Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 145:1
David’s [Psalm] of praise. I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name forever and ever.
1. my God, O king ] Or, my God the King. He Who is Israel’s God is the absolute, universal King. The phrase has a larger meaning than that of Psa 5:2, my King and my God.
for ever and ever ] Israel is probably the speaker; and Israel as the people of God is immortal (Hab 1:12). Generation after generation ( Psa 145:4) will take up the unending chorus of praise. If it is an individual who speaks, we must suppose, with Delitzsch, that in his devotion to the eternal King he forgets his own mortality. For it is at least doubtful if, even late in the post-exilic period, the doctrine of a personal immortality of conscious and active blessedness was so clearly developed that the words could have been used originally in the sense in which the Christian uses them now. But, as Del. rightly remarks, the divinely implanted impulse of the soul to find its highest delight in the praise of its Creator is in itself a practical argument for a life after death.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1, 2. Cp. Psa 30:1; Psa 34:1; Psa 34:3; and generally the doxology in 1Ch 29:10 ff.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I will extol thee … – I will lift thee up; I will lift up thy name and praise, so that it may be heard afar.
And I will bless thy name forever and ever – I will bless or praise thee. I will do it now; I will do it in all the future. I will do it in time; I will do it in eternity. See the notes at Psa 30:1.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 145:1-21
I will extol Thee, my God, O King.
The Kinghood of God, and the glory of His providence: –
I. The Kinghood of God (Psa 145:1-13).
1. Absolutely incomparable.
(1) Majesty incomprehensible.
(2) Reign perpetual.
(3) Power tremendous.
2. Supremely praiseworthy.
(1) By all.
(2) At all times.
(3) For ever.
II. The glory of His providence (Psa 145:14-21). His kindness to–
1. Fallen man.
2. Universal life. The–
(1) extent;
(2) seasonableness;
(3) readiness;
(4) completeness of His providential care. Whatever the wants–corporeal, intellectual, moral, social–He satisfies all.
3. His kindness to the genuinely pious.
(1) Its spiritual activity.
(2) Its transcendent privilege.
(a) Nearness to God.
(b) Satisfaction of desires.
(c) Salvation from all evil.
(3) Its worshipping spirit. (David Thomas, D. D.)
The happy duty of daily praise
If I were to put to you the question, Do you pray? the answer would be very quickly given by every Christian person, Of course I do, and every day, and often in the day. But let me change the inquiry, and say, Do you bless God every day? I am not sure the answer would be quite so certain, so general, so prompt. Praise is certainly not so common in family prayer as other forms of worship. Be this our resolve: I will extol Thee, etc. We ought to do this, for it is due to God, and praise is pre-eminently characteristic of the true child of God. It is singularly beneficial to ourselves; if we had more of it we should be greatly blest. Besides, unless we praise God here how are we preparing for our eternal home? Now to help in this joyful duty of praise let us turn to our text and see in it–
I. The resolve of personal loyalty.
1. He pays homage to God as his King.
2. He personally appropriates God to himself by faith. My God. That word my is a drop of honey, nay, like Jonathans word, it is full of honey. And–
3. He is firmly resolved to praise God. My text has four I wills in it. And–
4. He himself will do this. No matter what other people do. Let none of us lose our own personality in the multitude, saying, Things will go on very well without me. Each one of us must praise God.
5. And he will be always doing this In the second clause of our text we have–
II. The conclusion of as intelligent appreciation. And I will bless, etc.
1. He presents the worship of inward administration. Therefore he blesses the Divine name.
2. And he meant that he wished well to the Lord. To bless a person means to do that person good. If we cannot give anything to God, we can desire that He may be known, loved and honoured by all men. It seems that David studied the character and doings of God, so that he found nothing in God which he could not praise. And he is very intense over this. For ever and ever. The words run parallel with Addisons verse which tells that Eternitys too short to utter all Thy praise. Somebody cavilled at that once, and said, Eternity cannot be too short. But in poetry and in praise the letter killeth. Language is poor when the soul is on fire.
III. There is also the pledge of daily remembrnace. Every day will I, etc. For the greatness of gifts we have already received demands it. To-day it becomes us to sing of the mercies of yesterday. Each day has its mercy, and should render its praise. If we cannot praise God on any one day for what we have had that day let us praise Him for to-morrow. There is a seasonableness about the praising of God every day. For the praise of God is always in season. The last sentence tells–
IV. The hope of eternal adoration David believed, therefore, that God was unchangeable, and in the immortality of the soul. And his resolve was that while here he would ever praise. But yonder we will praise him better. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Gods chosen people extolling their Sovereign King
I. The sovereignty here asserted.
1. In the heart.
2. In the Church.
3. Over all things–in heaven, earth, hell.
II. The experience claimed. My God. He is my Father, and has made me an heir of His kingdom.
III. The vow recorded. I will extol Thee.
1. With the praises of the lips.
2. With the vigour of the new and inner man.
3. With the valour of faith. (R. C. Dillon, D. D.)
Christ the King of saints
Rev. Thomas Spurgeon, preaching on Ecee Rex, tells the story of a soldiers death. He was wasted with disease and just about to pass into the unseen world and answer to the muster-roll above. Despite his weakness he sat himself upright in bed, lifted his hand to his forehead in a military salute, and said, The King, and so died.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
PSALM CXLV
God is praised for his unsearchable greatness, 1, 2;
for his majesty and terrible acts, 3, 6;
for his goodness and tender mercies to all, 7-9;
for his power and kingdom, 10-13;
for his kindness to the distressed, 14;
for his providence, 15-17.
He hears and answers prayer, 18-20.
All should praise him, 21.
NOTES ON PSALM CXLV.
This Psalm is attributed to David by the Hebrew and all the Versions. It is the last of the acrostic Psalms; and should contain twenty-two verses, as answering to the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet; but the verse between the thirteenth and fourteenth, beginning with the letter nun, is lost out of the present Hebrew copies; but a translation of it is found in the Syriac, Septuagint, Vulgate, AEthiopic, Arabic, and Anglo-Saxon. See below. It is an incomparable Psalm of praise; and the rabbins have it in such high estimation, that they assert, if a man with sincerity of heart repeat it three times a-day, he shall infallibly enjoy the blessings of the world to come. It does not appear on what particular occasion it was composed; or, indeed, whether there was any occasion but gratitude to God for his ineffable favours to mankind.
Verse 1. I will extol thee] I will raise thee on high, I will lift thee up.
I will bless thy name] leolam vaed, for ever and onward, in this and the coming world. This sort of expressions, which are very difficult to be translated, are on the whole well expressed by those words, in a hymn of Mr. Addison: –
Through all eternity to thee
A joyful song I’ll raise;
But O, eternity’s too short
To utter all thy praise!
This contains a strong hyperbole; but allowable in such cases.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
O King; or, the King, by way of eminency; the King of kings, the God by whom kings reign, and to whom I and all other kings owe subjection and obedience.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1, 2. (Compare Ps30:1).
bless thy namecelebrateThy perfections (Ps 5:11). Godis addressed as king, alluding to His government of men.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I will extol thee, my God, O King,…. Or “the King” a, the King Messiah, who is by way of eminency called “the King”, as in
Ps 21:1. This is the foundation of this whole psalm, as Aben Ezra observes; and shows who is intended and who is the subject of it that is spoken of throughout, even the Messiah, who is the King of the world, the King of the kings of it, the King of Zion, of his church and people, the King of saints, of all believers in him, by the appointment of God, by the conquest of his grace, over whom he reigns by his Spirit and grace; for this his kingdom is spiritual, is in righteousness, and everlasting: and this great King is not a creature, but God, the mighty God, David’s Lord and God, and the Lord and God of every saint; whom David loved as such, believed in, looked unto for salvation; from whom he received grace and expected glory, and knew and claimed his interest in him, which is the great privilege of believers in him; see
Joh 20:28; and therefore they, as David, will extol him above all created beings, he being God over all; extol him above all men, even the best and greatest, Moses, Joshua, Aaron, Abraham, or any other, who are his creatures, his children, and his subjects; and even as man he is to be extolled above all men; being chosen out from among the people, fairer than the children of men, and the chiefest among ten thousand; and above the angels, having a more excellent name and nature than they; they being his creatures and servants, and he their Creator and the object of their worship: Christ is extolled by his people when they ascribe deity to him, magnify him in his offices, and make use of him in them all; attribute their whole salvation to him, think and speak highly of him, and declare him extolled and exalted at the right hand of God, as he now is, and as the Old Testament saints, as David and others, had a foresight of and rejoiced in, Ps 110:1; the Septuagint, Syriac, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, have it, “my King”; see Zec 9:9;
and I will bless thy name for ever and ever; by pronouncing him the Son of the Blessed, God over all blessed for ever; and by ascribing blessing, honour, glory, and power, unto him; by adoring and celebrating the perfections of his nature, which are his name, by which he is known; by expressing a high value and esteem for every precious name of his, as Immanuel, God with us; Jesus, a Saviour, c. and a regard to his everlasting Gospel, which is his name, bore by his ministering servants throughout the world see Ps 8:1.
a “rex”, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The strains with which this hymn opens are familiar Psalm-strains. We are reminded of Psa 30:2, and the likewise alphabetical song of praise and thanksgiving Psa 34:2. The plena scriptio in Psa 143:10; Psa 98:6. The language of address “my God the King,” which sounds harsh in comparison with the otherwise usual “my King and my God” (Psa 5:3; Psa 84:4), purposely calls God with unrelated generality, that is to say in the most absolute manner, the King. If the poet is himself a king, the occasion for this appellation of God is all the more natural and the signification all the more pertinent. But even in the mouth of any other person it is significant. Whosoever calls God by such a name acknowledges His royal prerogative, and at the same time does homage to Him and binds himself to allegiance; and it is just this confessory act of exalting Him who in Himself is the absolutely lofty One that is here called . But who can the poet express the purpose of praising God’s Name for ever? Because the praise of God is a need of his inmost nature, he has a perfect right to forget his own mortality when engaged upon this devotion to the ever-living King. Clinging adoringly to the Eternal One, he must seem to himself to be eternal; and if there is a practical proof for a life after death, it is just this ardent desire of the soul, wrought of God Himself, after the praise of the God of its life (lit., its origin) which affords it the highest, noblest delight. The idea of the silent Hades, which forces itself forward elsewhere, as in Psa 6:6, where the mind of the poet is beclouded by sin, is here entirely removed, inasmuch as here the mind of the poet is the undimmed mirror of the divine glory. Therefore Psa 145:2 also does not concede the possibility of any interruption of the praise: the poet will daily (Psa 68:20) bless God, be they days of prosperity or of sorrow, uninterruptedly in all eternity will he glorify His Name ( as in Psa 69:31). There is no worthier and more exhaustless object of praise (Psa 145:3): Jahve is great, and greatly to be praised ( , taken from Psa 48:2, as in Psa 96:4, cf. Psa 18:4), and of His “greatness” (cf. 1Ch 29:11, where this attribute precedes all others) there is no searching out, i.e., it is so abysmally deep that no searching can reach its bottom (as in Isa 40:28; Job 11:7.). It has, however, been revealed, and is being revealed continually, and is for this very reason thus celebrated in Psa 145:4: one generation propagates to the next the growing praise of the works that He has wrought out ( ), and men are able to relate all manner of proofs of His victorious power which prevails over everything, and makes everything subject to itself ( as in Psa 20:7, and frequently). This historically manifest and traditional divine doxa and the facts ( as in Psa 105:27) of the divine wonders the poet will devoutly consider. stands in attributive relation to , as this on its part does to . Thy brilliantly gloriously (kingly) majesty (cf. Jer 22:18; Dan 11:21). The poet does not say , nor may we insert it, either here in Psa 145:5, or in Psa 145:6, where the same sequence of thoughts recurs, more briefly expressed. The emphasis lies on the objects. The mightiness ( as in Psa 78:4, and in Isa 42:25, where it signifies violence) of His terrible acts shall pass from mouth to mouth ( with a substantival object as in Psa 40:11), and His mighty acts ( , magnalia , as in 1Ch 17:19, 1Ch 17:21) – according to the Ker (which is determined by the suffix of ; cf. however, 2Sa 22:23; 2Ki 3:3; 2Ki 10:26, and frequently): His greatness ( ) – will he also on his part make the matter of his narrating. It is, however, not alone the awe-inspiring majesty of God which is revealed in history, but also the greatness ( used as a substantive as in Psa 31:20; Isa 63:7; Isa 21:7, whereas in Psa 32:10; Psa 89:51 is an adjective placed before the noun after the manner of a numeral), i.e., the abundant measure, of His goodness and His righteousness, i.e., His acting in inviolable correspondence with His counsel and order of salvation. The memory of the transcendent goodness of God is the object of universal, overflowing acknowledgement and the righteousness of God is the object of universal exultation ( with the accusative as in Psa 51:16; Psa 59:17). After the poet has sung the glorious self-attestation of God according to both its sides, the fiery and the light sides, he lingers by the light side, the front side of the Name of Jahve unfolded in Exo 34:6.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Grateful Acknowledgments. | |
David’s psalm of praise.
1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. 2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. 5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. 6 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. 7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. 8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. 9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
The entitling of this David’s psalm of praise may intimate not only that he was the penman of it, but that he took a particular pleasure in it and sung it often; it was his companion wherever he went. In this former part of the psalm God’s glorious attributes are praised, as, in the latter part of the psalm, his kingdom and the administration of it. Observe,
I. Who shall be employed in giving glory to God.
1. Whatever others do, the psalmist will himself be much in praising God. To this good work he here excites himself, engages himself, and has his heart much enlarged in it. What he does, that he will do, having more and more satisfaction in it. It was his duty; it was his delight. Observe, (1.) How he expresses the work itself: “I will extol thee, and bless thy name (v. 1); I will speak well of thee, as thou hast made thyself known, and will therein express my own high thoughts of thee and endeavour to raise the like in others.” When we speak honourably of God, this is graciously interpreted and accepted as an extolling of him. Again (v. 2): I will bless thee, I will praise thy name; the repetition intimates the fervency of his affection to this work, the fixedness of his purpose to abound in it, and the frequency of his performances therein. Again (v. 5): I will speak of thy honour, and (v. 6) I will declare thy greatness. He would give glory to God, not only in his solemn devotions, but in his common conversation. If the heart be full of God, out of the abundance of that the mouth will speak with reverence, to his praise, upon all occasions. What subject of discourse can we find more noble, more copious, more pleasant, useful, and unexceptionable, than the glory of God? (2.) How he expresses his resolution to persevere in it. [1.] He will be constant to this work: Every day will I bless thee. Praising God must be our daily work. No day must pass, though ever so busy a day, though ever so sorrowful a day, without praising God. We ought to reckon it the most needful of our daily employments, and the most delightful of our daily comforts. God is every day blessing us, doing well for us; there is therefore reason that we should be every day blessing him, speaking well of him. [2.] He will continue in it: I will bless thee for ever and ever,Psa 145:1; Psa 145:2. This intimates, First, That he resolved to continue in this work to the end of his life, throughout his ever in this world. Secondly, That the psalms he penned should be made use of in praising God by the church to the end of time, 2 Chron. xxix. 30. Thirdly, That he hoped to be praising God to all eternity in the other world. Those that make praise their constant work on earth shall have it their everlasting bliss in heaven.
2. He doubts not but others also would be forward to this work. (1.) “They shall concur in it now; they shall join with me in it: When I declare thy greatness men shall speak of it (v. 6); they shall abundantly utter it” (v. 7), or pour it out (as the word is); they shall praise God with a gracious fluency, better than the most curious oratory. David’s zeal would provoke many, and it has done so. (2.) “They shall keep it up when I am gone, in an uninterrupted succession (v. 4): One generation shall praise thy works to another.” The generation that is going off shall tell them to that which is rising up, shall tell what they have seen in their days and what they have heard from their fathers; they shall fully and particularly declare thy mighty acts (Ps. lxxviii. 3); and the generation that is rising up shall follow the example of that which is going off: so that the death of God’s worshippers shall be no diminution of his worship, for a new generation shall rise up in their room to carry on that good work, more or less, to the end of time, when it shall be left to that world to do it in which there is no succession of generations.
II. What we must give to God the glory of.
1. Of his greatness and his great works. We must declare, Great is the Lord, his presence infinite, his power irresistible, his brightness insupportable, his majesty awful, his dominion boundless, and his sovereignty incontestable; and therefore there is no dispute, but great is the Lord, and, if great, then greatly to be praised, with all that is within us, to the utmost of our power, and with all the circumstances of solemnity imaginable. His greatness indeed cannot be comprehended, for it is unsearchable; who can conceive or express how great God is? But then it is so much the more to be praised. When we cannot, by searching, find the bottom, we must sit down at the brink, and adore the depth, Rom. xi. 33. God is great, for, (1.) His majesty is glorious in the upper world, above the heavens, where he has set his glory; and when we are declaring his greatness we must not fail to speak of the glorious honour of his majesty, the splendour of the glory of his majesty (v. 5), how brightly he shines in the upper world, so as to dazzle the eyes of the angels themselves, and oblige them to cover their faces, as unable to bear the lustre of it. (2.) His works are wondrous in this lower world. The preservation, maintenance, and government of all the creatures, proclaim the Creator very great. When therefore we declare his greatness we must observe the unquestionable proofs of it, and must declare his mighty acts (v. 4), speak of his wondrous works (v. 5), the might of his terrible acts, v. 6. We must see God acting and working in all the affairs of this lower world. Various instruments are used, but in all events God is the supreme director; it is he that performs all things. Much of his power is seen in the operations of his providence (they are mighty acts, such as cannot be paralleled by the strength of any creature), and much of his justice–they are terrible acts, awful to saints, dreadful to sinners. These we should take all occasions to speak of, observing the finger of God, his hand, his arm, in all, that we may marvel.
2. Of his goodness; this is his glory, Exod. xxxiii. 19. It is what he glories in (Exo 34:6; Exo 34:7), and it is what we must give him the glory of: They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, v. 7. God’s goodness is great goodness, the treasures of it can never be exhausted, nay, they can never be lessened, for he ever will be as rich in mercy as he ever was. It is memorable goodness; it is what we ought always to lay before us, always to have in mind and preserve the memorials of, for it is worthy to be had in everlasting remembrance; and the remembrance we retain of God’s goodness we should utter, we should abundantly utter, as those who are full of it, very full of it, and desire that others may be acquainted and affected with it. But, whenever we utter God’s great goodness, we must not forget, at the same time, to sing of his righteousness; for, as he is gracious in rewarding those that serve him faithfully, so he is righteous in punishing those that rebel against him. Impartial and inflexible justice is as surely in God as inexhaustible goodness; and we must sing of both together, Rom. xi. 22. (1.) There is a fountain of goodness in God’s nature (v. 8): The Lord is gracious to those that serve him; he is full of compassion to those that need him, slow to anger to those that have offended him, and of great mercy to all that seek him and sue to him. He is ready to give, and ready to forgive, more ready than we are to ask, than we are to repent. (2.) There are streams of goodness in all the dispensations of his providence, v. 9. As he is good, so he does good; he is good to all, to all his creatures, from the highest angel to the meanest worm, to all but devils and damned sinners, that have shut themselves out from his goodness. His tender mercies are over all his works. [1.] All his works, all his creatures, receive the fruits of his merciful care and bounty. It is extended to them all; he hates nothing that he has made. [2.] The works of his mercy out-shine all his other works, and declare him more than any of them. In nothing will the glory of God be for ever so illustrious as in the vessels of mercy ordained to glory. To the divine goodness will the everlasting hallelujahs of all the saints be sung.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Psalms 145
The Hallelujah Chorus Scripture v. 1-21:
This is the “Hallelujah chorus,” or introduction to the five final Psalms 146-150. According to Emerson Harris on the psalms there are five prominent occasions set forth in this psalm for praising God: 1) For His greatness, v. 1-6; 2) For His goodness, v. 7-10; 3) For His Glory, v. 11-13; 4) For His guidance; v. 14-16; and 5) For His Grace, v. 17-21; (The Psalms outlined, p. 160) Five is the number of Grace, appears to be reason enough for studying this psalm in this manner.
Verses 1, 2 declare, “I will (am resolved to Joh 7:17) extol thee, my God, O King; (ruler of my life) and I will (am determined to) bless (praise) thy name for ever and ever,” a noble will and resolve, Psa 30:1; Psa 144:10; Psa 20:9; Psa 24:8; Psa 24:10; Psa 29:10; Psa 34:1; Psa 138:8. He added v.2 “Every day will I bless thee; I will praise thy name for ever and ever,” Psa 68:19; Psa 69:30.
Verse 3 asserts “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable,” as well as His ways past finding out, Rom 11:33; Psa 48:1; Job 5:9; Job 11:7; Eph 3:8.
Verses 4, 5 add, “One generation shall praise thy name to another, and shall declare (relate) thy mighty acts,” of greatness, as manifestations of His mercy and righteousness. He adds, “I will speak (witness) of the glorious honor (esteem) of thy majesty,” an absolute King of heaven and earth, Psa 105:27; Psa 18:2; Psa 62:7.
Verse 6 add, “One generation shall praise thy name to another, and shall declare (relate) thy mighty acts,” of greatness, as manifestations of His mercy and righteousness. He adds, “I will speak (witness) of the glorious honor (esteem) of thy majesty,” as absolute King of heaven and earth, Psa 105:27;Psalms 182; Psa 62:7.
Verse 6 adds further, “And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I (David). will declare thy greatness,” v.3, as deliverer and redeemer of thy people, Psa 40:1-3; Psa 107:2; Act 1:7; Rom 1:16; Rom 11:33.
Verse 7 prophesies that “They (future generations) shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness,” with unceasing, glorious praises, Psa 19:2; Psa 119:68. His righteous deeds flow from the goodness of His character.
Verse 8 extols, “the Lord is gracious (abounding in grace), and full of compassion,” Exo 34:6. “Slow to anger and of great mercy,” in all His deeds, flowing from His character and Divine attributes, Psa 103:8; Joh 1:14; Joh 1:17; 2Pe 3:18.
Verse 9 asserts, “The Lord is good to all (all men); and his tender mercies are over all his works,” as expressed, Psa 100:5; Nah 1:7; Mat 5:45; Act 14:17; How much more are they over His children, Psa 103:13; Psa 147:9; Psa 138:8.
Verses 10, 11 certify “all thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee,” the redeemed worshippers of Israel; “They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power,” by their conscious voice or by eloquent silence, Psa 19:1-3; Psa 103:22; This is to be especially true when the earthly reign of the Messiah comes, Psa 103:19; Rev 11:15; Rev 11:17. See also Isa 9:7; Mic 4:7; 1Ti 6:15-16.
Verse 12 explains that their testimony is “to make known to the sons of men, the gentile world, his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom,” 1Co 15:24-28; 1Co 9:21-27; Act 1:8.
Verse 13 declares “Thy kingdom is (exists as) an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth (continuously) throughout all generations,” Dan 2:44; Dan 4:34, as the kingdom of the Messiah, the Son of David, Isa 9:7; Luk 1:32-33.
Verse 14 assures “The Lord upholdeth (at all times) all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down, “as certified, Psa 37:17; Psa 37:24; Psa 146:8.
Verses 15, 16 verify that, “The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest (dolest out) to them their meat (food) in due season,” as they need it. “Thou openest thine hand, (with charity) and satisfiest the desire of every living thing, Psa 104:27-28; Deu 33:23; Act 14:17.
Verses 17, 18 assert that, ‘The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works,” both merciful and bountiful toward all men, beyond their merit, Psa 16:10.
Verse 18 adds, “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon (pray to) him,” as also assured, Deu 4:7; 1Ki 18:17-18; Joh 14:23; Jas 4:8. It Is added, ‘To all that call upon him in truth,” not in hypocrisy or formalism, deceitfully, Joh 4:24.
Verse 19 certifies, by the honor and integrity of God, that “He will fulfill (meet) the desire (earnest pleading) of them that fear him. He also will hear their cry (prayer-cry) and will save them,” 1Jn 5:14.
Verse 20 further certifies, ‘The Lord preserveth (continuously) all them that love him; but all the wicked will be destroyed,” brought to great suffering and loss, not annihilated, Joh 5:24; Joh 10:27-29; 1Jn 5:13.
Verse 21 concludes, “My mouth shall speak the praise (Hallelujah) of the Lord, even every day, as pledged, v.2. He adds, “And let all flesh bless (or praise) his holy name for ever and ever,” even all that have breath, Psa 150:6; Rev 5:13.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1. I will extol thee, my God and my king. David does not so much tell what he would do himself, as stir up and urge all others to this religious service of offering to God the praises due to his name. The design with which he declares God to be beneficent to the children of men is, to induce them to cultivate a pious gratitude, he insists upon the necessity of persevering in the exercise; for since God is constant in extending mercies, it would be highly improper in us to faint in his praises. As he thus gives his people new ground for praising him, so he stimulates them to gratitude, and to exercise it throughout the whole course of their life. In using the term daily, he denotes perseverance in the exercise. Afterwards he adds, that should he live through a succession of ages he would never cease to act in this manner. The repetitions used tend very considerably to give emphasis to his language. As it is probable that the Psalm was written at a time when the kingdom of David was in a flourishing condition, the circumstances deserves notice, that in calling God his king he gives both himself and other earthly princes their proper place, and does not allow any earthly distinctions to interfere with the glory due to God.
This is made still more manifest in the verse which follows, where, in speaking of the greatness of God as unmeasurable, he intimates that we only praise God aright when we are filled and overwhelmed with an ecstatic admiration of the immensity of his power. This admiration will form the fountain from which our just praises of him will proceed, according the measure of our capacity.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
INTRODUCTION
This it the last of the Alphabetical Psalms, says Perowne, of which there are eight in all, if we reckon the ninth and tenth Psalms as forming one. Like four other of the Alphabetical Psalms this bears the name of David, although there can in this case be no doubt that the inscription is not to be trusted. As in several other instances, so here, the acrostic arrangement is not strictly observed. The letter nun () is omitted. In the Septuagint, a verse which begins with is supplied between Psa. 145:13-14. But this is unquestionably an interpolation, and is borrowed from Psa. 145:17, with the exception of the first word, which is taken from the nun-strophe of the Alphabetical Psalms 111.
While Perowne, in the passage quoted above, pronounces so positively against the trust-worthiness of the superscription, Hengstenberg is equally firm in asserting the originality of the superscription, which, he holds, does not admit of doubt. Barnes, David Dickson, M. Henry, and others, accept the Davidic authorship.
This is the only Psalm which is called a Tehillah, i.e., Praise or Hymn, the plural of which word, Tehillim, is the general name for the whole Psalter. The word is admirably descriptive of the contents of the Psalm, which is laudatory throughout.
The Ancient Church employed this Psalm at the mid-day meal, and Psa. 145:15 at the Passover. The Talmud assures us (Berachoth, 4 b.) that every one who repeals this Psalm three times daily may be satisfied that he is a child of the future world. The Gemarra adduces in support of this the curious reason, that it is not only written in Alphabetical order, like Psalms 119. and others, and not only praises the Divine care over all creatures, like Psa. 136:25, but combines both these important characteristics in itself.
This Psalm admits of no analysis, being made up of variations on a single theme, the righteousness and goodness of God to men in general, to His own people in particular, and more especially to those that suffer.
THE PRAISE OF THE DIVINE GREATNESS
(Psa. 145:1-7)
Here are two main lines of thought for us to pursue
I. The reasons of the Divine praise. The grand reason of praise in this section of the Psalm seems to be the greatness of God. Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable. Jehovah is great in Himself; His being is underived, independent, eternal, infinitely perfect. Gods greatnessHis infinityis in itself a just ground of praise, for we should rejoice that there is One Infinite Eternal Being; and as all that greatness is employed in the cause of truth, of law, of good order, of justice, of kindness, of mercy, it should call forth continued praise in all parts of His dominions.Barnes.
1. He is great in His deeds. Thy mighty acts; Thy wondrous works; The might of Thy terrible acts. We must see God, says Matthew Henry, acting and working in all the affairs of this lower world. Various instruments are used, but in all events God is the supreme director; it is He that performs all things. Much of His power is seen in the operations of Providence (they are mighty acts, such as cannot be paralleled by the strength of any creature), and much of His justicethey are terrible acts, awful to saints, dreadful to sinners. These we should take all occasions to speak of, observing the finger of God, His hand, His arm, in all, that we may marvel.
2. He is great in His majesty. I will speak of the glorious honour of Thy majesty. By this accumulation of words, says Geier, the incomparable glory and majesty of God are set forth. The Psalmist is striving after a suitable mode of expression for his exuberant feeling. Or, as Barnes puts it: This accumulation of epithets shows that the heart of the Psalmist was full of the subject, and that he laboured to find language to express his emotions. It is beauty; it is glory; it is majesty;it is all that is great, sublime, wonderfulall combinedall concentrated in one Being.
3. He is great in His goodness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of Thy great goodness. Great goodness, says Moll, is not referred to in the sense of abundant mercy (most), but in the sense of the universal excellence of His attributes, His goodness in every relation. Hengstenberg: The essential goodness.
4. He is great in righteousness. They shall sing of Thy righteousness. The goodness of God is not that weak, molluscous quality which is sometimes called goodness in man: it is a strong thing, a righteous thing. He ever manifests the strictest regard for justice and truth. How great is God! supremely, infinitely great!
II. The characteristics of the Divine praise.
1. It is constant. Every day will I bless Thee. Hengstenberg translates: Continually will I praise Thee. The translation of the A. V. is more faithful to the letter; but Hengstenberg seems to us to present the idea of the poet, that he will offer to God constant worship. Praise with the godly man is not an occasional exercise of the voice, but a continual disposition of the soul. Praising God must be our daily work; no day must pass, though ever so busy a day, without praising God. We ought to reckon it the most needful of our daily employments, and the most delightful of our daily comforts. God is every day blessing us, doing well for us; there is therefore reason that we should be every day blessing Him, speaking well of Him.Henry.
