PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Psalms — Volume 1
George Rawlinson [1812-1902] · 375,386 words · 408 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Psalms — Volume 1 — Section 181
HOMILETICS. Vers. 4, 5.-" Efhow me thy ways," etc. Prayer oaght to be the most natural, as it is the noblest, form of speech. H would be if human nature were not off its balance, out of tune, morally crippled and disjointed. In extremity of peril or grief, the instinct of prayer often wakes up even in godless hearts- …
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elevated to this glorious universal prospect of God's dealing~. Consider (1) the featur~s hP..-e selected as characteristic of Goa's dealings: "mercy and truth ; " (2) tlie assurance that these are never wanting in any instance: "all the paths," etc. 1. THE FEATURES CHARACTERISTIC OF Gon's DEALINGS. 1. "Mercy ·" or …
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light and sound-so if religion is to have any reality and wor•,h, it is not enough that our nature cries out for God; we must have the light of Divine truth, the voice of Divine teaching. 'fhis, in a word, is just what is meant by this phrase, so constantly employed in Scripture," The Name of God." It stands for all th…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1--22.-Prayer: its warrant, petitions, and arguments. It is thought by some that this prayer belongs to the Exile period; but by whomsoever it may have been penned, or at whatsoever age, matters little. 'l'here is nothing in it which depends 011 known historic incidrnt 1 for its e…
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misunderstood, but that we shall be laying open all our griefs only before in6nite goodness and mercy. JV, THE SPEOIFIO PETITIONS IN PRAYER MAY BE VARIED Al:' OUR NEED, The petitions specified in tbis psalm are mainly for himself, but not exclusively. Those for himself are such as any child of God may present at any…
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I. HoLY ASPIUATION, The psalmist was a man of prayer. His yearnings were ever towards God. There was much to weigh him down; but against all obstacles he pressed upward and onward. "Nearer my God, nearer to thee," was his cry. II. APPROPRIATING FAITH. There is not only faith in God ns God, but the higher and nobler…
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our wild oats. But now we look at things differently. We have seen not only the seed, but the fruit (Rom. vi. 21), We have, besides, gained insight, and our con- sciences have become more tenrler from living near to God. We judge, therefore, not only with better evidence, but by a higher standard. IV. MIBErtABLE BENSE…
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Vers. 1-7.-Trust in God, "Belongs probably to the time of the Exile. Its pre,ailing thon~ht is that God is the Teacher of the afflicted and the Guide of the erring; and this is constantly repeated, either in the way of statement or of prayer." The first seven verses contain three thing•. L Asrrnrno TnusT IN Goo. (V…
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because he is good and righteous, or upright. It becomes his nature to act thus. 2. He leads the lowly ur meek; or those who are lowly because of oppression. He leads them in righteousness; i.e. he gives to them, who do not oppose might with mi"bt 0 justice against their oppressors. The right is sure to triumph in the…
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EXPOSITION. literally, with men of vanity; i.e. he has PSALM XXVI. not consorted (Pa. i. 1) with light and DAvm, about to sacrifice at God's altar, frivolous persons-those whose hearts are protests his integrity, but still prays for set upou vaiu and wortliless thingd (see Pa. xxiv. 4, and the comment). Neither will…
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remoin there, to pass long hours there, oe (comp. Pa. xv. 5; Isa. i. 23; Jer. xxii. 17: it were to dwell there (comp. Pas. xxiii. Ezek. xxii. 12; Hos. iv. 10; Micoh iii. (j; xxvii. 4; lxiii. 2). And the plaoe where 11, etc.). thine honour dwelleth; literally, the place Ver. ll.-llut a.a for me, I will walk in of the ta…
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Ver. 10.-The sin of bribery. "Their right hand is full of bribes." Christians have undeniably a far higher standard of morality supplied by the gospel than was possible in earlier times under any other dispensation. How, then, is this paradox to be solved- that we find Old Testament saints trying themselves by severer…
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whom he was asso.i\ed, reproached, and slandered. From them he appeals to God. By the heading of the psalm we are pointed to David as the author. And there is no reason for questioning that. Mr. Fa.uSBet, in his most suggestive book, • Hora, Psalmicm,' working along the line of "undesigned coincidencel'," remarks, "Ano…
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depreciation from some who even denied his apostleship. Job was surrounded with "miserable comforters," who thought, by defaming him, to defend God! Such trials nre hard to bear. 'fhey may arise (1) from the occasional foibles of a good man being magnified by the slanderer into sins; (2) from the utter impossibility…
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integrity or aim, is put thereby at the very gate of faith, where all God's helps are waiting for him" (Bushnell). There is a vital connection between "integrity" and "truth" (vers. 1, 3). "Truth" is of God. "Integrity" belongs to us. We can only have truth, as we receive it from God. We can only have "integrity" as we…
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EXPOSITION. mnny characteristics of his style, the B1ldden PSALM XXVII. tro.nsition and change in the tone of thought Trns psalm is one of those which have been being one. It is quite conceivable that called "composite" (' The Psalms,' by Four during the rebellion under Abealom, having Friends, p. 67); and certain…
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1 ; xiii. 1; lxix. 17, etc.); and BO also did ornelty; or, 1Jiolence. To II breathe out" other saints (Pss. xliv. 24; lxxxviii. 14). In violence, threats, shmghter, mRlice, otc., ia. most instances, probably, God sends the a common metaphor in many languages feeling as a chttstisement, that the henrt (Acts ix. I; Ar…
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that because .God is love, he must love all alike-as he dispenses rain and sunshine to all alike-good and bad, lovely and hateful ; and that because he is just, he must treat all alike. Such views can be upheld neither from Scripture nor from common sense. Justice lies not in treating all alike, but in treating each ac…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-16.~ehovah's self-revelation, andfaith's response thereto. There is no known character and career in Scripture that would correspond to this psalm as well as those of David. And it seems difficult to resist the conclusion that the words in ver. 10 were written about the same tim…
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complaint of God when men do not seek him (Isa. xliii. 23-26). And still more the declared joy of God when souls are at rest in him (Zeph. iii. 17). See this taken over to the Now Testament (John iv. 23). But the grandest illustration of all i~ in the fact (Luke xix.10) of which the whole of Luke's fifteenth chapter is…
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the past do rise up so terribly into the memory, that for a while they seem to eclipse nil besides; and then faith heaves a sigh and drops a tear, There may be as clinging a faith when uttering tho wail of the first verse of the twenty-second, as when singing the peaceful song of the twenty-third psalm; for even in the…
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cases there me.y be the form, but there cannot be the power, of godliness; there may be certain earthly advantages, but there is no real profit, neither the promise of the life that now is, nor of that which is to come. But with all who are taught of God, religion is a choice-the free, settled, rejoicing choice of the …
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Vers. 7-12.-Strengthened in God. "While strengthening himself in God (in the former part of the psalm), he is, perhaps, seized by some sudden fear lest he should be forsaken, or be overcome by the craft or malice of his enemies. Till now the danger which threatens him is as prominent an object as the salvation and d…
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EXPOSITION, xxvii. 5; xxxi. 2, 3: xl. 3; hi. 2; Jxii. 2, PSALM xxvm. elo.). Tbo llebrcw term used is somelime~ TulS short psalm coneists of throe po.rte: t~ur, som~times aela', which unll to our minds (1) a pro.yer for succour (vers. 1, 2); (2) a the two great rock-fortreesoe of Tyro nud Petro.. Lest, if thou be sil…
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case were clearly understood. And we deem it to be of no small importance that where readers of the Bible find special difficulty, expounders thereof should put forth special strength, and by no means pass lightly over such passages, or leave them unaccounted for. This psalm is a reflection of varied scenes which ma…
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xxxvii. 35; Ix.xiii. 18-20). God will seem to men according b what they are. If they follow his commandments, peaco will attend their steps. H they violate tl:cru, all nature will be full of detectives, whips, and stings. IV. A TWOFOLD ACT TOWARDS Goo. 1. Prayer. "Hear . . . when I lift up my hands toward thy holy …
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hord pressed by the thorn in the flesh, besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from him. But he erred. It had been sent as a preventative, "lest he should be exalted above measure through the al,undance of the revelations; " and it had not yet srrved its full purpose. God did not cause it to depart, but he did w…
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EXPOSITION. denly heard muttering in the height of PSALU XXIX, heaven, "upon the waters;" ;.e. tho wntcn stored in the clouds that float on high in Tms is a psnlm of praise to God, and at the the nir. The God of glory-the God sot 1;:1.mo time one intended to comfort and cheer forth in vers. 1, 2-thuudereth. It is he…
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e. oho.em in the clouds, from which the temple, or palo.ce (1.eykal), of henven and forkml lightning issued. eo.rLh. In this temple "every one," or Ver. 8.-The voioe of the Lord sha.keth rather e11erylhing, all that is in it, is con- the wildeme11 ; yee., the Lord sha.keth the tinuo.lly speaking of his glory (litera…
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pre~ence was ruanifestecl there. So was the placo where, for the timr, tho tnbemacle was pitched. ,vhen tho bush ceas<'d to burn; when the cloud rose from tho tnbernacle and Israel mnrched to a new ~esting-plncc!-the wi(d creatures _roamed ovor those spot~ ns common ground. The notion of indelible sanctity commumcat…
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and Sirion 1 leaping as wild creatures free from all restraint. But while it is to the descriptions of all this grandeur and majesty that some expositors chiefly call our attention, neither nature's grandeur nor majesty is the main topic of the psalm. By no means; but rather the glory of HUI whose dominion extendeth…
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man who _sees God. ~nd this privilege is reserved for" the puro in heart" (Malt. v. 8). 2. Since one God is over all, natural phenomena as well as providential incident may be made fuel for the religious life. A thunderstorm may aid worship. 3. Since one Being is the Origin of all l,:inds of force, prayer Joi· natural…
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Lord of heaven and earth. We see him not only as the Lord of the "water~," but of the dry land; not only of "the cedars," but of all living creatures; not only of the children of men, but of all the host of heaven (vers. 3-9). 4. Lastly, we are able to rejoice in God as our God, the StllpTeme Object of our fear and lov…
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EXPOSITION. Ver. 1.-I will extol thee, 0 Lord; or, PSALM XXX. "I will exalt thee," as tho word is rendered Tms psalm is one of thanksgiving from in Pss. xxxiv. S; xcix. 5, 9; and elsewhere. first to last, an<l commemorates a deliverance For thou hast lifted me up; or, "drawn me up," as a bucket is drawn up out of …
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"Give th1mks to hie holy Namo" (comp. po.rt of his prayer most honourable to David Pss. ciii. 1; cvi. 47; cxlv. 21). is not recorded by himself, but by the Ver. 5.-l!'or his anger endurcth but a historians. He tells us of his secret moment; in his favour is life; literally, for wrestlinge with God, his complaints and …
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HOMILETICS. Yer. 5,-:-l,Iercy an_d judgment .. ." His anger , . , n moment," etc. This p:itbdic nn<l beautiful psalm 1s a thanksg1vrng after dangerous, well-niah fatal ~iekness, J 1s Lit.le calls_ it "a song at the dedication of the honse; by David ""(see Re~ised Versiou); q.d. D11v1d's own palace, not the temple. …
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mysteries, though there may be impiety either in our presumptuous attempts to explain them, or more presumptuous denials that there can be an explanation perfectly consistent with God'8 wisdom, justice, and goodness. We must not rashly try to lift the veil or rend it; but as we worHhip before it we feel that it is a ve…
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~uch dedication sen·ice to return thanks for his recovery. This supposition is in itself reasonable, and, so rar as we can find, it is not inconsistent with any of the expressions m the psalm itself. We find herein an interesting blending of the psalmist's innur thoughts and of bis pleadings ,,vith God. We see from bot…
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nHer doath, which is intended by the terms above named, which carry with them no moral significance, unless such moral significance is conveyed by the connection in which they stand. "Sbeol" <lenotes the realm of departed souls, looked at as the all-demanding world. "Hades" denotes the realm of departed souls, looked a…
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might be worse. "Wherefore cloth a livina man complain--!\ mnn for the punishment of his sins?" (Lnm. iii. 39; cf. Micah vii. 9). Desides, there are alleviations. We mcot with kindness and sympathy; we are cheered by the ministry of loving friends; we have the teaching and experiences of other sufferers open to us i…
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world without sin (1 John iii. 5); he died without sin (lleb. ix. 14). "Such an High Priest became us" (Heb. vii. 26). IV. ETERNALLY BEAUTIFUL. We read of "the beauty of holiness," and it is the supreme and perfect beauty of character. 1. Challenges our admiration. 2. Inspires our confidence. 3. Commands our love. Chr…
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EXPOSITION. (vers. 19-22), praise of God's goodness; PSALM XXXL part vi. (vers. 23, 24), exhortation to the people to praise God. Tms psalm is, in tho main, a cry for deliver- ance out of pressing danger and trouble; Ver. 1.-In thee, 0 Lord, do I put my bnt it is interspersed with pa.ssa.ges of a. trust. If prayer…
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a.n liouso of defence to save me; rather, as For thou hast consid6rod my trouble. W,1cn in ihc Revised Version, JJe tl,ou to me a God looks upon trouble and considers it, ~lronr, Bock, an House of defence, etc. (comp. be is sure to oompas.-ionate the sufferer, Pij, xviii. 2). . l\nd to grnnt him some relief. Thou ha.et…
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nf David (2 Sam. xv. 1-4), whereby men's case he could not hope thnt they would heart.a were stolen a.way from him, and bis spare his life (2 Sam. xvii. 2, 12). character blackened. His enemies made Ver. 16.-Me.ke thy face to shine upon the most of these ill reports, and turned thy servant. 'fhie expression is first u…
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pe.vilio:i from the strife of tongues. God did not forsake his eervant on account of keeps his own in a "pavilion," or leafy this temporary failure of faith. No sooner arbour, e. place of coolness and refreshment, did the psalmist rid himself of his extreme for away from the "lying lips" (ver. 18) alarm, and tum once m…
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each blade from its own root.' Not a bird falls to the earth without our heavenly Father. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord" (Ps. cxxxix. 3, 9, 10). 2. By his Woi·d. (2 Tim. iii. 15; Ps. cxix. 105.) What is a lamp for? 'l'o give light. How do I know that light is light? Simply by its shining. Light is…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1-24.-The saint reliearsing his experience of the great Protector's care. There is no good reason to doubt that this is one of David's psalms. Its forms of expression bear the marks of his pen,1 and the "undesigned coincidences"~ between it and the history of his life are both inter…
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The higher our position, and the greater our usefulness, the more likely is it that Satan will aim at us with bis fiery darts. 'l'be more we disturb him, the more ho will disturb us. And, for wise and holy reasons, the Lord may allow a messenger of Satan to buffet 1 us. II. EVEN WHEN IN THE LOWEST DEPTHS, THERE IS NO …
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IV. Suon EXPERIENCES WILL LEAD TlIE SAINTS TO CALL ON THEIR FELLOW- BELIEVERS TO HOPE IN THE LORD, AND TO WAIT FOK HIM, (Vers. 23, 24.) The new experience of God's loving-kindness and care, which is born of such deliverances in answer to prayer, gives believers wondrous vantage-ground in exhorting others to put their w…
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III. INCREASING USEFULNESS. We are placed in such relationship to others that we cannot but influence them one way or another. Whether this influence be for good or for evil will mainly depend upon our character. God prepares his servants for the place and work he has for them to do. When the time comes, they find t…
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trouble. (Ver. 1.) Does not qualify tho prayer, but eeeke 11bsolute deliverance. It was to him an unqualified evil, and, as evil, he had no thought it could be working any good for him. So the Lord's Pmyer, " Deliver us from evil," woull be put to sbam<J if not delivered. 2. He prays/or protedion and defence. (Ver. 2.)…
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EXPOSITION. PSALM XXXII. Me three aspects under whioh sin is viewed in Holy Seri pture : 1. A.e e.n offence e.ge.i nst Tms psalm hne been selected by_ the Church God's Law. 'fhis is" transgression "-ilvoµlcz. for onD of the "seven penitential psalms." 2. As an offence against the eternal and lt forms a pa.rt of the s…
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but bas been surprised into a wiclrnd action, Ver. 7.-Thcu nrt my hiding-place (co:np. no sooner done thnn regretted. Such a one, Pas. xvii. 8; xxvii. 5; xxxi. 20; cxliii. 9); in Archbishop Leighton's words, "Vulnus thou shalt preserve me from trouble. Hid- alit venie et cmco cnrpitur igne." den in God, there can no ha…
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HOMILETICS. Ver. 1.-The blessedneu of pardon. "Blessed is he," etc. The Old Testament Scriptures contain what we may call moral prophecies, no less striking than the his- torical and typical prophecies. This verse is among them. Beginning with this grand Bible word" blessed" (like Ps. i.), it resembles an echo, a thou…
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Ver. 5.-0onfession of sin. Let men argue as they please agninst the Bible; they c1rnuot deny or alter the fact that this book has a power of laying hold on the heart and conscience, unrivalled and unique. One reason is its penetrating knowledge of human nature; another, its deep and wide sympathy. Our interest is quick…
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It is and ever will remain the differential feature of the education of the Hebrew people, that they wore taught so emphatically and constantly the evil of sin. For this purpose the Law was their child-guide with a view to Christ (Gal. iii. 24). Of the several terms used to express sin, three are employed here.1 One, w…
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Ver. 1.-Th~ blessedness offorgiveness. What our Lord said to Simon befo1·e his fall, seems to have been said to David after his great transgression, "When thou art couvertcd, strengthen the brethren" (Luke xxii. 32; Ps. Ii. 12, 13). Nobly was the duty performed. Jlfany who were walking in darkness have here found li…
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Ver. 8.-God's guidance. Lee,rn- J. THE PLACE -')F auu ANOE. Unless we are able to see God's eye, we ce,nnot be guided. What binders? Our sins. "Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up" (Ps. x.l. 12). The great thing, therefore, is to confess our sins, that they m11y be put 11w11,y, an…
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for all the penitent and godly. Not a partial God, but his principles of action are universal. God can always be found by the truly penitent; i.e. he always hears them when they call upon him (ver. 6). He averts from them the jndgments (" great waters") that threaten to overwhelm the wicked (ver. 6). 2. Confidence in G…
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used in the temple service, o.s appears from "Let there be lights in the firmament of 1 Chron. xv. 6, 28; xxv. 1, 6; 2 Chron. v. 12; the heaven, to divide the day from the xx ix. 25, etc. night" (Gen. i. 14; comp. Job xxvi. 18). Yor. 3.-Sing unto him a new song (comp. Ver. 7.-Re ge.thereth the waters of the Pss. xl…
1,016 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.