A Brighter Day Begins with His Word.

PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK

The Pulpit Commentary — Psalms — Volume 1

George Rawlinson [1812-1902] · 375,386 words · 408 reading sections

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Yer. 1.-I waited patiently for the Lord; gratitude to God. God's mercies in the literally, 11,ailing, 1 wait,ed - a common past have been countless, and have ]Rid him Hebrew idiom, when an idea is to be empha- under unspeakable obligations. And thy sized. No writer enforces upon us more thoughts which are to us-ward…

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Ver. 8.-I delight to do thy will, 0 my ing load whereof complaint is made. It is God: yea, thy Law is within my heart. The noted that the exceedingly deep conscious- obedience to be rendered will be a trne and ness of sin hero displayed "belongs alto- occeptable obedience, (1) checrfnl, end (2) getlier to a late part o…

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yet restored to either (2 Sam. ix. 4-20). xxx.iv. 0; xxxv. 10, etc.). Thou e.rt my Yet the Lord thinketh upon me. '.rhe " poor Help and my Deliverer; me.ke no tarrying, and needy" o.re those whom God especially 0 my God (comp. ver. 18, and the comment considol'B (sec P:;s, ix. 18: x. 12, 17, 18; I ad loo.}, HOMILE'…

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three several topics. In this, the first, we look at it as a song of praise for delivering mercy-for delivering mercy experienced by the psalmist himself, who, having written this grateful hymn, hands it "to the chief musician" for use in sanctuary service. Where ca.n our notes of praise for Divine interposition be mor…

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indeed, if we found that in one and the same breath the psalmist wns triumphantly set upon a rock, and then in a minute or two bowed down with a weight of woe I We are not cnlled on to entertain such a doleful supposition; and are glad, therefore, to deal with this piteous prayer and plea as standing by itself. It i…

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before us. They first of all apply to David, and it is quite possible that he intended nothing further; if so, unwittingly to himself, he was borne along to utter words whose fulness of meaning could only be disclosed by the Iucarnation, hy David's Son, who had eternally been David's Lord j and, as such, the doctrines …

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V. 'l'HB LORD JESUS CHRIST, IN THE FAOT OF HIS IN0ARNATION, DECLARED THAT HB BAD COME TO ACOOMPLISB THB UNFULFILLED MEANING OF 0LD 'l'ESTAMENT SACRIFICES. We are not told here that he said this by his Spirit in the fortieth psalm; but that" when he came into the world" he said it. His entrance into our race was itself …

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then the setting upon the rock; then the new song and the new service, as the outflow and the expression of the new heart. "By grace are ye saved, through faith" (Eph. ii. 4-10; Rom. viii. 29, 30). II. ,VHAT HIS SERVANT WOULD DO FOR Gon. "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord?" is tho question of the prophet; and he …

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error to be corrocicd, no blemish to be remedied. 3. He accomplished the redemption of Lis people. 4. He glorified the Father.-W. F. Ver. 17.-God's thoughts. "I nm "-what? The question is important, In order to judge rightly, we must have a right standard. We are not to measure ourselves by ourselves, or by the rule…

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him, the greatness of the salvation. (2) The deliverance had filled him with gl'ateful joy. "Put a new song into his mouth." Every new experience of the Di vine love should rouse anew the spirit of thanksgiving; it is a new revelation of God's mercy. His experience is," Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his tru~t…

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or just after the revolt of Absalom. It for I have sinned against thee. Tho worst consists of an introduction (vers. 1-3), of all his woes-the root aud origin of them respecting the blessedness of those who all-Jona et origo •mali, is bis own sin- "consider the poor; " a bitter complaint fulness. Unless that is cure…

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to him. And now that he lieth; i.e. " now private revenge, bnt David's duty as a that ho is prostrate npon a. sick-bed." He king (Rom. xiii. 4). shall rise up no more. He shall not recover, Ver. 11.-By this I know that thou but die of his ma.lady. favourest me; or, deli')hteat in me (comp. Ver. 9.-Yea., mine own famil…

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by the sweat of his brow, as long as his work is healthy, his food plentiful and whole- some, and he can keep out of debt, and have a little to give to God's work and to a needy neighbour. But when strength is overtasked, when toil and thrift cannot keep the wolf from the Joor, and work fails or health breaks down, …

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"the poor, the fatherless, and the widow," shown in the Law of Moses,1 marked an immense uplifting in legislation; while the continuation of this same philanthropy, on religious grounds, was made of so much account by the prophets, that if it was neglected, men's external worship was an offence in the sight of God (Isa…