2. It is perpetual. I will extol Thee, my God, O King; and I will bless Thy name for ever and ever. I will praise Thy name for ever and ever. Here are two aspects of the perpetuity of the praise of God:
(1.) The devout soul. will praise God for ever. So long as his being lasted in the lovingkindness of God, he must also continue to give praise.
Through all eternity to Thee
A joyful song Ill raise:
But oh! eternitys too short
To utter all Thy praise.Addison.
(2.) Every succeeding generation shall praise God. One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts. The generation that is going off shall tell them to that which is rising up, shall tell what they have seen in their days and what they have heard from their fathers; and the generation that is rising up shall follow the example of that which is going off: so that the death of Gods worshippers shall be no diminution of His worship, for a new generation shall rise up in their room to carry on that good work to the end of time, when it shall be left to that world to do it in in which there is no succession of generations.
3. It is fervent. Greatly to be praised. They shall abundantly utter the memory of Thy great goodness, &c. Conant translates: Let them pour forth the memory, &c. The idea is that the heart is filled to overflowing with thoughts of the great goodness of God, and that it pours forth its feelings in grateful and fervent praise. God shall be praised with glowing enthusiasm.
4. It is songful. They shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness. His praise is celebrated by His people openly and publicly; not in cold and measured prose, but in glowing and rapturous poetry; not in ordinary speech, but with musics highest and sweetest strains. Their adoring joy pours itself forth in holy and exultant songs.
Let our hearts and voices be much engaged in this holy and delightful service.
THE PRAISE OF TIME
(Psa. 145:4)
We may consider this
I. As the decree of God.
He who made the world has willed that it should praise Him. The works of God carry out His decree. The sun and moon proclaim His power. Day and night utter His wisdom. The seasons declare His bounty and His faithfulness. And the history of man, even yet more strikingly, sets forth Gods glory. This truth is ever writtenThe Lord is King. He rules. None can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou? Look at Pharaoh; Nebuchadnezzar. Or call to mind the history of Joseph, Balaam, Jonah, Sennacherib, Cyrus, Saul of Tarsus. Or the Jewish rulers who crucified the Lord of glory, &c. (Act. 4:27-28). The mysteries of affliction teach the same lesson. The erring has been thus brought back, or the faithful confirmed, or Gods power displayed (Joh. 9:3). And the Church of Christ is a standing witness of the same great truth. The gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Mans opposition has proved the wave that has wafted the truth onward (Act. 4:31; Act. 11:19; Act. 13:51; Act. 14:20; Act. 17:15; Act. 25:11; Act. 28:31).
What a contrast is there in all this to the name and acts of men! How does every annual revolution of time find human propositions annulled, human names forgotten, human greatness brought low. But each succeeding year finds one Name unchanged; one arm still mighty to deliver; one King ruling, as ever; one Lord still faithful to His promise; one memorial enduring through all generations. The decree of God is kept. All time sets forth His praise.
II. As expressing the resolution and work of Christs Church.
Praise is the rightful attitude of the redeemed (Psa. 107:2). Mercy felt love appreciated, salvation embraced and enjoyed, is sure to beget true thanksgiving. God hath chosen His people to praise Him (Isa. 43:21; 1Pe. 2:9). And even angels cannot sing the new song which belongs to the saved from earth alone (Rev. 14:3). And the people of God have ever claimed their holy privilege. They have sung of creation and of providence, and the wonders of redeeming love. God has never left Himself without this witness in the world. In every age, however corrupt, there have been those who rejoiced to declare His mighty acts. Even before the Flood, there was Noah; in the time of idolatrous Ahab, Elijah; in Babylon, Daniel. In New Testament days we have the same history. Every martyr, from Stephen onward, bore in his blood the testimony of praise. If Job said, Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him, Paul answered, I am willing to die for the Name of the Lord Jesus. If David said, I will bless the Lord at all times, Paul, again, added, Rejoice in the Lord alway. If Elijah showed himself to Ahab, Luther did not shrink from meeting those who sought to take his life. If the Apostles went forth, in obedience to the Lords command, and preached the Gospel, hazarding their lives for the Saviours Name, this noble act of praise has been re-echoed in later days in Sierra Leone, in New Zealand, in India, in the Sandwich Islands, in Central Africa, by those who have gone forth to brave every danger in making known the same good tidings. Thus in all time the resolution of the Church of Christ is one and the same. One generation shall praise Thy works to another.
Three thoughts seem to arise in conclusion:
1. What are WE doing to make our generation one of praise? We have received from the generations before a glorious light; are we sending it onward and around?
2. Do we possess in ourselves that salvation which alone enables us truly to praise? Have we tasted that the Lord is gracious?
3. How glorious shall be the praise of heaven! Now one age to another, one land to another, praise God. What shall be the glory of the song when every age and every land shall join in the song of Moses and the Lamb!W.S.Bruce, M.A. From The Homiletic Quarterly.
THE PRAISE OF THE DIVINE GOODNESS
(Psa. 145:8-10)
In these verses the poet celebrates the praise of God as a good or benevolent Being. Three leading considerations claim our attention:
I. The various manifestations of Gods goodness.
The goodness or benevolence of God is here clearly stated. Jehovah is gracious ; Jehovah is good to all. And it seems to us that the expressions used by the Psalmist suggest certain manifestations of this goodness. Here is an indication of His
1. Pity for suffering men. Jehovah is full of compassion. Perowne: Of tender compassion is Jehovah. It presents to us the goodness of God in its attitude towards the wretched. How great and manifold are the sufferings and sorrows of human life! God regards all sufferers with tenderest pity. In all their afflictions He is afflicted. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities; and touched deeply, for He is full of compassion. The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
2. Patience with sinful men. Slow to anger. He holds back the outgoings of His wrath. He has great patience with perverse rebels. The Lord is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
3. Pardon for penitent men. Of great mercy; or, great in mercy. How freely and fully in His great mercy does God forgive all who penitently seek Him! His mercy is great unto the heavens. His mercy is everlasting. The greatness of His mercy is seen
(1.) In the immense numbers to which it extends. His tender mercies are over all His works. He is not willing that any should perish.
(2.) In the characters to which it extends. It reaches to the chief of sinners. It offers pardon to the most guilty. It saves unto the uttermost.
(3.) In the sacrifice which its exercise involved. God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. God who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, &c. He spared not His own Son, &c.
(4.) In the blessings which flow from it. The free and full forgiveness of sins is but the beginning of its blessings. Holiness, peace, joy, heaven, are all bestowed upon believers in Christ Jesus, in the exercise of the Divine mercy. The blessings which flow from it are rich, inexhaustible, everlasting, and unspeakably precious. Truly God is great in mercy. He delighteth in mercy.
II. The universality of Gods goodness.
Jehovah is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. It has been well observed that this is a saying which does not seem as true in the winter as in the summer of life. Spoken in the quiet church, amid all the accompaniments of prayer and praise, with the quietude of the holy place to calm us, and music and memory and hope to bear us company, it is a saying that men will let pass as something they do not think of questioning; but, spoken to a poor woman who has just lost the stay of her home; spoken to a hard-working man who has just seen the hopes of years disappear; spoken to little children who have just been thrown on the world without father, or mother, or friend, or home; spoken to a good man whose reward seems nothing but disappointment and trouble and loss,I do not wonder that it sounds to some like a mockery: and I do not wonder that men have turned away and said that these things are all very well in the church, but that they break down when men go into the open world.
Let us look at these words, then, that we may, if possible, find some solid ground for this saying that God is good to all. And here the fact we have to master is this:That we must judge of Gods dealings towards us with reference to some system or order under which we live. The system under which we live is something like this:
1. A vast, complicated, and beneficent set of laws are at work, which apply in common to all. We are in a world the central principle of which is the universality and certainty of every prevailing lawthis necessitating that God shall not come forth to accommodate the facts and the laws of the universe to every individual need, but that He shall provide for the steadfast abiding of everything in its place, and for the constancy of that thing to the law of its being. In this very thing, then, which has seemed so hard, inexorable, and cruel; in this steadfastness of the laws of the universe, I find the first proof of the universal goodness of Goda goodness which would not be increased, which would indeed be marred and spoiled and thwarted if He made the connection between cause and effect uncertain; and if, by special interferences on behalf of individuals, He brought uncertainty into the common life of the race. For if He specially came forth, to interfere in particular cases, to reverse or suspend the ordinary laws of life, or to save men from the effects of causes, every man would look for such interferences on his behalf; and recklessness, and presumption, and indolence, with all their attendant miseries and disappointments, would be increased a thousandfold. Here, then, where Gods goodness seems to be defective, we find an abiding proof of it.
2. We see that in the Divine administration of the laws of the universe, there is no partiality; all these great laws are steadfast, whoever applies to them. God is good to all in working by beautiful and beneficent laws that are as generous and as steadfast as Himself A man who has just denied the very existence of God goes into his field, and sows his seed; and, in a moment, all the wonderful laws of God leap to obey and bless him, and to give him the result of his seed-sowing, quite as readily, quite as speedily, as in the case where the sower thanks God and sows his seed with prayer. God is clearly no partial administrator of His laws. His sun shines and His rain falls on the evil and on the unthankful. He holds all the myriad laws of the universe to their appointed place, for He is good to all.
3. Then, closely connected with that, is His impartial bestowment of all the common mercies of life for all. God distributes His mercies, not to bless this man or that, any more than He maintains His beautiful laws to advantage this man or that; but He scatters His mercies as men scatter seed, as though He reflected not which should prosper, this or that, or which was good or which was thorny ground. Gods sun shines; but if the sinner opens his eyes first, he will first behold it. Gods pure air comes on the wings of the morning; but if the impious one goes out first to breathe it, he will first be invigorated by it. Gods rain falls on every field, and if the sinners seed is in, it will first get the sweet enrichments of it. It is the same with everything. The mercies of God come to all, are open to all. It is only when sin makes a man naturally unable to find or keep a mercy of God that he finds the mercy disappear; but in every case there is a natural connection between the sin and the deprivation. Thus, again, if a man be pure, and wise, and good, he may be blest above the man who is impure, and foolish, and debased; but if so, it will be because there is a necessary and natural connection between his virtue and the blessing he finds, the one growing out of the other, and not because God selects him for rewards.
4. We may find His universal goodness in that wonderful law of our being, by which, as a rule, men are so easily and insensibly adapted to their condition. Thus, we find that a condition of life which would be insupportable to one, has become quite bearable or even satisfactory to another. The back adjusts itself to the burden; and the mind, the temperament, the tastes, the habits, the hopes, the likes and dislikes of a man, all, as a rule, naturally fall into harmony with his state; and this without his knowing it, or planning it, or striving after it. Thus, it is really quite an open question, whether men who are very rich enjoy life more than men who are moderately poor; or whether the palaces have contained more pleasure than the cottages of the world. You have heard men express their love for occupations that you would despise, and their contentment in habitations that made you shudder, and even their delight in persons from whom you shrink. You wonder how they can do without this or thathow they can bear with this or that; but the want is not felt by them, the burden galls them not. To this I might add the touching and most significant fact, that time seems to have a gentle healing virtue in it to soothe and comfort men; so that not only to our general condition in life, but to our special griefs, this blessed law applies. It is not that we forget; for often, as time goes on, memory only brightens and deepens with the passing years; but a gracious hand seems to steal over us, smoothing down the wrinkles of the spirit, and healing the wounds of the heart, and in this we may see a touching proof that God is good to all.
5. We may look for a closing proof of this statement to the results that follow much of what we call not good and not merciful in this world. Much that seems not good, much that seems not merciful, is the best part of the discipline of lifeor sometimes even the best guide to the still waters and the green pastures. A vast number of the ills of life are incentives to action, calls to duty, motives for exertion, wonderful schoolmasters to give us the needed mastery of the knowledge of good and evil. Many of the results of hardships are beneficent.
God is indeed good to all; to every creatureto the lowest, the saddest, the meanest, the sinfullest; and His tender mercies are over all His works.
III. The praise of Gods goodness.
All Thy works shall praise Thee, O Jehovah; and Thy saints shall bless Thee. Concerning this praise two points require notice:
1. Its universality. All Thy works praise Thee, O Jehovah. All Gods works do praise Him, as the beautiful building praises the builder, or the welldrawn picture praises the painter. All His works combine in setting forth His perfections; they manifest His power, and wisdom, and goodness. The heavens declare the glory of God, &c.
2. Its diversity. Thy works praise Thee; and Thy saints bless Thee. His saints praise Him actively, while His other works praise Him only objectively. Angels and glorified saints in heaven, and His people upon earth, praise Him with their will and affections, their reverence and loving obedience.
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me bless His holy name, &c.
ERRORS RESPECTING THE DIVINE BEING
(Psa. 145:9)
Right views of God are most important. Our religion will necessarily be a reflection of them. Our spirit, our hopes or fears, will be influenced, &c. Nations always are as the gods they worship. For the moral character of God we must go to His Word. Our text is an epitome.
I. Let us see what it means.
The goodness or benevolence of God is that which makes Him the source of blessing to His creatures. It takes in kindness, goodwill, love, benignity, &c. In our text it includes mercy, kindness to the guilty and miserable. Now, observe, this view of God is the doctrine of all dispensations
1. See God as mans creator (Gen. 1:26-28).
2. Hear God under the law (Exo. 33:18-19; Exo. 34:6).
3. In the age of Solomon and the Temple (2Ch. 5:13).
4. The prophet Nahum saying, The Lord is good; a stronghold, &c. (Nah. 1:7).
5. Now, hear the Apostles. John: God is love. Paul: God is rich in mercy (Eph. 2:4). James: The Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy (Jas. 5:11). Peter: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious, &c. (1Pe. 2:3-9). Now, before we leave this view of God, see the extent of the Divine goodness. To all. Over all. It must be so. God is infinite, and His goodness and love are thus unbounded. A sea without a bottom, or a shore, &c. And see its duration. From everlasting to everlasting. Endureth for ever. Unchanging and eternal.
II. What views of God are inconsistent with this portrait, and therefore necessarily erroneous.
1. The view that represents God as possessing implacable wrath. This is the opposite pole; never can harmonise; and thus is, of necessity, false. He hateth all evil; but His mercy embraces all sinners.
2. Views which represent Gods goodness as partial and limited. Flatly contradicting the text and the passages we have quoted.
3. Views of the Divine reprobative decrees. By which men have been unconditionally appointed, or left by God, to perish for ever. This is at total variance with the text.
4. Views which represent Gods goodness as only attainable through sacrifice. That God would not be good to sinners until Christ appeased His wrath, &c. God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, &c. Christ is the effect, not the cause, of the Divine mercy. The channel through which it flows, not the spring from whence it rises.
5. That God can be made good by some acts or ceremonies of ours. Tears, penance, &c. How futile! We may come to it by tears, repentance, and faith; but there it was in God before we wept, &c.
6. That God will only be good in the highest sense to a very few. But the Scriptures say: The earth is full of His goodness. He delighteth in mercy. Not willing that any should perish. Such, then, is the great goodness of God; His true merciful character.
Application. If so
1. Then even reason says, Adore Him.
2. Gratitude says, Love, praise, and serve Him. We say to all
3. Come to Him by faith. Trust Him with all your hearts, and evermore, &c.
4. Love says, Delight in Him; be filled with His complacent favour.
5. Wonder marvels at it. Herein is love, &c. God commendeth His love to us, &c. It passeth knowledge. Here is redemptions rocketernal, immutable, &c. Oh give thanks, &c.
6. Jesus is the grand unspeakable manifestation of it. God in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, &c. (2Co. 5:19, seq.).Jabez Burnt, D.D.
THE PRAISE OF THE DIVINE REIGN
(Psa. 145:11-13)
The Psalmist here celebrates the greatness and goodness of God as a King in His kingdom. The suggestions of this part of the Psalm may be grouped under two heads:
I. The characteristics of the reign of the Lord.
The poet here speaks of it as
1. Glorious. They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom; to make known to the sons of men the glorious majesty of His kingdom. The glory of Jehovahs kingdom is not in external pomp and pageantry, but in its moral perfections. In its goodness, its righteousness, its beneficence; in the fact that He reigns to bless His subjects. Where, asks Perowne, is the conspicuous excellence of that kingdom seen? Not in the symbols of earthly pride and power, but in gracious condescension to the fallen and the crushed, in a gracious care which provides for the wants of every living thing. (See our remarks on the blessings of His reign in vol. i. pp. 383, 384.)
2. Mighty. They shall talk of Thy power; to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts. Barnes refers this to His power as put forth in the works of creation; as manifested in the dispensations of His providence; as evinced in the conversion of sinners; as displayed in carrying His truth around the world; as exhibited in sustaining the sufferer, and in giving peace and support to the dying. The might of the reign of Jehovah is moral, the power of truth, righteousness, goodness.
3. Perpetual. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. (On the perpetuity of His reign see vol. i. pp. 224 and 385.)
II. The conversation on the reign of the Lord.
They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of Thy power; to make known, &c. Three homiletical points are here:
1. Delight in His reign. This is here clearly implied. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. We talk of the things in which we are interested, and of those which afford us pleasure. The reign of the Lord is to His people a delightful theme of meditation and discourse.
2. Praise of His reign. The poet here celebrates its perfection and perpetuity. The saints speak of it because they feel that it is worthy of praise and honour. It is one of the reasons for which His saints do bless Him. (On the praise of His reign see vol. i. p. 385.)
3. Desire for the extension of His reign. The saints speak of its glory and power to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom. They are solicitous that others should understand and appreciate the perfections of His reign; that they might be led to yield themselves His willing subjects, and so put themselves under the protection of such a mighty potentate. The Lord, says David Dickson, will have His saints to instruct such as are not converted to know His glory, power, and majesty, that they may be brought in and made subjects of His special kingdom of grace.
What is our relation to this glorious King?
THE GLORY OF CHRISTS KINGDOM
(Psa. 145:11)
As the kingdom of Christ is so conspicuous an object in both Testaments, and is the only one among men by whose government their happiness can be secured, it cannot be improper, from the words before us, to direct your attention to some particulars relating to the nature, extent, and durability of its glory.
I. The glory of this kingdom is manifested in its origin.
It had its origin in infinite mercy and grace. It entered into the councils of the Eternal before the foundation of the world was laid.
In order to establish this kingdom, it was necessary that the Son of God should become incarnate. The foundation of the kingdom was laid in the incarnation and atonement of the Son of God; a foundation proportionate to the grandeur and beauty of the edifice that was to be erected.
The doctrines of the Gospel were, and are, the grand instruments in the hand of the Lord Jesus for bringing souls into subjection to His sceptre. The warfare is entirely spiritual; it is carried on by the light of truth and the burning of conviction. This is a glorious manner of raising a kingdom, worthy of Him who is a Spirit, and who reigns by spiritual and intellectual means in the hearts of His people.
II. The glory of Christs kingdom is manifested in the manner and spirit of its administration.
The last words of David describe the manner of administering this government; The anointed of the God of Jacob, &c. (2Sa. 23:1-4).
The most essential quality in the administration of any government is justice; and justice is most conspicuous in this administration. With righteousness shall He judge the poor, &c. (Isa. 11:4-5). He will render to each of His subjects, not for their works, yet according to their works.
The administration of His kingdom is also benign and graciousit is indeed a kingdom of grace. He revealeth His grace, which is His glory; and thus He captivates the hearts of His people. He delivers the poor when he cries, the needy, and him that hath no helper. When the poor and needy seek water, &c. (Isa. 41:17-18).
In earthly kingdoms the subjects are governed by general laws, which must necessarily be very inadequate to the variety of cases and occurrences. But our King is intimately acquainted with all hearts, and being present in all places, He can apply His acts to individual examples, and appropriate smiles and frowns to each, as if there were no other beings that participated in His attention. In human administrations, the law extends only to outward acts; it relates only to objects of sense: but the kingdom of heaven is a spiritual oneit extends to the heart; it is within you, and relates to righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
It is justly considered a high excellence in a ruler, that he is disinterested, that he pursues no interest of his own apart from the general good of the empire. But never was any one so disinterested as the King of Zion, who laid down His life for His people, while they were yet enemies. The glory of the Father, and the good of man: these engaged His heart, these brought Him from heaven, &c.
III. The glory of the kingdom of Christ appears in the character of His subjects.
1. These subjects are enlightened. They form right estimates of objects, as they are holy or sinful, temporal or eternal, &c.
2. The subjects of this kingdom are renewed. They are made, imperfectly, yet truly holy. It is in this kingdom that patience, purity, humility, faith, and love to God and men, reside.
3. The subjects of this kingdom have in them a preparation for perfect blessedness. They have that which renders them meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. All the love and joy that glow with celestial fervour before the throne of the Heavenly Majesty, is only the consummation of seeds like those which are sown in the hearts of believers.
IV. The glory of the kingdom of Christ is manifest in the privileges that are attached to it.
1. Peace is a peculiar blessing of this kingdom. This begins in reconciliation with God. The consequence of peace with God is peace with one another.
2. The dignity of the subjects of this kingdom is another privilege. To as many as receive Him, &c. (Joh. 1:12; Rom. 8:16-17; 1Jn. 3:1-2).
3. Immortality shall be the blessing of this kingdom; the subjects shall partake of endless life (Joh. 6:54; Joh. 6:58). Believers receive in them the embryo of eternal life; the spiritual life rises up into eternal life, and will be displayed in its perfection in the world of glory. These terms include everlasting felicity in the presence of God.
I might mention other properties of this kingdom, which, though they do not enter into the essence of it, are very important.
It is a growing kingdom. Of its increase there shall be no end.
The perpetuity of this kingdom must endear it to a good man. It shall never be taken away to be given to any other people.
Let us, while we live here, sincerely pray and labour for the advancement and glorious increase of this kingdom.
Finally, let us look to ourselves, that, while we hear these things, we may possess a personal interest in this glorious and happy kingdom.Robert Hall, A.M.
THE PRAISE OF THE DIVINE RELATION TO DIFFERENT CHARACTERS
(Psa. 145:14-21)
In these verses Jehovah is praised because of the attitude He sustains and the blessings He bestows upon persons in different classes of character.
I. His relation to the weak and the burdened.
1. He sustains the weak. Jehovah upholdeth all them that fall. The weak and the sinking are here meant; those who by reason of their feebleness are ready to fall. Many are ready to sink beneath lifes sorrows, many are almost falling before temptations to sin; but the Lord is their Sustainer: He upholds them.
2. He relieves the burdened. And raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The Psalmist means those who are heavily laden with the duties, the cares, and the trials of life; to whom these things are a heavy burden, bowing them down. Such persons the Lord relieves:
(1.) By removing the burden. In answer to prayer He sometimes takes away the load of care or trial.
(2.) By increasing the strength of those who are burdened. By giving more grace the weight and painfulness of the burden are taken awaythe burden ceases to be a burden. Let the weak and the heavy-laden trust in Him.
II. His relation to the dependent. The eyes of all wait upon Thee, &c. (Psa. 145:15-16). We have here
1. Universal dependence. The eyes of all wait upon Thee; Thou satisfiest the desire of every living thing. Every creature in the universe is a dependent one. God alone is independent. All creatures depend upon Him. By Him all things consist. Dependent creatures should be humble.
2. Divine provision. Thou givest them their meat in due season, &c. Here are three points
(1.) The seasonableness of the Divine provision. In due season. Gods gifts are always timely. He will not bestow them too soon; He will not withhold them one moment after their due time.
(2.) The ease of the Divine provision. To supply the needs of the universe does not tax the resources of God, or cause Him any anxiety or effort. He has but to open His hand, and the countless and endlessly diversified needs of His creatures are supplied. Thou openest Thine hand, &c.
(3.) The sufficiency of the Divine provision. And satisfiest the desire of every living thing. This, says Barnes, is to be taken in a general sense. It cannot mean that absolutely no one ever wants, or ever perished from want, but the idea is that of the amazing beneficence and fulness of God in being able and willing to satisfy such multitudes; to keep them from perishing by cold, or hunger, or nakedness. And, in fact, how few birds perish by hunger; how few of the infinite number of the inhabitants of the sea; how few animals that roam over deserts, or in vast plains; how few men; how few even of the insect tribeshow few in the world revealed by the microscopethe world beneath usthe innumerable multitudes of living things too small even to be seen by the naked eye of man!
All this implies unlimited resources in God; and should inspire the hearty confidence of man in Him.
III. His relation to the prayerful.
The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, &c. (Psa. 145:18-19). Notice
1. The character indicated. This is marked by
(1.) Prayerfulness. Them that call upon Him. Here we have not simply dependence, but dependence felt and acknowledged; dependence rising into prayer. We have also an interesting and true view of prayer; it is here presented to us as expressed longing, the cry of desire. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him; He also will hear their cry, &c.
(2.) Sincerity. All that call upon Him in truth. Sincerity is utterly indispensable to acceptable approach unto God.
(3.) Reverence. Them that fear Him. This fear is not the terror of a slave, but the filial reverence of a child.
2. The blessings promised.
(1.) The manifestation of His presence. Jehovah is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, &c. He is near unto all men; but His true worshippers feel Him near unto them, they have communion with Him. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, &c.
(2.) The granting of their desires. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him. Delight thyself in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. The desires of godly souls accord with the holy will of God.
(3.) The bestowment of His help. He also will hear their cry, and will save them. Perowne: And when He heareth their cry He helpeth them. Call upon Me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, &c. The unanimous testimony of the history of His people confirms these assurances.
IV. His relation to His saints.
The Lord preserveth all them that love Him.
1. The human character. Them that love Him. They have confidence and complacency in Him; they have given their hearts unto Him. Their language is, Whom have I in heaven but Thee? &c. The chiefest among ten thousand. He is altogether lovely.
2. The Divine keeping. Jehovah preserveth, or keepeth them. It is implied that they are exposed to danger. They are beset by spiritual enemies; they are weak and liable to receive injury; their spiritual interests are threatened. But Jehovah keepeth them. They are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation. He preserveth the souls of His saints; He delivereth them from the hand of the wicked. By curbing the power of temptation; by restraining from evil by His Holy Spirit; by quickening the conscience, and strengthening the will, and increasing the spiritual life and activity by the same Holy Spirit, the Lord keepeth His people.
V. His relation to the wicked.
But all the wicked will He destroy. See here
1. A sad character. This character is the opposite of the godly in all those aspects which have come under our notice. The wicked do not love God, do not reverence Him, do not pray to Him; but the evil of their character is positive and deep rooted; they have fitted themselves for destruction.
2. A dread destiny. Will He destroy. The enemies of the Cross of Christ; whose end is destruction. They shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power.
VI. His righteousness and kindness in all His relations.
Jehovah is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works. Instead of holy, the Margin has merciful, or bountiful. Conant: kind. Perowne: loving. In His relations to all His creatures, whatever may be their character, He is just and merciful,righteous and kind. He wrongs no one; He requires of no one services which would be unjust. Even to the rebellious and wicked He is kind. He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. He is slow to anger even with the greatest sinners, and swift to save them when they turn to Him.
VII. His praise because of all His relations.
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord; and let all flesh bless His holy name for ever and ever. We have here
1. A resolution to offer personal praise. My mouth shall speak the praise of Jehovah.
2. A desire that He might be praised universally. Let all flesh bless His holy name. The godly soul. intensely desires that all men should worship the Lord.
3. A desire that He might be praised perpetually. For ever and ever.
UNIVERSAL DEPENDENCE AND DIVINE SUPPORT
(Psa. 145:15-16)
The Psalmist here teaches
I. The universality of dependence amongst creatures.
The eyes of all wait upon Thee. We depend upon God for life, and breath, and all things. He giveth breath to the people upon earth, and spirit to them that walk therein. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, &c. Entire dependence should beget deep humility. What hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
II. The infinitude of the Divine resources.
Thou givest them their meat in due season; and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. This indicates the possession of resources
1. Infinitely vast. Every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle upon a thousand hills. The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, saith the Lord of bosts. His resources are adequate to the abundant supply of all the wants of all creatures. His riches are unsearchable.
2. Infinitely various. They are not only more than sufficient for all necessities, but adapted to every variety of need.
III. The timeliness of the Divine communications.
In due season. The Divine Being is punctual in the fulfilment of every engagement. His gifts are bestowed at that time which infinite wisdom and infinite goodness adjudges to be the due season. In this we have a reason for patience if His interpositions or communications seem to be delayed.
IV. The sublime ease of the Divine communications.
Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. To satisfy the innumerable needs of the myriads of His creatures does not tax His resources, or challenge an exertion of His power. He has but to open His hand, and the countless needs of the universe are satisfied. What an encouragement is this to believing prayer! He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.
V. The sufficiency of the Divine communications.
And satisfiest the desire of every living thing. God giveth to all liberally. The provisions of His table are both bounteous and free. He gives bread enough for all His creatures, and to spare. So in spiritual things, His grace is sufficient. God is able to make all grace abound toward yon; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: being enriched in everything to all liberality.
Our subject urges all men to
1. Gratitude. Constant provision should lead to constant thankfulness and consecration.
2. Trust.
(1.) For temporal supplies. Be not careful for your life, what ye shall eat, and what ye shall drink, &c. (Mat. 6:25-34.)
(2.) For spiritual supplies. Grace to help in time of need will surely be given to all who look to Him.
ATTRIBUTES AND ADVANTAGES OF ACCEPTABLE PRAYER
(Psa. 145:18-19)
What is prayer? According to Psa. 145:18, it is a sincere calling upon God. According to Psa. 145:19, it is the cry of the desire of the godly soul. In our text we have
I. Some attributes of acceptable prayer.
1. Sincerity. All that call upon Him in truth. God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. All unreality is known unto Him, and is abhorred by Him. Words and forms of prayer without the heart are an abomination in His sight.
2. Reverence. Them that fear Him. This is not dread, but reverence,a devout, trustful, filial spirit. Religiousness of spirit is an essential condition of acceptable prayer.
There are other attributes of acceptable prayer, which are not expressed here, although they are perhaps implied. Of these, two are of prime importance, viz.Faith. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. And, Accordance with the Divine will. If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us; and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.
