).

And there come his mother and his brethren; and standing without; they sent unto him, calling him. And a multitude was sitting about him; and they say unto him. Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answereth them, and saith, Who is my mother and my brethren? And looking round on them that sat round about him, he saith, Behold, my mother and my brethren) For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother Mar 3:31-35 (R.V.).

Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works which thou doest. For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world. For even his brethren did not believe on him. Jesus therefore saith unto them, My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that its works are evil. Go ye up unto the feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; because my time is not fulfilled. Joh 7:2-9 (R.V.).

These citations from the Revised Version tell their own story. But all that sad story is foreshown in the prophetic psalms. For example: I am become a stranger unto my brethren, And an alien unto my mother’s children. Psa 69:8 .

(5) The triumphal entry into Jerusalem was welcomed by a joyous people shouting a benediction from Psa 118:26 : “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Mat 21:9 ); and the Lord’s lamentation over Jerusalem predicts continued desolation and banishment from his sight until the Jews are ready to repeat that benediction (Mat 23:39 ).

(6) The children’s hosanna in the Temple after its second purgation is declared by our Lord to be a fulfilment of that perfect praise forecast in Psa 8:2 .

(7) The final rejection of our Lord by his own people was also clear in the psalmist’s vision (Psa 118:22 ; Mat 21:42-44 ).

(8) Gethsemane’s baptism of suffering, with its strong crying and tears and prayers was as clear to the psalmist’s prophetic vision as to the evangelist and apostle after it became history (Psa 69:1-4 ; Psa 69:13-20 ; and Mat 26:36-44 ; Heb 5:7 ).

(9) In life-size also before the psalmist was the betrayer of Christ and his doom (Psa 41:9 ; Psa 69:25 ; Psa 109:6-8 ; Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:20 ).

(10) The rage of the people, Jew and Gentile, and the conspiracy of Pilate and Herod are clearly outlined (Psa 2:1-3 ; Act 4:25-27 ).

(11) All the farce of his trial the false accusation, his own marvelous silence; and the inhuman maltreatment to which he was subjected, is foreshown in the prophecy as dramatically as in the history (Mat 26:57-68 ; Mat 27:26-31 ; Psa 27:12 ; Psa 35:15-16 ; Psa 38:3 ; Psa 69:19 ).

The circumstances of his death, many and clear, are distinctly foreseen. He died in the prime of life (Psa 89:45 ; Psa 102:23-24 ). He died by crucifixion (Psa 22:14-17 ; Luk 23 ; 33; Joh 19:23-37 ; Joh 20:27 ). But yet not a bone of his body was broken (Psa 34:20 ; Joh 19:36 ).

The persecution, hatred without a cause, the mockery and insults, are all vividly and dramatically foretold (Psa 22:6-13 ; Psa 35:7 ; Psa 35:12 ; Psa 35:15 ; Psa 35:21 ; Psa 109:25 ).

The parting of his garments and the gambling for his vesture (Psa 22:18 ; Mat 27:35 ).

His intense thirst and the gall and vinegar offered for his drink (Psa 69:21 ; Mat 27:34 ).

In the psalms, too, we hear his prayers for his enemies so remarkably fulfilled in fact (Psa 109:4 ; Luk 23:34 ).

His spiritual death was also before the eye of the psalmist, and the very words which expressed it the psalmist heard. Separation from the Father is spiritual death. The sinner’s substitute must die the sinner’s death, death physical, i.e., separation of soul from body; death spiritual, i.e., separation of the soul from God. The latter is the real death and must precede the former. This death the substitute died when he cried out: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me.” (Psa 22:1 ; Mat 27:46 ).

Emerging from the darkness of that death, which was the hour of the prince of darkness, the psalmist heard him commend his spirit to the Father (Psa_31:35; Luk 23:46 ) showing that while he died the spiritual death, his soul was not permanently abandoned unto hell (Psa 16:8-10 ; Act 2:25 ) so that while he “tasted death” for every man it was not permanent death (Heb 2:9 ).

With equal clearness the psalmist foresaw his resurrection, his triumph over death and hell, his glorious ascension into heaven, and his exaltation at the right hand of God as King of kings and Lord of lords, as a high Driest forever, as invested with universal sovereignty (Psa 16:8-11 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 68:18 ; Psa 2:6 ; Psa 111:1-4 ; Psa 8:4-6 ; Act 2:25-36 ; Eph 1:19-23 ; Eph 4:8-10 ).

We see, therefore, brethren, when the scattered parts are put together and adjusted, how nearly complete a portrait of our Lord is put upon the prophetic canvas by this inspired limner, the sweet singer of Israel.

QUESTIONS

1. What is a good text for this chapter?

2. What is the threefold division of the Old Testament as cited by our Lord?

3. What is the last division called and why?

4. What is the object of the discussion in this chapter?

5. To what three things is the purpose limited?

6. What especially qualifies the author to meet the objections of the higher critics to allowing the New Testament usage of the Old Testament to determine its meaning and application?

7. What is the author’s conviction relative to the Scriptures?

8. What is the New Testament testimony on the question of inspiration?

9. What is the author’s suggested plan of approach to the study of the Messiah in the Psalms?

10. What the background of the Psalmist’s portrait of the Messiah and of what does it consist?

11. Give the substance of Paul’s discussion of man’s sinfulness.

12. What is the teaching of Jesus on this point?

13. What is the teaching relative to sacrifices?

14. What the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah and what the four great elements of it as forecast by the psalmist?

15. What is the teaching of the psalms relative to the wondrous person of the Messiah? Discuss.

16. What are the offices of the Messiah according to psalms? Discuss each.

17. Cite the more important events of the Messiah’s life according to the vision of the psalmist.

18. What the circumstances of the Messiah’s death and resurrection as foreseen by the psalmist?

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

XVI

THE MESSIANIC PSALMS AND OTHERS

We commence this chapter by giving a classified list of the Messianic Psalms, as follows:

The Royal Psalms are:

Psa 110 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 72 ; Psa 45 ; Psa 89 ;

The Passion Psalms are:

Psa 22 ; Psa 41 ; Psa 69 ;

The Psalms of the Ideal Man are Psa 8 ; Psa 16 ; Psa 40 ;

The Missionary Psalms are:

Psa 47 ; Psa 65 ; Psa 68 ; Psa 96 ; Psa 100 ; Psa 117 .

The predictions before David of the coming Messiah are, (1) the seed of the woman; (2) the seed of Abraham; (3) the seed of Judah; (4) the seed of David.

The prophecies of history concerning the Messiah are, (1) a prophet like unto Moses; (2) a priest after the order of Melchizedek; (3) a sacrifice which embraces all the sacrificial offerings of the Old Testament; (4) direct references to him as King, as in 2Sa 7:8 ff.