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lJl. ON THOSE WHO LIVE A LIFE OF BUCH PRACTICAL BENEVOLENCE FOR CHRIST'S BAKE, THERE 1s A BLESSING PRONOUNCED. It will be the blessing of both the Father Rud of the Son, yea, and of the Spirit too. The SjJirit; for be pronounces it in the in breathing of these sacred words. 'l'he Son; for he proclaims it now, as our Te…

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Vers. 10---12.-He prays against his enemies. (Cf. homily on Ps. xxxv.)-C. Ver. 13.-The doxology of the He1Yrew (Jhurch. This doxology doeR not appear to be a part of the psalm to which it is annexed. The Psalms are divided into five books. The first book closes with the forty-first psalm. In all probability this was…

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die. First on earth, and then in heaven, the sacred will ascribe all honour to their God; while the vast redeemed host will never cease to add their grand ".A.men." 1-0. Vers. 1-13.-God's poo1-. There may be a good time coming, when the poor will cease out of the laud; but it is not yet. The state of things in our da…

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true, and honestly try to do our duty towards others, and especially the poor, we shall in no wise lose our reward. Learn a lesson of humility, as we think of our own sins, and ill deserts; of gratitude, when we remember God's goodness to ourselves; of charity, as we consider the evil case of many of our brethren, and…

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BOOK II. EXPOSITION. psalm is chieffy an outpouring otsol'l'Ow and PSALM XLn complaint; but still is an "instruction," Tms psalm, committed (like so mnny others) inasmuch as it teaohes the lesson that in .the to the precentor, or chief mnsicinn, for its deepest gulf of sorrow (ver. 7) the soul may musical setting, …

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Pse. lxiii. 1; oxliii. 6; Iso. Iv. 1), The e.nd seeks to encourage and a praise it. And devout soul ie al we.ye athirst for God. David why art thou 10 disquieted in me l rather, felt hie severe.nee from the tabernacle and Why dost thou. make thy moan 011e,- me 1 its services e.e e. sort of severe.nee from literally, ma…

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HOMILETICS. Vers. 1, 2.-The intense longing of tlie soul after God. "My soul tbirstetb " eto. Amid the trackless mountains and rugged valleys beyond Jordan, where the r~aring torrents seem to answer one another from glen to glen, the heart of the pious exile turned with passionate yearning to the city and temple of…

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HOMILIES BY V.ARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-11.-..A.thirst for God, This is one of the most touching, pathetic, and beautiful of the Psalms. It is not possible to decide either its author or the time of it3 composition. Its tones are very much like the plaintive sounds from David's harp, whether or no he was its writer (but…

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longings. 4-. In the experienced believer. Ho has found God as his God, as hie "exceeding Joy;" but there are times in tho experienceof many such when all that they have known and realized of God's love seems like a dream of the past; when the Jiaht of heaven is partially or even totally eclipsed. This may arise fro…

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VII, FoB TIIE WHOLE OF THIS MOANING CRY IS ONE CONTINUOUS PRAYER, Thouah not every sentence is in orderly petition, yet the outgoing of the soul in this psalm''is one prayer from beginning to end. And however broken the prayer may be, it is real, it is intense, it is wrung out of the necessities of a living soul. And s…

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the tumult drowns the voice of mercy, and the billows rising higher and higher threaten us with total engulfment. The cry now takes a nobler form. It is not to the soul, but to God (ver. 6). Mark that there is hope. This points to comina good. Further, it is hope in God. This gives rest. Our own feelings vary. We ctnno…

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EXPOSITION. the Israelites into the primlised land, so let PSALM XLIIl. God's "light and truth" now lead David THE close connection of this psalm with the back to Jerusalem and God's "holy hill preceding has been already noticed (see the of Zion." Let them bring me unto thy holy introduction to Ps. xiii.). We mUBt no…

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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-5.-God the salvation of the countenance; or, a light heart makes a bright face. Dr. Binnie remarks, "The forty-second and forty-third [psalms] (which go together), were almost certainly written by the Korahites who accompanied David in his flight beyond the Jordan during Absalom's …

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an index of character, but the truths underlying that fact demand from us closer attention than is sometimes given thereto. l. IT IS AN ORDINANCE OF Goo, THAT IN A WAY EITHER OF MEROY OR OF JUDG- ~rnNT, THE FACE SHOULD BE THE INDEX 01!' THE SOUL. When Moses had been on the mount, communing with God, his face shone. Wh…

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forecast of the day when Christ shall alter the fashion of our bodies of humiliation, anrl. transform them to the fi:E:ed type of bis body of glory. Hence throughout the Book C'{ Revelation, the purity of the blessed is indicated by their being robed in white, i.e. not the whiteness of snow, but the brightness of th…

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EXPOSITION. thou didst in their days, in the times of o:d. PSALM XLIV, The Law required all Israelites to teach •rnE date and occasion of this psalm are their children the past histQry of the nation, and especially the mercie3 wliirh bad been greatly disputed. Most critics, from Calvin vouchsafed to it (see Exod. …