II. Some advantages of acceptable prayer.
1. The realisation of His presence. Jehovah is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, &c. In His omnipresence and omnipotence He is near unto all men, but in gracious fellowship He is near only to devout souls. Locally, He is everywhere present; but sympathetically, He is present only with the truly pious. To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, &c. In gracious interest and tenderest regard He is nigh unto them; they realise His blessed presence. Our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
2. The fulfilment of their desires. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him. God does not promise to grant the desire of the irreligious, the worldly, or the wicked. It would be neither kind nor right to do so. But He pledges His word to grant the desire of the godly. Their desires are pure, unselfish, spiritual, in harmony with His will; and to fulfil them will promote both His own glory and the good of His universe. This truth is very clearly stated in the book of Job. 22:21-23; Job. 22:26-27; and by David: Delight thyself in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. (See also Joh. 15:7; Jas. 5:16.)
3. The obtainment of His salvation. He also will hear their cry, and will save them. There is no rhetoric, nothing charming, in a cry, yet Gods ears are open to it, as the tender mothers to the cry of her sucking child, which another would take no notice of. In answer to prayer He helps His people in all their need, and ultimately saves them from all evil into perfect purity and joy.
CONCLUSION.Oh, fear the Lord, ye His saints; for there is no want to them that fear Him. Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Psalms 145
DESCRIPTIVE TITLE
An Alphabetical Psalm in Praise of Jehovahs Greatness, Goodness and Righteousness.
ANALYSIS
Naturally, this psalm falls into 21 Couplets (and Verses), the letter nun being absent from the Hebrew Text. Further division is not easy; but by restoring the missing letter, as indicated at the foot of Psa. 145:13, the psalm might be resolved into Three Groups of Seven Couplets each, leaving the letter tauthe twenty-secondto head an Application of the Whole Psalm to the Psalmist himself and to All Flesh. Even so, however, this grouping would be merely formal, and not indicated by any corresponding division of topics. By accident rather than design, the dominant subject of each would be Jehovahs Greatness, Goodness, and Righteousness; and it may be of practical service to note this.
(Lm.) PraiseBy David.
1
I will exalt thee my God O king
and would fain bless thy name to the ages and beyond.
2
Every day will I bless thee
and would fain praise thy name to the ages and beyond.
3
Great is Jehovah and to be praised exceedingly
and his greatness is unsearchable.
4
Generation to generation will laud thy works
and thy heroic deeds will they tell.
5
The stateliness of the glory of thy majesty will men speak[863]
[863] So it shd. be (and so the verse be divided) (w. Sep., Syr., Vul.)Gn.
and of thy wonders would I fain soliloquise.
6
And the might of thy fearful acts will men affirm
and of thy greatness will I tell.
7
The memory of the abundance of thy goodness will men pour forth,
and thy righteousness will they ring out.
8
Gracious and compassionate is Jehovah
slow to anger and great in kindness.
9
Good is Jehovah to all
and his compassions are over all his works.
10
All thy works Jehovah thank thee
and thy men of kindness bless thee.
11
The glory of thy kingdom they affirm
and thy heroic might they speak.
12
To make known to the sons of men his heroic acts
and the glory of the stateliness of his kingdom.
13
Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages[864]
[864] So literally: of all olamim (pl.).
and thy dominion is over all succeeding generations.[865]
[865] In some MSS. this verse is here found:
Faithful is Jehovah in all his words
and kind in all his works.
and so in Sep., Syr., and Vul.Gn. This would supply the missing initial letter nun.
14
Jehovah is ready to uphold all who are falling
and to raise up all who are bowed down.
15
The eyes of all for thee do wait
and thou givest them their food in its season.
16
Thou openest thy hand[866]
[866] Some cod. (w. 1 ear. pr. edn., and Sep.): hands (pl.)Gn.
and satisfiest every living thing with good will.[867]
[867] So Dr. But Del.: with favour.
17
Righteous is Jehovah in all his ways
and kind in all his works.[868]
[868] Or: doings.
18
Near is Jehovah to all who call upon him
to all who call upon him in truth.
19
The pleasure of them who revere him he fulfilleth
and their cry for help he heareth and saveth them.
20
Jehovah preserveth all them who love him
but all the lawless he destroyeth.
21
The praise of Jehovah my mouth doth speak
and let all flesh bless his holy name
to the ages and beyond.[869]
[869] U.: to times age-abiding. &c. Many MSS. (w. 1 ear. pr. edn.) here add:
And we will bless Yah
from henceforth and unto the agespraise ye Yah.
Cp. Psa. 115:18Gn.
(Nm.)
PARAPHRASE
Psalms 145
I will praise You, my God and King, and bless Your name each day and forever.
3 Great is Jehovah! Greatly praise Him! His greatness is beyond discovery!
4 Let each generation tell its children what glorious things He does.
5 I will meditate about Your glory, splendor, majesty and miracles.
6 Your awe-inspiring deeds shall be on every tongue; I will proclaim Your greatness.
7 Everyone will tell about how good You are, and sing about Your righteousness.
8 Jehovah is kind and merciful, slow to get angry, full of love.
9 He is good to everyone, and His compassion is intertwined with everything He does.
10 All living things shall thank You, Lord, and Your people will bless You.
11 They will talk together about the glory of Your kingdom and mention examples of Your power.
12 They will tell about Your miracles and about the majesty and glory of Your reign.
13 For Your kingdom never ends. You rule generation after generation.
14 The Lord lifts the fallen and those bent beneath their loads.
15 The eyes of all mankind look up to You for help; You give them their food as they need it.
16 You constantly satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
17 The Lord is fair in everything He does, and full of kindness.
18 He is close to all who call on Him sincerely.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who reverence and trust Him; He hears their cries for help and rescues them.
20 He protects all those who love Him, but destroys the wicked.
21 I shall praise the Lord and call on all men everywhere to bless His holy name forever and forever.
EXPOSITION
This delightful psalm, by its contents reminds us of Psalms 103; and, by both its contents and its form, of Psalms 34. It is surprising to find how easily the psalmist follows his alphabetical initialing of the verses without shewing constraint in his composition.
Passing on to the contents of the psalm, considered on their merits, it is eminently satisfactory to observe the restraint to which the enthusiasm of the writer submits itself. This is no mere adulation of the Almighty. The man that wrote this song was not aware of the shadows which frequently throw this life into gloom. He knew that the compassions of Jehovah towards the miserable were often called into exercise: that poor footsore and purblind travellers along lifes journey were not infrequently in danger of falling; and many times needed help to prevent their being too long bowed down. And this is well: otherwise the very brightness of the psalm might have dazed the eyes of the sick and the weary.
However, behind the sympathetic tenderness of the psalm there is perceptible an element of strength which is fitted to act as a moral tonic on minds afflicted with indecision concerning right and wrong. Jehovah is righteous as well as kind. The very heroic acts by which Jehovah had so often delivered Israel, had undoubtedly fallen as heavy blows on tyrants and invaders who richly deserved to be smitten. It would be culpable careessness for the singer of this song, utterly to forget the dark side of the cloud whose silver lining now causes him so much genuine delight.
This psalm is noted among psalms for the universality of its terms. Not excluding beasts from the bountiful care of their Creator, how should it exclude men of any name or nation? Good is Jehovah to alland his compassions are over all his works; not over and beyond his workstoo high above them to benefit thembut over, protectingly and for blessing. That it should be immediately added: All thy works thank thee, seems almost too good to be true; too favourable a verdict to be pronounced upon mens response to Jehovahs goodness; too much like a verdict constructively framed in their favour, beyond their deserving. We could more easily accept the verdict if regarded as awarded to the lower creationto the singing of the bird, the roaring of the lion and even the braying of the assthan when taken to refer to men made in the likeness of God; those inferior creatures after their kind and in their own way, may be regarded as thanking their creator for what he has done for them; but these intelligent creatures, called men,how can it be said of themall thy works thank thee? As we cannot deny their inclusion among Jehovahs works, we can only leave the statement, as a condescending construction put by a loving Creator on the common joy which men feel in view of the mercies which bestrew their path. Even beyond their intention, Jehovah will count their instinctive gladness as thanks rendered to him: if he can do no better with them he will class them with those lower creatures who unconsciouly thank him. He seeks for more. He would have all men to become receivers and reflectors of his own kindnesshis hasidimhis men of kindness, in whose hearts gratitude dwells and in whose lives benevolence overflows; men who go beyond thanks, men who bless Jehovah, and speak well of his name.
We confess we are amazed at the latitude of construction to which the psalm itself thus conducts us; but it has sterner things in store for us. There is a discipline in life that lies behind all this. Men cannot go on for ever, receiving Gods gifts and remaining unmoved: they must either be melted into saints or hardenedby their own resistanceinto sinners. They are under the law of love. Let them resist thatknowingly and persistentlyand they must ultimately become lawless! And, against such, the stern announcement of this benevolent psalm has gone forth in tones of thunder:
Jehovah preserveth all them who love him
but all the lawless he destroyeth.
That is the last word of the last stanza of the psalm. There is nothing beyond it, saving an application by the psalmist to himself and to all flesh: nothing to tone this down or explain it away: it seems and it sounds absolute and final.
It confirms other psalm-deliverances that have gone before. We have already learned (Psalms 37) that there is a future for the man of peace. But transgressors have been cut off together, the future of lawless men hath been cut off; and from Psalms 73Lo! they who have gone far from thee shall perish, Thou wilt have exterminated every unchaste wanderer from thee. Small reason, then, is there in the Psalms as a collection, to blunt the prudent fear which this psalm is fitted to call into exercise.
And the less so, rather than the more, in consequence of the grandeur and the permanence of Jehovahs Kingdom. Jehovahs rule is all-pervading and ever-abiding. Men cannot escape his dominion. His own character is perfect and unchanging; his aim is to make men morally like himselfto bring a clean thing out of an unclean, to reform, remake, renew; to educate for immortality, and then bestow the boon. While his own character is perfect and unchanging, its manifestation to finite beings, under discipline, may require ages. To chastise them for their sins, and yet convince them that he is love, and to transform them into his own image,this may be the work of ages: who can tell? Only the Infinite Searcher of Hearts can determine when all hope is past, and nothing is left but to destroy, to exterminate. He can create and he destroy; and none but he. It is something, then, of incalculable moment, to learn from his own lips what are the issues involved.
The close of this psalm goes back to its commencement. It ends with Imultiplied into the race, all flesh: it began with II will exalt, would fain bless; will bless, would fain praise. But very significantly and instructively was this beginning made; for all at once, by way of desire, the psalmist went bounding off beyond the narrow limits of the present life: I would fain bless and praise thy name to the ages and beyond! For ever and ever will the poet thus extol God and bless His name; because the praising of God is his deepest need, in this devotion to the ever-living King he forgets his own mortalitythis impulse of the soul, an impulse begotten by God himself, towards the praising of the God to whom the soul owes it origin, in which praise it finds its noblest enjoyment, is indeed a practical proof of a life after deathDel. So it is indeed, to those in whom it exists; for see with what complete logic this one psalm proves it. Do I really desire to bless and praise Jehovah to the ages? Is that, in truth, my feeling towards him? Then the desire shall be granted; for again in this psalm it is writtenThe pleasure of them who revere him he fulfilleth; and their cry for help he heareth and saveth them. There is, therefore, both theoretic and practical safety in such a hope.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1.
In this alphabetical psalm there are only 21 of the 22 letters. Why?
2.
What are the three possible main divisions of this psalm?
3.
This psalm can act as a tonic for certain needy persons. Who are they?
4.
Are we to understand from this psalm that even the lower animals thank Jehovah? How so?
5.
How wondrously good, kind, and righteous is our God. What should be the response of man? What is his response?
6.
There seems to be a grand proof of immortality in this psalm. Discuss.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(1) The psalm opens with familiar psalm strains. (Comp. openings of Psalms 30, 34)
For ever and ever.In contemplation of the greatness and majesty of God time ceases to be. The poet vows a homage indefinitely prolonged.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1. My God, O king David reminds princes that there is a King above themselves: “Man that is in honour, continueth not.” Constant, grateful loyalty to the King Eternal is the joy and duty of earthly rulers.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psalms 145
Characteristics – Psalms 145, made up of twenty-one verses, is an acrostic, with each verse beginning with a Hebrew letter of the alphabet. The Hebrew letter ( ) is the only letter that is missing of twenty-two Hebrew letters.
Theme – The key words in this Psalm are “works, acts, power, ways.”
Psa 145:8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
Psa 145:8
Exo 34:6-7, “And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”
Psa 103:8, “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.”
Jon 4:2, “And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.”
Neh 9:17, “And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.”
Psa 145:9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
Psa 145:10 Psa 145:10
He judges and blesses because He is both holy and He is loving; therefore, all of His acts of judgment contain a divine purpose mixed with His love.
Psa 145:14-20 Comments – Psa 145:14-20 teach us that God will take care of every one of our needs. We read a similar verse in Php 4:19 which also promises us that God shall supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory; however, we know from a study of the epistle to the Philippians that they had partnered with God and met Paul’s needs. Therefore, God was committed to meet their needs. In other words, the Philippians took care of God’s needs first and He in turn took care of their needs. As God’s creation, we must all meet the same conditions of faith and obedience in order to receive from the hand of God. His hand is always open, but we must receive by His divine principles, or else we go lacking as many people do so in this life. In this corrupt world we see much poverty and lack because of the sins of mankind and not because of God wills that anyone go lacking in anything. Thus, in the next verses (Psa 145:17-20), the Psalmist explains the conditions that must be met for His creatures to receive His blessings. His blessings are reserved for those who fear Him and who call upon Him in a true heart. He will protect those who love Him, but to the wicked, God will not pour out His blessings, but rather His judgment.
Php 4:16, “For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.”
Psa 145:21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
A Psalm of Praise for the Blessings Due to the Messiah’s Exaltation.
v. 1. I will extol Thee, v. 2. Every day will I bless Thee, v. 3. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, v. 4. One generation shall praise Thy works to another and shall declare Thy mighty acts, v. 5. I will speak of the glorious honor of Thy majesty and of Thy wondrous works, v. 6. And men shall speak of the might of Thy terrible acts, v. 7. They shall abundantly utter the memory of Thy great goodness, v. 8. The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, v. 9. The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works, v. 10. All Thy works shall praise Thee, O Lord, v. 11. They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, v. 12. to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, v. 13. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, v. 14. The Lord upholdeth all that fall, v. 15. The eyes of all wait upon Thee, v. 16. Thou openest Thine hand, v. 17. The Lord is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works; v. 18. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth, v. 19. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him; He also will hear their cry and will save them, v. 20. The Lord preserveth all them that love Him, v. 21. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, EXPOSITION
WITH another hymn of praise, this late collection of Davidical psalms, previously omitted from the Psalter, terminates. Like verses 25. and 34; also Davidical, this psalm is alphabetic, and also, like them, it is incomplete, the letter nun being omitted. Like most of the ether alphabetical psalms, it consists of meditations on a single theme, which is here the righteousness and goodness of God
(1) to men in general;
(2) to his own people; and
(3) and more especially, to those that suffer.
The metrical arrangement of the psalm is into three stanzas of seven verses each.
Psa 145:1
I will extol thee, my God, O King; rather, O my God, the King; i.e. the one and only King of heaven and earth. And I will bless thy Name forever and ever. An internal conviction of the writer’s immortality is implied in these words.
Psa 145:2
Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy Name for ever and ever. An emphatic repetition of the second clause of Psa 145:1.
Psa 145:3
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised (comp. Psa 48:1; Psa 96:4). And his greatness is unsearchable; literally, and of his greatness there is no search (comp. Rom 11:33).
Psa 145:4
One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. The handing down of God’s mercies and deliverances from age to age is always regarded in Scripture as the principal mode whereby they are kept in remembrance (Exo 12:26, Exo 12:27; Exo 13:8-10, Exo 13:14; Deu 32:7; Psa 44:1; Psa 78:3-7, etc.).
Psa 145:5
I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works (comp. Psa 26:7; Psa 71:17). It was the duty of every faithful Israelite to set forth God’s majesty, and to “declare his works with rejoicing” (Psa 117:2). David proclaims himself ready to perform this duty. Then, he thinks, others will join in.
Psa 145:6
And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts. Men will “speak of the might of God’s terrible acts,” which are those that attract them mostthe plagues wrought in Egypt, the overthrow of Pharaoh’s host in the Red Sea, the earth swallowing up Dathan, and the like. And I will declare thy greatness (see above, Psa 145:3).
Psa 145:7
They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness; literally, they shall pour forthas a strong springthe memory of thy great goodness; i.e. the tale of all the mercies that thou hast vouchsafed them. And shall sing of thy righteousness; i.e. shall sing hymns of praise for thy righteous dealings with them.
Psa 145:8
The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. Professor Cheyne compares the epithets in a Babylonian hymn to the sun-god; but a closer parallel is to be found in Exo 34:6, Exo 34:7, “The Lord God is merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin” (see also Psa 86:15).
Psa 145:9
The Lord is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works. “The Lord is good to all;” he “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and send-eth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mat 5:45). He “wouldeth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his wickedness and live,” And his “tender mercies,” or “compassions,” are not only over his human creatures, but” over all his works”all that he has madeanimals as well as men, “creeping things,” zoophytes, all that can feel.
Psa 145:10
All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord (comp. Psa 148:2-13, where all creation is called on to praise the Lord). And thy saints shall bless thee; or, “thy loving ones”those who are devoted to thy service.
Psa 145:11
They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom (comp. Psa 22:28; Psa 45:6). The “glory” of God’s kingdom is such that the faithful are naturally drawn to “speak” of it. “His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endureth throughout all ages” (Psa 145:13). “His kingdom ruleth over all“ (Psa 103:19)heaven and earth, and hell, and all space, and whatever space contains. There is no limit either to its extent or its duration. And its “glory” transcends all. human thoughtmuch more all description. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,” etc. And talk of thy power. “Power” is of the essence of kingship, and comes naturally to the front whenever the character of a kingdom is spoken of.
Psa 145:12
To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts. It is a part of the duty of “saints” (Psa 145:10) to make known as widely as possibleif possible, to all menthe “mighty acts” and glory of God; primarily, for God’s glory; and secondarily, to bring about their conversion to God’s service. And the glorious majesty of his kingdom (comp. Psa 145:5, Psa 145:11).
Psa 145:13
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom (comp. Dan 4:3, Dan 4:34). It is inconceivable that God’s kingdom should come to an end. He cannot will it to cease, and so dethrone himself. Much less can any other, and necessarily inferior, power overthrow it. And thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. This is rather an anti-climax, since the generations of men will one day cease; but it was a customary phrase (Psa 33:11; Psa 45:17; Psa 49:11; Psa 61:6; Psa 62:5, etc.), and brought home to men the thought that his special “dominion” was over them.
Psa 145:14
The Lord upholdeth all that fall. Lifts them up, i.e; and again “upholds” or supports them (comp. Psa 37:24). And raiseth up all those that be bowed down (comp. Psa 146:8).
Psa 145:15
The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season (cf. Psa 104:21, Psa 104:27; Psa 136:25; Psa 147:9). The constant supply of all living creatures with their necessary food is little less than a standing miracle.
Psa 145:16
Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. Not only are they given what is necessary for them, but every desire which they enter-rain is satisfied.
Psa 145:17
The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy (rather, gracious, or merciful) in all his works. Mercy and truth meet in God (Psa 85:10). He is at once perfectly just, and absolutely tender and compassionate. “All his works” experience both his justice and his tenderness (comp. Psa 25:8; Psa 116:5, etc.).
Psa 145:18
The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him (comp. Deu 4:7; Psa 34:18; Psa 46:1; Psa 119:151, etc.). God draws near to those who draw near to him; i.e. he makes his presence (which is always everywhere) felt by them. To all that call upon him in truth. A limiting clause. Mere formal prayer is useless, does not lessen the distance between God and man, rather augments it. If we really desire to enjoy the consciousness of his presence, we must call upon him “in truth,” i.e. sincerely, with earnest desire and strong confidence.
Psa 145:19
He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him (comp. Psa 145:16). What he does for “every living thing,” he will do more especially for men, if they truly” fear” him, and love him (Psa 145:20), and draw near to him in sincerity and truth. He also will hear their cry, and will save them; i.e. deliver them out of their troubles.
Psa 145:20
The Lord preserveth all them that love him (comp. Psa 31:23; Psa 97:10). But all the wicked will he destroy. The “severity” of God is always set against his “goodness” in Holy Scripture, lest men should misunderstand, and think to obtain salvation though they continue in wickedness (see Exo 34:6, Exo 34:7; Rom 2:2-11; Rom 11:22, etc.).
Psa 145:21
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord. The “psalm of praise” (title) ends as it began (Psa 145:1, Psa 145:2)with the strong determination of the psalmist that he at least will praise Jehovah. Others, he hopes, will join with him, and all flesh bless his holy Name (literally, the Name of his holiness) forever and ever; but for this result he can only wish and hope and prayhe cannot ensure it. But he can, and does, fulfill his own duty in the matter.
HOMILETICS
Psa 145:1-3, Psa 145:7, Psa 145:21
Our response to God.
What feeling should the greatness and the goodness of God call forth from us, and how should we utter it? We will praise God in every way that is open to us.
I. CONTINUALLY. (Psa 145:2.) “Every day” will we bless him: his praise shall be “continually” in our mouth (Psa 34:1). Not that a man is necessarily more devout because the Name of God is always on his lips, but that the spirit of thankfulness should be always in the heart, and should spontaneously and freely rise for utterance.
II. CONTINUOUSLY. (Psa 145:1, Psa 145:2.) “Forever and ever.” Through all the days and the years of lifeand beyond. Many things eagerly undertaken will be allowed to drop out, but this, never. The tongue may well forget its office before it ceases to praise God. There is. no end to which language can be put which is worthy to be compared with that of rendering praise to the Giver of all good, the God of our salvation. We will bless God-
“While life and thought and being last,
Or immortality endures,”
III. HEARTILY. This may well be included in the “abundant” utterance of Psa 145:7. For thanksgiving is fundamentally lacking if it does not come from the heart as well as from the lips. Praise should be abundant even to overflow, because the cup of the heart is full of intense gratitude, of filial love and joy.
IV. INTELLIGENTLY. Those who only recognize the more superficial blessings may be content with thanking God for his “benefits,” for his bestowments, for those things that gladden the heart and enrich the life; but they who look deeper and judge more wisely will “sing of his righteousness” as well as of his kindness (Psa 145:7; see also Psa 101:1). For we have the deepest interest in God’s righteousness, and should extol him for that quite as earnestly as we do for the multitude of his mercies.
V. INSTRUMENTALLY. (Psa 145:4.) It should be our hope, our prayer, and our endeavor that our own praise of God be extended, through us, to our neighbors, and be carried down, through us, to our children and our children’s children. It may depend on us, on our devotion and on the conduct of our lives, whether the praises of Christ shall be sung by lips that have so far been silent, by those who are now scarcely able to speak his Name, and by those who are still unborn. How much may a wise and earnest spirit do to enlarge and to perpetuate the praises of his Redeemer!
VI. INDIRECTLY. If all God’s works praise him (Psa 145:10), even those which are unintelligent and insensible, surely we may say that the pure and beautiful lives of the good, the kind, the generous, are ever unconsciously, but most effectively, praising God.
Psa 145:3, Psa 145:5, Psa 145:6, Psa 145:10-13
The greatness of God.
In this exquisite psalm the greatness and the goodness of God are celebrated, and the writer passes so freely from one to another, that it is very difficult to keep them separate. Nor is there much need to do so; for God’s greatness, his glory, is in his goodness (Exo 33:19), and the two are really inseparable. Endeavoring, however, to look at them apart, we are here reminded of
I. HIS MAJESTY. We read of “the splendor of the glory of his majesty” (Psa 145:5). The manifestations of God’s presence, given in the earlier times, were those of radiant, insupportable effulgence; those who witnessed them shrank from them. God dwells in the “light inaccessible, to which no man can approach.” The splendor of his glory is such as would dazzle and bewilder our mortal sight.
II. HIS POWER. We have “the might of his terrible acts,” “his wondrous works,” “his mighty acts.” From the time when David looked up into the heavens and was awed by the tokens of Divine power shining down upon him from above, to our own time, when we first sang of him whose power “made the mountains rise,” “spread the flowing seas abroad,” and “built the lofty skies,” men have been affected and subdued by the “almighty power of God;” and they always must be while the wonderful fabric of nature lasts.
III. HIS INFINITY. The kingdom of God is “everlasting;” it endures “throughout all generations.” Nations rise and fall, dynasties appear and disappear, centuries begin and end, but God’s dominion knows no bound at all. It continues from generation to generation. There is something which powerfully affects us as we think of that which lasts, and will last, while every other thing fades and vanishes away.
IV. HIS HOLINESS. (Psa 145:6, Psa 145:17, Psa 145:20.) The psalmist speaks of God’s “terrible acts,” and he says that he “will destroy the wicked.” History, sacred and profane, is full of proofs that the holiness of God is as great as his majesty and his power. “The face of the Lord is against them that do evil.” “By terrible things in righteousness” God makes us to know that sin is hateful in his sight, that continuance in it will result in ruin, in shame, in death. On the other hand, God’s greatness in righteousness is seen in the rewards he gives to the upright, in lifting up the lowly, in abundantly blessing the true and pure and good. Who would not fear God who is of such majesty, power, infinitude, holiness? Who would not worship him? How foolish and how guilty to refuse to listen when he speaks, to come to him in willing subjection when he calls us to his service!
Psa 145:7-9, Psa 145:14-16, Psa 145:18-20
The goodness of God.
As the years increase we are inclined to review the past rather than forecast the future. What shall we dwell upon as we look backward? We should cherish not the recollection of past troubles and difficulties, but “the memory of God’s great goodness” (Psa 145:7). And we do well to extend the field of observation beyond our own experience, and regard
I. THE VAST BREADTH OF HIS BENEFICENCE. “All his works praise him,” for he is “good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works.” On whom doth not his light arise? He makes his sun to shine on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. “The eyes of all wait upon him,” etc. (Psa 145:15, Psa 145:16). To his care the insect owes its hour of pleasure, and to his goodness the strong beast of the forest its strength and swiftness, and to his skill and his remembrance the bird of the air its flight and its song. We, too, ascribe our life, our health, our comforts, our domestic joys, our social happiness, our intellectual delights, our spiritual satisfactions, to the bounties of his hand and the kindness of his heart of love. There is no living thing whose powers and whose pleasures do not testify of the goodness of the beneficent Creator. “All his works praise him” (Psa 145:10).
II. HIS PITIFULNESS AND HIS TENDERNESS. (Psa 145:8, Psa 145:14.)
1. “The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion.” This is another utterance of that invaluable truth contained in Psa 103:1-22.,” Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him” (see Exo 3:7; Joe 2:18). It is one of the truest comforts in suffering and in sorrow that we are pitied by our Divine Savior; that he feels with us in our grief; is “full of compassion” for us. The presence of pure and strong human sympathy is, in itself, an assurance of the Divine; but we are thankful for this clear and express statement of it.
2. The Lord is gentle toward us. He looks upon those that have fallen into error, into fault, into disgrace, into defeat, and he “upholds them;” he regards those that are “bowed down” in sorrow, in weakness, in discouragement, that can “in no wise lift themselves up,” and he “raises them up” (see Luk 13:11). The compassion shown by our Lord during his earthly life, his pity for those who were faint and hungry, and for those who were diseased, and for the children of sorrow, is the best assurance, as it is the perfect manifestation of the compassion of the Father himself; while “the gentleness of Christ” in all his treatment of those that were down and that were despised is, and will ever be, the most exquisite illustration of “the gentleness of God” (Psa 18:35; 2Co 10:1).
III. HIS PATIENCE AND FORGIVENESS. (Psa 103:8.) He is “slow to anger, and of great mercy.”
1. The patience of God was illustrated in his forbearance with his rebellious people in “the days of old;” the patience of Jesus Christ was shown in his treatment of his disciples who were so “slow of heart to learn,” not only what the prophets had spoken, but what their own Master taught them (Mat 15:17; Mat 16:9). The patience of our Lord is exemplified in his bearing toward us, whom, notwithstanding all our imperfections, he regards as his friends and fellow-laborers. Now, as before, he is “slow to chide, and swift to bless.”
2. He is of “great mercy,” pardoning those who have done the worst things, who have gone the furthest or stayed the longest away from him.
IV. HIS RESPONSIVENESS. (Psa 103:18-20.)
1. He is very near in spirit and in sympathy to those who reverently and inquiringly draw near to him, so that those who seek him may feel that he is not afar off, but “very present” with them; nearer to them than they to one another.
2. He hears and answers his people’s prayers; he interposes on their behalf. He gives them their hearts’ desires; he saves them from all spiritual evil; he causes them to triumph; he preserves those who love him in their faith and in their love, and therefore in their joy and in their hope. He gives to them the heritage of the holy, here and hereafter.
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY
Psa 145:1-21
The Te Deum of the Old Testament.
So this glorious psalm has been fitly named, and it is the germ of that great Christian hymn. “It is one, and the last, of the acrostic, or rather the alphabetic psalms, of which there are eight in all. Like four other of these, this bears the name of David, although some are of opinion that in this case the inscription is not to be trusted” (Perowne). One letter of the Hebrew alphabetnunis omitted; how this came to be, we cannot tell; the Septuagint, however, and other ancient versions (with one Hebrew manuscript) supply the omission thus: “The Lord is faithful in his words, and holy in all his works.” The Jews were accustomed to say that “he who could pray this psalm from the heart three times daily, was preparing himself best for the praise of the world to come.” It is the first and chief of the praise-psalms with which the whole Book of Psalms terminates. We have left the region of sighs and tears and piteous entreaties, and are, as one says, in the Beulah land, where the sun shineth night and day. How like it is to the life of many a child of God! There have been many long and weary years of vicissitudes and trials, and sorrows of all kinds, but at eventide there is light. As life went on it was a mingled strain that was heard, but now at its close it is all joy and peace. So is it in this Book of Psalms; so is it with many of God’s beloved ones; so, when our eventide comes, may it be with us! And now let us notice
I. THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS WHICH ENTER INTO THE HIGH PRAISE OF GOD which this psalm sets forth. Note:
1. Its different forms.
(1) “I will extol thee;” that is, lift up. He meant that he would do this by his song, by his words continually; he had found God to be his God, his Savior, his ever-bounteous Benefactor and Helper, and he meant that he would proclaim all this, that all men might hear and know. How good it is for a man to act thus!
(2) “I will praise thy Name.” The Name of God continually stands for all that God is, and by which he is known to his people. We extol God, or should do so, for what he is to us, as the psalmist does; but praise of his Name means praise for all that he is. This is a more difficult work than the former, for in that we had God’s gracious aspect turned towards us; in this, other aspects of his character are includedthe mysterious and the stern. It is, indeed, the grace of God when the soul can praise God for all that he is.
(3) “I will bless thy Name.” This is something yet higher, and of it we may say, that whilst to extol God is good, and to praise his Name yet better, that which is best of all is to bless his Name. For blessing as distinguished from praise involves the grateful, loving, and heart-adoring clement. There are those whom we praise, but do not bless; we may praise men for genius, skill, integrity, righteousness, but we do not bless them unless, not only is their character admirable, but also we have been brought into contact with them, and have had personal knowledge and realization of their goodness; then we bless as well as praise. Lower down in this psalm it is said, “All thy works praise thee, but thy saints shall bless thee.” May this be our portion!
2. The object of all this high praise.
(1) It is none other than God. Not to man, nor to angels, nor to any being less and other than God is rendered this devout and adoring homage of the heart. We are very apt to be so taken up with the achievements of the agents and instruments God uses that we are in danger of forgetting him, or of putting him in a too subordinate place. For it is he, and none other, who is the real Author and Accomplisher of all. But the writer of this psalm falls into no such error, but lifts up his praise solely to God.
(2) And to God whom he has by faith personally appropriated: “my God.” God was to him no distant, abstract, or mere ideal Deity, but One whom he had so found to be his perpetual Benefactor and Helper, that his heart clung to him, and he called him “my God.” It is such personal appropriation of God that gives vigor and intensity to our praise; without it our praise is poor work.
(3) And confessed as King: “my God, O King.” His faith had grasped the blessed truth that God ruled over all; none could withstand his power. “The Lord reigneth, be the nations never so unquiet.” Oh, the joy and peace that come from this faith! It was delight to the psalmist’s heart to be assured, as he was, that the Divine King, whom he gladly obeyed, was King over all.
3. Fixed resolve. Four times in these two opening verses we have the words, “I will;” and so again (verses 5, 6). Praise, like faith, is very much a matter of the will. We are prone to make it dependent upon the emotions. If we feel happy, then we sing praise easily; but if we do not thus feel, then praise falters and dies. But let us remember that the dominant faculty in our nature is not feeling, but will. When God says, “My son, give me thine heart,” he means not the feelings, but the will, and if that be ever on God’s side, everything else will soon fall into its proper position. Let the will be right, the feelings will soon give way.
4. Its continuousness and permanence. “Every day will I,” etc. Not only the bright days, but the dark ones. Praise, like prayer, must be a habit, a constant practice, or we shall fall out of both its use and blessing altogether. And this habit must be permanently maintained. “Forever and ever” (verses 1, 2). Here is the real test and trial of the religious life. Many are induced to begin, but, alas, how many show that they have no staying power! They get cold and indifferent, and after a while break away altogether. But the earnest, impassioned soul of the psalmist resolved that his praise of God should be every day, and forever and ever.
II. THE GROUNDS ON WHICH THIS PRAISE IS BASED. There are three divisions in this psalm, and each one tells of one special reason for this fervent praise of God.
1. In the first seven verses it is the greatness of the Lord. (Verse 3.) And when one thinks of the seemingly irresistible might of the manifold forces of evil, our hearts are apt to die down; but how greatly are they cheered and strengthened when we call to mind and do firmly believe in that greatness of God against which all these forces hurl themselves in vain!
2. Then next (in verses 7-16), the tender‘ mercies of the Lord are celebrated. When the soul thinks of them, what can it do but perpetually praise and bless the Lord?
3. And last of all (from verse 17), the righteousness of the Lord is the theme of thanksgiving. Without this even his tender mercies would be shorn of well-nigh all their preciousness, it is because we have a righteous salvation that our heart is glad.
III. ITS EXCEEDING BLESSEDNESS.
1. Many forget this. They pray to God, but too often fail to praise him. We say our prayers more often than we sing our praises. But this is wrong.
2. God deserves and delights in our praise. Love ever loves the response of love; and in regard to God, such response takes the form of praise.
3. And it is powerful in its influence with others. If they see that our God is one who fills our heart with joy, will not they be led to desire and to seek him?
4. And for ourselves its effect is as blessed as it is powerful. It gives us confidence before God, joy in the heart, drives away fear, prepares us for heaven, cheers us in all the work of life and amid its darkest trials.S.C.
Psa 145:4
The charge of the generations.
How are we to understand these words? We may take them in either one of three ways.
I. AS A PREDICTION THAT HAS BEEN ABUNDANTLY FULFILLED. One generation has handed on to its successor its treasure store of knowledge and wisdom. We are the heirs of all the ages; it is their accumulated knowledge that has come down to us, and which we, with the fresh additions we shall make, are to hand on to those who come after us. And amongst the varied indebtedness under which we lie to those who have preceded us, chief of all is thisfor the knowledge of God’s ways. The Word of the Lord has proved to be an imperishable seed, which liveth and abideth forever. It has seemed at times to die out in some regions; but in others it has sprung up and borne fruit; and there have never been lacking those who stood ready to hand on the torch of truth to others who would keep it burning and then hand it on again.
II. AS A PROMISE OF MOST HEART–CHEERING NATURE. For what would have been our condition now, had not God been mindful of this promise? We might bare inherited vast wealth, and succeeded to chief place amongst the nations of the world; in the eyes of men we might have been exalted to the highest summits of earthly greatness and glory; but if we had lost, through the unfaithfulness of those that went before us, or from any other cause, the blessed knowledge of God, what pledge or guarantee should we have that even our earthly blessings should long continue ours? and what would have guarded us from the doom which has come on other nations who have not known God, or cared not to retain his knowledge? But so it will not be with us or ours; for as the past generations have declared to us God’s mighty deeds, and praised his works, so likewise shall this generation, in regard to that which shall follow. There may be sad unfaithfulness here and there, and sore suffering must ensue; but God will not suffer himself to want for faithful witnesses who shall transmit that knowledge of himself, which is life eternal, to the generation that receiveth it. We need not tremble for the ark of God. We have many such blessed promises as this before us now, and we may rest confident that our generation, evil as many comprising it may appear, shall yet “praise God’s works to another, and,” etc.
III. A PRECEPT THAT EACH GENERATION MUST DILIGENTLY OBSERVE. Many read our text as a command; and it is a command, though a prediction and a promise as well. As a command, it enjoins:
1. That this service shall be undertakers, not by one here and there, but by the whole of the existing generation. It is to be a publica universal service. It is a frightful condition of things for the coming generation if the present be careless about, or opposed to, such transmission of God’s truth. Better that children should be brought up in any form of the Christian faith, than in no religion at all. God help our land, if the secularists of our day have their will in regard to our national education! The people at large are to care for the children at large, that they may be taught the truth of God.
2. But it is especially the business of the parents. This evidently is in the mind of the psalmist, that fathers to sons should teach the works of God. Nature, their own love for their children, regard for their own comfort; for what more rends the hearts of parents than in-bred, ungodly children? Justice and right demand it; for what parents are there that do not transmit much evil to their children? Therefore let them see to it that they teach them that which shall blessedly counteract the evil. And God plainly commands it. All these motives, and yet others, enforce this duty.
3. And the duty is urgent. We have not much time. One generation cometh, another goeth; our opportunity will soon be gone.
4. If we do not obey this command, no one else will. After all, if parents fail in this plain duty, none can really supply their lack of service or take their place; what the home is, that will, well-nigh always, the children be.
CONCLUSION. Let children, whose parents have obeyed this command of God, remember how great is the responsibility that rests upon them. “To whom much is given, of the same,” etc.S.C.
Psa 145:5, Psa 145:6
The one and the many.
It is interesting to note the alternations in this psalm, as in numerous others, of the one and the many. The psalmist declares what he himself will do, and then he tells also what the people at large will do. So it is here. The psalm opens with a personal declaration, “I will extol,” etc.; “Every day will I bless,” etc. Then in Psa 145:4 he speaks of all the generations of men; then (Psa 145:5) he returns to himself and his own purposes; Psa 145:6 asserts both the general conduct and his own, and then again speaks of men at large. Then at the end the declaration is made, both as to himself and “all flesh.” Now, what do such alternations as these suggest? Surely the relations in which the one and the many may stand to each other in regard to God’s service.
I. AS HERE, THERE MAY BE BOTH The psalmist is not left alone, but his joy in God and his praises are sympathized with and shared in by a goodly company of others. How rarely can this be said of any nation? Some there will be who will be on the Lord’s side; but they are very far from being all the people. It will be, as in this psalm, when we reach the heavenly world; there, there will be universal praise. But rarely is it so here. Still, there may be, and there are, oftentimes, approximations to this blessed condition, when not one here and there only, but when the people generally praise the works of the Lord. Let it be our prayer and endeavor to bring about such condition. It is the prayer of Psa 67:1-7. Would that it were that of all the people of God!
II. BUT THERE MAY BE NEITHER. Not only are the voices of the many silent as to the praise of God, but not one solitary voice is heard anywhere. So will it be amid the abodes of those who have finally rejected the grace of God, and are therefore lost. And there are, alas I utterly godless communities even now! When Noah was taken from his generation, all the rest could not furnish a solitary servant of God. So at Sodom and Gomorrah. And when the Christian Church had left the doomed Jerusalem, and betaken themselves to Pella, there remained such another godless people. Thank God, amongst mankind at large, he has never left himself without witness in some region or another; but in different localities it may be that there are neither the many nor even the one on the Lord’s side. If any servant of God knows of such a locality, that is where at once he should go and hear his testimony, and extol the Name of his God and King. The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty; but woe betide that Church or that individual Christian who cares not for it, or seeks not to enlighten that darkness! Let us all remember that we are day by day fitting ourselves either for the abode where all men praise the Lord, or where none do, and each day sees us nearer the one or the other.
III. OR THERE MAY BE ONLY THE ONE. There have been scenes where but one solitary voice has been lifted up for God, whilst all the rest have been either indifferent or his declared foes. Elijah thought he was such a one: “I only am left alone.” And our blessed Lord foretold that it would be so with him: “Ye shall leave me alone,” he said to his disciples. And sometimes it is so with faithful servants of God, as St. Paul before Agrippa and before Nero, when he said, “No man stood by me.” And many a faithful missionary has known this awful loneliness; and had not God, for whom they alone witnessed, come and revealed himself to them, they could not have borne it. But this is the encouragement of the faithful yet solitary servant of God, that God will never let him be really alone, because the Lord himself will come and manifest himself to such servants, and thus fill them with his own joy. “My grace is sufficient for you.” So spake Christ to the much-tried Paul; and so he speaks still to every one of his lonely witnesses, wherever they may be.
IV. OR THERE MAY BE THE MANY, AND NOT THE ONE. The one may live in a very atmosphere of worship and service, and yet stand aloof from it himself. Have we not known families where every member is an avowed and faithful servant of Christ, and yet some one of their number stands separate and apart from all the rest? How is this? Sometimes such sad facts occur because, half unconsciously, but yet really, the reserved one is trusting to the godliness of the rest, and reckoning that that will serve for him without his becoming as they are. But let such remember that not one of us “can by any means redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him;” each one of us must personally and individually give himself to God. There is no praising in a crowd. There was but one at the wedding-feast that had not on the wedding-garment; but when the king came in to see his guests, he was at once detected, and cast out into the outer darkness. That is a never-to-be-forgotten fact. And what makes the sin of such the greater is that they were so favorably placed for gaining eternal life. Everything is in favor of an individual soul, if all those around him are pressing into the kingdom of God. He has but to go with the streamnot against it, as so many have to. How much increased, therefore, is their responsibility! Be thankful for such hallowed, helpful surroundings, and avail yourselves of them, as you should.S.C.
Psa 145:7
Love’s full-flowing spring.
This is what is meant by the abundant utterance told of in this verse. It is as the waters bursting out from a full springirrepressible, perennial, abundant; so when the memory of God’s great goodness possesses the soul, it leads to such outpouring of grateful expression as the psalmist here tells of. Now let us speak
I. OF THE SPRING ITSELF. It has two great sources.
1. God‘s great goodness. The psalm tells much of God’s providential goodnesshow “the eyes of all wait upon thee, and,” etc. (Psa 145:15, Psa 145:16). And what a theme for never-failing praise this is! Who can reckon up the mercies of God given to us here and now, for the supply of our temporal wants, and for the comfort of our lives? Since this life is brief, earthly, inferior, of comparatively little worth; and yet how doth God care for it! He crowneth it with loving-kindness and tender mercy. But his “great” goodness has to do with the eternal life; and when we think of what he has done for that, we can see that his goodness is indeed great. Whether we contemplate the depths of sin and misery from which his grace has brought us up; or whether we tell of the glorious heights of joy, sanctity, and service, to which he is bringing us; or of the pure beauty and grace which prompted him thus to deal with us so utterly undeserving; or of the fearful cost at which he purchased useven the precious blood; or of the present blessed help of his Holy Spirit, which we daily enjoy, and by which we are enabled to serve and glorify him, and to become channels of blessing to others;when we think of all this, or of any part of it, our souls are lost in wonder as we gaze with awe and unspeakable gratitude on his great goodness.
2. The other source of this spring is God‘s righteousness. “They shall sing of thy righteousness.” To the guilty soul, trembling with fear of God’s condemnation, God’s righteousness is a source of terror rather than joy. But to him who has received God’s salvation aright, it causes his soul to sing for joy. For deep down in the heart of man is the conviction that nothing but righteousness can endure for ever; it is the permanent element in all things that do endure. Without it that which seems most stable, fixed, and sure will ere long perish and disappear. And even the goodness of Godhis great goodness, unless there were righteousness at the heart of it, could not give the soul rest. It is because Christ is the Lord our Righteousness, as well as the Lord our Redeemer, that therefore we believe he is our Redeemer. In him we see how God can be just, and yet the Justifier of him who believeth in Jesus. And the righteousness of God is our soul’s support amid the manifold and many sorrowful mysteries of life. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” That is our deep conviction, though we cannot understand all that he does. We are sure that in good time all will be seen to be right, which now often seems to us most wrong. And there is yet another clement of joy in God’s righteousnessthat it is sure to reproduce itself. “Good and upright is the Lord, therefore will he teach sinners in the way.” Then he will teach me, he will satisfy my soul’s hunger after righteousness.
II. ITS CHANNELS. They are pointed at in Psa 145:6.
1. Men have been convinced of God‘s righteous judgments. They” speak of the might of thy terrible acts.” A solemn fear of God takes possession of them, they tremble with deep alarm, they are pricked to the heart. “When thy judgments are abroad, then the inhabitants of the earth will ]earn righteousness.” Like the men of Nineveh under Jonah’s awful preaching, and like many a sinful soul since. Deep conviction of sin is wrought by the Holy Spirit, and it is along this channel God’s great goodness flows.
2. The proclamation of God s exceeding grace. “I will declare thy greatness.” The psalmist sees and seizes the opportune time; and now, when the conviction of the Holy Spirit has prepared the way, sets forth the grace; for that is the greatness of God. Of the greatness of his justice and his power they already know; now they are told of the greatness of his mercy and of his readiness to forgive. Well is it when the Christian teacher can find hearts thus prepared; for then it is speedily seen that God’s Word does not return to him void.
3. For there follows the reception into the heart of the truth of God‘s great goodness. They could not have afterwards abundantly uttered the memory of that great goodness, unless first they had believingly received it. Thus along these channels of conviction, proclamation of the grace of God, and believing reception of it, we come next to
III. ITS RESERVOIR. Its storage in the memory. The truth of God’s grace had not merely glanced on the minds of those here spoken of, but it had come to stay. Hence it was treasured up in the reservoir of memory. Well is it when our minds are thus stored with memories of the grace of Godhis great goodness to our souls.
IV. ITS OUTFLOW.
1. In abundant utterance. Some keep a wretched silence, and say never a word for God; others, it’ they do speak, do so in such a half-hearted way that they might almost as well be silent. But those who have known the grace of God in truth, and realize the greatness of the salvation they have experienced, they will “abundantly utter,” etc. Not alone their lips, but their lives, their look, their whole spirit and temper, will tell forth the vividness of their memory of God’s great goodness. And:
2. In song. “They shall sing of thy righteousness.” The utterance will be a joyful onea glad sound,not a dirge or any other such mournful strain, but a song befitting the glad tidings of great joy which have been made known to them. May we learn this song!S.C.
Psa 145:9
The Lord is good to all.
I. NEVER WAS IT MORE NECESSARY THAN NOW TO INSIST UPON THIS BLESSED REVELATION OF GOD.
1. For one main characteristic of the days in which we live is men‘s sensitiveness to human suffering. From one cause and another they have become open-eyed and tender-hearted in regard to the terrible distresses which afflict such vast portions of the human race. And this sensitiveness and compassion are unquestionably from God, and are the product of that good and blessed Spirit of God, who “like as a father pitieth his children.” He has been, so we believe, moving upon the minds of men, and has caused the bitter cry of human sorrow to pierce and penetrate, and rouse to practical help, many who before were but little conscious of, and less concerned about, the dark and deplorable facts that lay all around them. Here and there we find those who regard these sad conditions of society as inevitable, and therefore hopeless, and who look on with cynic doubt and disparaging suggestions; whilst others are bestirring themselves to find some sort of remedy.
2. But this very sensitiveness needs to be soothed and sustained, strengthened and guided, by the faith of the love of God. For else it will rush into wild schemes, which can do no good to those in distress, and will only recoil in many sad and terrible ways on those who devised them. Or else it will settle down into a hopeless despair, and to vain, frantic protests against what it deems the cruel laws under which men are condemned to live.
3. Nothing but confident trust in the love of God will avail. For all efforts to ameliorate the lot of our fellow-men demand patience and energy, and a hopefulness that nothing can quench. To face the gigantic evils of human life is no child’s play, no holiday sport, but real, serious, earnest work, from which all but the true-hearted will turn away. Apart from this, men cannot and will not persevere in the often apparently hopeless task of lightening the burdens which oppress so terribly so many of their fellow-men.
II. FOR THE FOES OF THIS FAITH ARE FOUND, FOR THE MOST PART, IN THE FALSE OPINIONS OF MEN. Opinions which they seldom express openly, but which, nevertheless, paralyze their power for good, and hinder all the efforts which they make to mend or end the evils around them. These false opinions confront the truth of our text, and fight against it, and too often seem to get the better of it.
1. Now, one of these false opinions is thisthat chance rules all. Life, according to this opinion, is as a mere chip on a stream, caught now by this eddy, now whirled about by that, driven by this current in one direction, and then by another in a different one; borne hither and thither, from side to side, the sport of every breeze and of every stray force that may bear upon it. Life, they say again, is a labyrinthine puzzle, the clue of which no man has found; and so men go groping on, hoping always to find the right turning, but quite as likely to take the wrong. The poor and the distressed are simply unlucky, the prosperous are but the favorites of Fortune, the fickle goddess who, they say, governs all our lives. Now, no doubt, there is much in human life that looks as if it were the result of mere chance. For it could not be foreseen, nor influenced by anything within our power; as, for example, of what parents we should be born, the kind of home which we should have, the circumstances amid which we should be trained, what constitution we should inherit, by what teachers we should be instructed. And many more and all-important elements in determining what our lives shall be, are, without doubt, beyond both our knowledge and control. Any hour of any day, in a moment, something may happen utterly unexpected by us, and which we could in no wise have helped or hindered, but which may have the effect of entirely altering, for the better or the worse, our whole future. Just as by one pull of a lever the pointsman shunts the entire train on to a different line, the effect of which will be to take it the whole breadth or length of the land apart from where it would have gone had that lever not been pulled. And so often is it with the effect of some seemingly insignificant and unforeseen event upon our lives. When, some years ago, the huge reef of rocks which barred one of the entrances to the harbor of New York was removed, who that did not know of the arrangements that had been made, would have imagined that there was any connection between the tremendous upheaving and shattering of those massive rocks, and the mere moving of a handle by a little girl on shore some miles away? But we know they must have been connected, and that, without the insignificant antecedent, the great result could never have followed. And similarly slight are many of the causes which make or mar a man’s life. Observing such facts, the old Greeks came to believe in the doctrine of chance. The universe, according to them, was but the fortuitous coming together of the atoms which compose it. And still there are those who, if not professedly, yet really, do believe that chance, good luck, fortune, and mere accident govern all things. But the doctrine is horribly and utterly false. It is only our ignorance of the connection between events that makes us judge as we do. In any manufactory, our ignorance of the relation of one process to another never leads us to deny that there is such relation. We are sure there is, though we do not know what it is. Why cannot we reason in the same way in reference to the various processes which go to make up our lives? We are not the sport of mere haphazard or blind chance, but we are under the wise, firm, loving rule of our Father in heaven; he is ordering, directing, and controlling all our affairs, and causing all things to work together for good to them that love him.
2. Another foe to the faith that “God is love“ is the doctrine of destiny. It teaches that our lives are all governed by irresistible Divine decrees, and that we are happy or miserable, good or bad, saved or lost, according to Divine determinations made concerning us from the beginning, and entirely irrespective of our merit or demerit, or any choice or will of our own whatsoever. A vast theological system has been formed upon this basis, and is still upheld by many. It was first sketched out by St. Augustine, in the fifth century; but it was elaborated and developed into a rigid system by the great Protestant leader Calvin. According to this system, the human soul is helpless. From the foundation of the world it has been elected either to eternal glory or to eternal damnation; and to this latter awful doom the great mass are predestined, whilst only the few elect souls are ordained to eternal life. The author of this frightful. system himself says of it, that it is “decretum horribile fatem attamen verum.” Such is Calvinism, this doctrine of destiny. It is marvelous how men with human hearts in them, men who had ever known a mother’s love or a father’s care, could have come to entertain and maintain dogmas so horrible and so heart-crushing as these. The stern and awful days in which both Augustine and Calvin lived may partly account for it; for they were such as stirred the darker and fiercer moods of men’s minds into terrible activity. And men, forgetting the whole spirit of the Bible, and oblivious of the great love of God in Christ, and failing amid their terrible days to see the innumerable proofs of God’s grace and goodness, set up their poor logic and their interpretations of particular texts, and they heeded not the gentler teachings of their own hearts, and so they forged and fashioned that dark creed which has saddened and bewildered and injured in many ways all those on whom its grim shadow has fallen. But it is a false creed, and to be scouted and abhorred of every truth-loving soul. It must be false; for it has the whole of the deepest instincts of the human heart against it, as well as the spirit of the whole Bible and the revelation of God in Christ. Furthermore, it is suicidal to the very aim and intent of God’s dealings with us, which is that we should love him with all cur heart, etc. But no man who really believes what this dreadful creed teaches can love God. If it were true, God would be a Moloch, and not our heavenly Father; a monster to be dreaded, and not the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. A creed that has such result is thereby proved to be false, and it is therefore to be condemned by all good men.
3. The belief that we are the creatures of circumstances.
III. “MAN‘S INHUMANITY TO MAN.” Here is another fruitful cause of men’s doubt of the love of God. Also
IV. OUR SORROWS, AND YET MORE, OUR SINFULNESS. These standmust do soin the way of our faith. The sinful heart is ever an unbelieving heart. It is only when “our hearts condemn us not,” that we have confidence towards God. But let Christ lake away our sin, and then we shall readily believe.S.C.
Psa 145:10
The inner circle of God’s worshippers.
This psalm brings before us the glorious picture of universal homage rendered to God, and the reason of such homage, and the effects thereof. How vast the choir which celebrates this high praise! How varied the notes of their song! How high the value at which God estimates their praise, and how great is its volume!it is as “the sound of many waters.” In this verse we are shown both the inner and outer circles of this choir of God’s worshippers, and the intent is that we may be led to find and claim our place, not merely among all God’s works which praise him, but also among his saints who bless him. Consider
I. THE OUTER CIRCLE OF THE CHOIR. It is very large; for it includes all God‘s works.
1. Such as are inanimatethe outspread earth, the mighty mountain masses, the great and wide sea, the heavens, and all the stars of light.
2. And such as have life. From its lowest vegetable forms up to the most lofty of all the creatures of God; from the meanest insect that for one brief summer day flies through the air, up to man made in the very image and likeness of God.
3. And such as have intelligence and will and a moral nature capable of knowing good and evil; for these also are among the works of God, though at the head of them all. And they all praise him in so far as they are his works. This cannot be said of our works. Too many of them discredit and disgrace us, and the less seen or said of them the better. But of God we can say, “All thy works praise thee.” Examine them how we will, subject them to the severest scrutiny, and the verdict of the psalmist will remain unchallenged. The power, the wisdom, the skill, the goodness of God, are evident in them all. And this not alone in the greater works of God, but in those that are less known and are on a smaller scale. Most of them have no power or choice in the matter, others act on the impulses of mere animal instinct, and yet others who have intelligence and will, but, alas! a corrupt heart likewise, even they, in those regions of their nature where their evil will has no power, are compelled to render their tribute of praise. As it has been said, the ungodly are creatures of God, even if they be not of his new creation; and all that is in them that is of God in the structure of their body, mind, and will, unites, and cannot but unite, in the universal chorus with which all God’s works praise him. It matters not whether we survey his works in nature, in providence, or in grace. Of them all, when rightly understood, the same may be saidthey all praise him. But all thesemagnificent as so many of them are, and radiant with beauty and with ever manifold proof of the power, the wisdom, and goodness of Godthese are yet but the outer circle. Consider, then
II. THE INNER CIRCLE OF THIS GLORIOUS CHOIR, who ever worship God. This consists of the saints of God. “Thy saints shall bless thee.” But:
1. Who are God‘s saints? The name has fallen into ill repute. It is a term of scorn, of contempt, of dislike, in the mouths of not a few. They hold and affirm that if a man is called a saint, it is because he is either a hypocrite or a fool. It is because the world has seen too many sham saints, that it thus speaks of all saints. Hence no one now would dare to say of himself, however much he might hope it in his heart, that he was one of God’s saints. The Church of Rome professes to be able to make saints. Her canonization is held to entitle any deceased individual to a right to a place amongst God’s saints. But will any one take upon himself to show that the saints of the Roman calendar are all of them thus entitled? We hope they are; but we cannot say there is no room for doubt. Man-made saints are ever of a questionable kind. Nor is it essential to be numbered amongst God’s saints that we should no longer live here upon earth. Those of whom the psalmist speaks were not dead, but living people. They might be poor, tried, troubled, tempted; but amid all such circumstances they lived here on earth as God’s saints. Nor were they absolutely Perfect. Some of them were very far from that; and we do not know where to find any such now. There have been self-deluded, though well-meaning people, who have professed perfection; but to other eyes their perfection has not been evident. They have been good, devout, kind-hearted, and truly religious people; but flawless, faultless, they have not been. And where are there any such? But if the name of saint belongs only to such, then there are no saints, and there never have been. But they are those of whom it may be said that the whole trend and aim of their lives is to do God’s will. They trust him, they love him, they worship him, they seek ever to obey him. It is the steady aim and honest endeavor of their lives, and in the main and increasingly they do walk with God and are well-pleasing in his sight. And, blessed be God! there have been, and there are, many suchthe good Lord make all of us such!and these are the saints of God. Not flawless, immaculate, perfect People, but those who come nearest to it of all people living. They are the salt of the earth, the light of the world, the elect Church, God’s best gift to our world. They are found in every Church, they are confined to none. No Church is without them; none has them all.
2. These form the inner circle of God‘s worshippers. Their prerogative and privilege the highest of all. For they are more than others. God has not dealt with any others as he has with them. To them he has opened the treasure-store of his grace, and blessed installments of what shall be fully theirs one day, they both here and now enjoy. They are the temples of the Holy Ghost; they are inheritors of eternal life. And they glorify God more than others. It is the aim and bent of their lives. Through them many other precious jewels of God are taken up out of the mire of sin, in which they have been long lying, and they witness for God amid the world of the ungodly. God is their exceeding Joy, and they are his beloved. For them God orders his providential government. They are as the apple of his eye, and for them God’s well-beloved Son was given up to die, and the Holy Ghost was sent and yet abides in the world. “And it doth not appear what they shall be.”
3. And they render special worship. The other works of God praise him, but his saints bless him. That is more than praise; for though we praise that which excites our admirationas do skill, genius, wisdom, poweryet we only bless where our love is stirred. Admiration is good, but love is that in which God delights, and only his saints can render him that. Admiration, that which excites our praise, may leave our heart cold and uncheered; but love enkindles a blessed inward fire, which illuminates and cheers the heart wherein it burns. Those who bless the Lord are blessed of him, and blessed they are.
III. THE TRANSITION FROM ONE TO THE OTHER. From the outer circle to the inner.
1. For men it is possible. For it has often been accomplished. Every regenerated heart has been translated from the one to the other, and the transition is ever taking place. And the whole Bible is full of declarations and directions on the matter. To bring it about is the aim of all God’s dealings with us.
2. And the means are plainly shown. Let there be the desire to enter into this inner circle, then the steps are the renunciation of all known sin; for it is sin alone that keeps us back. Then the surrender of the will to God, that which he means when he says, “Give me thine heart.” This will involve obedience to God’s commands, and then, for the maintenance of all this, and for the full entrance into the state of grace, let there be continual trust in God to do his work in your soul.
3. And how infinitely desirable all this is! For our own sake, for that of others, and for the honor of Christ.S.C.
Psa 145:14
For the fallen and the falling.
How different are the ways of him whose everlasting kingdom and enduring dominion are told of in the previous verse, from the ways of the world and of hard and selfish men! Vae victis! is the world’s verdict, and the facts of life too often confirm it; but the Lord, he is the Savior of the unsuccessful, the Speaker of heart-cheering words to the crushed ones in life’s stern conflict, and the Performer for them of corresponding deeds.