The messianic offices as taught in the psalms are four, viz: (1) The Messiah is presented as Prophet, or Teacher (Psa 40:8 ); (2) as Sacrifice, or an Offering for sin (Psa 40:6 ff.; Heb 10:5 ff.) ; (3) he is presented as Priest (Psa 110:4 ); (4) he is presented as King (Psa 45 ).

The psalms most clearly presenting the Messiah in his various phases and functions are as follows: (1) as the ideal man, or Second Adam (8); (2) as Prophet (Psa 40 ); (3) as Sacrifice (Psa 22 ) ; (4) as King (Psa 45 ) ; (5) as Priest (Psa 110 ) ; (6) in his universal reign (Psa 72 ).

It will be noted that other psalms teach these facts also, but these most clearly set forth the offices as they relate to the Messiah.

The Messiah as a sacrifice is presented in general in Psa 40:6 . His sufferings as such are given in a specific and general way in Psa 22 ; Psa 41 ; Psa 69 . The events of his sufferings in particular are described, beginning with the betrayal of Judas, as follows:

1. Judas betrayed him (Mat 26:14 ) in fulfilment of Psa 41:9 .

2. At the Supper (Mat 26:24 ) Christ said, “The Son of man goeth as it is written of him,” referring to Psa 22 .

3. They sang after the Supper in fulfilment of Psa 22:22 .

4. Piercing his hands and feet, Psa 22:16 .

5. They cast lots for his vesture in fulfilment of Psa 22:18 .

6. Just before the ninth hour the chief priests reviled him (Mat 27:43 ) in fulfilment of Psa 22:8 .

7. At the ninth hour (Mat 27:46 ) he quoted Psa 22:1 .

8. Near his death (Joh 19:28 ) he said, in fulfilment of Psa 69:21 , “I thirst.”

9. At that time they gave him vinegar (Mat 27:48 ) in fulfilment of Psa 69:21 .

10. When he was found dead they did not break his bones (Joh 19:36 ) in fulfilment of Psa 34:20 .

11. He is represented as dead, buried, and raised in Psa 16:10 .

12. His suffering as a substitute is described in Psa 69:9 .

13. The result of his crucifixion to them who crucified him is given in Psa 69:22-23 . Compare Rom 11:9-10 .

The Penitential Psalms are Psa 6 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 130 ; Psa 143 . The occasion of Psa 6 was the grief and penitence of David over Absalom; of Psa 32 was the blessedness of forgiveness after his sin with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah; Psa 38 , David’s reference to his sin with Bathsheba; Psa 51 , David’s penitence and prayer for forgiveness for this sin; Psa 102 , the penitence of the children of Israel on the eve of their return from captivity; Psalm 130, a general penitential psalm; Psa 143 , David’s penitence and prayer when pursued by Absalom.

The Pilgrim Psalms are Psalms 120-134. This section of the psalter is called the “Little Psalter.” These Psalms were collected in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, in troublous times. The author of the central psalm of this collection is Solomon, and he wrote it when he built his Temple. The Davidic Psalms in this collection are Psa 120 ; Psa 122 ; Psa 124 ; Psa 131 ; Psa 132 ; Psa 133 . The others were written during the building of the second Temple. They are called in the Septuagint “Songs of the Steps.”

There are four theories as to the meaning of the titles, “Songs of the Steps,” “Songs of Degrees,” or “Songs of Ascents,” viz:

1. The first theory is that the “Songs of the Steps” means the songs of the fifteen steps from the court of the women to the court of Israel, there being a song for each step.

2. The second theory is that advanced by Luther, which says that they were songs of a higher choir, elevated above, or in an elevated voice.

3. The third theory is that the thought in these psalms advances by degrees.

4. The fourth theory is that they are Pilgrim Psalms, or the songs that they sang while going up to the great feasts.

Certain scriptures give the true idea of these titles, viz: Exo 23:14-17 ; Exo 34:23-24 ; 1Sa 1:3 ; 1Ki 12:27-28 : Psa 122:1-4 ; and the proof of their singing as they went is found in Psa_42:4; 100; and Isa 30:29 . They went, singing these psalms, to the Feasts of the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Psa 121 was sung when just in sight of Jerusalem and Psa 122 was sung at the gate. Psa 128 is the description of a good man’s home and a parallel to this psalm in modern literature is Burns’s “Cotter’s Saturday Night.” The pious home makes the nation great.

Psa 133 is a psalm of fellowship. It is one of the finest expressions of the blessings that issue when God’s people dwell together in unity. The reference here is to the anointing of Aaron as high priest and the fragrance of the anointing oil which was used in these anointings. The dew of Hermon represents the blessing of God upon his people when they dwell together in such unity.

Now let us look at the Alphabetical Psalms. An alphabetical psalm is one in which the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are used alphabetically to commence each division. In Psalms 111-112, each clause so begins; in Psa 25 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 145 ; each verse so begins; in Psa 37 each stanza of two verses so begins; in 119 each stanza of eight verses so begins, and each of the eight lines begins with the same letter. In Psa 25 ; 34 37 the order is not so strict; in Psa 9 and Psa 10 there are some traces of this alphabetical order.

David originated these alphabetical psalms and the most complete specimen is Psa 119 , which is an expansion of the latter part of Psa 19 .

A certain group of psalms is called the Hallelujah Psalms. They are so called because the word “Hallelujah” is used at the beginning, or at the ending, and sometimes at both the beginning and the ending. The Hallelujah Psalms are Psalm 111-113; 115-117; 146-150. Psa 117 is a doxology; and Psalms 146-150 were used as anthems. Psa 148 calls on all creation to praise God. Francis of Assisi wrote a hymn based on this psalm in which he called the sun his honorable brother and the cricket his sister. Psa 150 calls for all varieties of instruments. Psalms 113-118 are called the Egyptian Hallel. They were used at the Passover (Psalm 113-114), before the Supper and Psalm 115-118 were sung after the Supper. According to this, Jesus and his disciples sang Psalms 115-118 at the last Passover Supper. These psalms were sung also at the Feasts of Pentecost, Tabernacles, Dedication, and New Moon.

The name of God is delayed long in Psa 114 . Addison said, “That the surprise might be complete.” Then there are some special characteristics of Psa 115 , viz: (1) It was written against idols. Cf. Isa 44:9-20 ; (2) It is antiphonal, the congregation singing Psa 115:1-8 , the choir Psa 115:9-12 , the priests Psa 115:13-15 and the congregation again Psa 115:16-18 . The theme of Psa 116 is love, based on gratitude for a great deliverance, expressed in service. It is appropriate to read at the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and Psa 116:15 is especially appropriate for funeral services.