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confident hope that speaks, not that of gmti- heathen neighbours," or "to be sold for tudo. And hast put them to shame that slaves among them by our co.ptors." No hated us ; rather, and pnttest t11em to •hame general dispersion of the nation is intended. that hate us. 'file writer is sure that God Ver. 12.-Thou ael!…

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Ver. 17.-All this is come upon us; yet conduct, but they are suffering for their have we not forgotten thee, neither have we fidelity to God. The heathen hate them, dealt falsely in thy covenant. Isro.el 1111d and make war upon them, as worshippers neither put nside the thought of religion, of one exclusive God, Jehov…

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HOMILE'l'ICS. Ver. l.-1'1e blessin,q of memo,·y: a commemoration sermon. "We have heard," etc. Memory is the thread which binds life together. A failing memory is one of the saddest infirmities of old age. Yet there is often this compensation-that the Jona- distant past is well remembered. 'l'he old man forgets wha…

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CoNOLUBION, There is a. sense in which it is well to forget the past-its failures, so far as they would discourage; its a.chievements, so far as they would content us (Phil. iii. 13, 14). We a.re not to dwell among the tombs; not to resemble a man carrying a looking-glass before him, which reflects only what is behind,…

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which the answers thereto will set before us. In order to ascertain the period of Israel's history to which the psalm refer8, we must note the data presented to us therein. According to the psalmist's statements; (1) Israel had been scattered (vcr. 11). (2) The people had been defeated in arms (ver. 10). (3) 'rhey w…

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Consequently, until further light is thrown on the subject, we adhere to the Maccabean period ne that which most nearly fufils the conditions to which reference is made. Another question is this-Is the Church's strong a.~sertion of national integrity to God justifiable? Some say, Yes (so Moll, Delitzsch). Some, No (s…

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"In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availcth anything, nor uncircumoision, but a new creature" (Gal. vi. 15). IV. THE HATRED OF THE JEW DY THE GENTILE IS SUCCEEDED BY THE WOBLD 18 HATRED OF THE CHURCH. Where religiou is or has been regarded as a piece of state- craft, whether among pagans, Papists, or Protestants…

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fool." There are differences in the nations and the ages; but God is in all. We acknowledge how God was with the Jews; but we are not so ready to admit that he had to do just as really and truly with other peoples. The difference, in the case of the Jews is that as to them the veil has been lifted, that light has been …

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EXPOSITION. the world, aud reign over e.11 the nations of PSALM XLV, the earth glorioDBly. Tms pse.lm is rege.rded by some as a simple The psalm consists of two main portions cpithe.lamium, or nuptial hymn, composed -e.u address to the bridegroom in eight to honour a royal wedding, and sung o.s verses (vers. 2-9),…

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burst forth. I speak of the things which I more graphic. It runs, "Thy e.nows aro have made touching the king; or, I utter sharp-the peoples foll under thee-(they that which I have composed concerning the are) in the heart eof the king's enem'cs." 1,ing. My tongue is the pen of a ready All the enemies of Messiah ahn…

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his glorious mn-jesty. The bride hM now Ver. 13.-The King's daughter is all to be brought forward. She comes, accom- glorioo.s within. The "Kin.,'s daughter" of pauied by a train of attendants-" honour- thi~ passage cnn be no otbe1? thnn the bride able womeu," or, "noble ladies" (Kav), herself-the" q uccn '' of ver.…

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HOMILETICS. Ver. 2.-" .Altogether lovely." "'l'hou art fairer than the children of men." Immense learning and ingenuity have been expended in the attempt to find some historic occasion for this psalm-some Jewish original of these royal portraits, the ,king antl the bride. Solomon has naturally been thought of, a~ a ty…

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Vers. 1-17.-The glories of the eternal King. This psalm is one of those which set forth in glowing terms the glory and majesty of the King of kings, the .Anointed One, _who should come into the world. "It is a psalm of the theocratic kingdom., the marriage song of the King." 1 It is a song of the highest order, whic…

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sublime prophetic forecast.1 In doing so, however, it behoves us to take the Christiau expositor's staudpoiut, and to carry forward the dim and suggestive words here given us, to the fuller and clearer setting of New Testament unfoldings. I. HEBE IB A KING FORESEEN, UNIQUE IN HONOUR AND RENOWN. That the sacred writ…

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11lace of honour by his side. 5. Her attendants should come from the nations, with their offerings of devotion (ver. 12), III. HERE IS THE Kmo's OFFSPRING. (Ver. 16.) The sacrifice which the bride liad made for the sake of the King shall be more than recompensed by her having ch1ldre11:,. who shou:d gather round her, …

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EXPOSITION. Ver. 1.-God is our Refuge and Strength PSALM XLVI. (comp. Pss. xvi ii. 2; xciv. 22, eto.). A very Tms is a psnlm of consolation. Israel, in present Help in trouble; litemlly, a verrJ accessible Help--0ue easy to be found (oomp. great peril (vers. 1-3, 6, 8, 9), consoles 2 Chron. xv. 4). herself with the …

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HOMILETICS. Vere. 1, 2.-TM uncl.angeableness of God. "God 1s our Refoge," etc. Mounto.ins are tl1e grandest of God's earthly works; natural lmages of majesty, strength, dumble- nes~. Rearing tlieir peaks above the clouds, they gather the o.iry treasures of snow c.nd rain; and pour from never-failing fountains the stre…

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Ver. 4.-The river of God. "There is a river," etc. How is it that when we rea<1 or chant this psalm, it never seems to us that it was written in an ancient foreign tougue, nigh three thousand years ago? It is as much a living voice, comes as home to our hearts, as though written in our mother tongue and our own gene…

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Ver. 9.- War. "He maketh wars to cease." If we were asked to give in one short word the most prevailing character, the most striking feature, of human history-the history of all nations, civilized or sava.ge, ancient or modern-we must reply," War." If we were asked-What has been the severest scourge under which human l…

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could boast-an infinitely greater one. Not only was there all the difference between rescues that were local, temporary, national, and one that is for the race for all time, but also the difference between a deliverance from Egypt, Ammon, Moab, and Assyria, and one that is from Satan and from sin; from the curse of a b…

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means of leading her to Jesus. The experience of a young civil encrincer, whom the writer visited in his !a.stillness, was precisely the same. 2. Those who can give us no comfort or rest in the troubles of life are of little use in such a world as this. In a letter of an aged Unitarian minister to a friend of the write…

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EXPOSITION. Ver. 5.-God ill gone up with a shout· PSALM XLVII. the Lord with tho rnund of a trumpet. A~ Tnrs is a song of praise to God, !l.S the King God "comes down" when bo interposes for of the whole earth. It hp.s been called" one the_ reiief or deliverance of bis people (Ps. of the aece88ion psalms," becauso H …

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HOMILETICS. Vcrs. 6, 7.-The faculty and duty of praise. "Sing praises." Every command of God implies power to obey. True, God often tells us to do what we have no power of ourselves to do; but then he gives power. When Jesus bade the lame walk the blind see, the paralytic to take up the bed he lay on, and the very …

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Ver. 7.-Universal dominion. "Gc.d is King of all the earth." We must beware of making too wido II chasm between our sabbath rest and our daily work ; devotion and daily duty. 1'he risk is double-of making our religion unreal, and our daily work irreligious. A devout Christian may be tempted to say, "Do not talk to m…

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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-9.-A song for all the peoples I That it is possible this psalm may have been penned immediately after some specific victory, such 11s that of Jehoshaphat over the formidable combination of peoples that came up against him (2 Chron. xx.), we may admit; but we can scarcely understand…

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Testament (Isa. ix. 6; Gen. xlix. 10; Luke xxiv. 44; Matt. v. 17; John v. 46). How far the psalmist understood the meaning of his own words, we are not called on to say• but the meaning of the Holy Ghost in inspiring them is perfectly clcar.t 2. Th~ ascent of the King is also foretold. (Ver. 5.) The descent, implici…

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I. THE HOMAGE OF THE INTELLECT. " The Most High" is tho Maker of hoavon and earth. He is infinitely wise and holy and powerful. Not dependent upon other be.in~, he rules singly and alone, in supremo majesty. Reason, therefore not only confe~ses his right, but his fitness. Here is the repose of the mind in a perfe~t Kin…

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pardon and reconciliation with God, but restoration of purity. Jn the Gospels we have not only the doctrine, but facts tho.t authenticate the doctrine. The great conversions of St. Luke (Luke vii. 48; xix. 9, 10; xxiii. 43) are samples of what Christ has done and is doing (1 Tim. i.15-17), and what he begins he will pe…

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like "ships of Tarshish with an oast wind" city of David, lay to the north of the temp lo (vcrs. 6, 7). The deliverance had been and a.butted on the city's northern wan: eelebrated by a thanksgiving sorvico held The city of the great King (oomp. ver. I, "the city of our God."). in the temple (vcr. 9). These details…

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Jehoshe.phe.t,on hie return to Jerusalem from render it well-nigh impregna1le. Such a the scene of hie adversaries' slaughter, held survey would "tend to the glorifying of the e. thanksgiving service in the temple," with God of Israel, and to the strengthening of psalteries, e.nd hnrpe, and trumpets," because their fa…

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