I. CONSIDER THE TWO CLASSES OF PERSONS HERE SPOKEN OF.
1. Them that fall. How many of these there are in the secular struggle! The fight for mere life is not seldom so severe that many are beaten down, and unless men have some upholder, some strong support and prop, there would be no hope for any of them. And in the social struggle: there is the perpetual effort to advance in position; but there are many who are not only utterly unable to raise themselves to a higher social grade, but are unable even to maintain the position in which they now are; they are on the verge of a precipice, and they are in constant peril of falling over and down. And in the intellectual struggle: how the eager scholar strives, but the contests seem to get harder every day, and the overtaxed brain too often threatens to give way altogether! And there is the physical struggle: the conditions of life are often so destructive to health that they render full vigor of body an unattainable thing, or, if at first preserved, inevitably and speedily lost, and then what can a man do? And, above all, there is the spiritual struggle, to keep the garment of the soul unspotted, and the heart pure, and the will steadfast and true to God. Ah, how difficult is all this! How often we are compelled to confess, “My feet had well-nigh slipped”! How many are there of these fallen or falling ones!
2. And then, there are “those that be bowed down.” They do not fall, but it is with bent form and weary feet and burdened spirit that they stagger on as they best can. How frequent are the cries and complaints of such bowed-down ones heard in these Psalms (see Psa 42:1-11; etc.)!
II. SEE WHAT THE LORD DOES FOR THEM.
1. He upholdeth the falling ones. Illustration: the woman taken in adultery (Joh 8:1-59.; Luk 7:37, etc.). He does this by, as in these cases, gracious words; or through human ministries of sympathy and help; or by the kindly ordering of his providence; or, and yet more, by the ministry of the Holy Spirit shedding abroad in our hearts the love of God.
2. He raiseth up them that are bowed down. (Luk 13:16.) The world says that the weakest must go to the wall; but the Lord’s thoughts concerning them are far otherwise. And so, also, have been and are his deeds. The saints on earth and in heaven attest this.
III. WHEREFORE GOD THUS DEALS WITH THEM. Because God is love. So he wins trophies of his grace; and his most devoted servants, and successful workers; and thus he encourages all men to trust in him.
IV. IN WHAT WAY SHOULD WE RESPOND? By rendering heartfelt praise; by imitating his example; by turning to and trusting him for ourselves; by making known his grace.S.C.
Psa 145:16
The opening of God’s hand.
We are wont to admire much in our fellow-men the open hand, the free, generous impartation of what we have to those who have not. It is by no means too common a sight, but a very pleasant one when it can be seen. Close-fistedness is much more the rule than open-handedness. But God is the God of the open hand; the bounteous Benefactor of all, of good and bad alike. And not alone the love of God is shown, but his power likewise. With what toil and stress do we accomplish our works! what strain of effort we put forth! But God has but to open his hand: he speaks, and it is done; he commands, and, etc. All the processes and products of nature are but the opening of his hand; thus simply, and with the august and Divine spontaneity of omnipotence, he supplies and satisfies the innumerable, varied, ever-recurring, and vast necessities of all his creatures.
I. HOW ARE WE TO UNDERSTAND This? Certainly the broad declarations of this verse need explanation. Hence we remark:
1. That the desires which God will thus satiny do not mean all desires. Those of the wicked God does not satisfy. He may at times seem to; but ask the wicked themselves whether even then they are satisfied. They are not, and never can be. And there are many foolish and mistaken desires of good men which God does not satisfy; it would be ill for us if he did.
2. But they are the desires which he himself purposed that they should be satisfied. He created them, and designs that they should be met; they belong both to the body and the soul; they have to do with time, and with eternity likewise.
3. The universality of the text must not be insisted on even for these. For it declares only what is the general order of God’s dealings with his creatures; it is his rule, but that rule has many exceptions. The lower and lesser purpose of satisfying our desires may have to give way to one that is higher and greater. This is the meaning of all the afflictions of the righteous.
4. Nevertheless, the rule holds good. God does open his hand, etc. We are apt so to gaze on the exceptions as to lose sight of the rule; this is wrong and hurtful every way.
5. And God acts in varied ways, not in any one way only. For all creatures other than man he ministers directly to their need; but for man he employs our own faculties, and thus only indirectly are our desires satisfied.
II. WHAT IS ITS PROOF? Many think in their hearts, and some openly say, that it is their own efforts that secure to them the satisfaction of their desires. God does not give to them their daily breadthey earn it; man is his own provider. Hence they demur to such declarations as in this verse. But a little reflection will show the fallacy of such thoughts; for:
1. Does not God provide both the toolspowers of mind and bodywith which we work, and the material on which we work! Hence, were there only our work, where would our satisfied desires be? And the energy, too, the living force without which we could not work at allis not this also from God? What a mere fraction of all that needs to be done is that which we do!
2. And were it much greater, what would that be in view of the magnitude, variety, and urgency of need that meets us on every hand? If God did not do as is here said, what could man do? How idle, then, is it to attribute to any other than God the supply of all our wants!
III. WHAT DOES IT SAY TO US? Very much indeed; God help us to give heed! And:
1. “Bless ye the Lord, praise him and magnify him for ever.” That surely is the first claim which this truth makes upon us.
2. “Oh, put thy trust in the Lord.” Does not that word come to us from all these bounties of our God?
3. “If God thus cares for my body, will he not much more care for my soul? “ Will he thus minister to the short-lived, material nature, and neglect or forget the eternal and spiritual? It is impossible.
4. What must the abominableness of sin be that compels a God so gracious to inflict on us, because of it, so great and awful distresses? Not for a little thing would man have to suffer as we see he has.
5. If the opening of his hand be so blessed for us, what must be the result of the shedding of the blood of his well-beloved Son? Let us not be content with the lower gifts, as too many are, but seek those highest ones which are the purchase of the blood of Christ.
6. Let us be open-handed ourselves. (Altered and abridged from A. Fulter.)S.C.
Psa 145:20
Preservation and destruction.
One or other of these lies before us all; the Bible gives no hint of a third condition or destiny. How important, therefore, to know whither we are tending, and what awaits us at the hand of God!
I. THE TRUTH HERE DECLARED.
1. As to those that love God. He will preserve them. He does this:
(1) In the order of his providence. It is generally well with those that love him.
(2) In their spiritual history it is certainly true (see Rom 8:1-39; at end).
(3) In his eternal kingdom. No harm can reach them there.
2. As to the wicked. He will destroy them.
(1) Now and again we see such doom come upon individual transgressors. History recounts the destruction of nations, and their sin has ever been their destroyer. Where are the great empires of olden time?
(2) But often and often, blessed be his Name! He destroys the wicked by destroying their wickedness, turning their hearts to himself. The King’s arrows are sharp in the hearts of the King’s enemies.
(3) But God’s final doom on the ungodly is what is mainly meant in this Scripturethat awful sentence of “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord,” which must come on all those who will not allow that God should separate them from their sin. And this is no arbitrary sentence; for note
II. THE NEEDS–BE FOR IT.
1. In the preservation of those that love God. It is so for the Lord’s own sake; his love could not otherwise be satisfied, nor his promises fulfilled. And for the world’s sake; they who love the Lord are the salt of the earth, and are his witnesses to men. And for their own sake, that they may be eternally blessed.
2. In the destruction of the wicked. If it be only a temporal destruction, it is needed for the vindication of the Divine Law; for the reformation of the guilty (cf. 1Co 11:32); for witness to men that verily there is a God who judgeth. And if the destruction be other than temporal, it is still necessary, for how else can heaven be heaven? Earth is the sad place it too often is only because of the presence of sin. Is sin, then, to have place in heaven, as it will if the wicked come there?
III. ITS WORD OF HOLY COUNSEL.
1. Pray: for so is our will strengthened to choose the right and refuse the wrong.
2. Act: break away from wickedness and commit yourself on the side of God.
3. Trust: day by day, yea, continually, give yourself up “to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless,” etc.
“Help, Lord, that we may come Nor go,
Where one day appears In woe.” S.C.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK
Psa 145:4
The praise of succeeding generations.
In the old times kings forwarded their despatches by running footmen, of whom there were relays (see Job 9:25; Jer 51:31; 2Ch 30:6-10; Est 3:13-15). The statutes, ordinances, etc; of the Bible are the despatches of the great King. The generations, as they succeed each other, are the running footmen. The despatches are words of love and mercy. The runners read and publish as they advance.
I. THIS WORK OF PRESERVING AND HANDING DOWN THE TRUTH IS AMONGST THE VERY FIRST RELIGIOUS DUTIES THAT CONCERNED THE MIND AND HEART OF MAN.
1. Oral teaching. A patriarch’s household (Gen 18:19). It was a divinely enforced duty (Deu 6:1-25.; Isa 38:19).
2. Presently the pen of the historian, etc; employed. Moses, Samuel, etc.
II. THIS WORK IS NO LESS IMPORTANT THAN ANCIENT.
1. Human happiness involved (Psa 78:1-8).
2. Glory of God advanced.
3. Hence Providence has, at different times, raised up supplementary aid to ensure its performance.
To the father of each family was added the prophet, scribe, etc.; and to these, in modern times, various organizations.
III. THIS WORK, SO ANCIENT AND IMPORTANT, IS AN EVER–PRESENT DUTY.
1. It belongs to the present generation, no less than to those of the past.
2. The world’s progress in morality is built up by the workers of all ages. We must lay a stone or two.
We owe it to the past.
IV. THIS WORK, BEING RELIGIOUS, HAS TO OVERCOME GREAT DIFFICULTIES.
1. Various phases of skepticism.
2. Folly in the heart of children.
3. Home influence often bad.
V. THIS WORK REQUIRES SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS IN THE WORKER. Not so much mental as moral.
1. Love of God and Christ (Joh 21:15).
2. Love of the truth.
3. Love of souls.
VI. THE WORK IS ACCOMPANIED BY SPECIAL ENCOURAGEMENTS.
1. The promises of God.
2. The help of God.
3. The improved moral tone of society.
4. The glorious future present to the eye of faith. (After Gray.)R.T.
Psa 145:6, Psa 145:7
God’s greatness is goodness.
“God’s ‘majesty’ is his inherent greatness; his ‘glory’ is the manifestation of that majesty; and its ‘splendor’ in the brightness of this manifestation is seen by the eyes of men.” “God declares his almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity. The contemplation of simple majesty breathes awe; the sense of graciousness in majesty adds to it the glow of thankfulness.” “If philosophy is to be believed, our world is but an outlying corner of creation; bearing, perhaps, as small proportion to the great universe as a single grain bears to all the sands of the seashore, or the small quivering leaf to the foliage of a boundless forest. Yet even within this earth’s narrow limit, how vast the work of Providence! how soon is the mind lost in contemplating it! How great, then, must the Creator of all be, if his works are so great! Truly ‘ his greatness is unsearchable'” (Guthrie).
I. THE OPPRESSION OF THE MERE SENSE OF POWER. Only an overwhelming feeling attends the working of the great forces of nature, in tempest, flood, earthquake, etc. Only a crushing humiliation follows on the masterful workings of great conquerorsAlexander, Attila, Napoleon, etc. And oftentimes the almightiness of God is so presented, the majesty of his creation, his control, his judgments, that the mind and heart of man are simply crushed before him. See the sentiment we have in relation to giants, who are nothing but embodiments of physical power. There is no rest for man in God if all we can know of God is that he is almighty, “none can stay his hand.” Illustrate by the slavish submission of Islamism before a God conceived as absolute power only.
II. THE RESTFULNESS OF A SENSE OF GOODNESS BEHIND POWER. Illustrate by the different feeling we have toward the giant when we see him tenderly toying and playing with a helpless babe. There is a character behind the power, which puts limitations on, and quality into, the acts of power. The giant is good. It is thus with God. We find no rest in the mighty things he has done, or does, until we see that love to us, and planning for our good, tones, qualifies, and directs all the forthputtings of his power.R.T.
Psa 145:8
The slowness of the Divine anger.
“Slow to anger, and of great mercy.” In former homilies it has been shown that the term “anger” can only be applied to God with extreme caution and precision. Anger is a part of the possibilities belonging to man as a moral being. He would not be a man if he could not be angry. Anger is the proper response which man makes to a certain class of related circumstances. And as man is made in the image of God, we must think that everything essential to man has its answering essential in God. Then there must be the possibility of anger in God. But man is suffering from the influence of willfulness and sin, continued through long generations. And one of the most decided influences has been a loosening of control over the possibilities of anger, so that a man responds too quickly, and anger degenerates into passion. Such anger must never be associated with God, who must never be thought of as losing self-control under any pressure of outward circumstances. Then he is “slow to anger.”
I. THE SLOWNESS OF DIVINE ANGER IS MAN‘S OPPORTUNITY. The type of man’s anger is Cain, who, in a moment of passion, slew his brother, and gave that brother no opportunity of putting things straight. God waits, and in that waiting-time man gets his opportunity of recovery and repentance. He has the chance of “coming to himself.” It may never be thought that God’s slowness is the sign of his indifference. He feels responsively quicker than man does, but action on feeling is subject to judgment, and delayed by compassion. The slowness is mercy. The history of God’s ancient people provides abundant illustrations of the opportunities given by the delaying of Divine anger.
II. THE SLOWNESS OF DIVINE ANGER IS MAN‘S PERSUASION. There is something in man which instantly convicts him of his wrongdoing, and as instantly fills him with fear of God’s anger. When that anger is held in, the man wonders. If he is a bad man, it leads him to presume. If he is a good man, it becomes to him a persuasion. It reveals to him God’s anxiety about him. He feels to be in God’s thought and patience, and he is moved to recover himself from that wrong state of mind and heart which brought on him the Divine anger.R.T.
Psa 145:9
Recognizing God’s universal goodness.
“We who recognize the loving-kindness, as well as the power of God, in what may seem the harsher and more forbidding agencies of Nature, ought not to be weary and faint in our minds if over our warm human life the same kind pitying hand should sometimes cause his snow of disappointment to fall like wool, and cast forth his ice of adversity like morsels, knowing that even by these unlikely means shall ultimately be given to us, too, as to Nature, the beauty of Sharon and the excellency of Carmel” (Hugh Macmillan). “The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world’s joy. The lonely pine on the mountain-top waves its somber boughs, and cries,’ Thou art my sun.’ And the little meadow violet lifts its cup of blue, and whispers with its perfumed breath, ‘ Thou art my sum’ So God sits, effulgent in heaven, not for a favored few, but for the universe of life; and there is no creature so poor or so low that he may not look up with childlike confidence and say, ‘My Father, thou art mine’ (Ward Beecher). Our Lord taught concerning the heavenly Father, “He maketh his san to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
I. GOD‘S UNIVERSAL GOODNESS IS NOT THE APPEARANCE OF THINGS. From man’s point of view the world is full of things that he cannot call good. And he often wonders why God made things as they are. How can he call calamities and disasters, bloodshed and war, pain and death, signs of Divine goodness? He can only see the appearance; and with that limited vision it is wholly impossible for man to realize the universal goodness of God. And in moral spheres he is equally puzzled. Crime constantly goes undetected and unpunished. The wicked succeed and the righteous fail. How can God be good to all when so many live lives of misery?
II. GOD‘S UNIVERSAL GOODNESS IS THE FACT OF THINGS. But it can only be seen from proper points of view, and with the properly cleared vision. God’s world is not a material, it is a moral world, and a material only for the sake of the moral God’s universal goodness is clearly seen in the measure in which we can apprehend God’s moral end in everything that he does and permits.R.T.
Psa 145:10
Praising and blessing.
Matthew Henry indicates the distinction between these terms, and the appropriateness with which each is used. “All God’s works shall praise him. They all minister to us matter for praise, and so praise him according to their capacity; even those that refuse to give him honor he will get himself honor upon. But his saints (beloved ones) do bless him, not only as they have peculiar blessings from him, which other creatures have not, but as they praise him actively, while his other works praise him only objectively. They bless him, for they collect the rent or tribute of praise from the inferior creatures, and pay it into the treasury above. All God’s works do praise him, as the beautiful building praises the builder, or the well-drawn picture praises the artist; but the saints bless him as the children of prudent tender parents rise up and call them blessed. Of all God’s works, his saints, the workmanship of his grace, the firstfruits of his creatures, have most reason to bless him.”
I. PRAISING IS COMMON TO ALL BEING. Because all being is creation, and has its satisfaction in being what it was designed to be, and doing what it was designed to do. We must distinguish between what creation does, and what the poetic and the pious soul thinks of creation as doing. It is true that (perhaps) everything, animate and inanimate, has in it the capacity of sound; and its sound may be its voice of praise. But the praise is what man hears in his soul. It is the voice of nature translated by man. So marvelous, so perfect, and so mutually adapted, are all the creations of God, that every existing thing can be conceived of as praising God for its very being, because it finds pleasure in being.
II. BLESSING IS SPECIAL TO MAN. Because it indicates the intellectual apprehensions, and the heart-feelings, of a living moral being; one who can reason, feel, and bear relations. To bless a person is to recognize gratefully something which that person has done for us, and done as a sign of his love to us. And it is thus that we bless God. It is our recognition not of common good, but of special interventions, arrangements, and adaptations for us; and these as signs and proofs of his gracious and loving personal feeling toward us.R.T.
Psa 145:13
God’s everlasting kingdom.
“What is infinite in greatness must be infinite in duration.” “Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all eternities.” On the door of the old mosque in Damascus, which was once a Christian church, but for twelve centuries has ranked among the holiest of the Mohammedan sanctuaries, are inscribed these memorable words: “Thy kingdom, O Christ, is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.” It is evident that the psalmist is endeavoring to find the most comprehensive and expressive of all terms to associate with God’s kingdom and we must therefore notice the all-inclusiveness of this term, “everlasting.”
I. GOD‘S KINGDOM IS SPIRITUAL. It is not the kingdom of things, created things, of which the psalmist writes. It is God’s kingdom of men, and man is essentially a spiritual being. The glory of an earthly king is not material possessions, but the loving service of free-willed peoples. God’s kingdom is the rule of God’s will over men’s wills. And so we pray, “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done.” It is a sublime thought of God that he is the spiritual Being ruling over spiritual beings. “King of saints, the holy.”
II. GOD‘S KINGDOM IS ALL–HALLOWING. It can never be identified with any earthly kingdom. It covers and includes them all. It is as absolutely universal as the spiritual being man; and is consistent with, but independent of, all the varieties of forms in which men organize themselves into nations, and arrange governmental conditions. God’s kingdom must not be confused with his Church, unless we make the Church coextensive with the kingdom. Every man, being a spiritual man, is a member of God’s spiritual kingdom. Everything for him depends on what sort of a member he is.
III. GOD‘S KINGDOM IS PERMANENT. It belongs to all generations, because the generations repeat spiritual beings, and God rules such, as long as, and wherever, they exist. The permanence of the kingdom is simply the necessity of it. It is not possible for us to conceive of any disintegrating forces that can possibly affect it.R.T.
Psa 145:15
The universal dependence and expectation.
“Man is master. But there is a great deal in this world besides man. Nature takes a thousand darlings to her bosom. Every evening motherly Darkness puts to bed myriads of unnamed children of the sod, of the leaf, of the tree, bush, moss, and stone. Every morn she sends again to awaken her brood, and troops them forth to their dewy breakfast. We sometimes get nearer to God in proportion as we get far from men. These neglected treasures of Nature are a book of Divine things, and if we do not read, the Creator does” (Ward Beecher). It is full of a sweet significance that the same word should be used concerning God that we use to express the anxiety and pressure under which we so often groan. The Apostle Peter says, “Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.” God cares for his possessions and his family, even as we care for ours. But how complex, vast, and wonderful his possessions and family are! and how sublime must be his care!
I. GOD‘S CARE OF HIS CREATURES SEES IN ADJUSTMENTS. All his creatures are put in their proper places, and kept in their proper places. The distribution of animate life, and the adjustment of creature to environment, and ministry of each creature where it is put, keep up, for thoughtful minds, unceasing wonder at God’s ever-watchful care.
II. GOD‘S CARE OF HIS CREATURES SEES IN LIMITATIONS. This point is not often presented. In order to be effective, the reproductive power in vegetable and animal life is bound to be so full and strong that there comes to be everywhere danger of over-production. Illustrate by the devastation wrought by rabbits when their growth is exempt from limitations. How seldom we think of God’s goodness and care in keeping everything limited to strict efficiency; and providing destructive agencies to keep growths within safe bounds!
III. GOD‘S CARE OF HIS CREATURES IS SEEN IN PROVIDINGS. This brings to us very familiar considerations. But point may be gained by dealing with some sample cases: e.g. the gnat of the summer evening; caddis-worm; or those insects that are unpleasant to us; dangerous serpents, etc. God “gives to them all their meat in due season.”R.T.
Psa 145:17
The absoluteness of the Divine righteousness.
“The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and gracious in all his works.” This is not the impression every man has of God; it is not the impression even the good man has of God at all times. It is the good man’s thought of God when he is at his best; raised by holy emotion above himself. He can say, “The Lord is righteous in all his ways”
I. WHEN HE TRIES TO READ THE HISTORY OF THE PAST. The story of the ages is kept for us in order that we may find in it what God has been, and therefore what God is. History as a series of facts is but a poor affair. The philosophy of history is its intercept, and the Divine philosophy of history (God in history) is the supreme interest of it. But it is difficult work, because man can never fully take the Divine standpoint about anything. He is always obliged to get his faith to help his judgment. And yet, what is ever coming out more and more clearly to the devout student is the righteousness of God’s ways. He sees how God has made things come right.
II. WHEN HE TRIES TO READ THE MYSTERIES OF THE PRESENT. This is always perplexing work, because of the disturbing influence of feeling and prejudice. God’s ways are not always what we like, and then it is very easy to say that they are not right. The good man has constantly to fall back upon his absolute knowledge of what God is, and upon his deep, experimental conviction of God’s righteous goodness, in order to undo the tangle in which things seem to have got, and to put things into an order and relation that bring to view the Divine righteousness.
III. WHEN HE TRIES TO READ GOD‘S DEALINGS WITH HIMSELF. Under previous divisions we have had in mind the macrocosm, the whole world of things and people. Now we have in mind the microcosm, the limited sphere of the individual life. And the personal element so seriously influences a man that it takes a whole long life before an adequate impression of the absolute righteousness of God can be gained. And yet it is there, in every man’s life. To see it, and live in the joy of it, is heaven.R.T.
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT
Psa 145:1-21
God’s greatness, goodness, and glory.
“Every one who repeats the Tehillah of David thrice a day, may be sure that he is a child of the world to come.”
I. GOD‘S GREATNESS. (Psa 145:1-6.)
1. Unsearchable. (Psa 145:3.) No searching can reach its bottom (Isa 40:28; Job 11:7).
2. It is, nevertheless, being continually revealed in history. (Psa 145:4.) One generation declares it to another, through all the successive ages.
3. That which is so great and manifest cannot but be spoken of and honored. (Psa 145:5, Psa 145:6.) The eternally great things of God, revealed to our consciousness, cannot be regarded in silence.
II. THE GOODNESS OR LOVE OF GOD. (Psa 145:7-10.)
1. It is full of compassionate tenderness towards the needy and sinful. (Psa 145:8.) “Wrath is only the background of his nature, which he reluctantly, and only after long waiting, lets loose against those who spurn his great mercy.”
2. God‘s righteousness and love embrace all his creatures, whatever their character. (Psa 145:7, Psa 145:9.) All must praise God; but the saints will bless God with their grateful love.
III. THE GLORY OF GOD‘S KINGDOM. (Psa 145:11-13.)
1. It is a kingdom of power and majesty. God will at length accomplish all his will and all his purpose.
2. It‘s an everlasting universal kingdom. (Psa 145:13.) All things in heaven and on earth, and throughout the whole universe, shall forever and ever reflect and accomplish the infinite plan and purpose of God.
IV. THE GLORY OF GOD‘S PROVIDENCE. (Psa 145:14-21.)
1. He supports the weak and falling. (Psa 145:14.)
2. He provides for the wants of all beings, great and small. (Psa 145:15, Psa 145:16.)
3. He is righteous and holy in all his gifts. (Psa 145:17.)
4. He is near to all who truly pray, and will accomplish their salvation. (Psa 145:18-20.)S.
Psalms 145.
David praiseth God for his fame, for his goodness, for his kingdom, for his providence, and for his saving mercy.
David’s Psalm of praise.
Title. tehillah ledavid. It has been thought that David composed this admirable hymn, after he had obtained those favours of God for himself, and for the nation, which he begs in the foregoing psalm; in the 9th verse whereof it is imagined by some that he promises this psalm; concerning which many of the ancient Hebrews were wont to say, (too much in the Pharisaic spirit,) that “He could not fail to be a child of the world to come, who should repeat this psalm three times every day.” It is a song of praise to God, in which the author magnifies all his attributes, and his goodness particularly, in such a manner, as his people, and the whole body of mankind, he intimates, should adore him, and do him homage. The psalm is of the alphabetical kind, and therefore no great connection is to be expected in it. See Bishop Lowth’s 24th Prelection.
Psalms 145
Davids Psalm of Praise
I will extol thee, my God, O King; 2Every day will I bless thee;
And I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
3Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And his greatness is unsearchable.
4One generation shall praise thy works to another,
And shall declare thy mighty acts.
5I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty,
And of thy wondrous works.
6And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts:
And I will declare thy greatness.
7They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness,
And shall sing of thy righteousness.
8The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion;
Slow to anger, and of great mercy.
9The Lord is good to all:
And his tender mercies are over all his works
10All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord;
And thy saints shall bless thee.
11They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom,
And talk of thy power;
12To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts,
And the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
13Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
14The Lord upholdeth all that fall,
And raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
15The eyes of all wait upon thee;
And thou givest them their meat in due season.
16Thou openest thine hand,
And satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
17The Lord is righteous in all his ways,
And holy in all his works.
18The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him,
To all that call upon him in truth.
19He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him:
He also will hear their cry, and will save them.
20The Lord preserveth all them that love him:
But all the wicked will he destroy.
21My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord:
And let all flesh bless his holy name EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Contents and Composition.It is only in this Psalm that the word tehilla occurs in the superscription as indicating the character of the poem itself. It is probably taken from Psa 145:21. The plural of the same word is used to denote the whole Psalm-collection. The contents of this Psalm are admirably described by this word, for it is taken up exclusively with Gods praise The Psalmist (Psa 145:1-2) engages to praise Him for all time to come and unceasingly, even into eternity, on account (Psa 145:3-7) of His greatness which is unsearchable, but is displayed in glorious deeds of power and wondrous working, and is worthy of the eternal remembrance and unbounded praise of all generations of men. His goodness, (Psa 145:8-13), is as glorious and all-embracing as His kingdom; therefore all that need turn with trustfulness to Him and He will never disappoint them (Psa 145:14-16). In order to experience that goodness, man need only forsake the wicked, and unite with those who fear God (Psa 145:17-20). The conclusion (Psa 145:21) turns back to the opening, but with an enlarged view.
The strophical structure, like the progress of thought, is rather irregular. This is possibly due to the acrostic character of the poem, the first letters of the verses following the order of the Hebrew alphabet. Nun only is absent; for what reason does not appear. The Sept., it is true, followed by the derived translations, inserts between Psa 145:13-14, a verse: Jehovah is faithful in all His words, and gracious1 in all His works, the latter half being the same as that of Psa 145:17. But neither Aquila nor Symmachus gives it, and neither Origen nor Jerome has it in his Heb. Text. Only a single Heb. manuscript has it (Cod. Kennicott 142), and that on the lower margin, at the bottom of the page. The Chald. and the Jewish interpreters reject it, and a scholium of the Cod. Vat. of the Sept. characterizes it as spurious. It ought scarcely therefore to be regarded as having fallen out (Grotius, Ewald); and it is still less probable that Psa 141:6 belonged originally to this passage (Hitzig).
The Ancient Church employed this Psalm at the mid-day-meal, and Psa 145:15 at the Passover. The Talmud assures us (Berachoth 4 b), that every one who repeats this Psalm three times daily, may be satisfied that he is a child of the future world. The Gemara adduces in support of this the curious reason, that it is not only written in alphabetical order, like Psalms 119. and others, and not only praises the Divine care over all creatures, like Psa 136:25, but combines both these important characteristics in itself (Del.).In this Psalm the mode of presenting the thoughts is pleasing, the language easy and transparent, recalling in many expressions and phrases familiar passages in the Psalms. It cannot be definitely determined which are the earlier, or whether any were borrowed from any others. Psa 145:13 agrees just as closely with Dan. 3:33; 4:31. But this does not justify the conclusion that the latter are the original passages, and that our Psalm belongs to the age of the Maccabees (Hitzig).
[Alexander: This has been happily characterized as the new song, promised in Psa 144:9. In other words, it is the song of praise, corresponding to the didactic, penitential, and supplicatory Psalms of this series. In form it is an alphabetical Psalm, and, like others of this class, admits of no analysis, being made up of variations on a single theme, the righteousness and goodness of God to men in general, to His own people in particular, and more especially to those that suffer.J. F. M.]
Psa 145:1-7. My God, oh King!This combination of the words elohai hammelech (the latter as in Pss. 20:10; Psa 98:6; the former as in Psa 143:10, with written fully), is rather harsh, in place of the usual expression: my King and my God (Psa 5:3; Psa 84:4). Gods right of pre-eminence is, at all events, set forth in forcible terms, first in connection with the exaltation and majesty of the Highest, as afterwards in relation to their extent and duration Gods greatness is exhibited also in 1Ch 29:11, and its unsearchableness in Isa 40:28; Job 11:7. [Delitzsch: The thought of the mute shades of the departed, which elsewhere intrudes itself, as in Psa 6:6, when the consciousness of the poet was disturbed by sin, is here entirely banished; for now the poets consciousness is the undisturbed mirror of the Divine glory.J. F. M.] It may be a matter of dispute whether the , in Psa 145:5 b., denote the wondrous deeds of God (Psa 105:27), or the words which tell of them, for both may be made the object of thoughtful contemplation and celebration. In Psa 145:7 the combination – shows that great goodness is not referred to, in the sense of abundant mercy (most), but in the sense of the universal excellence of His attributes, His goodness in every relation.
Psa 145:8-21. Psa 145:8 is like Psa 103:8. Psa 145:15 f. like Psa 104:27 f. The concluding part of Psa 145:16, as Psa 145:19 and the fundamental passage, Deu 33:23, show, comp. Act 14:17, does not mean that God is well pleased (Septuagint, Isaaki, Luther, Calvin), nor does it refer to His willingness (Hitzig), or blessing (Vulg., Geier), but to the desire, wishing, craving of living creatures (Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and most of the recent expositors). [Translate Psa 145:17 b.: and gracious in all His works.J. F. M.] The last word of Psa 145:18 b. does not express a contrast to doubt, as in Jam 1:6, so that the translation should be: in faith, believingly (Hitzig), but a contrast to hypocrisy, and thoughtless perfunctoriness in prayer.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
It is easier to promise to praise God unceasingly than it is to fulfil that promise; for there come evil times, when some do not stand the test.As we know God to be the sum and source of all good, let us ever draw from that fountain ourselves, and direct others to it also.Every day has its troubles, has it also its prayers?The blessedness of living in Gods kingdom, under the dominion of the heavenly King.
Starke: The more a soul knows the greatness of Gods glorious mercy, the more will it be stirred up to praise Him.If the Holy Spirit does but once enkindle the heart, it will never be satisfied in praising Him, it must praise Him for ever.The greatness of the King of glory is especially manifested in the compassion which He manifests to sinners, whose consciences tell them that they are guilty of eternal death.It is an act worthy of severe punishment for a man to limit Gods love and mercy, and wantonly to exclude himself from their influence.All angels, all saints, yea, all Gods works praise Him their Creator; dost thou, O man, not praise Him too? Thou then art not worthy to be or to be called a work or creature of His.The extension of Christs kingdom through the word of the gospel is a great work of God. Every true Christian should help to advance that work by counsel and deed.Christ begins His kingdom here on earth in the hearts of believers, and takes them at last into the kingdom of glory, where they shall be ever with the Lord.Our gracious God fulfils His promise even in regard to bodily afflictions; for He lays no more upon the sufferer than he can bear, and in his afflictions often revives him with the sweetest consolation.You sometimes distress yourself about temporal sustenance; but what are you in need of? Whither all eyes are directed turn yours too.We are all beggars before God; we would have nothing, if He did not answer our prayers by giving us food and the necessaries of life.Our appetite and the relish which we have in our bread and other food is alas! not recognized by most as one of Gods blessings until they are deprived of them.To know God as near and omnipresent may deter the wicked from sin, but to the pious it is a consolation in all their troubles.It is much better that God should answer us in a way that will bless us, than according to the will of the flesh. In that case our souls would often suffer harm.He who sincerely loves God is in awe of Him also, lest he should offend Him by transgressing His commands and forfeit His favor.Thy mouth should be a living organ to praise God. Woe to those who open their mouths in imprecation and abuse and other sinful words!
Frisch: A mans compassion extends only to his neighbor, that of God extends to all.God does everything in His own time. That time He knows better than thou dost; therefore await it in patience.Rieger: How often does our narrow-hearted unbelief prefer to remain under the close pressure of earth, rather than be refreshed by the heart-reviving praise to God that arises from all places of His dominion.Guenther: The heavenly King has the death-judgment and the words of mercy; pray for the latter, so that thou mayst live in His kingdom beneath His sway, and serve Him for ever.Taube: A song of praise whose theme is the glory of the eternal King, His kingdom, and His mode of government.
[Matt. Henry: If the heart be full of God, out of the abundance of that the mouth will speak with reverence to His praise on all occasions.No day must pass, though never so busy a day, though never so sorrowful a day, without praising God; we ought to reckon it the most needful of our daily business, the most delightful of our daily comforts. God is every day blessing us, doing well for us, there is therefore reason we should be every day blessing Him, speaking well of Him.The works of Gods mercy outshine all His other works, and declare Him more than any of them. In nothing will the glory of God be for ever so illustrious, as in the vessels of mercy ordained to glory.His saints bless Him, for they collect the rent and tribute of praise from the inferior creatures, and pay it into the treasury above. All Gods works praise Him, as the beautiful building praises the builder, or the well-drawn picture praises the painter. But His saints bless Him as the children of prudent, tender parents rise up and call them blessed. Of all Gods works, His saints, the workmanship of His grace, the first-fruits of His creatures have most reason to bless Him.At the end of one mercy is the beginning of another, so should the end of our thanksgiving be.Bp. Horne: We see the whole animal world assembled before us, with their eyes fixed on the great King and Father of all, like those of a flock on the shepherd when he enters the field with provender for them. From the same Divine Person as the Saviour of men, as the King, Father, and Pastor of the Church, do believers with earnest expectation wait for the food of eternal life. And neither the one nor the other look and wait in vain.Scott: Those who under troubles and temptations abound in fervent prayer, shall in due season abound in grateful praise, which is the genuine language of holy joy.J. F. M.]
Footnotes:
[1][It is holy in all His works, in the Sept. Dr. Moll also has an error in his version of Psa 145:18, where he translates: Jehovah is near to all that fear Him.J. F. M.]
DISCOURSE: 741 Psa 145:1-2. I will extol thee, my God, O King: and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee, and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
THIS is one of the psalms, the verses of which successively begin with the different letters of the alphabet: and it is one in which (as in the five that follow it) there is nothing but uninterrupted praise and thanksgiving. It is as fine an exhibition of a spiritual frame of mind as any that can be found in all the Holy Scriptures: and we suppose, it is on that account that it was appointed by the Church to be read on Whit-Sunday, when the descent of the Holy Spirit, and his influence on the minds of the first Christians, are particularly commemorated. The subject contained it has so much of unity, that the whole of it may not unprofitably be brought under our review. In it we observe the disposition of Davids mind towards God. He determined to praise God himself, and he wished all others to praise him also. On this he speaks with fixedness of mind, to the same effect as in another psalm, My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise [Note: Psa 57:7.]. He regards the Messiah as his King, who justly claims this tribute at his hands: and he determines to pay it daily, and to the latest hour of his life, yea, and to all eternity also in a better world. Every succeeding generation of men he would wish to be occupied in that blessed employment; and gladly would he lead the band, that all creation might join him in one universal chorus.
But we will consider more distinctly the subjects of his praise. Having stated his determination to praise his God, he celebrates,
I.
The perfections of his nature
He mentions,
1.
His greatness
[This he declares to be unsearchable [Note: ver. 3.]: and indeed it is so: for who can form any idea of his immensity? We speak of his filling all space; but in so speaking we only darken counsel by words without knowledge. If we look at his works, he is altogether incomprehensible there also: for, what conception have we of his calling forth into existence this terraqueous globe, together with all the heavenly bodies, and fixing them all in their order by a mere act of his will? Nor are the wonders of his providence less worthy of our admiration, seeing that his greatness is no less visible in upholding all things by the word of his power, than it was in the first formation of them. Even the most terrible of his acts are also fit subjects for praise, inasmuch as they display the terrors of his Majesty, who gets honour to himself as well in the destruction of his enemies, as in the preservation of his obedient subjects. Doubtless the judgments inflicted on the old world, and those also with which Egypt, and Sodom, and the seven nations of Canaan, were visited, were most awful: but yet, as vindicating the holiness of God, and displaying the honour of his Majesty, they are worthy to be contemplated with awe, and to be celebrated with the profoundest adoration [Note: ver. 46.].]
2.
His goodness
[This was a favourite topic with the Psalmist; and therefore in speaking of that he says, They shall abundantly utter the memory of it. See how every thing in the whole creation bears the stamp of Gods goodness! every thing so fitted to its use; every thing so conducive to the good of man, and to the happiness of the whole creation. Consider every thing as originally formed; there is not the minutest thing in the universe that could, even with all the experience of six thousand years, be altered for the better. See with what blessings all the returning seasons are fraught! Let every individual search the records of his life, and what unnumbered instances of Gods goodness towards him will he see! Surely, with David, we should abundantly utter the memory of it, so as to make it the prominent subject of all our meditations, and of all our discourse: and at the same time we should sing of his righteousness, in that, whilst he has given us innumerable blessings which we never merited, he has never withheld one, which by his promises he had made our due [Note: ver. 7.].]
3.
His mercy
[In what has hitherto been spoken we are concerned as creatures: but in this attribute we are interested as sinners. And O! what reason have we to adore the tender mercy of our God! Who must not say with David, The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy? Yes indeed, He is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works [Note: ver. 8, 9.]. David, it is true, had very abundant cause to sing of mercy: but, Who has not? Who that knows any thing of himself, is not penetrated with the deepest sense of Gods grace, in looking upon so vile a sinner; of his compassion towards him, when reduced to the most destitute condition; of his patience, in bearing with such manifold backslidings; and of his great mercy, in pardoning such innumerable transgressions? If we do not extol our God, and bless his name, yea every day, and all the day long, methinks the very stones will cry out against us.]
Having thus expatiated on the virtues of his King, David proceeds to bless him for;
II.
The administration of his government
Here the reference to Christ is more plain and direct. He is the King of Zion; and it is his kingdom that is established over the face of the whole earth. There is not any thing in the whole creation that is not benefited by his reign; but most of all his believing people. Hence David says, All thy works, whether intentionally or not, shall praise thee, (as any thing of curious workmanship praises the maker of it) but thy saints shall bless thee, having their whole souls turned to the delightful work [Note: ver. 10.].
1.
It is a glorious kingdom
[It is extended over heaven, earth, and hell. In heaven there are myriads who are the subjects of it, and who are ascribing all possible honour and glory to their Almighty King. On earth, his power is seen in every nation under heaven. The most potent monarchs bow down to him with the deepest reverence; whilst the most degraded savages are enriched with all the blessings of his kingdom. In hell, the principalities and powers, with Beelzebub at their head, confess his power, and are, however reluctantly, obedient to his commands. His moral commands indeed they do not fulfil; but his positive injunctions they are unable to resist: they are constrained to yield up to him the spoil which they had once seized for themselves, and to flee even from the face of a poor helpless sinner, when once he sets himself, in dependence on Divine aid, to resist their tyrannic sway. 2.
It is also an everlasting kingdom
[Other kingdoms have perished, and shall perish: but this shall endure for ever [Note: ver. 13.]. Though it is as a stone cut out without hands, and neither founded nor supported by human power, it shall break in pieces all other kingdoms, and shall stand for ever and ever. The gates of hell (with all their policy and power) shall never prevail against it; no, nor against the meanest subject in it. Nay, when the earth, and all that is therein, shall be burnt up and utterly dissolved, this kingdom shall continue in its utmost vigour; nor shall its prosperity languish as long as God himself shall endure.
What a theme for praise is here! O reflect upon it, all ye who believe in Jesus; and sing of it, all ye, who have sworn allegiance to his name.] III.
The operations of his grace
Here the influences of the Holy Spirit come more immediately to our view. It is he who carries on the whole work of grace in the hearts of men, and fits them for the enjoyment of that kingdom that is prepared for them. Behold his operations;
1.
How gracious!
[There is not a saint on earth whom he does not aid, according as his situation and circumstances require. Are any fallen? he upholds them; and raiseth up all that are bowed down, whether with sin or sorrow. The eyes of all are directed to him as the only source of spiritual nourishment and strength; and he gives them such a portion as they need in the very season that they need it. Yes; as in the kingdom of nature, God, as the father of all, opens his hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing, so, in the kingdom of his grace, he administers to every saint whatever is necessary for his consolation and support [Note: ver. 1416.] He will indeed be inquired after for these things; but He will suffer none to seek his face in vain. He draws nigh unto all that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth: or, if they be not able to express their wants in words, he will fulfil their very desires; yea, if only, as on any sudden emergency, they cry unto him, he will hear their cry, and will save them. How astonishingly kind and gracious are these declarations; and how suited to encourage his weak and drooping saints! It frequently happens that they can do little else than sigh and groan: yet even these expressions of their minds he will favourably receive, and richly recompense unto their souls [Note: ver. 18, 19.] ]
2.
How righteous!
[Though God, as a sovereign, dispenses his gifts according to the good pleasure of his will, yet there is an equity in all his proceedings, whether of providence or grace: gracious is the Lord, and righteous: he is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works [Note: ver. 17.]. We, from our pride and ignorance, are ready to accuse him of injustice, if he distinguish any as monuments of his grace. But though he has mercy on whom he will have mercy, and has compassion on whom he will have compassion, yet is there, in truth, no inequality in his ways: our ways are unequal; but his are equal: he invariably rewards those who diligently seek him, and becomes the enemy of those only who rebel, and vex his Holy Spirit: he filleth the hungry with good things, and the rich only doth he send empty away. He puts, as it becomes him, a difference between those who serve him, and those who serve him not. They who love him shall be preserved, though the whole universe were combined to destroy them: but all the wicked, whether old or young, rich or poor, shall be destroyed: though hand join in hand, not one of them shall pass unpunished [Note: ver. 20.].
Say now, Whether, in this view of the Deity, Davids purposes and desires were not highly commendable; My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord; and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever [Note: ver. 21.].]
From the perusal of this psalm, two reflections naturally arise: What an elevation of character does true religion produce!
[We would not speak in a degrading manner of any, and much less of those who are renowned for wisdom: yet who does not see how low and grovelling are the thoughts of statesmen and philosophers, in comparison of those which occupy the believers mind? He soars, as it were, on angels wings: he contemplates the subjects which angels desire to look into: his conversation is in heaven. Brethren, let us not forget for what high destinies we are formed. The brute creation have their faces towards the earth, and have no conception of any thing but what belongs to earth: but man is made erect, with his face, as it were, toward heaven, whither he should always direct his views, and from whence he should expect all his happiness. Let us then think and speak as those who are partakers of a higher nature: and whilst the wise of this world content themselves with the subjects that relate to time and sense, let us explore the blessings of redemption, the mysteries of grace, and the glories of eternity.]
2.
What loss do they sustain who live far off from God!
[It is the diligent and watchful Christian alone that feels the devout affections which are exercised in this psalm. Too many of those who profess religion are content with a low state of mind. They look upon the work of praise and adoration as rather to be desired than attained; as that which will engage them in heaven, rather than as that which they can be much occupied with on earth. The most of their devotions consist of formal lamentations on account of the deadness of their souls, and lukewarm petitions for pardon and acceptance. Ah! what enemies are these to their own welfare! They might enjoy a very heaven below; and yet scarcely exceed in happiness the people from whom they have come forth. O, Brethren, let it not be thus with you: aspire after high and heavenly things: be not satisfied without the brightest manifestations of Gods love, and the richest communications of his grace: Delight yourselves in God; and then he will give you the desire of your heart.]
CONTENTS
Agreeably to the title, this Psalm is full of praise. God’s glory, greatness, majesty, grace, goodness, in short, all the divine perfections, are here set forth, in a most lovely and interesting manner; and if we consider the chief Musician, the first singer in our nature, thus leading the heavenly song, when he had finished redemption-work, and the Lord give us grace to follow him through it, that we may sing it with the spirit and the understanding also; it will become a blessed hymn of praise indeed.
David’s Psalm of praise.
I be g the Reader to observe the different method with which the title of this Psalm is marked from every other. We have several marked as the michtams of David, and several marked maschil; some Prayers of David, and some Songs of David; but this is the only one in the book of Psalms which bears the title, David’s Psalm of praise. And as the five following (with which the book of Psalms concludes) have no title, I am rather inclined to think that this was meant to answer for all. This Psalm is the more remarkable, as it is composed in alphabetical order; the first verse beginning with the letter Aleph; the second with Beth; and so on to the end. It is said that the Jews had a tradition, that whosoever among them sung this hymn three times in a day, would infallibly go to heaven. Certain it is, that it is a most blessed hymn of praise; and by it the Holy Ghost put into the mouth of his people, most precious words, wherewith to come before the Lord. I venture to think that it will aid the minds of true believers in Jesus, if, while reading it, that blessed Spirit should lead our souls to see Christ in the hymn; as if, when the Lord Jesus had finished redemption-work, which the Father gave him to do, and contemplating the whole now in the end of his labours, he begins this lovely song, and calls upon his church to follow him in the daily use of it, that their minds may be more and more engaged towards the close of this life in praises, until they arrive at the enjoyment of the everlasting praises of heaven. In this sense, I hope, I do no violence to the title of David’s Psalm of praise. The Son of David opens the hymn with looking up to Jehovah, whom he calls his God and King, and declares his resolution to bless his name forever and ever. It is Jehovah’s name; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, that is blessed in all redemption-work. See Psa 89:26 ; Isa 49:5-6 .
The True Conception of God
Psa 145:4
It is needful to the understanding of this Psalm and its lesson that we should realize that the religion of separation has no place whatever in the spirit of it. The conception of God here is not a being whom men can obey while they separate themselves from all human interest. It is a conception of a God who brings man back again into human interests and uplifts and dignifies all that they have to do day by day. I. This Psalmist sees God where some of us even today do not see Him, in nature. God speaks through all physical life. Have some of us guessed the most elementary thought in religion, that if there be a God of faith He must be the same as the God of all knowledge, of all attainment in science, that the truth in all revelation must be the truth concerning Him whom you see in sky and sea, in all the wonders of life about you? And yet men today will speak with something like a sneaking contempt of all endeavour to understand what God does in this part of His world. I know good people yet who think the decoration of a church to be one of the greatest sins of the world. I will not for a moment quarrel with any man in his conviction, but may I ask this one question: Have we any right to rob the Creator of this part of His praise? Have we a right to make that dull which God had made eloquent with the acknowledgment of His power? You shut out great possible thoughts of God when you consign this part of the revelation of Him to a lower place and will let it have no part in your worship.
II. Teach men that God is the first word and the last word in everything that is beautiful and orderly. The sublimest picture that you ever saw upon canvas was in God’s mind before it was in the artist’s. The most beautiful music that ever thrilled you through and through was a thought in God before it entered into the mind of him who, you say, created it Everything that is best in our life is of Him. Nature is a shrine of His worship, a side chapel in the great cathedral of service that we may render Him. Our generation demands this side of our utterance of what God is. Men are being taught that knowledge in its very nature is anti-religious. We need to teach men that nothing is so religious as the reverent humble growth into a better understanding of what God is, and of what God is doing. Bring into your conception of life your conception of God. Start with a belief of a God who is in humanity and seeks to work in humanity; come to the aspirations and desires of men with this vision, and you are bound to be a helper of men.
W. H. Harwood, British Weekly Pulpit, vol. III. p. 497.
Reference. CXLV. 6, 7. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxi. No. 1828.
Psa 145:9
Ruskin says: ‘To declare that we have such a loving Father, whose mercy is over all his works, and whose will and law is so lovely and lovable that it is sweeter than honey, and more precious than gold, to those who can “taste and see” that the Lord is Good this, surely, is a most pleasant and glorious good message and spell to bring to men’.
References. CXLV. 9. E. A. Bray, Sermons, vol. ii. p. 219. E. Johnson, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxvii. p. 250. CXLV. 10. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxx. No. 1796.
The Communion of Saints
Psa 145:10-11
This is the special glory of the Christian Church, that its members do not depend merely on what is visible, they are not mere stones of a building, piled one on another, and bound together from without, but they are one and all the births and manifestations of one and the same unseen spiritual principle or power, ‘living stones,’ internally connected, as branches from a tree, not as the parts of a heap. They are members of the Body of Christ. That Divine and adorable Form, which the Apostles saw and handled, after ascending into heaven became a principle of life, a secret origin of existence to all who believe, through the gracious ministration of the Holy Ghost. This is the fruitful Vine, and the rich Olive-tree upon and out of which all saints, though wild and barren by nature, grow, that they may bring forth fruit unto God.
The Invisible Church
Fifty times as many saints are in the invisible world sealed for immortality as are now struggling on upon earth towards it; unless indeed the later generations have a greater measure of saints than the former ones. Well then may the Church be called invisible, not only as regards her vital principle, but in respect to her members. ‘That which is born of the Spirit is spirit;’ and since God the Holy Ghost is invisible, so is His work. The Church is invisible, because the great number of her true children have been perfected and removed, and because those who are still on earth cannot be ascertained by mortal eye; and had God so willed, she might have had no visible tokens at all of her existence, and been as entirely and absolutely hidden from us as the Holy Ghost is, her Lord and Governor.
As landmarks or buoys inform the steersman, as the shadow on the dial is an index of the sun’s course; so, if we would cross the path of Christ, if we would arrest His eye and engage His attention, if we would interest ourselves in the special virtue and fullness of His grace, we must join ourselves to that ministry which, when He ascended up on high, He gave us as a relic, and let drop from Him as the mantle of Elijah, the pledge and token of his never-failing grace from age to age. ‘Tell me, O Thou whom my soul loveth, where Thou feedest, where Thou makest Thy flock to rest at noon; for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of Thy companions?’ Such is the petition, as it were, of the soul that seeks for Christ. His answer is as precise as the question. ‘If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents.’ Out of the Church is no salvation I mean to say out of that great invisible company, who are one and all incorporate in the one mystical body of Christ, and quickened by one Spirit: now, by adhering to the visible ministry which the Apostles left behind them, we approach unto what we see not, to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the spirits of the just, to the first-born elected to salvation, to angels innumerable, to Jesus the One Mediator, and to God. This heavenly Jerusalem is the true Spouse of Christ and Virgin Mother of saints; and the visible ministry on earth, the bishops and pastors, together with Christians depending on them, at this or that day is called the Church, though really but a fragment of it, as being that part of it which is seen and can be pointed out, and as resembling it in type, and witnessing it, and leading towards it.
J. H. Newman.
References. CXLV. 13. Archbishop Alexander, Bampton Lectures, 1876, p. 159. J. G. Greenbough, The Cross in Modern Life, p. 96. CXLV. 16. G. L. Richardson, Sermons for Harvest, p. 27. J. J. West, Penny Pulpit, No. 1823. CXLV. 21. M. G. Glazebrook, Prospice, p. 115. CXLV. International Critical Commentary, vol. ii. p. 525. CXLVI. 1. Canon Beeching, The Grace of Episcopacy, p. 201. CXLVI. 4. T. Binney, King’s Weigh-House Chapel Sermons (2nd Series), p. 97. CXLVI. 5. C. Bradley, The Christian Life, p. 289. CXLVI. 7. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iii. No. 484. CXLVI. International Critical Commentary, vol. ii. p. 530.
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?
XV
PSALM AFTER DAVID PRIOR TO THE BABYLONIAN EXILE
The superscriptions ascribed to Asaph twelve palms (Psa 50 ; 73-83) Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun presided over the Levitical singers in the time of David. Their sons also directed the various bands of musicians (1Ch 25 ). It seems that the family of Asaph for many generations continued to preside over the service of song (Cf. Ezr 3:10 ).
The theme of Psa 50 is “Obedience is better than sacrifice,” or the language of Samuel to Saul when he had committed the awful sin in respect to the Amalekites. This teaching is paralleled in many Old Testament scriptures, for instance, Psa 51:16-17 . For thou delightest not in sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou hast no pleasure in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
The problem of Psa 73 is the problem of why the wicked prosper (Psa 73:1-14 ), and its solution is found in the attitude of God toward the wicked (Psa 73:15-28 ). [For a fine exposition of the other psalms of this section see Kirkpatrick or Maclaren on the Psalms.]
The psalms attributed to the sons of Korah are Psa 42 ; Psa 44 ; Psa 45 ; Psa 47 ; Psa 48 ; Psa 49 ; Psa 84 ; Psa 85 ; Psa 87 . The evidence that Psalms 42-43 were one poem is internal. There are three stanzas, each closing with a refrain. The similarity of structure and thought indicates that they were formerly one psalm. A parallel to these two psalms we find in the escape of Christian from the Castle of Giant Despair in Pilgrim’s Progress .
Only two psalms were ascribed to Solomon, viz: Psa 72 and 127. However, the author believes that there is good reason to attribute Psa 72 to David. If he wrote it, then only one was written by Solomon.
The theme of Psa 72 is the reign of the righteous king, and the outline according to DeWitt, which shows the kingdom as desired and foretold, is as follows: (1) righteous (Psa 72:1-4 ) ; (2) perpetual (Psa 72:5-7 ); (3) universal (Psa 72:8-11 ); (4) benign (Psa 72:12-14 ); (5) prosperous (Psa 72:15-17 ).
Psa 127 was written when Solomon built the Temple. It is the central psalm of the psalms of the Ascents, which refer to the Temple. It seems fitting that this psalm should occupy the central position in the group, because of the occasion which inspired it and its relation to the other psalms of the group. A brief interpretation of it is as follows: The house here means household. It is a brief lyric, setting forth the lessons of faith and trust. This together with Psa 128 is justly called “A Song of Home.” Once in speaking to Baylor Female College I used this psalm, illustrating the function of a school as a parent sending forth her children into the world as mighty arrows. Again I used this psalm in one of my addresses in our own Seminary in which I made the household to refer to the Seminary sending forth the preachers as her children.
The psalms assigned to the era of Hezekiah and Isaiah are Psa 46 ; Psa 47 ; Psa 48 . The historical setting is found in the history of the reign of Hezekiel. Their application to Judah at this time is found in the historical connection, in which we have God’s great deliverances from the foreign powers, especially the deliverance from Sennacherib. We find in poetry a description of the destruction and desolation of Jerusalem in the Lamentations of Jeremiah and in Psa 74 ; Psa 79 .
The radical critics ascribe Psa 74 ; Psa 79 to the Maccabean period, and their argument is based upon the use of the word “synagogues,” in Psa 74:8 . The answer to their contention is found in the marginal rendering which gives “places of assembly” instead of “synagogues.” The word “synagogue” is a Greek word translated from the Hebrew, which has several meanings, and in this place means the “place of assembly” where God met his people.
The silence of the exile period is shown in Psa 137 , in which they respond that they cannot sing a song of Zion in a strange land. Their brightening of hope is seen in Psa 102 . In this we have the brightening of their hope on the eve of their return. In Psa 85:10 we have a great text:
Mercy and truth are met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
The truth here is God’s law demanding justice; mercy is God’s grace meeting justice. This was gloriously fulfilled in Christ on the cross. He met the demands of the law and offers mercy and grace to all who accept them on the terms of repentance and faith.
Three characteristics of Psa 119 are, first, it is an alphabetical psalm; second, it is the longest chapter in the Bible, and third, it is an expansion of the latter part of Psa 19 . Psalms 146-150 were used for worship in the second temple. The expressions of innocence in the psalms do not refer to original sin, but to a course of conduct in contrast with wicked lives. The psalmists do not claim absolute, but relative sinlessness.
The imprecations in the psalms are real prayers, and are directed against real men who were enemies of David and the Jewish nation, but they are not expressions of personal resentment. They are vigorous expressions of righteous indignation against incorrigible enemies of God and his people and are to be interpreted in the light of progressive revelation. The New Testament contains many exultant expressions of the overthrow of the wicked. (Cf. 1Co 16:22 ; 2Ti 4:14 ; Gal 5:12 ; Rev 16:5-6 ; Rev 18:20 .) These imprecations do not teach that we, even in the worst circumstances, should bear personal malice, nor take vengeance on the enemies of righteousness, but that we should live so close to God that we may acquiesce in the destruction of the wicked and leave the matter of vengeance in the hands of a just God, to whom vengeance belongs (Rom 12:19-21 ).
The clearest teachings on the future life as found in the psalms, both pro and con, are found in these passages, as follows: Psa 16:10-11 ; Psa 17:15 ; Psa 23:6 ; Psa 49:15 ; Psa 73:23-26 . The passages that are construed to the contrary are found in Psa 6:5 ; Psa 30:9 ; Psa 39:13 ; Psa 88:10-12 ; Psa 115:17 . The student will compare these passages and note carefully their teachings. The first group speaks of the triumph over Sheol (the resurrection) ; about awaking in the likeness of God; about dwelling in the house of the Lord forever; about redemption from the power of Sheol; and God’s guiding counsel and final reception into glory, all of which is very clear and unmistakable teaching as to the future life.
The second group speaks of DO remembrance in death; about no profit to the one when he goes down to the pit; of going hence and being no more; about the dead not being able to praise God and about the grave as being the land of forgetfulness ; and about the dead not praising Jehovah, all of which are spoken from the standpoint of the grave and temporal death.
There is positively no contradiction nor discrepancy in the teaching of these scriptures. One group takes the spirit of man as the viewpoint and teaches the continuity of life, the immortality of the soul; the other group takes the physical being of man as the viewpoint and teaches the dissolution of the body and its absolute unconsciousness in the grave.
QUESTIONS
1. How many and what psalms were ascribed to Asaph?
2. Who presided over the Levitical singers in the time of David?
3. What is the theme of Psa 50 , and where do we find the same teaching in the Old Testament?
4. What is the problem of Psa 73 , and what its solution?
5. What psalms are attributed to the sons of Korah?
6. What is the evidence that Psalms 42-43 were one poem and what the characteristic of these two taken together?
7. What parallel to these two psalms do we find in modern literature?
8. What psalms were ascribed to Solomon?
9. What is the theme of Psa 72 ?
10. What is the outline according to DeWitt, which shows the kingdom as desired and foretold?
11. When was Psa 127 written and what the application as a part of the Pilgrim group?
12. Give a brief interpretation of it and the uses made of it by the author on two different occasions.
13. What psalms are assigned to the era of Hezekiah and Isaiah, and what their historical setting?
14. What is their application to Judah at this time?
15. Where may we find in poetry a description of the destruction and desolation of Jerusalem?
16. To what period do radical critics ascribe Psalms 74-79; what is their argument, and what is your answer?
17. Which psalm shows the silence of the exile period and why?
18. Which one shows their brightening of hope?
19. Explain Psa 85:10 .
20. Give three characteristics of Psa 119 .
21. What use was made of Psalms 146-150?
22. Explain the expression of innocence in the psalms in harmony with their teaching of sin.
23. Explain the imprecations in the psalms and show their harmony with New Testament teachings.
24. Cite the clearest teachings on the future life as found in the psalms, both pro and con.
Psa 145:1 David’s [Psalm] of praise. I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
David’s Psalm of praise] Heb. David’s praise or hymn, well worthy, saith learned Beza, to be made use of by all men for a rule and pattern of praising God. Perfectum illius rationalis cultus exemplum (Beza). It is one of those psalms that are artificially made up after the order of the alphabet, and so highly prized by the Rabbis, that they doubt not to promise heaven to him who shall thrice every day pray over this psalm, corde, ore, et opere (Kimchi. R. Arama).