On some special historical occasions certain psalms were sung. Psa 46 was sung by the army of Gustavus Adolphus before the decisive battle of Leipzig, on September 17, 1631.Psa 68 was sung by Cromwell’s army on the occasion of the battle of Dunbar in Scotland.

Certain passages in the Psalms show that the psalm writers approved the offering of Mosaic animal sacrifices. For instance, Psa 118:27 ; Psa 141:2 seem to teach very clearly that they approved the Mosaic sacrifice. But other passages show that these inspired writers estimated spiritual sacrifices as more important and foresaw the abolition of the animal sacrifices. Such passages are Psa 50:7-15 ; Psa 4:5 ; Psa 27:6 ; Psa 40:6 ; Psa 51:16-17 . These scriptures show conclusively that the writers estimated spiritual sacrifices as more important than the Mosaic sacrifices.

QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS

1. What are the Royal Psalms?

2. What are the Passion Psalms?

3. What are the Psalms of the Ideal Man?

4. What are the Missionary Psalms?

5. What are the predictions before David of the coming Messiah?

6. What are the prophecies of history concerning the Messiah?

7. Give a regular order of thought concerning the messianic offices as taught in the psalms.

8. Which psalms most clearly present the Messiah as (1) the ideal man, or Second Adam, (2) which as Prophet, or Teacher, (3) which as the Sacrifice, (4) which as King, (5) which as Priest, (6) which his universal reign?

9. Concerning the suffering Messiah, or the Messiah as a sacrifice, state the words or facts, verified in the New Testament as fulfilment of prophecy in the psalms. Let the order of the citations follow the order of facts in Christ’s life.

10. Name the Penitential Psalms and show their occasion.

11. What are the Pilgrim Psalms?

12. What is this section of the Psalter called?

13. When and under what conditions were these psalms collected?

14. Who is the author of the central psalm of this collection?

15. What Davidic Psalms are in this collection?

16. When were the others written?

17. What are they called in the Septuagint?

18. What four theories as to the meaning of the titles, “Songs of the Steps,” “Songs of Degrees,” or “Songs of Ascents”?

19. What scriptures give the true idea of these titles?

20. Give proof of their singing as they went.

21. To what feasts did they go singing these Psalms?

22. What was the special use made of Psa 121 and Psa 122 ?

23. Which of these psalms is the description of a good man’s home and what parallel in modern literature?

24. Expound Psa 133 .

25. What is an alphabetical psalm, and what are the several kinds?

26. Who originated these Alphabetical Psalms?

27. What are the most complete specimen?

28. Of what is it an expansion?

29. Why is a certain group of psalms called the Hallelujah Psalms?

30. What are the Hallelujah Psalms?

31. Which of the Hallelujah Psalms was a doxology?

32. Which of these were used as anthems?

33. Which psalm calls on all creation to praise God?

34. Who wrote a hymn based on Psa 148 in which he called the sun his honorable brother and the cricket his sister?

35. Which of these psalms calls for all varieties of instruments?

36. What is the Egyptian Hallel?

37. What is their special use and how were they sung?

38. Then what hymns did Jesus and his disciples sing?

39. At what other feasts was this sung?

40. Why was the name of God delayed so long in Psa 114 ?

41. What are the characteristics of Psa 115 ?

42. What is the theme and special use of Psa 116 ?

43. State some special historical occasions on which certain psalms were sung. Give the psalm for each occasion.

44. Cite passages in the psalms showing that the psalm writers approved the offering of Mosaic animal sacrifices.

45. Cite other passages showing that these inspired writers estimated spiritual sacrifices as more important than the Mosaic sacrifices.

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

Psa 125:1 A Song of degrees. They that trust in the LORD [shall be] as mount Zion, [which] cannot be removed, [but] abideth for ever.

Ver. 1. They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion ] Great is the stability of a believer’s felicity. Winds and storms move not a mountain; an earthquake may, but not easily, remove it. That mystical mount Zion, the Church, immota manet, is unmoveable; so is every member thereof, for the main of his happiness.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

“A song of the ascents: of David.” This is the outburst of Israel’s praise when just delivered from that which seemed, to all but faith, the overwhelming power of man bent on their destruction.

Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)

Psalms

MOUNTAINS ROUND MOUNT ZION

Psa 125:1 – Psa 125:2 .

The so-called ‘Songs of Degrees,’ of which this psalm is one, are probably a pilgrim’s song-book, and possibly date from the period of the restoration of Israel from the Babylonish captivity. In any case, this little psalm looks very much like a record of the impression that was made on the pilgrim, as he first topped the crest of the hill from which he looked on Jerusalem. Two peculiarities of its topographical position are both taken here as symbols of spiritual realities, for the singularity of the situation of the city is that it stands on a mountain and is girdled by mountains. There is a tongue of land or peninsula cut off from the surrounding country by deep ravines, on which are perched the buildings of the city, while across the valley on the eastern side is Olivet, and, on the south, another hill, the so-called ‘Hill of Evil Counsel’; but upon the west and north sides there are no conspicuous summits, though the ground rises. Thus, really, though not apparently, there lie all round the city encircling defences of mountains. Similarly, says the Psalmist, set and steadfast as on a mountain, and compassed about by a protection, like the bastions of the everlasting hills, are they whose trust is in the Lord. Faith, then, gives inward stability, and faith secures an encircling defence.

But, more than that, notice that the mountains encompass a mountain. Faith, in some measure, makes the protected like the Protector. And then, beyond that, notice the two ‘for evers.’ Zion cannot be moved, it ‘abideth for ever,’ and ‘the Lord is about His people from henceforth and for ever.’ To trust in God gives the transitory creature a kind of share in the uncreated eternity of that in which he trusts. Now these are four thoughts worth carrying away with us.

I. The simple act of trust in God brings inward stability.

The word here that is rightly translated ‘trust,’ like most expressions in the Old Testament for religious emotion, has a distinctly metaphorical colouring about it. It literally means to ‘hang upon’ something, and so, beautifully, it tells us what faith is-just hanging upon God. Whoever has laid his tremulous hand on a fixed something, partakes, in the measure in which he does grasp it, of the fixity of that on which he lays hold; so ‘they that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion,’ that stands there summer and winter, day and night, year out and year in, with its strong buttresses and its immovable mass, the very emblem of solidity and stability.

Ay! and this is true about these tremulous hearts of ours. There is one way to make them stable, and only one; and that is that they shall be fastened, as it were, to that which is stable, and so be steadfast because they hold by what is steadfast. There is no other means by which any heart can be made immovable, except in so far as it may be moved by holy impulses and sweet drawings of love and loftinesses of aspiration towards God; there is no other means by which a heart, with all its inward perturbations and all its outward sources of agitation, can be made calm and still, except by living, deep, continual fellowship with Him who is the Eternal Calm, and from whose stable Being we mutable men can derive serenity which is a faint likeness of His immutability. ‘We which have believed do enter into rest.’

How can I still these hot desires of mine, this self-asserting will, all these various passions and emotions which sweep through my soul, and which must not be made mute and dead-or else there will come corruption and stagnation-but must be made so to move as that in their very motion shall be rest? How can I do that? By one way, and one only. Live in fellowship with God, and that will quiet perturbations within and tumults without. The foot of the Master on the midnight stormy sea will smooth the waves which the moonbeams have not power to still, but only to reveal their heavings. ‘They that trust in the Lord shall be like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved,’ and yet is not torpid in its immobility, but full of fertility and of beauty wedded to its steadfastness.

In like manner, the only way by which not only the inward storms can be quieted, but the outward assaults of perturbing circumstances, disasters, changes, difficult duties, and the like, can ever be received with tranquillity is, that they should be received in quiet faith. And, in like manner, the only way by which men can be made steadfast and immovable in brave, pertinacious adherence to the simple law of right, whatsoever temptations may try to draw them aside, and whatsoever frowns may gather upon the face of affairs so as to frighten them from the path of rectitude-the only way by which they can conquer evil, so as not to be hurried into forbidden paths, is this same making sure of their hold upon God, and carrying with them day by day, and moment by moment, into all the little difficulties and small temptations that would lead to trivial faults, the one solemn thought that bids all these back into their lairs-God is near me and I am with Him.

Oh, brethren! if we could live in touch with Him and, as this great word for ‘trust’ suggests, be fastened to Him, as a man, swinging from a cliff over the crawling sea, fathoms below him, clutches the rope that is his safety-then we should live in tranquillity, and be steadfast, immovable.

They say that in the great church of St. Peter there is only one temperature in summer and winter; that the fiercest heat may be pouring down in the colonnades, or the sharpest frost may have silenced the tinkling fall of the fountains in the Piazza; but within the great portal the thermometer stands the same. Thus, if we live in the Temple, and keep inside its doors, the thermometer in our hearts will be fixed; and the anemometer-the measurer of the wind-will point to calm all the year round. ‘They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved.’

II. Again, this same attitude of realising the divine Presence, Will, and Help, will bring around us encircling defences.

I have already said that one peculiarity of the topography of the sacred city is that, at first sight, the metaphor of my text seems to break down, for nobody, looking at the situation of the city with uninstructed eye, would say that it was compassed all around with mountains. On two sides it manifestly is; on two sides it apparently is not, though the land rises on the north and west till it is higher than the tops of the houses. We may not be fanciful in taking that as a parable. ‘As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people’-a very real defence, but a defence that it takes an instructed eye to see; no obvious protection, palpable to the vulgar touch, and manifest to the sensuous eye, but something a great deal better than that-a real protection, through which we may be sure that nothing which is evil can ever pass.

Whatsoever does get over the encircling mountains, and reaches us, we may be sure, is not an evil but a very real good. Only we have to interpret the protection on the principles of faith, and not on those of sense. When, then, there come down upon us-as there do upon us all, thank God!-dark days, and sad days, and solitary days, and losses and bitternesses of a thousand kinds, do not let us falter in the belief that if we have our hearts set on God, nothing has come to us but what He has let through. Our sorrows are His angels, though their faces are dark, and though they bear a sword that flames and turns every way. It is hard to believe; it is certainly true, and if we could carry the confidence of it as a continual possession into our ordinary lives, they would be very different from what they are to-day.

III. And then, remember the other thing that I said. My text suggests that- Simple trust in God, in some measure, assimilates the protected to the Protector.

The mountains girdle a mountain, and so my trust opens my heart to the entrance into my heart of something akin to God. As the Apostle Peter, in his brave way, is not afraid to say, it makes us ‘partakers of the divine nature.’ The immovableness of the trustful man is not all unlike the calmness of the trusted God; and the steadfastness of the one is a reflex of the unchangeableness of the other. We have not understood the meaning of faith, nor have we risen to the experience of its best effects upon ourselves, unless we understand that its great blessing and fruit, and the purpose for which we are commanded to cherish it, is that thereby we may become like Him in whom we trust. ‘They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.’ That is the key to the degradations that inhere in idolatrous worship, and that principle is true about all worship-as the god so is every one that trusteth in it. ‘As the mountains are round about Mount Zion,’ God is round about the people that are becoming Godlike.

IV. Mark further the significant repetition of the same expression in reference to the stability of the man protected and the continuance of the protection.

Both are ‘for ever’. That is to say, if it is true that God is round about me, and that, in some humble measure, my heart has been opening to be calmed and steadied by the influx of His own life, then His ‘for ever’ is my ‘for ever,’ and it cannot be that He should live and I should die. The guarantee of the eternal being of the trustful soul is the experience to-day of the reality of the divine protection. And thus we may face everything-life, death, whatsoever may come, assured that nothing touches the continuity and the perpetuity of the union between the trusting soul and the trusted God. ‘The mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from thee; nor shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord.’ The earthquake comes. It shatters a continent and changes the face of nature; makes valleys where there were mountains, and mountains where there were vales, and open seas where there were fertile plains and covers everything with ruin and with rubbish. But there emerge from the cloudy and chaotic confusion the city perched on the hill and its encompassing heights. ‘The world passeth away, and the fashion thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’

Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 125:1-3

1Those who trust in the Lord

Are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.

2As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

So the Lord surrounds His people

From this time forth and forever.

3For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land of the righteous,

So that the righteous will not put forth their hands to do wrong.

Psa 125:1 a Those who trust in the Lord This is the key condition of biblical faith. The concept is recurrent in the Psalter (BDB 105, KB 120, cf. Psa 9:10; Psa 21:7; Psa 22:4-5; Psa 25:2; Psa 26:1; Psa 28:7; Psa 32:10; Psa 37:3; Psa 40:4; Psa 55:23; Psa 56:4; Psa 56:11; Psa 62:8; Psa 84:12; Psa 91:2; Psa 112:7; Psa 115:9-11; Psa 125:1; Psa 143:8). Often the same concept is expressed as

1. trust in the name – Psa 33:21

2. trust in the mercy – Psa 13:5; Psa 52:8

3. trust in the word – Psa 119:42

4. trust in the salvation – Psa 78:22

The theologically related word for trust (BDB 52) is explained in the Special Topic: Believe, Trust, Faith and Faithfulness in the OT . The Greek counterpoint is explained in the SPECIAL TOPIC: Believe, Trust in the NT .

I have come to believe there are several basic elements to a true and mature biblical faith/trust.

1. repentance (see SPECIAL TOPIC: REPENTANCE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT )

2. faith/trust/believe

3. obedience (see Special Topic: Keep )

4. perseverance (see SPECIAL TOPIC: PERSEVERANCE )

Psa 125:1 b To see the full theological note and two Special Topics about these promises to national Israel, see my note at Psa 122:6-9.

The LXX makes this line of poetry refer to YHWH (i.e., he who inhabits Jerusalem will never be shaken). Apparently this comes from the title of YHWH in Psa 9:11.

Psa 125:2 The imagery of mountains is used in several senses (see note at Psa 121:1). Here it refers to the protection they provide from invaders. YHWH is the shield and protector of His people!

forever The term (BDB 761) is used in Psa 125:1-2. It has several connotations related to covenant fidelity. See Special Topic: Forever (‘olam).

Psa 125:3 the scepter This (BDB 986) is a metaphor for kingship (i.e., YHWH as King, cf. Psa 45:6). It is first used in a Messianic sense in Gen 49:10 of a future Judean, Davidic (cf. 2 Samuel 7) king. Here of the promise that no (1) foreign king or (2) idolatrous Judean king shall reign over God’s people. It is obvious this promise is conditional (i.e., Psa 125:3 b,4).

The time frame of Psa 125:3 is uncertain.

1. the enemy now controls Israel (present)

2. the enemy did control Israel (past)

3. the enemy will never control Israel (future)

of wickedness This could refer to

1. a foreign pagan ruler

2. an idolatrous Israelite ruler

It denotes one who deviates from YHWH’s covenant requirements.

NASB shall not rest upon the land

NRSV, JPSOA,

REBthe land allotted

TEVwill not always rule over the land

NJBwill not come to rest over the heritage

LXXover the allotment

The Hebrew has a preposition and a noun (BDB 174), which denotes an inheritance. The imagery comes from Joshua’s (i.e., Joshua 12-19) account of the Divinely-guided division of the land of Canaan to the Hebrew tribes by casting lots (cf. Psa 16:5).

the righteous See Special Topic: Righteousness .

hands See SPECIAL TOPIC: HAND .

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

Title. Same as Psalm 120. See App-67.

trust = confide. Hebrew. batah. App-69.

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4. Shall be as mount Zion. Some codices, with one early printed edition and Syriac, read “are in Mount Zion”. App-68. for ever. Note the Figure of speech. Epistrophe (App-6), the words being repeated at the end of the next line.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Psa 125:1-5 . We’re still ascending towards Jerusalem.

They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion ( Psa 125:1 ),

The mount upon which Jerusalem was built.

which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever ( Psa 125:1 ).

Now the Mount of Olives won’t abide forever. Zion will, but the Mount of Olives is soon going to be split by a tremendous earthquake. Right in the middle, a new valley will be formed out of Jerusalem. Now you have the valley of Hinnom, in which the valley of Kidron, and the Tyropean and the Hinnom valley merged in the valley of Hinnom, goes on out of Jerusalem. But there’s going to be a new valley going out of Jerusalem when the Mount of Olives splits right in the middle and a new valley forms out of the city. This, of course, will take place when Jesus returns and puts His foot upon the top of the Mount of Olives.

The geologists have discovered a major earth fault right through the center of the Mount of Olives. It doesn’t really mean anything to me. The Lord can split it without an earth fault. It shall be split. Actually, it will open up a hole, it will open up an underground river and a new river will come gushing forth out of Jerusalem, flowing into this valley and going clear on down to the Dead Sea. And the fresh waters of this new river that is formed will actually heal the waters of the Dead Sea so that they’ll be able to have fish living in the Dead Sea. And it will become a center of the fishing industry. The mount of Zion abides.

As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people ( Psa 125:2 )

So you stand there in Jerusalem, you look and you see the Mount Zion on the south. You see Scopus over towards the north. You see the Mount of Olives on towards the east. Golgotha, Calvary towards the west. As the mountains surround the little city of Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people.

from henceforth even for ever ( Psa 125:2 ).

Surrounded by God. Paul the apostle, when he was talking to the Epicurean philosophers there at the Areopagus on Mars Hill in Greece, in Athens, he said, “I perceive you men are very spiritual.” He said, “As I’ve been going through your city, I’ve observed the number of idols that you have. Your places of worship. All of the different gods.” For the Greeks had deified everything they could think of. You know, the sun, the moon, the planets, they were all deities. And then having run out of stars and planets and constellations to deify, they began to deify even emotions. So they had the god of love, the god of hate, the god of fear, the god of joy, the god of sorrow, the god of grief, and the various gods. They had deified just about anything you could think of.

Now one fellow got an idea, “Maybe we’re missing a god. Maybe we haven’t thought of him.” So he built an altar and he put the inscription over, “To the Unknown God.” “Whoever you may be, wherever you might be. We don’t want you to feel offended and that you’ve been slighted. So here, we’ve got an altar to worship the unknown God.”

So Paul said, “I perceive you’re very religious. I’ve seen all of your altars as I’ve walked through your city.” He said, “And one caught my attention. For it was inscribed, ‘To the Unknown God.'” He said, “I’d like to tell you about this God. He’s the One who made the heaven and the earth and everything that is in them. And in Him we live and move and have our being” ( Act 17:28 ) In other words, I am surrounded by Him. I am living in His midst. I live, I move, I have my being in Him.

When Daniel was brought before Belshazzar at this feast, after the writing appeared on the walls, he said, “Belshazzar, God gave to your grandfather this glorious kingdom of Babylon. But he was lifted up with pride. And so God allowed him a period of madness until he realized that it was God who ruled and reigned.” And he said, “But this God, the very God in whose hand your breath is, you have not glorified.” Surrounded by God. My very breath depended upon Him.

So as the mountains are around about Jerusalem, so God is around about His people. You’re surrounded by God. He encompasses us. As the one-hundred-and-thirty-ninth psalm said, “O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me. You know every time I sit down, every time I stand up.” He said, “You have gone before me. You’re behind me, and Your hand is upon me.” “Thou has beset me before and behind, and Thine hand is upon me” ( Psa 139:5 ). Surrounded by God.

I never come to any place in my life but God has not preceded me there. I can look back and see the hand of God, as He was on my life even in the past, even when I wasn’t interested. Surrounded by God. Your life is encompassed by Him.

For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel ( Psa 125:3-5 ).

So, again, the remembrance of the troubles from the cities from whence they were coming. Looking forward again to that time of coming into the consciousness of God’s presence “

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

Psa 125:1. They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.

Various conquerors have destroyed the buildings upon Mount Zion, but the mountain itself is still there. None have ever dug it up, and cast it into the Mediterranean Sea. It stands fast, and will stand there as long as the world endures; and they that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, they shall abide as firmly as that sacred mountain does. Nothing can move them, or remove them; they are in the hands of Christ, and none can pluck them thence. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; says Christ, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Fathers hand. Oh, what a solidity does faith give to a man!

Psa 125:2. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.

This verse shows the believers safety, as the former one showed his stability. As the mountains stood to guard the sacred city, so does God stand round about his people as a wall of fire. Before any can hurt the believer, they must first break through the ramparts of the Godhead. It is not merely said that horses of fire and chariots of fire are round about his people, though that is true; but that the Lord himself is round about them, and that not occasionally, but henceforth even for ever. I believe in the eternal safety of the saints, and I would base it upon these two verses alone if there were no other Scriptures to that effect. If they never are to be moved any more than Mount Zion, and if God is round about them for ever, then they must live, and they must stand. There is no if or but put in here, provided that they behave themselves, and so on. No; but, trusting in God, they never shall be moved, and God will be round about them as their sure defense. I fancy I hear someone say, If it be so, why am I tried and troubled? Ah, my brother, it was never contemplated that you should be free from trouble! There is a rod in the covenant; and if you never feel it, you may suspect that you are not in the covenant.

Psa 125:3. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.

You will feel that rod, but it shall not rest upon you. The days of persecution shall be shortened for the elects sake; and though, perhaps, the devil may be more furious with you than ever, having great wrath because he knows that his time is short; yet God will put an end to your suffering, your persecution, your oppression, for he knows your frame, and he is aware that, perhaps, if the temptation were pushed too far, you might yield. Therefore will he makes way of escape for you; he means to try and test you, but not too much, he will abate the fierceness of mans wrath, and deliver you.

Psa 125:4. Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts.

True believers are good; especially are they good at heart, for grace has made them so, and God therefore will do them good. He will bless them more and more; he will sanctify them, and prepare them for the ineffable goodness that is at his right hand for ever and ever.

Psa 125:5. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.

There are there always have been in the Church of God some who have been the Churchs dishonour. They have crooked ways of their own, and, in due time, under stress of persecution, or through temptation, they turn aside unto their crooked ways. They leave the path of trustfulness and holiness, as Judas did, as Demas did, as many beside have done. What will God do with them? He will lead them forth; he will show them up; he wilt bring them into the light; and in what company will he lead them forth? Why, with the workers of iniquity, for if they were not such in outward action, they were really so in thought and heart. And where will he lead them? He will lead them forth to execution; they shall go among the malefactors, they shall be led forth to die. But will this hurt the Lords people? No; when the chaff is separated from the wheat, the wheat shall be all the purer. Peace shall be upon Israel. All the Lords chosen, pleading, princely people his Israel shall have peace upon them. May we all be found amongst them, for Christs sake! Amen.

Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

Psa 125:1-2

Psalms 125

JEHOVAH IS ROUND ABOUT HIS PEOPLE

This is another of the very brief Songs of Ascent. It is No. 6 in the Little Psalter, which was the songbook of the pilgrim Jewish worshippers attending the great national feasts such as Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, and other feasts added later. These songs were sung by them on the way “up” to Jerusalem, hence Songs of Ascent. The elevation of Jerusalem was emphasized dramatically by the geographical fact of its being so near the Dead Sea with its elevation of 1,292 feet below sea level. In this psalm, the dramatic mountains of Judea surrounding Jerusalem are made a metaphor of God’s surrounding Israel with His loving protection and blessing.

“Although this is a psalm mainly of comfort, prayer and threatening are also in it. Jerusalem is on high ground, “But the Mount of Olives on the east, and The Hill of Evil Counsel on the south are higher. On the west side of the city, beyond the valley of Jehoshaphat, was a high ridge, and to the north there was the plateau-like area surrounding Scopas. From these is taken the metaphor of God’s surrounding his people with love and protection.

Psa 125:1-2

“They that trust in Jehovah

Are as mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but standeth forever.

As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,

So Jehovah is round about his people

From this time forth and forevermore.”

The thought here is simply that the love and protection of God for Israel is just as sure to continue forever as the mountains that surround the holy city are immovable. This, of course, is gloriously true. God still loves the true Israel of God, identified in the New Testament as Jesus Christ (Joh 15:1).

The racial element in the identification of God’s Israel disappeared when Zechariah broke “Beauty” and “Bands”; but the marvelous thing about this is that even racial Jews who choose to be within the ranks of God’s only Israel today are not merely welcome, they are admitted upon the same terms as any other races, there being “no distinction” whatever between racial Jews and Gentiles (Rom 3:22; Rom 10:12; Act 11:12; Act 15:9).

For a complete discussion of God’s breaking his covenant with racial Israel (but not with the true Israel).

E.M. Zerr:

Psa 125:1. The logic of this verse is evident. Zion was the headquarters for the Lord’s interests on earth and had been protected by His might. To trust in the Lord, then, would bring the same protection as had been given to the holy city.

Psa 125:2. The physical protection of mountains for a city is used to illustrate the encircling shield of the Lord for his people whom he has chosen.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

The pilgrims catch the first glimpse of the city toward which their faces are set. The journey is not ended, but from some vantage ground there in the distance is seen the home of the heart. It is founded upon rock, and stands out in all the majesty and strength of its assured position. Round about it are the mountains, guarding it against it foes. Over it is the throne of God, ensuring a government which gives the righteous their opportunity. It is an ideal picture, but a true one as to Divine intention.

Yet it is not of the material fact that the pilgrims sing. All that is but a symbol of the safety and protection and government of the trusting people. Jehovah is their rock foundation, their encompassing protection, their enthroned King. In Him is all their strength and confidence, and on the pathway, with the city seen afar, of Him they sing.

The song merges into a prayer that He will exercise on their behalf all that guidance and deliverance in which they make their boast. As in the previous song they looked back to that from which they had escaped, in this they look forward to that to which they go; and in each case their song is of Jehovah. This is true retrospect and prospect, and both minister to the strength of pilgrimage.

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

the Christians Fortress

Psa 124:1-8; Psa 125:1-5

Here are three instances of escaped peril. In Psa 124:3 is an allusion to Korah and his company; see Num 16:32-33. Why are we spared when others have been overwhelmed by swift disasters? In Psa 124:4 and Psa 124:5, as the morning breaks, we see the proud waters that have burst their banks and are inundating the low-lying lands. Why did our house escape? In Psa 124:6 and Psa 124:7 we have the metaphor of the ensnared bird and as the fluttering fledgling, when freed, leaps into the sunny air, so do we rejoice when God frees us. But why should we escape when so many never break loose?

Psa 125:1-5

Jerusalem lies on a broad and high mountain range, shut in by two deep valleys. But the surrounding hills are higher, and made her almost impregnable to the methods of ancient warfare. They who trust in God live within ramparts of His loving care for evermore. The scepter of evil may sometimes cast its gaunt shadow over their lives, but it is always arrested in time. Crooked ways are by-paths. The commandments of God are a public thoroughfare. Keep on the highway and no hurt shall assail you.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

A Song of degrees

(See Scofield “Psa 120:1”).

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

that trust: Psa 27:1, Psa 25:2, Psa 25:8, Psa 34:22, Psa 62:2, Psa 62:6, Psa 118:8, Psa 118:9, Psa 147:11, 1Ch 5:20, Pro 3:5, Pro 3:6, Jer 17:7, Jer 17:8, Eph 1:12, Eph 1:13, 1Pe 1:21

be as mount: Psa 132:13, Psa 132:14, Isa 12:6, Isa 14:32, Isa 51:8, Isa 51:11, Isa 51:16, Isa 52:1, Isa 52:7, Isa 52:8, Oba 1:21, Mic 4:2, Zec 1:14, Zec 1:17, Rev 14:1

but abideth: Mat 16:16-18

Reciprocal: 1Sa 17:45 – in the name 2Ki 18:30 – make you 1Ch 11:5 – the castle Psa 16:1 – for Psa 20:8 – but we Psa 36:11 – hand Psa 46:5 – she Psa 48:3 – General Psa 57:1 – soul Psa 71:1 – do I Psa 87:3 – Glorious Psa 94:17 – Unless Psa 112:6 – Surely Psa 115:9 – trust Psa 129:2 – yet they have Pro 10:30 – never Pro 12:3 – the root Pro 16:20 – whoso Pro 29:25 – whoso Isa 26:4 – in the Isa 30:15 – in returning Isa 31:4 – so shall Isa 33:20 – thine eyes Isa 57:13 – but he Eze 21:20 – the defenced Zec 9:8 – I will Mat 7:25 – for Mat 16:18 – shall not Luk 6:48 – the flood Joh 10:28 – they Phi 4:1 – so 2Ti 2:19 – sure 1Pe 1:5 – kept 1Jo 2:17 – abideth 1Jo 2:19 – for Rev 20:9 – the camp

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Compassed round.

A song of the ascents.

The third psalm goes beyond this to the fully realized result. Mount Zion is again in view, but only as a symbol of the immovable security of all that trust in Jehovah. The mountains stand around her; and so Jehovah Himself is for ever round about His people. And this in holiness: He would not allow the rod of wickedness to rest on the lot of the righteous, lest their feebleness give way before this prosperous iniquity, to follow the path of its success.

Nay, let Jehovah do good unto the good, -not faultless, but through grace upright in the heart. For the rest, the perverters of their ways, He will surely give them their place among the workers of vanity, -all their subtlety shown only to be that, -and this for Israel’s peace as delivered from them.

Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary

Psa 125:1. They that trust in the Lord Who depend upon his care, and devote themselves to his honour; shall be as mount Zion Which is firm, as a mountain supported by providence, and much more so as a holy mountain, supported by promise; which cannot be removed Or, overthrown, by any winds or storms, both because of its own greatness and strength, and because of the divine protection afforded to it.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Psa 125:2. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem. See the map, where seven hills are laid down, and others rise at a distance. These hills suggested the idea of divine protection.

REFLECTIONS.

Mount Zion was deemed an impregnable fortress. A few Jebusites had retained it five hundred years against all the power of Israel: and had the Jews been united among themselves when Titus besieged Jerusalem, the Romans, though habituated to war, have allowed that they could not have taken it till famine had compelled the inhabitants to surrender. Mount Zion above is infinitely stronger still. The man who trusts in God shall not be moved: he has omnipotence for his rock, and infinite wisdom for his counsel. All who meddle with him shall meddle to their hurt. As the little fortified hills stood about the temple, so the Lord is round about them that fear him.

The rod of the wicked shall not rest long on the heritage of the righteous, lest the good man, through weakness of faith, be tempted to extricate himself by unlawful means. Oh how compassionate is the Lord, who will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able to bear.

The Lord will distinguish those to whom he shows peculiar kindness, even the good, and the upright in heart. Those who turn aside to idolatry, and the crooked ways of sin, shall be associated with the worst class of those who work iniquity. These are strong arguments to persevere in faith and obedience to the end.

This psalm, like several of the preseding and subsequent psalms, has no title to distinguish either the author or the occasion to which it refers. It is generally applied to the return from the Babylonish captivity.

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

CXXV. Yahwehs Protective Care of Israel.Yahweh will not allow heathen to rule over Israel, because this would tempt Jews to please their masters by adopting heathen usages.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

PSALM 125

The godly remnant prove the faithfulness of the Lord on their way to Zion.

Psalm 124 presents the Lord’s mercy in setting the godly free from captivity, calling forth their confiding trust in the Lord. Psalm 125 presents the security of those who thus trust in the Lord as they pursue their pilgrim way to Zion.

(vv. 1-2) In the presence of all opposition, and amidst all changes, those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion which cannot be moved and therefore abides for ever. The ground of their security is that, even as Jerusalem is protected by the surrounding mountains, so the Lord is round about His people.

In captivity they had been assured that the Lord would keep them in going out and coming in, and for evermore (Psa 121:8). Having left the land of captivity, and on their way to Zion they find that the Lord is indeed their keeper, and about His people from henceforth even for ever.

(v. 3) Having experienced the deliverance of the Lord, the godly remnant express their confidence that the Lord will complete what His grace has begun. Thus they are assured that the city to which they are journeying will be delivered from the rule of the wicked. Their inheritance thus freed from the scepter of the wicked there will be no temptation to the righteous to enter into an unholy alliance with the wicked, and thus abandon their confidence in the Lord.

(vv. 4-5) The psalm closes with a prayer to the Lord, based on the known governmental ways of God (see Psa 18:25-26). The Lord will do good to those who are good and upright in their hearts; while those who turn aside unto their crooked ways will at last find themselves in company with workers of iniquity. The psalmist closes with the desire, Peace be upon Israel, involving the confidence that Israel will be found at last to be those who trust in the Lord.

Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible

125:1 [A Song of degrees.] They that trust in the LORD [shall be] as mount Zion, [which] cannot {a} be removed, [but] abideth for ever.

(a) Though the world is subject to mutations, yet the people of God will stand sure and be defended by God’s providence.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

Psalms 125

The psalmist praised God that believers are secure in their salvation and that God will keep temptation from overwhelming them. However, he cautioned God’s people to follow the Lord faithfully-or lose His blessing because they lived as unbelievers do. This psalm of ascent is a communal song of confidence and a communal lament. [Note: Dahood, 3:214.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

1. The security of God’s people 125:1-3

Believers in Yahweh are as secure in their position as the mountain God had chosen and established as His special habitation (cf. Rom 8:31-39). The Lord forever surrounds His people as a protective army keeping overwhelming forces from defeating them (cf. 1Co 10:13).

"Mount Zion is not the highest peak in the mountain range around Jerusalem. To its east lies the Mount of Olives, to its north Mount Scopus, to the west and south are other hills, all of which are higher than Mount Zion. Surrounded by mountains, Mount Zion was secure, by its natural defensibility. So the psalmist compares the Lord to the hills around Jerusalem and the people to Mount Zion." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 788.]

God promised not to let wicked authorities overcome the righteous totally. God did permit Israel’s foreign neighbors to oppress and dominate her for periods in her history. However, Psa 125:3 promises that they would never completely and finally defeat Israel. The NIV translators rendered the last part of Psa 125:3, "For then the righteous might use their hands to do evil."

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Psa 125:1-5

THE references to the topography of Jerusalem in Psa 125:1-2 do not absolutely require, though they recommend, the supposition, already mentioned. that this psalm completes a triad which covers the experience of the restored Israel from the time just prior to its deliverance up till the period of its return to Jerusalem. The strength of the city perched on its rocky peninsula, and surrounded by guardian heights, would be the more impressive to eyes accustomed to the plains of Babylon, where the only defence of cities was artificial. If this hypothesis as to the date of the psalm is accepted, its allusions to a foreign domination and to halfhearted members of the community, as distinguished from manifest workers of evil, fall in with the facts of the period. The little band of faithful men was surrounded by foes, and there were faint hearts among themselves, ready to temporise and “run with the hare,” as well as “hunt with the hounds.” In view of deliverance accomplished and of perils still to be faced, the psalmist sings this strong brief song of commendation of the excellence of Trust, anticipates as already fulfilled the complete emancipation of the land from alien rule, and proclaims, partly in prayer and partly in prediction, the great law of retribution-certain blessedness for those who are good, and destruction for the faithless.

The first of the two grand images in Psa 125:1-2, sets forth the stability of those who trust in Jehovah. The psalmist pictures Mount Zion somewhat singularly as “sitting steadfast,” whereas the usual expression would be “stands firm.” But the former conveys still more forcibly the image and impression of calm effortless immobility. Like some great animal couched at ease, the mountain lies there, in restful strength. Nothing can shake it, except One Presence, before which the hills “skip like young rams.” Thus quietly steadfast and lapped in repose, not to be disturbed by any external force, should they be who trust in Jehovah, and shall be in the measure of their trust.

But trust could not bring such steadfastness, unless the other figure in Psa 125:2 represented a fact. The steadfastness of the trustful soul is the consequence of the encircling defence of Jehovahs power. The mountain fortress is girdled by mountains; not, indeed, as if it was ringed about by an unbroken circle of manifestly higher peaks; but still Olivet rises above Zion on the east, and a spur of higher ground runs out thence and overlooks it on the north, while the levels rise to the west, and the so called Hill of Evil Counsel is on the south. They are not conspicuous summits, but they hide the city from those approaching, till their tops are reached. Perhaps the very inconspicuousness of these yet real defences suggested to the poet the invisible protection which to purblind eyes looked so poor, but was so valid. The hills of Bashan might look scornfully across Jordan to the humble heights round Jerusalem; but they were enough to guard the city. The psalmist uses no words of comparison, but lays his two facts side by side: the mountains round Jerusalem-Jehovah round His people. That circumvallation is their defence. They who have the everlasting hills for their bulwark need not trouble themselves to build a wall such as Babylon needed. Mans artifices for protection are impertinent when God flings His hand round His people. Zechariah, the prophet of the Restoration, drew that conclusion from the same thought, when he declared that Jerusalem should be “inhabited as villages without walls,” because Jehovah would be “unto her a wall of fire round about”. {Zec 2:4-5}

Psa 125:3 seems at first sight to be appended to the preceding in defiance of logical connection, for its “for” would more naturally have been “therefore,” since the deliverance of the land from foreign invaders is a consequence of Jehovahs protection. But the psalmists faith is so strong that he regards that still further deliverance as already accomplished, and adduces it as a confirmation of the fact that Jehovah ever guards His people. In the immediate historical reference this verse points to a period when the lot of the righteous-i.e., the land of Israel-was, as it were, weighed down by the crushing sceptre of some alien power that had long lain on it. But the psalmist is sure that that is not going to last, because his eyes are lifted to the hills whence his aid comes. With like tenacity and longsightedness, Faith ever looks onward to the abolition of present evils, however stringent may be their grip, and however heavy may be the sceptre which Evil in possession of the heritage of God wields. The rod of the oppressor shall be broken, and one more proof given that they dwell safely who dwell encircled by God.

The domination of evil, if protracted too long, may tempt good men, who are righteous because they trust, to lose their faith and so to lose their righteousness, and make common cause with apparently triumphant iniquity. It needs Divine wisdom to determine how long a trial must last in order that it may test faith, thereby strengthening it, and may not confound faith, thereby precipitating feeble souls into sin. He knows when to say, “It is enough.”

So the psalm ends with prayer and prediction, which both spring from the insight into Jehovahs purposes which trust gives. The singer asks that the good may receive good, in accordance with the law of retribution. The expressions describing these are very noticeable, especially when connected with the designation of the same persons in Psa 125:1 as those who trust in Jehovah. Trust makes righteous and good and upright in heart. If these characteristics are to be distinguished, righteous may refer to action in conformity with the law of God, good to the more gentle and beneficent virtues, and upright in heart to inward sincerity. Such persons will get “good” from Jehovah, the God of recompenses, and that good will be as various as their necessities and as wide as their capacities. But the righteous Protector of those who trust in Him is so, partly because He smites as well as blesses, and therefore the other half of the law of retribution comes into view, not as a petition, but as prediction. The psalmist uses a vivid image to describe half-hearted adherents to the people of Jehovah: “they bend their ways,” so as to make them crooked. Sometimes the tortuous path points towards one direction, and then it swerves to almost the opposite. “Those crooked, wandering ways,” in which irresolute men, who do not clearly know whether they are for Jehovah or for the other side, live lives miserable from vacillation, can never lead to steadfastness or to any good. The psalmist has taken his side. He knows whom he is for; and he knows, too, that there is at bottom little to choose between the coward who would fain be in both camps and the open antagonist. Therefore they shall share the same fate.

Finally the poet, stretching out his hands over all Israel, as if blessing them like a priest, embraces all his hopes, petitions, and wishes in the one prayer “Peace be upon Israel!” He means the true Israel of God, {Gal 6:16} upon whom the Apostle, with a reminiscence possibly of this psalm, invokes the like blessing, and whom he defines in the same spirit as the psalmist does, as those who walk according to this rule, and not according to the crooked paths of their own devising.

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary