PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Psalms — Volume 3
George Rawlinson [1812-1902] · 356,243 words · 377 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Psalms — Volume 3 — Section 301
unpalatable of things (see an admirable sermon by C. H. Spurgeon on Job vi. 6). .And we know this, and therefore needed rebuke and admonition are not given as they should be. We too often see our brother go wrong, and out of craven fear we hold back the warning and the reproof. II. A.ND THIS, NOTWITHSTANDING IT MAY BE…
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Vers. 7, 8.-The victory of faith. In these verses two contrasted scenes a.re set before us. We are shown- I. AN UTTERLY HOPELESS CONDITION. 1. The psalmist seems to be contemplating the mournful state of the people of God, of whom he rejoices to be one. He represents them as being not merely a defeated company, but …
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Ver. 1.-The plea of former prayer. Associating this psalm with David, Spurgeon thinks we have hert1 "David under suspicion, half afraid to speak lest he should speak nnadviscdly wliile trying to clear himself; David slandered and beset by enemies; David censured even by saints, and taking it kindly; David deploring the…
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Ver. 2.-Prayer as incense. From the mention of the evening sacrifice we may gather that the psalmist is actul\lly praying in the eve11ing. Incense wl\s offered whon the lam pa were trimmed i11 the morni11g, and when the lamps were lighted '' between the eve11ingA," after the evening sacrifice. Incense, offered arter sa…
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Ver. 4.-God's preventions. This prayer, "Incline not my heart to any evil thing," should be compared with the clause in the Lord's Prayer, "Lead us not into tempta- tion." In neither case can God be thought of as the direct cause of evil or temptation ; but in both cases he may be thought of as the indirect occasion. G…
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righteous were compared to e:i:cellent oil, which produced a most salutary effect on the head." _What seems plain, and what gives the best key to the allusions of this difficult psalm, 1s that the psalmist had done something which was very doubtfully right, perhaps even manifestly wrong. He was not, however, disposed t…
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EXPOSITION. Ver. 5.-I oried unto thee, 0 Lord: I said, PSALM CXLil. Thou art my Refuge. When men'B fathers DAVID once more cries to God for protection e.nd mothers forsake them, the Lord taketh nnd deliverance. The "title" says the.t the them up (Ps. xxvti. 10). David looked to prayer we.s composed by him "when he wo…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-7.-" When my spirit was overwl,elmed:" This is.said to be_on_e of payid'e cave psalms. Tbere are some seven or eight which, acc~rdrng to their rnscnpt10ns, have to do with David's·persec ltion by Saul. What cave 1s meant, whether Adullam or Engedi, we do not know. . . . l. HEBE IS…
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it is unbeli(f. Tbey <loubt almost every truth which the Church teaches. Some ~ctually deny, others do not more than half believe. 2. With others it is misbelief. They pervert the doctrine of the sacraments, of the eternal mercy of God, of final re_rtc,·eranc,:, ~nd, on such grounds, sav, "Peace, pea.ce,"_ when there i…
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Ver. 2.-Prayer as ccmplaint. "I pour out my complaint before him." "Before God we may speak out our minds fully, and name the persons that afilict, affro:it, or trouble us." True religion must be geuuiae. What a man really does feel he ought to be able to express. Reserve is the bane of friendship; it is of our friends…
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round with woe, that I could not see the path before me, w:LS distracted and unable to choose a line of conduct, thou (emphatic) knewest my path. We are often placed in circumstances in life which baffle intellect and power of judgment. We are over- whelmed because we cannot understand, and cannot steer our way throug…
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of David's life, when he was persecuted by Saul. The point of his sadness was that nobody seemed to care for him. That was likely to make him restless. If he had further said, "and even God does not care for me," he would have grown desperate and exclaimed, "Why should I care for myself? Why should I try to be true …
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Ver. 7.-Gorls bountifulness. "Thou shalt deal bountifully with me." The point here seems to be that an unusual experience of the Divine goodness, in one particular case, excites the attention of others who trust in God, and becomes, for them, an inspiration to increased confidence in God. I. Gon's BOt,NTIFULNESS AS OU…
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EXPOSITION. my soul. "The enemy" may be Saul, but PSALM OXLIIL is more probably an abstract expression- ALMOST entirely a psalm of supplication, for " my enemies" generally. He hath partly general (vers. 1, 7), partly special smitten my life down to the ground; or, (vere. 2, 8-12). Vars. 3-6, however, give "crushed m…
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HOMILETICS. Vera. 1-12.-.The s()'U,l's appeal. to God. The groundwork of the psalm is that of great affliction. The psalmist is in very sore trouble; the strongest expressions are used to convey the idea of complete outward disaster and inward dejection (vers. 3, 4). There is only one respect in which things could …
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God in him is seemingly gone; and he seems abandoned to the utter corruption of sin I No wonder that his spirit is overwhelmed and his heart desolate (ver. 4). How could it be otherwise? He is simply and utterly miserable. III. THE COMING OF RELlEF. 1. God leads him to remember the days of old. 'l'o hun_ger after thos…
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wait till the clouds clear. That is what the believer has to do-" wait patiently for him."--S. C. Ver. 8.-" The way wherei,n I should walk." The tone and language of this psalm lend colour to the general belief that it was written by David, and, perhaps, as tho LXX. adds, when he was a fugitive from before the rebe…
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And he guides them now: his Word, bis providence, his Spirit, acting on our minds, reveal bis will. IV. HE DOES TmB FOB THOSE WHO LIFT UP THEIR SOUL UNTO Hur.-S. c. Ver. 9.-" I flee unto thee to hide me." Thus does the psalmist set forth the soul's swift flight to its sure shelter in God. The man who wrote this psalm…
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Ver. 1.-Man's hope in prayer lies in what God is. Righteousness is, from one point of view, that side of Divine justice which is turned towards good men; hence it comes to mean "beneficence." There is some good reason for associating this psalm with the experiences of David in the time of Absalom's rebellion. Delitzsch…
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Vers. 6, 6.-God our first Hc,pe and our Last. The hunger nnd thirst after righteousness is ultimately a thirst for Goel. "Observe how he binds himself to God alone, cuts off every other hope from his soul, and, in short, makes his very need o. chariot wherewith to mount up to God." "I remember the days of old; " "I spr…
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II. WHAT IB REVEALED BY THE MOOD 011' MIND THAT FLEES TO Goo. 1. A right apprehension of God. Wholly consistent with reverent thoucrht of God is a restful confidence in him. No man apprehends God aright who only knows him as good; he must know that he is good to him. Hie knowing this is seen in his fleeing to hide in h…
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PSALM OXLIV, Ver. 7.-Sand thine hand from above; lite- rally, reacl1 out thy hands f1·om on high. A PSALM in which praise and prtLyer are Rid me ; rather, rescue me. And deliver me commingled. Almost certainly Davidic: ont of gree.t waters. "Great waters," or l. Frum the title. 2. From the style. "deep waters," is e. …
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HOMILETICS. Vera. 1-15.-National piety and prosperity. The latter part of this psalm seems hardly to belong to the former; but looking at it in the light of the last verses, we regard it as an utterance which has in view, from first to last, the well-being of the nation. Thus considered, we have- I. THE ONE TRUE SOUR…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vera. 1-15.-What the goodness of God does for me and in me. This psal~ is a string of quotations, mostly from Ps. xvili., as any reference Bible will show; and as tl,at psalm is almost undisputedly one of David's composition, therefore this, which owes so much to it, may be called bis li…
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Vera. 11, 12.-0hildren who are a sorrow and shame, and those who are ou1 unspeakabl8 foy. In these verses we have contrasted the children concerning whom we pray, "Rid and deliver us," with those who are such as every godly man desires aud craves of God that his own sons and daughters may be. '!'ha prayer of our text, …
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In the courts of the Lord's house we know there were trees. Josephus plainly tells us so, and Pa. lxxxiv. implies it when it speaks of the home of the birds there. .And in the palaces of the great, in the quadrangles around which they were built, there were generally many beautiful plants; and there would be aldo consp…
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Vers. 3, 4.-The transitoriness of man. "The occasion of the introduction of these sentiments here is not quite clear. It may be the humility of the warrior who ascribes all success to God instead of to human prowess; or it may be a reflection uttered over the corpses of comrades; or, perhaps, a blending of the two." I…
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Ver. 10.-The first stage of salvation is deliverance. "Who rescueth David hia servant from the hurtful sword." This describes what ia involved in "giving salvation unto kings." An act of deliverance is always the beginning of salvation; but such act of deliverance is only a. beginning. I. AN ACT OF DELIVERANCE IS THE …
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EXPOSITION. memory of thy great goodness ; literall J, PSALM OhV. they ,hall pour fr>rth-as a stron~ spring- W1TH another hymn of praise, this late tlie memory of thy great goodnes,; i.e. oollection of Da.vidical psalm~, previously the ta.lo of nil the mercies that thou hast vouchsafed them. And shall Bing of thy …
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servieo. And the glorious majesty of his that call upon him (comp. Deut. h·. 7; Pas. kingdom (comp. vers. 5, 11). xxxiv. 18 ; xlvi. 1: oxix. 151, etc.). God Yer. 13.-Thy kingdom is an everlasting draws near to those who draw near to him; kingdom (comp. Dan. iv. 8, 84). It is in- i.e. he makes his presence (whioh is …
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III. HEARTILY, This may well be included in the "abundant" utterance of ver. 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. INTEL…
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as we look backward? We should cherish not the recollection of past troubles and difficulties, but "the memory of God's great goodness" (ver. 7). And we do well to extend the field of observation beyond our own experience, and regard- I. THE VAST BREADTH OF ms BENEFICENCE. ".All bis works praise him," for he is "go…
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alphabet-nun-is om~tted; h?w tbi~ came to be, we cannot tell; the Septuagint, however, and other ancient versions (with cne Hebrew mauuscript) supply the omission thus: "The Lord is faithful in hie words, snd holy in all his works." The Jews were accustomed to say that "be who could p·,ay this psalm from the heart thre…
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blessing altogether. And this habit must be permanently maintained. "For ever ~nd ever" (vel:'. 1, 2). Here is the real test and trial of the religious life. Many are mduced to begin, but., alas, how many show that they have no staying power I 'l'hey get cold and ir.different, and after a while break away altogether. …
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As e. commo.nd, it enjoin~: 1. '.fliat this service shall be undertaken, not by one here and there, but by the whole of the existing generation. It is to be a public-a universal service. It is e. frightful condition of things for the coming generation if the present be careless a.bout, or opposed to, such tro.nsmission…
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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 leav…
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Ver. 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 spring- irrepressible, perennial, abundant; so when the memory of God's great goodness possesses the soul, it leads to such outpouring of grateful expression as the psa…
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remedJ:. 2. But this very sensitiveness needs to be soothed and sustained, strengthened and gmdeJ, by the faith of the love of God. For else it will rush into wild schemes, whi~h can do no good to those in distress, and will only recoil in many sad e.nd terrible ways on those who devised them. Or else it will settle d…
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a.re 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 f…
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power, the wisdom, the skill, the goodness of God, are evid11nt 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 otbers who have int…
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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 …
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Yer. 20.-Preservati011 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 tho hand of God I I. TnE TRUTH l!EnE DECLARED. l. ,Ad to those that love God. He will preservo P8, …
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Vers. 6, 1.-God's greatness is goodness. "God's' majesty' is his inherent greatnesa • his 'glory' is the manifestation of that majesty; and its •splendour' in the briah~ ness of this manifestation is seen by the eye~ of men." "God declares his almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity. The contemplation …
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in man which instantly convicts him or his wrong-doing, and as instantly fills him with fear of God's anger. When that anger is hold in, the man wonders. If he is a bad man, it leu.ds 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 …
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nnd the heart-feelings, of a living moral being; one who can reason, feel and bear relations. To bless a person is to recogni1.e gratefully something whioh that 'person has done/or 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 interv…
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Ver.17.-2'7ie 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 bis best ; raised by holy…
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PSALM CXL VI. e. favourite expression in the later psalms, where it almost supersedes the phrase THE psnltcr ends with e. cluster of "Halle- " God of Israel" (see Pas. Ixxvi. 6; lxxxi: luje.h Psalms," five in number, all of them I, 4; lxxxiv. 8; xciv. 7; cxiv. 7; cxxxii. both beginning and ending with the phrase. ~…
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HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-10.-Tl,ree fulfilments. There are three ways in which these verses (or most of them) have been or are fulfilled. I. IN DIVINE PROVIDENCE. In God's dealing with his people Israel. 1. Israel found, again and again, that it was not in human alliances, but in the living God, that its true help was fou…
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IIOMILIES BY YAHIOUS AUTHORS. Vez:. 4.-Thoughts tha:t perish. It has been remarked that whilst In so large a part of the Bible we have the history of the Church, in the Psalms we have the voice of the Church. And a very varied voice it is-varied as are the vicissitudes and manifold experiences of the people of God.…
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II. ILLUSTRATE ITS TRUTH, The endeavours against Israel in Egypt. The destruc- tion of Sennacherib. Haman's wrath and discomfiture. Deliverances of the Church in the age of the martyrs, through the death of persecuting emperors. Destruction of the Armada, etc. And there have been illustrations also on the side of those…
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up,ide ~"'rn," f,,r "the Lord loveth the righteous," It is delightful to think of the compass10n of God; but even that would not so stir our hearts were it not that it is all based on righteousness. Man's great longing is for justice-right between man and man-but as yet he has never fully attained to it; and he never w…
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and whon heart and flesh fail-as sooner or later they will-then the need of God is felt and confessed as it ought always to have been; then it is seen that" happy is he that hath the God," etc. And it is seen by him who bath such Help not in dark hours only, but at all times. Who can tell the quiet of mind, the holy s…
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was naturally awakened by the circumstances of the period of return from the Captivity, to which these psalms belong." "This psalm was evidently composed for a time of great national depression, when the community, sick of dependence on the favour of foreign princes, turned more and more to the thought of the eternal r…
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between Jehovah, the God of revelation, and all the gods which men have of them- selves created. Man always imagines his supreme God as quiescent, impassive, eternally still. Revelation presents to us God as ceaselessly active, never still, every- where working. All creation, involving sustenance, involves the constant…
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prosperous course aside, mal-es the path crooked instead of straight, full of trouble and calamity instead of prosperous and sure." "That which happens in tho course of God's providence, and as the inevitable result of his righteous laws, is usually ascribed in Scripture to his immediate agency." "Turneth upside down…
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16-18), is BI.most peculiBr to it. Metri- sky for weeks or ruontbs together caasos co.lly, it seems to divide into three stanzas B longing of the intensest kind for sl1a<le or strophe.-one of six (vers. 1-6), one of and moisture. lllan and beast alike re- joice when the time of the autumn ra.ina fivo (vers. 7-11), o.n…
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15 ; ~ii. 3). He bath blessed thy children Though the thermometer rarely shows within thee. Under Nehemiah's govern- more than six or seven degrees of frost in ment, when he had firmly established it, Palestine, yet the Oriental is as much Israel enjoyed a period of repose and of great chilled by such a temperature as…
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II. His ALMIOHTmEsB. "Of great power" (ver 5). III. His BENEFICENCE, (Vers. 8, 9.) It would be a terrible thin", indeed, for all created beings lf almighty power were under the control of malevol~nce, or even of selfishness. We see what happens when exceptional human power is directed by unscrupulousness; we see what …
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver.1.-Jn praise of praise. 'fhi.s psalm carries on and gloriously sustains the great Hallel of adoring gratitude and glad thanksgiving with which the Book of Psalma ends. This first verse contains a threefold laudation of the Lord's praise. L BECAUSE "IT IS GOOD." And this i.e most true,…
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I, THE L~RD IS NOT ALTOGETHER mDIFFERENT TO THEM. He might be. They must be to him somewhat as the wayside beggar is to us. How often we pass him by with utter indifference I and when we have any feeling at all, it is only a revulsion from the miserable object. Yet when we think of it, that state of mind distresses …
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.