Ver. 1. I will extol thee, my God, O king ] i.e. O Christ, the King of kings, whose vassal I profess myself, as did afterwards also those three most Christian emperors, Constantine, Valentinian, and Theodosius.
“Praise of David.” Here comes “Praise” or the new song purposed in Psa 144 , an alphabetic construction, omitting Nun (the Hebrew N).
The final praises of Jah in five strains close the book. It may be noticed that creation and Israel here and elsewhere in the O.T. answer to the new creation and the church in the N.T. The Septuagint attributes the first three to Haggai and Zechariah, 147 being divided.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 145:1-7
11I will extol You, my God, O King,
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,
And His greatness is unsearchable.
4One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
5On the glorious splendor of Your majesty
And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
6Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts,
And I will tell of Your greatness.
7They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness
And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.
Psa 145:1 I will extol You Notice the personal element expressed so often in Psa 145:1-7. This is clearly seen by the phrase, my God. It is obvious that personal faith is the beginning point in understanding the God of creation and in history.
This opening strophe (i.e., Psa 145:1-7) has several cohortatives.
1. I will extol You, Psa 145:1 – BDB 926, KB 1202, Polel imperfect used in a cohortative sense
2. I will bless Your name, Psa 145:1 – BDB 138, KB 159, Piel cohortative
3. I will bless You, Psa 145:2 – BDB 138, KB 159, Piel imperfect used in a cohortative sense
4. I will praise Your name, Psa 145:3 – BDB 237, KB 248, Piel cohortative
5. I will meditate on Your wonderful works, Psa 145:5 – BDB 967, KB 1319, Qal cohortative
6. I will tell of Your greatness, Psa 145:6 – BDB 707, KB 765, Piel imperfect used in a cohortative sense
True faithful followers must express their faith and praise of YHWH.
O King YHWH was the true King of Israel (cf. 1Sa 8:7). The earthly king was only a mere representative of the heavenly King (cf. Psa 10:16; Psa 29:10; Psa 98:6).
I will bless Your name The concept of blessing (BDB 138-verb, 139-noun) is part of the Hebrew theology related to the power of the spoken word. See SPECIAL TOPIC: BLESSING .
The term name (BDB 1027) is a Hebraic way of referring to the person. See Special Topic: The Name of YHWH .
Israel’s Deity is called Eloah in Psa 145:1 but YHWH nine times in the rest of the Psalm. See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY .
forever and ever The phrase is used in Psa 145:1 b and 2b and seems to be used in the same sense in Psa 34:1, which is explicitly expressed in Psa 145:2 a. It is not really an affirmation of the afterlife but a Hebrew idiom of daily praise. See Special Topic: Forever (‘olam) .
Psa 145:3 His greatness is unsearchable The noun greatness (BDB 153) is used of both
1. God Himself – 1Ch 29:11; Psa 48:1; Psa 86:10; Psa 147:5
2. His acts – 2Sa 7:21; 1Ch 17:19-21
Unsearchable (lit. there is no searching, i.e., noun construct) is used in Job 5:9; Job 9:10; Job 11:7. The same concept of God’s ways being far above our understanding is expressed in Ps. 40:5, 28; Ps. 139:6; Isa 40:28; Isa 55:8-9; Rom 11:33.
Psa 145:4 One generation shall praise Your works to another This is an emphasis of passing on their faith to their children (cf. Deu 4:9-10; Deu 6:7; Deu 6:20-25; Deu 11:19; Deu 32:7; Deu 32:46; Psa 22:30-31).
The verbs of Psa 145:4 are imperfects but they may be jussive in meaning, describing the psalmist’s wishes/prayers. The same is true of Psa 145:6-7 (NET Bible, p. 1009).
Your mighty acts This emphasis is on the God who acts in fidelity to His covenant promises, cf. Psa 145:4-7; Psa 145:12. Usually this term refers to God’s past redemptive acts, such as the Exodus.
Psa 145:5 On the glorious splendor of Your majesty Human vocabulary is quite inadequate to express the glory of God (see SPECIAL TOPIC: GLORY (DOXA) [OT]). Here is a series of words which are linked together in order to catch the glorious nature of God.
1. splendor – BDB 214, cf. 1Ch 16:27; Psa 29:4; Psa 90:16; Psa 96:6; Psa 104:1; Psa 111:3; Isa 2:10; Isa 2:19; Isa 2:21
2. majesty – BDB 217, cf. 1Ch 16:27; 1Ch 29:11; Psa 96:6; Psa 111:3; Psa 148:13
3. wondrous – BDB 810, see Special Topic: Wonderful Things
I will meditate Faithful followers will remember YHWH’s great acts, cf. Psa 145:7. It is amazing how many times in the Bible faithful followers are admonished to remember what God has done!
Psa 145:6 Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts This is the first allusion to all men, which is the common refrain of Psa 145:8-21. This has contextual potential of including all Gentiles, as well as Jews. However, it may be a literary necessity which is produced by the acrostic form of writing.
Notice the number of ways the psalmist refers to YHWH’s works.
1. Your works, Psa 145:4 a, 9b, 10a
2. Your mighty acts, Psa 145:4 b, 12
3. Your wonderful works, Psa 145:5 b
4. Your awesome acts, Psa 145:6 a
This refers to
1. the creation and/or the flood
2. acts of forgiveness and restoration
3. call of Abraham and the Patriarchs
4. the Exodus
5. the Conquest
6. victories in battle
7. etc.
Psa 145:7 eagerly utter The verb (BDB 615, KB 665, Hiphil imperfect) means to bubble up. It is used often in a metaphorical sense (cf. Psa 19:2; Psa 78:2; Psa 119:171; Psa 145:7). It denotes a constant, excited proclamation.
Your righteousness The term righteousness (BDB 842) comes from the Hebrew root, a measuring reed. It can be used in two ways in the OT:
1. God’s transcendent holiness and eternality
2. His acts of redeeming Israel
See SPECIAL TOPIC: RIGHTEOUSNESS .
Title. David’s [Psalm] of praise. No other Psalm so entitled. An Acrostic Psalm. See App-63.
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.
name. See note on Psa 20:1.
Chapter 145
I will extol thee, my God, O King; I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable ( Psa 145:1-3 ).
Oh, the riches of His mercy and grace unto us! The greatness of God unsearchable.
One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty, and of your wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy awesome acts ( Psa 145:4-6 ):
The word terrible is an old English word, and it’s our present usage of it doesn’t do justice to the translation. Awesome is a word that we would use more accurately to describe the Hebrew word. “That Thy awesome acts.”
and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. For the LORD ( Psa 145:6-8 )
This is an Old Testament revelation.
is gracious, and full of compassion ( Psa 145:8 );
That’s not the God of the New Testament. That’s the God of the Old Testament. The same God. There aren’t two Gods.
slow to anger, great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. For thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The LORD upholds all that fall, and raises up all those that be bowed down ( Psa 145:8-14 ).
“Humble thyself in the eyes of the Lord, He will lift you up” ( Jas 4:10 ). Here is the same idea here. The Lord raises up all of those that are bowed down. God withstands the proud. “He that exalteth himself shall be abased; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” ( Mat 23:12 ). The Lord will uphold those that fall.
Paul said, “Who are you who judges another man’s servant? Before his own master he either stands or falls. Yea, God is able to make him to stand” ( Rom 14:4 ). It’s so comforting to me to know that in my weakness, God will hold me when I fall. He’ll hold me up lest I fall.
The eyes of all wait upon thee; you give them their meat in due season. You open your hand, and satisfy the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all of his ways ( Psa 145:15-17 ),
He’s gracious. He’s full of compassion. He’s slow to anger. He’s of great mercy. He’s good to all. His tender mercies are over all of His works. And now, “The LORD is righteous in all of His ways.”
and holy in all of his works ( Psa 145:17 ).
Satan is constantly challenging the righteousness of God. How can a God of love allow children to be born blind? How can a God of love send men to hell? And all of these concepts that challenge the righteousness of God.
The LORD is near to all of those that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of those that reverence him ( Psa 145:18-19 ):
“Delight thyself also in the Lord; He’ll give you the desires of your heart” ( Psa 37:4 ). He will fulfill the desire of those that reverence Him.
he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The LORD preserves all of them that love him: but all of the wicked he’ll destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever ( Psa 145:19-21 ). “
I am going to preach about prayer, so we will read Davids Psalm of praise. Thus we shall have two parts of true worship.
Psa 145:1-2. I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
Notice how long David expected to praise God. He was going to praise God for ever, and then after that, for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee,that is, when I do not seem to be partaking of any choice temporal blessing, I will still bless thee. When I sit like Job on the dunghill, every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name,thy character, all that has to do with thee, for ever and ever. The first two verses are the preface of the Psalm; now the psalmist begins his music:
Psa 145:3. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
He is great without bound; let him be praised without end. There is no end to his greatness; let there be no end to our adoration.
Psa 145:3-4. And his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
The fathers shall be the preachers to their sons, and the sons shall be the preachers to their sons. The flaming torch of Jehovahs praise shall be passed from hand to hand all down the centuries; as long as men shall live, God shall have the praise of the godly: One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
Psa 145:5. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty,
This is a beautiful expression: I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty. It is a heaped-up expression. David was in an ecstasy of delight when he wrote it; he did not know how sufficiently to express his adoration of God. Other men might praise God for themselves, but that is not enough for David; he must take his own cut at the blessed business: I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty,
Psa 145:5-6. And of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.
And I will declare. Yes, in comes Davids personal note again; he cannot let the praises of God alone, he must take his full share in this heavenly task. I wish that, whenever there was work to do for God, or prayer to be offered or praise to be given to the Lord, you and I would always interject this personal pronoun, and I. You know, perhaps, dear friends, that you never find Bartholomews name by itself in any of the Gospels, it is always somebody else and Bartholomew. It is well to be a good helper of other people; and when others are praising the Lord, it is good to come in as David did with the personal resolve and confession, and I will declare thy greatness.
Psa 145:7. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness,
Mark every word in this choice expression: They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness. They shall see this goodness, and they shall appreciate it as great goodness; they shall remember it, and so have the memory of Gods great goodness; and then they shall speak of it: They shall utter the memory of thy great goodness; and when they have done so, they shall do it again and again: They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness.
Psa 145:7-8. And shall sing of thy righteousness. The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion;
He has no passion, but he is full of compassion. What a mercy that is for us! Sometimes we hear persons say that God cannot do this or that,that he cannot feel, and cannot suffer. That is not true, for he can do anything that he likes. A god who has no feeling is a poor god, of no service whatever to us; but the Lord is gracious and full of compassion;
Psa 145:8. Slow to anger, and of great mercy.
Oh, what a blessing it is for you and for me that he is slow to anger!
Psa 145:9. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
Whether you search for the far-distant with a telescope, or peer into the minute with the microscope, the Lords tender mercies are found everywhere. Like the light, without which you see nothing, so is the mercy of God; it enlightens everything: His tender mercies are over all his works.
Psa 145:10. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee.
Standing in the inner circle, thy saints shall mingle their love with their praise, and so shall bless thee. Theirs shall be a choicer, tenderer worship than that of all thy works besides. The works of God are like a great organ, but it is man who puts his finger upon the keys, and brings forth all the music. Man is the interpreter of the universe; he praises God as the inanimate creation can never do.
Psa 145:11. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
I wish we did speak more of such subjects, and talk more upon these sacred themes. I do not think there is ever any deficiency of talk; but I am afraid there is a very great lack of such talk as this: They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power.
Psa 145:12. To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
See how David keeps to the subject with which he began the Psalm: I will extol thee, my God, my king. Ay, and he sings about the King all through this Psalm. His great object is to make us see that there never was such a King as the infinitely-glorious Jehovah, who surpasses all the kings of the earth.
Psa 145:13. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
Other kingdoms come and go; they last during their little day, and then they vanish away. Look, for instance, at the kingdom of Alexander the Great, who only reigned for about twelve years, and when he died left no successor. We talk of great earthly monarchies; they are but monarchies of an hour compared with the kingdom of Jehovah. Well might David say to him, Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
Psa 145:13. And thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
What kind of a King is this whose kingdom is everlasting, and what are the acts that make him famous? Notice the first thing he is said to do:
Psa 145:14. The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
This is his glory; this is the majesty of the King of kings, that he takes notice of the poor and weak. The compassion of God is to a great extent the glory of God. That he has such tender mercies toward the unworthy, is the subject of the loudest of our songs: Jehovah upholdeth all that fall; that is, such as would fall were it not for his upholding. Jehovah lifts up all those who have fallen, and raiseth up those who are bowed down. Blessed be his holy name!
Psa 145:15. The eyes of all wait upon thee;
What a King is this, who must needs feed all his subjects, and who must have all his subjects depend upon himself alone! The eyes of all wait upon thee;
Psa 145:15. And thou givest them their meat in due season.
It is an act of grace, not of debt: Thou givest them their meat. Did you ever think of the vast variety of the separate sorts of food that the Lord provides for each of the creatures he has formed? The meat that feeds an elephant would not feed a lion, that which feeds a lion would not feed a sparrow, that which feeds a sparrow would not satisfy the fish of the sea. To every creature God gives its own food: Thou givest them their meat in due season. The fruits of the earth do not ripen all at once, but the various harvests succeed each other. Notice how each of the many flowers is full of honey just at the time when the particular insect which is to come down into the flower-bell is needing that nectar to feed upon. It is marvellous to see how God has timed creation to the ticking of a watch; and when the flower is ready, then comes the fly, the bee, the butterfly, or the moth, that shall be fed thereby. Thou givest them their meat in due season.
Psa 145:16. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
As men feed doves in their courtyard, carrying down to them their little handful of food, and opening the hand to pour it out, so does God feed all living creatures readily and easily enough by the simple opening of his hand. But he does it. He satisfies the desire of every living thing, and he will satisfy your desire, dear soul, if you take it to him. You say, perhaps, that you are very poor; well, then, cry to him, he has never failed his creatures yet, and he will not fail you. He hears the young ravens when they cry; and he will hear you, a man created in the image of God, when you cry to him.
Psa 145:17-18. The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his work. The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
As the omnipresent Deity, the Lord is not far from any one of us; but there is a peculiar nearness of God to his people,a nearness of knowledge, a nearness of affection, a nearness of heart by which he looks upon them as his own special portion, his own peculiar heritage: Jehovah is nigh unto all them that call upon him. That is the name of his people; they are a calling people, they are a praying people, and they pray to him in truth. There are some who offer the mockery of pretended prayer, but God is not near to them in the special sense in which he is nigh unto all them that call upon him in truth.
Psa 145:19. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him:
He will fulfillhe will fill fullthe desire of them that fear him. If you fear him, you need not fear any lack; indeed, you have nothing at all that you need to fear.
Psa 145:19-20. He also will hear their cry, and will save them. The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
These two things always go together; as surely as the Lord does the one, he will do the other. While he preserves his saints, he will certainly destroy the wicked.
Psa 145:21. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord:
God move us each one to do this! Then with the psalmist we may fitly say,
Psa 145:21. And let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
Psa 145:1-7
Psalms 145
JEHOVAH EXTOLLED FOR HIS GOODNESS AND POWER
This is the last of the psalms in Book V which are ascribed to David; but it is impossible to determine the occasion of it with any certainty. “Like Psalms 25 and Psalms 34, which are also Davidic, this psalm is an acrostic, and like them it is incomplete, the letter `nun’ being omitted. Addis noted that the Septuagint (LXX) supplies the missing line beginning with “nun.” “It came after Psa 145:13 and reads, `Faithful is Yahweh in his words, and holy in all his works.’
The theme here is the righteousness and goodness of God; and like most of the other acrostic psalms, this single theme dominates the thought throughout.
As for the organization of this composition, we shall follow the finding of Rawlinson who described it as being, “A metrical arrangement in three stanzas of seven verses each. The first paragraph speaks of God’s righteousness and goodness to all mankind; the second division stresses these blessings upon God’s own people; and the final stanza tells of God’s special concern for “all.”
Psa 145:1-7
GOD’S GREATNESS VISIBLE TO ALL MANKIND
“I will extol thee my God, O King;
And I will bless thy name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless thee;
And I will praise thy name forever and ever.
Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised;
And his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall laud thy works to another,
And shall declare thy mighty acts.
Of the glorious majesty of thine honor,
And of thy wondrous works, will I meditate.
And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts;
And I will declare thy greatness.
They shall utter the memory of thy great goodness,
And shall sing of thy righteousness.”
“Every day will I bless thee” (Psa 145:2). God blesses all of us every day. If one will only think, he can name a dozen blessings God has bestowed upon him even before he eats breakfast. “It is proper then that we should give thanks to God every day.” No Christian should think of omitting prayers of thanksgiving three times daily at mealtimes. It was the neglect of this simple duty that began the long decline and eventual debauchery of the pre-Christian Gentile world (Rom 1:20-26).
“One generation shall laud thy works to another” (Psa 145:4). “The great and mighty acts of God are told from one generation to the next. The Bible is a divine record of such actions”; and our own lives bear witness to the same truth. This writer’s mother read the entire Bible to him before he was old enough to attend school.
“Men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts … and utter the memory of thy greatness … and … sing of thy righteousness” (Psa 145:6-7). “David could have had little inkling in store for the fulfilment of his words. Just think of all the praises spoken and sung to the honor and glory of God all over the world continually, in every language spoken on earth, in all nations, and by all races of mankind! Today, there is no nation on earth where the present generation is not telling to the next generation the mercies and love of God, even in Russia, and in the nations once behind the iron curtain!
“Men shall speak of thy terrible acts” (Psa 145:6). What are the terrible acts of God? There is no catalogue of all of them, but a few are surely revealed in the holy Bible.
(1) The Great Deluge must head the list. How terrible is the thought of drowning the entire human race in one disastrous flood! In this terrible act, God achieved a new beginning for his Operation Adam, in the family of Noah.
(2) The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as recorded in Genesis is another of God’s terrible acts. Two prosperous cities were completely devoured by fire from heaven, which God sent upon them because of their intolerable wickedness. This, in the New Testament, is made a type of the final destruction of all men upon the occasion of the Final Judgment. The same thing is also true of the Great Deluge.
(3) The overthrow of the army of Pharaoh in the Red Sea, an action which delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage, must be added to the list.
(4) The extermination of the pagan peoples of Canaan in order to settle the children of Israel in the Promised Land was terrible indeed. Whole cities were destroyed, young and old, soldiers and infants, everyone, upon the specific orders of God himself.
(5) The destruction of No-Amon in the overthrow of Egypt by Nineveh was terrible indeed, as described in Nahum 3.
(6) The destruction of 185,000 of the army of Sennacherib (2 Kings 19).
(7) The destruction of Nineveh “with an over-running flood” (Nah 1:9). See the detailed prophecy of this in Nahum 3.
(8) The destruction of Jerusalem by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar.
(9) The destruction of Babylon with “a drought upon her waters.”
These are only a few of the “terrible acts of God,” and by no means all of them. Even since the First Advent of Christ, there has been another destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and many other `terrible acts of God’ throughout history. The fall of Rome, the Fall of France, the destruction of Nazi Germany, the collapse of Communism, and many other historical events betray indelible marks of the hand of God in the record of what happened.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 145:1. To extol means to elevate or lift up. It is impossible literally to elevate an infinite God, so the clause signifies the giving to Him a high acknowledgment, and recognize his name as the highest of all names.
Psa 145:2. The significant idea in this verse is that David would make his praises to God a daily practice. Too many professed servants of t
he Lord wish to give their devotions to God secondary consideration only. Psa 145:3. To be unsearchable means it is beyond the full understanding of Man. God is infinite while man is finite, hence no human being can go to the end of the greatness of the Lord with his investigations.
Psa 145:4. The fact of God’s greatness has been so wall demonstrated from generation to generation that it has been established like a “continued story.”
Psa 145:5. A king or other person in high places might have glory and majesty showered upon him by an admiring populace and yet not have attained to it by a life of honor. David proposed to ascribe all of these virtues to the Lord.
Psa 145:6. Terrible is from the same word as “reverend” in Psa 111:9. The performances of God in the presence of man had been so awe-inspiring they were being spoken of by the public. David had the same opinion of God’s greatness and used his opportunities to declare the same to others among whom he associated.
Psa 145:7. They means the people in general who were impressed with the goodness of the Creator; they made known their impressions in song.
This is a great psalm of praise standing alone, and serving as an introduction to the last five, which constitute the final anthem of thanksgiving, the expression of perfected praise. It is a solo, but the singer is singing not for himself alone, but for others. The peoples are in mind.
It has three movements; an introduction (vv. Psa 145:1-4); a statement of theme (vv. Psa 145:5-9); and the full exercise of thanksgiving (vv. Psa 145:10-21). The introduction speaks of determination to praise (v. Psa 145:1), of continuity in praise (v. Psa 145:2), of reason for praise (v. Psa 145:3), and of fellowship in praise (v. Psa 145:4). The theme is a threefold one; first, the majesty of the Divine honour and works (v. Psa 145:5). Second, the might of the acts of God (vv. Psa 145:6-7). Third and supremely, the mercy of God (vv. Psa 145:8-9). Then follows the exercise. First, the chorus of the works of Jehovah, and of His saints. This chorus celebrates His glory, His power, His mighty acts, and the majesty of His kingdom.
The rest of the psalm is a song carrying out the thoughts suggested in the statement of theme. The majesty of Jehovah is celebrated (v. Psa 145:13). His might as operating in the uplifting of the fallen is declared (v. Psa 145:14). Finally, the activity of His mercy is delighted in (vv. Psa 145:15-20). Everything concludes with the affirmation of personal determination to praise, and the expression of desire that all flesh should join in the anthem.
Gods Unsearchable Greatness
Psa 145:1-9
This psalm is an acrostic, the verses beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The couplet for the fourteenth letter, Nun, between Psa 145:13-14, has no place in the text. Some versions have supplied the omission as follows: The Lord is faithful in all His words and holy in all His works. This is virtually a repetition of Psa 145:17.
The word all is characteristic of this psalm. It was the Te Deum of the Hebrew Church. The Jews said that its threefold repetition was the best preparation for the praises of the world to come. Speaking of this psalm and those following, Dr. Gilfillan says: They are the Beulah of the Book; the sun shineth night and day. Coming at the close of all the prayerful, penitential, and mournful psalms, they unconsciously typify the joy and rest of glory. The theme of the psalm is God. He is great, Psa 145:3; gracious, Psa 145:8; good, Psa 145:9; upholdeth, Psa 145:14; is righteous, Psa 145:17; is nigh, Psa 145:18; preserved, Psa 145:20. And the main aspect of His handiwork is the creation and maintenance of a universe of happy beings who subsist on His bountiful care. His tender mercies are over all His works.
Psa 145:4
I. The text places the transmitting generation first, but in our use of it we ought perhaps to invert the order. For the ages can hand down nothing which did not come to them from without; if we mount upward step by step, we find at last that the heritage of truth and grace was a free gift of revelation to mankind: and therefore the earliest was a receiving generation. Men can give nothing that they did not first receive. (1) All the ages of time are in their unceasing flow recipients of parcels and fragments of one great manifestation of God in the glory of His name, His works, and His redeeming grace. (2) This revelation has not flowed on equably from age to age. There have been great critical periods in this general evolution of the majesty of God’s revelation accumulating through the centuries, and we in our day inherit the last and best tradition. (3) The past generations have bequeathed to us as a people a special heritage in the general unfolding of the ways and works of God. We have inherited from our fathers the common Christianity in the fulness of time. Our duty is: (a) to glorify God for the privileges thus transmitted; (b) to use these privileges aright.
II. The receiving generation is the transmitter also. Each is a link in the golden chain that eternity let down into time, and which from time is ascending to eternity again. Each age receives only what it has to pass on to the next. It has pleased God to make every generation a trustee for the generations to come. And all sacred history attests that the gradual unfolding of the name and works of God has been bound up with the fidelity of the successive depositaries of the Divine counsel. There is no law more patent in the administration of the moral government of the world than that each generation receives its portion in due season from its predecessor, and is responsible only for that; secondly, that each generation impresses its own influence for good or evil on what it receives; and, thirdly, that it must needs transmit what is received to the generation following with the impress of its own character.
W. B. Pope, The Inward Witness, p. 160.
References: Psa 145:4.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 562. Psa 145:6, Psa 145:7.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxi., No. 1828. Psa 145:7.-Ibid., vol. xxv., No. 1468.
Psa 145:9
The fact of creation is a miracle; it is the origination of the laws of nature, and therefore above and beyond these laws themselves. It is the first link from which all these laws proceed. The two first necessary conditions of our thought and sensation, space and time, are, as regards this material universe, the two first and the two greatest of God’s works.
I. All those ranks of vegetable and animal being which we now behold, originated by the Divine will, were by the same Divine will placed under certain definite laws, by which their continuance in being and reproduction were to be regulated, and were endowed with faculties whereby they were able to follow those laws. Herein is the wonder, the marvel of love: that God, who needeth not creation, should by a free act, or rather an infinity of free acts, of condescension, create, uphold, provide for, bear in His fatherly care, all the great family of the universe.
II. In the order of the history of creation the various ranks of being, beginning from the lowest, proceed onwards to the highest; but we must not therefore for a moment dream, as some have done, of a gradual progression upwards of being, through the lower to the higher. The higher ranks in God’s creation have ever been that which we find them in their laws and character, and have not evolved themselves out of the lower.
III. To say that beauty, and order, and adaptation reign through all these ranks of being is no more than to repeat an often-told tale. (1) Observe, first, the consummate beauty of God’s arrangements in regard to mute, unorganised matter, from the grand but simple law which retains the planets in their orbits to that which forms the hidden crystals in the depths of the mine, or the frostwork on the window-pane, which melts with the first sunbeam. All is full of subjects for wonder and admiration. (2) Let us rise one step, and from unorganised matter come to organic life. Life, the special gift of God, is not the result of any combination of matter. Every portion of the frame in which it resides might be reproduced by art, but the beautiful model must wait for vitality till it is breathed down from the Creator Himself. There is no part of the earth but is full of animal life, no animal that is not a study inexhaustible in its proofs of creative wisdom and providing love. It has often struck me that the more we think of the utter incapability of the lower tribes of creation for increase of knowledge and skill, and compare it with their perfect knowledge and skill in that which is given them to do, the more do we see the present and acting power and love of God. They are so helpless, yet so full of needful resources; so unconscious of wisdom, yet so wise; so reckless of the future, yet so provident; so incapable of high motives, yet so self-devoted in their affections, that it appears to me that between these extremes in the same beings, so wonderful, so inexplicable, there must come in, living, and moving, and present day by day, the will of that gracious Father, the love of that Divine Son, the working of that blessed Spirit of wisdom, whose strength is made perfect in weakness, who hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, whose tender mercies are over all His works.
H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. iv., p. 18.
References: Psa 145:9.-E. Johnson, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxvii., p. 250. Psa 145:10.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxx., No. 1796; J. A. Sellar, Church Doctrine and Practice, p. 318.
Psa 145:10-11
The Christian Church is a living body, and one, not a mere framework artificially arranged to look like one. Its being alive is what makes it one; were it dead, it would consist of as many parts as it has members: but the living Spirit of God came down upon it at Pentecost, and made it one by giving it life.
I. The Church, properly considered, is that great company of the elect which has been separated by God’s free grace, and His Spirit working in due season, from this sinful world, regenerated, and vouchsafed perseverance unto life eternal. Viewed so far as it merely consists of persons now living in this world, it is of course a visible company; but in its nobler and truer character it is a body invisible, or nearly so, as being made up not merely of the few who happen to be still on their trial, but of the many who sleep in the Lord. This invisible body is the true Church, because it changes not, though it is ever increasing. Such is the efficacy of that inexhaustible grace which Christ has lodged in His Church, as a principle of life and increase, until He comes again. The expiring breath of His saints is but the quickening of dead souls.
II. These thoughts are very different from the world’s ordinary view of things, which walks by sight, not by faith. When the souls of Christians pass from it into the place of spirits, it fancies that this is their loss, not its own. It pities them, too, as thinking that they do not witness the termination of what they began or saw beginning, that they are ignorant of the fortunes of their friends or of the Church, or rather careless about them; as being insensible and but shadows, and ghosts, not substances, as if we who live were the real agents in the course of events, and they were attached to us only as a churchyard to a church, which it is decent to respect, unsuitable to linger in. Such is its opinion of the departed; yet with the views opened on us in the Gospel, with the knowledge that the one Spirit of Christ ever abides, and that those who are made one with Him are never parted from Him, and that those who die in Him are irrevocably knit into Him and one with Him, shall we dare to think slightingly of these indefectible members of Christ and vessels of future glory? Shall we not dimly recognise amid the aisles of our churches and along our cloisters, about our ancient tombs and in ruined and desolate places, which once were held sacred not in cold poetical fancy, but by the eye of faith, the spirits of our fathers and brethren of every time, past and present, whose works have long been “known” to God, and whose former dwelling-places remain among us, pledges, as we trust, that He will not utterly forsake us and make an end?
J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol. iv., p. 168.
Reference: Psa 145:13.-Bishop Alexander, Bampton Lectures, 1876, p. 159.
Psa 145:13-14
What we admire in these verses is their combining the magnificence of unlimited power with the assiduity of unlimited tenderness. The greatness of God is often turned into an argument by which men would bring doubt on the truths of redemption and providence.
I. An argument is attempted to be drawn from the insignificance of man to the improbability of redemption; one verse of our text is set against the other: and the confessed fact that God’s dominion is throughout all generations is opposed to the alleged fact that He gave His own Son that He might lift up the fallen. But it ought at least to be remembered that man was God’s workmanship, made after His image, and endowed with powers which fitted him for lofty pursuits. The human race may or may not be insignificant. No one can survey the works of nature and not perceive that God has some regard for the children of men, however fallen and polluted they may be. And if God manifest a regard for us in temporal things, it must be far from incredible that He would do the same in spiritual.
II. It is in regard to the doctrine of a universal providence that men are most ready to raise objections from the greatness of God as contrasted with their own insignificance. They cannot believe that He who is so mighty as to rule the heavenly hosts can condescend to notice the wants of the meanest of His creatures. (1) This reasoning betrays ignorance as to what it is in which greatness consists. It may be that amongst finite beings it is not easy, and perhaps not possible, that attention to what is minute or comparatively unimportant should be combined with attention to things of vast moment. But we never reckon it an excellence that there is not, or cannot be, this union. On the contrary, we should declare that man at the very summit of true greatness who proved himself able to unite what had seemed incompatible. We know not why that should be derogatory to the majesty of the Ruler of the universe which, by the general confession, would add immeasurably to the majesty of one of the earth’s potentates. (2) Objections against the doctrine of God’s providence are virtually objections against the great truths of creation. What it was not unworthy of God to form, it cannot be unworthy of God to preserve. Why declare anything excluded by its insignificance from His watchfulness which could not have been produced but by His power? The universal providence of God is little more than an inference from the truth of His being the universal Creator. (3) The doctrine of a universal providence is strictly derivable from the very nature of God. It is to bring God down to the feebleness of our own estate to suppose that what is great to us must be great to Him, and that what is small to us must be small to Him. Dwelling as God does in inaccessible splendours, a world is to Him an atom, and an atom is to Him a world. It is thus virtually the property of God that He should care for everything and sustain everything, so that we should never behold a blade of grass springing up from the earth, nor hear a bird warble its wild music, nor see an infant slumber on its mother’s breast without a warm memory that it is through God as a God of providence that the fields are enamelled in due season, that every animated tribe receives its sustenance, and that the successive generations of mankind arise, and flourish, and possess the earth.
H. Melvill, Sermons before the University of Cambridge, p. 1.
Reference: Psa 145:15, Psa 145:16.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 261.
Psa 145:15-17
I. Consider, first, the Psalmist’s assertion, “The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works.” The Psalmist here uses the language of faith. The word “righteousness” as used of God denotes that necessary perfection by which God is most holy and just in Himself, and observes the strictest rules of equity in His every dealing with His creatures. To be convinced, then, that God is righteous, is to be convinced that, whatever may be the appearance, He is guided in all His actions by the most unimpeachable principles, and has only to make known His reasons to secure the approval of all holy beings. Be it so that the dealings of our Maker are unsearchable, our business is not to penetrate these dealings, but whilst they bear us along as a ship is borne upon the waves to keep looking, as David elsewhere says, “to the hills, from whence cometh our help.” There is not a billow of this deep from which you may not see land, some peak of the mountains, if you will, as it were, rest in the ship, though if you attempt to dive beneath the surface you will find only darkness, and be presently overwhelmed. Make it your constant rule never to contemplate God’s dealings apart from God’s attributes, but always to prepare for musing on the dealings by musing on the attributes, and David’s experience will be your own.
II. The doubts and difficulties which consideration of God’s dealings will necessarily excite will best be dealt with by pondering the everyday mercies which are showered upon the world. “The eyes of all wait upon Thee,” etc. There is not in this creation a single living thing which is not perpetually drawing upon God, and so literally dependent on His care and bounty that a moment’s suspension of His operations would suffice to extinguish its vital principle. Who can fear that, because God’s ways are unsearchable, they may not be all tending to the final good of His creatures, when he knows that, with the tenderness of a most affectionate parent, this Creator and Governor ministers to the meanest living thing? Who can distrust God, because clouds and darkness are round about Him, when there is light enough to show that He is the vigilant Guardian of every tenant of this earth, that His hand upholds, and His breath animates, and His bounty nourishes the teeming hordes of the city, and the desert, and the ocean? “The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works.”
H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 2085.
References: Psa 145:16.-J. J. West, Penny Pulpit, No. 1823. Psa 145:18.-K. Blencowe, Plain Sermons to a Country Congregation, 1st series, p. 128. Psa 145:18, Psa 145:19.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xii., p. 86. Psa 146:1-3.-R. Thomas, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xi., p. 1.
Psalm of praise: Psa 100:1, *title
extol thee: Psa 30:1, Psa 68:4, Psa 71:14-24, Psa 103:1, Psa 103:2, Dan 4:37
my God: Psa 44:4, Psa 45:1, Psa 45:6, Psa 47:6-8, Psa 48:2, Psa 48:3, Psa 95:3, Psa 149:2, Isa 33:22, Mal 1:14, Mat 25:34, Rev 19:16
I will bless: Psa 145:21, Psa 30:12, Psa 52:9, Psa 113:1, Psa 113:2, Psa 146:1, Psa 146:2
Reciprocal: Exo 3:15 – this is my name for ever Exo 15:2 – exalt him Deu 32:3 – Because 2Sa 22:50 – I will sing 2Ki 8:5 – My lord 1Ch 16:31 – The Lord 1Ch 29:11 – thine is the 1Ch 29:20 – Now bless Ezr 3:11 – because Psa 5:2 – my King Psa 8:1 – our Psa 9:1 – praise Psa 34:1 – General Psa 35:28 – General Psa 61:8 – sing Psa 63:4 – Thus Psa 66:17 – he was Psa 71:6 – thou art Psa 71:8 – General Psa 75:9 – But Psa 84:4 – they will Psa 86:12 – praise Psa 96:2 – bless Psa 100:4 – be thankful Psa 104:33 – General Psa 108:1 – I will Psa 118:28 – my God Pro 1:23 – my reproof Isa 25:1 – thou art Dan 2:20 – Blessed Mic 4:5 – the name Luk 20:38 – a God Rom 1:25 – more Phi 4:4 – alway Heb 13:15 – the sacrifice Jam 3:9 – bless Rev 14:11 – for
Messiah’s praises.
David’s praise.
The concluding psalm of this series is emphatically “David’s praise.” From its position, and knowing of whom David is the familiar type, we should naturally be led to think of Messiah in it as leading the praises of men, -praising, as He declares He will, in the great congregation (Psa 22:25). Whose voice but His could fittingly take this place? And accordingly in the psalm itself we find the Speaker distinguishing Himself from the general voice of praise, which, beginning with the “godly” in Israel, extends to the “sons of men” at large (vers. 10, 12). For all eternity this distinction lasts (ver. 21). But what praise will be waked up by this Voice when; free at last from all hindrances on man’s part, it shall be heard as it will!
The psalm is the last of the alphabetic psalms, the meaning of which has been again and again pointed out. Everything has come into place and order now, and all man’s language is restored from its Babel strife of tongues to unity of mind and purpose. Strange it seems, however, that one letter (Nun) is wanting, and the structure of the psalm acknowledges the deficiency: for, while we might naturally suppose that the twenty-one verses resulting would divide now into three sevens, and thus the stamp of perfection after all be left upon the psalm; in fact it is not so: the structure is 7, 6, 8; the middle section does not reach to 7, though the overpassing of the last one into 8, shows, as the final verse itself does, that the praise here is eternal.
I cannot but conclude that the gap is meant to remind us that in fact the fullness of praise is not complete without other voices which are not found here; and that these missing voices are those of the Church and the heavenly saints in general. Meaning there surely is in it, where everything has meaning. The deficient Nun represents the jubilee number 50, which in one of its factors shows us man with God; this lifted to a higher plane by the multiplication with 10; but I leave this to those with whom nothing in Scripture is fortuitous to consider for themselves.
The three sections celebrate; 1. the power of God; 2. His loving-kindness; 3. His character as the Restorer -as we may say, the God of resurrection.
1. The Voice declares its steadfast purpose to extol God the King, and that for eternity. And this it repeats, emphasizing and confirming it: for has not, alas, experience shown how untrustworthy in general have been men’s promises and resolutions? But here is One now who will not fail, who did not fail, when that will of God which He came to do expressed itself in the law of sacrifice. Here He has been thoroughly tested; and now, as He speaks, the government is upon His shoulder, -the full charge of that in which the divine character is to be shown forth: it is His in such a manner to glorify God.
He is worthy to be praised: His greatness is an infinite reality. The generations of men; too, shall declare it. But one tongue can speak aright of the glorious splendor of His majesty, and of His mighty works. They shall tell of the terrible acts by which evil has been dealt with and repressed. He will declare God’s greatness. Yet they, too, shall pour forth their memory of His goodness, and sing aloud of His righteousness.
2. The last verse is, as often; a link with the next division; which takes up the loving-kindness of Jehovah. Gracious and compassionate is He, -slow to be moved to anything that seems other than this; the Helper of all, His tender mercies are over all His works. Thus all His works praise Him, and the hearts of His people respond to him in praise: they tell of the glory of His kingdom and His might, making known to the sons of men at large His acts and the majesty of His kingdom. Israel, in fact, will do this: for they, in their marvelous history, will be the suited witnesses of His ways to all the earth.
His kingdom is thus proved to be a kingdom of all ages. Not the millennial age alone, but those in which the power of evil might seem to have prevailed, and in which Satan has been, in fact, the “prince of this world.” God has been; all through, the great Overcomer: and what discoveries of His glory in this way yet await us! We shall see how He has prevailed, beyond all our thoughts, in overcoming man’s evil with His good.
3. This again introduces the third section; in which we see Him indeed the Overcomer: allowing sin to declare itself and the results to follow, but holding in His hand the power to bring out of them. Thus Jehovah it is, according to the power of that covenant-Name, who is the Upholder of all that fall, and He who raiseth up all that are bowed down. Upon Him wait the eyes of all His creatures, dependent for the food which is to maintain their existence. Thus He provides for the satisfaction and desire of every living thing.
But He is the Moral Governor also of moral beings: righteous and loving-kind. Righteous in all His ways, He can yield also to the necessities and weakness of His creatures. For this He is near to all that call upon Him, -that in truth call on Him. We cannot escape the reminder of the hollowness and insincerity which have so much attached to this. But where there is His fear, there desire is fulfilled; though here, too, the cry is so often out of the evil into which sin has plunged them. But it is under the restraint of His hand, and out of it He saveth. And indeed He preserveth all that love Him; while the wicked meet their necessary doom.
The God of resurrection in all this is but faintly sketched. Not Israel but the Church is the proper witness of this; although, as a principle, it runs through man’s history.
The last verse carries the praise on into eternity: Christ still the Leader, and awakening all flesh to bless Jehovah’s Name.
Psa 145:1-4. I will extol thee, my God, O King Or, my God, the king; termed so by way of eminence; the King of kings, the God by whom kings reign, and to whom I and all other kings owe subjection and obedience. Every day will I bless thee Praising God should be our daily work. No day should pass, though never so busy on the one hand, or sorrowful on the other, without it. We ought to reckon it the most necessary of our daily business, and the most delightful of our daily comforts. God is every day blessing us, and doing us good, and therefore there is good reason why we should be every day blessing him, and speaking well of him. I will praise thy name for ever and ever Not only to the end of my life in this world, but to all eternity in the world to come. Great is the Lord In his being, majesty, and glory, and in all perfections. His presence is infinite, his power irresistible, his majesty awful, his sovereignty incontestable, his dominion illimitable, his glory insupportable; there is therefore no dispute, but great is the Lord, and if great, then greatly to be praised With all that is within us, to the utmost of our power, and with all the circumstances of solemnity imaginable. His greatness indeed cannot be comprehended; it is unsearchable But then it is so much the more to be praised, as we can neither fathom the depth nor discern the height of it. The greatness of Jehovah, says Dr. Horne, whether we consider it as relating to his essence or his works, is never to be fully comprehended by his saints, whose delight it is to contemplate the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; the extent and duration of his being and his kingdom, the profundity of his counsels, and the sublimity of his power and glory. These are the inexhaustible subjects of divine meditation, transmitted from age to age. And as the greatness of our God and Saviour hath no bounds, so his praises should have no end; nor should the voice of thanksgiving ever cease in the church. As one generation drops it, another should take it up, and prolong the delightful strain till the sun and moon shall withdraw their light, and the stars fall extinguished from their orbs.
This is the last of the acrostic or alphabetical psalms, and should therefore contain twenty two verses, corresponding with the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. But the verse which begins with the letter nun, has been lost from the Hebrew text, and is not found in any printed copy of the Hebrew bible. It is preserved however by the LXX, the Vulgate, and other Versions, and is as follows: The Lord is faithful in all his words, and merciful in all his works. This should form Psa 145:14 of the psalm, and would thus complete the number of twenty two verses.
REFLECTIONS.
The character of this psalm as a devotional piece stands high. No one properly acquainted with Davids history, and with his own heart, can possibly read it without being kindled with devotion. A review of Gods perfections, of his works, and signal providence, must at all times affect and interest the heart. He had a divine right to say that the Lord was good to all, both temporally and spiritually. See how he cares for tender insects, and gives them food in summer, and shelter in winter. Much more then are his mercies over man.
This psalm closes with very comfortable inferences. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him. He will fulfil their desire: in a thousand places he has promised so to do, and his attributes incline him to it. He has already given his only-begotten Son, the greatest of all gifts, and he will not withhold the least; but will pardon and purify. All his saints, however tried, however persecuted, bear witness that the Lord heareth prayer. Yea, he preserveth all them that love him, as he most wonderfully preserved David; and he never suffers a saint to die, but when his death is better than life. Then the hand, or the circumstance, which inflicts the blow, is of small moment.
On the contrary, the Lord will destroy all the wicked. Look at Davids enemies: see them fall on Gilboa; see them fly with Absalom, and perish in the wood of Ephraim. So, oh my soul, shall all thy spiritual foes fall before thee; and so shall all the enemies of the Lord, and of his Christ, perish in their own ways.
CXLV. The Nature of Yahweh.This Ps., which borrows from very late sources (Psa 145:13, e.g. is translated verbally from the Aramaic of Dan 4:3), is a useful summary of the Divine attributes, as a pious Jew conceived them. For God is mighty and glorious, kindly and compassionate. At the same time, He will destroy the wicked. The Ps. is alphabetical, each verse beginning with a letter of the Heb. alphabet in due succession. By some accident the letter Nun is omitted, but the lost verse can be supplied from the LXX. It stood after Psa 145:13 and ran, Faithful is Yahweh in his words and holy in all his works.
Psa 145:5. Render after LXX, Of the glorious majesty of thine honour shall they speak, Of thy wonders shall they discourse.
Psa 145:9 a. Read, Good is Yahweh to all who wait for him (LXX).
PSALM 145
The godly man celebrates the power, the grace, and the glory of the everlasting kingdom of the Lord.
This is the last of the alphabetical psalms. The acrostic arrangement is not strictly complete as the letter Nun is omitted.
(vv. 1-2) The godly man delivered from all his enemies can look on to an eternity in which he sees no evil to intrude, and no trace of sorrow to dim his joy in the Lord. Thus he can say, I will bless thy name for ever and ever, I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
(vv. 3-7) First the psalmist celebrates the greatness and power of God. The Lord is great with a greatness that is unsearchable. His acts are mighty, wondrous, and terrible. The generations of men will declare the greatness of His works, the glory of His majesty, the terror of His acts of judgment, and keep alive the memory of His goodness to His people, founded on righteousness.
(vv. 8-12) Secondly, the psalmist celebrates the grace of God. The Lord is gracious, full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy. How different to man; and even His own people who too often lack grace and compassion, are quick to anger, and show little mercy.
Moreover the Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. In response to His goodness all His works praise Him, and all His saints bless Him and bear witness to the glory of His kingdom to the sons of men.
(vv. 13-20) Thirdly the psalmist celebrates the glory and blessedness of the kingdom of the Lord. In contrast to the kingdoms of men, that pass away, and while they last are marked by earthly pride and arbitrary power, this kingdom is an everlasting kingdom marked by the condescending grace of the Lord who lifts up the fallen, raises the crushed, provides for the need of every living thing; who listens to the cry of all that call upon Him; who fulfills the desire of those that fear Him, and preserves all them that love Him, but deals in judgment with those that oppose Him.
(v. 21) With the greatness and grace of the Lord filling His soul, the psalmist calls all flesh to bless his holy name for ever and ever.
145:1 [David’s [Psalm] of praise.] {a} I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
(a) He shows which sacrifices are pleasant and acceptable to God, even praise and thanksgiving and seeing that God still continues his benefits toward us, we ought never to be weary in praising him for the same.
Psalms 145
This acrostic psalm begins a series of six psalms, the last six in the Psalter, which are especially full of praise to God. The title, "a psalm of praise," occurs only here in the Book of Psalms. The word "praise" appears 46 times in the last six psalms. In this psalm David praised God for His powerful acts, for His mercy and grace, for His everlasting kingdom, and for His response to those who pray to Him. As such it resembles history psalms, but its genre is most similar to the psalms of descriptive praise.
"In the psalm there is no development of plot or building of intensity. Indeed, it is essentially static in form, articulating what is enduringly true of the world. What is true at the beginning of the psalm is still true at the end. What is true from beginning to end is that Yahweh securely governs, and that can be counted on. We are given a series of affirmations that could be rearranged without disrupting the intent. . . . This is Israel in its most trustful, innocent, childlike faith." [Note: Brueggemann, pp. 28-29.]
1. God’s powerful acts 145:1-7
David resolved to praise the Lord daily and forever. The reasons follow.
"When one has come to the point of knowing the Lord in a personal way, the desire to sing His praise and sing it often becomes very strong." [Note: Leupold, p. 975.]
Observant Jews used to repeat this psalm three times a day: twice in the morning and once in the evening. [Note: Ibid.]
Psa 145:1-21
This is an acrostic psalm. Like several others of that kind, it is slightly irregular, one letter (Nun) being omitted. The omission is supplied in the LXX by an obviously spurious verse inserted in the right place between Psa 145:13 and Psa 145:14. Though the psalm has no strophical divisions, it has distinct sequence of thought, and celebrates the glories of Jehovahs character and deeds from a fourfold point of view. It sings of His greatness (Psa 145:1-6), goodness (Psa 145:7-10), His kingdom (Psa 145:11-13), and the universality of His beneficence (Psa 145:14-21). It is largely coloured by other psalms, and is unmistakably of late origin.
The first group of verses has two salient characteristics-the accumulation of epithets expressive of the more majestic aspects of Jehovahs self-revelation, and the remarkable alternation of the psalmists solo of song and the mighty chorus which takes up the theme and sends a shout of praise echoing down the generations.
The psalmist begins with his own tribute of praise, which he vows shall be perpetual. Psa 145:1 recalls Psa 30:1; Psa 34:1. We “exalt” God, when we recognise that He is King, and worthily adore Him as such. A heart suffused with joy in the thought of God would fain have no other occupation than the loved one of ringing out His name. The singer sets “forever and aye” at the end of both Psa 145:1 and Psa 145:2, and while it is possible to give the expression a worthy meaning as simply equivalent to continually, it is more in harmony with the exalted strain of the psalm and the emphatic position of the words to hear in them an expression of the assurance which such delight in God and in the contemplation of Him naturally brings with it, that over communion so deep and blessed, Death has no power. “Every day will I bless Thee”-that is the happy vow of the devout heart. “And I will praise Thy name forever and ever”-that is the triumphant confidence that springs from the vow. The experiences of fellowship with God are prophets of their own immortality.
Psa 145:3 a-is from Psa 48:1, and b is tinged by Isa 40:1-31, but substitutes “greatness,” the keynote of the first part of this psalm for “understanding.” That note having been thus struck, is taken up in Psa 145:4-6, which set forth various aspects of that greatness, as manifested in works which are successively described as “mighty”-i.e., instinct with conquering power such as a valiant hero wields; as, taken together, constituting the “splendour of the glory of Thy majesty,” the flashing brightness with which, when gathered, as it were, in a radiant mass, they shine out, like a great globe of fire; as “wonders,” not merely in the narrower sense of miracles, but as being productive of lowly astonishment in the thoughtful spectator; and as being “dread acts”-i.e., such as fill the beholder with holy awe. In Psa 145:5 b the phrase rendered above “records of His wonders” is literally “words of His wonders,” which some regard as being like the similar phrase in Psa 65:3 (words or matters of iniquities), a pleonasm, and others would take as they do the like expression in Psa 105:27, as equivalent to “deeds of the Divine wonders” (Delitzsch). But “words” may very well here retain its ordinary sense, and the poet represents himself as meditating on the records of Gods acts in the past as well as gazing on those spread before his eyes in the present.
His passing and repassing from his own praise in Psa 145:1-2, to that of successive generations in Psa 145:4 others in Psa 145:6, is remarkable. Does he conceive of himself as the chorus leader, teaching the ages his song? Or does he simply rejoice in the less lofty consciousness that his voice is not solitary? It is difficult to say, but this is clear, that the Messianic hope of the worlds being one day filled with the praises which were occasioned by Gods manifestation in Israel burned in this singers heart. He could not bear to sing alone, and this hymn would lack its highest note, if he did not believe that the world was to catch up the song.
But greatness, majesty, splendour, are not the Divinest parts of the Divine nature, as this singer had learned. These are but the fringes of the central glory. Therefore the song rises from greatness to celebrate better things, the moral attributes of Jehovah (Psa 145:7-10). The psalmist has no more to say of himself, till the end of his psalm. He gladly listens rather to the chorus of many voices which proclaims Jehovahs widespread goodness. In Psa 145:7 the two attributes which the whole Old Testament regards as inseparable are the themes of the praise of men. Goodness and righteousness are not antithetic, but complementary, as green and red rays blend in white light. The exuberance of praise evoked by these attributes is strikingly represented by the two strong words describing it: of which the former, “well forth,” compares its gush to the clear waters of a spring bursting up into sunlight, dancing and flashing, musical and living, and the other describes it as like the shrill cries of joy raised by a crowd on some festival, or such as the women trilled out when a bride was brought home. Psa 145:8 rests upon Exo 34:6. {compare Psa 103:8} It is difficult to desynonymise “gracious” and “full of compassion.” Possibly the former is the wider, and expresses love in exercise towards the lowly in its most general aspect, while the latter specialises graciousness as it reveals itself to those afflicted with any evil. As “slow to anger,” Jehovah keeps back the wrath which is part of His perfection, and only gives it free course after long waiting and wooing. The contrast in Psa 145:8 b is not so much between anger and lovingkindness, which to the psalmist are not opposed, as between the slowness with which the one is launched against a few offenders and the plenitude of the other. That thought of abundant lovingkindness is still further widened, in Psa 145:9, to universality. Gods goodness embraces all, and His compassions hover over all His works, as the broad wing and warm breast of the mother eagle protect her brood. Therefore the psalmist hears a yet more multitudinous voice of praise from all creatures; since their very existence, and still more their various blessednesses, give witness to the all-gladdening Mercy which encompasses them. But Creations anthem is a song without words, and needs to be made articulate by the conscious thanksgivings of those who, being blessed by possession of Jehovahs lovingkindness, render blessing to Him with heart and lip.
The Kingship of God was lightly touched in Psa 145:1. It now becomes the psalmists theme in Psa 145:11-13. It is for Gods favoured ones to speak, while Creation can but be. It is for men who can recognise Gods sovereign will as their law, and know Him as ruler, not only by power, but by goodness, to proclaim that kingdom which psalmists knew to be “righteousness, peace, and joy.” The purpose for which God has lavished His favour on Israel is that they might be the heralds of His royalty to “the sons of men.” The recipients of His grace should be the messengers of His grace. The aspects of that kingdom which fill the psalmists thoughts in this part of his hymn, correspond with that side of the Divine nature celebrated in Psa 145:1-6 – namely, the more majestic-while the graciousness magnified in Psa 145:7-10 is again the theme in the last portion (Psa 145:14-20). An intentional parallelism between the first and third parts is suggested by the recurrence in Psa 145:12 of part of the same heaped together phrase which occurs in Psa 145:5. There we read of “the splendour of the glory of Thy majesty”; here of “the glory of the splendour of Thy kingdom,”-expressions substantially identical in meaning. The very glory of the kingdom of Jehovah is a pledge that it is eternal. What corruption or decay could touch so radiant and mighty a throne? Israels monarchy was a thing of the past; but as, “in the year that King Uzziah died,” Isaiah saw the true King of Israel throned in the Temple, so the vanishing of the earthly head of the theocracy seems to have revealed with new clearness to devout men in Israel the perpetuity of the reign of Jehovah. Hence the psalms of the King are mostly post-exilic. It is blessed when the shattering of earthly goods or the withdrawal of human helpers and lovers makes more plain the Unchanging Friend and His abiding power to succour and suffice.
The last portion of the psalm is marked by a frequent repetition of “all,” which occurs eleven times in these verses. The singer seems to delight in the very sound of the word, which suggests to him boundless visions of the wide sweep of Gods universal mercy, and of the numberless crowd of dependents who wait on and are satisfied by Him. He passes far beyond national bounds.
Psa 145:14 begins the grand catalogue of universal blessings by an aspect of Gods goodness which, at first sight, seems restricted, but is only too wide, since there is no man who is not often ready to fall and needing a strong hand to uphold him. The universality of mans weakness is pathetically testified by this verse. Those who are in the act of falling are upheld by Him; those who have fallen are helped to regain their footing. Universal sustaining and restoring grace are His. The psalmist says nothing of the conditions on which that grace in its highest forms is exercised; but these are inherent in the nature of the case, for, if the falling man will not lay hold of the outstretched hand, down he must go. There would be no place for restoring help if sustaining aid worked as universally as it is proffered. The word for “raises” in Psa 145:14 b occurs only here and in Psa 146:8. Probably the author of both psalms is one. In Psa 145:15-16, the universality of Providence is set forth in language partly taken from Psa 104:27-28. The petitioners are all creatures. They mutely appeal to God, with expectant eyes fixed on Him, like a dog looking for a crust from its master. He has but to “open His hand” and they are satisfied. The process is represented as easy and effortless. Psa 145:16 b has received different explanations. The word rendered “desire” is often used for “favour”-i.e., Gods-and is by some taken in that meaning here. So Cheyne translates “fillest everything that lives with goodwill.” But seeing that the same word recurs in Psa 145:19, in an obvious parallel with this verse, and has there necessarily the meaning of desire, it is more natural to give it the same signification here. The clause then means that the opening of Gods hand satisfies every creature, by giving it that which it desires in full enjoyment.
These common blessings of Providence avail to interpret deeper mysteries. Since the world is full of happy creatures nourished by Him, it is a reasonable faith that His work is all of a piece, and that in all His dealings the twin attributes of righteousness and lovingkindness rule. There are enough plain tokens of Gods character in plain things to make us sure that mysterious and apparently anomalous things have the same character regulating them. In Psa 145:17 b the word rendered loving is that usually employed of the objects of lovingkindness, Gods “favoured ones.” It is used of God only here and in Jer 3:12, and must be taken in an active sense, as One who exercises lovingkindness. The underlying principle of all His acts is Love, says the psalmist, and there is no antagonism between that deepest motive and Righteousness. The singer has indeed climbed to a sun-lit height, from which he sees far and can look down into the deep of the Divine judgments and discern that they are a clear-obscure.
He does not restrict this universal beneficence when he goes on to lay down conditions on which the reception of its highest forms depend. These conditions are not arbitrary; and within their limits, the same universality is displayed. The lower creation makes its mute appeal to God, but men have the prerogative and obligation of calling upon Him with real desire and trust. Such suppliants will universally be blessed with a nearness of God to them, better than His proximity through power, knowledge, or the lower manifestations of His lovingkindness, to inferior creatures. Just as the fact of life brought with it certain wants, which God is bound to supply, since He gives it, so the fear and love of Him bring deeper needs, which He is still more (if that were possible) under pledge to satisfy. The creatures have their desires met. Those who fear Him will certainly have theirs; and that, not only in so far as they share physical life with worm and bee, whom their heavenly Father feeds, but in so far as their devotion sets in motion a new series of aspirations, longings, and needs, which will certainly not be left unfulfilled. “Food” is all the boon that the creatures crave, and they get it by an easy process. But man, especially man who fears and loves God, has deeper needs, sadder in one aspect, since they come from perils and ills from which he has to be saved, but more blessed in another, since every need is a door by which God can enter a soul. These sacreder necessities and more wistful longings are not to be satisfied by simply opening Gods hand. More has to be done than that. For they can only be satisfied by the gift of Himself, and men need much disciplining before they will to receive Him into their hearts. They who love and fear Him will desire Him chiefly, and that desire can never be balked. There is a region, and only one, in which it is safe to set our hearts on unattained good. They who long for God will always have as much of God as they long for and are capable of receiving.
But notwithstanding the universality of the Divine lovingkindness, mankind still parts into two sections, one capable of receiving the highest gifts, one incapable, because not desiring them. And therefore the One Light, in its universal shining, works two effects, being lustre and life to such as welcome it, but darkness and death to those who turn from it. It is mans awful prerogative that he can distil poison out of the water of life, and can make it impossible for himself to receive from tender, universal Goodness anything but destruction.
The singer doses his song with the reiterated vow that his songs shall never dose, and, as in the earlier part of the psalm, rejoices in the confidence that his single voice shall, like that of the herald angel at Bethlehem, be merged in the notes of “a multitude praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
To thy saints’ happy home,
Where a thousand years
As one day appears;
As a thousand years,
(Arudt.)
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
And I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
For ever and ever.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
PRAISE TO GOD FOR HIS GOODNESS AND MERCY
In this kingdom, every subject is himself a king; a king in this world; and entitled to a crown, a throne, a kingdom, in the world to come. Well then might David say of these subjects, They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom [Note: ver. 11, 12.].]
The Psalmist proceeds yet further to notice,
1.
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary